The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1886-08-26
Our George in Aroostook.
CARIBOU.

CARIBOU.
From some reason unknown to me, l knew
about as much about the Aroostook before
visited it, as l did of the Sioux Indians ideas
of civil service reform, and the whole trip was
series of surprise parties to me. I think that
few people in or out of the State, unless they
have been there, have the least idea of the eX-
tent of that county. 1t is one-ifth of the area
of the whole State, and when you eat one-tifth
of a pie, it leaves quite hole in it. The coun-
ty is larger than the State of Massachusetts.
Only think of being a candidate for county
office, and having to travel all over piece of
land, that would make four Rhode Islands
and shake hands with every man and kiss all
the babies, in order to work up boom for
yourself Now there are heaps of things that
have size, and big, but that is all there is to
it, but that is not the case with ArooStook.
i is full of natural advantages. It has forests
of hard and soft wood growths. 1t has rivers
and streams and innumerable water powers
1t has as good soil as can be found anywhere.
and far better than can be found in most
States. You can raise any crop there that you
can i'll New England anywhere, excepting corn
and fruit, and you can buy corn cheap, and
any smart boy can steal fruit if he knows
enough to go in when it rains. You can raise
so many potatoes to the acre that there isn't
room for them in the ground, and they hump
up all over the field as if the frost had got un-
der the hills and lifted them up. You can
raise stock there. Hay is an excellent crop,
and many of the pastures look better than some
of our moving fields The only thing they
don't seem to have, is nine or ten months of
summer, but they have winter enough to make
up. did not notice any difference in the way
the days were made. Five o'clock in the morn
ing was just as disaSreeable it is in New
York, and a man begins to cape at eleven at
night the same as he does at home. If were
going to farm, which the Lord forbid,
would as soon try it in Aroostook as in the
West. | think smart young min with a
wrought iron body and cast iron soul, can
make dollars by farming in Aroostook, but
don't ask me to try it there or elsewhere l
might succeed in raising bread, if | had good
yeast, but some of my friends would have to
step in and help me raise the mortgage on my
farm, if ever lifted it. Possibly some of my
readers will get vague and Shadowy idea that
! don't like farming. Well don't reyel in the
thought of ever being a farmer, but ! do be
lieve in the future of Aroostook as a farming
country.
In a leisure moment. Mr.. Atwood nveigled
me out by the locomotive and connected me
with the pump and forced the facts into me of
how much we were indebted to Manager Fur
Der of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and
Manager Tucker of the NJ. c. for their hearty
cooperation and the assistance they rendered
him i'll pushing through the excursion. Pay
son Tucker is a Maine man, and he believes in
Maine, and whatever tends to develop the
State helps the railroads, and he is always
ready to do any and every thing that will adj
vance the interests of the State. Some dark
night in the not distant future he will start
out with railroad under his arm and will Law
it down in Il good place and spike it to the
earth. and i'll the morning the citizens of Aroos-
took will find themselves connected by rail with
the Maine Central at some good point. | will
further state that Mr.. Tucker will not probably
tell the night he does this, and will take along
an old fashioned tin lantern. so that everybody
will not know of his move till it is an assured
fact
was taken in charge by Mr.. P S Goud at
Caribou and found that his wife was Belfast
lady formerly, which made it very pleasant for
US. In the evening, the citizens of Caribou
gave us reception in the town hail. where we
listened to speeches by several members of the
party, after being welcomed by Mr.. 5. w.
Mathews. editor of the ArooStook Republican,
We had several gentlemen in our party who
all you had to do was to pull the string and
they could talk till you closed the valve again
The possession of flexible jaw is Il great gift.
and generally those who possess it at all have
it in high degree. On rising from the break
fast table, found at the door beautiful turn
out in the shape of little, high-headed. iron
grey mare, htched to a neat buggy. sent for
my use with the compliments of Mr.. n. W.
Johnson. When stepped into the buggy and
picked up the lines and cucked to that little
mare, was very glad that had come to Carl
bou. She was a daisy and she looked at ME
and plainly said, never you mind about me,
you just look the country over and I'll attend
to hauling you about" and | took her at her
word, and she just whooped me around town
| in great shape.
Caribou looks to me as if it had been set
down in hurry; that is to say, think if they
had looked a second time they would have
moved the business part of the town elsewhere.
\ stream. the Caribou, runs thr0ii-i Inc Town,
and the business part Of the place is all i'll the
hollow, and the principal streets are on hill
| SO steep that when you stop Il team i'll front of
store, you almost need a prop to keep the
horse from going down hill, and if We're road
commissioner Ed put rounds in the street as
they do in a ladder. Aside from this little ac-
cident of planting the town where they did. it
is lively, wide awake place of about 1000 in
habtants. There are two hotels, one the
Vaughn House, being an excellent one. as our
| party will all cheerfuly testify. There is the
| usual f1avorlHg of meeting houses, good bust
ness blocks and neat and handsome dwellings,
| and the people seem to be plum full of energy.
| That they are ho>pitable can be attestcd bv the
| fact that the committee who met us at Wood
| stock. had to get up at four o'clock in the
morning. | cannot understand IA higher token
OF esteem that one person can pay another than
| to pile out of bed at three or four in the morn
| ing for him. Greater love hath no man than
this, that he will get up early for friend. The
only drawback to our stay in Caribou was the
| shortness of the time we had there, but we
shall always bear pleasant recollections of the
| pretty little town, and shall have a kindly feel.
ing for its future welfare and prosperity.
| Taking the cars again after dinner we arrived
toward the latter part of the afternoon at
PRESQUE ISLE.
Here, as at Caribou. we We're met by a com
mittee, and ample arrangements made for oul
accommodation and transportation. l Went tc