378 THE ADIRONDACK. 



and for what purpose the stick had been placed there. 

 Having removed this obstacle, we kept on, and soon 

 entered a vast natural meadow ; in fact, there seemed no 

 limit to it. After a while the stream became too narrow- 

 to row, and we then went ashore. John stood and look- 

 ed around him like one in a new world. There were no 

 great landmarks in sight. The spruce-trees and thickets, 

 though often far apart, completely shut out everything 

 from view, leaving only opening and shutting vistas on 

 every side. It was very plain that we could easily get 

 lost ; for go which way you would, the same flat surface 

 and clustering evergreens met the eye ; but the danger of 

 this did not occur to me, and I proposed to explore back 

 for some distance. But John shook his head. He, 

 however, stuck his oar in the ground, with the blade 

 uppermost, and said he would go as far as he could see 

 that. Keeping this in view, we moved around as far as 

 we dared. That great natural meadow seemed inter- 

 minable, and rested apparently on a body of water, for 

 whenever we jumped upon it, it would shake and vibrate 

 like a spring floor. We went some distance up the 

 stream, and it was marvellous to see how it was tracked 

 and beaten into paths by wild animals. It looked as if 

 cattle had pastured there. In one place we saw where a 



