M OUNT CHOCOR UA IN W INTE R ” I D H A T THE NOR TH OF B E AR CA M P W A TE R Chron icles of a Stroll er in New En glan d f rom July to December FRANK BOLLE S WITH ILL USTB A TION8 BOSTON YORK HOUGHTON M IFFLIN COMPANY (C b' Wham pm cramming: CONTENTS. A THUNDER BTO R M IN THE FOR E ST THE HEAR T on THE MOUNTA IN A LONE LY LAKE FOLLO WING A LOST TR A IL A NIGHT A LONE ON C II OGO E UA B R INGING HOME T HE B EAR ’ THE DEA D TB E E s DA Y TR A PPING GNOME s OLD SHA G ’ MY B EA E T G IN THE HIGHLA NDS THE VINT AGE OF THE LEAVES C HOCOR UA IN NOVE MB ER AMONG THE WIND- SWE PT LA KE S ’ ’ LE GT ION DA Y, 92 A WIN TE Y WILDER NE SS CLIMB ING B EA R M OUNTAIN IN THE SNOW IN T HE PA UGUs Woo n s A T T HE FOOT OF PA sSA OONAW A Y CHR ISTMA S A T SA BB A DA Y FA LLS ’ DO WN THE TOR R E NT S PA THWA Y sw arm o n tain air To drin k the Win e of m u Beside th e Bearcamp W HITTIER, ILLUSTR ATIONS; MOUNT CHOGOR UA IN WINTER WA TE R -LILIE S IN CHOCOR UA LA KE 16 C HOC OR UA PRO M HE R O N POND 28 C ANOE B IR OHE S o r T HE B EA R OA M P VA LLE Y 40 THE PE A K OP CHOGOR UA FR OM TH E HA MMOND TRA IL 64 “ ” THE Co w 68 THE PE AK FR OM THE SOUTHE A ST 72 THE PE A K r R O M TH E NOR TH 76 “ ” IE W FR O TH E CO W HO WING MOA MO N AIN V M , S T U T AND M O UNT PE ' UA WK E T B E YOND 80 THE DEA D TR E E 98 MOUNT CHOGOR UA AND CHOCOR UA LAKE IN SUMME R 1 18 T WO KINDS o r GNOM Es HE SP E R OM YS AND ZA PUS 1 38 PA UGUS FR O M WONA LANCE T ROA D 146 C HOGOR UA SEE N FR O M THE SIDE OF PA UGUS 1 50 WHIT E FA GE A ND PA SSA OONA W A Y FR OM PA UGUS 154 C R O W A N FOR E R T HE OLD DOE FA R 158 L DS, M LY M TWILIGHT ON THE LA KE 174 ’ C HOGOR UA A ND DR . C HADW IOK S PINE S 184 THE PE A K O F C HOGOR UA FR OM BA LD MO UNTA IN MOUNT C HOGORUA PR OM WHITT ON POND “ MOA I E A B R E A ING WA VE T, L K K MOUNT CHOGOR UA AND T HE LA KE IN WIN TE R FR OST-COVER E D SPR UCE NEAR THE SUMMIT or PA SSA OONA WA Y MOA T MOUNTAIN AND THE SWIFT RIVER AT THE NORTH OF BEARCAMP WA TER . D R T RM IN THE R T A THUN E S O FO ES . DUR ING nearly the whole of the forenoon of 3 1 892 r i . July , , a soft ain had been fall ng It had begun in the night to the discomfiture of to t u the whippoorwills , but not the ex ing ish ment of their voices . It continued until nearly o no n , when the wind shifted from east to west , a r patches of blue sky appe red , and eve and anon gleams of sunlight fell upon the distan t forest across the lake , or slid slowly over the - tree tops on the side of Chocorua . Bird voices grew stronger with the promise of fair weather . - Hermit thrushes , veeries , red eyed vireos , and Maryland yellow-throats sang four invitations s from as many points of the compa s , and I said e Yes to the ve ries and sought the swam p . A Ne w Hampshire swamp is full of attractions at all seasons . In winter the great northern hares a make innumerable p ths across its soft snow, HE H OF B E AR CA M P W 2 A T T NORT ATER. and tempt the gunner into the chill y gloom in sear ch of a shot at their phantom forms . In spring a host of migrating warblers makes -tO s th e merry in its tree p , and the song of win ter wren is sent from heaven to give joy to its shadows . Summer brings to it many a shy fis h orchid blooming among the ferns , and the ’ erman finds the trout in its brook s placid po ols long after they have ceased to bite well in the upper reaches of the stream . There are no venomous serpents hanging from its moss - grown trees , no tigers concealed in its brakes , and no ague lingering in its stagnant pools . It is a safe swamp and kind , yet none the less a swamp . When I reached its borders, after crossing the meadow, I found wild roses in bloom . It was of these, doubtless , that the veery was sing hi ing so bewitc ngly . Certainly nothing less i fair coul d have prompted such mag c music . ’ Moreover, the veery s nest, framed in nodding n u osmu das , is near these beautif l blossoms , wi th many a pool and thicket between it and hard ground . Passing into the darkness of the I sk . Th e swamp, glanced back at the y north an d west were filled with black clouds which were stirred by passionate winds in their midst . A low growl of thunder came through the heavy air . I felt as though forbidden to enter the mysteries of the swamp , as though warned that A TE UNDE R STOR M IN THE F OREST. 3 danger lay within those aisles of twilight . The v eery ceased its song . No bird voice broke the stillness of the gloom , and a hush of expectation held every leaf motionless . The branches closed behind me and I stole on between lofty trees u with mossy tr nks , over fallen logs , and through f the dripping jungle o ferns . Upland woods are cleaner, stronger, more symmetrical than wt ff swamp gro h , but they have not the e ect of tropical luxuriance which the swamp forest pos sesses . The mosses , lichens , ferns of many - species , climbing vines , and such large leaved plants as the veratrum and skunk cabbage , give to the moist land an air of wealth of leaf -growth which is distinctive . Two species of orchid were conspicuous , ris e ing just above the ferns . Th y were the pur - ple fringed , just coming into bloom , and the white , which was abundant . Splashing back h and fort through the shallow pools , gathering the spikes of the white orchis , I did not at first notice a distant sound which grew in volume u until its s llen vibration could not be ignored . - i The tree tops above me gave a sudden , v cious n swish . Crows to the westward were Sawi g i un mis ~ w ldl y . The roar of the storm became takable ; the swamp grew darker ; a few big l t a drops of rain fel , and then , as though a r in u were pl nging down noisy rails upon the forest, M 4 AT THE NORTH OF B E AR CA P WATER. the rain and wind leaped upon the trees , filling af the air with de ening sounds , and twisting the branches until it seemed as though the whole structure of the woods was about to collapse in h n one vast ruin . T e through the tormented - Th e tree tops the floods fell . y were white like snow, and seemed to be a fallen part of a white sky which showed now and then as the forest ’ swayed back and forth in the W ind s arms . as Wet the swamp had been before , its colors became more vivid under this deluge . Every leaf grew greener, and each lichen gave out new r tints as it drank in rain . The t unks of the trees assumed more distinctive shades ; that of of the ash became brown , the yellow birch al k ff most li e sa ron , and of the canoe birch glis te ning white . The rain pelting into my eyes bade me look less at the sky and mor e at the beauties at my feet . Beauties there surely were at my feet, both of color and form . There were no flowers , but the leaves were enough to satisfy — both eye and mind , large leaves and small , stifi coarse and delicate, strong and feeble , and d . rooping Some were long and slender, others deeply cleft, some round , or smoothly oval , - others shaped like arrow heads . Some received the rain submissively and bowed more and more before it , others responded buoyantly as each e drop struck them and was tossed ofl . In som 6 AT THE NORTH OF B E AR CA M P WA TER . thunder which is so much more impressive than that in level regions .