SCIENTIFIC SURVEY. 337 



suppose to be the ridge dividing the west branch of the Penobscot 

 from the Baker lake branch of the St. John. The fungi in the 

 vicinity of this camp are very abundant, and comprise several 

 most interesting species. During the 23d of May we were so for- 

 tunate as to reach what our guides supposed to be lake Abacotne- 

 tic. It was said to be much like a submerged marsh, but this 

 lake was more like an inundated alder swamp. The flat land on 

 the n®rth-west and north, led us all to suppose that we had reached 

 the St. John's carry. A walk of exploration that same evening 

 convinced us that the portage was much more than two miles in 

 length. Camping half way between the two streams upon a cold 

 eminence where such plants as Braun's fern, and the highland cran- 

 berry luxuriated, and where we shivered, we passed the Sabbath. 

 The distance between the waters of the Penobscot and the St. John 

 is fully five miles by this carry. The Penobscot is scarcely three 

 rods in width, while the St. John is even less. There is very little 

 interval land in this vicinity, and not much which can be called 

 good for farming. 



St. John Wafers. 



A whole day was occupied in carrying from one river to the 

 other, and it was not till 5 P. M. that we were afloat upon the 

 Woboostook. This stream is very crooked and its banks are cov- 

 ered with cedars and black spruces. It must have been formerly 

 a good timber country through which it flows. After a couple of 

 hours paddling down stream we reached a portion of the stream 

 which was very winding. We finally made our last vexatious turn 

 and entered upon the waters of a beautiful lake. There was very 

 little high land on the shores of the lake or immediately back, nearly 

 the whole country being flat and covered with pines and spruces. 

 These conifers are mingled with beech and some species of birch 

 on occasional rises of land. The lake is about six miles in circum- 

 ference, and has a smooth, gravelly bottom. Most of the pebbles 

 are worn pieces of mica schist. On the north-west and west are 

 the only elevations of land to be seen, and these hardly vary the 

 monotonous character of the country. The borders of the lake 

 are covered with loose boulders, and present as uninviting a pros- 

 pect for a settler as can be found in this district. It is called, 

 Lower St. John pond. 



From this sheet of water to Baker lake formed a pleasant jour- 

 ney for one day. The water was low in the river, and subjected 

 43 



