The Boy - Settlers. By Noah Brooks. (Sampson Low and Co.)— The
chief object of the author of this book in writing it appears to have been to show that pioneer work in American civilisation was undertaken under the inspiration of Whittier, and especially of the lines ;—
" We cross the prairie as of old The pilgrims crossed the sea, To make the West, as they the East, The homestead of the free I"
In other words, it is a story of struggle, chiefly by courageous lads, in the early history of Kansas. Boy-readers of The Boy- Settlers in Kansas may complain that it does not contain enough of fighting and of the other stirring incidents that they like ; that, in particular, the Red Indians are seen on the was-path rather than fought with. But there is an air of honesty and reality about the book which makes up for any such deficiency. The work of " homestead "-making is conscientiously described ; it is none the less notable that it is essentially, though only temporarily, " love's labour lost."
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