New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-02
TWO OBSERVERS.
4 Foolish Book and a Clcuer One.

TIE crEAT NORTH WEST AND ~ If II RT
Paul l7ountsin. $40. pp. viii 90. Long
r5r land OF LITTLE r AN t5 y Mon AIfrih
YT,,.errnf~d svo %. II. 81. hou&h'oh' N'i'''"
a 90.
~ 7-,.,,,.a,r's volume Of "reminiscences OF llIe
q, canada and TIE United States is n cruoe anu
curious hodrcDodFe 81 travel notes NUNS
stories natural history and 'hankeelno
- q l,,tl. that can be said in its favor. me
ar+bor's persistent libels of the people OF III
7-,,.es states are SO ridiculous as 10 he theli
,,-D r.f,,,ation. and we fal 10 see why 80 FOOLISH
. ,,ot, sbould have been offered 10 the American
-.aelne public. especially as II was aVo"eals
fntended fo- foreign consumption I "fl'e, nc
,rrlaius afor those vhO have not been aO'e -
,,ss.. America and see for themselves. We
,r-arsne that few viii be inclined 20 accept MN
as a guide lis errata in regard 10 ne slihpies'
etatenlents OF fact are so many and so si"''1
az utterly 10 invslidate any claim he may MAKE
80 monk with authority upon questions or
morals and manners. His book is eNlGe'is
based or notes taken by him when he was d
osllow worth OF twenty or thereabouts-"hich
,.a7d IN sad need Of revision. Possibly he might
hsve revised them 20 "a certain extent had u not
teen for the "obstinacy" Of which ne poas'S'
Even when assured that he is in error ne IT,
ftsser 70 change what he originally wrote. Ahls'
concluding a chapter devoted 10 q consideration
n the Shaker Colony at New-Lebanon' y j.
he nafvely observes: Il have described New
Lebanon as being situated in the state OF MAS
~aohusetts. Il seems. however, TO be in New
York I cannot now say how the mistake oc-
crrred: but I have not seen 1T 20 alter my notes.
because / have q clear recollection OF the
sshalre-p describing their estate as being IN Mas
ssofrise4ss" The American photographer IS re-
ferred 10 as Daniel Webster; New-Jersey Is
located among the States bordering on the treat
Lakes: the business Of a husking bee is 10 Iree
she corn from its cohs" Even the title OF me
,vol,lr,1e fs an error FOR NIr. Fountains Great
nsoy4h-VVest" Is confined 10 the region lying De
svveen the headwaters Of the ottawa River ana
hover Hudson Bay. his explorations not carrying
him further west than Manitoba II heeu SUI
rtse no one 10 learn that his singular comments
on the United States and its peopie-to "hoh
ho ,e-eie-entlv aIludes az Yankees are
matched bv equally extraordinary pictures OF
Canada
nsrs Austir's land Of Little Rain" is nat
IRE book that may best be described as chafih-
sng For years the writer has made her nome
on che SLOPES OF the Sierra Nevadas. ana mas
learned 10 understand. and to love because she
understood all the out-of-door things, from coy
ote 10 sage brush that carry on precaflous
struggle Tor existence in a country reaching iar
into Death valley knowing and loving. she
strange charm Of the Great American Desert
its atmosphere Of inefIable mystery that allures
even while II repeis. Her style Is quaint and
vivid and always picturesque. OF the desert
itself she naturally has much to say and says
Il well Even the broad arid wastes have won
a place in her heart:
For al the toll the desert takes Of man Il
gives cOmpensatiOns, deep breaths, deep sleep
and the communion OF the stars Il comes az on
that the Chaldeans We're desert bred people. II Is
hard 70 escape the sense Of mystery as the stars
move IN the wide clear heavens TO risings and
settings unohscured. They look large and near
and palpitailL as II they moved on some stately
service not 1eedful 10 declare. Wheeling 10
their stations IN the sky. they make the poor
world fret OF account. OF no account, you
who lie out there watching, nor the lean coyote
that stands OF I'm the scrub from you and hoWls
and bowls.
Many a DAY has Mrs Austin watched the rab-
bits and other furry folk" scurry along their
tiny water trails in quest OF drink. ever on
the alert 20 avoid the natural enemies Of their
kind. the inevitable coyote. the fox, the bObcat
These, too. have been the objects Of her close
scrutiny. with She buzzurds and kindred scav-
enger birds circiing and watching for prey. OF
Ill she writes with keen insight born Of long
acquaintance. The human. also. has she stud
ied. from Wiunenap. the medicine man, who paid
with his life for has inability 10 check plague,
10 the luckless ore pocket hunter. wandering
over the wastes, grim and gaUnt as the sands
themselves. but always hopeful Pleasant are
her glimpses into -Shoshone Land but pleas
snter stin the pages recalling that painter OF
the West Bret Harte. Thus she writes OF Jim
VILE" Bret Harte town"
You could not think ~ Jimville as anything
more than survival. like the herb eating, bony
cssed old tortoise that pokes cheerfully about
those borders some thousands Of years beyond
his proper epoch. Not that Jimville is old. but
Il has atmosphere favorable TO the type Of a
half century back. If not 'fOrty-niners." Of that
breed. il is said OF Jimville that getting away
from Il IL such piece Of work that II encOur-
ages pernanence In the population: the fact is
that most have been drawn there by some real
likeness or liking. not, however, that ] would
deny the difficulty OF getting into or out Of that
cove OF reminder. j who have made the journey
many times at great pains Of a poor body.
Any way you 90 at IL, Jimville Is about three
DAYS from anywhere IN particular. North
south. after the railroad, there is a stage jour
ney OF such intermina BILE monOtony induces
forgetfulness Of all previous states OF existence.