The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-07-27
ADVENTURES

What is an adyenrurer? One who
has adventures? Surely not A per-
son charged by q wild rhinOceros is
having an adventure, YET however
wild the animal, however wild the per-
son. he is only somebody wishing HIM
self at home, not an adyenturer. In
dictionaries the adyenUurer is zone
who seeks his fortune in new and
hazardous or perilous enterprises"
But outside the pages Of a dictionary.
the man who seeks his fortune. who
really cares for money and his own
advantage, sits ar some desk deriding
the fools who take Jhousand-to-One
chances in q gamble with Death Did
the patron saint OF adventures. Saint
Paul. or did Saint Louis, or Francis
Drake. or Livingstone. or Gordon seek
their own fortune. think you: In real
life the adyenrurer is one who seeks,
not his fortune, but the new and
hazardous or perilous enterprises.
There are holy saints and ScOundrels
among adventures, but all the thou
sands | have known were fools Of the
romantic temperament dealing with
life as an artist does with canvas, 20
color il with fierce and vivid feeling.
deep shade and radiant light exuitinc
in the passions OF the sea. the rerrors
OF the wilderness. the splendors Of
sunshine and starlight, the exaltation
OF battle. fire and hurricane
All nations have bred great adyen-
turers, bur the living nation remeEn-
bers them sending the boys OUT into
the world enriched with memories OF
valor. 4 heritage OF national honor. an
inspiration 70 ennoble their manhood.
That is the only real wealth OF men
and of peoples. For such purposes
these stories are written. but so vast
is the theme that the compilation
would ouJgrow all reasonable size IN
less we set some limit y man in the
regular standing forces OF his native
state is not dubbed adyenTurer. When,
for example. the immortal heroes
Tromp and De RuyTer fought the
British generafs az sea. Blake and
Monk. they were no more adyenrurers
than are the police who guard or
homes ar night. Were Give and War
ren Hastings adventures? They would
turn in their graves If one thought
such charge The true type OF adj
venturer is the Ione-hanri pioneer.
Ii is not from any bias OF mine thar
the worthless OF Switzerland. the TeE-
tonic empires and Russia. are shut out
OF this record: but because II seems
that the Ione-ha1d oversee and over
land pioneers sT-19e mainly from
nations directly fronting upon the
sea As far as I am prejudiced.
Ii is in favor OF old Norway. whose
heroes have enIranced me with
the sheer glory OF their perfect
manhood For the rest. cur own Eng
lish-speaking folk are easier for Us 10
understand than any foreigners
As 10 the manner OF record. we must
follow the stream of history II we
would shoot the rapids OF adventure
Now as 20 the point Of view: NY
literary pretensi0ns are small and
humble. but / claim the right OF an adj
venCurer. trained in IhirTy-three trades
OF the Lost Region. 70 absolute free
dom Of speech concerning frontiers
men Let history bow down before
Columbus, but as foremost seaman
I hold he was not 1T 10 command
ship. Let history ignore Captain
John Smith. but as an ex-TrooDer.
Worship him for leader, the paladin
OF Angio-Saxon chivairv. and very
father Of the United States. Litera-
ture adnires the well advertised Stan
ley. but we frontiersmen prefer Com
mander Cameron. who walked across
Africa without blaming others for his
own detects. or losing his temper. OF
shedding needless blood All the celeb
rites may 90 hang. but when we
take the field. send Us leaders Ike
Patrick Forbes. who conquered Rho
desia without journalists in attendance
10 write puffs. or any actual deluge OF
public gratitude
The historic and literary points OF
view are widely different from that OF
our dusty rankers.
When the Dutchmen were fighting
Spain. they invented and built the
first ironciad warship-aH honor 10
their seamanShip for that, But when
the winter came. Spanish cavalry
charge across the ice captured the
ship-and there was fine adventure
Both sides had practical men
In the same wars. Spanish man
alarms in the plundering OF a city,
took more gold than he could carry.
50 he had the metal beaten into
suit of armor and painted black 10
hide its worth from thieves. From
literary standpoint. that was all very
fine. but from our adyenrurer point
OF view. the man was q fool for wear
ing armor useless for defense. and so
heavy he could not run He was
killed. and a good radiance
We value most the man who knows
his business. and the more practical |
the adventurer, the fewer his misad- /
ventures
From thar point OF view, the stories /
are attempted with all earnestness:
Ind II the results appear bizarre. let