Book of Woodcraft

Ernest Seton-Thompson (1860-1946) was a naturalist and writer who was an early practitioner of the modern school of animalfiction writing. Deeply concerned with the future of the prairie, Seton fought vigorously to establish reservations for Indians and parks for animals threatened by extinction. In order to provide children with the opportunities for nature study, he founded the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 and later was chairman of the committee that established the Boy Scouts of America. He is the author of dozens of books and pamphlets celebrating the American wilderness, and had any number of strong opinions. For one thing, he believed that a civilization whose members were physically weak was doomed to collapse. For another thing, he exalted American Indians as people who shunned avarice, "sought for the beautiful in everything," and lived in harmony with nature. And for another thing, he believed that to try at something and to fail at it was infinitely better than not trying at all - and that no one was quite so distasteful as a quitter. Seton was raised in North America, his family having immigrated to Canada in 1866. Drawn to nature, Seton resisted his family's attempt to make an artist of him. He gained experience as a naturalist by trailing and hunting in the prairie country of Manitoba in the final years of the 19th century. He used this knowledge as the basis for his animal stories. His artistic training enabled him to earn a living for a time as an illustrator of wild animals. He continued to write such books into the 1940sSeton, Ernest Thompson is the author of 'Book of Woodcraft', published 1988 under ISBN 9780887390609 and ISBN 0887390609.