Riding in advance, we passed over one of these great plains; we looked back and saw the line of scattered horsemen stretching for a mile or more; and far in the rear against the horizon, the white wagons creeping slowly along.

Riding in advance, we passed over one of these great plains; we looked back and saw the line of scattered horsemen stretching for a mile or more; and far in the rear against the horizon, the white wagons creeping slowly along.

A military road led from this point to Fort Leavenworth, and for many miles the farms and cabins of the Delawares were scattered at short intervals on either hand.

A few hours' ride brought us to the banks of the river Kansas.

Not a breath of air stirred over the free and open prairie; the clouds were like light piles of cotton; and where the blue sky was visible, it wore a hazy and languid aspect.

Here society is reduced to its original elements, the whole fabric of art and conventionality is struck rudely to pieces, and men find themselves suddenly brought back to the wants and resources of their original natures.

Four men are missing; R., Sorel and two emigrants. They set out this morning after buffalo, and have not yet made their appearance; whether killed or lost, we cannot tell.

The reader need not be told that John Bull never leaves home without encumbering himself with the greatest possible load of luggage. Our companions were no exception to the rule.

We were now arrived at the close of our solitary journeyings along the St. Joseph's trail.

America, when it became known to Europeans, was, as it had long been, a scene of wide-spread revolution.

Many of the Iroquois and Huron houses were of similar construction, the partitions being at the sides only, leaving a wide passage down the middle of the house.

Crossing the Penobscot, one found a visible descent in the scale of humanity.

Fort Leavenworth is in fact no fort, being without defensive works, except two block-houses.

We were now, as I before mentioned, upon this St. Joseph's trail. It was evident, by the traces, that large parties were a few days in advance of us; and as we too supposed them to be Mormons, we had some apprehension of interruption.

Our New England climate is mild and equable compared with that of the Platte.

We were in all four men with eight animals; for besides the spare horses led by Shaw and myself, an additional mule was driven along with us as a reserve in case of accident.

The fortified towns of the Hurons were all on the side exposed to Iroquois incursions.

Early on the next morning we reached Kansas, about five hundred miles from the mouth of the Missouri.

We were soon free of the woods and bushes, and fairly upon the broad prairie.

It was a rich and gorgeous sunset - an American sunset; and the ruddy glow of the sky was reflected from some extensive pools of water among the shadowy copses in the meadow below.

The great medley of Oregon and California emigrants, at their camps around Independence, had heard reports that several additional parties were on the point of setting out from St. Joseph's farther to the northward.

A classic is a classic for a reason. Lets try to create new classics. The idea of repeating ourselves drives me a little crazy.

My father was one tough man.

We need quiet time to examine our lives openly and honestly – spending quiet time alone gives your mind an opportunity to renew itself and create order.

Republics end through luxury; monarchies through poverty.

Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.

The idea the president of the United States was warned that Al-Qaeda was going to attack the United States and did nothing about it - really? Do you think any president of the United States, if he had even an inkling there was going to be an attack, they wouldn't have moved heaven and earth to try to stop it?

Great minds are to make others great. Their superiority is to be used, not to break the multitude to intellectual vassalage, not to establish over them a spiritual tyranny, but to rouse them from lethargy, and to aid them to judge for themselves.

To me, style is consistency.

Obviously the people that I admired, like the Beatles, were really into rock'n'roll, but it was already a little past rock'n'roll when I started listening and making my own choices about music.

I have always made commercial music. The people who vote for the Grammy nominees are mostly in their 40s and have other jobs or are musicians themselves. They like music that they can relate to - they like commercial music.

It touches on drug use. I got caught up in that for almost two years.

Are we the first hominids? I really, really, really doubt it.

Nothing could be as hard as middle school.

Suspicion and jealousy are the death knell of any relationship.

If someone decides to be a musician now, it means because there is no hope of money at the end of it, it means they really want to be a musician. And if someone is writing now, there is no hope for money at the end of it.

In art, at a certain level, there is no 'better than.' It's just about trying to operate for yourself on the most supreme level, artistically, that you can and hoping that people get it.

The moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.

The past can hurt, but the way I see it; you can either run from it or learn from it.

I remember when I was a kid, I would watch 'Superman', and I was super into the feeling of knowing that Clark Kent is Superman and no one knows.

I don't think that an artificially intelligent system that has superhuman intelligence will be violent. I do think that it will disrupt our culture.

I never think about a shoot before I do it. Because there's no formula for people. What I try to do is to strip everything away rather than go in with preconceived notions. If I do that, I might miss a gem or a jewel that the person is offering me.

Americans different in some maybe thoughts or emphasis still have the same ideas. They want a government that lets them be free, that leaves them alone, that doesn't interrupt and interfere with every aspect of their life, that lets them go to work and keep more of what they've worked hard to have.

I am perfectly clear in my mind and in my conscience in respect of freedom of religious principles and beliefs.

If you really dissect hip-hop you will find a whole lot of Charles Mingus, Ron Carter, Ahmad Jamal, a lot of classic jazz samples in there.