The Great Bend at Cooper's Point


It was under this guy's watchful eyes that I made my way up the Connecticut River to Cooper's Point yesterday.  It was my first visit to the Pauchaug Boat Launch in Northfield since New Year's Day.  Back then there was plenty of water in the river...this past Monday, not so much...just getting from the boat ramp to the river required finding a passage around the mud.  Once out on the river the water was shallow and clear.

Shortly after paddling into New Hampshire I saw my first eagle of the day (an immature) atop one of the old railroad bridge piers...

Further upriver an adult eagle worked the eastern side of Pomeroy's Island...


The confluence with the Ashuelot River was very shallow...
... with gravel bars best suited for these killdeers...

Approaching the great bend and Cooper's Point required walking my boat through shallows opposite and east of Stebbins Island.

Rounding the bend at Cooper's Point I found some deeper water and my first view of Vernon Dam...

Prior to the 1907 construction of the Vernon Dam which eliminated the natural falls here, this place must have possessed considerable mojo as well as having been the source for the early regional name "Squakheag"...


According to The History of the Town of Northfield  (1875) by J. H. Temple and George Sheldon  Native American name "Suckquakege" was applied by the natives to the fishing places near Cooper's Point and so to the village or clusters of wigwams in that immediate neighborhood.  The authors make the case for the actual Native American name having been "Namaus-squam-aug-khige" which meant "a spearing place of salmon".   The authors include an 1873 letter by John Stebbins attesting to the once bountiful fishery: "...Another company owned the fishing place at the foot of Stebbins Island (formerly Clary's).  The mouths of the small brooks in this neighborhood, and the narrow pass at Elmer's Island, were famous places for spearing salmon.  This was commonly done at night.  A flaming torch was set in the bow of the canoe in which were two men, one to steer.  They floated quietly down with the current, and the spear-man struck the fish as they were attracted to or blinded by the light."  The letter also mentioned 75 bushels of fish being caught over two days at a spot a little downriver at Rock Island.

The rocky shore of Cooper's Point across from Elmer's Island...

...which sends the river on two 180-degree sweeps.

Not a lot of fishing activity was seen by me on Monday, but imagine the surprise of the fellow who, while fishing below Vernon Dam, made this catch back in August of 2017 as related on this NOAA fisheries web site.   That fish would have a tale to tell.

After landing back at Pauchaug I watched an unusual form of river dredging take place as this hungry machine drove straight into the river...

...gobbled up huge mouthfuls of Connecticut River mud and relocated them to a growing pile in the woods...


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nubanusit and Spoonwood

Image
This past Friday delivered perfect conditions for exploring Nubanusit Lake and Spoonwood Pond's combined 718 acres located amidst the hills of Hancock and Nelson, New Hampshire.  The two bodies of water at an elevation above 1300' are joined at the hip so to speak, with a very short portage from one to the other.  They comprise the headwaters of Nubanusit Brook which flows down through Harrisville to Peterborough and the Contoocook River at an elevation below 700'.  I've long wanted to explore Nubanusit, perhaps due to its Native American name the meaning of which nobody seems to know for sure.  Some say it means "at the place of gently sloping banks", others say "small summer place", or "little waters".  However, the interpretation I favor is from C. Lawrence Bond in his Native Names of New England Towns and Villages .  Bond offers Nubanusit as meaning "at the wing shaped (pond)", showing "nuppoh" as the Native A
Read more

Eden of the Kennebec

Image
"Eden of the Kennebec, - perhaps the Eden of Maine" were the words author and historian Justin H. Smith used to describe the section of the Kennebec River between Norridgewock Falls and Caratunk Falls.  I came across his intriguing (to me) description in his 1903 book Arnold's March from Cambridge to Quebec.  Smith's description combined with my desire to see first-hand the Native American petroglyphs on "Indian Rock" in Embden had me looking for a boat launch and campground along that stretch of river.  Luckily I found both at the Evergreens Campground in Solon, ME... ... where this sign lets visitors know just how long folks have been setting up camp there... Evergreens' location is ideal being right on the Kennebec's eastern shore, about a mile below Caratunk Falls.  It's almost directly opposite from the petroglyph site and, according to the owners, some of Benedict Arnold's 1100-man expedition also camped here on their wa
Read more

Staking Out the Sebasticook

Image
As the sun rose in the eastern sky I paddled away from my campsite at Sebasticook Lake's southern end and headed north.  Other than the occasional and haunting calls of loons, silence prevailed.  Fog hovering above the water's surface looked as though it could possibly provide passage into another time period...and that would've been just fine with me as, in a way, that was exactly my intention...paddling to the spot where the remains of a sizable prehistoric fish weir complex  lurks beneath the surface.  It is said to be perhaps the oldest fish weir complex in North America and is comprised of hundreds of wooden stakes notable for having their crude pointed ends shaped by stone tools. By the time I reached the suspected location the fog had burned off and the shallow water above the weir was as smooth as glass.  I slowly paddled back and forth across the area straining my eyes in hopes of seeing some of the 600 plus documented wooden stakes.  While I didn't actuall
Read more