USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The Cincinnati miscellany, or, Antiquities of the West, and pioneer history and general and local statistics. Volume II > Part 49
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pillow-his features were as placid as if his re- pose had never been disturbed, save the rosy mouth which moved with a gentle and regular breathing.
Who can tell the feelings of a mother when she looks upon her sleeping child? Why should I, therefore, endeavour to describe those of Mrs. Sullivan at again beholding her long lost boy? The fountain of her heart overflowed with the excess of joy-and she wept! tears trickled silent- ly down her cheeks, nor did she strive to check them-they were tears not of sorrow, but of hap- piness.
Rail-Road to the Pacific .-- No. 3.
Pecuniary Results .- The whole commerce of Europe, with the unnumbered millions of China and India, and the islands of those seas must pass entirely by this route, rendering us the carri- ers of the largest and most lucrative commerce on the globe. In the next place, it would enable the vast and productive valley of the Mississippi to reach, with its bulkiest articles, our whole country at profitable rates, and to dispose of an export of Indian corn to Hindustan and China, greater than the whole present crop of that ar- ticle, immense as it now is, and at a price which would forever secure forty cents per bushel as a minimum rate throughout the whole valley of the Mississippi. Let me illustrate this for a- moment. Rice, the great staple of those coun- tries, usually sells there at $1 25 the picul-one hundred thirty-three pounds-which is of course about one cent per pound. This equalizes Indian corn to sixty cents per bushel. Corn will be taken on this rail-road to the shores of the Pa- cific for fifteen cents per bushel-thence to China and India for five cents more, netting forty cents per bushel to the owner.
The last year's crop of Indian corn in the United States, was nearly four hundred million bushels. This would not be a bushel to each in- habitant of those countries, and at twenty-five cents per bushel, which is the lowest average value over the whole west, must produce one hundred million dollars, almost twice the value of the cotton crop of the United States; now and for some years past, its most valuable article of export.
There is no deficiency of wealth in China to purchase our produce, for she lays the whole world under contribution by the sale of her silks, teas, &c .; and until the United States exported to that country lead and domestic cottons, which even yet form but a small part of the means to pay for our imports thence, we paid for her teas, silks, porcelain, &c., in Spanish dollars. China is in fact, so far as the accumulation of money makes a nation rich, the richest nation on the globe. And when the means of transportation, at a cheap rate, of the necessaries and luxuries
which America produces for the food of mankind are thus afforded, a market will be opened there for American produce, of which we have now not the faintest idea.
Border Incident.
During the continuance of the Indian war, from 1790 to 1795, it was customary for the inmates of all the garrisons to cultivate consid- erable fields of Indian corn and other vegetables near the walls of their defences. Although haz- ardous in the extreme, it was preferable to star- vation. For a part of that .time no provisions could be obtained from the older settlements above, on the Monongahela and Ohio; sometimes from a scarcity amongst themselves, and always. at great hazard from Indians, who watched the river for the capture of boats. Another reason was the want of money; many of the settlers having expended a large share of their funds in the journey on, and for the purchase of lands, while others had not a single dollar; so that ne- cessity compelled them to plant their fields. The war having commenced so soon after their arri- val, and at a time when not expected, as a formal treaty was made with them at Marietta, in Jan- uary, 1789, which by the way was only a piece of Indian diplomacy, they never intending to. abide by it any longer than suited their con- venience, and no stores being laid up for a siege, they were taken entirely unprepared. So des- perate were their circumstances at one period, that serious thoughts of abandoning the country were entertained by many of the leading men. Under these circumstances R. J. Meigs, then a young lawyer, was forced to lay aside the gown, and assume the use of both the sword and the plow. It is true that but little ploughing was done, as much of the corn was then raised by planting the virgin soil with a hoe, amongst the stumps and logs of the clearing, after burning off the brush and light stuff. In this way large crops were invariably produced; so that nearly all the implements needed were the axe and the hoe. It so happened that Mr. Meigs, whose residence was in Campus Martius, the garrison on the east side of the Muskingum river, had planted a field of corn on the west side of that stream in the vicinity of Fort Harmar. To reach this field the river was to be crossed near his residence in a canoe, and the space between the landing and his crop, a distance of about half a mile, to be passed by an obscure path through a thick wood.
Early in June, 1792, Mr. Meigs, having com- pleted the labour of the day a little before night, set out on his return home in company with Joseph Symonds and a colonred boy, which he had brought with him as a servant from Connec- ticut. Immediately on leaving the field they en- tered the forest through which they had to pass before reaching the canoe. Symonds and the boy were unarmed; Mr. Meigs carried a small shot-gun, which he had taken with him for the purpose of shooting a turkey, which at that day abounded to an extent that would hardly be credited at this time. Flocks of several hundred were not uncommon, and of a size and fatness that would excite the admiration of an epicure of any period of the world, even of Apicius himself. Meeting, however, with no turkies, he had dis- charged his gun at a large snake which crossed his path. They had now arrived within a few rods of the landing, when two Indians, who had
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been for some time watching their movements and heard the discharge of the gun, sprang into the path behind them, fired and shot Symonds through the shoulder. He, being an excellent swimmer, rushed down the bank and into the Muskingum river; where, turning on his back, he was enabled to support himself on the surface until he floated down near to Fort Harmar, where he was taken up by a canoe. His wound, although a dangerous one, was healed, and l knew him twenty years afterwards. The black boy followed Symonds into the river as far as he could wade, but being no swimmer, was unable to get out of reach of the Indian who pursued them, and was seized and dragged on shore. The Indian who had captured him was desirous of making him a prisoner, which he so obstinate- ly refused, and made so much resistance that he finally tomahawked and scalped him near the edge of the water. To this alternative he was in a manner compelled, rather than lose both prisoner and scalp; as the rangers and men at Campus Martius had commenced firing at him from the opposite shore. The first shot was fired by a spirited black man in the service of Commo- dore Abraham Whipple, who was employed near the river at the time.
From some accident, it scems that only one of the Indians was armed with a rifle, while the other had a tomahawk and knife. After Sym- onds was shot, Mr, Meigs immediately faced about in order to retreat to Fort Harmar. The savage armed with the rifle, had placed himself in the path, intending to cut off his escape, but had no time to reload it before his intended victim clubbed his gun and rushed upon his antagonist. As he passed, Mr. Meigs aimed a blow at his head, which the Indian returned with his rifle. From the rapidity of the movement, neither of them were seriously injured, although it stagger- ed each considerably, yet neither fell to the ground. Instantly recovering from the shock, he pursued his course to the fort with the Indian close at his heels. Mr. Meigs was in the vigour of early manhood, and had, by frequent practice in the race, become a very swift runner. His foeman was also very fleet, and amongst the most active of their warriors, as none but such were sent into the settlements on marauding ex- cursions. The race continued for sixty or eighty rods with little advantage on either side, when Mr. Meigs gradually increased his distance a-head, and leaping across a deep run that traversed the path, the Indian stopped on the brink, threw his tomahawk, and gave up the pursuit with one of those ficrce yells which rage and disappointment both served to sharpen. It was distinctly heard at both the forts. About cight years since, an Indian tomahawk was plowed up near this very spot, and was most probably the ore thrown at. Mr. Meigs; as the rescue and pursuit from Fort Harmar was so immediate upon hearing the alarm, that he had no time to recover it. With the scalp of the poor black boy, the Indians as- cended the abrupt side of the hill which overlook- el the garrison, and, shouting defiance to their foes, escaped in the forest.
The excitement was very great at the garrison, and taught the inmates an useful lesson; that of being better armed and more on their guard when they went out on their agricultural pursuits. Had Mr. Meigs tried any other expedient than that of facing his enemy and rushing instantly ppon him, he must inevitably have lost his life,
as the Indian was well aware of his gun being unloaded. On his right was the river, on his left a very steep and high hill; beyond him the path- less forest, and between him and the fort his In- dian foe. To his sudden and unexpected attack, to his dauntless and intrepid manner, and to his activity, he undoubtedly owed his life.
The Wheat Crop of 1845.
It is now rendered certain that there is a seri- ous deficiency in the English, and a partial fail- urc in the European crops. The price of bread stuffs have, in consequence considerably ad- vanced in our markets. Under these circum- stances it is fortunate that our harvests have proved so abundant. The wheat and corn crops of this country are far heavier, this year, than ever before-notwithstanding their unpromising aspect early in the season. The wheat crop of this year is moderately estimated at 125,000,000 of bushels, which is an excess of 22,000,000 over the crop of 1842, (viz. 103,000,000) the largest ever before raised in the United States. We shall thus be able to feed our brethren across the Atlantic, and still have an abundance left for our- selves. The Albany Argus has the following paragraphs, which will not be uninteresting in this connection :-
The wheat crop of Michigan is comparatively larger than that of any other State in the Union. With a population of not over 400,000, she raises this year at least 7,000,000 busliels of wheat. The quality is also of the very best. The Wol- verines are glorying in their abundance, and they say they can furnish Europe with all the bread she may need. The central rail-road now brings down to Detroit 10,000 bushels of wheat daily, but the supply is so very heavy at Marshall and the other depots at this busy season, that the mo- tive power cannot take it off' as fast as the for- warders require. This will give some idea of the. production of Michigan. The recent advance in prices will most fortunately afford a fair profit to the producer, and thus with an immense crop ho. reaps a high price-which fortunate combination is all that is wanted to ensure a sound and envia- ble prosperity.
This fall the western States are not only pecu- ilarly fortunate in their large crops, but also in ac- quiring intelligence of the late rise before the. whole crop was in second hands.
The following table, which we find in the N. Y. Herald, affords material for reflection, as ex- hibiting the variations in our crops arising from the caracter of the season.
The production of grain in the United States for four years, according to the returns issued from the office of the Commissioner of Patents, has been as annexed:
QUANTITY OF GRAIN GROWN IN THE U. STATES.
1840. 1842. 1843. 1844.
Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels.
Wheat, 84,822,272 102,317,340 100,310,856
95,64,7,000
Barley, 4,161,504 3,871,622 3,230,721 3,627,000
Oats, 123,071,341 150,883, 17 145.929,666 172,247,009
Rye, 18.645,567 22,772,952 24,289,281 26,450,6 00
Buckwheat, 7,291,743 9,483,480
7,959,410 9,071,000
Ind. Corn, 377,531,875 411,829,246 494,618.3 6 424,953,000
Yet from the diversity of our soil, extent of country, and variety of climate, the word ABUND- ANCE better exprsses the garnerings in, of every harvest.
The amount of Indian corn raised, seems a matter of wonderment. The half starred op-
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'oratives of Europe may well look at those re- turns with glistening eyes, for it affords twenty- two bushels of corn alone for every man, woman and child in this country. Indian corn will rarely bear exportation, and therefore but little is carried abroad. It is nearly all consumed at home. Our cattle enjoy an abundance of that food which would be deemed a luxury in Eu- rope. Such is the prolific fertility of our soil and and the extent of production under the competi- tion of freeman.
Egypt was once called the granary of the world, but America, in the extent of its wheat production as well as the production of its quali- ty, will throw into the shade even the fables of Herodotus.
To Readers.
No 1 of an interesting series of " Recollections of the last sixty years," being a narrative refer- ing principally to the actual condition of things, and progress of events, in the west during that period, is this day published in the Advertiser, and will be followed by other numbers from the same pen. The writer is John Johnston, Esq., of Piqua, well known and highly appreciated in the community as a man of integrity and capacity, and who in the character of Indian agent, which he sustained for many years to the United States, has had means of becoming conversant with many interesting facts in the history and con- dition of those tribes who formerly inhabited the great State of Ohio, the Delawares, Shawa- nese and Wyandots.
I anticipate valuable materials for the future historian in the corrospondence of Mr. J.
Anecdote of Napoleon.
was terrible; the least delay was death. One of the guides, remarkable for his great height and Hurculean strength, leaped into the sea, took the General on his shoulders, and, holding fast by the horse's tail, carried Bonaparte like a child. In a few minutes the water rose to his arm-pits, and he began to lose his footing; the sea rose' with frightful rapidity; five minutes more, and the fortunes of the world would have been changed by the death of a single man. Suddenly the Arab shouted, he felt he touched the shore; the guide, quite exhausted, fell upon his knees- the General was saved at the moment his strength was gone.
On how little more than a thread the destinies of Europe for thirty years, depended at that moment.
Powers' Greek Slave.
A foreign correspondent of the N. Y. Mirror, who has seen the work of Powers, thus eloquent- ly writes :-
I have seen it-and I want words to express my admiration. It is so beautiful, so true, so chaste. The treatment of the subject, too, is ad- mlrable in detail. The figure, you are aware, is that of a young female; her manacled hands re- veal her enthraled condition. She is a slave! while the classic lineaments of her calmly beau- tiful face, and the adjuncts of her Greek cap and drapery-arranged to form the support of the figure-delicately but intelligently annonnced that she is the daughter of
The clime of the unfortunate brave Whose land, from plain to mountain cavo, Was freedom's home or glory's grave!
Bonaparte, having made a visit to an aqueduct, prepared for his return to Suez: it was a dark The figure itself is unencumbered with drapery; the position is easy, natural, unrestrained; the face thoughtful, unimpassioned, (perhaps too calm -that is, one might say so, if determined to find some exception,) the limbs exquisitely moulded, perfectly proportioned, displaying the perfection' of female beauty in its greatest delicacy, without the slightest nuance of grossness. The disposal of the slight chain is most happily conceived and executed, and materially assists the sentiment of pudeur that pervades the composition. Indeed, the figure seems to breathe an atmosphere of pu- rity, and to be surrounded by a halo of virgin in- nocence; and you gaze on the charms that the artist's hand has revealed with feelings of rev- erence and admiration, unmixed with a thought of earthly passion. All the world acknowledges the sculptor's triumph. night when he reached the coast. The flow of the tide had begun, and it was proposed to en- camp and spend the night on the shore, but Bo- naparte refused; he called the guide, and com manded him to lead the way. The guide, con- founded by an order from a person whom the Arabs regarded as a prophet, mistook the ford, and the passage was lengthened by about half an hour. They were scarcely half way, when the waves of the flowing tide began to rise round the legs of the horses-the rapidity of the swell on the coast was great-the darkness hindered them from seeing the distance they had yet to go. General Caffarelli, whose wooden leg prevented him from holding firm in the saddle, cried out for assistance. The cry was deemed a signal of dis- tress; the little caravan was instantly thrown into disorder; everybody fled his own way. Bona- parte alone continued tranquilly to follow his Beauty of Cincinnati. guide. Still the water rose, his horse became Cincinnati is proverbially clean in its streeis frightened, and refused to advance-the position land avenues; a thing greatly helped by the fact
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that it is seated upon hilly ground, which give the streets a rapid descent for water. In its gen- eral aspect it so strikingly resembles Philadelphia that in some parts of the city I could almost be- lieve myself there. Some Quaker angels seem to have clubbed together, and by their united strength, taken up the old city of Brotherly Love, and, bearing it over the tops of the Alleghanies, to have deposited it, joyfully, on the banks of the Ohio, in the very midst of the rich soil of " Symmes' Purchase." There she sits, in new- born majesty, "apparent queen." To a stai .. and moderate European politician the thing would seem a miracle. Here is a beautiful city, of nearly a hundred thousand inhabitants, where but fifty years ago nothing was to be seen but boon Nature's wild luxuriance of wood and soil and stream. It is such a transmutation as can be witnessed nowhere but in our beloved land; and the more one contemplates it the more will a sanguine spirit be inclined to cry-
" Visions of glory! spare my aching sight; Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul!"
New Map and Gazetteer of the United States.
Messrs. SHERMAN & SMITH of New York, have recently published one of the best maps of the United States, as well as the largest, in use, be- ing seventy-two by eighty-four inches. The agent, Mr. Moulton, is offering it to our citizens, and I can recommend it accordingly.
This Map is accompanied by a new and valua- ble Gazetteer of the United States. If the ably condensed article refering to Cincinnati be a fair specimen of the book at large, as I presume it to be, this volume will prove a valuable topographi- cal dictionary for general use.
Getting to the Fire.
Every one has heard the anecdote of Dr. Franklin, who when traveling upon a raw and gusty day, stopped at a tavern, and found the bar-room fire entirely pre-occupied by a set of village loafers, who could not budge an inch, in the way of civility to a stranger. He called for a peck of oysters for his horse, and when the un- mannerly cubs all went to the stable to witness the novel spectacle of a horse eating oysters, the doctor selected a comfortable place at the fire " to roast his oysters and warm himself." Of course the horse didn't eat the oysters, but the doctor did. About as good a story is told in the Spirit of the Times, of a captain in the recruiting service at the west, where were a lot of loungers, and no one offered him a seat. Knowing every thing about the grocery he went behind the counter, and seizing a keg marked " powder," threw it upon the fire exclaiming, " Gentlemen, it's my opinion that we've lived long enough." The way they evacuated the premises wasn't slow. Of course the keg was empty.
Ten and Toast.
One day last week the London Dock Company, at the opening of their new range of tea-ware- houses, gave a party to the tea division of the mercantile interest of London. The "usual
toasts" were given on the occasion; and though, no doubt, these toasts were, so to speak, butter- ed, we believe that they were not exactly that de- scription of toast which is " usually given" at tea. On the health of Souchong being proposed,
Souchong (through his representative) decla- red that he had never risen-in the market or anywhere else-under circumstances so flatter- ing as the present. He had been often drunk; though he was never either tipsy himself, nor the cause of intoxication in others; for his was the draught that cheered but not inebriated. Around him were the merchant princes of London; though he must regret the absence of one who was at once a merchant prince and a merchant tailor. He felt that he had now been on his legs long enough, and could only return his best thanks for the honour that had been done him.
Gunpowder felt himself ready to explode with gratitude for the distinction which had just been confered upon him. He hoped to continue to give satisfaction-in a friendly way: he was not that gunpowder that feared to be superceded by steam: he respected steam for its connection with boiling water-which was his element. It was his boast to load the caddies, and not the can- nons, of his country. Allied as he trusted ever to be, with the milk of human kindness and the sugar of free labour, it should ever be his aim to promote universal peace.
Green Hyson, in acknowledging the compli- ment that he had just received, would notice with pride an epithet which had been applied to him. He had been called evergreen: he felt thus asso- ciated with the laurel; and if the laurel bound the poet's temples, he had often to boast of stimula- ting the poet's brain: he was aware that it had been insinuated that he was hostile to the nervous system; this was a calumny and he took that public opportunity of making the assertion.
Young Hyson, after the eloquent speech just made by his brother, would merely express his thanks. He was unaccustomed to public speak- ing; his experience being limited to the silent spouting of the kettle.
" The Genuine Leaf " having been proposed-
A stranger rose to respond. He claimed the appellation which had just been mentioned: he was the British Leaf. (Indignant cries of "Turn him out!")
A scene of indescribable confusion here ensued, amid which the pretender was expelled from the room. Order having at length been restored, harmony resumed her sway, and several senti- mental and comic songs having been sung, the company separated at an advanced hour .- Punch.
New Zealand Melody.
Wallaloo! Wallaloo! Love white man and eat him too! Stranger white, but that no matter! Brown man fat, but white man fatter! Put him on hot stone and bake him! Crisp and crackling soon we'll make him! Round and round the dainty goes ;- Eat his fingers! eat his toes! His body shall our palates tickle! Then we'll put his head in pickle.
CHORUS.
On the white man dine and sup, Whet our teeth and eat him up.
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Recollections of the Last Sixty Years .-- No. 2.
BY J. JOHNSTON, EsQ., of Piqua.
After the peace with the Indians, and after I became agent for many of the tribes, my ac- quaintance with their distinguished men was of long continuance, and in many cases highly in- structing and interesting. The following are the names of some, which after a lapse of more than forty years now occur to my mind :- of the Delawares, Kithtuleland or Anderson, the prin- cipal chief, a half-breed, the son of Mr. Ander- son by a Delaware woman, who resided prior to the Revolutionary War, below Harrisburg, on the Susquehanna, and who gave namc to the ferry, long within my remembrance, called "An- derson's ferry." This chief was a very dignifi- ed man in character and appearance, upwards of six feet high, well proportioned; a man of great benevolence and goodness; of excellent under- standing, but not a public speaker; was greatly beloved by his people. In 1823, he must have been about sixty years old. In pursuance of treaty stipulations with the United States, I re- moved the whole Delaware tribc, consisting of twenty-four hundred souls, to their new home southwest of Missouri river, near the mouth of the Kansas, in the years 1822 and 23. Such is the fate of this once war-like and powerful tribe, that there were many persons among them in the years mentioned who were born and raised with- in thirty miles of Philadelphia, and who have gone at our bidding into the far west. There no doubt they will communicate to the wild tribes of that country the overreaching craft, cunning, and deceit of the white man. I will give an in- stance to shew that the Indians are capable of performing some of the highest acts of humanity and magnanimity. During the last war, the Delawares claimed and received the protection of the United States. The tribe were committed to my keeping during the war of 1813. C. M., a plain country farmer, came to my house at Up- per Piqua to see his benefactor, the chief Ander- son. This man then resided two hundred miles below Cincinnati, near the Ohio river, and his only errand was to return his acknowledgments to the aged and humane chief who had once spa- red the lives and property of himself and family. It appeared that he was cmigrating to the west, in 1792, on the Ohio river, in a Kentucky boat; that near the mouth of the Scioto, a number of Indians, who afterwards proved to be Delawares, pursued him in canoes and finally got. before him, so that escape was impossible. He did not at all fire on the Indians, and this doubtless con- tributed to his ultimate escape; but making a virtue of necessity, turned his boat to the shore and landed among the Indians. Himself and all
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