As a historian, I occasionally have the rare luck of combining work with pleasure - today I was able to take the time to go down a 200-year old paddling rabbit hole.
It seems that in 1820, after becoming a state, Maine charged Major Joseph Treat to help with surveying the "wilderness." Led by Penobscot guide John Neptune, Treat set off in late September (the 26th) with a small party (2 canoes) to survey the Penobscot and what lay beyond. His journal is amazing; drawn from the pov of the canoe, he mapped both the geography of what he observed, the natural resources available, as well as the Wabanaki pronunciations of place names and their meaning.
Starting in the Old Town vicinity, they traveled up the Penobscot, then up its West Branch, ascending all the way to Chesuncook Lake. If I remember right, he took a side trip, portaging over to the North Bay of Moosehead Lake, then back; then paddled up into the Allagash, descending its entirety to the St John. They followed the St John downstream, stopping awhile at Madawaska, then down to Meductic, where they then travelled what is now known as the Maliseet Trail - up the Eel River, through First Eel Lake, to North Lake, to Grand Lake (St Croix watershed), and at Davenport Cove, portaged over to Baskahegan Stream, and then down it to the Mattawamkeag River, finally connecting back to the Penobscot. They arrived back in Bangor on November 20th.
Talk about a loop !!
You can find Treat's journal at the Maine State Archives or online here: https://digitalmaine.com/hist_docs/1/
It seems that in 1820, after becoming a state, Maine charged Major Joseph Treat to help with surveying the "wilderness." Led by Penobscot guide John Neptune, Treat set off in late September (the 26th) with a small party (2 canoes) to survey the Penobscot and what lay beyond. His journal is amazing; drawn from the pov of the canoe, he mapped both the geography of what he observed, the natural resources available, as well as the Wabanaki pronunciations of place names and their meaning.
Starting in the Old Town vicinity, they traveled up the Penobscot, then up its West Branch, ascending all the way to Chesuncook Lake. If I remember right, he took a side trip, portaging over to the North Bay of Moosehead Lake, then back; then paddled up into the Allagash, descending its entirety to the St John. They followed the St John downstream, stopping awhile at Madawaska, then down to Meductic, where they then travelled what is now known as the Maliseet Trail - up the Eel River, through First Eel Lake, to North Lake, to Grand Lake (St Croix watershed), and at Davenport Cove, portaged over to Baskahegan Stream, and then down it to the Mattawamkeag River, finally connecting back to the Penobscot. They arrived back in Bangor on November 20th.
Talk about a loop !!
You can find Treat's journal at the Maine State Archives or online here: https://digitalmaine.com/hist_docs/1/
