210 BOONEVILLE TO SARATOGA. 



Close at hand, too, we looked down into clear and peace- 

 ful little ponds and lakes, nestled at the mountain's 

 base in the undisturbed forest, and secure in their insignifi- 

 cance from invasion l)y sportsman or lumber-fiend, and as 

 beautiful and opalescent as pearls from the Orient. 



Our descent from the moiuitaiu, quite as trying to the 

 muscles as the ascent, was accomplished in one hour. AVe 

 lost our trail among the charred trunks of trees where a fire 

 in the dry earth had prostrated several acres of the forest; 

 and we experienced all the woes of a wretched scramble 

 through an indefinitely enlarged brush-heap. Ned and I, 

 however, still had vigor enough to spend an hour after 

 supper in rowing on the lake and winding in and out among 

 the charming islands, — a fitting complement to our day's 

 experience on the mountain top. 



Our last day in the wilderness was ended. 'That night 

 we repacked our bags and bundles; and as w^e did so, 

 thoughts of work and study, home and domestic life, and 

 of the great, noisy, dusty, busy, fretting and worrjing 

 world outside were borne in upon us, — for the next morn- 

 ing w^e were "going out." 



AVe w^ere called at 5:o0 A. M., breakfasted, and at 6:30 

 o'clock started for North Creek by an "extra," a three- 

 seated "buck-board" stage, which comfortably accommo- 

 dated five of us besides the locally renowned Mr. Wakely 

 of " Wakely's Dam," who undertook to deliver us at North 

 Creek, the northern terminus of the Adirondack Rail-Hoad, 

 thirty miles distant, in time for dinner and the 3 :30 P. M. 

 train ; and he did it — although at the imminent risk and 



