Plant lists : Mount Katahdin

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c a d e m y

ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS

DEPARTMENT OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
WARREN K. MOOREHEAD, DIRECTOR
DOUGLAS S. BYERS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

October 15, 1936

Dr. M. L. Fernald
Gray Herbarium
Cambridge, Mass.

Dear Dr. Fernald:

I have found some more lists of flora of Mt. Katahdin
among the papers of Mr. Fred. P. Briggs. These may or may
not be of some use. I am glad that the others were of some
value. I always hesitate to throw anything away that is
outside my field., as I never know whether I am throwing away
something that might be of some value to other workers.

Sincerely,

fast S -

\

enc.

DSB/EW

Douglas S. Byers

THE NEW ENGLAND BOTANICAL CLUB

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KTAADN.

Orthography.

Following are the different ways I have found the name of this moun-

AWnaArvy I'tcvtcvcLeWy

tain in print" Ktaadn, K tar An, Ktaden,^ Ktahdin }/1 and Katahdin. The
first and last are more' common than the others, at present. I have
taken considerable pains to find out which is the better method) of
spelling, and herewith give the authority for the first, which I con¬
sider the only correct way.

Hon. James Hammond Trumball who is an eminent Philologist, and our
best authority on the Indian language,—having been lecturer on the
Indian language at Yale College, editor of "Roger Williams Key to the
Indian Language," and said to be the only man who can read Elliot’s
Indian Bible,-r-says that the! mountain is “prounounced Ktaadn by the
Indians of Maine." This I consider decisive as the only rule for
spelling such a language is to spell it as it is prounounced by the
Aborigines.

Charles E. Hamlin who wrote an article on Ktaadn,published
in the Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard
College for 1880-04, says in a foot note: "The spelling Ktaadn is

adopted in accordance with an opinion communicated to the writer by
J. Hammond Truinball of Hartford, the most eminent living authority upon
Indian dialects. “

William Willis in an article on "Language of the Abaquis" spells it
Ktaadn. Judge C. E. Potter writing on the language of the Abnaqui
IMians spells it the same. In fact I find,, all writer's on the
Indian language spell it Ktaadn.

2

I also quotq Henry D. Thoreau in his well known book 11 The Maine
Woods, 11 Dr. Charles T. Jacksonville first Geologist of Maine, in his
report “Geology of Maine 11 : John 3. Springer, in his book “Forest Life
and Forest Trees: 11 Capt. A. J. Farrar, in .“.Guide to Moorhead Lake and
the North Maine Wilderness; 11 Lucius L. Hubbard, in “Guide to Moose—
head Lake and Nothern Maine;" and F. E. Church, in "Camps and Tramps
about K&aadn; 11 in Scribners Monthly. I could add to this number
but this is doubtless sufficient. Wishing to obtain as much infor¬
mation as possible, I ’wrote to the late Joseph Nioolar, an Indian
at Old Toto, who has been Govenor of that tribe, and who is the author
of a book published in 1893, entitled "The Life and Traditions of the
Red Man.“ I copy the following from his letters, giving it for what

It

it is worth. The word is in the language of the Penobscots, and
ought to be spelled Ktardn, every letter having its sound. 11 This
spelling accords with that giving by Trumball, for the “aa # represents
the broa d sound, similar to 11 ar" of Nioolar*s spelling.

In the vicinity of the mountain are very neatly painted guideboards
put up by the Appalachin Mountain Club, with the name spelled in this

\V cX

f

It is hoped our /map-makers and our

state

papers may have their atts

tion called to this matter, and hereafter spell the name of our grand
old mountain according to the original Indian pronunciation.

3

Derivation.

The name Ktaadn is w ithout doubt from the Indian language. I give ; -
below all that I am able to find in regard to the meaning o£ this word'
J. Hammond TruiaUall says it signifies "the greatest or chief moun¬
tain and ^equivalent Of Kittatinny, the name of a ridge of the Ane-
ghanies. " "igain he says "in the Abnaki dialects the compouna of
mountain names is adene. Kit or Ket means great. Tne Abnaki name
is Ketadene , the greatest or chief mountain."

Judge C. E. Potter, in an article on the language of the Abnakis, says
“Ktaadn is doubtless a corruption of kees, "high", and a place .

Keeraarge is a corruption of this word. The tribes eastward pronoune
their words harder wnd more gutterally, hence the difference mjsouna.

Dr. J. A. Chute, who interviewed the Delaware Indians in 1834 ana
obtained his information from them, gives the meaning of Ktaadn, as

"on the high hill." ^

William Willis states that his informant^ Sockbasman Indian,

Sxid it meant "large mountain or large thing. ,

Henry D. Thoreau, in his list of Indian names, without giving his
authority, states that it is said to mean "highest land." .

L. L. Hubbard, who has published a list of Indian words given to lakes
streams and mountains of Maine, says it^ means “the biggest mountain
from Ket or

IUv urn — * 7 — ^ f u

k’t, “big" and the inseperable adene , mountain.

Rev. Eugene Vetromile, missionary to the Etchemin Indians, gives it as
signifying “the greatest of mountains."

Joseph Nicolar, a Penobscot Indian, writes as follows ; "The word

highest hill* It does not mean mountain be.oause mountain l

means

called wa$jo. It is

diffucult thing to explain to one who

not

familiar with our language, because it cuts off a great many woras
which are required to express certain things. For instance: sjoee^gan
“high", na-ker-s v ee-kuk , “highest" pa-nardn-ek, Aill k e r c ^e
nardn-ek, “highest hill". When I was a very small boy my peo--- .
said tha^hill by itself, not connected with any range of mountains,

the name of Ktardn was given to it.

Not being familiar with the Indian language I an not able to discu-

the sub;jeo+-

but simply give statements as I find them.

bUdo o

¥/uile +h

here

is som?

slight difference of opinion, tTiese writers mainly agres

4

Description.

_o tM

Mount Ktaadn lies about Lat. 45 53 and Lon. 69 W. it covers most
of Township No.3, Range 9 in Piscataquis County, Maine. Its Light
is not far from one mile above the level of the sea. It must be at
least thirty miles in circumference at its base, and perhaps forty, it
being very irregular. The sides are steep and hard to climb. The
easiest approach is from the north. A road was cut here from the
Wissattaquoik stream to the summit of Ktaadn in 18- by Ur. 1’. J. Tracy
of Stacyviile, and that gentleman informs me that he rode to the top
on horseback, The deer, caribou, and moose, have followed the road
in their backward and forward tramps, and in places it has the appear¬
ance of a cattle path through the forest. The top of the fountain
consists of table lands, elevations and valleys. One slightly
sloping piateau covers at least one hundred acres. The elevations

are simply .great piles of boulders the size of barrels and hogs-

<

heads, which look as if some gi ant Titan in ages past had heaped them

up one by one. As seen at a distance the mountain shows two large

peaks. The southern one is called Pamola in honor of an Indian Deity

or "Big Devil 11 which they suppose dwelt there and caused the storms

and winds. The nothern peak is Ktaadn proper. The pecularity about

any

Ktaadn that makes it different from .other mountain in the ifeorld

A,

and adds to it so much interest, is the "basin." This is a large
horse-shoe shaped cavity, like the crater of a volcano except that
it opens on one side toward the east. This basin is fully two and

one half miles long by one and one half wide. One writer says there

are in it six ponds varying in size from two to ten acres. The walls
are, perhaps, two thousand feet high, nearly perpendicular, amooth,
and impossible to ascend. At little distances there are tosrent
beds in which during heavy rains the water rushes down, carrying heavy
stones with it and wearing into the solid rock. One can ascend in
one of these dry beds, provided he has enough nerve, strength and
endurance. The principal danger for a party is that the one ahead
may loosen a stone which is likely to send those beneath him into the
basin and eternity. From hear the center of the basin a long 'rid-;

rr&

c O

in V

called the saddle runs to the summit, cutting the basin into.

This ridge affords an easier and less dangerous ascent than the sides.

The floor of the basin is covered with loose rocks which have fallen

from the top and sides. HSialin. gives the-floor .of the basin as .2000:

feet above the sea. He also says that the highfT of the main peak

is 2287 ft. above the basin, making it 5187 ft. above the sea level,

and Panola is 1895 ft. above the basin. At the time I visited the

mountain the torrent beds had little streams of pure cool water

trickling down them. I went down in one of these beds ana climbed

up in another. In some places I could stand erect and drink,
from the rill where the water came gurgling down vertical ledges.

I have to state here that in every place I drank water on Ktaadn it
was pure, cool,sweet and refreshing. In no place did I find any
mineral watei or any that had any disagreeable qualities. Wi

frequently spoke of the excellence of the water, and ail of the brooks

6

running from the mountain are po table any time of the year,

Geology.

The mountain is composed of granite. There are two varieties the
red and the gray. The former appears to be at the top and the latter
at the base. The country around for miles is of granite also. The
first rock of a different kind that I found was meiaphyr, about
fifteen miles to the east. There ifeere a number of boulders of this
scattered along for a mile. I imagine it was in situ but have no
proof of this. On the summit are evidences of glacial action such
as worn pebbles of quartz, argyllite, etc., which shows conclusively

that the ice must have passed over Ktaadn during the glacial period.

Several ^

There have been^slides down the mountain side. Williams ays that

one took pia.ce on the 3. W. side in 1816, 1 1/4 miles long. The
east side is less than - mile. It occured between the years 1820 and
1820. Hunters Rest is a curious place and worthy of disoription.

It is at the base of the mountain, on the west sideof the long ridge

stretching away to the north and. known as Russel mountain. It was

*

doubtless formed by a large p^.ece 6f rock breaking away from the mount¬
ain side and sliding to the foot. It is a Soft of covered room open
on thfWsiaes. The back side is nearly vertical, about the hight of
one’s head and the ceiling extends out eight oc ten feet horizontally,
so that the top and sides form almost a right angle like an ordinary

It is of sblid granite and looks as if it were cut out by man.

room.

7

A few sticks of wood and the ashes and brands from a fire, showed that
parties had camped there. It affords good protection from the
weather, equalling an open camp, for a hunter, but the thought of
what my chances would be if the massive roof should fall, was enough
to prevent me from especially desiring to spend a night beneath it.

Meteorology.

Ktaadn is the residence of the Indian Pamela or Big Devil, and they
have many traditions of his doings. It is not strange that they
should have these fables as the mountain is the birthplace of storms.
One writer who has witnessed a thunder storm here says 'that the
lightning flashes were terriffie, and the roar of thunder reverbrating
from side to side of the basin filled one with awe. Ktaadn is
commonly cloud capped when all around is bright and clear. Often the
coolness on the top is sufficient to precipitate moisture^and showers
are of frsequent occurrence as the condition of the fuel will testify.

I camped for three days on the north side near the timber line, and
even the dead standing trees were so wet that it was not easy to keep
a fire. I have further evidences of showers on the mountain when
below it is clear, as I spent one cold, wet, dreary and sleepless
night there when six miles from the base of the mountain, as I learned
the next day, there was no rain. One day in particular I remember,
clouds were forming on the mountain top, while the sun shone out of a
clear sky. At times a vista would open for a moment and one could
catch a glimpse of some lake or stream,

then it would close up again

8 .

and the world be shut out. The clouds would go scurrying past in
streaks and patches, hurried along by the Wind. At one time the fog
settled down into the basin completely filling it while above it was
clear and beautiful. Standing on the brink of this cavity I gazed

pf

down on the smoky mass impeatable to the eye and realized for once
I was above the clouds. Thoreau had an experience so nearly like my
own that I quote his account of it.

“At length I entered within the skirts of the cloud which
seemed forever drifting over the summit, and yet would never be gone,
but was generated out of thatpure air as fast as it flowed away; and
when,a quarter of a mile farther I reached the summit of the ridge,
which those who have seen in clearer weather/say is about five miles
long, and contains a thousand acres of table-land, I was deep within
the hostile ranks of the clouds, and all objects were obscured by them
Now the wind would blow me out a yard of clear sunlight, wherein I
stood; then a gray, dawning light was all it could accomplish, the
cloud line.ever rising and falling ifrith the winds intensity. Some
times it seemed as if the summit would be cleared in a few moments,
and smile in sunshine $ but what was gained on one side was lost on .an¬
other. It was like sitting in a chimney and waiting for the shake
to blow away. It was, in fact a cloud factory; these were the cloud

works, and the wind turned them off done^ from the cool, bare rocks/'

8 1/2

Snow remains late in the spring and fall?
One party records snow and hail falling the

early in the autumn,
latter part of September.

It is not easy to get a clear view of Ktaadn and many writers have
been dissapointed. I obtained a good view of the country near
by but it was in dog-days when the air is thick, and at a distance
of thirty or forty miles everything appeared hazy gradually grating
more and more indistinct till it was lost in a blur.

Katalidin.

Wouldst thou hear music such as ne’er was
planned

For mortal ear ? Song wilder than the tune
The Arctic utters when its waters croon
Their angry chorus on the Norway strand,

Or where Nile thunders to a thirsty laud
With welcome sound from Mountains of the
Moon,

Or 'lone Lualaba from his lagoon
Draws down his murmurous wave ? Then
thou shouldst stand

Where dark Katahdin lifts his sea of pines
To meet the wlmer storm, and lend thine ear
To the horse ridges, where the wind entwines
With spruce and hr, and wakes a mighty
cheer,

TUI the roused forest, from its far confines,
Utters its voice, tremendous, lone, austere.
William Prescott Foster in the Century.

Mrs. A. K. 1)01
ftAC

mar29 lw*

--- -A ii9 w mil eh cow, young?

—sound and an easy milker, particularly
SSL*?'*, «* 3 family - J osepb A, Thompson, is
oentre bt. ____ inar29 2t*

|7*.olu f-'AL *■ —One Glen Wood cob kins
range; one Gienwood parlor stove- one
parlor soi: two oak- chamber sets and othe?
household furniture. inquire o' Wm Cor¬
son, 28 Mapiejst, 2 to 4 p. m. nxa ™9 st“

T^°Isr- SATjK r A ’ ei s yr®otiie~bicycle for
J- $65; good as new; cost $i 2 f u). h
D akin, 63 Exchange st.

‘It st A s>—S earn launch, 22
1 MX m good repair. Launch is at New-
port lie, For particulars, address 22 Tem-
ple ot., B os ton , Mass. mch28 IW*

J TiO,. sAi-sa—Horsi' ? yearVoTdTilJSin

buggy, sleigh, pung’, harn ess and
rohes. Geo. A. Mason, Kendttskeag Bridge

--m_h 2 i tf c

1-Tii t'-T l>5"aadersigned Otfeifs for
JL sale his Iron foundry, with its iixtures

and equipments in root! rerun;- „„,i

9)

.fauna.

Deer, caribou, and moose inhabit the forests on the slopes, and de

0 V*

at least go to the feery top as I saw signs of thsir being all over the
mountain and even found horns which they had shed on the summit.

Bears are common around the base, and without doubt/all the an tmals
of Northern Maine ascend to a greater or less hight. As I was
espic^ally interested in studying the plants of this region I did
the fauna closely so am not able to give an extended account of it.

(D/yt-ts 1 . x *— k /\)v —t ct<.< d ^ ,

I saw ruffed grouse as far as the timber line extended, one flock

*

even near the top^-atf the scrub. Toads were abundant in the woods

up to where the firs were but a foot high. This was our common
toad (Bufo). I saw at least two species of beetles on the summit, anal
on the southern slope there were numbers of green grasshoppers
( Pevotette x nlacalis . SoucA . Last but not least by any means, were
black flies. On the highest points the wind would generally blow
them away, but on the sheltered side of ja, rock pile sssk they would
swarm on one. It was almost impossible to endure life unless one
was besmeared with grease containing tar, pennyoyal, or some other
odoriferous substance.

10

Flora.

The mountain is well wooded on the sides and at the base. A great
deal of lumbering has bfn done^round it, but lumbermen say that as
soon as one begins to ascend the timber is not so good. The principal
growth is spruce,- This is mixed with fir, some birch and other trees,
As one ascends, the spruce gradually gives way to.fir which growa
smaller ana smaller till it dwindles away to a little sprawling ever¬
green that one walks over as he would boughs lying on the ground. On
the top of the mountain in the valleys is what is known as “scrub! 1
This consists bf fir growth about four feet high and three aw
io six inches in diameter at the base. It is generally partially dead
at the top, standi A close together as it can grow/, ana has its/scraggly
branches woven together so as to form an almost impenetrable barrier,
One could scarcely penetrate a mile of it in a day. A section through-
one of these trees,—if they can be called trees,—about six inches
in diameter, showed over one hundred rings so narrow that they could,
with difficulty be counted, the wood was very hard and everything
hoi’s evidence of its slow growth. In one place on a smooth slope,
firs about four feet high were growing snug together like a hedge, and
so thickly were the branches intermingled that one of the party lay
down and rolled over and over on the top for \two or three rods,
without breaking through. All vegetation hugs the ground. Willows
spread out on the rocks and run along like creepers. Nothing rises
higher than a few inches. Plants blossom with a half-inch oH stem,

11.

Sometimes the flowers are just sticking out of the ground. In
places there are flat green patches covered with grasses, sedges, and
rushes. The most common of these are Lieschaumpsi a caespitosa ,

Cargx rigida , var. bigiovia , and juneus trifid a. Thelbiliberry

(Vaccinium uliginosafajwas very abundant and one was suprised to see

such quantities of blue, bright.berries in so barren a region.

v-l-tn-x&eaj c^L- £la.e 7 * trourberry

The mountain cranberry (Empetrum nigrum) were common, and these
vanities of blue, black, and red berries when gathered and stewed
with a liberal allowance of sugar made an appetizing sauce. Other

ar'C

plants wlx*^ distinctly alpine and are more or less common on the
summit, are willow (Salix uva-ursa), bearberry (Arctsostaphylos
alpina) , golden rod (Solidago vigaurea, var. alpma), mountain sandwort
(Arenaria groenlandica) ana club moss (Lycopodium seiago). Llosses
are oommoh under and between rocks, and black and yellow lichens^ the
granite boulders. The following list of plants grow on the mountain
All of these were observed after I had climbed some distance. Around
the base of the mountain can be found all of the plants common
to the nothern part of the state.

*

Lie liens.

Cetraria fahlunensis, Sehaer.

Cetraria juniperina, Aeh.

Cetraria cueuiata,

Cetraria islaudiea, Aeh.,

Paruelia stygia, Aeh.

Pamelia eeutrifuga, Aeh.

Stereoeauxon eorailinum, Fr.

Cxadonia graeilis, i'r. var. vertieiilata, Fr.

“ amauroerea, Sehaer.

11 squamosa,

fureata, Floerk. var. subuiata, Floerk.

“ rangiferina, Hoff.

“ “ " var. alpestris, Floerk.

11 eornueopoid.es, Fr.

Uiabiliearia probosidea, De.
u nyperborea, Hoff.

“ erosa, Hoff.

Leeidea sanguinaria, Aeh.

Leeidea eoatigua, Fr.

Salix argyrocarpa, Anders.

Saiix uva-ursi, Pursh.

Saiix herbaoea, L.

Empetrum nigrum, L.

Picea alba, Link.

Abies balsamea,

Lisiera coraata, R. Brown.

Habexiaria dilitata, Gray.

Habenaria obtusata, Rich.

Smilacina trifolia, besf.

Maianthemun canadense, besf.

Juncus fiiif'ormis, L.

Juncus,trifidus, L.

Luzula spadicea, DC. var. inelanocarpa, Meyer.
Luzula areuata, Lieyer.

Luzula spicata, Desv.

Scirpus caespitosus, L.

Eriophum alpinum, L.

Carex atrata, L. var. ovata, Eoott.

Carex rigida, var. bigiovii, Tuck.

Carex lenticuaaris, fix.

Carex torta, Boott.

Carex rarifiora, Smith.

Carex seirpoidea, LIx.

Carex caneseens, L. var. alpicoia, Wahl.
Hieroculoe alpina, R A 3.

Phxeum aipii.uci, L.

Agrostis seabrct, Wi~id.

Agrostis canina, L. var. alpi-a, Oakes.

Cinna pendula, Trin.

Lescliampsia flexuosa, Trin.

Agropyrum violaceum, Lange.

Aspidium acute atari, Swartz, var. braunii, Koch
Osmunda regalis, L.

Lycopodium serago, L.

Lycopodium annotinum, L. var. pungens, Spreng.
Lycopodium alpinum, L.

) 7

Lit. Ktaadn flora.

* >

Coptis trifolia, Sadist).

Carda.uine beriiaifolia, L.

Arenaria groenlandiea, L.

Oxaiis aeetosexia, L.

Nemopanthes fascicularis. j?nf. .

Rhamnus alnifolia, L’Ker.

Acer spicatum, Lara,

Rubus ciiamaemorus, L.

Geura macrophyilura, Willd.

Potenti la fruticoea, L.

Potentilla tridentata, Ait.

Pyrus arbutifolia, L. f.

Pyrus amerieana, PC.

Amelanchier oligoearpa, Roem.

Saxifraga steilaris, L. var. eomosa, Willd.

Miteila iiuda, L.

Ribes prostratum, L J Her.

Hpiaobium hornemanni, Reich.

Circaea alpina, L.

Heraereum iauatum, Mx.

Cornus canadensis, L.

Virurnum paucifloruia, Pylaie.

Lonicera ca eruiea, L.

Solidago macrophylla, Pursh.

Solidago virguurea, L. var. alpina, Ligel.
aster radula, Ait.

Aster acuminatus, I,lx.

Gnaphaiiuia supii.ua, Vill,

Arnica ohamissonis, Less.

Prenantb.es serpentaria, .ursh. var. nana, Gray.
Prenantues boottii, Gray.

Campanula rotundifolia, L.

Vacciniua canadeuse, Kalrn.

Yaccinium pennsylvani cuzn, Laa. var. angustiio-ium, Gray.
Vacciniua uliginosua, L.

Vacciniua caespitosum I,lx.

Vacciniua vitis-idaea, L.

Chiogenes serpyllifolia, Salisb.
i.rctostax-hyiios alpina, Spreng*

Cassandra calyculata, Don.

Cassiope hypnoides, Don.

Eryanthus taxifolius, Gray.

Kalmia glauca, Ait.

Rhododendron n.odora, Don.

Rhododendron lapponi cmp, Wahl.

Ledua latiiolium, Ait.

Loiseleuria procumbens, Desv.

Moneses grandiflora, Salisb.

Pyrola minor, L.

Liapensia lapponica, L.

Trientalis aaerica, Pursh.

Castiiieia pallida, Kunth. var. septentrionaiis, Gray.
Polygonum viviparum, L.

Letuxa lutea, Llx. f.

Betula popuxifolia, Ait.

metula papyrifera, Marshaxl. var. minor, Tuck.

Detuxa g^anduiosa, Mx.

Aixius viridis, DC.

15.

Routes.

There are three approaches to the mountain, one of which is usually
taken. One of these is on the south-swest leading from the West
Branch of the Penobscot, another is from the basin on the southeast,
and the third is from the north. Travellers cgoo^ing the first
route ascend the West Branch in a canoe with an Indian or woodsman
for a guide. The other two roads are by train to Stacyvilie, then
by buck-board or foot, to the mountain about thirty miles. For di¬
rections, suggestions, and advice as to travelling, camping, etc. the
reader is ref f erect to Hubbard’s or Farrars “Guide to N eft hern Maine"
Wiiliam^shys that the first party ever visiting Ktaadn ascended in

1804,going up the West Branch.

16.

t

L ft.

The literature on Ktaaan is not large. There are but few really
good accounts, principally because it has not been worked up.

Jackson and Hitchcock our only two state Geologists, visited the:
mountain, but their reports are meagre. No survey has gver been
taken of it, so all distances are mere guesses. Its height was
determined by Dr. 1,1. C. Fernald who carried a barometer to the summit
in 1874, and found it to be 5215 feet above the sea level. This was
found by barometre readings on the mountain compared -frith, others in
Winn. Liy own observations at Ktaaan were principally on the flora,
and the list of plants given here is all I can vouch for, although
everything found in this article is as near correct as I have been
able to ascertain. If I have made any wrong statements it is due
to ignorance, and I should be o^iy too glad to correct them in a
future article which I anticipate. I shall be glad to receive infor
mation from any one regarding Ktaadn. It is not easy to investigate
this place, as one must go a considerable distance on foot over a
rough country, carry his provisions and bedding, endure flies and
mosquitos, take the chance of stormy weather, wade brooks and streams
climb rocks, scramble over logs, and crauQ. through brush. One can
only carry foozz! enough to last a few days, hence his stay is usually
shoft. For this reason our information is meagre.

I quote from a few writers .'just enough to interest the reader so that

he may find the whole account and read for himself:

17.

17

First a few lines from Dr. C. T. Jackson.

“Leaving our camp on the 2 Kinn±&iii side the next morning at
seven o’clock, we set out for the summit of Kiiaadn, travelling stead¬
ily up the side, clambering over loose boulders of granite, trap, and

graywacke, which are heaped up in confusion along its course. We
length

at/,reached a place where it was dangerous to walk on the loose stones,

and passing over the right hand side, clambered up along the dwarfish
bushes that cling to the side of the mountain. 11

“Two of our party became discouraged on reaching this point
and., there being no necessity of their accompanying us, they were
allowed to return to camp. The remainder of our ascent was extremely
difficult, and required no small perseverance. Our Indian guide,
Louis, placed stones along the path, in order that we might more readijfc
find the way down the mountain, and the wisdom of this precaution
was fully manifested in its sequel, At ten o’clock we reashed trie
tableland which forms the mountain*?top, and ascends gradually to the
central peak. Here thejwind and driving snow and hail rendered it
almost impossible to proceed, but we at length reached the central
peak. The true altitude of f^ount Ktaadn, above the level of the sea,
is a little more than one mile perpendicular elevation. It is, then
evidently the highest point in the State of Maine, and is the most

abrupt granite mountain in New England?

(P us)

18 .

Next From John 3. Springer.

"Rough granite, moss-covered rocks are spread over its
whole surface from the short growth upward. Blueberries and cran¬
berries grow far up the sides. At the time of our visit considerable
snow lay on its summit and lined the wails of the great basin. The
party, of course, found plenty of drink. The Avaianch brook, having
its source about the middle of the slide, furnished water pure
as crystal. Tiie ascent was attended with some danger and fatigue.
Butwhat a view when the utmost heights are gained. What a rnagnifieehfr
panorama of forests, lakes, and distant mountains. The surface
of the earth, with its many tinted verdure, resembled, in form and
smoothness the swelling sea. In the course of the forenoon, light
fogs from all the lakes ascended, and, coming to Ktaadn, intertwined
themselvesmost fantastically above our heads, then settled down and

dispersed. But what can be fitly said about the bast Expanse of the

«

heavens, to be seen from such an elevation, especially when the sun
goes down, and the glowing stars appear in silent majesty? All the
gorgeous , artifieal brilliancy of mails invention is more than lost
in the comparison. Language has no power to describe a scene of
this nature. The height of Ktaadn above the level of the sea is
five thousand three hundred feet. Its position is isolated, and its

structure immense curiosity. From its summit very few populous
places are visible, so extensive is the intervening wilderness. On
its sides the growth of wood is beautiful, presenting a regular

19.

variation in altitude and size all the way up to the point where it

» fP 909)
ceases. '

Thoreau. gives the following account of the roughness of the mountain
" Having, slumped, scrambled, roiled, bounced, ana walked by
turns, over this scraggy country, I arrived upon a side-hill, or
rather side- mountain, where rocks, gray, silent rocks, were the
flocks and herds that pastured, chewing a rocky cud at sun se t.

They looked at me with hard gray eyes, without a bleat or low.

The mountain seemed a vast aggregation of loose rocks, as if some time
it had rained tocks, and they lay as they fell on the mountain sides,
nowhere fairity at rest, but leaning on each other, all rocking stone?
with cavities between, but scarcely any soil or smoother shelf.

They were the raw material of a planet dropped from an unseen quarry,
which the vast chemistry of nature would anon work up, or work down,
into the sailing and verdant plains and valleys of earth. This was a n

undone extremity of tue globe; as in lignite we see coal in the pro-

fp 2.SL2.4 IZ.'lJ

:ess of formation.

20 .

Wi lit hr op says in his pleasant ’/ay. -

Ktaadn’ s self is finer tnan what Ktaad.ii sees. Ktaad.ii

is distinct, and its view is indistinct. It is a vague panarama,
a mappy, unmethodic maze of water and broods, very roomy, very /asu,
very simple, — and these are capital qualities, — out a±so quite
monotonous. A lover of largeness and scope has the proper emotions
stirred, but a lover of variety very soon finds himself counting the
lakes. It is a wide view, and it is a proud thing, fior a mail six feet
or less high to feel that he himself, standing on something lie himself
has climbed, and having Ktaadn under his feet for a mere convience, can
see ail Maine. It "does not make Maine less but the spectator more,
and that is a useful moral result. Maine’s face thus exposed has
no features $ there are no great mountains visible, none that seem
more than green hillocks in the distance. Besides sky, Ktaadn s
view contains only the two prideal necessities wood and water.

Nowhere have I seen such breadth of solemn forest, gloomy, were it
not for the cheerful interruption of many fair lakes and brights ways
of river linking them. " (/* 2-3 3 )

21 .

Willaimson in his history of Maine says: "The Indians feared till
lately to tosit the summit of Ktaadn. They saperstitiously supposed
it to be the summer residence of an evil spirit, called by them Pamela
who in the beginning of Snow-timejrose with a great noise, and took
his flight to some unknown warmer regions. They, tell a story, that
seven Indians, a great many moons ago, too boldly went up the mountain
and were certainly killed by the great Panola : for, they say, ’we
never hear of them more, and our fathers told us, an Indian never
goes up to the top of Ktaadn and lives to return.’

They say that Pamela is very great and very strong indeed; -
that his head and face are like a man’s, his body, shape and feet,
like an eagle’s, and that he can take up a moose with one of his

claws"

EIL L10GRAFHY.

A Geographical View of the District of Maine. (181G)

Joseph Whipple.

History of the State of Maine. (1832) William D. Williamson.

Reports of the Geology of the State of Maine. (1837-8-9)

Charles T. Jackson.

Going to Ktaadn. Putnams Magazine. Vol.VII.p242.

anon

Forest Life and Forest Trees. (1851) John 3. Springer

Geology of Maine. Agriculture of Maine. Report. (1801)

C. H. Hitchcock.

TheMaine Woods. (1864) Henry D. Thoreau.

The A7*-wt*.AV; «e?K

In the Open Air.

Theodore Winthrop.

Glacial Action on Mt. Ktaadn. American Journal of Science and Arts.
Whole No. CIII. p. 27.Jan. (1872) John DeLaski.

Scientific Obsevations on Mount Ktaadn. Whig ana Courier. Nov. 9,(1874)

M. C. Fernald.

Camps and Tramps about Ktaadn. Scribners Monthly. Vol. XVI. Nol.Majf',(/V7K)

F. E. Church.

Summer Vacations at Moosehead Lake and Vicinity. (1879)

(P7> ^ Lucius L. Hubbard.

Routes to Ktaadn. Appalachia. Dec. (1881) C. E. Hamlin.

Canoe and Camera. (1882) Thomas Sedgwick Steele.

Woods and Lakes of Maine. (1884) Lucius L. Hubbard.

Guide to Moosehead Lake and Northern Maine. Lucius L. Hubbard

Doivn the West Branch. (1880) Capt. A. J. Farrar.

Guide to Moosehead Lake and the North Maine Wild&rnAss. (.1889)

A Trip to Ktaadn. The Cadet. Vol.VI. No. 6. Sept.(1891)

Mt. Ktaadn and its Flora. Botanical Gazette.

F. P. Briggs.

Vol. XVII.No. 2. Feb. (/£'</ 2 .)

The Sacred Cow". Lewiston Journal.

F. Lamson Scribner.
L. A. Rogers.

C feu (( J. (*' ^ ^ (

V

A Geographical View of

j

Bibliography.

the District of Maine. (1816) Joseph Whipple.

History of the State of Maine. (1832) William I;. Williamson.

Reports of the Geology of Maine. (1837-8-9) Charles T. Jackson.

Goixig to Ktaadii. Putnams Magazine. Vol. VII. p 242. Anon,

forest Life and. forest Trees. (1851) John 3. Springer.

Geology oC Maine. Agriculture of Maine, Report. ((1861) C.H.Hitchcock
The Maine Woods. (±864) Henry in Thoreau.

The Abnakis and tneir History. (18CC) Rev. Eugene Vetroraile.

In the Open Air. Theodore Winthrap.

Glacial Action on Mt. Ktaadn. American Journal of Science and Arts.

Whole No. CIII. p. 27, Jan. 1872. John DeLaski.

Scientific Observations on Mount Ktaadn. Whig and Courier. Nov. 9, i£7#

M. C.J? ernaid.

Camps and Tramps about Ktaaan. Scribners Monthly. Vol. XVI. No 1.

May, 1878. F. E. Church.

Summer Vacations at Moosehead Lake and Vicinity. (1879)

Lucius L. Hubbard.

Observations upon the Physical Geography and Geology of Mount
•’-Ktaadii and the Adjacent District. (1881) C.E.Hamlin.

Routes to Ktaadn. Appalachia. Dec. (1881) C.E.Hamlin.

Canoe and Camera. (1882) Thomas Sedgwick Steele.

Woods and Lakes of Maine. (1884) Lucius L. Hubbard.

Guide to Moosehead Lake and Jforthernr Maine. , L.L,Hubbard.

Down the West Branch. (1886) Capt. A.J.Farrar.

Guide to Moosehead Lake and the North Maine Wilderness. A.J.Farrar.
A Trip to Ktaadn. The Cadet. Vol.VI. No. 6. Sept. 1891. F'.P.Briggs.
Mt. Ktaadn and its Flora. Botanical Gazette. Vol. XVII. No. 2.

Feb. 1892. F.Lamson Scribner.
"The Sacred Cow“. Lewiston Journal. L.A.Rogers
Plants Collected on Mt. Ktaadn. Boiletin Torrey Botanical Club
Vol. XIX. No. 11. Nov. 1892. F.P.Briggs.

//

Th lie O^J V R f3.