The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1904-06-10
A QUESTION
OF CONSCIENCE.
BY JAMES HARVEY SMITH.

PLAIN why u man Oi intelligence
should exchange ease for discom
fort and plenty for privation. II
is admitted that the only reason
why one should toll is the pros.
pcct of future rest. To simply Sc
cure enough food to stay the stom'
ach and clothing to cover the body
need not require more than Il days
work in a week, and see what a sim.
pie shelter will shield US from the
seasons changes.
But we arc nine parts luxury
and only n Of necessity. There
must be curtains and carpets to
shut out air and catch dust; orna-
mcntcd walls and pictures TO hide
them; gewgaws and g%imcracks
without number. Expenses in.
crcase with revenue, and the goal
of rest and content pcrpetually re-
cedes.
! have noticed that women r
not worried in such n situation.
Their entire life is u state Of merry
Gus unrest and they do not care
10 change IL. Man is the savage
animal; he Is p%crpctually rccur-
ring to barbarism. lie loves to go
into solitude and live with the
beasts. There comes upon him ~
times the passion to kill and de
stroy. He lays On the ground.
wadcs through swamps, courts
danger and exposure, and hugs
the disagrccablc side Of nature.
Then he returns 10 civilization, r.
sumcs his formal grb, and re-.
lapscs into discomfort.
Perhaps il was for these rea.
sons that abandoned n good bust.
ness in the east and went west.
From Vermont 10 Idaho was n far
cry IL years ago, and ] had no
more cXcusc for selecting the lit
Tie town within the shadow of the
mountains than n chance look at u
railway map.
II was n mere hamlet of less
than 800 souls, but, being on In"
spur Of n railroad. was u shipping
point for hides and wool aud ore
and had n number of respectable
shops and trades. With these PEG.
pie, however, | had no desire for
amliation. ! did not intend to he
clurlish, much less n hermit. but
had the desire to live apart from
my fellow men for u time at least.
To that end | took up u claim
three miles from town. II was an
exceptionally fine piece of arabic
land for that region, and there |
built n comfortable house Of six
rooms, stout, with thick walls 10
withstand the winters cold. The
household goods had brought
from the east furnished il simply
but comfortably, and here | set.
tied down To peaceful, lonely
life.
planted a good portion of my
claim with hardy fruit trees, and
on n half acre garden raised
enough, vegetables 10 keep the
table well supplied during the
summer and stock the cellar for
winter. My wife had her flower
garden, and | set out plants and
foliage around the house. did
not intend that solitude should
deprive MS of any creature com.
forts, and had ,ot made such n
revolution in myl'.uschold affairs
without my witc's consent. She
may have wondered, but she made
no objections. In the Vermont
town where We were married she
vas II belle and noted for her gay.
ETY., but she relinquishcd her ad.
yantagcs without an apparent
pang. Perhaps il was only WON.
ans natural ac|quiescence and her
intuitive knowledge thar in time
the fiji would pass from me and |
would pine for the hurly.burly of
the world as had for its .seclu-
sion. -
1t was in our third year that the
incident occurred that sent me
ha,l IN ci~vilization na, I,,Io