The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 84, July 1980 - April, 1981 Page: 201
502 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Lamar's Texas Journal
tivation, but there may have been other reasons. Occasionally, in both
journals, Lamar addresses his readers directly and refers to the narra-
tive as his "letters." Perhaps he intended to send portions of the diary
periodically to his family, probably to his daughter Rebecca Ann. Or
he may have intended the journal as a vehicle for gathering and re-
cording material for his projected history of Texas.12 It is most likely,
however, that Lamar hoped to have the Columbus Enquirer or some
other newspaper publish the diary in installments after his return; thus
it would be natural for him to address his future readers in this jour-
nalistic fashion. His introduction to the smaller diary bears out this
theory."'
Did Lamar write either diary during the actual journey, or were
both compiled afterwards from notes? Indications are that Lamar did
not compose either diary on a day-to-day basis as he traveled. Both
present the journey in continuous narrative form, interrupted only by
historical or descriptive passages of varying length. There are not the
stops and starts of daily entries. Both journals have been self-consciously
edited, with words and phrases lined out and others substituted, in an
obvious effort to meet some literary standard. Lamar wrote notes in
each, reminding himeslf to insert this or that, and referring himself to
various pages, or even to the other diary.
Which was composed earlier? Why does one stop soon after Lamar's
arrival in Texas while the other covers almost his entire 1835 Texas
sojourn? Lamar might have begun the shorter diary first and then de-
cided to rewrite it after recording his arrival in Nacogdoches on June
22; or he could have written the longer version first, started the shorter
diary as a revision, and for some reason stopped with the October 22
entry. Notes throughout the text will point out other bits of conflicting
evidence as to which journal predates the other.
When did the journals become separated, and why? Where was the
longer journal until its reappearance in 1952? Any speculation about
the provenance of the longer diary must include the history of the
main body of the Lamar papers, which are now at the Texas State Li-
brary. That collection includes-in addition to Lamar's state papers
12Lamar, Papers, I, v.
13"Having just returned from a hasty visit to Texas, I have reluctantly consented to give
to the public some account of my travels in that delightful province." Lamar, "Journal"
[short diary], [i].201
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 84, July 1980 - April, 1981, periodical, 1980/1981; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101225/m1/237/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.