The New York Times from New York, New York • Page 45

thc new ulvicw. dccemscu 24, 1022 4 Spanish America Through Foreign Eyes UYPtYINO THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA. By Kugtnt Cunning. earn, with rhotoffraph: K. P.

Dut-ton A Co. $7. SIX YEARS jy BOLIVIA. By -4. V.

OnUv with Photograph: X. P. Vutton A Co. 17. TURKS A88SS lit BOLIVIA.

By Lionel L. Portman, with Photo-orapht and Drawingt. Houghton Miff Hn Company. M- ADVENTURES IN BOLIVIA. By C.

H. Prodgor; with mn Introduction ku R. B. Cunningham Oraham llluttrxtd in Color and Black and White Drawing: Dodd, area Co. WOO.

TUB ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. Btt rierro Dmii, with Photograph: Charter 8crituer' Son: W. the five booka Hated, that of (I C. If. lTodgers hlU the high est note In the scale of ad venture.

We can Imagine thla man, who weighed 255 pound before be undertook a venture Home and dangerous Journey, mak lag hla preparation to venture In where white men bad always feared to ma. Aa the story tells, be was very comfortably situated as the trainer of a large stable of horses when he was offered $.0,000 to enter the Challana territory for the pur pose of establishing a spirit of good- will between an exploitation com-nanr which had concessions there and the natives. In a most matter of-fact manner he tells how be un dertook the hazardous Journey, not mo much because of the honorarium Involved? but because he would get sn opportunity to see Lake TlUcaca. the highest navigable Uke In the world, and visit the peak of Sorata. the ultima thule of much adventurous endeavor.

Recognizing that his avoirdupois might prove a serious handicap In his quest, Prodgera went about it reduction In a most business-like manner. In a few weeks he had worked himself down to the comparative lightness of 235 pounds and started merrily on hla way. His mount was one of the kmal but sure-footed mules which are used for transportation In this territory. The sppearanre of this modern Kancho lanaa with hla heavy torso draped over a mule's back must have been very interesting; and genuinely en tertalning to all beholders; his park was borne by a horse which In thc days of his horse training had aerved him to some purpose. Everything that rrodgers set out to do he did without much exertion on his part, according to hla own narrative.

Ob ttariea appear to have tumbled down before the very assurance of his goodly presence. There Is a certain modesty about the whole story that appeals to men who are familiar with the country through which ho passed and the suspicion directed by the natives against every white man. Not satisfied with having performed his duty to the rubber exploiting company which sent him Into Challana and with haviug seen the things which formed part of the urge which sent him forth on his adventuring, rrodgers undertook a search for missing treasure the tabled treasure of the Incas. In this effort he made three attempts, but without success. Were the story not so real throughout.

It would find a welcome place In the fiction of adventure. No one could read it without feeling Its fascination. It might be questioned whether the writer hai added much to the sum of knowledge about Bolivia. The answer to this a that he has done the few thlnirs attempted along thla line in a most readable manner. There la a lengthy introduction to the volume by R.

B. Cunninghams Oraham, whose adventures as a big game hunter In all parts of the earth are well known In this country. lie will be best remembered as a friend of Theodore Roosevelt and one of the members of hla party during his African trip. The introduction is well worth the reading because Graham Is doubly gifted as a writer and an ad vent re r. Aa he intimates, Prodgers may have been too stout for active virtue," but he shows how Uie writer got there," and that.

after all. Is the most Important thine. A. V. L.

Guise approaches the story of bis adventures In Bolivia during; a period of six years from an entirely different viewpoint. He speaka with the authority of a mining engineer, and his book is profuse ly Illustrated with photographs. This volume Is of particular interest because of its splendid setting forth of the great mineral wealth of the country. 11 Is not, however, entirely devoted to the telling of this story. The writer finds time and opportunity to give a good conception of the habits and manners of the natives, their suspicions, their loves and their hates, and he does thi Job In a sympathetic manner, roots stick out everywhere throughout this book and It must prove a valuable addition to any travel library a well as a comprehensive handbook for those who have investments in Bolivian minea or who Intend to Invest in Its mineral development.

After reading Three A sues In Bolivia It Is Impossible to discover any particular reason why It was written except possibly for the purpose of discouraging people from visiting this charming If rather primitive country. The Jacket of the volume conveys the Information that a reviewer for The London Times places thla book in the utme class and equal to Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad." From the viewpoint of one who has traveled over the same territory as Lionel L. Portman, the writer, deacribea with such a lack of understanding there is no excuse in the book, Ht6raiy or descriptive, for making such a parallel. It Is true that many of the things said by Mr. Portman about travel and hotel accommodations are too true, but from thc be ginning of the volume to its very end he places' himself in the role of destructive critic.

The most satisfying things the writer sets forth are that the two asses who accompanied him did not always agree with hia ideas of things as they were, and that at the time of writ ing the book he was enjoying good dividends from Bolivian investments. The csuses that brought about the effects of which the book complains are to be found In the very fact that the great majority of the Investors In the mineral and rubber resources of the country sre absentees whose only Interest Is In the size of their financial returns. It may safely be "AcroM the Campo in Argentina." PainloJ A. 5. Forfeit.

From "Houth America," by W. H. Koebel. 1 "If 1 said that if one-tenth of the wealth produced in the country were to remain at home Its hotels and transportation could be developed in a most satisfactory manner. Mr.

I "on man is gifted with a fluency In writing, but the viper In his pen removes any chance for possible enjoyment of his bettt passages. It would eeem that be appraised Bolivia and other South American countries through which he traveled by comparison with' his own native England which he uses space to describe as the only country in the world. I defy any country to produce anything like our combination of character and capacity. For generosity, courage, readiness, business honesty, treatment of women, charity, sense of duty, honor, sense of humor, cleanliness, cheerfulness, capacity, the high mind and level head, all the teats by which a nation can be Judged, where in the world will you find men like ours, or still more emphatically women? Well said. Indeed, as a patriot and a son of a chivalrous people, but this writer Is unable to find any connec tion between these glorious words and the conditions existing In a coun try which has alwaya been looked upon as a good field for producing wealth for other peoples, and the majority of whose natives have been steeped, until very recently, in Igno rance.

Were Mr. Portman to have approached hia subject with these facts in mind and in a spirit of constructive sympathy there la no doubt that his ability would have produced a worth-while book. His genius for seeing things is unquestioned; his viewpoint was apparently responsible for his mistakes in telling his story. Three Asses in Bolivia is. how ever, very readable if not likable.

There is no geographer writing to day whose authority is considered as surpassing that of Dr. Pierre Denis, whose The Argentine Republic Is a book that comes at this time with a wealth of valuable information. It has been prepared after -V: -J. ft iSmtte laaaaaaaaaasaaaaaaaaisawaiiiJiisuiiiiaaaMiiM sasaa ffalaais ii ii i imriiit JlHi Uliatlaisi Win ii ir iMh I 'i A' i ''-'P 4 The Docki at Santoa." Paintti bj A. S.

Ferrttt. From "South America." by W. H. Koebel. many years of careful personal research and should appeal In a special manner to colleges -where men are trained for South American commercial pursuits aa well as to schools, public and private, which undertake to train men for the diplomatic and consular service.

Meeting an official of the Argentine Government during a visit to his country last year thla writer asked him hia opinion of the progress of a certain college graduate attached to the United States consular service was making. He answered that he knew the young man wen, that he was well versed In all the things necessary to the accompaniment of good work but geography well, he knew absolutely noth ing about It. In geography the In formant Included all the geological and topographical knowledge that goea with it. The volume prepared by Dr. Denis and translated by Francis McCabe is full of the sort of In formation which the young consular official lacked.

It la not only abun dantly Illustrated, but also gives abundant references for the use of the reader. Rejoicing In the gladness of nothing to do and nowhere to go except where fancy dictated. Eugene Cunningham felt the urge of Central America while lazing one day near the Ban Francisco waterfront. He obeyed the command and. as a result of his wanderings and experiences, has given us Gypsying Through Central America." a book which la whimsical, entertaining and instructive.

He explains that he and hla friend, the photographer. conceived the trip in restlessness." There is no evidence of this spirit, however. In the delightful manner In which the story is told In words and pictures. The book suggests the sort of observations that might be made by an experienced and brilliant reporter but conveys the Idea of dalliance In which reporters are not privileged to indulge. Mr.

Hart man, who la re-, sponsible for the photographs, supplies pictures which fit In with the text in workmanlike manner. The people of the United States are more Interested than eyer before In Central America, In ht presentation of the manners and customs of our southern neighbors the writer follows a whimsical strain, but never lets the facta get buried in hia method of telling them. After the book la read the feeling In the reader Is to strap his. pack to his back and gypsy along (he Cunningham trail. When the writers Adventures makes this Impression his work baa been well done; Cunningham reaches further and 'does It very well..