THE ST. JOHN RIVER IN MAINE, 0[JKB]:C, ANT) NEW BRUNSWICK t. V CAMBRIDGE Prtntels at t^t Eiumiint PteK» 1894 >X--' THE ST. JOHN RIVER IN MAINE, QUEBEC, AND NEW BRUNSWICK BY J. W. BAILEY CAMBRIDGE Pttnteti at ti)e Ettiercittie Preset 1894 Copyright, 1894, By. J. W. BAILEY. 5^^^7t CONTENTS. CHAFTEB I. Introductory Comparison with Other Rivers . II. The Upper St. John The Baker and Southwest Branches The Northwest Branch . Seven Islands and Vicinity From the Islands to the AUagash Big and Little Black Rivers Lac de L'Est Drainage Areas . The AUagash River From AUagash to St. Francis The St. Francis River From St. Francis to Fort Kent The Great Fish River . From Fort Kent to Edmundston The Meruimpticook River The Madawaska River From Edmundston to Grand FaUs The Oroquois River Green River . Quisibis River Grand River . The Grand Falls . Colebrooke III. The Middle St. John From Grand Falls to Andover Salmon River The Aroostook River PAOB 1 3 7 7 9 11 12 15 17 18 18 26 27 32 33 37 38 41 50 51 51 55 55 56 61 62 62 63 64 IV CONTENTS. The Tobique River .... Statistics ...... From Andover to Woodstock The Beccag-uimec River The Meduxnikeag River From Woodstock to FrediTieton . Minor Tributaries below AV'oodstock . Eel River ...... The Shogomoc River .... The Pokiok River The Nackavtriek River The Keswick River .... The Nashwaaksis River Fredericton The Nashwaak River .... IV. The Lower St. John .... From Fredericton to Gagetown . The Oromocto River .... From Gagetown to Indiantown . The Drainage Area of the Jemseg River The Washademoak .... The Belleisle The Kennebecasis .... The Nerepis River .... The Tidal Fall V. Various Features of the St. John Descent of the River .... Navigation Bridges and Ferries .... Denudation of the Forest The Freshets The Ice The Fisheries of the St. John Insects The Disputed Territory In Conclusion VI. Settlement op the River Valley . THE ST. JOHN RIVER CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. Of the many rivers of Northeastern America, it would be difficult to find one which, in the diversity of its natural features, the facilities afforded for sportsmen, and the interesting his- tory of its colonization, is more worthy of mention than the St. John ; and yet this river, viewed in its entirety, has never formed the subject of any published work. Possibly the fact that the area drained by it lies partly in the United States and partly in Canada accounts for this. The patri- otic Canadian does not care to eulogize the vast wilderness of Northern Maine, which, if the as- sertions of provincial geographers are true, was unjustly carved out of New Brunswick by the much abused Ashburton Treaty. The American, on the other hand, is not very eager to expatiate upon the natural resoiu^ces of a country that he might prefer to possess as a fractional part of his own. Be that as it may, an attempt will be made THE ST. JOHN RTVER. in the succeeding pages to give a comparatively full description of the St. John, with all the larger tributaries, commencing at the extreme source in Northwestern Maine, and ending at St. John city, the commercial metropolis of New Brunswick, where the river finally unites its waters with those of the Bay of Fundy. The principal difficulty to be encountered in a work of this kind is the mass of detail, and the necessity of describing fifty or more different streams in more or less similar terms, without | omitting facts that are of interest to the tourist, ! or stating them in the monotonous phraseology of I the ordinary guide-book. Narratives of canoe voyages, stories of the camp, exploits of well- I known hunters and fishermen, are but passingly i touched upon, the design being rather to state, as | concisely as possible, what objects of interest, i opportunity for pleasurable " outings," and facili- ■ ties for sport, await those who wish to visit the i regions of Maine, Quebec, and New Brunswick, ! drained by the St. John, and ii^ more important \ tributaries. * The plan adopted is to treat the river, first as a ; whole, and in comparison with other rivers ; and ; then in detail, by sections, each section including j some portion of the main river worthy of special i notice, or a principal tributary, or group of J smaller ones. Finally, there follow a few general ] remarks on the action of ice and floods, with other | INTRODUCTOHY. 6 less important physical i)lieiioiiiena, and a brief description of the fisheries. COMPARISON WITH OTHER RIVERS. As tlie Hudson, the Sa^ienay, and the St. John present more natural attractions than any other rivers of correspondin<^' size between the Atlantic coast and the central plateau of the North American continent, a few words of com- parison between them may be appropriate. The Saguenay, from Chicoutimi to Tadousac, flows through a caiion, flanked by vast Laurentian cliffs, that rise, sometimes perpendicularly from the water's edge, to heights varying between five hundred and two thousand feet. These mas. Ve walls of rock are usually bare of all vegetation except lichens and mosses, but where the inclina- tion permits, small spruces and firs have gained a precarious foothold. The scenery is not pretty, but decidedly impressive. A few years ago some gentlemen from Ottawa entered the Saguenay in the night, and anchored at St. Etien, a small vil- lage below Marguerite Bay. One of the party, having climbed on deck while the cliffs were bathed in the weird light of early dawn, and silently observed the surroundings, remarked,. " This is gloomy, grand, and peculiar." Possibly no other sentence could so aptly describe the scene. Forty miles from Chicoutimi the river expands 4 ' THE ST. JOHN RIVER. to form Lake St. John, a larger body of fresh water than either the Hudson or St. John river possesses. The lake is fed by the Askaapmou- chowan, Mistassini and Peribonka rivers, all great streams, flowing through the unexplored wilderness of Northern Quebec. Between the lake and Chicoutimi the descent is considerable, affording plenty of " rapid-shooting " for ambi- tious canoeists. The Hudson is the most, as the Saguenay is the least, densely populated of the three rivers under discussion. None of the tributaries, small or large, are unmapped or unexplored ; and only | those rising in the Adirondacks attract the sports- ' man and lover of wild life. While almost as | mountainous as the lower Saguenay, the various I elevations are much less precipitous, affording I rarely beautiful sites for residences and summer ] hotels. Here and there an historic fortress may \ be seen, perched Rhinelike on some beetling crag, \ and near the water's edge, on both sides of the j river, many tunnels and excavations have been \ made in the construction of the two great rail- \ ways that carry the bulk of traffic between " the \ Empire City " and the West. | The St. John is less grand than the Hudson, j less impressive than the Saguenay, but excels | both in the diversity of its natural features. For | seventy^five miles, commencing at the source, it j flows through a great forest, the home of the I INTRODUCTORY. 5 moose, caribou, deer, bear, and beaver. Then scattered settlements appear, or isolated houses, separated from all others of their kind by wide expanses of woodland and rough water. One hundred and ten miles from the source, these set- tlen dnts begin to be connected by a continuous road, and the valley is good for agriculture, and peopled almost exclusively by the French. At Grand Falls, midway between the source and mouth, the character of the civilization changes, the French colonists having been gradually sup- planted by others, chiefly of English, Irish, and Scottish origin. The physical features alter in a manner quite equally marked as the distance from the source increases. Sluggish waters flowing through des- olate barrens, or lowlands covered with a dense growth of spruces and firs, are succeeded by miles of swift current and rocky rapids. Below AUa- gash the stream widens, and incloses many allu- vial islands of great fertility. At the Grand Falls the water plunges over a precipice nearly eighty feet high, and careers tumultuously through a rocky gorge. The current is very rapid below the falls, and remains so almost to Fredericton, while the hills surrounding the valley are quite high, and generally under cultivation. Between Fredericton and Belleisle the current is sluggish, and the river broadens and deepens, once more inclosing a multitude of islands, all of alluvial 6 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. deposit. Lastly the country assumes a mountain- ous character, although the elevations cannot compare with those of the Hudson or the Sague- nay, and great parallel arms or lakes extend east- ward, offering almost unrivaled facilities for in- land navigation. It would be idle to say that the St. John is more or less interesting than the Hud- son, or the Hud »on than the Saguenay, as opinions vary in this regard with the peculiar tastes, or nativity, of the persons who offer them. Measured from the St. John Ponds at the source of the South Branch to the Bay of Fundy, the St. John is probably four hundred and forty- six miles long, or a little more than one tenth the length of the longest river in the world, the Mis- sissippi, measured from the source of the Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico. It is one hundred and fifty miles longer than the Hudson, and somewhat more than half as long as the Ehine, while the drainage basin has been computed at twenty-six thousand square miles, about one ninetieth that of the Amazon. CHAPTER II. THE UPPER ST. JOHN. THE BAKER AND SOUTHWEST BRANCHES. Of the two streams which form, by their uni- tion, the St. John River, one rises in a group of very small ponds distant one hundred and fifty miles from the Atlantic coast and eighty-two miles from the St. Lawrence River, the other in a small lake, named Lac St. Jean, about twenty miles farther westward. The first of these, usually called the Baker, or South Branch, is somewhat longer than the second, or Boundary Branch ; but when standing on the point at the junction of the two streams, it is difficult to deter- mine which is the larger in volume, by reason of their close resemblance. Both lie in an absolutely unbroken wilderness, large tracts of swampy for- est land and low hills being the characteristic features of the region. As might be expected, these forests abound with moose, deer, and caribou. The deer are rapidly increasing in number, and one often hears them lowing at night, and splash- ing about the marshes, or surprises them in the water, while paddling swiftly and noiselessly around the many bends of the stream. The 8 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. moose are diminishing here, as elsewhere, and must eventually share the fate of the buffaloes on the Western prairies. The Southwest or Boundary Branch is impor- tant as forming for some distance the Interna- tional Boundary, here dividing the Province of Quebec from the State of Maine, and there is a monument on it, erected by the boundary commis- sioners. Sportsmen seldom visit it, there being no convenient way of reaching the upper waters except by ascending the stream. The Baker Branch, on the contrary, which rises in seven or eight small ponds (the latter forming the real sources of the St. John), may be quite easily reached by a carry of two miles from the North- east Branch of the Penobscot. The streams flowing from these ponds unite and empty into St. John Pond, some two miles and one half long by one mile broad. Eighteen miles of canoeable stream connect St. John Pond with Baker Lake, a rather uninteresting body of water about three miles long, surrounded by low, thickly wooded hills, and often inaccurately spoken of as the source of the St. John River. Above the lake a large brook enters the Baker stream from the west, a rough and rocky brook to navigate, but one af- fording another portage to the Northeast Branch of the Penobscot, at Abakcotnetick Bog. For a few miles below Baker Lake the water runs over a ledge-obstructed, bowlder-strewn bed in a sue- THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 9 cession of active little rapids ; then begin the " cleadwaters," ^ so characteristic of the region. The Southwest Branch is similar to the Baker, being rapid for several miles above the mouth, ?nd sluggish in its middle course. The distance to the Bay of Fundy from the head of Baker Lake, following the river, is four hundred and twenty-three miles, and from the fork of the two branches four hundred and two miles. THE NORTHWEST BRANCH. The St. John is rapid at first below the forks, and then flows placidly on to the junction of the Northwest Branch, twelve miles below the Baker. This branch is larger than the others, and at the mouth is very wide and shallow, and strewn with bowlders. Eight miles from the St. John it forks, the principal branch being called the Daa- quam, or Quam, while the smaller one retains the name of the main stream, — a geographical misnomer, quite as apparent, although hardly as important, as the Mississippi-Missouri one. Ca- noeists may reach the Quam by road from St. Valier, a station on the Intercolonial Railway, ^ The writer introduces the term " dead water, " as one of marked local significance, and apologizes in advance for a fre- quent use of it. When a stream becomes tortuous and deep, with a current almost imperceptible in the summer months, and the banks are low and covered with rank marsh grass, or densely tangled thickets of alder bushes, the natives call it a " deadwater." 10 THE ST. JOHN lUVEli. twenty-three miles east of Quebec eity. The dis- tance is forty-six miles. Then twenty-two miles of down-stream paddling brings them to the St. John River, the first fourteen miles being on the Daaquam, where the water is " dead" (technically speaking), and the banks richly wooded. Lum- bermen say that the best timber cut above AUa- gash comes from the various tributaries of the Northwest Branch, all of which, excepting the headwaters of a few small brooks, lie in a wilder- ness as yet uninvaded by other than the canoeist, hunter, and woodsman. Small trout are quite numerous in some of these waters, but the sports- man is advised to go elsewhere if fishing is his primary object. Some years ago the Northwest Branch was the scene of a mournful tragedy. A Frenchman, traveling in the wood, stepped suddenly upon a steel trap, attached by a chain, in the usual way, to a heavy spruce log, and covered with brush and moss. His foot was caught, and vain were all attempts to loosen it. Imprisoned in a track- less forest, mocked by the echoes of his cries for help, he met a lingering death by famine and exposure. Bears are usually caught by steel traps, and they have been known to drag the heavy chains and logs for some distance, and finally gnaw their captured paws off, while strug- gling savagely for freedom. THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 11 SEVEN ISLANDS AND VICINITY. Between the Northwest Branch and Seven Ishmds, twenty-six miles, the river is wide, shal- low, rocky, and rapid. The rapids are not bad enough to worry a veteran canoeist, but the main St. John, and in fact all tributaries above Alla- gash, drop so low in occasional dry seasons that it becomes almost impossible to navigate them at all. Some gentlemen from Boston — and they were veterans too, fearing nothing from the moose to the mosquito — spent eight days in wading and dragging a canoe from the St. Valier road to the Islands. At that time, however, the water was exceptionally low. Burntland Brook, which enters the river from the north, six miles below the Northwest Branch, has a deep pool near the mouth, where, at times, trout of the first magnitude may be caught in abundance. The Northwest Rapid, also, is re- puted to be a good fishing-ground. Seven Islands, the most remote settlement on the St. John, was founded about sixty-five years ago, and named inappropriately from the presence of thirteen alluvial islands that here obstruct the channel. It now consists of half a dozen large and comfortable farms, having no means of com- munication with the rest of the civilized world but by the river and a rough wood road leading to St. Pamphile, a small village of Quebec sit- 12 THE ST. JOHN RIVER, uated thirty-six miles from the St. Lawrence at L' Islet. The road travei'ses the most aggravating sloughs and swamps, and travelers who reach the Islands that way generidly prefer to return by water. As a good portage, thirteen miles in length, connects the Currier farm at The Islands with Harvey's Depot farm on the Allagash, the tourist is advised to cross over and enjoy the su- perior sporting facilities of that stream. FROM THE ISLANDS TO THE ALLAGASH. Below Seven Islands, and almost all the way to Allagash, a distance of fifty miles, the St. John is shallower, and even more rocky and turbulent than it is above the Islands, and two rapids, the most dangerous on the river, are found here. One, called '•' Big Black River Rapid," where the water falls for half a mile over ledges of slate, in a channel plentifully bestrewn with jagged bowl- ders, is a mile above Big Black River, and twenty miles below the Islands ; while the other, called the " Big Rapid," begins about three miles above Little Black River, and forms a succession of small cascades and frothy pools, aggregating nearly two miles in length. Fewer ledges appear in the " Big " than in the Big Black River Rapid, but more bowlders obstruct the channel ; both are very dangerous for other than the experienced native to navigate. In the spring, when the waves are heavy, bateaux are often swamped, and THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 13 occasionally a life is lost ; yet in spite of these great rapids, and many smaller on'.s, heavy tow boats, laden with horses, hay, and lumbermen's supplies, ascend the river, at medium water, to the Baker Branch. Heavy horses, used to wading over the roughest river bottom, supply the power, and the stream-drivers, with ropes and poles, strive diligently to keep the unwieldy craft in the proper channel. Navigation is certainly bad, whether for canoe or bateau, between the Northwest Branch and AUagash, and the scenery is, as a rule, monoto- nous, and nowh'^re very picturesque. A few scattered settlers are found, principally around the mouths of the Little Black and Chemquassa- bamticook rivers, but having no means of com- munication 'with the outside world, except by the rough river, their mode of life is very primitive. One man, the solitary occupant of a frame house on the left bank, eleven miles from his next door neighbor, was, a few years ago, forgetting hu- man speech, and finding it quite a difficult task to think of words proper for the conveyance of the most ordinary ideas. Above the Big Kapids lived a family of which no member had ever seen a railway or a telegraph wire. Some of the boys had never seen a photograph, or even an ordinary highway road. The mother had traveled as far as Edmundston, or Little Falls, which she impli- citly believed to be a metropolis of colossal pro- 14 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. portions. Certainly the education of the " Chem- quassabamtieookers " has been neglected in some respects, but they have a vast knowledge of wood- craft, canoe - polirg and stream - driving, all of which sciences are sadly neglected in our greater universities. Canoe-poling really is a science. The polers gradually urge the canoe to the foot of the rapid, where the water tumbles and tosses furiously through narrow channels, separated by bowlders or ledges ; and then, glancing hastily up-stream to determine which of these tortuous channels is straightest or deepest, they give a sturdy shove, and the bow of the frail craft is almost buried in the foaming waters. When the force of the first push is spent, the bow is often out of water, the stern deeply sunk in the frothy pool below. Then the bow-poler digs his pole into some crevice between the rocks, and there holds it, trembling with the mighty force of the current, until the stern man has reset his own pole a few feet up the stream, and prepared for another her- culean effort. So great is the power of the water, that a deviation of but a few inches from the direction of its flow may cause the canoe to be swung broadside upon some sharp and jagged rock. The Indians consider it more dangerous to descend some of the longer rapids than to pole up, as in places where unexpected peculiarities in the channel necessitate a sudden change of THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 15 course, the canoe iiiiiy have attained a momentum extremely difficult to check. niG AND LITTLE BLACK RIVERS. The Big Black River rises west of St. Pamphile in Quebec, runs about forty-five miles, and emp- ties into the St. John twenty-one miles below Seven Islands. The headwaters of botli the main stream and Depot stream, or })rincipid western branch, interlock with the Northwest Branch of the St. John. The river lies almost totally in the wilderness, but a few tributaries traverse the clearings of St. Pamphile, and the road to Seven Islands crosses the main stream and Depot Branch. The word "depot," in sylvan dialect, means a storage camp where lumbermen resort for supplies. One of these is on the Depot Branch. The hunters choose various places for storing provisions, including the hollowed trunks of old decayed trees. On one occasion a novice and his guide were lost, and the novice express- ing anxiety about the meagre food supply, the guide jocosely remarked : " I can kick bread and molasses out of most any stump." At average water the canoeing is good below St. Pamphile, and the principal branches of Black River are also more or less navigable. The Indian name of the river is Chimpassacoutie ; of its North Branch, Metawaakwamis. Very exten- sive deadwaters occur both on the main stream 16 THE ST, JOHN RIVER. and tributaries. The fishing' is poor, but game quite plentiful, — deer especially so. The two Black liivers have been named from the dark color of their waters ; a color i)artly derived, it seems, from the numerous deadwaters, where the soft nmddy banks are easily eroded, and nuich vegetable matter settles and decays. They are not the sole cause, however, as some streams are wine-colored from organic or mineral impurities above the deadwaters, and the little Oroquois River, below Ednmndston, is quite half deadwater, yet very clear. Little Black River, hi^ving the same general characteristics as Big Black, enters the St. John three miles above AUagash. A few settlers live at the mouth, above which the whole river basin is surrounded by what Thoreau calls " the grim untrodden wilderness, whose tangled labyrinth of living, fallen and decaying trees only the deer and moose, the bear and wolf can easily pene- trate." The settlers are very poor. When an explorer was about to throw away a well-picked ham bone, the guide arrested his arm, saying that he would take it to one of the houses, where the gift would be appreciated, — probably as a suitable ingredi- ^ ent for soup. THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 17 LAC DE l'EST. About midway between Big and Little Black rivers the St. John receives the Chem(|uaHsabam- ticook, a considerable stream flowing from Lac de L'Est. The Allagash has a tributary of the same name, the natives pronouncing it " Se-bam- se-cook." Surrounded as it is by lofty forest-clad hills, that rise quite abruptly from the water's edge, Lac de L'Est presents more attractions than any other lake of the St. John system above the Alla- gash. It teems with mammoth trout, and the tou- ladi (^salmo ferox) is equally plentiful. July is the best month for fishing. The only settlement is the little plantation of the Indian Louis John, connected by thirteen miles of very rough wood road with the French settlements southeast of Kamouraska. The lake measures nine miles in length, and the international boundary crosses it two miles above the outlet. Natives say that the stream would be readily canoeable, at average water, from Lac de L'Est to the St. John, a dis- tance of eighteen miles, if the channel was freed from obstructions ; but a reliable explorer says : " I have seen the bed of the Chemquassabamti- cook perfectly dry in the latter part of August." 18 THS ST. JOHN RIVER, \ DRAINAGE AREAS. The total drainage area of the St. John, with tributaries, above the Allagash, is 2,950 square | miles, of Big Black River, about 600 square miles, of the Northwest Branch, about 550 square miles, I of the St. John, with tributaries, above the North- west Branch, 770 square miles, and of Little Black Eiver, 310 square miles. The Seven Islands are 365 miles, and the mouth of the Allagash 315 miles, from the sea at St. John city. ■ '' ' ' ■ ! THE ALLAGASH RIVER. | The Aroostook, Tobique, Jemseg, Allagash, and \ Madawaska are the five tributaries of the St. John j having drainage areas over one thousand square j miles in extent. That of the Allagash is 1,450 « . . i miles, including the basins of the two principal branches, the Chemquassabamticook and Mus- quacook. The river is more picturesque, and in| every way more attractive than the main St. John I above it ; the waters abound with fish ; the neigh- 1 boring forests with moose, deer, and caribou. Beaver are found on the small tributary brooks, but not more frequently than on other remote watercourses in Northern Maine and New Bruns- wick. The source of the Allagash is not over ten miles, in a straight line, from the junction of the THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 19 Southwest and Baker branches of the St. John, and the river flows easterly at first, through Alla- gash Lake into Chamberlain Lake. AUagash Lake may be reached by portage from Poland Brook, a stream flowing indirectly into the West Branch of the Penobscot, and is quite large, with precipitous rocky shores on the western side. Travelers say the fishing is good near the river's inlet. A courageous canoeist may ascend the AUa- gash for many miles above the lake and portage to Lac Yule, the head of the Chemquassabamti- cook ; but novices are respectfully advised to re- frain from any such undertaking. From AUagash Lake to AUagash Pond, a dis- tance of two or three miles, the current is rapid ;* and between the pond and Chamberlain Lake there are two falls, many rapids, and several lit- tle deadwaters. From Mud Pond, which con- nects with Chamberlain Lake by a small, sluggish brook, a well-known portage, two miles in length, leads to the Umbazookscus Lake and Stream, the latter waters flowing into the West Branch of the Penobscot. Many travelers from Moosehead Lake pass this way, the carry having been much improved in recent years. Thoreau, who crossed it in 1857, says : " I would not have missed that walk for a good deal. If you want an exact re- ceipt for making such a road, take one part Mud Pond, and dilute it with equal parts of Umba- zookskus and Apmoojenegamook ; then send a fam« 20 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. ily of musquash through to locate it, look after the grades and culverts, and finish it to their minds, and let a hurricane follow to do the fen- eing. The Fish, Madawaska, Jemseg, and Allagash rivers probably have more lake surf?ice within their collective drainage basins, — if we exclude the bays and fiords of the lower St. John, — than all other tributaries combined. Over one hundred lakes and ponds pay tribute to the Allagash, and of these. Chamberlain Lake is much the largest. The famous Chamberlain farm, where supplies may be obtained, is the only settlement to break the monotony of its forest-clad shores. Eagle Lake, sixteen miles long, is next below Chamberlain, and next in size, connecting with Churchill Lake or Wallagasquequam, the third in the chain, by a still-water thoroughfare. Several brooks fall into Eagle Lake, which is irregular in outline, and very picturesque, inclosing a couple of large wooded islands. Pillsbury Island is the more southerly of these, and, almost opposite, Smith Brook flows in from the east, a stream " canoe- able " to its source in Haymock Lake. Russell, Soper, and Snare are three other large brooks en- tering the Allagash in Eagle Lake ; all fairly good trout streams, partially navigable for canoes. Thoroughfare Brook above Churchill Lake is also a considerable stream, much resembling those last named. THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 21 Below the outlet of Chamberlain Lake, the lumbermen have, for many years, maintained a dam, by means of which, and a canal connecting Chamberlain and Telos lakes with Webster Brook, the most material part of the upper AUa- gash is turned down the East Branch of the Pe- nobscot. Thus we have the rare phenomenon of one stream entering two rivers. Chamberlain Lake forms the connecting link, and, in the freshet season especially, flows both east and north, like the Cassaquiare in South America, a stream joining the Orinoco River with the Rio Negro, a branch of the Amazon. The effect of such a dam upon lake scenery is truly startling. The sandy beaches disappear, the waves break rudely on the forest, the stately trees, beaten by drifting ice, rotted by unnatural sub- mersion, fall prone upor the water; and their weakened, sapless trunks are piled in much con- fusion against the dense green wood behind, form- ing a tangled maze of stumps, and roots, and branches, on which the stormy waters vainly break. So does Nature seemingly resent the spoli- ation of her works by man. A few rods below Churchill Lake are the ruins of another dam, which once stemmed back an im- mense body of water, and was erected by the Yan- kee lumbermen in order to drive the St. John lumber down the East Branch of the Penobscot, via Telos Lake, the New Brunswick government 22 THE ST. JOHN EIVER. having levied a duty on logs cut in Maine, in al- leged violation of the Treaty of 1842.^ The dam was finally destroyed by a party of men in the employ of John Glazier, Esq., of Fredericton, and so great was the volume of water discharged that the St. John Eiver rose three feet at Grand Falls, one hundred and sixty-five miles away. ^ Sec. 111. Of the Treaty between the States and Great Britain, 1842. In order to promote the interests and encourage the industry of all the inhabitants of the countries watered by the River St. John's and its tributaries, whether living within the State of Maine or the Province of New Brunswick, it is agreed that where, by the provisions of the present treaty, the River St. John's is declared to be the line of boundary, the navigation of the said river shall be free and open to both parties, and shall in no way be obstructed by either ; that all the produce of the for- est in logs, lumber, timber, boards, staves, or shingles, or of agri- culture, not being manufactured, grown on any of those parts of the State of Maine watered by the River St. John's or by its trib- utaries, of which fact reasonable evidence shall, if required, be produced, shall have free access into and through the said river audits tributaries, having their source within the State of Maine, to and from the seaport at the mouth of the River St. John's, and to and from the falls of the said river, either by boats, rafts, or by other conveyance ; that, when within the Province of New Brunswick, the said produce shall be dealt with as if it were the produce of the said province ; that, in like manner, the inhabit- ants of the territory of the upper St. John's, determined by this treaty to belong to her Britannic majesty, shall have free access to and through the river for their produce, in those parts where the said river runs wholly through the State of Maine : Provided, always. That this agreement shall give no right to either party to interfere with any regulations not inconsistent with the terms of the treaty, which the governments, respectively, of Maine or of New Brunswick may make respecting the navigation of said river, where both banks thereof shall belong to the same party. THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 23 For half a mile below the ruined dam there are rapids, the worst on the Allagash, but pigmies when compared with those near Black River on the St. John. In the very midst of one of them, called the " Devil's Elbow," the canoeist must cross at a right angle with the current, or be dashed on jagged rocks, upset, and wrecked. With a loaded canoe strong hands and steady nerves are required to avoid some such calamity, and the novice had better explore the portage called Chase's carry. Churchill Lake is a delightful expanse of water, about six miles long by four broad, receiving, like Eagle Lake, the contributions of many brooks. Two of these brooks, called the " Twins," enter from the southwest, the North Twin being the outlet of Spider Lake, a dark and deep water, swarming with different fishes, and named from its very irregular shore line. A small brook struggles in at the head of Spider Lake through a rather grewsome cedar swamp, where a portage leads to the deadwater of the Munsungan, a branch of the Aroostook. Indians often passed this way in former days, and in 1887 the writer observed a rude picture of a savage chief, carry- ing a birch canoe, which was carved on a tree trunk, with certain signs to indicate the portage. A lone hunter lives on Spider Lake, guarding a depot camp. His sole companion is a cat, which, for the sake of increased proficiency in keeping 24 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. troublesome rodents from the supplies, is com- pelled to live on what it captures vi et armis. We saw it pounce upon a mouse, and swallow the unfortunate animal, yet squeaking, with no more attempt at mastication than a commercial trav- eler makes in a railway restaurant. An interesting trip, through a picturesque, un- broken wilderness, is that from Spider Lake, via Pleasant and Harrow lakes, to the Musquacook, the second in length and volume of the many tributaries of the Allagash. The portage to Pleas- ant Lake is a mile and a half long, and that from Pleasant to Harrow Lake a little over a mile. All told there are six lakes on the main Musquacook stream, the uppermost one. Clear Lake, nestling at the base of Round Mountain, and affording some strik*T)g scenery. The others are connected by navigal le thoroughfares, and the old wood road from Seven Islands to Allagash passes near the outlet of the first lake, from which point it is a ten-mile walk to Harvey's Depot farm on the Allagash. Musquacook stream, below the lakes, is usually navigable for canoes. Long Lake, the nucleus of the Allagash sys- tem, is, like Chamberlain, Eagle, and Churchill lakes, a mere fluvial expansion. It is ten miles long and divided by a narrow thoroughfare into two parts, caUed, respectively. Upper and Lower Umsaskis. The Chemquassabamticook River (already mentioned), which unites with the Up- THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 25 per Umsaskis, is navigable for canoes to Lac Yule, although, for the most part, a broad and shallow stream. Lac Yule is one of the largest lakes of the AUagash country, and was repre- sented on early maps, when the region was little explored, as draining into the St. John River above Seven Islands. Both Upper and Lower Umsaskis are charmingly picturesque, and afford excellent opportunities for angler and hunter. One Harvey, a famous woodsman, thoroughly conversant with the geographical intricacies of the region, has a depot farm near the foot of the lower lake, where the traveler may take the portage to Currier's farm at the Seven Islands. It is questionable if a better river for the canoeist can be found anywhere than the AUa- gash below Harvey's. Almost everywhere the current is swift, and ever and anon the water dashes down a sand-bar, gradually narrowing as it descends, until a myriad of dancing pyramidal shaped waves are formed by the action of cross currents and eddies. These waves have been rather oddly termed "hay-stacks." The woods are rich in game, more especially near Petaguon- gomis, or Round Pond, an oval-shaped fluvial ex- pansion three miles above Musquacook. Above the Great Fall, fourteen miles from the mouth, the water scatters into many channels, which inclose a cluster of islands very similar to the Seven Islands on the St. John; and a few 26 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. pioneer settlers live in this vicinity: The fall is almost thirty feet high, and second in magnitude among all waterfalls of the St. John River sys- tem. Below, the stream is rocky, with many rapids, of which those at Two Brooks are most exciting, although not dangerous. The waters finally discharge by two channels, which inclose Gardner's Island between them. The AUagash and St. Francis rivers are the only large tributaries of the St. John with well- formed deltas at their mouths. FROM ALLAGASH TO ST. FRANCIS. The St. John, as a really large river, com- mences at the mouth of the Allagash, the latter stream probably having a volume of discharge two thirds as great as that of the former above their junction. During the annual spring freshet the St. John is very much the larger, there being few lakes to store flood water ; but as it falls so low in the dry season, there are undoubtedly times when the Allagash becomes the greater river. At Allagash, too, we find the commencement of a civilization which increases in complexity, gener- ally speaking, all the way to the Bay of Fundy ; and at Golden' s farm, four miles below, the na- tives enjoy no less a luxury than a carriage road. In the twelve miles between Allagash and St. Francis some lively rapids appear. Nigger Brook, Cross Rock, Golden's and Rankin's rapids being THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 27 most conspicuous ; while a lofty ridge, curiously serrated along the summit, and denuded by forest fires, rises abruptly on the north, lending a very distinct enchantment to the view. All the rapids are navigable, but, as the guide says: ''^ Prcnez garde les grandes rocliea,'''' The Cobobscoose or Nigger Brook (the latter name was given because a negro stream-driver once found a watery grave there ; Cobobscoose is not the Algonquin word for " nigger ") enters near the rapid of the same name. It rises in Cobobscoose Lake, fifteen miles south of the St. John, and is, at the mouth, a noisy torrent of very clear water, giving promise of trout in the more quiet turns above. THE ST. FRANCIS RIVER. The St. Francis well merits description as a river interesting alike to all classes of sportsmen. Eising in a small lake of the same name, but twelve miles from the seacoast east of Riviere du Loup, the stream actually twists across the water- shed from the St. Lawrence side. It is about seventy-five miles long and drains about seven hundred square miles. The old Temiscouata portage (a military road) and the recently constructed Temiscouata Valley Railway cross the river five miles below St. Francis Lake, and from there down the canoeing is continuously good, excepting a few natural 28 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. dams of logs and drift stuff, all in the first fifteen miles. In one place, where the stream permeates such a tangled thicket of alders that the branches and twigs have knotted in a common mass across the water, the ^^prenez garde '* of our infallible guide is intermingled with the more unpardonable exclamation, " Sucre I " Pohenagamook, on the western shore of Bound- ary Lake, a village of two or three hundred souls, — French souls, — and the first settlement below the railway crossing, is connected with St. Alex- andre on the St. Lawrence by a road twenty-six miles long. The lake is nine miles long, narrow and deep. Hills uprise on all sides ; the alter- nation of wooded slopes with patches of cultivated land and fields of charred stumps adding a variety to the landscape. From Boundary Lake to the mouth, a distance of forty miles, the St. Francis forms the inter- national boundary. For twenty-five miles, com- mencing at the lake, Maine is on the west side, and Quebec on the east ; for the remainder of the distance Maine still on the west side, but New Brunswick on the east. Receiving in Boundary Lake the waters of Smoke River, and in the deadwater below those of Sal-way-e-sip,.or Wild Cat Brook, and yet lower down the addition of Dead Brook, the St. Francis becomes a much more considerable stream, and glides so rapidly aroimd a series of sharp turns THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 29 that a canoe is in danger of being slapped against the bank, or carried under overhanging brush. On a late journey both these inisha])s occurred. Below the round turns come the Kelly Kapids, which are said to be two miles long, but canoes have descended in eleven minutes, during high water, however long they are. The trout-fishing is very good occasionally, both in the rapids and in the deadwater below Boundary Lake. Blue River, the one really larg(3 tributary, enters from the east, twelve miles below Pohenagainook. It is the first clear-water stream of the St. John system that we have yet met, and has two prin- cipal branches rising near Notre Dame de St. Louis du Ha Ha, a village on the Temiscouata road. About forty miles of its waters would be canoeable but for numerous " jams " of driftwood and fallen trees. In the summer of 1887 the East Branch was so choked with lumber, prostrate trees, old roots, and bushes, that two explorers were obliged to abandon their canoe and outfit, walk through the woods to the forks, and descend the main stream straddled on a cedar log. On this quixotic voyage they were carried backward over a smooth rapid, sent crashing through a mass of brush which overhung the eddying pool below, stranded on a sunken root, and idtimately over- turned. Their feet, always in the icy water, were scraped on sand-bars over which the unmanage- able log passed with much velocity, and a lack 30 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. of shelter, warmth, and food achled much to their diseonifort. While IMiie Kiver is a iimeh purer stream than the St. Francis, the trout-fishinf>* is greatly inferior, — a stranj^e faet, considering the habit of the trout to follow the clearest water. The region is an excellent one for caribou and bears. At the Nadeau farm, three miles below Blue Kiver, a good portage, also of three miles, leads to Cabineau Lidic. Beau Lake is quite what the name implies, — a beautiful sheet of water, nine miles long by two broad, surrounded by hills and forests as nearly virgin as one is apt to find in these days. Below the lake the river is very peculiar, appearing like a great stream newly turned down a wooded valley, no sufficient time having elapsed for the wearing out of an ordinary river channel. First we find a pond, then a lively rajnd, then another pond or lake. The water rushes laterally from Cross Lake in a rapid called the " Mill Privilege," so close to the lake as to be easily seen one third way out from shore ; while the outlet is so narrow that a canoeist might well pass by, and find himself in a natural cnl-de-sae at the lower end. Below the Mill Privilege come the winding ledges, with more rapids, the stream here being exactly paral- lel with the lower part of Cross Lake, from which it has just escaped. Then come more ponds, small and cup-shaped, then Glazier Lake, or Woolas- 3 a s H o H THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 31 tookpectawaagomic, five miles long and very pic- turesque ; then rapids again to the St. John River. The greatest depth of Beau Lake is about 150 feet ; of Glazier Lake, 115 feet. A peculiarly pleasant feature of St. Francis scenery is the ap- proach of forest growth to the very water's edge ; but as the scenery is enhanced thereby, so is the convenience of beaching canoes diminished. Fall Brook, named from two waterfalls each twenty or thirty feet high, and flowing from Fall Brook Lake near the valley of Little Black River, pours in from the west, one mile below Glazier Lake. A mile or so above the Second Fall begins the famous deadwater, where the trout supply, after many years of fishing, has literally proved inexhaustible. Very few of the fish are large, but an occasional one weighs three pounds. Few canoemen leave the St. Francis without regret, as it is, par excellence, a river of pretty lakes and lively rapids. 'The water supply of all these rivers is largely regulated by the lake ex- tent within their respective areas. The Allagash, St. Francis, Fish, and Madawaska rivers have good water at all times, while the St. John, above Allagash, and the Aroostook, become very low in dry seasons. Green River and the Tobique usu- ally have good water, although their lake areas are comparatively small ; probably because they are more largely fed by springs than are the other tributaries. 32 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. FROM ST. FRANCIS TO FORT KENT. Between St. Francis and Fort Kent, a distance of eighteen miles, the St. John is generally wide and shallow, the channel often splitting to inclose a grassy island, fringed with bushes and stately elm-trees. The water is rapid, or " strong " as the natives say, and falls with extraordinary ve- locity and much uproar over numerous sand-bars. On each side are broad intervales, backed by hills of uneven contour. Many consider this the most picturesque portion of the river. The interna- tional boundary follows the thread of the stream for seventy-two miles, beginning at St. Francis ; the first road on the English side begins below St. Francis stream ; and a one-train-a-day railway follows the valley from Edmundston. At St. Francis, also, the character of the colonization alters greatly, the people above being of English descent, the people below almost exclusively of French. Among the French we find a very peculiar class called " Jumpers," an unfortunate people afflicted with an hereditary nervous malady that causes them to do the most extraordinary things, when influenced by unusual excitement resulting from unexpected sensations of touch and sound. A loud shout, a sudden blow, or a rifle-crack arouses the latent trouble, which manifests itself for but a brief interval, leaving its subject a victim to THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 33 remorse or shame. When some " Jumpers " were taking their luncheon, while " logging," and a by- stander shouted " Strike ! " the men are said to have thrown their knives and platters about most recklessly, and at a later day one of these un- happy men is said to have jumped on a revolving saw when thus unduly influenced. In 1883, while ascending the Madawaska River, the writer was requested by his guide, a self-acknowledged "Jumper," to warn him before loudly calling to people on the bank, as otherwise he might drop his pole and overturn the canoe. The " Jump- ers " seem to have originated in one locality, which was, we believe, on the American side of the boundary line and above St. Francis. THE GREAT FISH RIVER. At Fort Kent, where stands an old block-house, a monument of the " bloodless " Aroostook War, Great Fish River enters the St. John from the south. It is ninety-five miles long, measuring from the source of the West Branch, with a drainage area of nine hundred and fifty square miles, thus ranking sixth among the tributaries of the St. John. The East Branch is a mere succession of great lakes, with thoroughfares of quick water between, so little known a half -century ago that a surveyor remarked : " We are pretty certain that they have never been explored by any agent of the State, 34 THE ST, JOHN RIVER. and all that is known respecting them is derived from the French at Madawaska." Long Lake, twelve miles in length by two in breadth, is the head of the chain, and attainable by a portage of only five miles from the St. John at Frenchville. Curiously enough, the canoeist, by making this short carry, can paddle down sixty-five miles of river and lake to his starting point. Such a cir- cuitous flow of water forms a not uncommon geo- graphical feature of the country, a similar voyage being possible on Madawaska water, as will be seen hereafter. Mud, Cross, and Square lakes are other expansions of the East Branch ; Square probably having as large a superficial area as Long Lake, although shaped more compactly. Limestone Point, on its western shore, affords good camping facilities, and often a refuge from flies. When one has undergone the torture of continual poisonous injections, he appreciates the relief afforded by e^en a temporary cessation of attacks from those carnivorous outlaws, " les mouches.^^ The northwestern shore of Long Lake is under cultivation, but Mud, Cross, and Square lakes are completely encompassed by those evergreen forests that seem to exercise an influence similar to that of the sea ov*^ the habits and thoughts of men, when once inured to life within their dusky glades. " What is most striking in the Maine wilder- THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 85 ness," says Thoreau, " is the continuousness of the forest, with fewer open intervals or glades V;han you had imagined. Except the few burnt lands, the narrow intervals on the river, the bare top.^ of the mountains, and the lakes and streams, the for- est is uninterrupted. It is even more grim and wild than you had anticipated, — a damp and intri- cate wilderness, in the spring everywhere wet and miry. The woods are most impressive at night, when one reclines on his somewhat prickly bed of boughs and hears the wind moaning mournfully among the treetops, while a deathly stillness prevails be- neath, broken only by an occasional crackling of branches, which the imagination oft attributes to the bear, the bull-moose, or the restless " Indian devil." The Indian devil is that animal which, when seen, is never believed to have been seen by anybody but the person who saw it. It varies in size, shape, and degree of ferocity. Many brooks feed the East Branch, at the mouths of which trout were once very niunerous. At present all the waters of this system are sadly overfished. Eagle Lake, in which the branches of Fish River unite, is about fifteen miles long, and bent near the middle at a right angle. The landscape is very picturesque. The eastern arm, which re- ceives the East Branch, is wood-surrounded ; while the northern arm, where the Fish River proper 36 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. emanates, is thickly settled on the western side. As a result of the great volume of water poured in during the freshets, we find a much greater space between high and low water marks than on any of the other lakes. The West Branch of Fish River, originating in Great Fish Lake, a basin supplied by large moun- tain brooks that interlock with the Musquacook and Machias rivers, is longer than the East Branch, and drains about four hundred and ninety square miles. The lake is attainable by canoe, after " portaging " by a small waterfall, and it is a naturally good water for trout, remote enough to prevent overfishing. The stately moose, also, monarch of the woods of Maine, pays frequent visits there, to wallow in the shallow water, and browse upon aquatic grasses and buds of water- lilies. Portage and Nadeau are the other West Branch lakes, the former seven, the latter nine miles long. Birch and Eed rivers, both navigable streams, enter Nadeau Lake, a water fringed by seemingly interminable forests. The sportsman should " try a cast " at their outlets, as well as at the mouths of rivulets. A stage road connects Portage Lake settlement with Ashland, or "No. 11," on the Aroostook, crossing the West Branch a mile below Nadeau Lake. One of the most attractive streams in the coun- try, from the canoeist's point of view,, is Great Fish River below Eagle Lake. The volmne of THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 37 water is heavy, with an average depth of four feet, and the rapids almost continuous ; not dan- gerous rapids, nor rocky, but quick " shoots " that arouse a feeling somewhat like that of falling through air. The surrounding hills are high, and afford a pleasing landscape. Unfortunately the stream is short, and " carries " must be made around the falls and the dam above Fort Kent. The natural Fish liiver Fall is about twenty feet high, and beautified by jutting ledges, that beat the falling waters till they roar with rage and seek revenge by trituration. The AUagash and Great Fish rivers are the only large affluents of the St. John flowing wholly within the State of Maine, and Fish River is the first stream, yet considered, on which a dam may be found, other than one constructed by lumber- men to facilitate stream-driving. May the other rivers remain dam-less for numerous generations 1 FROM FORT KENT TO EDMUNDSTON. ; 4 From Fort Kent to Edmundston (nineteen miles) the St. John is a swift-flowing river, con- taining fewer islands and sand-bars than char- acterize it immediately below St. Francis. An extensive intervale and low country surround the mouth of the Meruimpticook, or Baker Brook, but the valley contracts on nearing Edmundston. Fish River Rapid, two miles from the fort, is easy and pleasant to " shoot," and the current 38 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. frequently breaks over rocks lying wholly or par- tially beneath the surface. The once beautiful , approach to Edmundston is ruined by the numer- ous railway cuttings. Alas ! railways, wherever found, seem destructive of natural scenery, and invariably more useful than ornamental. Edmundston, or Little Falls, a cosy village of one thousand people, and the most central start- ing point for the neighboring sporting grounds, is situated on both banks of the Madawaska River, near its confluence with the St. John. It has an upper and a lower town, a host of indifferent hotels, a very multitude of whiskey shops. Here I the St. Francis, Temiscouata, and Canadian Pa- ' cific railways have termini; the latter road fol- lowing the St. John to Woodstock, one hundred ^ and fifteen miles away, and crossing at Upper Woodstock, Andover, and Grand Falls. Ed- ' mundston is half English, half French, and was named after Sir Edmund Head, a former gov- \ ernor of New Brunswick. I THE MERUIMPTICOOK RIVER. ) The Meruimpticook, or Baker Brook (drainage \ area one hundred and fifty square miles), pours its pellucid waters into the St. John, with consid- erable vehemence, at a point thirteen miles above Edmundston. Meruimpticook Lake, the source of the north and principal branch, calmly reposes in a forest wilderness extending from the depres- THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 39 sion of Cabineau Lake to that of Temiscouata. It is narrow, but very deep, and surrounded by hills which rise from the shore to heights varying between one hundred and fifty and three hundred feet. Strangely enough, sportsmen seldom visit this lake, notwithstanding its proximity to a well- settled country, and its excellent reputation as a fishing place and caribou ground. The natives call it " Jerry Lake." Baker Lake, five miles in length, which is drained by the west branch of the Meruimpti- cook, a short stream of rapid water, is well settled at the southern end, and may be reached from the St. John River, at Caron Brook, by passing over five miles of tolerably good road. A portage of four miles — quite famous for its impassability in summer — connects the north end of Baker with the south end of Cabineau Lake ; another connects Baker and Enoch Baker lakes. Enoch Baker is a beautiful sheet of water, of considerable depth, with high hills rising on the western side, imme- diately from the water's edge. The Meruimpticook stream is about twenty-five miles long, measured from the lake of that name to the St. John River, and for the most part very rapid. Descending, we find a small fall quite near the outlet of the lake, where a dam has been built, and another, three feet high, above the west branch. Passing the west branch, we reach the Murray Fall, which may be navigated, 40 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. and the Ziae Fall, mucl^ the roughest spot on the Meruimpticook, where a portage must be made. A few miles above the mouth, and in the low country, begin the deadwaters, with all their cus- tomary features. That a stream should meander a little in sluggish places is not surprising, but the number of serpentine turns and twists in any given mile of one of these many deadwaters makes the weary canoeist despair of ever reach- ing his journey's end. Mr. Cooney, an early gcD- grapher of New Brunswick, and one meriting praise for the animation and originality of his language, describes these crooked courses as the result of " a violent collision between impetuous freshets and strong lateral resistances ; " but his theory is somewhat incorrect, brooks being ever most tortuous where they permeate an easily eroded alluvium bed, and straightest where the currents are most impetuous. One large eastern branch enters the Meruimp- ticook. Who knows but what there may be a good-sized lake upon it? The region is almost unexplored. Trout are plentiful between Lake Meruimpti- cook and the Ziae Fall, some of them large and gamey. Altogether the river offers numerous at- tractions to the various classes of sportsmen. THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 41 THE MADAWASKA RIVER. Although the Mtulawiiska River is one hundred and ten miles long-, when measured up the Squa- took, the source is only thirty miles in a direct line from the mouth. In drainage area (eleven hundred and forty square miles) it ranks fifth among the St. John's tributaries, and it flows from many sources, the Squatook being the long- est branch, the Touladi the greatest in volume of discharge. The Squatook first runs due south, and then almost north, turning at a very acute angle. Beards] ey Brook, which creeps lazily over a sandy bed overhung by projections and cano- pied by deflectant alders, enters near this angle, and forms a part of the well-known portage lead- ing to the main Madawaska at a point fifteen miles from Edmundston. Here, as on Fish River, we may make a short carry and have a down- stream paddle of seventy-five miles to our starting point ; to add to which inducement the Squatook is a surpassingly attractive stream, having pure, clear water (teeming with fish), exciting rapids, and beautiful lakes. Big Squatook Lake is nine miles long, with a few small but high and rocky islands dotting the surface ; and from there to Sugar Loaf Lake (eleven miles) the water is al- most continuously rapid, flowing over a narrow bed often arched by boughs. Squatook " Fall," so called, is a mere navigable rapid, but a canoeist 42 THE ST. JOHN niVKu. must be on the qui vive when descending it. Not far below, a natural driftwood dam necessitates a short portage. Sugai' Loaf Lake, the third in the Squatook chain, is named after Sugar Loaf Mountain, an isolated peak of very curious contour near the eastern shore. Near its centre, directly o])posite the mountain, appears an elevated island, famous as a camping gi'ound, where the most picturesque views can be obtained. Many trout are captured annually off the mouths of rivulets entering Sugar Loaf Lake, while other excellent fishing grounds, in season, are at the head of Big Squa- took Lake, and in the rapids above Squatook Fall. The AUagash is better for large game, but the Squatook, like Blue River, has an unenviable reputation for bears. Bruin is not aggressive in his ordinary moods, but quite capable of attack when fairly brought to bay. It was on the Clearwater River that some explorers met a large she-bear with cubs, at a place where a circuitous rocky gorge cut off the beast's retreat. The bear charged ferociously; but a labyrinth of fallen trees and shrubbery con- siderably impeding her progress, the explorers were enabled to escape. The imperturbability of the guide on that occasion deserves notice. He looked incredulous at first, as if wondering at the animal's audacity in attacking so old and tried a hunter, and then remarked reproachfully, " Well, THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 43 seein' as this is tho first time we Ve met, you niiikos yourself (liirii familiar." ' Twenty-five miles below Beardsley Brook port- age the Squatook and Touladi rivers unite, and half a mile above this fork the pjaj^le and llorton branches unite to form the Touladi. How curi- ously some rivers bunch together ! The Nictaux or Forks of the Tobique afford a yet n)ore striking illustration of the same phenomenon. The branches present a marked contrast. The llorton Branch is very clear and rapid, the Eagle Branch vei-y dark and sluggish. In the deep pool where they meet, a fish, distinctly seen when swimming in the Horton water, disappears from view at once on entering the Eagle Branch. The Horton Branch and Green River have interlock- ing sources ; but it would be exceedingly difficult, perhaps impossible, to carry a canoe across the common watershed, and the former stream faFs so quickly after a rain that the canoeist wishing to ascend must choose his time rather carefully. It widens at one part to form Lac des Outres, below which there is a gorge containing one fall from six to ten feet high, with small cascades below, a portage of half a mile leading from the fall to the deadwater below the lake. The Big Jam, a stupendous obstruction, famous throughout the country, is one mile from the mouth. An extreme crookedness in the channel, with a comparatively straight course above, probably fostered its for- 44 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. mation by allowing large quantities of driftwood and logs to accumulate freely ; but, however that may be, the Jam is now a mile long, and ever increasing. It is full of holes, through which is seen the gurgling stream beneath, and swarms with trout. Unfortunately the angler is apt to lose his tackle in the complex fabric of logs, roots, and branches on trying to fish there. The lum- bermen have excavated a flood channel for run- ning logs around. The Horton Branch is the first in a belt of clear-water rivers that extends, we believe, to the eastern extremity of Gaspe Peninsula, and in- cludes such famous streams as the Restigouche, Tobique, and Nepisiguit, with the larger tributa- ries of the Miramichi. It is a good trout stream, although deep pools are scarce. The Eagle Branch, flowing from Lac des Islets, near the upper waters of the Trois Pistoles River, is tortuous, narrow, and deep, arched by inter- locking branches, and kissed by dangling bushes. The current flows swiftly, eddying around the rich alluvial banks unbroken by a single rapid. Eagle Lake, eight miles above the Touladi forks, is shallow, with low, flat shores, where rushes and water-lilies grow profusely, and extend far out into the water. A point on the southern shore, opposite the inlet, was a favorite camping-place with the Indians, when accustomed to pass by this route to the St. Lawrence. Lac des Islets, a THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 45 shallow water, named from the number of small islands formed by bowlders and angular blocks of hard sandstone, may be reached by two portages from the St, Lawrence side of the watershed. The outlet, called " Riviere St. Jean," is small, and for some distance below the lake very tortuous, and overhung by alders and leaning bushes. Then the stream spreads, becoming shallow. Numerous "drift jams" occur; and a mile and a half from Lac des Aigles there is a fall of about six feet, with rough rapids above, extending half a mile. The water flows peaceably between the fall and lake. Touladi River proper is sluggish and very deep for eight miles below the forks, and then it expands to form the Second and First Touladi lakes, both shallow and uninteresting. Rapids begin below the first lake, and culminate in the Touladi Fall, a rough descent over transverse ledges, where the unwary canoeist sometimes finds himself in gurgite vasto, together with his camp supplies. Such was the experience of two Fredericton college students a few years ago. The great pool below the fall, and the water-worn depressions in the ledges above, are excellent places for trout-fishing in July, and the angler may capture a five-pound fish there, if the fates are propitious. Later in the season the big trout repair to the Madawaska River, where the sluggish current and soft grassy bottom afford an exceptionally good spawning 46 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. ground. The Touladi River finally discharges into Temiscouata Lake, after draining five hundred and sixty square miles, and it is the largest river in the St. John system having no settlement above its outlet. Temiscouata (winding water) is the deepest lake in any way connected with the St. John, and fully nine times as deep as Grand Lake on the Jemseg, its only rival in superficial area. It is twenty-eight miles long by two in average width. The bottom is almost level at a mean depth of . about two hundred feet, throughcut the lower and central portions, the water deepening very quickly on leaving the shore. The northern arm is shal- lower. It is a noticeable fact that Temiscouata Lake, as well as the Madawaska and Ashberish rivers, lie in an almost direct line with the famous Saguenay gorge, but fifty miles distant. Trout and touladi of all sizes abound in Temis- couata, and are commonly captured with trolling hooks. The mouth of Mill Brook, four miles from Detour du Lac, is probably the best place for fly- fishing. Numerous settlements skirt the western side ; on the east we find a few isolated houses uncon- nected with any road. Notre Dame de Detour du Lac, a French village charmingly situated on the hill slope midway down the lake, is, like Ed- mundston, a rendezvous for sportsmen. The Temiscouata Railway follows the shore for fifteen THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 47 miles, disfiguring the otherwise beautiful scenery with myriads of embankments and rock-cuttings. The " Chemin Temiscouata," an old military road, by which the distance to Riviere du Loup is forty miles, strikes away from the lake above Cabineau, and near Fort Ingalls, a collection of very ruinous barracks and guard-houses. Immediately oppo- site. Big Mountain uprears its shaggy wooded crest, and tradition says that soldiers of the garri- son sometimes swam across the intervening water to alleviate the ennui of frontier life. Cabineau River is forty-one miles long from the southern end of Cabineau Lake, and drains an area of one hundred and ten square miles. The lake, which occupies the depression between Meruimpticook and St. Francis, a famous region for caribou-hunting, is thirteen miles long, with a width of one mile and less, very irregular in shape, and dotted with islands. No other lake in the vicinity has water so pure and transparent, though we have here a group of clear waters, in- cluding the Baker Brook and Blue River. Cabi- neau River flows through a marshy swale for six miles below the lake, where innumerable sharply pointed cedar "sprigs extend over the water, and it is easily navigable for canoes, excepting a fall about twenty feet high, six miles from Temiscouata. Above the fall there are extensive deadwaters, where, five years ago, six or seven natural drift- wood dams had formed. The lumbermen cleared 48 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. these dams away, together with numerous beaver works. The Cabineau trout are small, but the valley affords an excellent hunting ground for deer and caribou. The fallow deer, common as they are to-day, were never seen in New Brunswick before the year 1818, at which date also wolves first ap- peared. As the deer rapidly increased in nmn- bers the wolves thrived admirably, never hesitat- ing to devour some domestic animal wiicii weary of a venison diet. While visiting Eel Riv^r Lake in 1842, Dr. Gcsner observed the remains of three deer and a caribou that had been dragged upon the ice and devoured, a pack of eleven wolves crossing the lake during his visit. " The bowlings of these anmials around my camp at night," he says, " were truly terrific." When in subsequent years the number of deer diminished, the wolves gradually disappeared as well, finally becoming extinct; and, now that the deer are rapidly increasing once more, an occasional wolf- howl again breaks the sylvan quietude. It is a most remarkable synchronism, best accounted for on the hypothesis that the wolves north of the St. Lawrence, when famished, cross the ice for plunder. The Ashberish River, by which the Indians formerly crossed from Madawaska to the Trois Pistoles, enters the northern end of Temiscouata. It has a picturesque fall six miles above the THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 49 mouth, and from there down is very tortuous and deep, although quite rapid in places. The Madawaska River proper, twenty - two miles long when measured fi'om Temiscouata Lake to Edmundston, has almost everywhere an even width and depth, a peaceful current, and a grassy bottom. Its valley is thickly settled, the natives spearing the large trout by the barrelful when they descend the river to spawn in August. For two miles below the lake, people say the Mad- awaska never freezes in the coldest weather, the village at Pole River being named Degele after this circumstance. Such a condition might be caused by the deeper Temiscouata waters circu- lating upwards by the suction of the river, and then taking some time to cool after exposure to the air. The old Canada line crosses the val- ley twelve miles from Edmundston, and here the Bossers live, mighty polers, and foremost among Squatook guides. Trout River is a considerable stream of clear water, entering from the west. Near the mouth the customary placidity of the Madawaska is broken by a few rapids, the Little Falls, from which the town of Edmundston de- rived its ancient name, being much the roughest. A dam has been constructed above with materials ruthlessly torn from an old stone fort on the hill- side. Canoes descend the Little Falls occasion- ally, although the " shoot " is rather too lively for most people who travel this way. 50 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. FROM EDMUNDSTON TO GRAND FALLS. Below Etlmundston the physical features of the St. John change perceptibly. Although for five miles, or down to St. Basil, the river incloses islands, and spreads on bars, the channel soon con- tracts, becoming deeper and more sluggish. The glacial action which created the Grand Falls has in fact stemmed the water for twelve miles, or as far as Vanburen Village, on the American bank, the depth varying from fifteen to thirty feet, a greater average than is found elsewhere above Fredericton. Green and Quisibis rivers work out through extensive clay beds, in which fossil trees have been found. The valley, generally speaking, is fertile. The merry Frenchman seldom over- works to earn his daily pork and vegetables, yet the soft notes of his violin, wafted by an evening breeze, and the distant tread of dancers, are sooth- ing to the weary canoeman, if not conducive to the material prosperity of Madawaska County. Some of these festivities (among the lower classes) are extremely hilarious, lasting uninter- ruptedly for two nights and a day. The male French often dance with clay pipes in their mouths, and both arms around the female. It is usually considered bad taste for any one dancer to monopolize the floor, and the offender is occasion- ally ejected from the ball-room, his exit accelera- ted by a vigorous application of pedal extremities THE UPPER ST. JOHN. fi| on the part of jealous ones unable to dance as well. This is termed " socking the boots." Little River, a stream with many branches, enters the St. John at the very brink of Grand Falls, pouring' at low water into a funnel-shaped hole or passageway, and spouting forth into the princij^al fall half way down the cliff. THE OROQUOIS RIVER. Two miles below Edmundston the little Oroquois River unites with the St. John, a stream flowing parallel with 'the Madawaska, and never far dis- tant therefrom. It is easy to navigate as far as the fall, fifteen miles from the mouth, and prob- ably above the fall for some distance. On it we find much deadwater, very pure and transparent, however, and swarming with small trout. Large fish are seldom or never caught there. The fall is about twelve feet high, and operates a mill, which is connected by road with the Madawaska River. GREEN RIVER. No tributary of the St. John rivals Green River in general attractiveness, unless perhaps the To- bique. The popular impression that it is one long, tumultuous rapid from source to mouth is untrue ; for in one place at least, above the old Albert farm, the current runs most innocently for more than a mile. Considered as a whole. Green River is undoubtedly more rapid than any other tribu- 62 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. tary, and one poler a barely sufficient motive- power for a canoe, unless the day's journey be made short. Some of the rapids are straight, others are on bends of the stream called " round turns." The most expeditious way of ascending is by fastening two canoes side by side, but some- what ajjart, with poles, and procuring a strong, sure-footed horse to drag by a tow-line. Although the drainage area is less than five hundred square miles, and the length but seventy- five miles, a sufficiency of water for canoeing may be found at all times, partly because the channel is narrow, and partly because the valley contains an astonishing number of rivulets that never dry up in summer. About twenty miles from the source the fourth branch, or Pimouet, enters from the east, — a stream connected by a difficult portage of seven miles with the Quatawamkedgwick, the principal water of the Restigouche. In the twenty miles between the fourth and second branches Green River is swift and shal- low, with occasional good pools above ledges, in which the trout are exceptionally lively, and very beautiful in shape and markings. Here is the best fishing, and huge trout may be seen swim- ming in and out among the sunken roots far down in the transparent water. Green River ex- cels all other St. John waters for trout, although the mammoth " five-pounder " is not as common as THE UPPER ST. JOHN, 53 in the few great lakes, like Teiniscoiiata ; and it is the only tributary leased by the Provincial gov- ernment for trout-fishing alone. At the Black Fall, one mile above the second fork, where the water tumbles down a natural sluiceway, necessi- tating a carry, a short portage leads to the first Green River lake. There are, all told, six lakes upon the sec- ond fork, or Lake Branch, which drains a valley parallel with the upper Squatook. The first is nearly surrounded by hills, long, narrow, and shallow, and the water has a fall of eight feet a little below its outlet. Between the first and second lakes the stream flows principally through a spruce and cedar swamp, and is without bad rapids, if we except a small fall three quarters of the way up. Second or Mud Lake, which is nearly a mile and a half long, is bounded westerly by a lofty ridge, while on the east the water is shallow, muddy, and swampy. The third and fourth lakes are larger and deeper, and surrounded by rising gi'ound. The fifth and sixth lakes, five miles beyond, lie close to- gether ; the former being very shallow, with a soft bottom of white mud, which the men call " paint," from its quality of sticking to the canoe poles, like white lead. High hills are seen to the northwestward, from the tops of which the gi4 des say they can overlook Squatook Lake. Below the third lake there are three small water' falls, each three or four feet high. 64 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. The first fork, or cast branch of Green River, which has one hirge fall, so the guides 'say, enters about twenty-five miles from the mouth, and no settlements are found above it, either on main stream or tributary. For that matter, a forest almost primeval extends northward to the St. Lawrence valley, and eastward to the lower Restig'ouche, affording ample facilities for the enjoyment of Nature in her most unadulterated form. The Albert farm, easily attained by a portage of nine miles from St. Basil village on the St. John, is situated in one of the most picturesque of valleys, but the Albert family, unfortunately, once the most experienced Green River guides, are sit- uated in the Western States. Within the thirteen miles below the farm the valley is well settled, and excellent views of Green River Mountain, an obtuse peak, beautifully forest-clad, may be ob- tained from the water. We find heavy water- falls five miles above the farm, and one and one half miles from the St. John River, where small milling operations are carried on. Along the middle portion of Green River high hills inclose the valley, and, by lifting their ver- dant tree-clad slopes abruptly from the water, afford most attractive scenery. Natives and travelers familiar with the stream assert that the water is colored by a natural green pigment ; but the writer strongly suspects that the green pig- THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 55 mcnt of Green River, the blue pif^ment of Blue liiver, and the no pigment Jit all of the Tobitpie are varieties of the same thing, namely a lively imagination aroused by certain delusive optical phenomena. That the water is doliciously clear and cool everybody nmst agree. QUISIBIS RIVER. The Quisibis River rises in two streams, which unite thirteen miles from the St. John, and have their sources near the valley of the junction stream, a tributary of Green River's eastern branch ; drains one hundred and twenty square miles ; and may be canoed with ease below the forks, where it is largely deadwater. Its upper valley is said to be the coldest place in the coun- try ; but if it is so, the reason is decidedly obscure. The branches are practically " uncanoeable," and each has a fall, so the natives say. GRAND RIVER. Grand River, a swift and shallow stream, but one easily navigable by canoe to the Waagan Brook, eighteen miles from the mouth, enters the St. John from the east, thirteen miles above Grand Falls, and drains about one hundred and thirty square miles. A light birch might be poled much beyond the Waagan, should a sufficient reason for so doing be found. The water is compara- tively impure, the fishing bad, and the stream 56 THE ST. JOHN RIVER. unimportant, except for the fact that the Waagan and Waagansis Brooks, often called the Kesti- gouche and Grand River Waagans, afford a ready means of reaeliing the u})i)er waters of the Kesti- gouche. The **■ carry " over this watershed, and the " carries " between the Umbazookscus and Mud Pond on the Allagash, and between the Nictaux and Nepisiguit lakes, are the three most famous modern i)ortages connecting with the St. John or its tributaries. THE GK iND FALLS. Every traveler should visit the Grand Falls. As the water in its mad career, although ever the same in a general way, momentarily changes as regards the minor movements, and as the chief beauty of the scene depends upon that constant change, no photograj)h can represent nor pen de- scribe it. The main fall is almost perpendicular, and wider at the top than at the base. The prin- cipal part of the river flows in a black and oily- looking mass through a depression near the centre, and immediately beneath a huge fragment ap- pears, called the Split Rock, upon which the wa- ters thunder unceasingly, and rebound with more than doubled fury. A column of spray ever rises from this part of the fall, completely obscuring the Split Rock at moderately high water ; and when the sun's rays fall upon it, a gorgeous rainbow floats in mid-air, waving its many colors over the THE UPPER ST. JOHN. 57 sombre rocks iiiiil f()aniln