The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-02-17
ALL OWING TO THE SOIL
John Mossback, OF Wayback, Tells
some Tall Stories.
Bangor News

ssWhy. hello, John" said a man who
chznced 10 be passing along the road to
john Mosshsek, of Wayback, whom he
met, s.how came you IN this section OF
the-cuuntry2 The last heard you was
IN Aroostook county, Me-, and here
find yon way down here; what caused
you to leave that placer 1 hear that it Is
the garden of Maine"
'eWell, You see, mister, that it got too
heaafhy for me up there, and had to
leave"
"Toohealthyi Howdo you make that
outs I did not suppose that you could
fn6a .placethatwas too healthy to live
in"
'dWef, yer see, mister, at it is this
way, although don't hardly like ter tell
yer. for fear at yer win think at I'm
lynn; but Pllrisk itanyway, and tell yer
afew facts, and then yer'n diskiver wo't
Fmean by hein' too healthy.
NOT BUILT WITH HANDS.
wen fust went up there tuck up
q farm on w'ot supposed was about
th>Eschest soil In thecounty, and found
AFTER while that my Judgment was not
far out o tn way. Tn fust day at l
got there Hooked around and selected
tn spot where was goin' to build my
house, and rs 1 couldn't find any stones
for underpinin' L thought at 1 would
build my house, which was log one,
on tn ground, hoping that it would
stand until I could build better one.
It was pretty late when I got at work,
and ] only got the four bottom logs TO-
gether when had ter quit, an had ter
go about a mile ter tn house where /
was boardin' until could get my house
ready ter move into. Tn mex mornin'
I started ter go ter my work, an w'ot
was my surprise ter find tn four logs at
I had laid for tn foundation fer my
house had taken root an grown into a
two story frame house, with ell and out
buildings attached, all shing1ed and
clapboarded and ready to move into. I
mentioned the fact ter my host. an he
said that was nothin'; at tn soil alters
did that when it was fsst broke, but that
I'd get used ter it arter while.
81 sent for my family the next day,
which consisted of my wife an 10-year-
Old boy, an in about two weeks they
come up there, an all went well until I
set my boy ter harrowin'; he bein kind
O. lazy, lay down and went to sleep on
tn fresh grown. In about two hours he
come up ter tn house an we didn't know
him. Grown? Well, 1 guess so. Wen
he went away he was about the size O.
any 10-year-old boy, and wen he come
back he was plump six foot tall and
weighed 225 pounds.
Gwen it come time ter shoot deer my
hired man started out ter see if he
couldn't get one. Well, sir, he started
drove and drew 'em out inter one O. my
fields and shot three of 'em, an every
one of 'em fell on a piece of broke up at
we had plowed that week, an as he
couldn't get 'em ter the house alone he
came for help, an my son and 1 to-
gether with warden who had Just got
there ter my house started back ter get
them, an sir, you may believe it or not,
but wen we got there we found that
them three deer had grown into three
moose, an it cost that man 500 apiece
for the two moose which he had, more'n
the law allowed him.
GROWTH OF RAILROADS AND MORTGAGES.
"Are they goin' to build that railroad,
did you say2 No, don't think they
will, for jest as soon as the sleepers strike
the sile the blamed things would grow
until the whole country would be COW
cred with railroads. I member one of
my neighbors held a mortgage on one of
the farms an he happened to lose it,
and didn't find it for two days, an when
he did find it it had grown until it had
given him mortgage of a whole town
ship, and they sent him down the river
for forgery, even it was all the falt O.
the sile.
Oh, yes! Aroostook county is nice
farmin' country; all yer have ter do is
ter plant yer crops and they will grow
ter beat thunder. Why have known
men to go therewithout cent and clear
$900, 900 the first year all often potatoes,
an they didn't have only one potato to
start with, and that being a small one
weighed only 900 pounds.
Everybody would be.rich if the debts
didn't grow equally with the profits. /
member one man went ter sellin' ma
chinery, an he didn't pay up for year,
am by that time the debts had grown SO
bag that he never has been able ter pay
itsince.
"Wot made me leave? Well, I'll tell
yer. l turned my flock o. sheep out one
night, and the next n,ornin' they had
grown so at I had bout fifty morn'n /
turned ont tn night afore, and one q
my neighbcrs he'd lost his whole flock.
which. strange t0-say, had drowned, as
he never found 'em, but he said that
got 'em, and he made it so uncomfort-
able for me thatI had ter leave. Wen,
good day, mister, Fve.got ter leave, as
got ter strike the next town afore night.