REVIEWS FOR READERS.

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 2453, 22 September 1914, Page 4

REVIEWS FOR READERS.

"THE PIONEER DAYS OF THE MISSOURI."

Harrison Adams is doing a really good servico to the boys oi America generally and tlie cause of pioneering particularly in the series of stories he has been and still is writing upon those early days when tlie adventurous went out into the outback wilds with their axes and guns and lives in their hands to carve out homes for themselves and their families, and incidentally add more stars upon the flag of their nation, 'ilie Young Pioneer Series' is something any au-thor might-well be proud, of, and to the books dealing with Ohio, the Great Lakes, and tho Mississippi Mr Adams has now added "The Pioneer Boys of the Missouri, or the Country of the Sioux," illustrated by Walter S. Rogers, our review copy coming from the publishers, the Page Company. of Boston (Gordon and Gotch, Wellington). It is a rattling good, stirring story of the adventures of two sturdy American youths—canoeing along a great river, with exciting episodes with. Indians, buffaloes, and other beasts; and there are some very helpful historical notes by way of an appendix. Well and truly bound, this is a capital presentation book for any sort of boy. I THE LATEST MAGAZINES. j The Red Magazine, No. 127, con- ' tinues the adventures of Gospel Truth | Mortimer, Edgar Wallace's motor car \ hero- J. S. Fletcher's "Seven Days' j Secret" serial is concluded; and the ■ Round Table discussion deals with the j need, for a dramatic school. The ; story-tellers in the issue also include ! Fred. M. White, Dorothy Ranger Gull, Coutts Brisbane, Gilbert Dayie, Roy Norton, and others; whilst a I newcomer, E. W. Savi, contributes j the novelette. The Pall Mall Magazine for August (from the editor) farewells its readers, after 21 years' existence, in splendid form—for the Pall Mall has been merged into Nash's. Without any idea on the editor's part that Earl. Kitchener in August would be the Man of the Moment in the British Empire, the last issue contains a character sketch of K. of K. by T. H. Manners Howe. A short story, too, "The Battery," by F. Britten Austin, is also topical, in that it gives a vivid impression of a soldier under fire. The stories are by Rafael -Sabatini, G. K>. Chesterton, J. C. Snaith, Herman Sc-heffauer, Cynthia Stoekley, Chas. D. Roberts, and others. The illustrations are a delight to the eye. The Mid-Pacific Magazine for September (from the editor) continues Editor Alex. Hume Ford's articles on Kosciusko ("At the Top of Australia"). The remarkable feature of this magazine is that it is wholly given over to special articles, illustrated from photographs. There are no short or long stories in its issues. It is essentially a record of Pacific Ocean countries. Mary Proctor contributes an article on our Waitomo Caves, ana tlie titles of the other travelogues are: "Up Haleakala," "A Voyage to Bau," "Motor Boating in Hawaii," "The Land of the Filipinos," '.'The Aquarium at Honolulu," and "Adelaide and the Mount Lofty Ranges." The Art Gallery carries 16 full-page pictures, including some New Zealand beauty spots. The Wide World Magazine for August (from the editor) is full of" thrills. "Hoodlum" is the narrative of a daredevil engineer's feat, "Like a Rat in a Trap" is about a boy's misadventure, "Hurri Singh's Cobra" is a. "The Poacher-Catchers" concerns a man in a trap, "A Fight iii the Moonlight" tells of a duel, "Pedro the Ladrone" is an island adventure, and "The Ship of Death" is an uncanny episode. "Some New British Climbs" will hold the interest of Alpinists, and "A Remarkable Open-air Theatre" tells of the performance of William Tell at Interlaken, in Switzerland. The issue is profusely illustrated. Chambers's Magazine for August (from the editor) manages to get one article that is topical just now when the war-fever is upon us. "Notes from an Alsatian Valley" will be read with interest in view of France's endeavour to wrest Alsace "from the Germans. The Alsatians are a thrifty people, and the country is recommended to the people of the United Kingdom as a holiday resort. Other articles deal with "The Mountain Wilderness of South Wales," "Argentine Fragments," and "Safety of 'Life at Sea." A.s -usual, the fiction is wholesome and of interest. .