The principal
cause of this is, the monotony and solitude of his existence.
At these confines of civilization, the American is always a hunter, and
those who dwell on the smaller farms, at the edges of forests, often
depend, for their animal food, upon the skill of the male portion of
their community. In the fall of the year, the American shoulders his
rifle, and goes alone into the wilds, to "see after his pigs, horses,
and cows." Constantly on the look-out for deer and wild bees, he resorts
to the most secluded spots, to swamps, mountain ridges, or along the
bushy windings of some cool stream. Constant views of nature in her
grandeur, the unbroken silence of his wanderings, causes a depression of
the mind, and, as his faculties of sight and hearing are ever on the
stretch, it affects his nervous system. He starts at the falling of a
dried leaf, and, with a keen and painful sensation, he scrutinizes the
withered grass before him, aware that at every step he may trample upon
some venomous and deadly reptile. Moreover, in his wanderings, he is
often pressed with hunger, and is exposed to a great deal of fatigue.
"Fast in the wilds, and you will dream of spirits," is an Indian axiom,
and a very true one. If to the above we add, that his mind is already
prepared to receive the impressions of the mysterious and marvellous, we
cannot wonder at their becoming superstitious.
Pages:
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516