Whole No. 2640.
For the Gaztttc.
BENHAMED, the FISHERMAN,
OR THE
The Robison Crusoe of the Juniata.
BY IIL'RKT.L RDILLI)ARR£LL.
Dear reader, are you prepared to listen
to a tale of wild adventure and hair-breadth
escapes? If so, 'retain your linen' and give I
me your attention. The thrilling incident 1
I am about to relate, though clad in the j
habiliment of romance and garbed in the I
guise of fiction, is nevertheless true.
The scene is laid in the lovely valley of j
the Juniata, and upon the bosom of the
beautiful river of that name. It is not my
intention at present to bring before you
scenes of the days of Alfarata, of years
long g°'ie, when that charming Indian
maiden was supposed to have roamed along
the margin of this magnificent stream, in
all her ' unsophisticated' loveliness ; when
Logan's wild shout rung up the valley, ech
oing and vibrating thro tglt the mountain
gorges of the giant bills that overlook
the liver; nor of the times when the red
man s drum was hoard summoning the war
riors to the war dance, and other amuse
ments peculiar to the aborigines, in the
days when the Indian was lord of the soil,
when he trod the banks of this river in all
his savage and barbaric pride. My story
is one of the present century. Just three
years ago.
The present how changed from former
years :
4 riie roiee of Alfaratn anl l*r r'l warriors brave,
Art? JoruviT j<ili'iiretl in their "jrceii. grave**.'
I lie blue -J uniata that once flowed so mu
sically along, rejoicing in its own being, is
forever bushed. Navigation demanded it.
Its mossy margin is torn up as if by a migh
ty earthquake. The railroads of advancing
civilization required it. The shrill whistle
of the iron horse has superseded the terri
ble scream of the panther and the fierce
howl of the wolf. The boatman's winding
horn lias taken the place of the Indian's
drum. But with all these mighty changes,
it still retains a large share of its former
greatness and magnificence. Sweet Juni
ata, land of my birth ; home of my child
hood; land where the notes of silvery bird
songs arc never hushed, and where the tints
of the earth and the hues of the sky.
though varied iu color, vie with each oth
er in their resplendent beauty. But bow
art tiioij changed ! But though thy pris
t no days (it loveliness' and splendor have
passed away, thou art yet beautiful. But
1 am digressing, and must to my story.
On a l ively morning in the month of
,liirio, ] v s9, ' there might have been seen'
a canoe containing a 'solitary individual,'
shove out from the mouth of the Kishaco
(j'iillas creek into the placid waters of the
Juniata. When near the middle of the
stream, this lone iti ividuai relaxed rowing
and allowed his boat to drift carelessly
down And while it is floating lazily along,
let us take a look at the occupant of the
f'sill, whom wc will name Benhamed
'i'h ere is nothing very prepossessing in his
appearance, lie is short of stature, very lus
ty, not the result of good living, but more
the effect of bis frequent visits to the tav
ern and ale house. His hair is what some
would c ill carroty, but wc will style it by
the more romantic name of auburn. His
or s or eye, for lie bad only one, was of the
'mildest gray,' and over where the other
eye ought to be, was a green patch. His
t ice was not the 'fairest that e'er the sun
sin, ne on,' nor did his complexion outvie
the lilly, but looked as if it had stolen the
deep carnation of the deathless rose. His
lunny old nose was neither a Grecian, Ro
man. nor Aqnelinc, but a pug of the 'pug
p-.-t kind,' and had attained the hue of a
full-blown pinoy. His gaudy trappings
and glittering paraphernalia consisted of a
straw hat minus a crown, red flannel shirt
bespangled o'er with tin stars and buttons,
and a huge red comforter in which was
blended all the colors of the rainbow. His
pantaloons were a kind of a ' pink snuff-
Colored' arrangement, and seemed to fit him
too much, llis shoes were of the square
toed species, and were tied together with
a pair of old suspenders or saddle girths.
This is the description as near as my feeble
pen can give of our hero Take him all in
all, he was a man whose likes we shall nev
er see again. But there is another impor
tant article we almost forgot to notice : that
i-S our hero's much cherished bottle of 'five
kings' (things)—the ingredients of which
were 'a quirt of whiskey, some whiskey,
a pint of whiskey, a gill of whiskey and a
little more whiskey;' quite a variegated
mixture truly ! Benhamed by occupation
was a fisherman, and was known as the 'in
trepid turtle hunter of the Juniata.' He
was now on one of his piscatorial expedi
tions, but how successful the sequel will
show. He was drifting slowly and lazily
along, ever and anon indulging in potations
from his bottle of the 'oil of barley.' But
look: a dim speck is rising on the distant
horizon; now it grows larger and blacker.
Benhamed, thoughtless man, glides on un
conscious of the danger that is threatening
him. But hark! what sound is that which
breaks upon liis ear and startles him. It
Is the low muttering of the distant thunder.
Now it rolls down the valley ; volley after
volley of heaven's artillery shakes the
ffiassra'aiß Asra> gwaanssmiaiß) ircr jm"ffsnsj®ai£ 8 asmswE-myg mffirassj ®®wsnnr 8
earth like the tread of an army of giants.
The large rain drops begin to fall; the wind
rises, the storm king is abroad, and so is
Benhamed. The waves are lashed to fury.
Benhamed sees the great danger he is in,
is horror-struck, and holds on to his frail
bark with a deathlike grip while the gale
increases. He seizes the oars, but how can
human strength cope with all the elements
combined. He hears the rumbling of the
dam at the two locks, thinks his case is a
hopeless one, and in the frenzy of despair
clutches at every passing object. He cries
lor assistance, but no answering shout is
heard. His garments are saturated with
rain; he is about giving himself up to his
fate; he falls on his knees in the bottom ol
the boat, not to pray, but to see if his stom
ach bitters are safe. He finds the bottle,
and determines to die, if die he must, with
his 'five sings.' He raises his head, looks
around him in every direction for succor,
until his eye catches a glimpse cf the small
island at the mouth of Jack's creek. Hope
is again enkindled in his bosom; he springs
to the oar and sculls vigorously for the is
land. If he can but reach it in time—he
is nearing it—but, great God ! the mad
waters are bearing him past this, his only
hope of escape. Black despair is again
settling upon his brow, but he resolves to
make one more effort before resigning him
sell to his fate, lie leans over on the edge
of the skiff as it flies past, arid with a gl
ut's grasp seizes a small root that is dan
cing upon the waters, attached to some
shrubbery on the island, and pulls himself
and boat ashore. Down on his knees again,
he f icozes on to bis bottle of the essence of
mania a pom, elevates his face to the still
darkened heavens, und—takes a drink; un
grateful man ; he should have returned
thanks for his deliverance from a watery
grave.
Rut his trouble was not yet at an end ;
here 110 was 011 an uninhabited island with
out a copper in his pocket, and his boat
was not strong enough to attempt to reach
the mainland in the then troubled state of
the elements. What could lie do? To
cry for assistance would be useless. He
sat himself down bemoaning his sad fate.
As he sat thinking, he felt a drowsiness
come over him that he could not by any
means shake off. He was going to the
Imd of Nod, and lie could not help it. The
bottle, falls from bis band. lie rolls off -he
stone on which lie bad been sitting Ben
haine'l sleeps—sleeps on that lone island,
heedless of the chilling wind, the blinding I
rain, the vivid fl .sites of lightning, the
thunder's deep diapason, the roaring of tl.e
waves, and ail the excitement < fa terriile
storm ; yes, he sleeps, not that balmy sleep
that is usually the reward of tired nature.
It was a dreamy, drunken snooze. But
look, he smiles in his sleep; Benhamed is
dreaming, dreaming of his home in fl e
land of * Switzer Kase and Lager ' of the
many happy scenes of his boyhood days
away in 'old Berks,' of the times when he
tramped over the hills and plains of' Tul
pehockcn,' when with a card of ginger
bread under his arm he made his way, hand
in hand with the maid of his: heart, to the
fair at Kutztown. But now a change comes
over the spirit of his dream. That beauti
ful smile disappears, a cloud darkens his
brow. Now he dreams of ' sundry acci
dents by flood and field,' of hair-brcadth
escapes from the ' imninent deadly' storm,
of his being shipwrecked and cast away on
the identical island on which ' Bobinson
Crusoe' lived. But Benhamed, unlike
4 Bob Crusoe,' was not blessed with the
presence of a man Friday to cheer his lone
ly hours. Thus he lay dreaming, he knew
not how long. When he awoke, 'Old Sol'
was pouring down upon him his most
scorching rays. The waters of the Juniata
were as placid as when he embarked that
morning, so full of hope and whiskey, to
lure the little fishes from their watery home.
His first impulse after awakening, was to
reach for his bottle of ' five sings,' and as
he reached he cast his eyes to the spot
where he had moored his boat from the
storm. But oh, what a look of horror and
despair encircled that classic brow, when he
saw that his boat was missing—his only
hope of safety torn from him. With his
bottle in one hand and hat in the other he
marches to and fro over the island, hurling
imprecations dire on the malicious fiend
that had stolen his ' bonny boat.' Would
he succumb to his fata? No, while there
is life there is hope, so Benhamed conclu
ded to drown sorrow by a draught from 'de
bottle dat's black, dat lay massa blue devil
flat on his back.' But here the ' unkind
est cut of all,' not a drop of ' boomerang'
remained in that bottle. What mortal
could stand the blow. But, methinks, we
hear you say, cheer up Benhamed; there
is a clear running river flowing at your
feet (Heaven's draught that never slaught
ers) drink and let your soul revive. No,
my friends, you are mistaken in your man.
Benhamed's ' internal improvements' had
not known for many years the blessings
of cold water; it would do well enough in
his estimation, for navigation and ' sich
like,' but as a beverage he did not approve
of it. It would astonish his stomach !
Well, Benhamed did give up and sat him
self down again to reflect over his misspent
life. There he sat until the gnawings of
hunger awakened him to a sense of his des
perate situation, ne sprang to his feet
and gazed wildly around bim : on one side
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1861.
was the dark mountains whose huge boul
ders and tall pines seemed to look with
scorn upon the poor fisherman. There was
the deep, dismal gorge or gap, named after
Mrs. Bixler, the witch woman who once
bad her abode there, and whose wierd laugh
was ofti n heard in concert with the ear
piercing cry of the wolf and panther. On
the other side a mile or more distant lay
the beautiful village of L n with here
and there a farm house He heard the
distant crowing of chanticleer in the barn
yard, the ' lowing of the herd as they were
winding o'er the lea.' lie screamed and
yelled, but in vain; 110 ear heard, no eye
saw him. As if to mock at his hunger the
fish would leap from the water and laush
at him. The snapping turtles would rise
to the surface, cast a withering glance, and
disappear; they knew he was their mortal
enemy. It was more than flesh and blood
could bear; he was becoming mad; hunger,
thirst, and fatigue were making fearful in
roads upon his reason. His 'squintor' was
protruding from its socket. He had a wild
light in his good eye that made him indeed
an object of pity. But stop, an idea struck
him : he bethinks of another expedient.—
Benhamed had heard of castaway mariners
raising their underclothing as signals of
distress, and he determined to do likewise;
so he doffs his crimson hued shirt, a gar
ment that the fair hands of his charming
inamorati had bejeweled with oriental splen
dors, lashes it to a bush, arid awaits an an
swer to his emblem of distress. The
shades of night were closing around him.
The frogs all along the margin of the river
were singing their evening songs; the
whippoorwill flew above his head utteringits
queer, quaint noise. There was however
no music in it for him ; he was not to be
' moved by a concord of sweet sounds.'—
But he starts: S'dcath, he hears the dis
tant dipping of oars. He stretches his
obese form to its full height, strains his
eye to its utmost tension—(even the de
cayed optic seems to have regained its
sight—the green patch assumes a horizon
tal position : in the dim distance lie per
ceives a dark object. It is getting nearer
and more distinct ; glorious sight, it is a
boat, and in it a dusky form. He seizes
his flag, waves it above bis bead, and in
clear, wild accents, cries for deliverance.
The 'dark gondolier' hears him, and pulls
for the island. The boat bad scarcely
touched the sand wh -in Benhamed and his
bottle were aboard. He dropped the bot
tle, embraced his deliverer, and told him
for the love of heaven to pull for the shore,
lie then ' catterpiilered,' or swooned away,
perfectly overcome with joy. The proprie
tor of the boat proved to bo a dusky de
scendant of Ham, who lived a few miles
down the river, ami was on his return to
his old cabin ho.ne to Dinah and the 1 ic
aninics. lie landed Benhamed safely on
the tow path of the canal, and after anoth
er embrace the rescued and rescuer part
forever. Benhamed had no leathern purse,
filled with doubloons, to offer his preserver,
but he said lie would give him a first rate
drink of ' fivo sin s' if he had it. The
'sable mantle of night hung o'er the scene
black as the dunnest smoke of Hades,'
when this destitute, mud bespattered, rnin
drcnclied fisherman started on bis winding
way for home, which placed he reached
just as the 'bawdy hand of the dial was on
the point of ten.'
Dear reader, little more remains to be
told. Benhamed never followed the life
of a fisherman afterwards, lie lived about
two years after the occurrence of the events
narrated in the preceding tale, and then
'shuffled off his mortal coil,' a victim of
bad rum. The ' Daring Turtle Catcher of
the Juniata,' is no more. May the turf
rest lightly upon him.
Notes of A Voyage to Hayti.
PORT AU PRINCE, Oct 11, 1861
Messrs Editors:—Hoping a line from
me might be acceptable to your readers, 1
seat myself to pen you a few lines. We
set sail from New York on Sept. sth. We
had a pleasant breeze and all went well
for a few days, when a dead calm set in
which lasted eleven days. We drifted 300
miles out of our course; consequently our
voyage was extended to five weeks instead
of three.
Nothing worthy of note occurred on our
passage except the death of a child. On
the 17th it was attacked with croup and
sea-sickness, and at midnight it breathed
its last. On the 18th, I witnessed for the
first time a burial at sea. It was at sunset,
the sea was perfectly calm—not a ripple
on its glassy surface. On the deck stood
eighty-nine of the noblest specimens of the
Anglo-African, with saddened and subdued
countenances, forming a scene that would
have done credit to an artist's pencil, and
been admired anywhere except in republi
can America. The clergyman repeated
the burial service, and as the body was com
mitted to the great deep, not a sound could
be heard except his impressive voice ; even
the mourners ceased their sobs, so deeply
were they impressed with the scene. For
my part I never wish to witness another of
the same kind.
Sabbath, Sept. 29th, we anchored off
Turk's Island. At two o'clock about twen
ty-five of us repaired to the island. We
were taken in a small sail-boat, and were
received very kindly by the natives who
invited us into their dwellings, and regaled
u with Cucoa nuts, and other tropical fruits.
I was very much struck at first with the
singularity of the houses. They were large
frame dwellings, some of them quite eie
gnnt, without windows or chimneys. They
have lattice blinds but no windows. We
visited the President's house, and found it
a commodious building, commanding a fine
view of the sea, and surrounded by manilla,
date, cocoa, palm and pine trees. Flam
ingoes and other birds which we had seen
only in menageries were walking about
perfectly domesticated. We repaired to
the beach, gathered some beautiful shells,
and then visited the chapel, where wc
heard the American Consul deliver his
farewell address.
About half past eight we started for our
brig. Standing on the beach, we gave
twice three cheers for Turk's Island and
its inhabitants. Upon reaching our vessel
we sought our berths, and were soon wrap
ped in the arms of Morpheus. On the 6th
inst., we entered the bay of St. Marc. I
assure you 1 was rejoiced to see the Queen
of the Antilles, and so were all on board.
As the pilot came up we proposed three
cheers for the Island of llayti, and twice
three for our President, for here you know
we are blaek Republicans literally. The
cheers were given with a hearty good will,
and then one of the clergymen knelt and
offered a prayer of thanksgiving for our safe
arrival. 1 cannot express the thoughts that
crowded thick and fast upon my mind as
I viewed our beautiful Island home. Suf
fice it to say, I was truly grateful that God
had given us a home where ' none dare
molest us or make us afraid.' We found
St. Marc a very pleasant village of about one
thousand and five hundred inhabitants.—
I visited the market and was very much
pleased as well as surprised at the abun
dance of everything which I had been in
formed could not be procured in Hayti.—
I found the market stocked with eggs, but
ter, cheese, &c , vegetables of every de
scription, fruits of every clime, and birds
of different plumage. I visited the emi
grants, and found them pleasantly domes
ticated in cozy little houses, every family
by itself.
I bade adieu to St., Marc on the Bth.
On the 20th I arrived here, the capital of
the black republic. Thus far I like it very
much. The natives all speak French, and
the higher classes appear to be very refined
and intelligent. The lower classes are
rather degraded, as they arc in all Catho
lic countries ; besides having a country in
which, if tlicy choose, they can live out of
doors all the year round, they have no in
centive to labor. But ]am wearying you
with my long letter, I think I will stop, as
the clock is strieking twelve, and I shall
soon intrude 011 the "wee small lioura." —
In my next I will write of the emigrants
here and at Dwillard, and give a particu
lar description of I'urt au Prince.
YOURS TRULY,
ONE DA E. PAULDING.
Words Rightly Spoken at a Momentous
Time.
Shortly after Abraham Lincoln assumed
the duties of President of the United
States, while traitors infested the National
Capital, and the gloom of rebellion was fast
thickening over the face of the country, he
was visited by several Governors of as
many States, among whom was the chosen
son of Pennsylvania, Andrew G. Curtin.
The President was contemplating how to
act. He seemed to be self-willed, and had
the nerve, but something like a doubt lin
gered in his mind, lie paced the floor in
a meditative mood sone time, and said but
little. There was a solemnity in the crowd
of intelligent men and statesmen around
him, that indicated deep, thougliful con
templation.
Each of the limited party present had
already expressed his views upon the im
portance of the occasion. The whole ma
chinery of the Government was in bad or
der, and in the several departments there
were traitors still clogging the wheels.
An unbidden tear started down the oheek
of the patriot President, but he nerved him
self for the work before him. The temple
of liberty was tottering indeed; column
after co umn was falling. His mission was
the arduous one of rebuilding it. The
President seated himself in a chair, once
adorned by Washington, the Father of his
Country, when all at once he sprang to his
feet, and exclaimed : ' Gentlemen, the
Unien and the Constitution must be saved.
I have been contemplating whether the
States will respond to my proclamation, if I
issue it now. Governor Curtin, wlat will
Pennsylvania do?'
Gov. Curtin, who was standing looking
out of a window, turned and confronted
the President and replied, ' What will
Pennsylvania do? Why sir, she'll furnish
a hundred thousand wen in a week, if it he
necessary .' This noble and prompt reply
of the favored son of the blue mountains
of the Keystone State clinched the nail. —
They were the right words spoken at a
momentous time. The eye of the Spring
field statesman grew brighter, his tall man
ly form stood more erect, and shaking hands
with the Governor, said, ' Those words en
courage me, they take all doubt from my
mind, they ease my heart of a heavy weight,
my proclamation shall issue to-morrow.'
Joy beamed as brightly in that congre
gation of intelligent men, as the sun ever
did, after a gloomy day.
The proclamation was issued, and when
the unseen electric spark sped the announce
ment to all parts of the country, a couple
of companies fron the interior of the State
of Pennsylvania responded, and forthwith
they arrived at the Capital of the Nation.
Pennsylvania was first in the field, almcst
before the ink was dry in the proclamation ;
and the glorious old State has now more
men, good, solid, noble, truehcartcd patri
otic men in the American Army than any
other Ssate in the Union, aud has a few
more of the same sort left.
But for the reply of Gov. Curtin.orhad
he hesitated for a single moment, the issu
ing of the proclamation would have been
delayed at a time when weeks were months
and months were years. Pennsylvania had
her hundred thousand men ready by the
time the National Government wanted
them, and thus the words of our own active,
patriotic, and prophetic Governor have been
well fulfilled to the very letter. He may
be truly considered the ' hero of the rear.'
Impartial history will give praise to Gov.
Curtin. His name will be as familiar as
household words among ail patriotic, Union
loving people, long after the names of the
few miserable wretches who are so steeped
in prejudice, and so lost to all feeling of
virtue, respect, and manliness as to calum
niate him, shall have rotted vith their car
cases in the grave of deep and blank obliv
ion.
His name is a tower of strength, and
will increase in power as time progresses.
Selfishness is not in his vocabulary. He
stands this day in the wild sea of puhlic
opinion, like a proud, defiant rock in mid
ocean, around and against which the leaves
are expected to lash, but to go back into
calm water again, without doing any harm.
His noble reply to President. Lincoln, when
men of iron nerve were wanted, is a stamp
of the true character of the map. It was
the musical ring of the true metal, the joy
ous tone of victory at the beginning, and
the death-knell of thieving usurpations and
foul rebellion.
The Official Report of Col. Brown.
Col. llarvey Brown has made the following
official report of the late fight:
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF FLORIDA, )
FORT PICKENS, NOV 25, 18G1.
GENERAL: That Fort Pickens has been be
leaguered by the rebels for the last nine
months, and that it was daily threatened with
the fate of Sumter, is a fact notorious to the
whole world. Since its occupancy by Lieut.
Slemmer, the rebels have been surrounding it
with batteries, and daily arming them with
the heaviest and most efficient guns known to
our service-guns stolen from the United States
—until they considered this fort as virtual
ly their own, its occupancy being only a ques
tion of time.
I have been in command since the 10th of
April, and during the whole of that time
their force has averaged, so far as I can learn,
from eight to ten times the number of mine.
The position in which I have thus been placed
has been sufficiently trying, andl have at three
separate times intended to free myself from it
by opening my batteries on them, but imper
ious circumstances, over which I had no con
trol, have unexpectedly in each instance pro
vented.
Affairs were in this state on the morning
of the 9th of October, when the enemy fifteen |
hundred strong, attacked by surprise a por
tion of my command on an intensely dark
night. They were defeated and driven from
the island with great loss by less than two
hundred regulars and fifty volunteers—all the
efficient force I had disposable for the purpose.
An insult so gross to the flag of my ccuntry
could not by me be passed unnoticed, and I
designed immediately to take appropriate no
tice of it; but, as I said before, circumstances
over which I had no control prevented. I
make these prefatory remarks to explain why
I have now opened my batteries on the ene
my, when, from the smallness of my forces,
about one sixth of his, thirteen hundred to
eight thousand. I have not the means of pro
ducing any decisive results, and as evidence
of my having accomplished what I designed,
the punishing the perpetrators of an insult on
my country's flag.
Having invited Flag Officer McKean to co
operate with me in attacking the rebels, and
to which he gave a ready and cordial assent,
I, on the morning of the 22d, opened my bat
teries on the enemy, to which, in the course
of half an hour, he responded from his numer
ous forts and batteries extending from the
navy yard to Fort Mcßae, a distance of about
four miles, the whole nearly equi distant from
this fort, and on which line ho has two forts
(Mcßae and Barrancas) and fourteen separate
batteries, containing from one to four guns,
many of them being ten inch columbiads, and
some twelve and thirteen inch sea coast mor
tars, the distance varying from two thousand
one hundred to two thousand nine hundred
yards from the fort. At the same time of my
opening, Flag Officer McKean, in the Niagara,
and Captain Ellison, in the Richmond, took
position as near to Fort Mcßae as the depth
of water would permit, but which unfortu
nately was not sufficiently deep to give full
effect to their powerful batteries. They, how
ever, kept up a spirited fire on the fort and
adjacent batteries during the whole day.—
My fire was incessant from the time of open
ing until it was too dark to see, at the rate of
a shot for each gun every 15 or 20 minutes,
the fire of the enemy being somewhat slow
er. By noon the guns of Fort Mcßae were
all silenced but one, and three hours before
sunset this fort and tho adjoining battery
ceased fire. I directed the guns of Batteries
Lincoln, Cameron, and Totten principally on
the batteries adjacent to the navy yard, those
of Battery Scott to Fort Mcßae and the light
house batteries, and those of the fort to all.
We reduced very perceptibly the fire of Bar
rancas, entirely silenced that in the navy
yard, and in one or two of the other batteries
the efficiency of our fire, at the close of the
day, not being the least impaired.
New Series—Vol. XVI, No. 9.
The nest morning I again open<d about
the same hour, the n ivy, unfortunately, ow
ing to a reduction in the depth of water, caus
ed by a change of wind, not being able to got
ns near as yesterday, consequently the (lis
tanee was too great to be effectual. My fire
this day was less rapid, and I thitk more ef
ficient, than that of yesterday. Fort Mcßac,
so effectually silenced yesterday, did not fire
again to day. We silenced entirely one or two
guns, and had one of ours disabled by a shot
coining through the embrasure.
About three o'clock fire was communicated
to one of the houses in Warrington, and short
ly afterwards to the church steeple, the church
and the whole village being immediately in
rear of some of the rebel batteries, they ap
parently having placed them purposely direct
ly in front of the largest aud most valuablo
buildings. The fire rapidly communicated to
other buildings along the street until proba
Lly two thirds of it was consumed, and about
the same time fire was discovered issuing
from the back part of the navy yard, probably
in Wolcott, a village to the north and imme
diately adjoining the yard, as Warrington
does on the west. Finally it penetrated to
the yard, and as it continued to burn bright
ly all night I concluded that either in it or in
Wolcott many buildings were destroyed.—
Very heavy damage was also done to the buil
dings of the yard by the avalanche of shot,
shell, and splinters showered unceasingly on
them for two days, and being nearly fireproof,
being built of brick and covered with slate, I
could not succeed in firing them, my hot shot
or shells not having any power of igniting
them.
The steamer Time, which was at the wharf
at the time, was abandoned on the first day
and exposed to onr fire, which probably en
tirely disabled her. The fire was again con
tinued till dark, and with mortars occasion
ally until 2 o'clock the next morning, when
the cembat ceased.
This fort, at its conclusion, though it has
received a great many shot and shell, Is, in
every respect, save the disabling of one gun
carriage and the loss of service of six men, as
efficient as it was at the commencement of tho
combat, but the ends I proposed in conimcn
cing having been attained, except one, which
I find to be impracticable with my present
means, I do not deem it advisable farther to
continue it unless the enemy think it proper
to do so, when I shall meet him with alacrity.
The attack on " Billy Wilson's" camp, tho
attempted attack on my batteries, and the
insult to our glorious flag have been fully
and fearfully avenged. I have no means of
knowing the loss of the enemy, and have no
disposition to guess at it. The firing on his
batteries was very heavy, well directed, and
continuous for two days, and could hardly
fail to have important results.
Our loss would have been very heavy but
for the foresight which, with great labor,
caused us to erect elaborate means of pro
tection, and which saved many lives. I lost
one private killed, one sergeant, one corporal
and four men (privates) wounded, only one
severely.
My officers, non commissioned officers and
privates were everything I could desire. They
one and all performed their duty with tho
greatest cheerfulness, and in the most able
and efficient manner. I am much indebted
to Major Arnold, my executive officer, for his
valuable assistance—his whole conduct was
admirable; and Captains Allen, Chalfin,
Blunt, Robertson, Ilildt and Duryea, and
Lieutenants McFarland, Langdon, Closin,
Shipley, Jackson, Pennington, Seeley and
Taylor, merit my warmest encomiums for
the coolness and deliberation with which
they performed, without one exception, their
duty under u heavy and continuous shower of
shot, shell and splinters for two successive
days. Lieut. Todd, ordnance officer, had
full supplies of all required articles, which
were on hand at the post, and the department
was conducted with system and efficiency.
Major Tower, Surgeon Campbell, and Assis
tant Surgeon Sutherland, in their respective
duties, sustained their high reputations.—
Captains Robertson, Duryea and Blunt, and
Lieutenants Pennington and Seeiey respect
ively commanded Batteries Lincoln, Scott,
Totten and Cameron, and a pmall battery at
Spanish Fort, and the other officers' batteries
in the fort, with distinguished ability. Cap
tains Dobies and Bailey's companies were
with the batteries at Lincoln and Cameron,
and did their duty faithfully and efficiently.
The companies (ff Captains Henberer and
Duffy, of the Sixtn Regiment New York Vol
unteers, were successively on duty at the
fort, and rendered cheerfully important as
sistance to me. The regular companies en
gaged at the batteries, all of whom performed
their duty so efficiently as to preclude my
making a distinction, are companies A, F,
and L, First Artillery : C, 11, and K, Second
Artillery, and C and E, Third Infantry, and
companies G and I, Sixth Regiment New
York Volunteers.
In closing, I tender to Flag Officer McKean
and Captain Ellison, of tho navy, and to
their officers and crews, my best thanks for
their able co-operation, which would have had
the happiest results but for the unfortunate
fact that great draft of water prevented their
sufficiently near approach to the work of the
rebels.
I am General, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
IIARVEY BROWN, Colonel Commanding.
Brigadier General L. Thomas, Adjutant
General United States Army, Washington,
D. C.
Estate ef David Harshbargcr, deceased.
nyrOTICE is hereby given that letters of
jAj administration on the estate of DAVID
HARSIIBARGER, late of Wayn township,
Mifflin county, deceased, have been granted
to the undersigned, residing in said township.
All persons indebted to said estate ara re
quested to settle immediately, and those
having claims to present them duly authenti
cated for settlement.
DANIEL HARSIIBARGER,
dec4-6t* Administrator.
I REGISTERS and Ventilators for heating
Vi halls and upper rooms. Revolving and
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| oct3G F. G. FRANCISCUS.