Page:American Historical Review vol. 6.djvu/826

 8 1 6 Reviezvs of Books lent cuts illustrating American trees). In the chapter In Peace and in War we should have expected some mention of such well-known works as J. G. Rosengarten's The German Soldier in the Wars of the United States, and Lowell's The Hessians and the other Gei-man Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the Revolution, not to speak of other important sources both English and German. It is not quite orthodox philology to say as on page 120, that Penn- sylvania-German^ is " simplified " to /' ; the accepted point of view is that the / was not mutated or shifted to the fricata pf in this case. In fairness to the Schwenkfelders the author might have mentioned the fact that they took definite steps toward higher education as early as 1764, and that this impulse still continues in vigorous form in the Perkio- men Seminary of Pennsburg, Pa. The statement that the Dunkards date their origin from 17 19 is misleading or rather incorrect, as the begin- ning of the sect goes back to the Schwarzenau Brethren of 1708 (cf. Brunbaugh, A History of the Brethren, p. 29 ff.). The following mis- prints have been noted in the list of sources cited : Eckhoff, p. 248 for Eickhoff; Gibson for Gibbons. Passing by all these minor details, we close by emphasizing the great service which such a systematic general survey as that of Professor Kuhns must render both to the general public and to historical science, by presenting in orderly form accurate statements of facts and thus clearing the way for an intelligent appreciation of further results of more detailed historical research in this field. The felicitous style of the book makes it attractive to the general reader. M. D. Learned. Conrad Weiscr, and the Indian Policy of Colonial Pfunsylvania. By Joseph S. Walton. (Philadelphia : George W. Jacobs and Co. 1 90 1. Pp. 420.) The impression which one gathers from popular treatises on Ameri- can history with regard to the Indian policy of Pennsylvania is that Wil- liam Penn, by one simple and praiseworthy transaction at Shackamaxon, purchased the soil of Pennsylvania from its Indian proprietors ; that his successors with weaker conscience took advantage of their ignorance and defrauded them, and that this brought on the Indian troubles of 1755 and succeeding years. A very little study will suffice to shatter the simplicity of this interesting story. The whole history of colonial Pennsylvania is a history of constant Indian negotiations. Penn bought up the south- eastern corner by piece-meal. His successors continued the transaction and the last section was not purchased till 1782. Various factors complicated the problem for both white and red men. In the first half-century of provincial life there was but one party in the colonial government so far as the Indian question was concerned. Later, when the proprietors pulled one way and the popularly elected assembly another, each tried to gain certain advantages by thwarting the plans of