AY N A MEMO IR OF HIS LIFE E L I Z A B E T H R E I D H I D S WI OW. A D W EY WARD ND O N , 2 R R EE CO V N G R DEN NDO N 1 YO K E O . , ST T, T A , L 1690. PRINTED BY - - K ELLY A co . LE LL K ST O N THA ES ND , MIDD MI , ING ON M ; ’ A ATE STREET L L S F EL S . W . C ND G , INCO N INN I D , T O LE S LLIV N T C H A R O A , IN T OK EN O F H IS DEVOTION T O N E M A Y R E I D . 5 2 1 1 4 3 C O N T E N T S . HA A E C P . P G — ARLY L E RAT T o ER A E AR I E F . I EMIG ION AM IC DG ALLEN POE —THE EX A WA R II . M IC N — HT EX III . FIG ING IN M ICO I —THE SSA LT CHA LTE E V . A U ON PU P C V—H E S M R E AS EA . I OU N D D D V — AY E E RE A S EX —C TE RARY L M N R ID M IN IN M ICO . ON MPO NOTICES IN THE UNITED S TATES — WH O WAS F RST T CHA LTE E ". VII . I IN O PU P C —H E SEEK S T A THE EV L T ARY TAT S VIII . O ID R O U ION AGI ION IN E UROPE I — H S F RST A ES X . I I ROM NC —K SS TH THE TI ES X . O U . M . XI THE CA TA A H S CH L FE . P IN ND I I D WI II —B RICXS A MRTAR X . ND O —NE XIII . W YORK —CL S S E ES XIV. O ING C N —D F ATT’S E S E E — RESS T ES XV . ONN I R MINI C NC . P NO IC APPENDIX LIS TO FMAYNE RE/D’S PRINCIPALWORKS . N O VE LS N D B O Y S ’ B O O K S A . I R R A . D S OM THE R FLE NGE S THE E ERT H E . T H E A P . B O Y R S SC L HUNTERS THE HUNTE . R ’S A . O VO A THE HUNTE FE ST THE Y UNG Y GEURS . W I I O R S XI THE H TE CH EF . THE F E T E LES . AD ROO B B YS . THE "U N . THE USH O WAR RAI . O A THE T L THE Y UNG Y GERS . A B OOD O O A P A THE H LF L ( CE L ) . THE L NT HUNTERS . WI D R I IM B THE L HUNT ESS . THE CL FF CL ERS . WOOD A R . A A WA O A THE R NGE S R N Y T SE . I R . O A WAI THE T GE HUNTER THE CE N FS . RI A I B A O Y . THE GUE LL CH EF . THE T R M T E AROON . B R IN ; OR T E RAND B EAR H U , H G O OR . L ST LEN E HUNT . W I A ODD P OP THE H TE G UNTLET . E LE . A S A D O M T H E B O Y AV . THE HE LE S H RSE N . SL ES O R A . A OA I O THE L NE NCHE FL T N THE F REST . I R O A I A THE F NGE F F TE . THE G R FFE HUNTERS . I I D W . A A O D THE CH L FE THE F T L C R . A I THE DE TH SHOT . THE WH TE S"UAW . A O DI A P A A O THE FL G F STRESS . G S R , THE G UCH . R A O M AI O . THE F EE L NCES . THE L ST UNT N W I ' ‘ A . A C F LE V AI H N GWEN YNN THE CH SE . A . A I NO "U RTER THE L N D OF F RE . MAY E REI MEMOIR OF N D. CHAPTER L L . M N T A EAR Y IFE E IGRATIO O AMERIC . G ALL N P O E ED AR E . m o f M To ost the world , Captain ayne Reid is known only as a writer o f thrilling n romances and works on atural history . It Will appear in these pages that he Was also distinguished as a man of action and a soldier , and the record of his many gallant dee ds should still further endear to o f him the hearts his readers . n He was bor in the north of Ireland , 1 8 18 . in April , , at Ballyroney , co Down , the eldest son of the Rev . Thomas Mayne Reid , Presbyterian minister , a man of great E O M M IROF MAYNE REID . i earni ng an d abl li ty His mother was the daughter of the Rev . Samuel Rutherford , a descendant of the hot and hasty Rutherford ” mentioned in Sir Walter ’ ” Scott s Marmion . ’ One o f Mayne Reid s frequent eX p r es s io n s was I have all the talent o f the Reids ” and all the deviltry of the Rutherfords . He certainly may be said to have inherited “ at least th e hot and hasty temper ’ f fo r of his mother s amily , his father , the Rev . Thomas Mayne Reid , was of a most placid disposition , much beloved by n l his parishio ers , and a favourite a ike with t Catholics and Protestan s . It used to be “ said of him by the peasantry , Mr . Reid is s o polite he would b o w to the ducks . Several daughters had been born to them before the advent of their first son . h He was christened T omas Mayne , but in O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID. ' . R after life dropped the Thomas , and as known only as Mayne Reid . Other sons w as and daughters followed , but Mayne the only o n e destined to figure in the ’ world s history . Young Mayne Reid early evinced a taste ar for w . When a small boy he was often found running barefooted along the road to after a drum and fife band , greatly his ’ mother s dismay . She chided him , saying , “ What will the folks think to see Mr ’ 9 Reid s s o n going about like this To . “ ’ u which young Mav e replied , I don t ’ ” I d rather be Mr . Drum than Mr . Reid . It was the ardent wish of both parents that their eldest son S hould enter the an d Church ; , at the age of sixteen , Mayne Reid was sent to college to pre pare for the ministry of the Presbyterian ’ b u t w a s Church , after four years study , it 4 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . found that his inclinations were altogether s opposed to thi calling . He carried o ff a prizes in mathematics , cl ssics , and elo c uti o n ; distinguished himself in all athletic sports ; anything but theology . It is recorded , on one occasion when called k upon to ma e a prayer , he utterly failed , fe w breaking down at the first sentences . “ ’ It was called by his fellow- students Reid s ” wee prayer . Captain Mayne Reid has been heard to “ s a t y, My mo her would rather have had me settle down as a minister , on a stipend o f one hundred a year , than know me to f be the most amous man in history . The good mother co uld never under ’ stand her eldest son s ambition ; but S h e a s w happy in seeing her second son , John f Cl o skilt succeed his ather as pastor of , l Drumgo o an d . R N 5 MEMOI OF MAY E REID . 1 8 10 In the month of January , , Mayne Reid first set foot in the new w orld e landing at Ne w Orleans . We quot his “ o w n Wol ‘ ds ' Like other striplings escaped from college , I was no longer happy at Th e fo r w as home . yearning travel upon me , and without a sigh I beheld the hills o f my native land sink behind the black ld waves , not much caring whether I shou ” ever see them again . d Soon after landing, he thus expresse S ho w s e t himself, howing little store he upon his classical training as a stock- I n trade upon which to begin the battle of “ life : And one of my earliest surprises one that met me on the very threshold of fi my Transatlantic e xi s te n c e w a s the dis c o ve r v o w n of my utter u selessness . I could ‘ h point to my desk and say , T ere lie the proofs of my erudition ; the highest prizes “ (5 MEMOIR O I MAYNE REID . Of ’ my college class . But of what use are they " The dry theories I had been taught h ad no application to the purposes of real life .