during the year 1875 i published under title of the native races of the pacific states what purports to be an exhaustive research into the character and customs of the aboriginal inhabitants of the western portion of north america at the time they were first seen by their subduers. the present work is a history of the same territory from the coming of the europeans.
the plan is extensive and can be here but briefly explained. the territory covered embraces the whole of central america and mexico, and all anglo-american domains west of the rocky mountains. first given is a glance at european society, particularly spanish civilization at about the close of the fifteenth century. this is followed by a summary of maritime exploration from the fourth century to the year 1540, with some notices of the earliest american books. then, beginning with the discoveries of columbus, the men from europe are closely followed as one after another they find and take possession of the country in its several parts, and the doings of their successors are chronicled. the result is a history of the pacific states of north america, under the following general divisions:—history of central america; history of mexico; history of the north mexican states; history of new mexico and arizona; history of california; history of nevada; history of utah; history of the northwest coast; history of oregon; history of washington, idaho, and montana; history of british columbia, and history of alaska.
broadly stated, my plan as to order of publication proceeds geographically from south to north, as indicated in the list above given, which for the most part is likewise the chronological order of conquest and occupation. in respect of detail, to some extent i reverse this order, proceeding from the more general to the more minute as i advance northward. the difference, though considerable, is however less in reality than in appearance. and the reason i hold sufficient. to give to each of the spanish-american provinces, and later to each of the federal and independent states, covering as they do with dead monotony centuries of unchanging action and ideas, time and space equal to that which may be well employed in narrating north-western occupation and empire-building would be no less impracticable than profitless. it is my aim to present complete and accurate histories of all the countries whose events i attempt to chronicle, but the annals of the several central american and mexican provinces and states, both before and after the revolution, run in grooves too nearly parallel long to command the attention of the general reader.
in all the territorial subdivisions, southern as well as northern, i treat the beginnings and earliest development more exhaustively than later events. after the conquest, the histories of central america and mexico are presented on a scale sufficiently comprehensive, but national rather than local. the northern vii mexican states, having had a more varied experience, arising from nearer contact with progressional events, receive somewhat more attention in regard to detail than other parts of the republic. to the pacific united states is devoted more space comparatively than to southern regions, california being regarded as the centre and culminating point of this historical field.
for the history of central america, to which this must serve as special as well as general introduction, i would say that, besides the standard chroniclers and the many documents of late printed in spain and elsewhere, i have been able to secure a number of valuable manuscripts nowhere else existing; some from the maximilian, ramirez, and other collections, and all of mr e. g. squier's manuscripts relating to the subject fell into my hands. much of the material used by me in writing of this very interesting part of the world has been drawn from obscure sources, from local and unknown spanish works, and from the somewhat confused archives of costa rica, honduras, nicaragua, salvador, and guatemala.
material for the history of western north america has greatly increased of late. ancient manuscripts of whose existence historians have never known, or which were supposed to be forever lost, have been brought to light and printed by patriotic men and intelligent governments. these fragments supply many missing links in the chain of early events, and illuminate a multitude of otherwise obscure parts.
my efforts in gathering material have been continued, and since the publication of the native races fifteen thousand volumes have been added to my collection. viii among these additions are bound volumes of original documents, copies from public and private archives, and about eight hundred manuscript dictations by men who played their part in creating the history. most of those who thus gave me their testimony in person are now dead; and the narratives of their observations and experiences, as they stand recorded in these manuscript volumes, constitute no unimportant element in the foundation upon which the structure of this western history in its several parts must forever rest.
to the experienced writer, who might otherwise regard the completion of so vast an undertaking within so apparently limited a period as indicative of work superficially done, i would say that this history was begun in 1869, six years before the publication of the native races; and although the earlier volumes of the several divisions i was obliged for the most part not only to plan and write, but to extract and arrange my own material, later i was able to utilize the labors of others. among these as the most faithful and efficient i take pleasure in mentioning mr henry l. oak, mr william nemos, mr thomas savage, mrs frances fuller victor, and mr ivan petroff, of whom, and of others, i speak at length elsewhere.
of my methods of working i need say but little here, since i describe them more fully in another place. their peculiarity, if they have any, consists in the employment of assistants, as before mentioned, to bring together by indices, references, and other devices, all existing testimony on each topic to be treated. i thus obtain important information, which otherwise, with but one lifetime at my disposal, would have been ix beyond control. completeness of evidence by no means insures a wise decision from an incompetent judge; yet the wise judge gladly avails himself of all attainable testimony. it has been my purpose to give in every instance due credit to sources of information, and cite freely such conclusions of other writers as differ from my own. i am more and more convinced of the wisdom and necessity of such a course, by which, moreover, i aim to impart a certain bibliographic value to my work. the detail to be encompassed appeared absolutely unlimited, and more than once i despaired of ever completing my task. preparatory investigation occupied tenfold more time than the writing.
i deem it proper to express briefly my idea of what history should be, and to indicate the general line of thought that has guided me in this task. from the mere chronicle of happenings, petty and momentous, to the historico-philosophical essay, illustrated with here and there a fact supporting the writer's theories, the range is wide. neither extreme meets the requirements of history, however accurate the one or brilliant the other. not to a million minute photographs do we look for practical information respecting a mountain range, nor yet to an artistic painting of some one striking feature for a correct description. from the two extremes, equally to be avoided, the true historian will, whatever his inclination, be impelled by prudence, judgment, and duty from theory toward fact, from vivid coloring toward photographic exactness. not that there is too much brilliancy in current history, but too little fact. an accurate record of events must form the foundation, and largely the x superstructure. yet events pure and simple are by no means more important than the institutionary development which they cause or accompany. men, institutions, industries, must be studied equally. a man's character and influence no less than his actions demand attention. cause and effect are more essential than mere occurrence; achievements of peace should take precedence of warlike conquest; the condition of the people is a more profitable and interesting subject of investigation than the acts of governors, the valor of generals, or the doctrines of priests. the historian must classify, and digest, and teach as well as record; he should not, however, confound his conclusions with the facts on which they rest. symmetry of plan and execution as well as rigid condensation, always desirable, become an absolute necessity in a work like that which i have undertaken. in respect to time and territory my field is immense. the matter to be presented is an intricate complication of annals, national and sectional, local and personal. that my plan is in every respect the best possible, i do not say; but it is the best that my judgment suggests after long deliberation. the extent of this work is chargeable to the magnitude of the subject and the immense mass of information gathered rather than to any tendency to verbosity. there is scarcely a page but has been twice or thrice rewritten with a view to condensation; and instead of faithfully discharging this irksome duty, it would have been far easier and cheaper to have sent a hundred volumes through the press. the plan once formed, i sought to make the treatment exhaustive and symmetrical. not all regions nor all periods are portrayed on the same scale: but though the camera xi of investigation is set up before each successive topic at varying distances, the picture, large or small, is finished with equal care. i may add that i have attached more than ordinary importance to the matter of mechanical arrangement, by which through title-pages, chapter-headings, and indices the reader may expeditiously refer to any desired topic, and find all that the work contains about any event, period, place, institution, man, or book; and above all i have aimed at exactness.
we hear much of the philosophy of history, of the science and signification of history; but there is only one way to write anything, which is to tell the truth, plainly and concisely. as for the writer, i will only say that while he should lay aside for the time his own religion and patriotism, he should be always ready to recognize the influence and weigh the value of the religion and patriotism of others. the exact historian will lend himself neither to idolatry nor to detraction, and will positively decline to act either as the champion or assailant of any party or power. friendships and enmities, loves and hates, he will throw into the crucible of evidence to be refined and cast into forms of unalloyed truth. he must be just and humble. to clear judgment he must add strict integrity and catholicity of opinion. ever in mind should be the occult forces that move mankind, and the laws by which are formulated belief, conscience, and character. the actions of men are governed by proximate states of mind, and these are generated both from antecedent states of mind and antecedent states of body, influenced by social and natural environment. the right of every generation should be xii determined, not by the ethics of any society, sect, or age, but by the broad, inexorable teachings of nature; nor should he forget that standards of morality are a freak of fashion, and that from wrongs begotten of necessity in the womb of progress has been brought forth right, and likewise right has engendered wrongs. he should remember that in the worst men there is much that is good, and in the best much that is bad; that constructed upon the present skeleton of human nature a perfect man would be a monster; nor should he forget how much the world owes its bad men. but alas! who of us are wholly free from the effects of early training and later social atmospheres! who of us has not in some degree faith, hope, and charity! who of us does not hug some ancestral tradition, or rock some pet theory!
as to the relative importance of early history, here and elsewhere, it is premature for any now living to judge. beside the bloody battles of antiquity, the sieges, crusades, and wild convulsions of unfolding civilization, this transplanting of ours may seem tame. yet the great gathering of the enlightened from all nations upon these shores, the subjugation of the wilderness with its wild humanity, and the new empire-modelling that followed, may disclose as deep a significance in the world's future as any display of army movements, or dainty morsels of court scandal, or the idiosyncrasies of monarchs and ministers. it need not be recited to possessors of our latter-day liberties that the people are the state, and rulers the servants. it is historical barbarism, of which the homeric poems and carlovingian tales not alone are guilty, to throw the masses into the background, or wholly to ignore xiii them. "heureux le peuple dont l'histoire ennuie," is an oft repeated aphorism; as if deeds diabolical were the only actions worthy of record. but we of this new western development are not disposed to exalt brute battling overmuch; as for rulers and generals, we discover in them the creatures, not the creators, of civilization. we would rather see how nations originate, organize, and unfold; we would rather examine the structure and operations of religions, society refinements and tyrannies, class affinities and antagonisms, wealth economies, the evolutions of arts and industries, intellectual and moral as well as ?sthetic culture, and all domestic phenomena with their homely joys and cares. for these last named, even down to dress, or the lack of it, are in part the man, and the man is the nation. with past history we may become tolerably familiar; but present developments are so strange, their anomalies are so startling to him who attempts to reduce them to form, that he is well content to leave for the moment the grosser extravagances of antiquity, howsoever much superior in interest they may be to the average mind. yet in the old and the new we may alike from the abstract to the concrete note the genesis of history, and from the concrete to the abstract regard the analysis of history. the historian should be able to analyze and to generalize; yet his path leads not alone through the enticing fields of speculation, nor is it his only province to pluck the fruits and flowers of philosophy, or to blow brain bubbles and weave theorems. he must plod along the rough highways of time and development, and out of many entanglements bring the vital facts of history. and therein lies the richest reward. "shakspere's capital discovery was this," says edward xiv dowden, "that the facts of the world are worthy to command our highest ardour, our most resolute action, our most solemn awe; and that the more we penetrate into fact, the more will our nature be quickened, enriched, and exalted."
that the success of this work should be proportionate to the labor bestowed upon it is scarcely to be expected; but i do believe that in due time it will be generally recognized as a work worth doing, and let me dare to hope fairly well done. if i read life's lesson aright, truth alone is omnipotent and immortal. therefore, of all i wrongfully offend i crave beforehand pardon; from those i rightfully offend i ask no mercy; their censure is dearer to me than would be their praise.
