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434
T H E
COUNTRYMAN;
ft is rumored, entered into the spirit of the oc
casion. Is there a weakness of the knees of the
'faithful brethren, or what is up?
There are some very queer events transpiring
'here, and you need not be surprised at any
thing 1 that you hear from this quarter.
Greeley has got the lead in the Negotiations
daw in progress.”
Undermining,
‘ Our friends of the press, in Richipond and
Petersburg, have indulged very confidently in
sneers, and sceptical comments, on the reports
oi Grant’s mining operations, which have been
made by prisoners and deserters, for some
weeks. It is probable, if our despatch ap
proaches the truth, that these editors may
change their opinions, and their notions of the
word, “impossible,” which has been too easily
and readily applied by our editors and gene
rals. Some who considered themselves masters
of all that West Point knew, or had taught, con
cerning military projectiles, pronounced it im
possible for yankees, or any other persons, to
tthrow shells into any part of this city : and
•many rested quietly under this belief, for
days and weeks, that could, and should have
been employed in prevention or preparation.
Almost everything marked, or apparently de
cisive, that has been accomplished on either
side, in this war, has been done after it had
been pronounced impossible, by some of these
stereotyped minds, who never learn anything
after they leave school, and .no great amount
at school.
We are sick and tired of the word impossi
ble, and ol other words fondly used by military
editors in the rear, and by some officers who
should be in front. Let us away with it, and
go to work—work—work—in deep earnest,
taking a lesson from the enemy whom we have
been, and are, too prone to imitate, in many
.matters less commendable and worthy than
'bis constant and thorough use, appreciative
and applicative, of the mechanical and engi
neering resources of war. Let us hear no more
of this, or the other result, being impossible,
unless it,can be demonstrated to beao, by refer
ence to known and established laws of nature,
and not merely to what has been done by fol
lowers of routine and red-tape. What is pos
sible at all, or under any circumstance, will be
attempted by the yankees against us, if we al
low them time enough, and what is attempted
in engineering or constructive warfare, bv
Grant, aided by Gillmore, and backed by mer
cenaries more willing to work than to fight,
will probably be achieved.—Charleston Courier.
.Antidote for Hog Cholera.—No. 3.—A gen
tleman informs us of a preventive for hog cholera,
which he says has been sufficiently tried and
proved to be efficacious. It is simply feeding
poke root, and poke salad, to them, once or
twice a week. It is to be boiled, and a little
“puslev” (or is it purslain t) may be thrown
in. The hogs will eat it readily. A planter,
having a large number of hogs, in Randolph
county, tried it, and all his swine escaped,
while his neighbors lost large numbers of theirs.
We have long since heard that boiled poke root
was an excellent alterative for :bogs.— Colupp-
bus Enquirer.
Conspiracy in Missouri.
“The following despatches, to a late North
ern paper, indicate that some new troubles
are coming to light in -the west•:
St. Louis, July 23.—Much surprise was cre
ated here, a short time since, by the arrest of
several very prominent secessionists, of this
city, whose offence was unknown. It has fate-
ly come to light, however, that they wete con
nected tvi'th a conspiracy,, extending through
out the entire Mississippi Valley, baVing for its
object the erection of a Northwestern 'Confed
eracy.
Col. Sanderson, the Provost Marshal Gener
al of this Department, has been gathering evi
dence in the matter, for several months, which
is in possession of the Washington authorities.
It implicates several public men, and shJws
the organization formed to be a danger
ous one. One of the arrested parties, here, is
said to have been so badly frightened, that a
bond of half a million of dollars had been of
fered for his release.
It is believed that the recent guerrilla move
ments, in this state, have some connection with
this .scheme, particularly as Thornton, in his
speech at Platte city, said, that the Knights of
the Golden Circle were organized, and armed,
to rise, throughout the free states ; that Vallan
digham was with them ; that he was a Vallan-
digham man; that he had troops in every
county of the state, and men coming up from
the South; and that fifteen hundred men bad
been raised in Illinois, who would join him,
.destroying the Hannibal and St. Joseph Rail
road, in their march.
During Col. Sanderson’s investigation of this
conspiracy, he discovered the intended renewal
of boat-burnmg on the Western rivers, and
was able, in several instances, to avert serious
consequences. The whole matter will probably
be investigated in a few days.”
Mr. S. R. Gilmore, who recently visited
JRichmqnd, publishes a card in the Boston
Transcript, in .which he says:
‘Jefferson Davis said to me, last Sunday—
and, with all his faults,I believe him to be a man
of truth—this war mu?t go on till the last of this
generation falls in his tracks, and his children
seize his musket, and fight our battles, unless
you acknowledge our right .to self-government.
We are not fighting for slavery. We are fight-
ing for independence, and that, or extermina
tion, we will have.’
Peace advocates should .make a note of this.
.It gives them the conditions on which Jeff Da-
.vis would make peace.--Nashville Union.
From tlie United States.
“The New York Herald, of the 27th ult., baa
been received.. The following is a summary of
the news:
The enemy are, undoubtedly, threatening
Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Considerable
excitement prevailed in Baltimore, yesterday,
consequent upon these facts. The intelligence
of this invasion is scattered,and unsatisfactory,
but it is sufficient to cause much uneasiness at
the national capital.
General Wright is assigned to the command
of the Sixth and Ninth corps. Geu. Rickets
has command of the Sixth corps.
-■ •, . - /- i■=*=*
The report of General Averill’s death is not
confirmed.
Col. Ely, of the 13th Connecticut, and Col.
Thorburn,of the 1st Virginia (U. S.) infantry,'
were kilted.
Nothing of importance from Atlanta was of;
ficially promulgated from Washington, yes-
day.
There is no news from Grants army.
The Democratic Union Association inaugu
rated the Presidential 'campaign, last evening,
by holding a public meeting at their hall.
Mr. Singleton, of Illinois, was the principal
speaker, who delivered an address strongly in
favor of a speedy peace. Hon. James Brooks
made a few remarks, after which", the meetingf
adjourned.
The closing quotation of gold, in New York,
on the 26tb, was 268.”
4.
“ ‘ The Thunderer’ on American Soldiers.
—The London Times says :
It is one of the most astonishing incidents in
this remarkable struggle, that battles which sur
prise all Europe, by their fierceness, should bo
fought by armies and generals extemporized
for the occasion. It is a lesson which should be
carefully noted. There is hardly a regular bat
talion, in the whole of the enormous hosts
which are contending, with such unparalleled
ferocity and resolution. The ‘ veterans’ who
are occ asionally spoken of, cannot, by possibil
ity, be soldiers of more than three years’
standing. Our ow r n volunteers are older trroqpa
than the oldest troops under Grant or Lee.
The whole of the dreadful fighting has been
done by volunteers, and volunteers without as
much training as our own riflemen. Yet these
raw companies, without professional spirit or
regimyital traditions, with captains snatched
from the counter or the store, and with gene
rals who were attorneys, a few months ago,
are fighting with as much obstinacy and hero
ism, as Napoleon’s Old Guard, or Germany’s
bravest warriors. There may be little science
in the business, but of all that makes soldiers,
there is as much as in any war of which wo
read.”
Cabinet Scandal.—“Rev. Theo. Tilton, edi
tor of the New York Independent, publishes a
long letter, giving his experience at the Balti
more Convention. Among others, he mentions
the following fact, a piece ol scandal which has
often been referred to in the Richmond papers, iq
reference to Seward’s habits. As Rev. Tilton
is loyal, there can be uo question as to the au
thenticity.of his item. He says :
‘Mr. Seward, in his late appearance at ithe
New England Kitchen of the Baltimore Fair,
was so tar the victim of an unhappy habit, as
to have disgraced himself, and insulted his
friends, leaving his name behind him as a by
word, and reproach ; a lact that would not be
here mentioned, except that, during a storm,
some one ought to give warning when a
drunken man’s hand is on the helmd
Carpenter is painting a picture of the presi
dent and his cabinet. In mentioning this fact,
Mr. Tilton makes the following statement:
‘We regret to say, that some of the members
of this group are not on speaking terms with
each other. Mrs. Lincoln occasionally opens
the door of the artist’s room, and asks—'Mr