The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1861-04-04

Character. AHlOHS the literary Aen OF Adutsoi
they have professional author; he is none ofyou
occasional pamphleteers, but gentleman whc
writes for life he began to write in his boyhood
and has kept on writing in day time and in nigh
time until now he must be over forty.five, yet ht
viii doubtless continue to write for many years t.
como, if nothing Providential interfores.
IF you desire to see our author, you viii ring &
door bell on - Street, and nice looking little
| gentleman opens the door and bows you in--thi:
is no other than the veritable L. G. Draper him
self. You announce the object of your visit is tC
see bis literary collections therefore you follow
! him up q stairway, walled on both sides with i'm
mense piles of carefully folded old newspapers and
pamphlets. You emerge into his library here is
no gttering display of gilt-edged and deliberately
| bound books many of the volumes look as dingy
as if they had been housed for a century in the
catocombs of Egypt. But for this, the books are
all the more interesting Our author is an anti
quarian he has been engaged for nearly thirty
years in roscuing old books pamphlets, newspa
pers, manuscripts &c from the wave of oblivion
He would give his fortune for mere scrap of the
original manuscript of Caesars Commentaries OF
Plutarch's lives lie has searched the bowels Of
many CT the mounds and earthworks of the great
west for means TO resuect the history of the dead
past There are in his library many coverless
books, so tattered that no ono would think of pick
ing them up in the street, yet for many OF these
very books, he has paid considerable sums ofnon-
ey because of their scarciiy-antiquity and long
ago cut Of print. This curious library contains
perhaps over thousand vou mes. His collection
efmanuscripts is immense; he has obtained about
fifty letters in the originalhand writing OF Patrick
Henry several original manuscript letters of JEFF
ferson and franklin, one of Washington and q
great many others written by distinguished men of
Revolutionary memory. He has 10000 manu-
scripts elatng to western history, fifty bound vol
umes Of manuscript of his own produ ctions. and
enough unbound manuscript to make fifty more.
He hasll0,000 pages Of manuscript relating to old
frontier men-mostly of the west. He has many
thousand pages of manuscript copied from old
newspapers, pamphlets &c found in the Histeri-
cal Libraries Of New York Philadelphia, Congress
siouGl Library at Washington. and other old Iii
brary Collections He has many bound volumes
of newspapers printed during the Revolutionary
war and al subsequent periods
But q word must be said as TO what this au .hor
is doing in book writing. The greatest and most
attractive work on when he is now engaged is
entitled The Life and Times Of Daniel Do. e.
immense labor has been expended in COLLECTING
facts for this work the author has spent MANY
M nths in Southwestern Missouri on the Ozark
Mountains, among the descendants Of Daniel
Boone, for the purpose Of collecting incidents be-
side, he has travelled extensively in Kentucky,
and other Of the border States for the same ect
HE number ofvolumes the work will make vixen
CON 3ieted, Is not yet settled 1.-THE Life Of Gen.
Ge-.se Clark, the Washington OF the Vest
az ois -'LiIs OF Coz. w iiiian Gsston, y vols
Life of Gen. John Flemlnng )" Life
of Gen. James Robertson ;" Life of Gen.
samuel kentoni )" Olives Of Pioneers Of West ir-
ginia;' Life OF Gen. Martin ! Life Of Col.
"hIty;' "The Wetsels :" Campaign of Har,
man = @Campaign ofst. Clair and Wayne :" can
mails Of Border wars y &c &C.
Il is possible do not give the title of the tore
going works with exactness, as my memorandum
is imperfect, Ifany one should marvel at the pos
sloil'ty OF any one man being equal to such uercu-
anean Literary Iabors, he has only to visit the study
of the author and there he can see for himself the
ponderous piles of manuscript on tables and on
Shelves therehe can hear the testimony of the liv-
ing writer himself, and see the evidence Of literary
toll, such as old HerodOtus never conld have en-
dured When all these works will get through tbe
press no mortal man knows; it is well there has
been such an invention as Hoes cylinder press
steam power to run it, or else but a few Of these
volumes would appear in print during the present
generation. One thing may be set down as a fixed
fact-no other man now living or dead. has ever
succeeded in collecting such a mass of material on
! western history.
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The State Historical Society's Rooms is a place
where considerable time may be spent proftablv.
Although the institution is still comparatiyev in
It's infancy, yet the collection Of rare books raint
ings. Indian curiosties, relies, &c. which have al
ready been made form museum ofinterest. THE
Society Ii as been highly successful in procuring
many valuable books of old dateg-son1e Of which
were donated, and some purchased at sales Of old
library collections. The oldest bound volume OF
newspapers in the library is the London Ga=eLtt
Of the year 1850. The oldest volume of an Amer
lean newspaper is the Maryland Gazette, printed
in Baltimore in the year 1860 There is also par
of volume of the Pennsylvania Gazette, printed
by Benjamin Franklin in 1853 also volume o
the Boston Gazette of the year 1764, The.e ar
quito number of bound volumes of American
newspapers, printed during the period of the revo
lutionary war.
The London Gazette Court Journal) was pu b
lished in form suitable for binding regular files O
this paper in bou I'd volumes have been obtaine
from the year l768 to 1910 inclusive. Also, tn
London Gentlemea's Magazine, commencing u
far back as 1871 and brought up in regular NUN
J befs to 1882, bound in semi-yearly volumes-rna
king So volumes. Also the London Monthly Rl
glea from the year l749 to 1828-bound in 800 vo
umes.
The oldest book in the Library, was printed i
London in the year 1886; it is entitled "Joyfl
News cut of the bound World" The subject {
the book relates to America. Tho next oldei
book is German work: printed in 1897, about Go
, pages It contains a large number of very goo
ongravings - illustrative Of scenes Of travel i
I Asia and Africa.
There are, in the Rooms of the Society, some f
ty er sixty portrait paintings; the larger PORTE
+, Of which are lkenesses OF the most distinguish
a pioneer settlers of Wisconsin. Many Of these wei
executed by skillful artists There are also amor
! the pictures, the likenessas of quite q number
dis inguished Indian Chiefs, Of the northweztel
tribes most Of them are taken from living subject
and are said to be faithful representations. Tn
State Historical Society needs better accommod
I tons for It's Library and Collections; its present
cation Is in the basement OF a Church. Whoev
visits the rooms Of the Society, viii be polite
? waited upon by gentleman Of aldermanic propo
o tons, and obliging manners, who will cheerful
/ point out objects of interest, and impart inform
ton on al matters pertaining to the Societys CT
!, lections
Il STATE AGRICULTURAL ROOMS,
The State Agricultural Rooms have not been E
y tablished sufficient length of time, to allow al
i extensive collection in this useful department.
4 good beginning, however, has been made, and e
Is cry intelligent farmer in the State viii feel an
0 terest in its success. Prof HoYr, Secretary of
y State Agricultural Society, is gentleman eve
way qualified for the position he holds Ueiss