davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
The Inventor of Railroads.

About half a century ago-the exact
year is not known-there was born at
Leeds, England, a man named Thomas
Gray. Scarcely anything is known of
his early history. He was, we believe, a
poor collier; and being very ingenious,
he conceived the idea of facilitating the
transportation of coal from the middle
town coliiery of Leeds, distance of
three miles, by means of sort Of railway
which he constructed of wood. Upon
this his ears moved at rate of three and
half miles an hour, to the great merri-
ment of a wise and discriminating public,
who laughed at the idea of a railway as
something very visionary, and as the
mere suggestion of laziness. Poor Gray
thought Otherwise Magnificent visions
of future railways, such as are now stu
pendous realities, loomed up before him,
and he began to talk in public of gem
eral system of iron railroads. He was
laughed at, and deelared visionary
moon-struck fool But the more Gray
contemplated his little railway for coal,
the more firmly did he believe in the
practieability and immense usefulness of
his scheme. He saw in it all that is now
realized, and he resolved, in spite of the
ridicule, the sneers, and rebufFs that were
heaped upon him, to prosecute his under
taking. He petitioned the British Par
iiamene and sought interviews with all
the great men of the kingdom bat all
this had no effect except to bring down
upon him, wherever be went, the loud
sneers and ridieule of all classes. Stiil
he persevered, and at length engaged the
attention of men of intelligence and in
fusnee, who finally embraced his views.
urged his plans, and the result is now
before the world. Thomas Gray, the
inventor of railroads, who, not longer ago
than 1890, was laughed at for even mem
tioniRg the idea, still lives ia Exeter,
England, in the full realization of his
grand and noble schemes, for which he
was declared insane. How much has
the world been benefited by his insanity |
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
Dslegats to Congress from Kansas.

Mr.. Whitfield, the Missouri gentleman
who is now squatting on the floor of Con
gress, pretending to be the representative
from Kansas, is, says the New York Ex-
press, making efforts to get the floor, to
show that the fraud and force stated to
be used In the Kansas election, are
falsehoods, &c. He is going to claim,
too, that the question of slavery or no
slavery was not decided, the vote show
ing only favor to the principles of the
Nebraska bill.'' e
We hope he may succeed In making
his explanation. The evidence, however,
as to the foray of Missourians into Kan
sas, for the sole purpose of voting, is too
strong to be resisted. If the squatter IN
dulges in the argument indicated In the
last part of the statement quoted above,
he viii probably get very effectually re-
piled to. If popular sovereignty" meant
that the people of Kansas should do as
they pleased about slavery, the interfer-
ence of Missourians was surely not an
Endorsement of that doctrine. Boston
Telegraph.
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
Area of the States and Territories.

According to the Census Report, the
area of the United States and Territories,
is 2, ,936, 1866 square miles. The follow
ing table, taken from that document, but
transposed so as to give each its proper
rank, shows the area of each State and
Territory: Nebraska Territory, 1885,
882; Utah Territory, 269, ,27o; Texas,
237, ,5O4; New Mexico Territory, 9O7,-
097; Oregon Territory, 185, ,030; Min
nesota Territory, 166,025; California,
$500; Washington Territory, 1885,
022; Kansas Territory, 114,798; Indian
Tribes, Kansas, 7l,127; Missouri, 67,-
$50; Virginia, 81, ,352; Florida, SO, 1858 ;
Georgia, 5000; Michigan, Sc, ,243; II
linois, 55, 4O5; Wisconsin, 52,924; Ar
kansas, 2,l98; Iowa, 80, ,814; Alabama,
80, ,722; North Carolina, 50,704; Mis-
s;;ssippi, 47,156; New York, 1900
Pennsylvania, $4,000; Tennessee, 49,
600; louisiana, 1855; Ohio, SO, 1854 ;
kentucky, 1860; Indiana, SO, 800
Maine, 81 ,766; South Carolina, 29, 1886;
Maryland, 11,124; Vermont, 1929;
New Hampshire, 1890; New Jersey, g.
800; Massachusetts,, 1900; Connecti-
cut, 4,674; Delaware, 2,ls0; Rhode Is
land, 1896; District of Columbia, 60.
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
A Cure for Ha1d Times.

Sixty of the most fashionable ladies in
New York have formed society for the
promotion Of American industry, by en-
couraging domestic manufactures. The
members pledge themselves to wear noth-
Ing which is not made in America, and
the fire is spreading. Our good friend,
Charles Stetson, Esq, of the Astor House,
N. Y, writes to us under the date of the
28th ult., in which he says, 'tLast evening
there was large soiree given here the
idea was, that nothing but American
goods should be worn on the occasion,
and the effect was delightful. American
silks could not be found, but calicoes and
muslin de lanes were all the rage." We
would recommend ladies of Cincinnati to
form a society OF the same sort, and re-
solve to wear only American manufac-
tured goods begin the new year with
this determination make domestic fab
rics fashionable and we shall soon have
good times. We purchase twenty mil
lions of dollars worth of foreign silks
every year, which, at ten per cent, is the
interest upon three hundred millions OF
dollars Let there be a reform.
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
Rapdolph,s Views of the Bible.

The Hon. THOMAS II. BENTON, in his
"reminiscences of public men, has the fol-
lowing statement In relation to Mr.. Ran
dolph, and his religious views and feel
ings in his latter days:
"He had religious impressions, and a
vein of piety which showed itself more
in private than in external observance.
He was habitual in his reverential regard
for the divinity of our religion; and one
of his beautiful expressions was, that if
woman had lost us paradise, she had
gained us heaven The Bible and Shaks-
peare were, in his latter days, his con-
slant companions, travelling with him on
the road, remaining with him in the
chamber. The last time / saw him Tin
that last visit to Washington, after his
return from the Russian mission, and
with death staring him in the face l
heard him read the chapter in the Reve-
lation of the opening of the seals. with
such power and beauty of voice and de-
livery, and such depth of pathos, that l
felt as if had never heard the chapter
read before. When he had got to the
end of the opening of the sixth seal he
stopped the reading, laid the book open
at the place on his breast, as he lay on
his bed, and began discourse upon the
beauty and sublimity of the scriptural
writings, compared to which he consid-
cred all human compositions vain and
empty. Going over the images pictured
by the opening of the seals, he ayerred
that their divinity was in their sublimity
that no human power could take the
same images, and inspire the same awe
and terror, and sink ourselves into such
nothingness in the presence of the wrath
of the Lamb'-that he wanted no proof
of their divine origin but the sublime
feelings which they inspired"
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03

been stimulated into antagonisms and III
feeling, unworthy OF our fraternal char
aeter, engendered; all of which might
have been avoided had the Federal Coy
erllment adhered to its original policy, as
good faith and justice to all demanded.
However deeply the patriot may deplore
the agitations growing out of the slavery
question, and the alienation of feeling
consequent thereupon, it is vain to expect
that they can be aIIayed by any legisla-'
ton that ignores the moral sentiment OF
our people, and ruptures long existing
eompacts; orby anything that falls short
of restoring our government to Its origi-
nal policy upon that question.
1 have no hesitation, therefore, in ex-
pressing the belief, that the peace and
permanent welfare of the whole commu-
nifty, as well as the political rights of this
State, demand the restoration Of that pro-
hibition of slavery in territories which
was embodied in the Missouri eompro-
mise, and repealed by Congress at the
last session; and | recommend to the
Legislature the adoption of such measures
as may tend most effectually to the pro-
motion of that result; to the protection
of the political rights of this State against
the further increase of slave representa-
ton in either branch of Congress, and to
the restorationo of that generous confidence
and mutual regard which are essential to
the stability of that Union, upon which
our responsibility abroad and our domes-
tic welfare must always largely depend.
There is much, in review of the m
teresss of our State, to call forth thank
fulness for its present, and inspire large
hopes for It's future Its destinies are, to
Some extent, committed to our hands.
While endeayoring to discharge our re-
speetive duties with constant reference to
the prosperity of the Commonwealth, lei
US rely upon Him who holds in His hands
the destinies of nations and individuals,
and, seeking His favor and guidance, Sc
cure the benediction pronounced upon
that people whose God is the Lord.
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03

the work to be performed IS mere drudg-
cry, without pleasure or excitement 10
the mind, but full Of weariness 10 the
body. If, however, you will bring to
the farm the steam engine or horse pow
er, and the various implements they put
in motion, our children win gladly re-
main upon the homesteads they now de-
sert for the factory, the machine shop,
and the railread. He who delves and
digs the earth from morning until night,
has little time and less inclination for
thought-he becomes mere toil-worn
machine at last butiif he is connected
with an implement, the working of which
he is to guide and direct, his position is
completely changed /; he is then master
over slave, a truly soulless slave, that
labors without sweat to do his bidding.
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
Indian Corn.

A French farmer has succeeded In Civ
ing to maize.or Indian corn any color he
chooses, by the following plan: Having
received from China specimen of a
pearl white color, the grains of which
were very small, but very beautiful. he
was desirous of obtaining the same grain,
but of other eolors. For this purpose,
he planted by the side of some of them,
some American maize of red color, and
the result was crop of pink tint, with
some of blush, and others of a gieen
color. He made similar experiment
with the maize of Tuscayora, the grain
of which is as white as Carolina rice, and
he thus obtained crop, the ears ofwhich
were IA inches in length, and the grains
of blue color. Another time he plant
ed some maize of the color of amber
among some of the black maize of Syria.
The ears attained the length of twenty
twoinches, and the grain was of different
colors. The yellow maize of Central
America produced some of dark brown
color, which ripens eight days sooner than
the other sorts. This farmer now pos
sesses one hundred and fifky-three differ
ens varieties of maize, and his object IN
continuing his experiments is not only &c
change the color at viii, but also 10 OBJ
tain varieties which viii ripen earlier, as
well as larger and longer ears, and thu
increase the product.
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
Kansas Aid Meeting.
LIBERTY. No. Jan. 8th. Il


The Kansas Aid Society met pursuant
to adjournment, at the courthouse in the
city of Liberty, on Monday, 9th January,
1856. Meeting called to order by the
chairman, Maj. Dougherty, and minutes
of previous meeting read and approved.
Reports of committees being called for,
G. W. Withers, of Fishing river town
ship, reported the names he had procured,
and the several amounts subscribed.
w. McNealy, from same township, re-
ported IN like manner. ''ili-sa'
It was moved that the committee ap-
pointed to procure subscriptions be also
required to take down the names of all
who are willing to go to Kansas, and that
they report the names of such at the next
meeting of the society. Carried. 80
On motion, committee of four were
appointed to assist the secretary in pre-
pairing the minutes of this meeting for
publication The chairman appointed j.
II. Moss, j. T. v. Thompson, g. w.
Withers, and E. M. Samuel said COM
mittee.
Tt was moved that this society memo
rialize the Legislature of the Stateof Mis-
souri, to appropriate one hundred thous-
and dollars for the purpose of protecting
the frontier settlements west of the Mis-
souri, river, and that committee be ap-
pointed by the chair for the purpose Of
drawing up said memorial The chair
appointed j. I. v. Thompson, James FL.
Moss, G.. w. Withers, E. d. Samuel, A.
Withers, James Davidson, A. Robertson,
Luke w. Burris, T. C. Gordon, 7. w.
Brasfeld, w. L. Watkins, A. G. Court
ney, and Fountain Waller said commit
tee and, on motion, the chairman was
added TO said committee.
Il was moved that the last named com.
naittee draw up a resolution expressive o.
the sense of this meeting in regard te
having commercial intercourse with thl
North On motion, It was
Resosaed, That this society VIII MOI
encourage Boston merchants, nor those
who buy their stocks there. =
On motion, it was ordered that the pa
pers oftiiis county publish these proceed
ings, and request all others friendly to
the cause to do the same. e
After several speeches from citizens oi
this and other counties, the meeting ad-
iourned to meet on the first Monday IN
February, 1855. -
j. gDOUGHERTY, Chm'n. {
- A y. sCAIHoUE. Sew. @B s
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
1alp Newspaper tOo ma ano the 1utests Of onsass

teers, who win sigh for the leeks and
onions of Egypt; we want men who viii
put their hands to the plow and not look
backl Could we have 90 of our thor
ough-going, pioneer Methodist preach
ers. such as we have the material for in
all of our New England Conferences, with
such others as their influence would carry
with them, ascenters of missionary opera
tons, I should consider the question Of
freedom In Kansas settled Yes, we
want men, and must have them, who are
able to cope with the Atchisons, and
Douglases of slavery. And now is the
time to rally around the standard of Lib
erty and Christianity, and bear it triumph.
antly over the plains of Kansas.
ISAAC T. GOODN0W.
E. GREENWICH, r. l., Dec. 26, 1854.
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
An Elegant Hxtract

At the celebration of the 24th ami
versary of the Polish revolution, at New
York, Hon. John p. Hale made an ele-
CANT speech, which closed as follows:
When Napoleon was leading the ar
mics of France over the deserts Of Egypt
to advance upon the city Of Cairo, the
soldiers, when they came in sight of the
pyramids those gigantic monuments
of the folly and power of former ages
awe-stricken and astonished,
as they gazed for the first time upon
those mighty monuments of a generation
that had SO long slumbered with the dead.
Napoleon seizing the opportunity, rode
before the troops, and with countenance
glowing with animation, pointed to the
summit then glittering in the rays of the
rising sun, and exclaimed, Soldiers, from
the summit of those pyramids forty centu-
ries look down upon YOU The sugges-
ton was worthy of the occasion, and no
doubt had its full effect in kindling that
enthusiasm which sustained them in the
fearful battle scene, and contributed to
the decisive victory which they won
Now he who would excite to generous
effort in this day need never point to any
monumental piles of stone erected by the
monarchs of past ages to stimulate us to
exertion, but from every battlefield where
the banner of liberty has been unfurled,
whether success or defeat has been the
lot of its friends, every sacrifice of life
made in the great cause of human right
every effort of duty, every sacrifice of
patriotism, every generous purpose that
has ever been put forth in behalf of the
great cause of human liberty, are so many
monuments erected IN ali the past, from
which the good and true in all the ages
that have gone are looking down upor
the men of this generation, and melting
US by all the memories of the past, and
all the hopes of the future, to be true anG
faithful to the duties which deyolve upor
us in the day when We shall be called up
on to act our part upon the theaterof life.
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
Select pcstf,,.
By ]. G. WHITTIER.

80 Hl4--sss -
] hear the far off voyager's horn,
/ see the Yankees trail
His foot on every mountain pass,
On every stream bis sail.
He's whistlin9 rannd st. Mary's falls,
Upon his loaded train; sTE7s5fF =
He's leaving on the Pictured Rocks
His fresh tobacco stain. rst
I hear the mattock in. the mines,
The ax-stroke In the deil, .s,4.
The eiamor from the Indian lodge, :
The Jesuit's chapel bell
/ see the swarthy trappers come
From Mississippis springs;
And war chiefs with their painted bows,
And crests of eagle wings. -
Behind the squav's canoe of birch
The steamer smokes and raves;
And city lots staked for sale
Above old Indian graves.I aE6 q
By forest lake and waterfall,
] see the peddier's show;
The mighty mingling with the mean,
The lofty with the low.
hear the tread of pioneers
OF nations yet to be;
The first low wash of waves where soon
Shall roll human sea.
The rudiments of empire here
Are plastic yet and warm;
The chaos Of 8 mighty world
Is rounding into form
Each rIde and jostling fragment soon
Its fitting place shall find
The raw materials OF State,
Its muscles and its mind!
A westering still the star which leads
The new world in its train,
Has tipp'd with fire the icy spears
Of many mountain chain.
The snowy cones Of Oregon
Are kindled ON its way,
And California's golden sands
Clean brighter TO its ray!
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
Real Progress.

There is at this time, in this city, a
delegation Of the Wyandott tribe of In
dians, In Kansas, consisting FIVE persons,
viz Tanroomee, chief of the tribe, Ma
thew Mud Eater, John Hicks, Silas Arm
strong, Geo. j. Clark, and joel Walker.
They came to make an arrangement with
the government by which their lands m
Kansas. now held by them IN COM
mon, shah be divided ont IN fee as
the whites own lands Many Of them
ase now sufficiently advanced TO cultivate
them to advantage when subdiyided out.
This morning they had their first inter
view with the head of the Indian Bureau.
-Wask;agtos STR. = la
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
The Ruins of Rome.

The ruins of Rome The overthrow
or decay of mighty human power is, Of
all thoughts that can enter the mind, the
most affecting. The whole Imagination.
is at once stirred by the prostration Of
that, round which SO many high assecia-
tions have been collected for so many,
ages. Beauty seems born but to perish,
and its fragility is seen and felt to bs.in-
herent in It by law of its being But
power gives stability, as it were, to, hu7
man thought, and we forget our osnaper-
ishable nature in the spectacle Of some
abiding and enduring greatness. Our
own little span of years-our own eentin-
ed region of space, are lost in the endurE-
ance and far-spread dominion of some
mighty State we feel asif we par
took of Its deep-set and most triumphant
strength. When, therefore, great and
ancient empire falls into pieces, or when
fragments of its power are heard, in the
sad conviction of our souls, rent asunder
like column after column disparting from
some edifce, we feel as if all the cities
of men were built on foundations beneath
which the earthquake slept. The same
doom seems to be imminent over all the
other kingdoms that still stand; snd In
the midst of such changes, and decays.
and overthrows-or, as we read OF them
of old-we look, under such emotions on
all power as foundationless, and In our
wide imagination embrace empires cover
ed only with ruins of their desolation.--
Yet such is the pride of human spirit,
that it often unconsciously, under the in
fiuence of such imagination, strives to
hide from itself the utter nothingness of
its rnightiest works. And when all its
glories are yisibly crumbling into dust,
It creates some imaginary power to over
throw the fabrics of human greatness
and thus attempts to derive kind of
mournful triumph, even in its very fall.
Thus when nations have faded awsy in
their sins and vices, rotten 1t the heart,
and palsied in all their limbs, we strive
not to think of that sad internal decay,
but imagine some mighty power smit-
ing empires and cutting short the records
of mortal magnifcence. Thus, fate and
destiny are said in our imagination to lay
our glories low. Thus, even the calm,
and silent air of oblivion, has been
thought of as sn unsparing power
Time, too, though In moral sadness,
wisely called shadow, has been clothed
with terrific attributes, and the sweep, of
his scythe has, In imagination, shorn the
towery diadem of cities. Thus the
mere sigh in which We expire, has been
changed into active power-and all the
nations have with one voice called out
ssDeath p And whiie mankind have
sunk, and fallen, and disappeared in the
heipiessness of their own moral being. we
have still spoken of powersarrayed against
them-powers that are in good truth on
| iy another name for their own weakness
es. Thus imagination IS for ever fighting
against fruthand even when humbled
her visions are sublime--eoHscioa even
among saddest ruin, of her own immor-
talitys-rof. WIsen. s,.s.-ss - :, 81
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
re- There are two processes of civil

gg There are two processes of ciyii-
cation which go on, sometimes In con
junction, sometimes separately : one IS
moral civilization- is, beliefs, laws,
and the customs and virtues of . people;
the other IS material ieiyilization-tha Is
to say, the more or less progressive de-
velopment of the purely manual or in
dustrial trades and arts. When, by the
term civilization, we compound these two
processes, we render our meaning OBJ
cure .-L
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03
Slavery in Kansas.

Mr.. Dodson, of Georgia, brother of
the editor Of the Georgia Examiner, writes
to that paper that slavery already exists
in Kansas, and needs no act of Legislation
to permit it; that j. is impossible to get
white labor there, and they must have
slaves; that Missouri viii send half her
population there to protect the Territory
from the control of the Abolitionists.
He adds, that slaves hire readily at from
$3.50 to $500 per annum, and that Kan
sas was intended by Providence for q
slave State. e ss.s
The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-03

Farm work Is Drudgery, unless the
st5 Mind Is in it. -
Our farms have ceased 10 be a fsVorite
scene of labor to our young men, because
True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1855-10-03
Who Wrote tt

Some people express doubts as to the
authorship Of the recent "address of the
Democratic Central Committee of Jefer-
son county, suppressed by the abolition
usurpation Of A. Stuart d Co." The bonn
bastic, nonsensical style Of the address,
which Stuart refused to publish, because
he had sense enough left to see it would
be a disgrace to even the bunker demo
cratic party, may we'll leave doubt wheth-
er it was written by "Joseph NJ. Hickey,
Chairman OF the Democratic Central Com.
mlttee Of Jefferson county and Demo
cratic candidate for COUNTY SURVEYOR
Or by j.. h. s. Trainer, office holder and
Democratic candidate for Pr SCOUTING
ATTORNEY. The whole concern Is SO sill.
~, ridiculous, senSeless, foolish, that II
were hard 10 tell whether RICKEY, THE
SURVEYOR, or TRAINER, THE PROSECUTORS
is best qualified to produce such point
less pack OF stuff. When it is decided
which OF the gentlemen has strongest
claims to windy Ignorance and bombaStlc
foolishneSs, we may then be ready to bet
Oh the sublime authorship. Meantime We
say ~ it kickey--go it Trainer!