The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1886-08-19
A Trip to .3ridgton.

The lovers of the mystical Three Links me
last week at Bridgton in annual session. BY
law of the order the annual session must b,
held at Portland every other year, and on tn,
off year at such place as the Grand Lodge ma,
select. Last year it was voted to hold the an
nual session of 1886 with Cumberland Lodge a
Brdgton Centre. Among the inducements pu
forth to allure members from the remote east
ern to the extreme western section of the Stat
was the charming scenery in and around Bridg
ton, and sail over the beautiful Scbago Lake
and the tortuous Songo River. The hotel accom-
modations at Bridgton are not adequate for ;
large crowd, but the hospitality of the Odd Eel
lows and the picturesque scenery more thai
make amends for deficiencies in this direction
You leave the Maine Central at the transfer
station back of the city of Portland and take
the p. 81 o. train to Lake Station, at the foot Of
Selago lake in the town of Standish. From thi;
point there are two routes to Bridgton-one by
rail and the other by steamboat over the lakes
The writer went over the former and returned
by the latter, and we will follow in that order
From Lake station you continue on the u. a D
until YOU reach Hiram where you change to the
~ luSLoii "iltl 'odto IAiNtl NJ ~. = udl / CIV
gauge road. The rails are only "a inches apar
and the engine and cars are on the same dimn
utivc scale, the seats holding but single per
son. Yet these roads are easy riding, safe anG
dcserVedy popular. Bridgton is thirty-eight
miles in a northwesterly direction from Port
land. committee from Cumberland Lodge
met the visitors and escorted them to the hal
where toilets were made and quarters assigned
The town contains about 5000 inhabitants, and
is situated on a stream atlording excellent water
power for numerous wooden and other manu-
factories. The inhabitants are justly proud OF
the town and delight to set forth its MANY adj
vantages and beauties. We met Major Shorey
editor of the Bridgton News the only paper in
town, and live local sheet. and to him are in
debted for many cOurtesieS. Major Shorey'S
home is situated on an elevated street over
looking Highland Lake, one of the many lovely
sheets of water in and around Bridgton. His
land runs down to the lake, on whose shore he
has a summer house. Here in the afternoon
beneath the spreading branches, the Major
finds rest and inllaes the cooling zyphers from
the lake. Beside the cares of a newspaper of
flee Major Shorey gives close attention to his
farm. lie is so considerate and afectionate
that the stock and domestic fowls on the place
come at his call. One old gander answers in
response to his name. The Major is proud of
the bird, and from his wing doubtless plucks
the proverbi;I goose quill. From the house
there is a magnificent view westward over the
lake. The land on either hand is elevated and
the majestic White Mountains of New Uamp-
shire form the background. The sunsets in
this vicinity, at certain portions of the year, are
truly charming.
ODD FELLOWSHIP.
The first body to meet was the Relief Asso-
citation, the insurance branch of the order.
The present membership is 400. The sum of
$500 is paid on the death of a member. Dur
ing the past year fifteen assessments of 81 each
have been made, and the sum of SCI 800 paid
to the widowed families. Add to that the sum
of S4I 900 which the several lodges in Maine
have paid to sick members, the relief of the
widow and orphan and the burying of the
dead, together with the $4,000 paid for the
same purpose by the encampment branch, and
over $4,000 by other local relief associations
of the state, and the grand total which the Odd
Fellows of Maine have paid out in the past
year reaches the magnificent sum of over S16S.-
600. What other society can show such grand
record?
The Grand Lodge session was held in the
room of Cumberland Lodge. The room was
handsomely decorated with flowers donated by
the lady members of Elldora Lodge Daughters
of Rebekah. In addition each Grand officer
was presented with button hole bouquet.
About 220 members We're present. The pro-
ceedings were very important to the order and
mainly interesting to them only. The follow
ing are the Grand Officers elected and appoint
tu LOT ilie CHS lilg wear. freeman l Merrill,
Portland, Grand Master; Geo. w. Goss, Lew
i>ton. Deputy Grand Master; Judson b. Dun
bar, Portland Grand Warden; Joshua Davis,
Portland, Grand Secretary, Stephen X. DYER.
Portland, Grand Treasurer; Rodney B. Capen,
Augusta. Grand Representative; Henry c.
Bagley. Portland, Grand Marshal; +. c. Sim
mondS, kennebunk Grand Conductor; Rev.
NJ. Crosey, Portland, Grand Chaplain; r. G.
Dyer, Belfast. Grand Guardian; VIM. II.
Austin, North Berwick, Grand Herald.
The following are the Grand Encampment
officers A. F. Richardson, Fryeburg, Grand
Iatrarch Charles III. French, Portland, g.
High Priest: Leonard p Woodbury., Lewiston,
j. W: Benjamin c. Stone, Portland, Grand
Scribe; Albro f. Chase, Portland, Grand Treas
urer: Milton Higgins, Portland. Grand Repre-
sentative Geo. 5. Vim. Portland Grand Mar
shall, Frank =. Bennett, Bridgton, Grand
Sentinel; III. A. Fuller, South Paris, Deputy
Grand Sentinel.
OVER THE LAKES.
Through the courtesy of Hon. Charles F.
Gibbs, proprietor of the Sebago Steamboat
company. We were permitted to make the re-
turn trip over the lakes. \ coach takes passen-
GERS from the Cumberland House to Long
Lake, Il distance of one mile, where we 30 on
board the steamer Sebago, fast little side
wheel steamer which draws but three feet of
water. Long Lake is ten miles in length and
ltol Over one Ill Nltlln III Is WOnucTIul Jlat no
more people pass the summer here, for the
scenery cannot be surpassed in Maine At the
foot of the lake we touch at Naples, pass
through a draw bridge and enter the bay of
Naples. so-called. After passing the bridge
numerous stumps appear above the water and
the little steamer glideS swiftly around them.
The passengers amuSe themselves by wagering
something that the boat will strike one, but the
veteran Abe Shaw, a Lake pilot of eighteen
years experience, is at the wheel and she goes
on without touching. After passing the bay of
Naples we enter the Songo, the crookedest
river in the United States. 1t is but two and Il
half miles from lake to lake as the crow flies,
but by the river you sail six miles and make
tWenty-seven turns, some of them so sharp
that the boat actually doubles on herself, while
the pilot is busy rolling his wheel from star
board to port The river is so narrow that one
could almost leap ashore from either side of
the boat. The Songo is the river made famous
by Iongfellow, who sings its praises in poem
beginning:
"Nowhere such a devious stream,
Save in fancy or in dream,
Winding slow through bush and brake,
Links together lake and lake"
Only poet can do the subject Justice. The
stream is very sluggish and is fringed on each
bank with growth of shrubbery already put
ting on its autumnal tints. 1t was enchanting
to stand at the bow as the boat gided around
the sharp horse shoe points, starting up some
lone bird resting in the foliage from the ScOrch-
ing rays of the sun, or to watch the waves of
the steamer as they engulfed bue-bodied DEVILS
darning- needles making a passage across the
river on an oak leaf. Shortly after entering
the Songo we come to a lock in the river.
At this point the stream leaps over fall of
several feet and the boat must be ''ocked''
down to the lower stream. She is run into a
basin, gates are closed, bow and stern, and the
flood gates forward are opened, and those at
the stern are closed to keep the water back
When the water in the basin has run out and
the boat is on a level with the stream below,
the forward gate is thrown wide open, and the
steamer proceeds. The Lock has an historical
interest. AT this point in the olden times there
was terrible battle between the Indians led
by the mighty cheftain Worrambus, and the
settlers at the blockhouse. Worrambus was
killed and was buried beside the basin that
now composes the lock. We now enter the
broad waters of
SEBAGO LAKE
and steam distance of fourteen miles to Lake
Station before mentioned. The first objects of
interest on the lake are the Images and Frye
Island. The Images are mass of rocks
forming Cape Raymond and rise perpendicular
ly from the water seventy-tive feet. Abe
Shaw, the pilot, informed us as we stood be-
side him i'll the pilot house, that the water
is eighty feet deep three feet from the shore
Tradition says the Indians carved images on
the face of the rocks to give information con-
corning the movements of the white man. AT
this point Capt. Frye leaped over the precipice
seventy feet to the water below when pursued
by Indians and made his escape by swimming
to Frye's Island, just of the Cape. The images
We're nearly obliterated, but Capt. Gibbs has
improved upon the designs of the red men. He
recently employed a BridgtOn artist and now