134 
THE MAINE WOODS. 
the Penobscot, my companion wishing to go about twen¬ 
ty-five miles above the Moosehead carry to a camp near 
the junction of the two forks, and look for moose there. 
Our host allowed us something for the quarter of the 
moose which we had brought, and which he was glad 
to get. Two explorers from Chamberlain Lake started 
at the same time that we did. Red-flannel shirts should 
be worn in the woods, if only for the fine contrast which 
this color makes with the evergreens and the water. 
Thus I thought when I saw the forms of the explorers 
in their birch, poling up the rapids before us, far off 
against the forest. It is the surveyor’s color also, most 
distinctly seen under all circumstances. We stopped 
to dine at Ragmuff, as before. My companion it was 
who wandered up the stream to look for moose this 
time, while Joe went to sleep on the bank, so that we 
felt sure of him; and I improved the opportunity to 
botanize and bathe. Soon after starting again, while 
Joe was gone back in the canoe for the frying-pan, 
which had been left, we picked a couple of quarts of 
tree-cranberries for a sauce. 
I was surprised by Joe’s asking me how far it was 
to the Moosehorn. He was pretty well acquainted with 
this stream, but he had noticed that I was curious about 
distances, and had several maps. He, and Indians 
generally, with whom I have talked, are not able to 
describe dimensions or distances in our measures with 
any accuracy. He could tell perhaps, at what time we 
should arrive, but not how far it was. We saw a few 
wood-ducks, sheldrakes, and black ducks, but they were 
not so numerous there at that season as on our river 
at home. We scared the same family of wood-ducks 
before us, going and returning. We also heal'd the 
