144 J^cz'icz^'s of Books conqiiistddiir which had for its avowed and vaunted end the reduction of Indian tribes to the catechism of the church and the vassalage of the throne." Spanish-American history is still in much obscurity and has much need of critical scholarship in every direction. The translation of original documents, with critical notes, seems the surest way out of the tangle. It is the only way by which the real history can be brought out of the mist of tradition, distortion and exaggeration. The translation of Garces will do for Arizona what the work of Mr. Winship did for the Coronado Expedition. It makes one more permanent source in the his- tory of the south-west, whose historical foundations are sure and available to all students. The book itself is an excellent piece of work, doing credit to both author and publisher. Frank W. Bl.^ckmar. Tlic Stonuing of Stony Point on the Hudson, Midnight, July ij, f/jg ; Its Importance in the Light of Unpublished Documents. By Henry P. Johnston, A.M., Professor of History, College of the City of New York. (New York : James T. White and Co. 1900. Pp. 231.) In this work the capture of Stony Point, familiar to every American as an isolated exploit, is described as having an important strategic pur- pose and effect. Washington with his army was covering West Point from a further advance by the British, who had recently possessed them- selves of both sides of King's Ferry, Stony Point and Verplank's Point, thus severing the shortest line of communication which the colonists had ventured to utilize between New England and the other colonies. To draw Washington out of his strong position, and commit him to a general engagement in the open. Sir Henry Clinton directed the ravaging of Connecticut, the e.xecution of which has become known as Tryon's raid. It was to check this operation without playing into the enemy's hands that Washington conceived, planned, and ordered the attack on Stony Point. Its purpose as a counter-diversion was fully attained, as it caused the immediate recall of Tryon to New York. The author seems, how- ever, to err in accounting for the abandonment of Stony Point three days after its capture by the following statement (p. 91) : " Washington had no intention of holding Stony Point, as the enemy could besiege it by land and water, and on the 18th the place was evacuated." Documents cited in the appendix (pp. 165, 168, 171, 172) show that Washington had intended to capture and retain both Stony Point and Verplank's Point. Tactically the attack on Stony Point owes its chief interest to its be- ing a night operation. The precautions taken against a betrayal of the plan by officers or men, the information secured beforehand as to the vulnerable points of the enemy's position and the way of reaching them, the means of recognizing one another in the darkness, all the details that
