Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1851-01-20

:. their suffering limbs. ..,s ...T.-.. 49,.
Fifty years ago! Look back and behol
), the different aspect which our OWE believe
coun ry presented. Dense and stately 70,
ests reared their gloomy heads where no,
is heard the buly hum Of machinery th
lofty spire points to the clouds, exhibitin,
; at oncs the pride and devotion, the am bi
, ton to excel and the veneration for custou
of race Of men who are fast outgrowin,
the guilty playthings Of their childhood
! Then the red man Of the forest roamed O,
the wild shores Of our own Erie, and here
on our own township, Freedom in name
he occupied as bis hunting ground. Here
tperchance, on the very spot we now occu
py, he lighted his council ires, gave fortf
the first shrill war-whoGp, on the very spol
where stands sweet Freedom, ,loveliest town.
ship Of the plain. Then armies OF red hunt.
ers and trappers traversed our now fertile
fields, while he is now banished 10 the far
nff glens Of the Rocky Mountains where
he mag supply the delicacies Of bis mur.
dsrous trade TO our newly built cities, and
the far off islands of the sea, while be nev
er receives passing thought from the pa ~
pered misses, or the conceited fops, who,
wrapped in the furs his toll has won, scarce.
| ly contain the amount Of sense OF even the
animal in whose fur they are enveloped.
But another army appeared an army
that has always conquered whenever il
came forth. From the lime the first NOR
ming stars sang together TO the present, that
army has gone forth, sometimes under the
command of cruel tyrants, and sometime,
in volunteer bands breaking all restraints,
lit has conquered and subdued an EN- pire.
The works Of this all. ll.conquering army, frs,
organized in Ed.n's garden, may be seen
amid the splendid ruins Of the old world,
on the pyramids Of Egypt or among the ru-
ins of Palmyra. Its foot prints are distinc,
in every age, to be seen in every cline. /,
has left its stamp upon every day and no al
of time since the dawn of creation. Its i'm.
press is seen in every highway, and th,
broad acres owned by some lord Of land
give ample proof Of the presence of this ON.
nipotent and ever subduing army Do YOU
enquire the name Of this, to Incidence, DO.
ftent foe? This is the army of Labor, with.
out which an army Of butchers cannot be
supported or the wheels of society be kep,
in metion-without whose services bloated
wealth would not have the power to m onep.
olize an undue share of the earth product.
and without which the earth would remain
desert. Onward md fearless pressed The
army Of labor, armed with that direfu
weapon the sturdy woodman's axe, with
war chariots suited to their exterminatins
warfare, drawn by the stately OK, who ha.
faithfully performed his part in the greal
work of rsgenerating and improving man.
kind. Before this army the oaks OF eent,i.
ries-the monuments of time-bowed tfeir
mighty heads ere they were converted by
this same invincible army into vast floating
palaces to stem the surging ocean and con-
vey other works of this same army to
distant and foreign lands. In the track Of
this powerful army forests have disappear
ed and cities and villages have sprung up
by thousands-the desert has been made to
blossom as the rose, and somebody has
reaped golden harvest from the results
Of their persevering and heroic achievements.
But the leveling Of forests, the building of
cities, and the growing of grain are not the
only achievements of the first half of the
nineteenth century. Nor is the holy work
Of the Revolution-the great idea Of life,
liberty, and happiness-yet accomplished.
+ At the beginning Of this century the re-
sources Of this nation had but Just begun to
develope themselves. The slumbering gen:
ius Of a Fulton-the chief mechanic OF the
age-had not yet burst forth to astonish an
'unbelieying and anti-progressive generation.
Fifty years ago found our fathers relating
the speed with which stage had carried
them over some New England route; or
how many miles he had travelled in his pe-
destrian tour to the Far West, away out be-
yond the dwelling place of the, to them,
much feared Mobawks Think Of the as
tonishment, the incredulity and the wonder
with which our grandsires would have
received a proposition to get into vehicle
in Boston and be landed in Baltimore in
twenty-four hours! If a person had made
the prediction that such would some day
be the case, and that before the end Of the
nineteenth century, he would have been in
danger Of being stoned as false prophet,
OF. branded as a visionary fanatic. Yet,
since the dawning Of this century, the
mighty discovery Of Fulton and its perfec-
tion has been accomplished. The age Of
steam is in full blast around US. A score
of years has not passed away since the idea
Of Railroad was thought to be visionary
scheme, except in the most level countries
The Erie canal waslooked upon by many
as dream Of fancy. People thought such
"a scheme nowhere practicable, unless by
the inha bitants Of the Celestial Empire
But the bugle note Of Clinton called the
army Of laborers to arms. The busy clat-
ter Of spades, the whirl Of barrows, the ring
Of hammers and drills. the loud report Of
exploding powder. as the huge rocks Of ages
were sent from from the solid beds where
natures masonry bad laid them, all told
the onward prog gress Of the mighty work Of
that heroic army. Victory crowned their
efforts, and tho waters of the great Western
Lakes were united with the Ocean. The
merchandise of the East flowed through
this channel to the far West, which, in re-
turn, sent back the more substantial pro-
ducts of her virgin soil. Millions of prop
artv nd fhousa ndS nf families f1oated uDOn