The Kansas herald of freedom., 1858-10-16
The Great W West.

Little do we, of the present generation,
imagine what an idea is yet to be con-
veyed by the term "Great West" In
deed, this might be said of every part of
our country, but particularly the West,
the Southwest and the North west. 1t
is of the West we speak, and we mean
by that word, the country west of the AL
leghanies and the Mississippi river, ex-
tending to the far-reaching Pacific, whose
shores already begin to TEEN with Anglo
American life. 'ti- --a
The old "Thirteen,n grand and glori-
Gus in the records of the past, can no
longer compete in civilization with the
march of progress in the mighty West.
And this western empire, what was it half
acentury ago An unbroken and bowling
Wilderness royal hunting ground for
the untamed savage, who has melted
away before the science and art Of the
White Man, like the mountain mists be-
fore the summers sun. .1 EoI
Great and marvellous as has been its de-
velopment, we do not yet conceive the
nature of the Republican Empire that is
to rise in the Great West. If our western
cities have not been, like those of Sarda-
napalus, built in day, we may point to
Cincinnati, Columbus, Louisville, st.
Louis, Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee,
Detroit, Keokuk, &C., with their hundreds
of thousands, and say they have been
built in the life of aman. Aye, the very
spot from which we now write, was,
"three score and ten'' years ago, shaded
by the primitive groves first seen by the
old French voyagers !! Where the faith
ers brought down the deer and the subtle
turkey, where they met and contended
with the Red Man for the right of pos
session, the sons are piling stone on stone,
adding house to house, block to block,
and street to street; where the wild
whoop of the savage, the howl of wild
beasts, and the sweet song of the native
bird were mingled in common chorus, we
now listen to the clank and rattle of ma
chinery, the roar, hustle and life of a
mighty city, containing quarter of a, mil
lion Of busy mortals, each pursuing in
peace his chosen avocation. Ai 'i'i-
May we not, then, even in this simple
aspect be proud of the mighty West p
May we not point with exultation to the
triumph of labor, peace and safety, and
predict brilliant future for the vast re-
public? No matter what demagogues
may say, we are one people, indissolubly
united by the strongest bonds and inter
ests known to men. The South and the
East have sent hither their sons and
daughters, and nobly have they repre-
.sented the old commonwealths. Until
recently, the people of the West, like a
new married couple, constantly looked to
the old homestead for every assistance
but now We have come to feel as heads Of
families-that We must rely upon cur
selves. We have learned to build cities
railroads, &c Western rivers are navi-
gated by Western boats, propelled by
Western machinery. Our miners have
gone down into the bowels of the earth
aud brought forth specimens of our vas
mineral wealth. The black smoke Of the
furnace and forge rises like luminous
clouds, revealing TO US that Science 1ant
Art have at last begun to exert their sway
over the progress and development Of th,
Great West. 1t is now to the West tha
the East looks for market, and TO it 70
provisions, and the great elements o
wealth and national greatness. - as41sl
The ever potent Press is radiating trul
and noble sentiments to every family, ant
our public schools are directing our chill
dren's minds into pursuits of practica
utility.-Sceatifc Anisicaa. ..rsi.fs