PEPACTON 



mother bird did not use hers; a steamboat could 

 hardly have kept up with them. I dropped my pad- 

 dle and cheered. They kept the race up for a long 

 distance, and I saw them making a fresh spirt as 

 I entered upon the rift and dropped quickly out of 

 sight. I next disturbed an eagle in his meditations 

 upon a dead treetop, and a cat sprang out of some 

 weeds near the foot of the tree. Was he watching 

 for puss, while she was watching for some smaller 

 prey? 



I passed Partridge Island which is or used to 

 be the name of a post-office unwittingly, and 

 encamped for the night on an island near Hawk's 

 Point. I slept in my boat on the beach, and in the 

 morning my locks were literally wet with the dews 

 of the night, and my blankets too; so I waited for 

 the sun to dry them. As I was gathering driftwood 

 for a fire, a voice came over from the shadows of 

 the east shore: "Seems to me you lay abed pretty 

 late!" 



" I call this early," I rejoined, glancing at the sun. 



"Wall, it may be airly in the forenoon, but it 

 ain't very airly in the mornin' ; " a distinction I 

 was forced to admit. Before I had reembarked 

 some cows came down to the shore, and I watched 

 them ford the river to the island. They did it with 

 great ease and precision. I was told they will some- 

 times, during high water, swim over to the islands, 

 striking in well upstream, and swimming diago- 

 36 



