Canoeing in the wilderness

sumptuous breakfast. The Indian made us some hemlock tea instead of coffee. This was tolerable, though he said it was not strong enough. It was interesting to see so simple a dish as a kett

account of sore feet. The Indian, however, suggested that perhaps he might get a pair of moccasins at this place, and that he could walk very easily in them without hurting his feet, wearing several pairs of stockings, and he said beside that they were so porous that when you had taken in w

eft them for the day. Finding that we were going directly to Oldtown, he regretted that he had not taken more of the moose meat to his family, saying that in a short time, by drying it, he could have made it

cted a wetting, we stopped early and dined just above Whetstone Falls, about a dozen miles

olled up one of birch bark, telling h

ore, and I by the path; and though I made no particular haste I was nevertheless surprised to find him at the other end as soon as I. It was

d be ready to assist him from time to time, as I had done before; but as the walking w

nd asked me if I thought I could keep along with him by the same path, adding that I must be pretty smart to do it. As his load, the canoe, would be much the heaviest and bulkiest, I thought that I ought to be able to do it, an

e a bundle of my load I saw him disappeari

hering them up, he went by me; but, hastily pressing the sooty kettle to my side, I started once more, and, soon passing him again, I saw him no more on the carry. I do not mention this as anything of a feat, for it was but poor running on my part, and he was obliged t

used to try who would get over first; each perhaps with a canoe on his head. I

round t

o road as yet. We heard a cowbell, and even saw an infant held up to a small square window to see us pass. On entering the West Branch

d part of the river you have not far to go to find these sites of temporary inns, the withered bed of flattened twigs, the charred sticks, and perhaps the tent-poles. Not long since, similar beds were spread along the Connecticut, the Hudson, and the Delaware, and longer still ago, by

ome moose meat and some pork, salted and boiled all together, but we had not the patience to try the experiment fairly, for he said it must be boiled till the roots were completely softened so as to thicken the soup like flour; but thou

ith us, and gave us a song before falling asleep. It rained hard in the night and spoiled another box of matches for us, which the

us observed to the Indian, "You did not stretch

humor: "What you ask me that question for? Suppose I stretch 'em, yo

of his own accord-repeated at length the tradition of some old battle, or some passage in the recent history of his tribe in which he had acted a prominent part, from time to time drawing a long breath, and resuming the thread

with the colic. I thought that he was t

in the morning, in the midst of a drizzling rai

ling in this, an apothecary recommended Brandreth's pills, which he refused to take because he was not acqu

to spend the rest of the day and night, on account of our patient, whose sickness did not abate. He lay groaning under his canoe on the bank, looking very woebegone. You would not have thought, if you had seen him lying about thus, that he was worth six thousand dollars and had been to Washington. It seemed t

er. Taking the dipper in one hand, he seized his powderhorn with the other, and, pouring into it a charge or two of

et deep. The fragrance of the hay, in which many ferns, etc., were mingled, was agreeable, though it was quite alive with grasshoppers which you could hear crawling through it. This served to graduate our approach

onsiderably better, and soon glided by Lincoln, and s

ne you come to the log hut of a Yankee or Canada settler, but a Penobscot never takes up his residence in such a solitude. They are not even scattered about on their islands in the P

nged a few words with them at a distance. We took less notice of the scenery to-day, because we were in quite a settled

ning of this name, the Indian said, "Suppose you are going down Penobscot, just like we, and you

st like anybody," giving me an Indian name which meant "great paddler." Whe

me to slide it back and forth on the side of the canoe. This, I found, was a great improvement which I had not thought of, saving me the labor of lifting the paddle each time, and I wondered that he had not suggested it before. It is true, before

addles, for he had the longer and better one, and turning end for end, he sitting flat on the bottom and I on the crossbar, he began to paddle very hard, trying to turn the canoe, looking over his shoulder and laughing, but, finding it in

again; but there was no relenting to his wildness, and he said, "It make

e take in some water there, river so high-never see it so high at this season. Very rough wat

without taking in a drop. Soon after the Indian houses came in sight. I could not at first tell my

hour at his house. Mrs. P. wore a hat and had a silver brooch on her breast, but she was not introduced to us. The ho

Joe Polis. We took the last trai

E

versid

E. MASSA

S

TNO

s three excursions into the Maine Woods. He was an Indi

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