Jonathan Williams, of Massachusetts, was appointed from Pennsylvania a major of the 2d Artillerists and Engineers Feb. 16th, 1801; he served as inspector of fortifications from Dec. 14th, 1801, to June 1st, 1802, and was retained as major of Engineers April 1st, 1802. He resigned June 20th, 1803; was made lieutenant-colonel and chief engineer Apr. 19th, 1805, and promoted to be colonel Feb. 23d, 1808. He resigned again July 31st, 1812, and died May 20th, 1815.
[M-8] Note by Lieutenant J. R. Williams, May 19th, 1894: "The foregoing is a literal copy of the rough draft of John R. Williams' letter to Major Holton. The fair copy of course is not in my possession, but I have reason to believe the fair copy must contain several of the peculiar errors of the writer, whose early education was wholly French, so that he never, as far as I know, capitalized the initial letters of such words as English and French. John R. Williams, writer of this letter, entered the 2d U. S. Infantry as a cadet early in 1800, but appears to have resigned in about six months. He was subsequently connected with the same regiment for about a year in the capacity of agent of the contractor for commissary supplies. The title of general, by which he is well remembered in Detroit, was acquired by his connection with the militia of Michigan for about 40 years, as adjutant-general and major-general."
[M-9] This is a remarkable book, which has had a very exceptional career, the end of which is not even yet. Robert Dodsley, b. 1703, d. Sept. 23d, 1764, was in early life a menial in the service of Hon. Mrs. Lowther, but became by his natural talents a wealthy publisher, as well as a prolific author. In the latter capacity he was scarcely rated as more than a hack writer in his lifetime, during which he was probably never suspected of having written an immortal book. Whether this was a stroke of his own genius or not is questionable; but he should have the full credit of the book, until an extraneous source of his inspiration can be instanced. The Œconomy of Human Life was first published anonymously in a collection of miscellanies, in 1745, and soon acquired great repute, in part at least due to the fact that it was commonly attributed to Lord Chesterfield. It ran through many editions in various styles, some of them finely illustrated. The earlier ones all preserved the author's anonymity, and in more than one reprint of very late years his incognito is formally preserved. An anonymous edition of 1806, which I have handled, consists only of Book I, Parts i-vii, entitled as follows: The | Œconomy | of | Human Life, | translated from an | Indian Manuscript, | written by an Ancient Bramin | — | London: | printed for W. Gardiner, Pall-Mall; and | Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, Poultny. | 1 vol., 12mo, pp. i-x, 1 leaf, pp. 1-116, and many engr. head- and tail-pieces. Another, of 1809, with the authorship avowed, is as follows: The | Economy | of | Human Life. | In Two Books. | — | By Robert Dodsley. | — | With six elegant engravings by Mackenzie, | from designs by Craig and Unwins. | — | London: | [etc., 4 lines of printers' names] | — | 1809. 1 vol., 16mo, 1 prel. leaf, vignette title, pp. i-xviii, 5-188; portrait and memoir of Dodsley, and 5 full-page engravings; said to have been pub. Jan. 31st, 1809. The copy Pike had was most probably one of the cheap American reprints which appeared about this time. Dodsley's book consists of philosophical and moral reflections or aphorisms in curt, sententious style, of distinctly Oriental flavor; it is feigned to be based upon manuscripts of immense antiquity, discovered in the capital of Tibet by an emissary of the emperor of China, and in some occult manner received in England and translated. I liked the thing so much that I lately brought out a new edition myself, preserving the author's feigned origin of the book and his own incognito, transposing some of the pieces, adding a new "foreword" in antique style, and modifying the title to—Kuthumi: The True and Complete Œconomy of Human Life, etc. In this guise Dodsley's book forms No. 5 of my Biogen Series, Boston, Estes and Lauriat, 1886; 1 vol., small square 8vo, pp. i-x, 1-123.
[M-10] Another good editorial version of Pike's Mississippi itinerary appeared in the tract entitled: Materials for the Future History of Minnesota, etc., the same being Part V. of the publications of the Minn. Hist. Soc., 8vo, St. Paul, 1856, pp. about 142. The five separately issued Parts, dating 1850-56, were in 1872 collectively republished in a second edition, forming Vol. I. of the Collections of the Minn. Hist. Soc., 8vo, pp. 1-519. In this reprint the article is entitled: Pike's Explorations in Minnesota, 1805-06, and occupies pp. 368-416, or 48 pages, being thus about as extensive as the text of 1807. The editor says that his aim was "to make judicious extracts" from Pike's journal; and he certainly succeeded in this intention. The editor's name does not appear; but as the footnotes which explain or amplify various points in the text are signed "W.," an initial of Mr. J. Fletcher Williams, who was secretary of the society and editor of its publications for many years, the work is presumably his, being thus an authentic as well as a genuine account of the Mississippi voyage. This publication therefore ranks side by side with the original unknown editor's performance, though the two are separated by an interval of half a century.
[M-11] Thomas W. Field, Essay towards an Indian Bibl., etc., 1873, p. 313, throws the mantle of charity in the following terms: "Captain Pike could be charged with no association in this misdemeanor, as the work was edited and published in his absence on duty." This is true only in so far as the forerunner of the Mississippi voyage is concerned (see above, [p. xxxiii],) and conveys an erroneous impression regarding Pike's princeps edition, in which the plagiarism occurs. For Pike wrote this book himself, and necessarily knew everything there was in it. See beyond, [p. lxi], where the circumstances under which it was prepared are adduced from hitherto unpublished documents.
[M-12] "REPORT OF A LATE OCCURRENCE IN THIS PROVINCE OF NEW MEXICO.
"On the 15th of February last two Indians of the Ute tribe arrived and brought into my presence an Anglo-American, a young man of genteel appearance [joben de presencia fina, as Dr. Robinson appeared to be], whose statement I heard, and even invited him to dine with me, in order to satisfy myself he was what I supposed him to be as to intelligence and good breeding.
"I did not believe him, and suspecting the truth of his statement as to the nature of his escort, I sent out a small regular detachment and some provincial troops to reconnoitre, who not only fell in with a first lieutenant with six soldiers in an excellent fort built on the Conejos not far from its junction with the Del Norte, two days' journey from the capital of this province, towards the same direction [acia el mismo rumbo], but overcoming the obstacles of deep snows, succeeded in finding the sergeant [Meek] and corporal [meaning Private Miller] belonging to the detachment, making a total of thirteen soldiers, two of them [Dougherty and Sparks] with frozen feet, and having lost nearly all their fingers. [Compare [p. 510], beyond.]
"On the 2d of March last, the above-mentioned lieutenant, whose name is Mungo-Meri-Paike, came in with six men of his detachment, and on the 18th the remainder of his men. Without any resistance they acquiesced in the notification made them, that being in my territory it was absolutely necessary that they should appear before me.
"They did so, with their arms, and I assured them that in no respect should they be treated as prisoners, saving only that, in accordance with the orders of the general commanding, it was necessary that they should appear before him and fully explain the objects of their mission.