Idaho tri-weekly world., March 17, 1875, Image 4

About Idaho tri-weekly world. (Idaho City, Idaho) 1875-1875

Image provided by: Idaho State Historical Society

                
(Written for the Idaho Wobu>.]
spg&Ë&r?"**
Within the sweet embrace of slumber lost,
in silent Isj that yet'ran host,
Begirt with dreams of those they lered the most,
Who dwelt in homes afar.
But as that herald of the new born "7!
The first bright blush of morn' «J
BoUed-from old earth the shroud of
The lons*k>ud shout of foemen wohs them.
I in one wild tumultous clang:
i . .__..i Knffl« rant
Th. ""■> *!»"« ÎSSS'Âm*
While from their broken rest the----- -
As blew, the blasts of war sroonj thwa.
8 wilt formed they then
And short the spaoe ere all mMAuiey 8Una
A living bulwark for their nstive land
In all the strength and pride of freemen.
Te! gods it was s grand and goodly *ig ht .
That marshal'd host in glittering armor bright
Uhr and near the beams of morning light
Flash'd o'er their proud array.
Here wild and high the prancing war-horse neigh d
There on the breeze their dancing banners plaj' d
While not a sight nor sound the thought betray d
That death was hovering o'er them.
But there all mute and motionless they stood
While onward swept the billows oi that surging
food
Which soon must pour its hearts best blood
All for a cause most hopeless.
Harkt to that shout—more fierce then oceans roar
Whan charged with wrath her angry waters pour
In wild and fsarfpl desolation on the shore.
Bings wide that cry of battle
pffi« the booming of the opening gun
Ffcr o'er the ranks its deadly echoes ran
A withering note of tinman strife begun
To close when death should bash it.
A moment more there rolls a sea of fire
Convulsed and fierce it leaps in frantic ire
While deeds of death alone their hearts Inspire
And orge them to their work of slanhter.
Boon dense dark douds the wooded plain enclose
As fji yHng round the sulphurous smoke arose
A vail of pity for the gaze of those
That loved not soenes oi misery.
Tat on they p*»**. though seeming darkness
lower
Hoarse o'er the din their thundering cannons
roar;
A fearful knell for who's strife was o'er
In life's great battle.
Thick, t hick and fast the boita of havoc rain
Par and more wide red carnage heaps the plain
While hatred, smiling o'er her heaps of slain,
Hurl's mercy from the fray.
There, where all else, save death, appeared
remote
Our banner proudly far a time did float
Till fate launched ferth a shaft and smote
The heart of him who bore it.
Wo earth he quivering sank without s groan.
Hor life enough to breath one one parting tone,
Yet from his tips s low and smothered moan
Told all his agony.
They knelt beeide him where he lay,
And wildly sought the crimson tide to stay.
Which well they knew must swiftly ebb sway
That life they prized so dearly.
•They might have spared him from that us si es t
pain.
Hows'«, they fondly strove, *twaa all in vain,
Ho power nor love of earth could staunch again.
That Stream of life set flowing.
They raised his drooping head upon their knee,
Tint mid the lurid waste he yet might see
His tatter'd emblem of the brave and fre*.
As torn sad soiled it floated o 'er him.
A«*d gazing there more feeble and more fleeting
The parting SS* hie suffering spirit drew,
Till, with one mighty sob it sigh'd its long adieu,
And then and there my brother died.
Beneath that hostile turf whereon he bled,
A soldier's gory couch for him was speed;
Whs one poor gift from glory to her dead
Who fell that day.
And not a heart of all bat there felt bow'd
As 'neath a forest monarch old and srond.
Wrapt in hie bloody raiment for a ohroud.
They left him to hie rest.
Ho traps of woe, nor gilded bier,
Sat in that lonely spot all dark and drear
JSe fraud a grave without an emblem save the
star
Placed there by those that loved him.
KUX AMPKTTOr.
AX XLOQOCXT AFVZAX.
VTTXZXAL ADDUM DEUTZBZD BT EXT. D O. ZTB 05 G.
We offer no apology for the publi
cation of the funeral address, which
appears below. It contains very
much good and needed advice, which
is given in that spirit of generous
kindness and considerate regard
for the feelings of others,
which distinguishes Mr. Strong in
AÜ of the walks of life; and we are
sure that every reader of the Worid,
whether he elects to follow the good
advice or not, will acknowledge, to
himself, that the strictures contained
in the address on the vices of drinking
and gambling are just. The most ir
reclaimable drunkard, the most invet
erate gambler, knows that his acts are
wrongs and offenses against society,
and far greater wrongs and offenses
against himself, and most admit it
We do not publish it to benefit or
harm the dead. He is beyond the
reach of either. But the living may
be reached and it is for them we publish.
However much we may differ with Mr.
Strong concerning the real incentives
to, and proper basis of a genuine mo
rality, or how far soever our lives
may diverge from the line of onr duties
as we see them, none will pretend that
a moral course of life is not better for
us all than an immoral one, nor will
any pretend that money spent for rum
or at the gambling table is not thrown
away. A mail may gamble all of his
life and not be a viciously bad man, but
gambling leads inevitably to drinking
excessively, and excessive indulgence
in strong drink leads to all other vices,
and to crime.' So the only safety is in
the avoidance of both. Besides there
is an infatuation about gambling
which sweeps away every..business
qualification of its votary r and which
only one mind in a million eanr shake
off
' ntnNT* • The sad event which
ccu».oji w 'u.* 0 -. in*ri»g is u (
My
is the
deed a tragedy of more than ordinary
character. The sensation produced by
it may not be wide-spread, but it is
certainly deep. The subject and vic
tim of the fearful drama was in the
prime of life; a man by no means des
titute of those nobler qualities winch,
though, alas! too often limited in their
sphere of operation by the incubus ot
an unholy calling, are, nevertheless,
the necessary conditions of all men ta ,
moral and social excellence; the tiue
investments of a gracious and benefi
cent purpose, and which not only
stamp our natures with high and sol
emn responsibilities, but which also
give character to all those movements
in society that aim at the improvement
of this nature. I mean to say that
James Thompson was not a fiend, but
that he was a man of like passions
with us; that he was brother to you
and me, and hence the propriety not
only of these obsequies butot our best
efforts to save him and the like of him
from what we now look upon as the
almost inevitable consequence of the
life we knew he was leading. I there
fore impeach, in the name and presence
of this corpse of my friend, as chiefly
of this corpse of my friend, as chiefly
responsible for his death, that insid
-A ..ntinwoit that ridicules
eous public sentiment that ridicules i
- s — - i c — U
and belittles all social reforms.
Good Templarism, Odd Fellowship, I
Masonry, and the better judgment
and authority of their tearhii.f-s me
over-balanced by a lax and demoralized
public sentiment. I venture to
that, had the lessons of reason, experi
ence and religion inculcated bv «»ur :
O rder not been neutralized by that
pernicious maxim of society that no j
matter how plain the precept or howjity,
emphatic the injuction, all men s!i<» nia 1
do the bidding of their passion without
molestation or restraint, my friend
would have been living today.
I am not so enthusiastic as to sup
pose that what I shall say on this <*•
casion will revolutionize publie senti
ment; yet, l believe the calm, sol »er
discussion of
lems of
sad scene
for some
demption. _____ _____ ..............
that this is an exceedingly delicate
case to dispose of to the satisfaction
of all. We arc liabje on one hand to
give offense where not intended, and î
in trying to avoid this, we are in dan-«
ger, on the other hand, of degenerating,
into trilling sentimentalism. You will
excuse me, therefore, if I give ntt*-r
____............ ___ ... .
ancc to my own convictions îrrcsjx c
tive of flattery or frowns.
I should feel that I had been inade*
quate to the occasion if. instead of
dwelling upon some practical Mode«*,
sons suggesteil bv this event, I should
wander off into mere dogmatism.,
Whatever may 1 h; rnv religious «•pin
ion as to the tutiirc status ot the dead,
or however much it might gratify your
curiosity for me to publish that opiu-ihabit
ion, 1 shall dismiss tiiat phase of tin
subject as unbecoming tin? hour.
»Standing here, our inquiries may go
0 -------- - l --.—.......*. ^
out in two opposite directions, hirst,
in the line nt aonMPnui*rM'i>n • l(mi' vi-ill
in the line of consequence*: llow will
this event affect this community? If
it is a loss, to what extent will the loss
be felt? There are, in my opinion, two
answers to this question. If it relates
to what the man might or perhaps
ought to have lieen, the community has
lost incalculably. It was certainly in
his power, as it is in the power of
every living man, to lie of vainc in his
community; but it must not be over
looked that this power implies its con
trary, the power of being an injury, a
detriment to the community. If, there
fore, it simply relates to what the man
was, the case is altered. I say it in
no spirit of reproach for the dead, but
because, iny honest convictions lead
me to say: James Thompson was
worthy of a better memory than that
in which he will hereafter be en
shrined. He will not be mourned as
he deserves to be. The business in
which he was engaged and the dissi
pation of his life, more than the tragedy
of his death, will cast a cloud over
him and forever shutout very much of
the true man that might otherwise
have been the joy and admiration of
all who knew him. 1 utter these words
not in the ear now dumb to mortal
voice, but in your ears who hear me.
Like causes produce. like results. "Be
wise and shun the paths of the de
stroyer." Where he fell will yon per
sist m sporting? 01 had he only at*
tamed that priceless heritage which is
pressed upon every member of our Or
der, a temperate character, that out
? 11 em P t y honors *r glittering
wealth, he would have been standing
byjyour side in the great strife of life
V and you and 1 wohld have been
this sad memorial of the dead.
You know, my brethren, that it fe
t.H' pridu oi Odd Fcilow5f*!p, îcting
upon the principle of
result of » covenant, to ^
once for the euccess and it
all its members. You ,
studies to impress "P 0 "***® "^bids
value of true, universallove.„„lithey
US do unto others as we
mis^ni a do nrito us: an« tàaffJv»
should do urito us; rinle
evilsand^isturbs
va, ---------
that causes all social evils
the general harmony of society,
true regard, therefore, of our oblig
tiou would compel us to warn a bro
ther of every approaching danger.
ei Y tt rr ° —r a '
trust you will not censure me fordoing
what I ought to do when 1 callupon
men.
safe.
all Odd Fellows to be true men
good men, and sober men and honest
Here, and here only, are we
To fail here is to imperil all.
Secondly, our inquiries m*y g° oac
from the phenomenon on the line of its
causes, and inquire who or what 'V e *
sponsible for the event. If we find a
combination of responsible causes cun
we equitably differentiate the respon
sibility and hold each toits proper
share of blame? Let the question then
be raised, Who or what is responsible
for the death of James Thompson?
me aeaui u. — r
Perhaps you ans» 11r '' , " t * ^ t ,J
tlioso events winch fall outside me
.....*intt in a fit of
'cognizance of law; that, in a m oi
insanity, or one of those
.
temporary insanit; , .
of|paroxysms of grid which dethrones
reason and carries us on
and
to unpremed
ik his own life, and
one is or can be said
If this U* true, and Î have no
dispute it, let us continue
i" i* lespoiisioie, .......ediately, for the
{event
sav'reason to
four search tor the true cause, reinem
boring that however far bac in k
chain of caus ition we find the liual
cause, it loses none of its resjxmsi i -
but on the contrary tin* greater
..... 1
'
disposition
* hat he was not a strong
tally, t.ie responsibility is
nancialiv ein I *a Massed, but this of it-m
self would not account for even tern
porarv insanity ; fn. lit.-*! : He bad a
triend who d.d, and I understand was
willing to a-s.st liim, so far as money
matters wer** concern« d; and. second
«IlvCI llllo
Iced? If we assume en inherent pre
lisposition upon the part of the man,
inun men
onlv in
..v,. .............. «.v.......
ly: Tin* business in which Ik* was en
guged was a paying bii*inef»s, indetxl,
... * i____ . ____ _____... i
it has nothing else to recommend it
jbut its lucrativeiiess; t* *r, with b us
bruin power it pays a liiglier dividend
on the capital iuveste«! than alni«Yst
anv other vocation. His financial,
ir uibles. tin n. arc only another link in
the chain. The true tumse lies still j
Ini tiier back
lb* had lien diMik»ng, t«m. ^t*s.
land I admit two tilings. First : The j
«•! drinking is itself dangerous; ;
its associations arc all corrupting, and
no ni. in can satcly indulge in the habit,
hxcesMvo us<* of alcoholic
S*con t:
........ ..................
lupiois will account tor madness, in
sanifv und 1> iWkt i»f YflflCLili
sanity and loss of reason. But noone
w.llcontend that the drinking habite
\va 'V ^ m * U 8 nmi tyi**
His drinking habits were not so much
a link in the chain of causes as an ac
companiment.
He was inordinately fond of gam
bling. To it he was held in the mesh
es ot a three-fold attraction.
1 st. The strength of companionship
He was not alone— the society out of
which he fell, was made strong and
respectable by men who ought to have
dissolved such social compacta by
their unqualified disapproval of gain
bling, and thus set at liberty this man
and many like him who are held by
such social bonds.
2d. At first the loscr.hc, very natural
ly* hoped and desired to recover what
he had lost. You may say he should
have quit when he found that lie
could not win, but that is a poor time
y tare a man's treasure is there
will his heart be. It is hard for a man
to quit the table where all has been ta
ken from him. Hope and desire and
all his solitude for success held him in
the habit.
, ^tare is a fascination about
gambling, too, which absorbs the
whole life of a man—whether winner
or ioser he is charmed on by the ex
citement of the garni, and the habit
seems to fix itself upon him like some
unnatural disease that requires a rig
orous course of treatment to ctire.
Hold by this trio of influences my
friend Thompson was an unfortunate
player—always losing never winning.
He seemed unable to make a good
deal The result was he lost not only
his own money but borrowed and lost
s&siÄter*'
think the reasoning plain,
w
P -ÖS
the
vert, tçJJ ^b£e known
■Äf»
of "winning he lost. Tothis l ^wer
1st He did jam» ^r -as nU
who ever sat with him at toe
taWe do not one does nottnoie better.
U wm not a lack of knowledge on bm
part, but a lack of true st regard
L Cher's welfare on the part of hia
tow man.
for other's welfare
ami panion*—that rwned tow ™
Tlie social »tmospher. wfoflte
breathed was pregnant witosetoto
ness His boon companion* cared
„„t a whit for toe calamity they aaw
gathering over his head. Their
ject was to get bis money, and »«7
got it. Some man holds in lu* I'»'« 1 « ü,e
price of this man's Wood, and the ret
ribution, of a just God wtll find .t
lions oi » ---- - _
_ g (Jay. Tlie money taken from the
gaming table carries etmrse with it
some
-r,rJrL..
friend was even tomporari y insane,
hut that lie deliberately and premedi
tatedly took his own life, llow then
can the responsibility belong to any
one else? Let us suppose a case
Suppose a band of nifiians demand
the disgrace of your wife or dauglUer
ami a«hl that yo*
must he vour own murderer. In such a
or your own Hfe, ami a«M that
must be your own .
,• toluntarv die—die by
case a matt mav ^ ... *
bis own band, but the n*si>ous4bility
belongs to the one preset1 1 ing the al
was influenced,
tentative. The choice
as it alwavs is, by the strongest mo
tive, but be wIki presented tfic motive
or was tin* cause of its jireænfation,
is clearly tlie responsible party. The
lllustsatioii is not far-fetelied; the rase*
ytr. Thompson t»s*k liis
tow «« u
,
it-m ittM*ll he acted, anil m an\
equation of tin* n-sjMHisiUiity,
o-mmunity will conn* in for its share,
|^-t it lx* n inciiib'rtd t«*o that tills
habit of gambling is not a passive ir
responsible state of society. It is "
l»|! I*! *■•*** * * *
death rests upon that s**ciel practior
which reduced him to that painful al
tentative —ujs>n the ganrMing mania
for which this place has U***ti and is
u<.|*»in lun ... ^.. v . .. -
business, having its objects, its plans,
its results just ns otiicr Inisiimsai^
1 i » ..u _____ . ..*
have, and we sIhuiW) hold it n*sponsi
blc jnstoswc do tlx* physician, the
merchant, the usvlmnic. It i* a sub*
tile system of pivimnlitated iobU*rv
that lias its deceptive allurettieiits, its
cheats, its tricks, its secrets,
j We cannot declare uiurtial law and
Uinitn e%*ery matiotii «4 <air cotututiuily
wh<i dares engage 111 gantblmg. iiiat
j is not the way to cure the evil; a U*t*
; ter wav is to* let those iik*ii wls» art
permanently In-re discountenance tin
practice, i'iju protessioual gamblers*
oui Id not, nor would tlwy try very
IHU, IMU WIHI1U IIN'V \ v\ very
long to carry on their vocation here if
the citizens of tlw? place did not en
courage them. We must reach the
popular mind with the light of reason
experience, history and religion. Wc
roust turn over a new leaf and invite
into our community reformatory efforts.
I speak only the common belief of
outsiders when I say that Idaho City
has improved in morals, somewhat at
least since they have had regular
preaching, and because of this fact
As much encouragement as ever I met
with in this place was from my friend
Thompson—alas, that he should be so
soon a victim to the wrongs he de
plored.
In conclusion let me insist Uiat you
do not turn a deaf ear to this solemn
admonition, but by so much as you de
plore tliis event, by so much let each
try and prevent Its recurrence by es
tablishing a better order of society.
There is seldom a line of gloiw
written upon the earth's face but a
line ot suffering runs parallel with it:
and they that read the lustrous sylla
bles ot the one, and stop not to dcci
pher the spotted and worn inscription
of the other, get the lesser half of the
lesson that earth has to give
Huntington, Tonn., kas not had a
marriage for two years, and tlio girls
owte prppow to «dopt In toe prem
Anold edition of Rone 1 «
"Albany has aoo
«<» MMMmT
*3i*iSÄ3ia
street» *., i
ItSL I „ ,
imrt ww^oerer ,
fif t strong arm.
•H*
» ft
A ?
inWhôSriM(t.6 upran
trery ara ra a riiral m wiRhfe|t, 1
S. Ifi y w fcwrftwt er Ut the
of their Mwapnpert, tb«
te m mi them until «U
pMV*
a If wib tcHbf » «egtet er refa* k
their eewepapera fron the o uM
tkef era directed, the few holds
cihfe until thoy have aettied thebiluÜ^
dered then d fe ec at i a eod.
éerd then diaesatisued.
4. If ze be er ihert rénové te otter .. *
without informing the publisher, aj*.* ,
pepera ere eeet to the former direejZ 1 ®
ere M4 reepooeihfe.
5. The courte have decided that
like eewepepere fron the o
eed leevibg them uncalled for, ic ,,
evidence of intentional freed. VJ
6. The peetmeater who eegfeeti fe g
legal n o ti ce of the eegfeet of a
from the eflfee the newtpaprrt
him, fe liable to the poblither for
tion price. *
pififfUsnroas
TWnarlj known u Hort*«
om
^central how*
C0&£££ IDAHO A5D 7TH ffi
BOIiB CITT. 1. T.
W« zononoc« to the pnbUc that «• hat« r( i
refltMd tod reinrnlzfcvd th« above tunvid ynZ
•od trv now prepared to iMonaofoi mT
Mid tnotaoi gueau.
,
A good fire-proof safe in the ufia
amwdkToun
Aug22~/4tf] frvfr*
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