HINTS TO SPORTSMEN. 19 



travel arc always at command ; and, finally, that no matter 

 how irregularly persons may roam in pursuit of game, they 

 are within a few days' march of civilization and the high- 

 ways of communication with the outer world. 



Those who visit the country in search of the denizens 

 of the forest and the stream, the mountain and the plain, 

 should, if they wish to be unusually successful, or desire to 

 satiate themselves with the delights of hunting and fishing, 

 be prepared to camp out, or take up their quarters in farm- 

 houses some distance away from large settlements. The 

 latter is much the cheaper plan, and may do well enough 

 for single individuals or very small parties; but it has its 

 disadvantages in the fact that the surrounding country is 

 hunted in a short time, that the accommodations are often 

 of a poor character, and are sometimes difficult to find ; for 

 the owners of cabins frequently object to receiving stran- 

 gers, and especially those from the city, who are supposed 

 to be exceedingly fastidious in their tastes ; and, finally, 

 the Nimrods are hampered in the freedom of their move- 

 ments and actions, and are never so much at their ease as 

 they would be if they were snugly quartered in their own 

 tents or wagons, or even extended under the umbrageous 

 shelter of a spreading tree. The inconvenience is all the 

 greater if persons are accompanied by dogs, horses, and a 

 large hunting paraphernalia ; but if not, and they only de- 

 sire a few days' hunting or fishing in a place, and they do 

 not care about making very large bags, a farm-house may 

 afford them all the comforts they want, and will at least 

 save them no small sum for camping outfit and the means 

 of travelling. 



Some of the guides in the country are prepared to ac- 

 commodate a few followers of the chase ; but it is often 

 the case with them that familiarity breeds contempt; hence 

 they do not work so well, in many instances, as they would 

 if their [)rot'eges were less familiar with them. One word 

 may be said here of these Western guides, and that is, that 

 they will bear no high-handed dictation or any assumption 

 of superiority over them by those under their guidance ; 



