New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-08-24
A Poet OIL the PrairIes.
Mr.. Willis, writing to the Home Journal has the
following pretty thought:

Mr. Willis, writing to the Home Journal has the
following pretty thought:
Yet-pardon me, spirit of the prairie-what man
is there with liberty of choice, who would be con-
tent to live where there are no mountains! Who
would take as a gift the famous hundred mile
praire of Illinois, farm Df the extent of fertile
flatness, without fence2--on condition of there
taking up his abode. 1 had never realized, before
what cathedral influence there is in the noun
tains we dwell near-hoW the sunsets and the sum
rises are made reverently sublime by them-how
the storms perform glorious anthems with the hill
echoes-how the eye, which is lifted from the val
ley to the tall peak whereon rests the thunder
cloud carries the heart up with it, in instinct of
of involuntary awe. The mere prairie floor seems
to me wilderness without an altar-Nature with
out gallery or dome-earth without proper cathe
dral wherein the elements shall unbidden worship
God.
And the following lively description:
To overtake a thunder shower, whirl through it
and outrun it, was the first of the days exciting
novelties. We saw it ahead of US on the prairie
as you see a single black cloud in the sky, with
sunshine all around it. 1t was moving in the same
direction as ourselves, probably at about twenty
miles an hour: and we soon began to overtake it
with our better harnessed thunder and lightning.
The conductor pointed the dark mass cut to me
some ten or fifteen minutes before we entered the
outer skirt of the shower; and we were in pet-
ing rain, with lightning and peals of thunder, for
perhaps ten mnutes-emerging in fair weather on
the other side and leaving the storm to lag after
us like the 'sl0w coach" that was But, certainly,
it was very queer thus to give thunder and light
ming the go-by. 1t seemed to me, somehow, an
| ticipatory of another state of things. When we
! go telegraphing about at the beginning of oul
spirit travels in the next life, am sure ! shall
have vague impression Of having done something
| of that sort beforethis Experience of distancine
| well.trained thundereloud being laid away in my
memory.
| But it is to the wild animals of the prairie tina
the sWiftness of the rail train is most ineXplicabe
| Ages upon ageahaye established certain relatiE
| rates of speed between man ana the subject race
of creation--the mounted hunter being the tastes
pursuer for which the elk and reindeer, the bea
and the prairie wolf, the fox and the wild cat, tn
skunk otter and marten, are at all prepared. TIL
small line of rail track, nearly hidden in grass,
not recognized by these wanderers over the vas
plains of the West, and while thinking themselve
safe in their own horizon.edged wilderness, the
suddenly see the coming Of the new monster.., 1t
daily experience on the trains on this railroa
across Illinois, to overtake some one or more
them and it is curious, Eso the different eondue
ors and brakemen ali told mel how none of thel
, seem to have the sagaciy TO escape by running Q
al right angles! Almost invariably they nee o. o.
fore fhe pursuer and ard run down, at last, to ia
fainting with terror ani exhaustion in the neigl
horhood OF the track,