smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1864




The following account of the seizure
Of the Florida in the port of Bahia is
taken from Brazilian journal. 1t APP
pears the Florida had run under the guns
of a fort for protection


The vessel was seized by the Wachu-
sett, and the report Of her capture was
quickly spread through the city.
The next day an officer Of the Fioi ida
notified the commander Of the Wachu-
sett that he had no right to capture the
Florida in that port, and that the Brazil
ian Government would demand an ex
planation OF his course that the port
was free to all vessels, and that the cap
ture Of such vessels should be made out
side. The seizure caused great excite
mcnt among the people of Bahia. The
American consul, Mr. Wilson, hearing Of
the action of the President of the Pro
vince, sent to the representative Of the
Brazilian Government in order to pro
test against it or to effect change III
the decision. The whole fault lay in the
Wachusett, as she had violated the laws
of the Province.
After seizing the vessel, she was tied
to the Wachusett, whose commander at
once prepared for sea. The small guns of
the Florida and the crew were removed
to the Wachusett, and portion of the
engines were takon away in order to
prevent her escaping As she was 60
ing out, the people gathered on the shore,
and batteries were levelcd at the vessel
Some of the men on the Wachusctt then
fired reyolvers at the spectators, which
increased the excitement, but the vessels
left the port.


When the Florida was boarded by the
officers of the Wachusett, the crew acted
very quietly, but the men of the Wachu-
sett endeavored in vain to make them
act otherwise. They declared that if they
had the arms Of their opponents and
their whole crew On board, they would
not let themselves be captured. A fire
was then lit in the Florida, but the
sailors extinguished it. Before the cap
ture, the two vessels mace signs to fight,
but they were stopped by the officers of
the Province. Previous to the seizure,
four sailors of the Florida reached the
shore, and fifteen jumped into the water
but they were rescued by several vessels
When the American Consul heard the
report of the firing from the Wadusett,
he got up III the night time and had it
stopped


The officer of the Florida, when asked
Year: 1864

a SCENE on MAIN srRErT.-About
fahpast O'clock on Wednesday after
hooh' as gentleman and lady were
walking together near the corner &c Main
and Ninth streets, Confederate oft;cer
somewhat under the influence of l,oonr
ran violently against them, whereupon
tho lsdy's escort placed her in charge of
a gentleman who happened to be passing
along, and proceeded to chastise the of
Tending lieutenant In handsome man
ner. The two being nearly Of size,
the fight was kept up for few minutes
with considerable violence but finally
the officer received a blow in the face,
which knocked him down some distance
from the pavement, cutting and bruising
his face very badly, spraining his left
shoulder and stunning him 50 severely
that he lay as if he was dead for min
ute or two. At this stage of the diff
Guilty the insultcd gentleman proceeded
to reJoln his female companion.
Year: 1864

CAMPAIGN BrLrIscsGArE.-Ths party organs
on both sides continue their indecent war OF
personalities. Nothing is too slanderous or alb
surd 10 suit their ends. Thus the Journal Of
Commerce Of yesterday INDUCES in . general
fling against the personal habits q the Presi-
dent and other members Of bis family, while
the Tribune rehashes the Mcclellan gunboat
story in the form Of . statement from the late
surgeon q the United States steamsr Jacob
Bell, which bears inherent evidence Of being
coinage. What purpose can be served BY snch
infractions Of propriety and deoencyi Surely
the journals that resort to them cannot be still
insensble to the fact that the Issues involved In
the pending contest are no. such as can be de-
cided by weapons borrowed from the old and
filthy armory Of the politicians.
Year: 1864

FEMALE I1ERoIsM.-Such as is seldom wit
messed. One of the fair occupants of Capt.
Stlnton's g fort' is the heroine Matte
that is her name-saw our movements from
the ridge, rushed to the house, removed her
mother and sisters to the celler, closed the
trap-door, and rushed out to the front of the
house, which is situated close by the rebel
rifle-pits on the summit. Folding her arms
across her breast, she stood there gazing upon
the battle as calm and unmoved as Bragg or
his staff, while the balls were constantly
whistling past her, and the rebels were mo
momentorily falling about her feet, convuls-
ed in death throes. She was frequently or
dered away, but there she stood as immova
BILE as marble statue, with countenance
changing from anxiety to delight as she saw
our line of bate press the enemy, the heads
of Union soldiers protrude over the rifle pits,
and the national flag placed upon the ridge
1t seemed as though some unseen power had
chained her to the spot, and when the din of
battle was for moment drowned il the shout
of victory that rent the air as our soldiers
took possession of the summit, the spell was
broken. and with the speed of deer she
bounded into the house, and babe them come
forth to greet their deliverers. There is a
specimen for you of genuine Tennessee
Union girl-none ofyour filthy rebel females,
stepped in sin and tobacco juice, who are as
numerous in these valleys as the :. cattle
upon a thousand hills. .n-Lette1. tram 7ennes-
see.
Year: 1864

TERRIBLE REvENGE.-A herdsman at Mem
zig, Austria was accused lately by his mas
ter Of cutting the tails off cows for the sake
of selling the hair. In revenge. he erept into
his aeeusor's room at night, cut his throat
badly wounded friend in the next room.
fearfullv chopped with hatchet two herd
boys in the house. and then set fire to the
whole premises. The neighbors tried to cap
ture him; but he climbed to the top of a
burning hut, and crying out that be was con-
demned TO all eternity. plunged into the
flames and so perished.
Year: 1864

AN INCIDENT American seaman died
suddenly at Nagasaki, Japan, for whom
grave was dug in little cemetry belonging
to the Dutch few miles out of town.


When the body arrived there, and the
chaplain and procession with it, to give the
rites of Christian burial to their surprise
they found two Japanese priests, with shaven
heads and flowing robes, and incense, and
tinkling bells, bending over the grave, and
offering their prayers. such as they were,
for the stranger 1t was a strange sight,
and touching as we'll as strange.


They readily retired, however, when the
Christian services began, remaining few
PAGES back but looking on with seriousness
and reverence to the close. As the process
ion from the ship was Withdrawing, the
chaplain observed a weeping willow growing
by the gateway of the cemetry, and thinking
to do an act of respect to his poor country
man. who sleeps there alone, and so far from
kindred and home he broke a twig from a
pendant branch ef the willow to plant at the
head of the grave.


Instantly one of the priests seized the idea,
and ran across the road to an old japanese
-cemetry, pulled up joint of bamboo planted
before a grave, about two feet long, and one
inch in diameter, and hollow, which the
3 Japanese are accustomed to fasten in the
ground before every grave, and fill it with a
plant or flowers. Water may be poured in
to it, or the showers fill it. and thus the plant
take root, and the flowers be preserved a long
time in freshness and fragrance. Divining
the object in breaking off the twig of the will
low, the priest rose and presented the bam-
boo, which is planted at the head of poor
Charles Seagraves, with the willows in it,
which will doubtless thrust its roots into the
earth, and grow up tree, for long years
waving and weeping over this American
stranger.
Year: 1864

UNHIS Tobacco is manufactured expressly for


il the California market the peculiar manner N
which it is put up keeping it always moist, and
causing il to retain its flavor any length OF time
Year: 1864

A traveller, in letter to the London Times,
says


81 can assure you, if we GO to war with
the Japanese, we must not blind ourselves
with the belief we shall have a second Chi
nese affair. They are very bold, courageous,
proud and eager after every kind of knowl
edge. A friend of mine gave workman a
Bramah lock to put on a box it was not
discovered until some time afterward, and
only then by the absence of the name, that
the lock had been initiated, and as the work
man confessed, the original kept as pat
tern. have been on board steamer (paddle)
which used three years ago to ply between
Nagaski and Jeddo, six hundred miles, whose
engines and boilers, and every part of her
machinery, were made of copper. She was
built bya doctor in Jeddo whose only guide
was Dutch description of steam engine
translated into Japanese. An American
gunnery officer was Sc over in 1859 in the
Powhattan, to teach them gunnery. He was
eourteously received, and then taken over
the arsenal at Jeddo. He returned to the
ship, saying he had been taught lesson
instead of having to teach"


In many of the arts and manufactures they
excel us their beautiful castings in bronze
would puzzle the most experienced European
workman. L have shown specimens to clever
European workmen who confessed that they
could not initiate them. Though they do not
know how to blow glass, | have seen SAM
Piles that would rival in brilliancy any made
in England. The French minister had
large ball, so clear and of such perfect color
that he believed it to be a gigantic sapphire,
and bought it for good round sum. Their
paper limitations of leather are perfect; their
paper waterproof coats are bought by the
captains Of ships for their exposed boats
crews; their own clocks are good, and they
have initiated our watches; they walk about
with pedemeters' attached to their belts,
and they are not backward at copper plate
engraving and perspective. Their China is
far superior to the Chinese. The country
abounds with coal, though they only use that
found close to the surface but even that, a
bituminous shale, is good In gold and sill
yer | believe they could rival Mexico and
Australia; iron, copper and tin are found in
profusion A friend of Yokohama gave
Japanese a piece of English cotton shirting !;
in a few days the man brought back two
pieces, and my friend had much difficulty in
saying which was his, so closely had it been
immitated. In fact, they are people who
want for nothing but teachers"
Year: 1864

VAcc1sAT1oS.-Itt is stated by medical men
that the virus In innoculation with the COW pox
never acted 80 successfully ~ at present. This Is
an important consideration and merits the atten-
ton Of every one in our city in view OF 1ae preva-
lence Of small pox; every body should see to It
that he preserve himself from the Infection
Year: 1864

he would prefer to send me other ttoops
rather than to have me weaken the right
| thon immediat ely ordered Sodgwick's di.
vision pack to it's former position. The at
tack on Hooker was not then made, and
there was d pause iD tho action, Some time
afterwards General Mcclellan came on to
the fold. l think he first went up on tho
left and came down the line to tho right :,
where was. He stopped and conversed
with me for some time, and then went down
toward the right, in the direction o. tho
river. did not see him again that day
About four o'clock that afternoon o worry
furious attack was made on our left again.
That was the time when Magruder made
the assault. Shortly afterwards detached
two brigades from my command, aud Gen.
Heiuizleman sent Sickels to support his
left. That action also closed at dark, tho
enemy retiring, and we holding oil the
ground on which our troops had engaged.
About eleven o'clock that night an order
came from General Mcclellan again to re-
tire to Harrison's Landing. The movement
was commenced about eleven o'clock at
night. The road was extremely bad, and
thore was but one marrow pass through
which tho army could retreat.


Question. How far was Harrison'a Land.
ing from the battlefield?


ANSWER. About seveu miles. Tho re.
treat was accomplished, aud we reached
HarrisoD's Landing about eleven o'clock
the next day. The troops all haulted as
they came upon the plateau near the river,
and remained there until the day after
The mud was actually aukle deep all over
the ground, did not see General -NcCiet.
Ian that day at all. did not see him frem
the time he 1eG me on the field cf Mairern
until the day after tre reached HarrtsoHs
LuRding.


Question. Whero was he during your
second fight at Malvern? .


"Answer. do not know. presume he
was at his quarters. do not know OF his
being on the fold. The day after VIC reached
HarrisoD's Landing the enemy commenced
throwing some SHELLS upon the troops
They were then placed 10 position there un-
der the orders OF the commanding general.
My corps was stationed as the reserve for
the whole army at Rolsnds Hill, mile and
half from the river"


Tha, would appear to settle fact which
General Mcclellan did not remember. But
Captain Rodgers. of the Galena, can testify
that General Mcclellan was on board that
ship on the day in question for six hours,
from nine till three: aud our correspondent,
who WAS with the army at the time, saw
General Mcclellan on board the vessel dur
ing the hottest part Of the fighting.
Year: 1864

To-day the COMMITTEES Of Ways and Means
reported to the House the Revenue Bill, recon-
mending concurrence in the Senate amend
ment against taxing spirits "on hand" As
we go to press the subject Is being debated.
Mr.. Stevens made an able speech against the
application OF the tax on spirits to stock on
hand. Fernando Wood spoke in favor of 1t.
1t was the impression at the Capitol, when
our reporter left, that enough temperance Re-
publicam would follow the lead Of Fernando
Wood % new convert to the fAith) 70 control
the House against the Senate amendment.
The appearance now is, that the whole subject
Of taxing spirits will reach a committee Of
conference and a compromise will be agreed
upon,
Year: 1864

A bill has been reported from the Committee
of Ways and Means, to extend the time for the
withdrawal of goods from public stores and
bonded warehouses, on all that have been
stored not less than one year nor more than
three, to the hrst Of June next. The term
" license" in the first proviso of the fifteenth
section of the tariff act of July, 1859, is made
to extend "to all vessels authorized by law to
engage In the coastlng trade, whether sailing
under registers or enrolments and licenses"
Year: 1864

The Committee of Ways and Means to-day
agreed to report bill authorizing the secre.
tsry of the Treasury to sell Government gold in
the market from time to time as he may deem
it expedient. The bill has not been reported as
we go to press
Year: 1864

FRUIT.-Cherries in this region have
been considerably blasted, while peaches
and other fruits are quite promising as
far as our information extends.


The cold weather gave the early grains
good start, and recent rains and heat are
grand for the grass.
Year: 1864

OOsIOhi JhhuaTy L.


The Traveller states that letters were
received in this city from a Northern
clergyman who established himself in
Charleston with his family but q short
time before the rebellion. He gives
touching details Of the anguish and suH-
fering Of the Inhabitants of that place,
many Of whom hope and pray fer redemp-
ton, even at the hands Of the Yankees.
In his opinion, the time is rapidly sp-
preaching when 1t will be found necessary
to give up the city to save the people from
absolute starvation. OF course all that
can leave the place will, but many have
not means, neither have they any place of
refuge.
Year: 1864

20U,0 men from our side and put them
in the battle field, or corn field against us,
and we would be compelled to abandon
the war IN three weeks.


I'VE have TO hold territory in inclernent
and sickly places where are the demo
Gratis to do this 1t was = free Gght, and
the field was open to war democrats to put
down this rebellion by fighting both mas
ter and slave, long before the present pol
icy was inaugurated


There have been men base enough to
propose to me to return to slavery the
black warriors of Port Hudson and Olus-
tee, and thus win the respect of the mas
ters they fought Should ! do so. should
deserve to be damned in time and eternity
Come uhat VIII, | will keep my faith with
friend and foe. My enemies pretend am
carrying on this war for the sole purpose
of abolition. So long as | am President
it shall be carried on fer the sole purpose
Of restoring the Unioa But no human
power can subdue this rebellion without
the use of the emancipation policy, and
every other policy calculated to weaken
the moral and physical forces of the re-
bellion.


Freedom has given US 100000 men
raised on southern soil. 1t will give us
more yet Just so much it has subtra cted
from the enemy, and instead of alternating
the South, there are now evidences of q
fraternal feeling growing up between our
men and the rank and file of the rebel
soldiers. Let my enemies prove to the
country that the destruction Of slavery is
not necessary to a restoration of the
Union. | will abide the issue.


| saw that the President was not mere
joker, but a man of deep convictions, of
abiding faith in justice, truth and Provi-
dence, His voice was pleasant, his man
ner earnest and emphatic. As he warmed
with his theme his mind grew to the
magnitude of his body. l felt | was in
the presence of the great, guiding intel
lect of his ago, and that those huge At
lantean shoulders were fit to bear the
weight of mightiest monarchies. His
transparent honesty, republican simplici-
ty, his gushing sympathy for those who
offered their lives for their country, his
utter forgetfulness Of self in his concern
| for its welfare, could not but inspire me
with confidence that he was Heavens S in
strument ID conduct His people through
| this sea Of blood to Canaan of peace
and freedom j. I. MILLS.
Year: 1864

James, what do you mean l told
you | liked her


How do you like your cold dinner, my
dear ?


i don't lose my temper over it, at least
But | want to know what YOU mean by
asking me q dozen times over whether /
like her


Oh nothing, only | know her.
You know her ?


BY reputation


Now, James, what do you mean? II
you know any thing about that lady | wish
you would tell me-


Did you ask her name :?


Yes her name is Mrs. Wellington
No it isn't


1T isn't?


Not any


Then what is her name !?


y ou have heard of Bell Burns {?
'What-the woman who was arrested
for poisoning her husband9


And got off through legal technical
ity. Yes


Wen, what of her?


Why, you've taken her to board, that $
all. When is she coming?


James, are you making sport of me :?
Not in the least, my dear. That wo-
man who just left the house is Madame
Belle Burns. When does she come !?
What a question Y on know Of course
she cant come at all if it's her
But you like her so we'll


James


And you are never deceived in your
estimate of character


James, you might be more generous
than to crack disgusting jokes on such q
subject.


Well, then ! won't, my dear. But I'll
tell you what it is | think we had better
give up the idea of taking boarder; we
seem to have had poor success. l have
had three very unsatisfactory specimens
of the genus to deal with, and you have
had one as bad as my three and | don't
find that we get anything but cold dinners
for our pains, and think we'll give up the
enterprise altogether


My wife has never talked about taking
a boarder since then, and l don't suppose
she ever will again as long as she lives.


w w. $
Year: 1864

The watch by my side is ticking


Ticking the hours away;
The light around me is dying,


And with it dies the day.
But the heart and brain are throbbiDg.
Throbbing with thought and love
That answer the pulse immortal


OF the soul that dwclls above.
The stars revOlve in cycles


Whose end, though far, must come.
And in fixed and limited courses


All things of time must run.
The soul alone is treading,


Through an unending day.
A path that leads forever


Its upward and onward way.
Year: 1864

On this subject the last Brookville Re
publican says: They have struck oil on
the Clarion River, thirteen miles north Of
this plaza, and the conviction is strong in
the minds Of our leading men that oil is
IS abundant here as it is on any Of the
tributaries of the Allegheny. Capital in
contiguous TO Red Bank and its branches,
and we anticipate the time when we can
boast Of as much grease as the greasy deni-
zsns Of Oil City. We also learn that the
oil indications in Forrest County arc
unusually promising, and that capitalists
without number are winding their way
to that remote station"


The New York Sun reasons as follows
to provo the inexhaustibiIty Of Coal
Oil:


This is know n 70 be a hydra-earbon,
composed Of two gases. These gases are
primary elements, indestrutibls and ex-
haustless in quantity. One of them hy-
drogen, is q conftituent of water, and Of
course as inexhaustible as the ocean. the
other Is q constituent Of all vegetable
forms and in many of our rocks. One
hundred paunds of limestone, when burn
ed, will weigh but sixty pounds. The
part driven of by burning is carbonic scid.
.Underlaying the aOil Rock Is stratum
of limestone of unknown thickness, but
known to be upwards Of one thousand feet
in depth. The water falling on the sur
face and precolating through the porous
sandstone that underlies the oil rock be-
comes charged with salt, potash, saltpetre,
and other chemical ingredients, and final
ly reaches the limestone rock and decom-
poses it. The carbon in the rock and the
hydrogen Of the water, uniting to form oil,
whilethe oxygen is set free, to ascend to
thestmOsphere or unite with the minerals
and form oxides. The reverse Of this
process iz-zan1-ia bur6lng the on IN 8
lamp, the oxygen in the atmosphere unit
ing with the carbon in the oil, forming
carbonic acid, and, with the hydrogen,
forming water, thus completing the circle.
The question is frequently asked, when
will the oil become exhsusted2 We shall
answer-when the ocean is, and not
before.
Year: 1864

CROOKED ENoUGH.-Speaking OF the Rio
Grand, writer says ys:-'Imagine one of The
crookedest things in the world, then imag-
inc four more twice as crooked, and imag-
inc to yourself large river three times as
crooked as all these put together, and you
have faint idea of the crooked disposition
of this crooked river. There is no driiiwood
in il, from the fact that it is SO crooked that
timber cannot find its way down far enough
to lodge two sticks together but few
snakes, because ii is not straight enough TO
swim in and the fish are all in whirlpools
ia the bends, because they canno, find their
way out. Birds frequently attempt to fly
across the river, but light on the same side
they start from-beiug deceived by the
crook.-ludeed you may be deceived when
you think you see across il and some OF
the b'hoys say it is so twisting there is but
one side 10 it.
Year: 1864

A .RoMANrIc FAECY.--0n the shores OF
the Adriaiic Sea, the wives OF fisherman,
whose husbands have gone far off upon the
deep, are in the habit at even-tide of going
down TO the sea-shore and singing, as fe-
male voices only can, the first stanza of a
beautiful hymn; and after they had sung it,
they listen till they hear borne by the wind
across the desert sea the second stanza,
sung by their gallant husbands as they are
tossed by the gale upon the waves, and
both are happy.
Year: 1864

The CAT MARKET.-There is a man VIII o
regularly visits one of the river towns and
buys up all the cats that lie can find, taking
them to New York. The country people
are in doubt whether they are bought for
the furriers or the sausage makers
Year: 1864

How 1T WoRKs.-A widow in Western
New York, whose husband was killed in
the war, had left her by him a note for
about FIVE thousand dollars secured by mort
gage. AT the same time she owed in Can
ada debt of less than 81 600 Under the


legal tender law she is obliged 10 take
greenbacks Tor what is due her in New
York, while she is Obliged 10 pay in specie
or IFS equivalent for the sum she owes in
Canada. The FIVE thousand dollars is not
of course, sufficient TO pay this debt The
lost faith in ''Old Abe's" proposition that its
easier TO pay large deb, thar a larger ore.