38 ADVENTURES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



of all who make their acquaintance. Bronzed 

 and hardy, fearless of danger, eager to please, un- 

 contaminated with the vicious habits of civilized 

 life, they are not unworthy of the magnificent sur- 

 roundings amid which they dwell. Among them 

 an oath is never heard, unless in moments of 

 intense excitement. Vulgarity of speech is abso- 

 lutely unknown, and theft a matter of horror and 

 surprise. Measured by our social and intellectual 

 facilities, their lot is lowly and uninviting, and yet 

 to them there is a charm and fascination in it. 

 Under the base of these overhanging mountains 

 they w^ere born. Upon the waters of these se- 

 cluded lakes they have sported from earliest boy- 

 hood. The wilderness has unfolded to them its 

 mysteries, and made them wise with a wisdom no- 

 where written in books. This wilderness is their 

 home. Here they were born, here have they lived, 

 and here it is that they expect to die. Their 

 graves will be made under the pines where in 

 childhood they played, and the sounds of wind 

 and wave which lulled them to sleep when boys 

 will swell the selfsame cadences in requiem over 

 their graves. When they have passed away, tradi- 

 tion will prolong their virtues and their fame. 



I am often in reception of letters from gentle- 

 men who wish to visit the wilderness, inquiring 

 the names of guides to whom they can write for 

 the purpose of engaging their services. I have 



