PREFACE A RESPONSIBILITY charged to the Archives Division of the Texas State Library is to "edit and preface for publica- tion [manuscript] copies of the Texas Archives." The purpose is to make available significant documents of Texas history which are not generally accessible to the public. The present publication fills a need which has existed for a great many years. Historians and others doing work in almost all phases of Texas history have had frequent need to examine the Texas Indian Papers. As a result of long and repeated use over the years, the manuscripts have become worn and in many instances are in such poor condition that some items can no longer be made available to researchers for general use. This work, then, has been brought out in order to preserve the original manuscript copies of the Texas Indian Papers and at the same time make their valuable contents available. A major problem faced in the early stages of editing was to determine what types of materials to eliminate in the publica- tion. Monetary appropriations and biennial deadlines had to be considered. After carefully surveying the documents, the decision was made to print in full all of the Indian Papers. As a result this publication includes the documents from 1825 to the end of 1843. Present plans are to bring out another volume which will cover the remaining period of the Republic from 1844 to Annexation. This should be followed by a volume devoted to the period of Statehood. The original copies of the Texas Indian Papers were found to contain such a diverse assortment of material that , set of rules could not be established to cover every problem in editing. Particularly helpful suggestions have been supplied by Clarence E. Carter, Historical Editing (1952) and the sections on "The Copying of Manuscripts" and "The Editing and Printing of Manuscripts" in the Harvard Guide to American HistoriJ (1955). Also examined for style and for suggestions were Charles Gulick and others (eds.), Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (1920- 1927), Amelia W. Williams and Eugene C. Barker (eds.), Writings of Sam Houston (1938-1943), Eugene C. Barker (ed.), Austin Papers (1924-1928), and William C. Binkley (ed.), Offi- cial Correspondence of the Texan R'evo?ution, 1895-1896 (1936). The documents are listed in chronological order. In almost all instances the originals have been copied verbatim et literatirn. Words or letters have been supplied only when the document
Powered by FlippingBook