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Book Reviews

About the White Oak Library

The White Oak Library is a history research library. It is affiliated with the North Country Library Cooperative in northeastern Minnesota, USA and has special library status.

The library was started in 1995 for the purpose of inter library loan of books and microfilm of historical records. As a living history site, it is important that we know the 5 W's of history (who, what, when, where and why), in order to teach the facts correctly.

The library currently has about 600 books plus some magazines. Books arrive weekly from the Book Reviewers Consortium. Any donations of books or funds should be sent to Mr. Edwards, White Oak Library, PO Box 306, Deer River, MN 56636 USA.

Book Reviews

Pewter

By Charles Hull. Shire Publications, Ltd (Cromwell House, Church Street, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire HP27 9AA UK) 1996 (c1992) Paperbound. 31 Pp. ISBN Number 0-7478-0152-5 $5.50.

Pewter has been with us for thousands of years, as long as the science of hardening soft tin by mixing it with different hardening agents (copper, bismuth, antimony, and lead) had been discovered. Pewter vessels of every conceivable type have been in existence as long. While the Roman occupation brought pewter to England, the Worshipful Company of Pewters gained control for all pewter production in the fifteenth century. Researchers are indeed fortunate as they have access to Company records to study the evolution of regulations of pewter production.
Hulls book presents the basic historical facts concerning the development of pewter production as far back as the 12th century. Early on in pewters history, regulations came into being concerning the acceptable amount of lead that could go into pewter production. By the middle of the 17th century Hull reports that there were over eleven hundred pewterers operating in England alone. It was the strict control over all English pewter production by the Worshipful Company of Pewters which caused English pewter to gain it's solid reputation throughout the Continent.
The advantage of this title is the wide range of photographs showing all types of pewter over a long time period. This would be a important, beginning book for anyone who is considering specializing in pewter collecting as well as an aid to dating a pewter item on hand. While the emphasis continues to be on pewter that has been produced in England, Hull includes photographic examples of pewter that has been produced in other parts of the world. Another division of the title has to do with techniques of working pewter to produce a wide variety of both functional and artistic creations. Hull reports that antique pewter is often difficult to find because of the practice of artisans melting down old items to produce new ones. Appendices include a bibliography of titles for additional research, addresses for the pewter associations in England and a list of English museums who have pewter collections.

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The Voyageur

By Grace Lee Nute. Illustrations by Carl W. Beretsch. St. Paul ,MN: Minnesota Historical Society (345 Kellogg Blvd. 55102 - 1906), 1955 (c1931) . Paperbound. 288 Pp. ISBN Number 087351-213-8. $8.95.

Book Review by Chuck Hamsa,
Reviewers Consortium, Lafayette, Louisiana

This book is the product of a massive amount of research, including unpublished manuscripts and diaries. There is so much in this book that it remains certain that it achieved the status of a major reference source on the subject when it was published in 1931. Thanks to the Minnesota Historical Society , we have a classic available at a nominal cost.
Maps indicate the principal routes opened bythe voyageurs, who were clearly some of the most independent and colorful characters in American and Canadian history. It remains clear the voyageurs and their activities would be important ingredients in the exploration of Western lands. Nute divides the subject by the process of voyaging, fort life as well as wide glimpses of the voyageurs in three separate roles: soldiers, settlers and explorers. Of special importance to both historians and musicians is the careful assembling of scores and lyrics (French and English translations) for a great many traditional voyageur songs.
Black and White illustrations by Carl Beretsch remind me of the old time wood block print of Lynn Ward, so popular in the 1930s and beyond. Such illustrations add much to the total presentation. Appendices include a large, annotated footnote section and more than adequate index.

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The Algonquin Birch Bark Canoe (Shire Ethnography Series)

By David Gidmark. Shire Publications Ltd. (Cromwell House, Church Street, Princes Risborough, Aylesbury, bucks HPI179AJ, UK), 1988. Paperbound 64 Pp. ISBN Number 0-85263-940-6. $8.95.

Gidmark brings a great deal of experience to such a book. He spent nine years in field study work in western Ontario and made extensive notes on birch bark canoe construction of two Algonquin bands. Included in his preparation was an apprenticeship in canoe construction. He has traveled extensively on the lecture circuit, regarding the birch bark canoe, throughout the countries of Britain, Canada and the United States.

The scope of this study was centered in the geographical area of eastern Ontario and western Quebec. The peltry trade with the arrival of the French trappers and traders in the late seventeenth century made it imperative that the Algonquin come up with some form of acceptable transportation because they soon were cast in the role of middlemen in the fur trade. They adapted both construction techniques and basic form of canoe construction from their Ojibwe cousins. Both regions were place where the white birch trees grew in profusion. And soon they developed a trade in the birch bark as well.

Birch bark canoe origins are obscure, and the dugout remained a standard vessel as in other parts of the western hemisphere. It was probably the demand for a lighter form of transportation that caused the birch bark canoe to emerge for use by both Native Americans and the European trappers and explorers as well. An important division in The Algonquin Birch Bark Canoe is an excellent photo-journalistic presentation on the canoe's construction, differing styles and late nineteenth and early twentieth century photographs. Such photographs present a panorama of activities of the Hudson's Bay Company and the canoe's use in hunting and fishing activities.

Additional divisions present a more than adequate discussion on methods of bark peeling, canoe construction and interviews with contemporary artisans. The Algonquin Birch Bark Canoe would truly be an excellent and affordable source of information on canoe history and construction. Appendices include a listing of museums which have a collection of birch bark canoes, a bibliography of titles for additional research and a more than adequate index.

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Old Turtle

By Douglas Wood. Watercolors by Cheng-Khee-Chee. Duluth, MN: Pfeifer-Hamilton Publishers (210 West Michigan, 558-1908), 1992. Hard bound. 44(unnumbered) Pp. ISBN Number 0-938586-48-3. $17.95.

Audio tape also available under title Old Turtle Speaks. Author Douglas Wood presents a similar message. Released in 1995, this two-sided tape of 37 minutes (ISBN Number 1-57025-083-9) costs $11.95.

A long time ago, when animals could talk, each species had his own idea of what God was. The debate became so heated that each one refused to hear the thoughts of others. But they all stopped when the Old Turtle spoke. They had never heard him before, and he had not entered the debate.

The Old Turtle foretold the arrival of man. Yet man had the capabilities of destruction beyond their wildest dreams. Old Turtle urged all of the living beings to work together toward both peace and harmony, to respect the opinions of all beings and to strive toward being good stewards of mother earth.

This Book of the Year (1993, American Booksellers Association) and Children's Book Award (1993, International Reading Association) is sure to delight a wide range of multi cultural readers, both young and old. It has more than adequately brought the message through the narrow, no-man's land that is still there between both western and Native American culture and thought. For it becomes clear that if as a collective we do not work together to cherish and respect the thought of others and to carefully protect mother earth, it will be exceedingly difficult to pass anything worthwhile on to succeeding generations.

The publisher donates portions of this book's proceeds to projects that "...promote environmental healing and international understanding." The watercolors by Cheng-Khee-Chee are absolutely awesome! They clearly augment Douglas Wood's straight forward and hard hitting message.

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Spirit of the White Bison

By Beatrice Culleton. Illustrations by Robert Kakaygeesick, Jr. Summertown, TN: The Book Publishing Company (PO Box 99, 38483), 1985. Paperbound. 64 Pp. ISBN Number 0-913990-64-7. $5.95.

Culleton makes a straight forward and simplistic presentation of the eventual clash between Native American and White cultures with the steady westward expansion. Using the medium of White Bison in his travels, both with the herd and on his own, represents the eventual and deliberate extinction policy of both settlers and authorities in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Clearly such a policy and activities would deal a death blow to tribes living within the range of the Bison.

But the inclusion of White Bison and his meeting with Lone Wolf, who clearly had no desire to hurt White Bison, brings a tone of spirituality to this well done tale. Both may be killed, but they could not murder the spirits. Such a tale would be worthwhile reading for youth wishing to explore and further ground their cultural roots. White Bison, Bison Boy and Lone Eagle encounter such protagonists as the iron horse, natural predators, prairie fires and the arrival of two legged animals with firearms. Indeed both the linked spirits of White Bison and Lone Eagle would continue to be a source of generative powers for many Native Americans.

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Song of the Seven Herbs

By Walking Night Bear (Dr. Henryk Binder). Illustrations by Stan Padilla. Summertown, TN: The Book Publishing Company (PO Box 99, 38483), 1983. Paperback. 59 Pp. ISBN Number 0-9133990-56-6. $11.95.

Stories in this beautifully illustrated book center around a young Native American boy, whose spiritual awakening, takes him on a wonderful journey to the Sun. Both author and illustrator are vitally interested that readers work toward enjoying such stories and then to carefully pass them on to succeeding generations. Padilla himself admits that his illustrations came as a result of Walking Night Bear's careful composition of such tales and then sharing them and their visions with the illustrator.

As a result of such an intimate collaboration between two highly creative and gifted people, there is a oneness between both textual and visual presentation. Such a book would be a wonderful gift to someone special as well as one title to pass on to one's children.

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Dream Feather

By Viento Stan-Padilla. Summertown, TN: Book Publishing Company (PO Box 99, 38483), 1987 (c1980). Paperbound. Unpaged. ISBN Number 0-913990-57-4. $11.95.

Thanks to Book Publishing Company, we now have a wonderful story and illustrations back in print! For each generation there are visionaries, whom it appears to many, get their visions from those in the past. We all look for those who have both the talent and the vision to help the collective us through everyday happenings. Colorful, eye-catching illustrations denote the dream vision of a young person, whose magical journey to other worlds, trips to the sun and the stars, all come together so that all can hopefully share hopes for the future. Clearly Stan-Padilla is both a most talented artist and writer who manages to set the tone for ones journey of the mind. For without visions or dreams, life would surely have little meaning!

At center stage remains the creator and the spirit, whose visions are carefully nurtured by special people from one generation to the next. The traveler in this story, renamed dream feather, carries on the wonderful vision for succeeding generations. Such a tale would be most appropriate for one's children or grandchildren. We all need to pass on wonderful visions as they in turn become bridges to understanding.

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Herb Mixtures and Spicy Blends

Edited by Deborah L. Balmuth. Pownal, VT: Storey Communications, Inc. (Schoolhouse Road, 05161), 1996. Paperbound. 126 Pp. ISBN Number 0-88266-918-4. $12.95.

This is a compilation of over one hundred recipes for the home production of condiments for a wide variety of common and ethnic culinary creations. The editor worked to gather both trade secrets and family recipes from a variety of commercial establishments. for each blend presented, Balmut provides the reader with the basic recipe, the company which submitted the mixture and the best uses of the particular herb mixture.

A careful reading of this book would be worthwhile for both frugal households to large restaurateurs. An appendix lists the business and mail order concerns who participated in the book's creation as well as a state by state compilation for those businesses. A more than adequate index points to the location in the text for special herbal blends as well as specific plants and their uses.

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Keeping Life Simple

By Karen Levine. Pownal, VT: Storey Communications, Inc. (PO Box 445, Schoolhouse Road, 05261), 1996. Paperbound. 154 Pp. ISBN Number 0-88266-943-5. $9.95.

Many of us wish for the chances to be able to do what we enjoy. Sometimes this is the chance to get back into the woods and to experience the smell of wood smoke and renewing old friendships and making new ones. How many times have I heard "the best day at work is the worst day at rendezvous!" But we can work as well at making life in the contemporary world truly enjoyable as well.

While Keeping Life Simple may be more centered around ideas toward helping a woman deal with the stresses of everyday life, it would be an excellent choice to help any of us achieve more satisfaction in our everyday lives. Levine presents seven guiding principles aimed at making our lives more efficient. These principles have to do with the idea that we might be expecting too much from both ourselves and others around us. Nothing is perfect. And striving toward perfection can be self-defeating. Find out what you find is enjoyable, which may be different for a great many people, and then work toward creating more time to do those things. Sometimes we simply have to do things which may not appear as fun. But we can all work toward enjoying the task at hand or create the atmosphere to make the job less detested. Try to be as flexible as possible so that we can roll with the unexpected changes. We need to prioritize the tasks that we have to do. Levine stresses that each person does have the chance and ability to make choices. Nothing is cast in stone! In order to "see" what you are actually doing, the author suggests that we record what we do for a period of days. What was fun to do? Are you good at performing some task? And what role did you play in the particular activity? Then you will be able to identify what task you enjoy doing more than others. Levine presents hundreds of time saving tips to improve the chances where you will be able to concentrate on your most enjoyable activities.

Levine drives home the fact that there are no reasons why any of us cannot work toward enjoyable activities. At rendezvous, we might work toward meeting more people if that is our desire. Some of us may find it more enjoyable to strive toward being as authentic as possible. Others find joy in cooking or getting a chance at black powder shooting. In keeping with what some might consider as "essential", we need to ask the question if we are happy with a tarp or do we need a full-sized Marquee. This is because Levine stresses that our conceived "needs" bear direct relationship to the degree of complexity in which we have spun our own webs. I take direct offense to anyone who grudgingly states that "all good things must come to an end!" It is up to all of us to create the atmosphere where we can truly find joy in whatever we are doing. Keeping Life Simple is much more than achieving a simpler life. It evolves around making more time to create a more meaningful and enjoyable life style.

The strong suit in Keeping Life Simple is that Levine concentrates on presenting hundreds of tips and ideas for streamlining what we have to do in order to have more time for more enjoyable tasks. But we must strive to find out what we truly enjoy doing by taking a close look at our daily activities. Such a book would be of interest to a wide range of readership.

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Journal of a Mountain Main: James Clyman (Classics of the Fur Trade Series)

Edited with an introduction by Linda Hasselstrom. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company (PO Box 2399, 59806 (406) 728-1900), 1993 (c1984). Paperbound. 295 Pp. ISBN Number 0-87842-182-3. $12.00.

Contrary to the journals of other luminaries in the legendary fur trade, Clyman was not one to over exaggerate or use too many words. Readers have a daily account of what happened as well as his comments on others around him. An especially finely crafted index, no small feat, points the way to both names of people, places and subjects within the book.

Clyman was a member of Jedediah Smith's first brigade, which discovered South Pass, the gateway to California. And he was also around when the Oregon Trail opened. This covers a wide expanse of fur trapping, westward expansion and history of the American people. He makes reference to the Donner Party not heeding his advice on their disastrous trip to California. Thanks to the careful editorship of Linda Hasselstrom, who obviously took a great deal of care to transcribe Clyman's journal as is. And she supplies explanatory notes at the end of each section to ground the reader with more information on a particular topic or to clear up a point of possible confusion.

Such a book should be on the shelves of anyone interested in the fur trade era or the movement along the Oregon Trail and westward expansion. Thanks to Mountain Press Publishing Company in its successful efforts to bring a classic back into print in any form.

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Dersu the Trapper: A True Account (Recovered Classics)

By Vladimir Klavdievich Arseniev (1872-1930). Translated by Malcom Burr. Kingston, NY: McPherson and Company (PO Box 1126, 12401. (800) 613-8219), 1996. Paperbound. 349 Pp. ISBN Number 0-929701-49-6. $16.00. Also available in Hard bound at $25.00.

The scene would be anytime, anywhere. This is the hard hitting story of a scientific explorer from civilization meeting a skilled guide, hunter and trapper whose home has always been in the wilderness. It is a sad but a true tale of the rugged individualist whose superior knowledge of the raw, untamed wilderness and survival expertise remains the reason why the explorer's life had been spared a number of times. And this author-explorer and Dersu the trapper form a special friendship that is cemented by their mutual love of the wilderness. It is also the sad but true tale of the accomplished woodsman, trapper and hunter who is going blind. His friend kindly takes him into the city, where the trappings of living in a regulated society are far beyond his comprehension. And he has to return to his wilderness home, regardless of the consequences.

In order to inform the readership, the saga takes place in the dense Siberian forest in the Russian far east along the Sea of Japan above the settlement of Vladivastok at the turn of the twentieth century. But it might as well be the Tetons and Jackson Hole Country after 1840. But Dersue the Trapper goes a bit further. We all have read about those who made it big in the fur trade to return to some comfort in such places as St. Louis or some other city. But what of the free trapper, the solitary individual who was not as successful, even by choice? Or the resident Native American who encountered the "wonders" of encroaching civilization? The author realized that Dersu could simply not stay in the city, and he watches him walk off toward his wilderness home. A short time later a telegram arrived to tell Arseniev that Dersu was murdered in his sleep, probably by highwaymen who stole his rifle and his few other material possessions. Arseniev hurried to the spot of his friend's murder and arrives at the wooded setting as a group of people are building a fire on the ground so that they can dig a hole for Dersu's burial. And he mentally marked the spot, noting trees and such in the area of the internment. Two years later (around 1910) Arseniev returned. But he could not locate Dersu's grave because "encroaching" civilization and its physical trappings had completely erased any trees and other vegetation that Arseniev had carefully recorded in his mind.

Published in England (1939) and America (1941), this book was hailed as a literary masterpiece. In the 1970's a Japanese film crew undertook the arduous task of producing a motion picture based on the book. The film, Dersu Uzla, in addition to earning several international awards, took home an Academy Award in 1975. In the 1980's Books on Tape produced eight cassette tapes for those who are interested in that medium. But the dust jacket of the book, featured on the front cover of a recent catalog of publications from McPherson and Company, primarily a publisher of literary works, is what drew this reviewers attention to the book in the first place. Around an outdoor campfire is a group of people, most of them in Russian-style military uniforms and hats. A few are smoking cigarettes. While comfortable, they appear as if they would rather be in some other, perhaps more "civilized" surroundings. The viewer's attention becomes riveted on the seated figure in the center, a bandanna-clad, loose-clothes fitting person with a long-stemmed pipe, who appears born to the place. At his side is a rifle, resembling a 45-70. This reviewer got a call from the publisher, who was interested in why I would be asking for the book. When I explained to him that I was not really interested in the aspect of the "masterpiece of literature," but in Dersu, the man, I received the book. In hindsight we all are interested in such masterpieces because they present a timeless slice of life, a story that could be told any time, any where. Such a book describes the efforts of one to survive and prosper in the wilderness, his chosen place to live. Encroaching society demands that all cultures and people bend to the will of the majority. Such a book as Dersu the Trapper...is timeless because it urges any collective group to strive to appreciate and nurture those special people who remind us that there must be room for all in our sometimes complicated regimen of more civilized environs. This is one book that readers will remember for some time to come!

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Wilderness Survival, Using Plants and Animals in the Outdoors, Carving a Place of Your Own in the Wilderness

By Raymond Kelly. The Author, 10 Atkinson Lane, Natchez, MS 39120. (601) 426-5984. 3 Audio Cassette Tapes, 41/2 hours in length. $24.00 for all three tapes, delivered.

Raymond (Pa) Kelly is clearly a buckskinner's skinner! But there is something more in Pa Kelly because of his Native American origins and his love and respect for Mother Earth. This reviewer has had the pleasure in being around Pa and Ma Kelly at various events of the Natchez Free Trappers for a number of years. And each time he comes away with an increased love of nature, truly the gift of Mother Earth, and a thankfulness for knowing such a lovely couple.

These tapes were done in one of Pa and Ma Kelly's outdoor seminars on wilderness survival, using plants and animals as both food and herbals and carving out a place for oneself in the wilderness. The price is cheap for what amounts to a lifetime of learning in what Pa Kelly himself admits that he will never graduate form the College of Wilderness Education. Because this was an off-the-cuff presentation, do not expect to find a polished presentation. But this reviewer has found in reviewing past non-book materials, that the more polished the presentation, the less one will find in the way of information.

Time and time again does Pa Kelly return to the constant theme that anyone who ventures into the wilderness should than Mother Earth for what they view. Develop a respect and thankfulness for what the great creator has provided for us whenever we enter a wilderness area. Out of respect for both the animal and plant people, Pa Kelly urges anyone to first ask permission from both to harvest. And he also urges listeners to not harvest any plant or animal unless one absolutely needs it to sustain life. And leave such things as sacred tobacco and prayers of thankfulness when one has gathered what he absolutely needs. One should also leave something behind. Work toward replanting both seeds and cuttings so others will have the chance to harvest. Indeed, such tapes represent a treasure trove of wilderness philosophy and information on plant uses as foodstuffs and herbals from Pa Kelly, who himself had the chance to learn from the legendary Tom Brown.

This reviewer can recommend such a set of audio cassette tapes without reservation. He would like to give thanks to those who had the foresight to tape Pa Kelly, truly an eighteenth century man, for without such foresight, we would not have this bonanza of philosophy and wilderness information. Highly recommended as well for a wide range of listeners from diverse cultures.

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The Natural History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Edited by Raymond Darwin Burroughs. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press (1405 South Harrison Road, Suite 25, Manly Miles Building, 48823-5202, (800) 678-2120), 1995 (c1961). Paperbound. 340 Pp. Maps. ISBN Number 0-87013-389-6. $19.95.

This book is a reissue of Burrough's text that was first published in 1961. It is an extremely important book not only for the many Lewis and Clark enthusiasts, but also for those interested in the zoology of the early nineteenth century western Americana. A new introduction by Professor Carriker describes the book's history, a description of the editor's contribution as well as the book's importance in the literature of Lewis and Clark. a feature of this book is a bibliography of materials on the zoology of the expedition that have been published since the original edition made its appearance. The editor presents a very impressive introduction in which he summarizes the events of the journey.

The book itself is uniquely organized. Burroughs divides the book by topic, rather than chronological progression. There is a special section for each major family of animals, such as Bears and Racoons, Deer, Elk and Antelope as well as Birds of Prey. The reader learns about the expedition's interaction with the various animals and birds while the editor supplies specific journal quotes and references from other early naturalists. The final chapter, entitled "Quantity and Distribution of Game Killed," contains a list of the animals and birds that were taken for food. This includes 1,001 deer, 375 elk and 227 bison with accompanying descriptions of how and where the expedition members hunted each specific type.

Readers will find The Natural History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and easily read text. The two maps included show the expedition's route as well as where the expedition encountered buffalo. Appendices include Jefferson's instructions to Lewis, a list of the supplies and equipment that the expedition carried and a letter from Lewis to his mother. Included as well is the list of specimens and articles sent from the Mandan village to President Jefferson and part of Jefferson's 1806 message to Congress. There is a bibliography of sources for additional reading, extensive listing of footnotes and a more than adequate index.

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A Natural Education: Native American Ideas and Thoughts

Compiled and illustrated by Stan Padilla. Summertown, TN: The Book Publishing Company (PO Box 99, 38483), 1994. Paperback. 80 Pp. ISBN Number 0-913990-14-0. $8.95.

Almost anyone could make excellent use of the wisdom of elders as they embark down the difficult journey to maturity. Traditional schools are obviously useful in this regard. But all too often this reviewer believes that curriculum fails to stress such things as morals, values and other subjects that have been traditionally the responsibility of the individual family. One can, therefore, be highly educated but fail to understand or comprehend basic values. And depending upon the ability of the individual family, such values and morals, may not get much attention.

A Natural Education...would be a fine book for anyone to take a cross-tribal view of basic writings, values and such that had been advanced by leading Native American individuals. There are certainly no sure-fire recipes for success in gaining wisdom and understanding. And books such as this provide at least a start toward such understanding. This is highly recommended for a wide range of readership.

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