

!?0»EST AND BW&fiAtt. 





CutttteaHeetiiig oi the "Nuttall Club," and the 

 i be fully determined. 

 We had climbed Norton Hill, the highest in the imme- 

 diate vicinity, and also the highest tree on top of it, 

 and boon richly repaid by glorious pictures of the grand 

 forest: thousands of acres— hills, valleys, mountains. 

 lakes and streams, mile upon mile of leafy billows, dot- 

 ted here and there with gems of sparkling water, and, 



thank ilea von. un marred as yet by the axe of the lum- 

 berman. An unobstructed view in every direction, a 

 : , , ,: ii., i ;, inn of nature" spread around us — Maine, 

 New Hampshire and Canada at a single glance. Who 

 wouldn't " shin up" a ninety foot sprtice, with the abso- 

 Mi 1 certainty of ruining his clothes and a fair prospect 



Of breaking his nock, for such a reward? 



We had occasional news from the. outside world, for 

 half a dozen hunters had straggled into camp during our 

 stay, representing almost as many different cities, utter 

 strangers, vet in a few days like old frienda— such are the 



, oities Of the woods. Pleasant acquaintances one 

 makes in this way, for only true sportsmen and lovers of 

 nature care to penetrate its solitude, and such, wherever 

 met. are always gentlemen. 



Our evenings were spent much in the usual manner, 



rehearsing the events of the day, laying plans for the 



i, telling stories, smoking, discussing the habits 



of game and the merits and demerits of different makes 



of firearms, 



Our presiding genius was " Uncle Torn," an ideal rep- 

 ivscutafive of Unit nearly extinct species, ibe " Northern 

 Trapper." Well informed and not unfamiliar with the 

 woild, having served in the Union army under Gen. 

 the late war and tasted the horrors of a Texas 

 prison pen. after the disastrous Red River expedition 

 though the best part of his life had been spent in the 

 woods, engaged iu his favorite pursuit. In winter he 

 ends the life of a hermit, without even a dog for com- 

 pany. In summer the monotony is varied by the advent 

 of a low sportsmen, but winter or summer, whatever 

 befalls, unruffled, imperturbable, contented and happy. 

 hi fact he has dwelt, here so long that he seems to have 

 been assimilated by and to have become a necessary part 

 of the wilderness, like the moose, deer and fur-bearing 

 annuals, whose habits he knows so well and with whom 

 he seems to be on such intimate terms. Bluff, honest, 

 kind-hearted "Uncle Tom" "may you live long and 

 prosper.'' 



The speckled trout had not been neglected, for we had 

 tested their size and flavor from each inlet, stream and 

 brook within reach of camp, not forgetting an old beaver 

 pond hack among the hills — where, in a deep, black pool, 

 we had taken our largest string of all. Our trip to this 

 pond Dumas will probably never forger, for he boldly 

 and rashly attempted iis navigation in a rude, half-fin- 

 ished dugout, and his breadth of beam exceeding that of 

 the novel craft, he soon became fast wedged amidships, 

 and when the inevitable capsize came the dugout seemed 

 ,-■.. e the best of it, and for a time was complete mas- 

 ter of the situation. Fortunately no serious results fol- 

 lowed, and Domas, though claiming to have seen strange 

 visions while groping among the ancient canals and sub- 

 merged dwellings of the original dam-builders, thinks on 

 tiie whole that lie doea not care to try the inverted style 

 of fishing again. What the trout thought wheu that be- 

 nign countenance and well-known eyeglasses appeared 

 so suddenly among them will never US known. 



Did a lazy fit seize us; the lake was at hand and the 

 "luugc" — local for the Salmo con fin is — were ever ready 

 to be enticed from their quiet haunts in the deepest 

 waters by the alluring trolling spoon ; great fat fellows 

 they were, of from two to six pounds weight, their yel- 

 low-speckled sides gleaming in the clear water like bur- 

 nished gold. A little loggy for sport, but, delicious when 

 properly served. 



Did "Uncle Tom" whisper that the larder was running 

 low? A mysterious night out on the lake with Edward 

 would set things to right, and venison steaks would be 

 in order for breakfast, followed later in the day by 

 fa in. nis roasts, savory stews and the not-to-be-despised 

 "rubber flapjacks," as the Professor called them. 



We had traversed and ran. -lacked the depths and recesses 

 of the primitive forest to our hearts' content, and felt 

 that our vacation had been profitably spent. Another 

 day and the curious little one-horse jumper would be due 

 at camp, by agreement to drag our worldly effects to the 

 nearest house, and we should regretfully set our faces 

 homeward. One long-anticipated and carefully planned 

 hunt had been defered for good reasons till the 'last night 

 of our stay, the incidents of which I propose to relate. 



FLOATING A MOOSE, 



The stm was fast Hearing the, forest horizon when Ed- 

 ward and I left camp, prepared for our (to me) novel 

 expedition, It had been one of those delicious dreamy 

 days — precursor of the early frosts— when all nature 

 seemed in repose. Scarce a ripple disturbed the surface 

 of the placid lake, nestling here among the dark green 

 bills full 3,000 feet above the sea level. Even the bird 

 music was hushed for the time, and sdence reigned su- 



The light boat— Adirondack model— was soon in readi- 

 ness, and the " good Lucks" of our friends follow US as we 

 push Off from the little log wharf at the landing and 



shoot out, on the tranquil bosom of Pake, at this 



point about one and a half miles across. 



The pale blue smoke curls in lazy wreaths from the 

 smouldering camp lire behind. Infront, on the opposite 

 shore, the soft purplish haze is beginning to shroud the 

 sombre forest and creep up the sides of the nearest hills. 

 Anally engulfing all in one great sea of shadowy mystery 



a, solitary kingfisher site motionless on the dead top of 



a prostrate" birch close in shore, and with head turned a 

 Utile one side his keen eyes scan the depths below. A 

 Men swoop, a loud splash, and he silently resumes his 

 perch and gulps down the finny morsel, fruit of his 

 patience and skill. 



A I'aniily of loons are plainly seen disporting far down 

 the lake, near the outlet, the thin veil of mist rising from 

 the water magnifying their bodies to unnatural size. 



A pair of goshawks {Antur atfieapitluii) are wheeling 

 and circling over yonder wooded point, their long sharp 

 wings and bright gray plumage, as seen by the waning 

 ray:, giving them much the appearance of 



sea gulfs. 



; ■■■;;, s.nal "lunge" rises indolently to the surface, 



1 nig a, trantic scattering of the schools of minnows 

 which inhabit the shallows, 



Suddenly, from a dark mosay ridge comes the liquid, 

 silvery, flute-like notes of the" hermit thrush 

 rarely heard, save in the very depths of the wilderness, 

 and winch, to me, never seemed to belong to earth at all. 

 but rather to be the voice of some sweet spirit from a 

 uly sphere, it is so clear. SO pure, so mysterious, 

 we near the middle of the kike we are -witae 

 the marvelous cloud effects Sometimes seen in a " norlh- 

 iset," when, as the sun sinks in the West, the deli- 

 sy tints appear in the East, deepening info purple, 

 gold and crimson splendors, till the whole sky is ablaze 

 villi a flood pf swiftly changing color, reflected from 

 ■loud to cloud, from peak to peak, and mirrored in the 

 glassy surface of the lake as well. "When we reach the 

 .pposite shore all is changed, the sun has disappeared be- 

 hind the dark line of tree tops ami the gorgeous colors 

 have paled and faded, and only a dull golden afterglow 

 remains. The mountains reappear in their natural garb 

 of blue, and the mist thickens o'er lake and stream. 



The boat is drawn carefully ashore, and Edward should- 

 ers his " pack basket," containing all things needful, and 

 paddle in hand strikes into the seemingly "pathless 

 woods;" but sharp eyes can detect the occasional "blazes," 

 which indicate one of " Uncle Tom's saple lines," which 

 we are to follow for a couple of miles to the head of the 

 " quick water " on East Islet. 



It is a typical primeval forest through which u e pass, 

 a vast boreal swamp, covered with a dense growth of 

 majestic spruces, and carpeted and cushioned with velvet 

 mosses and delicate vines, among which peep a levy of 

 the exquisite rose colored bells of the twin flower, the 

 favorite flower of the great Linnaeus, and bearing his 

 name (Linncna borealis), though long past their usual 

 season of flowering. 



" In the richest moss of the lonely dells 

 A-eits rosy petuls found, 

 With tiie dark Win: .sines nbove it spread. 

 And the lordly trees around.' 



The long, low mounds, which lie blended like gigantic 

 forest jack-straws in every direction, show where the aged 

 monarchs have fallen, and are going the v> ay of all 

 things earthly ; but nature has carefully and tenderly 

 covered them all with a mantle of unbroken verdure, bo 

 that scarce a sign of decay appears. The partridge-berry 

 (Mitehclla), the dainty oxahs [O. aeetocellau the b'miea 

 and snowherry (Chiogenes hispidula) mingle their creep- 

 ing tendrils and trading rises, BO I wfth soft, feathery 

 mosses vie with each other in this kindly office of forest 

 sepulcher. Great lichens, triple-leaved trilliums, bright 

 clusters of the bunch-berry (Cornus canadensis) and 

 masses of the dark, shining "leaves and deep blue berries 

 of the cliutonia (C. borealis) vary the scene. 



As the trail approaches the stream the forest assumes 

 almost a tropical appearance, from the profusion of ferns 

 which grow here to almost a gigantic size, and for a 

 time we are nearly lost to sight among the tall plume-like 

 fronds of SpinulosUa and Usmvndas. The white-throated 

 sparrows (Peabody) and the olive-backed thrushes are 

 singing their vesper songs, and somber-robed snowbirds 

 {Juried hyamdis) flit from our shadowy path. 



A. subdued tapping attracts our attention to a hollow 

 tree close by, and "we catch sight of a. pair of handed 

 three-toed woodpeckers [H. ainefioanue) busily 

 in searching the decaying trunk, their movements plainly 

 showing that the " early bird " is not the only one that 

 "catches the worm." 



We flush an occasional ruffed grouse, but the spruce 

 partridges {T. canadensis)— by far more numerous — sit 

 like chickens, with out-stretched necks, stupidly gazing, 

 as if loBt in wonder, at the sight of the infrequent visi- 

 tors : a common habit of theirs, and one which leads 

 to their sure extermination— for they are easily taken 

 with a simple noose tied to the end of a short, pole. 



A brisk walk of an hour and we have passed the last 

 " rips" and are near the foot of the "dead-water." 



The stream we propose to float rises in it chain of 

 low mountains winch form the northeastern boundary 

 line between Canada and the United States — as dchned 

 by the " Ashburton Treaty " of 1848. From the foot of 

 the mountains it flows sluggishly for about five miles, 

 through along stretch of cold, mossy bogs and tangled 

 spruce thickets, to the head of the " quick-water," and 

 then indulges in a mad, frolicsome race down the pre- 

 cipitous channel, gurglingand frothing round the smooth 

 boulders and through the rocky gorges till the lake level 

 13 reached, the banks for the whole distance skirted 



and overhung hy almost impenetrable belts of aim rs and 

 matted underbrush, and the shallow portions of the bed 

 covered by a rank growth of coarse, sacculent grass, on 

 which the" moose delight to feed, while the deep pools 

 teem with greedy trout. 



These cold, open bogs, known as " caribou hogs," de- 

 serve more than a passing notice. Lying at the base of 

 a range of thickly wooded hills, and separated from the 

 stream by a low ridge or " hog-back," they have every 

 appearance of having once been a scries of small lakes, 

 which have, 111 course of time, become filled with an ac- 

 cumulation of leaves and vegetable debris, and are now 

 covered with a dense, tough mat of the aponge4ike 

 sphagnum — still afloat in places — a quaking bog. 



Here the clustered, crimson-veined vases of the pitcher 

 plant [Sarracenia). and the fringed leaves of the blood- 

 thirsty little sundew (L!runera), find congenial homes; 

 while spohs of cotton grass and broad patches of short 

 stunted bushes of the Labrador tea [Ledum), and the 

 beautiful Andromeda {A.poUfolia), find root in the firmer 

 portions of the bog. 



Little islands and clumps of dwarfed and venerable 

 looking spruces are scattered through them, their gnarled 

 and cone-laden tops heavily draped with flowing locks of 

 the "old men's beards" [Ustiea), giving a strangely weird 

 and desolate appearance to the scene, like fune 

 in a mossy desert. Late in the fall the caribou range 

 through these bogs in search of their favorite n 

 the well-defined paths which cross them would indicate 

 that they come not singly, but in droves. The rn0O36 are 

 also said to frequent them at certain seasons, and proba- 

 bly a few stay in the vicinity the year round. 



A. previous visit to this locality on a trouting expedi- 

 tion had demonstrated the fact that they ocoosi inally 

 _" watered " in the stream, for the broad-pointed tracks 

 in the soft bed were too fresh to pass unnoticed, and the 

 Indefatigable Edward had not only backed a light boat 

 all the way from the lake, but had also, with a small 

 hatchet and hunting knife, opened upa passage almost the 

 entire length of the "Stillwater" by lopping off branches, 



drift-dams, which obstructed the channel, m anticipation 



of the present occasion. 



Forcing our way through the alder belt, we emerge 



from under the leafy canopy and again get a vie 1 ■ 1 . 



1 e— the full moon has risen in the easl S ofl 



darkness has settled Upon the earth, and imperceptibp 



day has passed into night. 



The light skiff is drawn from Its place of concealment 



in the thick underbrush, a blanket is carefully 1 . 



side, that no incautious blow of paddle 

 awaken the echoes in the silent forest , even our conver- 

 sation is now carried on in whispers, for this 

 air is a most wonderful conductor of sounds, and a slight 

 indiscretion on our part might ruin our sport for the 



Silently the frail bark glides, snake like, into the vista 

 of dark shadows, propelled by Edward's noiseless paddle, 

 and we wind about between the black walls, of foliage, 

 turning sharp elbows, piercing through little openings, 

 where the stream widens out into grassy bays, now 

 crouching low to escape a fallen log, and then fast in a 

 sunken tree top ; now in the full light of the moon, I hen 

 passing suddenly into a dark tunnel of ove 

 shrubbery, where the tortuous channel narrows to a few 

 feet in width, 



Scores of small birds flit from their roosts in the low 

 busheSj and disappear in the deepening gloom, 'flu- 

 water rats give one glance of surprise, and make des- 

 perate plunges for their subterranean retreats in the 

 river banks. With folded necks and outstretched legs 

 a couple of herons (Ar&ea herodiaa) wing their heavj 

 flight over us, bound for some favorite fishing pool far 

 up the stream. 



In a little meadow we catch the shadowy outlines of a 

 deer, as he raises his head from drinking, and then 

 bounds madly away, safe, for to-night our thoughts aro 

 on nobler game, 



The distinct blows of 1111 axe suddenly startle me. 

 "Uncle Tom is splitting his kindling-wood," whispers 

 Edward, The sound proceeds from camp, full live miles 

 away, "as the crow flies," yet seemingly a dozen rods, 

 so clear and stUl is this telephonic night air. 



'Tis time our game was afloat. For nearly two hours 

 we have wardy followed the serpentine wind inj 

 noiseless stream and are approaching a point opposite the 

 main bog, where a moose path crosses. Hark', IPhvaru's 

 quick ear detects some disturbance in the water ahead ; 

 it may be the liver beaver, it's loo loud for Hie muskrafs. 

 Slowly the boat moves around the intervening bends; 

 the noise grows more distinct, ; a constant sousing and 

 splashing of the water; some large animal is in the 

 stream above, The pulse quickens, every sense is on the 

 alert; a few more strokes of the paddle audi shall be 

 able to see past a clump of tall rushes which hide the 

 game from view. Alas ! at the critical moment 

 erous root catches the bow of the boat ano breal 1 horl 

 oil wilh a, loud snap, a sound which all the wild denizens 

 of the forest fully understand, A great surge and 

 " swirl " in the water, a quick rush up the steep hank, 

 followed by a prolonged crashing (' 

 maze of brushwood, and the - 

 ridge beyond; a tew moment* 

 and then we hear the retreating 

 away up stream, By his deliberate 

 that he has not ••winded" us, and (here is a possibility 

 of his again coming to water, higher Up, though the 

 chances are against it, for suspicion is a leading trait in 

 1 lie character Of a moose. A whispered consul tat ion, and 

 we decide to push on, for should we return 

 empty-handed a I'terall our preparations the laugh would 

 be against UB—eVon a deer would not, be despised now. 

 The moon is well overhead, a light breeze is springing 

 Up, fortunately blowing down stream, and 

 " soughing of the trees" sets in. Kb otl q 

 the musical murmur of hi: I bo 1 I 



down the banks on either side, the ovei I 

 sphagnum beyond. A team of docks 

 Ei .'in a. grassj in-,-- nd:, and ndl h a i ui < win 



at being disturbed from their luulel , 

 her. .-kurry along in a, compact bodj 6 



the boat. 



Another hour of anxious expectancy— t!i 

 Strain OU the nerves gets to lie almost paint 11I. 



bre outlines of the mountains in ll _ inning to 



'• loom" above the tree-tops. The stream gr< u&l 



rower— we are Bearing the bead of the ''level, 



mapping Of the brush, followed by a IP In. I . i 



elastic moss, causes an instant bait. 'IP 



from a dark copse ahead, to the right. Tie- 1 



tread Comes nearer— a few steps at, a, lime and 1! 1 



pauses— the suspicions animal is he&dvoji l'o 1 > 

 and will strike it but a few rods above where we lie in 

 the deep shadows. Eyesight and hearing 

 strained to their utmost tension. With a harsh 

 ••squawk " a heron suddenly rises, scared from his noc- 

 turnal epa t, and working bis ponderous wings like an 

 old-fashioned roindmill in a frantic effort to" clet 

 bushes— a good omen, for now we hoar the qua 

 enter the water. Slowly and noiselessly the boat moves 

 forward, and in a small " ?lew hole" or creek near at 



hand, where the slanting moonbeams [ ii 



glimpse of a broad circling ripple in the water — in the 

 middle two black legs : the body of the animal is lost, in 

 ttritj of the" background of alders. Taking an 

 instinctive aim, I press the trigger. The loud report is 

 followed by a cloud of smoke, through which f see a, 

 great, shadowy body make a convulsive spring to the 

 very middle of the stream. A moment of suspi- , !.- ■ 

 a wild, headlong gallop up the river bed for ftft] 

 and a tearing and crashing through the brush-belt, "U a 

 followed a I. a respectful distance. Again a In . 

 ing through the thicket further av. :; 



grunts, a dull pounding of the ground, ai 

 Thinking it hardly prudent to follow uj 



and knowing we should need more help in ;t ny 



event, we decided to return to camp, first nan 

 spot by leaving our extra paddle si 



making a noise now, and we sweep down the 



1 at a lively rate, and by 1 p'cl 

 lipids warns us ashore. F.<P 

 produces a small 1 rom hit basket to aid n» in 



picking our way through the gli k 



Notan easy matter at dead of nigh 

 through the mossy graveyard of trees," as Thoreau de- 

 scribes it, especially when encumbered with a ten pound, 



the dense. 



si tikes I he 

 uncertainty 

 as he steals 



