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L'UUUlJ W 111 ^ ui .j /----next spring. Half a centnry ago. those u^riy, brave young men,Gen. Tipton, Chauncey Carter, Major Bell, Colonel Dutch, Rev. M. BL Posi, Job B. Eldride, David Patrick, and their devoted, loving young wives, together with a few others, :ut behind them the comforts and pleas ures of their homes, and pushed out into i he then unbroken wilderness to make for themselves and their posterity comfortable homes, prosperity and wealth. They, witn bouyant spirits, braved the hardships and dangers incident to a frontier life. They were possessed of that noble industry so necessary for clearing away the ciant forests and planting civilization in eir new homes. They brought with th3 a the hardy muscle and the stronguiin, which caused the impenetrable forests to disaopear befoie their sturdy stroke and converted the wilderness into a blooming garden of happeness and beauty. But more than all, they brought wiUi them that spirit of Christian charity, which has causea our whole country and city to be thickly dotted over with church* us and school houses,the kindred influence of which is seen in the intelligence and morality of our county and city. Among their first acts was the organization of churches of the various denominations to which they respectively belonged, and the “Eel River Seminary Society” organized for the purpose of fostering education, was one of the first institutions they established. Most of those good old fathers and mothers have passed away from among us. As we meet from year to year we see their vacant places, we miss their joyous greeting. Aias! tneii once sturdy forms which so long withstood the storms of time have succumbed, and all that now remains are their *‘fooi prints upon the sands of time” to guide those who are left behind, as they struggle onward and upward, God bless the fragrant memories of those who have •zone and may, He, too, bless the lives of rhlt;»se who yet remain. It should be the iKver ceasing effort of those of us who comprise the younger generation to strive to add oihe peace and happiness of those we still retain among us, and to emulate tUe good example of them all. The char r.ciei of the early settlers of every locality stamps its impress upon the people forever. Not only is this so in nations, but it is equally true in counties and , 'owns. Why does one locality of inferior j advantages surpass another of superior^ The answer is plain. Because of the en trgv and thrift of its founders; and Therefore we have the founders of our ciiy and county to thank for our prcs-I’cnty. 1 would not claim the credit ol the Ciirly settlement of this county for tlit: mtn alone. F;tr from it. I wish to L-ive the proper praise to those noble women, wLo with stout hear s and ready hands endured the hardships, trials am. privations with unflinching courage. Let us turn to the past and bless those noble women whose hands did so much, and whose hearts hoped so much.It was not love of gain or a betterment of their condition alone which animated the early settlers. No one would think of leaving a pleasant home as they did, to better tneir condition among the wolves and Indians. Ho, no. If the settlement of this county had depended upon the spirit of moneymaking, there would have iemained an unbroken wilderness when vou now see so much prosperity and beauty. It was the spirit of: “Westward the course of empire takes its way,” wbich animated those men and women.Half a century has rolled away since civilization began to claim this county for her home. A short time for these good ol j fathers and mothers to look back upon, but a long time when their minds and hearts were actuated b£ the thoughts and motives of youth, and the future lav spread out before them painted with all the rosy tints of ambition and hope. Many ’ have been the disappointments, but no prophet, no matter how great his skill could have foretold our present. If such an one had been endowed by Providence with power to penetrate the future, and had lold that the day would come when theold mud wagon would be displaced by the lo-l oomotive and cars, which would come thundering into Logansport bearing passengers and the traffic of the country at the rate of thirty, forty or fltty miles an hour, he would have been set down as an insane dreamer. Then it required days of hard toil to travel even to the capital of our State; weeks to visit the then dis tant city of Cincinnati; and so far away, were New York, Philadelphia and Wasn-ington, that few persons could be found who had courage to attempt the long and tedious journey necessary to reach them. It required weeks and months to corntnu-mcuie with friends only a few hundred miles away. The merchant of those times was weeks and weeks in waiting for his new stock of goods. The newspapers published as news that which had occurred weeks before. But at last we were brought into regular communication with our neighbors by means of the canal It was a great event *hen it was opened for travel, and every citizen of the county took pride in the completion of so great a thoroughfare, little thinking it, too, would soon loose favor, be abandoned, and become, instead of one ®f the highways of commerce, a miserable little ditch, filled with mud and water, and only noted for its sickening miasma, which arises from it to pray upon those who are so unfortunate as to five near it. But alas! all these fhmejshave passed away. We now are the center of a railroad communication scarcely surpassed by any other locality in our State. The morning newspaper meets us each day at our breakfast table, and tells the principal events which have occurred in the remotest corner of the globe but a few hours before. We meet triends who, within a few hours, have been carried upon the winds from the m st distant part of our land. The inventive genius of man has compelled the tearful lighting to carry his message around the world in the twinkling of an eye, and not content with sending it over iue continent, the verv ocean, Tike the waters of the Red sea iu olden time, has been compelled to part to let the message pass through. And the power of steam tias not only brought us into quick communication with the rest of the worlo, but has largely relieved labor of its drudgery, and instead of muscle, human intelligence is only required to uirect the machinery.What a glorious country to look upon must have been this Wabash valley in a tate of nature! such magnificent forests and fertile soil were scarcely ever seen before, but how discouraging when it was contemplated how much labor mustr1IttItcf
Newspaper Details
Logansport Weekly Journal
Logansport, Indiana, US
Sat, Aug 24, 1878
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Roberta H.
USA 27 Jan 2020
Other Publications Near Logansport, Indiana
Logansport Daily Reporter
Logansport Weekly Star
Logansport Daily Star
Logansport Democratic Pharos
Logansport Morning Journal
