The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-08-07
New Books.


of Illinois Chicago: Jansen, McClurS " Co.
Judge Cation, having filled the measure OF his
ambition as a jurst by twelve years service on
The Supreme Bench OF Illinois, during which he
was the author of Opinions" enough to ill sew
aral Volumes and which are quoted as "authori-
tyr by the profession rs far as the English Ian
guagc is spoken, retired from that position only
to find himself in possession OF vigorous, ro-
bust matured manhood, quite as full OF restless
projects and ambitions as when twenty or thirty
years younger Nothing is more natural for the
retired professional than to seek soiacc IN MS
pen. Judge Cation has been lowering on Tue
verge Of authorship for some years past lie
has written several pamphlets on the C10'' or
deer family, that have been recognized as au-
thority among naturalists in Europe and Ameri-
ca; n small volume, or brochure, on the Pottawa'-
tamie Indians, year or two ago, also from his
pen, attracted considerable attentions and other
minor efforts in that way might he named. But
it was not until he conceived the plan OF his
Summer in Norway" that he ventured upon
writing IL ull.nedgcd book. Yet it isundeniabic
that in this his first really serious effort, the
Judge has made decided hit. No field OF au-
thorship had been so thoroughly oVerdohc IL
travels. To u noyitiate it must have been espe-
cially unpromisn.. Yet the Judge had wan
dered over region of the world about which SO
little comparatively had been written, and IN
which he found so much more to interest vet
eran traveller like himself than he had met IN
any OF his former extensive wandernSs up ana
down the world, that he happily had the faith TO
believe he could tell his story in way to cause
others to share his own Interest. In this he RAD
one potent accessory to success. His style OF
writing is so purely natural and unaffected, yet
so concise, terse aud cheerful, that the reader
can hardly help following him no matter what
he writes about Then his observation is so
keen, curious and minute, that one is constantly
meeting with surprises in little things no other
traveller would have thought Of Thus, on page
1870, speaking of the Lapps:
Their shoes are u kind OF moccasln, made from
the skin taken from the legs of the deer where
the hair is short and firm, and much more dura-
BILE than from other parts OF the deer lhey are
constructed with the hair outward Ihey come
up around the ankles, have seam under the
hollow of the foot, forward OF which the hairs
have n backward set and behind which the hairs
have forward set, which prevents slipping
Here is a volume in attestation of Lapp inge-
nuity, as curious as it is Interesting, yet what
other traveller would have thought OF it!
So as to the reindeer. All have sort of gen.
eral idea of that animal, yet few travellers, we
imagine, ever examined him with amore minute
and intelligent eye, and in a few chapters told
us so much about him. After all, he is nothing
but the little caribou, of which we have two spe-
cles in America us identical with the reindeer OF
Ton,ond no two meas are alike. The Judges OBJ.
--'p'..N .,;.,,aou ,owo,or ava ,n;prto
scrNations oh 'ho i'''iu0'' NV '' vs.
and exact, and must be OF high scientific value
The minuteness of his observations are the more
-.., IT,, ,,,,, e ;rformod in bis oIosino
surpl'sihs' WIG" o''o 10 >
chapter;
In the depot, at Paris, some lightfngered gen
tleman, perhaps thinking he could make better
use of my notes of the journey than / could
managed to relieve me OF my note pooK, SO thal
rn the npecedin~ Incidents and observations
T,e hooi, howoror ,houob avidancino So
,,,oh ,,,inr,o ohsorrot;or 10 not nade nm of dry
aa,au WI, .ho oooosior d.,o,ds II tbo
Iudo,o can r;va ne tootbsome snecmens Of fine
u,r;,iro what "a, he more delicote than this
.oo,.;n,, 81 .ho oiro,,,or sensation of nornatuol
day:
There is something about this strange land
that makes one feel US if he had gotinto another
WoIia. Inc ignt ol gay, WITHOUT u Gres an' .,
far off nlece where the laws Of nature are sus.
pended, and we are prepared to see an actual
giant striding from Island 10 lsiand' or an arrow
strang ." scene ~ nccurrence NO more tban thn
perpetual day that shines upon US.
Though you may see as far and as distinctly here
rs aly"ntr", ye. Inc iSn' 10 uiheocnt S3M he
been hia AWAY behind black masses of angry
clouds, he may for few minutes find crevice
and break through and shine fall upon the
earth; yet the light is not cheering, but rather
threatening, and implies a sort of feeling that
something unusual is about TO happen. III Is SC
sensation nc # naw Inaf Vas Shont to he tnrneG
in the book of nature, when YOU NAV look for
something out the ordinary course.
We get many new and better ideas of the Nor
wegans than we had gathered from less careful
and appreciative writer's. While the Judge i:
not favorably impressed with the Lapps, either
as to manliness sobriety or cleanliness, he finds