VI. 



AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 



THERE is a lake over the mountains, some forty miles 

 from the Rookery, which I had long desired to see ; but 

 I could never persuade a friend to go with me on an ex- 

 ploring expedition. A recent extension of the railway 

 had made it somewhat more accessible, if I was to give 

 credit to the information given me by a baggage-master, 

 who assured me that the railroad crossed an old wood- 

 road which led in three or four miles to the lake. 



There is, I think, a love of novelty in all anglers. We 

 prefer to fish new waters when we can, and it is some- 

 times pleasanter to explore, even without success, than to 

 take fish in familiar places. New and fine scenery is al- 

 ways worth finding. But I could not beat these ideas 

 practically into the brain of either Steenburger or Doctor 

 Johnston, and I resolved therefore on a solitary expedi- 

 tion to the lake. 



I had not then, what I now possess, and strongly rec- 

 ommend to roving anglers, a patent India-rubber raft, 

 made in two cylinders, with a light frame to sit on. This 

 boat or raft, packing in a small compass when not 

 "blown up," weighs less than fifty pounds, and can be 

 carried on a man's shoulders to any lake or pond. I 

 have frequently used it on water never before fished, and 

 to reach which it was necessary to climb hills so steep 



