Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1859-05-20


MEssRs. EDITORS "There is River in
the Ocean. In the severe., droughts, it
never fails and in the mightiest floods,
it never Overfogs. Its banks and its bot
tom are Of cold water, while its current is
Of warm The Gulf Of Mexico is its foun-
tain, aud its mouth is in the Arctic Seas.
Il is the GULF STREAM. There is in the
world 20 other such majestic how Of wa
ters." As am having this one-siied
chat with you, We are rushing across the
deep blue waters of this mighty river, at
the rate Of eleven knots an hour. A, this
place, its breadth is estimated at about
seventy-ive miles; its depth, seven hun
dred feet; aal It's current, at about three
knots an hour. We vii! soon be across it,
and pi0ughiDg the waters of the Chesa-
peake, aud then of the Potomac.
/ We are bound for Washington. When
last wrote to you, We were in the La
Plata, at Rosario, cOaliug ship preparatory
TO our visit up the Uruguay liver, on
visit to Gen. Urquzl. Heis the Presi-
dent Of the Argentine Confederation, and
has been many years the most prominent
actor in the many tragic revolutions Of
these southern nations We met him in
Paraguay, when he urged the invitation
of visit. OF course, the visit was more
Of political or national affair, than social.
Tne Fulton AMI Water Witch were the
on y vessels that went up the Uruguay:
they were also the only ones to 60 up the
Paraguay. The Commissioner and Com
modore were accompanied BY as many Of
the officers from each ship as could be
spared from duty. They were entertained,
10 muniicent style, for several days, at his
estaHcia, which is about tweuty-one miles
from Conception. Urquiza is probably
the wealthiest man on the Western Hem
isphere. He estimates his land by the
square Ieague, and his cattle, horses, and
sheep by the hundreds Of thousands. As
a memen,o Of our visit, be presented Com.
Shubrick with splendid sword, valued
a, about three thousand d9llars. L, was
received with the understanding that this
presentation must be sanctioned By Con-
gress before it becomes valid.
After our treaty with Paraguay, Lopez
presented US with several thousand dollars
worth of ,yerta mate or Paraguay tea but
we were not allowed to keepit. Ifretain-
ed, this would have been put under the
same restriction as the sword. | would
have liked to have kept my share. l could
then have "stood treat" for all Lswisburg
to cup Of tea.
Our stay in the Uruguay was short, and
we returned to Montevideo. Here We re-
signed the honor of being flag ship of the
Paraguay Expedition and Brazil Squadron,
BY the transfer Of cur flag to the Frigate
Sabine.
! | will not boas. much of the warlike
appearance Of that feet of seventeen sail
l, was not such as would make an Ameri-
can abroad feel proud Of his country. We
parted company with the gallant Shubrick
and suit, also with Commissioner Bowlin,
with regret. Being ordered to return
home il company with the Waterwitch,
We remained there about two weeks, until
she was ready for sea. We had lively
time there, as the Americans numbered
about twenty-five hundred all told.
With the exception Of some bad wea-
.hsr, shortly after We left Montevideo, We
have been highly favored in this respect.
We stopped at the island Of ST. Ca'harine,
at Pernambuco, and at Barbados, for coal,
spending few days in each port pleas
antly.
Allow me to take this opportunity Of
letting some Of my Pennsylvania friends
know how grossly the reputation of our
anthracite coal, for the use Of the Navy,
has been assailed The Government, has
had several thousand tons Of our anthra-
cite coal selected and exported especially
for the use of this expedition. l: has cost,
as nearly as l ascertain, from fifteen to
,wenty-four dollars per ton before being
delivered aboard of our steamers, at our
coaling stations, for use. This great cost
arises, it is true, principally, from traus-
por,atiou. But what wish TO draw your
attention to, is that great portion of 1t
was Of the most inferior quality. We
frequently had to throw at least forty per
cent. overheard as waste. Do you ask the
reason? reply, iucompetency or rascal
isy in the persons who selected the coal
As Pennsylvania, | feel greatly inter-
es,ed in this matter The Keystone State
can, and should furnish our Navy with
coal. She can do it far cheaper and give
u, better article for our purposes, than
any other country. We are low consum-
ing thousands of tons Of British coal, An
nually, which Pennsylvania might furnish,
nd ta