BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



and stumps, fallen trees and murky pools. 

 Now it has been cleared and drained, and 

 the dark forest mould produces wonderful 

 crops of celery, sweet corn, potatoes, and 

 other vegetables. On a shoulder of rock 

 near the swamp borders Burroughs has 

 built a rustic house, sheathed outside with 

 slabs, and smacking in all its arrangements 

 of the woodlands and of the days of pio- 

 neering. It has an open fireplace, where 

 the flames crackle cheerfully on chilly even- 

 ings, and over the fireplace coals most of the 

 cooking is done ; but in really hot weather 

 an oil stove serves instead. 



On the other side of the hollow a delight- 

 fully cold spring bubbles forth, and imme- 

 diately back of the house is a natural cavern 

 which makes an ideal storage place for per- 

 ishable foods. The descent to the cavern 

 is made by a rude ladder, and the sight of 

 Burroughs coming and going between it 

 and the house has a most suggestive touch 

 of the wild and romantic. 



He is often at ** Slabsides " — sometimes 

 for weeks or months at a time, though he 

 always makes daily visits to the valley to 

 look after the work in his vineyards and to 

 visit the post-office at the railway station. 



xiii 



