Letters from the Southwest

by Charles F. Lummis, James W. Byrkit (Editor)

In the fall of 1884, journalist Charles Lummis set out on foot from Ohio to California on assignment for the Los Angeles Times . The reports he mailed ahead to that newspaper were later refashioned for the book A Tramp Across the Continent , a work that helped to establish Lummis as the most active promoter of Southwestern culture who ever lived. Lummis wrote another set of letters during his journey, however, which he sent back to Ohio for publication by the Chillicothe Leader . Although these letters contain basically the same narrative as those sent to Los Angeles and later found in A Tramp , the Ohio letters more closely reflect the author’s thoughts and observations while on the journey. In fact, a comparison of the two drafts indicates that Lummis spent considerable effort removing spontaneous details from the Ohio letters in favor or a more commercial, self-promoting, and politic reporting for the California paper. The twenty-four Ohio letters, assembled here by James W. Byrkit, offer a far more candid look at the Southwest than Lummis was later to bring to print, as well as greater insight into the author’s own personality. Byrkit’s introductory essay provides the background for Lummis’s career, compares the three bodies of work relating to the trek, and offers an account of Lummis’s transformation from chronicler to promoter.

309 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1989

About the author

Charles Fletcher Lummis was a United States journalist and an activist for Indian rights and historic preservation. A traveler in the American Southwest, he settled in Los Angeles, California, where he also became known as a historian, photographer, ethnographer, archaeologist, poet and librarian. (Source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Di · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AWESOME! I was glued to the pages, and did not set it down until I was done w/ it. Sure, he may have exaggerated a bit here and there, but who wouldn't add a little flair after walking all the way from Ohio to Los Angeles? This was much better than the "other" version that he wrote, "A Tramp Across the Continent." To be Charles Lummis in 1884... one can only dream.