Introductory 15 



Until a man, unused to wilderness life, even though 

 a good sportsman, has actually tried it, he has no 

 idea of the difficulties and hardships of shifting 

 absolutely for himself, even for only two or three 

 days. Not only will the local guide have the neces- 

 sary knowledge as to precisely which one of two 

 seemingly similar places is most apt to contain 

 game ; not only will he possess the skill in pack- 

 ing horses, or handling a canoe in rough water, 

 or finding his way through the wilderness, which 

 the amateur must lack ; but even the things which 

 the amateur does, the professional will do so much 

 more easily and rapidly, as in the one case to leave, 

 and in the other case not to leave, ample time for 

 the hunting proper. Therefore the ordinary ama- 

 teur sportsman, especially if he lives in a city, must 

 count upon the services of trained men, possibly 

 to help him in hunting, certainly to help him in 

 travelling, cooking, pitching camp, and the like ; 

 and this he must do, if he expects to get good 

 sport, no matter how hardy he may be, and no 

 matter how just may be the pride he ought to take 

 in his own craft, skill, and capacity to undergo 

 fatigue and exposure. But while normally he 

 must take advantage of the powers of others, he 

 should certainly make a point of being able to 

 shift for himself whenever the need arises; and 

 he can only be sure of possessing this capacity by 

 occasionally exercising it. It ought to be unneces- 



