St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1916-09-27

there is just room for the road-bed
and the river down below, indeed it is |
not easy to find a suitable camping
spot, but WEAKNESS, dampness and
night coming on compelled us to stop
somewhere, so we turned off at the
first level spot, a few feet from the
road. over across the stream arose |
the most barren. forbidding rock
ribbed hills 1 have seen in any of our
canyons, not a sign of green; I an
nounced that 1 was going to name the
camp The Place That God Forgot.
Shut-in places are never my choice,
I like the heights and the broad Wis
tas
Supper I'm Camp.
The clouds came down all about US.
it seemed as If they were lonely and
welcomed company, for they stayed
with us and the mist was like rain.
Altogether it gave one an uncanny
feeling, not even the moon could
pierce the grayness, but when a good
fire was coaxed from the damp wood
and when hot chicken, hot potatoes
and hot coffee were produced from
various receptacles made to keep food
hot, we felt better and a good auto
mobile bed. warm blankets and the
pitch pine freight made the night
slip away. In the morning it was
just as gray and we were still in the
clouds with everything dripping wet;
it was more like being in the White
Mountains than in the Rockies. We
cooked the bacon and eggs, by
wrapping ourselves in raincoats and
then while the good man fished sat
in the automobile, the only reasonably
dry place. and wrote a letter. The
fish refused to bite. they were too
wise to come out in the wet.
We decided to ride to the end of
the road, past the convict camp, a
tidy place of cabins and tents, with
miniature city government, as was
shown by the signs of Mayor"
Sheriff" ETC., over the doors. Some
were hoeing the corn and other vege-
tables they had raised and several
had flowers growing by their doors.
They wear khaki-not the dreadful
prison stripes.
1t is a great thing that our warden,
lyman, has done in bringing about
this ad-building by convict labor.
They are doing something worth
while, a creative work that will last
for many, many years and they are
living out in Gods fresh open air, in
the mountain places where the grand
old peaks are reaching out into in
finite space; no matter how hardened
they may be, some of them must be
stirred with better impulses and high
er aspirations.
Prisoner Like the Mountains
More than a mile from camp was a
young man alone, hardly more than
boy he looked as he was busily
sharpening tools at a grindstone. We
had driven through the tunnel that is
cut through the mountain of solid
rock and not caring to walk to the
end of the road, 1 waited and said to
the boy-a foreigner he proved to be
This is fine road you men are
building" Yes, lady" Don't you
like living up here in the mountains"
II have to like it, I'm a prisoner"
was his reply. II am sorry 1 said
but I am glad you can be out
under the sky why are you in pris-
on?'' He began to whittle and said
hesitatingly, Booze, lady; L got in
with a bad mani got drunk-he
tried to shoot -and-I-shot
him" Did you kill him?" His
face worked and grew a little grayer
Yes, lady; 1 did" and. after a
pause, IT tell you lady, when 1 get
out of here I'll never touch a drop of
that stuff again" 81 hope not"
said, Il wish there would never be
any more made. so do 1, lady,"
Then we said goodbye" and drove
away and I was thinking all the rest
of the day of this boy, of the many
like him, of a state that sells this
stuff to them and 1 have no question
as to whose is the moral responsib bill
ity.
Left 1t In Clouds
There seemed no possibility of the
clouds lifting, so we decided to
break camp" and start home. We
left the clouds when we left the can
yon so came the long away around
through Greeley. 1 am not surprised
that Horace Greeley said go west,
young man." after he had seen this
beautiful country; it is a very fertile,
agricultural district and plenty of
water and wonderful soil have pro-
duced a growth that is almost daz-
| cling in its brilliancy of green. Acres
| and acres of sugar beets and the
famous Greeley potatoes make up a
| large part of the crops and nearby
are rich coal fields. The town itself
has much of interest. The State Nor
NAL school with fine and extensive
| grounds and buildings that cost over
| 100000, and there are several man
| uIactorleS ana very general air or
prosperity. The town was founded
in 1870 and in 10 years had 1891
in 1900 had grown to over 5000 and
now has, 1 believe, a population of
5000. An automobile at nearly every
ranch house added to the appearance
| of well-to-do -ness.
Such a beauty spot in the northern
part of the state was a personal sur
prise after living here these many
years, and 1 unused over how having
an automobile adds not only to ones
years of life, but to ones knowledge
| of the country.
A shower broke over Denver just as
we reached home, having been away
about 26 hours and having seen so
much and such varied country that it
seemed like one long and swiftly
moving picture. We had travelled
over 220 miles-a trip that in former