I am glad to learn that you intend to publish your narrative and
descriptive writings, in a collected form. I have read parts of them as
they were published separately, and the great pleasure derived from the
perusal makes me desirous of having the whole in my possession. They
carry us into the fastnesses of our mountains, the depth of our forests,
the watery wilderness of our lakes and rivers, giving us pictures of
savage life and savage tribes, Indian legends, fishing and hunting
anecdotes, the adventures of trappers and backwoodsmen; our whole
arcanum, in short, of indigenous poetry and romance: to use a favorite
phrase of the old discoverers, “they lay open the secrets of the country
to us.”
I return you thanks for the delightful entertainment which your Summer
rambles have afforded me. I do not see that I have any literary advice
to give you, excepting to keep on as you have begun. You seem to have
the happy, enjoyable humor of old Izaak Walton, and I trust you will
give us still further scenes and adventures on our great internal
waters, depicted with the freshness and skill of your present volumes.