. . - * " ; ? * ^
[ __ . *
K $
* THE CAROLINA SPARTAN.
BY CAVIS & trimmier. DeuotciJ to Southern ?iigl)ts, politics, Agriculture, amJ ittisccllrxug. 82 PER AHNTTM.
VOL. XIV. SPARTANBURG, S. ., THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1857. ~~ NO 7.
THfl CAROLINA SPARTAN.
BY CAVIS &~TRIMMI?R.
T-0. P. VERNON, Associate Editor.
Price Two Dollars per annum In idrnnrc or
+1 .50 .it ills and of the yeur. If not paid until '
r* . after the year expires $3.00.
Payment will be considered in advance if made
within three months.
No subscription taken for less than six months.
Money may be remitted through post musters at
our risk.
Advertisements inserted at the usual rates, and
bontrncts made on reasonable terms.
The Spartan circulates largely over this and
adjo'ning districts, and offers an admirable medium
to our friends to reach customers.
Jrib work of all kinds promptly executed.
Blanks, Daw. and Equity, continually on hand
h!r prin ?<1 to order.
CAROLINA SPAKTAN
Bowen on Central Africa.
Central Africa, Adventures and Missionary
Labors in Several Countries in the
Interior of Africa, from 1849 to 1850, 1
by T. J. Uowss, 359 pp. 12mo. Cltarle*
ton: Southern Baptist Publishing Socio
ty. 1857.
From a review of the above work in the
National (Washington) Intelligencer we
make the following extract, which consti- i
f tutes almost the entire article:
Mr. Bo wen in youth was a bold and hardy
soldier; but in his manhood and his ,
Christian devotion the qualities of a hero j (
born in him havo found a Held which no j
soldier ever has a chance to enter. To (
penetrate alone into an entirely unknown
and hostile region, to go straight through
the gates of a city peopled by hundreds of
, thousands who looked on him with the
same wonder as they would on an angel or i
a fiend dropping down from the clouds; to
say before the Court and King ??l a grew
nation in whose presence he stood arraign
ed, as Bowen did, "The God of Heaven is
my King; I am a soldier, and this book is
my sword," and thus to conquer his way
from city to city and through people after
peoplo, is an achievement such as an Alexander
never would have dreamed of undertaking.
It is comparatively cowari/ice t?? bo
a conquerer shielded on all sides bv an invincible
army.
Peculiar intellectual as well as moral
tr.iis always belong to such a pioneer.
Wuen a country is fairly open plenty of
/? okworms woik their way through it and
give the world heavy books, and plenty of
butterflies in literature flip over it to skim
materials for light hooks; but a "book that
is a book" u,>ott a new country is written
by a man of practical philosophy, otto of
mingled power as a man of perception ami
of reflection. Such a woik will al ways have
the life of a romance, and at the -ante lime
the clear analysis and classification which
-belong to naturo herself; for both the
bookworm and the fashionable are always
unnatural in their pictures of other lands.
They did not themselves see naturally, and
of course cannot paint naturally to the eye
of a-iolhor.
Pages might bo filled with extracts from
this rich sketch book of several vents' origi
nal research in the rarest of the woihlV
fields for new investigation. So peculiar i?.
that characteristic of a true explorer just
alluded to, that the most thorough student I
of African colonization in I.ihciia is struck
with entirely new yet perfectly simple an 1
truthful views of things seen there, and of
principle* legitimately drawn from observa
lion; and tbe leader in the colonization en
terprise has been heard to say, ' this book h
the best ever written on African cohniiza
tion, because it presents the subject indirect
ly." Truth is never app<eciated until its
connexion* aro seen; and the colonization of j
Western Africa, seen in or out of it* con ;
nexion with Central Africa, is as dilleiciit
in aspect as Amoican colonization has ap
peired to a man of the seventieth and a no.
tber of llio nineteenth centurv. African
colonization mi liowcii s narrative, and tli.it
bv the simplest style of statement, grows
from infancy to maturity, and looks as Vir
pinia now would to Capt. John Smith if lie | |
could wake from the sleep of generations.
And now that background of Cent-al
Africa, covered so lately with a cloud of impenetrable
daikness,conies up into the dis
tinrt foreground, '.lie mist clearing away ? >
x in broad aunli|>lit, and one of the most en
chanting prospect* the world ever presented
peering into view. Such immense cities in
densely populated Asia alone can rival; such
broad, rich, cultivated fields; such wealth !
that #1.000 is sometimes paid for a choice
Arabian hone; such a genial kindliness
and uibanity among the people; such a
trade, such culture, surely it seems a (beam 1
to think that, so near to theco.i?t of Afiiea, j
within but a hundred or two of miles from
the most barbarous and horrible portion of
the slave coast, such a wonderful people 1
should be living.
rr...... ~r n- w 1
a, ...ij nn in if>. ivimenor .Mr. iJowen'n
spirit wishes a fiohl of promise for explora- 1
lion such as none oilier on earth affords, lm
will at this day seek Cenlral Africa. If !
any such man Umfears in such an nnderla- '
king. ho may fling tiiein to the winds, for I
human nature never has and never can resist
the advances of a truly noble ami gene- '
rous spirit. If a ?elfl?h man, a man of mero
avarice and ambition, attempted to pene- I
trate the land, bo would probably meet the '
fato such a spirit always has met. But the 1
compliment Livingstone has received from '
the scientific world is based on a necessary 1
principle. Friends of science and of human I
discovery who w ish new countries explored
have lea nod that nono but the missionary 1
of Christ can satisfy an exclusive and dis j (
trustful people of the disinterestedness of
his mission. China and Japan were open r
to such men so long as they were such men, I
and never ean the world be opened by any 1
Others. 1
A few extracts illustrating these princi c
pies are culled alinoct at random from Mr. 1
Jiowen's book. After a rapid sketch of
what was anciently known of Africa. Mr. fi
Bowen gives a summary of Christian efforts F
to penetrnto it. Ho infers that tlio Portuguese
in the fifteenth century knew far
mme of Central Africa than is known in
our da)*. Ho speaks of the settlement of
Sieira Leone l?y negroes taken from our
Southern States durii g the war of the American
Revolution, which negroes, because
their cantors did not know what to do with |
them, were planted on their native shore,
foituing now a school of preparation to native
Africans who will exeit ati influence up
on the interior. He presents a graphic picture
of things in Liberia, drawing conclusions
which, from his point of view in Central
Africa, givo them a peculiar aspect of
truth. He is specially full in the intorina- i
lion he gives as to the influence of the colo- j
ny on the barbarous tribes ot the coast, the
very curse yt African society, and says: "If
they improve in the tame ratio lor the next ;
twenty years many of them will be half
civilized."
Mr. Howen thus states the principle on
which he felt bound to act, in passing
through the rude tribes of the coast, to de 1
vote bis life to die improvement of ti e com- j
paralively civilized tribes of the inlerioi:
' Desire to stimulate, labor to supply, and
tl'j strong arm of law to direct and restrain,
are indispeir able to the improvement of an v 1
barhaiotis tribe. If there had been no peo
|>'o in Africa superior to those of (iuiueu I
might have been content to pass my days
here, engaged in the lowest department of
preparatory labors; but when I knew that
tliu in'.ollecUiai and social stale of tin- Cell
Iral Africans already demanded (lie Gospel
and the higher decree of civilization, il up
peared to nie unreasonable to neglect litem
for tho sake of premature labors in Guinea."
Arrived on the coast of Hadngry, where '
lie was to penetrate the intciior, he speaks
thus of the distinction between the tribes
of Africa, as recognised by our Southern ;
planters:
' This part of Africa is called the 'slave
const,' because it afforded tire most intelli
gent, doeile, and industrious negroes lor the
American plantation. I am sorry to add ,
that these 'good niggers' were the almost j
civilized inhabitants ol Yoruba, Nicfe, and
ilau>a, and other courrtriea in Soudan, the
very people to whom I bad gone forth as a
missionary. They at least, according to 1
U10 indexible laws of nature, deserved a bet
tor fate than slavery; for if rights and rela- [
lions are the just result of properties or char- j
acter, which they undoubtedly are. these i
people had a right to remain unmolested I
in their native land. Every planter who i
is forty years old knows the great difference
in the character of 'new niggers.' The
hott. Stubby, sillv fellows, often brought
into t e slave inaikets, were chiefly from '
I'ongo, south of the line, where all the people
unpolled into America have an ntlinitv
to the liotentots. The "Gulla niggers'
wore from the Golah country, on the St.
Paul's liver, where they still vegetate, about
ino meanest ol tlio human race, un<l amply
worthy of (Im cotton-field. The 'Ehoe nigger'
\?n< from a line open country above the
Delta of the Niger, ami not from the Delta
itself, as we have commonly supposed. At '
home he was a noble, high-minded, and
hat'*civilized man, who beautified his fine
country with well cultivated fauns and shady
villages. In America ho was trustv, intelligent.
and industrious, but reinaiknble
for an absolutely indomitable spirit, to
which even the master ;mist yield when
the Ehoe was aroused, unless he should
choose to shoot down the best slave on his
plantation.
The familiar town of Abbcokula was the
tHM visited by Mr. Dow en ?a town whoso
history iiiiirIch hii eui ax the opening the
way for Christianity to penetrate to Ceil
tral Africa. A .series of oi? il conflicts, wag
ed particularly between the Egbax unci V<?
ruba?, leil to the destruction ot many prin
cipal towns, and two h tin died thousand peo
pie were killed and made slaves. Some
refugees of the Egbas took shelter on a pie
cipitou> granite hill about forty years since,
around which a population of peihaps sixty
ihous.ainl have since gathered. About 1858
Kgha merchants met the Wesley all mission
ane> at Hadagry, on the Coast, ami also
"several Egbas, who hid been recaptured
from slave ships ami civilized in Siena Leone,
relumed to their coilntr vuien at Abhookola,
telling womlerful tilings of clnistiani
ty and christian missionaries." Wesleyau
missionaries were invited to the 'own, and
now, in the Episcopal and Wesleyau sta
lions lliete, six hundied communicants aie
nuuibeied.
During bis stay at Abbeokuta the town 1
was attacked by a large army of the King
of Dahomey, llio powerful tribe who stand
forth yet as champions for the slave tunic
and the exiiipaltoii of the Christian reli I
gion. Mr. Howen's military experience led
litin to take a part such as few men in his
walk of life Could have played, lie thus
describes the beginning of 11 to conflict:
VEarly on the morning of March 3d.
1851, the scouts brought news that the ar
my of Dahomey was approaching the city.
1 exhorted the people to stand tirm, to to- '
reive their fire, and take good aiin. Ogo
buna, one of the Caloguns, (generals.) replied:
'Von will see that we shall light.'
Towards noon the Kgbas, amounting perhaps
to fifteen thousand men, all mined
a all guild, marched out at the Hadagry
;atn to meet tlio enemy. Theie was no
noise and gasconading, after the manner of
die Golalis. hut I could plainly see in their
irm and solemn countenance, as thousands '
rfter thousands passed l?y, that llioy weio
prepared for the occasion."
After two days, hard fighting the Daho- I
nies retreated, leaving about two thousand
lend on the field.
Wherever Mr. Tirown went lie found
nany of the interesting and countless peo
>lo of Genital Africa eager to hear of a re- t
igion indistinct tidings of which had come
o their en.s. Wo hail marked numerous '
xtracts to copy, hut have room for only
wo or three.
The following striking instanco of the
ense of honor anil moral integrity of the
eople surpasses any thing which travellers
no my name an?l :i_<>, the J. J
of my mother, whether 1 were an Lit*^i:-!? ,
man; the name of our king, whether i w ei?
ii M-imilm >n, (Mahometan,) ami what wa- ,
my object in coming to lloiriu. 1 answered
each question a- it was propounded, ami
tliey gave ine ampin time to express m\-< : j
fully. When 1 replied, i- our king," ,
I fell as no man can feel who acknowledge an
earthly monarch. King Suta appearc ! j
to he impte-sed with the decl.nation, I ?r he
atisweieil, 'God i- enough.' When 1 -aid i
that 1 was not a Mahometan, thev inquire i ,
whether i knew M iliouietf I told them x
ve-, ! had two Kornns. 1 >.? yon seive Mo ,
se-?' they continued. 'No; Mo-e.n wrote v
the truth, hut lie was my fellow-servant, Hot
inv nia-ler. We ueiiy allegiance to all i
eieatuies. even to angel-.' Glances and |
-miles of approbation told that this speech i
had produced the intended elh*ct. At la-'., i
when the King demanded my object in ,
coining to llorrin, i was just in a frame to i
-peak free I v of sal vat i >n through (,'hri-t I
I'hev listened attentively and oll'-red no
objections. When I ha I I'm.-lied the King I
told mo to return with X ??aiiiu; and we
left tluun to di-cu? iiiv propo-iti.>ii to come \
ard live in llorrin. I was informed that v
the King ami most of the nobles were much i
pleased with our i turview.
"A few days after my fust audience *
the Krng sent for me to have a private
interview, and requested me to bring the t
dingilu. or New I estament. This time he raised
the curtain and had me to sit near
to him. Only one man was no-sent- Tin. ?
- . 1 ~"*
Km# examined the Bible which I had '
brought, and requested me to read to him. t
I read and translated Luke's account of the '
conception. We then had iko following t
conversation: 'Why do you wi?h to live in t
Ilorrin.' 'To preach the gospel.' 'What 1
do you say when you preach}' I g i\e hiin J
a brief distinct outline of the Christian 10- v
ligion. 'We are Mahometans here.' 'I '
know you nro Mahometans, and that i> t
the reason I want to live among you and t
teac h you the whole word of (rod.' 41 nin "
afraid that your religion will spoil ours.' h
'God command* all iii? m. hurl: ami !..? t
repent and helieve the go-pel.' 'If any m m li
should hclieve here in Ilorrin, what would 1
lie do?' 'If any ??ne should helieve I woulil g
baptise him in the river A>sa; anil tin ner it
forth, if lie wero really a believer, ho would l
lend a new and holy lif-.' Heieupon ho
fixed liia eyes On the ground fur soino time tl
a* if in deep inedilntion, and muttered to p
hiin?elf in Ilatisa, which he supposed 1 a
would not understand,'Them are Mu-sul- ?
men, there are heathen?, theio are Clnis. 1
liana, (Nasara ) Hut he evaded an answer 1
to tiio question whether I should he permit- e
ted to live in Ilorrin. To me it seemed ii
morally impossible that a slieniioua and li
bigoted Mahometan people won Id permit w
mo to livo among them professedly to o?.n- ?
vert them to Christianity. 1
havo ielated (and truthfully) of the desert)
Arabs: " ; H
"The country west of Aibo was beautiful c.
and well cultivated. Seeing small parcels g
of fruit and other little articles lying beside w
the road, I asked Sam what it meant. 'De ci
put da for sell.' 'Well, where are the own- 1 p
end' 'Duuna, salt; in the farm some wha.'j I
'Don't travellers steal these tilings?' I in o
quired. 'No. sab; de can't steal uin.' In I
some places I saw a few cowries left by
purchasers, and was so well pleased with >1
tins novel market that 1 became a purcha li
ser myself, leaving some cowries, which w
Sam, who knew the signs, declared to be t<
the price." J ^
In the army of Dahnmiea that attacked I
Abbeokttla was a division of six thousand h
female troops, the Amazons of old. An h
incident ns to one of this class of soldiers c
we quote:
"One of the Dahomey prisoners brought I
to the iketu market was a native of that v
place who had been captured when a giil o
and enrolled in the King's aimy of Ama tl
zmis. ll??r parents found Iter out, and were 1
delighted with tlio opportunity of purcha : (
sing tier freedom; hut she said,'No, I will h
go hack to my master.' The Dahomey a
Amazons are said to have a peifect passion g
for the service, notwithstanding they are ii
bound to perpetual celibacy and chastity j si
under the penally of death. I know them p
t?) be furious in battle, but their chief utili- t'
ty, I am told, is to prevent rebellion among c
tlio male soldiers. They have a separate
organization, under generals and other olKcits
of their ow n sex, and are deeply at- ;
Inched to the King."
\\ o add an account of his visit to llorrin,
a Mahometan city, covering as large a ^
space as Now Yoik, into which no foreign j
ers had been permitted to go, but to which
the intrepid missionary went, and could (
not be stopped in his jourriev:
"About sunset 1 stopped at one of the (
numerous villages which lie around Hon in.
The venerable old Mahometan priest or reli- |
gioits teacher of the village cuno to see me j
with a present of eggs. Alter he ictired
some of the villageis lohl me that lie was f
urcusioineu 10 say, *lt is not the Mahoinetan
or tho heathen wlio will l>o saved, bill j
tho man who seives lJod in lii-? heart.' 1
was not preputial to hear such ndcctnue in
a suburban village of Ilorrin. The people
listened to the gospel attentively ami raised ,
no objections.
"On aiming at Iloriin next morning I
rode through the first ami second g ites ,
without ceremony and alighted under a |
tree. 'Why did he come in!' exclaimed
one of the gate keepers. 'St< j? there; put
his loads dow ii outside.' The carriers put
down my load as I directed, and 1 waited ^
a short time to see what would fellow. Atter
a little 1 walked gooU-nuluredlv into the ^
gate-house and asked for water, which was ,
brought by a timid girl. 'Why didn't you
send a messenger to let the King know von ^
were coining!' inquired the old captain of j
the gate. 'Because I am a messenger mv- (
self,' I replied. A little conversation put
him iti a better humor, ami he sent ineii to
inform the King of mv airival."
After several days Mr. Bowen was sent
for by the King, who manifested the great
est curiosity and received him courteously.
The visit is tints described:
i.ii . . i. i
"Xasuinu now informed me that the
ling was greatly pleased with me; that lie
?lh*?.l me n very wise man; thnt ho would
ive mo a horse now and a house in Fada
hen I should return. Far I a is ihe nristoratic
ouarter round about the King. I relied,
'Nas*ainu, yon know 1 told the King
diil not want iiionur, or horses, or slaves,
r ivory?only to preach tlie gospel. VVhen
come to 1 lor tin I shall want to live in
uno retired place, that I may preach to
io poor as well as to the rich. I cannot
vc in Fada. Tlio English missionaries
dl come by and-hy, and they know how
> please kings; they will live in Fada.
'on must let me be a poor inan in iloriin.1
said this with great earnestness, because I
It it, and because I was determined at all
a/.ards not to involve myself in any polilial
relation or favoritism.
"There were several Moors and Arabs at
lotrin, and some ol the latter weie as fair
Itinned as myself. 1 fact, I suspected one
f being, as his countenance indicated, neilier
more nor less than an American; but
afterwards supp ?ed myself to be mistaken.
)ne of the Moots, who protested to have
eon at K ts^andiia and Stamhoul, (Alex
ndiia and Constantinople.) treated mo with
ieat friendship, and appeared to be much
iterestcd in my case. On one occasion lie
aid to all present, pointing to me, 'These
eople ate the masters of the world, lie
>ld me thai lie had seen the ships of inv
ountry in the Mediterranean.
Monumental Records,
The researches of nnliouar ans have remills
done much to elucidate early liisto
v. The labors of Chauipolion, Hclzoni
.oung. Klaproth, W ilkinson, and Lepsius
rtV'i* !?' I?I. l 1 till* lll.ivt 1 . I ??i iik ! in t* I
# -Iiniiiiin v IIU HifCI l?
>l< Us 'til li.till! the llOllol ?>| ||.|V ;iii* .list\I\
if I the li.'l As?\iiuii in ailments. M 'si
it the uiotimls in,a have heeii i \|> .iff I c.?
a i) ex eiisive if mains i>f ancient | alaccs
he-e lulls hive l.fCn icjj iri|f?i fir iiioh
Ik ii it I wo ill, lu.and years as na'.aia! clcva
i. 11- I llif s al, ami no in 11 ?i knew when
!i il "cxi'fi into oieat oily" .'.iioil, 1 lio-?
winces wcif .. ,:of -< in i nt liri !;. lino?l
uli thick - >li> ut iri'.ia-lc, ? Inch at *
ovcred with m . j : n< - ami inscriptions n
lie cum ,I nm i uiiacicis. 11 mc are sculp
ureal, laro,.| tliau li!e, tlie king who biull
those paiaccs llerc, too, ate foil ml lh<
l> uliiio ovfn s in tiio lives of those r.iouIc11s,
lin o t>i(air<-s, thcii ci ulhcls in the opei
fl<l, their tiiuinphs, ami i!.? i recifiilmns
iio piicst ami t ,o vv.uiioi cupy the lore
rouml ol all the am lent se n I inure* show,
I " "
iili.it superstition an I joict then ruled
ll?J WOlbl.
Tlio 6>tiuo lab* t 'iilain inscriptions in
11o cinieifdi in lel'.i'ii, i<c * intuit* the ?x
loils ot tlie.-c heron-. ii'i-iinl- liavt
Uo been <leo.j' lon l. 1 t (' K t? iiiimhi
liD has for n number < f y -.i s t<*ilol a
Ja^dat, in -OHIO otVh il rnpuitv under tin
hiudi o.>\. iiiienl, i- 11 no in on'.lit nf dis
overinn tlio key ! ? these in- ption*. Hi
1 for ins ns tliat liter o nro, in in tin*
an soul pill res, two method* < ! writing, 1i
fit: tlio iliorntic, rending tiotn left ti? right
ml tlio Ouri?i\o, leading f< >m right to lelt
here nro, also, according to the rsmo am
I k-ij* p'iati lii>tory almost ax familiar l?
In; sriiol.ii a> tin; events of the pa?t ceiitu
v. Not so inurh has been learned from
lie interpretation of the hieroglt piiicx tivitl
ill.un til- writings of the Kgvpliamt, a* front
lie pictures :ui'l sculptures up<>u exi-tini;
iioiiiinieiits. "iinl lioin the recotere?l remaiitt
t" works of art, h ?th useful and oritiunen
al Kuiopean museums are now full o
otiosities fmni the tombs and catecoiuhso'
Cgvpt.
In the magnificent collections made h\
oveieions to increa'" their own glory, ami
n extensive piitate museums, procured l>\
lie wealth of the amateurs of ancient nit
nay ! loiiinl -pecimeiis < f almost evert
ool, implement. and piece <>f furuilure usee
v the hgvpti uis in their daily avocations
t is prohahle that a dwelling-house, <?r me
-halite's shop, might he listed up with ap
oopnate foi niluie fn in the tombs of Kgypt
ilid the mummy eases would prusetil m
vith the bones ami witlieied muscles ol
lie v. ry beings who u--t! tin furniture ami
fielded tin' tool-. 1 In; sculp show Ui
he Uses of the implements, an 1 the woJu.
>jicrtinili ot the mechanic and .he house
viftt. In a word, they restore cvprvlhiiit,
mi life, to make the scene complete, lit
lie aid of these sculptures, you m iv, ii
maginalion, uiount the < n ?>f tin- victori
his tvairlor, and drive with him over tin
rodtes i.f !i;s s| mgliterc ! t or vou mat
K'compant t!i< pr.r?t to teiy penetra
i t ills atvful doity, without hearing thi
tr'H'ul i st< jiru/.tui from his shriveled lips
r ton may step into the carnage ?.f at
!_;i j.tiati man, ami go wIth him to m
tarty in high life, and aent yourself u'pon ;
livhn, ottom in. or splendid cli lir, itvalhm
n "h'tn art in its callings and deroi itinns
iml witn -ss the arrival and enteit .inmcii
.f gties?s n! both s, Xi-s. ami discover m
oh in the countenance* ?>f the ami
piated lie e?; or you may tidt the -lioj'-"
uliitacs, the Hi <]s i f jigi i< iltui i-'.s, ? r tin
ijiiksofi. h , m l lind tlie oc. uj< nils a!
it home, *? it li iti'ii his pective imp e
Iitrti' s ot his e i . uir. :111x 1 all stall..I. li V :ili
-linijji < >s a- eternity. 1 he pnhlit .iin! pii
t I :"? ? r tllix \\ c U , ]?M till J ? is ll<Tl
l?* i?<- t'<-ii vs !i retnai kal>:? iniiinlenexs, :t11
\ itii<>iiL the |i y >1 mistake.
I-**"IIiT** ID t\ he < j in oca!, !i n'.. ii till
?v I >0 j I J11 lire.I. l'-0 I'i' III IV Ih? t I -lli 1
ml 111|>:r' nicx ai -1 vu! j?tilles, fej?re?i?itt
htf .1 iexxt iii i.'.f, iife. iiri'-exxox <?t" ait
nilitary < ,-iij .it?r?, an ! scene* in ihnncx .
iK*, O iiiii.il tie n> tin* eve or pervcit tin
rat'i. In ii> i re*j'e'.'i tliev mo iimre i ihia
O lit .11 I lie lexul.le-1 history which caivfll
ii.l j tin taking xciiolais I.avi? inteipieU-.i
llileeil l!i?' lexit..x i ! i|i >-e Jiri-t incletl latniiI.HO
not HtlMM'IO'l llio CXl'CClalillllS (I
lio | til- \ ll,o ?ritten liixiory is lex
111.il>.e llian the p cl?n nil. Tliix w ill proha
it prove true o( the tuition! ictol Nmevel
III.) Hahyioii that have heell ilixintenei
v li li in iho nixt t w \ e.i i x. Mr. Lay a- ! ha
hmo iii.ii e t i i -.ix(ia.o the rit nx . t Nine\o!
lian alt utiiei iaboreix in the same tit Ixl
. , vv (f|ti ,jf .. . . 1... . . 1
| thoriiy, no less than five diUbient laiigna- j
ges used in these records, and as many an Bfj
three hundred phonetic characters. How
complex was their method of writing! Ilow
exceedingly difficult to be interpreted, es ^
pecially where the language! were all tin- ^ ^
intelligible, and, at first, unknown to the ( j
student. The clue to this discovery was
found by Col. Rawlinson in a trilingual inscription
at liuhistun. "'litis celebrated fr(
uionutnent of antiquity consisted of sculp-j
lures in bas-relief and four hundred liueauf j
cuneiform characters, engraved on the per j
pendicttlar face of a precipice, more than i j
thiee iiundred feet above lite base, and |
dates from the year 611b. c." llie read- ;
ing of the Persian portion of (his threefold , w|
j inscription gave the meaning of the more
complicated Assyrian version.* of lite same
i facts. Hy the aid of tliis discovery. Col. i f
Kawlinsou proceeded to interpret other in 1
vcriptions, and according to the testimony 1
of Mr. Layartl, he has been entirely success- ;
, fill. Those who know most of theso ' 2
cords, entertain no doubt that their true ( .
import may now be fill I v ascertained.
The woik is still in progress. From!
what has already been published, we find, )it
as in Egypt, the fullest confirmation of lo
Scripture history. Many of the records |
seem to be almost identical with those of J ^
i ! the Bible, the names and events being cvi ^
? dentlv the same in both. In these disinterred
monuments of ancient ritie*, both ! ^
the prophecies and history of the Old Tes- M
tameiit are Verified beyond alii controversy, j
Vur York Independent.
Valuable Slatisiics, an
i , We gather from the "Report on the1 %ve
. Coininerci.il Relations of the United States
I with all Foreign Nations,'" prepaied in the a"
' l)ep:ii'.ment of State by Mr. Fiagg and liis hWI
a^islant, some statistics which are not only '
i curious, but instructive to the reader who
I has a ta?te fo<- investigation. There are UP
i e i ... i < - *
..J hi i-> uwciopi'u wmcli are altogether 10
' new, ami which will Mirpiise persons unfautiliitr
with the habils and condition of the _
people to which they relate: ^
Exoland.?U is assumed l?y British ?t?- w<
f lisliciatis that the yeaily consumption of tobacco
in (heat Britain and Ireland amounts
' to 'JG.OOO toil', about one half of which, it 1111
I is - opposed, is smuggled, owing to the ex- "
r cessive duties (upwaids of 1,UU0 per cent.) , Wl
. ! levied on the at liclu under the tat itf system
of that kingdom, lite quantity of cigars
I and siuiti" unpolled does not exceed two or ' r
three hundred weight per annum. 1 ^
Faanck.? The article of cotton has, for
a number of years, constituted in value, up- ou
. oil at: average, thiee-ouai lers of all our do *'''
* I
? mesiic exports to Fiance, 'Jur other chief
I export to that country is tuhacco, the trade : L|c
I in which is monopolized by the Govern- [
> ment, the exclusive 1 igtit to purcliHse iinpoit- Wl
' cd and indigenous tobacco being invested sei
in the Ttjie, or commission?an association |,;l
: under the supervision of the Minister of Fi
nance. 1
' < >n?' half the area of France is cultivable, ; 'lJI
and of this nine parts are meadow; four- I
' an I a ha f |a>ts vineyard; fifteen parts | "'c
woods and ftri'st; fifteen downs, pastures, 10
and heath*: the remainder consisting ol 1
road*, Cities, call i Vegetable guldens, ?tc.
!t presents every variety of geological for- 1
mation, exhibited in aiin<?*l evoiy vaiiely 'ol
' if known lelations. All the departments
("igliiy live in nmiioci) Contain minora! 111
r * ? .1 ' . " I *0.
[ - . nice*. 1 1 tfitrtx ?i x coal
tiebls in tliulv depart llleii ts, and tin- ?
' annua! produce of c > 11 exceeds tt.OoO.OOU
ions. Fiance is sui| .is?ed i?v England only ,u
in (lie production ?t iron, twelve mines ol
1 which are in operation. Ihreo hundred , ro
thousand persons are engaged in mining, I
; and their op.-iat >ns shew an annua, value !>l
- of *8U.OOO.OUO.
; Scho - ne | : willed f :r only about one- *'v
. s. \teeiir !i of the children, and the aggregate '
aiinn ii ii-veiruj foon all source- is ale lit
I s 1 S0.00d.000, while tIt0 lialiolial debt is til
over $100,000,000. i m
I'llk \ ink. I lie i umbor of acres under 1 li
vine e ii.uaiion in Fiance exceeds 5.0U0.- "t
OUO. niv11 o einploun. nl, in the cultivation NV1
of ihe vino nii'l the manufacture of wine, be
to about 2.000,000 ut persons, fmostly fe- 1 p<
in ?' "?,) ami iit it* tramp >rl:.lioti ami Mile to tii
250,000 I ie vine disease, ni??v nioie or ''<
I |?m prevailing in all wine-producing conn J 1,11
trii *. La* incie i-e I llio average price of wine ; |"
" fr.-in 100 to 175 per cent. The French i
1 Government derive* ai 'ii?i?leiable portion 111
* . f it-* interna! revenue from the mamifac s"-'
tare of this bevio t^e, about 90,000.000 ?jr?l? I Ct"
| I,m* !' which me annually distilled into , :(r
In in-1 v. the exportation of which i* under j llr
" special '? rvernmetit restriction*. Next to i
1 w heat the vine i* the most important of the h*
? vegetah'o pioductioiisof Fiaiice.atul cxton Is l?'
' 1 over tho southern half of the E npuo. Id i":j
" 184'.) thero were poliiced in Fiance 925,- ^
1 000,000 gallons t?f wine. I ot
Ukal Km \ i k. -Landed property is more ' Ut:
minuteli ditidcl in France ili.tu anv where
' e|*? in Europe, or even thin in the Unite I m
St it<?. In ii few department* mav be
1 found * -! ites <>t two 11iiti11 t*'i acres, but they 111
' i e inie, ami <1 lilv becoming in<uo mi, as'
tin? law divides the realty equally among
' 1110 cli Mien. Tho greater p >rti >n of the j
1 turns aie i ?w 1 rss 111ail twenty nctc* Isn
proveiiients in the methods of cnltivilli >ti
1 progie-s langui !lv, and tiie mo'.liods of ma- tr<
* inning an I rotati >n of crop* and of employ I"
ii g machinery continue to be very ilefec- N''
t live
Cotton.?The manufacture of cotton |?u
was tint introduced i! to France in 1770, *i
ami I. iuctea?ed at an iioiiuoim rate. '1*1 o
1 t'ltal li u in I >*>r of pels >ih now employe I in H"
it i in >1 300,000. I lie total value of all the u'|
1 manulac u?oi of France annually is 1 600,- ,el
000.000 fi inc-i, ami lliev air- rapidlv inereas *"
iiijj. j w?
An Apt Ukplt.?"Ma am,'' mid a floe- , a ]
tor .'tie il iv t?i tlie mother of a sweet
1.ealihv ha he, "the ladies li.wo deputed me vy;
i t-i inqtiiio w hat i on do to have mieh n \
happy, unifoimly p>o<| child. Tho mother hit
? niiiied (or a moment over the at rnnjjenois ' an
, of the question, and then he replied, ;rr nb
. ly and heautifully: "Why, God I m ^ \en
tne a healthy chiid and I let it alone." cif
{Ki um the Churlretun Courier ]
Irish At.ack on the Chesapeake Frigate.
lieing on iny way lo Chester, taking ft
littler to Yorkville, on her route to
ool, at the Limestone Spring*, during j
lie atop of lite car*, an eldeily gentleman, i
agreeable and imposing appearance,
niiinent features, uptight bearing, gray
r and beard, advanced to speak to me,
nklv introducing himself by name, from
rih Carolina.
Amidst the clatter of the cars, in course
a desultory conversation about the Navy,
remarked ''that probably he was the '
ly remaining officer living who was pres- j
. on the quarterdeck of the Chetapeake, ,
en she wns assaulted by the Ltojxird.
My boyish recollections iininadiutely I
Might up a freak of some sailors and ship
pouters, who carried off the ludder of an
glish vessel, and dragged it through the I
eels of Philadelphia, to Independence
uare, as an impulsive retaliation, when
! news first reached that city, where I atided
the classes of die University.
I therefore eagerly inquired for the par
ulars, and being connected with several
the naval service, request your attention
the details.
I ho liitlish Consul, at Norfolk, had noe
that four seamen, said to be fugitives
rn English ves els of war, had entered
board lite frigate Chesapeake, filling out
the Mediterranean station, having coin>dore
Barron on board as a passenger, to
ininand the squadron in that sea.
Upon requisition, by the British Minister
\t' i ' - * *
?> nsnuigloii, a carelul inquiry was made,
il it whs proven that three of tlio men
ire American citizen-, and the fourth was
rn in a British Island, Antigua, but that
had been impressed into the English
vice, according to their own statement.
The atiair was considered adjusted in
a-hington, although a communication
on the subject had already been made
the Admiial at Halifax, who issued a
neral order to all British vessels on the
nericau station, "to requite to search the
itsiipeaki for the dcseiters, unless they
:re given up.
The Leopard, a heavier vessel than the
icsapeake, was de-patched expressly to
ret her, when she should attempt to sail
and to demand the deserters of her?and
lltout the limits of the United Stales.
Several English vessels of war were
ng in Lynnhaven Bay, waiting for some
ench fiigates, which had entered the
ipes and were then at Annapolis.
The Leopard, upon her arrival, auchorod
tside the British squadron, probably a
v or two before the Chesapeake was denod
"ready for sea" by the executive otli;
r, after which there was a delay of a day
r want ot wind. In the morning the ship
is got under weigh and the Leopard wa*
tin to imitate her example, and make all
d in advance of the well known route.
Thus the two ships sailed on seaward till
or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when they
id obtained a good oiling. The Leopard
en bore down, hailed, and said "she had
^patches to send on board. The answer
this usual request from a friendly shipwar
was, to send your boat?we will layfur
j oil."
The expectation was to receive a mail or
u r- for the Mediterranean. A British
leer came on hoard, and being shown bew,
at oi?cv made a demand for the four
?111 -H a- British subject-, and showed the
>1 i .eis of the Admiial, which indi
led a design to take tlieiu l?v fuice if reLed.
A biief order quietly to get the ship
ady for action, without beat of drum, was
slily given, and as much delay made as
s-iblo, to g've liino for preparation ? not
nro thilll half an iiotjr. '1 he Cite-apeakc's
ck> wore much lumbered, and the ship
no means in condition for resistance.
Tl; ? English officer's order- were peremp
ry and decisive?on being tefused the ouau*
1 ' to soaich the ship," he was courte
i-1\ - i >wii to his boat, which fell astern
liio ( ue-apeake. As so ?n a- the boat
fairly out of the way, n* if that had
en llie preconcerted signal, tho Leop.nd
mied in her bioad-ide?and continued to
> i t h quarter ui an liour, until tliu Ann.*
mi flag was iiecoisaiily lowered as a sig,1
of Mirietuler, fur defence was found iui
ucticable.
l lie crew on board the Chesapeake was
uslcred, and the four men claimed as du
iters woio cairied oil by the Hiais.li offi
s and boat*. The Captain of the Loop
I ottered any assistance in hi* jiower, and
god the cli iracter of lii-i order*.
Tlie Chesapeake, some what crippled in
r spars and rigging, returned to ilanip
n Bonds, having I lie Commodore. vvitli
rliteen men wounded and ?hree killed,
a idea appears to liavo hern entertained
the aggievivo intentions <*f tho Leopard
ltd haded the Chesapeake.
Then, liiiiried preparations began to he
ado, as some suspicious circumstances
Me observed 1?v the lieutenants, in the
oveinents on hoard the Bnti-li ship.
1 he flics in the gallev had gone out ?
d could not he raised in time to beat a
'gerhend until the onesided action was
er.
Tho ninmur'.ii.-n was not jired?nccott
merits n<>t in plfter for scivica?various
elnninaiies weie warning for getting the
ip in Condition to meet an a tack, for
licit the gunner was afieiwards held resii
si hie, n> he had reported "all readv,"
thoilt makilli? the dim mooiinn
Wlien llie Butish w in filed
<1 c mitinned, C<>mmodorc IVuron c:ti'.cd
|icate<lly four the quailei deck, where he
mained diirinj* the attack?"Tor Gi'd'i
k<', lire one gun!'' For Mitno linio thin
found .0 ho an impossibility. Tho only
o that was discharged was touched off by
piece of coal, carried fiotn the galley in
cut. AI ion k finger* a the ihtg of tho ship
?* lowered.
Commtntloio Barron, aeknowlodged by
? brother officer* to have been n brave
I eftteienl otficer, bore much unmerited
loqtiy on account of tho result.
Ilia only fruit, in the opinion of "hi* anint."
was, that lie did not personally in*
poet the condition of readiness for se* reported
to hiin, nnd which was obviously
wanting. ? ;
'1 his Hccoiint, llio result of n dote view
from the quarter deck of the Chesapeake,
after a In|,*e of fifty years, is entitled lo
respect, though differing somewhat from
cenaiii oilier bUttomenu.
The effect of this violence upon a national
vessel, in consequence of an n',tempt to
enforce "the right of search," was electrical
throughout the United States. The war
which afterwards ensued, in 1812, was regarded
by many as the necessary result ot
similar intrusions, although the act was
diMivoned by the British Government, reparation
made as far as possible, and the captain
of the Leopard recalled. The superior
officer* in each service we?c, though, mad*
I to suffer for neglect, indifference or wrongs,
in the respective governments.
lint, we presume, no vessel of-war of the
United Stales has ever since sailed in the
unprepared condition the Chesapeake certainly
was.
Chinese Sugar Cane.
G. W. Kendall, of the New Orleans
Picayune, thus adds his testimony regardi
ing the value of this product. He is farm|
ing on a large scale in Texas; "In
October, 1853,1 purchased in Paris
' a small paper of the seed. 1 do not think
I there was more than two heaping tablespoonful*
of it, or llirec at the outside. 1
brought it with ine to New Orleans, and oif
arriving sent it here to be planted. When .
I reached this place, early in May last, it
was just peering above the ground, two
' rows of it in a ten acre field, which lias been'
< devoted in the main to millet, oats, and a
little Indian corn, and four short row* in
! our garden; the latter was planted last.
'"About the 8tli of July two rows in ths
J larger tiehl bad shot up, beaded out, and
I ripened, notwithstanding the drought, and
heavy bends were cut for seed. The oats,
I meanwhile, bad come up, the millet was'
hardly above ground, while the Indian corn
wa* parched nnd drying up for want of
rain. rwn fir lltrh/* mnrninr*a
t H"
1 o(i looking hi the Held frotn a hill close bv,
1 noticed tlint two row* of Sorgho Sticre
1 had entirely disappeared, while rows of Indian
corn on the other side were still stand*.
ing. On close examination, I ascertained
! that a lot of hogs?hogs are apt to do such
things?had broken into the field, and de*
vouied the Chinese sugar cane root and
branch; it was cut clean to the ground by
the porkers, not a single vestig* was left,'
, while, as already stated, the stalks of Indij
an corn on either aide were left standing. [
was thankful I had saved the seed, and
thought little more of it.
Some few days after this?perhaps a
' fortnight?the rows planted in the garden
were examined, the heads of seeds found to
he lipe, and the greater portion cut and
brought to \he house, leaving the tali stalks
still standing. On cutting down one of
the Infer, which must have l>een ten feet
high, I found it to be exceedingly heavy,
and on tasting the cane it seemed to me to
be as full of the saccharine juice as the ordi*
nary sugar cane of Louisiana. At the same
lime 1 had two or three imported French,
merino sheep in my yard, in gieal want of
' green fodder, and on culling the cane in
small pieces, I found that they devoured it
, wtill tlie greatest avidity. After this 1 fed"
j thern dailv on it for some time, a single
stnik furnishing a good bai\ I also gave
some of it to a favorite mare, she eating it
even moie greedily than the sheep. Some
I three weeks after the ripe heads of seed
were cut 1 noticed that new heads had
shot up fn?m the same stalk; and these new
heads blossomed, filled-and ripened in Sep*
i teinher, and were cut and brought to the
| liou-e. All this time you must recoiled we
' were suffering from lire unprecedented
drought, and Indian corn and sweet potaj
toe-, water melons, pumpkings, anil the like,
had '.lei down to the very ground.
"I now became more interesied in the
Soigho Sucre than ever, and though 1 still
led out daily to the tnerinoea and inare,
1 lell a portion of the stalls* standing. Soon
, new head* we>e seen shooting out, and
; these in turn blossomed and ripened as did
the tir-t. 1 kept no account of date*, but
think this tliiul crop of seed from the same
stalk, if so I may call it, was gathered about
the first <>f October, it might have been during
the second week of that month. I
planted some <>f this last seed, by way of
experiment?it came up rapidly, looked
thrifty, grew up until it was nearly kneehigh,
and was finally cut down hy frost in
j November. A great number of shoots or
suckers, which had sprung up from the
: -talks first planted, were cut down at the
same time. The Sorgho Sucre can stem)
any kind of drought, hut the fi'rt sharp
' frost kills it to the ground. And what
atno tit of seed do you think 1 gathered
f" in the little paper I purchased in Paris!
Neatly, if not q die, two bushel*! and had
not the lio^s broken into the field, I l**!iev?
1 >1.1 I.- . - .1.? r. i.. - : n.
. ... ..... .. ... ...... II ceriuiiliy \ lei.I*
, n the most miuioul'MH manner; beau evei\
thing for ili v weather.
'Of it-* propeitie* l> r the production of
sugar I can say ni tiling; I only know thai
il tastes like llie common sugar cane, and
1 i^ full of juico about the lime the first bead
tipens. A* a gicen fodder, it also beat*
everything which grow*; home*, sheep and"
hog* are ceitainly inordinately fond of it,
and *<> full aid (lie stalks of saccharine matter,
that they must he both nutiitious and
fattening. I cannot say what kind of bread
or c?ke the seeds will afford; nor can 1 tell
what kind of dry fodder the plant will makA
when cut green; the*e experiment* I have
vet to fry, and now that I have the seed, I
intend to do it on a grand scale. I shall
plant if in row* or drills, shall sow it and
cut it at diff-rent stages, lo try its qualiti**
a* a drv fodder. Let mo repeat over and
over again, that it stand* a drought better
than anything we have?does not aeeru to
; require rain after it is on?*c up."
The youthful portion of the public is
I composed of aged peoj le. The enthusiasm
J of old men is singularly like that t<( infancy,
? Qtrtri (if ?Veri'if.