FOREST commissioner's REPORT. IO3 



of claims of title; to run the lines between lands of individuals 

 and the Commonwealth; to make plans and ascertain the acre- 

 age. 



By resolve of July ii, 1783, a special committee, with author- 

 ity similar to the above, was appointed for lands within the 

 County of Lincoln. It consisted of Samuel Phillips, Jr., Nathan 

 Dane, and Nathaniel Wells. 



By resolve of October 28, 1783, a mode for doing the business 

 of the Commission was pointed out to the Committee. Among 

 other things, it recommended that a surveyor be added to the 

 committee and Rufus Putnam was appointed. The Committee 

 was authorized and directed "to proceed in the disposal of said 

 lands at public or private sale." 



In July of 1784 the Committee contracted with Rufus Putnam 

 for a survey between the rivers Schoodic and Cobscook. Put- 

 num made his survey, and reported in November of that year. 

 In 1785 he undertook the survey of the coast from Penobscot 

 River to Cobscook. This work was completed and reported by 

 the Committee to the General Court in 1786. Its reference to 

 islands is as follows : "Together with 360 islands, being all 

 the islands between Passamaquoddy Bay and Penobscot Bay, 

 including all the islands in that Bay east of a line drawn from 

 the West extreme of the Fox Islands to the mouth of the Pei5- 

 obscot River." 



In Vol. I, Eastern Lands, Deeds, etc., Massachusetts Ar- 

 chives, pages 510 to 521 are the instructions given Putnam, 

 Dodge and John Barnard, who made the surveys of these lands. 

 The instructions to Putnam were as follows : "You will begin 

 your survey at Soward Neck and the River Cobscook where 

 your surveys terminated last year, and continue them westward. 

 Take a general plan of the sea coast to Penobscot Bay, and the 

 situation of the principal rivers between Penobscot River and 

 Cobscook as far into the country as you may find best, and of 

 the islands found West of Quoddy Head, as far Westward as 

 you shall survey the main." A very full report of the doings 

 of this Committee on lands in Lincoln is to be found in the first 

 pages of this volume. Putnam's Plans of island survey are on 

 file in the Maine Land Ofifice, Vol. 8. 



In 1785 the Committee advertised the sale of these lands, 

 announcing "besides, a number of valuable islands are also 

 ready for sale." 



