It is proposed to present in the pages of the Magazine, in pursuance of our general purpose to broaden the field of its interest and usefulness, a selection from such papers. It is believed that the literature of American History would be greatly enriched from this source. Papers of even local interest are not without value to the student of history in any portion of the country, and all these various efforts at writing history are building up that great body of historical material from which American History at least in the nineteenth century is to be exhaustively and philosophically written.
“In lighter vein” we propose to touch on the picturesque side of historical research, and to seek material in the legends and traditions that attach to certain localities. The very fact that a certain headland, valley, mountain or river has a legendary interest is not undeserving the attention of the scholar and is a matter of legitimate historical interest if not value. A country as new as ours can well afford to jealously preserve whatever of such legendary and historical lore it may have. It at least serves to “adorn the tale” which has a more solid basis. Other changes are contemplated that will add value, and interest to the pages of the Magazine.
The present number contains the first installment of a series of articles from the advance sheets of the forthcoming Memorial History of New York, edited by Gen. James Grant Wilson. It is the intention to select for publication in the Magazine such parts of this work as will in our judgment be of great interest to its readers, and as far as possible present a continuous narrative. These articles will be amply illustrated from the plates prepared and selected for the original work with great care. The exhaustive character of the work, the time given to its preparation, the staff of contributors each pre-eminent in his special field, are fully set forth on the cover of the present number.
In the August number of this Magazine we remarked upon the fact that the historic property of Valley Forge was in danger of being sold and divided among individual purchasers and that in this event the ancient ramparts of Fort Washington, the site of the forge, the cold spring, and the Headquarters of Washington, Lafayette and Knox would be obliterated. It is a pleasure to learn that the march of such “improvement” will probably be arrested. A meeting of the members of the National Society of the Daughters of the Revolution residing in Washington was held on Oct. 13th, and a plan was considered for purchasing and preserving this property. The Illinois chapter of the same organization has also held a meeting to advance the same cause. With the patriotic ardor of women thoroughly awakened there should be no question about preserving to the nation the field of Valley Forge with all its “visible history.”
A monument to the great Indian Chief Red Jacket, Chief of the Senecas and the renowned orator of the six nations was dedicated at Waterloo, N. Y. on Oct. 14th. President Welles of the Waterloo Historical Society under whose auspices the monument is erected presided. The Hon. W. C. Bryant of Buffalo delivered an historical address. The monument is unique in design, being carved from a block of granite to represent the trunk of an oak tree, and stands on the west shore of Cayuga Lake near the spot where Red Jacket was born. The base bears four descriptive bronze tablets, and around the base are clustered six small bowlders bearing the names of the six nations of the Iroquois. Red Jacket was one of the unique figures of his time, his character a peculiar mixture of the noble and the ignoble, a sagacious statesman, a cunning demagogue, but always an Indian.