332 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 
it, there is nothing more destructive to trout and salmon 
than these minute particles of timber. The fish, as they 
rest head up stream, imbibe them into their mouths, whence 
they pass into the gills and stomach, ultimately causing 
disease and death. When this is known to be the case, 
would it not be well to insist that this débris should other- 
wise be disposed of, which may, without much labor or in- 
convenience, be accomplished by fire? Hendrik Hudson, 
the first explorer of the magnificent river which bears his 
name in America, speaks of that river as swarming with 
salmon; but where are they now? Gone, never to return, 
unless repopulated by artificial means; in fact, expelled by 
dams and sawdust, and such like accompaniments of the 
human race. As with the Hudson, so it would be every- 
where, if preventive measures were not adopted to stop 
these abuses, so glaring and unjustifiable, that every well- 
thinking man can scarce fail to anathematize the short- 
sighted policy that has formerly marked the advance of 
civilization. But it is not only fish in America; game has 
also thus ruthlessly been dealt with, till forests and farms 
cease to re-echo the musical, plaintive notes of the partridge, 
or the sonorous, drumming call of the ruffed grouse. For 
our part, the most picturesque walk, the most delightful 
rural drive, if not graced with the presence or note of the 
feathered warblers, the cooing of the dove, or the flight of 
birds, loses half its fascinations, half its enchantments, and 
consequently half the pleasures it would otherwise afford. 
Supposing that you have passed a few days at Upton, 
and enjoyed, with that relish which is so natural to a sports- 
man, the manifold pleasures of a country excursion, we 
should advise your now leaving civilization, and reveling 
in the solitude of the pathless wood, where man seldom in- 
trudes, and nature remains undefiled or deformed except 
by the assassin hand of the axeman. If you be a good 
