Amador ledger., 1906-06-01
ANIMAL HEROES.
The Thrilling Story of "Snap'' the
Bull Terrier.

Ernest Thompson Seton's last book,
''Animal heroes, is, if possible, more than
ever up to the standard of his intensly in
teresting wild-animal tales. To the animal
lover this new collection will be read with
absorbing attention. Mr.. Seton has been
subjected to considerable criticism by other
naturalists, notably, John Burroughs, for
endowing his animal characters with un-
usual intelligence and powers, which, it is
claimed, are not possessed by any dumb
creatures. Very likely, as class but, as
Mr.. Seton himself admits in his preface to
animal Heroes, these histories while in
each case founded on the actual life-doings
of real animal, are more or less composite
What novelist, indeed, does not combine
the most striking characteristics of several
individuals to construct his human hero
who shall appeal to the reader as an ex-
ceptionally fine character? So has Mr.. Sc
ton taken the record of a number of wood
or other animals and embodied their most
striking ''killS" or foilings of the mack into
one sagacious, brave and gigantic specimen:
Like all of his books, ''Animal Heroes
Is delightfully."- illustrated by some two-hun-
dred drawings and sketches from his own
and hls wife's pencils. Interest is stinu-
drawings, literally interspersed with full
page paintings of thrilling incidents. The
fatal closing in-sometimes to the pursued
sometimes to the pursuer-iS told by an
eyewitness welding master pen in de-
picting animal adventures, and at all
times runs through the story the love
Which the writer bears for all animals-of
the proud, indomitable, fearless beast
even though he be the scourge of the
country. killer of cattle or sheep or even
dogs, of which latter the author is pas
sionately fond, be they good ones.
Nothing he discusses has ever been writ
ten which is better worth the reading, and
withal sadder in its finale than is the ac-
count in this volume of the little dog,
"Snap" This Snap is a bull-terrier,
which was sent the author as a sort of Hal
n nr NJ 10 hsar IT.
proachable. He kept Mr. Seton on the top
of the table most of the night, where he
smoked cigars until his pocket-supply ran
out and then, shivered. However, he fin
ally made friends with his little pup-a
youngster absolutely without fear A year
later, the two found themselves near Men
doza, North Dakota where the wolves had
been playing havoc with the livestock,
evading poison and traps and actually
scorning the attempts of the ranchers and
the wolvers to exterminate them. The fol-
lowing is a recital of the hunt in which
snap figured most gloriouSly:
From high point we caught sight of a
moving speck of gray. A moving white
speck stands for Antelope, red speck for
Fox, gray speck for either Gray-wolf or
Coyote, and each of these is determined
by its tail. If the glass shows the tail
down, it is a Coyote; if up, it is the
hated Gray-wolf
We got a momentary view of the pur-
suit; Gray-wolf it surely was, Looping
away ahead of the Dogs. Somehow /
so fast as they had after the Coyote But
no one knew the finish of the hunt The
Dogs came back to us one by one, and we
saw no more of that Wolf
Sarcastic remarks and recrimination were
now freely INDUCED in by the hunters.
"Pah! scairt, plumb scairt,' was the
fathers disgusted comment on the pack.
They could catch up easy enough, but
when he turned on them, they lighted
out for home-pahr'
where's that thar onsurpassabIe, fear
less, scaire-o-nort Tarrier asked Hilton,
scornfully.
"I don't know" said I. 'I am in
clined to think he never saw the wolf;
but if he ever does, I'll bet he sails in
for death or glory
That night several Cows were killed