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4 (916) THE]
Family 1
SOMEBODY CARES.
By Fanny Edna Stafford.
Somebody knows when your heart aches.
And everything seems to go wrong;
Somebody knows when the shadows
Need ciiasing away with a songSomebody
knows when you're lonely,
tired, discouraged and blue;
Somebody wants you to know Him,
And know that He dearly loves you.
Somebody cares when you're tempted.
And the world grows dizzy and dim;
Somebody cares when you're weakest
And farthest away from Him;
Somebody grieves when you've fallen,
Though you are not lost from His sight;
Somebody waits for your coming,
Taking the gloom from your night.
Somebody loves you when weary;
Somebody loves you when strong;
Always is waiting to help you,
W atches you, one of the throng
Needing His friendship so holy,
Needing His watch-care so true;
His name? We call His name Jesus,
His people? Just 1 and just you.
?. C. E. WORED.
A FAMOUS JOURNEY.
lii JtlOFJS DAKLNU.
Oue of the most romantic journeys undertaken
in that time of romance?American colonization?was
an exploration of Western Virginia
led by Alexander iSpottswood, governor of
that colony in 171G. The object of this journey
was to see what lay beyond the Blue liidge Mountains.
That region was unknown, save for the
stories told by hunters, trappers, and Indians
of a fertile and beautiful land.
At this time Virginia was a prosperous colony.
Slavery was on the increase, for slave
labor could be profitably employed on the large
plantations. As a general thing the negroes
were well treated; the planter seldom used the
word slave, but spoke of the blacks as servants.
Then plantation furnished food and wool. At
home this last was spun and woven into cloth
xwx ??<u Jiiuiiia, oiviJlo were taiJiiuu ciiiu suues iiiauc,
and the blacksmithing for the vast stretch of
acres was all done on the plantation. Luxuries
for the manor house?silks, laces, wine, and
books?were brought from England and delivered
at the planter's wharf being paid for with
tobacco. Williamsburg was then Virginia's capital
and the center of the colony's social life. It
contained William and Mary College, the charter
for which was granted in 161)3. In winter many
planters went to Williamsburg to live, and there
were balls, state dinners and plays.
While tidewater Virginia was thus leading a
life of luxury and ease, to the westward settlers
were filling up the region that skirted the Blue
Ridge Mountains. Life there was hard. Not
only was there the land to be cleared of its dense
forests and the wild beasts to be slain, but the
settlers must ever be on the lookout for the wilv
savages. Again and again the Indians attacked
the settlements, each time, as they were defeated,
retiring a little further westward. To the hardy
settlers in the foothill region, to the planters
amidst their fertile fields of tobacco and corn,
and to the dwellers in Williamsburg, with its
miniature court and gay society, came tales of
the fair country beyond the region always spoken
of by the Virginian as "the mountains."
Spotswood gathered together a company of
gentlemen to visit this land. The journey was
one of exploration solely. There may have been
hopes of a future colony, but no plans were
made at that time- There were still a few who
cherished the dream of those who first came to
the New World?that somewhere in the far West
nVtsvtil/J fnnnrl a lanrl orn rrnl/1 non 1A Ko rmfVi
SIHIUIU I V/UIIW U "UIU ?? I?v* V hw,vl VUUIU UC ^abll
ered as could the pebbles on the beach.
It was in August that SpottsWood and his com
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SC
leadings
pany started on their journey. The gentlemen
were all well mounted, and they were accompanied
bv iruides. ranerers. and servants. There
was a goodly train of pack-horses laden with
food. A chronicler of the expedition enumerates
the drinks that were taken: "Virginia wine, both
white and red; Irish usquebaugh, brandy, shrub,
two kinds of rum, ehampaigne, canary, cherrypunch.
and cider." To us that list sounds appalling,
yet we must remember that the life of
those days, was, in many ways, very different
from ours. There was much drinking, yet the
(ilotirn'orio t\f +U?4- i 1--i il 1 ~~
luno \jx umi age eiaim iiun mere ?tus nut us
much drunkenness as at present.
The journey was a delightful one. Midsummer
had brought to central Virginia golden days
when the shadows lay long and clearly defined
011 the lush grass, and the wind crooned a faint,
sweet melody as it passed over the tall, serried
ranks of the corn. Streams went slipping along
between green banks. At first the way led
through a farming region, and there, at manor
house or farm home, the travelers were royally
entertained. Further on, as the way grew rugged
and the wooden hills shut in the valleys wherein
the home of no settlers had as yet arisen, they
camped by the wayside. Not only were there
the abundant supplies that they had brought
with them to draw upon, but the rangers who
accompanied the party went out into the forest
and brought back with them squirrels, wild turkeys,
deer, and an occasional bear.
Gradually they drow near the mountains, the
lines of peaks whose tops were ever wrapped
round with a mantle of blue haze. In the sunlight
this haze was touehpd with ? omlrlon
_ ... O
Again it took 011 shades of lavender and green
To the Indians of that region that enveloping
mist was ever the smoke that ascended from the
campfire of the great Manitou- Some of the
tribes believed that it was among these mountains
that the god of thunder, whom they feared
and worshiped, had his abiding place. The thunder
bolts were rocks which he took from a basket
that he carried on his arm and hurled down from
the heights whereon he dwelt. There were other
tribes who believed that it was in the land beyond
these peaks where lay the happy hunting
ground. When those Indians came to die it was
always to the westward that they turned their
faces, for their wise man had said there ldy the
land where they would "do nothing but dance
and sing." To Spottswood and his companions,
with their prancing steeds and shining arms, as
they rode along, their guides told these stories
of the region they were to visit.
"It may be that there stretches the South Sea
of which our ancestors dreamed," cried Captain
Brooks.
A tall young countryman shrugged his shoulders.
'' If we needs must dread, let it be of more
substantial good. Yonder may be the fabulous
land where gold shall be as the stones in the
fields."
Thus, with jest and laughter, with song and
story, they beguiled the way. None of them
were granted the power of vision. None of them
saw what did stretch away in the distance, shut
off from their view not only by the mountains
but also by years. Today the region that was
men su iiiucii ui a mystery is a veritable garden
spot dotted by cities of fabulous wealth.
As they were ascending one of the peaks, the
hoofs of the horses rang clear and sharp against
the rocks. One of the riders remarked reflectively
that never before had the silence of the
mountains been disturbed by such a sound.
I D T H [ September 27, 1911
Spotswood reigned in his horse and motioned for
the cavalcade to stop. When his companions had
gathered about him and all was quiet, he said:
"That shall be our name, my friends?
'Knights of the Horseshoe-' When we return
home, I will order from London a little golden
horseshoe, with jewels for nails, for each one of
us. We are The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe.
''
The governor did not forget the promise that
he had made. The horseshoe-shaped pins, set
with jewels, were ordered and each man received
one. Some of these pins are still cherished
among the old families of Virginia.
In due time the exploring party reached a
point where, to the westward, they could look
down into the valley of the Shenadoah. It is
supposed that tney were near what is now known
as Swift Run Gap. On the summit overlooking
the valley Spotswood and his men tarried for a
day. W ith great ceremony they drank the health
of their king. They named two peaks that could
be seen from where they were. One was called
Mt. George, after the king, and the other Mt.
Alexander, after Spotswood. The next day they
descended into the vale. A paper was written
and signed, announcing that the valley, to which
Spotswood gave the name of Euphrates, had been
f ulrnn rvaoonno i/\r? a!' I'a ? 4-Vt a T?.n/vliciU lri r*
tuntu puoowoiuii ui lux tuc uugiiou
George I.
Thus was the journey's end. To us it seems as
it the object attempted had not been attained,
for they had not penetrated far in that region
of many mountains- However, the exploration
was, at best, only a pleasure party. The governor
and his friends turned about, leisurely retracing
their steps to Williamsburg, where they
weie receiveu wan cueernig and demonstrations
of delight.
There were no immediate results from this expedition;
it was years before the real crossing
oi the mountains began. About the middle of
the eighteenth century, attracted by the lure of
the West, men made their way to the land beyond
the mountains, there to make homes for
their families.?United 1'resbyterian.
WHAT IS HERESY?
No one questions the right of the minister to
think out the problems of truth for himself. He
must do so, without fear or favor- But it is just
as true, that when he discovers that his matured
opinions are in direct contradiction of the great
truths for which the Church, to which he has
sworn fealty, stands, there is only one honorable
course for him to pursue. However regretfully
he may do it, he must sever his connection with
her ministry and step down and out. To use her
pulpit as the platform for publishing opinions
radically at variance with her standards, is not
even common honesty.?Christian World.
THE GREATEST POWER.
The greatest power for good, for advancing
civilization and the progress of the human race
has always been the force of ideas. It was not
the armies of Greece or Rome that civilized the
world, but the ideas of freedom, of justice and
religion which came from the Bible. A knowledge
of the Bible teaches man of the existence
and worth of the soul, it teaches the only true
religion and the best system of morals the world
has ev??r lmnwn 1+ oVi/^wc. v.-> ~~
? i. .? ?, oiiu ti o man miat lie 13 A11V1
what he ought to be. Its teaching has had more
influence for good upon the human race than all
other powers combined.?G. W. Riggs, in Pacific
Tidings.
The dredger in the river deepens the channel.
An awe is a dredge deepening the life, taking
out vanity and frivolity.