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QUARTER OENTENFIAL CELEBRATION , 
 
 Off THE BKTTLKMENT 0» 
 
 KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN, 
 
 7UBLISHBD Bt' ORDSB Of THX 
 
 1:30^RI> OF DIREOTOR8 
 
 OS T H « 
 
 ITiiliiea' 'Ciirarq IsHnnntian, 
 
 •SAZEITE PRINT, KALAMAZOO. 
 
 1855. 
 

 O.Tf.. 
 
 24 0'flD 
 
CIROULj^B 
 
 It ia in contemplation, by the Ladies of Kal-r^mazoo, to celebrate tha terraina- 
 iion of tlie fi-rst quarter of a ckntury, sinco the settlement of that Viiiago 
 by white Inhabitants, and in reference to such an event, thoy are anxicus to colldcc 
 as much authentic information as possible, relative to its early existence. 
 
 To you, as one of the pioneer residents, whose memory must supply many 
 interesting and important facts, the Committee appointed for that purpose, res- 
 pectfully suggest the following important points of interest, regarding which 
 they would feel obliged by any information in your power, accompanied by as 
 precise dates as possible. 
 
 The Indian tribes inhabiting this region, and their intercourse with the whit* 
 •ettlors. The political and civil organization of the County and Village. Th« 
 errly liistory of the difTerent churches and schools, with the dates of their or- 
 ganization ; and all such personal and local recollections as may occur to your 
 mind, as suitable for such a purpose. The committee will feel grateful for «n 
 early answer to their application, embodying such information and remiui«c«nc«ii 
 ia a written form, and addressed to any oii© of their number. 
 
 Mrs. a. S. KEDZIE. 
 •• J. A. B. STONE, 
 *• D. B. WEBSTEH. 
 •* A. RANSOM, 
 
 Kalaiuzoo, March 2, 1853. ** £L TEAVSIL 
 
IMTlBODUCTIOIf. 
 
 The foregoing circular was forwarded to many of the early settlers of Kala-= 
 mazoo, but unfortunately, was responded to in writing, by very few. It had, 
 however, the good effect to notifv a large number of friends, who encouraged 
 and aided by their presence, in carrying out the objects of the Association. From 
 the commencement of its organization, it has been the intention of the " IjAdies' 
 Library Association," to preserve all the historical rtcords thatcan be obtained* 
 of the early condition of this village and county. They have therefore endeav- 
 ored to obtain, from persons now living, such information as they might be able 
 to communicate. The few answers they have received to their solicitations, 
 will be found m another part of this volume. To those gentlemen who have so 
 kindly favored us with their reminiscences, the thanks of the Association are 
 cordially tendered. But these thanks, heartfelt and ardent as they certainly are, 
 cannot compare with those, that will arise from the bosoms of our children's 
 children, when in after years they tell the unbroken story of the progress of this 
 beautiful village, from the hands of its savage occupants to its present enviabio 
 position. It is not common for a community or society to celebrate so short an 
 existence ae the fourth of a eentur)'. Generally, a century is allowed to pat^s, 
 before an attempt is made to gather its historical fragments, and then they are 
 gone, whose fearless hearts, and hands of power, had made the forest bow, and 
 planted civilization in the place of savaga rule- But in this case, we have m 
 our midst the very men who figured in the infancy of the village ; and when 
 another quarter of a century shall come round, they may be found, still active, 
 and vigorous. God grant they may then be ablo to testify to the events, it is 
 notf our pleasure to ehronicle* 
 
:k:a.la.m\a.zoo 
 
 Kalamazoo is the County-seat of Kalamazoo Countv, situ.v 
 
 u nP°u ^^® ^^^'^^ ^^ ^^^ *^"^^ "^"^^' ^"^ "earlv midway oa 
 
 the Michigan Central Railroad, between Chicago and Detroit. 
 
 It IS surrounded by a rich, well watered, and fertile country ; 
 
 bv numerous small prairies, and by quiet, romantic lakes. 
 
 Ihe village ]s regularly laid out, adorned with elegant and 
 
 substantial buildings, for business, with comfortable and taste- 
 
 p ^ n 1^"^^^' ^"^ beautified by trees and shrubbery. " The 
 
 Bur Oak plain," upon which it is situated, is the spot selected 
 
 by Cooper m his "Oak Openings,"^ for the introduction of 
 
 his "Uee Plunter," who is an actual character, though now. 
 
 untortunately for us, residing in a neighboring^ State. The 
 
 beautiful native trees, which areusually the hrst object of 
 
 attack to the pioneer, are hsve all )wei to stand in their 
 
 primitive grace ; and add more than all other objects, to the 
 
 ovelmess of the village. The prevalence of the forest trees 
 
 has given the place the title of " Bur Oak City." though it has 
 
 only a village charter. The trees, of stately growth, and 
 
 relreshing shade, give it the appearance of greater age than 
 
 belongs to it ; for it is little more than 25 years since the first 
 
 civilized settlements were made here; and now, we have 
 
 among us, men in the prime of life, who well remember the 
 
 war-whoop of the savage, and the wild howl of the wolf, as 
 
 he made his nightly rounds of plunder and death. 
 
 Without any invidious comparisons, it may perhaps be safely 
 attirmed, that Kalamazoo is the most picturesque of all the 
 p easant villages of Michigan. It has the air of a New En- 
 gland town, except that the animation of iis bustling population 
 would soon convince a stranger that he was far away from 
 the quiet of his earlier home. Possessing an extensive trade 
 with the country north, west, and south, for the last vear or 
 two It has sliipped more wheat than any other place on the 
 Railroad. ^ 
 
 Unhke many of our western vilbges, its population is more 
 American than foreign ; and is variously estimated from 5000 
 to 7000 inhabitants. They are distinguished for their enter- 
 prise public spirit, inteJligence, and pride of their chosen 
 dwelling place. 
 
©|e "J-^lm filjrarg |lss0chtion 
 
 Was organized in the year 1852, by several ladies of th© 
 viiiage. Their object was, not only personal improvement, 
 but aiso to cultivate, in the community generally, and espec- 
 ially in the rising generation, a taste, for such books as are 
 real!}' u-seful To accomplish these results, they collected a 
 1/ibr.iry, and obtaijied a charter. The Association is managed 
 by a bourd of twelve officers annually chosen, and since its com- 
 mencement has been steadily gaining upon the confidence of 
 tlie public; while the Library, yet in its infancy, has become 
 an object of interest, and a source of i?ood to all who have 
 availed themselves of its advantages. Early in (he history of 
 the Association, it was proposed to celebrate the compietioji of 
 the first quarter of a century, since the •' Bur Oak plain " was 
 surrendered by the savages, to the children of civilization. 
 The subject was under consideration for some time, and it was 
 finally (Jecided to attempt such a celebration. It was ascer- 
 tained that the 21st day of June, 1854, marked the period of 
 twenty-five years since sucb settlement was made. That day 
 was therefore decided upon, and arrangements were made to 
 celebrate the event in a becoming manner. Notice waa 
 circulated, by means of newspapers, and hand-bills, and the 
 interest of the community generally enlisted. 
 
 E. Lakin Brown, Esq., from a neighboring town, and Col. 
 CuRTENius, from our own vicinity, were appointed to act, as 
 poet and orator. They freely responded to the wishes of the 
 Ladies, and their interesting prodp.ctions will be found in 
 another part of this volume, . At this stage of events, the 
 assistance of the gentlemen was solicited, and promptly ren- 
 dered ; and all the preliminary arrangements were judiciously 
 made. A bountiful dinner providing for three hundred persous, 
 was prepared by the Association, assisted by the Ladies of 
 the village. The Firemen's Hall was selected as the place 
 for the dinner, and was tastefully decorated with paiotio^* 
 jind 6owerB. 
 
The ftiorniDg of the fist was dnrk and cloudj^^ving cti- 
 ^ence of an unpleasant day, and the threatening look* of 
 the heavens appeared to indicate that the pleasantness of the 
 celebration would be seriously diminished by winds iand storm, 
 but like liie progress of our city, as time advanced, the clouds 
 broke away, and by 11 o'clock in tlie morning, the sun shone 
 forth in all its briliancy upon a refreshing scene, giving hopes 
 of the most hnpny re^uit. The rains of the nmrning liad 
 cooled and puriiied the air, and all was animation beneaih the 
 oaken shade. 
 
 At about half-past ten o'clock, our citizens assembled at tho 
 Court House lor the purpose of participating m the exercises 
 of our first "quarter century" celebration, and in a few 
 motnents the house was filled to oversowing. Among the 
 audience present, we witnessed many of the old pioneeis of 
 the village, who were all interest and attention during tlse 
 exercises. There were many strangers also present. V/e 
 were particularly pleased to see so many of the youth of this 
 village, the attention they exhibited, and the order and decorum 
 with w'hich they behaved. 
 
 The exercises were commonced by a few opening, and 
 appropriate remarks, by the Prt sMontof the dav.Ex-GovERoa 
 Ransom, after which the foilcvving order of exercises w'as 
 observed. 
 
 1. Music by the Kalamazoo band. 
 
 2. Hymn read by Prof Graves^ and sung by the congre- 
 gation. 
 
 3. Prayer by Rev. Mr. TIoyt. 
 
 4. Singing by the Glee Club. 
 
 5. Address by F. W. Curtenius. 
 G. Singing by the Glee Club. 
 
 7. Poem, by Mr. E. L. Brown, of Schoolcraft. 
 
 Tlie address of Ccl. Curtenius was listened to with deep 
 interest and attention, not only as a Hnishcd literary production, 
 but as a review of tlie past, and a well drawn ideal of the 
 future. It created a favorable and lasting impression upon his 
 auditors. The poem of E. Lakin Brown fully met the high 
 wrongfit expectations of his friends. Its classic beauty and 
 high t ;ne render it worthy of a place in the front rank of the 
 poetical literature of the age. 
 
 After the exercises at the Court House, the assembly pro- 
 ceeded to the Firemen's Hall where an excellent dinner had 
 been prepared (by the Ladiei' Library Association,) and those 
 
present, following the advice of the President, -'felltoandf 
 spared not." After dinner the following volunteer and regulai 
 toasts were given : 
 
 Hegiilai- Toasts 
 
 1st. The Quarter Certliry Celebration, of (he settlement 
 of Kalamazoo by white mhabitants — its value can only be 
 appreciated by those who come after us. Responded to by 
 Joseph Miller, Jr. 
 
 2nd. The Church and School house — in new, as in old 
 countries, indispensable and inseparable. Responded to by 
 Prof. Stone. 
 
 3d. Kalamazoo and its like — necessary lessons in the 
 World's education. Responded to by Rev. A. S. Kedzie. 
 
 4th. The Ladies* Library Association — like some of its 
 lamented founders, already immortal. Responded to by W. 
 C. Dennison. 
 
 5th. The Bur' Oak City— a sure prophecy. Responded 
 to bv N. A. Ealch. 
 
 6th. The Kalamazoo Theological Seminary — ** a city that 
 is set on a hill cannot be hid." Responded to by Prof. Graves. 
 
 7th. Our Firemen — helpers in fiery trials — the real cold \ 
 
 water men of the age. Responded to by W. C. Ransom. 
 
 8th. The Kalamazoo Farmers — reaping as they have sowed c 
 Responded to by Joseph Miller, of Richland. 
 
 9th. The Press — Reformation by information. Responded 
 to bv J. W. Breese. 
 
 10th. The Early Settlers— " workmen that need not be 
 ashamed." Responded to by Gov. Ransom. 
 
 11th. Our public improvements — elements of a higher civ- 
 lization. Responded to by Rev. Mr. Hoyt. 
 
 12lh. The day we celebrate — the 25th anniversary of th® 
 settlement of Kalamazoo — it presents a broad and happy 
 contrast to the " land-office times " of 'S5 and '36, RespojJ- 
 ded to by T. S. AtLee. 
 
By E. H. Huntington. The decoration of the Firemen* 
 Hall, for the present occasion — but another expression of the 
 refined taste and excellent sense of the ladies of Kalamazoo. 
 
 By iVir. AtLee. The iMremen of Kalamazoo — in adversity 
 ©ur best friends, in prosperity our honor and boast. 
 
 The Glee Club and Kalamazoo band — their notes are good, 
 and will always pass current in our midst. 
 
 By S. S. Cobb. The Ladies' Library Association of Kala- 
 mazoo — " brought up " on ice cream, it shovvs by its condition 
 that it has had wholesome food; 
 
 The Village of Kalamazoo — ^yet in its infancy, who can say 
 Shat it is not a " prettv smart child for one of its age." 
 
 By li. S. Babcock." The 2ist day of June, 1854— may this 
 be a day long remembered by us all ; and may the next quar- 
 ter century show a great increase in wealth, population, 
 refinement, and all that constitutes a desirable acquisition to 
 our glorious village of Kalamazoo. 
 
 By S. S. Cobb. E. L. Brown, Esq., fro.m whose lips we 
 have listened to the beautiful poem delivered this day ; may 
 he live to favor us in like manner, on a similar occasion, a 
 quarter of a century hence. 
 
 By Mr. Frank Alley. The day we celebrate — the 21st of 
 June, the longest day in the year. May the events of the 
 day live longest in the memory of this association. 
 
 The pioneer Mothers of Kalamazoo — if present, they might 
 exclaim with the Roman mother, " these are my jewels." 
 
 By N. A. Balch. The mothers of the East — may they ever 
 be as well represented in the West, as by their fair daughters 
 on this occasion. 
 
 The pioneer women of Kalamazoo— the wilderness and the 
 solitary place are glad for them, and children's children will 
 rise up and call them blessed. 
 
 By O. Starr. The Ladies of Kalamazoo — a rare combi- 
 nation of bright flowers; gn embodiment of truth, love, and 
 virtue. We exult in their Jirmness ; applaud their goodness, 
 weep over their faults, and love, cherish, and protect thera 
 always. 
 
 By Doct. Ilendee, Dentist, &c. The Ladies of Kalamazoo 
 ---none present doubt their ability to get up the best filling for 
 teeth. 
 
 By Rev. Mr. Ke !zic. Col. Curtenius, the farmer, the citt- 
 •zen, and the orator. 
 2* 
 
Yoltisatecr Toasts 
 
 By Mr. AtLee. Silas Lovell Esq., of Ionia, Mich., our 
 respected invited guest ; our first Justice of tiiC Peace, and 
 the pioneer who erected tiie first frame for a dwelling house 
 in Kalamazoo. We cordially welconie him in our midst. 
 Responded to by Mr. Lovell. 
 
 By James P. Clapham. The memory of the late Gen. 
 Burdick, one of the original pioneers and founders of Kala- 
 mazoo, to him w^e are indebted for its prosperity, and fur the 
 preservation of our beautiful burr oaks. 
 
 By Judge Webster. The memory of Titus Bronsou, one 
 of our earliest pioneers, and the first proprietor of a part of 
 the plat of Kalamazoo. 
 
 By Rev. C. C. Taylor. The mem.ory of the Rev. George 
 Wrshington Cofe — honored, sacred, blessed. 
 
 i^y George A. Filch. The Press and Cofiimon Schools — 
 twin spirits of progress and reform. 
 
 By Prof. Stone. Judse Harrison, Cooper's Bee hunter, tha 
 greatest bee hunter of the age, and ihi', the greatest swarm 
 lie ever discovered. 
 
 By E. Lakin Brown, of Schoolcraft: The Ladies' Library 
 Association of Kalamazoo— 
 
 Siill, still pet-kirj£r knowleilgo, true daiiglitcts of Eve ; 
 They eat of tire fruit withoiU notice to leave : 
 Nay, so far from bidding rlieir Eden adieu, 
 ''J'is this that makes Eden of Kalamiizoo ! 
 
 By N. A. Balch. The Ladies of Kalamazoo — Literaturs 
 and Science boast their patronage ; genius and beauty grov7 
 resplendent by their taste ; religion and morality own them 
 as champions; the nch rejoice in their smiles, and the poor 
 are made glad by their pi-ese^ice. 
 
 By Mr. DeYoe. Ke Kalamazoo — the boilinsf pot, fnay its 
 aboriginal name be held ever sacred, and may tiie wholesome 
 fires of public improvement, enterprji^e, irileJligence and phi- 
 lanthropy never go cut in cur midst. 
 
 By H. S. (^obb. JNairie llonde, the Garden of tlio We^t. 
 
 By J. ('. flays. The l^adies of Kalamazoo — their beau5v 
 surpasses even tiiat of their beautiful village, and tlieir perse- 
 veiance equals the indouutable spirit o'f trie early pioneers. 
 
11 
 
 By Prof. Graves. The 21st day of June — it requires iUs 
 longest (lay in the year to do justice to this occasion. 
 
 By L. H. Tiask. Kahimazoo, proverbial as fair and beau- 
 tiful in her youth — may her malurer years be brilliant with 
 •uch gems as virtue, morality and benevolence. 
 
 By J. R. Mansell. The quarter century anniversary of 
 the village of Kalamazoo — an agreeable exchange from the 
 hunting-ground and war-whoop of the child of nature, to th« 
 embellishments of civilization ; may temperance, humanity, 
 and virtue, guide its onward course, that its future may be a* 
 propitious as the past. 
 
 By W. C. Ransom. The surviving pioneers — may the 
 frosts of autumn touch them lightly ; the last of life the best. 
 
 Anon — Our worthy President and the oiiicers of the day : 
 may they all meet together under like happy circumstances, 
 before we say " farewell forever." 
 
 By W. C. Dennisoii. The arithmetic of the west— multt- 
 pHcation and addition — no subtraction or division. 
 
 By V. Plascail. The Ladies of the Kalamazoo Library 
 Association — engaged in the elevation of mind, may they 
 never encourage any other distinctions in society than those 
 which grow out of the right development of this god-like 
 attribute. 
 
 It was a day, long to be remembered in the annals of our 
 village, not only from its close alliance with our local affairs, 
 but from the perfect union and good fellowship which seemed 
 to pervade all. 
 
Address of Col, Curteiims.^ 
 
 Mr. President: — What means this gathering? Is it the 
 sabbath, and are we here to worship supremacy, as we are 
 wont to do on that sacred day? No ! in various ways I am 
 reminded that it is not the Sabbath. 
 
 Is it the anniversary of our Country's Independence, and 
 are we assembled for the purpose of welcoming its return ; 
 our bosoms overflowing with joy and gratitude ? No ! else 
 we had heard the pealing of bells, and the boom of artillery, the 
 usual heralds of such an occasion. 
 
 Surely, the foot of no foe is pressing our frontier, and we 
 are not convened for the purpose of maturing plans for mutual 
 defence ? So far from it, we are at peace with all the world. 
 Neither is it a gathering to express our indignation at some 
 glaring outrage on the part of the Government ; that's the 
 province of the politician, and wholly incongenial with present 
 purposes. Nor yet is it to celebrate some fancied victory at 
 the Ballot-bos, or some glorious achievement upon the tented 
 field. Now the occasion contemplates no such features as 
 these. Motives eharacterized by novelty on the one hand, 
 blendmg interest with pleasuie and utility on the other, contrib- 
 ute larg'ely to the excitement of the day. 
 
 While ihe embroidery, and the various domestic arrangments 
 of one portion of my audience are laid aside, and dismissed 
 from their minds for the time being, with another portion, the 
 plough has been left to stand idly in the furrow, — the plane 
 and the chisel to stand cosily together upon the bench, and 
 the hammer to repose quietly at the foot of the anvil, and we 
 are found assembled for the purpose of celebrating the tri- 
 umphs of PERSEVERANCE, of TASTE, aud of TOIL. A quartcr 
 of a century havmg been stricken from the roll of time, since 
 civilization first dawned upon the spot we now occupy, a spot 
 endeared to us by the name of home, it were well to pause a 
 little and contemplate our position. Memory, laden with th« 
 jems of the past, comes and lays them down beside the fruit 
 
IS 
 
 « 
 
 f the present, and provokes comparison. As the events of the 
 last twenty-five years roll in review before us, reflections 
 partaking of various hues are awakened. Prosperity and 
 adversity — ^joy and sorrow — success and defeat, each in turn 
 contributes to swell the train, and to arrest the attention. Not- 
 withstanding, inemory, faithful to her great commission, arrays 
 before the mind scenes, rich in pleasure, lich in whatever nn- 
 parts happiness and satisfaction to the heart : it is equally 
 faithfid to lead many to the grave, and there temper their joy 
 with their sorrow. It is through sunshine and showers -- 
 through tears and smiles that the past is always to be reviewed. 
 
 It is more particularly in consonance with our design to 
 linger upon the past and present of our village — to wander 
 back a quarter of a century, and to look in upon it, as it lay 
 sleeping in its cvadle, — to watch, (as many of us have done,) 
 its first feeble, tottering steps — to revive the emotions of 
 pleasure it afforded, as from time to time, it gave evidence of 
 a wholesome approach to maturity, and to speak, (as we do 
 to-day,) of its present, prosperous condition. How great is 
 the change whicii has come over " thij spirit of our early 
 dreams. 
 
 But a little while since, and Kalamazoo was known only as 
 the haunt of the Indian, — to-day, no spot in Michigan is a 
 centre of more attraction and beauty. We do not claim for 
 it the splendor of Rome, nor the gaiety of Paris, nor the com- 
 mercial prosperity of an overgrown metropolis, nor the 
 literature of a Cambridge, nor the wealth of a New En<Tland 
 village ; we lay claim to none of these. We speak of it as an 
 inland settlement, (still in its childhood.) possessing as much 
 native loveliness — claiming as much intelligence and refine- 
 ment — givmg evidence of as much taste, and having before it 
 as auspicious a future as any other village of its age in the 
 almost boundless west. 
 
 This is not uttered in a spirit of vam boasting : it is but the 
 expression of an honest conviction. Travelers, intelligent 
 and discerning, have again and again alluded to it as the New 
 Haven of the west. And what more glowing comparison 
 need we ask ? Others, cquallv intelligent, but more imagina- 
 tive, compare it to a gem, thickly studded with prairies. 
 
 Not more, however, for its beauty than its salubrity, is it 
 distinguished. For its teallhfulness none can speak more 
 (eelingly than th« Physician and the seiton. For its commer- 
 
H 
 
 cial thr ft Pearl street can responcl most flattcrinoflv. For 
 successfui professional skili, C<.)ngre.'^s, iIjc Bar, the Pulpit, and 
 Medical Societies, can reply in tones reelecting credit and 
 honor. 
 
 Bui let us retrace our steps and go back to its dawn ; view 
 it in the morning of its existence ; speak briefly of its origin 
 and its founder, and then we shat{ be better prepared to dwell 
 upon its present condition and to take a prophetic glance at 
 its piobabfe future. 
 
 In the month of June, 1899, a quarter of a centu»-y since, 
 :a traveler reached the banks of a river just as the sun was 
 painting the western sky. Travel stained and weary, ho 
 rgeated himself upon the trunk of a fallen oak. Dravvirig from 
 •either pocket a compass and a map, he commenced their study 
 with an earnestness and an assiduity, indicative of a heart 
 •enhsted in some important enterprize. While light contribu- 
 ted a ray his examination was diligently prosecuied. nor did 
 Jie desist untd twilight was merged in night. 
 
 Tall, sprre and sun-burnt, with a countenance denoting 
 intelliigcnce and determination, and the portraiture is com- 
 plete. So far, as one might rely upon external ap[)earances, 
 he had been wont to move in the medium sphere of life. 
 Neither poverty nor wealth seemed to be his. At his feet lay 
 a modest staff, which the forest, in his wanderings had gene- 
 rously contributed to his support ; and by its side, (as of lit- 
 tle vabie,) reposed an unassuming budget, containing at onco 
 his larder and his wardrobe. 
 
 Night throwing its shades around him, reminded him of the 
 necessary operation which the cravings of the inner man 
 solicited, and (>( those other little convenies ces which would 
 contribute to his repose. His safety, not his comfort requi- 
 ring it, he gathered together a few handsfnll of fuel, and by 
 the aid of steel and flint, a cheerful flame threw Us light upon 
 the water. These preparations consummated with no requium 
 but th<3 hootiiig of the owl or the occasional howhng of the 
 wolf; he threw himself upon the earth, and like a tired child 
 soon forgot his troubles and his trials, and buried them in sleep. 
 
 Forget did I say; not all, not everyiiiing ; he dreamed, he 
 dreamed of his home, of his family, of his friends. He 
 thought he was in their midst, and over and over again he 
 repeated the story of his wanderings; he told them of the 
 dense forests he had penetrated ; of the extended plains 
 
15 
 
 over which he had Ira' eled, wiih here and there a tree stand- 
 ing out in isolat(Hl grandeur, arrayed in a wealth of foliage, im- 
 parting to the scene the deceptive appearrince of civilized 
 hfe with none of its reality; he lingered in his tale, upon tho 
 beautiful Prairies over which he passed, sown as he said, brod- 
 cast wifii flowers ; he told of lakes and lakelets without num- 
 bers, presenting surfaces not nniike burnished steel ; and while 
 to the hunter, he spoke of deer and moose — he delighted thy 
 children with stories of skipping fawns and birds of varied 
 plumage. 
 
 That n'ght like all other nights ended, and the sun of anoth- 
 er dav dissipated at once the dew and the dream. The land 
 whjch fancy had created retired before the lund which, owed 
 its creation to a higher power. 
 
 In the stream which looed the banks upop which he had 
 slept, his mornins: ablution was performed. This done, and 
 a hastv meal bearing an a})pai!ing resemblance to many a 
 previous one, f)rtified him for another day's exploiis. With 
 staif and budget thrown across liis shoulders he entered the 
 stream, and in due time gained the opposite bank. While to 
 some, the passage of a river, or the threading of a forest 
 presents a formiflable obstacle, to the pioneer and the aspirant 
 for adventure they are triflef;, — 
 
 '• Trifles light, as air." 
 
 The stream f/rdcd, his dii^ordered dress arranged, and (^n 
 he went. Ever and anon he would pause and gaze and ad- 
 mire. The day and the scone were such as would have woed 
 the pencil. 
 
 The Burr-oaks, (just as they arc to-day,) were out in full 
 fohage and as he oc^casionally stopped and distuii)ed the soil 
 with his foot or his sJaff. the exclamation would involuntary 
 escape him, — "surely nature has been lavish here." 
 
 Less than a mile of his journey had been accomplished 
 when a mound stood directly in his pathway. Whether plan- 
 led there by the hand of nat'.-ire, or whether art had assigned 
 it was a problem which he was unable to solve. Without 
 any decision, he again and again made its circuit. He then 
 ascerjded to its summit, and as he gazed upon the surrounding 
 •scene, his eye fell upon the garden beds of a tribe long since 
 passed away, even beyond the bounds of tradition. I'hea 
 h^ knew diat man was its author. 
 
 And there upon that mound, not unlike a bronzed statute. 
 
16 
 
 his Arms crossing liis bosom, methinksl can even now behold 
 him standing. » Backwards, forwards, with his eye he swept the 
 landscape, all the while his countenance lighted up with a 
 smile, as if some p'easing panorama was moving before him. 
 Then he would change his position for the purpose of catch- 
 ing a newer vision, in the meanwhile the same smile of com- 
 placency triumphing. 
 
 Northward, away in the distance, which he could indis- 
 tinctly discern through the intervening foliage was spread 
 out one of natures giant meadows, inviting the scythe and 
 telling of grazing herds. To the east he knew that a slug- 
 gish stream meandered, for he had pleasantly dreamed upon 
 its banks the night before. Then he turned to the south, and 
 before him was mapped a luxuriant plain, which his judg- 
 ment lold was equally adapted to the plat or the ploughshare; 
 while to the west, a beautiful amphitheatre of hills of variou« 
 heigius shut out a view of scenery beyond. 
 
 In imagination, upon those hills he saw countless flocks 
 feeding, and here and there, a villa, half concealed in shrub- 
 bery. All this, he saw m fancy, and was satisfied. ** Here 
 then," he exclaimed "is my journey's end.'"' " This is the 
 Canaan, of which long I've dreamed." For hours, solitary 
 and alone, he surveyed his little world, more and more en- 
 chanted with the scene. His whole mind was absorbed in 
 prospective plans. Virions of well-filled coflers — of untold 
 tlocks and herds — and of groaning graineries constantly 
 floated before him, and more tliaii once he thought the rust- 
 Ting of the leaves spoke of fame and prowess. 
 
 Every nook and corner of territory was closely scanned, 
 with a view to the selection of a site for his future domicile. 
 
 The selection of a desirable spot, combining all those ad- 
 vantages, of which the pioneer is so chary, brought his la- 
 bors to a termination. 
 
 In process of time an unassuming cabin graced the selected 
 isite, and in it, the wanderer and his family, with no evidence* 
 of civilization around him, were securely inducted. All this 
 way seem to wear the livery of fiction, and yet, like a irutli- 
 fid historian, 1 have scrupulously endeavored to chronicle 
 facts. Let the sequel furnish the test of fidelity to truth. 
 
 The stream, upon which the weary wanderer i^lept in the 
 summer of ]829. was the Kalamazoo. It glides there siilL 
 T:iie Burr-oak plain, upon which he entered after fording \\w. 
 
ir 
 
 river, is the sight of our beautiful village ; the mound upo| 
 which he stood as he gazed on the surrounding scene and 
 made the decision that it should be his home, still stands in 
 yonder park, a monument, not only for a race lost to history 
 or even tradition, but of the good taste of those v^^ho having 
 the power, yet refused to exercise that power m its destruction. 
 The luxuiiant meadow, which, through the foliage he could 
 but indistinctly discern, is spread out there still, furnishing 
 ample employment for the scythe, and abundance of food for 
 the ox. 
 
 The foundation of an asylum, which will one day reflect 
 credit upon the place — the embryo college — the cemetery 
 and various mansions are beginning to crown the western emi- 
 nences m perfect accordance with the predictions of the far- 
 •ecing pioneer. 
 
 The humble cabin, to which we referred, has ceased to ex- 
 ist to the eye. but to the memory of your speaker and to 
 many of his hearers, it is as fresh as when it presented its 
 unassuming proportions. 
 
 In 1835 it was the residence of one who subsequently be- 
 came the Chief Justice and the Chief Magist'^ale of Michigan. 
 The builder and primary occupant of that cabin — the pio- 
 neer of this village, and the travel-stained and weary adven- 
 turer who slept upon the banks of the Kalamazoo a quarter 
 of a century since, are one and the same — (to- wit:) Titus Bron- 
 •on. It may not be known to all my audience, that for sever- 
 al years this village was known as the village of Bronson, and 
 as such always appeared upon the original maps of the ►State. 
 It may not be devoid of interest, perhaps, to pause a mo- 
 ment and enquire who is Titus Bronson. When we said 
 that he was tall and spare and sun burnt, with a countenance 
 bespeaking intellect and determinaljon. we described the man 
 as he appeared to us. His mind was a store-house of histori- 
 cal facts, strangely mingled with chimeras. The world was 
 not created exactly in accordance with his ideas of propriety 
 and perfection ; nor was society formed precisely upon the 
 right baois. His study seemed to be, to devise plans for rec- 
 tilying both. Few men possessed a memo»y so tenacious of 
 whatever came within its grasp. Reading was to him a 
 ■ource of infinite pleasure, and whatever he read, was treai 
 ured up, apparently without an effort, and could be referred, 
 to years afterwards with reliability. 
 3* 
 
18 
 
 Often when we have encountered him, whether by the 
 way-side, or in the field, or the forest, we have lingered for 
 hours and learned of him. Whenever our conversation took 
 that direction, he would travel back for centuries, and with an 
 accuracy that was truly astonishing, he would run over the 
 history of Rome, and Greece, and Carthage, from the day 
 rhey were founded to the day they crumbled. With these 
 subjects we supposed that we were somewhat familiar, yet 
 we acknowledge we could learn of him. Eccentricity, 
 coupled with an abrupt and unfortunate freedom of speech, 
 reckless of his audience, begat in the minds of many a bitter 
 dislike for him. By nature, a species of cosmopolite, no spot 
 on earth havmg a strong iiold upon him ; soon tired with fa- 
 njiliar objects, easily mortified by any appearances of neglect » 
 tfiese added to an insatiable desire to identify his name with 
 some giant achievement, were sufficient inducements for him 
 to part with his interest in our village plat, and with tlie pro- 
 ceeds, (unregretted save by a few ) he took once more the 
 direction of the setting sun. 
 
 Rumor, smce his departure, h;i3 sptiken of him at distant 
 periods, and even then, but faintly. Five years since, and it 
 was whispered that he was houseless, wifeless, penniless, 
 spiritless; — Still later, (some two yeais ago,) and worn out 
 in his endeavors to achieve some great exploit, broken-hearted , 
 he emigrated to a land '' where the wicked cease from 
 troubling, and the weary are at rest." 
 
 We introduced him to you sleeping upon the banks of the 
 Kalamazoo, we leave bim sleeping (" that sleep which knows 
 no waking") upon the banks of the Mississippi, furnishing 
 additional evidence that the path of fame and weahh, like the 
 path of glory leads but to the grave. 
 
 Such are some of the incidents connected with the early 
 settlement of our embryo city. Identified with its infancy, 
 are names perhaps more fauiiliarto my audience. Conspicu- 
 ous among them,' are those of Cyrus Lovell, Major Edwards, 
 Judge Ransom, Samuel II. Ransom, Genl. Burdick.. Judge 
 Burdick, Doctors Porter, Abbott and Starkweather, Isaa-j 
 Vickery. Silas Trowbridge, 'I heodore P. Sheldon, John i*. 
 Marsh.^Amariah T. Prout^% Luther H. Trask, Rollin Woo. I, 
 and though last, by no means least, Col. Thomas C. Sheldon, 
 who wiihin the last ten days has taken his depaiture tor 
 '• that bourne from wiience r^o traveller returns." 
 
19 
 
 With sach an array of the elements of success ; with so 
 anuch intelligence, perseverance, industry and pride of char- 
 acter, it IS by no means surprising that a foundation so tirnri 
 and permanent \vas laid, and that such a wealth of prosperity 
 has resulted from their etforts. Succeeding these but a few 
 years, came a class, whose displays of taste (ornamental, ar- 
 chitectural and horticultural) have won for us the celebrity 
 of a "model village." 
 
 Though sufficiently vigorous and marked in its incipicncy, 
 yet its growth, in comparison with the forced growth of other 
 villages in Michigan might be considered slow and unwar- 
 rantable. While others, under hot-bed appliances, leaped, 
 (as It were ) into maturity ours was characterized by a sure 
 and steady advancement. What, I would ask, is the com- 
 parative position to-day ? Where is the village in the west 
 that occupies a prouder place, or can boast of a more glo- 
 rious and splendid prospective? Set memory at won^ : 
 search anywhere and everywhere, within a circle hav?^ n 
 diameter of two hundred miles, and then name the spot. 
 
 Where will you find one v»rhose educational wants arc butici 
 t>upplied, — whether common school — academic or theological ? 
 
 Though there is ample room yet for improvement, where is 
 there one, outside of New England, where morals take a 
 wider range? Who has ever known her to disgrace herself 
 with a mob or a murder ? Where will you find one whose 
 sky is pierced by more spires — whose courts are more nu- 
 merously pressed, whose pulpits are more ably filled — or the 
 Gospel proclaimed with a less uncertam sound ! where, I re- 
 peat it, where ? Show me one, whose merchants are charac- 
 terized by more mlegrity ; whose Ledgers are more honestly 
 posted, or whose prospects of one day becoming princes and 
 closing their career on these western heights, amid splendor 
 and honor and usefulness, are fairer f 
 
 Whose mechanics rival ours — whether it be in mtelligence 
 or skill or taste ? 
 
 In what village do physicians find less pntients, or lawyers 
 less clients ? Disease and htigatton find no fostermg spirits 
 here. Tell me — where do appeals to sympathy or benevo- 
 lence meet with a readier response? Where is hospitality 
 more a bye-word, or patriotism and public spirit more thor- 
 oughly ditfused ? Where are village newspapers better sus- 
 Uined or more ably conducted ? 
 
Where will you find a more convenient, or a better arranged 
 Post Office? — where more mailable matter, in proportion to 
 its population, whether ir be newspapers or correspondence t 
 Where are better house-wives — and a prospect of plenty 
 more, just budding into womanhood ? where is a taste for lit- 
 erature more extensively cultivated, than among the ladies of 
 Kalamazoo? It would consume too much time to follow up 
 these comparisons and contrasts. What will be the termina- 
 tion of all this proficiency and success ? Will it be the mean* 
 of inducing a relaxation of efforts, or will success already 
 reached, cause us to pant after still further success? But to 
 continue for a moment longer this train of thought. Where 
 have candidates for the Presidency talked longer or louder 
 than among our groves — or the people shouted longer or 
 louder in reply ? 
 
 As additional and still further evidence of our value and 
 our importance, into what village (in the Union) has Execu- 
 tive patronage flowed so profusely ? and where has jealousy 
 been excited in consequence of it, to such an extent? 
 
 What village is at the same time, heard in the Senate and 
 House of Representatives of the Union ? What village en- 
 rolls among its Bankers more ex-governors and ex-judges? — 
 What comniunity can boast of millers who take less toll or 
 turn out choicer brands ? To all these enquiries comes back 
 the echo *• v^here." We might ask what village is environed 
 by such fertility, or such an approved system of husbandry. 
 Where is there such evidence of versatility and at the sair»« 
 time of success ? To-day a merchant, to-morrow a farmer, — 
 lo-day a farmer, to-morrow a merchant, — one day a mechan- 
 ic, the next a grocer, — to day behind the plow, to-morrow be- 
 hind the counter. There seems to be but a step between the 
 furrow and the forum; between the plow and the platform. 
 It would seem as though circumstances throwing us upon our 
 own resources have made us a " peculiar people." These 
 coaipansons in which I have indulged are not purely imagi- 
 native, so far from it, they will be found, when closely scan- 
 ned, to be life-like and characteristic. 
 
 To the sensitive and the unassuming, the picture may bt 
 thought too highly tinted — still facts have been aimed at, 
 leaving to the future historian, the province of correcting or 
 eadorsing. 
 
 Upda an occasion like this (a quarter century festival) u 
 
21 
 
 becomes us as far as possiblo to view tiie scene, with the sun 
 falling brightly upon it, and not with a surcharged cloud hang- 
 ing just above. It were a more grateful task U) put to your 
 lips the sunny side of the peach. 
 
 I might take you to the church yard and enter into a mathe- 
 matical calculation with regard to the cost of all these achieve- 
 ments, over which we have been boasting. After all it would 
 teach us no lesson, buc our frailly, and might have a tendency 
 to throw a pall over the festivities of the day, 
 
 At best, the earth is but one grave-yard — at every step. 
 you tread upon the dead. Though you take no heed of it, kH 
 me caution you to step lightly, for your feet are continually 
 pressing a grave ; I repeat, step lightly. 
 
 And, since our thoughts have taken this direction, allow mt 
 to enquire, where is the village which can boast of a cemeltry 
 ■o romantic and lovely as yours ? where one so replete with 
 grandeur and beauty ? Wliy as you thread its avenues, (just 
 aa twilight is melting into night,) and gaze upon the quiet rest- 
 ing place of the dead, the grave is actually despoiled of itt 
 Tictory. and as your mirid reverts to the various •' ills to which 
 flesh is heir," and the thousand cares and perplexities of lift 
 worm themselves unbidden in your bosom, you can contem- 
 plate the monument with complacency, and only think of tho 
 ■leeper beneath, with emotions of ecslacy or envy. And now 
 while we are roaming about that "m untain home," perhaps 
 it would be right, nay, it is right, indeed, it would be wrong, 
 it would be cruel, not to go and stand beside a new mad« 
 grave. It's treasure, a mother and her children. And 
 though it was far, far away, that the spirit and the body of 
 that fond mother was divorced, yet in obedience to hcrdymg 
 wish, she is permitted to sweetly sleep almost within' the em- 
 l^race of her oflspri'.jg. 
 
 Beloved by you all, and prominent in your association, it r« 
 t« her influence and perseverance, as much as to any other, 
 that the festivities of this day had th"}ir inception. Her lil» 
 •ked out to this hour, and she would have been identified 
 with this vast throng. While to-day vve are assembled, full 
 of glee at the achievements of the oast, pluming ourselves 
 jpon the triumphs of architecture, witli which our village 
 abounds, mcihinks I can see her lookmg down upon us, her 
 countenance radiant with the deepest solicitude, and can al- 
 nioit catch the whisper as it steals from her parted lips " h* 
 
22 
 
 IJUILDS TOO LOW, WHO BUILDS BENEATH THE STARS *, " " HE 
 
 BUILDS TOO LOW, WHO BUILDS BENEATH THE STARS." 
 
 It is alQiost unnecessary to say, that it is to Mrs. Kedzie 
 that 1 alluiie. Most of you do know her well, and you who 
 know her best, will longest cherish her memory. Without an 
 enemy she lived, without an enemy she died, and for aught I 
 know, or c?n leara, without a sin. As an appropriate offering 
 to distinguished worth, the ladies of this Association, (of 
 which fhe whs eminently its founder without any narrow 
 reference to denominational distinction,) cannot better express 
 their admiration for her virtues, than by the erection of a 
 suitable inonument with a view to their perpetuation. When 
 done, let the chisel sink deep into the granite shaft, the senti- 
 ment "HE BUILDS TOO LOW, WHO BUILDS BENEATH THE 
 
 STARS." 
 
 Until such a memorial 'is consummated, metliinks virtue is 
 but half rewarded. 
 
 Man slays his thousands, scatters misery broadcast over 
 the land, (often in a cause of exceedingly doubtful merit') 
 and yet amid triumph and applause he is hurled into official 
 position ho elevated, tMat moral worth, and talent and patriot- 
 ism st'dgc*er under the idea of even essaying to reach it, or 
 perchance he falls upon the field, and to-morrow a foundation 
 broad and deep is laid in the earth, from which shoots up a 
 column to such a height that its summit plays with the clouds ; 
 thus perpetuating the hero's memory, and beguiling others to 
 like achie 'foments. Dangerous display of popular sentiment. 
 
 " iVot to the ensanguined field of death alone, 
 
 is valor limited ; she sits serene in the deliberate council, 
 
 Scan's each i^ource of action ; — weighs, prevents, provides, 
 
 And scorns to count her glories fronm the feats 
 
 Of brutal force alone.' 
 
 But to return to the subject proper ; what I would ask, is 
 the probable future of Kalamazoo. I make vo pietentions 
 to 'the gift of prescience, or at all events, the most unas- 
 suming, bat judgmg of the future by the past, and relying 
 much upon its favorable geographical position, I may safely 
 venture to predict more than ordinary results. As may be 
 seen by the various comparisons and contrasts which have 
 been instituted, it will at once occur to the hearer, that we 
 have in our midst, and around us, many of the elements 
 which enter into the growth, and contribute largely to the 
 prosperity of a ciiy. And who doubts, where is the mafe 
 
23- 
 
 who doubts that the village of Kalamazoo will ere long throw 
 off its primitive vestments, and merge into a city of beautiful 
 and desirable proportions '! How can we doubt, when as 
 our eye traverses this audience, ii now and then rests upon tlic 
 wife of a future Alderman, and e'en upon Aldermen them- 
 selves, who while we are speaking about a city charter, are 
 indulging in visions of c(>rporaiion feasts and turtle soup. 
 
 Indeed, we are to-day a city, so far as a Fire Deparlment 
 is concerned, in the full fruition of its privileges and immuni- 
 ties. When the next quarter of a century festivnl comei^ 
 around, a Mayor and Common Council will grace it with 
 their presence, and participating in its festiviti^.s, will be l» 
 perfect avalanche of muscle and mind. 
 
 Alcohol will then not only be banished from the city, by 
 law, but I very much fear t^^a and coffee will be deemed con- 
 traband by custom and by physiology. 
 
 And, to the delight of the assemblage on that occasion^ 
 a Glee Club, now in embryo, will sing the beautiful and 
 touching song — " Fakevvei-l to tea, to-day — tight boots 
 
 AND TOBACCO." 
 
 Many of us now in the prime of life, will tht-n either have 
 exchanged our home here, for one upon yonder mountain, or 
 will be seen leaning upon onr staffs, fighting our battles over 
 again, or rehearsing stories of privation and i^truggles, while 
 founding the village and the city. 
 
 As if is to-day, I trust the occasion will then be a joyous 
 one. There is nothing now to throw a gloom over the coun- 
 tenance ; it's the gem month of the year, and it would seem 
 as i{ the very birds and flowers had caught the spirit of the 
 da\% and were leagued together in filling the air with melody 
 and perfume. 
 
 A friend visited me a few days since. It was his fir«t ap- 
 pearance in Micnigan ; and like every sensible man who 
 looks in upon us in the month of June, he was delighted 
 Of Kalamazoo, rumor had often spoken, and he longed to 
 behold it. And when he had fairly seen it. he said it remind- 
 ed him of the story told by Virgil, of the simple spepherd 
 who visited Home for the first time. He had always lived in 
 a retired hamlet away in the interior of Italy. And when at 
 length he had reached the city and entered its gate and sur- 
 veyed for a time in muteness, its grandeur and its greatness^ 
 kie was perfectly astonished. 
 
24 
 
 "He expected " he said "to find it in proportion to his na- 
 tive vilia^re, as the ewe to the lamb, but the proportion was 
 19 the oak to the acorn." So in imagination, this friend of 
 mine, had painted our village, a little hamlet, with here and 
 there a white-washed cottage, a tavern and a blacksmith shop, 
 ■withal a suitable arena for the labors of a missionary. But 
 nfier he had leisurely paced its walks and had encountered 
 its blocks of noble buildings, and beheld others in the procesi 
 of erection, which bid fair to excel their predecessors; when 
 his eye fell now upon a mansion almost buried in foliage, and 
 then upon another half smothered with rotes, when church 
 after church rose up to condemn him, as it were, for his hasty 
 judgement, to make amends for his folly, he determined to em- 
 brace the first opportunitv of writing to his wife, that instead 
 of being somebody, his tour to the west had convinced him 
 that he was little better than the "simple Roman Shepherd." 
 
 All this has been accoinplisfied. Ladies, and yet we have 
 but just leaped out of the cradle, and are making, (with a fee- 
 ble toaennij step) some expeiiments in walkinof. Still there 
 is manhood before us ; time has much in reserve to encourage 
 and reward our industry and our enterprise. His busy fin- 
 gers are never idle — the f)iilse and the chronometer may 
 •top, but lime never — never did I say, yes ! time once tar- 
 ried. The -^un once stood still for hours, over the plains of 
 Gibeon, and the moon hunii: pale and motionless over the vale 
 of Ajalon. But we'll have no stopping of the sun or moon 
 here, our village marshal will attend to that. 
 
 What, after all, has contributed more than anything else, 
 to give celebrity to our village and to make such a favorable 
 impression upon the stranger mind? 
 
 Not so much its evidence of refinement, as the good taste 
 which has been exhibited in permitting the glorious oaks to 
 itand just where God, with his own right hand planted them. 
 How many exclamations of admiration have these trees elic- 
 ited, scattered as they are over the plain in lovely disorder? 
 
 How many fruitless attempts elsewhere, to equal, if not 
 excel us, by a resort to artificial means? The eflforts by 
 rival villages, are laudable and noble, and will have praise- 
 worthy results. Why, recently Mr. Bowen (of the distin- 
 guished firm of Bowen & McNamme of New York city) 
 donated to his native village, in one of the New England 
 States, the liberal sum of $600, to he expended in transplant- 
 
2S 
 
 jng shade treas.throughout its streets. This act alone betrays 
 the emotions of a good man's heart. Even while he lives, 
 ills monument is being erected, and as long as those trees 
 >liali stand, his memory will be as green as their foliage.— 
 One such patron of taste in each village will transmute it 
 into a paradise. 
 
 Instead of exerting the utmost care in preservmg thepc 
 iialural structures, there are every where found some, hav- 
 ing no love of the beautiful in their souls, who seize upon 
 every opportunity to dish'gure or destroy them. Such men 
 are unworthy of one's friendship, and should be cast aside as 
 only *' fit for treason, stratagem and spoils." 
 
 In bringing my remarks to a e- vse, allow me, l^adies, to con- 
 gratulate you on the Eden-like termination of your west-ward 
 wanderings; — to congratulate you upon the progress of re- 
 finement wisich society is achieving in your midst : — to con- 
 gratulate you that so many privileges from which you severed 
 yoursblves, when you turned your backs upon your Eastern 
 homes, have so closely fol'oweu you ; that like the missionary 
 you are instrumental in carrying to the verge of civilization, 
 the joys of social existence, that you have escaped the din 
 and confusion of Metropolitan life and find yourselves in the 
 occupancy of a spot, where ev^ry needed luxury is within 
 your grasp and where from morn till eve, your eye can re- 
 fresh itself by sweeping over see ner}^ not unlike the scenery 
 of romance. And not only to congratulate you upon the oc- 
 cupancy of such a {.pot, but of such a spot in such a nation ; 
 a nation whose claims to greatness exceed that of any other 
 upon the face of tho globe. Not a breeze, but is freighted 
 with intelligence of our Vciue and our magnitude. While 
 Europe is filHng up with captives, our cofjntry is filHng up 
 with exiles. At peace with all ; our am.ity courted and hug- 
 ged ; every cannon muzzled, and our marine busy in bearing 
 bread to the starving portions of the world ; v/hat a delight- 
 ful picture does it present to the christian and the philanthro- 
 pist, and how admirably calculated to cultivate a spirit of 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 The imagination loves to break away from every a-eatraint 
 and go out, and revel in just sucU a field as this. For three 
 quarters of a century we seem to have had the uninterrupted 
 smiles of Supremacy, and it is oaly the pohtical skeptic who 
 is blind to the "manifest destiny" that is in reserve for 41s, 
 4* 
 
26 
 
 Ccntiirv tieading close upon the heel of century, will rolf 
 awry rr d be forgotten, but our nation will stand and blaae 
 en iii MiG ni'dst of increasing glory. Demagogues and de- 
 £... f.i ; pcl^r^cians may shout disunion till their throats are 
 scio. li't fdter not — He'll not permit it. It has been pur- 
 chascvi at a cost of too much treasure, and suffering aid 
 biC :i!; t J be £0 soon sacrificed. 
 
 " Dissolve this Union, never, 
 
 T'were e'en a madman's part 
 
 The golden chain to sever 
 
 TJiat girdles Freedom's heart. 
 
 What ! faction rear her altar. 
 And discord wave her brand,. 
 And hearts from duty falter 
 At party's base demand ? 
 
 Look up ! 'tis Freedom's temple 
 You long to overthrow, 
 And if your arm's uplifled, 
 A demon prompts the blow. 
 
 Think ! every radiant column. 
 Has cost a Patriot's blood, 
 And would you see them shattered^ 
 Where long in pride they've stood T 
 
 Dissolve the Union, — never ! 
 You may not, if you would : 
 Go ! traitor, go, forever 
 Hide you, where you should. 
 
 For he who breathes dissension 
 To shake a people's trust, 
 Should cower back to nothingntWy 
 Or crumble into dust." 
 
POEM, 
 
 JHlivered before the Ladies Library Association of J^h'>y.-B at 
 tk$ Quarter Centennial Celebration of the Setaeiiuni of a.>.m«- 
 9o;Junt2Ut, 1854. 
 
 BY E. LAKIN BROWN. 
 
 When gory war laya waste a happy land. 
 
 And arms with blood-red scourge oppression's hamd ; 
 
 When cities sacked, and pillaged farms betray 
 
 The unmeasured woes that mark the lust of swaj ; 
 
 Then comes the bard, and with triumphal song 
 
 Exalts the victor and conceals the wreng : 
 
 Or, when grown old, out-worn with blood and crime, 
 
 Some^hoary empire yields to fate and time, 
 
 In sad, pathetic strains the poe tsings,— 
 
 Rome's ancient glories, or Assyria's kings. 
 
 O. humble harps of mine I if such the strain. 
 
 Well might thy trembling strings be touched in Ttim :- 
 
 No songs of joy should greet the» warrior's ear 
 
 Save such as freedom beu is with joy to hear : 
 
 No sad lament should mourn oppression's fall, 
 
 Save •' mene tekd " on hsr cruntbling wall. 
 
 Bat if tl-e noble contest of the free 
 
 With untamed nature, and f.ie victory ; — 
 
 If the fair village and the fruitful plain 
 
 That late usurped wide nature's drear domaii ; — 
 
 If Kala's fair invite such strains of thine. 
 
 How should thy numbers swell, O, honored harp of ml 
 
 Fit were such theme for his immortal strain 
 
 Who sung * Sweet Auburn ' loveliest of the pUi« ; 
 
 Yet pensive sung, in mournful garb arrayed, 
 
 A ruined land, "by luxury betrayed." 
 
 O. how unlike the theme that greets me now ; — 
 
 The pearls that shine on Kala's youthful brow I 
 
 Her brief; bright childhood, drawn on memory'f paj^ 
 
 And all her glorious hopes of future age 1 
 
 I taw thee, Kala,— 'twas but yesterday ; — 
 
 line 
 
28 
 
 When these thronged streets in nature's stillness lay 
 Kala's fair stream that rolled its silver tide, 
 By pendent boujrhs embraced on either side ; 
 The flickering shadows of the leafy trees ; 
 The tall grass waving in the summer breeze ; 
 The grazing d-er, whose restless ear now turns 
 Where the lone ringdove Scidly sits and mourns ; 
 Now, where the squirrel, brisk with chattering glee, 
 Drops his peeled rind from out the walnut tree ; 
 The listless Indiar.,|who§e quick?eve is cast 
 To seek th© hawk whose shadow glances past; — 
 These were the visions fair that graced the scene — 
 Nature's own wild, untrodden, stainless green. 
 And^yet the traveler's curious eye might trace 
 Mysterious tokens of a vanished race : — 
 Long rowa of garden beds, in order due. 
 Where once; what unknown plants, luxuriant grew t 
 'What various flowers repaid the florist's care. 
 Spread their gay blooms, and scented all the air ! 
 Now the old oak upon these beds appears 
 Intruder still, though half a thousand years 
 O sole possession, ratify his claim 
 Against the fruits and flowers without a name. 
 There, too, the mound its cone-lika form displays, 
 Enduring monument ot other days ! 
 See what is fame ! some brave old warrior here, 
 Chief of his tribe, to fame and glory dear, 
 In battle slain, afier an hundred foes 
 Had felt the vengeance that a warrior owes-. 
 Is tombed, with all that savage pomp could give 
 Te bid the memory of the hero live; 
 And, lest the warrior in the shadowy land 
 Might need £ome weapon for his shadowy hand. 
 His well-strung bow is placed beside him Iktp, 
 His coj.'per hatchet, and his a^hen spear; 
 And meet provision for the ethereal plains. 
 Venison and corn an earthern jar contsins : — 
 This heaped up mound of earth remains the >j;uiie, 
 But of the warrior, neither race nor name ! 
 il-are, by this lonely mound in forest deil 
 Might pensive melancholy love to dwei!. 
 And xnube on all the vanity of things ; — 
 The fame of warriors, and tiie prido of k'n)<^s I 
 Yhi even here, o'er these deserted phiius. 
 
29 
 
 Wlioro nature slumbers, and where sileirre reigns : 
 
 Whore the drear past has rolled its fruitless years. 
 
 And pcarco a record of their flight appears, 
 
 A change is comiiirr, and the sign is nigh. 
 
 Filled with stransregwonders to prophetic eye ; 
 
 For lo 1 slow moving through the oaken glade, 
 
 Now gleaming in the sun, now daricouing iu the shade, 
 
 A canvass-covered wagon looms in view ; 
 
 The deer espies it, and the/ed man too ; 
 
 A few light|bounds the wild dee? Ogives, and then 
 
 Stops, looks, and snorting bounds away again : 
 
 The Indian, to his native caution true, 
 
 An intervening tree conceals from view : 
 
 Whence, peering out liii, keen obse vHnteye 
 
 Watches the lumbering vehicle draw nigh^ 
 
 O, artful Indian ! and O, bounding deer I 
 
 Well may ye note that white.topped wain draw near ; 
 
 For wheresoe'er that vision has been seen 
 
 Your race h»\s vanished from the woodland gre«n I 
 
 But slowly on, the laboring wagon rolls. 
 
 Through open glades, and o'er surrounding knolls. 
 
 To where a brook winds merrily along, 
 
 Gladding its journey with its own low song. 
 
 Now on the bank of the meandering rill 
 
 This strango,'intruding vehicle, stand-s still ; 
 
 And he to whom its long-arched roof gives birth 
 
 Has nowhere else his prototype on earth. 
 
 His speech is that of England, but yet free 
 
 From English brogue, no foreign'brogue has ha . 
 
 A certain something in his careless air 
 
 Proves not her culture if her blood is there : 
 
 In his queer lexicon of words, are some 
 
 Derived from Keniuck or from Hoosierdom ; 
 
 His strong right hand the ready rifle grasps. 
 
 His axe, the left, with equal vigor clasps ; 
 
 With equal nerve, prepared the foe to meet, 
 
 Or lay the forest prostrate at his ieet. 
 
 His head erect, his bearing proud^and free, 
 
 Might fit Castilian knight of high degr^^e . 
 
 Yei more unlike in heart and thought and deed — 
 
 Than Sancho's master and his sorry steed : 
 
 He spurns all tinsel and all false pretanse, 
 
 His guiding genius, sterling common sense- 
 
 Deep in his breast the fires of freedom dn-ell 
 
30 
 
 As ia the children of the land of Tell ; 
 Lightly he'd reek in war's red front to stand, 
 Battling for freedom and his native land, 
 Wher'er their wings Columbia's eagles spread. 
 His country's ensign waving o'er his head ; 
 But not, poor Switzer, not like thine, his sword 
 Is the drawn, hireling of a foreign lord. 
 A little boastful, yet 'tis oft'ner shown 
 To prove his country's prowess, than' his own ; 
 *Tis whatwjfl are he boasts, not what / am ; 
 His faith, and hope, and pride, is Uncle Sam : 
 Of his own country's universal heart 
 His quicker throbs, tofeel itself a part ; 
 He deems no special guerdon due, because 
 He loves his country, and obeys her la'vs ; 
 Saving alone, ;the right to meet her foes, 
 Or make " the dessert blossom as the rose." 
 
 Ye'helpless, heartless, mercenary band. 
 Like Egypt's frogs, that fill, and curse the land ; 
 Whose noisy croakings indicate your zeal 
 For your own private, not the public weal ; 
 Though skilless all to guide your own affairs, 
 Yet of the public, claim to manage theirs ; 
 To all above, with servile fl ittery bow, 
 Yet proud and arrogant to all below ; 
 Ye slimy crawlers for the public pelf. 
 Whose creed is party, and whose party self : 
 Go. note the hardy pioneer, whose hand 
 Widens the borders of his native land ; — 
 GrO, note him well, and learn, if learn ye caa, 
 What 'tis to be a patriot, and a man I 
 And there if'one whose true and trusting heart 
 Braves with him all, and bears in all, a part ; 
 Where'er he wanders, or what ills betide, 
 She shares his fortunes, ever at his side'i 
 On the broad prairie, or in forest gloom, 
 His humble cabin is her happy home, 
 from her loved friends and kindred far away 
 The faithful-hearted 'labors, day by day. 
 Courageous Spirit I w:io could bear like thea 
 Thy lonely life, thy toil and poverty ! 
 With wifely cares the weary hours beguila, 
 And make even barron desolation smile I 
 
31 
 
 When the lone traveler on Illina's plain*, 
 
 Or where Iowa spreads her^ broad domaipi. 
 
 Benighted, weary, dubious of his way, 
 
 That endless seemed, and trackless, e'^en by day ,- 
 
 Nought but the prairie wilderness around, 
 
 No cheerful tree, and no familiar sound; 
 
 Nought but the curlew's wild and wailing cry. 
 
 Or the marsh bittern's dismal melody; 
 
 Or, as thick darknass settles on the plain, 
 
 The wolf's long howl js answered back again ;• 
 
 Of the lone cabin, like a setting star. 
 
 Descries the light, dull glimmeiing from afar. 
 
 Plow, with a lightened heart, and quickened pace, 
 
 He hastens toward that welcome resting-place ; 
 
 For well he knows that woman's hand is there 
 
 To lay the couch and spread the humble fare ; 
 
 And, though without, all cheerless seems, and meaa. 
 
 Order, and joy, and comfort reigu within. 
 
 Such are the homes, the nurseries of a race 
 
 That stand unrivalled on the earth's broad face ; 
 
 Such were the homes that lined ihy sounding shore, 
 
 O, bleak New England ! in the days of yore. 
 
 Such homes, such mothers nurtured those strong arm* 
 
 And stronger hearts that, when wild war's alarmi 
 
 Had paled the cheek, and quailed the heart of all 
 
 The sons of fear whom tyrants can enthral. 
 
 At the armed despot stern defiance hurled. 
 
 And Freedom's flag, on the free air unfurled ! 
 
 Such were the mothers, and such homes were they,--- 
 
 The natal homes of "Webster and of Clay, 
 
 Why have these names, and many scarce less gre«t, 
 
 Sprung from so low a source, so rude a state ? 
 
 Ye tilled lordlings ! it were well to know 
 
 Fair Freedom's children maybe poor, not low : 
 
 Her poorest son may fix on fame's bright star ; -- 
 
 No laws oppress him, and no titles bar : 
 
 And the clear voice that in rude cabin rings, 
 
 May charm grave senates, and may humble kingi : 
 
 Up toward the good, the great, the right, the high. 
 
 The way is clear for all, as toward the sky ; 
 
 Which only wrong, law's stern restraints may know 
 
 As earth's foundations bar the depths below. 
 
 ' Tis this, my country ! makes thy glorious nam» 
 
 A v/atchword to the nations ; -- a bright tlame 
 
32 
 
 With living fir© to wither and consume 
 OM giant tyrannies ; and to illume, 
 O'er all the earth, with Liberty's clear light, 
 Oppression's gloomy realms, her long and dreary night 
 'Tis this that leads the exile to thy shore, 
 rieasod to remain, an exile now no more ; 
 Or in far nations shields him ; — and how well. 
 Kozsta can answer — or let Austria tell. 
 'Tis this that gives to berve the countless sons 
 A slave tar batter than all human ones — 
 Bright-eyed and many-handed, that ere long- 
 Shall purge that foul hereditary wrong 
 Wherewith thy young limbs fester ; for in rain 
 The galling fetter and the clanking chain, 
 To serve our needs or feed our luxury. 
 Facile Invention ! shall compete with thee, 
 'Tis this that moulds, with utmost skill, the form 
 Of the winged ships to brave the ocean-storm ; 
 With least resistance pan the yielding tide. 
 And dash the billows from her shapely side : 
 With nicest art that forms the spreading sail 
 To catch the utmost of (he favoring gale ; 
 Until the boasted mistress of the sea 
 Reluctant yields, and leaves the palm with thee. 
 'Tis that sends careering fast and far. 
 In thousand mazy lines, the rapid car ; 
 That, fire-impelled, its flaming course is driven. 
 Like the red meteoe o'er the face of heaven I 
 'Tis this that o'er earth's cold and torpid breast. 
 That since creation lay in lifeless rest. 
 Spreads finest nerves, that permeate the whole, 
 And with electric fir© makes it a living soul. 
 Lands far removed, by mountain, lake, and sea, 
 Are joined in bonds of mutual sympathy ; 
 The quivering neroes the distant impulse feel, 
 And swift as light the far off thought reveal. 
 'Tis this that scatters with unfettered hand, 
 In countless thousands, wide throughout the land, 
 With all their power to instruct, to improve, to bless. 
 The unnumbered offspring of liberal press : 
 Those airy tpirits that, on untiring wing, 
 To every hearth their various tidings briig ; 
 Each outrage new of hoary wrong proclaim, 
 Each noble action consecrato to fame ; 
 
33 
 
 With prompt alarm warn of each thrAatened rightc 
 And drag corruption's darkest deeda to light. 
 
 O, Holy Freedom I these are but the sign 
 
 And visible out-croppings of the mine 
 
 Of countless wealth that lies concealed in thee : — 
 
 Wherever settler fells the forest tree, 
 
 Turns the fresh soil and builds his little home» 
 
 Thou, guardian spirit I with him there dost com© ; 
 
 'Twas thou that lod'st hitn to the forest wild, 
 
 Cheer'd all his toils, and on his labors smiled. 
 
 Wherever Learning's first rude temples stand. 
 
 There they were planted by ihy careful hand ; 
 
 And p11 above, of v/hatsoe'er degree. 
 
 From thee are sprung and dedicate to thee. 
 
 Where'er Religion lifts her heavenward spire 
 
 Her lights were dim without thy holy fire ; 
 
 And scarce a hamlet where thy foot has trod 
 
 But ha>! its temj)lc pointing up to God. 
 
 Virtue and Truth from old oppression i3,ee. 
 
 And find congenial home alone with thee ; 
 
 And maiden purity and manly pride 
 
 Dwell where thou uvvell'st, and flourish by thy lide, 
 
 O, can it be ! and shall thy sons confess. 
 
 Natured by thee, they learned to love the© less ; 
 
 And for a pottage but less vile than they, 
 
 Cast half thy glorious heritage awav I 
 
 Say, shall thy beams that light our northern sky 
 
 Grow sickly pale, and fitful flickering, die, 
 
 Quenched by tha baleful breath of slavery ? 
 
 No, Freedom, no I the hideous monster's power 
 
 Is rushing headlong to its fated hour : 
 
 I see thy sons in countless numbers rise, 
 
 And on the wind 1 hear their vengeful cries ; 
 
 • Back, demon ! back I back to thy noisome den-i 
 The soil of Freedom rears, not slaves — but men ? * 
 Humbled, abased, I see the fiend retire, 
 Appalled with fear before thy children's ire I 
 
 And thou, O, Kala ! happy thrice art thou 
 That Freedom's gems adorn thy shining brow ; 
 And happv, too, not thus alone to stand ; 
 But many a sister fair, throughout the land, 
 Like thee adorned, lifts her proud head on hifk, 
 iu youthful grace and glorious roajeity ; 
 
34 
 
 Sprung from one scurce, to the same rrcal ye tend, 
 
 One common pnrcni and o -e common end : 
 
 A Sister band, by Freedom linked in iove,l 
 
 Throngh the long conr^c of future years ye move ; — 
 
 Piophetic eye, through the dim misls nfar, 
 
 Msy note eacli brilliant, although differing star : 
 
 In varied ronptelia ions see ihem shine 
 
 With Pght : rd harmony almost divine ; 
 
 'Till, gnziiw^ loti J, on the fair scene injent, 
 
 Dazzled and blinded turns fiom Freedom's firmamoiit. 
 
 So brief, so bright thy past : thy coming year* 
 
 So frau2ht w-iih hopes so all nndimmedwith fears ; 
 
 And on thy natal day, wiir. garlands crowned, 
 
 Thy own glad presence scailerclh joy around : 
 
 Yet in thy joy a padncs shades thy biow 
 
 For many a noble boa it ail r'ul.'t!es«« now 
 
 That were of ihee. the glory ; many an eve 
 
 Whose kindling glance beamed on thy infancy 
 
 Is closed fore >'er ; many a voice s stilled 
 
 Whose tones i.f l-^ve thiougli all thy being thrilled : 
 
 And ihese areg.itie, O. Kala, bke a dream 
 
 Whose eni]'ty visions :irc not what they seem : 
 
 And incur turn, ore long, we too, shall pass. 
 
 Like inane shadows in the silvered glass. 
 
 And who have made and make thee what thou art» 
 
 As fate decrees, f-hall one bv one dc-part ; ; 
 
 But ibon will siiil leuKiin ; for ihee appears 
 
 A long-diav/n vista of un- numbered years : 
 
 I See thee far adown ilie centuries. 
 
 The lijjht and jo\ of myriad loving eyes; 
 
 Kala. the beauiirul ! thy Indian Uiimo 
 
 And the Gr;ek liquid epithet the same ; 
 
 Kahi, c kfda ; be thou ever so 
 
 While ill thy gentle streatn its si! veiy waters flow. 
 
fi'ArHy ISiitlieineiit of Ktilimi^soO. 
 
 The first s-^itler who pitched his tent on the present site of 
 Xalamazoo or Branson, as it was originaily calbd, seems to 
 hare beea Titus Bronson ; whose ch iracter is described by- 
 Col. Carte lius in 'lis aidress ioim i in this volume. 'I'his was 
 in the sutnn jr of 1821), darinof which, and the following sea- 
 son, several fri'nihes setilod in the vicinity. 
 
 But s) slow had been the progress of emigration, or so 
 fiuctiiatiirr had been its character, that in the spring of 1833, 
 only three! |;»g houses, four framed ones and two shanties or 
 *'cktentes," eonp')sed the village of Bronson. During that 
 lummer, h >weve)-. three or four more houses were erected, 
 and as a L^and oiFice was establishetl in lh;U year, settlers and 
 speculators began to make their a;jpearance. In Oct. 1835, 
 a newsp:ipcr was established under the nime of- The Michi- 
 gan SiaiesiTian." published by H. Gilbert, Esq. From an 
 April number of 1833. we mike the following extracts: 
 
 "By a recent act of the L-^gislature, the name of our vil- 
 lage h-is been ch;ingod Irorn Bi'onson to Kalamazoo. This is 
 asitsliojid be, our County, township and villige have now 
 the sa>ue naaie. Kalamazoo was ihe name given our noble 
 river, aa I a b^.aitiful piairie vvliich it laves, by the ab )r»gin«i 
 of the cou;iiry. Less than two short years sinre our village 
 contained but one or two framed houses, and as many !oj 
 cabins, to wiiicdi the rude wigwams of the In liai^. had then 
 but jusL g.VL;;! place. We hive n )W ab->!Jt six'y tVame 1 dweK. 
 ling houses, nriiiy of them large and well liuivh-jj, and ten-, 
 anted wiih a population of many hundreds." I5ut in all ear^- 
 ly histories, ti'stunony is found to be co'iiflictiug. JFrom a 
 letter received from an early resident, we are permitted to. 
 m-ake the f>llowiug extracts. " I arr,ved in Kalauiazoo on 
 the ah of April ISS'o. and resided, there until iSIX At the 
 lime of my coiniuf;, KalamaEoo \,ad been just incorporated 
 by the Territorial Council, as K:alanazoo ; the origma' namt,. 
 Bronsou. having been abrogat^jd. Tlie inhabitants «)n the vil- 
 lage plat could nDt have exceeded fiftv in number, and 
 
36 
 
 tvery house seemed to be in the woods. The U. S. Land 
 office being located there, a number of land dealers were aU 
 ^ays fluctuating about the place, which might have induced 
 the casual observer to rate the population at a higher figure. 
 But counting only those attached by home interests, to the 
 spot, I think my estimate correct." Not only was the village 
 of Kalamazoo called Bronson, but the township was called 
 Arcadia, from a beautiful clear stream, which runs through 
 the northern part of the village. In the early settlement of 
 the town and village, bears and panthers were very common, 
 but wolves were much more numerous and destructive. — 
 They were a constant annoyance to the inhabitants, so that 
 ihose who had cattle or sheep, were obliged to confine them 
 in pens, close to their dwellings; and even then they were 
 not always safe. 
 
 Among the early records of Arcadia, we find the following 
 notices : — " At a towm meeting of the electors of the town of 
 Arcadia, held on the first iMonday in Aprd in ] 834, it was 
 voted to raise one hundred dollars for the destruction of 
 wolves ; and that four dollars be paid for every scalp taken 
 in said town, untd the hundred dollars be expended; and 
 after that time no person shall receive any compensation for 
 wolf scalps, the remainder of the year." " Voted that th© 
 first certificate presented to the Supervisors shall draw the 
 first money, and so on, until all the 8100 shall be expended." 
 Like notices are found in 1635 and 1836. At a similar 
 meeting " on Monday, Aprd 1838, it was voted to rai^^e 8100, 
 for the support of the township poor; and $100 lor bounty 
 on wolf scalps at 84,00 each." 
 
 In 1836 a loan was authorized for the purpose of erecting 
 a Court House and Jail, which were completed durnig the 
 year 1837 or 1838. 
 
 The earliest settlements, in Kalamazoo County, were made 
 upon "Praiiie Ronde," which has been imperfectly described 
 bv Cooper, in his *- Oak Openings." \n Nov. 1828 Bazel 
 Harrison, afterwards a Judge of the County Court. Henry 
 Whipple, and Abram Davidson, arrived at the Prairie with 
 t?»eir families and teams. The first furrow was plowed by 
 Erastus Gudford, who arrived soon after the persons before 
 named. During the next year a grist mill was put into opera* 
 lion l)y John Vickers, which proved a great convenience ta 
 (he inbabilanlfi, as ihey were before obliged to travel seventy 
 
37 
 
 miles over bad roads, to get their grain ground at the nearest 
 mill. 
 
 Mr. Vickers' mill, situated near the West side of Prairi« 
 Ronde, would now be consideied a curiosity, as " it was built 
 of logs, and had a pair of mill stones 14 inches in diameter, 
 which ran up edgewise." "It was built for the purpose of 
 cracking corn, in preference of breaking with a mortar," 
 
 The first deed upon record in Kalamazoo Co., Territory of 
 Michigan, was given by William Harris to Hiram Moor and 
 Erastus ct. Jackson; by which the VV. 1-2, of S. W, 1-4, of 
 Section 17, In Township 2, South Range, 10 West, was sold 
 for the sum of 8300. This deed is dated the 8th July 1831. 
 
 The first mortgage recorded was dated May 16th, 1831 
 tnd was between John Knight and James Knight of the 1st 
 party, and Henry Stevens of the second party. " At a session 
 of the County Court, of Kalamazoo County, held Oct. 17th, 
 1831, Cyrus Lovell, Esq., presented to the Court, a petition 
 from the proprietors of the village of Bronson, and its citizens, 
 requesting an alteration in part of the plat of said village. — 
 The Court then adjourned to meet io-morry morning at 8 
 o'clock." 
 
 (Siorned,) BAZEL HARRISON, ) Justices op 
 STEPHEN HOYT, \ County Court. 
 
 "At a session' of the same Court held May 22d, 1834, the 
 petition of Nathan Harrison was presented, for license to 
 keep a ferry across the Kalamazoo River, opposite the village 
 of Bronson. On reading and filing the petition in this matter, 
 it is ordered by the Court, that the said petitioner be author- 
 ized and licensed to keep a ferry across the said river, at the 
 place aforesaid, for the term of one year from this date ; on 
 his entcrmg into a recognisance pursuant to the Statue, with 
 one surety. And it is further ordered that the said Harrison 
 do pay a Territorial tax of three dollars." 
 
 In the *' Michigan Statesman " of May 5th, 1838, is found 
 a notice that " the village of Kalamaxoo has just been incor- 
 porated." 
 
TSie Indians. 
 
 The " Bar Oak Plain," upon which Kalamazoo is built, atid 
 the neighboring prairie known by ihe name of '• Prairio 
 Ronde," were favorite resorts of the Indians of the Potta- 
 wattamie and Ottawa Tribes, at the time of the settlement 
 by the whiles. Like all the other American inbes, they led 
 a vVandcring life, remaining by the river for months, and then 
 suddenly packing up ihcir tew conveniences for living, and 
 deparling, as it seemed, to their white neiLdibors, without any 
 other o'jject than that of change. Portions of our b(?autiful 
 Tillage are yet pointed out to the curious inquirer, vvliich were 
 used as gardens by the Indians. Here tho vvomon cultivated 
 the corn, with no implement of husbandry but a hoe. The 
 present strength and fertility of these grounds, show how ju- 
 diciously they made their selections. The corn was planted 
 in hiljs, raised one or two feet above the surface, and at th« 
 proper season, was harvested and buried in deep holes lined 
 with bark. Corn so secured, often remained for months un- 
 molested, either by man, or the more insidious ravages of rats 
 and squirrels. After the corn was secured, the Indians gen- 
 erally prepared for their winter hunting quarters. They then 
 removed to the dense forest, where deer and other game 
 were more abundant, and where no rivals could be found in 
 their hunting grounds. They had no domestic animals, ex- 
 cept horses nnd dogs, and the cow was an object of so much 
 curiosity, that they often came a long distance to look at one. 
 Butler and milk they could not be prevailed upon to use.— 
 Their houses were formed of mats, woven by the women, 
 from flaL^s, and supported by poles. These mats and polei 
 were transported from place to place, and it was a labor of 
 only a few hours, to erect a whole village of these temporary 
 ■nd yet durable habitations. The tire was built in the centre 
 of the dwelling, and the smoke after freely circulating through 
 the apartment, found its way out as best it might. 
 
 A few kettles, a few skins, and a few baskets for carrying 
 burdensj composed the household conveniences of the child 
 
39 
 
 of the forest. His food was as simple as his habits of life.-- 
 Corn was the onlv article of cultivation, and this was cooked 
 in onlv two wavs. The first manner of preparation was to 
 boil the corn with ashes and water, until the husks separated ; 
 then it was taken in baskets to a stream ot running water, 
 where it was shaken about and thoroughly cleansed. Anoth- 
 er manner of its preparation was this: — The corn was 
 pounded in logs, bv the tomahawk, till it was well broken, and 
 then boiled. This, with the venison and other game, formed 
 the bill of fare of the simple Indian, and was without (.oubt, 
 one cause of the few diseases by which he was annoyed.— 
 His system of cure was contained in a few roots, and lae tree 
 use of cold water. , 
 
 Still, the Indians l.ad their doctors, who were esteemed and 
 venerated, and after death were honored by a distinguished 
 burial. The funeral crremonies of the Indians were conduct- 
 ed without priest, or form nf service, but the howling and 
 mourning of relatives, evinced tl:c same ardent ^^^"^'^^f kin- 
 dred and' frienfl. as is fciund in more civilized Ide. Most of 
 the dead were buried in shallow graves, dug by the bee, but 
 persons who were distinguished either by their talents, their 
 virtues, or their vices, wen^ honored by remaining above 
 ground, and having a house built over them. Thus on one 
 occas-ion a murder had l>een commiltcd, and not only the 
 murdered man was thus distinguished, but also the assassin. 
 Whenever a murder was detected, a council was held, and 
 he who was nearest of kin to the murdered man, was ap- 
 pointed the executioner of the criminal. 
 
 Their canoes were i^adt? of birch bark, and were much 
 emploved at certain seasons of the year in lit^hing. They 
 were alsc so light as to be easily tvansp<uted from stream to 
 Stream. The Kekaiamazoo river, as the name was originally 
 called, was then abundantly supplied with lish of immense 
 size, of which the Indians availed themselves, and not only 
 supplied their own wants, but often sold them to the whiles 
 in the vicinitv. 
 
 The dtess of the Indians, consisted of leggins of skin 
 wrought with beads and porcupine quills, a calico shirt, a belt 
 •f skin ornamented like ttie leggins. and containing his knife, 
 tomahawk, and such other conveniences as he chose to employ 
 about his person. Over this dress, a blanket was ^j";J^"» 
 and the son of the forest with his mocassins on, and his head 
 
40 
 
 protected by a turban formed from a shawl of the brightest 
 colors, and ornamented with feathers, was ready for any 
 emergency The dress of the women differed but little from 
 what we have described, except that they wore their hair 
 long and tied behmd with gay ribbons of all the colors of the 
 rainbow. Ornaments were worn by both sexes, including 
 necklaces of many strings of beads, bracelets, and ornaments 
 for the ancles, formed of brass thimbles, made to jingle lik« 
 bells. 
 
 We who have been educated under the glare of civilization, 
 and the meridian light of Christianity, may pride ourselves 
 upon our lofty position, and in comparing ourselves with our 
 Indian brother upon our more exemplary conduct. We 
 may think of him, as a debased, dishonest, ungrateful, and 
 treacherous being, whom it is no shame to defame, a'.jd no 
 sin to destroy, fiut it may moderate our self-glorification to 
 know that m his unsophisticated state, before "his untutored 
 mind " had learned from white men the use of "fire-water" 
 he was hfjuest, temperate, and contented ; chaste, noble- 
 spirited, and scrupulously exact in remembering and reward- 
 ing a ("avor. or fulfilling a promise. 
 
 From an interesting letter frf)m the Hon. Elisha Ely, of 
 Alleiian, 1 am allowed to make the following extracts: — 
 
 '•In tiie year 1836, Ogewa, then the head chief of ihe Otta- 
 wa tribe of Indians, exerted himself to have his tribe chris- 
 tianized as well as civilized. I was in Detroit with him two 
 or three weeks. Gov. Mason, and Henry R. Schoolcraft, Esq*. 
 the then Incian Agents, t ok a deep interest and engaged to 
 do all in their power to further the views of the old Chief. 
 In June, 1S39, quite a number of their families, purchased 
 considerable land from the United Siates, and settled in this 
 County, and made some little progress in civilization ; but 
 their early habits were such, that they did not improve very 
 rapidly; and although the Rev. Mr. Smith was with them, 
 and paid by the United States, he never from some cause, had 
 their confidence, and ihe settlement retrograded. After a 
 few years the Hollanders settled near them and eventually 
 bought their lands and the improvements they had made. 
 They have now all removed to Grand Traverse Bay. They 
 were without much improvement in dress and manner of lir- 
 ing, when they first came into this vicinity, except Ogewa the 
 ♦Id chief, who copied in his dress from the whites. Quite 
 
41 
 
 recently, forty-three, called here with the declaration, a copy 
 of which, I enclose to vou. Thev were piincipaliy from 
 Grand Traverse Bay, and everv one very decently clad, in 
 our costume, not an Indrnn blanket was worn l)y any of (hem. 
 The paper I send you, speaks for itself. 1 (lo not know 
 where the project originated. Every one of them behaved 
 with great propriety and not one of them had been drinkinir 
 spirits. They were 'about here three or four days with their 
 women and children; and won the admiration of all by their 
 good conduct. They informed me ihat several hundred In- 
 dians about Lakes Michigan and Superior, were ready tf) join 
 them, and sign the instrument which is hsre annexed." 
 
 We the undersigned descendants of the Chippewa and Ottawa tribes of In- 
 dians, havings been born in the State of Michigan, and always resided therein — 
 being attached to the soil, where the bones of our Fathers are laid — and bein;T 
 dosirous of abandoning our own system of laws and government, and of ndopt- 
 ing the laws, habits of life, and Government of the white people of the United 
 States and of the State of Michigan, that we may enjoy the benefits of civiliza- 
 tion and Christianity, and the privile,ges and civi'l rights of citizens and voters: 
 do hereby with our Chiefs;, solemnly declare that we yield our Inws and Govern- 
 ment up for laws of the United States and of Michijs^an ; that we mean to 
 adopt the habits of civilized life, to clear land and cullivate the ?oil, to build 
 houses to live in, and to have onr children educated in the habits, customs, lan- 
 guage and mode of living of the white men, our neighbors, and that in all things 
 wo mean to claim the protaction of the laws of the Gn'srnmont. an i pubmil 
 ourselves to the jurisdiction and control of the laws both in civil and criminal 
 matters. 
 
 George Shashawonipise 
 
 Peter Wavvangabo 
 
 Paul Shoshaquashe 
 
 Poneit Wouatchenotin 
 
 .Joseph Oshawoshquar 
 
 Louis MatcUikishig 
 
 Joseph Chawegesbgua 
 
 Paul Waukazoo 
 
 Daniel VVedegowish 
 
 James Prickett 
 
 .lames Shashaquase 
 
 John Oshawashquar 
 
 Tabaschapichig 
 Ijcwis McSauby 
 Joseph Visawagwat 
 Kiweiasang 
 Joseph Macksanba 
 vVilliam Jiewilebigabaw 
 Joseph Armiguan 
 Francis Macksauba 
 Winsor Animiquum 
 Pet«r Shoshaguaso 
 Paul Nisawaquat 
 Francis Wowangobo 
 Peter Oshoswoshquar 
 
 George Wcaxho 
 William Chingnah 
 Mutebe Sakendoninm 
 Michael Akibaunzi 
 Lewis Akibemose 
 William Keshewose 
 John Akibemose 
 Jos'ph Shashaquashe 
 Agent Okinotsgo 
 Atoin Match ikisbig 
 Peminawa Magateraini 
 Joseph Shashaxuase 
 Nenoiquar Oshawashquar Monitowe Oshawoshquar 
 Wa;-sa Zumby Roberts Apish abe 
 
 Awasekishig Akiwenkjigetos© 
 
 John Oshamoshquar 
 Kishigobiaese Akiwendjigstose 
 
 State of Michigan, ? 
 Allegan Coimiy. ss: \ On this 18th day of April, in the year of our Lord 
 
 one thousand eiglit hundred and fifty-three, personally came before the under- 
 signed, a Notary Public, in and for the county aforesaid, Paul Wakazoo. Lewis 
 Macksauba, Tobasciiaapachig, Joseph Visagaj^wat, James Pricket, Chiefs of 
 the Ottawa and Chippovva tribes; and Daniel Wedegowish, Wassa Zurnby, 
 George Weazho, William Chinguah, Mutebe Salmdoirn, Wichael Akibauzise, 
 Lewis Akibauzse, William Hithwasa, John Atermase, Joseph Shashaquatae, 
 Agent Okinotsgo, Atin Matchki&hig, Peuawa MaTateatiue, Joseph Sharaqnase, 
 
42 
 
 AwMifcithig Akiandjitose, Monita Oicawaakqua, Robert Aptskabe, Jos«pfo 
 Masksauba, William Beuwitaglawn, Joseph Armiguati', Francis Mac^auba,. 
 Wineor Animiquan, Peter Shashagum, Paul Nisawaquit, Francis Waangoba. 
 Peter OshawshqUa, John Oehaw^shqne, George Washawanipi, Peter Wawaga- 
 ba, Paul Shashaqnashe, Ponit Warnitthenatin, Joseph Ashawashgua, Loui* 
 Malhekishy, Joseph Chawigo-kigm, James Shashaqude, Kisbigobanie Akiud- 
 jiabe, John Asnawashaques Niniuqua Otbo-hawga. — Who by the oath of Jana«« 
 Pricket, who acted as Interperter for them, were made known to me and who 
 all severally acknowledged that they hai extcuted the same freely, and for th-s 
 piarpotes abore exprMs*d. ' ELISHA £LT, Notary Public^ 
 
Kalamazoo in 1835 and 1855. 
 
 :MRS. HENRIETTA S. T. TAYLOR, 
 
 Secrtiary Ladies* Library Association, Kal . Michigan. 
 
 My Dear Madam : — I take advantage of my first leisure 
 moments from ihe duties of my office to redeem the promise 
 I mide you, of writing out for publication soms of my ex- 
 psriencQ in tho fiistory and settlement of this lovely " Bur- 
 Oak City," — which has risen to perfection and beauty from 
 compaiative crudeness and obscurity; and now reposes, 
 smilingly, as a queen amid her courtiers, luxuriating in the 
 rich and regal charms by which she is surrounded. 
 
 To those of us who came here at an early day in the his- 
 tory and settlement of Kalamazoo, the genial influences of 
 this hour are most welcome and delightful. Others, who have 
 settled within the past few years, cannot understand, in Us 
 full force and reality, the saddening power of those silent 
 memories of home and kindred that then beset us, " strangers 
 in a stranore land " — the sense of utter desolation, and sick- 
 ness of the heart, that follows upon the rapid transition from 
 the old and loved, into the new and unfamiliar world around ; 
 no tritd friend near to rejoice in our prosperity, to comfort 
 in affliction, and to Wipe away the falling tear : 
 
 — They who sit calm 
 
 And happy, 'mid the pleasant joys of earth, 
 Throag'd with tlie thousand dear delights of Home ; 
 The blandishments of Wealth ; the son^ of hop* ; 
 And Pleasure's gorc'ous, fc\scinating train ; — 
 Know not tho meaning of that word, — Alone I 
 They may rejorce, and strike the harp, and dance ; 
 And strew th-^ir pathway with the choicest flow'rs ; — 
 They k/ioio not ifno to lozap, with t'loso who mourn. 
 
 At least, swM is •; V3 les-.i-noiy I have borrowed from one o( 
 my own mauusOript h r.'^; wtiom I strongiy suspect was a 
 little hom^'sick a-i,! *,>v -v. it liiai lime! 
 
 Let us con » y " oi' 1835, with the populous 
 
 aad bus7 '4\/i'.K'?t^v 1 we now inhabit. To ow this 
 
44 
 
 wonderful transformation seems like the creation of some 
 fair and fabulous dream. VThen the soul, unfettered by its bond 
 ol clay, triumphs in its mastery, and rejoices in the realization 
 of hopes more gorgeous and dazzling than were ever unveiled 
 to its Vision in the broad and sultry day. 
 
 Many of the pioneers of 1835, and of an earlier date, are 
 yet vigorous and active in our midst ; and many more have 
 laid by their pilgrim staffs, and well worn sandals, and gone 
 down into the "dark valley of the shadow of death." — 
 Among these, I recall to memory one, noble and commanding 
 in statue, whose snow-white hair, frosted by five and seventy 
 winters, fell over a brow on which God had fixed his seal of 
 adoption, " to give the world assurance of a man." — He was 
 the venerable prototype and sire of sons who have not dis- 
 graced their parentage; but who have iivsd on, in respecta- 
 bility and usefulfiess, a credit and honor to those who now 
 "sweetly sleep in Jesus," and an ornament to the community 
 in which they dwell. It is but simple justice to pass the same 
 meed of praise upon the surviving family of Gen'l. Burdick, 
 one of the earliest proprietors of Kalamazoo, and who ever 
 cherished a warm and lively interest in its prosperity and pro- 
 gress. To him we are mainly indebted for the preservation 
 of our be&utiful Bur-Oaks: and I take both pride and plea- 
 sure in bearing this public testimony to the refined taste and 
 noble forethought ®f those who, like him, were thus mindful 
 of the comfort of those who should come after them ; and 
 who have guarded with so constant a care, one of the chief 
 characteristics and beauties of this far-famed settlement. — It 
 is one of the best evidences of an enlarged and cultivated 
 mind, and of a heart moved by the choicest impulses of our 
 better nature. We should regard the elegant shade-trees 
 about our residences, and streets, with the same delight and 
 solicitude that a tender mother watches over the fair beings to 
 whom she hath given birth, — who look up to her for nurture 
 ard protect on Ircm rude storms and adversities of life, — un- 
 til, n atured in strength and beauty, they group themselves, 
 lovirgly Jo tehelfer the heme of her declining vears, and*hal- 
 low the spot vvhere lier dear form reposes. — I repeat, it was 
 a ccmm.endable trait of character ; and one that the busy 
 multitude who now walk to and fro beneath their cool and 
 ample shade, in the hot and sultry summer, should remember 
 with feelings ot sjncere admiraticn and gratitude, — With«.'Ut 
 
'tioubt, our native Oaks arc one of the most desirable attrac- 
 tians and excellencies of Kalamazoo — for vvhicli we are 
 justly famed and complimented at home and abroad. Let ui 
 cherisli ihem with unabated care. The)' arc nature'* ' choic« 
 legion/ to shield us from disease and death ; and are robed 
 in a drapery of green and gold more gorgeous and beautiful 
 than erer decked the conquering hosts of Napoleon. The}/ 
 shall live, when u-e ar« dust ; and their shadows will linger 
 peacefully and silently upon our graves, long after the places 
 that now know us, and the friends who now love us, know us 
 no more forever 1 
 
 I never visit our beautiful Mountain Home of the Dead, 
 so calmly overlooking the strife and tumult of th« living, 
 without being charmed by the extended and ench»Mting view 
 spread out like a map of Eden before me ; and as I retrace 
 my steps, and see the funeral train wending its way slowly 
 along tiie winding walks and lovely groves, the words of El- 
 ric, the Saxon, came to me with peculiar emphasis and 
 meaning: 
 
 Here, sorrowing friends, beneath this antique shade, 
 Where earliest incense of the virgin morn 
 Ascends the smihng heav'ns — here let us pause 
 Great nature hath a balm for ev'ry wound : 
 Our bicedinor hearts, pierc'd to the core by grief. 
 May rnediciuo their torn and trembling strings 
 On the dear boaom of her boundless love. 
 
 Associated with Gen'i Burdick in the proprietorship of 
 Kalamazoo, were the late Thomas C. Sheldon and Lucius 
 Lvo.'t ; the former, Receiver of Public Moneys here duiing 
 the Land Office times of 1835, 1S36 and 1837, (in connection 
 with Major Edwards, the Jiejlsirar.) and the latter, one of 
 the Hrst ^Senators who represented Michigan in the INational 
 Legislature, and who also subsequently held the re?p3n.sibe 
 nfhce oflSurveyor General But whatever honor may br ac- 
 corded to tlie-e gentlemen, '* Uncle Titus " Bronson and 
 his good wifti '* AuiJiT Sally " Bronson, were undoubtedly 
 the original locau>rs and proprietors of this famous foresi city, 
 ;i[id, hard in tt.eir wake, came Nat Harrison and Ci i.o ,'ell ; 
 the first ydeped -'Uncle," and tlie last, '' Squire." — I beliere 
 Mr. Harrison is nuw dead; but ilio Hon. Mr. Lovell is still 
 living, at Ionia, in this State, clever and large and lively as 
 ' tver, a good ci'Jzcn and genl'eman of note — not nolts I He's 
 
46 
 
 a ' hard money man,' and * plumb on the square ! * — Speaker 
 of tlie House, at the late session of our State Legislature. — 
 May he live long and his shadow never be less. 
 
 Tiie Ladies of the Library Association may remember that 
 I had the honor of toasting him, at their late " Quarter Century 
 Celebration," nnd that he " turned up hrown /" His responss, 
 like Ex-Governor Ransom's, was replete with incidents and ac- 
 cidents of pioneer life — particularly his narration of the 
 wagon trip of the Governor and family, from Detroit to Kala- 
 mazoo. On reflection, I am not positive whether it was Mr. 
 Lovell or the Governer himself who told the story : but I re- 
 member that there was a ' trip of the tongue,' at the time, that 
 set a number of us near the speaker, into a hearty laugh. 
 
 The late Col. Huston and Amos Brownson, were also inti - 
 mately connected with the early history and settlement, and 
 after prosperity of this place. I remember them as early ai 
 1835 and 1336, as the principal "Business Firms." Mr, and 
 Mrs. Brownson (the latter, then Miss Case.) were among th« 
 first acquaintances I made, out of Major Edwards' immediate 
 family ; and some of my happiest moments (always saving and 
 excepting my courting ones ! ) have been passed in their com- 
 pany. 
 
 It requires an eifort, at this late day, to recall the names of 
 all our early settlers of 1835 and 1836 : but as I desire, so far 
 as in my power, to place them on record, I subjoin the follow- 
 ing alphabetical Hst, \n. this list are included a number of 
 transient persons who came and left in 1835 and 1836: for 
 we had but a few resident families here in 1835. To avoid 
 personality and partiality, 1 begin v^'ith myself, — the poetical, 
 prosy, perennial, and pungent. Major Red Pepper! — then 
 follows of course, under A., my Father and Mother, Brothers 
 and Sisters, Uncles and Aunts, Nephews and Nieces, Cousin* 
 and dozens, from the first to the last generation. — Amen inclu- 
 sive ! — then : 
 
 Doctor Abbott, and wife and daughter, Ben Jones and family 
 
 Moses Austin and family, David G. Kendall 
 
 Ross AUard Israel Kellogg, of the Kalamazoo Ho-m* 
 
 Hiram Arnold and family Levi Krause 
 
 Gen'l Burdick " •' Amos Knerr 
 
 Deacon Barrows " '* Ilusso Kiog 
 
 Squire Belcher " •* Mr. Liephart, the old ' Indian Trader.* 
 
 Ira Burdick " " Horatio Lawrance Ij^q^qCk j ^itr 
 
 Frederick Booher '• " Richard Lawrance 5 ' * • 
 
 Doctor Barritt '* '* Edmund LaGrave 
 
 Warr«n Burrill *' " Hiram D. Lov«land 
 
47- 
 
 Amos Brownson and wif« 
 Henry Booher •* " 
 William G. Butler, ' early settler ' 
 William Boolier 
 Samuel W. iJryan 
 Ira Bird 
 William Birch 
 
 Alexander Buell and brother Austin 
 Uncle Titus" and •' Aunt Sally,' 
 
 Cyrus Lovell and famiJy 
 Daniel Lathrop and wife 
 Joseph Miiler jr. 
 Clement March 
 Robert Mcintosh, Merchant; 
 
 Dop'ty P. M. under Doct. Abbott ! Ac. 
 O C. McCracken 
 
 Jay R. Monro*^ & Iloiatie N, Monroe 
 L. H. Moore, alias " LittU Moort; " 
 
 the original proprietor* of Bronson, hereto- •" contradiitiDction of 
 
 fore mentioned, Henry Mower, 
 
 Chauncey Burrell Big Land Looker, Hunter, «to. 
 
 Doctor Beardsley Gen'l Isaac Moffatt 
 
 Philander Bishop Mr. Meaohnm, Tailor, 
 
 Col. John E. Bracket! worked for L. R. Davis 
 
 E. R Ball birneon jVewman 
 
 N. a". Balch Lot M. North, 
 
 Doctor Browninff, Constable, aruJ Chief Baker nf th. Staff ^c 
 
 Druggist ; " Richard the 3rd ! " &c., J^'^^^"" Northrop and family 
 
 O. S. Case ^^Pt- Geurp;e A. O'Brien and family 
 
 "Typo ;" now of the S'^afeJoMrTza?, Lansing, Richard O'Brien and wife 
 Horace H. Comstock and family Hiram Owen 
 
 who, although hailing from " Comstock Moses O'Brien 
 
 ^uarierT^"^^ *'"' "" business place and bead Zephamiah Piatt and family 
 
 MoirCooper, nephew of the Novelist SnrvPvnfp'M^-K"''' ^'^^ r a a i. 
 ^ ^ ourveyor rettibone, now of Ann Areor 
 
 Anthony Cooley and family 
 
 William Carley " " 
 
 James Coleman " " 
 
 Lewis A. Crane " '* 
 
 Roswell Crane " '* 
 
 Geo. Thos. Clark and wife, 
 her Parents and their family, 
 
 A. & D. Cahill 
 
 Alexander Cameron 
 
 Almirin Lake Cotton, 
 He and Wm. Gr. Butler, were the flrpt of t^.0J](JJJ-^„JJJ -r ,„„ 
 oarly settlers, „ 
 
 Walter Clark ^ 
 
 Ami Carpenter and wife 
 
 Lewis R. Davis 
 
 " Bank " Porter and family, now of Det 
 
 Johnson Patrick and familv 
 
 Mrs Poller, (widow of Do'ct. Porter 
 
 and her sons, Ked and Jim 
 John Parker 
 
 A. T. Preuty and family 
 Peacon Porter and wife' 
 Uncle James Parker and family 
 Judge Ransom and family, 
 
 his Parents and Brothers 
 
 honorable arrd 
 now 
 Henry M Rice ) --—v--" "»*'"«« <>«>« 
 R. J. Rosecrantz 
 
 hirothers 
 
 ^ Both in honorab 
 r official positions, 
 r married, and hailin 
 ) Minnesota, 
 
 David S. Dille and family Artemas W. Richardsoa 
 
 Joseph B. Daniels, and his brother, T J.'^alter Russell 
 Oliver Davenport and Wife Heniy Reynolds and family 
 
 William G. Dewing, and brother Fred, ^'fl Recollet (" Reckly ") 
 Ebenezer Durkee and familv Frendi Trader 
 
 Major Abraham Edwards and family "°»: C^^^" ^- ^^"^^^ ^°^ ^'^« 
 Renselaer Evils and family Wilimm Stuart 
 
 Asa Fitch and family Jt"'",'"'' ^^^ ^i'®''^?'' 
 
 George A. Filch, ^ heodore P. bheldon and family 
 
 now Ed. a*nd Pii^'isher of Mich. TeUffraph I^octor Slarkw^ealher •• 
 
 Francis Fitts and wife 
 Nathaniel Foster and family, 
 
 now of Otsego, Allegan Co., Mich. 
 Daniel Fisher 
 Ethan French 
 Henry Gilbert and family 
 Nelson Gibbs " •• 
 Andrew B. Gray •* '• 
 Silas Grejj •• »• 
 
 Erastus Smith 
 Rodney Seymour '* •• 
 
 Nathan L. 'Stout •* " 
 
 Caleb Sherman, 
 
 now doing busincM for " Unci* Bam,' 
 
 New Jleiico 
 David Sergeant 
 Albert Saxon, 
 
 the man who went m/ltr mn»th$r man, 
 
 •rp«r cmme back / 
 
48 
 
 All«n Goodridgc and family. Silas Trowbridre 
 
 now DeiVty Cora'r State Land Offlee L^j^.e^ H. Trask and famiir 
 
 JohnB.GaUean Lyman Tutile 
 
 dodnev Gibson, t •' ^p i „ 
 
 n,.w Dep'ty 3ec'ty of State, Lane-.nj, ^f.^^^^ T^X '^'^ , 
 
 Dwiffht C. Grimes f^'^am Underwood, 
 
 James Green, , " ^^^f.*^^^' ^'''^'\ of fal^mazoo." 
 
 now of the firm of Stuart & Green, Jf ^^<; ^iCKery and Wife 
 
 John H. liavs and family Stephen Vickery and wife 
 
 Benjamin Harrison and familv Lawrence \ anDeVValker, 
 
 Deacon Hvdenburk " "' p"l';^' ^/ «• Receiver of Public Mon.y. 
 
 a ■ FT '. . , ,, ,. rhdo Vradenbursfh 
 
 Squire Hubrjard " " ait j a \kt-u- 
 
 Nat Harrison " " Alfred A. Wdhams 
 
 T?i:oko TT^'n 4» .i Isaac W. Willard 
 
 ,1 rr 1 J r -1 ^ t' 7 rj- Jndffe D. li. vVebster and famuT 
 
 L Hawlev and familv. of Artt. iioii5«, -iir-,? tt -t*/ i i ., .» ' 
 
 Ccl. H. B'. Huston and family n W^"" 
 
 A. G. Hammond aad wife ' Vi c.^"\ w jj u. 
 
 1 u xj ( > • ,,T J Mrs. Sarah Weaver and daughter 
 
 Joseph HutcauiK, vvite and son ^ -ttt t.t- , *» 
 
 Sheriff of Kal. Co , Merch.int &c. 9'^,'''^L^'\ ^uislow 
 
 Azro Healy J«hn VVmslow 
 
 Volnev Hascall. Rollin Wood, Justice of the Peace &c, 
 
 now Editor and Publisher of £aZ. Gczef/ff, William E. White 
 Nath'l Holman and wife, moth'r, broth'rJasper Wood 
 Chas. Herrington, William Wingert, Gunsmith, 
 
 then at work fur Buell & Brother now of Detroit. 
 
 Isaac N. Janes; Rev Cj-lus Woodbury and family. 
 
 Parson W. was the first settled Presbyterian Clergyman in Kalamazoo ; and the first " fin- 
 nation party " I ever attended was at his house — in the winter, I think, of 1835. — And this 
 brintjs ino to X, Y, Z. 
 
 1 do not pretend that liie foregoing list is perfect, for in the 
 lapse of years, and drawn up, as it has been, from memory, 
 it would be singular if it were; but 1 present it as a tolerably 
 accurate register of those living, or hailin^r from here m 1835 
 and 1836, within what is now, the corporate limits of Kalamazoo > 
 Wnat a change from those times to the present ! when the 
 Main Street of our village, from the river up to the Tremont 
 House, was almost free of dwellings ; and beyond that station, 
 and around in all directions, the native bur-oaks bloomed in 
 primeval beauty. Then it was a common sight to see bands 
 of roving Indians, and to hear the howl of the wolf — then 
 game was plenty, and the fleet deer bounded merrily over 
 green pastures where- nozi* stand thickly together the pleasant 
 habitations of the comfortable housekeeper, and the more pre- 
 tentious mansions of the rich. Those were the good old 
 "land-office times," when Speculators went about with "ple- 
 thoric purses and empty stomachs, and paid two shilhngs for a 
 "smell of something good to eat !" and for the privilege of 
 leaning against a door post to sleep, or bunking on the old 
 Kalamazoo House floor ! — The glorious days of paper cities, 
 with " desirable water lots ! " — when " Port Sheldon " flour- 
 khed, and the proprietors flourished over the port ! — when a 
 
49 
 
 fraction entered for $50 at the Land Office, in the morning, 
 told for 5,000 at night ! — When everybody was •* crazy for 
 land," and felt rich, and wanted to be crazier and richer ! — 
 When pork was 820 a barrel, and too poor at that to *• worry 
 its way down !" — When pies and gingerbrea d were divided 
 into " Qaai ter Sections," and sold for a " short shilling a bite ! *' 
 When a man was afraid to be seen using a tooth-pick, after 
 dinner, for fear of being mobbed and murdered for the des- 
 sert ! — in short, when everything and everybody was turned 
 *' topsy-turvy," and an overwhelming torrent of speculation 
 deluged the laad. But over these " troubled elements," there 
 has come a calm. A glittering bow of promise has long 
 since spanned the dark and threatening clouds — revealing 
 by its curve of glory, a " new heavens and a new earth." Old 
 things are done away, and the bright sunlight of prosperity 
 and happiness is now shining upon all. The effect of the la- 
 bors of those who survived this perilous period, manifested 
 itself m an mcreased regard for individual probity and useful- 
 ness, and in sounder and maturer action for the public good. 
 Inordinate selfishness and love of gain, were purified and con- 
 trolled by the dictates of a better humanity — or, at all 
 events, the more glaring inconsistency and development, 
 were hid under a cloak that covered the " multitude of sins," 
 The baser passians were curbed— held in subjection by the 
 strong arm of the law, and that enlightened and efficient 
 public sentiment, which sooner or later approves or condemns 
 ihe conduct of all. 
 
 Every added year has carried forward the good work of 
 reform, and Kalamazoo, at this auspicious hour, may truly be 
 said to be luxuriating in beauty and plenty, amid her native 
 .vales, like some fair virgin decked with i?owers. And just 
 here, I am reminded to add a word or two in memory of the 
 beautiful and novel appearance of our Prairies, as they look- 
 ed to me some twenty years or more ago. — I can never for- 
 get the vivid impressionmade npon my mind (fresh as I then 
 was from city scenes and life,) the first time 1 looked upon a 
 prairie in full bloom — I had mounted my horse for an afternoon 
 ride, and heading westward from our village, gave my favor- 
 ite running nag Lightfoot free rein until I drew up suddenly 
 on the brow of the hill near •* Uncle Parker's," on Grani> 
 Prairie ; — for it seemed to me almost like sacrilege, to crush 
 livith my horse's hoofs the lovely and delicate fairy children 
 7* 
 
50 
 
 of the woods and fields, by which I was surrounded. Be- 
 aeath, about, and beyond me, as far as the eye could reach, 
 was spread out, in undulating elegance, an emerald carpet of 
 [lature's choicest fabric, inlaid profusely with flowers of erery 
 imaginable variety of name and tint — gorgeous and fascina- 
 ting as the most brilliant hues of the rainbow. — Horse and 
 rider were alike captivated : for my pet racer, with eye and 
 aostnl wide open, literally rfran^ in, with me. the rich beauty 
 and odor of that charming scene. — Never can 1 forget that 
 day. There I sat, and gazed delightedly, wholly unconscious 
 of the lapse of time, until the shadows of evening, gathering 
 thickly over the landscape, admonished me of the " witching 
 hour," on love's dial, when a fairer " native flower" than any 
 I had then and there seen, would bloom for me alone I 
 
 So, what time the moon. 
 
 Her silver crescent iii the orient shone, 
 Lightfool and 1, in happy mood, hie'd home I 
 
 [An accomplished and genial clerical critic at my elbow » 
 as 1 am concluding this add\iiona,[ prairie item suggests sky'd 
 for " hied," in the above couplet! — The indulgent reader can 
 therefore adopt my friend the Rev. E. B. Palmer's emenda- 
 tion, or the original text, as saemeth best, "all things con- 
 sidered ! "] 
 
 A few words now, before bringing this hasty article to a 
 close, in memory of the old U. S. Land Office, and of those 
 with whom I was associated in 1835 and 1838. 
 
 jMajor Abraham Edwards (then Rei/ister, and for several 
 years subsequently,) kept the Office in a building immediately 
 in the rear of O. Davenport's large frame house now standing, 
 on the corner of Main and Edwards* streets. At that time, 
 with the exception of the Land Oflice, it was all an open lot. 
 It was there that 1 first commenced "scribbling" as a Clerk, 
 soon after, the Major removed to the Office I now occupy, and 
 in which I have the honor to " flourish " as Register. Here 
 most of the Government lands, now constituting the Home- 
 steads and improved farms of the country, were sold at t^n 
 shillings an acre ^ including the location of the *' site " of the 
 present "City of Kalamazoo." The curious observer of the 
 antique, may at this day see specimens of the pencilings of the 
 *' original locators,'* all over the outside of the old Office, at 
 well as cuttings by Yankee ** blades 1 " In fact, the old Major, 
 at one time dunng a "great land rush," to save his picket 
 
SI 
 
 fence and other property, from utter destruction, bought a 
 load of shingles for the express use and benefit of the crowd, 
 and had proclamation made, that every man might help him- 
 self, gratis, and whittle away to his heart's content! After 
 that, every other person you passed, betvfeen this and tb* 
 Receiver's, on both sides of the road, at the taverns, on the cor- 
 ners, and every where else, had a knife and shingle in hand, 
 and Wc'is cutting away for dear life! Any ''knowing one" 
 r.ould tell, by the way a man •* whittled," what progress he 
 was making m a trade. The skirmishing and feeling-process, 
 was a bold and rapid succession of cuts, outward, but ab the 
 bargain progressed to a happy close, the knife blade was in- 
 clined imvnrd, — the parings became nicer and closer, and the 
 trade and shingle ended in the sharpest kind of a point, lo 
 the buyer who was '• sold ! " 
 
 The force in the Regisler's Office, in 1835 and 1836, con- 
 sisted of Major Edwards and his sons, Alexander and 
 "^CoL. Tom," Mr. John B. Guiteau, my brothers, S. Yorke 
 and Richard, Mr. Alfred A. Williams, Ira Burdick, the 
 ^' Squire," Captain George A. O'Brien, A. VV. Richardson. 
 and myself besides the occasional help in the office, of Mr. 
 Thos. C. Sheldon' ^the Receiver J. M; — Messrs, T. P. 
 Sheldon, Geo. Thos. Clark, and Rodney Gibson. The 
 rush of business was so great in those days, that extra clerks 
 h&d often to be called in to register the Applications, Plats, 
 'Adc, and bring up our Returns for Washington : and mil- 
 lions of dollars from this Office alone, poured into the Treas- 
 ury of the United States. 
 
 In those days of " wild-cat" and " red-dog" inflated paper 
 tiurrency, everybody was a Croesus, at least in feeling. Sper- 
 ulation and pecalaiion were the twin charlatans and rulers of 
 the hour. Men of judgment and honesty, who had therefore 
 kept unimpaired their integrity, joined in the general scramble 
 after riches, and yielded, finally, to the fascinating rustle of 
 bank-paper, and the righteous ring of the *' almighty dollar T' 
 
 The " Specie Circular,'* killed the bastard progeny of irre- 
 sponsible Bankers, while the ink upon their lying " piomises 
 lo pay " was yet moist on the fair faces of their treacherous 
 issue, and the sober second thought of the people, came at 
 l list, hke rain upon the dry and barren earth, lo refreih the 
 wa«te places, and make the desert and solitary wilderness 
 bloom and blossom like the rose. 
 
52 
 
 One of the principal means, from first to last, in the progress 
 of refoi'm and of social and intellectual advancement, here 
 and elsewhere, was unquestionably the introduction and faith- 
 ful application of the Printing Press ; that grand and irre- 
 sistable lever for raising the masses, and moving the very 
 foundations of the mental and moral world. Mr. HEiHRY 
 Gilbert, may with propriety be called, the founder and 
 father of the public press of Western Michigan. No man 
 connected with it, has seen harder service, met with a great- 
 er variety of viscissitudes and experiences, had 'Mower 
 downs," or " higher ups I " For some years past, he has been 
 out, as an Editor and Printer, and is now -' set up in capitals" 
 as one of our most obliging and popular " Merchant Princes." 
 Messrs. Hascall and Fitch, from their respective tripods 
 and platforms, now sit in Henry's scat, and di&pense the 
 pure milk of letters and logic (adulterated, occasionally, with 
 ii little water)) to their indulgent frien<ls and subscribers. 
 They have both grown up withm my knowledge o^ their 
 school-boy days ; and I record it here with a feeling ol the 
 sincerest pride and pleasure, that as artiiicers of their own 
 reputations and fortunes, they merit the confidence and sup- 
 port so generously awarded them by the good people of 
 Kalamazoo. 
 
 We have now reached an epoch in our history, of great 
 moment to us, and to those who shall come after us. Print- 
 ing Offices, School Houses, Churches, Theological Institutions, 
 and Colleges; Courts of Law, Banks, and Shaving Shops; 
 Medical Dispensaries ard Drug Stores; busy marts of Com- 
 merce and Merchandise ; Factories and places for all me- 
 chanical and industrial pursuits ; Literary, Benevolent, and 
 Sewing Societies ; — in short, a little of everything in general^ 
 and too much of some things in particular, are crowding upoB 
 each other, in rapid succession, to ihe manifest horror of iazy^ 
 people, and the total extinction of men and women of " one 
 ideal" 
 
 Finally, may we all act well our several parts in the great 
 theatre of life, so that, as its mysterious drama is ending, Vf& 
 shall be able to look up joyfully, and exclaim : 
 
 The sky is full 
 
 Of the Btarr'd banners of the heavenly hostj 
 Dependent from Us glorious battlements, 
 To lure us from these b&nicrs of «arth.— . 
 
53 
 
 Othat we might o'er}eap them, al a bound ; 
 And Btand. complete, at last, a Deathless Man,— 
 Crown'd with immortal bays, and thron'd in Light ; 
 
 Very llespeclfully Yours, 
 
 T. S. AtLEE, 
 U. S. Land Office, Kalamazoo, Mich. 
 
Earls^ fCemini^cences. 
 
 MRS. HENRIETTA S. T. TAYLOtl. 
 
 J>EAR Madam : — As you desired, I have thrown together,- 
 in the following pajies, some remennbrances of the early set- 
 tlement of Kalamazoo, and its vicinity. They are very 
 crudely and imperfectly presented, and I fear will add but 
 little to the interest of vour proposed work. 
 
 It was on the 22d day of June, 1831, that our family first 
 saw the spot marked out for their home in the wilds of Michi- 
 gan. This was on ''Genesee Prairie," four miles south- 
 west of Kalamazoo Village, whither my father, in company 
 with Anthony Cooley and Erastuv Smith, had immigrated and 
 located their claims the fall before — 1 ihink. in October, 1830. 
 They gave the prairie the name it bears in honor of Genesee 
 County, N. Y., from whence they had all removed. On our 
 arrival, in June, we found besides those above named, three or 
 four families, which had preceded us, and pitched their 
 ** Squatter" tents on various parts of the Prairie. These 
 were Enoch Harris, a colored man, and his family, a Mr. 
 Wild and family, a Mr. Hunt and family, and a Mr. Stillwell 
 and family ; the former two of winch still remain. The sur- 
 rounding country was wild and undisturbed as it had existed, 
 probably, for long centuries before. The numerous bands of 
 Indians and their deeply trodden trails whicli traversed the 
 prairies and forests, at this time, in all directions, abated noth« 
 ing from tlie primeval freshness of the surrounding scenery. 
 God and Nature re\gncd alone, and civilized man had not yet 
 been permitted to mar the holy quiet and deep solemnity, 
 whjch brooded over the beautiful lakes and valleys, the green 
 prairies and deep forests, that lay so tranquilly around U3. It 
 iia« seemed tome that there was a nearer communion with 
 the Creative Spirit of the Universe in those early days, than 
 ha« been experienced since the necessities or cupidity of man 
 transformed the wilderness into the fruitful field. 
 
 Among the first things that attracted attention about our 
 homestead, was a large circle amid % grove of trees, vb«re 
 
55 
 
 the earth was trodden down much like the trails which passed 
 near it. This we learned was a spot upon which the Indians 
 had been accustomed to celebrate their festivities ; and if re- 
 port was true, sometimes to practice the war dances of their 
 tribe. This, then, was the origin of the mysterious circle. — 
 In another spot on my father's farm an artificial mound was 
 discovered, about a rod in diameter at its bass, and some four 
 or five feet high. Around this there was a regularly laid out 
 garden, the beds still stanJmg as distinctly marked, and as 
 regular in their order, and arraiigemant, apparently, as when 
 they were first wrought out by the hands of the unknown 
 workmen. And upon this mound, and in the midst of some 
 of these beds, were growing large and aged trees, showing 
 that the mysterious gardens must have had their origin in far 
 back ages. Probably they were the work of the same people 
 whose tumuli, and whose instruments of war and domestic use, 
 are found scattered in various places lhroaghi)ut the entire 
 west. 
 
 Another object of interest engaged our attention almost the 
 first day of our arrival. It was reported that upon Grand 
 Prairie two miles north of us, there were inexhaustible fields 
 of strawbernes, then in the very zenith of their glory. We 
 went. The half was not told. Snm deserted corn fields, 
 left by the Indians, a year or two before, had grown over 
 with rank and luxuriant strawberry vines, which seemed to 
 be indigenous to the soil. These at this time, were literally 
 loaded with fruit, and the little hillocks where the corn had 
 stood, for acres and acres, gleamed red in the sun, as though 
 each might be a honafiii heap of the luscious berries, already 
 plucked and placed there. A more interesting sight it is dif- 
 ficult to conceive of; and the pioneers did uot fail to make 
 themselves practically acquainted with these spontaneous gifts 
 of the deserted corn fields. 
 
 About this time some excitement occurred in consequence 
 of a murder that had been committed upon an Indian by one 
 of the tribe, over west of Grand Prairie. The criminal had 
 been just tried and condemned, and permission granted hira 
 to visit his friends and relatives for the last lime previous to 
 his execution. No bail was required in Indian jurisprudence 
 He had given his word to return on the appointed day, and 
 that was deemed sufficient by the Chief. The questioe 
 among the white settlers was—" Will the condemned raan 
 
56 
 
 keep fjis word t " Varic^iis were the opinions ; and not » 
 little cariosity was felt throughout the community as the stated 
 time drew near. The day at length came ; and with it came 
 the condemned criminal, punctual to the hour. The sentence 
 'of death was immediately carried into execution ; and his 
 body was placed sitting upright, in the midst of a rude struc- 
 ture of logs, where it remained, and was visited by the set- 
 tlers of the surrounding country for many months afterward. 
 His pipe and food were placud by his side, in order, as I sup- 
 pose, to make his journey *'to the undiscovered country '' a? 
 tolerable as possible. But no one could discover that he ever 
 condescended to make use of them. 
 
 Early m the spring of the next year, 1832, a new and more 
 formidable cause of excitement occurred, which, for a time 
 created a good deal of agitation and alarm among the settlers. 
 !t was reported that Blxck Hawk, with a large body of his 
 warriors, was m.irching directly for our settlements, and there 
 was imminent danger that all the people would be massacred. 
 At once a draft was made upon all the male inhabitants lia- 
 ble to military service, and general muster was to take place 
 upon Prairie Ronde, where means for resistance and protec- 
 tion were to be devised, and as far as possible, carried out. 
 Well do I remember with what feeling I saw my father de- 
 part, and how painful was the suspense in the family, until he 
 returned, which he did in two or three days, it havirg been 
 ascertained that the repori was exaggerated and ihe danger, 
 at least, at that particular time, was not threatening. The 
 community became tranquilized, and during the summer 
 the news was received that General Atkinson had had a de- 
 cisive engagement with the Indian forces, and had disastrous- 
 ly routed them, taking Black Hawk, his son, and many war- 
 riors prisoners. This at once restored perfect quiet to our 
 settlement ; and none were now afraid to traverse the coun- 
 try again at will. 
 
 The game of the country at this time, was exceedingly 
 plentiful. Deer, bears and wolves, were seen in all direc- 
 tions by the settlers, and many were killed, the two former 
 furnishing a considerable portion of the food in some of the 
 families. Wolves, especially, were everywhere, and their 
 dismal howl was almost suie to be heard as soon as night set 
 in. And they were possessed of a most audacious temerity 
 ioo — I well remember upon a certain occasion when one 
 
*7 
 
 came at midday, into our door yard and seized a sheep befor^^ 
 the face and eyes of several of the family, and would hare 
 made short work with the timid animal, had not my father 
 interfered to rescue it. And, again, one came just before 
 night-fall, within two rods of the door, and laid hold of a 
 small pig, the cries of which soon brought its long-legged, 
 lantern-jawed, ferocious maternal ancestor to the rescue, 
 when his lupine majesty saw fit to beat a hasty retreat, with 
 the injured mother at his heels ; and such a race we venture 
 to say, was never seen on Genesee Prairie before or since, — 
 A small dog, we had, would sometimes venture, in the nighh 
 to crawl out through a hole in the wall of the log house, left 
 for his exit and entrance, and bark, when he scented the near 
 approach of a wolf; and not unfrequently was he driven 
 hurriedly in, by the swift approach of the wild beast to attack 
 him ; when the mutual growling was anything but pleasant 
 music to the ears of the family. 
 
 It seems to me but yesterday, (although it is twenty-four 
 years since,) that I first visited the '* county seat," as the little 
 village was then usually called by the settlers m the surround- 
 ing country. I was a mere boy then, and with a boy's curi- 
 osity, noted the various things of interest in the infant town. 
 At the foot of Main Street, on the bank of the river, at this 
 time, was a cabin, occupied by Nathan Harrison, who had 
 estabhshed a ferry there, consisting of a canoe or two, and a 
 large skiflf, with which to accommodate the immigrants and 
 settlers who desired to cross the river. " Uncle Nate" was 
 known the country through, for he was a great hunter, and 
 foremost at all shooting matches, and hunting parties. He 
 was, however, one of those wandering pioneer spirits that 
 could not long brook the advances of civilization ; and he 
 soon sought a new home, where the sound of the axe and the 
 hammer had not yet disturbed the peaceful repose of nature. 
 The day I visited the ferry the west shore of the river for 
 some distance up and down, was lined with the beautiful 
 birchen canoes of a company of Indians, wh» had come, 
 bringing maple sugar, venison and peltries to trade with the 
 whites, they generally desiring in exchange, whiskey, flour, or 
 some gaudy articles of dress. For many years after, this was 
 a favorite resort of the natives for purposes of barter; but 
 alas ! the face of the red man is now rarely seen here, and 
 sooti will be ««en no more forever. About a mile below this 
 8* 
 
58 
 
 place, on the east bank of the river^ was an old French tm-* 
 ding post, kept by a half breed by the name of Liephart, 
 where the earlier settlers found very scant supplies of dry 
 goods an'i groceries ; but scant and dear as they ^\ere, they 
 suppliefl a want which would otherwise have been severely 
 felt by ihc pioneers. But at the period of which I am now 
 speaking, there appeared an individual among the little band 
 of villagers, who was destined not only to eclipse the French 
 trading post in the way of supjiljing the necessities of the 
 settlers, but whose subsequent career was to have an impor- 
 tant bearing upon the growth and prosperity of the place. 
 He was a tall, spare, rather eccentric Yankee, with a some- 
 what military air, and a very ?3072cAa/awr carriage and mode 
 of speech. Without further circumlocution, it was Col. 
 HosEA B. Huston, who came at that early day with a stock 
 of merchandize adapted to the wants ot the settlenent, and 
 put up a hastily constructed store, on the coiner of Main and 
 Rose Streets, being the front part of the building which yet 
 remains there. At the time of my first visit " to town," above 
 alluded to, this little mart of the Col. was just opened, gnd 
 my boyish curiosity was highly gratified with the hour or two's 
 experience 1 then had there. It was the place of resort for 
 the townsmen, who were fond of meeting there, and "talking 
 over matters." Here it was that I first saw Titus Bronson — 
 the strange, lank, half crazy, eccentric founder of the village, 
 known the country over by his then usual cognomen — " Po« 
 tato Bronson " — a name given him on account of the devo- 
 tion with which he cultivated a large patch of potatoes, upon 
 Prairie Ronde, the first year of his arrival. Here, too, it was 
 that I first saw Cyrus Lovell — otherwise " Squire Lovell " — 
 celebrated for the unerring certainty with which he would 
 despatch any luckless fly that might incontinently light upon 
 his person. At the very time of which I speak, it was my 
 privilege to witness the terrible skill of the " Squire " upon 
 more than thirty •ccasions. 
 
 But I must hurry to a close with these trivial reminiscences, 
 lest I abuse the patience of the reader and mar the object for 
 which they were intended. 
 
 In October 1835, I became an apprentice to Gilbert & 
 Chandler, at the printing business, they having a sh«rt time 
 previous commenced publishing a newspaper called the 
 " Michigan Statesman" shortly after, the " Kalamazoo Ga- 
 
59 
 
 teiic.^ In a few weeks, h(iwever, Mr. Chandler retired from 
 the firm, and Mr. Gilbert became sole proprietor, and and so 
 remained until 1840, when he sold to E. D. Burr, who after 
 conducting the establishment for a few months, surrendered it 
 to Mr. Gilbert, who, part of the time alone, and part of ihe 
 time in company Avith others, continued to carry on the busi- 
 ness, until 1845, when the present proprietor purchased the 
 office, with nothing but his notes, and in three months, wa« 
 obliged to sell, which he did to J. W. Breese, Esq., who after 
 nine months trial, was glad to resell it btck to myself since 
 which time — May 1, 1846 — it has been constantly under 
 my control. It may be, that at some future time 1 may wnle 
 a brief history of the early vicissitudes of the Gazette Of- 
 fice ; but it would hardly be proper here, after the large space 
 I have already occupied. 1 have merely given the above 
 facts, that the early history of the press may not be entirely 
 lost, should no fuller statement be hereafter made. 
 
 1 append here, a few imperfect lines, written by me several 
 years ago, embodying a legendary tale of the Indians, which 
 en ay be true or false ; but as the incidents are said to have 
 occurred in this vicinity, the trifle may not be wholly without 
 interest. 
 
 A NIGHT BATTLE SCENE ON THE KALAMAZOO, 
 AN ihdian legend. 
 
 On the bank of the river, about a mile below this place, is 
 pointed out a spot which is said to have been the scene of a 
 battle fought near the middle of the last century, between the 
 Sioux and Ottawa Indians. According to the tradition among 
 the Indians, these tribes, after many years of feud and strife 
 met on the spot above mentioned, with all their warriors, to 
 make a final decision of their difficulties. It seems that Wa- 
 cousta, the Chief of the Ottawas, had formed a plan of attack 
 by night, in order that he might come upon the enemy una- 
 wares, and thus, taking them in an unprepared state, might 
 more easily and more securely accomplish his purpose. But 
 the enemy learned the design through his own son, who cher- 
 ishing an affection for the daughter of the Sioux Chief, vea- 
 turtd to the tent of her father on the night of the intended 
 massacre and privately warned the maiden of her danger, 
 
€0 
 
 and besought her to stek safety in immediate flight. But she 
 considering her duty to her people and her kindred para- 
 mount to the affection of a lover, instantly gave the alarm . 
 The Sioux warriors being thus put on their guard, silently 
 awaited the approach of the enemy ; who advancing secretly 
 and cautiously within a short distance of the Sioux tents, 
 rushed on to their work with the soul -chilling war-whoop. 
 But the enemy, forewarned, were prepared to receiv* them, 
 which so completely surprised the Ottawas, that they were 
 compelled to retreat on the first onset ; but being rallied by 
 their Chief, they returned to the contest and after a long and 
 bUody struggle, succeeded in defeating the Sioux ; losing 
 however, their Chieftain — a warrior deserving the first ran' 
 ^moag the Indian heroes : 
 
 The night wind sighed, faintly, its dirge through the treei, 
 The cry of the owlet wai borne on the breeze — 
 And the scream of the eagle, in accents so fell. 
 Intermingled its notes with the wild panther's yell. 
 Darkly the storm-cloud was lowering around. 
 Enshrouding all nature in darkness profound. 
 More dreadful that hour, more dismal that gloom 
 Than the soul-chilling horror that reigns at the tomb. 
 But behold ! fee, the watch-fire is kindled afar ; 
 Wacousta has lighted the beaoon of war ! 
 And wo© te the Sioux if the darkness of night 
 Shall find him in slumber, unarmed for the fight ! 
 For deep is the ire of the Ottawa Chief 
 When the hatchet is raised in revenge for his grief ; 
 And deadly his vengeance his victim shall feel 
 When the wrongs of Wacousta shall sharper the steel : 
 
 Ah 1 where is the Sioux when the death-fire burns brifht f 
 Sees he not from the hill the red glare of its light f 
 And where is the Chief, when the enemy nigh. 
 Shall rush to the carnage with the dread battle cry ? 
 
 But, hark ! there's a wail of deep grief on the air, 
 In the accents of woe break* that cry of despair. 
 
 gay why on the breeze coraefe that voice of lament. 
 
 In the frenzy of anguish, from the dark Sioux tent ? 
 
 Ah, list! — 'ti» Wahcondah who entreats in that prayer— 
 
 'WACeusta, thy son is the suppUant there ; 
 
 For oft he hatii sworn to the bright Sioux maid 
 
 Tb« faith of the warrior, which but death shall iavidt. 
 
61 
 
 Ht comes to entreat that from danger tfar, 
 
 Tke maiden will ily from the temptst of war. 
 
 Bit true to her eenntry when danger is near. 
 
 She heeds not the warnings of puril or fear ; 
 
 But quick through the camp of the slumbering Sioux, 
 
 On the Toice of the maiden the dread signal fiew. 
 
 How sudden the change af the sleeper to life ! 
 Of the warrior at rest to the warrior for strife ! 
 As if earth from its bosom had yielded its clay 
 All armed for the conflict in battle array. 
 Deep silence reigns there 'mid that dark warrior band, 
 All steadfast and firm with their armor they stand. 
 
 But, hark ! oh the air breaks the Ottawa's yell. 
 More fierce than the shrieks of the demons of hell. 
 Like fiends of despair they come down on the foe ; 
 Destruction and Death follow fast where they go, 
 But, see ! the bold Sioux receive the dread shock- 
 All bravely they stand as the firm mountain rock. 
 
 Lo ! carnage stalks forth on that red battle field ; 
 For sooner the warrior meets death than to yield. 
 Ah ! dire is the fight whea the brare meets the brave ; 
 And rich then the harvest that cumbers the grave. 
 
 But hark ! there is triumph breaks forth in thai yell, 
 For deadly the Sioux' red tomahawks tell : — 
 The Ottawa shrinks from that charge ef the foe, 
 For the spirit of death is abroad in each blow. 
 They turn— but the form ot Wacousta stands forth. 
 And darker his frown than the clouds of the North ; 
 More fiercely his yell breaks alOud on the air 
 Than the cries of the Furies urged on by despair. 
 ******* 
 
 *Tis done I for the Sioux has fled far away ; 
 N© longer he urges the deadly affray : 
 But a tear dims the eye of the Ottawa brave — 
 Their Chieftain sleeps cold in the warrior's red grave, 
 Wacousta ! Wacotista I O, long will thy name 
 Stand brightly, the first on the pages of fame. 
 Thy spirit has gone to the far father land, 
 To meet with the manes of thy bright kindred bacd. 
 May the waves in sad cadence thy requiem roll. 
 While the soft, gentle zephyrs waft praise to thy moI. 
 ****•*♦ 
 
62 
 
 A mound mark« the Bp*t wher^ the Chieft&in rdpetes. 
 And over his tomb blooms a bed of wild roses. 
 
 There are other traditions of an interesting character con- 
 laected with our locality, which, could they be collected and 
 preserved, might be used in some future work of local his- 
 tory to great advantage ; but it would swell this article to aft 
 inordinate length, to give even the outlines ; and I presume 
 it would not comport with the object of your present under- 
 taking, to go thus extensively into matters no better aulhenti- 
 catsd than these wild legends usually are. 
 Very Respectfully, 
 
 V. HASCALL. 
 
Kalamazoo in 1833. 
 
 MRS. HENRIETTA S. T. TAYLOR, 
 
 Secretary Ladies* Library Association, Kal. Michigan, 
 
 Time in its passage through twenty-two years, hatb 
 wrought a change in the County of Kalamazoo, which to 
 those of us, who were among the "early settlers," seems 
 marvellous and dreamlike. I remember well, a pleasant ride 
 I had, in the early part of November, 1833, from my humble 
 cabin, on " Prairie Ronde," passing over tie "Indian trail" 
 which touched the margin of " Dry Prairie," thence across a 
 somewhat broken country, until it finally passed down on the 
 plain, near the dwelling house, on what now constitutes the 
 " Axtell Farm;" my errand was to purchase, at what was 
 then considered the great mart of trade for this County, a 
 supply of Salt. The Trading House below the present vil- 
 lage of Kalamazoo and near where now stands the Furnace, 
 furnished the principal supply of Salt and Iron, (and that in 
 very limited quantities) and other necessaries to the Pioneer. 
 At the Trading House, I found a large number of Indians, 
 bartering for their supplies of Blue Calico and Whiskey. My 
 mission was speedily and satisfactorily accomplished, by an 
 exchange of twelve dollars and fifty cents in silver coin, for 
 one barrel of salt, the salt to be brought home in the course 
 of a few days, by the ox team of a neighbor, who was jointly 
 interested with me in the purchase. On my return, I had for 
 companions, " Sagawaw '' the village Chief of some two 
 score of Indian Lodges, located on what is termed the " North 
 West Neck " of Prairie Ronde, and his interpreter, " Duro- 
 cher," a mongrel, his mother a Squaw, his father a Canadian 
 Frenchman. The Chief was a noble specimen of his race, 
 reserved, and with little disposition to indulge in idle talk. — 
 Durocher, on the contrary, had many of the peculiarities of 
 the Frenchman, a constant disposition to exaggerate, violent 
 in his gesticulation, with a copious, and sometimes almost a 
 furious flow of words. In passing a point of marsh land, 
 distan t about one mile from the present Axtell Farm House, 
 
64 
 
 the Indian pointed to a mound shaped spot of land, entirely 
 surrounded by the marsh, and explamed through Durocher, 
 that tliere stood, during the last war with England, a «hop, in, 
 which iwo men, (one French, the other English,) labored \n 
 repasring the guns of the Indians. He stated that the rudo 
 shop was erected, and the men paid by the British Govern- 
 ment, and that the repairs were made for the Indians, free o( 
 any charge ; that the shop was placed on that knoll or mound 
 surrounded by a wet marsh, as a protection to some extent, 
 against fire. Sagawaw also stated, that many Indians were 
 at that spot, for weeks, obtaining repairs and making their 
 simple arrangements, in anticipation of a great battle to be 
 fought in the month of December, A. D. 1812, in the Easteru 
 part of what now constitutes the State of Michigan, and thai 
 fheir expectations were sadly realized in the bloody fight at 
 Frenchtown, on the River Raisin, on the 22d day of January. 
 A. D. 1813, where the very flower of the Kentucky soldiery, 
 including the gallant company led on by Captain Hart, were 
 butchered almost to a man. A few of the American soldiers 
 escaped the indiscriminate slaughter of that dreadful fight, 
 for it stands a recorded historical fact, to the eternal disgrace 
 of Proctor, the British Commander, that he suffered and 
 ^ven encouraged the Indians to pursue this murderous thirst 
 for blood after the remnant of Americans had surrendered. 
 Among the small band that escaped the tomahawk and scalp- 
 ing knife, of the Indians, in that perilous fight, and who with 
 a few others, was taken captive into Canada, was one of the 
 pioneers of our County, and who still lives, a farmer on 
 ** Gourd Neck Prairie — the Government has recently be- 
 stowed on him, for his services, a warrant for Bounty Land, 
 und well might John McComsey waive his accustomed mod- 
 esty and say with patriotic pride, in enumerating his military 
 services, I was in the thickest of the fight at the " Battle of 
 th^ River Raising 
 
 The Pottawattarnies — to which tribe Sagawaw was at 
 tached, were all, the allies of the British. As the old Chief 
 described what he had witnessed at, and around the spot 
 where we then stood, with extended arm, he directed our eyes 
 to the circular spot where the coal was burnt and prepared 
 for the forge of that primative workshop, and there, within 
 the square of ground, upon which the shop once stood, could 
 still be seen the charred block, on which the anvil bad rested , 
 
65 
 
 To my enquiry, why were the Pottawattamies always th« 
 Allies of the British, and enemies of the Americans, came the 
 .•eady answer, " Our Father " over the big water gave to xha 
 Indian plenty of powder, lead and blankets, and always a^-- 
 companied the present with the solemn declaration that the 
 Americans had ever intended to drive the Indian away west 
 of the " Father of Waters." 
 
 But not to be tedious in these early reminiscences, I recar 
 again to the marked change in the country throughout the 
 County of Kalamazoo, within the past score of years ; the 
 face of the country is peculiar in its wild state, the cherished 
 home of the Indian, and with kis little labor and effort, fur- 
 nishing him free'y with the means of substance ; its wide 
 spread piairies and beautiful groves, before the disturbing' 
 hand of the white man had touched them, more lovely than 
 ain English landscape, and in its season embellished with fi 
 Verdure and a profusion and variety of flowers, that wouUi 
 have pleased the eye and made happy the heart of the poet. 
 And now, after the lapse ©f these few years, since this same 
 country has been surrendered for what has been termed, the 
 iimprovement of civilization, we have presented for our enjoys 
 -ment, all the comfort and luxuries of life. Intelligent travel- 
 ers, in their western tours, have oft times favorably noted the 
 Tillage of Kalamazoo, as having in its location, convenience 
 and beauty, in intimate combination. The even plain ami 
 surrounding liills, it would almost seem, expressly prepared 
 for the ornamental and useful efforts of the builder Its peo- 
 ple are mainly from the hills of New England, ajland that sendi^ 
 its sons for energetic efforts in civilization and refinement, all 
 over the world. Here also, we find spacious streets, and 
 dwellings commodious, and exhibiting th3 skill of the arch* 
 tect ; the merchant with enlarged capital is before us, with 
 his rich display of fabrics, exhibiting American skill, or wo 
 Yen in the "old world." Churches presenting large outlay 
 of means, have been erected, creditable to the several relig 
 sous societies, Who thus give evidence that they acknowledge 
 1hc Supremacy of that Being who gives to us life, health, and 
 prosperity . 
 
 But I am reminded that 1 occupy this page by virtue o( my 
 1 position, as one of the early settlers, and that brevity in the; 
 •writer, hath oft times more of interest than his style or subject. 
 
 H, G. W. 
 ^9* 
 
l¥a€ousta; A Tradition of the Ottawas. 
 
 W. C. RANSOM. 
 
 Not altogether free of romance are the localities around 
 our beautiful Village. Indeed, America's most distinguished 
 novelist, the lamented Cooper, placed the scene of •ne of his 
 latest tales along the shores of that beautiful stream which 
 winding along the base of the ampitheatring hills that sur- 
 rounds our Village, shines like a sheen of silver in the far oW 
 distance. 
 
 About this beautiful garden spot of our State it was the de- 
 light of the red men to gather. Here were their homes ; 
 here their council fires ; and here too, reposed in safety their 
 old men and women, while their braves, on some distant ex- 
 pedition, carried terror to the hearts of their enemies. Upon 
 at high bluff just below our village, repose the remains of one 
 of the most noted Chieftains of the Ottawa Tribe. An in- 
 teresting tradition of his people relates the history of his 
 death, as follows : 
 
 Many Moons ago ere the pale face had looked upon the 
 blue waters of the Michigan ; while yet the Ottawas, the Hu. 
 Tons, the Chippewas and Pottawatamies held undisputed sway 
 over that vast tract of country which is washed by th© sur* 
 rounding lakes; the Sioux a numerous and warlike tribe, 
 whose domains extended from the shores of the Michigan 
 Lake to the Mississippi, on the west, sent out a large war 
 party, who, passing around the head of the lake, invaded the 
 territory occupied by the Ottawas, who were gathered in 
 large nutabers at this point, celebrating the annual feast of 
 \h^ harvest. 
 
 At peace wiiii their neighbors, and not suspecting danger, 
 rtie Sioux party had approached to the top of the hills that 
 overlook our valley on the west, without the slightest sub- 
 
67 
 
 picion on the part of the Ottawas, of the promity of their 
 dangerous foes. Here they paused and awaited the darkness 
 of the night, ere they should make that attack which would 
 send the dusky spirit of many a brave to the happy hunting 
 grounds of the spirit land. 
 
 The feast and the dance of the harvest went merrily on 
 around the happy fires, the young warrior wooed an! won, 
 the brave recited his deeds of daring, and tne sagimunds of 
 the nation looked grave and smiled by turns at the festive 
 scenes around them. Among the Ottawas was one who 
 jomed not in the festivities. — " The Eagles feather " contrasted 
 strongly with the dark hair in which it was twincd» and his 
 noble bearing proclaimed him, who sat apart from his com- 
 rades, to be a personage of no common position, for he was 
 the son of Wacousta the Chief of his tribe. Once upon an 
 expedition, he had wandered far away from the home of his 
 fathers to the wigwams of the Sioux, here he had sought and 
 obtained the promise of the hand of a Chieftain's daughter, 
 and returned to his home, promising that many moons should 
 not pass, ere he would return and claim his beautiful bride. 
 
 Well did the young Ottawa know that his tribe would 
 never consent to his taking a wife from a foreign nation, so 
 long as many an Ottawa girl aspired to his hand, and hitherto 
 he had found no fitting opportunity to make his stern father 
 acquainted with his determination. In the meantime the 
 Sioux girl tired of the long delay of her absent lover, learn 
 ing from her father that they were about to visit his country, 
 after much solicitation, was permitted to accompany the party 
 in their excursion, and was now in their camp, and from her 
 people, learned that a night attack was to be made on the 
 Ottawas, with the intention of cutting them off at a blow. 
 From the outliers she also learned that Wacousta was among 
 them, and Omeena his Son. 
 
 To save his family from the threatened massacre was the 
 determination of the Sioux maid, and accordingly, after night- 
 fall, she started from the camp and threading her way noise- 
 lessly under the dark shadows of the forest, she soon reached 
 the camp of the Ottawas. 
 
 Drawing the folds of her blanket closely around her face 
 to conceal it from the sight of her enemies, she quickly found 
 herself at the door of a Lodge, from the size of which, she 
 judged the owner to be of no common rank. Glancing hastily 
 
68 
 
 snto the faces of the sleeping occupants as the flickering fire 
 revealed them to view, she saw that Omeena was not there 
 and turned away to continue the search elsewhere. 
 
 Hardly, however, had she changed her course, ere she met 
 ^he young Ottawa returning to the lodge which she had but 
 just visited. Great was the surprise of the young Chieftain 
 at meeting his affianced there ; but not less surprised was he 
 H.H she revealed to him the proximity of his foes, and warned 
 him to apprize his family, that ihey might flee from danger. 
 She then retraced her steps, and her absence having been un- 
 iiioticed, was soon seated among the people of her nation. 
 
 Hard was the struggle in the mind of Omeena, as he pon- 
 tiered over the intelligence which had but just reached him. — 
 The struggle was but brief, the glory of the brave, and the 
 U>ve of his nation triumphed over every other principle, and 
 soon hundreds of grim warriors sallied forth, to form an am- 
 buscade for the approaching enemies. Crossing the Kalama- 
 y.oo, they secreted themselves in the dark thicket on its west- 
 -irn bank, and awaited the Sioux's coming. Just as the 
 harvest moon had risen brightly over the Eastern hills the 
 ulmost silent tread of the warriors betokened their approach, 
 !^nd now the Ottawa war cry went up to the bending sky 
 iVum hundreds of braves, and the deadly affiay commenced. 
 Warrior with warrior grappled, and together sunk in 
 death's embrace. First in the fight moved the stately Wacous- 
 la. Eagerly he sought the Sioux leader, and to terminate 
 the contest with the result of a single combat. The morning 
 oame, and with it the struggle had ceased. The Sioux de- 
 teated at every point, had retreated, leaving their Chieftain 
 among the dead of the battle field. 
 
 Upon his breast rechned the head of a young Sioux girl 
 whose beauty had not protected her from the merciless toma- 
 hawk, as she endeavored in the fury of the fray, to shield the 
 fallen body of her father. A little distance from the Sioux 
 Chieftain, reposed on the dewy grass the body of another 
 warrior, the plumes that were turned in his hair, draggled and 
 trailing on the earth. The serenity of death had calmed the 
 stern features, and this was all that remained here of 
 Wacousia. 
 
 Omeena survived the fray, and when evenings shadows^ 
 were again resting upon the landscape, they carried out the 
 bodies of the noble dead, and buried them side by side. 
 
«!» 
 
 At iheU- crave, thev planted llsa wild r.«e, and wilK ««c;> 
 rem nm" spring, Ihe Otlavva maidons came to »<-« «ni 
 
 o c . flower, ttt:. resting pUce "^ "'^^"""3 '»'""\|;: ;,^^ 
 the braves to look upon the spot wh,er« imposed ,»« noU... 
 Wacousia and his deadly foe. 
 
The Aboris^ines. 
 
 •^** 
 
 BY GEORGE TORREY. 
 
 They*ve pass'd away ; that ancient race, 
 
 A thousand years ago ; 
 Swept from the earth, and scarce a trac©, 
 
 Tells where their dust lies low. 
 
 These Prairies, with fair flowrets spread, 
 
 These garden beds so green ; 
 These mounds of earth, that hold their d©ad. 
 
 Tell that such men have been. 
 
 Rude, unrefined, perchance their life. 
 
 Was spent in useful toil, 
 ITnskill'd in arms — averse to strife, 
 
 They till'd the fruitful soil. 
 
 They rear'd their Temples to the Sun, 
 Their shrines, to gods unknown, 
 
 And ceremonial rites were done. 
 On the " Sacrificial Stone." 
 
 Krewhile another race, more rude, 
 
 Wild warrior Hunters came, 
 From their far western solitudes. 
 
 Pursuing here their game. 
 
 They found this peaceful, happy race, 
 
 Spread o'er this wide domain ; 
 Tbay laid their fields and Temples waate , . 
 
 And swept them from the plain. 
 
 Far South, beyond the mighty stream 
 
 That bore them on its tide. 
 They've passed — their history is a dreftoa. 
 
 Their name with them has died. 
 
 No »• storied urn " no sculp tur'd stono, 
 No written scroll of fame, 
 
71 
 
 To tell their deeds, these moanda &laik» 
 Stand here, without a name. 
 
 They're gone, their untold legions tweH, 
 
 The army of the dead ; 
 Unwept, unsung, their ashes dwell, 
 
 Unhonored, where we tread. 
 
 Perchance these Prairies, where no siga 
 
 Of tree or shrnb is seen, 
 Were covered with th' Oak and Pine, 
 
 The forest's king and queen. 
 
 Tho Saxon race that came from far. 
 
 Beyond the dark blue wave. 
 Hither led on by Freedom's star. 
 
 That guides the Free and Brave. 
 
 Have reared a nation, who at length.. 
 
 Has spread its flowing tide, 
 O'er the wide west, whose wealth and 9l<^ei>giH 
 
 Fills its great heart with pride. 
 
 And what shall be our monument. 
 
 When we have passed away : 
 What ** Illiad " shall tho muse invent, 
 
 Or history portray ? 
 
 Would that some bard like him cf old, 
 
 Who sung of '♦ arts and arms," 
 Our Nation's glory would unfold. 
 
 With the poet's fairy charms. 
 
 Muse of Columbia's favored lai^d. 
 
 Some native bard inspire, 
 To wake wiih glowing heart and hand, 
 
 Thy long neglected Lyre. 
 
 Indian TVames. 
 
 A.lon^ Algoma's rocky shore. 
 
 Roll the wild Northern waves; 
 Chanting sad dirges as tliey ronr, 
 
 Around the red men's gravea. 
 And Michigan's dark bosom. hiM^* 
 
 To Huron's wilder shore, 
 The mingled tide of man^ a «tr«^aa, 
 
 Named by thwso meix of yore< 
 
72 
 
 l^Iuskegttn, rtiiling down, 'mid |T*re» 
 
 Of dark and stately pines; 
 'Where the dun deer, undaunted rotes. 
 
 Within these dark confines. 
 And VVashteteong, whose val lies broad, 
 
 A golden harvest yields; 
 The home where once th« red roan trod. 
 
 Lord oi" those fertile fields. 
 
 And thy sweet sylvan, silvery tide, 
 
 Ke-Kalamazoo, hast seen 
 Their clustered cabins on thy side. 
 
 Their sports upon th© green. 
 Thou hastbcrne along their lijrht cawo©. 
 
 And heard their war-whoop ring; 
 Did'st thou hear who named thee, Kalamixo').' 
 
 Was it chieftain, sage, or king? 
 
 It matters not Aw name or raak. 
 
 Or whence thy baptism came, 
 While thy swift waters lave their bank. 
 
 Shall live thine Indian name! 
 yes: Michigan hath many a name, 
 
 Graven on her virgin breast, 
 To consecrate for aye, their fame, 
 
 Whose sleeping dust there resLs, 
 
 Her Lakes, her Streams, her Forast shades. 
 
 Her Prairies, Plains, and Mounds, 
 B«ar records of the race who rnade, 
 
 The wide West, hallowed ground. 
 Then cherish still, these Indian names, 
 
 Fulfill the sacred trust, 
 Bequeathed by thoje whose hiBrorj' c'fc'ms 
 
 A plaoe, where sleeps their dust. 
 
 By G FORGE TOHRK'i 
 
 «^i07 89 
 

 
 
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 ^ NOV 89 
 
 W N. MANCHESTER, 
 ^ INDJANA 46962