Melville's "Western spirit" in Israel Potter and elsewhere

 
Melville on Ethan Allen:

"He was frank, bluff, companionable as a pagan, convivial, a Roman, hearty as a harvest. His spirit was essentially Western; and herein is his peculiar Americanism; for the Western spirit is, or will yet be (for no other is, or can be) the true American one." 
Israel Potter; first published 1854-1855 in Putnam's Magazine.  In installments, like "Scenes Beyond the Western Border," 1851-1853.

Joyce Sparer Adler has thoughtfully explained what Melville meant by "the Western spirit":

"In the context of the whole Ethan Allen section this spirit is a combination of love of freedom, courage in the face of adversity, humor, bold exercise of freedom of speech, readiness to try what has not yet been done, willingness to depart from old values and theologies, and practice of just principles."  War in Melville's Imagination, p84

Let's look for signs of Melville's "Western spirit" in the 1851-1853 series "Scenes Beyond the Western Border."

Whoops, there's one right there in the title: Beyond the Western Border.  If it was a snake....

He was frank...

"Frank as a bear hunter!" (September 1851)

companionable as a Pagan

"... the race of hermits is extinct, and man requires companionship" (June 1851)

 After significant revisions to the May 1853 installment, Frank becomes "my companion." Yow!

 hearty as a harvest

 "I like a man hearty in everything..." (September 1851)

Now guided by Joyce Adler's language, here we find one single sentence combining "love of freedom" and "bold exercise of freedom of speech" and "willingness to depart from old values and theologies":

"And it is this free desert air alone, that emboldens me in the search, to question the dogmas which society holds so precious."  (June 1852) 

Dogmas!

And how many of Adler's terms for Melville's theme of the "Western spirit" are likewise conveniently compressed in the splendid passage below, from August 1852?

Ah! my good friend, let this wild mountain air have fair play; let us with the desert's freedom joyously flout convention and opinion—upstart usurpers—let us make mocking sport of the prosaic solemnity of ignorant prejudice;—let us shoot popguns at least, against the solid bulwarks where folly and selfishness sit enthroned!

readiness to try what has not yet been done?

"Well give me another trial for something new on my subject." (September 1851)