he underbrush,
skipping up the mountain from boulder to boulder. Up and up we went,
with frequent pauses and copious quaffing of the cold water. My
soldier declared a "haunted valley" would be a godsend; anything
but endless dragging of one's self up such an Alpine stairway. The
winter wren, common all through the woods, peeped and scolded at us
as we sat blowing near the summit, and the oven-bird, not quite sure
as to what manner of creatures we were, hopped down a limb to within
a few feet of us and had a good look, then darted off into the
woods to tell the news. I also noted the Canada warbler, the
chestnut-sided warbler, and the black-throated blue-back,--the
latter most abundant of all. Up these mountain brooks, too, goes the
belted kingfisher, swooping around through the woods when he spies
the fisherman, then wheeling into the open space of the stream and
literally making a "blue streak" down under the branches.

At last the stream which had been our guide was lost under the
rocks, and before long the top was gained. These mountains are
horse-shaped. There is always a broad, smooth back, more or less
depressed, which the hunter aims to bestride; rising rapidly from
this is pretty sure to be a rough, curving ridge that carries the
forest up to some highest peak. We were lucky in hitting the saddle,
but we could see a little to the south the sharp, steep neck of the
steed sweeping up toward the sky with an erect mane of balsam fir.

These mountains are steed-like in other respects: any timid and
vacillating course with them is sure to get you into trouble. One
must strike out boldly, and not be disturbed by the curveting and
shying; the valley you want lies squarely behind them, but farther
off than you think, and if you do not go for it resolutely, you will
get bewildered and the mountain will play you a trick.

I may say that Aaron and I kept a tight rein and a good pace till we
struck a water-course on the other side, and that we clattered down
it with no want of decision till it emptied into a larger stream
which we knew must be the East Branch. An abandoned fishpole lay on
the stones, marking the farthest point reached by some fisherman.
According to our reckoning, we were five or six miles above the
settlement, with a good depth of primitive woods all about us.

We kept on down the stream, now and then pausing at a likely place
to take some trout for dinner, and with an eye out for a good
camping-ground