smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1859

Professor WILDER, State Geologist of
Illinois, has recently delivered series of
admirable lectures on his favorite science.
We copy the following abstract of his
theory on the origin and formation
of the prairies aL


Prof. WILDER adopts the theory that at
one time, very far back in its history, this
vast country formed portion of the
bottom of the ocean; that through tho
|eruptions caused by the internal heat, to-
gether with the labor and activity of
those master masons, the coral insects, our
continent was raised to its present posi-
tion above the water. To prove this
bold proposition he refers to the many
indications of salt water presence, the fire.
|quent occurrence of shells which legiti-
mately belong to the animals of the sea
the evidence furnished by the rocks Of the
labo. Of the zeophytes. unmistakable in
its developement; the frequent discovery
of the remains of monsters of the sea
deep imbeded in our limestone system,
the existence upon our surface of huge
boulders, the former appendages of polar
shores, drifted far away to the southwest
imbeded in huge frames of ice, and Drop
ped down at length upon the oceans
bed, whence they arose with our conti-
nent. The arguments, if not quite con-
elusive, are eminently- suggestive, and
should open the eyes of thinking men to
the wondrous mysteries buried deep in the
earth upon which we so familiarly tread
The existence of our prairies is accom-
ted for in this wise:-The result of the,
"arift system" was to give to this part Of
the country soil of unparalleled fertility,
and arising from this were the very large
grasses, which are peculiar to this soil
alone. luxuriant and undisturbed they
grew to great height. and fairly wove
the surface of the earth with thick, almost
impenetrable covering. In the autumn,
when the mass of com5ustible matter was
dry, how easy for shaft of lightning to
send q conaagration from one boundary
of the country to another. The sprout-
ing twigs of sturdier growth would perish
by the frequent occurrence of these fires,
hence the treeless appearance of the vest.
To aid the idea, it is claimed that the In
dians, when they did arrive, which is sup
posed to have been long subsequent to the


FIRST period mentioned, regularly burned


the prairie grasses, for the purpose of dri.


wing the game into more circumscribed


quarters, so that it might fall an easy prey


to their arrows, and to lessen the difficulty
of travelling. m
Year: 1859

! wish was an Editor,


really do indeed;
It seems to me that editors,
: Get everything they need, r
They get the biggest and the best,


Of-every thing that grows,
And get in free to circuses,


And other kind of shows;
When q mammoth cheese is cut,
They always get slice,
For saying Mrs. Smith knows how
I, To make it very nice;
The largest pumpkin, the longest beet,
y And other garden stuff,
Is blown into the sanctum by u
5 An Editorial puff;


The biggest bug will speak to them,


No matter how they dress,
A shabby coat is nothing if


You own printing press;
At ladies' Fairs they are almost hugged
2 By pretty girls who know


That they will crack up every thing
~ That ladies have to show; +
And thus they get blow out free
At every party feed;


The reason is because they write


And other people read.
Year: 1859

The meeting assembled at Concert Hall
on Monday evening was one of the largest,
most intelligent and most earnest that has
ever come together in St. Paul. At an
early hour the large hall was crowded to
excess by business men and others most
deeply interested in the progress and pros
perity Of our city and the Northwest gen
Year: 1859

The three Chinamen recently arrested at
Yreka on n charge Of numbering one Of their
countrymen ON Canon Creek have been fully
committed on charge of murder. to await
the action Of the grand jury.
Year: 1859

A RAcE.-It is s,id that a match for sl0.-
600 side, single dash of n mile according to
rule has been made between Comet and Ash
land. to come off in Sacramento county with
in sixty days
Year: 1859

The 'tomboy" is an eager, earnest. i'm
pulsive, bright-eyed, glad hearted, kind
souled specimen of genus feminine, If her
laugh is a little too frequent, and her tono
a tritle too emphatic, we are willing to over
look these for the sake of the true life and
cxulting vitality to which they are the es-
cape valves and indeed we rather like tho
high-pressure nature which must close of
its superhuous ''steam" in such ebullitions
The glancing eye. the glowing check. the
fresh, balmy breath, the 1.-THE and graceful
play of the limbs, tell a tale of healthy and
vigorous physical development which is ma
ture's best beauty. The soul and the mind
will be developed also in due time, and we
shall have before us woman, in the high
est sense Of the term. s.lt-c


When the "tomboy" has sprung up to II
healthful and vigorous womanhood she will
be ready to take hold OF the duties of life
to become q worker in the great system of
humanity. She will not sit down to sigh
over tho work given her to do. to simpor
nonsense, languish in ennui. or fall sick at
heart but she will ever be able to take up
her burden of duty. In her track there
will be sound philosophy in hcr thoughts.
boldness and originality in her heart.
Heavens own purity and the ''world will
be better that she has lived in it." To her
allotted task she will bring health, vigor.
energy and spirits, and these will give her
both the power and the endurance, without
which her life must be-. in some respects at
least, q failure. .o'-...-,
Year: 1859

Tn another column will be found an arti cIe from the Helena Southron, illustrating the tactics of the conductors of the State Rights Democrat It will be remembered that the latter paper commenced war up on us by pretending to find fault with our copying letter of a Mr. Butler In his article the writer conditioned that if we would copy it entire, he would copy the reply. Next week appeared short para graph from the pen of MT. Thompson, say ing that he had not then space for our arti- cle, but would publish it, and in the mean time in justice to us, quoted paragraph concerning our views on the squatter sove- reigntv. The week after, when the real editor had arrived at home, instead of copy ing our reply, savage onslaught was made, and as many antics cut on paper as clown cuts in circus.

 The upshot of the affair with the South ron, has been the withdrawal of Mir. Ihomp- son and the substitution of T. c. Hind man. as editor in name, as well as in fact.

 We are satisfied that Mir. Thompson was disposed to act courteously and fairly, had he been left free to follow his own inclina lions, but a straightforward course did not shit the would-be dictator, and NIT. Thomp son retires.

 From the very first attack upon us, the course of the present editor of the State Rjehts Democrat has been devoid of all fairness. Such conduct, we know, has dis gusted many who were his friends, and will eventually rebound to our benefit. We confess that, seeing the unfairness, thewan of candor and the unscrupulousness with which we were assailed, we became vexed, when in truth these things are more to be pitied than hated, and those who descend to them ridiculed and scorned rather than to be treated like fair and candid oppo-
Year: 1859

an attempt to control and trammel the ac- tion of free press.

 Failing to dragoon the legislature, an attempt was made to bully us. The auth ors succeeded in inducing some to act with them who, we are convinced, would not have done so had they known our views and the motives of our enemies. The de- bate on the subject was made the occasion of some ill-natured remarks against us by men whom we respect and liked, and ln one case, when the speaker asked one oi the leaders if he had not used too strong Ian enage he was told that 1t was not, by an outsider. or lobby member, who leaves nice stratagies of politics to others. lime will do us justice, and the unkindest wish we have for those who were induced to loln in this movement against us, is that they may find how much they were deceived, that they may understand us and our mo lives better, and discover that miserable coalition, failing in their attempts to bully tried the opposite policy of wheeling and coaxinc of deceiving and cabling them.
Year: 1859

We heve information that enormous frauds are now being practiced in selling Missouri graduated lands, against which the people of Illinois should be cautioned. It appears that great number of land sharks about St. Louis and other points have been entering, and having others to enter for them, large tracts of land at twelve and half cents per acre, and then selling them out in a few days or weeks at whatever they can get, say from one to five dollars per acre.

 The mode by which they practice this fraud is effected in various ways. Some enter half section in their own names, swearing at the time that they want the same for actual settlement and cultivation, for the law binds them to do this before they can enter at the graduated price; and vet at the same time never intending to go near it, they commit downright perjury.- After entering the first three hundred and twenty acres, as that Is all the law allows any one man to obtain, they give some worthless scoundrel few dollars to enter another half section, and so on, supplying new names until they enter up thousands of acres. These lands are then conveyed to the principal plotter, in a blank deed, and an agent is appointed to sell them; the buyers name is inserted in the blank deed, and the conveyor, perhaps, has sold it be- fore. and can never be found, or if he can be, he is no better than blank, not being responsible for more than pint of whisky at time

 To say nothing about such contingencies, these titles are all unlawful, and will be vacated by government when it is found, in the course of two or three years, that the original buyer has not settled and improv- ed accoding to law, as was the case ill Hi nois few years since. Some of these knobs and hill-sides are plated off into paper towns, and are being sold out at from ten to fifty dollars per acre throughout the whole country.-Winois State Journal.

 The same thing is done in other States as well as Missouri, and will lead to endless 1i1iya tiOn
Year: 1859

It will be remembered that, few days before the close of the session of the Gene ral Assembly, in order to contradict a ru- nor that the House would continue to take reeesses, we pointed to the fact that the two houses had agreed upon a day for their final adiournment Here is what we said:

 "The General Assembly will adjourn sine de, as the phrase is, on Monday next This negatives the rumor that the house did not intend to adjourn, but take recesses from time to time, until November, lS60, as they have speaker willing to certify that the members are entitled to their per diem pay whether at the capital or not.

 The president of the Senate refused to certify accounts for pay during the recess, and the Senate sustained him. A number of the presentatives have refused to draw pay from December 23d, to January llth, for the reasons ably set forth Tn the card from Mr. Oates, to be found in another CO., lumn.''

 For three days the cabal were hard at work among the members trying to per suade them that 1t was sneer-an inuendo "a reAection-a very large eat in a meal tub ready to bounce upon every innocent mouse
Year: 1859

In one or two of the States there have been propositions to dispense, altogether, with grand juries The arguments used by those in favor of abolishing the system are stronger than would be supposed by those who have not examined the subject. They are declared to be cumbersome, eX- pensive, inefficient and their action decides nothing.

 h California it is proposed to reduce the number of grand jurors to seven, five of whom may find bill.
Year: 1859

them only And we here repeat, our firm belief, that if it had not been for the ma chinations of few, who are determined to rule or ruin, the House would have done as did the Senate; and this reproach, wheth- CT well or lily deserved, would not have been cast upon the members.
Year: 1859

TIE DALGHREN GUNs.-The English crack guns will carry thirty-two pound shot five miles. One of the Dalghren guns was tried not long since at Norfolk and made to carry shot of the same size over six miles. The fire from some of these guns is so precise that at upwards of mile they can hit figure the size of a man nine teen times out of twenty.-Richmond Dis patck.
Year: 1859

INEBRIATE AsYLuMs.-In several States these institutions have been projected or established Since the one in New York was set on foot there has been two thousand applications from wealthy persons for the admission of their friends, and of these four hundred were for females!
Year: 1859

/ The steamer United States was destroy ed by fire, on the 11th inst, about fifty miles above this city. The cargo was com posed entirely of hay, for the government, and overland mail company. The boat was the property of the United States Owing to the fact that no passengers were carried on the boat, no lives were lost, but so rapid was the fire that nothing was say ed; the captain informs us that he had merely time to save himself and crew.

 This steamer was from St. Louis, and hound for Fort Smith.
Year: 1859

. g

 We give place to the card of Mir. Duval as we would to that of any person who wishes to defend himself. We are of the opinion that all this special pleading and taking a stand upon technical points will avail but little with the people, who are the proper judges in such cases. That many of the members who drew the pay are honest, honorable, high-minded men. is undoubtedly true; that they believed and believe that they were entitled to it, is no less true, and if they have erred, they are responsible to their constituents, and to
Year: 1859

AN UNFoUNDED RUMoR-A bout a month since case of the smallpox was in our city. The patient was landed from a steam boat and taken to secluded room, over the store of D. Bender, where he shortly after died. No other case occurred. Physicians assure us that there is no symptom of such disease in the city, and the rumor that the smallpox is prevalent in Little Rock is utterly unfounded.

 Mir. Samuel Bender, who keeps board ing house on the same block on which D. Bender's store is, requests us to state that his house is entirely free from the disease, and this fact is corroborated by medical men. Our city is unusually healthy and free from epidemics.

 In showing how unfounded this rumor Is, we take occasion to declare, that noth- ing herein is meant as "refection" upon the members of the General Assembly.
Year: 1859

A GENTLEMAN between twenty and thirty years of age, of good family and moral habits, with a preference for the Campbellite Creed though no professor of religion, the possessor of a competency with moderate education and teco good eyes is desirous of obtaining companion tor life. He will be pleased to open cores pondence with a view to matrimony with any young lady, whose social position and literary attainments are equal to his own. Wealth no object. Any young lady wish ing in sincerity to carry on correspon- dence will please address "Amicus through the post-office. .,
Year: 1859

WEST Po1NT.-At the quarterly exam ination of the cadets at this institution, fourteen of them failed to come up to the required standard of proficiency in their studies and were sent home.
Year: 1859

A CHANGE FOR SOMEBODY. clip the following advertisement from the Ar kansaw Traveller. To save misapprehen- sion we will state that "Amicus" is not the editor of the Traveller as that gentle man is a Benedict, having found his better half last winter:
Year: 1859

Fg- The editor of the State Sights De- mocrat gives his readers to understand that he repudiated the action of the majority in the legislative caucus.

 The caucus had previously given the people to understand that it repudiated the action of the said editor.
Year: 1859

THE SouTH.-The South now feels her
self as Gagged lion-she knows not her
strength. Once cut loose her binding
and throw her alone on her own
r, sources, and she will in a short period
prove herself the most civilized aud power
full nation on the globe.


Friends of the South let u5 no longer
stand divided. We appeal to you to unite
as friends and patriots in common cause,
having the protection of the Constitution
and the interests of your country alone at
heart. "The night is spent and the day is
at hand" when we should stand by our
rights in the Union. If we taifin this, our
disgrace will swell so high that it will over
shadow the snow capped mountain thero-
tore let US stand prepared to meet every
unjust encroachment with frmness and de-
termination to check its further progress,
and should we tall in this attempt let us
fall with our faces to the enemy 1t is our
earnest desire to preserve the Constitution
and the Union in its original purity, but
when wrong and insult after insult is heapsd
upon rs to our detriment and disgrace, We
say, let this fabric Of government tumble to
the dust, and be buried in eternal oblivion


TAlbGay Potriot
Year: 1859

CARDIFF is a well known fact among medi-
cal men, that there has long been wanted good and
reliable preparation Of SARSAPARILLA, as nearly
all that are manufactured in the East CONTAIN SPIRITS
and some Of them MERCURY, although protesting
not to do for all cutaneous diseases,
etc, they injurious instead Of beneficial. Now in


the preparation offer to the public are willing
to show the receipt To any one-no matter whO-DoC-
what he is taking:
Year: 1859

BAD PoLIcY.-It is very bad policy
for more than one Of our Fire Companies to
cross the river when an alarm of fire is
sounded In Rock Island. By their doing 30
they leave this city exposed to the tender
mercies of the midnight incendiary. Let
the first machine which arrives at the ferry
landing cross
Year: 1859

E We are infored by some Of the
Railroad managers, that business is picking
up with them to a considerable extent
Freights are becoming much better and in
. few weeks they expect to have all they
can conveniently > attend TO. The Lord grant
that they may be 60 prospered.
Year: 1859

BLOODY "OT."-The memorable
heated time of FIVE days we experienced
during the month Of July. is likely to be
eclipsed bv the weather Of August. For
three or four days past the air we hav4 had
to breathe would fairly scorch our throats,
and it seemed impossible for man or beast
to exist under the torrid rays of the sun
A fair breeze has assisted in rendering the
weather bearable.
Year: 1859

During our visit to Michigan Bluff on Sun
day last we learned the following particular.
in relation to the yield of the mines in that
place and vicinity;


The claim known as the "Frerch Co. s.
claims, on Red Hill, are yielding from rs tc
100 ounces per week, and will continue tc
pay equally well for years to come, as they
are deep, and their riches are only beginning
to he developed


The Pike Hill claims are paying equally al
well as the above, and have as many facili-
ties for extracting the precious stuff


All the claims on Red Hill are paying good
dividends to their owners.


The Flat claims, and the Bluff claims had
very httle water as yet the present season
their richness, however, has been fully dem
onstrated, and fully demonstrated, and a full
supply of water on these claims, and fair
weather will add greatly to the prosperity
of the place


or Birds Valley, we are informed that the
old claims continue to pay literally; and Of
those which have been opened the present
season, we hear the "Lightfoot" mentioned
as giving promise of superior worth. Its av
erage yield is 80 ounces per week.


Those claims adjoining the "Lightfoot" are
known to be equally as rich but are vet
without water


The warmth of the sun for the last few
days, has had the effect of settling the snow
down, until,-in the expressive language OF
the stage drivers and roadsters, it is only
about three feet "high" Some time will ,et
elapse before the bitches high up in the
mountains will be opened so that full sup.
ply of water can be run in them but there
is snow enough in the mountains to furnish
supply of water for nearly the whole sum
mer.-Pldcer Courier, SATURDAY.
Year: 1859

We have met the enemy and they are ours
The Douglas banner waves in triumph over
the city In spite of all that tIecomptonism
in its most rabd manifestations, could do
in spite of all the outside help to its own side
that it could pour into our midst from every
quarter of the State, in the shape of pecunia-
ry and other influence; in spite of its loud
bowling for that eternally venerable Chief
Magistrate" upon whose venerablenessC q it
lays so much stress in spite Of its loud boasts
and brazen shouts of anticipated triumph,
the unconqueroble and unpurchaseable free
men of Marysyille have marched in solid col
umns to the polls and deposited those votes


which speak freeman's will. The knell OF
Lecomptonism in this city and county Is
knolled. Its doom is sealed. The foul doc
trine which teaches n base subserviency Of
the people to the creatures of the hour whom
they themselves have placed in power and
made what they are, has been rebuked. The
men who have thought fit to follow Mr.
Buchanan to the abandonment of Democratic
principles have learned that time-serving
spirit and shameless recreancy to principle
may do well while it is rewarded by the
chance creatures Of place and position, but
can never win aught but disgrace and defeat
Mt the hards of the sovereign people when
they come to speak at the ballot-box!


The hour is too late for us to dwell at any
length upon the proud triumph that we
have won. Suffice it to say that the main
Douglas ticket has been elected in its entirety
with but two exceptions, and n majority of
the Douglas Aldermen The test was made
upon Mayor, the head Of the ticket, and it
will be seen that the majority for the Doug
las Democratic candidate is one that tells the
tale decisively Marysville thereforersends
greeting to the Democracy of the State at
large, and calls for one long loud peal of
responsive triumph from San Diego to Siski-
you, and from the heights of the Sierra Ne
vado to the rock-bound shore of the Pacific.


The vote will be found below
Year: 1859

eB- The Express, of yesterday morning,
threw out an intimation that the editor of
this paper had abandoned his post on the
eve of the election, and surrendered his pen
to other hands. The information of the Ex-
press was wholly incorrect We are too
proud of the glorious banner under which we
fight, to play the laggard or to shirk the re-
sponsibility any shape or manner in con-
test of this character. When the Douglas
flag was first unfurled, pe enlisted for the par
and we will fight it through. We ask no
higher honCr than to be found at our post, in
the heat and smoke of the battle