And the philosophers
have not yet arrived at a much more satisfactory explanation.
In thinking of my childhood and youth I try to define to myself
wherein I differed from my brothers and from other boys in the
neighborhood, or wherein I showed any indication of the future
bent of my mind. I see that I was more curious and alert than most
boys, and had more interests outside my special duties as a farm
boy. I knew pretty well the ways of the wild bees and hornets when
I was only a small lad. I knew the different bumblebees, and had
made a collection of their combs and honey before I had entered my
teens. I had watched the little frogs, the hylas, and had captured
them and held them till they piped sitting in my hand. I had
watched the leaf-cutters and followed them to their nests in an old
rail, or under a stone. I see that I early had an interest in the
wild life about me that my brothers did not have. I was a natural
observer from childhood, had a quick, sure eye and ear, and an
eager curiosity. I loved to roam the hills and woods and prowl
along the streams, just to come in contact with the wild and the
adventurous. I was not sent to Sunday-school, but was allowed
to spend the day as I saw fit, provided I did not carry a gun or
a fishing-rod.
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