Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-15
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
L. C. M.
DESERT DRUMS: The Pueblo Indians
of New Mexico: 1840-1923. Leo
Cronn Tittla Rroury &, RI

Again, meet Leo Crane-one minute
Go.ernment official and the next pure
| aa tnturer. Here. Indian agent to des-
81. tribes, and there, play boy of the
| s~0., gathering up the handfuls of ro-
| lli-llGe that history planted in New
| NAlXlco and Arizona,-romance that cur
| REM events are serving to sustain and
| deepen.
Desert Drums" is in both fact and
effect a by-product of Mr.. Cranes ot1i-
cial life III the Far West.
| And. by the way, what a luminous
streak of interest and information would
be projected by somewhat general
outlook upon the subject of "by-prod-
ucts'-this and that by-product of in
dustry politics. religion, the social con-
| tent, all of them set out In this time of
daily change and wonder.
! However, that is for another time.
Enough that here in hand is fine
example of the very thing, by-product
| OF one mans professional career. That
| career, simply set out, involved repre-
| sentlng the Government of the United
States i'll its ministrations to the In
dams of a certain part of its domain.
A multifarious role, that of the Indian
! agent-Providence, the Great White
| Father, Santa Claus, whatnot-all in
cluded and covered by this versatile
| power. Food and drink, medicine
| schools, trade, land holdings, general
protection-these the everyday routine
| OF the Indian agent, who was required
| to be in several places at one and the
same time, attending in all of them to
| the general Well-being of the noble
Red Man. A fair part of this official
| program comes out in Desert Drums. -
1Qrnnr Of -
given over to the play boy OF this part
| nership. Yet when Leo Crane does
| take up some part of the business, the
real business, of being a representative
OF Uncle Sam in the capacity of bene-
factor and guardian, he turns upon
himself, SO to speak-upon the great
Government at Washington--with COM
| ment quite to the point, with criticism
| on the leisurly business method of this
great central power, with constructive
| suggestions that, quite likely, he does
not expect to have break out of the
confines of strictly official report
| Therefore. he puts few of them into
this wholly unofficial by-product OF
Government service.
| The first chapter of this captivating
and energetic story is devoted to the
memory and man-size service of the
| first OF the Indian agantS-James S
| Calnoun, the pioneer OF the order, serv-
ing away back at the time when the
gold rush TO California was ready to
Jump OFT. The chapter sums to finely
stirring picture of American history, to
a robust accounting of the hardships
and difficulties and disappointment
accruing to any man who, certainly at
that period. stood in the stead of the
United States before the Indians of the
| great West. A fine tribute to James s.
Calhoun Is the leading story of Desert
Drums
Beyond this point of almost pure
! record the book takes a course to suit
the author, and us, rather better than
any mere report, no matter how i'm
portant, could possibly do. More than
20 years of intimacy with the desert
included by Arizona, New Mexico and
| the Colorado frontiers, and deep
knowledge of Hopi and Pueblo and
Navajo as well, go into this panoramic
view. 1t Is, to be sure, with the Pueblos
of New Mexico that the book has to
! do in its definite dealings with special
trait and characteristic, with particular
custom and ceremonial. Yet, the full
Indian lore of this man, gathered
through many years of Interested pur-
suit, serves as matter of course to en-
rich and illuminate the study of any
part of tribal life, serves to explain the
| tribe at hand by those already known
| and understood. Known and under
| stood through high service of great
value to the Indian as outside report OF
Leo Crane makes clear And this story
is not all OF tribal custom and tribal
ritual Behind these picturesque ex-
| ternalS Leo Crane makes 1t plain that
human beings are before us, beset by
| problems, conscious of certain degree
t helplessnesS in the face of the mighty
| present, hoping for fair chance from
| the great world. This fact stands clear
even in the midst of the glamour of the
book itself In its picturesque approach
upon the facts of human life that the
Indians Of New Mexico and its neigh
boring States project for the consider.
| alton of all of us. A beautiful and USE
full and most stirring book.
| y \ 4
THE CHILDREN SING IN THE FAF
WEST. Mary Austin. Houghtor
| Miff1in Co.
Beautiful title-don't you think? True
too, according to Mary Austin, who tells
us that. In part, children made these
songs, helped to make them. Pretty
small part" shifts some tired teacher
dlsillusioned by the drab and grindine
years as to any true creative gift ir
| children-any power to make drama, tt
act its parts, to invent verse and set II
to tune. Yet these, the world over, can
| do all OF this, provided, chiefly, that they
are clear of the perpetual Fostering Of
parent and teacher to conform them tc
single pattern.
With the young ones in mind, let's
| LoN Y0%l.
| that they could not do, If left free
! These are songs, certainly. Beat them
out in proof II you are sticklcr for
| loot and measure. Not a hating step
nor stumble, nor limp. Groom them
| II, maybe. you have tune left in you
Music, to be sure. And the themes
| look at them. Just the ones that chill
| dren would pick up from roundabout
animals coming and going, snow falling,
| pictures painted on the canvas of the
desert By the wizardry of the sun, old
Indian customs slipping into words and
drum beat. In an easy moment 7 listed
the animals taking part here. All on
hand, or SO 1t seems. Bird and beast
| meadowlark to the petered-out line OF
the northern auk-all here.
whenever the days are cold and clear.
The sandblll crane goes walking
Across the fled by the flashing weir.
Slowly, solemnly, stalking"
And there he is right upon the page.
caught in the very act by the good hand
| Of Gerald Cassidy. who has captured
many another of the characters of this
! book at its highest instant of action or
| suspense.
Turning from these singing children,
| you ask, who Is Mary Austin2" A
gifted and distinguished woman, ac-
| cording to II. G.. Wells and Carl Van
Doren and Grant Overton and other
competent judges of excellence in art.
A woman who. as girl, went from the
Midwest into the real West itself. There
she fell in love with the coast of the
Pacific and then with the desert over
the mountain ranges. She became alb
SOrbed in the primitive life of Tic r.