Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-04-02
Hero of Shepherd of the Hills" Was T. S. Powell
Former Ottawa Newspaper Man.

Until his death, which occurred in
March. 1919. no one knew that Tru,
man 5. Powell, a former Ouawan,
was the real hero around whom Har-
/ old Bell Wright wrote his wonderful
novel. The Shepherd ot the Hills.
When he learned OF the death OF his
. I'd friend Mr. Wright disclosed for
,he first time the fact that Mr. Powell
was the title character Of his book
Mr.. Powell was an uncle OF Attorney
Lester H. StTawn and of Mrs Sher-
man Leland of this city He died n
Jefferson City, No, while attending
o his duties as member of the
state legislature. In point OF service
ne was the senior member of that
body.
Mr. Powell was The son OF the Rev.
Thomas Powell who organized the
First Baptist Church of this city.
Prior TO and just after the war of the
rebellion Truman : Powell was
resident of Ottawa. and was in the
employment OF the Ottawa Repub-
-icdn. He volunteered in the shy
fourth Illinois and served with that
regiment until the end OF the war.
Just before leaving for the front
ne was married in this city 10 Miss
Helen Hopkins then a teacher in the
Ottawa public schools, by whom he
is survived. He is also survived by
four sons and a daughter who are
residents of Missouri.
The first that most OF Mr. POWells
old friends here knew that he had
been given the singular honor which
Mr. Wright had bestowed upon him
was last Saturday evening. when the
following story concerning The Shep-
herd Of the Hills was published in
The Chicago Daily News
Before many years a railroad viii
ind its way yoEder' The Shepherd
Of the Hills in Harold Bell Wrights
novel Of mat name pointed to Ozark |
Valley, and the author made him con
tinue; Then many will come, and
the beautiful hills that have been my
strength and peace will become the |
haunt of careless idlers and place |
# reyeIry. | am glad | shall not be |
here
But the old shepherd was there.
lie watched men Of another race lay
ties and swing their hammers as they
fastened i'll place the rails OF what
now is the White River branch OF the
Missouri Pacific He saw the first
rain of the new railroad swing up
through beloved valley and he saw
men OF the outside world standing
lpOn Dewey Bald gazing over the
Ozark country.
But, while his beloved Ozarks lost
some of their backwoOds atmosphere,
he had always the long, loosely
twisted rope of fog that hangs above
he distant river the low hills. roll
great sea- until in the blue distance
hey We're so lost in the sky that he
could not say which was mountain
md which was sky, the vast reaches
If forest all shifting light and shad-
'ws; the cool depths of the nearby
woods with the sunlight filteringI
through the leafy arches in streaks
nd patches OF gold on green, and the
'ide, wide sky with fleets of cloud
hips sailing to unseen ports below
lie hills.
And among these great hills heay,
lg their dark forms into the sky, he
we'd, and to them he came back after
is sorties into the outside world, for
le old shepherd himself could not
WAYS remain alOof from the world
it'll which the new railroad had
mixed Forks Notch And when he
ed the other day in Jefferson City
g was the oldest representative in
he Missouri house, the Kansas City
tar observes