Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-04-13
THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
Items of General Interest to Vermonters
Mt Home. or Abroad.

The cash has been pledged, and seven
mile bicycle path between ST. Johnsbury
and 4.yndonville Will be constructed as
soon as the Gather permits.
Ross g. Browning of West Orange, who
was born in Barre in 1922, died in West
Orange, n. y. March 26 He was a de-
scendant of James Browning, the founder
of Rutland.
The house Of Fred Shattuck at Hart
land was nearly wrecked last Week by an
explosion of dynamite which he had plac-
ed upon a heated freestone to thaw. Mr
Shattuck had gone out of the house to
prepare for a blast, ana was returning
when the door h. was soon to enter came
ont to meet him. The walls windows
doors and flooring were badly shattered
but fortunate the family were not at
home.
WORMS AT WOODSTOCK.
It is claimed that no town has suffered
greater damage than Woodstock from tie
CaterpillarS, which We're SO numerous in
the maple park fronting the Woodstock
Inn that ii became necessary to turn the
hose upon them, and bushels OF creeping
insects could have been gathered from the
ground underneath. The villagers fear
that these stately naples will fail to re-
new their foliage the coming season. Hen
~ Gushing, one of the towns leading
sugar makers, claims that one-half of his
orchard IL dead, and is accordingly dis
posing of his buckets and utensils. Carlos
Adams claims Il loss of two-thirds OF his
tine orchard, and. so sapless are the trees,
that no foliage is again expected. =. &.
n endall has cut li0 of his sugar trees
which are found to be perfectly dead.
BELONGED TO THE JASPER BLUES.
Arson l.. Pattee, who died at Flandrcau
"a lie btIT
April Il. 1888, and wds the eldest son of
Dr. \. J.. Pattee. Wilmingtons long time
physician. He hVed with his family and a
brother. Henry {. Pattec, ut Monticello,
Ga, when the civil war broke out and
was drafted into the Confederate service.
At the suggestion of several Jasper coun-
ty friends. he organized tn" 51l Georgia.
resimertal band. The Monticello company
the famous Jasper Blues" carried a
beautiful silk flag bearing on one side tho
Inscription The Jasper Blues" and on the
other Victory or Death" wrought in gold
letters hy admiring southern bellies. This
isthe aaG taken to Bucksp1tt, Me, in lAtj
by Lout. Andrew Is. Squirting, and whica
Tor over 50 years has hung On the walls
of Capt. T.. r. Emerson's summer home
At Lake Alamoostodk "a short distance
from Bucksport. The owner, in response
to an Atlanta Constitution item. desc.1r-
ing the flaS, will soon send ii to the COM
pany's only surviving oificer Lieut.. w. T..
Persons of Monticello where but a dozen
survivors and some Of the women who as
sisted in making the has are still living.
Capt. Emerson Expresses great pleas re
in returning this trophy after "A long-cher-
ished hope that such an opportunity would
be given him.
VALUABLE INVENTION
q. Il. Scott a Waterbury jewolor has
lust completed an instrument to SGT jewels
in watch,s Some of the leading watch
mpkers have examined the invention and
pronounce it complete. Mr. Scott has APP
piled for patent. lie has been at work
on the Jewel setter tor over seven yea $
and at last the invention is so complete
that il will take moro than an ordinary
expert i'm the jewellers art to make amy
Improvement
\ VERMONT INVENTION
Probably very few know that the first
sewing machine made in this country was
the product of Vermont brains and muscle,
In ISIS Rev. John A. Dodge of Monkton
invented and constructed, with the assist
ance of John knowles. an ingenious me-
ch1nic, a machine having a double point
ed needle and eye at mid-lensth. 1t made
"A stitch Identical with the ordinary back
stitch and was furnished with an auto
matte device for feeding the work. Mr..
Dodge never applied for patent, nor at
tempted to manufacture any more ma
chimes, because of the great pressure upon
his time as a pastor and further on ac-
count of the bitter opposition of Journey
men tailors, who denounced the machine
as an invasion Of their rights. The first
patent issued in America for sewing
machine was that Of a Il an named Lye.
in the year 1876, Lye's device could hardly
have contained any useful or striking
features, for whom the fire of 1896 destroy
ed the patent office records. II consume d
all that remained of this machine.