p their emblem. It is
said from this fact the stream took the name of Kaaterskill. The
large cat or wolf, similar in appearance, forms the mark of King
Aepgin on his deed to Van Rensselaer. Perhaps, however, the mountains
at one time abounded in these animals, and the name may be only a
coincidence. The old village, with its main street, lies along the
valley of the Catskill Creek, not quite a mile from the Catskill
Landing, and preserves some of the features of the days when
_Knickerbocker_ was accustomed to pay it an annual visit. The location
seems to have been chosen as a place of security--out of sight to one
voyaging up the river. The northern slope now reveals fine residences,
all of which command extensive views. Just out of the village proper,
on a beautiful outlook, stands the charming Prospect Park Hotel. The
drives and pedestrian routes in the vicinity of Catskill are well
condensed by Walton Van Loan, a resident of the village, whose guide
to the Catskills is the best on this region and will be of great
service to all who would like to understand thoroughly the mountain
district.

=The Northern Catskills.=--The northern and southern divisions have
been indicated not so much as mountain divisions, but in order to
better emphasize the two routes, which converge from Kingston
and Catskill toward each other, drawn by two principal points of
attraction, the Catskill Mountain House and the Hotel Kaaterskill.

* * *

Ah! how often when I have been abroad on the mountains
has my heart risen in grateful praise to God that
it was not my destiny to waste and pine among those
noisome congregations of the city.

_John James Audubon._

* * *

=The Catskill Mountain House= has been widely known for almost a
century. The original proprietor had the choice of location in 1823,
when the entire range was a vast mountain wilderness, and he made
excellent selection for its site. It seems as if the rocky balcony
was especially reared two thousand feet above the valley for a grand
outlook and restful resort. "What can you see," exclaimed Natty
Bumppo, one of Cooper's favorite characters. "Why, all the world;" and
this is the feeling to-day of everyone looking down from this point
upon the Hudson Valley.

The Mountain House Park has a valley frontage of over three miles in
extent, and consists of 2,780 acres of magnificent forest and farming
lands, traversed in all directions by many mi