This is a re-issue (Cape, 7s. 6d.) . of Mr. Haig-Brown's
story of a Canadian river, with illustrations by Mr. C. F. Tunnicliffe. To say that it should have a wide appeal to juvenile readers docs not mean that adults will not like it. On the contrary, many adults will revel in its anthropomorphism. With its once-upon-a-time manner of telling, and gentle, Hiawatha-like atmosphere, it is a book to read aloud- to the.,:fandly. Many hundreds of years ago the Tenas Indians were the poorest incl weakest of all' the tribes of the North-West, until the,4o4 t; decided to change their fortune by the'creatiori tof a riverthat. • should be rich in salmon and whose banks should swarm with game. Disguising physical geography and natural history in the more attractive language of allegory and fiction, the author tells how the Tasish brought wealth to the Tenas Indians. Then the white man came, and the river became a highway for lumber. The pioneer Skookurns becomes the hero of the story (the river, of course, remaining the heroine), a,golden-hearlefi stalwart -Who lives in Eden with his demure but Mu-Smiler Wife,".•and-his little son Redhead: But there is 6:aged? too!'SkoOkuins !goes to the War, and returns to die, leaving Redhead to deal with the exploiters who wish to dam the river and buy them out of their farm. Redhead warns the engineers that twenty-three feet is not sufficient allowance for the flood-waters of the river he knows so well. They reject his warning. The story ends with a terrific gesture of defiance by the threatened Tasish, and we are left to wonder as to the-fate of the dam. In its way, this is an effective piece of writing that should achieve popularity.
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