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issued twioe-a-week?wednesday and saturday.
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VOLUME 43. YORKVILLE, S. O., SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1897. NUMBER 9.
. - j - - .
- - <1 1 J J a. I_ _ Ui.
THE MATE Of
A STORY OF ADVENTUI
BY CAPTAIN I
Copyright, 1896, by the Author.
Synopsis op Previous Installments. |
In order that new readers of The Enquirer
may begin with the following installment
of this story, and understand it
just the same as though they had read it
all from the beginning, we here give a
synopsis of that portion of it which has
already been published:
Chapter I.?Bon Johnson robs Lady
Dudley and is discovered in the act by her
maid, Mary Williams, his sweetheart.
Lady Dudley dies of fright. Johnson escapes
first having accused Mary of being
his accomplice.
Chapter II.?Ralph Tomkins, mate of
the Hindu, having come from a cruise,
goes, to Dudley to visit his mother. On
the way he meets Johnson in a boat, and
in an altercation Tomkins stuns Johnson
with an oar. Johnson is arrested for the
murder of Lady Dudley and accuses Tomkins
of being accessory.
Chapter III.?Johnson is held for the
murder. Tomkins and Maiy Williams
are released. Tomkins falls in love with
Mary, who goes to Australia with her
parents.
Chapter IV.?The Hindu takes convicts
to Botany Bay. Tomkins. the
Williams family and Johnson, as a con
vict, are aboard.
Chapter V.?Doctor Haxton, in charge
of the convicts, is incompetent.
Chapter VI.?Johnson refuses to work
and the officers suspect a mutiny is breeding.
Chapter VII.?The Hindu meets an
Indiaman, who asks passage to the cape
of Good Hope for a man named Thomas,
who is received and says that he was put
aboard by mutineers on a convict ship,
the Albatross. There is evidence of mutiny
on the Hindu, and mutineers, including
Johnson, are flogged.
Chapters VIII ana IX.?Matters seem
to improve. The Hindu reaches the Cape
and puts Thomas ashore, and a man of
t&e name oi i org is snippea. xu i? owu
discovered that under York's leadership
the convicts will mutiny and take the
ship.
Chapter X.?A supposed pestilence
breaks out.
Chapter XI.?The crew mutiny and
seize the ship, then get drunk. The officers
stand together in the cabin.
Chapter XII.?Mary Williams carries
arms to the officers.
Chapter XIII and XIV.?The mutineers
hold the vessel tor three days and
nights. They ask for the boats, which
are in possesion of the officers, but are refused.
CHAPTER XV.
A DEATH ON BOARD.
At an early hoar next morning after
the tragedy recorded in the previous
chapter a number of the mutineers appeared
on the beach, where their provisions
yet lay in a heap, and began to
oarry off various articles. Our hope that
Johnson might have been one of the trio
seized by the sharks was soon dissipated,
as ho was the fourth or fifth,
man to appear. Without so much as a
look at the ship he began shoutiDg orders,
and for an hour was constantly in
sight At the end of that time everything
had been carried out of sight
among the bushes. When ready to go,
Johnson turned to face us, drew himself
up, and, fastening his gaze on Captain
Clark, he said:
"Captain, I was playing you 6oft yesrr,k??
T *rnn t hftf. wpM hp
IfCiuoj rru^u * uv*u jvu ?*? ? - ?
oontent with the provisions. We want
the bark, and we'll keep trying for
her as long as there's a man left alive.
You've shown us no mercy and need
expect none from us."
"Well, what's your point?" asked the
oaptain as the fellow paused.
"It's just this: Give us the bark,
and we'll go away in her and leave you
in comfortable shape on the island. Refuse
ub, and we'll find a way to destroy
ship and all of you, even if we perish
at the same time. It shouldn't rest with
you and your bloody mates to say no tc
this, for the men with wives and children
ought to have a word. Look here,
Saunders, Smith, Williams, you women
who want to see home again, are you
going to"?
Captain Clark had a rifle in his
hands. He raised it to his shoulder and
covered the convict and said to him:
"I'll count five and then drop you
dead in your tracks!"
He counted one, two, three, and then
Johnson turned and walked away. It
It was not a bluff on the captain's part.
His finger was pressing the trigger, and
he would surely have sent a bullet intc
the fellow's head. He would have been
justified in doing it, but thus far wc
had shed blood only in defense. Some
of the people were disposed to believe
that if the mutineers meditated any
further move Johnson would have been
too politio to utter threats, but two or
three of us took a different view of the
matter. He was not a diplomat. He
was a man utterly without fear, and
when there was a chance for a fight he
never thought of using strategy to secure
an advantage. Defeat had worked
him up to that pitch where he must
free his mind, and he would need watching
none the less for announcing his de
termination.
If tho wind had not shifted directly
into the south, making it an utterly impossible
thing to6ail the bark out of the
bay, no matter how largo a crew she
might have had aboard, I think our captain
would have carried her out and
made 6bift to at least reach another anchorage.
The nervous strain had begun
to tell on us and some of tho wouipii
were right down ill, and the knowledge
that wo wero still in peril and might
have to fight for our lives at any minute
had no consolation in it.
"I don't know what plans they
have," said Captain Clark as we counseled
together, "but we must be wide
THE HINDU.
RE ON LAND AND SEA.
IALPH DAVIS.
I
awake for them day and night If they
had one single musket and 50 rounds of j
ammunition we might have to make
terms with them. Thank the Lord that i
they haven't! They'll cook up some
devilish schemo, however, and, as I said,
-* 1 T 4 Unnno I
we mutt DO wuiajiilul. xjcl iuvuj uuw
get possession and they'd 6how mercy
to neither man, woman nor child."
What I secretly dreaded was that- they
would fire the forest,which was just then
very dry. The thought came to them,
no doubt, but the Hindu would have
also been consumed, and their plan was
to possess her. However, by noon of the
day I have been speaking about it came
on to rain in grand style, and the storm
oontinued until next morning without a
break. Everything being thoroughly i
drenched, with a certainty of more rain
at brief intervals, there was no longer
the fear that the forest might be fired
by acoident or design. ,
All the men, the single women and
Mary Williams wero counted off and
divided into three watches. Awnings
were placed fore and aft to protect the ?
watch on deck from the weather, and
during the day, unless too wet, one man ,
in the watch was to be stationed in the j
crosstrees with a glass and a rifle. As ,
1 came on duty on the second morning, <
having Mary and Haskell in my watch, <
I was the first one to take a trick aloft <
1 left my rifle at the crosstrees and went <
up until I h ad a clear view of the island |
over the trees. I judged it to be about f
two miles square, and it was thickly (
covered with trees and bushes except in j
occasional spots. The mutineers had
made a camp about half a mile due {
north of the ship. The sail had been \
stretched on stakes, and two or three ]
fires were smoldering, but it was 9 ,
o'clock before I got sight of any of the'
men. Then they came crawling oat, one
by one, and I soon had proof that all had
not gone merry with them. With the
glass I could bring each man so close
that it seemed as if I oonld lay a hand
on his shonlder.
There seemed to be a dispnte about
who shoal d act as cook, and from words
the gang soon came to blo^s. There were
half a dozen fights going on at once,
and I saw Ben Johnson using hands, feet
and a club to restore order. When the
fighting ceased, ten of the men seized
a part of the provisions and went off
through the forest toward the western
shore. They defied Johnson and had selected
a new leader.
Whether the move would turn out
good or ill for us was to be determined.
The more they fought among themselves
the less likely they were to attack
us, and yet we should now have two
different gangs, each working independently
of the other, to look out for.
The day and the night passed away
Without an alarm, but at an early hour
?Jn the following morning the entire
force of the smaller party appeared on
the beach and hailed the bark. They
were pretty evenly divided between convicts
and sailors, and they put forward
as their speechmaker the sailor who
had served as bos'n of the bark. As
everybody came on deck in response to
the alarm, the party on the beach uncovered
their heads In a respectful way,
and the bos'n began:
"Captain Clark and good friends all,
this is the truth, and may the whole
gang of us perish on the spot if it isn't.
We were dragged into this business. We
had to ioin 'em to save our lives. Ev
ery one of us here would have fought
for the ship if we could have got aft
among you, but they watched us too
olose. Mates, I calls upon you, one and
all, to tell the captain if I'm speaking
the truth or no."
"Aye, he is that!" shouted three or
four in chorus.
"And what do you want to get at?"
asked the captain in reply.
"Well, sir, it's just this way, sir.
Those of us you see here have broko_
away from the others. We have no heart
in it, you see. We wants to come
aboard, sir. We don't ask to be trusted,
but are willing to be put in irons
and carried to Australia for trial. We
may be hung for what we've done, sir,
but we shall certainly be murdered if
you don't, take us aboard."
The sympathies of the women, and of
some of the men as well, were at once
aroused, and they entreated the captain
to grant the request. He silenced them
with a gesture and said to the mutineers:
"Harkee, Dick Taylor and the rest of
you! Your words are fair, but your
hearts are black enough. I know your
game, and I say to you that if there's a
man of you left in sight when the minute
is up I'll put a bullet through his
head."
Away went the rascals, helter skelter,
and they were only well concealed
in the bushes when they sent up a great
hissing and groaning and shouting, and }
when that ceased they indulged in {
threats to make the blood run cold. They
well knew that the iron cages had been
destroyed and that we hadn't a pair of
shackles or handcuffs aboard. No matter.
how we secured them, if foolish
enough to take them aboard, some one 1
of them would have found a way to lib- f
erate himself and all others, and then it t
would have been slaughter. I do not e
think there was collusion between the t
two parties, and therefore mention it as '
a singular coincidence that directly aft- i
er noon the other and larger party cartK
down and stood 011 the identical spol
and .made the same identical offer. The
spokesman in this case was also one ol
the sailors, and he stated that they had
driven Ben.Johnson out of the camp
and would have no more to do with
him. Captain Clnik returned about the
same answer, and the \\ ords and actions
of the mutineers left no room for doubl
that they had planned our destruction.
The next event of importance saddened
all beartA Mrs. Saunders waf
not a robunt woman, and with the firs)
signs of trouble aboard had been thrown
into a nervous fever. The women had
given her the best care they could undei
t.hp circnmstancrs. but even the skill ol
a good physician might not have availflji?
"Your words are fair, but your hearti
are black cnoujh."
Bd. The excitement of the situation
kept her fever going, and we had been
anchored in the bay just a week, when
Dne night she breathed her last almost
without warning. It was a shock to all
3f us and a hard blow to husband and
:hildren. We made her a coffin out oi
:he best material at hand, and while
;wo of us stood guard on the 6hore with
)ur rifles the others buried her in a
jrave just above high water mark.
The almost immediate result of this
iad event was a written communication
Tom all the passengers, which was a
protest and an appeal combined. They
wanted the captain to abandon the bark,
;ake to the boats and seek to reach Adeaide.
He answered it by calling ns all
ogether in the cabin and pointing out,
irst, that owing to the bad weather the
voyage would be one of such exposure
ind peril that he would not undertake
t except as a last resort; second, to
tbandon the bark as she stood simply
neant to turn her over to the mutineers,
vho would pursue and destroy us;
;hird, if she was scuttled or set on fire,
le and I lost every dollar we had in the
vorld, and, under the circumstances, it
vas doubtful if insurance or charter
ivould. hold good. It could not be shown
ve were in sufficient peril to justify
mch proceedings, and he should respectfully
but imply decline to accede to the
vishes offlie passengers.
There was bitter disappointment and
iome strong talk, but in the course of
14 hours a better feeling prevailed. In
;alking it over among themselves they
lad come to get a clearer view of the
ins and outs of the situation. It would
aave been a very bad move to abandon
:he craft and take to the boats, not only
is to what the government and insurance
companies and owners of the lump
cargo in the lower hold might say,
jut there would not have been one
shance in five of bringing the boats safe
nto harbor. There was a steady westsrly
gale, with showers at intervals,
ind a single day of exposure would have
lone for the women and children.
The mutineers kept wonderfully quiet
ifter playing their cards as described
ibove. The fact of the matter, as you
:au plainly see, was that they had no
ihow whatever to get possession of the
)ark. Except for about half an hour at
ow tide, the sharks patrolled the bay
is if they had an understanding with
is, and we took care to encourage them
n this by feeding them at intervals.
So one could swim off to us, and, as for
mildiug a raft, the mutineers would
lave had to labor right under the muzdes
of our guns. They had no weapons
;o fire on us; none of us ever went
ishore. And so what could they do? We
lid not relax our vigilance, .however.
Kuoving that we had a desperate lot to
leal with, we took no chances. Every
lour of the day, rain or shine, a man
vas aloft with a glass to survey the isand.and
in this way we kept quite fairly
posted as to the movements of the mnlineers.
Two or three days after the
leath of Mrs. Saunders it was discovered
;hat the two parties had reunited under
;he leadership of Ben Johnson, and that
;hey had given more attention to the
;omforts of their camp. It was further
liscovered that they had erected a tall
ngual staff on the west side of the island
md were flying a flag from it. Their
lope was to entice some craft which
night have strayed into these waters to
lending a boat ashore in answer to that
ligual. If they could get possession of a
aoat, they would try hard to get possession
of the ship which sent it ashore,
rhat we might checkmate them in this
,ve watched the sea as well as the laud,
[f help came to us, it would he from the
south, while their hope lay in the arrival
of some whaler or coaster making
i course along the coast.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Market Quotations.
"Sir." said the indignant alderman,
'are you not aware that were I to vote
or your measure I would be exposed to
;he condemnation of all the good citiins
in my ward? And that sort of
hing," he added, lowering his voice,
'comes pretty high, you know."?Indiinapolis
Journal.
pisccltancous pending.
! .
I STRAIT IN REPLY.
1 DEFENDS HIS ELECTION TO CON1
GRESS AS LEGAL.
W. B. Wilson, Esq., has given to the
! Rock Hill Herald, Congressman Strait's
reply to Major John F. Jones. It is as
follows:
, To John F. Jones, Esq., Contestant:
Answering your notice of contest of
my election as representative to the
I Fifty-fifth congress of the United
. States to which I was duly elected on
. fho SpH Hav nf Nnvpmhftr IRQfi
; "**** v*" -?" i ?" "
I deDy the allegations contained in
the first, second, third, fourth, fifth
and sixth grounds of your notice of
contest, except as hereinafter admitted;
and, on the contrary, allege:
1. That the provisions of Article II,
Sections 4 and 6 of the constitution of
South Carolina of 1895, and the act of
the general assembly of South Caroli- J
na, approved March 5, 1896, were not
in conflict withe said act of congress,
approved June 5, 1868, or with any
other statute of the United States.
That the state of South Carolina has
been a member of the Union, and the
equal of any other state therein, continuously
since the ratification by her
of the constitution of the United States
in 1896 ; and her sovereign rights, including
the power to regulate the right
of suffrage within her borders, are
equal to those enjoyed by the other
states of the Union : and said rights
, and powers canDot be, and have not
been abridged by any act of congress,
i 2. That the state of South Carolina,
i in the exercise of her sovereign power,
i bad the right to adopt a new constitu;
tion without submitting it, after adopI
tion, for ratification, to the people of
I the state. Neither the constitution of
' South Carolina of 1868, nor the act of
i the general assembly of said state,
i calling the constitutional convention
, of 1895, required its ratification by the
people. That the said constitution has
i ever since been recognized by all the
departments of the state government
i as the organic law of the state. That
the failure to submit the said constitution
to the ratification of the people by
popular vote was in accordance with
the usage in South Carolina in the formation
and adoption of her previous
constitutions, with the solitary exception,
in the extraordinary conjuncture
of public affairs in 1868 ; and is also in
accordmce with the practice of many
other states of the Union.
* S. That the provisions of the constitution
of South Carolina of 1895 for
the registration of voters prior to January
1, 1898, and the laws of the said
stute passed to carry out said provisions,
are not in conflict with the fifteenth
amendment and other articles
of the constitution of the United
States, as alleged in paragraphs fifth
and sixth of said grounds of contest,
and that in no event could said provisions
of said constitution, and the
laws enacted thereunder, interfere with
the right of any citizen of said state
prior to the first day of January, 1898,
and can in no way affect your rights
in this contest.
4. That the statements contained
in your said several grounds of contest,
that the boards of registration
of the various counties in said Fifth
congressional district refused to register
more than 10,000 citizens of the
state who were"qualified and entitled
to register for, and vote at, said election,
and who, if they bad been allowed
to register, would have voted
for you, are so general and indefinite,
that it is impossible to point out, in
particular and in detail, the gross
error of such statements; but I allege
that no such number of persons entitled
to vote, ever applied for registration
and were refused. That all persons
who were refused and denied the right
to register, were clearly and manifestly
not entitled to register for said election,
and that of the number so refused
and denied the right of registration, a
large number were persons who would
in no event have voted for you as a
member of the house of representatives
in the Fifty-fifth congress. That
full, fair, free, and open opportunity to
register was impartially given to every
voter in each of the counties of said
congressional district, and if any persons
failed to register and to receive
registration certificates entitling them
to vote at said election, it was due to
their own fault or neglect.
5. That the statements contained
in said grounds of contest that the
managers of election of the various
polling precincts in said district refused
to allow more than 9,000 citizens
of this state to vote at said election,
who were qualified and entitled to
vote, and who, if they had been allowed
to vote, would have voted for you,
is so geneal and indefinite that it is
impossible to point out in particular
and in detail, the gross error of such
statements ; but I allege that no such
number of persons Were denied the
privilege of voting at said election,
and that of those who applied for, and
were denied the right to vote, the
greater number would not have voted
for you, and that all of such persons
refused and denied the right to vote,
were clearly and manifestly not enti
tied to vote at said election.
I further allege that many Republicans
in said congressional district who
voted for the nominees of the Republican
party for presidential electors, refused
to support and vote for you for
personal and other reasons, and that
many registered colored Republican
voters of the said congressional district
refused to go to the election pre
cinct8 and vote lor you, but remained (
away from the polls, and that you i
were not the choice of the colored vo- i
ters of said congressional district for 1
their representative in congress. t
Your seventh ground of contest is t
stated in such general terms and is so J
indefinite, that it is impossible for me <
to point out the gross error of such i
statements in particular and in detail; i
but I deny that the board of registra- J
tion, in examining applicants for regis- 1
tration for said election, were unfair J
and impartial and illegally registered t
more than 9,000, or any number of i
Democrats, without anv examination c
as to their qualifications, and without 1
requiring them to read or explain any ?
section of the constitution of South t
Carolina, and in naany cases, without i
an application by the person registered, c
as alleged therein ; but on the con- t
trary, allege that said boards of regis- c
tration acted with strict fairness and t
impartiality, and that they illegally t
registered no persons who were per- 1
mitted by the board of managers of t
the various precincts in said district to ?
cast their votes at said election for me. t
I deny each and every allegation
contained in the eighth and ninth
grounds of your notice of contest, the
same being so general and indefinite, 1
that a more particular and detailed de- a
nial cannot be made. That said elec- ]
tion held on the 3rd of November, t
1896, and the registration therefor were ?
conducted fairly and impartially, with- ?
out discrimination and in accordance \
with the constitution and laws of the r
state of South Carolina and of the a
United States and that you failed to e
receive no vote that you were lawfully ?
entitled to receive, and that all persons
who voted for me were legally regis- i
tered and qualified voters. \
T. J. Strait, Oontestee. c
A STRIKING EXAMPLE. ]
How Senator Morgan Won a Case With
the Bible In Hand. ?
It was some 20 years ago that Sena- t
tor John T. Morgan won a very re- i
marlruKlo naua in t.ho nrnhata onnrt rtf t
Mobile county, Ala., by using the Bible 1
as bis chief book of reference before i
the jury. t
A lady possessed of considerable ]
property, died and on her deathbed 1
executed a will, leaving everything she ?
owned to her three daughters. Soon
after her death, the dwelling in which c
the young ladies resided was burned, t
and the will was destroyed before it (
was probated. t
The three young daughters sought i
to probate a copy of the will drawn up
from what they remembered of its con- i
tents. Other heirs undertook to fight i
the case. Senator Morgan represented f
the young ladies, and a very distin- i
guished ex-judge of Alabama repre- f
sented the contestants. The case came \
up for a hearing before Judge Price t
Williams, Jr., who is still the probate c
judge of Mobile county. I was at that J
time a clerk in the record office and t
was present during the hearing of the a
case. A jury was asked for and one t
was empanelled. The young ladies
were put under the rule, and while one a
was testifying the other two were ex- c
eluded from the courtroom. The first ?
of the ladies upon the stand testified \
to the contents of the alleged will, and s
stated that to the best of her recollec- v
tion her mother, while sitting up in t
bed, wrote upon foolscap paper and c
with a pencil. The next gave about s
the same testimony as to the contents c
of the document, but said it was writ- t
ten on note paper and in ink. The
third corroborated her sisters as to the r
contents of the will, but said that as o
she remembered it the writing was on ?
letter paper and in purple ink. s
At the conclusion of the evidence a
for the applicants the court took a I
short recess, and Judge Boyles walked f
into the record room to smoke a cigar, t
aud he there found Senator Morgan v
busily engaged in reading the Bible. ii
"What are you looking for in the r
Holy Book, general?" asked Judge f
Bovles.
w
"Oh, a few texts between Genesis p
and Revelation," was the reply. s
When the arguments begau Judge C
Boyles, with the confidence of a win- s
ner, arose and proceeded to tear the t
evidence of the young ladies into p
smithereens by holding up before the
jury the discrepancy of the testimony, y
"We fortunately put them under the I
rule," he exclaimed, and not one of a
them agreed as to how that will was u
written. Just think, they had it on h
all sorts of paper and written witb all
kinds of ink and pencils." He then a
referred to Senator Morgan studying A
the Bible and said a lawyer was in des- li
perate straits when he had to leave his a
law books and take refuge in the word c
of God.
Senator Morgan leaned back in bis u
chair, listened, smiled and stroked his li
short gray mustache. Finally it came v
his turn to address the jury. He e
walked forward with Bible in his hand li
and said : fi
"T Hnld in mv hand a book that I s>
was taught to believe aDd reverence fl
at my mother's knee. Gentlemen of v
the jury, I know that every one of you v
learned to look upon this sacred volume t
with respect when a mother's holy love o
guided your youthful footsteps. In r
this book I studied the life of the Mas- c
ter, and let me tell you why I believe p
the four gospels have recorded the v
truth. It is because they differ in some ti
of the minor details. If Matthew, 3
Mark, Luke and John were in collu- o
ston and got together to frame a ficti- v
tious history, they would have been n
exceedingly careful to fix the details o
so as to exclude any discrepancies, a
In Matthew we read that Christ, when ii
) inai, was ciomeu witu a suanou
obe. Id Mark, Luke and John it is
ecorded that he wore a purple robe,
'n Matthew, Mark and Luke we read
bat oDe Simon of Cyrene, bore the
:ross to the place of crucifixion. In
rohn it is written that Jesus bore the
:ross himself. All differ as to the words
vritten above the cross. Matthew has
t: 'This is Jesus the King of the
tews; Mark : 'The King of the Jews;'
^uke : 'This is the King of the Jews
rohn : 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
he Jews.' I say to you that these
^ afomn Ka nAanola nfii h
'CiJ UlllCiOUVMOWIUip vuo guO|/vig nivu
livine truth. Now if the young ladies
lad gotten together id collusion to tell
i story of the writing of a will that
lever existed, they would have agreed
ipon the details as to the paper, ink,
!tc. This would have been their first
bought. Their recollections differ belause
the act of which they have tesified
occurred when their souls were
roubled at the deathbed of their beoved
mother. As with the gospels,
he discrepancies of their evidence is 4
t testimony of the truth of what they
itter." Senator Morgan won the case.
COAL OIL.
The builders of Babel used clay for
>ricks and slime for mortar. An eximination
of any of the ruins of
Mesopotamia will show that asphaltio
nortar was the bed into which their
ilabaster wainscoat pieces were set,
tnd with which their vast terraces
vere compacted, and probably their
oofs protected; the use of which so
ibundautly only facilitated their deduction
when the torch was at last
ipplied. 1
The pitch used was made by evapo ating
petroleum. That of Babylon
vas obtained from the sulphur, brine, '
>il-sprihgs of Is; the products of
vhich are said to be sold in the village
>f Hits.
The story of the catastrophe of
Sodom and Gomorrah, if not originsed,
was perpetuated by the vast accunulations
of rock-oil in the centre of
.he Dead sea, as on the surface of a
leated, simmering brine-vat, where it
s hardened by oxydation, and drifted
o the surrounding shores. A similar
)henomenon?a cake of pure petroeum?elicited
the amazement of the
Spaniards who discovered Trinidad.
Many have spoken of the discovery
>f coal oil as of recent date, and misolron
if Am? q mn/iom intronfinn Kllf.
fanou IV 1VI <9 UiVUVlU ?U VVUVtVU y VMW
>il springs have been known and eseemed,
and even worshiped, in every
ige and many countries.
Herodotus describes a bitumen spring
n ZacyntbiasZante, one of the Ionian
slands; and probably this spring suficed
the Egyptian nation for their
ncessant, religious use of petroleum
or mummies, the embalmment of
vbicb was universal. The "Greek
ire" of modern times was probably
impounded of petroleum, from the
Jantean springs. Dioscorides tells us
bat rock oil was collected in Sicily,
ind burned in the lamps of Agrigenum.'"
The classic borne of naphtha is Baku,
i high peninsula on the western shore
if the Caspian sea, containing 35 village
and 20,000 souls, rocky and sterile,
vithout an attractive spot, without a
jtream, without one drop of sweet
vater, except what falls directly from
he clouds, and without a tree. But
oal-gas rises everywhere, from a soil
aturated with naphtha, and numerius
volcanoes in action discharge voltmes
of mud.
From the time of Zoroaster, the
laphtba of Baku has been sent all
iver Asia, for the service of the sacred
ire of the Parsees. The liquid streams
pontaneopsly through the surface,
.nd rises wherever a hole is bored.
Jut especially at Balegan, six miles
rom the capital village, the sides of
be mountain stream with black oils,
vhich collect in reservoirs, constructed
q an unknown ancient time; while
lot far off, a spring of white oil gushes
rom the foot.
Upon their festival occasions, the
leople pour tons of this oil over the
urface of the water, in a bay of the
Caspian, and then set, as it were, earth,
ea and sky in a blaze of light. Someimes,
far grander exhibitions take
ilorto nafnrallt/
Id 1817, a column of flame, 600
ards in diameter, broke out near
lalegan, and roared with boiling brine
nd ejected rocks for 18 days together,
,ntil it raised a mound 900 feet in
eight.
The population use the oil for light
nd fuel, and coat their roofs with it.
l clay pipe or hollow reed, steeped in
ime-water, set upright in the floor of
dwelling, serves as a natural and sufflient
gas-pipe.
The Ghebers bottle it for foreign
se; tbe Atecsbjahns fire witb it tbeir
me-kilns and burn their dead. No
wonder the religious sentiment of Orintal
mystics was entranced by such a
and of fire as Baku, where, in the
ssures of tbe white and sulphurous
oil, the naphtha vapors flicker into
Same ; where a boiling lake is covered
nth a flame devoid of sensible heat;
/here, after the warm showers of auumn,
the surrounding country seems
n fire, flames in enormous volumes
rtllincr nlnnrr t.hft mountains with in
"'""6 O
redible velocity, or standing still exiectant;
where the October and Noember
moons light up with an azure
int the entire west, and the Sogbda-ku,
fount Paradise, the eastern buttress
f the Caucasus, covers its upper half
irith a glowing robe, while, if the
ight be moonless, innumerable jets
f flame, isolated, or in crowds, cover
11 the plains, leaving the mountains
i obscurity.?Saturday Night.