THE ALLEGASH AND EAST BRANCH. 
169 
not want a pole till we reached the Umbazookskus River, 
it being either dead water or down stream so far, and he 
was prepared to make a sail of his blanket in the bows, 
if the wind should be fair; but we never used it. 
It had rained more or less the four previous days, so 
that we thought we might count on some fair weather. 
The wind was at first southwesterly. 
Paddling along the eastern side of the lake in the still 
of the morning, we soon saw a few sheldrakes, which 
the Indian called Shecorways , and some peetweets Nar- 
amekechus , on the rocky shore; we also saw and heard 
loons, medawisla , -which he said was a sign of wind. It 
was inspiriting to hear the regular dip of the paddles, 
as if they were our fins or flippers, and to realize that 
we were at length fairly embarked. We who had felt 
strangely as stage-passengers and tavern-lodgers were 
suddenly naturalized there and presented with the free¬ 
dom of the lakes and the woods. Having passed the 
small rocky isles within two or three miles of the foot 
of the lake, we had a short consultation respecting our 
course, and inclined to the western shore for the sake of 
its lee ; for otherwise, if the wind should rise, it would be 
impossible for us to reach Mount Kineo, which is about 
midway up the lake on the east side, but at its narrowest 
part, where probably we could recross if we took the 
western side. The wind is the chief obstacle to crossing 
the lakes, especially in so small a canoe. The Indian 
remarked several times that he did not like to cross the 
lakes “in littlum canoe,” but nevertheless, “just as we 
say, it made no odds to him.” He sometimes took a 
straight course up the middle of the lake between Sugar 
and Deer Islands, when there was no wind. 
* 
Measured on the map, Moosehead Lake is twelve 
8 
