Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-01-08

ing their way as they went. So clean
and fast did they gnaw that long
before 1900 the coast was suffering
from q scarcity of wood. Places as
far apart as Belfast and Medumcook.
near Marlborough. were reporting
in 100 the lumber all gone and the
cordwood nearly exhausted. Under
the seal Of the Royal II" the Kings
surveyors had stripped the coast of
its best, oak. and pine trees; the
Portuguese OF Madeira had taken the
pipe slaves for their wine; the Eng
lish of Bermuda for a century and
half had been enriched by the mar
vest reaped from the forests of
Maine coasts. At the close OF the
Revolution the Maine lumber trade
was played out"
There followed the second period,
that of the development of river
driving, lasting about century, but
at it's best between 1920 and 1880,
reaching the climax Of it's energy
and ingenuity during the 40's or SOS.
There was lumber enough inland II
anyone could devise means of get
ting 1t out. The difficulties were
great. The rivers were large and
wholly unnavigable. There were no
roads except in winter. There was
no power but man and cattle power.
To meet the situation, capital had to
be massed and the work organized
as never before in any American I'M
dertaking. But the capital, though
borrowed. was locally supplied and
the labor was also, local. Capital
and labor worked together In mar
mony for the common good. Though
the mills grew in size and number
and equipment as never before. they
are not the outstanding features of
this period. That was the new
methods invented to supply them
with materials and the forwarding
of this work by specially devised CO.
operative numbering associations,
boom associations and river driving
associations.
The most notable exploit of this
period was that of river driving.
The Maine batteaus, or driving boats,
are a native product, and built to
be large cargo carriers, yet OF shall
low draft, for work in strong rivers
full of rapids. The second invention
is that of the peavey" In 1898
Joseph Peavey. of Upper Saltwater,
watching river drivers at work with
the old Swing bail" cant-dog. con-
ceiyed the idea of the improvement
Of the tool that is In use today. Inc
"Peayey cant dog" combined the old
pick handspike and the old loose jaw
cant-dog, each weighing about 10
pounds, into a single lighter tool
with a stiff jeinted jaw which drop
ped freely but could not swing side
wise in the current.
The products of the Maine woods
were ship timber (including frames)
Of hard wood; and knees of juniper
or hackmatack; maSts and spars, OF
pine and spruce: hemlock bark for
tanning: and long and short lum-
Der. Cord-wood, hoop-poles. barrel
slaves and the like were regarded as
home by-products. Planks and
boards were long lumber; clap
boards, laths, fence-pickets and
shingle bolts were short lumber.
Until the later years Of this period
most Of this, except shingles, was
made of white pine. Fir was never
cut, hemlock was left to rot after
peeling, spruce was little used ex-
cent for spars and sometimes in
house frames. Pine-''pumpkin
pine" and "bull sapling"-was the
wood of all others. 1t was wasted
In every way--wasted in cutting,
wasted in driving, wasted in saving
and in sorting and q THOUSAND times
more wasted by forest fires. so that
today the pine that cuts like
cheese" can be seen only IN old
wairscot+i~".