history of The Red River Settlement, its Rise, Progress, and Present State, which appeared in 1856, the year of the author's death. All of these books are written in a simple, clear, unpretentious style, being mainly narrations of daily events.
Referring specifically to the Adventures, which we have chosen for reprinting, it is evident that the author's interest in topography was but slight. It is surprising to find a man who has had many years of intimate acquaintance with the interesting regions penetrated transiently by Lewis and Clark along narrow trails, contributing so slightly as does Ross to the world's knowledge of the country; whereas Lewis and Clark brought back from their hurried journey a wealth of detailed information. With ethnology, Ross exhibits greater concern. His alliance with an Okanagan woman, and his constant contact with the natives of the coast, gave him a command of tribal habits, traditions, and beliefs which makes his work a valuable source for the study of Western Indian life. The last four chapters present a good sociological treatment of the natives of the Shahaptian family—their religion, government, family life, and characteristics—in the primitive state, before contact with the whites had brought modification and degeneracy. Ross's account of the Indians of the coast, the Clatsop and Chinookan tribes, gives evidences of truth and accurate observation.
But it is chiefly as a narration of the fortunes of the Astorian expedition, that we value Ross's book. Unlike Franchère, he exhibits no reserve, and unhesitatingly expresses his opinion of the conduct of Captain Jonathan Thorn and Astor's partners, during the now famous voyage. His accounts of the adventures of the "Ton-
