Nebraska State Historical Society
Date of this Version
1885
Abstract
We are apt to look upon Nebraska as a young state; young in its geological formation, in its political existence, and in its historical records. For descriptions of its soil, its climate, its fruits, or its inhabitants, few have sought to look further back than the commencement of the present century, and the published memorials of its history prior to the advent of the French trappers and traders have boon thought too meagre to serve as a basis for any exact account. But hidden away in the lumber rooms of wealthy Spanish and French families, and piled on the shelves of national libraries in Paris, Madrid, and Mexico, are hosts of letters, journals, and reports which are gradually emerging from their seclusion and undergoing the scrutiny of acute and practiced eyes. The documents recently edited by M. Margry, in Paris, and now in course of publication by the United States government, throw a flood of light upon early French discoveries and explorations in the West. And when the vast libraries of all the nations which took part in those adventurous travels shall give up their dead treasures, we have reason to hope that we shall be able to add many years to the authentic history of our state.
Comments
Published in Transactions and Reports of the Nebraska State Historical Society, Volume I (Lincoln, NE, 1885).