214 
THE MAINE WOODS. 
and swift, was still deep, with a muddy bottom, as I 
proved by diving to it. Beside the plants which I have 
mentioned, I observed on the bank here the Salix cor - 
data and rostrata , Ranunculus recurvatus , and Rubus 
triflorus with ripe fruit. 
While we were thus employed, two Indians in a canoe 
hove in sight round the bushes, coming down stream. 
Our Indian knew one of them, an old man, and fell into 
conversation with him in Indian. He belonged at the 
foot of Moosehead. The other was of another tribe. 
They were returning from hunting. I asked the younger 
if they had seen any moose, to which he said no ; but I, 
seeing the moose-hides sticking out from a great bundle 
made with their blankets in the middle of the canoe, 
added, “ Only their hides.” As he was a foreigner, he 
may have wished to deceive me, for it is against the law 
for white men and foreigners to kill moose in Maine 
at this season. But, perhaps, he need not have been 
alarmed, for the moose-wardens are not very particular. 
I heard quite directly of one, who being asked by a white 
man going into the woods what he would say if he killed 
a moose, answered, “ If you bring me a quarter of it, I 
guess you won’t be troubled.” His duty being, as he said, 
only to prevent the “ indiscriminate ” slaughter of them 
for their hides. I suppose that he would consider it an 
indiscriminate slaughter when a quarter was not re¬ 
served for himself. Such are the perquisites of this 
office. 
We continued along through the most extensive larch 
wood which I had seen, — tall and slender trees with fan¬ 
tastic branches. But though this was the prevailing tree 
here, I do not remember that we saw any afterward. 
You do not find straggling trees of this species here and 
