The Portland daily press., 1871-05-19
The Palace Car Excursion
BOSTON TO MATTAWAMKEAG.


| BFTwEEN BANGOR AND MATTAwAMKEAc.
Business along the line of the road fror
Bangor to Mattawamkeag seems very prosper
Gus, and judging from the large outlays ben
made in the erection of huge saw-mills an
tannaries, capitalists consider the prospect
for the future highly encouraging. At Passs
dumkeag Mr.. Peavey is building a large stean
saw and planning mill; Butterfield & Co. ar
Du'iding steam saw mill at Lincoln, Jane
boyd OF Bangor is building a steam mill 70
manufacturing shingles and slaves at Malta
wamkerg. AT Midway, eight miles up tn
river from Mattawamkeag, Messrs Poor s
son OF Boston are building large steam say
mill and tannery. Twelve miles beyond Mat
tawamkeag on the line of 1.-THE railroad Messrs
Shaw & Kingman have recently completed
large saw mill and a tannery, said to be tn
largest in the United States The place wher'
these are located is know as Kngman ant
consists of from forty to fifty dwelling house
and one or two hotels. year ago it was
waste bowling wilderness This firm hav,
just sent two hundred men into the woods
"peeling bark" and will send in two hundred
| more immediately. They own the land fol-
| eight or ten miles round the settlement.
The Return Trip.
The excursionsts left Bangor yesterday
morning at $50 and arrived in this city at 2. II
+. M, being within five minutes of the seized
ule time. Judge Kent and A. d. Lock w God
esq accompanied the party from Bangor
One of the palace cars was left at Newport on
account of having heated Journal bnt the &C.
commodatiOns were ample and no inconven-
fence ensued. Speaker Blaine and Friend
Lang got aboard at Augusta.
FORT HALIFAX
The train stopped few minutes at Wins
low, opposite Waterville, to allow the party to
examine Fort Halifax, venerable structure
erected by the early settlers in 1854 as pro-
lection against the Indians. 1t is built upon O
point of land lying between the Kennebec and
Sebasticook rivers, and was regarded as a great
curiosity. The old fort has stood the ravages
of time much better than it can the attacks OF
two hundred Yankees armed with jack knives.
By tonight "splinters" from this anciurt fol- ii.
ficatiOn duly marked Fort Halifax, 1854" will
be found in many homes in Maine, New
Hampshire and Massachusetts. and few more
raids will accomplish what the Indians failed
to do and that Eis, the reduction of the fort.
Hon. James w. Bradbury informed the COM
pany that the fort where Benedict Arnold
stopped at Augusta while on his way up the
Kennebec, is still in existence and occupied as
dwelling house.
GRAFTON BY DANIEL PRATT.
At Brunswick Mr.. Daniel Pratt, the great
American traveller, addressed the crowd upon
politics, Pullman cars and the Presidency.
Supt. Chase of the P. s. & P. r. R., Joined
the party here and accompanied it to the city.
At the p. S. & p. railway station carriages
were in waiting to conduct the party to the
Falmouth, where an elegant dinner was pro-
vided for the entire company.
DINNER.
1t was nearly three o'clock when the party
sat down to dinner, filling three tables run
ming the whole length of the gorgeous dining
hall of the Falmouth. Literally it was feast
of railroad kings. 1t was remarked that they
all represented seventeen millions of railroad
property. Without pausng to speak OF the
excellence of the dinner, which the party SEEM
ed to enjoy, let us proceed to notice the 'feast
of reason and the flow of SOUL" The elatter of
knives and forks had hardly ceased, when
Hon. John b. Brown, who presided ON the oc-
casion, called attention to the fact that the
train must leave at five o'clock, SO that there
was no time to lose. Mr.. Brown then intro.
duced Mayor Kingsbury, who, in behalf of the
city welcomed the party to Portland, and
thanked the rail- Dad directors for furnishing
the most elegant railroad excursion that was
ever undertaken in the State. He said that
those from Massachusetts, and New Hamp-
shire had only seen the State in her undrsss,
They had seen not many fine farms, not many
large towns as might be seen in their own
States, but they had seen in her large rivers,
her wealth Of lumber, and her vast lumber
manufactures, only one of her important ele.
ments of wealth not only of this State but to
New England. The party had only been to
the outskirts of Names lumber region. There
were yet thousands Of acres that have yet hard
ly resounded to the axe of the lumbermen-
thousands OF acres Of the most fertile lands Of
the State are yet covered by the primeval for
ests. 1t needs railroad enterprise to imme-
diately change the territory into fertile farms
giving employment and homes to thousands.
Speaking of Boston and Portland. he said that
among sensible men there could be no jeal-
ously between Portland and Boston. Let Bos-
ton remain the Hub as it it undoubtedly is,
but let US who may be the rim and spokes re-
member that the hub cannot move without
the motion being communicated to the wide
wheel. Born in Boston and reared in Port
land, he loved both. He was proud of Port
land, of her energy and intelligence, and,
with her great natural facilities, he believed
her future greatness to be assured. Mayor
Kingsbury's remarks called forth frequent APP
plause.
Now, said President Brown, will intro
duce the oldest and ablest railroad President
in New Eng Gov. Goodwin of New
Hampshire. His name was greeted with con-
tinued applause and a gentleman in whose
person might be recognized one of the war
governors" rose at the head of table. He
said he had grown gray in railroad science-a
fact that he may we'll be proud of. He was the
first President of the Eastern railroad in New
Hampshire, and the second President OF the
Portsmouth and Saco Then the-e was but
one road in Maine-the Bangor and Milford.
Communities had always got short sighted of
railroading. The first road that came into
Portsmouth was to damage the town if it ex-
tended beyond certain street. But in time it
extended until it now reaches Mattawamkeag
and Portsmouth, had not ceased to thrive but
had thriven the faster. In his time he had
been amazed at the seeming temerity of rail-
road men but when he saw the names behind
the enterprises, he had now learned to have
faith in them.
Having introduced the Oldest and ablest
railroad President, Mr.. Brown said he would
introduce an ambitious railroad President who
seemed anxious to be at the head of a road
that should extend from Boston through New
Hampshire and Maine to the Provinces. He
then introduced George M. Browne, Esq,
President of the Eastern road. Mr. Browne dis
claimed any ambition OF being President of any
road He was however in favor of a consOlida-
ton of the lines that this excursion train had
run over and beyond these to the Provinces.
1t would give us an iron bend that would unite
them to us. He believed that this consolida-
ton proved beneficial both to the people aud
the railroad interests. In closing he gave the
sentiment, the prosperity Of the railroad inter
ests of Maine.
Mr.. Brown next introduced DR.. George B.
Loring of Salem, as farmer DR.. Loring said
that the rapid development of the country was
largely due to railroads. The Oldest living
graduate of Harvard now living in Bangor
Hon. Peter Thatcher) went to college when
Massachusetts aad the district of Maine con-
tanned but 800 600 inhabitants. Boston num-
bered but 13,0OO The valuation of Massachus.
etts and Maine was only ten millions. The
stage coaches did all the passenger business
between Boston and New York. What dark
ness and dreariness, for there were but two or
three papels. Only three p0st-offcee in his
county-Only think what a government that
was for patronage. DR.. Loring dwelt upon
the great advantages of railroad cOmmunica-
tion-saying that as the agent for the diffusion
of intelligence it had been most efficient. He
argued that all railroad wars should cease, par.
| ticularly when carried into the legislature. 1t
was a N stake to believe that a railroad enter
| prise that paid was west of Boston. 1t was moi
| SO; when the European and North American
| taps the agricultural, lumber and mineral
wealth of the Provinces and we give them our
| intelligence, energy and our flag, it will be
/ fnu hat 10 q 1ua 10 nm.