ALONE UP MT. KATAHDIN 259 



I believe it was formerly known as Passamagamet 

 Lake. 



This lake is rather less than two miles in length 

 and is studded with thickly-wooded islands. On 

 one of these I landed, and, selecting a suitable place, 

 decided to camp for the night. A crackling fire 

 drove away to some extent the spirit of loneliness. 

 But it was a great change from the surroundings 

 of but twenty-four hours before — the Fall River 

 steamer with its gorgeous display of electric lights, 

 its music and its restless crowd. Here there was 

 no noise save the gentle moaning of the pines 

 and the distant murmuring of the rapids. Even to 

 use an axe seemed an unnecessary act of violence, 

 so the fire was fed with driftwood picked up along 

 the shores. 



As I lay on my bed of fir balsam and smoked 

 my pipe after a hearty dinner, I almost wished 

 that some companion were there to share the 

 solitude. It was lonely, and before long I decided 

 to seek my " pillow," though it was but seven 

 o'clock. A night of refreshing sleep, sleep such as 

 is known only to those who sleep in the open air, 

 put me in a good state of mind and body, and after 

 a dip in the cooling waters of the river and a good 

 if not remarkably well cooked breakfast, I packed 

 up and made another start. On my way up the 

 river I noticed a likely-looking place for deer, and, 

 realising that a nice fat yearhng would give me a 

 good supply of meat, I turned the canoe into a 

 creek that wound its way through a large tract 

 of meadow-like country. After walking a short 

 distance through the grassy swamp I espied a deer 



s 2 



