344 OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 



little information. The truth is, we were more inter- 

 ested in our concerns and the serious affairs outside the 

 sport which so fascinated Izak Walton.- 



®ne §uubreii anli oltDElftl) ©ag. 



Duncombe House, 



Decatur, Michigan, 



August Thirty -first. 



Albert W. Rogers, to whom I had been previously 

 introduced, called late in the afternoon, and invited 

 me to drive with him, determined, he told me, that I 

 should see something of Decatur's surroundings. The 

 time was favorable for agreeable impressions. It had 

 been a typical summer day, with blue sky, a slight 

 breeze and the mercury at 70° ; in short, just such 

 weather as I had encountered in this section of Michi- 

 gan throughout the month of August, and as evening 

 approached, I was prepared to enjoy to the utmost 

 the pleasure which my new acquaintance had })rovided. 



On the outskirts of the town one gets a view of 

 gently rolling country under a splendid state of culti- 

 vation, the yellow of the grain fields predominating, 

 and dotted here and there with farmhouses. Dark 

 outlines against the horizon suggested the forests of 

 oak, ash, maple, birch and elm, which stretch over 

 such large tracts of Van Buren County, and which 

 have made a little paradise for lumbermen. Wheat, 

 maize and hay appeared to be flourishing ; but I 

 believe that agricultural products do their best in the 

 rich bottom-lands bordering the rivers. I have 

 dwelt so enthusiastically upon this fertile country that 

 to say more would seem extravagant, so I will bring 



