The sun., 1910-05-08
nelIEhtfnl aanth Amrr,ca.

The Bureau Of South American Repub-
'llos would do well 10 issue Mr. and Mrs
BEKREs fascinating record Of travel.
Oar Search for a Wilderness Henry Holt
and Company. az an important document
Of vital statistics Of a new sort Hunters
u big game would find the wilderness
the authors discovered somewhat tame.
Those in search Of natural beauty. agree
able climate and novel experiences and
sights are quite likely 20 adopt the hints
contained ia this volume and invade its
field q experience with the records Of
their explorations In rivalry. but Il will
b. very difBcult for any one 20 compete
with Mr. and Mrs. Beebe In anything ex-
cept the description " purely superficial
conditions MIR c. William Beebs ls
curator u birds in the New York ZOOlogi-
cal Park. and his wife Is also a trained OBJ
server; rivalry Of their accomplishment IN
the scientific line accordingly will be
dificult The reader can only hops that
they may be- able 20 continue their re-
searches In the same region and give Ne
further records. az they hint that they
hope To do. For bird lovers In partic,l-
lar the volume 10 a rare treat. although
insects and animals scenery. natives and
their habits are also keenly observed
The book 10 the outcome Of two private
expeditions undertaken for the purpoas
Of learning something about the birds
and other Wild creatures of southern re-
gions. The wilderness wonderla nds ex-
plored werO part Of the geological dark
continent which the authors hops %
devots their lives 20 studying On their
first expedition the collecting Of live birds
was incidental. but they brought back
forty specimens Of fourteen species On
the second they had as assistant Mr. Lee
y Crandall. who by his assiduity In trap
ping and Rrousing the interest Of the ma
tive coolies and black boys assembled a
splendid collection of almost three hun
dred living birds of ffty-one species
When these were brought TO the New York
Geological Park. where tho reader will
aasuredly wish 70 look them up after
reading % them In their native hannts.
IL turned out that there were not lees than
thirty-three species entirely new 70 the
collection. This beginning holds out
promise u rich returns from future ex-
Deditions in this line alone. but many
small mammals and insects were alao
collected.
The first expedition took place in the
late winter and early spring Of isOs-O9.
Sailing from Port of Spain, Trinidad. In a
small Venezuelan sloOp they orulsad
among the channels Of the OrinOco delta
and explored the country about tho vane-
zuelan pitch lake. Ia Brsa. The asoond
expedition, a year later. was % British
Guiana and consisted u thrg9 uarts-a
trip 20 the HOOris gold mine In the north
west, another on the LITTLE Aremu River
In central Guiana. and the third 10 the
savanna region further south. Iiius thew
covered a wide range Of c5z=..=y, geo
graphically and scientifically. In their
first expedition the bird Of al others
which they had hoped 70 49, and study was
the hoatzin, a strange reptilelike living
fossil which IL found only In these regions
and is closely related 70 no other bird.
They found that the birds autter
through the branches ~ though their
wings were broksn. and the young birds
while still mhsdgsd Save the nest and
climb about, using their Wing5 % hands
and arms, tho thres fnRsru % ths WINGS
Psing oaoh AFmad WITH q Foptilallta cav