Great as was the interest excited by the adventure of Nellie, it was not
long before it was thrown in the shade by another fact which was brought
to light by that same experience: that was the existence of a large bear
in the woods which lay to the east and west of the road leading to
Dunbarton.

This forest, as has already been intimated, covered a large tract of
country, in which, a few years previous, bears, deer, and wolves had
been hunted by many of those dwelling on the outskirts. Large inroads
had been made on the woodland, and here and there the cabin of a settler
or squatter was found by those who penetrated any distance.

There were clearings extending over several acres, while, again, a man
might wander for hours without emerging from the timber, which included
the common varieties found in the Middle States--oak, beech, maple,
birch, hickory, hemlock, black walnut, American poplar or whitewood,
gum, elm, persimmon, and others less important.

The pine resembled the famous white pine of the Allegheny mountains, and
predominated. Where there was such a large area covered with timber,
about every variety of surface was known. In some places were rocks,
ravines, hollows, and gulches; in others there were marshy swamps
through which a hunter would find it hard work to force his way.

Shark Creek entered from the east and was of considerable volume. In
many places it was deep, while elsewhere it widened into broad and
shallow expansions. It wound its way through the woods in the sinuous
course always taken by such streams, and, crossing the road, where it
was spanned by a bridge, it continued onward a quarter of a mile, when