The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1912-10-04

into partnership with a young
We organized an advertising COM
pany; we called II The Graphic com
pahy.' There were Ave or six young
fellows-all musicians as well as
handy painters. We used to capture
the towns with our music, then con-
tract with some merchants and deco
rate the fences along the country
roads with their signs"
Riley and his associates continued
In this occupation three or four years.
All the while the young poet was
gaining a reputation here and there
as a rhymester, a teller of good sto-
ries and a companionable, interesting,
lovable young man
He wrote a great deal. and much
that was submitted TO eastern peri
odicals. Their editors. however. re-
turned these contributions as regui;rA
ly an they were received. 1t was lis.
%couraging, especially SO in the eyes OF
the young poet. who believed Odd
doubtless was justified In believing -
that his products were as good "a
those tho magazines accepted aid
published. He did not have a nailr,
and lack Of reputation In those days
was a serious handicap. Riley never
ceased TO contend when with his
friends that this fact and this alone
held him back. To prove 1t. he wrote
the famous "Leonainie," and. with the
connivance OF the editor of a Koko-
mo Gnd.) paper. presented II to the
world as an unpublished poem by Ed
gar Allen Poe. An elaborate story
was devised, in which IL was said that
the poem, bearing the initials f. A.
p, had been found on the fly leaf OF
a book. The verse was in Poe's we'll
known style, and it's publication
aroused much interest In the end
the hoax was discovered. but not un.
Ill many critics had accepted the
poem as "one Of the best Poe had
written"
For a time. he said in later life. he
was hopelessly respondent. Il was
In this frame OF mind that a letter
found him and summoned him TO In
d~ianapolis. The note was from the
editor of the Indianapolis journal.
and Il urged Riley to accept a posi-,
ton on the Journal stan. At the
same time a tender, encouraging note.
came from Henry wadsworth Long
fellow. These two communications.
revived Riley's dropping spirits. and.
leaving Anderson and Greenfield, he
went TO the state capital. ~lndianapo-
lis gained n poet, and a few months
later, in 1883, Riley's first book OF
verse was issued.
II was n simple little AFFAIR, bound
In paper. bearing the title, The Old
Swimmin' Hole and 'Leven More
Poems"
Riley. as may be imagined. did not
long remain in the Journals regular
employ. One after another his bound
volumes began to make their ap-
p~earance. Then came the poets as
ISOLATION with Nye on the lecture
platform. followed, when that asso-
citation was severed, by more poems.
public readings and then many years
OF leisurely writing In his home In
quiet little Lockerbie street. For
tune has smiled on him and his
wealth has increased and his fame
has grown. But he IL still the same
gentle. lovable man who won friends
In Greenfield and Anderson and Ko-
komo. He has made thousands OF
friends during his lecture tours.
Yes, Mr.. Riley's birthday is to be
a glorious event, and the tributes
which win be paid him during Riley
Week" are indeed well deserved.