University of Virginia Library

“We are at a loss in what terms to express the delight with which we have
devoured the first fruits of Mr. Irving's return to his native land; the infinite
relish with which we have gazed upon his pictures of the fresh distant region,
over whose vast plains, and among whose noble streams and mighty
forests he has wandered with the eye of a painter, and the soul of a true poet;
the keen interest with which we have followed him in his adventures among
half-breeds, prairie wolves, buffaloes, black bears, wild horses, and wilder Indians.
In hurrying through his pages—for you cannot pause for a moment,
even to enjoy more perfectly—you feel as though you were in bodily presence,
transported by the wand of some magician to the spot. You smile at the indomitable
vapourings of the magnanimous Tonish, as if they were ringing
in your ears; the red man stands before you with his noble form and motionless
features, schooled to exhibit no trace of passion or of feeling, like an antique
statue of imperishable bronze; you partake in the excitement of the
scurrying chase, and feel your appetite sharpened to a ravenous pitch, as you
dwell upon the description of extemporaneous feasts—the savoury bison humps
—haunches of fat venison—wild turkeys, without number—bear's paws, and
kettles full of rich honey, just plundered from the recesses of a mighty bee-tree.
Then the sudden alarm of wolves, wandering hordes of predatory Osages, or yet
more formidable Pawnee-loups—the casual encounter with some adventurous
Squatter—the halt after a long day's march—the bivouack under the shelter
of enormous trees that have never before screened the face of a white man
from the sun—the gossip of hunters and rangers, full of moving incidents, by
field and flood. These, and such as these, are the novel charms of the Crayon
Miscellany.”