Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-07-15
Around the Lakes.
Ed. Republican +:


Lake Huron was like awakening out of
sleep. The aggregation of vessels of all
kinds, the masses of busy people, the Gull
tivated fields, fine buildings, railroad trains
were more inspiring to me than all the
wild romantic solitude of the upper pen
insula. Port Huron like most of the thriv-
ing cities of Michigan has some very fine
public buildings. Sarnia on the Canada
side is the residence of the present Premier.
For miles down the Canada side of St. Clair
is an Indian reservation, giving on either
shore living contrast between barbar ism
and civilization. The entrance to Lake St.
Clair is a very circuitous and difficult chan
mel. Through the shallow sand bar the
American government has attempted 10
dredge ship canal. A large amount of
money has been expended and the works
over mile in length are very substantial
and beautiful, but so far have proven a fail
ure on account of the sand drifting in with
the current. The Canadians think they
have fine joke upon us in that our engineers
have located this Improvement wholly with
in Canadian Territory, and our govern
ment paid the bill before the mistake was
discovered.
The first of July is the national day in
the Dominion, and with many of them the
fetes run to TIE fourth, an undoubted pro-
phecy of the closer union yet to exist be-
tween the two nations. We neared De-
troit late in the evening, and the thousands
of dan cling lights in the silence of the rest
ing city kept the most of our ships COM
pany upon the deck. Judging from has
ty walk by gaslight through few of the
principal streets, Michigan may we'll be
proud of her chief city. What memories
of ST. Clair and the old fort of Tecumseh
and Pontiac, and the bloody struggle of a
brave but helpless barbarism, with an ag-
Awakened
eye say their cone-like cabins
That clustered DER the vale.
Have disappeared like Autumn leaves
Before the winters gale.
But their memory liveth on your hills,
Their baptism on your shore,
Your everlasting rivers speak
Their dialect of yore."
The soft south wind of the afternoon was
ominous for the morrow. The shawls and
ove1coats of the strai IS of Mackinac we re
laid aside, and the school-marms were
Delightfully."- jubilant in their preparations
for the fourth, of course with such gather
ing Of talent, expectation was on tip-toe.
| awoke in the morning with the confused
notion that mother had put me in my lit.
tie cradle, got out Of my berth, felt
foolish about the way dressed myself
But no one saw me. My stateroom com
paaion had gone fishing down by the
hatch1ay. Almost lone sat dow7 at the
breakfast table, but the tea looked like
verdgrs. Better be hungry than be pois.
but the boat did not. The Captain loungeo
out Of his Office like an Alderman out of q
saloon, and friend NJ. said he could walk
three lines at once. The ladies generally
| kept their rooms, and the alabaster puri
| ty of the countenances of the few that ap-
peared fitted them for the sculptor's model
| | have not said what the matter was, bu
the Captain thought l was second bes
! in the race. Miss IL said the writer
chow about the fourth ~ "Ugh, don
| care continental what becomes of it,
| When woman is Indifferent to her owl
poetry she Is either sick or going to qui
| teaching. But she did read it at the tee
table, and so good was it, that l aim ost
was minded to send you copy. Other:
| of our company were yivacious and enter
| tanning, and the evening in the cabin mad
up somewhat for the loss of the day. Sun
day morning found us in the low yellow ba
| sin of the canal at Port Colborn. Th,
Canadians have few things to be proud
of, and this Welland canal seems to be on,
of the ;chief glories of the Dominion
They are now expanding about $8,oo0,oo'
so as to enlarge it to double its presene
capacity. An immense quantity Of ou
western grain here pays tribute on its way
1t requires from twenty-four to forty igh
hours for boat to pass the twenty -eigh
miles from Erie to Ontario. It is a CRANE
thing for commerce, but I cannot recon-
mend the passage to either the Sight O
/ pleasure seeker Here we parted goo,
company, offered our keys to the Custom
House officials who said that was sufficien
as we were from an American port to e
American port, and weather bronzed an
greatly invigorated by the trip, I wa
heartily glad to spend part of quiet Sab
bath under the hospitable roof of my oil
friend Otis, of Buffalo. With all disad
vantages, by all means try trip aroun
the lakes. E. B. c.,
oT