Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1859-02-23

Your appearance here to-day gadien'
cur hearts. 1t nerves US 10 action, an'
tells US how willing YOU are to talk ove'
the past, and rejoice witt US on the pres
eni occasion,
Never has man beheld such rapid pro e
ress IN any time or age as You nave seeI
within your sojourn hero. And how. hap
ny must be the thought. in your declining
days, that you may have been Instruments
by adding your strength and influence II
bringing 10 light and maturity, the ins'itu
tiors and improvements so feebly begun
and that you are permitted to day to Iool
upon such temples of magnifcence ano
beauty, reared in So short period upon the
ruins Of barbarism.
1t was you, noble sires, that led the way
and you now behold the fruits of your ear
Iy struggle. The goodly heritage to which
you brought your children, will ever be held
in grateful remembrance.
You are not only permitted to see your
children here, but your children's children
are ready to rise up and call you blessed.
Our children have formed an association
tased upon the great principles of perpetu.
iiy, who will hand down our records to pos
terty, when all of earth shall be shut out
from our vision, and we are numbered with
the dead II is a sad and fearful truth that
all our ties here must soon be severed; that
the fraternal bonds of brotherhood, howev.
er sweet and tender, must be broken, and
ali men love to think that they shall be re-
memhered when gone. Thus has the Young
Pioneer Settlers Association" been organ
ized. to perpetuate our Society when
the footsteps Of the last Pioneer shall totte
from the stage Of action.
And now my fellow -labcrers, in all prob
ability, it will never be my lot again to ad-
dress you. and certainly not all Of you to
hear. upon such an occasion, as tins. Life's
current runs swift and those silver locks al
ready remind me, that too must join in
that great emi migration to another land. We
are constantly reminded of our lot by the
departure OF one and another of our num-
Der to another scene of action. Where
sleep the conn rades Of our early trials and
struggles upon the soil of Iowa? Why an
swer they not the roll call to-dayl Gone,
On that endless Journey from whose bourne
no traveller returns" More than one hun
dred of our number have entered upon the
realities Of another existence! Think not
my pioneer friends, they all rest upon the
soil they so dearly loved. Think not they
all found an honored grave in the land Of
their adoption No! Some have fallen up
on the battle-felds Of Mexico; some rest on
and one, whom we all kn)w whose many
public acts are among the records Of our
county, sleeps in the beautiful, but lonely
valley Of the Green River of the mountains,
more than three hundred miles from the a.
bode Of the white man, with nought to
tell his restlng-place save the sweeping
boughs Of the mountain pine, OF the wild
Artomecia that waves DER his grave. Thus
rests one of Scott county's earliest and best
friends, Andrew W. Campbell, co-laborer
with a Cook, Clark, a McClain, Daven-
port, Hubbard, q McGregor, a Parker, a
Parkhurst, and Rickee, with other hon
ored names of Scott county.
MANY have found a grave within the lin
its of our own State, County and Cities, and
friends have been permitted to administer
to their last necessities.
The memory Of the pioneer Dead we
this day renew. Peace be to their scatter
ed ashes. May their names still live in our
affections, and year by year, as we gather
in the festive hall, may We not forget TO
drop a tear to the memory of those we once
loved.
In our turn, we too must die, and the
same enquiry will be made of US, "Where
are they?' and the solemn response will
come back, gone! gone And thus will
our ranks be thinned, until few hoary
headed pilgrims shall be gathered at our
over, and these sad sentiments OF the "Pio
ncer Settlers Associate on of Scott County,"
shall stand alone, like withered oaks, riven
by the lightning's stroke. and torn by the
winters of age, Then comes forth the aged
President, leaning upon his Golden head
ed cane" the insignia of his office, handed
down to him in suct ession, made from
hickory stick of native growth and bear
this this inscription "Pioneer Settlers As.
sociation of Scott County, Iowa. Organic
ed January, 1885," with long list Of
names engraved of those who have in their
turn, filled this high station with honor and
trust. and long since departed to another
land. Here stand the representatives of
the Pioneers Of Scott County, and with be-
wildered gaze they ask, Where are the
Of our youtha Where are they
OF 1910 and of 1859 ? those who organized
the Society and the echo comes back
"A gain, gone.' And as they sit down for
the last time, perhaps, to hear the annual
address, and preside at the last sad Festival,
they look around for their associates, and
inquire for those who have preserved our
records with such jealous care, and built
those mighty monuments that tell our
children where sleeps the Pioneers Of Iowa!
Once more the year rolls round and the
last remnant'of this Association comes forth,
bending beneath the weight of years, the
frost of age whitens his honored brow, and
his feeble frame shakes like reed in the
wintry blast. lie looks around, and with
trembling voice he asks, "Am l alone? All
gone? Am the last sad remnant of that
noble Pioneer Band, that led me when q
youth to the festal board, and taught me
how to love and venerate the deeds Of my
fathers!" And as the aged Patriaio of
"four score years." begins to brush away the
misty vail that hides his dimmed vision
from the future, he beholds before him the
youthful band of Young Pioneers of 1859"
now grown to manhood march forth to
claim the mantle of their fathers And now
he Glands between the living and the dead.
And the aged Pioneer Lifts his weeping eyes
to Heaven, and thanks God the link is not
broken. What thrilling rec, lections crowd
upon his burdened mind for utterance, as
with trembling hand he reaches forth the
cane, which carries with it the Records Of
our Association, and the saddened nsemory
of years. How well does he remember the
first and the last Festival. And as he lifts
his filmy eye to perform the last sad office,
he exclams, "Tbese are the relics of noble
race, the momentoes of the past. the Rec
ords of your fathers. Receive them my
children. as treasures that gold cannot pur
chase, and transmit them untarnished to
your children, as rich legacy Of the deeds
Of your Pioneer Ancestors"
To the moro active members of this As
sociation would say lend helping hand.
Assist in gathering the scattered fragments
Of our early history. Write out brief Of
your own experience, and tell US Of your
early life in Iowa. And thereby shall we
gather faithful momentoes Of the past, that