Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/360



Frederic Homer Balch, author of the "Bridge of the Gods," was born at Lebanon, Oregon, December 14, 1861. In his childhood, stories of war fascinated him; and when he grew older the study of ancient history was his delight. When thirteen years of age he wrote poetry and historical sketches. His early contributions revealed intense love for his native state, keen interest in the Indians along the Columbia, and the disposition to weave the traditions of a fast-disappearing race as woof in the warp of civilization which the earliest colonists brought to Oregon. These things developed in him an intellectual code which he faithfully followed in collecting a vast fund of valuable knowledge regarding the Indians, their habits, religious beliefs, traditions and mode of living, all of which were subsequently prepetuated by his pen.

However, Balch lacked literary preparation for the arduous undertaking to which he aspired. And it will be difficult for the reader in an age of splendid schools to understand the struggles of a boy to educate himself under conditions that prevailed in Oregon at that time. How he later obtained his training is best explained in his own words: "Much of the education I have is due to the ceaseless reading and re-reading of Macaulay." Of Milton he wrote: "How I thrilled and exulted in the mighty battle of Satan for the throne of God; in his fierce defiance and unbending hate, after the throne was lost; and in the dusky splendor of the palace, and the pomp with which he and his followers surrounded themselves in hell."