"What a strange diversity of tastes exists among the people of this
world of ours," said the Doctor, addressing himself to me, as we sat
in front of our tents, listening to the roar of the waters. "You and
I, I take it, enjoy a fortnight or so, among these lakes, and old
forests, with a keener relish than Spalding or Smith here. I judge so,
because we indulge in these trips every year, while this is their
first adventure of the kind. But even you and I, however much we may
love the woods, however we may enjoy these occasional tramps among
their shady solitudes, would not enjoy them as a residence; and yet I
have sometimes thought I should love to spend the summers in a forest
home, alone with nature, with my pen and books, a fishing-rod and
rifle to supply my wants, and a friend to talk with occasionally.
"Many years ago, I was out on the Western prairies, some sixty days
beyond the region of bread; we had encamped on the banks of a stream,
along which a narrow belt of timber grew. More than a quarter of a
century has passed since I took that trip to look upon the Rocky
Mountains. There was no gold region laying beyond them then, or
rather, the enterprise of the Anglo-Saxon had not discovered its
existence, and the greed of the white man had not made the trail over
the mountains, or through their dismal passes, a familiar way.
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