The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-21

western s'Gift Book" Issued Seventy
Years Ago.


small volume recently discovered among
the forgotten treasures of an old library In
southern Indiana and brought forth to en-
terrain the descendants of those who first
turned it's pages seventy years ago. when
its now faded covers glistened with the
sheen of silk and its gilded edges. now so
dim. flashed with their luster untarnished.
Cincinnati was the birthplace of this mod
est production, the firm of y. & G.. Guilford
its sponsors for publication, James Hall its
editor and compiler, while the name of W.
NJ. Farnsworth appears as the printer. In
this day and generation, with the center of
population within the borders Of our own
State, and literary culture widespread
throughout the entire Mississippi valley, ii
is difficult TO realize that our grandfathers
were looked upon as frontiersmen and
Western pioneers, and that the now
wealthy States bordering on the Ohio were
regarded along the seaboard as region
only inhabited by savage red men. Hence
the daring which was required in 1879 to
issue a gift book west of the Alleghenies,
and paragraph or two from Mr.. Halls
preface may well be quoted to show the
timidity with which he made the attempt.
1.-THE following work appears before the
pulick under the embarrassing character
of a first attempt to initiate the beautiful
productions of art and genius which have
reflected so much honour upon the talents
of our worthy countrymen in some of the
Atlantick States. 1t will be seen that this
volume aspires to something beyond the
ordinary compilations of the day, and that
MO how 10 civ nrfo tpo al
character by devoting it's pages exclusively
to our domestick literature. 1t is written
and printed In the Western country, by
Western men, and is chiefly confined to
subjects connected with the history and
character of the country which gives it
birth" CHANGING over the table of con-
tents readily sees that this promise
was carried into effect, for the titles all
have a strong bearing upon the frontier
life, and the local coloring of their subject
matter is equally pronounced. "Oolemba
in Cincinnati" the supposed narrative of a
Delaware chief. is one of the longest tales
in the book. while "Chetoca, or the Mad
Buffalo, is vouched for as an unembel-
lished recital of actual occurrences.
S. S. Boyd, the distinguished jurist, whose
later years were spent at Arlington" an
ideally charming home near Natchez. yet
occupied by his immediate family, contrib
utes another Indian story, 1.-THE Descend
ants of Paugus," besides a poem I'm five
stanzas, Maria Louisa at the Grave Of
Napoleon
'The Last of the Boatmen," by N
is a well-written sketch describing Mike
Fink the typical representative of a class
now long extinct, yet which once possessed
characteristics no less marked than the
Romany gypsies or the Neapolitan lag
| zaroni. The whole period of the keel boat
| mems existence was not more than third
of century. for the character was created
| by the introduction of trade on the West
ern waters and ceased with the successful
establishment of the steamboat. Among
| these men Mike Fink stood an acknowl-
edged leader for many years. He was the
| hero of hundred fights, the champion of
| a thousand reckless adventures, and with
him expired the spirit of the keel boatmen.
| Not many names among the contributors
have been handed down to fame, several
| choosing, with that mock modesty once
| fashionable. to veil their identity behind
| the pen names Of Orlando" "Velasco."
''Hassan'' and Anon" while-a fact most
unlike present conditions-not a woman's
signature appears. giftbook for the
present year that should omit the talented
women who WELD the pen with brilliant
success in every State of our Union would
be a curiosity, and an unworthy one.
Accustomed as we are to the modern
luxury of copious illustration, the 324 pages
| of this book seem very barren. with only
seven plates, and those but crude steel en-
cravings fitted to the dimensions Of a
16-mo. Pittsburg, Cincinnati and Frank
fort, KY. all bear strong resemblance to
| each other when represented as toy villages
| set in the midst of outrageous landscapes,
while 1.-THE Deserted Children" and "The
Shawanoe Warrior are simply drawn to
meet the requirements Of the text they ac-
company.
| John B. Dillon, afterward celebrated
| through his History of Indiana" the first
| ever written, here woos the muse Of poesy
with Lines to an Orphans Harp" Indeed.
| the versifers all show the influence of that
romantic school which apostrophizes the
| beloved object in terms that would now ap-
| pear stilted and pedantic but were then in
| complete consonance with a generation
| whose favorite novels were Children of
the Abbey and 1.-THE Mysteries of IDOL
pho.''
''To Cold Fair One is among the anon
| ymous fragments, while N. Guilford signs
on "Lde to Musick," and Orlando emulates
| his Shakspearean namesake in the sem
timentaiity OF his prolific verse, though he
| also shows a sense of humor in 1.-THE Plant
of Havana" a parody-when the parody
was yet new-on Moore's Meeting of the
| Waters"
| James Hall, the editor, evinces his own
versatility in several sketches Bearing upon
widely different topics. and he. too, tries
his hard at parody In stanzas which open
his little volume, and the first of which
may here be quoted to close this brief re-
view of by-gone holiday book.
"Oh, new Souvenir is come out OF the
| West,
| Through all the wide borders it flies with a
| Zest;
For save this fair volume We Souvenir had
| none
! 1t comes unprecedented, ii comes all alone;
| So glossy in silk, and so neat in BREWER
| There never was book like our new
| Souvenir"
| THOMAS JAMES DE LA HUNT.
| Virginia Place. Cannelton. Ind.