The Portland daily press., 1895-04-27
ALONG THE WHARvEs.
Captain Norwood and His Brother the
Poet PeddIer--The Grace Davis Caught
in Storm-Spruce Lumber in Demand
in South Am RIGA.

| III a SLOT1n-SpEuCe III D6nauC
in South Am RIGA.
As alI eady announced the entries for the
October meet at Rigby clossd Thursday
night. but many letters still remain to come
in, About 1lO letters we're received yester.
terest here 10 know that the Eastern State
fair will be held this year at Bangor. a
matter that has been in some doubt.
The work on the cold storage plant is in
progress. A number of Boston and New
| York engineers hold that it will be impossible
to make it tight and strong. but such is not
the view taken by Portland parties. and the
work is being pushed rapidly forward.
| The arrival of the schooner Grace Davis.
Captain Dodge, has been briefly noticed, but
yesterday tie mate Mr.. Ostmen. was seen
and he said they encountered very heavy
storm April 18th. She storm was strong
| enough to heave the schooner to under
| double reefed spanker and mainsa1l. They
were completely washed, and 1t is estimated
| that they lost about 10000 feet OF their
deck1oad. The schooner was badly strained.
] and for .hirty-six hours they were forced to
man the pumps.
| S. q. Dyer & Co.. report that the South
| American demand for spruce lumber is bet
| ter than for a year past, although freights
are disoouragingly low. At this time three
schooners are loading with spruce for the
River, and will take out 100000 feet, the
| largest amount taken out for a long time
past, Another schooner recently sailed for
South America with sc, 00O feet of lumber
mostly pine.
| They report that while there is not as
brisk demand for pine lumber as could be
desired. sales are made at fair prices. and
| the dealers are encouraged to hope for bet
ter business. AS has been said freignts are
very low, and a vessel can now be chartered
10 take lumber to South America for from
Sc. SO to 81 per thousand. When freights got
down TO So thousand it was thought that
the bottom had been touched, but it was not
reached at $S, and has now dropped from 81
TO $l.50 per thousand below what was be-
lieved to be the very lowest possible rate.
The schooner Isaac jackson brought 400
tons of coal for the Harrswell line.
Captain E. =. Parsons returned yesterday
from taking out the Numidian, the last
steamer of the Allan line to sail from this
port for the season. Notice has been given
that the Portland Office of the company will
be closed the 29th. Tc all of tho gentlemen
| connected with that Office the thanks of the
newspaper men of this city should be re-
turned.
The schooner Lucy ". Dyer. and The
schooner Leila B. Fernald, have been COM
pletsly overhauled and repainted. They will
leave for the fishing grounds as soon as they
can be got ready.
II DO n fOrmad of
an accident sustained by Captain A. NJ.
Pearson of the schooner Chaperal. He was
discharging a cargo of coal at the harf Of
A. G. Prentiss at Biddeford, Thursday. and
had his right knee badly injured while
directing the men who were at work. He
was uncertain when he telephoned to MI.
Blake whether it would or would not be
necessary for him to come to this city for
the purpose of going to the Marine hospital
Commercial street business men who have
shown SO strong an interest in the work of
the Portland Temperance Reform club. will
be glad to know that the Island Home at
Peaks was opened Thursday. and that a
delegation of the members went down and
repainted the building. Some OF the leading
business mon assisted in the good work by
con tributions, and their favors were highly
appreciated by the club.
There is no more quaint water front
character than Captain Jonathan Norwo pod.
formerly of the sloop Commod ore, and bet
ter known as the hermit of Case Bay For
many years the venerable mariner earned
his title by living aiune now on one island
and again on another. finally putting in
what must have been a fearful winter on
House island during the season of 1894.
Last fall the old man concluded that he
would not live alone through another win
ter. and so went to his children. He has
now returned to his former haunts, and will
very likely be aole to move about among the
| islands Of Casco bay. much as was his habit
for SO many years.
The two brothers. Elias Norwood, better
known as the peot peddler. and Captain
Jonathan Norwood, the hermit. have been
known very widely for more than sixty
years, thu one to residents along the coast
line of Maine, and the other to those who
live back in the country, for Mr.. Norwood
unlike his brother, the captain is no sailor,
and had rather navigate the peddlers' cart
drawn by his old horse.
| Captain Norwood in his prime used to 60
from island TO island. taking anything Sin
trade that was offered to him. only looking
out ''to make little it 1t wasn't more than
| a cent every time as he once said.
| If he concludes to go back to House
Island, he will. very likely. be visited next
summer as he was before. by hundreds who
will listen to his stories OF the olden time.
his songs and his quaint recitations of the
old time poetry.
Mr.. Norwood drops into poetry at times
and book of hia was published few years
ago. Last summer he sold may hundred
copies of a long poem on General Neal Dow.
Nobody was likely to refuse to pay three
cents for poem like that, said tho author,
and certainly very few people who were
asked to take a copy refused to do So.
Captain Norwood, while he is fond of re-
citing the poetry of others. never writes
any himself. and it must be confessed that
of late years there has been very little
poetry about the hard life he has led.
Summers. the two venerable brothers are