The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1905-09-12

t6iSbS III tac past.
"Macauley in speaking of the state
of England during the latter part Of
the reign of Charles II, said; Tt may
at first seem strange that society
while constantly moving forward
with eager speed, should De constant
ly looking backward with tender re
gret. 1t is in some sense ~unreason-
able and u~ngrateful in US to be con-
stantly disconnected with a condition
which is constantly improving. But
ment precisely because there is a
constant discomfort. If we were per-
fectly satisfied with the present we
should cease to contrive, to labor,
and to save with a view to h future
and it is natural that being dissatis-
fed with the present we should form
a too favorable estimate of the past.
Let us pine not then for the Flesh
pots of Egypt, nor dwell on h bet
ter days of the republic, for these
are better days of the republic. We
of all people can best appreciate Ma
| cau1ey's beautiful illustration when
he likens this mistaken view of the
better past to the appearance of the
mirage. If we chase it backward we
shall find it recede before us into the
regions of fabulous antiquity.
THE Die settler, of all people,
ought not to be misled by this phan-
tom. The world is not growing worse
it is growing better. The moral, men
tai, and physical conditions are net
ter than when these old settlers were
boys and girls. Whatever draws mar
| kind together makes mankind better.
These changes have e wrought
by the increased facilities for ex-
change of products of the soil, and
| the products of the mind.
Quoting, again, from that great
| philosopher and historian, Macauley:
EVERY improvement of the
means of locomotion benefits mankind
morally, an Intellectually as well as
materially; and not only facilitates
the interchange of the various pro-
| ducts of nature and art, but tends
to remove NATIONAL and provincial
a%ntipathies, and to bind together all
the branches of the great human
family
"And now let me say that in no
country of which We have knowledge
have these improvements wrought
such a change as in this beautiful
Valley of the Pecos. This verual
one once the pasture of the buffalo,
now the home of the Shorthorn, the
Hereford, and the Jersey. Once and
but recently, the hunting ground of
the Comanche, now the beautiful
home of the old settlers. This great
plateau, where, fou thousand feet
above the sea, imprisoned lakes.
through every aperture, natural or
artificial, send up their waters to min
gle with the sunshine. This country
of ours, who can describe it as nature
and the old settlers have made it?
The and where innumerable stream
lets are as silver threads in the great
vernal carpet. The Ut where every
day is brighter than yesterday. The
land where the moon draws in her
train more and brighter stars, and
where she descends more closely to
earth than anywhere else. Where the
loveliest of t~wilights sp eads its
curtain of rosy tints as nature
goes to rest; and the dreamland
where the mocking bird and whip
poorwill sing duets all the night.
But 1 must refrain; for no poor
words of mine are adequate to the
task of describing the indescribable
charms of our glorious country. AS
well might I undertake to paint the
lily or add perfume to the rose.
81 cannot close this address with
out speaking of a few of the Old Set
tiers who are not here today. Some
of them have passed over the Great
Divide. Being as l am, the guest of
you society, it may not be altogether
proper to confne my tribute to these
men; but to narrate the virtues of
them all would consume more time
than I have at my disposal.
Capt. J. c. Lea, the Nestor of The
old settlers, was too well known to
all of you to need any words of
praise from me.
Twenty years three men
came to this valley, whose names are
now historical, John S. Chisum, Pit
ger Chisum and Jas. Chisum, (Uncle
Jimmy as he was Familiarity called.
John S. the elder of the brothers
financed the great enterprise which
has made its impress on this country
But to Uncle Jimmy we owe the mag