74 



RECREA TION. 



BOOK NOTICES. 



A QUEER COWBOY BOOK. 



As I have before had occasion to say, the 

 " Story of the West " series of books, which 

 D. Appleton & Co. are publishing, is one 

 of the most valuable sections of American 

 History ever thought of. The list of sub- 

 jects includes " The Story of the Indian," 

 " The Story of the Mine," " The Story of 

 the Trapper," " The Story of the Soldier," 

 etc. In the main these subjects have been 

 assigned to men of recognized ability; but 

 in one instance, the publishers have made a 

 mistake. " The Story of the Cowboy," just 

 issued, is a disappointment. 



The Western cowboy is one of the most 

 romantic and picturesque characters of 

 modern times, and his life should have 

 been recorded in " The Story of the West " 

 series by a master hand; by a man who 

 knew him even as the cowboy knows his 

 horse. 



Instead of this, the book is the work of 

 a man whose observation seems to have 

 been limited to the bronze statue of a cow- 

 boy, which he says he found in the studio 

 of a Chicago sculptor. The author may 

 have had other opportunities. He may 

 possibly have studied the cowboys in Buf- 

 falo Bill's show. Nay, he has doubtless 

 read stories of the cowboy in the Nickel 

 Library, or other similar publications; but 

 if he has actually lived with, or worked 

 with, or even ridden with the real cowboy, 

 the fact is not apparent in the present work. 



But the less said of this book, the better, 

 so I put a period here. 



cover every class of American shooting 

 field and every game bird. 



The text is in plain English, without any 

 technical nonsense, and the whole work is 

 written from the sportsman's standpoint 

 rather than from that of the naturalist. 



A GREAT BOOK ON GAME BIRDS. 



Brush, Sedge and Stubble, is a beautiful 

 picture book of the shooting fields and 

 feathered game of North America, pub- 

 lished by the Sportsman's Society, Cincin- 

 nati, in 25 parts, at $1 each. It is sold only 

 by subscription. Each number contains a 

 fac-simile, in color, of an American Land- 

 scape or shooting field, a large photo- 

 graphic study of game birds, and many text 

 illustrations. The first 2 parts will repre- 

 sent the prairie, the plains and the desert, 

 and the grouse of the open country. The 

 next 2 numbers represent the American 

 forests and mountains, and the grouse of 

 the woods. 



The third number is devoted to the wild 

 turkey and the pheasants. Then follow 3 

 numbers on American Quail. 



1. Bob White, the game bird of the farm. 



2. The Quail of California. 



3. The Quail of the West and South. 

 Snipe and woodcock, the wild pigeons 



and doves, and the upland plover conclude 

 the first volume. 



The second volume will be devoted to 

 wild fowl and waders. It is proposed to 



OTHER BOOKS. 



The Doubleday & McClure Co., New 

 York, has issued 3 more volumes of Little 

 Masterpieces, edited by Bliss Perry. These 

 are " Abraham Lincoln," " Danliel Webs- 

 ter " and " Benjamin Franklin." They give 

 characteristic selections from the speeches 

 and writings of these authors, with a fine 

 photogravure portrait of each. The paper 

 is excellent, printing of the best. Cloth 30 

 cents; full leather 60. 



Another of their recent publications is 

 " A Minister of the World," by Caroline 

 Atwater Mason. It is a well illustrated 

 story of the life of a young New England 

 preacher and the effect produced on him by 

 transplantation to New York. 



A new story by Hamlin Garland, " The 

 Spirit of Sweetwater," is from the same 

 press. 'It _js of the West, of course, and 

 pictures an impossible young man doing 

 impossible things for love of a wonderful 

 young woman remarkable for nothing but 

 ill health. The story bears strong internal 

 evidence of being a pot-boiler, but is more 

 optimistic than other works of Mr. Gar- 

 land's. 



' The Open Boat and Other Stories," by 

 Stephen Crane, is a more pretentious vol- 

 ume, with a wonderful cover design, swirl- 

 ing after the manner of Mr. Crane's noth- 

 ings and somethings and illustrating the 

 title story, which is one of his good things. 

 Adventure and death stalk through the 

 stories with jovial cynicism and all things 

 in heaven and earth are suggested. Yet the 

 price is only $1.00. Doubleday & McClure 

 merit the gratitude of everyone for these 

 attractive books at such low prices. 



Mr. Otto Stechhan has lately issued, 

 from the press of Carlon & Hollenbeck, 

 Indianapolis, Ind., a volume of poems of 

 nature entitled " Rudder, Rod and Gun." 

 Among the titles that would seem to appeal 

 most strongly to the sportsman are the fol- 

 lowing: 



" My Dog and I," " Fly Fishing," 

 " Yachting," " In the Book of Nature," 

 "Returning to Camp," "In the Marsh," 

 " Canoeing," " The Deer Hunt," and 

 " Tenting." 



These subjects are handled gracefully 

 and attractively. The sentiment is pure and 

 simple and the rhythm perfect. 



The book sells at 25 cents, in paper 

 covers, and will be found a pleasant com- 

 panion for an hour in the library, or by the 

 camp-fire. 



