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SOUTHERN HI RECORDER.
vor n».
? I ILL E ViiLI.11, TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 1822.
11 v
No. 2<*.
PUBLISHED WEEKLY,
BY S. GRA.VTLA.VD (f R. M. ORME,
On Hancock Street, opposite Iho Auction Sturt*,
Al' TI1RF.F. DOLLARS. IN ADVANCE, OR FOUR
DOLLARS AT THE EXPIRATION OF THE
TEAR.
in' Advertisements conspicuously inserted
n t tliu customary rales. Loiters on business, in
nil earns, must be post paid.
BY AYTlUmVVY.
AN ACT to authorize and empower the Cor
poration of the City of Washington, in the Dis
trait of Columbia, to drain the Low Grounds
on and near the l’uplic Reservations, and to
tnprovo and ornament certain partsof such
Reservation.
He it enacted in; the Semite and House of
Representatives of the United States of Amer-
iat in Congress assembled, That it shall In*
lawful for the Mayor, Aldermen, and Com
mon Council, of the City of Washinging-
to:i, under the direction of the President
of the United States, and tile said corpora
tiini is hereby authorized, when they shall
di*,*m it necessary, to contract with tin*
Washington Canal Company, and obtain
their consent, to change the present location
of such parts of the canal, passing through
the said city, as lies between Second and Se
venth streets west, into such other course
as shall most effectually, in their opinion,
drain and dry the low grounds lying on the
borders of Tybercreek.
See. A. And be it further enacted. That,
to effect the object ifoie-aid, and to fill up
tin* low grounds on the borders of the said
canal, in such manner as they may provide
by law, the said corporation is hereby au
thorized and empowered, after h aving ex
tended the public reservation, designated on
the. plan of the sail’, city as number ten, so as
the whole south side thereof shall bind on
the line, of Pennsylvania Avenue—and after
having caused to be divided the said public
reservation numbered ten, except such part
thereof as has already been sold, and also
the public reservations numbered eleven
and twelve, into building lots, to sell and dis
pose uf tlie right of the United States of, in,
and to, the said lots, or any number thereof,
laid off as aforesaid, at public sale, on such
conditions of improvement, and on such
t mw, as the said corporation shall prescribe
mil the said corporation is further autho
rized and empowered, for the purposes spe-
cili' d in Ibis act, to cause to he laid off. in
such manner as the President ot the l nited
States may approve of, two squares, south
of Pennsylvania Weiuic, between Third ami
Sixth streets west, to front on the line of
said avenue, from the. junction of said Sixth
street west and the. said avenue, to the junc
tion of Third street west with said avenue ;
and also to lay off, north of Maryland Ave
nue, two uniform and correspondent squares,
and the said four sqitres, when so laid off,
to divide into building lots, and to sell and
dispose of the right of the United States, of,
in, and to, such building lots, or any num
ber thereof, at public sale, on such conditi
ons of improvement, and on such terms, as
the said corporation shall prescribe ; bill nu
change, shall be made in Itie direction ot the
caul canal,unless the consent, in writing, of
the President and Directors of ltie Washing*
ton Canal Company he first had and obtain
ed—and tile change that shall he made, in
pursuance of any contract that may lie en
tered into under this act, shall be made by
m« said company out of itid ;;,onevs to be
paid to the saiu l>>’ the said rnrpo
ration—and the said company tu'.ill, doiin,
tli
same may be collected, be paid by the Mayor
of Washington into the Treasury of the U-
uited Status.
See. fi. And be it further enacted, That it
shall be lawful for the legal Representa
tive of any former proprietor of the Laud
directed to be disposed of by this net,
or persons lawfully claiming title under them,
and they are hereby, permitted and autho
rized, at any time within one year from the
passing of this act, to institute a hill in equi
ty in the nature ul a petition of right against
the United States, in the Circuit Court of
the United States for the District of Colum
bia, in which they may set forth the grounds
of their claim to the Land in question.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That a
copy of said bill shall he served on the At
torney Genera I of the United States, and it
shall he his duty to prepare and pul in pro
per pleas nml answers, and make all pro
per-defence thereto, in behalf of the United
States.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the
said suit shall be conducted according to the
rules of a Court of Equity ; and the said
cnuit shall have full power and authority to
hear and determine upon the claim of the
one thousand eight hundred and seventeen,
or the heirs of devisees of such individual or
individuals, shall have complied with tho
conditions of settlement and cultivation, in
the said contract prescribed, in proportion
to his or their interest, under the said con
tract, and in the lauds thereby set apart, and
shall have paid the amount uf purchase mo
ney, proportionate to his or their interest in
said land, within the particular periods in the
said contract limited, it shall and may be
lawful for the Secretary of the Treasury,
and lie is hereby required, to cause letters
patent to be issued to such individual or in
dividuals, or his or tin ir heirs or devisees,
for the amount of his or their interest in the
lands set apart and contracted fur by virtue
of the said act, any tbing in the said act or
contract contained to the contrary notwith
standing : saving always, to the widow of
any such deceased proprietor her light of
dower in said lands, according to the laws
of the Stale of Alabama.
Approved, SO April, 1822.
AN ACT authorizing the payment of certain
Certificates.
He it enacted hy the Senate and House of
plaintiff or plaintiffs, and what proportion, if j Representatives oj the United States of Amir-
any, of the money arising front the sale of
the Land hereby directed to be sold, the
parties may lie entitled In.
See 9. And be it further enacted,'That the
plaintiff'or plaintiffs, ortho Attorney Gene
ral of the United States, shall be entitled to
an upper! to the Supreme Court of the Unit
ed States, whose decision shall he conclusive
between the parties—and should no appeal
he taken, the judgment or decree of the said
Circuit Court shall in like manner be final
and conclusive.
Approved, 7 May, 1822.
VN ACT making partial appropriations for the
support of the Navy ofthe United Status din
ing the year one thousand eight hundred and
twenty-two.
lit it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United Slates of Amer
ica in Congress assembled, That the follow
ing sums lie, and they an* hereby appropri
ated to the objects herein specified, to wit :
for the payment and subsistence ofthe otti-
rers and pay of the seamen, one hundred
thousand dollars ; for provisions, twenty
thousand dollars; for repairs, twenty thou
sand dollars ; for contingent expenses, twen
ty thousand dollars.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the
several appropriations hereinbefore made,
shall be paid out of any money in the Trea
sury not otherwise appropriated.
Approved, 13 February, 1322.
AN ACT authorizing the transfer of certain
Certificates of the Funded Debt of the United
States.
He it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives ofllie United States of Amer
ica in Congress assembled, That the certifi
rates ofthe Funded Debt of tile United
States, which, upon the assumption ofthe
debts ofthe several Creditor States, were
issued in their favor, respectively, lu*, ami
hereby are, made transferable, according to
t e rules and forms instituted for the pur
pose of transfers ofthe public debt.
Approved 13 February, 1322.
AN ACT to alter the times ofhobling Courts in
the Western District of Virginia, and tor o-
ther pm poses
lie it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United Slates of Amer
ica in Congress assembled, That, instead of
the times now prescribed hy law for holding
courts in the western district of Virginia, tin-
said courts shall he held annually on the first
Mondays of April and September, at AVyllte
Con: t-bn use ; and at Lewishurg, on the Fri
days succeeding the first Mondays of April
and September ; and at Clarksburg, on the
fourth Mondays of May and October; to
which days, respectively, all process return
able to tin* first days of the next succeeding
term shall be. held returnable, and returned
accordingly.
Sec. 2. .d::d be it further enacted, That if
the judge shall not attend on the first day ot
any court, such cou;t shall stand adjourned
from day today for three da\s, if the same
cause continue; after which time, if the
judge still fail to attend, the court shall stand
adjourned until the first day ofthe next term.
Approved, 2C April, 1822.
mil place of holding
District of Missis-
ime the proposed alteration is in pro-
I,be entitled to receive the same ratfi uf
wharfage that are secured to them by any
former act or acts ; but no landing shall Ire
permitted for the purpose of wharfage be
tween the west side ot Tuird and the east
side of Sixth streets west.
See. 3. And be it further enacted, That,
upon the payment ot the purchase money,
and upon the compliance with the conditi
ons of improvement by the purchaser nr
put-chasers, or his or their heirs or as-ign-,
ti e Mayor of the said city, for the time be
ing, shall he, and he is hereby, empowered
to execute a deed or deeds in fee to such
purchaser or purchasers, his or their heirs or l
assings, under his hand and the seal uf the
said corporation ; which deed or deeds shall
bo recorded among the land records of the
county of Washington, within the time pre
scribed for the recording of conveyances o(
real estates.
Sec. 4. In i be it further enacted, That if.
after the aforesaid objects shall b • eff, eted,
a iialaoee shall remain urn xponded in the
bauds of the said corporation, from the pro-
aeeds ofthe sale of the said lots, the said
corporation is au'horiz*-d and empowered
to appropriate and apply, from time to time,
as til'* same tnav be collected, the whole or
any part efsueh balance,to enclosing, plant
ing, or otljei w ise improving, the public re
servation between the Capitol Square and
Sixth street west, and building one or more
Bridges over that part of the Canal lying in
or between Second and Sixth streets west ;
but the said corporation is hereby expressly
prohibited from undertaking any ol tile bn-
p-nvenv-nls contemplated by this seetbm,
unless tin* said improvements shall lu* ell- ci
t'd out of tho funds created by this act, or
out of the corporate funds of the said corpo
ration ; and the corporation ofthe said city
shall have the control and management of
the public reservation between the Botanic
Garden and Sixth street west, u it It the view
to the improvement ami preservation ofthe
saute, until Congress shall otherwise direct.
Sec. 3 And be it further enacted, That the
residue of the food, created by the sales of ,
Lots authorized by this art, after effecting i part ami dispose of certain public lands I
the ihj'-c.ts run'cm plated by tile foregoing the encouragement of the cultivation of the
sections, slut]!, from time to time, as the 1 vine and olive,” passed on 3d day of March,
AN ACT altering the time
the District Court ill til
sippi.
Ik. it enacted by the. Smote and House of
Representatives of the United States of Amer
ica in Congress assembled, That the District
Court ofllie United States for the District
of Mississippi, heretofore holden at the seat
of govern ,enl in the State of Mississippi,
on the first Mondays in January and July,
shall, after the next July term, which may
be bidden at the city of Natchez, hereafter
hold its regular terms at tin* Court-house of
Adams county, in the city of Natchez, on the
first Mondays in April and October, and may
continue to sit at each term until the busi
ness of the court is finished.
See. 2. And be it further enacted, That e-
vei-y writ, process, subpoena,nr recognizance
returnable according to law, or the tenor
hereof, to either of the aforesaid terms hol
den on the first Mondays in January and
July, shall, after the next July term, lie re
turnable, and shall be returned, to the next
succeeding term of said court, to be holden
on the first Mondays in April and October,
after the passing of this act.
Approv 'd 2G April, 1822.
an ACT supplementary to nil Act. entitled
o All act, tit set apart and dispose of ccitnin
Public Lands for the encouragement of the
cultivation ofllie Vine and Olive.
Ik it enacted by the. Senate and House, of
Representatives ofthe United States ol Amer
ica in Congress assembled, That, whenever
any individual or individuals, named in the
contract entered into between the Secretary
of the Treasury and Charles Villar, agent of
the French Association, on the tub day of
January, in the year 1819, by virtue of the
j Act of Congress, entitled “An act to set n-
ica in Congress assembled, That so much uf
an act, entitled “ an act making further pro
vision fur the support ofthe public credit
and for the redemption of the public debt,”
passed the Sd day of March, 1705, and so
much of tlie act, entitled “ an act respecting
loan office mid final settlement certificates,
indents of interest, and the unfunded and
registered debt, credited on the boobs of the
Treasury,” passed the 12th day of June,
1798, as bars from settlement or allowance
certificates, commonly called loan office and
final settlement cirtificates, and indents of
interest, be, and Ihe same is hereby, sus
pended for the term of two years from and
after the passing of this act, and from thence
until the end ofthe next session of Congress
—a notification of which temporary suspen
sion ofthe act of limitation shall be publish
ed by the Secretary of the Treasury, for the
information ofllie holders of the said certifi
cates, in one or more ofthe public papers in
each of the United States.
Sis*. 2. Ai\d be it further enacted, That all
certificates, euinmouly called loan office cer
tificates, countersigned by the loan officers of
tin- states, respectively, final settlement cer
tificates, and indents of intercet, which, at
the time of passing this act, shall he out
standing, and may .re presented at the Trea
sury ; and, upon tile same being liquidated
and adjusted, shall be paid to the respective
holders ofthe same, with interest at six per
cent, per annum, from the date of the last
payment of interest, as endorsed on said cer
tificates,
•Sec. 3. And bn it fm P er enacted, That for
carrying this act into effi ct, Ihe sum of fif
teen thousand dollars be appropriated, urn
of any moneys in the Treasury of the United
States not otherwise appropriated.
Approved, 7 May, 182
RESOLUTION providing for the distribution of
the Secret Journal ami Foreign Correspon
dence of tiie old Congress, and ofllie Journal
of the Convention which formed the Consti
tution of die United State
Resolved, hy Ihe Senate and House of Re
presentatives ofthe United States of Amcriea
in Congress assembled, That the President
ofthe. United States be requested to cause
to he furnished to each Member of the pie
sent Congress, and the Delegates from Ter
ritories, who may not bo entitled to the
ante under the Resolution of Congress, of
the twenty-seventh of March, one tliuusand
eight hundred and eighteen, the President
and Vice-President of Ilia United State, tin
Executive uf each State anti Territory, the
Attorney General, and Judges ofthe Court's
ofthe United States, and the Colleges and
Univerities in t ie United States, each um:
copy ; for the use of each of the Depart
ments, viz: State, Treasury, War, and Nr
vy, two copies each ; for tile use of Ihe
Senate, live copies ; for Ihe use of the
House of Representatives, ten copies; and
for the Library of Congress, ten copies, of
tlie Secret Journals, and of the Foreign
Correspondence, ordered to he printed i>y
the several Resolution? of Congress, passed
on the twenty-seventh of March, one thou
sand eight hundred and eighteen, and of
April twenty-first, one thousand eight lion
died and twenty ; Also to each Member of
the present Congress, w ho has not received
the same, one copy of the Journal of the
Convention which formed the Constitution
of the United States. And that the remain
ing copies he preserved in the Library, sub
ject to the future disposition ot Congress.
[Approved, II January, 1822.]
and regular, and received not the least inju
ry IVuui the worm, although its devastations
were general Ihroutli tlie neighborhood.
When about four or five inches high, it was
ploughed with a bursbare plough, throwing
the la id from the corn, at w hich time it was
liueduiid thinned, leaving the stalks about
one foot apart—about ten days after, it was
again (Roughed with the bar-share, plough,
throw ing tlie land back to thecurn; a fewdays
after, it was twice ploughed with tlu* double
shovel |ilougli—this was tlie entire culliva-
tion it ijeceived.
Thecoill was gathered at the usual time,
and gnat pains was taken in the gathering
and uvastiring by my manager. The whole
being measured by him in a sealed barrel
kept it my mill for that purpose. The re
sult vas three hundred and ninety-six barrels
of ears of good corn. The field was survey
ed this summer hy a sworu surveyor of this
county—and his report was thirty-one acres,
•ncM.ing reel, breaks, which he estimated
to contain one acre, so that it may he fairly
slated from actual measurement both ofthe
field and product, at three hundred and
ninety-six barrels from thirty acres of land,
or IS barrels or 00 bushels Sz a fraction, in the
acre. The corn is of the yellow dint kind,
with a red cob. There was an evident dif
ference in the field ; the half that was sprink
led on the drills before the corn came up,
being decidedly the best. The season was
uncommonly propitious—the corn never
suffering for rain, axcept for a short period
in tho month of August just before it began
o fill. °
1 am, with great respect, your nbd’t,
SAMUEL RINGGOLD.
General Ringgold’s communication is va
luable, liecuuso the experiment was made
upon a large scalu, and with his ordinary
process of culture—not a single acre cultiva
ted for premium. It is our own fault, or
rather misfortune, that we have not had the
pleasure to see Gen. Ringgold’s estate—one
ot the most extensive and in a proverbially
fertile comity—enriched, moreover, hy a well
kept and valuable stock of cattle, ofllie best
English blood, at the time of their importa
tion.—[Ed. Am. Ear.]
AMERICAN SCENERY,
The following ^ketches are copied
from a work just published atC’harlestoo,
entitled “ Notices of East Floridn”:—
the fhcfc ofthe country <o the borders of
the hummock, on the edgo of the swamp,
dues not, in other respects, vary Very
materially.
“ The number of these pieces of wa
ter, which gleam upon the* traveller's
eye from a distance, or lie along his route
in this direction, i9 scarcely credible, and
presents a singularity that 1 believe is
not to be met with in the topography of
any other region of the world.
‘ The same peculiarity, 1 was told,
appears upon the road to TulackcaJia
(signifying scattered hammock!.) a dis
tance of twenty-live miles from the cros
sing place on the Ocklewnnow, and also
on the road trum Picoiata- lo Alachua, a
distance of 40 miles.
14 The St. Johns itself is infant, hut
a • on'inued range of these lakes—thus
exhibiting, in its chief featuies, a strik
ing analogy to the nature of the coun
try through which it llows.
So much is this the case, that a
US therefore with thankful hearts and Mil*
ling lips signify our gratitude to the Ixiunti-
lul providence that bath sent a store of guild
things for fond, and appetite to enjoy them ;
and let us supplicate ti Continuance of hia
mercy to give, and our health to receive.
The Tortoise, u(|on whose savoury ge
latine we have feasted, deserves a more ex
alted etdogy than lias ever yet been pro
nounced. The incidents of his history are
too copious for amplification.—All the pre
sent occasion permits is u brief exhibition
of u few leading sentiments.
Tlie anciant tradition ofthe Mingoes, the
most celebrated and powerful of our North
American natives, is worthy of your notice.
According to this, the female spirit who
first visited the world, or desceuded from
her celestial,abode, was received by a Tor
toise, then 'swimming on the immense and
boundless ocean.— By a miraculous display
of power, soon after litis event, ground aijd
grass, and plants bearing fruit, and all aorta
of green vegetables were funned around
her. until the eye could no longer trace
their extent, and even to this it is under
stood by the sages, that the solid land with
its continents, islands and inhabitants, rests
stream, similar in all respects to this ri- „p 0 n the hack of the huge Tortoise oot-
ver, might I am convinced, he formed, spread upon the expanse of water; bearing
by merely connecting the various bodies j bis load without growing weary, but some-
of water that lie parallel to its course. ,ime3 causing an incudation or a deluge by
As it preserves litis like form through submersion, and then again producing earth-
...I* i ii , quakes tvben lie shakes himself. Among
its tvltole extent, and ends in a lake, it A , , i ,. , , '*
~ i , ii i i these untutored men, the tribe winch d.
may, trout analogy, be concluded ; that I p* appellation, or traces its origin from
all the unknown region between it and the Tortoise, is high and honorable above
the ocean on the west, is also like the | the rest.
country I have just described—a land of i I’ersons w ho indulge in classical and phy-
lakes and innumerable sheets of water. | sieal researches, know that the celebrated
“ Some new term in geograpL^ must
be invented to describe this extraordina
ry land of many waters, which lias I be
lieve, less of a terraqueous character
than any other region of country per
haps in the known world.
*• Some of tho lakes of which I have
spoken, though tine sheets of water, are
without any other beauty, owing to their
Lyre, is connected witli the history of the
Tortoise. For Hermes, its inventor, is al-
ledged to have produced the first harmony
of sounds, by stretching strings across the
dry shell, and playing on them with his fin
gers. Hence, as the legend states, lie was
occasionally represented with his foot upon
a tortoise ; and that particular instrument
was called ’J’estudu.
Those masters of taste, the Greeks, en
tertained other opinions concerning this ani-
being surrounded by melancholy and j mal. They extolled the tortoise for two
monotonous forests of pine. The wa-j pualities which they admired in w oman
Great yield of Corn—Un A Large Scale.
Fountain Rock, July 15, 1822.
Dear Sir: In compliance with my pro
mise, I now give you the result of an expe
riment I made on a field of 31 acres, a part
of this farm, which was cultivated in corn
the last yeaV.
The field had been alternately in corn,
fiats, wheat and clover, the four proceeding
years, the crops of corn and oats w ere no
thing remarkable, but the crop of wheat
was unusually great, owing I suppose, to the
quantity of manure that was carried out on
tho field after the oats were cut off'. In the
fall of 1320 a large slock of hogs w as turned
on the clover, the whole of which they root
ed up and entirely destroyed—this was
done with a view to destroy the worm. In
the mouth of March following, the field was
highly manured with stable and barnyard
manures—the last ol that month and bt gin
ning of the next, it was broke up With one of
Murray’s two horse ploughs, (Peacock’s
patent) and liamtweil with a large break
harrow. It was then laid out in rows oi
drills, three and a half feet apart, and the
corn planted in the drills one foot apart.
The planting commenced on the 2Gtli of
April, and w as completed on the 1st of May
Before the corn came up one half the field
was sprinkled on the drils, either with tin-
slacked ashes, or the scrapings ofthe roads,
through the farm, and what manure could
he collected front the wood heaps at tin
house and servants* quarters.
1 The corn came up ramarkably strong,
SILVER sriUNC ON LIKE GEORGE.
1 tuade an excursion to this famous
fountain, ot which so romantic an ac
count is given by B.irtram, and found
it well worth the trouble of a visit. It
itualed on the west side of Lake
Georgp. 'I lie water has somewhat of a
mineral taste but is, nevertheless, pleas
ant ami refreshing, and ib transparent
as air, or melted chrystal. Even where
it boils up with a considerable jet the
smallest object may be discerned at the
bottom, at a depth of ”0 feet. It at once
iorms a wide creek of a mile in length,
emptying into Lake George, and border
ed on each tide by stalely forests. The
stream is perfectly straight for the grea
ter part of its course, lint forms a short
curve near its fountain. The sun may
be seen shining, with undiminisbed
brightness, on the sand at the bottom of
the spring. The genius of classical an
tiquity would have represented this bv
allegory of a water nymph, yielding to
tlie embraces of Apollo. We observed
many fish darling about, or suspended
in the stainless element, but not in the
numbers described by Bartram. A snow
white bluff and beach of periwinkle-
shells, the height crowned by a beauti
ful orange grove, mark the southern side
ol the outlet into the l ike. There is a
salt spring a little further north, but we
had not time to visit it.
“ B has been observed, that none ot
the plants called ..till lettuce, are ever
found to the north of Lake George,
though abundant just above its southern
bar. This is probably owing to the vio
lence of the lake, which is easily thrown
into commotion by the winds ; at which
time it is very dangerous for small craft.
The frequent agitation of tho waters, it
is supposed, prevent the plants from tak
ing root, or being propagated farther
noith. The river often presents a very
strange scene after a storm, from the
field of this herb, which are detached
from the banks by the winds, and float
down in such quantities as to give the
stream the appearance of a floating Sa
vannah.
“The bonnet leaf, a species of lotus
also abounds in the dead water formed
by the meeting currents of the river,
and the creeks that fall into it. Their
appearance, therefore indicates from a
distance, the influx of some tributary ol
the main stream.
“ The water is generally deep where
these plants are found, their stems being
of great length. Under their green ca
nopies the fish take shelter ; and these
spots are considered the best for angling.
Their umbrella-like leaves are exc eed
ingly stiff; mid the. smaller land birds
are often seen .walking very securely
upon them.
“ A few miles further on, four small
but very pretty sheets of water are found,
enwreathed, as it were, by bays and
dwarf palmettoes ; and these I have
named The beads, as they succeed each
other in short distances, and in regular
order, and are almost perfectly oval.
“ I shall not attempt to note the end
less succession of the lakes, ponds, and
-avannas, which 1 continued to meet with,
until within about 15 miles of Big Swamp,
when they suddenly disappeared, though
ters of all of them are remarkably clear;
hence they are lermined in the country,
“ Clear Water Ponds.” In the summer,
when diminished by drought, the edges
that are left dry, are covered with n tine
verJurc, which renders, the districts
that they occupy, the finest grazing coun
try in the world, affording both stock,
wntcr, and pasturage, as they never bp-
come completely dry. Some of them
are said to be unfavorable—and it is pre
tended that a rise and fall of water of se
veral inches, has been observed in them.
Il tl.Wi UlSU UUbU U'fcjooluroJ kiut ..
subterraneous inlecotnmunicnlion exists
among them, from various phenomena,
which have been noticed by the inhabi
tants ; while the waters of others are
supposed to be discharged under ground
into the sea.
“ It is nssertained that a spring offresh
water rises in the ocean, opposite to the
south end of Anastatia Island, five or six
miles from the coast. I have met with
persons w ho averred that they had seen
the one an innocence or mildness of disposi
tion, to invite ; and the other a power of
self defence or resistance, to repel. These
were the attributes that led them to associate
the tortoise with Beauty. And the just
critic understands well the reason why the
admirable sculptor, l'hideas, placed tho
symbol of a testudo at the fuot of the ini
mitable Venus which he carved.
Men of a military character, may refresh
their memories, hy a consideration of u
warlike engine employed hy the old Ro
mans, whose name and functions are deriv
ed from the tortoise. At the siege of Mer-
scilles, as we are informed by Julius Tii Iitsi
tfoiiiinciuai jr Aii itio ur*ti »»< ■ i- — * u
ty feet long, was constructed in advance of
the besieger’s line, for the purpose of level
ling the soil. It was formed of the strong
est timber, and covered hy nil sorts of ar
ticles that Secure it against consumption by
fire and destruction by stones. Under such
a cover the assailants could make their ap
proaches, with less hazard and loss, in a
state of society long antecedent to the use
of artillery.
With so many excellent and memorable
qualities, it is hy nu means a circutnstanco
of marvel that tlie name of a feathered fa-
this fountain, anil drank fresh water from j vorite should have been transferred to this
it. They further said, that they had
sounded round it, and had obtained seven
fathoms water, while, in the middle,
they could find no bottom. This spring
may be one of the outlets of the great in
terior mass of waters, for which there
seems to be no sufficient exit on the sur-
Mr. Samuel L. Mitchell, of Ncw-York,
who knows every tiling and who conceals
nothing that he knows, who lias received
every academic honor, and who belongs to
every literary and philosophical Society,
was present on Wednesday last at the Tur
tle Grove, which the Hoboken Turtle Club,
of w hich ancient and honorable institute lie
is an associate, held ils third meeting for
the present season. After enjoying a rich
repast, the doctor lose and delivered a
speech, which was received with the most
heart-fell satisfaction.
He first spoke of “the grand conceptions
inspired by the commercial city on the
Hudson’s light bank,”—then he adveited
to the tortoise upon whose savory gelatine
he had feasted so richly—then lie told the
ancient tradition of the Mingoes, how this
earth rests on tlie back of a huge tortoise—
then lie alluded lu the Grecian instrument
of music formed With a tortoise shell, then
to the test-ade of Ihe Romans—then to the
turtle of the groves—then to the witty en
igma of Sympoaius, whether a tortoiec, was
a beast, a Jish, or a harp—than lie regretted
that tlie tortoise had not wings like a turtle
—then he raid that certain southern nations
(called in relation to Europe, accidental,)
termed the tortoise tlie gift of God—then
he spoke of turtle soup as a remedy for the
yellow lei. r. But take Ihe whole speech.
[1‘hilad. Union.]
#
FROM THE NEW-YORK DAILY ADVERTISER
There is something so congenial to ra
tional and social feeiing on this occasion,
that there is a difficulty in restraining the
expression of it in words. The prospect of
a commercial city from the majestic Hud
son’s right bank where we are sitting, in
spires great conceptions.—Its industry is a
mighty topic. Tlie enterprize which ga-
thers into oue marl, tlie productions of dif
ferent countries is wonderful. The accu
mulation and employment of capital arc al
ways interest;.ig themes. The thronging
population, ever increasing in number and
activity, is a subject of the utmost moment.
The arrival and departure of ships, whiten
ing the horizon with canvass, afford a noble
and diversified spectacle.
But from all these subjects, it is becom
ing, for a few* moments, to withdraw, tliat
attention may be paid to some matters con
nected with the festivity of the day. Let
amphibious creature. That resident of the
groves, where the leafy foresters stand
close enough to exclude the piertfiug sun
shine, and whore the domestic locast trees
(rabinia) lime trees (bilia,) and tulip trees
(liriadendron,) stretch out their arms, as it
were, to welcome those exotics, tlie poplars,
from the I'o, and tlie willows from the
Euphrates, to become joint tenants with
them, the Dove has been a Hedged to sur
render a part of her title, and by odd per
version uf language, 1'urtte means (he con
ing of a bird of Freedoms ; and also the flat
footed reptile of Bahama.
From the extraordinary and multifarious
functions of this oviparous quadruped, a
riddle-was composed by Ihe witty SYM-
POS1US propounding the question whe
ther that living existence w as a beast, a fish,
ova harp f as you may read in his collec
tion of enigmas.
After a statement of these particulars, I
feel more than ordinary satisfaction in oti-
seriug, that some of the nations uf the south
(termed in reference to Europe, accidental,)
regard the GREEN TORTOISE, as a
sacred object; a peculiar gift of tliu Great
Master of lireath. Certain uf them, have
proceeded so far, under this persuasion, as
to denominate him, the Eisli of Cod, nr, in
the dialect of the French colonists, POIS
SON DE D1EU. These correct and hon
est indigenes, ascribe to the Soup, nr in o-
tlier words, the decoction of its flesh, swal
lowed after a venomous draught has been
received into toe stomach, the most aston
ishing i fleets as an antidote or counter-poi
son.
What more shall I say on this hand ?
Why truly, that this exquisite preparation
surpasses all the other compounds ot the
kitchen and the shop. Perhaps there is no
other known, that possesses in so eminent a
degree, the properties both of food and
medicine. It is an aliment of the most pa
latable and nutritious kind ; so elaborated
by coi tion in the cauldron, that vary little
digestion in tlie stomach is necessary. It
assimilates with our nature, and becomes
part and parcel of our living frame more
readily thau almost any other substance •,
subduing crudities, rendering the humours
bland, and promoting good humour and
hilarity to an extraordinary degree.
It begets amenity and suavity of temper.
It diminishes the pronencss to give, and to
take offence : and I proclaim tlie informa
tion to the universe, that no quarrel be
tween the members lias ever arisen upon
this hallowed spot, rendering a settlement
necessary by single combat.
Nor are its virtues less prominent as n
prophylactic or preventer of disease.—Come
hither, all ye lean t.ibitl sufferers ! ye who
are wasted hy atrophy and emaciation !
1 ami yc who are lingering with hectic fever
