`` paper , ink , lead , bribes , shammy leather , brushes , '' he said , writing busily , and resumed absently singing , `` alouette , gentil alouette ... '' it was impossible to get a wagon up to the ridge ; the only approach was by the narrow trail that wound up the slope from coopersville-one of the factors that had led to the development of that minor crossroads into a small hamlet , as itinerant peddlers and other travelers tended to stop there , making brief forays on foot upward into the mountain .