FOREST AND STREAM. 



anxious to reinforce him, but there was no other boat in 

 reach and no possible chance except through a cold swim 

 to give him any assistance. The mill stopped and all 

 hands came forward to witness the sport. It lasted nearly 

 a half hour, the fish making a desperate effort to approach 

 the timbers of the log- way, or to enter a drift pile on the 

 east side. Ed. managed to prevent either by hard work 

 and the most consummate skill. I felt sure he would never 

 succeed in taking the game; but he presisted manfully 

 and at last managed to bring him near enough to strike 

 with the paddle. The gaff hook was unfortunately lying 

 on the boom log where I had disembarked, and he had no 

 weapon or retriving instrument except the paddle. When 

 taken out of the water the fish looked enormous for this 

 stream. It was nearly four feet in length, but rather 

 slender. It weighed sixteen pounds, and was pronounced 

 the largest fish of the season. Last Fall two weighing re- 

 spectively 15 and 27 pounds, were taken near the same 

 place. This ended our sport for the day. 



Thursday^ A slight discoloration of the water this 

 morning deterred us from any long journey. Red River 

 rises with great rapidity, and frequently without any ad- 

 monition it overleaps the banks, and in a single night 

 attains a hight of twelve or fifteen feet above the fishing 

 stage. Fortunately the stream did not rise very rapidly, 

 and in the evening we tock a large number of silver perch 

 with small river minnows. I gathered a good many rare 

 ferns and secured some roots of a pretty variety of the 

 rhododendron. We saw very many squirrels, and had a 

 surprise in the appearance of a large otter just in front of 

 camp. The deers were very heavy and we found the tent- 

 fly useful. 



Friday. The sky was heavily overcast and a rich prom- 

 ise of rain. We were at breakfast, when Bob came in 

 with a wild halloa. He brought 'four ruffed orouse, a 

 turkey, two opossums, a monstrous owl, and a dressed 

 buck skin. He reported the" deer abundant, but wild and 

 wary. He had a fine chase in a cove at the headwaters of a 

 creek joining Red River near "Ki Bowen's." The dogs 

 belonged to Weed Gay, a votary of the chase, living about 

 ten miles above Stanton. Two of the hounds were still 

 out when he left. The stag passed but one stand and the 

 shot passed under him, being fired from the lower side of 

 the mountain. We had a hearty laugh at his ill luck, and 

 suggested that he try the rod and abandon the "villainous 

 saltpetre." It began raining at seven o'clock and con- 

 tinued without a ray of sunshine all day. Our sport was 

 clearly broken up and we prepared for departure on the 

 morrow. Csesar caught an immense turtle on a "set out" 

 — a large beech branch tied to the bank with a heavy bit 

 of cotton staging for a line, a pike hook, and a suntish for 

 bait. As we could not remain to enjoy turtle soup he was 

 doomed to transportation to Mount Sterling with aboat 

 thirty pounds of pike and bass. 



Saturday. We left early, the rain still falling and the 

 branches much swollen. It was a terrible journey, but 

 we accomplished it by 3 P. M., having only suffered the 

 loss of a broken wagon pole and a camp kettle which 

 rolled down Black Creek Mountain. Thout. 



For Forest and Stream. 



X 



DOWN THE ALLEGASH. 



OF the many ways of spending a Summer vacation, 

 there is none, in my opinion, equal to a canoe voy- 

 age. Thoreau aud Winthrop have written in its praise, 

 and next to taking the trip itself comes, I think, the pleas- 

 ure of reading Winthrop's racy account of his voytige down 

 the Penobscot or Thoreau's visit to Katahdin. The advan- 

 tages of a trip of this kind over the usual "camping out" 

 are many. There is a constantly changing view presented 

 to the voyagers; something new and often startling is pre- 

 sented to the eye at every turn of the river or lake, which- 

 ever you may chance to be on, like theeverchanging forms 

 in the kaleidoscope; there is the healthy activity acquired 

 by every nerve and muscle in its being brought into use in 

 paddling on through lake and river, and if the latter, aud 

 it should be the Allegash, with its almost continuous rap- 

 ids, you will find a cool nerve and a quick, steady hand are 

 requisite tor your comfort if not for your safety. If, how- 

 ever, you have a guide, and are in the canoe with him, the 

 labor and anxiety comes on him, while you may sit in the 

 bow of the canoe, gun in hand, watching for game and 

 feasting your eyes on the ever-changing scenery as you 

 glide noiselessly along. Being constantly on the move, the 

 monotony of camp life is dispelled by being obliged to find 

 a new camping place every night. - 



The principal requisites of a trip of this kind are a good 

 route through an uninhabited region, as there you will be 

 more likely to meet with game. Again, a route pleasantly 

 diversified by lakes and. rivers, and where ingoing through 

 the latter you can take the advantage of the current. The 

 latter is an important item, especially If you have many 

 rapids to encounter; and last, but not least, a good guide. 

 Of the many voyages taken by the writer, the Allegash 

 route answers all the requirements mentioned better than 

 any other. The route is through the forests of Horthern 

 Maine; thence into New Brunswick. There is a pleasant 

 change from river to lake and from lake to river through- 

 out the entire journey ; no currents to struggle against, and 

 but few carries, and game and fish are abundant enough to 

 give good sport, besides furnishing food enough so that 

 one is not obliged to load down with provisions at the start. 



Greenville, at the head of Moosehead Lake, is the start- 

 ing point. Good guides and canoes can be obtained here 

 by addressing Mr. D. T. Saunders, who also furnishes 

 everything that is needed for the trip, both provisions and 

 cooking utensils. 



Our party in 1874 consisted of three besides the guide, 

 which required two canoes for our transportation. For a 

 guide we were fortunate in procuring Thomas Nichols, a 

 well-known Ijadian guide, who knows the woods and waters 

 of Maine and the provinces by heart, and a true son of na- 

 ture, as we found him, able to imitate the whistle of 

 the partridge or the peculiar sounds made by the mink and 

 weasel, so that they were deceived and approached near 

 enough to be shot. When we saw two fleet-footed cari- 

 bou we had the "buck fever" for the first time. Crack! 

 crack! went our rifles, but the animals took to the woods 

 unharmed; but Thomas was after them, and we followed 

 on. They heard his peculiar calls — a kind of guttural 

 "Ugh! ugh!" arid stopped to listen; one of them, a fine 

 buck, we succeeded in bringing to the ground. With his 

 birchen horn he could call the moose from the forests. Ah! 

 Thomas, if you only could nave caused the wind to have 

 blown in the opposite direction when the proud buck 



stepped to the shore and snuffed the air tainted with bur 

 scent, and turned on his heels and plunged into the woods, 

 He could not stop a moose, but he did stop a runaway 

 French Canadian, who, thinking we had evil desigus against 

 him evidently, locked his store as we approached, and 

 "English" couldn't stop him as he ran for his house; but 

 Thomas came to the rescue, and his French proved an 

 "open sesame" to his store. 



Moosehead Lake has been described so often that a repe- 

 tition here is unnecessary. Harper's for August -has an il- 

 lustrated article, which I think is the best description of 

 the lake and its surroundings yet published. We left 

 Greenville Friday, September 4th, on the steamer Fairy, 

 and after a most delightful sail reached the head of the lake 

 about 2 P. M. Here we fouud a "hay rack" ready with 

 two horses attached to transport us across the carry, two 

 miles to the PenoDscot. The canoes were placed on the 

 top of the rack, the baggage and passengers beneath, and 

 our Nimrod took his gun, going ahead, as he said to 

 "frighten away the bears" and perhaps get a partridge for 

 supper. Our course was down the Penobscot, twenty 

 miles to Chesuncook Lake, although we could have reached 

 the St. John River from this point by ascending the Penob- 

 scot and carrying across to Baker's Lake, thence down the 

 South Branch, but by this route there are but two small 

 lakes, and at the time we were there not enough water for 

 comfortable canoeing. We launched our frail barks, and 

 dividing our party as we thought best for each other's com- 

 fort and safety, putting the one with the least experience 

 of canoe life with the guide, and then went on. For the 

 first few miles the river is still wuier, so that by the time 

 the first rapids are reached yoi ,oel well enough at home 

 in the canoe to venture i..u cue small rapids without the 

 least fear. 



We camped the first night at the mouth of the Ragmuff, 

 a small stream, almost immortalized by Winthrop. Here 

 we expected to catch our first trout, so while others were 

 preparing the camp we put our rod together, and with a 

 white miller for a leader, gently threw it on the dark still 

 water. A splash, a whirl, a call for the landing net, and 

 after a brief struggle a large chub is landed. Another cast 

 and yet another, and each time we are rewarded with a 

 chub — a fish that Thoreau, who ventured to cook and eat 

 it, said "tasted like brown paper salted." We retired that 

 night disgusted, but early dawn found us there again, and 

 with a red Palmer substituted for the white miller we 

 caught enough trout in a few minutes for a breakfast, and 

 then went on our journey. At Pine Stream Falls we light- 

 ened our canoes and the guide run them through alone, 

 and about 5 o'clock reached Chesuncook Lake, where we 

 camped for the night in plain sight of Mount Katahdin, and 

 although at this point it is over twenty-five miles away we 

 had a magnificent view of it. Chesuncook Lake is eighteen 

 miles long by three wide. There is nothing of special in- 

 terest about the lake or its surroundings. We obtained 

 provisions at Murphy's farm, at the head of the lake, and 

 went on our way up the Umbazookskus River, which, with 

 the Caucomgomuc, come together at this point. Here is 

 still another route in which to reach the Upper St. John, 

 namely, up the Caucomgomoc River, through the lake of 

 the same name, thence across the "seven miles carry" into 

 Baker's Lake. Our course was up the Umbazookskus— at 

 first, for several miles, a sluggish, silent stream, running 

 through a wide interval overgrown with dwarf shrubbery, 

 interspersed with tall dead pines. The river is as crooked 

 as the paths of the wicked, and we thought appropriately 

 so for us, the day being Sunday, but we feared a rain storm 

 and hence pushed on, being anxious to get across the Mud 

 Pond carry before it rained. After following its twists and 

 turns for seven or eight miles it dwindled to a mere brook, 

 so that we were obliged to get out and wade, dragging the 

 canoes after us. The stream was literally alive with wild 

 ducks. We also saw the tracks of a bear and the bones of 

 a moose, which evidently had been killed a long time be- 

 fore. 



We reached Umbazookskus Lake at dark, spent the night 

 on its banks, and, as we feared a cold night, each one of 

 us sewed his blanket up with a fish line into a huge bag, in 

 which on retiring he crawled, and no amount of kicking 

 enabled us to throw off the bed clothes, hence we slept 

 warm. Umbazookskus Lake is four miles loug and one 

 mile wide, a lovely sheet of water, and on this "cloudless 

 day looked like an amethyst set in emeralds. This was the 

 last of the waters of the Penobscot, and we reached the 

 carry, took a lunch, and prepared for work. The carry be- 

 tween this lake and Mud Pond, the headwater of the St, 

 John, is two miles long, and is called the wettest carry in 

 the State, but we found it in good condition, as it usually 

 is in September. We were obliged to go across twice, the 

 Indian carrying the canoes while we took the luggage. We 

 met a student of Harvard on the carry who had been spend- 

 ing his vacation hunting about Eagle Lake, and who was 

 now returning with his guide, bringing with him as trophies 

 the skins of two large bears which he had shot. We com- 

 municated to him the latest news from the "outer world" 

 and resumed our travels. We reached Mud Pond. tired and 

 hot, having been four hours making the cairy. We 

 launched our canoes, and after ignominiously "pushing" 

 our canoes through the shallow waters of Mud Pond came 

 to the conclusion that it was rightly named. It had never 

 seemed right to me that while all the lakes and ponds in 

 this vicinity with this exception should have romantic In- 

 dian names this one, which to the traveller is the most im- 

 portant of any of them, should be called simply Mud Pond, 

 but, as I said, after literally pushing our canoes across it 

 we recognized the fitness of its name. I will not acknowl- 

 edge that the one that christened it was wiser than we — oh, 

 no! he only saw the pond before we had a chance to give 

 it a name. We saw here signs of moose, and judged that 

 one had been feeding here the previous night on his favor- 

 ite repast— the large leaves of the yellow pond lily (JYupar 

 advena,) which grow here in abundance. The waters of 

 the pond being covered with them, a colony of beavers 

 have established themselves here and have built a dam 

 across a small stream running into the pond, and have built 

 a number of houses in the pond which they have created. 

 The brook, which is the outlet of Mud Pond, we found so 

 low that instead of running through, as we had anticipated, 

 obliged us to make another carry "of half a mile, where we 

 found water enough to float our canoes. A short distance 

 more in the brook and we came to Apmojenegamook or 

 Chamberlain Lake. It was about dusk; we could plainlv 

 see the red buildings on the farm across the lake four miles 

 away, and although we were all pretty well tired out, con- 

 cluded to cross the lake, pitch our tent, and get some sup- 

 per at the farm house; besides we feared that if we re- 

 mained and built a fire it would bring some of the men 



over from- the farm, that being the signal when any one 

 wishes to cross the lake. We found at tne farm eight met 

 but no women, a man cook being employed, aud unless our 

 ravenous appetite deceived us, he is a good one. We re- 

 plenished oh'r small stock of potatoes and hard bread here* 

 paying a good, round, price for the same, rested our weary 

 limbs hall a dav, had a good dinner at the farm house and 

 started for the. Locks, which are situated between this lake 

 and Eagle Lake below. These locks were built at a ^reat 

 expense for the purpose of rafting lumber up f roill 

 Churchill aud Eagle Lakes below, into Chamberlain Lake 

 thence into Telos Lake, from which a canal was cut into 

 Webster Pond, On the east branch of the Penobscot. This 

 route is sometimes taken by the tourist, who, after visiting 

 the lakes, wishes to reach Bangor easily^ 



We caught a number of fine trout in the river between 

 the. lakes,- and after a sumptuous breakfast of bread and 

 milk and fried trout we started for Eagle Lake. The river 

 between the two is short and swift, but with plenty of 

 water it can be run with care. The men at the farm told 

 us that they had raised the gates at the foot of the lake ten 

 days before, so that we should probably find a "good pitch" 

 of water in the Allegash, which was the case as we after- 

 ward found. Chamberlain is the largest of the Allegadi 

 Lakes, but Eagle Lake is by far the most beautiful. We 

 intended to hunt for moose on some of the brooks running 

 into the lake, but found a party already hunting on one and 

 a great fire raging on another favorite hunting ground, so 

 we took Pleasant Brook and spent half the night in calling 

 for moose on its banks, but were doomed to disappohif- 

 ment. This lake was for many years the home of a noted 

 hunter and trapper named Donald, or "Dirty Donald," as 

 die was generally -called. His cabin is tcnantless and fast 

 going to ruin, and the remains of his bark canoe are strewed 

 along the shore near by. Peaked Mountain is the show 

 piece of this lake, and'the tourist on this route will do well 

 to arrange his plans so that he will be enabled to stay here 

 a few days. We left it regretfully and passed on to 

 Churchill Lake, camping at the dam at the outlet of the 

 same aud at the commencement of the Allegash River. 

 The old dam has been destroyed and the clearing has grown 

 up with -blueberries; we feasted here on its luscious fruit, 

 together with partridges in abundance and ducks to be had 

 by shooting them — more than we could dispose of. 



We went to the head of the rapids, which commences 

 here, and through which we must go, looked at them and 

 thought of the morrow, whether Thomas would "run" 

 them or carry by; if the former, we made our minds up to 

 follow him; and we did. Known as Chase's camp they are 

 the worst rapids on the Allegash, one mile in length; it is 

 a continuous run from the time you enter them until you 

 come to the still water at the foot, and the channel through 

 which you are obliged to run your canoe is crooked and 

 tortuous, first to one side, then the other, or through the 

 middle of the river, and woe be to you if you cannot hold 

 your canoe while making the changes, as we found when 

 congratulating ourselves that we were nearly through, 

 A look ahead and we saw we were wrong, and must 

 change. The silting poles were put hard down, and we 

 tried to go back a few feet, but the waters came into our 

 canoe, in an instant filling it full. We jumped out and for- 

 tunately found the water shallow, and after bailing the 

 water out of the canoe went through without further trou- 

 ble. At the foot of the rapids a fire was kindled, our 

 clothes quickly dried, in the meantime we quietly enjoying 

 ourselves by fishing from the rocks en dUliabille, and suc- 

 ceeded in catching in a few minutes all the trout we should 

 need for two days. 



We camped that night at the head of Umsaskis Lake, 

 and having seen signs of moose started out about 9 o'clock 

 at night to call for them. Silently we paddled along the 

 shores of the lake, not a sound to be heard save the wild 

 cry of the loon, the splash of the startled muskrat as our 

 canoe came upon him, or the loud call of our Indian guide 

 through the birch bark horn something like "oogh! oogh! 

 oogh! ooooooogh!" then a long pause of seveial minutes 

 and the call would be repealed. Suddenly splash! splash! 

 in the water, then a loud cracking of the underbrush on 

 shore, told us that a moose had taken the scent and fled. 

 Cast down but not destroyed, we continued the hunt, but 

 without success. The surroundings of Umsaskis and Long 

 Lake, which we came to next, are very beautiful. The 

 islands are numerous and covered with a large hard-wood 

 growth of trees, beneath which, instead of the inevitable 

 underbrush fouud where pine and spruce abound, was a 

 growth of tall rank grass, ripe for the mower, but desiined 

 to fall beneath the storms of Autumn and decay. At Long 

 Lake lives Mrs. Johnson, husband, and family of live chil- 

 dren. Before reaching the house we asked Thomas if we 

 had not better get her to bake us some bread; his reply 

 was, "You get the flour here; me bake the bread." We 

 made a^shon call here, for we wanted to see the Amazon 

 of whom we had heard so much— a. noted half-breed of 

 prodigious strength; she has married a white man and set- 

 tled here in the wilderness, rearing a family in ignorance 

 and dirt. She seemed to be posted on some of the impor- 

 tant events that had transpired in the country during the 

 year, and was very anxious to see a guide book, as she un- 

 derstood there was something about her in one of them. 

 Although we had the book with us we did not let her see 

 it. Our provisions getting low we procured some potatoes, 

 eggs, and flour from her, gave the children a few- pennies 

 and her "old man" a cup of lump sugar, bade them good- 

 by, pitched our leaking canoes, and went on our journey 

 down the restless Allegash, swift water and a few lapitls 

 enabling us to make a run of twenty-five miles that day, 

 reaching Square Lake about dusk. The Allegash needs a 

 rest, takes it here, recovers its wonted energy, and then 

 rushes on again for thirty-six miles, when it is swallowed 

 up by the noble St. John. There were manv places where 

 it seemed to defy us and say, "I shall crush yon if possi- 

 ble," but we knew others had made the "run" from Eagle 

 Lake to the St. John without a carry and we were deter- 

 mined to accomplish it, which we did, save the carry at 

 the Allegash Falls, where there is a fall of over forty feet, 

 Square Lake, also called Round Lake by some maps, is a 

 little gem of a lake. The shores are mountainous, and as 

 no dam has ever been built, killing the trees by the rising 

 of the water around the shores, as was the case in some of 

 the lakes we came through, we were all charmed with the 

 beautiful prospect, and it being Saturday and we needing 

 rest, the Sabbath was spent here in a quiet way, making- 

 repairs in our clothing and w r atching the loons on the lake. 

 We were amply paid for our resting this day, for we had 

 gone but a few miles on our course the next day when we 

 saw two caribou on the shore, both noble bucks, one ot 

 which we shot, the larger one escaping in the excitement 



