Vandalia Whig and Illinois intelligencer. [volume] (Vandalia, Ill.) 1832-183?, 1833-09-18
WHOLE NUMBER, LXXIV.

pursued our route across thePrairie. meet.
ing occasionally, groups of Indian girls
gathering strawberries, SON times accom-
panied by their beaux, dressed with most
particular niceDess.
The toilette, is to these young fellows
subject of no trihing interest. Hours
are spent in this branch of their devotions.
drawing now streak of paint here confor-
Tnable to a most fastidious taste,-and
another there, of the exact shade,-ar-
ranging the folds of their blankets so as
to expose most advantageously the ele-
9ance OF their persons; or posing their
feathers at the most authentic angle; such
are some of the elements of their toilet,
and such the solicitude for the proper
adaptation of them.
We soon reached the great fails. The
river enlarges considerably above the
ST. Peters, and is fourth of mile in
breadth at the falls. The waters here
are divided by long and beautifully
wooded Island. There is another small
islet, so feet below, which seems but IA
broken portion Of the former separated
by the continual attrition Of waters:--
huge masses of rock are scattered here
and there in sublime confusion, all ind
eating disruption -and now lie, perpetu-
ally bathed by the dashing spray of the
cataract. The greatest fall is only 35
feet in perpendicular height. On each
side of the island is remarkably salient
projection of the rock over which the
stream plunges, much in the shape of a
regular bastion, and again, near each
shore are similar ones making in all, four
distinct projections, which give the whole
close resemblance to a fortified line.
Percussion LocKs.-The question as
to using percussion locks in the army is
about to be decided in France. By ex-
periments made in the Hanoverian army,
it appears that out of $40 muskets of per-
cusslon locks, consuming together 1000
cartridges, there were only 81 missed fire
from the failure of the printing, and 70
from the defect in the charge, making in
all 10; while out of the same number of
muskets with flint locks, burning the same
quantity of Cartridges, 1448 missed fire
from the printing, and 378 from the
'eharge, making together 1896. The cx-
Iperlments did not stop here. 1t was de-
sired to ascertain the effect of firing each
species Of muskets reiterated for long
time without being cleaned. Eleven
committees returned that out of % per-
cussion muskets, firing / / 900 shots, eight
failed in the primingan six in the charge,
and out Of the same number of muskets
with flint locks, 2O6 shots failed from the
printing, and 500 from the charge, in all
sos. Still further experiments were
made both in exposing the muskets to
constant rain, by wetting the inside of
the cap, and by putting drop Of water
into the touch hole. The result was,
that the percussion guns, after being ex-
posed to the injuries of the weather, or
even constant rain, were much more to
be relied upon than those with flint locks.
Marshal Soult, who had been for a long
time impressed with the advantages to be
derived from the use of percussion guns,
resolved to renew the above experiments
in France and last year comrnitte of
officers, by his direction, repeated all the
experiments, aud their report completely
established the supremacy Of the per-
cussion lock. At this moment, however,
nearly $500 muskets of all the kinds
have been fitted up with percussion locks,
III order to make last and grand trial.
Don PEDRo.-A letter from Oporto,
written by gentleman who has frequent
opportunities of seeing this person and
witnessing the mode in which he passes
his time, gives us the following account.
don Pedro is certainly an extraordna.
ry, although cannot call him great
man. He rises early in the morning,and
sometimes at o'clock, and before he re-
celves his officers frequently amuses him
sell for an hour in composing music, or
making notes upon the plans of opera.
tons which have been submitted to him
or which he has received from different
quarters. Some of these observations are
shrewd, but generally speaking, he is not
to be considered clever man. After
breakfast, which is speedily despatched,
he receives those who are presented to
him by his ministers, and then rides out
with Sir John Milley Doyle or another
officer Of service; but Sir Milley is his
favorite. lie confers with his ministers
on his return, and requires from them an
account OF all that has occurred since the
preceding day. In council he is sometimes
frivolous, and at other times selfwilled.
This has been carried sometimes TO such
an extent, that there have been two OF
three Instances in which the ministers, In
order not TO ruin their cause, have had