Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-06-28

the worries and cares of the pioneers, 1
will conclude with verse from Faber.
Rest comes at length though life be long and
dreary
The day must dawn and darksome night be
passed.
Lies journey ends in welcome to the weary
And Heaven the hearts true home will come
at last.
Major e. NJ. Carr.
Forty-three years ago, when but 9 boy
six years old, crossed the Father of
Waters to its western shore, and COM
menced my life work in this great
trans Mississippi region. Our first
Iowa rome was y log cabin on the outer
edge of the little settlement, that at
that time clustered about the Campton
post office. To the south and west of
where we lived, q treeless, uninhsbited
prairie stretched away as far as the eye
could see. AT that time the race of
red men had already disappeared, leav-
ing only a few stone arrow heads and
their names upon our waters to evi.
dence a prior occupancy. From the
bosom of these rolling prairies l have
seen groves of timber stand up, and
farms and railroads and towns leap
forth, and so change the face of nature,
that if the Indian lover could return
from his Happy Hunting Ground, he
would be unable to recognized the land
in which he wooed and won his dusky
maiden.
OF the hardships and trials and tri-
umphs, of the vigorous, hopeful and
alert pioneer, volumes might lie written
and not the half be told. am In no
mood to day to particularize. Others
have told specifically about the events
of the yesterdays when life was young
nlOwa, and it may not be out Of place
for me to talk for few moments, in q
more general way, about the courageous
men and women, who left friends and
kindred back in the older states, or
perhaps beyond the ocean, and came
here to help lay the foundations of this
imperial commonwealth. Let me think
out loud about those who not alone
came here, but have gone hence, leaving
to their children q heritage richer than
that possessed by any other people.
Have you not seen them, with the
light of hope in their eyes, blowing the
land for the first time, or helping to
build the first school or church in their
neighborhood? And can you not see
through the shaded haze of years, the
mothers OF those days, shaping the
minds and hearts of their boys and
girls along correct lines, and sowing in
the young lives of their children the
seeds Of worthy aspirations? To the
memory of these character building
mothers let us pay our choicest tribute,
for men and not acres make communi.
ties happy and nations great.
And, later on, have you not seen these
nation builders become nation defend
ers? When the stars began to scatter
in the constellation of the union,
there were never to be forgotten scenes
witnessed here in this westlsnd. Lesv.
ing his plow in the furrow, and tears
upon the cheeks of his loved ones, the
pioneer took first rank in the armies
of the union. You recollect how
they assembled here in Manchester; you
witnessed the parting scenes at the de-
pot; you saw for the last time your
kinsman, neighbor or friend on the
platform or at the window of the start
ing train; or, If you went with him, you
saw him for the last time wrapt in the
smoke of battle, fall at the post of duty.
A few days after the news of his d. ath
reached home, did you not attent q
funeral? DO you not recollect al out
gong to tue near by church or school
house, and seeing the minister and the
choir, the mourners and the friends, but
no coffin? At these wartime funerals
there were no collins, for far down in
Tennessee or Mississippi the tall rock
pines with their tossing pllmes waved
over the biers of the soldiers.
To these and kindred scenes the
Delaware county Of today owes its glory
and its sadness, its mystery and its
charm; and, to an intensified degree
must this ever be 80 to the survivors OF
the pioneer period.
Someday, some child of genius will
gather up all the mystic chords OF
memory and affection, which unite the
homes of the living with the graves Of
these pioneer dead, and weave them in.
to q word picture, rich, grand and en-
during.
Yet, after all, the fates were kind to
the Iowa pioneer. They might have
lured him to the country south of the
Ohio, where he would have left his
children in 9 land afflicted by race
problem heritage; or, they might have
held the cup OF promise to his lips I'M
til he reached the regions beyond the
Missouri, where surplus of sunshine
| oAu cuOAGdk VI I0lul6u dE0 CUubtAul
menace to every agricultural endeavor
Kind indeed were the fates when
they gave us homes in this favored
land. Here bone and blood and brair
grow pure and strong; here men be
come leaders of men.
The barefooted Scotch boy, who grew
to manhood working on his fathers
farm and breaking prairie in the neigh
boring county of Fayette, will soon as
sumo the duties of the second position
of honor and power in this great nation
Although not OF the same politica
school as myself, cannot help liking
| Colonel Henderson. There is not
thread of shoddy in the warp OF
wool of his generous nature. Ht
has touched elbows with nearly
every kind of labor, hardship and trf
umph of our pioneer life, and we
all rejoice to know that his big heart
will lie potential in shaping the fal
reaching policies now at the national
threshold.
In this season of victory, may the
American people do no act that
will tend to undermine the principles
of their constitution, or jeopsrdfze the
peace of the state. In our hearts, II
not with our voices, may we all join in
this invocation:
"God Of our fathers, known of old
Lord OF our far-hung battle line;
Beneath Whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine!
Lord God of Hosts. be with us yet,
Lest fOrpak last fOrU0tlO