USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The Cincinnati miscellany, or, Antiquities of the West, and pioneer history and general and local statistics, Volume I > Part 32
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The law interferes with the only contract in
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which a man is not liable to imposition. may cheat him in almost any thing else, but he always comprehends clearly what he is about in borrowing money. The law allows a man to sell every thing but money for the best price he can get. It leaves him at liberty to buy or sell at the most extravagant prices, to make foolish and ruinous bargains, to contract debts with no means of payment; to sacrifice his property, squander his money, and indulge in every species of extravagance and dissipation ; in a word, it throws open all the wide avenues of ruin, but carefully closes one of its by-paths.
Besides, usury laws are shockingly immoral in their tendency, for they encourage a man to break his contract, reward him for ingratitude, bribe him to be a villain, and hire him to crush the hand held out to help him.
In the present enlightened age, when every man whose mind is elevated by education, above the level of vulgar prejudices, admits that mon- ey is a legitimate article of commerce. and that like other commodities, it is always worth what it will sell for, the origin of the prejudice and prohibitory laws against the traffic in it, be- comes a subject of curious inquiry.
Money lending has never been a popular em- ployment. The only way to bring it into fa- vor would be, to lend unhesitatingly to all and require payment from none. At the time the money is borrowed, the lender is a friend and benefactor; when payment is enforced, he is an unfeeling oppressor. Refuse a man a loan or force him to pay, and he is apt to complain .- Novelists, poets, and dramatists, have fostered the prejudice by endeavoring to enlist sympa- thy in favor of the unfortunate borrower at the expense of the prosperous lender. Despotic princes, during the middle ages, who were al- ways needy, and always borrowing money to carry on their wars, conceived that by proscri- bing all interest, they would obtain the use of what money they wanted free of cost. Accor- dingly, the taking of interest was denounced, and the church prohibited all interest as a mor- tal sin, and thundered its anathemas against all who dared to receive the amallest compensation for the use of money.
They were shut out from holy'communion, rendered incapable of making a will, or of re- ceiving a legacy, and even denied the right of Christian burial. The sole ground of this pro- hibition was, that Moses had commanded the Jews to take no interest from their brethren, and that Aristotle had discovered no organs of re- production in coin, and that money therefore ought not to beget money. The philosopher forgot that money would buy houses, and that these would beget money. Armed with this double authority, the church boldly proclaimed
You ) the taking of interest to be contrary to the di - vine law, natural and revealed; and that it should consequently be regarded with holy hor- ror by every good christian. Now the Mosaic precept was clearly a political, not a moral pre- cept; for although it prohibited the Jews from taking interest from their brethren, it expressly permitted them to take it from others.
During the ages of political thraldom, war was the only honorable pursuit; commerce lan- guished, all lucrative employments were regar- ded with contempt, as unfit for a christian ; and trade was mostly in the hands of the Jews .- When liberty and commerce revived, interest was restored. Up to this time, tho term usury had been used to signify any rate of interest, great or small. When usury was legalized, it was thought best to give it a new name, and hence it is now called "interest." The preju- dices against free trade in money are rapidly wearing away, and are chiefly confined in the present day to the uneducated in the lower walks of life.
It has now become a settled principle in the science of political economy, thet all restrictions on the interest of money have uniformly the effect of rendering it dearer. Whenever the market value of money is above the legal rate, usury laws with their penalties, etther prevent a man from borrowing at all, or force him to pay an extravagant price ; for, in addition to the full value of the money, he must pay the lender for the risk of trusting to his honor and honesty.
The English government has abolished its usury laws, in all cases where money is lent on personal security. The State of Ohio repealed her, usury law in 1824, and several States have followed her example.
That usury laws should ever have existed, ori- ginating as they have, in ignorance and super- stition, will, in the progress of knowlege, be- come as much a matter of surprise to oui pos- terity, as it is to us that our ancestors should gravely make laws for the prevention of sorccry and witchcraft.
A Parablc. BY PHAZMA.
In a solitary place, among the groves, a child wandered, whithersoever he would.
He believed himself alone, and wist not that one watched him from the thicket, and that the eye of his parent was on him continually ; nei- ther did he mark whose hand had opened a way for him thus far.
. All things that he saw were new to him, there- fore he feared nothing.
He cast himself down in the long grass. and as he lay he sang until his voice of joy rang through the woods.
When he nestled among the flowers a serpent rose from the midst of them, and when the child saw how its burnished coat glittered in the sun,
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hike the rainbow, he stretched forth his hand to provisions. In the language of a distinguish- take it to his bosom :
Then the voice of his parent ctied from the thicket, "Beware."
And the child sprung up, and looked above and around, to know whence the voice came ;--- but when he saw not. he presently remembered it no more.
He watched how a butterfly burst from its shell, and flitted faster than he conld pursue,and rose far above his reach.
When he gazed, and could trace its flight no more, his father put forth his hand, and pointed where the butterfly ascended -- even into the clouds.
But the child saw not the sign.
A fountain gushed forth amidst the shadows of the trees, and its waters flowed into a deep and quiet pool.
The child kneeled on the brink, and, looking in, he saw his own bright face, and it smiled upon him.
As he stooped yet nearer to meet it, a voice once more said, "Beware."
The child started back, but he saw that a gust ruffled the waters, and he said to himself, "It was but the voice of the breeze,"
And when the broken sunbeams danced on the moving waves, he laughed, and dipped his foot that the waters might again be ruffled- and the coolness was pleasant to him .
The voice was now louder, but he regarded it not, as the winds bore it away.
At length he saw something glittering in the depths of the pool, and he plunged in to reach it.
As he sunk, he cried aloud for help.
Ere the waters had closed over him, his fa- ther's hand was stretched out to save him.
And while he yet shivered with chillincss and fear, his father said unto him --
"Mine eye was upon thee, and thou didst not heed: neither hast thou beheld my sign nor hearkened to my voice. If thou hadst thought on me, I had not been hidden."
Then the child cast himself on his father's bosom, and said :
"Be nigh unto me still, and mine eyes shall wait on thee, and mine ears shall be open unto thy voice for evermore."
The Battle of the Cowpens.
Friday last, the 17th inst., being the anni versary of this battle, one of the most gallant and successful fights, on the side of the Amer- icans, during the whole revolutionary struggle, I have inserted the best account of it, extant .- This, from the pen of a visitor to the battle ground; contains many particulars, new, and of deep interest.
"Tt may with truth be said, that in no battle of the American revolution, was the contest more unequal, or the victory more signal and complete, than that of the Cowpens. The British army was superior in numbers, in dis- eipline, in arms, and in everything that can constitute an army, save tho soul and spirit of the soldier, and the noble daring of the of- ficer. In infantry they were as fivo to four, and in cavalry as three to one. The Amcr- ican army, under General Morgan, was a re- treating detachment, without artillery, with- out proper arms, and without baggage or
ed historian of that period-the earth was their bed, the heavens their covering, and the rivulets which they crossed their only drink.
The battle ground of the Cowpens is in Spar- tanburgh District, about seventeen miles north of the Court House, and four or five miles from the North Carolina line. The surrounding coun- try is beautiful, and almost a perfect plain, with a fine surrounding growth of tall pines, oak and chestnut. On the memorable 17th of January, 1781, the entire country for miles around the battle ground, was one untouched forest. The inhabitants of the lower part of the District, had been in the habit of driving their cattle into this part of the country, for the purpose of gra- zing. and had erected pens in the neighborhood, for the purpose of salting and marking them .-- Hence the origin of the name of the battle ground. The field of battle, however is abour two miles distant from the Cowpens; but inas- much as there was no nearer known place in the neighborhood, it was called "the battle of the Cowpens." The night previous to the battle, the American army had encamped themselves upon the ground, The position was a favorable one, and lay immediately between the head wa- ters "Suck Creek," and a branch"Buck Creek,' which are not more than two hundred yards a- part. The forces under General Morgan were drawn up about daylight, on the bridge extend- ing from one of these springs to the other. These branches, at that time, were well lined with cane and small reeds. General Morgan was re- treating inte North Carolina, and had deter- mined to give battle on the other side of Broad River; but General Pickens informed him that if they crossed the river, the militia could not be kept together. A large portion of them had joined the army the day previous, and were un- der no regular discipline, This determined the commander to wait for Tarleton, whose force had been marching all night to overtake the American army, before they could get over Broad River. The North and South Carolina militia, under the command of General Pickens were posted one hundred and fifty, or two hun- dred yards in advance of the continental troops, under Col. Howard. Col. Brondon's regiment was placed on the left of the road leading from the Union District into North Carolina, and tho regiments of Colonels Thomas and Roebuck on the right. They were ordered to stand the fire of the enemy as long as possible, and then retreat, and form again ou the right of the conti- nental troops.
About sunrise the British army appeared in sight, and marched within one or two hundred yards of the American lines, and then displayed to the right and left with a corps of cavalry on each wing. General Pickens ordcred the mili- tia not to fire, until the enemy came within thir- ty paces of them. They were also permitted to shelter themselves behind trees, which was at least a prudent, if not a scientific mode of fight- ing. At the celebration of the anniversary of this battle in 1835, the writer of these sketches was shown by several of the old soldiers, the identical trees from behind which they fired during , the engagement. The British, when formod, rushed forward with a shout and a huz- za as if in anticipation of an easy victory. The horse of Colonel Brondon wasshot down under him, and his regiment immediately fired on the enemy, in violation of their orders to wait until he had approached within thirty paces. The
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The regiments of Colonels Thomas and Roebuck soon commenced also a brisk and destructive fire. The enemy then made a charge with fix- ed bayonets, and the soldiers gave way. The brunt of the battle was now bravely borne by the regular troops, while the militia rallied in the rear and renewed the engagement. Three hundred of the British troops were killed and wounded, and five hundred were taken prison- ers. The remnant of Tarleton's cavalry was pursued by Col. Washington, fifteen or twenty miles to Goudelock's, where he was informed the British were out of his reach. This, how- ever, was a false statement, made by Mrs. Gou- delock, in order to save the life of her husband, whom Tarleton had just pressed into his service to pilot him across the Pacolet. This good lady supposed that if Colonel Washington overtor k the British. an engagement might ensue, and her husband might be killed in the action. She therefore suffered the feelings of a wife to prevail over those of patriotism and morality. For the fact was, that Tarleton has just got out of sight as Washington rode up. Had the American cavalry continued their pursuit fifteen minutes longer. the remnant of the British troops could have been either captured or killed.
The next day after the battle, a portion of the militia were despatched to bury the dead .- Three places of burial are now to be distinctly seen. The largest is near the chimney of a ca- bin, some hundred yards distant from the bat- tle ground. The second is fifty to one hundred yards distant, and the third on the spot, where the battle took place. One of the soldiers, who assisted at the burying, observed, at the cele- bration before alluded to, that the dead were to be found in straight lines across the battle ground. and that it gave them a most singular appearance when seen at a distance. The only vestiges of the battle now to be seen, are the trees which have been cut for bullets. Some of these chops are twenty or thirty feet high-an evidence of bad shooting by one or the other of the parties. A great many of the bullets are yet to be found in the trees. The writer saw several that were pewter, and had no doubt been moulded from a spoon or plate. Lead be- ing scarce, some good whig had made the best substitute in his power at the expense of his ta- ble, and the convenience of his family. At the time the battle was fought, there was no under- growth on the ground, and objects might be seen at a great distance through the woods; but since that time, bushes and saplings have sprung up, and destroyed, in a great measure, the beauty of the forest.
American Ingenuity.
Those who can recollect as far back as the commencement of the present century, find in the various improvements in mechanical and manufacturing processes since, the opportunity of noticing many and wonderful changes. A column in a newspaper on this subject cannot cover what would fill a volume to advantage. I shall, therefore, select a single topic-carpen- ters' tools.
gimlet, the latter headed with tough durable wood, in lieu of the box handles of the imported article, liable continually to split. We are also indebted to the same State for the present im- proved pattern of the shingling hatchet.
In 1808, the hardware house in which I was an apprentice. forwarded to England specimens of the spiral gimlet, screw auger, shingling hatchet and modern choping axe. for the pur- pose of having cheaper articles made of the same patterns. To our great surprise, in due course of time, we learned that they could not be fabricated there. The statement of our cor- respondent was, that the workmen there could not comprehend how the auger and gimlet were twisted. The fact was, they could fabri- cate nny thing that had ever been made thero and improve upon existing fabrics, but they could neither invent like the Americans, nor could they master, in many instances, their in- ventions. No nation on earth possesses such augers & gimlets as the Americans. The Eng- lish employ what is termed a pod or barrel auger with a lip at one edge, which takes hold, as our screw, though not so effectually. A carpenter will bore four or five inches with ours while he would bore one with theirs.
As an evidence how slowly mechanical im- provements make their way in England, I copy an article in one of their late papers, by which it seems that after it has been in approved use for more than fifty years here, our auger is ex- hibited in their ship-yards as a novelty :
"Mr. W. Clark, a native of the United States of America, and now a resident at Birmingham, attended at Woolwich dockyard yesterday to af- ford the master shipwright and the foremen of the shipwrights an opportunity of testing the value and capabilities of a new description of auger for boring wood, constructed in a spiral form, exactly similar in appearance to a cork- screw, which empties itself of the fragments of wood without having occasion to withdraw it from the bore, as is the case with augers on the common principle. It gave great satisfaction, and an opinion was expressed that it would ma- terially abridge manual labor in boring hard woods, as it requires no presure to cause it to take hold, the screw form giving it ample pur- chase, and it does not appear to be so liable to heat by friction as the others." .- Liverpool Chron- cle.
I notice, also, in one of our Eastern papers. that a cutler at Newark, New Jersey, has re- ceived a large order for tailors' shears for the German market, where those of his manufac- ture are preferred to any of English or their own make.
The Electro Magnetic Light.
Messrs. Starr and Sanders, who have been car- rying on for the last six months, a serics of ex- periments, the object of which is to simplify
In 1800, the plane bitts, chisels, gimlets, and iron squares, were all miserable articles of En- glish manufacture. To Pennsylvania ingenuity we are indebrød for the screw auger, the spiral | their apparatus for producing this new and re-
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markable light, have at length brought the in- 14 or 5 in New York, These levies has played vention to a practical result.
They have now succeeded in obtaining a steady and intense stream oflight, which is pro . duced entirely by the electro magnetic princi- ple. A single effect of this will suffice at pres- ent. The flame of a burning candle 18 feet from the apparatus, was thrown by broad day light on a plaistered wall three feet off, on which was presented its distinct shadow, with fully de- fined outline. The brilliancy of the light itself was unsupportable as that of the sun to the na- ked eye.
The proprietors set out on Thursday for the East, where it is their intention to submit the merits of the invention, to special experiment in one of the National light houses, as the most satisfactory test of its general utility.
Relics of the Past. PITTSBURGH, Dec. 2nd, 1795.
DEAR SIR :-
The hurry of business, while at Mad River, prevented my enclosing you a power of attorney, to transact my business, in my absence. I now write you, and fully signify my approba- tion to such sales and conveyances of lots, in the town of Cincinnati, as you may think proper, and at such prices as you can agree upon. I would pen the request and authorize you, should I not be at Cincinnati early next Spring, to lease to the best advantage my out lots there. Our journey from Mad River to this place was long and tedious, arising from high waters; some de- tention on account of the Indians, we were obliged to have a talk with all that fell in our way, and had also a very bushy country to tra- vel through-but have the pleasure to inform you, that a good road may be had from Cincin- nati to this place, the distance less than three hundred miles-would be under particular ob- ligations to you, if you would endeavor to pre- vent the destruction of fences around my out lots. Am, sir, With due respect and esteem, Your obedient servant, ISRAEL LUDLOW.
MR. JOEL WILLIAMS.
NEW BRUNSWICK, April 24th 1791. Dear ARMSTRONG :-
I am very much obliged to you for your letter of the 19th inst. I am happy to hear that you have your Company so near com- pleted, that they please you so well. I am sure it must give you pleasure to be off so soon, although you are counted a troublesome fellow. Pray how did you make out with only your twen- ty-five suits ?-- do lead me into this affair, for I think when mine is done, I am done recruiting. I have got now 14 men here, and Denny has
the mischief with me, 'and still continue so to do. Capt. Pyatt raised his complement, in and about this town -- and now another officer is re- cruiting here, and others all about the State --- however, one consolation is, that perhaps all the fighting will be done before I get out. Denny, on his removal, left several aching hearts about the town, but I imagine he gets those that please him better in New York, if not quite so safe. How does your nunnery come on, and other pla- ces? I have not established any such houses here, as yet.
Write me to be sure, before you set out .- Present my compliments, if you please, to Mr. Wade, also Mrs. Nicholas, and all the Conestoga waggon with the appendages.
Believe me to be,
Dear Armstrong, yours friendly, E. BEATTY.
Capt. ARMSTRONG.
NOTE .- The No. of my Pennsylvania Lottery tickets are, 8491 8492 8493 and 8494; tell me their fate. When are you coming to sce me as you promised -- I have elegant quarters, and you know the people.
Something in names.
The ferry-boat plying between Louisville and Jeffersonville is owned by Captain John Shall- cross ; a name sufficient to inspire confidence in any ferry-boat-a name equally appropriate for the Captain of a steamboat, and cquivalent to go ahead, would be that of the late Secretary of the Treasury, Forward.
The Early Steamboats of the West.
I have made out the following list of the first series of steamboats which were built at various points, from N. Albany on the Ohio, to Browns- ville, on the Monongahela, for the navigation of the western waters, and their individual his- tory, as far as I can ascertain it.
The first steamboat that ever navigated the Ohio .and Mississippi, was the "ORLEANS." She was built at Pittsburgh in 1812, carried 300 tons, had a low presure engine, and was owned by, and constructed for Fulton & Living- ston, of New York. Started from Pittsburgh in December 1812, and arrived at New Orleans on the 24th of same month, and plied regularly be- tween New Orleans and Natchez, until the 14th July, 1814; when on her trip to the latter place, being opposite Baton Rouge, while lying by at night, and the river falling at the time, she set- tled on a sharp stump and became wrecked .- Her trips during that period averaged seventeen days. She was abandoned, and her engine with a new copper boiler, made in New York, was put into a new boat in 1818 called the "NEW OR- LEANS," which only ran until the spring of
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1819, when she also was sunk by a stump on the same side of the river, below Baton Rouge, but was raised by two schooners brought to N. Orleans between them, and there lost totally near the Batture .
The next in the order of time, was the COMET, 145 tons, owned by Samuel Smith, also built at Pittsburgh, on French's stern whee! and vibrating cylinder patent, granted in 1809. The Comet made a trip to Louisville in the sum- iner of 1813, and reached New Orleans in the spring of 1814, made two voyages to Natchez, and was then sold, and the engine put up in a cotton gin.
Next came the VESUVIUS of 390 tons, built at Pittsburgh, November 1813, by R. Fullon, and owned by a company in New York and New Orleans. She started for New Orleans in May 1814, Frank Ogden being Captain, and was the first boat that made any effort to reach the falls, having left New Orleans with freight in the ear- ly part of July of the same year, but grounded on a sand bar about 700 miles up the Mississip- pi, on the 14th of July, and lay there till the 3rd of December. when a rise in the river float- ed her off, and she returned to New Orleans, when she was put in requisition for military ser- vice by Gen. Jackson, but in starting up the river for wood, she grounded on the Batture, and became useless to the Government. The suc- ceeding year she plied between New Orleans and Natchez, under the command of Captain Clement, who was succeeded by Captain John DeHart. In 1816 she took fire, near New Or- leans, and burnt to the water's edge, having a valuable cargo on board. The fire communica- ted from the boilers, which in the first stile of building, were in the hold. The hull was af- terwards raised and built upon at New Orleans. After making several trips to Louisville, she was broken up in 1820.
The fourth steamboat was the ENTERPRIZE, of 100 tons, builtat Brownsville, Penn., by Daniel French on his patent, and owned by a company · at that place. She made two voyages to Lou- isville in the summer of 1814, under command of Captain J. Gregg> On the first of December of the same year, she took in a cargo of ordnance atores at Pittsburgh, and started for New Orleans, Henry M. Shreve commander. She made the voyage in 14 days, being a quick trip, all cir- cumstances considered, and was then despatch- ed up the river to meet two keels which had been delayed on the passage, laden with small arms.These she met 12 miles above Natchez, took their mastere and the cargoes on board, and returned to New Orleans, having been six and a half days absent, in which time she run 624 miles. She was then for some time actively employed transporting troops and supplies for
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