82 FOREST commissione;r's ri;port. 



was disastrous and for the time hampered the prosperity of the 

 new. State. 



Alluding to this matter in his report of 1836 Land Agent John 

 Hodgdon wrote : "The wild spirit of speculation, which so 

 recently swept like a desolating pestilence over the community, 

 turning industry and capital from their natural channels, has at 

 length spent its fury, and men are beginning to return to their 

 respective occupations." 



DEPREDATIONS UPON THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 



From the earliest history of the State extensive depredations 

 were made upon its timber lands, especially in the eastern and 

 northern parts. Alen from over the border cut and stole the 

 timber and much of it was floated down the St. John river. 

 Thousands of dollars of the most valuable timber was lost to 

 the State by these depredations. It became necessary for 

 Massachusetts and Maine to act jointly to prevent these inva- 

 sions upon the timber lands. To many men it was no doubt an 

 easy matter for them to satisfy their conscience that it was no 

 great crime to steal this timber, especially as much of it was in 

 territory claimed by two countries. It finally became necessary 

 to establish armed bodies of men in the northern parts to pre- 

 vent the timber from being stolen by the wholesale. 



In 1838 Ebenezer Webster of Orono was sent by Land Agent 

 Elijah L. Hamlin upon the St. John and Aroostook rivers for 

 the purpose of ascertaining the amount of timber cut by tres- 

 passers during the past winter. In his report ]\Ir. Webster 

 among other things said : "I have no doubt that timber cut on 

 the disputed territory, on the St. John and Aroostook rivers, 

 amounts to ten thousand tons. As the largest trees only are 

 selected, such as will square from twenty to thirty inches, and 

 nothing but clear stuff cut, there is a great waste of the timber. 

 I have it from good authority, that within the last fifeen years 

 there has been taken from the disputed territory several hun- 

 dred thousand dollars worth of stumpage. The merchants on 

 the St. John river fit out teams and supply men, who go on and 

 plunder the timber. The timber is driven below the line, and 

 marked and rafted with timber cut under permits. 



"I was upon St. John and Aroostook seven years ago, when 

 I saw beautiful groves of pine timber standing on the banks of 



