Northern Waterways Reference Collection

Author: Seton, Ernest Thompson

Title: The Arctic Prairies: A Canoe-Journey of 2,000 Miles in Search of the Caribou; Being the Account of a Voyage to the Region North of Aylmer Lake

Year: 1912

Publisher: New York: Charles Scribner's Sons

Pages: 551

Source: Google Books  

Related: "Mammals from the Athabaska-Mackenzie Region" (Allen 1910). 

Description: "In 1907 I set out to journey by canoe down the Athabaska and adjoining waters to the sole remaining forest wilds—the far north-west of Canada—and the yet more desert Arctic Plains, where still, it was said, were to be seen the Caribou in their primitive condition" (Seton 1912:3).

"Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946) was a Scoto- Canadian (and naturalized U. S. citizen) who became a noted author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and founding pioneer of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Seton also heavily influenced Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting. His notable books related to Scouting include The Birch Bark Roll and The Boy Scout Handbook. He is responsible for the strong influence of American Indian culture in the BSA. As a youth, he retreated to the woods to draw and study animals. He won a scholarship in art to the Royal Academy in London, England. Seton developed a fascination for wolves while working as a naturalist for Manitoba. He became successful as a writer, artist and naturalist, later moving to New York City to further his career. He was an early pioneer of the modern school of animal fiction writing, his most popular work being Wild Animals I Have Known (1898), which has always been in print. Other works include: Lobo, Rag and Vixen (1899), Two Little Savages (1903) and Animal Heroes (1911)" (1).