Year: 1862

tFrom our Regular Correspondent


Letter from the Backwoods of Maine.


No. From Kineo TO Kdtdhdin.


DEAR PRESS In my last letter / was
speaking of French sword we found on the
shores of Lake Telos. Its history is conjec-
tural. Whether it is a sword belonging to the
age of the French and Indian wars, or to lat
er period, is a matter entirely of guesswork
But its discovery excited our curiosity to know
something of its owner, and the service in
which the arm was used. One thing is GER
tain, this lake formed one part of the great
highway over which the Indians, for years and
years, had found their way to Canada and
home again. But there are other records of
past ages on the shores of Lake Telos. Half
way down its eastern side we came upon fine
locality of fossil shells. These, in the hands
of experts, soon told their story of long ages
of the past; and we could know their history,
when that of the sword was undiscoverabe.
Let no one pass over the waters of this lake
without stopping for an hour, at least, at the
monument of fossils on the rocky shore, to
look upon the distinct and unmistakable rec
ord of the Sandstone.


As have said in a former communication
the waters of this lake are higher than those
of the east branch Of the river Penobscot.-
The experienced lumbermen of the river saw
this fact, and avaied themselves of it. A ca
nal was cut between the lake and the waters of
the Penobscot, thus allowing the lake-water to
flow towards the South instead of into the st.
John, as 1t had done previously. OF course
this gave the lumbermen greater fields for
work, and much increased the amount of lum-
Der sold in Bangor. To revert to the canal
Strange to say, it is cut in the old bed of the
river which must have formerly connected Te-
los and Webster Lakes, but which was stopped
up by the accumulations of sand and gravel at
the outlet Thus the new channel formed by
art, is identical with the natural one of, per-
haps, thousands of years ago.


Webster Lake, into which the water from
Telos flows, is small round sheet of water,
remarkable only for its birds of evil omen On
the day we passed over the lake these pro-
phetic birds, the looms, were making their sad
complaint of coming foul weather, and made
SO much ado about the lowering of the clouds,
or something else, that we were compelled, al
most In spite ofourselves, to see if their proph-
ecies came true. Many of the guides on
Moosehead say that the wind bringing storm
always comes from the quarter into which the
loon flies screaming, and they consider it sure
sign Of approaching rain. Others regard the
loon veritable Cassandra among the birds, a
false prophecies.


Whether the loon uses barometer, or
whether it has one of the "Weather Indicators"
on hand, lfor particulars send stamp to &c.')
or whether the seasons have been so carefully
studied by it that the weather is read as book
is read, no one can tell Certainly it is true
that the loon prophecies correctly as it flies
toward the North, screaming in its mournful
monotone, and the weather follows But is it
more strange that this bird should be suscept-
BILE to those changes of the atmosphere which
are indicated by tbs Aneroid, or the Electrom-
eter, than that little plant, growing plenti-
fully on York cliffs, should fold its purple pet
ais before storm? The meteorology of the
animal other than man is yet unwritten. Who
will be the Smithson to order the many facts
to be collated and arranged?


The stream flowing from Webster Lake has
broken and troubled course. The jagged
rocks in the bed of Webster-brook fret the wa
ter into white foam before half its length is
traversed, while the rest of the way is compar-
atively quiet We were obliged to have our
luggage carried on sled procured at Trout
brook farm, to the shores of Second Lake thus
avoiding Webster stream entirely Taking all
things into consideration, "carry" is not the
best of the things of this life; in fact it may be
numbered among the evils. For even to think
of a long walk through the woods of northern
Maine, with ever so light load, makes ones
shoulders ache. 1t suggests mud, weariness
and fretfulness from one end OF the portage tc
the other; there is nothing pleasant in it. And
so we were not sorry to place our knapsacks
on the shores Of Matagamonss or Second
Lake, to rest before we resumed our journey


1t may give good idea of the shades of oul
camp-life to present from my notebook page
describing our camp on this lake.


We arrived at six O'Clock p NJ. tired
hungry and wet The looms were true wealth
er-prophets, for it has rained hard to-day til
pretty near sunset, when it now clears off will
cold wind.


Louis is endeavoring to make a fire will
some wet chips and the rest of the party ar,
variously engaged, some in smoking, some il