Western Animal Heroes

Book excerpt: Naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton created a new literary form when he began writing stories about his adventures with wild animals in the 1890s. His first stories were compiled in the book, "Wild Animals I Have Known," that became popular throughout the United States and Canada. The stories are spellbinding chronicles of wild animal courage, intelligence, and endurance as they valiantly attempt to escape the traps, poisons, guns, and lariats of their human pursuers. Seton was renowned for his scientific studies of American wildlife. His stories about wild animals, however, were a mix of fact and fiction that heightened the drama of each animals life or death struggle. During the 1890s Seton traveled to the American West and from his experiences wrote the thrilling tales contained in this collection. The exploits of Lobo (wolf), The Pacing Mustang, Tito (coyote), Monarch (grizzly), Coaly-Bay (horse), Johnny Bear, and Badlands Billy (wolf) are presented in their entirety along with many of Setons drawings. Stephen Zimmer was Director of the Seton Memorial Library at Philmont Scout Ranch at Cimarron, New Mexico for twenty years. For this collection he contributed a biographical introduction of Ernest Thompson Seton and the historical background for each story.