Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-11-30
C-aln1ase
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaae. d. d.


its patriotism. The text is Deuterono-
my viii 10. Thou shalt bless the Lord
thy God for the good land which he
hath S,vea thee
In former thanksgiving sermons
have spolel of the corn and the wheat
and the rye and the apples and the
pears au1 the oranges and the sheep
and cows and hor~es and the machines
and the manufactures and the homes
aud the stores and the railroads and
the ships aud -fhe public buildings
which lave 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.
1 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
nation is due, and we owe it to them
that in our national thanksgivings their
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
T,ncvlanI nd n or.1 NJ 1,o
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 this region than
Americans do today in Manchuria.
A Hunter and Dreamer.
Their awakening was the work Of
one man. Out OF the wilderness a man
came who knew its value. he was n
hunter and a 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 IFS as delegate from the
modern state OF Kentucky to the CO.
lonial assembly of Virginia. with n
petition that Kentucky should be In
corporated into the colony OF Virginia
MS n 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 worlds dreamer can brood. He
saw I'm imagination not only the thr.
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
-AkVAN " NC 1uen III tic dark
est days of the Revolutionary uprising
in the winter OF Valley Forge's horror
George Rogers Clark retraced his steps
to Williamsburg, Va, and knocked al
the Office door OF Governor Patricl.
Henry. "Come inv' called Governor
Patrick Henry. what do you wantY'
he asked the strange western pedes-
trian. Il want" answered George
Rogers Clark, IAN army to go and cap
ture the great northwest from the
British" "Absurdr' said. Governor
Henry. eve have no soldiers and nc
money" Then" answered Clark. III
you have no soldiers or money! want
letters OF authority to organize the
hunters OF that region into an army
and i alone will do the rest" Gov
crnor Patrick Henry gave to this vi
sionary schcmer the letters he request
ed. To make a long story short. George
Rogers Clark gathered together 15(
men. They were Gideon's band oil
intrepid heroes. With this little hand
full OF followers ne plunged into ths
forest and attacked the British at Kas
kaskia. He then marched on, gathering
up his army as he went, until at las
he wrcsted Detroit from the grasp OF
the British Commander Henry Hamil
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. l wIsl
/ had time TO go more into detail
However. before we leave the forest
tracks OF this valiant American PATROL
l would say be careful and do not con
fuse the name of George Rogers Clark
with that of William Clark OF the
Clark and Lewis expedition to Oregon
They were two different men and OF
no relation. although they bore the
same family name.
The Scene Changes.
The scene changes. The war FOL
American independence has practical,
come to an end. We are now in ths
most beautiful capital OF the world
THIS is Faris. We are now in the pres
euce of the four American commission
ers Who had charge of the signing til.
treaty which would finally close ths
seven years war John Adams, Ben
Jamin Franklin, John Jay and Henry
Laurens are all there. Thomas Jeffer
son was also appointed a commission
or. but he never served on this com
mission. What are your instructions
We American representatives? "Why,'
says John Jay, the most important per
sonality on that commission, "congres:
has confused these instructions. 1t ha.
sent us over here to perfect terms oil
peace. Then it has tied US hand anC
foot with these instructions: You are
10 make the most candid and confden
tial communications unon all subieet,