4
is
Srootcb to foiitirs, literature,1 Agriculture, Science, JKoralitn, nnb eneral Intelligence.
VOL. 13.
STROUDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY, PA. SEPTEMBER I, 1853.
NO. 45,
'1
Published by Theodore Scliooh.
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A.T THE OFFICE OF
THE JEFFE ETONIAN.
TOE WELL IN THE WILDERNESS.
A Tale of the Prairie, founded
om fact.
BY MRS. MOODIE.
Richard Steel was the
son of one of
those small landholders who are fast dis
appearing from merry old England.
His father left him the solo possessor of
.twenty-five acres of arahle land, and a
-snug little cottage, which nan descended
from father to son, through many gener
ations. The ground plot, which had been suffi
cient to maintain his honest progenitors
for several ages, in the palmy days of
Britain's glory and independence, ere her
vast resources passed
into the hands of
.the few, and left the man- to starve, wasj
"not enough .to provide for the want:
... !
our stout
yeoman and ins lamily; which :
consisted at that period, of three sons
and one daugther, a lovely, blooming
girl of ten years or thereabouts. Richard
and his boys toiled with unceasing dili
gonce; the wife was up late and early,
and not one moment was left unemployed;
and yet they made no headway, but ev
ery succeeding year found them in ar
rears. 'Jane,' said the yeoman, one evening,
thoughtfully to his wife, after having
blessed his homely meal of skimmed milk i
nnd brown Wd 'eonMafc tli.P not, h:ivp
piven U9 a
little treat to-night? Hast
' 1
thee forgotten that it is our Annie s birth-
aJ'
4JNo, Richard, 1 have not forgotten;
how could I forget the anniversary of the !
day that made us all so happy? Buiimuu tuu L"a ui,
times are bad; I could not spare the mo
ney to buy sugar and plums for the cake;
and I wanted to sell all the butter; in or
der to scrape together enough to pay the
shoe-maker, for making our darling's
shoes. Annie knows that she is infinite
ly dear to us all, though we cannot give
her luxuries to prove it.'
'It wants no proof, dear mother,' said
the young girl, flinging her round, but
sunburnt arms about her worthy parent's
neck. 'Your precious love is worth the
wealth of the whole world to me. I know
how fond you and dear father are of me,
and I am more than satisfied.'
'Annie is right,' said Steel, dropping
his knifo and holding out his arms for a
caress. 'The world could not purchase
such love as we feel for her, and let us
bless God that, poor though we be, we
are all here to-night, well and strong, ay,
and rich, in spite of our homely fare, in
each other's affections. WThat say you,
my boys?' And he glanced with pater-
nalride on the three fine lads, whose cannofc hear to give up that which now is j ved in frightful gloom. I fancied I heard j ehoulde and scttjn(f bis tccth and hold
healthlyand honest countenances might; for lUe promise of that which shall be. ! a low growl as 1 stooped to fill my pail, ih be ftcadilv aimed at a
wen De contemniatea with measure. anaifr
ii i i . i ., i i i
afford subjects for hopeful anticipations
X i I I
for the future.
'We are happy, father,' said the eldest, '
cheerfully.
, 'The cakes and spiced ale would have the firmest mind, and urge the proud,un
made us happier,' said the second. yielding spirit of man to cleave so strong-
lother makes such nice cakesr
'So Bhe does,' cried the third.
'It
seems so dull to have nothing nice en An-
rue's birth-day. 1 should not care a ng
if it were Dick's birth-day, or Owen'p, or
mine; but not to drink Annie's health
seems unlucky.'
'You shall drink it yet,' said Annie,
laughing:
'In what?' asked both the boys in a
breath.
'In fine spring water!' And she filled and fruitful soil, were urged upon him
their mugs. -m the strongest manner. The merchant
'Better God never gave to his creatures. 1 had a scrip to dispose of in that remote
How bright it is I How it sparkles! I settlement, and as is usual in such cases,
will never from this day ask a finer' be 00nsulted his own interest in 'the mat
drink. Here is health to you my broth-'ter
ers, and may we nevor know what it is to'
lack a draught of pure water
Annie nodded to her brothers, and-
drank off ber mug of water; and the good
natured fellows, who dearly loved her.
followed her example.
, w j
Oh, little did the
gay hearted girl
think, in that moment of playful glee, of
tho price she was one day destined to
pay for a drink of water!
Tho crops that year were a failure,and
the heart of the strong man began to
droop. He felt that labor in his native
land would no longer give his children
bread, and, unwilling to sink into the i house, and the neatest farm in the dis
lowest class, he wisely resolved, while he ; trict. He would raise the finest cattle,
retained the means of doing so, to emi- the largest crops, and the best garden
grate to America. His wife made no op-' stuff in the neighborhood. Frugal and
position to his wishes his sons were de- industrious habits would soon render
lighted with the prospect of any change them wealthy and independent.
for the better, and if Annie felt a passing Hi3 mother listened to these sallies
pang at leaving the daisied fields, and , th a delighted smile; and even the grave
f , , ,11, i i.j ' yeoman a brow relaxed from its habitual
her pretty playmates, the lambs, she hid , Annie entered warmly infco her
it from her parents. The dear home- brother's plans; and if he laid the found
stead, with its quiet rural orchard, and ' ation of his fine castle in the air, she ccr-
trim hedgerows, fell to tho hammer, nor
was the sunburnt cheek of the honest yeo
man unmoistened with a tear
. -
when no
- uucu t nwiuuu aiu
rnm , n A A aA f flirt nnrtrmftll o nncprtcoml
!ot toe lord ot the manor.
After the sale was completed and the
.., nil i ci i i .i
money it brought duly paid, Steel lost
no time in preparing for his emigration.
In less than a fortnight he had secured
their passage to New York, and they were
already on their voyage across the At-
JO
lantic. Favored by wind and weather,
after the first effects of the sea had worn
off, they were comfortable enough. The
steerage passengers were poor, but re-
: . . ' J
made several pleasant acquaintances a
momr them. One familv especially at-
tracted their attention, and so far en"ared
. ' -
incir aueciions during ineir icuious voy
age, that they entered into an agreement
to settle in tho same neighborhood. Mr.
Atkins was a widower, with two sons, the
ages of Richard and Owen, and an elder
sister, a primitive, gentle old woman,who
had been once both wife and mother, but
had outlived all her family. Abigail
Winchester, (for so she was called,) took
uu uspewai lauoj- c uui auu.c, u
:t r i - a : i,
she fancied that she recognized a strong
- . , i
resemblance to a daughter whom she had j
.
I0?c' "cr auecwun wai uiij leuuusu
1. ii. , i.:,i :i .i, t. tt,.,o,i i;f !
lUK S"1' MUU' a LU""3-U" " 1
I 1 - nUAi.l?An f I r- n I n . T-r. "V Till! ff-nf 1
, . B
tuue to luiiiaii lor uur guuu upnuuu.
rp,.. .A t,tPi: !
m, i i i i.i.iL.idi 1
J r J
ae before thc SCarlefc eCT h;0AC J"'
havoc among the younger portion. Steel s 'Mother where shall we get water? loaded .fc ba and houfc
whole family were down with it at the asked Annie, glancing wistfully toward utterina word ieft the house.
same time, and, in spite of the constant , cir P'J ca!k5 ' h.av ?eD n0 .11ndl,ca" , Day still lingered upon the open prai
,' , . . , . tions of water for the last three miles.' ! rtr , 4, ,5 . cU
nursing of himself and his devoted part
ner, and the unremitting attentions of
Abigail Winchester, who never left the
sick ward for many nights and days, the '
two youngest boys died, and were com-
. , , t i , i
mitted to the waters of the great deep be-
fore Annie and Richard recovered to a
. , i , mi
consciousness of their dreadful loss. This
threw a sad gloom over the whole party.
Steel said nothing, but often retired to
. . , . , -i i i '
some corner of the ship to bewail his loss j
in secret. his wne wa3 wasiea anu .
worn to a shadow, and poor Annie looked
the ghost of her former self.
'Had we never left England,' she tho't
my
brothers had not died.' But she
was wrong; God, who watches with pa
rental care over all his creatures, knows
the best season in which to reclaim His
own; but human love in its yearnings is
slow in receiving the great truth. It lives
in thc present wers over the past, and
- ...
J.UB lUHUlb DUlUreU ULLj
,a f,,f iv, n,;na r
time, has always an awful aspect. A
perfect and childlike reliance upon God
can alone divest us of those thrillin
'doubts and fears which at times shake
ly to kindred dust.
The tight of the American shores, that
the poor lads had desired so eagerly to
geCj seemed to renew their grief, and a
Eadder party never set foot upon a foreign
strand than our emigrant and his family.
Steel had brought letters of introduc
tion to a respectable merchant in the city,
who advised him'to purchase a tract of
land in the then new State ofIUiuois.
Thc beauty of the country, the fine climate,
gteej thought that tho merchant, who
-was a native of thc country, must know
best what would suit him, and he not only !
became a purchaser of laud in Illinois,
1
w;nrWfl hi new friends to follow his
9wuvw-
exainple.
We willpass over their journey to the
Far West. The novelty of the scenes
through which they passed contributed
not a little to raise thejr drooping spirits.
Richard had recovered his health, and
amused tho party not a little by his live
ly anticipations of the future. They
were to have the most comfortablo log
: tainly provided the cement and all the
jiiiULCi ma Lunula.
till. 11 1U11 1UUIU IliU lUblll 1U1V:IV1
from habitations of men, and deeper
1 1 1 i j 1 M J 1 1 i
anu aceper into ine wiiaerncss, tuu biuru
realities ot their solitary locality occame
' hourly more apparent to the poor emi-
grants. They began to think that they
. p . L , l J . .. . , . . J
- bak into thle ed as
! thev were with tho usaces of the country
I '
j j a jt
j But repentance came too late; and, when
' at length they reached their destination,
I,, -1., , . . il . . .1 . . !
: tuey louna tncmseivcs upon tue cage or a
I vast forest, with a noble open prairie
; stretching away as far as the eye could
j reach in front of them, and no human
habition in sight, or indeed existing for
miles around them.
In a moment the yeoman comprehend
ed all the difficulties and dangers -of his
situation; but his was a stout heart, not
easily daunted by circumstances. . Ho
strong arm; and he was not alone.
Richard was an active, energetic ladnd
his friend Atkins, and his two sons, were
a host in themselves. Having settled
with his guides, and ascertained by the
mans, that he had received at Mr. 's
L O
nAppnpenn TiiffnrAiiu pnnciinninn : ti i : t
I H I .1 l . .1 j jm 1 i. WA U lli v u ii u Li l U w. v " "
11
. ... r ... :i.r
a ICIH lor iue nigiii, auu cujiucicu uuu
collected wood
for their fire The young people were m
vnntitinc irith run nnnon riT vnrmiro rn
'!" . V " , .'.
dolent with blossoms, that lays
mill
mg
,. , , of the sun before them:
... i
never did garden appear to them so love-
1 1 L - 1 n . i- t7lrrtV-r.-' r C CTTrtrtfo
, , , Jt -r , , , c v
ium uj -
ture with such profuse magnficence. An-
tnrc with such nrofuse macrnncence. An-
nie could scarcely tear herself away from
the enchanting scene, to assist her moth-
Ler in preparing tneir ovenmg meai.
Annie has raised a startling doubt,'
said Steel; 'I can perceive no appearance
of stream or creek in any direction.'
'Hist! father, do you hear that?' cried
:lMd
' is music to me just now, for 1 am dying
; . h tM , anJd seiz;D the c ran 0
in the directfon of thc discordant sounds. ,
xi jiii i j
j It was near dark when he returned .
, with his pai full of clear, cold water ,
T 1 J 1'IM. - 1.: C 4l.in fV.An
,, . ... . , - 5
tneir tnirsi, Deioro usiiiug auy tjuusiiuus.
Wbat delicious water as clear as
crvstal as cold as icel tlow lortunato
to obtain it so near at hand exclaimed
J . ... . - , f
rerai in a weain.
A tt Kitf if ia in n n nrrln n!nrn ' Rfiirf
Richard, thoughtfully.
'1 should not
like to go to that well at early day, or
after night-fall.'
'Why not, my boy?'
'It is in the heart of a dark swamp,
! just about a hundred yards within the
forest; and the water trickles from be
neath the roots of an old tree into a nat-1
nra stone tank: but all around is iuvol- j
who n inrrii snnck P( pnnirp rrinittii ironi I
- - r o--
i i if I i l i i 7,. : .,l
between my feet and darted, hissing and j
j rriin - t t u rni i lnin i iiiti u i ikimii'i i
you must never let any of the people go
alone to that well.'
Tho yeoman laughed at his son's fears,
i :. ti
party retired into
-ii r c n
e with fatigue, fell
and shortly after the p
the tent, and, overcom
asleep.
Thc first thing that engaged thc atten
tion of our emigrants was the erection of
log shanty for the reception of their re- j
cctive families. This important task
a
spect
was soon accomplished.
Atkins prefer-
red the open prairia for the site of his; j
but Steel, for the nearer proximity of
wood and water, chose the edge ot the
forest; but the habitious of the pioneers
were so near that they were within call
of each other.
To fence in a piece of land for their
cattle, and prepare a plot for wheat and
corn, for thc ensuing year, was the next
thing to be accomplished; and by the
time these preparations were completed
the long, bright summer had passed a
way, and tho fall was at hand. Up to
this period both families had enjoyed ex
cellent health; but in the month of Sep
tember Annie, and then llichard, fell sick
with intermittent fever, and old Abigail
kindly came across to help Mrs. Steel to
nurse her suffering children. Medical
aid was not to be had in that remote
liriT.nrtd cmmln rnnidfiiail will (111
l'MW ""u r1"1. 'r"
were perfectly inefficacious in their eitua-
tiou, the poor children's only chance for
ufe was their youth,?. good, sound con
stitutien, and the rhercifal interposition
, 3 . , , , . , . ., . ready for him upon the table,
estate, he set about unyoking the cattle : cagk , . h(j t
which he had purchased and securing ! nofc ,
of a benevolent and overruling Provi
dence. It was towards the close of a sultry
day that Annie, burning with fever, im
plored the faithful Abigail to give her a
drink of cold water. Hastening to the
water cask, the old woman was disap
pointed by finding it exhausted, Richard
having drank the last, drop, and was still
raving in the delirium of fever for more
drink.
'My dear child, there is no water.'
Oh, I am burning, dying with thirst!
Give me but one drop, dear Abigail
one drop of cold water.
Just then Mrs. Steel returned from
milking the cows, and Abigail proffered
to the lips of the child a bowl of new
milk, but she shrank from it with disgust,
and sinking back in her pillow, murmured,
'Water! water! for the love of God! give
me a drink of water!' !
'Where is the pail?' said Mrs. Steel; 'I
don't much like going alone to that well,
hut if is sf Til hrnnd rkv. rind T know that:
! in reality there is nothing to fear: and I
cannotbearto hear the child moan for!
drink in that terrible way.'
'Dear mother,' said Richard, faintly,
j don fc S 'fatb,er be 1U soon5 wc
! stnn it-n i r till f hnn '
'Oh! the poor, dear child is burning!'
cried Abigail; 'she cannot wait till then:
do, neighbor, go for the water, I will stay
with the children and put out the milk
while vou are away.'
Villi IfUlb Llll LUUiJi
Mrs. Steel left the shaniy, and a few
minutes after the patient, exhausted by
suffering, fell into a profound sleep. Ab-
?rnil hiisWhorsplf sr.fi.rlinrr the milk-nans.
q I J i
. . ..1 1-1
and m her joy at the young peopie s ces-
r . i .i i
. ... Kh' an hour Lad c.
, and thQ y u of evcnh
, had faded into night, when Steel retura
' ed with his oxen from the field,
j The moment he entered the shanty he
; went up to the bed which contained his
sick children, and, satisfied that the fe
. vcr was abating, he looked round for his
supper, surprised that it was not, as usual,
and i
day
in the burning sun, a man wants to have
, . , - mfn r.W r f. :lt
M Winch t are ' berc? Where
is my
wife?'
.luercirui goouness. exuiauuuu iuu um
r t i i I! 1 .1 il. .1 J
woman, turninir na
woman, turning pale as death, 'is she not
. , ; , ,
'The well!' cried Steel, grasping her
A, . , ,
'lhis hair hour or more.'
Steel made no answer his cheek was
as pale as her own and taking his gun
from the beam to which it was slung, he
riU, UUU U1U lllUlllCUt UC CIJIVJIUU iuu uuou
it was deep night. He crossed the plain
with rapid strides, but as he approached
the swamp his step became slow and cau
tious. The well was in the centre of a
jungle, from the front of which Richard
v , i i i , ? M-ixrf
had cleared away the brush to facilitate
their access to the water. As he drew
near the spot, his ears were ohilled by a
de 1 ' u and the crunching of
t J gomc
vounn
i rr
the bones of its prey. The
dreadful truth, with all its shocking,
a
heart-revolting rcalitj', flashed upon the
, y - , f ,.
mind nf tho rnnmnTi. nnd tor n. moment
n . h- Q q faig riflc flnd
o . '
dropping down upon his hands and knees,
and nerving his arm for a clear aim, he
directed his gaze to thc spot from whence
the fatal sounds proceeded. A little on
one side of the well a pair of luminous
eyes glared like green lamps at the edge
of the dark wood; and the horrid sounds
which curdled the blood of tho yeoman
became more distinctly audible
became more distinctly audible.
- . - . . .
SslKlUU ucn ecu tuuni; iiiun iull uaua ui uiu.
Thc . t of rifle awokc the far
i. i t. i:., v.n r
echoes of the forest. The deer leaped up
from his lair, the wolf howled and fled
into the depths of thc wood, and the
panther, for such it was, uttering a hoarse
. , ' . . , ,.
growl, sprang several feet into tho air
if. ' , , . c
then fell acroi3 thc mangled remains of
of
his victim.
Richard Steel rose from the ground;
the perspiration was streaming from his
brow; his limbs trembled and shook, Lis
lips moved convulsively,, and he pressed
us nanus upon ms neavi ng urca.i 10
keep down the
WV1VUU Uil VWUJUii'J V. '
a yi ta ted
heart. It was not fear that
chained him to the spot, and hindred him
from approaching his dead euemy. ifc .
was horror, lie dared not look upon the
mangled remains of his wife the dear ,
partner of his joys and sorrows the1
campanion of his boyhood the love of
his youth the friend and counsellor oj
his middlo age the beloved mother of '
his children. How could ho recognize'
in that crushed and defiled heap his poor
Jane?. The pang was too great for his'
agonized mind to boar. Sense and sight
aliko forsook him, and staggering a few
paces forward, he fell insensible across
tho path.
Alarmed by the report of the rifle, At-
kins and his sons proceeded with torches
to the spot, followed by Abigail, who,
unconsoious of the extent of the calamity,
was yet sufficiently convinced that some-
thing dreadful had occurred. When thc
full horrors of the Eccne wore presented
to the sight of the terror-stricken group,
their grief burst forth into tears and la
mentations. Atkins alone retained his
presence of mind. Dragging the panther
from the remains of the unfortunate Mrs.
Steel, he beckoned to one of his sons, and
surrrrested to him the nrnnrifttv of instant-
ly burying the disfiurd nnd nv7';liM frW ''"p. Coffin laiu in thein showed
body before the feelings of her husband their tops above the surface of the earth,
and children were agonized by the sight. ; On these was piled dirt to the depth of a
First removing the insensible busband : foot or more,but so loosely, that the myr
to his own dwelling. Atkins and his sons iads of flies found entry between the
returned to the fatal spot, and conveying looSe clods, down to the cracked seems of
the body to tho edge of the prairie, they tho coffins, and buzzed and blew there
selected a quiet, lovely spot, beneath the their ovaria, creating each hour their new
wide-spreading boughs of a magnificent hatched swarn3.
chesnut tree, and wrapping all that re- But no sound was there of sorrow with -mained
of the wife of 'Richard Steel in a in that wide Clhenna. Men used to the
sheet, they committed it to the earth in scene of dissolution had forgotten all
solemn silence nor were prayers and touch of sympathy. Uncouth laborers
tears wanting in that lonely hour to con- with their bare shock heads, stood under
secrate the nameless grave where the Eng- the broiling heat of the sun, digging in
lish mother slept. , the earth; and as anon they would en-
Annie and Richard recovered to mourn counter an obstructing root or utump,
their irreparable loss-
-to feel that their
! mother's life had been sacrificed to her
maternal love. Time, as it ever does,
softcned the deep anguish of the bereaved
i P .
Whfin.l T)nr nrr t hp. nnsuinor summer.
their little colony was joined by a hardy
i t i ii , t ?
nana oi xntisn ana American piouuia.
The little settlement grew into a pros
perous village, and Richard Steel died a
wealthy man, and was buried by the side
of his wife, in the centre of the village
church-yard, that spot having been chos-
en for the firat temple in which tho emi
grants met to worship in Ilis own house,
j the God of their fathers.
I
The Pestilence at New Orleans.
From the Cresent. An 5. 11 .
To verify the many horrible reports of
the doings among the dead, we the other
day visited the cemeteries. In every
street were long processions, tramping to
solemn tunes of funeral inarches. In the
countenances of the plodding passengers
were the lines of anxiety and grief, and
many a poor was festooned with black
land white hangings, tho voiceless wit-
Jesses of wailing and sorrow. On the
one hand slowly swept the long corteges
of the wealthy, nodding with plumes and
drawn by prancing horses, rejoicing in
their funeral vanities; on another, thc
hearse of the citizen soldier, preceded by
measured music, enveloped in warlke pan
oply, and followed by the noisy tread of
men under arms; while there again the
pauper was trundled to his long home on
a ricketty cart, with a boy for a driver
who whistled as he went, and swore a
careless oath as he urged his mule or spav
ined horse to a trot, making haste with
another morsel contributed to the grand
banquet of death. Now among the stee
ples was heard the chiming of bells, as of
Ghoulcs up there; rningling their hoarse
voices in a chorus of gratulation over the
ranks of fallen mortality. Anon from
some lowly tenement trilled the low wail
of a mother for the child of her a.Ts.cujn,
while from the corner opposite burst the
song of some low bacchanal, mingling ri
baldry with sentiments, or swearing a
prayer or two, a3 tho humor left him.
The skies wore a delusive aspect. A
bove was all cloudless sunshine, but little
in keeping with the black raelancholly
that enveloped all below. Out along the
highways that lead to the cities of tho
A a A or oill llin 4nniT Ai n nvt 1 rtrrtn.'lc?
ui;uu, auu a nil iuc ti urn i ui iuuu uivivnuo 1
knew no cessation. Lp Tolled the vol-
times of dust from the busy roads, and
the plumes of the death-carriages nodded
in seeming sympathy to the swaying cy
presses of tho swampj enveloped in their
dun appareling of weeping moss fit gar
niture for such a scene.
At the gathering points carriages ac
cumulated, and vulgar teamsters, as they
jostled each other in the press, mingled
the coarse just with thc ribald oath; no
sound but of profane malediction and of
riotous mirth, the clang of whip thongs
and the rattle of wheels. At the gates,
the winds brought intimation of thc cor-
ruption working
was laden withth
within. Not a puff but
atmosphere from .
rotten corpses. Inside they were piled
t,y ht.es, exposed to the neat oi the sun,
O UllLii tliLU UUI I UULlVHi k 11 i 3 11 ii " lUVli
coffin lids, and sundering, as if by nhvs
ical effort, the ligaments that bound their
hands and feet, and extending their rigid
limbs in every ourte attitude. What a
feast of horrors! Inside, corpses piled in
pyramids, and without the gates, old and
withered crones and fat huxter women,
fretting in their own grease, dispensing
ice creams and confections, and brushiug
away, with brooms made of brushes, the
green butterflies, that hovered on their
merchandize, and that anon buzzed away
to drink dainty inhalatioil from the green
aud festering corpses. Mammon at the
gates was making thrift outsido by tho
hands of his black and swearing minions.
that tendered sweet meats and cooling
beverages to the throngs of mourners or
idle spectators, who, inhaling the fumes
of rotting bodies, already "heaved tho j
gorge;" whilo within the "King of Ter-
rors" held his Saturnalia, with a crowd of"
stolid laborers, who. as they tumbled the
dead into tho ditches, knocksd thera "a
bout the mazzard," and swore dread oaths
intermingled with the most dreadful
j sounds of demoniac jolity.
Long ditches were dug across the hu
man charnah Wide enough were they
to entomb a legion, but only fourteen
, would swear a hideous oath, remove to
1 another spot, and go on digging as be-
fore. Now and then the mattock or the
, spade would disturb the bones of some
. r .1 1,1 r il
, former tenant or tue mouiu, luiguueu
there amid the armies of the accumulated
i i: .1 flm cl-iirrlv 1-iTinrpr Trith a
-cinflmq. nnd the sturdy laborer with a
- w j mf
give would hurl the broken fragments on
the sward, growl forth an energetic d n,
and chuckle in his excess of glee. Skull
bones were dug up from their long sepul
ture, with ghastlines3 starting out.
"From each lack-lustre, eyeless hole,"
without eliciting an "Alas, poor Yorick,"
and with only an exclamation from tho
digger, of " room for your betters!"
Economy of ppace was the source of
calculation in bestowing away the dead
gantic proportions to the size of Titans.
The central projections of their coffins,
left space between them at their heads
and heels, How should the space bo
saved? Opportunely the material is at
hand, a cart comes lumbering in, with
corpses of a mother and her two little
children. Chuck tho children in the
space at the heads and heels of the Titans
and lay the mother by herself, out there
alone! A comrade for her will be found
anon, and herself and babes will sleep
not the less soundly from the unwonted
contact!
The fumes riso up in deathly exhala
tions from the accumulating hecatombs of
fast-coming corpses. Men wear at their
noses bags of camphor and odorous spices
for there are crowds there who have no
business but to look on aud comtemplato
the vast congregation of the dead. They
don't care if they die themselves they
have become so usd to the wreck of cor
ruption. They even laugh at the riotings
of the skeleton Death, and crack jokes in
tho horrid atmosphere, when scarcely
they can draw breath for utterance.
The stoical negroes, too, who are hired
at five dollars per hour to assist in the
work of interment, stagger under the sti
fling fumes, aud can only be kept at their
work by deep and continued potations of
the "fire water." They gulp deep
draughts rf thc stimulating fluid, and
reeling to their tasks, hold their noses:
with one hand, while with the other they
graep the rpauf, heav nu il mouM, and
rush back to the bottle to gulp again.
It is a jolly timo with these ebon labor
ers, and with their white co-workers as
thoughtless and as jolly, and full as much
intoxicated as themselves.
And thus, what with thc songs and ob
scene jests of the grave diggers, the buz
zing of the flies, the sing-son cries of the
huckster women vending their confections
the hoarse oaths of the men who drive
the dead carts, the merry whistle of tha
boys, and the stilling reek from scores of
, , , , , , i
,,.i. nP caniihirn Anr,o nnrl nml.h
IiilfT II If 1 TV 111 11L WUkbUt V AWMVM hbwu.uw
draws the curtain.
t w
Encounter with a Whale.
A boat's crew of five men, prosecuting
the whale fishery at St. Mary's Ray, after
a long pursuit, harpooned a calf whale
j on the morning of Monday, thc 11th ult.
: The monster, directly upon being wound
' cd, rushed in every direction with the ut
1 most velocity, giving the men a warning
' to be cautious and prompt; at one time
the fish darted furiously towards the
: boat. Theso exciting and hazardous
: maneuvers continued a considerable timcj
when the dam of the young whale, an
ii i . i .1
. . . , . ;tlr;f.,i
. to coasider.
it stru"k thc boat amidships
.1
and cleft her in two. The men lucklv
escaped destruction, but were precipitated
in all directions into the sea, where they
succeeded in keeping themselves afloat
by holding on by the oars and broken
boat. For a considerable time they were
thus exposed in this perilous situation,
until some persons came in a small boat
to tbeir assistance. Directly after they
got into the small boat, nothing daunted
by the recent hair breadth escape, they
renewed their chase and fiually succeed
ed in capturing their prize; Who will
say they were not brave, manly fellows?
St. Johns (N. F.) Courier.
jg He who hate's his neighbor, U
miserable himself and makes all around
miserable.
r-
figT Beauty eventually deserts its pos-
cssor, but virtue and talents accompany
him even to theorise. -
v-4
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