The Press. — London, England, 1858-07-31 00:00:00

730 THE PRESS, JULY 31, 1858. Other instances of "sticking by the stuff," little less remarkable, are to be found in various parts of the volume. _ One remarkable trait in the Indians was that they never seemed to have any idea of inflicting on their female captives the injury to which they are usually exposed on such occasions. Murder and mutilation was all they thought of : Some of those scenes we often heard described in our childhood by those who witnessed them. We were raised in old Tiyon Country, in Middlefield, equidistant from Cherry Valley and Cooperstown. The settlement in Middle. field, then called " Newtown Martin," was destroyed, and the people scattered. Some of them lived to return and spend the. remainder of their lives on the soil which had been stained with the blood of their relatives and neighbours. Ohl Mrs. Writer—who used to be called " Aunt Recter "—once related to our excellent mother, while se sat by her side, the story of her captivity and sufferings. She was stripped of all her clothing except ber chemise and under-skirt. There was a most beautiful girl of her acquaintance who was the admiration of all. As Mrs. Writer—then Miss Cook—was hurried along by her c iptors, she saw a stout Indian cut the throat of the beautiful girl referred to a few steps before her. As she passed she saw her in her death struggle. Her nose, her ears, her eyelids, and her breasts were cut off, and her rosy cheeks were deeply gashed. All this barbarous mangling of the poor girl was indicted while she was alive, as a matter of sport and derision. Could fiends have devised deeds of such abominable atracity ? One of the most interesting portions of the work is the account of the discovery of a white woman among the Indians in 1835, sixty years after she had been carried off, by her friends. She had become perfectly Indianized; had mar ried an Indian husband, and had children and grandchildren. She had been sought for perpe tually by various members of her family, and was at one time supposed to be the wife of a cele brated chief, who rejoiced in the appellation of " Between-the-Logs." This, however, turning out to be a false report, the search was for some time abandoned, and it was not till the year we have mentioned that she was accidentally dis covered by a Colonel Ewing. The interview between her and her " long-lost brother" is very well told by Mr. Peck : He found her, to all appearance, a perfect Indian. He bad fined in his mind an infallible insrk of distinction. Before she was rained off, her brother Ebenezer had struck her forefinger on the left hand with a hammer, in the blacksmith's shop, and so injured the bone that the nail was permanently destroyed, and the finger otherwise dis figured. Mr. Slocum accordingly took hold of her hand, and brought her to the light, and saw the mark still re maining, with very little variation from the changes of time. " How came that finger jammed ? " asked he, through the interpreter. "M y brother struck it with a hammer in the shop, a long time ago, before I was carried away," was the answer. The scar which thus served the purpose of the strawberry leaf on Mr. Boa's arm, though it con vinced the brother, did not produce the same effect upon the sister : The family circle scrupulously folio Ned the lead of the venerated head of the household, making no advances, exhibiting no emotion. On this occasion only one tender chord was touched. The long lost sister had forgotten her own mite. She was asked if she thought she could remember it if she should bear it mentioned. lier answer was, "It is a long time ; I do not know." " Was it Frances?" Something like emotion instantly agitated her iron.cast features, and, with a smile, she answered iu the affirmative, " Franca, Franck." Afterwards, however, they got on better, and the brother resolved to go back and fetch his two daughters to visit their new-found aunt and cousins in the wilds of the Indian forest : The Slocums and their friends arrived at the residence of Frances, September 30. Captain Bmuriette met them at the door and brought them into the house. Mrs. Drake says, " We found our aunt seated in a chair, looking very much as represented in the water-coloure.l portrait now in possession of Judge Bennet, with her two daughters standing by her." Mr. Slocum, after the accustomed salutations, told his sister that he had brought his eldest and youngest children to see her. The coldness and reserve of the former visit were now entirely gone, and Frances expressed great joy upon the occasion of again seeing her brother, and parti cularly that he had brought his daughters so tar to see her. The mother and daughters immediately commenced an animated conversation upon the subject of the family re semblances which were observable. The old lady, looking at the ladies earnestly, passed her band down her cheeks, stopping the motion at the posterior point of her lower jaw. There is an unusual fulness and prominence at that point of the Slocum face. The preparations for dinner were soon commenced. They spread the table with a white cotton cloth, and wiped the dishes, as they took them from the cupboard, with a clean cloth. They prepared an excellent dinner of fried venison, potatoes, shortcake, and coffee. Their cups and saucers were small, and they put three or four table spoonfuls of maple sugar in 5 cup. They were told by the white visitors, "Our way is not so mach sugar." They seemed very anxious to please, and would often ask, " Is that right? " The eldest daughter waited on the table, while her mother sat at the table and ate with her white relations. After dinner they washed the dishes, and re placed them upon the shelves, and then swept the floor. The ladies were surprised at these evidences of civ;lization, and upon asking their aunt why they did these things, she made answer that her mother used to do so, and she had always done it, and learned it to her daughters. it was, therefore, a uniform rule in her house to wipe the dust from .he dishes when they were put upon the table, and when the meal was concluded to wash them and return them to the cupboard, and then to sweep the room A neighbouring squaw cante in to help do the work, and the Indian daughters kept close to their white cousins, and talked with them incessantly. They supposed candles would be wanted, and, to meet the emergency, the squaw melted some tallow, twisted wicking on a stick, and with a spoon poured the tallow down the wicks until "quite a respectable candle " was produced. For supper they had the breast of a wild turkey stewed with onions—" quite a delicate dish." When they came to retire, " the pillow," all there was in the house, was assigned to Mr. Slocum by the Indian sister. " They pay great respect to age. They had six beds, principally coin• posed of blankets and other goods folded together," says Mrs. Rennet. " They were made of almost everything," says Mrs. Drake. The visitors slept sweetly, and, after taking " a comfortable breakfast," they commenced their arrangements to return to Peru They seemed anxious to tell their white relatives as much as possible about themselves, and to make as favourable an impression as possible. They had made ie the spring " eleven barrels of sugar." " She says she valid have a better house, but fears to do it on account of the jealousy of the Indians. She has money; some that has been saved since the treaty of St. Mary's, eighteen years ago. They had cloths and calicoes enough to fill a country store. They have a lo.iking-glass—several splint-bottomed chairs —a great many trinkets hung about the house—beads and chains of silver and polished steel. Some of their dresses are richly ornamented with silver brooches, seven or eight rows of them as close as they can be put together —many silver enr•rings: my aunt had seven pairs in her ears ; her daughters perhaps a dozen apiece. They have saddles and bridles of the most costly kind—six men's saddles and cue side-saddle. They have between fifty and sixty horses, one hundred hogs, anal seventeen head of cattle. They have geese awl chickens. Their house is inclosed with a common worm fence, with some outhouses, principally built of logs. A never-failing spring of excellent water is near the door, with a house over it." The following is from Mrs. Rennet's journal • " The eldest daughter is large and fleshy—l should think would weigh near two hundred pounds. She is ~ c tive, observing, and intelligent, thirty-four years of age. The youngest is smaller— is quiet and very retiring—is twenty-four years of age. The mother's name is Ma con-a-qua, a young bear. The eldest daughter's name is Kich ke ne-che qua, cut finger. The youngest is 0-saw-she-quah, yellow leaf. The grandchildren's names are Kip-pe-nn-quah, corn-teasel ; Wap-pa-na-se-a, a blue corn ; Kim-on sack quah, young pahther." The Indian portion of the party were now more observing than ever, and did not try to conceal their preferences for many of the usages of the whites. They would neither eat nor do scarcely anything else until they saw how their white friends did it. They spoke of many things they saw upon the table, and said they must get some like them. Harriet had knitting. and the Indian daughter would scarcely allow her to lay it down until she had learned " the stitch" She said she would knit herself a pair of stockings, " they were so comfortable." At night the ladies all retired to the same room. Here Frances and her daughter closely observed the garments of the ladies, and, so far as was physically practicable, tried them on. The bulky young Indian woman, by shrewd signs, intimated that if she had stas to wear she would be small too. When their curiosity was gratified, the queen Ma-con-a-qua and her daughter lay down upon the floor, not listening for a moment to the solicitations of the ladies to take a bed, and in a few minutes were sound. asleep. This is wonderfully natural, and told with great reality. Of the whole work we must say that it is, perhaps, a little monotonous. But it does credit to the author's kindliness, powers of obser vation, and unconscious literary aptitude. Cases and Observations Illustrative of the beneficial Results which may be obtained in some of the most unpromising instances of Spinal Deformity, without the use of Steel Stays or other similar Contrivances. With Engravings illustrative of the Cases. BySamuel Hare, F.RC.S., dm. London : Churchill. WE are happy to see that this little work has reached a second edition. The subject of which it treats is one of peculiar importance and interest. Spinal affections are too frequently neglected in their early stages, and a life-long prostration is the penalty too often paid. To awaken the reader's attention to the dangerous effects of this class of maladies, and also to put before him the simplest and most ef f icacious remedy, is Mr. Hare's object. To the more valuable medical testimony in favour of its merits, we have much pleasure in adding our own. The descriptions are intelligible, and aided by numerous illustrations. Interesting cases are adduced, and followed through their various stages, and symptoms, too often incora- prehensible to the sufferer, traced to source. We trust Mr. Hare may reap I t u and reputation he deserves from his usef, PUBLICATIONS rtrcEIVED.--Ji BOOKS. Eight Months' Campaign against the Bengal . during the Mutiny el 1857. Colonel George C.B. Smith and Eld et Personal Adventures during the Indian Rebellion in Rohl; clot, Futtehghtsr, and Oude. William s i mpki E n d a w n a d r: ush E s: . .. H.C.S. Smith and Eidri Mark Wilton, the Merchant's Clerk. The Re v . G . ii ' Taylor, M.A. Nightshade. A Tale. William Johnston, M.A. Siattki l and Ilanha PAMPHLET. The Siege of Candia. An Epic Poem. Richard Emit Darton and Co. Three Fishers went Sailing. Ballad. Written by the Rev. C. Kiugsley. Composed by Childs Hathaway Seheormanu. Vusit ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. SOON after the opening of the operatic season, we were promised that Don Giovanni should be pro duced at this house. Last week that promise assumed the form of a direct announcement for Tuesday, the 27th inst.; but it was only on Thurs day that this long-looked-for treat was realized. The powerful cast destined to give effect to this master. piece of the lyric drama, including the novelty of a tenor Giovanni, and that tenor no other than the popular Mario, seized hold at once on the musical world, and long before the appointed hour of open. ing, the entrance to the theatre was besieged by a great crowd of persons eager to gain good seats. No sooner were the doors opened than every unreserved sitting was filled, and every foot of standing room appropriated. By half past eight scarcely a vacant place was to be seen anywhere, and we believe this was the most crowded night of the season, hardly excepting the opening. Considering that very many of those present had been waiting an hour and a half, it is not surprising that, when a quarter before nine came without even a sound from the . orchestra (save the tuning of the instruments), great impatience should have been manifested. However, they who are familiar with the emeute, on a small scale, that takes place in a foreign theatre on similar provocation, will give great credit to the forbearance of the audience on this occasion. It must also be said, that if they had to wait for their enjoyment it was certainly worth wait. ing for, as almost the only portion of the perforce ance open to fair unfavourable criticism was the trio in scene 1, in which Signori Mario, Ronconi, and Tagliafico seemed to vie with each other in singing out of tune. Mine. Grist's acting was throughout as powerful, or more powerful, than ever ; but we thought her not in so good voice as usual—a greet disadvantage in the trying recitative music belonging to Donna Anna. It would, however, have been worth while going to the Opera-house if only to bear and see her delivery of the Passage, " Ob, Do' quegli e it carnefice del padre mio," and of the Ins following it, " Orsai chi l'onore." Mlle. Mares Donna Elvira was, musically speaking, very good, especially in the concerted parts, in which she always e xcels. Unhappily she has a face which is not snscepdble of much variety of expression—at all events, not in the melancholy or indignant line ; and it is very difficult to feel that sympathy which is indispensable to the due appreciation of such a part, when the Tidal to man's cruel deception presents herself constastly before one's eyes with a countenance radiant or good . humour and happiness, through any amount of see ficially clouded brow, and notwithstanding the greatest depths from which sighs may bs drawn- A worse conception of a heart-broken, love-stricken, forsaken maiden, than that supplied by Dear" the person of this ever and uncontrollably smiling actress, cannot be imagined. By the way, w hat to admirable Donna Elvira Mme.- Grisi would make • Mine. Bosio filled the very important part of .31eleal • most effectively. Her acting, se might be exPect4 to their tilt all the Profit ful little hook. I7LY 29. al Sep ow Anv )1-An bourelmero with and riA2