" When New York State grew too
crowded for Cooper's Leather-Stocking, he shouldered his pack,
whistled to his dog, glanced at the sun, and struck a bee-line
for the Mississippi. Nothing could be more typical of the first
three hundred years of American history.
The traits of the pioneer have thus been the characteristic
traits of the American in action. The memories of successive
generations have tended to stress these qualities to the neglect
of others. Everyone who has enjoyed the free life of the woods
will confess that his own judgment upon his casual summer
associates turns, quite naturally and almost exclusively, upon
their characteristics as woodsmen. Out of the woods, these
gentlemen may be more or less admirable divines, pedants, men of
affairs; but the verdict of their companions in the forest is
based chiefly upon the single question of their adaptability to
the environment of the camp. Are they quick of eye and foot,
skillful with rod and gun, cheerful on rainy days, ready to do a
little more than their share of drudgery? If so, memory holds
them.
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