Frederick Russell Burnham

Scouting on Two Continents

Doubleday, Page & Company, New York, 1926

Frederick Russell Burnham (1861–1947)

Editor/Arranger: Mary Nixon Everett, who elicited and arranged the stories

Foreword: John Hays Hammond, a famous mining engineer and friend of the author

Pagination: xxii, [2], 370 pages.

Binding: dark brown cloth hardcover with gilt lettering on the spine and front cover

Illustrations: 31 black and white plates and sketches, including photographs, maps, and facsimiles

A British edition was published by William Heinemann, Ltd., London in 1927. 

Doubleday, Page & Co. merged with the George H. Doran Company in 1927 to form Doubleday, Doran & Company, creating what was then the largest publishing house in the English-speaking world. 

Scouting on Two Continents is the 1926 memoir of Major Frederick Russell Burnham, an American adventurer and scout often called the “Father of Scouting”. The book details his real-life exploits across North America and Africa, which significantly influenced the creation of the Boy Scouts. 

The memoir is generally divided into two thematic parts: 

Part I: The American West (North America)

Early Life: Born on a Sioux reservation, Burnham learned tracking and wilderness skills from Native Americans and frontiersmen.

Military Service: He served as a scout for the U.S. Army during the Apache Wars and was involved in the Pleasant Valley War (a notorious ranching feud).

Capture of Geronimo: He provides first-hand accounts of his interactions with the legendary Apache leader.

Part II: The African Frontier

Major Conflicts: Burnham traveled to Africa in 1893, where he served as Chief of Scouts for the British Army during the Matabele Wars and the Second Boer War.

The M’Limo Mission: A central highlight is his mission to locate and kill the M’Limo, a Matabele spiritual leader, which effectively ended a rebellion.

Boer War Exploits: Includes stories of his capture and daring escape from Boer forces.

I own a first printing signed by both Burnham and Mary Nixon Everett, with first state dust jacket, as well as another copy of the first printing with a second state dust jacket.