Milford chronicle., 1906-11-30
Calmage
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase. D. D.

views the many causes Wnlcn ought e
inspire a nations gratitude and arouse
its patriotism. The text is Deuterono
my viii, 10, "Thou shalt bless the Lord
thy God for the good land which be
hath given thee"
In former Thanksgiving sermons
have spoken Of the corn and the wheat
and the rye and the apples and the
pears and the oranges and the sheep
and cows and horses and the machines
and the manufactures and the homes
and the stores and the railroads and
the ships and the public buildings
which have been produced during the
year, but today l would dwell on the
four great geographical developments
which took place in our American his
tory. that have given us this good
broad land for which we give thanks
would dwell especially on the heroic
men to whom, under the providence
of God, we owe those vast regions Of
land rich in fruits and minerals. We
heard of those men in our schOOlboy
days, but as we reach middle life their
names become unfamiliar. and we for
get their splendid achievements. This
ought not so to be. Our gratitude as Il
nation is due, and we owe it to them
that in our national thanksgivings theiT
names are remembered.
Let us first study the causes which
led up to the famous treaty Of Paris
of 1888. In order to do this we must
turn back the dial Of Ahaz to the be-
ginning of the Revolutionary war. And
as we enter the town meetings of New
England aud afterward attend the SEES
sions of the Continental congress we
do not hear one word uttered or find
one public document indicating that
the thirteen colonies set any value on
the land of the northwest or even on
that land lying just beyond the Ohio
river out of which the great states Of
Ohio and Indiana and Illinois and
Michigan and Wisconsin have been
carved. The thirteen colonies took no
more interest in tbs region than
Americans do today ii (anchuria.
A Hunter and Gamer.
Their awakening wa ,he work of
one man. Out of the wilderness man
came who knew its value. He was a
hunter and dreamer, a man who had
lived with the huge mountains and
great rivers, who had rested under
trees hundreds of years old, an athlete
who used thousands upon thousands of
square miles of land for a playground.
George Rogers Clark is his name. He
is one of the most influential factors in
American history. He was one Of the
great pivOts upon which the Paris
treaty Of 1888 turned. He first came
east in 177S as n delegate from the
modern state of Kentucky to the CO
lonial assembly Of Virginia. with a
petition that Kentucky should be in
corporated into the colony of Virginia !
as a new county" l am now quoting |
the exact words of the historian |
Fletcher johnson in reference to this |
petition.
After his mission was ended he re- |
turned home. While east he heard the |
story of the uprising against British |
rule. Then he commenced to brood as |
only a worlds dreamer can brood. He
saw in Imagination not only the thir-
teen colonies winning their independ |
ence, but he also saw that vast terri |
tory extending from the Ohio to the |
Mississippi Joined to the government |
about to be formed. Then in the dark
est days of the Revolutionary uprising, |
in the winter of Valley FORCES horror, |
George Rogers Clark retraced his steps |
to Williamsburg, Va. and knocked at
the Office door of Governor Patrick
Henry. Come inw called Governor
Patrick Henry. what do you want?"
he asked the strange western pedes
trlan. Il want" answered George
Rogers Clark, ian army to go and cap
ture tine great northwest from the
British" "Absurdw said Governor
Henry. eve have no soldiers and no
money" "Then," answered Clark. IF
you have no soldiers or money l want
letters Of authority to organize the
hunters of that region into an army.
and l alone will do the rest" Gov
ernor Patrick Henry gave to this vi
sionary schemer the letters he request
ed. To make a long story short. George
Rogers Clark gathered together $50
men. They were Gideon's band of
intrepid heroes. With this little hand
full of followers he plunged into the
forest and attacked the British at Kas-
kaskia. He then marched on. gathering
up his army as he went, until at last
he wrested Detroit from the grasp of
the British Commander Henry Hamll.
ton. Such Is the history Of the con-
quest of the great northwest. 1t was
all due to the foresight Of one brilliant
dreamer, George Rogers Clark. wish
had time to go more into detail.
However, before we leave the forest
tracks Of this valiant American patriot
I would say be careful and do not con-
fuse the name Of George Rogers Clark
with that of a William Clark Of the
Clark and Lewis expedition to Oregon.
They were two different men and Of
no relation. although they bore the