The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1892-09-24
A Part OF History.

When the news reached Eastern
Connection: that the British sol
diers had fred on the Continentals
at Lexington, Israel Putnam, it is
pretty we'll known, was plowing
and swearing in about equal meas
ure in a stony field on his farm at
Pomfret, says the New York Sun.
History avows that "Old Put" was
plowing, and anybody who ever did
any blowing in Eastern Connecticut
and is acquainted with Putnam's
character doesn't need to be told
that he was swearing. It is known,
too, that he was plowing with q
pair of horses and with an old
fashioned wooden plow, a crude
contrivance in vogue about q half
century before the modern steel
plow was invented. It is not known
positively who carried the news to
Israel, but it is a matter of fact that
when he heard of it he speedily un-
hitched his steeds, and,. leaving his
pillow in the furrow, mounted one
horse and galloped away to the bat
tie of Bunker Hill. People who
are accustomed to plain sailing with
the plow in the smooth, even fields
of New York State may think that
Putnam's departure, patriotic as it
undoubtedly was, was rather un-
necessarily hurried, but no ono
born and bred in Connecticut, and
who has plowed in Eastern Con-
necticut,d will blame him at all.
Flowing not only has often led to
hurried patriotism in Connecticut,
but quite frequently, it is thought,
to piracy on the high seas.
About Putnam's old pillow that he
hastily LETT in the Pomfret field.
Naturally the abandoned horse had
gumption enough to go to the barn
as night came on, few hours af-
ter his masters sudden withdrawal
from Pomfret agriculture, but the
old plow tarried right where it was
left in the rugged, unfinished fur
row. Indeed it is question, per-
haps, even had it been endowed
with motive power of its own,
whether it could have got away, for
the natural presumption is that not
only was it rammed and stuck into
the rocky breastbone of Windham
county, but was tied up in a mat
of "Durfey grass" and immovably
lassooed with wild grape vines, roots
and bull briars. The old pillow van
lished out of history for just about
100 years, and though one or two
old Pomfret antiquarians kept track
of it in its inoccuous retirement and
desuetude and knew right where it
was, they kept the knowledge to
themselves. It seems it lay in q
Windham county barn loft during
the past century, but year or so
ago w. O. Jacobs & Co. of Daniel
sonville learned of and located its
lair, and Mr.. Jacobs easily bought
it of its owner for song. He had
it busted and secured with sand
paper somewhat, then transported
it to Danielsonville, and for year
or more has used it for a sign in
front of the company's hardware
store in that village. Recently E.
A. Brooks, an enthusiastic relic
hunter of Hartford, heard about
the pillow, and this week visited DAN
ielsonville and bought it for another
pecuniary song, a trifle bigger than
Jacobs & Co. had paid. The plow
was transferred promptly to Hart
ford, and Mr.. Brooks is now exhib-
iting it to the public in his museum
of antiquities and curiosities in
that city.
It is a pretty tough-looking relic,
but is intact in all its parts, except
that its right handle is broken in
the middle. It is both interesting
and valuable, however, in that it is
capital exampls of the type of
pillow universally in use in new Eng
land in the colonial period. It's
frame and mold board are entirely
of hard wood, but the board here
and there is plated with pieces of
scrap iron that evidently were de-
signed to strengthen it. It is ap-
parent the iron was added to it after
it had long been in service. The
plow point and cutter are Of
, wrought iron, which are undoubt-
, edly the old pieces of iron that were
, on it at the time it was completed
and sent to market. Besides the
broken handle one of the cross
rounds of the plow is broken.
! Perhaps Brooks may send Putnam's
{ plow to the Worlds Fair.
Can tho Cholera Bacilli Do Thisl
u Prof. Chester in his article on
: bacteria, microbes bscilli and kim
!. dred forms, says: "They multiply
: very rapidly, and in strange way.
I too. A single one breaks in two,