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Fort Fairfield Sept 16th 1839

Hon Rufus MacIntire

Land Agent State of Maine

Sir Your letter of the 12th [?] was duly received tonight. I regret exceedingly that your health is infirm at this present time as I apprehend that there is a crisis arising upon the question on which I have before written you and that the labor to sustain the state in an upright and steadfast course will neither be small nor of short continuance

I allowed yesterday a boat load of provisions to go up river with the assurance that it was for the settlers. Mr Pollard arived [arrived] here tonight under the apprehension that we had stopped that boat and if that had been the case he said they would have suffered, as they cannot get in such things as are necessary for them by the Aroostic [Aroostook] Road

I hope and trust what he says is true and that the person in charge of those goods has not made any false representations in this [?] to deceive me The quantity was not large at any rate to do much harm other than establishing a precedent. I mention this now[?] to show[?] in how difficult a situation I am now placed in On the one hand unprincipled men are on the allert [alert] to take every advantage and on the other I may unwittingly occasion distress and great inconvenience to innocent persons

We cannot hope always to stear [steer] clear of this difficulty and it shows in a stronger[?] light, the great necisity [necessity] that this question should be immediately settled. In my letter of the 9th I wrote that I attributed to the granting of permits the attack made upon this post. I have no reason to change that opinion. The persons most deeply engaged with only one exception were all men who had been largely engaged in tresspassing [trespassing] on the public lands and otherwise connected with the business at Woodstock and [?] I will mention an example –Benj Beverage of [?] –[?] P. Taylor [of [?]] –John Benning[?] Woodstock

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This post here is the only obstacle in the way of tresspassing [trespassing] now upon the waters of the Aroostook & vicinity to destroy it and [?] bring down disgrace and ridicule upon the state was[?] there[their?] object of the rabble present plunder and a hope of continued aggression on the Reble[Rebel?] Lands Tibbets of [?] was[?] an [?] beyond doubt he supplyed [supplied] either directly or indirectly the arms with which the Tibbets were Armed themselves

I am happy to be able to state that the provincial authorities have taken early and I trust efficient in this matter and I have little reason to think that another attempt will be made from that quarter as Col Jarvis will be with you I can refer to him concerning many things that I should otherwise write to you about at this time

In my memorandum to you by him relating to our affairs here. There are many things which I presume cannot be answered immediately but I should feel much more[?] at ease[?] in the discharge of my duties could I have from you general instructions as might cover the principles upon which must act – Capt Towle has returned from the exploration of letter F he reports a great distruction [destruction] of timber upon the SE corner and that nearly all the timber there has been cut off that to avoid detection it was not hauled directly[?] into the stream but by a long and circuitous rout [route] I understand that the timber was cut by one Tracy or hauled by him by the halves. Tracy belongs to Woodstock Mr Stanly[?] of Monticello is his son. [?] me made proposals to settle with Tracy, I do not know upon what terms or for what quantity Capt Towle makes[?] out by his scale which he has [?] [?] up 396 thousand wanted[?] 70 [?] in all 466 [?] cut an estimate we have made [?] the scale of timber with that of logs in the proportion of 18 392 [?] to 28 1/46[?] tons it will make 608 tons of timber

This lot of timber he represents as very sound and but little waste[?] I doubt not that is many track[?] the waste[?] would be doubled the result may be roughly stated thus