New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1856-01-09

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NUMBER 229.
AN IMPORTANT GAsB.-The case ofMr. Booth,
the abolition editor, who was convicted Id tile
United States District Court Of aiding in the
escape Of q fugitive slave, and was subssq quently
liberated by q State court on habeas corpus,
will be brought this winter before the Supreme
Court Of the United States for adjudication.
The decision viii be looked for with great anx-
iety, as it will establish anthoritatively many
important points, now at Issue, between the
General Government and the State judiciaries
Two CHILDREN BURNT 70 DRATH.--A Pitts
burg dispatch, Of the I'd inst, reports that the
dwelling Of John Kregon, in that city, was des.
troyed by FIRE and two children burnt to death
Two others were thown out Of d Window,by their
grandmother, and but slightly hurt KregoI
was absent.
AN ANTIQUITY The Smithsonian Institution
has received as present from the University
at Jene, q copy Of the original work Of Otto de
Guericke, the renowned inventor Of the air.
pump, published in 1872. The work is in folio
illustrated by number Of engravings, among
which is Q representation Of the celebrated ex.
pertinent Of the resistance to separation Of tWt
hemispheres, from which the air had been ex.
hausted, when the force of eight span Of horses
was applied to them.
On the evening Of the 30th alt. dreadful
murder was committed near New Brunswick
N. j., the victim being the eldest son Of Patrick
Henry, one Of the Alms-houss Governors. The
body, was found lying with head and shoulders
immersed in water, 81 q spot called Sandy Point,
with the head bruised and the throat cut from
ear to ear. A. man named Fox, residing at
New Brunswick, has been arrested as the mur.
derer, on aCoroner's verdict. There is much
excitement in reference to the murder among
the people residing in the vicinity.
Some important papers relative to the confr-
nation Of the last treaty with Mexico, obtained
from the Mexican archives, are said to be in the
possession Of persons in Washington, By which
it appears that q Mexican agent received some
$16, 900 for secret service, and that q sin,ilar
amount was divided among other individuals
some Of whom are now clamorous for the repudi.
alton by the United States of the three million
drafts.
A Washington letter. writer gives an interest.
ing account Of the penitentiary in the District
of Columbia. Among sundry curious facts
which he notes, is remark Of the warden, thai
nine -tenths Of the prisoners who are committed
to the institution are found to have their arms
marked with India ink. From this the writer
infers that, if the same observation held good
of convicts in other prisons, il might be we'll
before employing strangers, to examine thei,
arms.
The Washington correspondent Of the New
York Herald says: Y
Had the President sent bombshell into ths
House, its explosion would hardly have pro
5duced more sensation thsn the peaceful trans
mission Of his message. The debate upon ii
disposition discovered q good deal Of talent
Mr.. Dunn, Of Indiana, gained perhaps the mos
reputation outaof it. Tonight, this novel pro
ceeding Of the President is the topic Of nniVer
sal and most spirited conversation. The Demo
Gratis generally defend the President They fee
relieved, measurably, from the previous press
ing necessity for 8 Speaker. The oppositio
denounce the act as Napoleonic usurpation-
an outrage Of the most alarming character--th
severest blow ever struck at the independence
Of Congress.
, . IS
"GEBEL NAKoUs"-Ihe Bell of the Burie
ConUes,t IN Syria.-We were now within tw
days of Mount Sinai. Our intention has bee
to 60 directly there; but DR.. Leider and hi
lady, English missionaries at Cairo, had strong
ly advised US to take another direction, and +
visit the Gebel Nakous, mountain near th'
sea, which they assured us no American ha
ever visited, and was very little known, al
though exceedingly interesting. II presented
on one side bright white cliff, over two hun.
dred feet in height, while on the other was
sloping tslus of fine glistening Sand reaching
nearly to the summit. Many years since, it
was found under certain circumstances to emit
sound, which the Bedouins, in the love Of the
wonderful, attributed to the tolling of the bell
Of convent buried beneath the long slope OF
sand, and thus their name of ss Gebel Nakous,'' %
or ss Mountain Of the DELL" We proceeded at
once on our arrival to seek the phenomenon,
anu Wa Aoo AoiIS5 AA cuSpoHScs AsCeuuluR Ln6
hill, as we were directed by our friends at Cairo,
We at length caught sound as of music, rising
and falling in successive cadence; but for o
long time, it was entirely impossible to tell from
whence it came. 1t was all on nearly the same
key, but differed much in intensity. At times
it was low, trembling, and even mournful, like
the wind, and we held our breath to catch it.
Then it increased to the sweet mellow notes of o
flute, and finally underwent rapid change to
the powerful vibrations of huge organ, peal
ing tremendously, until everything around
seemed to be imbued with it, and the whole
to tremble.
1t was indeed awe-striking; for it could be
traced to no quarter, but seemed to proceed now
from the air, now from the mountain, and then
even from within our very selves. An occa-
sional peal reached those below, but the full
effect was only realized upon the bank itself.
This led me to seek there the solution Of the
phenomenon, and 1 at length found it to my full
I noticed that the music and the
flowing Of the sand were simultaneous, and that,
when a'foot was Withdrawn from the land, the
sand which gradually flowed in to fill the depres-
sion, was accompanied by the first sound, which
have mentioned, low and uncertain. As the
current grew larger, it increased to clear
melodious tone, like that caused by flame Of
hydrogen gas passing through glass tube
while q large mass set in motion gave rise to q
sound which can only compare to the most
powerful notes OF an organ. Examination
seemed to show that the whole was caused by
the particles of sand, highly heated by the sun,
slipping over and past each other. In the shade,