Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-06-05

OF Kewanee had prepared TO deliver at |
the Illinois theatre last evening, in
honor OF the Illinois state convention
of Elks, is so scholarly that The Ar
gus, with Mr.. Parrish's consent, pub
fishes it IN full, just as it was TO have
been delivered:
am a writer, not a speak
er, by pCofession, and If sue
coed in giving you any worthy thought
tonight l must stick to my trade. l
know what / wish 10 do. and how
wish to do it. (Mose and the law
yers).
come here unable to comprehend
why this peculiar topic should have
been chosen for presentation before a
representative body of Elks. Elkdom
IS, in many respects, modern repre-
sentation of the real pioneer spirit.
and a good Elk requires restraint,
rather than exhortation.
! take it, however. to be the pur-
pose of this address to present before
you those peculiar qualities of man
hood required for the earlier develop
ment of the nation. Such a study can
never be wasted, for exactly the same
qualities in our citizenship are re-
quired today. We are also called up
on 10 be pioneers, and our children
will be after US. We face continually
new Notwithstanding more intel
lectual than physical as the world
moves on-yet equally a test Of our
manhood, and our adaptability. Elk
dom Is distinctively an American or
der; the flag, with all 1t represents,
our symbol, and when we cease to
feel a deep. abbling interest in the af
fairs Of the nation, our very excuse
for existence ends.
l shall speak TO you therefore to-
night from the standpoint of an Elk,
and an American; | speak to you as a
student OF American history. and also
as one who has been privileged to
personally witness the last chapter of
American pioneer life, as it was work
ed out and fought out in our far
southwest. ] speak OF this merely In
evidence that my knowledge of pio-
neer character, ideals, and achieve
ments are mine at first hand. They
have not come TO me from the books
or the imagination Of anotheg. When
scarcely more than a boy ! rode the
ranges OF Texas and New Mexico: fol-
lowed the mountain trails of Arizona,
and lived the actual life of the from
tier. / know its hardships, its priva-
tions. and its heroism. l have expert
enced the weird mystery of the des-
ert, the loneliness and danger OF its
desolation. have slept in the camps
OF savages; in the huts Of adventur.
ers. and alone under the stars. That
life has been my life. and the haunt
ing memory of II has marked my soul
ACTTNL PICTURE OF LIFE.
Whatever. during later years. my
pen may have written of the west
whether In guise Ct history or romance
has been an actual picture of life,
lie some part OF which have seen
"a Photographic reproduction of q
frontier with which l was intimately
acquainted. ! knew those men who
rode the ranges. revolver at hip;
/ knew those sturdy prospectors fol
lowing their packburros through noun
tain solitudes. and | knew the women
of those adobe houses of the plains
those cabins of the higher levels
They were my companions, and my
friends. / knew more than these.
was also there when the first thir
skirmish line of permanent settlement
came cautiously creeping forward
along the wild valleys Of the Pecoi
and the RIO Grande-those hardy mel
and women who came TO stay; thu
land-hungry. silently overcoming saw
agery by sheer persistence. sturdily
winning a wilderness TO civilization
] was in the cabins dotting the wild,
prairies; walked the struggling
streets OF towns born in a night.
saw everywhere men of hope, o
boundless courage, strong Of i,ody ant
will-conquerors OF nature / saw be
side them women OF the same stock
accustomed TO hardship, privation an,
loneliness.
And in these later years, as l hav
thought again of them all, as / hav
written of them in my books, ofte
photographing some peculiar typ
from memory-which critics hav
seen 1T to ridicule-I have grown {
realize that these pioneer men an
women, not OF the southwest alone
but Of the nation, did not compose
separate and distinct class; they wer
not a race apart. They we're simpl
typical Americans, performing the sp,
cial duty OF their generation. The
differed from their brothers and sit
tiers elsewhere merely in environment
in the stern necessity of their live
The pioneer spirit Is merely the Anne
lean spirit, as expressed in a singl
phase of development-the desire I
control. conquer, and advance. Thi