4 HINTS ON FOREST AND PRAIRIE LIFE. 



dense thickets, and game birds of large size and 

 delicious flavour are as plentiful as blackbirds in 

 England? It is in pursuit of such game that many 

 a wealthy Englishman has earned himself a name in 

 sporting history, to the envy of young Nimrods, who 

 would fain outvie the deeds of their more celebrated 

 compeers. 



Though my hair is not yet white with age, I can 

 still say I was a young man when I first visited the 

 prairies and woods of the West, where the best years 

 of my life were passed, and I have often since 

 regretted leaving those wild scenes ; though why I did 

 so is a question I have never been able to solve to my 

 own satisfaction. Perhaps it was the effect of that 

 very desire for change which first led me to the 

 wilderness. 



Often in my dreams I wander over the prairies ; 

 often in my waking moments I recall happy times 

 spent in the woods; but now that I can no more 

 take part in those inspiriting scenes, I cannot refrain 

 from recording my experiences by flood and field, for 

 the benefit of all who may feel inclined to pay a 

 visit to those game-filled regions, — the Paradise of the 

 true sportsman, and the 'happy hunting-grounds' of 

 the Indian warrior. 



In the prairies and forests of Texas, where I lived 

 for years, a medium sportsman, with a good double- 



