The romance of American expansion . narrow path, so narrowthat he who traversed it must do so afoot or onhorseback, the immigrants poured in; and, othercurrents presently setting by mountain pass andriver route, the entire valley, formerly the habitatof the roving red man, soon echoed to the ring ofthe woodsmans ax, heralding the establishment ofcivilization. Here was an expansion movement inthe best sense of the term. Not rashful venturingor crude lust for gold had prompted the mightyexodus, but an all-absorbing desire to settle andcultivate and upbuild. Cleaving steadfastly tothis ideal, the
The romance of American expansion . narrow path, so narrowthat he who traversed it must do so afoot or onhorseback, the immigrants poured in; and, othercurrents presently setting by mountain pass andriver route, the entire valley, formerly the habitatof the roving red man, soon echoed to the ring ofthe woodsmans ax, heralding the establishment ofcivilization. Here was an expansion movement inthe best sense of the term. Not rashful venturingor crude lust for gold had prompted the mightyexodus, but an all-absorbing desire to settle andcultivate and upbuild. Cleaving steadfastly tothis ideal, the colonists, like their fathers beforethem, and overcoming even greater obstacles, la-bored so manfully and so wisely that, long before thedeath of their pathfinder, the rich region to whichhis Wilderness Road gave access had become theseat of prosperous commonwealths, partners in theUnion born of the heroic War for Independence. All this Boone saw, in all this he shared, and notwithout reason did he declare in his old age that the. Daniel BooneFrom the statue by Enid Yandell. DANIEL BOONE 5 history of the settlement of the western country washis history. His entire career mirrored faithfullythe sentiments, the sacrifices, the vicissitudes of theempire-builders to whom he opened the gateway tothe Mississippi; and from his earliest youth he wasan incarnation of the restless longing, the eagerdaring, the unconquerable resolution, and the sub-lime faith that carried the sons of those empire-builders from the Mississippi to the Pacific andbeyond. By birth, training, and environment hewas well fitted for the great task to which destinyhad appointed him. Born of a pioneer Pennsyl-vania family, he first saw the light of day in a fron-tier setdement.* He was cradled to the whisperingof the forest trees and the singing of the birds thatflitted through their branches; and from the mo-ment that he was old enough to walk, the forestnever called to him in vain. As a boy it was hisdelight to
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