Georgia Historic Newspapers

    NEWS & PLAATERS’ GAZETTE.
. . COTTIUtI, Editor.
No. 32.—NEW SERIES.]
NEWS & PLANTERS GAZETTE
terms:
Published weekly at Three Dullars per annum,
if paid at the time of subscribing; or Three
Dullars and Fifty Cents, if not paid till the expi
ration of six months.
No paper to be discontinued, unless at the
option of the Editor, without the settlement of all
arrearages.
O* L:ttcrs, on business, must be post paid, to
insure attention. No communication shall be
published, unless ire arc made acquainted with the
name of the author.
TO ADVERTISERS.
Advertisements, not exceeding one square, first
insertion, Seventy-five Cents; and for each sub
sequent insertion, Fifty Cents. A reduction will
bo made of twenty-five per cent, to those who
advertise by the year. Advertisements not
limited when handed in, will be inserted till for
bid, and charged accordingly.
Sales of Land and Negroes by Executors, Ad
ministrators, and Guardians, are required by law,
to be advertised, in a public Gazette, sixty days
previous to the day of sale.
The sales of Personal Property must be adver
tised in like manner, forty days.
Notice to Debtors and Creditors of an Estate
must be published forty days.
Notice that application will bo made to the
Court of Ordinary, for leave to sell Land or Ne
groes, must be published weekly for four months;
notice that application will be made for Letters of
Administration, must be published thirty days;
and Letters of Dismission, six months.
NEW SHOES.
TO-WIT, the following: Ladies’Kid, Calf,
and Prunelle Walking Shoes ; Women’s
sew’d Kip Shoetees ; Boys’ Calf and Kip Shoes,
sew’d and [>eg’d ; Coarse Brogans, making my
assortment complete from the smallest size to
the largest extra size, low for Cash.
A. L. LEWIS.
December 16, 1841. 16
JYotice.
A LL persons indebted to the late firm of Mc-
A .MILLAN & VINCENT, are requested to
make payment immediately to
JOHN 11. DYSON.
January 6, 1842. 16
JVotice •
ALL persons indebted to the Subscriber ei
ther by Note or Account, are requested to
f’ call and pay up immediately—if not, they will
find their notes in the hands of the Justices.
GEORGE W. JARRETT.
February 17, 1842. 25
JYotice •
THE Subscriber having sohl out. his Stock cl
GROCERIES to Mr. Edgar Vincent,
respectfully recommend him to the patronage ol
t his friends and former customers.
V GEORGE W. JARRETT.
February 8,1842. 3m
H AVING purchased the Stock of GROCE
RIES of Mr. George \V. Jarrett, the
Subscriber will continue the business at the
Store formerly occupied by Mr. Jarrett, and will
sell upon the most reasonable terms. Persons
in want of Groceries are respectfully invited to
call. EDGAR VINCENT.
February 10,1842. 3m
Tallow Candles,
OF a superior quality, for sale low, at whole
sale or retail, by
ROBERT 11. VICKERS.
March 10. __ 28
m
ALL Teachers having demands against the
Poor School Fund of Wilkes county, will
please render them in to the Secretary, before
the first of May’ next, at which time the same will
be distributed to the several Teachers having !
claims, in proportion to their demand.
ROYLAND BEASLEY, Sec’y.
March 17, 1842. Com. Poor School.
GUARDIAN’S SALE.
WILL be sold on the first Tuesday in June
next, before the Court-House door m
Wilkes count}', within the legal hours of sale,
A Tract of Land lying in said county, on the
waters of Cedar Creek, adjoining Kendrick,
Bowdre, and others, containing two hundred A
eres, more or less, belonging to the Minors of
Jonathan Gresham, deceased. Terms made
’ known on the day of sale.
JAMES R. GUNN, Guardian.
March 10,1842. 9t 28
ADMINISTRATRIX’S SALE.
WILL be sold on the first Tuesday in May
next, before the Court-House door in
Wilkes county, within the legal hours of sale,
A Negro man named Aaron, belonging to the
Estate of Benedictine Crews, deceased. Sold
for the benefit of the heirs and creditors.
ELIZA MANKIN, Adm’x. with
the will annexed.
March 10, 1842. 28
GEORGIA, ) Whereas, Joshua Morgan
Wilkes County, j applies to me for Letters of
Dismission as Guardian for John Scott-
These are, therefore, to cite, summon, and ad
monish, all and singular the kindred and creditors
of said Minor, to be and appear at my office,
within the time prescribed by law, to shew cause
(if any they have) why said letters should not be
granted.
Given under my hand at Office, this 14th day
* of February, 1842.
JOHN H. DYSON, c. c. o.
f February 17. m6m
EVERY VARIETY
OF
mm mi
EXECUTED AT TIJIS
* <Q> !F !F 0 © E *
j STOCKHOLDERS MEETING.
rpilE undersigned, Stockholders in the Bank
J- ol the State ot Georgia'to the extent ol up
uards ol Fourteen Hundred Shares, [14(10,) and
in number, ihirty, hereby give notice foraMeet
ing ot the Stockholders, to be held in the Bank
ot the State ol Ueorgia, in the City ot Savannah,
on Wednesday, the twenty-seventh day of April
next. Ihe objects ot which Meeting are as tol
lows:
Ist. To examine into the nature, kind, and ex
tent ol the debts due to and from the Bank—
when contracted, when due, and how secured.
-id. lo examine the Minutes ot the proceed
mgs of the Board of Directors, and all the Books,
papers, and correspondence of the same, both to
and by its officers.
•fd. lo ascertain if there be any Director or
Directors elected in said Bank on the part of the
Stockholders, who are not bona fide, entitled in
his own right to the requisite number of shares
lo quality him or them as such.
4:h. To revise and amend the By-Laws,
oili. lo regulate voting by proxy, in order to
forbid officers ol the Bank procuring, acquiring,
or rating proxies, either to themselves or others.
6t“. 1c revise the compensation (fixed by the
Stockholders hitherto,) of the President, and
consider the propriety o reducing the salaries
and the number ot the officers generally, and to
examine the securities given on their bonds.
7th. To consider the propriety ol applying to
the Legislature to alter and amend the Charter
ot the Institution, and in what respect.
Btii. To investigate the affairs of the Bank,
and the management of them, in every particu
lar, since the last Meeting of the Stockholders.
Inasmuch as no authority exists in the Charter
for the voting by proxy, except in elections, all
Stockholders are earnestly requested to attend in
person, and votes on questions will be taken ac
cording to the scale in the Charter.
The President, Cashiers, and Agents of the
Branches are respectfully requested to prepare
statements of each, giving exact particulars of
all the assets and property of each, their liabili
ties, &c., &c., to be then and there laid before
tiie Stockholders.
in conformity with the foregoing, they hereby
give jiublic notice, that a Meetly; ol all the
Stockholders of the said Bank ol Tlie State of
Georgia, is hereby called and summoned to be
held m the Banking-House, in the City of Savan
nah, on Wednesday, the 27th day of April next,
commencing its sitting at 10 A. M.
C. P. Richardsone, Gould & Buckley,
G. R. Hendrickson, James M’Laws,
N.B. Knapp, G. B. Cumming, l’res’t.
Wm. Patterson, Excel- pro tempore Savannah
tor Estate oi D. Mon- Insurance and Trust
gin, Company,
J .Vic Donald, James Dickson,
L. i. . Harris, Hiram Roberts,
D, It Rohe, Janet Evans, per Attor’y.
F I'orcher, C. P. Richardsone,
Luke Christie, J. P. Screven,
Francis Foley, Martha Hines,
T.J. Parmelee, 1). O'Byrne,
John M. Turner, Ad- John Bradley,
mimetrator ot Jacob G. W. Wylly, Trustee,
bruhains, M. Hopkins,
H. O. Wyer, Thomas Purse,
C. B. Carhart, Cashier Jas, M’Laws, Trustee,
ot the Mechanics James-M’Laws, Attor-
Bank, ney for W. YV. Mont-
James W. Davies, gomory, Trustee.
March 3,1842. 8t 27
EE a ilk ol the State ol Georgia.
Savannah, February 25, 1842.
WHEREAS a paper has b’fcen published in
the Savannah Republican of the 21st in
stant, calling a meeting or the Stockholders in
tins Institution on the 27th day of April next.—
The Board of Directors deem it due to the vast
majority of the Stockholders not connected with
this movement, to express publicly its views in
relation to it.
In the opinion of this Board, it is a duty incum
bent on the Directors of every Bank, (derivable
not only from its charter, but from considerations
of good faith paramount thereto,) to hold its af- j
lairs at ail times open to the inspection and ex- i
animation of those whose interests are committed
to their custody. In this view of the duty which
devolves upon it, this Board reiterates the call
which has been made, and expresses the hope
that since it has been made, it will be responded
to by a meeting sufficiently large to give a full
representation to the interests, and a fair expres
sion to the wishes of the Stockholders.
It therefore earnestly requests all who can at
tend, to be personally present, and those who can
by no possibility be in attendance, to send their
proxies. The only evil that can bo the result of
the contemplated meeting (other than that which
the agitation of the question at a time of general
depression and universal panic must necessarily
produce,) is the non-attendance of the Stock
holders, thus leaving the interests of the Institu
tion in the hands ol a few who cannot fully rep
resent the interests of the whole.
To arrest as far as it can, the injurious conse
quences of which the call for a meeting of stock
holders at this time is productive, this Board
deems it proper to allude more particularly to it.
At a period when the public mind is excited a
gainst all Banks, by reason of the gross misman
agement of many of them in our country, any
movement of the kind contemplated, is calcula
ted to operate injuriously on this, or any other
institution : add to .Ins consideration, which ap
plies generally to all moneyed institutions, the
fact, ihat heavy losses liave recently accrued at
our branch at Macon, which in a time of unpre
cedented difficulty have been promptly met by
the Bank, and it will be perceived, that the move
ment that has been made, is eminently calculated
to injure this Institution, and when the circum
stances attending on this call are duly consider
ed, it will be difficult to escape the conclusion,
that evil to a gi eater or less extent, may he its
consequence.
No one of the Subscribers to that document
has ever intimated to the presiding officer of this
Institution, or to any member of this Board, a de
sire to have a meeting of Stockholders ; the call
itself has never been communicated directly to,
or been laid before this Board, and the lirst noti
fication given was the insertion of it in tlie col
umns of one of the gazettes of this city. Such
course not only indicates a want of courtesy, but
exhibits a distrust of the members of this Board,
which cannot fail, within the sphere of its influ
ence, to afiect injuriously, the interests of the In
stitution over which they preside, which distrust
was not necessary in ettecting the call, and was
therefore entirely gratuitous.
What motives have influenced to such course,
the Board leaves to the decision of the public.
I Resolved, That the foregoing be published in
■ the gazettes of Savannah, the Constitutionalist,
PUB LIS II EI) EVE R Y Tll li RS I) A Y A1 () R N INC.
WASHINGTON, (WILKES COUNTY, CiSA.,) APIS EL 7, 1812.
Augusta, the Recorucr, Miiledgevilie, the Wing,
Athens, and the News, Washington, Wilkes
county, Georgia.
True extract from the Minutes,
A. PORTER, Cashier.
March 10. 7t 28
toThemSucT’
Tailor’s Prices Itcduccd.
rpilH Subscribers respectfully inform the in
-M. habitants of Washington and the Public
generally, that they have removed to the East
side of the Public Square, where they are pre
pared to make GARMENTS in the most ta.-h
----tonable and best style, at the following reduced
prices, for cash :
Frock Coat, corded or bound, $9 50
Dress Coat, do. 9 50
Frock or Dress Coat, plain, 8 50
Gaiter Pantaloons, 3 50
Plain do. 3 ot)
Rolling Collar Vest, 2 50
Double-breasted Vest, 3 00
McGRANAGHAN & DONNELLY.
Washington, February 17, 1842. 3m
Tailoring Prices Pro
portional.
fIM(E Subscribers having associated them
selves together for the purpose of carrying
on the above business in all its various Branch
es, and believing lrom their experience in busi
ness that thej will be enabled to render general
satisfaction, would respectfully submit to their
friends and the public the lollowing prices for
Work, by which they expect to be governed
hereafter:
Fine Corded Coats, Dress <$- Frock, $9 50
Plain do. do. do. 8 50
Plain Coatees, 8 00
Thin Coats of Bombazine and Corded, 7 50
Plain do. do. 7 00
White or Brown Linen Coats, 4 00
traitor Pantaloons, 3 00
Plain do. 2 50
Double-breasted Vests, 3 00
Plain do. or Rolling Collar, 2 50
Over Coats and Cloaks, each, 11 00
They will continue at the Shop formerly oc
cupied by J. T. Palmer, East side oi the Court-
House Square.
03” REPAIRING and CUTTING done
promptly, and on reasonable terms.
JOHN T. PALMER.
hector McMillan.
February 21, 1842. 26
THE DEViL AMONG THE TAILORS,
A N D
NO MONOPOLY !
f|U!E Suuscribei oegs leave io inform the
public and his former customers, that in
consequence of tiie present Hard Times, he will
make up Work in a Superior Style ot Fashion,
at a reduced price for Cash, Hog-meat, Lard,
Meal, Flour, or Irish Potatoes. Persons wish
ing to patronize a TAILOR that is willing to
comply with the Times can do so by applying to
the Subscriber.
WILLIAM F. SOLAN.
February 24, 1842. M
To the Planters of Georgia.
A PENNY SAVED IS TWO PENCE EARNED.
rBN 11E Subscriber is now offering to the Far-
JL mers oi Georgia, “MIMS’ WROUGIIT
-IRON PLOUGH STOCK,” invented by the
Messrs. Seaborn .1. & Marshall Mims, of Oc
lebbahan county, Mississippi, and patented by j
them. This PLOUGH in every respect is the j
most desirable PLOUGH STOCK ever offered
to a planting community. It combines durahili- I
ty with convenience—it, will last a great many 1
years wiJiout repair or expense, and will admit
j of every variety of Plough Hoes, (three tooih 1
j harrow excepted,) with perfect convenience and
facility—it is not heavier than the ordinary wood
en stock, yet tar stronger, and being so v ery sim
ple in its construction, that any blacksmith in
the country can make them.
Sample Ploughs may be seen and tried at Mr.
Dense’s Siiop in Milledgeville ; at. Mr. Martin’s
Shop in Sparta, and at Mr. F. B. Biilingslea’s in j
Washington, Wilkes county. Let the Farmer
examine the Plough, and he will purchase the
right to use them.
The Subscriber proposes to sell county rights
on the most accommodating terms.
ET All communications on this subject, post
paid, addressed to me at Milledgeville, or Wash
ington, Wilkes county, will meet with immedi
ate attention. B. L. BARNES,
Agent for S. J. & M. Mims.
January 27, 1841. 22
GEORGIA, > Whereas, William Dalits, Kx-
Lincoln county. ( ecutor of the Estate of Thomas
Dallis, Sen., deceased, applies to me for Letters
ot Dismission.
These are, therefore, to cite, summon, and ad
monish, all and singular, the kindred and credit
ors of said decea.-ed, to be and appear at my of
fice, within the time prescribed by law, to shew
cause (if any they have,) why said letters should
not be granted.
Given under my hand at office, this Cth Janua
ry, 1842.
HUGH HENDERSON, Clerk C. O.
January 20. nifirn
BLANKS.
SHERIFFS, CLERKS, &c., can be supplied
with the following BLANKS, at the Office
of the News and Gazette:
Sheriff’s Deeds,
Sheriff’s Executions,
Tax Collector’s do.
Ca. Sa’s.
Letters of Administration,
Do. do. with will annexed,
Do. Dismission,
Do. Guardianship,
Administrator’s Bonds,
Guardian’s do.
Delivery do.
Subpoenas,
Bench Warrants,
Recognizances,
Writs of Assumpsit,
Do. Debt,
Commissions for Interrogatories,
Warrants of Appraisement,
Marriage Licences, &c. &c.
Es” Any kind of Blaaks can be furnished at
short notice. April, 1841.
I JAtoceUnufous.
is IT A PICTURE ?
A writer in the British Now Sporting ,
i Magazine, gives the following as a scene at i
j the New York Tattersals :
It is the custom there to state in the cata
j logue the reason of the owner fir parting
J with It is property ; and whilst some of the
j excuses are sufficiently ingenious, all are
| of course, most satisfactory.
It is an auction day—let us look in.
On one side of a circular building, laid
[ with tan and saw dust, adopted, 1 presume,
j as being pleasanter to tender feet than hard
j and rough stones, stood a small wooden
platform, around which were gathered a
i few slang horse-dealer-looking individuals,
j with long pigwhips or thick “sticks under i
j their arms, sneeringly reading over a vil- j
lainously printed catalogue, whilst their re
marks were neither delicate nor low-toned. !
Ding—ding—ding went a bell. Tin*
auctioneer mounted the rostrum, the crowd j
j clustered around it, and, wtth a violent
j smacking of whips from the opposite side of
j the building, out stumbled a wretched, half
starved, bay colt, followed by a man with a
I huge pigwhig, lashing and shouting with
j all his might.
“Now, gentlemen,” began tho orator,
“here’s a hootiful nag and desoriptioned
in the bill as ‘a bay gelding warrented qui
et to ride, and quiet in double aud single
harness.’ ”
“Quiet enough,” observed a by-stander,
“if you only didn't keep a flanking of him
so.”
“He stands fifteen’ands and-’affa inch,”
continued the auctioneer; “and lie’s sold be
cause his owner aiut got no use for him.”
Should’nt wonder,” echoed a voice in
the crowd.
“D’ye warrant him sound?” enquired
‘one, amid a horse-laugh from the rest.
“Is it the fashin to drive bow-legged ’uns
in your city?” asked another.
“Why, he’s broken kneed,” roared a
fourth.
“Not at all, you mister,” cried the auc
tioneer pertly. “The gentleman who sells !
his horses always marks all his stud on this \
knee, that he may know ’em again.”
“The devil he does! well then, I’ve got !
one of his’n home—perhaps you’ll tell him !
to send for it,”
“Now, gentlemen, will you go a bid if
you please? What shall I say! Forty dol
lars? Five-and-thirty? Thirty?”
“I bid half a dollar, roared a voice.
“Thank you, sir,” said the auctioneer, I
with a little smile—then looking ten thou
sand hammers at the bidder, he added, “per-
Itaps you’d better not offer so much again
or someone may guess you are a puffer.—
Shall I say ten dollars for you, sir?”
The person addressed shook his head j
knowingly, ‘a la Burleigh ’
“Five dollars is bid—thank ycr, sir— !
and ’aff—and ’all”—and hammer, hand
and head bowed gradually downward to j
the desk.
“What’s the matter with that eye next
! to the wall?” said one.
j •Wall-eyed, [guess,’’suggested another, j
“Take care—mind yourselves,” shouted j
a third.
“Wat’s the matter?”
“He’s flipping his tail—it'll set his nose
a-bleeding’.”
“Well, then—lend him ycr handkerchief.”
“Five dollars and ’aff—six thank you.
sir;” and the auctioneer really did look
grateful.
“Pray, mister auctioneer,cried one of
the company, have you got a knife and fork
handy? 1 should like to try ifmydog will
cat him before I bid.”
‘Titanic you, six—six dollars and ’aff- i
and a half and a half, anda-goin’—a-goin’
agoin’.”
“Into a gallopin’ consumption,” tagged
on somebody.
‘Again—agoin’. Is there any any ad- j
vance on six and ’af"?”
‘May we bid what we like,’ asked a by- |
stander.
‘Certainly, sir.’
‘Then I’ll bid you good day, and bed and ;
to you.’
‘Thank you, sir—you're a blackguard,
sir, and that’s an old joke,’ said the auction
eer; and so it was.
‘A-goin’—a-goin’,’ he began again ; any
advance on six—and three-quarters? Thank
you, sir; six and three-quarters is all I’m
bid for this fine specimen of.’
‘Anatomy,’ chimed in a by,stander.
‘I say six and three-quarters is all I’m
bid for this fine’
‘Bag o’bones,’ interrupted another.
‘Six and three-quarters—six and three
quarters. Goin’—goin’, for six and three
quarters.’
‘How much is that a pound?’ inquired a j
fellow.
‘More than you’re worth,’ retorted the
auctioneer. ‘Now goin’-goin’; only six
and three-quarters.’
‘What! ain’t he older than that?’ asked a*
customer with well-feigned astonishment.
‘Six and three-quarters. Goin’-goin’.
Will no one advance on six and three-quar
ters?’ bawled the tired auctioneer. Then
| looking round ha'.fin despair and halt in
spite, the hammer fell upon the desk with
‘Gone for six dollars and seventy-five cents.
The happy purchaser received the con
gratulations of his friends with becoming
modesty. ‘What’ll you take lor his skin .”
asked one. ‘lt’s all wore out with his bones,’
roared another- ‘l’d stuff him for a rock
ing-horse,’suggested a third. ‘He’s a haz
ardous purchase!’chimed in a fourth
•A hazardous purchase! Why so?’
‘Because he’s all neck and nothing.—
j But vvliat do you mean to do with him?’
i ‘Well, 111 tell you. dnu see how long
| it s been ruining, and what a heap o’ water
there is in that gutter—you can’t any of you
cross it. There now, I bought him to car
ry me over that gutter, and when I’m safe
on the other side, 1 shall give him away to .
the first 1 title hoy I meet with.
From the Southern Literary Messenger.
SCENES IN THE WEST.
Or, a night on the sa.vta ee trail.
“There! ejaculated my comrade, with
a smack of the lips which made all crack
again, as he shoved from before him the
tin cup and pewter platter which had held
his hot bacon and cot Tee, “a child might
play with me now with perfect impunity.
The individual who gave such gracious
proofs of the condescending nature of his S
j disposition, was a man of fair and goodly j
| proportions, whoso years had not yet num
bered thirty, and whose broad and humor- j
ous face was ever lighted bv a frank and ;
generous srnile. Wo were in a wilder- I
ness.
Far out in the vast prairie, two hundred
miles from the haunts of enlightened man,
exists a tract of forest land, well known to j
the sojourners in those regions as the ‘Coun
cil Grove.” There again those vast and
mysterious mounds, those • monuments of j
uncounted centuries, arrest the eye of the i
passing traveller ; while their gigantic di
mensions, and the military skill with which
their directions are arranged, convince him !
at once that he stands on the ruined site of
a once powerful city. Even now this spot j
is deemed a kind of Mecca of the West ; i
for here, within the memory of those living,
the delegates of the Nomadu tribes of the
prairie, were annually wont to meet and
smoke the pipe of peace ; and the corpse s
of brave men and chiefs are frequently con- j
veyed hither, at this day, for interment, as |
to one of the sacred groves of the ati
j cients.
Here also commences the famous high
way, used by the American traders, stretch ‘
j iug two thousand miles across the desert to j
j the U cstern Spanish Provinces ; and from
| various points of our long frontier, the mi- |
j nor trails converging to the “ Council j
I Grove,” where the various caravans usual- j
i ly rendezvous preparatory to setting forth j
j on their stated marches.
It was hero, in the early part of autumn,
I that my friend and myself were seated at
j night in front of a crackling fire, enjoying I
: to the full that measure of unmixed and .
heartfelt satisfaction, which one never fails j
to experience win n a hearty meal and a 1
cheerful fire have succeeded a long and !
chilly ride. The men of the detachment j
were grouped in various attitudes around j
their respective fires, the bright flames of j
which, shooting upwards, made llie trunks j
of the huge trees seem like living giants ;
I while the forms of the pioketted horses in
the back ground, looked, by the quivering
light, like the demons of another world.—
The pencil of Salvator Rosa would have
delighted-in delineating such a scene. The
bandit-looking groups scattered about the
fires ; their carbines and pistols piled in
careleSs confusion, or bung with the belts i
and sabres on the drooping branch of some j
neighboring tree. But it would require the |
flexible pen of the author of diaries O’- j
Malley, to write out the merry songs with
which the arches of the forest were made j
to ring, or to tel! again the thrilling tales ul
former scout and battle, which made so !
many circles of attentive listeners. As 1
intimated before, my comrade was a good- j
tempered and companionable messmate ;
but as agreeable as those attributes were, j
be was better distinguished for qualities of j
more sterling worth. Born in the W est, j
he had been an adventurer from childhood; j
and having spent some of the earlier years j
of his youth in the Midshipman’s berth of a
man-of-war, lie joined to the polished de- (
portmentofu soldier, the quaint simplicity j
iof the hunter, with the frank and frolick- |
I some humor of the sailor; gallant and
[ dashing irt the discharge of his duty, reck
less of danger, and fond of fun : such is a
feeble outline of the character of my friend, j
“ The nights arc getting a little chilly,
he added, after lie had delivered the ejacu
lation we have already recorded; “and
before we turn our faces homeward again,
S my bov, the north-west wind will bo keen
i enough to blow off the horns of a buffalo j
I bull. “ Von Pedro !” he cried to a mulat
| to servant, who was finishing the culinary
operations of the evening at a little distance,
“ just'ereep through the thicket yonder to i
the road, and see if there are any fresh
tracks leading in either direction ; and be
lively, bov, like a double and twisted sirea.v
of forked lightning, ’ be added, as the black
j sluggishly lingered, with the customary in
dolence of his race. “Those feather-bed.
legs of yours will shrink up with the cold,
Ivounker, if we do not meet the fall traders,
i and increase our stock of Spanish blankets,
before we march to the North, when win
ter sets in.”
I thanked my comre.de for the rather e
-1 quivocul compliment he was pleased to be
j stow upon tho enduring properties of my
nether limbs ; in truth, he felt himself pri
vileged to quiz me, for I was very ‘ green,
having but a few months before relinquish
i ed books and black boards at my atma nut
j ter among the hills of the Hudson ; and be
i ing then, for the first time, initiated in the
j vicissitudes of a prairie campaign. A no
j vice, in his eagerness to acquire knowledge
in n whore &!! new, is srcner'iHv
li. .1 . liAPl'Eli, M m r inter.
willing to risk the sly jests which his igno
rance may elicit, for the sake of the infor
mation he is sure, in the end, to gain. My
: triend (who hy-the-byo was commonly
; known among his equals by the familiar
j soubriquet of •• Rearing Tom,”) was jusi
J the person calculated to supply my de
j inund for this particular kind of lore ; for
: he was an old rover in these regions, and
; his dashing bravery had frequently led him
! into rough encounters with the denizens of
| the desert.
j “ Did you ever go on a march to the
| Spanish provinces ?” inquired I.
“ Did 1 ? said Roaring Tom, as ho
| ground m the palm of his hand some fibres
j of the fragrant Kinuik in nick, “ aye did l;
j and just pass me the big pipe uhilo 1 till
| it, and then I will tell you lion tny first
I trip was near being my last.”
Having lighted the pipe, he drew into his
I lungs the mild and care-dispelling vapor,
j and uttering the usual Indian ejaculation
| ot supreme delight, he exhaled u huge cloud
I from his mouth and nostrils ; and passing
the implement courteously to me, common,
i cod his relation :
•‘ From time immemorial (that is to me,)
j the frontier traders have been in the habit
| of collecting, in large caravans, and traver
sing what is sometimes called the great A
ineriran desert, to the Mexican town of
Santa Fe. The usual point where the ca
| ravans rendezvous, in order to take advan
j tage of any accession of their numbers, is
: the spot where wo now lie. Beyond this,
with the exception of grass and flowers, the
whole route runs for hundreds of miles,
I through a region destitute of vegetation.—
Day after day you may travel onwards in
I the rays of a burning sun, without the
j glimpse of a tree or shrub to vary the mo
notonous expanse of sky and grass. This
; immense tract constitutes the hunting
grounds oft lie (.’a ma itches, the Cad does, 1 lie
I’uwnce Diets, and many other wild tribes,
who subsist by following the buffalo in their
| range north and south, varied occasionally
bv the plunder of some weak or unwary
party. The traders, though often leagued
in formidable numbers, suffered frequently
! from their attacks, until at length they
! were in the habit of applying to govern
: tnont for escorts of troops, which were gran
ted upon the same principle that secures
armed protection to convoys of merchant
ii): nin case of necessity. Now this soon
became a service which our fellows did not
admire ; hut pleasant or not, the lot soon
ti 11 upon me. and I was detailed to convoy
a party. This was four or five years ago,
vounker, when you were sleeping on a soft
pine plank, or taking lessons at resting up
on one leg, in a ten acre lot, with a shoul
dered musket.
“It was early in the spring when we set
out, and then my troubles commenced.—
The nu n composing the caravan, seemed
independent of each other ; and strove con
tinual ly to set at defiance the wholesome
restrictions of military discipline- Some
times a wagon would break down and re
quire repair & the whole mass would move
on, equally careless whether a guard were
left to protect it, or whether it fell without
defence into the hands of an enemy. And
then at night with their trampoosing through
tin- woods, and their “fire hunts,” and tur
kev shooting, anil coon catching, and what
not, it would have taken a regiment of sen
tinels to check the stragglers. Most ot
our march was performed after this militia
fashin ; though from the very commence
ment 1 had warned the principal men that
the Indians would vet tnnke a dash upon
them, and cause a late repentance for their
heedlessness.
‘YYe had nearly finished the journey, the
desert country was already passed, patches
of woodland became more & more frequent
and a few spurs of the Rocky Mountains
loomed gloomily up in the distance. YVe
had been many days in the habitof seeing
buffalo; and on the particular morning to
which I allude, 1 left my troop in charge ol
the subaltern, and gal lopped away to seek
some snort among a herd which I espied
grazing in the distance. I soon overtook
them, and had the satisfaction of bringing
several to the ground. At length I had se
lected a fat young cow, who hail separated
! herself from the rest of the gang, and ea
•-i riy gave chase. The animal, by her ae
! tivity, proved too fast for me, and succeeded
i in frustrating all my endeavors to lay tny
: horse along side at close quarters ; for that
is the only method by which one can bring
I them to. Ido not know how long or how
far I pursued my chase, but when 1 at
i length ranged up along side, 1 found my
self entirely alone, having been so perfeot
j ly engrossed with line excitement of tin
! chase us to havq taken no note of time,
j course or distance. As the sun was now
! near the western horizon, I concluded in
i tny rg.ltid as to the probable direction to the
j sr.ot where the traders would pitch their
i camp; and securing the tongue as a trophy,
(intendingto send forthe carcass afterward)
| 1 threw tiie bridle over my arm, and, lea
i ding my tired and panting horse, walked
I briskly homeward. I had thus walked, I
I presume, half an hour ; and was slowly as
cending the gentle slope of a hill, whose
j ridge was at no great distance. Suddenly
j a cloud of dust rose over its crest, and I
heard a rushing noise as of'u mighty whirl
wind, or the charging tramp of ten thousptiil
horses. I had not time to divine its cause,
j when a herd of buffalo arose over the suni
-1 mit, and a dense mass, thousand upon thou
j sand, gallopped, with headlong speed, d:-
rectly upon the spotwhere 1 stood. Then
j seemed no possible escape for me ; the va.-
4r i* 4 q >rx
(YOU ME XXVII.