Friday, January 26, 2007
Sarah Winnemucca
Katja
ENGL 48 B
Journal # 9 Winnemucca
26 January, 2007
"Since Winnemucca’s original handwritten manuscript has long since been lost, we have nothing but suspicion and intuition for our guides." (Dr. Scott Lankford 13)
This quote offers some explanation as to why Winnemucca remains largely unknown, both as a writer as well as a historical figure, yet allows us to read between the lines to form our own image of Sarah Winnemucca.
I find it sad that Sarah’s notes and manuscripts are lost. A search on the Internet did not turn up a single mention of any papers attributed to her. I understand that the West was a chaotic place back then and Nevada did not even achieve statehood until 1864, thus neat record keeping cannot be expected. I find myself wondering what Sarah’s life was like; how often did she write; when did she meet with Mary Mann, her editor; did she show her writing to anyone else; did Mary Mann volunteer her editing services on the basis of friendship or something else? Do we even know that there were handwritten manuscripts to begin with and do we know for certain that they are lost?
Dr. Lankford addresses the need for "suspicion and intuition" (13) in research, which often represent the very first triggers of any research in the first place. However, the concrete evidence that could hold up to epistemological parameters is unfortunately missing as far as Sarah Winnemucca is concerned.
I hope that one day we can find out more about Sarah Winnemucca perhaps even through the discovery of her manuscripts. It would be interesting to compare the Sarah evident in her handwritten pages with the Sarah that appears in Life among the Paiutes.
Source for Nevada statehood information: http://www.50states.com/nevada.htm
ENGL 48 B
Journal # 9 Winnemucca
26 January, 2007
"Since Winnemucca’s original handwritten manuscript has long since been lost, we have nothing but suspicion and intuition for our guides." (Dr. Scott Lankford 13)
This quote offers some explanation as to why Winnemucca remains largely unknown, both as a writer as well as a historical figure, yet allows us to read between the lines to form our own image of Sarah Winnemucca.
I find it sad that Sarah’s notes and manuscripts are lost. A search on the Internet did not turn up a single mention of any papers attributed to her. I understand that the West was a chaotic place back then and Nevada did not even achieve statehood until 1864, thus neat record keeping cannot be expected. I find myself wondering what Sarah’s life was like; how often did she write; when did she meet with Mary Mann, her editor; did she show her writing to anyone else; did Mary Mann volunteer her editing services on the basis of friendship or something else? Do we even know that there were handwritten manuscripts to begin with and do we know for certain that they are lost?
Dr. Lankford addresses the need for "suspicion and intuition" (13) in research, which often represent the very first triggers of any research in the first place. However, the concrete evidence that could hold up to epistemological parameters is unfortunately missing as far as Sarah Winnemucca is concerned.
I hope that one day we can find out more about Sarah Winnemucca perhaps even through the discovery of her manuscripts. It would be interesting to compare the Sarah evident in her handwritten pages with the Sarah that appears in Life among the Paiutes.
Source for Nevada statehood information: http://www.50states.com/nevada.htm
# posted by Katja @ 4:35 PM 
