SPORTING FACILITIES. 15 



moss and balsam-boughs, beneath the whispering 

 trees. I feel, therefore, that I am able to speak 

 from experience touching this matter ; and I be- 

 lieve that, all things being considered, no portion 

 of our country surpasses, if indeed any equals, in 

 health-giving qualities, the Adirondack Wilderness. 



SPORTING FACILITIES. 



This wilderness is often called the " Sportsman's 

 Paradise " ; and so I hold it to be, when all its ad- 

 vantages are taken into account. If any one goes 

 to the North Woods, expecting to see droves of deer, 

 he will return disappointed. He can find them 

 west and north, around Lake Superior, and on the 

 Plains ; but nowhere east of the AUeghanies. Or 

 if one expects to find troTit averaging three or four 

 pounds, eager to break surface, no matter where or 

 when he casts his fly, he will come back from his 

 trip a " sadder and a wiser man." If tliis is his 

 idea of what constitutes a " sportsman's paradise," 

 I advise him not to go to the Adirondacks. Deer 

 and trout do not abound there in any such num- 

 bers : and yet there are enough of both to satisfy 

 any reasonable expectation. Gentlemen often ask 

 me to compare the " North Woods " witli the 

 " Maine Wilderness." The fact is, it is difficult to 

 make any comparison between the two sections, 



