56 WILD SCENES AND SONG-BIEDS. 



birds made his appearance, and took possession of the fair 

 land, as of a rightful heritage. 



To be sure, it had been seen before this, and the hunters 

 knew its white-barred wings from afar off, but not its name ; 

 nor had they heard its song. It had always shown itself 

 wild and shy in the extreme as if it were a mere passenger 

 through an evil country, and feared to rest the soles of its 

 feet upon a soil that was accursed. But, with the blooming 

 orchards, waving grain, and all the pleasant sights and 

 mellow sounds of peace, the scared way-farers tarried for 

 awhile to rest, and then to find a new kingdom and a 

 home. 



There is something very curious in the manner in which 

 this creature took possession, first of Northern Kentucky ; 

 and then, some twenty years after, of the Southern part, or 

 Green River country, as it is known. The North, beyond 

 doubt, from its physical confomation, suited the habits and 

 tastes of the fastidious monarch best; and besides, it was 

 nearly fifty years after the settlement of the North, and not 

 until the world had commenced to style it the Paradise of the 

 West, that the Green River valley began to emerge from the 

 semi-barbarous condition of a frontier, and to be considered 

 by him as worthy of notice. Then he came more frequently, 

 a fleeting scout " to spy out the land and the richness thereof." 



I remember well, a very eccentric, good-natured, and gar- 

 rulous old gentleman of my native town, a Mr. B. , who was 



a good naturalist by the way, and loved birds dearly tell- 

 ing me about a chase after the first mocking bird he ever 

 saw in the Green River country. He was one of the earliest 

 settlers of our town, and had known the bird well in Vir- 

 ginia, and had frequently seen it in the north of Kentucky. 

 He often, during a residence of twelve or fifteen years, won- 

 dered why he had never seen it in the " Barrens" which was 

 the old name the hunters had given to the Green River 

 Valley. 



Mr. B. was one day riding through these black oak Bar- 



