FROM THE STREET TO THE WILDS 235 



Always the wilderness worked miracles with 

 me and in times of physical ailment or mental 

 depression I had longed for the solace of the 

 woods, the mountains, the prairies, or the waters 

 of the wild. I knew Mayne Reid's stories by 

 heart and could almost have reproduced Coop- 

 er's Leather Stocking series from my memory. 

 It was a dream of my youth to visit the scenes of 

 these stories, a dream that has since been sub- 

 stantially realized. 



A buffalo hunt on the plains had been planned 

 for years by my nearest friend and myself. His 

 chance to carry out this project came at the time 

 of my deepest distress when I could see no hope 

 on the horizon. I needed the respite and the 

 tonic of the trip to restore shattered nerves that 

 had banished sleep, and bring back the mental 

 poise and renew the hope that must possess me 

 before tackling the world again. 



While in Washington I had made pleasant 

 acquaintances with many army officers and re- 

 ceived frequent invitations to visit army posts, 

 while my friend, J. Q. A. Ward, had similar 



