The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-03
American MythOlOgists.

At meeting or the New York Sons
Of the Revolution last week Professor
ALBERT bushnell HART read a paper
ON American Historical Liars" The
phrase IS PROFESSIONAL, hurricane and
harsh. The truth Of history" Is nee
cssarily an illusion. A historian who
tries his hardest to write a true his
tory cannot do II. At the best, he has
to select among documents. to form a
theory Of their comparative reliability.
Anybody who has seen the utterly OPP
posed stories told by honest witnesses
in court, noticed how the simplest event
is distorted as the tale of 1t passes
from mouth to mouth: how difficult 1t
Is to trace. say, the movements Of a
single regiment In war, will bother his
head mighty little about the veracity Of
historians. He will prefer a brilliant
poet like Ivy or FRoUDE to the whole
modern race Of Records Once and copy
ing clerk Dryasdusts. Take the best
ten reporters or best ten members Of
the American Historical Association
and send them to dinner or a dog
fight. There will be at least ten his
tories of that feeding or fighting; and
none of EN- will be more than approx
mately true.
Mr.. HART has written and edited
historical books. Doubtless he has
tried to tell the truth. Doubtless most
historians do. So. notably, did HEROD-
oTUs. lie il full Of improbabilities,
but many of his marvcls have been con.
firmed. The rest represent the state
Of mind Of his age. Captain john
SMITH and his rescue by PoCAIONrAs
are among the liars and lies enIlmer-
ated by Mr.. HART. Fifty years ago or
more CHARLES DEANE impugned the
Captains reputation for yeracity, bnt
the Pocahontas story has found warm
defenders; II Is In accordance with the
Indian practice Of adoption: and Cap
tain SMITH in his wanderings about
the world told as much Of the truth as
one could expect Of traveller and a
soldier of that century.
The ingenious JAMES +. SKUNK, the
Pennsylvania editor and lawyer who
wrote the famous spurious Cotton
Malhcr letter informing I'VE aged and
beloved JOHN HIGGINsoN" OF secret or
ders by the General Court OF Massa.
chusetts to waylay a ship full Of Quak.
ers. ''ye heretics and malignants, with
W. PENNE, who IL We chief scampe at
the head Of Them" and Ito sell We
whole lot In Barbados, where slaves
fetch good prices In rumme and su.
gar" IL. but most unjustly, on the
Hart catalogue. Mr.. SKUNK was Il
clever hoaAer. keen to the immortal
gullibility OF man. That letter was
first offered to the fiygObblcrs In 1870
1t turns up every now and then. II
is pretty sure to be reported solemnly
this year. II may come to he folk
history, like the burning" Of the Sa
lem witches.
The legend. II legend 1t be, as the late
Professor BOURNE Of Yale would have
it of MARCUS WHITMAN who "saves
Oregon" belongs with ROMULUs ant
REMus. If untrue, il is not 'lie." Prob
ably It would be accepted enthusiast
cally by an Oregon referendum cleo.
ton. At any rate the Rev. Mr.. SPALD
ING and other believers In It are main
tanning II historical theory. fit con
tains strong imaginative infusion It.
popular acceptance is sure; and right
for that matter. Why should onl,
dull history be "true"::
VIII 1t be believed that the unpity
ing HART seems to put the "Aiecklen
burg DESIGNATION of Independence
among falsties and inventions? Every
body In North Carolina, at least II
Charlotte. Is sure that the Mecklen
burg is mt least 1916 diameters NOR
authentic AZ we'll as important thar
the Philadelphia Declaration. For on
own part We could as soon be inducet
to dsbelieve in JosEPHUs DANIELS D
to distrust the modest brass tablet tina