Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-05-17
And the hunter cried:


"'Her name is Truth. He who has
once seen her never rests again. Till
death he desires her
"And the hunter cried:
"'Oh, tell me where l may find her!
But the man said:
"'You have not suffered enough and
went
Then the hunter took from his
breast the shuttle of Imagination and
wound on it the thread of his Wishes,
and all night he sat and wove n net.
In the morning he spread the golden
net open on the ground, and into it he
threw a few grains of credulity, which
his father had left him and which he
kept in his breast pocket. They were
like white puffballs, and when you trOd
on them brown dust flew out. Then
he sat by to see what would happen.
The first that came into the net was a
snow white bird, with doves eyes, and
he sang a beautiful song. a human
God. Il human God, a human God" it
sang. The second that came was black
and mystical, with dark, lovely eyes,
that looked into the depths of your
soul, and he sang only this-'Immor-
talityr
"And the hunter took them both in
his arms, for he said:
"'They are surely OF the beautiful
family of Truth
"Then came another, green and gold,
who sang in a shrill voice, like one cry
ing in the market place, Reward after
death. reward after death"
"And he said:
"'You are not so fair, but you are
fair, too and he took it.
and others came, brightly colored,
singing pleasant songs till all the
grains We're finished, and the hunter
gathered all his birds together and
built a strong iron cage, called a new
creed, and put all his birds in it.
"Then the people came about dane
ing and singing.
"'Oh, happy hunterr they cried. oh,
wonderful man, oh. delightful birds!
oh, lovely songs"
mo one asked where the birds had
come from nor how they had been
caught but they danced and sang be-
fore them. And the hunter, too, was
glad, for he said:
"'Surely Truth is among them. In
time she will molt her feathers, and l
shall see her snow white form
But the time passed, and the people
sang and danced, but the hunters
heart grew heavy. He crept alone, as
of old, to weep. The terrible desire
| had awakened again in his breast. One
day, as he sat alone weeping, 1t chanc-
ed that Wisdom met him. He told the
old man what he had done.
"And Wisdom smiled sadly.
MANY men, he said, have spread
that net for Truth, but they have never
found her. On the grains Of credulity
she will not feed; in the net of wishes
her feet cannot be held; In the air OF
these valleys she will not breathe. The
birds you have caught are of the brood
of Lies-lovely and beautiful, but still
lies. Truth knows them not
"And the hunter cried out in bitter
ness:
"'And must l, then, sit still, to be
hevoured of this great burning?
"And the old man said:
Listen, and in that you have suf-
1ered much and wept much / viii tell
Iou what know. He who sets out to
tearch for Truth must leave these val
leys Of superstition forever, taking
with him not one shred that has be-
longed to them. Alone h. must wan
| der down into the Land Of Absolute
Negation and Denial. He must abide
there He must resist temptation.
When the light breaks, he must arise
and follow 1t into the country Of dry
sunshine The mountains of stern
reality will rise before him. He must
climb them. Beyond them lies Truth
"'And he Will hold her fast! He will
hold her in his handsr the hunter cried.
"Wisdom shook his head.
"'He will never see her, never hold
| her. The. time is not yet
"Then there is no hopeY cried the
hunter.
""There is this said Wisdom. Some
men have climbed on those mountains
circle above circle of bare rock they
have scaled-and, wandering there in
| those high regions, some have CHANGED
| to pick up on the ground one white,
silver feather dropped from the wing
| of Truth. And it shall come to pass,
said the old man, raising himself
prophetically and pointing with his fin
| ger to the sky-it shall come to pass,
when enough of those silver feathers
shall have been gathered by the hands
| of men and shall have been woven into
a cord, and the cord into a net, that in
| that net Truth may be captured Moth
| ing but Truth can hold Truth
''The hunter arose. 4 will CO. he
| said.
"But Wisdom detained him.
"'Mark you well-who leaves these
valleys never returns to them. Though
| he should weep tears of blood seven
days and nights upon the confines, he
can never put his foot across them.
Left, they are left forever. Upon the
road which you would travel there Is
no reward offered. Who goes, goes
| freely, for the great love that is in
| him. The work is his reward
81 co. said the hunter, but upon
the mountains, tell me, which path
shall take?
az am the child of the Accumulated
Knowledge of Ages said the man. I
can walk only where many men have
trodden. On those mountains few feet
have passed. Each man strikes out a
path for himself. He goes at his own
peril. My voice he hears no more. l
may follow after him, but L cannot go
before him
tErbaY,
"And the hunter turned. He went to
his cage and with his hands broke
down the bars, and the jagged iron tore
his flesh. 1t Is sometimes easier to
build than to break.
zone by one he took his plumcd birds
and let them fly But when he came to
his dark plumed bird he held it and
looked into its beautiful eyes, and the
bird uttered its low, deep cry-ImmOr-
tality!
"And he said quickly: Il cannot part
with it. 1t is not heavy. 1t eats no
food. 1 will hide 1t in my breast 1
will take 1t with me- And he buried
it there and covered itlover with his
cloak.
But the thing he had hidden grew
heavier, heavier, heavier, till it lay on
his breast like lead. He could not
move it. He could not leave those val
leys withit. Then again he took it out
and looked at it.
"'Oh, my beautiful, my hearts own"