Whether this be true or not—in whole or in part—we do not now stop to enquire. Suffice it to say that the Kentuckian has been a participant in many wars, and has given a good account of himself in all. In ordinary circumstances, too, he is invincibly loyal to his native State; and when it happened that, in the spring of 1906, there came to Kentuckians in exile, an order or command from the hospitable Governor of Kentucky to return at once to the State, they responded with the alacrity of distant retainers to a signal from the hereditary Chieftain of the Clan. "Now," said they, "the lid will be put on and the latch-string left out."
When the reflux current set in it was simply prodigious—quite as formidable to the unaccustomed eye as the fieldward rushing of a host; and it was in the immediate presence of that portentous ethnic phenomenon that the paper upon the "Lost Race" was first published;—appearing in a local journal of ability and repute, and serving in some measure as a contribution to the entertainment of the guests that were now crowding every avenue of approach.
It is not strange that the generous Kentuckians, then only upon hospitable thoughts intent, should imagine for one happy quart d'heure that the "Lost Race" of the morning paper was already knocking at their doors. But they little imagined—these good Kentuckians—that their hospitable suspicion had really a basis of historic truth.
The handsome book now launched from the Louisville press is merely that ephemeral contribution to a morning paper,[1] presented in a revised and expanded form, with such illustrations as could come only from the liberal disposition and cultivated taste of Colonel R. T. Durrett, the President of The Filson Club. The title which the writer has given the book is recommended, in part, by the example of a great writer of romance, who held that the name of the book should give no indication of the nature of the tale. If the indulgent reader should be unconvinced by the "argument" that is implied in almost every paragraph, it is hoped that he will at least derive some entertainment from the copious flow of reminiscential and discursive talk. The book is addressed chiefly to those persons who may have the patience to read it and the intelligence to perceive that nothing it contains is written with a too serious intent.
The writer makes grateful acknowledgments to the many friends who have encouraged him with approval and advice in the preparation of the work. For the correction of his errors and the continuance of his labors he looks with confident expectation to the Scholars of the State.
[INTRODUCTION]
While the Home-Coming Kentuckians were enjoying their meeting, in Louisville, in the month of June, 1906, Doctor Thomas E. Pickett published a newspaper article which he had written for the Home-Coming Week, the object of which was to present the theory of Paul B. Du Chaillu as to the descent of the English-speaking people from the Scandinavians instead of the Teutons; and to show that the descendants of these Scandinavians were still existing in different countries, and especially in Kentucky. The author sent me a copy of his article, and after reading it I deemed it an ethnological paper worthy of a more certain and enduring preservation than a daily newspaper could promise, and concluded that it would be suitable for one of the publications of The Filson Club. I wrote to the author about it, and suggested that if he could enlarge it enough to make one of the annual publications of the Club, of the usual number of pages, and have it ready in time, it might be issued for the Club publication of 1907. The author did as I suggested, and the book to which this is intended as an introduction is number twentytwo of The Filson Club publications, entitled "The Quest for a Lost Race," by Thomas E. Pickett, M. D., LL. D., member of The Filson Club.
Many persons of the English-speaking race of to-day believe that the English originated in England. The race doubtless was formed there, but it came of different peoples, principally foreign, who only consolidated upon English soil. Half a dozen or more alien races combined with one native to make the English as we now know them, and many years of contention and change were required to weld the discordant elements into a homogeneous whole.