Late in the last century readers of books awoke to the fact that the world-including, world-inviting1 prairies of the Mississippi Valley were no longer inarticulate; that in this great "Heart of the World's Heart," among the millions who have been drawn2 to these prairie states, there are lives as rich—in all that really enriches—as those immortalized in the literature of New England, or of the Pacific slope. It was not to be expected that the westward-moving impulse to create would cease on reaching the Mississippi River.
In Iowa's pioneer days but little original matter found its way into print except contributions to the rough and ready journalism5 of the period. A few pioneer writers, possessed6 of the historiographer's instinct, performed a rare service to the young commonwealth7 by passing on to future generations their first-hand knowledge of the prominent men and events of the first half of the century. Chief among these are Theodore S. Parvin, William Salter, Alexander R. Fulton, Samuel S. Howe and Charles Aldrich. The two last named published several series of "The Annals of Iowa" which remain unfailing reservoirs of information to later historians and students of Iowa history. Iowa Masonry8 is specially9 indebted to Professor Parvin for his invaluable10 contributions to the history of the order in Iowa. Dr. Salter wrote the first notable Iowa biography, that of James W. Grimes, published in 1876. Fulton's "Red Men of Iowa" is as valuable as it is rare, for, though written as late as 1882, it is the first exhaustive attempt to describe the tribes originally inhabiting Iowa.
The war period—1861-5—developed "Iowa in War Times," by S. H. M. Byers, and "Iowa Colonels and Regiments," by A. A. Stuart, also many valuable personal sketches12 and regimental histories.
Long before the close of the century, the name of Samuel Hawkins Marshall Byers had grown familiar to the people of Iowa, because of the popularity of his song entitled "Sherman's March to the Sea," and because contemporary historians, attracted by its suggestive title, adapted it as especially appropriate for the most dramatic event in the history of the war for the union.
Major Byers' most lasting13 contribution to literature is his poem "The March to the Sea," epic14 in character and interspersed15 with lyrics16 of the war. Reading this, one can hear the thrilling bugle17 call, and "see once again the bivouacs in the wood."
Looking again, one can see the army in motion—
"A sight it was! that sea of army blue,
The sloping guns of the swift tramping host,
Winding18 its way the fields and forests through,
As winds some river slowly to the coast.
The snow-white trains, the batteries grim, and then
The steady tramp of sixty thousand men."
Passing over pages filled with stories of the camp and march, and with moving pictures of the dusky throng19 of camp-followers who saw in the coming of Sherman's men "God's new exodus," we come to the dramatic climax20:
"But on a day, while tired and sore they went,
Across some hills wherefrom the view was free,
A sudden shouting down the lines was sent;
They looked and cried, 'This is the sea! the sea!'
And all at once a thousand cheers were heard
And all the army shout the glorious word.
"Bronzed soldiers stood and shook each other's hands;
Some wept for joy, as for a brother found;
And down the slopes, and from the far-off sands,
They thought they heard already the glad sound
Of the old ocean welcoming them on
To that great goal they had so fairly won."
I would not be unmindful of our Iowa poet's other contributions. Before the century's close, Mr. Byers had written "Switzerland and the Swiss," and "What I saw in Dixie," also a book of verse entitled "Happy Isles21 and Other Poems," besides much occasional verse in celebration of events in Iowa history. So many and excellent are Major Byers' contributions to such occasions that their author has fitly been styled the "uncrowned poet laureate of Iowa." The title is strengthened by two distinctively22 Iowa songs, one, "The Wild Rose of Iowa," a tribute to our State Flower; the other entitled "Iowa," sung to the air of "My Maryland."
One of Iowa's pioneer poets was signally honored by public insistence23 that his "swan song" was the song of another and greater. In July, 1863, John L. McCreery, of Delhi, Iowa, published in Arthur's Home Magazine a poem entitled "There Is No Death." The poem went the round of the press attributed to Bulwer Lytton. A newspaper controversy24 followed, the result of which was that the Iowa poet was generally awarded the palm of authorship. But error sometimes seems to possess more vitality25 than truth! Every few years thereafter, the McCreery poem would make another round of the press with Bulwer Lytton's name attached! Finally, in response to urgent request, the modest author published his story of the poem.
It is interesting to note the circumstances under which the first and best stanza26 was conceived. The author was riding over the prairie on horseback when night overtook him. Orion was "riding in triumph down the western sky." The "subdued27 and tranquil28 radiance of the heavenly host" imparted a hopeful tinge29 to his somber30 meditations31 on life and death, and under the inspiration of the scene he composed the lines:
"There is no death; the stars go down
To rise upon some other shore;
And bright in heaven's jeweled crown
They shine forever more."
The next morning he wrote other stanzas32, the last of which reads:
"And ever near us, though unseen,
The dear, immortal3 spirits tread;
For all the boundless33 universe
Is life—there are no dead."
One of the curiosities of literature is the fact that the substitution of Bulwer's name for that of the author arose from the inclusion of McCreery's poem (without credit) in an article on "Immortality34" signed by one "E. Bulmer." An exchange copied the poem with the name Bulmer "corrected" to Bulwer—and thus it started on its rounds. As late as 1870, Harper's "Fifth Reader" credited the poem to Lord Lytton! The Granger "Index to Poetry" (1904) duly credits it to the Iowa author.
It is interesting to recall, in passing, the fact that nowhere in or out of the state is there to be found a copy of McCreery's little volume of "Songs of Toil35 and Triumph," published by Putnam's Sons in 1883, the unsold copies of which the author says he bought, "thus acquiring a library of several hundred volumes."
It seems to have been the fate of Iowa's pioneer poets to find their verse attributed to others. So it was with Belle36 E. Smith's well-known poem, "If I Should Die To-night." Under the reflex action of Ben King's clever parody37, it has been the habit of newspaper critics to smile at Miss Smith's poem. But when we recall the fact that several poets thought well enough of it to stake their reputation on it; and that, in the course of its odyssey38 to all parts of the English-reading world, it was variously attributed to Henry Ward4 Beecher, F. K. Crosby, Robert C. V. Myers, Lucy Hooper, Letitia E. Landon, and others, and that Rider Haggard used it, in a mutilated form, in "Jess," leaving the reader to infer that it was part of his own literary creation, may we not conclude that the verse is a real poem worthy39 of its place in the anthologies? In the Granger Index (1904) it is credited to Robert C. V. Myers,—the credit followed by the words: "Attributed to Arabella E. Smith"!
If support of Miss Smith's unasserted but now indisputable claim to the poem be desired, it can be found in Professor W. W. Gist's contribution on the subject entitled "Is It Unconscious Assimilation?" [2] Miss Smith—long a resident of Newton, Iowa, and later a sojourner40 in California until her recent death—was of a singularly retiring nature. She lived much within herself and thought profoundly, as her poetical42 contributions to the Midland Monthly reveal. In none of her other poems did she reveal herself quite as clearly as in the poem under consideration. It is in four stanzas. In the first is this fine line referring to her own face, calm in death: "And deem that death had left it almost fair."
The poem concludes with the pathetic word to the living:
"Oh! friends, I pray to-night,
Keep not your kisses for my dead, cold brow—
The way is lonely, let me feel them now.
Think gently of me; I am travel-worn;
My faltering43 feet are pierced with many a thorn.
Forgive, O hearts estranged44; forgive, I plead!
When dreamless rest is mine I shall not need
The tenderness for which I long to-night!"
I like to think of the veteran Tacitus Hussey, of Des Moines, as that octogenarian with the heart of youth. This genial45 poet and quaint46 philosopher made a substantial contribution to the century's output of literature, a collection of poems of humor and sentiment entitled "The River Bend and Other Poems." This author has contributed the words of a song which is reasonably sure of immortality. I refer to "Iowa, Beautiful Land," set to music by Congressman47 H. M. Towner. It fairly sings itself into the melody.
"The corn-fields of billowy gold,
In Iowa, 'Beautiful Land,'
Are smiling with treasure untold48,
In Iowa,'Beautiful Land.'"
The next stanza, though including one prosaic49 line, has taken on a new poetic41 significance since the war-stricken nations of the old world are turning to America for food. The stanza concludes:
"The food hope of nations is she—
With love overflowing50 and free
And her rivers which run to the sea,
In Iowa, 'Beautiful Land.'"
Among Iowans in middle-life and older, the name of Robert J. Burdette, or "Bob" Burdette as he was familiarly called, brings vividly51 to mind a genial, sunny little man from Burlington, who went about doing good, making people forget their woes52 by accepting his philosophy—a simple philosophy, that of looking upon the sunny side of life. The "Chimes from a Jester's Bells" still ring in our ears, though the jester has passed on.
Reference has been made to the pioneer magazine of Iowa, the Midland Monthly, of Des Moines. As its eleven volumes include the first contributions of a considerable number of Iowa authors who have since become famous, this publication may be said to have inaugurated an era of intellectual activity in Iowa. Its first number contained an original story, "The Canada Thistle," by "Octave Thanet" (Miss French), a group of poems by Hamlin Garland from advance proofs of his "Prairie Songs," an original story by S. H. M. Byers, and other inviting contributions.
Looking back over the Iowa field from the viewpoint of 1894, when the Iowa Magazine entered upon its short-lived career (1894-99), I find, in addition to the authors and works already mentioned, a nationally interesting episode of the John Brown raid, by Governor B. F. Gue. Maud Meredith (Mrs. Dwight Smith), Calista Halsey Patchin and Alice Ilgenfritz Jones, the three pioneer novelists of Iowa, were among the magazine's contributors. In 1879, the Lippincotts published "High-water Mark" by Mrs. Jones. In 1881 appeared Maud Meredith's "Rivulet53 and Clover Blossoms," and two years later her "St. Julien's Daughter." Mrs. Patchin's "Two of Us" appeared at about the same time.
Miss Alice French, "Octave Thanet" to the literary world, has been a known quantity since 1887, when her fine group of short stories, "Knitters in the Sun," put Iowa on the literary map. "Expiation," "We All," a book for boys, "Stories of a Western Town" and "An Adventure in Photography" followed. Miss French has continued to write novels and short stories well on into the new century. In fact some of her strongest creations bear the twentieth century stamp.
Hamlin Garland was also known and read by many as early as the eighties. His, too, was the short-story route to fame, and Iowa was his field. From his literary vantage ground in Boston, the young author wrote in the guise54 of fiction his vivid memories of boy life and the life of youth in northeastern Iowa and southwestern Wisconsin. His "Main Traveled Roads," the first of many editions appearing in 1891, made him famous. Though the stories contained flashes of humor, the dominant55 note was serious, as befitted the West in the Seventies in which the author as boy and man struggled with adverse56 conditions. But the joy of youth would rise superior to circumstance, as is evidenced in the charming sketch11 of "Boy Life in the West." [3] I like to recall the prose-poem with which it concludes:
"I wonder if, far out in Iowa, the boys are still playing 'Hi Spy' around the straw-piles…. That runic chant, with its endless repetitions, doubtless is heard on any moonlight night in far-off Iowa. I wish I might join once more in the game—I fear I could not enjoy 'Hi Spy' even were I invited to join. But I sigh with a curious longing57 for something that was mine in those days on the snowy Iowa plains. What was it? Was it sparkle of winter days? Was it stately march of moon? Was it the presence of dear friends? Yes; all these and more—it was Youth!"
Before the century closed, this transplanted Iowan had also written "Jason Edwards," a story of Iowa politics, "Wayside Courtships," "Prairie Folks," "Spirit of Sweetwater," "Trail of the Gold-seekers," and scores of short stories first published in the magazines.
Mr. Garland's twentieth century output has been prolific58 of popular novels and short stories. His latest book, "A Son of the Middle Border," is pronounced by William Dean Howells a unique achievement and ranking well up with the world's best autobiographies59.
A new name associated with Iowa at the close of the last century was that of Emerson Hough. "The Story of the Cowboy" (1897) can hardly be classed as fiction, and yet it "reads like a romance." Mr. Hough, long a roving correspondent of Forest and Stream, first tried "his 'prentice han'" as a story-writer in "Belle's Roses," a tense story of army life on the plains. [4] This was followed by several promising60 short stories and, in 1902, by "The Mississippi Bubble," a historical romance of quality founded upon the adventurous61 career of John Law, pioneer in the fields of frenzied62 finance. Three years later came his "Heart's Desire," a beautiful love story of the Southwest. In 1907 appeared his "Way of a Man" and "Story of the Outlaw63." Several other novels have come from his facile pen. The most severely64 criticized and best seller of the series is his "54-40 or Fight," a historical novel based on the diplomatic controversy over Oregon in 1845-6. Mr. Hough is the most successful alumnus of Iowa State University in the difficult field of fiction.
Lingering over the index to the eleven volumes of Iowa's pioneer magazine, I am tempted65 to mention in passing several other names that stand out prominently in the memory of Midland readers.
Mrs. Virginia H. Reichard contributed an interesting paper, "A Glimpse of Arcadia." Mrs. Caroline M. Hawley gave a valuable illustrated66 paper on "American Pottery67." Mrs. Addie B. Billington, Mrs. Virginia K. Berryhill, Mrs. Clara Adele Neidig, and other Iowans contributed to the poetry in the magazine's columns. Hon. Jonathan P. Dolliver, Hon. William B. Allison, Gen. James B. Weaver68, and many other men prominent in the public life of Iowa contributed articles of permanent value. Mrs. Cora Bussey Hillis was the author of "Madame Deserée's Spirit Rival." Editor Ingham, of the Register, then of Algona, Editor Moorhead, then of Keokuk, now a Des Moines journalist, Minnie Stichter (Mrs. C. J. Fulton of Fairfield), Mrs. Harriet C. Towner, of Corning, Charles Eugene Banks, born in Clinton County, now a prominent journalist and litterateur in Seattle, Dr. J. Foster Bain, then assistant state geologist69, now a resident of London, and one of the world's most famous consulting geologists70, Barthinius L. Wick, of Cedar71 Rapids, a voluminous historiographer, are among the many who, during the last five years of the old century, did their bit toward putting Iowa on the literary map.
Irving Berdine Richman, of Muscatine, had already written "Appenzell," a study of the Swiss, with whom, as consul-general, he had lived for several years. His Midland sketch, "The Battle of the Stoss," was followed by a little volume, "John Brown Among the Quakers, and Other Sketches." But the two great historical works to which he gave years of enthusiastic research were not published until well on in the twentieth century. The first of these, "Rhode Island; a Study of Separation," was honored with an introduction by John Bryce. It was so well received that the "study" was amplified72 into a two-volume work, "Rhode Island; Its Making and Meaning." The second, a work compelling years of research in old Mexico and Spain, is entitled "California Under Spain and Mexico." These alone give the Iowa historian an enviable world-reputation.
Literary Iowa in the Twentieth Century
Our study of the high places in Iowa literature has already been somewhat extended into the new century. The transfer of the Iowa magazine to St. Louis, in 1898, and its speedy suspension thereafter did not deter73 many Iowans from continuing to write. Difficult as it was for our unknowns to find a market for their wares74 in Eastern magazines and publishing houses, the persistent75 few, who knew they had what the public should want, "knocked" again and again "at the golden gates of the morning," and in due time the gates were opened unto them.
Edwin Legrange Sabin's first essay in Midland fiction was "A Ghostly Carouse,"—full of promise. His first book, "The Magic Mashie and other Golfish Stories," in common with all his other works, throbs76 with the heart of youth. His magazine verse, mainly humorous, has the same quality. Latterly he has been illuminating77 history, and especially the fast-dissolving wild life of the West, with stories closely adhering to fact and yet rampant78 with adventure—the kind of books our outdoor boys take to bed with them! To his readers Kit79 Carson, Fremont, Buffalo80 Bill, are as much alive as are the heroes of the stadium, the tennis court and the links. But underneath81 this delightfully82 light literature there is well-nigh concealed83 a poet of the Swinburne type, as witness this bit of verse:
"Upon the purple hillside, vintage-stained,
In drowsy84 langour brown October lies,
Like one who has the banquet goblet85 drained,
And looks abroad with dream enchanted86 eyes." [5]
Mrs. Bertha M. Shambaugh's Midland sketch of "Amana Colony; a Glimpse of the Community of True Inspiration," [6] suggested something more than "a glimpse," and in 1908 appeared an exhaustive study of that "peculiar87 people," entitled "Amana, the Community of True Inspiration," a valuable contribution to Iowa history.
Professor Selden L. Whitcomb, of Grinnell, had previously88 published several outlines for the study of literature, but his first volume of "Lyrical Verse" appeared in 1898. Two other books of poems followed, one in 1912, the other in 1914. His verse is marked by delicacy89 of poetical suggestion and perfection of rhyme and rhythm.
George Meason Whicher, of New York, whose name is now often seen in The Continent of Chicago, is the author of "From Muscatine and Other Poems" and of recent prose with Italian and Latin background. Mr. Whicher is the author of four poems in the Midland, all harking back to the poet's boyhood days in Muscatine, Iowa.
Dr. Frank Irving Herriott, dean of sociology at Drake University, a voluminous writer on historical and sociological themes, has a long list of works to his credit, all bearing twentieth century dates except one published by the American Academy which appeared in 1892. He wrote for the Midland a strong plea for public libraries, a plea which, doubtless, had its influence in inaugurating the library movement in Iowa beginning with the new century.
Another scholar in the sociological field who has made his impression upon thousands of students and adult readers is Dr. Frank L. McVey, president of the University of North Dakota. His historical sketch in the Midland, "The Contest in the Maumee Valley," was followed by other published papers and these by several books on sociological themes, among them "Modern Industrialism" and "The Making of a Town."
There are few more scholarly literary critics than Welker Given, of Clinton, Iowa. His Shakespearean and classical studies have won for him an enviable place among students of the classics.
Mrs. Anna Howell Clarkson, of New York, wife of Hon. J. S. Clarkson, long prominent in Iowa journalism and in national politics, followed up her Midland article on "The Evolution of Iowa Politics" with a book entitled "A Beautiful Life and Its Associations," a tribute of loving regard to a former teacher and friend, Mrs. Drusilla Alden Stoddard.
A critique on "Our Later Literature and Robert Browning" in the Iowa magazine in April, 1897, may, or may not, have turned the current of Lewis Worthington Smith's whole life; but its critical power made friends for the Nebraska professor and warmed the welcome given him when, in 1902, he took up his work in the English department of Drake University of Des Moines. While Professor Smith has published several works on language and literature and an acting90 drama entitled "The Art of Life," his literary reputation rests mainly upon his poetry. Since the opening of the new century, volume has followed volume; first "God's Sunlight," then "In the Furrow," and, in 1916, "The English Tongue," and "Ships in Port." Many of the poems in the two last named evince the impact of the World War upon a soul of strong sensibilities. Tempted to quote whole poems, as showing the wide range of this poet's vision, I will limit myself to the first stanza of "The English Tongue":
On to where Indus and Ganges pour down to the tide.
Words that have lived, that have felt, that have gathered and grown.
Words! Is it nothing that no other people have known
Speech of such myriad91 voices, so full and so free,
Song by the fireside and crash of the thunders at sea?"
Jessie Welborn Smith, wife of Professor Smith, is a frequent contributor of short stories and sketches to popular magazines.
The late Henry Wallace, though for many years an agricultural editor in Iowa, modestly began his contribution to general literature in the Midland with a pen-picture of the Scotch-Irish in America. Subsequently he wrote his "Uncle Henry's Letters to a Farm Boy," which has run through many editions; also "Trusts and How to Deal With Them" and "Letters to the Farm-Folk."
Eugene Secor, of Forest City, published poems in the Midland which were followed by "Verses for Little Folk and Others," "A Glimpse of Elysium" and "Voices of the Trees."
Helen Hoyt Sherman's modest "Village Romance" led to a long list of popular books, published since her marriage and under her married name, Helen Sherman Griffiths. Born in Des Moines, her present home is in Cincinnati.
Herbert Bashford, born in Sioux City, now living in Washington and California, contributed to the Midland a half-dozen poems of much promise. Mr. Bashford is now literary editor of the San Francisco Bulletin and has several books of poems and several popular dramas to his credit.
Mrs. Ella Hamilton Durley, of Los Angeles, formerly92 of Des Moines, a pioneer president of our Press and Authors' Club, and a prolific writer for the press, followed her journal and magazine successes with two novels, "My Soldier Lady" and "Standpatter," a novel of Southern California love and politics.
Caroline M. Sheldon, Professor of Romance Languages in Grinnell College, has followed up her Midland study of American poetry with "Princess and Pilgrim in England," and a translation and study of Echegary's play, "The Great Galeoto."
Many still recall with interest the realistic serial93 which ran in the Midland, entitled "The Young Homesteaders," also a number of short sketches and stories of pioneer life in the West, by Frank Welles Calkins, then of Spencer, Iowa, now a Minnesotan. Mr. Calkins has since become a frequent contributor to magazines, and a writer of books of outdoor life and adventure. His latest novel, "The Wooing of Takala," appeared in 1907.
One of the marked successes in the world of books and periodicals is Julia Ellen Rogers, long a teacher of science in Iowa high schools. While a resident of Des Moines she contributed to the Midland a descriptive article, "Camping and Climbing in the Big Horn," which evinced her love of "all outdoors" and her ability to describe what she saw. Her editorial connection with Country Life in America and her popular series of nature studies, "Among Green Trees," "Trees Every Child Should Know," "Earth and Sky," "Wild Animals Every Child Should Know," have given their author and her books a warm welcome from Maine to California.
One of the bright particular stars in our firmament94, remaining almost undiscovered until near the close of the century's first decade, is Arthur Davison Ficke, of Davenport. Circumstances—his father's eminence95 at the bar—conspired to make the young poet a lawyer; but he could not—long at a time—close his ears to the wooing of the muse96, and off he went, at frequent intervals97, in hot pursuit of the elusive98 Euterpe. Though still a lawyer of record, the inward call of the soul must soon become too strong to be resisted. Poeta nascitur. I can see the young lawyer-poet in his own "Dream Harbor," and can feel his glad response to the call from the dream-world:
"Winds of the South from the sunny beaches
Under the headland call to me;
And I am sick for the purple reaches,
Olive-fringed, by an idle sea.
"Where low waves of the South are calling
Out of the silent sapphire99 bay,
And slow tides are rising, falling,
Under the cliffs where the ripples100 play."
It was natural that the sons of the late Henry Sabin should write acceptably. Though slightly older in years, Elbridge H. Sabin is younger in literature than his brother "Ed." The first decade of the new century was well advanced before Elbridge turned his attention from law to literature. The brief touch of life in the open given him while soldiering during the Spanish-American war may have suggested the change in his career. His first essay in authorship was "Early American History for Young Americans" (1904). He then turned his gaze skyward and in 1907 appeared "Stella's Adventures in Starland." Fairyland next invited him and in 1910 appeared "The Magical Man of Mirth," soon followed by "The Queen of the City of Mirth." In 1913 appeared his "Prince Trixie."
James B. Weaver, son of General Weaver, another lawyer with the poet soul, but with a somewhat firmer hold on "the things that are," has written much prose which only requires the touch of the vers libre editor to turn it into poetry. His appreciation101 of Kipling and other poets and his fine character-sketches, as for example that of Martin Burke, pioneer stage-driver and farmer, are remembered with delight. Just once, many years ago, when, a happy father, he looked for the first time upon his "Baby Boy," the poet in his nature obtained the upper hand of the lawyer and he wrote:
"O golden head! O sunny heart!
Forever joyous102 be thy part
In this fair world; and may no care
Cut short thy youth, and may no snare103
Entrap104 thy feet! I pray thee, God,
For smoother paths than I have trod." [7]
Mr. Weaver was president of the Iowa Press and Authors Club in 1914-15 and the success of the famous Iowa Authors' Homecoming in October, 1914, was in large measure due to his untiring efforts.
In that Great American Desert of "free verse," the Chicago magazine, Poetry, the persistent seeker can find here and there an oasis105 that will well repay his search. One of these surprises is a poem entitled "The Wife," [8] by Mrs. Helen Cowles LeCron, of Des Moines. It is the plea of a longing soul for relief from the "sullen106 silence," and the "great gaunt shadows" of the "shaggy mountains," and for a return to "the gentle land," and to "the careless hours when life was very sweet." Mrs. LeCron is a prolific writer of clever and timely verse for the press, and is a poet of many possibilities.
Honoré Willsie (whose maiden107 name is Dunbar) was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, and is a resident of New York City. To her able editorship may be attributed the new literary quality of The Delineator. It was Mrs. Willsie's varied108 successes as a writer of papers on social problems, sketches, short stories and serials109 which won for her the literary editorship of that popular periodical. Her success as a novelist mainly rests upon "Heart of the Desert," "Still Jim," and "Lydia of the Pines," all published within the last four years, and each stronger than its predecessor110.
A successful art publisher and an enthusiastic traveler, Thomas D. Murphy, a native Iowan, long a resident of Red Oak, is the author of a group of well-written and profusely111 illustrated books of travel, all written within the last decade, as follows: "British Highways and Byways"; "In Unfamiliar112 England"; "Three Wonderlands of the American West"; "On Old-World Highways"; and "On Sunset Highways."
Allan Updegraff is a born Iowan whose fame has come early in life. His "Second Youth" (1917) is winning praise from the critics as "an agreeable contrast with the stuffy113 bedroom atmosphere" of many books of the period, as refreshingly114 "modest humor," and as having "touches of characterization and serious feeling" which keep up the interest to the close.
Among the native Iowans who have distinguished115 themselves in literature is Willis George Emerson, of Denver, born near Blakesburg, Iowa. Mr. Emerson is author of "Buell Hampton," and a half-dozen other novels, the latest, "The Treasure of Hidden Mountain," also a hundred or more sketches and stories of travel.
Of the well-known authors who, during the impressionable years of their youth resided for a time in Iowa, the most famous is "Mark Twain" (Samuel L. Clemens) who, after his wanderjahr, in the late summer of 1854, took the "Keokuk Packet" and landed in Muscatine, Iowa, and there became the guest of his brother, Orrin, and his sister, Jane. Early in the spring of '55, his brother meantime having married and removed to Keokuk, Iowa, he paid his brother another visit. Orrin offered him five dollars a week and board to remain and help him in his printing office. The offer was promptly116 accepted. The Keokuk episode extended over a period of nearly two years, "two vital years, no doubt, if all the bearings could be known." Here he made his first after-dinner speech, which delighted his audience. Here he made a record in a debating society. Unable to pay his brother his wages, Orrin took him in as a partner! A lucky find of a fifty-dollar bill enabled Twain to start on his travels. Meanwhile he contracted to write travel sketches for the Keokuk Saturday Post. His first letter was dated "Cincinnati, November 14, 1856." "It was written in the exaggerated dialect then considered humorous. The genius that a little more than ten years later would delight the world flickered117 feebly enough at twenty-one." [9] A second letter concluded the series! Years later, just before he joined the Holy Land excursion out of which grew his "Innocents Abroad," he visited Keokuk and delivered a lecture. He came again after his return from the trip, on his triumphal lecture tour across the continent. Years later he and Cable gave readings in Keokuk, and while there he arranged a permanent residence for his mother. In 1886, with his wife and daughter, he paid his mother a visit, renewing old acquaintances and making new friends. In August, 1890, he was called to Keokuk by the last illness of his mother. It will thus be seen that, next to his home in Elmira, New York, his "heart's home" was Keokuk.
Nixon Waterman, author, journalist and lecturer, born in Newark, Illinois, and long a resident of Boston, was for several years an attaché of a small daily paper in Creston, Iowa. Among his published works is a comedy entitled "Io, from Iowa." In his several books of verse are many poems evidently inspired by memories of old times on the prairies of southwestern Iowa. Here is an echo from the poet's lost youth:
"Strange how Memory will fling her
Arms about some scenes we bring her,
And the fleeting118 years but make them fonder grow;
Though I wander far and sadly
From that dear old home, how gladly
I recall the cherished scenes of long ago!" [10]
William Otis Lillibridge, of Sioux Falls, whose brilliant career as a novelist was closed by death in 1909, was graduated from the College of Dentistry, State University of Iowa, in 1898. His "Ben Blair" and "Where the Trail Divides," gave abundant promise.
Randall Parish, though born in Illinois, was admitted to the bar in Iowa, and for a time was engaged in newspaper work in Sioux City. Since 1904, when he leaped into fame by his historical novel, "When Wilderness119 Was King," volume after volume has come from the press and every one has met with quick response from the public.
It is hard to account for Herbert Quick. Born on a farm in Grundy County, Iowa, a teacher in Mason City and elsewhere in Iowa, a lawyer in Sioux City, mayor of Sioux City for three terms, a telephone manager, editor of La Follette's Weekly, editor of Farm and Fireside, democratic politician, at present an active member of the Federal Farm Loan Board—with all this record of service, Mr. Quick has somehow found time, since 1904, to make for himself a name and fame as a magazine contributor, and, too, as a novelist who writes novels so novel that they find thousands of readers! Among his best known books are "Aladdin & Co," "Virginia of the Air Lanes," and "On Board the Good Ship Earth." Mr. Quick is preeminently a twentieth century man of affairs. Immersed as he now is in farm loans, it would not surprise his friends at any time if he were to issue another compelling novel!
Rupert Hughes, eminently120 successful as a novelist and dramatist, though Missouri-born, was for years a resident of Keokuk, Iowa, and his Iowa associations were so strong that he dropped everything to come halfway121 across the continent that he might participate in the reunion of Iowa authors in 1914. Mr. Hughes' books are among the best-selling and his plays among the best-drawing. This popular author has turned soldier. He was an officer of the New York National Guards in Mexico and again when war against Germany was declared he was among the first to respond to the call for troops.
Dr. Edward A. Steiner, of Grinnell, Iowa, a sociologist122 with a vision, has done more than any other man to bring together in friendly working relationship our native-born and foreign-born Americans. He has not only gone up and down the earth preaching an applied123 Christianity, but he has also written into nearly a dozen books, all of which have had many readers, his own experiences in the old world and the new, and his valuable observations—those of a trained sociologist bent125 upon righting the wrongs of ignorance and selfishness as he has found them embedded126 in customs and laws. The World War has opened a large field of usefulness for the Grinnell preacher of national and international righteousness.
Newell Dwight Hillis, the popular Brooklyn preacher, lecturer and author, was born in Maquoketa, Iowa, but has spent most of his life outside the state.
A new name in fictional127 literature is that of Ethel Powelson Hueston. Mrs. Hueston was reared in a family of eleven children, and her popular first book, "Prudence128 of the Parsonage," written on a claim in Idaho while caring for her invalid129 husband—who died in 1915—is the story of her own experience in a parsonage in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. "Prudence Says So" is a continuation of the story. Mrs. Hueston was recently married to Lieutenant130 Edward J. Best, at Golden, Colorado.
Margaret Coulson Walker and Ida M. Huntington, both of Des Moines, have added to the information and delight of children by a number of illustrated books. Miss Walker's "Bird Legends and Life," and "Lady Hollyhock and Her Friends," and Miss Huntington's "Garden of Heart's Delight," and "Peter Pumpkin131 in Wonderland" are favorites with many.
Miss Emilie Blackmore Stapp, literary editor of the Des Moines Capital, has written a number of popular stories for children. Her "Squaw Lady," "Uncle Peter Heathen," and "The Trail of the Go-Hawks" have found many readers. She has done more than write stories. She has organized a national club called the "Go-Hawks Happy Tribe," and the Tribe has undertaken to raise a million pennies to help buy food for starving children in France and Belgium. The grand total of pennies reported September, 1917, was 255,000!
Edna Ferber, of "Emma McChesney" fame, and the author of a half-dozen clever novels, the latest of which is "Fanny Herself," was born in Wisconsin, but spent much of her youth in Ottumwa, Iowa, where her father was a successful merchant.
Oney Fred Sweet, born in Hampton, Iowa, and sometime a journalist in Des Moines, has made a national reputation as a feature writer on the Chicago Tribune and as a contributor of verse and sketches to the magazines.
Laura L. Hinckley, of Mount Vernon, Iowa, is a frequent contributor to the leading magazines. Recent stories in the Saturday Evening Post and in the Woman's Home Companion attest132 her ability in a difficult field.
A promising young claimant for literary honors is (Lotta) Allen Meachem, of New York, born in Washington County, Iowa. Following several good stories in the magazines, comes her "Belle Jones—A Story of Fulfilment," published by Dutton.
Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd, born in Iowa City, now a resident of New York, was in early life a teacher, but since 1898 has been on the staff of the New York Sun. Her "Misdemeanors of Nancy," in 1892, was the beginning of a successful career in authorship. Her "Nancy," "Bettina" and "Belinda" are better known to many than are their own next door neighbors.
Men who have not learned to deny the eternal boy in their nature find as much enjoyment133 as boys themselves in reading "Widow O'Callahan's Boys," and everybody enjoys "Maggie McLanehan," both creations of Gulielma Zollinger, of Newton, Iowa. Three other books, not so well known, are added to the list of Miss Zollinger's achievements in literature.
Mrs. Elizabeth (Eslick) Cooper, born in Homer, Iowa, has spent most of her adult life in the Orient and is an authority on the status of women in Oriental lands. She is the author of "Sayonara," a play produced by Maxine Elliot, of many magazine articles, and of a half dozen books, all published since 1910. Her books are vivid pictures of life in China, Egypt, Turkey and Japan.
Among the most prominent magazine writers and journalists of the period is Judson Welliver. He several years ago graduated from Iowa journalism to the larger field, the national capital, and has latterly become one of the regular contributors to Munsey's, and a frequent contributor to other periodicals.
Another prominent magazine writer is Joe Mitchell Chapple, early in life editor of a La Porte, Iowa, weekly. Mr. Chapple is the founder134, publisher and editor of the National Magazine, Boston, and the author of "Boss Bart," a novel, and editor of a popular collection of verse.
One of the youngest magazine writers forging to the front is Horace M. Towner, Jr., of Corning, Iowa, son of Congressman Towner. A long list might be made of his recent contributions to the leading magazines.
A group of new writers, some of them Iowans, have happily been given a medium for reaching the public through the new Midland, of Iowa City. Mr. Frederick, the editor, has in the main evinced excellent judgment135 in the selection of stories, sketches and verse, and has won commendation from our severest Eastern critics. The new Midland has, doubtless, started not a few middle-western authors on their way to the front in the field of literature.
The World War has already added the names of several Iowans to the literature of the great struggle. The best known is James Norman Hall, of Colfax, Iowa, whose "Kitchener's Mob" and articles in the Atlantic have added greatly to popular knowledge of conditions at the front. Already twice wounded, the first time in the trenches136; the latest—may it be the last!—in the air, this brave young American can well say with Virgil, "all of which I saw and part of which I was." After his discharge from the English army, Mr. Hall went abroad commissioned to do literary work for Houghton, Mifflin & Company; but his zeal137 for the cause of the Allies, combined possibly with a young man's love of adventure, led him to re-enter the service, this time in the Aviation Corps138. He is now (in September, 1917) slowly recovering from a shot which penetrated139 his left lung.
The Gleasons, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Gleason, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and of New York City, have both won honors in the Red Cross work in Belgium and incidentally have made valuable contributions to the "human interest" story of the World War. Mrs. Helen Hayes Gleason was the first American woman knighted by King Albert for meritorious140 service at the front. Mr. Gleason in his "Young Hilda at the Wars" begins his charming story of Hilda with this tribute to the state in which his wife first saw the light:
"She was an American girl from the very prosperous State of Iowa, which if not as yet the mother of presidents, is at least the parent of many exuberant141 and useful persons. Will power is grown out yonder as one of the crops."
"Golden Lads," by Mr. and Mrs. Gleason, is a vivid recital142 of experiences with the Hector Munro Ambulance Corps at the front in Belgium.
Though the evaluations143 in this review are confined chiefly to belles144 lettres, it would not be fair to the reader to omit the state's large indebtedness to Dr. B. F. Shambaugh and his scholarly associates of the State Historical Society, of Iowa City, for their many valuable contributions to the general, social and economic history of Iowa; to Dr. Jesse Macy, of Grinnell, for his valuable studies in the science of government; to the late Samuel Calvin, also to Dr. Thomas H. McBride, of the State University, Dr. Louis H. Pammel, of the State College, and Dr. Charles Keyes, of Des Moines, for their contributions to science; to Dr. Charles H. Weller, of the State University, for his "Athens and Its Monuments," and other works throwing light upon an ancient civilization; to George E. Roberts, of New York, a native Iowan, for his clear elucidation145 of national and world problems; to the late Judges Kinne, Deemer and MacLean, and other jurists for standard works on jurisprudence; to Carl Snyder, Woods Hutchinson and a host of other Iowans who are contributing to the current literature of our time.
This review, incomplete at best, would be unfair to the president of the Iowa Press and Authors Club were it to conclude without mention of the inspiration of her leadership. Mrs. Alice Wilson Weitz began life as a journalist at the Iowa State Capital. In the course of her busy and successful later career as wife, mother and public-spirited citizen, she has somehow found time to write on literary and timely themes. Her latest contribution to the state of her birth is a scenario146 entitled "The Wild Rose of Iowa" which was to have been produced on the screen in all the cities of the state; but, unfortunately, the film, prepared with great labor147 and expense, and with the aid of some of the best dramatic talent in Iowa, was destroyed or lost on the way from Chicago to Des Moines. It is to be hoped that this may soon be reproduced, for Mrs. Weitz' scenario admirably presented in symbol the whole story of Iowa's wonderful development from savagery148 to twentieth-century civilization.
A list of Iowa State University publications—a pamphlet of forty-one pages—includes hundreds of monographs149, dissertations150, etc., covering a wide range of original research.
It must have become evident from this incomplete review that Iowa is literarily, to say the least, no longer inarticulate. It is equally apparent, to those who really know their Iowa, that, far from being a dead level of uninteresting prosperity, our state is rich in suggestive literary material, ready and waiting for the authors of the future. Topographically, Iowa abounds151 in surprises. In the midst of her empire of rich rolling prairie are lakes and rivers, rugged152 cliffs and wooded hills, villages and cities set upon hills overlooking beautiful valleys through which streams wind their way seaward, her east and west borders defended by castellated rocks overlooking our two great rivers. Ethnologically, within these borders are communities of blanket Indians still living in wigwams, surrounded by communities in which are practiced all the arts of an advanced civilization. Sociologically, side by side with her native-born and native-bred citizens, are communities of Christian124 Socialists153, also remnants of a French experiment in Communism, Quakers, Mennonites, anti-polygamous Mormons, and whole regions in which emigrants154 from Holland, Germany and Scandinavia are slowly and surely acquiring American habits of thought and life. Historically speaking, we have the early and late pioneer period with its rapid adjustment to new conditions, with its multiform perils155 developing latent heroism156, its opportunities for character-building and for public service. Later the heroic period, during which a peace-loving people quit the plow157, the workshop, the country store, the office and even the pulpit, to rally to the defence of the union. Then, the reconstruction158 and the new-construction period, in which Iowa prospered159 under the leadership of men—men who knew their duties as well as their rights, men who recognized, and insisted upon recognition of, that "sovereign law, the state's collected will." And now, an epoch160 of reviving patriotism161 coupled with a world-embracing passion for democracy, in which the youths and young men of the state are consecrating162 their strength, their talents and their lives to a great cause.
The End
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1
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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journalism
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| n.新闻工作，报业 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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epic
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| n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的 | |
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interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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lyrics
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| n.歌词 | |
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bugle
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| n.军号，号角，喇叭；v.吹号，吹号召集 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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distinctively
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| adv.特殊地，区别地 | |
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insistence
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| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
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controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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stanza
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| n.（诗）节，段 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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stanzas
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| 节，段( stanza的名词复数 ) | |
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boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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parody
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| n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文 | |
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odyssey
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| n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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sojourner
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| n.旅居者，寄居者 | |
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poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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estranged
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| adj.疏远的，分离的 | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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Congressman
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| n.（美）国会议员 | |
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untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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prosaic
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| adj.单调的，无趣的 | |
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overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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rivulet
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| n.小溪，小河 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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autobiographies
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| n.自传( autobiography的名词复数 )；自传文学 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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outlaw
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| n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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pottery
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| n.陶器，陶器场 | |
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weaver
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| n.织布工；编织者 | |
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geologist
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| n.地质学家 | |
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geologists
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| 地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 ) | |
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cedar
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| n.雪松，香柏(木) | |
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amplified
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| 放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述 | |
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deter
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| vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住 | |
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wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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throbs
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| 体内的跳动( throb的名词复数 ) | |
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illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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rampant
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| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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81
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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83
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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84
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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85
goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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86
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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88
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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myriad
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| adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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serial
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| n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的 | |
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firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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98
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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99
sapphire
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| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
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100
ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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101
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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102
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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103
snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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104
entrap
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| v.以网或陷阱捕捉，使陷入圈套 | |
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105
oasis
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| n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方 | |
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106
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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109
serials
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| n.连载小说，电视连续剧( serial的名词复数 ) | |
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predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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profusely
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| ad.abundantly | |
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112
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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113
stuffy
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| adj.不透气的，闷热的 | |
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114
refreshingly
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| adv.清爽地，有精神地 | |
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115
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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117
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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118
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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119
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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122
sociologist
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| n.研究社会学的人，社会学家 | |
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123
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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124
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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127
fictional
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| adj.小说的，虚构的 | |
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128
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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129
invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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pumpkin
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| n.南瓜 | |
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132
attest
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| vt.证明，证实；表明 | |
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133
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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134
Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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135
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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136
trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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137
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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138
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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139
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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140
meritorious
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| adj.值得赞赏的 | |
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141
exuberant
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| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
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142
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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143
evaluations
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| 估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断 | |
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144
belles
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| n.美女( belle的名词复数 )；最美的美女 | |
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145
elucidation
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| n.说明，阐明 | |
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146
scenario
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| n.剧本，脚本；概要 | |
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147
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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148
savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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149
monographs
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| n.专著，专论( monograph的名词复数 ) | |
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150
dissertations
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| 专题论文，学位论文( dissertation的名词复数 ) | |
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151
abounds
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
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152
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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153
socialists
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| 社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 ) | |
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154
emigrants
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| n.（从本国移往他国的）移民( emigrant的名词复数 ) | |
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155
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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156
heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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157
plow
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| n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough | |
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158
reconstruction
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| n.重建，再现，复原 | |
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159
prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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160
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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161
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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162
consecrating
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| v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的现在分词 )；奉献 | |
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