The Saint Paul globe., 1904-04-17

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NEW YORK, April 16.-Gen. George
w. Davis, who was appointed by
President Roosevelt the other day
to fill the exacting position of governor
of the zone on the Isthmus of Panama
through which the interOceanic canal will
be constructed, spent his youth on a Con-
necticut farm. Away mp in the extreme
northeastern corner of the state, in the
town of Thompson, close to the Massa-
chusettS state line he first heard the
birds of summer sing. He comes of a
family of frugal. Christian, and studious
characteristics. The old story and a half
frame house where he was born still
stands. His brother, Marcus Davis, the
Oldest Of the eight children, still lives
there and farms the place. His father
before him was born there and also the
grandfather of the general lived in the
same house. The great grandfather lived
In Thompson also, but a mile and a half
to the northwest of the present Davis
homestead. So Gen. Davis comes of pure
Connecticut Yankee stock.
The boyhood of Gen. Davis was much
the same as the boyhood of any Connecti-
cut boy born on a farm which reveled in
rocks and hard land to TILL
do I remember brother George as a
boy? I certainly do" said Marcus Davis.
George was the studious one of the fam
lily. He never had time to get in trouble
like the rest of the boys that attended
the Brandy Hill district school. He was
always busy with his book while l would
be around ishin and huntin' in the
woods At school the master was always
proud of George, and he set him up as
good example for the rest of us to pat
tern after George was always wee bit
ahead of the rest of the scholars. He
was deeper than the rest of us
why, do you know that you can't take
a walk of hundred yards around this
stony old farm of seyenty-flve acres with
out you run on to rocks with drill holes In
them? George drilled them holes. That S
the way he started to studyin geology.
He wanted to find out what was inside
of the rocks and so he drilled holes in
them and split them open.
The Intervals of Rock.
when you couldn't find George any
where about the house or barn all you had
to do to locate him was to step out III
the road and listen. Pretty soon you
would hear the 'whack, whack, whack' Of
a hammer on the drill head. That was
George. off a mile in the middle of the
swamp, maybe, diggin' into the Intervals
of a rock. Father used to humor George
a bit in his rock drillin because he liked
to encourage all of us to learn some
in his quiet way: 1t would help along
like sixty if George would drill in the
corn field and on the wood pile like he
does into them rocks. George never
shirked work on the farm when there was
work to be done, but he was too big for
a poor Connecticut farm to hold, and he
was PAWN the way durin' all those days
he was drillin' rocks and a-studyin' ge-
ology to make bigger name for himself
than he could have made up here on the
farm. George has become a big man
now and I'm proud Of him, even though
l did stay back here to farm. He worked
hard to get where he is, and deserves all
his honors and success.
George never had much to say as a
boy. He was the pOlitest boy at school,
though not what you'd call ladies' man,
but he was always polite to them, even in
the old Brandy Hill schOolhouse, and it
wasn't much of a school then, either.
Now, 1 used to like to go to the parties
in the winter that were held in the coun-
try round about here, but George hardly
ever went. He would get in a corner
close to the fireplace and study a book
When George got through with book