Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-09-23
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a LII trees, doubtless. appeal in
n some measure to the sense Of
A poetry. even in those who are
not strictly speaking lovers of
nature; but the pine. for many.
seems to have message
more vivid, more vital than the rest;
as though it possessed some occult
quality that speaks not merely to
the imagination, or to the general
love of nature per Sc, but directly to
the soul. the oak for strength. the
ash for mystery, the birch for her
feminine grace and so forth; but the
pine. like a sharp sword. pierces
straight through to that inner sense
Of beauty which accepts or rejects
beyond all question of analysis. The
personality of this common" tree
touches the same sense Of wonder
that IL stirred by the presence Of q
human personality, strong beyond
ordinary; and worship Is ever subtly
linked with wonder.
lu0 du6IOBy 10 iCoSAh6s AO
pine plants its roots where more
snowy trees faint and die: straight.
strong and sweet to the winds, 1t
fiourishes where only gorse, heather
and toughly obstinate things can live.
Out Of the rock, where there seems
not earth enough to feed violet, it
lifts its somber head undaunted;
scorched by the sun, torn by the blast,
peering into dreadful abysses. yet
utterly fearless. and yielding SO little
that the elements must pluck 1t up
by the roots before they can destroy
It. Only lightning can break It. At
q height above the sea that means
death to other trees. 1t climbs sing
ing. "rock-rooted. stretched athwart
the vacancy" and even when the
main army halts, stragglers are al
ways to be seen. leading forlorn
hopes into the heart of desolation
beyond. And II, amid the stress Of
conditions, II cannot look well. It is
content to look Ill. showing a dwarfed
and stunted figure to the skies. Only
then. ye elemental powers! what
strength in the gnarled roots. what
iron resistance In the twisted trunk.
what dour endurance in the short
thick limbs! It assumes the attitude
of the fighting animal, back to the
wall.
High mountains are full of vivid
pictures Of this courage against Titan
&c odds. For 1t has the courage of its
convictions-fine. simple. tenacious
as It has also that other quality of the
strong soul; the power to stand alone.
("Some say there is a precipice where
one vast pine is frozen to ruin DER
piles of snow and chasms Of ice mid
Alpine mountains.") No one who
has canoed on Canadian lakes and
seen those frequent rocky islets, each
with its solitary pine. can have ig-
nored that there is something strange
~ significant In the sight of that
slender spire rising out Of the heart
of loneliness-somethin that thrills,
and thrills deeply. into the region
beyond words. Unsheltered beneath
wide skies. remote from its own
kind, the tree stands there, splendid
In its isolation. straight as a temple
column and prepared for any shock.
Elm Fichtenbaum steht einsam," Of
course-but there Is more than the
pathos Of Heine's poem in its unap-
proachable loneliness; there is the
spiritual suggestion Of personality
this upright, self-sufflcing tree upon
Q rock. buffeted by winds and waves,
asking no sympathy and dreading no
possible fate. The picture, symbolic
Of the strong soul. conveys the in
evitable parable.
Compared with other trees. too. the
pine does not change. One knows. of
course. the tips of tender green thai
come with May and turn a pine wood
into a sea of bewildering beauty. But
though deciduous. one is never aware
that anything is lost; 1t branches
never thin: 1t puts out. properly
speaking. no buds. And the monot-
ony Of Q pine forest is merely a
defect of its great quality of con-
stancy In summer its shade is deep
er. its recesses more cool than those
of other woods; and in winter, Just
when most trees are leafiess and I'M
able to fight. it bears the full weight
of the snow and meets the whole force
Of the destroying winds. It stands to
face disaster when others faint or run.
The analogy with man is again strik-
ing and complete. Yet its qualities
are not only negative. More than
most, 1t gives out-without reward.
often without recognition; for the
great forests that sweeten the world
with their balsam. life-giving odors.
stand most often in the desolate 70