Democratic Ideals (Brown)/Chapter 2
CHAPTER II
NEBRASKA
After some years of teaching history and Latin in the University of Wisconsin, Clara Bewick, now Mrs. Colby, removed to Beatrice, Nebraska, where she became actively interested in the Woman's Suffrage movement, and was soon well known throughout the state. She took a prominent part in the great conventions arranged by Miss Anthony, and in all the efforts to secure the adoption of the measure by the legislature. In 1882 she managed the campaign for Woman's Suffrage of which Miss Anthony says in her history: "Mrs. Colby was indefatigable in her exertions, from the moment the amendment was submitted to the voters until the end of the canvass. She organized the whole campaign throughout the state and kept the speakers in motion." Elsewhere Miss Anthony said, "Oh, if we could all work as Mrs. Colby does our cause would move on." Miss Carrie Harrison, a co-worker with Mrs. Colby in the Press Association, says, "Mrs. Colby was always on the program when Miss Anthony was managing the meeting."
She assisted in organizing a state suffrage association and was for sixteen years its president. A Nebraska woman says in the History of Woman Suffrage: "As long as Mrs. Colby was a resident of Nebraska she stood at the head of every phase of the movement to obtain equal rights for women." Not the least important work of her years in Nebraska was the founding of the Woman's Tribune in 1883 which she continued to publish there until her removal to Washington in 1888.
Her efforts, however, were not confined to the suffrage movement for she organized the free public library of Beatrice, Nebraska, in 1873. A very complimentary account of this work is given in the fifth annual report of the directors of this library.
During this period she visited her Alma Mater at Madison, Wisconsin, on the occasion of one of the annual meetings of the alumni. The poet appointed for the day failing to be present, Mrs. Colby was asked to supply the place and with only twenty-four hours' time for preparation she wrote the following poem describing the Indian legends of Nebraska.
THE SONG OF THE PLAINS
(Dedicated to the Pioneers of the Prairies).
The purpose of this poem is to present in terms of Indian Mythology the development of that large section of the Middle West which was formerly included in the Territory of Nebraska, and styled by topographers half a century ago as part of the Great American Desert.
The names and descriptions of the Great Spirit and the Guardian Spirits of Nebraska are taken from the Mythology of the Lakotah Indians, which is closely followed in the statement by their own special Guardian. The part played by the returning goldhunters is included in the story of the goddess who prepared the soil to welcome man. The devastations of war, fire, pestilence, and famine, are portrayed as the writer has lived them in that country, which is now under the sway of "the brighest of the gods."
—Clara Bewick Colby.
The hidden springs of Life from man the Gods conceal;
But to the rev'rent seeker they at times unseal
The mysteries of Fate; or these in dreams reveal.
Thus o'er the story of Nebraska, musing long,
Lifting the veils of sense with passion strong,
As in a mystic fount I saw the Vision of my Song.
THE GARDEN OF THE GODS.
Hidden from all unopened eyes a glen appeared:—
From its green base rough snow-clad mountains reared
Their giant heads, as if some spirit hand
Had hurled them there in strength, and bade them stand,
Stern guardians of the trysting-place below,
And of the secrets none but gods might know.
Enclosed this hidden glade so strangely bright;
While sounds of gently murmuring waters heard
Mingled their tones with those of sweet-voiced bird:
The plaintive whip-poor-will, the turtle dove,—
A song of mingled joy and pain and love.
This was the "Garden of the Gods," where meet,—
When slow-revolving cycles are complete,—
The Guardian Spirits of this Western plain:
To give to him by whose command they reign,
Account if they their trust have well fulfilled,
And governed all things as their Master willed.
WAKONDA, THE GREAT SPIRIT.
Raised on a granite throne sat one who wore
The plume of power; his hand a sceptre bore
Dim outlined 'gainst the sky. No mortal proud
Was he; but like some grand majestic cloud,
Through which the noonday splendor shines, his form
The likeness bore of mingled sun and storm.
This was Wakonda, the "Supreme Unknown,"
The great "Above," the Spirit whom alone
The Western nations worship as the source
Unseen of all existent spirit force.
To him the lesser Guardians of the West
Their homage paid, and thus their speech addressed:
HEYOKAH, THE GUARDIAN SPIRIT OF THE LAKOTAHS.
"Wakonda, mighty one, to thee I bow.
Upon my mountains high, the pole star near,
I dwell alone and rule the seasons there.
"Far South, from Britain's country on the North,
And Westward to the Rocky Mountains' top,
There stretched of old a prairie vast and wide,
Nebraska[1] named; and over this broad plain
Thou placedst me to guard and keep for thee.
"Where from the sacred thunderbolt long since
Were born my children brave,—Lakotahs called;[2]
A name which means allies, or friends, because
While strong in war, peaceful and good they were.
"A happy people they, and one that saw
A power benign in all of Nature's works.
To them the birds were symbols of the winds,
By whom the gods to earth their mandates sent.
The dawn they worshipped, for from thence there came
The light which drove away the gloomy shades,
And freed them from the hostile powers of Night.
"The corners four of Heaven most sacred were.
To these, and to their spirits, the four winds,
They altars built,—low mounds in form of cross,
Or bird with wings outstretched,—in token that
They live by these, the source of life and health.
From these they learned the sacred number four
To hold in rev'rent awe. In all their fasts
And feasts, in birth, in death, in war and peace,
The number four must be considered; else
No good might they expect.
Four souls they deemed
Were clothed in mortal garb, and after death,
One soul was free to roam o'er all the earth,
Assuming other shapes; and one must stay
Around its home, and, in the guise of bird,
Might hold communion with its former friends.
A third must in the body stay to guard
It, so that some time a new form might spring
Therefrom; and for this reason they preserved
The bones with care and buried them in mounds.
And e'en the bones of game they likewise saved
And ranged in circles round, that in the days
To come, the prairies might be stocked anew.[3]
The fourth, the highest soul, when freed by death,
Went to the Sun, the Red Man's hunting ground,
Along the Milky Way—the Path of Souls."
"The thunder was to them thy voice on high,
Which bade them know corn-planting time was near.
And to the sky, thy home, when 'round the fire
In Council gathered, the first puff of smoke
Ascended with:—'Wakonda, this to thee.
"I taught them thus; but, Wakan, more than all,
I taught them, O World's Heart, to honor thee,
As the unknown 'Above,' and present in all,
All signs and symbols of an unseen power.
"With them I roamed the prairies wild, in chase
Of mild-eyed deer, or bison fierce. Their game
I sheltered from the pale and baneful moon.
To battle with their foes I led them forth:
Their hands I strengthened in the thickest fight;
I placed the eagle plume on the proud head
Of him who first laid touch on fallen foe.
"In Council grave was I, and wild in sport;
In war was followed and in peace obeyed.
And when the harvest o'er,—my huge pipe filled,
I puffed the purpling smoke from far North down,
Enwrapping all the land with mellow haze,—[4]
Their yearly feast the brave Lakotahs held,
And worshipped thee as source of every good.
"But Spirits hostile to my rule have come
Among my people and corrupted them,
And turned their hearts from me away. Their stren gth Has weakness grown since devastating wars Have cut them down in the first flower of youth; And white men from beyond the dawn have come And bought our lands and paid for them with blood. Among my people they sowed seeds of woe, And e'en my power to their service yoked. My children hear and heed my voice no more; But as some giant oak, into whose heart Disease has crept, will flourish for a time, Then, one by one, the branches fade and fall, Until a bare and withered trunk it stands For the first storm to fell,—e'en so decay, With slow and certain blight has seized upon The Red Man; and the nation which agone Flourished with branches wide and rootlets deep, Now tottering stands, and in its leafless age, Casts but a shadow of its coming doom.
"Wakonda, thy Lakotahs look to thee For help. Let loose thy fiercest thunderbolts Upon th' invaders heads; and let the braves Their fathers' lands and graves once more possess." He ceased.
UNKTAHA, GODDESS OF WATERS AND
OF NIGHT.
The fair Unktaha then arose.
A crescent moon was on her head. A gourd,
The earth to water, in one hand she held.
The lightning serpent, emblem of the earth's
Fertility, the other grasped. Her path
A shining light appeared, like streamlet's gleam
On sunny day, but in the distance lost
In mist and shadow;—for Unktaha fair
Not only rules the waters, but the night
As well, and governs then the dreams of men.
For when in morning's glow you rise refreshed, —
The spectres gone which frightened you last e'en,
The burdens lightened which oppressed you sore, —
You feel new hope, new courage for the day, For noble deeds and lofty plans,—be sure That this kind goddess by your couch has stood.
To Wakan thus she spake:—
"Great Spirit dread, Far Westward is thy palace high from whence Thou send'st me to refresh this arid plain. I caused my streams to flow through all this land, And on their banks I planted stately trees, And blooming shrubs, and climbing vines. With flowers
I gemmed the prairies o'er, and set the stars, My jewels, in the clear sky close and low. •
"Glad made the heart of every living thing As in some swiftly flowing stream I worked, Or in the gently falling dew, or oft In air above. I thus prepared the land To woo to its embrace the passers-by: And then by night I whispered soft and low In white man's ears in dreams, and bade him seek The promised Eldorado in the West.
"As through my land he passed in search of gold, I marked his path with flowers that sunward turned Their yellow disks f that he might know the way, When Fortune frowned upon him, to return Where kindly Nature, with unbounded wealth, Awaited patient, long-enduring toil.
"I warned the Red Man of his coming doom, — Of slow decay and death,—but bade him hope A Savior from the East, and happier life In distant lands towards the sunny South."
e On account of the rarity of the atmosphere in this Western country the stars can be seen in greater abundance, and much nearer the horizon than in other parts.
£ The trail of the early grold-hunters across the Western plains was long marked by sunflowers.
HAOKAH, THE STORM-SPIRIT FROM THE ROCKIES.
Now glancing fiercely at Unktaha, he
The giant king, Haokah, forward came,
One side his face was lurid red, and one
An ashen gray. His hands held thunderbolts.
Forked lightnings played around his horned head.
He glared with wrath, as though unwilling he
Acknowledged aught above: Then thus began:
"O Wakan, where the Western breezes dwell I live and brew the storms which terrify. Dread famine, wars, and pestilence, and fire, My children are. On wings of mighty wind, I traveled to and fro through this broad land Contending for it with thine other gods. I dried the streams and drove away the game. The Indian, forced by want of food, made war Upon his brother brave. I told him then To murder thy white children, and to shed The blood of women and of babes. I blew With my hot breath upon the prairie grass, And tall flames through the country swept, the trees, The food, the houses burning. Homeless then The people were cast out, with all the slow Increase of years in one fell moment lost. Ha! How I laughed as the mad flame swept along, And with its fiery arm embraced to death The helpless mother and her babes. In scorn I said, 'Where now is Wakan? he has given This land to me/
"Then by a strong west wind I brought from mountains far the locust fierce, I blew them o'er the land, so that the sun Was darkened, and they covered the whole earth, Destroying every herb, and all the fruit, And all green things, so naught to eat was left; And Famine, with gaunt face, stalked in the homes, And drove from thence the suffering, starving men.
O, what a wail of anguish there arose From this sad, stricken land. It made my heart Grow mad with joy, because when they had dared Defy my power, they met their just reward.
"But all this, Wakan, have I done in vain. A stronger god than I pursues my steps; My children he has bound, and under foot He tramples them and laughs my power to scorn. In place of war and desolation, peace abounds; And when I send my storms to blast, behold, The earth is greener than before. If thou Secure, can'st know what 'tis to chafe against The bars of adverse fate, my former power To me restore."
His angry speech was done.
WAUHKEON, SPIRIT OF THE PRESENT.
(The Predicted Savior).
(The Lakotahs had a prophecy of a great Helper for their race to come from the East).
Wauhkeon, then, the brightest of the gods, — And ruling Spirit of the present time, Stood forth. On him the light of early dawn, The Star of Morning, on his forehead shone. The birds broke forth in sweetest songs as thus He spake:—
"Spirit, by whom all things exist, All homage be to thee forever paid. All other gods, what time their work is done, Shall vanish into naught; but thou shalt still Securely reign o'er all created things.
"When, for the furtherance of thy wise plans, To this fair land from far thou summon 'dst me, I came; and girded with thy strength, I have Subdued the powers opposed to thy design.
Thy messages of mercy I have given
Unto this downcast people, and with faith
And patience, they have borne their ills, and now
They garner up their harvests. From afar
Thy children I have brought to till the soil,
And now they live content in happy homes.
Nebraska rivers sail my boats, and turn
My mills with ceaseless whirr. All up and down
The country's breadth I've laid my iron roads
On which my fiery, tireless steed conveys
The wealth and commerce of a prosperous State.
Thine altars rise on every hill and point
Their tapering spires to heaven; and thy best gift
To man—the knowledge of thy works and thee
Is jrrowing clearer with each opening day."
WAKONDA'S CHARGE TO THE GUARDIAN SPIRITS.
Then Wakan spake with grave, majestic words:—
"Ye Guardian Spirits of my fair young State, Ye have done well. Heyokah from the North, Tis well that thou did'st stand the Red Man's friend.
To lead him in the hunt, to mingle in His sports, to fight his battles, to protect Him from his foes, and teach him of his gods. But grieve not that thy work is well nigh done. The Red Man needs must perish from these plains Because the march of progress he prevents. The world must prosper, though a people cease. But I, their Maker, will not them forget; Not all shall die; a remnant shall be saved; And, settled on the soil, shall strong become, And learn the arts of industry and peace."
"And thou, serene Unktaha, bless the earth With thy continued rule; thy streams shall run More swift and clear, thy dews more kindly fall; The grass shall spring at thy approach, And flowers bloom beneath thine airy tread;
And in the silent watches of the night,
When thou shalt whisper in the dreamer's ear,
To lofty enterprise and noble deeds,
Thou shalt inspire him."
"Haokah, I have need
Of thee, for war, and fire, and pestilence,
And famine dread, are but the kindly scourge
To teach man his dependence on his God.
Stay now thine hand; nor put it forth again
Till I command, which never will I do
Unless all gentler means shall fail to build
Me here a commonwealth of strong, and pure,
And noble citizens."
"Oh, star-decked Spirit,
Wauhkeon from the Orient; over all
This land, far to the Occident extend
Thy sway; until no more in crowded marts
Shall man by fellow-man be made to mourn.
Till each shall find his place; and happy homes
Shall cover all these plains; until to God
Each heart shall joyful pay its homage due;
And man to man show only Love and Truth."
The following, taken from an article in the "Suffrage Messenger," published in Lincoln, Nebraska, expresses the appreciation of the Nebraska people for Mrs. Colby. The author of the article is Emma W. Demaree.
"During the suffrage campaign of 1882, Mrs. Colby and my mother, Esther L. Warner, were friends and co-workers.
"As I remember it, her conversion to suffrage did not long antedate that campaign
and was brought about by the work of Mrs. Margaret Campbell of Iowa—another wonderful woman of pioneer suffrage days.
"With Mrs. Colby conversion meant work and she entered, heart and soul, into the campaign, giving freely of her time, talents and money. She possessed what seemed boundless energy and was intensely active in any work she undertook. However, it was said of her that her home was always well cared for. She was an excellent housekeeper and gave her personal attention to many household details.
"Mother was a guest, with others, in her home in Beatrice during a suffrage convention there, and she said Mrs. Colby was up early in the morning, sweeping porches and helping put things to rights, in the house and out, at the same time being the one chiefly responsible for the success of the convention and doing, in connection with that, the work of several ordinary women.
"She was impatient with what she termed 'the struggle with dirt and for something to eat,' but she entered into the struggle valiantly and came off conqueror, at least as far as her own home was concerned.
" 'Buoyant life' expresses, perhaps, better than anything else the thing she embodied and radiated. She seemed never to tire, but to be always hopeful, happy and 'fit' for the work that needed to be done.
"We Nebraska suffragists owe to her work in the early days more than we can ever realize. Espousing the cause when it was unpopular, she gave herself freely to its advancement and very much of the suffrage sentiment of today had its beginnings in the work of the pioneers of whom she was one of the most earnest and able."
- ↑ The Territory of Nebraska originally included Colorado, Dakota, and Idaho.
- ↑ To the Lakotahs, or Dakotahs, belong the principal Indian tribes of the Northwest—the Sioux, the Itoes, Pawnees, Omahas, etc.
- ↑ The "Ghost-Dance" was the Indian prayer that the life might return to the buffalo bones bleaching on the plains. It meant that the Indian was starving and calling upon his gods to help him.
- ↑ Origin of Indian Summer.