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St. Croix Courier. February 1, 1884
MEN AND THINGS ON THE ST. CROIX Mr. Editor: The writer proposes, in a series of papers to describe men and thin.gs as they appeared to his boyish perceptions. He lived from his birth to manhodd on the St C:roix, and although absent for a quarter of a centu:ry, he, in common with hundreds of natives the world over, cherishes the wamest feeling for the "scenes of his childhood," and for the wholesouled people of the St. Croix valley- The beautiful scenery of that section, its water, its limpid springs, its joyous brooklets and streams---on the grassy banks of which he has landed many a sparkling trout, -"the deep tangled wlld-wood and everY love spot" are deeply impressed on the writer's memory, never to be effaced on this side ofthe grave. In recording these early impressions, the personal style of joumalism just now in vogue, will be adopted, and the great "I" will appear conspicuously. It was a. delightful day in June, 1836 just about the period of time when the fishes of the lower St. Croix were first disturbed by steamboats that the writer embarked at St. Andrews, NB with his parents and all their worldly goods and gods, On the good schooner--, Capt. Joshua Paul, bound for St. Stephen. A fine southerly breeze filled the sails and gently ruffled the surface of the water. Nature was abroad in all her loveliness. The hoary Chamcook Mountain was bathed in a flood of sunshine. The trees were putting on their delicate spring tints, and the pretty and modest dandelion studded to grow in the meadows . To 1overs of the grand and the beautiful a sail of the St. Croix is a delightful experience. Few places in North America equals or outrivals its scenery . Our schooner soon rounded Joe's Point and passed that historic little spot, Dochet's Island. I have never learned how or when the name of this Island was changed from St. Croix, bestowed on it by Champlain, and from which the river derived and still retains its name . It is of course known to your local readers that Champlain and DeMonts landed a small colony on the Island in 1604, but, through scarcity of wood, water and provlslons, onehalf of the number died the following winter, and the Island was abandoned the next season. In about an hour after 1eaving Dochet's Our good schooner reached the bend in the rlver, or the "Devll's Head." Apropos of this name, I noticed that the "Devil's Neck" is somewhere in Boston Bay. It is possible that, if I pursue my geographical studies further, I shall find that his Satan Majesty's body extends the whole length of the Atlantic coast, and that he bathes his feet in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. From the Devil's Head our vessel made slower headway against the current, as it was well on to low water when we reached the Ledge, and by the time we reached what has since been known as McAllister's wharf it was low water. The vessel, however, continued on her way and soon Capt. Paul ran her bow into the bank of mud at the edge of the channel opposite the Public Landing in St. Stephen. At this time, and for some years after, vessels of considerable tonnage could ascend the channel at dead low water. I have often seen a fleet of a dozen or more vesse1s, after a. change o:f wind, come up the channel at low water, thrust the bows into the mud oppos:ite the wharves at Calais and St. Stephen, and await the rising tide to float them over the flats to their several docks It was in the early moming after the sail upthe river that the vess1 hauled into the Public Landing. The only persons I recollect seeing that day were burly, Pat Branniff (afterwards the founder of Branniff's town) and Wlllie Johnston but on the way to MIilltown the place of destination, one Bill Johnston living near the Cove, nearly frightened the senses out of me by firing a lot of unintelligible words at our party. I thought he was the Ogre of the Fairy Books. Mv parents were soon located on a home opposite the old schoolhouse, near the head of the Bog at Mllltown, St. Stephen. At that time the Catholic Chape1 was not finished, and the Roman Catholics worshipped in the schoolhouse mentioned. The prominent citizens of Milltown at that day I will mention and describe just as they appeared to me at that time. Mr. William Todd was then, as he always remained until his death, the leading citizen. He resided near the head of the Bog, where his son Charles now lives. Perhaps a quarter of a mile above, on the same side of the road leading to Mohannes, lived Robert Todd, brother of Willia.m. Robert carried on farming operations to a considerable extent, and was the most successful farmer in the vlclnity. About a quarter of a mlle further up lived the father of the Todds, an old gentleman of quiet habit who paid much attention to bee culture. Seth Todd then, or shortly after, lived down toward the "corner" near where Hon. John R McAdam built his residence. Where John and Freeman Todd lived I do not recollect; but sometime after Mr. Freeman Todd purchased and still resides on what was known as the Clark place, a beautiful spot which juts out at the falls and makes one side of of the Cove at St. Stepehen. On this place is the famous "Smelt Rock." where for many years the inhabitants of Milltown, or at least some of them, retired in the Spring, after their days work ln the mills was over, to dip smelts. They used to build a roaring fire on the sloping rock, and between dipping smelts, singing songs and telling stories, they passed many pleasant hours. The practice of golng to the rock for smelts gradually died out, or perhaps the possessor of the property forbid the assemblages. Mr. Hill McAllister, sometimes a ship master and at other times a miller, lived about opposite Wllliam Todd's. Mr. George Porter lived in a nice residence on the street leading to the upper bridge . Mr. James Albee lived in the block as you went down to the Todd Mills, as did Mr. McAllister. Mr. Samuel Darling resided almost at the corner where the Congregational Church stands. The spot the Church is on was his garden. Darilng afterwards moved to the opposite corner, to the house which he rebuilt, and where the Austins, Cornelius and John lived for a long time. These latter, it is needless for me to state, were Quakers. Cornelius always wore the Quaker garb, but John I can only recollect in a low-crowned beaver hat and a pea-jacket. Jesse Christie kept a store in a low red building on the opposite corner to that occupled by the Austins, Mr. Columbus Bacon lived very near Christie 's . Milltown at the time I first saw it had the same general aspect, Which it now presents, although the Cotton Mill and the improvements incident thereto have changed it to some extent. It was then a model town--no police force, no court house, no jail. The citizens were all law-abiding. The great cause for all was that it was a temperance town. The Todds, the McAllisters, the Porters, the AIbees, the Eatons, and others of the leading citizens, deserve all honor for the example they set, and for the peaceable and quiet nature ofthe town. They established a "Maine law" a quarter of a century or more before Neal Dow conceived his falmous enactment. Hundreds ofoUgh men from the backwoods ofNew Brunswick, and other parts ofthe British Provinces, and Eastern Maine, were gathered as lumbermen on the river, with headquarters at Milltown. Had the men we mention been lax on the subject of temperance, or as leaders of society set a drinking or immoral examp.le to the men we speak of, the town would undoubtedly have been a pandemonium, lnstead of a moral law abiding place in which a policeman would have been a useless incumberanced expense. I have often looked back to Milltown when I have seen lawlessness and pauperism rampant in towns no larger, and pondered on the great respons1bility thrown on leading citizens of towns in enacting regulations, and in setting examples in sobriety and morality to the maJonty of the people who always look to the few for guidance, let that be for good or evil. But perhaps I am moralizing too much |