Yagrrsi'i/Ic and Beyond. 



83 



hardly willing to state their size. His 

 companions had used bait which is bet- 

 ter adapted to fishing for trout in bushes 

 than flies; this he said was the explana- 

 tion for liis lack of success. I think, 

 however, he held back from us the real 

 reason, which we thought was that he, 

 at times, lost the brook and spent more 

 time in catching that than he did in 

 fishing. Yes, that stream was one where 

 only a native born on its banks, if it 

 could be said to have banks, could feel 

 at home, and even he must have at times 

 been sorely discouraged. 



I could not sleep that night, and be- 

 fore daylight got up and placing a pocket 

 map and a lamp on the floor traced the 

 route necessary to cross mountains and 

 ravines to the dear old East Branch. 



My room-mate awakened and joined me 

 and we planned long and earnestly. 

 The Dominie entered quite heartily into 

 these plans, and using Sunday to rest, 

 and give him a chance to preach an ex- 

 cellent sermon in the afternoon at the 

 farmhouse to a gathering of neighbors, 

 which we all enjoyed, Monday morning 

 found us bidding good-bye to our new 

 friends at Smithtown. We left most of 

 our baggage to follow the roundabout 

 stage route of forty miles, and struck 

 boldly into the forest over the top of 

 the first ridge, following an old lumber 

 road. 



Our first objective point was Yager- 

 ville, over the first divide, and at nine 

 o'clock we crossed the bridge over a 

 branch of the Rondout at this town- 









aA 



KONDOUT ROAD NEAR ELLENVILLE. 



