WILD LAKES OF THE AHIONDACK. 475 



of the tireless gray wolf ; and the brown bear, like a clumsy 

 boxer, cuffs the screaming panther away from its newly slain 

 feast ! 



The Indian is gone, but yet his ancient foes and victims 

 hare flouriahed apace, and may usurp their inheritance. 



Hurrah ! hurrah ! Arkwright and Fulton hare not yet 

 conquered the free earth of God iu this direction^and 

 bound oM its limbs in chains ! 



''The undevout astronomer is mad" — and the devout 

 sportsman may be forgiven, if at such a sight he, too, grow 

 mad and should fall to capering, and become something of 

 a heathen in his glee, shouting as I did. 



" Take my cap, Jupiter, and thank thee !" Against such 

 uncanonical sins I hereby formally warn aU other faithful 

 sons of Nimrod, who maybe "taken aback" under s imil ar 

 circumstances. 



As to the propriety of capering and throwing up one's 

 cap on the top of a mountain, I must in meekness confess 

 to its being "highly improper" — '-trnworthy the dignity," 

 etc. — but bless our soul, who could help it ? Not any genuine 

 sportsman, I am sure, whether he be "Venator," "Piscator," 

 or "Anceps!" — or all combined as — "I flatter myself!" — 

 ahem I 



No, it was not m human nature — or more inclusively, 

 sportsman's nature — to look down upon a scene so gloriously 

 fresh — so impregnably savage — hemmed in with its blue- 

 topped barriers forever ! — without feeling rich — rich as the 

 discoverer of some new gold-bearing island of the tropic 

 sea of dreams — richer far than one of England's proud lords 

 when he waved his hand towards his fenced and great domain ; 

 for this, too, was mine — was ours — was aU mankind's — was 

 God's, as the executor for all ! 



And what if I were guilty of some saltant absurdities? 

 There were no game law iniquities upon my shoulders to 

 weigh down my heels ! — all this was free, and the fatness 



