The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1859-03-24
Dowagiac.

Dowagiac.
This village lies on the north side OF
the Michigan Central Railroad, and on
the east side of Dowagiac Greek, about
midway between Decatur and Niles.
The appearance of this town is SO
recent here, that to one who had passed
along this route some few years ago
and had seen nothing but a pleasant
farm land with its waving fields OF
grain-its fine pastures and meadows,
the first enquiry would now be, chow
came this thriving village here ?" The
answer would naturally enough suggest
itself in the language of the immortal
Topsy, "Idon't know, 'spect it crowd"
And second look at its nest of cot
tages, all of the same age, would as.
sure him that it "growed" all at once
The query would then be, why il
"growed" here: which does not seem
readily answered by little stream,
hard by, that goes whimpering more
than half way round the town. But
you are answered emphatically = that
little stream, that school boy car
jump over, has the untiring force and
energy that seems to characterize the
place.
The town has taken a lesson from
the running brook. Stepping out o.
the cars at snug little depot, your
attention is first directed to Front-st.
that stands and stares at every stranger
over broad parallelogram of green.
And here, by the way, let me detain
you a moment. This green should not
be necessarily alive and tramped and
rumbled over by dray carts and car
riages; it should be the suburban lawr
"a village parterre = firmly rallied
round and finely laid out with walks
and studded with trees and shrubs.
Front street.-the only business street
with its stores, offices and shops
with its three hotels, one at each end
and one in the middle-looks like the
row of dignitaries on chess board
while the pretty, though not costly,
unique cottages, with their quaint and
scolloped cornices and finishings are
scattered about in streets or promiscu
ously on the squares, back of it, look
like Egyptian hireoglyphics Or Chinese
figures on tea chest. The vacant
lots-some in palings and some yet
part of the village common, are con-
tinually being occupied by the erection
of new buildings, thus filling up the
vacancies on each square and adding
to and completing new streets.
Man is Vandal in the west, though
through his thrift and enterprise the
wilderness disappears, farm houses
and villages spring up all over its
wiles almost as sudden as Wild flowers
yet he suffers not q vestige of the
primitive graces of the forest to remain
near his dwelling. True, shrubs and
flowers about your houses are emblems
of the character and taste of their pos
SCISSOR. You may rely upon it, we
form a good or i'll impression of a
farmer by the disposition he makes OF
the grounds about his house, and OF
the villager by this. Children brought
up in home made attractive by its
rural shade and flowers, are better
children for it. Trees and flowers are
most beautiful companions and teach
ers. They are better than all your
catechisms and "moral suasion." They
inculcate the noblest and lovelicst SEN
timents, the purest morals, and estab-
| fish the finest taste. Some one has
said that flowers are the beautiful
thoughts and fancies that angels trace
here on the earth for us to read. And
where is the spot on this wide world
of ours, that you will not find such
beautiful reading. Go to the desolate
and winter region of the Lapps and
Firms, and you will find it there. As
cend the snow cloud summit of Mount
Blanc, and you will see flowers peer
ing up through the snow by the side
of your path.
We do not charge the first settlers
of this town with being Vandals in
particular. We presume that Mr..
H, the former proprietor of this
"town plat" had no idea, few years
ago, after he had Invested his broad
acres of their sylvan honors, fitting
them for the plough, and while he was
enjoying the happiness of farm life
cultivating his soil-feeding his focks
and penning his fold, that he should
wake some morning and find such an
aladdin wonder, as large village
scattered all over his corn fields, wheat
lots and meadow land. One would
hardly have thought such an idea to
have existed In the dream of n oirl