PRAIRIE FARMS AND PRAIRIE FOLK.*

Tnxs is, on the whole, a pleasant, gossipy book, but very desultory by no means keeping close to the subject proposed, and laying Mr. Gillmore open to the charge of book-making, as it is largely eked out by adventures of himself or his brother officers in Lon- don, Spain, Algeria, &c., not necessarily to the taste of those who like to read about the great prairies, and certainly not to ours. Mr. Gillmore has not, or does not show in his books, the sense of humour necessary to make even his accounts of mess-room practi- cal jokes amusing, and the flirtations and quarrels are still less attractive. Of these digressions only the Spanish episode of vin- dictive revenge has any interest, and that would have been much more in its place in the Christmas number of some periodical. He is not much to our liking either in his descriptions of balls and boxings and kissings-behind-doors and bigamy cases (of which we have two) and newspaper scandal and Christy minstrels in the Western states, for while these are ostensibly illustrations of the condition of society there, and are set down for our benefit in a would-be reflective-philosopher style, they give us the feeling that they are very partial pictures of the vulgarer side of prosperous middle-class life, not very different from what are to be found in any purely agricultural society, and with which the author seems to have a sort of coarse sympathy. In fact, we found ourselves continually regretting that barrack life followed by a life of wandering adventure should almost inevitably rub away, not only the fastidiousness, but the refinement of the English gentleman. Why otherwise should an English officer take occa- sion to kiss tavern-keepers' daughters behind a door, and then print such an amorous description of it for the world to read. But we do not wish to carp, and if such a life does not seem very useful and destroys refinement, it destroys also the nar- rowness of clique and worship of rank, and nourishes a free- dom from prejudice, and pre-eminently, physical courage, no mean attribute of a real man. That Mr. Gillmore has reaped these advantages we have ample proofs in his pages; for with all simplicity, while he does not parade his light, he does not hide it under a bushel either. We have one other adverse criticism to make —the frequent one—that the English is by no means uniformly good ; a common enough defect in the works of men of action, to whom opportunity and taste for study are probably alike wanting ; but why do they not condescend to submit their manuscripts to • Prairie Farms and Prairie Polk. By Parker GMmore ("Mitque"). London: Hurst and Blacken. •1872.

literary friends? We should think this must always be pos- sible, and if it were done, we should be saved defective grammar, stiff, grandiloquent style, and, in this case, occasional Yankee- isms. And if there were humility enough to bear the trial, such a friend might strike out also, here and there, a trite sentiment or moral platitude not altogether new or striking, and suggest less abrupt transitions from subject to subject, which are rather a ludicrous and frequently recur- ring characteristic of the book before us. A few extracts will show what we mean. Here, for instance, is a little specimen of the grandiloquent, in which the natural order of the words is transposed, an arrangement considered effective by quasi-litaira- tears :—" Who can doubt," says our author, speaking of the shores. of the Ohio, "that ere long the happiest and most enlightened population on the face of the earth will here be found ? America. is now, particularly the Western portion of it, in its infancy ; it is. likea great overgrown boy, unfinished in education because of his. youth, but his present knowledge and promise for the future justify all in foretelling what a noble man will he become, if his life is spared." And here is more than questionable English :— " In fact, I doubt very much if her services here terminate, for- there was an air of comfort about this bachelor's residence that informed me could not exist without woman's aid." And again :— "They may all be placed together, for between all there exists so much similarity that if you mistook the pursuits of one you would at once guess that it was that of the other."

But a truce to fault-finding, in which we have only indulge& because we would feign persuade Mr. Gillmore to devote himself more in future to the description of out-of-door country life in which he shines. When he confines himself to prairie farms he is. delightful. With prairie folk he is not so successful, partly for the Irishman's reason that most of them are not prairie folk, bat. only transplanted to the prairies from elsewhere.

During the American war, Lieutenant Gillmore determined to. take a farm in the Far West for sporting purposes, and originally chose Tennessee; "but the farther" he "progressed South the more- bitter and vindictive were the feelings of the hostile parties," 8o with regret he turned Northward, and finally pitched his tent near Vincennes, on the Illinois bank of the Wabash. But before he arrived there his adventures began, and he nearly got into trouble with the emissaries of the Confederate party, who demanded his nationality. At last, when their patience was nearly exhausted, he fortunately found his commission :— " It was closely scrutinized by all, every signature was examined, eves her Majesty's at the top.—' Whose is that ?' said the Provost-Marshal. Only the Queen of England's,' I responded.—' You don't say now that's her write ?'—' Certainly it is,' I replied.—' Well, who would haw thought it. Blowed if she don't write just the same as other folks!' exclaimed the gallant officer, adding in an authoritative voice, Come along my bully boys, he's no butternut, we've catched the wrong pup this time, better luck next hop.'"

Arrived at Vincennes, the view from his hotel-window he describes as follows, confirming all that one hears of the specialit6 of North American scenery, —the exquisite colouring of the foliage in autumn :—

" The first thing I did, after springing from bed, was to draw aside. my window curtains, and what a view greeted me! Beneath flowed the.

noble Wabash River, even here, so far up its course, equal in breadth to the Thames at Westminster, while its numerous ripples clawed and sparkled in a thousand fantastic shapes and colours. On either side of the bed of the stream was a wide margin of yellow sand-bank, on which an eager crowd of various varieties of plovers rushed to and fro in search. of their morning meal, while the distant view was closed in by some of the noblest forest trees that for size and beauty it has been my fortune to see. Their colouring was without exaggeration gorgeous, for the sea- son had sufficiently advanced for the night frost to turn the maples. scarlet, the Virginian creepers purple, the beeches brown, and the. hickories canary-colour."

At length we arrive at the farm which he has rented for hunting, shooting, and fishing (for he is equally enthusiastic in all three pursuits), and that he was not disappointed in his hopes every lover of sport will admit :— " On account of the position of this farm, the show of game upon it. must, from information that I have obtained, be something extraordinary when the floods in the Wabash are unusually large. I have already described the house as being situated on a table-land. This plateau is about a mile and a half long, and three-quarters of a mile wide, with an elevation in parts of almost one hundred feet. The ridge is everywhere covered with brash and timber, except a space of one hundred and My- er sixty acres cleared for purposes of cultivation. In front of my resi- dence, the river flows through a flat meadow ; on the other sides the farm is surrounded by extensive prairies, all subject to overflow when there has been an unusually heavy fall of rain. When this occurs, all the game, deer, turkeys, partridges, hares, &c., driven from the extensive. low grounds, have to take shelter on this elevated ground, the only piece to be found in the vicinity for many miles . Three years since there was an unusually wet, spring, at least so my landlord says, and

'while the waters were spread out over the surrounding country, not less than seventy or eighty head of deer had taken refuge upon his land. For over a week they wore detained here, and every morning and even- ing from the windows of the house numbers of these timid beauties could be seen. Still the reader must not imagine that they had no means of escape. Quite the reverse, for if pursued by a fleet hound these deer will take the water like spaniels, and push off for the nearest highlands, although they are distant several miles."

Before many months the waters were out, and our author was able to verify the statements of his landlord. There is a beautiful fron- tispiece descriptive of the scene ; that to the first volume is also very pretty :—

" At length the long foretold and talked about flood has taken place, the meadow beneath the house is covered with water, and the course of the river can only be detected by the trees that in ordinary times fringe its margin. Wild fowl in innumerable flocks and of various descriptions cleave their passage through the air and dash about with such apparent recklessness, that the observer must be impressed with the belief that this is for them no usual holiday. The waters are much discoloured, and trees, fences, and logs float upon its surface, showing how clean a sweep of all that is moveable has been made over the low grounds lying to the north. After breakfast I started for a survey of the prairies situated to the west. Scarcely had I left the barn-yard when I saw a drove of wild turkeys roosting on the upper limbs of a dead button-wood tree. There were not less than thirty birds in the flock, but so well had they chosen their situation, and so thoroughly were they on the qui vice, that my effort to stalk within gunshot was a failure. But if I was destined to fail in obtaining this description of game so early in the day, I soon discovered that, if my game-bag had been as capacious as a port- manteau, I could with ease have filled it—for every bush, heap, or coppice sheltered game, and the beautiful little partridge and diminutive hare hurried about in every direction to find shelter from my prying gaze. At length the western limits of the high ground wore reached, and before me stretched a sea, where yesterdaywas to be seen the broad expanding prairies. But it was not an extend ed blue water like the Mediterranean, or a more mirky ocean like that which washes the shores of our island home, but a turbid thick yellow liquid covering, impreg- nated with the soil and debris washed from hundreds of miles of inun- dated land. The depth of water over these vast plains must have been considerable, for the heads of the tall grass were not to be seen over its surface, and in many places these grasses were so lofty that they came well over the flips of my saddle when riding through them. Thus there remained no resting place for bird or animal where thousands had lived previous to the invasion of their demesne by the hostile torrent. Compelled to seek safety, they had found a refuge on the first high ground that occurred in the vicinity ; and thus, when the more elevated farm became an island it also became an asylum for every creature that lived within miles of it."

Our author tells us that these great floods are far from being as injurious here as they are in England. There is comparatively little for them to carry away, while their rich alluvial deposits are much to leave. In fact, no part of the Western States seems better for the grazier than this :—

" Stock-raising in this neighbourhood, if conducted on a large scale, must at all times be most remunerative, for, from the day the calf is born till the hour it is shipped to market, ready to be converted into beef, it appears to me that, with the exception of a little attention, there is neither expense nor trouble connected with the undertaking. Of course this is not the ease all over the country. Further north the Winters are so severe and long that a great portion of summer must be employed in laying up forage for the support of stock ; while a few hundred miles to the south of this place, the summer sun is so hot that for many months all the grasses are so parched up by its drying influences as to afford no nourishment to cattle. Neither of these objections has to be combated here. All the year round, with the exception of a month or six weeks in early spring, there is either prairie grass, water-weeds, or brouse to be obtained. In fact, unless the winter should be unprecedented in severity, cattle can live the whole year round without man being called upon in any way to provide for their wants."

But bliss is not perfect even here. Fever and ague and a disease (c Wed the milk disease) which affects cattle first, and then the human beings who partake of their milk or flesh, are serious draw- backs; to say nothing of marauding wolves and venomous snakes, and of lawless men who make it advisable that loaded revolvers should be ready at hand.

Our author is something of a naturalist as well as a sportsman, and evidently delights to watch the habits of the smaller as well as to destroy the larger game. With one of these peaceful studies after sunset we must close our notice :—

"Returning from the woods to the margin of the stream, we have other opportunities of seeing how the various specimens of the animal creation are affected by atmospheric influences. A ripple up the stream betrays the presence of a musk-rat, which in a moment is joined by another, just ascended from the bottom, where doubtless he was making a search for fresh-water mussels. On approaching each other they salute by sniffing noses, and then start to have a game of romps.

"Meanwhile, a more cautious gentleman, who can be partly seen behind the root of a tree, has been closely examining our appearance. If we remain quiet he will probably come out from his cover, advancing with cautious step until the whole of his long body and tail, both covered with rich brown fur, is presented to the view. It is a minx, half otter, ball ferret in habits and choice of food, preying on fish or fowl, and making water or land equally its home. With the undulating, gliding motion of the snake it gains the margin and disappears into the water, without leaving a bubble to mark the place of its entrance. In a few

minutes it re-appears, seated upon a distant stone, whence it surveys its position, eagerly examining whether any game is within reach. Diving once more, it directs its course towards a brood of wild duck seeking their evening meal among the broad-spread lotus leaves. One of the unhappy family will doubtless soon be struggling in the deadly embrace of the minx.

What is that sound of chip! chip! coining repeatedly from that brush heap ? It is the chipmonk or hackie, the Tamias of America, sitting on the stump of a tree, his golden fur glistening in the rays of the sun, and then, so quick and graceful in his movements, starting off again, showing the broad-pencilled lines along his back as he hops from stump to log. Nearly all over the country these beautiful squirrels, which are very abundant, are alike popular with young and old. The nest is built in the ground, and hoarded in it is the winter stock of provisions. There the ground squirrel sleeps away the dreary season, indifferent alike to rain, storm, or cold. Three other species of squirrel are also frequently seen here, the black, grey, and fox, all of which, especially the latter, exceed in size our English representative of the race. Being justly esteemed a great delicacy for the table, they are much persecuted. Yet their numbers do not decrease so rapidly as might be expected. In warm weather they remain secreted from the powerful rays of the mid-day sun, but evening brings them forth, full of frolic and mischief."