CHAPTER III.
Observations on the St. Croix River.--Boundary Line.--Pine Timber. --Agriculture in the Interior.--Youthful Associations with Grand Lake.--Traditionary Name of Grand Lake.--Lake Che-pet-na-cook.-- Rise of Eastern Branch St. Croix.--Lumbering Prospects.--Hemlock. --Reciprocal Relations of the Lumber Trade between Americans and Provincials.--The Machias Rivers.--Origin of Name.--Character of Soil.--Lumber Resources and Statistics.--West Machias.--Narraguagues River, curious Definition of.--Capacity of Stream.--Statistics.-- Union River.--Observations on its Lumbering Interests.--Mills in Franklin.
Having in the foregoing pages given brief sketches of some of the most interesting _trees_ known to us, devoting considerable attention to the White Pine, and the life and adventures of lumbermen, the concluding pages of this book will consist of brief sketches of the rivers of Maine and New Brunswick, and such statistics as to the extent of the lumbering operations on each river as may interest the curious in such matters.
The Mschoodiac, more generally known as the St. Croix, constitutes the first link in the boundary between Maine and the province of New Brunswick.
The name by which this river is more generally known is St. Croix, which is probably of French origin. The original and Indian name is Mschoodiac. An intelligent Indian, belonging to the Penobscot tribe, to whom I am indebted for the signification of the original names which our rivers bear, informed me that the signification of Mschoodiac was, "Burned land river," "Open space," or "Wide prospect river," thus deriving its name from some peculiarity in the country along its borders.
Probably, at some period anterior to the white man's knowledge of our Western World, a section of forest adjacent to some part of the river was destroyed by fire, originating perhaps in the torch of some invading tribe as they laid waste the wigwams of their discomfited enemies, or from the embers of the little fire kindled by the hungry hunter to cook his hurried meal. In process of time, the principal part of a forest, withered and destroyed by such a devastating scourge, would fall to the ground, opening wide prospects where densely-compacted forest trees once completely circumscribed the view. But the river may have derived its name from a circumstance of still earlier date, viz., the existence of immense fields of _meadow_ land, which abound more or less in the whole region lying about the St. Croix, often affording the voyager an unobstructed view for miles up and down the stream. In former years vast quantities of this wild grass were cut by lumbermen for the subsistence of oxen and horses during their winter operations.
The St. Croix has two branches, the east and west; the latter, at its source, is contiguous to the head waters of the Machias River in the west, while the former, being of more importance and greater magnitude, stretches far to the north to the lakes, whence is its source. Of these bodies of water mention may be made of Grand Lake in particular, which is about twenty-five miles long by eight wide at its greatest extent, romantically diversified in the northern part with beautiful islands, deep coves, and far-reaching points of land, covered with dense and rather undersized trees. The shores, east and west, are composed for the most part of immense granite rocks, rising very abruptly on the southwest to a considerable elevation, covered with a heavy growth of majestic Pine, Hemlock, and Spruce-trees.
Beautiful white sand beaches, which run outward with a very gradual descent for many rods into the lake, afford a most luxurious bathing-ground, where probably the young savages of former generations gamboled and indulged in aquatic sports.
Not many years since, an unbroken forest stretched abroad over a vast area of country, of which this lake formed a central point. The pervading silence, which rested like night over this vast wilderness, was only broken by the voice of the savage, and the discordant howlings of wild beasts. But within a few years the ax of the pioneer has leveled large tracts of forest, and thus opened the virgin soil to the sun's germinating rays, so that now may be seen skirting the shores of the lake, north and northwest, cultivated fields, relieving the solitude which once reigned there. The gray-haired red man of past generations knew this lake by the name Madongamook, which signified "Great grandsires," and owes its origin to the following circumstance: From time immemorial it is said that some of the aborigines made the immediate vicinity of this lake's outlet a permanent annual "setting-down place," or head-quarters. Here their ancestors gathered around the council-fire for uncounted generations. Hence this sheet of water was called Great-great-grandsire's Lake, of which Grand Lake is an abridgment.
The author entertains many pleasant reminiscences of former visits to this lake. To use the language of the red man, he has spent many pleasant "moons" on the shores of Madongamook, paddled with the Indian hunter in his tiny birch over its silver waters, chased wild game through its forest confines, and flung from its transparent depths the delicious trout. Indians affirm that there is in these waters a great fish, "all one big as canoe," a sort of fresh-water whale.
But it is time to proceed on our down-river trip. So, leaving the outlet of Grand Lake, and passing south about two miles across a "carrying-place," we strike the head of another lake, called _Che-pet-na-cook_, into which the surplus waters of the former lake pass. The name by which this lake is designated is said to signify _hilly pond_ or _lake_. In form it is long and narrow, resembling a deep, massive river. That peculiarity from which its name is derived is strikingly prominent. A range of abrupt and elevated ridges rises suddenly from its western shore, covered with a close, heavy growth of trees, principally Spruce. One peak of the ridge rises several hundred feet from the surface of the lake, which is called "_Spruce Mountain_." After mid-day, a section of this mountain ridge, so dense and frowning as to resemble a thunder-cloud, casts a cavernous shade, like a misty pall, over the surface of its waters, which seem to lay with prostrate fear at its base, imparting an oppressive solemnity over the scenery.
At the foot of this lake, which is between twenty and thirty miles long, the east branch of the St. Croix takes its rise. From this point it passes through a rocky channel for the most part, occasionally flowing through a section of meadow or intervale land until it reaches Baring, a distance of some fifty miles, where for the first time it meets with a formidable barrier to its hitherto wild and unrestrained progress in the character of a "_dam_." Passing this through its various avenues, it flows on to Milltown, which occupies both sides of the river, and includes both the English and American villages. Between this place and the head of ship navigation, some two miles distant, the channel is _dammed_ several times on a succession of falls, where are numerous saw-mills; and, finally, after having leaped a thousand rocky precipices above, and struggled through as many gates and sluice-ways below, it quietly flows on to the Passamaquoddy Bay, where its restless waters find repose in the bosom of the Atlantic Ocean.
In regard to the lumbering resources on this river, I believe it is generally admitted that the supply of Pine is comparatively small, the principal part having already been brought to market; and although the territory belonging to this river is large, still its resources are curtailed by the proximity of the head waters of the St. John, Penobscot, and Machias Rivers.
The comparative scarcity of Pine timber has induced the manufacture of a much larger proportion of Spruce than formerly; still it is presumed that the same amount of Pine lumber now annually cut may continue to be for years to come. Should Hemlock come into more general use, the resources of the lumbermen will be greatly augmented, as timber of this kind abounds on the St. Croix. And why may not this be the case? For many purposes Hemlock lumber is preferred to Pine. A gentleman in Bangor informed the writer that he had, from choice, made use of Hemlock boards for nice floors to a residence recently built for himself, esteeming it richer in color, less liable to indentation, and of greater durability. With the exception of _Pine_, the resources for lumber on this river are still very considerable, and must continue to be for many years, unless sweeping fires shall blacken and wither the beautiful forests which now adorn the interior. Vast tracts of timber land have already been destroyed by fire on the territory belonging to this river, as the blanched trunks of standing trees, and barren hill country surrounding Baileyville, Baring, Calais, and St. Stephen's, most painfully indicate, greatly marring the beautiful scenery which once adorned the valley through which the river flows.
Lumber manufactured on this river may be considered as both English and American products; still, by common concurrence, and not strictly in accordance with revenue regulations, it is shipped indiscriminately. The manufacture of the English side of the river is received on board American vessels and shipped to the States, and the lumber manufactured on the American side shipped on board English vessels and taken to the English markets duty free.
For the most part, the firms who conduct the lumbering business on the St. Croix are of great respectability; several of them are very wealthy.
The following table[12] of estimates has been gathered from the most reliable sources; and, although mathematical exactness is not pretended, still it is believed that the calculations here presented approach the truth sufficiently near to give the reader a very satisfactory view of the _extent_ of the lumbering operations on the boundary river:
+------------------------------+------------------+-------------+ | |English.|American.| Average | |No. of Saw-mills | 42 | 33=75 | price | |No. of Lath Machines | 60. | per M. | |------------------------------|------------------|-------------| |Amount of Long Lumber | 65,000,000.| $ 7.50. | |Amount of Laths | 90,000,000.| 1.00. | |Amount of Shingles | 21,000,000.| 2.50. | |Amount of Pickets | 2,165,000.| 3.50. | |Amount of Clap-boards | 200,000.| 18.00. | |No. of Juniper Knees | 8,300.| 1.40 each.| |No. of Men employed, directly | | | | and indirectly | 1,200 to 1,500.| | |No. of Oxen and Horses, do | 1,000.| | +------------------------------+------------------+-------------+
[12] To the following gentlemen, viz., Messrs. Todd & Darling, J. M'Alister, Esq., of St. Stephen's, and to W. Pike, Esq., port surveyor; L. L. Lowell, Esq., and other gentlemen of Calais, I am under lasting obligations for the courteous and intelligent manner in which they responded to the various questions proposed in preparing the statistics for the above table.
Leaving the St. Croix, and traveling westward about forty miles, we come to East Machias River, to the west of which, six miles distant, is another river called West Machias. The name Machias originated in some obstruction in the way of the Indian traveler, either in the river itself or upon its banks, whether natural or accidental I am not aware.
The eastern stream is about fifty miles long, including the small lake, which constitutes its chief source, and is navigable only about six miles for large vessels, at which point the village, bearing the same name as the river, is located, and also the mills. As the lake which feeds the river is fed principally by springs, it affords a good supply of water the year round. The land in the immediate vicinity of the stream is quite good for agricultural purposes; but, as we recede from the river, the soil appears poor, presenting a desolate and forbidding aspect. Once a flourishing forest covered it, but now blackened, decayed, and decaying trunks of trees, scorched by fire, some prostrate, others still standing, limbless, naked, and desolate, intermingle with a small, dwarfish, and sparse second growth, and mantel the sterile plain and rocky hill side. Indeed, this is but too true a portrait of immense tracts of land all along the coast of Maine, from the St. Croix to the Penobscot, and still further westward. It is wonderful that these desert regions, whose sterility scarcely gives existence to the wild grass and stinted shrubs which grow there, once supported a dense and majestic forest.
At East Machias village there are seventeen saws in operation, and eleven lath machines; the latter, for the most part, are situated in the base of the saw-mills, and manufacture laths from the slabs made in the mill. At this place the saws cut, on an average, about six hundred thousand feet, board measure, to a saw, one half of this lumber being sawed from Pine, and the other from Spruce logs. The same quality of lumber brings fifty cents more per thousand here than on the St. Croix. In answer to the question, _Why is this so?_ the reply was, "We saw nearly all our lumber to _order_, and of prescribed dimensions."
The resources for lumber are still quite abundant. The West Machias stream is about the same size as the East, both being quite small; it has more numerous water privileges, and is more liable to be affected by droughts. Here the lumbering operations are carried on more vigorously than on the other river, cutting some two hundred thousand more to a saw. The greatest distance that lumber has been cut from the village is about sixty miles. Opinions the most reliable encourage the belief of the existence of sufficient timber to meet the demands of this market for years to come. This stream is also navigable for vessels up to the mills, being carried at flood-tide quite near the mill slips, where they receive their cargoes. Both rivers empty into Machias Bay at points quite approximate, through which float the cargoes of industrial wealth to the broad Atlantic and to the various ports of destination.
Annexed is a table showing at a glance the state of the lumber trade per annum on each river:[13]
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+ | EAST MACHIAS | +---------------------------+--------------+-----------+----------+ | | | Average | Total. | | | | price | | | per M. |----------| |-----------|----------| |No. of Saw-mills | 17. | | | |No. of Lath Machines | 11. | | | |Amount of Long Lumber | 10,200,000. | $8.00. | $81,600.| |No. of Laths | 13,200,000. | 1.00. | 13,200.| | | | | ------ | | | | | $94,800.| |No. of Men Employed | 450. | | | |No. of Oxen and Horses, do.| 380. | | | +---------------------------+--------------+-----------+----------+ | WEST MACHIAS | +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Average | Total. | | | | price | | | per M. |----------| |-----------|----------| |No. of Saw-mills | 20. | | | |No. of Lath Machines | 14. | | | |Amount of Long Lumber | 18,000,000. | $8.00. | $144,000.| |No. of Laths | 16,800,000. | 1.00. | 16,800.| | | | | ------- | | | | | $160,800.| |No. of Men Employed | 475. | | | |No. of Oxen and Horses, do.| 400. | | | +---------------------------+--------------+-----------+----------+
[13] For the most important facts involved in the annexed statement I am chiefly indebted to the kindness of Deacon Talbot, of East Machias, and to other gentlemen engaged in the business residing at West Machias.
The next river worthy of note, for the lumber it produces, is the Narraguagues, whose waters disembogue into a small bay bearing the same name, thirty miles beyond the West Machias, its course being nearly parallel with the latter.
The true Indian orthography is said to be Na-la-gua-gwees, and signifies palate, stream, or river. To use the precise language of my Indian interpreter, opening his mouth wide and thrusting his finger down his throat, "It means all one, jes if I open my mouth and river run down my throat into mine belly." Whether there is any peculiarity about the river, or the form of the bay into which it falls, to originate such a name, I am unaware.
This stream, for water power, is about equal in its capacity to either of the Machias rivers. The mills are principally located at Cherryfield, where are fifteen saw and eight lath mills, three shingle and one clap-board machine. The saw-mills are said to produce about nine millions of long lumber per annum, worth eight dollars per _M._ on an average. The lath mills produce six million four hundred thousand pieces, worth one dollar per _M._ Nine hundred thousand shingles are annually turned out, at two dollars and fifty cents per _M._ The clap-board machine may be credited with one hundred thousand pieces during the sawing season; of their quality I am not informed. In general they range from fifteen to thirty dollars per _M._
Computing the value of the foregoing products, we have presented the annual product:
Long Lumber $72,000 Laths 6,400 Shingles 2,250 Clap-boards 2,000 ------ Total $82,650
Sixty teams are said to be employed on this river during the hauling season, and about three hundred men. The resources for lumber were reported by the most intelligent operators as equal to those of any lumber district in the state of equal size.
In the adjoining town of Franklin five saw-mills were reported, situated on small streams, doing a large business. These mills are said to manufacture about three million feet, worth eight dollars per _M._, giving twenty-four thousand dollars.
About half way between the Narraguagues and the Penobscot Rivers, and upon an almost exact parallel with the latter, runs Union River, which disembogues into an arm of Frenchman's Bay. On the banks of this river, near its mouth, stands the village of Ellsworth, which is decidedly one of the most beautiful places in Maine, and in the immediate vicinity of which the mills are principally located; in all, about twenty-five.
The annual amount of long lumber manufactured here is about sixteen million feet, worth some hundred and twelve thousand dollars; the aggregate amount of the various kinds of short lumber annually produced is worth some sixteen thousand dollars more.
From four to five hundred men, and about the same number of oxen and horses, are employed in the lumbering business. Logs are driven from two to forty miles. The territory through which this stream flows is well timbered, and affords an abundant supply of logs.