rmed Republican
party, and served in Congress from 1854 to 1869. His name was
widely mentioned for the office of postmaster-general in
Lincoln's cabinet, but the president selected another man on the
ground that Colfax "was a young man, running a brilliant career,
and sure of a bright future in any event." In 1863 Colfax was
elected Speaker of the House, and in 1868 vice-president. Four
years later Colfax was implicated in a corruption charge, which
though found groundless by the Senate Judiciary Committee, cast a
shadow over the latter part of his life.

James Whitcomb Riley was born in 1853 in Greenfield, Ind. He
spent several years as a strolling sign-painter, actor, and
musician, during which time he revised plays and composed songs,
and grew closely in touch with the life of the Indiana farmer.
About 1873 he first contributed verses, especially in the Hoosier
dialect, to the papers, and before long had attained a recognized
position as poet-laureate of the Western country folk. His
materials are the incidents and aspects of village life,
especially of the Indiana villages. These he interprets in a
manner as acceptable to the na[:i]ve as to the sophisticated, which
is saying a good deal for this type of verse. Some of his best
known books are _The Rubaiyat of Doc Sifers_, _Home Folks_, _A
Defective Santa Claus_, _The Old Swimmin' Hole_, _An Old
Sweetheart of Mine_, and _Out to Old Aunt Mary's_.

Among the important manufactories of South Bend are plows,
sewing-machines, underwear, and motor-cars. The annual value of the
combined output is around $60,000,000.

942 M. LA PORTE, Pop. 15,158. (Train 3 passes 6:06a; No. 41, 11:22a; No.
25, 8:17a; No. 19, 2:22p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 11:46a; No. 26, 1:53p;
No. 16, 2:57p; No. 22, 7:07p.)

The name La Porte, which in French means "door" or "gate," took its
origin from a natural opening through the timber that here interrupted
the wide stretch of prairie. The main street of the town is built on an
old Indian trail between Detroit and points in Illinois. La Porte was
first settled in 1830. It is situated in the heart of a region of
beautiful lakes--Clear, Pine, Stone and others--which have given it a
wide reputation as a summer resort. The lakes furnish a large supply of
natural ice which is shipped to Chicago. The soil about La Porte
consists of sandy "timber" loam and vegeta