A WINTER CRUISE IN NORTHERN MAINE. 



CAKKOI.L BARKER. 



In March, 1892, after the coldest days of 

 a long, cold winter had passed, my father 

 and 1 decided we had time enough before 

 sugar making to go into the woods to 

 some of the large ponds near the Canadian 

 line for a week's fishing for trout and 

 togue, and perhaps to get a few pounds 

 of spruce gum. When we had set the 

 time I put on my snow shoes and went 

 across lots to the neighboring town of 

 L., where my chum lived. I found him 

 ready and willing to go with us. I told 

 him to take snow shoes, a gum picker, 



sons' farm, where we left our horses and 

 sled. We then packed our provisions and 

 blankets on the moose sled, put on our 

 snow shoes, and began a 6-mile tramp 

 over Carry mountain to Big Carry 

 pond. We followed an old snow shoe 

 track, made while the snow was thawing. 

 On such a track the snow packs down, so 

 that when it freezes it makes good travel- 

 ing. After many mishaps and falls we 

 reached the pond. There we found an old 

 camp built by togue fishermen several 

 years before. We cleared out the snow 



OUR MOOSE SLED. 



an ice chisel and some fishing lines, and 

 we would furnish everything else. 



We were ready to start the next morning 

 at. 4.30. My father had 2 horses hitched to a 

 straight sled, 12 feet long, boarded around 

 the sides to hold the various articles on. 

 We had snow shoes, a Winchester rifle, ice 

 chisels, and a moose sled, blankets, and 

 provisions to last a week. Four miles 

 were through an evergreen swamp, im- 

 passable in summer. The thousands of 

 small spruce trees, rich, dark green, against 

 the snow, were extremely beautiful. 



About 9 o'clock we reached Sam Par- 



that had drifted in, prepared firewood and 

 cut a hole through the ice for drinking 

 water. When that was done it was nearly 

 dark. Parker went to a small cove and 

 cut a few holes that night. When he came 

 back he had a beautiful togue that weighed 

 3^ pounds. We fried it for supper and 

 ate it from pieces of birch bark. At 9 

 o'clock we turned in. 



In the morning I was the first one up, 

 and went to the pond to try my luck before 

 breakfast. I caught 3 togue, which I car- 

 ried to camp and we fried them for break- 

 fast. All that forenoon we cut holes and 



