The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-09-24
...fnecdotes Ct admiral Dewey.

In the late thirties and early fofties a
lad was living in Montpelier, by all ac-
counts, as stirring a life as that of any
youngster born on the banks Of the wind
ing Winooski. It may be doubted If the
small and hard head Of the little Dewey
ever bothered itself in those days with
any larger concern than to keep the
town moving to its own liking. He was
an irrepressible boy, as the gossips are
agreed, with genius for getting into
mischief, to which he allowed the fullest
bent. If ever child lived out of doors
it was this little son of the village doc
tor, left motherless when scarcely more
than baby. He turned up at his meals
and at the early bedtime. that obtained In
the town. but it was only when the
storms had dropped into the valley from
their eyries on the Camel's Hump that
the day time found him sprawllng on
the floor at home absorbed in some tale
of adventure. This as a lad who would
rather enact things than read about
them.
The story of George Dewey's youth is
the story of the pastured hillsides, the
black spruce forests and the 1ce-coid
brooks of Washington county. lie knew
them all with the confident intimacy Oh
childhood. He knew the nest-oulldlng ol
the field sparrow on the far uplanos, ana
the afternoon song of the red-winged
hlackbirds he swung on his mullen
stock in the low meadows. He could
point you to the shallow hooks of Berlin
pond where the lazy suckers lay; to the
deep pools in the Winooski, where the
perch were harbored, and to the CLASSY
recesses of the mountain brook in which
the speckled trout was hiding. His bare
feet trod the thick carpet of the pine
needles In those remote glades OF the
forest, where the spruce gum was
choicest In the top boots and comforter
he watched the vapors curling above the
great kettles when the March SHOWS were
melting in the sugar bushes. When the
faint perfume of the wild mustard hung
like an incense over the August hills he
held impromptu barbecues with his COM
panions in the heart of the woods wherein
roasting ears and young potatoes Dor
lowed from the neighboring fields were
garnished with green apples pilfered
from the nearest orchard. There Is
| scarcely a spot within ten miles of the
town that did not receive the attentions
of young Dewey. He laid tribute on what
he liked with the cheerful responsibility
CT youth, over which as over the thefts
of the birds a kind and not too scrutiniz-
ing Providence watches.
By all accounts George preferred rob-
bing apple orchards to any other form
of privileged brigandage, and the illustra-
ton on this page shows the remnants Of
grove in the neighborhood of the Dewey
cow pasture which tradition AYERS was
frequently visited by him in the absence
of It's rightful owner. Because of his
inveterate instinct for getting into mis-
chief 1t sometimes happened that the
owner Of the orchard would appear at an
Unfortunate moment, and the following
is transcript of the testimony of an
ancient farmer who claims to remember
such an incident: ooh, yaas, bod
Dewey Skinned up them trees; seen
him. He want bit put out about it.
but jest looked at me in that peart way
o his'n an kept on film his pockets.
An 1 SEE. Help yerself, Dod,, seq T.
There's plenty fur both. 1 reckon An
dye know, 1t sorted pleased him. an
by gum, he'd alluz leave the tree. he
wud. Haw! haw! haw! Oh, yaas bod
wuz a CROWN boy with a CROWN
appetite"
A growing appetite was not sufficient
to make George Dewey a chunky boy,
however, by any means. He was small
for his years and his activity kept him
thin. The figure that this little Yer
monter presented in those days is a win
some one. "a 1t Ia painted by those who