Middletown transcript., 1909-12-04

coast are found weather. .blighted
iungles of fir, spruce and cedar,
almost literally impenetrable.
T AIee grass spears in . moving
field. the slender trunks stand
close, none very tall, but
making upin number Of branches
what they lack in height. In their
gloomy recesses an object ten feet
off is invisible.
To make ones way through
these dense thickets is q slow
and painful business. The inter-
laced boughs, tough and springy,
begin close to the ground, as if
the trees were half buried. It's
like q succession of closely set
cedar hedges, the stems in each
row opposite the open spaces In
the rows on each side Of it.
If anybody thinks this descrlp'
ton Exaggerated, wish he might
talk with Dana McCorrison.
Dana is a surveyor. Three sum-
mers ago he put in some time
running lines on Scammans
Neck.
Seaman s Neck, according to.
Dana, is a squash-shaped pen
insula between the Kennebec and
the Penobscot. A wealthy New
Yorker had the idea thatit would
be a good place for a summer
colony. So he bought it, and en-
gagged me to make a survey. II
was just starting for myself
then, and felt N uch pleased
to get the work.
August 10th found me on my
way to the Neck. Ihad engaged
two chainmen, but at the last
minute one failed me, and j had
no time to fill his place. So Jack
Caswell and / went down alone.
Jack was twenty-three, just
my own age. He was an old
school friend, who had started in
a little late to learn surveying |
from the bottom. He was hard
worker and first-rate company.
His weight was his only draw
back. Two hundred and thirty
pounds is heavy for a business
that requires so much moving
about. Still, he handled him
self better than a good many
lighter men I've known. He
made no unnecessary motions,
and saved time by doing every
thing just right at the start. He
made an excellent chairman.
My employer wanted a quick
preliminary survey, so We went
down prepared to work hard and
fast from daylight to dark. There
was q summer hotel five miles of,
but we didn't care to waste time
going back and forth. AS the
weather was warm, we planned
to camp in the woods.
Just before noon on the eleventh
OF August we struck the narrow
isthmus connecting. the Neck
with the mainland. We were in
light marching order, outfit fol
lowing in a wagon mile or so
behind.
Right across the isthmus was
pitched a camp belonging to some
boys from a military school.
There were several tents, a flag
pole flying the Stars and Stripes,
and a wooden runway from beach /
to beach, so that boat could be
on each side. Ii
A young fellow in blue was
pacing up and down, gun on
shoulder. The minute he saw
Us he brought his bayonet to q
charge.
Halt! ghe cried. Who goes |
there.
Friends, said !, humoring him.
Advance, friends. and give the I
he commanded.
That stuck me. Ii
Officer Of the guard! he sang
out; and two or three fellows
popped from q. tent and took US I
In before the commander, and &C.
cused US Of being spies. After a
hearing our story he pronounced {
sentence. b
/ condemn you, he said, solemn t
IS Judge, to hard labor in this |
camp 50 long as you shall re- 8
main on Scamman's Neck, said /
labor to consist in eating three
square meals Of Guilds cooking | g
daily. Cook, set plates for the a
prisoners. '
Well, l never sat down to a Z
better dinner-tish chowder, hot 0
biscuits, blueberry pie and coffee. S
saw Jack would not reduce his
.wc hundred and thirty pounds b
much if We ate with those boys. {,
They insisted that we should take il
ip our quarters with them. B