The San Francisco call., 1896-02-02

Mr.. Baldwin told of the difficult les tha
are encountered in wrestling subsistence
from the natural conditions in his native
region, but he expressed satisfaction that
his quiet life in the Hollow is better than
anything that Huntington can know. And
his words at the end of the interview were,
as he turned back to the tattered mill:
'If you see Col out in California give
him my regards"
The house in which the Huntington
family resided was plain little story-and-
a-half structure. The gable end was to-
ward the roadway. Ahuge stone chimney
was out Of all proportion to the rest of the
building, as measured by the modern
ideas of the architects, though quite the
fashion at the time.
Just at the front of the house was the
old well with the tall "pole" contrivance
that added to New England picturesque
ness until lot of enterprising agents in
vaded the lana and induced the people to
adopt modern inv vention.
! Lyman Mather occupied the house DUR
ing some of his better years. Soon after
he abandoned it the building was pulled
down, the cellar was filled up and the site
became a mere part of the ninety
acre farm. The old we'll afforded
| burial place for some of the
''stun" that had to be hauled away to
make room for the pumpkins to grow. A
covering of soil was then given and now
the circular depression is hardly notice
able.
| Against the relic of the old barn, "down
across the lot" later barn was erected
years ago. The roof over which
Huntington and the other boys climbed
and chased in the Poverty Hollow
| schooldays has been partly broken down
by the snow and storms of many winters,
but the wrecked end of it sways and
bangles. and is tenacious tribute to the
excellence of the material turned out by
the sawmills of the Hollow.
| The farm is a poor one to-day; it was
probably never any better. Most of it is
called meadow land, and grass grows on
| it, though the term meadow is there
| little bit of politeness that the farmers re-
tain for mutual satisfaction and encour-
| agement. Much of the stone has been
piled up in long rows, that will serve as
fences until the world ends. Visitors won-
der why so much work was done to divide
a little farm into SO many sections-like
building lots on the map of a new Western
| city-but the stone had TO be put some
where, and old wells are not often avail
able.
Though the stone walls are numerous,
and broad and high, there is stone enough
still scattered over the ground to macad-
amize a boulevard, and plowing would be
| both dangerous and difficult but that the
farmer of the region is skilled in the art of
lodging such distractions.
The Huntington farm sections that are
not annually plowed up or reserved as
| meadow" are pasture lots and the wood
land, and the only level bit of ground in
the whole place is where the Huntington
house used to stand.
Poverty Hollow is quiet, modest
pretty little bit of the New England back
woods, hidden away IN the hills, and it,
can only be reached by the most mislead-
ing sort of by-roads. 1t is entirely un-
known to the people five or ten miles
away, and the world would never. have
heard of it but for its production of the
man who owns the Western railroads.
| Why or when it received its name no
man in that region of patriarchs can re-
member, and there is no man in that
region who cares.