New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-02-14
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
r,uors SCOUTS AND PIONEERS

FAMOUS NCOl ~ AND IlO->Eiho
THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JAMES p;
BECKWOrkIlI, Mountainccr, Scout, Iloil'er' anu
('hje, Of the Crow Nation OF Indians written from
his own die9,on by D., honHG Leland e. Ham,
frcmann"l. Illustrated. Svo. PIP. 44o' MIC
milan a Co.
There are no doubt still some plain>men VINO re-
member jim Bcckwourih and his wonderful adVch'
urcs though mos, of those his contemporaries
have long since passed away. Mr. Leland K'" "'
the old I'm his youth. and hS rcmcmori'''r .,
that time and the then really Wild West nave P"ml"'"
him 10 undertake. this edition % IL M"" WIG" Wa
popular I'm us day. but which has Tor more u'h
generation been virtually forgotten. IN MS very
interesting preface MI Leland has much 10 say %
,hosc old times when no man Whose business cdlied
fsm into the West could reckon with any certainty
upon keeping MS hair on for twenty-four hour'' h'
Leland indeed tells anccdotc or two' inc piS' VI
which Is that even at the present time there i peuS
OF danger TO he apprchendcd from Indians IN ms
country as for instance. the story OF the man az tn
yanrbam Hotel In London, who had had seven Ihui'n
bullets shot into him. and retained and always "o"lu
retain, three OF them. 80
Mr. Leland who is a veteran traveller, famh"r
With many lands, who has like ulysses, seen iiaIN
realms their people studied and their realms sur
vcyed gives the reader the benefit Of his ripe )uu1
ment upon the value and especially the credlphiN W
Becbwourths narrative. There is sort oil hahlc"p
mon the story, for frontcrSncn generally see" I"
have held II article of faith mat jill" "'H
phenomenal perverter Of the ru'h-ahd s'"'o -o1
stories are told ancnt this alleged inventive poP'n-
slty But the editor has had Il toielahN "i"c wv,
rence of frontierSmen too. and he is convinced ta'
while Beckworth ,nsv make mistakes OF detail inc
main current Of his narrative is true aN I'l""'.
has been denied that he was ever head chi'1 VI wv
Crow nation and alleged that at most 10 WIS oi'
a suhcl,cf Mr.. Leland sees no Sufficient reason
Tor doubnc fine scouts statement In this 'ohhecon'
,ouovor The circumstances attending BeckwourhS
introduction to and anllation by the Crows wouii
ccopnt for almost any elevation I'm his case, ana
there seems no doubt that for many wears 'noSe
Indians held him in the highest estimation
II ,s very possible that most men Of tho frontier
.rnn null the long-bow more less: and the tempa-
ton IN do so must DE particularly strong IN case
like Bcckwourth's, where there was no whNe 'I'"'
~ witnesses to check his narrative But no"eN'r
much he may have welded to the tcmp,a'Io" l"
"embroidcr" his adventures, they aS9"rH"N ,'i'
With thcm internal evidence of central truth ana IN"
,nodern reader NAV probably accept them in the nam
with comparatively little discount once OF '"'o
as for Instance TIE occasion whch tue "'i'
reprcsented as running nincty-nve miles III or u'E
while pursucd by IndlanS-the reader cannot l'l u
enter q protest against the cooliy stated P'o'eN'
pockvourth himself evidently thinks that the story
., .,s ono for he backs It with others Of the same
,,,a ,,nfor,unately still less Creditable. But rs
ynle the adventures related are such as niT"' ''''
we'll have happened TO anybody In that via coun'N
md savcss period and there is no room FOR doubt as
to their stirring character ,a
Tim Reckwourth like nearly all his class receive"
a.. fnrr,er training In the service Of fur company
N. rss clearly an Ishmaete by blood and BIRTH ana
tn.re was as his career demonstrated natural
aAanity betwee him and the INDIANS. Inc p'""
cause of his joining the Crows was the hNen"' '''1
circulation by another scout OF Story 10 ,"' '"'''
,hot N. really was a Crow who had been stolen wheh
a child and brought up among the WHITES i"'''"
o,hers who had lost their babies during raids even
cent On far as 10 identify the young man, ana ~.
falling into the humor Of the thing. aho"eu himself
N he thus reldentfcd. His conspicuous oa'i"S "n'
his many successful fights with the Indian Toes OIL 'e
Crous brought him great popularity. and on the "hoe
there Is nothing very astonishing in the TACT ,h"t
.,., Aid cbiof died they should confer the l'aucrsHP
=, ,no ,r,he upon one they had learned TO regard as
strictly belonging to them
Az all events Beckwourth became TO all pr"cu''l
,n.ents Crow Indian lived In their wlCWahs' MAJ
r,ed their daughters. led their RAIDS anu n""'''-
rar,,es and identified himself with them In all way
u,s life throughout was one OF adventure anu penn
.roh a life as only picked men could i've tlroue H.
The tribes on the plains warning with one aho'"er
oil the time and most OF them with the WHO I"c'
ton II Is even said that Beckwourth grew 80 ue
roa,,zed that he was not above joining some OF the
hostile expeditions against white parties oil tr"Nc.i''
and one or two who had known him previously ciicu
a. bove soon him engaged in such work but lhese
things were so far we can make ont never PioNN
and jim was given the beneht oi the uou"'' 80"
general standard OF morals the plains at mat umc
was no doubt unpeasantly low. 1t was every man
for his own band: and old fron'iersmeh. hunters
scouts and trappers We're for the most par' nun W
not at all troubled by conscientious scrupcs Oh any
kind.
Whoever desires to read an oldfashi"ned anu
genuine story Of life the plains at the time "h"h
the buffalo ranged in immense herds ana 'hc ia"a"
as vet was not, and the red man dominated 'he s'"'
.,on us, find s,ch n narrative On this volume II
was all dictated by Beckwourth TO Bonner, WHO hau
some ideas Of editing, and put the story together
clearly and acceptably. Now Mr. Leland mas auueu
his experience to the edition and MADE II a nj
number of the Adventure Series" in whose RANKS 1t
will serve to perpetuate memories when Tue rapiu
noos ~ rho vears have already well nigh efaccd.