DREDGING OFF EASTPORT 133 



So he bore down on us, caught up, and called out, "Some kind 

 of fishing?" "No," said Stimpson, "we ain't fishing"; where- 

 upon the skipper pays off, and sails away a mile. When over- 

 come again, he turns about, runs up to us, lays to awhile in 

 silence, then, "Lost your anchor?" to have for brief answer, 

 "No, have n't lost no anchor." Forth once more, but lest he 

 burst with ignorance, he comes about very near and in a plead- 

 ing tone calls, "Wall, what be ye doin'?" Stimpson, in his fa- 

 vorite attitude of one foot on either gunwale, explains. "Don't 

 you see, skipper, we are turning Grand Manan over to fill up 

 Eastport Harbor." "Shough," roars the skipper like a blowing 

 whale, pays off, and sails away. When we arrived in Eastport, 

 we found that our fame as "naturals" had preceded us. 



After we parted with Stimpson, I went with a companion to 

 Trenton Point in Frenchman's Bay and spent a month in fur- 

 ther dredging and roaming about with one or two companions 

 whose names I have forgotten. We stayed in an interesting 

 family, the master being an old sea-captain of rough, unsym- 

 pathetic, almost brutal outside, which was a mask for a very 

 tender, sympathetic nature. He affected to despise us and our 

 occupation ; but one stormy night when the three of us had been 

 caught out in the bay, and came near losing "the members of 

 our mess," getting home only at break of day, I thought I saw 

 his boat reach the wharf just ahead of us, and his hulky shape 

 slip into the house just before we entered. In the morning, he 

 affected utter unconcern whether we had been in danger or no; 

 but I found from others that he had gone forth in the storm 

 alone in his boat to search for us. 



At Trenton Point, I fell in with an interesting Englishman, 

 who was a country teacher of music. I believe his name was 

 Ramsbottom or some such queerness. He was a well-trained 

 musician, oddly out of place in the hamlet Where he dwelt; I 

 fancied a man with a history, such as may be found here and 

 there in corners. He had trained a very good voice, which ren- 

 dered high-grade music admirably well. This chap was a mas- 



