The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-07-20
ALONG WITHOUT RELIGION OR
MEDICINE
PRIMITIVE COMMUNITY
OF STRANGE PEOPLE
About Equally. Divided Between Montreal
French and Nova Scotia Scotch-Origi-
nally Took Up Four Full Townships of
Thlrty-six Square Miles Each-story
of the AIIegash.

BANGOR, Me-, July 15.-Among the
strange and primitive communities in the
Iar northern woods of Maine none is more
interesting than the settlement of farm
erS and lumbermen that has existed for
sixty years at the confluence of Clemen-
ticook stream with the ST. John river.
Inc settlement is in Township XVI,
Range II, owned by the Great Northern
Paper company, but the matter of owner
at all-they go on with their farming and
other pursuits just as if they were the
lords of the soil.
The twelve families are about equally
divided between Montreal French and
Nova Scotia Scotch, and formerly their
relg1ous differences made great deal
or trouble. Long ago, however, they eff
1ected compromise, agreeing to get along
without any religion, and ever since that
time they have dwelt in peace and har-
mony with neither priest nor minister
Nearly a century ago, as it is told on
the st. John, few families from Scot
lana took up meadow lands along the Al
iegaSh, having patent from the English
king to hold as much territory as tf7ey
could lnclose within the span of a moose
hlde cut into narrow strips and fasten-
ed 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
Tar as possible. When the men went out
on the crust in March to survey the land
to Which they were entitled by the deed
OF gift the made the shredded moose hide
encompass 81, goo acres, equal to four full
Then they built a village of logs and
cleared up land for farming. -
Went Well Until 1s4o
All went well until 1840 when Edward
Kent, the Wing candidate was chosen
governor to succeed Reuben Fairchild. the
Democratic incumbent of the office. A hot
presidential fight was in progress and
the ;Democrats, wishing to redeem the
state In November, called 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 plan
tat1ons were strongly Democratic, their
vote, added to the regular party vote in
the cities and towns, would stem the Wing
tide and redeem the state; but when the
november returns came in, and Maine
was found to have cast her vote for Har-
rlson, nearly every Democrat in the AL
legaSh settlements became a Wing "out of
spite, and those few who refused to do
SO were forced to emigrate. Three fami-
lies packed up and moved to Township
xvi, Range y, here they have ever
since resided. Although they cannot vote
under their township form of governm ent
every man of voting age is Democrat
showing that these exieS have remained
steadfast in their political faith. In the
Allegash plantation at the last election
every one of the fifty-three votes was
cast for the Republican ticket which
shows that the great turnover in 1910 is
still in effect.
Allegash has stage line, a postoffice
and a root. and herb doctor as evidences
of civilization, but Township XVI, Range
II, is still in primitive innocence. The
nearest doctor, lawyer or clergyman lives
at Fort Kent. sixty-two miles away to the
northeast. There is no church nor post
office, nor store of any kind in the town
ship A two-acre plot on a sunny hillside
serves as common burying ground for
the villagers, whose graves are surround
ed by a strong stump fence: The residents
are all farmers or lumbermen. The
farmers raise fine crops of hay and oats
Which they sell at high prices to the lurn-
Der operators of the. region. For six
months after April and for three months
in midwinter supplies are brought to the
on sleds over the ice. During the other
three months the place is as inaccessible
as the back side of the moon.
The ruler and supreme dictator Of
Township X l., is Alexander Castleton,
| the richest man in the village, who owns
a farm of 1900 acres, yielding annually
1000 tons, of hay, which is sold from the
stacks to lumbermen at SIS a ton. King
| CaStletOn, as he>iS called, fixes the amount
| that each resident must pay in money
| or in labor for the support of schools
and roads and to meet general expenses.
| He makes the assessments, and his sub
| jects never question his decisions.
Jean Boyer, one of the leaders of the
| French contingent at Township XVI,
| does a prosperous business in cutting tim
| Der for the Fort Kent mills. Having no
| sons to assist him. he has trained his
| three daughters to the business and takes
| them every winter to the camps, where
each has charge of a crew of loggers. The
| three Boyer girls are skilled in the use
of snowshoes and the rifle, and can han
die AK or cantdog better than most men.
| The company that owns the township
| makes no objection to the presence there
J Of these squatters, or to their clearing
! up farms and using what wood and timber
| they need 1t is convenient to have them
away up there, partly as a safeguard
against forest fires getting beyond control
and partly to raise crops of fodder corn
| for wood horses, thus saving the heavy
expense of sending supplies SO far into the
| wilderness.