_peg_, and which at each end had a point not unlike what nail-makers
call a brad, it being four-cornered but flattish, and of a shape
somewhat resembling the beak of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, together
with a neck and shoulder. Between the two shoulders of this instrument a
fine tough-line, fifty or more fathoms in length, was fastened by one
end being passed through a hole in the centre of the peg and the line
itself was carefully coiled up, and placed in a convenient part of the
canoe. One extremity of this peg enters a sheath of iron that loosely
attaches it to a long wooden spear, until a Turtle has been pierced
through the shell by the other extremity. He of the canoe paddles away
as silently as possible whenever he spies a Turtle basking on the water,
until he gets within a distance of ten or twelve yards, when he throws
the spear so as to hit the animal about the place which an entomologist
would choose, were it a large insect, for pinning it to a piece of cork.
As soon as the Turtle is struck, the wooden handle separates from the
peg, in consequence of the looseness of its attachment. The smart of the
wound urges on the animal as if distracted, and it appears that the
longer the peg remains in its shell, the more firmly fastened it is, so
great a pressure is exercised upon it by the shell of the Turtle, which,
being suffered to run like a whale, soon becomes fatigued, and is
secured by hauling in the line with great care. In this manner, as the
pilot informed me, eight hundred Green Turtles were caught by one man in
twelve months.
Each turtler has his _crawl_, which is a square wooden building or pen
formed of logs, which are so far separated as to allow the tide to pass
freely through, and stand erect in the mud. The Turtles are placed in
this enclosure, fed and kept there until sold. If the animals thus
confined have not laid their eggs previous to their seizure, they drop
them in the water, so that they are lost. The price of Green Turtles,
when I was at Key West, was from four to six cents per pound.
The loves of the Turtles are conducted in the most extraordinary manner;
but as the recital of them must prove out of place here, I shall pass
them over. There is, however, a circumstance relating to their habits
which I cannot omit, although I have it not from my own ocular evidence,
but from report. When I was in the Floridas several of the turtlers
assured me that any Turtle taken from the depositing ground, and carried
on the deck of a vessel several hundred miles, would, if then let loose,
certainly be met with at the same spot, either immediately after, or in
the following breeding season. Should this prove true, and it certainly
may, how much will be enhanced the belief of the student in the
uniformity and solidity of Nature's arrangements, when he finds that the
Turtle, like a migratory bird, returns to the same locality, with
perhaps a delight similar to that experienced by the traveller, who,
after visiting distant countries, once more returns to the bosom of his
cherished family.
THE FORCE OF THE WATERS
The men who are employed in cutting down the trees, and conveying the
logs to the saw-mills or the places for shipping, are, in the State of
Maine, called "lumberers." Their labors may be said to be continual.
Before winter has commenced, and while the ground is yet uncovered with
a great depth of snow, they leave their homes to proceed to the interior
of the pine forests, which in that part of the country are truly
magnificent, and betake themselves to certain places already well known
to them. Their provisions, axes, saws, and other necessary articles,
together with provender for their cattle, are conveyed by oxen in heavy
sledges. Almost at the commencement of their march, they are obliged to
enter the woods, and they have frequently to cut a way for themselves
for considerable spaces, as the ground is often covered with the
decaying trunks of immense trees, which have fallen either from age, or
in consequence of accidental burnings. These trunks, and the undergrowth
which lies entangled in their tops render many places almost impassable
even to men on foot. Over miry ponds they are sometimes forced to form
causeways, this being, under all circumstances, the easiest mode of
reaching the opposite side. Then, reader, is the time for witnessing the
exertions of their fine large cattle. No rods do their drivers use to
pain their flanks; no oaths or imprecations are ever heard to fall from
the lips of these most industrious and temperate men, for in them, as in
most of the inhabitants of our Eastern States, education and habit have
tempered the passions, and reduced the moral constitution to a state of
harmony. Nay, the sobriety that exists in many of the villages of Maine,
I acknowledge, I have often considered as carried to excess, for on
asking for brandy, rum, or whiskey, not a drop could I obtain, and it is
probable there was an equal lack of spirituous liquors of every other
kind. Now and then I saw some good old wines, but they were always drunk
in careful moderation. But to return to the management of the oxen. Why,
reader, the lumbermen speak to them as if they were rational beings. Few
words seem to suffice, and their whole strength is applied to the labor,
as if in gratitude to those who treat them with so much gentleness and
humanity.
While present on more than one occasion at what Americans call
"ploughing matches," which they have annually in many of the States, I
have been highly gratified, and in particular at one, of which I have
still a strong recollection, and which took place a few miles from the
fair and hospitable city of Boston. There I saw fifty or more ploughs
drawn by as many pairs of oxen, which performed their work with so much
accuracy and regularity--without the infliction of whip or rod, but
merely guided by the verbal mandates of the ploughmen--that I was
perfectly astonished.
After surmounting all obstacles, the lumberers with their stock arrive
at the spot which they have had in view, and immediately commence
building a camp. The trees around soon fall under the blows of their
axes, and before many days have elapsed a low habitation is reared and
fitted within for the accommodation of their cattle, while their
provender is secured on a kind of loft covered with broad shingles or
boards. Then their own cabin is put up; rough bedsteads, manufactured on
the spot, are fixed in the corners; a chimney composed of a frame of
sticks plastered with mud leads away the smoke; the skins of Bears or
Deer, with some blankets, form their bedding, and around the walls are
hung their changes of homespun clothing, guns, and various necessaries
of life. Many prefer spending the night on the sweet-scented hay and
corn blades of their cattle, which are laid on the ground. All arranged
within, the lumberers set their "dead falls," large "steel traps," and
"spring guns," in suitable places round their camps, to procure some of
the Bears that ever prowl around such establishments.
Now the heavy clouds of November, driven by the northern blasts, pour
down the snow in feathery flakes. The winter has fairly set in, and
seldom do the sun's gladdening rays fall on the wood-cutter's hut. In
warm flannels his body is enveloped, the skin of a Raccoon covers his
head and brows, his Moose-skin leggings reach the girdle that secures
them around his waist, while on broad moccasins, or snow-shoes, he
stands from the earliest dawn until night, hacking away at majestic
pines, that for a century past have embellished the forest. The fall of
these valuable trees no longer resounds on the ground; and, as they
tumble here and there nothing is heard but the rustling and cracking of
their branches, their heavy trunks sinking into the deep snows.
Thousands of large pines thus cut down every winter afford room for
younger trees, which spring up profusely to supply the wants of man.
Weeks and weeks have elapsed; the earth's pure white covering has become
thickly and firmly crusted by the increasing intensity of the cold, the
fallen trees have all been sawn into measured logs, and the long repose
of the oxen has fitted them for hauling them to the nearest frozen
streams. The ice gradually becomes covered with the accumulating mass of
timber, and, their task completed, the lumberers wait impatiently for
the breaking up of the winter.
At this period they pass the time in hunting the Moose, the Deer, and
the Bear, for the benefit of their wives and children; and as these men
are most excellent woodsmen great havoc is made among the game. Many
skins of Sables, Martens, and Musk-Rats they have procured during the
intervals of their labor, or under night. The snows are now giving way,
as the rains descend in torrents, and the lumberers collect their
utensils, harness their cattle, and prepare for their return. This they
accomplish in safety.
From being lumberers they now become millers, and with pleasure each
applies the grating file to his saws. Many logs have already reached the
dams on the swollen waters of the rushing streams, and the task
commences, which is carried on through the summer, of cutting them up
into boards.
The great heats of the dog-days have parched the ground; every creek has
become a shallow, except here and there where in a deep hole the salmon
and the trout have found a retreat; the sharp, slimy angles of
multitudes of rocks project, as if to afford resting-places to the
Wood-ducks and Herons that breed on the borders of these streams.
Thousands of "saw-logs" remain in every pool, beneath and above each
rapid or fall. The miller's dam has been emptied of its timber, and he
must now resort to some expedient to procure a fresh supply.
It was my good fortune to witness the method employed for the purpose of
collecting the logs that had not reached their destination, and I had
the more pleasure that it was seen in company with my little family. I
wish, for your sake, reader, that I could describe in an adequate manner
the scene which I viewed; but, although not so well qualified as I could
wish, rely upon it that the desire which I feel to gratify you will
induce me to use all my endeavors to give you an _idea_ of it.
It was the month of September. At the upper extremity of Dennysville,
which is itself a pretty village, are the saw-mills and ponds of the
hospitable Judge Lincoln and other persons. The creek that conveys the
logs to these ponds, and which bears the name of the village, is
interrupted in its course by many rapids and narrow embanked gorges. One
of the latter is situated about half a mile above the mill-dams, and is
so rocky and rugged in its bottom and sides as to preclude the
possibility of the trees passing along it at low water, while, as I
conceived, it would have given no slight labor to an army of woodsmen or
millers to move the thousands of large logs that had accumulated in it.
They lay piled in confused heaps to a great height along an extent of
several hundred yards, and were in some places so close as to have
formed a kind of dam. Above the gorge there is a large natural
reservoir, in which the head-waters of the creek settle, while only a
small portion of them ripples through the gorge below, during the later
weeks of summer and in early autumn, when the streams are at their
lowest.
At the _neck_ of this basin the lumberers raised a temporary barrier
with the refuse of their sawn logs. The boards were planted nearly
upright, and supported at their tops by a strong tree extending from
side to side of the creek, which might there be about forty feet in
breadth. It was prevented from giving way under pressure of the rising
waters by having strong abutments of wood laid against its centre, while
the ends of these abutments were secured by wedges, which could be
knocked off when necessary.
The temporary dam was now finished. Little or no water escaped through
the barrier, and that in the creek above it rose in the course of three
weeks to its top, which was about ten feet high, forming a sheet that
extended upwards fully a mile from the dam. My family was invited early
one morning to go and witness the extraordinary effect which would be
produced by the breaking down of the barrier, and we all accompanied the
lumberers to the place. Two of the men, on reaching it, threw off their
jackets, tied handkerchiefs round their heads, and fastened to their
bodies a long rope, the end of which was held by three or four others,
who stood ready to drag their companions ashore, in case of danger or
accident. The two operators, each bearing an axe, walked along the
abutments, and at a given signal knocked out the wedges. A second blow
from each sent off the abutments themselves, and the men, leaping with
extreme dexterity from one cross log to another, sprung to the shore
with almost the quickness of thought.
Scarcely had they effected their escape from the frightful peril which
threatened them, when the mass of waters burst forth with a horrible
uproar. All eyes were bent towards the huge heaps of logs in the gorge
below. The tumultuous burst of the waters instantly swept away every
object that opposed their progress, and rushed in foaming waves among
the timbers that everywhere blocked up the passage. Presently a slow,
heavy motion was perceived in the mass of logs; one might have imagined
that some mighty monster lay convulsively writhing beneath them,
struggling with a fearful energy to extricate himself from the crushing
weight. As the waters rose, this movement increased; the mass of timber
extended in all directions, appearing to become more and more entangled
each moment; the logs bounced against each other, thrusting aside,
demersing, or raising into the air those with which they came in
contact; it seemed as if they were waging a war of destruction, such as
ancient authors describe the efforts of the Titans, the foamings of
whose wrath might to the eye of the painter have been represented by the
angry curlings of the waters, while the tremulous and rapid motions of
the logs, which at times reared themselves almost perpendicularly, might
by the poet have been taken for the shakings of the confounded and
discomfited giants.
Now the rushing element filled up the gorge to its brim. The logs, once
under way, rolled, reared, tossed, and tumbled amid the foam, as they
were carried along. Many of the smaller trees broke across, from others
great splinters were sent up, and all were in some degree seamed and
scarred. Then in tumultuous majesty swept along the mingled wreck, the
current being now increased to such a pitch that the logs, as they were
dashed against the rocky shores, resounded like the report of distant
artillery, or the angry rumblings of the thunder. Onward it rolls, the
emblem of wreck and ruin, destruction and chaotic strife. It seemed to
me as if I witnessed the rout of a vast army, surprised, overwhelmed,
and overthrown. The roar of the cannon, the groans of the dying, and the
shouts of the avengers were thundering through my brain, and amid the
frightful confusion of the scene, there came over my spirit a
melancholy feeling, which had not entirely vanished at the end of many
days.
In a few hours almost all the timber that had lain heaped in the rocky
gorge, was floating in the great pond of the millers; and as we walked
homeward we talked of the _Force of the Waters_.
JOURNEY IN NEW BRUNSWICK AND MAINE
The morning after that which we had spent with Sir Archibald Campbell
and his delightful family, saw us proceeding along the shores of the St.
John River, in the British Province of New Brunswick. As we passed the
Government House, our hearts bade its generous inmates adieu; and as we
left Fredericton behind, the recollection of the many acts of kindness
which we had received from its inhabitants came powerfully on our minds.
Slowly advancing over the surface of the translucent stream, we still
fancied our ears saluted by the melodies of the unrivalled band of the
43d Regiment. In short, with the remembrance of kindness experienced,
the feeling of expectations gratified, the hope of adding to our
knowledge, and the possession of health and vigor, we were luxuriating
in happiness.
The "Favorite," the bark in which we were, contained not only my whole
family, but nearly a score and a half of individuals of all
descriptions, so that the crowded state of the cabin soon began to prove
rather disagreeable. The boat itself was a mere scow, commanded by a
person of rather uncouth aspect and rude manners. Two sorry nags he had
fastened to the end of a long tow-line, on the nearer of which rode a
negro youth, less than half clad, with a long switch in one hand, and
the joined bridles in the other, striving with all his might to urge
them on at the rate of something more than two miles an hour. How
fortunate it is for one to possess a little of the knowledge of a true
traveller! Following the advice of a good and somewhat aged one, we had
provided ourselves with a large basket, which was not altogether empty
when we reached the end of our aquatic excursion. Here and there the
shores of the river were delightful, the space between them and the
undulating hills that bounded the prospect being highly cultivated,
while now and then the abrupt and rocky banks assumed a most picturesque
appearance. Although it was late in September, the mowers were still
engaged in cutting the grass, and the gardens of the farmers showed
patches of green peas. The apples were still green, and the vegetation
in general reminded us that we were in a northern latitude.
Gradually and slowly we proceeded, until in the afternoon we landed to
exchange our jaded horses. We saw a house on an eminence, with groups of
people assembled round it, but there no dinner could be obtained,
because, as the landlord told us, an election was going on. So the
basket was had recourse to, and on the greensward we refreshed ourselves
with its contents. This done, we returned to the scow, and resumed our
stations. As usual in such cases, in every part of the world that I have
visited, our second set of horses was worse than the first. However, on
we went; to tell you how often the tow-line gave way would not be more
amusing to you than it was annoying to us. Once our commander was in
consequence plunged into the stream, but after some exertion he
succeeded in regaining his gallant bark, when he consoled himself by
giving utterance to a volley of blasphemies, which it would as ill
become me to repeat, as it would be disagreeable to you to hear. We
slept somewhere that night; it does not suit my views of travelling to
tell you where.
Before day returned to smile on the "Favorite" we proceeded. Some
rapids we came to, when every one, glad to assist her, leaped on shore,
and tugged _a la cordelle_. Some miles farther we passed a curious
cataract, formed by the waters of the Pokioke. There Sambo led his
steeds up the sides of a high bank, when, lo! the whole party came
tumbling down, like so many hogsheads of tobacco rolled from a
store-house to the banks of the Ohio. He at the steering oar hoped "the
black rascal" had broken his neck, and congratulated himself in the same
breath for the safety of the horses, which presently got on their feet.
Sambo, however, alert as an Indian chief, leaped on the naked back of
one, and showing his teeth, laughed at his master's curses. Shortly
after this we found our boat very snugly secured on the top of a rock,
midway in the stream, just opposite the mouth of Eel River.
Next day at noon, none injured, but all chop-fallen, we were landed at
Woodstock village, yet in its infancy. After dining there we procured a
cart, and an excellent driver, and proceeded along an execrable road to
Houlton in Maine, glad enough, after all our mishaps, at finding
ourselves in our own country. But before I bid farewell to the beautiful
river of St. John, I must tell you that its navigation seldom exceeds
eight months each year, the passage during the rest being performed on
the ice, of which we were told that last season there was an unusual
quantity, so much, indeed, as to accumulate, by being jammed at
particular spots, to the height of nearly fifty feet above the ordinary
level of the river, and that when it broke loose in spring, the crash
was awful. All the low grounds along the river were suddenly flooded,
and even the elevated plain on which Fredericton stands was covered to
the depth of four feet. Fortunately, however, as on the greater streams
of the Western and Southern Districts, such an occurrence seldom takes
place.
Major Clarke, commander of the United States garrison, received us with
remarkable kindness. The next day was spent in a long though fruitless
ornithological excursion, for although we were accompanied by officers
and men from the garrison, not a bird did any of our party procure that
was of any use to us. We remained a few days, however, after which,
hiring a cart, two horses, and a driver, we proceeded in the direction
of Bangor.
Houlton is a neat village, consisting of some fifty houses. The fort is
well situated, and commands a fine view of Mars' Hill, which is about
thirteen miles distant. A custom-house has been erected here, the place
being on the boundary line of the United States and the British
Provinces. The road which was cut by the soldiers of this garrison, from
Bangor to Houlton, through the forests, is at this moment a fine
turnpike, of great breadth, almost straight in its whole length, and
perhaps the best now in the Union. It was incomplete, however, for some
miles, so that our travelling over that portion was slow and
disagreeable. The rain, which fell in torrents, reduced the newly raised
earth to a complete bed of mud, and at one time our horses became so
completely mired that, had we not been extricated by two oxen, we must
have spent the night near the spot. Jogging along at a very slow pace,
we were overtaken by a gay wagoner, who had excellent horses, two of
which a little "siller" induced him to join to ours, and we were taken
to a tavern, at the "Cross Roads," where we spent the night in comfort.
While supper was preparing, I made inquiries respecting birds,
quadrupeds, and fishes, and was pleased to hear that many of these
animals abounded in the neighborhood. Deer, Bears, Trout, and Grouse
were quite plentiful, as was the Great Gray Owl.
When we resumed our journey next morning Nature displayed all her
loveliness, and Autumn with her mellow tints, her glowing fruits, and
her rich fields of corn, smiled in placid beauty. Many of the fields had
not yet been reaped, the fruits of the forests and orchards hung
clustering around us, and as we came in view of the Penobscot River, our
hearts thrilled with joy. Its broad transparent waters here spread out
their unruffled surface, there danced along the rapids, while canoes
filled with Indians glided swiftly in every direction, raising before
them the timorous waterfowl that had already flocked in from the north.
Mountains, which you well know are indispensable in a beautiful
landscape, reared their majestic crests in the distance. The Canada Jay
leaped gaily from branch to twig; the Kingfisher, as if vexed at being
suddenly surprised, rattled loudly as it swiftly flew off; and the Fish
Hawk and Eagle spread their broad wings over the waters. All around was
beautiful, and we gazed on the scene with delight, as seated on a
verdant bank, we refreshed our frames from our replenished stores. A few
rare birds were procured here, and the rest of the road being level and
firm, we trotted on at a good pace for several hours, the Penobscot
keeping company with us.
Now we came to a deep creek, of which the bridge was undergoing repairs,
and the people saw our vehicle approach with much surprise. They,
however, assisted us with pleasure, by placing a few logs across, along
which our horses one after the other were carefully led, and the cart
afterwards carried. These good fellows were so averse to our
recompensing them for their labor that after some altercation we were
obliged absolutely to force what we deemed a suitable reward upon them.