response 55 of 95:

Nov 3 17:25 UTC 2003

did it involves a stained and greasy trenchcoat?

response 57 of 95:

Nov 4 13:22 UTC 2003

I've also read that he was trying to claim lots and lots of land under the
homestead laws, which required the land to be "cultivated".  He could plant
some apple trees, to "cultivate" the land, and then only visit them
occasionally, because they didn't need much (any, really) care.

response 59 of 95:

Nov 4 17:37 UTC 2003

Johnny Appleseed in real life was one John Chapman, born on September 26,1774
near Leominster, Massachusetts.

When the rich and fertile lands lying south of the Great Lakes and west of
the Ohio river were opened for settlement in the early 1800's, John Chapman
was among the very first to explore the new territory. This was the Northwest
Territory from which the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois were
later formed. For nearly half a century Johnny Appleseed roamed his territory.
When settlers arrived, they found John Chapman's young apple trees ready for
sale.

He did all of the work himself, living alone for weeks at a time with only
the Indians and wild animals for companionship. He never carried a gun or
weapon of any kind. He was a deeply religious man who lived by the Golden Rule
and had no fear of man or beast. Indians accepted him as a friend, and he is
reputed to have talked at times to the wild animals who watched him as he
worked in his nurseries.

 As he ate no meat, he carried a stewpot or kettle with him. In this he could
gather nuts or berries in season, carry water, get milk from a settler's cow,
boil potatoes, or drop a handful of coarse-ground meal into the boiling water
to make an unpalatable but nourishing meal. He has been pictured wearing such
a pot on his head, but more likely he kept it tied to his pack rather than
let it bounce on his head.

At first, he went back to the cider presses in western Pennsylvania where he
selected good seeds from the discarded apple pressings. He washed the seeds
carefully and packed them in bags for planting the following spring. In later
years, as cider presses were located in the new territory, he gathered his
seeds closer to home.

There is no way to estimate how many millions of seeds he planted in the
hundreds of nurseries he created in the territory lying south of the Great
Lakes and between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. This was his service to
mankind.

He had been living near Fort Wayne, Indiana, when word came one March day that
cattle had broken through the brush fence around one of his nurseries some
twenty miles away. Although it was a raw spring day, he set forth immediately
to repair the damage. On his return trip he was stricken with a disease known
as the winter plague. He found shelter with friendly settlers but failed to
survive the attack.  He died on March 18, 1845

It has been estimated he owned 1200 acres of orchards at the time of his
death.

response 61 of 95:

Nov 4 18:41 UTC 2003

Living along with just Indians sounds like living alone with just a houseful
of servants.  Odd attitude.

response 63 of 95:

Nov 4 19:18 UTC 2003

Re #61: I don't understand? The Indians weren't servants. It would have
been like many people today that have gone to live with various insular
tribes around the world today, for one reason or another. 

response 65 of 95:

Nov 4 20:49 UTC 2003

If you are with people of 'inferior' social rank, some people consider
themselves to be all alone.  Savages don't rank as people any more than wild
animals do.

response 67 of 95:

Nov 5 05:48 UTC 2003

Re #65: I'm surprised that you think that way. It would never have
occurred to me. What are "savages"? Do you mean peoples that don't have
the wealth and education that we have? Your ancestors lived like that, and
lived family lives, and laughed, and bred (or you wouldn't be here). So,
there are people that have live rougher existences than you and I. I
think, however, that referring to any such peoples as "savages" is only an
exhibition of ignorance. 

response 69 of 95:

Nov 5 06:28 UTC 2003

(He probably did live alone, with wild animals visiting more frequently than
Indians.)

response 71 of 95:

Nov 5 07:42 UTC 2003

  Again, I think #61 is a bit muddled, but as I read it (my interpretation
  influenced by my knowledge of Sindi) I don't read it as a comparison
  between Indians and servants, but between two different (false in her
  opinion) kinds of living alone.

  Try:

    "Living alone" with "just" Indians sounds like "living alone" with
    "just" a houseful of servants.

  Anyway, from what I know of Sindi I'm assuming that's what she meant,
  but I agree that both comments read very oddly and are quite prone to
  disagreeable misinterpretations.

response 75 of 95:

Nov 5 21:58 UTC 2003

Are we taking a poll? I guess I vote for "insane". ;)

response 77 of 95:

Nov 5 23:18 UTC 2003

Jim plants things thoroughly, which means digging down through any rocky areas
so the roots will be able to grow downwards, and three feet in diameter holes,
and adding compost.  It can be difficult to dig in dry clay.  We have a friend
who has planted hundreds of pawpaw trees but some of them were planted in
trenches as a hedge.