Lake Umbagog, Maine.
1893.
Oct. 14.
  A wild day on the Lake. The wind blowing a gale from the
south all the forenoon with frequent heavy showers. In the
afternoon the sun peeped out every now and then and the wind
sank for an hour or two then blew again with great violence far
into the night.
[margin]Heavy
gale[/margin]
  The steamer was to have called for us about noon. She did 
indeed come up the Lake and touched at Moll's Rock taking off a
Mr. Mills who has been camping there but when she put about and
attempted to cross to our shore the Captain with good reason
became frightened, for the boat made slow headway against the
wind, and the waves broke entirely over her, threatening to extin-
guish the fires. As we watched her we could see the spray fly
over the top of the smoke stack.  She returned directly to
Lakeside.
  All the while big waves beat ceaselessly on the rocks in
front of our camp and the wind roared and whistled overhead.
The tall pines tossed and swayed, and one after another, at wide
intervals, three large firs came crashing down not thirty yards
in our rear. A big birch which leans directly over my tent
started a crack that extended from the ground to a height of six
feet or so. This crack kept opening and shutting as the blasts
came and passed but the tree stood through the gale nevertheless.