On the other side there was still a gently shelving bank,
and the shore was covered with tall trees, among which I particularly
remarked a stately pine, wholly devoid of bark, rising white in aged and
majestic ruin, thrusting out its barkless arms. It must have stood there
in death many years, its own ghost. Above the dam the brook flowed
through the forest, a glistening and babbling water-path, illuminated by
the sun, which sent its rays almost straight along its course. It was as
lovely and wild and peaceful as it could possibly have been a hundred
years ago; and the traces of labors of men long departed added a deeper
peace to it. I bathed in the pool, and then pursued my way down beside
the brook, growing dark with a pleasant gloom, as the sun sank and the
water became more shadowy. B------ says that there was formerly a
tradition that the Indians used to go up this brook, and return, after a
brief absence, with large masses of lead, which they sold at the
trading-stations in Augusta; whence there has always been an idea that
there is a lead-mine hereabouts.
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