weariness by time and not by miles, walking more easily eight miles in
two hours than in four.

On and up we went, ascending a gentle declivity until we came to a brook
said to be two miles from the boat landing. There we cooled, rested, and
drank of the fresh, clear water, before commencing the steep ascent of
the Bartlett Mountain, a spur of the Haystack, needful to be crossed
before reaching the actual foot of Tahawus. The ascent is some three
quarters of a mile, and the descent on the other side about as far, but
not nearly so steep or considerable. Thus, three and a half miles of
walking, through a dense forest, with no view out except an occasional
glimpse of the Haystack, the Skylight, or the side of Tahawus, brought
us from the lake to the basin of the 'Mount Marcy stream.' The sun was
still high in the heavens, and the bark shanties in the 'basin' having
fallen in, rendering the construction of new ones imperatively
necessary, we concluded to push on and build our camp somewhat nearer
the top.

Descending the Bartlett Mountain, we made our first acquaintance with
the renowned 'black fly' of the Adirondacs. We had heard so much of this
pest, and seen so little of him, that we began to think his existence
somewhat mythical, in short, a traveller's tale, invented by men to keep
women from venturing beyond the well-beaten track of ordinary
journeying. At this, our second halt, however, he assaulted us so
vigorously that we were glad to take refuge in the smoke of a _smudge_
our guides had lost no time in making. For the benefit of the
uninitiated, we may here explain that a smudge is a fire of leaves or
sticks slightly dampened to make a denser smoke, and intended as a
safeguard against the attacks of black flies, midges, and mosquitoes,
the two latter nuisances appearing in the evening, when the flies have
finished their day's work. We saw the creatures, and found them somewhat
troublesome (especially when, later in the day, they insisted upon
spreading in with bread and butter), but suffered no pain or even
inconvenience from their bite. This may have been owing to the lateness
of the season, or to the non-inflammatory condition of our blood. Pests
they are said to be, and doubtless are; but we think their general
prevalence has been exaggerated, and they will be found chiefly beside
watercourses, near lakes, and on damp, marshy ground. Fishermen are
especially annoyed by them. If we intended to camp out for the