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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com brakeman alerted us, “Keep a sharp eye out. A few days ago we saw a bear along this section.” Dad and I became much more attentive, scanning the track ahead for any sign of the bear. As the train approached a sweeping curve to the right, the brakeman shouted, “This is your lucky day. There he is!” He pointed to a distant dark object beside the track. As the train rounded the curve, the object appeared to move. “Look,” said the brakeman, “he’s walking right across the track.” Dad and I were ecstatic. Here we were riding on a caboose, and, as an added bonus, we were watching a Maine black bear. Once we had rounded the curve, the dark object stopped. In our attempts to get a better look at the bear, we failed to notice the crew members elbowing each other and smiling broadly. The train rolled closer and closer. Slowly our excitement turned to confusion and our confusion to embarrassment. We
realized that the dark object was not a bear at all, but a big sign on a post beside the track. It had only appeared to move as our perspective changed while rounding the curve. We admitted that we had been fooled, and we soon were laughing with the crew. After gathering some cars in Patten, our train returned to Sherman. Jumping off the caboose step, we thanked the crew for the enjoyable ride and especially for the glimpse of local wildlife. As we drove home from Sherman, Dad and I discussed our day’s adventure. We agreed that we were not the first victims of the train crew’s mischief. No doubt, that Sherman bear had been eagerly pointed out to every unsuspecting rider up the branch line.
DID YOU KNOW? The first Aroostook County jail was a dungeon in the basement of the Black Hawk Tavern, built in 1813 in Houlton.
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