Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-04-29

there were not props placed here and there un-
der projecting limbs. He seems to have felt
that man only nine feet high would require
skewing together.
The Original Dred Scott.
The distinguished colored individual who has
made such a noise in the world in the case OF
Scott VS.. Sanford, and who has become SO
tangled up with the Missouri compromise and
other great subjects-Dred Scott-is resident,
not citizen of St. Louis. He is well known to
many of our citizens and may frequently be
seen passing along Third street. He is an old
inhabitant, having come to this city thirty years
ago.
Dred Scott was born in Virginia, where he
belonged to Captain Peter Blow, the father OF
Henry I. Blow and Taylor Blow, Of this city
He was brought by his master to st. Louis about
twenty years ago, and in the course of time be-
came the property of DR.. Emerson, surgeon IN
the army, whom he accompanied on that trip to
Rock Island and Fort Smelling, on the ground OF
which he based his claim to freedom. The wife
of Dr. Emerson was formerly Miss Sanford, and
is now Mrs. Chaffee, wife of Hon. Mr.. Chattee, OF
Massachusetts. He has been married twice, his
first wife by whom he had no children, having
been sold from him. He he's had four children
by his present wife, two boys, both dead, and
two girls, both living. Dred was at Corpus
Christi at the breaking out of the Mexican war,
as the servant of Captain Bainbridge, whom he
speaks of as good man."
On his return from Mexico he applied to his
mistress, Mrs. Emerson, then living near st.
Louis for the purchase of himself and family, Of
fering to pay part of the money down, and give
an eminent citizen of st. Louis, an officer IN the
army,as security for the payment OF the remain,
der. His mistress refused his proposition, and
Dred being informed that he was entitled to bis
freedom by the operation of the laws regulating
the Northwest Territory, forthwith brought suit
for it. The suit was commenced about ten years
ago, and has cost Dred $500 in cash, besides Ia
Dor to nearly equal amount. 1t has given him
cheap oftrouble," he says, and if he had known
that sit was gwine to last so long" he would
not have brought it. The suit was defended by
Mr. John Sanford, as executor OF DIR. Emersons
will.
Dred does not appear to be at all discouraged
by the issue of the celebrated case, although it
dooms him to slavery. He talks about the at-
fair with the ease of a veteran litigant, though
not exactly in the technical language, and is
hugely tickled at the idea Of finding himself q
parsonage of such importance. He does not take
on airs, however, but laughs heartily when talk
ing of ''de fuss dey made dar in Washington
bout de ole nigger."
He is about 55 years old, we should think,
though he does not know his own age. He is
of unmixed African blood, and as black as
piece of charcoal. For two or three years past
he has been running at large no one exercising
ownership over him, or putting any restraint up
on his movements. If he were disposed to make
the attempt, he could gain his freedom at
much less cost than even one-tenth OF the ex-
pense of the famous suit. He will not do so,
however, insisting on abiding by the principles
involved in the decision of the suit. lie declares
that he will stick to his mistress as long as he
lives. His daughters, Eliza and Lizzy, less con-
scientious about the matter, took advantage OF
the absence of restraint on their movements, o
year or two since, to disappear, and their where
abouts remain mystery.
Dred, though illiterate, is not ignorant. He
has travelled considerably, and has improved
his stock of strong common sense by much in
formation picked up in his journeyings. lie is
anxious to know who owns him, being ignorant
whether he is the property of Mrs. Chatfee, or
Mr.. Sanford, though we presume, there is no
doubt that the former is his real legal owner
He seems tired of running about with no one to
look after him, while at the same time he is o
slave. He says grinningy that he could make
thousands of dollars, if allowed, by travelling o.
yer the country and telling who he is
ANrIDoTE FOR STRYoHNINE.-Th Dublin cor
respondent of the Medical Times and Gazette
says :-"The Rev. S. Haughton, Fellow of
Trinity College, has just given an account of
some experiments on the properties Of nicotine
and strychnine, at meeting of the Royal Irish
Academy lie stated that he was induced to
make the experiments by the consideration OF
the specification of strychnine and nicotine on
the muscular system, which appeared to be SO
opposite in their character as to lead him to a
conviction that they might prove to be equally
antidotes to each others action. 1t is generally
believed that strychnine eXerts specific action
upon the lower or lumbar portions of the spinal
column, exciting the muscular system Cat least
the voluntary muscles) into state of tetanic
contraction, and ultimately producing death in
directly, by rendering respiration mechanically
impossible, by virtue of the permanent contrac-
ton Of the PICTORIAL muscles, and not, as was
supposed, by its action on the heart. 1t is also
we'll known, that the most powerful agent We
possess for relaxing the action of the muscles is
nicotine, whether administered in the form of
tobacco smoke or infusion of the leaves. From
these well-known facts, he (Mr. Haughton) was
led to believe that these powerful poisons might
be used as antidotes to each others action and
with the view of testing this conjecture he made
several experiments. -Four of these went to
show the effects Of the two poisons separately.
The fifth and sixth are important,a they appear
conclusive to Mr.. Haughton as to the action of
nicotine in retarding, and in some cases COM
pletely counteracting, the effects of strychnine.
In the fifth experiment frog had lived for for
ty-seven minutes in a mixture of two solutions,
of which one wonld have destroyed life in four
minutes, and the other would have produced
paralysis in one minute and destroyed life in
twenty-three minutes, and yet in the mixture
the animal had lived tor forty-seven minutes, and
afterwards for twenty-four hours. In the sixth
experiment, frog immersed in O similar mix
ture Of the poison for ten minutes had ultimate
ly recovered, the effects of the strychnine being
completely obviated by the action of the nico-
tine. Mr.. Haughton expressed the hope that
further inquiries would be instituted into the
action of strychnine upon some of the warm
blooded animals, as he believed that nicotine,
which was always easily procurable in the form
of tobacco leaf infusion, would be found valu-
liable antidote in at least some cases of strych-
nine poisoning, whether intentional or acci-
dental"
RAILROAD IRoN.-Only SO short time ago as
the year 1910, no rails were manufactured in
the United States In 1849 but $4,000 tons were
made. Seven years after that witnessed an in.
crease of our manufacture to 100000 tons. An
other seven years of embarrassed growth would
see this product more than doubled, ,and the Eng
lish excluded forever from o market which they
have nlapued with depressiops and infat ions.