STALKS ABROAD 



CHAPTER I 



THE YELLOWSTONE PARK 

 WITH SOME NOTES ON THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE 



WHEN, as a small, shy, bespectacled boy at Eton, 

 tiring occasionally of the paths of learning, which 

 in this particular case led, or were supposed to lead, 

 to a thorough knowledge of the French language, 

 I would beguile the time by surreptitiously perusing 

 the short paragraphs contained in my exercise book. 



There was one whose stilted language never failed 

 to conjure up before my youthful mind glorious visions 

 of the might-have-been. Headed " The Yellowstone 

 Park," it read as follows : " Within its confines roam 

 great herds of game, living amicably together, un- 

 disturbed by man. Here one may still see the 

 shaggy bison ; vast herds of wapiti ; bands of ante- 

 lope ; mountain sheep ; bears ; and a host of other 

 strange creatures. Knowing that they are safe they 

 allow the visitor to approach within a few yards 

 of them." That was nearly all, but it was enough 

 for me. In thought I left the dingy classroom and 



wandered free as air over those vast mountain ranges, 



A 



