The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-04-07
ONE WHO WENT WEST
Former Vermonter Writes of the
Early Days in Caledonia" Be-
fore the Railroad Came

To the Editor of the Caledonian if it
is yet in existence, or Editor of any
other newspaper published at st.
Johnsbury, Caledonia County, State
of Vermont:
crave your indulgence as well as
beg your pardon for thus forcibly in
PRODUCING myself. You will agree |
wouldn't be much of VermOnter if
| didn't have the gall, brass or what
ever you might term it, if l didn't
have Green Mountain courage enough
to write home.
1t was my fortune, fate or some
thing / can't fully explain, to have
come into existence some rs years
past upon the list of March, among
the hills overlooking the village of
McIndoes, about one-half mile out.
| was, so to speak, Matched out among
the Canada thistles. That was before
we had any railroad up along the
Connecticut river. l saw it dug and
blasted out; saw the first steam SHOW
ell that operated in the county; saw
the Fairbanks big wagons on the pike
drawing pig iron from Boston.
l got my start in life right there.
Went to school in the old red brick
school house and padded in the
brook nearby. | knew everybody and
everybody knew me and the other
boys. Yes, remember whole lot.
The Mexican war; gold discovered in
California and the rush to it. Dad
came near going and I wish now he
had, for it was no place to stay up
there on the bench in world so big
and bully as this.
Yet it makes a fellow feel mighty
aristrocratic as we'll as democratic to
be able to say when you're away, 81
came from Vermont, the 18th state
on the flag" and be able to exclaim,
81 too am a Caledonian!" What stern
err stuff can human being hope to be
made of than a French Hugenot and
Scotch Covenanter, Blanchard ilfil-
Ian mixture.
March 4th, GO years ago marks the
time when the writer discovered him
self among company of eco West
and Grow up With the Country
Greeley didn't say so yet, he didn't
say so till after the "Pike's Peak or
Bust" stampede came about. Cal
ifornia Gold rush had been missed by
dad, but another new Eldorado was
opened by the Crimean war and the
Black sea blockade. No wheat could
be fioated out of Russia. Wheat was
worth then $500 per bushel out on
the western prairies and the farms
could be bought for $1.25 per acre.
Forty bushels per acre was an awful
temptation. This was in 1856, March
4th. Russia was the bread basket of
the rest of Europe. Serfdom was
feeding the hungry and the others
were clothing the naked. The British
navy dominated the ocean, the sea-
ports of the world were open to her
trading vessels, she could fix prices,
could buy cheap and sell dear. Gar
Nicholas died, Sevastopol was taken
by the French and British. The Cri-
mean war ended and Constantinople
was left in the possession of the
Turk. Wheat from the Steppes of
Russia came floating down the rivers
to the Black Sea. Liverpool was filled
with wheat and American wheat was
not needed or wanted, then came
Too much wheat out west
and nowhere to put it. There were
not many people in our cities to use
it up. America was poor so far as
business went. Too many blowing
prairies, not enough doing some
thing else. Coal and iron were asleep,
wooden and cotton manufacturers
were handicapped by lack of capital
and skill. Too many had been work.
ing without knowing where to find
market.
Spirit of adventure for the sake of
finding wealth came with Christopher
Columbus and kept on coming. Gold
has tempted many mortal to cross
oceans and deserts, climb mountains
and even tunnel them. So it behoov-
es the enlightened people of the Goth
century to look back with charitable
eyes on these escapades for wealth.
We may wonder why they walked
over untold riches without knowing
what they were doing, passing by or
climbing up mountains of gold, sill
yer and other precious metals and
stumbling over acres of diamonds.
will bring the lesson nearer home, as
I have it by hearsay and not evidence
in court to convict a thief, but good
enough to relate, as to the short
of our pioneer Caledo-
mans. When William and his broth
er, Thomas Gilfillan came to Barnet |
in the year 1888, the Connecticut val
ley was a dense pine forest and where
village now holds forth was
all pine, and the very best to be
found.
James r. HASTE.
Beware Of Compromises.