New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-10-28

iustration. from photographs. Svo PIP xii. 3ss
Charles Scribners sons
There is a peculiar significance in President
Hoosevelts dedication of his latest volume to
John Burroughs, the naturalist. lover and stu
dent OF the wild creatures Of the woods and
ee,ds 1t is as an observer and protector OF
the game of the West. rather than in the spirit
Of q mere huntsrran. that the author has writ
ten the most OF the papers that go to make up
the book. Not that there is any lack Of hunt
,us adventure between the covers; for 1t was
while pursuing the larger game animals Of
America, either for sport or for the larder that
Mr. Roosevelt enjoyed his opportunities for
studying their habits. Enthusiastic sportsman
as he !s-and how enthusiastic that is. few
Americans, at least need to turn 70 these page
70 discover-he is 80 truly the sportsman that
he finds his chief 10Y in the chase and not the
killing In matching his powers against the keen
faculties 90 the wary woods and plains folk
ana in outwitting them IN their own domain
To do this successfully requires an intimate
knowledge Of their mode Of life, their domestic
habits their likes and disikes, their friends and
foes This intimacy. In q normally constituted
human being. must beset feeling Of sympathy,
which while II quickens the springs of knowl-
edge and leads to closer communion and under
standing, at the same time must render
manly man averse to the taking Of wild life,
save where necessity OF expediency dictates
In spite Of its many joyous records of exciting
hunts. Mr. Roosevelt's book. IN its main pur-
pose is ct once a protest and an appeal-a
protest against the reckless slaughter OF wild
animals for the sake of their skins or to roll
I'D hunters record" and an appeal to the
American people for a public sentiment which
shall demand the enactment Of wise laws for
the protection Of our rapidly disappearing fauna
In their natural habitats and in national pre-
serves and for q national spirit which shall
render such laws effective. To the formation
Of such sentiment and spirit no better means
could be adopted than the publication OF sucn a
volume as this, or Schilling's With Flashlight
and Rife" reviewed in these columns fort
night ago. Mr.. Roosevelt speaks In the highest
terms Of that entertaining and Instructive &C.
count of adventures among the big game OF the
African Jungle. which he read in the original
German; and the praise which he appreciatlVely
accords to a fellow sportsman and author, with
mere change of name and scene. coulu wen no
applied to his own book
Five Of the eleven chapters of Mr.. Roosevelts
hook have been recently written; the other six
appeared originally in the publications or the
Boone and Crockett Club and in Caspar WHIT
ueys Deer Family but have been specially
revised and extended for the present publication
They cover almost the entire experience or the
author in watching and hunting the worthler
game animals of North America, from his ear
Hest shooting trips in the Adirondacks through
ht. ranching days in the cattle country, and In
Guiding his later and more conspicuous hunting
exuedtttons in Colorado and Oklahoma He has
hunted the prongbuck, miscalled the antelope,
the mountain sheep. the Whitehall deer, the mule
deer. the wapiti, round horned elk; pruin'
black brown and grizzly; the bobcat, the cougar
and the wolf Whatever animal he hunted he
studied and there IS as much fresh, first mana
information adventure in the volume Ihere
are, In addition, an account of his WISH Win
John Burroughs to Yellowstone Park. which was
sll observation and no hunting. chapter de-
voted TO general survey of the most important
books that have been written in various Ian
euazes about big game, and entertaining and
confidential chat about the small game he has
observed in the neighborhood Of Washington
on the White House grounds and at or near
Sycamore Hill. That this small game" in
cludes not only the birds and squirrels. the
woodchucks and other wild things. but the fam
fly pets the ponies and dogs rabbits, guinea
pigs and such like tame creatures, as well, does
not render these friendly condolences the less al
Turing. The book, coming from such a source,
is bound TO have a powerful influence in pro-
noting a better understanding of animal life
and a healthy love of outdoor sport for the
sports sake.
Certainly no better example of the solid adj
vantages' TO be gained from a wide experience
In big game hunting could be cited than Presi-
dent Roosevelt himself. He relates his advent
ure5 with a hearty zest that sends the blood
coursing through the veins Of the reader. and
makes him long to leap from his comfortable
chair and to go plunging. rife in hand, into the
wilds The accounts of hunting the bobcat and
cougar with hounds in Colorado are full OF dash
and excitement In the pursuit of these yer
min the same considerations do not prevail as
I'm the chase of the deer and mountain sheep; for
they themselves are among the most relentless
foes Of the gentler and edible tribes. Not the
least entertaining feature Of this sport is the
eager and intelligent manner in which the dogs
track and attack their quarry. Mr. Roosevelt
has many anecdotes to tell of them
no e PsGe n ao than many e fact hat four Of them
Climbed trees Only one of the hounds little Jim I'M
only T fesr i and Bafdy but big TURK
tree that gave 5Ren a and Usually sent
of branches from near the grouna e In c9 %aT
their way almost to the top The photograph o, Of
Turk and the bobcat in the pnyen fafih 4{ p e 1T
above the ground. Now and then a dog would
lose MS so TSeng d he must be disabled but after
q growl and shake he would start , up me Iree
ad We're often scratched or knocked to the ground
by cougar and when the quarry necasnf fhrons
below. the dogs in the tree. yeping with eager
excitement, dived headlong down through INC
branches. regardless Of consequences.
Some writers describe the male ana feInale
cougar as living together and jointly seeking
food for the young, but Mr.. Roosevelt declares
that he never observed male cougar anywhere
near female either when pregnant or AFTER sile
had given birth to her cubs One OF these pea0.s
shot by the author weighed 22I pounos' ana h0u
not hesitated to attack with fatal results coms'