Dva divoši

by Ernest Thompson Seton

O dobrodružství dvou chlapců, kteří žili jako Indiáni a o tom co se naučili.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Classics, Adventure, Nature, Young Adult, Historical

377 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1903

About the author

Ernest Thompson Seton was a Scots-Canadian (and naturalized U.S. citizen) who became a noted author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and one of the founding pioneers 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.

He was born Ernest Evan Thompson in South Shields, County Durham (now part of South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear), England of Scottish parents and his family emigrated to Canada in 1866. As a youth, he retreated to the woods to draw and study animals as a way of avoiding his abusive father. He won a scholarship in art to the Royal Academy in London, England.

He later rejected his father and changed his name to Ernest Thompson Seton. He believed that Seton had been an important name in his paternal line. He developed a fascination with wolves while working as a naturalist for Manitoba. He became successful as a writer, artist and naturalist, and moved to New York City to further his career. Seton later lived at Wyndygoul, an estate that he built in Cos Cob, a section of Greenwich, Connecticut. After experiencing vandalism by the local youth, Seton invited them to his estate for a weekend where he told stories of the American Indians and of nature.

He formed the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 and invited the local youth to join. The stories became a series of articles written for the Ladies Home Journal and were eventually collected in the The Birch Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians in 1906.

He was married twice. The first marriage was to Grace Gallatin in 1896. Their only daughter, Ann, was born in 1904 and died in 1990. Ann, who later changed her first name, became a best-selling author of historical and biographical novels as Anya Seton. According to her introduction to the novel Green Darkness, both of her parents were practicing Theosophists. Ernest and Grace divorced in 1935, and Ernest soon married Julia M. Buttree. Julia would write works by herself and with Ernest. They did not have any children, but did adopt an infant daughter, Beulah (Dee) Seton (later Dee Seton Barber), in 1938. Dee Seton Barber died in 2006.

Reviews

[Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌳 Oh this is so good. My older brother and I ate this book up when we were kids. Plus we had a really old hardcover edition (1910?) with the wow old paper smell that ought to be bottled and that had the author’s illustrations too. And we did build our forts in the woods and make our camps and go on our explorations with our staves in hand. If you want to get your mind off the rough patches of the world this book will enthrall and transport you 🪵 🏕️

[Carol Bakker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtitle: Being the Adventures of Two Boys Who Lived as Indians and What They Learned.

Let's go straight to the Savages in the title. Seton wrote this in 1903. You would expect '...and he reflects the values of his time,' — but that's just not accurate, except for the word savage. I can't recall one instance of it in the text. In this book Indian methods are always the preferred pattern, the esteemed goal, the measure of authenticity.

Yan grew up in a whacked-out Scots Presbyterian home, very similar to John Muir's. No love, no affection, but a Bible-quoting, authoritarian father. His home training was all of the crushing kind.

This sounds autobiographical. Wikipedia reports: "On his twenty-first birthday, Seton's father presented him with a bill for all the expenses connected with his childhood and youth, including the fee charged by the doctor who delivered him. He paid the bill, but never spoke to his father again."

Recovering from a long illness, 14-year old Yan is sent to live and do chores on the Raften farm. Sam Raften, Yan's age, joins in Yan's absorbing interest in imitating an Indian lifestyle. Sam's dad values their endeavors and challenges them to live for a month in a teepee they construct, on food they forage. They make a teepee, a drum, bow and arrows; dig a fresh-water well; learn tanning, tracking and taxidermy.

There are dangers, some life-threatening. It wouldn't be a boys' story without them.

The illustrations, sprinkled on the edges of most pages, are delightful. Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13499/...

Favorite quotes:
When a father was setting his son up in life he gave him simply a good axe. The axe was the grand essential of life and work...

I delight in be-prefix words. The parade of them at the end of this sentence sent my fingers fluttering! It was two hours toil for the mother to turn the four brown-limbed, nearly naked, dirty, happy, towsle-tops into four little martyrs, befrocked, beribboned, becombed and bebooted.

Discovering that touching the inside of the teepee during a rainstorm causes it to leak is more easily remembered than explained.

Oh, the magic of the campfire! No unkind feeling long withstands its glow. For men to meet at the same campfire is to come closer, to have better understanding of each other, and to lay the foundations of lasting friendship.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book as a kid. My brothers and I lived out in the country and we played Indians a lot using as much of the lore found in this book as possible. Just shows you what kids can come up with when there are no videogames and they have to use their imagination.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story about two kids and their sidekick who live in the woods as Indians, and an old trapper who helps them along. While it is more of a book for young adults, there is much woodcraft and outdoor knowledge to be gleaned. The main kid in the story yearns to know everything he can about the natural world and is constantly examining critters, plants, birds. The boys run into some interesting characters, trials, and critters on their travels. The book is illustrated by the author who does a nice job. An american classic for sure.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this, it's no surprise to learn that Seton was the author of The Boy Scout Handbook and a founding member of the BSA. Full of Native American lore, the book teaches the reader how do do anything from light a fire to build a tepee in exquisite pen and ink drawings and half-tone illustrations by the author. Too bad I can't show the cover of the first edition - it's a beaut, designed by the author's wife Grace, who also did the interior decorations. A lovely old book.

[Ray Pierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read and re-read this book so many times as a kid that the librarian thought I was up to no good. Well, maybe I was. The work is quite unusual as it is a novel and a handbook for boys at the same time.

[Carolyn Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the incredibly non-pc title, this is an amazing book about two boys who wanted to head out into the woods for the summer and live like Indians. With some care packages from home, they make a passable attempt at building wigwams and match-less fires, and have a few small adventures. Would this book fly today? Maybe if the title had been something like "Two white, juvenile Native-American-culture appropriationists". But as a girl who's outdoor experiences were limited to when my mother could physically drive me outdoors, this is one of the few books that made me want to go outside, walk down to the creek and poke at the dirt.

[Cheryl Takaoka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read when I was a kid, it spoke to my love of the outdoors. While there are some references that are 'sign of the times', primarily it deals with the reverence which the author feels for the natives and their skills. The enjoyment of the outdoors and living off the land.
I still read it once in a while, to remind me of how a simple life can be enjoyable.

[Olivia Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book as a child.

[Ron Me]

This is the real deal. Tells you in considerable detail how to make a bow, how to make an arrow, how to make a teepee (and how that's different from a wigwam!) I wish I had had this book as a child.

[Антонія · Rating 5 out of 5]

Лагідне повернення в дитинство, на лоно природи, до тих місць, де можна жити тут і тепер

Дружба, дорослішання, змагання, хто кращий, хто відважніший. Релігійність дитини, яка має трепет перед живою природою.

Хочеться ту книжку тримати в пам'яті, як найкраще літо в селі)

[Andersone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ja puikas sāk staigāt apkārt ar nūjām, būvē zem eglēm štābiņu un uz jautājumu, vai tad jaku lietū nevajag, atbild ar: "Nē! Mēs izdzīvojam," tad grāmata savu uzdevumu ir paveikusi. :)

[Alisa Stepanova · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Two Little Savages" is a adventure, young adult book where you can fully experience the life in a wild with its full danger and delight. The book tells about a weak, young boy who has a huge love towards nature and who moves to countryside. There he meets new people who will later become his friends, and faces several adventures that made him stronger not only physically, but mentally also. This book can teach not only important facts about how we can survive in the wild nature, but also important aspects of culture of Native Americans. This book is one of the best books to read as a teenager or as a child.

[Gene Smith]

I have listened to and reread this book many many times since my father read it to me as a small boy. In addition, I have given copies to my children and neices and nephews. This is the story of some youngsters learning to be in nature and even better, how to become part of nature. The descriptions and pictures provide great knowledge and insight if one is willing to put effort into reading and thinking about what you read. A similar book from an adult perspective is "Cache Lake Country" by John Rowlands.

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Уж не помню сколько раз перечитывала эту книгу в детстве, раза четыре, наверное, а может, больше.
И когда подрос сын — купила и ему тоже. Вчера закончили, и, кажется, скоро начнём читать её заново.
Большинство рассказов о животных Сетона-Томпсона заканчиваются печально, как в жизни, и помню, когда читала в детстве, всё боялась, что с мальчикам случится что-то ужасное. Но тут — хэппи-энд. Ура :D

[Marek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kniha se mi líbila včetně ilustrací, které autor nakreslil. Myslím si, že kniha se bude určitě líbit dětem a dospívajícím a samozřejmě si zavzpomínají na knihu i čtenáři, kterým je více let.

Je vidět, že autor je zálesák, má rád přírodu. Oceňuji i praktické rady, jak si např. vyrobit luk apod.

[Murray Writtle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite boyhood books. As an English town dweller, this tale of american farm kids playing "Injuns" was pretty darned exciting.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading after forty years is amazing - I like the book even more than I did then and I liked it a lot then!

[Walt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books growing up

[Christian Tzolov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book as a kid in the 80s. I read the Bulgarian edition from 1948. It left a significant impression on my youth, although back then i had no idea what boy scout means.

[Chris Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I ever fell in love with. My father read this to me and my brother as young "little savages". It's a timeless book of adventure and youthful exuberance.

[Miroslav Dzimko · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite book.

[Valery · Rating 5 out of 5]

редчайшая ситуация, когда ты обожаешь книжку в детстве, вдруг перечитываешь ее уже взрослой и понимаешь, что ничего не изменилось - это любовь.

[Iril Prairie · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favourite childhood books.
I read it when I was 10-11 years old and the impact it had on me is immense

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a friend perused my shelves and asked if he could pick a read for for me, this was not the one I expected him to pick. But I'm so glad he did. This book has been an utterly delightful read, full of dizzyingly beautiful description, stubborn dedication to the want of knowledge and experience, and, at its core, the story of a boy trying to find himself and his place in his rather disagreeable world (some time in the 1870s), finding solace close to earth, close to nature, with a great joy of watching the natural world unfold uninterrupted.

The other beautiful touching thing about this book, the part that makes it extra special (and a testament of good friendship) is that reading this in my late 30s, I can see that if I'd had this read to me/picked it up and read it as a child of 8, 10, 12, I would have utterly adored it and found much likeness to Yan (the author), and it would have been one of those books that I returned to repeatedly, had I been introduced then. I feel like my inner child has been greatly nurtured through this reading experience.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This unforgivable book breaks all records for cultural appropriation. It's the highly readable (if you can get past the racism) and fully illustrated story of a boy in ill health who goes and lives for a spell in the woods with a couple of friends, local farm boys. They imitate their idea of Native Americans, which is every stereotype you've ever heard and probably some new ones. They have a blast and learn a ton of woodcraft, which is described in detail - such as how to cure hides, how to build a teepee, how to stuff an owl, and other useful bits of knowledge. The only actual Indians to appear are a shy band of stragglers they pass while on a hike. The boys' impersonations of Native Americans get more and more outrageous. This book is a relic of a former time, and I gave it two stars only because it really is full of factual woodsy lore.

[Jan Brattain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful story written in 1903 telling the exploits of some boys about 12 years old as they camp out in the woods and try to live like little savages. They are within close distance to their family homes for back up, and they have a neighbor man who has lots of forest knowledge and he teaches them many things. How to make a bow and arrows, how to start a fire without matches, how to read animal signs, fish, hunt, make a tee pee, moccasins, and many other things. It really is a good guide on how to survive in the forest, complete with drawings by the author.

[Lady Kia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Protože jsem poznal muka žíznivé touhy, chtěl bych vyhloubit studnu, z které by i jiní mohli pít."

Kniha se mi velmi líbila 🙂. Obdivovala jsem Yana, jak se nebál nic vyzkoušet a nebo i když se bál, tak do toho stejně šel. K hodně věcem v této knize mám blízko, protože jsem součástí organizace, která byla založena na základě idejí jejího autora E. T. Setona. A i přesto jsem se dozvěděla několik nových věcí..třeba jak udělat indiánskou studnu 😉.

[Luboš · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nejsem si jistý, jak moc atraktivní to bude pro dnešní děti. Jako dospělý jsem si to ovšem užil. Hned jsem dostal chuť sebrat se a jít si ušít vlastní týpí. Naštěstí se mi podařilo letos v létě v jednom přenocovat.

[Terry Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read this book in a while, but I remember I loved it!