Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-04-13

10 succeed. - "A man can De 1Te6C
from Lthe necessity of work only by
the fact that he Or his fathers before
him have worked to good purpose"
GAS it is with an individual, so it is
with a nation" ''Thrice happy is the
nation that has glorious history"
'If in 1861, the men who loved the
Union had believed that peace was
the end of all things, and had acted
upon their belief, we would have saved
would have saved hundreds of millions
Of dollars. Moreover, besides saving
all the blood and treasure we then
! lavished, we would have prevented
the heartbreak of many women, the
dissolution Of many homes; and we
would have spared the country those
months Of gloom and shame, when it
seemed as if our armies marched only
to defeat. We could have avoided all
this suffering simply by shrinking
from strife. And if we thus avoided
it, we would have shown that we were
Weaklings, and that we were unfit to
stand among the great nations of the
earth. Praise the God of our fathers
that the ignoble counsels of peace were
rejected; that the suffering and loss,
the blackneSS of sorrow and despair,
were untiinchingly faced, and the years
of strife endured; for in the end the
slave was freed, the Union restored
and the mighty American republic
placed once more as a helmeted queen
among nations"
Out of this war with Spain has
come hearty and sincere national
reunion Of old settlers, north and
south, the blue and the gray, have put
shoulder to shoulder and like brothers,
each proud of their lineage, have
gladly clasped hands to fight a COM
mon foe and in pledge of perpetual
union.
So it is good that brethren should
dwell together in peace and that there
should be family gatherings and re-
unions.
Ladies and gentlemen, in behalf of
the Old Settlers club, sincerely bid
you welcome.
r. e. Mcfarland, rendered an origi-
nal poem entitled
AN INDIANS VISION
On the banks of Wisconsin, that swift flowing
stream,
There appeared 10 my vision like troublesome
dream;
" ith my ear to the ground, was listening to
hear
What seemed like the tramp Of the bold pioneer.
Yes; on, on they march, they will come to this
shore,
There is Whitney and Sampson and great
many more
They will dam our bright river, and plant here
a mill
To feed Oh the timber from valley and hill
They will go to our forests and cut down its
shade,
And spoil all its beauty the Great Spirit made;
They will drive from their homes our warriors
so brave
And build their large cities DER our fathers
graves.
Right here by the rapids where our wigwams
we made
And all the green valleys where our children
have played
They will tear up the soil and plant it with
grain,
Not vestige of land can the Indian retain.
They will build a canoe and put it on wheels,
And by pulling a lever, in moment it feels
Alive, and is pushing its way through the land
Just fed on cold water and little dry sand
It screams and it whistles through its brazen
throat,
Till mountain and valley re-ecbo the note.
Our game will all scatter, there is none will
remain
As onward it dashes through forest and plain.
A little cold water twill take at Green Bay,
A sup from Wisconsin twill quaf on its way;
At the broad Mississippi twill take short rest,
And night finds it flying far out in the west.
Then onward Right on, like the flight of a bird,
Till on the Pacific its whistle is heard;
Its smoke curling upward its throat all afire,
Its pace never slackens, its wings never tire.
And we, the poor Indian, who always lived
here,
Must pack our belongings and wipe the sad
tear,
And seek in the wild woods another new home
To dwell there in peace till the white man will
come.
The Fates are against us, they give us no rest;
We are travelling on with our face to the west
The sun, in its setting. our guide it will be
Till we cross the dark waters of that limitless
sea.