Seboois River—Sugar-loaf Mountain, 1900 feet high.

CHAPTER V.

Length of Kennebeck.‌—‌Moose-head Lake.‌—‌Its peculiar Shape.‌—‌Its Islands.‌—‌Burned Jacket.‌—‌Interesting Deposit.‌—‌Mount Kineo.‌—‌The Prospect from its Summit.‌—‌Moose River.‌—‌Old Indian.‌—‌The Banks of the Kennebeck.‌—‌Beauties of the Country, &c.‌—‌Lumber on Dead River. ‌—‌Falls at Waterville.‌—‌Skowhegan Falls.‌—‌Arnold's Encampment.‌—‌ Nau-lau-chu-wak.‌—‌Caritunk Falls.‌—‌Lumber.‌—‌Statistics.‌—‌Author's Acknowledgments.‌—‌Androscoggin.‌—‌Course and other Peculiarities.‌—‌A question of Rivalry.‌—‌Water Power.‌—‌Original Indications.‌—‌Interesting Sketch of Rumford Falls.‌—‌Estimated Water Power.‌—‌Lumber Statistics. ‌—‌Droughts and Freshets.‌—‌Umbagog Lake.‌—‌The serpentine Megalloway. ‌—‌Granite Mountains.‌—‌Beautiful Foliage.‌—‌Romantic Falls.‌—‌Character of Country.‌—‌Manner of Life in Log-cutting, &c.‌—‌Statistics, &c.‌—‌ Presumpscot River, great Water-powers of.‌—‌Warmth of Water.‌—‌ Statistical Remarks.‌—‌Saco River.

The beautiful Kennebeck lies about sixty miles west of the Penobscot River, running from north to south, nearly parallel with the latter, constituting one of those great marks of designation which divide the state longitudinally into three sections south of the 46th degree of north latitude to the sea-coast inclusive.

View of Lily Bay, on Moose-head Lake.

The Kennebeck takes its rise in the southwest section of Moose-head Lake (according to Mitchel's Atlas), so called, probably, from the near resemblance it has, with its numerous coves, arms, and bays, to the branchy horns of the moose. As laid down on some maps, particularly on the map of the Eastern States in Smith's Atlas, published by J. Paine, of Hartford, it requires but a small exercise of the imagination to see in its outlines the form of an immense animal, making the portage from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic Ocean with fearful strides of fifteen miles each. The figure of the lake, as laid down on Mitchel's maps, corresponds more exactly with the branching appearance of a moose horn. "Its whole extent, from north to south, is about forty miles, and varies in width from one to eight miles, and very irregular in shape, owing to its deep coves, bays, and islands, which in some parts almost fill the lake. Many of these islands are mere ledges of slate, covered with a scanty growth of cedar and fir, rising perpendicularly from the surface of the water, which fall suddenly to a great depth by their sides. Others are large islands of many acres, well wooded, and bordered by beaches of sand, as well as by ledges of rock. On the eastern side, a few miles from the foot of the lake, rises a high rocky point, called Burned Jacket. It is composed of gneiss, curiously crossed in every direction by veins of quartz. Its sides are covered with huge blocks of gneiss which have fallen from the top, forming long dens and passages between them. On a small, low island, northwest from Moose Island, I found the beach almost covered with fine black ferruginous sand. It is the common black sand used in writing. It lies upon and in a strata with the yellow beach sand, and may be collected in great abundance. Such sand is commonly sold, when put up in pound papers, at six cents each. To obtain large quantities, it might be scooped up with shovels, and afterward separated from the yellow sand by powerful magnets." Take your knife-blade, when charged with the magnet, and immerse it in your sand-box, and quantities will adhere to it, leaving whatever is foreign to itself. "Mount Kineo, to which allusion has already been made, has the appearance of a huge artificial wall of stone rising directly out of the water on the eastern side of the lake, opposite the mouth of Moose River." "We paddled under its cliffs, which jutted out over our heads at a height of five or six hundred feet. Below, they descend perpendicularly ninety feet. The northern and western sides are covered with trees, and slope so that one can reach the top by a path along the edge of the precipice. From its summit is enjoyed a beautiful prospect of the lake, with its islands, and of the adjoining country, forming a most picturesque landscape. The country, to the northward and westward, is generally low. Moose River is seen making its way through it, and finally emptying into the lake on the opposite side. To the eastward the country is more hilly, until the view is lost among the mountains of the Ktaadn group. On looking down from the edge of the precipice, we see the water directly beneath; and so steep and overhanging is the rock, that by a single leap one might throw himself from almost the highest point, and strike the water six hundred feet below, and many feet distant from the base of the mountain. Mount Kineo receives its name from that of an old Indian who formerly lived and hunted in its vicinity."

The most striking feature of the Kennebeck is derived from the well-cultivated and beautiful country through which its waters flow. "From Anson to Bath," a distance of about eighty miles, it passes through a particularly well-cultivated section, presenting an extent of territory probably under a higher state of cultivation than any other division of the state.