Churchill standard. (Fallon, Nev) 1903-1908, 1906-06-02
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 intensity in
teresting wild-animal tales. To the animal
absorbing attention. Mr.. Seton has been
subjected 10 considerable criticism by other
natnralists, notably, John Burroughs, for
endowing his animal characters with I'M
usual intelligence and powers, which, 1t is
claimed, are not possessed by any dumb
creatures. Very likely, as n class, but, as
Mr.. Seton himself admits in his preface to
'sAnimal Heroes, these histories, while in
of Il real animal, are more or less composite.
What novelist, indeed, does not combine
the most striking characteristic 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 pack into
one sagacious, brave and gigantic specimen.
Like all of his books, "Animal Heroes"
is delightfully."- illustrated by some two-Iun-
dred drawings and sketches from his own
and his Wife's pencils. Interest is Stimu-
lated by a constant succession of marginal
dra wings, literally i~nterspersed with full
pag paintings of thrilling incidents. The
fatal closing in-sometimeS to the pursued,
sometimes to the pursuer-iS told by an
eyewitness welding a 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. a killer of cattle or sheep or ven
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 n sort of Hal
lowe on l0kp-np was so ViCiO1IS and imam
proaehable. 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, shiyered. 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 he wolves had
been playing havoc with the livestock,
eyading poison and traps and actually
seorning the attempts of the ranchers and
the wolyers to exterminate them. The fol-
lowing is a recital of the hunt In which
Snap figured most ~gloriously:
From n high point we caught sight of a
moving speck of gray. A moving white
speek stands for Antelope, a red speck for
Coyote, and each of these is determined
by its tail. If the glass shows the tail
down. it is a Coyote; if up, 1t Is the
hated Gray-wolf.
suit: "A G~ray-wolf it surely was, Looping
away ahead of the Dogs. Somehow |
so fast as they had after the Coyote. But
10 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.
"Pahi s~cairt, plumb scairt," was the
fathers disguised comment on the pack.
They could catch up easy enough, but
when he turned on them, they lighted
out for home-pahi'
where's that thar onsurpassable. fear
less, scaire-o-nOrt Tarrier asked Hilton,
scornfully.
Z don't know" said 1. IT am In
clined TO think he never saw the wolf;
Int if he eyer does, I'll bet he sails in
for death or glory"
That night several Cows were killed