The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948 Page: 377

Book Reviews

This multibiographical study contains no separate bibliogra-
phy, but it is well documented. It is based on many primary
and secondary sources and shows a fine sense of selection and
presentation. The author has made his characters live before the
reader's eyes; he has presented them as a class that had to play
its role and live its life in developing the state. To be without
a copy of this study is to be without one of the important con-
tributions to the social history of the Palmetto State.
RUDOLPH L. BIESELE
The University of Texas
The American Indian in North Carolina. By Douglas L. Rights.
Durham (Duke University Press), 1947. Pp. xx+296. Il-
lustrations and map. $5.00.
A little boy, playing on his grandfather's farm one day, found
an arrowhead. This was not. an experience that could be called
unique, because it has happened to hundreds of boys; but, in this
particular instance, it led to the pursuit of a hobby that has
lasted many years. That hobby has taken the author of The
American Indian to most of the museums in this country and to
many in Europe and has resulted in the publication of numerous
articles in historical and archeological reviews, and at least one
other book, A Voyage Down the Yadkin-Great Peedee River
(Winston, 1928).
A student of the history of any of the Indian tribes east of the
Mississippi will find much of importance in this book, since the
better known tribes of eastern America found a meeting ground
in the Carolina country. It attempts to portray the character and
manner of living of the Indians, to identify tribes, and to trace
tribal movements. While the book lacks the thorough annota.
tion that belongs to historical research, it is evident that his-
torical accuracy is one of its aims. Further, it is not possible to
limit such a study by present state boundary lines, as the author
points out. Some of the tribes treated inhabited vast territories
larger than several states today.
Several chapters are devoted to an excellent editing of the
accounts of the Spanish and English explorers and the adven-
turous pioneers who followed. An important service is the tracing

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