272 
FOREST AND STREAM 
New Books for the Sportsman 
“THE BIRD BOOK.” 
Students of natural history, no matter how 
advanced, will find particular pleasure and value 
in ‘‘The Bird Book” by Chester A. Reed, issued 
recently by Doubleday, Page & Co., New York 
($3.00 net). This volume is magnificently illus¬ 
trated with more than one thousand illustra¬ 
tions of birds and their eggs and more than five 
hundred drawings in four colors, showing birds 
in their natural tints. The completeness of the 
work may be judged from the fact that the in¬ 
dex contains 2,388 subjects with descriptions of 
768 birds from all parts of the country, giving 
size, range, description of eggs, habits and Latin 
names, etc. Within the limits of five hundred 
pages it is of course manifestly impossible to 
treat of any individual specimen at great length, 
but the beautiful and accurate coloring of the 
birds described, make more than brief recapitu¬ 
lation of characteristics unnecessary. There 
have been issued within the past decade dozens 
of works on ornithology, but none equal this in 
scope, completeness nor in accuracy. 
THE WILD TURKEY. 
A name that stands prominently in American 
conservation circles is that of Edward A. 
Mcllhenny, with whose efforts toward the con¬ 
servation of our bird life, notably the migratory 
birds, everybody is familiar. Mr. Mcllhenny is 
also an authority on hunting and in his book 
v ‘The Wild Turkey and Its Hunting” he has 
given us a volume which is apt to find a per¬ 
manent place on the book shelves of American 
sportsmen. He tells his own experiences while 
hunting—how for days he has pursued a fine 
old gobbler through swamp and bush or waited 
in a dense thicket to hear his welcome “gobble- 
gobble-gobble,” and his joy at his successful shot. 
His story, fascinatingly told, is a complete 
guide to turkey hunting. It is illustrated with 
some magnificent photographic representations of 
the wild turkey. Published by Doubleday, Page 
& Co., price $2.50 net. 
INDIANS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 
“The Indians of Greater New York,” a volume 
of some 150 pages, by Alanson Skinner, assist¬ 
ant curator of Anthropology, American Museum 
of Natural History, New York, is one of those 
scientific works which really deserve wide popu¬ 
lar reading. When Hendrik Hudson sailed the 
Half Moon into the channel of the river destined 
to bear his name, he found that the region now 
known as Greater New York and its environ 
ments was owned by a number of loosely con¬ 
federated Indian bands belonging to three 
tribes: the Delawares, the Mahikanms and the 
Mohicans. These tribes were of Algic stock— 
at least they spoke the dialect of the widespread 
Algonquin tongue—and it is with the habits, his¬ 
tory and tradition and actual contact with the 
tribes that were found settled around New York 
that the author treats. He has evidently done 
a wonderful amount of research work before 
setting down the facts given in his book and 
no doubt he has come near the truth in strip¬ 
ping the veil of legend and dealing with real 
conditions. 
In these days we use names such as Esopus, 
Manhattan, Canarsie, Rockaway and Hacken¬ 
sack and innumerable other designations of local¬ 
ity as though they were of the English or Dutch 
origin. As a matter of fact, they designate and 
illustrate Indian descriptions or appellations. 
We must nevertheless take exception to the 
author’s explanation of the meaning of the origi¬ 
nal word Manhattan. Mr. Skinner with some 
vividness describes the landing of Hudson, and 
the timid gathering around him of the native 
tribes, and goes on to tell how Hudson offered 
to the wondering wild men a glass of strange 
liquor which passed around the circle until one 
brave warrior sprang to his feet and harangued 
the multitude on their rudeness. Then with a 
magnificent gesture the warrior said that he be¬ 
lieved it was for the injury of his people that 
that draught had been offered them and that 
whatever developed it was better for one man to 
die than for the whole tribe to perish. With 
these words the Indian bade his people farewell 
and quaffed the drink. The effect was eagerly 
watched by the Indians and his subsequent 
drunken stupor alarmed them, but when he re¬ 
covered and expressed his sensations as being 
the most remarkable he had ever had, the en¬ 
tire company wished to drink and soon became 
intoxicated. For this reason the Delawares know 
the spot where this strange event took place as 
Mannahachtanink, the island or place of general 
intoxication. The general explanation of the 
word Manhattan is that it was a common term 
meaning something entirely different and in use 
by all the tribes in northeast America. It is 
mentioned by Champlain and other early writers. 
However, this is splitting hairs and does not in 
the least detract from the interest or the value 
of Mr. Skinner’s book. 
THE REDISCOVERED COUNTRY. 
Stewart Edward White is the author of twenty 
books, most of them dealing with outdoor life, 
true and simple, and all of them of absorbing 
interest. In “The Rediscovered Country,” giv¬ 
ing an account of his last trip to Africa and his' 
surprising discovery of an immense game terri¬ 
tory never before invaded by the white man, his 
fame as an author—certainly as a traveler and a 
contributor to the best in outdoor literature— 
will rest. Probably all readers of Forest and 
Stream know in a general way of what Mr. 
White and his companion Mr. Cuninghame 
found on this trip, but every man with a drop of 
red blood in his veins will be thrilled by the 
description of the great herds of game and the 
daily experiences of the intrepid travelers who 
were first to find them. To quote Mr. White: 
“We found that after all there still exists a land 
where the sound of a rifle is unknown, as great 
in extent as the big game fields of British East 
Africa, swarming with untouched game, and now 
that the route and the methods have been worked 
out, easily accessible to a man who is willing to 
go light and work. Furthermore, I must repeat 
this is the last new game field of real existence. 
All the rest of the continent is well enough 
known. However, we have the real pleasure of 
not only opening a new and rich country to the 
knowledge of sportsmen, but the added satisfac¬ 
tion of knowing that we are the last who will 
ever behold such country for the first time.” 
Space will not permit even the briefest refer¬ 
ence to the experiences covering game hunting 
which Air. White enjoyed, but this review 
must be extended to say that while he puts the 
case very modestly, Mr. White is probably the 
first man who has ever fought four lions single- 
handed and lived to get away with it. That 
story alone will remain an epic in sporting 
history. 
IN THE OREGON COUNTRY. 
The “See America First” movement is apt to 
prove popular this year, but not less important 
is the necessity of “Reading America First” 
which we regret to say will be equally necessary 
to many who will this year have the opportunity 
of traveling over their own country. “In the 
Oregon Country,” a volume of some 175 pages, 
by George Palmer Putnam, issued by G. P. 
Putnam’s Sons of New York and London, is one 
of the pleasantest books which has been received 
this season. It treats of outdoor life in Ore¬ 
gon, Washington and California, and is written 
in charming style. As the title indicates, the 
author in his pilgrimages was concerned chiefly 
with the attractions of the Open, which he 
chronicles with the enthusiasm of a devotee. 
There are descriptions of trips along the forest 
and mountain trails, on foot and horseback; and 
with gun, rod, and camera; of the ascent of 
peaks and of long canoe excursions, all replete 
with incidents of interest and rich in word-pic¬ 
tures of the glorious country traversed. Pic¬ 
turesque Indian legends are retold, while the de¬ 
velopments of today and features of modern 
pioneering are sketched in, so that the reader 
gains acquaintance with many phases of the 
West, its peoples, and its natural attractions. 
CAMP-FIRE. 
We first felled a thrifty butternut tree 10 
inches in diameter, cut off three lengths of 5 
feet each, and carried them to camp. These 
were the back logs. Two stout stakes were driv¬ 
en at the back of the fire, and the logs, on top 
of each other, were laid firmly against the 
stakes. The latter were slanted a little back, 
and the largest log placed at bottom, the small 
est on top, to prevent tipping forward. A couple 
of short, thick sticks were laid with the ends 
against the bottom logs by way of fire dogs; 
a fore stick, 5 feet long and 5 inches in diam¬ 
eter; a well-built pyramid of bark, knots and 
small logs completed the camp-fire, which sent 
a pleasant glow of warmth and heat to the fur¬ 
thest corner of the shanty. For nightwood we 
cut a dozen birch and ash poles from 4 to 6 
inches across, trimmed them to the • tips, and 
dragged them to camp.—NESSMUK. 
You are reading “Forest and Stream’ and en¬ 
joying it. Why not furnish some of your 
friends zvho may not be acquainted with the 
good things in this issue, an hour or two of 
similar enjoyment? If you will take the trouble 
to send us the names of any of your circle of 
acquaintances, we will see that they are sup¬ 
plied with a sample copy with your compliments. 
