BeDforti 3nq nircr ani) Ctetmirk.
•r i, i , ; --.rn - - ..: . ■ ; •.. , - i %n , f „ **7 - ;<t „ • \M> : • „• -;s* .
BY UIYID OYER.
aw •
The Carriage of Pocahontas.
Br BENSON J. LOSSIXO
DT7RJNO tlic lovely Indian summer time,
i n the autumn of 1608, there vras a marriage
on the banks of the Powhatan, where the
English had laid the eomer-stone of the
•jrsil fabric of Angle Saxon Empire in the
Now Wov!4. ?- wis celebrated in the second
church ivhi "htho English settler® hid ore et
ei there. Like their first, which fire had
devoured the previous winter, it was a rude
structure, whose roof rested upon rough
pine eolumns, fresh from the virgin forests
aa! wooto a lomings were little indebted to
ti.e band of art. The officiating priest was
"go&d Ila-rter Htaitef " who had lost all
his books by tho conflagration. History,
poetry, and song, have kept a dutiful silence
respecting that first, English marriage iu
America, because John Laydoa and Anne
Burrows were comurou people. The bride
groom was a. carpenter, among the first ad
venturers who ascended the Powhatan, then
nitnj.l Junes in lionor of a bad king; and
'he brine w-s waiting-maid to W Mlitres*
Forres.',"wife of Thomas Forrest, geutle
men. These where the first white women
ever Wo at tlx; .lamestowu settlement.
A'uiOft five years later, was another mar
riage at Old Jamestown, in honor of which,
history, poetry, und song have been employ
ed. The bridegroom was "Master John
Itolfe, an honest gentleman, aud of good
behaviour," from the realm of England;
and the bride was a princess royal, named
Mutoa, or Pocahontas, the well-beloved
daughter cf the Emperor of the great Pow
hatan confederacy, oil the Virginian pouiu
mla. The officiating priest was Master
Alexander Whitaker, u noble apostle O*
Christianity', who went to Virginia for the
cure of souls. Sir 1 homas Dale, then Gov
ernor <•{' the eokmy, thus briefly tells hi-s
masters of the Company in Loudon, the
story of Pocahontas: "Powhatan's daughter
I cau.-ed to be carefully instructed in
tdlirhiiiau religion, who, after she bad made
a good progress therein, renounced publiuly
her couutry's idolatry, openly coufesscd her
Christian faith, was, as she desired, baptised,
and is since married to an English gentle
men of good understanding (as by Lis letter
unto inc. containing the reason oi his mar
riage of her, you may prceeive,) another
knot to hind this peace the stronger, llcr
father aud friends gave approbation to i;,
and hii uncle gave her to him iu the church.
She lives civilly and lovingly with him,
nfliJ, I trust will increase in goodness, as tho
knowledge of God incf <*eth iu her. She
will go to England with inc, and, were it
but the gainiiig of this one sou., 1 will
think my time, toil, aud pre.-em stay, wU
spent.
So discoursed Fir Tuonan;- DuiC. C urios
ity would know more of the Princess and
her marriage, and curiosity may hero be
gratified .to the extent of the revelation of
recorded history.
• The finger of a special Povi-icnoe, point
ing down the vista of ages, is seen in the
character and acts of Pocahontas. She Was
i he daxgbier of a pagan king who had never
heard of Jesus of Nazareth, yet her heart
was d+erflovrihg with the cardinal virtues of
a li-'o.
• •She was a lar.dacapo of mild earth,
Where ail was harmony, and cairn quiet,
Luxuriant, budding."—Bvito*.
When Captain Smith, the boldest and
best of the eariy adventures iu Vitgiuiu,
penetrate! the dense forest he was made a
prisoner, was conducted in triumph from
village to village, until he stood in the pres
ence of Powhatan, the supreme ruler, and
was then condemned to die!
Upon the barren sand
A. single captive stood;
Around him came, with how and hrand,
The red-men of the Wood.
Like bini of old bis doom ho bears,
Bock-bound on ocean's rim :
The chieftain'* daughter knelt in tears,
Aud breathed a prayer for him.
Above his he:id in air
l'be savage war-club swuug:
I'be Iraniu- girl, Iu wild despair,
Her arms around biui dung.
Tbea shook tb-i warriors of the shade,
Like leaves on usjien-limb—
Subdued by that lioioic maid
Who oroatbed a prayer for him.
"Unbind him!" gasped the chief—
' O'cey your king's decree!"
He kissed away licr tears of grief,
AcJ set tiie captive free.
Ti wif thus, when iu life's ilorm,
Hope's star to mau griwa dint,
An angel kneels iu woman's toria,
And breathae a prayer for lam.
CVOUOE P. SLOAAIS.
• • • • •
How could that stern old king deny
fh ■ uogel pleading,in h.-r eye?
'-low mock the sweet, imploring grace
That brunt lied in beauty from her face,
AcJ tgbv. k::eeli-rg cJjofi gave
A Weekly Paper, Devoted to Literature, Politics, the Arts, Sciences, Agriculture, &c., &e—Terms: Two Dollars per annum.
A power to sooth and still subdue,
Until, though humbled like a slave,
To more than queenly sway she grew.
William G. Sihms.
Th emperor yielded to the maid, and
the captive was set tree.
Two years after that event Pocahontas
again become an angel ef deliverance. She
Uastone d to Jamestown during a dark ami
stormy night, ituformod the English of a
conspiracy to exterminate them, and was
hack to her couch before duvvn. Smith was
grateful, and the whole English colony re
garded her as their deliverer. But grati
tude U often a plant of feeble root, and the
cauker of selfishness will destroy it alto
gether. Smith went to England; the mor
als of the colonists became deprived; Argull,
a rough, hall-piratical navigator, uumauuful
of her character, bribed a savage, by the
promise of a copper kettle, to betray Poca
hontas into his hands, to be kept as a hos
tage while compelling Powhatan to make
restitution for injuries inflicted. The em
peror loved his daughter tenderly, agreed
to '.he terms of ransom gladly, and promised
unbroken friendship for the Euglish.
Pocahontas was now free to return to her
forest home. But other bouds, more holy
than those of Argaii, detained her. W nile
in the custody of teh rude buccaneer, a mu
tual attachment had budded and blossomed
between her and John Kolfe, aud the fruit
was a happy marriage—"another knot to
bind uie peace" with Powhatan muchstrong-
April, in the Virginia peninsula, where
the English settlers first built a city, is one
of the loveliest months in the year. Then
winter has bidden a final adieu to the mid
dle regions of America: the trees are robed
in gay and fragrant blossoms; the robin, the
olud-bird, and the oriole, are just giving
the first opening preludes to the summer
concerts in tlie woods, wild flowers are
laughing merrily in every hedge, and upon
the green banks of every stream.
it was a day in charming April, in 1613,
when Kolfe and Pocahontas stood at the
marriage altar in the new and pretty chapel
at Jamestown, where, not long before, th c
bride had received Christian baptism, and
was named the Lrdy Rhr.*>ee. Tho awn
had marched half way up toward the meri
dian when a goodly company had assembled
beneath the temple roof. The pleasant odor
of the "pews of cedar" commingled with
the fragrance of the wild flowers which
decked the tastoons of ever greens r.r.d
sprays that hung over the "fair, broad win
dow-," aud thc commandment tablets above
the chancel. Over the pulpit of black-wal
nut hung garlands of while flowers, with the
waxen leaves and scarlet berries of the hol
ly. The communion-table was covered with
fair white linen, aod bore bread from the
wheat fields of Jamestown, and wine from
its luscious grapes. Thc font, "hewu hol
low between, like a canoe," sparkled with
water, as on the moruiug when the gentle
princess uttered her baptismal vuw3.
Of all that company assembled in the
broad space between the cbauccl aud the
pews, the bride wnd groom weie the central
fiigures iu fact and significance. Pocahon
tas was dressed in a simple tunic of white
muslin, from the looms of Dacca. Her arms
were bare even to the shoulders: and, hang
ing loosely towards her feet, was a robe of
rich stuff, presented by Sir Thomas Dale,
aud fancifully embroidered by herself and
her maidens. A gaudy fillen encircled her
head, and held the plumage of birds and a
veil of gauze, while her limbs were adorned
with the simple jewelry of the uative work
shops. Kolfe was attired iu tho gay cloth
ing ot an English cavalier of that period and
upon his thigh he wore the short sword of a
gentleman of distinction in society. He
was the personification of manly beauty in
form and carriage: she of womanly modesty
and lovely simplicity; and a* they came
and stood before the man of God, history
dipped her peu in the indistructable foun
tain of truth, and recorded a prophecy of
mighty empires in the New World. Upon
thc chancel steps, where no railing inter
fered, the good Whitaker stood in his sac
erdotal robes; and, with impressive voice,
pronounced the marriage ritual of the liturgy
of the Anglican Church, then first planted
on the Western continent. Ou bis light
in a richly carved chair of state, brought
from England, sat the Governor, with his
ever attuudant halberdiers, with brazen
helmets, at his back.
There was yet but few women in the col
ony, end these, soon ufter this memorable
event, returned to native Eugland. The
"ninety young woracu, pure and uncorrupt
ed," wbotu the wise Sandys caused to be
sent to Virginia, as wives for the planters,
did not arrive until seven years later. All
then ft Jamestown were at the marriage.
The lettors of tbo time Lave transmitted to
us the names of some of them. Mistress
John llolfe, with her child, (doubtless of
the family of the bridegroom;) Mistress
BEDFORD. PA., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8,1856.
Easton and child, and Mistress Horton and
grandchild, with her maid-servant, Eliza
beth Parsons, who, on a Christmas eve be
fore, had married Thomas Powell, were yet
in Virginia. Among the noted men then
present, was Sir Ttomas Gates, a brave
soJdier in many wars, and as brave an ad
venturer among the Atlantic perils as any
who ever trusted to the ribs of oak of tuo
ships of Old England. Ani Master Sparks
who had been co-euibassador with Itolfe to
the'eourt of Powhatan, stood near the old
soldier, with young Ilenry Spilman at his
side. There, too, was the youag George
Percy, brother of the powerful Duke of
Northumberland, whose conduct was always
as noble as his blood, and near Li:u, an
earnest spectator of the sceue, was the el
der brother of Pocahontas; but not the
destined successor to the throne of his
father.
There too was a young brother of the
bride, and many youths and maidens fiom
the forest shades; but one noble figure —the
pride of the Powhatan confederacy—the
father of the bride, was absent. lie had
consented to the marriage with willing voice
but would not trust himself within the pow
er of the English at Jamestown, lie re
mained in his habitation at Weroweromoco,
while tho ROSE and tho TOT CM were being
wedded, but cheerfully commissioned bis
brother, Opachiseo, to give away his daugh
ter. That prince performed his duty well,
and then, in careless gravity, be sat and
li stcued to the voice of the Apostle, anu
the sweet chanting of the little choristers.
The music ceased, the benediction fell, the
solemn '-Amen" echoed from the rude vaul
ted roof, aud the joyous company left the
chapel for the festal hall of the Governor.
Thus "the peace was made stronger, and
the ROSE of England lay undisturbed upon
the HATCHET of tho Powhatan*, while the
father of Pocahontas lived.
Months glided away. The bride and
groom "livedcivilly and lovingly together,''
until Sir Thomas Dale departed for Eng
land, in 1616, when they, with m&Dy set
tlers, accompanied him. Foniocomo, one of
the shrewdest of Powhatan's councillors,
went also, that he might report all the won
ders of England to bis master. The lady
Rebecca received great attention from tho
court and all below it. "31ie accu-tomed
herself ito cvilitv and carried herself as
daughter of a king." Dr. King thc Lord
Bishop of London, entertained her "with
festival state and pomp," beyond what he
had ever given to other ladies; ami at the
court she was received with tho courtesy due
to her rank as a princes. But the silly
bigot on the throne was highly incensed,
because one of his subjects had dared to
marry a lady of royal blood, and, in the
midst of his dreams fiom his preogatjves he
absurdly appreheuded that Rolfb might lav
claim to the crown of Virginia!" Afraid
of the royal displeasure, Oupt. Smith who
was then iu Eug'and, would not allow her
to call him fat/i'r, a3 she desired to do.—
She con Id not comprehend thc cause and
her tender simple heart was sgrely grieved
by what seemed to be his want of afleotion
for her. She remained in Englaud about
a year; and, when ready to embark for
America with her husband, she sickened and
died at Gravcst-nd, in the flowery month of
June, 1617, when not quite twenty-two
years of age. She left one son Thomas
Rolfe, who afterwards became quite a dis
tinguished niau in Virginia. He had but
one child a daughter. From her, eomo of
tho leading families of Virginia trace their
lineage. Among these are the Bolings,
Murrays, Guys.Eldridges,snd Randolphs.—
But Pocahontas needed no posterity to per
petuate her name--it is imperishably pre
served in the ambeT of history.— Home
Journal.
Eloquent Extraet.
Wo present below an extract from a
speech delivered in the House of Represen
tatives of this State, iu February, 1847, by
James Fox, Esq., Representative from
Dauphin county, io reply to Mr. Ilasson, thc
member from Cambria county.
"A word more Air. Speaker, in regard to
ray roley-boley friend from Cambria, and I
have douo. That valiant aud redoubtable
second edition of Col. Pluek, has indulged
himself in denouncing the Whigs and thei r
principles, thus: —
'JF rum the tar Lint period of the dmirieun Riv
oluiion down to tht prisi'd tune, the Whtgs her
always been Tories. Their principles art identified
will the black cocade Fiieralislt, and they have
nicer failed to exult in the Victories of our inimies.
I% the county of Cambria a volunteer company corn
poring one hundred end four min, started for Mix
ico, and I her wart only sixteen IVhegs en it.'
1 ask, sir, why U not the "representative
of the frosty sons uf thunder" himself now
marching towards the battle field? I can
easily imagine from the giuger-pop patriot
ism of the gentleman, that be could not en
ter a company as a private soldier, bat I
' wold have supposed from his enlarged
proportions, and comprehensive love of
country, that, he would tender himself to the
Governor of the Commonwealth, as a whole
company, officers, privates and all, of
which he was Captaiu No. 1, of Company
No. 2!!
I fancy 1 can now see the gentleman
standing on the Summit of some mighty
mountain in Cambria, robed cap-a-pit in
the soldier's garb, swelling with patriotic
indignation at the bolduess of Mexican
braggadocia, bis face rosy as a summer's
pepper, and suffused with a compound of
tears and other mucilaginous liquid,#, bid
ding a rapid adieu to the cliffs and quag
mires, the toads, frogs and snakes, of his
own, his darling Cambric. Heboid him
tearing hiruself from the scenes of his child
hood and marching with hurried steps to the
Geld of slaughter. Company No. % com
manded by Captain No. 1, is now in the
plains of Mexico, "his heart is in the fray
and eager for the fight." The music of the
fife and drum are lost in the hoarse thun
der of the cannon's roar, the beams of Leav
en are partially obscured by the dust and
smoke of battle, wheu the gallant Captain
No. 1, of Company No. 2. is seen emerged
from the shantee or chapparel.
Around his bead he wears a wrarth of
sliamroek, over his back is spanned a coat
of scarlet, significant of bis murderous in
tentions, bis breeches woven to the leg, as
though the flesh had been melted and run
into them, on either shoulder floats a mack
erel, in his left baud he carries a briek-ba-t
and in his right, flourishes the mighty shil
lalch. Thus armed and equipped, strad
dled upon a mule, gorgeously caparisoned,
he enters the arena and looks fiercely
forth for the mighty Santa Anua him
self.
"Heads up, Captain .Yo. 1, ettintion
Company .No. 2, count of in sections of
four, and march at 'w'iailing distance Jar
stxlctn. Bshould that lubberly spalpeen
Santa Anna and FOLLOW YOUR GINEKAL,''
and darting for Lis rival, like a true, knight
of the olden time, be strikes the shield of
the mighty chief. The astonished idlow
cps of the, Mexican General recoil'at tbe
fearless courage of tbe stranger soldier.—
"Git out of my rood, .Misther Santa Anna
or I'll be i/ie dith of y?,'' shouts Captain No.
1j of Company 2. " Sir I'm I tie drcindent
of Teddy CP Toole, I wos borne in the town
of Limmeri'tk, in th* county of Tippernry,
I am the ripresinlatib'cftom Cambria county
and the right arm of the Dimicratic party
of Pennsylvania. I've tlm lilted a thous
and miles to see you, and by the undrcnyA
shr ns of St. Patrick and the. strawberry hps
of Kate Killarncy, but Vll be the dith of
ye," and suiting tbe action to tbe word, be
rushed headlong against bis antagonist
it was ajfoarful and wight yattack. It
combined the enthusiastic energyof Fall
staff, the serene judgment of Quixotte, and
the skill and strategy of an auimated, liv
ing blood and bones, Jack O'Clubs. Sir
it was irresistahle, it staggered the plumed
warriors of th# South, aud both riders fell
to the earth. It was a dreadful and most
intensely exciting moment.
The palfrey of the gentleman was seen
darting across the plain, bis darling shill a
leh was flying through tbe air, like the
stick of a rocket, and last, though not least,
the unmentionables of the gallant, though
uufyrtunate Captain No. 1, of Company No*
2, were rent asunder, and like Cardi
nal YVolsey, be was left "naked with bis
enemies."
Sir, misfortune commands our pity and
respect, and we heic drop the curtain
mentioning, however, that the latest ac
counts from the seat of war, represent the
Captain as being totally bewildered, and
running to and fro, like the affrighted sons
of Jerusalem, and exclaiming in imitation
of tbe duke of York, at the battle of Bos
worth, "a hoist, a horse, my laurels, tuy
military laurels for a horse, but if you've
got no horse, Vll swop 'cm for my Jack
Ass.'
Nebraska City, now nnnibering 850 in
habitants, with all the necessary convenien
ce! of life, has been built up at the old mi
litary station, Fort Kearney, within the last
twelve months. The census of the Terri
tory taken la?t fall, indicates a population
of 4,500.
THE MCRWER OF JUSTUS MATTHEWS.
At New Haven, on the 17th inst., the Grand
Jury indicted Samuel Sly as principal, and
Rhoda Wakeman (the prophetess,) and
Thaukful S. Herscy, as accessories to the
uiurder of Justus Mathews. Their trial
will soon take place. Abigal Sables and
Josiab Jacksou have bccu discbaiged from
prison. The Jprophetess wept like an in
fant on being told that sbe must remain.—
Mrs. Horsey said, pointing to the prophet
ess. "they little know what they are about
in shutting up that person there."
DP.. fiiXE.
A SKETCH BY J)K- WILLIAM ELBEtt.
When a man's life is heroic, and his name
has passed into history, the world wants to
know Liui personally, intimately. The
"grave and reverend chrouicler,' 1 passing
over his beginnings, presents him abruptly
in hU full-grown greatness ; men render tb?
admiratiou earned, but the sympathetic
emulation awakened is concerned to know
how he grew into Lis maturity of excellence.
This curiosity is not aa idleness of the fancy
but a personal interest in the facts that
springs out of those aspirations which put
every man upon the fulfilment of his own
destiuy. llow came this man to excel—
what was iu him—what happened to develop
it? "Some men arc born great; some
achieve greatness; souie Lave greatness
thrust upon them." How camu this man by
it? Is it within uiy reach aiso? and, by
what means? History provokes us with
,sucb queries as these; Biography answers
them.
Doctor Elisha Kent, Kane is not quite
thirty-four years old, yet he has done more
t.bau circumnavigate the globe; ue has vis
ted and traversed India, Africa, Europe,
South America, the islands of the Pacific
and twice penetrated the Arctic regiou to
the highest latitude attained by civilized
man. He has eneountcreu the eitruiuest
perils of sea and land, in every climate of
of the globe; he lia.s uncharged in turn the
severest duties of the soldier and the sea
man, attached to the United .States Navy as
a surgeon, he is nevertheless, engaged at
one time in the coast survey of the tropica;
ocean, and in a month or two, we find him
exploring the frigid zone ; aud all the while
that bis personal experiences had.the charac
ter of romantic adventure, ho was pushing
them in the spirit of scientific and philan
thropic enterprise.
A3 a boy, his instinctive bent impelled
him to indulgence and enjoyment of sue 1,
adventures as were best fitted to train him
for the work before h-iui- UU collegiate
studies suffered some postponement while
his physical qualities praised for their neces
sary training and dicipliue. It was almost
in the spirit of truancy that he explored the
Blue Mountains of Virginia, as a student
of sreo'ogv, under the guidance of Uru feasor
Budget's, and cultivated, at once, his Hardi
hood ot vital energy and those elements of
natural srience which were fo qualify him
for his after services in the field of physical
geography. But, in due time He returned
to the pursuit of literature, and achieved the
usual honors, as well as though his college
studies had suffered no diversion—his muscles
and nerves were educated, and his brain
lost nothing by the indirectness of it
development, but was rather corroborated
lor all the uses which it hns served since.
He graduated at the University of Pennsyl
vania—first, in its c ollegiate, and after
wards, in its medical, department. His
special relishes in study indicated bis natnrsl
drift : chemistry and surgery; natural science
in its most intimate converse with substance
and the remedial art iu its most heroic func
tion. lie went out from his Mma Mater n
good clasrical scholar, and surgeon. But be
lacked, or thought he lacked robustness of
frame and soundness of health. He solici
ted an appointment in the navy, and upon
his admission, demanded active service.
He was appointed upon the diplomatic staff
as surgeou to the first American Embassy
to China. This position gave him opportu
nity to explore the Philippine Islands, which
be effected mainly on foot, lie was the first
man who descended into the crater of Tael;
lowered mora than a hundred feet by a
bamboo rope fiotn the overhanging cliff", aud
clambering down some seven hundred more
through the scoriae, he made a topographi
cal sketch of the interim? of this great vol
cana, collected a bottle of sulphurous aeiu
from the very mouth of the crater; and,
although he was drawn up almost senseless,
he brought with him Lis portrait of this
hideous cavern, and the speciiuens which it
afforded.
Before he returned from this trip, he had
ascended the Himalayas, and triangulated
Greece, on foot; he had visited Ceylon; the
Upper Nile, and all the mythologic region
of Egypt; traversing the route, and making
the acquaintance of the learned Lepsin*,
who was then prosecuting his archaeological
researhes.
At home again, when the Mexican was
broke out, be asked to be removed from dye
Philadelphia Navy Yard to the field of a
more congenial service; but the government
sent him to the Coast of Africa. Here he
visited the slave factories, from Cape Mount
to the river Bonny, and through the infamous
Da Souia, got access to the baraeoons of
Dahomey, and contracted besides the Coast
Fever, from the effects of wheh he has never
entirely recovered.
From Africa he returned before the close
of the Mexican war, believing that his con
stitution was broken, and his health rapidly
going l , be called up*o President Polk, and
demanded an opportunity for service that
might crowd the little rCnttient of his life
with achievements in keeping with his am
bition ; the President just thbn embarrassed
by a temporary ntin-nitercoursc with G'-ne
eral Seott, charged tlic Doctor with de
spatches to the General, of great moment
and urgency, which must be carried through
a region occupied by the enemy. This em
bassy was marked by an adventure bo roman
tic, aud so illustrative of the character of the
mat., that we arc tempted to detail it.
On his way to the Gull be secured ahorse
iii Kentucky, such as a kuight errant would
have chosen fur the companion and sharer
of his adventures. Landed at Vera Crua
he asked for an escort to convey him to the
capital, hut the officer in comuiaud bad no
troopers to spare —he must wail, or he must
accept, instead, a baud of ruffian Mexicans*
called the Spy Ootupany, who had taken to
the business of treason and trickery for a
livelihood. lie accepted them, and went
forward. Near Puobia his troop encountered
a body of Mexican?, esocrting a number of
distinguished officers to Orizaba, among
whom wore Major General Gaona, Governor
of Puebia ; bis son, Maxituiiltau, and Gen
eral Torejon, who commanded the brilliant
charge of horse at Bueoa Vista. The Sur
prise was mutual, but tfw Spy Company bad
the advantage of the ground. At the first
iustaiitef the discovery, and before the ras
cals fully comprehended their involvement,
the Doctor shouted in Spanish, "Bravo ! the
capital adventure, Colonel, form your liue
for a charge'" And down they were upon
the enemy; Kane and bis gallant Kentucky
charger ahead. Understanding the princi
ple that semis a tallow candle through a
plank, and that the momentum of u body is
its weight multiplied by its velocity, he
dashed through the opposing force, and
turning to engage after breaking their line,
jj -• found himself faitly surrounded, and
two of the enemy giving him their special
attention. One of those was disposed of iu
an iusiftnt by re.rring Lis horse, who with a
blow of his fore foot, floored his nun ; an J
wheeling suddenly, the Doctor gave the
other a sword wound, which opened the ex
ternal iiitv? artery, and put him More He
Com'nt. This subject of the Doctors
military surgery was the young Maximilian.
The brief melee terminated with a cry from
the Mexicans "we surrender." Two of the
officers made a da.-h for an escape, the
Doctor pursued them, but >oon gave up the
chase. When he returned, he found his
ruffians preparing to massacre the prisoners.
A? he galloped past the young officer whom
he had wounded, he heard him ery"Senor,
save my father." A group of the guerilla
guards were daubing upon the Mexicans,
huddled together, with their lances in rest.
He threw himself before them—one of them
transfixed his horse, another gave him a
severe wound in the groin. He killed the
first lieutenant, wounded the second lieu
tenant and blew a part of the colonel's
heard off with the last charge of his six
shooter: then grappling with him,and using
his fists he brought the party to term?.
The lives of the prisoners were staved, and
the Doctor received their swords. As soon
as General Gaona could reach his son, who
lay at a little distance from the scene of
the lust struggle, the Doctor found tiiiu
sitting by inai, receiving his la*t sdiens.
Shifting the soldier and resuming the sur
geon, he secured tha artery, aud put the
wounded man in a condition to travel. The
ambulance got up for tha occasion, contained
at once tae woundea .Maximilliart, the
wounded second lieutenant, and the man
that had prepared them lor slow travelling,
himself on his iitter, from the lance wound
received in defence of bis prisoners. When
they reached l'ueblu, the Doctor's wound
piuved the worst iu the party. He was ta
ken to the government house, but the old
General, in gratitude for hie generous ser
vices, had him conveyed to his own bouse.
General Childs, American commander at
Puebia, bearing of the generosity of bis pris
oner discharged him without making arty
terras, and the old General became the
principal nurse of bis eaptomnd benefactor
dividiug bis attention* between him and his
son, w ho lay wounded in an adjoining room.
This illness of oar hero was long and doubt
ful, H ud he was reported dead to his friends
at home.
When he recovered and returned, he was
employed in the Coast survey. While en
gaged in this service, the government by its
correspondences with Lady Franklin became
committed for an attempt at the rescue of
Sir John and his ill,starred companions i"
Arctic discovery. Nothing could be better
addressed to the Doctor'* governing scnty
tmnts*than tfiis adventure. The*enterprise
of Sir John Van exactly' iu the curreut of
VOL. VO 6.
oue his own enthusiasms—the service o
natural science combined with heroic
pemmal effort; and, added to.tkia that art
of, patriotism which charges itag!f wi}li its
own fuii share in the execution of national
engagements of, honor ; aud beside*
cordial assumption of his country's debts
and duties, there was no little fpre in the
appeal of u noblybrave spirited jtoimin to
the chivalry of the American navy.
He was "batliag in the tepid waters o
the Gulf of
150," when he received his telegraphic
order to proceed forthwith to New Yyrk, for
duly upon the Arctic expedition, Iu pinu
days from that date he whs beyojui tbo
limits of the United States on ids dismal
voyage to tie North Pole. Of first
American gxpediiiou, as ft is well known to
the public, he was the surgeon, the natural
ist, and tie histotiau. It returned disap-
pointed of its main object, after a winter iu
the regions of eternal ice and a fifteen
mouth's absence.
Scarcely allowing himself a day to rccove r
from the hardship of his cruise, he set on
foot the second attempt, from which he has
returned, and verifying by actual observa
tion the Imjg questioned existence of an
op.n sea beyond (he latitude of 82 degrees,
aud beyond the temperature, alsc, of 100
degrees below the freezing point. His
"Vers onai Narrative," published early in
1853, recounts the adventures of ibe first
voyage, and discovers his diversified quali
fications for such an enterprise.
The last voyage occupied tw winters in
the highest latitudes, and two years and a
half of uninterniitteJ labor, with the risks
anil responsibilities attendant. ITo isnow
preparing the history for publication. But
that part of it wuieU Lest reports bis own
personal agency, auJ would most jassly pre
sent the mau to the reader, will of course, ba
suppressed. We would gladly supply it,
but as yet this is impossible to us. liis
journal is private property, the extracts
which w i may expect will be only too shy of
egotism, and his companions have not spoken
yet, as some day they will speak, of his
conduct throughout the terrible struggles
which together they endured.
To form anything like aa adequate esti
mate of tills last achievement, it is to bo
recollected thai his whole co m pa oya n ion n te d
to but twenty men, and that of this corps
or crew be was the commander, in naval
phrase ; and when we are apprised tuat his
portfolio of scenery, sketched on the spot
ia pencil, and in water colors kept fluid
over a spirit lamp, amounts to over three
hundred sketches, we have a hiutcf the #i
tent and variety of the offices he fiiiW on
this yoyage. He was iu fact the surgcop*
sailing-master, astronomer and naturalist
as well as captain and leader of toe ex-
pidiiicu.
This uian of alt work, and despm-ats, da
ring and successful doing, is iu he'gbt about
five feet seven inches, iu weight say one
huudred aud thirty poundjj or so, if health
and rest would but give him leave to £ll up
his natural measure. His complexion is
fair, Lis hair brown, and bis eyes dark gray,
with a liawk look. He is a hunter by every
gift and grace and lu-tioct that makes up
the character; an excellent shot and a
brilliant hors-'inau. He has escaped with
whole bones from all his adventures, but
he has several which are trou
blesome, aud with such general health as
his, most men would call themselves in
valids, and live on furlough from all the ac
tive duties of life; yet he has won the dis
tinction of being the first civilized man to
stand iu latitude 82 dog, 30 tuiu. and gpzo
upon the upon Polar Sea—to reach
nurthermost poiut of laud on ifie globe—-
to report the lowest temperature ever endu
red—the heaviest sl®4ge journeys svcr
perfoitaei—and the wildest life that civili
zed inuu has successfully undergone; and to
return after all to tell the story nf his ad
ventures.
The secret spring of all this energy io in
Uis religious euthusiaaui—discovered alike
in the generous spit it of his adventures in
pnrsuitof science—in his enthusiastic fidel
ity to duty and io his heroic maintenance f\
the poiut of honor iuall his intercourse with
men.
In his deportment there is that mixture
of shyness and frankness, simplicity and
faslidiitusucsa, sandwiched rather than clou
ded which marks the man of genius, and the
monk of industry. He se?m< confident i,w
himself but not of huuseUY His manner is
remarkable for celerity of movement, alert
attcutivcncss, quickness of comprehension,
rapidity of utterance and sautoatious com
pactness of diction, which arise from r
habitual watchfulness against the betrayal
of his owa enthusiasms. He seems to tear
that he is boring you, and is always discover
ing his unwillingness "to sit" for your
admiration.- If you questiou him about tb-.t
handsotuo official acknowledgment of ius
services by the British and Auwrv.au