_. i
BY JAS. CLARK.
nncrarrs AND EXPENDITURES
Of the County of Hi:nth:pion from the I Ith day
of Janu,:ry, A. D., 1850, up to and ilmluding
tic 11th day of January, A. 1)., 1831:
Receipts.
Amount in Treasury at I,t settle.
meat, received film, Isaac Nell,
Tie ,surer,
1842 .14.4iail Closgin, Anti',
1847 Tiium.t4 W. Neely, I)uhlin
.
.• Joloi 11. Stonelirnker; Franklin,
1848 1)•aael 3. I.opan. Cromwell,
" ;41 11 C 11111, 1 ,1. Franklin,
" IV,lliain :o:Garvey, Shirley, 6 56
. 51ard,,..ii Chileote, l'oil, • 16 00
1849 John Stewart, (manor) Barree, 424 28
" Jolin Steve,', Casa, 55 14
.. Michael Stein, Cromwell, 134 DO
" Jonte: Neely, DO,lin, 103 29
" Hanle! Conrail, Franklin, 185 00
" Daniel Ilinnhatugh, Hopewell, 165 67
" Jan Jackson, Jackson, 85 95
" JOl.ll Davis. :\lorris, .398 94
. licnj aain I va , , Shirley,o2 87
"" alaeol , Baker, Sioingtleth, 108 70
" I)a,nl 11,ickedt , rn, Tell, 87 03
" Ilem•y I•jias, Toil. 166 00
" Jaen!, 11. Mil!,, Union, 9 45
" Join Tlionipson. jr., Walker, 168 99
'" •reter Grazier, Esq., Warriurstnark, 93 20
" George Wil,on, West, 264 36
" IMMO Curlinan, Clay, 122 75
1850 Samuel Henry. ]lance,
~, .401 00
ss ocum,
" Jee Y ;I;.idge) Brady,
300 00
,
!„ r. • • Clay,
David Burk, rramwell,
" William : • I , 1:.!•!:a,
Julai I . '; •'..,•:, ,
" James I
" Hopewell,
" e dackstm,
" 110111,,
Hyttn, renn,
I
iii4hen, trier,
" Samuel l'iuwman, SLitley.
" Henry Clether, Springbeld,
" A 1.1,1.11111 !legit:, '1 . 4:11,
" 4 Jame, M'Clain, Tod,
I'Leasaint. rnion,
" B. Waite, Waller,
Wurriundnerk,
I ',wit, W'e,t,
Arnoaut received ut Comity tax 'lt un-
simted lands,
44a School tux,
as at
i1.):1(1
Amount of fines and Jury few of IF+f,O,
received front M. Crownover,
E 49., late Sherif);
Amount feeeived of M. Crownover,
isk note nod interest,
Amount of redemption money on
seated lands, received since lust
settlement, •
Expenditures.
Attorney General :trid others on erim
nal prosecution,
Grand and Traverse Jurors, Cryer,
TipstatSt, oat.,
Conitahies making returns, advertig
. ing Spring ElertiOus,
AssessonT, —
Judges, Inspectors and Clerks of Elee •
tions,
Sundry persons, premiums ou wild
cats and tuxes,
Road und Bridge Viewers,
Inquisitions on dead bodies,
Commissioners, Joshua tietenland in
full of 1849,
‘s Sioneunac t of 1850,
ia
full of 1849,
•
41 Same on ac't or 1850,
1411 reigl.tal in full
of 1849,
IC Saute on se% of 1850,
Auditors William limisey,
Jame, li:ltton,
Tt.ttneet Fisher,
J. Smvtli Read in Mil as Clerk to the
Coin nissio imrs and Auditors for
1 , 149,
Same on sacount of 11450,
Ju...ti Reed, in full of Ids salorY
as cunt-al fur Coniiiiissioners
for 1849,
Same on iieemnit of 1850,
lot u l'ress uud Stud fur Commission
ers' °thee, freight, &e.,
Sandry person. tic inereitandize fur C.
House and •
John .1. Clyde ' re-biding dockets and•
fur laankliooks,
Costs of snit, Huntingdon county vs.
Blair eiwn y,
Mary lit .stin ' sw,,eiiitig and scruldiing
Court 11
Imo Kean, wasting.; Mr co. prisoners,
Tor eusioons fur cunt[ room,
Joon Kee, Esq., for wood for Court
House and doll,
J. Suwon [Stewart, Esti., auditing the
uneiniiit. Reg
ister de. Heco.der, &c., for 1849,
For repitirs to C. att.t
Crunter, Esq., Pt% and CM.
Q. Sessions fees and furnisii.
iug stationery fur L.-nets,
Amount allowed collectors of 1047 ror
• notes on the Bank of Lewis.
town, culiccted in pi:cumin of
taxes a said year and during
,d year,
Dr. Jacob liodinan, Medicine and at.
• tendon., to county prisoners,
Daniel Africa, Esq., costs on sundry
suits to collect licenses, &c.,
W. 11. King, cure unit atttoition given
to Court Dottie in ISM,
Ground Rent on Court Houfflots,
I or cost fur Court !louse,
BellatOrt ii, Congre,sional and Re:pro
m:matt,: Iteturn Judges,
Sundry Supervisors' road tax no un
seated lands,
Sundry Smoot Tress's school tux on
• same,
Sundry persons interest on en. bonds,
Cumity priming, James Clark,
Without Lewis,
Fart of Judgment, Siclitilas liewit vs.
Huntingdon county,
County tutu& to William Walker,
Crownover, Esq., late Slieritf. for
summoning Jurors, 'molding
prisoners, and conveying, con
victs to the Penitentiary for
1850,
Poor Douse Commissioset%
O
/140 01
\ • '\
Sundry persons, refunded nixes and
costs of land sold at Treasur
er's sale, 62 91
Sundry I ersotts. redemption money of
t,emed hauls sold by Tuns., 116 60
Cost of advertising several tracts of
unseated land, directed by the
Commissioners not to be sold, 8 SO
Costs, &e.. Of Treasurer's Deed to
Commissioners for Ground Rts.
in buromdi of Alexandria, 7 15
Costs ut' Treas. Deed to M. Crow no
eel., Esti., directed by Commis
sioners not to Lc delivered, 4 00
Bridges, Eli Harris & .loin Potts, on
account of bridge across the
Angliwick creek, Shirley tp., 1,100 00
" JOLT, Robertson in full of the •
bridge nt Drake's Ferry, 314 00
" J. &0. Coplin, on account
of bridge ut Grayspurt and
interest, 237 72
" S. I'. Wallace & 0. W. Pat
ten in full of bridge at Union
Furnace, 300 00
Treasurer's commission on $23,972 16
nt 11 per eimt., 355 78
Balance in the Treasury, 1,C15 45
$1,836 75
29 81
40 00
8 00
162 22
lin testimony of the correctness of the above
neconlit we have hereunto set our hands Li.is I lth
day or January, A. I)., 1851.
W. 111.71CHISON,
ISAAC TA L,
BENJAMIN LEA S,
C'ommissioners.
Attrst, J. SMYTH READ, Clerk.
186 00
107 50
100 87
145 00
800 00
816 06
ISO 00
673 51
We, the undersigned, Auditors of the County
of Iluntingdon, du hereby certify that -we have
examined tl.e orders of the Commissioner., ofsaid
county, and tl e receipts for the same, fur and
during tie past year, and find a balance in the
Treasury of Sixteen llundred and Fifteen Dol
lars and Forty-nine cents.
Given under ou• Lands this 11th day of Janu
ary, A. L. 1351.
W3l. RAMSEY,
251 31.,
€OO o 6
673 1 0 '
0 01)
212 37
118 00
128 00
420 (0)
750 57
805 00
Willinm Denis, Treasurer of he ITuntingdon
Academy, in account with said Institution.
228 33
ZU 110
88 22
Receipts.
To balance due on settlement before
tie county Auditors, January
Gth, 1846, $3 07
To cash received of sundry persons for
Tui;t, , ol no to 20th Oct. 1847, 103 00
go amount rent received of Stunt
el W.Hin, 81 20
To amount of rent received of Rev.
11. Ileckerman, 30 00
To amount of real received of J. A.
123 00
103 00
197 07
116 GO
$13,891 09
Expenditures.
$548 07
1846, Feb. 7, By cash paid
Cox, 62 i
" 9, By cash paid Recur- -
der-recording Deeds, $3 37:
1847, Jun. 16, By cal.!' paid 'l'. H.
Crewe r, it,lvertsing, 1 00
" Sep. 23, By ca , ll paid J. H.
W. Alaginnk, 400 00
Nov. 17, By cash !mid same, 27 00
1848, Jan. 4, By cash paid John
Dougherty adv'tsing, 1 00
" June 24, By cash paid ter
pumps,
Or., 24 90
By balance in the hands of Treasurer, 184 37
2,827 03
264 68
696 6o
485 89
357 37
244 00
53 08
9 00
102 00
54 00
:s1 00
We, the nndersimed, Auditors of the County
of Huntingdon, do hereby certify that we hare
examined the tu•cuunts Of William Denis, Treas.
trier of the Huntington Academy, front the loth
day or Jimmy A. D. 1846, to the oth day of
.Innuary, A. 1851, both days inclusive, and
fiat the above account as stated to be correct, and
du approve the some.
21 00
30 01)
9 00
7 50
7 bU
(iN'en under our hands at the Commissioners'
Office, iu ti e borough ,d 11.6liglion, this I
.humAry, 1851. WM. RAMSEY,
THOS. I , IBIIIAL
K. L. GLEES, Auditors.
Attest, J. SMYTH READ, Clerk.
300 00
75 VS
10 00
35 00
31 OS
Danger to Faraners.
The farmers of our country are, perhaps, not
aware of the danger that is threatning their inter
eats, through the Lueutheo policy of legislating to
the ltdvancement of British interests and depres
slim of our own. That party now in consonance
with its Free Trade doctrines, is broaching policy
of reciprocity with the British province of Cana
da, allowing them to bring their wheat free into
our ports, providing they give us the privilege of
navigating the St. Lowrance. This may well
!darn' the farmers of the United States. In the
last year, we imported near three millions of bush
els of wheat flower from Canada, notwitstanding
the present duty of 20 per cent ; if that dory he
taken oft; it will naturally immeasurably increase
the amount imported. The importation of wheat
into our coats r, from Canada, shows an impor
tant fact, in relation to the foreign market fur
grain whiSh was promised by Locofocoism. It
proves that, rota ithstanding the demand in our
country is crippled by the Tariff' of '46, which en
courages foreign markets for this article at the ex
pense of our own, there is still no better market
in the world fur grain titan is found in the United
States, and the anxiety evinced by the British to
get the control of it, shows that they understand
it. Now, in view of these facts, wo think the
farming portion of our country ought to wake up,
and not allow their interests to be sacrificed fur
the benefit of commerce. The agricultural por
tion of our country have the munerical st•enght in
tl.eir own hands, and can shape legislation to their
own liking, if they choose to inform themselves
on the subjects atibeting their• interests, and not
allow themselves to be blinded by party bias. We
colt on them to reflect, and sustain the party
whose policy sustains them.—Lebanon Courier.
49 4J
66 50
31 01
20 00
20 00
9 70
80 00
18 00
16
223 66
36 62
14 67
4 00
110 62
11 40
69 14
90075
116 75
97 00
700 00
1,108 37,
Or A good eduestlua is * young Ilia/ best
eafittl
334 85
4* 00
HUNTINGDON, PA., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1851.
YIELD NOT TO DARK DESPAIR.
Hast thou one heart that loves thee,
In this dark world of care,
Whose gentle smile approves thee?
Yield not to dark despair!
One rose, Whose fragrant blossom
Blooms but for the alone;
One fond, confiding bosom,
Whose thoughts are all thine own?—
One gentle star to guide thee,
And bless the on thy way,
That e'en when storms betide thee,
Still lends its gentle ray I
One crystal fountain springing
Within life's dreariest waste,
Whose waters still arc bringing
Refreshments to thy taste 7
One tuneful voice to cheer thee,
When sorrow has distrest ;
One breast when thou nrt weary,
Whereon thy head to rest?—
$13,891 99
'Till that sweet rose is faded,
And cold that heart, so warm;
'Till clouds thy star have shaded,
heed not the passing storm:—
Till the kind voice that blest thee,
All mute in death both lie,
And the fount dust oft refreshed thee,
To thee is ever dry :
Thou bast one fie to bind thee,
To this durk world of care,
Then let no sorrow blind thee—
Yield not to dark despair
TliOs. FISIIEA,
R. L. GRELN,
Auditors.
DROOP NOT UPON TOUR WAY.
Ho! ye who start a noble sebum,
For general good designed ;
Ye workers in a cause that tends
To benefit your kind !
Mark out the path ye fain would tread,
The game ye mean to play;
And if it he an honest one,
Keep steadihst on your way.
Although ye may not gain at once,
The points ye toast desire;
Be patient—time can wonders work,
Plod on, and do not tire :
Obstructions, too, may crowd your path,
In threatening, stern array,
Yet flinch not' fear nut ! they may prose
Mete shadows iu your way.
$342 27
Then while there's work for you to do,
Stand not despairing by,
Let "tbiward" be the move ye make,
Let "onward" be your cry;
And when success has crowned your plans,
'Twill all your pains repay,
To see the good your labor's done—
Then DROOP NOT CM your way.
air Oh, whata world of beauty
A loving heart might plan—
If matt did but his duty,
And helped his brother man
$342 27
Fore AND rOOLi.—We once heard an Eng
lish gentleman remark that "the lowest style du
eivilized man is found in the British soldier," but
ive incline to think that he hail forgotten for a
moment, that there was such a thing in christen
don as a Danny. Except an a subject for jest
ing, the poor creature is absolutely good ibr
Ilere is an old , epii.,mon on him that is very
good considering the poverty of the stetject—
"Your bouts toy friend, unlike to mine,
With polished, lustre brightly shine;
Bud you bestowed such studious pains,
to gloss the dullness of your brains,
It would not then by all he said,
"Bow much his feet eclipse his head !"
The Yankee and the Lawyer.
A native of the United States, says the Montre
al Herald, gime time ago, having employed a law
yer in this cite to do some basilic. for him, was
leaving his office without offering him it fee, when
the lawyer obsCrved
" My good sir, you should give me a fee; you
should aet towards your lawyer us you do toward
your horse—you should give him a feeding at
starting, if you wish him to perform his journey."
"Well, squire," answered Jonathan, "1 always
use my lawyers as I do my hogs; when I want
them to go to the other end of the yard, I put the
feed there, and they gallop to it."
The answer was so ready and so drolly deliver
ed, that the lawyer galloped, like the hog, to his
feed, and was well fed by his client.
THE WOOD-SHED. -'illy dear Amelia,' said a
dandy, falling upon his knees before his adorable,
'I have lung wished for this opportunity, but hard
ly dare speak now, fur fear you will reject me;
but I love you—say, will you be mine 'I You
would be to me everything desirable.—everything
my heart could wish—your smiles would shed—.'
Here the fellow came to a pause. 'Your smiles
could died,' and again came to a stop for lie
could not think of a word suitable to be applied.
'Never mind the wood-shed,' exclaimed Ame
lia's younger bristlier, who had slipped into the
room, unperceived at this moment, 'but go on
with your courting.'
0 -countship is ellen made up of the Eta,
that tie girl calls her beau a noble youth, a hers,
a genius, while lie calls her a paragon of beauty
awl gentleness, and su they keep tickling coca
other wail they get married, awl thou motes, the
eewittist
,itsiroff tscrl pal
1 - } • JR'.
' 4 ' • ,
11. 4
, ,
#
rjf;ln'tg'ltqt7r
BY JOHN HAHNE&
On the evening of the fourth ofdtme, 1935, the
s t e amb oa t "Ruh no.j" started from St. Louis to
New Orleans with a full crowd of passengers.—
Immediately after “getting under good headway,"
to adopt n thvorite backwoods phrase, one person
attracted Intim.' attention by the annoying ea
gerness with which he - endeavored to make op a•
party at cards. Indeed, his oft-repeated and per
severing efforts to - that end soon became insulting
and unendurable ; and yet his appearance was such
aS to deter the bravest on hoard front witninister
li,. the chastisement Mild' he so richly deserved.
lie was a tinge mass of mighty bone and muscles,
with swarthy tbatures, bearing the impress °Ninny
a scar ;' piercing dark eyes which seemed to pos-
Fess the power of blasting the, beholder—cold,
gleaming eyes, such as haunt the mentor:, painfully
a rank luxuriance of coal Mack hair, immense
Whiskers and moustache. This savage looking
figure was leaked in the costliest clothing and
adorned with a profusion of jewelry, while the out
lines of several murderous weapons were plainly
distinguished beneath his gaudy vest and super
fine coat. Nor did he need these to render hint an
object of terror. A connoisseur in the science of
belligerent gymnastics, would have confidently
pronounced him a match for any five men on the
deck without any aid from lead or cold steel.
At length, after many failures, he prevailed on
a wealthy young merchant of Natchez to join bun
in at game of poker. They sattlown beside a small
table near the bar, and were soon absorbed in that
most perilous of all excitements, of which the two
alluring ingredients are the vanity and pride of
individual skill, and the uncertainty of general
hazard. At first the stakes were - small, and the
run on the cards seemed wholly in favor of the
merchant ; but presently they bet more freely, and
gold eagles and hundred dollar notes were show
ered down with extravagant ardor; and then the
current of fortune charged—ebbed away from the
young merchant and flowed to the professional
gambler in a stream like the ocean's title. As
usually happens in such cases, his want of success
only piqued and maddened the loser, and he sought
to recover himself, by making such desperate ven
tures us could not hut deepen and confirm his ruin.
And thus they continued during that lung summer
night. The intensity of their excitement became
equivalent to insanity. Every 110 We was strung
—every energy of tie brain was taxed to the ut
most—their teeth were set hard us those of antag
onists in the mortal strife—the sweat rolled from
their brows like great drops of rain.
The passengers formed as circle around the play
ers, and looked on with that interest which such
titxtemorditutry Poneentrations of intellect end met-,
JAMES BOWIE.
The Napoleon of Western Duellists.
Four years ago, when Theodore Parker, the
eminent theo-phitanthropic preacher of Boston, vis
ited Europe, having a letter of introduction for
that purpose, he culled on Thomas Carlyle. The
English solitaire plied the American with innumer
able questions relating to our customs and habits
of social existence on this side of the great water
but manifested the keenest curiosity concerning
the people of the backwoods. Parker drew for the
other's amusement, a vivid sketch of the achieve
ments of Bowie, the famous arch-duellist of Texas.
Carlyle listened with sparkling eyes till the close
of the narrative, and then burst into exclamations
of involuntary enthusiasm
"By Hercules ! the man was greater than
Caesar or Cromwell—nay, nearly equal to Odin or
Thor. The Texans ought to build him an altar."
The burning sympathiser with the heroic in all
its phases, rubbed his hands together, chuckling
in an cestacy of savage glee, and made Parker se
peat his story of bloody anecdotes. Finally, he
put the question—
" By what miracle could it happen that the brave
fellow escaped the capital penalty of the late after
such countless violations 7"
To this interrogatory, Parker as he himself con
fessed, could return no satisfactory answer; and
as ten thousand readers have perhaps pondered
the same problem without conceiving a rational
solution, it may not be uninteresting to explain it
briefly, especially as a clear calculation can be de
tailed in a few words.
Let it be remembered then, that although the
great system of common law, that "porlhetion of
human reason" the the Anglo Saxon race, pre
vails throughout all the States of the West, wholly
as to its definition of crimes, and partially as to
the mode and measures of punishment annexed to
each, nevertheless in its practical application to
given cases it is controlled by the power of a far
mightier law—the omnipotent law of public opin
ion; because, in most western courts, juries are
absolute judges of both the law and the thet, and
their interpretations often evince direct antago
nism with the dicta of my Lord Coke and the clas
sic comments of Blackstone.
On the subject of homicide, in particular, public
opinion has passed the bounds of all books of ju
risprudence, and settled as an immutable statute
this extraordinary axiom:
""it is justifiable to kill in fair combat everybody
and anybody who ought to be killed !"
In Bowie's numerous reneounters he ulwav kept
within the prescribed limits of this latitudinarian
rule and hence he was always acquitted by fron
tier juries, and frequently with addenta to their
verdicts highly complimentary to his character as
a chivalrous gentleman. In truth, most of his
desperate engagements grew out of his innate and
invincible disposition to espouse the cause of the
weak against the mighty. One illustration by in
cident will present this peculiarity in the stronge,t
light, and may, besides, reveal a thorough knowl
edge of the heart and soul of the man.
sion never fail to inspire even In bosoms that shod•
der at its excess.
The merchant and the gambler attracted all
eyes, and kept many awake and gazing till morn
ing. Among the latter was one presenting a coun
tenance so piteous that it might have melted hearts
of marble to tears. • pule and exquisitely beau
tiful face peeping incessantly from the half-opened
door of the ladies' cabin, weeping all the while as
if oppressed by some dreadful sensation of imme
dicuble sorrow. It was the merchant's lovely wife
weeping her farewell to departing hope !
There was one spectator also, whose appearance
and action excited almost as much curiosity as the
players did themselves. Ile was a tall, spare man
of about thirty, with handsome features, golden
hair, keen blue eyes of preternatural brightness,
and his firm, thin lips wore a perpetual smile—
mysterious smile of the strangest, the most inscru
table meaning. With the exception of his red cal
ico shirt, this person was dressed wholly in buck
skin, ornamented with long swelling tassels, and
wild figures wrought out of variegated beads, after
the fashion of some western Indians. He stood
close beside the card-table, and held in his left
hand . a sheet of paper, in his right a large pencil,
which ever and anon he dashed off a few words,
as if engaged in tracing the progress of the
game.
still the merchant and the gambler persevered
in their physical and mental toil. The dial of the
stars, with its thousand fingers of golden fire, poin
ted to the world-shadows of midnight; but they
still did not pause. It still was "shuffle and eat,
and pass ante up, and.] call you, anti rake down
the pile." Towards taunting a tremendous storm
arose. The red lightening flashed awfully—the
hail poured like a bunt] cataract—the great river
roared till it rivalled the loudest thunders of hear
en ; and the very pilot at the wheel was alarmed.
But the mad players heard it not. What was the
tumult of the raging elements to them whose des
' tiny hung upon the turning of a curd? And the
smiling blue-eyed stranger in buck-skin still stood
by them With WS pencil and paper, calmly notic-
Mg the development of the game.
Finally the storm passed, as the beautiful day
break came out like a thing of glory iu the great
gray west. Then the infatuated merchant, dis
tracted with his heavy losses, dared the climax of
folly. Ile staked live thousand dollars, compri
sing his last cent of money in the world, on, "two
pair of kings." The whiskered gambler "called"
hint; they showed hands; the blackleg "had
two pair of aces," Sad "raked the board." The
merchant dropped to the fluor us if be had been
shot through the brain, and that beautiful young
wife flew to his side and fell shrieking upon his
bosom. They were both borne away insensible to
the ladies' cabin.
As lie deposited the winnings in his pocket, the
gaudder emitted a hoarse laugh that sounded
liightful as the chuckle of a fiend ; but lie instant
ly lost color as a low, cilia voice remarked in his
"Villain, you play a very strong hand at ninny
different games, but here stands one who can
beat you at all of them!"
lie turned, met the glance of those keen blue
cych so preturnaturally bright, and shuddered.—
lint he immediately regained his presence of
mina—for he was a coward—and then he frown
ea until his shaggy brows met like the coil of a
serpent, and demanded sternly—
" Beggar, who are you to banter a gentleman
thus rudely?"
"I am James Bowie, of Texas," the other an
swered with a ringing laugh; "and
.you are John
Latitte, a bastard FOTI of the old pirate 7"
The gambler reeled in laic chair as if he had
been struck by a thunderbolt, but recovering
again from the shock in a moment, asked in a
firm tone—
"What game dri you wish with me 7"
"Poker first and pistols afterwards, if you play
foul," replied Bowie.
"Very well," rejoined the other, and they took
their seats at the table.
For a time the success seemed shoot equally
balanced, the gain 821 d loss being alteniate. At
last the gambler ventured one of his skillful ma
uoeuveres in dealing. Bowie smiled strangely as
his quick eye detected the trick. Ile said nothing
however, but looked at his hand and bet fire thou
sand dollars, staking his mouey in ten large bum.
The gambler went five thousand dollars higher,
which resulted in a "call." Bowie held "four
jacks ;" but, with his habitual fiendish chuckle,
his antagonist showed "four queens," exclaiming
us he did so—
“lly heaven, the whole pile is mine !”
"Not yet," shouted Bowie, no with both hands
ho raked the hem, of notes to the tune of twenty
thousand dollars into his own pocket.
Choking with purple rage titfa shame, the gam
bler roared—
"To the hurricane deck, and let pistols be
trumps this turn !"
"Good as gold !" replied Bowie, and the two
hastily ascended the stairs and assumed their sep
arate positions—the gambler over the stern, and
Bowie over the how.
At that instant the sun was just rising in the
cloudless sky. Nature looked sublime. The
woo d s an d water appeared as parts of heaven for
its back-ground. The bri.attNiosomed river roll
ed sway like an immense sheet of burnished sil
ver, speekkd hero and there with a Hash of gol
den bubbles; shining fishes gamboled in the
sl.kl:ng wave; and all the bri; 4 lit birds—those
sweet singers, whim life is a dream, and that
dream only music—chanted their wild anthem to,
the now day ; while the ten great duelists, the
must deadly ever known in the south-west, stood
with rocked pishig, eye to eyes and their fonms
VOL. XVI.--NO. 5.
fixed on their hair-triggers, prepared and waiting
to slay and he slain . .
"I am ready. You give the word," cried Bow
ie, in his clear, ringing voice, and with that insep•
arable smile of strange meaning , on his lips.
"1 am ready. Fire !" shouted the gambler in
tones murderous as death
The two pistols roared simultaneous.., Bowie
(Ed not move, though he barely escaped with his
life, for the bullet ofhis foe had cut away one of
the golden locks of his yellow hair. The gam
bler was shot through the heart, and dropping on'
the brink of the deck, had almost tumbled into
the river. Ile was hurried by the squatters at
the next wood yard. And thus perished justly a
bastard sun of the great pirate Lafitte.
There never was a jury empannelled in the
west who would have brought in a verdict against
any man fur killing him, and more especially un
der the eireum , tances, because public opinion
pronounced "that be ought to be killed." And
such were the desperadoes that Bowie commonly
exterminated.
The generous victor immediately proceeded to
the ladies' cabin and restored the winnings of the
gambler to the young merchant and his beautiful
wife, who both received the boon as a gift from
heaven, with as touch gratitude and joy.
If we should write a volume concerning the ex
ploits of James Bowie, his character could not be
rend.red more transparent than it is revealed in
the foregoing anecdote. Ile was always the same
—the friend of the feeble, the protector of the op
pressed, and the sworn enemy of the tyrant. He
was brave without fear, and generous beyond me
cedent; and though he bad faults, gigantic ones,
too, he atoned for all the errors of a stormy life
by the splendor of his magnificent death. His
toads is the Alamo, Isis epitaph the word "Texas,"
and hie fame will fill the humble though safe niche
m the Temple of Freedom through all time. He
I can never be forgotten till the bowels of the earth
cease to furnish metal for the fabrication of those
bright blades of steel which bear his imperishable
name.—Sandal
Instinct in a Bird,
Once, while traveling in Tennessee, Wilson,
the ornithologist, was struck with the manner in
which the habits of the pennated grouse are
adapted to its residence on dry, sandy plains.—
One of them was kept there in a cage, having
been caught alive in a trap. It was observed the
bird never drank, and seemed rather to avoid the
water; but a few drops one day falling upon the
cage, and trickling IIONVII the bars, the bird drank
with great dexterity, and an eagerness thut show
ed she was suffering with thirst. The experiment
was then made whether she would drink under
other cirmunstanewand thu' she lived entirely
on dry Indian cotTihe cup of water iu the cage
was fin• a whole week untested and untouched;
but the moment water Was sprinkled on the I•ars,
she drank as eagerly as before. It occurred to
him at once, that in the natural haunts of the
bird, the only water it could procure was from the
drops of rain and dew.
tErAn w n i FT:id kept a little gro
cery, woo lifOllglit to liCr death bell, Mid WOO at,
the point of breathing her last, when she called
her husband to her bedside;
'Jamie,' she faintly said, 'there's Missus
Aful
luney—she owes me ,ix
'Orh!' exclaimed her husband, 'Biddy darliat,
yo're sinsible to the lust !
dear—an' there's Missus McGraw I Ore
her n duller.'
! he japers, nad ,e're as flu,lish as ever !.
GlsYouth is a glaions invention, whil e t h e
girls chase the }wars, and sou chase the girls, the
mon th,,, see p, to dance away ''with down upon
their fea." Wl.at a pity our summer is so Situ
Baum yon know it, lovers become de...cons and
romp: grandmothers.
I Q- Never nod to an acquaintance in an sue
' tion. We did so once, and when the sale closed,
we found four broken chairs, six cracked flower
pots, and a knocked-kneed bedstead knocked
down to us. What we intended as nods to a
friend, had been taken by the uttetionCer as bids
fn , the kitchen furniture.
Tho married wome4 alone, and that in but
a few i n stances, favor disunion; the single ladies
are not only in favor of union—to a man; but
even to a very small boy—sometima.
CrPrentice, of the Louisville Journal, says
the Legislature of South Carolina has issued in•
structions to mariners sailing from Charleston,
not to consult the North Stor.
Womans Rights.
Old Gent.—Say bay, what's the reason your
mother don't sew a patch on your trowser loons,
and send you out with a trifle cleaner face!
Bey—Coz she aint got no time.
Old Gent—flint got no time! What's the rea
son she nint
Boy—She's busy getting up resolutions for the
Woman's , Right Convention, so silk) hasn't got is
minute to spore fur nothing else."
Parson Nlller, a famous preacher in Newbury.
port, of the olden time, had tno following request
sent to hint to rend In the pulpet.
"Zechariah Humber and wile, desire to return
thanks for being blessed with the natural cones.
gnomes of mittritnony.”
"ilere's a cram)) of comfort fur a alms of unfor
tanates, who wem too often ghtl.4l at by heart
less sneerers who are nut ashamed to brook the
bruised real : 'Old lady who has as,
twined the ago of twenty-four or live without hav
ing married a foil,* lowa, a Plabler or a &oak'
ani,"