THE START OF THE TRAIL 15 



centre of the lake, and were gratified to discover 

 that out from the edge the wind had swept away 

 the snow, giving us a smooth road for our progress. 



In the distance, on the farther shore, we saw 

 the smoke of a fire ; and as we reached the other 

 side, we came upon a man who was fishing through 

 the ice. With a long heavy chisel, he had cut sev- 

 eral holes through the two feet of frozen surface. 

 Leaning over each opening was an alder branch, 

 from which a bit of fish-line hung down into the 

 dark cold water. On an old pine-stump close beside 

 his brushwood fire, and within easy sight of all his 

 lines, sat the fisherman. Any movement of a tell- 

 tale alder gave immediate notice that the hungry 

 fish were biting. 



The staple food of a Maine lumber-camp is baked 

 beans and pork, and on every bill of fare, if they 

 had one, this article would appear at least once a 

 day. But frequently it happens that some deli- 

 cacy of the locality will vary the monotony. One 

 of the lumber-camps was to have lake trout and 

 landlocked salmon for supper that night, for our 

 fisherman had been in luck. Several good-sized 

 fish lay, frozen stiff, on the ice. 



Not only fresh fish, but often good tender juicy 

 steak, is put upon the lumber-camp table. If your 

 lumberman should be working alone in the forest, 

 and a deer should charge upon him, he would 



