We had not reached it, however, when we saw him enter
the water, and swim to the main land, and glad enough he seemed to be
when he had regained the protection of his native forests.
We took our dogs from the island, and rowed to the broad channel of
the inlet which enters the lake on the left hand side, as you look to
the south. There are two of these inlets, which enter within a quarter
of a mile of each other, each of which comes down from little lakes,
or ponds, deeper in the wilderness. The one we entered flows in a
tortuous course through a natural meadow, stretching away on either
hand forty or fifty rods, to a dense forest of spruce, maple, and
beech, above which gigantic pines stand stately and tall in their
pride. Three miles from the lake, the hills approach each other, and
the little river comes plunging down through a gorge, over shelving
rocks, and around great boulders, as if mad with the obstructions
piled up in its way.
As we approached these falls, Smith, who sat in the bow of the boat,
motioned to the boatman to lay upon his oars, and pointed to an object
partly concealed by some low bushes, forty or fifty rods in advance
of us. Remaining perfectly still a moment, we saw a bear step out upon
a boulder, look up and down the stream, and stretch his long nose out
over the water, as if looking for a good place to cross the rapids.
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