60 



THE ADIRONDACK. 



turn that everlasting " go-in-iip,'^ sung out so funnily 

 that we invariably echoed back his laugh, till the 

 mountains rang again. But now he was silent — 

 the '^ go-in-up^^ had become a serious matter, audit 

 required all his breath to enable him to ''go up." 



As we ascended this bald cone, the chill wind swept 

 by like a December blast ; and well it might, for the 

 snow had been gone but a few weeks. The fir 

 trees had gradually dwindled away, till they were not 

 taller than your finger, and now disappeared altoge- 

 ther ; for nothing but naked rock could resist the 

 climate of this high region. The dogs, which had 

 hitherto scoured the forest on every side, crouched 

 close and shivering to our side — evidently frightened, 

 as they looked off on empty space — and all was 

 dreary, savage, and wild. 



At length we reached the top ; and oh, what a view 

 spread out before, or rather below us. Here we were 

 more than a mile up in the heavens, on the highest 

 point of land in the Empire State ; and with one 

 exception the highest in the Union ; and in the centre 

 of a chaos of mountains, the like of which I never 

 saw before. It was wholly different from the Alps. 

 There were no snow peaks and shining glaciers : but 



