Upon the shoulder of the young man, as he emerged from the wood, rested
an elegant rifle; which, after advancing a short distance, he brought
into a trailing position; and then pausing, he dropped the breech upon
the ground, placed his hands over the muzzle, and, carelessly leaning
his chin upon them, swept with his eye the surrounding country, to which
he was evidently a stranger.

The day had been one of those mild and smoky ones, peculiar to the
climate and season; and the sun, large and red, was near to sinking
behind the far western ridge, giving a beautiful crimson, mellow tinge
to each object which came beneath his rays. The landscape, over which
the stranger gazed, was by no means unpleasing. His position was on an
eminence, overlooking a fertile valley, partly cleared, and partly
shaded by woods, through which wound a crystal stream, whose gentle
murmurs could be heard even where he stood. Beyond this stream, the
ground, in pleasing undulations, took a gentle rise, to a goodly height,
and was covered by what is termed an open wood--a wood peculiar to
Kentucky at this period--consisting of trees in the regularity of an
orchard, at some distance apart, devoid of underbrush, beneath which the
earth was beautifully carpeted with a rank growth of clover, high grass,
and wild flowers innumerable. In the rear of the young hunter, as if to
form a background to the picture, was the wood he had just quitted,
which, continuing the elevation spoken of, but more abruptly, rose high
above him, and was crowned by a ledge of rocks. Far in the distance, to
his right, could be seen another high ridge; while to the left,
spreading far away from the mouth of the valley, if we may so term it,
like the prairies of Missouri, was a beautiful tangle, or cane-brake,
containing its thousands of wild animals. The open space wherein the
hunter stood was not large, covering an area of not more than half a
dozen acres. It was of an oblong form, and sloped off from his position