Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-10-01

wrote: After the fall Of the leaf is
completed, then according to tradition
comes the Indian summer-a fruitful
theme both for poets and philosophical
writer's, but of which no one knows
from experience. 1t Is certain that we
have now in the eastern states no reg
ular coming of this delightful term of
midness, this smiling interruption of
the melancholy days Of autumn. We
are occasionally greeted by two or
three days which resemble 1t after the
first cool weather Of October and these
short visits are repeated in some years
several times. But a true Indian sum
mer attended with all the peculiar
phenomena described by some of our
early writer's in prose and poetry,
rarely accompanies a modern autumn.
1t has fled from our land before the
progress of civilization: it has de-
parted with our primeval forest If it
ever existed, it was phenomenon
produced by some unexplained circum-
stance attending the universal wooded
state of the country that existed for
many years after it's settlement. The
whole continent, at the time of its
where the inhabitants. obtained their
subsistence from the chase of deer and
buffalo. At this period the climate
had not been modified by the opera
ton of man upon the forest. Accord
ing to apparently authentic accounts,
Indian summer did not arrive before
November, nor till a series of hard
frosts had destroyed the leaves of the
forest"
Theory Is Disputed.
Some sarcastic criticisms have been
made regarding Mr.. tlagg's assump-
ton of knowledge of primeval eli
matte conditions OF which it is claimed
there is no authentic record, and his
assumption that the Indian summer ia
! a thing of the past Is of course strong
! ly disputed. AS matter Of fact, there
| is not year when Indian summer Is
| not apparent to thousands of people
and, while its exact tine Is never fore
| cast by the weather bureau. its beauty
and attractiveness are acknowledged
by millions Its carmarks are desig
mated by Mrs. Stove in "Old Time
Folks" as follows: when the apples
are all gathered. the cider all made,
| tIlf Stlio" pulhi'Nihs l'ii'h III i'''''
many "a hill in burrows of gold, when
the corn was husked and the labors Of
the season were done. the late warm
days of the Indian summer came in.
dreamy. calm and stil. with just
enough frost to crisp the ground Of a
morning, but with warm frances Of
benignant sunny hours at noon. There
! came over the community a sort of
| genial repose, sense of having ac-
complished something, and of a new
| golden mark in the calendar of life
and the deacon began to say to the
minister of sunday. I suppose it's
about time for the nksgiving proc
lamation to be coming along"
The first writer, Of which there is
any record, to refer to Indian summer
was General Josiah Hamar, who in his
journal OF his expedition against the
Maumee Indians In 1890, uses the term
three times. This occurred in Octo-
Der, however. the last mention being
dated Oct. 81, when he records Fine
| clear weather. Indian summer
Marched and halted little while at
what Is called Sugar Camp, from
| thence to Caesars creek, branch of
| the Little Miami" In 1894 Major Eb
enezer Denny's military journal also
records Indian summer in October and
the term is used by two F'renchmen
who Travelled In America. one OF them.
Volney. giving considerable attention
to the subject as a climatic phenom-
enon peculiar to America. These seem
to be the only known mentions of the
term before the year 1900.
Alfred Austin's Poem.
Since then. however. almost every
writer has used 1t more or less and
it's use has not been confined to this
country but extended into England
and even to other countries. When
the late Queen Victoria reached her
eightieth birthday. Alfred Austin. the