in which he was held by his associates. Sources are not given for her statements, but there is a bibliography listing probably everything that can be found in regard to him.
Steel of Empire, by John Murray Gibbon, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, 1935, 423 pages, $3.50.
By Jonas A. Jonasson
This narrative is essentially the story of the opening of transcontinental transportation in Canada, and of the world importance of the Canadian Pacific Railway during the sixty years since its completion in 1885. Approximately one-third of the volume is devoted to the relatively familiar story of the search for the northwest passage, the exploration of the west, the coming of the fur traders and their successors on the frontier, and to the political negotiations which preceded any definite steps to build a transcontinental railway on British soil. To the well informed student of western history this introduction will seem needlessly long and detailed. For the general reader, however, it will furnish background against which the strategic importance of the Canadian Pacific in British imperial communications can more readily be understood. The consistently maintained view is that the "CPR" is not simply a Canadian project but an extremely significant link in a chain of transportation systems encircling the globe.
The thrilling story of the growth of the company, with its diverse interests which include steamships, hotels, mining properties, land agencies, irrigation developments, a telegraph system, and an express service in addition to the railway itself, is interestingly told. Its powerful rivals like the Northern Pacific, the present Great Northern and its predecessors, and the Canadian National are treated with reasonable fairness. Extensive use is made of quoted correspondence. Most of it adds life to the narrative, but some could be skimmed without loss to the reader.
The format of the book is attractive. It contains over one hundred halftones besides seventeen reproductions of paintings in color and many line drawings. Three large maps inserted in the text and one inside the covers of the book are useful. The serious student, however, will regret the incompleteness of citations to sources, both in the text and the selected bibliography. The few typographical errors are not numerous enough to detract from the value of a book which Americans as well as Canadians could read with profit as well as real pleasure.
The first number of the Pacific Northwest Quarterly, January, 1936, which supersedes the Washington Historical Quarterly, is attractive in format and typography, and contains three very interesting articles: "Code Making in Early Oregon," by Arthur S. Beardsley; "Lumbering and Logging in the Puget Sound Region in Territorial Days," by Iva L. Buchanan; "The Simeon G. Reed Collection of Letters and Private Papers," by Dorothy Johansen. A document, "Reminiscences of Francis M. Redfield, Chief Joseph's War," edited by Floy Laird, and book reviews complete the number. The magazine is under the editorship of Merrill Jensen, with an editorial board composed of members from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia.
Under the title of "Sketches of Interesting Personalities," The Christian Register, Boston, November 28, 1935, presents a biography of Dr. Thomas Lamb Eliot, pastor emeritus of the Unitarian Church, Port-
