The silver lance., 1898-02-18
LEAD $3.50.

what country In any tlme,
The what land in any cline, has
New passed through such ordeals
West or created an historical record
to compare with that of the
Great West. "The West" as it has come
to be used, or as the different periods
Of our national progress have applied the
term, is ambiguous, but as we of its Sec
ton understand, means that vast area Of
United States territory lying west of
the broad channel Of the Father of
Waters" Its history antedates Plymouth
nearly . hundred years, and its gold
glistened in the Golfers Of the nations
nearly three centuries before Suffers
mill was built. II we look into the hazy
past when the sun OF 1910 shone upon
the splendor Of New Spain, we behold
the little band Of Coronado in the pomp
and pride Of the Castillian nation, start
ing out on their long journey in search
Of the Seven Cities and their realms Of
gold, told Of in the traditions of the
Indians Of Mexico. The difficulties en-
countered and conquered, the hardships
suffered, and the crowning disappoint-
ment when the hopes Of the bold explorer
were doomed before the swirIing, sweep
ing depths of the Missouri River, are
known to every student Of early history
Of America. This party was the first
white men to ever set foot upon the
soil Of tho Great American Desert" !"
alias Tho Great Plains," alias "The
West" How sad must have been the
thoughts Of Coronado,-proud, ambitious
fellow that he was,-when his long and
fruitless quest for the legended Ciobla
came to an end, and he looked out over
the muddy. mighty food at his feet!
And how many,-how many thousands
In the centuries since have experienced
other, and to each as great, disappoint-
ments as that of the Spanish explorer
in the middle decades Of the sixteenth
century. To the generations OF the
present half century have come the
deepest sorrows and the greatest joys in
developing and settling the wide domain
and all who have played part in this
great tragedy Of life have slipped of the
bitter and tasted Of the sweet. For
period a. long as half the allotted time
of man the west was unlike any other
portion of the world; it's people were dom
mated by new impulses which established
now characteristics that has made them
superior beings; its virgin laws were un-
written, but understood and respected,
and the pathways Of its pioneer commerce
were blazed by tho unmarked graves OF
ths unknown dead. But westward the
star Of empire takes its way" and the
restless tide OF human events pushed on
70 write the story in the crimson OF the
setting sun. The school house with its
mission of peace for the present and
preparation for the dawning future, and
the church with its message Of love and
promise, dot the landscape where the
buffalo roamed undisturbed, and where
the red-skinned warrior laid in ambush
for his pale-face foe. Around the church
and school house, are groves and fields
and happy homes. Instead of the coyotes
dismal cry. the echo of children's voices
and laughter rings from vale to hill. In
seead Of the owls lonely hoot above the
prs,Eis grave, its quiet is unbroksn, ane
. olossoming flower mods to the zsphyrl
that pass in the phosphoroscent moon
light calm and still. In the modest prai
rie homes; in the more pretentious city
residences. or in the miners cabin higi
upon the mountain that "rears its eres
70 Heavens dome," there is culture ant
fsonement. Every home has its library
though limited it may be, and periodical
asso. and the love that marks the grand
sse spot On earth home IN ''rhs West.