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156 Western American Literature tions but appear “tossed in” by the author on their intrinsic merits. Since the construction of Stampede Tunnel was a momentous enough occurrence that it was extensively photographed, and since on every major railroad the steam locomotive was a favorite photographer’s subject, the two final chapters are very well illustrated. It is in the hazy reproduction of some of these photographs that Northern Pacific exhibits a major flaw. If Howell-North and other railway publishers can provide uniformly sharp, clear pictures for their books, it should not be asking too much for Superior to do likewise. The book is otherwise very good. We should hope to hear from author Wood again, since the comparatively unheralded railways of the Pacific Northwest ought to provide fertile ground for further writings. G. F r a n k l in A c k e r m a n , 714th Railway Battalion United States Army Fool’s Gold, A Biography of John Sutter. By Richard Dillon. (New York: Coward-McCann Inc., 1967, $6.95.) Richard Dillon, head librarian at Sutro Library in San Francisco and well-known author of Western Americana, has written another western bi­ ography, the story of John Sutter. Mr. Dillon traces the progress of this likable, yet all too human, protagonist from a relatively unknown and mundane existence in Switzerland, to that of a landed baron and the most powerful man in California for a time before his empire collapsed in the wake of the gold discovery in California in 1848. Not only is the investigation of John Sutter’s life of interest to the reader in the way of adventure and a close-hand look at frontier opportunism, but the book is also a very good case study of one man’s personality. It is in this area, I believe, that Mr. Dillon’s biography surpasses work done on John Sutter. Mr. Dillon illustrates the various personality traits of quite a remarkable man. John A. Sutter was no genius, except, perhaps that he had a genius for failure. He was a warm man— friendly, personable, and generous. From Dillon’s report, he was never happier than when entertaining friends at his New Helvetia. He loved working with the Indians, settling disputes, ad­ ministering to their needs, and handing out justice as he saw fit during troubled times in the California Territory. At times he could be hasty and cruel, but over all he had a soft heart, and usually after disciplining bands of Indians would enlist them as workers on his lands or at least as friends of the settle­ Reviews 157 ment. He had a particular understanding of the Indian and got along well in the hetergeneous society of California, which at that time was made up largely of Indians, French and British explorers, American mountain men, Russian traders, and, of course, the Mexican people whose government at that time controlled California from Monterey. I think it is Mr. Dillon’s exposure of John Sutter’s character that makes this book valuable, and as Mr. Dillon implies, even after reading this wellorganized , well-documented work, the reader still is not sure just what made Sutter “tick.” Perhaps Mr. Dillon states it as well as possible in his introduction to the book when he says, “California— that is American California, as distinguished from the sleepy province of Hispanic times— has been saddled with a curious and puzzling founding father, Captain John A. Sutter. His partisans have hailed him as the Saint of the Sacramento River; his detractors would have you believe he was a scoundrel. The truth, of course, lurks some­ where in between.” J o h n M a rk So r en se n , Utah State University ...

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