The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1917-01-19

William Henry Harrison! Vincenrfns
was lis years old; the man thirty
eight. There had never been anything
commonplace In the existence of place
or man, Each had already had a his.
tory whose telling must move the heart
more than with trumpet. r'
The face of the man was the face
Of the soldior-Strpng, resoiute. proud.
ihdomitable. But it was llkcWiye thd
face of the man of the people, the
man I'm whom they trusted for his
calm patience and his warm frlandli-
ness. With what unfaltering devotion
had they come TO rely on him. And
how the men and women of the wilder
ness, seeing that tall and martial fig
ure pass, paused 10 mark that long.
grave face, the eyes dccp-Sct under
buShy brows on either side the lengthy.
humorous nose, and smiled in love and
deep regard i'm answer To the slow
smile of the wide and kindly mouth.
What had he not done for them!
He was warm aGmircr Of the
dem0cratic Jefferson and he. was an
aristocrat of the new territory. STEPPED
in the classic scholarship of the old
Dominion, the son of Il signcr of the
Declaration of independence, at
eighteen he had chosen TO leave be-
hind him the culture Of the older
states and 10 plunge into the rude but
generous wilderness. At twenty-eight
he was governor Of the Indiana terri
tory. At thirty. master OF an empire
of 150OO0,OCO acres, ruler over prov
ince twice as large as England and
Ireland, larger, indeed, than all of
France.
Within the ten years following his
appointment as governor, the negOtla-
tor, with absolute power. of treaties
which added 10 the new nation fifty
millions Of acres domain large as
England and Scotland combined. At.
months the destinics Of tract OF
100000 square miles, an imperial
province greater than any other one
man ever controlled in the history of
the United States, before or since
Opposed 10 him the great protago-
mist of the tragic drama of the savage,
Tecumseh. Ruler Of five Indian tribes,
master mind Of the great Indian CON
federacy of another score of tribes.
Chief Of 5000 warriors, ranging over
100000 miles of territory.
Harrison had policed the same terri
tory with exactly twenty backwoods-
men. Twenty men TO guard an empire.
They threaded their ways through
the wilderness from st. Louis to De-
troit. They reported to him at Vim
cennes.
on this enormous stage the curtain
is about 10 be lifted on the titanic duel
Of the West.
The group Of men, lolling i'm the
shadows by the Jefferson house, began
to speak of the latest dispatches from
the East News had just come that
the younger Wellesley had driven Mas
sena's French columns off the field of
Fuentes-de-OnorO, adding 20 the lau-
rels gained at Talayera and Busaco.
Napoleon was beginning TO wonder
at this Engllshman. The Little Corpo-
raj himself was snarllng at the Rus
sian bear; the White Car was dis
obeying his commands 90 stdrve the
trade Of England by closing the ports
of the Continent. England, driven 20
desperation, was seizing American sea
men on the pretcXt that they were
Englishmcn, and forcing them 10 serve
against the French; and still the gov
ernment at Washington kept up rs
endless attempts TO stop these insults
by words, words, words.
The little group Of Wcsterners un-
der the stars Of the wilderness felt !
themselves hopelessly remote from the !
world Of leadership; their affairs |
seemed petty and narrow. David Lar
renee alone, gazing silently over the |
broad prairies, misty under the newly |
risen moon, and remembering the !
crowded cities Of his native England, /
saw how great prize the /
ample lands would be 10 her and saw /
~ iiA ~ NlN40l VI WlIal illAhlg ENdihIF D
were these backwOOdsmen who held /
the land FOR America.
The feeling Of apprehension which |
had been growing all summer seemed /
10 have reached an uncomfortable pitch. I
II was inevitable that something should /
happen.
in the skies Of early September
comet CLEANED, a miraculous pOrtcnt. /
But nothing happened.
The men and women continued their /
specuIatiOns as 90 Tecumseh's where
lbOuts and Intentions. They inEeuted .
new theories each hour and every
other hour they turned old theories
over and over till they were thread
tsre and people got tired Of hearing !