NEW SERIES, VOL. I, No. 3.]
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For the Columbia Spy
SUSQUEHANNA.
There flows no nobler stream than thine.
From creeks where glides the (rail canoe,
To Amazon, where ships Millie.
Six hundred miles, at least, sail through
Rough waves that came three thousand more,
From Andes to Atlantic's shore.
Those mighty waters—long the theme
Of poet's pen and traveller's tongue;
Yet Susquehanna's clearer stream.
Has not till now, remained unsang ;
As still along its winding course
Its way through verdant hills doth force
Thn sun basks not in gayer smiles,
Than o'er thy rippling waters fly,
Nor fall as rays on greener isles,
Than in thy shining bosom lie.
Bright shells of varied hues and form,
Think Crew thy beauteous banks along
Thy whirlpools, rocks and splashing falls,
Mark thee a river wildly free,
Which, leaping, dashing, Inudiy calls
On those who may thy waters see—
All dangers and rebutFto brave,.
And leap obstructicns, Ilan thy wave.
eilvift steamboats have not yet subdued
Thee to their purposes, or made
Thy bosom bear their footsteps rude,
For pleasure's sake, or good of trade;
Though rude built raft or nrk well filled;
Nay float thy surrent when 'tis swell'd.
Should bridge or darn across thee thrown,
Obstruct thy onward course awhile,
A single drind—And all are gone,
Strewn dnwn thy channel many a mile—
Again through unobstructed course,
The finny tribes may reach thy source&
Then still flow on majestic river,
And teach thy sons for freedom 'hind—
Let Penn's proud state to atoms shiver;
Ere tyrant' usurps thy lard;
And as thou Rawest, ever he
Thy shores the home o (liberty.
Penn's gallant sons still bravely show
That never can they conquered be,
Nor Mexico or British foe
Insult them with impunity—
Supported by her sisters strung,
United, they repel each wrong.
From the Knickerbocker for July.
CAPTURE OF VERA CRUZ.
=I
The trench is dug, the cannon's breath,
Wings the far hissing globe of death;
Fast whirl the fragments from the wall.
That crumbles with the pond.... ball;
And frnm that wall the foe replies.
O'er dusty plain and smoky skies:"
Mexico! poor unhappy Mexico! The iron hand
of the conquerer is upon thee, and the ruthless car
of war is madly driven over thy prostrate children,
and crushes them to earth! Yet thou art beauti
ful, even in thy distress; beautiful as thy dark
eyed daughters smiling through their tears! The
warm sun may look down upon thy cities depopu
lated, and thy vineyards blasted," beneath the dun,
hot breath of war," but thy towering mountains,
robed in the hues of rainbow, and thy secluded
valleys, far from the din of conflict, and green with
softest verdure, still greet with quiet gladness that
warm sun's earliest beams.
On the fifth day of March, 184.7, while the
American squadron was lying at Anton Lizardo, a
norther sprang up, and commenced blowing with
great violence. The ships rolled and pitched, and
tugged at their anchors, as if striving to tear them
from their hold, while the sea was white with
foam. About noon, Gene - rat Scott's fleet of trans-
ports, destined for the reduction of Vera Cruz, came
like a great white cloud bearing down - befbre the
storm. The whole Eastern horizon looked like a
wall of canvass. Vessel oiler vessel came flying
in under reduced sail, until the usually quiet harbor
was crowded with them. A perfect wilderness of
spars and rigging met the eye at every turn—and
for five days all was bustle, activity, and excitement.
Officers of the two services were visiting about from
ship to ship; drums were beating, bands of music
playing, and every thing told of an approaching
conflict.
On the tenth the army was conveyed in huge
surfboats from the transports to the different ships
of war, which immediately got under way fur Vera
Cruz. During the passage down to the city, I was
in the fore-top of the United States sloop-Of-war
Albany, from which place I had a good view of all
that occurred. It was a "sight to see!" The tall
ships of war sailing leisurely along under their top
sails, their decks thronged in every part with dense
masses of troops, whose bright muskets and bayo
nets were flashing in the sun.beams ; the jingling
of spurs and sabres; the bands of music playing;
the hum of the multitude rising up like the mur
mur of the distant ocean ; the small steamers ply
ing about, their decks crowded with anxious spec
tators; the long line of surf-boats towing astern of
the ships, ready to disembark the troops; all these
tended to render the scene one of the deepest in
terest.
About three o'clock, P. M., the Armada arrived
abreast of the little desert island Sacrificio, where
the time-worn walls and battlements of Vera Cruz,
and the old grim dastle of San Juan de Ullio, with
their ponderous cannon, tier upon tier, basking in
the yelloi , rep; of the sun, burst upon our view.—
THE COLUMBIA SPY
It was a most beautiful, nay, a sublime sight, that
embarkation. I still retained my position in the
` , fore-top," and was watching every movement with
the most anxious interest; for it was thought by
many that the enemy would oppose the landing of
our troops. About four o'clock, the huge surf-boats,
each capable of containing four hnndred men, were
hauled to tne gang-ways of the different men-of
war, and quickly laden with their " warlike
fraughtage ;" formed in a single line, nearly a mile
in length; and at. a given signal, commenced slowly
moving toward the Mexican shore. It was a
spectacle On, on, went the long range of boats,
loaded down to the gunwales with brave men, the
slowly-departing sun resting upon their uniforms
and bristling bayonets, and wrapping the fair inland
and fantastic mountains of Mexico in gold. On
they went; the measured stroke of the countless
oars mingled with the hoarse dull roar of the tramp
ling surf upon the sandy beach, and the shriek of
the myriads of sea-birds soaring high in the air,
until the boats struck the shore, and quick as
thought our army began to land. At this instant,
the American flag was planted, and unrolling its
folds, floated proudly out upon the evening breeze;
the crews of the men-of-war made the welkin ring
with their fierce cheering; and a dozen bands of
music, at the same time, as if actuated by one im
plus?, struck
.'Tis the sear-spangled banner! 0, long man It wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!"
Early the next morning the old grim castle of San
Jun/ de Ullio commenced trying the range of its
heavy guns, throwing Paixhan shells at the army,
and continued it at intervals for a week ; but with
the exception of an occasional skirmish with a
party of the enemy's lancers, they had all the fun
to themselves. In the meantime our forces went
quietly on with their preparations, stationing their
pickets. planting their mortars, landing their horses,
provisions and munitions of war, constantly annoy
ed with a ceaseless fire from the Mexican batteries
which our troops were as yet too busy to return.
On the 29th, Lieut. Oliver Hazard Perry, with a
zeal worthy of his illustrious father, " the Hero of
Lake Erie," dismounted one of the waist guns of
the "Albany," a sixty-eight pounder, procured a
number of volunteers who would willingly have
charged up to the muzzles of the Mexican guns
with such a leader, and taking about forty rounds
of Paixhan shells, proceeded on shore, where, after
dragging his gun through the sand for three miles,
he arrived at a small fortification, which the engi
neers had constructed of sandbags for him, and
there planted his engine of destruction, in a situa
lion which commanded the whole city of Vera
Cruz. Roused by such a gallant example, guns
from each of the other ships of the squadron were
disembarked, and conveyed to the breast-work,
which was as yet concealed from the eyes of the
Mexicans, by being in the rear of an almost im
pervious chapparal, and in a short time a most
formidable fortress was completed, which was
styled the Naval Battery.
At this period, General Scott, having quietly
made all his arrangements, while a constant shower
of shot and shell were thrown at his army by the
enemy, sent a flag of truce, with a summons for the
immediate surrender of the city of Vera Cruz and
the Castle of San Juan d'Ullio, and with a full un
derstanding that unless his demand was immedi
ately complied with, an attack would follow. As
a matter of course, the Mexicans, expecting an as
sault, for which they were well prepared, and not a
bombardment, returned an indignant refusal, and
were told that at four o'clock, P. M. they should
hear farther from us. In the meantime, the chap.
pare! had been cut away, disclosing the Naval Bat
tery to the gaze of the astonished Mexicans, and
the mortars and heavy artillery, which had been
planted on the hills overlooking the city, and were
ready to vomit forth their fires of death. Every
person was now waiting with trembling anxiety
the commencement of the fray.
About 4, P. M., while the crews of the squadron
were all at supper, a sudden and tremendous roar
of artillery on shore proclaimed that the battle had
begun. The tea-things were left to " take care of
themselves," and pell-mell tumbled sick and well
up the ladders to the spar-deck. .I followed with
the human tide, and soon found myself in the fore
top of the " Albany," and looking around me, a sub.
lime but terrific sight my elevated perch presented
to the view. Some two hundred sail of vessels lying
immediately around us, their tops, cross-trees, yards,
shrouds—every thing where a foot-hold could be
obtained—crowded with human beings, clustered
like swarming bees in mid-summer on the trees, all
intently watching the battle. I turned my eyes on
shore. JONATHAN had at last awakened from his
slumber, and had set to work in gamest. Bomb
shells were flying-like hail-stones into Vera Cruz
from every quarter; sulphurous flashes, clouds of
smoke, and the dull boom of heavy guns arose from
the wall of the city in return, while ever and anon
a red sheet of flume would leap from the great brass
mortars on the Ramparts of the grim Castle follow
ed by a report, which fairly made the earth trem
ble. The large iships of the squadron could not
approach near enough to the shore to partipate in
the attack upon the city, without exposing them to
the fire ur the Castle; but all the gun-boats, small
steamers. and every thing that could be brought to
bear upon the enemy, were sent in and commenced
blazing away a steady stream of fire like the red
glare of a volcano: This state of things continued
until sun.set, when the small vessels were called
off; but the mortars kept throwing shells into the
town the live-long nigh'. I was watching them
until after midnight, and it was one of the most
striking displays that I ever beheld.
A huge black cloud of smoke hung like a pall
over the American army, completely concealing it
from our view ; 'the Mexicans had ceased firing,
in order to prevent our troops from directing their
1=1:12
13=12
AND LANCASTER AND YORK COUNTY RECORD.
COLUMBIA, PA. SATURDAY, JULY 17, 1847.
guns from the flashes from the wails; but the
bombardiers had obtained the exact range before
dark, and kept thundering away, every shell falling
directly into the doomed city. Suddenly, a vivid,
lightning-like flash would gleam for an instant up
on the black pall of smoke hanging over our line,
and then as the roar of the great mortar came borne
to our ears, the ponderous shell would be seen to
dart upward like a meteor, and after describing a
semi-circle in the air, decend with a loud crash
upon the house-tops, or into the resounding streets
of the fated city. Then, after a brief but awful
moment of suspense, a lurid glare, illuminating for
an instant the white domes and grim fortresses of
Vera Cruz, falling into ruins with the shock, and
the echoing crash that came borne to our ears, told
that the shell had exploded, and executed its terri
ble mission.
Throughout the whole night these fearful missiles
were travelling into the city in one continued
streum ; but the enemy did not return the fire. At
daylight, however, the Mexicans again opened
their batteries upon our army, with the most deter
mined bravery.
About 8 o'clock, A. M., the gallant Perry and
his brave associates, having finished the mounting
of their guns, end completed all their arrangements,
opened with a trernenchous roar of the Naval Bat
tery upon the West side of the city, and were im
mediately answered from four distinct batteries of
the enemy. The firm earth trembled beneath the
discharge of these ponderous gulls, and the shot
flew like hail into the town, and were returned
with interest by the Mexicans. Their heavy guns
were served with wondeful precision; and almost
every shot struck the little fort, burst open the sand
bags of which it was constructed, and covered our
brave officers and men with clouds of dust. Many
shot and shell were thrown directly through the
embrazures ; and to use the expressions of one of
our old tars, who had been in several engagements,
" the redskins handled their long thirty-two's as if
they had been rifles!" Several of our men and one
officer had fallen, but the remainder of the brave
fellows kept blazing away, while the forts and the
ramparts of the city began to crumble to the earth.
This state of things continued until the twenty
seventh, the army throwing a constant shower of
bombs into the city, and the Naval Battery,( manned
daily by fresh officers and men) beating down the
fortifications, and destroying every thing within its
range, when a flag of truce was sent out with an
offer, which was immediately accepted, of an un
conditional surrender of the city of Vera Cruz and
the Castle of San Juan d'Ullio.
The Capitulation.
I saw an army form their last army
Upon the field; in silence and deep gloom,
And at their conqueror? feet
Lay their war-weapons down.
n Salim] and stern, disarmed hilt no, dishonnred
Brave nien, but brave in vain, they yielded there;
The voldleee trail-task "
is not alune to die " Ira I.l.acx.
It was a clear, bright, sunny day on which the
surrender took place. By special good fortune, the
author of this sketch obtained an opportunity of be
ing present at the capitulation, and a most splendid
and glorious pageant it was. The boat in which
we embarked put off from the ship at about eight
o'clock, A. at., and after a long pull through the fleet
of transports, we landed on a white level sand-beach,
about three miles to the southward of Vera Cruz.
Here we found the encampment of the volunteers;
and after straying around among the tents, filled
with a ragged motley assembly, and seeking in
vain for horses at the marquees of the different
quarter-masters, we started off for the "Field of the
Grounded Arms."
After crossing the sand-hills which rise from the
beach, we came suddenly upon the stage of the
"Theatre of War." Cannon-balls were lying all
over the plain, like corn upon the thresher's floor,
while here and there might be descried vast caverns
ploughed in the earth by the shells from the Castle.
Columns of troops were moving about in every
direction; general and staff officers galloping around
the field on their spirited charges; drums were
beating, trumpets braying, bands of music playing,
and the "star-spangled banner" floating gaily on
the breeze. It was a moment to make one proud
of his country. After a fatiguing walk, we came
to a long level plain, green with verdure, extending
for more than a mile, where the Mexicans were to
lay down their arms. Having secured a spot where
we had a fine view of the whole field; and while
we were congratulating ourselves upon our good
fortune, one of General Scott's aids came galloping
over the field on his panting steed, shouting:
• "Gentlemen, the General directs that this place
shall be kept clear. The Mexicans are to march
cwt here; so you sec the necessity of seeking other
quarters."
And then he galloped rapidly away, his sabre
jingling in its sheath, and his long black hair gaily
streaming on the breeze.
There was no help for it, so our party separated,
each taking up the position that pleased him. An
officer of the army, who happened t,. be off duty at
the time, and who had in his possession an excel
lent telescope, went with me to the top of a high
hill, which commanded a view of the whole field,
and where a thick chapparal, through whose branch
es the cool luxuriant winds came sighing, spread
its grateful shade above our heads, as we reclined
upon the soft carpet-like earth and gazed upon the
magnificent view before us. There lay the sandy
plain, dotted with the white tents of the soldiers;
the green field on which the enemy was to.pile his
arms; the shattered walls, ramparts and while
domes of the city; the time-worn battlements of
the old grim Castle, over which the half-masted flag
of Mexico was trailing in sadness; and beyond, the
great, solemn, sleeping sea, on whose unruffled
bosom the countless fleet of transports, men of war
and steamers, as the . long glassy surge came sweep.
ing in, rolled to and fro, with their wilderness of
spars and rigging basking in the yellow sunshine.
It was a most beautiful sight, and that can never
be effaced from my memory.
About ten o'clock, A. at., the American army
moved up in two columns; a perfect forest of glit
tering bayonets, the regular troops, on the right,
and the volunteer on the left; and enclosing the
extended field in a hollow square, with an opening
nearest the city, we beheld his columns moving out
in good order, and in the direction of our army.
On they came, the poor, crest-fallen, half-starved,
emaciated, creatures, to the most mournful strains
ever heard : the long dejected-looking files of troops
accompanied by the inhabitants of the city; women
and children; the old, the young, the crippled—all
bearing off their little treasures.—Some could be
seen staggering under the weight of old trunks,
others loaded down with bags of meal; no doubt
their little all. I need not say that I sincerely sym
pathized with them in their distress; and as I look
ed around upon the many pale faces of the females,
my heart ached for them, and I involuntarily
breathed forth a curse upon the inventor of WAR.
After the soldiers had stacked their arms, and
while they were waiting to be paroled, I came
down -from the hill where 1 had been seated, and
strolled around amongst the columns of the Mexi
cans, and was surprised to find so many fine look
ing officers and men amongst them. They had
the appearance of being well disciplined, and their
arms and accoutrements were in a most excellent
condition. Although I was entirely alone, and
wore the uniform of the navy, not an insult was
offered to me; and whenever I thought proper to
salute one of the officers, the civility was promptly
and courteously acknowledged.
On I went in a spirit of wild recklessness, stop
ping to exchange an occasional smile or kind word
with the pretty sonoritas, with their large, dark,
languishing eyes, raven tresses, hanging down al
most to the earth, and with their swelling bosoms
more than half disclosed to view; until suddenly
looking up, I for the first time discovered that I
was alone in the very midst of the armed and
swarthy hordes of the enemy, and directly before
the principal gate of the city.
To add to my uneasiness, I perceived many dark
and threatening glances cast towards me from the
sullen coolness of the soldiers ; and I have no doubt
had they not been restrained by a fear of their °lli.
ccrs, they would have sacrificed me on the spot to
gratify their thirst for revenge upon the Americans.
But let me feel as I would, it was no time to show
indecision ; so I walked quietly along the walls,
examining the loop-holes for musketry, and specu
lating in my own mind whether some of the enemy,
as at Monterey, might not lie concealed behind
them, and take a fancy to make a target of me. I
can testify from personal experience that the spot
upon which I stood at the time was not a bed of
roses. Had I been made the victim of some deadly
marksman, who at such a time could ever have
ferreted out the assassin?
Just at this moment, to my great relief; Mr.
Crossan, a very brave and accomplished officer, ac
companied by three others, came up, having like
me wandered on in the advance of the army.—
After a brief consultation, it was decided to go on at
all hazards. Accordingly we crossed the old
bridge, and after passing under the ponderous arch
ed gate-way, found ourselves in the almost deserted
streets. We were the first Americans who entered
the city of Vera Cruz.
What a scene of desolation and distress met the
eye at every turn! For nearly a week the Ameri
can army had rained a ceaseless shower of bomb
shells into the ill-fated city; not a street, and
scarcely a house, remained unvisited by these terri
ble missiles. The pavements ploughed up; beauti
ful dwellings shattered into masses of ruin ; signs
ofevery description broken in pieces, and fragments
of shell lying around in every direction ; these
told the havoc which had been made with our
enemies. The few people who remained in the
city seemed completely cowed down" and beaten
out with constant fatigue, anxiety,and want asleep;
and as we passed along the echoing streets, they
looked out of their broken windows timidly upon
us, as if expecting insult and violence.
For myself, I sincerely sympathized with them
in their poignant distress; and had I possessed the
power, I would nut have injured one of the
poor pale-faced creatures of that " many.sorrow'd
throng" for the universe. There is something in
deep distress which claims a kindred feeling in the
breast of humanity," and I separated from the
party, and wandered alone over the entire city.—
During the whole of my peregrinations, wherever
went i was treated with the greatest respect and
kindness; and whenever I stopped before a house
to gaze upon the damage done by a shell, if the
building was not already deserted, some one of the
inmates would come to the shattered door, invite
me to enter, point out their furniture destroyed, or
the time-worn walls stained with the life-blood of a
father or a mother, a brother or a sister,
Nor was it the Mexicans alone that snffered.
The foreign residents of the town, not expecting
a bombardment, but en assult from our army, had
remained at their residences; and to use the phrase
of the indignant British consul, were" caught like
so many rats in a trap !" The gentleman informed
me that for a whole week he had not taken off his
clothes, and had scarcely slept a moment during
the whole ofthc bombardment. " Whenever," said
he,. a person did lie down to obtain a little rest, it
was with the comfortable thought that in all hu
man probability he would have a great bomb-shell
come down through the roof of his house, and
take up its quarters by his side for a bed-fellow !"
He wont on to say, that during the second night
of bombardment he collected a large party of his
friends, if I remember rightly, some twenty in
number, ladies and gentlemen, who took refuge in
the parlor of a large stone house, which being very
strong, was thought to be tolerably safe against the
incursion of the shells, though they could be heard
crashing into the city like a haihstrorm, without
intermission. But while the party were congratu
lating themselves upon their probable security, they
heard a dreadful crash upon the roof of the house,
which made its firm walls tremble, and in an instant
the terrible missile landed directly in the centre of
the room, and exploded with a blinding glare and a
deafening roar, shattering down the strong build
ing, and destroying twelve of the unfortunate crea
tures at "one fell swoop!" In fact no place was
safe ; the palace of grandee and the hut of the
wretched peasant shared one common fate.
In the afternoon I visited the hospital, where the
wounded were lying; some in the last moral ago
nies; some with their arms blown off, others with
their legs broken, and all horribly mutilated. The
old, the young, the rich and the poor, mule and fe
male, had been gathered in from all parts of the
city to this vast receptacle of pain and suffering.—
Heart-rending moans arose from every quarter of
the building; clouds of flies almost darkened the
air; and I turned in horror from the siekning sight.
Before night the town was filled with troops, who
kept pouring in, regiments at u time, and a constant
stream of baggage wagons were entering at different
gates, from the scene of capitulation, loaded down
with arms and accountrements of the vanquished
enemy. As the vehicles passed me, rattling over
the ruined pavements with their glittering freights,
on their way to deposite them for safe.keeping in
the Castle of San Juan d'Ullio, I could not hut
think of LONGFELLOW'S beautiful and truthful
lines:—
Is it, 0 man, with such discordant noise,
Kith such accursed instruments as these,
Thou drnwnest Nature's sweet and kindly voices,
And jarrest the celestial harmonies
•` Were half the power that fills the world with terror.
Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts
Given to redeem the human mind front error.
There were no need of arsenals nor forts t"
.end0ae,,r0v.,.....-
=I
ADADIVEII MT. LEBANON, August, 1846
PILGRIMAGE OF TILE GREEK CHRISTIANS TO TILE
WATERS OF TILE JORDAN.—During the night the
camp of the pilgrims was a theatre of licentious rev.
dry, and more resembled the ancient celebrations or
the Grecian Mysteries than an assembly of Chris.
tians. The present race of Greeks retain almost
all of the manners and customs of their pagan an.
cestors, or rather the vicious part of them, though
baptized with Christian appellations.
• At 2 o'clock A. M. the soldiers roused the crowd,
and in half an hour afterwards they were all on their
march for the river. We permitted them to precede
us nearly an hour, and then following them leisurely
on our horses, observing the scene. The full moon
was shedding its mellow radiance over plain and
mountain, affording just light enough to bring into
view the whole surrounding landscape, yet leaving
everything in that kind of gloomy indistinctness
that rendered still more dreary the savage desert
waste around us—the blaze of large torches of
burning pine, carried by perhaps a hundred soldiers
at intervals amongst the multitudes, extending some
miles in advance, and the glare and flames arising
from piles of dry thorny shrubs, set on fire along
the road, threw a melancholy light over the fearful
solitude—the shouts of the pilgrims—the noise of
their animals—the frightful screams of hyenas,
jackals, and other beasts of prey, roused from their
lairs by our untimely intrusion—the hour, the place,
and its historical associations, all awakened sublime
emotions, and left an impression on my memory
that no time can efface.
The plain of the Jordan, on the west side of the
river, is here, I think, about ten miles wide, and,
with the exception of some small spots of cerdue
around the fountains, is a perfect desert, producing
only a few leafless, thorny shrubs, and here and
there a thistle, seeming as if the earth could bring
forth these two elements of the primal curse where
nothing else can grow.
Directly across the river here is the plain of Moab,
on which the Israelites pitched their tents previous
to their invasion of the promised land; and from
some mountain eminence above Balaam exclaimed,
"From the tops of the rock I see him, and from the
hills I behold him. How goodly are thy tents, 0
Jacob, and thy tabernacles, 0 Israel!" The pia%
is perhaps three miles in width, and looked a little
more verdant than that on the west side of the river.
I looked anxiously along the mountain ridge back
of this plain for some eminence higher than the
rest, that I could fix upon as the ancient Pisgah,
1 but in vain. The whole summit presents a uniform
outline, with scarcely an indentation. The summit
where the false prophet built his seven altars and
repaired to curse Jacob, and to which Moses subse
quently ascended to view the heritage of his people,
was probably Some peak below the general ridge.
The pilgrims reached the river just at the dawn
of day, and all plunged into it with as much frantic
fanaticism as the pagan Hindoos do into the Ganges.
With some difficulty I made my way, on my horse,
up to the bank of the river, where I could obtain a
full view of the bathers.' There were, perhaps,
more than a thousand in the water at once, men,
women, and children, a part with a little clothing
on them, and the rest entirely naked, thrusting
themselves and each other under the muddy flood.
Mothers would plunge their young infants under
the water perhaps half a dozen times in quick suc
cession, until life was almost extinct. And men
and women, whose feeble and tottering limbs had
to be supported in going down the steep bank.
rushed into the river with the supleness and impet
uosity of youthful swimmers; and the blind and
the lame seemed to forget their infirmities in the
delirium of fanaticism. I had not sat in my place
three minutes when I saw one of the thoughtless
mult.t zde borne down the stream by the impetuous
[WHOLE NUMBER. 894.
current, to return no more. The frantic crowd
cast a momentary glance towards the drowning
man, and then resumed their orgies as before. In
a little time another, and another, shared his fate;
and the fourth, a woman, was instantly killed, near
the river, by falling from a camel. No efforts were
or could be made by the friends of the drowned men
to recover their bodies; they must return to camp
in another burr, and thence to Jerusalem on the
following morning, and leave them to be devoured
by wild beasts when they should have floated to the
desolate shore of the Dead Sea,
Leaving this scene of fanaticism and death, we
made our way down through the dust to the mouth
of the river. The Jordan, at the place of bathing,
is, I think, about fifty-five feet wide; the banks are
at least ten feet high, and it runs with an almost
irresistible current. It is skirted on both sides with
trees and small shrubs, principally willow, deep
green and luxuriant, presenting a delightful contrast
with the frightful desert. bordering it. As it ap.
preaches the sea it becomes somewhat wider; and
at the mouth a small delta has been formed, and it
discmbogues itselfthrough two channels, each per.
haps eighty feet broad. Some three or four miles
above the mouth of the river, and from thence down
to the sea, we saw large quantities of drift-wood,
thrown out a quarter of a mile or more from .the
stream, showing that the Jordan still overflows its
banks, as it did in olden times—a fact that most
travellers have questioned. The plain, over which
we rode between the ford and the sea, was covered
with a fine dust, into which our horses sank at.
every step half way to their knees. A thin crust
had been left on the surface by the late rains, and
the whole district resembled a bed of loose ashes
which had been wetted by a. light shower and
quickly dried in the sun. Not the least trace of
vegetable existence over the wide expanse of many
miles.
=Si=
A SUCKER'S VISIT TO THE THEATRE. - 4
been Mar, Jim," said a sucker to his crony.
Whar, down to Sent Louis 'I" inquired Jim.
" Well, no whar else," was the answer, " and
I've seed some of the durndest things you've ever
!leered on in the hull animal creation."
" What wur they like?" inquired Jim.
" Oh, all sorts of doins mixed up sorter every
way, but the thing that just tuck me straight, war
seein' a
.11yin' woman." Arter the Rat boat wur
hitched, I sot to lookin' round, and pooty soon I
seed on big boss bills, stuck ogin houses, that a
feller named Dan Soos war going to cut up 'some
of the tallest kind of shindys. I war naturally
bound to find out what it war like, so I axed,.a
feller readin' it—and he laughed—he said it war
only the the a-ter. Says, I, that ar a show, aint it?
be said, it ar, but it aint no circus show nuther,
but all sorts of a handsome show, held in a place as
big as our county scat court house. I jest made
up my mind I'd go ten cents straight. I found out
whar they kept it, and up 1 goes, but thar they told
me the lowest notch wur a cool quarter—that stag
gered me, but I gin it. Root or die when you're
in fur it, scs I, so up I goes the alfiredest lot of
stairs—l thought arter a spell I'd come out some
whar near the moon, but by travelling a spell I got
up whar a lot of folks wur. It looked to me like
a mectire boos, with three gallerys, and lit up like
all out of doors in day light.'
A lot of fellers fiddled away a spell by thurselves,
but cuss me if I could see what that feller Dan
Soos war, and jest as I war goin' to ask a chap
war the show war, up rolled the hull side of the
house, right afore me, and out slid a gal on her tip
toes, whirlin' about like as if she couldn't keep
down to the yearth. The way she handled her
pins just sot me rearin'—it beat Mary Sellers all
hollow, and she aint slow. I asked a feller next
me who she wur, and I'll swar if he didn't say it
wur, Dan Soos! which, Instead of being a man's
name, wur French for a dancin' woman. I didn't
notice at first, but arter a spell I seed the reason
she couldn't keep from jrimpin'—rt made my bar
kind o'rise—she wur not only a angel lookin' crea
tor, but, Jim, you kin believe or not, boss fly, I'll
(leder she had wings !"
"Here," said Jim, "yo i kin jest take my bat."
"I knowed nobody would believe me," said the
Sucker, " I jest knowed it, but I swar I seed her
take hold on the tip of her wing, spread it out and
jest fly like a bird clean a cross the hull side of tho
house. A feller wur chasin' hur, but he couldril
shine. She shuck her toe at him, and slid right
•
out of sight !"
"Thar," saysJhn," that will do—l knowed you
could do pnoty well a lyin', but that last effort can
take the cakes !"
1 aint going' to tell it any more, but will swar
I sccd it."
"Seed thunder:" shouts Jim. "You seed what
the Doctors call olfactory collusion ! "
=GM
Con' Con4—Premium for Corn—R. L. Colt,
Esq. of Paterson, stated, in a letter to the American
institute, that in accordance with the request of
Mr. Skinner, he had caused a heaped bushel of the
ears of Jersey While Corn, to be carefully shelled
:—the produce being half a bushel and six quartsof
shelled corn and a heaped half bushel of cobs, the
latter weighing 7 lbs. Now if we raise 500 -mil
lion bushels of corn, the cobs will weigh 3i million
of tons. Certainly we ought to to have these goes
lions fairly and honestly tested—whether the eob
contains any nutritive power, and if so, how much.:
and next, do the ashes of the cob contain potashes.
and if so, how much, and how are we to get the
benefit of it? Shall the cob be burned, or ground
with the corn and fed to cattle, and thus get the
potashes in the shape of manure.—This is suppos
ing there is no nutriment in the cob, but that Mr. C.
does not believe—for, so well persuaded of the val
ue of the cob is he that he is building a mill to grind
corn and cob together. And so well satisfied is be
also, that we do not properly appreciate the value
of Indian Corn, that be. authorizes the American
Institute to e'er a premium of $lOO for the best
Analysis- of the Nutritive Qualities of Indian Corn
—the blade, the stalk, the husk, the cob, as also
the component parts of the ashes of each.
"Well, I've