PREFATORY NOTE

TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION.

It has been a privilege to make available to English readers a book which shows a great naturalist at his best—a book that presents the reader with a series of vivid pictures of wild life and scenery, painted from actual observation, and with all the truth and accuracy that belong to the artist and man of science combined. It consists of a number of papers or articles that were originally read as public lectures and were afterwards collected into a volume that has met with much success in Germany. The subjects treated range over a wide and varied field. Some of them are unfamiliar to the ordinary reader, and besides their inherent interest have the added charm of novelty; others, if more familiar, are here invested with a freshness and charm that such a trained observer and practised writer as the author could alone impart.

To the translation of the German original have been added an introductory essay, showing Brehm’s position among naturalist-travellers, an extended table of contents, an appendix containing a number of editorial notes, and an index. The number of pictorial illustrations has also been increased.

For a notice of the Author and his labours see the concluding part of the Introductory Essay.

M. R. T. J. A. T.

University Hall,

Edinburgh, December, 1895.

CONTENTS.

Page

Preface to German Edition, v

Prefatory Note to the English Translation, vii

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY BY THE EDITOR, xv

THE BIRD-BERGS OF LAPLAND.

The legend of Scandinavia’s origin—The harvest of the sea—The doves of Scandinavia—Eider-holms and bird-bergs—The nesting of the eider-duck—Razor-bills and robber-gulls—Millions of birds—(Notes, pp. 565-566), 33

THE TUNDRA AND ITS ANIMAL LIFE.

High tundra and low tundra—The jewels of the tundra—The flora of the tundra—The Arctic fox—The lemming—The reindeer—The birds of the tundra—Mosquitoes—(Notes, pp. 566-568), 63

THE ASIATIC STEPPES AND THEIR FAUNA.

The steppe in summer and in winter—The coming of spring—The rendezvous in the reeds—The marsh-harrier—The home of larks—Jerboa and souslik—The archar sheep—The kulan and the ancestry of the horse—(Notes, pp. 568-571), 86

THE FORESTS AND SPORT OF SIBERIA.

An ice-wilderness or not—The forest zone—Axe and fire—The pines—Hunting and trapping—The elk, the wolf, and the lynx—Sable and other furred beasts—Bear-hunting and bear-stories—(Notes, pp. 571-573), 120

THE STEPPES OF INNER AFRICA.

The progress of the seasons—A tropical thunderstorm—Night in the steppes—Spiders, scorpions, and snakes—Mudfish and other sleepers—Cleopatra’s asp—Geckos—The children of the air—The bateleur eagle—The ostrich—The night-jar—The mammals of the steppe—Stampede before a steppe-fire—(Notes, pp. 573-576), 168

THE PRIMEVAL FORESTS OF CENTRAL AFRICA.

Spring in the forest—The beautiful Hassanie—The baobab—Climbers and twiners—The forest birds and their voices—Sociable birds—Conjugal tenderness—Salt’s antelope—River monsters—A rain-lake—Hosanna in the highest—(Notes, pp. 576-578), 201

MIGRATIONS OF MAMMALS.

Black rats and brown—Cousin man’s kindness to the monkeys—Migration of mountain animals—The restlessness of the reindeer—Wandering herds of buffaloes—The life of the kulan—Travellers by sea—Flights of bats—The march of the lemmings—(Notes, pp. 578-581), 234

LOVE AND COURTSHIP AMONG BIRDS.

Are birds automata?—The battles of love—Different modes of courtship—Polygamy—Life-long devotion—(Notes, p. 581), 259

APES AND MONKEYS.

Sheikh Kemal’s story—The monkey question—A general picture of monkey life—Marmosets and other New World monkeys—Dog-like and man-like Old World monkeys—Monkeys as pets—The true position of monkeys—(Notes, pp. 581-583), 282

DESERT JOURNEYS.

An appreciation of the desert—The start of the caravan—The character of the camel—A day’s journey—Oases—Simoom and sand storms—Fata morgana—The peace of night—(Note, p. 583), 318

NUBIA AND THE NILE RAPIDS.

Egypt and Nubia contrasted—Wady Halfa and Philæ—The three great cataracts—Journey up and down stream—The Nile boatmen—History of Nubia—(Notes, pp. 583-584), 356

A JOURNEY IN SIBERIA.

Russian hospitality—A tedious journey—An excursion into Chinese territory—Sport among the mountains—Journeying northwards—On the track of splenic fever—(Notes, p. 584), 390

THE HEATHEN OSTIAKS.

Racial affinities—Christians and heathen—The dress of the Ostiaks—The tshum of the wandering Ostiaks—The life of the herdsmen—A fishing village—The Ostiak at the fair—An Ostiak wedding—An interview with a Shaman—Funeral rites—(Notes, pp. 584-585), 416

NOMAD HERDSMEN AND HERDS OF THE STEPPES.

The name Kirghiz—Conditions of life on the steppe—Winter dwellings—Breaking up the camp—In praise of the yurt—The herds of the Kirghiz—The Kirghiz horse—Summer wanderings—“A sheep’s journey”—Returning flocks—Evening in the aul—(Note, p. 585), 451

FAMILY AND SOCIAL LIFE AMONG THE KIRGHIZ.

The Kirghiz as horsemen—Racing and wrestling—Hunting with eagles and greyhounds—A sheep-drive—The “red tongue”—Kirghiz bards—Education and character—Kirghiz etiquette—The price of a bride—The children—Funeral ceremonies, 482

COLONISTS AND EXILES IN SIBERIA.

Mistaken impressions—Impartial observation—The emancipation of the serfs—The Altai—Compulsory service—Condition of the peasants—The superabundant harvest—Romance in Siberia—Domestic life open to the convicts—The way of sighs—General picture of Siberian life—Runaways—(Notes, pp. 585-586), 510

AN ORNITHOLOGIST ON THE DANUBE.

Twenty eyries—The voyage down the river—The woods on the banks—A heronry—Sea-eagles—A paradise of birds—The marsh of Hullo—The black vultures of Fruškagora—Homeward once more—(Note, p.586), 540

Index, 587

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Fig. Page

Portrait of Alfred Edmund Brehm, Frontispiece.

1. Scene on the Sogne Fjord, Norway, 35

2. Colony of Eider-ducks, 44

3. The Bird-bergs of Lapland, 51

4. Razor-bills, 61

5. The High Tundra in Northern Siberia, 65

6. Peregrine Falcons and Lemmings, 70

7. The White or Arctic Fox (Canis lagopus), 73

8. The Reindeer (Tarandus rangifer), 76

9. Skuas, Phalathrope, and Golden Plovers, 80

10. View in the Asiatic Steppes, 89

11. A Salt Marsh in the Steppes, 90

12. A Herd of Horses during a Snowstorm on the Asiatic Steppes, 94

13. Lake Scene and Waterfowl in an Asiatic Steppe, 99

14. The Souslik (Spermophilus citillus), 108

15. The Jerboa (Alactaga jaculus), 108

16. Archar Sheep or Argali (Ovis Argali), 111

17. Pallas’s Sand-grouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus), 113

18. The Kulan (Equus hemionus), 118

19. Reindeer Flocking to Drink, 133

20. Elk and Black-cock in a Siberian Forest, 137

21. The Maral Stag, 145

22. The Elk Hunter—A Successful Shot, 148

23. A Siberian Method of Wolf-shooting, 153

24. Sable and Hazel-grouse in a Siberian Forest, 159

25. The Bed of an Intermittent River, Central Africa, 175

26. Hills of African Termites, or White Ants, 179

27. Secretary-bird and Aspis, 184

28. On an Ostrich Farm in South Africa, 190

29. Hyæna-dogs pursuing Antelope, 196

30. Zebras, Quaggas, and Ostriches flying before a Steppe Fire, 199

31. The Baobab Tree, Central Africa, 211

32. Long-tailed Monkeys, 222

33. Salt’s Antelope (Antilope Saltiana), 224

34. Crocodile and Crocodile-birds (Pluxianus ægyptius), 228

35. A Wild Duck defending her Brood from a Brown Rat, 236

36. A Herd of American Bison or Buffalo, 243

37. Wild Horses crossing a River during a Storm, 246

38. Flying Foxes, 251

39. Springbok Antelopes, 258

40. The Strutting of the Tragopan in Pairing-time, 269

41. Cock Chaffinches Fighting, 274

42. Entellus Monkeys (Semnopithecus Entellus), 285

43. Common Marmoset or Ouistiti (Hapale Jacchus), 292

44. Red Howling Monkeys (Mycetis seniculus), 295

45. Old Baboon Rescuing Young One, 301

46. Macaque or Bonnet-monkey (Macacus sinicus) and Snake, 307

47. The Hoolock (Hylobates leuciscus), one of the Gibbons, 310

48. Chimpanzee (Troglodytes niger), 313

49. Caravan in the African Desert, 323

50. An Encampment in the Sahara, 328

51. Gazelles lying near a Mimosa, 332

52. An Oasis in the Desert of Sahara, 343

53. Band of Mounted Bedouins, 353

54. An Egyptian Sakieh or Water-wheel, 365

55. A Nubian Village on the Nile, 374

56. Nubian Children at Play, 377

57. A Passage through the Nile Rapids, 385

58. A Post Station in Siberia, 395

59. Imperial Eagle, Marmot, and Souslik, 407

60. An Ostiak Settlement on the Banks of the Obi, 409

61. Huts and Winter Costume of the Christian Ostiaks, 419

62. “Heathen” Ostiaks, Reindeer, and Tshums, 424

63. Ostiaks with Reindeer and Sledge, 427

64. Interior of an Ostiak Dwelling (Tshum), 435

65. The Burial of an Ostiak, 449

66. The Home of a Wealthy Kirghiz, 455

67. Life among the Kirghiz—the Return from the Chase, 461

68. Kirghiz with Camels, 467

69. Kirghiz and their Herds on the March in the Mountains, 471

70. Kirghiz Aul, or Group of Tents, 478

71. Hunting the Wolf with the Golden Eagle, 487

72. Kirghiz in pursuit of Wild Sheep, 489

73. Frolic at a Kirghiz Wedding, 505

74. Miners in the Altai returning from Work, 517

75. Exiles on the Way to Siberia, 527

76. Interior of a Siberian Peasant’s Dwelling, 532

77. Types of Siberian Convicts—“Condemned to the Mines”, 535

78. Flight of an Exile in Siberia, 538

79. Herons and their Nests, 544

80. Rooks and their Nests, 546

81. Sea-eagles and Nest in a Danube Forest, 550

82. Nest of the Penduline Titmouse (Parus Pendulinus), 562