USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The Cincinnati miscellany, or, Antiquities of the West, and pioneer history and general and local statistics. Volume II > Part 25
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[Communication. ] Daguerreotyping.
An artist of great celebrity, just from Paris and London, says the Daguerreotypes on this side of the Anlantic arc so far superior to the best of those produced on the other, that the fact could not escape the notice of an artist. This cannot be because we have made greater progress in chemistry, optics, electrics, and metrical science generally. Then why? Arc we more practical and experimental, and less theoretical thian our transatlantic friends? The writer imagines not -but facts arc stubborn things, though we may not be able to account for them. In this country there are a great many persons practising this
in chemics, optics, and electrics with the skill of an artist. It is this rare merit, with great expe- rience and patience, that has given to Anthony and Edwards, of New York, and Hawkins, of this city, their deserved preeminence over all / other operators in the world. We have seen pictures by the best operators from Vienna, Paris, Dresden, London, and all parts of our country-have watched the progress of this truly delightful art from its origin till the present mo- ment, and feel proud to agree, from impartial conviction, rather than patriotism, with Mr. Healy, that our countrymen, and one of them our townsman, have no rivals-not even in Paris, where the art originated. A friend now in Lon- don, and a very competent judge, writes us lately that he compared a picture by Hawkins with those taken by Bain, (by far the best operator in London,) and that he decidedly prefers those of our fellow-citizen. Yet Bain is a clever Da- guerreotypist, having taken those of Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Albert, Louis Philippe, the Duke of Wellington, &c., besides a host of minor nobles and great men of Great Britain and France. The fact is, Hawkins' Gallery of the Pioneers of this City, is the most interesting tableau vivant imaginable, and will compare advan- tageously with Anthony & Edwards' very in- teresting collection of the Heads of the American People, which no other collection we have before seen, will. One reason is, Mr. H. is at once an artist and a daguerreotypist-the father of the art in the West, an operator from predilection and not for petty lucres sake alonc; but, from a pas- sionate preference and devotion to the art-hence his success. We have no disposition to cxtol Mr. H. beyond his merit-to over praise or puff any one or lessen others-for good artists in this way abound in our city; but we wish our citizens to be aware that they necd not cross the Atlantic for the finest daguerreotypes. It would be well for those of our merchants, importers, tourists, &c., who go abroad annually, and that have any doubts on this head, to take with them one of Mr. H.'s latest pictures. We knowit would not be the first time such men as Messrs. Daguerre, Arago, Vanheim, Plaudet, Voightlander, &c., have been surprised. The continual exhibition of works of art for every department, annually displayed at Dresden and Munich, should have somne specimens of our progress in Daguerreoty- ping; and we cannot forbear hinting to our friend H. that this would be both practical and desirable. Z.
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Cincinnati Churches.
In my list last week of new houses of worship, going up in our city for 1845, two Presbyterian are reckoned in place of four. This was a typo- graphical error. There are Dr. Beecher's, a stone edifice, on Seventh street, below Western Row; the Tabernacle, brick, at the corner of Clark and John streets; the Third Presbyterian, brick, corner of Fourth and John, and the Cen- tral Presbyterian, brick, on Fifth, between Plum and Western Row. They will be ready for oc- cupation in the inverse order in which they are named.
Fable.
" Father of men and beasts," said the Horse, approaching the throne of Jupiter, " it is said of me, that I am one of the most beautiful animals with which thou hast adorned the world ; and self love incites me to believe the character just; yet in some particulars, my appearance might admit of improvement."
" Of what kind? Inform me. I am willing to receive instruction," said the father of all, and smiled.
"I would probably run better," replied the steed, "if my legs were longer and more slender; a neck like a swan would be more becoming; a wider chest would improve my strength ; and, since thou hast ordained me to carry thy darling, man, might I not have a natural saddle growing upon my back, instead of that with which the well meaning rider confines me?"
" Have patience," resumed the God; and with an awful voice pronounced his creative word. Life started into the dust, inert matter became alive; organised members were formed; they were jolned in one consistent body ; and before the throne, arose-the hideous Camel. The horse shuddered, and shook with horror.
" See," said Jupiter, "longer and more slen- der legs; a neck like that of a swan; and a large chest, and a natural saddle. Would you choose to have such a shape?" The horse quaked with extreme aversion.
" Go," continued the God, " take counsel from this event; be henceforth satisfied with your con- dition; and, in order to remind you of the warn- ing you have now received,"-so saying he cast on the Camel a preserving look,-" Live," said he, " new inhabitant of the world! and may the horse never see thee but with trembling aver- sion!"
Married by Chance.
The Count de M. lived in a state of single and independent blessedness. He was yet young, very rich, and was surrounded by every thing that could give enjoyment to life, except a wife. He had frequently thought of being a husband, but had always declarcd off before the knot was tied. Once, however, he found himself very nearly committing the folly of matrimony. A young person, the daughter of one of his friends, pleased him-her fortune pleased him, not less perhaps, than her person and accomplishments, and then, there were other reasons of con- venience, &c., to justify the union.
The Count, who had so frequently made the first step towards matrimony, but as frequently drawn back, had not yet decided upon the course
he should adopt in this case-he had promised the friends of the lady repeatedly, but had made no outward sign of performance. His future mother, however, knowing his weakness in this respect, resolved to bring matters to a termination, and therefore demanded of the Count whether he would or would not marry her daughter, and re- quested an immediate reply. The Count found himself in great embarrassment. At this moment his fcars and hesitation returned with more force than ever, and he trembled at the consequence.
'To give up his cherished habits of bachelor- hood, he found, was hard-it was almost impos- sible to abandon thiem. In this emergency, he resolved to appeal to chance. He wrote two letters-in the one he accepted the hand of the lady, in the other he refused it. He then put them into a hat, and called his servant.
" Take one of these letters," said he, "and carry it to the Chateau de-
" Which, sir ?"
" Which you please." /
The servant chose a letter. The Count burnt the other without opening it.
A distance of ten leagues separated the two chateaux. The domestic must be absent twenty- four hours ; twenty-four hours must elapse be- fore the Count can know his fate. His situation is any thing but agreeable-he knows not during twenty-four hours whether he is a married man or a single one-whether he has still the power to dispose of himself, or whether he is not al- ready disposed of. The domestic returned-he had carried the letter of acceptation, and M. de M ---- - is, cven at this time, the happiest lius- band in that part of the country.
A Law Abiding Citizen.
In a county not a hundred miles off, a small- sized man went to the plantation of a certain gentleman, who was light in wit, but rather heavy in flesh, with a paper in his hand, folded in a legal form, and known by the abreviation of 'ca' 'sa.' Having found the owner of the man- sion in the field, he explained his business, when he was required to read the capias, which com- menced as usual, " You are hereby commanded, without delay, to take the body of," &c.
" Humph!" said the prisoner, stretching himself upon his back, " I am ready."
" Oh, but you don't expect me to carry you in my arms."
" Certainly you must take my body, you know. I do not resist the process of the law, understand, but submit with much cheerfulness."
" Will you wait here till I bring a cart?"
"Can't promise; I may recover my fatigue in the meanwhile."
" Well, what must I do?"
" You must do your duty."
And there he lay immoveable until the sheriff left.
MARRIED.
On the 30th August, by the Rev. Dr. Latta, Mr. JOSEPH JAMES to Miss SARAH JANE PICKET, all of Cincinnati.
By the Rev. Mr. J. H. Perkins, on Thursday, the 4th inst., Mr. JOHN R. CHILDS, Jr., to Miss FRANCES P., daughter of George Wood, all of this city.
In Belpre, Ohio, on the 28th ult., by the Rev. L. C. Ford, Dr. ISAAC KNAPP, of Dummerston, Vermont, to Miss ABIGAIL BAOWNING, of the former place.
She who hath well performed, till now, Her duties all, in life-
As Daughter, Friend, and Sister true;
Right fittingly will fill, we know,
" Her Woman's Sphere," as Wife ! C.
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The Bubble of 1837, 1838.
The present generation will long remember the hot-bcd speculations of 1837 and '38. A spirit adverse to making money in the usual modes was rifc throughout the land. In Cincinnati we escaped the bubble and its explosion in a great measure. Milwaukie and Jeffersonville may be said to have been safety valves to us in this respect.
It was a common occurrence of that period for a man who had made fortunate investments, through owning but a few hundreds the day be- fore, to be considered worth as many hundreds of thousands the day after. Like all mania of the sort the decline of these brilliant prospects was generally as rapid as their rise. One or two in- dividuals who understood the subject better, and did not suffer their judgments to be carried away into the impracticable or uncertain future, mana- ged, however, to make hay while the sun shone, and to make it to some purpose. Let me narrate: a case of the kind.
Isaac C. Elston, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, en- tered the section of land on which Michigan City has since been laid off and built. The land fo course cost a trifle, comparatively. He then went on to New York, where he laid it off as a town plat; had it lithographed, and advertised for sale. There was no deception in the case. This was the only port on the Lake which Indiana could ever have; and of course all the power and patronage the State could direct to that quarter, it was sure to acquire. The residue of the narra- tive I will give in Mr. E.'s own words, premising that having understood he had laid out a town therc, which he yet had on hands, I was advi- sing him to sell while he had a chance left, for I could assure him, I saw that building Tadmors in the wilderness had had their day, and now or never was his time. He listened very patiently, but with the air of a man that does not need ad- vice, and then told me as follows.
offered to sell them the undivided half for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the com- pany, finding me resolute, and fancying they could make more out of it by keeping me still in- terested in the project, accepted the last proposal, and gave me a check for that amount. I drew it out of bank in rouleaus of American gold, packed it up securely, and took it out with me to Craw- fordsville, where I have since built as fine a house as any in the State. The great body of the money is still as safe as the day I got it. My wife has a roll of one thousand eagles, which she claims as hers, in her own custody ; and now, my dear fellow, if I never get a cent for my share of Michigan City, it will never brcak me. But the truth is, this is none of your humbugs, and the place must become of vast importance; and if I have no other use for the money when the company get tired of their purchase, if they ever do, I shall be ready to buy back from them, at a fair discount. If I had not been a hard money man, I should have sold principally on credit, pocketed perhaps $20,000, and taken notes for nearly $500,000 more, of which I should never have received one cent. But my specie currency notions brought me out."
Remarkable Escape.
There never was a drama off the stage, so full of scenic effect as the French Revolution. The narrative of that event has been incorporated by Walter Scott into his life of Napoleon, with all the interest of the most romantic spectacle.
It was Paine, I think, who being a victim to the reign of terror, and waiting his turn for de- collation, escaped with his life from the singular circumstance that the door of his cell had been left open on the morning that the attendant went his rounds to mark the victims for the day. Be- ing intoxicated, he did not notice that the door was against the wall, and not closing on it. He chalked it accordingly, and when the myrmidon of the law went round to take away the prison- ers, of course no mark appeared outside, the door being shut.
" I went on to New York, as you know, and had hardly got quarters in the City Hotel therc, till the speculators were all around me. They had seen the lithographs and were kecn to buy, The following escapc is not less remarkable: but most of them wanted to buy on credit, or Graf Von Schlaberndorf, was a singular per- son, a sort of strange German Coleridge, morc however of a philosopher and a politician than a poet, living like a hermit in the bustling history of Revolutionary Paris: miserly in small things, the lord of a garret, slovenly in his attire, and cherishing a beard; but gencrous, even magnifi- cent on a large scale, and actuated in all things by motives of the purest patriotism and the most disinterested benevolence, a character ready made for Sir Walter Scott. This man, as a forcigner and a German aristocrat, and also as the esteemed at best, pay a fifth down. I told them this did not suit mc, for if there was moncy to be made by waiting for it, I could afford to wait as well as any others. Finally, two or three Bank Directors proposed to mc to give four hundred thousand dollars for my city, onc half down, the residuc in one and two ycars. I replied that I was deter- mincd not to sell unless I sold for cash, for if I had to wait, I knew that I could make morc. money out of it before my payments came due, than any amount I could get in the way of pur- chase. We talked a good while, and at last I friend of Condorcet, Mercicr, Brissot, and the 17
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unfortunate Girondist party, naturally enough during the reign of terror, fell under "suspicion of being suspected," and lay for many days, first in the Conciergerie, and then in the Luxembourg, in constant expectation of the guillotine. He es- caped, however, after all; strangely enough, sa- ving his life by losing his boots ! Varnhagen von Ense relates the circumstance as follows :-
" One morning the death cart came for its usual number of daily victims; and Schlabern- dorf's name was called out. He immediately, with the greatest coolness and good humour, pre- pared for departure; presence of mind in some shape, a grand stoicism or mere indifference, be- ing common in these terrible times. And Schla- berndorf was not the man to make an ungraceful departure, when the unavoidable must of fate stood sternly before him. He was soon dressed, only his boots were missing; he sought, and sought, and sought, and the gaoler sought with him, in this corner and that; but they were not to be found. 'Well,' said Schlaberndorf sharp- ly, 'to be guillotined without my boots will never do. Hark ye, my good friend,' continued he, with simple good humour to the gaoler, 'take me to-morrow; one day makes no difference; it is the man they want, not Tuesday or Wednes- day.' The gaoler agreed. The wagon, full ยท enough without that one head, went on to its destination; Schlaberndorf remained in the prison. Next morning, at the usual hour, the vehicle re- turned; and the victim who had so strangely es- caped on the previous day, was ready, boots and all, waiting the word of command. But behold! his name was not heard that day; nor the third day, nor the fourth; and not at all. There was no mystery in the matter. It was naturally sup- posed he had fallen with the other victims named for the original day; in the multitude of sufferers no one could curiously inquire for an individual; for the days that followed there were enough of victims without him; and so he remained in prison till the fall of Robespierre, when with so many others he recovered his liberty. He owed his miraculous escape, not the least strange in the strange history of the Revolution, partly to the kindness of the gaoler, partly to his good temper, and above all to the circumstance that his boots were out of the way at the nick of time."
Bicknell's Conical Planing Machine.
Mr. B. Bicknell, a resident of our city, having some time since patented and put into operation this extremely valuable and ingenious labour- saving invention. has been harrassed with law- suits in the U. S. Courts, by the assignee for Hamilton county, of Woodworth's patent pla- ning machine, and by others holding under the same right in Kentucky. The Kentucky case
came off in May last in the U. S. District Court for that State; Judge Monroe holding that Bick- nell's was no infringement of Woodworth's, even if Woodworth's could be sustained, either for a combination or improvement; that it did not use the carriage claimed by Woodworth; that it did not use his planing wheel, either horizontal or vertical; and that Bicknell's planing wheel is
differently applied to the boards, which gave it a greater capacity to plane the surface; and that the cutter-wheels used for tonguing and grooving were not the same described by Woodworth; Bicknell's having cutters to give a smooth edge to the plank, which Woodworth's had not.
The case in Ohio came up for trial at the late July term, before Justice MeLean of the U. S. Circuit Court, for that district. This trial lasted ten days. The defence consisted of five points of which it is necessary to notice the last mere- ly, being that upon which the jury based their verdict, namely-that the machine of the defen- dant was so substantially different, that there was no infringement. The case was argued by some of our ablest Cincinnati lawyers, and the subject I imagine is now set to rest. The fact that we have in Cincinnati alone, fourteen planing machines in operation, turning out five millions feet of flooring boards annually; that each ma- chine is capable of doing the work of one hundred men; and that the annual saving to the community in the United States, under this op- eration is $3,000,000, it may easily be imagined what a deep interest the public possesses in the re- sult; for these decisions are not merely authority to use another machine, but they establish the fact I have known for years, that there is 110 point of comparison between the two, except their absolute difference, as well as the great su- periority of Bicknell's; which not only has cut twenty-five per cent. per day and week more, but supplied a joint more perfect, and a smoother face, than any other in use.
. Plato said a just man doing his duty in resist- ance to power and oppression, was a spectacle the Gods delighted to contemplate. Not less worthy of admiration is the conduct of Henry M. Shreve, in contending against the steamboat monopoly on the Ohio and Mississippi; and that of Bicknell against claims, which, obtained from the United States under extraordinary and suspi- cious circumstances, have aimed to close the shops of half the planing machine operators in the land. If these men had faltered or accepted shares in the monopoly, by way of compromise; in the steamboat case, the prosperity of the west might have been rolled back half a century; as in the planing machine suit, a check might have been given to our building operations in the whole west, that would have been felt for years.
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This important Cincinnati invention will soon | the act of scalping him, was fired at, but without become, I doubt not, a source of fortune, as it already has of fame, to its inventor, as applica- tions for rights are now pouring in, I am told, from all quarters.
The Pioneer Mothers .-- No. 2.
There is an incident in the early settlement of Kentucky which has not been heretofore noticed. In the fall of the year 1779, Samuel Daviess, who resided in Bedford county, Virginia, moved with his family to Kentucky, and lived for a time, at Whitley's station in Lincoln. After residing for some time in the station, he removed with his family to a place called Gilmer's Lick, some six or seven miles distant from said station, where he built a cabin, cleared some land, which he put in corn next season, not apprehending any danger from the Indians, although he was considered a frontier settler. But this imaginary state of se- curity did not last long; for on a morning in the month of August, in the year 1782, having step- ped a few paces from his door, he was suddenly surprised by an Indian's appearing between him and the door, with tomahawk uplifted, almost within striking distance. In this unexpected condition, and being entirely unarmed, his first thought was, that by running around the house, he could enter the door in safety, but to his sur- prise, in attempting to effect this object, as he ap- proached the door he found the house full of In- dians. Being closely pursued by the Indian first mentioned, he made his way into the corn field, where he concealed himself, witli much difficulty, until the pursuing Indian had returned to the house.
Unable as he was to render any relief to his family (there being five Indians,) he ran with the utmost speed to the station of his brother James Daviess-a distance of five miles. As he ap- proached the station-liis undressed condition told the tale of liis distresses, before he was able to tell it himself. Almost breathless, and with a faltering voice, he could only say, his wife and children were in the hands of the Indians. Scarcely was the communication made when he obtained a spare gun, and the five men in the station, well armed, followed him to his resi- dence. When they arrived at the house, the In- dians, as well as the family, were found to be gone, and no evidence appeared that any of the family had been killed. A search was made to find the direction the Indians had taken; but ow- ing to the dryness of the ground, and the adroit manner in which they had departed, no discovery could be made! In this state of perplexity, the party being all good woodsmen, took that direc- tion in pursuit of the Indians, which they thought it most probable, they would take. Af- ter going a few miles, their attention was arrested by the howling of a dog, which afterwards turned out to be a house-dog that had followed the family, and which the Indians had undertaken to kill, so as to avoid detection, which might happen fromn his occasionally barking. In attempting to kill the dog, he was only wounded, which produced tlie howling that was heard. The noise thus heard, satisfied them that they were near the In- dians, and enabled them to rush forward with the utmost impetuosity. Two of the Indians being in the rear as spies, discovering the approach of the party, ran forward to where the Indians were with the family-one of them knocked down the oldest boy, about eleven years old, and while in
effect. Mrs. Daviess, seeing the agitation and alarm of the Indians, saved herself and sucking child, by jumping into a sink hole. The Indians did not stand to make fight, but fled in the most precipitate manner. In that way the family was rescued by nine o'clock in the morning, without the loss of a single life, and without any injury but that above mentioned. So soon as the boy had risen on his feet, the first word he spoke was, " Curse that Indian, he has got my scalp." After the family had been rescued, Mrs. Daviess gave the following account of the manner in which the Indians had acted. A few minutes after her hus- band had opened the door and stepped out of the house, four Indians rushed in, whilst the fifth, as she afterwards found out, was in pursuit of her husband. Herself and children were in bed when the Indians entered the house. One of the Indians immediately made signs, by which she understood him to inquire how far it was to the next house. With an unusual presence of mind, knowing how important it would be to make the distance as far as possible, she raised both her hands, first counting the fingers of one hand, then of the other-making a distance of eight miles. The Indian then signed to her that she must rise: she immediately got up, and as soon as she could dress herself, commenced showing the Indians one article of clothing after another, which pleased them very much; and in that way, delayed them at the house nearly two hours. In the mean time, the Indian who had been in pur- suit of her husband, returned with his hands statned with poke berries, which he held up, and with some violent gestures, and waving of his tomahawk, attempted to, induce the belief, that the stain on his hands was the blood of her hus- band, and that he had killed him. She was ena- bled at once to discover the deception, and instead of producing any alarm on her part, she was sat- isfied that her husband had escaped uninjured.
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