Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-08-17

indirectly to this at times, and he was not
particularly fond of the society of women,
though he was always respectful to them.
1t was after he had been Tilted by the girl
to whom it WINS said he was engaged that
he took to walking about and reading
Swedenborgian books, and later on he
came westward on his mission. This mis-
sion was to circulate the doctrines of
Swedenborg and to plant apple trees. He
carried his books in u pocket, made by
pulling his shirt half way out of his pan
falcons, and he stuck these back into this
place through the open bosom of his shirt
when he was through. He would tear
book to pieces, leaving fragment at one
cabin, another at another, and so on, and
he called his books "news fresh from
heaven" He would often read them aloud,
lying down on the floor of the cabin as he
did so, and he always slept on the floor
with his feet towards the fire. | have
often offered him bed when he was here,
but he always refused it. He was good
talker, too, and he was nobodys fool"
"Was he n man of culturc?'
"Well, hardly that, but he had good
common sense as to many things, and he
undoubtedly did great good. He was
something of doctor in his way, and he
had one cure for sores and bruises which
he considered infallible. If he bruised or
wounded his foot he would apply red
hot iron to the afflicted part, and thus
made burn which he could heal. re-
member a man here who had "a very sore
leg the shin of which was broken out in
boils, and which he had tried for years to
cure. He told Johnny Appleseed of it,
and Johnny said he could cure him. lie
asked to see the sores and the man rested
his leg upon Il chair and laid them bare.
1t was in front of the fireplace, and
Johnny snatched up a burning cmber and
before the man knew what he was about
he had grasped his leg by the ankle and
rapidly rolled the redhot coal over the
sores. The man squinned and yelled,
but Johnny held on until he had com
pleted his work Whether it cured the
man am unable to say.
Johnny Appleseed, DR.. Bushnell went
on, did not seem to feel pain. have
seen him thrust pins into his legs and
arms without quivering. He was crank
on the subject of dog fennel as an
ague cure, and he planted the seeds of
this weed as well as apples.
Glow did he plant his trces?''
He usually chose the most fertile
spots and he sometimes cleared the land
and at other times used clcurings which
the Indians had used He saved the seeds
at times, and sometimes put in bushels
| to the acre After he had planted a
nursery he put IL fence around it and he
| generally engaged some pioneer in the
vicinity to look after it on condition that
he should have Il part of tho trees. When
| his trees were grown he sold them to such
! pioneers as could afford to pay for them,
and gave them to those that could not.
! He sometimes took notes, but he never
asked Il man to pay him any money that
was due him, and he would take OLD
clothes or anything else that he might
need at the time in exchange for apple
trees He planted trees over fully Il hun
dred square miles of territory, and he
first came into Ohio in 1901. In 1906 he
had two canoes ON the Ohio river, anC
brought them to this state loaded witt
apple seeds. He did a great deal of gooC
among the pioneers and he several time,
warned them Of the approach of the In
dians. He was treated well by tho
Indians as well as by the whites. AnC
his orchards are still in existence all owe
this state. He believed that trees SHOULD
be raised from the seed and not grated
and he thought the apple was the mos
beautiful thing in fruit.
"Ilow did he die?'
Gle was in the western part of Indian;
when he overdid himself in trying to reacl
one of his orchards which he was told tn,
deer had entered and were eating the
trees. Typhoid fever followed, and hi
died in Indiana at the age Of -, He fell
that his day was passing away with thu
march of civilization, and don't think h'
was impressed with the improvements o
modern times. 1t was here at Mansfield
preacher, as has been published in tn,
history of Richland county This preache
was denouucing the sins of this life anC