186 THE ADIRONDACK. 



This night, the only good feeding spot for deer had 

 been so trampled over by us, before dark, that they 

 would not come out upon it, and we floated on for a 

 a long time without hearing anything. I never be- 

 fore saw such an exhibition of the stealthv move- 

 ments of an Indian. The lake was as still and 

 smooth as a polished mirror, and our frail canoe 

 floated over it as if impelled by an invisible hand. I 

 knelt at the bow, with my rifle before me, while Mit- 

 chell sat in the stern as fixed as a statue, yet urging 

 the boat on by some strange movement of the paddle, 

 which I tried in vain to comprehend. He did not 

 even make a ripple on the water, and I could tell we 

 were moving only by marking the shadow of trees we 

 crossed, or the stars we passed over. Though strain- 

 ing every nerve to catch a sound, I never once heard 

 the stroke of his paddle. It was the most mysterious 

 ride I ever took. We entered the mouth of a river, 

 whose shores were black with the sombre fir trees, 

 while ever and anon would come more clearly on the 

 ear the roar of a distant waterfall. It was so dark I 

 could make out nothing distinctly on shore, and the 

 island-like tufts that here and there rose from the 

 water — the little bays and rocky points we passed, 



