Finding a wilderness at Walden and time to develop a sturdy individualist’s philosophy…
…But most mornings he devoted to his garden. His bean rows added up to more than seven miles in length and required constant weeding. What is worse, the woodchucks nibbled the bean sprouts faster than he could pull the weeds. “My enemies,” he said, “are worms, cool days, and most of all woodchucks. They have nibbled for me a quarter of an acre clean. I plant in faith, and they reap.”
—Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves. -Henry David Thoreau
Well, this is a Thoreau quote a Conservative can get behind. Though I have a feeling this is one his Progressive idol worshipers like to skip over.
The delusional image of Henry sitting on his fat bottom, in a mold infested cabin, pondering the inequities of American society, is such a prurient image that any East Coast elitist intellectual, who managed a C-minus in prep school , can repeatedly enjoy in a fit of mania, while locked up in the privacy of their pool house. The pathetic attempt to justify their unearned birthright is such these Freedom Rider wannabees will literally roll around in the dirt at Thoreau’s graveside, while clutching ‘Dreams of My Father’ to their chest, and screaming out whole passages from Mao’s Red Book….Read More:http://www.allrightmagazine.com/life-in-america/the-lie-of-thoreau-5888/
Thoreau was at a loss for a time what to do about it- the woodchucks, he felt, had prior claims as residents, but if they remained, there would be no garden. He finally consulted a veteran trapper for advice. “Mr. W., is there a way to get woodchucks without trapping them with-” “Yes; shoot’ em, you damn fool,” was the reply. But Thoreau ignored that sage advice, and matters got worse instead of better. Finally, in desperation, he procured a trap and captured the grandfather of all woodchucks. After detaining it for several hours, he delivered it a severe lecture and released it, hoping never to see it again. But it was a vain hope. Within a few days it was back at its old stand, nibbling at the bans as heartily as ever.
Thoreau set the trap again, and this time when he caught the villain, he carried it a couple miles away, gave it a severe admonition, with a stick, and let it depart in peace. He never saw the woodchuck again, but what the farmers thought in that area is not recorded.
On another occasion when another woodchuck trifled with his garden, Thoreau was more bloodthirsty. Abandoning his not-too-strongly-held vegetarian principles, he trapped it, killed it, and ate it as a culinary experiment, reporting the meat surprisingly good.
Despite the woodchucks, the worms, the cool weather and the weeds, Thoreau’s garden was a success. His expenses for tools, plowing, seeds, and cultivator totaled only $14.72. The garden yielded twelve bushels of beans, eighteen bushels of potatoes, and some peas. Keeping enough for his own needs, he sold beans, potatoes, grass, and stalks for a total of $23.44. Thus he had his food for a year and a profit of $8.71. Comparatively speaking, he thought, few Concord farmers did as well.
ADDENDUM:
(see link at end)…But, the evidence points rather to his having a higher sense of values than the ordinary run of men. He was determined to be free of rubbish. Once he was asked to sign a pledge, to which the names of the “best” people of Concord were attached, that he would treat all people as brothers. He declined to do so until he found out how other people would treat him. He was not going to be sociable for the sake of sociability; he demanded as much as he gave. He would neither accept nor bestow condescension.
But the real price he paid for freedom was not in ridding himself of the strictures of society but in curtailing his desires. He conquered his appetites in order to be free; he was not going to be a slave to things. His venture into the pencil business shows that he had the makings of a successful industrialist. With a brother he operated a school that was the envy and chagrin of rival schoolmasters, not only because of its success but more so because of some advanced ideas of pedagogy which the brothers introduced. As a surveyor he was in demand and highly respected, both for his accuracy (he made his own instruments) and for his integrity. Those who hired him for any kind of job, whether farm work or painting a fence, were sure to get their money’s worth because Thoreau would not cheat himself by doing poor work. He might have made money also as a lecturer and a writer had he been willing to compromise his standards, for he was proficient in both fields. But, he was not willing to give up what the making of money costs: freedom. For that reason he refused regular occupation of any kind — although he was never idle — and got himself the reputation of being a ne’er-do-well. From his own point of view he was doing far better than his detractors, for while they got respectability for their industry and pains, he had self-respect.Read More:http://mises.org/daily/5033
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