96 ADIKONDAC. 



pine logs, so decayed that one could run his walking- 

 stick through them. Near by, a building filled with 

 charcoal was bursting open and the coal going to waste 

 on the ground. The smelting works were also much 

 crumbled by time. The school-house was still used. 

 Every clay one of the daughters assembles her smaller 

 brothers and sisters there and school keeps. The dis- 

 trict library contained nearly one hundred readable 

 books, which were well thumbed. 



The absence of society, etc., had made the family all 

 good readers. We brought them an illustrated news- 

 paper which was awaiting them in the post-office at the 

 Lower Works. It was read and reread with great eager- 

 ness by every member of the household. 



The iron ore cropped out on every hand. There was 

 apparently mountains of it ; one could see it in the 

 stones along the road. But the difficulties met with in 

 separating the iron from its alloys, together with the 

 expense of transportation and the failure of certain rail- 

 road schemes, caused the works to be abandoned. No 

 doubt the time is not distant when these obstacles will 

 be overcome and this region reopened. 



At present it is an admirable place to go to. There 

 is fishing and hunting and boating and mountain climb- 

 ing within easy reach, and a good roof over your head 

 at night, which is no small matter. One is often dis- 

 qualified for enjoying the woods after he gets there by 

 the loss of sleep and of proper food taken at seasonable 

 times. This point attended to, and one is in the humor 

 for any enterprise. 



