The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967 Page: 595
728 p. : maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Notes and Documents
1767, i768, 1769, 1770, 1771 (2 vols.; London, 1791) .2 This trans-
lation is generally accepted as the first book in the English lan-
guage which describes Texas.3
Bibliographers are mixed in their evaluation of Pages' account.
"I have never been able to persuade myself that the author ever saw
Texas," says Henry R. Wagner. "The work has all the appearance
of being one made up in Paris, simulating a real journey, a com-
mon enough trick of the time."4' Thomas W. Streeter, who is
inclined to agree with Wagner, grudgingly concedes that the work
is authentic because Alexander von Humboldt refers to Pages'
being in Saltillo in 1767 and because of the biographical sketches
of Pages in Biographie universelle and Nouvelle biographies
gindrale. Even so, Streeter condemns the work as "inconsequen-
tial," "sketchy," and one "which, even if authentic, is of little
value."" Lester J. Cappon, on the other hand, labels the account
as "objective and quite impersonal" and notes that Pages "has
been commended by students of the region for his accuracy."
The most convincing witness to Pages' accuracy is Alexander
von Humboldt, a man of science noted for his careful observa-
tions. Humboldt did not visit Texas, but he checked Pages ac-
count of northern Mexico and found it commendable. "The
details which he furnishes relative to the intendancy of San Luis
Potosi and the road from Quertaro to Acapulco, which I trav-
elled thirty years afterwards, display great precision of mind
and l ve of truth," Humboldt wrote.7 He goes on to deplore
'The following excerpt is taken from the 1791 translation, Vol. I, 46-o108. The
original punctuation and spelling have been retained, except that the spelling has
been made consistent.
A condensed version of this work was published in Philadelphia in 1795. It was
also translated into Dutch, German, and Swedish. Pages' second book, Nouveau
voyage autour du monde, en Asie, en Amdrique, Italie et en Sicile, en x787
(Paris, 1797), was published after his death.
3See Thomas W. Streeter, Bibliography of Texas, 1795-1845 (3 pts. in 5 vols.;
Cambridge, 1955-1960) , Part III, Vol. I, ix, 3, 14.
'Henry R. Wagner, The Spanish Southwest, 1542-1794 (2 vols.; Albuquerque,
1937), II, 474-475.
5Streeter, Bibliography of Texas, 1795-z845, Part III, Vol. I, ix, 3, 14.
Thomas D. Clark (ed.), Travels in the Old South, A Bibliography (3 vols.;
Norman, 1956-1959), I, 252-253.
?Alexander von Humboldt, Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain,
trans. by John Black (4 vols.; London, 1811-18e2), II, 279.595
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967, periodical, 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101199/m1/625/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.