The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1888-03-01
The Early Settlers of Prospect.

| Perhaps the old Centre folks would like to
know something about the work done, the
numbering and farming; also a little history of
| the sawmill on the Eben Seavev place. just
| before any of the settlers before mentioned in
| the journal came into the woods Il man from
Long Island named Rothman Dodge had COM
| pleted the saw mill. There was some susplc-
| ion that things We're not just right in the deal
F, ings of Mr.. Dodge. lie had hired man for a
| long time and owed him quite sum of money,
and the man was found drowned in the ume.
| My father bargancd for the mill of Mr..
| Dodge, who would take nothing but good
security in the mill and silver dollars for hi,
pay. AT that time everything from the stores
| was brought into the woods by the settlers,
the roads were spotted along by the trees and
| there was only hovel TO live in, with trees all
around. BY hard WORK and economy the debt
to Mr.. Dodge cancelled, but not before
| he tried to make trouble and to get the mill
back again. About this time there was one of
| the heaviest frcshet> ever known on the stream.
The ice started and iammed by the mill. raising
the water higher than it has been known to
rise since. The jam broke in the height of
| the freshet, carrying away mill, logs, lumber,
and bridge. Everything was swept away clean
and went down stream and the logs and lum-
| Der were scattered all along in the woods,
| some logs resting partly in the trees. Timber
and logs We're broken by the torrents and ice,
and evidence of the break could be seen for five
miles. My father went to Bucksport and told
| the creditors that he owed for supplies to come
| al lut bn, al.
work again aud they would wait lie began
anew and built up the mill, and business be-
gan to improve, lumber bringing better prices.
when another fre>het followed and the dam
flowed on the north side, cutting deep gull
ley around the end of the dam into the steep
| bank. My father jumped on to the horse and
| sent the boy out, and they mustered $50 men
with teams enough and they began hauling rocks
| in the ten acre field north of the mill and rolling
them down the steep bank into the breach. They
hauled all day and night and stopped the water
and saved the dam. 1t took nearly all the rocks
in the whole field.
| The day was cold and it showed in the month
of April. Mrs. Seavey with the help of the boy
cooked the dinner for the $50 men. They took
biz kettle and built a fire under it outdoors
and boiled the potatoes. and cooked the beef
aud baked the bread by the fire place indoors.
| Another boy was kept ON the horse going to
| the Marsh fer the rum. 1t that time ii was
the custom on all occasions to have rum.
| Business improved and good buildings soon
| took the place of the poor ones. Luml er was
| called for on every hand. The mill was located
| on q good stream for water. \ night and day
gang was employed There was call for short
| lumber and the mill was then enlarged and
shngc saw put in. The machinery was III
vented and put in by a young man named John
| Cook, who was probably one of the best me-
| chanc> ever in this section. Many can testify
| to the good shingles sawed in those times
| Then added a iath saw. capboard saw
| and turning lathe. In 1888 Joel Whitehou>c
| Thomas Cox and John Cook put in the lna-
clincry for thre>hing Grain The mill ward
| after that time soon began to lie filled with
long and short lumber: larg" piles of boar Is in
different places belonging to the different per-
sons who hauled logs to be sawed for half the
lumber. At thre>hiny time we have seen ~
oN-oad> o! grain by sunrise ready to be
thre>hed. mostly reaped grain, Al that time,
| and after, the usual amount Of lumber sawed in
| the year was 300 NJ, besides the short lumber
Some two or three cargoeS of >rars were rot
out in winter besides the LOGS for the mill.
At different times large pieces of land We're
| cleared of wood which wa, hauled to the land
| ing with the bark on the lots. After the house
| lot was cleared the middle lot had 20 acres
| cleared and laid down to grass. an, another
| piece of 40 acres was cleared and sowcd 10
! winter rye and laid down to grass. The third
barn was built on this lot and the hay press
| was kept there. We can remember that JO-
| >eph Stin~on pitched otl - four oN-load- Of
| hay one Sunday when getting this field. 70 lie
| sure he had something to take a> WAS the Gus
| tom. Al that time $50 tons of hay were, cut
and 30 head Of cattle were kept. besides the
sheep and horses. six yoke Of oxen We're kept
| numbering and haung ship timber.
~ time my father owned % pieces of
vessel property. lie bought the sch. Brandy
wine for his >oirin-law, Capt. Ivory Grant,
and gave him half of her TO repair her He
| coa>ted out of the Marsh creek until the sch.
| United States was built for him, When Capt
| Edward base took the Brandywinc.
At that time it wa, considered Legitimate to
| plundcr ON the proprictor'> land and when a
few of the old settlers met some good stories
were told as to how the agent looking after the
| lands was fooled. Sometimes the ones who
| plunaered would lose their gains, for it was
! considered just honest to take the lumber
after it had been taken once. anywhere YOU
could get it. if you did not get caught. Joseph
| vi I %. ~
selves ON getting their part of the proprietor,
| lumber They went on the proprictor> land
| and peeled large lot of bark and had lu,t
| gone into the woods to start the first load
when my father heard them driving their
| oArn. Tic tooh one of his men, Jay Tie name Of
| sam Narnum, and Went into the woods to
| where their road was to start the bark out, and
| felled along in the road at different places a
| number of big yellow birch trees and blocked
| them mp for hauling bark for the ,lav Then
he came out and mustered men enough and
| tealn>--lnen would generally turn out on such
| occa>ion>-and went into the woods in hi> own
road ard got the bark and hauled it TO the
| Marsh creek and loaded Il vessel in the night
| and the next morning 1T sunrise She was going
| through Bucksport Narrows. OF course it
| would he expected that of the many men en-
| ployed in summer and winter some would
| prove to be rather poor workers. Some II to
10 men We're employed in having and the price
| paid was $50 per month or one dollar per ,lav.
| We remember one biz fellow, with green
glasses on, who was employed in the mill. and
he was about As poor As you could get them.
He got out of a job day and went to the
foreman. Mr.. Cook, and said he had finished
that job. Cook sent him down under he mill
| to bail out the crank pit. The saw was not
| running that day and he bailed the water out
over the sill all the afternoon, and when he
| came up at night he said he had not lowered it
il mite. One young man came along, an Irish
man from Belfast, Ireland, by the name of
Jimmy Conway, who hired on the place and
was very much liked. He worked seven wears
| and then bought the north lot on the home
! place, now the Bur,lcen lot. and built a camp
and hoveI. cut some hay, kept Il COW and had
| some young stock. and at different times work
ell out. He was employed by Dickey and Amcs
cutting cord wood and was good man i'm the
woods L. NJ. SEANEY.
| I'm #