, because he has not the power to bestow distinctions; and he has
not the power, because he is the offspring and not the parent of a system. In
what manner these several qualities are exhibited, in some of the most strongly
marked of the latter class, will be seen in the course of the ensuing narrative.
    Ishmael Bush had passed the whole of a life of more than fifty years on the
skirts of society. He boasted that he had never dwelt where he might not safely
fell every tree he could view from his own threshold; that the law had rarely
been known to enter his clearing, and that his ears had never willingly admitted
the sound of a church bell. His exertions seldom exceeded his wants, which were
peculiar to his class, and rarely failed of being supplied. He had no respect
for any learning except that of the leech; because he was ignorant of the
application of any other intelligence, than such as met the senses. His
deference to this particular branch of science had induced him to listen to the
application of a medical man, whose thirst for natural history had led him to
the desire of profiting by the migratory propensities of the squatter. This
gentleman he had cordially received into his family, or rather under his
protection, and they had journeyed together, thus far through the Prairies, in
perfect harmony: Ishmael often felicitating his wife on the possession of a
companion, who would be so serviceable in their new abode, wherever it might
chance to be, until the family were thoroughly acclimated. The pursuits of the
naturalist frequently led him, however, for days at a time, from the direct line
of the route of the squatter, who rarely seemed to have any other guide than the
sun. Most men would have deem'd themselves fortunate to have been absent on the
perilous occasion of the Sioux inroad, as was Obed Bat, (or as he was fond of
hearing himself called, Battius) M.D. and fellow of several cis-atlantic learned
societies - the adventurous gentleman in question.
    Although the sluggish nature of Ishmael was not actually awakened, it was
sorely pricked by the liberties which had just been taken with his property. He
slept, however, for it was the hour he had allotted to that refreshment, and
because he knew how impotent any exertions to recover his effects must prove in
the darkness of mid-night. He also knew the danger of his present situation too
well, to hazard what was left, in pursuit of that which was lost. Much as the
inhabitants of the Prairies were known to love horses
