CHAPTER XIX. 



SNIPE SHOOTING ON ILLINOIS PRAIRIES. 



WHO that is a sportsman, if he has time and means, 

 can remain immersed in town or mercantile pursuits 

 in this most prolific season of the year for field sports 

 spring? Consider only the contrast of winding 

 your course along the solitary brook, bubbling and 

 leaping with impetuous energy over its rocky course, 

 and singing lullabies of soft music so soothing to the 

 mind, while Nature, as if revived from her winter's 

 rest, sends forth odours so suggestive of returning 

 summer ; or, on the other hand, wandering over the 

 boundless prairie, drinking into your very soul the 

 invigorating breeze surcharged with vitality and 

 health, instead of being seated with the constant pens, 

 ink, and paper before you, the incessant hum caused 

 by toiling life grating on your ears, and the everlast- 

 ing mental excitement of the busy world resting upon 

 vou. 



