| Book Review | The Western Historical Quarterly, 32.3

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| Book Review | The Western Historical Quarterly, 32.3 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Borderlander: The Life of James Kirker, 1793–1852. By Ralph Adam Smith. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999. ix + 326 pp. Maps, notes, bibliography, index. $32.95.)

Educating the U. S. Army: Arthur L. Wagner and Reform, 1875– 1905. By T. R. Brereton. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000. xviii + 173 pp. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. £30.00, UK: $45.00.)

Unfortunately, the late Ralph Adam Smith will never know how his reinterpretation of James Kirker's life is received. Smith used newly discovered sources, both American and Mexican, to understand Kirker not merely as a savage bounty hunter, but as a man influenced by his times and as an important part of southwestern history. 1

James Kirker was an Irish immigrant who spent the latter part of his life along the present-day border of Mexico and the United States. In the 1840s, he moved to northwestern Mexico and became a prospector and Indian trader. Kirker spent much of his time in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora, where Indians, primarily Apaches, regularly raided towns and ranches in search of booty. Local governments often hired bounty hunters to kill tribesmen, usually paying a certain amount per scalp. Kirker took full advantage of this moneymaking opportunity. He commanded a band of ruffians that included Shawnees, Delawares, Americans, French, and Englishmen in pursuit of Indian scalps. Kirker proved successful at this endeavor and gained hero status among Chihuahuans. . . .

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