of pursuit. The springs and streams among the
hills were bared to the fierce sun, and would soon dry up and disappear.
Soon 'the horn would no more wake them up in the morn.' The sons of
their love and pride, instead of being trained hunters, with a free,
bold step, frank kindness, true honor, and a courage that knew not fear,
would become men to whom the pleasures and dangers of their fathers
would seem an idle tale." The prospect spreading on the other side of
the mountains, he pictured as filled with all the images of abundance
and freedom that could enter the thoughts of the hunter. The paintings
were drawn from nature, and the words few and simple, that spoke to the
hearts of these sons of the forest. "The broad woods," he pursued,
"would stretch beneath their eyes, when the mountain summits were
gained, one extended tuft of blossoms. The cane was a tangle of
luxuriance, affording the richest pastures. The only paths through it
were those made by buffaloes and bears. In the sheltered glades,
turkeys and large wild birds were so abundant, that a hunter could
supply himself in an hour for the wants of a week. They would not be
found like the lean and tough birds in the old settlements, that
lingered around the clearings and stumps of the trees, in the topmost of
whose branches the fear of man compelled them to rest, but young and
full fed. The trees in this new land were of no stinted or gnarled
growth, but shot up tall, straight, and taper. The yellow poplar here
threw up into the air a column of an hundred feet shaft in a contest
with the sycamore for the pre-eminence of the woods. Their wives and
children would remain safe in their present homes, until the first
dangers and fatigues of the new settlement had been met and overcome.
When their homes were selected, and their cabins built, they would
return and bring them out to their new abodes. The outward journey could
be regulated by the uncontrolled pleasure of their more frail
travellers. What guardians could be more true than their husbands with
their good rifles and the skill and determination to use them? They
would depend, not upon circumstances, but upon themselves. The babes
would exult in the arms of their mothers from the inspiring influence of
the fresh air; and at night a cradle from the hollow tree would rock
them to a healthful repose. The older children, training to the pursuits
and pleasures of a life in the woods, and acquiring vigor of body and
m