Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-07-23
Why Rivers Haze
Golden Sands

Ad4Nlly I1Olludy III the city. he naQ no
horses, but his yoke of oxen could
fastened them to his cart and, putting
in his wife and boy, climbed in him
self.
When near the city, the capital Of
Phrygia, he thought it would look
better for him to walk and drive his
oxen. This he did. AS he approached
the city he heard a great noise In the
market place. He hurried his oxen to
find out what 1t was all about. He had
to Jump into his wagon to avoid the
crowd that was following him, and so
drove to a great oak In the public
square.
Such welcome as this poor coun--
tryman had!
Here comes our king" was theory
from everyone. 1--WE were told he
should come this day in q wagon
drawn by oxen, and here he Isl"
Gordius could not believe what fle
heard. But the chief men brought the
crown and put it on his head and de-
clared him king, and he agreed to do
his best to deserve the honor.
The oak near which he had stopped
was In front of temple. Gordius gave
away his oxen and, taking a heavy
rope tide his wagon with tremendous
knot to the oak. The priest came out
and declared that whoever in times to
come should be able to until that knot
would be king Of all Asia. No one ever
did unite It, But Alexander the Great
! came to Phrygia many years after
and. falling to unite it. he took his
sword and dealt the rope such blow
that one stroke cut through the magic
knot.
A short time after he left Phrygia all
Asia owned Alexander the Great as
king, and maybe that was the way the
knot was to be undone. Anyway. ne
did not give 1t up, and that is good
thing for us to remember. Cut the Cor
dian knots If they will not be united.
The little boy who rode In the wagon
with Gordius was Midas. After ms
father died, Midas was chosen King OF
PhryEia, He was kind and Just to the
people, as Gordius must have been,
or they would not have chosen his son
Midas to be their king.
One day while Midas was king some
peasants found an old man wandering
about in the woods. The forest was
strange to him and he had lost his
way. Midas knew his az soon as the
peasants had brought him to the king
palace. It was Silenus. teacher whose
fame had gone through al the world
Midas treated Silenus with the great
est respect. For ten days there was
feasting and games in the palace IN
honor Of Silenus. On the eleventh day
Midas took him back to the house OF
his greatest pupil This pupil was
more than mortal, SO the story goes.
His name was Bacchus. Midas told him
all about the finding Of Silenus, and
Silenus told all about the pleasant
the wonderful Bacchus told Midas he
might have anything he should wish
for as a reward
| Now Gordius, his father, had always
wished for more money, though ne had
been made king and there was more
gold for him and his good queen to
spend than you would think he could
manage. Midas, too, had wished for
money. Yet all his life, since that lucky
wagon ride, Midas had seen riches and
Jewels enough to make him grow tired
of such things. But, no: when Bacchus
asked him what he would have, Midas
said, Let everything I touch turn into
gold" -,
If you had been there and could
| have had your choice, what would you
have wished for? Can you tell? Never
wish for anything quite so foolish as
King Midas did, for see what trouble
| it made him.
! After making the wish. King Midas
)leaped into his chariot to return home.
AS soon as his feet touched the char
| it floor, it turned into solid gold. He
returned to his palace and the people
| thought it must be Apollo come TO
earth, everything was so glorious. HIS
wife met him in the palace halls. One
touch and she was turned into gold
en- statue. No help, no rescue! Midas
went out into his garden and reached
for the fruit that hung on the trees.
Nothing but gold after he had touched
It. His friends. his home. even his pill
low was cold hard gold.
glittering with cloth of gold, in prayer
beseeching Bacchus to take his gift
away. Bacchus was kind and said:
go to the river Pactolus, find It's
fountain head. plunge in. and wher
| your body is covered your fault will be
washed away"
Poor King Midas did just as he was
told. When he touched the water the
strange power went into the river. The
river sands changed into gold. and to
this day grains Of gold are found by
the river Pactolus.
After that. Midas lived in the coun
try and dressed as plainly as the poor
est peasant. lie was SO thankful to bs
free froni his terrible gift that he never
wanted anyone to remind him Of TIT
time when everything he touchet
turned 20 gold. But even IN the coun
try, the yellow plums, pears and ap
rles reminded Midas Of the fruit III
had touched in his own garden.
| In autumn. when golden leaves ar
filling everywhere and the grain Il