At the same time that ladies and gentlemen of refinement discussed human rights and liberty in the elegant salons of Italy and France, a race of hardy men and women amid the wilderness of the New World was engaged in establishing crude settlements, from which later on the spirit of genuine freedom should radiate throughout the world. When toward the end of the 16th Century European explorers arrived on the eastern coast of the North American continent, they found what later times demonstrated beyond dispute: the richest and finest land on the face of the globe. The unsurpassed beauty and grandeur of the scenery stirred their hearts with surprise and admiration. They became enthusiastic about everything, and in their reports described the newly discovered country as the most wonderful they had ever seen. The more these explorers saw of America, the more their amazement increased. When Henry Hudson in 1609 discovered that noble river which now bears his name, its magnificent shores were a revelation to him, who was accustomed to the modest surroundings of the Netherlands. The French, who entered North America by the way of the St. Lawrence River, met with still greater surprises. The Great Lakes, stretching like oceans toward the setting sun, thundering Niagara, the royal Ohio, the majestic Mississippi, and the beautiful forests girding these shores, made their hearts beat with wonder and delight and filled their imagination with dreams of vast empires full of wealth. Beyond the “Father of Waters” and the regions of forest, the explorers found the “Prairies,” boundless seas of fragrant grass and beautiful flowers. Beyond these plains rose majestic mountain-chains, with lovely valleys and parks, and snow-capped domes, towering above the clouds. Such majestic nature must of necessity exert a most powerful influence on all who came in contact with it. Many of those immigrants who in their native countries had been restrained by narrow traditions and customs, and oppressed by despotic rulers, were here given the first chance to develop and prove their abilities. The unlimited freedom of the boundless forests, plains, and mountains stimulated their energy and imbued them with a spirit of enterprise, hitherto unknown. New types of heroic men, such as never had lived in Europe, sprang into existence: the trappers, traders and “voyageurs,” who in the pursuit of the lucrative fur trade penetrated the vast continent in all directions, fighting their way through countless hardships and dangers. [Illustration: PIONEERS. Modeled by A. Jaegers. ] Later on these daring forerunners of civilization were followed by settlers, who, with their families, established the first permanent homes: single log houses and hamlets, like little islands in the vast ocean of the primeval forest. [Illustration: THE FIRST CABIN. ]