The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-09-04
Che 9aitg @ ,lletin.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, 1885.
FOURTH OF july BATTLE
BETWEEN FRENCH CANADIAN HAY
MAKERS AND AMERICAN RAFTsMEN.
The ORIGINAL OF THE TROUBLE.

MAKERS AND AMERICAN RAFTsMEN.
The ORIGINAL OF THE TROUBLE.
A Maine correspondent of the
Boston Herald writes Usually
early in July of each year, but, at
any rate, just prior TO the haying
season in Maine, the French Cana
dams of the province of Quebec
begin their pilgrimage into this
state. They come over the "Can-
ada road" singly, in pairs or in
quite large companies, and they seek
employment rs makers and harvest
ers of hay. They travel, at least
much the larger portion of them do,
ON two-wheclcd carts Ga sort of
springless car, indigenous to the
country its owner halls from) and
"buckboards." Usually they drive
one horse to conveyance; very
seldom will you perceive two equines
hitched to the latter. Sometimes
one animal will draw half dozen
persons on "buckboard." The
loads average, however, perhaps
three individuals. The men, of
course, are the most numerous, but
there are enough women and chill
dren to make things interesting.
The various individuals and families
of a locality travel in groups; that
is, their horses and vehicles will
sometimes form procession of a
dozen to twenty turnouts. Each
conveyance is loaded with, besides
its human freight and the latter's
personal effects, tenting and cook
ing equipage-in fact, a complete
camping outfit, and, generally, also
with a considerable quantity of
"white whiskey," the latter in bot
ties or jugs, as things may be.
Frequently two or three cases of the
whiskey, a douen bottles to the case,
are concealed among the luggage on
the vehicles, and the owners of it
have, it is asserted, no trouble in
getting it over the border without
heving to pay duty thereon. Some
of the Canadians come over the road
into Maine afoot, but those who
adopt this means of making the
journey are comparatively few in
number. All, both pedestrians and
their more fortunate compatriots on
wheels, are prepared to "camp out"
and CROUCH it," wherever and when
ever it may be necessary so to do.
They form motley appearing pro-
cessions and picturesque camping
parties. The farmers along the
road are applied to for work in the
hay fields, and, that secured, the
Frenchmen "and their sisters and
their cousins and their aunts" faith
fully and industriously perform the
duties allotted to them, stay as long
as required Generally a couple of
weeks, and then, with the proceeds in
their pockets, trudge back to their
homes in Quebec. A few stay per-
haps a month or two longer, going
from one bayfield, to another, staying
until the hay is harvested, and then
doing odd jobs at other occupations.
But they, too, eventually, find their
way back to Canada, and take their
money there along with them. The
Frenchmen get from $1.50 to S1.75
per day haying, their women folk
and children, of course, being paid
lesser rate. Some of the men are
employed at $40 to S25 per month,
on farms where there is great deal
of hay to be made. OF the amounts
paid them for their work, whatever
they may be, the Frenchmen are
credited with spending scarcely G
shilling. They live very frugally /;
have no house rent or board to pay,
and can thus keep their harvest earn
ings practically intact. A cake of
maple sugar and loaf of black
bread for themselves, and the grass
along the roadside for their horses,
are said to furnish the necessary
means of subsistence for the Cana
dian harvest parties.
THE FOURTH OF JULY BATTLE.
1t appears that on independence
day gang of river drivers, under
one Jonas S. Longley, well-known
river "boss," or "head man," as he
is called in these parts, who for
several days had been at work on a
big jam of logs in the Kennebec at
and in the vicinity of "the Forks"
about fifty miles from here, were
allowed holiday. The boys, by
some means or other and early in
the day, became pretty "happy," and
the idea having been broached, they
proceeded to hunt up Frenchmen.
The latter were then coming down
the "Canada road" in swarms for
the hay harvesting, and apparently,
or at least SO the days developments
went to show, they all had pretty
good stocks of whiskcy in their