The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-18
ELIJAH KELLOGG DEAD.
The Author of Boys Books Passes
Away in New England.

| PORTLAND. Me, March 1.-THE Rev
Elijah Kellogg. the weIl-known writer of
/ juvenile stories. died today at Harpswell,
where he had been pastor OF the Harps-
wen Congregational Church for thirty
years.
He was born in Portland in May. 1873.
a son of the Rev. Elijah Kellogg, one of
Portand's early ministers, who died in
lSl2. aged eighty-one years.
owing to the failure of his publishers.
MS stories Melted him very little. He
leaves son and daughter.
MT Kellogg is known to every boy who
takes any interest whatever in good
wholesome. stirring Juvenile stories as
one OF the best writer's of books Tor boys
VINO ever lived. and there are thousands
VI men VINO well remember hearing his
wen, AhoWh piece of elocution, '.Spartacus
70 the Giadlators at Capua" from the
lipS OF some ambitious young fellow in
front OF the teachers desk on graduation
udy, or on some other show occasion
He was born at Portland Me-, on Nav
~. 1915, and spent, so far as several of
MS biosraphers know, all of his early
days near that city He was graduated
from Bowdoin College In 1910 and then
went to the Andover Theological Semi
nary at Andover. Mass, from which he
was graduated in 1916. The next year he
was ordained pastor OF the Congrega-
tional Church at Harpswell. Me. a small
town in Cumberland County, and on
Casco Bay, well known a summer re-
sort region.
In 1855 he became chaplain of the Boston
SeaInans Friend Society and continued as
such until 1868. 1t was about this time
that Mr.. Kellogg began to lecture and
also to write. With few exceptions his
writing for boys, and although be
had not written many of them in the
last twenty years, nearly every one or
two or three dozen is to be found in
0f he cffy arif mr. al M ef
every town library in New England tape
cially boasts of at least one of them.
Every one of these is almost invariably
well thumbed and worn. thus bearing the
best tribute its readers could pay to it's
excellence or absorbing interest.
The first series of books which he wrote
was called THE Elm Island Stories" the
first of which was written about 1853.
They all had attractive titles such
Lion Ben of Elm Island Charlie Bell.
the Wait of Elm Island. The Ark Ct
Elm Island. and so on. Then came the
Forest Glen series, comprising 'Sowed
by the Wind, Wolf Rum and Brought
to the Front" The next series was the
the Whispering Pine" series. The For
est Glen series comprised The Mission
of Black Rife, or on the Trail, Forest
Glen, or the Mohawks Friendship.
''Burying the Ratchet, or the Young
Brave of the Delawares" From 1871 to
1888 were published the books of the
These stories were all of the adven-
lures and hardshiDs of young pioneers
and old pioneers, too-and their fights
with Indians while building houses in the
Wilderness. Throughout them all there
was nothing of the Dare Devil ick-the
daring fighter f-the-Rockies style. On
the other hand. no boy ever found in Mr..
Kelloggs books an. overabundance of
stuff That was what made them good
from the viewpoint of their boy readers.
They were full of action. No character
IN them ever gave a lecture on the way
to roast pig knuckle in lump of clay:
he went and roasted it while you looked
on, so to speak. and when the roast was
finished you smacked your lips. That
quality of the books was what made a
man who works in a library say recently:
That man was a juvenile Fennimore
Cooper. And what a lot of fun we have
had from reading his books and those of
men who wrote like him-'Oliver Optic
and Horatio Algeri
SIR. Keilogg'5 "Spartacus TO the Gladi- |
ators'' is a piece of eloquence which is |
not heard often in the schools nowadays, /
but it can be found in Epes Sargent's |
STANDARD Speaker" He who went to |
the district school, or even the city /
school, ten or fifteen years ago will re- /
member well the lines
''Ye call me chief; and We do well to call /
him chief who for twelve long years has /
or beast the broad empire of Rome could /
furnish and who never yet lowered his 1
2 rm If there be any among you who can /
say that ever in public fight private /
brawl my actions did belle my tongue, let +
hin stand up and say it. If there b.. |
three in all your company dare face me
on the bloody sands let them come forth.
And yet / was not always thus, and so |
on
1t seems that for some reason, Mr.. KEEL
logg did not enjoy many pecuniary fruits t
from the popularity of his books. The /
failure of a publishing house in which he |
". interested been a
cause of this. His recent years were |
no scad IN, itauad cir