148 
BOOK NOTICES. 
PO-KA-GON’S LAST BOOK. 
At the time of his death, Simon Po-ka- 
gon, chief of the Pottawattamie Indians, 
was about to publish an Indian romance, 
“O-gi-maw-kwe Mit-i-gwa-ki,”’ “Queen of 
the Woods.” The MS was nearly all in 
type when the old chief was called to pass 
on, without seeing his book put into the 
hands of the public. This has now been 
done. The story had, however, received 
Po-ka-gon’s finishing touches and owes 
nothing to another. 
It is an historical sketch of his life, writ- 
ten with the simplicity and force which 
mark all his work. His personal history 
and that of his father, to which he often 
refers, were inwrought with that of the early 
white settlers in Michigan, Indiana and 
Illinois. In writing them, he lives again 
the days when the forests were primeval, 
when the deer roamed almost undisturbed 
in their depths, when the sky was often 
dark with the flight of the wild pigeon and 
when the beauty of Nature held sway 
where now exists the ugliness of what men 
are pleased to call civilization. With quaint 
touches, Po-ka-gon pictures the simple lives 
of the red children of the woods, their close- 
ness to Nature, their freedom and their 
independence. 
Necessarily his book contains many 
things the white race must blush to read, 
yet it is written without malice. Far to 
the contrary, the old chief’s leading idea in 
writing it was to bring the remnant of 
his race imto closer relations with the white 
men whom he-does not hesitate to call 
“brothers,” despite the wrongs he and his 
often suffered at their hands. With un- 
speakable pathos he reveals the people of 
his race gentle, generous, just, confiding 
and loyal, until deceived and robbed by the 
white man, driven from their homes and 
poisoned by the white man’s rum. The old 
chief’s story is a revelation to those who 
think the only good Indian is a dead one. 
His great charity, his dignity in misfortune, 
his heroic effort to forgive his persecutors 
and to love them are touching beyond 
words and reveal the soul that is truly great, 
above and beyond all externals. 
The book also contains a paper on the 
Algonquin language, written by Po-ka-gon, 
addresses delivered by him, poems written 
in his honor, a brief sketch of his life by 
his publisher and other interesting material 
relating to Po-ka-gon and his people. 
Published by C. H. Engle, Hartford, 
Mich. 

HOW TO DIG. 
At this moment I do not know of a more 
open and attractive field for bright young 
men of artistic instincts and a real love of 
nature than landscape gardening. Why on 
RECREATION. 
earth more of them do not enter it instead 
of jamming themselves into the crowd of 
lawyers and doctors is to me a mystery. 
In “How to Plan the Home Grounds,” 
the ex-Superintendent of parks of New 
York City has given a really great amount 
of valuable information, relating not only 
to the home grounds, but to public parks, 
parkways, residential parks and _ several 
other subjects not quite germane to the 
title. The superabundance of subjects 
treated has robbed the home grounds of 
many important details which would have 
been much more valuable to the average 
rather than information on such subjects 
as churchyards and cemeterits. Mr. Par- 
sons might well have made 3 books 
of the matter he.-has condensed into one. 
But, in spite of too high condensation and 
a wretchedly inadequate index, the book is 
a real treasury of knowledge, full to over- 
flowing of facts that result from abundant 
experience and ripe knowledge. It deserves 
a wide circulation among home-builders, 
and all others who believe in planting and 
beautifying instead of disfiguring the face 
of Nature. 
“How To PLan THE Home GRounpDs,” 
By S. Parsons, Jr. 
249. 56 illustrations, plans and diagrams. 
New York, Doubleday & WU ae Go} 
$1, net. 

William L. Fisher, Easton, Pa., has 
written a small book entitled, ‘Practical 
Points For Anglers With Rod and Line.” 
It contains nearly 5,000 words and treats 
of everything pertaining to the angler work 
and tools. It gives in detail all the informa- 
tion necessary for catching black bass, wall- 
eyed pike, striped bass, pickerel, and all 
game fishes. It fully explains the art of 
trolling, the kind of boats, rods, baits and 
tackle to use. The book will be issued in 
a few weeks and will sell at ten cents a copy. 
Mr. Fisher is a practical angler, and knows 
when he has enough fish for a mess. He 
says the book is not intended for fish 
hogs. 

Molly: “Cotton came sprinting down 
the river bank shouting, “Get the minnow 
bucket, quick; I’ve got a little scholar.”! 
When she released her catch the Deacon 
asked: “What kind of fish is it?” 
*““Cat-fish.” 
“Then why did you 
scholar?’ ” 
“Well, I guess, didn’t I get it out of a 
school of fish?” G.. Sia 
call it ‘a little 
16mo. pp. fifteen +. 













