h our traps, while I made one thorough
and final effort to find the lake. If I succeeded and desired them to
come forward, I was to fire my gun three times; if I failed and wished
to return, I would fire it twice, they of course responding.

So, filling my canteen from the spring, I set out again, taking the
spring run for my guide. Before I had followed it two hundred yards it
sank into the ground at my feet. I had half a mind to be superstitious
and to believe that we were under a spell, since our guides played us
such tricks. However, I determined to put the matter to a further
test, and struck out boldly to the left. This seemed to be the
keyword,--to the left, to the left. The fog had now lifted, so that I
could form a better idea of the lay of the land. Twice I looked down
the steep sides of the mountain, sorely tempted to risk a plunge.
Still I hesitated and kept along on the brink. As I stood on a rock
deliberating, I heard a crackling of the brush, like the tread of some
large game, on a plateau below me. Suspecting the truth of the case, I
moved stealthily down, and found a herd of young cattle leisurely
browsing. We had several times crossed their trail, and had seen that
morning a level, grassy place on the top of the mountain, where they
had passed the night. Instead of being frightened, as I had expected,
they seemed greatly delighted, and gathered around me as if to inquire
the tidings from the outer world,--perhaps the quotations of the
cattle market. They came up to me, and eagerly licked my hand,
clothes, and gun. Salt was what they were after, and they were ready
to swallow anything that contained the smallest percentage of it. They
were mostly yearlings and as sleek as moles. They had a very gamy
look. We were afterwards told that, in the spring, the farmers round
about turn into these woods their young cattle, which do not come out
again till fall. They are then in good condition,--not fat, like
grass-fed cattle, but trim and supple, like deer. Once a month the
owner hunts them up and salts them. They have their beats, and seldom
wander beyond well-defined limits. It was interesting to see them
feed. They browsed on the low limbs and bushes, and on the various
plants, munching at everything without any apparent discrimination.

They attempted to follow me, but I escaped them by clambering down
some steep rocks. I now found myself gradually edging down the side of
the mountain, keeping around it in