History of La Porte County, Indiana, Part 54

Author: Chas. C. Chapman & Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : C.C. Chapman
Number of Pages: 930

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Higher mounted the moon in the zenith so blue, And the little stars smiled on our warriors so true ; Slumber's downy wing fanned their pale eyelids to rest, And the mocking-bird trilled a sweet song from her nest, While from some broken caskets that lay on the sod, The souls fluttered up to the bosom of God.

In those slumberous hours the foe took their flight, And when morn oped her gates of crimson and white, And kissed the dark green of the odorous pine, Our warriors were silently marched into line ;--

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But no foeman was there, not a shot was there heard, It was only the breeze that the low bushes stirred. Then the camp-fires were lit, and in groups on the ground The boys gladly gathered ; laugh and jest went around As the " hard-tack " was munched with an infinite zest, And the coffee seemed nectar to parching lips pressed.

Months crept on apace ; until out on the hills The March-winds were piping their voice loud and shrill, The young grass was springing o'er moorland and lea, As the Old Eighty-seventh marched thro' Tennessee. At Chapel Hill, Hoover's Gap, each, they felt the hot breath Of the cannon that hurled red swift bolts of death. Still the glorious old flag kissed the breezes in glee As 'twas born by our warriors thro' old Tennessee. September at last on the mountain's tall crest Hung her soft purple mist; no more from the nest Was whistled the mocking-bird's silvery note; But out on the hills the quail's piping throat Proclaimed that the glorious summer was dead. The leaves of the sumach were fast turning red, Brown and sere the long summer grasses had grown, And the breezes wailed by with a desolate moan. Thro' the dim mountain passes thus one bright autumn day, The long lines of troops were seen wending their way. With faces hard set and with hot eager breath They were following their leader to victory or death.

Hark, in the distance afar the low-volleyed roar, Like the surge of the sea on a desolate shore! And then the quick charge, the artillery's crash ! Now horseman and footman down the steep hill-sides dash ! Long furrows are plowed by the murderous fire,

And the smoke of the battle rises higher and higher, And the steady rattle of musketry peals thro' the forest glade, And many a fair and boyish form is on the green sward laid ; Above the rattle of the leaden rain a clear, low voice is heard : 'Tis Col. Gleason's; and down the line passes quickly his welcome word, " Eighty-seventh, lie down." Silent they sank on the cool, moist sod, Each yielding himself in prayer to the care of the loving God, High up in the air came crashing and whizzing a murderous shell, And over in Company "G " the fiery messenger fell.

When the smoke at last was lifted, two of the boys were gone; Both had suddenly been discharged and were trying the Great Unknown : Gone, without a word of parting, not even a sad good-bye,- Not even a word for Mother; and both were so young to die, - Just in the flush of manhood, just in the summer time,

When life was in golden metre and hope the musical rhyme;

Gone, like the flower whose odor, with its fading leaves, expires ;- Like a strain of music, broken, as it drips from the trembling lyre.

There was no time then to say Farewell; that moment an order came To fall into line; march to the front, where leaped the fiery flame. The old Thirty-fifth, from the Buckeye State, nobly had met the foe, But half their men in that moulten rain were like forest trees laid low. Then the Eighty-seventh, with shout and cheer, sprang up to the cannon's throat ;

From a thousand rifles leaped the flame, in a single volleyed note. Ha! they fall back, see the rebel dead, strewing that field of gore, And blazing again from the thousand throats, a volley of death they pour.

Thus two long days the drip of blood fell like the summer rain, Then night spread above them her ebon cloud and silenced the wail of pain ;

Then followed roll-call, and loud and clear, after some names, came the answer, "Here."

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

Sometimes it was, " Wounded," and sometimes, "Dead," And some comrade replied, "Shot thro' the head." "Adjutant Ryland,"-ah ! he's gone too; I saw him to-day shot thro' and thro'; Poor Ryland, that morning he left his tent The gayest of all the regiment.

Here were his papers, all tied with care, With a picture or two and a tress of hair. Who'll write to his mother and say he is dead ?

Who tell his wife how his spirit fled ?

"Capt. Baker "-a silent pause; then a comrade thus replied :

" He was shot this morning, sir, I was with him when he died." Thus was the long list read slowly o'er,

And " Dead " was answered to forty-four,-

To " Wounded," one hundred and forty-two. The dear old flag, though, came safely thro';

Every star still shone on its field of blue. Here and there it was rent by a minie ball,

But all day it had waved from the flag-staff tall,

And seemed to the hearts of the little band

Like a star of hope in a desert land. Dying eyes had gazed on it as if to trace In its silken folds some well-known face;

Then when the death-film shut all from his view,

His lips blessed the old flag, the red, white and blue.

Chickamauga, flow on, O, silent river, While on thy red banks the tall pines shiver. We shall never forget thee, O, vale of tears, And, echoing down thro' the silent years, Thy memory shall waken a wail of pain As we live those two days over again.

And we still remember how at old Mission Ridge You fought like Du Gueselin of old, And planted the flag of the old Eighty-seventh The first in the rebel stronghold. Up that steep hillside you dashed till the crest was won, You waved the tri-colors high,

Till its fluttering folds to the boys below Looked like God's own bow in the sky.

Oh, thinking, my friends, of those noble deeds, What wonder with music and glee We welcome to-day these darling boys, Who, with Sherman, " marched to the sea!"

And thinking of hardships in camp, on the field, By the bivouac, or on battle plain,

What wonder each comrade clasps warmly the hand Of his dearly loved brother again ! Oh, there is none like the friend who has shared our pain, And none to the soldier, I ween,

Like the comrade who slept, marched and fought by his side, And " drank from the same canteen !"

And how fitting to-day, as we gaze on the names Of beloved Major Sabin, of Andrew and Brown, Of Harding and others ; we drop the fond tear O'er the heart-flowers thus early cut down. Oh, who shall say that above this throng, floating in viewless air, Are not gathered these brothers whom we call " Lost,"

Since they're mustered in-up there ? Ah! you do not forget them, our noble dead;

I see by the starting tear That falls at their mention, some hearts have bled

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

Who to-day are gathered here. By Resaca's red waste, by our patriots' blood,

By this flag of the loyal and true,

In the name of the Hoosier girls, brave Eighty-seventh, I tender a welcome to you."

We next present to our readers a speech which well deserves pres- ervation for its easy flow of construction, the depth of its pathos, and the rhythm of its patriotic utterances. It is a speech delivered by Hon. Jasper Packard at the " Soldiers' Decoration " in La Porte, May 30, 1875.

HON. JASPER PACKARD.

Mr. Packard needs no sketch of his life, so far as the people of . La Porte county are concerned, for they are already acquainted with him and know much that pertains to his busy life. It may not be inappropriate, however, to call to remembrance the facts that he has served the county in the army with distinction and thus brought honor to it; that he has served it in her schools with com- mendable success; that he has been called upon by its people to serve it in official capacity, both as Superintendent of its schools and as its Auditor, and that he has rendered signal service in the halls of Congress as its Representative.

Mr. Packard has made many excellent speeches. From among them we have selected the following for preservation so far as .we have it in our power to do so. In the absence of any title, we give it the following caption :

ALL HONOR TO OUR COUNTRY'S DEAD.

" We decorate these graves with flowers to-day, not because these men have died, but because they were brave men, who fought in a righteous cause. In no other way could we attest so beautifully our appreciation and gratitude. To decorate the graves of fallen heroes with flowers of virgin purity is an ancient custom. Fragrant lilies were scattered over the funeral pile of Marcellus. The heroic Greeks who fell at Marathon received annual floral decorations. But no such offering as this in which we participate to-day has the world ever seen before, where thirty millions of people with rever- ent hands crown gracefully with flowers the sacred dust of 300,000 martyrs. It is a sweet devotion to the cause in which they fell. It tells that patriotic feelings, that the impulses that moved these men to action, have not died out of the heart. And sleeping in their graves, they yet serve their country. They speak to us in voices which we cannot choose but hear. The cadences of the tomb are audible, and as we cannot forget the actors in the great tragedy, so we cannot forget the cause for which they contended, and now sleep here as martyrs. Martyrs they were in very, truth. As Sydney and Russell, who trod the narrow steps of the scaffold, were mar- tyrs; as Hampden and Warren, who fell in defense of freedom,

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

were martyrs, so those who sleep under this green turf, who marched boldly and firmly in ' the new crusade for freedom in free- dom's holy land,' are returned only as crowned martyrs. But through their heroic deeds of valor and martyr death, the grand march of civilization and freedom, and the unity and brotherhood of men, received a new impetus and moved forward with a might- ier stride than ever before. It must be so. The blood of martyrs is the seed whence springs the fruitage of eternal truth, bearing to mankind treasures richer than the mines of Golconda ever yielded, perfumes sweeter than were ever wafted from the shores of ' Araby the blest.'

"The men or nations that throw themselves athwart the pro- gress of humanity will be swept aside; for light is better than dark- ness, and truth is stronger than error. The very men who so obsti- nately set themselves in array against advancing light will yet wor- ship the cause they opposed, and reverently honor the noble ones whom they slew.

"For humanity sweeps onward ; where to-day the martyr stands, On the morrow crouches Judas with the silver in his hands; While the hooting mob of yesterday in silent awe return To glean up the scattered ashes into history's golden uru.

"It has been said of those who fell fighting in a just and holy canse, that the consciousness of right doing was impressed on their dead features, erowning them as the demi-gods of Liberty. And that consciousness was written on the faces of our dead; and when the shot that put out the young life left the brave boy still a little space for words and messages to loved ones, no regrets were ever expressed. 'Tell my mother I am not sorry I came,' were the words oftenest heard. It was to them a field of honor, unsurpassed in all the ages. La Tour d'Auvergne was called the first grenadier of France, and when he fell in the service of his country, his name was not stricken from the roll of his regiment. His honored name was called as though he still occupied his place in the ranks, when the oldest soldier would step one pace to the front, and amidst a deep hush of reverence would respond: 'Dead on the field of honor.' And when loving hearts shall call a muster roll of sleepers here, the response will be, 'Dead on the field of honor.' Edward Farnes- worth,-'Dead on the field of honor.' Daniel Beach,-' Dead on the field of honor.' John W. Andrew,-' Dead on the field of honor.' Gilbert Hathaway,-' Dead on the field of honor.'

"And all these others who passed through dangers and hard- ships, and returned only to die by insidious disease, they rest here in honored graves. And she, who consecrated her life to the cause, who gave days of toil and nights of weariness to sick and wounded soldiers, 'peaceful be her silent slumbers;' and when the pearly gates are opened, and she stands before the Great White Throne, the voices of the angels will say, 'Crown her, crown her, faithful, noble Mary Robinson .? "

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

This speech certainly has touches of the raptest feeling and the grandest eloquence, and will find a response in every heart of patriotism,-in the bosom of every one, on the altar of whose con- sciousness there burn the fires of a country-love, and which will heave at the memory of the treasures, the blood, and the dead, which the institutions of our country have cost to secure, to main- tain, and to preserve.

We can fasten in the niches of this history, and thus preserve in the county's literature, but one more specimen. This is taken from a volume of poems written and recently published by Mr. Benjamin F. Taylor, a former resident of this county, but now of Syracuse, New York, entitled, " Old-Time Pictures and Sheaves of Time."

MR. BENJAMIN F. TAYLOR.

Though many years have elapsed since he was a resident, yet, since he was a former citizen and has married into one of its families, it may be said of Mr. Taylor, at least, that he is related to the county, and a claim is laid upon the honor of his work.

Mr. Taylor is now on the rostrum, in the lecture field, and it is said that he succeeds well. For many years, about 16, he was the editor of the Chicago Evening Journal, and gave that journal tone and standing. In the meantime he has written a number of excellent volumes; among these are "Songs of Yesterday," "The World on Wheels," and "Between the Gates." Following is his poem from his recent work, "Old-Time Pictures and Sheaves of Time":

THE ISLE OF THE LONG AGO.

Oh, a wonderful stream is the River of Time, As it flows through the realm of tears, With a faultless rhythm and a musical rhyme And a broader sweep and surge sublime As it blends with the ocean of years.

How the winters are drifting like flakes of snow, And the summers like buds between ; And the year in the sheaf-so they come and they go On the river's breast with its ebb and flow, As they glide in the shadow and sheen.

There's a magical Isle up the River of Time Where the softest of airs are playing ; There's a cloudless sky aud a tropical clime, And a voice as sweet as a vesper chime, And the Junes with the roses are staying.

And the name of the Isle is the Long Ago, And we bury our treasures there ; There are brows of beauty and bosoms of snow- They are heaps of dust, but we love them so, There are trinkets and tresses of hair.

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

There are fragments of song that nobody sings, And a part of an infant's prayer, There's a harp unswept and a lute without strings, There are broken vows and pieces of rings, And the garments that she used to wear.

There are hands that are waved when the fairy shore By the mirage is lifted in air; And we sometimes hear through the turbulent roar Sweet voices we heard in the days gone before When the wind down the river is fair.

Oh, remembered for aye be the blessed Isle All the day of our life till night;

And when evening comes with its beautiful smile, And our eyes are closing in slumber awhile, May that " Greenwood " of soul be in sight.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE RESOURCES OF THE COUNTY.

THE NATURAL RESOURCES.

As we have noticed elsewhere, the chief source of natural wealth is to be found in the soil of the county. This is very rich, taking it as a body, and is capable of sustaining a very large population. The parts which are now almost considered as waste lands, espe. cially the wet and marshy lands of the Kankakee river, are yet destined to be fertile fields, producing vast crops of grain, and materially adding to the resources of the country. If the lands of La Porte received such culture as the agricultural lands of the old world receive, there would be an audible expression among those, even, who have the greatest appreciation of the richness of her soil.

The agricultural productions of the county must always com- mand a good price, the reason for which will be noticed further along; and hence there will be inducements to call out the very highest improvement of which it is capable, and with each addi- tional improvement will come the reward which it insures, and which paves the way for higher and still higher improvement, until it shall become a real garden of Eden.

While the soil must in the nature of the case furnish the chief source of natural wealth, yet there are other sources which will add greatly to it. Among these may be mentioned its timber supply. The timber has a vigorous growth in its soil, and vast quantities of it may be produced in a natural way, with a very little care on the part of the owners of the soil. It is said that vast quantities of timber have been wasted in some parts of the county, in the years which are past, while the farms have been making. In those times it could not be helped, perhaps, but a wise care of these prod- ucts will add to the general wealth in the future.

The county has a few miles of coast along Lake Michigan. While the lake may not be said to be a source of wealth of itself directly, yet it can be, and is, nsed so as to be a means of great advantage to the county. It is made to carry a large portion of the commerce of the country, and as a very excellent harbor can be, and is being, made at Michigan City, this great thoroughfare of commerce will no doubt in the future pour a stream of the " ore that glitters" into the coffers of its citizens, and will therefore add largely to the wealth of its people.

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

THE EARLY ESTABLISHMENT OF BUSINESS ENTERPRISES BY THE PEOPLE.

It does not matter what the natural sources of wealth are) these amount to but very little) unless they are complemented by an in- telligent and enterprising people. Intelligence and enterprise ean convert barren wastes into fertile fields, and make sterile lands langh with fatness. And, on the other hand, the most favorable natural opportunities may fail to produce the " golden fruit," sim- ply because there is a failure to see the opportunities themselves, or a lack of enterprise to improve them. In these respeets, the peo- ple of La Porte have been reasonably sagacious and enterprising as the following will testify :

The pioneer saw-mill, as far as we have been able to ascertain, was one built in the year 1830, by Captain Andrew, near the present city of La Porte. It was at this mill that the slabs out of which the house of George Thomas was built, one of the first two houses built on the present site of the city of La Porte, were sawed.

Again, in 1832, another saw-mill was erected in Springfield town- ship, on section 31, by Charles Vail.

In the year 1833 Jacob Bryant built a saw-mill in the village of Holmesville in New Durham township, and it is believed that the site has continued as such until the present.

In this year another mill was erected in Springfield township, on section 1, by Erastus Quivey. In the later years it has been known as Ross' mill.

In this year there were three mills erected in Cool Spring town- ship; one built by General Joseph Orr, and another by Arba Heald, and still another by Walker & Johnson, at Waterford.

Passing over into Union township, we find that two grist-mills were erected this year; one by John Winchell, and the other by John and Henry Vail. These were small affairs, built of logs, but they served their purpose.

In the year 1834 a very fine grist-mill was built on Trail Creek, about a mile and a half from Michigan City. This became quite a noted mill, patrons coming to it from Chicago, Joliet, and even Galena, Illinois. Such a demand had this mill for its prod- ucts that the proprietor could bny his wheat for 75 cents per bushel, and even less, and sell his flour for $10.00 per barrel.

In this year, Joseph C. Orr built a tannery at Michigan City where the leather was made which furnished the stock out of which the " stoga " shoes of the settlers were made.

In the year 1834 there were two more mills built in Springfield township. These were grist-mills erected, the one by Joseph Pagin and the other by David Pagin, about a mile and a half apart on the same stream. At the same time a store was started in Springville by Gilbert Rose, and a blacksmith shop by Abner Rose.

During this year also John Talbot and Whitman Goit built a saw-mill in the northeast part of Galena township, which was the first in the township.

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

Another saw-mill was built in Cool Spring township this year by John Beatty and Purdy Smith. It was built in the southwest part of the township. Also Garret Bias built a steam saw mill at Hud- son, in Hudson township.

The first saw mill in Pleasant township was built on the Little Kankakee river by Mr. Whitmer, in the year 1835.

Two more mills were built in Springfield township during 1835; one by Jacob Early on section 28, and the cther by Charles Vail. And Aaron Conklin also built a tannery at Springville, which was a very important improvement for many years. And George W. Barnes built a saw-mill in the southwest part of Galena township; Mathew Mayes had a blacksmith shop at Mayes' Corners; near which also Shubal Smith had a wagon shop. And also during the year, a man whose name was Purcell, put np a wooden-bowl turn- ing lathe on Mud Creek. This was afterward turned into a split- bottom chair and spinning-wheel factory. The village of Hudson during this year developed quite a good deal of business activity. Stages were coming and going at almost all hours, and its streets were filled with tradesmen, who had come to dispose of their prod- uce and to buy such necessities as they might need. It seemed to be taking rapid steps to the front in commercial prosperity.

In the year 1836, Asaph Webster built asaw-mill in Scipio town- ship, in the southwest part on Mill creek. Aaron Stanton built a flouring mill in Cool Spring township on a branch of Trail creek called Spring creek. In this year. as well as the year before, a man by the name of Cobb carried on blacksmithing in Door Village, as did also Mr. Branson a shocmaking establishment. Nathan John- son built another saw-mill in Cool Spring township during the year. During the years 1834, 1835, and 1836 the cities of La Porte and Michigan City sprang up into thriving places, and their busi- ness enterprises were very successful. Tradesmen and mechanics of all kinds found ready and profitable employment.

In 1837 the Bigelow mills were completed, having been under way for some time before. They were built by Abijah Bigelow. At the same time, Arnold Sapp ran a cabinet and jobbing shop, and a man, a Frenchman, known as " Bushee," ran a blacksmith shop. The mill which was built in Union township, by Henry and John Vail, in 1833, was a log structure, and was torn down and replaced with a frame in 1837, at which time a fulling mill and a distillery were added. In 1838 a carding machine was also added, but these three additions have long since disappeared, and nothing but the mill now remains. In this year the village of Hudson could boast of four large, well-stocked stores, a tailoring establish- ment by Robert Stanfield, a blacksmith shop by Alexander Cassi- day, a pottery by Samuel Rowe, etc.

In 1838, the grist mill at Union Mills was completed by Dr. Sylvanus Everts; and numerous other improvements of impor- tance were pushed to completion. However, the country was in the commercial prostration which occurred in the years 1837 and

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1838. This affected this county as well as the other portions of the country. The first newspaper enterprise of the county was origi- nated in the year 1835. It was the Michigan City Gazette. It was at first of Democratic proclivities, but soon changed to decided Whig principles. It was not, however, until 1838 that La Porte could boast of this means of disseminating the news of the country. In this year it was that the La Porte County Whig and Porter, Lake and Marshall Counties Advertiser, first made its appearance. At about the same time the La Porte Herald also was established by Joseph Lomax, and was edited by Wilber F. Storey. During the exciting times of the political campaign of 1840, these papers fur- nished their readers with the political news, and much that was not political news, often degenerating into the severest personalities.

It is impracticable to trace the early establishment of business enterprises in the county further, specifying them by name and giving the date of their establishment. Suffice it to say, that from these early times until the present, business enterprises have kept pace with the demands of the country, and that now there are very heavy firms, and individual operators, that are carrying on busi- ness enterprises in almost every line of commercial and mechanical employment. These enterprises, together with the agriculture and other rural interests, are combining to accumulate vast resources of wealth for the citizens of the county.

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History of La Porte County, Indiana, Part 54

Author: Chas. C. Chapman & Co Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : C.C. Chapman Number of Pages: 930

Author: Chas. C. Chapman & Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : C.C. Chapman
Number of Pages: 930