Ernest Seton-Thompson biography. Ernest Seton-Thompson short biography Personal life Ernest Seton-Thompson

Ernest Seton-Thompson (née Ernest Evan Thompson) is a Canadian writer, animal painter, naturalist, and social activist of British descent; one of the founders of the scout movement in the USA - born August 14, 1860 in the city of South Shields (UK).

His father, Seton, came from an old English noble family. When Ernest was six years old, the family moved to Canada. Young Ernest often went into the woods to study and paint animals, mostly avoiding his abusive father. Later, as a result of the alienation between his parents, he changed his name to Ernest Thompson-Seton (or rather Thompson Seaton).

In 1879 Ernest graduated from the Toronto College of Art.

Seton-Thompson's first literary work, The Life of the Meadow Grouse, was published in 1883... Fame in the USA and Canada brought the writer the collections "Wild animals as I know them" ( 1898 ), "The life of those who are hunted" ( 1901 ), as well as the 8-volume work "The Life of Wild Animals" ( 1925-1927 ). Ernest drew illustrations for his stories and stories very skillfully - his drawings are distinguished by their accuracy and expressiveness. 1890 to 1896 Seton studied fine arts in Paris.

Not being a fan of city life, Ernest lived for a long time in the forests and prairies. He has written about 40 books, mainly about animals. He devoted several books to the life and folklore of Indians and Eskimos. Themes of Indian life and life in nature, among wild animals, are combined in a fascinating and informative autobiographical book "Little Savages". Ernest also published the books Biography of the Grizzly Bear ( 1900 ), "Beryosta" ( 1902 ), "The Book of the Forest" ( 1912 ) and many other books.

In 1906 the writer met Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scout movement. Together they actively promoted the ideology of life in harmony with nature.

Seton-Thompson became one of the pioneers of the literary genre of works about animals; he had a powerful influence on many animal writers.

In 1896 Seton-Thompson married Grace Gallatin. January 23, 1904 their only daughter Ann was born. She later rose to fame under the name Anya Seton as the bestselling author of history and biography. In 1935 Grace and Ernest divorced, and he soon married Julia M. Batri, who was also engaged in literary activities (herself and in collaboration with her husband). They didn't have children of their own, but in 1938 they adopted a seven-year-old girl, Beulu (Dee) Seton, (married to Dee Seton-Barber). Anya Seaton passed away in 1990 and Dee Seton-Barber in 2006.

Ernest Seton-Thompson died October 23, 1946 in Santa Fe (New Mexico, USA). His body was cremated, and the urn with the ashes was kept in the house for fourteen years. In 1960, on the centenary of the birth of the writer, his daughter Dee and grandson Seaton Cottier (son of Ani) took to the skies on an airplane and scattered the ashes over the hills of Seton Village.

Seton-Thompson developed the "Pioneering" educational system associated with games and life in nature. He named it so in honor of the famous novel by F. Cooper "Pioneers", which tells about the life of the first settlers in North America. Pioneering (literally means pioneering) - survival in the wild, camouflage, tactical games, hiking, construction of crossings and sheds. (Later in Baden-Powell, Pioneering was simply the scout discipline of building patents - constructing buildings from bars and ropes).

The author of books about animals and animal painter, naturalist scientist, founder of ecological thinking, E. Seton-Thompson became the founder and leader of the Pathfinder movement in North America. In his works, E. Seton-Thompson relied on the traditions of the Indians. Having started in 1900 fighting to save his own estate from the barbarism of the surrounding boys, on the basis of the experience gained with the children of farmers Seton-Thompson developed a program of play education in nature. After publication in 1902-1906 In the journals of a series of articles, the movement took shape as a nationwide American organization headed by the author. A general game guide was published, the Birch Bark Scroll, and the organization was named the League of Forest Craftsmen.

In 1906 Seton-Thompson went on a lecture tour to England, where he gave the British General Baden-Powell his materials for the formation of a similar organization in England. After the publication of Baden-Powell's book "Scouting for Boys" in 1908, a case of plagiarism and distortion of Seton-Thompson's ideas arose, although he refused to take legal action.

Since 1908 in the United States, the Baden-Powell scouting model also spread. As a result, Seton-Thompson retired from public affairs, did not organize anything else, citing lack of time. Seton-Thompson was a non-military man, he hardly liked the militarized children's meetings, not for that he bought a large plot of land, set up his own reserve.

Works:
Mammals of Manitoba ( 1886 )
Birds of Manitoba, Foster ( 1891 )
How to Catch Wolves ( 1894 )
Studies in the Art Anatomy of Animals ( 1896 )
Wild Animals I Have Known ( 1898 )
The Trail of the Sandhill Stag ( 1899 )
The Wild Animal Play for Children (Musical) ( 1900 )
The Biography of a Grizzly ( 1900 )
Bird Portraits ( 1901 )
Lives of the hunted (1901 )
Twelve Pictures of Wild Animals ( 1901 )
Krag and Johnny Bear ( 1902 )
How to Play Indian ( 1903 )
Two Little Savages ( 1903 )
How to Make a Real Indian Teepee ( 1903 )
How Boys Can Form a Band of Indians ( 1903 )
The Red Book ( 1904 )
Monarch, The Big Bear of Tallac ( 1904 )
Woodmyth and Fable, Century ( 1905 )
Animal Heroes ( 1905 )
The birch-bark roll of the Woodcraft Indians, containing their constitution, laws, games, and deeds ( 1907 )
The Natural History of the Ten Commandments ( 1907 )
Fauna of Manitoba, British Assoc. Handbook ( 1909 )
Biography of a Silver Fox ( 1909 )
Life-Histories of Northern Animals (2 volumes) ( 1909 )
Boy Scouts of America: Official Handbook, with General Sir Baden-Powell ( 1910 )
The Forester's Manual ( 1910 )
The Arctic Prairies ( 1911 )
Rolf in the Woods ( 1911 )
1912 )
The Red Lodge ( 1912 )
Wild Animals at Home ( 1913 )
The Slum Cat ( 1915 )
Legend of the White Reindeer ( 1915 )
The Manual of the Woodcraft Indians ( 1915 )
Wild Animal Ways ( 1916 )
Woodcraft Manual for Girls ( 1916 )
The Preacher of Cedar Mountain ( 1917 )
Woodcraft Manual for Boys; the Sixteenth Birch Bark Roll ( 1917 )
The Woodcraft Manual for Boys; the Seventeenth Birch Bark Roll ( 1918 )
The Woodcraft Manual for Girls; the Eighteenth Birch Bark Roll ( 1918 )
Sign Talk of the Cheyenne Indians and Other Cultures ( 1918 )
The Laws and Honors of the Little Lodge of Woodcraft ( 1919 )
The Brownie Wigwam; The Rules of the Brownies ( 1921 )
The Buffalo Wind ( 1921 )
Woodland Tales ( 1921 )
The Book of Woodcraft ( 1921 )
The Book of Woodcraft and Indian Lore ( 1922 )
Bannertail: The Story of a Gray Squirrel ( 1922 )
Manual of the Brownies 6th edition ( 1922 )
The Ten Commandments in the Animal World ( 1923 )
Animals ( 1926 )
Animals Worth Knowing ( 1928 )
Lives of Game Animals (4 volumes) ( 1925-1928 )
Blazes on the Trail ( 1928 )
Krag, The Kootenay Ram and Other Stories ( 1929 )
Billy the Dog That Made Good ( 1930 )
Cute Coyote and Other Stories ( 1930 )
Lobo, Bingo, The Pacing Mustang ( 1930 )
Famous Animal Stories ( 1932 )
Animals Worth Knowing ( 1934 )
Johnny Bear, Lobo and Other Stories ( 1935 )
The Gospel of the Redman, with Julia Seton ( 1936 )
Biography of An Arctic Fox ( 1937 )
Great Historic Animals ( 1937 )
Mainly about Wolves ( 1937 )
Pictographs of the Old Southwest ( 1937 )
Buffalo Wind ( 1938 )
Trail and Camp-Fire Stories ( 1940 )
Trail of an Artist-Naturalist: The Autobiography of Ernest Thompson Seton ( 1940 )
Santanna, The Hero Dog of France ( 1945 )

Canadian writer Ernest Seton-Thompson released his first collection of short stories, The Animals I Knew, two years before the turn of the 20th century. The collection stunned readers and was reprinted several times. A new, mysterious, incomprehensible world opened up to those who read this book.

Childhood and youth

Ernest Seton-Thompson (1860 - 1946) was born in Britain. But his family roots were in Scotland. The stories of glorious hunting successes have been passed down from generation to generation. The family was wealthy: my father was a ship owner and transported goods all over the world. But then the father's affairs went worse, and six years after the birth of Ernest, the head of the family moved the family to Canada. At first they lived in the town of Lindsay, and after 4 years they moved to Toronto. Then it was a small town surrounded by forests. This greatly influenced the teenager. Seton-Thompson studied not only at school. The biography contains facts that he ran into the forest or field and watched birds, looked at flowers and herbs.

The right book

Returning home from school, Ernest chose the longest way to admire the shop windows, where paintings with animals, fox heads, deer antlers and many other interesting things were exhibited. One day he saw the book "Birds of Canada". But it was incredibly expensive - a whole dollar. Ernest saved up money for a month and a half and, finally, was able to run to the bookstore and become the owner of the coveted book. But here's the trouble: the book did not reveal the secrets of nature to the young naturalist. Only years later, Seton-Thompson, whose biography is so fascinating, realized that it was a pseudoscientific composition. This story is in the story "Little Savages".

Learning to draw

The father did not approve of his son's hobby - observation of the life of nature. He insisted that Ernest study drawing. The young man graduated from art school with a gold medal and went to London in 1879 to continue his art education. There he studied for only four incomplete years and returned home due to lack of money.

But the ability to draw came in handy for the zoologist and naturalist. Subsequently, all of his books will be illustrated by Seton-Thompson himself, whose biography is described in this article. His drawings are not only accurate, but also demonstrate the nature of the birds and animals depicted. And the author's attitude towards them is always full of love and humor.

Naturalist and writer

The passion for natural science that Seton-Thompson developed as a child led him to the high road in life. In spite of everything, he achieved success both in science and in literary work. He wrote many scientific works on zoology, then fiction books began to be published regularly. Seton-Thompson traveled around the United States reading his stories. His biography is the biography of a man passionately in love with all life on earth, unraveling the unknown in the life of birds and animals. He tried to tell people about them. As a writer, Seton-Thompson was a huge hit with both young and adult readers. He was not afraid to show true life in all its cruelty. Often you want to cry when your favorite hero dies at the end.

You can't fool children with sweet fairy tales, Seton-Thompson believed. The writer's stories are honest and no matter how tragic the death of the hero is, the reader returns to the memories of his best features. This makes him immortal. The worthy death of the leader of the pack of wolves Lobo, cunning and clever, causes genuine regret. So did the ridiculous death of the Bingo Scottish Shepherd. In the story "In the footsteps of the deer" the end is safe. The hunter could not raise his hand and kill the noble animal.

Seton-Thompson organized the Forest Craftsmen League in 1906 to study and protect wild animals. He dreamed of a harmonious life for man and nature.

Seton-Thompson died at the age of 86 and was cremated. And years later, his ashes were scattered over the hills of New Mexico.

Canadian-American writer and animal painter Ernest Seton-Thompson is British by birth. He was born in the small English town of South Shields, where he lived until the age of six. Then the boy and his parents moved to Canada.

There he grew up surrounded by wild nature. Ernest's father was engaged in farming, and not far from their house there was a dense shady forest, where the writer liked to spend time as a child.

Even then, he fell in love with drawing and began to carve animal figurines from wood. After school, Ernest entered the Toronto College of Art. After graduating from it in 1879, in 1883 he published his first work - "Life of a meadow grouse".

Seton-Thompson traveled extensively. Most of all, he liked to spend time on the prairies and forests, to communicate with local fishermen and hunters. He was also interested in the life of the Eskimos and Indians, but his main hobby was invariably animals.

Seton-Thomposon's life experience is reflected in his books. The writer has created more than forty different works. He is best known for such collections as Wild Animals As I Know Them (1898) and the eight-volume edition of The Lives of Wild Animals, written between 1925 and 1927. The autobiographical book "Little Savages" (1903) is devoted to the life of the Indians.

The writer was also actively involved in social activities related to the protection of the animal world. So he supported the scout movement and organized the Forest Science League for Canadian youth.

Ernest Seton-Thompson died on October 23, 1946. At this time, the writer lived in the city of Santa Fe (USA).

(1860-1946) american writer and naturalist

There are writers who did not create major works and nevertheless had a huge impact on the development of literature. Among them is Ernest Seton-Thompson. His merit lies in the fact that he was one of the first to truthfully describe the world and the habits of wild animals. It is from him that the animalistic genre originates in literature.

Despite the fact that Ernest Seton-Thompson is considered an American writer, he was born far from America, in the small English town of Southshield. His father was a successful ship owner. However, in the year when Ernest was five years old, his affairs were shaken, and he decided to seek his fortune overseas.

The early years of Ernest Seton-Thompson's parents lived on a farm near the town of Lindsay. Ernest will forever remember this time as the happiest of all his childhood years. For the first time, the boy found himself in the wild and spent all his free time in the fields and forests, although, of course, he did not remain ignorant. Over the years, he learned to write and read and even started going to school.

In 1870, the life of the Thompson family changed dramatically. They moved to Canada and settled in Toronto. There, my father began to work in the city administration, placing the children in school. Moving to the city did not change Ernest's attitude to nature. He tried to spend every free minute outside the city or in the park. In one of the secluded corners of the park, the boy built himself a hut in which he spent all his free hours. This little hut became his second home. He made friends with animals, fed stray dogs and cats, watched their life and habits. Later, the impressions of his childhood will be reflected in his story "The Royal Analostanka", in which the writer told the story of an ordinary cat.

City life did not benefit the boy: after five years his health deteriorated greatly, and the doctors advised to send Ernest to nature. The parents wrote to the new owners of their farm, and they agreed that Ernest came to live with them, settling him with their children. The interesting life on the farm was later described by Thompson in the book "Little Savages".

Returning home to the city a year later, Ernest Seton-Thompson continued his studies at school and soon graduated with a certificate of honor. However, overwork affected his health. He fell ill again and instead of going to university, he went back to the farm. But this time, the wilderness and clean air didn't help him. Ernest's health deteriorated so much that he was forced to return to the city for serious medical treatment.

After his recovery, the young man began to take lessons from the artist, since by that time he had firmly decided to enter an art school. After the first year, Ernest received a gold medal, which allowed him to travel to London to improve his skills. There, Thompson entered the Royal School of Painting and Sculpture at the Royal Academy of Arts. He studied well and soon became one of the best students in the academy. In those same years, Ernest had another significant event. The director of the British Museum saw his drawings, and they shocked him so much that he issued the young man a life certificate to visit all the depositories and the library of the museum so that he could draw animals.

At this time, Thompson's interest in ornithology was awakened. He began to read a lot about birds, studied all their species, redrawn pictures, drew them from memory and from nature. However, continuous studies and a half-starved existence again shook his already poor health. And the doctors again advised him to stop studying and return home to Canada. Ernest had nothing to live on there, so he had to take on any job in order to only earn money. But most of all he loved to do drawings for greeting cards.

Soon Thompson's health recovered, and he moved to a farm that belonged to his brother. It was there that Ernest Seton-Thompson met the heroes of his works. On the farm, he wrote his first book, An Illustrated Description of the Birds of Manitoba. The publication of this book has become a real event in the scientific world.

Thompson met with the largest American scientists and received an order to make drawings for the encyclopedic dictionary of zoology. This was followed by the fundamental encyclopedia Keys to the Birds of America and the book The Mammals of Manitoba.

While doing illustrations, Seton-Thompson found time to paint big pictures. With the money he received, he went to Europe and exhibited his painting "The Sleeping Wolf" at a large art salon in Paris, which was enthusiastically received by critics. Fame and glory awaited Thompson here, especially since before him few artists had taken on the depiction of wildlife and wild animals. But he did not stay in Europe and soon returned to the United States.

In 1893, Seton-Thompson exhibited several paintings at the International Exhibition in Chicago. Seeing them, US President Theodore Roosevelt wished to meet with the artist and ordered him a portrait of the wolf leader. Now this painting is on display at the Theodore Roosevelt Gallery.

In the same year, Thompson was approached by the largest American publisher Scribner. He invited the artist to publish a book of his stories with his own drawings. The success of Thompson's first book, My Wild Friends, exceeded all expectations. It was not only reprinted several times, but almost immediately translated into foreign languages.

Now fame and wealth have come to Thompson. He buys a villa near the city of Santa Fe, where he settles with his adopted daughter Dee. Ernest Seton-Thompson transports his extensive library there, as well as a kind of zoological museum: photographs, sketches of animals and birds, stuffed animals, samples of skins and bird eggs.

Based on the materials of his collections, he first publishes the book "The Life of Northern Animals", and then the fundamental encyclopedia "The Life of Wild Animals". For the first of these, Ernest Seton-Thompson receives the highest award of American naturalists - the Gold Campfire Medal, and for the second - the Gold Elliott Medal, America's highest award for scientific work.

The writer lived in his villa for several decades and died in 1946.

The famous Canadian writer, hunter, traveler and animal painter Ernest Seton-Thompson (1860-1946) decided to become a naturalist scientist since childhood and went to his goal with enviable persistence.

When hard days fell, he remembered a brave ancestor who, many centuries ago, became famous for his exploits in the battles of Scotland. The boy said to himself: "The invincible Georgie never gave up, so I must come out the winner!"

Ernest Seton-Thompson was born in the north of England in a small seaside town, his grandfather and father were ship owners. When the family's affairs deteriorated, they had to move to America. Parents, a cousin and nine brothers settled in Ontario, deciding to start farming. We had to do everything ourselves: build a spacious house for a huge family, take care of livestock.

Father had long noticed the hobby of little Ernest: he went to the forest with pleasure, watched plants, trees and animals. But birds were especially interesting to him, he made sketches of their plumage, memorized voices, but, unfortunately, could not call them by name. Arriving in the city, the boy went to a hardware store, where the owner kept stuffed birds, under each stuffed there was a nameplate. Now he could recognize every bird he met in the forest!

In a bookstore, Ernest found the Bird of Canada qualifier, which cost a dollar and a dime. The boy had to collect the required amount for several months in order to purchase the coveted book. Imagine his disappointment when he found out that there were many inaccuracies in it. Then Ernest began to write his amendments and additions into the book, which served as the beginning for the first independently compiled guide to the birds of Canada.

When difficulties arose with the household, the family moved to the city of Toronto. Here Ernest graduated from the College of Art. Ernest was praised by all school teachers: “Your son is the first student. But his success in drawing is especially striking! If you help develop his talent, he will become a great artist and glorify your name all over the world! "

My father believed that the profession of a naturalist, which Ernest dreamed of, had no future or prospects. Although the family was very poor, he managed to send his son to the Royal Academy of London. They taught there for free and gave a small scholarship. But it was rather difficult to enter there. Ernest entered only a year later, when his drawing passed through the competition.

Seton-Thompson was given a student ID engraved on an ivory plate. The young man learned that next to the museum, where he often worked, is the world's largest scientific library, which contains a huge collection of books on natural history. Admission to the library was free, but persons under twenty-one years of age were not allowed. Ernest asked to give him a library card, but the officer on duty said that famous academics were studying with them, and the members of the museum's board had set strict rules.

Tell me the names of the board members! - asked the young man.

Please: Prince of Wales, Archbishop of Canterbury.

There were seven people in the board, and these were the greatest people in England. Seton-Thompson wrote a long letter to each of them. He spoke about himself, his dreams and explained why it is so important for him to become a reader of the British Museum Library. Three days later, he received seven polite responses from each of the board members. They all promised to discuss his request. And two weeks later he was invited by the director of the library and presented not a simple, but a life-long membership card!

Many years have passed when wonderful stories about animals first appeared: “Animals I knew”, “Animal heroes”. Their creator died in 1946, at the age of 86, having lived a long life full of good deeds, and his books were loved by children and adults in many countries of the world. The stories are accompanied by the author's witty and expressive drawings. They contain a lot of informative information about the habits of animals, their struggle for existence.

Particularly fascinating are the stories about the strong, dexterous and brave Lobo - the leader of the pack of gray wolves that ravaged the Kurrumpo Valley, about a wild horse - a living and elusive handsome mustang pacer, about a raven killed by an owl, about the inspired singer Randy the sparrow, about the black fox Domino and the Royal Analostanke.

There is in this book an interesting story about the heroic pigeon Arno, who broke many glorious records. Once he flew with a report over the sea, in the fog, two hundred and ten miles in four hours and forty minutes. The letter was rolled into a tube, wrapped in waterproof paper, addressed to the Steamship Society, and attached to the underside of the tail feathers. Arno's heroic deed was included in the lists of the Pigeon Club.

But the bird's life was too short: he hurried home, flew low, as the wind rose. The falcons were catching a weary, weary dove. “It was all over in one minute. The dovecotes squealed with joy. Squealing in the air, they soared to their rock, holding in their claws a dove body - all that remained of the fearless little Arno.

From the Seton-Thompson book, you can find out who the pacer is. “I saw a herd of mustangs going to the Antelope spring to drink. There are also a couple of foals. One small, black - handsome man, a born pacer. I chased him for about two miles, and he ran in front the whole time and never lost his trot. For fun I drove the horses on purpose, but I never knocked him off the pace! "

Such horses are not suitable for peasant farming. But the mustang is a wild horse. And now the hero of the story "Mustang the pacer" is very annoying to the cowboys, taking their mares with him. They try to drive the stallion, but they fail to catch him. How much will, strength and courage he showed defending his freedom!

In the story "Royal Analostanka", a man with a wheelbarrow feeds the cats of Skrimper Lane. He takes pieces of a fragrant boiled liver out of a drawer. Each cat grabs a piece and runs away to enjoy its prey in a safe shelter.

All cats are well known to the liver seller: here is a cat whose owner neatly deposits his dimes a week, but John Washey's cat gets a smaller piece because John is late in payment, decorated with the innkeeper's rat catcher's collar and bows, receiving an additional portion as a reward for the owner's generosity. But a black cat with a white nose is mercilessly repulsed. She doesn't understand what happened. Only the seller of the liver knows well what the matter is: her owner stopped paying him.

The cats that were not on the lists of the aristocracy were waiting at a respectful distance. Among them was one stray cat, which becomes the main character of the story. Her story is the story of Cinderella. But only feline!

Many of Seton-Thompson's stories end tragically. For example, “Domino. The story of one black-brown fox. " The fox father, returning home with prey for five cubs, and his girlfriend are pursued by hunters. When Domino realizes that Belohrudka is exhausted, he bravely rushes to meet the dog in order to lead her away from the hole.

There are stories with a good ending. The hunter has been trying to drive the huge deer of the Sand Hills for several seasons, and finally he succeeds. We must shoot. “The deer stood like a statue. He stood and looked straight into Jan's eyes with his big, truthful eyes. The gun trembled in Jan's hand. He raised it and lowered it again ... "

Reading the works of Seton-Thompson, you can see that the author endows animals with human properties. His characters think, feel like a person. This is called anthropomorphism. The writer was a supporter of such ideas about living nature.

Read the essay by Vasily Peskov about his acquaintance with the writer's books and his journey to his homeland.

Vasily Peskov

Lifelong friend

If they asked me which of the books I read in my childhood had the greatest influence on me, and I would immediately say: "Animal Heroes" by Seton-Thompson.

Almost everyone in our country reads this book in childhood. It has been published dozens of times under this and other names. It left a grateful memory to everyone who read it. For me, the book was a whole event.

Life was just beginning for me then. And the most interesting place in it was the rivulet, swampy chaplygi, alder forest, wet meadow with yellow wagtails, sandpipers and lapwings. The day in childhood is great, but it was not enough to go around this great kingdom. In the evenings, the already half-asleep traveler, the mother, reprimanding him for leaving the heifer unattended, and for the gaps in the newly sewn shirt, steamed the chicks with sour cream. (Chicks - for those who do not know - this is a disease of village boys: from constant climbing through the swamps, dried mud on the legs finely cracked along with the skin.) It was a good time! And then someone's clever, attentive hand put a book on the nine-year-old "natural scientist" called "Animal Heroes".

Only now, having already gray hair, do you understand how important it is to throw the right grain into the ground in time. For the next forty years, I, perhaps, have not read a book more necessary than this. Everything in the book was simple, understandable and very close. Doves, cats, horses, wolves, fox, sparrows, mice, dogs, tits - everything is familiar and at the same time new, unusual. The pictures in the book were also special. They were placed on the side of the sheets. There were many of them: someone's footprints, dropped feathers, an extinct fire, wolf eyes, gazing out of the darkness with two lights, a flower, a hut, a string of geese, a cow's skull, a trap ... These drawings are still in my memory, and I can call them one by one. Reading the book, I experienced a strange feeling, as if everything that was drawn and written in it, I saw myself on our river, in the fishing line, in chaplygs, in the yard. The book seemed to me to be a treasure to be put under the pillow. I reread it for the third, fourth time. I even remember the smell of it, the smell of a long-lying yellow paper with blue pencil marks ...

Later, from the pictures on the wide margins, I immediately recognized the books dear to me, sought out and read everything that could be found. “Animals I Knew”, “From the Life of the Persecuted”, “Mustang-pacer”, “Rolf in the Woods”, “Little Savages”. I learned that the writer and artist of all these books are the same person - Seton-Thompson. I also learned that the heroes of the books - the wolves Tito, Lobo and Blanca, the dove Arno, the fox Domino, the rabbit Jack, the dog Chink, the Indian Chaska - were known and dear not only to me alone.

Even later, while rereading Seton-Thompson with an experienced eye, I felt this man's tremendous knowledge and love for nature, extraordinary reliability in every word and in every drawing. Now I became interested in the author himself and realized: behind the books is a bright, interesting human life. Inquired in the library: is there anything about Seton-Thompson? The old librarian said: "Wait a minute ..." - and returned with a small book. “My life”, - I read it on the cover ... All the same style - a narrow set, but on wide margins there are drawings: a hut, wolf tracks, a running elk, a steam locomotive drowned in the snow, a rider on a horse among the prairies ...

I read the book during the night, turning over the last sheets in the morning light. This second meeting with Seton-Thompson was more serious than a childhood date. I found out: the writer was born and spent his childhood in Canada, lived and worked in New York, but the city was weighed down and finally left for the wild, uninhabited places of America.

The discovery was important for me: a person lived a happy life because he worked tirelessly and did what he loved. The book also opened my eyes to the fact that it is very difficult to feel “my purpose” and then follow it. Life is a continuous test; it does not spare those who backs down and stumbles. But perseverance, faith and courage do not remain without a reward ...

Forty years ago, could I have thought that I would see the Seton-Thompson house, see the table at which the writer worked, see his paintings, drawings, a worn-out pencil that fell out of my hand in 1946? I will see my daughter and his grandchildren. Could i think?

But that's exactly what happened in 1972. Traveling around America, my friend and I found a village in the state of New Mexico called Seaton Village (“Village of Seaton.” We say Seton, Americans - Seaton) and spent the whole day in the house of a person dear to me.

House Seton-Thompson built himself, with his own hands, to his own taste. His adopted daughter Di Barvara and four grandchildren now live in it.

With excitement I walked on this scrap, touching the things that once surrounded the writer, leafing through his books, examining the originals of such familiar drawings made in ink on thick paper. I was shown a hefty feather headdress given to Seton-Thompson by his Indian friends, and I saw the place where he sat chatting with the Indians.

And at this table he died. He sat there working. And suddenly dropped the pencil, - said Dee Barbara.

The writer's grandchildren, children like ours, listened attentively to the conversation. They were interested to know: somewhere far away they know and love their grandfather.

We really love and know the wonderful naturalist writer. Since childhood, his books have introduced many people to the natural world, helped to understand, love this world, and helped some to choose a path in life. And so it happened with several generations of people. The books of a wonderful writer, naturalist, artist and scientist do not age.