The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1896-06-25
MISTAKES or HISTORY.
ers That Creep Into the Popular Mind
and Are Hard to Eradicate,

ers That Creep Into the Popular Mind
and Are Hard to Eradicate.
"What is history but universally 40
pepted fable?' said learned Smith.
sonian professor II quote the great
Napoleon. For example, consider Ply
mouth rock. In the town OF Plymouth
ts rock with q fence around it. 1t is
. sort of local fetish. On Forefather's
day every year exercises are held there
commemorating the alleged fact that
on this rock the pilgrims landed. As
matter Of fact, there is no evidence
that such was the fact. Prof. Chan
ming, the historical expert Of Harvard,
has traced the story back, and believes
IL to have been started by an old man
named Faunce, who many years ago
pointed out the rock to some children,
saying: "Here they landed"
History states that the pilgrims ar
rived on Sunday, but refrained from
landing until Monday lest they should
break the Sabbath. That is pure nom
sense. As a matter Of fact, the women
and children stayed on the ship all
winter because IL was more comfort
able.
"The gorgeousness and high civiliza
Son of the ancient Mexicans at the
sine Of the Spanish conquest have been
permanently embalmed IN history.
The whole story is q misrepresenta
ton. Cortez naturally wished to give
the impression at home that no had
conquered a great and rich nation. In
reality it was only a half-ciyilized and
untutored people. The mode Of living
was patriarchal, whole families Of one
hundred or more persons living in one
house. The communal dwelling was
OF one story and necessarily of large
size. These structures were described
by the Spaniards as palaces The
people ate only one cooked meal eack
day, for the rest Of their food depend.
ing on a grub diet picked up anyhow.
The dinners partaken of by SO many
individuals are reported in history a.
sbanquets.'
1.-THE schoolboy learns that Columbus
was the man who first conceived the
idea that the world was round. Moth
iE. could be more nonsensical. The
truth is, that he merely accepted a mo-
ton on this subject which had been
handed down frSm classic times by
scholarly men. Strabo, the Latin
tuthcr, was one Of these. The concep-
tion was for many centuries as faint
light glimering in darkness.
.Let me call your attention to an In
stance of the making of fictitious his
tory. There are excellent reasons for
believing that the Norsemen reached
the shores of North America before Co
lumbus. The records Of their sagas,
however, give no notion of the locality
where they landed. Only few such
non-descriptive facts are stated as that
they found grapes growing. Yet an
enthusiast named Horsford, a trustee
OF Harvard, a few years ago built on
the Charles river tower between
Waltham and Newton TO com.
memorate the landing of the Morse
voyagers at that point The
ngas tell Of going up a rive
tnu hors1ord cnoSe 70 assume that the
Charles river was the river referred to.
Very likely the notion thus recorded
by . monument will gain a general
credit some day, though there is no
more reason to suppose that the river
was the Charles than that IL was the
Delaware or Hudson. or any one OF
dozens of other rivers
II quoted Napoleon q moment ago
You probably know that no battle was
aver fought at Waterloo. Waterloo
was post dispatch station some miles
distant. Dispatches were sent thenceI
10 England, and hence the name given
10 the battle.
"Sheridan's ride to Winchester was
not twenty miles-not over ten miles,
think. There never was any founda-
ton in fact for the story Of Barbara
Frietchie. The same Is true of the
yarns about Pocahontas and JohH
Smith. Washington Star.
-