A Summer Outing and What Came of It

A Summer Outing and what Came of it A Story for Boys, with Some Observations which May be of In- terest to Men

By Hon. Anthony W . Ivins

Chapter I "One impulse from a vernal wood Will teach you more of man, Of moral evil and of good, Than all the sages can." "I am dying of ennui. I must have some change from this monotonous office life, something to divert my thoughts from de- posits and drafts, loans and discounts, stocks and bonds. "Theaters no longer interest me, and club life has become a bore. A year ago I spent my vacation in Europe. The trip was a disappointment. There is such a sameness everywhere, the same glaring pavements, the same narrow streets, the great piles of brick and mortar which have been wrought by man into cottages, castles, palaces and cities, the hurrying, struggling masses, striving for the mastery, without sympathy or human affection except for their own; the poverty and misery of the poor, and extravagant abuse of wealth by the rich, these were the things which I found abroad, found them everywhere. "The great ships which carried us across the ocean excited my admiration, and as I compared them with the Roman galley, and the Viking ships of the Norsmen, I marveled as I contem- plated the wonderful accomplishments of man, in fact, what man has done and is doing, what he might have done which he is not doing or attempting to do, was constantly before me." The speaker, Frank Anderson, was seated in the office of a banking house in a western city where he was employed as as- sistant cashier. Thirty-five years of age, with light hair and blue eyes, the bequest of his Scandinavian ancestors, the head and face of a philosopher, a body slight but lithe and supple, his was that nervous motive temperament, quick to observe, definite in conclusion, unhesitating in action when conviction made action necessary. "You need rest, absolute rest, to both body and mind. Rest that will restore nerves, which are strained to the breaking point, to tranquility, that will bring back the appetite of youth to a dyspeptic stomach. In order to acquire this, to make rest per- fect, there must be recreation which will satisfy the mind and

Salt Lake Tribune Staff Photo. A part of Salt Lake City as seen from an aeroplane. What man has done give proper exercise to the body. If you desire tnis, if you would have your soul enlarged, your faith in God increased, the insignificance of man and his accomplishments manifested when compared with nature, come with me and let us spend this year's vacation in the mountains." ^ In boyhood and youth Frank Anderson and George Rea- soner had been companions. In far off Scandinavia the parents of the former had one day learned that two strange men, who had come from America, were boldly declaring a new religion, and that they would preach at the home of a neighbor the fol- lowing evening. More from curiosity than otherwise they had attended the meeting. The service was a very simple one. A hymn was sung, the older of the two men asked the Lord to bless the con- gregation, to inspire the speaker, to remove the veil of darkness from the eyes of those present that they might comprehend the truth. The speaker, a mere boy in appearance, an American by birth and ancestry, arose, and in words which showed him to be master of the language in which he spoke, declared the apos- tasy from the primitive Church, the imperfect systems of the multitude of sects which had been established, and the lack of harmony among the conflicting Christian churches.

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Then came the great announcement. Boldly, without hesi- tation but with great humility, he declared the opening of a new gospel dispensation. With unexampled assurance he testi- fied that a boy prophet had been raised up, that through him the primitive gospel had been restored, and that the Dispensa- tion of the Fulness of Times had been ushered in. He concluded by calling his hearers to repentance, and baptism, by immersion, for the remission of sins. To the parents of Frank Anderson the man was an entire stranger, but nevertheless he seemed to be one whom they had always known. The doctrines which he taught they had never heard before, but notwithstanding this fact they understood them perfectly. They believed, were baptized, and leaving their native land, gathered to the United States, with other con- verts to the restored gospel. The conversion of the parents of George Reasoner had been similar, except that they and their parents had been American born. To the two boys, difference of nationality had never been known. The union of these converts, gathered as they were from many different nations, had obliterated race distinction; they thought only of the great purpose which had brought them together, the redemption of mankind, and the establishment of peace and good will upon earth. Since early manhood, the days when they attended the same school, the lives of the two had been in direct contrast, and oc- cupation and environment had stamped each with peculiar char- acteristics. Frank Anderson, after his school days, had been employed by a banking house, where he had been promoted to his present position of assistant cashier. Absorbed in his occupation, con- stantly coming in contact with men of the world, often the vic- tim of dishonesty, he had become suspicious and doubtful, think- ing little of the religion of his parents, worshiping worldly things because of the power which he saw that money gives one among men. George Reasoner had gone out into the world to grapple with it independently and alone. He had successfully engaged in farming and ranching in Arizona, had been active in politics, and was now mining and cattle raising in the Southwest. Notwithstanding his activity in business and civil affairs, he had always been a consistent worker in the Church, and was known among his associates as a steadfast, but not offensive, de- fender of his faith, one of those rare temperaments in which the spiritual and temporal are harmoniously blended, whose faith in God does not detract from his admiration of the ac- complishments of man, who sees in nature not the origin of

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things, but the wisdom and intelligence of the great Creator of the universe. Stalwart, bronzed through exposure to the Southern sun, he was the embodiment of mental and physical manhood, the type of man who fears nothing except to do wrong, who trusts others because he himself is trusted, who exacts nothing from his fel- lows which he does not willingly concede to them, who makes the golden rule the standard of his life. The two men had met for the first time after years of sep- aration. "Have you ever tried outdoor life as an antidote to ennui?" continued George. "Have you ever, with rod, dog and gun, pitched your tent in an open park bordered with pine and juni- per, at the bottom of a rugged canyon with titan peaks towering above, and a noisy mountain torrent tumbling over the rocks at your feet or camped on the shores of a crystal lake, fed by the ;

ice cold brooks which dance over the boulders as they merrily wind their way from the snow capped peaks above? Have you ever cast a fly on the sparkling water of that lake and felt the thrill which comes with the click of the reel, as the delicate rod bends and sways in your hand, and the ecstasy which makes your pulse beat faster as you land the speckled beauty, and after esti- mating his weight, carefully place him in your creel? "Have you ever stalked the antlered monarch of the woods across the beautiful glades, through rugged defiles, or over the mountain peaks, and felt that exaltation which comes to the hunter when he finally brings down the quarry? If these ex- periences have never come into your life, there is yet hope that you may find the recreation, the rest, the health, and, above all, appreciation of the works of the Creator which you failed to realize last year in your trip to Europe." "No," replied Frank, "I have never gone to the mountains. I have seen them from the distance, to me they are just masses of blue earth and rocks, with scattered vegetation on them, which have no attraction. As for dogs, rods, and guns, how can they be companionable to man, one a dumb, unreasoning brute, the others inanimate, lifeless things?" "You know," replied George, "that something must be done to strengthen nerves which are shattered with over work, to rest the tired brain, to tighten the relaxed muscles. You have been abroad and returned little benefited. You long for change, and for diversion have gone to the pool room, the bowling alley, and the card table, where you have wasted your money, injured your reputation, and lost your faith. "You have not gone to the mountains and woods because to you, seeing them only from afar, they are devoid of interest. Come with me, Frank, and let us become acquainted with this

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mountain at close range. Let us contemplate its crenelated walls of rock, compared with which Warwick and Windsor castles sink into insignificance. Let us visit its beautiful glens, and climb to the top of its mighty peaks, descend into the depths of its shadowy canyons where the sun never shines, and gaze from its top on the valley below. Let us gather the flowers which grow upon its slopes, the berries on the creek bottoms, and breathe the perfume of spruce and cedar. Let us study the finny denizens of its brooks and lakes, the animal life which abounds in its jungles, the feathered beauties which sing and build their nests in the branches of its trees. Let us search in its rock-ribbed sides for the treasures which are hidden there, and drink from its life giving springs. To you, who have only seen it from afar, the mountain has no attraction, but to me, knowing it as I do, there is a world, a universe hidden in its bosom which draws me to it whether I will or no. "You find no companionship in a dog, because you do not know him. Senator Vest was right when he said that in this world of selfishness and strife the one absolutely unselfish friend of man is the dog. You know that in adversity those who ap- peared to be your friends have forsaken you. You have seen children turn against their parents, wives against their husbands, brethren betray their co-religionists. The perfidy of man, whom you glorify, is in evidence everywhere ; who ever heard of treach- ery on the part of a dog! Come with me, Frank, leave the city, leave the works of man, and get near to nature, let us spend this year's vacation in the mountains." "Well, I cannot be more disappointed than with my trip abroad last year. When are we to start, and what preparations are necessary for the trip?" "We will start two weeks from tomorrow. Besides a suit of ordinary clothing you will need a khaki suit, strong shoes, leg- gings and a broad-brimmed hat. Bring your kodak with you. I will furnish all else which may be required."