The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1902-12-15
THE


land thin and poor, covered with scraggy
hardwood forest with dense growth of under
brush-hooppoes the paw paw and the hazel
bush predominating Here and there struggling
chestnut oali--the tanbark tree-had escaped the
almost universal destruction. Every mile so
there a little clearing" planted to corn or
tobacco which gave promise of scanty crop of
"nubbns' and fodder, or few plugs OF long
green" The rude log huts with stick and mud
chimneys were forlorn evidences of the presence
of man. Through the dirty and broken-down door,
way tow-head urchins in bare feet peered wonder
ingly at the passing stranger In other clearings"
the cabin was wholly deserted and the roof fallen
in. The patch of open ground was grown up to
sassafras, which with the ragweed and the mullen
stalk was striving to hide the naked white earth
beneath from which the soil had long since disap-
peared. mile away ravine, the timber
and brush had all been removed from an entire
hillside and it had evidently been improved"
years ago for now all the soil was gone and the
barren red clay gashed with long deep gulles
without sign of vegetation. The red sun
glared down upon it hot and fierce, and the red
earth glared back at the just fierce and
nearly at hot. A desolate world, a WORKOUT world
an exhausted helpless, hopeless unresponsive
world to eliminate its hopeless, helpless pop
ulation for bare lack of subsistence But here the
road led through longer stretch of forest
grateful shade from overhanging branches relieved
"A
cover and trotted down the road in front OF me- to
disappear again in the thicket when he heard the
hoofbeats of the horse. few miles of denser for
est and then turn in the roadway brought us
into another clearing. What flush of pleasure!
cabin of neatly hewed logs with the chinks filled
with cleaning white mortar. The one small win
dow in front so clean and bright was filled with
blooming plants. Smooth green turf covered the
little dooryard where od-fashioned we'll
sweep with it's curbng and wooden bucket and
gourd held sway. Through the open doorway the
wooden floor shone white and clean. The post and
rail fence in front was straight and firm. Over
the end of the cabin mass of vines clambered.
By the garden gate the hollyhocks and morning
glories Wed with each other in the brlliancy of
their hues while farther back the golden glOres
of the marigold compelled the Johnny-jump-ups to
drop their heads and hide their faces from such
brazen effrontery. How quiet and lovely and rest
full this lodge in this vast wilderness. A peaceful,
Joyous, beautiful world, where your good neigh
bors the chattering squirrel, the drumming pleas
ant and the ivory-billed woodpecker make their
CHEEKY morning calls while you breathe in the de-
Ucious forest odors | did not see the people who
lived there, but l know what manner of people
they were Truly
"The mind is it's place, and in itself
Can make heaven of hell, hell of heaven"
Which is very true even if the devil did say it.
The vision of that beautiful home in the wilder
ness has been with me to this day and has not
been without it's lesson.
Our philosophy of life is false and our philoso-
ply of education inadequate and in part untrue.
When | was a boy | was taught the Catechism
answer to the question: what is the chief end of
MANI" and when | became a man | found men
making their chief end something altogether diff
terent Our people, by their hopes their activi-