The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 59, July 1955 - April, 1956 Page: 141

Book Reviews

limited to 600 copies. The "Introduction" and the "Biographical
Sketch" by the editor, well-known authority on the Jesuit mission
system of the Spanish Southwest, provide a succinct statement of
the missionary's career and place his efforts (1736-1767) in a
broad framework. The editor offers this considered opinion on
the work of his priest: "After the North Italian Kino, who died in
1711, Sedelmayr, the Bavarian, set up the finest record for ex-
ploring the north country and perhaps missionary efficiency."
None of the four documents, as presented here, has appeared
in English. They make fascinating reading; the skill of the
translator has given to the English renderings a charm all too
often lacking from similar literary tasks. The Relaci6n of 1746, the
Trek to the Yumas of 1750, and the Letter to the Viceroy of 1751,
are from Sedelmayr's pen. A Derrotero of 1750 is by an uniden-
tified individual, a military officer. Each narrative has been
minutely examined, the necessary corrections of errors in the text
made, and the relevant annotations offered. These notes evince a
mastery of the matter studied and the area treated, and they
incorporate a wealth of regional and local information. Father
Dunne has a Christian regard for Sedelmayr, but a scholar's
concern for truth, and when the missionary errs in statements
of geography, policy, and the like, the editor gently but firmly
sets the record aright.
The routes followed in Arizona by the missionary on his expe-
ditions of 1744, 1749, and 1750 are traced on a map which also
displays the location of tribes, sites of missions and of leading
rancherias. This is another valuable feature of the volume.
The presswork is excellent, although on page 70 the seventh
line of type from the top has been misplaced. A few other slips
in proofreading were noted. They do not detract from the worth
of a genuine contribution to the history of the Sonora-Arizona
areas.
FULMER MOOD
The University of Texas
Gustav Dresel's Houston Journal: Adventures in North America
and Texas, 1837-184z. By Max Freund, trans. Austin (The
University of Texas Press), 1954. Pp. xxx+ 168. Notes and
illustrations. $4.00.
As the subtitle reveals, not all of Dresel's Journal deals with

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