The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1857-02-25
THE DAILY DISPATCH.

THE DAILY DISPATCH:
"Wednesday msssasG, February -, 1887.
0eaGiaG O. RicAmssd.
We gaze brief paragraph. some days aso, from
the Petersburg Exprsss, consulting Of an extrsff
rom The travels Of one Isaac Wells, Junior, 70
which sousise b rspresensed - very favofite
aud common diversion Of the Inhabitants OF toh
city. Our Petersburg contemporary, IN the ID"
dearth Of startling intelligence. deserves much
credit for exhumins this fossil remnant Of an
ticuisy, and Giving Il place In the enterprisins
Express. We don't apprehend any serious 10.
jury 10 the reputation of our city from the plausa'
bic and probable allegations OF Mr. Wehs, Tor
Riehmond's broad shoulders have borne heavier
loads Of obloquy, without causing her TO lower her
crest, or checking her onward stride. But why
murder the name OF man now no longer Junior.
but long ago defunct, aud hence unable to rescue
from barbaric mutilasion bis noble pasronymic D
Why wait for sixty years before rssar7ecfing bis
dead and buried fable Can't something fresher
be found against "big Richmondf' She must have
been behaving with exemplary propriesy, when
gougiue story of sixty years old, which. even II
we'll founded. ought to be outlawed under any
reasooable statute of mitation has to be dragged
out and galvanized.
Isaac Wells Junior" bore, sixty years ago, the
appelation of "Isaac Weld, Junior" As inforr"
MS 10 the preface to his book. storms were gatn>
ering In the ould country, aud, among other op-
Jects. he came to America with the view 'of as
certsining whether In case of future emergency
any part of those territories might be looked Tor
ward to as an eligible and agreeable place OF
abode" When this adventurous and providens
gentleman arrived in America, he seems 70 nave
stretched bis occuar organs to such degree as ID
some sort 70 distort and confuse the visual rays.
Some of the pictures painted 30 wildly upon bis
excited retina were native Americans. viz: I'VE
red men, or perhaps only enthusiastic s,ps Of the
Emerald Isle, INDUCING by way of "Reminiscences
10 classic recreaiions of Donnybrook Fair. These
figures Mr.. Weld supposed to be Virginians, per-
haps citizens of Richmond. However, even if bis
picture had some color of truth, 1t would only do
for Japanese to adjudge guilty now of sins of
omission and commission of 'l795," and then
charged upon us by Isaac Weld, Junior" Atany
rate, wa have not refrigerated since that time as
the present statistics of the city, upon comparison
with the extracts below, make apparent:
Page lOS Yields Travels through North Ame~
rica:'
Though the houses 10 Richmond are not more
than seven hundred in number, yet they exteno
nearly one mile and . half along the banks OF
the river"
After using up the Capitol Is = piece OF archi'
lecture, Isaac thus proceeds:
Richmond contsius about four thousand inha'
bitants, one half of whom are slaves"
We have improved in population and houses,
and also in the mode of conducting gambling
We have now, In connection with this latter pas
time, long dim passages and mysterious little
square holes through the doors, &C.; but then, see
what says Isaac
Il had scarcely alighted from my horse at the
tavern, (this was not the Ballard House, remem~
ber,> when the landlord came to ask what game l
was partial to, rs in such room there was faro
table, 10 another . hazard table, In third Oils
Hard table-to any one of which he was ready TO
conduct me ~
Here is the paragraph that furnished the Ex
press With the 'gouging" article. 1t will be per-
ceived that Isaac. when describing the modus ope-
randi of this elegant accomplishment, uses the
term these people," making 1t evident that be
means the Virginians, and, as 4 horrible conse.
q fence, includes the occupants Of Petersburg as
we'll Is Richmond!
"Whene7er these people come to blows, they
fight just like wild beasts, biting, kicking and ell
deavori0g to tear each others eyes out with their
nd1tB II IL Dy no meaQS uuC0UmOu 10 iuSct WIN
those who have lost an eye IN q combat, and there
are men who pride themselves upon the dexterity
with which they can scoop one out. This is called
gouging. To perform the horrid operation. the
combatant twists his fore fngers in the eide locks
OF bis adversarys hair and then applies his
thumbs to the bottom of the eye, to force 1t out of
the socket. If ever there ia . battle, 10 which
neither of those engaged loses an eye. their faces
are, however, generally cut In shocking manner
with the thumb. nails, in the many attempts which
are made at gouging"
1t seems that Isaac never got further South than
Virginia, but he was "credibly assured that in the
CarollDas and Georgia the people are still more
depraved in this respect than in Virginia, and that
in particular parts of these States every third
fourth man appears with one eye" OBJ ye
Csrolinian caanibals and cyclops,-ht fore fathers
Of the border ruff ans"
Isaac's iof,rmant could hardly have been credi-
BILE. for, if gouging we're there common, the de-
feet Of having but one eye according to the teach
ings of physiological science, although at first
artificial, would at last have become hereditary,
aad should new see in the Southern States q
Distinct race Of one-eyed people. unable to see
more than side of any subject at q time
Having thus treated Mr. w ED and his gougiug
story with the profound gravity which such sc.
rious subjects demand we commit him again to
deposit bis remains once more in decent place of
sepulture, where be may sleep, without fear of
gouging, till the crack of doom.
Post OFFICE AFFAIRs.--Postmaster General
Campbell orders the following:
At Speetz Mills, Hampshire county, Va, appoint
james Parker postmaster, vice Hy. Head, resign,
ed Re-establish = postoffice at Oak Hill, Fan
quier county, Va, and appoint James h. Phillips,
postmaster.
The Joint Committee on the Congressional Lii
brary have selected Alexander Gait, of Virginia.
the distinguished artist who Is now in Florence, to
execute the order for the bust of the late Chief
Justice Rutlsdge for the library of Congress.
DEATH OF PILOr.-Captain Elias Smith, at.
tached to tho pilotage of Charleston, died on the
lslh in the 2ssb y.ar of his age of typhoid fever
Captain Smith was the first who attempted and
safely brought through the Mafit Channel ship,
I'm