The Shirley Letters from California Mines in 1851-52 | Page 6

presence of "those
women," Shirley, without commenting, sheds much light upon that
subject, as will be perceived from the following extracts. Dr. Royce's
review does not coincide with the facts.
Seven miners from Old Spain, enraged at the cruel treatment which
their countrymen had received on the Fourth,... had united for the
purpose of taking revenge on seven Americans. All well armed,...
intending to challenge each one his man,... on arriving at Indian Bar ...
they drank a most enormous quantity of champagne and claret.
Afterwards they proceeded to [a vile resort kept by an Englishman],
when one of them commenced a playful conversation with one of his
countrywomen. This enraged the Englishman, who instantly struck the
Spaniard a violent blow.... Thereupon ensued a spirited fight, which ...
ended without bloodshed.... Soon after,... Tom Somers, who is said
always to have been a dangerous person when in liquor, without any
apparent provocation struck Domingo (one of the original seven) a
violent blow.... The latter,... mad with wine, rage, and revenge, without
an instant's pause drew his knife and inflicted a fatal wound upon his
insulter. [Post, p. 271.]
In the bakeshop, which stands next door to our cabin, young Tom
Somers lay straightened for the grave (he lived but fifteen minutes after
he was wounded), while over his dead body a Spanish woman was
weeping and moaning in the most piteous and heartrending manner.
[Post, p. 264.]
Domingo, with a Mexicana hanging upon his arm, and brandishing
threateningly the long, bloody knife,... was parading up and down the
street unmolested.... The [Americans] rallied and made a rush at the
murderer, who immediately plunged into the river and swam across,...

and without doubt is now safe in Mexico. [Post, p. 263.]
A disregard of exactness is not peculiar to Dr. Royce. Secondary
authorities are generally open to criticism. Of the authenticity of
Shirley's facts there can be no question. Dr. Royce recognized this,
while subjecting the work of other writers to severe scrutiny. But
Shirley's printer did her much evil. It is not necessary here to say much
concerning trade usages in making an author's manuscript presentable
in type,--the essentially different ways of and differences between the
job, the newspaper, and the book printer. Shirley's letters, not having
been written for publication, required exceptional care while being put
in type, and especially so since the manuscript was not prepared for the
press. It is amusing to read what the printers of the Pioneer have to say
of themselves.
Our facilities for doing FINE BOOK WORK, are very great,
possessing as we do, large founts of new type, and an ADAMS
POWER PRESS. We refer to the Pioneer Magazine, as a specimen. We
have in use a MAMMOTH PRESS, which gives us a great advantage
in the execution of the LARGEST SIZE MAMMOTH POSTERS, in
colors or plain.
In the estimation of the printers, the matériel was the principal thing;
the personnel, not worthy of mention,--and it so happened that it wasn't,
for, judging from the typographical inaccuracies of the Pioneer, the
compositors were of a very low order of intelligence, and if a
proof-reader was employed, he assuredly stood high in their estimation,
as he evidently caused them but little trouble.
Much has been said by writers on matters typographical as to what is
meet and necessary in the reprinting of a book, and much more on
literary blunders and mistakes. Some printers are rash, and perpetrate a
worse blunder than that attempted to be corrected in reprinting. Worse
than such people are the amateur proof-readers, who generally run to
extremes, that is, they either cannot see a blunder, and hence pass it
unchallenged, or else they manifest a disposition to challenge and
"improve" everything they do not comprehend, and, knowing nothing
of typographical usages or style, they are a decidedly malignant

quantity.
Every old printer knows, what is often said, that English is a
grammarless tongue, and that no grammarian ever wrote a sentence
worth reading. No proof-reader, with the experience of a printer behind
him, will change a logically expressed idea so as to make it conform to
grammatical rules, nor will he harass the author thereof with
suggestions looking to that end.
Critical readers of these Letters must ever bear in mind the fact that
Shirley was not writing for publication, and that the printer of this
edition had no desire to and did not alter Shirley's text to suit his ideas
of what was fitting and proper, further than to smooth or round out in
many instances rugged or careless construction. Punctuation,
hyphenization, capitalization, italicizing, spelling, required much, and
of course received much, attention.
In some instances where Shirley does not express her meaning clearly,
and reconstruction seemed necessary, no change was made. Singularly,
this was the case in