It may be well here to mention the fact that at the request of the committee, Captain I. B. Cook consented to write the brief history of the Company. For this work and the thoroughness with which it is done, the committee extend to him its sincere thanks.
The committee do not pretend to uphold the book as a work of any great literary merit; and, while they do not propose to offer any excuses for the book, still they hope at least that it is free from any obvious signs of crudity or provincialism: it stands upon its own merits.
The work is largely of a personal nature, and, as such, has made the introduction of personalities unavoidable; but while this is so, the committee have tried to eliminate every thing of such a character which, in their judgment, would offend the most sensitive nature. In case, however, their judgment has erred at times, and things do appear which wound the feelings of some, the committee trust that the attempted witticism, for it is nothing more, will be received in the same spirit that it is offered, namely “peace, goodwill to all.”
In judging the results of their labor the committee beg that those judging will say, in the words of Miss Muloch:
“Not that they did ill or well,
But only that they did their best.”
B COMPANY IN HEAVY MARCHING ORDER, SACRAMENTO, JULY, 1894.
THE CAUSE (?)