Evening star., 1938-09-14
NEW BOOKS AT
RANDOM
By MARGARET GERMOND.

tnur StrMger. Indianapolis: The
Bobbs-Merrill Co.
A courageous lass, q stern -jawed min
ing engineer, bewhiskered old-time
prospector. faithful dog and drunken
villain comprise the chief characters in
Mr.. Stringers new story Of romance and
adventure in the Far North.
It was from material Of this sort that
in the second era Of the motion picture
industry wholesome, heart warming
screen dramas were made. Familiarity
with the varied chronicles unfolding the
colorful story OF the rolling back Of the
frontiers has undoubtedly exerted an in
fiuence in relegating this type of litera-
ture and theatrical entertainment to the
realm OF the old-fashioned, but there still
are outposts Of American civilization
where life remains primitive and where
only the hard-bodied and stanch- spirited
can survive. One of these outposts is
Alaska, and it is to the mountain bound,
blanketed valley OF the Chakitana
that Arthur Stringer sends q North-born
girl to fulfill the mission Of helping her
own people and to establish claim to q
gold mine which her fathers death had
left unsettled.
Certainly the theme is old-fashioned.
but let 1t not be understood that there
is anything cut and dried about the
frosty atmosphere. the pungent smell of
spruce, the sparkling snow, the ice.
covered mountains and the vital issues
over which hard-bitten old timers, mod
ern mining engineering corporations and
the Jealous representatives of a benefi-
cent government lock horns. The issues
themselves happen to be very modern.
They involve the widely publicized Fed
eral colony Of red plush pioneers" pet
project of absentee bureaucrats," and
the net results OF that now largely dis
credited noble experiment. The author
wanted to see the colony in operation,
SO he went to Alaska This novel Is the
result Of that visit and is based upon in
formation cleaned at the source by a
man whose knowledge Of the Far North
Is exceeded by no other hctionist.
Carol Coburn, daughter Of Old Klon-
dixie Coburn, is the heroine. After
schooling in the States and taking ad-
vantage Of an opportunity to travel
abroad, she returns to her native valley
to teach school and to clear the shadow
ed title to her fathers claim On board
the steamer she has an unpleasant ex-
perlence with labor agitator known as
Eric the Red and Is rescued from his
unwelcome attentions by Sidney Lam
DER. mining engineer employed by q
corporation intent upon developing the
Chakltana territory. Lander's interest
IN the bush-rats daughter increases
when he learns that the claim staked by
her father Is an important section OF
the district his employers are determined
to acquire. When he and his dog leave
the steamer he reminds Carol that trails
have habit Of crossing in the North
Country. The trails Of all three cross
more than once, and in circumstances
that only Lander might conceivably
foresee.
Carols schoolhouse burns to the
ground during a Christmas celebration
and she accepts an offer to be trans
ferred to the Matanuska Valley, in which
the New Deal located its Alaskan reset
tlement project. Meanwhile she has
made the acquaintance of Sock-Eye
Schlupp, "bewhiskered old-timer with
a holstered hunting knife and a six-gun
swinging at his hip, to say nothing Of
long -barreled rife In the crook of his
arm" Sock-Eye entertains fond mem
ory and an eternal affection for that
leather-necked op pan-swizzler," Klon-
dixie Coburn, and he becomes counsel,
guide and protector Of his old friends
daughter.
Numerous other interesting characters
enter the picture, but it is through Sock
Eye, Carol, Lander and Eric the Red
that the story Of the fight of q girl
against q rich and none too honest
corporation for title to her own gold
mine is made to carry the burden of an
other tale Of disillusionment resulting
from the misguided efforts of would-be
social reformers to furnish the more
abundant life to group of human beings
by replanting them in conditions for
which they possess little hardihood.
Knowing the Far North and its peo-
pie as he does, Mr.. Stringer's observa-
tions were those of an expert, of an
analyst of conditions and of the reaction
Of uprooted human beings to strange sur
roundings. The following. quoted from
these observations, furnishes the real
background Of the novel:
He saw the lack of preparations, the
newcomers living In tents until they
could get their homes built, their lands
not cleared for planting, many dis
couraged and angry. though a precious
few possessed the true pioneer spirit.
They had the luxuries of housekeeping
and no place to put them. He found that
the few. timers, sturdy and resource
ful. were sure these poor, misled Chez
chakos would be spoiled by the generos-
ity of a too-paternalistic Government,
and spoil everything in the land they
loved for its own rough sake. They had
no use for modern advantages which
this influx would bring in. He found
the G. G. G. workers supposed to build
roads and community houses all too
ready to listen to the hymn of discon-
tent"
Dramatic episodes crowd upon one an
other In the life of Carol Coburn, her.
self the lamp in the valley Of ignorance
and superstition to which she returns to
teach the little cheechakos to read and
write and to break down the cruel prac-
tices that from the beginning Of time
have been part Of the code of belief
among tribal clans. She Is q valiant
heroine. proud Of her heritage as a
bush-rat's daughter and worthy Of the
admiration and devotion of old Sock Eye,
who carries the burden of heavy role
and wins out with high honors.
In Tuck.