The San Francisco call., 1904-06-19
NEW DEPARTURE
in History of America
ITO trace the history Of the peoples
Of the American continent, and
n every part thereof from Darien

present moment-this is. indeed. a task
of monumental proportions and OF
striking significance in the world OF
letters and Of historical science alike.
This The History Of North America
projected and edited by Professor Guy
Carleton Lee Of Johns Hopkins and
Columbian universities. aims 10 do. In
twenty octave volumes. contributed by
. stan Of as many well-known writers
upon subjects Of American history. and
arranged upon plan commensurate
with the wide scope OF the subject, this
unique and comprehensive contribution
10 the historical literature of America
VIII be concluded. Heretofore il has
been held rather as a matter OF re-
preach against the patriotism and the
historical endeavor Of our people that
there has been written no comprehen-
sive and connected review Of the po-
htical life Of the North American con-
unent- No exception can be made TO
The close and intensive studies Of spe-
cial periods in American history that
have come from the pens OF Prescott
and Parkman. Fiske. Adams and
Schouler. Their works viii doubtless
remain standards for some time To
-~--ANr --AN "a NDMLAAA0nE AAaA4 4AAfF "a
the forces Of civilization that have been
at work IN the chief half Of the New
World for an unknown number Of CEN
turies, such as is this work OF Lee and
his associates. must certainly MI def
mite lacking in our literature.
Doubtless an undertaking so cyelo-
pedic viii not win Immediately the con-
hdence Of the historians. IL viii be said
that the whole cannot be a unified and
coherent work Of art. that a collection
OF individual monographs cannot reflect
anything but a disjointed and sadly
inadequate view Of the entire subject.
In a measure this probable criticism
has foundation. II cannot be expected
that the work OF twenty writers ana
lyzed By boards Of advisers, pruned by
an editor and gathered into an ar
bitrsry scheme OF conference, viii pos
sess the unbroken narrative force Of
Gibbons Rome" What the work will
do, however, OF which the first four
volumes nos published give promise
for the whole finished series, is TO pre-
sent q complete historical conception OF
the peoples Of the North American con-
tinent ia defnitive form. The four vol
Umes already published are Discovery
and Exploration" Indians in the His
toric Times" The Colonization of the
South" and The Colonization OF the
Mid6le States" We shall confine this
review 10 a consideration of the first
two Of these, leaving the two remain
ing volumes for notice in a subsequent
issue.
To Dr. Alfred Britain, author OF
-
Ocean Voyages in the Fifteenth Cen
tury" and The Exploration OF North
eru america" has fallen the task Of
preparing the first volume OF Lees
North America" Commencing with a
consideration Of the NEUROLOGICAL dis
c0veries OF America by the PhOenicians.
The Greeks. the Morse and the Irish
from the eastern side and the tabled
voyages Of Mongolians from the far Pa
cihc lands, Dr. Britain follows the
authenticated records Of the Colum-
bian and post-columbian explorers
down to the last voyage of Henry Hud-
son, with a supplemental chapter upon
the cycle OF exploration hinging upon
the search. for the northwest passage
Departing somewhat from the accept
ed method OF historical writing, the
author has introduced wherever pos
sible original documents and tran
scripts from first sources, sometimes in
their entirety. In narrating the Incl
dents surrounding the discoveries and
voyages OF Columbus, he has repro
duced in full Las Casas' journal OF the
sdmiraIs voyages in which are set
down the daily log entries. The letters
Of Vespucci and the defense OF Colum-
bus right 70 honor for discovery writ
ten by Las Casas serve the author in
slucidating the tangled controversy
settled about the head Of the map
maker. Again IN the chapters devoted
20 French exploration DR.. Britain has
punctuated his narrative with extracts
from Cartier. Joliet. Marquette and
La Sales own accounts In a work OF
this nature. which does not aim at be-
ing q minute study, but which ID
forced by the scope Of the subject into
very broad and general lines. the apt
incorporation Of original SOURCES into
the narrative such as the author OF
the present volume has made makes
for a spirit Of authenticity which
commands the confidence Of the reader
most valuable portion OF the book is
that dealing with ante-Columbian dis
coveries. Recognizing the true point OF
departure for an adequate survey OF
the general movement OF the restless
psregr1nation that characterized the
awakening from the Renaissance. Or.
Britain has thrown his narrative back
20 the beginnings OF geographic SCI
ence. He recalls the fact that the
Carthaginisns ventured through tthe
Pillars Of Hercules and down the West
African coast. That the Moors settled
the Azores centuries before Columbus
sailed the unknown seas is established
by the remains Of their architecture
found there; could the myth Of the
seven wonderful cities OF Cibola have
been founded upon the actual expert
ov,cee of one Of these Moorish eaFlore