382 INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



There's music in the soft sounding name of "Saugatuck," 

 While "Westport" harshly sounds of traffic, trade and 

 truck. 1 



But from your description, I judge that Mr. Ketch um 

 in the improvement of his farm, has advanced the other 

 way; and I doubt not that it would be useful for some 

 western farmers, who do not now even do as much as 

 Mr. K. used to do, make the value of a new pair of boots 

 a year, to visit his farm and learn a lesson of improve- 

 ment. But far as your country is in improvement be- 

 hind what it may and will profitably be brought to, it 

 will be many, many years before ours will be what yours 

 now is. The west is so vast in extent and fertility, and 

 we are so prone to run over a great deal, instead of culti- 

 vating a little land, that I despair of a life long enough 

 to see real improvement begin, much more be brought 

 to that successful issue which you have so pleasingly de- 

 scribed upon the farm of Mr. Ketchum. 



Over a vast extent, in the region of country where I 

 live, stone walls will never be built for fencing ; for there 

 are no stones except scattering boulders, principally 

 granite, which have been wafted here upon their ice 

 boats, from a far distant, and to me unknown locality, 

 and lie scattered wherever their frail conveyance melted 

 beneath the rays of a warming sun. These stones as they 

 lay upon or near the surface, are a little detriment to the 

 plow, but are easily removed, and will always be valuable 

 to the owner of the land, and well worth his care in col- 

 lecting and laying up till time of need. And in some 

 large districts, even this small supply of such a useful 

 material, is entirely lacking. Even where most plenty, 

 they are of such a rough uneven shape, and exceeding 

 hard quality, that I would defy the superior accomplish- 

 ments of the celebrated Yankee stone wall builder, whom 

 you mention, to lay them into a decent looking stone wall, 

 fire place or well; so they are seldom used except for 



1 Westport lies on the Saugatuck River, and was first named 

 for it. 



