Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1914-01-28
IN oLDEN TIME.
Capt. N. ii. Means Marks Back to
Days of jackson Surplus Money.

Capt. N. III. Means Marks Back TO
Days of jackson Surplus Money.
Capt. Nehemiah II. Means, of Ellsworth,
remembers distinctly the election OF
Andrew Jackson as President for bis
second term in 1892. He recalls as boy
attending town meeting with his father
when the distribution of the surplus
money ordered returned to the people by
President Jackson was under discussion.
The town house where the meeting was
held was then located near Contention
cove, then the center Of population OF
Surry, but later it was moved to its pres
ent location in Surry village. Incident
ally he recalls the moving of the town
house to Surry, it being hauled by many
yoke of oxen.
At the meeting it was decided to dis
tribute Surry's part Of the surplus money
to the people of the town at 81 per capita,
man, woman or child, the balance to go
to the town treasury. The men OF large
families-and large families were this rule
in those days-were considered fortunate,
as their part of the money was no small
help.
Capt. Means also remembers the old
Frenchman's Bay revenue-cutter Argus.
She needed to be an Argus indeed, for in
those days smuggling by Englishmen
from West Quoddy Head to the islands
along the coast was lively occupation.
The Argus was commanded by Capt.
Thomas Haskell, of Surry, from 1892 to
about 1912. She was pinky-stern, rskish
little craft, painted black, with the stars
and stripes flying from her main topmast.
She mounted one small gun.
The custom house, as well as the county
court-h house and Jail, were then located at
Castine. Edward S. Jarvis was dIputy-
collector at Surry.
Capt. Haskell, of the Argus, had orders
to look after the smugglers, and il he saw
a suspicious looking craft, he gave chase
to her, firing shot across her bow il
she failed to heave to. In 1888 or '39,
Capt. Haskell took a small schooner trad
ing contraband goods, and brought her
into Surry, turning her over to Deputy
Collector Jarvis.
The captain of the smuggler, a man
named Bolliver, and his wife and son,
were on board the schooner when she was
captured, and became residents OF Surry,
Capt. Bolliver buying a piece of land OF
Capt. Means father, where he built q
small house and where he lived until his
death.
In 1910 William Il. Harrison, WING, was
elected President, and with the change OF
administration came a cha nge in the rev.
enue service. The custom house was
moved to Ellsworth, and new revenue
cutter was put on in this district.
Capt. Means remembers many times see
ing eight or ten canoes full Of Indians land
at the carrying place, still known by that
name, and carry across to the back bay.
now called Morgan's bay. The carrying
place was famous camping ground for
the Indians, and Capt. lMeans has, as a
boy, visited there when quite village of
Indians was in camp.
Capt. Means moved from Surry to Els
worth in the spring Of 1858. He says the
winters are nowhere near as severe as
they used to be. The bay always froze
down SO far that no water could be seen,
and frequently the ice was firm out to the
islands. On April IA, 1854, Capt. Means,
with a horse and sleigh, went on the
ice at Contention cove and drove ten
miles down the bay and back that night.
The ice that year left the bay on April ~.