The Tupelo journal., 1912-05-31
WANTED A Historian.
TBy Henry S Curt,sl

tIlC0 VI tAlO WOAAA eVS0
time when fact and tradition are
inextricably mingled, and all
clearness is obscured by the mists
which accompany the dawn, but
in this country history has a def
mite beginning, which is still, IN
many places, within the memory
of the oldest inhabitants. There
is great need, while these ira
ditions yet linger, that some 10
cal historian should gather up
the loose ends and put together
a chronicle for each city and
county. The value of this his
toric setting is not to be lightly
estimated. Those who love to
dwell upon the thoughts of the
past should be able to picture the
lives of the early pioneers, the
trappers, the Indians and the
conflicts and adventures by which
the county or city was first won
to civilization. The educational
value of these legends lingering
about various landmarks and de-
scending by tradition from gen.
Grafton to generation is hard to
over estimate in a country which
is much too prone to think OF ma
terial things and to slight the
world of the imagination. Ii a
vigorous effort is made at once
it will be quite possible to gather
up these legends and accounts
for almost any locality and pre-
serve them for coming genera
tions; but it is very evident to
anyone who will observe what is
now being done. that this cannot
possibly be satisfactory. His
tories of the various countries
are being written, but by histor-
ians of little historical reading,
and with still less knowledge of
the methods of historical re-
search. They are mainly adver-
t;sino schemes where the farmer
or citizen pays $40 to $500 to have
an account of himself and a pic
ture of his family and barns put
into the history.
What is really needed is that
the matter should be undertaken
by the dies or counties them
selves as a public undertaking.
the best historian that is avail
able should be employed to write
the history of the county or the
city without any expectations OF
the work being profitable except
in it's effect upon the spiritual
life of the people and its value in
giving tone and reality to the
early history of our country. 1t
would undoubtedly cost several
thousands of dollars to get a his
tory of this kind that would be
all that it should be, but would
not such an account be worth in
calculably more than this to the
county or city that had it?
To be sure there are at the
present time very few people
who are qualified to do work OF
this kind. for it will be necessary
to find and search original man.
uscripts for incidents and records
dealing with pioneer days, and
to gather up traditions from both
resident pioneers and from those
who have moved away; but there
are a number of men fairly well
trained in the methods of histor-
ical research who are being grad
ruated every year from our great
universities, and there are in
connection with our colleges,
normal schools and some OF our
high schools professors of his
tory whose training would enable
them to do this work fairly well.
Ultimately it ought to grow
into a new profession, as city
planning and landscape archi-
lecture have done during the last
few years, for a man who had
written the history of one county
or city would find it a COMPARE
4;rol, oocv tack to write the his