132 SPECKLED TROUT. 



cording to the instructions we had previously re- 

 ceived. Crossing the creek, we forced our way up 

 the side of the mountain, through a perfect cheval-de- 

 frise of fallen and peeled hemlocks, and entering the 

 dense woods above, began to look anxiously about 

 for the wood-road. My companions at first could see 

 no trace of it ; but knowing that a casual wood-road 

 cut in winter, when there was likely to be two or 

 three feet of snow on the ground, would present only 

 the slightest indications to the eye in summer, I 

 looked a little closer, and could make out a mark or 

 two here and there. The larger trees had been 

 avoided, and the axe used only on the small saplings 

 and underbrush, which had been lopped off a couple 

 of feet from the ground. By being constantly on 

 the alert, we followed it till near the top of the mount- 

 ain ; but when looking to see it " tilt " over the 

 other side, it disappeared altogether. Some stumps 

 of the black cherry were found, and a solitary pair 

 of snow-shoes were hanging high and dry on a branch, 

 but no further trace of human hands could we see. 

 While we were resting here a couple of hermit 

 thrushes, one of them with some sad defect in his 

 vocal powers which barred him from uttering more 

 than a few notes of his song, gave v^ ice to the soli- 

 tude of the place. This was the second instance in 

 which I have observed a song-bird with apparently 

 some organic defect in its instrument. The other 

 case was that of a bobolink, which, hover in mid air 

 and inflate its throat as it might, could only foret 



