ALONE UP MT. KATAHDIN 267 



should come here, to this out-of-the-way place to 

 disturb him as he was gathering material for his 

 winter nest. After some difficulty I found the 

 continuation of the blazed trail, which led through 

 the leaf-strewn roads ; on the way two deer, both 

 does, bounded away and were soon lost to view 

 how easily they make their way among the fallen 

 timber, going so slowly, yet disappearing in an 

 incredibly short time ! 



At four o'clock I crossed one of the beautiful 

 mountain streams, and here my troubles began. 

 Following, as before, the new blazings, which were 

 few and far between, I had, without knowing it, 

 left the Katahdin trail. It was getting dark, and 

 I realised that I had lost my way ; neither old nor 

 new blazings could I find, and the woods were wet 

 and spongy. Darkness had come upon me, and I 

 must camp for the night. The prospect was not 

 bright, and to make matters worse there was every 

 indication of rain. Most of the wood was rotten 

 and wet, so I had difficulty in making the fire, by 

 whose light I built a rude shelter of birch bark, 

 covering the soggy ground with the same material. 

 While eating my supper a deer came walking 

 quietly along, stopping for a moment when but a 

 few feet from where I sat ; its eyes shone like 

 glowing coals, and as I moved forward to try and 

 make out whether it was a buck or a doe, it got 

 wind of me and scampered off into the darkness. 



The night was cold, and by ten o'clock I was 

 awakened by the pattering of the rain on the birch 

 bark. Drops of water soon found their way 

 through the roughly-made roof, and morning found 



