James Capen Adams 47 



except in very general terms. He did not, on any occasion, appear 

 to exaggerate, and told nothing improbable, though I had to 

 wonder how he could remember so distinctly the particulars of 

 his various hunts. I still have my notes of his talk. My object in 

 writing the book was to tell his story in his own way, and I added 

 nothing to the substance of his narrative except a few supposed 

 embellishments and a little sentiment, besides literary order, 

 expression, and arrangement. I have to thank Dr. Merriam for 

 directing you to me, and hope my answers to your inquiries will 

 be satisfactory. 



Hoping to hear from you again, believe me, 

 Very sincerely yours, 



THEODORE H. HITTELL. 



To my mind, when I was a boy, this old man Adams 

 was the prince of all hunters. Boone and Crockett and 

 Carson seemed one-candle-power lamps to this old arc 

 light of an Adams, and in some ways I feel so still. Ad- 

 ams, of course, was not a naturalist. He was not, except 

 in his capacity as a hunter, trader, and trainer of wild ani- 

 mals, interested in natural history, that is to say, he was 

 only interested in those habits and in those traits of the ani- 

 mals he dealt with that had to do with his success. But 

 he was of a quicker intelligence and of a more indepen- 

 dent nature than most of his kind; he insisted upon using 

 his own eyes, he had a widely varied experience, and his 

 reminiscences abound in observations of interest, and of 

 at least conditional value. I shall more than once refer 

 to them as occasions arise. 



