New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-11-21
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
RAMONA.


nv HELEN JACKSON III. H.. 16mo
nh"'-'"' mn 100. Roberts Brohcrs.
...o~rv which Mrs Jackson has here under-
.to, IN tell i'm the form OF novel Is the uuc s'os
NJ ,b. Mission Indians of acknowledgements 'n'
,oost sorrowful and shameful IN the whoic 'one
catalogue Of wrongs and cruelties which u'se''','
a.. record of orr dealings with the aborigines. In
the case of the Mission Indians none OF the
which are commonly alleged to justify tue Ell,
oro,chmcnts of civilization upon the possessions OF
the ,r;bes will apply These people were not say
.cos roaming over q country which they eou'u ho.
occunx- barassinc the pioneers of cuitiVatioh ano
on,osinp themselves as barrier TO the ihe'Iao'
nropress of industry and enlightenment. ihe'
- ,br;ftv peaccabe, hard-working villagers
o,a 60, many generations had been useful element
., Tho nonulation The missionaries, who con-
xerted them TO Christianity in the days OF ,he
Spanish domination, solved the problem Oh turning
warlike and wandering hunters into nohens'e
h.r5smen shepherls and filters of the soil, and the
missions into which the priests and frlars ga'heie"
their neophytss became very rich Mexico COINS
Gated the property of the Church in these establish
mepts before the country passed to the Oniteu
states but the Indian villages remained, ana inc
c;v;,iyed red men owned farms. sheep ana ca't'e'
hesidcs furnishing the rancheros with vai"aoie Id
borers at shearing and harvest time. AS INC
Tinted States. however, did not recognize 'ho
Indian titles the day soon came wneh 'hesc u''.
fortunate people were summarily driven OUT VI
their homes by the white settlers, who staKeu OUT
claims under the homestead act on the lndiah
farms: and now the remnants OF the MISSION
Indians are beggars and Migrants, huh'ed IRON,
Mace to place and falling into complete moran anu
physical degeneracy. ,,r
When Mrs Jackson chose for her hero chlei
eon Of one of the reclaimed tribes and endowed nun
,,,,h biob oualities of person and mind aud CON
iJsr,hle measure of education she was not Obliged
to strain the license of fiction. Mcssandro Is
tyne of the best of the men whom the Mission COM
,nunites sometimes produccd-a man IN WHOM 'ne
instinct of savagcry had been overcome bN genera
t,ous of Christian training while the quahtleS VI
.,,,nlicitv aud manrincss had been enhanced by
p,imitiye aud free way of life. Nor is there any
thing unnatural In the sprltnaiized a''achm'h'
between this splendid young hcrdsman ana 'no
beautiful haif.brocd, Ramona who leaves n rcn
nom. 10 become his wife. Long ago the world
grew tired Of the lovesick and scntentious savage
of Atlantic Coast romance, because we knew nun
Ia he in real life such vicious brute hut with the
.g,enltural Indians of California, who had been
tanned without being vulgarized, there was AWAY
nj least the possibility of refinement ana poetry
Certainly there is an almost idyllic charm IN Mrs'
yacLsons story of the flight of the lovers. the long
ride through the exquisite California nights the
hiding in remote canoDs, the thrce DAYS icSV III
nm unknown glade of the mountains the journey
over perilous trails the private marriage at 'he
Mission church; and the beauty of this story oil
love in the forest adds the strength of terrible
.ontros Tn the tragic incidents which are soon 10
follow. Alessandros village is broken up by the
arrival of homestead settlers his father is Killed;
his people are driven into the Wilderness destitute
and beart-broken; and the rest of the book IS hiled
with the tale of the ceaseless wanderngs ana
monstrous wrongs of the young chief and his ten
der but heroic bride 1t is told with dramatic
force: it's illustrated with vivid and accurate PIC
turss of the life and scenery of Southern Caiohia
and still better than any literary excellence is the
generous indignation which CLOVIS IN inc inipicSse
,'acos and must quicken the blood of every honest
,eador We do not mean that Mrs. Jackson scodS.
Herr measured words make us think OF the majesty
of prophecies and dread the curse OF heaven upon
fhe spoilers of the helpless