ABSTRACT
The elder of the company was a tall, gaunt man, with a face browned by twenty years’ exposure to the extreme climate of the mountains; his long black hair, as yet scarcely tinged with grey, hanging almost to his shoulders, but his cheeks and chin clean shaven, after the fashion of the mountainmen. Fox-hunting was a favourite sport with many; indeed, all loved it, but only a few kept hounds and gave chase to mischievous Reynard. Foxes were quite plenty, and renowned for deeds of daring. “Look”, said Black Baby, “on de Indian River we went to bed and heard de mosquitoes singin’ like bull alligators. Inhabiting the big pine woods, the swamps, lakes and streams in the vicinity of Paul Bunyan’s old-time logging camps were a considerable number of very wild animals. The men soon got used to them and tolerated them. Wood ticks were in the brush but were out of date and inactive in the winter time.
