Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1874-08-27

mucss Tue IOau, having Deeu recently
laid out In the almost trackless woods,
was In some places quite rough. For six
miles we saw but few houses or farms,
but the next mile brought to view small
and children. We should hardly have
recognized them a. foreigners So much
do they resemble our people. Though we
saw no persons with very dark hair and
eyes. few were Of lighter complexion than
many people OF English origin. The
farms are small but the 'xrass. grain aud
potatoes give fair promise OF q good har-
| vest. The Minister has excellent build
ings and farm. His house il large. built
Of logs hewed square, closely fitted and
firmly fastened. A semicircuiar window
| In the gable and mullion windows In the
| wall give to the house . fine appearance.
The farm Is large and well cleared the
| crops Of rye, wheat. and potatoes promise
q large harvest. Another mile and we
reach the Capital which consists of a
( store, half dozen houses and cross
road. We frst proceeded to examine the
school, which consisted of swedish
! theological student from Iowa, who is tem-
porary teacher, and forty boys and girls
ranging In age from four years to twelve.
The books and recitations are in the
home language, some pupils were spelling
small words others reading In the cate
chsm and Bible. Several hymns and
tunes with which we were familiar were
sung by the children, some OF whom have
very sweet voices. As there was little to
do at the time on farms, most OF the men
were away at work.
Some of the colonists seem to be doing
well. Others are very poor. Their clear
| ings are not yet large enough to yield
harvests sufficient for years support and
the Spring seed, and as frosts have several
times injured their crops the people have
seen some hard times.
Their money Is earned by labor outsi lie
Of the settlement and In the manufacture
Of shaved shingles in the woods near
home. The present low price OF shingles
causes stringency in the money market,
so that the Swedes find 1t difficult to pur-
chase necessary groceries which are high
| there on account of the heavy cost of
transportation. For example. salt which
with US can be bought for forty cents per
| bushel is worth 81, In New Sweden.
The Swedcs have many advantages
which the early settlers of Aroostook did
| L,,.ls i
for their employment and markets near
their homes.
IL they starve with such advantages. in
county where the Yankees have scquir-
ed property, they are not made OF pioneer
stun. Many hardships they and all first
settlers must at times experience, but If
New Sweden becomes failure neither
the State nor the County are to blame.
Caribou is thriving village having
! good water pond some manufacturing and
q good farming country around 1t. At
Maysville, = small town between Caribou
and Pressure Isle. we spent a half day
with Mr. +. Z. Parkhurst who has All
excellent farm of two hundred and eighty
extern, and value Of farming operations In
this county | will give them as noted here.
Few farms In the section now yield so
largely AS this, but all that il needed to
open a thousand as good and better is,
labor and capital. the rich virgin soil
waits for the seed. Mr.. T.. cut last year
one hundred tons Of hay, this Is not a
large quantity considering the size Of the
farm. but the great quantity OF straw Oh
tanned nearly double the amonnt OF feed
for stock SO that \ larger yield Of hay Is
| not required.
This year he has twenty acres Of wheat
which give promise OF twenty five bushels,
at the least, per acre. Thrtytwo acres
OF oats at forty bushels, fourteen acres OF
potatoes at two-hundred bushels, ten,
acres Of buckwheat at thirty-iive bushels.
| One Of the most profitable crops is grass
seed but we did not learn the yield Of
J last year.
Mr.. Parkhursts stock of thorough bred
short horns, numbering eighteen head,
| is the best lot we ever saw, anI il worth
two-thousand dollars away up in the
woods" He has also seven horses, four
OF the Knox breed.
For raising hay, grain. potatoes and
stock, Aroostook has capabilities far be-
yond those of any other county In thu
State.
We saw no fields OF corn, but buck
| wheat Is raised in immense quantities,
furnishin. good food for man and beast.
The feed for horses is mainly oats. Most
OF the animals have some English blood
and for speed, not on the race course but
far better on the road, and in power OF en-.
durance they seem to us TO be better than
our horses. We know by experience that
some Of them will make twelve miles in
one hour and We were told by several per-
sons that the distance. iorty-two miles,
from Houlton to Pressure Isle over a hard
road is frequently travelled in less than
dve hours. Horses that are bred and
trained for the turf and can "doy their
mile In two forty" or less, are Of no
practical worth and the prices obtained for
them represent bnt a fanciful value, but
the horse tina. is stron. to labor, or that
can carry his master over our roads from
seventy-fve to one hundred miles in a
day, is noble and useful animal. We re-
joice to know that our people are coming
to appreciate the real value Of the horse.
In conclusion we have to say, that onr
journey into ArOostook was very pleasant
and profitable to u.s.
Most Of the people are farmers indeed.
they believe In their county, and in their
business.
They have good houses and many of
them better barns; they have the necessa-
ries and many of the luxuries oflife and
most ofthem are steadily gaining proper
g. AS there are SO many half farmers in
the older counties of Maine, it Is q pleas
ure to find so many Whole ones in this new