Evening star., 1934-12-30
BY SARAH BOWERMAN

ton with him was close all his life.
She corresponded with him, wrote
critiques Of his books, acted as his
agent in some business affairs and
failed to be with him at his death only
because she did not realize that his
active life was about to end. OF New
York State ancestry on both sides,
though more remotely Irish on his
fathers side, Marion Crawford was
born in Italy, where his father did all
his work as sculptor. Mrs. Craw-
ford, left widow with small children,
wished to make her children good
Americans, but failed. Italy was in
their blood. Marion Crawford was
sent to school in the United States,
but was not happy there, and his col
lege education was at Trinity College,
Cambridge, and because of German
brother-in-law) the Polytechnikum OF
Karlsruhe. When he came to settle
down, after serving literary appren-
ticeShip in Boston, where he lived with
the Howes, he chose Italy. His first
literary success, Mr.. ISaacS," was
written In America, but his later novels
came forth from Rome and Sorrento
During a stay in India he changed his
religion and joined the Catholic
Church, and many of his novels con-
tain Catholic characters and motives
In her Roman Spring" Mrs. Winthrop
Chanler, who also became Catholic,
tells at length of Crawford's reasons
for the change. The last writing OF
Marion Crawford was description for
an American magazine of the MesSina
earthquake and his last active work
was for the earthquake refugees. His
last novel, The White Sister" he
worked on to almost the end of his
life.
SPIDER WOMAN A story of Navajo
Weavers and Chanters. BY Gladys
A. Reichard. New York: The
Macmillan Co.
\ NAVAJO legend says: "Spider
Woman instructed the Navajo
women to weave on a loom, which
Spider Man told them how to make.
So Spider Woman is the patroness
or symbol. of the weaving of the
Navajos. Gladys Reichard, young pro-
fessor at Barnard College. student 'of
Indian languages and customs and
author of written grammars Of two
Indian Languages, decided that she
would like to learn to weave in Navajo
fashion She tells of her experiences
through a day. day narrative. from
her arrival at White-Sands. in the
Navajo country, her installation in the
fve-feet-deep dugout. which is to be
her home. the making Of her loom
by Tom, and her instruction in the
art of weaving my Marie, until the
end of the Summer, when she has
become so accomplished as to aston
iSh her teacher who, nevertheless. is
sure she will never be a rival because
she weaves so slowly that she coulc
never earn living at it.
Into this story of the blanket-Weav-
ing of a white woman. an outsider
received with friendliness, are intro
duced all the inhabitants of the set
tlement of White Sands -Mexi.
can's-Son. the trader, first introduces
her to the residents of the aristocratiC
dome-Shaped huts and the plebeiar
shades" A shade is an 'indetermin-
ate arrangement of odds and ends OF
sticks and boards from packing boxes
:. stuck upright in the ground, FORM
ing an uncertain circle beginning al
the trunk of a gnarled and north.
ward-leaning pinon. which served as
a roof" Red-Point is the head OF
the chief family and directs the irri-
cation of his fields while his ole
wife, Maria Antonia, hoes the corr
or sits at her loom. Atlnaba sits in
her dome-shaped hut. surrounded BY
dogs, cats. goats. sheep and children
and rapidly pulls pink, red. orange
green, brown, gray and black strands
from box Of yarn at her side, which
she weaves into the visibly growing
rug on her LOOM Marie. interpreter
and instructor for the white visitor
is not less energetic or enduring be-
cause comfortably plump" Weaving
is the central interest for the author
but for her reader she offers man,
others-all the normal occupations Of
a Navajo settlement. Herding sheep
sheep dipping and shearing. dyeine
the wool, planting, irrigating ane
harvesting-these are work. Sand.
painting, chanting. dancing, wedding
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