XaH. 26, 1901.1 
68 
A Month on Millinocfcett. 
It has been said that I have lately returned from a 
successful hunting trip in Maine. If spending a month 
camping on Millinockett Lake in a comfortable log camp 
commanding a grand view of Mt. Katahdin, and having 
plenty of game and fish killed by your friends, is a suc- 
cessful hunting trip, I have, with an accent on the success. 
, Many times haA'e I been to the same region and the 
same canip. and each year it is more enjoyable. 
This year we started from Boston three strong, in- 
cluding the Man from Pennsylvania. The excitement be- 
gan as soon as we boarded the Pullman. It was a car 
composed entirely of compartments ; the train was 
crowded (as trains leaving Boston always are), and the 
ticket agent had sold uppers and lowers promiscuously to 
men and women who had never seen each other be- 
fore, and in the same compartment. Even a Parisian 
wduld have been startled by such indecency as this. It 
was doubly aggravating, as we had wired two days ahead 
for our berths and found people on the train with much 
better accommodations than ours, and who had bought 
their tickets that day. 
We landed in Bangor earlj' on the morning of Sept. i. 
Here we had breakfast, and I proceeded to nearly go on 
the back of my head, slipping on the frost-covered plat- 
form. So much for the Maine summer climate. 
The Bangor & Aroostok Railroad takes us seventy- 
five miles north to one of the gateways to the wilderness — 
Norcross. Here we are met by our old guide, John O. 
Hale, of Medway. He stands 6 feet 4 inches in his stock- 
ings, and a better guide never reached any altitude. He 
has ever3nhing ready, so that all we have to do is to put on 
our old togs, leave our store clothes in our trunks at the 
Norcross House and proceed up the lakes on the good 
ship Gypsie, Capt. Higgins. 
The Man from Pennsylvania was at once struck by 
the amount of water and the number of rocks. For they 
do not have much use for water in Pennsylvania, and 
apparently have very few rocks. 
The first lake is North Twin, then Pemadumcook and 
Ambajijis. By this time a newcomer's jaws are usually a 
little twisted trying to masticate Maine names. But they 
soon have a chance to twist themselves in other ways, for 
vve now come to the Millinockett carry, where we land 
from the steamer in canoes, being met by Gene Hale, 
John's son, who is to be our other guide. The carry is a 
smooth one for Maine and hardly one-fourth of a mile 
long. But all carries have a reputation which they have 
to live up to. It seems a second nature to them. How- 
ever, we are soon across, minus a little enthusiasm per- 
haps, but it immediately returns as we enter Millinockett 
in the Rushton rowboats, Pemadumcook and Pockwak- 
lums. 
This beautiful lake of many islands is about seven 
miles long and four wide. It is full of rocks, islands and 
l.oons. John Plale's camp, Millinockett Lodge, is on the 
south shore of the lake, about two miles from the carry.' 
It is a peculiarly favored spot for a camp. The whole 
Katahdin range lies across the lake to the north, the camp 
being placed so that it faces directly at the mountain. 
Nesowadnehunk is on one side and Turner on the other, 
with Katahdin towering above them in the middle, the 
most beautiful mountain east of the Rockies. The first 
thing you put your foot on is a fine sand beach a hundred 
yards long. John keeps his camp in apple pie order. No 
wood pile nor dump heap in front of the entrance. No 
garden of tin cans nor empty bottles. The camp is 30 
feet long inside with the main entrance in the center and 
a broad piazza running the whole length. About 200 yards 
back of the camp are two crystal springs, the water in 
them having a temperature in midsummer of 42 degrees 
Fahrenheit. 
The camp is provided with cots, and all bedding, table 
crockery, napkins, tablecloths, etc. In fact, it is thor- 
oughly equipped in every way. In the living room there 
is a large window in each end, the one facing the lake 
having a window seat and many cushions. Several rock- 
ing chairs, a large open FrankHn stove, mounted heads, 
etc., serve to complete our comfort and the attractive- 
ness of the camp. To the rear, past the springs, two 
paths lead to the Nesowadnehunk tote' road; joining it at 
different points. 
Why do so many sports and campers go up the West 
Branch ? They go struggling up. wearying themselves on 
carries, because they think it is further in. Why be so far 
in when just as much game, if not more, is to be had 
around Millinockett? Abol, Togue and the Big Logan are 
all easily reached from the lake. They think it is too 
near Norcross. But th* game does not mind being near 
Norcross. What they want to' avoid is people, and they 
don't care if it is on North Twin or Nesowadnehunk. 
Take a trip any day during the season from Millinockett 
up the West Branch. You leave the lake inhabited only 
by wild things and you find the river lined with camps 
and crowded with canoes. Where does the wildness come 
in as compared with Millinockett? T have seen sixty deer 
and several moose in less than five days, and never left 
the lake. It is nearer the railway, but it is off the beaten 
track. 
The Doctor and Chase joined Us in a few days, and 
the cannonading commenced. The Doctor is a convert, 
having always considered deer shooting brutal till he saw 
one in the wild. Now he says that "Every wild animal's 
death is a tragedy, so the sooner and quicker it takes 
place the better." Chase did not have to be converted. 
The Man from Pennsylvania is busy hunting, showing 
John how they cook in his State, and discussing the 
merits of springs. John spends his spare time fixing the 
sights on his new .30-40 Winchester and lashing Old 
Reliable with a i-inch rope to a piazza post, because he 
says if roars and thrashes when it sees the new gun. The 
Pennsylvanian ought to be paid for the fish he catches. 
It gives the locality a reputation. Pickerel, white perch 
and trout all seem to be fond of him. They love to get on 
his hook. Why is it that fish are so devoted to some 
people? I'm one of those unfortunates whom they re- 
fuse to associate with. P.. the Judge, and I start to-day 
to shoot a deer. We have started several times before, but 
were too modest to talk much about it. We are not afraid 
of the game wardens, for we have nearlv a bushel of $6 
Ucenses. Well, we are bff in the Pemadumcook with a 
canoe in tow. We head for Big Mud Brook, with the 
Man from Pennsylvania at the tiller, Gene Hale rowing 
and the rest of us shivering. It is a good four miles 
to the mouth of the brook, where we anchor the boat 
and proceed in the canoe. Gene and I handle the 
paddles, and the others fail to keep warm in the bottom 
of the canoe. It is a dreary hole. Mud Brook, and well 
named. The Doctor disagrees with me in this, and thinks 
it a lovely stream, .and that there is no mud. Gene sees 
a deer as we go up stream, but apart from that, sheldrakes 
seem to be the only game. It continues to rain and grow 
colder. .A.bout three miles from its mouth is the head of 
navigation. There is an old lumber camp here, where we 
intend having lunch. But the Judge is particular and does 
not like the looks of it, so we eat in the rain. Lunch 
over, we start for home. As we proceed down stream we 
realize that it is raining, that we are very cold and it is 
six miles home. Conversation lags considerably. Even 
the Judge fails to keep it going. Perhaps this accounts 
for the fact that just as we come in sight of the Pema- 
dumcook Gene sees a deer. Instantly we are warm. Never 
thought of being cold. The game is in a cove about 300 
yards to the left, so we proceed in that direction. The 
Man from Pennsylvania remarks that he cannot shoot 
through me. I blur his aim. There are two deer now. 
and they have come down to the beach to drink. Gene 
turns the canee broadside some 200 yards from the beach; 
there is the sharp report of a ..30-40 from center of the 
boat — the Man from Pennsylvania has got his deer. The 
other one runs a little way into the bushes, but I can 
see the rear end of him. Awful moment ! I would not 
miss that deer for a farm in the presence of that Penn- 
sylvanian. I raise the Lee navy rifle to my shoulder and 
fire. Again that li.tle gun has stood me true, for the 
deer limps a little way and lies down. So the fun that was 
stored up in the Pennsylvanian's heart at my expense has 
to remain there. We go ashore, P. puts a bullet through 
the neck of the wotinded deer and Gene goes for the 
rowbcat. The first deer is dead, its back being broken. 
Both are bucks. We load them into the canoe and start 
for home. It rains, and how cold we are when we reach 
camp again. John comes down with a compassionate look 
on his face, for he sees no game. Presently his eyes stand 
out like two peeled potatoes, and he changes the subject. 
The Man from Pennsylvania and the Judge leave us to- 
day. They go back to their native State, having grown 
fat and lusty, and w-ith many tales to startle the Penn- 
sylvania Dutchmen. 
The next day the "sport's" arrive. Three of them, all 
bloodthirsty and new to the business. Thev consist of 
Ale, Cuba and Telephone. 
Chase immediately starts in to tell them all about it. 
They can get deer without thinking long before he has 
exhausted his resources. The Doctor looks on and smiles 
wisely, for he has just come in with his deer. 
In the evening Chase tells us of his first moose. He 
and John went to the cave \yest of the camp and there they 
saw five or six deer, one of them a big buck. Chase 
gets his' eye on him at last,; the muzzle of his gun makes 
cin-ves in the air as he \fhispers to John, "Better not 
shoot, had I? Isn't that a i moose?" 
We discuss on the subject of Maine game laws. W^e 
"sports" consider ourselveii very miich wronged, and so 
do the guides. We spend tnuch money in the State, and 
all the laws seem directed against us. The Game Com- 
missioners and himbermen seem to be the only ones satis- 
fied— ihe Commissioners because they made the laws, 
and the lumbermen becausei they pay no attention to them. 
The wardens avoid a lumber camp as they would a plague. 
It; is not healthy ground; for wardens. I know of one 
case where the lumbermen from a camp caught through 
the ice two bushels of trout from a couple of trout ponds 
one Sunday. Why are all the game laws leveled again-t 
outsiders ? 
Several of us went on a Jim Crow hunting trip to- 
day, and much to the surprise of John and ourselves, re- 
turned successful. Maine guides have not much use for 
Jim Crows. They get less game, cause more fires and 
genera! disturbance and need more help than any one that 
.goes to the State. A Jim Crow is one that goes it alone. 
Paddles his own canoe, as it were. Chase i ; going to 
personally conduct a party to Togue Pond to-morrow. 
Ale and Telephone are going Avith Gene for guide, but he 
simply goes to do the cooking, etc. The respou'^ibihly 
entirely lies with Chase. Togue Pond, probablv the 
most beautiful sheet of water in the State, lies between 
Millinockett and Katahdin. Opposite thp ci\mp at ihc 
Club House the trail' starts, runnfng'past the Trout 
Ponds, and occupies about four miles in distance, or ten 
of fatigue. It is a very rough trail and a difficult one to 
follow. Chase has stated that he can go directly to 
Togue Pond without losing the trail once. He tried and 
lost It before he had gone forty rods. But he caught a 
togue and is happy. 
While they were at Togue the Doctor, Chase and I. with 
John, went to camp over night at Mud Brook. As we 
were changing from rowboat to canoe John began to gaze 
at a big' black stump. The Doctor laughingly asked him 
if he look it for a moose. "Well, we seen a moose stand 
just like that before." And then it moved, a big bull, and 
behind it a cow. It is curious how moose appear only 
when you are making the most noise and least expect 
them. The Doctor and Chase left Us to-dav. I don't see 
how wc are going to know how to do things now that 
Chase is gone. He shot a loon before he left. 
The clouds begin to darken on my horizon. Ale is 
determined to climb Katahdin. Telephone and Ctiba 
were to go with him, but thev are backine out. Tele- 
phone is not well, and Cuba shot a deer One^ day and has 
had the doe fever ever since, John's cow has been a 
godsend to all these invalids. 
The "bean hole" is always a place of interest at Mil- 
linockett Lodge. No one know.s the true Anrtues of baked 
beans that has not tasted them baked in the ground Maine 
style. It is an interesting operation to .see them going 
in. and doubly so coming out. We stand around holding 
our breath for fear they are a failure. 
•Well, my fate is settled. The man with doe fever has 
not recovered, so I must tackle Katahdin. I have been 
there before and know what it is. Ale has climbed Mt. 
Washington two or three times and' thinks he is going to 
have a picmc. We will see what we will see. 
We are off this morning for that old pile of rocks. 
Crossing the carry, we proceed up the West Branch of 
the Penobscot froip the head of Ambajijis Lake. Gene 
goes with us. At^ Ambajijis carry there is a team, but we 
are traveling light, so we lug our .stufif, across. Above the 
carry the lovely West Branch begins to show its beauties. 
It would he hard to find a prqttier river anywhere. We 
paddle along between banks covered to the water's edge 
with birch, fir, spruce, pine and maple. Here and there 
an open meadow appears, the river narrows and then 
widens into almost a lake. The carries come every two 
or three miles. At every turn in the river Katahdin 
comes nearer and nearer, and the slide up which the trail 
goes looks steeper and steeper. Toward evening- we 
come to the end of the water part of the trip, and camp 
at night opposite the mouth of Abol Stream. Ale remarks 
that "The carries do get a little monotonous after a 
while." We turn in early, so as to be fresh in the morn- 
ing. Breakfast over, we paddle across stream, haul out 
the canoe and start on the five-mile tramp to the foot of 
the slide. It is a pretty walk through the woods, mostly 
up hill, but once in a while down a pitch and over a moun- 
tain brook. There is one redeeming feature about climb- 
ing Katahdin — good cold water at intervals all the way, 
even near the summit. 
I insisted upon a rest of fifteen minutes at the foot, hav- 
ing had some experience in this matter before. There are 
several good rules to follow in mountain climbing. Al- 
ways rest before you get tired. Rest often, but not long 
at a time. Leave the whisky alone. We start up that 
heart-breaking slide. It i? a very discouraging piece of 
territory. Loose ,sand, gravel, .stones and rocks, all com- 
bine to make your feet go the wrong way. - The man 
who had been up Mt. Washington three times started out 
at an awful pace. I did not say anything myself, as I had 
committed the same error when I first tackled the job, but 
I did a lot of thinking and wondered if it was because he 
had no idea of what was before him or that I had run up 
against a holy terror in the mountain business. He got 
way ahead, he and Gene. I had to crane my neck to look 
at them. It went along thus for some little time, when 
upon struggling to the top of a very steep pitch I found 
.^le waiting for mc. He evidently thought it unkind to 
leave nle so far behind. It was generous of him. and I 
appreciated it. He even went so far as to cause me to wait 
for him .several times before wc gained the plateau. 
The view was opening up in a wonderful way. Lake 
after lake appeared, till it looked more water than land- 
North and South Twin, Pemadumcook, Ambajijis, Mil- 
linockett, the Jo Merry lakes, Nahmakanta. Rainbow. 
Chesuncook, Moo.sehead and a hunderd other lakes and 
ponds. It is said that you can see 200 from the stunmit. 
Some one remarked that it looks as if a mirror had 
been broken oyer the landscape. On climbing Katahdin 
for the first time you imagine when you reach the top 
of the slide it will be smooth sailing. How- disappointed 
you are Avhcn you get there. A mass of great square 
edged rocks thrown on top of each other in a terrible 
way. It is evidently too steep to slide. It would not 
know which way to go, and neither does the poor be- 
nighted who is on his journey up. One has to tackle it 
parrot fashion and hang on by the teeth. 
But all troubles are over at last, and we find ourselves 
on the plateau — a great level tract which stretches away 
to the east in a gradual slope to the summit. Trees have 
long since decided that lower altitudes are more en- 
joyable. It is grass, low shrubs, moss, lichens and rocks. 
The latter seem to be the principal crop. 
In the center of the pleateau is a fine cold spring. 
Wliere it springs from on the top of a mountain is a 
question often asked and never answered. But it is there 
and has cooled many a weary throat. After resting a. bit 
we started for the summit. If our legs were not con- 
siantly threatening to strike for overtime it would not 
be so bad. The highest point is reached and we are 
repaid. A more iriagnificent vicAv I have never seen from 
any mountain. We look directly down into the great 
basin— an amphitheater with almost perpendicular walls 
3,000 feet high and a tiny black lake at the bottom. Many 
other lakes have come into view, notably Katahdin Lake 
and Nesowadnehunk. To the south the Togue ponds seem 
almost at our feet, and beyond the Millinockett looks 
like a great silver tray. The camp can be plainlv see with- 
out a glass. 
At this time of the year the coloring of the moun- 
tain IS superb. It defies description. It is clad with 
birches Avhich are a rich old gold, gradually fading away 
to green as they grow lower and lower on the mountain 
side. Dark streaks of pine, hemlock and spruce make the 
whole look like a gigantic Persian rug. We climb over 
to the southern peak. The ridge is about a vard wide and 
IS composed of tilting granite rocks. It tumbles off 
peipendicularly into the, basin on one side and almost as 
steep on the other. One year when the Doctor went 
across he did it on his hands and knees, remarking, "I 
look neither to the right nor to the left." 
Gaining this peak, we are at the end of our climb. The 
Saw Tooth lies below us, being the eastern spur of the 
mountain. I have seen people with courage enough to 
tackle it. We need what little wc have left to take us 
to the river. Descending is in some ways more difficult 
than coming up. You have to be much more careftil not 
to fall. Your feet fly out in the most ungentlemanly 
manner, causing j^ou to sit on very uncomfortable spots. 
My camera insisted on swinging around and acting as .a ' 
cushion. It was not of the pneumatic variety. 
But at last we reach the river, weary and worn and 
sad. .A.le decided that Mt. Washington is not in the same 
class with Katahdin, and I have decided for the third 
time never to go up again. 
Getting an early start in the morning, we return to 
Millinockett, considering ourselves heroes. There is one 
thing more. Something very serious has happened at 
Millinockett. I do not know if it ever will recover Sun- 
day has been introduced by the Judge. It is not "known 
quite what the idea was. but it was strongly insisted on. 
Sunday never got in so far before, and it did not seem to 
enioy camping out. It is said that at times it reaches 
Norcross if the weather is favorable, but I have never seen 
of it there. Possibly this will be its last visit to 
Millinockett. Let us hope so. The fatal day has come. 
Back to the noise and bustle of the great metropolis- 
cable cars and telephones. , We see the last of John at 
Norcross, all having sworn to return next year. 
POCKWAKEMUS* 
