| tual tastes of a patrician and the democratic simplicity demanded by his fellow citizens of the frontier. He could teach a class in English literature, sing a powerful bass in the college quartet, or preside over a faculty meeting, as the occasion required. So far as I observed, he never attempted to rope a steer or nail a shoe on a mule; but there was little doubt that he was capable of either task. He was a man who did what had to be done. |
| It must be admitted that acquaintance with a few educators, political leaders, editors, attorneys, businessmen, and physicians, along with thousands of other citizens, cannot be regarded as an adequate basis for the writing of a state's history. My view, like that of any historian, is imperfect and subject to the limitations of personal impression. But the intimate quality of firsthand acquaintances is, at least, a beginning of thorough understanding. The historian can only hope to harmonize the little he has learned about the lives of a people with material he has found in the records. |
| Most of the work for this volume was done in the University of Oklahoma Library, where the Phillips Collection is particularly useful in many phases of Oklahoma history. Research for specific points of information has taken me to the Oklahoma Historical Society collection at Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma State Library in the Capitol, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives in Washington, D. C. |
| Grateful acknowledgment is made to the many people who have given generously of their time in explaining points of difficulty. Professors Edward Everett Dale, Morris L. Wardell, Charles C. Bush, Jr., and Donald J. Berthrong have given valuable assistance. Dean Roy Gittinger was kind enough to read the entire manuscript with painstaking care, and his suggestions were most helpful. Acknowledgment is also made to those alert students whose critical discussions in the classroom have helped the author to appreciate values in Oklahoma history. |
 | EDWIN C. MCREYNOLDS
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA |
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