River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-09-20


tude of Gods great universe, and looking
upon the work Of His hands as it comes
to us, rounded and smoothed and per-
fected from His eternal workshop. From
the days in which this old earth was
young until this hour, the Master has
wrought upon this marvellous work. The
ceaseless swing of Natures mighty ham
mers have, little by little, forged it into
the beauty of perfection. Old ocean, with
all his waters and his waves, has beaten
upon, and broken and levelled the rug
ged rocks, and filled the yawning chasms
the debris of the fiery commissions of its
infancy; the icy mountains of Labrador
have iourneyed far to grind to dust the
hills, and level the floors of these prairies;
the winds of Heaven have famed the
plain for aeOns of ages, and the grass and
the flowers,springing in wonderful wealth
and beauty, have, dying, added richness
and fertility, until, in the fullness of time
it has been made ready for the uses OF
man, and the edict has gone forth to go
in and possess the land. And we are pos
sessing it. Here and there this beautiful
plain is dotted with the tiny cabin Of the
settler, and the virgin sod is turned, and
the grain of civilization supplants the
buffalo grass of the savage.
There is an understandable eXhilaratlon
in the air of these prairies. The Heay-
ems are a dome, resting upon a perfect
Periphery, and ones range of vision Is
bounded only by the limit of his eyesight
1t is like standing upon the deck of YES
sci at sea, with only the horizon for a
background. There is a sense of freedom
and largeness about it that is inspiring
| The absence of trees is unnoticed III the
beauty of the scene. As the Autumn sun
rises, fuIl-orbed from out the level prairie,
| tinting all the scene with roseate hue, il
affords sight well worth a little depriva-
ton to look upon.
What do we do out here on the prairie?
The records of all that we do and all that
we do not do would fill book. We hunt
some; that is, L hunt prairie chickens
ducks and geese, with an occasional cay
| ote. while the better half and the youth
full scion of the house hunt for mice in
the house, which they are forever hoping
they may not find But they do find
them, often, and when found the CELEBRITY
with which the huntresses become the
hunted is phenomenal.
| We eat, as a matter of course-or as d
matter of necessity, but our menu is toe
limited in its variety to lay us open t.
the charge of being epicures.
We read such stray papers and maya.
zines as come to hand, and the old books
| that are forever new-the Book of Books
and Shakespeare and Longfellow, and
Mark Twain, with his humor and lis
keen dissection of human follies.
We might work, but we can work when
we are in cicaized communities, where
work is the Juggernaut under whose
wheels we daily cast ourselves. While
we are recluses we rule work out of the
category of the day as far as possible.
We visit, when we can. In this land
of magnificent distances" it means some
thing to make call on even a near neigh.
| Dor. Sam. Merriek, late of Prescott, with
his family, lives just over the line, about
40 feet away. We can call on him from
our south window. please note the as.
sertion that we have a window; and the
| designation of South window carries the
| impression that there are other windows
North, and East and West. Well, there
isn't any window West but the Others
are here.)
Mr. Blakeslee and his estimable wife
and family live about thirty rods away,
south-easterly. They are good neighbors
and good people, as we know now better
| than ever before.
\ mile or more to the eastward Prof J.
B. Thayer, and Mrs. Thayer, have their
| dwelling, and William and Frank En-
sign and George Pratt, near by. The
Prof. is a migratory being, and it is sell
dom that he may be found at home.
| The Ensigns have their store and large
| business in town, and are usually to be
| found there rather than on their farms.
George Pratt, since his misfortune by the
| fire of last spring, has worked steadily
and with determination in spite of the
| diseOuragement; and seems in fair way
to make good his losses. Mrs. Pratt and
| Harry will no doubt be with YOU at your
sociable
Annie Ellis and her little proteges are
manftily holding down her claim, and
hope to have it secure before the first day
of November. Mr. and Mrs. Ulerick
have a comfortable home, and have
''come to stay" Mr. and Mrs. Cherry
are little further away, but we see them
| occasionally, Mr. Cherry's health is as
good as it was in the pine timber of Per-
ley, but he can hardly think of wintering
| upon the prairie, and will probably go
back to River Falls next month. Jennie
Walker and the Elliott girls complete the
enumeration OF our River Falls neighbors
who are present. Mrs. Vim. s. Ensign,
Mrs. Frank Ensign and Master Frank En-
sign Jr., and Mrs J. b. Thayer and Miss
Stella are expected in on the $50 train
to-day, and DIR. Chas. NJ. Gould is looked
for tomorrow. Archie Moves might be
looked for, but rich old land pirate
named Buffum has jumped his claim and
he has lost interest in the Rec Heights
country.
And with the ending of our list viii
We end this letter. Let it bear to you
who shall be assembled at home. the
best wishes and kindest thoughts of those
who are absent from their accustomed
places, and may we all in heart unite in
poor Bob Crltchit's sentiment:-"A mer-
~ evening to US all, my dears God bless
us"
God bless us, every one, said Tiny
Tim, the last Of all, and 50 say !.