“I am a very serious man at heart,” he remarked to me, “but,
fortunately, I have a sense of humor. I will confess that the attention
attracted by ‘The Man with the Hoe’ has surprised me, and the comments
of some of the gentlemen who have condescended to criticise the poem
are amusing. They seem to miss entirely its true spirit and meaning,
and yet speak with most complacent confidence. I,— O, you want me to
start at the beginning of my life and proceed in an orderly manner, do
you? Well, I have said little for print about my early days, but get
out your pencil and I will dictate you something.
“That most important event, my birth, occurred in Oregon City, Oregon,
on April 23, 1852. My schooling began when I was about four years old,
in a primitive little school in my native town.
“While he instilled in my youthful mind the principles of the alphabet
and other important knowledge, it was the influence of my mother,—my
father having died,—that dominated me. She was, in some respects, the
most extraordinary woman I have ever known,—a woman of strong likes and
dislikes, and capable of holding on to a purpose to the end. She kept
a large store of general merchandise in Oregon City, and conducted the
business with remarkable energy. But, despite her hard common sense
and practical ability, she was known as the ‘Woman Poet of Oregon.’ It
was from her, of course, that I got my own poetical bent. Her poetry
was full of feeling and earnestness, and was impressed with a strong
religious spirit. It was published chiefly in newspapers at the time,
and I presume I am the only person in the world who now has any of it.”