26 CANADIAN NIGHTS 



like an ocean beneath him, lies the Prairie, that 

 great deposit of gravel, sand, and unstratified 

 clays, the debris of the mountain range on which 

 he stands. 



Where could the geologist find a region more 

 suitable for the exercise of his peculiar branch of 

 science than one which combines the vast deposit 

 of the prairies with mountain masses obtruded 

 from the bowels of the earth, and deep canons 

 exposing broad sections of the earth's crust to his 

 view ? And where is the mineralogist more likely 

 to be rewarded for his pains ? As to the botanist, 

 I would almost warn him from visiting those 

 scenes, lest he should never be able to tear him- 

 self away ; for the variety of the flora is infinite, 

 ranging from Alpine specimens blooming amid 

 everlasting snows, to flowers of a very different 

 character, growing in rich luxuriance in deep 

 valleys under a subtropical sun. 



I have not included hunting among the sciences, 

 but in reality I might have done so. It is a very 

 exact science, and one in which excellence is 

 rarely obtained. Many men never become, never 

 can become, good hunters. They are not endowed 

 with the necessary faculties ; and those who are 

 gifted with them require years of study and hard 



