Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1861-02-08
MISCELLANEOUS.

3E6l -. W OMo1VyS ~ AsonAoou, uotou
Jan. I'd, addressed to Mr.. Bryant,
chairman Of the New York committee,
will be read with interest
w. G. Bryant, Chairman, &C.: To-
day has been full Of interest to U.S.
Scores Of teams from the ''Neesho
country" have come to-day-trod their
weary way for eight days, and have
come through the severest storm Of the
season. Mr.. l.. c., from Geneva, AL
len county. came with cattle in nine
days; through snow and ice-his cattle
lame, his own feet out, at both sides
and ends Of his shoes, had been frozen,
and, as he walked, literally left foot
prints of blood. Said l ''You have
had hard time"
eyes, but was the best able of any
of us to come"
"You must have pair Of shoes.
He looked me earnestly in the face and
said, 1t won't do for me to take them;
there are others who need them more
than I do"
And then he told me tales of sorrow
and suffering until l felt obliged to
close the scene. l found that this
young man came to Kansas from near
Rochester, n. Y; was a member of
the Congregational Church, Rev. Mr..
Northrup, pastor. He told me that
his father died when he was boy
He "longed in boyhood for farm"
had now got one that just suited him,
and "could not give it up for one
drouth." He told me of whole families
who lived on Sorghum seed bread, and
ground it in a coffee-mill by hand.
1t was with difficulty l could make
him take anything for himself, he was
so anxious to take "everything for the
poor folks at Geneva" While l am
writing this he is sleeping soundly by
my stove in this office, covered only
with his travelling blanket. This is the
first time he has slept in a house for
nine nights, during which time the
thermometer has been below zero near
ly every night; but the story Of the
mans hardships are only similar to a
hundred Others, and not the first man
has complained to me word. Ill can
give them bread, they seem satisfied
and very happy.
i Ny dear friends in New York, am
convinced that there is no distress like
hunger! There is despairing sorrow in
household that are crying for bread
that no earthly anguish can equal. Tc
feel that one is dying Of hunger is o
hell Of horrors. But to save this am
daily sending eff into the interior over
thirty loads of provisions. Through
the generosity Of our friends in the
} States, am daily feeding more mer
than the whole American army.
l should feel weak in this work, if
did not know that I could rely upon the
empire State Of New York" for the
! strength to &c forward.
1 am assured by MIR. Army, nov
shipping produce in Illinois, that the
"freight bills fol the next twenty days
will be over ten thousand dollars. -
What shall l do?
Very earnestly, S. G. PoMERoY.
MONKEYS MODE OF KILLING SNAKES
The banyan tree is the favorite hab
itation Of the hoonuman monkeys, ant
among its many branches they Gu
strange antics, undisturbed by any foe
excepting snakes. These reptiles ar,
greatly dreaded by the monkeys, anC
with good reason. However, it is sait
that the monkeys kill many more snake.
in proportion to their loos, and do So
with a curiously refined cruelty. A snak'
may be coiled among the branches Of
the banyan, fast asleep, when it is spice
by the hoonuman. After satisfying
himself that the reptile is sleeping, th'
monkey steals upon it noislessly, grasp.
it by the neck, tears it from the branch
and hurries to the ground. He the1
runs to fat stone, aud begins tt
CRIED down the reptiles head upon it
grinding and chattering with deligh
at the wreathings and useless struggles
Of the tortured snake, and occasionally
Interpreting his work to see how il
was progressing. When no Gas rubbed
away the animals jaws, so as to de.
prive it of its poisoned fangs he hold:
gtes. rejoicing over its helpless foe
and holding it to the young monkeys
looks complacently at its destruction
SUNLIGHT IN HOUSES. The follow
ing fact has been established by care.
full observations: That where sunligh!
penetrates al the rooms Of dwelling,
the inmates are less liable to sickness
than in house where the apartments
lose its notwithstanding influences.
Basement rooms are the nurseries OF
indisposition. It is a gross mistake
to comTel human beings to reside par
TALLY under ground. There is a de-
fected condition Of the air in such
rooms, connected with dampness, be-
sides the decomposing paint on the
walls, and the escape Of noxious gases
from pipes and drains. All school
rooms, especially, should be open to
sunlight, yet as general rule, they
are darkened like a parlor.
s5The following is attributed to
the celebrated Rowland Hill Two
strangers who were passing the church
when he was preaching, entered, walked
up the aisle, and finding no seat, stood
for while and listened to the sermon.