“BEAT HIM LIKE AN OLD CARPET.”
“As I learned from him arterwards, Johnny had lost his way between Fourth Lake and Leadbetter Pond. The snow there was over three foot deep, an’ as the rain had clogged his snow-shoes he turned into an old loggin’-road that he diskivered an’ this took the poor feller right smack off his course. He follered the old road till dark, an’ not comin’ across the old log cabin I told him about, made for the base of a decayed tree, which he reckoned was fifty foot high at the least. This he set fire to, an’ sat all night watchin’ it burn down. Fallin’ asleep towards mornin’, when he woke up he found the merk’ry had gone a long way below zero, an’ that his feet, though wrapped in four pair o’ socks had both frozen. What the poor feller suffered till I found him must have been terrible. Afore leavin’ Greenville that Spring, John Way made the fust of a lot o’ maps o’ Moosehead Lake an’ all its surroundin’s. Arterwards he jined these all into one, which I used to sell on the boats, and this is the orthority for nearly all the late maps of these ’ere regions.”
“SAT ALL NIGHT WATCHIN’
IT BURN DOWN.”
Beautiful Echo Lake, the head-waters of the Aroostook River, charms one at once by its picturesque location. High mountains encircle it, which make the peculiar reverberation from which it takes its name, and breathe into the soul that sense of solitude so delightful to the spiritual nature.
We spent three days here hunting and trapping, and added three beaver to our collection of furs and stock of provisions, which latter was now rapidly decreasing.
On breaking camp we explored the outlet of the lake, and, finding the stream very dry, were obliged to build dams in order to sluice our canoes through this country to the Mansungun Lakes below.
“I tell you that water is cold,” said John Mansell, as he waded ashore after putting the last mud and stone upon a dam opposite the camp. “You don’t call this a canoe tour, do you, Hiram? I should call it going overland to New Brunswick. Never did see such a dry time in my life.”
The water having greatly increased during the night, we loaded our canoes and placed them in line above the dam, each man, with the exception of the Colonel, being in his customary position.
“Are you all ready?” yelled the Colonel, standing on the top of the dam below us.