actus 
 
 
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THE AL'IHOK AT LEISURE 
 
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 BY 
 
 CHARLES R. BERNETZKE 
 
 PHOENIX, ARIZONA 
 
 1917 
 
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 Introduction 
 
 'X'HE author of this Booklet is not a personal friend 
 of ours, and for that reason we can be frank in 
 expressing our favorable view of his work; but we 
 think he has already rendered a great service to the 
 people of the West, and not to Arizona alone. The 
 present Booklet seems 'bo us a model of lucid, pictur- 
 esque and sympathetic narrative, and no doubt it will, 
 we feel sure, be o'f lasting value to those who may 
 have the pleasure of reading it. 
 
 No, kind reader, we never questioned your intelli- 
 gence — you read this Booklet, and that speaks in 
 terms of its own. 
 
 NEWS PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 ©CI.A47588? 
 
 -7 1917 
 
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 ^ mil 
 
 COPYRIGHTED 1917 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 Charles R. Bernetzke 
 phoenix, arizona 
 
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Contents 
 
 Page 
 
 Desert Scene — Prospector with His Burro Cover Design 
 
 Caught On the Wing 6 
 
 Season's Greeting 7 
 
 Our Creed: Good Will Toward All Men 7 
 
 Those Familiar Scenes of Bygone Days 7 
 
 A Tribute to Mother 8 
 
 To My Friends of Nature's Molding 8 
 
 Valley of Maricopa County's Soul 9 
 
 Come With Us 9 
 
 The Land of Today 10 
 
 Off for the Country 11 
 
 Scatter Your Flowers of Love Today 11 
 
 When We Have Done Our Task 11 
 
 Today's Tribute 11 
 
 Write M>ofther That Letter Before It Is Too Late 12 
 
 Invitation to James Whitcomb Riley 13 
 
 An Arizona Ranger Toast 14 
 
 Broken Promises 14 
 
 Little Things of Life 15 
 
 Do What You Can 15 
 
 Old Burro, Friend of Mine 16 
 
 (With illustration on opposite page) 
 
 The Lonely Prospector's Life in the Golden West 17 
 
 Come, Friend, With Me 18 
 
 The Poet's Prayer 18 
 
 Some of Life's Characters 19 
 
 Campaign Letters I Have Not Sent 19 
 
 For Arizona 19 
 
 Rustle for Your Own 20 
 
 A Nature's Prayer 21 
 
 Why Not Cheer Them? 21 
 
 Look Pleasant 22 
 
 Christmastide 22 
 
 Arizona, an Ole Sweetheart o' Mine 23 
 
 This Is the Land 23 
 
 Life's Friendly Smile 24 
 
T TVT C • ^^^^ 
 
 Love Means bervice 24 
 
 Boost for "Yavapai" 25 
 
 Courtesy Has a Big Value 26 
 
 A Blessing 26 
 
 Christmas Night 21 
 
 The Fruits of Our Labor 27 
 
 Arizona, God's Country 28 
 
 School Days 28 
 
 An Arizona Toast 29 
 
 The Cactus Giant 29 
 
 Nature's Beauty Helps to Form Character 30 
 
 More Brotherhood of Man Is the Cry Today 30 
 
 Peace Thonght 30 
 
 Don't Feel Blue 31 
 
 If He Is Your Friend 31 
 
 Meters Everywhere 31 
 
 San Xavier Mission Fathers Were Trail Blazers 32 
 
 When San Xavier Mission Was New 32 
 
 (With illustration on next page) 
 
 February Month Is One of Awakening ZZ 
 
 A True Heart I Want for a Friend ZZ 
 
 Cause for Thanksgiving 34 
 
 Arizona Nuggets 35 
 
 To My Successor 36 
 
 New Year's Time 37 
 
 A Bed of Violets 38 
 
 Let Nature Comfort You 39 
 
 What's In the Heart Will Appear in the Face 39 
 
 Natural Thoughts of God's Nature Land 40 
 
 A Bright New Year 42 
 
 The Flower of Civilization 43 
 
 Desert's Beauty By Moonlight 44 
 
 My California Friend 44 
 
 The Joy of Outdoor Life 45 
 
 When We First Met 45 
 
 Toil, the Price of Peace and Joy 45 
 
 The Friendship Flower 46 
 
 Arizona Welcomes You 46 
 
 Salutation 47 
 
CAUGHT ON THE WING 
 
 Author's Note 
 
 ^WING to the many demands of my western friends 
 and acquaintances to publish my poems and 
 short articles in booklet form, although many of them 
 have already appeared in the local press from time to 
 time, and collecting them has been a difficult task ow- 
 ing to the number 'of my poiems having been lost since 
 my twelve years of literary work, while on the other 
 hand, for the want of space in this Booklet, half the 
 material on hand must wait for some future date. 
 
 The contents of this Booklet is optimistic and con- 
 structive, creating conservative opinion, progressive, 
 uplifting and bettering human conditions, to promote 
 the brotherhood of man. It appeals to a substantial 
 and thinking class. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Season's Greeting 
 
 A CCEPT this little book from me 
 ''^ As a pledge of friendship true ; 
 On its pages find good wishes 
 
 That the writer brings to you; 
 And may nothing come between us 
 
 But the seasons that come and go — 
 May the friendliness the future brings 
 
 Make us ever warmer friends. 
 
 Our Creed : Good Will Toward All Men 
 
 A S THE world grows older we learn that the broth- 
 ^"^ erhood of man includes all races and all creeds ; 
 and especiially on this continent, dedicated to liberty, 
 to justice and to human betterment, we must learn, as 
 we are learning, that we have too many problems of 
 common interest, too many economic, industrial and 
 political questions which demand the best that is in a'l 
 of us to waste our time in selfish strife. We must put 
 such things behind us and turn our faces to the work 
 of building up our common country and to the solving 
 of those problems of social democracy which help to 
 make for peace on earth and good will toward all men. 
 
 Those Familiar Scenes of Bygone Days 
 
 'X'HE old rail fence and the log cabin, that both still 
 "'" bring sacred thoughts of hallowed memory and 
 tender recollection, are no more. These old friends 
 of ours have served us well — we need them no more ; 
 we have grown beyond them. 
 
 But, today, when I witnessed the tearing down of 
 the last adobe house in the neighborhood of our desert 
 city, it seemed to me (old foggy that I am) that the 
 event was solemn enough to celebrate with appropri- 
 ate and impressive ceremonies. 
 
8 CACTUS AND "BLOSSOMS 
 
 A Tribute to Mother 
 
 DIGHT at the beginning of this Booklet, I wish to 
 ■*• give the credit for what I am and for what I have 
 done exactly where it belongs — to my mother — for she 
 was my inspiration in my boyhood years and taught 
 me how to pray. 
 
 At my mother's knees I learned the prayers 
 
 That bring back memories of boyhood years — 
 /Memories that still bless and burn 
 
 Of hope and gain, eternal blessed ; 
 Memories that shall ever bless and burn, 
 
 Even until memories have fled. 
 
 To My Friends of Nature's Molding 
 
 TTHERE are men that time but mellows as it ever 
 
 onward goes. 
 There are hearts that carry fragrance as the fragrance 
 
 of the rose ; 
 There are greetings that are warmer for the snowy 
 
 frosted head. 
 There are memories we shall treasure e'en till memory 
 
 has fled. 
 There are faces in our midst time has furrowed, where 
 
 are joy and sorrow blend. 
 There are feet that ne'er grow weary when on deeds 
 
 of kindness bent ; 
 There are souls that bid defiance to each worldly selfish 
 
 creed; 
 There are men we love to honor for each thought and 
 
 word and deed. 
 There are those who are sunbeams in our ranks as they 
 
 go to their daily round. 
 They are worthy of remembrance, for seldom are they 
 
 found. 
 So I write this humble tribute, though it needs a 
 
 worthier pen. 
 To my Arizona friends of nature's molding, one who 
 
 loves his fellowmen. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Valley of Maricopa County's Soul 
 
 IN GOOD old Maricopa County 
 •■• There is a valley green, 
 The fairest, rarest, dearest, 
 
 Of all this state, I ween. 
 Oh, its silvery, laughing rivulets, 
 
 Hedged in with flowers gay, 
 And rows of palms so stately, 
 
 Have won my love for aye. 
 
 In its softly smiling bosom 
 
 A golden harvest lies ; 
 Methinks the sunshine's glory 
 
 Hath strayed down from on high. 
 And within the breast of nature 
 
 Hath hid itself in part. 
 So we call this golden treasure 
 
 'Maricopa County's heart. 
 
 But o'er this valley lovely 
 
 A blessed spirit thrills, 
 It breathes in fields so sunny, 
 
 And o'er the verdant hills ; 
 It breathes from ripening orchards, 
 
 'Tis free beyond control ; 
 'Tis the spirit of the harvest, 
 
 From Maricopa County's soul. 
 
 Come With Us 
 
 CAY, you of the city! who sweat and toil, 
 *^ Come with us to the woods and hills, 
 Away from the noises and city strife. 
 In our cabin among the whispering trees, 
 Among the birds and the humming bees ; 
 The land of nature and God's free soil, 
 Where man meets his maker, face to face — 
 His work you will find on every hand. 
 Come ! abide with us in this beautiful land. 
 
10 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 The Land of Today 
 
 C WING inward, O times of the future ; 
 ^ Swing outward, ye times of the past; 
 For the soul of the people is moving 
 Westward is the call of today. 
 
 The days of the old are retreating, 
 
 The green meadows have signalled the change; 
 Southward the empire's way is beating, 
 
 And calling the sons of today. 
 
 The soil tells the same fruitful story, 
 The seasons their bounties display, 
 
 And the flowers lift their faces in glory 
 To catch the sun kisses of day. 
 
 The desert has awakened from slumber, 
 
 And rendered its beauty at last ; 
 The land is prepared for the many, 
 
 The future has conquered the past. 
 
 Off for the Country 
 
 JUST for a stay in the country once a year ; 
 Just for a stay where shade plays on a creek? 
 Shooting, fishing and watching the trout at play 
 In the waters, joyed with delight, as they swim 
 Over boulders by the moss-grown rocks, 
 Turn and splash, pitch and leap to and fro. 
 
 Just for a stay in the country, and leave the noise far 
 
 behind ; 
 Life's mad blur, the city's turmoil and strife. 
 Foolish struggling all the time; all the jar 
 Lost in that shady nook by the brook afar. 
 Just for a stay — and there to seek quietude from all jar. 
 One can find it by a creek up in Yavapai. 
 
w 
 
 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 11 
 
 Scatter Your Flowers of Love Today 
 
 E SHOULD all show more of our appreciation to 
 our friends while they are living with us, and not 
 wait, as we are too often inclined to do, to place the 
 flowers fo appreciation on their coffin, instead of to the 
 living-. 
 
 Oh, my friend, it would be better 
 
 If to those we love we gave 
 Tender words while they are with us, 
 
 Than to say them over a grave. 
 Those w^ho die no longer need them. 
 
 And the words they longed to hear 
 While they lived, are only wasted 
 On the cold, silent, deaf ear. 
 
 When We Have Done Our Task 
 
 \Y7HEN we have done our task 
 ^ And lay down our earthly robes, 
 That we can truthfully say : 
 On our great American altar 
 We have sacrificed our best ; 
 Never known to have faltered 
 When our country called for us. 
 Deeds, not great, but humble efforts, 
 We served our country with the best, 
 That will be placed in America's record 
 By the true home-loving men. 
 
 Today's Tribute 
 
 TTHERE is no greater tribute to be paid a man in 
 ^ these days of selfishness than when you can say 
 of him : ''He is on the square." 
 
12 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Write Mother That Letter Before It Is Too Late 
 
 IF YOU have a gray-haired mother 
 
 In the old home far away, 
 Sit down and write the letter 
 
 You put off day by day ; 
 Don't wait until her tired steps 
 
 Reach Heavens pearly gate, 
 But sho)w her that you still love her 
 
 Before it is too late. 
 
 If you've a tender message 
 
 Or a loving word to say, 
 Don't wait till you forget it, 
 
 But whisper it to her today. 
 Who knows what bitter memories 
 
 May haunt you if you wait ; 
 So make your loving mother happy 
 
 Before it is too late. 
 
 We live but in the present. 
 
 The future is unknown : 
 Tomorrow is a mystery, 
 
 Today is all our own. 
 The chance to write that letter 
 
 May vanish while you wait. 
 So send your mother that letter 
 
 Before it is too late. 
 
 The tender word unspoken, 
 
 The letters never sent ; 
 The long forgotten messages, 
 
 The wealth of love unspent. 
 For these a mother's heart is breaking, 
 
 For these a loving mother waits ; 
 Show her that you care for her 
 
 Before it is too late. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 13 
 
 Invitation to James Whitcomb Riley 
 
 TTHE author sent the following cordial invitation to 
 "the poet laureate of Indiana," James Whitcomb 
 Riley, who was spending the winter at Palm Beach, 
 Florida : 
 Dear Sir and Friend : 
 
 Phoenix, Arizona, and the beautiful sun-kissed val- 
 ley of Southern Arizona extends to you a most cordial 
 invitation to spend a winter among the orange groves. 
 Where sunshine is our burnin' hearth, 
 And friends are gathered 'round it; 
 Old faces aglow, from far an' near, 
 That are from northland journeying here. 
 Each winter day brings a delight 
 Of sunny skies an' fields so bright, 
 That's summer sunshine in this clime, 
 That balmy air Arizona yields. 
 The latch string's always hangin' out 
 For good friends, old an' new; 
 My hearth is wide, come oiit ihere — 
 I've saved a place for you, friend. 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 "The Poet of the Desert." 
 The other is "Greeting from My Arizona": 
 The year's still young, friend and poet laureate. 
 
 It's leap-year once ag'in. 
 That gives an extra chance for me 
 
 To make an end o' bachelor days ; 
 And may the wrinkles 1916 bring you 
 
 Be the sort loving smiles leave behind, 
 An' the only clouds above you 
 
 Be the fragrant of a loving kind. 
 The answer received is dated : 
 
 Indianapolis, Feb. 3, 1916. 
 My Dear Mr. Bernetzke : 
 
 I wish to thank you for your poetical message of 
 invitation and good wishes and to return happy greet- 
 ings to you Verv sincerelv vours. 
 
 JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY. 
 
14 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 A (Arizona) Ranger Toast 
 
 CO HERE'S for the strenuous life, 
 
 The life in the southwestern land, 
 Where a man who steals a horse gets caught 
 By the peerless Ranger gang (man). 
 
 So here's for rifle and horse, 
 
 And the spur and saddle, too ; 
 And the cowboy's call "Come, one and all; 
 
 This is the western life for you." 
 
 So here's for the long, white, dusty trail 
 'Neath scorching sun or moonlight pale; 
 
 Over the desert, hills and mountain trail, 
 By shaft of copper and gold. 
 
 So here's for the wooded hill, 
 
 Where the bear and pumiiia roams, 
 And the wildcat springs from a leafy bough. 
 
 And the jackal makes his home. 
 
 So here's for the Arizona life — 
 
 The life that is gay and free — 
 Where the sky's your roof and the ground your floor, 
 and the whole southwest is an open door : 
 
 That is the Me for me. 
 
 Broken Promises 
 
 17EW people realize the misery that has been caused 
 ^ in this world to the countless lives that have been 
 lost because of 'broken promises — all the misery and 
 hopelessness that has been caused by a failure to keep 
 a given word. In business, 'm private, in fraternal and 
 public life, the greatest aim of every man worthy of the 
 name is that his word shall be inviolate. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 15 
 
 Little Things of Life 
 
 IT'S JUST the little things of life— the little things 
 A of life— 
 
 That make the tears and sunshine of this earthly strife ; 
 Little satisfactions, little words of cheer, 
 Little deeds of kindness, make life worth living here. 
 Little words of comfort to the weary, troubled mind, 
 Till its murmur joins in concert with the gentle sum- 
 mer wind. 
 Though the clouds above are big and drear and black, 
 Just one little ray of sunlight will turn the darkness 
 
 back. 
 Let us, then, remember as we toil along the way, 
 'Tis not the big things of tomorrow, but the small 
 things of today, 
 That make life worth living- here. 
 
 '& 
 
 Do What You Can 
 
 r\0 WHAT you can. 
 Be what you are ; 
 Shine like a glow worm 
 
 If you cannot like a star. 
 Work like a pulley, 
 
 If you cannot like a crane. 
 Be a wheel-greaser, 
 
 If you cannot drive the train. 
 
 Be the pliant oar, 
 
 If you cannot be the sail. 
 Be the little needle, 
 
 If you cannot be the tailor. 
 Be the cleaning broom, 
 
 If you cannot be the sweeper. 
 Be the sharpened sickle, 
 
 If you cannot be the reaper. 
 But don't be the wheel-greaser, 
 
 If you ought to drive the train. 
 
o 
 
 10 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Old Burro, Friend of Mine 
 
 LD Burro, friend of mine — 
 My pard of former days — 
 O'er desert plains, through canyon deep, 
 We've wandered on our ways ; 
 We never saw our spirit sag 
 Or lose the charm for richer strike, 
 That led us far and wdde. 
 
 Old Burro, friend of mine — 
 
 WeVe waded through many a stream. 
 
 Faithful and brave you bore the load 
 
 And served me, and me alone. 
 
 I never saw you limp or lag. 
 
 Or lose the winding trail 
 
 That in no man's land 'twould lead. 
 
 Old Burro, friend of mine — 
 
 We've roamed around the lonely hills, 
 
 And oft beneath the starry skies 
 
 Slept together on nature's bocom sound, 
 
 Dreaming of better days and richer strikes 
 
 That vanished with the morn/ing dawn, 
 
 And we've never seen nor found. 
 
 But, old Burro, friend of mine, 
 The eve bespeaks the night — 
 Your face, age-gray, tells its tale — 
 Mine, too, is growing white. 
 But soon from earth's abysmal crag, 
 Those border mounts we'll scale 
 And forever cross the great divide. 
 
 M 
 
 ANY a gem of purest ray lies hidden on some 
 mountain top ; and manv a flower is blushed un- 
 
 seen and wasting its fragrance in the desert air. 
 
The Arizona prospector with his burros, on the desert bare, 
 Away from the tender loved one's care. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 17 
 
 The Lonely Prospector's Life in the Golden West 
 
 I AM a lonely prospector in the West, 
 ■■• I feel weary and worn tonight ; 
 The day lies behind me in shadow, 
 And only the evening sky is light. 
 
 Gleaming with the sunset glory 
 
 That lingers about the golden west, 
 
 My poor heart is tired and aweary 
 And longs like a child for rest. 
 
 Let me dream once more of the golden nuggets, 
 
 Of the hills I in loneliness trod, 
 When the scorching sun at noontide 
 
 Beats down on my snow-flaked head. 
 
 For to me life's seventy-eighth mile-stone. 
 
 But a wasteful journey marks ; 
 Rough lies the hill country before me, 
 
 Behind me the long trail of a wasted life. 
 
 Yet the prospector knows of no sorrow. 
 Nor pain nor hardship that may befall ; 
 
 Those gone before him have suffered 
 A lonely plot on some mountain side. 
 
 But tell me of a rich gold strike. 
 
 That falls on the wound like a balm, 
 
 And my heart that is bruised and broken 
 Shall find sweet repose in the golden west. 
 
 e** ^%f e*9 
 
 A KIND and gentle word is to the heart like the 
 ^^ sunshine or the rain to a budding flower, and 
 costs the giver nothing. 
 
18 CACTUS AND, BLOSSOMS 
 
 Come, Friend, With Me 
 
 r^OME, friend, with me! 
 
 ^^ We'll leave the hot city streets behind, 
 
 And seek, just you and I, a road we know, 
 That, coaxing on through shady mountain lanes. 
 
 Leads to a bank where sparkling waters flow. 
 
 Come, friend, with me ! 
 
 For what is to us the world of city life, 
 
 A little world so filled with petty strife, 
 That has bowed you down in the strife? 
 
 Let's know for a while the joy of outdoor life. 
 
 Come, friend, with me ! 
 
 Let us forget for just a little while 
 
 Tomorrow's care — the grief of yesterday. 
 Today is ours ; so let us enjoy life — 
 
 Just you and I and our outdoor friend, Arizona. 
 
 The Poet's Prayer 
 
 r\ LORD, give them eyes to see, for blind are they 
 ^^ Who stumble through life riches to gain. 
 They do not hear nature's sweet voice calling here, 
 The stream and the birds that call and say : 
 Come, feast of the nature's gifts ; come, partake 
 From the Master's handiwork that keeps the soul in 
 
 thrall ; 
 Come into nature's freedom, one and all. 
 Look ! Listen ! Come, it's free for all. 
 And unto me, O Lord, give grace 
 As I wander through this ungrateful world. 
 The beauty of Thy handiwork let me see. 
 And with Thy touch mine eyes open keep, 
 That I may draw from nature's beauty here 
 My life and hope. O Lord, rest all alone in Thee. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 19 
 
 Some of Life's Characters 
 
 'T'HE world is full of people who have the gift of say- 
 ing and doing puny, flattering things. They are 
 everywhere found; men who just seek to foster their 
 own interest. It is a world of hard work, selfishness 
 and disappointment. Thousands of people have been 
 disappointed by men whom they have trusted and in 
 whom they have put their confidence and thought them 
 to be their benefactors, when they have been used all 
 these years as material for feathering their nest, and 
 when they awaken and come to realize, to their sorrow, 
 the little chicks have already been hatched and they are 
 left out in the cold to shift for themselves in the rainy 
 days. 
 
 Campaign Letters I Have Not Sent 
 
 HAVE written them — keen and sarcastic and long, 
 With righteously wrathful intent. 
 Not a stroke undeserved, nor a censure too strong; 
 And some, alas ! some of them went ! 
 
 I have written them, challenging, eager to fight, 
 
 All hot with a merited ire; 
 And some of them chanced to be kept over night, 
 
 And mailed the next day — in the fire ! 
 
 Ah ! blessed the letters that happily go 
 
 On errands of kindliness bent. 
 But much of my peace and my fortune I owe 
 
 To the campaign letters I never have sent ! 
 
 For Arizona 
 
 V/OUR laws are the greatest and best of the nations, 
 *- Your care for old pioneers there's none can outdo ; 
 The bad man with his evils you've banished forever, 
 And as a result all states now bow to you. 
 
 So may your bright star in the west shine forever. 
 For well have you earned its place among the rest. 
 No longer a hissing and by-word — you've risen. 
 And all down the ages shall men point to you, Arizona. 
 
20 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Rustle For Your Own 
 
 A RE you fumin' and fretin', 
 '**' Are you still blue and forlorn? 
 Or are you hustlin' and forgettin' 
 That bad luck was ever born? 
 
 D'on't you know the road to fortune 
 Is to plug and plod along? 
 
 Don't you know if you're bed-ridden, 
 You are not where you belong? 
 
 For your own sake stop bawling, 
 Get out and do some howling ; 
 
 You'll have a cap without a feather 
 If you only warm a chair. 
 
 Stop that knockin' — be a booster — 
 There's I'ots of room in this liand. 
 
 Come and rustle, get a home ; 
 Pay on the installment plan. 
 
 Times are good, improvin' steady, 
 Save your coin and be ready ; 
 
 Get yours in shape for "biz" — 
 
 Build your own when you're ready. 
 
 Don't be kick'in' and a-cussin', 
 Just because Smith bought a home; 
 
 If you want to get your own, 
 You've got to do some rustlin'. 
 
 You must get out and rustle. 
 
 And hustle, and bustle, and tustle. 
 
 "Make good, of could" — get a place 
 What you can call your own. 
 
 Drop that fool talk of "luck" ; 
 
 Get a grip on your pluck and buck. 
 Hit the trail and don't swerve 
 
 From the path you're going to follow. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 21 
 
 A Nature's Prayer 
 
 CUN and moon, shine upon me ; 
 
 *^ Make glad my days and clear my nights ! 
 
 Earth, whose child I am, 
 
 Grant me thy patience here. 
 
 Heaven, whose heir I shall be, 
 
 Keep burning my hope in thee. 
 
 Your steadfastness I need, O hills ! 
 
 O, rain, thy kindness I adore ! 
 
 Snow, keep me pure ; 
 
 Oh, fire, teach me thy pride ! 
 
 From you, ye wiinds I ask your blitheness, 
 
 And a whispering message. Oh, trees. 
 
 From thee I pray. 
 
 Oh, flowers, thy love I beseech of thee 
 While journeying here below. 
 The beauty of thy handiwork Almighty 
 Inspire me to sing on earth. 
 And when life's done here below. 
 Oh, God, grant me to sing thy praises 
 In the other world beyond the skies. 
 Is a poet's humble prayer. 
 
 Why Not Cheer Them? 
 
 'T'HERE are heroes with wan faces, 
 Who uplift their fallen brothers ; 
 Heroes who, in humble places. 
 
 Labor for the love of others. 
 Why not pause sometimes to cheer them 
 
 For the good deeds they have done; 
 Why not wiillingly revere them 
 
 For their patience and their zeal. 
 While yet their ears can hear them. 
 
 Before it is too late. 
 
 4* 4* 4* 
 
 TF YOU are too busy to notice the sweet melodies of 
 ^ the birds and the different tints of the wild flowers 
 once in a while, you are working entirely too hardT. 
 
22 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Look Pleasant 
 
 ^E CANNOT, of course, all be handsome, 
 ^^ And it's hard for us all to be good ; 
 We are sure now and then to be lonely. 
 And we don't always do as we should. 
 
 To be patient is not always easy, 
 To be cheerful is much harder still ; 
 
 But at least we can always be pleasant 
 If we make up our minds that we will. 
 
 And it pays every time to be kindly, 
 Although you feel worried and blue ; 
 
 Smile at the world and look cheerful — 
 The world will soon smile back at you. 
 
 So try to brace up and look pleasant. 
 
 No matter how low you are down ; 
 Good humor is always contagious, 
 
 But you banish your friends when you frown. 
 
 Christmastide 
 
 Q CHRISTMASTIDE, O sweet delight, more than 
 
 ^^ human bliss, 
 
 With her to live that ever loving is ; 
 
 To hear her speak whose words are so divine, 
 
 That she by them, as they in her are graced ; 
 
 Those looks to view that feast the viewer's eye. 
 
 How blest is he that may yet live on Christmastide. 
 
 Such Christmas love as this the golden times did know, 
 
 When all did reap, yet none took care to sow ; 
 
 Such love as this an endless Christmas makes, 
 
 And all distaste from frail affection takes. 
 
 So loved, so blessed, is my beloved, am I ; 
 
 Which still our eyes may see another Christmastide. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 23 
 
 Arizona, An Ole Sweetheart o' Mine 
 
 lyiY FRIENDS, don't tell nobody, 
 ^^^ But I've got a valentine 
 From a charmin' little lady, 
 
 That's an ole sweetheart o' mine. 
 
 She isn't young no longer, 
 
 But she's sweet as she can be, 
 An' I'm lucky to have had her 
 
 Growqn' old along with me. 
 
 Makes no diff'rence what my mood is, 
 
 She won't fail to understan'; 
 There's a soothin' warmth o' friendship 
 
 In her touch upon my han'. 
 
 So I've chose the sweetest o' them. 
 
 An' I've loved her best o' all. 
 For a valentine, little lady, 
 
 My dear sweetheart Arizona, o' mine. 
 
 This Is the Land 
 
 PORGET all the old and welcome the new ! 
 ■■■ The future is bright and true ! 
 Plough for the beautiful dream of the new — 
 Build the land ! 
 
 Changeless the past, but the future is ours, 
 
 Open for us to take part. 
 Fruit of our purposes, proof of our powers. 
 
 Work for yours now ! 
 
 All we desire is for us to create ; 
 
 Here in our hands, here is the chance! 
 This is the day that is never too late, 
 
 This is the land. 
 
24 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Life's Friendly Smile 
 
 T IFE'S friendly smile is like a sweet spring, 
 ^* Gushed forth from granite rocks ; 
 The bo'w of promise spanned its glistening drops, 
 A silvery rill, from bondage free to wander on to its 
 life's way, the Sea. 
 
 Thus some innocent, friendly smile. 
 Crowning a world of death and sin, 
 Blossoms into beauty of soul through love 
 Sheds like the sunlight from above. 
 
 A friendly smile is just like sunshine; 
 It freshens all the day; 
 It tips the peaks of life with light 
 And drives the clouds away. 
 
 And the thing that goes the farthest 
 Toiward making life worth while — 
 Costs the least and does the most — 
 Is just a friendly smile. 
 
 And fulfilling the promises of the rill, 
 Tho' it may wander whither at will ; 
 At last it reaches the open sea, 
 And reaches the sea of Eternity — 
 Just true, a life's friendly smile. 
 
 Love Means Service 
 
 I OVE means service. Here is where it shines. Self- 
 •*^ ishness implies one person. There can be no love 
 without at least two persons. The selfish man centers 
 everything upon himself. He who loves seeks others. 
 So the man that loves his neighbor will serve his neigh- 
 bor. He will help him and sacrifice for him, if neces- 
 sary. This is not a burden. He delights in it. He 
 cannot be happy without it. His heart seeks other 
 hearts and only as it finds them in loving service does 
 it find its own satisfaction. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 25 
 
 Boost for "Yavapai" 
 
 CITTING on a bench out in the park one evening, 
 •^ In the beautiful city a mile on high, 
 When tht full moon was up in the clear blue sky. 
 Nearby sat a couple, talking o'er its wondrous beauty, 
 And they wondered why so few people visit here 
 In this wonderful clime of good old Yavapai. 
 If they only knew what is good for all of you, 
 You wouldn't forget so soon to 'boost for Prescott. 
 
 If you only knew what is good for Prescott, 
 You would have 'this town a-booming very soon ; 
 For if everyone would boost like you and L 
 Prescott would prosper, though the living is high. 
 If you only know what is good for Yavapai, 
 You'id not spend you money all away from home ; 
 You'd stay in gay old Prescott, with her pine-topped 
 
 hills— 
 If you only knew what I know, you'd boost for Arizona. 
 
 If all you would pull together for Arizona, 
 
 And let people know how many shady brooks you have. 
 
 Everybody in this land, "Prescott" would then be in 
 
 demand. 
 You'd work to full capacity and more ; 
 Then the merchant and the hotels would be busy, 
 And prosperity would your every effort crown. 
 Every store room would be filled, new ones you would 
 
 have to build ; 
 There wouldn't be an empty house in town ! 
 
 If you only knew what is good for all of you 
 You'd pull for "Yavapai and Arizona." 
 
 * * * 
 
 A GOOD many people expect to get something for 
 nothing; but they are nowhere near as numerous 
 as those who get nothing for something. 
 
26 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Courtesy Heis a Big Value 
 
 /^CURTESY may seem a lost art to some, or little 
 ^ worth bringing back, but it is not. 
 
 Courtesy is one of the old-time arts that dies only 
 with the man or the business, for the rise of many a 
 man and business has started with it. 
 
 Emerson once wrote: "Give a boy address and 
 accomplishments, and you give the master of palaces 
 and fortunes wherever he goes." 
 
 Courtesy is of more value to a man than a thou- 
 sand letters of written recommendation. Courtesy is 
 an asset of more power than money or influence. 
 Many presidents of corporations owe their career to 
 courtesy. Courtesy lightens the burdens of toil; cour- 
 tesy demands respect. Courtesy is a little brother to 
 opportunity, and follows her around through the busy 
 hours of the day, and at the end leads to friendship. 
 
 Take the courteous office boy, the courteous clerk, 
 the courteous stenographer, the courteous ticket 
 agent, the courteous waiter, the courteous manager 
 and the courteous leader of heavy tasks — whoever 
 heard of such a one not growing or not climbing into 
 greater things? Think over these truths, for it is tre- 
 mendously worth while to take time to be courteous 
 in this busy, selfish, bustling world of ours. 
 The man who scatters sunshine is the man who gets 
 
 the boon ; 
 He makes a lot more friendships than the one who 
 
 scatters gloom. 
 If he meets his next-door neighbor, he can meet him 
 
 with a smile ; 
 And the man who is a frowner will be beaten by a mile. 
 
 A Blessing 
 
 'T'HE greatest blessing that can come to an organ- 
 ■■• ization — political, fraternal or otherwise — ^is har- 
 mony among its members. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 27 
 
 Christmas Night 
 
 Q CHRISTMAS night! 
 
 ^^ We sing tonight the Christmas chimes, 
 
 Of Chnistmas anniversary chimes — 
 
 The holy chimes, 
 
 The golden chimes, 
 The mellowed tones of golden chimes 
 And sweet for Thee of whom we sing. 
 May all the bells of Concord ring 
 
 The sacred chimes. 
 
 The golden chimes, 
 As they have rung in olden times. 
 May warm love greet you when the chimes 
 Shall ring again on Christmas night. 
 
 The Fruits of Our Labor 
 
 A S IT was in the days of old, that figs did not grow 
 ^^ from cactus, the man who expects to reap figs 
 has always had to plant figs, and he always will. But 
 there seems to be hope eternal in the human breast 
 that by some yet undiscovered process our particular 
 figs will grow on almost any kind of a desert bush. 
 So we go on seeding with the seed nearest at hand 
 and easiest to get, and in after years sit down and 
 wonder why the crop isn't just what we wanted. But 
 if you do your part, Fate or Fortune, or whatever 
 name by which you choose to call it — ^God will do the 
 rest; but always and forever keep in your miind : 
 
 Every 'dime has a plowin' time an' plantin' — 
 Sunny days and rainy skies ; 
 
 An' a steady hoein' time, 
 
 Before the harvest time draws nigh ; 
 
 For the apple that you climb for 
 Tastes the sweetest in the end. 
 
28 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Arizona, God's Country 
 
 I ET US lift up the voices, from river to sea ; 
 
 To Americans all, far and near. 
 One call, as it throbs o'er the land of the free — 
 ''Arizona, God's country, for you and me." 
 
 On deserts, down valleys, where great rivers run. 
 And far, where the mountains rise gray, 
 
 Ring it on to the land of the setting sun — 
 "Arizona, God's country, for you and me." 
 
 Sing of that beautiful land, in that soft clime. 
 
 Of the crimson evening tide ; 
 Just for one day, under the clear blue sky. 
 
 In "Arizona, God's country, for you and me." 
 
 School Days 
 
 CCHOOL days have come again. 
 School days have come again, 
 
 The happiest of the year; 
 A jolly lot of boys and girls 
 
 Have come from far and near. 
 We represent the country. 
 
 We represent the town ; 
 And you know by the noise 
 
 It's "us" when we're around. 
 Because we come back to town, 
 For school days again have come. 
 
 We meet for education. 
 
 And we're goin' to need it, too. 
 Our nation's destination 
 
 Is "up to" me and you. 
 We come for inspiration. 
 
 And we'll make things hum. 
 While summer's heat is over 
 
 And school days again have come. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 29 
 
 An Arizona Toast 
 
 JY|Y DARLING Arizona, here's to you; 
 
 Your worth is known from sea to sea. 
 As your worth is true, your clime's my clime; 
 Your style's my style, and your ensign's blue. 
 Oh, my darling Arizona, Lm for you. 
 
 The Cactus Giant 
 
 •y HERE grows a tree within our State, 
 
 Majestic, tall, of desert fame ; 
 Its home is in the sun-kissed clime, 
 Well known to all as cactus giant.' 
 
 It rears its crown and tops them all; 
 'Tis life-saver of the desert called. 
 The first to greet the traveler's eye, 
 And its beauty charms the passerby. 
 
 On its limbs the thrush m_akes its nest, 
 There to break the desert hush. 
 Spring-time brings forth its lilies fair, 
 And crowns the giant of the desert there. 
 
 Within our southern valley great 
 
 The sunniest clime of any state — 
 A cactus forest was reclaimed. 
 Named by its founders ''Cactus Park". 
 
 It took its rank and held its place, 
 Long before the pale-face came. 
 The record of the past gives proof 
 Of noble deeds to human needs. 
 
 Oh, Cactus Giant ! Oh. Cactus Giant ! 
 Close to our heart your name's entwined. 
 Your home is on the scorching plains, 
 As life-saver and friend to man. 
 
30 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Nature's Beauty Helps to Form Character 
 
 TTELL what you have seen as you have traveled over 
 *' the world and come in touch with nature and with 
 human life. In what way has it contributed to your 
 individual character and welfare? 
 
 To be able to see the beauties of nature, to enjoy 
 the glories of the mountains, or to become enraptured 
 with the highest music and the wonders of nature's 
 painting, is to call forth those tastes which help to form 
 character. It is a glorious thing to see God in His 
 nature world, to hear His voice in the ripple of the 
 stream, in the sighing of the trees, in the music of the 
 song bird, in the rolling of the thunder, in the roaring 
 of the sea, in the chirping of the crickets, in the dawn 
 and sunset beauty, and among the plants of the wild 
 flowers. 
 
 The man who has no spiritual vision and cannot get 
 in touch with the beauties of nature, is worse off than 
 a blind man. 
 
 I 
 
 More Brotherhood of Man Is the Cry Today 
 
 T IS not a grand, magnificent mansion, 
 It is not a new furnished room; 
 It is not a set of cushions. 
 Or a marble front will tell. 
 It is none of these things, my brother. 
 That we are in need of most today; 
 But the good old-fashioned religion, 
 And more power of brotherhood of man 
 Is the cry in our midst today. 
 In this beautiful sunny land 
 We need more today. 
 
 Peace Thought 
 
 r^ OD grant that I may live to see the day 
 ^-* When all revenge in mankind shall cease to be ; 
 And all nations' hatred shall be banished from earth. 
 And a lasting peace reign among all tongues and 
 creeds. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 31 
 
 Don't Feel Blue 
 
 IF TIMES are hard and you feel "blue," 
 
 Think of the others worrying, too. 
 Just because your trials are many. 
 Don't think the rest of us haven't any. 
 Life is made of smiles and tears, 
 Joys and sorrows mixed with fears ; 
 And though to you it seems one-sided. 
 Trouble is pretty well divided. 
 If we could look in every heart 
 We'd find that each one has its part ; 
 And those who travel fortune's road 
 Sometimes carry the biggest load. 
 
 If He Is Your Friend 
 
 TF HE gives you recognition 
 
 •■' When your clothes are patched and torn 
 
 If he comes to see and cheer you 
 
 When you are lying sick and worn ; 
 If he takes your hand and lifts you up 
 
 When you're on the downward track; 
 If he says the same things to your face 
 
 That he says behind your back ; 
 If when odds are strong against you. 
 
 He fights for you to the end, 
 Bind him tightly to your heart, 
 
 For that man surely is your friend. 
 
 Meters Everywhere 
 
 LJ ELP me to get away from those meters : Gas 
 ^^ meters ! Electric meters ! Water meters ! Steam 
 ■m.eters ! Time meters ! Speed meters ! Even cold- 
 storage meters ! Lord, how they afi^ect the cost of liv- 
 ing! Van meters; how they affect the cost of loving! 
 I trust they won't invent air meters in this balmy clime 
 of ours ! 
 
32 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 San Xavier Mission Fathers Were Trail Blazers 
 
 nPHE old mission fathers of the early Padres in our 
 state were the ones who blazed the trails of civil- 
 ization in this new and old land of ours. They were 
 the farthest removed from leaners; they were a devo- 
 tional race of men, and knew no such words as fail in 
 the upbuilding of the desert land and the erection of 
 the temples on the lonely desert, which we still have 
 with us. And it is due to their gallant efforts that the 
 civilization in the Southwest was won today, and in 
 all their forward movements there still stands a cross 
 in memory to the good old Padres and pioneers. 
 
 When San Xavier Mission Was New 
 
 CPEAKING to an old "San Xavier mission father," 
 
 Of his Padres brave and true. 
 Of the times when pale-faces were few, 
 
 When this old mission was new. 
 "They're gone," he sadly murmurs, 
 
 And his eyes fill with tears, 
 As he tells of good old "San Xavier," 
 
 As it was in former years. 
 
 He may tell some doubtful stories. 
 
 But the truth I won't gainsay; 
 For good old San Xavier was a haven — 
 
 Yes, a retreat — ^in her day. 
 They're gone, these good old Padres, 
 
 Some are sleeping 'neath the dew; 
 A few remain yet to remind us 
 
 That once this mission was new. 
 
 Honor to the good old Padre — 
 
 Let his memory ever stay ; 
 Now he's vanished, gone forever — 
 
 "Grand old Father" of yesterday. 
 He who ventured o'er the desert — 
 
 Blazed the trail for me and you — 
 Has gone to rest on yonder mesa 
 
 Since "San Xavier Mission" was new. 
 
"5 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 33 
 
 Februsury Month Is One of Aweikening 
 
 'X'HE month of February has its bright sunny days 
 of charm and inspiration, of hope and awakening, 
 more than any other month in the year, in this land of 
 cloudless skies. 
 
 One cannot help but pause in the mild rays of the 
 sun and view the green fields and the rows of hedges 
 along the highways and admire the little brooklet rip- 
 pling on its wiay, on whose edges the spring violets 
 bloom in profusion and charm the passerby. 
 
 The birds from the northland that have come to 
 spend the winter in this golden sunshine, seem to feel 
 just the same. Their notes are as clear as the clear 
 air. The robin red-breast is enjoying his feast on the 
 palm "seed, and is joyously calling to its mate to hurry 
 up and get some, too. 
 
 The bluebirds in large numbers are looking for 
 their feed in the green alfalfa meadows, while the 
 meadow lark sings its little song on the fence post to 
 the passers. What a glad and beautiful world this 
 looks like, as one drives or rides along the valleys and 
 over the foothills. 
 
 A True Heart I Want For a Friend 
 
 IT'S NOT the heart with lust for gold I want for a 
 
 * friend. 
 
 For gold that vanishes won't buy the true heart of a 
 
 friend ; 
 Nor will mere length of a fortune spoil the sincere 
 
 heart of a friend, 
 Nor break the ties of friendship strong or lay it low 
 
 to die. 
 For what is within the heart of man that's what makes 
 
 life fair — 
 Just honest, kind and on the square — 
 That is the kind of a heart I want for a friend. 
 
34 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Cause for Thanksgiving 
 
 'T'HANKSGIVING ought to mean much to everyone 
 ■■ who lives in this beautiful, sunny climate. Even 
 the least fortunate of our people enjoy blessings of 
 which their forefathers could hardly dream, and look- 
 ing back over the years, what a great transformation 
 has marked our advancement through Indian days and 
 old Quantrell's wild raids; through great tribulations 
 have we reached the present attainment. But it is 
 through such fighting, enduring and suffering that our 
 great Cactus state has made its progress. 
 
 Years ago sickness and pestilence meant something 
 very different from their present significance. Anaes- 
 thetics, modern surgery, cleanliness, ventilation and 
 good care work daily wonders for rich and poor alike, 
 which 'were unheard of only a little while ago. 
 
 It is not long since in western civilized countries 
 that more than a hundred crimes were punishable with 
 death. Shameless technicalities meant more than jus- 
 tice, mercy and kindness. The law of today may be far 
 short of what it should be, but it is unspeakably better 
 than the law of yesterday. For education, health and 
 material well being; for justice, freedom and peace, all 
 men and women ought to render humble and hearty 
 thanksgiving. 
 
 And it ought to be all the more fervent because 
 along with it go hearts full of sympathy for other peo- 
 ple from whom cruel war has taken these blessings for 
 a season. 
 
 Noiw let us make the keynote of Thanksgiving day. 
 not gratitude that we have received blessings of which 
 others have been deprived, that we have escaped dis- 
 asters which have been visited on others, but that our 
 rich blessings give us power to be of service to other 
 sufferers, and let us remember that he who possesses 
 peace of mind is blessed ; he who is endowed with wis- 
 dom is blessed ; he who merits the love of a little child 
 or the friendship of a dog is blessed ; he who loses all 
 else and maintains health is blessed. 
 
 So stop and count your blessings one by one. Even 
 the smallest of these is for us to be thankful. 
 
B 
 
 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 35 
 
 Arizona Nuggets 
 
 RAGGING is always excusable when you brag of 
 
 your home town. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 The fellow who thinks only of self makes a poor 
 subject for the thoughts of others. 
 ^ ^ ^,i ^ ^ 
 
 No matter what the weather may be, you can always 
 have sunshine in the heart. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 How often some knotty problem has been solved 
 with the aid of an honest and trusty friend. But the 
 most steady friend is our dear mother. How many 
 times have her cheering words inspired us to "try 
 again." 
 
 We all know it does not appetar more often in poli- 
 tics than it does in society, this civic hypocrisy ; you all 
 know the man and the woman who tells you in scan- 
 dalized wh/ispers of so and so's shortcomings, and then 
 dissolves into joyous smiles when the fellow comes 
 along. 
 
 ^ ^ jjc >ii >H 
 
 The greatest joy in our lives is the inspiration of 
 our activity; the balm for the thorns that have been 
 strewn along our path is the satisfaction that comes to 
 us in knowing the good deeds we have accomplished 
 among our fellow beings in the past, in that little world 
 that surrounds us while traveling on life's journey. For 
 what greater joy can come to a man than the knowl- 
 edge that his efforts have helped others, have helped 
 them overcome some obstacle that has stood between 
 them and a greater success. 
 
 5ji Jji 5jC »jC »J» 
 
 Have you an American flag? Look at it occasion- 
 ally and you will become a more loyal citizen by so 
 doing. 
 
36 CACTUS AND, BLOSSOMS 
 
 To My Successor 
 
 LJERE is a toast to my successor, a fellow who's 
 
 * *• going to follow me; 
 
 The fellow who's going to take my place when it's 
 
 time for me to go 
 I've wondered what kind of a chap he'll be, and I've 
 
 wished I could take his hand, 
 Just to whisper, 'T wish you well, old chap," in a way 
 
 he'd understand. 
 I'd like to give him the cheering word that I've longed 
 
 at times to hear ; 
 Vd like to give him the warm hand-clasp, when never 
 
 a friend seems near. 
 I've learned my knowledge by sheer hard work, and I 
 
 wish I could pass it on 
 To the fellow who'll come to take my place when it's 
 
 time for me to go. 
 Will he see all the sad mistakes I've made and note 
 
 all the battles lost, or 
 Will he ever guess of the tears they caused or the 
 
 heartaches which they cost, or 
 Will he gaze through the failures and fruitless toil to 
 
 the underlying plan, 
 And catch a gliimpse of the real intent and the heart 
 
 of a vanquished man? 
 I dare hope he may pause some day as he toils as I 
 
 have wrought, 
 And gain some strength for his weary task from the 
 
 battles which I have fought. 
 But I've only the task itself to leave with the cares 
 
 for him to face. 
 And never a cheering word may speak to the fellow 
 
 who'll take my place. 
 Then here's to your success old chap, when you'll get 
 
 into that place ; 
 I leave an unfinished task for you, but God knows 
 
 how I tried. 
 I've dreamed my dreams as all men do, but never a 
 
 one came true: 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 37 
 
 And my prayer today is that all the dreams may be 
 
 realized by you. 
 And when, at the end of your term, we'll meet some 
 
 day in the realm, 
 You'll know my clasp as I take your hand and gaze 
 
 in your tired face. 
 Then all our failures will be success, in the light of 
 
 the new-found dawn ; 
 So I'm wishing you well, old chap, when you'll take 
 
 my place when I am gone. 
 
 New Year's Time 
 
 pAIR hands may set the New Year's clock. 
 What time we never can forget; 
 No key the future can unlock, 
 No hand the clock of death may set. 
 
 The New Year's time, 
 
 The happy time. 
 New times, new favors and new joys 
 Be wove for you all with threads of gold. 
 Who vo'ws begin and vows renew 
 And happy year of life review, 
 
 May love's sweet times 
 
 At all her times 
 Greet you from far and wide. 
 Where'er life's tent of peace may be. 
 
 A happy year for thee 
 
 May it be for thee, 
 'Till life shall end, and after life, 
 Eternal bliss beyond the skies, 
 
 I wish you all 
 
 On New Year's time. 
 
 "YJT/ITH grateful memory of the past, we face the 
 ^ future years with every confidence, believing 
 always that the true measure of life's success is not 
 found in the business world alone, but largely in the 
 great joy of friendship building. 
 
38 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 A Bed of Violete 
 
 A S I WAS sitting on a bench in the court house 
 ^^ park one Sunday, in Go'd's beautiful sunshine, en- 
 joying the songs and twitter of the birds with heart's 
 content, and as I observed the beauty of nature, I could 
 not help but notice a group of ladies leaning over the 
 iroin fence and exclaim : "What a beautiful bed of vio- 
 lets ! They are just lovely." This 'little bed of violets 
 has had more admiration from the ladies of our city 
 and the tourist world in the spring of the year than 
 anything else, and is worthy of admiiration. Right at 
 the present time it is in full bloom and is a mass of 
 violet blue basking in the sunshine, and spreads its 
 fragrance to the passersby. It was a little bed at the 
 same spot sixteen years ago, when I first saw it there, 
 and has grown to a goodly size. It grows almost 
 without a caretaker, except a little water occasionally. 
 Its beauty and charming sight have carried many a 
 message of love to the passerby, or thrilled some 
 lonely heart, though shattered life's hopes may be. 
 
 It never fails to inform us labout the middle of Feb- 
 ruary that spring is again at hand, when its little buds 
 begin to show their little heads. Probably few realize 
 what an important part the violet plays among society, 
 young and old. It is in demand everywhere when in 
 season. It reminds one again of the boyhood days, 
 when we used to ramble through the woods together 
 with our first sweetheart, picking wild violets in the 
 familiar haunts. It carries inspiration that words are 
 too harsh to communicate. It touches heart chords 
 like sweet music and brings back memories of glad 
 days gone by, of which we love to think when we 
 think of love. 
 
 And it brings back that longing 
 To sit again once more. 
 
 Beneath the shady willow. 
 
 Where birds poiur out their song; 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 39 
 
 Beside the babling brooklet, 
 
 Sing-ing its way along-, 
 Where violets sweet with perfume 
 
 Attract you and me. 
 Ah, there could I rest forever, 
 
 With the sweetheart to be. 
 
 What's In the Heart Will Appear in the Face 
 
 V/OU cannot reap joy for yourself out of the pain of 
 ■*■ others. You cannot harvest peace out of the dis- 
 quiet of your fellows. You cannot build right on the 
 foundation of wrong. Life coimes from the inside out, 
 and not froim the outside in. Life radiates ; it cannot be 
 absorbed. What you are inside that you will ultimately 
 be outside, and you cannot evade it or avoid it. If 
 there is a canker at yo'ur heart it will eat its way out, 
 and you shall in no way stop it except by cutting out 
 its very roots. You cannot be honest with the rest of 
 the world until you are honest with yourself. 
 
 Let Nature Comfort You 
 
 IT IS difficult for many of us to find anything but self- 
 ishness and sadness in this world of city life, and 
 one would be less than human to have any other deep 
 mood now untinged by the thought of war. 
 
 Yet nature is not selfish, nor indififerent; she is the 
 calm and healing mother for us all. Bone of her bone, 
 ficsh of her flesh, she has made us and nourished us 
 ever kindly; and when human selfishness in a bustling 
 city life, trying to overwhelm you, find some quiet field 
 far from the voices of .men, lie in the grass close to her 
 bosom, listen to the crickets and let nature comfort 
 you. She can and will bestow her blessing -upon us all 
 who seek her virtue. 
 
40 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Natural Thoughts of God's Nature Land 
 
 'T'HE world of nature has provided us with the nec- 
 essaries of life, and the talent given us to make 
 use of the same. Each day has its task — no more. It 
 is only when we go beyond that which nature has 
 given us and force the mind and body to do things not 
 prescribed by nature; when we are not content with 
 present-day surroundings and to bear the evils the day 
 may have brought us, but harm ourselves with antici- 
 pation of those the future may bring; when we are not 
 satisfied with the "daily bread" for which one wiser 
 than we taught us to pray, but strive to lay up a useless 
 surplus to leave behind ; when the pleasure of this 
 world was given us to enjoy as nature provided it for 
 in wholesome moderation degenerate into wild ex- 
 cesses. It is only then that outraged nature takes 
 revenge for the neglect of her laws, and sanitariums, 
 climate resorts and lunatic asylums are filled with the 
 victims of ill-regulated lives. 
 I sometimes think we may not see a climate 
 More complete in reality of loveliness and beauty rare, 
 Of winter's healing, bailmy air. 
 That brings back hope to the afflicted here, 
 From far city's troubled everywhere. 
 Like long-forgotten dreams come true ; 
 In this sunny land, they come from everywhere. 
 Those ''health seekers," and when they tdon't happen to 
 find the same green hills which they had away back in 
 the New England states, then they just keep on kickin' 
 and a'cussin' and call "God's country" a God-forsaken 
 land. For an example, we have from "a traveler on the 
 desert" somewhere in this beautiful valley, under the 
 title, "The Exile Far from the Old Home," a poem in 
 an eastern magazine a few months ago. This article 
 found a large circulation in the eastern states, and was 
 reprinted by a number of publications, of which a copy 
 was sent to me by eastern friends, inquiring if that 
 talented writer was telling the truth, or if he was 
 "homesick," or if that was the result of an Arizona 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 41 
 
 nightmare. When he starts off saying, "I am down in 
 Arizona on the desert's burning sands, 'tis a God-for- 
 saken land," etc., so down the line, in the fourth and 
 fifth verses he closes by saying, "New England has no 
 mountain full of wealth and mines and drills, but I'd 
 give ;this whole damned country for one night of its 
 green hills," etc. It is astonishing how some people 
 love to knock, and still they will come out here to this 
 land of the blest. If they would only learn to come 
 before it's too late, and not fail to realize the blessing 
 the Almighty has bestowed upon them when he created 
 the dry desert in the great southwest, the only land of 
 hope for ithe afflicted. Thus far the dry desert air has lost 
 none of its virtues, because one little flower has failed 
 to bloom. Shall nature's healing power not conquer 
 the white plague tomb? Because the rain forgot the 
 thirsty land, shall not I'ife live on the desert? He who 
 made it so for the afflicted, a star of hope, the brightest 
 that ever shone were God's plan for you and me. 
 
 There's beauty all around us. Then why should we 
 be sad? Even the desert has its beauty and sings to 
 the lonely heart that loves her. Her beauty thrills the 
 longing heart of nature ; each bush and wild flower, 
 each towering cactus, speaks to the listening ear. 
 There's never a wayside rock but offers a charming 
 sight to some passerby; no bird but may thrill some 
 lonely heart. Though shattered life's hopes may be, 
 God gave us all some^talent to make this world a little 
 sweeter. Right thinking is the most important law of 
 nature. 
 
42 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 A Bright New Year 
 
 'X'HAT the new year holds a great promise for each 
 and all is as certain as its coming. It opens wide 
 its portals of hope ; reveals in glo-wing outline the 
 bright future of a great achievement, and points the 
 way to the loftiest heights. All that it asks in return 
 is that we shall be worthy of the goal, faithful and con- 
 sistent in our progress towards it. How far we shall 
 travel along the road illumined by the new year's won- 
 drous light, remains for us to decide. Nor should any 
 selfish spirit mark or mar the conquest of the opportu- 
 nities it presents. 
 
 If we are to secure real happiness for ourselves and 
 fellow beings on life's journey, we must practice at all 
 times the full significance and inspiration of the dawn- 
 ing year by perpetuating our love and sympathies for 
 mankind everywhere, and by giving permanent truth 
 to the so oft-spoken good wishes of New Year's day. 
 
 Some 'will probablv read this just before or after the 
 new year comes in. I, therefore, would like to extend 
 to the readers and all my friends a hearty wish that 
 1917 may be the best year you have ever had in your 
 lives. Remember that our lives in this beautiful world 
 are largely what we make them, and if you decide right 
 now that 1917 will be a good year, you wiJl find in 
 December that you have had one of the brightest and 
 most blest years ever known in the land of the blessed. 
 
 Besfin Now 
 
 /^NLY by doing our duty towards one another can 
 ^^^ we learn how to do it. No one would dream of 
 learning to play a violin merely by looking at the in- 
 strument and coumting the strings. We must begin to 
 play, even though discord be the first result. The way 
 to anything worth reaching, is to begin. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 43 
 
 The Flower of Civilization 
 
 TTHE standard of our civilization is determined by the 
 attention given to details and the use made of pre- 
 viously discarded resources. 
 
 The savage lets the desert remain a desert, but the 
 civilized man digs the irnigation ditch, floods the arid 
 plains with moisture, and roses bloom upon the wind- 
 sv^ept sands. 
 
 Christianity has won its place in this sun-kissed 
 land by conserving and developing discarded human 
 beings and elements; she has taken ignorant people 
 and^savage races and developed them into the flower of 
 civilization. She has taken the outcast of society and 
 restored him to his proper place among his fellowmen. 
 
 For half a century the debris from the coal mines 
 lay in the discarded mountain heaps; then the industry 
 developed, until today fortunes are made by washing 
 the coal fro^m the culm banks. 
 
 This conservation and development have always 
 been accomplished at the sacrifice of precedent and 
 tradition. "It is not the custom'' has been the bane of 
 all improvement. The traditionist has never been a 
 prophet or an inventor. The rebel of one generation 
 is the patriot of the next. It is not true that ''what 
 always is must be." 
 
 Here in the southwestern American desert is the 
 chief indication of the rising standard of our civilization 
 in the conservation and utilization of our resources. 
 This is not found merely in valleys ; it runs everywhere 
 through the thousands of miles into the mountains, 
 ''who shall bring forth its wealth and the desert shall 
 blossom as the rose." 
 
 15*9 e^ 1?^ 
 
 ^ ^ ^ 
 
 ETOR the benefit of those who know me in the West, 
 I can truthfully say that I have often plucked a 
 desert cactus and planted a flower in its lonely place, 
 wherever a flower would grow. 
 
44 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 Desert's Beauty by Moonlight 
 
 T F THOU wouldst view the desert aright, 
 Go visit it by the silver moonlight fair ; 
 For the gay beams of light some day, 
 Illuminates its wondrous beauty there. 
 Thou 'WOuldst have thought some fairy hand, 
 Twixt and straight the cactus stand, 
 In many a freakish knob nature had twined ; 
 Then formed a cross when the work was done, 
 And in the silver light that shone, 
 Showed many a redman's skill on stone. 
 Whose image was carved of man and beast, 
 By him who calls the desert "Home, sweet home." 
 
 O 
 
 My California Friend 
 
 UT iin California I have a friend, 
 In this greajt western world that has no end 
 Yet weeks go by and monthis rush Oin, 
 And before I know it a year has rolled by, 
 And I never see my old friend's face. 
 For time seems like a swift rushing stream ; 
 He knows I like him just as of yore — 
 As in the days we went to school 
 And piayed together — we were young then, 
 And now we are busy, hustling men ; 
 Busy wiith piling up an earthly gain, 
 Busy with itrying to make a worldly name. 
 "This summer" I will call on ,my friend, 
 Juist ito show that I still care for him ; 
 But summer comes .and summer goes. 
 And the distance between us dimmer grows. 
 Out in California — many miles away — 
 Comes this telegram : 
 
 "Friend George died today." 
 That's what we get and deserve in the end ; 
 Out in California, a vanished friend. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 45 
 
 The Joy of Outdoor Life 
 
 'T'HE joy of outdoor life, the life of nature, the life of 
 the bird and the bush; to sit on the shady side, 
 surrounded by nature and God's work you will find on 
 every hand, His glory is not in its freedom, but I find 
 its glory in the open ; each bird, each bush and wild 
 flower, each towering tree speaks to the listening ear. 
 There's never a wayside rock but offers a charming 
 sight to some passerby ; no bird but may thrill some 
 heart, though shattered life's hopes may be. God gave 
 us all some talent to make this world a little sweeter. 
 
 When We First Met 
 
 "YJT/E MET where the Pacific ocean roars, 
 
 On an evening's stroll by moonlit shores, 
 By the broken ,glitter of the wave, 
 Wiith throbbing he'arts we in silence stood. 
 Then out to me her white hands went, 
 And on my heart, before I knew. 
 Closely nes tiled, she sobbed and cried : 
 "My heart, my love, "tis all for you !" 
 And when she co*uld weep no more 
 She kissed me with no shame nor fear. 
 ''O, how this heart of mine," she said, 
 ''Hias pined for you and you alone !" 
 And this, my true love, now I tell, 
 For back to Arizona we must go ; 
 And speak me proud, but O, my love, 
 'Tis only us two that shall ever know." 
 
 Toil, the Price of Peace and Joy 
 
 VJT/ORK is the price of peace ; toil is the price of joy. 
 In this lies the solution of life. It is God's law, 
 and it is man's law. There is no easy way. There is 
 no other iluck than this. 
 
46 CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 
 
 The Friendship Flower 
 
 RIENDSHIP is a wonderful flower, delicate while 
 
 F 
 
 young, growing stronger, richer, purer with the 
 passing years. 
 
 Love, hope and charity form the soil from which it 
 springs; sympathy beautifies it; adversity purifies it; 
 truth is the elixir, the refined spirit from which its 
 strength emanates; joy is intensified, sorrow alleviated 
 by it. Its chalice holds the essence of love. 
 
 Rare friendship flowers are those that blossom 
 along the rugged path of endeavor. They spread upon 
 the air of the clear height of right doing, a perfume that 
 heals all bruises of the heart and soul. The fragrance 
 of one of those flowers will sweeten a whole life. 
 
 Arizona Welcomes You 
 
 /^OME, view the grandeur of Arizona at will ; 
 
 Search for peace of heart with all your skill ; 
 The door stands op&n wide and lofty, 
 A welcome awaits all who wish to enter 
 And seek her wealth of beauty on her bosom. 
 In vain you've searched the European shores, 
 In vain you've searched the foreign clime. 
 Grass and flowers, quiet treads. 
 On the mead's and mountain heads, 
 While at home Vv^ith pleasure close at hand. 
 Its charming beauty twinkling on every side 
 Awaits your coming to view its grandeur 
 In the knd of the Golden West. 
 
CACTUS AND BLOSSOMS 47 
 
 Salutation 
 
 "W/HAT can we do these days 
 ^ That will make this world brighter? 
 Isn't there some one in it 
 
 Who can gladden it with song? 
 Isn't there some one who will scatter 
 
 Just a kindly word of cheer? 
 Maybee it's you that's reading 
 
 This brief message wTiitten here. 
 
 Everyone of us has a duty 
 
 That none but ourselves can do ; 
 Let it be crowned with beauty 
 
 And a meaning deep and true. 
 Let each of us cheer the other 
 
 And add to the world's brightness. 
 I'll be your faithful brother, 
 
 And you'll be as truly mine. 
 
 And though when you've finished reading 
 
 These lines you shall go your way, 
 Good friend, and but little heeding 
 
 The things I have sought to say. 
 Life may seem kindlier rather, 
 
 And hold still more of cheer, 
 Because we have come together 
 
 And chatted a moment here. 
 
One of the First Adobe Inns in 
 Southern Arizona