THE ALLEGASH AND EAST BRANCH. 
297 
failing in this, an apothecary recommended Brandreth’s 
pills, which he refused to take, because he was not ac¬ 
quainted with them. He said to me, “ Me doctor — first 
study my case, find out what ail ’em — then I know what 
to take.” We dropped down a little farther, and stopped 
at mid-forenoon on an island and made him a dipper of 
tea. Here too we dined and did some washing and bot¬ 
anizing, while he lay on the bank. In the afternoon we 
went on a little farther", though the Indian was no better* 
a Burntibus” as he called it, was a long smooth lake-like 
reach below the Five Islands. He said that he owned 
a hundred acres somewhere up this way. As a thunder¬ 
shower appeared to be coming up, we stopped opposite 
a barn on the west bank, in Chester, about a mile above 
Lincoln. Here at last we were obliged to spend the 
rest of the day and night, on account of our patient, 
whose sickness did not abate. He lay groaning under 
his canoe on the bank, looking very woe-begone, yet it 
was only a common case of colic. You would not have 
thought, if you had seen him lying about thus, that he 
was the proprietor of so many acres in that neighbor¬ 
hood, was worth $ 6,000, and had been to Washington* 
It seemed to me that, like the Irish, he made a greater ado 
about his sickness than a Yankee does, and was more 
alarmed about himself. We talked somewhat of leaving 
him with his people in Lincoln, — for that is one of their 
homes, — and taking the stage the next day, but he ob¬ 
jected on account of the expense, saying, “ Suppose me 
well in morning, you and I go Oldtown by noon.” 
As we were taking our tea at twilight, while he lay 
groaning still under his canoe, having at length found 
out “ what ail him,” he asked me to get him a dipper of 
water. Taking the dipper in one hand, he seized his 
13* 
