470 
Wisconsin state aceicultural society. 
gratitude of his flock for the one earnest mind that had inspired 
them to that day’s deed, and inv’oked divine favor upon it and the 
national leader for whom it was designed. 
When the cheese was well cured and ready for use, it weighed 
sixteen hundred pounds’ but as it could not be safely conveyed on 
wheels to its destination, it w’aited until midwinter, then it was 
placed on a sleigh, and no one but Elder John Leland could be 
entrusted with the precious load. He took the reins, driving all 
the way from Cheshire to Washington, full five hundred miles, re¬ 
ceiving testimonials and varying acclamations in the towns through 
which he passed. Arriving in Washington, Mr. Jefferson received 
him in state, the big cheese was duly presented and speeches made, 
and the president’s steward passed a long, glittering knife through 
the cheese, taking out a deep golden wedge, which was served with 
bread and ale in presence of the heads of departments, foreign, 
ministers, and many other eminent personages. It was highly com¬ 
plimented for its richness, flavor and color, and was the most per¬ 
fect specimen cheese ever exhibited at the White House. Then 
Mr. Jefferson sent a great golden wedge of the cheese back to the 
makers, which they ate with double relish, as the president’s gift 
to them as well as theirs to him. 
THE OLDEST DAIRY DISTRICT IN AMERICxV. 
Few years previous to this memorable event, a sturdy young 
farmer from .New England crossed the Hudson and slowly made his 
way up the valley of the Mohawk, which has been denominated the 
“ Gateway of the Continent.” He was the first who began cheese 
dairying in Herkimer county. He came into the country on foot. 
He was rich in health and strength. He had eight silver shillings 
in his pocket, an axe on his shoulder, and two stout arms to swing it. 
Except along the Mohawk, nearly the whole country was then a 
dense forest. Brant, the famous Mohawk chief, and his bloody 
warriors, had been gone several years, but traces of their pillage 
and murders were fresh among the early settlers in the valley and 
along the river. The old Dutch heroine, Mrs. Shell, was then liv¬ 
ing near Fort Dayton. She was a noted character during the revo¬ 
lution. Her husband being called out to fight the Tories and 
Indians, she took her infant to the field and helped her eldest son, 
a lad, to hoe the corn, with a musket strapped to her shoulder. 
