The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-11-12
pULL-AND-BE-DAMNED POINT.
and the In-SOunding Name
Eeans Something.

The Pilgrims and their descendants
who travelled owe Maine in the early
days of its settlement had a greatrep-
utation for piety in the parent col
ony, but when they got away from
home and beyond the hearing of the
ministers some of them seem to have
acted and talked as wickedly as peo-
Pile 90 nowadays. Maine is q large
state, with a great number of noun
tains, lakes and rivers, so that many
exploring parties felt compelled to
take good quantities of New England
rum along in order to help out their
vocabulary in giving appropriate
names to newly-discovered territory.
Tradition says that whenever the voy-
ayers got out of rum or ran short for
names they borrowed all sorts of
words from the Indian language and
tackled them onto the map wherever
they seemed to fit; but in spite of
good intention and praiseworthy eff
fort not a few places in Maine now
bear names that should make the Pill
grim of 200 years ago hold up his hands
IN horror.
Just across the river from Bucks
port is a high headland that has been
known as Full-and-Be-Damned Point
for more than a hundred years. After
the granite bastions of Fort Knox
were built upon the headland the truly
good people tried to change the name
to Fort Point. but as there was a place
five miles below bearing that name it
never held. and the ancient and ire
ligious title is still popular.
The meaning of the term is apparent
to everybody who has attempted to
row d boat past the point at ebb tide.
The river, which is nearly a mile wide
opposite Bucksport, contracts to a
few rods here and rushes through
Pencbscot Narrows like a millrace.
At such times men who have tried to
row or scull seaweed-laden boats past
the point have found that they could
do a. the name suggested and still
make no Roadway.
Down at the mouth of the Kennebec,
near Squirrel island and east of Cas-
tine, en- the Sedgwick shore, are points
which bear the same name. There is
another in M~oosehead lake, and still
another in Schoodic lake, in Washing
ton county. In fact, if local tradition
can he trusted, there are dozens of
places in Maine with titles indicative
of their great resistance to the pro-
pulSive power of oars.
Up in Sysladobsissis lake, in Lake
vile plantation, is a small bay which
has been known as Hell-Before-Break-
fast cove for more than half n cen
fury. The name was born from a dra-
matte incident which took place there
when the big Princeton tannery was
started. Some men with scow loads of
bark had landed on the shore for
breakfast, and while they were eating
one CT the boats went adrift. Sam
Hall, a young fellow of the company,
plunged in to rescue the boat. When
the BOSS of the crew told him to come
back and not make a fool of himself
he made answer that he would get that
boat before he came back or take his
breakfast in n region where drown
ing accidents are unknown. a min
ute later he sunk and never came to
the surface again. Wishing to record
the dramatic fitness of things, his COM
panions erected a rough wooden mon
ument at the edge of the i've which
still bears the name of the rash young
nan and OF the place where he per-
ished.-N. Y. Sun.