You who celebrate bygones,
Who have explored the outward, the surfaces of the races, the life
that has exhibited itself,
Who have treated of man as the creature of politics, aggregates,
rulers and priests,
I, habitan of the Alleghanies, treating of him as he is in himself
Ever heard the phrase “let bygones be bygones?” – Let the past be. 
 Interestingly enough, Whitman is hitting on something historians actually do. They study life, or rather it’s past, in many forms. 
 
 Judging from the words “ surfaces of races,” Whitman credits historians with the study of Man and all it’s many beings as well as the evolution of the planet (exploring the outward). 
 Many historians travel the word, to discover and understand the many mysteries of the globe.
To a Historian