REDLONS OF HOLLIS, MAINE.
609
-
ant sight when there were fifteen or twenty horses hitched to the trees
around this mill- as was frequently the case some being unladen and
others all ready to start with their burdens, while the men, who were
waiting for their grists, collected in groups to discuss the news and nar-
rate the latest adventures of the settlement. As provisions for the fam-
ily was the first necessity, a corn-mill was considered a great advantage in
a new plantation; and as this first hydraulic enterprise proved a success,
the settlers soon entered into a compact to build a saw-mill. Thomas and
James Redlon were chosen to go down to Saco Falls and "view a good
mill" from which to take a plan for the new mill. Together the neigh-
bors went to the woods and cut timber for the mill-frame, which was
hewed on the spot where it fell; this was drawn to the bank in winter
and put up the following spring. The saw-mill was higher up the stream
than the grist-mill, and the water was carried to the lower wheel by a long
spout. It was a great day for the people of the plantation, when the
saw-mill was dedicated, and started for the first time. All the settlers
were duly notified, and promptly assembled at the house of "Uncle
Thomas" and about the new mill; every part was carefully examined;
some thought it would run and others shook their heads. A barrel of
rum was brought from Saco for the occasion. The women and children
were there from every home in the clearing to share in the excitement
and festivities of the day, and when the hour arrived for the ceremony to
commence all were seated on blocks and timber near the mill. Songs
were sung, and Mr. Field made a speech in which he" named the mill."
Thomas Redlon hoisted the gate and the great wheel commenced to
move with a creaking sound; the saw began to rise, and the astonished
people shouted "There she goes! there she goes!
" while the women
clapped their hands and sang, the children screamed, the dogs howled,
and every wild beast escaped to the deep woods. Those were merry
days for the settlers, and the festivities of such occasions served to lighten
toil and drive away care. These mills were the most important adjunct
of a new settlement, and the plantation was looked upon as a permanent
institution from the hour they proved their capacity for grinding their
grain and sawing their lumber. They could now erect good frame and
finished houses, and have the corn reduced to fine meal without making
their way to Saco with pack-horse or sack-on-shoulder. All went to their
work with new and cheerful interest, and feelings of independence;
while the stalwart men were cutting timber for their new houses, they
were animated by the industrious clatter of the new mills; as the wives
and daughters were at the wheel and loom, they were no longer troubled
about the meal in the barrel, for while the ground produced corn, there
could be no want.
There were times when the families of the Redlons were pinched for
food before their mills were built, and during the first years of their
settlement at Little Falls. Sometimes the mothers would sit up with
their children until midnight, waiting the return of their husbands from
Saco, whither they had gone to procure provisions, and would then bake
bread before going to bed to satisfy their hunger. At one time Thomas
Redlon's family were out of food, and he started early for Saco on foot to
procure meal and groceries. When he reached Smith's (supposed to have
been Daniel Smith, 1st, who lived near Smith's bridge) a woman hailed
him from her door and asked him if he had any breakfast; and on learn-
ing his errand brought him a biscuit as large as his "fist," which he put in
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