Excerpt from The Big Bear of Arkansas: And Other Sketches, Illustrative of Characters and Incidents in the South and South-West

Gradually retreating before the swarm Of Squat ters and settlers in the new states and territories of the West, the pioneers Of a later day have finally established themselves in regions so distant as rather to overlook the Pacific than the acknowledged boundaries Of the Federal Union. But they have left behind them, on all hands, scores Of original characters to be encoun tered nowhere else under the sun. Indeed, several of the south-western states have been so recently re claimed from the Wilderness - Mississippi and Arkan sas particularly - that no one acquainted with the coun try can be surprised at the fact. In these two states destined each, we trust, to confer additional lustre on the galaxy originally composed Of the Old thirteen yet reside some of the most extraordinary men who ever lived to point a moral, or adorn a tale. With exteriors like the rugged Russian bear, some Of them are gifted with a great degree Of good sense and know ledge Of the world; it is not to be denied that many are as fond Of whiskey as of hunting, and that there are desperate and utterly reckless spirits among them; but a large majority of those to whom we refer, are charac terized by no more striking features than their courtesy to the stranger, and their passion for hunting, except it be their fondness for story-telling. Of adventures and scenes in which these characters stand out in bold re lief, this volume is mainly composed, relieved occasion ally by sketches of men and things in some of the Older southern states.

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