The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1889-09-27
mot for greater skill In hunting,
Not for greater craft in fishing,
Not for triumph In the battle
And renown among the warriors,
But for profit Of the people,
For advantage of tho nation

his hair. He came to the door of the tepee.
looked with long and compassionate pity
upon the wasted form of youth before him,
zephyr through the treetop:
ooh, my Hiawatha,
Al your prayers are heard in heaven;
For you pray not like the others,
Not for greater skill in hunting,
Not for greater craft in fishing,
Not for triumph in the battle,
Nor renown among the warriors,
But for profit OF the people,
For advantage OF the nation,
From the master OF life descending,
I, the friend OF man, Mondamin,
Come to warn you and instruct you
How by struggle and by labor
You shall gain What you have prayed for,
Rise up from your bed Of branches.
Rise. oh youth, and wrestle with me-"
h young warrior rose and grappled with
his antagonist. Finally. Mondamin, smil-
ing upon the young warrior, said: 1T is
enough; tomorrow I will come again"
And so again on the morrow and the next
day he came. and again they wrestlcd.
Thrice had Hiawatha failed. Then said
Mondamin, smiling still upon the youth:
Tomorrow, oh my Hiawatha,
Ia the last day OF our fasting;
You will conquer and o'ercome me,
Make a bed for me to lie in,
Where the rain may fall around me, o.
Where the sun may come and warm mo-.
Strip theso garments green and yellow,
Strip these nodding p1unlage from me.
| LILY Ho II Uuo o6ICQ Auu make IL
Soft and loose and light above me;
Lot no hand disturb my slumber,
Let no weed or worm modest me,
Only come yourself to watch me,
Till I wake and start and quicken,
Till I leap into the sunshine"
And so it was. On the next day as the
purple sunshine f1oated over tho meadows
Mondamin came as before. They wrestled.
but this time Hiawatha conquered and his
antagonist lay dead before him.
| Tpndarlv then did HinUntha bnrv b;ro
Carefully he stripped from him his green
n yellow garments; carefully he watched
and watered and tended the grave of Mon
DAMN, waiting for the time when he would
again leap into the sunshine, till at length a
small green feather from the earth shot
slowly upward. Then another and another;
and before the summer ended stood the
corn in all its beauty. and its shining robes
about it. with its long, soft yellow ~tresses. !"
and in rapture Hiawatha cried aloud: 1T
is Mondamin; yes. the bread of man, Mon
damln."
Thus runs the beautiful legend of the birth
OF Corn. To the untutored Indian Mondamin
was his savior. And it is fitting that we
who live in the land made blessed and pros
porous by Mondamin should erect this tenn
pie to his glory. And tonight we once
again crown him king. once more place
upon his brow this diadem of beauty
wrought by fair and fairy fingers. place in
his hand the scepter Of universal empire,
anu Will one HedII' one voice rom every
section Of our land. proclaim that Corn is
King. Yonder Mississippi, Louisiana and
Tennessee take up the glad refrain and
echo. Corn is King!" Over there Nebraska
and Dakota Join in the chorus and proclaim
that Corn is King" And here in his own
loved city. in the capital of his broad do
main. in the corn palace city of the world,
we claim him as our monarch, and to this,
his palace. his home. worthy of him alone,
we welcome you with q welcome that words
cannot express. that our hearts alone can
feel. We welcome you as fellow subjects of
our sovereign. children of the empire of
corn. brothers in the prosperity that he
alone can bring. Welcome! thrice welcomed
to our city and our homes. In the name of
and for tho citizens of Sioux City T bid you
welcome, thrice welcome. to the corn palace
city Of the world,
Reply by Hon. John M. Thurston.
On concluding his address Mr.. Erwin
introduced Hon. John M. Thurston, of
Nebraska, who was chief orator of the oc-
caslon, and who received the close atten-
ton of the assembly to his eloquent tri ;
butte to corn, the corn palace, Sioux City
and the great northwest.
The Grafton.
I congratulate the people of this magniA-
cent city upon the suspicious opening of
Cnelf harvest festival.
In this splendid palace the goddess Of the
mighty west has established her peaceful
court. and here awaits the grateful homage
| Of her willing subjects.
Crowned with the golden tassels of the
corn. she sits serene amid the garnered
riches of q prosperous year.
The happy earth heaps up it's sheaves of
ripened grain, the finest product OF the vine
IL tree are here displayed. and every eye
can see and every heart must feel how
blessed Is the measure of the seasons low,
Who can realize what a marvellous change
has taken place in this part Of The country
IN the past thirty years2 This city, with its
bO.CO people; its massive business blocks;
its princely hotels, palatial residences, tow
ering churches, n numerous temples of
learning, IS built upon the very boundary
line of what. but little more than a quarter
OF q century ago, appeared upon the school
maps. OF the United States as the "Great
American desert"
/ am glad to be q citizen of this great
west. 1t Is an honor and q pleasure dearly
priced; for I live among those brave men
whose resistless enterprise and courage
have conquered the desert, reclaimed the
prairies. built the railroads. populated the
Wilderness, founded the cities and estab-
lshed the beginning of the grandest ciytli-
cation ever known,
Coming from a neighboring city. I bring
you the congratulations and besU wishes Of
its people. Omaha Is q great pork packing
center, but 1t has no hogs. except four-foot-
ed ones. We are not envious that Sioux
City builds up so rapidly and thrives SO well.
we 90 not wish TO succeed by the downfall