OLD SHAG. 
Old Shag, Toadback, or Paugus Mountain 
stands in the Sandwich range between Cho- 
corua on the east and Passaconaway on the 
west. It is better armed against attack by 
mountain climbers than any of its neighbors, 
and this in spite of the fact that in elevation it 
is the lowest of the range. Its defenses consist 
of numerous radiating ridges covered with dense 
growths of spruce and crossed by belts of “har- 
ricane,” miles of cliffs so forbidding as to repel 
any but determined assault, and ravines choked 
by debris of rock and fallen forest. No path of 
any kind leads to its top, and when its summit 
is gained, none of the familiar marks indicating 
previous visits by egg-eating, initial-cutting 
tourists are discoverable. 
Like most impregnable fortresses, Paugus has 
its weak spot. There is a way to reach its south¬ 
ern summit without touching a “harricane,” 
climbing a precipice, or struggling through 
more than a few rods of spruce jungle. More¬ 
over, on this way the traveler is sung to by one 
of the most musical of streams, while his eyes 
