A PIGEON HUNT ON THE OHIO. 299 



harmlessly by, while watching the gambols of the little 

 green lizard or the leaping tarantula. After all, the 

 naturalist was stronger within me than the hunter ; though 

 fond of both, I loved the study better than the chase. 



And now, from the world's metropolis, as I look back 

 upon the scenes of my backwoods life, my mind yields 

 itself up to sweet remembrances sweeter than the retro- 

 spect of war a fresher memory sweeter than the retro- 

 spect of school and college days, or even the days of 

 childhood. I love to paint those scenes with words, for 

 while so occupied I feel as if they were again passing 



before me. 



***** 



Colonel P is a splendid specimen of the back- 

 woods gentleman there are gentlemen in the backwoods. 

 His house is the type of a backwoods mansion ; it is a 

 wooden structure, both walls and roof: no matter. It 

 has distributed as much hospitality in its time as many a 

 marble palace : this is one of its backwoods character- 

 istics. It stands upon the north bank of the Ohio that 

 beautiful stream "La belle riviere," as the French 

 colonists, and before their time the . Indians used to call 

 it. It is far from great cities. It is in the midst of the 

 woods though around it are a thousand acres of " clear- 

 ing," where you may distinguish fields of golden wheat, 

 and groves of shining maize-plants waving aloft their 



