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GEORGIA JOURNAL & MESSENGER
MACON, TUESDAY. MAY 4, 1869.
“POVERTY.”
The Telegraph, yesterday morning,
offers some ideas on the subject of “the
poverty of Georgia,” that strike us as pe
culiarly sensible, aud appropriate to the
times. We have been of like mind with
our cotemjKjrary for ever so long, and so
far as were able, have enr&avored to im
press our convictions upon our farmer
friends. 11 seems, however, they have not
taken them to heart or practice as much
as we hoped, if thefiguresof our provision
dealers do not lie; but that’s their affair.
As the darkey said to the toothache, if they
can stand It we can. It is sad to think,
though, what the lesson will cost when it
is learned. That it will be learned is cer
tain. The meat and bread question is one
that cannot be covered up. Cotton bales
are very powerful, but they didn’t whip
the Yankees, and they can’t knock the
great question of food in the head. If we
could have fed our soldiers, we might have
achieved independence. We certainly
would have much prolonged the contest,
and thus won better terms at its close. We
may go on, now, and pile up the cotton
crop to more millions of bales than was
ever known before, but we will never be a
really rich people till food is plenty and
living cheap.
As the Telegraph very aptly states the
proposition : That Is a rich country whivh
abounds in heathful food and in all
the conditions of comfortable subsistence ;
and that is really a poor country (no mat
ter how much money it may have), wheie
these things are unattainable except at
unreasonable cost and quest. When corn
and wheat in Georgia shall be plenty and
cheap, aud the tables of the people be well
supplied with choice meats from the barn
yard and pasture, we shall be really com
fortable and rich, though the cash balance
on hand be small. But uo bank balance
can make a people comfortable or rich,
who draw almostevery article of food from
a thousand miles’ distance, and can have
little or nothing in the way of animal
food upon their tables except what might
be found in a ship’s cabin upon a loug
voyage.
NOT VERY KVCOIRAGING.
From all parts of the South we bear
complaints of too much rain, remarks the
Columbus Enquirer. Most of the water
courses have been, aud many of them
uow are, so high as to overflow the low
lands along their banks. Thousands of
acres of planted corn aud cotton have no
doubt been ruined, and as the rains of
last week have been unusually heavy, the
probability is that when the ground thus
overflowed becomes dry enough to plant
again, theseason will be too far advanced
for the planting of cotton.
The Alabama river is now' out of its
banks wherever the lands on the margin
of the stream are low, aud the recent rains
will no doubt keep it so for several da\s
to come. The same may he said of the
Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers.
These are the great streams east of the
Mississippi, whose lowlands yield the best
cotton crops of the country. We expect
to receive, when the full results of these
heavy and long continued rains areascer
tained, reports of very great damage to the
crops in the rich lands on these rivers,
and so far as much of the cotton is con
cerned, irretrievable damage.
The Mississippi river has been high for
a fortnight or longer. Two crevasses near
New Orleans have been reported, but no
widespread disaster to the crops as yet.
There is, however, much reason to fear
that the great freshet of the Mississippi is
yet, to come, and that more serious dam
age will occur.
The cotton crop generally had obtained
a fair start, so far as early planting and
the securing of a good stand was con
cerned ; and the crop on the uplands is
still in a promising state, (unless injured
by too long a wet spell.) But that which
was planted in the bottoms has certainly
been greatly injured by overtlow. ,The
rank growth of grass, too, after these
rains, will keep planters so busy cleaning
their upland crops as to allow them little
time to replant the bottoms.
JOHN HULL RESPONDS.
The plucky old gentleman responds, as
we expected, to the Sumuer-Chaudler
bluster. We honor him for it. It is what
was due to his ancient repute, to his dig
nity, his manhood, and to his rights in
the premises. We shall see, now, what
the party that endorsed Wilkes for taking
Hlidell and Mason from the Trent, and
then, tucking tail eat tumble pie and made
Wilkes put them back, will do.
Seriously, we do not sea what England
can do but make this answer to .Radical
clamor. She has the public sentiment of
Europe in her favor, and her people, ap
parently, are a unit in a disposition to re
sist the demands of the present adminis
tration. The South, it is certain, if a war
eomes, will shed no blood to enforce pay
meut for damages doue by her cruisers.
She approved what was doue then, and
she approves it now. Southern men
will defend their couutry from British in
vasion, but none of them, unless hunted
down by conscript officers, will march
many miles northward toward Cauade,
or to save from spoliation the homes ot
those who desolated theirs.
We may look out now for a toning
down of administration temper on this
subject. Grant will find out, as he
comes to know more of the condition
of the country—and we do not despair
even of that—that the couutry can
not afford to go to war upon any grounds,
staggering under its present burden, and
with so many States of the Union in their
present condition, an administration that
would plunge the country into a foreign
war would soouer or later pay a fearful
penalty therefor.
If, however, Grant and his advisers, have
sold out to the repudiationist and desire to
sponge out the public debt, and give the
bondholder a squeeze, they have hit upon
the right track, aud have Southern en
dorsement. If the South can see that
debt wiped out and the brood of tax gath
erers driven to honest labor, she'll cry
bravo to a war, even though it put 9 her
next cotton crop at the mercy of the New
England spinners, or rots in her ware*
bouses.
DEATH OF AN EDITOR.
We regret to learn, from the following
dispatch, the death, at Atlanta, yesterday,
of Major J. R- Barrick, editor of the Con
stitution, of that city. Major B. was a
gentleman in the truest sense of the word,
and a poet aud journalist of decided abili
ty. Polished, kindly, courteous, and
withal modest aud unobtrusive almost to
a fault, he has won a host of friends since
his sojourn in Atlanta. He was a Ken
tuckian by birth, aud deservedly es
teemed by a large circle of friends in that
Atlanta, Ga., April 30.
J. H. Anderson & Son: Major Barrick
died this morning. Funeral to morrow.
W. H. Hemphill.
Southern and Western Business in
New York. —The Charleston Courier a
*<ew York correspondent says business
there is dull, so dull that complaints
are heard ou all sides from wholesale deal
ers a’<d retailers. The West is paying up
very bad, aud making very few purchases,
while the stocks on hand here are quite
large Southern business is better, and
just now in a more healthy state than that
of the West.
KEY. JACOB SMITH.
Rev. Jacob Smith, who was so cruelly
mobbed and beaten in Blount county, is
at present in the city. We had the pain
ful satisfaction, on yesterday, of seeing his
wounds. His head is badly bruised all
over by blows from cudgels. His right
arm is nearly entirely disabled, and his hip
is so badly bruised that it is with difficulty
he can walk. His back and arm present
a horrible appearance. The skin was not
cut, the withes being too large to make
incisions, but the bruises upon his person
are frightful and sickening to look upon.
From the top of his shoulders to his waist
the flesh presents a livid appearance, aud
indicates a moat severe beating. The
wounds are still painful, though the suf
ferer bears himself with resignation.
We find the above in the Knoxville
Press and Herald, of Friday. In another
column of this paper will be found an ar
ticle from the same paper of a previous
date, giving a full account of the affair.
Mr. Smith's offense was being a minis
ter of the gospel, and a member of the
Methodist Episcopal ChurchjSouth. Filled
with a desire to do his duty and preach
that gospel according to the Bible, he ■
made an effort to bold a meeting in the
county above mentioned, with what result
is shown in the foregoing paragraph. *
We do not know, of course, what redress
he can have in that region, as judges,
juries, lawyers, and witnesses are all in
tensely “ loil,” and will swear each other
through any sort of a scrape. We suppose
he ought to be thankful that his life wat
spared, notwithstanding Grant’s promise
of peace and protection to every citizen of
the country.
THE REWARD OK EIGHT THOUSAND DOL
LARS FOR A MEAT-PRESERVING PROCESS.
The Government of the Argentine Re
public recently offered a reward of eight
thousand dollars, gold, for the best system
of preserving meats, adapted to their ex
portation on a large scale. Information
has been received by the Consulate Gen
eral in this city that the 'irae for the re
ceipt of the plans at Buenos Ayres has
beeu extended to the 31st of August next.
The reason for this extension is, that a
number of plans were sent in without
samples, and the scientific commission
having the matter in charge require speci
mens for examination. —New York Post.
For the information and benefit of a
lady correspondent, who wrote us on this
subject some months ago, we publish the
above. She can see, now,who to address,
and what to do to get a hearing.
For the Journal and Messenger.
TWIGGS COUNTY POOR SCHOOLS.
In Reply to “ Citizen,” of the 20th Instant, Con
taining an Offer That a Teacher Would Take
Eighteen Poor Scholars to Teach, if the Grand
Jury of Twiggs County, Eighteen in Number,
Will Pay for Teaching Eighteen More, or One
Poor Scholar to Each Grand Juror.
The offer is magnanimous, and comes
from the ebullitions of a generous heart,
noble in its texture and the example is
worthy of imitation. I accept said offer,
aud will pay the tuition of one such scho
lar, and would urge the remaining Grand
Jurors each to do the same, and enter into
written contract for the faithful perform
ance of such, by all the parties concerned,
not excepting the parents of said poor
scholars.
Come out, ye liberal citizens of. Twiggs
county, enroll your names, select each a
poor child ; assist your needy and help
less poor to at least a little education ; let
not this good work be confined to the
Grand Jurors, but every good citizen is
earnestly solicited. It will be as “seed
sown in good grouud”and ere loug the fruit
will certainly be gathered. You will find
your recompense in a proud conscience,
aud have the satisfaction of seeing your
country again prosper, and rise from the
low degradation into which it has been
cast by the results of civil war. What a
people cannot do directly, they can do in
directly. Individual combination can do
much in this way.
The offer of the Teacher is worthy of
imitation amongst his colleagues. Who
ever Citizen may be, I should say he is a
good citizen, and the world will be the
better by his passing through it.
Foreman.
Twiggs co., April 26. 1869.
Miscegenation.— The Charleston News
of Saturday says : “ Lieutenant G. P«
Wood, of Boston, Massachusetts, was
married on the 23th ultimo, at Beaufort,
by the Rev. Arthur Waddell, a colored
preacher, to Susan Ulmer, a colored girl.
Wood, we understand, is from a respecta
ble family, and held a commission in a
Massachusetts ' regiment, known as the
Bay State Cadets, during the late war.
His general appearance is that of a gen
tleman. Theeveuing after their marriage
Wood and Susan promenaded Bay street,
in company with another colored girl, and
ou Monday morning took their departure
for St. Helena Island, where Wood has a
store on one of the plantations of his
uncle, Mr. George Frost, a well known
importer of silks in Boston, Massachu
setts. Susan is a native of Beaufort, and
was owned before and during the war by
a planter on the coast.”
Nigger vs. Soldier.— Wilder, the
negro whom Grant appointed Postmaster
at Columbia, S. C., bad for bis competitor
D. A. Moore, an ex-Federal Captain, who
entered the army in the spring of 1861,
raising a company of seventy-five men
from his private funds, which became
Company B of the Sixty-first New York
Volunteers; commanded his company
through seven pitched battles and nuintr
ous skirmishes and minor affairs; was
wounded, and lost a leg in the seveu days
battle in front of Richmond ; remaiuedon
the field wounded for thirteen days, was
taken prisoner and confined in the Libby
Prison; afterwards exchanged, and being
unfit for field service was assigned to the
Veteran Reserve Corps, where he served
till mustered out of service in November,
having served bis country with fidelity for
five years, aud suffering the loss ofa leg in
her service.
Bad for Columbia. Sprague tells
Robertson, scalawag Senator from South
Carolina, that he (S.) will not, at present,
make any improvements in Columbia, S.
C., where he made large purchases of wa
ter power and from the State, aud agreed
to forfeit the purchase money if certain
improvements were were not made with
in a year, five months of which have al
ready gone. He was asked why he did
not go ahead, and replied he could not do
anything while money was 25 per cent per
annum down there. A negro government
with its wholesale robbery and biuuderiug
legislation is what makes money so high
down there, and Sprague helped to set it
up. He’s got the black vomit now, aud
its going to cost him something. Selah !
Big Railroad War in Virginia.— lt
is said that a railroad fight is entering
largely into the Virginia political contest.
General Mabone, President of the consoli
dated railroad lines extending from Nor
folk to Bristol, East Tennessee, heads one
party, whose object is to make Norfolk the
great depot for southwestern trade. Op
posed to this are tbe Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad party, who, having got posses
sion of the Orange and Alexandria road,
are now intriguing to get hold of the Vir
ginia aud Tennessee, cutting off the west
ern connections of Mahone’s line, and
diverting the southwestern trade from
Norfolk to Baltimore. It is said that
General Robert E. Lee is actively favor
ing the latter scheme.
Gloomy Prospect. —The Montgomery
Advertiser, of Saturday, says that tbe
planters in that vicinity complain that
the recent heavy rains have completely
demolished the growing crop of cotton in
the low lands.
TRAVELING MANNERS.
BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE.
From the Hearth and Home, May Ist.
The Americans are the greatest travel
ing nation in the world.
For the reasons that we stated in a form
er article, they are, and are to be, in their
essential habits, a migratory race, and
people will judge of them much a3 they
appear on the road ; for this reason it is to
he regretted that, when they pack their
truuks for traveling, they so often leave
their ordinary good mauuers at home with
their superfluous dresses. In other words,
it is to be regretted that people will allow
themselves, when traveling, in extremes
of rudeness and impertinence, which they
would never dream of perpetrating in the
usual routine of good society. We have
seen those who had the air and manner of
persous accustomed to move iu good socie
ty, iu certain respects, who yet appeared,
when traveling, to he inspired by a sort of
hilarious contempt for ordinary decencies
and proprieties, similar to that of gram
mar school-boys aud college students when
off upon a lark.
U'e have seen a great deal of this ill
manners on the part of both English aud
American people while traveling iu Eu
rope. We have seen a party of so-called
gentlemen and ladies of the Anglo-Saxon
race, armed with Murray’s red guide
books, coolly going the rounds of a Catholic
church, calling to each other in audible
tones, criticising pictures and enunciating
scraps of history, while the most solemn
services of the church were going on, and
the investigations have beeu conducted by
pushing over, and through, and among
worshipers, kneeling in what they consid
ered the most solemn act of their religion.
Granted that this devotion is an idola
trous one, and that we know a more ex
cellent way, still does not the Apostle’s
principle, “Be courteous ,” have some
application iu a case like this? And does
not the Italian; who tolerates these insults
in a spirit of gentleness aud courteous for
bearance, prove himself, so far forth, the
better Christian of the two?
Living where we do iu Florida, just now,
we happen to tie iu a State that has come
to be a declared tramping-ground for tour
ists. A greatfleal has been said and writ
ten about Florida, aud the tide of fashion
brings this way a ceaseless flood of people,
mauyof whom, weregret to say, in packing
their trunks, have left out that very pleas
ant article we alluded to, which alone can
makepeopleagreeableand welcome when
ever they go. The native Floridians
(sometimes called Crackers,) while in
many respects they live in great roughness
and simplicity, are, so far as we have ob
served them, people of essential good man
ners. Go to see them in their own homes,
and you are always kindly received. The
best they have to give iu the is of-'
sered freely. If you are belated aud must
spend the night in a cabin, the only bed
will be freely vacated to the stranger. In
the same manner, if he calls to see you, he
is simple and quiet; he confides iu your
hospitality and good intentions; he asks
no impertinent questions, and goes his
way iu time, and does not print any ac
count of what he has seen in a paper. We
have never been iu a native Floridian’s
house without being offered something as
an expression of good-will and kinduess—
most commonly a glass of good milk, and
flowers; and we must say that we are a
little ashamed to put our Floridian friends
alongside many of the so-called cultivated
people who are manifesting themselves to
us from the North.
We have the good or ill fortune to live in
an orauge grove, hut fifteen miles above
Jacksonville. Our family has had oppor
tunity to make some observations not very
creditable to Northern civilization.
Let us imagine ourselves uow to be per
sons iu a country residence on the North
river—say at Peekskill or Fishkili—would
it be considered the thing to have an ex
cursion party landed opposite to you, and
come up iu full force and take possession
of the grounds opposite your house, and
thence send investigating parties to look
into the windows of your house, on the
North, oti the South, on the East, and on
the West, shouting backward and forward
to each other any inferior discoveries
which they may have made in these re
searches? Yet this thing has beeu prac
tised in our case by parties of enterprising
tourists. An invalid gentleman reading
in the veranda i9 roused by the sight of
three or four female*uoses flattened against
the window panes of his bed-chamber, ap
parently discussing his private arrange
ments there. Bousing himself, he goes
forth and requests the fair inspectors to
leave. They are indignant at his want of
politeness, and inform him that if Mrs.
Stowe were tlfßir they would be treated
very differently. They have read Mrs.
Stowe’s writings.and heard the Rev. Hen
ry Ward Beecher preach, aud if this does
not give them a title to look into every
window of her house, they should like to
know what would.
Then it is not very pleasant, retired as the
family usually are to the most secluded
portions of the house on these occasions,
to hear the various opinions shouted back
ward and forward—as, for example: I
don’t see as this is so very much of a place
after all—nothing here but the orange
grove, and the live oaks, aud the river
view. It don’t seem to me 1 should want
to live here.”
Courteous reader, this last declaration
was the only pleasiug one that caught our
ear. Now, as the family habitually resid
ing in tbe bouse have been obliged to sus
tain these impertinences while the house
is being built, aud the grounds are neces
sarily encumbered with a debris of joiner’s
benches and lumber, it may well be im
agined that a committee of Northern
matrons aud newspaper reporters out on
a rampage, and feeling an artless freedom
to put their heads into every cupboard and
closet, to lift the lid of every box, aud look
into every barrel, and declare joyously to
each other what they found there, could
not have been a pleasing accessory to their
labors. We rather think Mrs. Smith aud
Mrs Jones, aud others who have been par
ties to such explorations, would feel th£tai
selves grieved if, ou some morning when
the house is being turned out of doors for
a yearly house-cleaning, an excursion
party of idle people should be let loose
upon them to examine and report into all
their secret household proceedings. We
have not been, in this way, the only suf
ferers ou tbe river.
Tbe Marquis de Talleyrand has bought a
place ou the St. John’s, a much larger and
grauder one than our own, and, having
far more money to do it justice with, is
laying it out in fine style. But we are in
formed that he has been driven to the
verge of frenzy by this tramping of imper
tinent tourists, who have infested his
grounds, trod over the lines of his walks,
damaged flower-beds, and disturbed the
plauting of the grass-plots, so that he has
been obliged, in despair, to threaten a
prosecution.
Now, we have one thing to say, that we
have not lost our rights to the ordinary
home privacy which every housekeeper
may claim by the mere fact of living in an
orange grove. And while we would be
most happy to welcome at all hours, and
witb such hospitality as we can command,
those who really wish to see us, yet we do
not keep a show-place for exhibition, nor
consider it our mission in Florida to in
struct idle people into the mysteries of
orange growing. Ours is au industrial
place, and not a show place. Industry
and hard work are very necessary to in
augurate a place in Florida, and nothing
is more annoying to those who really have
any thing in earnest to do than the over
looking of impertinent idlers.
There is one sore affliction under the
sun, and that is that while all people who
are devoid of any delicacy or propriety
thus rush upon you in avalanche, persons
whom you really wish to see will not come
at all. We have heard from one and an
other, incidentally, who have sojourned
near us for some time in Jacksonville,
how, tearing that we were overrun with
visitors, they have kept away: thus—on
tbe proverb that “ fools rush in where an
gels fear to tread”—we are left to our fate.
Dear friends who fear to offend, and who
fear that you shall make trouble, you are ■
the kind of people that we want to see.
Come to us, and you shall have, in honest,
cracker fashion, a share of our cup and
board as Providence metes it out to us.
The people whom we dread are those
who never had a doubt in their lives of
their own agreeableness, and of the honor
which tbey do their neighbors, in interest
ing themselves thus minutely in their do
mestic concerns.
“Not For Joseph.”— Joe Brown, of
Georgia, denies that he wishes, or has
wished, or will ever wish; to be a Justice
of the Supreme Court. He justly says
that the office is not for Jostph, if ttieoffice
knows it.— World.
Prenticeana. —President Grant said he
a United States Senator, teu days ago, that
every mau who held an office a year and
a half under Johnson would be presumed
to be a Johnson mau, and dismissed. Yet
Grant bimsetf held office under Jobnsou—
not only a military office, but the civil of
fice of Secretary of War. Doesn’t he cut
a pretty figure?
GEORGIA JOURNAL AND MESSENGER.
For the Journal and Messenger.
SOUTHERN TEX Alt.
Mr. Editor: By the term Southern
Texas, I meau to designate the counties
bordering on the Gulf, and extending back |
from it a distance-of forty-five or fifty j
miles, beginning at Jefferson at the mouth
of the Sabine, and ending at San Patricio
county, east of lhe Nueces river. It is
true there is a considerable scope of coun
try extending still further to the South,
but as the character of the country south |
of the Nueces river is entirely different
from tltat to ttie East and North, it wilt
be described under a separate head. From
the mouth of the Sabine to the mouth of
the Brazos the coast country is generally
flat and marshy, aud heavily umbered,
even in close proximity to the shores of
the bavs and gulf. There are, it ’8 true,
some desirable localities in this legion, but
they are "few and far between,” and it is
infested from Marcli till November by flies
and musketoes. The natural grasses are
coarse but abuudant, and answer very well
for cattle, hut horses, sheep and other
stocit do not thrive upon them. Every
where along this coast region the bays aud
salt-w T ater lagoous are filled with fine oys
ters aud a great variety of fish ; the pom
pino, the sheepshead, the salt-water trout,
the Spanish mackerel, and the red fish are
uot surpassed in flavor by any fish in the
world, and can be easily procured at all
times with little labor or trouble. Fruits
and vegetables of all sorts usually thrive
well iu this section, but the greater por
tion of the lands are too wet and low for
agricultural purposes.
This country would not be apt to please
an emigrant from tbe Northern States, or
from the high and healthy regions of the
great West; still it has some advantages,
aud a man cau live there (after a rough
fashion) with very little hard work.
Where the land is sufficiently drained the
soil is lively and productive, and easily
cultivated. This section of country, Ido
not think, so subject to febrile diseases as
that farther back in the interior, for the
reason, perhaps, that it is within the
influence of the sea breezes, which
blow constantly during the summer
season, aud sweep off, to a consider
able extent, the noxious vapors that arise
from the swamps and marshy grounds.
The coast country extending from the
mouth of the Brazos to the mouth of the
Nueces, differs iu some essential points
from that already described. The greater
portion of it is prairie, the timber being
coutiued mainly to the streams. The soil
for the most part is exceedingly rich and
tenacious, washes but iittle, aud so deep
that it will probably need no mauuriug
even after ages of cultivation. The prai
ries in this section are covered with rich
aud luxuriant indigenous grasses among
which, in many localities, wiil he found
the “Muskeet,” uot at all iuferior to the
famous “blue grass,” of Kentucky; con
sequently, this is a tine stock country, es
pecially for cattle, hut it is the belief of
most persons in the State that horses aud
sheep thrive better In the more elevated
regions, where the lauds are better drain
ed, aud where they are less annoyed by
flies aud musquitoes. One peculiar fea
ture of this region is the “hog wallow prai
ries,” so-called from being filled with
shallow indentations, about the size of,
and greatly resembling a hog-wallow.
These hog-wallow prairies, in someplaces,
extend from the coast to a distance of ten,
fifteen, twenty, aud even thirty miles iu
the interior, and small ones are here and
there found in every portion of the coun
try west of Trinity River. The soil of
these praries is exceedingly rich, hut they
are troublesome to put in cultivation,
owing to the uneveness of their surface,
and the density of the sod with which
they are covered. The soil ,s also very
tenacious in its character, and after long
spells of wet weather these prairies be
come almost impassable for loaded wag
ons. Iu dry weather, the roads through
them are firm and hard, but the uneven
ness of the surface imparts a rolling mo
tion to a vehicle, something similar to the
pitching of a boat in a chopping, cross sea.
The amount of stock in this country,
particularly iu the southwestern portion,
would scarcely be credited by a resident of
one of the old states. One may get on a
horse and ride for a hundred miles in any
direction aud never tie out of sight at any
time of thousands of head of cattie, horses,
etc., unless when traveling through a belt
of timber. Hundreds of cattle aieshipped
from this section daiiy to New Orieaus,
and large droves are frequently driven to
Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana,
aud even to California; anti yet there
seems to be no appreciable diminution of
the numbers left behind. Many of the
large stock raisers own five, ten, fifteen,
aud even twenty thousand head of cattle.
A few mouths since, I stopped all mght
at one of these large stock rauches, and the
proprietor told rue he had from twenty
five to thirty vaqueros, or herdsmen, con
stantly employed, and kept up fifty or
sixty saddle horses always ready for use.
His stock consisted of about fifteen thou
saud head of cattle, and fifteen hundred of
horses; aud he branded, he told me, about
twenty-five hundred bead of calves e:ery
spriug. Beef, of course, is very cheap
throughout this region. A good common
beef, in fine condition, can be bought for
about eight dollars. Cattle generally keep
fat at all seasons, but occasionally duriug
an unusually hard and protracted winter,
when the grass is partially killed out, the
majority of them fall off considerably to
ward spriug; but they soon regain their
flesh when the grass rises. During one
season, when this country suffered from
an extraordinarily long drought, the grass
gave out entirely in many purls, and thou
sands of stock peris ted daily for want of
food, and from the scarcity of water; aud
yet when the rains fell and the grass
sprang up again, aud the pools were once
more rilled with water, after a few months
that vast number that had perished could
scarcely be missed. One can form some
idea of tbe cheapness aud abundance
of beef in this country from the fact that
whenever a man is in want of fresh
meat, the common usage of the country
permits him to go out on the prairies, and
kill the first fat “ maverick ” he can find.
“ Maverick ” is the conventional name
for an uumarked yearling, aud thousands
of them are seen everywhere on the prai
ries, as it is impossible for the stock own
ers to collect and brand all their stock on
such au extensive rauge. No epidemic
has ever prevailed among the stock in
Texas. At one time the black tongue
swept off the deer by thousands, but it did
not spread amongst the cattle or other
domestic animals.
Springs are very scarce in this region,
and small streams, though not numerous,
are generally lasting. Another peculiari
ty of this couutry is the scarcity of ponds
and marshes. Even in tbe immediate
vicinity of the coast, where the lands are
low and flat, they are rarely to be found.
In this region there are'some of the
finest sugar lands in the world, superior,
I think, to those of Louisiana, for the rea
son that they are not subject to overflow.
I hese lands lie principally along Oyster
Creek, Old Caney,;„tbe Lower Colorado.
San Bernard, and La Vaea and Nuridae
rivers. Before tbe war mere were mauy
fiueplantationsin full operation here, with
steam mills for grinding the cane and ex
tensive works for manufacturing sugar.
The soil of these sugar lands is perhaps as
rich as any in the world, extending down
in many localities, without any variation
or change in quality, to the depth of eight
or ten feet, and it may therefore be re
garded as inexhaustible
Corn and cotton also do well throughout
this section, and the Lower Colorado,
“ par excellence,” for its abundant crops
of the former, has been known for many
years in Texas under tbe appellation of
“Egypt.”
Febrile diseases prevail more or less
throughout tbis region, though I do not
think they are so common as in tbe more
densely timbered lands east of the Brazos.
Where cistern water is u«ed for drink
ing, the people enjoy a greater exemp
tion from disease. All the well aud
sprigg water is impregnated more or less
with minerals of various sorts. Game, in
1 early times was very abundant here, but
j some kinds have gone off altogether, be
fore the advance of settlements, and other
sorts have become scarce and sby. The
mustang or wild horse, the buffalo and an
telope, are now never seen. Deer and
turkies are still numerous in many parts,
aud bears are still occasionally to be met
with in heavy timbered bottoms Ducks
and geese abound everywhere in the win
ter season, and great numbers of swan
frequent a few of the bays. The “grouse,”
or prairie hen, are numerous in tbe coun
try east of the La Vaca River, but are sel
dom seen west of the Gsudaiupe. Quail
have increased very rapidly since the set
tlement of the country, and also the “mule
. rabbit.” When I first visited this coun
try the latter were very scarce, but of late
years I have frequently seen ten or a doz
en at a sight. They are identical. lam
i told, with the English hare, where they
are highly esleein«l for theirflesh; but
1 they are not considered a great delicscy
by the people es Texas. They are two
or three times as large as the hare of tins
country, aud are so swift that no dog, ex
cept the grey bound, can overtake them.
Tbe other animals of this section are the
raccnou, o’possum, otter, skunk, bariiiuas
or Mexican hogs, a variety of squirrels,
wild cats, panthers, leopards, and in the
large chapparals to tbe westward, occa
sionally a Mexican lion. None of these
animals are considered dangerous except
the Mexican linn, which has been known
to attack man even iu broad day-light.
They resemble, iu some respects, the Af
rican king of beasts, and are fully as large
as those I have seen brought to this coun
try for exhibition in menageries. Their
roar is very similar to that of their African
confrere, and they have also a short mane
and tawny hide. There is also a large
species of wolf, called by the Mexicans
the “Lobo,” that is peculiar to this and
other parts of I'exas. It is larger than
our black or grey wolf, aud its howl is
very different. In one or two instances
since the settlement of the country they
havebteu known, when in large g>ugs, to
attack mau. Ibe “cayotes,” or small pra
irie wolf, are fouud everywhere, but they
are a cowardly little auimal, aud seldom
attack anything larger than a lamb.
The timber iu this couutry consists prin
cipally of post oak, live oak, elm, hickory,
pecan, blackjack, cedar, iu some places,
ash, magnolia, and cotton wood; but no
pine, no red oak, uo beech or maple, nor
dogwood, sweetgum, nor sassafras. There
is a great deficiency of timber throughout,
suitable for lumoer or building purposes.
Nearly all the lumber used here is import
ed from the country east the Brazos, or
from Florida. Wild fruits are remarkably
scarce; haws, two or three varieties of
grapes, plums, Spanish persimmons aud
dew-berries com prise about all. No black
berries even. West of the Colorado, nev
ertheless, peaches, figs, apricots nectarines,
etc., thrive well when planted. Thegreat
est enemy to the orchard here, is wliat is
called the “cuttiug ant.” They are very
numerous in some localities, aud exceed
iogly destructive to fruit-trees aud shrub
bery. I have known them, iu a single
night, lo strip every leaf from a full growu
peach J tree. Various plaus have beeu
adopted, with partial success, to protect
fruit trees and shrubbery from the attacks
of these little “pests.” As one proceeds
Siuthwardly from the mouth of the Bra
zos to the mouth ot the Nueces, rolling
and undulating couutry will he found to
approach nearer and nearer to the coast
line. There are fewer musquitoes, and uo
sand-flies at all, those pests of the Louis
iana and Florida gulf shores. The sum
mers are long, but I do not think they are
as hot as in Florida aud Louisiana iu the
same latitude, as the sea-breeze, unob
structed by large bodies of timber, blows
regularly throughout the whole extent of
this region. The nights are cool and
pleasant. Such a thiug as a close, sul
try night is rarely ever experienced.—
“Nortners” prevail during the winter,
but they are not so severe, ami do not
continue so long as higher up in the
couutry. The coast here is not subject to
those hurricanes or autumnal gales ihatso
often devastate the coasts of Florida and
Louisiana. In thirty years I have known
hut one destructive gale on this coast,
which was confined to a limited section,
and did uo great amount of damage. There
is but one stream in this section navigable
for steamboats, (the Brazos,) ami that on
ly for a short distance. The Colorado
would be navigable to a limited extent,
but near its mouth the river is blocked up
by an immense raft, six or seven miles iu
length, which prevents the entrance of
any sort of craft All the towns on this
coast are subject to yellow fever at times,
but out of the towns, the immediate coast
country is more exempt fr m febrile dis
eases than ttie interior. Iu traversing
this occasionally one poor sandy
post-oak strip of laud will be met with,
but the soil generally is rich and produc
tive. Since the settlement of this country
many parts of it, which a few years ago
were smooth, open prairies, are now grow
ing up thickly in muskeet, live oak, and
other species of timber. This results from
the fact that the praries are burnt uow
much less frequently than when the coun
try was in the possession of the Indians.
In the course of time, I believe that all
of this country, not kept iu cultivation,
will grow up in timber.
HOV FAYETTE McMUJLLIA.
The Pence Yrjjotintion* us 1864—Remarkable
Revelation.
While in Marion, Smyth county, a few
days ago, 1 had the pleasure of several
lengthy chats with Hon. Fayette McMullin.
Mr. McMullin says that since the war he
was one day in the President’s house, in
Washington, conversing with Hon. F.
Blair, Sr. Mr. Blair told him that soon
after McMullin’s “peace resolutions” had
been introduced into the Confederate Con
gress Mr. Lincoln, being extremely anx
ious to bring about a peace honorable alike
to both sections of the country, and fore
seeing, and wishing to avoid, the political
consequences of the military subjugation of
the South, sent him (Mr. Blair) to .Rich
mond to confer with Mr. Davis and learn
what arrangement of the difficulties could
be made. He was passed through the lines
of the contending armies and conducted to
Mr. Davis’ house in Richmond. After a
longcon versation with Mr. Davis and other
prominent gentlemen for whom Mr Davis
sent, and for whom Mr. Blair inquired,
Mr. Davis said that he had no proposition
to make. Mr. Blair then proposed that
Gen. Lee’s army be marched into Mexico
against the French; that Gen. Grant would
follow and support the movement; that
the united armies would drive out Maxi
milian; and ttien the Southern Slates
should name their own termsof reconstruct
tion, everything short of independence
being guaranteed. At Mr Davis’ request
ttiis pro) osition was made <n writing, and,
after some consultation and reflection, was
signed aud accepted by him. Mr. Blair
returned to ashington, and Mr. Lincoln
was highly delighted with the success of
tlie negotiation. It was in the hope of
consummating this arrangement that Mr.
Lincoln and Mr. Seward met the “ peace
commissioners,” Hons. Stephens, Hunter,
and Campbell, at Fortress Monroe; but
there, to Mr. Lincoln’s chagrin, the com
mittee declared that they had been in
structed by Mr. Davis to iusist upon the
independence of the South, aud would lis
ten to no other proposal. Aud thus the
whole affair came to a “most lame and
impotent conclusion.”
Such is the substance of the account
related to Gov. McMullin by Mr. Blair.
Mr. McMullin says that he asked and ob
tained Mr. Blair's permission to make the
statement public, but he had refrained
from giving it publicity pending Mr.
Davis’ trial, fearing lest it might in some
way prejudice his case. —LeHer in Wheel
ing Register from Roanoke County , Va.
HORRIBLE DEATH.
Chicago, April 28.—A horrible death
from hydrophobia occurred here to-day.
The victim was a youog man, twenty-five
years old, named Wm. Goodwillie, fore
man in a box manufactory on North Pier.
Nine weeks ago a friend brought into the
shop a little dog picked up in the street.
Goodwillie, in fondliDg it, was bitten in
the thumb. Little notice was taken of
the wound, and it apparently healed over.
The first symptoms of hydrophobia ap
peared yesterday morning, when be arose
and attempted to wash himself. The
sight of water threw him i ito paroxysms.
Medical aid was summoned, but the mal
ady increased during the day, and at night
he foamed at the mouth, suapped at the
members of his family, and was seized
with convulsions every few minutes. He
realized, during his lucid intervals, his sit
uation, and begged his friends to keep
away for safety. This afternoon it was
determined to try’ the effect of a sulphur
vapor bath. The patient was handcuffed
in a bath for half an hour, at a tempera
ture of 136 degrees. When taken out and
laid on a lounge he at first seemed better,
but fifteen minutes after expired in horri
ble spasms. He leaves a wife and chil
dren. The deceased was much esteemed.
Cotton and Wool Exposition at Cin
cinnati. —We learn that matters are pro
gressing very favorably for the complete
success of the exposition at Cincinnati
next August, of products of the mills of
the West and South, and the staples of
wool, cotton, siik, flax, and hemp. The
occasiou is deemed one of such impor
tance by’ the United Btates Department of
Agriculture that the Commissioner in
charge has intimated his desire to secure
for permanent preservation a case of sam
ples of the staples and the manufactured
goods shown. We are glad to know that
the manufacturers, farmers, and business
men of the West and Bouth are awaken
ing to the great importance of these yearly
gatherings and exhibitions.
From the communications and personal
assurances already received, there is no
doubt that the one in question will be a
complete success. Theouly fear expressed
by the Cincinnati papers is that it will be
difficult to find buildings sufficiently ex
tensive to accommodate the goods that
will be shown. —Montgomery Mail, 30 th.
Artist, (Photographic.) “ Lb, yes,
mum, we can take anything—we can take
the sun, which is millions of miles off."
Old Lady, (struck with an idea.) “ Oh,
you can ! Then besergood aster take half
a dozen of my son in China."
The Maid of Presidio Del Norte, i
The Spanish settlement on the Rio
Bravo, called the Fort of St John theJ
Baptist, or Presidio del Norte, was, in 1
ltjl-L commanded by Don Pedro de i
Yillesea, a noble Spaniard, who lived j
in a style of elegance befitting his sta
tion, and indicative of the gorgeous |
taste of his nation.
One beautiful daughter, the Donna i
Maria, was all that remained to him. }
His wife and two noble sons rested, a
long while before, near the banks of
their own golden-sanded stream in sun
ny Spain.
Notwithstanding the pomp and splen
dor with which Don Pedro sought to
invest his home; there was something
insupportably dull in their establish
ment to the mind of the romantic girl,
whose mind was tilled with tales of
lords and knights coming to woo ladies
fair.
She had watched from the age of fif
teen, fur the hero who would come on a
coal-black steed, and throw himself at
her feet ; and she had more than once
imagined the scorn with which she
would turn away from him, and the
trials to which she would subject him,
at last to be rewarded with her beauti
ful hand.
Donna Maria had not studied old
Spanish poetry and romance tor noth
ing, but the brave caviilier who was to
win her heart had not yet come. She
was surrounded only by old, ceremo
nious officers, who considered her a
mere child, and who like better to dine
with her father than play the carpet
knight in her boudoir—who preferred
the sound of the hunting-horn to the
melodious tinkle of her lute ; and, in
observing all this, Donna Maria grew
spiritless and sad, and thought herself
the most unfortunate and desolate mai
den in the world.
Cheer up, little lady, who sit’st in
thy bower alone on this bland and
genial day! Braid up thy raven hair
and don thy richest garment! Out up
on the broad prairie a little fleet jennet,
black as thy tresses, bears a young and
noble caviilier, and to complete the
charm, he his clad in male armor—a
veritable knight. No fiery dragoon or
infuriated knight has he met in his
way, but from the hunting-grounds,
there have been pointed hundreds of
arrows, discharged by Indian rage and
ferocity, and yet the hero rides on free!
* * * * * #•
La Mothe Cadillac, the Governor of
Louisiana, has sent out a small band of
Canadians, under the direction of Louis
St. Penis, in the hope of establishing
some commercial relations between
that State and the Mexican provinces.
Young, brave and romantic,* St. Denis
accepted the service, delighted to have
an opportunity of beholding those
grand features of the Western world,
which he had long desired to see.
With a friend named Jallot, who was
a surgeon, St. Denis set out on his ex
pedition, protecting his splendid figure
with a suit of armor, and selecting an
animal, for his own special riding, that
could scarcely be matched on this side
of Arabia for strength and swiftness.
A balmy evening succeeding a warm
day brought the travelers to Presidio
Del Norte. Don Pedro performed the
part of a most hospitable host, and the
daughter fairly aroused from her dull
ness, signified to her duenna that she
was now old enough to see company.
To the dismay and indignation of
the old woman—who had designed to
call her a child, for five years to come,
Donna Maria dressed herself magnifi
cently, and entered the room where her
father’s guests were conversing with
him, and took her place at the table.
The father turned his eyes upon her
with an expression of love and pride,
and introduced her to his guests. To
the young surgeon, Jallot, who was
wholly devoted to his profession, the
lady possessed no charms. It was said
of Jallot that he was never in good
humor except when he was tending a
wound ; and the beautiful form of Don
na Maria was probably far less inter
esting to him than if it had been pierc
ed by an arrow from the Comanche
Indians, who had troubled them so
much in their journey hither.
A mightier arrow than the Indian’s
had pierced the heart of the girl. From
the moment she looked upon St. Denis
she loved him; and happily, the senti
ment was mutual. Literally, it was
love at first sight with both ; and it
was not long before Donna Maria, who
had never before had an offer, except
from the old Governor of Caouis, Don
Gaspardo Anaya, received the full as
surance of the most devoted affection
from the hands of St. Denis.
To this very person had Don Pedro
referred the ambassador of Governor
Cadillac, as a superior officer to himself,
and who could arrange any commercial
relations much better, and while wait
ing for the answer of Don Gaspardo,
St. Denis had ample time and opportu
nity to prove the strength of his love.
The Governor of Caouis received
Yillesca’s message, and inquired care
fully of the messenger the appearance
and bearing of St. Denis. Stung with
the description of his handsome face
and figure, and with his recent dismis-
sal by Yillesca’s daughter, he forward
ed instructions to the latter to deliver
up his guest to a band of twenty-four
men, whom he sent to bring him to
Caouis Arriving there, he was thrown
into prison.
One day St. Denis was pacing his
cell, and devising a hundred schemes
for his escape, when the door opened,
and a man, somew’hat advanced in life,
and of a most ferocious aspect, entered.
His rich dress and haughty air told the
prisoner who was his visitor. He
knew at ODce that it must be Don Gas
pardo Anaya.
“ You desire freedom above all other
things, do you not?” ho asked St.
Denis.
“ Certainly.”
“You shall have it. You can be free
this very hour, ifyou will it so.”
For a moment the heart of St. Denis
believed it true. He stood aghast at
the next words uttered.
“ Give up the daughter of Villesca,
restore to her the faith she has plighted
you, and I will free you within an hour.”
St. Denis made no answer.
A single glance of his eagle eye told
Anaya what he might expect; and,
abashed in spite of his assurance, the
Governor of Caouis withdrew to give
orders for more severity toward the
prisoner.
“ Beautiful Maria,” he wrote to the
unhappy girl, “your low-born lover,
now a prisoner in Caouis, is shortly to
be put to death. You alone can savs
his life. Be my wife, and I will release
him to-morrow.” •
With a proud gesture, the noble girl
said to the messenger.
“ Tell your master that 1 cannot
marry him, because I love St. Denis,
and that if he dies, this little Moorish
dagger, my mother’s gift, shall be
planted in Anaya’s dastardly heart
whenever or wherever he shall ap
proach me.”
Steadily regarding the messenger,
without changing countenance, she de
livered these words in a calm, clear
voice, that, when reported to Anaya,
made him pause before deciding upon
any rash measure.
Meantime, the Castilian maid was
planning her lover’s escape.
She found means to inform the vice
roy of the captivity of a Frenchman—
supposed to be a spy—whom Anaya .
was suspected of keeping secretly in
prison for the sake of a ratison. The
ruse was successful.
Anaya received an order to send his
prisoner to Mexico, at the peril of his
head. Arriving at Mexico, he was
again thrown into prison. Hope de
serted him. and he became weak and
emaciated, both from grief and priva
tion.
One day there was a confused noise
throughout the prison. It was whisp
ered outside the cell, so loud that St.
Denis caught the words, that the vice
roy had sent an officer to examine into
the condition of the prisoners and re
port. He entered the cell.
“ Who is this prisoner ?” he asked
the jailor.
“ Please, exeellenza, it is a fellow
whom the Governor of Caouis —
Before he could finish the sentence
St. Denis had started to his feet.
“ I am a prisoner by oppression,” he
declared. “1 am Louis St. Denis, a
gentlemen by birth. I seek justice
from the viceroy!”
The officer ran toward him, put back
the long hair from the prisoner’s face,
and I*aid in a voice quivering with
emotiOli:
“St Denis ! St. Denis of the Royal
College of France ? He who left France
for Louisiana ?”
“ The same.”
“My heaven! is it you, my friend ?
Do you remember De Larnage, your
companion at college ?”
“ Remember De Larnage ! he was my
best friend!”
“I am he. I entered the Spanish
army and am now the viceroy’s aid-de
camp. Jailer, strike off these chains.
St. Dennis, you are free.”
What a moment for the wasted and
hopeless being who stood, half tottering,
before the speaker! The pen lias no
power, the painter no color to give any
representation of the scene.
s|c Jjc 3(£ 3jC * % *
In the hall of Montezuma, all gor
geous things were assembled, that
could please the eye or pamper the
pride of Mexican power. Tiieie were
talent and chivalry, diplomacy and
romance, fair ladies and noble men, sol
diers, statesmen, authors aud heroes,
glittering gems,rich garments, and all
the gorgeous paraphernalia that pride
loves to deck itself with. It was a festi
val day—the viceroy’s own festival.
The guests walk through the hall,
dazzled by its sumptuousness, only half
content with the absence; hut
when a sliding door is drawn aside and
displays him sitting at the table, with
a select few around him,whom do we be
hold, sitting at his right hand, but the
prisoner of Caouis and Mexico! Not
pale and -wasted now, but restored to
the full vigor of his strength and beauty,
for St. Denis has attained, through the
interest of his friend, Do Larnage, to
the dignity of the viceroy’s favorite.
Lodged in the palace, and attended
like a prince, St. Denis enjoyed the
fullest confidence and friendship of his
patron, a friendship which the wonder
ing Mexicans could not understand.
An oiler from the viceroy of a high
commission in the Spanish army did
not tempt St. Denis from his allegiance
to France. He confessed that he loved
a Spanish lady, and the viceroy pledged
himself to insure her father’s consent,
if he would but attach himself to the
cause of Spain. In vain. The brave
Frenchman remained true to the king
he served, and trusted to himself to win
Donna Maria from her father.
“You will not? Then, if you must
leave me, may heaven bless you! Take
this gold. It is j T our wedding gift.
Yonder is my horse, valued beyond all
price. He is yours, too. And now,
chevalier, farewell.”
And officer and dragoons escorted
St. Denis to Caouis, where he experienc
ed a great triumph, and found great
pleasure in the appearance of the sur
geon, Jallot, who had remained there,
waiting for the fate of St. Denis to be
known. He had practiced largely in
his profession, and had once been sum
moned to the house of Don Gaspardo
Anaya, who was ill. Ho found him in
a terrible state, and told him plainly
that he would not live a month unless
an operation was performed, which ho
described as being very severe. Don
Gaspardo consented to have it done, and
asked him when he would perform it.
“Never!” said Jallot; “you may
die first. I will not aid you. Remem
ber St. Denis!”
No threat or entreaty could make
him perform the operation. Just before
St. Denis arrived, the governor had
sworn to hang Jallot, but the people
would not so readily give up their be
loved physician, and therefore threat
ened to hang the governor himself if
he persisted.
St. Denis waited upon Don Gaspardo
immediately on his arrival.
Surprise, rage and dismay were pic
tured on the governor’s face. He was
in bed when he entered. St. Denis
opened a paper, and read the viceroy’s
command to inflict any punishment he
chose, short of death itself, upon Anaya
for his breach of trust. His wild eye
looked up in terror, and he besought
St. Denis for the mercy he had refused
to him.
After he had begged long enough,
St. Denis generously destroyed the let
ter before his eyes. Then turning to
Jallot, who had accompanied him, lie
requested him to perform the operation
on the governor, which he had before
refused.
Jallot groaned aloud.
“ Must I cure him, my friend ? That
is hard.”
“ But it will oblige me, Jallot.”
“ Will it ? Oh, then I consent.”
He (lid it admirably, giving almost
instant relief. The governor profered
an ample nay, a princely fee, which
Jallot threwjback indignantly!
“ I only saved your life out of spite,”
said the surgeon, contemptuously. “ I
have only cheated the gallows for a
short time.”
**** * , * *
It is noon at Presidio del Norte. The
beautiful Donna Maria looked forth
from her lattice, and saw a horseman
coming up the long hill that lead to the
palace.
The beauty of the animal caught her
eye. Such perfect symmetry and such
paces she had not seen since the old
time in Spain, when shea light-hearted
child, used to ride on her brave little
Spanish jennet, with old Juan holding
the bridle. As it approached, her at
tention wandererd from horsg to rider.
An air of mingled nobleness and grace
distinguished him, and she thought he
resembled St. Denis. But months had
passed, and she knew not where he was
who shared her brief dream of happi
ness.
He came nearer—nearer! It was he!
Donna Maria uttered a joyful shriek,
and the next moment she was in the
arms of St Denis.
There was trouble w hen St. Denis
arrived. The Indians of the five fron
tier villiages had become irritated by
the outrages of the Spaniards, who had
been accustomed to annoy them. Don
Pedro owned himself to "blame for his
lax government, and apprehended that
the viceroy might punish his neglect.
St. Denis offered to go after the Indians
and induce them to return. Don Pedro
received his proposal with the most
lively gratitude.
“ If you succeed in bringing them
back I will refuse nothing which V(
can ask me,” said the distressed old
man.
No words can describe the emotions
which St. Denis experienced at hearin*
these words. What had lie to ask ex’
ccpt the one treasure which he scan
lv daretl to mention ? And if t j' *
were denied, what was all the wealth
of Don Pedro Yillesea, or even ofti
viceroy himself worth ? But no gener°
ously forbore to speak of his own i ov ’
now, and springing on the good stead
which had brought him, he went off
the direction of the Indians.
On the brow of the hill St. I)en
looked down upon a long train of m J 8
women and children who were sti
gling painfully along, and apparently
fainting with fatigue. He took out hi
handkerchief and waved its w i
folds. A moment more and he h I
dashed down the slope, where ;i'!
Indians, who had seen his si„,Vf
awaited liis coming.
lie pleaded in the language of nature
for their return; assured them t 1
leaving the graves of their children
would one day make them sad ands r
rowful, when it was too late to renin,
to them, and assure i them that th>
goverhor had already seen his error ai 1
would repair it. Ills eloquence anil
noble appearance vanquished thorn
completely. In half an hourthev Wer .
ascending the hill, and St. Denis w U s
riding at their head. Returning | le
met Jallot. who had sot out upon' the
ugliest and slowest animal he could
find, and which he was now urging for
ward with desperate struggles. °
Don Pedro met St. Denis with all
that gratitude and cordiality he could
desire, and when Donna Maria came
into the room without waiting u> b.>
asked, he took her small hand aud
placed it in that of her lover.
The little church of Presidio del Norte
te is crowded with eager faces. The
aisles and galleries bend with the
weight of persons collected to witness
the bridal, and long before the appoint
ed hour they sit waiting, or throng
around the doors of the church. Every
where is plenty. On the green are
long tables loaded with abundance.
Wine flows freely, and rich fruits and
delicately made dishes abound. It is a
day of jubilee.
And lo! at the eastern door the
handsome cavalier leads in his vailed
bride—fit representatives of youth and
beauty They kneel at the altar, and
the white-robed priest clasps his bands
above their heads and proclaims them
a wedded pair.
At the feast the viceroy’s gifts decks
the board in quantities ot gold and sil
ver plate, and at the conclusion, when
St. Denis rises to offer his thanks to
his assembled friends, the viceroy’s
health is drank, standing by the whole
company.
In August, 1716, St. Denis returned
to Mobile with his beautiful bride,
where ho received a commission us
Captain in the French army, as a re
ward lor the perils and imprisonment
he had encountered in the service of
the Government.
THU SWORD OF imUCKI.MtIDUE.
Cincinnati, Apiil2B,lßo9.
To t/ic Editor of the Commercial.
I saw a statement in your paper of this
morning’s issue, taken from the Louisville
Courier-Journal, in regard to General
Breckinridge's sword. Tire Courier-Jour
nal is entirely mistaken as to the manner
in wtiieti it fell iuto Mr. Smith’s hand. In
the first place, the sword w at not captured
at Selma, Alabama,hut at Macon, Georgia.
It whs i.ever carried by General Breckin
ridge, though indeed made for him and
intended tube presented to him by lire l
brigades of Finley and hates. Our forces
kepi them moving so lively that the occa
sion for a presentation never offered itself.
General Breckinridge never saw the
sword. Tire mariner of its capture was
thus: A lire had broken out in a book
store, and tire Fourth Ohio Volunteer
Cavalry being provost guards at the time,
were cubed upon to help suppress it.
Nearly all of the valuables trad been taken
out, aud every one had left the building,
when private Smith entered, and groping
among the shelves, found the sword in
quesiiou. Never being able to get very
near tire General duriug the war, lie could
not, of course, give it up to him. These
occurrences took place in May, 1860, just
after h m had bea r d of tire death of Presi
dent Lincoln. The editor of tiie Courier-
Journal is mistaken when Ire attempts to
give a different coloring to tiie affair, as
there are many living here in our city,
who can testify to tire trutli of this.
Cos. L. 4th O. V. C.
Tire hook store referred to was that of J.
W. Burke, but there was no sword on any
of its shelves, and consequently Hmith did
not find it there. A good many people,
hereabouts, remember the Fourth O. V.
C., very w ell, however, as having a very
unpleasant habit of ffnding tilings that
were not lost, on lots, in smoke houses,
hen coops, and occasionally a stray watch
or so, in a gentleman’s pocket. "Private
Smith” might probably make some inter
esting kleptomaniacal revelations of this
description, if he tried.
Extraordinary Story of Cruelty
at Sea. Several of the crew of the ship
Richard Robinson, which arrived at this
port on Monday, from Liverpool,February
4, and Qu eustowu, March 20, make ex
traordinary complaints of cruelty against
t lie captain, Win. H. Robinson, of Boston,
and the first mate, Richard Hoffman, of
Williamsburgh.
The men, natives respectively of Nor
way. Germany, Scotland, England, ami
the United States, allege that the captain
and mate were infuriated by the intem
perate use of liquor, beat the men with
brass knuckles, axe handles, etc., strung
them up by the wrists, and otherwise used
them wi’h extreme cruelty. The men
bear marks of severe wounds, and the
hands of one are paralyzed, which he
ascribes toil is being hung up by the hands.
The tyrants did not use auy harshness to
wards the apprentices who were on board.
The captain's wife, it is alleged, who had
a good deal' of influence over him, re
strained iris brutalities, but becoming
alarmed for her own safety, transferred
herself to a steamer in St. George’s Chan
nel and went ashore. The captain,
willing to come home without his wtle,
put iuto Queenstown and waited a f» rt '
night till she came back. Soon after
leaving Queenstown finally, this iadyg?j
access 10 the supply of liquor and threw it
overboard. To this action the men at
tributed the preservation of their Jives
! The captain and mate, it is alleged, rad
I away as soon as the vessel reached this
port.
Home legal gentlemen have the casern
hand, and it is announced that proceed
ings will be taken against the alleged lU
gitives. Os course the latter have as y et
had no opportunity of being heard.
[ Journal of Commerce.
Kerosene-Fed Pork.—A singular dis
covery has just been made at Cincinnati.
It seems that a man upset his kerosen
lantern into his meal bin, and be notice
afterward that his hogs eat the damagea
fodder with avidity. This gave him a
idea, and by experiment, he found ttiai
five weeks’ feeding with the
mixture made one of his hogs so fat tna
it could scarcely stand. The animal w ■
then dried into lard, with the following
result: When cool the lard did net con
geal, but the addition of a certain amoun
of potash resolved the contents of the Kt
tie into three distinct substances— the n _
a light, transparent oil, better than se
sene or sperm oil; the second a jelly
substance which turned to soap, anu .
a small residum of insoluble muscle.
To Gentlemen Wanting to MaBBY.
—A daughter <>f the late George Ken
dall is one of the belles of Texas. Hhe is
described as a “ handsome young g irl '
being only seventeen or eighteen years oi
age. has an exceedingly intelligent face
and a splendid figure. She was educated
partly in New Orleans and partly in
Franee, but mainly under the tuition
her father, and not les9 accoinpl »heu
mother. Bbe is noted for her horseman
ship, understands the dairy, and is, l* r *
haps, better qualified to govern a sheep
ranche than any man in Texas.’