Bishop Frederic Baraga, "the Snowshoe Priest," was a well-known Roman Catholic missionary in the western Great Lakes region of North America in the mid-19th century. Baraga was prolific, and his lasting literary contributions include an Ojibway grammar and dictionary, both of which are in use today. Among his lesser works is this misnamed Short History of the North American Indians. It is, in fact, a 145-page commentary written in the 1830s on the culture of some North American Indians. Baraga describes customs, dress, food, habitation, hunting and fishing methods, marriage, education, warfare, government, health, and burial practices in a straightforward and interesting but prejudicial style. There are many anecdotes, and he borrows liberally from earlier accounts. Baraga is an acute observer and some of his comments are prescient, but it is difficult to find a great deal of lasting value other than the obvious prejudices and viewpoints common in the 1830s. This edition is translated from a French copy of Baraga's original work in German, but both this editor and his editors should be mortified by such blunders as "before becoming president in 1830 Henry Jackson ... ." ^BSumming Up: Optional. Graduate students/faculty. P. T. Sherrill emeritus, University of Arkansas at Little Rock