THE NATURALISTS' COMPANION. 
7 4 
A MATTIBALIST 
CAjYOEIB^G ^200 MILES 
I A' THE ADBIOHDACKS, 
BY FALCOX. 
ClIAl'TEE I. 
Tlie vAst roHoii of f()i-o4, inouD- 
tiiiiis and lake^, di iiortliern 
New York, and known as tlie Ad- 
riondack Y^ilderness, is the most 
beautiful, and at the same time most 
lonely and uninhal)ited spot east of 
thelfoeky Mountains. The scenery 
far excels that of the Catskills in 
wildness and beauty, and presents 
to the naturalist an inexhaustahle 
supply of material for study. The 
panther may yet he found, and deer, 
wild cats and hears are toleral)ly 
common. Fish are abundant, and 
birds of many species may be seen. 
The deer are heino; rapidly killed 
otf, and unless the State puts a stop 
to it, they will he exterminated in a 
few years. The white pine, cedar, 
hemlock and spruce form the majori¬ 
ty of trees, and are very fragrant. 
The air is always cool in summer, 
and altogether the climate is one 
of the healthiest in the country. 
Cooper give-s a splendid description 
of this regioji in his ‘‘Last of the 
Mohicans,” Mount IMarcy (or Hhiw- 
hasus) is the highest peak in t^is 
range, being over a ndle high. On 
Long Lake the remains are yet to 
he seen of an old military road, 
built during the French and Indian 
war, between Alban)' and Inebec. 
So much for description. Now for 
the trip. _ 
CIIAPTER II. 
“Well, AVill, are you alreadyT 
“Yes.”' “Drive on then.” Tluise 
words were spoken as we lelt the 
house,armed and eipiiped for atliree 
weeks sojiirn in the Adriomlack-', 
The station was only a mile distant, 
and that all down hill, s^> we were 
soon there waiting for the train. 
We expected to reach Schenectady 
that night, and the next day would 
take us into the woods. The party 
consisted of Ih’olessor Johnson and 
myself. The Professor had been 
among the Adriondacks many times 
before, but this was my iirst trip, 
and I was of course in a great hurry 
to be oh*. The train arrived at last, 
we got aboard, and were whirled 
away toward the noi’th. No note¬ 
worthy incident occurred during 
the trip to Schenectady, which we 
reached as the sun was setting, and 
immediately got oursn})perand went 
to bed, as we had to arise early the 
next morning in order to catch the 
train. Leaving Schenectady at six 
o’clock we passed through Saratoga, 
and noon found us at Aorth Creek, 
the termination of the Adriondack 
railroad. From this stati(m we 
were to take a stage ride for thirty 
miles over the mountains t(' Pine 
Mountain Lake. As we stepped 
from the tram it began to sprin'he, 
and then to rain, much to our dis¬ 
gust. AVe then got inside the big 
tally-ho coach, which was already 
crowded. “Get up!” shouts the 
driver, as he cracks his long whip. 
AA^e start, and go up, u[) to the to[) 
of a hill, then plunge down into the 
valley on the other side, the old 
coach swaying and rocking like a 
ship in rough weather. AVhen we 
reached Cedar Liver, where there is 
a small hotel, we sto})i)ed to water 
the horses, and, as it had stopped 
raining, I decided to sit up on the 
seat vuth the driver, and get a 
