The New York herald., 1922-03-26
New Fiction
Continued from Preceding Page.

from its trio of American soldier
adventures down TO its i'll favored
cannibals, are just what they should
be. Furthermore, it avoids the COM
monest and worst mistake of most
such stories-a mistake that few
writer's short of the ability of a
Stevenson have been able to avoid
as it has no heroine. There is no
idiotic English or American girl to
get under foot and mess things and
distract attention from the real busi-
ness in hand. There is no white
woman at all in the story, and the
native girls who appear are only a
part Of the necessary scenery, like
the forest. the canoes and the
savages' huts. That alone is enough
to give the tale refreshing quality.
There is no mawkish or false note
in 1t.
The stage setting, too, is one that
has not as yet been overworked.
With the exception of a few short
stories there has been hardly any
fiction placed in the mysterious
Amazon country, scarcely anything
of consequence since Capt. Mayne
Reid's delectable "Afioat in the For
est" There is not even very much
of romantic travel record in addition
to Algot Lange's books, Roosevelt's
and a few older, little known vol
umes. 1t is almost virgin territory,
for the romancer, as it still is, in
sober fact, for the commercial pill
grim or explorer. 1t is hard to con-
jure up moro Impressive back
ground than this un amy tropic for
est, still peopled by primitive tribes,
some OF them genuine cannibals-
rivers still unexplored. uplands still
uncharted and everywhere the un-
broken wilderness of great trees.
Mr.. Friel has not drawn his in
formation from a guide book or en-
cyclopadia or the tales of previous
visitors. He is said to be some
where at large in the Amazon jungle
at the present moment and the
whole book gives one a clear impress
sion of being a first hand descrip-
ton of the country, though one
doesn't need to go so far as to sus-
pect that Mr.. Friel has ever actually
met a Red Bone cannibal or as
sisted at O. Mayoruna banquet OF
the boiled hands and feet of de-
ceased enemies. But his wild mer
are highly satisfying; there is moth
ing of the Cooper wooden Indian
about them. and it may be asserted
that even the technically expert an
thropologist will not find much faull
with them. Anyhow, whatever Z
carping scientist may say, these can.
nibals are just what really goot
cannibals should be.
The thread of the story is strung
upon the search for q missing
American whom the three heroes
are engaged to find. This last man
Rand. is heir to a great estate, ant
our soldier adventurers are com
missioned to find him. Rand ha
last been heard of five years befor
the story opens at Rio, but re
Gently returned explorer has brough
strange story of a wild man
whom he had accidentally met in tn
Javray River country who seems {
answer to Rand's description. TIL
story opens with Capt. Mckay
Lieut.. Knowlton and Sergeant Tir
Ryan, all recently discharged vet
Grams, disembarked at Remate
Males and ready TO go off into tn
unknown wilderness among th
cannibal tribes to find Rand. Thes
three are a remarkable trio, eac
one a genuine creation" char
acter of clearly drawn individualit.
and they are wholly convincing
Mckay remains captain through
out, and Tim is an authentic pei
sonality, typical growth from Ne
York city plus the army trainin
and plus overseas service-and al.
very Irish. The villain Of the pieC
is German trader; dealer
slaves, native women whom he stea
wholesale. An excellent villain.
Tim serves as "comic relief" al