The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-04-26

MNEhSE7
illustrates the truth Of an thisl
Famine and pestileaee and war men,
acedt tie littis band Of daring men who
had planted themselves alone on the
edge Of q froWnlng continent More.
over, as men ever find, whether in the
tinIest frontier community Or In The
yastest and most highly organized and
complex civilized Boclety, their wors,
foe were In their own bosoms. Dis.
senston, distrust, the inability OF some
to work and the unwIlllngness Of 9th.
ers, Jealousy, arrogance and envy. fol
ly and laziness-in short all the short.
comings with which we have to crap
pie now, were faced by those pioneers,
and at moments threatened their
whole enterprise with absolute ruin.
1t was some time before the ground
on which they had landed supported
them, in spite Of It's potential fertility
and they looked across the sea for sup
plies. At one moment so hopeless did
they become that the whole colony
embarked, and was only saved from
abandoning the country by the oppor'
tune arrival Of help from abroad.
At last they took root IN the land,
and were already prospecting when
the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. In a
few years q great inflow Of settlers
began. Four OF the present States OF
New England were founded. Virginia
waxed apace. The Carollnas grew W
TO the south of 1t, and Maryland TO the
north OF It. re Dltch colonies be,
tween which had already absorbed
the Swedish, were In their turn alb,
sorbed by the English. Pennsylvania
was founded and, later still, Georgia
There were many wars with the In,
dams and with the dauntless captains
whose banners bore the lilies Of
France. At last the British flag few
without a rival in all eastern North
America. Then came the successful
struggle for independence.
For half q century after We became
q separate nation there was compare,
lively little immigration 10 this coun'
try. Then the tide once again set
hlther. and has flowed In, ever.increas'
Ing size until in each OF the last three
years n greater number Of people
came to the shores than had landed
on them during the entire colonial
period. Generation by generation
these people have been absorbed into
the national life. Generally their sons,
almost always their %grandsons, are
inaistlngaishable from one anothe,
anu 'ioih ''eif le''ow'Ameflcahs de'
scented from the colonial stock. For
a'i ai'Ne 'le propiei's ol our existence
are fundamentally the same, and for
al a''he nest pFopiems chanse from
sehe'a''oh 10 s~ehefa'ion'
In the colonial period, and for at
least Il century after Its close, the con.
quest OF the continent, the expansion
OIL our people westward, 10 the Ale
ghenies, then 10 the Mississippi, then
TO the Pacific, was always one Of the
most important, In our national life.
Behind the first settlers the conditions
grew easier, and in the oldersettled
regions OF all the colonies life speedily
assumed much Of comfort and some.
thing Of luxury: and though generally
II was on n mich more Democratic
basis than life in the Old World, It
was by no means Democratic when
judged by our modern standards; and
here and there, MS In the tfdc.watcr
regions OF Virginia, a genuine aristoc.
raey grew and AoHrished. But the
men who first broke ground In the
virgin wilderness, whether on the At.
lantic coast, or In the interior, fought
hard for mere life. In the early stages
the f%rontiersman had TO do battle
with the savage, and when the say.
age was va~nqulshed there remained
the harder strain Of war with the hos.
tile forces of soil and climate, with
flood, fever, and famine. There was
~sirlnocc and hittnr uaofher. thnrp