[Homer_J_Simpson]

Diary of John Brown, June 18, 1859

West Andover, Ohio. Borrowed John's old compass, and left my own, together with Gunley's book, with him at West Andover; also borrowed his small Jacob staff; also gave him for expenses fifteen dollars; write him, under cover to Horace Lindsley, West Andover. Henry C. Carpenter.

SOURCE: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of John Brown, p. 519

civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com

[BroJoeK]

Ginseng

"A very remarkable piece of intelligence reaches us from the far West.
In Minnesota villages are deserted by their people, who have fled to the woods to seek -- not for gold, but for a little root known as ginseng."

For such a short paragraph, some interesting tidbits.

First, when they say "far west", they mean Minnesota!
Second, a state that would later vote for such quirky luminaries as Jessie Ventura and Ilhan Omar was even in 1859 looking for something new & exotic.
Third, ginseng is native to China, claimed to be cure-all for any disease, sort of like the political promises from some Minnesota politicians.

;-)