Border Lore Part 1.
Maine has been characterized as a
“borderlands.” It is a very large state with
611 mile of international border with Quebec and New Brunswick. It also has a long border with New Hampshire,
and a long, rugged coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. Today, crossing the International Border
between Canada and the United States requires inspection by Immigration &
Customs, which will include a vehicle inspection. American and Canadian
citizens need proof of citizenship,
such as: a certified birth certificate
PLUS a photo id (such as a driver's license); or a passport. Crossing
the border was much more informal prior to the attacks on September 11, 2001,
with daily crossings by people who worked on one side and lived on the other.
Clearly the folks who live near the border have a
different perspective on the meaning of “foreign country.” When an American immigration official in
Madawaska, Maine, (across the border from Edmundston New Brunswick) asked
students how many had travelled to a foreign country in the last six months,
two or three hands went up. When he rephrased the question to ask how many had
travelled to Canada in the same period, every hand in the class went up.
The history
of the political border is fairly recent; it was only established 170 years ago. Meanwhile people living on both sides of the
border have a long history of interaction.
The border between Maine and New Brunswick was established along the St.
John and St. Croix Rivers without any consideration of the local people—crossing
right through the middle of some communities.
It created an artificial separation of Native American and French Acadian
cultures and had a detrimental effect on language and other cultural practices.
Border stories and songs of crossing are fairly
common in Maine. The song, “St. Croix’s
Long Winding Shores is a good example of a song sung on both sides of the
border. It is based on the following tragic
story:
As
was common at that time, Jim Tombs, a young lad of 18, came to St. Croix to
work around the woods, whether in the United States or Canada, and met up with
Gillis who was known to be a bully. They had a fight which Gillis won; Tombs
crawled away into a small patch of trees. Gillis followed him and kicked him to
death with calked boots. Tombs was buried in St. Croix. His grave can no longer
be found as woods have grown over the spot, and people who remember this have
long since died.
1.
A year ago on
Christmas night,
The moon it
shone on snow so bright;
‘Twas above St.
Croix’s long winding shores,
A cry was heard
above waters’ roar.
2.
Jim Tombs it was
this young man’s name,
This day [of
the] city of camps he came;
And to be sought
on every side,
From his cruel
foes did try to hide.
3.
He sought the
sheltering woods close by,
Where on the
ground quite helpless lie;
When Gillis like
a beast of prey,
He Bought the
spot his victim lay.
And there
astride his cruel foe,
On his prostrate
form laid many a cruel blow.
4.
Now a good Samaritan
came by,
His life to save
in vain did try;
His help beyond
human skill defied,
Where Gillis
kicked him in the side.
5.
Now young Tombs’
life on earth is done,
Gillis is gone,
his victory won;
And young Tombs
lies beneath the sod,
He’s gone his
way to meet his God.
(NFA tape P.19.1. Collected by Sister St. Jude on
March 10, 1962. from the singing of Mr. Linwood Brown, Vanceboro, Maine.)
