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The Story of Johnny Appleseed |
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This quaint story of Johnny Appleseed was published in the Cooperstown, New York Otsego Farmer, May 13, 1892. We've all heard the story of how Johnny Appleseed traveled across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, planting his apple seeds as he went along. I wonder how many apple trees in Madison County are descended from Johnny's seeds??
OLD JOHNNY APPLESEED A quaint but original man was this humane individual, whose true name was Jonathan Chapman, born in Boston, Mass. in 1774. This eccentric man journeyed throughout the West, appearing in the then territory of Ohio, in 1801, planting fruit seeds and grafting as he wandered into this then unsettled territory. It is said he appeared about the time, slated with a load of apple seed which he planted in various places in and about Licking Creek. The first orchard originated by old Johnny was on the farm of Mr. Isaac Stodden, in what is now Licking county, Ohio. The name Johnny Appleseed was given him by the early settlers with whom he came in contact because he nearly always carried a bag full of apple seeds with him. These seeds, by infinite toil, he gathered from the cider presses among the Dutch farmers in Pennsylvania. Frequently the daughters and wives of the farmers would assist him in his task, but most of the time he pursued his work alone. When a sufficient quantity of the seeds had been gathered, old Johnny would load the fruit of his labor in a canoe and start on a voyage down the Ohio river into the great wilderness of the West. In Indiana and Illinois, wherever there was the faintest suspicion of a settlement, he went and planted his apple seeds. Sometimes he would select an open place in the forest, his judgment telling him that some day the white man would be there, and plant his seed. The discovery of fruit-bearing apple trees in the woods of these States has led many to believe that the apples are indigenous to the soil. When Indiana and Illinois became well settled, old Johnny extended his wandering west of the Mississippi river and planted his apple seeds on Missouri soil. In the wigwam of the Indian, and the cabin of the pioneer, he was known and always welcome. He must have made twenty such annual trips as the above described. When his seedlings became large enough he gave them to the settlers or sold them for food and clothes. He generally made a sorry bargain; the garments be got being of the very poorest variety. During the summer he most always traveled barefooted. One enthusiastic historian says the old man even traveled barefooted when snow was on the ground. One person calls him the "John in the wilderness" of the new world.
One of the most peculiar characteristics of old Johnny Appleseed was his religion. He led a simple, moral and harmless life. He was a follower of the new church, a Swedenborgian [or Church of the New Jerusalem], and he never lost an opportunity to expound his doctrines. He carried with him always a little bundle of tracts. These be distributed among the early settlers on the border of civilization. When he would make his return trips he would take these tracts up and leave new ones in their places. His advent in Ohio in the early days created a sensation.. The simple-minded people of the town and village knew nothing but the old faith and their belief was strong in superstition. The new doctrines of the long haired old pilgrim with a mush-pot for a hat taught them to turn from the old paths of bigotry and superstition. The settler could not understand his religious views. Some thought he was crazy, and therefore treated him with compassion; others thought he was possessed of a devil, and would not allow him to enter their houses At this time, however, a member of a Baptist church, of Richmond county, Ohio, a school teacher and the best [unreadable] man in the county, invited the strange pilgrim to his home. The Ohioian said afterward that he found his guest to be one of the best posted and most brilliant minded persons that he had ever had the pleasure of meeting. A characteristic anecdote of this Christian- philanthropist is thus related: A peripatetic preacher was once haranguing a multitude. "Where is the barefooted Christian traveling to heaven?" exclaimed the preacher. Old Johnny Appleseed, who was sitting on a log at the edge of the clearing and listening to the discourse, taking the question in its literal sense, raised his bare foot in the air and yelled, "Here he is."
Who knows how many orchards of seedlings this grand old man started in this olden time in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri; how many persons he instigated to horticulture. He is said to have looked like a vagabond, but if so, he was the evangelist in fruit growing, for what is now the grand Mississippi Valley, or rather that pan of it east of the Mississippi river. The following is said to be authentic: The old man was never known to be sick. He would sleep on the floor, and if no better could be had, he would be satisfied with the scraps that were usually thrown to the dogs. The old man was very fond of children, and he always carried presents to them. These were generally bits of bright calico and ribbon, or Indian trinkets, but the children of the early settlers prized the gifts highly. However hungry, he would never partake of food until he was assured that there was enough for every child in the family.
It is said that the strange old man, to whom the West is indebted for most of its early apple orchards, died in Allen county, Indiana, near Fort Wayne. A person who knew him says that his death was a triumphant passing into glory. He lay on the grass with his face toward the setting sun. His countenance was wreathed with smiles of rapture, and as the last beams of the great luminary died out of the west, the vital spark left its abode of flesh and passed into the great unknown. In conclusion it is fit that the following poem, dedicated to the American Horticultural Society, should be here interpolated. It looks very much as though it may have been written by the horticultural poet, Rev. Hemstead of New York, and is as follows:
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Copyright 2008 Bev Bauser. All Rights Reserved. |
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