238 
THE MAINE WOODS. 
easier, and would take but little more time than the 
other, by the east branch of the Penobscot, though very 
much farther round; and taking the map, he showed 
where we should be each night, for he was familiar with 
the route. According to his calculation, we should reach 
the French settlements the next night after this, by keep¬ 
ing northward down the Allegash, and when we got into 
the main St. John the banks would be more or less set¬ 
tled all the way; as if that were a recommendation. 
There would be but one or two falls, with short carrying- 
places, and we should go down the stream very fast, even 
a hundred miles a day, if the wind allowed ; and he in¬ 
dicated where we should carry over into Eel Eiver to 
save a bend below Woodstock in New Brunswick, and 
so into the Schoodic Lake, and thence to the Matta- 
wamkeag. It would be about three hundred and sixty 
miles to Bangor this way, though only about one hun¬ 
dred and sixty by the other; but in the former case we 
should explore the St. John from its source through two 
thirds of its course, as well as the Schoodic- Lake and 
Mattawamkeag, — and we were again tempted to go that 
way. I feared, however, that the banks of the St. John 
were too much settled. When I asked him which course 
would take us through the wildest country, he said the 
route by the East Branch. Partly from this considera¬ 
tion, as also from its shortness, we resolved to adhere to 
the latter route, and perhaps ascend Ktaadn on the way. 
We made this island the limit of our excursion in this 
direction. 
We had now seen the largest of the Allegash Lakes. 
The next dam “ was about fifteen miles ” farther north, 
down the Allegash, and it was dead water so far. We 
had been told in Bangor of a man who lived alone, a sort 
