56 
WILD SCENES AND SONG-BIEDS. 
birds made his appearance, and took possession of the fair 
land, as of a rightful heritage. 
To be sure, it had been seen before this, and the hunters 
knew its white-barred wings from afar off, but not its name ; 
nor had they heard its song. It had always shown itself 
wild and shy in the extreme — as if it were a mere passenger 
through an evil country, and feared to rest the soles of its 
feet upon a soil that was accursed. But, with the blooming 
orchards, Avaving grain, and all the pleasant sights and 
mellow sounds of peace, the scared way-farers tarried for 
awhile to rest, and then to find a new kingdom and a 
home. 
There is something very curious in the manner in which 
this creature took possession, first of Northern Kentucky ; 
and then, some twenty years after, of the Southern part, or 
Green Eiver country, as it is known. The North, beyond 
doubt, from its physical confomation, suited the habits and 
tastes of the fastidious monarch best ; and besides, it was 
nearly fifty years after the settlement of the North, and not 
until the world had commenced to style it the Paradise of the 
West, that the Green Kiver valley began to emerge from the 
semi-barbarous condition of a frontier, and to be considered 
by him as worthy of notice. Then he came more frequently, 
a fleeting scout " to spy out the land and the richness thereof" 
I remember well, a very eccentric, good-natured, and gar- 
rulous old gentleman of my native town, a Mr. B. ,who was 
a good naturalist by the way, and loved birds dearly — tell- 
ing me about a chase after the first mocking bird he ever 
saw in the Green River country. He was one of the earliest 
settlers of our town, and had known the bird well in Vir- 
ginia, and had frequently seen it in the north of Kentucky. 
He often, during a residence of twelve or fifteen years, won- 
dered why he had never seen it in the " Barrens"' — which was 
the old name the hunters had given to the Green River 
Valley. 
Mr. B. was one day riding through these black oak Bar- 
