Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1910-01-14
XIII.

was one of tremendous moral earnest
ness. In that struggle in which mar
pitted himself against Dr!meval forest
and aboriginal i~nhabitant, the strong
est types of manhood and womanhood
were evolved, and those who ConcelV-
ed the idea of living a righteous life
set themselves to its realization with
the same energy with which they ad-
dressed themselves to he conquest of
nature itself. To multitudGs of them,
this present world took a place that
in the fullest sense of the word was
secondary to that other world in which
they lived by anticipation.
David Corson was only one OF many
who, to a degree which in these less
earnest or at least more materialistic
times appears incredible, had deter
mined to trample the world under their
feet. He woke next morning with an
undated purpose and at an early hour
set resolutely about it's execution. He
babe q brave farewell to Pepeeta, ok
horted her to seek with him that prep
aration Of heart which alone could ut
them for the future, and then with a
bag of provisions over his shoulder and
an axe in his hand started forth TO
carry out a plan which he had form
ed in the night.
He began to prepare for himself a
temporary booth which should shelter
him until he had erected his cabin;
and the rest of the day was consumed
in this enterprise. At the close this
simple task was done, so easy IS 1t to
provide a shelter for him who seeks
protection and not luxury. Having
once more satisfied his hunger. he built
a fire in front Of his rude booth, ana
lay down in it's genial rays, his mead
upon a pillow of moss. The stiffness
of the cool, quiet evening was broken
only by the cracking OF the flames,
the quiet murmurs of the two little
rills which whispered to each other
startled interrogations as to the mean
ing Of this rude invasion, the boot of
owls in the tall tree tops and the
stealthy tread of some of the little
creatures of the forest who prowled
around, while seeking their prey, to
discover, If possible, the meaning of
this great light, and he strange
noises with which their forest world
had ~resounded.
There came to the recumbent woods
man a deep and quiet peace. He felt a
new sense of having been In some way
taken back into the fraternity OF the
unfallen creatures of the universe. ana
into the all-embracing arms or the
great Father. He fell asleep with pure
| thoughts lowering over the surface OF
his mind, like a flock of swallows above
q crystal lake. And Nature did take
him back into that all-enfolding heart
| where there is room and n welcome
for all Who do not ALLEVIATE themselves.
Her latchstrings are always out. and
forests. fields. mountains, oceans. des-
- 1>,t All yrrnr-
come for ali who enter their open doors
with reverence, sympathy and yearn-
ing. A man asleep alone in a vast will
derness! How easy it would be for
Nature to forget him and permit him
to sleep on forever! What gives him
| his Importance there amid those giant
| trees? Why should sun. moon. stars,
gravity, heat, cold, care for him? How
can the hand that guides the constella-
| tions-those vast navies of the infinite
sea-pause to touch the eyelids of this
| atom when the time comes for him to
rise? When the sleeper woke. refresh
ed and rested, in the morning. it was
to take up the routine Of duties which
were to be only slightly varied for
many months to come.
One after another the great trees
succumbed to the blows of his axe and
from their PROSTATE forms he careful
ly selected those which were best
adapted to h structure of his cabin.
while over the others he piled the
limbs and brush n left them to dry
for the conflagration which at the end
of the hot summer hould remove them
from the clearing.
When the rainy days came he spent
his time in the shelter of his little ar
l. ss-l~. 1r~. - d.
which were to furnish the roof of Pc
peeta's home.
The days and weeks fed by and the
opening in the forest grew apace. He
measured it by night with a celestial
arithmetic, using the stars for his tri-
angulations, and as one after another
Of them became visible where before
they had been obscured by the foliage
Of the trees, he smiled. and felt as If
! he were cutting his farm out of heav-
an instead Of earth. 1t was really cut
out of both!
His Sundays were spent at the old
homestead with his loved ones, and
once every week Pepeeta came with
Steven to bring him luxuries which
her own hands had prepared. and to
pass the afternoon with him at his
work in the clearing"
Those were memorable hours. pos
sessing that three-fold existence with
which every hour can be endowed by
the soul OF, Observation-Disclosures
characterization. In his way a sin
gle moment sometimes becomes almost
synchronous with eternity.
It would have been impossible to tell
which Of the three was happiest. but
Pepesta was always the center of in
terest, attention and devotion. Her
whole nature seemed to be aroused and
called into play; all her countless
charms were necessarily evoked; her
inimitable laughter resounded through
the woods and challenged the emulous
birds to unsuccessful competition. Sc
robustness alternated with gaiety. CO.
Quetry with gravity. Some of the time
she spent in gathering flowers to adorn
her lovers booth. and some In carry
ing to the rubbish pile uch limbs and
branches as her strength would per-
NIT her to handle.
Nothing could have been more
charming than the immense efforts
that she put forth with such grace, to
lift with all her might some branch
that her loved had tossed aside with a
single hand! The attitudes n which
these efforts threw her body We're as
graceful as those into which the water
threw the crosses by its ceaseless flow,
or the wind benz the tree tops by its