Los Angeles herald., 1893-01-02

wish to treat their children wisely.
Probably her beet known books al
The Birds Christmas Carol and Timt
tho's Quest. One of the daintiest book
of the year is by Alice Edwards Pratt
entitled The Sleeping Princess, Califol
MIA. 1t is descriptive poem OF Cali
fornia for the last century, detailing 1t
gradual awakening from it's slumber
centuries. How her Golfers are file
with shining coin, and broad acres
tickled by the plow. laugh out in rip
pling waves of golden grain. And sh
sends out oils md wines to all the mar
kets OF the world. How her feather,
redwoods are changed to grand man
sions and her giant frs and cedars ar
skimming the seas in every direction
She has awakened, with all the treasures
of the past in her hands, and as the LIE
blood leaps in her veins we see within hei
porte the fleets of nations wait to carry
thence her ore, grain and wine from
mines, fields and vineyards that are
numberless. Her orchards are full o.
golden fruit; the mighty rocks yield
gold and silver streams, and the land n
budding and blossoming like rose
Science is Harvesting all the powers o1
the earth, and as wisdom rules the state
with peaceful sway, and culture smiles
and liberty shouts-we see side by side
with mill and mart rising the temples
Of education and worship crowned with
the upward pointing spires. Although
by q San Francisco author, still
the work is descriptive of the
entire state. In San Francisco
we have an author, who is a wonderful
writer-Ambrose Bierce. His position
is that Of journalist connected with
the Examiner, but his best work see ms
to be in short poems and articles for the
newspapers. One Of his late efforts is
an original work, aimed at the weak
mortals who forget that they are men
and become either fools or villains. The
title is singular and original-Black
Beetles in Amber; and it includes all
the fugitive poems written and pub
lished by him in the past ten years. The
articles are especially addressed to the
people of the Pacific coast, and many of
the descriptions will be recognized as
who have been leaders in affairs
for the last 20 years. 1t Is full of
bitter wit and amiable humor. His
him and G. A. Danxiger of San Fran
cisco, entitled The Monk and the Hang
mans Daughter. A novel which is his
torical and descriptive, the seens of
which is laid in the mountains of Ba-
varia, in the latter part of the 17th CEN
tury. Soldiers and Civilians is en-
other very successful work written by
him.
In real fun we have Theodore s. Van
dykes Millionaires of a Diy, which is
an inside history OF the Great Southern
California Boom, which lasted for two
years, embraced vast area of both
town and country, and involved an
amount OF money and players almost
incredible to even those who were in it.
The history of such a craze seems
worth writing, and although to people
of the older states much of it will seem
burlesque, still the Californian will say
that, instead of being an exaggeration,
many interesting facts have bsen sup
pressed. 1t shows a deep insight into
the late history of Southern California.
Before leaving Pacific coast books, 1
would like to mention book written
many years ago by Francis Patkman
entitled The Oregon Trail, being sketches
of prairie and Rocky mountain life as
viewed in trip which he made in 1846
to the Black Hills, and the record Of his
visit among the Indians. A new and
legantly'illustrated edition of this very
interesting volume has been published
late this fall, in decorated covers and
finely illustrated by Frederic Reming
ton, the great Indian artist and illus
traitor. Hamlin Garland says: 'The
whole book is mine to the writer OF
Indian tales and has been well worked,
no doubt. The description of the plain,
the rivera and the hills are vivid and
faithful enough to roll back the 40 years
that lie between those gray savannas
and the present. Nothing is more evil
dent from this book than that the life of
the Indians at this epoch had much Of
the barbaric splendor, restless activity
and pride in warfare that the medieval
Scots possessed. 1t is life that closely
allies itself with the raids of the north
men under Harold, lacking only the
sea flavor" Even in the Glow
and rather pointless description
OF the historian we catch glimpses of
vast PROFESSIONS amid beetling defiles of
rocks more wild and savage in their
dark majesty than the trossacks, whose
jaws dwarf on acquaintance like Ellen's
isle. For months he lived with Indians,
trappers and traders, galloped over
prairies black with buffalo, passed long
lines of white-capped wagons rolling to-
wards the Pacific, slept in rude tepees,
heard the war whoop, smoked the pipe
of peace, and learned to know the fas-
cination of the savage life of the plains
in the days when the "Wild West" was
no myth, and when the traveller beyond
the Mississippi carried his scalp in his
hand. His fidelity, graphic power
and descriptive charm recommends
it to all book lovers. The man of
all American artists best fitted to depict
the scenes o. which it tells has been
chosen for the work. Fredrick RemiDg-
ton is known as one of the most charac-
teristic OF American illustrators. He
knew the prairies and mountains before
civilization had stated their ''infnite
variety" and his pictures are as full OF
truth as of spirit. They exhale the
breath of the plains, and give one touch
needful to Mr.. Parkhurst's text. The
book is brimming over with his spirited
drawings. They are full page pictures
showing emigrants en- route, Indian war
and hunting parties, trappers,
traders, aborigines in war paint
and feathers, trading posts and
their motley frequenters, plains
OF slow moving, shaggy buffalo, mount.
ain vistas, frontier settlements and
Indian villages with their dusky deni
zens; while scattered through the text
are vignettes OF Indian heads, faces OF