Evening star., 1935-01-27

ington's outstanding newspaper writer's and
editors and who still is much in evidence.
In commenting upon his delightful contact
with Mr.. Burroughs Mr. West recently said to
the writer:
"Of course. I did not know Burroughs In
those very early days, but in later years he
made frequent visits to Washington and
it was upon these occasions that met him.
I had been his admrer from boyhood and
enjoyed the talks and walks we had together,
the latter principally in Rock Creek Valley,
around Kalorama. We used to argue about
Whitman. was never an enthusiastic Whit
mantle like Burroughs, but perhaps too
young to appreciate the depths of Whitmans
genius.
MY friendship with Burroughs continued
until his DEATH and only a short time before
he passed away I sat with him the hillside
at his home overlooking the Hudson and we
discussed the question of future life"
John Burroughs first came to Washington in
1858, not with the intention of going into the
Army, but rather afraid that he might enlist
once he came in contact with the troops But
his enthusiasm wilted, he says, when he observed
how they shipped the men in cars herded to-
gether like cattle, and he decided there and
then that he would not make a good soldier
when he saw the wounded men arriving from
the battlefelds. and when he had a chance to
visit the hospitals. of which Washington then
had many
THROUGH influence which he confesses he
obtained. but more through insistence and
determination, he secured a clerkship in the
Treasury Department in the newly established
Bureau of National Banks on January 4, 1864
and received a salary of 81 200 year-a prncely
sum in those days. His house address at that
time 66 street south, which today would
be on street between Thirteen and half
and Fourteenth streets.
Soon after securing employment he was
Joined by his wife and they boarded for a
while until other and more satisfactory ar
rangements could be made and this resulted
in the renting of house on Capitol Hill, then
numbered 377 First street northeast.
1T was quaint brick structure, two stories
high" he says, and 1t stood somewhere on the
site now occupied by the Senate Office Building
1t surrounded by high board fence
Besides the main house, the lot was occupied by
a small tenant house, in which lived an old
colored man. and there also was a barn, with
altogether an acre OF land.
Being accustomed to farming, he started in
Immediately to stock his place. He bought
COW, which he named Chloe and later bought
two other cows and some chickens and soon
had enough eggs and milk and butter 70 supply
some of the neighborS.
He also hired a man to plow the ground,
and he did the rest of the work. planting and
selling the things he raised, which included
cabbage, turnips, potatoes, strawberries, peas
and beans. He also turned to profit the pears
and apricots growing on the place, rented the
spare rooms in the house and, like real thrifty
Yankee saved about one-hau his salary.
Mr.. Burroughs was a restless sort OF man,
and though the place on Capitol Hill was ideal
for his purposes, permitting him to Craze
his cows on the commons, which he confeSSes
he did, yet he decided to build the house on
street. and here he was frequently visited by a
number of literary notables, including Walt
Whitman
His friend, William D. O'Connor, rented from
him a part of his house only during the year
1868 when he moved 10 10l5 o street north
west and continued to reside there at least
until 1875.
THERE are possibly some writer's today whose
literary talents have tendency to destroy
character and patriotism and produce i'm
mortality but though their works may be
profitable in dollars and cents, yet these will
die with them, while, on the other hand, the
beautiful stories and wholesome books OF John
Burroughs dealing with nature and its most
beautiful side, will live as long as good books
can be found on the shelves of the Library of
Congress-and this will probably be always.
His wake Robin" and other early books
were to some extent based on his studies and
Investigations of bird life around Washington,
and it is perfectly natural that we partly, in a
sense at least, look upon him as our own, since
for nearly ten years he was a resident OF the
National Capital. When he died suddenly on
March 80 1921, The Star said Of him:
John Burroughs, naturalist, died on a New
York Central train near Kingsville, Ohio, on
his way home from California at O'Clock this