THE MAINE WOODS, 
such as they might have used before white men came. 
It had an elastic piece of wood fastened to one side of 
its point, which slipped over and closed upon the fish, 
somewhat like the contrivance for holding a bucket at 
the end of a well-pole. As we walked up to the near¬ 
est house, w r e were met by a sally of a dozen wolfish- 
looking dogs, which may have been lineal descendants 
from the ancient Indian dogs, which the first voyageurs 
describe as “ their wolves.” I suppose they were. The 
occupant soon appeared, with a long pole in his hand, 
with which he beat off the dogs, while he parleyed with 
us. A stalwart, but dull and greasy-looking fellow, who 
told us, in his sluggish way, in answer to our questions, 
as if it were the first serious business he had to do that 
day, that there were Indians going “ up river ” — he and 
one other — to-day, before noon. And who was the 
other ? Louis Neptune, who lives in the next house. 
Well, let us go over and see Louis together. The same 
doggish reception, and Louis Neptune makes his appear¬ 
ance, — a small, wfiry man, with puckered and wrinkled 
face, yet he seemed the chief man of the two; the same, 
as I remembered, who had accompanied Jackson to the 
mountain in ’37. The same questions were put to Louis, 
and the same information obtained, while the other In¬ 
dian stood by. It appeared that they were going to 
start by noon, with two canoes, to go up to Chesuncook 
to hunt moose,—-to be gone a month. “Well, Louis, 
suppose you get to the Point [to the Five Islands, just 
below Mattawamkeag], to camp, we walk on up the 
West Branch to-morrow, — four of us, — and wait for 
you at the dam, or this side. You overtake us to-mor¬ 
row or next day, and take us into your canoes. We 
stop for you, you stop for us. We pay you for your 
