Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1859-06-04
History of the Ployg.

hlHLOTy OI LAe GtOW.
The first plow is supposedto have been
the rude branch of a tree, cut soas to have
cleft end, the point of which, dragged
along the surface of the ground, scrapcd
furow into which seeds were thrown. 1t
soon occurred to the huybandman that he
might relieve his own labor by yoliing an
anumul to the long arm of his primitive
instrument then arose the necessity for a
handle affixed to the back, SO that the
plow might be guided. The strength of
the animal soon wore away or broke the
cleft of the branch and this necessity gave
rise to invention of means for attaching
movable shares first ofwood, and next Of
stone. copper or iron, worked to shape
! adapted to the cutting of burrows, so as to
avoid the excessive labor arising from the
plowman's having to lean Upon the plow
with all his weight, to press into the earth
just such an implement as these conicc-
lures indicate, was used by the Saxons q.
Some of the facts connected with the
history ofthc plow arc almost Incredible
In Ireland there onceprcvailcd custom
of "plowing by the horses tail" The
draft pole was lashed to the tail of ehorsc,
and as no harness was employed, two men
were necessary, one to guide and press upon,
the plow, the other to direct the horse,
which he did by walking backwards before
the miserable animal, and beating it on the
head OH either side, according to the direc-
ton required. This custom prevailed for
a considerable time, in spite of law which
was passed in the carly part of The seven
ccnthscentury, imposing severe penalties
upon persons found guilty of "plowins by
horses tall as in the uct mentioned and
described. From the Rev. Cesar Otway's
"Skctchcs in Erris and Tryowley," it APP
pears that the barbarous practice fingered
in the remote west of Ireland at the year
lS49 And from paper On the breed
Of Horses i'll Scotland in the Ancient
Times" printed in the first transactions
of the Socictyof Antiquarians of Scotland"
we find that the custom was practiced in
that countryas late as the year 1852
Progress Of, Agrtculfurc.]
"A WATERLOO VETERAN TO BE ExEcu-
TED FOR MURDER.-Wc have already al
ludcd to the arrest of celebrated Dutch
officer for poisoning. The Hauge cores
pondcnt of the New York Herald furnish
cs the sequel
LicutcnaDtG General Gunkel--a pension
cd officer, who has seen much service and
distinguished himself on many a field OF
battle, Wartcrloo included---has escaped
the shetland bayonets of the enemy to die
on scaffold, in his eighty fourth year, for
the crime of murder by poison. The sau-
sage, seasoned with arsenic, which he had
prepared for his mistress, was rejected by
her and eaten by her brother, who died in
consequence. The hoary criminal was ac-'
cordingly arrested, and the evidence, as
we'll az his own confession, having shown
him to be guilty, he was sentenced last
Saturday to be hanged IN the Hague He
has since appealed in Cassatiou but the
sentence is sure to be confirmed The cul-
prit has for many years been on intimate
terms with the royal family, and it is not
improbable that the king will exercise his
prcrogative by committing the punishment
of death into perpetual confinement. The
miserable old soldier, who, notwithstand-
ing his advanced age, is in full possession
of his faculties, has made several attempts
at self destruction but measures have been
taken that he shhllnot cheat the gallows of
its due by thus evadng the ignominy of
dying on it.
a Two-lIEADED GIRL.--The Georgia
papers speak of such girl on exhibition
in that State. The Calhoun Platform
says:
This astonishing girl, than whom
more wonderful freak OF nature never
existed, is to be exhibited in Calhoun on
Saturday, April Both We, are informed
by those who have seen her, that she is
quite pretty, though the style of each face
is ofan entirely different caste. IIcrlimbs,
| of which she has a double number, are per-
fcctly shaped and of equal size and use
hcr mental faculties are of an excellent or
der, and her organs of speech, though dou-
bic, are used distinctly, or together as the
case may require speaking ON one sub
jcct with one or both mouths, or on two
different topics with different persons at
the same tune. She is very healthy, ac.1
tive and quite vivocous. She may very
properly be styled the Wonder of Nineteen
Centuries, for her like has never before
been seen, and it is to thc.last degree I'M
probable that this generation will witness
her like again. fhc opportunity, therefore,
OF seeing her ought not to,be sacrificed,
but by all means go and sec lIcr say We"
-
DIscoURAoING NEws---SuFFER1Na
AMONG GOLD liUNTERs.-Atchison, MAY
1.-The Salt Lake mail has Just arrived.
and by tho courtesy of Nh Tracey, the
Agent, of the Hocknday Mail Line, / have
just tpcrused letter from ono of theiragcnts
at Cottonwood Springs. IL gives dolcrul
and -dlshcartening account of the Pixies