T was my good fortune to have been born and reared in one of the old New England States­Massachusetts-and in the goodly town of West­minster, a community typical of a civilization which for more than three hundred years adhered to the traditions and principles of the Pilgrim Fathers-in brief, a New England civilization. A climate that led to mental and bodily development, a physical setting richly endowed by Nature, and a community actuated and controlled by the highest motives of public in­tegrity, are some of the charms and advantages of my birthplace, whose merits certainly have not been sur­passed by other localities. I find it in my heart to wish that every district, home, and hamlet in our country enjoyed equal blessings.

Life and vigor are inherent in the very atmosphere of New England. The four contrasting seasons call forth an answering alertness in the inhabitants of that section. A spring whose beauty is famed is followed by a joyous summer, which in turn gives way to the wonderful New England autumn, and the year is rounded out with a sharp, dry, invigorating winter. Of all New England, I think Massachusetts is espe­cially favored as regards the nature of its people and its climate. The civilization of this Republic owes much to the sturdy settlers of that colony. Their admirable qualities have been reflected not only in the history of the colonies at large, but also in the record of that larger commonwealth which succeeded them-a record of progress marked with events of importance to the human race considered in connec­tion with the mental uplift and enlightening development of civilization.

It was a high purpose and laudable ambition which embarked the Pilgrim Fathers upon what was in their day a perilous and arduous voyage. No gain of spoil beckoned them onward; no hope of avarice, that modern recompense for the pillaging of new lands, lured them on. They were seeking a home, a home in which they could enjoy political and personal liberty dear to their hearts, free from the oppression of a tyrannical power. Like a seed blown across the seas from the sterile fields of the old world to the fertile, virgin soil of the new, the little colony germi­nated and grew until it was firmly rooted and finally burst forth into blossom, bearing fruit in such abun­dance that this in turn furnished seed for many another planting. Thus the Massachusetts Common­wealth blazed the way and broke ground for others to follow, and when the tide of American advance flowed toward the West, New England customs and New England ideas were borne along to be deposited for all time on the farthest shore reached by the advancing civilization. In the contest which the colonists, under that redoubtable leader, Miles Stand­ish, had to maintain with the Indians whose hostilities dated back to near the first landing, Massachusetts was ever contributing men and money to the cause. The struggle for our national independent existence found this colony ready to furnish daring, resolute, experienced men in goodly numbers, and, when the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired, Massachu­setts became the first field of action in that great struggle for American independence.

New England to-day presents the appearance of a country largely denuded of its native forests and covered with towns and cities which are supported chiefly by the manufacturing industries. I well re­member when it was quite different. Then the farmer was more independent of the towns and cities, and his farm establishment more completely equipped and well stocked. A good farm at that time pro­duced nearly all that was required by an ordinary family, and subsistence was easily obtainable. The forest and wild fields provided what the farm itself did not produce.

No more ideal setting for innocent and happy childhood could be found than my home, the recol­lection of which I naturally cherish, and my happiest memories are of that period of my life and the pleas­ures, influences, and associations that it held. Those influences and associations were well calculated to bring out that mental and physical growth which count for so much in meeting the responsibilities of later life, and in the full accomplishment of a man's whole duty.

I attained the usual accomplishments of the country boy during my childhood. I cannot remember when I was not at home on the back of a horse. Long be­fore I could hold on I sat in front of my father holding on to the reins while he supported me on the horse's back with his arms, and later I rode behind him. I soon learned to ride alone, clinging on to the mane, and at the age of six I was given a gentle horse, and could manage and ride him. The other manly sports of the country boy also claimed me as a devotee. I was passionately fond of coasting, swimming, skating, playing ball, and trapping or hunting. I varied these sports by exploring the surrounding country, accom­panied at times by no other than a faithful dog, and many a day was spent in this delightful manner, listening to the music of birds at that time abundant in the forests and fields, watching the wild game­in fact, communing with and enjoying the best of Nature. In winter I was up early and attending to a farm-boy's duties. Then came a walk over or through the snows of a mile to school, returning the same way, then attending stock and other duties, and in the evening with my companions going to a pond or lake a mile distant, building large bonfires and skating for hours. All this gave health, happiness, and a strong and lasting constitution.

One of the favorite pastimes for our boyhood days was playing at war, and hapless were those who hap­pened to be selected to represent the enemy, for, whether he was a red-coated Britisher, a red-skinned savage, or a brown-faced Mexican, he was doomed to certain rout and defeat. "Playing Indian" was, perhaps, our greatest sport, and in this game I ac­quired boyish fame as one of the chiefs. We were divided into bands, at the head of which were chief­tains, and royal fun we had while the bands engaged in warfare, necessitating arduous campaigns, scout­ing, exploring, pursuing, and the like; and many a time have our boyish shouts or our blood-curdling war-cries awakened echoes among those New England hills. Thus did we make believe, never thinking that within a few years, but far removed on the Western plains and mountains, real and desperate Indian war­fare would claim our services.

I have to thank my parents not only for the physi­cal advantages which I enjoyed, but also for the high standards of heart and mind that were as strongly developed in them as they were in my more remote ancestors. My father, Daniel Miles, was a man of great strength of character, of resolution, and sterling integrity. To his high sense of honor, his courage, the purity of his nature, and the depth of his patriot­ism, I am indebted for whatever ability I may have had for meeting the duties and responsibilities of a stern and exacting profession. On his side my father had received his traits of character through a suc­cession of five generations, from a Welsh clergyman ancestor, the Rev. John Myles, from Swansea, Wales, who settled in Swansea, Massachusetts, who was doubly a warrior fighting with approved valor, not only for the Cross, but also against the Indians in the Colonial wars. At the outbreak of King Philip's War, in 1675, the forces of the Colonists gathered at his residence, which had been strongly built. This was fortified, and they elected the pastor captain. He served throughout the war, defending the settle­ment from the hostilities of the Indians, and at its close returned to his vocation of clergyman. Follow­ing the custom of most clergymen of that time, he was an educator as well as a minister, and for years conducted a school "for the teaching of grammar and arithmetic and the tongues of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; also how to read English and to write."

John Myles's son, Samuel, adopted his father's call­ing, and, after having graduated from Harvard Col­lege, in 1684, went to England and took orders in the English Church. In 1689 he returned to Boston and entered 011 his rectorship of King's Chapel, which posi­tion he held for twenty-nine years. Oxford, in the mean time, conferred upon him, in 1693, the degree of Master of Arts. Having left Massachusetts, and after settling temporarily in Pomfret, Connecticut, my ancestor made a home on the then frontier where the town of Petersham, in Central Massa­chusetts, now stands; but this home was so subject to attack from the Indians that it was temporarily abandoned.

In the Revolutionary War my great-grandfather, Daniel Miles, and my grandfather, Joab, fought at the battle of Bennington, wintered with Washington at Valley Forge, and, taking part in the principal sub­sequent engagements, witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. The zeal of my great-grand­father carried him so far that when the war was over he converted all of his property into the Con­tinental money of the day. When the government subsequently repudiated this issue of currency, my ancestor suffered a total loss of fortune.

Westminster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, was the home of my father after he reached maturity, Petersham, however, being the place of his birth. In Westminster my father engaged in farming and the lumber business, his home being situated near Wachusett Mountain, about fifty miles from Boston, in a picturesque region blessed with an exhilarating climate. My mother, Mary Curtis, traced her descent directly from William Curtis, who arrived on the ship Lyon in Boston Harbor, September 3, 1632. Pos­sessing characteristics 11U1ch like those of my father, she also had those traits most becoming in woman­hood, and r cannot sufficiently express my sense of obligation for the love and the devotion which she showed for me. Her prayers attended me always, as a child or man, in peace or in war. She was a true Christian, and the example she set her children was an incentive toward praiseworthy conduct and an upright and honorable life. Our home was also blessed by an elder brother, whose splendid example and precepts were of the highest and truest type of American citizenship, and the refining, beneficent in­fluence of two devoted sisters made it a most cheer­ful and happy Home.

Thus my boyhood ran its course. The educational advantages were the best for the youth of that com­munity. In due time I outgrew the simple school of the district, and was admitted to the greater op­portunities of the academy, then taught by that prominent educator, John R. Galt. At the age of sixteen I moved to Boston in order to acquire a business education, as I had decided to engage in commercial pursuits, although this was by no means congenial to me, for there had been at work upon my mind and heart a powerful influence all the years of my young life which pointed my desires in another direction.

I had been accustomed throughout my youth to listen to the evening fireside tales when relatives or friends were visiting us. These stories held for me a potent charm and wonder, as they usually related to the historical lore of the section-tales of fighting and campaigning, of devotion to country, and of sacrifices made in the cause of patriotism. Thus it was that I first heard my father tell of the experience of his father and grandfather, of their sudden departure for the field at the outbreak of the Revolution, and of the dangers and privations which they and their companions in arms endured. Thus I learned that, each in his day, my ancestors had been eminent examples of patriotism and lofty courage, and my own heart became enthused with a longing for the military profession. . I soon realized that there was no present likelihood of my being able to follow what would have been my chosen occupation for life, and it was at this time that I went to Boston to enter commercial pursuits, cherishing the hope, none the less, that some occasion would afford me the oppor­tunity to serve my country as my ancestors had done. Little did I think that an occasion was so near at hand, or that the demand for service would be so insistent or so far-reaching.

During the five years which I spent in Boston, I had ample opportunity for studying the temper of the times, and it soon became apparent to me, as it did indeed to all of the younger men of that period, that we were being threatened by a political hurricane which was sure to break upon us sooner or later. The body politic was in a state of feverish excitement. Controversy, from being acrimonious, soon became violent. Talk of war became common, and thoughts of war were universal.