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| Seton Castle, sunset on interior wall, October 21, 2014 |
This is the fifth in a series, an annotated listing of
Ernest Thompson Seton books covering the years 1908-1909.
1909
The Biography of a Silver Fox
(New York: The Century Company)
Quote: “...so furtive are they, so clever and so unremitting
are mother and father, that not more than one man in every hundred thousand as
the good luck to see this family group that charms us by its appeal to the eye,
and touches our hearts by showing how very near these creatures are to us in
their affections and their trials.”
In a broad sense, this quote is the raison ďêtre
for all Seton wildlife stories. Part natural history, part drama (fox life is
rough), the foxes have both human enemies and human friends. While Seton
implies that foxes are important for their own sake, here they are more
important for the moral example they hold out to us if only we are wise—and
observant—enough to see the lesson.
Life-Histories of Northern Animals: An Account of the Mammals of
Manitoba
(New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.)
Quote: “Just as surely as we find among the wild animals the
germs or beginnings of man’s material make-up, so surely may we find there also
the foundations and possibilities of what he has attained to in the world of
mind.”
Published in two volumes, this is a massive account about
the natural history of 60 species. Theodore Roosevelt sent Seton a letter of
commendation for this effort and the Campfire Club of America awarded the
publication a gold medal. Most of the animals included are also found elsewhere
in North America.
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