I finally entered South Dakota today, land of gorgeous skies and the poetic Black Hills. If it weren’t for the terrible temperature fluctuations – it’s 80 degrees in the day and 40 at night! – biking through here would be a dream.
I passed this historical marker today, shot through with bullet holes, as many, many street signs are in this part of the country. Put up in the 1960s, it shows a way of approaching American history you don’ see nowadays:
You can’t read the sign in the picture, but here’s what it says:
“Jedediah Strong Smith’s Route — 1823
First white man in the Black Hills, this courageous and brawny beaver trapper in 1823 led a dozen Mountain Men from Fort Kiowa to the Yellowsone. His party entered the Black Hills via the old bison trail through Buffalo Gap near here. ….
This skillful hunter, successful fur trader, and pioneer explorer of the American West was a man who feared God and loved peace. His Bible was his constant companion. Jed Smith was a trail blazer whose three driving ambitions were to serve God, to provide for his family, and to explore the unmapped American West. He was successful in attaining all three goals. …
‘When others lost their way or gave up the struggle, he ate the bread of faith and drank to the bottom of the cup of the Lord’s will.’ “
Wow. What can you say to this? In a time when the courts are wrangling with displays of religious symbols on public land, it’s hard to imagine the government erecting a sign like this. I find it fascinating on so man levels.
Mainly, I find it intriguing that is says that Smith was successful in serving God. It seems a bit audacious to put a judgment on someone’s ability to please the divine.
But it also speaks of Manifest Destiny, the belief that it was God’s will that the United States expand in the 1800s. The virtue of the actors in this expansion was constantly lauded, and it’s clear that this could have lasted through the generations of Westerners, especially in the more nature-rich areas of the Rockies.
It certainly gave me a lot to think about, as did the splendid views I was greeted with as I approached Rapid City:
It does seem presumptuous, yes, and not something I can imagine being put up in New England, at any rate, nowadays.
But I must admit to at least a grudging admiration for the phrase, “he ate the bread of faith and drank to the bottom of the cup of the Lord’s will.”
Quite the praise, that! (It’d be something to live in a manner that deserved it, even now.)
— Cat C-B · Oct 8, 04:22 AM · #