Not only the spruce and fir, but even the arbor-vitae
and white pine, unlike the soft, spreading second-growth, of which I saw
none, all spire upwards, lifting a dense spear-head of cones to the light
and air, at any rate, while their branches straggle after as they may; as
Indians lift the ball over the heads of the crowd in their desperate game.
In this they resemble grasses, as also palms somewhat. The hemlock is
commonly a tent-like pyramid from the ground to its summit.
After passing through some long rips and by a large island, we reached an
interesting part of the river called the Pine-Stream Dead-Water, about six
miles below Ragmuff, where the river expanded to thirty rods in width and
had many islands in it, with elms and canoe-birches, now yellowing, along
the shore, and we got our first sight of Katadn.
Here, about two o'clock, we turned up a small branch three or four rods
wide, which comes in on the right from the south, called Pine Stream, to
look for moose signs. We had gone but a few rods before we saw very recent
signs along the water's edge, the mud lifted up by their feet being quite
fresh, and Joe declared that they had gone along there but a short time
before. We soon reached a small meadow on the east side, at an angle in
the stream, which was for the most part densely covered with alders.
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