THE FARM OF THE FIRST MINISTER. 49 



a bridge across Horse Shoe pond. He also improved its sheep 

 husbandry by the infusion of foreign blood into his flock, 1 and 

 facilitated some of the farm labors by the introduction of the corn 

 shelter, the horse rake, and the horse pitch fork. The latter, 

 consisting of two very heavy iron tines held in place by a wood- 

 en cross bar, is still preserved. 



Captain Walker held various town offices from time to time 

 and shared with his neighbors the official honors which his 

 town had at its disposal. But he had no desire for political pre- 

 ferment. He was a clear sighted, level headed man who pos- 

 sessed the courage of his convictions and acted in accordance 

 therewith. 



He was engaged more or less, at times, in business other than 

 that of his farm, being a member of several financial cor- 

 porations and manager of an extensive land holding on the 

 Androscoggin river, at Rum ford, Maine, a township which had 

 been granted by the state of Massachusetts to the proprietors 

 of Concord, in consideration of expenses incurred by them in 

 quieting the title to their township, against the claims of the so- 

 called proprietors of Bow, after the determination of the bound- 

 ary line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts. 



He possessed a military taste and was for many years an 

 officer of a company of cavalry attached to the Eleventh Regi- 

 ment of the New Hampshire militia ; having been appointed 

 its second lieutenant December 8, 1804, its first lieutenant 

 September 23, 1808, and its captain, September 22, 1809. His 

 successive commissions are signed, the first by Gov. John Tay- 

 lor Gilman, the second by Gov. John Langdon, and the third by 

 Gov. Jeremiah Smith. 



Endowed with bonhomie in large measure, he was ever in close 

 touch with the members of his company. These lived in dif- 

 ferent sections of Concord and several of the neighboring 



*Mr. Rowland E. Robinson says in his history of Vermont that, " Early in the 

 century, Vermont flocks were greatly improved by the introduction of the 

 Spanish merinos. During 1809 and 1810 William Jarvis, our consul at Lisbon, 

 obtained about 4,000 merinos from the confiscated flocks of the Spanish nobles, 

 and imported them to this country. . . . From the Jarvis importation, and 

 from a small flock of the Infantado family imported about the same time by 

 Colonel Humphreys, our minister to Spain, the most valued merinos are de- 

 scended." More or less of our New Hampshire flocks were greatly improved 

 by these importations. 

 4 



