Monday, March 2, 2009

The Captain's Dog, March 15 Meeting

Dogs, history, Lewis & Clark, canoeing, hunting, fishing, camping and swatting skeeters--The Captain's Dog bursts with all this cool stuff. The doggy point of view is a unique and entertaining way to present this important historical event. Author Roland Smith does a good job of fleshing out excerpts of Lewis' journal with Seaman's doggy recollection of a united team of superbly-led men braving uncharted territory, starvation, disease, numbing cold, doubts, disappointment and depression to find the fabled Northwest Passage. There is an interesting aside weaved into the story featuring White Feather, a mysterious crow that appears at odd moments only to Seaman. This reminds me of the equally mysterious ravens in Will Hobbs' Far North. There are some funny moments such as Seaman marking his territory (it's a guy thing) and his encounter with a cat that is bigger than any cat he has ever seen ("It's not natural!").

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