Ji ?ff tttiniit sit ii
!' P.
VOL. 2.--N0. 40.
BY S. B. BOW.
CLEARFIELD WEDNESDAY, MAY 21 , 1856.
I
WHAT WOULD I BE
BV W. C. IIOSHEU.
AVhat would I bo ? Not rich in gold,
And with a narrow heart ;
Or misanthropic, stern and cold,
Dwell from my kind apart ;
i would not be a man of war,
Af ho looks on death unmoved
Give me a title dearer far
'Tho well beloved."
I would not wear a laurel crown,
Its leaves conceal a thorn ;
Too oft the children of renown,
Aro friendless and forlorn.
Oh ! lot mo lead a blameless life,
I5y young and old approved,
Called, in the world of sin and strife,
"The well beloved "
God grant me power to guard the weak,
And sorrow's moaning hush.
And never feel upon my cheek
Dark shame's betraying blush.
And when at my Creator's call,
From earth I am removed,
Let friendship 'broidcr ou my pall,
"The well beloved."
THE LAUCJIUNt; HERO.
AS INCIDENT OF THE MASSACRE AT GOLIAD.
It was the morning of tho 17th March 1830 ;
Aurora, mother of dews and mistress of golden
clouds, came, as she almost ever comes to the
living scenery of the plains of Goliad a thing
of beauty, queen of the sky, on a throne of
burning amber, robed in the crimson of fire,
with a diadem of purple?, and streamers of
painted pink. Oh ! it was a glorious dawn for
the poet to sing of earth, or the saint to pray
to heaven ; but neither poet's song nor saint's
prayer made the matins ot the place and the
hour. Alas ! no ; it was a very different sort of
music.
A huudrcd hoarse drums roared the loud re
Ttille that awoke four hundred Texan prison
ers and their guard four times th :dr number
of Mexican soldiers the clile of the Chief
Butcher's grand army.
The prisoners were immediately summoned
to parade before the post, in the main street of
the village, and every eye sparkled with joy,
and every tongue uttered the involuntary ex
clamation of confidence and hope
"Thanks, Santa Aana ! He i3 going to exe
cute the treaty ! We shall be shipped back to
the United States! We shall see our friends
once more
Such were the feelings which the American
volunteers, and the f;W Texans among them
greeted the order to form in line.
The line was formed and then broke into two
columns, when every instrument of music in
the Mexican host sounded a merry march, and
thev moved away with a quick step over the
prairie towards the west.
Five minutes afterwards, a singular dialogue
occurred between the two leaders cf the frout
columns of the prisoners :
"What makes you walk so lame, Col. Neil 1
Arc you wounded U' asked a tall, handsome
man. with blue eyes, and bravery flashing forth
in all their beams.
"Col. Fannin, I walk lame to keep ftom be
ing wounded ; do you comprehend ?" replied
tho other with a laugh, and such a laugh as no
words might describe it was so luxurious,
like tho roar of the breakers of tho sea of hu
mor ; it was, in short, a laugh of the inmost
heart.
"I do not comprehend you, for I am no ar
tist in riddles' rejoined Faunin, smiling him
self at the ludicrous gaity of his companion,
, so strangely ill-timed.
"You discover that I am lame in each leg,"
said Col. Neil, glancing down at the members
indicated, and mimicking the movements of a
confirmed cripple, as he laughed louder than
ever. "And yet," he added in a whisper, "I
have neither the rheumatism in my knees, nor
corns on my toes, but I have two big revolvers
in my boots !"
"That is a violation of the treaty by which
we agree to deliver up our arm3," Col. Fannin
mournfully suggested.
"You will see, however, that I shall need
them before the sun is an hour high," replied
Neil. "Ah ! Fannia, you do not know the
treachery of theso base Mexicans."
At the instant the sun rose in a sky of ex
traordiuary brilliancy, and a million flower
cups flung their rich odors abroad over the
green prairie, as an offering to the lord of
light, when tho mandate to "halt" was given
by Santa Anna's Aid, and the two columns
of prisoners were broken up and scattered over
the plain, in small hollow squares, encircled
on every side by Mexican infantry and troops
of horse, with loaded muskets and drawn
swords. And then came a momentary pause,
awful in its stillness, and disturbed only by an
occasional shriek of terror, as the most timid
realized the impending storm of fire and ex
tinction of life's last hope.
And then the infernal work of wholesale
raurder was begun, and a scene ensued such
as scarcely might be matched in the very an
rials of hell itself. The roar of musketry burst
in successive peals like appalling claps of thun
der, but could not utterly drown tho prayers
of the living, the screams of tho wounded, and
more terrible groans of the dying !
Col. Fannin fell among the Erst victims, but
not so the giant Neil. With the order of the
Mexican ollicer to his men to Ore, our hero
stooped almost to the earth, so that the volley
passed entirely over him. lie waited not lor
a second ; thrusting a hand into the leg of
each boot, he rose with a couple of six shoot
ers, the deadly revolvers, and commenced dis
charging them fcith the quick rapidity of light
ning into the thickest ranks of his foes.
Panic-stricken with surprise and lear, the
Mexicans recoiled and opened a passage, thro'
which Neil bounded with the spring of a pan
ther and fled away as if wings were tied to his
heels, while half a dozen horsemen gavo chase.
For a while it seemed doubtful whether the
giant Colonel would not distance even these,
so much had the perils of the occasion increas
ed the natural elasticity of his mighty mus
cles. But presently a charger fleeter than the
rest might be discerned gaining on his human
rival, and approached so near that the dragoon
raised his sabre for a coup de grace. Neil be
came conscious of his danger and hastily
slackened his speed, till the hot stream of
smoke from the horse's nostrils appeared to
mingle with his very hair'; and then, wheeling
suddenly, he fired another round from a re
volver, and the rider tumbled from his saddle.
The victim then renewed his flight.
A mad yell of grief and rage broke from tho
remaining troopers as they witnessed the fate
of their comrade, and its effect was immedi
ately evident in the augmented caution of their
pursuit for they galloped afterwards in one
body, thereby greatly retarding their progress,
so that Neil reached the river before them.
He paused not a moment, but plunged head
long down the steep bank into the current, and
struck for the other shore ! The dragoons dis
charged their side-arms ineffectually, and gave
over the chase !
In a few minutes Neil landed, and as soon
as he felt satisfied that ho was ically saved,
burst into an insupprcssible convulsion of
laughter, and exclaimed :
"It will kill me ! just to sec how astonished
the yellow devils looked when I hauled my re
volvers out of my boots !"
Such was Col. John Neil possessing a fund
of humor that no misfortune could exhaust,
and a flow of animal spirits which would have
enabled him to dance on the graves of all his
dearest friends, or to have sung Yankee Doo
dle at his own execution.
SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE.
There was a time when this phrase was a by
word of scorfl. Staid old farmers said they
wanted no such new-fangled notions, but were
content to sow and reap as their fathers had
done before them. But, fortunately for man
kind, this prejudice is passing away. Leibig
has demonstrated that, for every grain of wheat
which is grown, a certain quantity of potash is
taken up from the soil, and that, until this lost
ingredient is restored, either by manuring or
by letting the ground lie fallow, the capacity
of that particular field to raise wheat is so far
lorth diminished. He has shown also that
what is true of wheat is true also of rye, oats,
indian corn, grasses, and all other vegetable
products, the ingredient taken up only being
altered. What the great agricultural chemist
has thus demonstrated in the labaratory, en
terprising farmers in Scotland ami England
have proved practically in the field. The laws
which govern the growth of plants, have been
analyzed and exemplified as successfully as
those which control the circulation of the
blood, the uses of respiration, or the constitu
tion of air. To be successful in raising a good
crop is now almost as much a matter of known
cause and effect as the driving of a locomotive
or the lighting of a city.
Yet, in spite of this, scientific agriculture is
still greatly neglected. Even one of its first
laws, that no more land should be farmed than
can be thoroughly cultivated, is constantly ne
glected. Three agriculturists out of every
four, in this State of Pennsylvania alone,
where generally cultivation is so thorough and
remunerative, undertake far more land than
they can properly manage. An agricultural
cotemporary, in view of this fact, estimates
that an improved economy in this matter
would add to the net receipts of each farm, an
nually, an increaso of one-sixteenth over the
present yield of grains, or enough to pay all
the taxes now collected yearly off the land,
which amount, as is well known, to the round
sum of two millions of dollars. To each par
ticular farmer, it seems but a small leak 5 yet
how vast is the aggregate! The difference be
tween what might be done and what is done,
merely in this one matter, would, in thirty
years, make any farmer rich. It is a differ
ence that, at all times, would materially con
tribute towards giving us the agricultural mar
ket of the world, by giving us first an enor
mons surplus to sell.
Pat and his Pig. A rollicking Hibernian
of the light division in the Peninsula was once
trudging leisurely along the road with a pig in
a string behind him, when, as bad luck would
have it, he was overtaken by Gen. Craufurd
The salutation, as may be supposed, was not
the most cordial. "Where did you steal that
pig, you IIUIIUUI WI& IMVai 1 " l"Bt
gineral?" asked the culprit, turning round
with the most innocent surprise. "Why, that
pig you have behind you, you villain," said
the General. "Well, thin, I vow and protest,
gineral," rejoined Paddy, nothing abashed and
turning round to his four-footed companion as
if He had never seen him before, '-it is scan
dalous to think what a wicked wcrld we live
in, and how ready folks are to taKc away an
honest boy's charactor. Some blackguard,
wanting to get mc in trouble, has tied that
baste to my cart ouch bos !"
The Indian War in Oregon. Washington,
May 12 The President sent to the Senate, to
day, a number of documents relative to the
hostilities on the Pacific Coast. Gen. Wool,
under date of the 20th of March ; says the war
on Puget's Sound will soon be brought to a
close, unless prevented by Governor Stevens
determination to carry on tho war independent
of the United States troops, and that the same
remark is applicable to Governor Curry, ad
ding that these Governors appear to be run
ning a race, to sec who can dip deepest into
the public treasury. "In tho dense forest
of Puget's Sound, and tho Florida war, can
easily bo carried on at an expense of twenty
or thirty milions of dollars. The same will
apply to the mountain region and Puget's
Sound Valley. I have no doubt I could set
tle the contest in a short time, if the Gover
nors would withdraw from the contest."
Gen. Stevens says, "Gen. Wool neglected
and refused to send a forco for the relief of
myself and party when known to be in-imminent
danger, and believed by those who are
best capable of judging, to bo coming on to
certain death, and this, when he had at his
command an efficient force of regular troops.
lie has refused to sanction an agreement made
between Gen. Mason and Major Gaines, for
troops to be sent to my assistance, and order
ed them to be disbanded. It was reserved for
tho Oregon Volunteers to rescue us. There
has been a breach of faith somewhere. I ask
for an investigation of the whole matter.
How nic converted a Jew. A 'rale' hard
sinner, a native of the Emerald Isle, went to
confession the other day to his parish priest,
and so shocked the priest, with a recital of his
sins, that he exclaimed :
"My son, did you ever do a good thing in
your life?"
"I did," said Pat, "I converted a Jew once."
"How was that?'. inquired the confessor.
"You see," said Pat, "the long nosed pork-
aiting murtheriug blaguard fell overboard, and
I put after his carcase in a boat. I sazed him
by the top-kuot jest as he was going down the
second time, and pulled his head above the
surface, and says 1,
"If I save ye will yc be a chrislain ?"
"I won't," says he ; and with that I deposi
ted his head about three feet nnthcr again.
Pulled him up once'more and put the question
a-new.
"Will ye be a christian ?" to which he again
answered gruffly, "No."
"I gave him another dip, and brought him
up puffing like a porpoise.
"Will you be a christian, now?" says I.
"Yes," says he, and his teeth were chatter-
rag lor all the worm iiKe a rnouKvy mat uau
burned his toes.
"Well," says I, "you are now converted and
you had better die in the faith !" and so say
ing I held him under until! his spirit had do-
parted.
"Brother Jonathan." The origin of this
term, as applied to the United States, is as
follows; When General Washington, after
being appointed commander of the army of
the Revolutionary War, went to Massachusetts
to organize it, he found a great wan tof ammu
nition and other means for its defence ; and
on one occasion it seemed that no means could
be devised for tho necessary safety. Jona
than Trumbull, the elder, was then Governor
of the State of Connecticut ; and the General,
placing the greatest reliauce on his Excellen
cy's judgment, remarked, "We must consult
brother Jonathan on the subject.' The Gen
eral did so, and the Governor was successful
in supplying many of tho wants of the army ;
and thenceforth, when difficulties arose and
the army was spread over the country, it be
came a by-phrase, "We must consult brother
Jonathan ;" and the name has now become a
designation for the whole countty, as John
Bull has for England.
A New Motive. A member of Congress
making a speech a few days ago, illustrated
his subiect thus: "A certa'n individual in
Kentucky once sought a matrimonial conncx
ion with a very clever lady there. He said
that he did not want to marry her for love nor
money, but merely that he might disgrace the
family." Excessive laughter succeeded the
telling of this anecdote.
TnE trial of Baker for the murder of Poole,
in New York city, lias been abrubtly suspend
cd in consequence of the sickness of a juror.
The whole j'ury, obtained after summoning
1,250 men, have been dismissed, and a new
panel of 1,000 men ordered to be summoned
by the 1st Tuesday of June.
Extra Baggage. A Frenchman wishing to
take the stage for Buffalo, was asked by the
driver if he had any extra baggage ? "Extra
baggage !" replied he. "Vat do you call dat?
Me have no baggage at all, but my tree big
trunks, five dogs, and von black girl!"
"Sonny, who's your father ?" "Mr. Jen
kins." "What Jenkins ?" "The Jenkins
what kicked you yesterday for 'sassing' our
servant girl." It is unnecessary to say that
the examination stopped there.
Mrs. Sarah Courson, of West Miltord, New
Jersey, recently eloped with' David White of
the same place. She is ono of six sisters,
who have all left their husbands and are now
living with other men.
CLEAKFIELD, PA., MAY 21, 1850.
LETTER FKO.YI KA"NSAS.
We have been handed the f ollowing inter
esting letter by the gentleman to whom it is
addressed. It was not designed by tho writer
for publication ; but as it treats of a subject
in which every citizen of our country is doep-
y interested, the liberty of giving publicity
to it has been taken by one who hopes that
good may be accomplished thereby.
Corxcu. fYrv. March 10th, 185G.
liKv. J. J. Hamilton : My if car, dear Broth
er: I received your short letter by way of
George. Now I just want to ask whether you
were flying when you wrote it, for I certainly j
felt much as if I had a pair of wings when I
read it, but only to fly one way : for a thousand
silicon chords seemed to draw me toward you
so strongly that I tairly began to be afraid of
my bonds afraid lest I could never break
them, and afraid that they would break. My
cart seemed to jump up in my throat and flut
ter about so, that for some time I could not
got it calmed down again to its proper place,
ludeed it did not seem as if we could be so far
apart, and if wo live, I Ik ie we may not be so
a great while, but I don't know.
I have just been reading in tho B.mncr a
proposition to substitute Christian coloniza
tion, in place of foreign missions. Now it
does seem to me as if that is jnst the thing.
Only in tho first place let the colony be prop
erly selected and organized. Let all branches
of labor be duly and economically represent
ed; and in all things show the heathen how to
live. I grow more and more persuaded that
reform in tho use of our bodies must accompa
ny any high attainment in godliness. This re
form may precede that spiritual change which
is the beginning of Christianity, to a great ex
tent. A man may fully conform to the laws of
nature in respect to his body without ever be
coming a christian. But he cannot make much
progress in godliness, without such reforma
tion accompanies it. The cannibal must re
form his practices. The raw beef-eater of Ab
yssinia must reform- TUa drunkard among
ourselves, must reform ; and all tho coffee,
whiskey, tea, tobacco, pill and potion takers,
must leave off these things, at least to a great
extent, before they can attain a very high de
gree of godliness. To this end we should join
every endeavor to deliver ourselves, together
with the rising generation, out of all these bad
habits into which we have fallen, for in so do
ing we shall have taken an indispensable pre
paratory step toward christianizing them.
But -I set out to write to you a few words on
another subject. You cannot but have noticed
that I have said almost nothing in my former
letters, on the subject of slavery. This was
for fear that they would never reach you if I
did. Two of the letters which I sent to George,
as near as I can learn, never got there ; and
some of those that he did get, he told mc, had
evidently been opened. Early in the season
our letters went to Wcstport, and the P. M. at
that place is the man whom the Missourians
elected for our Sheriff, that is in the adjoining
county, and who led them at tho raid of last
December. Our letters now go to Indepen
dence, the P. M. of which is more honorable,
as wo believe.
The lost letters were suppressed, as I sup
pose, because of some reference to what I saw
at Hickory Point, on my way out. This is
the same place where Dow was shot. Well,
in the Spring, on my way here, I stopped at
Bull Creek, a pro-slavery stopping place, 12
miles east of Hickory Point. Here I heard
dark hints about hurricanes, cabins blown
down, &c. Agreeably to this, I saw four cab
ins torn down at Hickory Point. It appeared
that the Missourians had begun to settle there,
and were determined to keep eastern men from
settling around them, at all hazards. The
Yankees soon came in, however, in such num
bers, that they couldn't carry on the game ;
for they got a pretty large company there,
armed with Sharp's rifles, and drilled to suit
the times. I now write to let you know that
my former sentiments on this subject have
been intensely aroused by coming here; and
if this letter don't reach you, I mean, (if not
killed first, as I may be,) to re-write it, in sub
stance, and send it by soma one going . cast,
completely past that blighted stato. I wish I
were with you a while to talk the matter over,
for writing i3 so tedious to mc, as I suppose it
is to yourself and almost everybody. But to
get back to this detestable, abominable, horri
ble, cabin-tearing, man-killing thing of slave
ry. Why, it's almost every thing that's bad !
And yet we're told that it is christian o yes !
Is it not Christ-like ? Are not its fruits holy,
and pure, and gentle, and lovable ? Just the
things to awaken our better feelings, and draw
out our nobler sentiments 1 To restrain our
bad passions, such as hate, and lust, &c. But
I must hold on, or I shall get excited, and it's
altogether too cool yet for that. But I do
want to seo christians more free to consider
the scriptural validity of chattel slavery.
All creatures arc the property of the Crea
tor, and no creature can have any right to ex
ercise any control over another, without the
approbation of nim who is tho sourco of all
authority. Now, for my part lean find no
commission emanating from God for the prac
tice of chattel slavery; if indeed for any ser
vitude whatever, except that due to himself.
"Thou shalt worship the Lord tby God, and
him only shalt thou serve." The new testa- j
meut does indeed speak of servants ana mas
ters, so by permission, perhaps, as kings and
conquerors are. It speaks of masters and ser
vants as if such relation wcro possible within
the pafo of the church ; but as it is not expli
cit in defining, the nature and limits of such
possible servitude, we must look for them in
the tenor of its teaching, which it maintains
throughout. The tenor is love, and in the law
of love do we find abundant instruction to dis
pel all the darkness which bangs round the sor
ceress of slavery, and to drive her out to the
light of day. (Matthew 20, 25, and 22, 27.
Mark 10, 42 and 12, 29. Luke 22, 25. John
13, 31, and 15, 12. Love to God is the great
est commandment, and love to man the next;
and this commandment of love is the highest
law, even the decalogue being supplementary
to it. On it hang all the law and the prophets.
It is the fulfilling of the law. The whole Bi
ble is based upon it all the revelations are
pervaded by it. God so loved the world that
he gave bis only Son to be sacrificed for the
sins of it ; and the son's" commandment is
love pure and holy, godlike love; even to
ward enemies," for we are enjoined to assimi
late ourselves as nearly as possible to him, and
he loved us while we were enemies. The ser
vant is not greater than his master, and the
master came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister, and to give his life a ransom for ma
ny. Anything which is inconsistent wi'h the
holiness of lliis principle is interdicted, such
as pride, avarice, falsehood, drunkenness, a
dultery, V:c.- Oppression in every
form is denounced with terrible threatenings.
Mercy to the merciful, and judgment to the.
oppressor, is the constant tenor of scripture.
Such love is im; ul.-dvo in the hearts of those
who are affected by it, and imparts a yearning
sympathy for the whole human family ; but at
the same time it is a duty to God. Now if we
examine the nature of chattel slavery, in view
of such a duty, we shall find that it is based
upon a fundamental falsehood, for it teaches
the master that a servant of God like himself,
isJiis absolute property. Not anything, how
ever, can be the property of a creature, where
all is God's, lor the idea of absolute ownership
implies an independent existence. Much less
can one moral agent become the rightful pro
perty of another, without a direct commission
from God authorizing it to bo so. You can
not serve two masters, and there is one mas
ter, even Christ, to whom all obedience is due.
Ilace then, the master and the slave under the
law of love, and the shackles virtually fall;
for that law transformed them into brothers,
and sets them upon a common level. (Phile
mon, 1G.) Now we find that the fruits of chat
tel slavery arc in perfect accordance with this
view of its nature. It cultivates pride, arro
gance and presumption, and justifies the most
bitter oppression ; it is the hot-bed of idle
ness, hatred, lust and murder. All past and
present experience goes to confirm this fact.
It is an indisputable verity, instances to the
contrary being merely exceptions to the gen
eral rule. Cherishing such views, must we not,
as Christians, rcgaid American chattel slavery,
as a gigantic power of evil, blinding us by her
very magnitude and proximity; and looming
up with an illimitable blackness of living
death, which palls the power of utterance, and
the last, the brightest hope of the human race,
for peace and enfranchisement on earth ? Av
arice, drunkenness and lust, are her paramours;
and like the sin of Milton, whose younger sis
ter she is, she brings forth a horrible progeny
of hell-hounds; which do not at present, like
them, return to destroy their dam, because
she is still most prolificly pregnant with the
same detest iblc brood. These are the incar
nate gholes sent forth to feed and fatten upon
the bodies and souls of men ; and fiercely do
they yelp and yell, if a victim escapes their
fangs ; for they are like their parents. They
support their mother as she does them ; and
they struggle to extend her dominion, for she
is in her very nature aggrcssive,Uke a beast of i but we must be subject to the powers that be.
prey. Already does her hideous body cover j 'O,' he replied, 'the aiostIe adds: For he 13
the fairest half of the land, and the remainder j the minister to thee for good. When he be
is involved in her shadow, and in a tumult at j comes an agent of evil, how can wc then sub
hcr approach. Nor will she pause while the j mit to him in all things, seeing we must trans-
temples of freedom and truth arc standing so
near, for their light has a talismanic influence
upon her, which she cannot endure. The bay
of her furies Is heard from coast to coast, and
the fearful are trembling and submitting to her
sway. Those who resist her, must die ; and
those who yield, she harnesses to the car of
her oppression, transforming them into beasts,
to do her will and to satisfy her desires. A
panic prevails, for "a horror of great dark
ness" has fallen upon the land. Even profes
sing Christians are casting their incense pro
fusely upon her altar ; and ministers of the
gospel, from their pulpits, are sanctifying tIjo
sorceress in tho eyes of the people.
Now what should true Christians do in a cri
sis like this ? Those who do not cling to tho
world, nor bend the knee at the shrine of its
idolatries. Those who worship God, and love
his people as an undivided brotherhood ; and
even love and pity their enemies who oppose
themselves. Should they not stand forth from
theso errors, in an unbroken phalanx, pano
plied from heaven, to meet this devouring ter
ror with the sword of truth ? It is not the
Christian's part to hold his peace, but to "cry
aloud ;" to "sound the trumpet, to warn the
wicked man from his evil way," "to turn him
from darkness to light, and f rom the power ct
sat in to God." Were all professing Chris-
liana in our country, vuitcd ani true, no strong
hold of satan could Ion? endure their attacks,
and even the sorceress of tdaverr, would quick
ly fall at their" rebate . But it is not a time of
fault-finding ; it is a time to be up and doing.
O that my voice could be heard upon every
hearth stone, to entreat the people to take a
bold stand on the side of liberty ; and to plead
with them by all the blessings which they en
joy, and by every winning tenderness which
meets a responsive throb in the human heart,
to lend us a helping hand ; to devote their
prayers, thei- votes and their rpmpathies to
our success: and also to fit out their sons and
their daughters, and tend them here quickly,
to aid us in planting the standard of peace,
upon the battle ground of freedom. You,
brother, are qualified to speak and to be heard.
O speak out in this sacred cause and rouse up
the people from their npathy ; for ravens are
devouring the sacrifice and why will they
sleep ?
l'ei haps you may think that my feelings car
ry me away. Well they have carried me to
Kansas. Now suppose that yours should bring
you here too, as doubtless they will do, by and
by. WI13-, you would come right on to Coun
cil city, to see John and learn how Christiani
ty prosjK-red here. But as you approach the
place you see a gathering in tho distance, and
wonder what it can be, w hether it is a camp
inetding, or what. Then you meet some wild
desperate looking men, and iuquire the cause
of the assemblage. "Wal, they're going to
han? two or three d d abolitionists," says
one of them. A convulsive shudder almost
takes your breath, and for a moment you can
not stir nor speak. The earth seems to roll
away from beneath your feet, and heaven to
oieu wide. But partly recovering, you inquire
further, "is it a lynching affair?" "Ono.it
is accordin' to law ; they'ro hangin"" 'em ac-
cordin' to law." "What have they done ?"
"Wal, one of 'em printed stuff' in his paper a
gm holdia' niggers ; and another ono is a
preacher, and preached a sarmon agin it and
t'other one helped a nigger to git off." Not
at all relieved by the idea of hanging aboli
tionists according to law, you hurry on. Tho
citizens are gathered in clusters hero and
there, in apparent anxiety. You perceive that
they are mostly eastern men, and wonder bow
they can submit to such atrocity ; but on ap
proaching the scaffold, you And it guarded by
a band of soldiery. The off-scouring of earth,
drunken and depraved, are cursing and jeering
around. Then the prisoners come forward.
The first is a determined, resolute and rather
reckless looking man, this is the printer. The
next is an inoffensive grey headed man ; this
is the preacher. The last one is John. la
the impulse of the moment, you forget where
yoa are and you rush forward but a bayonet
stops you. You apply to the sheriff and ob
tain permission to speak with the prisoner.
In your agony you almost upbraid Lim. Wby
arc you here ? why didn't you keep out of
this trouble ?" "Wait brother," says ho Met
me tell you my story. A short timo ago, a
victim came to my cabin and begged a loaf
of bread. I spoke to him rather sharply, and
asked him where he had come from, that ho
should be around begging bread. Ho sigh
ed as if in despair. 'You must bo a run-away.'
'Master,' he asked, 'are you a Chris
tian?, At this, the devil tempted mc to an
swer no, for I knew the embarrassment under
which an affirmative answer would place mc.
But I could not, and so I answered that I hop
ed I was. 'Then,' said he, 'you could not givo
up a brother into this miscrabla servitude."
The law requires mc to do it. 'But the law of
God,' he responded, his face brightening as ho
spoke, says: 'Thou shalt not return a servant
unto his master which hath escaped from Ids
master unto thee.' 'That was the Jewish law.
The new Testament says, Servants obey your
masters.' ' Yes but it also says, If they per
secute you in one city flee into another.' Ah
( gross the direct commands of God to do so ?
I I fell into the hands of a hard iuastcr, who
sold my wife and children, and ordered me to
live w ith another slave woman. This I could
not do, neither according to my religion, nor
j my inclinations. So when he flogged roe to
force me into submission, 1 ran away ; ana now
he is after mc with the hounds. - Please give
me a loaf of bread, and a pair of old shoe3
which I will put on after I have gone a little
way, to confuse the dogs." I could not refuse,
lut gave him what ho wanted. Then tho
hounds came right to my place, and when hi3
master inquired around, he ascertained that
one of the neighbors had seen me give him
something. This was enough." The SheriS
now breaks ofI-4ur intcrvtew aud orders tho
prisoners to ascend the scaffold. With a sick
ling horror in your heart, you turn and hurry
away from that execrable scene. You can hard
ly go forward, and you daro not look back.
Everything seems floating around yoa." " Tho
whole earth seems quakcing aud about to break
in pieces, ond you wonder why .it don't. . Al
ter awhile yuur mind becomes some hat com
posed, and looking up to heaven, you reaolve
that you will go back aud cry out against tbls .
Remainder on the Fcarth
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