CHAPTER XL 



THE TEXAN HUNTRESS. 



My dissertation of the last chapter upon the Fox and Fox 

 Hunting, though strictly germain to the general theme, has 

 caused me in some measure to lose sight of the individuality 

 of the Hunter-Naturalist in one of his favorite sports. Though 

 I have turned aside, through many pages, to present nobler 

 exemplars of the character, still I must be here permitted to 

 resume that broken thread of personal narrative, in which I 

 commenced to recount something of its humble and inner ex- 

 periences on the rough highway of development ; and now, 

 evil, and wild, and stern as they may be, I shall continue to 



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