St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1858-07-01
Snistrllanp.
PROGRESS OF CIVILIZATION.

Six, years ago, and the country all
along the Western banks of the Mis-.
souri, River from St Joseph to Sioux
City, was almost an untroddcn wilder
ness save by the moccasincd feet of
the ahorigincs. Six years ago and
this beautiful country was yet untur-
rowcd by the ploughsharc, and the
cleaning tomahawk and knife, and
other warparaphcrnalia Of the 'bravc,'
were the only symbols Of the artificc
Ct man 10 be found within the bounda-
ries of Nebraska. Six years ago, and
on these wealthy borders-cnriched
by natures most lavish gifts--the huff
falo, the stag, and the wolf, pursued
the inclinations of their respective
characteristics undisturbcd and un,
scared, save, perhaps, once in long
while the shrill whistle Of a solitary
steamboat vending its way up the riv-
CT, would momcntarily arrest their
freedom and quictudc, and then glide
along from them, leaving them as I'M
suspccting as before. Six years ago,
and he who dared to travel over our
fower-sccnted prairics, along our chrys-
talinc brooks, and penetrate the depths
of our beautiful groves, was hailed as
an advcnturcr of hardwood and spirit.
But now how changed Standing,
on a late Sabbath, on the bank of Fish
Crcek-on the spot where, within the
memory Of even boy, the red man
was wont to offer up the mystic rites
Of his supcrstitious religion we wit
messed a sight which would send a
thrill of delightful emotion through
every contemplating mind Here was
congrcgated multitude Of intelligent
and Christian beings, acknowledging
and cbeying the mandates of the Goo
Of the Univcrsc-llc who rules moi
only the happy hunting grounds O
tie red man." but who holds the high
est planet in its orbit, and notes the
falling of even q sparrow. AS we
gaZed upon the immersion ceremonies,
these thoughts crowded themselves
upon our mind We thought there
VAS peculiar fitness in the scene and
the circumstances as being wildly il
lucrative Of the pure, christianly
character Of American progress.
The past-thc prcsent-thc future
What glorious memories and thrilling
anticipations cluster around the name
Of Columbia j! What proud trophies
crowd her history up TO the year 1858 ;
and how noble the aspirations, how
bright the prospects, and how en-
couraging the works Of the past, in
Urging her on to the future III lit
lie over four score years, she has ex-
banded her power from five million
souls to over thirty millions spread
her realm westward from the banks
of the Mississ;E ii river to the Pacific
ocean, and southward to the Rio
Grande whitened every sea with the
sails of her merchantmen and aston
ishcd the whole world with her list of
illustrious names, extending from the
great Washington and Franklin down
to Douglas and Morse. And then,
most cheering of all, we have til con
seriousness Of knowing that our great
ness was not achieved by the sword of
ambition, or the enforcement Of the
law that might makes right" but it
is all, all the result of liberal educa-
ton, Christianity, and political free
dom And thus may it ever be. In
our onward march in the redemption
of the downtrodden and ignorant, let
us, while we carry Republicanism and
Intelligence in the one hand, hold
Christianity and the olive branch of
peace in the other These are the Gle
mcnts which have carried US on to
orr present high and exalted position ::
these are the elements which will car
ry us on still further.