lifniiiiii^icciiccs of John 11. Vharles. 31 



place upou the Floyd monument a bronze tablet in 

 appreciation of the services of Mr. Charles in the erec- 

 tion of the same. 



It was Mr. Charles' desire to aid in the preservation 

 of the early history of Sioux City that caused him to 

 dictate to the editor, during the late summer of 1904, 

 the following reminiscences. In doing this no esiDecial 

 system was followed. Mr. Charles talked as the inspira- 

 tion came, choosing his own subjects to some of which 

 he Avould return on later days and make additions. The 

 first task of the editor was to write out the dictations 

 and read them to Mr. Charles for his correction. Such 

 occasions were often seized by him for still further 

 additions. One result of this method w^as to produce a 

 fragmentary effect. The narrative was not always con- 

 secutive. 



The chief task of the editor has been to rewrite and 

 rearrange the Reminiscences, to verify statements and to 

 correct what errors had crept in. Mr. Charles' exact 

 words and phrases have been retained wherever possible. 

 No facts have been altered. The meaning has always 

 been preserved. One has a right to private views, hence 

 no changes of mere opinion have been made. 



Mr. Charles was asked to spell all personal names as 

 he dictated. His spelling has been preserved in the 

 text. Sometimes it was that of the frontier which, 

 though common then, would not always pass now. 

 Where a different spelling has been suggested by the 

 editor it has been placed in brackets in the text. Some- 

 times initials and given names have been missing. 

 Whenever it has been possible to supply these they also 

 have been placed in brackets. Other minor corrections 

 have been indicated in the same way. 



Footnotes have been added by the editor for two 

 reasons: partly for the purpose of making corrections 

 more important or more extensive than those mentioned 

 above; partly with the view of adding more light to the 

 subject in hand. 



The headings have all been inserted as an aid to the 

 reader. 



What follows is not an autobiography of Mr. 

 Charles. He makes no attempt here to tell the complete 



