50 THE NAUTILUS. 



angels, and when Mr. Blair, our mountain host, was with the party 

 it made three of them. Mr. Clapp can suffer more and complain 

 less than any entirely earthly being. When lame enough to put an 

 ordinary man in a .hospital he will sprinkle on a little talcum pow- 

 der, keep up with the procession and never say a word. Mr. Walker 

 did not sleep the night after our party separated because Sargent and 

 I were out on the mountains without blankets, and the heathen, the 

 two of us, at that very time were as near the happy hunting grounds, 

 both in altitude and spirit, as we may ever be; with a bed of dry 

 moss and a roaring fire at our feet, we slept sweetly as doves, under 

 a massive balsam in the prettiest park I ever saw in the mountains. 

 The next morning we got over 80 Polygyra Ferrissi each, and three 

 were albinos. 



For industry, zeal and business (shell business), Sargent and 

 Pilsbry are not to be excelled. Sargent always hunts longer and 

 gets more than any other, and Pilsbry, after a hard day's digging, 

 was ready to clean up my catch any time I would bake biscuit. Not 

 one was a believer in ghosts. It was the most sensible, kindly, 

 lovable collection possible. A sad day came when the company sep- 

 parated. Dr. Pilsbry then borrowed soda of a herder and attempted 

 to bake his own biscuit. He did not have any sour milk, and I think 

 that yellow spot remains in the camp site to-day, a wonder to pass- 

 ing herders and a puzzle to those practical mountain scientists who 

 condense their bulky corn crop into convenient form for transporta- 

 tion in jugs. 



Cade's Cove, in Blount county, Tennessee, lying at the base of the 

 Smokies, is 1,700 feet above the sea. It is six miles long, in some 

 places two in width, and out of this valley are many other deep 

 coves running up to the top of Boat and Rich mountains, 3,500 feet 

 above the sea. This valley has been searched more than any we 

 have visited. But last year we found four more kinds, and one of 

 those a new variety. The soil is so fertile in shells, like the sea 

 coast of Florida it will be good ground for many years. 



With mountain friends, camp dunnage and mules, we left the set- 

 tlement soon as possible. There was much rain, and the puncheons 

 in the herder's cabin where we sl^pt the first two nights were very 

 hard, but it was a light-hearted company. There were plenty of 

 snails, and school children were never more delighted or delightful. 

 The pleasant days we climbed the mountain sides, when Mr. Pilsbry 



