The story of a great city in a nutshell; 500 facts about St. Louis, Louisiana Purchase 1803, World's Fair 1903

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1903 Excerpt: ...with the rough and ready frankness of the plains. It was a pleasant mixture of openhearted, alert and comradely spirit, tinctured with the fine fancies and polish that the frontiersman from Europe could not entirely forget. Then came the new generation and more pioneers--Englishmen, Germans and adventurous spirits from all parts of the Old World. The young blood of the American-born, infused with the self-reliance and aggresive energy of colonial life, was tempered by contact with the softening influences from abroad. Common dangers and common hardships imparted to all a sense of fellowship; and through the trials of pioneer days grew that sturdy race of men--ready to share cheer with their neighbors--who have since given to the world an understanding of Americanism. From a truly cosmopolitan settlement, St. Louis has grown into a characteristically American, metropolis, Its hospitality is the essence of its existence. Without it St. Louis would not be St. Louis. From the uncouth days when the settler's latch-string hung ready for the touch of the traveler, the community has been a fountain of hospitable amenities. With none of the rigors of the North, and all the balm of the South, with all the industry of the East and the freedom of the West, it has become the most delightful abiding place on the continent. Great gatherings that have passed into the nation's history evoked striking demonstrations of St. Louis hospitality. Delegates to national political conventions or to social and fraternal conclaves, returning to their homes, have echoed from one end of the land to the other the rncomparable hospitality of the Mound City, giving to it a fame for open cheer that no other community in the world enjoys. It is this hospitable demeanor of the St. Louisan tha...