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37 
 
THE 
 
 ADIRONDACK; 
 
 OR 
 
 ICiff in t||f '83nnM. 
 
 / 
 
 BY 
 
 J; T. HE ADL E Y, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " WASHINGTON AND HIS GENERALS," ETC 
 
 .^' 
 
 ^^^riTu^^S 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 BAKER AND SCRIBNER 
 
 14.'S NASSAU STREET ANT) 30 PARK ROW. 
 
 1849. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the 3-ear 1849, by 
 
 J. T. HEADLEY, 
 
 [n the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
 
 District of New York. 
 
 C. W. BENEDICT, Stereotyper, 
 
 201 William street, cor. of Franlforl. 
 
 
H. J. RAYMOND, ES^. 
 
 My Dear Raymond : 
 
 Though you failed to accompany 
 me in my trip to the Adirondack Region, yet I often 
 thought of you in my long marches and lonely bivouacks. 
 Filling at that time a large place in my memory, and 
 always a much larger one in my heart, permit me to in- 
 scribe these letters to you as a token of my regard and 
 esteem. 
 
 Very sincerely and truly yours, 
 
 J. T. HEADLEY. 
 
 New York, March 31, 1849. 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 FACING 
 
 I. Distant View of the Adirondack, - ... - -title 
 
 II. Lake Sanford, Ingham, - 49 
 
 III. Lake Golden, -..--- Ingham, - - 55 
 
 IV. Adirondack Pass, . , - , - Ingham, - 69 
 
 V. Lake Henderson, Gignoux, - 95 
 
 VI. View on Forked Lake. 169 
 
 VII. Raquette Lake, Hill, - - 201 
 
 VIII. Lake Schroon. - . , , Dnrande, - 265 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 I. 
 
 Up the Hudson— In the "Woods— Trout Fishing— A Queer Fish, ... 18 
 
 11. 
 
 Dandy turned Farmer— Trout Fishing, &c.— Christening a Barn, . . 20 
 
 III. 
 
 " Driving Trees"— Benighted in the Woods, 28 
 
 IV. 
 
 A River in the Forest— Life— " Driving the River," 86 
 
 V. 
 
 Forestvp-ard— Dinner Scene— Preparations to ascend Mount Tahawus, . 44 
 
 VI. 
 
 Ascent of Mount Tahawus— A Man Shot— A Hard Tramp— Glorious Pros- 
 pect—A Camp Scene, 53 
 
 VII. 
 
 Sagacity of the Hound— The Indian Pass— Precipice Two Thousand Feet 
 High. 67 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The Hunter Cheney— Encounters with a Panther— Deadly Struggle with a 
 Wolf— A Bear and Moose Fight— Shoots Himself .... 75 
 
 IX. 
 
 Game — Moose — Crusting Moose — A Catamount — Chase between a Deer and 
 a Panther— A Bear caught in a Trap, 85 
 
 X. 
 
 Lake Henderson— A July Day— A Sunset, and Evening Reverie, . . 94 
 
 XI. 
 
 Tahawus with the Clouds below it— A Hard Tramp— A Plank Bed on the 
 Boreas River— A Sorry Company Travelling after Breakfast, . 99 
 
 XII. 
 
 A Thunder Storm— A Solution of Life, 108 
 
 XIII. 
 
 A Ride through the Forest— A Lean Dinner— Cheney's Cousin— Swimming 
 A Lake with Horses. 112 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Camping Ground — Mitchel the Indian Guide — Trout fishing on a Large 
 
 Scale— Night 121 
 
 XV. 
 
 A Camp Scene in the Morning— A Shot at an Eagle— A Deer Chase, . . 131 
 
 XVI. 
 
 A Magnificent Prospect— Fourteen Hours without Food, .... 148 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Long Lake— A Fearful Night— A Gale in the Woods— Man Bitten by a 
 Rabbit, 161 
 
C U N T E N T S . 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Trouting— A Duck protecting her Young by Stratagem-^Sabbath in the 
 Forest, ... 160 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Long Lake Colony— A Looa — Forked Lake, 169 
 
 XX. 
 
 Shooting a Deer— Modern Sentimentalists— The Influence of Nature, . . 176 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Floating Deer— A Night Excursion— Morning in the Woods. . . .184 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Forest Music, . 194 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Raquetie Lake — Number of its Trout — A Hunter-s Love for an Eagle- 
 Fierce Struggle between an Eagle and a Salmon, 201 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Description of Raquette Lake— Abundance of its Fish— Lake Eldon— Its 
 Queer Discovery— A Man whipped by an Eagle— A Hunter without 
 Feet, 213 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Sights and Sounds— Beach and Woods— A Visit of Thirty Miles made by a 
 Woman, 227 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Moose Lakes—" Murderer's Point "—A Grave in the Forest— Trouting— A 
 Family of Thirteen Girls— Riding "Bare Back"— A Curious Horse 
 i^ace. 234 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Lost ic the Woods— An Old Indian and his Daughter— Farewell to Jlitchell— 
 Musquitoes and Black Flics 24S 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Schroon Lake— A Nut for Sportsmen— Woods on Fire, 356 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Lumbermen— A Student and Hunter outwitted by a Professor— A Philosophi- 
 cal Husband — A Prospective Widow looking out for her own interest, 264 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Odds and Ends— Trial of a Thief in the Backwoods— New Mode of Report- 
 ing an Election— Paradox Lake— Von Raumer and his Statements, . 272 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Autumn a Painter— Manner of Working, 280 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Directions to the Traveler, 286 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The letters in this volume embrace two different sum- 
 mers which I spent in the forest. An attack on the brain 
 first drove me from the haunts of men to seek mental 
 repose and physical strength in the woods. The deci- 
 sion of an able physician, which was that I " must go 
 where a printed page could not meet my eye, and I should 
 be forced to take constant exercise in the open air, or 
 
 ■ " impelled me to undertake at first what 
 
 two years after I prosecuted with pleasure. 
 
 Thus much for the reasons which first induced me to 
 penetrate the pathless and unknown wilderness of central 
 New York. 
 
 I publish the results of my two trips, because I wish 
 to make that portion of our State better known ; for it 
 bears the same relation to us that the Highlands do to 
 Scotland, and the Oberland to Switzerland. That rela- 
 
11 PREFACE. 
 
 lion will be acknowledged yet, and every summer will 
 witness throngs of travelers on their way to those wild 
 mountains, and gurpassingly beautiful lakes. No such 
 scenery is to be found in our picturesque country, and none, 
 that in my opinion, will match it this side of the Alps. De- 
 scriptions cannot, of course, give an adequate idea of it, as 
 Prof. Emmons, in his w^ork embraced in the great Geologi- 
 cal Pveport of the State says : 
 
 " It is not, however, by description that the scenery of 
 this region can be made to pass before the eye of the imagi- 
 nation ; it must be witnessed, the solitary summits in the 
 distance, the cedars and firs which clothe the rocks and 
 shores must be seen ; the solitude must be felt or if it is 
 broken by the scream of the panther, the shrill cry of the 
 northern diver, or the shout of the hunter ; the echo from 
 the thousand hills must be heard before all the truth in the 
 scene can be realized." 
 
 After such a glowing description emboded in our State 
 Reports, I think there is little danger that anythine: T shall 
 say will be considered as exaggerated. 
 
 Some may object to the want of gravity, or as others will 
 term it, " dignity," in these letters. All that I can say, is, 
 they are a faithful transcript of my feelings and experience, 
 and hence the fault if it be one, has no remedy but in 
 dishonesty. 
 
 In the woods, the mask that society compels one to wear 
 
PREFACE. Ill 
 
 is cast aside, and the restraints which the thousand eyes 
 and reckless tongues about him fasten on the heart, are 
 thrown off', and the soul rejoices in its liberty and again be- 
 comes a child in action. The ludicrous incident, the care- 
 less joke, the thrilling story, the eager chase, are all in 
 place in the forest, and as harmless as the sports of the 
 deer. 
 
 I hate hypocrisy in an author — writing not as he feels 
 but as he knows bigoted or narrow-minded men think he 
 ought to feel — moralizing on paper where he never thought 
 of it in fact, and giving us theological disquisitions on doc- 
 trinal points 
 
 " When the bosom is full and the thoughts are high,'* 
 
 with the floods of excitement and rapture which some won- 
 drous and glorious spectacle has awakened. Nature and the 
 Bible are in harmony — they both speak one language to the 
 heart — yet in the wilderness there is no formality in the ex- 
 pression of one's feelings. A man 
 
 " Laughs when he's merry, 
 And sighs when he's sad," 
 
 without thinking or caring how it would appear in the 
 saloon or grave assemblage. 
 
 The engravings are from original drawings by the dis- 
 tinguished artists Messrs. Ingham, Durand, Gignoux, and 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 Hill of Vermont, to whom I feel deeply indebted for their 
 kindness. These give a value to the work I could not 
 otherwise claim for it„ 
 
 I am sorry that I could get no sketches of some of the 
 romantic and beautiful scenery of the more central regions 
 but no artist has ever yet ventured into them. At some 
 future day there will be a collection of those views made, 
 which will not be surpassed in beauty by any in Europe. 
 
 The Moose Lakes described in one of the letters, T have 
 never seen, but a friend of mine, who has once been through 
 the wilderness with me, furnished the material, and for the 
 sake of uniformity, I used it as my own. 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 To give the reader some idea of the central portion of 
 New York, in which the scenes of this work are laid, and 
 through which I traveled ; and that he may not regard 
 it mere child's play to penetrate it, I would say that 
 across it either way is about the distance from New York 
 to Albany — varying from a hundred to a hundred and fifty 
 miles. It is the same as if the whole country from New 
 York to Albany, and extending, also, fifty miles each side 
 of the Hudson, was an unbroken wilderness, crossed by no 
 road, enlivened by no cultivation, not a keel disturbing its 
 waters, while bears, panthers, w^olves, moose and deer 
 were the only lords of the soil. 
 
 Imagine such a tract of country, about the size of Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut put together, most of which lies a 
 neglected waste, through which you must make your way 
 with the compass, sustained by what your own skill can 
 secure, and you will obtain a faint conception of the Adiron- 
 dack region. And yet, you will hardly get a correct one, 
 
VI GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 because there would not enter into it the gloomy gorges 
 and savage mountains that everywhere roll it into disorder. 
 I shall furnish, however, the best description, by giving an 
 extract from a letter of Professor Farrand N. Benedict, of 
 Vermont University, whose able report in the Geological 
 Work of our State, and reports, also, to the Senate, on the 
 capabihties of this section for slack water navigation, have 
 been of equal service to science and to the practical man. 
 
 In a letter to me, which the reader will acknowledge to 
 be written with singular clearness and beauty, he' says : 
 
 " The northern section of New York, embracing the 
 county of Hamilton, and the most of the counties of Essex, 
 Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence, Herkimer, Lewis, War- 
 ren, and Fulton, has hitherto resisted the march of improve- 
 ment, and still remains, with a few solitary exceptions, an 
 unsubdued forest. Until recently, little has been known of 
 its physical resources, and of its adaptedness to the wants of 
 man in his civilized state. Regarded as an unproductive 
 waste, it has left the vague and transient impression on the 
 mind that it answered well enough, the only purpose of its 
 existence, to constitute a barrier between the Mohawk and 
 St. Lawrence Rivers, and to prevent the waters of Lake 
 Ontario from carrying desolation with them into the valley 
 of Champlain. It seems until lately to have failed to 
 awaken that interest in its behalf, to which it is justly en- 
 
GE^EUAL DESCRIPTION. Vll 
 
 titled, in view of the recent developments of its mineral, 
 and even of its agricultural capabilities. 
 
 This section of country, which is frequently denominated 
 the Plateau of Northern New York, is washed at its wes- 
 tern base by the Black River and Lake Ontario — at its 
 northwestern by the St. Lawrence — at its eastern by Lake 
 Champlain — and at its southern by the Mohawk River. 
 Settlements and civilization have advanced from live to 
 twenty-five miles up the valleys and slopes of this elevated 
 table, where they are met by the nearly uninterrupted wil- 
 derness of the interior. The general surface of tliis region 
 as indicated by the lakes and streams, and in many in- 
 stances, especially in the western part, of the extensive val- 
 leys which they drain, is nearly a horizontal plane, with a 
 medium elevation above tide of 1700 feet. This elevated 
 surface is attained by a rapid ascent from its base, in a dis- 
 tance of some ten or twenty miles, except where the grade 
 is occasionally reduced, and the distance proportionably in- 
 creased by valleys and streams. The slope is the most 
 rapid from the Black River and Lake Champlain, declining 
 more gently to the Mohawk, and still more so towards the 
 St. Lawrence and the low country of Canada. 
 
 " This table is divided transversely into two nearly equal 
 portions by a broad valley of variable width, which meets 
 the shores of Lake Champlain at Plattsburgh. The valley 
 
Vlli GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 extends in a southwesterly direction up the Saranac River 
 to the beautiful cluster of lakes of that name — thence with 
 no intervening ridge it passes up the Raquette River, 
 through Long and Raquette Lakes ; and thence in the 
 same general direction, and with no opposing barrier, down 
 the Moose River and its chain of picturesque lakes, and 
 terminates in Oneida County, near Boonville. This valley 
 is remarkable for its extent— being about 150 miles in 
 length — ^for its nearly uniform direction, although it is 
 formed by the basins of three different systems of waters — 
 for the productiveness of its soil in the upper sections of its 
 course — and especially for its almost unparalleled line of 
 natural navigation. 
 
 " The western portion of the table, or rather that which 
 is situated west of this valley, presents a varied and pic- 
 turesque, though not a mountainous surface. The Adiron- 
 dack Mountains are seen towards the east, with their bare 
 and rocky summit, dim in the distance, projecting their 
 spurs clothed with black forests to the shores of this central 
 line of waters. Proceeding westwardly from this line, the 
 physical aspect of the country undergoes a marked and im- 
 mediate change. The mountains are reduced to hills of 
 moderate elevations; and, instead of being covered with 
 rugged and sterile peaks, their rounded summits display a 
 luxuriant growth of valuable timber. They appear to be 
 disposed without much conformity to any general system of 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION. IX 
 
 arrangement. They are frequently solitary ; and whenever 
 they can aggregate in groups or chisters, their positions are 
 determined by the local arrangements of the neighboring 
 waters. Between the lakes, or rather ponds, of this uni- 
 form section, which are disseminated in singular precision 
 over the whole plateau, the surface rises gently from the 
 shores into swells of arable land, excepting the southern de- 
 clivities which are often abrupt and precipitous. 
 
 The eastern part of the plateau, embracing a tract of 
 country about 50 miles wide and 110 miles in length, and 
 terminated by the Raquette Valley on the Avest, is decidedly 
 Alpine in its physical aspect. Its apparently confused wil- 
 derness of mountains is found, on close examination, to be 
 disposed in ranges nearly parallel to the valley above men- 
 tioned. These terminate in successive bold and rocky 
 promontories on the western shore of Lake Champlain. 
 The chains increase in elevation as they approach the inte- 
 rior, until they attain their greatest altitude and grandeur 
 in the most western one of the series. This has a northern 
 termination at Trembleau Point, and thrusts its southern 
 extremity into the bed of the Mohawk at Little Falls. It 
 consists of an extended aggregation of mountain masses, 
 resting on bases that are elevated nearly 2000 feet above 
 tide. Many of these throw their bare and pointed summits 
 of rock to the perpendicular altitude of about a mile above 
 the surface of the ocean. The vastness of their elevations, 
 1* 
 
X GENERAl. DESCRirTION. 
 
 the aliiiost endless variety of their forms, their confused and 
 disorderly arrangement, and the deep forests that are inter- 
 rupted only by the lakes at their bases and the rocks and 
 snows of their summits, invest the eastern half of the table 
 with unrivalled solitude and sublimity." 
 
 This vast mountain chain rises and sinks along the hori- 
 zon in such colossal proportions that one imagines himself 
 in the Alps. The highest peak of the Catskill is only three 
 thousand and some hundred feet in height, yet here are 
 summits rising out of the bosom of forests nearly twice its 
 altitude. Mount Tahawus is over a mile high, while 
 Whiteface, Nipple Top, Mount Seward, Santenoni, Dix's 
 Peak, Mount McMartin and Mount Mclntyre, rise each 
 five thousand feet into the heavens. Shall I mention Owl's 
 Head, Mount Emmons, Schroon Mountains, North River 
 and Boreas Mountains, three thousand feet high ; or Bald 
 Peak and Raven Hill, and a host of others two thousand feet 
 and upwards 1 Why, the Catskill range, majestic as it is, 
 is a dwarf beside these gigantic mountains. From the top 
 of one of them, you see for nearly foiir hundred miles in cir- 
 cumference. To wander among them is the hardest toil 
 that a forest life presents. Without roads, your only re- 
 liance the guide and compass, you are compelled to wade 
 streams, cross marshes, and climb over vast tracts of 
 fallen timber, and at last, when night comes on, pull your 
 own couch from the fir trees around. Tf it were not that 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION. XI 
 
 a chain of lakes extends the entire length of this wilderness, 
 cutting it in two, it would be impenetrable. Along these 
 sheets of water — from one to another, and around rapids 
 and cataracts, the adventurer rows his boat or carries it on 
 his head. I have made this statement that one may see at 
 the outset to what kind of a region I wish to introduce 
 him. 
 
UP THE HUDSON IN THE WOODS TROUT FISHING A 
 
 QUEER FISH. 
 
 Backwoods, June 23. 
 
 Dear H- 
 
 The steam is up— the pipes are spitting forth in 
 furious disgust volumes of vapor — ^the last bell is ring- 
 ing, and amid the clatter of carriages, the shouts of 
 men and clouds of steam, we are off to the centre of 
 the Hudson, and, stretching away, like a gallant steed, 
 rapidly divide the water northward. 
 
 As I stand on the deck and think of the broad, deep 
 forest and its rushing streams, a feeling of freedom 
 steals over me, I have been a stranger to, for months. 
 The chains of conventional life begin to fall off, link 
 after link, and I fancy I feel my blood take a new 
 spring already. This chasing after health, though, is 
 ;i discouraging business. To spend half of one's life 
 
14 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 in keeping the other half from going out, is not, I am 
 convinced, the chief end of man — still, it must some- 
 times be done, and then the pathless woods, the 
 long and steady stretch up the mountain side and 
 the coarse fare, are better than all the ''poppies and 
 mandrigoras" of the world to '' medicine" not only 
 the body but the mind. Your Saratoga water and 
 Nahant bathing and Rockaway dinner tables will do, 
 perhaps, for healthy men, cripples and women. But 
 for the reduced system that needs tone and manliness 
 given it, strong physical exercise is demanded. 
 
 I passed through Saratoga Springs without stop- 
 ping even to dine, but compensated for the neglect 
 over some trout at Glen's Falls. Arriving at Lake 
 George just before sunset, I engaged a man to carry 
 me on, some twenty miles farther that evening. "We 
 halted a few moments at twilight at a lonely tavern 
 on an elevated ridge, made still more desolate by 
 the self murder of the proprietor, the year before, 
 over whose grave a whip-poor-will was pouring its 
 shrill and rapid note. Soon after, we began to enter 
 the Spruce Mountain, where, for miles, not even a hut 
 appears to cheer the sight. In the meantime, the sky 
 became overcast, and night came down black and 
 
A NIGHT JOURNEY. 15 
 
 threatening. The darkness at length grew so impene- 
 trable that we could not see the horses, nor even the 
 wagon in which we rode. Up long hills, and down 
 into deep gulfs, with the invisible branches sweeping 
 our faces at almost every step, we traveled on, seeing 
 nothing but utter blackness, and not knowing but the 
 next moment we should stumble over a precipice, or 
 be tumbled down the slope of a " dugway." My driver, 
 in the meantime, got excessively nervous — ^he had 
 never traveled the road before, and this feeling his 
 way, or rather allowing his horses to feel it without 
 venturing the least control over their movements, 
 seemed to him not the safest mode of procedure, and 
 so after muttering awhile to himself various rather 
 forcible expressions, he stopped and got out. Going 
 to the heads of the horses he commenced leading them. 
 I supposed at first that something was the matter with 
 the harness, and said nothing ; but soon finding my- 
 self moving on in the darkness, I called out to know 
 what he was doing. '' I'm afraid," he replied, ." to 
 ride, it is so dark, and I'm going to lead my horses." 
 Just then, there came a bright flash of lightning, re- 
 vealing the still and boundless forest on every side, 
 and throwing into momentary, but bold relief, shivered 
 
16 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 trunks and blackened stumps, and last though not least 
 important, the horses, with my driver at their head. 
 An instantaneous and utter blackness followed — fall- 
 ing on everything like a mighty pall — and then came 
 the sullen thunder, swelling gradually from the low 
 growl into the deep vibrating peal that shook the hills. 
 It was my turn to feel nervous now, and the idea of 
 walking out a thunder-storm at midnight, in these 
 mountains, was not to be entertained a moment. 
 Unfortunately, T can bear the worst fate better than 
 suspense ; so calling out in a tone not to be mis- 
 taken, I said, " come, get in and drive on, and 
 drive fast, too — if we break down, we will bivouack 
 the rest of the night under the wagon, but as for 
 going at this snail's pace, and a thunder storm gather- 
 ing over our heads, I will not permit it." With a grunt 
 at my rashness, he clambered in and started on. 
 " Come," said I, " whip up, neck or nothing, I 
 can't stand this." (Jetting into a smart trot, we 
 passed rapidly along, expecting every moment to 
 feel the shock that should stop us for the night, 
 or find ourselves describing the arc of a circle, 
 down some declivity, the bottom of which, we 
 could only speculnte upon. Ever and anon came 
 
FIRE FLIES. 17 
 
 the sudden lightning, rending the gloom, succeeded 
 by the rolling, rattling thunder-peal, that made the 
 horses jump, not to mention our own pulsations. 
 Brushed every few steps by an overhanging branch, 
 as if struck by a mysterious hand, we kept resolutely 
 on — the good horses picking their way like Alpine 
 mules, and the road proving itself to be far better 
 than our fears. 
 
 At length, just as the heavy drops began to fall, we 
 emerged into a little valley, in which nestled a rude 
 village, the meadows of which seemed to be one mass 
 of phosphorescence. The fire flies hung in countless 
 numbers over the surface, forming almost a solid body 
 of light. The effect was indescribable ; all around 
 was Egyptian darkness, except that single level spot 
 on which the incessant flashes made a constant, yet 
 ever tremulous light. At first, it seemed an illusion, 
 so fluctuating and confused did everything appear ; 
 but as the eye, aided by the judgment, got accus- 
 tomed to the scene, it became a beautiful creation, 
 made on purpose to cheer the night and lessen the 
 gloom that overhung the world. 
 
 All ! how delicious it is after such a ride to stand 
 under a roof and hear the big drops dashing against 
 
18 THE AI>1R0NDACK. 
 
 the windows and sides of the house, and the thunder 
 pealing harmlessly without; you laugh at the ele- 
 ments which you had feared, and feel as if you had 
 baffled an enemy whose ravings now were impotent 
 and foolish. The rudest room is then pleasant, and 
 the hardest bed soft as down. A delightful calm 
 succeeds the turbulence of feeling, and you are at 
 peace with all the world. 
 
 T will not weary you with an account of my next 
 morning's ride, nor of the thorough drenching I 
 received. 
 
 Arriving at a clearing, I had hardly swallowed some 
 dinner before I donned my India-rubber leggings and 
 plunged into a splendid stream near by, after trout. 
 The very first cast I made, I took one, and kept 
 taking them, till, at the end of two hours, I had fifty 
 fine fellows. The best one of all, however, I lost. I 
 had approached with great caution a noble pool, made 
 by a rapid current that shot along a ledge of rocks, 
 then spread out into an open basin. Seating myself 
 carefully on a narrow shelf, I threw my fly, and 
 moving it slowly in an oblique direction across the 
 stream, soon saw a great fellow rise to the surface. 
 Til 1 twinkling, he was b(»itko(] : hnt just nt Hi-if 
 
TROUT FISHING. 19 
 
 moment I heard a tremendous splashing in the water 
 above me, accompanied by something halfway be- 
 tween a grunt and a groan. I was startled, and 
 turning my eyes in the direction of the tumult, saw 
 my companion floundering in the water. With a 
 short crooked pole, he had been endeavoring to mount 
 a smooth, slippery rock and cast his cord-line into a 
 hole where it looked as if trout mii2rht lurk. Just as he 
 was fetching back his rod with a tremendous swing, his 
 foot slipped and over he rolled into the swift current, 
 making the splashing that had startled me so. His 
 hat was otf and his long hair streamed o^'er his face, 
 as now up and now down he struggled to steady his 
 uncertain footing. At length, he brought up against 
 a rock, and "thunder and lightning," were the first 
 words that escaped his lips, as he looked around to 
 determine his whereabouts. He was a capital subject 
 for a picture, as he thus stood, bareheaded, hanging 
 on the rock, and muttering to himself. Between the 
 fright and the laugh, I lost my trout, but I have made 
 my mark on him and will have him yet. 
 
II 
 
 DANDY TURNED FARMER TROUT FISHING, &C. CHRIS- 
 TENING A BARN. 
 
 Backwoods, June 28. 
 
 Dear H : 
 
 There is not a wilder region in our country than 
 the northern parts of "Warren and Hamilton Counties. 
 An almost unbroken wilderness stretches away from 
 the Adirondack Mountains, from a hundred to a hun- 
 dred and fifty miles across. Imagine such a wilder- 
 ness in the heart of New York State, in which you 
 may wander month after month without stumbling on 
 a clearing. There are places in it never yet trod by 
 the foot of a white man. It is not merely an unculti- 
 vated country, but a succession of ragged mountains, 
 darkened with pine and hemlock — ploughed up with 
 ravines and rendered barren by rocks and swamps. 
 An over-wrought brain has driven me into these soli- 
 tudes for rest and quiet — ^my only companions being 
 
A CLEARING. 21 
 
 my rifle and fishing rod. Wc talk in New York of 
 going into the " country.'''' But let Saratoga be ex- 
 changed for " Long Lake," Nahant for " Indian 
 Lake," and New Rochelle for the gloomy shore of 
 Jesup's River, and our fashionables would get an 
 entirely different idea of the " country,''^ True, it is 
 lonely at first — after being accustomed to the din and 
 struggle of Broadway and Wall street to sit as I now 
 do, with a wide forest, climbing the steep mountains, 
 to bound my vision, and the little clearing around me 
 black with stumps, coming up even to the door of the 
 log house. All day long, and not the sound of a single 
 wheel, but in the place of it the cawing of crows, the 
 scream of the woodpecker, and the roar of a torrent 
 dashing over the rocks in the sullen forest below. 
 The very stumps have a forlorn look, and it seems a 
 complete waste of time and music for the birds to 
 sing, having no one to listen to them. It must be they 
 do it to hear the echo of their own voices, which these 
 wild woods send back with incredible distinctness and 
 sweetness. But if one is not entirely spoiled, he soon 
 attunes himself to the harmony of nature, and a new 
 life is born within him. To most of us, life has — as 
 the G-ermans would say, an " Einseitigkeit," (a one- 
 
>iZ THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 sidedness). The " Fielseitgkeit," (the many-sided- 
 ness) few experience. Ah, it is this " Einseitigkeit," 
 that renders all reform so difficult ; and bigotry and 
 prejudice so irresistible. Men must experience the 
 " Fielseitgkeit," to know it, but circumstances chain 
 them to the " one-sided" view, and so we go stumb- 
 ling on in the old paths, or like an old mill horse round 
 and round in the same circle, stereotyping anew the 
 groans and complaints of our fathers. Here a man 
 will toil for forty years and die poor, while in the city 
 a successful speculation often ensures a life of idleness 
 and luxury. Industry then is not always the sure 
 road to wealth. 
 
 But I will not weary you with an essay on social life, 
 I will only say that it is a poor argument which meets 
 our complaints, from the pulpit and press, viz., 
 " After all, happiness is about equally divided." This 
 maxim is believed, because it is the converse of a true 
 proposition, which is, '' one man is about as miserable 
 as another." That is, the laws of Nature and Heaven 
 are such that he who accumulates to live a life of idle- 
 ness is made as miserable as the man he impoverishes 
 in order to do it. Thus, it is true, that happiness is 
 pretty equally divided, because the misery the present 
 
CI-DEVANT DANDY. 2S 
 
 covetous, grasping spirit works is pretty equally di- 
 vided. 
 
 These thoughts work in me here in the woods as I 
 lean on my rifle, and look on that sturdy backwoods- 
 man making the forest ring with his axe as he devotes 
 himself to a life of toil and ignorance. All, our religion 
 but half performs its work. It simply turns the icild 
 animal into a domestic one, but leaves him an animal 
 still. It does not elevate him, so that the poor can be 
 intelligent, refined, and spiritual. He is still doomed 
 to toil, toil, for the mere animal nature. Religion was 
 designed by its great Author to accomplish more than 
 this, '^ix^/f 
 
 My stopping place is at the house of an old friend, 
 on the frontier of this wild region, who, when I last 
 knew him, was called a New York dandy. Designed 
 by his friends for a profession, he broke away from his 
 studies and entered upon a mercantile life. In the 
 crash of 1837, he went down with the multitude. 
 Land, scattered here and there over the country, was 
 all that was left him to fall back upon, and he resolved 
 to turn farmer. I could hardly believe my eyes, when 
 I saw what a rock and mountain farm he was on. 
 A.S I came up to the door, he was engaged in filling a 
 
24 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 straw bed for his baby — queer occupation this, for a 
 ci-devant dandy. The next morning as he drove off to 
 the woods with his oxen, one would never have dream- 
 ed he had once sauntered up and down Broadway. 
 His wife, a refined and intelligent woman, at first sunk 
 under this change, but rallying her good sense, she has 
 adapted herself to her situation, and now makes butter, 
 &c., like a good house-wife. My friend seemed happy, 
 but I thought it must be assumed, and so I asked him 
 how this compared with New York. " I am happier 
 here," he replied, " I prefer this life to that of the city." 
 The delicate young merchant is spreading into the 
 broad-shouldered working man. I confess I admired 
 him, and the second day I told him I would help him 
 work, if on the succeeding one he would play with me. 
 He agreed to this arrangement, and so I doffed my 
 coat and went into the field with him. My appetite 
 for the plain dinner was a trifle beyond what is termed 
 good, and my slumbers that night deep as oblivion. 
 
 The next morning I claimed the fulfillment of his 
 promise, and he shouldered his long limber ash pole 
 which he had cut from the forest, and peeled to make 
 it lighter, and we entered the dark hemlock forest that 
 overhangs the "trout-brook," and were soon in the 
 
TROUTING. 25 
 
 midst of rare sport. By the way, pay no regard to the 
 list of fancy flies which sportsmen often make so much 
 aJo about. The red and black hackles are the best for 
 our latitude all seasons of the year. With this short 
 episode, follow me in fancy, down the stream, packing 
 the bright spotted trout away into my basket, until wo 
 come to a dark overhanging precipice. Here the 
 stream flows in a broad sheet against and under the 
 mountain, and disappears from sight to appear again far- 
 ther on. This precipice, shooting at an angle of 45 de- 
 grees over the current, turning it back on itself, and 
 forcing it downward, forms a deep, black pool, covered 
 with the foam-bubbles which circle and dart like live 
 creatures in the eddies. There, on the very edge of the 
 eddy, I have cast my fly. It has hardly moved before, 
 look I what a noble fellow makes the water foam as he 
 throws an arch into the air, his white belly gleaming 
 like a silver arrow as he goes. Snap goes the line, and 
 he vanishes. AJi, he was a fat one, and that last fling 
 of his by which he cleared himself, made every nerve 
 in me tingle. 
 
 But I will have his mate. Quickly noosing another 
 snell, I drag again the deep pool, and there the other 
 
 shf)ots — the beauty, and T have him ; I cannot play 
 9 
 
26 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 him — the bushes and flood-wood and rocks, are too 
 thick, — and he flounders like a sturgeon — I must lift 
 him or lose him. My slender rod almost doubles, and 
 quivers with the load ; but the good stick holds, and 
 the fellow is landed. There is absolutely terror in his 
 great black eye as he lies and pants on the rock. I 
 can't help it, my speckled beauty, it's a world where 
 we prey on each other. Beside, I have had nothing 
 but fried pork for three days, and I already gloat in 
 imagination over your salmon-colored flesh. I have 
 gone but half a mile, and let us see, I have forty. 
 That will do for to-day, and we will turn home. 
 
 Passing through a clearing on a side-hill, on our way 
 back, we came upon a ham raisings called here a 
 ^' bee," because all the neighbors are invited to assist. 
 The rough frame was up, and a man was sitting on 
 the ridge pole, hallooing, " Here's a frame without a 
 name, and what'll ye call it ? Here's a frame without 
 a name, and what'll ye call it ? Here's a frame with- 
 out a name, and what'll ye call it ?" — '■^Side-hill drag''' 
 was shouted back from the sturdy group below. It 
 was christened with a hurra, and up went two old 
 drag-frames to the plates where they were left dang- 
 ling in the air. I could not but smile at this curious 
 
CHRISTENING A BARN. 27 
 
 christening, yet the man was as proud of his wit, as 
 the politician of his toast on some gi-eat festive occa- 
 sion, and had as good reason to be for aught I know. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
Ill, 
 
 "driving trees" ^BENIGHTED IN THE WOODS. 
 
 Indian Lake, June 30. 
 Dear H : 
 
 Did you ever fall a tree ? If not, the experiment is 
 worth your while — for the consciousness of power it 
 awakens, and the absolute terror it inspires, as the 
 noble and towering fabric at length yields to your as- 
 saults, amply repay the labor. The first stroke into 
 the huge trunk sends a slight shiver through all the 
 green top ; but as stroke follows stroke, the old king 
 of the woods seems to despise your puny efforts, and 
 receives the blows in silent contempt. But as fibre 
 after fibre is severed, and the heart is at last reached 
 and pierced, a groan passes up through the lofty stem. 
 Then comes a cracking, as if the very seat of life was 
 broken up, and the frightened thing sways and stag- 
 gers a moment, as if to steady its enormous bulk, then 
 
DRIVING TREES. 29 
 
 bows its tall head in submission, and without another 
 effort, and with a shock that shakes the hills around, 
 falls to the ground. There he lies with all his great 
 arms crushed under him, stretched a lifeless corse 
 along the earth. His brethren nod and tremble a mo- 
 ment above him, as if they felt the overthrow, then 
 all is still again. Thus the other day I brought a 
 brave old hemlock to the ground, and when I saw the 
 lofty green mass first begin to sway, and then heard 
 the snapping and rending of the tough fibres of the 
 trunk, a feeling of terror stole over me. This a back- 
 woodsman would doubtless call transcendentalism, if 
 he knew the meaning of the term, but there is no 
 transcendentalism in swinging a heavy axe for an hour 
 to fetch one of these sturdy trees down. 
 
 But felling a single tree is a small matter compared 
 to a process called here " driving trees''' ? Don't im- 
 agine a whole " Birnam" forest on the move '' for 
 Dunsinane," like a flock of sheep going to market ; but 
 sit down with me here on the side-hill, and look at that 
 opposite mountain slope. Just above that black fal- 
 low, or as they call it here "foller," there, in that 
 deep grove, five as good choppers as ever swung an 
 axe, have made the woods ring for the last three 
 
30 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 hours with their steady strokes, and yet not a tree has 
 fallen. But, look ! now one begins to bend — and 
 hark, crack ! crack ! crash ! crash ! a whole forest 
 seems falling, and a gap is made like the path of a 
 whirlwind. Those choppers worked both down and 
 up the hill, cutting each tree half in two, until they 
 got twenty or more thus partially severed. They 
 did not cut at random, but chose each tree with 
 reference to another. At length a sufficient number 
 being prepared, they felled one that was certain to 
 strike a second that was half-severed, and this a third, 
 and so on, till fifteen or twenty came at once with that 
 tremendous crash to the ground. Here is labor-sav- 
 ing without machinery. The process is called " driv- 
 ing trees, ^^ and it is driving them with a vengeance. 
 
 A day or two since I made an engagement with an 
 Indian to go out at night, deer hunting. "We were 
 sure, he said, of taking one. Having nothing in the 
 meanwhile to do, and the pure air and bright sky 
 tempting a stroll in the solemn woods, I shouldered 
 my rifle and started off. After proceeding about a 
 mile, thinking of anything but game, I was suddenly 
 aroused from my reverie by the spring of a deer just 
 ahead. I looked up, and there, with an arching neck 
 
A SHOT. 31 
 
 and waving tail, stood a beautiful doe. Quick as 
 thought she darted away, but when she had gone 
 about 25 or 30 rods stopped again. At first I could 
 not see her, for she had halted behind a clump of 
 bushes ; but at length I observed a reddish spot, about 
 the size of the crown of my cap, between the leaves. 
 I hesitated to shoot, for I knew it was the broadside, 
 and one of my small bullets (my rifle carries 83 to the 
 pound) planted there, might not fetch her down till 
 she had run ten miles. However, it was my only 
 chance, so I took a steady aim, and fired. A wild 
 spring into the open forest told me she was hit, and as 
 she leaped madly away, the tail she carried a moment 
 before like a plume, was hugged close to her legs. 
 Hence I was not surprised when I came to where she 
 had stood, to find large drops of blood on the leaves. 
 I took the trail and followed on. It was slow work, 
 without a dog, and how far I went I know not, but I 
 did not give it up till the increasing darkness blotted 
 the traces from my sight. I then turned to go back, 
 but, alas, had not the slightest idea of the course I 
 had traveled ; and the sun being now down, and the 
 high trees blotting out everything but a little space of 
 sky overhead, I was utterly at a loss which way to 
 
S2 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 go. I pushed on, however, trusting more to luck 
 than my own knowledge or sagacity. But night hav- 
 ing at length come down in earnest, every step was 
 taken at random. Heavy and disheartened, I sat down 
 on a log, and (thanks to my Alpine match-box,) soon 
 struck a light. It was 9 o'clock. AVell, thinks I to 
 myself, it's only a little over six hours to daylight, and 
 I may as well stop and wait as to be knocking my 
 head against these trees without getting any nearer 
 home, nay, perhaps, farther oft'. Looking around, I 
 espied a knoll with a rock on it. Here, kindling a fire 
 to keep off^ the musquitoes and black flies that were 
 devouring me at a rate that would soon leave nothing 
 for the wolves to lunch on, I sat down and waited for 
 the leaden hours to wear away. It seems a very 
 trifling thing when we read about it, to pass a night 
 in the woods, especially when you know that the 
 beasts of prey which roam the forest, dare not attack 
 you — it is a trifling thing to a backwoodsman, but just 
 try it yourself once. I do not affirm that you will be 
 frightened ; but as Lugarto was accustomed to say, you 
 will " be nervous.'''' It was warm, and there was no 
 danger ; neither was I lost, for I knew a walk of an 
 hour or two in the mornins? would brinsr me out, vet I 
 
AN UNCOiM PORTABLE NIGHT. 33 
 
 could not sleep. Bryant says in his Thanatopsis, that 
 it should be a great comfort to a man in death, to 
 know that he " lies down with kings and the powerful 
 of the earth." I don't know how it may affect one 
 " in death^'' but I do know that in vigorous health, 
 it requires more than the mere reflection that the 
 "kings and the great ones of the earth" are snoozing 
 on their couches of down, to make one sleep sweetly 
 in the solemn woods without a friend near him. If I 
 felt inclined to doze, the snapping of the fire, or the 
 stealthy tread of a fox or hedgehog, would startle me 
 from my disturbed slumbers — and there stood the tall 
 trees in the fire light, their huge trunks fading away 
 in the gloom like the columns of some old cathedral 
 at twilight. Once, I could have sworn I saw a bear, 
 and was on the point of shooting, but finally concluded 
 to take a fire-brand in one hand and my rifle in the 
 other, and go towards it, when lo I it turned out to bo 
 a hlack stump. I let it sleep on, and went back to my 
 fii*e, determined to have a nap. It was all in vain, and 
 yet I had slept soundly in places where I felt at the 
 time there was infinitely more danger than here. I 
 had slept lashed to a bench when the storm was spring- 
 ing our masts, and the sea falling in thunder on the 
 
34 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 deck of our staggering ship — I had slept amid the 
 *' Alps and Appenines," nay, worse, in the cabriolet of 
 a French diligence, beside the yelling conducteur. I 
 had slept on the hard floor, and beside living and dead 
 men, but I could not sleep here. There was some- 
 thing so awfully solemn and mysterious in that mighty 
 forest — in the rustle of the night breeze through the 
 tops of the hemlocks, and the flutter now and then of 
 a bird disturbed on its perch, that my heart beat audibly 
 in my bosom. Just as my nervousness began to be 
 particularly annoying, there came a flash of lightning, 
 followed by the low growl of distant thunder. This 
 was something I had not calculated upon, and I said 
 to myself, " Well, there is a prospect of my trying 
 Preissnitz's system now, for there will be cold bathing 
 in plenty before morning, and my diet is spare enough, 
 heaven knows, for I haven't even a red-squirrel to roast 
 for my supper. I shall be thankful if one of these 
 rotten hemlocks does not have the rubbing of me 
 down after my bath." Just then the blast swept 
 through the forest like the roar of the sea, and all was 
 still again. Another flash, and as I live, there stood a 
 man amid the trees ; I waited in breathless suspense 
 for a second flash, but the tread of feet prevented the 
 
A WELCOME VISITOR. 35 
 
 necessity, and the next instant the Indian (a civilized 
 one) whom I had engaged to go deer hunting with me, 
 approacbsd. The amount of affection I at that mo- 
 ment entertained for the red-skinned gentleman, 
 would, I think, satisfy my wife, if I am ever fortunate 
 enough to have one. He had seen the light of my lire 
 above the trees, and supposing I was lost came after 
 me ; and I assure you it was the most profitable short 
 journey he ever made. It turned out that I was not 
 two miles from the settler's house from which I had 
 started. We reached it about 2 o'clock, and I slept 
 on my straw bed that night without thinking of " the 
 great ones of the earth." 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
IV, 
 
 A RIVER IN THE FOREST LIFE — 
 
 Backwoods, June 6. 
 
 DearH : 
 
 Did you ever witness a log driving ? It is one of 
 the curiosities of the backwoods, where streams are 
 made to subserve the purpose of teams. On the 
 steep mountain side, and along the shores of the brook 
 which in spring time becomes a fiery torrent, tearing 
 madly through the forest, the tall pines and hemlocks 
 are felled in winter and dragged or rolled to the brink. 
 Here every man marks his own, as he would his 
 sheep, and then rolls them in, when the current is 
 swollen by the rains. The melted snow along the ac- 
 clivities comes in an unbroken sheet of water down, 
 and the streams rise as if by magic to the tops of tlieir 
 banks, and a broad, resistless current goes sweeping 
 like a live and gloomy thing through the deep forest. 
 
A FOREST rivj;r. 37 
 
 The foam bubbles sparkle on the dark bosom that floats 
 them on, and past the boughs that bend with the 
 stream, and by the precipices that frown sternly down 
 upon the tumult ; while the rapid waters shoot onward 
 like an arrow, or rather a visible spirit on some mys- 
 terious errand, seeking the loneliest and most fearful 
 passages the untrodden wild can furnish. I have 
 seen the waves running like mad creatures in mid 
 ocean, and watched with strange feelings the moonlit 
 deep as it gently rose and fell like a human bosom in 
 the still night ; but there is something more mysteri- 
 ous and fearful than these in the calm yet lightning- 
 like speed of a deep, dark river, rushing all alone in 
 its might and majesty through the heart of a vast 
 forest. You cannot see it till you stand on the brink, 
 and then it seems utterly regardless of you or the 
 whole world without, hasting sternly forward to the 
 accomplishment of some dread purpose. 
 
 But such romance as this never enters the heart of 
 your backwoodsman. The first question he puts him- 
 self, as he thrusts his head through the branches and 
 looks up and down the channel, is — " Is the stream 
 high enough to run logs ?" If so, then fall to work : 
 away go the logs, one after another, down the moun- 
 
38 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 tain, and down the bank, with, a bound and a groan, 
 and splash into the water. 
 
 The heavy rains about the first of July, had so 
 swollen the stream near which I am located, that all 
 thoughts of fishing for several days were abandoned, 
 and the log drivers had it entirely to themselves. So, 
 strolling through the forest, I soon heard the continuous 
 roar that rose up through the leafy solitudes, and in a 
 few moments stood on a shelving rock, and saw the 
 dark, swift stream before me, as it issued from the 
 cavernous green foliage above, and disappeared with- 
 out a struggle in the same green abyss below. I 
 stood for a long time lost in thought. How much 
 like life was that current in its breathless haste — how 
 like it, too, in its mysterious appearance and depar- 
 ture ! It shot on my sight without a token of its birth- 
 place, and vanished without leaving a sign whither it 
 had gone. So comes and goes this mysterious life of 
 ours — this fearful time-stream, sweeping so noiselessly 
 and steadily forward. And there, where that bubble 
 dances and swims, now floating calmly though swiftly 
 along the surface, and now caught in an eddy, and 
 whirled in endless gyrations round, and now buffeted 
 back by the hard rock agaiiist whose side it was cast, is 
 
THE LIFE-STREAM. 39 
 
 another life symbol. Such am I, and such is every man 
 — bubbles on the dread time-stream — one moment mov- 
 ing calmly over the waters of prosperity — the next, 
 caught in the eddies of misfortune, till, bewildered and 
 stunned, we are hurled against the rocks of discourage- 
 ment. Yet, ever afloat, and ever borne rapidly on, we 
 are moving from sight, to be swallowed up in that vast 
 solitude, from whose echoless depths no voice has 
 ever yet returned. Life, life, how solemn and mys- 
 terious thou art ! I could weep as I lean from this 
 rock and gaze on the dark, rushing waters — thought 
 crowds on thought, and sad memories come sweep- 
 ing up, and future forebodings mingle in the solemn 
 gathering, and emotions no one has ever yet ex- 
 pressed, and feelings that have struggled since time 
 began, for utterance, swell like that swollen water over 
 my heart, and make me 'inconceivably sad here in the 
 depths of the forest. 
 
 How long I might have stood absorbed in this half 
 dreamy half thoughtful mood, I know not, had I not 
 heard a shout below me. Passing down, I soon came 
 to a steep bank, at the base of which several men were 
 tumbling logs into the stream. I watched them for 
 some time, and was struck with the coolness with 
 
40 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 which one would stand half under a huge embankment 
 of logs, and hew away to loosen the whole, while 
 another with a "handspike"* kept them back. Once, 
 after a blow, I saw the entire mass start, when " Take 
 care ! take care ! " burst in such startling tones from 
 my lips, that the cool chopper sprung as if stung by 
 an adder ; then, with a laugh at his own foolish fright, 
 stepped back to his place again. The man with the 
 " handspike" never even turned his head, but with a 
 half grunt, as much as to say " G-reen horn from the 
 city," held on. It was really an exciting scene — the 
 mad leaping away of those huge logs, and their rapid, 
 arrowy-like movement down the stream. At length I 
 threw off my coat, and laying my gun aside, also 
 seized a '* handspike," and was soon behind a log, tug- 
 ging and lifting away. I was on the top of a high bank, 
 and when the immense timber gave way, and bounded 
 with a dull sound from rock to rock, till it struck with 
 a splash into the very centre of the current, my sud- 
 den shout followed it. The first plunge took it 
 out of sight, and when it rose to the surface 
 again, it stood, for a single moment, perfectly still in its 
 place, except that it rolled rapidly on its axis — the 
 ^- A wooden lever. 
 
41 
 
 next moment it yielded to the impetuosity of the cur- 
 rent and darted away as if inherent with life, and 
 moved straight towards a precipice that frowned over 
 the water below. Recoiling from the shock, its head 
 swung off with the current, and away it shot out 
 of sight. 
 
 The stream gets full of these logs, which often catch 
 on some rock or projecting root, and accumulate till a 
 hundred or more will be all tangled and matted to- 
 gether. There they lie rising and falling on the un- 
 easy current, while a driver slowly and carefully steps 
 from one to another, feeling with his feet and " hand- 
 spike," to see where the " drag" is. Wlien he finds it, 
 he loosens, perhaps with a blow, the whole rolling, 
 tumbling mass, and away it moves. Now look out, 
 bold driver, thy footing is not of the most certain kind, 
 and a wild and angry stream is beneath thee. Yet see 
 how calmly he views the chaos. The least hurry or 
 alarm and he is lost : — but no, he moves without agi- 
 tation, — now balancing himself a moment, as the log 
 he steps upon shoots downward, then quickly passing to 
 another as that rolls under him, he is gradually worlv- 
 ing his way towards the» shore. He has almost suc- 
 ceeded in reaching the bank, vv^lion the whole floating 
 
42 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 mass separates so far, that he can no longer step from 
 one to another, and after looking about a moment, he 
 quietly seats himself astraddle of one, and darts like a 
 fierce rider down the current. 
 
 These logs are carried twenty and thirty miles in 
 this way, passing from small streams to larger ones, 
 through lakes and along rivers, and are finally brought 
 up at the wished-for spot by poles across the river, 
 which stop their further descent. Several different 
 men club together to drive the stream, and here they 
 pick out each one his own, by the mark he has placed 
 upon it, as you have seen a farmer select his sheep 
 in a pen containing several flocks. 
 
 This marking logs like sheep, was entirely new to 
 me, and somewhat droll. I could imagine the owners 
 at the place of rendezvous, (i. e., of the logs,) selecting 
 them in somewhat the following manner: one cries 
 out, " well, neighbor Jones, is that your log ?" '' Yes." 
 " How do you know ?" " Oh, it has my mark — crop- 
 ped on both ears and slit in the right ; and here is one 
 belonging to you with a bob-tail, and a knot in the 
 forehead." 
 
 This "driving the river,". as it is called, is one of 
 the chief employments of your backwoodsmen in 
 
DIFFERENT YET THE SAME. 43 
 
 spring time, and it is curious to see what an object of 
 interest the river becomes. Its rise and fall are the 
 chief topics of conversation. So goes the world — New 
 York has its objects of interest — ^the country village its 
 — and the settler on the frontier his — each one is filled 
 with the same anxieties, hopes, fears and wishes — 
 overcome by the same discouragements and misfor- 
 tunes, and working out the same fate ; man still with 
 that mysterious soul and restless heart of his, greater 
 than a king, and immortal as an angel, yet absorbed 
 with straws and maddened or thrown into raptures by 
 a little glittering dust. 
 
V. 
 
 FORESTWARD-^ — ^DINNER SCENE PREPARATIONS TO ASCEND 
 
 MOUNT TAHAWUS. 
 
 Backwoods, July 10, 1846. 
 
 Dear H : 
 
 It will be a long time before I am again by a post 
 office where I can get a letter to you. If you wish to 
 know the pleasure of seeing a newspaper from New 
 York, bury yourself in the woods for three or four 
 weeks, where not a pulsation of the great busy world 
 can reach you, nor a word from its ten thousand 
 tongues and pens meet your ear or eye. The sight of 
 one, then, fresh from the press, putting in your hands 
 again the links of that great chain of human events 
 you had lost — re-binding you to your race, and re- 
 placing you in the mighty movement that bears all 
 things onward, is most welcome. You cannot con- 
 ceive the contrasts, nay, almost the shocks of feeling 
 one experiences in stepping from the crowded city into 
 
FOREST LIFE 45 
 
 the dense forest where his couch is the boughs he him- 
 self cuts, and his companions the wild deer and the 
 birds; or in emerging again into civilized life, and 
 listening to the strange tumult that has not ceased in 
 his absence. One seems to ha-ve dreamed twice — nay, 
 to be in a dream yet. Yesterday, as it were, I was 
 walking the crowded streets of New York ; last eve- 
 ning, in a birch-bark canoe, with an Indian beside 
 me, nearly a day's journey from a human habitation, 
 sailing over a lake whose green shores have never been 
 marred by the axe of civilization, and on whose broad 
 expanse not a boat was floating, but that which guided 
 me and my companions on. For miles the Indian has 
 carried this canoe on his head through the woods, and 
 now it is breasting the v/aves that come rolling like 
 fluid gold from the west. The sun is going to his re- 
 pose amid the purple mountains — the blue sky seems 
 to lift in the elastic atmosphere — the scream of the 
 wild bird fills the solitude, and all is strange and new, 
 while green islands untrodden by man greet us as we 
 steer towards yonder distant point, where our camp-fire 
 is to be lighted to-night. G-lorious scene — glorious 
 evening ! with my Indian and my rifle by my side — 
 skinimino- in this canoe alono^ the clear waters, how 
 
46 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 far away seem the strifes of men and the discords of 
 life. To-night my couch of balsam boughs shall be 
 welcome, until the cloudless morn floods this wild 
 scene with light. 
 
 But I find I am getting on too fast. To begin at 
 the beginning — I started with four companions, from 
 where I had been for some time fishing, for a stretch 
 through the wilderness, to ascend Mount Marcy, as it 
 is foolishly called, — properly Mount Tahawus, — and go 
 through the famous Indian Pass. Here there are no 
 mule paths, as in Switzerland, leading to the bases 
 of mountains, whence you can mount to the summits ; 
 but all is woods ! woods ! woods ! The highest and 
 most picturesque of the Adirondack peaks lie deep in 
 the forest, where none but an experienced guide can 
 carry you. To reach Mount Tahawus, you must 
 come in from Caldwell or Westport, about thirty miles, 
 in a mail wagon, and then you have a stretch of 
 some forty miles through the woods to the Adiron- 
 dack Iron Works. There is but one road to these 
 Works, where it stops, and he who would go farther 
 must take to the pathless woods ; indeed, it was 
 made solely for these iron quarries, by the company 
 which owns them. 
 
A DINNER SCENE. 47 
 
 "Well, here we are, in the heart of the forest, five of 
 us, bumpmg along in a lumber wagon over a road 
 you would declare a civilized team could not travel.* 
 Now straining up a steep ascent — now whang to 
 the axle-tree between the rocks, and now lying at an 
 angle of forty-five degrees, and again carefully lifting 
 ourselves over a fallen tree, w^e tumble and bang 
 along at the enormous rate of two miles an hour. 
 By dint of persuasion, the use of the whip, and a 
 thousand " he-ups," we have acquired this velocity, and 
 been able to keep it for the last seven hours. But 
 man and beast grow weary — it is one o'clock, and as 
 the forest is but half traversed, a dinner must be 
 had in some way. In three minutes the horses are 
 unhitched, and eating from the wagon — in three more 
 a cheerful fire is crackling in the woods, and our 
 knapsacks are scattered around, disgorging their con- 
 tents. Here is a bit of pork, here some ham, tongue, 
 anchovy-paste, bread, &c., &c., strung along like a 
 column of infantry, on a moss-covered log, and each 
 one with his pocket-knife is doing his devoirs. We 
 eat with an appetite that would throw a French cook 
 into ecstacies, did he but shut his eyes to our bill of 
 
 • It has been improved since, and is now quite good. 
 
48 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 fare. Dinner being over, B ^n, a six-footer, one of 
 
 the finest specimens of a farmer and gentleman you 
 will meet in many a day, has lighted his pipe, and is 
 sitting on. the ground with his back against a log, 
 deep in the columns of the Courier and Enquirer 
 which I received the day before we started. Young 
 
 A Id, a quiet little fellow, about eighteen years 
 
 old, is stretched full length on the log trying to get a 
 
 nap. Young S -th, tough, vigorous, and full of 
 
 blood and spirits, as these old woods are of musqui- 
 toes, whose hearty laugh rings out every five minutes, 
 as well at misfortunes as at a joke, is smoking his 
 cigar over the Albany Argus. P — — , one of the 
 most careless of mortals, who is just as likely to run 
 his head against a tree as one side of it — who, in all 
 human probability, will have his heel on your pork 
 before it is half toasted, or his pantaloon-strap in 
 your tea before it is half cooled, is backed up 
 against a tree, with his legs across a dead limb, 
 running over the columns of the Express. He is 
 one of your poetic creatures ; half the time in a 
 dream, and the other half indulging in drollery 
 that keeps the company in a roar. He was never 
 in the woods before, and the shadow of Ihc miglify 
 
LAKE SANFORD. 49 
 
 forest falls on his spirit with a strange power, awak- 
 ening a world of new emotions within him. Again 
 and again have I been startled by his "How savage I 
 how awful !" At a little distance I myself am sit- 
 ting against a stump, with the Tribune in my hand, 
 telling B ^ ' n the news from Washington. This 
 sets him going ; and his sensible remarks on poli- 
 tical subjects would make a capital leader for a 
 j)aper. There you have my fellow-travelers ; and 
 you must confess there could not be better com- 
 panions for a tramp of a few weeks in the forest. 
 
 Refreshed by our dinner and primitive siesta, we 
 pushed on, and at length reached the foot of Lake 
 Sanford, where we found Cheney cutting down trees. 
 Embarking in his boat, we rowed slowly up to the Adi- 
 rondack Iron "Works. This lake is a beautiful sheet of 
 water, without a hand-breath of cultivation upon its 
 shores. Islands smile on you from every point, while 
 to the right, lifts in grand composure the whole chain 
 or rather the countless peaks of the Adirondack. 
 Tamerack and cedar trees line the banks — in some 
 places growing straight out over the water — the 
 tops almost as near the surface as the roots. It 
 seems as if they were attracted by the moisture below, 
 
50 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 and thus grew in a horizontal direction instead of an 
 upright one. The effect of such a strange growth 
 along the shore, is singular in the extreme. 
 
 As we passed leisurely up the lake — now glancing 
 away from an island — now steering along the narrow 
 channel which separated two, we saw a white gull sit- 
 ting on a solitary rock that just appeared above the 
 water. I ascertained afterwards, that he sat there day 
 after day, watching for fish. His nest was on the 
 island near. 
 
 Coming near another island, Cheney rested a mo- 
 ment on his oars, and said, "here Mr. Ingham made 
 a picture of the lake." 
 
 But all journeys must end, and we at length, after 
 forcing our way up the narrow and shallow inlet, found 
 ourselves at the Adirondack Iron Works — the loneliest 
 place a hanmier ever struck in. Forty miles to a post 
 office or a mill — flour eight dollars a barrel, and com- 
 mon tea a dollar a pound in these woods, in the very 
 heart of the Empire State ! These quarries were dis- 
 covered by an Indian, and made known by him to Mr. 
 Henderson, who paid him, I believe, two shillings a 
 day, and found him in tobacco, to take him in where 
 the water poured over an " iron dam." From this to 
 
PREPARATIONS. 51 
 
 the top of Mount Tahawus, it is nearly twenty miles 
 through the woods. Not a human footstep, so our guide 
 the " mighty hunter, Cheney," tells us, has profaned it 
 for six years, and it is two good days' work to go and 
 return, A tramp of forty miles through a pathless 
 forest to see one mountain, is a high price to pay, but 
 we have resolved to do it. You must know that thirty 
 miles in dense woods, is equal to sixty miles 
 along a beaten track. These primeval forests are not 
 your open groves like those south and west, through 
 which a horse can gallop ; but woven and twisted to- 
 gether and filled up with underbrush that prevent you 
 from seeing ten rods ahead, and w^hich scratch and 
 flog you at every step, as if you were running the 
 gauntlet. 
 
 One or two nights at least, we must sleep in the 
 woods, and our provision be carried on our backs, and 
 so behold us at 7 o'clock in the morning ready to start. 
 First comes Cheney, our guide, with a heavy pack on 
 his back filled with bread, and pork and sugar, carry- 
 ing an axe in his hand with which to build our shanty 
 
 and cut our fuel. Young S th has also a pack 
 
 strapped to his shoulders, while A Id and P 
 
 have nothing but their overcoats lashed around nieiii ; 
 
rv7 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 B — — n carries a tea-kettle in his hand, for he would 
 as soon think of camping out without his pipe and to- 
 bacco, as without his tea. As for myself, I carry a 
 green blanket tied by a rope to my shoulders, a strong 
 hunting-knife and a large stick like the Alpine stock, 
 which I found so great a help in climbing the Alps. 
 Some of the worthy workmen of the furnace are look- 
 ing on, doubtful whether all will hold out to the top. 
 " Have you the pork ?" says one ; " Yes." " Have you 
 the sugar and tea?" "Yes." "Have you the spy- 
 glass ?" " Yes." " Well," says Cheney, " is every- 
 thing ready ?" "Yes." " Then let us be off." 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
VI. 
 
 ASCENT OF MOUNT TAHAWUS A MAN SHOT A HARD 
 
 TRAMP GLORIOUS PROSPECT A CAMP SCENE. 
 
 Backwoods, July 12. 
 
 Hurrah ! we are off, and crossing a branch of the 
 Hudson near its source, enter the forest, Indian file, 
 and stretch forward. It is no child's play before us ; 
 and the twenty miles we are to travel will test the 
 blood and muscle of every one. The first few miles 
 there is a rough path, which was cut last summer, in 
 order to bring out the body of Mr. Henderson. It 
 is a great help, but filled with sad associations. At 
 length we came to the spot where twenty-five work- 
 men watched with the body in the forest all night. 
 It was too late to get through, and here they kindled 
 their camp-fire, and stayed. The rough poles are 
 still there, on which the corpse rested. " Here," 
 says Cheney, " on this log I sat all night, and held 
 
54 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 Mr. Henderson's little son, eleven years of age, in my 
 arms. Oli, how he cried to be taken in to his mother ; 
 but it was impossible to find our way through the 
 woods ; and he, at length, cried himself to sleep in 
 my arms. Oh, it was a dreadful night." A mile 
 further on, and we came to the rock where he was 
 shot. It stands by a little pond, and was selected by 
 them to dine upon. Cheney was standing on the 
 other side of the pond, with the little boy, whither 
 he had gone to make a raft, on which to take some 
 trout, when he heard the report of a gun, and then a 
 scream ; and looking across, saw Mr. Henderson clasp 
 his arms twice over his breast, exclaiming, " I am 
 shot!" The son fainted by Cheney's side; but in a 
 few moments all stood round the dying man, who 
 murmured, "What an accident, and in such a place !" 
 In laying down his pistol, with the muzzle unfortu- 
 nately towards him, the hammer struck the rock, and 
 the cap exploding, the entire contents were lodged in 
 his body. After commending his soul to his Maker, 
 and telling his son to be a good boy, and give his 
 love to his mother, he leaned back and died. It 
 made us sad to gaze on the spot ; and poor Cheney, 
 as he drew a long sigh, looked the picture of sorrow. 
 
i 
 
THE MARCH. 55 
 
 Perhaps some of us would thus be earned out of the 
 woods. He left New York as full of hope as myself; 
 and here he met his end. Shall I be thus borne 
 back to my friends ? It is a little singular that he 
 was always nervously afraid of fire-arms, and car- 
 ried this pistol solely as a protection against wild 
 beasts ; and yet, he fell by his own hand. He never 
 could see a man walking in the streets with a gun in 
 his hand, without stepping to the door to inquire if 
 it were loaded. Poor man ! it was a sad place to die 
 in ; for his body had to be carried over thirty miles 
 on men's shoulders, before they came to a public 
 road. 
 
 The exhausting march, however, soon drove these 
 sad thoughts from our minds, and we strained for- 
 ward — now treading over a springy marsh — now 
 stooping and crawling like lame iguanas, through a 
 swamp of spruce trees, and anon following the path 
 made by deer and moose, as they came from the 
 mountains to the streams, or climbing around a cata- 
 ract, until, at length, we reached Lake Golden, per- 
 fectly embosomed amid the gigantic mountains, and 
 looking for all the world like an innocent child sleep- 
 ing in a robber's embrace. Awfully savage and wild 
 
•56 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 are the mountains that enclose this placid sheet of 
 water. Crossing a strip of forest, we next struck the 
 Opalescent River, so called from the opals found in its 
 bed. The forest here is almost impassible ; and so, for 
 five miles, we kept the bed of the stream, chasing it 
 backward to its source. The channel is one mass of 
 rocks; and hence, our march was a constant leap 
 from one to another, requiring a correct eye, and a 
 steady foot, to keep the balance. Thus, zigzaging 
 over the bed of this turbulent stream, we flitted 
 backward and forward, like flies over the surface of 
 
 a river, till, at length, I heard a shout. S ^th had 
 
 missed his footing, and slipping from a rock, gone 
 plump into a deep pool. Gathering himself up, he 
 laughed louder than the loudest, and pushed on. 
 
 Suddenly Cheney stopped and listened ; for the 
 deep bay of his hound in the distance, rang through 
 the forest. " He has stopped something," he ex- 
 claimed ; "hark, how fierce he is. I shouldn't won- 
 der if it was a moose ; for a coio moose, with her calf, 
 will stop and fight a dog this time a year. If it is a 
 moose, it would be worth while to go back." But I 
 was after Mount Tahawus, and could ill afford to lin- 
 ger on the way, although soon after we heard the low- 
 
THE LUNCH. 67 
 
 ing of a moose in a distant gorge — how lonely the 
 deep echo sounded. 
 
 At length we all came to a halt on the rocks, and 
 prepared for dinner, and no one was more glad than 
 myself to rest. A blazing fire was kindled of dry logs, 
 and soon each one had his piece of fat pork on a long 
 stick, and was holding it over the flame. I counted 
 four pieces all coming to a focus before I added mine 
 to the list. Putting them together was a capital ar- 
 rangement, for the fat dropping off into the fire in- 
 creased the blaze, and hence facilitated the cooking. 
 Dipping my slice every few seconds into the river to 
 freshen it, and then laying it upon my bread to pre- 
 serve the gravy, I at length had the satisfaction of 
 seeing it v/ell done. It was eaten with an appetite 
 that quite alarmed me, for it indicated such a radical 
 change in my notions and taste, that I was afraid I 
 might turn into something monstrous. 
 
 Soon after, our packs were all slung again, and we 
 on the march. We continued diving deeper and deeper 
 into the hills, until we at last reached the base of 
 the mountain, and the foot of a lofty cataract. I have 
 climbed the Alps and Appenines, but never found foot 
 and eye in such requisition before. It was literally 
 
58 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 "right up," while the spruce trees, with their dry- 
 limbs like thorns a yard long, stuck out on every side, 
 ready to transfix us, and compelling us to duck and 
 dodge at every step. Now sinking through the treach- 
 erous moss that covered some gap in the rocks, and 
 now swinging from one dead tree to another, we con- 
 tinued for two miles panting and straining up the 
 steep acclivity, flogged and torn at every step. We 
 had already gone fifteen miles, and such a winding up 
 
 of the tramp was too much. H thought "the 
 
 Millerites had better start from this elevation." A 
 
 said 'twould " tear their ascension robes so that they 
 
 would look rather shabby on the wing." T was 
 
 sure the notion would take with them, as they 
 
 " Could make such a dale of the journey on foot.^'' 
 
 One large athletic hunter we had taken along as 
 an assistant, gave out, so that we were compelled fre- 
 quently to halt and let him rest. The fir trees 
 grew thicker and more dwarfish as we ascended, ti4 
 they became mere shrubs, and literally matted to- 
 gether, so that you could not see two feet in advance 
 of you. Through, and over these we floundered, and 
 urged our steps ; yet, tired as I was, I could not but 
 
THE TOP OF TAHAWUS. 59 
 
 stop and laugh to see B n fight his way through. 
 
 Rolling himself over like a cart-wheel, he would dis- 
 appear in the thiclv: evergreens — in a short time, his 
 face, red with the fierce struggle, would rise like that 
 of a spent swimmer's over the waves ; and then, with 
 a crash, he went out of sight again ; and so kept up 
 the battle for at least half an hour. Here we passed 
 over the bed of a moose, which we doubtless roused 
 from his repose, for the rank grass was still matted 
 where he had lain. At length, we emerged upon the 
 brow of a cliff, across a gulf at the base of which arose 
 a bare, naked pyramid, that pushed its rocky forehead 
 high into the heavens. This was the summit of 
 Tahawus. A smooth grey rock, shaped like an in- 
 verted bowl, stood before us, as if on purpose to 
 
 mock all our efforts. Halfway up this was S th, 
 
 looking no larger than a dog, as with his pack on his 
 back he crawled on all fours over the rocks. Hitherto 
 nothing could knock the fun out of him ; and as h". 
 from time to time stumbled on a log, or heard the 
 complaint of some one behind, he would sing in a 
 comical sort of a chorus, '' go-iii-up,^^ followed by his 
 hearty ha-ha-ha, as if he were impervious to fatigue. 
 To everv lialloo we sent after him, lie would re- 
 
60 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 turn that everlasting " go-in-iip,'^ sung out so funnily 
 that we invariably echoed back his laugh, till the 
 mountains rang again. But now he was silent — 
 the '^ go-in-up^^ had become a serious matter, audit 
 required all his breath to enable him to ''go up." 
 
 As we ascended this bald cone, the chill wind swept 
 by like a December blast ; and well it might, for the 
 snow had been gone but a few weeks. The fir 
 trees had gradually dwindled away, till they were not 
 taller than your finger, and now disappeared altoge- 
 ther ; for nothing but naked rock could resist the 
 climate of this high region. The dogs, which had 
 hitherto scoured the forest on every side, crouched 
 close and shivering to our side — evidently frightened, 
 as they looked off on empty space — and all was 
 dreary, savage, and wild. 
 
 At length we reached the top ; and oh, what a view 
 spread out before, or rather below us. Here we were 
 more than a mile up in the heavens, on the highest 
 point of land in the Empire State ; and with one 
 exception the highest in the Union ; and in the centre 
 of a chaos of mountains, the like of which I never 
 saw before. It was wholly different from the Alps. 
 There were no snow peaks and shining glaciers : but 
 
Cr.ORIOUS PROSPECT. 61 
 
 all was grey, or green, or Mack, as far as the vision 
 could extend. It looked as if the Almighty had once 
 set this vast earth rolling like the sea ; and then, in 
 the midst of its maddest flow, bid all the gigantic 
 billows stop and congeal in their places. And there 
 they stood, just as He froze them — grand and gloomy. 
 There was the long swell — and there the cresting, 
 bursting billow — and there, too, the deep, black, 
 cavernous gvilf. Far away — more than fifty miles 
 to the south-east — a storm was raging, and the mas- 
 sive clouds over the distant mountains of Vermont, 
 or rather between us and them, and below their sum- 
 mits, stood balanced in space, with their white tops 
 towering over their black and dense bases, as if they 
 were the margin of Jehovah's mantle folded back to 
 let the earth beyond be seen. That far-away storm 
 against a background of mountains, and with 
 nothing but the most savage scenery between — how 
 mysterious — how awful it seemed ! 
 
 Mount Golden, with its terrific precipices — Mount 
 Mclntyre, with its bold, black, barren, monster-like- 
 head — White Face, with its white spot on its forehead, 
 and countless other summits pierced the heavens in 
 every (]ireotif)n. And then, such a stretch of forost, 
 
62 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 for more than three liiindred miles in circumference — 
 ridges and slopes of green, broken only by lakes that 
 dared just to peep into view from their deep hiding- 
 places — one vast wilderness seamed here and there by 
 a river whose surface you could not see, but whose 
 course you could follow by the black winding gap 
 through the tops of the trees. Still there was beauty 
 as well as grandeur in the scene. Lake Champlain, 
 with its islands spread away as far as the eye could 
 follow towards the Canadas, while the distant Grreen 
 Mountains rolled their granite summits along the 
 eastern horizon, with Burlington curtained in smoke 
 at their feet. To the north-west gleamed out here and 
 there the lakes of the Saranac River, and farther to 
 the west, those along the Raquette ; nearer by. Lake 
 Sanford, Placid Lake, Lake Golden, Lake Henderson, 
 shone in quiet beauty amid the solitude. Nearly 
 thirty lakes in all were visible — some dark as polished 
 jet beneath the shadow of girdling mountains ; others 
 flashing out upon the limitless landscape, like smiles 
 to relieve the gloom of the great solitude. Through- 
 out the wide extent but three clearings were visible — 
 all was as Nature made it. My head swam in the 
 wondrous vision : and I seemed lifted up above the 
 
THE LAST VIEW. 63 
 
 earth, and shown all its mountains and forests and 
 lakes at once. But the impression of the whole, it 
 is impossible to convey — nay, I am myself hardly 
 conscious what it is. It seems as if I had seen 
 vagueness, terror, sublimity, strength, and beauty, all 
 embodied, so that I had a new and more definite know- 
 ledge of them. God appears to have wrought in these 
 old mountains with His highest power, and designed 
 to leave a symbol of His omnipotence. Man is noth- 
 ing here, his very shouts die on his lips. One of our 
 company tried to sing, but his voice fled from him 
 into the empty space. We fired a gun, but it gave 
 only half a report, and no echo came back, for there 
 was nothing to check the sound in its flight. " God 
 is great !" is the language of the heart, as it swells 
 over such a scene. 
 
 And this is in New York, I at length exclaimed, 
 whose surface is laced with railroads and canals, and 
 whose rivers are turbulent with steamboats and 
 fringed with cities. Yet here is a mountain in its 
 centre but few feet have ever trod, or will tread for a 
 century to come. 
 
 We designed to encamp as near the summit as we 
 could, and obtain firewood, so that we might see the 
 
64 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 sun rise from the summit, but the heavens grew dark- 
 er every moment, warning us to find shelter for the 
 night. About 5 o'clock we left the top and went hel- 
 ter-skelter down the precipitous sides. After going at 
 a break-neck pace for several miles over rocks, along 
 
 ravines and through the bushes, S th shouting at 
 
 every leap ^^ go-in-doivn,^^ we at length stopped and be- 
 gan to peel bark to cover us for the night, for we were 
 twelve miles from a clearing, and it was getting dark. 
 >^oon the axe resounded through the forest, and tree 
 after tree came to the earth to furnish us fuel. " Every 
 man must pick his own bed," cried our guide ; for he 
 had his hands full to erect a shanty. Our knapsacks 
 were laid aside, and we scattered ourselves among the 
 balsam trees with knife in hand to cut boughs to sleep 
 on. The mossy ground was damp, and I picked me a 
 thick couch and stretched myself upon it while supper 
 was preparing. Our fire was made of logs more than 
 twenty feet long, and as the flames arose and caught 
 the spruce trees they shot up in pyramids of flames, 
 crackling in the night air like so many fire-crackers. 
 One dry tree took fire, and I asked if it might not burn 
 in two during the night and fall on us. Cheney 
 walked around it to ascertain the way it leaned, then 
 
CAMP VIEW. Go 
 
 quietly seating himself said, " yes, it will bum in two, 
 but it will fall t'other way." I must confess, this 
 cool reply was not wholly satisfactory, for burning 
 trees sometimes take curious whims, — ^however, there 
 was no help, and so I lay down to sleep. The storm 
 which had been slowly gathering soon commenced, 
 and all night long the rain fell, but the good fire kept 
 crackling and blazing away, and I was so completely 
 fagged out that I slept deliciously. I awoke but 
 once, and then enjoyed such a long and hearty laugh, 
 that I felt quite refreshed. The immense logs in 
 front of -us, became in time a mass of lurid coals send- 
 ing forth a scorching heat. Hence, as we lay packed 
 together like a row of pickled fish, those in the centre 
 took the full force of the fire. First a sleeper would 
 strike his hand upon his thigh and roll over — then 
 give the other a slap, dreaming, doubtless, of being 
 boiled like a turkey, till at length the heat waked him 
 up, when he rose and shot like an arrow into the 
 woods. The next went through the same operation — 
 the third, and so on, till all but the two '' outsiders," 
 of which I was one, were in the woods cooling them- 
 selves off in the rain. Not a word was spoken for 
 some time, for they were not fairly awake, but as one 
 
66 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 began to ask another, why he was out there in the 
 dark, the answers were so honest and yet so droll, 
 that I went mto convulsions. If you had heard 
 them comparing notes as I did, back of the shanty, 
 your sides would have ached for a fortnight. And 
 then the sheepish way they crawled back one after 
 another, looking in stupid amazement at me rolling 
 and screaming on the balsam boughs, would have 
 quite finished a soberer man than you. 
 
 The tramp of twelve miles, next morning, was the 
 hardest, for the distance, I ever took. Stiff and lame, 
 with nothing to excite my imagination, I dragged 
 myself sullenly along, and at noon reached the Iron 
 Works. 
 
 " Oh, but a weary wight was he, 
 When he reached the foot of the doo-wood tree." 
 
VII. 
 
 SAGACITY OF THL HOUND THE INDIAN PASS PRECIPICE 
 
 TWO THOUSAND FEET HIGH. 
 
 Backwoods, July 6. 
 
 Dear H : 
 
 The famous Indian Pass is probably the most 
 remarkable gorge in this countryj if not in the 
 world. On Monday morning, a council was called 
 of our party, to determine whether we should 
 visit it, for the effects of the severe tramp two 
 days before, had not yet left us, and hardly one 
 walked without limping — as for myself, I could 
 not wear my boots and had borrowed a pair of large 
 shoes. But the Indian Pass I was determined to see, 
 even if I remained behind alone, and so we all to- 
 gether started off. It was six miles through the 
 forest, and we were compelled to march in single file. 
 At one moment skirting the margin of a beautiful 
 lake, and then creeping through thickets, or stepping 
 
68 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 daintily across a springing morass, we picked our 
 way until we at length struck a stream, the bed of 
 which we followed into the bosom of the mountains. 
 We crossed deer paths every few rods, and soon the 
 two hounds Cheney had taken with him, parted from 
 us, and their loud deep bay began to ring and echo 
 through the gorge. 
 
 The instincts with which animals are endowed by 
 their Creator, on purpose to make them successful in 
 the chase, is one of the most curious things in nature. 
 I watched for a long time the actions of one of these 
 noble hounds. "With his nose close to the leaves, he 
 would double backwards and forwards on a track, to 
 see whether it was fresh or not — then abandon it at 
 once, when he found it too old. At length, striking a 
 fresh one, he started off; but the next moment, finding 
 he was going back instead of forwards on the track, he 
 wheeled, and came dashing past on a furious run, 
 his eyes glaring with excitement. Soon his voice 
 made the forest ring ; and I could imagine the quick 
 start it gave to the deer, quietly grazing, it might 
 have been, a mile away. Lifting his beautiful head 
 a moment, to ascertain if that cry of death was 
 on his track, he bounded off in the long chase and 
 
^?'--'W'»*»#'i*!lgS 
 
Cheney's hound. 69 
 
 bold swim for life. Well ; let them pass : the cry 
 grows fainter and fainter ; and they — the pursued 
 and the pursuer — are but an emblem of what is 
 going on in the civilized world from which I am 
 severed. Life may be divided into two parts — -the 
 hunters and the hunted. It is an endless chase, 
 where the timid and the weak constantly fall by 
 the way. The swift racers come and go like sha- 
 dows on the vision ; and the cries of fear and of 
 victory swell on the ear and die away, only to give 
 place to another and another. Thus musing, I 
 pushed on ; — at length, we left the bed of the 
 stream, and began to climb amid broken rocks that 
 were piled in huge chaos, up and up, as far as the 
 eye could reach. My rifle became such a burden, 
 that I was compelled to leave it against a tree, 
 with a mark erected near by, to determine its lo- 
 cality. I had expected, from paintings I had seen 
 of this Pass, that I was to walk almost on a level 
 into a huge gap between two mountains, and look 
 up on the precipices that toppled heaven high above 
 me. But here was a world of rocks, overgrown with 
 trees and moss — over and under and between which 
 we were compelled to crawl and dive and work our 
 
'0 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 way with so much exertion and care, that the 
 strongest soon began to be exhausted. Caverns opened 
 on every side ; and a more hideous, toilsome, break- 
 neck tramp I never took. Leaping a chasm at one 
 time, we paused upon the brow of an overhanging 
 cliff, while Cheney, pointing below, said, " There, 
 I've scared panthers from those caverns many times ; 
 we may meet one yet : if so, I think he'll remember 
 us as long as he lives /" I thought the probabilities 
 were, that we should remember him much longer than 
 he would us. At least I had no desire to task his 
 memory, being perfectly willing to leave the matter 
 undecided. There was a stream somewhere ; but no 
 foot could follow it, for it was a succession of cascades, 
 with perpendicular walls each side hemming it in. 
 It was more like climbing a broken and shattered 
 mountain, than entering a gorge. At length, how- 
 ever, we came where the fallen rocks had made an 
 open space around, and spread a fearful ruin in their 
 place. On many of these, trees were growing fifty 
 feet high, while a hundred men could find shelter in 
 their sides. As the eye sweeps over these fragments 
 of a former earthquake, the imagination is busy with 
 the past — the period when an interlocking range of 
 
THE PRECIPICE. 71 
 
 mountains was riven, and the encircling peaks bowing 
 in terror, reeled like ships upon a tossing ocean, and 
 the roar of a thousand storms rolled away from the 
 yawning gulf, into which precipices and forests went 
 down with the deafening crash of a falling world. A 
 huge mass that then had been loosened from its high 
 bed, and hurled below, making a cliff of itself, from 
 which to fall would have been certain death, our 
 guide called the " Church," — and it did lift itself there 
 like a huge altar, right in front of the main precipice 
 that rose in a naked wall more than a thousand feet* 
 perpendicular. It is two thousand feet from the sum- 
 mit to the base, but part of the chasm has been filled 
 with its own ruins, so that the spot on which you 
 stand is a thousand feet above the valley below, and 
 nearly three thousand above tide water. Thus it 
 stretches for three-quarters of a mile — in no place less 
 than five hundred feet perpendicular. By dint of 
 scrambling and pulling each other up, we at last suc- 
 ceeded in reaching the top of the church, while from 
 our very feet rose this awful cliff that really oppressed 
 me with its near and frightful presence. Majestic, 
 solemn and silent, with the daylight from above pour- 
 * Some say a thousand, others twelve hundred. 
 
72 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 ing all over its dread form, it stood the impersonation 
 of strength and grandeur. 
 
 I never saw but one precipice that impressed me so, 
 and that was in the Alps, in the Pass of the Grand 
 'Scheideck. I lay on my back filled with strange 
 feelings of the power and grandeur of the Grod who 
 had both framed and rent this mountain asunder. 
 There it stood still and motionless in its majesty 
 Far, far away heavenward rose its top, fringed with 
 fir trees, that looked, at that immense height, lilve 
 mere shrubs ; and they, too, did not wave, but stood 
 silent and moveless as the rock they crowned. Any 
 motion or life would have been a relief — even the 
 tramp of the storm ; for there was something fearful 
 in that mysterious, profound silence. How loudly 
 (Tod speaks to the heart, when it lies thus awe-struck 
 and subdued in the presence of His works. In the 
 shadow of such a grand and terrible form, man seems 
 but the plaything of a moment, to be blown away 
 with the first breath. Persons not accustomed to 
 scenes of this kind, would not at first get an adequate 
 impression of the magnitude of the precipice. Every- 
 thing is on such a gigantic scale — all the proportions 
 so vast, and the mountains so high about it, that the 
 
IMPRESSIONS. 73 
 
 real individual greatness is lost sight of. But that 
 wall of a thousand feet perpendicular, with its seams 
 and rents and stooping cliiTs, is one of the few things 
 in the world the beholder can never forget. It frowns 
 yet on my vision in my solitary hours ; and with 
 feelings half of sympathy, half of terror, I think of 
 it rising there in its lonely greatness. 
 
 *' Has not the soul, the being of your life, 
 Received a shock of awful consciousness, 
 In some calm season, when these lofty rocks, 
 At night's approach, bring down th' unclouded sky 
 To rest upon the circumambient walls ; 
 A temple framing of dimensions vast, 
 • * The whispering air 
 Sends inspiration from the shadowy heights 
 And blind recesses of the cavern'd rocks ; 
 The little rills and waters num.berless, 
 Insensible by daylight, blend their notes 
 With the loud streams ; and often, at the hour 
 When issue forth the first pale stars, is heard 
 Within the circuit of the fabric huge. 
 One voice — one solitary raven, flying 
 Athwart the concave of the dark blue dome, 
 Unseen, perchance, above the power of sight — 
 An iron knell ! with echoes from afar, 
 Faint and still fainter." 
 4 
 
74 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 I will only add, that none of the drawings or paint- 
 ings I have seen of this pass, give so correct an idea 
 of it, as the one accompanying this description. "We 
 turned our steps homeward, and after having chased a 
 deer into the lake in vain, reached the Adirondack 
 Iron "Works at noon. We had traveled twelve miles, 
 a part of the way on our hands and knees. 
 
 I had received a fall in the pass which stunned me 
 dreadfully, and made every step like driving a nail 
 into my brain. Losing my footing, I had fallen back- 
 wards, and gone down head foremost among the rocks 
 — a single foot either side, and T should have been 
 precipitated into a gulf of broken rocks, from which 
 nothing of myself but a mangled mass would ever 
 have been taken. Stunned and helpless, I was borne 
 by my friends to a rill, the cool water of which re- 
 vived me. 
 
 Yours, &c., 
 
VIII. 
 
 THE HUNTER CHENEY ENCOUNTERS WITH A PANTHER 
 
 DEADLY STRUGGLE WITH A WOLF A BEAR AND MOOSE 
 
 FIGHT SHOOTS HIMSELF. 
 
 Backwoods, July 12. 
 
 Dear H : 
 
 You know one expects to hear of hunting achieve- 
 ments upon our western frontier, where the sounds of 
 civilization have not yet frightened away the wild 
 beasts that haunt the forest. But here in the 
 heart of the Empire State is a man whose fame 
 is known far and wide as the " mighty hunter," 
 and if desperate adventures and hair-breadth escapes 
 give one a claim to the sobriquet, it certainly be- 
 longs to him. Some ten or fifteen years ago, Cheney, 
 then a young man, becoming enamored of forest life 
 left Ticonderoga, and with his rifle on his shoulder, 
 plunged into this then unknown, untrodden wilder- 
 ness. Here he lived for year^ on what his gun 
 
76 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 brought him. Finding in his long stretches through 
 the wood, where the timber is so thick you can- 
 not see an animal more than fifteen rods, that a 
 heavy rifle was a useless burden, he had a pistol made 
 about eleven inches in Length, stocked like a rifle, 
 which,^with his hunting knife and dog, became his 
 only companions. I had him with me several days as 
 a guide, for he knows better than any other man the 
 mysteries of this wilderness, though there are vast 
 tracts even he would not venture to traverse. Moose, 
 deer, bears, panthers, wolves, and wild cats, have by 
 turns, made his acquaintance, and some of his en- 
 counters would honor old Daniel Boone himself. 
 Once he came suddenly upon a panther that lay 
 crouched for a spring within a single bound of him. 
 He had nothing but his gun and knife with him, 
 while the glaring eyes and gathered form of the furi- 
 ous animal at his feet, told him that a moment's 
 delay, a miss, or a false cap, would bring them locked 
 in each other's embrace, and in a death-struggle. 
 But without alarm or over-haste, he brought his riflo 
 to bear upon the creature's head, and fired just as he 
 was sallying back for the spring. The ball entered 
 the brain, and with one wild bound his life departed, 
 
FIGHT WITH A WOLF. 77 
 
 and he lay quivering on the leaves. Being a little 
 curious to know whether he was not somewhat agi- 
 tated in finding himself in sueh close proximity to a 
 panther all ready for the fatal leap, I asked him how 
 he felt when he saw the animal crouching so near. 
 *' I felt," said he coolly, " as if I should kill him." I 
 need not tell you that / felt a little foolish at the 
 answer, and concluded not to tell him that I expected 
 he would say that his heart suddenly stopped beating, 
 and the woods reeled around him ; for the perfect sim- 
 plicity of the reply took me all aback — ^yet it was 
 rather an odd feeling to be uppermost in a man's 
 mind just at that moment — it was, however, per- 
 fectly characteristic of Cheney. 
 
 His fight with a wolf was a still more serious 
 affair. As he came upon the animal, ravenous with 
 hunger, and floundering through the snow, he raised 
 his rifle and fired ; but the wolf, making a spring just 
 as he pulled the trigger, the ball did not hit a 
 vital part. This enraged her still more ; and she 
 made at him furiously. He had now nothing but an 
 empty rifle with which to defend himself, and instant- 
 ly clubbing it, he laid the stock over the wolf's head. 
 So desperately did the creature fight, that he broke 
 
78 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 the stock into fragments without disabling her. He 
 then seized the barrel, which, making a better 
 bludgeon, told with more effect. The bleeding and 
 enraged animal seized the hard iron with her teeth, 
 and endeavored to wrench it from his grasp — 
 but it was a matter of life and death with Cheney, 
 and he fought savagely. But, in the meantime, 
 the wolf, by stepping on his snow-shoes as she closed 
 with him, threw him over. He then thought the 
 game was up, unless he could make his dogs, which 
 were scouring the forest around, hear him. He 
 called loud and sharp after them, and soon one — a 
 young hound — sprung into view : but no sooner did 
 he see the condition of his master, than he turned in 
 affright, and with his tail between his legs, fled into 
 the woods. But, at this critical moment, the other 
 hound burst with a shrill savage cry, and a wild 
 bound, upon the struggling group. Sinking his teeth 
 to the jaw bone in the wolf, he tore her fiercely from 
 his master. Turning to grapple with this new foe, 
 she gave Cheney opportunity to gather himself up, 
 and fight to better advantage. At length, by a well- 
 directed blow, he crushed in the skull, which finished 
 the work. After this he got his pistol made. 
 
BEAR FIGHT. 79 
 
 You know that a bear always sleeps through the 
 winter. Curled up in a cavern, or under a fallen tree, 
 in some warm pk.ce, he composes himself to rest, 
 and, Rip-Yan-Winkle-like, snoozes away the season. 
 True, he is somewhat thin when he thaws out in the 
 spring, and looks voracious about the jaws, making 
 it rather dangerous to come in contact with him. 
 Cheney told me, that one day, while hunting on snow 
 shoes, he suddenly broke through the crust, and came 
 upon a bear taking his winter's nap. The spot this 
 fellow had chosen, was the cavity made by the roots 
 of an upturned tree. It was a warm, snug place ; 
 and the snow having fallen several feet deep over him, 
 protected him from frosts and winds. The uncere- 
 monious thrust of Cheney's leg against his carcass, 
 roused up Bruin, and with a growl that made the 
 hunter withdraw his foot somewhat hastily, he leaped 
 forth on the snow. Cheney had just given his knife 
 to his companion, who had gone to the other side of 
 the mountain to meet him farther on ; and hence, had 
 nothing but his pistol to defend himself with. He 
 had barely time to get ready before the huge creature 
 was close upon him. Unterrified, however, he took 
 deliberate aim right between the fellow's eyes, and 
 
80 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 pulled the trigger; but the cap exploded without 
 discharging the pistol. He had no time to put on 
 another cap ; so, seizing his pistol by the muzzle, he 
 aimed a tremendous blow at the creature's head. But 
 the bear caught it on his paw with a cufF that sent it 
 ten yards from Cheney's hand, and the next moment 
 was rolling over Cheney himself in the snow. His 
 knife being gone, it became simply a contest of 
 physical strength ; and, in hugging and wrestling, the 
 bear evidently had the advantage ; and the hunter's 
 life seemed not worth asking for. But, just then, his 
 dog came up, and seizing the animal from behind, 
 made him loosen his hold, and turn and defend him- 
 self. Cheney then sprang to his feet, and began to 
 look around for his pistol. By good luck he saw the 
 breech just peeping out of the snow. Drawing it 
 forth, and hastily putting on a fresh cap, and re- 
 fastening his snow-shoes, which had become loosened 
 in the struggle, he made after the bear. When he 
 and the dog closed, both fell, and began to roll, one 
 over the other down the side-hill, locked in the 
 embrace of death. The bear, however, was too much 
 for the dog, and, at length, shook him off, leaving the 
 latter dreadfully lacerated — " torn," as Cheney said, 
 
ATTACK OF A MOOSE. 81 
 
 " all to pieces. But," he added, " I never saw such 
 pluck in a dog before. As soon as he found I was 
 ready for a fight he was furious, bleeding as he was, 
 to be after the bear. I told him we would have the 
 rascal, if we died for it ; and away he jumped, leav- 
 ing his blood on the snow as he went. ' Hold on,' 
 said I, and he held on till I came up. I took aim at 
 his head, meaning to put the ball in the centre of his 
 brain ; but it struck below, and only tore his jaw to 
 pieces. I loaded up again, and fired, but did not kill 
 him, though the ball went through his head. The 
 third time I fetched him, and he was a bouncer, I tell 
 you." " But the dog, Cheney," said I ; " what 
 became of the poor, noble dog ?" '' Oh, he was 
 dreadfully mangled. I took him up, and carried him 
 home, and nursed him. He got well, but was never 
 good for much afterwards — that fight broke him 
 down." I asked him if a moose would ever show 
 fight. '' Yes," he said, '* a cow moose, with her calf; 
 and so will any of them when wounded or hard 
 pushed. I was once out hunting, when my dog 
 started two. I heard a thrashing through the bushes, 
 and in a minute more I saw both of them coming 
 
 right towards me. As soon as they saw me they 
 
 4* 
 
82 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 bent down their heads, and made at me at full speed. 
 The bushes and saplins snapped under them like 
 pipe-stems. Just before they reached me, I stepped 
 behind a tree, and fired as they jumped by. The ball 
 went clear through one, and lodged in the other," 
 
 Cheney kills about seventy deer per annum. He 
 has none of the roughness of the hunter ; but is one 
 of the mildest, most unassuming, pleasant men you 
 will meet with anywhere. Among other things, he 
 told me of once following a bear all day, and treeing 
 him at night when it was so dark he could not see to 
 shoot ; then sitting down at the root, to wait till morn- 
 ing that he might kill him. But, after awhile, all 
 being still, he fell asleep, and did not wake till day- 
 light. Opening his eyes in astonishment, he looked 
 up for the bear, but the cunning rascal had gone. 
 Taking advantage of his enemy's slumbers, he had 
 crawled down and waddled off. Cheney said he 
 never felt so fiat in his life, to be outwitted thus, and 
 by a bear. 
 
 With one anecdote illustrating his coolness, I 
 will bid his hunting adventures adieu. He was 
 once hunting alone by a little lake, when his 
 dogs brought a noble buck into the water. Cock- 
 
A hunter's coolness. 83 
 
 ing his gun, and laying it in the bottom of the 
 boat, he pulled after the deer, which was swimming 
 boldly for his life. In the eagerness of pursuit, he 
 hit his rifle either with his paddle or foot, when it 
 went off, sending the ball directly through one of his 
 ankles. He stopped, and looking at his benumbed 
 limb, saw where the bullet had come out of his boot. 
 The first thought was, to return to the shore ; " the 
 next was," said he, "I may need that venison before I 
 get out of these woods ;" so, without waiting to ex- 
 amine the wound, he pulled on after the deer. 
 Coming up with him, he beat him to death with his 
 paddles, and pulling him into the boat, rowed ashore. 
 Cutting off his boot, he found his leg was badly man- 
 gled and useless. Bandaging it up, however, as well 
 as he could, he cut a couple of crotched sticks for 
 crutches, and with these walked fourteen miles to the 
 nearest clearing. There he got help, and was carried 
 slowly out of the woods. How a border-life sharpens 
 a man's wits. Especially in an emergency does he 
 show to what strict discipline he has subjected his 
 mind. His resources are almost exhaustless, and his 
 presence of mind equal to that of one who has been 
 in a hundred battles. Wounded, perhaps mortally, it 
 
84 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 nevertheless flashed on this hunter's thoughts, that 
 he might be so crippled that he could not stir for days 
 and weeks, but starve to death there in the woods. 
 " I may need that venison before I get out," said he ; 
 and so, with a mangled bleeding limb, he pursued 
 and killed a deer, on which he might feed in the 
 last extremity. 
 
IX. 
 
 GAME MOOSE CRUSTING MOOSE A CATAMOUNT CHASE 
 
 BETWEEN A DEER AND A PANTHER A BEAR CAUGHT 
 
 IN A TRAP. 
 
 Backwoods, July 14, 1846. 
 Dear H : 
 
 G-AME of all kinds swarm the forest ; bears, wolves, 
 panthers, deer, and moose. I was not aware that so 
 many moose were to be found here : yet I do not 
 believe there is an animal of the African desert with 
 which our people are not more familiar than with it. 
 In size, at least, he is worthy of attention, being 
 much taller than the ox. You will sometimes find an 
 old bull moose eight feet high. The body is about the 
 size of a cow, v/hile the legs are long and slender, giv- 
 ing to the huge bulk the appearance of being mounted 
 on stilts. The horns are broad, flat, and branching, 
 shooting in a horizontal curve from the head. I saw 
 
86 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 one pair from a moose that a cousin of Cheney killed, 
 that were nearly four feet across from tip to tip, and 
 the horn itself fifteen inches broad. The speed of 
 these animals through the thick forests, seems almost 
 miraculous, when we consider their enormous bulk 
 and branching horns. They seldom break into a 
 gallop, but when roused by a dog, start off on a rapid 
 pace, or half trot, with the nose erect and the head 
 working sideways to let their horns pass through 
 the branches. They are rarely, if ever, taken by 
 dogs, as they run on the start twenty miles without 
 stopping, over mountains, through swamps, and 
 across lakes and rivers. They are mostly killed early 
 in the spring — ^being then unable to travel the woods, 
 as the snow is often four and five feet deep, and 
 covered with a thick sharp crust. At these times, 
 and indeed in the early part of winter, they seek 
 out some lonely spot near a spring or water-course, 
 and there " yard," as it is termed ; i. e. they trample 
 down the snow around them and browse, eating 
 everything clean as far as they go. Sometimes you 
 will find an old bull moose " yarding" alone, some- 
 times two or three together. When found in this 
 state, they are easily killed, for they cannot run fast, 
 
A MOOSE YARD. 87 
 
 as they sink nearly up to their backs in the snow at 
 every jump. 
 
 Endowed, like most animals, with an instinct that 
 approaches marvelously near to reason, they have 
 another mode of "yarding," which furnishes greater 
 security than the one just described. You know that 
 mountain chains are ordinarily covered with heavy 
 timber, while the hills and swelling knolls at their 
 bases are crowned with a younger growth, furnishing 
 buds and tender sprouts in abundance. If you don't, 
 the moose do ; and so, during a thaw in January or 
 early spring, when the snow is from three to five feet 
 deep, a big fellow will begin to travel over and 
 around one of these hills. He knows that '^ after a 
 thaw comes a freeze ;" and hence, makes the best 
 use of his time. He will not stop to eat, but keeps 
 moving until the entire hill is ftz-sected and inter- 
 sected from crown to base with paths he himself has 
 made. Therefore, when the weather changes, his 
 field of operations is still left open. The crust 
 freezes almost to the consistency of ice, and yet not 
 sufficiently strong to bear his enormous bulk ; little; 
 however, does he care for that : the hill is at his 
 disposal, and he quietly loiters along the paths he 
 
88 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 has made, "browsing" as he goes — expecting, most 
 rationally, that before he has finished the hill, another 
 thaw will come, when he will be able, without incon- 
 venience, to change his location. Is not this adapt- 
 ing one's self to circumstances ? 
 
 But it is no child's play to go after these fellows in 
 midwinter ; for the places they select are remote and 
 lonely. It generally requires one to be absent days, 
 and from the more open settlements, weeks, to take 
 them. The hunters lash on their great snow-shoes, 
 which, like an immense webbed foot, keep them 
 on the surface ; and taking a sled and blankets with 
 them, start for some deep, dark, and secluded spot 
 which these animals are known to haunt. By night 
 they sleep on the snow, wrapped in their blankets ; 
 and when they draw near the place where they expect 
 to find a " yard," the utmost circumspection is used, 
 and every advance made with the stealthiness of an 
 Indian. Sometimes a moose will wind his enemies, 
 and then he is all agitation and excitement ; but the 
 fatal bullet ends at once his troubles and fears, and 
 his huge carcass is cut up, and the choicest parts car- 
 ried home on the sled or sleds. Many a crimson spot 
 is thus left on the snow in this wilderness, around 
 
PANTHER AND DEER CHASE. 89 
 
 which at night the wolves and panthers gather, fill- 
 ing the solitude with their cries. 
 
 Two Indians killed eighteen in this region last 
 spring, and one hunter told me that he had shot three 
 in a single day in the early part of March. These 
 enormous wild cattle are of a black color, and when 
 closely pressed, will fight desperately. "Wolves have 
 fine picking in deep snow, especially when there is a 
 stiff crust on the surface. The slender hoof of the 
 deer, which yard like the moose, cuts through at every 
 leap, letting them up to the belly without giving firm 
 ground to spring from, even then ; while the broad- 
 spreading paw of the wolf supports him and he skims 
 along the surface. In this unequal chase, he soon 
 overtakes his victim, and devours him. " But the 
 wildest chase I ever saw," remarked a hunter to me 
 once, with whom I was in the forest several days, 
 *' was between a panther and a deer, in the open 
 woods." They were not fifteen feet apart, he said, 
 when they passed him, and such lightning speed he 
 never before witnessed. Though he had his rifle in 
 his hand, and they were but a few rods distant when 
 he saw them, he never thought of firing. 
 
 They came and went more like shadows than living 
 
90 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 things. The mouths of both were wiie open, and the 
 tongue of the deer hanging out from fatigue, while 
 their eyes seemed starting from their sockets — 
 one from fear, the other from rage. Swift as the 
 arrow in its flight, and as noiseless, save the strokes 
 of their rapid bounds on the leaves — ^they fled away, 
 and the forest closed over them. Over rocks, and logs, 
 and streams, that slender and delicate form went fly- 
 ing on, winged with terror, while, so near that he 
 almost felt his hot breath on his sides, he heard his 
 foe pant after him. All, hunger will outlive fear, and 
 before many miles were sped over, that harmless thing 
 lay gasping in death, and its entrails were torn out 
 ere the heart had ceased to beat. 
 
 And thus, methought, it happens everywhere in 
 G-od's universe. Innocence is safe nowhere : — even in 
 the solitude of the forest — in nature's sacred temple — 
 it falls before the power of cruel passion. The hunters 
 and the hunted come and go like shadows, and the 
 appealing accents of fear, and the fierce cry of pursuit 
 or vengeance, ring a moment on the ear, and then are 
 lost in a solitude deeper than that of the wilderness. 
 
 The panther like the lion depends more upon his 
 first spring than any after effort. Lying close to a 
 
A CATAMOUNT. 91 
 
 limb, he watches the approach of his victim; then 
 with a single bound lights upon its back, planting his 
 claws deep in the quivering flesh. It requires a 
 strong effort then to shake him oft', or loosen his 
 hold. 
 
 His cry of hunger is very much like that of a child 
 in distress, and is indescribably fearful when heard at 
 night in the forest. It is seldom, however, that a 
 traveler sees any of these animals of prey. They are 
 more afraid of him, than he of them ; and winding 
 him at a long distance, flee to their hiding places. 
 It is only in winter that they are dangerous. I have 
 often, however, roused them up by my approach. I 
 once heard a catamount scream in a thick clump of 
 bushes not a hundred yards from me — it was just at 
 twilight, and made me bound to my feet as if struck 
 by a sudden blow, and sent the blood tingling to the 
 ends of my toes and fingers. You have heard of elec- 
 trical shocks, galvanic batteries, etc. — well, their 
 effects are mere slight nervous stimulants compared to 
 the wild, unearthly screech of a catamount at night 
 in the woods. This fellow was not satisfied with one 
 yell, but moving a little way off, coolly squatted down 
 and gave another and another, as if enraged at our 
 
92 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 proximity, yet afraid to confront us. They will smell 
 a human form an inconceivable distance. 
 
 On another occasion, if I had had a dog with me, I 
 should have brought you home a bear skin as a 
 trophy. I was passing through a heavy windfall, 
 where berry bushes, &c., had grown up over the 
 fallen timber, when I suddenly heard a hoarse 
 "humph, humph," and then a crashing through the 
 bushes. I had come upon a huge bear which was 
 quietly picking berries. The fellow put off at a tre- 
 mendous rate, and I after him. I should judge he 
 was about three hundred yards distant at the outset, 
 which he soon increased to four hundred. He made 
 for a swamp which he probably crossed, and climbed 
 up the steep mountain on the farther side to his den. 
 
 When he went down the bank to the swamp, he 
 showed the size of his track, and he must have been a 
 rouser. With a dog I should have "treed" him, and 
 then he could have been easily shot. The hunter 
 with me caught one a short time before, in a trap, on 
 this same mountain. Where two large trees had 
 fallen across each other so as to make an acute angle, 
 he placed a piece of meat, and a strong spiked steel 
 trap directly in front of it, covered over with leaves. 
 
TRAPPING A BEAR. Ifo 
 
 The bear of course could not get at the meat without 
 first stepping over the trap, and as bad luck would 
 have it, he stepped in. The trap was not fastened in 
 its place, but attached by a chain to a long stick 
 — the old fellow therefore traveled off till the clog 
 caught against a tree. I would not have supposed it 
 possible that a bear could make such rending work 
 with his teeth as he did. For six feet upward from 
 the root, the tree against which he was caught, was 
 not only peeled of its bark, but the hard fibres were 
 torn away in large splinters, while the clog itself 
 was all chewed up, and the ground around furrowed, 
 in his struggles and rage. 
 
 Beavers were once found in abundance here, and 
 Cheney says he knows where there is a colony of 
 them now. Otter and sable are now and then taken, 
 but trappers are fast exterminating the fur tribe. 
 Yet for game and fish there is no region like it on the 
 continent. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
X. 
 
 LAKE HENDERSON ^A JULY DAY A SUNSET, AND EVENING 
 
 REVERIE. 
 
 My Dear H : 
 
 I AM just recovering from the exhaustion of the 
 last few days' tramping, and, quiet and renovat- 
 ed, enjoy everything around me. On the banks of 
 Lake Henderson — a charming sheet of water — 
 I have been reclining for hours, drinking in the 
 fresh breeze at every inspiration. It is a summer 
 afternoon, and I know by the atmosphere that 
 veils these mountain tops, and the force of the sun 
 when I step out of the shade, that it is a hot 
 July day. At this very moment, while I am 
 stretched at my ease, watching the still lake, 
 and those two deer that for the last hour have 
 

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LAKE HENDERSON. 95 
 
 been wading along the farther shore, drinking the 
 cool water, and nibbling the long grass that 
 skirts the bank, and lazily beating off the flies, 
 you are sauntering up Broadway, or, perhaps, have 
 just returned from a stroll in Union Park, and 
 are wooing the sea breeze, that, entering the city 
 at the Battery, is gently diffusing itself through 
 every street and alley. Ah, that sea breeze is the 
 only salvation of New York. After a hot, pant- 
 ing day, when the fiery pavements and red brick 
 walls have concentrated and redoubled the heat, 
 how refreshingly, and like a good angel, comes 
 that, at first slight, but gradually increasing sea- 
 wind, to the fevered system. Moist from its long 
 dalliance with the salt waves, its kiss is soft and 
 
 welcome as that of a I beg your pardon, I 
 
 meant to say, as a doctor once remarked to me, 
 ^' it is a very pleasant stimulant." Yet I know 
 Broadway is looking like a furnace just cooled off ; 
 and with all your windows and doors thrown 
 open, you are still languid, while a sultry and op- 
 pressive night awaits you. I pity you from my heart ; 
 you have been in Wall street the whole of this scorch- 
 ing day, and have not drawn a breath below your 
 
96 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 throat, for the air you live on was never made for the 
 lungs. 
 
 You are pale and exhausted, while now and then 
 comes over you, a sweet vision of rushing streams 
 and waving tree tops, and cool floods of air. I see 
 you in imagination, flung at full length upon the sofa, 
 and hear that expression of impatience which escapes 
 your lips. But here it is delicious — my lungs heave 
 freely and strongly, and every moment refreshes in- 
 stead of enervates me. Before me spreads away this 
 beautiful lake, shaped like a tea leaf, while all along 
 the green shores and up the greener mountain side, 
 there is a barely perceptible motion among the leaves, 
 as if they were so many living things stirring about 
 upon a carpet of velvet. Farther on, the Adirondack 
 Pass lifts its startling cliff into the air, and farther 
 still the solemn mountains stand bathed in the splen- 
 dor of the departing sun. The placid surface before 
 me is now and then broken by the leap of a trout as 
 some poor fly ventures too near where he swims — but 
 all else is still and calm. Oh, that I could catch the 
 shadows of thoughts and feelings that flit over me. 
 There is an atmosphere of beauty around my spirit, 
 that fills me with a thousand sweet but vague visions, 
 
SUNSET. 97 
 
 There is something I would grasp and retain, but 
 cannot — would speak, but have not the power to utter 
 it. The soul is powerless to act and, 
 
 " Dizzy and drunk with beauty, reels 
 In its fullness." 
 
 Just look at the glorious orb of day as it rolls down 
 that distant mountain slope, into the gorge which 
 seems made on purpose to receive it. Lower and 
 and lower sinks the fiery circle, till at last it disap- 
 pears, leaving an ocean of flame where it stood, while 
 dark shadows begin to creep over the lake and shores. 
 On the mountains, there is a bright line of light 
 which slowly ascends as if striving to linger around 
 the loveliness below. Inch by inch it creeps upward, 
 growing brighter as it rises, till at length the highest 
 summit is reached— irradiated and forsaken. Its last 
 baptism was on that bald peak which blazed up a 
 moment like an altar-fire to God, then sunk in dark- 
 ness — and now the pall of nio^ht is slowly drawn over 
 all. 
 
 Thus, my friend, did this July evening pass with 
 me, and with a sigh over the gorgeous dream that had 
 vanished, I turned away. Though the night was 
 
98 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 lovely with its stars and sky, which seemed doubly 
 brilliant in contrast with the black mountain masses 
 that shut out half the heavens ; yet the dash of a 
 stream over its broken channel, and the hoot of the 
 distant owl conspired to give a loneliness to the scene 
 the former could not enliven. I thought of home, and 
 those I loved — of life and its lights and shadows — of 
 death and its deeper mysteries — of the far world be- 
 yond the stars, and that "palace" to which ''even 
 the bright sun itself is but a porch lamp." 
 
 But these reveries will not fit me for to-morrow's 
 toil, and so good-night to you. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
XI. 
 
 TAHAAVUS WITH THE CLOUDS BELOW IT ^A HARD TRAMP 
 
 A TLANK BED ON THE BOREAS RIVER A SORRY 
 
 COMPANY TRAVELING AFTER A BREAKFAST. 
 
 Backwoods, July. 
 
 Dear H : 
 
 There is a path across the mountains to the road 
 that leads into the centre of this vast plateau, and to 
 the lake region. But I am going out to a settlement 
 before I start for that still more untrodden field, filled 
 with scenes far more beautiful. This is the last 
 morning I shall, probably, ever look on the summit of 
 Tahawus. You cannot conceive what an affection 
 one has for a majestic old mountain few have ever 
 ascended, and on whose top he himself has stood. 
 For six years not a foot has profaned this almost inac- 
 cessible peak, and I feel as if I had paid a visit to a 
 hermit and left him in his solitude, thinking over the 
 
100 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 interview which had broken up the monotony of 
 his existence. 
 
 Clouds are rolling around him to-day, and I think of 
 what Prof. Benedict, of Burlington, told me. He 
 ascended it once for scientific purposes, and made 
 experiments on the top which have been of great 
 service to the State. He said that the spectacle from 
 it one morning in a northeast storm, was sublime 
 beyond description. He was in the clear sunlight, 
 while an ocean of clouds rolled on below him in vast 
 white undulations, blotting out the whole creation 
 from his view. At length, under the influence of the 
 sun, this limitless deep slowly rent asunder, and the 
 black top of a mountain emerged like an island from 
 the mighty mass, and then another and another, till 
 away, for more than three hundred miles in circum- 
 ference, these black conical islands were sprinkled over 
 the white bosom of the vapory sea. The lower por- 
 tions of the mountains then appeared, while the mist 
 collected in the deep gulfs, and lay like a vast ser- jl 
 pent over the bed of a river, that wound through the 
 forest below, or shot up into fantastic shapes, re- 
 sembling towers and domes, and cliffs, and clouds, 
 forming, and shifting, and changing in bewildering 
 
CLOUDS BELOW TAHAWUS. 101 
 
 confusion. It is impossible to conceive anything half 
 so strange and wild. 
 It seemed as if 
 
 " A single step had freed one from the skirts 
 Of the blind vapor — opened to the view 
 Glory beyond all glory ever seen 
 By waking sense, or by the dreaming soul. 
 
 Oh, 'twas an unimaginable sight ; 
 
 Clouds, mists, streams, waters, rocks, and emerald turf ; 
 
 Clouds of all tincture, rocks, and sapphire sky, 
 
 Confused, commingled, mutually inflamed, 
 
 Molten together, and composing thus, 
 
 Each lost in each, a marvelloiis array 
 
 Of temple, palace, citadel, and huge 
 
 Fantastic pomp of structure without name, 
 
 In fleecy folds voluminous enwrapped. 
 
 Such by the Hebrew prophets were beheld 
 
 In vision — forms uncouth of mightiest power, 
 
 For admiration and mysterious awe." 
 
 We had engaged a teamster to come on a certain 
 day and take us out to the settlements. He, however, 
 did not make his appearance ; and so, after a fatiguing 
 tramp of twelve miles in the morning, we concluded 
 to set out on foot, hoping to meet him somewhere in 
 
102 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 the woods. But in this we were disappointed, and 
 therefore traveled on until the shades of evening be- 
 gan to gather over the forest, admonishing us to seek 
 a place of rest for the night. We had now gone six- 
 teen miles from Adirondack, which, added to the 
 twelve miles in the morning, made nearly thirty miles 
 — a severe day's work. Twilight brought us to the 
 Boreas River, and here we found a log shanty, which 
 some timber cutters had put up the winter before, and 
 deserted in the spring. It was a lonely looking thing, 
 dilapidated and ruinous, with some straw below, and a 
 few loose boards laid across the logs above by way of a 
 chamber. I expected to have had some trout for sup- 
 per, for a young clergyman who had joined us a day 
 or two before, said that on his way up he took sixteen 
 out of one pool as fast as he could cast his line. But 
 it was nearly dark when we reached the river, and so, 
 kindling a blazing fire outside, we dined on our last 
 provisions, and turned in. As I said, only a few boards 
 were laid across the logs above, leaving the rest of the 
 loft perfectly open. By getting on a sort of scaffold- 
 ing, and reaching the timbers overhead, we were able 
 to swing ourselves up on the scanty platform. After 
 I succeeded in gaining this perch, I helped the others 
 
A PLANK BED. 103 
 
 up ; but the clergyman was rather too heavy, and just 
 as he had fairly landed on the boards, one gave way, 
 and down he went. I seized him by the collar, while 
 he, with one hand fastened to my leg, and with the 
 other grasped a timber, and thus succeeded in arrest- 
 ing his fall, and probably saved himself a broken 
 limb. 
 
 We lay in a row on our backs along this frail scaf- 
 folding, filling it up from end to end, so that, if the 
 outside ones should roll a half a yard in their sleep, 
 they would be precipitated below. A more uncom- 
 fortable night I never passed ; and after a short and 
 troubled sleep, I lay and watched the chinks in the 
 roof, for daylight to appear, till it seemed that 
 morning would never come. I resolved never again 
 to abandon my couch of leaves for boards, and a 
 ruined hut through which vermin swarmed in such 
 freedom, that I dreamed I had turned into a spider, 
 and speculated a long time on my unusual quantity 
 of legs, endeavoring in vain to ascertain their respec- 
 tive uses. 
 
 At length the welcome light broke slowly over the 
 still forest, and I turned out. Huge stones and 
 billets of wood hurled on the roof soon brought forth 
 
104 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 the rest of our companions, and we started off. "We 
 had nothing to eat, and seven weary miles were to be 
 measured before we could reach the nearest clearing. 
 What with the night I had passed, and that seven 
 miles' tramp on an empty stomach, I was completely 
 knocked up. The clear morning air could not revive 
 me — ^my rifle seemed to weigh fifty pounds — my legs 
 a hundred and fifty, and I pushed on, more dead than 
 alive. At length we emerged into a clearing, and 
 there, in a log hut, sat our teamster, quietly eating 
 his breakfast. The day before, he had started through 
 the forest ; but becoming frightened at the wildness 
 and desolation that increased at every step, had turned 
 back — choosing to leave us to our fate rather than 
 run the risk of making a meal for wolves and bears. 
 I could have seen him flogged with a good will, I was 
 so indignant. Hungry, cross, and weary, we sat down 
 to breakfast, and then stowed ourselves away into a 
 lumber wagon, and rode thirty miles to our respectiv3 
 stopping-places. The little settlement seemed like a 
 large village to me, and the inhabitants the most re- 
 fined 1 had ever met. 
 
 Several days' rest here has restored me, and I be- 
 gin to feel my system rally, and am conscious of 
 
A BREAKFAST WELL EARNED. 105 
 
 strength and vitality to which I have been a stranger 
 for six months. 
 
 I shall remain here a few days, and then start for 
 the lake region — ^the only land route to which is a 
 rude road ending at Long Lake. The Adirondack 
 chain subsides away there into more regular ridges — it 
 is, however, wilder than the region I have left, and 
 we shall have to rely for food on what we ourselves 
 can catch and kill. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
XII. 
 
 A THUNDER STORM A SOLUTION OF LIFE. 
 
 Backwoods, July 12. 
 Dear E : 
 
 Thunder storms are not particularly pleasant things 
 in the woods, but you are now and then compelled to 
 take them. I have just passed through one, and, like 
 all grand exhibitions of nature, they awaken pleasure 
 in the midst of discomfort. I have never witnessed 
 anything sublime, even though dangerous, that did 
 not possess attractions, except standing on the deck 
 of a ship in the midst of a storm, and looking off 
 on the ocean. The wild and guideless waves run- 
 ning half-mast high, shaking their torn plumes as 
 they come — the turbulent and involved clouds — 
 the shrieks of the blast amid the cordage, and groans 
 of the ship, combine to make one of the most awful 
 scenes in nature. Yet I loathe it and loathe my- 
 
A THUNDER STORM. 107 
 
 self as I stand or try to stand, reeling to and fro, 
 holding on to a belaying pin or rope, for support. 
 But give me firm footing, and I love the sea. I 
 don't believe Byron ever thought of writing about it 
 till he got on shore. The idea of a man thinking, 
 much less making poetry while he is staggering like a 
 drunken man, is preposterous. 
 
 But I like to have forgot myself — I was reclining 
 on the slope of a hill the other day, near a lake, 
 from which I had a glorious view of the broken 
 chain of the Adirondack. From the ravishing beauty 
 of the scene, my mind, as it is wont, fell to musing 
 over this mysterious life of ours— on its strange con- 
 trasts and stranger destinies, and I wondered how its 
 selfishness and sorrow, blindness and madness, pains 
 and death, could add to the glory of Grod ; or how 
 angels could look on this world without turning away, 
 half in sorrow and half in anger, at such a blemished 
 universe, when suddenly, over the green summit of the 
 far mountain, a huge thunder-head pushed itself into 
 view. As the mighty black mass that followed slowly 
 after, forced its way into the heavens, darkness began 
 to creep over the earth. The song of birds was 
 hushed— the passing breeze paused a moment, and 
 
108 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 then swept by in a sudden gust, which whirled the 
 leaves and withered branches in wild confusion 
 through the air. An ominous hush succeeded, while 
 the low growl of the distant thunder seemed forced 
 from the deepest caverns of the mountain. 
 
 I lay and watched the gathering elements of 
 strength and fury, as the trumpet of the storm sum- 
 moned them to battle, till at length the lightning be- 
 gan to leap in angry flashes to the earth from the 
 dark vfomb of the cloud, followed by those awful and 
 rapid reports that seemed to shake the very walls of 
 the sky. The pine trees rocked and roared above me 
 — for wrath and rage had taken the place of beauty 
 and placidity — and then the ram came in headlong 
 masses to the earth. Keeping under my shelter of 
 bark, I listened to the uproar without, as I had often 
 done under an Alpine cliff in the Oberland, waiting 
 for the passage of the storm. In a short time its fury 
 was spent, and I could hear its retiring roar in the 
 distant gorges. The trees stopped knocking their 
 green crowns together, and stood again in fraternal 
 embrace, while the rapid dripping of the heavy rain 
 drops from the leaves, alone told of the deluge that 
 had swept overhead. I stole forth again, and but for 
 
 1 
 
THE RIDDLE OF LIFE. 109 
 
 this ceaseless drip, and the freshened look of every- 
 thing about me in the clearer atmosphere, I should 
 hardly have known there hai been a change. 
 
 Scarce a half hour had elapsed — yet there the blue 
 sky showed itself again over the mountain where 
 the dark cloud had been — ^the sun came forth in re- 
 doubled splendor, and the tumult was over. Now 
 and then a disappointed peal was heard slowly 
 traveling over the sky, as if conscious it came too 
 late to share the conflict ; but all else was calm, 
 and tranquil, and beautiful, as nature ever is after a 
 thunder-storm. But while I lay watching that blue 
 arch, against which the tall mountain, now greener 
 than ever, seemed to lean ; suddenly a single circular 
 white cloud appeared over the top, and slowly rolled 
 into view, and floated along the radiant west. 
 Bathed in the rich sunset — glittering like a white 
 robe — ^how beautiful ! how resplendent ! A moving 
 glory, it looked as if some angel-hand had just rolled 
 it away from the golden gate of heaven. I watched 
 it till my spirit longed to fly away and sink in its 
 bright foldings. And then I thought were I in the 
 midst of it, it would be found a heavy bank of fog — 
 damp and chill like the morning mist, which obscures 
 
110 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 the vision and ruffles the spirit, till it prays for one 
 straggling sunbeam to disperse the gloom. But seen 
 at that distance — shone upon by that setting sun — 
 how glorious ! And here, methought, I had a solution 
 of my mystery of life. With its agitations and 
 changes — its blasphemies and songs — its revelries and 
 violence — its light and darkness — its ecstasies and 
 agonies — its life and death — so strangely blent — it is 
 a mist^ a gloomy fog", that chills and wearies us as 
 we walk in its midst. Dimmmg our prospect, it 
 shuts out the spiritual world beyond us, till we weep 
 and pray for the rays of heaven to disperse the gloom. 
 But seen by angels and spiritual beings from afar — 
 shone upon hy God's perfect government and grand 
 designs of love — it may, and doubtless does, appear 
 as glorious as that evening cloud to me. The bright- 
 ness of the throne is cast over us, and its glory 
 changes this turbulent scene into a harmonious part 
 of his vast whole. " G-od's ways are not as our ways, 
 neither are his thoughts as our thoughts." After it 
 has all passed, and the sun of futurity breaks on the 
 scene, light and gladness will bathe it in undying 
 splendor. 
 
A LESSON FROM NATURE. Ill 
 
 I turned away with that summer cloud fastened in 
 my memory forever, and thankful for the thunder- 
 storm that had taught my heart so sweet a lesson. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
XIII. 
 
 A RIDE THROUGH THE FOREST A LEAN DINNER CHE- 
 
 NEy's cousin SWIMMING A LAKE WITH HORSES. 
 
 Backwoods, August. 
 DearH : 
 
 I AM off again for the woods — ^resolved to penetrate 
 to the heart of this wild country, whose scenery can- 
 not be matched this side of the Alps. For fifty miles, 
 we can with care go on horseback, and then we must 
 be our own beasts of burden. 
 
 Our company consists of five — a young clergyman, 
 whom I persuaded to try bivouacking in the forest, in- 
 stead of lounging at Saratoga Springs for his health, 
 R — ffe, formerly a merchant in Maiden Lane, but now 
 a thorough backwoodsman, cutting down forests and 
 putting up mills, &c., and Doctor T — 11, and young 
 P . 
 
 It was a bright morning, as, mounted on fresh 
 
LUNCHING WITHOUT FOOD. 113 
 
 horses, with our rifles on our shoulders, we passed 
 from the more open settlements, which gradually 
 grew thinner and wilder, and entered the unbroken 
 forest. In the trouble we were at to obtain an extra 
 horse, and afterwards a saddle, we forgot to take pro- 
 visions for the way ; so, after traveling for nearly thirty 
 miles, we found ourselves on the banks of the Boreas 
 River, (our old friend, with whom we encamped a 
 week or two since, some thirty miles to the north- 
 east,) weary and hungry, and twelve miles of forest to 
 the nearest clearing. It was now one o'clock, and we 
 had been in the saddle since early in the morning. 
 Our horses needed food and rest, so did we ; but the 
 former was easier obtained for our beasts than for us. 
 Taking off their saddles and tying them head and foot 
 to prevent them from straying away, we turned them 
 loose, to browse in the forest. "W — d hunted around 
 for berries to allay his hunger, while the doctor smok- 
 ed his pipe and chewed spruce gum which he peeled 
 from the trees, by way of stomach-stayers. R — ffe 
 and myself thought of trying the trout ; but the 
 heavily timbered and tangled banks forbade all access 
 to the stream except by plunging in. Hungrier than I 
 ever remember to have been before, I floundered 
 
114 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 through the woods down the stream, seeking in vain 
 for an opening ; until, driven to desperation, I jumped 
 in. But fly fishing with a crooked and green stick is 
 rather unsatisfactory business, and though raising 
 some twenty, I succeeded in taking only one, and he 
 of small dimensions. Just as I had got him nicely 
 stowed away in my pocket, a rifle shot — ^the signal to 
 return — called me back. "When I reached our resting 
 place, I found my companions all in the saddle and 
 ready for departure. " What !" said I, " are you 
 going?" "Yes, let us hurry on I" "Not I," I re- 
 plied, " till I devour this trout, for between my long 
 ride and fast, and the effort to catch him, I am on the 
 extreme limit of starvation. Come, doctor, strike me 
 a fire while I dress him." So the doctor kindled 
 a blaze, while I cut off" the trout's head on a stone, 
 and spitted him on a stick, ready for roasting. A few 
 minutes in the blaze rendered him fit for my not over- 
 nice palate, and I chewed him with a vigor I had 
 never before exhibited, and when his tail finally dis- 
 appeared, I heaved a sigh like one whose days of hap- 
 piness are over. I looked around in despair, for there 
 was nothing else eatable to be seen ; so mounting 
 my steed, I pushed on after the rest of the company. 
 
nature's temple. 115 
 
 Straggling on in Indian file, we went in a sort of 
 hurry scurry through the woods, saying nothing, but 
 each one evidently aware that he could not get to a 
 supper too soon. Over mountains and across swamps, 
 through a break in the Adirondack chain, which we 
 here again struck ; we urged on our jaded animals, 
 with naught but the rush of the wild bird's wing, and 
 the scared look of the pheasant or the d.eer, as he hur- 
 ried from our path, to break the monotony of the ride. 
 Yet this traveling along a narrow path in the forest is 
 a right kingly march. Only think of riding all day 
 through a magnificent colonnade, the columns lifting 
 a hundred feet above your head, and crowned with 
 Corinthian capitals, made after a richer model than 
 the acanthus leaf. How the soul awakes in this new 
 existence, and casting off the fetters that has bound 
 it, rejoices in broader liberty, and leaps with a new, 
 exultant feeling. The green, moving arch over your 
 head does not confine you as it sheds down its fresh- 
 ness and fragrance on the path, for it reveals between 
 its glorious fret- work of leaves and twigs a limitless 
 dome beyond, that carries away the soul to farther, 
 freer, brighter regions. Oh I how I love the glorious 
 woods, and the sense of freedom they bring. How 
 
116 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 can one stay where he is cheated, exasperated, slan- 
 dered, and mortified, when he has the broad forest to 
 rejoice in, and such companions only as his own choice 
 may select ? 
 
 Towards night, we came to a clearing, the five 
 families of which composed the entire town. Just 
 before sunset, our host, a cousin of Cheney, and my- 
 self, went to a lake close by, on the opposite shore of 
 which two deer were quietly grazing. Stepping into 
 a boat, we endeavored to get within shot, but a loon 
 a little way off, kept up such a loud and continual 
 scream, that they were more than usually cautious, 
 and soon moved away. Cheney had a huge black dog 
 with which I became on the most intimate terms, 
 much to the surprise of his master who declared he 
 had never before seen him so playful with a stranger. 
 I told him I did not doubt it, for hunters had often 
 made the same remark to me, but that I prided my- 
 self on only one quality — the power to win the love of 
 children and dogs. He said he was an excellent dog 
 for bears, and only a few months before attacked one 
 on the side-hill opposite the house, and kept him ai 
 bay all day. Soon as Bruin attempted to run he 
 would fasten on his haunches, thus compelling him to 
 
SIGN FOR HIGHWAY. 117 
 
 turn and fight. Cheney was away at the time — but 
 on returning at evening, he heard his dog barking 
 furiously in the woods, and taking down his rifle, 
 went to him, and shot the bear. 
 
 Next morning we plunged again into the forest, and 
 as we rode along, I noticed trees at certain intervals, 
 marked '' H," which, after vainly attempting to ac- 
 count for, I finally enquired the reason of. '' Oh, it 
 means highivay^'''' was the reply. This was a rather 
 comical mode of telling one he was on the highway, 
 still I was thankful for the information. In another 
 place we came upon fires built over a huge rock in 
 the middle of the track, compelling us to take a semi- 
 circle in the woods. On inquiring the cause of this, 
 to me, singular procedure, I was told that settlers, 
 hired by the State, were working on the road, and in 
 the absence of drills, took this method of breaking the 
 rocks to pieces. Being sand-stone, the fire slowly 
 crumbled them apart, so that the crowbar or lever 
 could remove them. I thought of Hannibal, and his 
 fire and vinegar on the rocks of the San Bernard ; and 
 men seemed going back to their primitive state. In- 
 stead of cutting down the trees that stood in the way, 
 they hewed ofl:' the roots, and then hitching a rope to 
 
118 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 the tops, pulled them over with oxen. And thus 
 they work and toil away here in the woods — yet not 
 wholly heedless of the great world without. How 
 strange it seems to behold men thus occupied — living 
 contentedly fifty miles from a post office or village — 
 and hear their inquiries about the war with Mexico, 
 asking of events that have been forgotten months ago 
 in New York ! 
 
 The path grew rapidly worse as we proceeded — in 
 some places endangering the limbs of our animals, and 
 indeed our own necks. Sometimes we were up to the 
 girths in a morass, and again leaping a huge tree — 
 but at last we arrived at Long Lake, and it was lite- 
 rally reaching the end of the journey. The path as we 
 approached the shore, had dwindled to a mere Indian- 
 trail, and there entirely disappeared. "With no road 
 around, and no sign of life in sight, save a solitary log 
 hut on the farther side of the lake, we waded up and 
 down the shore till stopped by the rooks — looking in 
 vain for some way of escape. Just then a flock of 
 wild ducks shot out of a small bay at our feet, when 
 crack ! crack ! went our rifles. The next moment a 
 boat put off" from the opposite shore, rowed by a boy. 
 "Where is the path," was our inquiry as he ap- 
 
SWIMMING HORSES. 119 
 
 proached, " that leads along the lake to some clear- 
 ing ?" *' You can't go," was the reply, " there hain't 
 none." '' But what shall we do with our horses ?" " I 
 don't know." — After planning awhile, we concluded to 
 fasten them in the woods, and bring over grass in the 
 boat. So, tying them to the trees, and hanging our 
 saddles on the branches, we crossed over. With all 
 Hamilton County for a stable, our jaded animals 
 passed the first night. 
 
 But carrying provender across the lake took up too 
 much time, and therefore the next morning we con- 
 cluded, after a long consultation, to swim them over. 
 
 W d first rode his powerful black horse, which the 
 
 day before, by his amazing strength, had saved him 
 from a broken neck or limb, into the lake. The noble 
 animal was accustomed to the swamps and the forest, 
 but not to deep water, and he sunk almost to his ears. 
 
 W d, somewhat frightened, as he found himself 
 
 submerged to the armpits, began to pull sharply on 
 the rein, which brought the horse nearly perpendicu- 
 lar in the water, with his fore feet pawing the air. 
 The more erect the poor animal stood, the harder he 
 was forced to pull the rein to keep from sliding off. 
 Looking up, I saw his danger — for, thrown backward 
 
120 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 SO by the bit, the struggling animal would, in a 
 minute more, have fallen over upon him. I shouted 
 out, '' Let go the rein instantly, and grasp the mane !" 
 He did so, and the horse relieved from the strain on 
 his head, righted himself and brought his rider safely 
 to the shore. In swimming the lake, however, he 
 sunk to his ears, and groaned and grunted with every 
 stroke. Another would not swim at all ; but the mo- 
 ment he got beyond his depth, flung himself upon his 
 side compelling us to hold his head on the stern of 
 the boat and tow him across. The rest took to their 
 work more kindly, especially a sorrel mare, which 
 swam without an effort — ^the ridge of her back just 
 skimming the surface, and her motion easy and steady 
 as that of a swins^. 
 
 "We were right glad to reach the opposite forest ; — 
 and dragging our dripping beasts up the rocky bank, 
 threaded our way to the only hut we had seen since 
 morning. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
XIV. 
 
 CAMPING GROUND MITCHEL THE INDIAN GUIDE TROUT 
 
 FISHING ON A LARGE SCALE NIGHT. 
 
 Long Lake, Aug. 10. 
 
 Dear H : 
 
 Let me introduce you to our camp. It is a little 
 after noon, and a most lovely day, and there, at the 
 foot of the lake, back a few rods, in the forest, is 
 burning a camp-fire. On a stick that is thrust into 
 the ground and leans over a log, hangs a small kettle 
 of potatoes — a little one side is suspended to a tree a 
 noble buck just dressed, some of the nicest bits of 
 which are already roasting in a pan over the fire. In 
 a low shantee, made of hemlock bark, entirely open in 
 front, lazily recline the young clergyman and the doc- 
 tor, watching with most satisfied looks the cooking of 
 the savory venison. On the other side are stretched 
 the weary hounds in profound slumber. An old 
 
122 THE ACmONDACK. 
 
 hunter is watching, with knife in hand, the progress of 
 a johnny-cake he is baking in the ashes, giving every 
 now and then a most comical hitch to his waistbands 
 while, as if to keep up the balance, one whole side of 
 his face twitches at the same time. Close by him is 
 my Indian guide whom I obtained yesterday, coldly 
 scrutinizing my new modeled rifle. Taciturn and 
 emotionless as his race always are, he neither smiles 
 nor speaks. 
 
 Knowing that his curiosity was excited, I remarked, 
 " Mitchell, I wish you would try my rifle, for I have 
 some doubts whether it is perfectly correct." With- 
 out saying a word, he took up an axe, and going to a 
 distant tree struck out a chip, leaving a white spot. 
 Returning as silent as he went, he raised my gun to 
 his face, where it rested for a moment immovable as 
 stone, then spoke sharp and quick through the forest. 
 The bullet struck the white spot in the centre. He 
 handed back the rifle without uttering a word — that 
 shot was a better comment on its correctness than 
 anything he could say. 
 
 Our venison and johnny-cake and potatoes were 
 at length done ; and each of us peeling ofl' a bit 
 of clean hemlock bark for a plate, we sat down 
 
A DINNER SCENE. 123 
 
 on the leaves, and placing our bark dishes across 
 our legs, with a sharp stick in one hand for a fork, 
 and our pocket knives in the other, commenced 
 our repast. I have dined in palaces, hotels, and 
 amid ancient ruins, but never so right royally before. 
 "We were kings here, with our rifles by our side, and 
 no one to dispute our sway ; and then such a palace 
 of countless columns encompassing us, while the 
 gentle murmur of the tiny wave as it laid its cheek 
 on the smooth pebbles below, made harmony with the 
 refreshing breeze that rustled in the tree tops and 
 lifted the ashes of our already smouldering camp fire. 
 I thought last winter, at the Carlton House, that the 
 venison made a dish that might please a gourmet, but 
 it was tasteless, savorless, compared to this venison, 
 cut off from the. freshly killed carcass, and roasted in 
 the open forest. A clear stream near by furnished us 
 with a richer beverage than wine ; while the fresh air, 
 and gleaming lake, and sweet islands sleeping on its 
 bosom, gave to the spirits a healthier excitement than 
 society. 
 
 After the repast was finished, we stretched our- 
 selves along the ground and smoked our cigars, and 
 talked awhile of trout and deer anJ bears ;iii 1 
 
124 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 wolves and moose. At length the Indian arose and 
 made preparations for departure. Taking our rifles 
 and fishing tackle, we pushed our boats into the lake, 
 and made for Raquette River, the outlet of the lake, 
 and thence into Cold River. 
 
 I wish I could give you some conception of this 
 stream. At this season of the year it is almost as 
 moveless as a pond, while its waters are clear as fluid 
 crystal, revealing a smooth and pebbly bottom. The 
 shores of both the rivers are all trodden over with 
 moose and deer and bear tracks. During the after- 
 noon we had endeavored to take some trout, of 
 which Mitchell told me the river was full. But the 
 unruflled surface of the stream, combined with its 
 pellucid waters, and an unclouded sun, made every 
 fish fly to his lurking place long before we got sight 
 of him. Under the deep shadow of an overhanging 
 and wooded bank, Mitchell at length took one, while 
 I had the pleasure of seeing a two pounder rise to my 
 fly with open mouth and dilated eyes ; but just as he . 
 was going to snap it, he caught a glimpse of us, and 
 darted like a flash of lightning to the bottom, from 
 whence no after-coaxing could lure him. But as the 
 sun went down T had better success. Being the only 
 
TROUT FISHING. 125 
 
 one who used a fly, I took all the trout. They were, 
 however, of a small size and difficult to hook, for I 
 had nothing but a common pole cut from the forest, 
 on which to rig my line. I had left my light and 
 delicate rod in the settlements, as I should advise 
 every one to do, who endeavors to penetrate this path- 
 less region. When one is compelled to carry his own 
 rifle, overcoat, and underclothing, and sometimes his 
 cooking utensils, and that, too, with a walk of 
 twenty miles on a stretch before him, he would do 
 well not to lumber himself up with fishing rods. 
 
 But when the sun at length totally disappeared be- 
 hind the mountains, and the surface of Cold River, 
 overshadowed by an impenetrable forest, became black 
 as ink, the trout left their retreats; and in a short 
 time the water was in a foam with their constant 
 leaping. Where but a short time before we had 
 passed, looking down through the clear depths 
 without seeing a single finny rover, now there 
 seemed an innumerable multitude. Here a sudden 
 bold boimd — there a long shoot as a fierce fellow 
 swept along after a large fly, kept the bosom of the 
 stream in a bubble. The Indian and my companions 
 had stiff* poles, cord lines, and large hooks, with a 
 
126 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 piece of raw venison for bait. This they would 
 '^ skitter^'' along the surface, and the moment it 
 caught the eye of a trout, away he would rush with a 
 leap and plunge after it. I found that my light tackle 
 was entirely out of place in this new mode of fishing, 
 for while I was drowning one big fellow, those in the 
 boat with me would tak6 half a dozen. Besides the 
 time for fishing was short, for twilight had already 
 settled on the forest — and so, after in my hurry break- 
 ing two or three snells, I, too, rigged on a cord line, 
 big hook, and piece of venison. I never saw anything 
 like it in my life — it was a constant leap, roll, and 
 plunge there around our lines — and some of them 
 such immense fellows for brook trout. In a half an 
 hour we took at least a half a bushel, many of them 
 weighing three pounds, and few less than a pound. 
 
 At length, however, it became too dark to fish, and 
 a single rifle shot of the Indian recalling our scat- 
 tered boats, we started for the camp. 
 
 Turning the head of our boat, we drifted down to 
 Raquette River, and then pulled for the lake. This 
 was a mile of hard rowing, and it was late before we 
 reached the outlet. One skiff having started sooner 
 than we, was already at the camp — ^the cheerful fire 
 
A TROUT SUPPER. 127 
 
 of which burst on us through the trees as we rounded 
 a point of the outlet, and shot upon the bosom of the 
 quiet lake. '' Look, R — fFe," I exclaimed, '' yonder 
 is the camp fire, and now another light moves down 
 to the beach, where they are dressing the trout for 
 supper." He sprang to the oars, and the light boat 
 fled like a wild deer toward that cheerful flame. 
 Islands and rocks flew by, and under a cloudless sky, 
 and myriads of bright and glorious stars, we sped 
 gaily on, till, at length, the boat grated on the pebbly 
 beach, and a joyous shout that made the solemn old 
 forest ring, went up from the camp and shore. In a 
 moment all was bustle and preparation for supper, and 
 the noblest dish of trout I ever ate I took there by 
 fire light in the woods. My appetite, it is true, was 
 sharp, and we made a sad inroad into our pile, of 
 fish. 
 
 After supper we lay around in every variety of 
 attitude upon the dry earth, lazily snuffing up the fra- 
 grance of the woods, and looking off" on the still sur- 
 face of the lake in whose clear depths the stars of 
 heaven stood trembling, and listening to wild hunting 
 stories, interspersed now and then with flashes of 
 broad humor, till at length the deep breathing of the 
 
128 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 Indian admonished us that we, too, needed repose to 
 prepare us for the toils of the next day. We did not 
 retire to our rooms and blow out the lights, but 
 spreading a blanket on the earth and leaves, stretched 
 ourselves upon it in a row, and with our feet to the 
 blazing fire, composed ourselves to rest — ^that is, all 
 the party but myself. I sat up for some time by 
 the crackling fire, and watched the others as they 
 dropped one after another to sleep, until exhausted 
 and weary, I also stretched myself beside the Indian 
 with a log for my pillow, between two knots of which 
 I placed my head to keep it from rolling. 
 
 A little after midnight I awoke — the wind had 
 shifted to the east, and was blowing strong and chill, 
 sending a rapid swell on the beach, and a loud mur- 
 mur though the cedar tops overhead. The fire had 
 died away, except a few smouldering brands, while 
 the bright stars, those ceaseless watchers, looked 
 kindly down from their high sentinel posts in heaven. 
 The wild and lonely scream of the northern diver, 
 came at intervals through the darkness, as he floated 
 far away on the water ; and night, solemn night, with 
 the great forest, was around me. I strolled down to 
 the lake shore, and let the breeze fall on my fevered 
 
A SUDDEN WAKE-UP. 129 
 
 head, while the glimmer of the dying embers of our 
 camp-fire through the trees rendered the scene doubly 
 lonely. I returned, and seizing the axe, soon had a 
 bright and crackling fire sending its light over the 
 sleepers. The sparks, borne higher and higher by the 
 wind, danced about in the forest, and shed a clear 
 light on a noble white hound that lay sleeping in 
 careless ease at the foot of a tree. Tall trunks stood 
 column-like and still, on every side— gradually grow- 
 ing dimmer and dimmer, till lost in a mass of black- 
 ness, and contrasting strangely with the motion and 
 roar of the tops, through which the wind swept in fitfnl 
 gusts. Again I stretched myself on the ground, and 
 woke no more till light was dawning in the east, and 
 then with a shudder and start as though a tomahawk 
 were gleaming over my head. The Indian's dog had 
 crawled upon me, and lay heavily along my body, his 
 head resting on my bosom, his mouth to my mouth, 
 while a low growl which issued from his chest, 
 startled the Indian by my side. I never was so struck 
 with the alertness of an Indian. I am not slow to 
 wake myself, especially in a case like this ; but 
 before I opened my eyes, Mitchell was on his feet ; 
 
 and as T looked i\]), I saw him standing over ma with 
 6* 
 
130 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 his piercing black eye fixed on the dog. " Be still !" 
 he exclaimed, and then, as if talking to himself, 
 added, " it is strange, but he is watching you, he 
 smelt danger." His keen nose probably winded some 
 wild animal prowling about our camp — attracted 
 thither by the savory smell of venison. I gently car- 
 essed the noble fellow, and rose from my hard couch. 
 The whole group were standing listlessly around the 
 fire, yawning and stretching, while the few jokes that 
 were cracked created only a mockery of laughter. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
XV. 
 
 A CAMP SCENE IN THE MORNING A SHOT AT AN EAGLE 
 
 A DEER CHASE. 
 
 Long Lake, August 1. 
 Dear H : 
 
 My last left us yawning and stretching around our 
 camp fire a little after daylight in the morning, look- 
 ing and feeling stupid and heavy — but a fresh wash 
 in a mountain rill near by restored us to life, while 
 the answers to the inquiries how each other had slept, 
 brought back the merriment that seldom flags in 
 the woods. "Well, R — ffe, how did you sleep?" 
 " Pretty well, only H — Icept punching me to keep me 
 off from him." "And how did you sleep, H — ?" 
 " As I'll never sleep again. I was on the lower hill- 
 side, and served as a block to the whole of you. You 
 rolled down against me and wedged me in so tight 
 that I couldn't, with my utmost efibrt, turn over, to 
 
132 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 save my life." " Mr. W — d, was you broke of your 
 rest?" "No: I slept pretty well, considering the 
 circumstances." Turning to Mr. P — , I remarked, 
 " Well, Mr. P — , I saw you get up once when I rose 
 to put some wood upon the fire. You lay rolled up in 
 your blanket like a mummy, while the sparks from 
 the fire fell in a shower upon you. I thought you 
 would find it rather too hot before morning." "I 
 don't remember getting up at all," he replied ; "proba- 
 bly the roaring fire you made did cause the smoke to 
 choke me. I never waked but once, and then I was 
 startled by the sound of an axe ; I opened my eyes, 
 ;ind saw you splitting down the stump — the root of 
 which I had made my pillow- — directly over my head." 
 This, of course, I stoutly denied, amidst the uproari- 
 ous laugh of the company. I then remembered the 
 frightened look he gave me, as I was cutting into a 
 stump near by him,, and in the next moment roll 
 rapidly in his blanket down the hill. The suddenness 
 and oddity of the movement surprised me at the time, 
 but now it was all explained. . In his half- wakened 
 state, he saw the bit of my axe gleaming in the fire 
 light, and thou2:ht it was descendinsf directlv on 
 
SHOT AT AN EAGLK. 133 
 
 his skull. No wonder he performed those sudden 
 evolutions ! 
 
 At length Mitchell having finished his pipe, called 
 to the hounds, " Come, Rover, come Maj," and with 
 shouldered- rifle moved down to the shore. The night 
 before, as we sat around the camp fire, we bid for the 
 first fire at the deer we should start in the morning. 
 I outbid the rest, when Mitchell dryly remarked, " I'll 
 take you in my boat." He had not forgotten his 
 promise, or rather the reward, and so beckoning to me, 
 we started off. After rowing a mile or two, we 
 landed the old hunter and the dogs, who soon disap- 
 peared in the forest. Just then, Mitchell pointed to a 
 lofty pine tree, towering above the surrounding forest, 
 on an upper limb of which sat a grey eagle in her 
 nest. " I believe I'll try to get a shot at her," said 
 he, and started off. With the stealthiness of his race, 
 he crept and dodged through the woods till I thought 
 he never looidd shoot. I watched the noble bird 
 through my glass, and could see her head ever and 
 anon turn quickly as she heard the snapping of a 
 stick, or rustling of a leaf, which Mitchell with all his 
 care could not prevent, till, at length, rising on her 
 
134 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 nest, she cast her piercing eye on every side, and then 
 detecting the danger, gathered her strong pinions and 
 soared away. Wheeling round and round the place 
 of her young, she finally stooped on the top of an 
 immense pine tree. Again and again she rose and 
 circled away, and then alighted where she could 
 overlook her offspring. She had discovered the In- 
 dian, but the love of her young was stronger than her 
 fear, and she would not leave them. At length the 
 sharp crack of a rifle rang though the woods, and the 
 noble bird, unscathed, rose and sailed over where I 
 stood. I lifted my rifle and again let it fall, saying to 
 myself, " This time, at least, you shall not fall a 
 victim to parental love." Mitchell soon joined me, 
 and I remarked, "Well, you missed her." "Yes, it 
 wants close squinting to pick one off from the top of 
 such a pine as that." 
 
 Pushing off, we rowed over to an island where we 
 could have a fair view of the lake on every side, and 
 awaited the deer ; and here I felt some of the miseries 
 of a hunter's life. A cold east wind swept the bosom 
 of the lake, and I sat and shivered, thinking there 
 would be vastly more poetry in staying by the camp- 
 
A DEER CHASE. 135 
 
 fire, and eating venison already killed, than waiting 
 for that which was yet running on the mountain. 
 Mitchell climbed a cedar and stood looking over 
 the broken top to catch the first cry of the hounds 
 as they opened on the track, while I sat with my 
 back against a hemlock, my rifle across my lap, 
 and my coat collar turned up over my ears, wish- 
 ing it was over with, and thinking the while of 
 breakfast, as my eye turned ever and anon, most 
 wistfully down the lake, where R ffe was row- 
 ing backwards and forwards from the camp to a 
 rock in the water, on which we had spread our 
 venison, killed the day before. The dry east wind 
 proved too strong — ^the dogs could not follow the 
 scent, and soon appeared again, trotting along the 
 shore with the hunter. 
 
 It was not long after this, before I was discussing 
 a noble trout, that lay, fresh from the pan, along 
 my bark plate. 
 
 After breakfast, our little fleet of three skiffs, 
 was launched, and we paddled slowly up the, lake. 
 In the mean time, the east wind, which always 
 poisons me, died away, and this beautiful sheet of 
 
136 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 water lay like a mirror in which the blue heaveas 
 were quietly gazing on their own beauty. After 
 rowing two or three miles, Mitchell remarked it was 
 a good time to start a deer. I hailed the boats, 
 and in a few minutes we were in close consulta- 
 tion as to the best mountain on which to put out 
 
 the dogs. "Anywhere," said P"^ , "will fetch 
 
 one; but that mountain (pointing to the left,) is 
 the best, for the echo of the cry of the hounds 
 
 comes down from it in grand style. I want H 
 
 to hear the echo of the chase along its sides 
 once, — it is more blood-stirring than the sound of 
 a trumpet." Sending one boat on a mile and a 
 half a head, and one back, Mitchell and myself 
 landed the hunter and dogs and took a middle sta- 
 tion. They had scarcely reached the shore, before 
 the dogs opened. Pushing back into the lake, I 
 saw the white hound appear on the beach at a 
 little distance, shoot backward and forward a few mo- 
 ments with his nose to the ground, then utter a 
 loud deep cry. "Ah," said I to myself, "that has 
 started at least one 'noble stag,' from his couch of 
 leaves, and he stands this moment with dilated 
 nostril and extended neck, while a pang of terror 
 
A DEER CHASE. .137 
 
 shoots through his wild heart as the yell again 
 ringing through the forest, tells him that the voice 
 is on his track." 
 
 The west wind had now risen, and we sat and 
 rocked on the waves, listening to the furious out- 
 cry that the mountain sent down to the water. 
 The green forest shut in both hounds and deer, but 
 you could follow the chase by the rapidly flying 
 sound along the steep acclivities. How earnest and 
 eager is the bay of a blood-hound on a fresh track — 
 ah, it was exciting, cruel as it may seem to some. 
 Suddenly the boat, a mile and a half above us, shot 
 out like an arrow, from behind a rock, and flew 
 over the water. The qnick eye of the Indian caught 
 it, and exclaiming " the deer has took to the water 
 there," sprang to his oars. "It is not possible," 1 
 replied; "it is scarcely half an hour since the dogs 
 started." He stopped, rose to his full length in 
 the boat — stood for a moment like a statue, then 
 dropping on his seat, he exclaimed, " it is," and 
 seized the oars. I did not deem it possible he could 
 discover it that distance with his naked eye, but 
 he had been trained from infancy in the forest. In 
 that short time such a change had passed over the 
 
138 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 man, that I scarcely knew him. Taciturn, slow 
 and indolent in his movements, I had not thought 
 him capable of sudden excitement. But now the 
 energy and fire of ten men seemed concentrated in 
 him. His strokes fell with a rapidity and power I 
 had never before witnessed. I have seen men row 
 for wagers and for dear life; but never saw blows 
 tell on a boat as did those of his. 
 
 It is true the skiff was light, for it was made to 
 be carried on one man's shoulders across the country 
 from lake to lake — it is true also, that I threw 
 myself on the paddle with which I steered, with 
 all the strength I was master of; but the strokes 
 of Mitchell seemed each time to lift the cockle-shell 
 from the lake. As he fell back on the oars, so 
 rapid was the passage of the boat, that the water, 
 as it parted before it, rose up on each side as high 
 as his shoulders, and foamed like a torrent past me. 
 On, on we sped like a winged creature, when a rifle 
 shot rang dull and heavy in the distance, and the 
 wind lifting the smoke bore it down towards us. 
 "Did he hit him?" exclaimed Mitchell. I dropped 
 my paddle and lifting my glass to my eye, replied, 
 "No, and it is a buck. I see his antlers, and he is 
 
A DEER CHASE. 139 
 
 bearing right down on us. Pull, pull away my brave 
 fellow." He did pull, and so did I, and we flew over 
 the surface. The other boat had been compelled to 
 lay-to a moment to mend an oar, which had given 
 us the advantage, but it was now again sent with 
 no stinted strokes down the lake. At length I could 
 see the head and antlers of the noble buck, as with 
 dilated nostrils and terror-stricken glance, he swam 
 and doubled on his pursuers. ''Hold," I exclaimed, 
 as he glanced away towards the shore. The boat fell 
 into the trough of the waves just as I raised my 
 rifle to my shoulder, and the little cockle-shell rocked 
 so like mad on the water, and my frame was quiver- 
 ing so with the exhausting effort of the last few 
 minutes, that the muzzle of my piece described all 
 sorts of mathematical diagrams around the head of 
 the deer, as I endeavored to make it bear for a 
 single second upon it. I could not shoot — but "fire! 
 fire!" shouted Mitchell, and ''fire" it was. The bul- 
 let struck just under his throat, throwing the water 
 over his head, while he made a desperate spring and 
 pulled for the shore. Shame on me, but I might as 
 well have shot on horseback under a full gallop. 
 At that moment the other boat flew like a spirit 
 
140 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 past, and crack went the rifle of W — d. He missed, 
 and again our skiff was rapidly dividing the waves 
 before her, while in scarcely more time than I have 
 been relating it, another ball was in my gun, and 
 I exclaimed, "Now, Mitchell, as we approach him, 
 throw the head of the boat on the waves, so the 
 motion shall be steady, and if I miss him, I will 
 fling my rifle into the lake." As we came up, a 
 single stroke of the oar sent her round, and as she 
 rose and fell on the short sea, I "watched my time" 
 and pulled. A desperate plunge and a bloody streak 
 upon the water, told that the bullet had found the 
 life-blood. Struggle on, bold fellow, but your life 
 is reached, and never again shall your foot press 
 the mountain-side! Just then another shot struck 
 the water close by our boat, glanced, and also en- 
 tered the deer. He bowed his antlered head in the 
 waves, and turned over on his side, while the short, 
 convulsive efforts told of his death agony. A few 
 strokes of the oar, and our boat lay alongside — the 
 knife of the Indian entered his throat, and the deed 
 was done. I raised him by the horns, and towed 
 him slowly along toward the shore. The excitement 
 
A DEER CHASE. 141 
 
 of the chase was over, and as I gazed on the wild, yet 
 mild and gentle eye of the noble creature, now glaz- 
 ing in death, a feeling of remorse arose in my heart. 
 I could have moralized an hour over the beautiful 
 form as it floated on the water. The velvet antlers 
 (they are now in their velvet) gave a more harmless 
 aspect to the head than the stubborn horn, and I 
 almost wished to recall him to life. It seemed impos- 
 sible that, a few minutes before, that delicate limbed 
 creature was treading in all the joy of freedom his 
 forest home. How wild had been his terror, as the 
 fierce cry of the hound first opened on his track ! 
 — ^how swift the race down the mountain side, and 
 how free and daring his plunge from the rock into the 
 wave ! How noble his struggles for life. But the 
 bold swimmer had been environed by foes too strong 
 for him, and he fell at last, where he could not 
 even turn at bay. The delicate nostril was relaxed 
 in death, and the slender limbs stiff and cold. 
 
 I was awakened from my moralizing by Mitchell, 
 who that moment ceased rowing and gave a call. 
 The gallant white hound had followed the track of 
 the deer to the water, where he stood perplexed and 
 
142 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 anxious till the first rifle shot fell over the lake. 
 He then plunged in, and had ever since been swim- 
 ming after us in the chase. "We lay-to, and took 
 the noble fellow in and then pulled for shore. 
 
XVI. 
 
 A MAGNIFICENT PROSPECT FOURTEEN HOURS WITHOUT 
 
 FOOD. 
 
 Owl's Head, August 5. 
 
 Bear H : 
 
 Have you ever been on the summit of the Righi, in 
 Switzerland ? It is said to command the finest view 
 in that land of magnificent prospects. I once stood 
 on its top, and saw the sun come up in his glory, till 
 forests, lakes, rivers, and villages sprang into life and 
 beauty, and the whole range of the Bernese Alps, from 
 Sentis to the' Jungfrau, glittered in red and gold, while 
 the vast snow fields slept in deep shadow between. 
 
 My eye never opened on a more glorious panorama, 
 and I stood amid its surpassing beauties in silent 
 amazement. The view, it is said, embraces a tract of 
 country three hundred miles in circumference, with 
 eleven lakes in sight from the summit, though I never 
 
144 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 could make out more than half that number. The 
 Righi has become almost a classic name, while the 
 ''Owl's Head," from which I date my letter, has 
 never yet dared to show its face in civilized life. In- 
 deed, the. cognomen has been given by a man wander- 
 ing by,- from its shape, and it waits a new christening. 
 A forester here has requested me to give it a name, 
 promising it shall keep it. If you will send me one^ 
 I will see to the baptism, and you shall have the 
 honor of naming a mountain ; which is far more im- 
 posing than giving a name to a baby. It deserves a 
 good one, for insignificant as it may seem, to plant 
 your feet on an "owl's head," it looks off on a pro- 
 spect that would make your heart stand still in your 
 bosom. Look away toward that distant horizon ! In 
 its broad sweep round the heavens, it takes in nearly 
 four hundred miles, while between slumbers an ocean 
 • — but it is an ocean of tree tops. Conceive, if you 
 can, this vast expanse stretching on and spreading 
 away, till the bright green becomes shaded into a deep 
 black, with not a sound to break the solitude, and not 
 a hand's breadth of land in view throughout the 
 whole. It is a vast forest-ocean, with mountain- 
 vidges for billows, rolling smoothly and gently on like 
 
GLORIOUS PROSPECT. i4o 
 
 the subsiding swell of a storm. I stand on the edge 
 of a precipice which throws its naked wall far down to 
 the tops of the fir trees below, and look off on this 
 surpassingly wild and strange spectacle. The life that 
 villages, and towns, and cultivated fields give to a 
 landscape is not here, neither is there the barrenness 
 and savageness of the view from Tahawus. It is all 
 vegetation — luxuriant, gigantic vegetation ; but man 
 has had no hand in it. It stands as the Almighty 
 made it, majestic and silent, save when the wind or 
 the storm breathes on it, waking up its myriad low- 
 toned voices, which sing 
 
 " The wild profound eternal bas8 
 In nature's anthem." 
 
 Oh, how still and solemn it slumbers below me ; 
 while far away yonder, to the left, shoot up into the 
 heavens the massive peaks of the Adirondack chain, 
 mellowed here, by the distance, into beauty. Yet 
 there is one relief to this vast forest solitude — like 
 gems sleeping in a moss bed, lakes are everywhere 
 glittering in the bright sunshine. How calm and 
 trustingly they repose on the bosom of the wilder- 
 ness I Thirty-six, a hunter tells me, can be counted 
 from this summit, though I do not see over twenty. 
 
146 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 There, like a snake crawling out from the mountain 
 gorge, comes Long Lake, with its glittering head — 
 and yonder is Forked Lake, and farther on Raquette 
 Lake — and farther still, Grreat and Little Tuppers 
 Lake, and away, a mere luminous point — but I w^ill 
 cut short the list, for, indeed, many have no names. 
 Some of these are from four to six miles in width, 
 and yet they look like mere pools at thi^ distance, 
 and in the midst of such a mass of green. 
 
 I have gazed on many mountain prospects in this 
 and the old world, but this and the view from 
 Tahawus have awakened an entirely new class of 
 emotions. They are American scenes, constituting 
 one of the distinctive features of our country, where 
 nature seems to have formed everything on such 
 a large model, merely because she had so much 
 room to work in. I wanted to set fire to the trees on 
 the summit of the mountain, so as to present an un- 
 obstructed view, but the foliage was too green to 
 burn. A deep moss bed covered the whole top, on 
 which we reclined as on the softest couch. You will 
 get some conception of the wildness of the country, 
 when I tell you that it took us ne^arly five hours to 
 find this mountain after we first came in sigJtt of it, 
 
A STARVED COMPANY. 147 
 
 though at the time not more than two miles distant, 
 in a straight line, from its base. "We rowed six miles 
 and landed with its blue top in clear view — then 
 took the direction with our pocket compasses, and 
 started off. One who had been to the summit before 
 acted as guide, but after circling round one or two 
 swamps, and falling unconsciously out of our way, by 
 following ridges that seemed to go in the direction we 
 wished, we found ourselves wholly at loss. Hills and 
 swamps, and a dense forest on every side, completely 
 obstructed our view, and we stumbled on hour after 
 hour, and ascended two mountains, before we could 
 finally get another glimpse of the one we were after. 
 We breakfasted about six in the morning, and had left 
 our fishing-tackle on the shore, where we expected to 
 be again by noon, and take some trout for dinner — 
 but it was half-past three when we reached the top of 
 this mountain, making nine hours of the most des- 
 perate toil ; with nothing to eat, and, what was worse, 
 with no prospect of getting anything till we should 
 again reach our boats. The doctor was in perfect 
 despair, and declared he could not return without 
 food. As a last resort, he took from his pocket a 
 piece of venison he had brought along for trout bait, 
 
148 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 (a Frenchman could not have wished it older ^) and 
 devoured it. I begged the half of a cigar of one of the 
 company, (I offered him five dollars for the w^hole of 
 it,) to stimulate my exhausted system, and we began 
 our descent. We again lost our course and wandered 
 about till, wearied out, and hungry, we sat down in a 
 bed of wild " sheep sorrel," and plucked the green 
 leaves and ate them. An owl fluttered on a branch 
 over head, and I drew up my rifle and fired, but miss- 
 ed him. I verily believe, if I had killed him I should 
 have eaten him on the spot. The doctor declared 
 he would not stir — he would rather die than go any 
 further. We cheered him up with the remembrance of 
 his venison^ at which he made sundry wry faces, not 
 to be mistaken, and which drew peals of laughter 
 from us, weary and faint as we v/ere. The doctor 
 would then stagger on, but it was really pitiful to 
 look back and see him stop, put his shoulder to a tree, 
 and sink his head against the trunk, then slide down 
 in utter exhaustion, on the green moss at the root. 
 
 At length the rifle shot of the clergyman, who had 
 gone on while we tarried for the doctor, announced 
 that he had at last found the lake. This gave new 
 life to our spirits, and we scrambled joyously for- 
 
149 
 
 ward. Those slender boats never looked so beautiful 
 to me before, as they then did, resting quietly on the 
 beach. 
 
 It was now nearly dark, and the nearest hut was 
 four miles off. Three of us sat down in one boat 
 and looked despairingly on each other, as much as to 
 say, "Who can row these four miles?" Invalid 
 as I was, I seemed to have the most strength left, 
 and so took the oars and rowed two miles and a 
 half, though every stroke seemed to tear out my very 
 stomach — ribs and all. We at length moored our 
 skiff at the base of a hill, and began the ascent to a 
 clearing. With both hands on the muzzle of my rifle, 
 which I used as a pole to push myself along with, I 
 dragged one foot after another, till I at length stopped, 
 and bowing my head on my gun, declared I was fairly 
 done up, and could go no farther. Just then there 
 came a flash of lightning that set the dark forest in a 
 blaze, followed by a peal of thunder that made the 
 shores and mountains tremble, as it rolled like the 
 report of a hundred cannon down the lake. I in- 
 stinctively straightened up, as the thought flashed 
 over me, what sort of a mathematical line the bullet 
 of my rifle would just then have made through my 
 
150 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 brain, had the powder but ignited. I immediately 
 stepped forward with considerable alertness, though 
 not without reflecting on the wonderful power elec- 
 tricity and magnetism exerted over the human sys- 
 tem, especially under such circumstances. 
 
 I at length reached the hut, with a head burst- 
 ing with pain; and, throwing myself on the floor, 
 begged most piteously for a morsel of bread. I had 
 been fourteen hours without food, and most of the 
 time undergoing the severest toil. That night was 
 one of pain to me, and as I turned on my rude bed, 
 I felt that for once I had '' paid too dear for the 
 whistle." 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
XVII. 
 
 LONG LAKE A FEARFUL NIGHT A GALE IN THE WOODS 
 
 MAN BITTEN BY A RABBIT. 
 
 Long Lake, August. 
 
 My Dear H : 
 
 Yo« must expect now and then a hiatus in my 
 journal, for hours of idleness are indulged in here as 
 well as in civilized life. To-day, wearied with yes- 
 terday's tramp, we may be loitering around the camp, 
 cleaning our rifles, and recruiting ourselves for a long 
 to-morrow. Sometimes we idle away the entire morn- 
 ing, and spend the afternoon in fishing — again take a 
 deer in the morning, and after dinner dress him, then 
 perhaps, practice rifle-shooting towards evening. At 
 another time a rain-storm sets in, which lasts two or 
 three days, compelling us to keep close and do no- 
 thing. As these are all rather monotonous to me, the 
 relation would be so to you — beside, one trout fishing 
 
152 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 and one deer hunt is very much like another ; and 
 though the excitement is ever new to him who is 
 engaged in them, they have no freshness in the de- 
 scription. 
 
 Long Lake is one of the most beautiful sheets of 
 water I ever floated over, and its frame-work of moun- 
 tains becomes the glorious picture. No artist has 
 ever yet visited it ; and alas, as I have no skill with 
 the pencil, its beauties, like the "rose in the wdl- 
 derness," must, for a Avhile, blush unseen. I never 
 saw a more beautiful island than " Round Island," as 
 it is called, situated midway of the lake. As you 
 look at it from above or below, it appears to stand 
 between two promontories, whose green and rounded 
 points are striving to reach it as they push boldly. out 
 into the water; while, with its abrupt, high banks, 
 from which go up the lofty pine trees, it looks like a 
 huge green cylinder, sunk there endwise, in the 
 waves. I wished I owned that island — it would be 
 pleasant to be possessor of so much beauty. 
 
 Mitchell went yesterday to the foot of this lake to 
 meet his father and sister, who were on the way to 
 visit him. They had started some time before, a 
 hundred and fifty miles distant, in a bark canoe, and 
 
AFTERNOON. 153 
 
 he calculated that, that day or the next, they would 
 be at the outlet. He not having returned, I thought 
 in the afternoon I would row down and find him. I 
 had some thirteen miles to go, and unfortunately, 
 neither of the two young men with me could handle 
 the oars or steer, so I stripped to the task. Luckily, 
 however, there was a strong gale blowing down the 
 lake, and I landed on an island and cut a bush, which 
 I hung over with pocket handerchiefs to make it hold 
 the wind, and then set it upright in the centre of the 
 boat as a mainsail. The breeze was strong and steady, 
 and worked admirably. Far away to the south- 
 west, the golden sky shone in brilliant colors, and 
 over its illuminated depths the fragmentary clouds 
 went trooping as if joyous with life, while to the 
 northwest, towards which our frail craft was driving, 
 the heavens were black as midnight, and the retir- 
 ing storm-cloud looked dark and fierce — retreating, 
 though still unconquered. The sun was hastening to 
 the ridge of the sky-seeking mountains, and his de- 
 parting beams threw in still deeper contrast the black 
 masses that curtained in the eastern heavens. But 
 still the waves kept dancing in the light, as if deter- 
 mined not to be frowned out of their frolic, and it was 
 7* 
 
154 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 with no little pleasure I saw that threatening cloud 
 yield to the balmy and swift careering breeze that 
 swept the bosom of the lake. 
 
 At length, just as we were glancing away from the 
 head of a beautiful island, I saw a boat coming 
 towards us, impelled against the wind by the steady 
 strokes of a powerful rower. As it shot near, I be- 
 held the swarthy and benevolent face of Mitchell. He 
 lay on his oars a minute to hear my salutation and 
 my proposition, then pointed to a deep bay a mile dis- 
 tant, around which stretched a white line of sand ; 
 and again bent to his oars. I followed after, for I 
 knew there was his camp ; and soon after our boats 
 grated on the smooth beach, and we were sitting be- 
 side a bark shanty, and discussing our future plans. 
 But those few barks, piled against some poles, were 
 not enough to cover us, and soon every one was at 
 work, peeling spruce trees, or picking hemlock boughs. 
 The cloudless sun went proudly, nay, to me, triumph- 
 antly to his royal couch amid the mountain summits 
 — and as twilight deepened over the wild landscape, 
 our camp fire shot its cheerful flame heavenward, and 
 we lay scattered around amid the trees in delightful 
 indolence. Mitchell had cauorht some trout, and these. 
 
A FEARFUL NIGHT. 155 
 
 with the contents of our knapsacks, furnished us a 
 noble supper. With my back against a stump, I held 
 a splendid trout in one hand, while my hunting-knife 
 in the other, peeled off his salmon-colored sides in 
 most tempting, delicious morsels. 
 
 After supper I asked Mitchell if we could not get a 
 deer before going to bed. He said yes, if the wind 
 went down so that we could float them. This floating 
 deer I will describe in another place, for there was no 
 stirring out that night. The wrathful little swells 
 came rushing furiously against the unoffending beach, 
 the tall tree-tops swayed to and fro, and sighed in 
 the blast — our roughly-fanned fire threw its sparks 
 in swift eddies heavenward, and all betokened a wild 
 and fearful night. '' No boat must leave the beach," 
 and so carefully loading our rifles and setting them up 
 against the trees, we began to prepare for our night's 
 repose. Some with their heads under the bark shan- 
 ty, and their feet to the fire — others in the open forest, 
 with their heads across a stick of wood — lay stretched 
 their full length upon the earth. I lay down for a 
 while, but the wind, which had increased at sunset, 
 now blew furiously, filling the forest with such an 
 uproar that it was with difficulty I could shake off" 
 
hl6 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 the delusion that I was in the midst of the ocean. 
 I could not sleep, so rising from my couch of boughs, 
 I went out and sat down on the ground, and looked 
 and listened. The steady roar of the waves on the 
 beach below mingled in with the rush of the blast 
 above, the tall trees rocked and swung on every 
 side, and flung out their long arms into the night 
 — ^their leafy tresses streaming before them — and 
 groaned on their ancient foundations with a deep and 
 steady sound — ^till my heart was filled with emotions 
 at once solemn and fearful. To add to the sublimity 
 and terror of the scene, ever and anon came a dull and 
 heavy shock, like the report of distant cannon. It was 
 made by a tree falling all alone there, in the depths of 
 the forest. Oh, what strange emotions those muffled 
 echoes awoke within me. Sometimes I thought one 
 of these gigantic forms near me, must also fall in the 
 struggle, and crush some of our company into the 
 earth ; and then again forgetting the danger, my soul 
 would bow to the lordly music, till that great pri- 
 meval forest seemed one vast harp — its trunks and 
 branches the mighty wires, and the strong blast the 
 fierce and fearless hand that swept them. Now faint 
 and far in the distance I could catch the coming 
 
AN INCIDENT. 157 
 
 anthem till, swelling fuller and clearer on my excited 
 ear, it at length went over me with a sea-like roar, 
 then died away in the far solitude. G-od seemed near 
 me, there, in the fearful night, and His voice was 
 speaking to me. How calm the sleepers around me 
 lay in the firelight, reposing as quietly in the wild 
 uproar, as if naught but the dews of heaven were 
 gently distilling, and yet how helpless they appeared 
 in their slumbers ! Grod alone was their keeper, and 
 I never felt more deeply the protection of that pa- 
 rental hand, than there at midnight. 
 
 The moon at length arose on the darkness, and the 
 wind gradually lulled to a gentler motion. I threw 
 myself on the ground, and watched the bright orb as 
 it slowly mounted the heavens, with feelings I will 
 not attempt to describe. 
 
 It was now about one o'clock, and I was endeavor- 
 ing to compose myself to slumber, when there occur- 
 red one of those ludicrous incidents that makes one's 
 romance vanish like mist, and yet derives half of its 
 comicality from the time and circumstances in which 
 it occurs. As my eyes were resting on the fine pro- 
 portions of a young, athletic backwoodsman, who was 
 lying near the smouldering brands on the open earth, 
 
158 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 his head resting across a stick of wood for a pillow, 
 and his heavy breathing telling of the profoundest 
 slumber, I saw a rabbit steal from the bushes and 
 cautiously approach him. With his nose close to the 
 ground, he smelt around until he came to the sleeper's 
 brawny hand outstretched upon the leaves. Some 
 fragments of the johnny-cake still clinging to his 
 thumb, deceived the rabbit into the belief that the 
 whole digit was edible, and he put his teeth into it. 
 This wakened the backwoodsman, who, rising to a 
 sitting posture, looked wildly around him and then 
 examined his thumb. All was quiet there ; and im- 
 agining he had, in his dreams, thrashed his hand 
 about and struck a splinter, he fell back, and was 
 soon fast asleep. After waiting a proper time, the 
 rabbit stole forth again, and creeping cautiously up to 
 the large greasy hand, made his teeth meet through it. 
 This roused the poor fellow with a start, and he 
 caught a glimpse of his assailant as, with his long ears 
 laid flat on his back, he scampered into the bushes. 
 
 K g looked a moment at the place where he had 
 
 disappeared, and then at his bleeding thumb, mutter- 
 ing in the mean while, " There, I've ketched you at it 
 — now — vou had better be off." The serious tone in 
 
MISTAKE OF A RABBIT. 159 
 
 which this was said, finished me, and I went into con- 
 vulsions of laughter. The look of innocent wonder — 
 the dreadful imprecation, and the surprise and terror 
 of the poor rabbit, crouching far away in the bushes, 
 combined so much of the " serio-comico," that I 
 laughed till I awoke the entire camp, who inquired 
 what was the matter. A loud shout followed the ex- 
 planation, which gradually died away into silence, as 
 one after another dropped to sleep again. I, too, at 
 length sunk in slumber, and was just in the midst of 
 a sweet dream, when "crack" went a rifle, not ten 
 yards from me, sending me to my feet with a start. 
 The poor rabbit, however, was the only sufferer. 
 
 B n, after I had thus unceremoniously roused the 
 
 camp, lit his pipe, and sitting down behind a stump, 
 w^atched for the rabbit. Seeing him steal cautiously 
 forth, he had put a bullet through him, and thus 
 ended the innocent creature's existence. 
 
 At length the welcome morning appeared, and 
 launcliing our boats, we started for Cold River to take 
 some trout. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
XVIII, 
 
 TROUTING A DUCK PROTECTING HER YOUNG BY STRATA- 
 GEM SABBATH IN THE FOREST. 
 
 Long Lake, Aug 
 
 Dear H : . 
 
 I believe I broke off my last letter to go a-fishing — 
 well the Indian and myself went ahead, hoping to 
 surprise some deer feeding in the marshes, but were 
 disappointed. Reaching the foot of the lake, we shot 
 noiselessly down the Raquette River, till we came to 
 a huge rock that rose out of the bed of the stream, 
 when we turned off and began to ascend Cold River. 
 When we reached it, the surface was covered with 
 foam bubbles, made by the constant springing of the 
 trout after flies. They had absolutely churned it up, 
 and for awhile our hooks brought them to the surface 
 fast — but we were too late — the sun soon rising over 
 the forest, shed such a flood of light on the water, and 
 
A duck's stratagem. \(^i 
 
 indeed through it, to the very bottom, that scarcely a 
 fish could be coaxed from his hiding-place. Onr 
 boats and ourselves also threw strong shadows, suffi- 
 cient to frighten less wary fish than trout. We how- 
 ever took enough for breakfast, and started for home. 
 By the way, is it not a little singular that fish should 
 eat their own flesh; the/r5^ one we caught served as 
 bait for the others. 
 
 As we were returning, Mitchell left the main 
 stream and entered a narrow and shallow channel, 
 that by making a circuitous route, reached the lake 
 close beside the outlet. Passing silently along, we 
 roused up a brood of ducks among the reeds. The 
 mother first took the alarm, and seeing at a glance 
 that she could not escape with her young, left them 
 and fluttered out, directly ahead of our boat. She 
 then began to make a terrible ado, striking her wings 
 on the water, and screaming, and darting backwards 
 and forwards, as if dreadfully wounded and could be 
 easily picked up. I instinctively raised my rifle to 
 my shoulder : then thinking the shot might frighten 
 the deer we were after, I turned to Mitchell and in- 
 quired if I should fire. " I guess I wouldn't," he 
 replied ; ''she has young ones." My gun dropped in 
 
 I 
 
162 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 a moment. I stood rebuked, not only by my own 
 feelings, but by the Indian with me. I was shocked 
 that this hunter who had lived so many years on the 
 spoils of the forest, should teach me tenderness of 
 feeling. That mother's voice found an echo in his 
 heart, and he would not harm one feather of her 
 plumage ; nor could the bribe be named that would 
 then have induced me to strike the anxious affec- 
 tionate creature. As I saw her thus sacrificing her- 
 self to save her young, provoking the death-shot in 
 order to draw attention from them, I wondered how I 
 could for a single moment have wished to destroy her. 
 I leaned over the boat and watched her movements for 
 nearly half a mile. She would keep just ahead of us, 
 sailing backwards and forwards, now striking her 
 wings on the water, as if struggling with all her 
 strength to fly, yet unable to rise ; and now screaming 
 out as if distressed to death at her perilous position ; 
 yet cunningly moving off in the meantime, so as to 
 allure us after, in order to increase the distance be- 
 tween us and her offspring. "While we were near the 
 nest, she swam almost under our bow ; but as we 
 continued to advance she grew more timorous, as if 
 beginning to think a little more of herself. I could 
 
NEW MODE OF EATING TROUT. 
 
 163 
 
 not blame her for this, for she had hitherto kept 
 within reach of certain death if I had chosen to fire. 
 But it was curious to observe in what exact proportion 
 her care for herself increased as the danger to her off- 
 spring lessened. She would rise and fly some dis- 
 tance, then alight in the water, and await our 
 approach. If she sailed out of sight a moment, she 
 would wheel and look back, and even swim back, till 
 she saw us following after, when she would move off 
 again. The foolish thing really believed she was out- 
 witting us, and, I have no doubt, had many self-com- 
 placent reflections on the ease with which ducks could 
 humbug human beings. After we had proceeded in 
 this way about half a mile, she rose into the air, and 
 striking the Raquette River, sped back by a circular 
 sweep to her young. As her form disappeared round 
 a bend of the stream, I could not help murmuring, 
 '' Heaven speed thee, anxious mother." Ah, what a 
 chattering there was amid the reeds when her shadow 
 darkened over the hiding-place, and she folded her 
 wings amid her offspring, and listened with matronly 
 dignity to the story each one had to tell ? 
 
 All this, however, was speedily forgotten as we 
 emerged on the lake, whose bosom was swept by a 
 
164 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 strong wind, against which we were compelled to 
 force our tiny skiffs as we pulled for the camp. It 
 was now nine o'clock, and I never waited with so 
 much impatience for a meal as I did for the johnny- 
 cake that was slowly roasting amid the ashes. We 
 had but one pan, and until the cake was done we 
 could not cook our trout — and so stretched under the 
 shadow of a huge stump, with my chip-plate in my 
 hand, I lay and watched the crackling flames with all 
 the philosophy I could muster. 
 
 Mitchell, however, acted on philosophy of another 
 description, and while we were waiting for the pan, 
 dressed a pound trout, and cutting a long limber stick, 
 thrust one end of it through the fish lengthwise, and 
 sticking the other end in the ground, placed it at a 
 proper distance and angle over the fire. He then lay 
 down near it to superintend the cooking, which after 
 sundry changes and turns was completed. This 
 I had seen him do before, but now came the per- 
 fection of laziness. Sitting up, he swung the stick 
 arovmd towards him, so that as he fell back on his 
 elbow, the trout hung suspended over his head ; and 
 thus while it bobbed up and down, he quietly peeled 
 off the delicious morsels and ate them. That grave, 
 
AN INDIAN S THOUGHTFULNESS. 165 
 
 swarthy Indian stretched on the leaves, with the trout 
 nodding above him, as he slowly stripped away 
 the flesh, furnished a picture I should like to have 
 taken. 
 
 After breakfast we had no dishes or forks to clean, 
 but throwing them both away, wiped our knives on a 
 chip, and in a moment were ready for a start. It was 
 Saturday, and the heavens which had been so clear 
 the night before, now began to gather blackness — 
 the burdened wind moaned through the forest, or went 
 sobbing over the lake that was every moment fretting 
 its3lf into greater excitement, and everything be- 
 tokened a gloomy and tempestuous day. We were 
 fourteen miles from a human habitation ; and though I 
 expected that day to have gone thirty miles farther 
 into the forest and spent the Sabbath, the storm that 
 was approaching made the shelter of a log cabin seem 
 too inviting, and I changed my mind. But to row 
 fourteen miles against a head w4nd and sea was no 
 child's play, and for one I resolved not to do it. So, 
 making a bargain with Mitchell, the Indian, I wrap- 
 ped my oil-skin cape about me, and laying my rifle 
 across my lap, ensconced myself in the stern of the 
 boat, and made up my mind to a drencher. The- 
 
166 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 black clouds came rushing over the huge mount ains^ 
 and the rain soon began to fall in torrents. Now hug- 
 ging the shore to escape the blast, and now sailing 
 under the lee of an island — once compelled to land till 
 the hurricane had passed^ — we crawled along until at 
 length, late in the afternoon, we found ourselves com- 
 fortably housed. 
 
 The log hut of Mitchell, in which I spent the Sab- 
 bath, was in the centre of two or three acres of 
 cleared land ; all the rest was forest. During the day, 
 I was struck with the sense of propriety, and delicacy 
 of feeling shown by him. Sunday must have been a 
 weary day to him, yet he engaged in no sports, per- 
 formed no work, that I saw, inappropriate to it. In 
 the afternoon, however, he took down his violin, and I 
 expected such music as would distress one to hear 
 on the Sabbath. But he refrained from all those 
 tunes I knew he preferred, and played only sacred 
 hymns, most of them Methodist ones. I could not 
 imagine where he had learned them ; but this silent 
 respect for my feelings made me love him at once, and 
 I conceived a respect for him I shall never lose. 
 
 The day went out in storms, and as I lay down that 
 night on my rough couch, I could hardly believe I 
 
FALSE NOTIONS. 
 
 167 
 
 was in the same State of which New York was the 
 emporium, whose myriad spires pierced the heavens. 
 
 I have been thus particular, because in no other 
 way can you get a correct idea of the daily life one is 
 compelled to lead who would penetrate these wilds. 
 It is nonsense to talk of dignity, and the impropriety 
 of a man's carrying a rifle and fishing-tackle, and 
 spending his time in shooting deer and catching trout. 
 Such folly is becoming to him only, who sits on the 
 piazza of a hotel at Saratoga Springs, at the expense 
 of twelve dollars a week for his health. I love nature 
 and all things as God has made them. I love the 
 freedom of the wilderness and the absence of conven- 
 tional forms there. I love the long stretch through 
 the forest on foot, and the thrilling, glorious prospect 
 from some hoary mountain top. I love it, and I know 
 it is better for me than the thronged city, aye, better 
 for soul and body both. How is it that even good men 
 have come to think so little of nature, as if to love her 
 and seek her haunts and companionship were a waste 
 of time ? I have been astonished at the remarks 
 sometimes made to me on my long jaunts in the 
 woods, as if it were almost wicked to cast off the 
 
168 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 gravity of society, and wander like a child amid the 
 beauty which G-od has spread out with such a lavish 
 hand over the earth. Why, I should as soon think of 
 feeling reproved for gazing on the midnight heavens, 
 gorgeous with stars, and fearful with its mysterious 
 floating worlds. I believe that every man degenerates 
 without frequent communion with nature. It is one 
 of the open books of Grod, and more replete with 
 instructions than anything ever penned by man. A 
 single tree standing alone, and waving all day long its 
 green crown in the summer wind, is to me fuller of 
 meaning and instruction than the crowded mart or 
 gorgeously built town. 
 
XIX. 
 
 LONG LAKE COLONY A LOON FORKED LAKE. 
 
 Forked Lake, August. 
 
 Dear H- 
 
 Taking Mitchell along with me, we embarked on 
 Monday in his birch bark canoe for Forked and Ra- 
 quette Lakes. Paddling leisurely up Long Lake, I 
 was struck with the desolate appearance of the settle- 
 ment. Scarcely an improvement has been made since 
 I was last here, while some clearings are left to go 
 back to their original wildness. Disappointed pur- 
 chasers, lured in by extravagant statements, have 
 given up in despondency and left — the best people 
 are all going away, and in a short time there will be 
 nobody left but hunters. This wilderness will be 
 encroached upon in time, though it will require years 
 to give us so crowded a population as to force settle- 
 ments into this desolate interior of the State. 
 8 
 
170 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 But our light canoes soon left the last clearing ; and 
 curving round the shore, we shot into Raquette 
 River, and entered the bosom of the forest. As we 
 left the lake, I saw a northern diver some distance up 
 the inlet, evidently anxious to get out once more into 
 open space. These birds (about the size of a goose,) 
 you know, cannot rise from the water except by a 
 long effort, and against a strong damp wind ; and de- 
 pend for safety entirely on diving, and swimming. 
 At the approach of danger, they go under like a duck, 
 and when you next see them, they are perhaps sixty 
 rods distant, and beyond the reach of your bullet. If 
 cornered in a small pond, they will sit and watch 
 your motions with a keenness and certainty that is 
 wonderful, and dodge the flash of a percussion-lock 
 gun all day long. The moment they see the blaze 
 from the muzzle they dive, and the bullet, if well 
 aimed, will strike exactly where they sat. I have 
 shot at them again and again, with a dead rest, 
 and those watching, would see the ball each time, 
 strike in the hollow made by the wake of the 
 water above the creature's back. There is no killing 
 them except by firing at them when they are not ex- 
 pecting it, and then their head and neck are the only 
 
SHOT AT A LOON. 17 1 
 
 vulnerable points. They sit so deep in the water, 
 and the quills on their backs are so hard and com- 
 pact that a ball seems to make no impression on 
 them. At least, I have never seen one killed by be- 
 ing shot through the body. Such are the means of 
 self-preservation possessed by this curious bird, whose 
 wild, shrill, and lonely cry, on the lake at midnight, 
 is one of the most melancholy sounds I ever heard 
 in the forest. 
 
 This diver, of which I was just now speaking, I 
 wished very much to kill, in order to carry his skin 
 to New York with me ; and so, after firing at him 
 in vain, I asked Mitchell if we could not both of us 
 tos^ether manas^e to take him. He told me to land 
 him where the channel was narrow that entered Long 
 Lake, and paddle along towards where the fellow was 
 sitting, and drive him out. As I approached the bird, 
 he dived. Knowing that he would make straight for 
 the lake, I watched the whole line of his progress 
 with the utmost care : but though my range took in 
 nearly a third of a mile, I never saw him again. 
 After a while I heard the crack of a rifle around the 
 bend of the shore ; and hastening thither, I found Mit- 
 chell loading his gun. He said the rascal just raised 
 
172 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 his head above water for a single second, opposite 
 where he stood, and he of course missed him. The 
 frightened bird did not appear again till it rose far 
 out in the lake. 
 
 I mention this circumstance merely to show the 
 habits of this, to me, most singular bird of our north- 
 ern waters. I forgot to say that although it cannot 
 rise from the water except with great difficulty, and 
 never attempts it to escape danger, neither can it 
 walk on the shore. Diving is about the only gift it 
 possesses, which it uses, I must say, with great 
 ability and success. 
 
 Paddling up Raquette river, we at length came to 
 Buttermilk Falls, around which we were compelled 
 to carry our canoes. So in another place we were 
 compelled to carry them two miles, around rapids, 
 through the woods. Nothing can be more comical 
 than to stand and see a party thus passing through 
 the forest. First a yoke is placed across the guide's 
 neck, on which the boat is balanced bottom side up, 
 covering the poor fellow down to the shoulders, and 
 sticking out fore and aft over the biped below in such 
 a way as to make him appear half human, hall-super- 
 natural, or, at least, entiYely un-natural. But it was 
 
BOAT CARRYING. 173 
 
 no joke to me to carry my part of the freight. Two 
 rifles, one overcoat, one tea-pot, one lantern, one 
 basin, and a piece of pork, were my portion. Some- 
 times I had a change — namely, two oars and a pad- 
 dle, balanced by a tin pail in place of a rifle. Thus 
 equipped, I would press on for a while, and then stop 
 to see the procession-.-each poor fellow staggering 
 under the weight he bore, while in the long intervals 
 appeared the two inverted boats, walking through the 
 woods on two human legs in the most surprising 
 manner imaginable. Though tired and fagged out, I 
 could not refrain from frequent outbursts of laughter, 
 that made the forest ring again. But there was no 
 other way of getting along, and each one had to 
 become a beast of burden. 
 
 It was a relief to launch again, and when at last 
 we struck the river just after it leaves Forked Lake, 
 and gazed on the beautiful sheet of water- that was 
 rolling and sparkling in the sunlight ahead, an invol- 
 untary shout burst from the- party. A flock of wild 
 ducks, scared at the sound, made the water foam as 
 they rose at our feet and sped away. Stemming the 
 rapid stream with our light prows, we were soon afloat 
 on the bosom of the lake. The wind was blowing 
 
174 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 directly in our teeth, making the miniature waves 
 leap and dance around us as if welcoming us to their 
 home — a white gull rose from a rock at our side — a 
 fish hawk screamed around her huge nest on a lofty 
 pine-tree on the shore, as she wheeled and circled 
 ahove her offspring — a raven croaked overhead — ^the 
 cry of loons arose in the distance — and all was wild 
 yet beautifal. The sun was stooping to the west- 
 ern mountains, whose sea of summits were calmly 
 sleeping against the golden heavens : the cool breeze 
 stirred a world of foliage on our right — green islands, 
 beautiful as Elysian fields, rose out of the water as 
 we advanced ; the sparkling waves rolled as merrily 
 under as bright a sky as ever bent over the earth, and 
 for a moment I seemed to have been transported into 
 a new world. I never was more struck by a scene in 
 my life : its utter wildness, spread out there where 
 the axe of civilization has never struck a blow — the 
 evening — ^the sunset — the deep purple of the moun- 
 tains — ^the silence and solitude of the shores, and the 
 cry of birds in the distance, combined to render it one 
 of enchantment to me. My feelings were more ex- 
 cited, perhaps, by the consciousness that we were 
 without any definite object before us — no place of 
 
FORKED LAKE. 175 
 
 rest, but sailing along looking out for some good point 
 of land on which to pitch our camp. 
 
 Mitchell made no replies to our inquiries, but kept 
 paddling along among the lily pads imtil he reached 
 a point near the Raquette river and mooring our 
 boats to the shore, began to prepare for the night. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
XX. 
 
 SHOOTING A DEER MODERN SENTIMENTALISTS THE IN^ 
 
 FLUENCE OF NATURE. 
 
 Forked Lake, Aug. 
 
 After we had pitched (not our tent, but) our 
 shanty, we began to cast about for supper. I told 
 Mitchell I could not think of eating a piece of salt 
 pork, and we must get some trout. So rigging our 
 lines upon poles we cut on the shores of the lake, and 
 taking our rifles with us, we jumped into our bark 
 canoe, and pushed for some rapids in the Raquette 
 River, where it entered Forked Lake. As we were 
 paddling carefully along the edge of a marsh that put 
 out from the main land, Mitchell, who was at the 
 stern, suddenly exclaimed, '' Hist ! — I see the head of 
 deer coming down to feed." I sometimes thought he 
 could smell a deer, for he would often say he saw one 
 
SHOOTING A DEER. 177 
 
 before both his ears had fairly emerged from the 
 bushes. " Shoot him," he said to me. " I can't," I 
 replied; "I am too tired: shoot him yourself." So 
 stooping my head to let the bullet pass over me, I 
 watched him as he took aim ; and it was a sight 
 worth seeing. The careless, indolent manner so 
 natural to him had disappeared as if by magic, and he 
 stood up in the stern of the boat as straight as his own 
 rifle, while his dark eye glanced like an eagle's. 
 Every nerve in him seemed to have been suddenly 
 touched by an electric spark — and as he now stooped to 
 elude the watchfulness of the deer, and now again 
 stood erect, with his rifle raised to his shoulder, he 
 was one of the most picturesque objects I ever saw. 
 The timorous doe was feeding on the marsh, and ever 
 and anon lifted her head as if she scented danger in 
 the air. Then Mitchell would drop like a flash, and 
 gently rise again as the deer returned to her feed. She 
 was about twenty rods off", and now stood fairly ex- 
 posed amid the grass. It was a long shot for arm's 
 length, and a tottlish boat to stand in, but he resolved 
 to try it. Slowly bringing his rifle to his face, he 
 stood for a moment as motionless as a pillar of marble, 
 while his gun seemed suddenly to have frozen in its 
 
178 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 place, so still and steady did it lie in his bronze hand. 
 A flash — a quick sharp report, and the noble deer 
 bounded several feet into the air, then wheeled and 
 sprang into the forest. He had shot directly over my 
 head, and the mad bound of the animal told too w^ell 
 that the unerring bullet had struck near the life. 
 Rowing hastily to the spot, we could find no traces 
 of blood, but Mitchell, with his eye bent on the 
 ground, paced backward and forward without saying 
 a word. At length he stopped and peering down 
 amid the long grass, said, '' Here is blood." How he 
 discovered it is a perfect mystery to me, for the grass 
 was a foot long and very thick, while the drop 
 which had fallen on the roots of a single blade, I 
 never should have noticed, and if I had, have con- 
 sidered it a mere discoloration of the leaf, fac 
 similies of which occurred at every step. The keen 
 hawk eye of the Indian hunter, however, could not be 
 deceived, and he simply remarked, "She is hit deep, 
 or she would have bled more," and struck on the 
 trail. But this baffled even, for the marsh was 
 covered with deer tracks, while the bushes into which 
 the wounded one had sprung were a perfect matting 
 of laurels and low shrubs. There was no more blood 
 
A DEER SHOT. 179 
 
 to be found, and we were completely at fault in our 
 search. 
 
 At length, tired and disappointed, I returned to the 
 boat ; and stood waiting the return of Mitchell, when 
 the sharp crack of his rifle again rang through the 
 forest, followed soon after by a shrill whistle. I 
 knew then that a deer had fallen, and hastened to the 
 spot. There lay the beautiful creature stretched on 
 the moss, with the life-blood welling from her throat, 
 and over the body, watching, stood Mitchell, leaning 
 on his rifle. Unable to find the trail, he had made a 
 shrewd guess as to the course the animal had taken, 
 and making a circuit, finally came upon her, lain 
 down to die. At his approach she sprang to her feet, 
 ran a few rods, fell again exhausted, when his deadly 
 aim planted a bullet directly back of her ear, and her 
 career was ended. 
 
 Satisfied with our game, we gave up the fishing, 
 and dragging the body to the boat, put back to our 
 camp. The rest of our company stood on the shore 
 waiting our return, for they had heard the shots, and 
 were expecting the spoils. Some, no doubt, will think 
 this very cruel, and congratulate themselves on their 
 kinder natures. I have seen such people, and lieard 
 
180 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 them expend whole sentences of sentuTientality upon 
 the hard-heartedness that could take the life of so 
 innocent a creature, who very coolly wrung the 
 necks of chickens every night for their breakfast, and 
 devoured with great gusto the shoulder of a lamb for 
 dinner. They slay without remorse the most harm- 
 less, trusting creatures that haunt their meadows, or 
 sport upon their lawns and take food from their hands, 
 and yet are shocked at the idea of killing a deer or 
 shooting a wild pigeon. They kill Grod's creatures, 
 not from necessity, but to gratify their palates and 
 minister to their luxurious tastes. But if any one 
 supposes we shot this noble doe for sport, he must 
 have a very vague idea of the toils we had endured 
 that day, or of our keen appetites. A man of great 
 sentimentality might eat boiled eggs and toast with 
 his coffee for breakfast, rather than sanction the death 
 of an animal by partaking of flesh. I say he might 
 do it, though I have never seen an instance of such 
 great self-denial ; but I doubt whether, if he were a 
 day's journey from a human habitation, hungry and 
 tired, with the prospect of nothing but a piece of salt 
 pork, toasted on the end of a stick for supper and 
 breakfast, he would hesitate to eat a venison steak. 
 
FALSE SENTIMENTALITY. 181 
 
 But I like to have forgot — the pork, too, was the flesh 
 of an animal, and it would be difficult to convince a 
 hog that he had not as good a right to life as a deer. 
 At all events, we enjoyed the venison, though perhaps 
 the sentimentalist might say we were punished in the 
 end^ for it made us all outrageously sick. We either 
 cooked it too soon, (for in twenty minutes from the 
 tirjie the deer fell, a part of her was roasting;) or we 
 ate it too rare, (for we were too hungry to wait till it 
 was perfectly done ;) or we ate too much, (for we were 
 hungry as famished wolves ;) or probably did all three 
 things together, which quite upset me. 
 
 But after the things (i. e. the chips) were cleared 
 away, I stretched myself on the ground under a tree 
 whose dark trunk shone in the light of the cheerful 
 fire, and began to muse on the day that had past. 
 How is it that a scene of quiet beauty makes so much 
 deeper an impression than a startling one? The 
 glorious sunset I had witnessed on that sweet lake — 
 the curving and forest-mantled shores — ^the gTcen 
 islands^the mellow mountains, all combined to make 
 a scene of surpassing loveliness : and now as I lay and 
 watched the stars coming out one after another, and 
 twinkling down on me through the tree-tops, all that 
 
182 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 beauty came back on me with strange power. The 
 gloomy gorge and savage precipice, or the sudden 
 storm, seem to excite the surface only of one's feelings, 
 while the sweet vale, with its cottages and herds and 
 evening bells, blends itself in with our very thoughts 
 and emotions, forming a part of our after existence. 
 Such a scene sinks away into the heart like a gentle 
 rain into the earth, while a rougher, nay, sublimer 
 one, comes and goes like a sudden shower. I do not 
 know how it is that the gentler influence should be 
 the deeper and more lasting, but so it is. The still 
 small voice of nature is more impressive than her 
 loudest thunder. Of all the scenery in the Alps, and 
 there is no grander on the earth, nothing is so 
 plainly daguerreotyped on my heart as two or three 
 lovely valleys I saw. Those heaven-piercing sum- 
 mits, and precipices of ice, and terrific gorges, and 
 fearful passes, are like grand but indistinct visions 
 on my memory, while those vales, with their carpets 
 of greensward, and murmuring rivulets, and perfect 
 repose, have become a part of my life. In moments 
 of high excitement or turbulent grief they rise before 
 me with their gentle aspect and quiet beauty, hushing 
 
POWER OF QUIET SCENERY. 183 
 
 the storm into repose, and subduing the spirit like a 
 sensible presence. 
 
 But Mitchell has arisen from his couch of leaves, 
 where he has been reclining silent and thoughtful as 
 his race, and is looking up to the sky and out upon 
 the lake, and I know something is afoot. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
XXL 
 
 FLOATING DEER A NIGHT EXCURSION MORNING IN THE 
 
 WOODS. 
 
 Forked Lake, Aug. 
 Dear H : 
 
 As I stated in my last, Mitchell looked up to the 
 sky, and out upon the lake a moment, and then, in 
 that quiet way so characteristic of his race, said, " If 
 you want to go after a deer it is time we started." It 
 took but five minutes to load my rifle, put on my 
 overcoat, and announce myself ready. Lifting our 
 bark canoe softly from the rocks, we launched it on 
 the still water, and stepping carefully in, pushed off. 
 Previously, however, Mitchell requested me to try 
 one of my matches, to see if the damp had affected 
 them. 
 
 You know that deer-floating amid backwoodsmen 
 is very different from deer-stalking in t^cotland. In 
 
FLOATING DEER. 185 
 
 the warm, summer months, the deer come down 
 from the mountains at night to feed on the marshes 
 that line the shores of the lakes and rivers.* Wliile 
 they are thus feeding, if you pass along in a dark, 
 still night, without making a noise, you can hear 
 them, as they step about in the edge of the water, or 
 snort as they scent approaching danger. The moment 
 you become aware of the proximity of one, strike a 
 light and fix it firmly in the bow of your boat, or in a 
 lantern on your head, and advance cautiously. The 
 deer, attracted by the flame, stops and gazes intently 
 upon it. If he hears no sound he will not stir till you 
 are close to him. At first you catch only the sight of 
 his two eyes, burning like fire-balls in the gloom, but 
 as you approach nearer, the light is thrown on his red 
 flanks, and he stands revealed in all his beautiful pro- 
 portions before you. The candle serves to distinguish 
 the animal, and, at the same time, give you a clear 
 view of the sights along your gun-barrel, and he must 
 be a poor shot who misses at five rods' distance. 
 
 * Sportsmen may wonder at our killing deer in midsummer^ but 
 I would say that we never shot a sucking doe. Bucks never are 
 better than in July, for the food is then so abundant they are 
 extremely fat. We killed only one doe in all, and that was a 
 yearling. 
 
186 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 This night, the only good feeding spot for deer had 
 been so trampled over by us, before dark, that they 
 would not come out upon it, and we floated on for a 
 a long time without hearing anything. I never be- 
 fore saw such an exhibition of the stealthy move- 
 ments of an Indian. The lake was as still and 
 smooth as a polished mirror, and our frail canoe 
 floated over it as if impelled by an invisible hand. I 
 knelt at the bow, with my rifle before me, while Mit- 
 chell sat in the stern as fixed as a statue, yet urging 
 the boat on by some strange movement of the paddle, 
 which I tried in vain to comprehend. He did not 
 even make a ripple on the water, and I could tell we 
 were moving only by marking the shadow of trees we 
 crossed, or the stars we passed over. Though strain- 
 ing every nerve to catch a sound, I never once heard 
 the stroke of his paddle. It was the most mysterious 
 ride I ever took. "We entered the mouth of a river, 
 whose shores were black with the sombre fir trees, 
 while ever and anon would come more clearly on the 
 ear the roar of a distant waterfall. It was so dark I 
 could make out nothing distinctly on shore, and the 
 island-like tufts that here and there rose from the 
 water — the little bays and rocky points we passed, 
 
MYSTERIOUS RIDE. 187 
 
 assumed the most grotesque shapes to my fancy, till I 
 had all the feelings of one suddenly transported to 
 a fairy land. Now the silent boat would cross the 
 shadow of a lofty pine tree, that lay dark and calm 
 in the water below, and now sail over a bright 
 constellation that sparkled in our path, while the 
 scream of a far-off loon came ringing like a spirit's 
 cry through the gloom. Oh, how bright lay the sky, 
 with its sapphire floor beneath us, and how black was 
 the fringe of shadow that encroached on its beauty, 
 and yet added to it by contrast. The silent night 
 around me — the strangeness of the place, and the far 
 removal from human habitations, were enough in 
 themselves ; but the dim, impalpable objects on shore, 
 just distinct enough to confuse the senses, added ten- 
 fold mystery to the scene. I seemed moving through 
 a boundless world of shadows, with nothing clear and 
 natural, but the bright constellations below me. 
 
 Thus we continued on for a mile, without a whisper 
 or sign having passed between us. At length the ca- 
 noe entered what seemed at first a deep bay, but soon 
 changed to the mouth of a gloomy cavern. I leaned 
 forward, striving in vain to make out the misshapen 
 objects before me ; but the more I looked, the more 
 
188 THE ADIRONiDACK. 
 
 confused I gi-ew ; while to add to my bewilderment, 
 suddenly the dim outlines I was struggling to make 
 out, began to vanish as if melting away in the dark- 
 ness. At first, I thought the whole had been a struc- 
 ture of mist, and was dissolving in my sight, but 
 casting my eyes beneath me, I saw we were receding 
 over the stars. Then I understood it all. Mitchell, 
 without making a sound, had drawn the boat slowly 
 backwards, causing the objects before me to fade thus 
 strangely from my sight. He knew the ground per- 
 fectly well, and could enter every bay and inlet as 
 accurately as in broad daylight. 
 
 Pursuing our way up the channel, I was at length 
 startled by a low "hist!" The next moment I 
 caught the tread of a deer on shore, when the light 
 canoe shot along the surface till I could hear the 
 low ripple of the water around the bow. " Light 
 up !" said Mitchell in a whisper. As quietly as possi- 
 ble, I kindled a match, and lighting a candle, put it in 
 a lantern made to fit the head like a hat, and clapping 
 it in the place of my cap, cocked my rifle and leaned 
 forward. The bright flame flared out upon the sur- 
 rounding gloom, and all was hush as death. But as 
 we advanced towards where the deer was standing, 
 
THE QUARRY ESCAPED. 189 
 
 the boat suddenly struck the dry limbs of ti spruce 
 tree that had fallen in the water. Snap, snap, went 
 the brittle twigs — one of them piercing our bark 
 canoe. We backed out of the dilemma as quick as 
 possible, but the sound had alarmed the deer, and I 
 could hear his long bounds as he cleared the bank, 
 and made off into the forest. 
 
 After cruising about a little while longer, we put 
 back, and crossed the lake to a deep bay on the 
 farther side. But the moon now began to show her 
 disc over the fir trees, and our last remaining chance 
 was. to find a deer in the bay before the silver orb 
 should -climb the lofty pines that folded it in. But 
 in this too we were disappointed, and the unclouded 
 light now flooding lake and forest, we turned wearily 
 towards our camp fire that was blazing cheerfully 
 amid the trees on the farther shore. Just then a 
 merry laugh came floating over the water from our 
 companions there, breaking the silence which had en- 
 chained us, and for the first time we spoke. My 
 limbs were almost paralyzed from having been kept so 
 long in one position, and I was sick and weary. Still 
 I would not have missed that mysterious boat-ride 
 and the strange sensations it had awakened, to have 
 
190 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 been saved from thrice the inconvenience it had occa- 
 sioned me. It was one of those new things in this 
 stereotyped life of ours, imparting new experiences, 
 and giving one as it were a deeper insight into his own 
 soul. 
 
 At length we stretched ourselves upon the boughs, 
 and were soon fast asleep. I awoke, however, about 
 midnight, and found our fire reduced to a few em- 
 bers, while the rain was coming down as if that were 
 its sole business for the night. It is gloomy in the 
 woods without a fire ; and I never seem so com- 
 panionless as when in the still midnight I awake and 
 find nothing but the dark forest about me, cheered by 
 no light. A bright, crackling flame seems like a 
 living thing, keeping awake on purpose to watch over 
 you. 
 
 Leaving my companions, whose heavy breathings 
 told how profound were their slumbers, I sallied out 
 in search of fuel. But there was nothing but green 
 fir trees, which would not burn, to be found ; and after 
 striking my axe into several, and getting my lower 
 extremities thoroughly wet, I returned, and lay down 
 again and slept till morning. With the first dawn I 
 was up, and taking the Indian's canoe, pushed off in 
 
OMENS OF A STORM. 191 
 
 search of a deer. The heavy fog lay in masses upon 
 the water, and the damp morning was still and quiet 
 as the night that had passed. I floated about till the 
 sun rose over the mountains, turning that lake into a 
 sheet of gold, and sending the mist in spiral wreaths 
 skyward, and then slowly paddled my way back to our 
 camp. As I was thus floating tranquilly along over 
 the water, I heard far up the lake, where it lost itself 
 in the mountains, two distinct and heavy reports like 
 the discharge of fire-arms. Wlio could be in that 
 solitude besides ourselves ? was the first enquiry. I 
 mentioned the circumstance when I reached the 
 camp, and found that my companions, who had been 
 busy in preparing breakfast, had also been startled by 
 the sound. Mitchell, just then returned from an expe- 
 dition after a fish-hawk, which he brought back with 
 him, hearing oyr conjectures, very quietly remarked, 
 they were not rifle shots. His quick ear never de- 
 ceived him. "What, then, were they?" I enquired. 
 '' Trees," he replied. '' But," said I, '' there is not 
 a breath of air this morning, while it blew very hard 
 yesterday afternoon." " They always fall," he re- 
 plied, " before a storm — it will storm to-morrow." 
 There was something sad in thinlving of those two 
 
192 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 trees thus falling all alone on a still and beautiful 
 morning, foretelling a coming tempest. Sombre 
 omens these, and mysterious, as becomes the un- 
 trodden forest. 
 
 Mitchell had shot an immense fish-hawk, breaking 
 only the tip of his wing, so as to prevent him from 
 flying. He brought him and set him down before the 
 fire, when the fearless bird drew himself proudly up 
 and steadily faced us down without attempting to run 
 away. His savage eye betokened no fear, and when 
 any one of us approached him, his leg would be lifted 
 and his talons expanded ready to strike. I was never 
 so struck with the boldness of a bird in my life. At 
 length Mitchell took him and placed him on a rock 
 by the edge of . the lake, when, for a moment, he 
 forgot his wound, and spreading his broad wings, 
 leaped from his resting place. But the broken pinion 
 refused to carry him heavenward, and he fell heavily 
 into the water. I saw Mitchell bring his rifle to his 
 shoulder, and the next moment a bullet crushed 
 through the head of the poor creature, and its suffer- 
 ings were over. 
 
 Such are the incidents of a life in the woods, and 
 thus do the days and nights pass— not without mean- 
 
LANGUAGE OF NATURE. 193 
 
 ing or instruction. A man cannot move or look 
 without thinking of God, for all that meets his eye is 
 just as it left his mighty hand. The old forest as it 
 nods to the passing wind speaks of him — ^the still 
 mountain points towards his dwelling-place, and the 
 calm lake reflects his sky of stars and sunshine. The 
 glorious sunset and the blushing dawn — ^the gorgeous 
 midnight and the noon-day splendor, mean more in 
 these solitudes than in the crowded city. Indeed, 
 they look different — they are different. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 9 
 
XXII. 
 
 FOREST MUSIC. 
 
 The Woods, August. 
 Dear H : 
 
 How often we speak of the solitude of the forest, 
 meaning by that, the contrast its stillness presents to 
 the hum and motion of busy life. "Wlien you first 
 step from the crowded city into the centre of a vast 
 wilderness, the absence of all the bustle and activity 
 you have been accustomed to makes you at first be- 
 lieve there is no sound, no motion there. So a man 
 accustomed for a long time to the surges of the ocean 
 cannot at first hear the murmur of the rill. Yet these 
 solitudes are full of sound, aye, of rare music, too. 
 I do not mean the notes of birds, for they rarely sing 
 in the darker, deeper portions of the forest. Even the 
 robin, which in the fields cannot chirp and carol 
 enough, and is so tame that a tyro can shoot him, 
 
MORNING CONCERT. 195 
 
 ceases his song the moment he enters the forest, and 
 flits silently from one lofty branch to another, as if in 
 constant fear of a secret enemy. If you want to lis- 
 ten to the music of birds, go to some field that borders 
 on the woods, and there, before sunrise of a summer 
 morning, you will hear such an orchestra as never be- 
 fore greeted your ears. There are no dying cadences 
 and rapturous bursts and prolonged swells, but one 
 continuous strain of joy. Yet there is every variety 
 of tone, from the clear, round note of the robin, to the 
 shrill piping of the sparrow. No time is kept, and no 
 scale is followed — each is striving to outwarble the 
 other, and yet there seems the most perfect accord. 
 No jar is made by all the conflicting instruments — 
 the whole heavens are full of voices tuned to a 
 different key — each pausing or breaking in as it suits 
 its mood — and yet the harmony remains the same. 
 It is unwritten music such as nature furnishes — filling 
 the soul with a delight and joy it never before 
 experienced. 
 
 But this is found only in the fields — our great 
 forests are too sombre and shadowy for such glees. 
 Still you find music there. There is a certain kind 
 occurring only at intervals, which chills the heart lilce 
 
196 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 a dead-march, and is fearful as the echo of bursting 
 billows along the arches of a cavern. The shrill 
 scream of a panther in the midst of an impenetrable 
 swamp, rising in the intervals of thunder claps — the 
 long, discordant howl of a herd of wolves at midnight, 
 slowly traveling along the slope of a high mountain, 
 you may call strange music ; yet there are certain 
 chords in the heart of man, that quiver to it, espe- 
 cially when he feels there is no cause of alarm. The 
 lowing of a moose, echoing miles away in the gorges 
 — ^the solitary cry of the loon in some deep bay — ^the 
 solemn hoot of the owl, the only lullaby that cradles 
 you to sleep, all have their charms, and stir you at 
 times like the blast of a bugle. So the scream of 
 the eagle, and cry of the fish-hawk, as they sweep in 
 measured circles over the still bosom of a lake after 
 their prey, or the low, half suppressed croak of the 
 raven — his black form like some messenger of death, 
 slowly swinging from one mountain to another — are 
 sights and sounds that arrest and chain you. Yet 
 these are not all — ^the ear grows sensitive when you 
 feel that everything about you treads stealthily ; and 
 the slightest noise will sometimes startle you like the 
 unexpected crack of a rifle. 
 
SENSITIVENESS OF THE EAR. 197 
 
 After watching for a long time for deer on the 
 banks of some still stream, almost motionless myself, 
 the unexpected spring of a trout to the surface has 
 sent the blood to my temples as suddenly as though 
 it had been the leap of a panther. 
 
 By living in the woods, your sense of hearing be- 
 comes so acute that the wilderness never seems silent. 
 It is said that a nice and practised ear can hear at 
 night, in the full vigor of spring, the low sound of 
 growing, bursting vegetation, and in the winter, the 
 shooting of crystals, "like moon-beams splintering 
 along the ground." So in the forest, there is a faint 
 and indistinct hum about you, as if the spreading and 
 bursting of the buds and barks of trees, the stretching 
 out of the roots into the earth, and the slow and affec- 
 tionate interlacing of branches and kiss of leaves, were 
 all perceptible to the ear. The passage of the scarcely 
 moving air over the unseen tree tops, the motion it 
 gives to the trunk — too slight to be detected by the eye 
 — the dropping of an imperfect leaf ; all combine to 
 produce a monotonous sound, which lulls you into a 
 feeling half melancholy and half pleasing. You may, 
 on a still summer afternoon, recline for hours on some 
 gentle slope, and ILsten without weariness to this low, 
 
198 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 perpetual chant of nature. Sometimes the hollow 
 tap of the woodpecker, or the loud, babbling voice 
 of the streamlet, rushing under arches of evergreens, 
 gives animation to the song. If you are on the bor- 
 ders of a lake, the clear and limpid sound of the 
 ripples, as they hasten to lay their lips on the smooth 
 pebbles, blend in with the anthem, till the soul sinks 
 into reveries it dare not speak aloud. 
 
 But there is one kind of forest music I love best of 
 all — it is the sound of wind amid the trees. I have 
 lain here by the hour, on some fresh afternoon, when 
 the brisk west wind swept by in gusts, and listened to 
 it. All is comparatively still, w^hen, far away, you 
 catch a faint murmur, like the dying tone of an organ 
 with its stops closed — gradually swelling into clearer 
 distinctness and fuller volume, as if gathering strength 
 for some fearful exhibition of its power ; until, at 
 length, it rushes like a sudden sea overhead, and 
 everything sways and tosses about you. For a mo- 
 ment an invisible spirit seems to be near — ^the fresh 
 leaves rustle and talk to each other — the pines and 
 cedars whisper ominous tidings, and then the retiring 
 swell subsides in the distance, and silence again 
 slowly settles on the forest. A short interval only 
 
MUSIC OF THE WIND. 199 
 
 elapses when the murmur, the swell, the rush, and 
 the retreat, are repeated. If you abandon yourself 
 entirely to the mfluence, yon soon are lost in strange 
 illusions. I have lain and listened to the wind mov- 
 ing thus among the branches, until I fancied every 
 gust a troop of spirits, whose tread over the bending 
 tops I caught afar, and whose rapid approach I could 
 distinctly measure. My heart would throb and pulses 
 bound, as the invisible squadrons drew near, till as 
 their sounding chariots of air swept swiftly overhead, 
 I ceased listening, and turned to look. Thus troop 
 after troop, they came and went on their mysterious 
 mission — waking the solitude into sudden life, as they 
 passed, and filling it with glorious melody. 
 
 From such a state of reverie I was once aroused by 
 my Indian guide quietly saying, "It blows most too 
 hard to fish to-night." Oh, yes, it blows too hard : ye 
 splendid train of spirits treading the soft and velvet 
 bosom of the boundless forest, and with ten times ten 
 thousand branches and twigs and leaves for harp 
 strings, discoursing sweet music, you march alto- 
 gether too heavily, and sing too loudly for good fish- 
 ing. Oood Mitchell, you are right ; those spirits have 
 kicked the lake all into a bubble. Wc both have 
 
200 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 been listening to this wind, but with how different 
 ears — you as a practical man, and I as a dreamer. I 
 am half a mind to tell you what I have been thinking 
 about, just to see your black eyes stare. But it is of 
 no use ; we must take a little salt pork instead of 
 trout for supper to-night — thanks to the '' forest 
 music." 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
il 
 
XXIII. 
 
 RAQUETTE LAKE NUMBER OF ITS TROUT A HUNTER's 
 
 LOVE FOR AN EAGLE FIERCE STRUGGLE BETWEEN AN 
 
 EAGLE AND A SALMON. 
 
 Raquette Lake, August. 
 Dear H : 
 
 It is only about a mile and a half from Crotched or 
 Forked to Raquette Lake. For about three quarters 
 of a mile up the inlet, where Mitchell shot the 
 deer the first night we arrived at Forked Lake, it is 
 fair rowing to the falls — then for a half a mile you are 
 compelled to shoulder your boats. But at length the 
 beautiful sheet of Raquette Lake opens on the view, 
 shining like an opal amid an interminable mass of 
 green. Stretching away for nearly thirteen miles, it 
 lies embosomed in the unshorn shores, and reflecting 
 in its pellucid depths the clouds, as they float over the 
 heavens which seem immeasurably high hero in this 
 
202 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 clear atmosphere — and presents one of the most beau- 
 tiful scenes the eye ever rested upon. When, how- 
 ever, the mountain storm sweeps over its breast, and 
 the confined thunder breaks and bursts upon it, it 
 looks like any thing but a gentle being. 
 
 It is the largest body of water in this wild region, 
 and with a shore as irregular as it could well be 
 made. Though only thirteen miles long and six 
 broad, it has a coast of fifty miles in extent. With 
 its long, wooded points and promontories and deep 
 bays, it would look, to a man placed above it, like 
 a huge scollop. This waving outline completely 
 deceives one, in sailing over it, as to the extent 
 and direction of the main body of water. As you 
 round one point, the lake seems to take a turn, 
 for it goes miles away, piercing the very heart of 
 the distant forest. But, by the time a second point 
 is weathered, a broad and beautiful surface is seen 
 spreading in another direction. Thus there is a 
 constant succession of new views — in fact, as you 
 slowly float along, you seem to behold a dozen dif- 
 ferent lakes, each rivalling the other in picturesque 
 beauty. It has three large inlets, one of which 
 comes from the Eckford, or, as the hunters call 
 
HUTS OF HUNTERS. 203 
 
 them, Blue Mountain and Tallow Lakes, pouring a 
 stream of crystal into its bosom. The south inlet is 
 a river of such magnitude that it can be navigated 
 for eight miles by a boat of a ton's burthen. The 
 third is Brown's inlet, of almost half the size of the 
 former. 
 
 Imagine this broad expanse of water in the midst 
 of a vast wilderness, dotted with islands, with deep 
 bays fringed with green — ^bold slopes reaching to the 
 clouds, clothed with green — distant mountains en- 
 folding mountains, all waving with the same rich 
 verdure — blue peaks dreaming far away, and far up 
 in the heavens, and not a sign of vegetation — not 
 a boat to break the solitude, and you will have 
 some idea of the sights that meet you at every 
 turn, charming the soul into pleasure. 
 
 Thus rowing along, with no living thing but the 
 wild bird, and wilder deer, which has come down from 
 the mountains to drink, and raises his head as the 
 sound of your voice is borne to his ear, to interrupt 
 the Sabbath quietness around, you at length come 
 in sight of '' Indian Point," so called because there 
 was once an Indian settlement upon it. Now two 
 huts are standing there, looking like oases in the 
 
204 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 desert, occupied by two men, who dwell thus shut 
 out from civilized life. 
 
 These two cabins are the only ones on this whole 
 fifty miles of coast,* and the two hunters that 
 occupy them the only inhabitants that are or have 
 been on the shore for the last nine years. With- 
 out a wife or child they have lived here winter 
 and summer, as ignorant of what is going on in the 
 great world without, and as indifferent to it as the 
 savage of the Rocky Mountains. One of them was 
 once a wealthy manufacturer ; but overtaken by suc- 
 cessive misfortunes, he at length fled to the wilder- 
 ness, where he has ever since lived. There is also a 
 rumor, of some love adventure — of blasted affections 
 followed by morbid melancholy, which is probably 
 " ower true" — being the cause of this strange self- 
 exile. 
 
 However that may be, here he lives, and here he is 
 likely to live and be buried. These two Robinson Cru- 
 soes have cleared about ten acres of land, on which 
 they raise such vegetables as they need, while the 
 fishing line and rifle supplies them with meat. An 
 easy life is theirs — no taxes to pay — no purchases to 
 '■' There are others now. 
 
EASY TROUTING. 205 
 
 make — and during most of the year, fish and deer 
 and moose ready to come almost at their call. 
 
 This beautiful lake is thronged with salmon and 
 speckled trout. Talk about Pisico Lake and Lake 
 Pleasant, and other border waters, where fishing has 
 become a business. Come here, if you wish to see 
 the treasures the wilderness encloses. The most 
 beautiful and savory trout that ever swam are found 
 in such quantities that you can take them without 
 even a fly, or bait of any description. Look at that 
 
 inlet — ^there sits my friend B n with a pole and 
 
 line big enough to play a sturgeon with, and nothing 
 but a piece of white paper on his coarse hook. He is 
 skipping it, or as the fishermen call it, " skittering " 
 it over the water, and there rises a two pounder, 
 and there a three pounder, and a one pounder by his 
 side — ^heigh ho, a full dozen of them, with their 
 speckled, gleaming sides and wild eyes, are making 
 the water foam about it. The hungry, unsophisti- 
 cated fellows have never yet learned that there is such 
 a thing as a hook, and dart fiercely at every object 
 that tempts their appetite, without fear of being 
 caught. You can sit here of a fine dav, and with 
 bait take out these speckled trout till your arms 
 
206 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 ache with lifting them. No sooner does the worm, or 
 piece of venison, sink in the water than they crowd 
 round it in swarms. 
 
 The salmon trout are noble fellows — these two 
 hunters say they have caught them weighing over 
 thirty pounds. 
 
 I have often been struck with the singular attach- 
 ment hunters sometimes have for some bird or ani- 
 mal, while all the rest of the species they pursue with 
 deadly hostility. 
 
 About five hundred yards from Beach's hut, stands 
 a lofty pine tree, on which a grey eagle has built its 
 nest annually during the nine years he has lived on 
 the shores of the Raquette. The Indian who dwelt 
 there before him, says that the same pair of birds 
 made their nest on that tree for ten years previous 
 — making in all, nineteen years they have occu- 
 pied the same spot, and built on the same branch. 
 It is possible, however, that the young may have 
 taken the place of their parents. At all events. 
 Beach believes them to be the same old dwellers, and 
 hence regards them as squatters like himself, and en- 
 titled to equal privileges. From his cabin door he 
 can see them in sunshine and storm — quietly perched 
 
hunter's love of an eagle. 207 
 
 on the tall pine, or wildly cradled as the mighty 
 fabric bonds and sways to the blast. He has become 
 attached to them, and hence requests every one who 
 visits him not to touch them. I verily believe he 
 would like to shoot the man who should harm one 
 of their feathers. They are his companions in that 
 solitude — proud occupants of the same wild home, 
 and hence bound together by a link it would be hard 
 to define, and yet which is strong as steel. If that 
 pine tree should fall, and those eagles move away to 
 some other lake, he would feel as if he had lost a 
 friend, and the solitude become doubly lonely. 
 
 Thus it is — you cannot by any education or expe- 
 rience, drive all the poetry out of a man — it lingers 
 there still, and blazes up unexpectedly — revealing the 
 human heart with all the sympathies, attachments, 
 and tenderness that belong to it. 
 
 He, however, one day came near losing his bold 
 eagle. He was lying at anchor, fishing, when he saw 
 his favorite bird high up in heaven, slowly sweeping 
 round and round in a huge circle, evidently awaiting 
 the approach of a fish to the surface. For an hour or 
 more, he thus sailed with motionless wings above the 
 water, when all at once he stopped and hovered a mo- 
 
208 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 ment, with an excited gesture — then rapid as a flash 
 of light, and with a rush of his broad pinions, hke the 
 passage of a sudden gust of wind, came to the still 
 bosom of the lake. He had seen a huge salmon trout 
 swimming near the surface — and plunging from his 
 high watch-tower, drove his talons deep in his vic- 
 tim's back. So rapid and strong was his swoop that 
 he buried himself out of sight when he struck, but the 
 next moment he emerged into view, and flapping his 
 wings, endeavored to rise with his prey. But this 
 time he had miscalculated his strength — in vain he 
 struggled nobly to lift the salmon from the water. 
 The frightened and bleeding fish made a sudden dive, 
 and took eagle and all out of sight, and was gone a 
 quarter of a minute. Again they arose to the surface, 
 and the strong bird spread his broad, dripping pinions, 
 and gathering force with his rapid blows, raised the 
 salmon half out of water. The weight, however, was 
 too great for him, and he sank again to the surface, 
 beating the water into foam about him. The salmon 
 then made another dive, and they both went under, 
 leaving only a few bubbles to tell where they had 
 gone down. This time they were absent a full half 
 minute, and Beach said he thought it was all over 
 
FIGHT BETWEEN A TROUT AND EAGLE. 209 
 
 with his bird. He soon, however, reappeared with his 
 talons still buried in the flesh of his foe, and again 
 made a desperate effort to rise. All this time the fish 
 was shooting like an arrow through the lake, carrying 
 his relentless foe on his back. He could not keep the 
 eagle down, nor the bird carry him up — and so now 
 beneath, and now upon the surface, they struggled on, 
 presenting one of the most singular yet exciting 
 spectacles that can be imagined. It was fearful to 
 witness the blows of the eagle as he lashed the lake 
 with his wings into spray, and made the shores echo 
 with the report. At last, the bird thinking, as they 
 say west, that he had " waked up the wrong pas- 
 senger," gave it up ; and loosening his clutch, soared 
 heavily and slowly away to his lofty pine tree, where 
 he sat for a long time sullen and sulky — the picture 
 of disappointed ambition. So might a wounded and 
 baffled lion lie down in his lair and brood over his de- 
 feat. Beach said that he could easily have captured 
 them, but he thought he would see the fight out. 
 "When, however, they both staid under a half minute 
 or more, he concluded he should never see his eagle 
 again. Whether the latter in his rage was bent on 
 capturing his prize, and would retain his hold though 
 
210 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 at the hazard of his life, or whether in his terrible 
 swoop he had struck his crooked talons so deep in the 
 back of the salmon, he could not extricate himself, the 
 hunter said he could not tell. The latter, however, 
 was doubtless the truth, and he would have been glad 
 to have let go, long before he did. The old fellow 
 probably spent the afternoon in studying avoirdupois 
 weight, and ever after tried his tackle on smaller fish. 
 As for the poor salmon, if he survived the severe 
 laceration, he doubtless never fully understood the 
 operation he had gone through. 
 
XXIV. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF RAQUETTE LAKE ABUNDANCE OF ITS 
 
 FISH LAKE ELDON ITS QUEER DISCOVERY A MAN 
 
 WHIPPED BY AN EAGLE A HUNTER WITHOUT FEET. 
 
 The Woods, August. 
 
 Dear H : 
 
 I DESIGNED to givc jou a lengthy description of Ra- 
 quette Lake, which surpasses all the others in the 
 beauty of its scenery, and can hardly be matched in 
 the wide world. I was the more anxious to do this, 
 because its sloping shores and fertile land make it 
 the most desirable portion of this whole region for 
 settlers. The Adirondack chain terminates here in 
 the isolated peak of Mount Emmons, and the land 
 sinks into an elevated plateau, furnishing many in- 
 ducements to the emigrant. In place of this, how- 
 ever, I give you an extract from an interesting letter 
 
212 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 which I received from a gentleman who has spent 
 months around the Raquette. 
 
 "There are, perhaps, but few sections in our coun- 
 try, where the amateur of the beauties of nature, and 
 the lover of sport, can better enjoy a few days of 
 retreat from the thronged city and the cares of busi- 
 ness, than at Raquette Lake. Here he feels liberated 
 from the restraints of organized society, and meets the 
 rude yet agreeable change, produced by an escape from 
 the formalities of the world — indeed, he enters upon 
 the enjoyment of that pure and artless freedom which 
 the society of nature alone can impart. As a striking 
 proof of the effect of this change, one can scarcely 
 turn his attention from the objects around him, to the 
 calculations of business, or the schemes of selfishness 
 and pride — and I venture to say, if the mines of Cali- 
 fornia were planted upon the shores of this beautiful 
 lake, the miser even, would forsake his sordid labor, 
 till he had viewed and re-viewed the enchanting land- 
 scape around him, while the man of taste would be 
 absorbed as it were, in the midst of a new creation ; 
 and not an hour would pass, but what he would find 
 something to admire, or amuse him. 
 "The natural scenery of the Raquette is, however, 
 
RAQUETTE LAKE. 213 
 
 not SO much distinguished for its sublimity as its 
 beauty. Unlike the lakes of Switzerland, those of 
 northern New York, making an extensive chain from 
 the Saranac waters to the Moose River Lakes, are not 
 surrounded by summits of perpetual snow, nor by- 
 naked rocks towering one above another in fragmen- 
 tary peaks and disordered masses, but, for the most 
 part, especially the south-western, are surrounded by 
 gently-receding shores, swelling into moderate ridges, 
 and bounding the view with a clear and beautiful 
 outline of green hills — with here and there a conical 
 mountain-top elevated in the distance. Nor do we, 
 about the Raquette, discover any Alpine glaciers glit- 
 tering in the sun, or huge masses of ice thundering 
 down from their heights to the valleys below, but the 
 country is made up of a broad plateau^ elegantly 
 varied upon its surface, and clothed by a rich and 
 luxurious forest, and excelling all the others in the 
 beauty of its situation, as well as in the fertility of 
 its soil. 
 
 "As we take a more particular view of this lake, and 
 the objects of interest in its immediate vicinity, we 
 are at first struck with the crystal purity of its 
 waters, and the irregularity of its form. Its waters 
 
214 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 are so clear, that objects on a bright, sunny day, can 
 be seen to the depth of thirty or forty feet — the 
 angler often finds himself in a state of suspense, 
 between hope and fear, as he looks into the depths of 
 the lake, and sees his speckled majesty darting about 
 the hook, artfully trying the bait. 
 
 The irregular form of the lake also, when the 
 whole from some eminence is brought under the eye 
 of the spectator, presents an interesting feature 
 in the prospect. It is wholly embraced within 
 an area of seven miles square, and yet it is so in- 
 dented with deep bays, projecting points, and head- 
 lands, that it presents a shore of about fifty miles in 
 extent, varying to every point of the compass, and 
 marking the outlines of the lalie, with a continuous 
 round of graceful curves and angles; all of which 
 are highly embellished by clusters of tall pines that 
 stand upon the points, and skirt the shores, flinging 
 their darkening shadows upon the water — while the 
 thick wood and level surface, that fall back for some 
 distance from the lake, gives a mellow aspect to the 
 whole, and a highly satisfying indication of the cha- 
 racter of the adjacent lands. But the islands that 
 dot the lake with Ihoir dark, green forms, in lively 
 
THE OSPRAY. 215 
 
 contrast with the silvery surface of the waters that 
 embrace them, are the most interesting objects con- 
 nected with this landscape. From fifteen to twenty 
 in number, they vary in size and form, from mere 
 islets that cluster together in fantastic groups, to those 
 of sufficient size for ordinary farms. Ospray Island, 
 lying across the bay, one mile south of Beach and 
 Woods, and half a mile west of Jos. Woods on 
 Ospray Point, contains about thirty acres. This island 
 derived its name from the ospray, that yearly builds 
 her nest and rears her young thereon. Her nest 
 is a prominent object in the view, being some three 
 feet in diameter, and planted upon the top of the high- 
 est of a cluster of stately pines ; and is so strongly 
 interwoven with boughs and grass, as to resist the 
 wind and storm. The sportsman delights to gaze 
 upon this bird of solitude, as she returns from her ex- 
 cursions up the lake in quest of food, bearing the 
 struggling trout in her talons, while her unfledged 
 offspring, standing upon the verge of their aerial 
 house, with untutored voices and fluttering wings, 
 welcome her return. None disturb her domicile, or 
 question her right to protection. 
 
 •' Woods' Island, containing about three hundred 
 
216 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 acres, lies in the southerly section of the lake. It 
 has a level surface, fine dry soil, shaded with a clean 
 and tasteful forest of beech and maple. In a warm 
 summer's day, a ramble over this island, enjoying its 
 shady groves, its gentle breezes from the lake, and its 
 charming scenery, is truly delightful. Off its eastern 
 extremity is a group of four islands, of nearly equal 
 size, rising up out of the water, and studding the 
 lake with their high conical forms, and their steep 
 yet graceful shores. To the south the eye ranges 
 along the blue surface of South Bay, until it rests 
 upon the white sand beach that encircles its extrem- 
 ity; marking a line of separation between the land 
 and the water, as white as a line of snow. This 
 bay, moreover, is the favorite place of resort for the 
 sportsman. Here the stately buck, after trying his 
 speed with the honnd, is wont to seek his safety by 
 plunging into the water — ^unconscious that there is a 
 worse enemy at hand, than the brute that hangs 
 upon his track. 
 
 "Let the spectator overlook a scene like this, and 
 at the same time bring within the scope of his vision 
 the whole southern section of the lake, with its 
 islands, indented shores, and conterminous fores<-s, 
 
HAUNTS OF TROUT. 21/ 
 
 and a richer and more picturesque view can scarcely 
 
 be imagined. Add to this the sullen stillness of the 
 
 wilderness, where nature, unmarred by the hand of 
 
 man, dwells in her primeval glory — ^her music the 
 
 pealing thunder — the eagle's shrill voice — the wild 
 
 notes of the loon — and the sound of the gentle breeze 
 
 as it ruffles the surface of the lake — and no man of 
 
 sensibility can escape the enchantment 
 
 '^ The inlets of the lake form another interesting 
 
 feature connected with its scenery. These, for the 
 
 first few miles from the lake, move sluggishly along 
 
 the valleys, through which they pass with singular 
 
 tortuous windings, and of sufficient depth to float boats 
 
 of large size. In the warm summer months, these 
 
 inlets become the place of resort for the trout, where 
 
 they are often taken with the hook in great numbers. 
 
 They collect in schools around the cold springs that 
 
 make into the inlets, and if approached with care 
 
 and skill may be taken out, so eager are they for the 
 
 bait, to the last, in the school. They will even dash 
 
 at the hook as it approaches the surface of the water, 
 
 and as the pole from time to time bends under the 
 
 weight of its load, the skillful angler will deliberately 
 
 bring his unwary captive t>o the shore. The salmon. 
 10 
 
218 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 or lake trout, however, seeks his summer retreat in 
 the depths of the lake. These are usually found in 
 its northern section, and are taken from a boat, with 
 a long line let deep into the water. This is a more 
 sober business, and often taxes the patience of the 
 angler, before he feels the cautious bite — but if he is 
 so fortunate as to fix his bearded hook in the jaws of 
 his victim, he swells with pride and glories in his vic- 
 tory, as he plies the reel, or tugs at the line, and with 
 hand over hand draws the ponderous fish into the 
 boat. The largest trout of this description, known to 
 have been taken in the lake, weighed forty-five 
 pounds. Such a prize ought to satisfy the reasonable 
 ambition of any sportsman. 
 
 " The Marion River is the largest inlet of the lake. 
 It comes in from the east, and forms the connecting 
 link between the Raquette and the Eckford Lakes. 
 The valley embracing this stream and the last men- 
 tioned lakes, extends due east from the Raquette 
 some twenty miles, and terminates at the base of 
 Mount Emmons, which flings up its round head and 
 giant form far above the blue range of hills that 
 stretch on to the southeast. Mount Emmons is the 
 most westerly of that group of high mountains that 
 
A BEAUTIFUL LAKE. 219 
 
 occupy the section of country between the Eckford 
 Lakes and Lake Champlain ; and overlooking the 
 valley of the Raquette, forms the most prominent 
 object in view towards the east. South and "West 
 inlets are also navigable streams, but more tortuous, 
 if possible, in their course, than the Marion River. 
 The boatman in passing up the west inlet, rows four 
 miles to gain two in distance ; he then arrives at the 
 portage between the Raquette and Moose River 
 waters. 
 
 " Nearly opposite Indian Point, connected with the 
 Raquette by a small inlet only ten feet wide and four 
 rods in length, there is a beautiful little lake, about 
 one mile long and half a mile wide, of oval form, con- 
 cealed in a rich, dark forest, where the pine, spruce, 
 and hemlock, are gracefully intermixed with decidu- 
 ous trees. This lovely retreat, called Lake Eldon, is 
 protected from the winds in every direction, and 
 affords a calm and delightful resort. 
 
 " Eagle Lake, which is an object of interest and 
 curiosity, lies about three miles due south from the 
 mouth of West Inlet, and two miles east of Eighth 
 Lake. It is of small dimensions, not varying essen- 
 tially from eighty chains in length, and forty ia 
 
220 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 breadth. This lake was discovered under circum- 
 stances somewhat amusing ; and in a manner that 
 presented its features in a bold and impressive aspect. 
 Two gentlemen with their packs on their backs, left 
 the east shore of Eighth Lake, in search of a lake 
 discovered by Prof. Emmons, lying in that vicinity ; 
 but, as afterwards appeared, to the south of the one 
 in question. After tugging some four or five hours, 
 and surmounting several high ridges, crossing valleys, 
 climbing over wind-falls, and tearing their way 
 through the thick under-brush, they came to the sum- 
 mit of a still higher ridge, covered with thick 
 spruces, so dense and dark, as to obstruct the view in 
 every direction. Here they seated themselves upon a 
 log to rest, and while calculating upon the probable 
 proximity to the object of their search, they were 
 startled by the cracking of the dry brush, under the 
 footsteps of some heavy animal. They had left their 
 trusty rifle behind them to lighten their burden, and 
 their onty means of defence consisted in an antiquated 
 pistol, a family relic, that had seen much service, 
 but which in this age of revolvers and improvements 
 was, to say the least, of doubtful character. They, 
 however, placed themselves in a posture of defence — 
 
MYSTERIOUS RIDE. 221 
 
 the redoubtable knight of the pistol, holding on to his 
 anchorage on the log ; while his defenceless compa- 
 nion veered round upon his stern, and took up his 
 position squat^ in the rear — this last movement having 
 doubtless been made, not so much with a view to 
 personal protection, as to form a corps de reserve^ to 
 fall upon the foe in the heat of the conflict. The 
 heavy footsteps of the beast drew near, but the 
 thicket still concealed him from their view. This 
 suspense, however, did not continue long ; for in 
 due time, old Bruin presented his black visage, 
 raised liimself erect upon his haunches, skinned his 
 teeth, uttered his hideous growl, and viewed the 
 strangers with his keen, black eye. After exchanging 
 glances for a short time, however. Bruin came to the 
 conclusion "that discretion was the better part of 
 valor," and with manifest symptoms of alarm, turned 
 and fled, with the bullet from old '76 w^histling 
 through the thicket, in pursuit. Thus ended the 
 fright and the bloodless contest, probably to the entire 
 satisfaction of both parties concerned. But this ad- 
 venture was followed by another, if not so dangerous, 
 yet somewhat more amusing — which gave the name 
 to the lake in question. Our travelers having been 
 
222 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 relieved from their unwelcome visitor, concluded, 
 before they proceeded on with their journey, to take 
 an observation from the high grounds where they 
 were, with a view to examine the country to the 
 south and east, and discover, if possible, the position 
 of the lake, which was the object of their search. To 
 accomplish this purpose, the knight of the pistol 
 volunteered his services to climb a tall spruce that 
 stood near by ; and accordingly flung aside his pack, 
 pulled off his boots, and depositing them ivith his 
 armor, at the foot of the tree, commenced the ascent. 
 After climbing some fifty or sixty feet, his ears were 
 suddenly pierced by the screams of a huge eagle, and 
 his face at the same time brushed by her wings, 
 and torn by her claws. As the enraged bird passed 
 round her airy circuit, repeating her sharp and threat- 
 ening notes, the eye of the adventurer fell upon a 
 deep, black lake below him, and he for the first time 
 discovered that the tree he had ascended stood upon 
 the brink of a precipice of fearful height, overhanging 
 the dark abyss where the jealous bird of liberty had 
 planted her nest, and secured her young. By this 
 time the gathering foe had again made her circle, 
 and coming like an arrow through the air, pounced 
 
FIGHT WITH AN EAGLE. 223 
 
 upon his head, and striking her talons through his 
 cap and wig, tore them from his naked scalp, and 
 hurled them to the ground. Not exactly a back out^ 
 but a back down, was the immediate result — and the 
 vanquished knight, as he landed upon terra fir ma, 
 audibly thanked his stars, and remarked to his com- 
 panion, that his satisfaction was unbounded ; seeing 
 that the matter had ended no worse — and as they pro- 
 ceeded to gather up the " duds," they entered upon a 
 discourse, wherein the rules of chivalry were gravely 
 considered, and a decision soberly made, that there 
 was no loss of honor in the affair ; since such cases 
 were of rare occurrence and did not happen under 
 those circumstances by which a man's courage and 
 valor were ordinarily tested. 
 
 On examining the lake, it was found that it was 
 nearly surrounded by rocks, for the most part of per- 
 pendicular ascent, rising like a wall of masonry with 
 its face to the lake, and from two to three hundred 
 feet above the surface of the water. It was of oval 
 form, and gave the appearance of an immense reser- 
 voir prepared by art — a section of its western wall, 
 however, overhung the water, forming a high arched 
 cavern beneath. No streams were discovered falling 
 
224 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 into the lake, but an outlet, running constantly /row 
 it, was noticed at the extreme south end, where the 
 heights became depressed and fell to a level with the 
 surface of this secluded yet interesting object of 
 nature. A day spent in visiting this little lake will 
 well repay the toil and labor it will cost. 
 
 Our travelers took an easterly direction from this 
 point ; and after undergoing the fatigue of the day, 
 wearied to excess, hungry, chafed, and with their 
 faces swollen from the bite of the poisonous flies, they 
 arrived at night at an old hunter's lodge (near the 
 lower falls of South Inlet) covered with bark, and as 
 usual in such half-decayed shanties, filled with filth 
 and vermin. Here necessity drove them to take up 
 their quarters for the night — they accordingly struck 
 up a fire, disposed of a few hard crackers, and a rem- 
 nant of unsavory venison well jammed and mellowed, 
 and before the light of day had fully disappeared, 
 flung themselves down to rest. But the process of 
 hardening against the bite of the flea, as a necessary 
 preparation for sleep, was to be undergone ; and 
 while this was in progress, the agonizing knight of the 
 pistol rolled over upon his back, drew up his knees, 
 and with his journal and pencil in hand, gave vent to 
 
SETTLERS. 225 
 
 his experience in a poetical stanza — which he then 
 and there entered down upon his diary, as follows : 
 
 "'In this rude spot, where weary pilgrims rest, 
 With bugs, and' fleas, and fetid venison blessed, 
 With swollen limbs, unfit to rest or range, 
 We breathe the smoke of Catamount Exchange. 
 Meanwhile, our eyes are closed, by poisonous gnats and fli^s, 
 And ' * * * * * 
 
 "It is proper to remark, that the interesting section 
 of country connected with the Raquette is now flung 
 open to easy access, by the recent completion of the 
 Champlain and Carthage road, which passes near the 
 northern shore of Raquette Lake. Light carriages, 
 and teams with heavy loads, may pass from Lake 
 Champlain, or the Black River valley, to this lake. 
 Township forty, embracing the most desirable section 
 of land in that vicinity, already contains a few fami- 
 lies who have broken into the wilderness and com- 
 menced their improvements ; and the prospect is, 
 that this township will soon be occupied by pros- 
 perous and enterprising settlers. Those who reside 
 there, not only enjoy their beautiful localities, pure 
 water, and healthful atmosphere, but their crops 
 
 of Indian corn, wheat, potatoes, and garden veget- 
 10* 
 
226 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 ables. The first persons who came into this town^ 
 ship were Messrs. Beach and Woods, who planted 
 their rude dwelling upon Indian Point, command- 
 ing a most interesting view of the lake and its 
 islands. The case of Mr. "Woods should not pass 
 unnoticed ; as it furnishes an instance of man's 
 capacity to overcome the serious deprivations rarely 
 to be found. By exposure in the woods and snow 
 through a cold winter's night, his feet and limbs 
 were so badly frozen, that it became necessary to 
 amputate both below the knee joints. Since that 
 time he has used his knees as a substitute for feet ; 
 and, strange as it may seem, he follows his line of 
 traps for miles through the wilderness, or with rifle in 
 hand, hops through the woods in pursuit of deer. He 
 may be seen plying his oars, and driving his little 
 bark over the lakes and along the streams ; and when 
 he comes to a portage, the upturned boat will sur- 
 mount his head, and take its course to the adjacent 
 waters. His is a case that proves that there are 
 instances in reality, 'where truth is stranger than 
 fiction.' " 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
XXV. 
 
 SIGHTS AND SOUNDS BEACH AND WOODS ^A VISIT OP 
 
 THIRTY MILES MADE BY A WOMAN. 
 
 Raquette Lake, August. 
 Dear H : 
 
 You can spend days and weeks around the Ra- 
 quette, sailing over its beautiful waters, penetrating 
 its deep and quiet bays, taking trout at every cast of 
 your line, and killing a deer whenever you choose to 
 put forth the effort. The sun rises on you from this 
 green wilderness fresh as when it first looked on crea- 
 tion, and sets as lovingly in the mass of green, on the 
 western slope, as though it had seen no sin and suf- 
 fering in its course. 
 
 Let the light canoe rock awhile on the tiny waves 
 that this glorious western breeze, redolent with the 
 kiss of leaves, and pure from its long dalliance with 
 nature, has set in motion. The shadows are flitting 
 
228 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 like sweet visions along that far-stretching slope of 
 brilliant green, and disappear one after another over 
 the summit. Yonder is a deer walking up and down 
 the shore in the water, ever and anon lifting his ant- 
 lered head, lest the garish day might reveal him to 
 some lurking foe ; and lo, there comes his consort, 
 her w^hite breast shining amid the leaves, as she also 
 steps forth to drink. And here, out of this narrow 
 cove, completely enveloped in bushes that sweep the 
 water, and reeds that grow almost across its entrance 
 — which seems to lurk in perpetual ambush on the 
 shore — a wild duck from the Atlantic is leading forth 
 her brood which she has hatched in this far-seques- 
 tered spot. "What a chattering they make as they 
 swim after the proud matron who is pushing boldly 
 for a point near by. They move in the form of the 
 figure V inverted, and the still water of the cove as- 
 sumes the same shape clear to the shore. But the 
 ever-watchful mother has caught sight of our boat, 
 and prattling to her offspring, is off with incredible 
 speed. She knows her young cannot fly, and hence 
 will not rise herself from the water. True to her 
 m.aternal instinct, she is willing to bide the worst, but 
 both wings and feet of the whole chattering squadron 
 
MATERNAL INSTINCT. 220 
 
 are in full play, making the lake foam where they 
 pass. There, you are once more in the reeds, settling 
 yourselves with a vast deal of self-congratulation into 
 composure again, while your black heads and eyes 
 turn and nod to catch the first approach of danger. 
 Poor things, you are safe here ; but next fall every rod 
 of your flight from Montauk Point to Barnegat Bay, 
 will be disturbed by the shot of the sportsman, and 
 scarcely a pair of you will be left to revisit this far 
 retreat again ! 
 
 Vain dreaming this, I know, but the listless mood 
 is upon me, and I cannot pull a strong and steady and 
 practical stroke. The waves are out on a frolic — the 
 deer stand idly lashing their tails in the water — the 
 great, green forest just rustles to show that the 
 leaves are all at play — the clouds move lazily across 
 the sky and all nature seems dreaming in this fresh 
 noon-day — and why should / not drink in the influ- 
 ence of the scene ? I know a hard afternoon's toil is 
 before me, and a bivouack on the ground at night, yet 
 I seem enchained here by beauty. Sad thoughts and 
 gentle feelings rise one after another an indistinguish- 
 able throng, and strange memories long since buried, 
 come bade with overpowering freshness. Here the 
 
230 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 great world of strife and toil speaks not, and its fierce 
 struggles for gain seem the madness of the maniac. 
 You do not hate it — you pity it, and pity yourself that 
 you ever loved it. The good you had forgotten re- 
 turns, for nature wakes up the dead divinity within 
 you, and rouses the soul to purer, nobler purposes. 
 Besides, all things are free about me — ^the leap of the 
 wave — the dash of the mountain stream — the flight 
 of the eagle — ^the song of the wind, and the swaying of 
 trees — all, all are free. Unmarred, unstained, the 
 bright and happy world is spread out in my sight : 
 
 "Ah, when the wild turmoil of this wearisome life, 
 With its scenes of oppression, corruption, and strife ; 
 The proud man's power, and the base man's fear — 
 The scorner's laugh, and the sufferer's tear — 
 And malice, and meanness, and falsehood, and folly, 
 Dispose me to musing and dark melancholy : 
 When my bosom is full, and my thoughts are high, 
 And my soul is sick with the bondman's sigh — 
 Oh, then, there is freedom, and joy, and pride, 
 Afar through the ' forest' alone to ride, 
 With the death-fraught firelock in my hand. 
 The only law of the desert land."' 
 
 But to return to practical matters : yonder comes 
 
BEACH AND WOODS. 231 
 
 the boat of "Woods and Beach, the two solitary dwell- 
 ers of this region. It is rather a singular coincidence 
 that the only two inhabitants of this wilderness 
 should be named Woods and Beach. I should not 
 wonder if the next comers should be called ^^ Hem- 
 lock^^ and " Piney These two men have killed 
 hundreds of deer since they settled down here to- 
 gether, and a great many moose. Their leisure hours 
 they spend in preparing the furs they have taken, and 
 in tanning the deer skins, of which they make mittens. 
 They need something during the long winter days and 
 evenings for employment. When the snow is five feet 
 deep on the level, and the ice three and four feet 
 thick on the lake, and not the sign of a human foot- 
 step any where to be seen, the smoke of their cabin 
 rises in the frosty air like a column in the desert — 
 enhancing instead of relieving the solitude. The 
 pitch pine supplies the place of candles, and the deep, 
 red light from their hum.ble window, at night, must 
 present a singular contrast with the rude waste of 
 snow, and the leafless forest around them. 
 
 When a quantity of these mittens are made up, 
 Beach straps on his snow shoes, and with his trusty 
 rifle in his hand, carries them out to the settlements, 
 
232 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 where they meet with a ready sale — for mittens made 
 here in the woods are known to be "made upon 
 honor." No bufF-colored sheepskin comes from the 
 shores of Raquette Lake, nor is the stout buckskin 
 spoiled by destructive materials used to expedite the 
 tanning. 
 
 Since the above was written, I am informed by my 
 friend B — n that another family, composed of a man, 
 his wife, and seven children, has emigrated to Ra- 
 quette Lake. This woman — ^the only one now on the 
 shores of the Raquette — took, last summer, an infant 
 six months old, and a daughter fourteen years of age, 
 and started for a clearing thirty miles distant, on a 
 visit. Now carrying the boat on her head around the 
 rapids — in one place two miles on a stretch while 
 the girl lugged along the infant and oars — now stem- 
 ming the swift current, and anon floating over the bo- 
 som of a calm lake, she pursued her toilsome way — 
 accomplishing the thirty miles by night. What think 
 you of that ? As Captain Cuttle would say, " she is 
 a woman as is a woman." To make a visit of 
 thirty miles through an unbroken forest, with a babe 
 six months old, and a girl only fourteen years of age, 
 and carrv and row her own boot the whole distance, 
 
VISIT OF THIRTY MII.ES. 233 
 
 is "spinning street yarn" on a large scale. I hope 
 she had a glorious gossip to pay her for her trouble. 
 It shows most conclusively that the visiting propen- 
 sity, so strong in woman, is not a conventional thing, 
 but inherent — belonging to her very nature. 
 
 This woman deserves to be the first on Raquette 
 Lake. She bids fair to have seven children more, and 
 I trust, when she dies, a monument will be erected to 
 
 her memory. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
XXVI, 
 
 FOREST TROUTING A FAMILY OF THIRTEEN GIRLS 
 
 RIDING "bare back" A CURIOUS HORSE RACE. 
 
 August. 
 
 Dear H > 
 
 From the Raquette your nearest way out of the 
 woods is towards the Black River country. Ascend- 
 ing the Brown Tract Inlet four miles, you carry your 
 boat over a portage two miles in extent to the Eighth 
 Moose Lake, which forms the summit level of the 
 waters of this region — those on the west flowing west 
 into the Black River. This sheet of water is the first 
 of a chain of lakes, eight in number, connected by 
 streams, and forming a group of surpassing beauty. 
 Being on the height of land, it is filled wholly by 
 springs and rills, and of course its water is unrivalled 
 in clearness and coldness. It is completely embo- 
 
MOOSE LAKES. 235 
 
 somed in trees, while a beach of sand, white as the 
 driven snow, and ahiiost as fine as table salt, shows 
 between the green frame work of the forest and the 
 lake, presenting a beautiful and strange contrast 
 here in this land of rocks and cliffs. The bottom is 
 composed of this white sand also, and can be seen 
 through the clear water at an astonishing depth. In 
 such cold water, with such a clear bottom, how can 
 the trout be otherwise than delicious ? 
 
 This charming sheet of water is about three miles 
 in length, with an average width of a mile and a 
 half. 
 
 The seven lakes that follow are not a mere repeti- 
 tion of the first, but vary both in size and shape, with 
 a different frame-work of hills. The change is ever 
 from beauty to beauty, yet a separate description 
 would seem monotonous. 
 
 There they repose, like a bright chain in the forest, 
 the links connected by silver bars. You row slowly 
 through one to its outlet, and then, entering a clear 
 stream, overhung with bushes, or fringed with lofty 
 trees, seem to be suddenly absorbed by the wilder- 
 ness. At length, however, you emerge as from a 
 cavern, and lo ! an untroubled lake, with all its varia- 
 
236 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 tions of coast, and timber, and islands, greets the eye. 
 Through this you also pass like one in a dream, 
 wondering why such beauty is wasted where the eye 
 of man rarely beholds it. Another narrow outlet 
 receives you, and guiding your frail canoe along the 
 rapid current, you are again swallowed up by the 
 wilderness, to be born anew in a lovelier scene. Thus 
 on, as if under a wizard's spell, you move along, 
 alternately lost in the narrow channels, and strug- 
 gling to escape the rocks on which the current would 
 drive you, then floating over a broad expanse, extend- 
 ing as far as the eye can see into the mountains 
 beyond. 
 
 A ride through these eight lakes is an episode in a 
 man's life he can never forget. It furnishes a new 
 experience — gives rise to a new train of thoughts and 
 feelings, and opens to the dweller of our cities an 
 entirely new world. 
 
 They vary in size from two to six miles, except 
 the fifth and eighth, which are mere ponds. Thus, for 
 more than twenty miles, you float through this prime- 
 val wilderness in a skiff that can be carried on the 
 head, and yet are not compelled to take it from the 
 
A GRAVE IN THE FOREST. 237 
 
 water but once, the whole distance, and then only 
 to pass over some five hundred yards. 
 
 Near the foot of the first lake, (or last in the 
 route,) is "murderer's point," where a white man, 
 some ten years since, shot an Indian. The latter, 
 who was trapping around these waters, in some v^ay 
 gave offence to the white hunter, whose name was 
 Johnson. A quarrel ensued, and the Indian was 
 killed. Whether the murder was committed in the 
 heat of a sudden fight, or in cold blood, is not known 
 — the forest alone witnessed the bloody transaction : 
 yet there, on the shore of that lonely river, sleeps the 
 poor savage. A simple wooden cross, erected by some 
 of his tribe, stands over the grave, awakening sad 
 emotions in the breast of the wanderer. If it were 
 on an open bank it would not seem so solitary, 
 but surrounded as it is by an interminable forest, it 
 looks fearfully forlorn. 
 
 By one of those singular discoveries which so often 
 detect the murderer, Johnson was convicted of the 
 
 ^ crime. The people of Herkimer County, however, 
 claiming him as their criminal, he was tried there 
 and acquitted, and carried about the town on men's 
 
 L shoulders. The good Dutchmen of that county had 
 
238 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 suffered so much in former times from the depre- 
 dations of the Indians, that they considered the 
 man a public benefactor, rather than murderer, 
 who slew one. To hang a man for killing an In- 
 dian was a monstrous absurdity — they would as 
 soon think of punishing him for shooting a rattle- 
 snake or wolf. 
 
 You cannot conceive the shock one feels in coming 
 on a spot in the forest, where a murder has been com- 
 mitted. In the streets of a crowded city, or on 
 the highway, all remembrance of the deed is soon 
 effaced — changes take place, and the mere fact that 
 ten thousand other things have transpired since it 
 occurred, serves to weaken the associations connected 
 with it, and indeed removes it much farther off. But 
 in the still woods, the solitary grave and you are 
 alone together. The motionless trunks seem stern 
 watchers there ; and you impart a consciousness to the 
 sleeper, and imagine that the uneven surface around 
 him was made by the fierce death-struggle, and that 
 the leaves are yet tinted with his blood, I have often 
 thought that a murderer in the heart of a boundless 
 forest must feel more restless and wretched than if he 
 were in a crowd of men. The suspicious eyes of his 
 
I 
 
 CONSCIENCE. 239 
 
 fellows could be encountered with far more firmness 
 than those of that invisible presence which seems there 
 to surround him. There is no way to escape himself 
 — nothing to resist or to dare. " The scowl of revenge 
 or stare of defiance, may be met, for there is a visi- 
 ble object" on which the passions can act ; but to 
 struggle with conscience — to hush the awful voice of 
 law which Grod's universe about him is thundering in 
 his ear, is a hopeless task. 
 
 Near the last of this chain of lakes is a small sheet 
 of water called Moose Lake, from its being a favorite 
 haunt of moose. Like the first mentioned in the 
 group, it is embosomed in trees, but no mountains 
 rise from its shores. It has also a beach of incom- 
 parable whiteness, and the bottom of the lake looks 
 like a vast bed of fine white salt. As you sit in your 
 boat, you can see it glittering beneath at an immense 
 depth, while ever and anon a huge trout flits like a 
 shadow over it. A certain judge and his lady are ac- 
 customed in summer to come from the w^estern set- 
 tlements, and camp out for two or three weeks at a 
 time on its shores, and fish. The lady, accomplished 
 and elegant, enjoys the recreation amazingly, and once 
 caught herself a trout weighing nineteen pounds. 
 
240 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 There are no islands upon it, but a long green pro- 
 montory almost cuts it in two, from which you get an 
 entrancinsT view of the whole lake. 
 
 My friend B n, with a hunter, had great sport 
 
 here one day. He did not fish over an hour, and yet 
 in that short time, took a hundred and twenty pounds 
 of trout, and left them biting as sharp and fast as 
 when he began. Groing back through the lake to- 
 wards Brown's tract, two moose with their broad- 
 spreading horns and huge black forms, were seen 
 standing on the shore. They can see to an astonishing 
 distance ; and at the first glimpse of the boat, they 
 wheeled into the woods and made off*. One, however, 
 was killed the next day. Deer were stumbled on al- 
 most every half mile. B n said he counted six, 
 
 two of which the rifle of the hunter fetched down. A 
 deer seems unable to measure distance correctly on 
 the water, or else reasons very poorly on what he sees : 
 for if a man will approach noiselessly and without 
 changing his posture, he can often, in broad daylight, 
 get within fair shooting range. 
 
 To strike through the woods, it is only about five 
 miles from the head of this lake to " Brown's tract," 
 as it is called, where the signs of civilized life first ap- 
 
r 
 
 brown's tract. 241 
 
 pear, though it will be a great mistake if when you 
 get here you imagine yourself '' out of the ivoods'^ — 
 a long road yet remains to be traveled. 
 
 This "tract" receives its name from John Brown, 
 formerly governor of Rhode Island. Some fifty years 
 ago, he bought two hundred thousand acres here — all 
 wilderness — ^with the intention of forming a large set- 
 tlement. By presents of land and putting up at his 
 
 < 
 own expense, mills and a forge for the manufacture 
 
 of iron, he induced many families to migrate — at 
 one time, it is said, there were thirty located in 
 this solitary spot. But at that period, there was not a 
 single public improvement west of Albany, hence 
 there were no facilities for getting to market. Added 
 to this, the land was cold and unproductive — ^the win- 
 ters long and severe, which so disheartened the set- 
 tlers that they one after another left. (jrovernor 
 Brown, who had constantly furnished large supplies 
 at length died, and then the colony broke up. 
 
 Three thousand acres had been cleared up, which 
 now lies a vast common, with only one inhabitant to 
 cultivate it. He occupies it without being owner, yet 
 pays no rent, and no taxes : the Robinson Crusoe of 
 this little territory, he has what he can raise, and no 
 
 n 
 
242 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 one to dispute his domain. The log dwellings of the 
 settlers have all rotted away — the mills fallen in upon 
 the mill stones, and the forge upon the hammers. 
 One house alone, which formerly belonged to the 
 agent, remains standing ; and in this Arnold and his 
 family reside. Boonville, twenty miles distant, is 
 the nearest settlement. Yet here he lives contented, 
 year after year, with his family of thirteen children — 
 twelve girls and one boy — ^by turns trapping, shooting 
 and cultivating his fields. The agricultural part, 
 however, is performed mostly by the females who 
 plow, sow, rake, bind, &c., equal to any farmer. Two 
 of the girls threshed alone, with common flails, five 
 hundred bushels of oats in one winter, while their 
 father and brother were away trapping for marten. 
 Occupying such a large tract of land, and cultivating 
 as much as he chooses, he is able to keep a great 
 many cattle, and has some excellent horses which 
 these girls of his ride with a wildness and recklessness 
 that makes one tremble for their safety. You will 
 often see five or six of them, each on her own horse, 
 some astraddle, and some sideways, yet all " bare 
 back :" i. e, without any saddle, racing it like mad 
 creatures over the huge common. They sit (I was 
 
CURIOUS HORSE RACE. 243 
 
 going to say their saddles) their horses beautifully ; 
 and with their hair streaming in the wind, and dresses 
 flying about their white limbs and bare feet, careering 
 across the plains, they look wild and spirited enough 
 for Amazons. They frequently ride without a bridle 
 or even halter, guiding the horse by a motion or stroke 
 of the hand. "What think you of a dozen fearless girls 
 mounted on fleet horses, without a saddle, on a dead 
 run ? I should like to see them going down Broadway. 
 Yet they are modest and retiring in their manners, 
 and mild and timid as fawns among strangers. 
 
 There was a lad about nineteen years of age with 
 
 my friend B n, whom one of these girls challenged 
 
 to a race. He accepted it, and they whipped their 
 horses to the top of their speed. The barn, nearly a 
 mile distant, was to be the goal. Away they went, 
 pell-mell — the girl without a saddle, across the field. 
 The boy plied the whip lustily, ashamed to be beaten 
 by a woman, yet he fell behind, full a hundred yards. 
 Mortified at his discomfiture, and the peal of laughter 
 that went up, he hung his head, saying it was no 
 fault of his, for she had the best horse. She then 
 offered to exchange with him, and try the race over. 
 This was fair, and he was compelled to accept the 
 
244 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 second challenge. Taking their old station, they 
 started again. It would have done a jockey good to 
 have seen that stout frontier youth use his whip, and 
 beat his horse's ribs with his heels, and heard him 
 yell. But all would not do — that girl sat quietly 
 leaning over her steed's neck ; and with her low, clear 
 chirrup, and her sharp, well-planted blows inspired 
 the beaten animal with such courage and speed, that 
 he seemed to fly over the groand, and she came out 
 full as far ahead as before. The poor fellow had to 
 give up beaten, humiliating as it was, and the girl 
 with a smile of triumph, slipped the bridle from her 
 nag's head, and turned him loose in the fields to 
 graze. 
 
 The mother, however, is the queen of all wood- 
 man's wives — ^but you must see her and hear her 
 talk^ to appreciate her character. If she will not 
 stump the coolest, most hackneyed man of the world 
 that ever faced a woman, I will acknowledge myself 
 to have committed a very grave error of judgment. 
 
 Her husband's ^^ saple line^'' as she termed it, (sable 
 line,) that is line of trapping, is thirty miles long, and 
 he is often absent on it several days at a time. 
 
 It is thirty miles through the woods to Boonville, 
 
RETURN ROUTE. 245 
 
 from whence you can easily make your way to 
 Rome. 
 
 My next will be on my return route through Forked 
 and Long Lakes, and the woods to "Warren County. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
xxvn. 
 
 .^\^\/V^'Ny\^N^N^- 
 
 LOST IN THE WOODS ^AN OLD INDIAN AND HIS DAUGHTER 
 
 FAREWELL TO MITCHELL MOSQUITOES AND BLACK 
 
 FLIES. 
 
 In the Woods, August. 
 Dear H : 
 
 It was with weary forms and saddened hearts that 
 we left this morning our encampment on Forked 
 Lake, and turned the prows of our boats homeward. 
 A person who has never traveled in the woods, cannot 
 appreciate the feelings of regret with which one leaves 
 the spot where he has once pitched his tent. The 
 half-extinguished firebrands scattered around — the 
 broken sticks that for the time being seemed valuable 
 as silver forks, and the deserted shanty, all have a 
 desolate appearance, and it seems like forsaking trusty 
 friends, to leave them there alone in the forest. 
 
 The morning was sombre, and the wind fresh as we 
 
LOST IN THE WOODS. 247 
 
 pulled down the lake, and again entered the narrow 
 river that pierced so adventurously the dark bosom of 
 the forest. The fatiguing task of carrying our boats 
 was performed over again, with the additional burden 
 of a deer we had partially consumed. At one portage 
 
 P , with two rifles and an overcoat as his part of 
 
 the freight, started off" in advance of the rest. We 
 were each of us too much engaged with our own af- 
 fairs to notice the direction he took ; but supposing, of 
 course, he was ahead, pushed on. But as we came to 
 the next launching place, he was nowhere to be found. 
 *'He has gone on, I guess," said one, ^Ho the next 
 carrying place." We shouted, but the echo of our 
 own voices was the only reply the sullen woods sent 
 back, and one was despatched farther on to ascertain 
 whether our conjecture was true. The report was 
 
 soon brought back that P was nowhere to be 
 
 found. I, by this time, began to feel somewhat 
 alarmed, for the lost one was my brother, and taking 
 Mitchell with me, hastened back towards the spot 
 where he had parted from us. I shouted aloud, but 
 the deep waterfall drowned my voice, and its mo- 
 notonous roar seemed mocking my anxious halloo. I 
 then fired my rifle, but the sharp report was fol- 
 
248 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 lowed only by its own echo. Mitchell then dis- 
 charged his, and after listening anxiously awhile, we 
 heard a shot far up the river. Soon after, "bang, 
 bang," went two more guns in the same direction. 
 The poor fellow had heard our shots, and fearing we 
 might not hear his in return, and hence take a 
 wrong direction in pursuit of him, just stood, and 
 loaded and fired as fast as he could. When we 
 found him he was as pale as marble, and looked like 
 one who had been in a state of complete bewilderment. 
 On leaving us, instead of going down stream as he 
 should have done, he turned directly up. After 
 awhile he came out on the bank of, to him, a strange 
 river. As it was on the wrong side to be the one we 
 had floated down, he thought he must have crossed 
 over to another, but finally concluded it would be the 
 safest course to retrace his steps. This he was doing 
 to the best of his ability when he heard our rifle shots. 
 "We scolded him for his stupidity in thus causing us 
 alarm and delay, which, he very coolly remarked was 
 neither very just nor sensible, and then trudged on. 
 
 One gets lost in the woods when he least expects it. 
 Awhile ago, a man from the settlements, a hunter, 
 too, left the shores of Long Lake, with a dog to 
 
DEATH BY STARVATION. 249 
 
 start a deer on the mountain, for a friend who was to 
 watch in the boat. He left his rifle behind him so as 
 to cUmb the mountain more easily, but after beating 
 about awhile, got lost. Three days after the hound 
 came home with a long gash in his side, and in a 
 week or so more the body of the master was found on 
 the shore of the lake. The dog evidently clung to 
 him faithfully, till the man — ^having no gun with 
 which to kill game — had endeavored to stab him for 
 food. "With this he left him, and the poor wretch 
 wandered about, till prostrated by hunger, he laid 
 down and died. 
 
 Towards night B n and myself arrived with 
 
 Mitchell at his hut, where he found his aged Indian 
 father and young sister waiting his return. '^ Old 
 Peter," as he is called, is now over eighty years of 
 age. He shakes with the palsy, and is constantly 
 muttering to himself in a language half French and 
 half Indian, while his daughter scarcely twenty years 
 old, is silent as a statue. She is quite pretty, and her 
 long hair is not straight like that of her race, but 
 hangs in waving masses around her bronzed neck and 
 shoulders. She will speak to no one, not even to 
 answer a question, except to her father and brother. 
 
250 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 I have tried in vain to make her say no or yes, but 
 she invariably turns to her father or Mitchell, and 
 makes them answer. This old man still roams the 
 forest, and stays where night overtakes him. 
 
 It was sad to look upon his once powerful frame, 
 now bowed and tottering, while his thick gray hair 
 hung like a huge mat around his wrinkled and 
 seamed visage. His tremulous hand and faded eye 
 could no longer send the unerring rifle ball to its 
 mark, and he was^ compelled to rely on a rusty fowl- 
 ing-piece. Everything about him was in keeping — 
 even his dog was a mixture of the wolf and dog, and 
 was the quickest creature T ever saw move : his very 
 gambols frightened me, for when leaping to a caress, 
 his bound was so quick and eager, that he seemed 
 about to tear me in pieces — indeed it was always a 
 dubious matter with me, when I approached him, 
 whether he intended to play or fight. 
 
 But poor old Peter cannot stand another winter, I 
 fear, — and some lonely night, in the lonely forest, 
 that dark-haired maiden will see him die, far from 
 human habitations ; and her slender arm will carry 
 his corpse many a weary mile, to rest among his tribe. 
 As I have seen her decked out with water-lilies, pad- 
 
INDIAN MAIDEN. 251 
 
 dling that old man over the lake, I have sighed over 
 her fate. She seems wrapt np in him, and to have 
 but one thought — one purpose of life — to guard and 
 nurse her parent. The hour that sees her sitting 
 by the camp-fire beside her dead father, will wit- 
 ness a grief as intense and desolate as ever visited 
 a more cultivated bosom. G-od help her then. I 
 can conceive of no sadder sight than that forsaken 
 maiden, in some tempestous night, sitting all in the 
 forest, holding the dead or dying head of her father, 
 while the moaning winds sing his dirge, and the 
 flickering fire sheds a ghastly light on the scene. 
 
 How strong is habit. That old man cannot be per- 
 suaded to sit down in peace beneath a quiet roof — 
 ministered to and cherished as his wants require — but 
 still clings to his wandering life, and endures hunger, 
 cold, and fatigue, and wanders houseless and home- 
 less. He continues to hunt, though his shot seldom 
 strikes down a deer ; and he still treads the forest, 
 though his trembling limbs but half perform their 
 office, and his aged shoulders groan under the burden 
 of his light canoe. I saw him looking at a handful of 
 specimens of birch bark he had collected, and balanc- 
 
252 TTTE ADIRO>"DArK. 
 
 ing which to choose as material for a new canoe. He 
 still looks forward to years of hunting, and days of 
 toil, when the bark of life is already touching those 
 dark waters that roll away from this world and all it 
 contains. 
 
 Aug. 31. — Yesterday as I was leaving Long Lake, 
 I met the old Indian and his daughter just starting on 
 their return journey of a hundred and fifty miles. 
 The father was sitting in the middle of the bark 
 canoe on the bottom, while the daughter occupied the 
 stern and paddled the boat. Her head was uncovered, 
 and her long hair which almost swept the water, 
 was filled with white lilies she had plucked by the 
 shore. Noiseless and steady swept on the frail craft, 
 impelled by her sinewy arm — stretching down the 
 middle of the lake towards the dark outlet. It was a 
 sad sight to behold spring and winter thus united, one 
 decked out in flowers and the other covered with the 
 frosts of time, and know the fate before them. I 
 watched their lessening forms till they were a mere 
 speck in the distance, and then struck across the 
 lake and began my fifty miles stretch through the 
 woods. 
 
 Mitchell accompanied us several miles on our way. 
 
AIOSqUITOES. 
 
 253 
 
 as if loth to leave us. In parting I gave him a canis- 
 ter of powder, a pocket compass, and a small spy- 
 glass, to keep as mementos of me, and shook his 
 honest hand with as much regret as I ever did that of 
 a white man. I shall long remember him — he is a 
 man of deeds and not of words — kind, gentle, delicate 
 in his feelings, honest and true as steel. I would 
 start on a journey of a thousand miles in the woods 
 with him alone, without the slightest anxiety, al- 
 though I carried a million of dollars about my person. 
 I never lay down beside a trustier heart than his, and 
 never slept sounder than I have with one arm thrown 
 across his brawny chest. 
 
 There is one thing I have not mentioned, which 
 mars very much a tramp through these woods — I 
 mean the mosquitoes and black flies. The latter dis- 
 appear about the first of July, but the former are like 
 the locusts of Egypt. However, I was troubled less 
 than I anticipated — on the lakes the fresh wind drives 
 them away, and at night your camp fire keeps them 
 off. In the woods of a damp, still morning, or just at 
 evening, away from a fire, they assail one by bat- 
 talions. Hence, fishing along the inlets or outlets is 
 often a protracted agony. I once stood on a rock and 
 
2o4 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 dragged my fly over a pool so crowded with trout that 
 half a dozen would be on the surface at once, and 
 yet by the time 1 had taken ten or fifteen, I was 
 compelled to fling down my rod and run and scream, 
 for the blood was pouring in rivulets from my neck, 
 face and hands. If, however, you are where you can 
 sit in a boat, by placing some earth in the bottom of 
 it, and building a little fire, (a " smudge,") you may 
 fish quite comfortably. 
 
 I mention the mosquitoes solely to relieve my con- 
 science, so that no one — if any may be tempted here 
 by my descriptions — shall say I have deceived him. 
 However, I never suffered more from their bite than I 
 have on Long Island. A green veil wrapped around 
 the face and neck when traveling, is often a great 
 protection. 
 
 Sept. 1. The fifty miles of forest were safely 
 made, and with a pair of antlers on one side of my 
 saddle, and a noble pheasant I shot with my rifle, on 
 the other, I landed at an humble dwelling where I 
 had left my traps, and was soon accoutered again like 
 a civilized man. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
XXVIII. 
 
 SCHROON LAKE A NUT FOR SPORTSMEN WOODS ON FIRE. 
 
 ScHRooN Lake. 
 Dear H : 
 
 Lake Schroon is some nine miles long, gently wav- 
 ing in its shape and dotted with green islands. Some 
 have compared it to Lake Como — from one point it 
 bears an exact resemblance in shape to the neck of a 
 swan. It is a most beautiful sheet of water — the 
 shores sloping down to it on one side like those of 
 Skaneateles, and a bold mountain kneeling in it on 
 the other. At the foot is the residence of Mr. Ben- 
 thuysen, commanding one of the finest views I have 
 ever seen. The lake here is narrow, and as it half 
 encircles the house, it looks like the Hudson River in 
 its windings. There could hardly be a more pic- 
 turesque situation for a summer residence ; and in 
 England it would soon be crowned by a magnificent 
 
256 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 pile of buildings. The lake should be called 
 " Scaroon," from a French family that first gave it 
 the name — the rapid way of pronouncing it has 
 changed it into Schroon. The water is very pure and 
 cold, and salmon trout were once found in it in abun- 
 dance. Latterly, however, they have become more 
 scarce, so four years since some men living on its 
 banks got a few pickerel and put them in as a basis 
 of a new stock of fish. It was agreed on all hands 
 not to take any out for four years. The time being 
 expired this spring, they commenced spearing them, 
 and the quantities they have caught almost surpasses 
 belief. Hundreds of pounds have been taken, some of 
 the fish, weighing twelve and thirteen 'pounds. The 
 rapidity with which they bred is equalled only by the 
 ratio of increase in size, for a growth of four pounds 
 per annum in weight is almost incredible. It was 
 doubtless owing to the abundance and richness of the 
 food and the perfect adaptness of the water to their 
 wants and habits. Fish of all kinds are easily 
 affected by the place they are in, and the quantity and 
 kind of food with which they are supplied. A trout 
 kept in a well, though fed ever so bounteously will 
 scarcely gain a pound in three years, while I have 
 
HABITS OF FISH. 257 
 
 seen those that weighed two ounces in June, by hav- 
 ing fine food and water, weigh six in August. The 
 spawn that run up the cool streamlets into meadows 
 where the water is always fresh and filled with 
 worms or grasshoppers, will treble their size in two 
 months. There is another curious fact about trout 
 and pickerel as well as some other species of fresh 
 water fish — their size will vary in proportion to the 
 magnitude of the pond or lake they inhabit. Thus 
 you will find in two lakes in Massachusetts, lying side 
 by side — one, a half a mile round, and the other three 
 miles, the same fish differing altogether in size. In 
 the latter you will take a great many pickerel w^eigh- 
 ing three and four pounds, and now and then one 
 much larger, while in the former the average weight 
 will be from eight to eighteen ounces. 
 
 THE WOODS ON FIRE. 
 
 Last night witnessed a scene of sublimity that 
 baffles all attempts to describe it worthily — for the 
 forests all around were a mass of surging, tossing, 
 billowy flame. I have seen the woods on fire upon 
 Long Island, when the flames traveled so rapidly 
 that a man on horseback could scarcely, at an easy 
 
258 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 gallop, keep ahead of them — and it was a grand spec- 
 tacle. The vast columns of smoke rolling into the 
 heavens, yet leaning eagerly forward, as if straining 
 on the chase — the lambent tongues of flame, shooting 
 at intervals above the murky mass that hugged the 
 tree tops, and the steady roar, like that of the surge, 
 filled me with new ideas of terror and sublimity. 
 The rabbits and foxes in countless numbers, smelling 
 the danger from afar, scoured the thickets in every 
 direction — the deer ran frightened from their haunts, 
 and nature herself seemed to stand aghast at the fury 
 of the devouring element. But the leaves and shrubs 
 alone fed the flames — the tall trees were only scathed 
 and blackened, which, together with the lowness of 
 the land, lessened and concealed the effect of the 
 scene. 
 
 A prairie on fire is simply a mass of flame, rush- 
 ing like a race horse over the ground — terrible to 
 behold, but exhibiting a sameness in its aspect that 
 leaves no room to the imagination. But a mountain 
 of magnificent timber ablaze is another matter — ^from 
 base to ridge your eye takes in the whole extent, and 
 you look on a bosom of fire, from which rise waving 
 columns and lofty turrets of flame. 
 
FIRE IN THE WOODS. 259 
 
 There has been a long drought in this section, 
 which so dried up everything combustible, that the 
 forest became one great tinder box, needing only a 
 spark to make a conflagration. This was accident- 
 ally furnished by some men burning a fallow. First 
 a column of blue smoke began to ascend through 
 the trees, which rapidly swelled in size and increased 
 in velocity, until at length the fire got under way, and 
 took up its fierce march, and by night the whole 
 mountam was wrapt in a fiery mantle. It came roar- 
 ing down to the clearing where I stood, threatening to 
 leap over the narrow barrier, in its eagerness to burst 
 all bonds that would restrain it. Trees a hundred 
 feet high, and five and six and eight feet in circumfer- 
 ence, were on fire from the root to the top — vast pyr- 
 amids of flame, now surging in the eddies of air that 
 caught them, now bending as if about to yield the 
 struggle, then lifting superior to the foe, and dying, 
 martyr-like, in the vast furnace. One tree enlisted 
 for awhile all my sympathies — it was a noble stem, 
 and stood for a long time erect and motionless amid 
 the enveloping smoke and flame, sometimes buried 
 from my sight and then appearing again — its black 
 form looming mysteriously through the murky cloud 
 
260 
 
 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 that shrouded it, as though defying its enemy. Even 
 after the blaze had curled itself around the entire 
 trunk, and run out to the extreme limits of the 
 branches, it still retained its calm and dignified aspect 
 — its head, and body, and arrns reaching out into the 
 night, all on fire, and yet scorning to show signs of 
 pain. At length, however, the heat seemed to have 
 reached its vitals, for it suddenly swung backward, as 
 if in agony, while a shower of embers fell like sky 
 rockets around the blazing outline, to its roots. Shorn 
 of its glory, the flashing, trembling form stood thus 
 awhile, crisping and writhing in the blaze, till weary 
 with its long suffering, it threw itself with a sudden 
 and hurried sweep, on the funeral pile around. From 
 the noble pine to the bending sprout, the trees were 
 aflame, while the crackling underbrush seemed a 
 fiery net- work cast over the prostrate forms of the 
 monarchs of the forest. When the fire caught a dry 
 stub, it ran up the huge trunk like a serpent, and, 
 coiling around the withered branches, shot out its 
 fiery tongue as if in mad joy, over the raging element 
 below ; while ever and anon, came a crash that 
 reverberated far away in the gorges — the crash of 
 falling trees, at the overthrow of which there went 
 
MARCH OF THE FLAMES. 261 
 
 up a cloud of sparks and cinders and ashes. Sweeping 
 along on its terrible path, the tramp of that confla- 
 gration filled the air with an uproar like the bursting 
 of billows on a rocky shore. 
 
 In one direction the forest made down into a valley 
 through which coursed a rapid stream, on the farther 
 side of which arose a mountain of rocks, almost naked 
 from base to summit. Trees and shrubs, however, 
 had grown in the interstices, but the drought had 
 killed them all, and the white and withered stems 
 could scarcely be distinguished from the bleached 
 rocks against which they grew. 
 
 Along this valley the conflagi-ation swept; and, 
 skirting the bank of the stream with fearful velocity, 
 and licking up everything to the water's brink ; went 
 for a while careering onward as if satisfied with the 
 field before it. But suddenly there seemed to be a 
 division of the forces — while one portion was content 
 with a direct invasion, the other made a halt as if re- 
 solved on a more desperate attack. The white, dry 
 mountain on the opposite side of the stream had at- 
 tracted its attention ; and clearing the channel with 
 one bold bound, it began to scale the opposing cliffs. 
 As the flames got amongst this vast collection of com- 
 
262 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 bustible matter, they raged with a strength and fury 
 to which all their former madness seemed placidity. 
 Have you ever in a still summer day heard the roar of 
 a coming hurricane ? if so, you have a faint conception 
 of the terrific rushing sound of the fire as it wrapped 
 those mountains. It was near midnight, and that 
 rocky ridge became in the gloom a vast elevation of 
 fire — laced with lines of fire of brighter hue, and 
 shooting up jets of flame against the murky sky, as if 
 resolved to assail the heavens also. As I stood gazing 
 on this wild spectacle, and listening to its wilder up- 
 roar, suddenly a shrill and distant scream cleaved the 
 flames, and was borne with startling clearness through 
 the air. Some wild animal, probably a panther, had 
 been roused from his sleep by the heat, but awoke 
 only to find himself hemmed in on every side by a 
 burning wall. Bounding madly from side to side, ho 
 had at last sprang into the fire, and that last cry was 
 his death shriek. 
 
 This morning, a black and smouldering mass alone 
 remains of last night's wild work. Trees half burnt 
 in two, others broken off" at the middle, and all 
 smoking amidst the devastation, present a most for- 
 lorn aspect in the bright morning air. 
 
NATURE NEVER THE SAME. 263 
 
 The backwoodsman never sees a city on fire, but he 
 beholds a far more imposing spectacle. Around the 
 haunts of men the devouring element is everywhere 
 met by resistance. Not only do solid walls obstruct 
 its progress, but human effort fights it at every step, 
 subduing its fury and lessening its force. But in the 
 woods it has free scope — no arm arrests it — no con- 
 finement smothers its rage. Free as the forest it 
 ranges, it puts forth all its energy, and is fanned into 
 greater fury, by the wind, itself creates. 
 
 Thus, my friend, do scenes of beauty and terror 
 succeed each other on the margin and in the heart of 
 the wilderness. There is no monotony in nature and 
 no lack of excitement. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
XXIX. 
 
 LUMBERMEN A STUDENT AND HUNTER OUTWITTED BY A 
 
 PROFESSOR A PHILOSOPHICAL HUSBAND A PROSPEC- 
 TIVE WIDOW LOOKING OUT FOR HER OWN INTEREST. 
 
 ScHRooN Lake, August. 
 
 Dear H : 
 
 After the description I have given of the wilder- 
 ness and its extent, I seem to hear you inquiring, 
 ''What do people live on there?" Well, not much of 
 anything ; yet money is made in this region — that is, 
 out nearer the settlements. You have no conception 
 of the quantity of lumber that is taken every winter 
 from some part of this vast plateau to Albany. A 
 thousand people will be in these woods, where, in the 
 summer, there is not a living being. Speculators buy 
 the land for the sake of the timber, and then in the 
 winter carry in provisions, etc., for the lumbermen 
 who are to cut it. Log huts are put up in the shel- 
 
LUMBERMEN. 265 
 
 tered gorges for themselves and cattle, and some poles 
 driven into the logs for bedsteads ; and thus equipped 
 and encamped, they lay siege to the pines. Teams 
 are made to work, and logs are drawn, where you 
 would say it was impossible for cattle to stand. A 
 great deal of land is bought of government solely for 
 the pine on it ; and after that is cut down, it is al- 
 lowed to revert back to the State to pay its taxes. 
 In the more central regions, however, there is 
 no timber cut, as it is impossible to get it out to mar- 
 ket: but as civilization extends, the interior of the 
 Empire State will, no doubt, be reached by roads, or 
 water navigation. 
 
 Speaking of living, reminds me of an anecdote re- 
 lated to me by a professor of mathematics in one of 
 our colleges. Sent here for scientific purposes, he took 
 with him as a companion a younger brother who had 
 just graduated, and an old hunter, for a guide, cook, 
 and provider-general. Passing one day a clearing, in 
 which some fine peas were growing, they purchased a 
 small quantity to give relish to a dinner some time in 
 the forest. Not long after, being fatigued by a 
 hard forenoon's work, they pitched their camp on 
 the borders of a lonely lake, and the professor said, 
 12 
 
266 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 " Come, let us have those peas to-day." So while he 
 was taking some observations down by the lake, the 
 old hunter and the young graduate prepared the din- 
 ner. After a while (the professor told me) he no- 
 ticed an unusual chuckling between the student and 
 the backwoodsman. Suspecting some trickery, he 
 strolled quietly up towards the fire, as if endeavoring 
 to get a new point of observation, but in fact to watch 
 narrowly their proceedings. Supposing that the profes- 
 sor was deep in equations and angles and mathemati- 
 cal lines, they relaxed their caution, and he observed 
 that they were making wooden spoons with their pen- 
 knives. All at once it flashed on him that he and 
 they had nothing but penknives to eat the peas with, 
 and that here was a conspiracy to rob him of his 
 share. Saying nothing, he walked back to the lake 
 shore, and picking up one of those large muscle shells, 
 which are found in all our fresh water lakes and 
 rivers, and will hold more than an ordinary spoon, he 
 fitted a split stick to it for a handle, and clapped 
 them both in his pocket. Then sauntering back in 
 order to prevent them making very extensive prepara- 
 tions, he kept around, until the dinner was cooked. 
 Hi? presence restricted very much their operations, and 
 
THE professor's DINNER. 267 
 
 they were able to finish but very shallow spoons after 
 all. The peas being at length done, they were poured 
 into the common dish, and lo ! it was all soup. To 
 prevent the possibility of the professor's getting even 
 a moiety, they had cooked them so that the peas were 
 like Yirgil's " rari nantes in gurgite vasto.''^ 
 
 Imagine them now all seated on the ground around 
 their food, each stabbing with his penknife at the 
 peas, which dodge under the surface at every 
 blow, like frogs when pelted with stones by mis- 
 chievous boys. After this ridiculous process had been 
 carried on awhile, \o the ill-suppressed merriment of 
 the student and hunter, they whipped out their 
 wooden spoon:^, and flourishing them over their heads 
 with a loud "hurrah," made a dive at the peas. The 
 professor said nothing, but coolly drawing forth his 
 huge muscle shell and stick, and fitting them together, 
 began to ladle up the soup. The hunter and graduate 
 stopped in utter amazement at this new development, 
 and with their spoons suspended half way to their 
 mouths, gazed with blank countenances at the quiet 
 professor, who, without uttering a word, or changing 
 a feature, diligently plied his shell. By his accurate 
 and mathematical mode of ladling, he was enabled to 
 
268 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 take up an enormous quantity at every dip, and in a 
 few moments every pea had vanished. The whole 
 operation had been carried on with the sobriety with 
 which he would have reduced an equation, while the 
 hunter and student looked inquiringly at each other, 
 yet without venturing a word of expostulation against 
 the strange proceeding. When the last pea disap- 
 peared, he looked up as much as to say, " Is there any- 
 thing more to eat, gentlemen?" This was carrying 
 out the joke so capitally that the two conspirators 
 were compelled to laugh. The old hunter, as he 
 licked his empty spoon, confessed that for once he had 
 been outwitted. 
 
 The other day I took a heavy boot to a shoemaker, 
 or rather mender^ to be repaired before I set forth on a 
 new expedition, of whom I was told a capital anec- 
 dote. An English emigrant had settled down, in a 
 remote part of the forest, where he cleared a little 
 space about him and built a log hut. He had been 
 there but a year or two, when one day as he was 
 absent in the woods with his eldest daughter, his hut 
 took fire and burned down. His wife was sick, but 
 she managed to crawl out, taking the straw bed on 
 which she lay with her. At evening the husband 
 
A PROSPECTIVE WIDOW. 269 
 
 returned to find his house in ruins. It was a winter 
 night, and the snow lay deep on the ground. Calling 
 aloud, he heard a faint voice reply, and going in 
 the direction from which it came, found his wife 
 stretched on the bed in the snow. Gretting together 
 a few boards left from the conflagration, he made a 
 shelter over her. That night she was safely deliv- 
 ered of a child which survived and is now living. 
 But under the exposure and excitement together, 
 the husband took a violent cold, which, having 
 fastened on his lungs, and being resisted by no medi- 
 cal treatment whatever, terminated in the consump- 
 tion. He, however, reared another hut, and during 
 the summer a young settler came in and purchased a 
 tract near by him. His being the only family within 
 a long distance, this backswoodsman often passed the 
 evening in their society. It was not long before he 
 discovered that his neighbor could not long survive, for 
 the most ignorant in this region know all the symp- 
 toms of pulmonary disease which carries off three- 
 fourths of those who die. Accompanying this conclu- 
 sion came naturally the reflection, what would become 
 of the wife ; and as she was good-looking and indus- 
 trious he thought he could not do better than marry 
 
270 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 her himself. Acting on this consideration, he men- 
 tioned the matter to her, remarking that her husband 
 could not live long, and asking if she would marry 
 him after he was dead ? 
 
 She replied that she had no objections at all if " her 
 husband was willing.''^ He said he had no doubt on 
 that point, and he would speak to him about it. He 
 did so, and the husband unhesitatingly gave his con- 
 sent, adding that he was glad she would be so well 
 provided for after his death. So when winter ap- 
 proached, the young settler would come and "court" 
 the prospective widow, while the dying husband laid 
 and coughed on the bed in the corner. 
 
 Now there was not much sentiment in this, I grant, 
 but there was a vast deal of philosophy. It was 
 rather cool on her part, to be sure, but vastly sensible 
 on his. "What could his wife and children do, all 
 alone there in the woods, without a protector ? The 
 toughest part of the proceeding, and that which no 
 doubt tested the backwoodsman's philosophy the 
 severest, was the courtship. To lie gasping for 
 breath in one part of the room, and see the young 
 athletic and healthy backwoodsman and his wife 
 sitting together by the fire, and know that after a few 
 
PHILOSOPHICAL HUSBAND. 271 
 
 more painful weeks, he would occupy that place per- 
 manently, and yet bear it all patiently, required a 
 good deal of stamina. Especially must the reflection 
 that they were both probably very anxious to have 
 him take his departure, have been rather a bitter pill 
 to swallow. I go into all these little particulars, you 
 know, to show the character of my hero to the best 
 advantage — the heroine speaks for herself. These 
 two interesting personages were my shoemaker and 
 his wife. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
XXX, 
 
 ODDS AND ENDS TRIAL OF A THIEF IN THE BACK- 
 WOODS NEW MODE OF REPORTING AN ELECTION 
 
 PARADOX LAKE ^VON RAUMER AND HIS STATEMENTS. 
 
 Dear H- 
 
 They have a curious way of disposing of civil and 
 political matters in the backwoods ; for they are not 
 trammelled by the formalities of law, having imbibed 
 the very ridiculous notion that its end is secured by 
 the administration of justice. It will be some time, I 
 am afraid, before they become sufficiently educated to 
 understand that the science of law as reduced to prac- 
 tice now-a-days, is based on two great principles — 
 first, to give the scoundrel a better chance than the 
 honest man — and second, to make technicalities weigh 
 against truth and justice. The idea never entered 
 their heads, poor souls, that a slight informality 
 
A THIEF IN THE BACKWOODS. 273 
 
 should always be sufficient to defeat the cause of a 
 good man, and advance that of a bad one. 
 
 Being so barbarous as to love simple justice, some 
 of their trials are conducted on a singular plan. On 
 one occasion, a little settlement of some half a dozen 
 families having discovered a thief among their num- 
 ber, without farther ado, assembled, tried, and con- 
 demned him. The nearest jail, however, was fifty 
 miles distant, through the forest : yet they resolved 
 to despatch him thither, and two men were appointed 
 as his conductors. 
 
 The first day they made about twenty-five miles, 
 and then built up a fire and lay down for the night, 
 with their prisoner. In the morning, feeling rather 
 stiff and lame, they declared that the tramp of a hun- 
 dred miles w^as going to cost more than it w^ould come 
 to, and so turned him loose in the woods to find his 
 way out as he best could. 
 
 I was much amused at a method of voting adopted 
 
 in another settlement composed of a few clearings — 
 
 the only ones in the township — in which w^ere some ten 
 
 or a dozen voters. The candidate for their suffrages 
 
 — I forget his name — lived in Glen's Falls, near 
 
 Saratoga Springs. Having assembled together in 
 12=^ 
 
274 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 one of the log huts of the settlers, they talked over the 
 matter, and finally concluded to vote all one way, and 
 for this gentleman. It was a grave and solemn de- 
 liberation, and the sound political maxims there 
 uttered were worthy of the momentouso ccasion that 
 called them together. Having folded up their some 
 dozen votes, they put them in a little wooden box with 
 a lid to it, and despatched a man with them eighty 
 miles distant to Grlen's Falls, fifty of which were 
 through a dense forest. After several days' hard 
 traveling, he reached the place ; but instead of going 
 to the proper authorities, he went straight to the can- 
 didate's house, and opening the box, counted the votes 
 saying, " Here, them's all for you — every one of 'em." 
 The man laughed, and said that he was much obliged 
 for the votes, but they could do him no good, brought 
 in this informal way. 
 
 I caught a terrible drubbing in a school house, the 
 other day, from a Methodist exhorter. Seeing me 
 present, and hearing or surmising that I was from 
 New York, he thought it was a good opportunity to 
 give his opinion of the inhabitants of that wicked 
 city. Among other severe things which he uttered, 
 he said the people were so affected that they could 
 
ASSES AND CRITICS. 275 
 
 not say " Tuesday,''^ but must say " Chuseday^''^ and 
 could not say ink, "like a man, but ivritin' fluid.'''' 
 I fairly writhed under the scorching rebuke, feeling 
 as I often have done under some of the criticisms on 
 my books in the Magazines. I have no doubt he also 
 felt very much as the writer or penny-a-liner did, 
 who concocted those annihilating reviews. It re- 
 minded me of an article I once saw in the " New 
 Englander," written by an ignorant conceited clergy- 
 man, who, irritated by the itching after notoriety, 
 was willing to expose his folly, if he only could 
 be talked about. I forget the article, but I remember 
 one sentence, over which I had a hearty laugh — first, 
 at the long ears, which everywhere stuck out, and 
 second, at the ludicrous gravity with which I knew 
 he contemplated the feat he had performed, while his 
 readers were smiling at his stupidity. He was re- 
 viewing my " Napoleon and his Marshals," and 
 among other defects, (some of which he made up 
 deliberately,) he said I used the phrase "deliv- 
 ered battle," which was entirely wrong. He con- 
 demned it, intimating that it was very corrupt En- 
 glish, unscholarlike and vicious'''' — when he ought 
 ^o have known it was a technical miUfary phrase^ 
 
276 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 for which I was no more responsible than for the 
 phrase ^' artillery practice, "^^ or '''•advancing' en eche- 
 lon.,'''' and which is perfectly proper, as any, but an 
 ignoramus knows. ''Delivered battle!" "very bad 
 English" — ah, he said '•' writin' fluid,'''' he did not say 
 " inkV So another critic rebuked me for using the 
 word " stand-poinf- — ^saying I should have written 
 ^^ standing point 1 1 V How very small a dog can 
 hark ! 
 
 A few miles from the head of Schroon Lake is 
 Lake Paradox, which derives its name from the fact 
 that its waters flow two ways. Its outlet empties 
 into the east branch of the Hudson (i. e.) in ordinary 
 times. But when, as it frequently happens in 
 the spring, the river suddenly rises even with its 
 banks, its surface is above the level of the lake, 
 which, of course, swells much slower. The current 
 of the outlet is then reversed and flows back into the 
 lake. This double motion of the stream has given it 
 the name " Paradox." 
 
 BURLINGTON. 
 
 I came across the country to I^ake Champlain, tak- 
 ing some fine trout on the way. About six miles 
 
VON RAUMER. 277 
 
 from Crown Point, I for the first time in my life 
 caught a full view of the Grreen Mountains of Ver- 
 mont. They were a long way off, but in the bright 
 light of the setting sun, their bold outline showed 
 beautifully against the clear sky. I was struck with 
 the soft, blue coloring over them, like that we so often 
 see in Italy, and which is generally thought to be 
 peculiar to that country. Burlington is one of the 
 most beautiful places on the continent, though I was 
 provoked with a remark made by Prof. Yon Raunier 
 one day in company with some of the professors of 
 the college. He said he had traveled from Boston 
 through the Atlantic States to New Orleans, and up 
 the Mississippi, through Canada, and back to Ver- 
 mont ; and that Niagara and Burlington furnished the 
 only scenery that could be called fine he had found in 
 all his route. Now so old a traveler as Von Raumer 
 ought to be ashamed of such a remark. If he will go 
 through the country on railroads and steamboats, at 
 the rate of fifteen and twenty miles an hour, he 
 should not complain of dearth of scenery. I have 
 seen both continents, (not excepting even the Profes- 
 sor's favorite G^ermany,) and I affirm that in natural 
 scenery the United States stands unrivalled ; and if 
 
278 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 this remark is an index of the book he designs to pub- 
 lish about us, I would not give a straw for it. How 
 supremely foolish for a man to hurry through the 
 country by steam, taking all the lowland in his route, 
 and then pretend to write about our scenery. These 
 three months' tourists are not the most reliable in the 
 world. To add to the Professor's wisdom, he took the 
 night boat up the lake. Very likely he went dowrt 
 the Hudson by night also. Suppose he had gone up 
 by daylight, and across the country from Burlington 
 to Boston, and then through Massachusetts and Con- 
 necticut to Albany, and down the Hudson on a pleas- 
 ant day — every hour would have been crowded with 
 rich and varied scenery. 
 
 A man who should visit Switzerland and never go 
 into the Oberland or Tyrol, and then say there was no 
 scenery in the country that could be called sublime, 
 would be deemed insane — but a foreign traveler no 
 more thinks of visiting the wild and almost untrodden 
 portions of our land, than he does of committing sui- 
 cide. He expects to see everything worth seeing, 
 without leaving the lines of railroads, or going beyond 
 the precincts of good hotels. As well might a man 
 give an opinion of the scenery of the Highlands after 
 
MISTAKES OF TRAVELERS. 279 
 
 passing only from Edinburgh to Grlasgow, as speak of 
 that of our country after traveling only on the greai, 
 thoroughfares that intersect it. Our gorges are yet 
 dark with fir trees, amid which the seeker after 
 natural beauty must sleep — our heaven piercing 
 mountains encircled by vast forests or broader deserts 
 through which he must toil, if he would reach the 
 commanding summits. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
XXXI. 
 
 AbTUMN A PAINTER MANNER OF WORKING. 
 
 Leaves have their time to fall, 
 
 And flowers to wither at the North wind's breath. 
 
 Dear H- 
 
 No country can compare with ours in the richness, 
 at least of its autumn scenery. The mountains of the 
 eastern world are not wooded like ours, and hence 
 cannot exhibit such a mass of foliage as they present. 
 But if you wish to behold autumn in its glory, you 
 must stand on some height that overlooks this vast 
 wilderness. What seemed to you in summer an inter- 
 minable sea of green, becomes a limitless expanse of 
 the richest colors — a vast collection of fragmentary 
 rainbows. And the different effects of light on dif- 
 ferent portions is most astonishing. Here a moun- 
 tain blazes in splendor, and there a valley looks like a 
 kaleidoscope — just so variegated and confused. 
 
THE DYh\G VEAK. 281 
 
 Autumn has been written and rhymed about from 
 the days of Thomson down, but always in the same 
 general tone of sadness. The text of every one has 
 been — 
 
 " The melancholy days have come — 
 The saddest of the year," 
 
 There must be something natural in this, or it would 
 not be so universal ; and my own experience has 
 heretofore corresponded with this prevailing senti- 
 ment. Indeed the effect of the dying year is palpable 
 on those least affected by such changes and least con- 
 scious of them. You notice it in the very sports of 
 children. In spring time the most vigorous games 
 and boisterous merriment are seen on every village 
 green. But in autumn these are thrown aside for 
 forest strolls or walks by the river side. The scene 
 subdues and chastens the very spirit of childhood ; 
 and there is something sad in seeing the glorious 
 summer, that has been so full of life and health and 
 beauty, lie down and die on the bosom of Nature. 
 Hope, which comes with spring, yields in autumn to 
 reflection, and man looks forward to decay rather 
 than to maturity and strength. But this feeling 
 
282 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 becomes deeper and sadder as one enters the forest 
 and hears the leaves rustlmg to his tread, and the 
 sound of the squirrel cracking the nuts amid the 
 dying tree-tops. 
 
 The trees have a melancholy aspect about them — 
 they appear to be conscious that their glory is depart- 
 ing ; and every leaf, as it loosens itself from the stem 
 where it has nodded and swayed the livelong summer 
 ^ in joy, and flutters to the earth, seems to lie down as 
 a sad memorial of the departing year. 
 
 But for once in autumn I have had none of these 
 feelings. Roaming through this glorious region, and 
 along the foot of these mountains, I have seen summer 
 die as I never saw it die before. There has been a 
 beauty and brightness and glory about the changing 
 foliage this year, I never before witnessed. No 
 drenching rains faded the colors before their time, and 
 amid the clear weather and slight frosts, the summer 
 has died like the dolphin, changing from beauty to 
 beauty ; and Autumn, the usually sober, serious, 
 sober Autumn, has seemed the most frolicsome fellow 
 of all the year. Stand in one of these deep valleys, 
 and look around you on the shores and hill-slopes and 
 mountain ridges ! Autumn, with his brush and 
 
THE FOREST IN AUTUMN. 283 
 
 colors, has been painting with the most reckless 
 prodigality and in endless variety of beauty and 
 brightness. There is no end to his whims and con- 
 ceits — the changed landscape seems the work of one 
 in his most joyous, frolicsome mood. There stands a 
 single maple tree ; Autumn approached it last night, 
 and apparently from a mere whim, threw his brush 
 over the top, making it a scarlet red one third of the 
 way down, while the other portion he left green as in 
 its spring-time. He simply put a red cap on it and 
 passed on. On another, he has run his brush along a 
 single limb, which flashes out from the deep bosom of 
 green in singular contrast. Yonder is an open grove 
 which he has hurried through, touching here and 
 there a tree with his reckless brush, till it is spotted 
 up with all the colors of the rainbow. He has 
 painted one all yellow, another all red, a third left 
 untouched, and a fourth sprinkled over with a shower 
 of colors, as if he had simply shaken his brush over 
 it in mirth. 
 
 He has brought out colors where you never dis- 
 covered anything but barrenness before. A yellow 
 wreath is running along a rock and festooning a tree, 
 where yesterday was only an humble unseen vine. 
 
284 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 He has painted it in a single niglit. He has trod the 
 gloomy swamp also, and lit up its solemn arcades 
 with brightness and beauty. The bushes that lifted 
 themselves modestly beside the dark fir trees, un- 
 noticed before, he has touched with his pencil, while 
 the evergreens, which he always avoids, stand in their 
 native greenness — and lo, a yellow lake is spread 
 under their sombre tops, as if a flood of molten 
 gold had suddenly been poured through them. He 
 has tipped the bush that dips the water with his 
 pencil, and lo, the liquid mirror blushes with the re- 
 flection at morning. Like a giant he has stood at the 
 base of the sky-seeking mountain, and swept his brusli 
 with a bold stroke all over its forest-covered sides, till 
 it fairly dazzles the eye as the evening sunbeams flood 
 it. There, where the ridges stoop into a long steady 
 slope, he has wrought on a grander scale. The 
 different nature of the soil has given birth to several 
 varieties of timber, which lie like so many separate 
 strata for miles along the mountain side ; and here he 
 has swept his brush in long stripes of yellow and red 
 and green and gold, till acres on acres of carpeting 
 spread away on the vision, while here and there sepa- 
 rate clumps of trees have been touched with varif^.- 
 
AUTUMN HUES. 285 
 
 gated hues to serve as figures in the magnificent 
 ground work. It is astonishing how well Autumn 
 understands the effect of light, especially as he works 
 so much in the dark. But there, on the bold spur of 
 that hill, right where the sunlight falls at evening 
 through a gorge in the western range, he has laid on 
 his richest and most gorgeous colors. And when the 
 western sky is melting and flowmg into fluid gold, and 
 the glowing orb of day is swimming in its own splen- 
 dor as it sinks to rest, it pours its full brightness upon 
 that already bright projection, till it is converted into 
 a throne of light. 
 
 Thus does this frolicsome Autumn roam abroad, 
 with brush and colors in hand, obeying no law but 
 that of beauty. But while he paints on such a grand 
 scale, and with such long sweeps, and so rapidly, too, 
 finishing millions of acres in a single night, he omits 
 none of the details. Each leaf is as carefully shaded, 
 and as delicately touched as if miniature painting was 
 his only profession. 
 
xxxu. 
 
 DIRECTIONS TO THE TRAVELER. 
 
 There are several routes to the region described in 
 the foregoing letters. One goes by way of Lake 
 Greorge, where you take a wagon to Chester and 
 Schroon Lake. From this point you can go either to 
 Long Lake, or the Adirondack Iron Works. 
 
 Another is by way of Westport on Lake Champlain, 
 where you take a wagon to Elizabethtown. At the 
 latter place, as at Chester on the other route, you will 
 obtain all the information necessary as to the best 
 way of getting into the woods. 
 
 A third route goes by way of Keysville. Launch- 
 ing your boats on the Saranac River, you pass up it, 
 carrying your boat around rapids — sailing through 
 beautiful lakes, until at length you cross over to Ra- 
 quette River up which you can wind your tedious way 
 day after day until you reach Raquette Lake. 
 
DIFFERENT ROUTES. 287 
 
 On the western side you start from Rome and go to 
 Boonville, thence to Brown's tract, where you take 
 boats for the Raquette, &c. There is another route 
 still, leading in on the southern side from New Am- 
 sterdam, the particulars of which I am unacquainted 
 with. 
 
 In passing through this region, one should never 
 wander from his guide, for it does not require more 
 than a mile's aberration sometimes to lose one effectu- 
 ally. Neither should he, even with his guide, depart 
 far from the water courses, for it is almost impossible 
 to get through the woods. The quantities of fallen 
 timber scattered throughout the forest in every direc- 
 tion — huge trees lying across each other, presenting 
 an endless succession of barricades and impenetrable 
 thickets, arrest the traveler at every step. A direct 
 line cannot be pursued, and a man might work hard 
 all day and not make ten miles' progress. And more 
 than this, away from the lakes and streams you are 
 not sure of game, especially on the higher grounds. 
 These mountains are silent as the grave — the owl 
 perchance being the only bird you will see in a day's 
 tramp. It is true, deer, bear, wolves, panthers, and 
 moose roam over them, or retire to their summits to 
 
288 THE ADIRONDACK. 
 
 take the cool air and escape the flies of the lower 
 grounds, but you make such a thrashing among the 
 branches, both green and dry, that they are off, long 
 before you come in sight of them. These forests are 
 so dense that you can see but a short distance ahead. 
 A good rifle, a knife, three or four shirts, and a blan- 
 ket or overcoat, making a package of only a few 
 pounds weight, must be all that you take with you — 
 for, in the first place, your rifle weighs from eight to 
 twelve pounds, and in the second place, you are often 
 compelled to carry that of your guide also, together 
 with a tin kettle, perhaps, or pan which you need 
 in cooking. Over the portages he can carry only the 
 boat, and it would be a great waste of time to com- 
 pel him to go back after the traps. Your guide must 
 have also a little sack of Indian meal with which to 
 make Johnny-cakes. A small bit of pork is likewise 
 desirable to fry your trout with. Thus equipped, 
 with a good pair of legs under you, a spirit not easily 
 discouraged, and a love for the wild, and free, you 
 can have a glorious tramp — enjoy magnificent scenery 
 — catch trout and kill deer to your heart's content, 
 and come back to civilized life a healthier and a bet- 
 ter man. 
 
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