Lake Umbagog.
1907.
August 8
lumber was wasted but spruce trees were accounted of no
value and wherever they encumbered land desired for
farming purposes they were almost invariably piled up and
burnt, after being cut down. Mr. West assured me that he
had destroyed in this way, on his own land, enough fine
old timber spruces to represent a considerable fortune were all the
trees still standing. Indeed their present value on the
stump would, he said, far exceed that of the land from
which they were removed.
Jonathan P. West's testimony
  When Mr. West was a boy Moose were numerous
about Umbagog, although less so than in still earlier times.
There were only a very few Deer and the first settlers had found
but few. Caribou occurred plentifully in certain localities.
The Canada Lynx, the Fisher and the Sable were all common.
The Otter was perhaps the most abundant of all the
fur-bearing animals - except the Muskrat - which frequented the
shores of the Lake and those of its connecting rivers. Partridges
abounded in the forest and were absurdly tame. Wild Pigeons
visited the clearings in enormous numbers sometimes "darkening
the sun" as their winged phalanxes came between it and
the eye of observers and doing much damage to the farmers'
grain. They appeared chiefly in spring and autumn and
Mr. West has never known more than a few settled pairs
to breed anywhere about the lake. He remembers when the
lake attracted innumerable water - fowl, among which were
many Canada Geese. He has no recollection of ever seeing a
Wolf or even the track of one and he thinks that
practically all the Beaver had been trapped or driven
away before his time.