Drake University - Quax Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

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FRANCIS MA RI ON DRAKE 7

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'tw -fi, Q ,bu v i I l 5. Q' to l S4 ll l 1 t. l .i Bvhimtinn il-1-1 il. 1 REATED in the likeness of thy Lord, Though years of toil and days of joy and grief A ' ' l-l ave wrought their hoary task upon thy brow, Though ruthless Time and duties manifold Have feebled now the vigor of thy youth, ' The Master's spirit perfect is retained. The pain thy life has known taught thee to feel The anguish of a brother's burdened soul, Thy hand-clasp wordless comfort to bestow, Thy heart o'er-brimmed with sympathy and love, No shameful act, no cruelty has traced That kindly look upon thy countenanceg No worldly pride imparts that gentle mien, Which marks the self-forgot in others' needs. Integrity, all worthiness, is thine, The Father's spirit makes thy life sublime. Thou honored benefactor of mankind, Accept, we pray, this volume. which to thee We dedicate with reverence and love. l-IARRIETT 6 J. WALL, 'O3

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tt 1 Cfntmrnnr Brake. l1 -l .1 -1 VERY STUDENT of Drake University loves Governor Francis M. Drake. Not so much because of his deeds of daring and valzr, his successful business career and his services as Governor of the State of iowa, but rather because of the great, noble life which has touched thousands of other lives through countless acts of love and Christian philanthropy: because of the big heart and genereus soul which have made Drake University and all its attending blessings possible. Permit us briefly to scan the life of this man whom all of us love. Francis Marion Drake's parents were natives of North Carolina. l-le was born December 30, 1830, in Rushville, illinois. The family came to Iowa in 1837, and Centerville has been his home since the war. From the first schoolboy encounters beside the old log school house, through all the intervening years, down to the present day. .. subject of our sketch has proved himself to be not easily intimidated, dauntless, fearless, seldom knowing defeat 3 of firm conviction. never tai:- ing a stand until certain that right was on his side, and then ready to face any obstacle or foe. During the gold excitement in California Governor Drake twice crossed the plains with a drove of cattle. He tells a bi: of rain thrilling experience regarding the first trip, when he, with twenty others, at the crossing of what is now called Shell Creek, Nebraska. after a severe engagement, put to flight about three hundred Pawnee Indians. Another experience which the Governor interestingly recalls. and 1-: :L narrating of which the auditor listens with bated breath, was that of the wrecking, in the Pacific Ocean, of the steamer. Yankee Blade. which he had taken passage to return home by water, from his second California trip, 1854. The vessel was totally lost. Only by the quicl s action and greatest persistency did he escape death. I-le was picked up on the coast five days after the wreck. Early in the civil war he was commissioned captain of a company which was organized into Colonel Edwards' independent iowa Regi- ment, of which he was elected major. At the organization of the Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry in 1862 he was made lieutenant-colonel. took a prominent part in the campaign of Steele from Little Rock to reinforce Banks in Louisiana, in 1864, and rendered important service. His gallant defense at Elkin's Ford, on the Little Missouri River, while in command of a detachment of five hundred men against Marma- duke's division, three thousand strong, resulting in holding the ford after a severe engagement of several hours. was highly commended. This was pre-eminently his battle. Too much praise cannot be given Colonel Drake for his distinguished gallantry and determined ccurage in this contest, says his superior officer in his report. Colonel Drake was soon after placed in command of his brigade. Cn the 25th of April. at the bloody battle of Mark's Mills, while in command of less than fifteen hundred men, fighting the combined cavalry forces of Kirby Smith. cem- manded by General Fagan, he was severely wounded in the left thigh, and fell into the hands of the enemy. The thigh bone was slightly frac- tured by a Belgian ball, part of which still remains buried where it struck, and from which the Governor to-day suffers and is somewhat lame. Drake, says I-lorace Greeley, speaking of this battle, made superhuman efforts, and was everywhere at the point of danger. The wound was pronounced mortal and he was not held a prisoner. Rallying sufficiently to walk with crutches, he rejoined his command at Little Rock in a