The Boy Hunters

This book was written after Mayne Reid discovered that writing books in which not too many people died, and there was not too much violence, was better business than writing as he did at first. There are three boys living with their father, now just a little disabled, but an avid collector of natural-history specimens. The father says he would give almost anything for the hide of a white buffalo, and that such a beast exists cannot be disputed. The boys volunteer to get up an expedition to bring back the much-desired hide, and off they go.

This book is the story of their quest. But it is also an interesting exposition of the animals and plants that inhabit the great prairies of America. The only real fault is that we are inevitably given the Latin name of the plant or animal. I don’t know why I should object to this, but I do. I don’t think it sits well within speech.