SPECKLED TROUT 



level woods till we saw the bright gleam of the water 

 through the trees. 



I am always struck, on approaching these little 

 mountain lakes, with the extensive preparation that 

 is made for them in the conformation of the ground. 

 I am thinking of a depression, or natural basin, in 

 the side of the mountain or on its top, the brink of 

 which I shall reach after a little steep climbing ; but 

 instead of that, after I have accomplished the ascent, 

 I find a broad sweep of level or gently undulating 

 woodland that brings me after a half hour or so to 

 the lake, which lies in this vast lap like a drop of 

 water in the palm of a man's hand. 



Balsam Lake was oval-shaped, scarcely more than 

 half a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide, but 

 presented a charming picture, with a group of dark 

 gray hemlocks filling the valley about its head, and 

 the mountains rising above and beyond. We found 

 a bough house in good repair, also a dug-out and 

 paddle and several floats of logs. In the dug-out I 

 was soon creeping along the shady side of the lake, 

 where the trout were incessantly jumping for a spe- 

 cies of black fly, that, sheltered from the slight 

 breeze, were dancing in swarms just above the sur- 

 face of the water. The gnats were there in swarms 

 also, and did their best toward balancing the ac- 

 counts by preying upon me while I preyed upon the 

 trout which preyed upon the flies. But by dint of 

 keeping my hands, face, and neck constantly wet, I 

 215 



