William Bartram's writing in his book Travels, reminds me of John Milton's poetry. The ability to observe, question, and rationally describe sets the writers and poets of the past apart from our current day journalism.
My father-in-law has a serious vision problem and is in danger of losing what sight he has. In discussing poetry with him I was reminded of a favorite poem by Milton. What an uplifting view of ones world to recognize that God has granted us such capabilities.
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide,
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my maker, and present,
My true account, lest he returning chide,
Doth God exact day-labor, light denied,
I fondly ask; But patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, 'God doth not need,
Either man's work or his own gifts, who best,
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best, his state
Is kingly, Thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.
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The sonnet, an Italian verse comprising 14 lines, usually divided into four subsections first two sections of four lines followed by two sections with three lines was used by Milton to express his inner most thoughts. "On His Blindness", surely was not captioned as such by Milton, but this title is used in all the books. Interestingly, "They also serve who only stand and wait" has been lifted and quoted often without credit to Milton.
Milton was an observer of nature. His poem Lycidas, written to bemoan the loss of a dear friend is as much an observation of the beauty of nature about him. Note:
"Their bells, and flowerets of a thousand hues,
Ye valleys low where the mild whispers use,
Of shades and wanton winds, and gushing brooks,
On whose fresh lap the swart star sparely looks,
Throw hither all your quaint enameled eyes,
That on the green turf suck the honeyed showers,
And purple all the ground with vernal flowers,
Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies,
The tufted crow-toe, and pale jessamine,
The white pink, and the pansy freaked with jet,
The glowing violet,
The musk-rose, and the well-attired woodbine,
With cowslips wan that hang the pensive head,
and every flower that sad embroidery wears:
And daffodillies fill their cups with tears,
To strew the laureate hearse where Lycied lies."
Now compare this to the writing of William Bartram, chosen almost at random:
My first descent and progress down the west side of the mountain,
Was remarkably gradual, easy, and pleasant,
Through grassy open forest for the distance of two or three miles;
When my changeable path,
Suddenly turned round a obtuse point of a ridge,
And, descended precipitately down a steep rock hill for a mile or more;
Which was very troublesome,
Being incommoded with shattered fragments of the mountain,
And, in other places with boggy sinks,
Occasioned by oozy springs and rills stagnate,
Stagnate sinking in micaceous earth:
Some of these steep soft rocky banks or precipices seem to be
Continually crumbling to earth;
And, in these moldering cliffs I discovered,
Veins or strata of most pure and clear white earth,
Having a faint bluish or pearl colour gleam,
Somewhat exhibiting the appearance,
Of the little cliffs or wavy crest of new fallen snowdrifts.
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Bartram is describing a deposit of kaolin clay. This particular clay unique to certain areas of the world is particularly valuable and used to make fine porcelain.
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One wishes that when President Jefferson commissioned the Lewis and Clark Expedition, he had chosen more wisely and instead of military men had selected naturalist, poets or the like. Meriwether Lewis and his companion Clark were hardly literate, and not able to adequately express the wonders of what they say in their journey up the Missouri, across the Cascades, to the Pacific. It has been reported that Jefferson asked Bartram to go with Lewis and Clark, however, Jefferson the consummate politician, knowing that Bartram in his advanced years and having never recovered from a fall from a cypress tree, would refuse. In fact Jefferson did not even acknowledge the recommendation by Bartrum of another naturalist/artist of note. So it appears that Jefferson did not want the Nation to know what was contained within the Louisiana Purchase.
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See South Dakota.
ABOUTJoe Wortham