The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1902-04-25
TOWN TOPICS.
EXTRACTS FROM HOME LETTERS
WRITTEN BY OUR ESTEEMED FRIEND,
w. C. JOHNSON.

spent couple of hours the other
day talking with Joseph Nettleton,
whose hOyhood home was in Zoar. We
settled ourselves on his front porch
and had very interesting talk. He
ceived from friends back East, Of the
the old home of the late Eli J. Morris,
also the house on the bend of the road
nearly opposite, OF little south of the
Ezekiel Beers or Platt homestead.
The house about opposite is where
Nettleton was born. He inquired
about the late G. W. Bradley, John,
Charles and Russell Warner, George
Winton, Frederick Chambers, Smith
P. Glover, AlonZo Sherman, Munson
Clark and several others.
This morning left the house about
O'Clock with one-horse lumber wag-
on and drove over to Highland, seven
wood. Fred was nearly out of wood,
| and l thought it would give me a
chance to look about little, so took
the job. l reached here about 7
O'Clock and as there are six double
teams ahead of me and we have to take
our turn, have borrowed some paper.
moved back of a building into the
shade, and will spend little time with
| you. AS l was crossing a bit Of desert
on my way over l started up jack
| rabbit from the sage bush, also a
ground squirrel, which reminded me
Of our gray squirrels, only not as large.
| pleased. Ears large as a mules al
most, and with them set up, how he
did bound. All this wonderful outfit
belongs to Uncle Sam-mountains,
snow, foot hills, orange groves and the
| jack rabbit country, and it has been
made possible for man to enjoy life
away from the winter, You are wishing
was over, by the irrigation system and
storing in the mountains melted snow.
| There is not much of settlement
here in Highlands. The lumber COM
pany owns and rents to its employees,
about 20, one-story buildings, the
largest not over lsx24 feet; also half
dozen tents, perhaps l0x14, and the
building about 10Xl4 feet. The build
ings have most of them been white
washed some time. Owing to the bad
shape the mountain roads are in just
now, they are not hauling lumber
from the mountain mill. They have
about 80 mules and they are out in a
corral or yard now, and l have been
spending few moments with them.
They are evidently enjoying their rest.
1t is harder work, am told, for them
to haul the empty truck up the noun
tain, than to come down. 1t is very
steep and narrow. They have rule
that all teams of any description must
| 60 up in the morning, and all teams
come down in the afternoon, as there
is not room to pass. 1t is also very
dangerous to run chances of meeting a
load, which is likely to get the best of
the heavy brakes and run away.
The teams leave about o'clock each
morning, taking all the time to noon
in making the trip up, and returning
about 3 or in the afternoon with
probab 5000 feet or more of lumber.
The logs, some of them seven feet
through, are sawed up at the mountain
mill and boards and plank hauled down
here, when it is cut up into box lum-
Der, sheathing, etc.
[ did not bring my dinner as l
thought would be back by noon, SO
have just been out and gotten half a
dozen oranges from pile by the side
of the road which have been thrown
out to dry for fuel. They are very
good; some of them as good as those
I have paid SOC a dozen for at home.
They are little bruised or puffy, some
small defect. This place Highlands
is near the foot hills. Birds are sing
ing, hooking birds, meadow larks, etc,
and [ have just picked as sweet and
handsome a wild flower as l have ever
found anywhere, and this summer
scene is not so far from winter after
all, for car plainly see San Jacinto
mountain, completely covered with
snow, and much nearer to me as /
write is old Greyback, just as white.
No doubt man would perish up there.
Yesterday we could see the snow blow
ing off there. 1t was a windy day,
pleasant down here, but a perfect
blizzard on the mountain. Along the
range I can see at this minute Wha
look like cedars or pines bending with
snow and ice, as we see them through
the Glen at Sandy Hook after a rain
followed by heavy snow, and freezing.
The air is SO dry and clear here that
20 miles is nearer than 10 back home.
This wood l am waiting for is short
cuts and knOtty pieces in short
lengths, and is run by means of an
endless belt from the saws and when
it comes my turn l expect to back the
wagon under spout and wait for it to
fill up. The time it takes will depend
on the quality of the lumber they are
working. If poor quality I will get