Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-18
IN THE NORTH WOODS
A PRIMITIVE COMMUNITY IN
THE UPPER PART OF MAINE.
Families Without Law, Religion or
Medicine on the ALLIE
cash.

From the New York Tribune.
Among the strange and primitive COM
munities in the far northern woods Of Maine
none is more interesting than the settle
ment of farmers and Iumbermen that has
existed for sixty years at the confluence of
Clementicook stream with the st. John
river. The settlement is in township XVI,
range Il. owned by the Great Northern
Paper Company. but the matter of owner
ship does not seem to worry the settlers at
all: they go with their farming and
other pursuits just as if they were the lords
Of the soil.
The twelve ia miles are about equally di-
vided between Montreal French and Nova
Scotia Scotch and formerly their religious
differences made great deal of trouble.
Long ago, however, they effected a COM
promise, agreeing to get along without any
religion, and ever since that time they have
dwelt in peace and harmony, with neither
priest nor minister.
Early Scotch Settlers.
Nearly a century ago. as it is told on the
St. John. few families from Scotland
took up meadow lands along the Allegash.
having a patent from the English king to
hold as much territory as they could in
close within the span of a anoosehide cut
into narrow strips and fastened end to end.
They killed huge bull moose. and all one
winter the women worked at pairing and
stretching the strips of skin SO as to make
the line reach as far possible. When
the men went out on the crust of March to
survey the land to which they were
titled by the deed of gift they made the
shredded moosehide encompass $4,000 acres,
equal to four full townships of thirty six
square miles each. Then they built viii
lage Of logs and cleared up land for farm
ing.
All went we'll until 1910. when Edward
Kent the whig candidate, was chosen gov
ernor to succeed Reuben Fairfield, the
democratic incumbent of the Office. A hot
presidential fight was in progress. and the
democrats. wishing to redeem the state in
November. called a special session of the
legislature and organized a new form of
municipality, called plantations each of
which was given the right to vote in state
and national elections. 1t was hoped that
as the inhabitants of the plantations were
strongly democratic. their vote, added to
the regular party vote In the cities and
towns. would stem the whig tide and re-
deem the state; but when the November re-
turns came in, and Maine was found to
have cast her vote for Harrison. nearly
every democrat in the Allegash settlements
became whig ''out of spite" and those
few who refused to do SO Were forced to
emigrate.
Three families packed up and moved to
township XVI. range II. where they have
ever since resided. Although they cannot
vote under their township form of govern
meht, every man of voting age is a demo-
crat. showing that these exles have re-
NAMED steadfast in their political faith. In
the AlleSash plantation at the la st election
every one Of the fifty-three votes was cast
for the republican ticket. which shows that
the great turnover of 1910 is still in effect.
Activities at Allegash.
AHegash has stage line, post Office and
root and herb doctor as evidences of civil
ization but township XVI, range l., is
still in primitive innocence. The nearest
DOCTOR lawyer or clergyman lives at Fort
Kent, sixty-two miles away to the north
east. There is no church nor post office
nor store of any kind in the township
Two acre plot on a sunny hillside serves as
common burying ground for the villagers
whose graves are surrounded by a strong
stump fence. The residents are all farm
ers or lumbermen. The farmers raise fine
crops of hay and oats. which they sell at
high prices to the lumber operators of the
region. For six months after April and fnr
three months in midwinter supplies are
brought to the settlement from Fort Kent
by canoes or sleds over the Ice During the
other three months the place is as inacces-
sible as the back side of the moon
The ruler and supreme dictator of town
snip XVI IS Alexander Castleton. the rich
est man In the village, who owns a farm of
hfteen hundred acres. yielding annually two
the stacks to lumbermen at $1S a ton.
King Castleman as ne is called, fixes the
amount That each resident must nav in
money or in labor for the support of schools
and roads and to meet general expenses
He makes the assessments and his subjects
never question his decisions
Jean Boyer. one of the leaders Of the
French contingent at township XVI, does
prosperous business at cutting timber for
the Fort Kent mills. Having no sons to
assist him. he has trained his three daugh-
tiers to the business and takes them every
winter to the camps. where each has charge
of a crew of loggers. The three Bower
girls are skilled in the use of snow shoes
and the rifle, and can handle ak or cantdog
better than most Of the men.
The company that owns the township
makes no objection TO the presence there of
these squatters, or to their clearing I'D
farms and using what wood and timber
they need. 1t Is convenient to have them
away up there. partly a safeguard
against forest fires getting beyond control
and partly to raise crops of fodder corn
for wood horses. thus saving the heavy ex-
pense of sending supplies so far into the will
derness.