At Any Rate, There Was An Early
Breakfast, Luncheon Was Put Up, And By Half-Past Seven We Were Riding
Up The Caney, - A Half-Cloudy Day, - Big Tom Swinging Along On Foot
Ahead, Talking Nineteen To The Dozen.
There was a delightful
freshness in the air, the dew-laden bushes, and the smell of the
forest.
In half an hour we called at the hunting shanty of Mr.
Murchison, wrote our names on the wall, according to custom, and
regretted that we could not stay for a day in that retreat and try
the speckled trout. Making our way through the low growth and bushes
of the valley, we came into a fine open forest, watered by a noisy
brook, and after an hour's easy going reached the serious ascent.
From Wilson's to the peak of Mitchell it is seven and a half miles;
we made it in five and a half hours. A bridle path was cut years
ago, but it has been entirely neglected. It is badly washed, it is
stony, muddy, and great trees have fallen across it which wholly
block the way for horses. At these places long detours were
necessary, on steep hillsides and through gullies, over treacherous
sink-holes in the rocks, through quaggy places, heaps of brush, and
rotten logs. Those who have ever attempted to get horses over such
ground will not wonder at the slow progress we made. Before we were
halfway up the ascent, we realized the folly of attempting it on
horseback; but then to go on seemed as easy as to go back.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 73 of 124
Words from 19471 to 19736
of 33318
