154 THE ADIRONDACK. 



with no little pleasure I saw that threatening cloud 

 yield to the balmy and swift careering breeze that 

 swept the bosom of the lake. 



At length, just as we were glancing away from the 

 head of a beautiful island, I saw a boat coming 

 towards us, impelled against the wind by the steady 

 strokes of a powerful rower. As it shot near, I be- 

 held the swarthy and benevolent face of Mitchell. He 

 lay on his oars a minute to hear my salutation and 

 my proposition, then pointed to a deep bay a mile dis- 

 tant, around which stretched a white line of sand ; 

 and again bent to his oars. I followed after, for I 

 knew there was his camp ; and soon after our boats 

 grated on the smooth beach, and we were sitting be- 

 side a bark shanty, and discussing our future plans. 

 But those few barks, piled against some poles, were 

 not enough to cover us, and soon every one was at 

 work, peeling spruce trees, or picking hemlock boughs. 

 The cloudless sun went proudly, nay, to me, triumph- 

 antly to his royal couch amid the mountain summits 

 — and as twilight deepened over the wild landscape, 

 our camp fire shot its cheerful flame heavenward, and 

 we lay scattered around amid the trees in delightful 

 indolence. Mitchell had cauorht some trout, and these. 



