The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-10-22
STIRRING TALE OF A NORTH

STIRRING TALE OF A NORTH
WESTERN PLAINsN1AN. -Will Lilli-
|. bridge. a 't4sInew writer in Ben Blair,
the Story Of a Plainsman, has told a
stofys that not only lays fast hold on
the reader s attention and sympathies,1
but carries to his mind something Of the
sanity and serenity that comes from
contact with untamed nature. The
scene is in Dakota before the days Of
division and statehood. The characters
are such as naturally find their way
to the frontiers, simple, direct, strong. in
plot is as simple as the open plains, and
almost as old. Yet for all this that is
familiar to fiction readers, having been
used over and over again, the story is
vital, dealing with elemental passions
commensurate with the forces of ma
ture that are their environment.
Ben Blair is introduced to the reader,
mother in a cattleman's sod hut on
the Dakota .prairies. Death comes; to
| the mother thru the neglect of the man
with whom she lives, and the boy, for
.saken by the man, is taken by a neigh
boring ranchman. He grows up a
masterfulness, with a will that brooks
no obstacles. He comes to love the
daughter of Scotty Baker, an English
! man, owner of horse ranch, and prob
able heir to British fortune. Baker s
| wife and daughter, after a while, per-
suade him to leave the frontier for the
east. This is after Ben and the daugh-
ter. Florence, have both gone thru
school in the east and have returned to
the plains. Ben does not give up hope
of winning the girl, who, tho she knows
that the sincerer life is out in the
open, yet yearns for the things of "civ-
ilization: ~; =. In New York the girl falls
:. under. the, hypnotic spell of one Sid
well. Ben appears, upon the scene, and
| then the battle is between Blair as the
representative Of the natural and di-
rect, and Sidwell as the representative
of the superficial and artificial.
Something of the originality and pc,
culiarity of Ben, and of his heroics
may be seen in the following, spoken in
a clash between himself and Sidwell:
'such being the case, Clarence Sid.
WELL" he went on, earring for Florenc,
Baker as I do, and knowing you as 1 do
why in Gods name should I leave you
coward: in possession of the deares
thing to me IN the world?" For ar
instant the voice paused, the protrudins
lower jaw advanced until it became
4 positive Disagreement. 'Tell me why
should sacrifice my own happiness 70
= yours. have. had enough of this word
play. Speak," =. =
The outcome Of the story at frs
:. seems forced. But if the reader will
: remember that fascination is hypno
= tism from which the mind can be awak
: ened and made to see sanely again, b
=. will see that the climax, which come
where a climax should, is altogethe
= natural. - =
The author is not master reconteu1
On the contrary his characters ar
e often stiff. They speak in stilted term
here and there, and Ben almost struts
The author missed an opportunity i
making his hero man quite devoid o
r humor. !, Indeed, the absence of hume
K thruout the story is a serious fault
{ Nevertheless. the story is one yer
9 much above the average in it's power t
}. grip the interest of the reader, an
y it's emphasis on natural and simple liv
g ing makes it one Of the stories on
a Fought to read.'' zs&4
e A. C. McClurg. & Co.. Chicago.