USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The Cincinnati miscellany, or, Antiquities of the West, and pioneer history and general and local statistics. Volume II > Part 73
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How much of human life is made up of such vicissitudes; and what varied adventure is within the recollection of hundreds of our citizens here.
CORRESPONDENCE.
TO CHARLES CIST,-Sir:
Your correspondent D. has corrected your error in relation to the derivation of the name of Bucyrus, which is, as hc states, a corrupt orthog- raphy of the fabled Egyptian King, Busirus, wlio sacrificed all foreigners to Jupiter, whence it means the tomb of Osiris. But my object is to correct D. in relation to the village of Mansfield, which was not so named in honour of the Chief Justice of that name, at whom Junius hurled his violent attacks, but in memory of Col. J. Mans- field, a citizen of our state, then Surveyor Gen- eral and a distinguished mathematician.
Whilst I have my pen in hand allow me to copy the following, which may throw some light on the subject of your controversy with Phil.
" Esquire (from the French Escu, Latin Scu- tum, in Greek Skutos,) signifies a hide, of which shields were anciently made, for in the times of of the Saxons, the shields were covered with leather; so that an Esquire was he who attended a knight in war, and carricd his shield, whence he was called Escuier in French, and Scutifer or Armiger in Latin. Those which the French call Esquires, were a military kind of vassals, having jus scuti, viz: liberty to bear a shield, and in it the ensigns of their family, in token of their dignity."
In conclusion, you will not wish to make the acquaintance of XANTIPPE.
What becomes of our Coffee Bags ?
A few days since, during that delightful blend- ing of cold eir and bright sunshine which charac- terized the atmosphere of week before last, and which forms weather which no other country than America can boast of, in walking up Fourth street to my office, it was my fortunc to overtake a couple of charming girls, whom I knew but a few years since as Sabbath scholars. In the in- terval they had ripened into womanhood, and are now among the most graceful of that large class of beings which toil not nor spin, and yet are not
surpassed in attractiveness by the fairest and finest of the lilies and roses of our gardens. Af- ter the usual salutations and inquiries had been exchanged, in walking a few paces, I happened to cast my eyes on one of the young ladies' skirts, and discovercd what I supposed a stray dark coloured thread, and stretched out a friend- ly hand to remove it. Mistaking its character, as well as its degree of resistance, I failed to effect my design, and making a second effort, I discov- ered it to be a thread of Manilla sea grass. " What is this, my dear?" I exclaimed. The young lady blushed scarlet and made no reply; and regreting the embarrassment I had created, I turned off as soon as the next corner was near enough to furnish an excuse to leave my com- pany.
Eureka! I exclaimed, as I extended my soli- tary walk; the secret is discovered-the problem what becomes of the coffee bags, is solved at length. No wonder Mr. C. A. Schumann- doubtless as commission merchant to lie fash- ionable dress makers-was compelled to adver- tise for three hundred Havana coffee bags. What a pity that the coffee of Rio Janeiro has superce- ded so extensively that of Havana in the Ameri- can markets.
A long Street.
Front street is not only the longest continu- ous street in Cincinnati, but with the exception of one or two streets in London, the longest in the world. It extends from the three mile post on the Little Miumi Rail-Road, through Fulton and Cincinnati as far west as Storrs township, an extent of seven miles. In all this range there. are not ten dwellings which are three feet distant from the adjacent ones, and two-thirds of the entire route is as densely built as is desirable for business purposes and dwelling house con- venience.
The Battle of the Sth January .-- No. 1. BY A HUNTER OF KENTUCKY.
It is the confidence we place in a narrative in which the narrator is relating facts within his own knowledge, and the conviction of reality thus inspired, which gives autobiography-the charm it possesses over history compiled from other sources. The following, which I condense from a late Louisville Democrat, will commend itself to the perusal of my readers.
It was in the fall of 1814, that word came, that the British had landed in Louisiana, or were about to land; and pretty soon, there was a draft of Kentucky militia, to go down and help old Jack- son dress their jackets. I drew clear, but some- how or other I wasn't much rejoiced when the blank ticket camc ont, for I felt a sort of hank- ering to go. I had a notion that Old Hickory would shiew us something worth seeing, and be-
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sides, I felt as if I wanted to help our brave fel- lows thrash the British ragmuffins, for comning on our soil where they had no business. Well, it wasn't long, before I met one of my neighbours, who had been drafted and didn't want to go. He was a wealthy man, and had so much business at home, lie said, he did not see how in the world he could get off. He offered forty dollars for a sub- stitute, and asked me if I knew where he could get one. " Well," said I, " that's easily done. I have got all my crops well housed and the old woman and children are pretty well fixed to live through the winter, so if you'll give me the forty dollars, and let me have credit for the tour of ser- vice, I'll go myself !" He agreed to that, and we soon clinched the bargain. When I told my wife what I had done, she did look a little blank, but she was good game and didn't make any fuss. She soon rigged me out with a yellowish green hunting shirt of homemade jean, a couple of pairs of trowsers of the same, with a blanket and some other nick-nacks for camp use. Then I bought a stout wool hat with a low crown and broad brim, and shouldering my rifle I set off from Nelson county to join the army at Louisville.
We rendesvoused at Shippingsport on the 10th of November, and next day marched to Louis- ville and drew provisions. I belonged to Captain John Farmer's Company, 15th Regiment, Ken- tucky militia, commanded by Colonel Slaughter. ". The day after we had drawn provisions we went into an election for company officers, all except Captain and Orderly Sergeant. When we had mustered for that purpose Captain Farmer told us, that it was his right to choose our officers, but he didn't want to do so; he wanted us to choose for ourselves, so that we should be better satisfi- ed. Every man in the company, he said, must be a candidate, and whoever had the most votes should be elected. Then we began to look round to see who should be our lieutenant, and several were spoken of, but finally we pitched upon Wil- loughby Ashby. He was a perfect stranger, and was neither a drafted man nor a substitute. He had joined the company at Louisville, purely of his own free will, and when we were about to choose a lieutenant he stepped out in front of the line, and spoke up in this way :- " Boys," said he, " I served in Canada, and was taken prisoner at the river Raisin, where I was a good deal mis- listed by the British. Now I am going down with you to get satisfaction out of them for it, and if you choose to elect me an officer, ['ll do my best to do what's right. I'm willing to go as a private or as an officer, or any how you please-so we give the British a good drubbing it's all one to me." This kind of talk took our fancy, and as he was a good looking fellow and seemed the right kind of stuff, we thought we couldn't do better-so we all stepped out to him and elected him unanimously. Then we elected John Figg, a fine young man, from Nelson coun- ty, Ensign; and after that we appointed our Ser- geants and Corporals.
We remained at Shippingsport some fifteen or twenty days, while preparations were making for stores and boats to convey us down the river. About the 30th of November, the 13th and 15th regiments embarked in about twenty flaboats- each company occupying one. Our men were all dressed according to their fancy. Some had hunting shirts, some long tailed coats, and some roundabouts. The only thing that made them look like being in uniform, was the materials out
of which their clothes were made, which were either homemade jeans, or tanned buckskin. The only regular uniform coat in our company, was Lieutenant Ashby's. He had one of blue cloth, turned up with red; and I am not sure but his having an officer's coat was one reason why we elected him. He had also epaulettes, but he wore a common hat, trowsers, and jacket. Our captain was dressed in common clothes like the rest of us, and, indeed, the lieutenant only ap- peared in his fine coat on parade days and very important occasions. If we didn't look much like regular soldiers, however, we were all full of spirits and devilment. Most of us had a tolera- ble good idea of the use of the rifle, and we felt a reasonable confidence that if we drew sight on a red-jacket within anything like shooting dis- tance, we should be pretty certain to make a hole in it.
When we got down to the mouths of the Cum- berland and Tennessee, we fell in with the 14th regiment, parts of which had come down both those rivers. We lay at Cumberland Island three days, collecting the different detachments, and then proceeded on down the river, the three regi- ments in company.
At New Orleans, as soon as we were disem- barked, we were formed into a line, a little below the city. The main part of the army was then about seven miles below, at the breastworks, where the battle afterwards took place. Our line had scarcely been formed before a drum came round, beating for volunteers to go down to the lines, and assist the Tennesseeaus, who had been on fatigue duty for several days. I stepped out after the drum, and in a few minutes, about four or five hundred of us were on the march. We got down to the breast works a little after dark, and there we laid under arms till morning. Some were laying or sitting on the ground, but the greater part of us stood up all night, ready for an attack. None took place, and the next morn- ing we were marched back to join our companies. It was about one o'clock in the day when we ar- rived, and immediately there was another call for volunteers to go down and spend the next night. A good many of us were so wiry-edged and so keen to see and know every thing that was going on, that though we had no time to get any thing to eat, we volunteered again; and thus we had no sooner marched up to the city than we had the pleasure of marching back to the lines. This night passed as did the one before. There was no alarm and nothing took place worthy of note. Next morning we were marched up to the city as before, but when we arrived we found our regi- ment paraded, and that orders had been given for the whole army to proceed down to the, breast- works. A third expedition, on such short notice, was one more than we had bargained for in our own minds, but there was no help for it. . We had but just time to tumble into the ranks, before the word was given to march.
We got down a little before sundown on the evening of the 7th, and formed about a couple of hundred yards from the breastwork. Directly af- ter our line"had been formed, there were three rockets discharged from the British camp. The first struck the ground just behind the breast- work; the second passed high above our heads, but the third came waving over the breastwork, and passed right through our line. Our company parted to the right and left to let it pass. It went through between William Grubb and Geo. Phil-
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lips, so close that the sparks flew upon both of | countersign and watchword. While on guard, them. It struck the ground. a few rods behind us, near a grey horse that was feeding on the com- mons. The horse was terribly frightened. He snorted, jumped and made off as fast as his legs could carry him.
After these rockets had been discharged we were hastily marched up to the breastwork, where we remained until after dark, but nothing farther occurring, we were marched back to our former position and dismissed; with orders for every man to keep up his arms and to be ready at a mo- ment's notice. By this time some of us were so hungry that we felt rather savage. We had had nothing to eat since the morning we landed at New Orleans. Each time in marching from the lines up to the city, we had came back without having time to procure or cook our rations; the first time our own eagerness to be on the second volunteering party, had prevented us from get- ting our allowance; and the second time we had no chance, as we found the whole army paraded and ready to march. As good luck would have it, one of our mess had a little flour, which he made into dough with some water, and another having hunted up an old skillet, we baked it over a few coals. I had for my share a piece about half as big as the palm of my hand. We passed the night sitting, standing, or lying, as we could find opportunity, but with our rifles ready for use at a moment's warning. Most of the men were sulky with fatigue and hunger, and there was not much conversation. It was a very dark night, there being no moon until twelve o'clock, and a considerable fog rendered it still more gloomy.
Just at dawn of day-it was a foggy, hazy morning-we heard the firing of our picket guard. For an instant or two, there was a confused noise all along the front of our line, as if a high wind was rushing over a field of ripe corn. Then there were a few dropping shots, and directly volleys of musketry, as our guard retreated. Our troops instantly ran up to the breastwork, and we heard the British troops coming on, like a confused mass and yelling like devils.
Our regiment-the 15th-was about the cen. tre of the line. The 14th regiment was on our left, between us and the swamp, and the regulars were on our right towards the river. The Ten- nessecans were scattered about amongst us, I don't exactly know how. At any rate, a good many of them got mixed up with us before the battle was over. Our company was exactly un- der the leaning oak, which stood about half way between the river and the swamp. We were formed into sections five deep, with orders for the sections to advance and fire alternately. The section I was m. was composed of Henry Spill- man, John Anderson, Barnet Bridwell, and I think, Matthew Mane and James Glass. The other individuals around me, as near as I can re- collect, were Lieut. Ashby, Ensign Weller, Or- derly Sergeant Isaac Chambers, Isaac Wilcox, Alex. Robinson, Thomas Anderson, and Abram Springston. These were my acquaintances whon I remember seeing about me at the commence- ment of the battle. It was so dark, however, that one could see but little.
Captain Farmer was that morning commander of the picket guard, and, of course, did not join us until after the battle had commenced. Du- ring the night, one of our regular soldiers had deserted to the enemy, and had given them the |
Captain Farmer, being dressed in dark clothes, had let the guard fire, and passing through his own line of sentinels, approached so near that of the British that he could hear them talking. He heard them speak of the deserter, and the advan- tage they would have from knowing our pass- words. It didn't turn out any advantage, though, for as soon as Capt. Farmer returned they were changed.
The Dress of Authors.
Anthony Magliabechi, who passed liis time among his books, had an old cloak, which served him for a gown in the day, and for bed-clothes at night; he had one straw chair for his table, and another for his bed, on which he generally re- mained fixed, in the midst of a heap of volumes and papers, until he was overpowered with sleep. Emerson, the mathematician, made one hat last him the greater part of his lifetime, the rim generally lessening bit by bit, till little remained except the crown. Another " shocking bad hat," which belonged to a celebrated geologist of the present day, is honoured with a place among the curious relics of costumes in the Ashmolean Mu- seum at Oxford, to which valuable collection it was presented by some waggish university youths. In the " History of Holy Ghost Chapel, Basingstoke" (1819), it is stated that the Rev. Samuel Loggon, a great student of antiquities, " used to wear two old shirts at once, saying that they were warmer than new ones." Dr. Paris, in his "Life of Sir Humphrey Davy," tells us that this great philosopher was, in the busiest pe- riod of his career, so sparing of time, that he would not afford a moment to divesting himself of his dirty linen, but would slip clean linen over it. This practice he would continue, until as many as even six shirts were on his back at a time. When at length he had found leisure to extricate himself from all except the one that was clean, his bulk was so visibly and suddenly reduced, that his friends, not knowing the cause, would remark that he was getting thinner with alarming rapidity. But their fears of his being in a consumption would shortly be removed, when shirt over shirt began to accumulate again. He was then like a plump caterpillar, existing under several skins. In later days, Davy became more attentive to the toilet; in fact the thinking and busy philosophier merged into a frivolous fop, cultivating curls, and wearing piebald waistcoats of patchwork pattern. Shenstone was somewhat of an exquisite. He loved showy colours in dress, delighted in trinkets and perfumes, design- ed patterns for snuff-boxes, played music, sung, and painted flowers. He had, however, great antipathy to card playing and dancing; yet he says that ecstatic, rough, unsophisticated dancing, is one of the most natural expressions of delight, for it coincides with jumping for joy; but when. it is done according to rule, it is, in his opinion, merely cum ratione insauire. Benjamin Stilling- fleet generally wore a full dress suit of cloth of the same uniform colour, with blue worsted stockings. In this dress he used frequently to attend Mrs. Montague's literary evening parties, and as his conversation was very interesting, the ladies used to say,-" We can do nothing with- out the blue stockings;" hence arose the appella- tion of bas bleu, or " blue stockings" to literary ladies. Mezerai, the French historian, was so extremely susceptible of cold, that immediately
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on the setting in of winter, he provided himself | with twelve pairs of stockings, all of which he sonietimes wore at ouce. In the morning he al- ways consulted his barometer, and, according to the greater or less degree of cold put on so many inore or fewer pairs of stockings. In reference to the general seediness of literary costume, a re- cent writer has justly remarked, that to laugh- as has been the custom since the days of Juvenal -at the loutish manners, threadbare cloak, and clouted shoe of the mere man of letters, is a stale and heartless joke, for the poorest, threadbare, ungainly scholar (if he be indeed a scholar) is a gentleman in his feelings.
Building for 1846.
Early as is the season for building operations, preparations for that purpose are to be seen on every side. Not less than one hundred and fifty cellars are in various stages of progress already, and the prospect is that the erections of 1846 will be as numerous as those of the past year, while the private buildings will doubtless exceed their predecessors in elegance, covenience, and value.
As regards public edifices, a new Disciples' Church, fifty by seventy-four feet, for the con- gregation lately worshiping on Sycamore street, is now building at the southwest corner of Wal- nut and Eighth streets, the basement of which will be laid off for business purposes. A new Jewish Synagogue-Kal a Kodesh Beni Jeshurun -fifty-five by seventy-five feet, will also be put up this year, under the direction of Mr. Henry Walters, Architect. The Synagogue will be erected on Lodge, between Fifth and Sixth streets.
Sound the loud timbrel o'er valley and sea,
The cord is now broken that bound thee to me:
As the Hoosier belle apostrophized her corset, on learning that the article had gone out of fashion-
Error of the Press.
An exchange mentions the appointment, by "and with the consent of the Senate, of Mr. John Smith, as " Master of Chicanery." In the opin- ion of the uninitiated, the printer was not far wrong, as the difference between chicanery and chancery is not very great.
Oysters and the Mails.
In my last week's article-" Our Markets"- I adverted to the abundant supply of oysters to this market. One circumstance was, however, omitted, of some statistical importance, of not less consequence to the gastronome as an index to the state of supplies in this article, in respect to freshness and quality, than is the thermometer to the brewer, or any other manufacturer, as a cri- terion of atmospheric temperature. It is this, that in the exact degree of punctuality with which the
Eastern mail arrives, the can oysters are left be- hind; and to the extent in which the oysters are received, the Eastern letters and papers are mis- sing. This is a very singular and curious coin- cidence.
It follows, therefore, that the annunciation of mail failures, which are so frequently made by our editors, is equivalent to an advertisement by our friends, Selves and Ringgold, " that they have this day received a fresh lot of oysters," with which they are ready to supply customers.
The Great Lakes.
The Boston Journal observes that but few per- sons are really aware of the magnitude of the great Lakes of the West. They are truly inland seas, and navigation there is as dangerous, and subjected to all the vicissitudes which are con- nected with the navigation of the Baltic, the Black Sea, or the Mediterranean. The follow- ing is an authentic tabular statement of the ex- tent of those fresh water seas, embraced in a re- port of the State Geologist of Michigan:
Lakes. Mean length. Mean breadth. Area sq. miles.
Superior,
400
80
32,000
Michigan,
320
70
22,000
Huron,
240
80
20,000
Green Bay, 100
20
2,000
Erie,
240
40
7,400
Ontario,
180
35
6,300
St. Clair,
20
14
360
90,060
The same tabular statement exhibits also the depth and the elevation of each above tide-water:
Lakes.
Mean depth.
Elevation.
Superior,
900 feet.
696 feet.
Michigan,
1000
578
Huron,
1000
578
St. Clair,
20
570
Erie,
84
565
Ontario,
500
232
It is computed that the Lakes contain above fourteen thousand miles of fresh water; a quan- tity more than half of all the fresh water on earth. The extent of country drained by the lakes, from Niagara to the northwestern angle of Superior, including also that of the lakes themselves, is es- timated at 335,515 square miles.
A paper in the west abuses a professional gen- tleman as a " briefless lawyer. The Louisville Journal takes his cotemporary to task and ad- monishes him never to abuse a man without a cause.
"Out for Five Minutes."
A lawyer who was in the habit of leaving such a mem. as the above, on his office door, when ever business or pleasure called him out, was re- buked by an addenda to his card, in the follow- ing words-" for one minute in."
He never hung out that shingle again.
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Legislative Statistics.
I have compiled in tabular form the component ingredients of such of our State Legislatures as my statistical information on the subject provided me with the necessary data. These are those of Mississippi, Ohio, Kentucky, and Maryland.
Occupations.
Md.
Ky.
Ohio. Miss.
Farmers,
50
75
62
89
Lawyers,
17
40
22
26
Physicians,
4
5
5
11
Mechanics,
5
6
11
3
Teachers,
1
2
Merchants,
4
9
6
1
Innkeepers,
1
2
1
23
Ages-Youngest, Oldest,
68
76
63
Married,
101
Single,
7
Birthplace.
Ky.
Ohio.
Miss.
Ohio,
8
28
Pennsylvania,
6
24
1
New York,
14
4
Virginia,
34
8
21
Kentucky,
81
5
10
Maryland,
5
5
Connecticut,
1
8
Illinois,
1
Maine,
2
1
New Hampshire,
2
2
2
New Jersey,
2
1
Alabama,
3
District Columbia, 1
1
North Carolina,
3
18
South Carolina,
1
30
Tennessee,
6
14
Vermont,
1
1
Georgia,
11
Mississippi,
10
Native Americans, 126
104
129
Ireland,
2
Wales,
1
Germany,
1
France,
1
It were desirable that fuller statistics on this interesting topic should be furnished by the sev- eral State Legislatures. It would servo to shed light upon the formation of our national charac- ter. Imperfect as these are they supply many valuable inductions, to the cause of knowledge.
talking, to the great disadvantage of getting through business. I say not this out of disre- spect to the profession, in whose ranks are to be found a full share of business tact and talent. But as the very nature of that profession cannot permit its members to become legislators but at the absolute sacrifice of their business, the effect of sending lawyers to the seat of government is,
as a general rule, to take them from men of fourth and fifth rate calibre. It appears to me, too, that the tendency itself of the lawyer's employment, to try what can be said on both sides, begets an un- due distrust of ones own judgment, and a desire to protract coming to a decision, which is the common failing in deliberative bodies.
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