Book Reviews. 



213 



at last able to gratify his life-long ambition, and how, after many- 

 years of hunting he became ''less enthralled of killing" and took 

 to hunting his fast-vanishing quarry with a camera, in order that 

 he might become better acquainted with its habits. The more 

 adventurous hunt episodes will hold many readers, but probably 

 the most original and humorous chapters are those devoted to 

 the photographic expeditions, whose results, as exemplified in 

 the illustrations, are of extraordinary interest and value. The 

 third part of the book is more scientific in tone. It deals with 

 the distribution, character, and habits of the grizzly, and is the 

 result of long study and close observation. The volume certainly 

 deserves a place in the front ranks of books of its kind. 



M. R. P. 



"Camp-Fires on Desert and Lava,"* by 

 Camp-Fires ON WiUiam T. Hornaday, is a lively rec- 



Deseet and Lava. ^ ^^.p ^^^^^^^ 



west Arizona and across the border to Mexico. To the val- 

 uable chapters of the fauna, flora, and geological history of this 

 hitherto unknown region, the author adds a volume of inci- 

 dents from camp and trail and introduces us to a number of 

 persons we are not likely to forget. The chapter on the Sonoyta 

 Oasis, the solitary settlement so far removed from the turmoil 

 of civilization that a modern disease like "nervous prostration 

 was as impossible as happiness to an American countess," well 

 characterizes the author's powers of observation and narration. 

 His style is colloquial as befits his subject, but betrays the practiced 

 hand of an experienced writer. To this he adds the further charm 

 of humor and a happy use of epigram : "Don't visit any desert 

 under the handicap of Indian 'guides'; they are enough to de- 

 press the spirits of a barometer ! . . . After a month spent in 

 the deserts, you will either love them or loath them. Like mar- 

 riage — take them for better or worse. . . . I'm fond of dogs — 

 in their proper place ; and about nine cases out of every eight 

 a hunter's camp is no place for them." The exploration of 

 numerous extinct craters and the hunt for the Rocky Mountain 

 big horn sheep give a variety of adventure that, together with 

 the delightful narrative, keep the reader's interest on the qui vive 

 throughout the tale. To fill the measures of his adventures the 

 first ascent of Mount Pinacate is the culminating incident of the 

 trip. The volume is beautifully illustrated. H. M. Le C. 



* Camp-Fires on Desert and Lava. By William T. Hornaday. Charles 

 Scribner's Sons. $3.00. 



