oltaes, E,

Report ol' an exploration and survey

oi' the territory on the Aroostook river,

1838

Augusta, 1839.

£-r»k4P.

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fer the founding tf. a. Cetlegilni^Ca/p/tyh

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EXPLORATION tlD SUlflT

or THE

AROOSTOOK: TEIKWJRY.

REPORT

EXPLORATION AND SURVEY

TERRITORY /
ON THE
AROOSTOOK RIVER

DURING THE

SPRING AND AUTUMN

1838.

By E. HOLMES.

AUGUSTA:
SMITH & ROBINSON, PRINTERS TO THE STATE.
1839 .

Printed by order of the House of Eepresentalives of the State of Maine, 183ft.

'"i - si
'-1 ^ O

STATE OF MAINE.

In Board op Internal Improvements, ?
April 23, 1838. $
Ordered, That the Land Agent is hereby authorized and empowered
to cause an exploration and survey of the Arooctook River and its
trjbutary waters the ensuing year, by some suitable person with a par
ticular reference to the settlement of that country and for a water
communication between the Penobscot and Aroostook and Fish Rivers.

Land Office, t
May 1st, 1838. S
To Ezekiel Holmes, Esq. of Winthrop,
Sir: — Pursuant to the above order of the Board of Internal Improve
ments, you are authorized and requested to select suitable assistants,
and proceed as soon as practicable in the above mentioned exploration
and survey, which you will finish in such a manner as in your opinion
may best promote the interest of the State. You will make a recon-
noisanceof the Sebois River and ascertain the practicability of a water
communication between this river and La Pompique, also between the
Little Machias and Fish Rivers, and at such other points on the Aroos
took between the St. John and Penobscot Rivers, as you may deem
advisable. You will examine the geology and mineralogy of the
country, and present in your Report a topographical account of the
same — describing the streams, mill sites, mountains, ponds, bogs, &c. ;
the growth, quality and extent of different soils, and in what direction
it will be advisable to open roads and the facilities for making the
same. You will notice the climate, in what it differs from the settled
parts of the State — the adaptation of that region for particular products
— the facilities for boating, and the transportation of lumber, and all such
other particulars as you may deem valuable. You are requested to
return specimens of minerals and soils to this office with localities
designated, and interesting specimens of natural history, such as fossils,
bones, horns, shells, plants, seeds, &c, when the same can be done
without much inconvenience. ELIJAH L. HAMLIN, Land Agent

To the House of Representatives :
In compliance with the request of the House of Representatives of
this date, I herewith lay before it, "the Report of Doct. Holmes, upon an
Agricultural Survey of the Aroostook, for the year 1838."
JOHN FAIRFIELD.
Council Chamber,
March 21, 1839.

PART 1

7b the Board of Internal Improvements for the State
of Maine.
It was thought advisable, the better to fulfil the
intentions of the Board of Internal Improvements
as expressed in the foregoing orders, to take two
different views of the country. One when it was
under the influence of the abundance of water in
the spring of the year, and the other when under
the influence of the frosts and partial drought of
autumn. In an agricultural point of view, one
could much better judge of the nature and capacity
of the soil, and the general capabilities of the coun
try, by examining its features during these two
seasons, than by a single view of it in midsummer,
when every thing is green and flourishing.
Accordingly, on the receipt of your orders, I
repaired to Bangor and made arrangements for the
expedition. In the spring, I was accompanied by Messrs. J.
Chace and J. Simmons, as batteau men, and Joe
Tomer to manage the birch. Capt. R. Smithwick
volunteered to accompany us gratuitously, being

6 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
desirous of examining the natural history of that
region. In the autumn, 1 was accompanied by J. Sim
mons and Prince Thomas, as boat-men, and J.
Babcock in the birch. Mr. S. A. Jewett, of
Pittston, also went with us as assistant.
On my arrival at Bangor, I found the Surveyor
General fitting out a company to the same section
of the country, for the purpose of Jotting out Town
ships No. 10 and 12, 5th Range on the Aroostook
river, and we concluded to put our forces together,
and proceed in company under the direction of
Capt. Parrot.
Our boats and supplies left Old Town on the
21st of May, and we took stage to Mattawamkeag
Point, in order to meet them there and proceed up
the Penobscot, it being our design to go up the
Sebois, a branch of the Penobscot, carry across
the portage into La Pompique, and thence down
the Aroostook to the place of destination, viz :
No. 10, there make a general depot for our sup
plies, and each party divide off to perform their
respective duties.
Desultory observations on improving the navigation of the
Penobseot River. — Reconnoisance of the La Pompique,
andportage thence to the Sebois. — Reconnoisance of the.
Little Machias River, and the portage thence to the
Eagle Lakes.
In order to render the Penobscot river safe and
easy for boating, two things are necessary ; — either
to canal from Bangor to the Lakes above, or to

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 7
create slack water navigation by means of a series of
dams and locks. The latter is much more feasible
and economical. The existing obstacles which
present themselves to the present navigation of this
river, are, the "rips," which are occasioned prin
cipally by loose boulders of rocks — and the " falls,"
occasioned by the occurrence of ledges crossing its
bed and intercepting its waters. As a general thing,
there is an abundance of water throughout the year
for the ordinary purposes of boating in light bat-
teaus, but not always enough to run large quantities
of logs and heavy lumber.
The first most important tributary to this noble
river, is the Piscataquis, which enters it at right
angles on the western side, thirty-six miles above
the city of Bangor. The dam and lock at the
mouth of this stream, erected by the enterprise of
Mr. Miller, if I mistake not, demonstrate the utility
of such improvements; and the practicability of
them as adapted to these waters, is fairly tested by
the ease and safety with which boats and rafts
descend or ascend the falls at this place, once so
difficult to navigate. Between Bangor and Matta-
wamkeag Point, no particular examination was
made. The Mattawamkeag enters the Penobscot on the
east side, sixty miles above Bangor.
The point formed by the junction of these rivers
was not long ago the site of a large Indian village.
It is an elevated alluvial plain, and commands three
views of the two rivers, — viz: up and down the

8 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
Penobscot and up the Mattawamkeag. This last
named stream is an extensive one. It in fact drains
nearly the whole region of country south of the
Aroostook and its tributaries. It is about 320 feet
wide at this place, and the Penobscot is nearly 500
feet in width. A short distance above the mouth,
as you proceed up the Penobscot, the slate rock
crops out on the bank as it crosses the river, but
occasions no change in the current. The water
between this and " Nickatou," or "crotch" of the
river, is very good for boating, but as you enter the
east branch, large granite boulders occur, which
cause a pretty strong rapid when the water is high.
It is sometimes necessary to warp boats by. These
boulders may be very easily removed, and as no other
cause to produce the rapids is visible, I conclude
they would cease on removing them. From this
place it is very good boating at the common pitch of
water, until you come to the foot of what is called
" Ledge Falls." These are caused by slate rocks
crossing the river. Here a dam and lock would be
necessary. The site for a dam is very good indeed,
and as it is a good situation for mills, the expense
would undoubtedly be indemnified by the use of the
water for that purpose. We found it necessary to
warp our boats up here. These rapids are not far
from the south line of Township No. 1, 7th Range.
Above this the water is somewhat sluggish for some
distance, and the boating is good until you come to a
place called ' ' Rocky Rips . ' ' Here is a strong rapid .
It is formed by the slate rock — a somewhat talcose

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 9
slate, impregnated with small quantities of lime.
The strata run parallel with the river, or rather the
river runs parallel with them, and has worn for
itself a channel of about 200 feet in width.
The western bank is not very high, but it rises
abruptly from the water, while the eastern is much
lower. Here is also a good site for mills. Two
dams would be necessary to slacken the water, or a
short canal might be constructed around the falls.
We found it necessary to take out a part of our
load and warp the boats up. Above these falls it
is good boating for a mile or two, when you come
to the foot of " Grindstone Falls." At this place
the river has worn a trough through the ledge which
is parallel to the course of the current. The banks
on each side are rough and precipitous. The slate
of which this ledge is composed, like the last men
tioned, is somewhat talcose and contains lime.
Masses of grauwacke are also found here. The
rock is much decomposed and the fragments or
"shingle" cover the shores to some extent.
Near the shores, the ledge comes np to the surface
of the ground, and there is of course a little soil
upon it. There are several good sites here for
dams, either for mills or for slack water, or for both.
The portage here is about half a mile in length,
and the chance for an inclined plane and railway
around the falls, is very good indeed. This would
undoubtedly be the best and most economical mode
of overcoming the obstacles to the navigation of
the river at this place. 2

10 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
Above these falls we had very good boating for half
a day — say six or eight miles distance, when we
came to "Whetstone Falls." The river here
crosses the ledge at right angles, which crops out on
both sides of the river, and is of the same character
as that mentioned above. Here is a very good sit
uation for dams, and also a very good site for an
inclined plane and railway around the falls, which
I think would be the better way to surmount them.
The portage is about half a mile in length, over
which we found it necessary to carry our cargo, but
the boats were warped up over the rapids or falls.
From this you have a long reach of smooth water
which affords very good boating. The country
also improves in appearance, for, instead of the burnt
trees and sterile rocks which mark much of the
country for some miles below, a hard w7ood growth
appears, patches of interval shew themselves, and
the upland in the'rear of them is evidently of a good
quality. This appearance continues until you come
to the mouth of the Wassataquick,- which enters
the Penobscot on the west side. Around the
mouth of this stream is a large body of interval
land, while on the opposite side, on the east, the
land rises gradually into a large swell, covered with
hard wood. Two settlers, Messrs. Hunt and
Dace, have got very good farms under cultivation
here. They are at present the highest up of any
on this branch of the Penobscot, and are the last
inhabitants that the traveller finds as he proceeds
up the river.

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. \\
It may be well to remark here, that the true
Wassataquick is called East Branch on Greenleaf 's
map of Maine, and the true East Branch is called
Wassataquick. The water continues good for
boating until you come to the mouth of the Sebois.
This branch enters the Penobscot from the east,
and takes its rise in several large lakes which are
near the waters of the Aroostook.
The land around its mouth is of that description
known by the name of low interval. From this
place, as you continue up the Penobscot, the water
becomes quick and the boating hard, and it contin
ues thus until you arrive at the foot of the " Grand
Falls" of the East Branch.
One or two low dams between this and the
mouth of the Sebois, would be of essential service
in checking the force of the current and rendering
it more easily navigated.
When we left Bangor, it was our intention to
proceed up the Sebois river, and enter the Aroos
took by the La Pompique ; but, on consultation with
the boatmen, it was thought best to continue up the
east branch of Penobscot into Montagamon Lake,
thence up Hay Brook, and carry across the portage
into Millinoketsis, a lake of the Aroostook. This
course, in order to comply as near as I could with
my orders, would render it necessary for me to go
up the La Pompique from the Aroostook, and across
to the Sebois to examine the ground and ascertain
the practicability of connecting the two waters.
But as the route proposed was thought to be easier

12 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
for the men, and would give me a chance of seeing
more of the Aroostook valley than the other, I
acquiesced in the arrangement and kept in company
with them.
The "Grand Falls," as they are called, area
series of falls or rapids, continuing for about two
miles through a narrow channel worn in the rocks,
the strata of which cross the river and render it
formidable and dangerous for boats to encounter.
The first pitch of water is near the mouth of Bow
ling Brook, which is a small but wild and troubled
stream entering from the east. The country in this
region presents a dreary and barren aspect. For
merly a heavy pine growth existed here, but the fires
have swept it away and left the rocks completely
bare, except occasionally a blackened and branch
less trunk lifts itself up, as if to make the utter
desolation of the scene still more striking.
On carefully examining this spot, it is evident
that the best, and indeed the only rational mode of
overcoming the obstructions which are presented,
and which are the greatest in the whole distance
from Bangor to the lakes, is by means of an inclined
plane and railway. This may be placed on the
east side of the river where is a good site for it.
Dams could be constructed here without much
trouble, but it would be necessary to have several,
and in some of the places where they would be
needed the river is too narrow and too much pent
up to give room for the locks. At a slack place in
the water below the upper pitch, and also at the

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. J 3
upper pitch of water,- some lumbermen have con
structed temporary dams for the purpose of com
manding the water while running their logs down,
and they find them to be of essential service in this
kind of business.
The rock formation here, is slate intermingled
with grauwacke. Boulders of porphyry occasion
ally shew themselves, and large masses of conglom
erate or puddingstone are strewed around in abun
dance. The granite boulders which we occasionally
met with on our way up, have disappeared some
distance below.
One of these puddingstone boulders was found
by Capt. Smithwick, on the west side of the river,
measuring six paces in breadth, seven paces in
length, and more than eight feet in height. From
the size of them it may be inferred that they have
not travelled far from their original location. The
mountains at a short distance in the rear, are
undoubtedly formed in part or wholly of this kind of
rock. We had not time to go to them and ascertain
the facts. The boulder above mentioned contained
pieces of jasper, and also adularia in small frag
ments. Near the head of the falls, on the east side, are
found large boulders of secondary limestone. As
a similar limestone was discovered by our able
State Geologist, Dr. Jackson, last year, on the
Sebois, it is not impossible that they are derived
from the same formation, and probably, when the
country between these two rivers shall be cleared

14 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
up, large tracts of limestone formation will be found
in place.
After completing the portage of our cargo, and
launching our boats once more at the head of the
falls, we found smooth, dead, or rather sluggish
water, occasioned undoubtedly by the dams which
we had passed. This continued for nearly a mile,
perhaps more. It then became more quick and so
continued until we had arrived at "Stair Falls."
This is a rapid, occasioned by a formation of trap
rock which crosses the river at right angles with its
course, and causes four or five cascades of moderate
height, like a low flight of stairs. We found it
necessary to warp our boats up them. A dam and
lock would be necessary to flow out the rapids at
this place. Above this we again came to sluggish
water, which continued for half a mile. The
scenery as you pass up the river here, shifting and
varying at every turn of the stream, is very beautiful.
A mile or two above this is a large lake, known by
the Indian name, Montagamon, at the foot of which
a strong dam has been built. This enables the lum
bermen to flow the lake in the spring of the year while
they raft their logs down, and also to increase the
water below when they open the gates to let their
lumber through, thus causing an artificial freshet
which assists them in their whole route to the mills
below. Half a mile below this dam the water begins
to run very strong, and continues to run more and
more rapidly until you reach the foot of the dam.
A low dam across the river at the commencement

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 15
of the rapids, would be of service in improving the
navigation of this part of the river, and a lock would
be necessary in the large dam at the outlet of the
lake, to lift the boats into it.
The Montagamon lake is a large and extensive
body of water, containing some fine islands. It is
surrounded by some large heights of land as well
as by moderate swells. There is in the vicinity a
good growth of pine timber, from which some of the
finest lumber that now floats on the Penobscot
waters is obtained. Here ended our hasty and
imperfect examination of the Penobscot. Just
beyond this lake we turned out into a small tribu
tary called " Hay Brook," which comes into the
stream that connects the Montagamon with the
lake above. This brook takes its rise near the head
waters of the Aroostook, and enters the Penobscot
waters from the east.
The examination, as I have just stated, was both
hasty and desultory, as we were anxious to get to
our place of deposit as soon as possible, and could
not detain the men and boats for the purpose of
taking admeasurements or looking minutely into all
that offered worthy of examination. It has estab
lished, however, in my own mind, the importance
of improving the navigation of the river, and con
vinced me that it is perfectly feasible. And I would
respectfully recommend, that at as early a day as
possible, the Board, by consent of the Legislature,
should order a thorough and critical survey of the
Penobscot river with a view- of ascertaining : — 1st.

16 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
A more complete topographical knowledge of it;
and 2d. What would be requisite for, and the cost
of rendering it boatable with ease and safety.
Indeed it is a matter of astonishment to me, that,
while many other of our water courses, by no
means to be compared with this noble stream, have
been surveyed by skilful Engineers, this, which has
contributed and still contributes more than any
other one, to the strength, the wealth, the prosperity
and importance of our State, has hitherto been
totally neglected. There is no river in Maine that
waters such an extent of country, or flows through
such a diversity of soil as this. Every step there
fore in improving it, would tend to bring the interior
nearer to the focus of trade, and be opening as it were
an additional avenue to the resources of our country,
and thereby foster its growing powers. Population
would then, instead of crowding our seaboard, or
hovering around our already thickly settled towns,
stretch itself forth into what is now the wilderness,
clear for itself new farms, and build new towns
and villages, knowing that the communications to a
market were open at all times, and feeling that they
were not wholly isolated from the rest of the human
family. If no other improvements could be effected, it
would be a praiseworthy object for the State to
assist in constructing good roads over the several
portages around the several falls. Let such roads
be properly and permanently made — camps or
buildings of a cheap but durable kind erected at

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 17
suitable distances, and strong hand carts or trucks
placed there for the use of those who need.
This would be a great convenience for those
whose business may lead them up the Penobscot.
Perhaps this may appear like an idle scheme to
many, but there cannot be the least doubt, that, had
the State done these things fifteen years ago, they
would have yielded more than ten per cent, inter
est on the cost of construction and repairs by the
very saving in labor and time spent in getting sup
plies and men to and from the public lands, for
surveys and explorations and other necessary expen
ditures connected with the care of the public
domains, while the benefits and savings to private
enterprise would have been immense. One unac
quainted with the facts can hardly have a conception
of the severe labor that men undergo in carrying
boats and supplies over these portages, or "carrys,"
as they are called.
Every thing must be done by main strength,, and
that cannot always be laid out to the best advan
tage. Oftentimes they are compelled to pick their
way, where, though frequently crossed before, there
is not a sign or vestige of a footstep or path, and
where a slip of the foot, loaded as they are, would
be inevitable death. It is true, that the men usu
ally employed in this work are hardy and inured to
the business, but this is no reason why they should
be compelled to continually act as beasts of burden,
when a little assistance from the State would change
the routine of operations, and make what is now
3

18 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
a most laborious and oftentimes hazardous task, one
of comparatively easy performance.
We found Hay Brook to be a crooked stream,
at first skirted with larches, or hacmatacks, as this
growth is most commonly called. After leaving
this growth, you find the course of the stream lies
through a tract of " Brook Interval," forming a
natural meadow, from which hay is annually taken
to supply the teams of lumbermen. This circum
stance probably gave the name to the brook up
which we were passing. After passing these mead
ows, on the right bank, you find the slate rock
cropping out and running in nearly an easterly direc
tion, while its strata are nearly perpendicular, both
of which are circumstances not in conformity with
the direction and dip of the rock further below.
Soon after this, you come to a ridge on the left,
of sandy soil covered with a thrifty growth of Nor
way pines. At the south point of this ridge there
is a small rapid, where would be needed a dam about
ttvo rods long, and a lock. After you pass this the
stream widens and becomes more sluggish, and
continuing on for about half a mile further, you come
to another rapid, more strong and much longer than
the last. The stream here forces its way for thirty
or forty rods through a narrow passage in the rocks,
and is so obstructed with windfalls and loose rocks,
that we found it necessary to unload the boats of
their cargo and carry it by, but the boats were
warped up, lifting them occasionally over the obsta
cles which choked the channel.

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 19
It would be necessary to construct at least two
short dams with locks, in order to slaken the water,
and to clear out the loose rocks and logs which lie
in the way. Above this place, the stream becomes
much more serpentine or winding, and the boats
are also impeded in their progress by the alder
bushes, which, growing on each side, lean over to
nearly a horizontal position across the water. There
appears to be a good supply of water, and the chan
nel may be very much improved by straightening it
by digging a new channel. The soil being alluvial
will allow this to be done very easily. With the
exception of windfalls and leaning alder bushes, no
other obstructions exist until you come to the portage
or carrying place between this and the Aroostook
waters. This portage is upon a gradual swell of hard
wood land, and is two hundred and eighty-six rods
in length. On the northerly side lies " Millino-
ketsis," a beautiful lake about a mile in length, and
two or three miles long. At the head of this lake
lies a large bog, which bends around the foot of the
swell of land, and through which a passage might
be cut into Hay Brook. For reasons hereafter to
be given, I do not however consider this the most
eligible place for connecting the Aroostook and
Penobscot rivers.
The Millinoketsis empties itself into a dead
stream forty or fifty feet wide, which continues
thus for about two miles, when it becomes some
what narrower and more rapid in its current. It
also becomes choked with windfalls and jams of

20 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
logs, and the sides are skirted with leaning
alders, which obstruct the passage of boats very
much. These alders grow to the length of twenty or
thirty feet, and being loaded with snow during the
winter, become fixed in nearly a horizontal position.
Their branches become interwoven with those of
the opposite side, and thus cover the waters of a
stream in some places forty feet wide, and are a
serious impediment to boatmen, especially when
their leaves and branches are wet. The borders
of this stream are also covered with cedars, "pump
kin" and sapling pines, &c. It continues to be
occasionally encumbered with windfalls until you
come into the next lake, Millinoket, and in order
to improve it for boating, it will be necessary to
construct two dams between these two lakes, by
which to flow out the rises that are found — to clear
out the channel by taking out the loose rocks and
windfalls, and to cut away the tangled growth on
the sides. The average width is about forty feet,
and its average depth is not far from three feet.
Millinoket is a large sheet of water, surrounded
on all sides by ridges and swells of land which are
covered with a mixed growth of hard and soft
wood. This land offers, as far as the eye can judge
at a distance, tracts of good soil for cultivation.
Proceeding in a northeasterly course you enter the
outlet, which for half a mile is a broad, smooth
stream. You then come to a slight rapid, encum
bered with a jam of logs and windfalls, forming an

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 21
obstruction across the whole stream. It would be
necessary to cut and clear out these, in order to
open the channel.
Below this we found one or two small "rips,"
and occasionally the obstructions before mentioned,
viz : windfalls and bushes, lodging across from bank
to bank. After passing these, we came to still
water again for half a mile, and then entered the
main Aroostook. A dam at the head of this slack
water would probably flow back into the lake, and
thus render it boatable from the main river to the
Millinoket. We found the waters of the Aroostook swollen
to a high pitch by the rains which had poured upon
us most generously on our way up. and they swept
our boats along with a strong but smooth current.
About a mile above a branch, called the Moose-
luck, we came to a formidable rapid which con
tinued for some distance. Here we came very near
losing one of our boats by its striking a rock. On vis
iting the spot again in the autumn, when the water
was very low, we found the cause of this rapid to be
a dyke or wall of puddingstone conglomerate crossing
the river at right angles. A small island is formed
in the middle of the river. The narrow channel is
on the right as you pass down, and in the left channel
between the island and the main land is this per
pendicular "ledge," extending across and forming
a natural dam. It is five or six feet thick and
four or five feet high. In the spring of the year,
during the freshets, the water rushes over it with

22 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
great force. It is from this undoubtedly, that
the boulders of puddingstone which are found
so abundantly on the Aroostook as you coast down
it, were derived. There is, however, no very bad
rapid in the river below this until you come to the
Grand Falls, about two miles or more from its
mouth.

Reconnoisance of the La Pompique.
After depositing our supplies at the camp, in
No. 10, we returned up the Aroostook for the pur
pose of examining the La Pompique, or, as the
Indians pronounce it, La Bombique, and the land
between it and the Sebois.
The La Pompique is a comparatively small
stream, entering the Aroostook on the south side,
in township No. 9, Range 7th. Its banks are low,
and encumbered with alders and leaning bushes,
which obstruct the passage of boats. Jams of logs,
and loose boulders of slate-rock and puddingstone,
also obstruct the navigation of it, and make one or
two portages necessary for the purpose of avoiding
them. No ledges or rock formations were observed,
in place, all being loose and easily removed. The
volume of water which passes down it, in ordinary
seasons, is sufficient for the common purposes of
boating in this region, which is with batteaux, but
in times of drought it must be rather low and occa
sion difficulty to get up or down it. Near the head
of the stream are two branches, which by being

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 23
cleared might add much to the amount of water.
The distance between the La Pompique and the
Sebois Lake is two thousand five hundred and forty-
eight feet, or one hundred and fifty-four rods nearly.
The land on the margin of the Sebois is quite low
and wet, and by digging a canal of moderate depth,
it might be brought ten or fifteen rods nearer the
La Pompique with ease. The land between the
two waters is a low tract covered with a cedar, fir
and spruce growth.
On taking the level across we found the La
Pompique to be seven feet, seven inches and nine-
tenths higher than the Sebois.*
There would be no difficulty in forming a canal
between the two on account of the nature of the
soil, as there is evidently no rocks of any conse
quence or other obstacles to render digging difficult.
One lock only would be needed.
The expense of constructing a canal and lock
might be estimated at
Viz : Digging and removing, say 23029
cubic yards of earth, at 10 cents
per yard, $2,302 90
Constructing lock, 1,500

$3,802 90
An objection however, meets you on the threshold
which renders the policy of constructing a canal
across exceedingly questionable. From appear-
* The plan and profile of the route across i« deposited with the Board
of Internal Improvements.

24 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
ances, and such indications as could be observed, I
am led to the conclusion that there would be hardly
water enough in the La Pompique to serve as a
feeder. The branch of the La Pompique which
comes nearest to the Sebois arises in a bog and is
rendered sluggish in its current by an old beaver
dam below. It is possible that if a high dam were
built below the mouths of the two tributaries, a
sufficient supply might be obtained. It is doubtful,
however, in my mind, if a canal, even could that
be effected, would be the better medium of commu
nication. A railroad, under all the circumstances,
offers the best mode of overcoming the difficulties.
The distance is short — there is plenty cf lumber
upon the spot, and the ground for most of the way
not unfavorable.
The cost of railway in the aggregate may be
estimated at $2,400; to which add —
Clearing the La Pompique and constructing
cheap lock, .... 2,000
Contingencies, .... 600
5,000
Making the whole cost of improving the boat
navigation from the Aroostook into the Sebois, five
thousand dollars. The distance from the one to
the other, following the La Pompique, is probably
from twelve to fifteen miles.
The question next arises whether a well con
structed turnpike road between the two waters
would not answer every purpose. A good road,

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 25
properly made and drained might be constructed for
$1000; — but allowing it to cost $1000, the connec
tion may be made between the two rivers ^Sebois
and Aroostook) for $4,000.
The utility of doing this must depend very much
upon the practicability and amount of cost of over
coming the obstacles presented by the falls of the
Sebois below. Of this I am not able to speak, not
having seen them. At present this course is quite
a thoroughfare, notwithstanding the severe labor
required to pass through it. The travel, however,
through here, will be somewhat diminished by the
finishing of the Aroostook road, but still there will
always be travel here, and when the section of
country in the vicinity becomes settled, as it one day
will, (and that day may be essentially hastened by a
little liberality and exertion on the part of the State)
the travelling on this route will increase in the direct
ratio of its population.
The articles of transport for many years, must
be, supplies for lumbermen — agricultural produce —
merchandize, and the lighter kinds of manufactured
lumber, such as shingles, clapboards, staves, &c.
Heavy lumber, such as logs, timber, &c, cannot
easily be brought up stream. I can see no other
course for these than such as nature has pointed out,
viz : down the Aroostook and St. John rivers.
The Sebois lake is a large deep body of water,
surrounded on the north and west by high swells of
land covered with a mixed growth, indicative of
good soil for agricultural purposes. The La Po.nj'
4

26 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
pique, at a little distance from its banks, is also
bordered with similar swells. Improvement in the
navigation of these two streams would induce set
tlers to enter upon the lands. The limestone in
this region might also be mentioned as affording a
source of profit, could the means of transportation
down either river, or both, be rendered more easy
than at present. Nature seems to have pointed out
what might be done here to advantage, leaving just
enough unfinished to stimulate man to industry and
energy in completing it. The experience of other
States demonstrate the utility of internal improve
ments of this kind, as connected with the lasting
prosperity of the State itself.

Reconnoisance of Little Machias, and Portage to Eagle
Lake.
The Little Machias enters the Aroostook on the
north side, in No. 11, 5th Range, about twelve
miles below the mouth of the St. Croix, another
branch which enters in No. 10, same Range. It
is a very serpentine stream, but the bends or crooks
are short.
Its general direction is northerly. For a mile
and a half from its mouth, the water is quite rapid,
and affords a very good mill site, which I understand
is taken up and about being improved for this pur
pose by an enterprising citizen of Augusta. After
passing up this distance, there is a long reach of still
water continuing for nearly or quite ten miles. This

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 27
brings you within a mile and a half or two miles
of the Little Machias lake. Here you again meet
with rapid water, and another good mill site. The
growth on the banks is principally what is known
here by the name of black growth, that is to say,
pine, cedar, spruce, fir, &c. There is little or no
larch or hackmatack found here. The upper half
of this river runs through low interval land, such as
is best known to our farmers by the name of "brook
interval," though it is a little more sandy than that
kind of interval is generally.
The margin of its banks is crowded with a thick
"growth of alders, such as has been heretofore
described. The pine growth is more abundant
here than on any of the other branches which we
have described, though not quite so large as some
on the main river, owing probably to its having been
culled over, as, judging from the camps and logging
roads which we occasionally met with, the lumber
men had been there operating undoubtedly on their
own high responsibility. No ledges or rocks appear
there in place, but loose boulders prevail near the
upper part, especially near the lake. They are of
the same character as those before mentioned,
such as slate, pudding stone, &c. The Little
Machias lake, through which this stream passes,
for we found that it continued further north, is
about three miles long, and perhaps a mile and a
half wide, and extends in a direction west by north.
It is surrounded with ridges of a moderate height,
covered with a hard wood growth. At the upper

28 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
extremity of this lake, on the northeast shore, is the
portage from this to Eagle lake, which is the upper
most lake, or source of Fish river, and the first of
an extensive and interesting chain of lakes, stretching
to the northeast nearly parallel with the St. John
river, and reaching, as we were informed, to within
fifteen or twenty miles of the Grand Falls. Of this
we are not certain. It is pretty certain, however,
that they have never been explored by any Agent ©f
the State, and all that is known respecting the east
erly part of them is derived from the French at
Madawaska, who have fished and hunted in and
about them.
The portage above mentioned is two miles and
three eighths long, and passes over a beautiful swell
of hardwood land. This swell sinks gradually to
the west, and again rises, thus forming a low valley,
which affords a very eligible site for a canal, rail
road or turnpike, for facilitating the transportation
between the two waters.
On perambulating the valley, I found a brook
running into the Little Machias. This continues
up to nearly the summit level between the two
waters, when it suddenly turns to the left, or west
erly. This, should it be needed, would make a good
feeder — from this angle in the brook commences a
natural meadow, about forty rods in length. A thick
growth of firs and spruces next appear, and continue
for some rods, when another brook shews itself
running into Eagle lake.
On taking the level through this valley, I found

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. £9
the waters of the Eagle lake to be twenty-three feet
higher than those of the Little Machias.* The dis
tance between the two is 11,880 feet, or two and a
quarter miles.
Eagle lake is a large, deep body of water, crooked
in shape, being made up of two arms nearly at right
angles to each other, and the distance is probably,
from one end to the other, from twelve to twenty
miles. The width is variable, say from one to four
miles, and it affords at all seasons of the year a vast
volume of water.
The nature of the soil between the two lakes is
"mostly alluvial, and the growth is made up of
cedars, firs and spruces. There would probably be
found nothing to make digging difficult, and every
advantage is offered for the construction of a canal,
with locks. The cost of improving the Little
Machias and connecting it with Eagle lake, may be
estimated at $17,092 50.
To improve the Little Machias, a dam and
lock would be needed at the mouth, and another
just below the lake. The loose boulders removed,
jams and windfalls cut away, and also the alders
upon the banks — the stream straightened by cutting
across the little peninsulas, or "ox bows," as they
are here called, and occasionally a jettie or wing
dam put down to deepen the channel in places where
it is broad and more shallow. This I think may
be done for $2000.
* Plan and profile of the ground are deposited with the Board of Inter
nal Improvements.

30 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
Excavating and removing 118,925 cubic
yards of earth for canal at 10 cents per
yard, . . . $11,892 50
Constructing three wooden locks* 4,000 00
Wooden pier or breakwater in Eagle
lake, . . . 200 00
An inclined plane and railway would be less
expensive and equally as good, perhaps better.
Setting the improvements of the Little Machias as
before, at $2,000, and two miles and a quarter of
railway at $11,250, the total expense would amount
to $13,250. The distance from the Aroostook
river to Eagle lake cannot be less than fifteen miles.
The inclination of the railway, except for a few feet
at each end, where it dips into the water, would be
so gradual and slight that no fixed engine would be
needed, and horse power would be amply sufficient
to transport loaded boats of considerable burthen
from one lake to the other.
Should it be thought, however, by the Board,
that the expense of a canal or rail road would be too
great for the amount of transportation which would
probably be done upon the other, I would respect
fully suggest that a good road between the lakes
would come within the scope of economy, and
at the same time answer a good purpose for
facilitating intercourse between the two sections
of country. By winding around the foot of the
swell of land, over which the portage now passes, a
level track might be secured, and very good roading
found.

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 31
The distance would probably be thus increased to
three miles, and a good turnpike might be easily
constructed over this ground for $3,000, which,
with the $2,000 for improving the Little Machias,
would amount to $5,000 for fifteen miles of water
and land communication. Or, should greater econ
omy be desired, and less amount of improvement
accomplished; by omitting the cutting through the
"ox bows," building jetties and removing ali the
boulders, the remainder might be done upon the
Machias for $1,000, and the sum total for fifteen
miles of very good communication would then
amount to but $4,000.
Should the line of the contemplated Aroostook
Road, from the Aroostook river to Madawaska, be
changed, as it undoubtedly ought to be, so as to run
upon the swells and settling lands in the vicinity of
Fish river, the above expenditure would be amply
repaid by the saving of labor and time in getting in
supplies for that work through this improved way.
Should either of the above plans of internal
improvements be adopted, you can then have, with
comparatively trifling additional expense, a complete-
thoroughfare by water from the settlement on the
Aroostook river to Madawaska on the St. Johny
a distance of fifty miles or more, and that too
through your own territory.
This additional expense will consist in erecting a
few dams with locks in the streams that connect the
several lakes on the way to the St. John.

32 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
In order to ascertain more fully what would be
probably necessary for the purpose, and to learn
what would be the probable benefit of such improve
ment, wTe proceeded, during the fall excursion, down
a part of the lakes to Fish river, and thence into the
St. John to Madawaska.
The upper Eagle lake has two branches, one
bearing northwesterly and the other easterly. Pro
ceeding down the easterly branch, you come to a
broad outlet, which, for a mile or two. has a gentle
smooth current. This stream is estimated to be nine
or ten miles long. The average depth at the time
we descended it, was about three feet — width vary
ing from thirty to eighty feet. After descending
three or four miles, we found that the slate rock
forms a flooring to the stream, presenting the edges
of the strata for some distance, but there are no
falls or rips of any consequence. Occasionally there
is a little quick water, but nothing to retard the
progress of the boats either way. A couple of dams
at suitable distances from each other, with locks,
would make the stream deeper and slacken the
water the whole length. As you approach the
second lake, the stream becomes more serpentine,
and patches of very good interval shew themselves
on the banks.
The second lake is not far from four miles in
length, and from two to three in breadth. At the
upper part it is bounded on each side by high swells
of land, but towards the foot the land is more low..

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 33
The stream connecting this lake with the next,
or third lake, is estimated to be three miles long.
The water is not so deep as the last mentioned
stream, but it is broad, and the current not very
quick. The most rapid part is near the outlet of
the second lake, where is a suitable situation for a
dam. The third lake is a large body of water, and
is made up of two branches— one stretching in a
curving direction to the east, and the other a little
West of north. It is not always observed when the
lake is entered, and strangers are apt to continue
down the easterly branch on their way to the St.
John, when they should take the other, or the left
hand branch as the lake is entered.
The easterly branch cannot be less than six miles
in length, and receives, near the foot of it, a large
inlet from other lakes further east, which we did not
explore. As I have just observed* the left hand branch
leads into Fish river, and is the direct way to the
St. John river and the Madawaska settlement.
This branch of the lake is three miles long. The
waters are deep and abound in fish of various
descriptions. The French people from Mada
waska resort in great numbers to this and the other
lakes, especially in the fall of the year, for the pur
pose of supplying themselves with the fish found
here. The large lake trout, or togues, as they are
sometimes called, abound here — also the kusk, a fish
somewhat similar in appearance to the salt water
kusk. The kind most sought after, however, is
5

34 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE*
called " white fish." I did not have an opportuv
nity of examining any of them, and cannot say to
what species they belong. We were informed by
a Frenchman whom we met upon the lake, fishing
for togues, that there was a party then in the lake
next east of us, taking the "white fish" — that
they caught them at night by torch light with dip
nets, and that it was the work of but a short time
to load a horse — that they were about half the size
of the common alewife or herring, and of very good
flavor. Fish River which connects this lake with the
St. John, and indeed is the outlet of the whole
chain of lakes, is at least fifteen miles in length. It
is of very uniform depth, being on an average, at
the time we were there, about four feet deep, but
it is evident, from the marks on trees growing on
its banks, that at times it is swollen to no mean
dimensions, and that at such periods a large volume
of water flows down its channel.
As )rou enter it from the lake, you find a few
boulders in its bed, which eause a slight rapid ; but
which would cease on their removal. There are
but two very serious obstacles to encounter between
this and the St. John river. One of them is the
"Grand Falls," about three miles from its mouth,,
and the falls at Maddock's and Savage's mills, a
mile below these. At the Grand Falls, the water
plunges over the rocks almost perpendicularly,.
twelve or fifteen feet. The best mode of over
coming this obstruction would be to construct an

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 35
inclined plane and railway about fifty rods long,
as the river is so narrow and the rocks (which are
slate) form a rugged shore through which it would
be too expensive to dig a canal. At the milldam, a
lock might be constructed without much trouble,
or an inclined plane and railway made around the
dam of about twenty rods in length.
As my orders did not authorize me to go into a
minute examination of any other section of this
route, than between the Little Machias and the
Upper Eagle Lake, I did not take any admeasure
ments, nor make so critical a survey as to enable
me to give an estimate of the probable cost of im
proving the navigation of the streams which con
nect the lakes with each and with the St John.
However, the exploration which I did make, con
vinces me that with comparatively little expense,
these natural channels may be easily improved, and
by constructing one kind or the other of the works
which have been mentioned, a complete communi
cation, principally by water, of not less than fifty
miles in extent, may be opened between the Aroos
took and the St. John rivers — thus uniting the set
tlements on each of the rivers, and in fact, estab
lishing a direct and safe thoroughfare to the frontier
parts of our State.
Indeed it is not a little surprising that something
of the kind, either in the form of a canal or a good
road, has not yet been done. On the St. John is
a settlement of more than four thousand inhabitants,
belonging most rightfully to the State of Maine;

36 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
and on the Aroostook another, comprising in all
not less than five hundred — citizens of the same
Commonwealth as ourselves, bound to support our
government, amenable to our laws and entitled to
our protection — and yet, hitherto there has been no
established means of ingress to, or egress from them,
unless you pass through the territory belonging to
Great Britain.
Surely it is no wonder that our boundary is not
settled, when we have not even made so much as
a footpath in which to go and see where it is ; and
have no means of visiting that portion of our fellow
citizens who live upon our borders, except by
groping our way through the trackless forest or
crossing the dominions of a foreign power.
The advantages of a direct communication to
Madawaska, setting aside the duty of every State
to establish and keep up a complete line of commu
nication to every part of its territory, would be the
opening of a new field for the enterprise of our
citizens, and bringing much of the trade of the fertile
valley of the St. John to our own doors. But this
is not all. At a time when a portion of our terri
tory is actually under the jurisdiction of Great
Britain, it is a more serious and important inquiry,
how — should we be driven to the extremity of a
resort to arms — how can we enter to defend or
regain 1 How could soldiers or munitions of war
be transported to this section of our frontiers—
where it is sufficiently difficult for the hunter, inured
as he is to the toils and the labors of a life in the

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. g7
wilderness, to travel with his pack and birchen
canoe across the route in question ?
Surely the wholesome admonition of experience
¦ — "in time of peace prepare for war" — has been
strangely disregarded by us, as it respects this por
tion of our territory, more especially when we con
sider that the very preparation required would be
thrice more useful in time of peace, and largely
contribute to the abiding prosperity of this portion
of our domain. (a)

38 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE

PART II

Situation and Extent of the Valley of the Aroostook.
Climate — Soil — JVatural growth — Agricultural pro
ducts — Roads recommended — Geology. General re
marks.
The Aroostook, or Restook River, as some call
it, rises in several lakes which are located very near
the Eastern waters of the Penobscot. Lakes Mil
linoket and Millinoketsis are the principal sources
from which it flows. Its general course is easterly,
and it forms one of the most important branches of
the St. John. It is very serpentine in its course,
and hence, with its tributaries drains a greater
extent of territory than it otherwise would, amount
ing to not less than fifty townships, or 1,152,000
acres, comprising in its valley some of the very best
soil in the State of Maine.
The waters of this river are very little interrupted
with falls or " rips" until within about three miles
from its mouth, when it becomes obstructed with
rocks which cause a precipitous fall estimated by
some at from fifteen to twenty feet in height; though
from slight observation, it appears much higher
than that. The rocks cross the river here at nearly
right angles, and cause a series of cascades which
continue nearly a mile and afford a very romantic
and picturesque scene.

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 39
The waters of the Aroostook, as has been before
observed, move moderately and smoothly, except
when they are swollen by freshets in the spring.
They are however, boatable for common batteaux
all seasons of the year, except when obstructed by
ice. Large boats, drawn by horses walking on the
shore, in the same manner as canal boats are
drawn, are also used when the water is at a suitable
pitch, but in the drought of summer it is somewhat
difficult to move up and down with boats of any
considerable size.
Tributaries. The principal tributaries or
branches of the Aroostook are as follows : begin
ning at its mouth and following upon the south side,
Presquile, St. Croix, Umquolqus and La Pom
pique. On the north side — Limestone Stream,
Little Madawaska, Salmon Stream, Beaver Brook,
Little Machias, Great Machias, Mooseluck. Most
of these streams, like the main Aroostook, are not
very rapid. They are occasionally crossed by the
strata of slate or grey wacke which sometimes make
obstruction ; and a pitch or descent of water suffi~
cient to form a mill privilege is the result.
There is one peculiarity to be found in nearly all
the places suitable for mill sites. It is quite seldom
that both branches of the stream are of the same
character. One side, for instance, will be formed
by the ledge while the other side falls off, being:
made up of alluvial (interval) land, which render it
very difficult to make a dam that shall be perma
nently tight on that side.

40 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
This characteristic is exhibited at Mr. Fairbanks,
on the Presquile, and in several other situations. At
Mr. Pollards, on the St. Croix, this is not the
case. Both sides of the river here present a strong
ledge. We did not ascend the Presquile above Mr.
Fairbanks. St. Croix. The branch next in course and
importance is the St. Croix. This enters the
Aroostook near the centre of No. 10, 5th Range,
near the point where the Aroostook road strikes
the main river. It arises principally from a lake in
No. 8, although some of its smaller branches extend
into the No. 7's of the 4th and 5th Ranges. It
passes through a good timber tract of land, and
there is also some very good land for agricultural
purposes upon its banks. Lumbering will probably
be the order of the day upon it for many years.
There are two good mill sites upon it. One in the
corner of No. 9, which has been taken up by Mr
Pollard who has been engaged in erecting a very
excellent saw and grist mill there.
The other is in No. 8, a few miles higher up the
stream. The waters of this river abound in fish.
And it is thought that some of its branches might
be connected with those of the Mattawamkeag so
as to form a communication by water to the Pe
nobscot. Umquolqus. The next most important stream
above this is the Umquolqus which rises in No. 7,
6th range, from two small lakes. This is not so
large a stream as the St. Croix. It takes its name,

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 41
as the Indians say, from a species of duck which
remains there during the winter. We did not see
the duck while we were there, and cannot there
fore determine what particular species is meant.
For the first eight or ten miles from its mouth, it is
a rapid and wild stream when there is any thing of
a freshet. Above this it is somewhat sluggish.
The land through which it flows is varied in its
character. On the west side, as you go up, is a
tract of land covered with mixed growth, rising
gradually from the banks and forming a beautiful
swell, possessing undoubtedly a good soil for farms.
Higher up the stream the land is lower and covered
with a fine growth of larch (hackmatack,) spruce
and cedars. On this stream are one or two good
mill sites, but the lumber for several miles from its
mouth has been cut off with or without leave and
carried away.
Near the source of one of its branches in town
ship No. 7, 6th range, is a large formation of lime
stone. La Pompique. Next above this last named
stream, is the La Pompique. The source of this
branch, as we have remarked in another part of
this report, is only one hundred and fify-seven rods
from the Sebois Lake, out of which the Sebois
branch of the Penobscot flows. It is rather a
small and crooked stream, much obstructed by loose
rocks or boulders, windfalls and leaning alders. It
is often used, in the spring and fall, by those who
come up or down the Sebois, in passing to and from
6

42 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
the Aroostook. Indeed it was formerly the prin
cipal avenue to the Aroostook from the Penobscot
country. In .the drought of summer, the water is shallow.
The land through which it flows is rather low and
swampy, though there are swells of good land at a
little distance. It is well stocked with trout; and
water fowl breed in considerable numbers near its
source. Its name, I am informed by the Indians,
signifies in their language, a rope.
Little Machias. The Little Machias is
the only branch of the Aroostook on the north side,
which we were able to explore, and for a descrip
tion of this, must refer to the first part of our report.
The Aroostook country may be considered as
lying between 46 and 47 degrees of north latitude.
Soil. The soil of this region is various. Much
of it is alluvial. By alluvial, however, is not always
meant that species of soil that is known by the
name of interval; but by alluvial I here mean
that kind of soil which has been deposited by water
in a quiet state, and although all interval or bot
tom lands are alluvial, being deposited by water in
this state or condition, yet all alluvials are not
strictly speaking intervals. Some disappoint
ment was experienced last summer, by many who
visited the Aroostook with the idea that the alluvial
land, which Dr. Jackson spoke of in his report, was
the same as that known in other parts of the State,
particularly on the Kennebec, Sandy, Androscoggin
and Saco Rivers, as altogether interval lands.

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 43
Although there is a good deal of this species of land
there, yet the alluvion is much of it " upland."
Such appears to be the formation of the soil in many
of the townships which I examined, particularly
letter F, upon which Mr. Dennis Fairbanks resides.
This is one of the best townships in the whole val
ley of the Aroostook, and has been proved to be first
rate for crops, especially for wheat. An analysis of
the soil of Mr. Fairbanks's farm, was made by
Dr. Jackson, and published in his report of the
Geology of the Public Lands. Some soil taken by
me in the forest, a mile or two from Mr. Fairbanks's
house, yielded on analysis similar results, excepting
it afforded a trifle more (5. parts and j30 in the hun
dred) of vegetable extract (geine), a result which
might naturally be expected. Some taken near the
same place, but from a locality in which cedars
(Thuya occidentalis) flourished, contained still more
geine than the other.
There are many tracts or belts of interval scat
tered up and down the river which are very good.
The arable portion of them is not so wide as has been
thought, for, as a general thing, they sink rather too
much as they recede from the river. On the Ken
nebec, Sandy, Androscoggin and Saco Rivers, the
intervals generally rise as you proceed back from
the banks of the river into table or high lands, but
here the high lands are most often found on the oppo
site sides of the river. It is true that this pecu
liarity does not always show itself where intervals

44 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
occur, but in a majority of cases this will be found
to be the fact.
These intervals are at first fertile, and afford
good crops, but it will probably be found that they
are much more liable to be affected by early frosts,
and in process of time, when it shall become ne
cessary to manure, they will prove less retentive
of such dressing.* The best soils for farms are
undoubtedly on the gentle swells of land covered
with a mixed growth of hard and soft wood ; and
although the intervals and the lower lands will be
valuable for tillage and mowing, yet the swells are
much better adapted for pasturage and more likely
to be supplied with wholesome water.
The tract of land lying between Houlton and
letter F is mostly a moderate swell of a quality
similar to letter F, and indeed much of the whole
country between the Aroostook River and the
Houlton Road is of this character. It has been
asserted that there are an unusual quantity of bogs or
lowlands in this country. From a careful inspection
of the lands bordering on the whole length of the
river and several of its tributaries, I do not think
that this is the case. It is true, that in a territory
where there are no very high mountains which give
rise to streams, the waters must collect in what are
called bogs, and many of the streams take their rise
in such places, others start from lakes. The amount
of these low lands compared with the number of
*The intervals here spoken of aro seldom if ever overflowed by the river.

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 45
acres of good soil, capable of making first rate arable
or grazing farms, is not out of proportion ; nor do
I think there are more of them than the inhabitants
will, at some future day, wish there were. It
may seem exceedingly visionary to some, and appear
like look ing forward to a very far distant day, when
the inhabitants of this section of our State shall con
sider these lowlands as among their most valuable
property; and yet, by turning our eyes to the older
countries, we find such to be the fact there, and learn
that similar lands are sought after with avidity,
drained and cultivated with great success and profit.
Growth. The forest trees of this region are
similar in kind to those in other northerly parts of
the State, Among them are found the following,
viz. Norway pines (Pinus Rubra), Pumpkin, or as
it is most often called, White Pine (Pinus Strobus),
Hemlock (Abies Canadensis), Spruce (Abies
Nigra), Silver Fir (Abies Balsamifera), White
Maple, White Birch or Paper Birch, Yellow Birch,
Beech, White and Black Ash, Elm, Red Oak,
Iron or Lever Wood, Wild Cherry, Cedar (White
Cedar Thuya Occidentalis), common Poplar,
Canada Poplar or Balm of Gilead, Basswood, &c.
In the bogs and lowlands is found the Larch, or
as it most commonly called Hackmatack, and there
are some large and extensive tracks of this valuable
tree, now so much used in shipbuilding. They
grow large and thrifty. The common Cedar of this
country, which is the White Cedar — Arbor Vitse or
Thuya Occidentalis of Botanists — is also abundant

46 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
in such places, but what is a little uncommon, by
far the best specimens of this tree are found on the
uplands, and in some of the best soils. When in
such situations, they grow up straight and thrifty,
whereas, when found on the low lands they are
much more apt to be crooked or to form a curving
trunk. This fact puts Michaux's assertion, that this
tree never grows on high land, entirely at fault.
He says "It is never seen on the uplands, among the
Beeches and Birches, &c. but is found on the rocky
edges of the innumerable rivulets and small lakes
which are scattered over these countries, and occu
pies in great part, or exclusively, swamps from 50
to 100 acres in extent some of which are actually
accessible only in winter, when they are frozen and
covered with several feet of snow. It abounds
exactly in proportion to the humidity, and in the
driest marshes it is mingled with the Black Spruce,
the Hemlock Spruce, the Yellow Birch, the Black
Ash and a few stocks of the White Pine."
From the above account one would suppose that
it was impossible to find this tree except in some
inaccessible bog; and indeed, the general belief is,
that whenever one of them is seen you may find a
cold stone and a cold spring of water at its root.
Yet some of the best and most productive land, the
soil of which on analysis affords as many valuable
materials as any in the State, and when cultivated
actually produces as good crops as any other, sup
ported before being cleared, a dense growth of these
trees. The Fir tree also, as well as the Spruce,

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 47
has taken the liberty to grow as well or better
here on the intervals and uplands, than they do in
the swamps. Many of the intervals, which, when
cleared, afford a warm dry soil, were covered with
the Silver Fir, Spruce, &c.
The Hemlock is not quite so plenty here as in
some other parts of the State.
White Pines are found mingled with the hard
wood growth, and the most valuable and splendid
specimens of this tree occur interspersed with such
trees on the swells and uplands.
The Rock Maple is very abundant and affords
large quantities of sugar to those who are disposed
to enter into the business.
The Yellow Birch acquires enormous size here
and affords some fine timber, a considerable quantity
of which is cut on the St. John and sold.
The Beech is abundant in some places, but
whenever you find it prevails you will also find a
hard and stony soil.
In the low lands, Elms and Black Ash abound;
White Ash is not very abundant, though in some
seciions it is found in considerable numbers. A few
trees of Red Oak were found on Eagle Lake, but
Oak of any kind is not often found in this section.
The Pines and Spruces seem to be the only kind
of timber now in demand on the Aroostook. The
Pine timber found here, is undoubtedly superior to
any in Maine. But very little is yet manufactured
in mills, it being nearly all hewn or made into ton
timber in the forest, and floated down to Fredericton

48 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
or the city of St. John and thence shipped to Eng
land. The Larch for knees and timber for ship
building, and the Cedar for fences, railways and other
purposes; Birds-eye Maple, Birch, &c. for cabinet
work and many of the purposes in the arts will, at
no very distant day, come into demand, and when
ever the call is made an almost inexhaustible supply
may here be found. There seems only one draw
back to their value. There is no other way by
which these productions of the forest can be sent to
market except down the Aroostook and St. John
rivers— thus subjecting us to the necessity of going
through or into a country belonging to a foreign power
before they can be disposed of.
Climate. Although this section of country is
situate in a pretty high latitude (between 46° and
47° N.) The climate is not so severe as in some
situations on the same parallels, owing no doubt to
its interior location and to the fact that it is not
mountainous. The surface is undulating or lying in
swells, and although some of these swells rise into
hills, yet they are of a good soil and well wooded
to their very summits.
Snow falls early and continues upon the ground
somewhat late in the spring, which prevents the
ground from freezing very deep in the fall or winter,
and from "heaving," as it is termed, in the spring,
by frosts.
As a general thing, the frost penetrates but three
or four inches and can be broken through with very
little force any time during the winter.

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 49
The early fall of the snow may be attributed to
the existence of so large a body of wood, covering
the earth for such an extent unbroken. It cannot
but be the case that where there is such a dense
covering to the soil as so much foliage affords, and
where there is so much evaporation constantly
going on, a general moisture and coolness of the
atmosphere must be the consequence, and also a
much lower state of temperature than if none of
these causes existed.
Experiments upon the evaporation, or rather
transpiration of moisture from the leaves of trees,
show that a single tree will throw off an immense
quantity of moisture in the course of a season.
Williams, in his history of Vermont, has some
interesting remarks upon this subject. According
to his experiments the evaporation from a common
sized maple, only eight inches and a half through,
amounted to three hundred and thirty-nine thousand
and seventy-two grains in twelve hours. A pint of
water weighs one pound or seven thousand grains,
and hence every acre of land which contained six
hundred and forty such trees upon it, throws off three
thousand eight hundred and seventy-five gallons of
moisture in twelve hours. (See Williams' History
of Vermont, Vol. 1, page 90.)
Taking this for granted, one may easily conjecture
what must be the natural consequence when so
large a tract of country is covered so completely
with apparatus for evaporation. Nor ought any
one to be surprised to find the thermometer ranging
7

50 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
at a lower temperature than it would in the same
country, if divested of wood and subjected to the
common operations of cultivation.
There is undoubtedly another position in which
we ought to look at this fact as connected with cli
mate and productions.
The electrical state of the atmosphere must be
very different in such a dense forest, from what it is
in an open country, and how far this may influence
the productions of the soil, in hastening or retarding
their growth and maturity, or vary the results of
agricultural operations, cannot, in the present state
of the science, be determined. That electricity is
a most powerful agent in the changes which climates
undergo, as well as in the more daily variations of
the weather, no one can doubt, though he may not
be able to solve the mystery of its operations, or to
fully comprehend all its connections with the daily
occurrences in meteorology which are manifest to
the most careless observers.
That electricity also, has a powerful influence
upon soils, is also beyond a doubt ; but by what laws,
special or general, it acts, or how the various effects
which may be attributed to it, are brought about, is
yet almost wholly unknown to even the most scien
tific. The Aroostook River is closed by ice generally
about the middle of November, and opens about
the 20th of April. This agrees very well with the
time in which the Kennebec River closes in the
fall and opens in the spring.

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY.

51

The following tables will show the comparative
temperature of the country on the Aroostook, with
other places where such records are kept.
It will be well to observe that thermometers in
towns, are generally kept suspended on the side of
a building, which shelters them materially, while
ours was constantly moving from place to place —
sometimes on the banks of the river — sometimes in
a dense cedar swamp, and sometimes on elevated
but shaded ground.

Day.

Sun rise.

Noon.

Sept 24

52°

48°

25

30

57

26

31

55

27

38

57

28

53

65

29

42

65

30

40

69

7)286

7)416

40 6-7

593-7

Oct 1

40

68

2

32

75

3

55

44

4

30

48

5

47

54

6

34

58

7

40

44

8

27

46

9

26

46

10

34

56

11

40

12

42

13
40
46° 47
56
6057
58
63
7)387 55 2-7
5463
3745 52
56
4238
36 48
56
Remarks,
35
5 At Harvey's on St John — fair,
I cloudy, rainy — wind W.
At River De Chute — fair.
Aroostook Falls — fair — wind N. W.
At island 6 miles from mouth of
Aroostook — fair.
At Presquile — fair, cloudy — w. S. E.
< Four miles above Presquile — fair,
I shower at night,
Beaver Brook — fair — wind S. W.
Average temperature for Sept. 52°
Little Machias-clear, pleas't-w.N.W.
it it it »
5 Portage between Little Machias
I and Eagle Lake — fair, rainy.
Do. (at noon in cedar swamp) — w. S.
Do. " " rainy — w. S.
Do. " " at night rainy.
Do. " "fair— w.N. W.
Do. " " " w.N.W.
At Eagle Lake — fair — wind N. W.
At foot of Middle L. — cloudy — w. E.
At 3d Lake — rainy — wind E.
i Bakersville — cloudy, slight snow —
} wind N. W.
Do. rain with snow.
52

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE

Day.

Sun rise.

Noon.

Sun set.

Remarks.

Oct 14

36

40

42

Bakersville — fair — w. W.

15

32

42

43

5 Fish River—some rain —
I wind S. E.

40

48

42

5 At head of Middle lake—
I rainy most of the night.

16

C Portage between Eagle
17
32
43
} lake and Little Machi-
18
28
42
( as.
< Mouth of Little Machi-
l as — cloudy.
19
26
38
32
No. 10— fair.
20
32
34
do. snow storm.
21
30
39
do. snow and rain.
C 4 miles above Umquol-
22
32
40
36
•< qus-cloudy, some snow
d and rain.
23
28
34
36
Mooseluck — fair, cloudy.
C 1-2 mile above La Bom-
24
31
38
2 bique — cloudy, some
( rain.
25
34
36
At Umquolqus — rain.
26
32
No. 10 — cloudy, with rain.
27
32
36
do. fair.
28
36
do. cloudy.
29
No. 7 — snow-storm.
30
22
JN o.4— fair.
31
26
Crops. The crops cultivated by the farmers of
this country, are such as is generally found growing
in other parts of the State.
Indian Corn. Very little Indian corn has been
cultivated here. The seasons for several years past,
have been unfavorable for this crop, even in parts
of the State which have long been cleared and laid
open to the influences of the sun. They have been
particularly severe here, where the forest has hardly
been encroached upon. Hence but little attention
has been given to a crop so liable to be cut off by
early autumnal frosts. Occasionally, however, a
AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 53
crop has been obtained, equal in soundness and
weight, to any grown in any other part of the State.
Mr. Goss, who resides on an interval farm in No.
10, 5th Range, informed me that in one season
since he had resided upon the river, he gathered a
crop of this, which weighed sixty pounds per bushel,
and which was perfectly ripe. At present, it is
very uncertain whether it can be raised to advan
tage. It is possible, that when the forest shall have
disappeared, and the climate ameliorated by its
absence, the culture of Indian corn may become a
pursuit of very considerable importance to the agri
culturalists of that region, provided they should
cultivate an early variety, inasmuch as much of the
soil is well adapted to it.
Wheat. The staple crop of the Aroostook
farms is, and ever must be, wheat. For this the
climate, and most of the soil, is exceedingly favora
ble. The variety of this grain mostly cultivated,
is the spring wheat, though some experiments with
winter wheat have been eminently successful. It is
usually raised upon a " 6urn." Formerly, many
were in the habit of falling the trees in the spring,
burning as soon as possible, and sowing the wheat
immediately. This made it so late before the crop
could ripen, that the frosts and even snows of win
ter sometimes overtook and destroyed it before it
could be secured. Experience has taught them
a better system of procedure. The best mode
undoubtedly is, to fall the trees and "Zim6" them,
(that is, cut off the limbs,) in June. In the course

54 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
of the summer or fall, put in the fire, then "junk9'
and "pile," and sow the seed early in the succeeding
spring. This gives the wheat the advantage of an
early start, and it ripens as early, or nearly so, as it
does any where in Maine.
Some prefer to let the " chopping, " or trees that
are fell, lie until the next spring, before they burn
them. When an early burn can be effected, no
doubt this is a very good mode. There is then no
danger of burning deeply into the soil, as is some
times the case during a dry time in the summer or
fall, and the wheat has the benefit of the stimulus
of the recent ashes that are made.
On lands prepared as above, the average crop is
twenty bushels per acre.
I have mentioned that some experiments with
winter wheat have been successful, and the promise
that these experiments give, that this variety will
be as successful here as any where, is strong and
encouraging. Mr. Goss, the person just mentioned,
has for the last four years cultivated it with tolera-
able success. I examined his crop last season
while growing, and also after it was harvested. —
This was sown upon interval land, ploughed, and
yielded after the rate of thirty bushels to the acre.
He attributes his success to the fact, that the ground
does not freeze deeply here during the winter. The
snow falling early and remaining late, prevents the
frost penetrating deeply, and also prevents any con
siderable heaving of the ground by alternate freez
ing and thawing in the spring, and the roots are not

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 55
therefore thrown out and killed as they otherwise
would be did not the snow protect them. This
variety of wheat has also been successfully culti
vated in township No. 4, on the Aroostook Road,
and on the St. John river, above the Madawaska
settlement. Mr. Goss's crop was very fine ; the
straw grew long and healthy, and the berry was
very plump and bright. It is to be hoped that
experiments in regard to the culture of the winter
variety of this crop will be continued. Should it
finally be found that it is safe to cultivate it, an addi
tional source of profit and prosperity wiU be ascer
tained. A country that will afford both winter and
spring wheat, must be singularly favored, and need
not, under ordinary circumstances, fear want or
famine. I regret that I am not able to give more accurate
statistical information upon this and Che other crops;
such as the exact amount of increase per bushel
sown — exact amount of crop to the acre — expense
per acre of cultivating, &c. The great want of
exactness in their operations, of which farmers
almost every where are guilty, prevails among the
farmers here. Scarcely any one of them can tell
the precise amount of ground cultivated, quantity
of seed sown, or bushels harvested.
Their answers to questions upon the subject,
amount to general estimates. The provisions in
the late law granting a bounty on wheat and corn,
and requiring the applicants to make oath to the
amount of seed sown, acres cultivated and bushels

56 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
harvested, will remedy this trouble in regard to these
crops, but as the wheat was not thrashed when I
was there, I must refer you to such returns as may
be made to the Legislature.
The appearance of the fields during the summer,
and the good quality of the grain harvested in the
fall, would convince the most faithless that this is
naturally a great wheat country. I have been
informed that Mr. Lewis cultivated, in No. 7, on
the Aroostook road, 80 acres of wheat and gathered
1600 bushels. I cannot vouch for the truth of this,
as I did not see Mr. Lewis, he not being at home
at the time I was there. This, however, is but one
instance of the many that can be cited of the suc
cess attending the cultivation of this golden crop.
In 1837, Fish and Wiggins raised in township
No. 4, on the Aroostook road, 1250 bushels of wheat
on 50 acres of burnt land, averaging as \ou will see,
25 bushels to the acre. One hundred and forty of
this was winter wheat, which grew upon seven
acres, averaging twenty bushels to the acre. In
1838, they raised in the same township 750 bushels.
Mr. Lewis, who that year resided in the same town
ship, raised 750 bushels.
In 1837, there were raised in this township 6000
bushels of first rate wheat, which made an average
of nearly 300 bushels to a family. Wheat during
that year was worth $1,75 per bushel. It will be
remembered that the spring season of this year was
very favorable for getting good burns, and the sum
mer also favorable for the wheat crop. In 1838,

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 57
they raised but about 3000 bushels, owing to the
extremely wet spring season which prevented their
getting burns soon enough to enable them to sow
sufficiently early.
While speaking of the crops of No. 4, I trust that
it will not be an improper digression to say some
thing more of this township in this place. To the
eye of an agriculturalist it appears like a gem in
the wilderness. Perhaps, however, the circum
stances under which we first saw it, may have
caused a more vivid "first impression" than might
otherwise have been the case. Our party had
entered the Aroostook country in another direction,
and had been for a long time exploring the streams
and the forest.
We took the unfinished part of the road at its
junction with the Aroostook on our return, and had
travelled, or rather wallowed, through thirty miles
of mud and mire, during the two first days of
November, and those uncomfortably stormy. As
we arrived at the end of this part of the road, the
sudden appearance of enclosed and cultivated fields,
and of the well graded, and handsomely constructed
State road, stretching most invitingly before us,
afforded a cheering and gratifying contrast to the
leafless forest, and the miry path behind.
The new and convenient barns and the enormous
stacks of wheat which occasionally met the eye,
gave evidence of thrift and comfort among the set
tlers, which some older parts of the State might
envy. In looking, first at the forest on either side,
8

58 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
reaching, dense and unbroken, to the very verge of
the distant horizon, and then to the recently cleared
and enclosed fields, and the comfortable looking
farm houses before us, I could not but feel a pride
in the triumph of art over nature, and satisfaction in
looking forward to the time, and that not very
remote, when the whole region on either side, now
a wilderness, would, by the same means, be con
verted into farms, and afford a home for thousands
of contented and happy people. The first tree was
cut in this settlement in 1834. In passing along,
although there was considerable snow upon the
ground and more still falling, we found many of the
settlers with their boys busily engaged in junking and
piling, and some were ploughing. Here was the
secret cause of the change that had taken place in
so short a time. Industry had levelled the forest
and converted the lair of the wild beast into an
abode of civilization. Industry had wrought the
change^ and that too unaided by a great amount of
capital, for nearly every settler when he first entered
his lot, was poor and possessed little else than good
health and courage. Now, they have an abun
dance of subsistence — are blessed with the advan
tages of social life — have a school of about forty
scholars, and are well supplied with missionaries
of different denominations to lead them in their
devotional duties according to the dictates of their
consciences. Rye. But very little rye is cultivated in this
region. It is, however, a sure crop, and a profitable

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 59
one. It is made use of in many parts, especially in
No. 4, for fattening hogs, combined with potatoes
boiled. I saw a white variety at Mr. Fairbanks'
mill, the flour of which is as white as that of Wheat.
It is a spring grain, and yields as much as the
darker kind.
Oats. This grain is pretty extensively and
generally cultivated, and much use is made of it
both as a fodder before being thrashed, and as a
provender for the horses and oxen employed in the
lumbering business. The common variety is mostly
the kind cultivated. I saw some fields of the Sibe
rian, or " horse-mane' > oat, as they are sometimes
called. The climate and the soil suit them well,
and when properly cultivated, the crop seldom fails.
Mr. Fairbanks and others stated that they seldom
obtained less than fifty bushels to the acre on burnt
land. The price for several winters past has been
one dollar per bushel.
Barley. I saw but few fields of barley-r-those
however, were very good. This grain has not hith
erto been very generally cultivated. It is coming
very gradually into use, however, and will eventu
ally become an important crop to the farmers of this
section. It is a crop that has not been held in
so high estimation in any part of our State as its
merits deserve, although it is now fast gaining favor.
The introduction of hulling machines, will soon
make it more of a favorite, and bring it into more
general use. In a part of the country where Indian
corn cannot be safely relied upon, perhaps there is

60 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
no other grain which can be cultivated to greater
advantage for a substitute, than this.
Peas. Peas grow well in this country, either
when planted alone, or sown with oats. I found in
different places some of the grey pea mixed with
the common kind. The seed of this variety came
from Madawaska. The pea and oat crop is not so
generally attended to as it ought to be. As a feed
for swine, it is of great use, second, as some think,
only to Indian corn. I could obtain no certain data
of the amount which has ever been raised here per
acre. Buckwheat. The variety called Indian wheat
in Kennebec, but more commonly in this region,
" Rough Buckwheat," is very extensively culti
vated, not only on the Aroostook, but also on the
St, John river. This grain, which is undoubtedly
the true Tartarian Buckwheat, is said by some to
be indigenous to this section of the State, growing
wild in the woods, and furnishing food for the par
tridges and wild fowl. I was credibly informed that
a Mr. Murphy, who was the first settler in the
Tobique settlement, states that when he first went
there, and while there was no clearing for many
miles distant, he killed partridges that had this grain
in their crops, and that he took it out and sowed it,
thereby obtaining seed for future use. How this
may be, I am not able to say. We saw none grow
ing wild during our excursion.
In regard to this grain, there is no doubt that its
growth, its great powers of yielding, as well as its

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 61
uses in domestic economy, have been much over
rated. It has been confidently stated by many of
its advocates, that it would grow best and yield
most on poor land. This is a mistake. It likes a
warm sandy loam, but it also likes to have this loam
in good tilth and of good quality. On such a soil,
it will sometimes yield fifty bushels from one of sow
ing. Some farmers on the St. John river cultivate
it largely. A Mr. Raymond, of Wakefield, N. B.,
I am told, raised last season nearly 1500 bushels.
A gentleman of Frederickton (Mr. Woodford,)
informed me that he sowed, about the middle of
June last, one peck and a half on one acre of strong
but rocky land, which yielded him twenty-four
bushels, the whole cost of which, when ready to be
sent to mill, was six dollars, making the cost per
bushel 25 cents.
It is much used for fattening swine and poultry,
and for provender for horses and oxen. Many like
it for bread, but it is not so palatable to others as the
old variety. Care should be used in grinding it.
If it be ground fine, so as to crush the hull, the
flour will have a bitterness of taste. To avoid this,
it will be necessary to set the stones so far apart as
to just open the hull, and let it escape without being
crushed at all. The flour falls out and the hull
passes from the bolt, merely opened, but destitute of
flour. It yields, when ground fine, about thirty-five
pounds of flour to the bushel, but it is much better
to so grind it that only twenty-five pounds shall be
obtained per bushel.

Q2 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
In this country it seems to take the place of Indian
corn, and often brings a dollar per bushel.
It grows about two feet high, has a minute yel
lowish green flour, and a rough triangular shaped
seed. This seed shatters out very easily, and
requires the utmost care in harvesting it, lest you
leave it on the ground. The usual mode of man
agement is to mow it when about half of the seed
has turned black ; then rake it up into small bunches
and let them lie for some time to ripen, as it is said
the rains do not injure it. When gathered, rugs
and cloths are laid in the bottom and hung on the
sides of the cart to catch what may fall out.
There is one objection to cultivating this crop, viz:
it shells out so easily that it invariably leaves more
or less of its seed in the ground, which thus becomes
filled with it, and, going upon the principle that a
weed is a "plant out of place," it then becomes
a bonafide weed.
In a country, however, where but little Indian
corn is cultivated, it is quite an acquisition to the
farmer, who puts it to very many valuable uses.
Beans. This crop does well on the Aroostook.
The early white is cultivated here somewhat — but
little attention, however, is paid to this or any other
variety. A few for domestic use are generally
planted, but as a field crop, I know of no one that
has ever cultivated them.
Roots. — Potatoes. Perhaps no part of New
England is better suited to the cultivation of most
of the culinary roots in use among us, than this.

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 63
The potatoes raised in this country, when planted
in season, are equal in quantity and quality to any
whatever. The climate and soil both seem par
ticularly congenial to this root. Nothing is wanting
but greater facilities for getting them to market, to
make their culture one of the most profitable branches
of agricultural operations that can be pursued here.
The variety most approved, is called the Christie
potatoe, from the circumstance of their having been
introduced by a Mr. Christie, who resides there.
They are known in other parts of the State by the
name of the St. John potatoe. No particular pains
are taken here for this cropT or anxiety manifested
to obtain a large amount per acre. Hence the
actual power of the soil in this respect has never
been fairly tested. Many assert that they have
obtained three hundred bushels per acre, with com
mon management. Mr Fitzherbert, near the mouth
of the river, once obtained four hundred bushels on
something less than an acre, but the soil was good,
and he gave it a good dressing with common barn
yard manure.
I am sorry to say, however, that easily as this
root may be raised, from neglect in attending to its
culture, a severe scarcity is not unfrequently felt,
and from that circumstance they have been sold for
from eighty cents to a dollar per bushel.
Rut a Bag a. This vegetable can be raised
here in great perfection. It is however not gen
erally cultivated, not so generally as it should be,
considering its value as an article of food for cattle

64 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
and swine during the winter season. No definite
information was obtained as to the amount of yield
per acre, but from the appearance of some few
fields which I examined while growing, I could see
no reason why the farmers of this region may not
outstrip their brethren in other parts of the State
in the culture of this root; and it is to be hoped
that they will not long neglect so valuable an article
of produce. Nothing can be more grateful to cattle
during the cold season, when but little, save dry
forage, can be had to sustain them. In 1837, Fish
and Wiggin raised in No. 4, 1300 bushels of this
root among the potatoes that were planted upon a
burn. The quantity of land is not known. They
obtained from the same land 800 bushels of
potatoes.
Beets, Carrots, Parsnips, Onions, &c,
all flourish well here, and can be raised with perfect
ease and success. The Sugar Beet has never been
tried, or if cultivated at all, no experiment has been
instituted to ascertain the quantity which can be
obtained per acre, nor whether it will be more or
less saccharine than when raised farther south.
There is an opinion abroad, among some, that when
this root is grown in warm regions the saccharine
matter is greater in proportion to the quantity of
root, than when it is grown north. Whether any
experiments have actually demonstrated this to be
the fact in this country, I am not able to say.
The nature of the soil may have an influence
upon the quality of this root, but reasoning from

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 65
analogy it would seem that it is more fitted for a
cool than a sultry climate. The root seems to be a
store house or magazine in which nutriment is to be
preserved during the winter season for the future
use of the plant — it being a biennial, requiring two
years in which to grow and perfect its seed. The
cooler regions of the temperate zone, as a general
rule, produce those kinds of roots in much greater
perfection as it regards size and quantity than the
warmer portions. It is also a pretty well estab
lished fact, that the northern limit, at which any
plant will flourish and fully ripen, will afford that
plant and its fruit in greater perfection, than at the
southern limit. The Sugar Beet is destined to
become to the North, what the Sugar Cane is to
the South, and I can see no good reason whatever,
why the farmers in the Aroostook section of our
State may not find it a safe and valuable business
to embark in its culture and in the manufacture of
sugar from it. The Sugar Maple it is true flour
ishes here in perfection, and affords a rich supply of
sugar to those inhabitants who see fit to attend to
the manufacture. Yet it is believed by those who
have had experience in the culture of the beet and
in the manufacture of Maple Sugar, that the for
mer will afford a more ample source of sugar than
the latter, in consequence of its requiring less labor,
all things considered.
The improvements which have been made and
are still making in the process of manufacturing
Beet Sugar, will soon render this business as simple
9

66 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
and as easy as any culinary operation now per
formed on the common hearth. The distance of
this section from navigation and the expense arising
from the transportation of foreign molasses and
sugar, make it an object of no small importance to
enquire into the subject, and to adopt early measures
to introduce the culture of this beet and the manu
facture of sugar among them. It will be seen that
I have been speaking of what may be done, rather
than what is done ; but as the common beet grows
well there, and as the Sugar Beet will flourish
where the common beet will, and as wherever the
Sugar Beet will grow, sugar may be profitably made,
there is nothing to prevent successful operations
being carried on there. A country that can pro
duce the Rock Maple and the Sugar Beet in per
fection, need not depend upon the South for sugar
or molasses.
Flax. This plant grows here remarkably well,
better perhaps than farther South. Its culture
however is not carried on in any systematic manner,
nor has there been to my knowledge any experi
ments made in regard to the best mode of culture
in this region, or its management after being
gathered. Generally, a small patch is sown for the purpose
of affording thread, &c. for domestic purposes, and
not for an article for the market. No new or
definite information, in regard to its relative value
to them as a field crop, can be given. Should the
recent improvements in the mode of dressing this

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 67
article, now being adopted in the Middle States,
become more generally known and practised, it may
yet be one of very considerable importance to this
part of our State.
Fruits. The settlement of this country has
been so recent, that it cannot yet be ascertained
whether it is or is not well adapted to the growth
or the maturing of apples, pears, &c. Some apple
trees have been set out in township No. 4, on the
Aroostook road, which look well, and which bid
fair to produce fruit at the proper time. From
what information I have been able to obtain from
old people in this State, I have inferred that it is
necessary for the forest to have been cleared from
the ground some time, before apple trees will flourish
very well. It was thought in the early settlement
of Kennebec County, and in many other places in
Maine, that apple trees would never flourish well
in it, as the first attempts were not very successful ;
but time has proved the fallacy of this idea. It
may be well to be somewhat cautious as to what
situation the farmer on the Aroostook should set
his trees. A southerly slope would probably be the
best until the country should become more open,
and the rays of the sun have more chance for opera
tion. The apple tree grows well in Houlton. It
flourishes also in some parts of Canada, and very
probably will ultimately do well in this section.
The wild prune, the currant, the gooseberry, the
cranberry, common cranberry, blue berry, wild

68 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
cherry, &c. abound and come to maturity in their
proper season.
Grass. The different species of grass which
are cultivated in New England, flourish here in
great perfection. I have never seen better crops of
herds-grass, clover, &c, than what I found in this
country, nor was better hay ever put into a barn,
than that which I found in that of Mr. Fairbanks,
last autumn.
The natural grasses, such as blue joint, &c. spring
up with great luxuriance and yield in profusion.
Although they start somewhat late, there is gene
rally no check to them in their growth, and they
come forward with astonishing rapidity. On the
12th of June, on a small interval at the mouth of
the Umquolqus, the blue joint was two and a half
feet in height. Nature has undoubtedly designed
this region for a grazing as w7ell as an arable coun
try. It is true that the winters are longer than in
some other parts of New England, but this, which
by some is considered a disadvantage, is met and in
a good degree counteracted by the abundance of
grass for pasturage and fodder. Considering the
low price of land and the extensive range which
cattle may have — the call, which for a long series of
years must be made for good oxen, horses and beef
to carry on the farming and lumbering operations of
the country, grass growing and grazing cannot but
be a lucrative business. If the farmer does not
wish to keep stock, his hay will be in demand at a

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 69
fair price, sufficient to make it an object to enter
into the business extensively. Grass sown upon a
burn requires two years at least to get thoroughly
set. It then affords a better fodder than when
recently sown. The average amount of yield is one
and a quarter ton per acre, and the average price
is $12 per ton for loose hay, and $14 per ton for
screwed or pressed.
Agricultural implements. In a country
where all are pioneers, and where comparatively
few have any great amount of capital to begin with,
it cannot be expected that agricultural improve
ments would receive much attention, especially
when the apathy in regard to these things in the
older and more wealthy parts of the State, does
not offer any very powerful example to stimulate
the back woodsman beyond the necessary opera
tions of subduing the forest and merely raising his
bread. Very little ploughing is as yet done, as
most of the crops are raised on a " fettrn;" and as
roads are not yet laid out and constructed, no other
vehicle except the common sled is much used by
the farmers on the river. I found here the thresh
ing floor and fan of olden time. The thrashing
floor is merely a sufficient number of logs, which,
when hewed square and placed side by side, will
make a platform eight or ten feet wide, having sides
raised two or three feet in height on which the
grain is laid and thrashed by the common flail.
The fan is formed by semicircle of light board, say
three feet in diameter, having a rim around the

70 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
circumference of thin wood and a handle on each
side to manage it. In this fan the grain is taken
up and shaken about, tossing it up occasionally, to
catch the air to blow off the chaff. It is also waved
back and forth over the grain as it lies in the heap,
and the chaff thus blown away.
I found a very good thrashing machine at Mr.
Fairbanks', made by himself, and propelled by
water. It was made in the usual form of the spike
or scutching machine. A cylinder of wood in
which were placed teeth made of round bolt iron.
A part of the teeth of the bedding were made of
wood, which I am informed answered very well
indeed. In No. 4, I found Pitts' Horse Power and
Thrasher in active operation. The large quantities
of grain raised in this place make such machines
very desirable and diminish the labor of getting it
out very much indeed.
Roads. A liberal policy in constructing good
roads through the Public Domain, is undoubtedly
the best policy to be pursued. It at once opens the
country as it were to the inspection of the world,
and induces many to enter and settle, who would
not otherwise leave the older settled parts of the
State. It is important however, that these roads
should be laid out in the most judicious manner, so
as to connect the most important points of the
country, and at the same time throw open as large
a quantity of settling land to the emigrant as possi
ble. Indeed it would seem advisable to conduct

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 7 J
the roads through the best settling land, even at the
risk of being more circuitous and incurring more
expense. The Aroostook road, as laid out to the
river, appears to have been very happily located in
this respect. But from the Aroostook to the Mad
awaska settlement it appears, from what observa
tions I could make, to pass through a tract of coun
try less abounding in good settling land than if it
were laid out farther west or east of its present
location. There are two courses on the west side
of its present position which it would be well to
examine thoroughly. First up the Great Machias
and west of the Upper Eagle lake, thence bearing
easterly till it strikes Fish river terminating at the
junction of this river with the St. John — or second,
up the east side of the Little Machias and the
Upper Eagle lake, and crossing the stream which
connects the Upper lake with the one immediately
below, and thence running down on the westerly
side of Fish river, as before mentioned. An
other avenue which it would be desirable for the
State to open, would be from the town of Houlton
to the mouth of Presquile, and thence to Mada
waska settlement. A road from near the mouth of
the Masardis or St. Croix to the Grand Falls of
the Aroostook, would give as many thoroughfares
through this territory perhaps as the State ought to
construct. The various connecting roads should be
made by settlers or proprietors.
The late Surveyor General, Dr. Whipple, very
politely furnished me with a plan of a road running

72 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
from the St. Croix, by Pollard's Mills, to the mouth
of the Aroostook. It passes diagonally through
the townships belonging to Maine, which course, in
case Massachusetts should decline her assistance, it
would be well to adopt, as it is as short a route
as could probably be selected. If, however, Mas
sachusetts would cooperate with her usual liberality
and energy, it would undoubtedly be best to follow
the course of the river, as for a number of years
such a route would accommodate the greatest num
ber of settlers, and always be a road of much
travel.* Geology. Though I was required to examine
the Geology of the country through which I passed ;
yet, as it has been so recently examined by our inde
fatigable State Geologist, who has reported thereon,
it would be a work of supererogation forme to report
upon the same subject; especially as a narration of
the facts would be merely a recapitulation of his obser
vations. I shall therefore merely bear testimony to
the able and faithful manner in which he has per
formed this part of his task. Some recent discov
eries of fetid limestone have been made in No. 11
5th Range, since his visit to that country, owing to
clearing and burning, which laid bare the rocks and
which were before hidden. Slate, limestone, and
graywacke are the principal rock formations at
present visible. No granite formations were seen
by our party on the Aroostook or its tributaries.
The characteristics of the rock formations, as Dr.
* The plan is deposited with the Board of Internal Improvements.

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 73
Jackson observes, indicate coal or anthracite, but
it is very possible that this region is the extreme
western limit of the coal formation which occurs in
the Provinces east of this. It may be here observed
that any country which has a good soil, plenty of lime,
iron and coal, is emphatically a rich country. All of
those requisites, except the last, are abundant on
the Aroostook, and the place of the last will be for
many years supplied by the immense forest which
covers the country.
State Farm. I avail myself of the suggestion
of a friend to recommend the establishment of a
State Farm in this region. There are many rea
sons why such an institution would be of great
utility to this section of the country, and highly
beneficial to the State at large. Lands of any
quality and in any quantity can be selected. Lum
ber for buildings and fixtures is at hand, already
belonging to the State.
The object of it should be to introduce the various
breeds of cattle, sheep, hogs and other stock ; to cul
tivate the various crops which it is desired to accli
mate, and the properties of which it is wished to test
in this latitude ; to introduce the various fruits which
would probably grow, and thus form a source whence
the settler could look for a supply to commence his
operations or to renovate his stock and crops w7hen
degenerated or exhausted. I am aware that this
may be considered visionary to many, nor do I
know that any thing of the kind has as yet been
commenced in any of the States , but in Europe,
10

74 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
National farms are not uncommon, and the citizens
of this Republic are not unfrequently benefited by
importations from them.
The Merino Sheep from the National or King's
flock in Spain, and from the National farm at
Rambouillet in France; the Saxony from the
Electoral flocks in Germany, by which our own
country has become a rival in wool growing with
many of the kingdoms of the old world, may be
mentioned as instances of the great and extended
good which has arisen from similar establishments
abroad. There is one advantage to be considered
in locating a farm in this part of our domain. It
is the most northern section of our State, and we
might be pretty well assured, that whatever came
to maturity here, would also mature in any other
part of New England.
The expense of commencing need not be great,
as the object is utility rather than splendor; plain
practical excellence rather than useless show. It
is believed that under the management of a man of
good sense and practical skill, such an establishment
would soon pay its expenses and become a source
of good stock and seeds, and a pattern worthy of
imitation. General remarks. — Resources. It will
be natural to enquire what are the resources of this
part of the State? I answer, they are obviously
more than is found in many tracts embracing the
same amount of territory. In the first place the
lumber stands most prominent. At present it is

AROOSTOOK TERRITORY. 7g
the best portion of Maine for lumber, although as
it regards pine, there is not as many trees to be
found upon an acre as in some other sections ; yet
what grows here, is of an excellent quality, and
readily commands the highest price. The other
varieties of lumber, such as cedar and hackmatac,
are very abundant and have not yet been disturbed.
Second — The large amount of good soil, which by
proper attention will afford a surplus of produce for
the use of less favored portions of the State.
Third — Its mineral resources, especially lime, will
be a source of profit and comfort to the residents
as soon as enterprize shall take hold sufficiently
strong to place it within the reach of the consumer.
Indeed, I see no reason why, in the course of a few
years, the inhabitants of the valley of the Aroostook
may not send out, as a surplus over and above what
they may need for home consumption, large amount
of lumber of every description, wheat, oats, rye,
barley, potatoes, beef, pork, wool, live stock, such
as neat cattle, sheep, and horses, in abundance.
There is no natural obstacle in the way to prevent
this being done.
Objections to the country. It will b?
also natural to ask what are the objections to settle-
ing in this country? That there objections in the
minds of almost every one who has been brought
up in an old settled country, where all the comforts
of civilized life abound, I am aware; but these
objections are of a nature which time, industry and
perseverance will do away. The emigrant who

76 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF THE
goes into the forest to prepare or make a farm for
himself, must reflect before he leaves the pleasant
abodes and cultivated fields where he has been wont
to enjoy the accumulated convenience of years of
toil and labor, that he must of necessity leave these
behind, and take the w7orld in. the "rough" as
it were. He must remember, that he goes there,
not to find the pleasures or the refinement of the
town or the city, but to create them for himself —
to manufacture them, so to speak, from the raw
material — to establish and build himself up from
small and mayhap from humble beginning. The
first troubles that will be sure to introduce themselves
to the stranger are the black flies and musquitoes
during the warm season. These however, are no
more abundant here, than in every new place where
the forest abounds. Every pioneer has had to
encounter them, and they gradually disappear as
the country becomes cleared and cultivated. The
lack of Mills has heretofore been a serious objec
tion, but, thanks to the liberality of the State, by
the encouragement offered in the act of 1838, this
will soon be obviated. Early frost may be con
sidered as a serious objection by some. This how
ever is one, which may also be considered as resting
for the few last years upon all New England. It
is true, that as a general rule, the frost is earlier
here than in Massachusetts; but, with the excep
tion of Indian corn, all the staple crops of our
agriculture ripen perfectly well.

aroostook territory. 77
Want of schools and religious privile
ges. All new countries are liable to this objection.
It is one which, for the first few years, is almost
inevitable; but it is nevertheless astonishing how
soon the New Englanders make arrangements to
meet these wants. Almost before they have pro
cured the necessary buildings for their own protec
tion, and ere the "first burn" has done smoking,
the school mistress may be seen, with a bevy of
urchins about her, listening to her instructions; and
the missionary is made welcome to the settlement,
and the utmost attention given while he leads in
the devotional duties of the Sabbath.
The lack of intelligent and refined society operates
as an objection in the minds of many. It is true,
that the same amount of refinement cannot be found,
and indeed cannot be expected, in a new country
like this, where the wilderness stretches between
the several settlements for many a league unbroken
and undisturbed, save occasionally by the clearing
made by some one who has had the courage to leave
the busy haunts of men and wrestle in solitude as
it were with nature herself; but on the other hand,
if you do not find the refinements, you also do not
find many of the follies which too often accompany
those refinements, and make fashionable life ridicu
lous. As for intelligence, the yankee who goes into
the wilderness or elsewhere, carries it with him, and
the schools before mentioned are sure to perpetuate it.
Should you advise me to go to the Aroostook?
is a question often put. Before answering this, I

78 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY.
would use the characteristic privilege of asking, who
are you?
If you are already well situated — have a good
farm — live in a pleasant neighbourhood, and are
blessed with the common goods and chattels neces
sary for the well-being and happiness of your family,
stay where you are — go neither east nor west. Are
you a man of feeble health, with little capital, una
ble to undergo the severe toils of subduing the forest,
and unable to hire? It would not be advisable for you
to go there. Are you idle — lazy — shiftless and
vicious? Go not thither. Better stay where,(if you
cannot reform) alms houses and prisons are more
abundant to administer to your necessities, or to
ensure your safe keeping. Are you in straitened
circumstances, but in good health, with a robust
and hardy family of children to assist you? Go to
the Aroostook. If possible, take a supply of pro
visions with you to last till you can get a crop —
select a good lot of land, be prudent and industri
ous, and in three years you can look around upon
your productive acres and your well filled garners
with satisfaction. Are you a young man just start
ing in life, but with no capital, save a strong arm —
good courage, and a narrow axe? Go to the Aroos
took; attend assiduously and carefully to your busi
ness ; select a lot suitable for your purpose, and with
the common blessings of providence, you will, in a
very few years, find yourself an independent free
holder, with a farm of your own subduing, and
with a capital of your own creating.

NOTE.— [Page 37.]
(a) These remarks were written before the late troubles
took place in regard to the trespassers on the Public Lands.
Those, however, who have been stationed on Fish river,
are undoubtedly aware of the trouble they would have
had to get to that station, had they not gone in on the ice
during the winter.

ERRATA. Page 21— 9th line from bottom, for " puddingstone-J3*r- -
glomerate,'' read puddingstone (conglomerate.)
Page 39 — 6th lino from bottom, for " both branches," read both hanks.

Gaylord Bros.
Makers
Syracuse, N. Y.
PAT. JAN 21, 1908

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