ADIRONDAC. 103 



pigeon, and ruffed grouse were seen along the route. 

 Now and then the lake gleamed through the trees, or 

 we crossed on a shaky bridge some of its arms or in- 

 lets. After a while we began to pass dilapidated 

 houses by the roadside. One little frame house I 

 remember particularly ; the door was off the hinges 

 and leaned against the jambs, the windows had but a 

 few panes left which glared vacantly. The yard and 

 little garden spot were overrun with a heavy growth 

 of timothy, and the fences had all long since gone to 

 decay. At the head of the lake a large stone build- 

 ing projected from the steep bank and extended over 

 the road. A little beyond the valley opened to the 

 east, and looking ahead about one mile we saw smoke 

 going up from a single chimney. Pressing on, just 

 as the sun was setting we entered the deserted vil- 

 lage. The barking of the dog brought the whole 

 family into the street, and they stood till we came up. 

 Strangers in that country were a novelty, and we 

 were greeted like familiar acquaintances. 



Hunter, the head, proved to be a first-rate type of 

 an Americanized Irishman. His wife was a Scotch 

 woman. They had a family of five or six children, 

 two of them grown-up daughters modest, comely 

 young women as you would find anywhere. The 

 elder of the two had spent a winter in New York 

 with her aunt, which perhaps made her a little more 

 gelf-conscious when in the presence of the strange 

 young men. Hunter was hired by the company at a 

 iollar a day to live here and see that things were not 



