Samuel W Odell – författare

Excerpt: "It was morning on the plains of Asia. Long-legged herons stood in the shallows of the yellow Jaxartes, bathing their feet in its sluggish flood and warming their bodies in the first rays of the sun. They were silently and uneasily watching a host of armed men drawn out in long battle-lines across the lowlands bordering the southern margin of the stream Where the armed host stood was a sandy plain, about two miles wide. Beyond this was a low range of sand-hills, which trended away to the southeast, enlarging the plain as they receded from the river. Cutting through hills and plain to join the river-bed was a dry water-course, where, in winters only, a torrent flowed. In it were some stunted trees and scattered thickets of shrubs. To the north of the river was a vast plain on which the dry, yellow grass had been withered by summer sun and wind. Far in the east appeared dimly through a blue haze the summits of high mountains. Westward the river had yet to flow half its length to the Oxian swamps. Here it was wide and shallow and its banks were low and marshy. The rays of the sun sparkled on the brazen breastplates and shining blades of battle-axes, on the spear-points and gilded helmets, of two hundred thousand men, who here awaited the approach of a far more numerous host coming down from the east along the river towards them. The light rested softly upon the stern, bearded faces of veterans of many wars and the softer cheeks of young men on this, their first campaign. They were men of Iran for the most part, though some were Assyrians, Babylonians, Arabs, Hebrews, or Greeks from the Ionian cities. They were followers of Cyrus, the King of Kings, the Great King, ever victorious Lord of the World."

Broad experience has ripened the ability of Samuel W. Odell, who has been a legal practitioner for more than forty years and is a member of the Los Angeles firm of Tanner, Odell & Taft. Endowed with more than one talent, Mr. Odell has not only won success and prominence in his profession but has also become well known in the field of literature and is the author of a number of interesting books. He was born in Hampton, Illinois, November 4, 1864, a son of John P. and Sarah (Neilson) Odell, the latter of Scotch descent. The father was descended from ancestors located in Yorkshire, England, and was born in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. John P. Odell were the parents of nine children and six are now living, five sons and one daughter.