464 Ikfngs of tbe 1Rot>, 1Rffle t anb Gun 



of sport in France tally closely with those of Colonel 

 Thornton. 



But unquestionably the most notable event in 

 Grantley Berkeley's career as a sportsman was his 

 sporting tour in America. In the year 1859 he was 

 commissioned by the proprietor of The Field to take 

 a trip to the States, try his hand at shooting the bison 

 on its native prairie, and narrate his adventures for the 

 benefit of readers of that journal. 



Shortly before starting Berkeley published the 

 following bombastic manifesto of his intentions : 



''BEACON LODGE, CHRISTCHURCH, 



July 30, 1859. 



SIR, Permit me through the medium of your paper 

 to address a few words to my brother sportsmen in the 

 United States. 



An opportunity which I have often longed for has 

 been afforded me of paying a visit to New York, starting 

 from Liverpool for the express purpose of fraternising 

 with the disciples of St. Hubert, shaking hands with my 

 Transatlantic brethren, and, with the advice of my 

 brother sportsmen, proceeding through a part of the 

 cultivated country to the magnificent prairies, gathering 

 by the way all information, scientific, agricultural, and 

 ornithological, that it is possible for me to collect. My 

 stay in the United States must of necessity be limited, 

 but, under the blessing of Heaven [!], I hope, ere my 

 return to spend my Christmas in England, to have 

 achieved and learnt enough to enable me to tell my 

 countrymen a tale, and to point out to them the route 



