The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-06-27
Scenes and Industries of the Eastern Coast of
Maine. f., rnf4.flg
MACHIAs June Is. 1853.

Scenes and Industries of the Eastern Coast of
Maine. f7-. unfll.Ygs
MAcHIAs, June Is, 1858.
To the Editor Of the Press: .-e
Machias Port some four miles from this vii
lage of sawmills where I am writing, is the
Richmond" spacious and fast steamer recent
ly put upon these waters. No wonder the
people on the coast between this place and
Portland, rejoice in such an enterprise. The
boat takes the finland route" as they call 1t,
and winds its way among the islands that
who have not travelled this route have but
feeble conception OF the immense number If
these islands. Sailing on this route seems like
steaming among the Thousand islands" on
the st. Lawrence river although on much
more magnificent scale. ,..-,-...-.
The entrance to the harbor at Machias Port
is exceedingly beautiful and picturesque: Tnis
great bay ia. full of green and splendid islands,
and the sci OF Richmona" makes her way
safely among them and rounds up to the
wnarfin fine style. Atall the landings between
tie terminus and your city, men women and
c lildren in large numbers assemble to greet
t1e gallant steamer as she blows her whistle
aad freight. In making these landings where
a,e seen many lobster establishments and
,tyy presses, good deal Of skill and toll are
d,manded in properly managing so large
boat as the City of Richmond, but Capt. Deer
ing possesses those qualities in an eminent de-
gree. He has navigated this coast for many
years and knows all the islands and dangerous
rocks that obstruct navigation on this route.
The proprietors of this steamboat did well in
selecting such a gentleman to command her.
In his hands their property is safe and tie
lives OF passengers will not be endangered
He has not that foolish pride and ambition
wlich prompt some men to "push through"
and make the trip in time, whatever may be
the state of the elements. Maine has dan
serous coast and Capt. Deering knows all.
abort it and governs himself accordingly. If
the fog settles down and obscures the way,
the Captain drops anchor and waits for the
fog to Gift" And herein he is right and own
ers and passengers will Say so however great
their hurry may be to get through. Such
q lalitles IL a sea Captain cannot be too highly
priced and appreciated and for that reason I
have thus alluded to them. ids . aEa1-s
I confess am asreeably disappointed in
Machias. I was not aware OF the wealth, en-
terprise and business of this village which
may be set down as the smartest one of its
size in Maine. We arrived here Saturday
before night and found the streets full of peo-
Pc, the sawmills driving away, and the hum
If industry heard on every side. On the low
er dam there are three gang saws and six sim
gle ones; ald on the upper dam two gangs
and single one in operation. At Whitney,
vile four miles above are two gangs and one
single saw. The readers Of the Press will
have some idea of the amount of lumber man
uiactured on this river when tell them that
one gang of saws will cut out $4,000 feet of
boards in twenty-four hours. There is one
mill on the lower dam, containing one gang
and single saw driven by steam, which is
now on it; third million, to say nothing ofthe
laths It has made. This mill can also be run
by water, but steam is preferred because its
power is greater and more steady. EJglngs
from the laths and sawdust will keep the
boiler up and the cost to run it is trifling COM
pared with the value of the power. os
The Machias river is indeed valuable
stream, and the wealth of its lumber now
standing on the upper waters is immense
There are many timber townships whose val
ne can hardly be estimated. Neither this gen.
Grafton nor the next, viii see the end OF the
pine lumber, to say nothing of the oceans Of
spruce which has hardly been touched yet
There is probably no river in Maine that has
so much timber upon it as this one. FIRE has
not been so destructive to the timber lands on
| this RIVER as on others in Maine. Lumbermen
say that fire has destroyed more timber in
Maine than the axe and the saw. And no
doubt that is true. An immense wealth of
pine lumber has been destroyed by fire. Keep
/ the IRE out OF well-timbered township and
it is difncult matter to find the last pine tree ;
so say those who have spent their lives in our
s'logging swamps." The amount of lumber
manufactured here every season is enormous.
There are some townships on Macbias river
now worth hall million of dollars, and per-
haps more They are worth more than gold
or silver mines. THERE'S vessel now in the
stream being loaded with lumberfor the Messrs.
Spring OF your city; half million feet Of
boards will be put on board, and then she viii
set sail for Bue1os Avres, South America; SO
1t will be perceived that the lumber on the
Machias waters finds its way to the most dis
tant parts of the world. There is shipbuild.
ing done here also. On the whole this little
village of Machias is mighty smart place,
and its residents may well be proud of it.
Mari Brothers Of your city have a lobster
! mandatory near Machiasport, and thousands