Paper Medicine Man: John Gregory Bourke and His American West by Joseph C. Porter (review)

Reviews 181 Using an exhaustive bibliography, the author presents the main events in Seton’s life and his contributions to various fields, but Anderson’s primary concern is with Seton “as a people’s man, a family man, and as a social com­ mentator” and as a western man who “during most of his adult life was first and foremost an Indian at heart.” Nevertheless, Seton, like his famous Lobo, is not easy prey and appears to have maintained an elusive inner world. Anderson agrees that Seton was “paradoxical, mysterious, and complex,” and admits in his epilogue that Seton remains an “enigmatic figure.” The breadth and depth of Anderson’s research enable him not only to support his premises but also to shed light on earlier problem areas reported by Seton himself and by others. Good examples are the treatment of Seton’s disagreement with John Burroughs and of Seton’spart in founding England’s Boy Scouts and the Boy Scouts of America, a matter that rankled Seton for nearly forty years. The biography is interesting, well-written, and excellently annotated. Moreover, the fifty-one page bibliography is valuable by itself. One group of pictures portrays Seton at various ages; a second shows some of Seton’s art. The work favors Seton, and, like many before him, Anderson seems at times to have fallen under Black Wolf’sspell. He isfrequently “sure,” “certain,” and “doubtless,” whereas “seem” and “appear” might have been more objective. DON E. GRIBBLE Hibbing, Minnesota Paper Medicine Man: John Gregory Bourke and His American West. By Joseph C. Porter. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986. 362 pages, $29.95.) A Philadelphia-born Irish Catholic, Bourke made his historical debut as a teenage Civil War volunteer, an enlistment and service that won him appointment to West Point, Class of 1869. Posted to cavalry duty in the Southwest, by 1871 he was aide-de-camp to General George S. Crook, a post he filled with distinction for fifteen years. Thus Bourke participated in Crook’s Arizona Apache campaigns, his Powder River and Yellowstone expeditions against the Sioux, and the early 1880s campaign to control the Chiricahua. Early in his southwestern posting, Bourke became captivated by the Indian cultures of the region. He “saw in nonindustrial cultures the living history of . . . [his] own civilization” (p. 75). His pioneering research com­ menced shortly after the founding of the Bureau of Ethnology (1879) and was encouraged by Crook. As a result of his observations, personal experience, reliance on inform­ ants, humanistic bent, scientific curiosity, and literary talent, Bourke fashioned a rich ethnological and historical legacy. Two of his books are considered Western Americana classics, An Apache Campaign (1886) and On the Border with Crook (1891). 182 Western American Literature Revolted by and revolting from the harshness of federal military Indian policy, galvanized by the tragedy of Wounded Knee, Bourke turned maverick and championed justice for the Indian. In his role as scholar and spokesman, he met a wide acquaintanceship, both political and scholarly, and achieved celebrity status in his twilight years. In the year of his death (1896), age fifty, he was honored with the presidency of the American Folk-Lore Society. Joseph C. Porter has rendered Bourke his full measure in this superb biography. The research is exhaustive, with heavy reliance on Bourke’s cor­ respondence, diary, and field notes, coupled with a close canvas of published commentaries and materials. On this broad base, the author has fashioned a highly readable narrative that is punctuated with solid analyses, perceptive insights, informed judgments, and telling biographical details. His scholarship is complemented by excellent illustrations and a handsome book design and presentation. DOYCE B. NUNIS, JR. University of Southern California Willa Cather: A Reference Guide. By Marilyn Arnold. (Boston: G. K. Hall, 1986. 415 pages, $35.00.) Listing over two thousand citations of criticism and biography through a ninety year period, Dr. Arnold reveals a critical view of Cather’s importance and dissenting opinions concerning her value. Dr. Arnold does a remarkable work in condensing reviews into meaty statements. Cather scholars will want to trace favorite books or stories from inception to present. For example, in 1901 the Lincoln Courier quoted the Kansas...