The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-05-04
EGec, Of Noyelts upon Animals.

That inimitable hum0rist, Don Piatt,
of the Washington CupHal, in describing
the effect of any strange or novel sight
upon animals, gives the following as his
own experience on the su hject
We once had realizing sense Of this
peculiarly in horse. We were crossing
CD horseback from one camp TO another
in West Virginia, and came to The banks
of the north branch of the North Potomac
it was something like that-and found
that tie ferry>boat had gone out of the
UBion by floating southw&rd. Ii ia easy
enough to swiu your animal over, bat 1t
is unpleasant TO sit in your wet clothes in
brisk mountain breeze with the water
itself cold as a he althy dogs nose--a
continuation quite enough TO shake of
ones military bnotsin fifteen minutes To
prevent this, we conceived the original
idea of taking oil our clothes, rolling them
in our ater-proof, and tying the same TO
the pommel of our saddle. This original
idea was carried into execution, and in
few seconds we were plun9ing successful
ly through the waves of the north branch.
The confounded stream runs ike tall
Of the passage when our steed struck a
sand bar, and suddenly began plunging
| so furiously that we lost our seal, and
while Chancellor SWAN TO The shore, we
struck out and followed as well as we
could. Gaining the bank we attempted
TO regain our steed, but found 20 our in>
tense disgust that he declined recognf>
| tion lie did not know US in the abstract,
! and so expressed himself in snorts and
| pluuses just beyond our reach. We coaxed,
scolded and cussed TO no purpose. And
in this way, resembling in appearance the
first Adam in cooked hat, we followed
thai horse lialf a day into the interior of
| Virginia. a aas7H
1t is not pleasant to be thus engaged.
| Yves; Virginia at that time was not loyal
to the Union, and the inhabisants, as We
once told President Lincoln, could be d.
vided into two sorts-the disleyal and the
! loyal. The first class shouldered muskets
and marched out Hnder Lee, The other sort
got down behind an evergreen with a
squirrel rifle and shot at you for your
boots. We did not know, while running
after and arguing the point with that beast
of horse, at what moment we might be
perforated by loyal citizen. There was
no more use reasoning with that animal
than there is in talking at an honest believ-
er in a protective tariff.
The Rt. Rev Maj. Gen'l John p Il late
! of the NJ. Il. NJ nj :, with the chimes at
tached, and the Lords stump orator of
the Senate, obce paused in lecture on
Greenland icy mountains to beg his
audience to think Of the Senate chaplain
on all fours crawling into the hut of an
| Esquimaux The audience tried That CO..
nundrum and unanimously gave it up.
In the same way We beg our readers not
to think OF colonel of the army in time
of war following stupid horse in This
absurd manner We persevered, how
ever, and at last found ourselves fhorse
and we) approaching log cabin. From
this issued an elderly female. She was
gotten up in one of natures severest fts-
! of economy, and resembled The mathemat-
icaI definition of straight line, being the
shortest distance between two points with
4 out breadth or thickness. Her one gar
ment was in like manner of an economical
oct up, and clung lovingly TO her slender
Dersoa Shading her rural eyes with a
! long, brown hand, she gave vent to some
private opinions publicly expressed con-
! cernfng our personal scenery that were far
/ frorn complimentary. She, however, took