USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine v.I, 1770-1875 > Part 75
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88
1856, Jan. 1. The brig " E. L. Cottrill," from Boston for Havana, was lost at Key West.
1856, Jan. 6. Lost overboard from brig " Kate Anderson," on her passage from New York to Cardenas, Peter Gilson, Jr., of Belfast, mate, aged 20 years. He was a respectable and useful young man, and his death was much lamented.
1856, July 8. William W. Whittier, son of W. F. Whittier, aged 23, was lost overboard in Boston harbor.
1856, Nov. 2. The bark " Adriatic," Captain Durham, of Bel- fast, came in collision with the French steamship " Lyonnais," bound from New York for Havre, with thirty-eight passengers and a crew of ninety-eight men. The bark soon disappeared, and those on the steamship supposed that she had sunk at once. The steamship was so much injured that all on board betook them- selves to the boats and a hastily constructed raft. One of the boats, containing eighteen persons, was picked up, the remaining one hundred and thirty-two were lost. The bark arrived at Glou- cester somewhat damaged, and reported having been run into by an unknown steamer, which passed on, and was supposed to be uninjured. It was said that the owners of the " Lyonnais " had an insurance of $350,000. A decision of the French Chamber of Commerce exonerated Captain Durham. Subsequently, having gone to France with his vessel, a judgment of confiscation was rendered against her. By stratagem, Captain Durham succeeded in making his escape with the vessel, and in March, 1858, reached
819
SHIPWRECKS AND DISASTERS AT SEA.
this country. In April, 1858, he published at Washington a de- tailed account of the whole matter.1
1857, Jan. 7. The new ship " Hualco," Captain J. P. Morse, from Belfast for New Orleans, in ballast, when only four hours out, struck a sunken ledge near Saddleback, about four miles below Isle au Haut, which presented so small a surface that she cleared it, and went down by the head in twenty minutes, the crew even losing their clothing. She was owned by White & Conner and James P. White, and was insured. News of the disaster reached here the same evening.2
1857, Oct. 24. The brig " Harriet Newell," Drinkwater, from Pensacola, went ashore near Cardenas, and was lost.
1857, Aug. 22. The steamer " Daniel Webster," in a thick fog, ran upon Hedge's Ledge, between Belfast and Camden, breaking a hole in her bows, and cansing a serious leak. She was towed in by the steamer "M. Sanford."
1857, Nov. 7. The schooner " Magyar," of Belfast, from Bal- timore for Antigua, was capsized. The captain and one seaman were washed overboard, and two others perished from exposure. The three survivors were rescued by a French vessel, and carried to Havre.
1857, Nov. 20. Captain John H. Cousens, of the ship "Coronet," of Belfast, aged fifty-four years, was drowned in the harbor of Falmouth, Eng. A funeral sermon was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Palfrey, at the Unitarian Church, December 27.8
1858, June 30. Moses W. Brier, aged 47, was washed over from his vessel near Cape Ann, and drowned.
1858, Sept. 16. The schooner " Mayflower," of Belfast, was lost on Matinicus.
1859, Jan. 4. The brig " Kate Anderson," of Belfast, was lost on the Bahamas.
1860, May 19. When off Saturday Cove, during a fog, the steamer " Daniel Webster" broke her walking-beam and piston- rod. She was towed in by the " M. Sanford," and subsequently taken to Portland for repairs.
1860, Oct. 5. The fishing schooner "Foaming Billow " was lost, with all on board, in a gale near Prince Edward's Island. The master, Captain Joshua Condon, Robert Brier, John Doar, Hugh Doran, Michael McGnire, John Dunbar, Nathan McIntosh,
1 Journal; Boston Advertiser. 2 Journal.
8 Published in the " Age," Jan. 14, 1868.
820
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
Freeman Staples, and Charles Shay were from Belfast. They were all unmarried, except Brier, who left a family.
1860, Nov. 4. The fishing schooner " Louisa," of Belfast, from Bay Chaleur, sprang aleak at the month of the bay, and was lost. The crew were saved.
1860, Nov. 24. A violent gale. Several vessels went ashore in the harbor, and were injured. The schooner "Peytona," Gil- man, from Boston, with a full cargo of merchandise, was totally lost at White Head. The crew were saved by jumping upon the rocks.
1861, April 19. The schooner "R. S. Bell," of Belfast, from Petersburg, Va., for Fall River, with wheat, was captured by the rebels in James River, and confiscated.
1861, Aug. 5. The schooner " John Frederick," of Belfast, from Nova Scotia for Boston, was totally lost near Cross Island.
1862, Feb. 24. The ship " Northern Chief," of Belfast, Veazie, from New York for London, capsized. On the 28th, her crew were rescued by the steamer " Merlin," from Bermuda for Halifax, and the vessel abandoned.
1862, June -. Captain John P. Bagley, of Belfast, aged 46, was drowned in San Francisco.
1863, Jan. 15. Llewellyn Durgin and James Burkmar, of Bel- fast, seamen on the bark " Sarah A. Staples," were washed over- board during a heavy sea, and drowned.
1863, Feb. 5. The schooner " Frolic," McCarty, from Belfast for Boston, when a few hours out, took fire in her deck load of hay, and was burnt to the water's edge.
1863, Sept. 13. The ship " Living Age," Robert T. Emery, captured and bonded by the rebel " Tuscaloosa."
1863, Nov. 20. The brig "Lady of the Lake " was wrecked off Caicos Bank.
1864, Aug. 12. The bark "Suliote " captured by the rebel " Tallahassee." She was bonded for $5,000.
1866, Sept. 15. The brig " Hattie May," new, from Bridgeport, C. B., for Charleston, with coal, was dismasted off Canso, and abandoned at sea.
1866, Oct. 1. Lost at sea, near the island of Abaco, one of the Bahamas, during a hurricane, Captain James A. Rust, master of the bark "Gen. W. T. Sherman," aged 33; Walter, his eldest son, aged 11 ; Frederick William, son of William M. Rust, Esq., aged 18; and George Weymouth, second mate, all of Belfast.
821
SHIPWRECKS AND DISASTERS AT SEA.
1866, Dec. 26. The bark "J. U. Brookman," James H. McCril- lis, master, sailed from New York for Valparaiso, and was doubt- less lost at sea. Captain McCrillis had with him his only son, aged 23, who was mate, his wife, and a daughter, aged about 16, leav- ing one daughter at home, who is the last survivor of his family. He was about 46 years old, and had followed the sea for over thirty years.
1867, Jan. 19. The brig " Ocean Wave," J. S. Thombs, from New Orleans for Boston, was abandoned at sea. She sprang aleak December 30, and her crew were nearly exhausted when rescued by the ship "John Sidney." She belonged in Belfast, and was uninsured.
1867, Feb. 12. The schooner "Justus M. Lewis," Shute, from Brunswick, Ga., for New York, was capsized fifty miles from Barnagat, and abandoned at sea. She was two hundred tons burthen, and partially insured.
1867, March 1. The bark " Le Yik," Osgood, from Aspinwall for Cienfuegos, was totally wrecked in the Caribbean Sea. She was four hundred and eighty tons, built here in 1863, and partially insured.
1867, April 23. Benjamin F. Cook, aged 22, a seaman on board the brig "James Miller," was struck by the main sheet, when near Block Island, and lost.
1867, Sept. 25. The bark "Vesta Veazie," Veazie, from Aus- tralia for Shanghai, with coal, was driven ashore below the latter place during a gale, became a wreck, and abandoned. Captain Veazie, his wife, two daughters, officers, and crew arrived safely at Shanghai.
1867, Dec. 1. The schooner " Belle Creole," Sylvester, from Boston for Belfast, was wrecked at St. George. Her sails and rigging were partially saved.
1867, Dec. 11. The ship "Live Oak," Captain Robert H. Coombs, was totally lost at Valencia, Spain. She was being towed into port against the protest of the master.
1868, Feb. 1. The ship " Coronet," built here in 1854, but hailing from Newcastle, England, was wrecked on the voyage from Plymouth, England, to Pensacola.
1868, April 7. The schooner "Hortensia," Flowers, went ashore near Cape Hatteras, and became a total wreck. She was valued at six thousand dollars, and owned by Captain Robert O. Patterson, who had a partial insurance.
822
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
1868, April 17. A despatch announced the loss of the ship " Western Chief," Gilmore, which left New York, January 7, for Buenos Ayres. She was owned in Belfast, and only an eighth was insured.
1868, Oct. -. The ship "Living Age," built here in 1861, and partially owned by Captain Robert T. Emery, was burnt at sea on a voyage from Shields, England, for Bombay. The owners had an insurance.
1869, Jan. 14. Robert Gray, of Belfast, a seaman on the bark " Blomidon," of Windsor, N.S., was washed overboard and drowned.
1869, Feb. 9. The schooner " Circassian," J. S. Sylvester, with potatoes and hay for Boston, was totally wrecked on the Isle of Shoals. Four men swam ashore, and were rescued by another vessel.
1869, May 1. The brig " Omaha," John Toothaker, was cap- sized on the passage from Key West to Pensacola, and six of the crew lost, among them the captain's son, aged 17. After being two days upon the wreck and three in a leaky boat, Captain Toothaker, the mate, and two seamen reached land.
1869, May 20. The schooner "Eliza Otis," from Bangor for Hartford, went ashore at Chatham and was lost.
1869, Oct. 4. The fishing schooner " William E.," owned by S. S. Lewis, and the schooner " Malinda," Joseph Dunbar, master, were driven ashore and lost at Duck Harbor.
1870, Jan. 14. The schooner " Alice Parker," Lusher, from Belfast for Turk's Island, became disabled off Hatteras, and, after being at the mercy of the waves for fifteen days, the crew were taken off by a British vessel and landed at St. Domingo.
1870, March. The schooner " Leila," Captain N. B. Foss, one hundred and sixty-seven tons, and worth about twelve thousand dollars, was lost on Cape Cod in a gale.
1870, May 19. Samuel Warren, of Belfast, aged 21, a sea- man on brig "Charles Heath," was instantly killed while reefing the main topsail at sea.
1871, March. The new bark " Mendez," Captain Eleazer Mc- Gilvery, sailed from St. John, N. B., for Cuba, and was never heard from. She was probably lost on the Georges banks soon after leaving port. William Smith, cook, and Fred. T., son of the late Wilkinson Pierce, cabin-boy, belonged in Belfast.
1871, Feb. 16. The brig " Sarah," of Robbinston, commanded by Captain E. P. H. Thompson, of Belfast, from Galveston for
- -
823
SHIPWRECKS AND DISASTERS AT SEA.
Bremen, was dismasted in a hurricane, which swept off Captain Thompson and three passengers. The crew remained eighteen days on the wreck, when they were rescued and carried to Liver- pool. The vessel was afterwards found and taken to Halifax.
1871, April. The schooner "Suliote," formerly the bark of that name, and the first vessel which went from Maine to Cali- fornia after the discovery of gold, was wrecked below Ports- mouth, N. H.
1871, Nov. 30. The schooner " Z. Snow" went ashore above the upper bridge, and filled. Her cargo of plaster was lost.
1872, Feb. 17. The schooner " S. S. Lewis" was lost on Hamp- ton Beach.
1872, April 13. Charles Edward, son of Captain Charles H. Wording, was lost overboard from the ship " Pocahontas," on her passage from Liverpool to New Orleans. He was thirty-three years old, unmarried, and a young man of many excellent qual- ities.
1872, Sept. 26. William O. Dodge, Belfast, seaman on board the schooner " William Arthur," from Portland for Washington, fell overboard and was drowned.
1872, December. The schooner "Sarah Buck," built here thirty-four years ago, collided with a Nova Scotia vessel near Monhegan, and was sunk.
1873, Jan. 18. Ruel S. Ellis, aged 25, son of Eliakim H. Ellis, was drowned while attempting to cross alone in a boat from the main land to Spruce Head. His body was found, and brought here for burial.
1873, June 8. Charles A. Chaples, of Belfast, fell overboard from the schooner " M. W. Drew," on the passage to Jackson- ville, and was drowned. He was aged 18 years.
1873, Dec. 25. The schooner " Ida S. Burgess," Lymburner, from Savannah for Providence, sprang aleak, and was abandoned.
824
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
CHAPTER LI.
BEASTS, BIRDS, AND FISHES.
Native Wild Animals. - Furs. - Anecdote of Robinson and the Bear. - Molasses and Rum. - Other Bear Stories. - Deer. - Moose. - Wolves. - Catamount killed near Nesmith's Corner. - Loup-cerviers. - Foxes. - Beavers. - An Elephant dies here. - Wild Geese. - Bounties on Crows. - Pigeons. - Woodcock. - Partridges. - Eagles. - Fish-hawks. - Pine Grosbeak. - Shooting-matches. - Fishing-places re- served by Proprietors. - Regulated by the Town. - Division of Fish. - Robert Mil- ler purchases Fish Cove. - Shad. - Fish-warden. - Blue-fish. - Cod. - Haddock. - Eels. - Anecdote. - Flounders. - Halibut. - Mackerel. - Horse-mackerel. - Porgies. - Salmon. - Seals. - Shark. - Smelts. - Sturgeon. - Clams. - Burlesque Stanza. - Its Origin. - Oysters. - Lobsters.
W HEN Belfast was first settled, the country abounded in a great variety of native animals, many of which are now extinct. Hunting provided the first inhabitants with an impor- tant part of their subsistence. As the Indians were ignorant of the value of furs, immense quantities were procured from them in barter, for articles of no intrinsic value. An aged gentleman in- formed the late Joseph P. Martin, of Prospect, that he had seen "one of the flanker rooms at Fort Pownall as full as it could be well stowed with the first quality of furs, - beaver, otter, sable, &c." 1
Bears were numerous and troublesome.2 In 1787, when George
1 History of Maine, II. 337.
2 Every new country has its " Leather-stocking " or Daniel Boone, - men who seem to havo been born with an instinctive aversion to civilization, -natural hunters. Two men of that class were found at an early period in this region, - Michael Davis and Hodgdon, whose Christian name is not remembered. It is not known what became of the first named. Hodgdon baited his trap for the last time in 1813. He would not be regarded, were he now living, as a very eminent "Sou of Temperance " or a model in dress for a fashionable tailor. Amusing anecdotes are told of him : one must suffice for our purpose.
Colonel K., who resided in a neighboring town, was at one time very much annoyed by bears who made inroads on his corn-field. Meeting Hodgdon one day, he represented to him the extent of his annoyance, and asked his advice as to the best mode of relief. "Colonel," said H., " bears is awful fond of molasses. Now you just make a little trough, and fill it with molasses and rum, and put it where they come into your field, and they'll just drink it for the sake of the molasses ; and the rum 'll just make 'em so drunk that
825
BEASTS, BIRDS, AND FISHES.
Robinson was about ten years old, he discovered a bear killing one of his father's pigs, near where Charles Read's house now stands. He was too frightened to move. The bear left the pig, sat down, and looked deliberately at the boy, who shouted for his father. When the latter arrived, the bear walked away. Soon, Benjamin Nesmith, a neighbor, came up with his gun, and killed the animal. It weighed about two hundred pounds. Robinson and Nesmith divided the meat between them. That evening, George carried a portion to Robert Miller's, but was so fright- ened that he remained until morning, when Miller accompanied him towards home as far as John Cochran's. As the lad reached the Morrison brook, a cub started from under a felled cedar-tree, apparently as much alarmed as he was. Cochran, with Miller, and a dog, started in pursuit. The dog drove it up an ash-tree, where it was killed by Miller's gun. When dressed, its weight was twenty-five pounds.
Robert Miller used to have a wooden trap set for bears near Fish Cove. One day, he found a large bear caught, and strug- gling to escape. It was despatched with a single shot.1
A young bear was killed near the mouth of Goose River, in October, 1827. As he was remarkably lean, hunger had probably driven him from the forests.
Deer and moose, the latter the most noble animal indigenous to Maine, and introduced with the white pine, the chief of trees, into the coat-of-arms of our State, were once very common. Within late years, they have been occasionally captured in this vicinity. In March, 1829, a female deer, weighing about three hundred pounds, was found on the eastern side of the harbor, evidently bewildered and fatigued. She was taken alive by Cap- tain William Barnes and others. The unusual depth of snow had probably driven her from the woods.
Early in the spring of 1843, as the ship " Lady Arbella" was being launched from Rolerson's (now Carter's) yard, a deer was discovered swimming across the river. It was soon shot. The incident provided an unexpected entertainment to the spectators of the launch. At that time, the market was supplied with good venison from our immediate neighborhood.2
you can go out in the morning and knock 'em on the head just as if they was sheep." The Colonel followed the advice, and went to his field early the next morning to knock the bears ou the head. The only hear he found there was Hodgdon, drunk as he had predicted the bears would be ! - Crosby's Annals.
I Locke's Note-Book.
2 Waldo Signal.
826
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
Ezra Bickford and William F. Whittier took three deer on the eastern side of the river, Feb. 12, 1852. One of them weighed one hundred and fifty pounds, and was chased from the woods to the water before being captured.
On the 20th of December, 1866, a buck, three years old, was shot on the farm of A. G. Jewett, about a mile distant from the post-office.
Wolves and catamounts were occasionally seen in the early days of the settlement. In 1778, the town voted "to pay by sub- scription for killing wolves this year." About 1785, as an Indian squaw was passing through the woods near Nesmith's Corner, she saw a large specimen of the latter preparing to spring upon her from a tree. Instantly raising a musket which she happened to be provided with, she fired, and the animal fell dead.1
Early in 1839, two loup-cerviers, or "loupcifees," were caught in a trap on the eastern side of the river. They had committed havoc among the sheep in that locality during the preceding year.
Foxes have always existed here, and one was shot on Congress Street as late as 1872. Squirrels, rabbits, martens, and porcupine are still found.
Beavers were common during the last century. The meadow lands on Goose River and Half-way Creek, which furnished hay for the early settlers, were caused by the dams and habitations of this sagacious animal. Chad wick's survey mentions a large beavers' dam on the latter stream in 1769. The Indians say that they were careful to kill only the old beavers ; but the whites killed old and young, and then they soon became extinct.2
During the summer of 1866, an elephant connected with the menagerie of George F. Bailey & Co. was taken sick here, and after a few days died on a farm at Little River, where he had been placed in hospital. In health, his weight was over five thousand pounds, and the proprietors valued him at ten thousand dollars. His skin was removed, and the bones bleached under the super- vision of Dr. Lewis W. Pendleton, who sent them to a Natural History Society in Boston.
Of the birds found here, little more can be said than that they are such as are common to the northern part of New England. Wild geese and ducks were formerly abundant on the shores of
1 Locke's Note-Book.
2 Kidder's Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia, 312.
827
BEASTS, BIRDS, AND FISHES.
the river and bay. As has been before stated, Goose River de- rived its name from the number of geese which frequented it. The old settlers were accustomed to gather baskets full of eggs.
Crows were so destructive in 1804 that the town voted a bounty of twenty-five cents for every one killed. Three years afterwards, this sum was reduced to a shilling. From 1831 to 1835, the State reimbursed towns for bounties paid, not to exceed eight cents a head. In 1831, the number paid for in Belfast was 224 ; in 1832, 70 ; in 1833, 142 ; and in 1834, 111.
When the country was new, and grain proved a profitable crop, wild pigeons came in countless numbers, and were sold at prices which were merely nominal. As late as 1848, Daniel Kenney, in the adjoining town of Waldo, caught over six thousand during the summer. Woodcock were first discovered in the marshes and low lands of this vicinity in 1857, by Charles B. Hazeltine, who has been successful in taking them during every season since. Snipe are occasionally taken. Partridges are still seen in the woods, and frequently venture into the settled portion of the city. One was captured near a store on Main Street, in 1867. Eagles and fish- hawks continue common. In 1869, one of the former was shot on the east side of the river. His outspread wings measured over seven feet from tip to tip. Dudley Leavitt killed a still larger one at the Head of the Tide, in 1872. In December, 1870, flocks of the bright-colored pine grosbeak, that inhabit the arctic regions, hut often go southward during severe winters, hovered about our orchards and shade-trees. Joseph H. Kaler noticed several in January, 1873.
Shooting-matches, which used to be held during Thanksgiving week at Belmont Corner, Searsmont, and at " The Spa," have be- come an amusement of the past. On Christmas, 1828, a large lot of turkeys, chickens, and geese were " exposed to marksmen in the rear of Mr. Frothingham's meeting-house," and according to the advertisement "refreshments" also were provided. For a stipu- lated consideration, the sportsman was permitted to fire at a bird, which, if hit, became his ; otherwise, he lost his money.
At a meeting of the proprietors at Londonderry, July 20, 1769, it was voted "that all fishing-places are reserved for the use of the whole town, without exception."1 The only one which the town claimed was at Fish Cove. In the spring and early summer, large quantities of striped bass, alewives, and shad used to ascend the
. 1 Proprietors' records.
828
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
river to deposit their spawn above the Head of the Tide, in Pas- sagassawakeag Pond and in the Wescott stream. Below where Kaler's Mills are situated, a weir was constructed of brush. The fish went over it at high water, and remained up the cove until caught by the receding tide. The dam at Cochran's Mills was regarded as an obstruction to the fish as early as 1786, when the town voted " to make a trial to clear Sagauwakeg Falls for a Pas- sage for fish to pass clear." 1n 1791, the town first assuined jurisdiction over the privilege at Fish Cove, by voting " that the fish wear be let out this year ; that Tolford Durham and Nathaniel Patterson attend the wear, and divide the fish for every tenth fish, and with a reasonable allowance for building a box to hold the fish, and that the fish be divided as they were last year, that is, according to the number of heads in each family, viz. : 2 heads of families, one share ; minor, { share; single men, } share."1 It is related that this division applied only to shad, no account being taken of alewives.2 In 1795, it was voted " to vendue the Fish weir this year, and whoever bids it off shall build it, which was James Miller, for $28." The following spring, a vote passed " to tend the fish wear by divisions this year." This was done by tak- ing turns, and carrying each inhabitant his share. In 1797, the weir was sold at auction for the year to Samuel Patterson, at $14; in 1800, to Robert Miller, for $28; in 1802, to Allen Hall, for $10; in 1803, to Nathaniel Stanley, for $16; in 1805, to Ephraim McKeen, for $27; in 1809, to Jonathan Wilson, for $12. In 1823, when Robert Miller sold the town the common on Church Street, as stated in another chapter, he received in part payment this fishing privilege, which was dnly conveyed to him by the town agent, and is still held by his heirs. The erection of mill-dams without any fish-ways had diminished the number of fish and con- sequent value of the weir. In 1814, there were estimated, on a single day, to be three hundred barrels of shad in Fish Cove, and, it being war times, not a bushel of salt could be procured for their preservation. As the fish returned each year to find that they could not get over the dams, they became gradually less, until now but few are caught.ยช For many years, a fish warden regulated passages through the dams. The office was abolished in 1861.
The blue-fish is a rare visitor in our bay. In August, 1858, a large school appeared, probably driven in by fish of greater size.
1 Town records.
2 Mrs. Margaret Patterson.
8 George B. Ferguson. .
829
BEASTS, BIRDS, AND FISHES.
Cod and haddock were formerly very ahundant, and a row of fifteen minutes from the mouth of Little River brought the fish- erman into good ground for them.1 Lately, they have frequented deeper water.
Eels are taken by spearing, as far up as Fish Cove, or by angle- worms strung lengthwise upon a thread, which the eels will bite without the intervention of a hook. " This was a favorite occupa- tion with Mike Caten. But spearing the reptile through the ice was his forte. Here he was champion. On one occasion, Mike drove his spear too hard into some old log in the bottom of the river, and pulled the handle out. Here was a dilemma ; but Mike stuck the handle firmly into the mud at the bottom, stripped off his clothes, and down he went, head first, on the handle, got his spear and came up through the hole again. This, for winter bath- ing, is not often beat." 2
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.