Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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l,e wis m. grist, proprietor, i Inircpenbent Jamilj $tetospaper: Jfor tjre promotion of tjie political, Social, ^gritnlteral anb Commercial Interests of t|e Sonfji. {TERMS?$3.00 A TEAR, IN ADVANCE. VOT, Q.q: YOEKVILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1877. 2STO. 43. Ihe j^torg irUet. A PERILOUSRIDE. One of Kit Carson's Adventures. Some thirty odd years ago, Kit Carson was ; at the head of a party who were trapping near the upper waters of Arkansas. Before the season was over they had col looted such a quantity of peltries that they were incommoded in carrying them from place to place, and as a matter of convenience, they resolved to cache them. This is done by digging a large, deep hole in the ground, placing the furs therein, and then covering them up so securely that there is no danger of their being discovered hv Anv other hunters or Indians. A care-1 ~v ?J -- ? # ful look at the immediate surroundings is always sufficient to guide the rightful owners to their cache. Having concealed their furs in this manner, the party changed their course, and visited some streams about a hundred miles to ^ the west. Here they were engaged about a week, when one morning it was found that two of the party had deserted, taking three of the best horses. W^m At the time this discovery was made, Kit Hp Carson was absent from camp, and did not return until near the middle of the day. Supposing the deserters had taken this method of avoiding the rough work of trapping through the winter, the hunters thought nothing of it until it was mentioned to Kit, who immediately demanded their names. "Whelan and Gubbins." "Both a couple of villains!" added the hunter. "You ought to have signalled me to return to camp the minute you found it out." "Are we not lucky in getting rid of them ?" inquired one of the hunters. "But not lucky in getting rid of our furs. Those two men have gone back for the purpose of breaking open the cache and stealing our furs." No one had thought of this, but Kit was positive on the point; and, selecting one of his best mounted men, the two started at once in pursuit of the thieves. "They're nearly a day ahead of us," remarked Carson, as they started away, "and they'll reach the cache before us; but we may overtake them before they get far away." Their intimate knowledge of the country enabled them to take the shortest route, and they put their horses to their best speed. ^ They rode until far into the night and then nnlv iMiitaprfi hfwsuiiA their hard-ridden ani mats absolutely demanded it. At earliest dawu they were in the saddle again, and galloping at the same furious rate, their eyes constantly on the strain, sweeping the field of vision in front, in the vain hope of catching some sign of the deserters. It was near th&middle of the afternoon of the second day that the cache was reached, and the suspicions of Carson confirmed. It had been opened, and about five hundred pounds of the choicest furs removed. The hunters made a careful examination of the place, and concluded that the thieves had left the spot early that morning, so that they were still half a day ahead of them. "They've got a load to carry now, and oan't travel so fast," said Kit. "I think there is a good chance of overhauling them." The first duty, however, was to restore the cache to its former condition. The remaining furs were carefully covered, and the ground smoothed over, and the sod replaced, so that ? ' ? J .L- I none wno naa not wuutmu iue wurn, w helped in performing it, could be able to bud the place. Time was of the utmost importance; and, although the hunters worked with might and main, yet several precious hours were consutoed before the work was Bnished. When, at last, it was completed, darkness had begun settling over the prairie. The trail, or rather the route?for there was no regular trail?which led into New Mexico, and which it was supposed the thieves would take, followed a direction nearly due south from the cache. An examination, however, revealed the rather curious fact that the ' * 1 x. *L i deserters nan gone to lue uoriii-etisi. "That has been done to throw us off the track," said Kit Carson. "They have changed their course after going a short distance, and I think we cau head them off." Instead of following the trail, therefore, the pursuers headed to the south-east, calculating that they would intercept the thieves near a pass leading through the Chevenure Hills. The ridge ran nearly due east aud west, and, being very rugged and precipitous, was generally crossed by means of these natural openings, which were separated by distances varying from twenty to a hundred miles. The pursuers urged their horses to the utmost, for they were exceedingly anxious to come up with the scamps who had played this trick upon thern; while they, on their part, were as desirous of keepiug beyond their reach. , The peD&lty of death is one most generally prescribed on the frontier for such exploits as " this; and Kit Carson and his friend were prepared to shoot the two runaways the instant they could bring them within range of their rifles. There was a bright moon, and the sky waB clear, so that there was no difficulty in keeping up the pursuit. Near midnight they reached the vicinity of the pass, and were uot a little elated at catching the glimmer of a camp fire. "I think they are there," said Carson, in a low tone to his friend, "and if so, we shall make them pay dear for their whistle." They rode quietly forward until within a few hundred yards, when they dismounted,! tied their horses in a glen, and made the rest of the journey on foot. Advancing with the | caution characteristic of men at such times, j they soon were near enough to the camp-fire < to gain a fair view of those around it. No ' white men were there; but in their places were a dozen Navajoe Indians quietly encamped, and so unsuspicious of danger that nothing of any sentinels could be seen. Haviug fully satisfied themselves upon this point, the pursuers stealthily withdrew to where they had left their horses. "We have made a mistake," said Carson. "We shall have to wait until morning before * trying to do any thing more." 00 ' Withdrawing to a safe point, they lay down, and slept soundly during the remainder of the night, for they needed rest no less than did their horses. When they were fairly awake on the morrow, they consulted together as to what was best to do. So long as there was any pros-1 pect of recovering the stolen property, neither I of thera felt inclined to give up the pursuit. "I am afraid they have given us the slip," remarked Carson's companion. "It does look a little that way. It may be, however, that we are ahead of them." "If that is so, there is still a chance of com-1 iug across the thieves." The leader replied in the affirmative, and after scanning every portion of the sky, added : | "Butifwejust missed them?that is, if! they were ahead of us in reaching the pass? | we may as well give up the chase and go back to camp." With this conviction, they rode quietly along, until the greater portion of the forenoon was passed ; but not a sign of the runaways did they discover. Gradually the couviction forced itself upon k them that they were engaged upon a fruitless b errand, and that the prudent course was now F for them to return to camp, ^he pursuit had led them into the most dangerous portion of the Navajoe country, where the greatest can was necessary to escape collision with theii implacable enemies. When the sun reached meridian, withou signs of the deserters, the chase was given uj entirely. "They've got ahead of us, that's certain,' said Kit, as they turned their horses' headi homeward. "There isn't any use in pursuing then further." "No; the time is all lost. When we ge back to Taos we may meet them, and we wil then settle this account." With this consolation, they continued 01 their journey toward camp. In the after noon they crossed a small stream, where, t< their surprise, they detected the trail of thi deserters. The footprints showed that theii animals were at full speed, and a more exten ded scrutiny of the soft earth along the strean revealed the fact that the party undoubtedly had been hotly pursued by Indians at thi time. The trail led toward a wood about half f mile to the left; and, under the convictioi that a fight might have taken place at tha point, the two hunters rode at a gallop towarc it. They were not mistaken in their supposi tinn : for. less than a hundred yardBfrom thi edge of the wood, all three of the horses wer< found Btretched upon the ground perfectlj riddled with bullets. "But where are they?' asked the hunter of Carson, after they had surveyed the sick ening sight for a few minutes. "Let us look about us," was the reply, at they moved on with their horses. Thinking that the bodies of the trappen must be somewhere near at hand, they made a search for them, but discovered not the leasl trace. They even went through the entire wood, with no better success. The conviction of both Carson and his companion was, thai they had been captured by the Nayajoes, car ried away, and put to a terrible death. In this they were undoubtedly correct, as not one of the men was ever heard of afterward. The trappers now took the most direct route homeward, riding along at an easy gal lop, and saving the strength of their horsee as much as possible. As they were in con stant danger of an encounter with Indians an ni-n^ant Tiloprv nnn tUlO YTOO III# UiUlO VURU ? W. J ? - .. and then they came across signs of savages, but, by great care, they had avoided them until they had passed over the greater part oi the distance. They were riding along in a careless manner, chatting and laughing with each other, when there suddenly appeared four Indians ahead of them. They were all well mounted, painted, and decked out in their gaudy manner, with feathers, showing unmistakably that tbey were upon the warpath. Kit Carson now did something which, to an inexperienced person, would look like the height of rashness, but which demonstrates his extraordinary quickness of comprehension as to what is the best to do in a sudden crisis like the present. The very instant he caught A ? ^ Tr./J!?nn U rt Avnlftimo^ in O Qlin, SIgllb UI VUO luuiauo, uv CAumuiwj iu ?* uu^ pressed undertone, "Charge!" The command had scarcely escaped his mouth when both had struck their spurs deep into their horses' sides, and were thunderiug forward at a tremendous rate. The Indians instantly wheeled, and rode away at the same furious rate, while the trappers, shouting and yelling at the top of their lungs, dashed after them. About fifty rods were passed in this manner, when fully sixty warriors suddenly came in view from beneath a hill, where they had been waiting in ambush. Carson's companion looked inquiringly at him, and he nodded his head to signify thai the chase must be kept up. Retreat was now certain death, while to advance looked almost as bad. But the two trappers dashed straight forward, their horses at the highest rate of speed. It was the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava on a small scale. When the Indians saw that the whites intended no retreat, they separated into two divisions, by about the distance of a hundred yards, and, holding their rifles ready, awaited the moment to empty the two saddles. Bending down their heads, they pressed their spurs into the flanks of their horses, and the latter strained every nerve. Each of the trappers belli his loaded gua id nis nana, dux be did not fire, for, iu a running fight, the great fear of the hunter is that he may find himself dismounted, with an empty gun in his hand. It was a fearful ride. In one place, they were within twenty yards of the Navajoes, who sent the bullets whistling about their ears. Their clothes were pierced, and several slight wounds made; but, by a wonderful Providence, neither was seriously injured, nor were their horses more than scratched. They continued their flight at the same headlong rate. The Indians continued the pursuit for a short distance, but finally withdrew, and the trappers reached camp without further disturbance. Salt.?Nothing that we eat is more valuble than salt, nor could auything, except bread, be more missed. Animals, in fact, will travel distances and brave great dangers to obtain it. On the coast of Sierra Leone, brothers will sell their sisters, husbands their wives, and parents their children, for salt. In the district of Accra, on the gold cost of Africa, a handful of salt is the most valuable thing upon earth after gold, and will purchase a slave or two. Salt with the Bambaras is such a luxury, that to say of a man, "He flavors his food with salt," is to imply that he is rich. No stror ger mark of affection can be shown in Muscovj than the sending of salt from the tables of the rich to their poorer friends. Spilling salt was held to be an unlucky omen by the Romans, and the superstition has decended to ourselves. Leonardo da Vinci availed himself of this tradition in his famous picture of the "Lord's Supper,"' to indicate Judus Iscariot by the salt-celler knock ed over accidentally oy nis arm. When we say of a shiftless fellow that he does not "earn his salt," we unconsciously allude to an ancient custom among the Romans. Among them a man was said to be ir possession of a "salary" who had his "sala rium," his allowance of salt money, or of salt wherewith to savor the food by ^hich h< lived. Thus salary comes from salt?and it this view of the word, how many there ar< who do not "earn their salt." A Hairy Child.?We must say that th< child, Gracie Gilbert, the little daughter o Mr. and Mrs. Giles Gilbert, who resides six teen miles east of Angola, in northwest town ~L:_ Hfill.'nmn n/ullltu O is f-.hp trrpafpsf. liv Blllfl, TT iinauio wuuvj , v?| .w ?..v ?. _. . ing curiosity we have ever seeu. The child ii about eighteen months of age, finely formed bright, sprightly and healthy, and almost en tirely covered with hair. The hair on her hear is some twelve or fifteen inches in length, an< is very heavy. Her whiskers are three 01 four inches in length. On her back, body armsandlegs is a thick, heavy, but fine, silk] growth of hair,covering almost the entire body and some two or three inches in length. Aud strange to say, there is no repulsiveness iu thi sight, no deformity, and, moreover, no hum bug. There was never a living curiosity, hu man or otherwise, that surpasses this prett; child, Gracie Gilbert.?Steuben (Ohio) Be publican. toff"1'You always lose your temper in m^ company," said an individual of doubtful rep utation to a gentleman. "True, sir," repliet the other. "And I shouldn't wonder if I los everything I bad about me." ; IWisceUitneous fUatlittg, ; THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, > Fellow Citizens of the Senate and House o 3 Representatives: The adjournment of the las Congress without making appropriations foi 1 the support of the army for the present fisca year, has rendered necessary a suspension o: t payments to the officers and men of sumsdu( j them for services rendered after the 30th daj of June last. The army exists by virtue o: } statutes, which prescribe its numbers, regu late its organization and employment, anc } which fix the pay of its officers and men, anc 3 declare their right to receive the same at sta " ted periods. These statutes, however, do no authorise the payment of troops in the ab * sence of specific appropriations therefor. Th< constitution has wisely provided that " ( money shall be drawn from the treasury bui in consequence of appropriations made bj i law," and it has also been declared by statute ^ that "no department of the government shal t expend in any one fiscal year a sum in excesi j of appropriations made by Congress for thai fiscal year." We have, therefore, an army ir ' service, authorized by law and entitled to b< 3 paid, but no funds available for that purpose It may also be said, as an additional incentive to prompt action by Congress, that, since the commencement of the fiscal year, the ' army, though without pay, has been constant ly and actively employed in arduous and 3 dangerous service, in the performance oj which both officers and men have discharged their duty with fidelity and courage, and j without complaint. ' These circumstances, in my judgment, constitute an extraordinary occasion, requiring ' that Congress be convened in advance of the time prescribed by law for your meeting ic regular session. The importance of Bpeedj action upon this subject on the part of Con1 gress is so manifest that I venture to suggest ' the propriety of making the necessary appropriations for the support of the army for the ' current year, at its present maximum numerical strength of 20.000 men, leaving for fu ' ture consideration all questions relating tG the increase or decrease of the number of en; listed men. In the event of a reduction ol the army by subsequent legislation during the 1 fiscal year, the excess of appropriation could L not be expended, and in the event of its en[ largement, the additional sum required for 1 the payment of extra force could be provided ! for in due time. It would be nnjust to the troops now in service, and whose pay is already largely in arrears, if payment to them | should be further postponed, until after Con1 gress shall have considered all questions likely to arise in the effort to fix a proper limit to the strength of the army. Estimates of the appropriations for the sup! port of the military establishment for the year ending June 30th, 1878 were transmit| ted to Congress by the former Secretary of the Treasury so as to conform to the present requirements, are now renewed, amounting to $32,486,763, 98, and, having been transmit( ted to both houses of Congress are submitted for your consideration. There is also required by the Navy Department the sum of $2,003,861,27. This sum is made of $1,446,688.16 due to officers and enlisted men for the last Quarter of the last fiscal year; $311, , 953.50 due for advances made by the fiscal agent of the government in London for the support of foreign service ; $50,000 due to Naval Hospital fund; $150,000 due for arrearages of pay to officers, and $45,219,58 for support of Marine Corps. There will also be needed an appropriation of $262,535.22 to | defray unsettled expenses of the United States Courts for the fiscal year ending June 30th, last, now due to the attorneys, clerks, commissioners and marshals, and for rent of court rooms, support of prisoners and other deficiencies. A part of the building of the Interior Department was destroyed by fire on the 24th of last month. Some immediate repairs and temporary structures have in consequence become necessary, estimates for which will be transmitted to Congress immediately, and appropriation of the requisite funds is respectfully recommended. I take this opportunity, also, to invite your attention to the propriety of adopting, at your present session, the necessary legislation to en able the people ot the United States to participate in the advantages of the International Exhibition of agriculture, industry and fine arts, which is to be held at Paris in 1878, and in which this government has been invited by ' the government of France to take part. This invitation was communicated in May, 1876, by the Minister of France at this capi, tal, and a copy thereof was submitted to the proper committees of Congress at its last session, hut no action was taken upon the subject. [ The Department of State has received many letters from various parts of the country, expressing a desire to participate in the exhibition, and numerous applications of a similar nature have also been made at the United States legation in Paris. The Department of ; State has also received official advice of a , strong desire on the part of the French gov ernment that the United States should partici pate iq,the enterprise, and space has hitherto i been and is still reserved in the exhibition ' buildings for the use of exhibitors from the I United States, to the exclusion of other par; ties who have been applicants therefor. i In order that our industries may be properly represented at the exhibition, an appropri, atiou will be needed for the payment of sala ries and expenses of commissioners, for the i transportation of goods, and for other purpo; ses in connection with the object in view, and as May next, is the time fixed for the opening of the exhibition, if our citizens are to share the advantages of this international competi i tiou for the trade of other nations, the neces. sity of immediate action is appareut. i To enable the United States to cooperate - with the International Exhibition which was held at Vienna in 1873, Congress then passed a joint resolution making an appropriation oi 1 $200,000, and authorizing the President to r appoint a certain number of practical artisane and scientific men, who should atteud the ex1 hibition, and report their proceedings and ob' servations to him. Provision was also made > for the appointment of a number of houora3 ry commissioners. I have felt that prompt 1 action by Congress, in accepting the invita3 tion by the government of France, is of so much interest to thb people of this country, so suitable to preserve the cordial relations ; existing between the governments of the two I countries, that the subject might properly be *! presented for attention at your present session. The government of Sweden and Norway has addressed an official invitation to this government to take part in the International ' Prison Congress to be held at Stockholm next j year. The problem which the Congress pro2 poses to study, how to diminish crime, is one I in which all civilized natious have an interest in common, aud the Congress of Stockholm 1 seems likely to prove the most important con^ veution ever held for the study of this grave ' question. Under authority of a joint resolu' nf r'nnrrrnaa a nnrnrpH PVhrimrv lfit.ll I J i 1875, a commissioner was appointed by mj predecessor, to represent the United State! upon that occasion, and the Prison Congress [! having been, at the earnest desire of the Sweedish government, postponed until 1878 his commission was renewed by me. An ap j propriation of $8,000 was made in the sundry . civil service act of 1875, to meet the expeusei 1 of the commissioner. I recommend the re t appropriation of that sum for the same pur pose?the former appropriation having beei covered into the treasury, and being no longer > available for this purpose, without further ac tion by Congress. The subject is brought to your attention at this time, in view of circura stances which render it highly desirable that .J the commissioner should proceed to the ' I discharge of his important duties immediately. 11 As several acts of Congress, providing for F detailed reports from different departments of I, the government, require their submission at the beginning of the regular annual session, 3 I defer until that time any further reference F. to subjects of public interest. ' R. B. Hayes, .' President of the United States. | Washington, D. C., October 15, 1877. A THRILLING ENCOUNTER. On the fourth instant, fourteen of ub found* ed this camp or diggings, which is thirty-seven miles from Deadwood, and in a locality much ? miesieu Dy UOBIIIW luuiaus, xuics v? UU1 r party are from Illinois, one from Canada, two 3 from Michigan, one from Omaha, two from I the city of Chicago, and the fourteenth man i was from Ohio?what section we do not know, j. as we had only been in camp two days when ! the affair I am aboat to write of oocarred. 3 He was a man about forty-five years of age, stoutly built, sandy complexion, blue eyes, Bandy chin-whiskers, and the third finger of the left hand had been amputated at the joint. It was very probably struck by a bullet yeare ago, in the army or out, and part of it was I saved. He had no baggage of any account P when he left Deadwooa with us, but was . armed with a Henry rifle and two revolvers. I Only two or three of the party had ever met before when we left for the Hills, and this Ohio man being the last to join us, was called | "No. 14" when addressed. His friends or | family can doubtless identify him from the ! description I have given, though it is sad news r I have for them. On the morning of the eighth instant, soon ' after we had disposed of breakfast, a deer was observed on the hillside, about a quarter | of a mile away. The Buckeye and the Ca' nadian at once rushed for their guns, and were about leaving the camp to secure a shot at the game, when the entire balance of the party strongly protested against such recklessness. I W/> l.t-inm tr\ a nartointir fKof lhf>rA WArP VlOA * * T ? AliCTV w H wa vhiuhj vumw v ><? ? __ ( tiles all around us, and every firearm was left where it could be grasped at a moment's warning. Had the deer not appeared again in | full sight, seeming to be surveying the camp, the men would have returned to their shovels. | While determined to go, they waited a moment to prepare themselves. The Buckeye took all his firearms, and the Canadian took a doublebarrelled shot-gun and a revolver. Work was suspended for a few minutes as i the men moved out. Between our camp and the deer, the ground was uneven and covered with bushes tall enough to cover a man. The j deer stood in an open spot higher up and plain to the eye. Securing good positions, we waited to note the success of the shots. The men crept through the bushes until within i , close range of the game, and then botb fired 1 at once. We saw the deer give a convulsive start, as if hit, lose its legs for an instant, and then bound up the hill under cover. In 1 > about two minutes more the two men were * * in miMllit ]?.T. seen to cross me upeu opauc m ^uiau... , pecting they would soon return, we resumed work, and were not greatly concerned until 1 two loDg hours had passed. It was then agreed that the men had either encountered Indians or become confused and lost. The country in that direction was strange to all of us, and consisted of broken ground, hills, ravines and here and there a grassy valley, long and narrow. What transpired after we lost sight of the < two men is told by tbe uanaaian, wnose name is James Lennox, and whose home is in Otta> wa. They believed the deer to be mortally wounded, and followed it op the hill a quar- < ter of a mile along its crest, and then the game descended the hill and continued along | a valley stretching back for two or three miles | between two ridges. This valley was not over thirty feet wide at any point, and bad proba- | bly been gullied out by the spring torrents. ] The men found blood on the grass here and < there as they followed the trail at a lope, and every minute they expected to see the deer , ? .1 mi. It a oeiore tnem. xnevauey ran as mituuuo ? | course as the average river, and while "loping" i around one of the sharp curves, fully expect- j ing to find the deer beyond, the two miners , ran upon an Indian village containing twen- , ty lodges. Squaws were sitting around the j fires, boys were running over the grass, and ( from twenty to thirty warriors were grouped ] around the deer, either dying or dead, a few t rods above the camp. i Lennox says they were within thirty feet , - ? i i mi ' of the first lodge when they halted, ineir j surprise was so great that they stood there for a moment without moving or speaking. j Squaws and children returned their stare, j doubtless just as much amazed, but the Indians were the first to take in the situation, i A grand yell of alarm was uttered in chorus i to attract the atteutiou of the warriors, and i then the two mipers turned and fled. Both , fully realized the danger, and both put forth j every effort to secure all the start possible, i This yell of alarm from the camp was answer- ; ed by the warriors, and about a minute after i that there came another Bhout signifying that < the red-skins were in pursuit. i At this time there were two bends or curves j between the flying miners and the Indian vil- i lage, and they were rapidly nearing another. ! The Ohio man did not seem excited or fright- < ened. He probably realized that they were i too far from our camp to evade the Indians i by flight down that narrow valley, and as they i ran he said to Lennox : , "As soon as we turn this bend we must take cover; you go to the left and I will go to the right, and we can clamber up the ridge i and conceal ourselves before they sight us. , After they give up the search we must make < our way to the camp aa best as we can." After getting fairly around the bend, each r dashed for the ridge. It was covered with i loose rock, bushes and stunted trees, and was i hard climbing. Lennox lost bis gun before he had climbed thirty feet. It fell and . lodged in the bushes at the base of the ridge, , and he climbed on without it. When about 1 fifty feet up, he heard the Indians coming, aud rested where he was, afraid that some 1 noise might betray him. Their heavy boots 1 i had left a plain trail, and the red-skins had passed them only a hundred feet when they i discovered that the miners had taken cover in i; the bushes. They divided into two parties 11 and closely scanned the base of the ridge on I , each side. Lennox could see them moving > along below him, and, happening to glance < across at the other bank, he beheld the Ohio | man standing on a rocky shelf not twenty ; feet above the Indians. The hillside at his . back was too steep to climb, and all escape j was cut off. When first seen by Lennox the ; Buckeye was kneeling down, revolvers and i extra ammunition on the rook in front of . him. He could not tell where his comrade i was, and was making preparations to defend j his life to the last. | , The Iudians discovered him first, his trail ' being plainest, or because the Canadian had i left none as he drew himsolf up the ridge, i The first yell from the Indians was answered i by a shot from his rifle. Standing on the , edge of the rocky shelf, he discharged his ri fle as fast as possible in the dusky crowd bef low. Lennox says he saw three or four fall. i Some ran up the valley and some down it to get out of range, but it was only a minute - before they took cover on both sides of the i valley and began a rapid fire. The Buckeye sat down, bis rifle across bis knees, and bis back to tbe overhanging cliff, and was quite well protected from the bullets. Some of the Indians were on bis side of the valley and some on tbe other, and they could not exactly locate him. The bullets struck the cliff above him and the bushes beneath him, but he was quite safe until some of them could gain a position opposite and above him. The fire of the Indians slackened for three or four minutes while they plauned, and then grew warm as a warrior worked his way along through the bushes and rocks not more than fifteen feet below where the Canadian was Iti/linn TKo Riiplrava rand fhfl nlan. and hifl I UlUIUgt AUW UMVBVJf W ?VM?a OMV J-.? v ?? ? ? ?eyes were constantly scanning the hillside opposite. The Indian was just getting into position for a plunging shot when discovered by the miner at bay, and the next instant he received a ball from the Henry rifle through the head. He rose up, lifted his arms, and then fell forward and rolled down to the grass. There was a terrible yell from the savages as a dead warrior crashed down, and then a deep silence fell upon the valley. The Canadian admits that he was too frightened to make the least movement. He expected that Indians were working around to positions above him on both ridges, and he drew himself into as small a space as possible, and kept his eyes on the brave' man opposite. All the chances were against the Buckeye, and he knew it. It was only a question of time when the savages would secure positions from which they conld riddle his body with bullets. After the silence bad continued unbroken for five minutes, he caught the only plan offering the least hope nnilniiVitA^lff that, the I Wl OUVWOO* MVJJIUg) UUUVUWWUAJ I mmmmmw ??w Indians were by that time making their way ap the ridges, and that the valley was clear, he made ready to descend, and dash off down the valley, hoping to seen re start enough to ensure his escape. He laid his rifle one side, tightened his belt, removed his hat, and then taking a revolver in either hand, he slipped off the ledge, and in another minute was in the valley. There was a yell from above as soon as he struck the grass, some one having been left to watch for such a move. The Buckeye dashed away at his best pace, followed by whoops and shouts and screams and the noise of Indians crashing through the bushes, as they dropped into the valley. He was either intercepted or overtaken before running forty rods, as he halted and opened Are with bis revolvers. Lennox heard him shoot fiercely and defiantly, as if determined to die game, and the crack! crack! crack! of bis revolvers could be plainly detected from the reports of the rifles. It was two or three minutes before the firing ceased, and then the Bilence was broken by wails and laments from red men, proving that the miner bad sent more than one of them to the happy hunting grounds. In a short time the squaws and children came down the valley, and the la meats were renewed. Lennox saw a boy have one of the Buckeye's revolvers and a squaw carrying the other, but he saw no scalp or dead body to prove beyond question that his comrade was dead. However, there is no doubt about this, as he has not been heard of since. Lennox scrambled further up the ridge as the Indians began to return up the valley, carrying their dead and wounded, and it was not until two days after that a party of six men from our camp, out in search of the missing, ran across him in the bills, almost dead from fright, fatigue and hunger. His statement is undoubtedly correct in every particular, and it may be some little consolation to the friends of the nameless Ohioan to know that he died as only brave men do.? A Black HiWa Letter to the Cincinnati Enjuirer. CONFEDERATE TORPEDO BOATS. Shortly after the bold attempt of Captain Carina, in the summer of 1863, to blow up the Mew Ironsides, Dr. Ravenel and other genrlaman nf flhurlMton hart hiiilt a amall riirar ? " w ? ~ " ? ?o? shaped boat, which they called the David. It had been specially planned and built by them to attack this much-dreaded naval Goliab, the New Ironsides. It was 20 feet long, with a diameter of 5 feet at its middle, and was propelled by a small screw worked by a diminutive engine. As soon as ready for service, I caused it to be fitted with a ' Lee spar torpedo," charged with seventy-five pounds of powder. Captain Glassell, an enterprising officer of the Confederate States Navy, took charge of it, and about 8 o'clock one dark Dight, on the ebb tide, with the crew of an engineer, fireman and one sailor, he fearlessly set forth from Charleston on his perilous mission?the destruction of the New Ironsides. I may note that this vessel threw a great deal more metal at each broadside than all the monitors together of the fleet; her fire was delivered with more rapidity and accuracy, and she was the most effective naval engine employed in the reduction of Battery Wagner. The David reached the New Iron sides about 10 o'clock p. m., striking her with the torpedo about 5 feet under water, but fortunately for that vessel the shock was against one of her inner bulkheads, which saved her from destruction. The water, however, being thrown up in large volume, half filled the little assailant and extinguished its fire. It then drifted out to sea with the current, under a heavy musketry fire from the much alarmed crew of the New Ironsides. Supposing the David disabled, Glassell and his men jumped into the water to swim ashore; but he and the sailor had to take refuge in one of the coal bar?es of the Federal fleet at anchor in the outer harbor, and became prisoners. His other two companions, after swimming about for a time and espying the David still afloat, betook themselves to it, re-lit the fire without difficulty and steamed back with the now returning tide into Charleston, after one of the most daring feats of the war. The New Ironsides never fired another shot after this attack upon her. After remaining some time at her anchorage off Morris Island, evidently undergoing repairs, she was taken to Port Royal, probably to fit her for her voyage to Philadelphia, where she remained till destroyed by fire after the war. As for Captain Glassell and his companion, I regret to say that, for a time, they were not treated as prisoners of war, but ironed, confined to a cell and menaced with banging. Of course, however, they had to beset at liberty in the ordinary course of exchange of naval prisoners, as about that time I had planned and successfully executed the surprise and capture in the Stono River of the heavily armed Federal gunboat the Isaac Smith, with more than one hundred officers and men?a stroke executed entirely by detachments of light artillery placed in ambush upon the river banks, and under whose fire the Federal gunners were unable to man and use their powerful guns. Nearly about the time of the attack upon the new Ironsides by the David, Mr. Horace L. Hunley, formerly of New Orleans, but then living in Mobile, offered me auother torpedo boat of a different description, which had ' -c ? Tf moD ueeu uuui ui uia private ujcouo. xi? nc*a shaped like a fish, made of galvanized iron, was twenty feet long, and at the middle three and a half feet wide by five deep. From its shape it came to be known as the "fish torpedo boat." Propelled by a screw worked from the inside by seven or eight men, it was so contrived that it could be submerged and worked under water for several hours, and to this end was provided with a fin on each side, worked also from the interior. By depressing the points of these fins, the boat, when in motion, was made to descend, and by elevating them it was made to rise. Light was afforded through means of bull's eyes placed in thi man holes. Mr. Payne, the engineer whc had successfully saved the David, having vol unteered with a crew from the Confederate navy, to man the fish boat for another attack upon the New Ironsides, it was given in theii hands for that purpose. While tied to the wharf at Fort Johnson, whence it was U start under cover of night to make the attack a steamer passing close by capsized and sunk it Mr. Payne, who at the time was standing in one of the man-holes, jumped out into the water, which, rushing into the two openings drowned two men within the body of the boat After the recovery of the sunken boat Mr r-r * * ir Lfi i ? :4L hud ley came irom iviooue, onugiug wim um Lieutenant Dixon, of the Alabama Volun teers, who had successfully experimented witl the boat in the harbor of Mobile, and undei him another naval crew volunteered to wort it. As originally designed, the torpedo wat to be dragged astern upon the surface of the water; the boat, approaching the broadsidi of the vessel to be attacked, was to dive be neath it and, rising to the surface beyond continue its course, thus bringing the floating torpedo against the vessel's side, when ii would be discharged by a trigger contrived tc go off by the contact. Lieutenant Dixor made repeated descents in the harbor 01 Charleston, diving under the naval receiving ship which lay at anchor there. But one day when he was absent from the city Mr Hunley, unfortunately, wishing to handle the boat himself, made the attempt. It was read ily submerged, but did not rise again to the surfaoe, and all on board perished from asphyxiation. When the boat was discovered, raised and opened, the spectacle was indescribable ghastly ; the unfortunate men were contorted into all kinds of horrible attitudes; some clutching candles, evidently in the endeavor to force open the man-holes ,* others lying in the bottom tightly grappled together, and the blackened faces of all presented the G&fJicsoiuu ut buoil uupaii nuu aj(uuj. After this tragedy I refused to permit the boat to be used again ; but Lieutenant Dixon, a brave and determined man, having returned to Charleston, applied to me for authority to use it against the Federal steam sloop-of-war Housatonic, a powerful new vessel, carrying eleven guns of the largest calibre, which lay at the time in the north channel opposite Beach Inlet, materially obstructing the passage of our blockade-runners in ana out At the suggestion of my Chief-of-StafF, Genera] Jordan, I consented to its use for this purpose, not as a submarine machine, but in the same manner as the David. As the Housatonic was easily approached through interior channels from behind Sullivan's Island, and Lieutenant Dixon readily procured a volunteer crew, his little vessel was fitted with a Lee spar torpedo and the expedition was undertaken. Lieutenant Dixon, acting with nharartarifltic coolness and resolution, struck and sunk the Housatonic; but unhappily, from some unknown cause, the torpedo boat was also sunk, and all with it lost Several years since a "diver," examining the wreck of the Housatonic, discovered the fish-boat lying along-side of its victim.?Gen. G. T. Beauregard, in Philadelphia Weekly Timet. MONTE CHRISTO IN SEAL LIFE. the wonderful career of henry meiggs, the railway king of south america. The death of Henry Meiggs, which occurred at Lima, Peru, on the 20th of September, ended the career of one of the moet remarkable men of his time. Few men have dominated empires as largely as he did ; few men have owned and controlled so much of the world's wealth as he, and few men have left behind them so glittering, and at the same time so demoralizing an example. Before this brilliant meteoric course, which at one time seemed to have the regularity of a planet's orbit, the careers ef most modern adventurers are as the fickle gleams of a rush light Henry Meiggs was born in Greene county, N. Y., in 1811. When scarcely out of his teens he became known as a successful lumber dealer in Boston, and for his ability to manage great enterprises. But Boston was not a large enough field for his far-reaching genius, and he removed to New York, where be soon became the largest operator in lumber, a noble patron of art, upon which he lavished large sums, and conspicuous for the readiness with which he would enlist in any new speculation or assist a struggling friend. The panic of 1837?he was then only twenty-sir years of age?crippled the young capitalist, but he was rapidly recovering when the discovery of gold in California gave a new klo tvnmnn/1/Mia onormr anrl firorl liupctua bU UIO UQIUVUUVUD vuv? gj www v<m his imagination with fresh dreams of the immense wealth which was his aim. Starting from New York, he landed at San Francisco in Julj, 1849, with cargoes of lumber, on which he realized 1,000 per cent, profit. He cleared $500,000 by one immense lumbering operation in California, and became the foremost man of California in business, politics and in social life. He had three manias? land, lumber and music. He had made money by the hundreds of thousands of dollars? spending it as freely?and before the panic of 1854 struck California, was thought to be the rt/thoat man in ?. StAtA where millionaires had been of mushroom growth. The disaster of that year was, however, fatal to his fortunes, not so much because of his own losses, it is said, as because of his efforts to save his friends?and nobody has ever doubted his liberal, generous nature?and he fell. He forged commercial notes and city warrants to the amount of a million dollars, and suddenly sailed in a vessel he had purchased for his flight, as he said afterwards, he knew not where himself, but anywhere to escape his crime. He was next heard of as superintendent of bridges on the Valparaiso and Santiago Railroad, in Chili. One portion of the road, thirty-three miles in length, was the despair of the Chilian Government, the engineering difficulties were so stupendous. The engineers estimated that to build the road across the mountain ohain would take from six to eight years, and cost $27,000,000. Meiggs took the contract for $12,000,000, finished it 2? "AAMfl nlrtorn^ .Q9A nnft TKia Ill tWU JXUIO) CIUVI V/luuiyA)VMV|Wvi *m?w performance made him the acknowledged railroad king of South America, and secured for him the control of the magnificent, and in their way uuparalelled, railway enterprises which Peru was then planning to open up her own mountain-hemmed resources. In 1867 Mr. Meiggs began the construction of the line from the Andean city of Arequipa to the Pacific, at Mollendo, a line the dizzy grandeur of which is rivalled only by his own subsequent achievements, xhe work was completed on New Year's day, 1871, when he offered to the hundreds of guests he had assembled from all parts of the world a banquet at Arequipa, which, served on that lofty tableland and in that remote region, seemed like a page out of "Aladdin." Two hundred thousand dollars are said to have been expended upon the festival. The commemorative medals, many of very large size, in gold and ailvar. at.rimlr off and lavishly distribu ted, and the abundant and princely gifts made to bis guests are estimated to have increased his outlay to $750,000. Only the Khedive at the fetes of Suez has in our time surpassed this splendid hospitality. It was hardly an extravagance, however, for the profits accruing from his contract?he received $11,250,000 for building the one hundred and seven miles of road?were enormous. A portion of these profits he set apart to discharge the debts due his California creditors, and the Legisla s tare of that State passed acts of immunity > covering his exit of 1854, and inviting him - to retarn. He had no intention, however, of 3 returning to San Francisco to become a mi: ner.or a speculator. Before the completion r of the Arequipa road, in 1870, he had signed 3 contracts to build no fewer than six other > Peruvian railroads at a collective cost of , about $115,000,000. In 1872, the Ilo and ; Moquegua road, sixty-three miles, built at a r cost of $6,281,250, was finished; in 1873 the 3 Pacasmavo, Guadaloupe and Magdalena , road, eighty-three miles, built at a cost of . $6,656,250, and the colossal Arequipa and . Puno road, which crosses the Andes at a * i height of more than 15,000 feet, and reach es Lake Titicaca by a line 220 miles in length. An objective point of a railroad in process of construction at the time of his death was the famous silver mines of the Cerro de Pasco, formerly the richest in the world, bat long since flooded and neglected, beeause of the difficulty of reaching them with heavy machinery. Mr. Meiggs had recently entered into new contracts with the Peruvian Government for opening and working these mines, and it was but the other day that we received a telegram from London announcing that the engineers estimated the amount of the silver already made available in this world famous region by Mr. Meiggs' explorations, or to be made available, at $250,000,000. Previous to his dsatb, however, he became involved in difficulti es, his credit broke down, and it is doubted whether of theoolossal fortune he has earned much remains. He was a man of remarkable appearance. He was about five feet eight inches in height, broadshouldered, muscular, and weighed about 225 nnnn/l? 17a liad fVia lamvaaf naa/1 an/1 hio. | |/vl4uuo? aav umu vuu ihigwv i4vimi wuw gest fists in South America. His eye were i gray, deep-set, piercing and kindly in expres, eion. He had a square jaw and chin, a big i nose, a large mouth and firm-closed lips. His countenance bore the impress of power. He , would have been singled out in any company | as a superior man. He was a great mathe[ matician and so remarkably quick at figures , that the Chilians and Peruvians are fond of . telling stories about his wonderfal arithmet. ical performances. His manners were kind < and even gentle, his liberality unbounded. i 1 # Stability.?The history of success in any ; business pusuit, as well as in any great undertaking, is simply an account of great stability of purpose, perseverance and conquest over i difficulties. There is nothing in life that/is so formidable tbat we cannot overcome it if we but pursue a steady and determined course. How many begin business under favorable auspices, who, as soon as the first cloud obscures the way, become disheartened and are ready to give up, thinking that a change to some other locality will be advantageous. Such men never gain what they seek?a pleasure ride to the temple of fortune. It is the power of steam in that little ohest, constantly renewed, that takes the immense loaded train ' up tbat steep grade against the steady force of gravitation. Stability, perseverance, determination will bring us to the summit of our hopes?nothing else on earth will. It is a very common thing for a farmer to get dissatisfied with his business and want to change it for some other?something that is easier and more lucrative as he thinks; but he will surely make a mistake. The prospects which he sees at a distance are illusory, and he will never realize his expectations. t in 1 Iia mill fln/1 v? imonl f of fko KaHaIYI MWWW.n III IIIQ HO nui UUU UllUOVia ?? WUW WVIVIH of the hill, with scarce courage enough left to , undertake the weary ascent. We want to say to young farmers, stick to your business and your farms. Do not tear up and move unless vou have the best and wisest of counsels ana purposes to sanction the change. Work and care and constant watchfulness are the conditions of success everywhere. Do not allow yourselves to get uneasy. Mark the men who do not get ahead, and you will find them to be men who never stick to any one business a great while, but are always dropping out of the ranks just as the favorable point is reached. Pursue your calling faithfully and persistently, and if you enouia never acquire great weaitu, you wm acquire and leave behind you a noble character.?Detroit Tribune. The Obeat Wall op China.?The great wall of China was measured in many places by Mr. Unthank, an American engineer, lately engaged on a survey for a Chinese railway. His measurements give the height at eighteen feet, and a width on top of fifteen feet. Every few hundred yards there is a tower twenty-four feet square, and from twenty to twenty-five feet high. The foundation of the wall is of solid granite. Mr. Unthank brought with him * brick from the wall, which is supposed to have been made 200 years before the time of Christ. In building tbis immense stone tence to Keep oot tne tartars, the bnilders never attempted to avoid mountains or chasms to save expense. For 1,800 miles the wall goes over plain and mountain, and every foot of the foundation is in solid granite, and the rest of the structure solid masonry. In some places the wall is built smooth up against the bank, or cafions, or precipices, where there is a sheer descent of 1,000 feet Small streams are arched over, but in the larger streams the wall runs to the water's edge, and a tower is built on each side. On the top of the wall there are breastworks, or defences, facing in and out, so the defending force can pass from one tow er to another withoot being exposed to an enemy fronj, either side. To calculate the time of building or cost of this wall, is beyond human skill. So far as the magnitude of the work is concerned, it surpasses everything in ancient or modern timer of which there is any'trace. The pyramids of Egypt are nothing compared to it?London Neva, 9 Do not Fret.?One fretter can destroy the peace of a family, can distnrb the harmony of a neighborhood, can unsettle the councils of cities and hinder in legislation of nations. He who frets is never the one who mends, who heals, who repairs evils; more, he discourages, enfeebles, and too often disables those around him, who, but for the gloom and depression of his company, would do good work and keep up brave cheer. The effect upon a sensitive person in the mere neighborhood of a fretter is indescribable. It is, to the soul, what a cold, icy mist is to the body-r? more chilling than the bitterest storm. And when the fretter is one who is beloved, whoee nearness of relation to us makes his fretting at the weather seem like a personal reproach to us, then the misery of it becomes indeed in supportable. Most men call fretting a minor fault?a foible, and not a vice. There is no vice except drunkenness which can so utterly destroy the peace, the happiness, of home. Oaths.?Men swear by the objects which are most precious to them. The natives of New Guinea swear by the sun, or by a certain mountain, or by a weapon. The savages of the Brazilian forests raise the hand over the head, or thrust it into the hair, or they will touch the points of their weapons. The New Guinea savage, holding up an arrow, calls on Heaven to punish him if he lies. An Abyssinian Chief, who had sworn an oath he disliked, has been seen to scrape it off his tongue and spit it out. There are still places in Germa ny where the fals^witness reckons to escape the spiritual consequence of perjury by crook* ing one finger, to make it, I suppose, not a : straight but a crooked oath; or he puts hit i left hand on his side to neutralize what the ' right band is doing.