Note to the Reader 



"St. Nicholas," October, 1890. Since then I 

 have adhered to the more scientific method, of 

 which " Lobo " is my earliest important ex- 

 ample. This was written in February, 1894, 

 for "Scribner's Magazine," and published 

 November, 1894. 



For the wild animal there is no such thing as 

 a gentle decline in peaceful old age. Its life is 

 spent at the front, in line of battle, and as soon 

 as its powers begin to wane in the least, its 

 enemies become too strong for it ; it falls. 



There is only one way to make an animal's 

 history un-tragic, and that is to stop before the 

 last chapter. This I have done in " Tito," the 

 " Teal," and the " Kangaroo Rat." 



The public has not fully understood the part 

 that Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson does in 

 my work. The stories are written by myself, 

 and all the pictures, including the marginals, are 

 my own handiwork ; but in choice of subject to 

 illustrate, in ideas of its treatment, in the techni- 

 cal book-making, and the preliminary designs for 

 cover and title-page, and in the literary revision 

 of the text, her assistance has been essential. 



In giving special credit for the book-making, 

 1 1 



