Tall tales as history

hank Wrote:
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> It should also be noticed that these stories are
> told to entertain, not as history. In other words,
> they are, at least to a degree, part of the great
> American tradition of the Tall Tale.
> All of that said, both books are a good read and,
> IMO, provide an entrance into the world of the men
> who worked on Colorado's railroads back in the
> day. Like Lucius Beebe's books, they have been the
> gateway drug to the narrow gauge for many of us
> for several generations now...
> Just remember to bring your salt along, you'll
> need a few grains.
>
This is probably good advice in terms of a lot of first person or eye witness history. As I get older and bits start falling off my own hard drive, I have become somewhat skeptical of history as documented by personal recollections and such. My assumption of course is that I am not the only one loosing such bits. More than one historian I have talked with or heard from has insisted such and such must be true exactly as recorded because he heard it from some elderly gentleman who was there oh so many years ago. Maybe, maybe not. But if this kind of history is viewed in the context of story telling, it still can have great value but the details are less important.

JBWX



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2016 11:18AM by John West.