The Portland daily press., 1874-10-26
Northeastern Maine.
A Prolific People-Why the French Set.
Elements do NOT Multiply Something
About New Sweden.

Those good people who are alarmed lest the
institutions of our fathers, our religious, moral
and political system may yet be the overthrow
OF the myriads of heather Chinese that may
come to our shores would have new cause of
alarm should they visit Madawaska and see
the evidences of the remarkable productivedess
OF the residents of that county. In some houses
there not dozen window panes, but there is
face at every one. Frequently about the
door the passer-by may count dozen children,
the Oldest not being over fifteen years of age.
In one potato field father headed his eleven
sons, each digging row. An ordinary pota-
to field would not occupy that dozen long, and
by their looks an ordinary potato bin would
not keep them many days. At the Van Buren,
ball, of which have spoken, one of the brisk
est dancers on the floor, taking her part in the
llvliest jigs, was lady who was the mother of
fifteen children-the wife of Michael Farrell,
Esq. Madame yet looks SO young that have
no doubt but that the well-to-do patriarch
Michael will yet write score of names in the
family register. Families of twenty children
are not infrequent. Will they overran the
state? No, fer many Of them early emigrate,
so that most of our larger towns have a small
French colony, while many go West and others
seek Canada.
The visitor will notice two distinct types of
French descendants in Madawaska-those
whose parents came from Acadia, and those
from Canada. The former are large, of fair
complexion, indicating that all these years and
the persecution and privation they have suffer-
ed, have not obliterated the traces of the dwell.
lers of Normandy in France. Those from Cam
ada are smaller and of darker complexion. and
are generally not so enterprising as the former
The fact that proprietors own the land in the
vicinity Of the Madawaska towns is one reason
why the colony does not increase in numbers
faster. In common with the greater part of
the nonresident land owners of Aroostook
these proprietors do not like to have squatters
enter forests, and generally will not sell land
to settlers because the fires of the clearings
will be likely to destroy their valuable timber
sections, and the squatter somehow insists Tin
practice ).that shingle rift is the common prop.
erty of all mankind, like game. Consequently
as long as the proprietors are able to resist the
settlers of Madawaska they will not make great
inroads upon the townships Of good settling
iduu udCk VI tueu. Auu mere IL may be stated
that heard frequent complaints in other parts
of the county that nonresident proprietors to
their utmost, as general rule, resisted those
desirous of making farms upon their lands
which they can do, and which short-sighted
policy dictates in many instances.
On the whole, the people of Madawaska are
making progress. They will never become
shrewd Yankees, will never give up their Ian
guage for English, or their customs and man
ners for any others. They are light-hearted,
courteous people, which, with but few luxuries,
manage to extort more enjoyment in the course
OF year from rather dreary surroundings than
the rest of as san under the most favored Cir
cumstances. The richest of them are not grasp
ing. Madame Thrbedeau, for instance, charges
bnt So for keeping three persons and pair of
horses over night, with supper and breakfast,
and it is regular public house.
AS a whole the sixty district schools are do
ing well. The old disappointed ex-officials who
used to act as guardians of that people ara a
little soured and talk unhandsomely about the
peoplelthey so warmly praised few years since
in their official reports. But, nevertheless. the
people are coming to appreciate the advantages
OF having their children so educated as to read