Oregon Historical Quarterly/Volume 4/Number 1 corrections
SOME CORRECTIONS.
"Seth Luelling," near the bottom of page 282 of volume III should be Henderson Luelling.
In the twelfth line of page 284 of the same volume the word "clearer" in brackets should be omitted, as the author intended by the word "lighter" to refer to the specific gravity of the water.
In the seventeenth line of page 289 of the same volume the words "blue" and "mountain" should not begin with capital letters.
Mr. H. S. Lyman requests the insertion of the following note referring to the recently published "Complete History of Oregon":
As my attention has been called to some points deemed erroneous in the History of Oregon, I would ask space in the Oregon Historical Quarterly to say to subscribers or purchasers of the work that I would esteem it a favor that any matter deemed inaccurate or erroneous be communicated to me.
Errors in a publication are usually of the following character: Typographical, merely; slips of the proofreader; mistakes of transcription; misapprehension of the writer; or of differences in authorities. Besides this there is the wide field of differences in opinions, or conclusions—many being unable to distinguish between a fact and what is properly but their own personal inference from facts, or supposed facts. Still further, different persons will estimate differently the value of events, and give varying proportions to the elements constituting the whole.
Typographical errors, or mere blunders of haste, should not, certainly, be expected in a standard work; yet are almost invariably found, particularly in the first edition; and, indeed, seldom or never disappear entirely; almost every teacher, or student, including myself, having noticed, or reported such even in standard text-books. By reference to the preface of my history it will be seen that the work was undertaken with full understanding that a complete, or critical, history of Oregon could not yet be written; but it was thought worth while now to lay the basis of an investigation and ask the patronage of the public. I would, therefore, feel it a most friendly courtesy if any supposedly erroneous matter, whether mere slips, or differences of information or opinion—in the great number of details that it has been attempted to furnish—would be reported to me. I am confident that the work has been begun on a sufficiently broad basis to bear much further elaboration. Any mistakes reported, together with such as may be found by myself, will, if they seem sufficiently numerous and formidable, be collated and published as a page of errata, and the corrected list be furnished each subscriber or purchaser, so far as these may be known.
I hope that this may prove a useful line of inquiry, and place the readers somewhat on their own mettle, and thus furnish me matter for notice in a second edition, if this should be produced. Such investigation and criticism would also establish more firmly in public confidence such data as do not prove open to question.
H. S. LYMAN.