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BATTLE CREEK BY A. D. P. VAN BUREN
With what ambition the settler struggled on until & house was erected, a little clearing made, a small patch of ground plowed and sown; how patiently he waited for the first crop to grow, when he could harvest his own grain, and how cheerfully he labored, longing for the good time to come when he could live easier, have enough to eat and to wear; have neighbors, school-houses, churches, and all the conveniences and comforts he had once enjoyed in his eastern life.
"And they for want of neighbors were sometimes blue and sad, For wolves and bears and wild-cats were the1 nearest ones they had; And looking ahead to the clearing, they worked with all their might, Until they were fairly out of the woods and things were going right, And things looked rather new when their first house was built, And things that blossomed then, would have made other men wilt, And every other day then, as sure as day would break, Their neighbor "Ager" came that way, inviting them to shake. "
ISAAC THOMAS.
He was a tall, rather spare man, of light complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair, which was now silvered o'er. He was a man of clear intelligence, a good judge of men and thing's, and was ever ready to discuss the topics of the day with his neighbors and friends. He came from Tioga county, New York, I believe, and settled on Goguac Prairie in 1831. His log house was on the
south side of the prairie, where the old road formerly ran. His four or five sons and their families, with other relatives and attached friends had settled in their log houses near him, making a little colony of themselves.
Michigan
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