The Desert Home, by Captain Mayne Reid.
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This was one of the first books that Mayne Reid wrote. Its action takes
place in a central part of North America, designated a Desert. Some
people set out to travel in this central desert, when they somewhat lose
their way. Luckily they eventually spot the light of a farm-house,
where they knock and receive hospitality.
Their kind host and his family then explain to them how they came to
live where they do, and what a lovely place it is. Reid is very
knowledgeable about animals and also plants. Much of the rest of the
book is taken up with tales of encounters with various animals, and with
stories of the uses of many trees and shrubs.
It is written in an unusual style, but in fact, because of the shortness
of the chapters, it can hold the reader's attention very well.
As with several other books by this author it had been very badly
typeset, apparently using old and damaged type. This made the OCRed
version of the text come out very full of misreads, but it was fun
tidying this up. Apologies if any more misreads come to light.
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THE DESERT HOME, BY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID.