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any quarter, but shoot them down right and
left, sparing only the children, whom they
tame,and convert Into servants. The peo
pie who suffer from these depredations are
Boers. Giiquns, and Buchuanas, all of whom
are possessed of large herds of cattle, and
the massacres of the Bushmen, arising from
these raids, are endless.
The Boers informed us that in a country
to the southwest of our actual position, a
tribe of these natives for many yc ars were
ir, the habit of practising raids with impuni
ty upon the herds of the farmers in the
Raw feldt, assisted by a vast and impracti
cable desert -which intervened between
their country aid the more fertile pastoral
districts. They seemed to prefer extreme
ly dry seasons for these incursions, their
object in this being that their pursuers, who
of course followed on horseback while they
were always on foot, should not obtain wa
ter for their horses. Their own wants m
this respect they provided for in the follow
ing cuiious manner. They had regular
stages, at long intervals, in a direct line
across the desert, where, assisted by-their
wives, they concealed water in ostrich eggs,
which they brought from amazing distan
ces, and these spots, being marked .by some
slight inequality m the ground, they could
discover ei'her by day or night from then
perfect knowledge of the country. They
were thus enabled fearlessly to drive off a
herd of cattle, whose sufferings from thirst
gave them little concern, and to travel day
and night, while their mounted pursuers,
requiring light to hold the spoor, could nec
essarily only follow by day, and were soon
obliged to give up the pursuit on account
of their horses being without water.”
Choice of an Imperial Heir.
“Kang Hi was one of the most illustri
ous princes that ever sat on the throne of
China. He came to the crown in 1661,
and from his earliest life, exhibited that ar
dor of mind so well suited to the difficult
task of governing. When the emperor,
Cham Chi, his father, was on his death-bed,
he assembled his children together to fix
upon a successor to the throne. On asking
his eldest son if he should like tobeemperor,
be answered, that he was too weak to sup
port so great a burden. The 2d made a
similar answer. But when he put the ques
tion to young Kang Hi, who was not quite
7 years of age, he replied, “ Give me the
empire to govern, and you shall see how I
will acquit myselt.’ The emperor was
much pleased with this bold and simple an
swer. * He is ti boy of courage,’ said Cham
Chi : ‘ let him be emperor.’ ”
THE COUNTR Y M AN .
Cutting Wheat.
(for the children.)
Listen ! What, noise is that 1 It is un
cle Tom, and uncle Ben, and uncle Frank,
and the other black men wlu-tting their
scythes. They are going to cut. u heat.
The scythes are very sharp. Do not. go
near them.
Come into the field, and see them cut
wheat. How fast they cut it down ! They
swing their cradles round, and every time
they do so, they cut a handful of wheat.
Then the women and boys come along, and
tie up the wheat in bundles.
After the wheat is tied up into bundles,
it is then put up in small stacks called
shocks. By and by the thrasher will come
along, and then the wheat will be thrashed
out.
When it is thrashed out, it will be car
ried to the mill, and ground info flour to
make cakes, and pies,and biscuit for Annie
and Johnny, and all the good boj s and girls.
Here comes the little black boy, Jake.
He has got something in his tin-cup, and
lie is grinning from ear to ear, and his teeth
and eyes look very white.
What have you got, Jake ?
I have got some partridge eggs.
How many have you got ?
i have got 10. I found them up yonder,
in the corner of the fence.
And what are you going to do with them?
I want to sell them to miss Annie, and
marse John for some old clothes.
So John took the eggs, and said he would
give Jake one of his old coats. Then he
divided them, and gave his sister Annie 6
eggs, and he kept only 4 : for John was a
good boy and loved his sister mere than he
did himself.
But Annie was a good girl too, and she
would not have but 5 eggs. So she had 5,
and Johnny had 5.
When dinner-time came, and the horn
blew for the negroes to go to their dinners,
Johnny did not forget his promise to Jake,
but gave him an old coat, and a piece ot pie.
Jake was very proud indeed : and when
Sunday came, he put on his coat and wore it
to meeting, and heaid a black man preach.
It was very good in Johnny to give Jake
a coat, and a piece of pie, and make him '
happy. My little readers must all treat
their little negroes well, and not he cross to
them, or beat them. God wants us to be
kind to our slaves.
And Jake should be very glad that he
has a good little master, and a good big
master, to feed him, and clothe him, and
take care of him. For many little negroes,
in this country and Africa, have no kind
masters to take care of them : and so they
have no bread and meat to eat, and no
houses to live in, and they are not happy.
It is best for all negroes to have masters.
A Cheap Mode ot Coring Bacon.
“ I saw to day, at the house of Win. Mor
ton, i well-known and respectable citizen
of this place, good bacon, from a hog
weighing 250 pounds,killed last week,made
by (lipping in boiling brine, hung up, and
smoked immediately. The plan is simple
and commendable for its economy of salt.
Take a kettle or large pot nearly full of
water, put in a little more salt than the wa-
tei will dissolve, bring to a boil, cut up the
meat, and while the animal heat is in it,
put in the kettle, and boil from 2 to 4 min
utes, according as the meat is thick or thin ;
rub on meal to keep off the flies, then hang
and smoke it. The brine must he kept up
to its full strength by occasionally- adding
salt. When the work is done, the remain
ing brine may be boiled down, and the salt
saved for other uses, or for the next kiHIng.
Mr. Morton tells me lie learned this plan
from an old man 40 years ago, who had
used it for years previous. He has fre
quently tried it in the month of August,
with invariable success. Everyone who
knows him, will vouch for the truth of his
assertion. He has never weighed the salt
to ascertain the exact amount saved in this
way, having heretofore found its chief ad
vantage in being able to save meat at any
time, hut is satisfied it saves at least 4 t.liree-
fourtbs, 1 peck being equal to a bushel in
the old way. The only difference between
his meat, and the best winter cured bacon
is, that it loses slightly its flavor, and
tastes a little old. That which I saw was
dry and salt enough, with no appearance
of having been cooked. He saves beef in
the same manner.
When this plan was published last spring,
I was a skeptic, believing that the meat,
being partially cooked, would sour, and be
come, worthless. 1 knew nothing of Mr.
Stubbs, and was not prepared to take tor
granted what he said. I know Mr. Mor
ton, ana am satisfied. Others may still
doubt. Let everyone who lias tried it,pub
lish the fact, and benefit the public. Some
of our blood-thirsty speculators may be
hurt yet, and those planters who give the
high price of salt as the reason for raising
the price of their corn to unreasonable rates,
may learn that honesty is the best, policy.
—Enon, Ala., Oct. 23, 1S62.—N.D. Guer-
n y—The foregoing is from the Columbus
Sun.