The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1869-08-14
OLD sHTTLHRs' PICNIC.

VITA w A.
OLD SETTLERS PICNIC. =,
The grand Old Settlers Picnic, Of which cone
premonitory hints have beea given in our col
umns heretofore, will take place On the 10th iast
in Judge Cston's Park, which the Judge hes
very generously placed at the disposal Of The
committee Of arrangements for that purpose.
This reunion Of the heroes who invaded thsse
western wilds, and, BY their persistence snd e.
durauce, redeemed this wilderness from its say.
sgery and caused it to blossom - rose, il not
intended to be confined to the members Of the
Old Settlers Society Of this county, or 70 sush -
have lived here over 30 years; but general in.
vitation u extended TO the old settlers of fhs
surrounding counties, and residenoe Of Is
or even 20 years will be sufficient to secure .
cordial welcome. ~ ~ 2f}tD
A rule it il the bettsr CLAUS Of society, men
tally, physically and morally, who emigrate for
the purpose Of settling new countries. There Il
always an element Of the heroic in the character
of these early settlers The man and his wife
and children who left their relatives friends and
early associations and removed one thousand
miles to the west, beyond the frontiers Of civili
zation, and erected their log cabin ten or twenty
miles from any human hsbitstion, displayed .
lofty independence and noble self-reliance, which
it would be refreshing to find among the bipsds
who throng the towns and cities Of our day.
They combine in their oharactsr will, thought
and action. They were men Of few words, and
did not, like the pigmy heroes Of the present day
undertake to write their own biographies. Com
sequently the history Of early settlements b..
comes lost in the course of two or three genera
tions, except as it is preserved in tradition or
romance. Nr& Il. 8A&M AFA1ff
It was this class of intrepid men and women
who first settled this county, and laid the founda-
ton Of our civilization and institutions and it
was Of this class of men and women that the first
settlers of La Sale county were composed. At
that time railroads and telegraphs were almost
unknown. and the journey from the eastern states
to the Mississippi required from twenty to thirty
days-a journey which can now be made in the
same number Of hours. s. ss
Emigration now and at the time this county
was first settled are very different things. Rail.
roads and telegraphs now spanning the cont.
nent preceds the settler. They are to the settler
of the territories what the magic lamp was TO
Aladdin. Towns and cities now spring up in
the wilderness as If by magic.
It required over two hundred years for Boston
to attain the same growth that Chicago, San
Francisco aud other western cities have attained
in less than twenty years
To day the luxuries enjoyed BY the people Of
New York can be had at almost any plsce in the
territories west Of the Mississippi. And to visit
the widest places in the west is now but plea
sure tour for our wealthy men aud eastern
greenback nabobs. Such was by no means the
case with the early settlers of this county and
state. They were familiar with the yell of the
savage and the howl of the wolf; and oftentimes
the settler, unaided and along, with his unerring
rifle, defended himself and a he held dear from
the attack of the merciless Indian.
Every old settler recollscts the time when he
had to take his osrn forty and fifty miles to get
it ground, and when he had to haul his wheat
from eighty to one hundred miles TO Chicago,
and was glad to get fifty cents Q bushel for it.
Every old settler remembers the time when
families living ten and fifteen miles apart con.
sidersd themselves near neighbors, when friend.
ship did not consist in nero formality. .
A strong sense Of mutual dependence made
the ties of friendship between men much strong.
er than it is in thickly settled communities As
the country becameomore thickly settled, tho
social limits of individuals became smaller, and
they met each other less often.a And prehaps
the struggle for money and property hardened
the more generous impulses which lead to friend.
ship. $3.50
Many Of the old settlers have passed away.
The object Of this organization il to bring to.
gether those who remain among as and renew
the old ties of friendship which formerly existed
between them. ssre,r st ssa 4
To this end it is hoped that all old settlers
who now remain and others who desire to do 90
will meet at the picnic to be held in Judge Co.
toms Park on the 10th. tH't1
We are informed that Judge Cavarly and
Judge Champlin will give history of the early
settlement of this county. This history will
come from eye witnesses, and we venture to say
that it will DO good time for all American boys
and girls who think that manual labor is dis.
graceful and are ashamed to follow the occupa-
tion or trade which their fathers and mothers
followed, to come and learn what constitutes
true manhood and womanhood.
Go and see the California Fruits at II. Wal.