Page:The Pacific Monthly volumes 1-3.djvu/1060

 Recently Discovered Unpublished Poems of Sam L Simpson.

OREGON'S GREATEST POET.

To Editor Pacific Monthly—

Since the death of Oregon's gifted poet, S. L. Simpson, I notice a revival of interest in his charming poesy. To help it along, I enclose some specimens that I believe have never been in print. During the winter of 1879 I had the honor and pleasure of entertaining our "poet laureate" at my bachelor quarters on Williams creek, Josephine county, and he then and there, through my urging and advice, undertook and carried through the work of collecting and preparing a volume of his poems for publication. He did not have in his possession a single scrap of the many gems he had scattered broadcast to our Western breezes. I had tmny of his choicer poems, however, carefully pasted away in a scranbook, which, with others pro- cured from different sources, formed the nucleus for an interesting volume.

It was a part of the programme that he was to indite some new pieces to go with it; but so dilatory was he in getting his muse in right temper for the fray, that I began to think the additions from this source would not be large. When he did get down to work, however, his industry was what amazed me. I thought he would never stop. Many

of his best poems were written on that occa- sion, with anything but poetical surroundings to inspire his verse, so that when he left Josephine county he carried with him a com- pleted volume of resplendent song. My own valued usufruct of the performance consisted in several first-draft copies of the new pieces. This will explain how I came to be cus- todian of SO' much of his manuscript. The finished product which he intended for pub- lication, of course, was often different from the first-draft copy, but in the absence of the ripened fruit some idea of its quality may be formed from the specimens we have at our command. But his book, so far as I am ad- vised, never saw the light of publication day. The printing-house that undertook its pub- lication, I believe, failed, after it had the entire volume in type.

"Dashings of the Oregon" was to have been the title of the book, suggested by Bry- ant's beautiful lines: "Or lose thyself in the continuous woods

Where rolis the Oregon, and hears no sound

Save its own dashings. "

His preface you will find enclosed with this communication.

Very truly yours,

Wm. W. Fidler. Grant's Pass, Feb. 20, 1900.

Where the kings of the mountains are lifted

In an armor of silver and pearl, And the shadows of ages are drifted

In the banners the forests unfurl, Where the Oregon's gathering waters

Go down to the strife of the sea, And Willamette meanders and loiters

By many a rose-clustered lea, In the regions of Hesper — the starlands

Abloom in the gold-gated West, I have crowned a wild muse with these gar- lands —

The rue-leaves along with the rest. In the chaplets of verse that I bring her

Some strain you may haply prolong; Then to me is the joy of the singer,

And to you — the delight of the song.