The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 89, July 1985 - April, 1986 Page: 367

Book Reviews

row Wilson, but they, in turn, did not see border violence as the only or
even the most important, problem of foreign policy. Moreover, Wilson's
inexperience in foreign affairs and poor communication with the mili-
tary and State Department exacerbated the situation. On the other
hand, Colquitt would, for political gain, compare his own strong stance
on border violence with Wilson's "watchful waiting" (p. 63), a policy
Colquitt characterized as weak, even vacillating. Some national officials
considered Colquitt's threats to be dangerous and incendiary. The au-
thors make a convincing case that conflicts at that time between the
three levels of government and among the several agencies at the na-
tional level made a mess of border policy.
The work is a sound piece of political history concerning an impor-
tant era. The book, however, ends too abruptly and lacks a strong sum-
mation or conclusion. The authors also do not give enough considera-
tion to the role of white racial attitudes toward Mexican Americans in
the South Texas social and political equation. They might also have
given a clearer picture of the goals and motivations of the Mexican
revolutionary leaders, especially Venustiano Carranza. Even so, this is
an outstanding study of the problems of border policy in a federal re-
public facing a close, less powerful neighbor experiencing the growth
pains of revolution.
San Jacinto College North RICHARD BAILEY
Richard H. Kern: Expeditionary Artist in the Far Southwest, I848-I853. By
David J. Weber. (Albuquerque: The University of New Mexico
Press, 1985. Pp. xiii+356. Acknowledgments, introduction, maps,
illustrations, notes, bibliographical essay, index. $45.)
The fact that utilitarian art need not lack aesthetic quality is evident
in the most recent work of David Weber. Weber puts into perspective
the work of expeditionary artists in the Southwest but concentrates
upon the work of Richard Kern, one of the most talented of those art-
ists. Highlighted are examples of Kern's cartography and sketches of
scenes in the Southwest, as well as his scientific recording of natural
specimens found there.
From Kern's first, near disastrous trip on John C. Fr6mont's fourth ex-
pedition, in 1848 in Colorado, to the fourth and last trip with John W.
Gunnison, when he, Gunnison, and others fell victim to Indians in
Utah in 1853, this artist diligently recorded the awe-inspiring sights in
the vast areas traversed. He proved to be the first artist to sketch the
now-famous Chaco Canyon ruins, as well as several pueblos (including
Taos and Jemez) and numerous other scenes.

367