lybrary wrote: nor did [Sanders] write in different 'voices' himself.
This is ridiculous statement.
Voice 1, from the 25th Anniversary book of the 1885 Class of Mines, of Columbia University.
"Once upon a time, as all good fairy tales begin, 94 callow, bashful and
hopeful youths met together by reason of an experience that was to
change the tenor of each existence and the entire course of the lives
of a majority of them, that was to take them as raw material and so
knead and mold and fashion and influence and instruct them that they
might be sent forth from the factory as from a furnace, the refined and
finished product of the old School of Mines of Columbia College. This
eventful gathering occurred at and near Oct. 1, 1881. And thus for good
or ill, for better or for worse, for affairs great and affairs small, our
"Class of '85" was organized and launched as an integral and concrete
fact in the existence of what is now Columbia University in the City of
New York."
Voice 2, from Letter to J. V. Brower, dated 4/23/1896. Reproduced in Brower, J. V.,
The Missouri River and Its Utmost Source. St. Paul: Pioneer Press, 1897 pp 178-179.
"In reply to the questions contained in your favor of the
17th inst., I take pleasure in forwarding the following Information.
Before beginning I will state, that I had written a letter before this one,
which was unsatisfactory, and so was not sent, for the reason that I
desired to be certain as to the derivation of the name of this state, and
have since been looking more closely into the matter, which will explain
the delay. Notwithstanding the assertion contained in "the late issue
of the ponderous nothingness" by a Chicago firm, and called "History
of Montana," that the name "Montana" is a purely classic word, it is
certain that such is true only in part. "
Voice 3, from "A Reference Scheme for Mine-Workings"
"AT some period during the operation of metalliferous and other commercially valuable mineral-deposits in connection with their underground mining, when the developments therein have become so extensive that their description is tedious and confusing, some scheme for naming or numbering the various workings and their parts is necessary for convenience of reference. A simple and symmetrical yet expansive system of classification must be devised, one that is capable of being extended to cover all possible exigencies and conditions of future operations within the property."
Voice 4, from his diary, as quoted in your ebook:
"I got started at 7.10 am. I took the load that I brought down to the house last night down onto the main road where the others are. While here mother and Louis drove up with the buggy from town, as I did not get home last night she became anxious about me and started out this morning to see if anything was the matter. Louis staid with me to come in town this eve while she went back to town, going up to the top of the range I got out a quantity of poles from the timber by the same means as yesterday. At 3 I started down the range with a load of 64 poles. When we got to Priest's house we stopped for dinner but started from there with 12 miles still to go, about 5, we got along allright until we got to the cross roads going through the diggins it was so dark that I could barely see the road by straining my eyes."
I know you will reject the comparison of poetry to prose. So let's look at the different "voices" that exist in his poetry, all from the reunion book mentioned above:
Example 1
"Yer tellygraft arrived to hand my peaceful rest to mar;
With its mishtherus hyrogliffs "G.S., M.P., G.R."
And p.d.q. it catches me -- there is no chance to shirk.
So I must corrugate me brow and get me down to work.
"Expect a poem," now ye do! Consarn yer blawsted nerve
(The only fun about it is that you too have to serve).
Here, I must give the wheels a turn, unwind the bloomin' coil,
Knock off a yard or two of rhyme and burn the midnight oil;
And mewed up here, like mewing Tom, while midnight hours enthuse,
Amuse the musing miners with the music of my muse.
With dithyrambic ructions and blanked pentameter verse,
Rambunctious hexameter frills, in rhyme that's bold and free,
I'll offer here the best I have to mon cherez frères d'amie;
I'll give a poem, sure I will, to curl your fringe of hair
And make you wish you ne'er had sent that tellygraft, I swear!"
Example 2
"Where downward sweeping to the sea the Yuba River flows
To gladden valleys far below with breath of melting snows;
From lands of vine-clad slopes and vales the wooded hills between
Of vales and slopes surpassing fair and clad in living green;
Bear Classmates all, from out my heart with fond affection stored,
I greet you as again you meet around the festal board;
I give my greetings to you, lads, from this spot where I am,
And send my love and blessings from beside the Yuba dam."
Example 3
"Ah, Eighty-five! affection turns
To that familiar name,
And love for Alma Mater burns,
An all-consuming flame.
Swift passed those years beneath Her roof,
As in review to seem
Like visions fair, the warp and woof
Of some enchanting dream.
Where'er Reunion finds us, boys,
We'll one and all contrive
To drink a cup to our storied joys
And to dear old Eighty-five."
The first is comic verse, the second a more or less standard poetic form, and the third sounds like the lyrics to an alma mater song.
He obviously can write it different voices. He is a writer in full command of his craft. His words and stylings are different in each case, but they also are appropriate for each case -- paying attention to the audience receiving the text, the message being conveyed, and the type of work being written.