...shed, soft bits of characteristic New England scenery, cut clear as cameos, lingered caressingly on his vision. A large amount of lumber was being used during this period by the ship-yards on the Mystic river , and nearly all of it being rafted down the canal. By the regulations, these rafts could not be larger than seventy-five feet by nine and one-half feet; but a number of rafts could be banded togeth...