Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1896-02-27

with his team or the men at their work
around the premises-you see snow and
ice everywhere. The rivers are piled
up with it near the sea and along the
Maine Central Railroad only the level
surface of the snow is left to indicate
where the lakes and rivers are. The
water that bore the boats of the fisher
men last summer now furnishes a
public highway for the teams Of the
natives. Even ordinary men can cut
plenty of ice in Maine-see Boutelle.
In speaking of the ice harvest the 9TH
er day a gentleman told me that the
average cost Of cutting and housing
ice on the Penobscot and Kennebec
rivers was Is cents per ton, and that
early in the season, before the snow
fell, which is troublesome TO clean off,
one man had harvested 16-inch ice
which had cost him but 6 cents per
ton to cut from the river and place IN
the houses. This average of 10 cents
includes every expense, even down to
purchasing the sawdust and taking
care of the ice until it is sold for ship
ment. OF course all the work Is done
by experienced men and improved ma
chinery. They have snow plows to
clean away the snow, planes to scrape
the surface of the ice, markers to
check it off like so many blocks on a
checker-board, and ice plows run by
horses. These ice plows have instead
of shovels large saw tooth shaped
knife, and with this the burrows are
cut in the ice, say y inches deep,
then a large chisel, like a crowbar, Is
used to cut off cakes about 20 feet
square, these being foated down to
sluice box in the river near the houses.
1t is there cut mp by the chlseI into
smaller cakes. The ice is on an aver
age "a inches thick, often 3 feet, and
these cakes will weigh $50 or 800
pounds. They are then pushed upon
an endless chain, run by an engine, and
in one continuous stream are hoisted
into the houses. | said the world
shows us cold shoulder up here some
times and this is true. We have had
some very cold weather. The Their
mometer does not have any trouble to
stay down to zero, and few nights
ago without any cause at all 1t took a
fool notion and dropped down until in
a scope Of 80 miles from here west, 1t
ranged from 26 to AZ below zero.
Even the natives thought it was slight
ly frosty, and |, as | shivered in all the
clothes | could tote, felt like singing,
Garry me back to old Virginia. |
would like to speak Of the natives and
tell wherein they differ from our South
ern people, but perhaps l hadn't
oughtto do this. lam always scarf
of giving ofense, and as the people are
kind to me l am willing that they
| should laugh little at my accent and
know by this that Il be- from the
South. | will say however, that the
regular, unadulterated, pure-blooded
Yankee grows up here to perfection,
and | promise in another letter to give
him some attention. | am thrown
| into contact with many different kinds
of people, from the Russian Jew, fresh
from the Cars realm, to the Prince
| Edward Islander and the man from
Cape Breton. look at these people
and wonder how God could create
them all in his own image and yet
make each differ from the other.
shall speak of them when write again
In conclusion. let me say would
sooner live in West Virginia month
than to pass a year in Maine or Canada
and long for the time to come wher
can get back to Shepherdstown, anc
once more drop into the REGIsTEI
office to read the exchanges; or to g
of an evening down to DR.. Reynolds
Office to discuss Morgan's Grove anC
try the case of Pure Democracy yer
sus Mugwumpery or to spend an hon
in Ben Pendleton's store swapping
prevaricatons with the boys.
Truly Yours, II. NJ. l.