The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-07-31
From Portland to Moun, Ds.er..

4AHsa
g u. MOUNT DESERT ISLAND, July 20, 1867.
To the Editor OF the Press:
1t is the habit of many people to look for the
noticeable, the unusual or the remarkable only
in some foreign land or in distant parts OF our
own; emitting and overlooking deserving COM
mercial enterprises or noteworthy natural
beauties near home. .tts..-i..,...
This remark is suggested by the pleasures of
trip to this place on the staunch, commodious
steamer City of Richm Jnd 1t may be sup
posed that most people in Portland are aware
that we have steamboat communication with
Machias and the intermediate coast towns but
I question whether many save those especially
interested, fully or even partially realize the
advantages conferred by this lne Inthe past
these towns have been dependent almost solely
on transient coasters for all their freight COM
munication with "the rest of mankind" and q
long and tedious stage journey was the only
available means of passage into "the world at
large" Since the establishment of this line
the semi-weekly steamers give regular and
certain communication with Portland and
Boston and access is ready and easy for either
freight or passage to these dominions of Down
East. That the people of the coast towns en-
joy and appreciate these conveniences is attest
ed by the constantly increasing tide of local
travel and the Augmented amount of Boston
and Portland freight. The facilities afforded
by this line to the pleasure tourist are quite
unrvalled. Leaving Portland in the evening
the less attractive features of the coast are
passed in the night and morning finds us off
Owls Head with the spires of Rockland Just
viaihla N fha diafanoa Half hr;,,
to the wharf, and then an hour more of the
thunder, trundle, trundle of the hand borrow
completes the huge pile of freight on the
wharf and after exchanging passengers with
the Katakdin We steam away across the Penob-
scot Bay. 1t is here that the scenic beauties of
the route first appear World wide is the fame
of the Thousand islands" of the st. Lawrence.
but save that the islands are not as heavily
wooded and the channels are broader, the
archipelago between Penobscot and French
mans Bays will not suffer i'm comparison
with the st. Lawrence. The sail down Egge-
moggin Reach was enchanting The water
waslas smooth as an inland lakelet, while the
winding channels among the islands on the one
hand or the tortuous inlets into the mainland
| on the other, confer sense of ever changing
and picturesque beauty not often realized.
Noon brings us to Mount, Desert, the new
watering place" the East Pleasant quarters
| await us at the '1sland House," where mine
| host Clark caters to the pleasures of the outer
as well as inner man. Here for the present we
will larry leaving for future letter some notes
upon the island and the remainder of our route
to Machias. ri7d -, f,,f,-..-.4--- -,,,4+
We find sad and gloomy weight overhang-
ing the entire island, consequent upon the ter
rible disaster Of last Wednesday The partic-
ulars of this fearful event you have already re-
ceiyed from another correspondent. Friends
of all who were involved in the accident have
arrived, and the most persistent efforts are be-
ing made for the recovery of the bodies of the
lost. Up to last evening these efforts have beer,
without success, as not trace of the foundered
boat or the bodies of the lost had been discoy-
cred. Miss Blake, who alone was rescued from
the waves, is making fair progress toward re-
coyery. She was not informed of the extent
of the disaster tin Saturday evening and up to
that time supposed that she was washed off
the boat by wave and that no Others were in
volved. Sheis able to throw little light on the
causesof the sad event. This must remain
with ten thousand other mysteries hidden in
| the bosom Of the heaving ocean till that day
when all secrets shall be made known. y
f CT 4H. 81 eta.fa LUTHER Il.