The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-06
PLYMOUTH WOODS EXPLORED
Il VAST TRACT or BARRLN
LAKD.
About as sparseIy Settled Now as In
the Days of the pilgrims.

A. yN,,,s =, 9 sY,a ElSI1rtns.
Plymouth has the largest township
In the state the Oldest civilization, the
most dramatic history and the greatest
wilderness. Between Plymouth village,
on the north, and Buzzards bay ON the
south. Carver and Wareham on the
west and the shore on the east, Is an
immense tract of barren woodland, as
tsparsaly settled as it was two centu-
ries and a half ago There are o few
deer there, a few rabbits and many
foxes, partridges and quail, while the
numerous ponds are full of black bass
and pickereI, but for more than fifty
wears the land has been steadily de-
creasing in value.
The area of the township of Ply
mouth is 5O,797 acres, or about eighty
square miles, and of this territory sixty
square miles is practically uninhabited
The populat ton of the township Is esti-
mated to be nine thousand, Of which
Observation-Disclosures live In Plymouth
village. Manomet, Chiltonville, Ellis
willie, Cedarytlie and the other settle
ments along the coast
The people Of Plymouth live upon
history, and every carriage driver will
talk off volumes in the course of a half
day ride. The monuments, the conse-
Grated rocks, the museums and ancient
homes of the pilgrims. are thoroughly
known, but the great wilderness is
called Plymouth woods with a sweep Of
the hand which banishes it from fur
Their mention. 'They do say" remarks
some old resident, that there is pond
for every day of the year and a mud
hole for leap year" This oft-repeated
statement rather stretches the facts,
but the ponds, many of which are large
enough to be called lakes, are really
feature of the town. William r. Davis
saws there are one hundred and seven
ty-five which have names and contain
fish. But the ponds beautiful as they
are. have attracted but a small hand
full of summer visitors, who have salts
fed their longings for a lodge in some
vast Wilderness But from the first
there seemed much hesitancy about
settling in the Plymouth woods. The
woods of pine and oak could not be
cleared without great labor, and even
when clearing was made the soil
proved to be poor and unproductive
Inc SAT- marshes anu cSudT SIUNbS W
the north of Plymouth seemed far more
attractive. so the southern country was
left to a few hardy men, who, like the
Indians they displaced, lived chiefly by
fishing and hunting.
AS time went on, however, there
came a demand for lumber and fuel.
which made the woods more valuable,
Wood lots were then a marketable
property, and the whole territory was
cut up by wood roads, many of which
still remain. apparently for no other
purpose than to confuse the traveller.
But for the mast fifty wears the timber
land has steadily decreased in value.
Pitch pine is replaced by white pine for
building and by coal for burning. The
steam engine. which at first burned
wood and thus increased it's marketa-
BILE value. not only gave I'D wood for
coal but brought coal to Plymouth in
competition with the native fuel
CordWood, which would have brought
eight, dollars a cord fifty years ago, can
be bought for four dollars or four dol
lars and a half to-day. This wood
costs one dollar and a quarter cord to
cut; and must then be piled up for six
months or q wear to season. with a good
chance of being burned by forest fire
and thus becoming a dead loss, Even
if it escapes the fire II costs two dollars
a cord to haul II into town over the
deep-rutted sandy roads, so that the
final profit disappears when II was
shown that the fires have Frequently
devastated the available woodland
and that II has beef. necessary 70 allow
the oaks to grow twenty or thirty years
and the pines even longer before thav
are fit to cut.
So, as game has grown..scarce and
wood improbable. MANY of the original
settlers have abandoned the farm for /
the town, in most cases being able to
sell out for a small sum to a Portu
guese or italian immigrant. IL is con-
coded that these foreigners can live |
where a. native would starve to death.
The Italians particularly seem TO have |
the art of getting the utmost nossihIe |
from a small patch of llnfertile soil
They choose little farms on tbe ouf- |
skirts of the villages. and do consider
able business with paopIe Of their own
race. tvptca1 farm of thts sort lias |
inst at the edge of the woods The
rocky nasture and +he roue, meedou,
are bare ana dry, but the cow and
snare horse are led nv bows IN craze nv
the vavside, An older how was nlovv-
ing over a field of stubble under tha