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THE MIDNIGHT CROSS.
IN IDYLS.
Stone Mountain.
Alkxandkr Hamilton Ssbphens.
f in the furnaco of the world’s
mid-fire; —
Smit of all scourges of the fierce and
dffp) Worn of all waters : the volcano’s
vS' core
Q) Enters the Heavens at last, triumph
ant evermore.
Kindred to all that clasped by sod or shroud
Kindles the crystal that shall cleave tho
cloud.
Crowned with the stars; a cenotaph to stand
Till tho last Hood of fire shall oversweep the
land.
How vile to this, the tyrant-triumph, hid
In the worn Sphynx, the wasted Pyramid!
How poor and pale, all pomps the world has
known
To this unblazoned shaft of Goorgia stone 1
Whoso name and famo shall front tho ages
with
Thine awful grace, imperial monolith 1
With fire as central as tho planet’s own
And soul as steadfast as the granite stone?
His of tho scourging deluge, worn and tried 1 —
Him of the furnace-dungeon purified!
True as the Sun, whoso sempiternal light
Shinos, though all shadows shroud the world
in night;
Tonder as starlight with tho pleiad gaze
O’er the lost Eden of the lovely days—
Crowned on the cross; above high-torture
lino,
Smiling on hate with Lovo’s own smile di
vine I
Kindred to all that swathed by sod or shroud
Kindles the crystal that shall cleave tho
cloud 1
Our Athos-Alexandcr; carven on
Tho iron heart of unbowed Macedon ;
With crest of Memnon, by tho choral seas,
Hymettus-voicod with silvery symphonies.
Whoso mighty work salutes the sun at last,
Tho rock cathedral of the fiery Past!—
Shrining the princely dust with sacramental
care
And kindling darkened aisles with conser,
song and prayer;
Touching old banners with their battle-glow,
And the worn bugles till their triumphs
blow; —
Londing sweet music to tho tears that shed
Tho tenderest splendor o’er our Ereedom’s
dead ;
And clarion clangors to the starward arch
Where her gray cohorts rally to the march ;
Blending all glories of tho arch of light
To robe and crown and consecrate tho
Right 1
A kingly vigil I—when1 —when enchantment lies
On the pale lips of peerless chivalries 1
A God-like deed to bid these charnel gates
Blaze with tho resurrection of the Statics.
May wo not mate tho mountain and the
man ?
The granite domo and the great Georgian ?
Kindred to all that clasped by sod or shroud,
Kindles the crystal that shall cleave the
cloud.
Their pathos, onk 1 the melancholy graco
Os Sinai’s shadow on the Prophet’s face;—
When the lone summit of the thunders saw
The broken peoplo in tho broken law —
And the last splendor of the lightning fell
On shattered tablets and lost Israel!
BURKE’S WEEKLY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
One in their grandeur I—who1 —who shall bid apart
These stalwart coils that clasp our Georgia’s
heart,
Or crown this majesty that meets the sky
With other light of immortality
Than His, whose voice, in Freedom’s name
hath given
From all thi3 earth, tho noblest plea to
Hkavkn.
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Written for Burke’s Weekly.
THE YOUNG EXPLORERS;
OR, BOY-MFK IN TEXAS.
BY JOHN C. DUVAL,
Author of “ Jack Dobell; or, A Boy's Ad
ventures in Texas," “ The Adventures
of Big-Foot Wallace," etc.
CHAPTER X.
The Missions near San Antonio —An Army of
Bats — Onffee's New Dish—A Riding Match
Texas Rangers versus Comanche Indians
—Animated Scene —Horses Frightened at a
Burro.
HE missions of San Juan and
Concepcion were founded by
** the Spaniards more than one
hundred and fifty years ago, ostensibly
for the purpose of civilizing the In
dians, and for the purpose of propaga
ting the tenets of the Catholic religion ;
but I suspect their subjugation was the
main object in view. But, however
that may have been, the Spanish mis
sionaries were eminently successful in
propitiating the native tribes, and in
making converts of them. In a few
years after the establishment of the
missions, many of the neighboring
tribes abandoned their wandering, pre
datory mode of life, and settling around
them, turned their attention to the cul
tivation of the soil under the super
vision of the good “padres,” who, in
recompense for tithes and gratuitous
labor taught them the forms and cere
monies of the Roman Catholic religion
which constitute the sum total of
creed of their descendants to this
day.
Especially, we presume was a strict
* obedience to the priesthood enjoined,
and the good padres must have had a
jolly, easy time of it, living on the fat
of the land among their proselytes ; for
the extensive and highly cultivated
grounds that once surrounded these
missions can still be traced by the re
mains of numerous acequias , or ditches,
and embankments.
The sun was just setting, as we
neared the mission of San Juan, and
our ears were saluted with a sound
very similar to that of a heavy wind
rushing through the tops of the forest
trees. We couldn’t imagine at first
what caused it, for there was not a
cloud visible in the heavens ; but as we
rode up to the building, we discovered
that it proceeded from the wings of
myriads of bats, that were pouring
forth from every door and window. It
seemed as if all the bats for twenty
miles around had sought shelter be
neath the massive walls of the old mis
sion, for they continued to pour out,
apparently without any diminution of
their numbers, for more than half-an
liour after our arrival. Willie dis
mounted from his horse, and amused
himself for some minutes by throwing
stones at the living stream that was
issuing from one of the windows, knock
ing down at least half-a-dozen bats with
every missile he threw amongst them.
After we had seen all that was worth
looking at, in and around the old mis
sion, we mounted our horses again,
and rode back to camp by the light
of the moon, which by this time had
made her appearance above the hills to
the eastward —“winding” it, some dis
tance before we came to it, by the ap
petizing smell of the “ fat beef-steak
and onions” which Cudjo was prepar
ing for our supper.
At supper, a singular looking dish,
apparently composed of rolls of shucks,
was ostentatiously displayed before us
by Cudjo.
“Look here, Cudjo,” said Lawrence,
“ haven’t you made a mistake, and
given us here a little of the ‘ rough
ness’ you intended for the horses?”
“Oh! no, Mass Lawrence,” replied
Cudjo; “dem’swhat de Mexicans call
de ‘ tomaters,’* and dey bery good, I
tell you. I try some of ’em myself in
de town.”
Upon testing them, we found, as
Cudjo had stated, that they were ex
cellent eating. The Mexicans, as we
learned afterwards, prepare them in
the following manner: a quantity of
fresh meat —beef, venison, or kid—is
pounded in a stone mortar, until a sort
of ‘ pemmican’ or paste is made. This
is highly seasoned with chili pepper,
salt, etc., and then mixed with an
equal quantity of corn-meal dough,
after which it is made into rolls, some
thing like sausages, wrapped in the
inner shucks of corn, and then boiled
till done. They are served up smoking
hot, and the shucks are peeled off as
they are eaten.
It was our intention to leave San
Antonio the next day, but we had been
informed that a great riding match was
to come off on the morrow, between
Jack Hayes’ Rangers and a party of
fifty or sixty Comanche warriors who
were on a visit to the city, and we con
cluded to remain another day and see
the show. We had often heard of the
astonishing equestrian feats performed
by the Indians and Rangers, and were
all anxious to witness them. Uncle
Seth said they could beat the circus
riders “all hollow,” and that the sight
would well repay us for the loss of a
day.
The next morning, everybody was on
the quivive , men, women and children,
leaving, or preparing to leave, for the
scene of the great riding match, which
* Tortillas.
was to take place on a great level
prairie about half-a-miie from the west
ern suburbs of the city. Gaily dressed
Mexican Caballeros were prancing up
and down the streets upon their gaudily
caparisoned mustangs. Rangers and
frontiersmen, mounted on their war
steeds, dressed in slouched hats, hunt
ing shirts and buckskin leggings, with
pistols and bowie knives protruding
from their belts, galloped hither and
thither through the crowd, occasionally
charging on their horses up to the bar
of some drinking establishment or grog
ery, and calling for glasses of “red
eye” or “scorch gullet,” to stimulate
themselves for the expected contest.
The citizens, and the officers of the gar
rison, with their families, crammed
into ambulances and all sorts of vehi
cles, were seen rattling through the
streets in hot haste to reach the scene
of action before the show began.
Mounting our horses, and leaving
Uncle Seth in charge of the camp, we
followed the crowd until we came to the
San Pedro —a little stream that flows
through the western suburbs of the
city; but just then an incident oc
curred, which apparently afforded a
great deal of amusement to everybody
present, except those who were di
rectly concerned, and prevented us
from reaching our destination as soon
as we had anticipated by half-an-hour.
A burro or jackass, driven by a Mexi
can ladj met us on the road, covered
up from head to tail with mesquite
limbs, so that nothing of the animal
was visible as it moved along except
its huge ears and its legs. The mo
ment our horses saw it they suddenly
stopped, and stood as if they had been
rooted to the spot, staring at the fright
ful looking object that was advancing
towards them ; then snorting like mus
tangs, they wheeled about, and tore off
frantically through the streets in the
direction we had come. So completely
were they stampeded, that we found it.
impossible to check their headlong
course, until we got back to our camp,
on the west side of the river. Uncle
Seth, seeing us returning so hurriedly
and unexpectedly, came out of the tent
and inquired “ what’s up now?”
“Oh, nothing much,” answered Law
rence, who was the first to bring his
affrighted horse to a stand; “we met a
burro on the way, and our nags stam
peded, and brought us back, nolens
volens .”
“ Well,” said Uncle Seth, laughing
heartily at our discomfiture, “them ar
burros, when they are kivered over
with brushwood or grass, and nothing’s
to be seen of ’em ’cept their legs and
ears, are purty scary looking fellers,
it’s a fact; and it’s no wonder they
should stampede a decent horse that
ain’t accustomed to ’em. But I ’spose
you’ll try it over agin?”
“ Os course we will,” said Lawrence;
“but if we should meet another burro
between here and the San Pedro, you