146 THE BEAVER RIVER WATERS. 



or thi-ec l)ark structures whidi were ojjeu to all, or. as the 

 spruee-bark sin-n read, 



" All sportsmen Avelcorne to its use. 

 Rut not abuse.. " 



On the eastward, was a deliiihtiul view,— the semi- 

 mountainous shores across the lake heavily wooded; while 

 here and Ihrre I he pretty, Avooded islands looked like ,i>ems 

 in their sell in,-. At the left, rises Pratfs M'ountain, or 

 ymith's Hock, -the latte-- name sometimes bestowed in 

 remend))-ance of a hermit who many ye:irs a^o dAvelt at 

 its foot, cleared a few acres, and iinally .disapj.eared as 

 mysteriously as he came. Tlie lake also takes from him 

 its name— not very distinctive among men, to be sure, but 

 emphatically so among bodies of water where Hound Pond, 

 Clear Pond, Hock Pond, Bog Pond, and the like, occur 

 with confusing reiteration. 



We entered upon the enjoyment of our sojourn at this 

 delightful place with great zeal. Hods and reels were 

 speedily rigged and we set forth ui>on a tour of com- 

 bined fishing and exploring. It had dawned upon us; as 

 we wT're ascending the river, that the water was high, 

 and we soon made the disagreeable discovery that it was 

 too liigh for good fishing. We were late for the fishing on 

 the rapids, and too early for the fishing at the spring-holes. 

 The trout were in the unsettled state in wliicli they always 

 are. intern.ediute the times when they leave therainds and 

 gather at the sining-holes, and were wandei-ing, at their 

 own sweet will, all over the lake. We also found that for 

 trout of any desirable size, we must troll along the shal- 



