Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-06-13
BILL NYE
Celebrates a MournfuI Anniversary.
A Simple Tale of Cache Greek Slough
And the Painful End Of Poor Darius
TOrry---Fate Had Marked Him
for Her Own, and Red
Wagon With Green Box
Couldn't Save Him.
Boston Globe.

Boston Globe.
With the approach of June l am I'm
pressed with the solsmuity which attend
the anniversary Of the death of Dsriu
Tory, who died in Cache Creek Slough II
California, in 1851. While few OF my
readers will remember Mr.. Tory, his tragic
death and poem which succeeded it may
be recalled now, as we are nearing the time
Of year in which he persisted.
Starting out as he did in June, 81 to
90 from San Jose to Sacramento, accom-
panied by his team and red wagon With
a green box, we may readily imsgine the
surprise shown By the people of the valley
and near Cache Creek Slough when they
discovered the team without Darius.
The poem, in a melancholy manner,
alludea to Mr.. Torry's courage and intre
pidity as we'll rs the sudden and abrupt
termination of his career in the following
couplet:
He yentured through danger TO increase his estate
Bat now he Is gone Providence has sealed his fate
He left st. Jose TO Sacramento bound.
In missing his way a hOrrid death found
In Cache Creek Slough in Juns '52,
The scene is most solemn as ever you knew
The poet does not go on 50 infinitely to
detail the circumstances as We could Wlsh,
bu, from other sources it III lesrne that
Darius reached Cache Creek Slough in
June, so, on the same morning that a
large roam, grizzly bear did. 1t vas the
first time they had ever met. Circun-
stances had never thrown them together
before.
After a few preliminary remarks came
an expression of mutual surprise perhaps.
Mr.. TORY inserted himself in the bear
This inspires the following lines, which !
insert here:
The next is heartrendng, with sorrow ! read,
To think Of his suffering, it makes my heart bleed
WE ALL MOURN HIS LOSS
That he left us so soon,
That his meridian sun has now set at noon
on. thiok of his suffering when combating there,
When torn into fragments by grizzly bear.
Had | been born a poet OF the obituary
type, With vivid language and trenchant
pau, it seems to me that would want no
better foundation upon which TO place the
graceful superstructure Of verse than the
foregoing circumstance The poet who
could view unmoved the picture of large
srizZiy bear iu the full flush of manhood,
as it were, with Mr.. TorrYs side wblskers
sticking out Of the corner of his mouth,
must be hard to move.
When tho rescuing party approached
they found straw hat, a pair Of horses
and marks Of violence The straw hat and
the team were taken up 10 Sacramento,
out the marks of violence were allowed to
remain where they were.
The poet, referring to Darius family,
says:
He left 20 owa mother TO mourn his sad doom,
But with sympathy feels the one 10 her room'
From this we may gather most any kind
of information we would like, but the most
natural translation OF thu coupet would
be the suggestion that Darius, by intro
ducing himself into the works OF the adult
California bear in the year '52, cast q
large, rectangular gloom over his step
mother.
But O man should not consult his own
selfish interests alone when he is tempted
10 insert himself into the coarse aud IN
cultivated bear Of the wild frontier. He
should rememO Der his family and his triends
The poet also intimstes that Mr.. TORY left
other relatives.
He lett five do,r sisters to mourn his sad loss,
And two dear brothers who lelt II cross
~, Wit "A brntlgr
Iill the great day Of judgment when they all tC'
gether shall he.
The poet has aptly described the whole
siluation in the Tory family. la fancy
we see the two brothers taking up this cross
of patiently waiting ill the time
WHEN DARIUS WOULD EMERGE
from the bear at the fret streak OF dawn
on the judgement day, carrying one lung
in each hand and inquiriag Of every one
he saw where he would BIZ apt to tud his
stepmOsher.
In closing the poet saTs:
Darius was pleasant, kind aud fair,
Now for u meet him each one prepare
OF course we would ell like very much
TO meet Dalius, especially go long as be
was pleasant kind and feIr, bat would 1t
bs any more than right for Darius to come
and inset Us. as there are so many OF US
nnd SO few OF him. 1t is, Of course, con-
fusine Tor man to be awakened after a
slumber of centuries, perhaps, by the shrill
blsst of the last trump 10 tind himself seq
gregatei az he naturally would be under
the above circumstances, but it would be
no more than right for Darius to gather up
what organs be could find readily and With
what faculties be could gather up aud put
in 8 cigar box, to come and meet the ma
ioriry, instead of asking the msjority to
cone and meet him.
Through all the poem, there is strong
tendency on the part of the writer to take
out a license and use il to excess.
Sill, did not start out to crincise the
poem. | sm not judge Of poetic worth,
being only a plain prose writer, at times
perhaps, dropping into melodious measure
when my glad heart will no longer yield
to the irksome bonds Of dull, methodic al
prose, but IS q general rule, content to lie;
other glorious birds of song do my twitter
ing while | move modestly along adowr
ifes rugged pathway, permitting Others tc
pluck the beautiful blossoms OF rhy me, while
| gather the Early Rose potatoes and Hub
bard suusshes Of hard fact which bestreW
my pathway BILL NEE.