The Portland daily press., 1895-08-24


sterner as we approach, and as we pass
through the woods in Byron Notch, his
soowling precipices so high up there above
us. are formidable indeed. The road is
rough and billy. The wheels bounce and
Jerk over boulders and rattle over corduroy
bridges. How we all long to turn up that
side road and make the climb to the tops
of those three kno5by domes. But we
haven't come prepared to make that
difficult trip and have to forego it. You
haven't learned all of Tumble. Down S
attractions yet, or you would better
realize the regret with which we drive
away from him, down towards the Swift
River valley. There is lake up there
between those three rocky domes, tiny
| lake of clear cold water that is several
acres in extent, and that, according to
the local legend, is without bottom. AT
least no bottom was ever found in it,,
though whether all the salmon lines
about Lake Webb were ever fastened to-
gether to make sounding line of suffi-
Gent length we couldn't discover.
We are told by our host, who is driving
us, that trout, from the Lake Webb brooks
have been put intothis curious lake in
times past, but that they never lived
there. There are dangerous and curious
gorges up there around the lake and great
crevices and cracks and precipices. Our
host SAYS that mineralogists who ex-
amined the mountain, when gold was
first discovered in Byron stated that its
peculiar formation was possibly due to
the fact thatit is an extinct volcano, and
that the little lake, occupies the position
of the crater. This would of course har-
monize with the idea that the lake is
| bottomless.
Also it is said that there is sulphur in
the water. Hence the death of the fish.
Around the lake are plenty of blueber-
ries and mountain cranberries and the
gather them, but it is a difficult path,
and a dangerous one for the novice, and
more than few have lost their way in
times past.
| All this time we are driving down the
east branch of the Swift river. Finally
the river bed, almost dry at this season,
and there, among the bare heaps of peb-
bles and boulders and the rivulets and
pools of water are the sluices and dams
of the gold miners.
| Mob, d. was at work there then, though
some have begun the search for gold
since our visit. While examining those
very crude, but very interesting devices
| for washing out the gold from the river
| bed or the soil brought from the banks or
surrounding country, we heard Voice
and the noise of shoyels from the bushes
across the river We all hurried over as
fast as possible, as if we feared the sup
posed gold miners might vanish, like this
fairies, at any moment. But we were
disappointed 1t was only a group of
Italians building the foundation of a
railroad, a spur track of the Rangeley
extension of the Rumford Falls railroad.
1t will be simply a lumber road, for the
purpose of transporting from the wilder
ness behind old Tumble Down, the mil
lions OF good spruce that have hitherto
been locked up in that region.
We drove on down to Gum Corner at the
Coos bridge, where the Rangely extension
passes through and where the Swift river
has worn some very deep and interesting
canons in the solid ledge. We had our
picnic dinner in the bottom of the canon
on shelf above the back water, that
looked as if it must be swarming with
trout. 1t has such good reputation in
| this respect that so many fishermen come
I'D the Swift river valley that the water
is very far from being worthy of its ap-
pearance 1t used to be, however. When
our hosts mother was girl she used to
90 down to that Coos BRIDGE right there
above us, after supper and pull out of
that water, right there below us, all the
one and two pound trout that she want
ed But that bissful time was 40 years ago
and more.
From Gum Corner we drove on down
the Swift river valley, through Hop City,
and so on to Rumford Falls, where the
Swift River joins the Androscoggin.
The names Gum Corner and Hop City
are suggestive of two other peculiarities
of this part of Byron, which ii not SO
golden in sound, were more so in results
than the gold mines of Swift River have
been. Gum Corner was the center of a
fourishing business in spruce gum some
20 years ago, before the. surrounding
spruce forests of that region were entirely
destroyed by the ak, or stripped of the
fragrant brown crystals that are so fasci-
mating to Yankees in general and Yankee
maidens in particular from Maine to
California.
Hop City is farther down the valley.
The youthful member of the party said
that she couldn't see any sign of a city.
True there were no brick sidewalks or
buildings or soda water fountains, nor
any signs of ice cream or candy, but 20
years ago those level river meadows were
populated with an enormous community
of hop poles. That was when the hop
blossoms brought from 25 to 80 cents a
pound, and when it was no unusual thing
for tho farmer to clear $1,000 year from
his hopa Butt when home and foreign
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