ALONE UP MT. KATAHDIN 267 



should come here, to this out-of-the-way place to 

 disturb him as he was gathering material for his 

 winter nest. After some difficulty I found the 

 continuation of the blazed trail, which led through 

 the leaf-strewn roads ; on the way two deer, both 

 does, bounded away and were soon lost to view — 

 how easily they make their way among the fallen 

 timber, going so slowly, yet disappearing in an 

 incredibly short time ! 



At four o'clock I crossed one of the beautiful 

 mountain streams, and here my troubles began. 

 Following, as before, the new blazings, which were 

 few and far between, I had, without knowing it, 

 left the Katahdin trail. It was getting dark, and 

 1 realised that I had lost my way ; neither old nor 

 new blazings could I find, and the woods were wet 

 and spongy. Darkness had come upon me, and 1 

 must camp for the night. The prospect was not 

 bright, and to make matters worse there was every 

 indication of rain. Most of the wood was rotten 

 and wet, so I had difficulty in making the fire, by 

 whose hght I built a rude shelter of birch bark, 

 covering the soggy ground with the same material. 

 While eating my supper a deer came walking 

 quietly along, stopping for a moment when but a 

 few feet from where I sat ; its eyes shone like 

 glowing coals, and as I moved forward to try and 

 make out whether it was a buck or a doe, it got 

 wind of me and scampered off into the darkness. 



The night was cold, and by ten o'clock I was 

 awakened by the pattering of the rain on the birch 

 bark. Drops of water soon found their way 

 through the roughly-made roof, and morning found 



