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Response Essay
Response Essay
I recently read a book by the author Ernest Thompson Seton titled “Wild Animals I Have Known”. It was published in 1899 in the United States from the journals he kept in his travels. In this book there are eight stories of wild animals Seton had encountered, the story I read was Lobo the King of the Currumpaw. Wolves in the 1800’s were considered vermin, and something to be exterminated from the face of the earth. People brought their hatred for the wolves from Europe. When the settlers came west in the 1880’s they brought docile cattle with them and the settlers hunted buffalo to extinction. With the wolves natural (and most like) prey gone the wolves hunted the livestock that was the settler’s livelihood. Losing cattle to wolves was not acceptable and the settlers put bounty on the hide of the wolves.
Seton taking a sabbatical; due to health issues; traveled to New Mexico to hunt wolves. Seton was a wildlife illustrator and a naturalist who very quickly fell in love with the animals in the area. He filled pages of his journal with great observations and drawings of every type of wildlife in New Mexico. He learned of a special wolf named Lobo, a legend in the area of Currumpaw valley. The bounty on Lobo was a thousand dollars, due to his remarkable ability to outsmart the settlers. It is mentioned in the story that Lobo and his band killed one cow per day for five years. Seton decided to take this job thinking it would only take a few weeks and while hunting Lobo he could draw and study wildlife in the area.
Seton first tried to poison Lobo with large doses of Strychnine and Cyanide, being very careful not to leave any scent of him on the meat. Seton made a ten mile circle dropping the bait every ¼ mile. The next day Seton set out to check his baits having optimism that he succeeded in killing Lobo. When Seton came upon the first bait he noticed tracks and the bait missing, he decided to follow it to the next bait hoping the carcass of Lobo would be there. Seton noticed the second and third bait gone, and when he came upon the fourth they were all piled together and Lobo had defecated on them. One passage in the book states “Then having piled three or four, he scattered filth over them to express his utter contempt for my devices.” (Seton, 34-35) In my opinion Seton is giving Lobo, a grey wolf, human qualities that in his time was unheard of. Seton bought specialized leg traps and scattered them in Lobo’ territory only to find them all uncovered.
Weeks turned to months for Seton, and he had no luck in acquiring his bounty. In the winter months Seton while out searching for Lobo discovered his tracks. In his book he mentions that a normal wolf tracks are 4 ½ inches while Lobo’s is 5 ½ inches, much larger than normal wolves. He also noticed that there were smaller tracks running ahead of Lobo’s which if it were another male wolf Lobo would have killed it. Under the assumption that it was Lobo and his new mate he went searching for them. He came upon an Indian in the area who stated to Seton that he did see Lobo and his new mate Blanca. Seton had an idea that would forever change him – he would use Blanca to get to Lobo.
Seton set traps out in the area most used by Lobo and his band. The next day Seton had success, Blanca had been captured by the leg traps. Seton and his companion tied ropes around Blanca’s neck and back feet and used their horses to pull the life from Blanca. Seton noticed that Lobo was not far from them watching and when Blanca died Lobo let out a great howl. Seton took Blanca’s body back to his camp, and Lobo followed. The next day Seton put Blanca’s body in a field surrounded by four leg traps. When Seton came out in the morning he found Lobo trapped by all four legs. Unable to kill his foe, he decided to take Lobo back to his camp. In the book Seton states he said “Yet by the light had died from his fierce eyes I cried, “(Stay, we will not kill him, let us take him alive to the camp)” (Seton 51). Seton left Lobo some food and water which Lobo completely ignored. He said that Lobo would just gaze out into the horizon, lifeless. The next morning Lobo was dead. Seton feeling great remorse for what he had done put Lobo and Blanca’s body side by side and swore he would never hunt wolves again.
Lobo changed Seton in so many ways. Seton published his book in hopes that it would help others see the destruction humans were doing to the environment and the animals around them. Seton also helped push the National parks system which we all enjoy today. Seton later became one of the founders of Boy Scouts of America, and the Woodcraft Indians Youth Organization. He has published many great books giving humans a peek into the daily lives of animals. Seton and many pioneers of yesterday started the movement to stop killing off the land and animals.
Humans by nature are destructive and Seton helped show what effect this has on the Earth. His book “Wild Animals I Have Known” shows both sides of the story and its effect in the end. Most people in the 1800’s did not think of the future or of the planet including animals, Seton gave them that seed they needed to start thinking. The Pacific Northwest had its own Manatee named Steller’s Sea Cow; it was hunted to extinction in 1768. The Cascade Mountain Wolf which roamed British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington became extinct in 1940. Eastern Elk and Merriam’s Elk became extinct on September 1, 1877 when the last one was shot. The list goes on and on, and in the end we lose.
These precious animals which are so vital to the ecosystems which we live in are gone forever. Today there are conservation efforts in place to protect the wildlife we share this planet with. Zoos all over the world are keeping some species on the verge of extinction from disappearing. Yellowstone started to reintroduce wolves back to the United States in the 1980’s despite protests from farmers and ranchers. They took wolves from Alaska (which they are still being hunted for their fur) and brought them to Yellowstone. In 2009 there were an estimated 96- 98 wolves in the Yellowstone area.
These wolves will never replace those that were here a hundred years ago, but maybe our grandchildren will be able to hear the wolf’s great howl - in their natural habitat.
Works Cited
Seton, Ernest Thomson, 1898. Wild Animals I Have Known. Retrieved from Google Books on November 5, 2010 from http://books.google.com/books?id=O7EEAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=seton+wild+animals+i+have+known&source=bl&ots=SdrE4cTyn_&sig=yI9Ne-oS5W1gF-J-IbHkJdpUlPc&hl=en&ei=R2fUTL6OGYSosQPw3fyMCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false.
List of Extinct Animals in America from Wikipedia retrieved on November 16, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinct_animals_of_North_America.
Yellowstone National Park – Wolves of Yellowstone retrieved on November 16, 2010 from YellowStone Wolves
I recently read a book by the author Ernest Thompson Seton titled “Wild Animals I Have Known”. It was published in 1899 in the United States from the journals he kept in his travels. In this book there are eight stories of wild animals Seton had encountered, the story I read was Lobo the King of the Currumpaw. Wolves in the 1800’s were considered vermin, and something to be exterminated from the face of the earth. People brought their hatred for the wolves from Europe. When the settlers came west in the 1880’s they brought docile cattle with them and the settlers hunted buffalo to extinction. With the wolves natural (and most like) prey gone the wolves hunted the livestock that was the settler’s livelihood. Losing cattle to wolves was not acceptable and the settlers put bounty on the hide of the wolves.
Seton taking a sabbatical; due to health issues; traveled to New Mexico to hunt wolves. Seton was a wildlife illustrator and a naturalist who very quickly fell in love with the animals in the area. He filled pages of his journal with great observations and drawings of every type of wildlife in New Mexico. He learned of a special wolf named Lobo, a legend in the area of Currumpaw valley. The bounty on Lobo was a thousand dollars, due to his remarkable ability to outsmart the settlers. It is mentioned in the story that Lobo and his band killed one cow per day for five years. Seton decided to take this job thinking it would only take a few weeks and while hunting Lobo he could draw and study wildlife in the area.
Seton first tried to poison Lobo with large doses of Strychnine and Cyanide, being very careful not to leave any scent of him on the meat. Seton made a ten mile circle dropping the bait every ¼ mile. The next day Seton set out to check his baits having optimism that he succeeded in killing Lobo. When Seton came upon the first bait he noticed tracks and the bait missing, he decided to follow it to the next bait hoping the carcass of Lobo would be there. Seton noticed the second and third bait gone, and when he came upon the fourth they were all piled together and Lobo had defecated on them. One passage in the book states “Then having piled three or four, he scattered filth over them to express his utter contempt for my devices.” (Seton, 34-35) In my opinion Seton is giving Lobo, a grey wolf, human qualities that in his time was unheard of. Seton bought specialized leg traps and scattered them in Lobo’ territory only to find them all uncovered.
Weeks turned to months for Seton, and he had no luck in acquiring his bounty. In the winter months Seton while out searching for Lobo discovered his tracks. In his book he mentions that a normal wolf tracks are 4 ½ inches while Lobo’s is 5 ½ inches, much larger than normal wolves. He also noticed that there were smaller tracks running ahead of Lobo’s which if it were another male wolf Lobo would have killed it. Under the assumption that it was Lobo and his new mate he went searching for them. He came upon an Indian in the area who stated to Seton that he did see Lobo and his new mate Blanca. Seton had an idea that would forever change him – he would use Blanca to get to Lobo.
Seton set traps out in the area most used by Lobo and his band. The next day Seton had success, Blanca had been captured by the leg traps. Seton and his companion tied ropes around Blanca’s neck and back feet and used their horses to pull the life from Blanca. Seton noticed that Lobo was not far from them watching and when Blanca died Lobo let out a great howl. Seton took Blanca’s body back to his camp, and Lobo followed. The next day Seton put Blanca’s body in a field surrounded by four leg traps. When Seton came out in the morning he found Lobo trapped by all four legs. Unable to kill his foe, he decided to take Lobo back to his camp. In the book Seton states he said “Yet by the light had died from his fierce eyes I cried, “(Stay, we will not kill him, let us take him alive to the camp)” (Seton 51). Seton left Lobo some food and water which Lobo completely ignored. He said that Lobo would just gaze out into the horizon, lifeless. The next morning Lobo was dead. Seton feeling great remorse for what he had done put Lobo and Blanca’s body side by side and swore he would never hunt wolves again.
Lobo changed Seton in so many ways. Seton published his book in hopes that it would help others see the destruction humans were doing to the environment and the animals around them. Seton also helped push the National parks system which we all enjoy today. Seton later became one of the founders of Boy Scouts of America, and the Woodcraft Indians Youth Organization. He has published many great books giving humans a peek into the daily lives of animals. Seton and many pioneers of yesterday started the movement to stop killing off the land and animals.
Humans by nature are destructive and Seton helped show what effect this has on the Earth. His book “Wild Animals I Have Known” shows both sides of the story and its effect in the end. Most people in the 1800’s did not think of the future or of the planet including animals, Seton gave them that seed they needed to start thinking. The Pacific Northwest had its own Manatee named Steller’s Sea Cow; it was hunted to extinction in 1768. The Cascade Mountain Wolf which roamed British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington became extinct in 1940. Eastern Elk and Merriam’s Elk became extinct on September 1, 1877 when the last one was shot. The list goes on and on, and in the end we lose.
These precious animals which are so vital to the ecosystems which we live in are gone forever. Today there are conservation efforts in place to protect the wildlife we share this planet with. Zoos all over the world are keeping some species on the verge of extinction from disappearing. Yellowstone started to reintroduce wolves back to the United States in the 1980’s despite protests from farmers and ranchers. They took wolves from Alaska (which they are still being hunted for their fur) and brought them to Yellowstone. In 2009 there were an estimated 96- 98 wolves in the Yellowstone area.
These wolves will never replace those that were here a hundred years ago, but maybe our grandchildren will be able to hear the wolf’s great howl - in their natural habitat.
Works Cited
Seton, Ernest Thomson, 1898. Wild Animals I Have Known. Retrieved from Google Books on November 5, 2010 from http://books.google.com/books?id=O7EEAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=seton+wild+animals+i+have+known&source=bl&ots=SdrE4cTyn_&sig=yI9Ne-oS5W1gF-J-IbHkJdpUlPc&hl=en&ei=R2fUTL6OGYSosQPw3fyMCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false.
List of Extinct Animals in America from Wikipedia retrieved on November 16, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinct_animals_of_North_America.
Yellowstone National Park – Wolves of Yellowstone retrieved on November 16, 2010 from YellowStone Wolves
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, Nov 19 2010, 1:27 PM EST
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Keyword tags:
analysis
bounty hunting
buffalo
cattle
conservation
currumpaw
description
evaluation
explanation
extinction
lobo
new mexico
response
rhetorical
seaton
wolf
wolves
yellowstone
yellowstone park
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