The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-01-15
PRICELESS LORE
OF The PACIFlCS
CALIFORNIAN GREAT GAIN IN RE-
CENT ACQUISITION.
Untold Educational Import in the Pur-
chase Of Hubert Howe Bancroft lii
brary of Historic Documents o
Other Library Like It.
New York Press


To those who concern themselves with
the sources Of American history, the
transfer Of the Bancroft library Of San
Francisco to the University of Califor
MIA for the sum Of $250,000 will appear
as momentous item Of news. It has
graduation for the literary world that
this absolutely unique assemblage Of
historical documents-from manuscripts
of the. Aztecs to Californian newspa-
pers Of the forties and secret archives
of the "Vigilantes has at last found
a corporate custodian which must and
will preserve it as it should be pre-
American people. That the owner, Mr..
Hubert Howe Bancroft, has made do
nation of 100000 to the university
simultaneously with the sale shows his
pride as Californian and his conf
dence in the institution which will now
be answerable to civilization for the
Sal Abou fl the in' Year. is52 this same HUI
that time Of about 20, went out to Cali
f8rnia by way Of the isthmus. He had
been bookseller at Buffalo, N. Y, and
at San Francisco he became book
seller again, tho there was very little
demand there for any books but law
books.
He resolved to write history, and
write it large But to do this he must
first find out what had already been
printed that had been written by the
Spanish American historians Of three
centuries. With the pecuniary means
accumulated in twenty years OF. book
selling, he set out, in the sixties, to
ransack bookshops and bookstalls not
Cos and other cities Of old Spain, fol-
rare works upon the history of early
Spanish domination. Paris and Lon.
don and book marts Of the world yield
ed their contributions of literary lore
to him and his agents. Providentially
it happened that, by, the overthrow OF
the Emperor Macmillan, the Andrade
collection, which was to have formed
the nucleus Of great imperial library
in the City of Mexico, seemed to its
owner to be in danger at the hands OF
the revolutionists. Jose Maria An
drade packed his books and parchment.
upon a train of mules and hastily fec
with them to the gulf coast on his way
Mr. NJ Bancroft. He saw his chance ani
the famous Andrade collection, pur
chased in Leipsic and returned to Amer
lea, is part Of the recently transferred
Bancroft library.
Building the Library.
Proceeding in this way, buying book
both singly and at great auctions, j
bulk, the enthusiast succeeded in max
ing not merely a library, but an aston
ishing literary museum. Into the grea
building in Valencia street, San Francis
CO, eventually prepared for the accumu
lation, there went unique copies OF tn
first books printed in North America
= religious works in Spanish and in Lati7
huge manuscript choir books Of tn
sixteenth century missions, prepared 70
the instruction of Indian neophytes
even examples of those. Aztec hiere
glyphic manuscripts which the earl
bishops Of Mexico had done their bes
! to have destroyed as impious and perm
cious. But all this was not enough; tn
, historian collected these only by wa
= Of preliminary; he still had to gathe
original documents.
Q On his estate not far from San Fra1
3 cisco lived General Vallejo, the last {
' the great dons of the Spanish Califo
MIA. He, it was known, had collecte
material for history, but it was SUI
posed to have been destroyed by fir
Moreover, he was not too friendly di
posed toward clos Yanquis.' In spit
Of all, Mr. Bancroft succeeded in gail
3 ing the friendship Of Vallejo, and b
many volumes of manuscript note
many cases Of priceless letters, and cor
plete files Of forgotten newspapers WEI
10 added to the Valencia street treasur
- Thus did the original letters Of Juniper
~ SER, the famous Franciscan missionar
% become part of the library which is no
. that of the University Of Californi
g With them are autographs Of Spa
= ish kings and vicekings, and aut
y graphs Of such strongly contrasting pc
Y sonages as the first leaders Of the S.
Francisco "Vigilantes,' and the fir
l. Russian orthodox missionaries in Alask
% Mr.. Bancroft travelled in all direction
$ too, taking notes from those who I
~ ~ membered thing worth remembering;
10 found John A. Suffer, on whose Ian
Is gold was first discovered, living in i
20 tirement in Pennsylvania, and for Fl
10 10 days wrote from his dictation; he "
85 tied British Columbia to interview t
90 widow and the san Of Sir James Dou
30 30 las, the famous hudson Bay magnat
70 he interviewed Porfrio Diaz; his ager
:. secured Old Mexico to take spani
IS notes from those who remembered t
90 90 old days before Buena Vista.
IS All this material was translate
digested and converted into mode
40 English literature almost as fast
80 gathered. A large corps Of assista1
IS labored with him for years in
nd library. The first published results W.
es five volumes Of "Native Races Of
aS Paciic.' The larger work, t'The II
tory Of the Pacific States,' In thir
four volumes, followed in it's turn, W:
( such later products as '1The New !
cifc,'' and his work on "Wealth a
the Achievements Of Civilization
WOMEN REPLACE MEN