The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-11-06
SAM WALTER ross.
The Famous New England Dialect Poet
who Has Just Published . Book.


The Famous New England Dialect Poet
Who Has Just Published . Book.
Boston Globe
Just outside the busy New England me-
tropolis, in quiet. pretty home in Somer-
vile. lives New England's dialect poet,
Sam Walter Foss, whose poems during
the past few years have been quite as
widely quoted as those of James Whit
comb Riley and Eugene Field.
You ought to know such singer from
the old farm days, who has the true poetic
insight into the heart of humanity, and
who tunes his songs so as to make the eye
grow moist and the heart to swell.
Bostonians do not know Sam Walter
Foss well enough, and he is worth know
ing thoroughly.
Ii the scrapbooks Of the people contain
any signs of popularity, then Sam Walter
Foss is one of the most popular poets of
today.
Mr.. Foss Is wit. a satirist. funny fell
low, popular writer of stories in rhyme,
a treasure to public readers. He will do
one good. and not harm, because he laughs
and makes others laugh. " neither they will
or not.
He has done shis work at the same time
with his hard editorial work, and now
that he is free from editorial responsible
ties and intends to keep free from them
and give his time entirely TO his writing,
New England hiss reason to expect her
dialect poet to give to the country q rare
treat from his pen for years to come.
But Mr.. Foss says the people somehow
don't care for dialect poets until they are
dead He doesn't want to die just now,
and expects to be obliged to work very
hard tor bis fame.
In his quaint way Mr.. Foss tells an
amusing story of how he discovered that
he could be funny man." II was be-
tween 1883 and 1856, when he was run
ming a rather impoverished paper in Lynn
called the Saturday Union So you see Mr..
Foss hasn't been writing funny" matter
for very long time.
THE paper was good enough" Mr.. Foss
SAYS, ''but people wouldn't subscribe for
it, and / had q hard struggle to make a
living.
"one day young man from Boston
came into the Office aud wanted me to let
him start q funny column in the paper,
for il would get the paper quoted an din
crease its circulation. didn't encourage
him, for | wasn't making enough money
out of the sheet to pay my board bill but
the young man said money was no object
would make US popular IN short time,
and We would become millIonaires. So
let him try il.
"He kept the fun moving for a few
weeks, but subscriptions didn't come In
quite fast enough 10 keep my Office boy
busy. and the young man became tired OF
his funny column and left.
Il hardly realized he had gone until ID
was time Tor another Uaion 10 be issued.
Then thought of the funny column, and
began 20 wonder what / was going 10 nut
in IL. 1t had never occurred to me that |
could write anything humorous, but had
To I'LL that column or acknowledge that
the funny man was sick, so sat dosn
and wrote poem or two and an alleged
Joke or two. had very little confidence
IN their ability 10 tickle any one, but evil
IDENTIFY they did, for in few DAYS some of
the readers of the paper-personai friends !:
nobody else much read it--con yratul ated
me on the temporary possession OF so
funny a man as Sas running that column.
Well, kent on writing poems, and pretty
soon exchange editors began TO use them.
The first ones I wrote were of the kind
the public and others called 'long-tailed
poetry that is, one verse contained three
or four lines. full of very long words and
very involved and intricate rhymes The
good nature and forbearance OF exchange
editors Was a revelation TO me. thought
the HlSAkSr OVER u BFCAk dShE. and GEafiy
eonclu ded that IL | worked hard enough
there could possibly be some money for
me in sticking 10 poetry"
Sam Walter Foss is the son Of farmer
aud was born in the little town of Gambia.
N IL. June Is, ISIS Through his ances-
tor. STEPHEN Bachelor. he claims kinship
With Daniel Webster. John Greenieaf
Whittier aud William Pitt Fessenden. lie
worked on the farm until be was IA. when
his father removed TO Portsmouth.
In that city ne renamed until he was 10.
farming and attending the Portsmouth
high school. from which he was graduated
in ls77.
lie was graduated from the Tilton semi.
nary, Tilton. y. H., in ISIS aud then en-
tered brown university, taking his degree
four years later.
As other poor boys he was obliged 70
work his way. and this he did by newspa-
per writing and doing janltor's work. lie
! had hard time Of II. but through pIuck
and perseverance, bis efforts were success
fal
Il regret TO say, says Mr.. FOES, sthat I
never shoas with any meleorie briIIianey
IN college. The studies we're too hard.
But I wAs Gas. poet which doubtless
happened through the prevailing i'm
pFesslon that il isn't necessary for a poet
ID know much"
The milking OF the coz in the evening
the boeo.ink. the lark which murmGrs