Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-10-16
AN OCTOBER OUTING.

| IL w 10 UOb III Iut Out
horse shay but, nevertheless, behind q
faithful, rangy roadster, that we sailed
forth on the first day in October, for a
four hundred mile journey. The
weather was perfect and the foliage
gorgeous. In the mellow sunshine all
things were ripening. Fields of maize
had caught the golden CLINT and with
it, yellowed and glazed the perfect ears
Nature Haunted her flags of red in
maple, sumach and ivy; of orange in
ash, elm, willow and poplar; of russet
in oak and hazel. What jubilant signals
they are-of victory and abundance
| Victory for the sons of God who an
swered the call that Abraham answered
ages ago, and went west to subdue the
untamed prairie and cut out home-farm:
from the forests. Abundance for theii
fortunate successors who dwell upon
| the broad uplands and fertile valleys oil
the upper Mississippi basin. Cattle
| Craze on ten thousand hills Small
bands of sheep pasture among the
stubble. Threshing machines were
greedily devouring the stacks of wheat
and barley, of which we counted from
thirty to fifty on single farms. From
state to state is one long continuation
of prospecting communities where
schools and churches border the high
ways and where contentment and tran
| guilty may be deciphered from the
landscape.
| Our objective points were Usage
Iowa, where the State Convention Of
| Uniyersalists held its sessions, and Ano
ka, Mimi, where we left the rig-not
worse for wear but to better fare We
passed through Marshfield, Neillsville
Black River Falls, LaCosse, Rochester
Owatonna Faribault, Mortified, and
Minneapolis. These are all fair, thrifty
cities, where railroads center and
streams are restrained that their waters
may turn the wheels of industry. Pub
lie libraries and hospitals for the sick
aged and otherwise incapacitated. are
| features in all these enterprising
cities. The people have push and &C
enough but culture and discrimination
also, as may be rather sensed than seen
in so many little ways while chatting
among them. At Owatonna the Baptists
at Faribault the Episcopalians and al
Mortified the Congregationalists, have
4
institutions of learning; while, Of
course the pride of the Gopher State
centers in its university at the Twin
City just as that of Badgerdom does in
the one at Madison. But we were most
attacted by the well-kept country
schools that crown so many hill tops
where the foundations are being laiC
for the America that is to be- At many
houses only German, Morse or Irisl
could be understood, and because we
| did not swear there was no interchange
of thought. But the boys and girls
talk English, affiliate together, learn tc
be respectful, neat, kind and upright
| 1t is q wholesome influence that thus
| gets hold of the child. We ate many 6
lunch by the roadside and converseC
with these wondering beginners in life
For them our trip was invested with al
the mystery of early Adventures
! What little worlds theirs are and ye'
who of us grown-ups would not wish tt
be carefree as they.
| Tho roads of thic caaSnn no lilya M W.
ment, and Marathon, Wood and Clarl
counties compare favorably, in thi
respect, with older settlements. Or
chards are growing to be feature
through central Wisconsin and nearly
every farm for miles has hundred OF
so trees set out by the side or (foolishly
we think in front OF the house. A sin
| gular sight to one coming from tim
Der section is the dense planting o.
trees that surrounds every house on the
rolling prairies. You can distinguish
the direction of roads, the location Of
farms and villages by the bits of fores
| try which are nowhere else to be seen
Now, Russian will have willow
spruce and Lombardy poplar in abund
ance, while New Highlander will have
a sugarbush.
We will add but one incident among
many that occurred that would have
made any moving picture audience
laugh. The full moon was beaming its
silvery radience and making earth light
as fairy-land when we passed middle
aged farmer On the road. Whether he
thought we had escaped from some
where or just took us for young lovers
we will never, never know. At any
rate he stared our way so intently that
he did not observe the approach of the
boy on the bicycle from behind. MOI
did the boy observe him as he, too, was
| looking our way. just as we passed
they went down, boy on top, bicycle tc
one side, and all we heard was the ejac
ulation of the poor man as he opened
his mouth to say something and-bit
the dust. We escaped before any phos
phorus could color the air but, as we
looked back, we caught twinkle from
a corner of the merry moons eye that
made US wonder whether he also was
not con7ulsed at the spectacle.
If anybody wants to really enjoy
| nature, estimate the resources and pro.
ducts of our land and come in close
touch with the wichery that lies out OF
doors, he need not ride in palace car
but in an open carriage nor breathe the
dust and smoke of trains but inhale the
ozone from azure skies that floats
through sweet-smelling October.
B. B. GIBBS.
uJnDnC nC DDAICr