Who wrote this?

[Gene C]

(09-24-2025 12:18 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Please try without googling. Thanks.

In 1830 Thomas Lincoln moved his family from Indiana to Illinois. He planned to farm the Illinois prairie land.

Years later a well-known writer described Illinois' prairie land as follows:

"Looking towards the setting sun, there lay, stretched out before my view, a vast expanse of level ground; unbroken, save by one thin line of trees, which scarcely amounted to a scratch upon the great blank; until it met the glowing sky, wherein it seemed to dip: mingling with its rich colours, and mellowing in its distant blue. There it lay, a tranquil sea or lake without water, if such a simile be admissible, with the day going down upon it: a few birds wheeling here and there: and solitude and silence reigning paramount around... Great as the picture was, its very flatness and extent, which left nothing to the imagination, tamed it down and cramped its interest."

What was the name of the writer?

Carl Sandburg ?

[RJNorton]

Nope, it was not Lindsay or Sandburg.

[AussieMick]

John Steinbeck? I know he didn't write much about Lincoln nor Illinois, but it's close to his style.

[RJNorton]

Nope, not Steinbeck. It is a familiar name, however.

[RJNorton]

Hint #1: The manner in which one of the words in the quote is spelled might help in identifying the author.

[David Lockmiller]

(09-25-2025 02:08 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Hint #1: The manner in which one of the words in the quote is spelled might help in identifying the author.

So, once again, "the British are coming."

dictionary.com defines "color" and adds: "especially British, col·our"

[RJNorton]

Yes, the author was British!

[AussieMick]

I had to read it again and again and again until I saw that word.
I will guess Charles Dickens ( on a reading tour of US).

[RJNorton]

Very good, Michael! Dickens made lots of observations as he traveled. His impressions were published in a travelogue entitled American Notes for General Circulation.

[AussieMick]

I was tempted to guess Oscar Wilde but the wordiness pointed to Dickens.