Ernest Thompson Seton

Ernest Thompson Seton (born Ernest Evan Thompson; August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was a Canadian and American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in 1910.

Quotes

• This is a time when the whole nation is turning toward the outdoor life, seeking in it the physical regeneration so needful for continued national existence — is waking to the fact long known to thoughtful men, that those live longest who live nearest to the ground, that is, who live the simple life of primitive times, divested, however, of the evils that ignorance in those times begot.
  • The Birch-Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co, 1907) "Of the Woodcraft Indians"

• Not Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Astor together could have raised money enough to buy a quarter share in my little Dog Snap.
  • Animal Heroes (New York: Scribner, 1905) "Snap"

Wild Animals I Have Known (1898)

New York: Scribner, 1900 [1898]

• A lion shorn of his strength, an eagle robbed of his freedom, or a dove bereft of his mate, all die, it is said, of a broken heart; and who will aver that this grim bandit could bear the three-fold brunt, heart-whole? This only I know, that when the morning dawned, he was lying there still in his position of calm repose, his body unwounded, but his spirit was gone — the old King-wolf was dead.
  • "Lobo, the King of Currumpaw"

• Crows know the value of organization, and are as well drilled as soldiers — very much better than some soldiers, in fact, for crows are always on duty, always at war, and always dependent on each other for life and safety.
  • "Silverspot, the Story of a Crow"

• Next day on returning I found him dead in the snow with his head on the sill of the door — the door of his puppyhood's days; my dog to the last in his heart of hearts — it was my help he sought, and vainly sought, in the hour of his bitter extremity.
  • "Bingo, the Story of My Dog"