354 Trout-Fishing in the Rangeley Lakes. 



much labor. Twenty years ago, the frame and roof of the massive 

 old mill were still standing, but in 1866 these were pulled down, and 

 the solid pine timbers of the structure were incorporated in the new 

 dam which was then built for the purpose of floating logs through the 

 outlet in the early spring. Of the old homestead, which occupied a 

 commanding site on a beautiful knoll, only the decayed foundation tim- 

 bers remain. Enough of the "potash" building still stands to give a 

 passable shelter to the benighted angler. With these exceptions, 

 Squire Rangeley 's "improvements" have all disappeared. The 

 township which he once owned, however, still bears his name. 

 Nearly all of the lake lies within its limits. The town of Rangeley 

 — or the "city," as the natives call it — is half a mile back from the 

 extreme eastern end of the lake. Most of the male inhabitants of 

 the village devote themselves to "guiding" throughout the entire 

 fishing season, and spruce-gum in its native state is one of its chief 

 exports. Apart from these "industries," there is little that is note- 

 worthy about the town, and the sportsman misses nothing which he 

 has cause to regret in the fact that his route does not take him to 

 the "city." 



Leaving the steamer " Molly-chunk-e-munk," — the name of which 

 has thus gallantly been metamorphosed and Anglicized from the 

 Indian appellation of Lake Mole-chunk-e-munk, — members of the 

 Oquossoc Angling Association and visitors to their camp crossed a 

 two-mile carry from the foot of Rangeley Lake to the junction of 

 Kennebago Stream with Rangeley Stream, where is Camp Kenne- 

 bago. A wagon took the baggage, while the sportsmen themselves 

 walked across through an excellent wood road, which, however, was 

 marshy enough in spots to make very careful stepping or very thick 

 boots indispensable. Indian Rock — a locality famous even in the 

 aboriginal annals of Maine, as its name indicates — is on the left bank 

 of the stream, directly facing Camp Kennebago. Tradition relates 

 that this spot was a favorite haunt of the Indian long before the 

 white man ventured so far into the forest, and that as late as 1855 

 they made visits here from Canada each season. 



The lakes of the Rangeley group are so located with respect to 

 one another that it is extremely difficult for the visitor to get a clear 

 idea of their relative positions. Nothing does this so effectively as 

 an ascent of Bald Mountain, which is one of the most prominent 



