New-York tribune., 1922-10-08
The Glamour of the West
By William Harris

ten desperate men who sought his life :?
| trow not. AS for John Slaughter, he
needed only to live up to his patro-
nymic-and he did. He brought the
law to Cochise County and kept it there
till it took root.
Appropriately the book closes with
the history of Boot Hill Cemetery,
where so many of those redoubtable
warriors lie, gone, but not forgotten;
while from their quiet dust springs a
perennial crop of romantic novels.
"Whispering Sage one of the latest
of these, while dealing with familiar
fiction territory-Nevada, to be exact
introduces an element both novel
and realistic in the Basque sheepmen
who may be found scattered through
out the West from Mexico to British
Columbia. These are not descendants
of the Spanish settlers who came when
Spain still held colonies in the New
World. They are recent emigrants, and
yet members of what may we'll be the
oldest race, in Europe. who have held
the fastnesses Of the Pyrenees against
every conqueror that harried Con-
tinent has known for three thousand
years. How or why certain individuals
among them decided to come to Amer
ica to make their fortunes is not re-
| lated in this story, though it would
be of much interest, for they arc more
clannish than the Highland Scots and
equally tenacious of ancient custom.
Here they are shown in conflict with
gang of 'bad men," who are also
hold-overs from a bygone day, the
stakes being the water rights Of Para
disc Valley. 1t came to gun play and
| dynamiting before it came to an end,
There is lot of lively action. Alas!
there is not much else. The only
character who stands out with any
| distinctness is the heroine, Mercedes
Arrascada, young lady of spirit and
resource. Evidently the dryness of
Nevada has had its baleful effect upon
the style of Messrs. Drago and Noel.
Now "Cryder of the Big Woods"
George C. Shedd's hero, though he is
the center of an, equally stirring plot,
| is very much an individual. His faults
| and his virtues are equally human; he
has a big heart, bullying manner, a
! quick and large intelligence which is
| unfortunately sometimes overruled by
the impulsive and pugnacious streak
| in him. He is also first-class sur
! geon, who in disgust Of life, after q
VERY bitter personal ). experience, has
established himself in mill town in
| Washington State, where long feud
| between big lumber company and
/ the settlers who hold timber claims
| In that region is nearing it's inevitable
conclusion. Cryder has nothing to do
with this quarrel in his own right; but
naturally he gets dragged into it. The
| plot is consistent and well-constructed:
but the main interest of the story is
the character drawing, which, if not
always subtle, is singularly accurate
Mr.. Shedd does not find it necessary
| either to romanticize or blacken human
nature to find it of interest; even his
villains are entirely probable, almost
inevitable. Nor is he a propagandist;
he holds the scales true between tne
antagonists, showing neither blame
less; the true adversary of both was
in their own hearts, and was the wor-
ship OF materialism and mammon: II
/ was greed and selfshness. Even Crv.
der, the idealist, the man of truIv
benevolent impulses, makes hash Of
/ things because he is also an egotist.
But hel did not lose everything. Fran
ces HuH had brains enough to see that
! "egotlsm in one form or another an.
peared as an innate characteristic In
all men; 1T seemed to be fixed in the
bone, to flow in the blood, to rise with
the breadth, male idiosyncrasy, But
4 at least she could choose amone ;ts
various forms; and she would taka
every time an egotism in frame ot
big qualities. One in mere wa;st.
coat would drive her insane" So she
chose Cryder; and one does actua1ly
believe they lived happy ever after
Whlch IS considerable tribute to Mn
shedd's ability as writer.