DOWN THE WEST BRANCH Jteto fiork £>tate Collcgp of Agriculture &t Cornell Unibersitp Jlttiaca, M. £. Cornell University Library PZ 7.F241D Down the west branch; or Camps and tramps 3 1924 014 518 728 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924014518728 The Facb in tee Rock. Page 84. DOWN THE WEST BRANCH CAMPS AND TRAMPS AROUND KATAHDIN BEING AN ACCOUNT OF A TRIP THROUGH ONE OF THE WILDEST REGIONS OF MAINE, BY SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE "LAKE AND FOREST CLUB," IN SEARCH OF SPORT AND RECREATION BY CAPT. CHARLES A. J. FARRAR AUTHOR OF *' MOOSEHEAD LAKE AND THE NORTH MAINE WILDERNESS, ILLUSTRATED," " THE ANDROSCOGGIN LAKES, ILLUSTRATED," "EASTWARD HO ! " " DOWN THE WEST BRANCH," "CAMP LIFE IN THE WILDERNESS," ETC., ETC. ILLUSTRATED BOSTON LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS i Copyright, 18S6, By Lek and Shefard. All Rights Reserved. DOWN THE WEST BRANCH. Co Ms Wiitt ROSE AUSTIN FARRAR WHOSE FAITH AND INTEREST IN MY SUCCESS HAVE ENCOURAGE!! ME TO PERSEVERE AGAINST MANY DIFFICULTIES IN LITERARY WORK THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. PREFACE. In this volume our party of Boston boys, who are now all members of the " Lake and Forest Club," make their third visit to the Maine Wilder- ness, and find excellent sport, as formerly. But on the latter part of their trip they meet with an unusual adventure, attended by several unpleasant experiences to two members of the party. Later on, this develops into an exciting drama, in which every one takes part ; but it winds up very much to the satisfaction of the younger actors, and, we hope, to that of the reader. This volume introduces the Club and the reader to an entirely different portion of the Pine Tree State, the intention of the author being to lay the scene of each book in a new section of country, not only upon general principles, but also to try and give the reader an adequate idea of the vast amount of wilderness there is to-day in northern New England, whose territorial extent is scarcely conceived by a large portion of the public. This book, like its predecessors, deals with the romance viii Preface. and reality of forest life ; and, it is hoped, will prove acceptable to the boys and young men for whom it was written. The kind reception which the first two volumes of this series have met with leads the author to hope that a cordial welcome will be extended to this. Knowing how careful some parents are, and rightfully so, of the charac- ter of the books read by their children, the writer has tried to expunge from these stories anything that would be objected to by the most particular persons, and hopes he has succeeded. C. A. J. Farkar. Rockview, Jamaica Plain, Mass. March, 188& CONTENTS. FAGS I. The Lake and Forest Club .... 13 II. From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works 26 III. A Tramp across Country 80 IV. Cruising around Kineo 104 V. From Kineo to Chesuncook .... 124 VI. From Chesuncook to Ripogenus . . 146 VII. From Ripogenus to Sandy Stream . 159 VIII. Camps and Tramps around Katahdin . 170 IX. From Katahdin to Milunokett . . 201 X. A Surprising Adventure 213 XI. From Milunokett to North Twin Dam 245 XII. From South Twin Dam to Medway Village 264 XIII. What Happened in Mattawamkeag . 284 XIV. The End of it all 305 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGB The Face in the Rock 84 The Adventure with the Lynx 92 The Sloop Yacht "Alice" , . 97 The Three Sisters 104 Mount Kineo from North Bay 121 An Ox Railroad Train 125 The Caribou Hunt 137 Mountain Brook 172 A Wonderful Sight 198 A Surprising Adventure 237 On the Penobscot 302 DOWN THE WEST BRANCH; CAMPS AND TRAMPS AROUND KATAHDIN. CHAPTER I. THE LAKE AND FOREST CLUB. Tap ! tap ! tap ! sounded the gavel in the hands of President Emerson of the Lake and Forest Club, as he called the young gentlemen to order. He waited a few moments for them to be seated, and then said, — "Will the Secretary please read the minutes of the last meeting." This was listened to attentively and accepted, as was also the report of the Treasurer. " Mr. President, and gentlemen," said the Secretary as he rose to his feet, " I have three communications to the club that I will now read, if they are in order." " We shall be pleased to hear them, Mr. Secretary.' " The first is from our Brooklyn member, Philip De Ruyter, Esq., whose pleasing physiognomy we have not had a chance of gazing upon for several months." " Hurrah for Phil 1 " shouted Wingate. " What does the old chap say for himself?" " Mr. Wingate, whence this exuberance of feeling ? " 13 14 Down the West Branch. called the President sharply, as he rapped loudly for order, but the smile that flitted across his face belied his words and actions. " The Secretary will proceed." Brooklyn, N. Y., Aug. 18, 1878. To the Honorable President, Secretary, and Members of the Lake and Forest Club. Gentlemen, — I have the pleasure to inform you that my ar- rangements are made to accompany the members of the club upon the Camping-Out Racket this season, and that if nothing happens, I shall be in Boston Thursday night, and put in an appearance at the meeting. With thoughts of the good times that are coming, I remain, Yours truly, Philip De Ruyter. " Good for Phil," cried St. Clair ; " I was afraid he might not be able to join us." "Quarter-past eight," said Adams, glancing at the clock on the wall above the President, " why, he'll be here in half an hour, if he comes directly from the depot." " In the meantime, what disposition shall we make of his communication ? " asked the President. " Move that it be placed on the Record Book," re- plied Harry Stackpole. The motion was promptly seconded by St. Clair, and carried. " Business must be attended to," remarked the President with dignity, " and I beg the fellows will keep quiet until the arrival of Phil, when a motion for a recess of fifteen minutes will be satisfactorily enter- tained by the chair. The next letter, if you please, Mr. Secretary." The Lake and Forest Club. 15 Stockton, Aug. n, 1878. To the Honorable Secretary of the Lake and Forest Club, and its Members. Gentlemen, — Having been very much pleased with the ac- counts I have received, from time to time, of the doings and pro- gress of your valuable club, and more especially with your last letter, Charlie, in which you so kindly invite me to accompany the club members on their next camping trip, I return you my hearty thanks for your kind invitation, and wish it was in my power to accept it. But alas 1 that cannot be at present. Yet I hope, if you keep up your organization, that in a few years more I shall be able to make a tour East, and visit the Maine Woods with you once again. Although so far away from you, some of you are ever in my mind, and I almost feel as if I was a member of your club. I enclose Five Dollars, that I beg you will accept in memory of old times, and as a slight token of my appreciation of the Lake and Forest Club, said sum to be spent in buying books for your library. Hoping that some day, when the club feel tired of visit- ing the old Pine Tree State, and are longing for " more worlds to conquer," some or all of the members may be able to pay a visit to this wonderful section of the country, I remain, With the liveliest regard for you all, William Foster. P. S. Hope you will have a red-hot time on your trip this sum- mer. " Gentlemen, you have heard the reading of our old friend Foster's letter ; what disposition shall be made of it?" " I move you, Mr. President," said St. Clair, " that we accept Foster's gift, and that the Library Committee be instructed to expend the money in accordance with the wishes of the donor. Also that his letter be placed on the Record Book, and that the Secretary be instructed to acknowledge the gift, and tender him a vote of thanks of the club." 16 Down the West Branch. " Second that motion," remarked Robert Drake. "Gentlemen, you have heard the motion, and it is duly seconded ; shall it become a vote ? " A unanimous " aye ! " was the reply. " What have you next, Mr. Secretary ? " " A missive from the luxurious palms and orange groves of Florida, Mr. President." " Luxurious palms ! oh, my ! " cried Adams. " Silence 1 " exclaimed the President, and he rapped again with his gavel. " Chaffing cannot be allowed during the meeting, and I consider it beneath the young gentlemen who are in honor bound to maintain the high character for which the Lake and Forest Club has be- come noted in this section of the city." " Isn't Claude on his dig. to-night ? " whispered Fred Minot to Harry Stackpole. " Yes. But he is a mighty good fellow for all that." " As Robbins is the only fellow I know in Florida who would be likely to write us, I presume the letter is from him. What has Robbins to say for himself, Mr. Secretary ? " Tampa, Aug. i8, 1878. To the Kids of the Lake and Forest Club, Greeting. A subdued laugh ran around the room as the mem- bers listened to the opening of Robbins' letter. " Kids ! " repeated the President, a little indignantly, and frowning upon the laughing members. " It strikes me that a residence in the South has not increased Robbins' politeness. But proceed." As I take a great interest in your club and its doings, and live in hopes of some time visiting your pretty hall that your Secretary The Lake and Forest Club. 17 has written me a description of, I have taken the liberty of send- ing you half a dozen framed pictures of scenery in Florida, for the adornment of your hall, and some shells and mosses for your cabinet of curiosities, if you have such a thing. I shall ship the box by express to-morrow, well packed, and I hope it will reach you safely. How I would like to accompany you on your fishing and gunning tramp this year, but it can't be did. But some time — that is — how — well I hope you will all do yourselves proud, and not forget Yours for a lark, George Robbins. " Has the box been received, Mr. Secretary ? " " It came to-day, Mr. President, but has not been opened yet." " We will have the janitor open it at the close of the meeting. What disposition shall be made of Mr. Rob- bins' epistle, gentlemen ? " " Mr. President," said the Treasurer, as he rose to his feet. " Mr. Adams," returned the President. " I move that a vote of thanks be tendered to George, I should say Mr. Robbins, for his valuable gift, and that the Secretary be instructed to write him to that effect, and that his letter be placed on the Record Book." " Second that motion," added St. Clair, and it was carried unanimously. " Gentlemen," remarked the President, " I think it very kind in our old friends to manifest such a warm interest in our club, as these letters and presents evince, and it shows that the friendships of boys and young men are hot always ephemeral — " " Phew ! " whistled Adams. " Say that again, Claude." 18 Down the West Branch. " No levity, Adams," warned the President, shak- ing his gavel at the joker, and continuing, — " are not always ephemeral, but often stand the tests of time and distance, and I think, to show them that we feel a de- cided appreciation for their kindness, that it would be a deserved compliment to them if we elect them hono- rary members for life of the Lake and Forest Club, or at least during the life of the Association." " I heartily concur with you in that opinion," said Adams, rising, " and I move that William Foster and George Robbins be elected honorary members of the Lake and Forest Club, as long as the Association has a leg to stand on." " And that the Secretary be instructed to write them to that effect," added Stackpole. " Cert,'' replied Adams. " Second the motion," added St. Clair, and it was carried without a dissenting vote. At this moment Philip De Ruyter, with a valise in his hand, stepped into the hall. Wingate was the first to observe him. " Mr. President, I move we have a recess of fifteen minutes," cried Wingate, as he jumped to his feet. " Second that," sung out De Ruyter, as he took off his hat and set down his valise. " It is moved and seconded that we now have a re- cess of fifteen minutes. All in favor of this proposition say aye. Those opposed, no." (A chorus of ayes greeted him.) " It is a vote," and the President gave two raps with his gavel as a sign that the meeting was suspended for the time being. The Lake and Forest Club. 19 " How are you, Phil ? " cried his former comrades, as they clustered around, each anxious for a chance to shake hands. " First-rate. Never was better in my life. I tell you, boys, it seems good to get among you once more. But when do we advance on Maine ? And who is going ? " " Next Monday," returned Claude. " Maynard and Le Roy cannot go, but St. Clair, Wingate, Adams, and myself of our old party, and Harry Stackpole, Robert Drake, and Fred Minot, from our new members. But I guess there are quite a number of fellows here that you don't know ; " and Claude proceeded to introduce him to all the members of the club with whom he was not already acquainted. While the young gentlemen are talking over the de- tail of their coming trip, a few words in regard to the Lake and Forest Club may not be uninteresting to our readers. As those who have read " Wild Woods Life " are aware, the club had its birth at Lincoln Pond, a short distance from the Magalloway River. When the boys reached home, they informed their parents of the formation of their club. Mr. Emerson, who was very wealthy, and ever ready to assist his son in any plans for the right kind of sport or pleasure, tendered the club the whole of the third story of a business block that he owned on Tremont Street, rent free. St. Clair and Wingate, who were very intimate with Claude, and who, like him, were fortunate in having wealthy fathers, told at home what Mr. Emerson had done for the club, and St. Clair had added to his 20 Down the West Branch. story that it would cost considerable to make the nec- essary changes to fit the rooms for their purpose. Not to be outdone by Mr. Emerson, with whom he was well acquainted, Mr. St. Clair offered to provide carpenters, painters, and such other workmen as were necessary to make whatever changes were needed, and generously offered to foot the bills. Accordingly St. Clair had a conference with Claude and the other members, and by the aid of an architect the large floor, sixty by one hundred feet, was cut up into a social hall, — where the club held their monthly meetings, and gave entertainments whenever they felt inclined, — a library and reading-room, a bowling-alley, and billiard-room, and wash-room. A gallery was built at one end of the hall, and a stage with scenery and other stage accessories was placed at the other. The hall had a seating capacity of three hundred, and was very prettily furnished. While the repairs and improvements were going on, the club was recruited to its full quota of twenty-five members. When St. Clair told Charlie Wingate what his father had agreed to do for the club, Charlie began to wish that his father might open his heart, or rather his pocket, also for the benefit of the club, and lost no time in broaching the matter to him. " Well, Charlie, what do you want me to do for you ? " asked Mr. Wingate. " I don't exactly know, father, but you might give us a lift some way." " I will tell you what I will do, my son. I will see Mr. Emerson and Mr. St. Clair, and talk the matter The Lake and Forest Club. 21 over with them, and will do my part in whichever way seems best." The result of the conference between the gentle- men was that Mr. Wingate presented the club with a pool and billiard-table, and a fine piano, while the three gentlemen unitedly paid for the furniture, such as set- tees, chairs, tables, clock, cuspidores, desks, and mir- rors. The rooms were all heated by steam, and stoves were not required. In making the changes and alterations, Mr. St. Clair had not been niggardly, his last year of business hav- ing been an unusually prosperous one, and, beside dividing the rooms, building the gallery and stage, he had hired a scene-painter to manufacture a full set of scenery for the club to use in entertainments, and had furnished up the bowling-alley complete with floor, balls, and pins, and had also covered the walls of the library with shelves and cabinets for books, curiosities, etc. The hall was finished and dedicated on the New Year evening following the return of the boys from the Parmachenee trip, and since then had been visited one evening a week, and sometimes two or three, by more or less of the members. The club had hired a janitor to look after the rooms and keep them clean and in order, and his salary, with the gas and water bills, were all their regular expenses, Mr. Emerson giving them their steam heat as well as their rent. As the club had been in full membership for two months prior to the dedication of their hall, the members having met in the meantime at each other's houses, there was about two hundred and fifty dollars 22 Down the West Branch. in their treasury when they took possession of their new rooms ; and to sustain their fund and pay their bills, the heaviest being the janitor's salary, they had their weekly assessments of fifty cents per member, which amounted to twelve dollars and a half per week, and the receipts from several entertainments they had given during the winter. As the parents of nearly all the members were wealthy, or at least well-to-do, the club had been the fortunate recipients of many presents, in the shape of books, pictures, and bric-a-brac, and at the time of which we write, the rooms were tastily and elegantly furnished, and their comfortable and inviting appearance held the club firmly together, and made each member anxious to spend as many evenings there as possible. The rooms were not open on Sunday, and the members were a fine set of young fellows. There was not a smoker or tobacco-chewer among them, and they looked upon liquor with a positive abhorrence. But for all that they were wide awake, full of life, and as ready for fun or frolic as any specimens of Young America you ever saw. During the winter it had been the talk that the en- tire club would take part in the summer excursion trip, but, as the time drew near, events transpired that either influenced or compelled many of the boys to go in other directions, and the party for the camping-out trip had been reduced to eight. " Where are the rest of your traps, Phil ? " inquired Claude, after the introductions had been completed. " Over to the Providence Depot. I thought J could The Lake and Forest Club. 23 get them to-morrow. I was afraid if I stopped to bother with them to-night, the meeting would be over before I could get up here, and the moment the train stopped I grabbed my grip, sprang into a carriage, and drove here." " We have had half an hour's recess," remarked Adams, glancing at the clock. " Let's finish up the business, then we can adjourn, and talk as long as we please, or at least till eleven o'clock," — ■ this being the latest hour that the hall was ever kept open. " Come to order, fellows," cried Claude, using his gavel vigorously to stop the buzzing and laughter that resounded through the hall. The young gentlemen quieted down ■ the regular routine of business was proceeded with and satisfac- torily concluded at quarter to ten, when the meeting adjourned. " Come up to the house and stop with me to-night, Phil," invited Claude, as he caught hold of Phil's arm and gave it a squeeze that made him wince. " Confound you, Claude, what do you think I am made of? " inquired Phil, as he twisted out of Claude's grasp. " Putty, for a guess," returned Claude, laughing. " Phil's going home with me, to-night," declared Andrew, "and he will send his things to my house to- morrow." " You need not expect to monopolize him," declared Claude ; " he shall stop with me one night." " And me, too," said Adams. " You promised to stop with me one night, when you 24 Down the West Branck. came over," shouted Wingate ; for so many were talk- ing together that he could scarcely hear himself speak. "Well, I will tell you what I will do," returned Phil, thus besieged on all sides. " I will stop with Andrew to-night, with Claude Friday night, Adams Saturday night, and Charlie Sunday night. How is that ? " " That will do," returned Wingate. "How do we travel, Claude ?" inquired Phil. " By sleeper to Bangor, where we arrive in the morn- ing. Then go up the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad as far as Milo. From there we stage it to the Katah- din Iron Works. Then make a kind of an exploring trip across the country to Greenville, at the foot of Moosehead Lake." " But we can't carry the boats and baggage on such a tramp as that." " No, we send them directly to Greenville, to await our arrival there," explained St. Clair. " I see," replied Phil. " But look here, fellows, you say we are going from here to Bangor on a sleeping- car. It strikes me I smell sport in that." " It strikes you about right, then," declared Adams, a smile rippling across his face as a few thoughts oc- curred to him. " We start from the Eastern Depot, I suppose ? " " Yes," returned Wingate, " at seven o'clock. We can send down all our things but our hand baggage in the afternoon." " Do you suppose they will take the boats on the train ? " " Yes," said Claude, " I know they will, for I have The Lake and Forest Club. 25 been down to the depot and interviewed the baggage- master on the question." " Do you think your three boats will be enough for us ? " asked Harry Stackpole, who had been listening to the conversation with intense interest. "I guess they will," remarked St. Clair. "They will each carry three persons, and there are only eight of us to go in them." " How time flies ! " exclaimed Claude, as the janitor, after knocking, entered the hall. " I declare ! it is eleven o'clock. We must go home." "We will see you to-morrow," said Phil, as he and St. Clair started off together ; and the rest of the mem- bers, one after another, wended their ways to their respective homes. CHAPTER II. FROM BOSTON TO KATAHDIN IRON WORKS. The time that had passed between the adjournment of the meeting Thursday night and the Monday even- ing now at hand had been improved by the camping- out party to perfect and complete their arrangements. They had secured four upper berths, for reasons that will become obvious, in different parts of the car, two of the party intending to occupy each berth. The remainder of the berths had all been taken by adult passengers, among them four ladies, it being a time when the pleasure travel east was at its height. During the first half-hour of their ride, the party had made themselves familiar with every part of the car, and before the train left the Boston depot had succeeded in securing all of the wooden bars that go between the seats, by aid of which the lower seats are converted into beds. Besides this, Adams and Harry Stackpole, who was as full of fun as an egg full of meat, had tightly plugged the holes that receive the bolts from the wooden partitions between the upper part of the berths. The seat-bars they had dropped out of the windows on the sly, and they were scattered along the road from Boston to Lynn. 26 From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 27 Just after the train had passed through the tunnel beyond the Salem depot, an old gentleman, who had one of the lower berths in the centre of the car, called the porter and told him he wanted his bed made up. " All right, sir," said the porter. " Let me have your check." The gentleman handed his check to the porter, and then moved to another seat to give the darkey a clear field for his labors. The colored man moved the passenger's overcoat, arranged his valise properly on the floor, to be out of the way of the seats when he should slide them over, then lifted up one of the seats and put his hand in the bottom to get the bar. Not finding it readily, he took out the pillows and looked with more care. " Guess it's under de odder seat." But a search under that did not disclose the missing bar, and the darkey, standing erect, scratched his head and gazed around him much perplexed. " Well, dat's funny. 'Clar to gracious I put dat stick back under de seat when I made up dese seats dis mornin'. " " What's the matter, porter ? " inquired Harry, who sat opposite, and who, with a sober face, had been watching the porter furtively from the corner of his eye. "Can't find de bar that goes in this seat, sir. If you and the other young gen'leman please rise, I use de one under your seat for de present." " Certainly," replied Harry, as he and Fred Minot, who shared the seat with him, promptly sprang to their feet. 28 Down the West Branch. The other fellows, of course, were not unmindful of what was passing, but, at the same time, did not think it wise to pay much attention to the matter at present. Much to the darkey's surprise, he did not find any bar, and, not wishing to disturb the lady and gentleman who sat opposite the boys, went to another section, where Claude, St. Clair, Phil, and Robert Drake were seated. " Young gen'lemen, will you please rise till I looks under your seats for a bar ? " " What do you take us for ? " asked Claude, jokingly, as they arose to their feet. " Do you suppose we run a bar on this car ? If you are as thirsty as that, you had better visit the water-tank." " Dat ain't de kind of a bar I meant," protested the darkey, with a grin, as he dived among the pillows with the same lack of success as had attended his former efforts at the other seats. " What is it you are looking for ? " asked St. Clair, with apparent interest, as he winked at Phil. "Why, de bars dat go across de seats, you know. Dey go in here for to slide de seats on. Can't make up de lower berths without dem," and the darkey explained and showed the young fellows where and how they went, although they knew as well as he did. " What's the difficulty, James ? " inquired the sleep- ing-car conductor, who now came along and noticed that there was some trouble. The porter explained the predicament he found himself in, and, aided by the conductor, they searched every seat in the car for the missing bars ; but in vain. From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 29 By this time every one in the car had learned the trouble, and, as usual in such cases, began to make themselves heard. It was astonishing to find how many people there were on the car who were sleepy and tired, who wished to retire early, who had not thought of it before they learned of the difficulty in which the porter was placed. " Well, what are you going to do about it ? " growled the old gentleman, who had been waiting impatiently while the search was going on. " Dunno," said the darkey, looking at the conductor as if he expected him to throw light on the subject. "Those bars could not go without hands ! " declared the conductor, who was as much perolexed over the matter as the porter. " We don't care how they have gone," said a tall, thin, nervous-looking man. "What we want to know is when they are coming back, or whether you can get something to take the place of them." " Just like these blasted monopolies," snarled a John Bull, who was on his way to St. John. " Pay two dol- lars for a berth and then have to sit up all night." " That is all nonsense ! " exclaimed the conductor, who was a pleasant, gentlemanly appearing fellow. " We shall get to Portsmouth at nine o'clock, and then we can get something to take the place of the regular bars. But I should like to know where they went to. They were" in the car when we left Boston, James ? " " Can't say, sir. But I know dey were in de car this mornin', case I put dem all in de boxes when I fixed up de seats." 30 Down the West Branch. " It is evident some one has played a pretty good joke on us. But if any of you who hold upper berths would like to retire now, the porter will make them up for you." But as all of the upper berths had been retained by young people, none of them were anxious to retire, and the berths were not touched. The conductor now wrote a telegram to the station agent at Portsmouth, explaining the situation, and it was sent from Hampton. The fellows were very uneasy for fear the plugged holes would be discovered ; but in many cases there were garments laying over the backs of the seats, which effectually concealed some of them, and the loss of the bars had given the conductor and porter so much to talk about that they did not think of looking for further mischief. When the train reached Portsmouth, two carpenters with a box of tools and some strips of hard pine entered the car, and in twenty minutes had made good the loss of the bars. The usual stop here was ten minutes, and the train left ten minutes late, the train conductor fuming at the detention, and telling the sleeping-car conductor that the next time he left Boston he had better know whether his car was in order or not. As the train trundled across the bridge over the ' Piscataqua River, the old gentleman suggested to the porter that he was waiting to have his bed made up. The darkey sprang to his work, pulled out the pillows from under the seats, put the bar in place, pushed down the seats together, then hauled down the upper berth and took out from between the mattresses the From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 31 partition that belonged at the head of the section. He placed it on the top of the back of the seat, pushed it into position against the side of the car, and then pushed the bolt down. But, for some reason, it would not go into the hole. In vain he tried ; it resisted all his efforts. Taking the partition out, he laid it on the seats and then examined the hole. When he found it filled up, he fairly looked frightened. " What de debbil got into dis car ! Dat's what I'd like to know ! " he exclaimed, angrily, as the whites of his eyes shone like an electric light, and he turned a mystified gaze upon the passengers, who were all now watching him. " Now what's the matter ? " queried the thin gentle- man in a sneering tone. " Matter enough," he replied, as he started to find the conductor. In a few minutes he came back accompanied by the conductor, who now began to get wrathful. " I would like to get hold of the rascal who played this little trick on us," he exclaimed, " and I would punch his head until he could not see out of either eye." " You had better punch old Pullman's head," growled the English passenger ; " there's always something the matter with his old cars." The porter in the meantime had examined the other seats, and it is needless to say found them all in the same condition. " Take your knife, James, and I will mine, and we will try and clear these holes ; they are only filled with wood," said the conductor, 32 Down the West Branch. Thus advised, the darkey went to work, assisted by his chief. But if the conductor had flattered himself that he had an easy job before him, he changed his opinion after a very few minutes' work. The night was exceedingly hot and close, the job was not only a hard one, but a pottering one, and the sweat rolled down the faces of the two victims, while they thought fearful things of the unknown party or parties who had made this useless labor for them. The other occupants of the car formed themselves into a committee of the whole, and watched the work with no end of comment and advice. The conductor stood it silently as long as possible, and as he straightened up a moment to rest, the water dripping from his nose, exclaimed, " If any of you have knives, you had better help us, instead of proffering so much cheap advice." " I never carry a knife," remarked the old gentleman, winking at the Englishman. " I left mine at home on the piano," drawled the thin man, in a tone that set all but the workers laughing. "It's a great pity you did not leave yourself there," replied the exasperated conductor, which retort drew a shout of laughter from the boys. It was not until the train was backing into the depot at Portland that the holes were all cleared, and that the porter could begin making up the berths, and the cars were half way to Brunswick before his work was completed. The boys had two berths on each side of the sleeper, one and five on the port side, and four and eight on From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 33 the starboard, so that they lay along nearly two thirds the length of the car. The occupants of the lower berths had retired, and just began to get into a drowse when the boys concluded they would go to bed, the train having just left Bruns- wick. In climbing into their berths, they all being upper ones, they made such a noise that they awoke everybody else, and the other passengers rated them soundly. This only increased the spirit of mischief in them. After a good deal of laughter and joking, they were all settled in their berths, but the night was hot and sultry, and the berths none to wide for two persons, and the boys could not remain quiet. Adams and Stackpole were in number eight, and Claude and Wingate in one, there being a distance of about thirteen feet between them ; St. Clair and Phil were in four, and Drake and Minot in five, and they were all anxious to talk, but with the noise made by the train, it was not a very easy matter, and they had to speak quite loudly to make themselves heard. " I say, Claude," yelled Adams. " What do you want ? " roared back his friend. " Wake me up when we get to Waterville, will you ? " " What for ? " " I want to take a pill." " Look here, you saucy monkey," cried the English- man in a rage, — who had lower seven and was opposite Adams and Stackpole, — " do you intend to keep us awake all night ? " and he poked his head out from be- tween the curtains in front of his berth, and looked threateningly at number eight. 34 Down the West Branch. Phil, who had the front side of the berth in which he was lying, seized his pillow, and carefully parting the curtains, threw it with all his strength at the English- man, and struck him square in the face. Being a small feather pillow it did not hurt him a particle, but increased his anger very much. The moment Phil shot his missile he drew back and closed his curtains so quickly that the incensed Johnny Bull did not see who had assaulted him. " Who threw that pillow at me ? " he cried, as he turned out of his birth with only drawers and shirt on. " Get back into your hole," sang out Fred Minot. " What do you mean," cried Claude, with apparent indignation, " by keeping everybody awake in the car? " " Porter ! porter ! " yelled the tall, thin man, who had just roused up and popped his head out from between the curtains of number two, " catch this crazy man in the aisle, and put him out of the car. He won't allow us to sleep a wink to-night." " Who are you calling a crazy man ? " howled the now thoroughly exasperated Englishman. " I believe it was you who assaulted me, you long, slab-sided cod- fish," and catching up the pillow Phil had thrown at him, he let it drive at the thin man, striking him fairly on the head. " I'll have you arrested for assault and battery when we reach Bangor," shrieked the occupant of lower two, as he disappeared behind the curtains to dodge any more missiles that the Englishman might feel disposed to throw at him. " Thieves ! Murder ! Put him out J Shut up your From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 35 noise," now came from different occupants of the car, and the porter and conductor appeared, and wanted to know what the disturbance meant. Everybody began to explain at once. The English- man danced a war dance and pointed at number two, and the thin man stuck his head out and shook his fist at the Englishman, while every one of the boys, choking with laughter, had each a different version to give of the affair. After some talk, the conductor coaxed the English- man to lie down again, and the porter proceeded to pick up the boots for the purpose of blacking them. He began at the rear of the car, and when he reached number one Wingate started to get out of the berth, and accidentally (?) slipped, and came down on the porter's back, who down on his knees was fishing out boots from under the lower birth ; Wingate rolled off the darkey's back, grabbing at the curtains of number two as he did so, and pulled them down on top of himself and the porter. " Is the train off the track ? " screamed the thin man, who was lying flat on his back, pretty nearly in na- tive costume, as he sat up and grabbed at his clothes. " Train off 'e track ? No," replied the darkey, as he crawled out from under the curtains. "This young sprig fell down on me and nearly broke my back," and as the darkey rose to his feet he shook himself and felt of his back to see if he had any broken bones. " I barked my shins, and bumped my head until I saw stars," declared Wingate as he picked himself up, acting as if he was badly hurt. 36 Down the West Branch. " Wish you'd broke your blasted neck," now sang out a gentlemen, who, with his wife, occupied lower six. "We shall not get a wink of sleep to-night. I should think I was in Bedlam." " You would be if you had your just deserts," shouted Drake, with a chuckle. " What were you doing out'n your berth ? " queried the porter, after he had adjusted the fallen curtains, and looking at Wingate suspiciously. " I was going to get a drink of water, and I slipped in getting out of my berth. I hope I did not hurt you any." " No, you did not hurt me much, but you frightened me out'n a seven years' growth. You climb into your berth, again, and I'll get you de water." " Thank you," replied Wingate, and he followed the darkey's advice, who, disappearing with his armful of boots, soon came back with the water. Wingate drained the glass, then Claude asked for some. The porter waited upon him ; then St. Clair called for a glass ; then Phil discovered that he was thirsty ; and the other boys, catching on to the game, all called for water, and the poor darkey, not without righteous indignation, supplied them. As the porter was returning with the empty tumbler the last time, a runner for a well-known dry goods house in Boston poked his head from out lower number one, and remarked, " This is worse than an Irish wake. If there are any other three men in this car who wish to turn out and play poker until morning, I am the man for them." The runner did not receive a single response to his From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 37 invitation, but a gentleman in number eight, who, like his neighbor of six, had his wife with him, exclaimed, " I beg of you gentlemen to keep quiet. My wife is suffering for sleep ; she will be all broke up to- morrow." Immediately a female voice, in a decided tone, re- plied, " That is no such thing, Henry. I am enjoying the situation immensely. It is as good as a circus. You are speaking three words for yourself and one for me.'' A chorus of laughter from the occupants of the car greeted this frank acknowledgment. Ten minutes of silence, and then Adams began to counterfeit snoring, making noise enough to wake the dead. Then the other fellows took it up, and in the midst of the racket the train came to a stand-still. " Porter ! " yelled Stackpole. The porter made his appearance. " What place is this ? " " Augusta." " What time is it ? " "Most three o'clock." " What do they stop here for ? " " Oh, go long to sleep. You keep eberybody in dis car awake. I got my boots to black," and the porter retired. The train started again, and just begun cross- ing the bridge over the Kennebec, when Minot called to the porter. But that worthy did not appear. " Porter ! " no answer. " Ale ! " called Drake. " Beer ! " shouted Adams, laughing. " Cider ! " halloed Stackpole. 38 Down the West Branch. " Brandy ! " yelled St. Clair. " Gin ! " sang out Phil. " Whiskey ! " roared Claude. " I'll bet he'll answer to that." " What'n de world you want ? " queried the porter, making his appearance with a boot in one hand and a blacking brush in the other. " Nothing. It's funny you answer to whiskey instead of Porter. We shall have to call you Whiskey here- after." " What you call me for, anyway ? " " I didn't call you, it was one of those roosters in number five." " What do you want? " queried the porter, when he reached Minot. " Do you think this bridge is safe ? " " Of course it is." " Is it wood or iron ? " " Iron. Now go to sleep. You de worst set of pos- sums I eber saw." " I say, Whiskey," as the porter turned away, " call me when we get to Waterville, will you ? " " What for ? I thought you went to Bangor." " So I do. But I want to see the colleges." The conductor now appeared on the scene. " Gentlemen, I beg of you to keep quiet. You are disturbing the rest of the passengers." " Rest ! " growled the Englishman, his head appear- ing from between the curtains again ; " I have not slept a wink to-night. I'll complain of you as soon as we get to Bangor," From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 39 " I am very sorry. But it is not my fault. I never had such a night as this before, and hope I never shall again." "You are a nice fellow to find fault," now put in Phil ; " you made all the row in the first place." " It's a lie ! " shouted the Englishman. " Gentlemen ! gentlemen ! " begged the harassed conductor, " do be quiet." Ten minutes of silence, and then a brakeman in the discharge of his duty passed through the car just as the train was pulling into Waterville. " What place is this ? " inquired St. Clair, hailing the brakeman, with his head outside of the curtains. "Waterville." " What place did you say ? " " Waterville." " A little louder, please ? " "Waterville," in a somewhat higher key. " Can't you speak louder, I'm a little hard of hear- ing." " Waterville ! " now shouted the brakeman, in a tone that could be heard throughout the car. " What are you howling that way for in this car ? " queried the conductor. " Do you want to wake up every person in it. There is no one to get out here, and if there was the porter and I could attend to the matter without any of your help." "I only answered a question," protested the brake- man, who felt indignant at the way the conductor had addressed him. " A gentleman asked me what place this was, and I told him Waterville. He was deaf, and 40 Down the West Branch. did not hear me the first time, and I had to speak loud." " Where was he ? " "In that upper berth," pointing to where he had seen St. Clair. " Deaf ? Nonsense ! There are two young fellows in that upper berth, and they can hear as well as I can." " Well, I didn't know it." The sound of subdued laughter now came from the berth. This was sufficent to irritate the Englishman, who, poking his head from between the curtains, ex- claimed, — "That's it, conductor; stand there in the middle of the car, and babble away the rest of the night; oh, you are bound that we shall not sleep any." The conductor looked at the Englishman as if he would have swallowed him, but wisely forebore to make any reply, and withdrew with the brakeman to the front of the car. About the time the train reached Burnham, the porter came along to distribute the boots he had been blacking. As there had been a little over half an hour's silence, most of the occupants of the car, with the exception of the camping party, had succeeded in getting asleep, as was evinced by the variety of breathing and snoring that was heard on all sides. This did not suit the boys at all, and the appearance of the porter was hailed with delight. " Porter ! " screamed Adams in a tone that awoke every one in the car. " What is it, sir ? " From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 41 " Where are we now ? " " Nearly to Burnham." " Is it daylight ? " " Not quite." " All right." " How much time do we have in Bangor for break- fast ? " inquired Minot. " Over an hour." " Where do we get it ? " "You can get it in the depot, or go to a hotel," and the porter having replaced the boots turned away be- fore any more questions could be asked. The train now stopped. " Burnham ! " sang out Claude at the top of his voice. " Change for Belfast." "Can't you speak a little louder?" inquired St. Clair with a chuckle. " You know I am a little deaf." " Burnham ! Change for Belfast ! " roared Claude in a voice loud enough to raise the roof of the car. The conductor came rushing in and looked at the berths, and the thin man sticking his head from be- tween the curtains, said, — " Conductor, I'll give you five dollars if you will put those two chaps out of the car, who occupy that upper berth opposite me." Two tremendous snores from the occupants of up- per number one greeted this remark, and the conductor retired again. Half an hour more and the train had reached New- port, and, as it began to slack, Adams yelled at the top of his voice, — 42 Down the West Branch. " Newport ! Change for Dexter ! " This roused everybody up again, and Claude de- scended from his berth with a great deal of noise, and as soon as he had touched the floor, shouted, — " Bangor, boys. Turn out." " This is not Bangor, it is Newport,'' shouted Phil. The conductor made his appearance again, with, — " What's the matter now ? " " Nothing," returned Claude, innocently. " I thought I would turn out, as long as we are at Bangor." "This is not Bangor, it is Newport. We are an hour's ride from Bangor, yet." "Just as well," returned Claude. "Somebody in that berth next to me snores so I can't sleep any ; " and he continued dressing. " Be as quiet as you can, please." " I will not make noise enough to wake a baby." Claude finished dressing and went forward to wash, and then Wingate came out with a clatter. "What is the matter out there?" called Stackpole. " Can't you let a fellow sleep ? " " Sleep away," returned Wingate. " If you can't keep your eyes shut, put coppers on them." " Is it daylight ? " inquired Adams. " Yes ; and lamplight, too," speaking of the lights in the car. " How smart ! Go and bathe your head, to keep the fever down." Wingate joined Claude in the washroom, and the other fellows, one by one, with joke and laughter, turned out arid dressed; by the time the From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 43 last one had completed his toilet the train rolled into the Bangor ddpot. " Bangor ! " cried all the fellows in unison, with a shout that would have awakened the seven sleepers. " Now for some breakfast," suggested Adams. The porter helped them to carry their things into the dining-saloon, and they each gave him a quarter. He wished them good luck on their trip, and then re- turned to his car to be ready for other tips. "Adams, you are the hungry man," said Claude, " beside being treasurer for this trip. Go in and order the breakfasts, and I will see to the boats and bag- gage." Stackpole and Minot accompanied Adams, and the other boys went with Claude. Upon making inquiries, Claude found that the cars of the Bangor and Piscataquis train were attached to the rear of the Saint John train, and were unshackled ( at Oldtown, where another engine carried them towards Moosehead Lake. The fellows saw their boats and baggage safely un- loaded, and then, learning that the Moosehead train would not be made up for over half an hour, went in to breakfast. About seven o'clock the Moosehead train backed into the depot, and Claude, St. Clair, and Win- gate looked sharply after their boats to know that they were carefully loaded, and after seeing the rest of their baggage in the car had the valises checked that they had brought with them on the sleeper, as they did not wish to carry anything with them on their tramp from the Iron Works to Greenville, except guns or fishing 44 Down the West Branch. tackle. About quarter past seven the train left the depot, the party having taken seats in the rear car. It passed along by the river, then across the bridge over the Kenduskeag, and stopped at the Exchange Street depot, where a number of passengers joined them. From Bangor to Oldtown the road follows the Penob- scot River closely, and the young fellows were very much interested at the enormous quantities of lumber they saw, and the huge steam mills, where it had been manufactured. " What a stack of lumber and logs," said Wingate. " I should think there was enough to supply half the world." " \ expect a great deal of it is exported," remarked Claude. From some of the largest mills, tracks ran off to a dump, where the refuse from the logs was burned, the fires being kept burning day and night. " What a shame to burn up so much wood," declared Adams. " What a pity the poor people of our large cities could not have it." The writer has often felt the same way, knowing the immense amount of edgings and slabs that are yearly destroyed at the large mills ; although, since the manu- facture of wood pulp has been started, a great deal of this refuse of the saw mills is utilized for making paper. But all through the forests of Maine thousands of cords of wood annually go to destruction, that would keep warmth, and even life, in many poor families during our rigorous northern winters. When nearing Oldtown, Phil noticed a small batteau, From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 45 containing six boys, coming down the river. As the train swept past, the boat struck on a rock, swung broadside to the current, and capsized, throwing the boys into the water. " Did you see that ? " asked Phil, excitedly. " A boat tipped over." " I did," answered Stackpole, and starting for the rear of the car they opened the door to get a better look at the batteau ; but a turn of the road carried them out of sight. " I hope none of them were drowned," remarked Claude. " They looked like small boys." The accident created quite an excitement on the car, and gave all the passengers something to talk about. When the train reached Oldtown, the party stepped out a few moments and took a look around, but were not much impressed with the place. They thought some of visiting the Indian village on an island opposite the town, but, as they could not do it with- out stopping over a day, they concluded it would not pay. The conductor of the Bangor and Piscataquis train sang out " All aboard ! " while the young fellows were pricing baskets of an Indian woman who had them for sale on the platform in front of the de'pot. Concluding that they would let the baskets go until their return home, they jumped on the cars, and the train started northward. They caught a few pleasant glimpses of the Penobscot after leaving Oldtown, and crossed four or five bridges in as many miles. " Bridges are plenty on this road," remarked Minot. 46 Down the West Branch. " Either the road or the river must be confoundedly crooked." " I should not wonder if both were," returned St. Clair. When within a few miles of Milo, the boys noticed an unusual whistling by the engine, and soon the train began to slacken its speed, and after a few moments ■ stopped. Phil went out the forward end of the car to see what the trouble was, the rest of the party follow- ing him. Jumping off the steps they found a large flock of sheep ahead of the train, most of them on the track. The engineer and fireman were pelting them with sticks of wood, and in a short time they climbed up the bank, jumped through the fence and went off, and the train started up again. " I should think the engineer would have kept on, if he had killed a few sheep," remarked Phil, as the boys returned to their seats. " Probably the Company think it cheaper to stop the train than pay for the mutton," suggested Drake. " I don't believe they would have to pay for them if they were killed," said Adams. " The farmers have no right to let their sheep run on the railroad track." " I don't believe they know it," returned Claude. " And, beside, if the engineer made a practice of kil- ling sheep, the people who live along the line of the railroad would get down on the Company. When you touch a man's pocket down here in the country, you touch him in a tender place." Upon reaching Milo the boys left the train, after ar- ranging with the conductor to see that their boats and From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 47 baggage were forwarded from the end of the railroad to Greenville. They found the stage for Brownville, which consist- ed of a two-seated wagon, and very quickly learned that the vehicle would not carry but five of them. The driver, however, managed to secure another team, and after a delay of nearly an hour they were under way. They passed through the village of Milo, some way from the de"pot, the stage stopping at the post-office to leave the mail. They had several fine views of the Pleasant River, and found that the scenery grew better as they left the railroad. They arrived at the village of Brown- ville, a distance of five miles, at half- past eleven, and were driven to the hotel where they were to take din- ner. Adams settled with the stage-driver and found the bill fifty cents each. Upon inquiry of the landlord, they learned that they could have dinner at twelve o'clock ; and then found the stage-driver that drove to the Iron Works, and told him there were eight of them who wished to go, and that they would like to start as early as possible after dinner. The driver said his team would not hold them all, but promised to get a Concord wagon that would carry nine persons, and agreed to be ready to start at one o'clock. " How far is it ? " asked Adams. " Fourteen miles." " How long will it take to drive it ? " " Wall, I guess we can go it in three hours, as you haven't got any baggage. The road's pretty good now, but there's some consarned big hills." 48 Down the West Branch. "What's the fare?" " Dollar apiece." The driver was as good as his word, and at one o'clock had his team ready at the door. Adams paid the hotel bills, and the boys climbed into the wagon, completely filling it. There were three seats and three on a seat. " Will there be a chance for a shot at anything on the way, driver ? " asked Claude, as the wagon rolled away from the hotel. " Not just now," replied the driver, " but when we reach the woods there may be." The team crossed the river and then turned to the left, ascending an elevated plateau that commanded a fine view of the valley through which swept the wind- ing stream, and the town. For several miles the land rose gradually, the road running over a succession of billowy hills. They passed in sight of a number of slate quarries, and quite near the largest one, and plied the driver with a variety of questions in regard to the slate business. In the distance they noticed a circle of mountain peaks, some of considerable height, and the driver was appealed to for the names of the mountains, but could give them but little satisfaction on that point. A few miles from the village they passed a road on the right, at the corner of which stood a guide board with the words, " 4 miles to Schoodic Lake," painted upon it. " Is there good fishing in that lake ? " inquired Mi- not of the driver. " Can't say. I never was there. But I believe they catch trout there." From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 49 " How large a lake is it ? " " Dunno ! " " It strikes me," said Wingate, "that you don't know much about this country." "You're jest right," returned the driver. " Have only been here about three weeks. I came from the 'Roos- took country." The sides of the wagon were rolled up, and gave the whole party a fine view of the landscape, and they were all pleased with the scenery along the route. They continued up the valley of the Pleasant River, catching occasional glimpses of the stream that sparkled brightly in the sunlight as it wound in and out among minature forests, and through wide intervales, and after a time reached a comparatively level piece of meadow land, which the driver informed them was called the prairie. While the party were quietly drink- ing in the beauty of the surroundings they were rudely startled by the driver exclaiming, — ■ " By gosh ! I believe there's a house on fire," point- ing to a building about a quarter of a mile ahead of them. " You are right this time if you never were before," replied Claude excitedly. "Whip up, and let's get there. We may be of some use." " See the smoke pour out of the attic window," said St. Clair. " The fire is upstairs." " It's coming out of the roof around the chimney also," added Wingate. The house was a story and a half, and when the team reached it the boys noticed that the flames had 50 Down the West Branch. broken through the roof, and were also coming out of the window where they had first seen smoke. " I'll be with ye in a minute boys, as soon as I put the hosses where they'll be safe," said the driver, and he drove up the road a few rods and fastened them securely to a fence. "Take the lead, Claude, and we'll follow," said Adams. " I never run wid der machine," returned Claude, laughing, " but I guess we can be of service here." The front door of the house was closed. Claude opened it, and the boys dashed in. They found only a little smoke and no fire below. "We'll divide our forces," said Claude. Andrew, Charley, Harry, and Fred, get out the furniture. Take the most valuable first. Don't smash it, and carry it far enough from the house to get it out of the way of sparks. Jack, Phil, and Rob, come with me. We must find some pails and a ladder, if there is one, also an axe, and try and put the fire out. I noticed a well outside." Claude opened a door out of the room he stood in, and found himself in the kitchen. " Hurrah ! "he cried ; " here are plenty of pails." The three who were with him each caught up a pail, dashed out to the well, and began to draw water with a pole, there being no pump. A man now came running to the house from across a field where he had been at work, and looked upon the boys with astonishment. Claude briefly explained their presence, and asked From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 51 him if he had a ladder. The man rushed off to the barn and returned with one that went a little above the eaves, and placed it against the house. " Now," said Claude, " cut a hole through the roof near the chimney, and pour down the water as fast as we pass it up to you." Taking an axe, the man kicked off his boots, ran up the ladder, and crawling up the roof attacked it in ear- nest, and soon had a hole a foot square through it. Claude ran up the ladder and took his station at the head of it on the roof. The driver, who now appeared on the scene, went half way up the ladder and stopped. Jack went to the foot of it, Rob passed the water, and Fred drew it. There was quite a breeze blowing at the time, but it was away from the barn, and fortunately, also, the barn stood some distance from the house. " Here you go now," cried Claude, as he passed the first pail of water ; " that will be a wet blanket for it." The man threw it down the hole, and passed the empty pail back to Claude, who passed it to those beneath him. The water was handed up and poured on the fire, and the empty pails passed down as fast as they could be handled. Claude soon noticed that Fred could not draw the water fast enough, and called on Wingate to help him. An extra man at the well expedited matters considerably, and in fifteen minutes the flames had stopped coming from the roof, but were still coming out at the end window, which was about twelve feet from the chimney. " We must leave the roof now," said Claude, " and 52 Down the West Branch. put the ladder up by that end window, and get some water in there." The change was quickly made, and Mr. Smith, who owned the farm, ran up the ladder, and taking his posi- tion threw the water in at the window as fast as it was handed to him. In ten minutes they had stopped the flame there, although volumes of smoke continued to roll out. They carried the ladder around to the front of the house again, and Wingate told them the flames were coming out of the attic window at the opposite end. They raised the ladder to the roof again, and Mr. Smith ran up, and going on the roof cut another hole about half way between the chimney and the end window, from which the flame was issuing. Claude and the others took their stations as before, and as the flames began to shoot out of the hole just cut, the first pail of water was passed up. About thirty pailfuls were poured in, and then the flames disappeared. " Let's go down, and go into the house now, and see if we cannot get into the attic by the stairs. You must be sure every spark of fire is- extinguished before we leave you." Claude slid down the ladder, and followed by the unlucky householder, the stage-driver, and Wingate, each with a pail of water, went into the kitchen and up- stairs. They found a little fire at the head of the stairs, but one pail of water put it out. The smoke was so thick that they could not go any farther, but after waiting fifteen minutes they tried it again. They found a few places where there were From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 53 embers and live coals, but no flame, and they washed them down with water, and after making a careful examination were satisfied the fire fiend was laid. " It is not so bad as it might be," said Claude, as he looked about and took account of the damage. " Both of your end windows and sash are gone ; there are three or four holes in your roof ; a few of the rafters are nearly burned through ; there are a couple of holes in the floor, and the water will stain and probably take off some of your plastering. Were you insured ? " " No, I calculate the damage ain't more than fifty dollars, and if it had'nt been for you, young gentlemen, I should have lost the house, and darn nigh everything in it. I don't know how to thank you. You see I'm a poor man, ain't got this place paid for yet, and it would have been a terrible set back to me. I wish I knew some way to pay you, but I thank you a thousand times, and if I ever can do anything for yer, jest let me know it." " Do you live here all alone ? " inquired Phil. " No. My wife and baby are down the road about a mile to one the neighbors. Went down after dinner. Guess she'll be surprised when she comes home." " Come, fellows, we must be moving, it is four o'clock. If I were you, Mr. Smith, I would get my buildings in- sured the first chance I had." " I snum to man if I don't. This'll be a lesson to me." Bidding him good-bye, and wishing him good luck, a wish that was heartily reciprocated by Mr. Smith, the 54 Down the West Branch. boys walked to the team, and climbing into the wagon were once more on their way. " That was what I called hot work," remarked Phil. " Yes it was," returned Claude, " and quite an adven- ture beside. That will be something to write home about." Along the part of the road where they were now riding, the scenery was lovely. The mountains ap- proached nearer and grew in height, and they crossed the east and middle branches of the Pleasant River, both streams suggestive of trout. Beyond the " prai- rie " the road increased in roughness, and ran up the side of a forest-clad mountain. The driver told them it was three miles to the top of the mountain, with dense forests most of the way, and further informed them, that they might see some partridges, and possibly a bear. This was enough to set them on edge, and out came the guns and rifles, and Claude, Wingate, St. Clair, and Adams determined to tramp on ahead, as the road was so steep the horses could only walk. " When you reach the top of the hill, what then ? " inquired Claude of the driver. " You go down hill three miles to the Iron Works settlement." The party on foot now started ahead, and had only walked about half a mile when they flushed three birds in the road, and shot them all. " That is a good beginning," declared Wingate. " I suppose it is the close time for partridges now, but it is so near September, I guess no one will trouble us." " No fear of that," said Claude, " But at the same From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 55 time if we did not want them to eat, I would not kill them." A mile further, they saw six on a tree on the right side of the road. They crept up as near the birds as they dared, and all fired together. It was a long shot, but they secured five out of the six. " Eight partridges," remarked Adams. " If they have a cook at this hotel who understands the art, we shall have a good supper and breakfast at all events." Putting fresh shells in place of the empty ones, they took the birds, shouldered their guns, and reached the top of the hill without seeing anything else but some chipmunks. They sat down to wait the arrival of the stage, and being somewhat tired from their climb were very silent. In a few moments they heard a noise a short distance in advance of them, and a moment later a large bear came out of the woods, and shuffled leisurely across the road. Before he reached the forest on the opposite side, Wingate's rifle went to his shoulder and the bullet struck the bear, causing him to turn and charge on them. This was something they had not ex- pected, but nothing daunted, they blazed away at him as he came on. All their guns were double barrelled, and, although only loaded with small shot, the six charges that were poured at short range squarely into the bear's face, while not giving him any dangerous wound, half blinded him, and he stopped a moment and scratched his nose and eyes with his paws, and this enabled the boys to get out of his way. Wingate, who had a full magazine Winchester rifle, 56 Down the West Branch. now opened on him again, firing as fast as he could pull the trigger, and at the sixth shot, the bear went over. " Hurrah ! " shouted Adams, " you have settled him, Charlie," and running up to the bear he took hold of one of his paws. In a second, the bear, which was not quite dead, pulled his paw from Jack's hand, and struck him a blow on the leg that sent him spinning a dozen feet away, be- side tearing a large rent in his trousers and stocking, and taking the skin off his left leg for a distance of six inches. With a cry of dismay for fear that his friend was seriously hurt, Wingate rushed up to the bear and shot a couple more bullets into his head, which effectually silenced him, while Claude and St. Clair hurried to Adams, who was trying to pick himself up. " Did he break any of your bones, Jack ? " in- quired Claude anxiously, as he took hold of Adams and lifted him to his feet. " I guess not, but he tore half the skin off my left leg ;" and rolling up his trousers leg, and pushing his stocking down over his canvas congress boots, he dis- played the marks of the bear's claws. The skin was taken off in strips, and the blood running from several of the furrows. " That is rough, Jack,' 7 said St. Clair, " and we can get nothing to put on it until we get to the hotel. I hear the stage coming, and we'll make the driver put his horses through the rest of the way." " The old sinner would have broken my leg I expect if he had not been wounded, and had got a fair crack at From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 57 me," and Jack with rueful countenance fished out a clean handkerchief from one of his pockets, and, folding it double, bound it around his leg, and tied it with a string. " Does it ache much ? " inquired Claude. " It does not ache any, but it smarts as bad as if my leg was in the fire. However, the handkerchief will keep my woollen stocking from irritating it, and when we get to the hotel, I can probably find something to put on it. We can have bear-steaks for supper, for the old fellow is as fat as a hog,'' and Jack limped back to take another look at the dead animal which had played him such a scurvy trick. As the bear lay ex- actly in the middle of the road, Claude, Charlie, and Andrew lifted him off to one side, and it was about all they could do to handle him. " I want you to understand, fellows," declared Win- gate, "that this bear is a good deal larger than Nap was. I'll bet that he weighs four hundred or more." " It is the largest bear we have ever tackled," ac- knowledged Claude, " and if it had not been for your rifle, he would have made it hot for some of us." " He has for me, as it is, confound him," said Adams. The horses snorted and shied as they came abreast of the bear, and seemed disposed to run, but the driver quieted them down. " I declare, fellows ! they have shot a bear," ex- claimed Phil, as the party in the stage jumped out. " And a rouser, too," added St. Clair. " What are you going to do with him ? " asked the driver. 58 Down the West Branch. " Do ? " repeated Claude, a little astonished at the question. " Why, take him to the hotel and eat part of him. He's in splendid v condition." " I didn't suppose you fellows would eat bear- meat." " What do you take us for ? " queried Wingate, in a slight tone of contempt. " If you think this is the first bear we ever saw, you are a long way out of your reck- oning. Why, we caught one alive at Parmachenee Lake." " Perhaps you put salt on his tail," chuckled the driver, who strongly doubted the story. " Put salt on your grandmother ! We had a fair stand-up fight with him, lassoed him, and took him to camp, — over a mile, — and then tamed him." " It strikes me that was doing pretty well for city boys." " If you take us for muffs because we came from the city, you'll get left every time," remarked St. Clair, as he placed his gun in the stage. " Now let's get this bear on the wagon, and be off," said Claude. " I'm getting hungry." " So say we all of us," added Stackpole. The driver lowered his rack, which was turned up at the back of the stage, brought forth some pieces of rope, and assisted by the boys threw the dead body of Bruin up on the rack and bound it on. The partridges were placed in the bottom of the stage under one of the seats, and then, taking their places, the team moved on. " Drive as fast as you can now," urged Claude. " Jack had a hard wipe from one of the bear's paws, From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 59 and had his leg badly scratched, and we want to get where we can find something to do it up in as soon as possible." " You don't say ? " remarked the driver, his eyes opening wide. " How was it, mister? " with an inquiring look at Adams. Jack told him, and he, with the other boys, who until now had not known of Adams' mishap, expressed sympathy. A little after seven they reached the hotel, a long, low, two-story building, that stood beside a small stream, and quite near the Iron Furnace. As there were about a dozen guests at the hotel, and the house rather small, they could only secure four rooms, and had to double up, which did not trouble them a great deal. As soon as they were assigned rooms, Claude, taking Adams in with him, sought the landlord, and told him of Jack's accident, and asked him if he knew what would be good to put on it. " Don't consarn yourself, young man," said the land- lord ; " my wife is one of the best nurses you ever saw. She'll fix him up. Where is he ? " " Up in his room ? " " Well, you wait jest a moment, and I'll get my wife." The old gentleman soon returned with his wife, and she and Claude went up to his room. She looked at Adams' leg, but found that the blood had dried and soaked into the handkerchief so that it could not be removed without the aid of warm water. Telling the young man she would come back in a moment, she went away for necessary articles, and 60 Down the West Branch. soon returned with a basin of warm water in which was a piece of Castile soap, a soft sponge, a bottle of liniment, a linen bandage, a box of salve, and a needle and thread. She set to work as if she knew what she was doing, soaked off the handkerchief, saying she would wash it for him in the morning, and then examined the wound. " Wall, I declare, if you didn't get a scratching ! It's a wonder he didn't break your leg. Bears are awful powerful critters. I had a cousin tackle one in the logging swamp once, with only an axe ; and the bear almost killed him. When the men found him they thought he was dead. But the camp was only half a mile away, and, after they got him to that, they brought him to. But he was chewed up awfully, and nearly every thread of clothing scratched off of him." " I guess he had all the bear he wanted that time," remarked Jack. " Sakes alive ! I guess he did. He didn't get out for over a month ; and he's got some o' them scars on him to this day. Now, you'll have to ' grin and bear it,' as old Sally Whipple used to say. I'm going to pour on some of this liniment, and it will make it smart awfully ; but it's powerful stuff to heal a wound or cut." " Let her go," said Jack, gritting his teeth. Mrs. Gardner poured on the liniment, covering the wound thoroughly, and then putting some salve on the bandage wound it around his leg, and stitched it on. From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 61 " There, now you'll do nicely. But I would not do any more walking than I could help for two or three days, and I'll do it up again to-morrow." Jack looked at Claude in dismay. " Why," he said, " we were going to leave here to- morrow and walk up to the gulf, and from there across to Moosehead Lake." " Don't you think of doing it, my boy," returned Mrs. Gardner, kindly. " You go to tramping with that leg now, and get it all hot and irritated up, and you're liable to have a running sore, and then you'd think your cake was dough. Take my advice, and keep quiet for two or three days, and then, perhaps, you will be all right to go on." " Don't feel fretted Jack," said Claude. " We can stand it here three or four, days if necessary. It's a very pretty place, and I, for one, shall not stir an inch, until your leg is all right. Better be laid up three or four days now than three or four weeks later on." " That is spoken like yourself, Claude, old fellow. But perhaps the rest of the boys may not relish the idea of being cooped up here three or four days." " Cooped up ! Bless my soul, we shall not be cooped up. There is good fishing and hunting around here, a lot of mountains to climb, and we have the Iron Fur- nace, the Mineral Springs, and the ore beds to visit. Don't worry about the party. We shall enjoy every day we stay here. You will have the worst of it loafing around the house." " I believe I have done all I can for you now, Mr. Adams, and will go down and see about your supper." 62 Down the West Branch. "Thank you," replied Jack; "you have been very kind indeed." " Can you give us some bear-steaks and fricasseed partridges for supper, Mrs. Gardner ? " inquired Claude. "Our long ride, together with fighting the fire and climbing the hill where we shot the bear, has made us as hungry as wolves." " What do you mean by fighting fire ? " Claude told her about their adventure at the farm- house, and when he had concluded, the good lady re- marked, — " Wall, now I never ! And poor Smith would have lost his house if it hadn't been for you. If you don't deserve a good supper I don't know who does, and you shall have just as good a one as we can get up in this house ; " and the good lady left them, to attend to her duties below. " We are on the right side of her," declared Adams, as her footsteps died away in the distance. " You are right, Jack ; and she is a very kind lady. It is lucky that you had this scrape now instead of up in the woods, miles from any house. I think that, for the time being, at least, our lines have fallen in pleas- ant places. But let us go down stairs ; the rest of the fellows will be anxious to know how you feel." " All right. We will get some chairs and sit out on the piazza until supper is ready." The two friends went below, and, as they carried out their chairs, met the rest of the party coming from around the corner of the house. They were around Jack in a moment, with anxious inquiries. Front Boston to KataJidin Iron Works. 63 Claude told them what Mrs. Gardner had said, and asked them if they had any objection to stopping where they were. They all expressed themselves as perfectly willing to stay there as long as necessary ; and told Jack that he need not fret a particle on their account, for they would have a good time some way. " It is very kind of you fellows to speak in this way, and I shall not forget it. But where have you been ? " " Out to the barn," replied Wingate, " seeing them skin and dress the bear. I tell you, Claude, there was lots of fat on him." " What are you going to do with the skin, Claude ? " asked Minot. " I don't know. Let's give it to the landlord." All agreed upon the disposition of it, and concluded to give him the carcass besides, only reserving what they wanted to eat while at the hotel. "We are heroes now, Claude," said Phil, laughing and lowering his voice, as he saw that some of the other guests of the house were near them on the piazza. "Our driver has been telling the countrymen here about the fire, and shooting the bear, and catching Nap alive at Parmachenee. I tell you he laid it on thick ; he has made them all think that we are regular old Nimrods." " They will soon find out their mistake if they hear us talk much," returned the leader of the party, with a smile. Then the boys began to lay plans for the next day, and talked of what they would do, until the supper bell rang, which ended their confab very quickly. Down the West Branch. As the other guests were all done supper, the party had the dining-room to themselves. Two red-cheeked country girls waited upon the table, which fairly groaned under its tempting load. First there were the bear-steaks nicely broiled, and swimming in gravy ; then the fricasseed partridges and a platter of delicious brook trout, fried and mashed potatoes with other vegetables, hot sour-milk biscuit, Indian bread, a regular old-fashioned bannock, two kinds of cake, cup custards, and raspberries and cream. " Great Csesar ! what a spread ! " cried Claude, as his eyes roved over the table. "I should think we were at Young's." " If this is the way they are going to feed us here, I hope your leg will be in no hurry to get well, Jack," said Phil, winking at Adams, who sat opposite. " Well, if that isn't downright selfishness, I never heard anything that is," declared Wingate. " You want Jack's leg to suffer for the good of your stomach." " I was only fooling. But I say, fellows, isn't this a boss supper ? " " You have expressed my opinion exactly,'' remarked Drake, struggling with a mouthful of partridge. " This is the best Indian bread I ever ate in my life ; " and to give force to his opinion St. Clair helped himself to another piece, remarking at the same time, " This is none of that corn-cake trash. It's the real Indian bread. I wish our cook at home could make it." From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 65 Adams did not say much ; but he showed his friends that if he could not walk he could eat, and devoted himself to it as if he did not know where the next meal was coming from. " Are we supposed to clear the table ? " queried Fred Minor, who had eaten about all he could carry. " No," replied Stackpole, laughing, " leave the dishes ; they will want them to use again." " I shall have to leave you, young fellows," remarked Claude, as he rose from the table. " I did not sup- pose you intended to spend the night in the dining- room." And with this shot at his friends he left the table, and was soon followed by the others. After supper they returned to the piazza and talked over future plans until ten o'clock, and then retired to rest, for, with the loss of sleep the night before, it had been a hard day for them, and they were glad to get to bed. Wednesday morning they were all down to breakfast at seven o'clock, and Adams informed his friends that his leg felt very comfortable. After breakfast he pro- cured a book and went out on the piazza to read, while the rest of the party strolled over to the Iron Works and spent the forenoon in examining the coal kilns, the blast furnace, and the rest of the works. In the afternoon all but Adams paid a visit to the Mineral Springs and the Ore Mountain, returning in time for supper, all bringing specimens of the ore with them, which they showed to Jack. During the afternoon Mrs. Gardner had dressed Jack's wound and told him it was doing nicely. They passed a very pleasant even- 66 Down the West Branch. ing in the parlor, with music and singing, in which some of the other guests participated. When the boys met the next morning, St. Clair and Phil, who roomed together, were missing. Claude went up to their room, and came down and told his friends they were not in it. Everybody wondered what had become of them ; but just as the breakfast bell rang they appeared with their rods and two strings of trout, the fish being from six to ten inches long. St. Clair had thirty and Phil twenty-five. " You have stolen a march on us," said Claude, as the boys held up their fish for inspection. " Yes," returned St. Clair. " I awoke about four o'clock and felt as if I had slept enough. I told Phil I would go fishing if he would, and we dressed, took our tackle, went out and dug some worms, and went up about a mile to a brook the landlord told us of, and had some very good sport." " Some of those trout will weigh a half a pound each," remarked Adams, as he looked them over care- fully. " Would you have them cooked for dinner or sup- per ? " inquired Phil. " Supper, I say," returned St. Clair. " There are plenty of bear-steaks for dinner. Here, Wingate, take these fish around to the kitchen, will you ? while Phil and I get ready for breakfast.'' " Yes ; but hurry up ; the bell has rung, and we will wait until you come down before we go in." " What are you going to do to-day, fellows ? " inquired Adams, while they sat at the table. From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 67 "Take our guns and pay a visit to the summit of Chairback Mountain," answered Claude. " I wish I could go with you. Confound this leg." " Never mind, Jack, we will tell you all about it when we return," said Phil. " How far is it ? " " About four miles," replied Claude. " Are you going to try and get back to dinner ? " " No, sir ; it is going to be too hot to-day to hurry much. We shall take a lunch with us, and take our own time." Claude had the luncheon put up, and about half-past eight the party started. Adams spent the day quietly, and had his leg done up again, and the landlady told him she thought he might walk around part of the day, which was glad news for Jack. It was an awful cross to him to stay about the house, and his friends off hav- ing a good time. About five o'clock the mountaineers returned, rather tired, but all thoroughly pleased with their day's excursion. They brought back three par- tridges, two rabbits, and a red-headed woodpecker. " What kind of a time have you had, fellows ? " in- quired Adams, as they took seats around him on the piazza. " Very nice," returned Claude. "We had a splendid view of the country around here from the summit of the mountain, and it was not a very hard climb. We run across some caribou signs. Saw where they had been feeding quite recently, and skirmished around the place for a couple of miles in every direction, but could get no sight of the animals themselves." 68 Down the West Branch. " Where did you kill your game ? " " We shot all we brought on the way home. Run across the partridges in a logging road, and found the rabbits near an old logging camp. Drake and Minot shot those. I tried to save them, but it was too late. They were hardly worth the cartridges, we have so much of that bear-meat. I thought the woodpecker would be nice to put in our hall, and am going to send it to Bangor and have it set up." " That's a good idea," replied Jack. " We might send home some of the game we shoot, and have a lot of speci- mens to put in the hall. They would look very pretty, and give the folks at home an idea of what we can do." " You are right," replied Wingate. " We could have squirrels, partridges, hawks, eagles, ducks, minks, muskrats, otters, fishers, and whatever else we could come across." " Blue herons are pretty to set up," added St. Clair. " We ought to have one of those." "Yes," said Phil ; " there are quite a number of birds and animals suitable for such a purpose if we can only shoot them right. After we get established in camp on the West Branch we might trap some." " Where are your traps ? " asked Stackpole. " Oh, we can make some that will answer our pur- pose. Don't you think so, Claude ? " " Of course we can, if we try." " What is your programme for to-morrow, Claude ? " queried Jack. " Have not made up any yet. I should like to go fishing, myself, if the rest of the fellows would." From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 69 They all expressed a willingness to follow Claude on a piscatorial excursion, and the bell then ringing for supper, the. conference broke up. After supper, all but Adams strung up their rods, and made preparations for the next day. During the evening Claude engaged a fellow who was hanging around the hotel, and who sometimes served as guide to fishermen, to go with them the next day to Houston Pond, providing the day was pleasant. It had clouded up in the evening, and the weather for the next day was uncertain. Friday morning, when the boys came down, they found it raining hard, with no prospect of holding up for the present, and the fishing excursion was immediately abandoned. The boys told the guide, however, that they would go on Saturday if the weather was all right. It rained most of the day, and was dull music for the party. They spent their time in reading, listening to yarns from the guide, playing checkers and back-gam- mon, — -the landlord furnishing them with the board, — and in talking over the good times they would have when they went down the West Branch. Toward even- ing it broke away, and the sun set clear, and Claude told the guide they would be ready to start at eight o'clock in the morning. Saturday morning was as pleasant as one could wish, and accompanied by the guide they started off in high spirits. They all carried their rods, and in addition Claude had his gun, and Wingate his rifle. " I intend to do a little sight-seeing myself," declared, 70 Down the West Branch. Adams, as he stood on the piazza waiting to see the party off. " Well, be careful, Jack," warned Claude. " You know we wish to leave here Monday morning sure, and Mrs. Gardner said you would be able to if you had no pull- backs.'' " I will look out for myself. I shall walk over to the Furnace, and look around there a little this forenoon, and have Mr. Gardner take me up to the Springs and the ore mountain in a team after dinner.'' " All ready, Mr. Emerson ? " inquired the guide. " Yes," replied Claude, and off they started. " What kind of a chance for fishing is there when we reach the pond ? " asked St. Clair of the guide. " Wall, I've got a birch hid in the woods near the outlet, and thar are two rafts somewhar on the pond, that everybody uses — sorto' common property." "We will use the rafts if we can find them," said Claude. " I don't care to fish from a birch. I don't think but mighty little of them for that purpose." "They're just as safe as any boat." " Perhaps they are. But you cannot make me be- lieve it." " How large trout do you catch in this pond where we are going? " inquired Minot. " Wall, I've caught trout there that would weigh two pounds and a half, but I'll bet there are bigger ones in there, for it's a large pond.'' " How large ? " queried Stackpole. " Over three miles long, and about twp wide in thQ widest place," From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 71 They were about an hour and a half in reaching the pond, and struck it half a mile from the outlet, where the guide's canoe was hidden. " Shouldn't wonder if the rafts were down ter the outlet, " remarked the guide. " If they are we'll fish there a while, and then go out'n the middle o' the pond and fish in deep water." The guide launched his birch, and paddled towards the outlet, the boys making their way in the same direc- tion along the shore of the pond.' They found the rafts at the outlet, as had been antici- pated, but one of them was in rather bad condition. But the guide had brought a light axe with him, and soon repaired it sufficiently to answer their purpose. The guide had his own rod, and chose to fish from the canoe, while Claude, Wingate, St. Clair, and Phil took one raft, and Stackpole, Drake, and Minot, the other. There were no oars or paddles on the raft, but each had two long poles, and pushing them a little way apart they all began casting. " Now keep quiet, fellows," urged Claude, " and we will try and get some trout." Each one of the party now turned his attention to business. In less than ten minutes Stackpole struck a trout, and succeeded in landing him without aid from any- body. It was a nice fish, and weighed a pound. As this was the first time Stackpole had ever been trout- fishing, Claude and the other older members of the club felt just a little chagrined. " A fool for luck," remarked Phil. St. Clair took the next one, but it was not so large as Stackpole's. 72 Down the West Branch. Soon after this the fish begun rising finely, and in an hour the whole party had taken fifty or more, but the largest, caught by the guide, only weighed a pound and a half, according to the pocket scales which Claude carried. It was now eleven o'clock, and the boys began to feel hungry. " I move we pole the raft around the shore, until we get up to that island above us, and then paddle over to it and have our dinner there," said Wingate. " We have no paddles," remarked St. Clair. " We can use these pieces of board on the rafts," alluding to some short, narrow strips of board that lay on each raft, and which had undoubtedly been used for the same purpose before. " The island is not a great way from the shore." " And we can go in swimming after dinner," sug- gested Minot. " I go in for that," replied Claude. Wingate's proposition was "acted upon, and poling and paddling, amid much laughter and joking, the boys worked their way up the pond. The guide, who had a coffee-pot, frying-pan, a few knives, forks, tin dishes, and the supplies in the canoe, which consisted of half a peck of potatoes, a junk of the bear-meat, a piece of pork, hard-tack, sugar, coffee, butter, salt, and two bot- tles of milk, as well as his axe, dipped his paddle in the limpid waters of the pond, and the light birch had reached the island, was unloaded, and he had lighted a fire, by the time the boys had arrived abreast the island on their slow-going crafts. Front Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 73 When the rafts were opposite the island, and but a little way from the main land, the guide paddled over to them and offered to take them to the island, four at a time, in the canoe. The boys refused to go with him, telling him they liked the fun of paddling the rafts. "There comes a blue heron," cried Phil, pointing to one of that long-legged tribe who was lazily sailing through the air in their direction. " Give me my gun," said Claude ; " I want to have a shot at him if he comes near enough." " And pass me my rifle," added Wingate ; " I'll pay my respects to him, too." The guide handed the boys their pieces from the canoe, the rafts being so wet the firearms could not be carried on them. "Let me have the first shot, Charlie," begged Claude. " That is, if he comes near enough ; if he don't, you can try your skill on him." All eyes were now directed upon the heron, which bore straight down towards them, until it seemed as if it would fly over them; but suddenly it wheeled, and headed for the main land on their right. As it turned, Claude fired at it, both barrels in quick succession, and the great bird stopped partly in its flight, tried to rise higher, then began to descend, land- ing on shore but a few feet from the water, where it fluttered and struggled around, but could not appar- ently get up again. " He's badly wounded," cried Claude. " Let's go ashore and capture him alive." 74 Down the West Branch. " He will not live," returned the guide. " Let the other gentleman have a shot at him." Wingate looked at Claude, who nodded his assent, and, bringing his rifle to his shoulder, Charlie put a bullet through the bird, killing it instantly. "Why can't you send him to Bangor," asked St. Clair, " to the same men you sent the woodpecker to, and have him set up ? " " So we can, Charlie, and I will do it. I will paddle ashore and place him in the shade, and leave him until we get ready to return to the hotel." The boys now started for the island with their rafts, and by the time they landed the guide was with them. As they had no painters to the rafts, and they were too heavy to haul up on shore, a couple of poles were stuck behind each, and driven into the bottom, to keep the craft from floating away while the boys were on the island. They now turned their attention to dinner, all hands taking an active part. Stackpole, Drake, and Minot, who knew very little about cooking, peeled and sliced the potatoes, the guide dressed part of the fish, select- ing the smallest, and Claude cut the piece of bear- meat into thick slices. The coffee had been prepared before they left the hotel, the necessary amount of sugar had been added, and all they had to do was to fill the coffee-pot with water, and let it boil. St. Clair added the water, and looked after it while it was on the fire. A piece of pork was now cut into slices by the guide, placed in the fry- ing-pan, and set on the fire. After the pork was well From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 75 tried out, he added some of the potatoes and fish. They had no meal to roll their fish in, but with their appetites that were now rapidly growing, the fish would taste well any way they were cooked. Finding that the guide and St. Clair monopolized the fire, Claude called to Stackpole and Minot to help gather wood, and he soon had a fire of his own, about thirty feet from the other. Then procuring some green limbs, he sharpened one end of them, and spitted the slices of bear-meat, and with the aid of those who were not busy began broiling the steaks. As fast as the guide fried the fish and potatoes, he removed them to two separate tin plates, and, covering them up, placed them near the fire to keep warm until the rest were cooked. By the time the fish and potatoes were done, the bear-steaks were also ready, and, spreading a couple of clean towels they had brought with them, on the ground, the dishes of food were placed on these, and all hands " pitched in," each one taking his tin plate on his knees. The coffee was served in dippers, which the guide filled and passed around. As it was two o'clock when they sat down to dinner, they were all very hungry, and each dish was disposed of with a gusto that would have made a dyspeptic feel jealous. This was the nearest to camping out, that Stackpole, Minot, and Drake had ever been, and they were in ecstasies, and declared it to be the best meal they had ever eaten in their lives. They all enjoyed the dinner heartily ; even the guide saying he had eaten worse meals. They had made good calculations, 76 Down the West Branch. at all events, for after they had finished there was not enough left to furnish a dinner for a canary. As they lay about after dinner, each taking his comfort in whichever position seemed easiest, the talk turned upon the blue heron that had been shot, and the guide surprised the older camping members of the party by telling them that a blue heron was rather a dangerous bird, when wounded, for a man to tackle alone, unless he was armed. "Nonsense," said Claude, who thought the guide was trying to make game of them, " I should just as lief go up to one and wring his neck as eat my dinner." "Wall, perhaps you had," returned the guide, "but if you ever try it, look out you don't catch a Tartar." "I'd risk it," added Wingate. " Wall, now, I'm goin' ter tell you a true story, that's true as preaching, every word on't ; " remarked the guide by way of prelude, as, having filled his pipe, he poked a coal out from the fire and obtained a light. " It didn't happen ter me, mind ye, but to a friend o' mine whose word's as good as his oath to them that knows him. " He was laying fer ducks, one time, over ter the out- let of a lake in New Brunswick, and while he was keeping quiet, waiting fer a lot he saw to come within gunshot, and who were swimming toward him, a large blue heron lit down at the edge of the water a short distance away. "Jim Bolster, that was his name, fired at the bird, and it keeled over, where it lay fluttering, apparently From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 11 badly wounded. To secure the bird alive, Jim laid down his gun, and made for it. It had struggled to its feet, and when he got near it, it turned and tried to run away, but was hurt so badly that it fell again to the ground. "Jim stooped over the heron to grab it, when the bird sprang up, and, darting out its long neck, give Jim a blow in the face with its beak, cutting his cheek and knocking him down." " He must have been a light-waisted fellow," declared Claude, laughing. " Light waisted ! He stood six feet in his stockings, and weighed er hundred and ninety pounds." " Go on with your story," said Wingate ; " never mind Claude.'' " As soon as he got on ter his feet agin, the thunder- ing great heron, which stood nearly four feet high, flew at him again and struck him over the right eye with his beak. " Jim fell agin, and the long-legged sinner followed up his advantage and attacked him as he lay on the ground. The actions of the heron, although it was wounded, were so quick that it had given Jim a third blow, this time squar in the left eye, before he could make any defence. " Maddened with pain, Jim sprang to his feet, and rushing upon the miserable critter grabbed him by the neck with both hands. The bird was so tough and strong, that, half-strangled as it were by Jim's death grip, it required all of his strength, and he's a mighty strong man, to hold on ter that heron till he choked ther life out'n him. 78 Down the West Branch. " Jim said when he was through the scrimmage he was covered with blood, and wasn't able to see with his left eye. His cheek was laid open ter the bone by the bird's first crack, and ther was a deep hole over his right eye where the beak had been forced inter the flesh by the second blow. His left eye was entirely destroyed, and fer a long time he was in danger of losing the sight of the other, but it finally got well. The heron measured seven feet from tip to tip of its wings." " That's a tough story," declared Phil, who could not accept it without a shadow of doubt. " Tough or not, it's true as gospel, and Jim is living somewhar down in the Provinces now.'' " Now for a swim,'' said Stackpole, as, jumping up, he began to undress. His companions followed his lead, and in a few moments all were in the water, and for half an hour enjoyed themselves thoroughly. While they were dressing, the guide paddled over to the main land, and, taking out his canoe, shouldered it, and, carrying it back a short distance, hid it. The boys now jumped on the rafts, and, pushing them off from the island, were soon able to join the guide, who had the empty dishes in a bag on one shoulder, and the dead heron tied to a stick over the other. The bag was secured over his shoulder by a leather string, and he carried his axe in his hand. With a look at the sun the guide started into the woods, and, travelling moderately, they reached the house at six o'clock. The larger fish that had not From Boston to Katahdin Iron Works. 79 been eaten at dinner, — twenty-five in number, • — they had taken with them, each one of the boys taking turns in carrying them. Adams met them on the piazza, and in reply to their inquiries told them that his leg was as well as ever, and he felt able to travel any distance. After supper Claude paid the guide, who was very anxious to go across to Greenville with them, telling them that there was great danger of the party getting lost. But Claude informed him that they were not afraid of this, — it would not be the first time if they were lost, — and that he was sure they would find their way out somewhere. He also told him that they had pocket compasses and maps of the country, and they had no fears whatever for their safety. The guide, finding they would not take him under any circumstances, and being a good-natured fellow, advised them as to the best course to take after leaving the Gulf, at the head of which they intended to camp Monday night. The Sabbath was spent quietly, and no hunting or fishing was done. There was no church in the settle- ment, and in the evening the boys and some others in the hotel spent a couple of hours in singing hymns, with a delighted audience from the villagers. CHAPTER III. A TRAMP ACROSS COUNTRY. Monday morning proved pleasant, but cooler than any they had experienced. After breakfast Adams settled the bill, and the boys, with a farewell to all, took the road that led to the Gulf. They had left the hotel at eight o'clock ; it was half- past ten when they reached the Arches. They inspected the fall, rested awhile, and then concluded to divide the party, and four go up on each side of the river, so as to see the whole thing, as St. Clair expressed it, and then compare notes in the evening. As it would make the dinner hour too late when they reached the head of the Gulf, the rations were divided as nearly equal as possible, so that one party would not have all the load to carry, and also that each party might lunch when they felt inclined. Claude, St. Clair, Phil, and Stackpole started up on the west side, and the other four on the east. "We must keep in sight of each other," said Claude, " and probably there will be a great many places where we can hear each other talk across the stream." " W e shall not work up stream any faster than you A Tramp Across Country. 81 do," declared Wingate, as, followed by those who made up his party, he moved to the east side of the river. As they followed the stream, the ground gradually rose, until half a mile from the Arches they reached the beginning of the canon, when the banks rapidly arose above the bed of the river. As they proceeded, they found the river one succes- sion of rapids, falls, and pools of dead water, very charming to the eye. The banks were rocky and almost perpendicular, occasionally cut up by sharp ravines, caused by slides. Three quarters of a mile from the foot of the canon, they came to a place where, by means of two sharp turns, the river took the shape of the letter S. At the first bend was a tremendous cliff, overhanging the stream, known as Lookout Cliff, and from its top Claude and his party obtained a magnificent view up the river. In this vicinity the stream has a descent of one hundred feet in several small falls, and both par- ties made their way carefully down to the water, and took a look up the inclined plane of flashing rapids. " This reminds me some of the Niagara River above the falls," said Claude, as they stood gazing up the hill of swiftly rolling waters. " Yes," agreed Phil, " it looks very much as the rapids do between the American shore and Goat Island, only the river is wider, and there is more water. But there is as much current here, and the rapids are as steep." "All right," said St. Clair, who had never seen Niagara, " we will take your word for it ; and now let's scramble back to the top of the bluff." 82 Down the West Branch. As they continued on their way, they reached places where the stream was two or three hundred feet be- neath them, and they could not hear the roar of the water. Some of the boys thought that the^mountain had been split in two by some great upheaval of nature ; others contended that the water, running over its rocky bed for ages, had worn the canon to the depth they now beheld it. " Have you noticed the tremendous amount of slate there is along here ? " asked Wingate of his friends. "I have," returned Adams. "There is slate enough here to roof in the city of Boston. It looks like good quality, too," and he picked up a piece of loose rock from their path and examined it. " I should like to know if they ever try to drive logs down this stream ? " asked Minot. "Of course they have, sometime," replied Wingate. " There is a dam up at the head of the Gulf some- where, where that guide told me we might get some fish. Of course the dam was built to drive logs with." " They must have had a tough time in some of the places we have passed," remarked Drake. "They don't mind it," said Wingate. "They are strong, brave, and reckless, and would work on logs in places where it would cause you and me to shudder only to watch them." As Wingate remarked, there had been logs driven through the Gulf, but at the risk of many and the loss of a few lives. The trouble had been that in some places between the narrow upright walls the logs had jammed badly, and as there was no way for the lumber- A Tramp Across Country. 83 men to get at them from the edge of the water, they had been compelled to lower some of their number in rope slings from the top of the canon, who with their axes cut away the logs that held the jam, and then trusted to luck, which sometimes failed them, to be drawn out of harm's way. Sometimes the logs get wedged into a jam so solid that they have to put in large quantities of powder and blow them out before they can start the jam. All of this work is very dangerous, but the hardy river drivers go at it with as little thought as they would sit down in the camp to a meal's victuals. Constant experience amid danger inures them to it, and some who are naturally reckless ofttimes become unpardonably care- less, and in the long run generally fall victims to their lack of prudence. Occasionally the boys came to ravines that stretched back from the river for four or five hundred feet, and rather than- climb down and up over these they made a detour round them, on the principle that the farthest way around was the nearest way home. " It is astonishing," said Claude, " how some of these trees can live. They start out from rocks that scarcely promise them a foothold, but I suppose their roots work into crevices in the ledge, and they procure both support and sustenance in that way.'' " I notice," replied Phil, " that there are trees along the canon all the way from the top clear down to the water's edge." " Yes, and both hard and soft wood." Just before two o'clock they reached a point called 84 Down the West Branch. the "Jaws of the Gulf," from the fact that it was the narrowest part of the canon.- Here the rocky sides almost came together, there being only six feet below and twenty feet above between the walled banks. Deer have sometimes jumped across here, but not always successfully, as one was found a few summers ago, terribly mangled at the bottom of the Gulf, with nearly every bone in his body broken. He had mis- calculated the distance, and fell short. In this vicinity is the " Face in the rock," formed by one of those singular freaks of nature that are always turning up in such wild places. The boys were quite taken with this, and Claude, who had his sketch book, transferred the scene to paper. " Don't you think it about time we ate dinner," called Wingate from across the chasm ; " we are begin- ning to feel awful hungry on this side." " Eat away," answered Claude ; " it is two o'clock, and I guess we are as hungry as you are." " Come over and eat with us, fellows," invited Phil, laughing, as they sat down, and began to overhaul their larder. " I wish we could," returned Adams. " Somebody ought to build a rustic bridge across here ; it would be very convenient." " Yes," shouted St. Clair, for the boys had to speak rather loud to make themselves heard, " but as what is everybody's business is nobody's business, I guess it will not be done this year." "How is the travelling on your side, Claude?" halloed Wingate. CD O) CO Q_ CO (fi (Q TJ (Q CD A Tramp Across Country. 85 " Not very good. The brush is awful thick where you go through the woods, and the bushes where there are no trees are disagreeable. The only decent walk- ing is where you find a piece of bare ledge." " That is the way it is over here. How far are we from the dam, do you know ? " " The landlord told me it was about a mile and a half from this place." The party spent an hour in eating and resting, and then resumed their tramp. Soon they came to a per- pendicular fall of about fifteen feet, and near this Claude and his companions found some very nice speci- mens of crystallized quartz. They noticed several pretty cascades in different parts of their walk, tuat issued from clefts in the wall, and fell to the bottom of the river from fifty to a hundred feet. Nothing could be prettier than these little silvery streams, flowing against their dark background of green moss and gray rock. As they progressed toward the head of the canon, they came to a heavy fall of about seventy feet, but not perpendicular, known as " Rankin's Falls," ending in a deep pool, and beyond was still water for some distance. " It would be a hard place for a boat in this hole," asserted Phil, as they gazed at the boiling torrent a long distance ahead of them. " I guess it would. You could not run half these rapids, let alone the falls. I should like to see this place in the spring, when the snow is melting in the woods ; there must be three times the water here then 86 Down the West Branch. that there is now. It would be magnificent," said Claude. A short distance beyond they reached a heavy fall, that poured over the solid bed of the river, which here assumed the shape of an amphitheatre. The fall was at least thirty feet high, perpendicular, and very heavy. Claude, obtaining a satisfactory position on a rock below, made a very good sketch of it, while his com- panions picked and ate raspberries from the bushes which they found growing near. After the sketch was completed both parties went on. In about half an hour, Claude and his party found a cave about fifty feet deep, but did not go into it, as they were anxious to get to the camp before dark. A few minutes' farther walking brought them in sight of the dam. They found it to be quite a solid structure, about seven hundred feet long. Wingate and his party were obliged to go some way above the dam before they found a chance to cross the river and join their companions. As the camp was on Claude's side of the stream, he waited until the others came, and then striking into a path a few minutes' walk brought them to the camp, which was built of logs, with a hole in the roof, by which smoke from the fires might escape. It was small, and evidently had not been built to accommodate over three or four persons. The boys examined it with rather long faces. " We shall be packed in here like sardines in a box," declared Phil, as he pushed open the door and took a glance at the interior. " It will be a good deal like sleeping three in a bed A Tramp Across Country. 87 and one in the middle," acknowledged Claude, as he stepped inside and stood up his gun and fishing-rod in one corner. " That place where they sleep," remarked Wingate, who had followed Claude into the camp, and pointing to a raised platform of logs at the backside of the hut, " is about large enough for four persons to sleep com- fortably ; but," with a laugh, " I suppose we can stow in there spoon-fashion, and when one turns the whole will have to." " You had better not stand here gabbling any longer," declared Adams. " It is almost dark, and we shall have to get fresh boughs for our bed, and some wood to keep a fire to-night ; and, as we have no axe, we had better be about it." "We shall not need any fire this warm night," said Stackpole. " You will change your tune before morning," re- marked Claude. " With no blankets or overcoats, you will find that a fire will be not only comfortable but necessary. But, as Adams says, we had better get to work." The first thing the boys did was to pick up all the old brush that the last occupants of the camp had slept on, and throw it on the rocks under the smoke- hole, where they were to build the fire. Then they went out, and with their pocket-knives cut a large lot of fresh boughs, and carried them to the camp, and spread them a foot deep, covering the place which served as a bedstead all over. They were obliged to go twice to get enough bedding. 88 Doivn the West Branch. Claude then found a small, slender maple, about an inch or so in diameter, which he cut down, and then took from it a piece five feet long. Obtaining a lot of short, thick spruce-bushes, he put them around one. end of his stick, and bound them on with birch withes, and thus manufactured a broom. All hands now turned to and hunted for wood. Bark, chips, old stumps, dry limbs, anything they could find that would burn, they carried to the camp, until they had all inside they could make room for, and then piled up a lot more outside the door. After getting the wood, they swept up the floor as well as they were able, and started a fire. Wingate had been thoughtful enough to bring along a couple of candles, which he had procured at the store at the Iron Works, and, hunting around the out- side of the camp, he found two potatoes. He flattened each one on the bottom, then dug a hole in the top of them, and, sticking a candle in each, he had two useful if not ornamental lights. A fire was now kindled, and the wood piled on until they had a cheerful blaze before them. The deacon- seat sat back against the platform that served for a bed, and, moving that forward, the boys placed their food upon it, and, sitting down on the boughs behind them, ate a hearty meal. They had brought no pail with them, but all had folding drinking-cups, and, after they had appeased their hunger, they went out and took a drink at the river. Then, filling their cups, they re- turned to their hut, for it was so dark they could scarcely find their way, and was rapidly growing colder. A Tramp Across Country. 89 "That fire looks jolly, and feels rather comfortable, after coming in from outdoors," said Wingate. " I suppose to-morrow night we shall sleep in a hotel at Greenville," remarked Minot. " We shall if we have good luck to-morrow, my boy," returned Claude. " What do you think of the Gulf, Claude ? " inquired Wingate. " I think it is a very picturesque place, and the best piece of show scenery I have yet run across in Maine. To be sure, it does not come up to Watkins' Glen, but you let the right kind of a man come in here and build a hotel, and spend a little money in bridging the canon in two or three places, and building some ladders and stairs from the top of the canon down to the stream at the prettiest spots, and there would be a great many people come here. Besides, they are talking railroad now , say they are going to have a railroad from Milo to the Iron Works, and if they do it would bring you within "seven miles of the foot of the Gulf in cars.* Let the place and its attractions be advertised well, and there would be money in it." " They say that place where the face on the rock shows, is haunted," asserted Adams. " What with, black flies ? " returned Claude, laughing. " No fooling about it. While I was laid up at the house, and the rest of you were off enjoying yourselves, it was rather slow work for me, and I used to sit out on the piazza and talk with everybody I could get to talk with. One of the men who lives in the village told me * The railroad has since been built to the Iron Works. 90 Down the West Branch. that five years ago a river-driver went out in the night from their camp for some cause or other, and had not returned when the crew turned out in the morning. After breakfast they made a search for him, and found his body in the stream on a rock, where it had been washed by the rapids. It was badly bruised. Whether he fell over the bank accidentally, or whether he com- mitted suicide, nobody ever knew." " And you mean to say his ghost appears around there now at night ? " inquired Claude. " That is what this fellow told me.'' " Bah ! what nonsense ! I would go a good way to see a genuine ghost. If it was decent walking, and we had a lantern, I would go down there at midnight and see if I could not conjure up the ghost. It would be a sight worth seeing." " Well, there have been spirits on earth." " Only liquid ones, Jack. Thunder ! I hope you don't believe in ghosts or spirits nowadays. Look at these materializing seances they have at home, — one of the biggest humbugs in the world. Every spirit they ever produced has been caught after a while by some skeptic like myself, and proved to be the medium that was conducting the seance." " Well, Shakespeare believed in them, and he was the greatest author that ever lived." " ' In my mind's eye, Horatio ! ' If old Billy ever saw any ghosts, it was in his mind, and not in his eye, you may depend on that." " What kind of an appearance does the ghost make ? " inquired Wingate. " Does he ever talk any, Jack ? " A Tramp Across Country. 91 " The man told me you would hear cries of ' Help ! ' then a swish, as if somebody was going rapidly through the air, then a splash, and shortly after a form resem- bling a man would be seen floating up from the middle of the canon, and then disappear in the forest. But I am not going to talk and have you all make fun of me," — for the boys had all burst into a roar of laughter at the close of his ghost story, and Jack felt indignant. Just then an owl somewhere near them gave voice, and Minot, who had never heard one before, jumped to his feet, excitedly exclaiming, "What's that ? " " Jack's ghost,'' chuckled Phil. " Sit down, Fred ; it's nothing but an owl," said Claude. " You will get used to their talk before you get home." " It's nine o'clock, fellows. I move we turn in," and St. Clair wound up his watch, and crawled back on the boughs, and stretched out as if he meant to be com- fortable. Claude threw some more wood on the fire, and then joined St. Clair, and the others soon followed, all ly- ing on their sides, and too close together to be very comfortable. " Jerusalem, boys ! This is a tight fit. I can't stand it. I will lie on the deacon-seat, and that will give you a little more room ; " and Wingate changed his quarters. " Pick out the softest spot, Charlie," suggested Adams, with a chuckle. 92 Down the West Branch. "You can be fireman now, and let the rest of us sleep," said Phil. " The first of you that feels cold can get up and put on wood. I am so near the fire I shall be warm enough ; " and Wingate thought he had the best of them after all. A little desultory conversation, and one after another dropped off to sleep. About midnight St. Clair woke up, feeling cold, and found the fire was almost out. He arose and put on fresh fuel, and while doing it heard some animal on top the camp. He obtained his gun, and creeping carefully to the door in his stocking-feet, opened it and stepped out. He took five or six steps from the camp, and, turning, beheld in the dim light, — for the fire threw a little light outside, — the glaring eyes of some animal fixed intently upon him. He took quick aim, and blazed away with both bar- rels, although they were only loaded with partridge- shot, and the next moment he saw the form of the creature coming through the air towards his head. As quick as a flash he dropped to the ground, and the animal shot over him ; then jumping up, he made a dive for the camp. He grabbed the door, which opened outward, and swung it to, but the lynx, which he now discovered it was, followed so closely that St. Clair did not get the door clear to, but closed it on the neck of the animal, which had its head in the camp and the rest of its body outside. Every one was awake, the two shots having startled them all from their sleep, and were asking questions all at the same time. Wingate, however, who was on ^^i^^riE3^K?^^^ it H& 1121 #%-^>3\ : 5S55?[s-"7' f '/'4' ' A Tramp Across Country. 93 the deacon-seat, saw how things were, and grabbing up a brand from the fire, shoved it in the face of the lynx, which pulled its head out, and with a fearful screech took itself away. " That was better than a gun, Charlie," declared St. Clair, as he latched the door and sat down before the fire, while everybody wanted to know what the trouble was. St. Clair explained the uproar, and then crawled back on the boughs, and soon they were all asleep again. Wingate awoke just after three o'clock, replenished the fire, and stretching out on his hard bed, was soon oblivious to all his surroundings. At five o'clock Claude awoke, and, getting up silently, turned over the deacon-seat, and sent Wingate rolling on the floor. Charley rose to his feet half-awake, but seeing Claude laughing, immediately comprehended the situation, and told him that he would be even with him before night. " Come, fellows, turn out," cried Wingate, in a voice that came near lifting the roof off the camp, "turn out; do you hear? We must get an early start this morning." " How's the weather ? " queried Adams. Claude threw the door open, and stepped out : " Clear and cold," he called back. " I am going to the river to wash." The others followed him, and, after washing and dry- ing their faces and hands upon their pocket-handker- chiefs in lieu of towels, they returned to the camp and had breakfast. 94 Down the West Branch. After the meal, Claude said, " Here, fellows, is all the grub there is left. Suppose we divide it now ; each one can put his share in his pocket, and we shall get rid of carrying a bundle to-day, and only have our firearms and fishing-tackle." All welcomed this proposition, and, after dividing the food, they started for Greenville, taking the course by compass, which Claude and Wingate made out to be a little south of west. At twelve o'clock they stopped half an hour by the side of an excellent spring, which they discovered bub- bling up from a huge moss-grown rock, and finished all they had with them to eat. " There," said Claude, when each one had eaten his last mouthful, " we must reach Greenville to-night, or depend on our shooting and fishing for supper ; and, as our last meal has been rather a light one, I propose to eat supper at one of the hotels at Greenville to-night." " So say we all of us," sang Wingate and Adams ; and off they started again. About three o'clock they caught the glint of water through the forest, and, shouting with joy, they hurried onward, and soon stood on the shores of a pond that stretched away a couple of miles beyond them. " This is the Big Wilson Pond that the guide told us about. I recognize it by its shape and surroundings," said Claude. " If we only had a boat now," suggested Wingate, " we could save some walking." " Let us hunt for one. The guide told me we might find a bateau here somewhere." A Tramp Across Country. 95 " Here, fellows," shouted Minot, who had walked a few rods to the left, " here is one of those sharp-ended boats such as we saw on the Penobscot." " Hurrah ! " cried Adams ; " he has found a bateau." The boys made a rush for the boat, and found she was plenty large enough to carry them all easily; and there were four oars and a paddle in her. She con- tained some water ; but turning her over they emptied it out. " Now, let's run her into the water, fellows," said Claude. " Get hold — four on a side. In she goes now. All aboard ! " " You take the paddle, Claude, and steer ; and St. Clair, myself, Jack, and Phil will row." " All right. Shove her off, Stackpole ; now take your places. Let fall ! give way ! " and Claude headed for a house he saw in the distance. " This is quite a change after tramping so long," re- marked Jack. " Yes, a pleasant change," allowed Wingate. " But these oars are deuced heavy ; I should think they were made for giants." After getting over a mile down the pond, Claude no- ticed two or three boats hauled up on shore, and, chang- ing his course a little, steered directly for them, rightly supposing that they were hauled up at a public landing. At quarter of four they reached the landing, and the bateau was hauled out of water far enough to be out of danger in case of storm. " Easier walking now, fellows ! " said Stackpole. " Here is a road." 96 Down the West Branch. " I suppose we ought by good rights to take that bateau back where we found her," remarked Adams. " So we had," declared Wingate ; and then added, dryly, "we'll carry her back the next time we come this way. That's fair." Taking their firearms and fishing-tackle, the boys struck into the road, and soon found that it crossed a farm. When they reached the first occupied house they knocked at the door, and inquired of a woman who came the way to the village. Her eyes opened wide as she inspected the crowd of eager, upturned faces; and after she had stared at them awhile, she found her tongue and gave them the proper directions, telling them it was two miles to the hotels. " Two miles ! " echoed Claude ; " that's nothing ; we shall be there in half an hour." It was six o'clock when they reached the Lake House, where they found their baggage and boats ; and as soon as they had secured rooms, washed up and changed part of their clothing, they hurried to supper, being, as Adams claimed, in a starving condition. During the evening the boys held a consultation, and concluded that if the next day was pleasant they would make the ascent of Squaw Mountain, and not go up the lake until Wednesday. After talking with the landlord about the proposed excursion, they concluded to hire a sailboat and take a pilot with them, as they did not understand the naviga- tion of the lake, although every one of the party could sail a boat as well as any Cape Ann fisherman. Tuesday morning dawned fair and pleasant, and A Tramp Across Country. 97 rather warm. At eight o'clock they went on board the sloop yacht Alice, Captain Swan, that was moored to the wharf near the house. As they had no intention of returning to dinner, they took a substantial lunch with them. There was a light breeze from the west, which gave token of increasing before night. The boys carried their guns, rifles, and fishing-tackle with them, thinking that they might possibly be of use before they returned. Claude took charge of the sloop, and as soon as every- body and everything were in, gave orders to hoist the mainsail and jib. The fasts were cast off by people on the wharf, who had gathered to see them off. ' Adams pushed the bow off with the boat-hook ; and, the wind barely filling the sails, Claude laid his course up the lake close-hauled. There were quite a number of islands, rocks, and shoals in the East Cove, as that part of the lake was called ; but, under the skilful pilot- age of Captain Swan, Claude kept clear of them. The wind was squally, and when they had made two miles from the wharf they found they had all they wanted, as the flaws were so heavy at times as to bury the lee rail under water, and cause the foam to pile up under the bow and float in white bubbles astern. As all of his friends seemed to be enjoying the sail very much, Claude proposed that instead of running directly to Johnson's Landing, where they were bound, they should sail a few miles up the lake. This propo- sition was most favorably received, and they ran past the mouth of Sandy Bay, and a little beyond Moose Island. Then slacking his main and jib sheets, Claude 98 Dozvn the West Branch. put the helm a-starboard and ran off before it, until the yacht was within half a mile of the shore and Squaw Mountain was looming up to the sky directly ahead of them. " Look out for your heads, everybody ! " called Claude ; "I am going to jibe. Haul in the main- sheet, Wingate. Be ready to slack the weather-jib sheet, St. Clair." " Aye ! aye ! " answered both the young fellows. The wind, which had been steadily increasing, now blew very hard, and a big sea was rolling ; but Claude was perfectly at home in a yacht, having passed many hours in one in Boston Harbor and in cruises along shore. As Charlie hauled on the mainsheet Claude put his helm a starboard, luffing well as the boom swung over their heads ; then called to Andrew, " Let go your jib, haul in to starboard. Haul in your mainsheet, Charlie, lively now ! " But the sail was so large with the boat laying her course that Adams had to help him. " That will do ; belay all ! " and the boat headed down the lake. As they had to land on a lee shore, and there being no wharf to tie up to, the boat was anchored a quarter of a mile from the shore, and the sails lowered and furled to keep the wind from slatting them all day. Then they went ashore, four at a time, in the tender, and the captain went back the third time, and brought off the guns, fishing-tackle, and luncheon. Taking their things, and Captain Swan leading, they walked to Fitzgerald Pond, half a mile distant. In A Tramp Across Country. this vicinity they hid their fishing-rods, which had not been jointed, intending to do some fishing in the pond on their return, and then with their guns and rifles, and the captain, who here acted as guide, carrying the lunch, they started for the summit of the Big Squaw. Squaw Mountain rises to a height of nearly four thousand feet above the sea level, and commands a magnificent view of Moosehead Lake and the surround- ing wilderness. It was one o'clock when the party reached the top, and the sun being very hot, they were glad to sit down and rest, and sample the luncheon the captain spread out before them. After dinner, they walked to different parts of the summit, the captain, who knew the country well, point- ing out and naming a large number of mountains and sheets of water that lay around them. After two hours of sociable enjoyment they began the descent, and reached the pond at four o'clock. An hour was now devoted to fishing, and the whole party secured twenty- five trout, the largest of which weighed about a pound and a half. At six o'clock they reached the landing, not having seen anything to fire at the entire day. The boys drew the shells from their guns and rifles, and Captain Swan rowed Claude, St. Clair, Wingate, and Phil off to the yacht and then went back for the others. By the time they returned Claude, with the assistance of those with him, had hoisted the mainsail, hove the anchor up and secured it on deck. The jib was now run up, the sails were sheeted home, and close- hauled on the starboard tack, the yacht headed for the lower end of Moose Island. They had to beat through 100 Down the West Branch. the passage between the island and the mainland, and pretty well over towards the mouth of Sandy Bay, then laying their course they reached the wharf about half past seven, just as the wind was fast dying away. Hungry as bears who have just left their dens in the spring, they hurried to the hotel and. their rooms, attended to their toilets, and then sought the dining- room, where at a well-filled table they were soon ap- peasing the pangs of hunger. After supper they went round to the stores and bought their supplies for their West Branch trip. They had brought coffee and tea and some canned goods with them from Boston, but all the rest of their pro- visions they procured at Greenville. When they re- turned to their home they settled up with Captain Swan and the landlord, and the next morning at nine o'clock took passage on the Twilight for Mount Kineo, as the large boat did not leave until three in the afternoon. The party was blessed with another fine day, and as the steamer ran swiftly up the lake the fellows gathered around the pilot-house and plied the captain with ques- tions as fast as he could answer them. He was a young man, very pleasant, and the boys took to him at once. He gave them a great deal of information about the lake, pointed out all the objects of interest, and gave them a little sketch of each as fast as they came up with them. The boat made a landing at Deer Island, a familiar name to all the party, and Claude told the captain that they had a Deer Island in Boston Harbor, where many people had to stay much against their inclination. A Tramp Across Country. 101 There was a large farm on Deer Island, and a sum- mer hotel called the Deer Island House. The captain informed the party that the island was ten miles from Greenville, and contained three thousand acres of land, most of which was thickly wooded. A ten minutes' stop here sufficed, and then the steamer backed out from the wharf and resumed her course. Passing out from between Deer and Sugar Islands, the boys no- ticed that the steamer was in the broadest part of the lake. The captain called their attention to the Ken- nebec Dam, at the outlet, four miles away on the port side, and told them there was a small hotel at the land- ing, and that in the vicinity of the dam were good places for fishing. Mount Kineo and the hotel near its base were now noticed by Wingate, who spoke of it to his companions. " There are two peaks very nearly alike, captain, away over the starboard bow ; what are they ? " asked Claude. " They are the Spencer Mountains, and beyond them you see Katahdin." "You keep your eye on that mountain some fine day, captain," said Adams, ' ' and you will see eight fellows about our size on top of it." " It would take a stronger glass than there is in this part of the country to make you out. That mountain is over fifty miles away in an air line." " I'll shake my handkerchief at you," remarked Phil, with a laugh. " You would need a handkerchief as large as the top of a circus tent to show at that distance. So you are going to try and get to the top of it ? " 102 Down the West Branch. "Try ! " echoed St. Clair. "We are bound to, if we don't break our necks." " It is called a very hard mountain to climb." " We are good for it ! " declared Stackpole. " We went on top of Squaw Mountain yesterday." " That isn't to be mentioned in the same day with Katahdin." "Well, we shall dance on the summit, if we live," remarked Minot. In a short time the steamer passed Sand Bar and Hog Back Islands, and the captain informed the boys that they were five miles from Kineo, and also pointed out to them the west outlet. By a strange freak of nature the lake has two outlets, which. unite at Indian Pond, several miles from the lake. The west outlet is the smaller of the two. Mount Kineo, the monarch of the lake, now came boldly to the front, and the boys examined it with interest. As the steamer drew nearer to Kineo the captain pointed out a group of three small islands on the starboard side, which he told them were the Moody Islands.. The lake had now narrowed considerably, and in twenty minutes more the steamer ran into the little cove and tied up to the wharf but a few rods from the hotel. The boys waited until their boats and baggage had been landed, and then carrying only their fire-arms and fishing-tackle they walked up to the hotel. Enter- ing the office they registered their names and secured rooms, requesting the clerk to have their baggage brought to the house as soon as convenient. After A Tramp Across Country . 103 looking at their rooms, they went back to the wharf, carried their boats to the beach, and turned them bot- tom upwards. They found a queer team after their baggage, being nothing less than a donkey harnessed into a small cart. "I didn't know you had a brother down here, Claude," said Adams, with a grin, pointing to the donkey, and the boys all roared. " I think I see a family resemblance," returned Claude, who could take a joke as well as anyone in the party. When their things were carried to the house, they had their valises and canvas bags carried to their rooms, but the boxes containing their stores were taken to the annex, a lodging-house near the hotel, and were put away there until they should need them. When everything was arranged to their satisfaction, they re- tired to their rooms to make some changes in their clothing. CHAPTER IV. CRUISING AROUND KINEO. After dinner the boys launched their boats, and pulling out of the cove, rounded the peninsula, and steered for Kineo Point, from where they were to begin the ascent of the mountains. After passing the " Three Sisters," a group of pines on shore, they noticed the profile on the southeast corner of the mountain, and resting on their oars took a good look at it. " Do you see anything peculiar in that profile, Jack ? " queried Claude, who was pulling the Fairy, with Adams in the stern steering, and Minot for a passenger. " N-no, can't say that I do," and Jack looked sharply at Claude, apprehensive that he was trying to work off a sell on him. " There's a stony glare in the eyes," suggested Fred, laughing. " I am not fooling," asserted Claude, " but the face and head remind me strongly of a negro's." " I declare, you are right, and the longer you look at it the more striking the resemblance is ; " and Jack, hailing the other boats, called the attention of the rest of the fellows to the fact Claude had discovered. 104 Cruising Around Kineo. 105 They reached the landing, and pulled their boats out carefully, then placed them high up on the beach be- yond the reach of the waves. " Up we go now," said Claude, striking into the path and taking the lead. ' Hold on a minute ; here is a guide-board," cried Stackpole ; but upon examination he found it was a sign- board, warning persons not to roll stones down the eastern side of the mountain, which overhangs Kineo Bay. This is to guard persons who may be on the water below from accident. " I am glad you saw that notice, Harry," remarked Wingate. " That is the very thing that some of us would have been likely to do." " Forewarned is forearmed," returned Claude, as they continued their way. Mount Kineo itself is the chief centre of attraction at Moosehead Lake, and will undoubtedly remain so. It is composed mostly of hornblende, presenting the largest mass of that material known to geologists, and is acknowledged by all who have paid it a visit to be a great natural curiosity. It is doubtless rich in legendary romance, could one only unearth its history in by-gone times, when the red man was the king of the forest and proud possessor of this vast domain. On the east side toward Kineo Bay, and the south side toward the hotel, the sides are perpendicular, but to the west and north it falls away gradually, till be- fore reaching the water it has flattened enough to leave a chance for a very good farm, which has been 106 Down the West Branch. improved by the owners, and a considerable number of acres of land are cultivated near Hard-Scrabble. There is an interesting Indian legend connected with the mountain, which we have not space to give here, but those who wish to read it will find it in the author's guide to this country, entitled " Farrar's Moosehead Lake and the North Maine Wilderness." As the party climbed the mountain they were de- lighted with the views they obtained, like those of a kaleidoscope, ever changing. They made their way leisurely to the summit, refreshing themselves when they had arrived there with a drink from a beautiful spring that bubbled up out of the sand from beneath a mossy rock. They took in the view on all sides, and even crawled out on the crumbling edge of the precipice above Kineo Bay, and noticed how it overhung the water. A stone dropped here would strike the lake thirty feet from the base of the mountain. They noticed some eagles wheeling in circles below them, and watched them until they saw them fly to their nests in the crevices of the cliffs. The boys spent two hours on top of the mountain, and then started for the hotel. They found the de- scent much easier than the ascent, and accomplished it quicker, but it was five o'clock when they reached the beach and launched their boats. " The wind has changed, and is out from the south," remarked Claude, as they dipped their oars and pulled homeward. " We shall have a rainy day to-morrow." In the evening they laid plans as to how long they should stop in the vicinity of Kineo, and where they Cruising Around Kineo. 107 should go, and concluded that if the next day was pleasant they would charter the steamer Day Dream, that belonged to the hotel, and go to Spencer Bay, and from there make the ascent of Spencer Mountain, whose twin cones they had gazed at with a great deal of admiration. Claude had been a true weather prophet, however, and when they came down the next morning, they found it was raining hard, the wind blowing a gale, and huge waves were breaking on the end of the point in front of the house. After breakfast the boys hunted up Captain Brown, and made some inquiries about the proposed excur- sion, and told him they would start Saturday morning, if the weather cleared by that time. In reply to their questions the captain told them that they must allow three days for the excursion, and promised them some good fishing and shooting at Spencer Pond, that lay back in the woods about two miles from the head of the bay. Claude advised him to take whatever stores he thought necessary, and plenty of blankets, as the boys intended to spend one night on top of the mountain. Saturday morning, much to the satisfaction of the entire party, dawned fair, but somewhat cooler than it had been before the storm. Breakfast was served to the boys at seven o'clock, and at eight the Day Dream was under way and steaming out of Kineo Cove. The boys took their boats with them, as they wanted them to use in Spencer Pond, and the captain carried a birch canoe lashed outside to some of the standards 108 Down the West Branch. that supported the hurricane deck. The rough sea of the day before had disappeared with the south wind that had caused it, and the lake was as smooth as a mirror, although the captain held the opinion that later in the day the wind would come out from the north- west and blow hard. The trip down the lake and to the head of the bay was very pleasant, and often, as the steamer ran near the shore, the boys saw the trees mirrored in the water, and admired the beautiful colors that were beginning to appear on the maples. They made the run to the head of the bay in two hours, and anchored the steamer off the shore, there being no wharf or settlement at this place. The captain and engineer had brought rifles and fishing-rods, as they were to accompany the boys to the summit of the mountain. While the engineer was attending to his machinery, and drawing his fire, the captain launched the canoe, and the boys their boats, and loaded in their fire-arms, rods, blankets, cooking utensils, axes, and what stores they thought they would need while away from the steamer. " You can start whenever you are ready, boys," said the captain, " and I will follow as soon as Joe is ready." " Do you think the water is high enough in the brook for us to row to the pond ? " queried Claude. " I don't believe it is. You will probably have to pole up, or drag your boats. Some of you had better walk ; you will find a good road on the left-hand side of the stream." Cruising Around Kineo. 109 "We can tell when we get there," said Claude to his rriends, and he struck out for the mouth of the brook, followed by the Go Ahead and Water Witch. When they had run up the stream a short distance^ they found there was very little water in it, and Claude proposed that they should tow up the boats by the painters, as they would just about float clear of the bottom «vith all the fellows out of them. This plan was carried out, Claude, Wingate, and St. Clair taking the first haul. They pulled off their boots and stockings, as they had no change of either with them, and placed them in the boats, then turning their pants up above their knees, took the painters over their shoulders, and started up the middle of the brook, the rest of the party taking to the road. When they had gone a mile, as near as they could judge, Phil, Stackpole, and Drake took their places, as the captain had told them it was two miles to the pond, and they wished to divide the labor. Jack was anxious to change with Claude, but this the leader would not allow, as he was afraid his friend might take cold in his leg where the bear had scatched him. When they reached the pond they waited for the captain and engineer, who put in an appearance about half an hour behind the boys. All now embarked in their boats, and the captain taking the lead in the canoe, paddled diagonally across the water to the reg- ular camping-ground, located halfway between two small streams that emptied into the pond, where they arrived at one o'clock, with good appetites for dinner. " Now," said Adams, " for something to eat." 110 Down the West Branch. " That is the time of day with me," echoed Stack- pole. Many hands make quick work, and everybody took hold with a will to forward the dinner. Captain Brown and Joe Burnham cut some wood, and Adams built a fire, Claude peeled and sliced potatoes, Win- gate scored and sliced a piece of pork, St. Clair made the coffee, and Phil sliced up some cold corned beef. A rough table and seats had been left by some former camping-party, and these the boys utilized. Minot and Drake set the table, and brought forth some hard- tack, this being the only kind of bread the party intended to use on this excursion. Stackpole brought to camp the wood that the two boatmen were cutting. At a quarter of two the party sat down to dinner, and ate as only hungry men in the woods can eat. During the dinner it was planned to spend the night where they were, and start up the mountain the next day. Accordingly, after the dishes had been washed up, the captain and Joe, assisted by Claude and Win- gate, began the construction of a rough camp, while the rest of the party, taking gun, rifle, and fishing- rod, started off to see what they could raise towards supper, the captain charging those who went into the woods to be careful and not lose their bearings. Drake and Minot took the Fairy, and Stackpole and Adams the Go Ahead, and went out fishing, while St. Clair with his gun, and Phil with his rifle, launched the Water Witch, crossed the pond to the logging-road, and then started toward the lake in hopes to secure some partridges. Cruising Around Kineo. Ill About six o'clock the fishermen returned, bringing forty small trout and about four quarts of cranberries, partially ripe, that they had found in a bog on the west side of the pond. All their fish they had taken at the mouth of the brook to the westward of the creek. They had seen a number of ducks, but not having anything to shoot with could not get them. It was after dark, and the captain was beginning to express some feelings of alarm at the non-appearance of Phil and Adams, when the dip of oars was heard, and soon after the boat came into sight. A few mo- ments later the gunners were at the camp. " Have you had supper yet ? " was the first question Phil asked. " No," replied Claude ; " but what made you so late ? " " Business," laughed Phil. " I'll tell you how it was, while we are plucking some partridges, for I would like some for supper; " and, assisted by Andrew, they brought up eleven partridges and six black ducks, and deposited them on the table. Six of the largest of the partridges were selected for cooking, which, with a part of the fish that had been caught, and a quart of the cranberries, stewed in molasses, — they not having sufficient sugar to use for this purpose, — would make an ample meal for the whole party. While stripping the partridges of their feathers, Phil told his story : — " We crossed the pond to the road and followed it for half a mile or so, when we struck a large flock of partridges in the road, that flew into the woods before 112 Down the West Branch. we had a chance to pop at them. But we noticed the direction they took, and, creeping carefully after them, found them only a little way off on a small spruce. Andrew let fly at them both barrels as quick as he could shoot, and I knocked over one or two with my rifle. They flew as soon as we had fired, but we se- cured six birds out of the lot. Then we tried to find them again, but could not, and we returned to the road. We followed it to the lake, and, being some- what tired, sat down in the edge of the woods near where the brook empties in, to rest a while. While we were talking, a flock of black duck flew in from the lake and lit near the mouth of the stream, just a good gun-shot away. But either they heard or saw us, and they rose a little quicker than we wished ; but between us we knocked over six, which we secured, while several that were wounded swam away, and the flock that we judged contained over twenty flew off across the bay. Having no boat, we were obliged to undress and swim out to where the dead ducks were floating, and pick them up. After getting ashore with them and dressing, we sat down again, thinking the flock might return, but they did not come back, We soon be- came tired of loafing, and started back over the same ground. When about half a mile from the lake, while rounding a slight turn in the road, we almost ran over a fox that was trotting towards us in the middle of the road. We came upon the animal so suddenly that for the moment we were surprised, and so was Mr. Fox. We looked at him, and he at us. But he recovered from his surprise first, and took to the woods on the Cruising Around Kineo. 113 left, while we fired a volley after him that did him no harm but only increased his speed. As soon as we fired, half a dozen partridges flew out of a tree on our right, across the road, and Andrew gave them his re- maining barrel, killing three, while I let drive with my rifle, killing'one ; and chasing the other two I managed to kill another. The birds we had shot first we had hung to a tree beside the road where we had killed them, and as it was now almost dark we picked up the partridges and ducks, and hurried toward the boat, taking down the others when we reached them. It was fairly dark when we tumbled into the craft, and the blaze of the camp-fire looked cheerful as we pushed off from shore and headed for it, and I am hungry enough to do ample justice to the supper when it is ready.'' "Was the steamer all right?" inquired Captain Brown. " She appeared to be, sir." Preparations for supper were now actively forwarded, and in the course of an hour it was smoking on the table. After the greater part of the viands had disap- peared before the combined attack of the hungry campers, the captain proposed that the ducks should be picked and dressed and roasted that evening, that they might carry them on the mountain the next day, and have them to eat cold. This was accordingly done, and the remaining fish and partridges were also dressed and made ready for cooking in the morning for breakfast, as the party intended to get away from camp by seven o'clock. 114 Down the West Branch. It was half-past ten before the party were ready to lie down, and as soon as the work was completed the boys turned in, leaving the captain and Joe to follow at their leisure. Well wrapped up in blankets, with a good fire at their feet, the younger members of the party were soon sound asleep. " Joe," said the captain, when the boys were all quiet, " do you think we could get a deer to-night ? " " Don't know, captain," returned Joe, with his eyes lighting up, " we might try him." " It's a good night, not a breath of wind." " This pretty good place, — ought to be some round this pond." " Let's try it." " All right." The captain now brought forth a jack, which he secured properly in the bow of the canoe, and tak- ing his rifle, the canoe was slipped noiselessly into the water. Joe took the paddle, the captain placed himself in the bow, and the graceful craft was soon skirting the shore, both men on the alert for the slightest sound that should suggest the presence of a deer. The canoe was propelled slowly and noiselessly, and moved along in the black shadow of the forest like a spirit floating through air. They followed the shore almost to the outlet, when they caught sound of a slight splash in the water, and a moment later saw a pair of shining eyeballs gazing at them through the darkness. The captain put his rifle to his shoulder, and, taking aim between the two livid spots before him, pulled the trigger. Cruising Around Kineo. 115 Instead of hearing the report of the rifle and the whizzing of the bullet as he expected, he only heard the clicking of the lock and the metallic thud as the hammer struck the head of the cartridge. The ■ deer heard it also, and, turning as quick as light- ning, started into the woods as the captain pulled the trigger the second time. The cartridge exploded this time, but the bullet, with a thud, buried itself in a tree, and the captain, with a muttered imprecation, withdrew the empty shell, put in a fresh one, he having a Ballard rifle, and Joe paddled onward. " That is the first time I ever had one of those cart- ridges go back on me," whispered the captain. " Too bad," returned Joe, scarcely above his breath. "You got that deer if the rifle went the first time." They followed the shore around to camp without seeing anything else. As they landed, the mocking cry of a loon echoed across the water from the northwest corner of the pond. In his present state of disappoint- ment it seemed to the captain as if the bird was taunt- ing him with his ill-success. Replenishing the fire as silently as possible, the two men crawled into the camp, and like their companions were soon sound asleep. The captain and Joe, who were a great deal tougher than any of the boys, were up at five o'clock, and had breakfast under active preparation before the noise they made awoke the younger members of the party, who, however, turned out without loss of time as soon as they realized that the men were up and at work. Breakfast once ready was quickly despatched ; and 116 Down the West Branch. then the boats, birch, and cooking utensils were carried back from the camp and hid in the woods, as the party did not know who might happen along in their absence. Cold corned beef, duck, partridges, hard tack, and a little tea were taken along for food, and the only cooking utensil was a pot to make the tea in. Each one of the party carried his own drinking-cup. The provisions were carried in two large knapsacks, which were backed by Joe and the captain, and each of the boys carried a pair of blankets. Claude and Wingate carried the axes, and each of the parry had a gun or rifle. Thus equipped they left camp at seven o'clock, struck through the woods and began the ascent of the mountain, picking their way as best they could, as there was no path. The day was pleasant, and as the sun rose they found it very warm. The route was difficult, and the side of the mountain steep. It was impossible to fol- low a straight course, as sometimes enormous over- hanging boulders confronted them, even before they were out of the forest. They remembered the saying of Captain Robinson, that Squaw Mountain was not to be mentioned in the same day with the Spencer, and voted unanimously that the captain was right. As they progressed slowly upward the way became more difficult, and at times they were obliged to hunt several minutes before they could find a way out of their difficulties. They were obliged to stop and rest frequently ; and at such times, with the perspiration pouring down their bodies, Adams would remark that " Jordan was a hard road to travel." Cruising Around Kineo. 117 After getting above the heavy forest, they struck into a scrub growth that tried their patience and cour- age, and made them long to get beyond it, which they finally did, and sat down to rest and take a look around them. In silence they feasted their eyes upon the pano- rama unrolled beneath them ; and, when partially recov- ered from their fatigue, struggled onward, reaching the summit at eleven o'clock. They threw down their bur- dens by the side of a large boulder, and then, by the advice of Captain Brown, walked slowly about for a few minutes, that they might cool off gradually with- out taking cold. A cool breeze swept the top of the mountain, offset- ting in a measure the hot rays of the sun. When they were dried off they gathered in a group, and began to try to pick out the different bodies of water* and moun- tains from the maps they had with them, and were able to satisfactorily locate a large number of them. They could see the whole of Katahdin above the forest, and a number of other high mountains in the same direc- tion. By noon they were pretty well rested, and, taking the axes with them, descended to the scrub growth to procure fuel to cook the tea, the top of the mountain being nothing but barren rock. The captain and Joe quickly cut all the wood the party could carry, and leaving the axes where they were, as they Would have to procure more wood after dinner, they returned to the boulder on the summit and started a fire. In crevices among the ledges and holes in the rocks they found plenty of water, which, although not very 118 Down the West Branch. cold, was clean and sweet, and thus were not obliged to bring up water as well as wood. The tea was soon ready, and, bringing forth the eatables, the captain placed them on the ground with the remark that they "must get three meals out of them;" and then each one helped himself. After dinner was over, the captain scattered the fire to save the fuel, and then the whole party began a general inspection of the top of the mountain, which kept them busy for the next two hours, and carried them some distance from the place where they had eaten. A little after three they began to return, straggling along by twos and threes. Drake and Adams, who were ahead, were surprised and somewhat alarmed, when, upon getting within a few rods of the boulder, they saw two bears, which had hitherto been concealed by it, nosing over the knapsacks, and trying to get at their contents. Although their guns were loaded with small shot they did not hesitate to let them have a volley from both barrels. This raised a spirit of ugli- ness in the bears, which charged upon them. The moment the boys noticed the animals turn in their direction they started on the run towards their friends, who were now all in sight and hurrying for- ward from hearing the discharge of the guns, shouting at the top of their voices, " Bears ! bears ! " On such a rough footing the bears had a great ad- vantage over the boys, and were rapidly closing in on them when their friends opened fire. This caused the animals to stop and see where the fre§h attack came Cruising Around Kineo. 119 from, when, noticing so many persons rapidly approach- ing, they took fright and shambled down the mountain- side, followed by a fusilade from all hands. Adams and Drake, who, of course, were between their friends and the bears, hearing the singing of bullets, dropped flat to the ground, being afraid that a stray shot might hit them ; and, indeed, it is a great wonder that in such an excitement they were not hurt, as everybody fired the moment the bears turned to re- treat, without being very careful of their aim. After the party had gathered at the boulder and ex- amined their things, and found them uninjured, except by a few shot that had missed the bears when Adams and Drake fired, and had taken effect in the knapsacks and blankets, Claude and Wingate proposed to follow them. But the captain and Joe laughed at the idea, and said they might have to trail them for two or three days before they would get another shot at them, and proposed instead that they should descend to the scrub growth and bring up wood enough to last them for supper, night, and breakfast the next morning. After cutting what fuel they deemed necessary, the captain and' Joe went further down the mountain, and cut two spruce poles about eight feet long, and a couple of small maples six feet long, with a crotch in one end of each. They then returned, bringing the poles, and helped the young fellows carry up the wood. It took the whole party three trips before they carried the wood all up ; and it was more like work than any- thing they had seen before on the excursion. 120 Down the West Branch. As evening approached it began to grow cold ; and after supper had been eaten, the captain and Joe proceeded to make a shelter for the night. The boul- der before spoken of was about fifteen feet long and four feet high ; the side, in front of which the party had built their fire and eaten, being perpendicular. The top of the rock shelved back from the front for its entire width, leaving it at the back about two feet high. In front of the boulder the captain and Joe set up their crotched sticks, crotches upward, about twelve feet apart, the bottoms being stuck into crevices in the ledge, then piled a lot of loose stones, of which there were plenty on the summit of the mountain, around the bottoms of these poles, thus making them as firm as possible. The two straight sticks were now placed in position, one end of each resting in the crotched up- rights, and the others lying on the boulder. The cap- tain then took a double blanket and, opening it out, fastened each end to one of the sticks that ran back to the rock. The edge of the blanket lengthwise was brought on the boulder far enough to place some rocks on it to hold it in position, and several heavy stones were piled on the ends of the sticks on top of the boulder. A single blanket was then fastened to each side, leaving the front of the tent, as the boys called it, open. The part of the mountain enclosed by the tent was almost as smooth as a floor, it being granite, planed and rubbed down by the storms of ages ; and on this hard floor the captain and Joe scattered some pine Cruising Around Kineo. 121 boughs they had brought up for that purpose to the depth of two inches, then spread four double blankets over them, the other four being reserved for covering. As soon as this work, had been completed, the whole party threw themselves down on the rude bed, and lay talking over the events of the day. " I hope we don't get a snow-squall to-night," said Joe ; " the sky looked bad at sunset." " You don't get snow here as early as this, do you ? " inquired Drake. " Snow-squalls on top of the mountains are not un- common in September," replied the captain. " I was on top of Mount Washington one summer in August," added Claude, "and there was a heavy snow-squall while I was there." " But this mountain is not so high as Mount Wash- ington," said Minot. " Very true ; but it is over four thousand feet, and plenty high enough to catch a snow-squall in Septem- ber, if the conditions of the weather are right." " I never slept so near heaven before," remarked Stackpole, thoughtfully, as he gazed beyond the fire into the solemn stillness of the night. " And you never will again," put in Adams, with a laugh. The boys spent the evening in questioning the cap- tain and Joe about the Penobscot country, and ob- tained all the information they could about the route they intended to take. About nine o'clock one after another dropped off to sleep, and did not awake until five the next morning, 122 Down the West Branch. when they found a strong northwest wind blowing, and themselves completely enveloped in clouds that were sweeping across the summit of the mountain." " Turn out, boys," cried the Captain ; " we are liable to get a snow-squall before we get out of this." They found Joe had a fire underway, and the cap- tain was getting out the food. At half-past five Joe said the tea was ready ; and they ate their breakfast in the tent, making away with everything that was eatable. After this they began to take down the blankets, and had just packed everything up, and were all ready to start, when the wind increased to a gale, and down came great feathery flakes mixed with hail that pelted them like shot. The captain threw on some more wood, saying, that "it would be of no use to start until the squall was over, as they could not see an inch before their noses." Backing to the wind they sat down around the fire, whose warmth was fully appreciated in the icy blasts that buffeted them. The squall lasted half an hour, during which time two inches of snow fell. As the snow ceased falling, the clouds gradually lifted, and, as soon as they could see their way, they shouldered their packs and moved down the mountain. As they left the summit behind them the snow grew thinner, and in an hour they had gone beyond it. The descent was fully as tiresome as the upward climb had been ; but they accomplished it a little quicker, and reached the camp at the pond about ten o'clock. By Cruising Around Kineo. 123 this time the sun had come out, and it grew warmer again. Four of the boys went out fishing, the other four gunning, to see if they could find anything to go with the corned beef for dinner, while the captain and Joe cut up some wood. At noon both parties returned — the fishermen with thirty trout, the gunners with one partridge ; and they were chaffed considerably by the other party for their ill luck. Dinner was served at half-past one ; at three o'clock the boats were launched, and they started for the steamer, reaching her at five. While Joe was getting up steam the boys went for some ducks they saw about half a mile away, and suc- ceeded in securing ten of them. Returning with all speed to the steamer, they plucked and dressed them ; and the captain prepared a good supper, which was eaten before they left the bay. At seven o'clock they hauled up the anchor, and a moment later were heading for the lake, and reached the Kineo wharf at nine o'clock. They went up to the hotel, leaving all their things on board the steamer. As the party had concluded to go to the head of the lake on the Governor Coburn Tuesday, they arose early the next morning, packed up their things, Jack paying their bill ; and, as soon as they had eaten breakfast, took a walk to Cliff and Pebble Beaches, and visited other places of interest in the immediate neighborhood, returning to the hotel in time to embark on the steamer, and see that their stores as well as their bag- gage were placed on board. CHAPTER V. FROM KINEO TO CHESUNCOOK. The William Parker came up Tuesday morning in- stead of the Governor Cobum, and much to their satisfac- tion the boys found Captain Charlie in command of her. They made their way to the hurricane deck, and sta- tioned themselves near the pilot-house, within speak- ing distance of the captain, who kept up a running fire of conversation with them until they reached the end of the route. The steamer rounded the peninsula, and headed up the lake, passing Moose River on the left, or port side, and Hardscrabble on the right, or starboard. Farm Island, Baker Brook, and Tomhegan Stream, on the port side, were pointed out by the captain, who gave them a little information about each. He also showed them, some distance away on the starboard side, a mountain strongly resembling Mount Kineo, which has been named by somebody, with an eye to the fitness of things, Kineo Junior. The captain asked the boys about their Spencer Mountain trip, and they gave him a graphic account of it, and when they told about the bears chasing Adams and Drake, he laughed as if he enjoyed the story. 124 be 'A From Kineo to Chesuncook. 125 Through the captain's kindness, the boys learned a great deal about the geography of the lake by the time the steamer tied up to the long rambling pier that shot out from the low land at the Northeast Carry, and as the steamer had made a landing at the Northwest Carry on her way up the party saw about all there was to see of the lake above Kineo. They reached the terminus of the steamboat route at one o'clock, and after seeing that all their things were landed, they went up to a small house that stood a few rods back from the lake, and procured dinner. The meal over, they prevailed upon the proprietor to harness up a team at once, and haul their baggage, stores, and boats across the carry. At the house they met a young Indian, who was very anxious that they should hire him for a guide, prophesying all manner of terrible disasters for them when he learned that they were to depend entirely upon their maps and guide- books, and what information they could pick up on the way to travel by. He also spoke very contemptuously of their boats, and told them that there would not be enough of them left to kindle a fire with by the time they reached Chesuncook. The boys, however, did not argue the point with him, wisely concluding that they knew their own business best, and from the perfume they inhaled when he opened his mouth they concluded that cheap rum was mostly accountable for his ramb- ling speeches and unsolicited advice. They walked over the carry behind the team, and noticed on the right side of the road the ruins of an old wooden railroad that, years before, had been the 126 Down the West Branch. means of transportation between the lake and the river, and in " Farrar's Guide to Moosehead Lake " they found an interesting account of it during its active operations. The carry is two miles and forty rods long, and the team was a little over half an hour in crossing. As the party were going to Lobster Lake that night, intending to spend a few days there, they lost no time in launching and loading their boats, and at three o'clock they pushed off from the landing, followed by the good wishes of the teamster, who watched them until they disappeared from view. The Fairy took the lead, with Adams in the bow, Stackpole at the oars, and Claude at the paddle, fol- lowed by the Go Ahead and Water Witch. The boys knew that it was dead water to Lobster Lake, and pulled right along as if they were on the lake, leaving the steersman to look out for snags or stray rocks. The boats were loaded quite deep, but with the aid of the current they reached the mouth of Lobster Stream in half an hour, and, turning to the right, entered the brook, and followed it a mile and a half to the lake, the water being sufficiently high for them to row all the way. As they entered the lake they had a fine view of the Spencer Mountains, and lay on their oars a few moments to look at them. " How they loom up from here ! " said Wingate. " Yes," replied Claude, " they look finely from here ; but I tell you that was a hard climb. However, we must be getting along, for we have a camp to build and supper to get before dark." From Kineo to Chesuncook. 127 " It looks like a mighty good place for ducks around this outlet," remarked St. Clair. " I'll have some to-night or in the morning," added Drake. Claude followed the eastern shore for about two miles, and then, steering for a pretty sand beach between two rocky headlands, made a landing. The woods came quite down to the shore line, a mixed growth of spruce, fir, white birch, poplar, and Norway pine. As the boys stepped out of their boats and looked around them, they gave vent to exclamations of delight. " What a pretty place this is ! " said Wingate, his face flushed with pleasure, for he had a quick appreciation for all that was beautiful in nature, and the rest of the party were not far behind him in this respect. " It reminds me some of the Big Richardson Pond," replied Claude. " So it does me," added St. Clair, " but it is a pret- tier place, and this pond or lake is more than twice as large." " Don't forget, fellows, that supper and lodging have to be furnished for this crowd to-night," cried Phil, " and although I appreciate the beauties of the place as much as any of you, we had better leave praises and comparisons to a moment of leisure, and get to work. It is half-past four now. Lay out the work, Claude, and we'll buckle to it." " Well spoken, Phil," returned Claude. " The camp and supper are the principal things at present. First, then, we will unload the boats, carry everything up to 128 Down the West Branch. the edge of the woods, and then haul out the boats that they may not be injured if it blows in the night, although this sand beach is a pretty safe place for them." "We could not have a better landing than this," remarked Adams, as they all went to work. " Now," said Claude, after they had finished unload- ing the boats, " Wingate, Minor, and myself will build the camp and get the boughs for a bed ; Adams, I appoint cook for the rest of the week, and Stackpole can assist him ; St. Clair, Phil, and Drake shall make a table and seats, and provide the wood for cooking and the camp-fire." Thus, everything settled, the whole party went swiftly to work, as they had none too much of daylight left to accomplish what they had to perform. It was not until dark that everything was ready and supper announced ; and the party ate by fire-light, as the table and seats had been constructed outdoors. During the evening they gathered around the camp- fire and had a delightful sing, and their voices echoing across the lake caused the loons to make themselves heard also. The day had been a long one, and a com- paratively hard one, and at nine o'clock they all retired to rest. Claude, Andrew, Charlie, and Phil turned out at daylight the next morning, the two former going to the outlet in the Fairy for ducks, and Charlie and Phil in the Water Witch crossed the lake to a small bay full of rocks and islands to try their luck in fishing. As they stole out quietly the others did not hear them, From Kineo to Chesuncook. 129 and when Adams awoke, at six o'clock, he was sur- prised to find that four of the party were up and out. He gave Stackpole, who slept next to him, a punch, and cried, " Come, Harry, we must get up and start breakfast. It is six o'clock, and some of the fellows have gone off in two of the boats." " All right," returned Harry, with a yawn ; " I am confoundedly sleepy this morning, but I suppose I