Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-09-29
Food for TOung Minds.

We have before us copy OF Primary
Geography, arranged as Reading Book, with
questions and answers attached, published in
Raleigh, N. c., and used in southern schools,
during the progress of the war, to teach the
..young ideas how to shoot" 1t was pro-
cured by gentleman from this city, who had
some little unpleasant controversies" with
the children in that section OF larger growth,
who were in the habit of shooting something
more dangerous than ideas. In this work the
author has endeavored to simplify the study Of
Geography, and when she tells her young rea-
ders that "part of the surface of the earth is
water and part land" We will begin to believe
it. The young idee is taught that the earth
is round and turns round. 1.-THE reason we
don't fall off the earth is that the earth draws
US to it." Spring comes once a year, accord
ing to the best information of our geographer,
although one year there happened to be two
falls to the southern confederacy. "The
trees blossom, the birds sing and build nests;
men pillow, and raise tobacco" ''You could
not drink sea water without making you sick.
That is for rery young readers who have
never been to Boothbay. "Water is SO use
tul that man could not exist without. 1t bears
ships up, and forms The best drink ~ the
rorld." This idea, it must be borne in mind,
was taught the children of the south. 1t was
quite novel. A portion of the work dwells
upon the races of men, and has this amusing
paragraph on the African race:
"The African or negro race is found in
Africa. They are slothful and vicious, but
possess little cunning. They are very cruel
to each other, and when they have war, they
sell their prisoners to the white people for
slaves. They know nothing of Jesus The
slaves who are found in America are in much
better condition. They are better fed, better
clothed, and better instructed than in their
native country These people are descend
ants of Ham, the son of Noah, who was cursed
because he did not treat his father with re-
spect. That would seem hard sentence,
but it was probably done to show other chill
dren how wicked it was to treat their parents
so. We cannot tell how they came to be
black and have wool on their heads"
The poor little innQcents down south who
have been permitted to "fondle' these poor
heather .swith club, have "heard of Jesus,
but never were guilty of possessing many of
his characteristics. here Is inc author III
teresting ''history of the United States =
1.-THE United States was once the must pros
porous country in the world. Nearly nun
dredyears ago it belonged to England, but the
English made such hard laws that the people
said they would not obey them. After long
and bloody war Of seven years they gained their
independence, and for many years were pros
porous and happy. In the meantime both
English and American ships went to Africa
and brought away many of these poor hea-
then negroes and sold them for slaves. In a
few years the northern States finding their eli
mate too cold for the negro to be profitable,
sold them to the people living farther south.
Then the northern people began to preach, to
lecture and to write about the sin Of slavery
The money for which they sold their slaves
was now partly spent in trying to pursuade
the southern States to send their slaves back
to Africa. And when the territories were
settled they were not willing for any OF them
to become slaveholding. This would soon
have made the north much stronger than the
south; and many Of the people said they
would vote for law to free all the negroes in