Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/132



than when  he  is  brought  face  to  face  with  nature upon the  ocean. See him  as  he  scans  the  horizon with anxious  and  fearful  eye,  watching  for  an  enemy which he  knows  is  his  master;  mark  him,  when  that enemy appears,  cringing  and  shrinking  from  the  shock of battle,  his  ship  tossing  helplessly  with  folded  and bedraggled wings,  as  if  seeking  to  become  so  small and insignificant  that  the  storm  will  sweep  over  her bowed head  in  contemptuous  pity.

But what  a  different  aspect  man  presents  when braving and  contending  with  perils  such  as  those  to which  our  overland  immigrants  were  exposed. They were not  so  much  at  the  mercy  of  capricious  elements, to drive  them  hundreds  of  miles  out  of  their  course or retard  their  journey  for  months. Upon their  own strength, courage,  and  endurance  they  relied. Having determined their  route  they  set  their  faces  westward,  and westward by  that  route  they  went  until  their  goal  was reached, opposing  force  with  force,  meeting  danger, difficulty, and  hardship,  without  flinching,  conquering every foot  of  the  way  by  their  own  indomitable  will.

Yet, alas  1  many  here  fell  by  the  way,  as  we  have seen.