New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-05-20
ANIMALS WILD AND TAME
Life and Death in Jungle, Field
and Wood.

|
Under THE ROOF OF THE JUNGLE.
| Book OF Animal Life in the Guiana
! Wiids. BY Charles Livingston Bull.
Illustrated. svo, PIP. 271 Boston: /, c.
Page e Co.
LIVES OF THE FUR FOLK. BY N.
D; Haviland. Illustrated. 12mo' PIP
234. Longmans. Green & Co.
THE LIFE OF A FOXHOUND. BY John
Mills Illustrated. Royal svo, no pag-
ination. q. II. Doran & Co.
Fourteen stories Of the teeming animal
life OF British Guiana are told in Under
the Roof Of the Jungle" These are
records in most instances Of the preying
Of savage beasts upon others. Inc
jagua kills and eats host Of lesser
creatures until big boa, hungry after
fortnght's fast finally disposes Of him
and a picturesque combat is theirs
More ferocious is the fight of otter and
crocodile. for each kills the other at the
end The puma. robbed of her game
many time by the king vulture, CLIMBS
10 his nest. kills his young. and lying
IN wait for the great bird. cuts his life
ont also The great green lizard. the
ig1,ana. lies I'm wait also for the little
green parrots and dimes off most Of the
busy family. The fghtful Bushmaster
snake. the great Poisonous Death or
South American coast juDgles. Is bitten
in two by the dusky shark as It lies wal
lowing in the water-but even as II dies
II huries its fangs in its enemys head,
But in this case the poison fails, the big
cold blooded fish RECEIVERS after a few
hours torpor. and so goes the Jungle
and coast life. with its continuous kill
ing and feeding. a typical scene is
this:
| A beautiful orange colored cock Of the
rock came flying down the hillside and,
attracted by the fruit, was about TO alight
when a big crested falcon caught glimpse
of il from his perch in the great tree
where he was watching for an opportunity
to make feast Of some Of the fruit eaters
Spreading his wings he shot down like
The cock of the rock. noticing Its danger
when the hawk was almost upon It, darted
sharply to one Side. The speed at which
the hawk was going was so great that he
before he could slow up sufficiently to
turn. That ten feet was just enough TO
bring him within reach Of the stroke or
a mouted brown tree boa, which lay coiled
up and waiting on a lower branch. The
boa struck like lightning. snatching the
hawk out Of the air and crushing him be-
fore he could make Use Of his sharp beak
end talons.
| The chapter on the ways OF the
| strange South American ants is an en-
chanting If blood curdling one; and that
on the "Murderers Of the Brown Water"
the fierce little fishes called the perai-
Is thing of horror
The fur folk who play their short life
dramas in Mr. Havilands book are Irish
foxes rabbits. cats and badgers. Their
adventures are described in the plea SAINT
manner to which, in this country. Mr.
Seton has often accustomed us-that Is
10 say. that though these heroes of field
and forest are not exactly credited with
mental processes. that possible fact is
in the atmosphere Of the book. Red
pad. the fox may not think, but instinct
and experience-which we need not deny
10 the humblest animal-lead him in
safety through many dangerous straits.
Fluff Button. the rabbit. may be rather
stupid beast. but he knows enough to
twinkle receding paws IN the face of a
pursuing enemy. He, too. may not
think but his instinct serves TO make
his career interesting to the student Of
IT, The author believes that while the
majority Of animals are guided 10 very
great extent by pure instinct. one may
metmes he observed whose actions
50 far we may agree with him. The hui
man element IS deftly brought into the
) book, the Irishmen OF the countryside
being amusingly II slightly portrayed
Paddy Magragh lives on the page,
though he has not much to do with the
current Of these stories.
The practical, exciting and sometimes
humorous details Of the fox hounds life
and Of fox hunting In England are pleas
ingly set forth in Mr.. Mills's book.
Under the guise OF story II is q more or
less useful manual for the intending fox
hunter. 1t is the young hound Ring
wood who tells the tale. and a clever
and entertaining specimen Of his kind
| liz L. buN VNtH ili'i' ih''i'StibS 10 'ii'
old hound Tr,mbush. the head Of the
pacl and a philosopher of great merit
This fine old gentleman is sometimes
tart on the modern tendency TO insist
upon the dashing fast run" MY be-
lief is" says Trimbush n Ringwood
that our ancestors. the line hunters,
hunted their fox as we'll If not better
than we who now race him down"
There's no time given. them" said /.
Time" repeated Trimbush. with a eneer
| 'I'n Just give We an instance OF what may
be deemed a fair sample OF the patience of
sportsmen OF the age we live IN. one day
last season we had been running q merry
bat for about twenty minutes, as hard as
We could split, and leading the field over
enough yawners TO satisfy the greatest eut-
TON or steeplechase rider that ever crammed
at n rasper. The fox was dying, and head
ing short on his foil up wind, brought US
10 momentary check. Hold hard. gen.
hardr Consume me- exclaimed one who
had been tanning his horse close TO our
storns what sport one might have II II
wasn't FOR these ID hounds"
The venerable hound declares that this
is faithful description Of the majority
of fox hunters, but we may take It for
granted that II was in morose moment
that he was thus instructing young
Rlngwood.