Best thing about it is the character of teenaged Nelson–although he is assigned a position of authority, he is so young, so impressionable, so arrogant, so inept. He was warned, “Don’t get married, George!” Yet he does, and he is then saddled with a teenaged squad of scheming women thereafter–think of a gaggle of 8th grade girls. The older guys must have had a great time setting him up for practical jokes and dirty tricks. When his fur bales catch fire, it’s poetic justice–no one that goofy should be allowed to succeed.

I have heard that the employees at NWCo. Fur Post at Pine City read it aloud last year as part of their ongoing inservice learning. They really enjoyed cheering, booing, shouting as the story unfolded. They learned a lot about the fur trade, and the story kept their interest.

Book has some good editorial aids in the new edition.

George Nelson’s journals, in the edition published by the historical society, My First Years in the Fur Trade, are a great introduction to the history of the fur trade.

J.G. Kohl’s Kitchi-Gami. An ethnographic travel narrative. A wonderful book.

Ella Deloria’s Waterlily is a good way to teach about the life of the Lakota. She is Vine Deloria’s aunt and was an anthropologist who did research for Ruth Benedict and others. But she was made impatient by the cut and dried approach of the anthropologist, so she wrote this novel about a young woman in earlier times. It is a great book.

Indian Agency Annual Reports are now online through Googlebooks. I can’t tell how many are there–they are not listed chronologically. But the price is right–you can read material, copy it as text, and hug it if you like. [As for printing, so far all I can do is lasso page segments, and paste elsewhere. The Print command only prints blanks for me, sigh.]

It’s fabulous to be able to search for particular names or tribes. Just remember to use 19th century spellings!

Linda

Is Rhoda Gilman’s “Divided Heart” biography about Henry Sibley suitable for general audiences? I think so. She gives a helpful historic context for the material and her book gives insights into the pre-Territory, Territory, and Statehood periods, as well as Dakota Uprising sequence of events.

We would like to call your attention to the excellent article about the life and work of Helen McCann White this week in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. She was a leader and will be missed. Her family carry on the legacy.

Barb and Larry Sommer