Evening star., 1921-04-03
GREAT AND HUMBLE
AT BURROUGHS BIER
Famous Men and Children
Bring Wild Flowers at
Last Simple Rites.
By the Associated Press


| rustic house that was the retreat of
John Burroughs for nearly half a CEN
tury $50 representatives OF the thou
sands of nature lovers who admired his
| outdoor life and writings gathered to-
day at his funeral. The ceremonies
| were short, of great simplicity and
reminiscent of the career which the
great naturalist pursued among the hills
and streams and flowers and beside his
| rugged stone hearth with volumes OF
Emerson. Whittier and Wordsworth.
| BY train and by automobile the little
group of mourners arrived throughout
the forenoon at Riverby. the naturalist 8
! home, situated among the pines and
naples. where the Sha wangunk noun
tains meet the waters of the Hudson.
Scientists and manufacturers of wide
prominence mingled in sorrow with Boy
Scouts and the children Of the neighbor-
hood. Publishers and horticulturists
bowed reverent heads with sSoup of
religious men from the Holy Cross
monastery. The mourners came from
land. the banks Of the Potomac. the
shores of Lake Michigan. the SHOWS OF
! Canada, the great stone buildings OF
New York to look for the last time upon
the patriarchal countenance of the VEN
| erab'e naturalist.
Come From Far and Near.
Among. them were Thomas A.
Edison. Henry Ford and Harvey 5.
Firestone, who for several years have
spent their vacations outdoors with
MIR. Burroughs. Next to Mr.. Edison
stood an aged and gray-haired man
who had pedaled his bicycle from
Binghamton, more than SoO m,les M
great naturalist's stay upon the earth
that he loved so fervently. This man
was Charles c. Branhall an acquaint:
ance Of the naturalist since childhood
days.
The sun was shining brilliantly and
the pines at Riverby murlnured sadly
in the breezes from the Catskills
when the funeral service began. From
muffied phonograph came the soft
violin strains Of Pinsuti's "Remem-
brances." The Lords prayer was said
and then slowly a reader spoke some
lines written by Earl W.. Williams.
which Mr.. Burroughs felt charac-
teristic Of his own self.
1.-The forest mods in fellowship"
they read, the winds my playmates
are: the waters lisp the sign of
brotherhood. and in the thunders voice
hear a tongue which is not wholly
strange. The stars are kindly coun-
selors to me: l claim kinship with
the worm that crawls. and with the
clay wherein the simple tale of its
dim life Is written"
Read From His Own Works.
Quotations from Emerson and
Wordsworth and Walt Whitman, COM
read. Then William Or1niston Roy
Of Montreal. friend of Mr.. Bar
roughs through many years. read ex-
cerpts from Waiting" one of the
first poems penned by the naturalist.
and from Accepting the Universe"
Rev. Franklin d. Elmer. pastor Of
the Collegiate Baptist Church at Col
gate University, likewise a longtime
friend. led the prayers and made a
few remarks:
There are here to pay him tribute" /"
he said, "those who have come from
the woodland and the field, the shop
and school, the church and Offices Of
state, the mart and the oceans shore.
This man. o Lord. has taught US the
rivers. the sky, the valley. the birds
and the beasts"
Last Leok At His Face.
When he had finished the soft flute
and violin notes Of q cradle song
| spread over the room where men.
women and children were crowded in
| sorrow. Then the mourneys fled by
the bier for last look at the face
| Of Mr.. Burroughs.
Some OF them picked wild violets
from the cofan to keep as q remem-
brance. There were many floral Of
l
the artificial atmosphere of the city
hothouse. They were wild flowers
gathered from the fields and hill
The children Of West Park. who
frequently visited Riverby to sit at
| the feet Of the aged nature lover and
learn of animal and vegetable life
from him. trod slowly past. each one
leaving q, bunch Of wild flowers
From all sections Of the nation
letters came today telling of the love
for the naturalist and of his inspira-
tion to those who find comfort and
contentment in the great outdoors.
! Tomorrow. Mr.. Burroughs eighty
| fourth birthday. his body will be
taken by automobile into the western
| Catskills and inferred at the place
where he was born. near the town of
Roxbury. Many of those who at
tended his funeral today will go to
Woodchuck Lodge, his den in the noun
| tains, for burial.