A Confederate in the Colorado Gold Fields (review)

76CIVIL WAR HISTORY and Fall of the Confederate Government, the author fails to emphasize that the Mississipian wrote of Lincoln: "He had power over the Northern people, and was without personal malignity toward the people of the South; his successor was without power in the North." (Davis, Rise and Fall, II, 683-684.) In several instances, more background is desirable. Why, for instance, did Alexander H. Stephens write and why did he enunciate his particular pro-Lincoln sentiments? Better definition and integration of materials could have been achieved in places where the style shows too close proximity to the notes. A word of praise is offered for the thirtypage bibliography, which shows an impressive acquaintance with the enormous literature which surrounds Lincoln. Finally, there is no need to claim too much for one's subject. The author is perhaps too prone to see a public or private statement about Lincoln as the product of a single motive and to minimize or ignore the importance of those motives for acclaiming Lincoln that were not genuine, but rather the product of a need to provide mere "window dressing." Nevertheless, whether or not we accept all of Mr. Davis' contentions, he has written an extremely thought-provoking book and one which every Civil War historian will want to examine. Philip A. Kalisch University of Southern Mississippi A Confederate in the Colorado Gold Fields. By Daniel Ellis Conner. Edited by Donald J. Berthrong and Odessa Davenport. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970. Pp. xiii, 186. $6.95.) The title of this entertaining volume is misleading: only the last quarter deals with the impact of the Civil War upon Confederate miners. A larger portion of Conner's manuscript, which is based upon notes he took in the West, deals with a journey from Missouri to the Colorado gold fields in 1859. Like other travelers, the young Kentuckian elaborates on various perils and on Indians. After a meeting with some Arapahoes , Conner honestly concludes that "their protestations of friendship and good faith had a deeper and more earnest foundation than did the light and frivolous pretensions and nonchalant professions of our party." (p. 25) An unsuccessful prospector, Conner describes conditions and incidents in Miner's District, Gold Run, Georgia Gulch, California Gulch, Fairplay, Parkville, and Jefferson. These places receive about the same attention as stories of mountain lions, wild turkeys, wolves, grizzlies, and mountain sheep. According to Conner, Union army recruiters divided the mining camps. "All miners and tradesmen who had hithertofore associated with friendly feelings were now being gradually estranged from each other . . . Rebel and Federal friends became Rebel and Federal enemies.'' BOOK REVIEWS77 (p. 120) A Colorado regiment was recruited to fight Confederate Colonel Henry H. Sibley and another was raised for local duty. "To offset this preparation," Conner explains, "a Rebel regiment was put in course of organization, whose nucleus was located in 'Mace's Hole.' " (p. 133) According to Conner, Colonel John Heffiner organized this unit; oddly enough the editors found no mention of Heffiner in primary sources. Conner does not explain why he joined the regiment. He does provide information about its encampment and about Alexander "Zan" Hicklin, a rancher who deceived Union officers. Federals scattered the rebel regiment and captured some of its members . Finding himself among those hunted, Conner disguised himself as a Mexican worker and later fled. He joined up with Joseph Reddeford Walker; Conner's account of his experience in the Southwest is in Joseph Reddeford Walker and the Arizona Adventure, a work also edited by Berthrong and Davenport. The editors of the volume under review provide an introduction that gives an adequate background of the Colorado gold rush, furnish useful information in footnotes, and include excellent maps and illustrations. Readers interested in rebel activity in the trans-Mississippi West will find some useful information in the last three chapters. G. Thomas Edwards Whitman College General Pope and U.S. Indian Policy. By Richard N. Ellis. (Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, 1970. Pp. x, 287. $10.00.) Military Posts in the Powder River Country of Wyoming, 1865-1894. By Robert A. Murray. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1968. Pp. xii, 189. $5.50. ) Fori Supply, Indian...