But
this must be a genuine and permanent interest to be of educative value.
The _moral quality_ in this interest is its virtue. Standish, Boone,
La Salle, and the rest were stalwart men, whose courage was keenly and
powerfully tempered. They were leaders of men by virtue of moral
strength and superiority. Their deeds have the stamp of heroism and in
approving them the moral judgments of children are exercised upon noble
material. These men and stories constitute an epoch in civilization
because they represent that stage which just precedes the first form of
settled society. In fact some of the stories fall in the transition
stage, where men followed the plow and wielded the woodman's axe, or
turned to the war-path as occasion required. In every part of the
United States there has been such a period, and something corresponding
to it in other countries. We are prepared to assume, therefore, that
these historical materials arouse a strong interest, implant moral
ideas, and illustrate a typical epoch. They are also very _real_.
These men, especially the land pioneers, were our own predecessors,
traversing the same rivers, forests, and prairies where we now live and
enjoy the fruits of their hardihood and labor.
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