112 Field and Forest Rambles. 



growth of larch, birch, poplar, etc., stretching far and wide over 

 the vast level country. Moreover, on climbing a tree, and 

 straining my eyes over the expanse, I found, instead of one 

 gigantic trunk, more than a dozen of equal magnitude, here and 

 there, as far as the eye could reach. An enormous old pine, in 

 the far distance, bearing a resemblance to my landmark, deter- 

 mined me to make for the spot ; but on returning to " terra 

 firma" the thick bush around obscured all distant objects, and 

 each charred pine looked so like its neighbour, that we had not 

 proceeded far through the decaying bracken, and over rotting 

 trunks and soft ground covered with rich red bunch-berries, 

 before, halting in bewilderment, I sat down, and now, for the 

 second time in my forest wanderings, began to realize the 

 horrors of being lost in the woods.* It was five p.m., and the 

 sun was disappearing behind the tall trees ; so shaping our 

 course eastward, we made for what seemed more open country, 

 and pushing rapidly down the side of a ravine, in hopes of 

 coming on some pathway, we struck a goodly-sized brook, 

 which again added to our perplexity, as we had not crossed the 

 stream before. At length, bewildered how to proceed by tree 

 or watershed, we finally commenced searching for the footprints 

 of cattle, which sometimes roam for long distances from the 

 settlements ; stopping now and then to listen for the sound of 

 their bells ; but nought was heard beyond the last chirps of 

 grasshoppers in the damp places. Once there came a hollow 

 sound like that of a lumberer's axe, from the direction of 

 the forest ; but it was not sharp enough, and more resembled 

 the woodpecker's tap on some skeleton trunk. Wandering 

 from place to place until it was getting so dark that we could 

 scarcely recognize objects at any great distance, there at length 

 appeared footprints of cattle in a swamp, and before another 

 half hour, we came unexpectedly on a snake fence, enclosing a 

 little clearing and cottage, the inmate of which informed us 



* A similar but more trying incident I have described in my 

 "Wanderings in the Western Himalays,"etc, p. 233. 



