understood when it is ascertained that as high as three thousand passengers have been carried by the cars in a single day. To every body seeking an hour of genuine pleasure, and broad, deep breath of the June atmosphere of the country comes the ever welcome suggestion, "Let's go out to Wolf lake," and off they go.

MICHIGAN CENTER LAKE.

Next and hardly second in importance to the people of the city of Jackson is the lake or pond at Michigan Center, four miles east of the city. This is a larger body of water than Wolf lake, but the scenery is less beautiful, except on the north side where the timber groves have been preserved and along Duryea pond, where the ground is high and the most of the cottages are located. With characteristic energy and foresight, the Jackson Suburban & Traction Company has built a spur about one mile long from their main track to the shore of the pond, and have secured and opened a forty-acre park for the use of excursions, picnics and family parties and gatherings. At a cost of only ten cents, persons can visit this beautiful park and enjoy its benefits. Dozens of nice boat and club houses are along the banks and an excursion steamer capable of carrying one hundred passengers makes a three-mile trip up and down the lake every hour during the day and evening. To go to the Center is only a fifteen minutes ride and never fails to bring a large amount of enjoyment. The cars run every half hour and it is proper to say they never run empty. On the contrary, the usual problem is to find room.

GILLETT'S LAKE.

Gillett's lake, in Leoni, is another pleasant resort that is growing in favor. "The Cove," under the quiet and prudent management of Mrs. Clement, has became a favorite resort for many campers and their families. It is eight miles from the city, and lies in the midst of a beautiful farming country, surrounded by intelligent and cultivated people. It is held in high esteem by those who wish for a resort for rest, free from the excitement of the larger crowds that assemble at the more public resorts, and is rapidly gaining in popularity.

PLEASANT LAKE.

It

Twelve miles north of Jackson is one of the most beautiful lakes in Michigan. is nearly round and upwards of a mile across and lies nestled among hills that are dotted with woods and covered with the bloom of prosperous husbandry. prosperous husbandry. Some seventy years. age this lake was sought by a wealthy New York merchant, who purchased a large tract of land, and made a magnificent residence on its shores. The fame of "Belknap's Farm" spread all over southern Michigan, with its magnificent residence, its barns, its fine horses, blooded cattle and sheep and, better still, the magnificent hospitality of its hostess, who spent her summers there. We remember as long ago as 1850 taking Solon Robinson, the farmer writer of the New York Tribune, to the Belknap place and what a glowing account he wrote of that "model Michigan farm" for that paper. But they are all gone. Belknap, his proud and beautiful wife, children, stock, Solon Robinson, all gone but the Tribune

and myself, and the beautiful Pleasant lake, that is to remain forever.

Fewer people visit this beautiful lake than the others. for the reason of distance, and it is on no regular established line of public travel, but those who do go there find it one of genuine beauty and pleasure. It is well stocked with fish, has good boats, and already a fine line of nice cottages. It has been for years the site of the annual picnic of the farmers of Jackson county, where they gather every fall for their harvest festival to the number of thousands. Some day, when the steam or the electric railroad shall invade the north part of the county, Pleasant lake will take its place in the forefront of the grand and popular pleasure resorts of central Michigan, and may we live to see that day, for among the brightest recollections of the past are the pleasant days of our youth spent on and around beautiful Pleasant lake.

ROUND LAKE.

"Cedar Bank" has long had its place among those that are dedicated to pleasure, comfort and health during the hot and sweltering days of summer. It is located in the southwestern part of the county, a pretty sheet of water, amid a high rolling country, whose solid and wooded banks slope down and kiss the crystal waves on all sides. As its name indicates, it is as round as a bowl, and as deep and pure as any nectar deposited in its basin as refreshment for the Gods. And such beautiful fish, the wealth of cooling shade, the beautiful walks and pleasant drives,--who could not find comfort and pleasure from such a scene and such surroundings. And then the menu that is put up at Van Schork's! It tempts

the appetites of the daintiest. If you are fond of boating, just get into your skiff and take a spin across the lake, down the outlet into Farrell Lake, a mile below, and you have a five-mile course, "straight away," on which to ply your manly muscles and develop your physical manhood. If Round lake should ever be reached by the trolley. we predict for it a popularity second to no resort in the county. It is only four miles from Hanover station, and all the season the hotel is crowded by families of fine people who delight in its great beauty, its healthy atmosphere and its beautiful surroundings.

CLARK'S LAKE.

Ever since Major Clark discovered and named the beautiful lake, it has been known as one of the largest in the county. It is situated in the township of Columbia, on the line of railroad from Jackson to Cincinnati,, known as the Cincinnati Northern, and has already a reputation reaching to and beyond the Ohio river and its favor and popularity are constantly increasing. Clark's lake is three miles long and about one mile wide. Its waters are pure and cold and it is not contaminated with marshes, swamps or streams that run into it. It is fed by springs that supply the purest water and of healthful quality. The railroad renders it of easy approach and already its banks are lined with hundreds of neat and beautiful cottages. The majority of its patrons come from interior Ohio, Cincinnati and Louisville and to the south of those places. It is fourteen miles from Jackson and in the season six to eight trains a day speed over the rails between the two places. There are two large, well-kept public hotels, a score of

boats that ply its waters, and all the accessories for comfort and pleasure. The country around has good roads and is dotted with fine farms and delightful residences. The rural mail carriers are abroad in the land and the telephone wires are strung among the trees. The daily papers from Cincinnati and Louisville are regular visitors during the season. Clark lake is metropolitan in its conveniences and cosmopolitan in its population. While the summer settlement at Clark lake is large, there is still room for more. In the next two decades we shall see the trolley car humming along its shores. and when these come it will offer superior attractions to all.

county that afford and offer new attractions and facilities for summer resorting. It is only a question of time when some of these will be improved. With the opening of the electric road to Vandercook lake that will become a place of resort for picnics and pleasure as prominent as some of the others, and so it will be all over the country. While some will leave the city for more remote resorts, the great mass of the people will patronize the local resorts where they can relieve for a few hours or a day or two the "tired feeling of the busy city." The world is full of bright spots and pleasure places and it is our own fault if we do not hunt them out and enjoy them while we

There is always something in a just war which ennobles the patriot soldier, bids him suffer for his country, and teaches him to endure trials with a magnificent patience. Amid the soldiers' trials, and they are many, is found an hour for pleasantry. The camp oftentimes is roused by peals of merry laughter, rising wave upon wave; the soldiers' simple revelry is, perhaps, at its height, when, at the moment all seems secure, the call to arms summons men to duty, to the battle-field. Orders are given, the movement is entered on, which may lead them to the prison or to the grave, to victory and to fame. The lines of the enemy stand out in bold relief, the movement of the opposing

force is observed, conversation is checked, and the only voices heard are those of officers giving orders, or the exclamation of the troops-"See their guns! They're leading the attack!" Now is the most terrible suspense; man holds his breath; in a second a thousand thoughts flit through his mind; another, and all memories of the past are forgotten, fears for the future dispelled. One dream alone possesses the true soldier, and that is to do or die. The battle begins; a shower of leaden hail sweeps through the ranks; it meets a ready response; the atmosphere is filled with smoke, the sun itself is hidden, the death yells of the fallen and the groans of the wounded rise above the

din of battle; yet, amidst the awful confusion, the soldier observes his orders with a peculiar promptness, actually forgets the fact that the bullet, of which he is to be the victim, is speeding on its way, and dies with the rifle in his grasp; or he who survives to take part in the retreat or advance, is imbued with an energy almost superhuman, which surmounts all obstacles, and fits him for a repetition of the doings of that day. The reader of the following sketches will, doubtless, be informed more fully in regard to the trials and emotions of soldiers who do battle for their country.

OUR ANCESTORS IN THE REVOLUTION.

All that may be called chivalry was centered in the soldiers and sympathizers of the Revolution of 1775, and the signers and admirers of the immortal declaration. Since that time patriotism has been on the decline, until now we may find hundreds of thousands who would sell their birthright for a small largess. Fortunately the majority, the great majority, claim a higher ambition; and among them are men who would willingly sacrifice life itself for the republic. In no county, perhaps, in the Union, is this conciliating fact more evident than in Jackson. Here may be found hundreds of men whose ancestors fought and bled for liberty -ready to follow in their footsteps, and maintain all those magnificent privileges which their fathers bequeathed them. The task of naming the descendants of heroes inhabiting this county would prove too vast; but in naming the battles of the Revolution, memories will be awakened of friends whose stories of the great war made the household happy.

The only Revolutionary soldier who is

THE SAC WAR.

The

The first organization of the pioneers of Jackson county for military purposes may be said to have occurred in 1832. The panic-stricken citizens of Berrien county, and more particularly of the village of Niles, spread the alarm of war, and soon their cry of fear urged the people to arms. Every hamlet, every log-cabin, was filled with anxious settlers to learn the worst and prepare for it. The news of the building of the forts of northern Indiana reached the equally new settlements of Jackson county, and as such a proceeding did not tend to allay excitement, but on the contrary to increase it, it is not a matter for surprise to learn that the people of Jacksonburgh and outlying settlements banded themselves together to repel an attack from Black Hawk's warriors, and to be ready to advance toward the aid of any neighboring people who should be threatened. The only good resulting from the excitement of the period was the consciousness of power to meet the Indian on his own battle-grounds and the beautiful sympathy with one another displayed by the pioneers. The evils resulting were manifold. Agriculture was partially neglected, the primitive enterprises of the time were forgotten and the minds of the old settlers slept to anything but the prospect of battle with the red man.

JACKSON AND THE TOLEDO WAR.

The troubles arising from the "six-mile strip" between the states of Michigan and Ohio have been grouped in one name, the "Toledo war." It is unnecessary to follow

up the history of that impolitic affair here, particularly as it is noted in the pages devoted to the state; but here the fidelity of Jackson to the state may be reviewed. Scarcely had the state troops of Ohio been pushed forward by the rash and hasty Lucas toward the Michigan boundary, than the tocsin was sounded in the village of Jacksonburgh and throughout the county. In response, the manhood of the district appeared and volunteered for any military duties the state might impose upon them. A large number assembled, but owing to the caution of the territorial government, only a few men were enrolled in the county volunteers. The thirty soldiers who were chosen elected Osgood H. Fifield as captain, polished up their arms, screwed their courage to the point which indicates death or victory, and anxiously awaited orders from the front. Thanks to the timely presence of the United States troops, a sanguinary struggle was averted, fraternal blood was unspilled, and the first organized volunteer company of Jackson county was permitted to disband, without even having seen the wild followers of a wild governor.