New book details places in Kansas you’ve never heard of

“The Last Wild Places of Kansas, George Frazier, (University Press of Kansas), 212 pages, $24.95.

Within a few pages, it’s obvious Lawrence’s George Frazier has a deep curiosity about his native state, as well as a keen eye for minute details. He’s also a talented writer.

It’s refreshing his book is not just the rehashing of so many articles and books about such legendary places as the Flint Hills, though they’re mentioned, or Cheyenne Bottoms. Instead, some of the places of which Frazier wrote are relatively small and unknown to even those who know the state well. That adds a lot to the book.

Most of the nine chapters include a history of the area, and how history and the uniqueness of the area helped shape each other.

Frazier’s explorations and writings take readers from ancient forests along the Missouri River to the semi-arid desert of the Cimarron National Grasslands in extreme southwestern Kansas. Without seeming to cram too much in to too little space, he works in dozens of other areas, as well. Except for a few spots, the book flows well.

But he finds ways to add bits about those regions that goes deeper than most writings. I was particularly fascinated when he writes about his curiosity of some landforms around a friend’s ranch in the Flint Hills. Through his research, he learns of a quarry where native people, from all across what’s now America, mined stone to make arrowheads and primitive tools for centuries.

On his journeys Frazier chronicles the people that call these wild places home. In the book you’ll meet a pair of back-country characters who share their culinary knowledge of how to cook up the perfect batch of mountain oysters and a research biologist that can probably tell you more than you cared to know about otter poo.

Much of the book is dedicated to the wild things that live in these wild places. I especially appreciate the text given to animals most Kansans don’t know exist in our state, such as flying squirrels in the tall timber areas of extreme eastern Kansas.

My favorite chapter may be the one where Frazier shares his many-year obsession to document river otters in Douglas County. He and his daughter, Chloe, eventually get it accomplished with a carefully placed trail camera in a wetlands area near Lawrence.

Unfortunately, those photos he describes so well don’t appear in the book. I wish it had more photos and better photography.

Then again, maybe a lack of photography is better so our minds can create whatever images we choose from Frazier’s vivid descriptions.

But there is one description that left me wondering if maybe he was trying a bit too hard in a book billed as non-fiction.

Frazier writes of exploring some old growth forest at Fort Leavenworth when he wrote he came upon a Disney-like setting that included “... thirty miniature deer (young fawns) playing in the flooded grass at the edge of the forest” at the end of May.

That raises several red flags. At the end of May any fawns born, roughly half a year’s crop, are probably too small to be doing much playing.

More importantly, by nature female white-tailed deer search for solitary places for having and raising fawns. In fact, they’re defensive of their territories and won’t tolerate other does or fawns nearby. Until they get old enough to outrun predators, the fawns are kept sequestered. Late fall and winter are really about the only time whitetails gather in such herds.

I ran the scene past several biologists and residents familiar with the behavior of whitetail deer. One laughed aloud.

In an e-mail, Frazier insisted he saw such a scene.

Regardless, “The Last Wild Places of Kansas” is a quality read, and one I’d recommend to others who appreciate our state and fine writing.

This story was originally published December 17, 2016 at 11:09 AM with the headline "New book details places in Kansas you’ve never heard of."