Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1885-01-01


;st0r IN The solitude of tie dark woods.
OF listened 70 the roar Of The storm While
tie giants % the forest sszyed 20 and
fro. fEapelied By it fury, OF heard the
booming thander and sac the lignsninTs
glare. be heard il ali Of this the voice
Of God and fel. IL the solemn sGrrozod-
isgs His pre<enes. As he stood OF the
bestliug ersg and gszsd With solemn
ave into the sunless canyon, M climbed
70 the top II the mountain peak and
surveyed the field % mountains ali
armand. With the rivers and valleys and
lakes beyond; IN fact. SAY nature in ali
Der beauty, grandeur and sabiImlty. be
gas deeply and profoundly Impressed
With IDEAS OF an izteiliRept First Cause.
10 this conclusion also tended all his
iO1EinRs and all of the occalt forces of
bis nature. inspired By silence, by soil
tnds, by the majesty of nature and BY
the active and Tremendous forcss 10
earth. air, and ihe ssaE-lis armament
beyond.
S8pe-sd6ed - this pare vein OF reli-
giDas belief in she character of the mo-
Near. am free 10 admit that there vas
IN many of them dash of superstition
10 tue attentive stadsrt of nature and
Of man. the highest embodiment of ma
'1re and her laws. this Is not at all
astonishing. The life of the pioneer
VS. lonely one de had no books
save, possibly. the Bible. He had no
1sDfa partnership bat nstnrs. he had no
pietures but flowers and the vsrlegated
scenes Of nature, giorined BY the god of
daY or rendered grand and terrible by
the fary of tns storm god. HIS mental
and moral life teaded inward. Faney
aud imagination had loose reign. Their
pictares- flashed ON tee mirror of the
SOU, grew from day 90 day In distinct
ness. That, on returning to his humble
cabin IN the gloom of night, he should
see the images created by imagination;
or, as he wandered IN the deep solitude
OF the continuous woods by DAY. that
he should imagine that be heard mystic
nous voiclngs and whisperings, is no.
at all astonishing. These, then. we're
mysterious occasions in bis eventual life
that excited his wonder and baked his
powers of explanation. While his eve
was undInmed and his nerves mistaken
be would Miss game of which he was
sorely IN need, while the same was in
easy range; while at other times he sent
the bullet with deadly precision on its
fated mission while toe game was
bounding in full flight through the
thick forest. Add to this the potential
power of solitude, the deepening gloom
of tbs dark woods and the mysterious
voices Of nature, animate and mani
mate, and you can pardon the dash of
superstition in the character of the
hunter pioneer. Truer men never lived.
Drawer men never trod the earth. If
their Woes were marked, their virtues
we're also. Though their fare was
scanty, their hospitality was unbounded.
You were welcome to all their lsrder
afforded.
/ nov propose to notice a characters
tic of pioneer life that runs down through
the first, second and third classes of the
same. have already adverted TO the
patert fact that she pioneer was without
banks or papers. His conversation, il
any, consisted of the narration of the
exploits aud experiences of his own life
Ii was autobiography spoken, not writ
ten. It consisted of dangers met and
conquered-of difficulties encountered
and successfully overeome-of escapes
hsirbreathed aud full OF danger-of
situations solemn and lndicrous-of
want pressing and imminent-of vigils
long and of victories and defeats. When
warmed with generous wine or more fiery
eecootions, the pioneer gays chapters Of
the workings of his inner consciousness
of his loves, his bates, his expecta-
tons, his desires, the passions that had
swayed him and the mysteriou. forces
Shat had at times unnerved him.
This tendency to personal narration
has become TO some extent traditional.
as 40 HaA aha ar&fa aNa Of ID.
neer or western society In the older
civiljZ alton conversation Is confined to
the events aud topics of the day, as fur
nished by the telegraph and daily press;
Il concerns man in the aggregate. In
the younger civilization conversation
runs on the events aud experiences of
personal life; IL concerns man as an in
diyidual. d1not intend to discuss the
question as to which is the better of the
two. / simply state 1t. Ii is from this
characteristie that western men get the
reputation of drawing a long bow"
They get 1t IN the regular line of descent
and will pass out of il Us their individ-
uality is swallowed mp in the snrRing
volume of humanity.
Such, Mr.. Editor. is brief statement
of the leading characteristics of the
p5ohcct. As SuCu no tuauc VIC EcttAo
ment of this country possible. De Was
the John the Baptist preparing the will
derness for the incoming civilization.
HIS sense of iastioe was strong and
acted with terrible promptness. The
apprehension, the trial. conviction and
execution followed each other in quick
succession. Crimes arising from mutual
assault, combat or insult he left where
Al IL Al :.
vase assassinations and crimes which
invaded the rights of property we're
punished With terrible celebrity, and in
q manner at times approaching ferocity.
His faults as we'll as his virtnes will soon
become historic, and in view Of that fact
we close, as We begun, by bespeakine for
bin the considerate and kindly iadR-
ment Of after years. Oh.