HEAD WATERS AAD LAKES OF THE 
AADROSCOGGIX. 
[Written expressly for The Rod and Gun.] 
BY GEORGE A. FAT. 
The head waters of the Androscoggin have tlieir ori- 
gin in the extreme norlhern boundaries of Maine and 
New Hampshire. A long mountain chain divides these 
States from Canada East, and under the southern slope 
thereof these waters are first nourished into existence. 
Thence they follow a southerly course converging as 
they fall, narrowing and widening, thus forming rapids 
and lakes, till finally they join with the Kennebec at 
Merry Meeting Bay, a few miles north of Bath, on the 
southern eoast of Maine. 
Upon examining a map it will be observed that the 
Kennebec is the outlet of Moosehead Lake; thus we find 
it is quite in keeping that the reservoir of the waters of 
the Moosehead, the|Rangeleys, Kennebago, IMoosetocma- 
guntic, Molechunkeiuunk, Parmachene, Urabagog, and 
a score of other lakes glittering with speckled beauties, 
should find a “merry meeting"’ upon the lovely coast of 
Maine. The princ:pal stream north and west of Umba- 
gog Lake is the Magallowa)', which has its source in Par- 
machene Lake, some ten or fifteen mites south of the 
Canada line, thence pursuing nearly a southerly course 
for about fifty miles it unites with the outlet of the Um- 
bagog and from this point takes the name of the Andros- 
coggin. The upper section of the JIagalloway is very 
sinuous, and Johnny, our guide, infoimed us that it 
w'as not at first intended for this region, but finding no 
place long enough for it, they finally curled it up among 
these valleys. At first we did not believe him, but after 
threading its crooked way for a couple of daj's, we con- 
cluded he was right about the matter, and have not fur- 
ther pursued the truth of his remark. 
The length from the outlet of Parmachene to its junc- 
tion as it runs, is about 50 miles, and its width from ten 
to twenty rods. At places, it is quite deep, then again 
it shoals, so that sharp rocks stand out boldly and swift 
currents foam and tumble over them. Even in high 
water there is little perceptible current, still it is quite 
strong beneath the surface, and required strong arms to 
make a progress of three miles an hour. I am more 
specific concerning the Magalloway, because it is one of 
the most famous of all the Maine rivers for large and 
abundant trout; yet the whole Maine wilderness is one 
vast fishing ground' and nowhere in this country are 
trout so large and abundant as in the lakes and rivers 
of Maine. 
The Magalloway is rather more difficult of access and 
less visited than Moosehead or the Rangeleys, but its 
waters are none the less inviting. From the moment it 
leaves the crystal fount of Parmachene, till it mingles 
its sparkling current with the Androscoggin, it is a sight 
to gladden the eyes of any lover of nature. Serenely 
and almost noiselessly it glides along its peaceful way, 
rippling into current and fretting into foam, only when 
intruding rocks trespass upon its narrow bed; past tall 
pines whose giant forms, still challenging the wood- 
man’s axe, stand huge sentinels over its sequestered 
haunts; alongside inviting banks where delightful beds 
of beautiful green moss crown the wooded land for 
acres in extent. At one point in particular, near Hunt- 
er’s camp at the head of Aroostook Falls, I witnessed 
one of the most charming sights my ej'es ever beheld in 
the forest shade. Here we found a carpet of moss, cov- 
ering several acres in extent, whose depth was some six 
or eight inches, and whose elasticity and downy softness 
1 never experienced upon any bed in civilized homes. 
Along its banks grow the pine, balsam of fir, tama- 
rack, hemlock, spruce, birch, maple and other varieties 
of trees, beneath whose shadows, and within whose in- 
vigorating atmosphere freighted with the odors of bal- 
sam and pine, the bear, the moose, the carabou, deer, 
beaver, otter and other animals valued for their fur,- are 
found in plenty, and in the autumn when the leaves be- 
gin to put on their color and fall, and the needles to 
drop, the quiet woods echo the drum of the partridge. 
At Parmachene Lake you are some 40 miles from any 
human habitation, a fit place for man to reflect and 
dwell upon the be.auties of nature. 
Now, as what 1 have written is rather introductory to 
the region, we will travel back and follow the route in 
from Springfield, Mass., and this because, so far as my 
knowledge goes, no guide-book yet published gives that 
most desired by ihe would-be sportsman — practical direc- 
tions for reaching this famous retreat. The most direct 
and perhaps the pleasantest, route to the Androscoggin 
waters is Bethel, Me., on the Grand Trunk railway 
from Portland to Montreal, but as the pleasure-seeker 
may desire to go in by one, and return by another way, 
I will point out the two most desirable ones. Starting 
from Soringfield at 8 a. m., }'ou reach "Wells River 
about J. 40 P. M. ; about 104 miles thence you take the 
Boston, Concord & Montreal railrc^id to Northumber- 
land, or as it is sometimes called Groveton Junction, on 
the Grand Trunk railway, a distance of about 51 miles, 
reaching here about 7 p. m. Here you wait a short 
time for the train from Portland which takes about ten 
miles on that road to North Stratford, where you have 
time to get a good square meal while the coach is wait- 
ing for the change of mail ; and you will do well to seek 
your supper at the Willard Hou;,e. About 8.30 P. m., 
you will take the coach to Colebrook, a distance of 13 
miles, which place you reach about 11 p. m. Here 
there are two hotels; the Parsons House and the Monad- 
nock House. The former is much the better, and price 
the same, $2 per day, wdiicli is the usual rate in these 
parts. And here ends the first day’s journey. 
Colebrook is a small but pleasant village of some 300 
inhabitants. Its air is cool and invigorating, and it is 
much resorted to by both ladies and gentlemen who de- 
sire a quiet retreat. There is some fair fishing (princi- 
pally trout) in this vicinity, but they were mostly' small. 
Terms at the hotels by the week, from $7 to SIO. Dur- 
ing the summer season, stages run each way, from Er- 
rol Dam and Upton; fare to Errol Dam, $2, and to Up- 
ton $3, Distance to the Dam, 23 miles; to Upton from 
the Dam, 10 miles. The route from Colebrook lies 
along the margin of Mohawk river, a small stream flow- 
ing in a westerly direction, and possessing a few small 
trout which visitors at Colebrook will not suffer to grow 
too large. 
After a journey of about 10 miles over a pleasant sec- 
tion of the country, you reach Dixville Notch, a wild 
mountain pass in a narrow gorge of mountains in the 
town of Dixville. The scenery' here is very wild and 
picturesque and worthy a visit for its own sake. A 
small area of table land here forms the foreground of 
several peaks and slopes, which has been cleared and 
upon it has recently been built the Dix House, a com- 
fortable hotel of modest pretensions, w'hose terms are 
.$2 per day'. All that is to be seen here can be witnessed 
in a couple of hours, which are Table Rock on the right 
of the road just after leaving the Dix House, and Ice 
Cave a few rods above it, a deep ehasm where snow 
and ice abound the y'car around, although two or three 
days might be spent pleasantly by those who desire 
quiet and little scenery. 
Leaving the Dix House you psss through the Notch 
proper which is a narrow opening in the mountains just 
wide enough for a road; on either side the mountains 
rising several hundred feet. In this gorge, when we 
passed through it, June 2d, the snow in one place -was 
more than a foot deej) for a few rods, and back in the 
deep recesses ice may be found in midsummer. The 
prominent features of interest after leaving the Dix 
House, going east, are the Flume, where Clear Stream 
comes foaming and tumbling over a rocky and precipit- 
ous bed into the valley below, and the Cascade, where a 
similar phenomenon presents itself to your view, just 
west of the road, only' the stream which supplies the 
fall denominated the Cascade, is much smaller. "While 
both of these are pleasant features of the landscape, 
they do not compare in size or beauty with those of the 
AVhite Mountains. After leaving the Cascade your 
course lies along the margin of Clear Stream, famous 
for trout in midsummer, when the mottled beauties seek 
its cooling influences from the waters of the Androscog- 
gin, into which it empties. 
The next point of interest is Errol, N. IL, fc miles 
from Dixville Noteh, and 23 miles from Upton, Me., at 
the foot of Umbagog Lake. Errol is the starting point 
for a trip up the Magalloway', of which I shall now 
speak. 
rr THE MAGALLOWAY. 
Our party' consisting of John E. Parker, William R. 
Mackay, Newton A. Roberts and the writer, arrived 
at Errol Dam on the Androscoggin river June 2, 
1875, after a pleas:int journey via Springfield, Mass., 
Wells River, Groveton Junction and North Stratford by 
rail, thence 13 miles to Colebrook by stage, and 23 
more to the dam by private conveyance. Arriving just 
at sunset we drove up to Bragg's hotel, a comfertable 
farm house by the way, where we proposed to spend 
the night, but we were informed they did not keep an 
hotel, and as they were up on end making repairs they 
did not see how they could accommodate us; but find- 
ing us rather determined to abide with them, theygood- 
I naturcdly withdrew their objections, and provided us 
[ with comfortable lodgings and good fare. 
! Near the house the Androscoggin was pouring its 
, crystal waters over a rocky bed, and its surging and 
j roaring tempted us to joint our rods and try bm' hands 
for trout. Ourreward was three beauties, which, though 
small in size, w'ere neveitheless trottt, and we were con- 
i tent. In the evening we lit our pipes and enjoyed a 
jolly smoke before a blazing fire on the hearth, while 
, one of the men folks wc'u p to the Dam, about a mile 
distant, to summon into our august presence that prince 
of good fellows, J. inuy Danforth, who was to undergo 
’an examination to test his fitness to guide us into 
i forest wilds and mark the pools where hidden in trans- 
lucent depths lay the speckled beauties awaiting the 
coming angler. 
In a short space of time his tawny visage put in an 
appearance, and we interviewed him to our heart’s con- 
tent. The examination was satisfactory, and his terms, 
$2.50 per day', were found acceptable. ^Ye promised to 
meet him at the Dam on the morrow, and bidding him 
a hearty good night finished our pipes, and retired in a 
happy frame of mind, and slept a peaceful sleep be- 
hinrt unbarred doors. 
The morning broke in upon us with cloudle.ss sky' 
and balmy air, and before eight o’clock we were at the 
dam with our traps, and found Johnny busy at his boat 
(a very commendable affair of his ow’n construction) get- 
ting it ready for service. After trying our luck at the 
dam and meeting with but indifferent success, we put 
our traps aboard and Johnny pushed us oil into the 
current, and with one or two powerful strokes over- 
came its influence, and soon we were out of the 
danger of drifting over the dam, and slowly we crept 
up the stream amid the hallow'ing influences of the 
sweet breathing morn. Working against a strong cur- 
rent our progre.ss was necessarily slow, but it was far 
from tedious. The surface of the river was almost as 
smooth as glass, but the under current was strong. About 
noon the steamer Diamond, 'which makes the circuit of 
Umbagog Lake tri-weekly, came along and took us 
(Continued on page 232.) 
