The Men of the West 43 



warps our sense of proportion. But, in the cool 

 northern woods in springtime, when the forest ap- 

 peals in turn to all the senses, lying, may be, on the 

 banks of a lovely stream, watching the rainbow 

 trout, the big fellows at ease in the tail of a rapid, 

 seeing, perhaps, a stag quenching his thirst, hearing 

 the melodious murmur of the stream, the soft sigh 

 of the cedars kissing overhead, smelling the per- 

 fume of the pines, I have wondered if this, the life 

 of the primal man, is not, after all, the best that can 

 be lived under God's high heaven. At any rate, as 

 an antidote to the fever of modern life it has no 

 peer. weary worker of the West, see to it that 

 for a season in each year you live out-of-doors ! 

 Sleep beneath the stars. Eat the food that the 

 woods and streams provide. Fill your lungs with 

 ozone and oxygen, fill your body with plain, whole- 

 some food, fill your heart with the freshness and 

 fragrance of the forest, your soul with the glory of 

 the firmament; and then, when you return to the 

 roaring thoroughfares of the world, you will realise 

 that, no matter how dun the days of strife may be, 

 you too have had your golden hours — of rest. 



I have spoken hitherto of men generally, but 

 the West produces certain giants, who by virtue of 

 their size challenge special attention. These are 

 the aristocrats, the few, who at all times and in all 

 places mould and control the many. I shall name 

 two. Mr. Collis Huntington was the President of 

 the Southern Pacific Company, the richest man in 

 California, the ablest financier in the United States, 

 and one of the shrewdest politicians of this or any 



