people in masses, and elucidating the phenomena of their history. It
answers my purpose, at present, to suggest, that, if any popular
delusion or fanaticism arose, the means of giving it a rapid
diffusion, and of intensifying its power, were in this way provided.

In the early settlement of the country, the pursuit of game in the
forests, rivers, and lakes, was necessary as a means of subsistence,
and has always been important in that view. A war against beasts and
birds of prey was also required to be incessantly kept up. The methods
adopted for these ends were various and ingenious, often requiring
courage and skill, and in most instances conducted in companies. Deer
and moose were sometimes caged by surrounding them, or trapped; but
the gun was chiefly relied upon in their pursuit. There were various
methods for catching the smaller animals. One of the sports of boyhood
was to spring the rabbits or hares. A sapling, or young tree, was bent
down and fastened to a stick slid into notches cut in trees, on each
side of the path of the animal. The rabbit is wont to race through the
woods at great speed, and along established tracks, which,
particularly after snow has fallen, are clearly traceable. To the
cross-stick, thus placed above the path, one end of a strong
horse-hair was tied. The other end was in a slip-knot, with a noose
just large enough, and hanging at the height, to receive the head of
the rabbit. Not seeing the noose, and rushing along the path, the
rabbit would jerk the cross-stick out of the notches. The tree would
bound back to its original upright direction, and the rabbit remain
swinging aloft, until, at the break of day, the boys would rejoice in
the success of their stratagem. Pigeons in clouds frequented the
country in their seasons, and acres upon acres of the forests bowed
beneath their weight. They were taken by nets, dozens at a time, or
brought down in great numbers by shot-guns. The marshalled hosts of