THE ALLEGASH AND EAST BKANCH. 
253 
the route to the Kennebec, over which Arnold after¬ 
ward passed, supplied the Penobscot near its source with 
water by opening the beaver-dams, and he says, “ This 
is often done.” He afterward states that the Governor 
of Canada had forbidden to molest the beaver about the 
outlet of the Kennebec from Moosehead Lake, on ac¬ 
count of the service which their dams did by raising the 
water for navigation. 
This canal, so called, was a considerable and extremely 
rapid and rocky river. The Indian decided that there 
was water enough in it without raising the dam, which 
would only make it more violent, and that he would run 
down it alone, while we carried the greater part of the 
baggage. Our provision being about half consumed, 
there was the less left in the canoe. We had thrown 
away the pork-keg, and wrapt its contents in birch bark, 
which is the unequalled wrapping-paper of the woods. 
Following a moist trail through the forest, we reached 
the head of Webster Pond about the same time with the 
Indian, notwithstanding the velocity * with which he 
moved, our route being the most direct. The Indian 
name of Webster Stream, of which this pond is the 
source, is, according to him, Madunkchunk , i. e. Height 
of Land, and of the pond, Madunkchunk-gamooc , or 
Height of Land Pond. The latter was two or three 
miles long. We passed near a pine on its shore which 
had been splintered by lightning, perhaps the day before. 
This was the first proper East Branch Penobscot water 
that we came to. 
At the outlet of Webster Lake was another dam, at 
which we stopped and picked raspberries, while the In¬ 
dian went down the stream a half-mile through the for¬ 
est, to see what he had got to contend with. There was 
