Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1858-06-05
Letter from tho SeniOr..-NO. 8.

Letter from tho SeniOr---No. 8.
Rev. E. D. Neill's History Of Minnesota-The Labor and
Research in its Preparaton-Its Publication and Hon
or to Minnesota.
LAKESIDE" HASTINGS, May q, 1858.
DEAR MINNEsorIAN:-I have BEEN read
ing the Rev. E. D. NEILL's H1sroRa pr MIN.
NEsoIA.
Few will appreciate the immense labor
distributed through period of nine years
which this work has cost it's author.
As it is read over, and we observe the
great mass of facts which it contains, new
and entirely original with this work, and re-
lating to the very early history of Minneso.
ia: embodying the travels of the first explo
rers, the oper atons of the first Indian ira
ders, the transactions and shifting relations
of the Indian tribes who were its primitive
inhabitants the mass of it's readers we feal
will scarcely bestow thought upon the diff
ficulties that have been surmounted by the
persevering industry of Mr.. NELL in giving
this work to the world nor appreciate thai
it has all been patiently elaborated, little b,
little. by laborious researches into thousand
different and widely scattered sources of in
formation from Colonial records; from the
unpublished archives of the French govern
ment at Paris from obsolete tones in musty
libraries from out-ofprint copies of books
of travel, patiently CLEANED from antiquarian
book stores, or the out-ofdoor secondhand
book stands of Milesian libliopolists from
the French, from tho German and the Span
sh languages from the word-of-mouth tale
of ancient voyageurs, the traditions of gray
haired Indian braves, the narratives of In
dian traders, and the experience of mission.
aries of the cross, Franciscan and Jesuit,
Moravian, Methodist and Presby yterian, Cath
olics and Protestants, here new sentence
or two, the sole reward for the money ex-
pended and time dissipated, on worm-eaten
volume; fact half stated in one record, and
the other half found wandering in another
record penned perhaps a thousand miles
apart, and the two halves collected to make
whole; dates compared with dates to en-
sure the chronology of facts; falsehoods and
the famed license of travellers tales detected
and weeded out, and the unconsidered publ
caton of rumors for facts, subjected to the
touch Of wise discrimination ;-such and
more have been some of the difficulties en-
countered and overcome and tasks imposed
upon and executed by Mr.. NELL in the
preparation of this volume.
I take it upon myself to assert, that the
aboriginal history of no State of the Union
has been written so completely or so early,
from at the start such scantily furnished ma
terials, but since dug-up, prospected for
shafts sunk in the unknown literary oblivion
of the past like miners wells after mineral
lodes, as has been that of Minnesota in the
comprehensive volume by Mr.. NELL.
1t is work for Minnesotians to be proud
of; and for which its author should be hon
ored, almost as Herodotus was honored by
his Grecian countrymen. For the historian
of State, who does his task faithfully, labori
ously, wisely, is public benefactor for now
and for posterity.
There are faults in this history to-be-sure
1t is not perfect. Few works of men are.-
The style in which it is written is exceeding
ly terse but some will object that it is oc
casionally bald and dry; the arrangement o.
it's facts is generally excellent, but is some
times disjointed his history of Minnesota
since the organization will be esteemed mea
gre, and some portions in bad taste; but or
this branch of his subject Mr.. NELL con-
tended with the difficulty of too much mate
rial, of speaking of the acts of living men, o
being himself in no category of independence
to deal justly, and if justice demanded it.
severely, with the motives and the transac
tions of contemporary public. Perhaps
the writer of these comments could have
welded the scalping knife of the historian o.
Minnesota since the 4th of March, 1849, with
a bolder, and less partial stroke; for he may
say with an antecedent writer, in regard tc
that division of our history: "all of which
saw and part of which was )" but under al
the circumstances of his profession and po-
sition, I think Mr.. NELL has executed ever
this period Of our history, not badly, and the
finely printed volume of 62S pages, in ele'
giant type dressed, and with glossy paper lined
and in fair outside bound, will long stand un
rivalled amongst American State histories, Q
credit to its publishers, j. B. LIPpENcoTT &
Go. of Philadelphia, and an honor of nc
small honorableness to it's industrious and
able author, EDWARD DUFFIELD NELL!
T. F.
Letter from the SenfOr.s.NO. 2.