Evening star., 1926-10-03
REVIEWS OF AUTUMN BOOKS
Hamilton Gibbs Brings Out New Novel-The Adventures
of Eight Men in South Amerca-A Volume the
Gentle Art of Trampng.

most convincing. a most dramatic et-
feet steps out here.
WHITE WATERS AND BLACK.
BY Gordon MacCreagh. New York:
The Century Co.
This is the story of eight men who
set out TO explore hitherto untrou-
bled section OF South America. These
are scientists. each In his special lido
syncrasy of bug or beast or plant or
soil. bent upon the search for an en-
| tirely new territory. The expedition
| might be buried away in this tangle Of
South American jungle year, two
years, possibly three. The writer.
Donald MacCreagh. aviator. adven-
turer. nomad. is the scribe and re-
porter of the summed experiences Of
the group. This book represents, not
only a part of his own efforts. but II
projects as we'll the full enterprise in
all of its aspects Hardship Is the
outstanding impression Of the whole.
Danger runs this a close second. No
very great returnS-eXcept to the en-
glamoured vision of the scientist and
the adventurer-ruSh out TO meet a
waiting world. But these will. no
| doubt, come later. And, besides,
there can be no greater return for eX-
ceptional human endeavor than the
glory Of the endeaYor itself. And
these are Of variety and of a strain
| upon courage and endurance and In
genuitv to provide most amazing read
ing for those who, sitting at home,
| take unalloyed delight in the wander
ings Of others. The pleasure Is. clear
| ly, immea surably increa sed here by
| the gift Of Graham MacCreagh to
reproduce graphically places and sit
| uations and peoples. Not only Goes
he photograph scenes for readers. but
| he injects into these pictures humor
and points of sharp drama and
generally lifelike and spirited effect
II is hard to put life into a jungle,
| much harder than to dig up old civ.
these contain enough Of human
qualities to engage readers But.
despite the handicap. Mr.. MacCreagh
has turned out story of eXplora-
| ton and adventure whose every hour
is alive with such makeshifts of get
| ting along. with such turns of sudden
1 and acute interest as to carry one
forward in q full sweep of absorbed
reading and real partaking.
BY Stephen Graham, author of In
Quest Of Eldorado." etc. New
York: D. Appleton G. Co.
Now this would be wholly
unfair statement, IL left to stand
alone. To be sure. IT does give an
orderly body Of facts concerning the
matter in hand and definite set Of
directions for its pursuit. In this
respect 1t certainly does do service as
text book. Beyond this point, how.
ever. It is just about the worlds
width away from the dry-as-dust
books that are foisted upon students
for their pretty thorough conversion
against learning.
Now. everybody can't be tramp.
He isn't built that way But Stephen
Graham's enthusiasm over this super
occupation will go far to-convert him.
If he have q single drop Of vagrant
blood in his system We Set Out"
is. Of course. a buoyant beginning
one calculated TO excite interest and
cooperation in even the most luke
warm Oddly enough, that interest
carries on clear through the MANY
chapters Of boots and beds and clothes
and fire and food. Somehow, these
dull and prosaic matters take on
brightness and piquancy out In the
open. where they shed their indoor
itself "N hither away" asks Mr.
Graham. And then he projects trips
Of enchantment whose trail Is wherev-
er curiosity and fancy lead This
Whittier away gives the key to
that which here lies beyond bare
direction and instruction. For this
tramp is q good deal of 9. poet. too
seeing things in landscape end sun
light in morning and evening and high
noontide that the literal man never
does see, SO he lopks and chants
and drops words Of good sense and
great wisdom, all Of which are as keen
with iov as are the alternate labors
and easements Of the tramps trail
And everybody laughs along the way
as he drops one after another OF the
silly burdens and practices that. be
fore he took to the road. seemed SO
Essential part Of respectable life
to him. Who wants to be respecta-
BILE anyway? Whatever you may be
now, you will after taking TO the
highway with Graham, revise your no
ticns Of responsibility, and that won't
do any harm, either.
THE CUTTERS BY Ress Streeter
Aldrich. author Of Mother Mason, -
etc. New York: D. Appleton & Co.
UCoMMON folks. you see-the Cut
~ ters." An encouraging phrase,
this one. Yet, after all. these folks
NAV Just be so utterly common as 70
ma Ike occa sion for one Of those dark.
| dirty. underground. unaired. sinking
stories that emerge out OF an art
known as sheer realism Cheer up.
Nothing like that here. The Cutters
live above ground. They are Washed
and aired aud sweet smelling fo'ks'
A whole family of them. living IN
real home, where everybody mas 10
carrv on in some sort Of making good
No not glad" story either. That
would be almost as discouraSirg as
the morbid pry-ing into life as 1t u.s.
They have their hard days. the Cut
,ers their unfulfilled desires. their
WEAKNESS, their heaviness. just as the
rest of us do. That is what makes
| them so companionable. But. luckily
| for them and for US, these low tenn
peratures In the Cutter family never
| come with the family as whole, all
at once. That Is the way life is--ups
and downs, with the great problem
being to have the ups outnumber and
outweigh the downs. And here the
children, recognizable children. behave
after their kind-angels one minute.
little imps the next-but they re pretty
dear after all. The neighborhood and
the village spread around the Cut.
ters-easy like. just as neighbors ana
! villages do-sometimes trial. but on
| the whole life-saving and orotneriy.
And the children get older and bigger,
as they have a way OF doing. They
90 away-and the story ends with the
wise and happy Mrs. Cutter pushing
aside the melancholy Of a scattering
family by exacting the promise from
her youngest that you won't grow
up while I'm spreading this bread and