PDF page 86, printed page 78

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Scan of page 86 of the 1906 Oak family register
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78
HENRY LEBBEUS OAK
is I should be ashamed to own it up.
But
I propose next to my
sweet
self, to give you the credit for the manner
in which
this
Pacific Coast work has been done, and that
I take
it
is simple
justice."
Not
only
did
Mr.
Bancroft
not acknowledge my
brother's
share of the literary work, but on finally going to print cut out
much that he had previously written eulogistic of him.
Some
conception may be had
of
Mr. Oak's work when wc
learn that he was the virtual author of eleven volumes of history
of about
looo pages each, which involved
the consultation and
comparison of the works of hundreds of writers, in thousands of
volumes
in
Spanish,
French,
Italian
and
German,
as
well
as
English
; that
all the evidence had to be
sifted, the facts ascer-
tained and then
set forth
in good language, with proper
refer-
ences, covering centuries of time and thousands of miles of ter-
ritory,
Mr. Oak never strove to be ornate.
He set
forth the simple
facts,
and
his
conclusions,
in
the
simplest
possible
language.
Mr. Bancroft read the proof and occasionally added an adjective
or struck out
a qualifying phrase, and
proclaimed
himself the
author.
Had Mr. Oaks done nothing but write these volumes,
the
fact
would
be
worthy
of
record,
but
while
doing
this work
he
also
supervised
the work
of
the
other
writers,
men
of many
different
nationalities and
dispositions.
To keep
this
force harmonious and
enthusiastic and
in touch
with
the
main idea was no small
task.
He did
all this and more, but
it
broke him down when yet a young man.
Not only had Mr. Oak
to keep the other writers keyed up to a concert pitch, that they
might turn out the required amount of manuscript daily, but he
had also to keep Mr. Bancroft toned down to a practical basis.
Mr. Bancroft strove for effect, Mr. Oak for facts.
If it sounded
right
it was
good
enough
for
Mr.
Bancroft.
He
insisted
on
quantity, not
quality.
Mr. Oak
insisted on
absolute
accuracy,
and on this rock they finally split.
Mr. Oak absolutely refused to
do shoddy work, and when reviewed by competent
critics and
future
historical searchers, his work
(Spanish Northwest, Vols.
I-II, and California I-V) will be found to stand the test.
Mr.
Bancroft, pressed by
circumstances, was
eager
to begin
printing and publishing; and to receive the reward of his labors.
Mr. Oak held back, wishing every point to be exact and correct
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