East Saginaw courier., 1865-08-16
AMERICAN POETS.

We love our country, our whole
country, and are willing to accord to
each portion its proper need of praise
mo pent up Utica confines our powers,
The whole, tue unbounded continent is ours"
We do not wish to be understood in
flbustering sense. We simply
mean that we are not on the marrow
track" system. We are led to make
these remarks by looking over Chez
ver's Poets of America, published in
1850.
In his extended list Of over hun
dred American poets, we find they
were principally born in tho New
England States. Few, none we be-
lieve, lived west of the Allegheny
mountains. Mr.. Cheeyer overlooked,
or ignored the claims Of George ID.
Prentice, Otway Curry, William Wal
ZACH, George w. Cutter, Johu Finley,
William ID. Gallagher Chas. Cist, Il.
b. Reed, Thimothy Flint, John B.
Dillon. Horace p Biddle, b. A. Tay-
lor, Henry w. Ellsworth, Mrs. Anne
liza b. Welby, Sarah Il. Bolton, the
Misses Carey, and a host of other
western poets, many of whose produc-
tons will live as long as the stars shall
continue to twinkle in the armament.
What was the cause of this omission
on the part of Mr. Cheever? Was it
studied neglect, or because he had his
gaze intontly fixed ON tho eastern
limb of the literary heavens, and sup
posed that all the bright consultations
clustered and wheeled over the sterile
hills and little rivers Of Connecticut.
Massachusetts, and a few adjacent
StatesP That the big dipper, the big
bear and little bear, and each nebula
in the literary elliptic famed and cor
ruscated around Boston, New Haven
and few other centers of the world
in that immediate vicinity, while all
the rest Of the vast American horizon
was dark and starless? We know
that many Bostonians consider their
city the hub of the universe, and that
if their sons and daughters are lucky
enough to DO born in Boston, they
scarcely need to be born again. Re-
cent events, however, have somewhat
broken the spell. II has lately been
ascertained that all excellence does not
proceed Immediately from Boston or
the New England States. The West,
the land of large fertile States, of
wide forests and prairies, of large
lakes, and Of long broad rivers, of
stupendous cataracts and gold ribbed
Nevadas, of high souled men and
lovely women, possesses some OF the
"few immortal names that were not
born TO die"
We do noe wish to disparage the
bravery Of the gallant New England
troops, or their commanders in the re-
cent war; but we do know that western
genius and valor occupied no second
position, played no second character
IN the bloody drama of the war; and
if the future historian were to omit
the names Of western men, as Mr..
Cheever did in his book, he would
commit an objectionable blandep and
would be like the Snowman exhibiting
his Panorama, with moro than half
the lights extinguished. We would
advise our eastern book makers to
travel. Strike out West and SEQ
sights that are worth seeing and re-
membering. Don't cling so close to
your native hills till your heart be-
comes as callous as the granite rocks
that protrude through the sterile soil,
and your feelings as exclusive and cir
cumscribed as your little pinched up
State, that would not make much more
than respectable counties in Illinois,
Minnesota and Nebraska. Widen
your phylacteries, and como and take
a ride on some Of our wide-track wag-
ons over our fertile prairies, where
bloom annually more beautiful flowers
than ever grew in all New England
since the fist landing of the Pilgrim
Fathers at Plymouth Rock, and you
will get fresh and expanded ideas,
that will do you good as it doth the
upright in heart Come out West
and the scales will fall from your eyes,
and the icicles from your heart and
you will breathe more freely, live
longer, and die wiser and happier
men.
Cheever starts out right, and very
Justly places William Cullen Bryant,
Pierpont, Longfellow, Brainard, Pea
body, Dana, Whittier, Percival and a
few others at the head Of the list OF
American poets, but why he stopped
short and made no selections from the
beautiful productions of Prentice,
Amelia Wolby and others in the West,
is matter Of astonishment and re-
gret.
We expect soon to see n different
line Of conduct pursued by our litera-
ry savans in the eastern States, when
they look about and discover that all
the limbs do not grow on the east side
Of the trees, and the creeks and rivers
do not all run in that direction.--La-
fsyettS Ccmmrcfol Adr~tt:v.