Professor Isabella Lucy Bird

Unbeaten Tracks in Japan Professor Isabella Lucy Bird

Isabella L Bird (1831 - 1904) was a 19th century British traveler and writer. Since her father was a Church of England priest, the family moved many times during her childhood. Bird traveled to Colorado when she heard the air was very healthy. She covered the 800 miles on horseback riding like a man and not sidesaddle. She also traveled extensively in Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Persia, Kurdistan, China, and Morocco. In 1878 she traveled to Japan and this book consists of the letters she wrote to her sister. Bird traveled north through the mountainous areas and eventually visited the island of Hokkaido. Here she saw the indigenous Ainu. Isabella admired them tremendously, but could not see them as much more than savages.