20 NOVEMBER 1909, Page 10

Jack in the Rockies. By George B. Grinnell. (W. and

R. Chambers. 2s. 6d.)—Once more we enter the Rockies with Jack Danvers and his guide, philosopher, and friend, Hugh Johnson, the old frontiersman. The narrative begins at Bismarck, Dakota, where they board the up-river steamboat for Fort Bruton. Mr. Grinnell takes the opportunity to tell us many interesting bits of Indian history, legendary and otherwise, through the month of Hugh. Thus when we start with the pack-train from the famous old fort the lore of the hunter and the pioneer takes its place with helpful touches of local colouring and little sketches of the scenery of the foothills and the mountains. Boys will be fasci- nated by the description of the wild life in the Yellowstone region and the daily experiences of the party. There is no scalping and torturing and very little fighting, and the only tragical element in the book is in the last chapter when they discover a band of stolen horses, including some of their own, resteal them, and are of course pursued by the thieves. "Black" Dowling dies in his boots ; he seems to us to ride up to the hunters as if he wished to make sure of his fate. This episode is well written. Mr. Grinnell's description of Hugh's pursuit of the mysterious band of horses brings all the details of the plainsman's craft vividly before us. Every boy who wants to scrape acquaintance with camp-life and the hunting-trail cannot do better than read Jack in the Rockies.