28 
THE MAINE WOODS. 
according to Fowler, excepting at its outlet from the 
lake. He was at this time engaged in cutting the native 
grass,—rush-grass and meadow-clover, as he called it,— 
on the meadows and small, low islands of this stream. 
We noticed flattened places in the grass on either side, 
where, he said, a moose had laid down the night before, 
adding, that there were thousands in these meadows. 
Old Fowler’s, on the Millinocket, six miles from Mc- 
Causlin’s, and twenty-four from the Point, is the last 
house. Gibson’s, on the Sowadnehunk, is the only clear¬ 
ing above, but that had proved a failure, and was long 
since deserted. Fowler is the oldest inhabitant of these 
woods. He formerly lived a few miles from here, on 
the south side of the West Branch, where he built his 
house sixteen years ago, the first house built above the 
Five Islands. Here our new batteau was to be carried 
over the first portage of two miles, round the Grand 
Falls of the Penobscot, on a horse-sled made of sap¬ 
lings, to jump the numerous rocks in the way ; but we 
had to wait a couple of hours for them to catch the 
horses, which were pastured at a distance, amid the 
stumps, and had wandered still farther off. The last 
of the salmon for this season had just been caught, and 
were still fresh in pickle, from which enough was ex¬ 
tracted to fill our empty kettle, and so graduate our 
introduction to simpler forest fare. The week before 
they had lost nine sheep here out of their first flock, 
by the wolves. The surviving sheep came round the 
house, and seemed frightened, which induced them to go 
and look for the rest, when they found seven dead and 
lacerated, and two still alive. These last they carried 
to the house, and, as Mrs. Fowler said, they were merely 
scratched in the throat, and had no more visible wound 
