The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-02-07
A GREAT WORK CALLS SOME
GIFTED CHILD OF THIS STATE
The Deeds of Our Forefathers Who Made Imper-
ishabIe History Await the Magic Touch
of a Literary Genius

An important question for North Caro-
lima is: Shall We have history of the
State from the days of the settlement on
Roanoke Island until the beginning of
the great war in 1861? 1t is an absolute
necessity under the circumstances that
one should have such a history prepared
with. great care. If We had a history
equal to that of Tacitus or of Gibson or
of Homer or of Macaulay or of Green,
and il was written prior to the discov-
cry of the voluminous Colonial Re-
cords" OF the Colony prior to the first
war with Great Britain. edited and dis
covered by Col William L. Saunders,
when Secretary of State, one of our ablest
men since the cruel, vengeful war with
the North, waged upon the weak and Ill
prepared South, we would still be COM
PEELED to have an authentic, veracious
history written. These Records simply
compel the preparation of a new. veraci-
Gus, ample history of North Carolina.
Then second work is badly needed-a
History of North Carolina In the War,
and subsequent thereto, embracing a
thoroughly prepared account OF Recon
struction under the wicked laws of the
Congress and the invasion of the Carpet
Baggers from the Northland, with their
empty sacks and enormous capacity Tor
plumber and general scoundrelism. We
cannot afford to remain much longer
without these two most important his
torical works. The war between the
States, and our own States glorious part
there. from inception to close, with all
of it's terrors and fatalities, its crimes
and destruction, which left the breast of
our dear old Mother all scanned ana
SCARED and bleeding profusely.
But let me detain the reader here with
a few reflections relative to the first
history suggested, and that is demanded.
It is not necessary for me to write upon
the general and accepted desIrabillty OF
history. 1 presume that every ordinarily
intelligent person will agree with me
that without the information afforded
mankind in the grave works of the world
famous historians of different ages we
should all be robbed not only OF much
entertainment and intelligent pleasure, of
much solacement under disquietude, of
much rich and important mental pabu-
hum, but of vast sources of positive and
beneticent information. Take from the
rich treasures of human learning and in
struction the works of Herodotus. Thu
cidides, Tacitus, Livy and Plutarch
among the ancients, and of Rollin, Glib
bon, Mitchelet. Hume, Robertson, Theirs,
Mommsen, Grote, Macaulay, Free
man. Stubs, Green, Gardiner, and 9th
ers that might be named among the mod
ems. and you not only would create
tremendous blank. wide hiatus in the
history of mankind, but, you would de-
prive the mind of some of it's highest,
chiefest sources of pleasure and profit
you would strike from the galaxy of men
many of the brightest names that ever
made luminous world darkened by sin
and ignorance-you would dash in pieces
at one fell blow, like a merciless, ravag
i ing iconoclast, those historic images all
radiant with fame and immortal glory
which have been placed in the inches of
the worlds mighty Pantheon by admir-
ing, approaching, revering hands. If then
history be so rich "a part of the intellectu-
al treasury of the world-if it be so very
desirable, so informing, SO necessary
why not have a we'll written and ample
North Carolina history. Have our an
cestors done nothing really great, or
worthy of commemoration? Are we
sprung from a race of obsequious slaves
ana 1nQOIenJ Doors. Let Sfd0Q Olu Md
caulay answer. Let the five volumes Sc
cured and PARTLY prepared by the wis
DOM energy, patriotic pride and unselfish
devotion of Chief Justice Clark, giving
histories of the various commands of
North Carolina in the fateful war with
the Yankees. furnish answer too in over
Yhelming demonstration that will ever
shame and silence the liars and SANDER
Ixy lr-
of our people, not too voluminous, not
too minute, not too full of antiquarian
research, but sufficiently full for Rll
practical, informing purposes, written in
simple, direct, pure, impressive, idiomatic
English The good old State has had
much called history but how imperfect,
how full Of errors, how tame, and impo-
tent ]. S. Jones's little volume in DE
fence of North Carolina is useful and
creditable Martin and Williamson may
be regarded as dull, cumbrous, INSULT
Client, unsatisfactory performances. His
tory of that kind fails to attract, and even
TO inform people. They are really sealed
books to the million, and perhaps the
million are not very great losers there
by. There is important matter for his
torical purposes in DR.. Caruthers' two
volumes in Foote's really valuable
Sketches off North Carolina in Law
son gracefully written Life of General
w. r. Davie,' in Wheeler's crude yet very
useful history. in Hawks two octave
volumes, and in other works such as Ban
croft, McRees's Life of Judge James
Iredell," Sparkss American Biogra-
ply Wieys North Carolina Reader.
and other works that could be cited, and
yet we have still no readable, spirited,
clear-cut, we'll arranged, accurate, thor
ough history of North Carolina. No one
probably has yet been found to do for
North Carolina what Howerson has done
for Virginia. The history of our fore
fathers has never been fairly and dispas-
sionately written. Our enemies have been
swift to malign Us. to pervcrt our re-
cord. and yet the right book has not yet
appeared It is palpable misfit, a gross
blunder to call a large volume teemine
with plumbers the most stupid, and writ
ten in such English that no scholar OF
educated gentleman would speak, mucl
less write. history, Is TO commit wrong
10 be guilty of a most objectionable mis-