At the Foot of the Rainbow by Gene Stratton-Porter "And the bow shall be set in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." --GENESIS, ix-16. Contents I. THE RAT-CATCHERS OF THE WABASH II. RUBEN O'KHAYAM AND THE MILK PAIL III. THE FIFTY COONS OF THE CANOPER IV. WHEN THE KINGFISHER AND THE BLACK BASS CAME HOME V. WHEN THE RAINBOW SET ITS ARCH IN THE SKY VI. THE HEART OF MARY MALONE VII. THE APPLE OF DISCORD BECOMES A JOINTED ROD VIII. WHEN THE BLACK BASS STRUCK IX. WHEN JIMMY MALONE CAME TO CONFESSION X. DANNIE'S RENUNCIATION XI. THE POT OF GOLD GENE STRATTON-PORTER A LITTLE STORY OF HER LIFE AND WORK For several years Doubleday, Page & Company have been receiving repeated requests for information about the life and books of Gene Stratton-Porter. Her fascinating nature work with bird, flower, and moth, and the natural wonders of the Limberlost Swamp, made famous as the scene of her nature romances, all have stirred much curiosity among readers everywhere. Mrs. Porter did not possess what has been called "an aptitude for personal publicity." Indeed, up to the present, she has discouraged quite successfully any attempt to stress the personal note. It is practically impossible, however, to do the kind of work she has done--to make genuine contributions to natural science by her wonderful field work among birds, insects, and flowers, and then, through her romances, to bring several hundred thousands of people to love and understand nature in a way they never did before--without arousing a legitimate interest in her own history, her ideals, her methods of work, and all that underlies the structure of her unusual achievement. Her publishers have felt the pressure of this growing interest and it was at their request that she furnished the data for a biographical sketch that was to be written of her. But when this actually came to hand, the present compiler found that the author had told a story so much more interesting than anything he could write of her, that it became merely a question of how little need be added. The following pages are therefore adapted from what might be styled the personal record of Gene Stratton-Porter. This will account for the very intimate picture of family life in the Middle West for some years following the Civil War.