SPECKLED TROUT 



beautiful stream, with features so like those of all 

 other mountain streams ? And yet, as I saw it in 

 the deep twilight of those woods on that June after- 

 noon, with its steady, even flow, and its tranquil, 

 many- voiced murmur, it made an impression upon 

 my mind distinct and peculiar, fraught in an eminent 

 degree with the charm of seclusion and remoteness. 

 The solitude was perfect, and I felt that strangeness 

 and insignificance which the civilized man must 

 always feel when opposing himself to such a vast 

 scene of silence and wildness. The trout were quite 

 black, like all wood trout, and took the bait eagerly. 

 I followed the stream till the deepening shadows 

 warned me to turn back. As I neared camp, the 

 fire shone far through the trees, dispelling the gath- 

 ering gloom, but blinding my eyes to all obstacles 

 at my feet. I was seriously disturbed on arriving 

 to find that one of my companions had cut an ugly 

 gash in his shin with the axe while felling a tree. 

 As we did not carry a fifth wheel, it was not just 

 the time or place to have any of our members crip- 

 pled, and I had bodings of evil. But, thanks to the 

 healing virtues of the balsam which must have ad- 

 hered to the blade of the axe, and double thanks to 

 the court-plaster with which Orville had supplied 

 himself before leaving home, the wounded leg, by 

 being favored that night and the next day, gave us 

 little trouble. 



That night we had our first fair and square camp- 

 213 



