The Kansas herald of freedom., 1859-09-03

laughing waters, its sole adnirer; and
with a prophetic glance into the future
beheld its prospective mission as the great
highway for the agricultural and mineral
wealth Of continent. The scenery upon
this stream, though it fails to create the
softer sensations which are felt IN behold
ing the Hudson, orr in strolling along the
more beautiful Juniata, yet it excites
wild, adventurous spirit in the spectator
an inordinate desire to make its banks his
home, where be may roam like the wind,
impalsiye and free, and excluding him
self from business and It's attendant ankle
ties and perplexities, may hold intimate
communion with nature and her God,
unmarried by the effeniinating effects Of
romance, with no companion bit the wild
deer and the beast of the forest.
The West is rich in mineral resources.
Coal, iron, salt, lead, copper, quicksilver
and gold are abundant in quantity, and |
all the common and more useful minerals |
widely disseminated. Through her min
erals she hes presented a field for the |
speculatiDg man. At his command she
has opened her bowels, and poured at his
feet her untold treasures. The rich de-
posits of quicksilver and gold in Califor-
MIA, and subsequently of Frazer river
and Pixies Peak, have tempted the cupid
ity of the avaricious from all parts of the
country. Leaving home and kindred,
the restless adventurer in quest of gold
has abandoned the comforts Of social life,
and amid privation aud hardships, and
the maladies Of the sickly climate, has
become the victim Of disease and with
no loving voice to soothe him amid the
laugnors of sickness and the solemnities
of death, has found an untimely grave in
far off land.
The great valley of the Mississippi and
other portions of the West, have rich
loan, like that which made Egypt the
granasS OF the world. On account of this
great fertility of soil, the country is well
adapted to the raising of wheat and the
other cereals, besides the great staples
cotton, hemp and tobacco. Agriculture,
therefore, is the leading industrial pur-
suit, and. fields of boundless extent are
seen waving with the golden grain of har-
vest. The cultivation of the grape, too,
is claiming considerable attention, and in
Ohio, Indiana and other portions, already
the vintage rivals the finest productions
of France and Italy. 1t is also a fine
grazing country, and countless herds
and fiocks overspread its broad prairies
and meadow bottoms. And, although IN
manufactures the West has not yet as
sumed any prominence, its boundless for
ests, and the great amount of water pow
er along its shelving streams, afford ample
means for the widest display of manufac-
turing industry.
The contributions of the West, to the
intellectual circle, are not to be despised.
She has given, everywhere, a prominent
importance to education, and though
comparatively young, she has established
in many parts OF her vast domain, institu-
titGtions of the highest grade. She has
founded, also, benevolent asylums for the
, unfortunate and afflicted, and with gen.
erous zeal devotes herself to ali that j,
praiseworthy and noble. May she eve
consecrate to God, to whom she is indebt
= ed for so many blessings, her simple
3 hearted and brave sons aud daughters, tina
D they may rise up and cal her blessed, anC
emulate her virtues
r The history of the West is full of in
0 terest. Before the Revolution, we hav,
n the bloody annals Of the battles of tn
S Monongahela, on the western frontier, ant
4 the massacres ard devastations of the In
= dian coDfederacy under Pontiac. Durini
: the stormy period of the Revolution, tn
bold aud sagacions Major Clark held il
= check the British forces in the north-wes
d and their Indian allies. He entered th
e country Of the latter, 6stnt their towns
% destroyed their crops, laid waste the
% settlements, and at length drove them in
1t to the wilderness beyond. Subsequent
is the expeditions of Harmar and st. Clai
by their disastrous results, threw me
t, ancholy interest over the West, whic
}; was only relieved by the splendid achieve
D. ments Of the intrepid General Wayne
re In later times come up, with their sad a
5, sociations, the crimson waters of the riv'
TX Raisin and the Maumee, with the gloriol
Id recollections of the Rapids, the Tippecj
IS, noe, and the Thames.
f. But why recall these, when every Sc
& Element of the early West was battl
,'s field, and almost every settlers cabin
It's scene of heroism and bravery, The d
a scendants of the cavaliers of Virginia al
u Maryland, sacrificing the comforts of ci
Sc ilization, went forth with axe and ri
~ upon the shoulder, yet with hope in Il
or heart, to find home in the wilderne:
tie aud to raise amid its solitudes civiliz'
as nation. With this great purpose in vie
.st they carried with them into the dest
sr- the noble qualities for which the bra
lis and high-ton class, from which tn
N were descended, had been SO much d
he tinguished-full of generous impulses Al
ok noble darling-they felled the ancient fl
res est-they redeemed a home from I
ne wilderness and the savage-the wint
a storm and tempest beat upon them
en- their humble cabins, and the war-who
,en of the Indian often reused them frC
ell their slumbers to escape from their bis
IN ing homes Yet steadfast in their pl
m pose-fertile in strategem-patient in {
of durance, they gave their hands to toll
M they interposed their breast as buckl
spt to their wives and children, and, S
,ed mounting the obstacles of nature, th
ian Ocdt oACh euO sohaesO, ouu SotaoAASASNi
md length, peaceful homes amid the des
I'VE wilds. The every day history of tn
he hardy pioneers was conflict and
in umph, in which they surpassed all 6
nu- clan glory or Roman fame. Could
rm. mists that hid the future have been rol
Ith- away, methinks the visions of the a
, of glory of the West, would have dispel
the dependency and doubt that Of
en- marked their hazardous and even
ica- life.
,ers And woman was there, with her k
ure nature-hcr patient endurance, her he
hey full spirit, to encourage and to cheer
n a do and to suffer-to stand by her hush
or in his defence Of her babes, and to fill
bu- place when he fell; type of all that
the noble and generous and true.
the 1.-The mothers OF our forest-land.
.,ol Stout-hearted DANES were they;
With nerve to WELD the battle brand
the And join the border fray.
n 4 Ial H.