IN AUDUBON'S LABRADOR 



a height of five or six hundred feet, extended 

 their rocky and lichen-covered summits above 

 the tree-line. It was a beautiful place, and it 

 was a great pleasure to gaze upon the scene 

 from the deck of our little schooner, where the 

 gentle breeze served to keep away the insect 

 pests. But the naturalists, like eager children, 

 would not be satisfied until they could examine 

 at close range all the interests of the place. 



At the mouth of the Little Shecatica River 

 we found a tent and a hogshead in which to 

 salt salmon, but no sign of recent occupancy. 

 An old Indian portage leads up to the rapids 

 and falls of the river, twisting its narrow path 

 through the forest. The roar of the river 

 drowned out all the bird-voices, and I pushed 

 on, enjoying from time to time the glimpses of 

 falls and rapids, and at last reached a small for- 

 est-embosomed laJce where the portage-path 

 ended abruptly. As I had not carried a canoe 

 on my head to launch into the lake, I had no 

 choice but to take to the forest, guiding my 

 way by the sound of the river behind and the 

 glimpses of a precipitous peak in front. On the 

 way I came upon a family of water-thrushes. 

 They appeared somewhat darker than the 



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