The Portland daily press., 1886-09-13
PRICE THREE CENTS.
AMONG OXFORD BEARS.
Scenes Along the Androscoggln, ana
a Sunday at Dixfield

| SUNDAY at OtAttota-
Correspondence of the PRESS.
DIxFIELD, Me-, Sept IL, 1886.
If IL is in the mountains that bears are
the happiest and thrive best it is not nara 10
understand why the people OF oxford county
have taken to themselves the name Of OXFORD
Bears. On the map of the county the town
| ship that cannot show mountain or big
| hill is either very small or not thoroughly
| explored But in this part Of the county, at
| least, along the Androscoggin, the best pos.
| sible use has been made of the variety Oh
land. The farmer puts his home do"n Dy
| the river, or by brook, or on n leVel sp0s On
the bottom of a valley; to the foot Oh INC
hills or mountains he extends ms heius VI
clover. hops, etc; and beyond, up the slues
of the mountains, he pastures MS COWS anu
horses. not always his sheep on account OIL
the bears. The cattle Craze up the slope un-
til the greensward ends in solid rock; occa-
.ionallv an adventurous animal goes beyond,
and lust below Dixfeld they point 10 noun
tain side where reckless cow not long ago
having yentured too far rolled from top to
| bottom.
RIDE BY THE MOUNTAINS.
This summer Portland people have been
visiting this region by series of excursions
planned by the general superintendent Of
| the Rumford Falls and Buckfeld Railroad
By leaving Portland Saturday forenoon they
have been enabled to enjoy very pleasant
ride among the hills along the Androscoggin,
a quiet Sunday at this place, and get back
to Portland by Monday noon. From Port
land to Canton the journey is by rail, by the
Grand Trunk to Mechanic Falls, and thence
by the Rumford Falls & Buekfeld. At
Buckfield they show you large white house
shaded by elms, the birthplace Of John ID.
Long. At Canton they give you dinner,
and in the afternoon you begin the pleasant
est part of the journey, In mountain wagon
bound for Rumford Falls fifteen miles up the
west bank of the Androseoggin. The road
winds along between the river, and the hills
or mountains which form the valley and In
some places slope quite to the waters edge:
For the whole distance the scenery Is most
attractive, and in many places there arc DTS
of landscape unexcelled in any other region
AFFAIR FERRYMAN.
All the way up the river no bridges are
seen, but instead rope ferries are in general
use. AS Rumford Falls is approached 1t Is
necessary to cross the river on one OF these
boats. On the day we crossed there were
dozen people in large, heavy wagon drawn
by four horses. The driver blew the horn that
hung near by and drove his team, passen-
gers, four horses, heavy wagon and all, on to
the boat Those who had never crossed
| river that way before waited with some an
xiety to see the ferryman who was to carry
over the boat with its qnwleldy LOAD; but
no ferryman appeared. Instead a little girl,
| dressed in white, and with happy smile
| which seemed to say that her mother had
sent her on a pleasant errand, came down
the bank, She might have been eight years
old, but she came aboard that ferryb0at
mingling the confidence of an admiral with
the mOdesty of maiden; and before anyone
but the driver had fairly comprehended
what she was about had started the ferry
over the river. The boat Is guided by a
wire rope extending across the river, and
propelled by the force of the current acting
against side boards which are raised and
lowed The young men OF the party anx-
iOus to show their gallantry by relieving the
young ferry-woman of the task of navigating,
| clambered out of the wagon and began TO
| work the cranks and levers which controlled
the course of the boat with zeal that might
| have had some surprising results. But tho
| commander of the craft knew her business,
| and in spite of unskilled help the ferry was
| brought to the other shore. When we had
| left her to make the return trip alone, the
| driver told us that her father, wealthy far
mer of Rumford who lives in acomfortablc
house near by, owned the ferry; but the
management of it is generally left with his
youngest daughter. The floods of spring
and fall do not deter her, and it is only when
the logs are running that the ferryls managed
| by stronger hands.
MILE OF cATABAcTs.
Rumford Falls, just below the Ferry, are
said to afford the finest water power in the
State of Maine. In distance of mile the
AndroscOggin descends about one hundred
and seventy feet in succession OF cascades.
In one place alone the water falls eighty feet.
The banks are ledgy and well adapted TO the
| erection Of manufacturing establishments:
| The management of the Rumford Falls and
| Buekfield railroad are looking forward to the
| time, not far distant, when great industries
| shall be established here, and their road ex-
tended from Canton Two Portland gentle
men, Messrs. Hugh j. Chisholm and Charles
ID. Brown, have secured the farms lying
along the river ON both sides of the Falls.
| and are holding control of the water privi-
| lege until the extension OF the railroad shall
make the erection of mills feasible At pres
| ent the Falls afford some very nne scenery.
| The banks are covered with foI est, the river
/ flows over or between high and irregular
| lodges. AT low water there are some very
pretty eataracts. At high water the thun-
ledgeS are heard plainly at Dixied, five miles
| THE VILLAGE OF DIxFIEI.D.
After leaving the Falls last Saturday the
| party were driven down to Dixfeld, on the
East bank of the .Androscoggin, one
of the prettiest little villages in the
| State. 1t is already frequentcd by
| summer visitors. The highest mountain
| in the vicinity. Sugar Loaf, is only a mile
| from the village. The ascent is fairly easy
until near the summit, where the climber
| needs the use Of both hands and feet. The
| view from the top is very fine in a clear, dry
| day. In Oxford county mountain is not
| usually regarded great treasure, but the
owner of Sugar Loaf hopes some day to put
| his pile of granite to profitable use by erect
| ing a summer hotel on its very summit. He
| is very confident that a coach road could be
| built to the summit, but an unpreJudiceo
| survey of the premises makes it certain that
| a hotel on Sugar Loaf will never pay until
the days of dirigible balloons.
| DEMOCRATIC TOWN FROM AWAY BACK.
The town has always been a Demo-
cratic stronghold. Until two years ago
| the Republicans had never, since the
carry Dixfeld. As relics of past con-
huge boulders lying at the foot of a high
bluff that towers above the river mile be-
ago these boulders, which weigh several tons
| EACH rested four hundred feet above on the
top of the bluff, where they had been put
| when the earth was made. When Abraham
Lincoln was assassinated some Copperheads
| of Dixield, determined to have no ordinary
| celebration, went to the top of the bluff and
| pried these boulders over the precipiee. They
| went laundering down with a tremendous
| eommotion, and have since lain on the river
bank in full view of the highway, where
they are now and will for years be pointed
| out as two of the very few monuments Of
disloyalty to be found in the State of Maine.
WELL STOCKED FISHING GROUND.
Dixield is rather out of the line Of travel
to Rangeley Lakes, and it is not until re-
Gently that Weld Lake, twelve miles distant,
| has offered inducements to sDortsmen. Ten
years ago the fish commissioners put salmon
into the lake, and today they abound there,
| as well as large numbers of trout and picker
| ell The East Oxford Angling Association,
| composed of gentlemen living in this vicinity,
among whom are enthusiastic anglers like
Fish Commissioner Stanley and j. r. Trask,
Esq, have two cottages, and several boats on
the Lake. Their cottages are fitted up for
the entertainment Of friends during the fish
ing season This spring, during the salmon
fishing, a party, including Judge Virgin,
MessrS. Burnham, Emery RedlOn, Theodore
Davis and G. j. Harrington of Portland. and
Hon. 5. 5. Marble, of Waldoboro. DIR. Mar
Bile of Gorham, and ex-Marshal Bisbee Oi
Buckfeld, were entertained several DAYS by
the Association. And as evidence Of 'theiI
hospitality the members of the Association
delight to quote Judge Virgins remark tha
it was while fishing at Weld Lake that h
got his start toward the recovery of hi
health.
ALL SORTS OF CANARDS WILL, RI
| frsgk