River of Red Gold by Naida West (review)

B o o k R e v i e w s R iv er o f R e d Q o ld . By N aid a W est. Ran ch o M urieta, Calif.: Bridge H ouse Books, 1996. 626 pages, $18.49. Review ed by Bar b ar a H o w ar d M eld r u m Un iversity of Idah o T h e close o f th e m illen ium is also th e 150th an n iversary period for sev­ eral key even ts in w estern A m erican h istory: th e D on n er party tragedy, th e discovery o f gold in Californ ia an d th e su bsequ en t gold rush , an d Califo r n ia stateh ood . Appropriately, th e W estern Literatu re A sso ciation ’s an n u al co n ­ feren ce w ill be h eld in Sacram en to, O ctob er 1999. O n e o f th e Satu rday aftern oon tours w ill be led by N aid a W est, au th or o f th e n ovel review ed h ere. T h ose particip atin g in th e tour w ill h ave th e op portu n ity to visit sites im portan t in th e n ovel an d to visit w ith th e auth or. R iv er o f R ed G o ld is a fascin atin g, grippin g story th at is firm ly rooted in h istorical research yet reads w ith th e pow er o f good fiction . T h e settin g is Californ ia gold coun try, from 1844 to 1853. T h e ch aracters are all h istori­ cal figures, th ou gh th ose abou t w h om little is kn ow n are flesh ed ou t th rou gh th e w riter’s im agin ation . T h e story m oves from on e docu m en ted even t to an oth er, w ith sh iftin g poin ts o f view, but th e prim ary voice is th at o f H ow ch ia, or M aria, an In dian w om an w h ose valu es overlay th e n arrative Joh n Frost. A R T I S T 'S W IFE. 1924. O il on board. 18" x 22". Courtesy of the Person al Collection o f Peter and G ail O ch s. • Son o f th e well-know n illustrator Arth ur B. Frost, Frost was a lan dscape pain ter o f m oun tain s, deserts, an d sm all tow ns of South ern Californ ia. B o o k r e v i e w s 2 5 5 an d w h ose d estin y u ltim at ely affir m s h op e in th e m id st o f terr ib le loss. In th e c o n t e xt o f Jo h n Su t t e r ’s fort, th e first se ct io n o f th e n ov el, “P ed r o an d M ar ia,” e st ab lish e s th e prim ary story th r ead in th e d e v e lo p in g r e latio n sh ip b e tw een M ar ia, a M iw ok In d ian , an d P ed ro Valdez, a M e xic an sold ier, p ar t Sp an ish an d p ar t In d ian . T h e seco n d se ct io n o f th e n ov el fo cu ses o n E lit h a D on n er, a fo u rteen -year-o ld su r vivor o f th e ill- fated D o n n e r party, an d h er u n fo r tu n ate m...