USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The Cincinnati miscellany, or, Antiquities of the West, and pioneer history and general and local statistics. Volume II > Part 38
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ing on the other 'side until the whole cortege | crossed over, and resumed its post as eustomary in the flank of the moving column. In this way the animal kept on with the troops until they got to the Lake. It was finally left at Bass Island, near where Perry achieved his great na- val victory, for safe keeping until the return of the troops, which were crossing near Malden for the invasion of Canada ..
On the whole journey, as the men grew more familiar with their comrade, it became a pet, re- ceiving a full share of the rations issued to the soldiers, and destitute as the troops found them- selves at times, of sustenance, no one thought of putting the knife to the throat of their fellow- traveller. What they had was still shared, and if the pig fared at times, as seantily as the rest, it grunted on, and manifested as much patriotism in its own line as the bipeds it accompanied, in theirs.
After the campaign had closed, the troops re- crossed the Lake, having left their horses on the American side. As soon as the line was formed, to the great surprise of many, and inspiring a deep interest in all, there was the pig at the right of the line, ready to resume his march with the rest. By this time the winter frosts had set in and the animal suffered greatly on its homeward journey. It made out, however, to reach Mays- ville, at which point the troops reerosed the Ohio river. There it gave out, and was placed in trusty hands by Governor Shelby; and finally ta- ken to the Gov.'s home, where the animal passed the residue of its days in ease and indolence.
Thesc faets I have from a gentleman who was on the compaign, who says there are more than one hundred persons living who can attest the statement.
The German Vote.
A paragraph in one of our eity papers, gives a voting population of Germans in Cineinnati, at between four and five thousand. From different, and indeed, opposite motives, there seems to ex- ist a disposition in the party politieal and reli- gious presses, to overrate the numbers of both the German population and voters. A single reflec- tion will dissipate hopes on the one and fears on the other side.
The census of 1840, as regards Cineinnati, shews that less than one-third of the population of this city were Germans and their children, three-fourths of the last having been born in the United States. In fact the exact number of Germans by birth, over twenty years, was 3,440. A very large share of these were but a short time, comparatively, in the country; and if they had all become naturalized since, the vote cannot equal that amount. Deduct the odd hundreds
for those under twenty-one; and at least an equal number for those who have resided so long here as to have become one in sympathy with the native born population; and then deduct those who have earned and saved enough here to buy farms for themselves, the great object of their lives with a large number; and add the fcw who have arrived since, who have been naturali- zed elsewhere, and the aggregate ean hardly ex- ceed two thousand five hundred voters.
Pork Packing.
I learn on nndoubted authority, that contraets in the aggregate for between ninety and one hun- dred thousand hogs, embracing the great mass of that article to arrive here from the Kentucky market, have been already made at four dollars per hundred pounds. Such a state of things be- fore pork cutting up and packing las commeneed, is unprecedented, and conflicts with the supposed laws of trade, in the well known disposition of buyer and seller to bargain to the best advantage.
'The hogs from Kentucky are always in before those of Ohio or Indiana, the corn crop ripen- ing earlier on the side of Ohio south, than on the northern. I judge the packers, finding pork higher than they like to pay, and the farmers holding off, have concluded to take what will first arrive, in order to make themselves more independent, when those from Ohio and Indiana are brought in. I infer this the more readily as I have not heard of any contracts being made for any but Kentucky liogs.
" Who is Judge Story ?"
' This distinguished jurist, whose recent death produces a deep sensation throughout the coun- try, was, as is generally known, a professor of law in Harvard University. It was his eustom to amuse his class by relating interesting anec- dotes, in illustration of principles of law, and few men have ever been more skillful and adroit in the management of this kind of instruction. The writer of this had the pleasure of hearing one of his lectures on a casual visit to Cambridge, in which he stated that the courts of England had awarded a hundred pound note to the person from whom it had been stolen, because the bank - er who purchased it of the thief, ought to liave known from his personal appearance, that he would not be likely to own a note of such value. This rule of law, he thought, would not always operate justly in this country; and in illustration he related, in his inimitable manner, the follow- ing anecdote.
" When I came here, to Cambridge," said he, "to occupy the station which I now hold, my friends thought it proper to greet me by a pub- lic dinner, which was served up with a good deal of parade in a large room adjoining the post-of- fice; where there was. as is not uncommon on such occasions, a good deal of noise, and a great while continued. I supposed it probable, that there was not a man, woman, or child, in this small village who did not know of this merry- making, and the occasion of it, particularly as I
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had occupied a seat upon the Bench in Boston for sixteen years previously, and passed sentences of death and imprisonment on numerous convicts. The bustle and noise of the dinner being over, and having for about two months pursued my avocation as lecturer on law in this place, I had occasion one day to call at the post-office and in- quire for letters for Judge Story. 'Judge who?' inquired the post-master. Judge Story, I re- peated with some emphasis: ' Judge Story, Judge Story!' reiterated the post-master, ' who is Judge Story. I never heard of him before!'"
" Not long afterwards," he continued, " it happened, that, on my way to Boston one day on foot, I had occasion to use the sum of fifty dollars, at the intervening village of Cambridge- port, and stepping into the Bank there, I inqui- red of the Cashier, whether he would pay my check for that amount on a Bank in Boston. He looked somewhat surprised, hesitated, sur- veyed my person, and stretching himself forward over the counter, looked particularly sharp at my feet. Finding that he did not know me, I gave him my name, when, after a few minutes con- versation, as if to assure himself of my identity, he agreed to pay me the money. After he had done so, I asked him why he had hesitated, and particularly why he thought it necessary to take such a searching look at my feet. He said he did not know me, and his object was to satisfy himself whether it was probable, from my per- sonal appearance, that I was good for fifty dol- lars; and he thought the best evidence would be afforded by the kind of boots I wore, which, un- fortunately, on that occasion, were not such as to recommend me to his confidence."
Pioneer History.
The following interesting letter was addressed by Dr. Wm. Goforth, one of the earliest and most able physicians of Cincinnati, to one of his friends at the east.
The South Bend settlement or station refered to in the letter, is in the neighbourhood in which Mr. C. A. Schumann has been engaged cultiva- ting the grape. The scite of Fort Miami has been washed away by the encroachments of the Ohio river, a few stones belonging to its chimney alone, being left on the bank. Fort Washing- ton, as is well known, was on that space upon Third street, now occupied by the Botanico Medi- cal College, formerly the Bazaar of Madame Trollope.
FORT WASHINGTON, N. W. TER.,? Sept. 3d, 1791.
One of the Indian captives lately died at this place,-His Excellency Gov. St. Clair gave liber- ty to the rest to bury the corpse according to the custom of their nation: the mode is that the body. be wrapped in a shroud, over which they put a blanket, a pair of moccasons on the feet, a seven days rations by the side of the head, with other necessaries. The march from Fort Washington was very solemn; on their arrival at the grave, the corpse was let down, and the relatives imme- diately retired; an aged matron then descended into the grave, and placed the blanket according
to rule, and fixed the provisions in such manner as she thought would be handy and convenient to her departed friend; casting her eyes about to see if all was right, she found that the deceased was barefoot, and inquired why they had omitted the moccasons? The white person who superin- tended the whole business informed her that there were no good moccasons in the store, but that by way of amends they had put a sufficiency of leather into the knapsack to make two pairs, at the same time showing her the leather. With this she appeared satisfied, saying that her friend was well acquainted with making them.
The county of Hamilton lies between the two Miami rivers. Just below the mouth of the Little Miami, is a garrison called Fort Miami; at a small distance below this garrison is the town of Columbia. About six miles from Columbia is the town of Cincinnati, which is the county seat of Hamilton, and here is erected Fort Washing- ton, the head-quarters of the Federal army. This Fort is pleasantly situated on the banks of the Ohio river; seven miles below this, is a settlement of eighteen or twenty families called South Bend; about seven miles from this also, on the Ohio river is the City of Miami, founded by the Hon. John Cleves Symmes. Twelve miles up the Great Miami is the settlement called Dunlap's Station; and twelve miles up the Little Miami is a settlement called Covault's Station. The num- ber of militia in these places, according to the best accounts I have received, are, at Columbia, two hundred; Cincinnati, one hundred and fifty ; South Bend, twenty; City of Miami, eighty; Dunlap's, fifteen, and at Covault's, twenty.
Old Newspapers.
The oldest living newspaper in England is the Lincoln Mercury, first published in 1695. The oldest in London is the St. James Chronicle, of 1761. The oldest paper in Scotland is the Edin- burgh Evening, of 1700. The oldest in Ireland, the Belfast News Letter, of 1737.
The oldest living paper in America is the New Hampshire Gazette. It was established by Daniel Fowle, at Portsmouth, in August,. 1757. It was originally printed on half a sheet of foolscap, quarto, as were all the papers of that day; but was soon enlarged to half a sheet of crown folio; and sometimes appeared on a whole sheet of crown. It is now in its 89th year, and is a well conducted paper of good dimensions.
The New Lisbon Palladium, after acknowl- edging the Pittsburgh Gazette as the oldest paper in existence, west of the mountains, gives the Scioto Gazette as the first paper ever published in Ohio; and the Ohio Patriot, established in New Lisbon, in 1808. These, as well as the Pitts- burgh Gazette, are still in successful operation.
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Newspapers were, however, published in Cin- [ ing their labours; and I observe by the last Scioto cinnati before they existed in cither Chillicothe or New Lisbon.
The first printing office in Ohio, was in Cin- cinnati; and established by Wm. Maxwell, who issued, on the 9th November, 1793, The Centinel of the North Western Territory, being the first paper published in that territory, or west of Pittsburgh, the Lexington Gazette excepted. It bore as a motto, " Open to all parties, but influ- enced by none." In 1797, Edmund Freeman bought out the office, and issued a paper under the title of the "Freeman's Journal." He con- tinued it until 1800, when he removed to Chilli- cothe. On the 28th May, 1799, Joseph Carpenter issued the first number of the Western Spy and Hamilton Gazette. This was continued under various proprietors, until 1809, when it ceased to exist. There were thus three papers published here in succession, during the last century, all of which were cstablished prior to any others in the State of Ohio.
The Last Supper, &c.
.
There are two interesting figure groups now exhibiting at Fourth Street Hall; one represent- ing the Last Supper, the other the Trial of the Saviour. In these two pieces there are nearly forty figures-the size of life. They are modeled in good taste, and with great discrimination of character. In the " Last Supper," we have the kind and affectionate John, the bold and forward Peter, and the covetous and faithless Judas, all clearly distinguished and represented. Above all we have the Great Teacher, admirably pourtray- ed, the great focus to every observer's eye.
In the " Trial of the Saviour," the predomi- nant features of the piece are the human passions in action; as they are in the other, in repose. Besides the Saviour, the prominent figures are Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, and Caia- phas, the Jewish high priest, both arrayed in their official robes. The other persons are scribes, soldiers, pages, chief priests, &c. They are in their appropriate costumes, attitudes, and em- ployments, which enable the figures to contrast with each other to advantage, as well as to har- monize the general effect of the entire groupc. The whole is a deeply interesting picture, espe- cially to a scripture student.
Indian Mounds.
It is probably not generally known, that a systematic investigation of these mounds has been going on for some months past, in the Scioto Valley, particularly in the neighbourhood of Chillicothe, under the public spirited cxplora- tions of two individuals there.
A variety of interesting remains are reward-
Gazette, that much light will be shed on the past by what has been already found, although the explorations have as yet reached but a very small portion of these tumuli. Abundant evi- dence has been already furnished, as more doubt- less will yet be, that these mounds were erected by a race different from and superior in civiliza- tion to, those expelled from the country by the whites. They were doubtless an agicultuaalr people, and of a denser population than even now fills the Scioto country.
I have seen some of the specimens which have been found in these depositories, and can bear testimony to the skill and ingenuity of the mod- eling and carving they present. They would do credit to people who work with tools better adapted to their purpose than doubtless were within the reach of the aborigines.
Fifth Ward -- Cincinnati.
There are in this ward, public buildings 10; pork and ware houses, dwellings, offices, work- shops, mills, &c., 784; of which there are- bricks 590, frames 194.
Of these different buildings there were at the close of the year 1842-
.
Brick.
Frame.
Total.
649
663
1312
Built in 1843,
.85
35
120
" " 1844, 125
57
176
I cannot compare the improvements in this ward during the past year, until I reach the sev- cnth and tenth wards, the last having been erect- ed during the past year, out of the 5th and 7th. These three must be compared together with the original two.
In the fifth ward, as reduced to its present size, there are 784 public and private buildings, 590 of which are of brick, and 194 are frames. The buildings of 1845, are 45 bricks, and 10 frames-Total 55. The public buildings are- a District School House, on Ninth street; the Methodist Female Seminary; the Ninth Street Baptist, St. John and Northern Lutheran Church, and the English Lutheran Church, on Ninth; the Methodist Book Room, and an Engine House. The Welsh Church, and College of Dental Sur- gery, and Academy of Natural Science, all on College street, arc erections of 1845.
Four-fifths of this ward is built to its utmost capacity.
Growth of the West.
An car of Indian corn was handed me last Saturday, as a specimen of the crop raised by Major Wm. Irwin, on his farm three miles out on the Lebanon road. He assurcs mnc that hun- dreds of cars as large, or ncarly so, may be found
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in what have been gathered from the same field. It is of the large yellow grained sort, is thirteen inches long and has fourteen rows; and has eight hundred and ninety-six grains on the ear. I should like to send it to one of our Atlantic ci- ties, that our friends at the cast may have ocular evidence of the growth of the great west. If any gentleman on his way to the east, will be the bearer of it, he may be able to gratify the curt- osity this statement is calculated to excite there. It is due to the Buckeye State to let our eastern brethren see some of our products. A sight of this ear of corn will illustrate and explain the rapid growth of Ohio.
Important Improvement.
The application of science to the business pur- suits of life has hardly ever been of more signal benefit, than the following statement promises and exhibits. Such men as Amelung &. Tunis, well known here as fully competent to judge the practical value of this important improvement in putting up beef and pork, can hardly be mistaken on this subject. There is, therefore, no doubt that its operation will effect an entire revolution in the beef and pork packing business. I give the whole article for the the benefit of my Cin- cinnati readers.
DR. DION. LARDNER and Mr. J. DAVIDSON, of this city, have lately perfected an apparatus for the curing of provisions, and the preservation of woods and other substances, which promises to be of vast importance.
The apparatus is very simple and compact. A cistern to hold the brine or other antiseptic fluid communicating with an air-tight cylinder, into which the meat or other substance is placed, and a common lifting or exhausting pump, which withdraws the brine from the cylinder and re- turns it to the cistern. This is the whole appa- ratus-so simple as to never get out of order, and yet astonishing in its operations. It can be made of any size, large enough to carry on the largest operations of our largest provision pack- ers, and small enough for the use of the smallest families, and to oceupy little more space than a barrel. To prove the importance of this inven- tion, we will state a few of its actual results.
1st. Meat warm and just killed was put into the cylinder, in the hottest of summer. The ani- mal heat was at once extracted, and the meat cured in a few hours. This was done in the presence of Mr. Amelung, the great packer and curer of St. Louis, who carried the meat so cured to St. Louis in the hottest weather of summer, and it kept as well as meat ordinarily cured in winter.
2d. It is found that the blood is completely drained out of the meat, so that the steeping in hogsheads, as in the ordinary process, is not re- quired. By this process the cured provisions ac- quire very superior qualities, the juices being retained, which, in the ordinary method, are ex- pelled. The weight is increased in proportion to the quantity of fluid infused into the meat.
3. In the presence of Mr. Tunis of Cincinnati, a practical man, pork and hams were placed in
the cylinder. In six hours the former was cured. The hams were left in six hours longer-taken out, tried to the bone, found perfectly cured, and transferred to the smoke house. Mr. Tunis, of the house of James C. Hall & Co., of thiat place, is now in the eity, and can be refered to.
4th. Meat in which were skippers (an insect very difficult to get rid of,) when placed in the cylinder, was freed at once,-as the air was gradually exhausted, the skippers made their way to the surface in search of air, where in a few minutes they perished-remaining fast on the sur- face of the meat, and not mingling with the brine.
5th. Oid hams, blaek, and spoiled in appear- ance and taste, were well washed, scraped, and dried, and then subjected to the operation of the apparatus, with sweetened pickle; in a few hours they were taken out and smoked, and in looks and taste it was almost impossible to tell them from new hams.
6th. Some hams that were very far gone after being prepared as in the last case, were placed in the apparatus and impregnated with a weak so- lution of lime, afterwards taken out and thor- oughly washed and dried. They were then placed in the cylinder again, and impregnated with the proper ham pickle, taken out and smo- ked with the same result as in the' last case. They were nearly equal to sound hams.
7th. Western hams, trimined and cleaned, and subjected to this process, could be distinguished from city cured hams only by the best judges. Lastly, besides a great many other advantages, we may say that with this apparatus, time, weather, and climate, are of no consequence. Any sort of pickle may be used,-spiced, sweet- ened, weak or strong brine. Meats, fish, fowl, fruit, vegetables, wood, in fact any thing which can be preserved by being impregnated with any fluid, may be effected with this apparatus. The same gentlemen have invented a machine for cutting up carcases for curing, which is only in- ferior in importance to the first named. This machine, almost with the speed of thoughit, will cut an entire carcase into pieces of the proper size and shape for curing, and this without any waste or haggling, and the pieces fall from the cutter down an inclined plane into the cylinder of the curing apparatus. With these two machines it seems to us that the ultimate of economy in time and labour is attained.
The advantages which we have particularized are developed in the application of the invention to pickling and curing. But the application of this apparatus to the curing of wood, especially for ship building and rail-road purposes, is im- mense. The wood is placed in the cylinder, or tank, and impregnated with a solution of salt, which for all practical purposes, (wear and use excepted,) will render it indestructible.
The proof of this, No one, we believe, has ever scen the stave of an old provision cask, which has been well saturated with brine, decomposed, even when dng out of a manure heap-nor the posts stuck in the ground in salt works where the ground is impregnated with salt. Ships are salt- ed between the planking and lining, but the salt itself does not enter the wood-it is only the moisture or brine from it, and this only partial- ly, while this apparatus will do it effectually. Chemical substances can even be mixed with the brine, which will colour the wood for cabinet makers,-others to render it, in a great measure, incombustible,-others to give it a greater tena-
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city for hoops, &c .- others to give it odour, an !. in fine, there is no end to the changes which can thus be produced. Chemistry is rich enough in creations of this kind, to satisfy the most fastidi- ous caprice. If it is desirous to metalize, or ratli- er fossilize wood, for railways, the process is simply this: The pieces, after having been fitted by the joiner or carpenter for their places, are first enred as before mentioned; the salt fluid withdrawn, and a solution of sulphate of iron is let in from another cistern, which has a separate pipe to the eylinder-it is treated with this fluid as with the foriner. The wood is again with- drawn, dried, and returned to the cylinder, when a solution of muriate of lime is let in from another vessel, which coming in contact with the sulphate of iron within the wood, decomposes it and forms an insoluble of sulphate of lime or gypsum, within the wood, and the muriate of iron, the other new compound goes about its business. So the wood becomes thoroughly impregnated with stone as hard as a roek, and it is yet as tough as before. The expense of preparing two thousand sleepers, enough for a mile of railway, would not exceed $300. Some of the first engineers have expressed their confidence in the invention. What an application of it for our Mississippi valley would effect-railways built of light porous wood-the more porous the better-probably may for less thon $1000 per mile, be converted into roads nearly, if not quite as durable as iron-and this cost the patentees calculated upon reducing greatly by an inven- tion of Mr. Davidson, for supporting or sustain- ing the road upon an entirely new and simple principle, and for which, they have applied for a patent.
It is impossible to imagine all that may be ac- complished by such an invention. Meat which has to be thrown away in the summer can be sa- ved. In the hottest region of the earth it can be cured, for once in the cylinder it is safe .- Throughout South America and the Southwest, where the skin is stripped from the carcase, and the incat thrown by, as valueless, meat will be- come an article of export: and in our own " far West," where we can raise enough provisions to supply the world, this invention, with its great saving of time and labour will enable us to fill every market. A gentleman of Cincinnati has, we are informed, secured a license to work under this patent in that city; St. Louis, Missouri; La- fayette, on the Wabaslı, and Tennessee. And we have no doubt that it will soon be in operation throughout the west. In. ship-building, wood preserved in this way will take the precedenee of iron, as it will in railroads, from the superior facility of its use, its cheapness and durability. We have not been able to mention half the won- ders of this machine; but if any of our readers are curious on the subject, and will call at the store of Messrs. Perry, Mathews & Co., 36 Water street, in this city, they will there see pork which was brought under price in the late warm weather, when the thermometer stood from seventy to seventy-two, and cured on the same day and evening by this apparatus. The pork is there for sale and inspection, and the pub- lic can judge for themselves.
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