FOURTH JOURNEY. 



259 



Ye who are versed in politics, and stud} 7 the rise and 

 fall of empires, and know what is good for civilized 

 man, and what is bad for him, — or, in other words, 

 what will make him happy, and what will make him 

 miserable, — tell us how comes it that Europe has lost 

 almost her last acre in the boundless expanse of ter- 

 ritory which she so lately possessed in the West, and 

 still contrives to hold her vast property in the extensive 

 regions of the East ? 



But whither am I going! I find myself on a new 

 and dangerous path. Pardon, gentle reader, this sudden 

 deviation. Methinks I hear thee saying to me, — 



"Tramite quo tendis, majoraque viribus aud.es." 



I grant that I have erred, but I will do so no more. In 

 general I avoid politics; they are too heavy for me, 

 and I am aware .that they have caused the fall of many 

 a strong and able man : they require the shoulders of 

 Atlas to support their weight. 



When I was in the rocky mountains of Macoushia, in 

 Cocks of the m onth of June, 1812, I saw four young 

 Rock. Cocks of the Eock in an Indian's hut ; they 



had been taken out of the nest that week. They were 

 of a uniform dirty brown colour, and by the position of 

 the young feathers upon the head, you might see that 

 there would be a crest there when the bird arrived at 

 maturity. By seeing youug ones in the month of June, 

 I immediately concluded that the old cock of the rock 

 would be in fine plumage from the end of November to 

 the beginning of May ; and that the naturalist who was 

 in quest of specimens for his museum ought to arrange 

 his plans in such a manner as to be able to get into 

 Macoushia during these months. However, I find now 



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