appearance, of athletic build, of high moral
character and frequently of firm religious convictions. Such men as
"Apple-seed Johnny," Daniel Boone, George Rogers Clark, Simon Kenton
and John James Audubon, are the types of men these pioneers were. They
were noted for their staunch qualities of character. They hated
dishonesty and were truthful and brave. They were polite to women and
old people, ever ready to rescue a companion when in danger, and
equally ready to risk their lives for a stranger. They were very
hospitable, dividing their last crust with one another, or with the
stranger whom they happened to meet. They were ever ready to do an act
of kindness. {240} They were exceedingly simple in their dress and
habits. They fought the Indians, not because they wished to, but
because it was necessary to protect their wives and children from the
raids of the savages. They knew all the things that scouts ought to
know. They were acquainted with the woods and the fields; knew where
the best fish were to be caught; understood the trees, the signs and
blazes, the haunts of animals and how to track them; how to find their
way by the stars; how to make themselves comfortable in the heart of
the primeval forest; and such other things as are classed under the
general term of woodcraft. And, with all this, they inherited the
splendid ideas of chivalry that had been developed in the thousand
years preceding them, and fitted these ideas to the conditions of
their own day, standing solidly against evil and falsehood whenever
they lifted their head among them. They were not perfect, but they did
their best to be of service to those who came within their reach and
worked conscientiously for their country.

[Illustration: Modern knight.]

Modern Knighthood

A hundred years have passed since then, and the conditions of life
which existed west of the Alleghanies are no more. Just as the life of
the pioneers was different from that of the knights of the Round
Table, and as they each practised chivalry in keeping with their own
sur-roundings, so the life of to-day is different from both, but the
need of chivalry is very much the same. Might still tries to make
right, and while there are now no robber barons or outlaws with swords
and spears, their spirit is not unknown in business and commercial
life. Vice and dishonesty lift their heads just as strongly to-day as
in the past and there is just as much need of respect for women and