Poems, Prose, and Other Lies

THE WOOD BOY: THE LEGEND OF MOUNT MISERY By Peter Whittlesey The sad story of the Wood Boy is really the sad story of a boy, named Jacob Woodman. He was the son of John Woodman, who was a farmer by trade, and an unlucky man in this world. For, John Woodman brought his wife, Mary, and infant son, Jacob, from England to the new world in one of the ships that sailed across the sea, after the Mayflower. Like many others of their ilk, they were hoping to find the land of milk and honey. All they wanted was a place to build a home and grow the bounty of the land beneath the uncrowded skies of heaven. It is said that John Woodman must have committed some great sin along the path of life, but no one knows what that sin might have been. For a time his future was promising. John and his family lived for a short time in the Plymouth Bay Colony, but soon moved on with a caravan of like minded citizens, through the foothills, forests, and swamps of New England. To a place in what is now called Connecticut, near the fledgling community then known as Norwichtown. There, John Woodman claimed some land off a cart path that led to the town, and began to build a home. He constructed a thatched roof dwelling with a stone and mortar foundation, and framed in post and beam construction hewn from the trees of the surrounding forest. A daughter was born, and then another. At age five Jacob Woodman was deemed old enough to undertake chores around the home. One job assigned to him was the collection and processing of firewood. There was no lack of timber, and many trees needed to be cut down to make way for a planting field. Every day Jacob would follow after his father, and they would saw trees down, and lop off their branches, and stack it all in piles. Some of the wood was used to build things, like a barn, and fences, but most of it was designated for cooking meals, and keeping the inside of the home warm. While his father struggled with the stumps, and built a wall around the field, with all the stones he found in the ground, Jacob was expected to cut, split, and stack the firewood. . One morning Jacob complained about going outside to tend to his chores. It was snowing and blowing outside, and very cold. His father went ahead. Jacob stood by the fire and warmed his hands. AIts time to go help your father,@ his mother said, seated in a chair by the stove, sewing, with one of the sisters in her arms, and the other toddling at her knee. AOh, its too cold today,@ he said. ABesides, I have chopped enough wood already to last today and tomorrow.@ Jacob’s mother did not strike him or rebuke him, but said, A Tis true we have some wood for this day, and perhaps several days to follow. But if the whole of winter is as bad as it is today, you won=t be able to get the wood, and we shall surely run out and perish from the cold.@ APerhaps it will be warmer tomorrow,@ said the boy. All at once, the door burst open. AIt was his father, standing there with icicles hanging down from his beard. ACome on!@ he shouted, ALet=s get to it, boy!@ So, for several hours that day, he helped his father with the trees, and chopped and split more wood. By afternoon, though, it was too cold to stay out. Both father and son had to get out of the weather. That night the terrible storm raged on. In his bed in the loft, he could feel the air coming in between the cracks of the walls. In the morning John Woodman was sick. Too sick to get out of bed, though he tried., Jacob went out into the blizzard, but the snow was too deep. He could do nothing, so he returned to the house. A few days later, amid much wailing and gnashing of teeth, John Woodman died. 3 It was a pity they could not bury him right away, because the ground was too frozen.