The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1916-09-08
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X THE OBSERVATORY X

| suppose many of my readers have
heard of the writer Harold Bell
Wright, and such books as 'The Shep-
herd of the Hills" and "The Winning
of Barbara Worth" not to mention
his others; the two named gripped me
in the reading; l had been in the
Ozark region where the scene of the
first named is laid, which gave an
added interest, and the descriptions of
Imperial Valley, scenes and works,
were Ineligible to one living in a
Reclamation District with its dams,
canals, financial and social problems.
These two books left most pleasant
mental pictures which have been
pleasure to recall And now comes
another which appeals to us who live
in an arid country. This is named
when Mans a Man" and its title
reminds one that Mr.. Wright admlres
the real manliness that makes man
an approved and winsome man;
young fellows whom it would be
pleasure to know.
The scene of this story is laid in the
higher attitudes of central Arizona, in
the big cattle region near Prescott,
and the sentiment of the story is as
clear and healthy as the atmosphere of
those uplands; the movement and
physical prowess, the skill and cour-
age, remind me of the cattle range
stories | used to hear around Chey-
enne thirty years ago: a few years
more and such range life will be a
thing of the past, and for one I am
grateful to Mr. Wright for picturing
it SO faithfully and wildly, getting the
torN and color from those you really
participated in such life.
The plot is not very wicked" but
just like what is common enough in
real life, the cattle country life; a
good specimen of physical manhood,
educated, refined, with all the manly
instincts Of good fellow" had the
misfortune to be born into one of the
richest of eastern families, and the
life in which he was reared palling to
him, with failure to win the noble
woman he desired because he seemed
to have no real purpose in life except
] to kill time" and spend his millions,
made him disguised with himself and
set him rowing; and by combination
of circum stances he brings up at
! Prescott at time of a county fair,
which results in his taking a new turn.
Noble self-made fellows, bright, am
bilious, clean, who have aspired to
get more than the animal satisfaction
of eating, sleeping and showing off,
come on the scene; mostly inspired by
a large-minded, big hearted cattle
man and his motherly wife, who have
struggled together from small things,
"roughed it" in earlier days, and now
won OUT" and here in the wide basin,
surrounded by mountains with rich
grass valleys, great herds, cattle men,
cow-punchers, life-like boys at the
| home ranch, and also an attractive
girl, born and raised here, with a few
years of eastern schooling, we have
pictured exciting incidents Of such
life, with side-lights of some of the
grossness and baseness of the evil
minded who may be found in any
cattle country, as well as the opposite.
In the working out of the plot
certain famous professor of aesthet-
les is introduced as one of the char
acters and made to perform his part
in working up the crisis. | have had
some experience with life from the At
lantic to the Great Basin, and 7 have
never met such a character; but Mr..
Wright was born in central New York
educated in Ohio, was popular
preacher in Kansas and Missouri, and
so may have run across this "speci-
men,"
Greenlund has the book on sale,
and | am surprised to learn that the
demand is large. In Greenlund's win
dow is picture of the Arizona camp
where the author wrote the book,
which is also made part of the coun-
try in which the scene of the story Is
laid.
There has recently been published
a History of the New York Public
Library" in which a q6eer fact is re-
corded A few weeks after it was
opened in 1854 prominent man of
| that day, who was responsible for the
founding of the Astor Library, writing
to another prominent man of Boston
tells of the large number of people
patronizing the library but mourns
over the fact that the young fry" who
come there to read desire the trashy,
such as Scott Cooper, Dickens, Punch
and the Gondon) illustrated News"
But he says that to his mind it is bet
ter for them to be reading such books
rather than spinning street warns,
and as long as they are orderly and
lquiet, as they now are, shall not OBJ
ject to their amusing themselves with
poor books Well, we'll Think OF
that! Scott, Cooper and Dickens
classed as poor books" Those men
faithfully portrayed for us the man
ners, customs and scenes of which
they wrote. And such a book as
when Mans Man" Is preserving
for us faithful picture of the cattle
country. its men and women and life.
Many books ! just read in passing
and let them drift out of my mind and
memory; others leave an impression,
and when | am tired | love to re-read
passages from them; there are chap
tiers in this book that shall enjoy re-
reading.
ingly needed charity Fyerv humane