^^^H UC-NRLF B 3 110 r .(and. OtfO Ooots Harry .Fee COPYRIGHT 1921 h HARRY T. FEE CONTENTS THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE PEACEMAKER 8 WORLD OF DREAM 9 MY KIN 10 THE OPEN 11 AUTUMN S WONDERLAND 12 FISHIN 13 AUTO-INTOXICATION 14 MY DREAM 15 A PRAYER 16 TRIFLES 17 THE OLD MOUNTAIN ROAD 18 JEST FISHIN 19 GOD OF THE OPEN 20 I AM CONTENT 21 MOTHER 22 THE SETTLER 23 TAHOE-YOSEMITE 24 PIPES O PAN 25 LAND OF DREAM 26 KHAKI FOLK 27 TRY A SMILE 28-29 THE FOREST 30 TAHOE SNOW 3 1 VACATION 32-33 THE PIONEER 34 KINDRED 35 THE PINE 36 THE SIERRAS 37 THE INEVITABLE 38 THE TRAILS 39 ACHIEVEMENT 40 THE CALL 41 MY HOME 42 TWILIGHT 43 THANKSGIVING 44 PURPOSE 45 GOD 46 THE KINGS 47 CONTENTS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME 48-49 OLD FASHIONED 50 FREEDOM 51 BACK TO TRUTH 52-53 MY FRIENDS 54 THE PAST 55 THE HILLS 56-57 SOLITUDE 58 PEACE 59 SHIFTLESS JIM 60-61 THE BUILDER 62 THE HAUNTS OF GOD 63 OCTOBER 64 NATURE 65 OUT DOORS 66 NATURE S TEMPLE 6? OUT HERE IN THE WEST 68-69 THE OLD ROAD . 70 THE END OF THE TRAIL 71 THE TEMPLE n INTERPRETATION 73 THE GOAL 74 FISHING 75 ~*ijr < ^^ THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS I WEARY of the drooping hours Within the city s doors, The rush and strife, the bustling life, The petty, puny wars ; So I start the car for the hills afar And the Land of Out o Doors. Where ne er a cloud hangs in the sky, And where with the spirit free, The woodland s scent with blossom blent, Odor of bush and tree, As clear and fine as the scent of wine, The breezes bear to me. Fair are the forests standing there, With the woodland s balm imbued; And calm and still over vale and hill The charm of the solitude, While every thought in my fancy wrought Speaks deep to a kindred mood. So I leave the ways where the traffic sways And the strain of the battle soars, With never a care to the country where God s golden sunlight pours, And I enter in and I greet my kin In the land of Out o Doors. , - - " THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE PEACEMAKER WE VE jogged along in our peaceful way, Nancy and I together. We ve watched the sun and the shadows play And stood all kinds of weather. Forty years of our married life. With never no squalls nor pouts, And now today at the end of the way Nancy and I are at outs. Seemed like nothin could mar the peace Of our even tempered life, Seemed like never could enter here The hint of quarrel or strife. But here at last it s happened, And it s mighty bad I feel, All along of this squabble About an automobile. Well say, the sun is brighter today, Happiness brims my cup. The gathering clouds have rolled away, Nancy and I have made up. I m as happy as man could be, Nancy s quite in accord Nancy was right, it s great by gee We ve bought a brand new Ford. THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS WORLD OF DREAM THERE S the morning s roseate hue, There s the sunlight s golden glow. There s the night tide and the dew, And the gentle winds that blow. There s the shadows in the wood, There s the music of the stream, And God s golden solitude In the world whereof I dream. There s the forest s leafy ranks, Where the shadows come and go ; There s the fern embowered banks, With the silver streams aflow. And to while the hours along, Through the shadow and the gleam, There s a wealth of rippling song In the world whereof I dream. There s green vales that stretch away, And the woodland s bud and flower, There s the golden dream of day, There s the gentle twilight hour. There s the tender peace at night, Kissed by distant stars agleam, There is hope, and joy, and light In the world whereof I dream. THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS MY KIN GIVE me the forest spirit I know when the world began ; For I hark through the eons faded To the call of the primal man. And the half-forgotten pictures Of the wood, and the field, and the stream I see again in the haunts of men, Like a wraith in memory s dream. Give me the verdant woodland, Give me its shadows kind. The song of the singing waters The sigh of the forest wind. For I hear their siren voices Call mid this daily strife, And I yearn to be from its shackles free Out there with my forest life. Make me a home in the forest, Where its shadows linger deep Where truth shall know my spirit, And the pines their vigil keep. Give me the song of the open I hear on the pipes of Pan For all of these the streams and the trees Were my kin since the world began. 10 THE OPEN I WORSHIP the God of the Open, I fall on no bended knees, But quiet I stand in solitude s land And list to the choir of the trees. I see the dim aisles of the forest, I feel the caress of its sod, And stalwart and straight with spirit elate I know I am walking with God. I pray that my soul may be humble And true as it stands there alone That I may be part and know in my heart The brotherhood of a stone. I pray to the God of the Open That my spirit may grow as divine, And as fair and as true as the dome of its blue And as sweet as the fragrance of pine. 11 AUTUMN S WONDERLAND IT spills its joyous color From out its saffron seas, And bears to hill and valley Its golden argosies. In stretch of field and woodland It paints with beauty s hand The glory of the Autumn In Autumn s wonderland. O er hillside and o er valley, Amid the flaming trees, Its subtle hand is weaving Its wondrous imagries. The color and the blending, As though some god had planned The beauty in the picture Of Autumn s wonderland. 12 FISHIN PLENTY fun a layin round Go and help yerself, Don t consist in lots er ground. No, nor worldly pelf. Loads of it both far and near, Tell yer what is mine Jest about this time o year Hook an fishin line. World is plumb chock full of smiles Shinin in the sun Some folks kinder goes their piles, On a dog an gun. An I s pose that is a treat That yer count most fine, But I m bettin it can t beat Hook an fishin line. Plenty joy a scattered bout, Mingled up with health, You can have it, too, without That stuff they call wealth. You don t need no int rest due, Nor no big gold mine, All the things you need is two Hook an fishin line. ]3 AUTO-INTOXICATION MY automobile is making A liar out of me The habit is a growing I can plainly see. When I m talking of its power, Or its speed I relate I m afraid that I m inclined To exaggerate. Never have any trouble, I m ready to confess, Every time when I m a talking Of this auto I possess. Engine s always running perfect And its power, oh it s great And so is the inclination To exaggerate. Hardly needs any water Doesn t use any gas. And if you could hear me sputter Why this auto is the "class." Takes all grades even the steepest On high can t you see This darn automobile is making A liar out of me. ir*r* THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS MY DREAM GIVE me no dream of the city, The palace, the mill or the mart ; I would rather the call of the open Rang clear in the depths of my heart. The rustle of leaf in the forest, The song of the wood and the stream, The voice of the hill and the valley This is my dream my dream. Give me no gold of the toiler, Gleaned in his house of clay ; I would rather the peace that lingers Over each woodland way. The glint of the sun in the branches, The night and its stars agleam, The voice of the breeze in the woodland trees, This is my dream my dream. Give me no sound of the traffic And strife of the city s kind, I would rather the woodland whispers, The balm of the forest wind. The song of the bird in the open, The lilt of the shaded stream, And the charm that lies in the open skies This is my dream my dream. 15 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS A PRAYER MAKE me, Lord, broad broad as Thy plains, Keep my heart light as the dew. Make my life pure as the air after rains. Lift up my soul to the true. Make the way light my footsteps shall find. Balm of the bud and the tree, Waft on the wings of the whispering wind For comradeship s joy with me. Make me as free as the bird in the wood, Keep my path true and as fair. Breathe the sweet peace of Thy own solitude Over my spirit of care. Firm as the hills as they stand through the day, Help me to stand against strife. World where Thy beautiful law holds sway Make me a part of its life. Make me as broad as the forest at noon, Mingling its shadow and light. Make me as calm as that hour when the moon Silvers the shimmering night. Steadfastly true as Thy sun and its gleams, Help me to strive for the best, And then, with the song of the winds and the streams, Sing me to sleep and to rest. 16 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS TRIFLES A LITTLE journey through the years A little laughter on the way To vanquish paltry human fears; A little love to light the day. A little hope that in the din Of life, we play a noble part A little peace to dwell within The silent chambers of the heart. A little joy that we may cast Upon some fellow mortal s day; And as the fleeting years go past A little truth to point the way. To help a brother in the strife A little cheer heart given free, And on the sordid things of life A little of love s alchemy. A little faith as we go through The years that mark our little span A little tolerance to view The motives of a fellow man. A little courage in the fight A little aim to do the best To live for gentleness and right And after all a little rest 17 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE OLD MOUNTAIN ROAD WE hewed all its timbers of fir and of pine, And set it up there in the sunlight ashine, Yes, rude in its fashion but homelike and good, By the old mountain roadway in silence it stood, And when it was finished each hope we bestowed Was the hope of the peace of the old mountain road. We builded it there away from the strife And stress and commotion of the wild city life. Our days all were peaceful and our nights all aglow With the quiet sereneness that Heaven must know. And such was the manner of life as it flowed In our home by the side of the old mountain road. But it s changed, ah, it s changed from this noble estate And even the mountains have grown up-to-date, Now the gasoline s smelling, and all the day long All you hear is the honk of the darn auto horn, And the dust from those autos has swamped our abode That stands by the side of the old mountain road. 18 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS JEST FISHIN NOT H IN seems to me so good, As jest fishin Seems I m with my brotherhood Jest fishin Fly a floatin on the stream Sunlight ever where agleam World s as quiet as a dream Jest fishin . Far away from all the strife, Jest fishin . Yes sir, this is sure the life, Jest fishin . All the buds and leaves ashine An the odor of the pine Makes the old world seem divine, Jest fishin . An I ll say I m thinkin this, Jest fishin . My idea of perfect bliss, Is fishin . An when it comes I have to die, I hope that somewhere places lie In that great world beyond the sky For fishin . 19 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS GOD OF THE OPEN I AM the God of the Open, Sunlight and shadow are mine. The tint of the trees and the tone of the breeze Are framed in my own design. Out of my might has arisen, Out of my epochal dreams The shimmering heights the shadows and lights And the lilt of the murmuring streams. I am the God of the Open, Out where the grim mountains lay Rock-ribbed and true, neath the dome of the blue, I hold my scepter and sway. The crash of the thunder a roaring, The flash of the lightning is mine, And yet I am known by the zephyrs soft tone And the incense of fir and of pine. I am the God of the Open, Out where my wonders adorn, The traffickings cease, and the tidings of peace Out of my travail are born. To you who are heartsick and weary, To you who for quietude pine, Come worship the God of the Open And sit in the heart of its shrine. 20 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS I AM CONTENT I AM content To let the path of life That winds for me Be fashioned as it may So that it be A part of open ways that trace The hillside s bloom the woodland s tender grace. I am content To bear through weary hours The heat of day And count the burden light If once, but once I may The shadows of the forest find And hear the whispering of the forest wind. I am content Through stress and storm and strife Though it shall be To bear it to the end If Fate s decree Shall make my soul but know The flush of dawn the sunset s fading glow. I am content To know the traffic s sway In crowded mart So that throughout it all I keep my heart And catch again, again the gleam That gilds the forest way and lights the stream. 21 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS MOTHER WHEN I bin swimmin all day long, An had a fight or two, An come home in the evenin time A-feelin mad and blue; There s just one thing that always seems My angry thoughts to smother ; An I forgit em when I see The smilin face of mother. An father sez when he comes home From troubles on the street ; He sez that gentle smile, it makes The whole blame world look sweet. An Carlo s dog talk sez so, too, An so does sis and brother; I tell you they ain t nothin like The smilin face of mother. It kinder brightens every place, An I know what I know, That when I die and go away Coz we all have to go I ll need one proof to show me where I m at, don t need no other, I ll know it s Heaven when I see The smilin face of mother. 22 THE SETTLER THINE is the warrior s blood undaunted quite, The vast unknown shall ope for thee and thine, The untrod waste thy touch shall wait benign, The forest gloom laugh welcome to thy light. Thy will shall stand above the desert blight, The budding rose beside thy pathway shine, Where thy unconquered faith hath builded fine, And reared the wide dominion of its might. The plain shall bloom where er thy foot hath trod ; The forest gleam beneath thy honest toil. Where gaunt and grim the desert grasses nod The wastes shall lift their wealth of glittering spoil, As tho some god had wrought the beauteous thing This is thy kingdom and thou art its king. 23 TAHOE - YOSEMITE THEY kin rave about their scenery In furrin lands and all, But fer us to take a back seat I guess there ain t no call. Fer right here in our front yard When you talk of scenery, Is the greatest that can be Aye the finest you could see, YOSEMITE. They kin rave about the beauty Of the Alps and all that stuff ; But when it comes to beauty I guess we re up to snuff. Fer right here at our doorway Where the great Sierras glow Is the finest, purtiest show That a mortal e er could know, LAKE TAHOE. 24 PIPES O PAN OH Pipes o Pan, oh Pipes o Pan, I hear you on the busy street, Above the city s myriad calls, Amid the rush of busy feet, I marvel as your music falls. And here beside the traffic s roar, Above the strife the city fills, I hear the sea sing to the shore, I see the sunlight on the hills And wonder at your elfish plan, Oh Pipes o Pan, oh Pipes o Pan. Oh Pipes o Pan, oh Pipes o Pan, Why do I see the shining trees Beyond the walls of sordid stone ? Why do I hear your melodies In tone and subtle undertone Here there is but the busy mart, Arid yet, and yet, somehow it seems I hear the singing in my heart Of desert winds and woodland streams, And ah, the vistas which I scan Oh Pipes o Pan, oh Pipes o Pan. 25 LAND OF DREAM THE snow is on the passes, Over roads and trails and all, And the mighty grasp of winter Holds Sierra in its thrall. But sitting by the fireside My thoughts with visions teem, And Fm living in the Summer Land of Dream. I know the storm king s ruling With his iron hand of gloom Where the white trails were winding And the dogwood was in bloom. But I hear the pines a whisp ring Close beside a singing stream, And Fm living in the Summer Land of Dream. The wind is at the casement And upon the window pane, And I hear the steady fall Of pattering rain. But I only see the forest In the sunlight all agleam, And Fm living in the Summer Land of Dream. 26 ^ THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS KHAKI FOLK THE town is full of khaki folk Headed for the hills. Headed for the spaces far That cure the city s ills. Headed for the long, long trail Where the golden sunlight pours, For the open ways and the sunny days Of the fragrant out o doors. The old machine is loaded down Until you think she d choke ; But there re smiles upon the faces Of the happy khaki folk. They re headed for the white trails The lilt of woodland streams, The scent of pine so pure and fine The Summer land of dreams. They know the guerdon of the quest, They know the quiet skies ; They hear the gentle voice of rest In Nature s lullabies. They know the forest whispers Though ne er a word is spoke, They re off today for the great white way Oh happy khaki folk. 27 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS TRY A SMILE IN your journey through the years, Use a smile. It will weave a hope from fears, Will a smile. There s a power that somehow brings To the heart that ever sings All the old world s goodly things It s a smile. If the clouds o ercast the sky, Use a smile. They will vanish by and by, With a smile. Though the world with woe seems rife You can challenge all the strife That comes creeping into life With a smile. If the world seems upside down, Use a smile. For it won t help things to frown Try a smile. There s a hope that stays to bless ; You can win the sweet caress Of the fickle god success, With a smile. 28 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS If you think you ve missed the mark, Use a smile; If your life seems in the dark, Why, just smile. Don t give up in any fight ; There s a coming day that s bright; There s a dawn beyond the night, If you smile. 29 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE FOREST GREEN, and brown, and gray, and blue, Purple haze and spatter of red, Glint of gold as it filters through Swaying branches overhead. Soft and sweet the song of stream, Shadows that sway and change and creep World of silence, world of dream This is the heart of the forest deep. Green, and brown, and gray, and blue, Odor of tree and breath of mould. Over the grass the gleam of dew, Stretches of verdure fold on fold. Through the branches, sky agleam ; Here below, the sod asleep World of silence, world of dream This is the heart of the forest deep. 30 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS TAHOE SNOW OH, Tahoe, I have seen thy beauty crowned In the soft glory of the summer s glow. In sun and shadow I have grown to know The wonder, aye, the grandeur of thy ground. And yet today as I have seen you gowned In all the glory of the gleaming snow, It is, in fact, that I first seem to know The radiant truth with which thy life is bound. The brooks are quiet, all the wood sounds cease, The singing pines their summer songs have spent, The very air is fraught with tongues of peace, The very place, a place of sacrament. And as I stand in the white silence here Somehow I seem to know that God is near. 31 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS VACATION WHEN the city s ways are dusty And the weather s growing hot, And you re tired of the sordid days That fate seems to allot; Where the rush for gold and power Is the only thing you see, And you yearn for open spaces Where the world is broad and free Why, pack your bag and baggage, And I tell you where you steal To the woods And to the open With your automobile. Far beyond the city s murmur, And its traffic and its roar, There s a dwelling bearing "Peace" Upon the lintel of its door ; There s a stream that sings beside it And in branches just above Birds a-flutter in the sunlight Caroling their tales of love. Then it s here s the spot you re seeking Where an honest joy you ll feel In the woods And in the open With your automobile. 32 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS You ll forget the city s rumble, Its worry and its care, And the joy of life and living You will gather everywhere In the fields and flowing waters, In the light winds gentle sigh, In the odor of the woodlands, In the trees and in the sky And you ll hold within your spirit All the dreams the gods reveal In the woods And in the open With your automobile. 33 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE PIONEER SOMEWHERE, O earth, thy tangled woods O ertop the lonely plain. Somewhere, amid dim solitudes, Thy mists of silence reign. Yet he shall come with purpose high Deep in his valiant heart, And where thy purple vistas lie Shall stand the pulsing mart. Somewhere primeval echo dies Across the wastes untrod, And wild and far and lone there lies The wilderness of God. But he shall come uncouth and plain, His burning soul adream, And where thy virgin waste hath lain The fragrant farmstead gleam. Tho far and high thy treasure lie, Enwrapt with hazard, still Before thy face he shall defy Thy might to balk his will. For he shall come as morning light, And earth rock ribbed and sere Shall yield the largess of its might To him, the pioneer. 34 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS KINDRED THE vapors rising from the hill The perfume in the air, The essences the wood-gods spill Through sun and shadow there. The glint of morn across the plain, The evening s majesty, Deep o er my soul the charm hath lain Of all their witchery. The mountain glowing in its might, The valley s smile below, The silver waters singing flight, The sunlit fields aglow. I read their message in the woods, I hear it in the breeze, Their voice speaks in the solitudes For kindred all are these. 35 ^^ THE LAND OF OUT O f DOORS THE PINE THE pine is such a lovely tree Clothed in its woodland majesty. Its roots are buried in the sod, Its arms are lifted up to God. And to the forest s utmost ends The incense of its being wends. It seems to speak to you and me Of Tahoe and Yosemite. And all the high Sierra fold, Their beauty and their wealth untold, The peace and quiet of the wood The subtle joy of solitude. It stands so tall and straight and true Beneath the arching dome of blue. And ah, it seems, it seems to me That I would most inspired be, Could I but make so fair and fine A poem lovely as a pine. 36 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE SIERRAS O ER thee the tides of the eons have run, Sunlight and shadow in myriad design. Ages and ages of storm and of sun Have left thee still standing serene and benign. Still lifting thy crests to the light of the skies, Still harboring songs of the trees and the streams, From out of the Past as its memory dies Rebuilding the charm of present days dreams. O er thee have fallen the slow sands of time Futile to mar thy perennial delight. The skies have looked down on the picture sublime, And marvelled, I know, at thy loveliness, quite. Thou, gift of the ages thou wondrous land, Snow-capped or unfolding thy verdure-kissed sod, Lead me to your heart, take me by the hand, And teach me the beauty and grandeur of God. 37 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE INEVITABLE HE never went a hunting And forgot to take his gun ; And if he shot a dozen quail He d not tell you twenty-one He was just an honest sportsman, Who, no matter how they flew You could depend upon it He would tell you what was true. He never walked along the street With ducks he had to buy, The birds he carried homeward He brought down from the sky. If he shot four he d say no more, Nor stretch it into eight He was just an honest sportsman Who would not prevaricate. The others always looked to him As quite the model kind The really honest sportsman That you so seldom find. But once he went a fishing And his friends are now dismayed; He proved to be just common clay He told how much it weighed. 38 THE TRAILS THE white trails are calling me, The Spring is in the air. The falling rain on window pane No longer patters there. I m tuning up the old machine, I m doctoring its ills For the white trails are calling me And I m yearning for the hills. The old roads are winding far, Oh far away from here. The singing streams still hold the dreams They held of yesteryear. I m fixing up the old machine The memory of it thrills Oh the old roads are calling me And I m going to the hills. 39 ACHIEVEMENT MAN made the city, stone on stone, The strife of the sordid street, Black with the gloom its huge walls own, Rife with the rush of its feet. Grimly and grandly his monument gleams But God made the hills and the streams. Man made the city, its myriad ways Bereft of cheer and of light, The strife of its endless noisesome days, The glare of its tawdry night, The pride of its paltry panoplies But God made the mountains and the trees. Man made the city, crowded, erect, The hives of his housing stand Mammon, the master architect, Mammon, the master hand. Mammon that makes and in making mars But God made the sun and the stars. 40 THE CALL , the striving spirit falters, All the city traffics pall ; From the radiant lips of nature I hear the primal call. Calling me to sweet communion With the open solitude ; With the sound of rippling waters And the shadows of the wood. Aye, I hear the voice a-calling, Loudly in the city s strife, From the hillside and the valley, Sweet with promises of life. Like a siren mother calling, O er the woodland, o er the hill, And I yearn for open spaces Where the sunlight lingers still. 41 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS MY HOME I WILL build me a home in the woodland Far from the turmoil and strife; Deep in the heart of the forest, Where I may be part of its life. I will fashion the timbers and rafters From trees of the open, forsooth. I will hang on the walls of my dwelling The trappings of Love and of Truth. The door of my home will be open To the sun and the wind s minstrelsy, And my dwelling alone in the forest, Like the forest alone, will be free. It will stand in the shade of the woodland Where the strife and the traffickings cease, And the walls of my home in the forest Shall harbor the Angels of Peace. 42 * THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS TWILIGHT WHEN twilight falls, The hush of day on Nature s lips Enraptured lies, With gold the parting sun god tips The sapphire skies. Peace brooding o er the quietude, The sense enthralls Fair Nature s radiant interlude When twilight falls. When twilight falls, The dim world seems some dream of old. All beauty-kissed; Spun from faint threads of rose and gold And amethyst. The roseate tints that gild the skies, My spirit calls, And all their charm upon me lies When twilight falls. 43 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THANKSGIVING I M thankful for all the attendant And various things as they stand, For the joy and the strife that mingles my life And the myriad blessings at hand. But if I would say what is true I m most thankful, old auto, for you. You bear me away from the city, Away from its glamor and strife, Out into the seas of the sunlight and trees, And whisper of truth and of life Neath its wide reaching spaces of blue, And I m thankful, old auto, for you. You bear me out into the open, Which, in truth, is the Master s design, Where the breath of the breeze by the shimmering trees Is laden with odor of pine, You lift up my soul to the true And I m thankful, old auto, for you. 44 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS PURPOSE THOU art success, who holds thy dream divine Amid the battle stands undaunted quite. Age may not wither nor bedim thy sight, Nor grim defeat enwreath thy face benign. Past and the present all alike are thine, Adown the years still steadfast shines thy light, Above the gloom of failure s death and blight, As thy unconquered gleam shall ever shine. Time hath not measured in its grasp thy might, Nor wrought its will upon thy valiant heart. Thy pathway leads to life s exalted height, And with thee rests alone achievement s part. Before thee failure s faltering footsteps flee, And thine is the white star of destiny. 45 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS GOD IT isn t the temple, stone on stone ; It isn t the organ s wonderful tone; It isn t the colored window s sight That darkens the heavens broad daylight, But the sound of the breeze In the shimmering trees, And the miracle ever up-sprung from the sod- That is God. It isn t the altars made of clay; It isn t the worship that wears for a day ; It isn t the hymn whose sound is rife And meaningless in a world of strife, But the spirit that gleams By the winds and the streams, And the mystery cloaked in the commonest clod- That is God. 46 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE KINGS I AM the king of motor dom, Without me the parts would rust And the motor s heart would only be part Of the gathering age s dust. The motion of all of its gearings Minus my presence, would cease I am the king of motordom, I am the great king Grease. I am the king of motordom, I am the vital part, The blood that rains through the auto s veins And into its very heart. What would it be without me? Part of the junk heap s spoil I am the king of motordom I am the great king Oil. I am the king of motordom, The king by right divine ; The power that sends to the trail s far ends Is mine and only mine. For what are grease and oilings, If I say "you shall not pass" I am the kind of motordom, I am the great king Gas. 47 itrw*wTRrr*3ntirwr&Ttr^ THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME I NEVER got religion. Like you hear them talk about, The kind that when you git it You have to sing and shout. But up here in these mountains In a quiet sort of way, There s a sorta holy feelin That fills me night and day; An as I think about it, Why, ez fur ez I kin see This religion of the open Is good enough fur me. I never seen those temples, They ve built throughout the land That rear their lofty steeples Down where the cities stand But I know these rock-ribbed canyons And the streams that sing between. An I guess they make a temple Bout ez fine ez ever seen, Where God has been the architect And where he s builded free, The temple of the open And it s good enough fur me. 48 arv tr*t THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS I never heard those organs, Bout which they seem to blow, That they put up in their churches Down where the cities grow. An I guess I wouldn t understand Their highbrow harmonies, Like I do the gentle music Of the streams and of the trees ; But I love the woodland whispers, An* God, it seems to me Plays the music of the open, An it s good enough fur me. 49 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS OLD FASHIONED THE old farm house was gray with age, The porch was long and low, The vines that grew about it seemed Old fashioned, too, and slow. The barns and buildings scattered there About the old estate, To my observing eye it seemed Were somewhat out of date. The lazy fields that stretched away Beneath the summer glow, Seemed fashioned but a part to play In dreams of long ago. So musing o er these quaint and queer Habiliments of grace I vowed the people I would know Of this old fashioned place. Just then the owner came in view, His wife was lolling back And he was sitting at the wheel Of a brand new Cadillac. 50 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS FREEDOM I WOULD be free as the air that fills Mountain and gorge aglow. Free as the odor of the hills Scenting the vales below. I would be free as the breath of the woods, Venting its fragrance there. Free as the virgin solitudes Are free from the City s care. I would be free as the wind that blows, Free in its pranks and play. Free as the bird in the woodland knows The joy of its song-spent way. I would be free ah ! the Spirit calls As the bud and the bird and the bee Shatter, my soul, strife s sordid walls ! I would be free be free! 51 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS BACK TO TRUTH SKY line and hill line And forest line for me. Wide waste and far waste, Wind ablowing free. Long roads, white roads, Dusty roads that wind Oh, open Heart of Nature, Pure and sweet and kind, Take me to your bosom From sordid ways of men, Back to youth and back to truth And honesty again. I am sick of canting phrase, Hate and heresy. I am sick of all the world s Cheap hypocrisy. Sick of sham and cult and pose, Sick of all forsooth, Petty little perfidies Travesties of Truth. Dim ways, fragrant ways Of the forest part Kindred of the Ages Take me to your heart. 52 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS Sweet land, still land Where the gods release From the azure heavens Tapestries of Peace. Warp and woof of mountain, Tree and sun and stream Take me to your bosom Treasure of your dream, Take me, I am calling, From the haunts of men, Back to youth, and back to truth And honesty again. 53 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS MY FRIENDS MY friends my friends my friends are these, The streams, the mountains and the trees ; Their branches by the breeze fanned, The verdant stretch of forest land, Beneath God s canopy of blue There are no friends more staunch or true. My friends, the mountains, streams and trees Reflect my deeper sympathies. They speak to me of age and youth, They speak with gentle tongues of truth, Of hope and love as deep and broad As the beneficence of God. They seem, above the sordid strife To show the finer things of life, So high they stand above the crowd, And in my heart ah ! I am proud To have such lovely friends as these The streams, the mountains and the trees. 54 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE PAST THOUGH lost in alien dusks that front the high Interminable barrier of the dead, Still lifts thy face above Time s epochs fled, As memory that lives and cannot die. And still above the dust of years doth lie The phantom light that wreathes thy glowing head, Against thy dark horizon s gleaming red A steadfast star in thy remotest sky. E en as the morn upon her golden wings, Bears radiant athwart the bourn of night The glory of the sun s unconquered gleam, You shall arise from out the dust of kings And stand alone on thy exalted height, The wonder and the joyance of a dream. 55 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE HILLS WHEN things is lookin badly an your liver s out o gear, An the face uv care an worry jest commences to appear ; I jings, I ain t no doctor, but jest this I wanter say, I ve got a small perscription that ll drive it all away: Jest leave the town behind yer with its ferbelows an frills, An tog up in yer ruff clos an cum out among the hills. You ll fergit about the city, you ll fergit about its care, In the peace an in the beauty that s a-lingering everywhere. In the sunlight an the shadows, in the wood an in the stream, Why yer life will seem as purty an as sweet as any dream. An yer heart will take unto it all the peace that somehow fills A feller that s a-roamin out here among the hills. 56 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS In the city s sordid pathways you re a toiler, you re a clod ; Out here with tree an boulder you re a man, an you re a god. An the dewy grass will greet yer as yer loiter on the way, While within the shaded woodland, the pipes of Pan at play. They will soothe the weary spirit, they will banish all life s ills, An you ll bless the happy moment you came out among the hills. 57 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS SOLITUDE THY reign is mightier than the course of kings, The paltry splendor of whose futile pride The glories of thy silent stars deride, And mock the dust that Time s dethronement brings, Thy realm knows unconfined the face of things. Far flung across the wastes of time and tide. And in thy inmost heart there doth abide A peace beyond hope s fond imaginings. We know that far thy dim horizons lie, E en as Infinity lies wide and far. Thy broad domain the hills, the plain, the sky, And never night but somewhere glows thy star. Above the course of years thy feet have trod, Thy message but the memory of God. 58 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS PEACE I SOUGHT from strife and sordid ways, With earnest spirit, my release. And still, and still through weary days My quest was Peace. In city s way, and crowded mart The battle ever to the strong I sought it still with anxious heart ; The paths were long. I sought it by the green hillsides In woods where sun and shadow blent, And here I found that Peace abides In calm content. The matin song of woodland bird Bore Peace within its sweet refrain ; And in the murmuring streams I heard It once again. I know it in the wood aglow, And further seeking I may cease, The broad fields whisper and I know That here is Peace. 59 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS SHIF LESS JIM KNEW a feller queer as sin, Awkward like and kinder thin, Doin things forever wrong When he walked, jest shuffled long. That s him Shif less Jim. Farmin things out in the sun, Farmin work wuz never done ; Went about most slovenly, Didn t care much, you cud see. That s him Shif less Jim. Once it giv us all the shocks, When we found the dred smallpox Ketched old Barnes, the bachelor No one would go near his door Cept Jim, Shif less Jim. Didn t know no one wuz there Givin Barnes the best uv care, Till he got all cured and well, And we heard the old chap tell, With a vim Bout Shif less Jim. 60 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS "Think he s shif less?" sez he, "hey! Think you re all uv finer clay? Kickin bout the way he goes, Bout his work and bout his clothes, Callin him Shif less Jim!" "But I reckon when ye stand On the edge of judgment land, And the Lord selects His best, He ll say never mind the rest, But get him, Shif less Jim." 61 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE BUILDER BUILD well thy Spirit House, With many rooms ; give space To joy and truth and hope and gentle sympathy But leave no place for fear ; To anger bar the door and o er the window Of thy inmost soul when hate is nigh, Unfold the curtain of a loving thought. Build in the inmost valleys of thy heart A temple to the God of Love, With stone hewn from the Hills of Harmony. Use in thy work the scented wood That grows in Freedom s Land, And place within its halls The shrine of Peace. Upon the walls hang tapestries Wove from the thread of Kindly Thought ! Fill all the vases of thy dreams With buds that bloom from noble impulses. Then hast thou builded gainst the ravages of Time A work of infinite achievement "Coevel with Eternity," A dwelling place of Truth. 62 THE HAUNTS OF GOD HERE they have reared their hives of stone, Rife with the traffic s sway, Black with the gloom their huge walls own Blotting out sun and day. Never a hint of the woodland s bloom, Never a breath of the glen. This is the mart and the city s heart These are the homes of men. But here ah here, there is flood of light, Stretch of the field and wood, Laugh of the waters gay in flight, Balm of the solitude. Bloom of the ever verdant hills, Breath of the fragrant sod, And sweet again the winds refrain These are the haunts of God. 63 OCTOBER THY power all the valley sways, And on the brown hills sleeping lies. A hand of change through autumn haze That lightly paints in dreamy guise, With gold the dying summer days, Beneath the blue October skies. We note thy purple hills the grays That linger in thy dim morn s eyes. The beauty and its myriad ways That tinge thy glowing sunset skies, That steals across thy dreamy days A radiant hint of Paradise. We know thy charm October days, Where er thy leaf strewn pathway lies ; The subtle touch that wandering strays To bid thy errant beauties rise ; The gold that dances o er thy ways And all the earth it glorifies. 64 NATURE THY beauty creeps athwart the morning s glow O er wood and stream the lights and shadows play, Where er the vagrant winds a wandering blow, Golden I see the glory of the day. Thy charm still lingers as the daylight falls, As falls o er ebbing sands the vesper chime. Thy radiant hues gild all the western walls, Dreaming I feel the balm of twilight time. Thy glory lingers through the silver night, The hush of peace beneath thy gleaming skies, Beyond the trees, a dream of chastened light, Smiling I see the stars of paradise. 65 OUT DOORS KERENS what the out doors means to me, It means my spirit is set free, It means I break the captive bars That hold the light of sun and stars. It means I take unto my heart That truth of which I am a part. It means wide stretches of the sea It means the woodland s majesty. It means the sunlight on the trees The message of the forest breeze. It means that life both dark and fair I see with broader vision there. It means the view of bird and bee It means the joy, the ecstasy Of space untrammeled of all strife, The quiet essences of life That lift my soul beyond the sod Until I stand alone with God. 66 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS NATURE S TEMPLE THE house where I worship out under the sky Its steeples, the mountains that tower on high; Its aisles, the green lanes where the fair sunlight gleams ; Its songs are the songs of the birds and the streams. The prayers from my soul that in rapture ascend, With the scent of the woods and the green hill sides blend ; And the music that rises from gorge and from dell Weaves deep in my heart the sweet peace of its spell. The power I note manifest everywhere, Is aglow in the brook and the scent-laden air, In the woods and the fields, in the grass-covered sod, In the broad ways of nature the temple of God. 67 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS OUT HERE IN THE WEST DON T want no place better n right here where I be I jings, I want ter say ter yer, it s good enough f er me ; Where the sunlight kinder shimmers the whole blame bloomin year, An the springtime an the summer hez fergot ter disappear. Never see the beat uv it, by gosh, anyweres, Never see such peaches, apricots an pears. Want ter know what reel life iz, jest the very best? Tell yer where yer ll find it out here in the West. Talk erbout yer garden spots, an Eden here on earth, Bet yer I m a knowin when I got my money s worth. Grapes ez big ez apples fields er wavin grain, Then there s somethin bout it I can t quite explain ; Kinder mingled in the air an underneath the skies Ever thing a-bloomin , jest like its paradise. Talk erbout yer kountry that beats all the rest, Ef yer like ter find it why it s out here in the West. 68 rmervr ^r^r^r^r-. THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS Don t mention disadvantages where other places be, I m talkin bout the fac s I know is mos con- cernin me. An tho you may be readin with a sorter doubtin mind That the things that here I m writin you ll scarcely ever find, I jings, I want ter say ter yer, it s good enough fer me, Where things is green an bloomin jest ez fer ez yer can see An the land a-lyin round yer kinder seems tho it s blest, Fer that s the way it strikes yer, jest out here in the West. 69 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE OLD ROAD I JINGS I wanter say to you Its good enough fer me, The old road a windin Jest as fer as you can see, The sky above a shinin Its very brightest blue, And the whole world a smilin A smilin straight at you; Fer that s the way it strikes you As on the road you go The old road the long road The road to Lake Tahoe. I jings I wanter tell you The sun forever shines On the old road, the long road That winds among the pines. Its lyin in the sunlight As fair as any dreams, Beside the trees a whisperin Beside the singin streams; And it strikes your very spirit As you shift in high or low The old road the fine road The road to Lake Tahoe. 70 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE END OF THE TRAIL OLD pal, old car, we have journeyed far, In the varied kinds of weather, Over the grades and through the vales Just you and I together. Now you re battered and old and your engine s cold And the heart that never would fail, Has lost its hope on the downward slope And this is the end of the trail. Oh my spirit is sad that once was so glad With joys that together were drunk, And my love somehow seems still greater now That you re only a pile of junk. But the memory of you as staunch and as true As the stars that never can pale, Shall live through the years tho I see through my tears That this is the end of the trail. 71 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE TEMPLE I STOOD in Nature s Temple fair; A holy silence filled the air, And all about me God was there. I heard His golden harmonies Sang by the choirs of the breeze The anthems of the birds and trees. Uncovered where God s sunlight shone, A worshiper I stood, alone, And read the sermon in a stone. 72 -*n THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS INTERPRETATION THERE S a voice in the treeless desert There s an echoing ear that glows, There s a whispering wind that seeks its kind To speak the joy it knows. There s a smile in the bud and blossom, There s a tale in the whispering wood ; And one that is part shall know in his heart The spirit of solitude. There s a chord in the song of the forest An answering chord shall stir There is joy and pain in the wind s refrain To the wind s interpreter. 73 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS THE GOAL I DO not crave the common needs, Nor fame, nor wealth untold. I care not how by cult or creeds, So that my soul unfold. I am content to take my place Serene among the stings, And steadfast meet full face to face The strife s rude bufferings. I play my part, nor blame nor praise I hope shall mar my soul. I do not know the devious ways That lead unto the goal. No smallest duty shall I spurn If it but lead to light ; For in me there are dreams that yearn High as the Infinite. Perhaps I shall count hard the way, And its achievement far. I do not care, so courage stay, And faith s effulgent star. I most desire that I grow, Nor shall I miss life s pelf If, striving, I but learn to know My own diviner self. 74 THE LAND OF OUT O DOORS FISHING I LL say this world is easy If a man has any sense, And we re watched over always By an all-wise Providence. Suppose you go a fishing To gratify your wish, You furnish just a hook and line And God provides the fish. Suppose that when you re fishing A dandy pool you ve struck, Perhaps if you just knew it The Lord brought you your luck. And when the sizzling beauties Sit before you in a dish, You furnish simply appetite And God provides the fish. So life is just like fishing, With days both good and bad, And troubles come to touch us With hours that make us sad. But when sorrow seems triumphant Over happiness at length It s nothing just remember That God provides the strength. 75 DENNISON-McKELLAR CO. Printers Stockton, California fr UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY