Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas. Page: 145 of 1,110
vii, 9-1011 p. incl. ill., ports. : ports. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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143
HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.
4
fear of shame; and thus the dread of real
evil is overcome by tile superior dread of an
evil wlliclh exists but in tlie imagination. It
has been cherished and stimulated also by
various means. It hlas been the then of
spIrit.stirring song and chivalrous story. The
poet anird minstrel have delighted to shed
round it thle splendors of fiction; and even
tle historians las forgotten the sober gravity
of narration, and broken fortl into enthusiasm,
and rllapsody in its praise. Triumph
and gorgeous pageants have been its reward;
lmolnliments, on, wlhiclI art has exhausted its
skill, opulelce and treasures, have been
erected to perpetuate a nation's gratitude
antll admiration. Thus artificially excited,
courage lias risen to al extraordinary and
factitiots degree of heroism, and arrayed in
all tlhe glorious 'polp and circumstance of
war.' T'lis turbulent quality has even been
nalie to eclipse many of those quiet but invallable
virtues which silently ennoble the
lIhtmall alnd swell tlie tide of human happli"lh:ut
if collrago intrinsically consisted in
dctianrce of danger and pain, tile life of tile
lUindia is a continual exhibitions of it. IHe
lives in a state of perpetual hostility and
ribk. Peril and ativenture are congenial to
Ihis nature, or rather seem necessary to arouse
his tacuIlties and to give an interest to his exitnlce.
Surrounded by hostile tribes, whose
mtodo of warfire is )by aimtbush and surprisal,
!le was always prepared lbr ftight and lived
with his weapons) in hii hands. As tlhe ship
cAremns in fe:.rful sinrglcness tlhrou-Ilh thle oljt
,idt. of^ we'an, as tlhe bird mingles amongclouds and storms, and wings its way a Inere
speck across the pathless fields of air, so the
Indian held his course, silent, solitary, but
undaunted through the boundless bosom of
the wilderness. EHs expeditions might have
vied in distance and danger with the pilgrimage
of the devotee, or the crusade of the
knight errant. Ie traversed vast forests and
plains, exposed to hazards of lonely sickness,
of lurking enemies, and pining famine. * *
His very subsistence is snatched from the midst
of toil and peril. Ile gained his food by the
hardships and dangers of the chase; he wrapped
himself in the spoils of the bear, the
panther and the buffalo, and sleeps alnong
the thunders of tlle cataract.
"No hero of ancient or modern days could
surpass the Indian in his lofty contempt of
death, and the fortitude with which he sustained
its cruelest affliction. Indeed, we here
bellold him rising superior to the wliite man
in consequence of his peculiar education.
The latter rushes to glorious death at tlhe
cannon's mouth, the former calmly contemplating
its approach and triumphantly endures
it, amidst the varied torments of surrounding
foes and the protracted agonies of
fire. lie even takes a pride in taunting his
persecutors, and provoking their ingennuity of
torture; and as the devouring flames prey on
his very vitals, and tle flesh shrinks from the
sinews, he raises his last song of triumph,
breathing the defiance of an unconquered
leart, and invoking the spirits of.his fathers
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Lewis Publishing Company. Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas., book, 1892; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20932/m1/145/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Public Library.