654 U'ATKFl I'OWERS OX MERSEY III V EH, X. S. YORSTON. 



guides Avill now poiut out what arc known as the " i)ietiire 

 rocks," so iianu'd because of the rude Indian dr:i\vini;s made 

 with some hard tool on the flat surface of the rocks on the sliore 

 of '■ Kidjniio Kidjie " or Fairy lake. 



The Avater-shed of the Mersey is covered Avith a good grow^th 

 of nearly every variety of our 'native trees, and the many 

 branches of the river afforded such an easy mode of transport- 

 ing the logs that lumbering operations on the river have always 

 been prosecuted with vigor since the days of early settlement, 

 and up to the year 1893 this was practically the only use made 

 of the splendid water-powers on this river. As the great co'n- 

 sideration of the owners of saw mills \vas to deliver the sawn 

 lumber as near navigable tide water as possible, and as the 

 quantity of power recpiiied was not large, they were content to 

 utilize heads of S to 10 feet, and leave the larger poAver devel- 

 opments for the future. Accordingly the saw mills were built 

 on two dams about one mile apart, the lower dam being situated 

 just above the tide water at Milton Falls, about 2^ miles above 

 the town of Liverpool, from whicli ]dace the l\nul)er has always 

 been shipped. 



Ill the year 1<S(S8 an engineer named ImiuI ^^;ssllack. 

 made surveys and plans for the develoimient of the 

 water-]iower at two sites immediately above the flowage of the 

 Potanoc or u]>per saw-mill dam. His ])urpose was to construct 

 two dams, one at Cowie's Falls, a'ad another at the head of 

 Rai)id Falls, and his estimate of the power to be obtained from 

 both wa-^ 1(1, ()()() horse-power. A company was organized in 

 London To undertake the construction of the two dani-^, and 

 the necessary mill !)Hhlings, etc., for the manufai'ture of ]mlp 

 aiiid paper. This company a('(inired all the lu^cessarv lands, 

 etc., for the construetion of its dams and factorie-, hut for siniio 

 reason construction was never started, and nothing further was 

 done until the yeai' lS9o, wlien th(> Acadia Full) and Faper 

 C*oni])any, recogMizing the very cheap j)Ower to be got, and the 

 great possibilities of its adaption to the manufacture of 



