Utah Books

What is a fish-burner since it has nothing to do with fish?

This book is perfect for writers who want a to reveal the old west as accurately as possible including anachronistic terminology that help set the scene. Among the authors of Western Fiction, based in truth, are Zane Gray, Larry McMurtry, and Louis L'Amour. Their books are popular because they are realistic and do not throw in a modern term that would destroy the time setting.

Time travel novels for the SF/F genre, historical romance, history, mystery, and discovery writers benefit from this great dictionary as well.

Today a zephyr is most commonly thought of as a gentle breeze, but in the 1860's the Washoe zephyr was a strong west wind blowing through the Truckee River Valley during the Spring and the Fall. Not only is the time frame provided, but also the specific location. Washoe was an Indian tribe that inhabited the area that has now become known as Reno, Nevada.. The famous Comstock Lode at nearby Virginia City during the 1850's created many terms that are now obsolete. The Washoe canary was the nickname for a burro.

Camisa is a beautiful word, a great name for a heroine. However, it is a Spanish based word used in 1830 to describe a loose blousy shirt or chemise.

What is a hydrophobia skunk? The psychological etymology would be a skunk has an abnormal fear of water. In the Southwest of 1910 it was the term that was used to describe a skunk whose bite caused madness; rabies were common to many pests and rodents in the region.

The water dog is not canine. It is the Western name for any variety of salamander that was most commonly used as fish bait for Bass. The time frame was about 1850.

A fish-burner (also spelled fish burner) is an Alaskan term for a sled dog, especially one that is used in competitive sled rides. A hayburner, on the other hand, is a jocular term for a horse.

The design of the book places the words in a left column, the meaning are in the right. It has sufficient white space to make it easy to match the word with the meaning. Photographs are connected to the some of words for descriptive purposes. One of the most effective aspect of the book is to provide dates, areas, language base (e.g., Spanish, Alaskan, Latin, Chinook, etc.), and some history for each word.

Anyone interested in the old west will find the book fascinating; writers will find a wonderful tool that help create the stories of the American West.

Without a doubt this is a 5 star delight.

I bought this book because of the other review. It made me think this would be a book like Dictionary of the American West
by Winfred Blevins, which is a rich and wonderful short-course on Western history and spirit. It isn't. Western Lore and Language will answer some basic questions about western words and sometimes gives you pictures of the critters and plants it defines. It's hard cover and laid out with words on one side and definitions on the other--it's kind of attractive. But you can do better, and for much less.

QuickTrips Travel Letter: "Exhaustive in its detail and compelling in its descriptions, I'd go with this hefty, extremely thorough and very informative book."

William T. Parry's All Veins, Lodes, and Ledges Throughout Their Entire Depth: Geology and the Apex Law in Utah Mines, is a small but important book about Utah's forgotten mining history and the complexities inherent in extracting mineral wealth from the ground.

Divided into twelve chapters, [1.Discovery is Not Enough 2. Acquisition and Disposal of Federal Mining Lands 3. Legalizing Mining Claims 4. Mining Rights beyond Surface Rights 5. The Making of Ore Deposits 6. Mining Beneath a Claim 7. Little Cottonwood Mining District: The Claim Must Match the Mine 8. Tintic Mining District: The Vein Must Have Recognizable Boundaries 9. Bingham Mining District: Mineralization Lodes Must be Continuous 10. Ophir Mining District: Extralateral Rights Need Not Be Advertised 11. Park City Mining District: Monuments Take Precedent Over Descriptions 12. The Apex Law Today] Parry lays a foundation in the first six chapters to help explain the specific lessons learned in the following five chapters. Nearly every major mining district in Utah is represented here and a legal decision drawn and explained that illustrates the difficulty of deciding conflicting ownership claims of adjacent properties under the apex law. Legal precedents are extracted one each, from examples from the Little Cottonwood, Tintic, Bingham, Ophir and Park City mining districts. His last chapter provides observations on the state of apex law today. Parry presents some excellent graphics to give the reader a big picture of the lay of the land in Utah, putting into context geologic structures, forces, and history, including a schematic model of Tintic/Bingham ore deposition, and several geologic maps, which together with shaded relief maps and historic photographs give the book a rich visual component that makes scientific concepts easy to understand and "see."

No mention is made of the litigation surrounding the famous Emma Mine in Little Cottonwood Canyon [whose stock promotion and marketing to England nearly caused an international uproar] because the litigation did not involve extralateral rights but instead whether promoters knew that the vein at depth faulted and disappeared.

Utah mining areas and geology contain a perfect wonderland of examples to illustrate the growth and development of precious metal mining law. Utah has deposits of classic veins, in replacement zones, and in porphyry disseminated deposits.

His geologic explanations are lucid and easy to grasp Less convincing, however, are some of his legal conclusions. "All prospecting and mining of gold on public lands after its discovery in California in 1848 was actually done illegally. Miners were technically trespassing on public lands." All Veins, p. 11.. His conclusion is unsupported and suspect. Later on same page, Parry states that there were absolutely no statutory or even common-law principles or rules to guide mining rights. But on p 14, Parry admits that Stewart's bill to regulate prospecting and mining on public lands grew from customs and common law of the miners.

Among Parry's most glaring oversights pertain to William Morris Stewart, claimed by most to be the creator of the apex rule for settling miner's claim disputes. The language "each claim shall include all the dips, spurs, angles, and variations of the vein," is Stewart's. This language became known as the apex law. Stewart's role in the Nevada County mining district law is skipped over in Parry's discussion found on p. 15 of his work. Parry gets the Senator's birth and death dates wrong. "William Stewart, the Father of Federal mining law, was born in 1827" All Veins, p.13 Some researchers have the birth year at 1825 See Ruth Hermann, Gold and Silver Colossus: William Morris Stewart and his Southern Bride Daves Printing and Publishing, Sparks, Nevada 1975, p. 1.

Parry states "Reelected in 1885 and served two more terms. He made Washington his home until his death in 1908...." All Veins, p. 13. Parry completely skips over the Senator's trip back to Nevada in 1905 after his second term eager to make another fortune in the boom town of Rhyolite, Nevada. [By August of 1908 Stewart had made that fortune, estimated at $250,000 and only then retired to Washington, where on March 30, 1909 he underwent a minor operation for "enlarged glands," and died on April 23, 1909 from the adverse effects of an anesthetic]

Parry does include a one page glossary of eleven mining terms, but oddly "apex" is not listed as one of the them. All Veins includes a list of references, and an index, but no detailed footnotes. Instead, the source and page number are listed in parentheses in the body of the text of each chapter.

Parry also states and quotes Maley as the source to back up the contention that newly discovered lodes are less likely to be classic veins, however some explanation as to why would have been appropriate and certainly within Parry's area of expertise. His chapter 5 on the making of ore deposits, is a superbly written overview of the state of the art in ore genesis as it applies to Utah. But Parry only hints there that ore concentrations as found in classic veins are going to be the exception, rather than the rule, in future ore discoveries. New deposits tend to be disseminated ones, and not high-grade. Maley also suggests that apex law is dormant because earlier cases have provided direction for most the possible situations, argues that many companies now solve potential problems through vertical sideline agreements, and lastly believes that most new deposits tend to be larger, irregularly formed and lack defined boundaries. In other words, they aren't vein deposits.

Parry claims that since the early 1900s there have been few significant court cases concerning conflicts over extralateral rights. This is a tautology, especially if one observes that with the maturing of a mining district comes ownership consolidation, and much less litigation. Vertical sideline agreements are mentioned on p128, the second to the last paragraph of the book, without much hurray, and without explaining what they are and what they do. [Sidestepping apex law problems, sideline agreements allow claimants to voluntarily agree that their rights to follow veins end at the vertical extension of any sidelines] The first sideline agreement was used in 1881 and became common in Arizona, at Leadfield, Colorado, and at Tonopah and Goldfield, Nevada.

As for the debate over apex law, Parry starts a dialogue but does not finish it. Many geologists, engineers, and lawyers believed that the apex law was faulty and should be corrected. Parry, All Veins, p. 126. Quoting Horace Winchell as a prime geological expert, Parry implies that nothing good comes from the apex law. Horace Winchell was a mining engineer, expert witness, and contemporary of Rossister Raymond who came to the conclusion that the apex law ought to be abolish. Winchell wrote several doggerels about his feelings toward the law, and ultimately was hired during one apex law case in Butte, Montana to survey the mine. As a result of preparing for apex litigation, it is generally conceded that new and additional ore bodies at Butte were discovered. Were it not for this litigation, these new resources might not have been discovered at all. Parry recognizes on page 69 that one of the important consequences of litigation was the discovery of large important orebodies by both parties during the development work preparatory to the trial, but stops short of crediting apex law with this side benefit.

Parry reminds Utah readers that one of our favorite sons, Senator Reed Smoot, introduced an amendment to Section 2322 Revised Statutes that would make it impossible to follow an ore body beyond the claim boundary lines. The amendment failed, but Parry does not explore nor give any reasons for its failure.

Previous works like Clark Spence's Mining Engineers and the American West: The Lace-Boot Brigade 1849-1933 [which Parry cites] do explain why apex law had many detractors but a long and healthy lifespan that survived amendments and calls for its repeal. Parry does not mention the Mining and Scientific Press report of 1917 that concluded that of 5,808 mining law cases, only 1.9% [115] were apex law-related.

Justice Field, in his Eureka-Richmond decision [a Nevada case] stated that the mining laws were not drawn by geologists or for geologists. They were not framed in the interests of science and consequently with scientific accuracy in the use of terms. They were framed for the protection of miners in the claims which they had located and developed, and should receive such a construction as will carry out this purpose.

Between vertical sideline agreements, the maturation of mining districts and the attendant consolidation of ownership, disputes between adjacent claimowners drastically diminished. Law may not fit the geologic certitudes of today, but it did and does smooth out the vagaries of human nature.

Noting the diversity of opinion of engineers and geologists, Parry concludes that they were not objective, they were influenced by the consulting fees they earned, and they did it [testify and provide the courts with conflicting testimony] for the money... Such sweeping condemnation attacks such impartial experts as James Talmage, whose testimony was used in the Grand Central v. Mammoth case cited by Parry in Chapter Eight. Drawing such conclusions is surprising from someone who mentors future geologists and geophysicists. It is not uncommon in law or science to find conflicting testimony. Plate tectonics in the 1970s was a theory not widely accepted and dismissed as a childish observation that the continent of Africa looks like it could fit next to South America if pushed back together. While generally accepted today, Pangea was once wild speculation. Thus geologists could and did have honest differences of opinion. In the 1880s to 1900s the genesis of ore deposition was not understood as it is today, a fact Parry brings out on p 23 of his work.

Straddling good ground, Parry follows his vein capturing geology, biography and jurisprudence in an engaging manner. His is not a legal casebook nor a geology textbook, but he borrows enough from each discipline to put each into context. Neither is biography overlooked in this small but important volume.

In spite of these few criticisms this book is an excellent and much needed first strike and lays claim precisely at the apex, or highest point of the vein, of mining history in Utah. It is a welcomed addition to the small but growing bookshelf of Utah mining history. To fully and completely understand mining in Utah, one needs a firm grasp of geology, biography and mining law. Parry aptly assays each of these elements and sheds new first light on the interrelationships of these forgotten and misunderstood parts of our past. When one visits the sites mentioned in this book, one is immediately struck with the impression something grand occurred there. Parry's volume opens the apex of an historical vein and lets his reader peek into this past as it dips downward into the earth. But unlike his conclusion, that apex law is not applicable today, one hopes that he and others will follow this vein in all its "dips, spurs, and angles" to continue to shed more light and understanding of Utah's forgotten mining heritage.

This is a great book. The best book to get your hands on is Lafayette H. Bunnell's "Discovery of the Yosemite". Try to get an original one and not a revised version. Bunnell was the only person to meet Chief Tenaya and the original Yosemite Native Americans during the Mariposa Indian wars. In that book he documents that Chief Tenaya was the founder of the Paiute Colony of Ahwahnee, that he spoke Paiute, that his band was primarily Mono Paiute and not Miwok as has been falsely written. You see in history the ones who tend to write history are those who won it or those who helped. The Miwoks assisted the Mariposa Battalion against the original Indians of Yosemite. They were the enemies of Paiutes and not trading partners as has been falsely written. Tenaya's band and the Mono Paiutes did trade with each other, because they were both Paiute bands. That is documented in Bunnell's book, but this book is a great companion of that book.

Get both.

I ride both the road and singletrack. Although Gregg Bromka has written several excellent trail guides for Utah mountain bikers, there has not been a well organized print guide to road rides in Salt Lake envirions prior to this book. The road rides are well chosen and feature excellent descriptions and access instructions. The list does not include all classic local rides but hits most of them with suggestions for add-ons and shortcuts if time is pressing. It is obvius that the author has ridden all of the rides in this book and made careful observations. Of course, these are ultimately suggested routes and I ride a little different route than described in the book for all of these rides but that is the fun of it.

There are little things that frustrate me about the book, most annoying of which is the inclusion of ten mountain bike rides. While the author states that his intention is to provide a well-rounded guide to all cycling in the area, these rides are previously published in his other guides and I cannot help but think they are filler to make the book thick enough in the absence of more road rides to describe. This is unfortunate because there are certainly more road rides in the Park City and Midway/Heber areas as well as the city limits that could have nicely filled out the book and would have been valuable information for the roadies looking for something a little different from the usual SLC rides.

In the end, I have used this book extensively and highly recommend it for the visiting or new roadie in SLC. Even roadie veterans may find some new routes and variations.

I agree with the author when he says that this is the only guide to flatwater in Utah. Even though it is the default choice, it is a well thought out book. It hits the obvious places and a few out of the way places I'd never heard of. Each individual review does a good job of describing the location. The book would have benefited from individual closeup maps for at least the "best bets" destinations.

Also, for the destinations that are reservoirs (most of them) it might have been helpful to have listed the water level required for the paddling that is described. Some of the destinations flat out don't exist in a dry year.

Of course, any travel guidebook is outdated the day it is published and this book is no exception--the kayak rental place on Antelope Island is closed as of September 14, 2007.

While you could eventually discover most of the destinations yourself (there just isn't much water in Utah), this book can will save you a lot of time and miles. Recommended.

This large single volume work is comprised of articles by several specialists in archaeology and anthropology concerning sites, excavations, and artifacts throught the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts believed to be related to the the World Heritage site of Casas Grandes in northern Mexico. The authors pose various theories about occupation, trade, and abandonement in this region of North America during the period from around 1200AD to 1400AD, and thus this work is well suited for all interested in a detailed, non-stereotypical understanding of the Southwest, especially professionals and academics. I bought this book when I was a student on a field-school archeological dig of a site within this region, and the book helped me better understand what was going on around me and what the motivations for such a study were. The book can get pretty dense and heavily intellectual at times, a fact that makes it a good resource for those involved in either school or professional research.

"Cataract Canyon" is an incredibly readable treasure of book, disguised by its subtitle and size as something of a textbook. But it's not just a volume of research material--though it does have excellent accounts of the area's geology, history, and ecological controversy. It's also an incredibly gripping read for anyone who loves the Colorado River, who loves rivers in general, or who loves the West. It tells the story of Cataract Canyon as one might tell an exciting narrative.
Read this book, and then visit Cataract Canyon for yourself. It will be like reading the biography of a famous historic figure, then realizing that person (although ancient) is still alive, then meeting that person and finding out she's more amazing than even the best book could ever tell.
This is an excellent, well-written, scrupulously researched book that no fan of the Colorado Plateau should be without. It contains many excellent now-and-then photos, great accounts of historical figures such as Denis Julien, and a terrific chapter on the portion of Cataract Canyon that's usually submerged beneath Lake Powell. Buy it, buy it, buy it.
(Note however that Robert Webb is only one of the book's three authors; the others include John Weisheit, Conservation Director for the environmental group Living Rivers.)

Cedar Breaks is a nice place to visit, this book gives a sense of it with red rock canyons and wonderful, varied wildflowers on the pine-covered rims, and history of the area.

Madsen(the foremost authority on the Shoshoni and Bannock Indians of Idaho and Utah) here gives us a portrait of the real Chief. According to Madsen, Pocatello was simply a Chief who was interested in feeding his people and making peace with the white man. While it is true that Pocatello led many raids on wagon trains most notable at Massacre Rock, Madsen says that he was credited with many more raids than he was actually involved in. Madsen also sets for the many fanciful tales that the anti-Pocatello media attributed to him. But the thing that Pocatello is most famous for is the small Idaho town that has his name.