218 
THE MAINE WOODS. 
season bears were found on tbe mountains and hillsides, 
in search of berries, and were apt to be saucy, — 1 that 
we might come across them up Trout Stream; and he 
added, what I hardly credited, that many Indians slept 
in their canoes, not daring to sleep on land, on account 
of them. 
Here commences what was called, twenty years ago, 
the best timber land in the State. This very spot was 
described as u covered with the greatest abundance of 
pine,” but now this appeared to me, comparatively, an 
uncommon tree there, — and yet you did not see where 
any more could have stood, amid the dense growth of 
cedar, fir, &c. It was then proposed to cut a canal from 
lake to lake here, but the outlet was finally made farther 
east, at Telos Lake, as we shall see. 
The Indian with his canoe soon disappeared before 
us; but erelong he came back and told us to take a path 
which turned off westward, it being better walking, and, 
at my suggestion, he agreed to leave a bough in the 
regular carry at that place, that we might not pass it by 
mistake. Thereafter, he said, we were to keep the main 
path, and he added, “ You see ’em my tracks.” But I 
had not much faith that we could distinguish his tracks, 
since others had passed over the carry within a few 
days. 
We turned off at the right place, but were soon con¬ 
fused by numerous logging-paths, coming into the one 
we were on, by which lumberers had been to pick out 
those pines which I have mentioned. However, we kept 
what we considered the main path, though it was a wind¬ 
ing one, and in this, at long intervals, we distinguished a 
faint trace of a footstep. This, though comparatively 
unworn, was at first a better, or, at least, a drier road, 
