AV THE FAR WEST. 3 



selves with the delights of hunting and fishing, be prepared 

 to camp out, or take up their quarters in farmhouses some 

 distance away from large settlements. The latter is much 

 the cheaper plan, and may do well enough for single indi- 

 viduals or very small parties; but it has its disadvantages in 

 the fact that the surrounding country is hunted in a short 

 time, that the accommodations are often of a poor character, 

 and are sometimes difficult to find, for the owners of cabins 

 frequently object to receiving strangers, and especially those 

 from the city, who are supposed to be exceedingly fastidious 

 in their tastes, and, finally, the Nimrods are hampered in the 

 freedom of their movements and actions, and are never so 

 much at their ease as they would be if they were snugly 

 quartered in their own tents or waggons, or even extended under 

 the umbrageous shelter of a spreading tree. The inconvenience 

 is all the greater if persons are accompanied by dogs, horses, 

 and a large hunting paraphernalia; but if not, and they only 

 desire a few days' hunting or fishing in a place, and they do 

 not care about making very large bags, a farmhouse may afford 

 them all the comforts they want, and will at least save them 

 no small sum for camping outfit and the means of travelling. 

 Some of the guides in the country are prepared to accom- 

 modate a few followers of the chase; but it is often the 

 case with them that familiarity breeds contempt ; hence 

 they do not work so well, in many instances, as they 

 would if their proteges were less familiar with them. One 

 word may be said here of these Western guides, and that is, 

 that they will bear no high-handed dictation or any assumption 

 of superiority over them by those under their guidance, and 

 though they may not resent it personally, they will in many 

 other ways, by causing a person's hunting exploits to be few 

 and far between, and to make him tramp many weary miles 

 over rugged mountains, through precipitous canyons, and 

 over tiresome plains, for no other purpose than to thoroughly 

 fatigue him, so that he may be glad to take a rest the next 

 day. If he is kind, genial, and open -hearted, however, they 

 will do almost anything for him, and will leave no effort 

 untried to make his experience of the chase as pleasant as 



n 2 



