In Sunflower Land Stories Of God's Own Country

IN SUNFLOWER AND STORIES OF GODS OWN COUNTRY - from the mississippi, between the thirty-sixth and fortieth parallels of latitude, in the very 1ic iz. t of the greatest llntion of the earth, lie two empires. h-ot empires, indeccl, in the coinlnon sigirificn iceo f mans imperial sway, with the gay gildings and tral pingso f the court, and tllc nntocrntic rule of roj-alty, but empires of nature, glorions in the results of a few brief years of experiment, more glorious in the incitlcl lablep ossibilities of cleveloprlleilt awaiting the homeseekcr. There-er the traveler goes in these great enlpircs, in wagon, boat or r tilrnay car, lrc sees the inonn. ch of tlie realnl, tniw vliereh e may. Par to the nolstli ancl east, on through the sonth and west, this jolly mollarch keeps at the sicle of the f-lying train, to tlic end of his clominiolls, where the roads begin to Icnrl to the clonds and the cool air ru hee don- fro111 the rnountnins. KO tr r. eler asks wllo this jolly mouarcli is. Ko nlan forgets liis nlleginlice to l o vel-fualf, R uei t, s miling old King Corn. If Con1 is king. tlle11 Sunflo e is l . t he queen, f o hancl in liailcl they go over the rvicle rolling prairies in their clress of golcleir yellow, tlie one tvpifyillg 9 the spirit of indnstl., the otlier coiite itw it11 its lofty bearing ancl its regal beauty. A worthy clueell is t l cst ately Sunflo vet o. old King Corn. And, in tlie 1n in. very happy lntl contcntecl arc the Earol. ed s bjec o t f s this 1 1. osperons monarch. I or t vcnty-five, f ifty and se elityje ars of espcrie11c. e 1la-sel l0 1tl1 enit hat 11c is steady and reliiible, faithful to those v11o call 11po-11 him, and c l - feari ling those who cultivate liim.So these subjects, wit11 such deriation as national and po1itic ll exigency lias rescribedh, ave gone their wnys, content with present nbuncliincc and careless of ontsicle collllnellt liave l i x d their lives in their o vn Inanner, snng their songs, aild cherisliect their traditions until motlern progress came to the fair dominion a11d kllockecl at tlie gate rhat was tllc begillning of the ne v 3Iisso11ri arlil t l c new ICansns. IVlietIier it destroyerl the charm of the olcler life, or by its benefits atoned for tlie invasion, tliey rrlay say who will. But is it not true that the literature, the poetry, the romance of a country turns to hunlanity ia its siml le, original type, anrl finds its material where the rushing spirit of tlie century has produced the least effacernclrt 12 man m110 llas traveled much tlirollgli this L I of I I i 11g. Cori a, nd wllose business has bl. ong11t Ilirn into close colltact with the inner life of the l- mplc, once vaggislily reniarkeri that Jlissouri incl Iiaiisas are inhabited by two classes of humzln beings, JIissonrians and Iiansans. I t might liare beell replied, with Horatio, that tliere ileeds no ghost come from the grave to tell us this, but the jocose gentleman spoke vith a deeper sigllificallce tllaii tlie niere words might convey. The fact that uilclerlies the statement, and the fact that impressecl itself upon him, is that the Missourian and the Kansan, each in his may, have far more tliuii tlie ordinary amount of State pride. The Jlissourian is unaggressive, quiet, bnt not a whit less pronci than the ICansan. Ire knows perfectdy well the riciicule that has been lreapecl upoil his C State. 1Ie llas heard all tlie songs, all the railroad tndcircus jokes at tlle expeilse of tlre Pilcers, tnd, for that matter, lie repeats them vith a good deal of relish...