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and Moufom rivers, extend fome distance into the country, and empty into Wells bay. Webhannet river is the principal entrance by water into the town of Wells, and has a barred harbour. York river runs up feven or eight miles, and has a tolerable harbour for veffels under 200 tons. Its rocks render it fomewhat hazardous for ftrangers. Spurwing river runs through Scarborough to the weftward of Cape Elizabeth, and is navigable a few miles for veffels of an hundred tons. Sheepfout is navigable twenty or thirty miles, and empties into the ocean at the fame mouth with Kennebek. On this river is an excellent port called Wifcaffet, in the township of Pownalborough. At the head of navigation on this river is Newcastle, which extends from Sheepfcut at Damarifcotta river. Pemaquid and Damarifcotta are fmall rivers; the former has a beautiful harbour, but is not navigable above its mouth.

Bays and Capes.] The fea coaft is indented with innumerable bays. Thofe worth noticing are Penobscot bay, at the mouth of Penobscot river, which is long and capacious. Its eaft fide is lined with a cluster of fmall islands. On a fine peninfula in this bay, the British, in the laté war, built a fort and made a fettlement, which is now a township of Maffachusetts, and a commodious fituation for the lumber trade. It has been called hitherto by its old Indian nanie Majabagadüfe, or for the fake of brevity, Bagadufe. At the distance of about four leagues weftwardly, is Broad Bay, on the western fhore of which, Pemaquid point or cape projects into the fea. Calco Bay is between Cape Elizabeth, and Cape Small Point. It is twenty five miles wide, and about fourteen miles length. It is a most beautiful bay, interfperfed with finall iflands, and forms the entrance into Sagadahok. It has a fufficient depth of water for veffels of any burden. Wells bay ties between Cape Neddik and Cape Porpoife.

Ponds are lakes.) Sabago pond is about twenty miles north-west of Falmouth. Cobefeiconti ponds are between Amarafcoggin and Kennebek rivers. Befides these there are Moufom and Lovel's ponds, and several others.

Mountains Agamemticus, a noted land-mark for failors, is about eight miles from the fea, in latitude 43° 16′, and lies in the township of York, a few miles weftward of Wells.

Ghief twns.] Portland is a peninfula, that was formerly part of Falmouth. In July 1786, the compact part of the town and the port were incorporated by the name of Portland. It has an excellent, fafe and capacious harbour, but incapable of defence, except by a navy, and carries on a foreign trade, and the fishery, and builds fome fhips. The town is growing, and capable of great improvements. The old town of Falfmouth, which included Portland, was divided into three parishes, which contained more than 700 families, in flourishing circumftances, when the British troops burnt it in 1775. It is now chiefly rebuilt.

Kittery is a pretty little town on the eaft fide of the mouth of Pifcataqua river, and is famous for fhip-building. One of its prefent inhabitants is one of the first genuifes in that line in America. York, Wells,

* Mr. Peck.

Berwick,

Berwick, Arundel, Biddeford and Scarborough, are all confiderable

towns.

Climate.] The heat in fummer is intenfe, and the cold in winter equally extreme. All fresh water lakes, ponds and rivers are ufually paffable on ice, from Christmas, until the middle of March. The longest day is fifteen hours and fixteen minutes, and the fhorteft eight hours and fortyfour minutes. The chmate is very healthful. Many of the inhabitants live ninety years.

Face of the country, Soil, and Produce.] The face of the country, in regard to evennefs or roughness, is fimilar to the reft of the New-England ftates. About Cafco-Bay, it is level and fandy, and the foil thin and poor. Throughout this country, there is a greater proportion of dead fwamps than in any other part of New-England. The tract lying between Paffamaquady and Penobscot rivers, is white pine land, of a strong moift foil, with fome mixture of oaks, white ash, birch, and other trees, and the interior parts are interfperfed with beech ridges. The fea-coaft is generally barren. In many towns the land is good for grazing. Wells and Scarborough have large tracts of falt marsh. The inland parts of Main are. fertile, but newly and thinly fettled. The low fwamps are useless.

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The grain raised here is principally Indian corn-little or no wheatfome rye, barley, oats, and peas. The inhabitants raife excellent potatoes, in large quantities, which are frequently ufed inftead of bread. Their butter has the preference to any in New-England, owing to the goodness of the grafs, which is very fweet and juicy. Apples, pears, plums, peachies, and cherries grow here very well. Plenty of cyder, and fome perry is made in the fouthern and western parts of Main. The perry is made from choak pears, and is an agreeable liquor, having fomething of the harshness of claret wine, joined with the sweetness of metheglin.

Timber] On the high lands are oak in fome places, but not plenty, maple, beech, and white birch, The white birch in this part of the country, is unlike that wnich grows in other parts. It is a large fightly. tree, fit for many ufes. Its bark, which is compofed of a great number of thickneffes, is, when feparated, fimoother and fofter than any paper. The clay-lands produce fir. The timber of this tree is unfit for ufe, but it yields the balfam which is so much admired. This balfam is contained in fmall protuberances, like blifters, under the smooth bark of the tree. The fir-tree is an ever-green, refembling the fpruce, but very tapering, and not very large or tall.

Trade, Manufactures, &c] From the first fettlement of Main until the year 1774 or 1775, the inhabitants generally followed the lumber trade to the neglect of agriculture. This afforded an immediate profit. Large quantities of corn and other grain were annually imported from Bofton. and other places, without which it was fuppofed the inhabitants could not have fubfifted. But the late war, by rendering thefe refources precarious, put the inhabitants upon their true intereft, i. e. the cultivation of their lands, which, at a little diftance from the fea, are well adapted for raifing grain. The inhabitants now raise a fufficient quantity for their own confumption, though too many are ftill more fond of the axe than of the

plough

plough. Their wool and flax are very good-hemp has not been fufficiently tried. Almost every family manufacture wool and flax into cloth, and make husbandry utenfils of every kind for their own use.

Mines and Minerals] Iron and Bog-ore are found in many places, in great plenty, and works are erected to manufacture it into iron. There is a ftone in Lebanon, which yields copperas and fulphur.

Exports.] This country abounds with lumber of the various kinds, fuch as mafts, which of late, however, have become scarce, white-pine boards, fhip-timber, and every species of fplit lumber, manufactured from, pine and oak; thefe are exported from Quamphegon, in Berwick, Sacofalls, in Biddeford, and Pepperillborough, Prefunfcut-falls, in Falmouth, and Amerafcoggin-falls, in Brunfwick. The rivers abound with falmon

in the fpring featon. On the fea-coaft fish of various kinds are caught in plenty. Of there the cod-fish are the principal. Dried fish furnishes a capital article of export.

Animals. In this country are deer, moose, beaver, otters, fables, brown fquirrels, white-rabbits, bears, which have frequently destroyed corn-fields, wolves, which are deftructive to fheep, mountain-cats, porcupines, of hedge-hogs-patridges, but no quails, wild-geefe and ducks, and other water-fowls, abound on the fea-coaft in their feafons. No venomous ferpents are found east of Kennebek-river.

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Character and Religion.] The inhabitants are a hardy robust set of people. The males are early taught the ufe of the mufquet, and from their frequent ufe of it in fowling, are expert marks-men. The people in general are humane and benevolent. The common people ought, by law, to have the advantage of a school education, but there is here, as in other parts of New-England, too visible a neglect.

In March, 1788, the general-court ordered that a tract of land, fix miles fquare, fhould be laid out between Kennebek and Penobscot rivers, to the northward of Waldo patent, to be appropriated for the foundation of a college.

As to religion, the people are moderate Calvinists. Notwithstanding Epifcopacy was established by their former charter, the churches are principally on the congregational plan; but are candid, catholic, and tolerant towards thofe of other perfuafions.

In 1785, they had feventy-two religious affemblies, to fupply which were thirty-four minifters.

Hiftory] The first attempt to fettle this country was made in 1607. on the weft fide of Sagadahok, near the fea. No permanent settlement, however, was at this time effected. It does not appear that any further attempts were made until between the years 1620 and 1630.

In 1636, courts were held at Saco and other places, of which fome records are extant. From thefe records it appears, that the courts acted both in a legislative and a judicial capacity. Very few of their orders and laws are to be found. They proceeded in a fummary method, attending more to fubftance than form, making the laws of England their general rule.

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In 1635, Sir Ferdinando Gorges obtained a grant from the council of Plymouth, of the tract of country between the rivers Pifcataqua and Sagadahok, which is the mouth of Kennebek; and up Kennebek, fo far as to form a fquare of 120 miles. It is fuppofed that Sir Ferdinand first inftituted government in this province.

In 1639, Gorges obtained from the crown a charter of the foil and jurifdiction, containing as ample powers perhaps as the King of England ever granted to any fubject.

In the fame year he appointed a government and council, and they admihiftered juftice to the fettlers until about the year 1647, when, hearing of the death of Gorges, they fuppofed their authority ceafed, and the people on the spot univerfally combined and agreed to be under civil government, and to elect their officers annually.

Government was adminiftered in this form until 1652, when the inhabitants fubmitted to the Massachusetts, who, by a new construction of their charter, which was given to Roffwell and others, in 1628, claimed the foil and jurisdiction of the Province of Main, as far as the middle of CafcoBay. Main then first took the name of Yorkshire; and county-courts were held in the manner they were in Maffachusetts, and the towns had liberty to fend their deputies to the general-court at Bofton.

In 1664, Charles H. granted to his brother the Duke of York, all that part of New-England which lies between St. Croix and Pemaquid rivers, on the fea coaft; and up Pemaquid river, and from the head thereof to Kennebek river, and thence the shortest courfe north to St. Lawrence river. This was called the Duke of York's property, and annexed to the government of New-York. Tke Duke of York, on the death of his brother Charles II. became James II. and upon James's abdication, thefe lands reverted to the crown,

At prefent, the territory of the Sagadahok is fuppofed to contain all lands lying between the river St. Croix eaft, and Kennebek weft, and fro the Atlantic to the highlands, in the northern boundary of the United States.

Upon the restoration of Charles II. the heirs of Georges complained to the crown of the Maffachusetts ufurpation; and in 1665, the King's commiffioners, who visited New-England, came to the province of Main, and appointed magiftrates and other officers, independent of Maffachusetts-Bay. The magiftrates, thus appointed, adminiftered government according to such inftructions as the King's commiffioners had given them, until about the year 1668, when the Maffachusetts general-court fent down commiffioners and interrupted fuch as acted by the authority derived from the King's commifiioners. At this time public affairs were in confufion; fome declaring for Gorges and the magiftrates appointed by the King's commiffioners, and others for Maffachusetts. The latter, however, prevailed, and courts of pleas and criminal jurifdiction were held as in other parts of the Maffachufett's-Bay.

About the year 1674, the heirs of Gorges complained again to the King and counsel of the ufurpation of Maffachufetts-Bay, and they were called upon to anfwer for their conduct. The refult was, they ceafed for a time to exerçife their jurifdiction, and Gorges, grandfon of Ferdipando, fent over intructions. But in 1677, the Maffachusetts, by their

agent,

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agent, John Ufher, Efq; afterwards governor of New-Hampshire, purchafed the right and intereft of the patent for 1,200l. fterling The Maffachusetts now fuppofed they had both the jurifdiction and the foil, and accordingly governed in the manner the charter of Main had directed, until 1684, when the Maffachusetts charter was vacated.

In 1691, by charter from William and Mary, the Province of Main and the large territory eastward, extending to Nova-Scotia, was incorporated with the Maffachusetts-Bay; fince which it has been governed, and courts held as in other parts of the Massachusetts.

This country, from its firft fettlement, has been greatly harrassed by the Indians.

In 1675, all the fettlements were in a manner broken up and deftroyed. From about 1992 until about 1702, was one continued fcene of killing, burning, and deftroying. The inhabitants fuffered much for feveral years preceding and following the year 1724. And fo late as 1744 and 1748, perfons were killed and captivated by the Indians in many of the towns next the fea.

Since this period, the inhabitants have lived in peace, and have increased to upwards of 50,000 fouls. This number is daily and rapidly increafing. To facilitate intercourfe between the inhabitants, the legislature havę lately adopted meafures for opening roads in different parts of the country. Such is their growing importance, and their ardent defire for independence, that their political feparation from Maffachusetts may be fuppofed not far diftant.

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Boundaries. BOUNDED north and eaft by the Commonwealth of Maffachusetts; fouth by the Atlantic; weft by Connecticut. These limits comprehend what has been called Rhode-Ifland and Providence Plantations.

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