ded lake shores an occasional deer may yet be seen
coming down to drink, and that in the shadier pools the wary and
sagacious prince of fishes still disports himself and cleaves the
crystal water with his jewelled wedge.

Berries of all sorts spring up on the cleared spots; the wide-spreading
juniper, with its great prickly disks, covers the barer slopes; the
willow herb, wild rose, clematis, violet, golden rod, aster, immortelle,
arbutus, harebell, orchis, linnaea borealis, mitchella, dalibarda,
wintergreen, ferns innumerable, and four species of running pine, all in
due season, deck the waysides and forest depths.

The climate is intensely cold in winter, and in the summer cool upon the
heights, but in the narrow sandy valleys the long days of June, July,
and August are sometimes uncomfortably hot. The nights, however, are
ordinarily cool. Going west through the middle of the region, from
Westport to Saranac, a difference of several weeks in the progress of
vegetation is perceptible. Long after the linnaea had ceased to bloom at
Elizabethtown, we found its tender, fragrant, pink bells flushing a
wooded bank near Lake Placid. Good grass grows upon the hillsides, and
in the valleys are found excellent potatoes, oats, peas, beans, and
buckwheat. The corn is small, but seems prolific, and occasional fields
of flax, rye, barley, and even wheat, present a flourishing appearance.
Lumber, charcoal, and iron ore of an excellent quality are, however, the
present staples of this mountain region. Bears and panthers are found in
some secluded localities, and the farmer still dreads the latter for his
sheep. The wolves are said to kill more deer than the hunters. The otter
and beaver are found among the watercourses, and the mink or sable is
still the prey of the trapper. The horses are ordinarily of a small
breed, but very strong and enduring.

The men are chiefly of the Vermont type, most of the original settlers
having come from the neighboring State. The school house, court house,
church, and town hall are hence regarded as among the necessary
elements of life to the well-ordered citizen. Honest dealing, thrift,
and cleanliness are the rule, and the farm houses are comfortable and
well cared for. The men look intelligent, and the women are handsome,
although, indeed, too many pale or sallow complexions give evidence of
sedentary habits, and of the almost universal use of _saleratus_ and hot
bread [??]. The families of many fa