St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-29
PITTsBURG NEXT TIME.
A PIONEER POEM.
Reminiscent Letter of an Old Set
tier to Judge EIandrau.

tier to Judge Flandrau.
To the Editor of the Globe
[ had occasion recently in an adj
dress on frontier matters and events,
to describe the typical pioneer of Amer
lea, as 1 understand him. My picture
seems to have created interest in diff
ferent quarters among the old settlers,
as [ have frequently heard from it,
with various comments on the traits
of character of the pioneer which are
valuable; but the notice which gave
me most pleasure is a, letter from one
old settler to another, in answer to
an invitation to attend his golden we'd
ding on Aug. II, 1898, here in st. Paul.
The letter is, in my opinion, an en-
chanting poem. It recalls in the most
graphic and charming manner the de-
lights of frontier life, where man
reveled in unrestrafned fresdom of
thought and action, without the carp
ing and belittling cares and RESPONSE
bilitieS Of civilization; where hope I'M
mixed with doubt was his guiding star;
his only earthly bounds the unbroken
horizon, while his aspirations knew no
limit. Happy is the man who passed
his youth under the eXalting influences
of the great ocean, or in intimacy with
nature in its pristine purity. Such
surroundings certainly inspired in the
writer of this letter a poetry of
thought, and a charm of expression,
and 1 thought your readers might like
to share it with me, so L send you a
copy for publication. Yours.
CHARLES e. FLANDRAU.
ST. CLOUD, Mimi, Aug. Z, 1S93.-
My Dear Friend: Your kind invitation
to make merry" with you on the
to think of. 1t is rather like looking
at a landscape through the small end
of an opera glass to look back at life
that is past; but the dainty beauty is
the memory of the good times we have
had CLOVIS in those prismatic hues.
You and L have seen many changes,
and we know that among them ali
Settler the "Old Timer" has never
grown cold Or dull. We have too much
of the eternal youth, which comes
from the very changes we have seen.
The zest of life, which was SO keen
in those early days, when every day
brought new and strange surprises.
has given a Jingle to the blood which
the mem of today can never know.
Our horizons had no bound; they
reached out into the multi-colored I'M
known-they touched the spot where
the sun went down. Today all IS
known and explored; no more use for
d lively imaginatlon; dull, common
place, a barnyard with cackling fowl
has taken the place of the eyries where
our young eagles nested.
We have this past. and it is so rich
in food that our blood will never run
in dull conventional flow. We cannot
now risk our all with the nonchalance
of those years, when We felt sure of
Fortune and knew the capricious jade,
who loves youth, would not frown.
With the coming of thin locks and
not too supple backs, we have lost
some of our trust in her, but not in our
old friends. We may not bring our
step into time with the drum-beat of
today, but there is a spring in our
souls, if not in our staid and meas
ured tread.
| feel the old action aroused by the
dates of your golden page. L am back
to the time when one did rot hear on
every side the cries of progress and
utility" when our ears were not so
dulled by the demagogue shouts OF tho
rights of man." and l would like to
see the sun set once more beyond those
hazy plains where no man to1led; to
live again among men who knew that
q pleasure was an end in life, and that
therefore God had given man a sens1-
tive mouth to kiss q woman; eyes
raised to see the light: delight in the
odor of flowers; nervous, thighs to
press the tanks of a gallant horse;
a gentle hand to stroke faithful dog,
or hold out to a friend.
I am like an old war horse, tamely
at grass, who hears the trumpet OF
his stirring youth long past. My blood
flows more warmly as memory recalls
all those scenes we have both passed
through.
Many will rally around you and your
wife on that evening" and none will
wish you well with warmer 'or more
kindly feelings than 1, who cannot be
there.
Please accept for your wife and
Yourself the WarmeSt congratulations
of your friend