The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-20
~IoEBoATIAo IN MAINE.
n Crevnssc, Caribou aud Wolves Incidents
of a Cruise on Sebee Like.

a Crevnssc, Caribou. and Wolves accidents
OF n Cruise on Sebec Lake.
Foxcsorr. Me-. Dec. 1s.-"Mind that you're
ready to start at / O'Clock sharp. and be sure to
dress warmly. Borrow q fur ovorcoat. the
biggest you can find. get q cap that you can
pull down over your cars, and thick inittens
TO draw on over your gloves; and don't forget
your muller and arctic overshoes. for the
wind'l-be cold and piercing out on the lake"
1t was the Artist who was giving these direc-
ttons. The clear, sharp morning following a
niZht In which the mercury had dropped 10
zero, the steady wind from the west, and the
good sleiEhinE over the hills TO the lakeside
were conditions that had tempted him from
his studio and brought him over to the hotel TO
invite the New York visitor to an iceboat sall
on Sebec Lake. Tho Invitation tho visitor was
E,ad 10 accept, and a half hour after the noon
day dinner had been eaten found the two In o
sleigh on their way TO the.lake. Two miles OF
uphill driving past open fields and farmhouses
and two miles more down hill through primi-
tive woods brought them to the landing. with
the frozen lake, two miles wide at this point,
stretching out Ikea plain at their feet. To
launch the :iceboat and set the sail. was tho
work of n few minutes only. Then the New
Yorker seated himself just forward of the soil,
with firm clutch about tho mast, the Artist, at
the stern. took the ,heet and tiller In hand.
and the boat shot out on the lake.
The breeze blew down. across tho Ice plain
with a force and GOODNESS that he had not real
lied while travelling through the woods, and
the New Yorker, perchcd, .unsheltered. on the
skeleton structure called bv custom q boat.
blessed his lucky stars that he. had needed his
friends lnstru 'tions in tho matter of clothing
himself warmly for the trip. He had never
sailed on an iceboat before, ald the speed and
smoothness with which 1t went were astonish.
ing 10 him. 1t seemed not two minutes from
the time of starting until the boat came round.
a stones throw away from the opposite shore,
two miles away. The Ice. considering the fact
that snow had fallen since 1t had formed, was
In excellent condition for boating. Much Of It
was glare ice, where.the- snow.had been swept
of by the wind, somt places were hubby. and
where. in sheltered reaches. the snow lay as
It had fallen. 1t had becomo so roudly packed
under the action Of the sun end wind that the
boat skinned over It as lightly as over the Ice.
Back and forth across the lake the boat
tackled. sometimes gliding, with fattened sail,
close in tho eye of the wind. and again running
before tho wind with he.swiftness OF a.dart-
ing bird. AS in one OF these tacks the boat
came down toward the landing. the Now
Yorker saw two men In q sleigh who had
driven out on the lake and were following a
sled track on the ice leading to a camp a mile
up the shore. The horse was jogging along at
a good gait. the sleigh runners slipping easily
along the smooth surface. Tho Ice In no place
on the lake was less than q foot thick and
everything seemed safe.
Suddenly the Gir was shaken with o thunder
GUS re port. close at hand. like the simultane-
Gus discharge of all the guns Of O heavy bat
terry. and as the New Yorker started at the
sound SO sudden and uuexpecte- he saw that
where a moment before had been a smooth.
| ~ hrnL NJ, eurfora n n Ind npnnad L., fha ton
extending from the shore. near the landing,
out into the middle OF the lake. II crossed the
sled track. ard. where the sleigh had passed a
minute before. the two men aboard It were
gazing back astoundcd n an oLening four feet
wide up which tho black waters were bubbling
as high as the level OF the ices surface.
What on earth does this mean2' asked tho
New Yorker. when he could summon the pres
ence OF mind to inquire. do you think this
sort of doinGs is q safe for us to mix within
"Oh. that's nothing" said the Arti.t. 'lt's
liable. to happen on any lake when 1t freezes.
It's caused by the expansion of tho Ice as 1t
freezes thicker and harder. Just take q look
to ward the other side OF the lake and you'l
see the rest OF the business"
He put the tillcr hard down as he spote and
brought the boat about. Then the New Yorker
saw thar the crack in the ice narrowed to
nothing near the middle OF tue lake. and from
its point OF ending. in a line diverging in the
shape OF n broad V. n ridge of broken Ice as
high as a mans breast had arisen. extending to
the further shore. The ice, under tho enor-
nous pressure caused by expansion through
cold. had yielded along this line. the two parts
crushing one against the other like leo foes
meeting in polar waters. and forcing upward
the fragments IN the form of II ridge.
The Artist turned the boat to the westward
rows" he said. we can get hve miles of
clear sailing in one leg there"
Tacking back and forth. the boat soon reached
the Narrows. passed through them. and the
upper part OF the mountaln;environed lake
MOI ntains rose directly.from the shore: on
tho south the land was low, with LOFTY hills
In the background; All was q wilderness of
forest and bare lodges, broken only by a few
deserted summer cottages anong The trees on
the south shore, by packard's. at the head of
the Ia sc. and the smoke from the ,all chin
ney at Willimantic. where a spool manutac-
turing settlement lay out OF view beyond the
The ice was generally smooth, and in tho
roIs OFF sp sns o %as % %its enSh'o1 +. = w msT nec a . srER
here for the New Yorker, acting Ms lookout.
TO keep n close:watch for %airholes, but Al tho
speed With which the boat ran II Was impos-
sihle always to see them in time. and more
than on 9 he held his breath as tho boat spun
suilicod 10 uphold the boat in is dart across,
falling shattered into the water after its pas
sklinmiag of the frozen lake, the very ecstasy
and poetry of motion. and IL was not until he
hunS u the crest OF Inc mountains lnbl VIZ
two voyngers bethUught themselves OF the need
OF getting home while there was still! ltigh.
enough 10 navigate by. The wind was falling
NJ. the approach of sunset. and rs the boat
glided down the upper lake the sun PASSED he
Low the mountain tops throwing tie northerly
ani westerly shores into deep shadows.
From these shadows on The north shore,
abreast of tho boat. three spectral forms
emerged. creatures like deer, but larger. with
wiic-branching horns. Theyb had started to
cross the lake at this point. but at sight OF the
boat they turned ,hcir course up the lake, rum
ming at a pacing gait, with II long stride. that
did not seem fast until II was seen how rapidly
long distances was covered by IL.
The Artist recognized the manner OF AMI
mnls they were at once. and checked tho boat
TO look at them.
Caribou" no exclaimed. IF only we had
brought along u rife! We could bag two OF
them sure. aud the third ono II We cared TO
lake chances OF having to mako an accounting
viii the game wardep."
He turned the boat down the lake again.
But there still was another episode OF forest
life Ia, come; While far up tho lete The hG-
ures of the three caribou were still discornibie'
family outlined in gray against the shad4We,
the New orker caught sight OF an animal ike
u hMge shhggN dog skulklmg along the lte near