Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1869-10-20
A Trip on the Lake.
ANN ARBoR, MICH, Oct. l

ANN ARBOR, MICH, Oct. l, 1863.
EDITOR CHROSICLE:-Perhaps some OF
your many readers will be interested in a
few items from this quarter, though going
,rest has lost the charm OF novelty which IL
had in the days Of OK teams, covered wag-
ons, and red men. Now &c is an excursion ;
then il was Journey, full Of hardships and
dangers.
This evening finds us on board the fine
steamer. Northwest, and out upon the placid
bosom Of Lake Erie. The lights fade away
in the distance, and we are gliding through
a food of moonlight above, and tide OF
silver below. There are a company of Shak-
ers on board, evidently on a pleasure trip
The men all wear long tailed frock coats.
broad brimmed hats, their hair combed be-
hind their cars, snd look stout, hale, and
hearty. The patriarch OF the flock is an
elderly man OF perhaps sixty, with large,
observing eyes, dignified but genial depOrt-
ment. The women all dress alike, In plain
calico, capes, and lace head-dresses, and
wear no crinoline. None are beautiful, but
the countenances OF all bear marks of infe-
rior intelligence and culture. A bright,
sparkling eye, face free fTom the burroughs
Of care and sorrow, seem 10 characterize all.
They remind us of the saints and the "just
made perfect but not of mother, sister. be-
loved. Celibacy is the soul OF Shakerism.-
Shakers claim that their religion is the true
Interpretation Of the teachings of Christ /;
tnat they are his only true disciples. That
they have established Heaven in miniature
upon earth. They have all things in COM
mon after the pattern OF the early church,
None are rich. none poor; none high, none
low. Undoubtedly the sum OF happiness
would be much increased, and the fearful
tide Of crime and poverty, together with jails,
aims houses and gambling-hells, would dis
appear, we're all the world Shakers. But
how long we would have world with hu-
man beings in it we leave others to cOnjec-
ture.
Morning finds us ascending the Detroit riv-
er. Canada is ON our right: we seem at once
tOobserve an air of peculisrity about every
thing. The houses don't look American, or
Yankee, at best. Nov and then cart, drawn
ny a small. lean, ugly looking French Jony,
may be seen going 10 market; the driver Is
generally woman. The Canadians univer-
sally call our country the States. 1t may be
all fancy, but we turn our gaze to the left
with feelings OF deeper love for our aatire
L
she is in all the grandeur OF her greatness
and glory. All the dearest hopes and aspira-
tions of life; all the ties of kindred and
friendship, are bound up in her welfare
Long, long may she live, the home of free
men, the refuge Of the oppressed of every
land
Detroit has $500 Inhabitants, and is the
metropolis of Michigan. Its broad avenues.
its stately business blocks. and its noble
river, makes it one Of the finest cities in the
west. if indeed we may call it in the west
We visited the old State Capitol, built in
1924, now used for school purposes. Its Ionic
columns and towering cupalo, in those days
were tie wonder Of the city, as the newspa-
pers of the time testify. A new City Hall
quilt Of brick and faced with polished stone,
is NEARLY completed at a cost Of over 81 600 coo.
The Post is the leading Republican newspa-
per; it employs twelve editors and eighty
workmen, and has the largest circulation of
any journal in the State. Jumping aboard
81 street car, five cents carried us a mile and
a half out TO Eimwood Cemetry. In ancient
times the bodies of the dead were buried or
else deposited in gloomy vaults. But chFis-
tianity has lifted the veil, and now art ex-
hausts her skill in beautifying their silent
dwelling places. Across the street from the
main entrance stands drinking brothel
and billiard saloon. II seemed TO us pro-
fame that such ,hings should be tolerated so
near To ground conseerated to one Of the
most sacred rites Of human existence
Verify. the gates to death and to the city OF
the dead are not far apart. Man never looses
his identity, virtue and vice are strangely
united in his nature, and STRANGELY does he
weave them into the web of life. II.