The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-10-27

of broad and sluggish stream, that is a
Drawing trout brook in the forest tar be-
low. And In the. middle of summ'r the
trout desert the rapids and hide in the deep
black pools in the bog, where if they feel
ike biting you may 'stand your trac ks'
ana NIL twelve pound basket, as many
man has done before. But suppose you
Ventured upon the bog. You would find
the moss nearly submerged in water at the
edge, because it has been raining the Gay
before and the water collects there, be-
cause the surface of the bog is not really as
level as the ocean. 1t is slightly convex. 1T
is natural for the accommodating growth OF
such bog to cause it to swell in the mid
die. In this instance the conyeXity is
quite perceptible to the eye. One reads of
boys that burst in the middle and overflow,
and one knows that the lake in the centre
of the Great Dismal Swamp is higher than
the edges.
But can you walk over this bog? Oh, yes.
just as you would walk on haymow or a
trapeze perforers net, with the difference
that your feet would be wet instead of dry.
Of course you can follow one of the myriad
deer paths They are tiny valleys in tho
moss. perhaps two feet deep. The bottom
is just wide enough for your foot, and like
a wet sponge. but comparatively firm.
But our hunters are stirling away over
the horseback One of them is limping
and'fnally concludes that his big boots are
blisteling his heels so rapidly that investi-
cation is in order. There is really nothing
the matter, except the friction of the hard
leather. There is no help for it except the
removal of the leather. A big hole is soon
~, no
in it, but the skin will remain. The little
shoes of his companion are after all the
better equipment for s'rangin' round''
They pass the bog and the horse back
merges into a, vast desert of sandy ridges,
covered with The most meagre growth of
young poplars and brches. For miles the
ground is comparatively clear, except for
huge charred stumps and fallen logs, that
are eloquent of the tremendous con1agra-
tion that twenty-five or thirtyasyears ago
converted the grand pine forest into sthis
sandy waste. Nature has never recovered
from the scourge. The ground is bare in
patches and thick beds of checkerberry
leaves CLEAN in the sun like copper plates
upon the distant slopes.
Here and there are great bellows in the
gravel. They are not the result of water
erosion, for there is no outlet or inlet.
Their existence is explained by supposing
that when the prehistoric sea of ice depos-
tied this waste of sand and gravel, some
huge fragment. as big as an oo can berg, re-
manned after the rest had melted and piled
its larger burden of rocks and earth around
its bed
/. But the hunters are moving on, for
though they have left the road the walking
is llent and presently the very grave
yard OF the long-dead forest looms up before
them. Above the fallen es trunks huge
columns shoot into the air, from toto 80
feet in height These giants withstood
the fire. but their branches cumbed, and
the short stumps give the effect of the
crocketts that line Gothic spire.
One gazes over the acres of sand and the
giant naked columns and possibly one
thinks. of gigantic garden of bare bean
poles. or of bristling hairs on the bald head
of Titan. One may think of such COM
parsons. but as one stumbles over the shat
tered fragments of tho out-cropping boul-
ders one reflects upon the awful heat of
that bygone contagration and of the sud
den extinction forever of that splendid
forest community.
DuL OuI uuHbefS are leaving lie Olt
moraincs and, plunging down into the for
est, they enter an old bark road" that will
lead them to the headwaters of the stream
that crosses the bog. They stumble across
old corduroy bridges and splash through The
swampy grass. for here many small streams
are crossing the road to converge together
below. The 'heaGwaters'' is an uncom-
Portable place to travel through, but there
are deer signs everywhere, Internationally
the shy creatures are lurking in the edges
ofethe grassy glades. sff las
But there is no ''bull luck.' as yet, and
just beyond the "headwaters'' the dest;na-
tion is reached. it is tiny sheet of water
in one of those queer hollows in the sandy
moTaine. 1t is fed only by springs, but an
outlet flows down into the headwaters"
of the stream. The place is a natural deer
park. The clear ground. under the little
birches and popiars, on the high banks
around the lake, is covered with net work
of deep-worn paths and terraces like those
of sheep pasture. The traces of the tiny
hoofs are as abundant as he tracks of the
cattle at a county fair.
They proceed with caution in this deer
park. Possibly the "bull luck'' may be
lurking near. Finally they perceive across
the tiny lake on the other bank family
group. buck and two does are distinctly
visible. 1t is a long shot, and only the
rifle is OF use. They conceal themselves,
and the leaden missile speeds across the
water. The deer simply jump at the noise,
but are not frightened. They can see moth
ing, but especially can smell nothing, and
it is not noise. but tainted gale'' tia,
stampedes the deer. Shot after shot is
fired, but it is difficult to guage the dis
lance, and none of them take effect. At
last the cartridges are all exploded, and the
buck shot in the other gun is only of use
at shorter range. They work around the
head of the lake, but they are not s'tarna-
ton slow by natur," and the deer are soon
aware of it-tuo soon for the hunters hap
piness. Some may say that this 'bull luck"
was ACCOMPANIED by stupidness. But one
should shoot at deer ones self before
critioiZing.
But it is nearly one O'Clock. They have
been tramping for four hours ,aLd rest and
refreshment are necessary, as is an early
start if they are to reach the camp by night
They have over ten miles to travel. They
decide not to return over the sandy ridges,
but to follow the 'ibark road into the