174 surgeons' reports MAINR THIRD DISTRICT. 



be better to amend the law so as to compel the drafted man to furnish a natice-born siib.slitutc, in- 

 stead of an alien, whom he may procure for a mere trifle, and " who to-day is and tomorrow is not." 

 The substitute-provision of the law, though intended for good, has yet been a source of great trou- 

 ble. It has led to a great deal of difficulty, and has i)roved to be productive of gigantic frauds, 

 both upon the Government and upon the people. There can be no wrong in compelling men to 

 furnish like persons to defend the Government under which they live. We all owe service to it. It 

 lias |)r()tectcil our property and our lives. If it is now in danger, every man owes it to himself; to 

 his country, and to his God, to defend it, even with his life; and, if but one-tenth part of the com- 

 munity is required to make the defense, those upon whom the lot falls should not complain. It is 

 a mistaken kmdnt^s to allow them to foist upon the Government, in the shape of a substitute, a 

 man of straw, or one whose sympathies, lilie his tongue, are foreign to our Government and our 

 cause. The examination (li this class of men, also, has added largely to the labors of the surgeon, 

 as they are many of them unacquainted with our language, and consequently have to be examined 



through an interpreter. * * * 



ALEXANDER BUEBANK, 



Surgeon Board of Enrollment Second District of Maine. 

 Auburn, Me., June 2, 1865. 



MAINE— THIRD DISTRICT. 



Extracts from report of Dn. G. A. Wilbur. 



The third district of Maine embraces the counties of Somerset, Kennebec, Lincoln, and a part 

 of Kiiox. It extends from Oan ida on the north to the Atlantic on the south, a distance of about 

 one hundred and ninety-six miles. From east to west, its greatest width is about forty-four miles; 

 its least width, about fifteen miles; and its average width, about thirty-one and a half miles. It lies 

 between 43° 3' and 47° north latitude, and occupies the valley of the Kennebec River, which has 

 its rise in Moose Head Lake, flows south some one hundred and twenty miles, and empties into the 

 Atlantic Ocean. 



Fromthe Atlantic coast inland, for some ninety miles, it is thickly inhabited ; from this point 

 northwardly for forty-seven miles, it is sparsely settled; and about fifty-three miles of the northern 

 portion is uninhabited. The northern limits are monutaiu(jus, the sparsely-inhabited and a i)art of 

 the more thickly-settled portion are very hdly, the surface becoming more and more even as one 

 approaches the south. 



The forests of the northern part of Somerset County furnish, during the winter months, em- 

 ployment for many of oar more enterprising citizens in cutting lumber, and, in the spring, in float- 

 ing it down the river to market. In these lumber-regions, the ground is covered with snow during 

 five or six months in each year. 



The inhabitants of the seaboard towns are mostly engaged in ship-buildiug and maritime pur- 

 suits, especially in the Bank fisheries. 



The middle portion of the district is ])leasantly diversified with hills, plains, streams, and small 

 lakes or ponds, and possesses manufacturing facilities scarcely rivaled by those of any section of 

 any country. It contains a fair proportion of farming-land, well adapted to growing the staple 

 products of the State, which are hay, oats, barley, beans, i)otatoes, and apples. 



The inhabited portion of Sotuerset County contains one hundred and thirty-six small lakes, 

 varying in length from half a mile to eight and a half miles, and eighty-two hills of sufficient ele- 

 vation to entitle them to notice on our State maf). 



Kennebei^ the middle county of this district, has fifty-one lakes, varying from half a mile to 

 eight miles in length, and thirteen hills, also delineated on our State map. 



Lincoln County contains sixteen fresh-water lakes, from half a mile to five miles in length, and 

 one hill re[)resented on our State map. 



That i).irt of Kii.)x County included in the third district has eight ponds, from half a mile to 

 three miles in length, and has one hill given on the maj). Although Lincoln and Knox Counties 

 have a smaller number of fresh-water lakes in proi»ortion to their area than either Somerset or 

 Kennebec Counties, yet the deficiency is more than compensated for by their numerous bays and 

 salt water rivers. 



