Ernest Seton-Thompson

(14.08.1860 - 23.10.1946)
(Real name: Ernest Evan Thompson)

Ernest Seton - Thompson was born on August 14, 1860 in South Shields (County Durham, England), but 6 years later his family moved to Canada. His father was a farmer, their family was large, and the impressionable boy often played with his brothers in the forest.
Animals, birds, Indians and hunting are what attracted the future writer from childhood. Seton-Thompson was not only an interesting writer, but also an artist. Until 1896 he studied art in London, Paris, New York, after graduating from the College of Arts in Toronto at the age of 19. Seton-Thompson's drawings in the margins of books convey not only appearance beast or bird, but also their character, mood and attitude of the author towards them, full of love and good-natured humor. Seton-Thompson's heroes were a variety of animals, and he loved them all. The writer was not afraid to paint the life of forests, mountains, and steppes as it is, with all its cruelties. Often his animal heroes die at the end of the story. But that's how it is
life truth , the death of Seton-Thompson's heroes drowns in the general flow of life and does not leave a feeling of hopelessness. Ernest was very capable. At the age of six, he read the first line in a newspaper and began carving birds and animals from wood.
Ernest was not only a capable, but also a persistent boy.
Thompson led a rich, one might say, vagabond life, he roamed the prairie, could never live long in large cities - he was inevitably drawn to Canadian and American hunters, farmers, Indians, and most importantly, to animals. In Canada, he received the position of “state naturalist,” which gave him the opportunity to devote himself entirely to the study of animals. Seton-Thompson wrote a number of scientific works on zoology. For these works he was awarded the highest award awarded in the United States for scientific work - the Eliot Gold Medal.
Trying to stop the senseless and pointless extermination of wild animals, Seton-Thompson organized the Forestry League in Canada, the purpose of which was to study native nature and animal conservation. Seton-Thompson created real biographies of animals, placed them next to people in his works; people and animals were Seton-Thompson’s partners and friends. The writer was convinced that every animal is a precious heritage that people have no right to destroy and torture. All his life he had an unquenchable passion to unravel all the secrets and riddles in the life of birds and animals, a passion to tell people about these secrets and convey the beauty of animals in drawings and figurines carved from wood.
Seton died in Santa Fe (New Mexico) on September 3, 1946.

Ernest Seton-Thompson (eng. Ernest Thompson Seton, born Ernest Evan Thompson - Ernest Evan Thompson; the variant Ernest Thompson Seton is often found in literature; August 14, 1860, South Shields, UK - October 23, 1946, Santa Fe, New Mexico , USA) - Canadian writer, animal artist, naturalist and public figure of British origin. One of the founders of the Scout movement in the USA.

Ernest was born in South Shields, UK. His father was a shipowner, and a very successful one at that. However, his affairs began to deteriorate when Ernest was about five years old. The family decided to start new life overseas. They lived on a farm near the town of Lindsay. It should be noted that Ernest considered this time the happiest in his childhood. The boy spent almost all his free time in forests and fields. He really fell in love with wild nature. This was partly because his father was violent. The writer was not close to his family, so he changed his name to Ernest Seton-Thompson.

In 1870 the family moved to Toronto. The future writer's attitude towards nature has not changed. However, city life did not benefit the boy. He was very ill, so his parents sent him to a farm for treatment, where other owners lived who agreed to accept Ernest. He would later describe his childhood impressions of life on the farm in the book “Little Savages.”

Ernest returned to Toronto, where he graduated from high school, and also firmly decided to enroll in art college. However, his health got in the way again. Unfortunately, this time the fresh air treatment on the farm did not help; Ernest underwent serious treatment in Toronto, after which he began taking drawing lessons. After studying for a year at art school, Ernest went to London to improve his skills there. The director once saw Ernest's drawings British Museum. The works shocked him so much that he young man a lifelong certificate, thanks to which he could visit all the museum’s storage facilities and libraries. Thompson's passion for ornithology dates back to the same period. He copied them from drawings, from nature. However, his health deteriorated again. He worked a lot and led a half-starved existence.

Ernest returned to Canada. He made a living by drawing pictures for greeting cards, but in general he took on any job just to earn money.

In 1883 he published the first literary work- “The Life of a Meadow Grouse.” In the USA and Canada, he became popular after the collection “Wild Animals as I Know Them,” “The Lives of Those Who Are Hunted,” and the 8-volume work “The Lives of Wild Animals.” He drew pictures for books on his own. In addition, he wrote another 40 books, mostly about animals. Themes of Indian life and wild nature were combined in the autobiographical story “Little Savages.”

In 1906 he met Lord Baden-Powell, who founded the Boy Scouts movement. Together they worked to promote this movement. Seton-Thompson married in 1894. He had an only daughter, who in the future would become a famous author of historical and biographical works. In 1935 he married again. There were two children from this marriage.

Seton-Thompson exhibited his paintings in Europe and the USA. Even President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned a painting of the leader wolf from him. The Theodore Roosevelt Gallery is currently exhibiting this painting. The author's books have been translated into many languages ​​of the world and reprinted several times.

Seton-Thompson himself bought a house near Santa Fe, USA. The writer died in 1946. He was cremated, and in 1960, on the centenary of the writer’s birth, his ashes were scattered by his grandchildren over Seaton Village from an airplane.

Ernest Seton-Thompson(English) Ernest Thompson Seton, born Ernest Evan Thompson- Ernest Evan Thompson; in literature the variant is often found Ernest Thompson Seton) is a Canadian writer, animal artist, naturalist and public figure of British origin. One of the founders of the Scout movement in the USA. Since the United States played almost as significant a role in Seton's life as Canada, he can rightfully be called an American writer.

Ernest Evan Thompson was born in the British city of South Shields. His father, Seton, came from Old English noble family. When Ernest was six years old, the family moved to Canada. Young Ernest often went into the woods to study and draw animals, mainly to avoid his violent father. Later, as a result of the estrangement between them, he changed his name to Ernest Thompson-Seton (or rather Thompson Seaton). Ernest graduated from the Toronto College of Art in 1879.
Seton-Thompson's first literary work, “The Life of the Grouse,” was published in 1883. The writer became famous in the USA and Canada for his collections “Wild Animals as I Know Them” (1898), “The Lives of Those Who Are Hunted” (1901). ), as well as the 8-volume work “The Life of Wild Animals” (1925-1927). Seton very skillfully drew illustrations for his stories and stories himself - his drawings are distinguished by their accuracy and expressiveness. From 1890 to 1896 Seton studied fine art in Paris.
Not being a fan of city life, Seton lived for a long time in the forests and prairies. He wrote about 40 books, mainly about animals. He devoted several books to the life and folklore of Indians and Eskimos. Themes of Indian life and life in nature, among wild animals, were combined in the fascinating and educational autobiographical book “Little Savages.” Seton also published the books “Biography of a Grizzly Bear” (1900), “Birch Bark” (1902), “Book of the Forest” (1912), etc.
In 1906, the writer met Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts movement. Together they actively promoted the ideology of living in harmony with nature.
Seton became one of the founders literary genre works about animals; he had a powerful influence on many animal writers.
In 1896, Seton-Thompson married Grace Gallatin. On January 23, 1904, their only daughter, Ann, was born. She later became famous under the name Anya Seton as a best-selling author of historical and biographical books. Grace and Ernest divorced in 1935, and he soon married Julia M. Butry, who was also engaged in literary activities (herself and in collaboration with her husband). They did not have children of their own, but in 1938 they adopted a seven-year-old girl, Beulah (Dee) Seton, (married Dee Seton-Barber). In 1972, Soviet journalists Vasily Peskov and Boris Strelnikov visited her and they described this meeting in their book “The Land Beyond the Ocean.” Anya Seaton died in 1990, and Dee Seaton-Barber died in 2006.
Ernest Seton-Thompson died on October 23, 1946 in the American city of Santa Fe (New Mexico). His body was cremated and the urn with his ashes was kept in the house for fourteen years. In 1960, on the centenary of the writer's birth, his daughter Dee and grandson Seaton Cottier (Ani's son) took to the skies in an airplane and scattered his ashes over the hills of Seton Village.

The famous Canadian writer, hunter, traveler and animal artist Ernest Seton-Thompson (1860-1946) decided from childhood to become a naturalist and pursued his goal with enviable tenacity.

When difficult days came, he remembered the brave ancestor who, many centuries ago, became famous for his exploits in the battles for Scotland. The boy said to himself: “Invincible Georgie never gave up, which means I must emerge victorious!”

Ernest Seton-Thompson was born in the north of England in a small seaside town, his grandfather and father were shipowners. When the family's affairs worsened, they had to move to America. His parents, cousin and nine brothers settled in Ontario, deciding to start farming. We had to do everything ourselves: build a spacious house for a huge family, take care of livestock.

His father had long noticed little Ernest’s hobby: he enjoyed going into the forest, observing plants, trees and animals. But he was especially interested in birds; he made sketches of their plumage, memorized their voices, but, unfortunately, could not name them by name. Arriving in the city, the boy went into a hardware store, where the owner kept stuffed birds, under each stuffed bird there was a sign with the name. Now he could recognize every bird he encountered in the forest!

In a bookstore, Ernest found the Birds of Canada guide, which cost a dollar and ten cents. The boy had to collect for several months the required amount to purchase the treasured book. Imagine his disappointment when he found out that there were many inaccuracies in it. Then Ernest began to add his own amendments and additions to the book, which served as the beginning for the first independently compiled guide to the birds of Canada.

When difficulties arose with the household, the family moved to Toronto. Here Ernest graduated from art college. All school teachers praised Ernest: “Your son is the first student. But his success in drawing is especially amazing! If you help his talent develop, he will become a great artist and glorify your family throughout the world!”

His father believed that the profession of naturalist that Ernest dreamed of had neither future nor prospects. Although the family lived very poorly, he managed to send his son to the Royal Academy of London. They taught there for free and gave a small stipend. But it was quite difficult to get there. Ernest entered only a year later, when his drawing entered the competition.

Seton-Thompson was given a student ID card engraved on an ivory plate. The young man learned that next to the museum where he often worked, there was the world's largest scientific library, which housed a huge collection of books on natural history. Entrance to the library was free, but persons under twenty-one years of age were not allowed. Ernest asked to be given a library card, but the attendant said that they were studying famous academicians, and museum board members set strict rules.

Tell me the names of the board members! - asked the young man.

Please: Prince of Wales, Archbishop of Canterbury.

There were seven people on the board in total, and these were the greatest men in England. Seton-Thompson wrote a long letter to each of them. He talked about himself, his dreams and explained why it was so important for him to become a reader of the British Museum Library. Three days later, he received seven polite responses - from each of the board members. They all promised to discuss his request. And two weeks later the director of the library invited him and gave him not just a simple, but a lifetime membership card!

Many years passed when they first appeared wonderful stories about animals: “Animals I Have Known”, “Animal Heroes”. Their creator died in 1946, at the age of 86, having lived a long life full of good deeds, and his books were loved by children and adults in many countries around the world. The stories are accompanied by witty and expressive drawings by the author. They contain a lot of informative information about the habits of animals and their struggle for existence.

Particularly fascinating are the stories about the strong, dexterous and brave Lobo, the leader of the pack. gray wolves, which devastated the Currumpo Valley, about a wild horse - a living and elusive handsome mustang-pacer, about a crow killed by an owl, about the inspired singer Randy the sparrow, about the black fox Domino and the Royal Analostanka.

There is an interesting story in this book about the heroic pigeon Arno, who broke many glorious records. One day he flew a report over the sea, in the fog, two hundred and ten miles in four hours and forty minutes. The letter was rolled up, wrapped in waterproof paper, addressed to the Steamship Company and attached to the underside of the tail feathers. Arno's heroic feat was included in the lists of the Pigeon Club.

But the bird's life was too short: he was in a hurry to get home, flying low as the wind rose. The falcons were catching a weak, tired dove. “In one minute it was all over. The pigeon keepers squealed with joy. Squealing in the air, they soared onto their rock, holding in their claws the pigeon’s body - all that was left of the fearless little Arno.”

From Seton-Thompson's book you can find out who a pacer is. “I saw a herd of mustangs going to water at Antelope Spring. There are also a couple of foals there. One small, black one is handsome, a born pacer. I chased him for about two miles, and he kept ahead the whole time and never lost his trot. I deliberately drove the horses for fun, but I never knocked him off his amble!”

Such horses are not suitable for peasant farming. But a mustang is a wild horse. And so the hero of the story “Mustang the pacer” greatly annoys the cowboys, taking their domestic mares with him. They try to herd the stallion, but they fail to catch him. How much will, strength and courage he showed in defending his freedom!

In the story "Royal Analostanka", the cats of Scrimper Lane are fed by a man with a wheelbarrow. He takes out pieces of fragrant boiled liver from the drawer. Each cat grabs a piece and runs away to enjoy its prey in a safe haven.

All the cats are well known to the liver seller: here is a cat whose owner carefully contributes his ten cents a week, but John Washie's cat receives a smaller piece because John is late in payment, the innkeeper's rat-catcher, decorated with a collar and bows, receives an additional portion as a reward for the owner's generosity. But the black cat with a white nose is mercilessly pushed away. She doesn't understand what happened. Only the seller of the liver knows well what the matter is: its owner has stopped paying him.

Cats who were not on the lists of the aristocracy waited at a respectful distance. Among them was one stray cat, which is becoming the main character story. Her story is the story of Cinderella. But only for cats!

Many of Seton-Thompson's stories end tragically. For example, “Domino. The story of one black and brown fox." A father fox, returning home with prey for five fox cubs, and his girlfriend are pursued by hunters. When Domino realizes that Belogrudka is exhausted, he bravely rushes towards the dog to lead her away from the hole.

There are stories with a good ending. The hunter has been trying to drive down the huge deer of the Sandy Hills for several seasons, and finally he succeeds. We must shoot. “The deer stood like a statue. He stood and looked straight into Ian's eyes with his large, truthful eyes. The gun trembled in Ian’s hand. He raised it and lowered it again...”

Reading the works of Seton-Thompson, you will notice that the author endows animals with human properties. His heroes think and feel like humans. This is called anthropomorphism. The writer was a supporter of such ideas about living nature.

Read an essay by Vasily Peskov about his acquaintance with the writer’s books and his trip to his homeland.

Vasily Peskov

Lifelong friend

If you asked me which of the books I read as a child had the greatest influence on me, I would immediately say: “Animal Heroes” by Seton-Thompson.

Almost everyone in our country reads this book as a child. It was published dozens of times under this and other titles. It left a grateful memory for everyone who read it. For me, the book was a whole event.

Life was just beginning for me then. And the most interesting place in it was a river, marshy chaplygas, an alder forest, a wet meadow with yellow wagtails, waders and lapwings. The day in childhood is long, but it was not enough to run around this great kingdom. In the evenings, the already half-asleep traveler’s mother, reprimanding him for leaving the heifer unattended and for the holes in his newly sewn shirt, steamed his chicks with sour cream. (Pimples, for those who don’t know, are a disease of village boys: from constant climbing in the swamps, the dried mud on the feet finely cracked along with the skin.) It was a good time! And then someone’s smart, attentive hand placed a book called “Hero Animals” on the nine-year-old “naturalist.”

Only now, having already gray hair, do you understand how important it is to throw the right grain into the ground in time. Over the next forty years, I probably have not read a more necessary book than this one. Everything in the book was simple, clear and very relatable. Pigeons, cats, horses, wolves, foxes, sparrows, mice, dogs, tits - everything is familiar and at the same time new, unusual. The pictures in the book were also special. They were placed on sheets of paper on the side. There were many of them: someone’s footprints, dropped feathers, an extinguished fire, wolf eyes looking out of the darkness with two lights, some kind of flower, a hut, a string of geese, a cow skull, a trap... These drawings are still in my memory, and I can name them one by one. Reading the book, I experienced a strange feeling, as if everything that was drawn and written in it, I had seen myself on our river, in the forest, in the chaplygs, in the yard. The book seemed to me like a treasure that should have been placed under the pillow. I re-read it for the third, fourth time. I even remember the smell of it, the smell of yellow paper that had been lying around for a long time with notes written in blue pencil...

Later, from the pictures in the wide margins, I immediately recognized the books that were dear to me, I found and read everything that could be found. “Animals I Have Known”, “From the Life of the Persecuted”, “Mustang Pacer”, “Rolf in the Woods”, “Little Savages”. I learned that the writer and artist of all these books are the same person - Seton-Thompson. I also learned that the heroes of the books - the wolves Tito, Lobo and Blanca, the pigeon Arno, the fox Domino, the rabbit Jack, the dog Chink, the Indian Chaska - were known and dear not only to me.

Even later, re-reading Seton-Thompson with an experienced eye, I felt this man’s enormous knowledge and love for nature, extraordinary authenticity in every word and in every drawing. Now I began to become interested in the author himself and realized: behind the books there is a bright, interesting human life. I made inquiries in the library: is there anything about Seton-Thompson? The old librarian said: “Just a minute...” and returned with a small book. “My life,” I read on the cover... Still the same style - a narrow set, and on wide margins there are drawings: a hut, wolf tracks, a running elk, a locomotive drowned in the snow, a rider on a horse among the prairies...

I read the book overnight, turning the last pages in the morning light. This second meeting with Seton-Thompson was more serious than his childhood date. I found out: the writer was born and spent his childhood in Canada, lived and worked in New York, but was burdened by the city and finally left for the wild, uninhabited places of America.

An important discovery for me was that a person lived a happy life because he worked tirelessly and did what he loved. The book also opened my eyes to the fact that it is very difficult to feel “your purpose” and then follow it. Life is a continuous exam; it does not spare those who retreat and stumble. But perseverance, faith and courage do not go without reward...

Forty years ago, could I have thought that I would see the Seton-Thompson house, I would see the table at which the writer worked, I would see his paintings, drawings, the worn-out pencil that fell from his hand in 1946. I will see my daughter and his grandchildren. Could I think?

But that's exactly what happened in 1972. Traveling around America, my friend and I found a village in New Mexico called Seaton Village (“Seton Village.” We say Seton, Americans say Seaton) and spent the whole day in the house of a person dear to me.

Seton-Thompson built the house himself, with his own hands, to his own taste. His adopted daughter Di Barbara and four grandchildren now live in it.

I walked around this scrap with excitement, touching things that once surrounded the writer, leafing through his books, looking at the originals of such familiar drawings made in ink on thick paper. I was shown a considerable feather dress, given to Seton-Thompson by his Indian friends, and I saw the place where he sat talking with the Indians.

And at this table he died. I sat and worked. “And suddenly he dropped his pencil,” said Di Barbara.

The writer’s grandchildren, children just like ours, listened attentively to the conversation. They were interested to know: somewhere far away their grandfather was known and loved.

We really love and know this wonderful naturalist writer. His books introduced many people to the world of nature from childhood, helped them understand and love this world, and helped some people choose a path in life. And this happened to several generations of people. The books of this remarkable nature writer, artist and scientist do not age.

Literature

1. Voskoboynikov V. When Seton-Thompson was little (On the 140th anniversary of his birth) / Bonfire. - 2000. - No. 8.

2. Korotkova M.S. "I went my own path..." E. Seton-Thompson. "My Life" and "Little Savages". V grade / Literature at school. - 2010. - No. 1.

3. Peskov V. Friend for life / Young naturalist. - 1983. - No. 7.

4. Seton-Thompson E. My life. Little savages. - M.: Politizdat, 1991.

5. Solovey T.G. "Little Hero" by E. Seton-Thompson. Lesson-game based on the story "Chink". V grade / Literature lessons. - 2005. - No. 11.

6. Chudakova M. About animals / Reader. - 2006. - No. 6.

Ernest Seton-Thompson was born (1860-1946) in England, in the small town of South Shields. But he was not English by birth. His ancestors came from Scotland. Legends about the glorious past were lovingly kept in the family, as well as about the hunting successes of many of their members who belonged to the ancient family, especially about Lord Seton, a passionate hunter who killed the last wolf in the British Isles in the same 18th century. Many years later, having become famous writer, Seton-Thompson restored the old surname of the family, retaining for some time a double surname, under which he established himself as a writer in world literature.

As an equally gifted person, he spoke about his life in the book he wrote in his declining years, “The Path of the Artist-Naturalist” (1941), in the Russian translation “My Life.”

The father of the future writer was a wealthy man, the owner of about ten ships that transported goods to all corners of the world. The large family - there were fourteen children (four of them died at an early age) - lived in abundance. Seton-Thompson was the youngest, tenth child. Already at an early age he developed a love for animals. No matter how bitterly he cried, he had only to say: “Look, a bird!” or show him some kind of bug to shut him up. In winter, as he recalled, his mother used to wrap him in a blanket and tell him to imagine himself as a tree. Having entered this image, the boy, without moving, sat for hours near the wall. He also loved to listen to fairy tales, such as “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids,” but his sympathies were always on the side of the wolf.

The writer truthfully describes an episode of a bloody massacre, in which he himself participated, over the neighbor’s chickens that strayed onto their property. Later, fear and shame appeared for what he had done. Perhaps, it was after this event that the writer began to think about the difficult and often dramatic relationship between man and nature, about the need to protect it from human desires that harm nature.

During the early years of Seton-Thompson's childhood, his father's affairs deteriorated, and when the boy was six years old, the whole family moved to Canada in search of happiness. They first settled in the city of Lindsay, in the province of Ontario, and four years ago they moved to Toronto, then a small town surrounded by forests.

This move to Canada determined the future fate of the writer. The boy found himself in completely unusual conditions. A new world of forests opened up to him, where there were many similar animals and birds.

Young Ernest remembered most of all how the first house was built with the hands of his parents and brothers, in the construction of which he, the little one, also took part. He also remembered the long journey to school, when he somehow almost didn’t freeze. He remembered how the first deer was shot before his brother’s eyes, and his feelings: the desire to hit him, and then the feeling of pain at the sight of an animal that died before his eyes.

The guy always spent all his free time in fields and forests, watching the life of animals and birds. By the time he graduated from school, he knew that he would become a naturalist. But my father was against it, because this profession did not provide the opportunity to earn a lot of money. He believed that it was better to study to become an artist by drawing his favorite animals. So he started drawing. He was taught by a local master. The young man enters a local art school, where he receives a gold medal.

In 1879, Ernest went to London to enter the Royal Academy of Arts. But it was only the following year that he was enrolled and given the opportunity to complete a seven-year course of study. His greatest joy then was visiting the zoo, where he sat all day, making sketches of animals. But he did not study at the academy for long. The constant need for money and starvation exhausted his strength, and he was forced to return home in 1882.

Seton-Thompson settled in Manitoba and returned to his favorite activity - observing animals. At this time, he wrote and published many articles about animals, and in 1886 his first book, “Mammals of Manitoba,” was published, after which a number of scientific publications soon appeared.

In 1898, Seton-Thompson published the book “The Animals I Have Known” (in Russian translation “My Wild Friends”), which made people talk about him as a writer who rediscovered the animal world for humans. Following it, books appeared such as: “The Fate of the Persecuted” (1901), “Hero Animals” (1905), “Wild Animals at Home,” which only strengthened this impression about him.

The main characters of Seton-Thompson - not only one, two, but several dozen books - are animals. Sometimes domestic, but mostly wild, forest, which modern people, as a rule, had to be seen only in the zoo, in a small and uncomfortable cage.

Seton-Thompson describes their life in freedom, where they appear in all their glory, in no way inferior to man, but mostly superior to it, with their own special character, habits, with their own unique character, with a one-of-a-kind destiny, capricious turns which is no less captivating than the intrigue of an adventure novel.

There are many unusual things in the stories the writer tells. His heroes are the Winnipeg wolf, the dog Bingo, who saved his owner from certain death; the wise leader of the pack of wolves Lobo, who easily unravels all the hunters’ tricks, and his girlfriend Blanca; Tito the Coyote; Jack Rabbit and many others seem to be gifted with extraordinary qualities, but the stories themselves amaze primarily with their realism. These are “true stories.” The writer speaks only about what he saw and what he himself took part in. But both the vision and his participation are special. The world he saw through the eyes of a naturalist, not just a person in love with nature, not touched, who carefully studies it in all its manifestations, who tries to comprehend its secrets, approaches it with scientific objectivity.

Seton-Thompson carefully studied the habits of the most similar animals and birds. When he wrote about animals, readers were amazed at the author's powers of observation. Thompson wrote about everything as if he himself had once been a raven, a fox, or a bear. He knew in detail the life of animals, knew how they breed their offspring, how they find food, and what tricks they resort to to deceive their enemies. And this is no coincidence, because he was a scientist and spent decades observing many animals of the Canadian forests. He recorded everything he saw in his naturalist’s diary, which he used when he began to write his works, where he “populated” his animals. In addition, the writer drew beautifully. As a rule, he illustrated his books himself and left thousands of pictures from nature.

But animals were not Seton-Thompson's only hobby. His other passion was the Indians, their way of life, their “forest science”: The writer deeply admired how the Indians, whose life was spent in the forests, among wild nature, were able to read it like an open book, penetrating all its secrets. He devoted many years to studying their lives.

This was all reflected in the books of Seton-Thompson, which were no less famous than his stories about animals. Among these books were: “The Birch Bark Scroll of the Indians” (1907), “The Book of Forestry Science and Indian Wisdom” (1912), “The Goblin’s Textbook” (1912), “The Gospel of the Red Skin” (1938). Books about Indians also include the book “Rolf in the Woods” (1911).

"Lobo"

The main character of this story is the huge leader of the pack of gray wolves - Lobo, who devastated the Currumpo Valley for many years. His thunderous roar, well known to all shepherds, frightened the entire populated region of the northern part of New Mexico. His small pack was also well known, which included the she-wolf Blanca, Lobo’s friend, who raided herds of cows and flocks of sheep not only for the sake of need, but for the sake of entertainment, eating only selected pieces of meat from young heifers. Thanks to their leader, these wolves were elusive: they never fell into traps, did not eat dead meat, and seemed to mock all the tricks that cattle breeders and hunters tried to use. The narrator of this story, a former wolf hunter, aroused a sense of respect for the leader for his sharp mind, resourcefulness and ingenuity. But the hero arrived at the ranch with the goal of helping farmers fight this furious pack. Many failures befell him before he realized what hook he could use to hook the leader. During these searches, we, together with the author, have the opportunity, thanks to his naturalistic descriptions, to imagine rocky mountains where wolves were hiding, farmsteads, scenes of massacres of sheep, etc. The narrator studied the leader's character well and, like a smart hunter, understood his weak point (as a loner he was invincible and could only die because of the carelessness of a comrade he trusted). The brilliant plan worked perfectly, Blanca served as bait, and Lobo, looking for her, finally fell into the trap. But the death of this giant wolf is a real tragedy. Betrayal of friends, contempt for those who won, longing for the dead beloved and, finally, a dignified death cause genuine regret for this predatory beast.

MAIN WORKS:

“The Path of the Naturalist Artist”, “My Life”, “My Wild Friends”, “The Fate of the Persecuted”, “Hero Animals”, “Wild Animals at Home”, “Birch Bark Scroll of the Indians”, “The Book of Forest Science and Indian Wisdoms” ", "The Goblin's Textbook", "The Gospel of the Red-Skinned One", "Rolf in the Woods".

LITERATURE:

1. Stories about animals. - M., 1966;

2. My life. Animal heroes. The fate of the persecuted. My wild friends. - M., 1982.