DAYS IN THE WOODS 265 



seen and heard some curious things, though. I 

 was hunting once with two gentlemen near Rocky 

 River — ^you know the place well, sir. We were all 

 sitting in the camp ; winter time, sir ; pretty 

 late, about bedtime. The gentlemen were drink- 

 ing their grog, and we was smoking and talking, 

 when we heard someone walking, coming up to 

 the camp. ' Holloa ! ' says one of the gentlemen, 

 ' who can this be at this time of night ? ' Well, 

 sir, we stopped talking, and we all heard the man 

 walk up to the door. My soul, sir, we could hear 

 his moccasins crunching on the hard dry snow quite 

 plain. He walked up to the door, but did not 

 open it, did not speak, did not knock. So, after a 

 little, one of us looked out — nobody there ; nobody 

 there at all, sir. Next morning there was not a 

 track on the snow — not a track — and no snow fell 

 in the night. Well, sir, we stayed there a fort- 

 night, and most every night we would hear a man 

 in moccasins walk up to the door and stop ; and if 

 we looked there was no one there, and he left no 

 tracks in the snow. What was it, do you think, 

 sir ? " 



" Don't know, John, I am sure," I said, " unless 

 it was some strange effect of wind in the trees." 



" Well, sir, I seed a curious thing once. I was 



