the left, beyond Phoenicia, rises Mt. Garfield (2650 ft.). 32 M. Allaben (990 ft.). From (33 M.) Shandaken (1060 ft.; Palace Hotel, $3; Whitney, $2) coaches run through the Deep Notch to West Kill and Lexington. 36 M. Big Indian (1210 ft.; Joslyn Ho., $2) lies at the mouth of Big Indian Valley, with the headwaters of the Esopus. This is the starting-point for a visit to (11 M.) Slide Mt. (see below). A road ascends Big Indian Valley, with Big Indian or Balsam Mt. (3600 ft.) to the right and Panther Mt. (3825 ft.) to the left. Several small hotels are passed. 5 M. Dutcher's Panther Mt. House (2000 ft.; unpretending, $11/2), the nearest hotel to Slide Mt., where a guide may be obtained. In 3 M. more we reach the head of the valley, whence a path (steep at first, then easy; 1-2 hrs.) ascends to the left to the top of Slide Mt. (4205 ft.), the highest of the Catskills. The *View from the tower here is very extensive, embracing about 70 peaks in the Catskills, Mt. Everett in Massachusetts (due E.; p. 137), etc. Slide Mt. is included in a large State Reservation. A road leads across from the head of Big Indian Valley into (41/2 M.) Woodland Valley, near Phoenicia (p. 163). The gradient here is very steep. 39 M. Pine Hill (1660 ft.; Rip van Winkle Ho., Grampian, $3; Alpine, $21/2, etc.), pleasantly situated below the railway to the right. -41 M. Grand Hotel Station (1885 ft.) is the culminating point of the line, on the watershed between the Hudson and the Delaware. To the right stands the "Grand Hotel ($412), one of the most fashionable resorts of the Catskills, finely situated on the slope of Summit Hill (2500 ft.). It commands a splendid *View, including Belle Ayr, Big Indian, and Slide Mts. Adjacent are several smaller hotels. The train now descends, making a bend to the left, to (44 M.) Fleischmann's (formerly Griffin's Corners; 1515 ft.), which lies like a toy-town in the valley to the right. 48 M. Arkville (1345 ft.; Commercial Ho., $11/2; *Ackerley Ho., at Margaretville, 1 M. from the station, $2). We now descend along the E. branch of the Delaware. 59 M. Roxbury (1500 ft.); 65 M. Grand Gorge (1570 ft.), between Bald Mt. (left) and Irish Mt. (right); 70 M. South Gilboa. 74 M. Stamford (1765 ft.; Churchill Hall, $21/2-3; Bancroft Ho., $2; Hamilton Ho., Delaware Ho., $2, unpretending), pleasantly situated near the source of the W. branch of the Delaware, is a quiet and inexpensive summer-resort. The favourite excursion is to the top of Mt. Utsayantha (3365 ft.; view; 21/2 M. by road). Travellers bound for Cooperstown (see p. 158) may drive from Stamford, through the beautiful Charlotte Valley, to (22 M.) West Davenport, where they reach the railway. 87 M. Bloomville 78 M. Hobart (1600 ft.; Commercial, $1-2). (Bloomville Ho., $ 11/2) is the terminus of the railway. Numerous other points on the N. and W. sides of the Catskills are frequented as summer-resorts. 25. The Adirondack Mountains. APPROACHES. The principal gateways to the Adirondack Mts. are Plattsburg (p. 167), Port Kent (p. 186), Westport (p. 170), Herkimer (p. 187), Malone (p. 179), and Saratoga (p. 179); and in the following description it will be most convenient to follow the routes leading from these points into the heart of the mountains. The Adirondacks are within 10-14 hrs. of New York by railway (comp. RR. 20b, 20d), and the additional time required to go from the nearest railway-station to any point mentioned below can be easily calculated from the data in the text. Plattsburg is 12 hrs. from Boston viâ Burlington (comp. R. 15a). Fare from New York to Plattsburg $8, parlor - car $2, sleeper $2; to Port Kent, $7.60; to Westport, $6.80; to Saratoga, $ 4.20; to North Creek (p. 177), $5.95. GENERAL FEATURES. The *Adirondack Mountains, in the N. part of the State of New York, stretch from near Canada on the N. to near the Mohawk River on the S. (120 M.), and from Lakes George and Champlain on the E. to an indefinite and irregular line on the W. (ca. 80 M.), covering an area of about 8-10,000 sq. M. The mountains, which run in five parallel ranges from S.W. to N.E., rise from an elevated plateau and many of them are over or nearly 5000 ft. high. The highest range, or Adirondacks proper, is on the E. side of the district; and the loftiest peaks are Mts. Marcy (5345 ft.), McIntyre (5200 ft.), Haystack (5005 ft.), Dix (4915 ft.), Basin (4905 ft.), Gray Peak (4900 ft.), Skylight (4890 ft.), and Whiteface (4870 ft.). The whole of the district (the so-called 'Adirondack Wilderness'), except the highest peaks, is densely covered with forest, much of which is still virgin and almost unexplored. Lumbering is carried on very extensively, and huge quantities of spruce, hemlock, and other timber are annually sent down to the Hudson and St. Lawrence. The geological formations of the Adirondacks are mainly granitic and other primary rocks. In the valleys lie more than 1000 lakes, varying in size from a few acres to 20 sq. M. (Schroon Lake) and in height from 830 ft. (Schroon Lake) to 4320 ft. (Tear of the Clouds). The Hudson River rises in the Tear of the Clouds (p. 175), and the Raquette, Saranac, Ausable, and numerous other rivers and streams connect the labyrinth of lakes. This combination of mountain, lake, and forest is, perhaps, unrivalled elsewhere, and the scenery is of great and varied attraction. The fauna of the district includes catamounts or 'panthers' (Felis Concolor; rare), black bears, wild-cats, numerous deer, otters, badgers, rabbits, black eagles, hawks, loons, wild ducks, partridges, herons, etc.; while the lakes and streams are well stocked with trout and bass. There are no rattlesnakes or other venemous serpents. A movement is on foot to set apart about 4000 sq. M. of the Adirondacks as a State Park like the Yosemite (p. 454), but all but 800 sq. M. of this are still in private hands. RESORTS. The most frequented and fashionable region is the district of the Saranac and St. Regis Lakes (pp. 168, 169), which are closely environed by hotels and summer-camps. Lake Placid (p. 171) is now almost as frequented, while Keene Valley (p. 172), perhaps the gem of the district, is daily growing in favour. The Blue Mt. and Raquette Lake region (p. 177) is somewhat more remote from the ordinary run of travel; while the less mountainous districts to the W. are rarely penetrated by visitors except in search of sport. A fair general idea of the attractions of the Adirondacks may be obtained by the following tour. From Plattsburg (p. 167) to Paul Smith's (p. 168); thence, viâ the St. Regis and Saranac Lakes, to Saranac Village and Lake Placid, as described at pp. 168-170; from Lake Placid to Adirondack Lodge (p. 175); thence to Summit Rock in the Indian Pass (p. 176) and back; from Adirondack Lodge to Keene Valley (p. 172), either by road or (preferable for good walkers) over Mt. Marcy (see p. 174); thence to Elizabethtown (p. 171) and Westport (p. 176). This tour may be accomplished in 810 days. Those who have longer time may add the Tupper, Long, Raquette, and Blue Mountain Lakes in the ways suggested at pp. 169, 177-179. SPORT. Deer, which are the chief object of the Adirondack sportsman, are generally killed by the somewhat unsportsmanlike practice of driving them into the water by hounds and shooting them from a boat. 'Stillhunting' and 'jack-hunting' (with a light at night) are also employed. The State Game Laws, which the visitor should study carefully, impose various limitations on the indiscriminate massacre of the deer, and there are now various reservations (comp. pp. 173, 176) in which the game is |