Page:The Poets and Poetry of the West.djvu/521

 D. CARLYLE MACCLOY. In the month of October, of the year 1853, Howard Durham, who had been pub- lishing a semi-monthly literary and musical paper which he called The Ge7n, issued the first number of a monthly magazine of original western literature, for which the title of The Genius of the West was adopted. It contained thirty-two octavo pages, which were filled with contributions from the pens of Coates Kinney, Alice Gary, M. Louisa Chitwood, and others among the younger writers of the West. It was received with encouragement, and the young publisher drew around him a corps of writers, till then enjoying merely local reputations, whose poems, sketches and tales, republished from The Genius in leading papers of western cities, were read with pleasure in all parts of the Mississippi Valley. Among the most successful of those writers was the sub- ject of this notice. Both the poems hereafter quoted, were contributed to T7ie Genius, " The Moquis" in January, 1854, and " The Fragment " in February, 1855. Through all the changes of publishers and editors affecting the fortunes of TJie Genius, Mr. Maccloy was its steadfast friend. In June, 1854, Mr. Durham associated Charles S. Abbott and Coates Kinney with its management, and in the succeeding month with- drew from it and started a magazine of similar character, called the New Western, of which only three numbers were issued. In August, 1854, William T. Coggeshall be- came a joint partner with Abbott and Kinney, and in September the sole proprietor, Mr. Kinney remaining as co-editor until July, 1855. In December, 1855, Mr. Coggeshall sold the magazine to George True, then of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, who was its publisher until July, 1856, when he discontinued it. It had, in all its history, the con- fidence and support of the literary men of the West, and generous encouragement from conductors of city and county papers, but it never more than paid the expenses of printing — typifying hope and faith on the part of publishers, editors and authors, as in times past for many magazines in Ohio, rather than healthful exercise on the part of the public of just local pride in home literature. Mr. Maccloy wrote poems, critiques and sketches for The Genius quite equal to contributions of similar character, common to magazines imported from sea-board cities, which are popular " out West." He was born, we believe, in the Mus- kingum Valley (near Zanesville), about the year 1825. He received a liberal educa- tion, Laving, we think, graduated at Gambler College, — and then devoted himself to teaching school. He was, in 1856, Principal of the High School at Chillicothe, Ohio. In 1855 Ml-. Maccloy read a sprightly satirical poem before several Lyceums in Ohio, and appeared then ambitious for literary distinction, but, since 1856, has rarely given his name to the world. ( 505 )