PUBLISHED WEEKLY. J
A FAMILY PAPER DEVOTED TO POLITICS, LITERATURE, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES, MINING, AND NEWS.
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" Ifafrs Sistinrt u tjre 9SiUoaj", hnt dm 110 ffj? Ira."
VOL. 3.
CHARLOTTE, N. C, FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 18, 1855.
NO. 43.
.Itiornt u at Emu?,
0 t in Lonergan Brick BuiLUng, 2nd Jioor.
CHARLOTTE, N C.
J. B. F. BOONE,
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALER IN
i 2 i
SOLE LEJimK, (tILF SMirjWS,
LINING AND BINDING SKINS,
SHOE TOOLS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION,
Charlotte, N. C.
Oct. 20, 1854. ly
ELMS dc JOHNSON.
Forwarding and Commission Merchants.
NO. 10-VF.NDUE RANGE,
CHARLESTON, S. C.
YV. W. ELMS. C. JOHNSON.
June 23, '54. 48lf.
R. HAMILTON,
C 0 .11 II ISSIO . i?l E R II X T,
Corner of Richardson and Launl Strctls,
n lcmbia, s. c.
J.i in J l -.') ly
BREM & STEELE,
WHolcsalo eft? Hetail
ih xi it li Si S ft a o
'i KADK STREET,
Nearly opposite Kims & Spratt's Grocery.
CHARLOTTE, N. C.
c 1")
20: f
CAiUrlJA INK,
I E N N I N G S B. KERR.
t Jitu ioltc, JT. C
23 153.
B
January
BOUNTY LAND BILL.
EA VI.
Attorney and Counsellor at Lav,
32.311 so t: ;, .1 C.
I.f. entlrct i'.i, ur "'li- r bnsineM attended to w ith
;.r.i:i.;i. ; tartituUrlj Mieh as relet to the prom,
cutem i Pt-iwioa t lain., land Warrants, and donations
of BuiiMtj I ... t.i ...iii-t 11ms General Gov r u meal, un
a) r the late ! utv La ad Law of March 3d, 1355, fiv.
. . 1 1 : i ImmuT f uti to all Officers. Land and Naval.
I '..mailssMMh d ur IMMI-t ullllWISIUt
il
Soidii rs, Sea-
. i. TiVrkK. nr other nervous, who hVC
tii rwd in any
ot lite .rs 111 which the Lulled
States I ave been ru
1790 ; and al,. to all uoxeers ana owiaicn ,
r.i ill,- U volition-ry var, uitir iuons aim wm
ti Ulrm.
Prison having sack claims, !y presenting them in-
inn! i - ti
Iv mav secure an curly issue nfl Tin ir certiti-
cate.
OlBd. 5dours south OI Sudor's Hotel.
tt;6
Resptctfully Yours!
rp II K iiin. lil, d hiisiuess ol I'ritch .r.i i. Caldwell
for
I I - 1 l. .i L Jaatd in t.'ie hands 'it' S. W . Duvi
lor oi h i lion and setth no i.t. Those indented tor that
vnr will 1m- doing us a great fuor l.y closing their Account-,
lunoi .liatel v, w e have ia Pitiably Cqgh to pay,
an.) " Money M, us all must kno-.v, is a hard thing to
borrow.1
PRITCIIARD & CAI.OWELL.
April 7. 1 .7:. 3S-'
Kavc yojir Costs !
I
miK K.J. :,!! AeenuiU oi the !..le firm of A.
1 UtttMC V I'", has bull pbiCCtl in 'he halo'i?
nt S. V
Iluvis. t.--i., lor ciHivCtluu
md meUU incut. Those in-
Ot hi. d illo r !y Note or Aee.Hinl, are rrq sun 10 main
an immediate arrangement, as lurlUr iudnlgenec can
not and will not lie griiutid.
ALEX VNIiER & JOHNSTON.
April
3S.v
Notice
MY Not.-s and Ace.. urns li..ving h. n placed in the
h-nus ot S. W. D..vis, Kq,., ,,,r eoll, ciion, those
ulionr.- indebted t m inditidnaUy, nr as one ul the
Id Muted Sfeclc & Marty, are resp.etlully re.pn st
eJ io make s -UlemcMt by Ap.iU'ourt, it nt
A. C.
STEELE
-tt
n tl . W IB A LA ,
Uross Mals.ery
'2 HOOKS XOUTIl oFKKltn'S lloTKI..
LL Ur. sses cut and made bj the cclrhralcd A. D
A
l. tiKth.i.l, and warranted to lit.
Bmum t
notice.
triiiiuied in
the latest style at
April -V, IcZ.'k
the h
3au:
rtca
A. BETHUNE,
I T-m O JFSL -
No. S, Springs' Row,
4 HOOKS VAST OF TllK CHA11LOTTE BANK,
CHARLOTTE, N. C.
Feb. 16, 155. v 30tf
W. S. LAWTON & CO.,
factors, Forwarding and Commission
Bmi Atlantic Wiiarp,
CHARLESTON, S. C.
V. S. LAWTOV. THOS. ALEXANDER.
IVI. jVormont
RESPECTFI7LLT offers his professional services to
the citizens ol' Charlotte and surrounding country.
il- hopes by devoting his entire attention to the du'.ies
ol his prolession to merit patronage. He may be found
it all hours, at his office opposite the American Hotel,
w hen not prolessionally engaged.
march 2, 1S'5. 32tf
Removal.
W. BECK WITH has removed his Jewelry Store
to No. 2, Johnston's Row, three doors South of
u.
iverr's Hotel.
Feb It?, 18."5. 30-1 y
MECKLEWUG H01SE,
HAVING purchased the building on the cor.
f I I till n.'r -l r.-u- il.iiir. ....tl.- 1 L" , II...., I n.l
repaired and htted it up in first-ratc stvle, I would
rcspi cliully inform the travelling public that it is now
open lor the reception of regular and transient hoarders,
br.ivtrs will And ample accommodations at my house.
Jan. 1, l.-5.. 25-ly S. II. REA.
THE i5iSlCAN HOTEL,
CHARLOTTE, N. C.
IBFi to announce to 1113' Jrienris, the public, and prc-
nt patrons of the above Hotel, that I havelcastd the
anic lor a term of years from the 1st of January next.
A'tcr which time, the entire property will be thorough
ly repa'-ed and renovated, and the house kept in first
clsa style. Tina Hotel is near the Depot, and pleasant.
-' situated, rendering it R desirable house for travellers
nd families.
Dec 16, 1833. 2Ji C. M. HAY.
Krom Thomas H. Benton's " Thirty Years' View."
Sketch ol John Ruudolph,
John Randolph died at Philadelphia in the sum
mer of 1S33 the scene of his early and brilliant
apparition on the stage of public life, having com
iw nced his parliamentary career in that city, under
the first Mr. Adams, when Congress sal there, and
when he was barely of an age to be admitted into
the body. For more than thirty years he was the
political meteor of Congress, blazing with undi
minished splendor during the whole time, and
often appearing as the planetary plague" which
shed, not war and pestilence on nations, but agony
and fear on members. His sarcasm was keen,
refined, withering with a great tendency to in
dulge in it ; but, as he believed, as a lawful par
liamentary weapon to effect some desirable pur
pose. Pretensions, meanness, vice, demagogism
were the frequent subjects of the exercise ol his
talent; and, vhen confined to them, he was the
benefactor of the House. Wit and genius all al
lowed him ; sagacity was a quality of his mind
visible to all observers and which gave him an
intuitive insight into the effect of measures. Dur
ing the first six years of Mr. Jefferson's adminis
tration, he was the Mural" of his party, brilliant
in the charge, and always ready for it ; and valu
ed in the council, as well as in the field. He was
long the chairman of the Committee of Ways and
Means a place always of labor and responsibilit v,
and ol more then than now, when the elements of
revenue were less abundant ; and no man could
have been placed in that situation during Mr. Jef
ferson's time whose known sagacity was not a
pledge for ihe safety ol his lead in the most sudden,
and critical circumstances. He was one of those
whom that eminent statesman habitually consulted
during the period of thir friendship, and to whom
he carefully communicated his plans before they
were given to the public. On his arrival at
Washington at the opening of each session ol Con
grcss during this period, he regularly found wait
ing for him - at his established Jondgings then
Crawford's, Georgetown (he card ol Mr. Jeffer
son, with an invitation for dinner the next day; a
dinner at w inch the leading measures of the ensu-
J ing session were the principal topic. Mr. Jefferson
j did not treat in that way a member in whose
sagacity he had not confidence.
It is not just to ludffe such a man bv ordinary
rules, nor by detached and separate incidents in
l i:i- 'iv i i . ....
r 0 j
ms life. lo comprehend h lit). hf must h unirft
I . ww
as a wholi physically and mentally and under
many aspects, and for his entire life. He wis
never well a chronic victim of ill health Irom the
cradle to the grave. A letter Irom his most inti-
n,!lle d valued friend, Air. Macon, written to me
alter his death, expressed the heliel that he had
never enjoyed during his life one day of perfect
health such as well people enjoy. Such life
lung Buffering must have its effect on the temper
and n ihe muni ; and it had on his hrmginy (he
temper uftcn to ihe querulous mood, and ihe state
o Ins mind sometimes to the Question of insanttv:
a question which became judicial alter his death,
when the validity of his will came to be contested,
j 1 huii my opinion on the point, and gave it respon
sibly, in deposition duly laken, lo he rend on the
trial of the will; and in which a belief in his in- i
sanity, at several specified periods, was fully ex
pressed with the reason for the opinion. I had
good opportunities ol forming an opinion, living in
(he same house with him several rears. Iiavnor
J o
his confidence, and seeing him at all hours of the
day and night. It also on several occasions be-
c une my duty to study the question, with a view
In govern my own conduct under cricical c'rcum
stances. Twice lie applied to me to Carry chal
lenges for him. It would have been inhuman to
have gone out with a man not in his right mind,
lid critical to one's self, as any accident on the
ground might seriously compromise the second, j
My opinion was fixed, ol occasional temporary i
nberrationa of mind ; and during such periods he
would do and say strange things but always m
his own way not only method, hut genius in his:
fantasies j nothing lu bespeak a bad heart, but only j
exaltation and excitement. The most brilliant ;
talk that I ever heard from him came lorih on
such occasions a flow lor hours (at one time
seven hours,) of copious w it and classic allusion
m perfect scattering of the diamonds of th mind.
I heard a Iriend remark on one ol these occasions,
" he has wasted intellectual jewelry enough here
this evening to equip many speakers for great ora
tions." I once sounded him on the delecate point
of his own opinion of himself: of course, when
ho was in a perfert natural state, and when he
had said something to permit an approach to such
a subiect. It was during his last visit to Wash
ington, two winters before he died. It was in my
room, in the gloom of ihe evening light, as. the day
was going out and the lamps not lit no one pres
ent but ourselves he reclining on a sofa, silent
and thoughtful, speaking but seldom, and I only
in reply, I heard him repeat, as if to himself, those
lines from Johnson, (which, in fact, I had often
heard from him before,") on "Senility and Imbe
cility," which show us life under its most melan
choly form :
" In life's last scenes what prodigies surprise.
Fears of the br.. ve, and follies of the wise!
From Marlborough's eyes ihe streams of dotage flow,
And Swift expires, a driveller and a show."
When he had thus repeated these lines, which
he did with deep feeling, and in slow and meas
ured cadence, 1 deemed il excusable to make a
remark of a kind which I had never ventured on
before; and said: Mr. Randolph, I have several
times heard you repeat these lines, as if they
could have an application to yourself, while no
person can have less reason to fear the late ot
Sivift. I said this to sound him, and to see what
he ihousht of himself. His
answer
was I" I 1
n.ie iiviu 111 uicnu ui lawuiij.
was the opening ol a sealed book-revealed to me
,k- ,.. k o.n.. k.. I had ann
1 1: 1 :.. .1 1 r : " Thot m.c.-wr I
11
1 1 1 j-j j u a ....... .f ih
ham iinrlprtrn I rtiii Hpr in him in flanirer Ol Hie i
lata nf Sari ft mi. I Irom thr same cause as iudired
by his latest and greatest biographer, Sir Walter
Scolt.
His parliamentary life was resplendent in talent
elevated in moral tone slwjys moving on the
lofty line of honor and patriotism, and scorning
everything mean and selfish. He was the indig
nant enemy of personal and plunder legislation,
and the very scourge of intrigue and corruption.
He reverenced an honest man in the humbiest
garb, and scorned the dishonest, though plated
With gold. An opinion v,s propagated that he
was fickle in his friendships. Certainly there
were some capricious changes ; but far more in
stances of steadfast adherence. His friendship
with Mr. Macon ivas historic. Their names went
together in life live together in death anil are
honored logether, most by them who knew them
best. With Mr. Tazewel1, his friendship was still
longer than that with Mr. Macon, commencing in
boyhood, and only ending with life. So of many
others ; and pre-eminently so of his neighbors and
constituents the people of his congressional dis
trict affectionate as well as faithful to him ; elect
fng him, as they did, from boyhood to the grave.
No one fell more lor friends, or was more solici
lous and anxious at the side of the sick and dying
bed. Love of wine was attributed to him; and
what was mental excitement, was referred to deep
potations. It was a great error. I never saw him
affected by wine not even to the slightest depar
ture from the habitual and scrupulous decorum of
his manners. His temper was naturally gay and
social, and so indulged when suffering of mind and
body permitted. He was the charm of the dinner
fa bl, w here his cheerful and sparkling wit delight
ed every ear, lit up every countenance, and de
tained every guest. He was charitable ; but chose
to conceal the hand thrtt ministered relief. I have
often seen hirn send little children out to give to
the poor.
He was one of the large slaveholders of Virginia,
but disliked the institution, and when lei alone
opposed its extension. Thus, in 1803, w hen as
chairman of the committee which reported upon
the Indiana memorial for a temporary dispensation
J'rom the anti-slavery part ol the ordinance of 1787,
he puts the question upon a statesman's ground,
and reports against it, in a brief and comprehen
sive argument :
" That the rapid population of the State of Ohio
sufficiently evinces, in the opinion of your com
mittee, that the labor of the slave is not necessary
to promote the growth and settlement of colonies
in that region. That this labor, demonstrably the
dearest of an)-, can oi!y be employed to advantage
in the cultivation of products more valuable than
any known to that quarter, of the United States;
and 'h commiitee deem it highly dangerous and
inexpedient to impair a provision wisely calculated
to promote the happiness and prosperity of the
North-western country, and to give strength and
security to that extensive frontier. In the salutary
operation of this sagacious and benevolent res-
: . :, L 1: i ... . :l 1.!. .. i i:
inniii, ii la ueueveu mai me miiauiiuu'.s 01 inuiniia
will, .at no very distant day, find ample remunera-
i lion for a temporary privation of labor and emi
gration.
He was against slavery ; mid by his will, both
manumitted and provided for ihe hundreds which
he hed. But he whs against lureign interference
with his rights, his feelings, or his duties; and
J never failed to resent and rebuke such interfer
ence. Thus he was one of the most zealous of
' the opposers of the proposed Missouri restriction;
! and even voted ngninsi the divisional line of " thirty-six
ihirty." In ihe House, when the term
"slave-holder" would be reproachfully used, be
would assume it, and refer to a member, not in
the parliamentary phrase of colleague, but in ihe
complimentary title ol "my fellow-slaveholder.";
And, in London, when the consignees of his to- I
bacco, and the slave laclors of his father, urged
him tc liberate his slaves, lie quieted their intrusive
philanthropy, on the spot by saying, " Yes : you j
buy and del free to the amount of the money you
have received from my father and his estate for I
these slaves, and 1 will set free an equal number." j
In his youth and later age, he lought duels ; in
his middle life, he was against them ; and, for a
while, would neither give nor receive a challenge.
He was under religious convictions to the contra- j
ry but finally yielded (as he believed) to an argu- 1
ment of his own, that a due' is a private war, and
rested upon the same basis as public war ; and
that both were allowable when there was no other j
redress lor injuries. Thai was his argument; but
I thought his relapse came more Irom feeling than
reason ; and especially from the death of Decatur, !
lo whom lie wa greatly attached, and whose duel
with Birron loiio and greatly excited him. He!
had religious impressions, and a vein of piety j
w hich showed itself more in private than in exter
nal observances. lie was habitual in his rever
ential regard for the divinity of our religion; and
one of his beautiful expressions was that, "If wo
man had lost us paradise, she had gained us
heaven." The Bible and Shakpeare were, in hs
latter years, his constant companions travelling
with him on the road remaining with him in the
chamber. The last time I saw him (in thai last
visit to Washington, alter his return Irom the
Russioa mission, and when he was in the full view
of death,) I heard him read the chapter in the
Revelations (ol the opening of the seals) w ith such
power and beauty of voice in delivery, and such
depth of pathos, that I felt as if I had never heard
the chapter read before. When he had gel to the
end of ihe opening ol the sixth seal, he stopped
ihe reading, laid the book (open at the place) on
his breast, as he lay on his ued, and began a dis
course upon the beauty and sublimity of ihe
Scriptural writings, compared to which he consid
ered ail human compositions vain and empty.
Going over the images presented by iho opening
ol the seals, he averred that their divinity was in
their sublimity that no human power could take
the same images, and inspire the same awe and
terror, and sink ourselves into such nothingness
in the presence of the " w rath of the Lamb" that
he wanted no prool of iheir divine origin but the
sublime feelings which they inspired.
JJuckNOU'8 NlgUt Attack, upon the Bri
tish. We have no design lo write out an account of
r .1 ? m .. 1 V..,,. f"l r ton r 1 . Oor oiirnnA IS
me; ctiuipuioii .11 ,- .w-- .-
. .. c I I. 1'- t k . .
o VlllOlCflie Uie niifiu aiiae ui jauiva.jo no... .....
curious blunders tb two American writers h ive
made about it. Mr. Ifeadly, in his romance ca.led
the Lile of Jackson, speaks ol the night attack as
me unc oi r
a failure, and the auihor of the biography of J ick
son in Harper's Magazine " says Jackson wa
repulsed. It is shamelul that an American writer
should betray such culpable ignorance of one of
the most brilliant and useful deeds of American
arms. Can the writer ol either of these brilliant
statements have any proper conception of the sub
ject upon which he was writing? What solitary
authority is there, what shade of excuse is in ex
istence for such a statement? There was not an
officer nor a soldier under Jackson, at New Or
leans, that suspected that he failed in his object,
or was repulsed in the least degree on tho night
of the 23d of December, 1814. Ttad South and
West kept freedom's vigils on that momentous
nigh;, and they cannot submit to any imputation
ihas dpDreciates the rrlnrii.ns achievement of thai
. F . , . ...... e. .... . -
night.
Let us begin at the beginning of it. General
Adair, who hail no personal love lor Gen. Jack
son, made a verbal statement in this city respect- ;
ing the inception of the night attack. He looked
upon it as the salvation of the city. He was din
ing with Jackson and other officers , when a youth :
uasiieu into the room and announced mat ine
British had landed. Jackson had finished his
dinner, and was leaning back from the table smok
ing a pipe. In an insiant he rose from his chair,
and, as if by intuition, uttered the sentence that
saved the city. He did net pause one moment
he asked no question of ihe youth as to the num
bers of ihe enemy. The boy's speech hud scarce
ly utlered his news, before Jackson exclaimed
" the enemy must be flogged before lo-morrow
morning." Adair, who was as brave a soldier as
ever led troops, said be could scarcely believe his
own hearing when Jackson made this announce-
j ment. The military law is imperative that the
commander of a defensive force must not attack
an invader until he ascertains the number and
j equipments of his enemy. But Jackson, when he
announced me order lor the night, ne had no idea
whether lie was going to attack one or ten thous
and of the enemy. Gen. Adair soon found that
Jackson was terribly in earnest. He said that in
fifteen minutes from 'he time the youth announced
his tidings, there was nothing in the neighborhood
of Jackson that was not in motion. Coffee's and
Carroll's commands were encamped four miles
ahovo ihe city, but in two hours after ihe news of
the landing of the enemy reached Jackson, these
troops vere marching through the streets of New
Orleans. Great calm prevailed in the city, but
Jackson, at the head ol his troops, infused hope
into the kearts of ihe citizens, by the announce
ment that iho city should be defended. His plans
were devised with consummate skill, but in order
lo undersiHnf him, and the result which he won,
let us look at the enemy. They hud come not
merely to capture and plunder New Orleans, but
avowedly to streich the lines of tneir power along
the Mississippi ami Ohio rivers, until the line of
British posts on Erie and Ontario should be inter
seeled, nnd thus confine the United States mainly
to the old colone boundary. The expedition was
projected on this scale, and the British were under
the illusion Mat the West would join them and
assist in this career of conquest. The force con
sisted of fourteen thousand choice troops, the
most of them from Wellington's Peninsular army.
The first disaster which threatened Jackson was
the capture of his flotilla of gun boats, destined for
the defence of the lake. But other sources of
anxiety crowded upon him, and these were the
inadeqency of t-ls rune o .1.- -j j
one point, to say nothing of his inability to watch
the various avenues by which the enemy might
march upon New Orleans. The government was
so shamelully negligent of his little army, that il
contracted with keel boats to carry arms from
Pinsburg, at fifty cents per hundred, with the priv
iledge of trading along the. coast, ratNer than pay
a steamboat seventy-five cents per hundred. But
for Carroll's provident course in removing some
of these arms from these trading keels, which he
overhauled in his descent of the river, to his own
boats, Jackson would have been in a pitiable con
dition. And had it not been for the friendly dis
position of LiFitie and his pirates, Jackson would
have been without flints for his guns. He iabored
under almost every possible disadvantage, except
one, and that was his own invincible resolution,
and his capacity to infuse it into others.
In these outward circumstances the enemy land
ed at Cat Island, and on the 23d of December,
reached the hanks of ihe Mississippi, lour thous
and strong, under Genera! Keane. There was
riothing to prevent the march of the British that
afternoon to ihe city of New Orleans. A smooth,
level road on the bank ol the river, unobstructed
in every way. either by defences or troops, invited
the march. Another large force was on a swam
py island below the Bayou fiienyenne, ready to
co-operate in any forward movement. But tho
golden opportunity passed unimproved, and Jack
son's ' repulse" sealed th fate of the expedition.
If they had possessed any ol the enterprise which
should have characterized Wellington's veterans,
ihe British might have reached New Orleans be
fore iheir landing was known.
Jackson, as we have seen, immediately gathered
around him such resources as he had, and started
upon his desperate enterprise. He had three ob
jects in view first to give his raw iroops a taste
of the quality of the enemy they were about to
meet in defence of the city ; second, to produce
the impression on General Keane that he had an
immense force at his command, and wns acting in j
conformity to the military law we have mentioned ;
third, to paralyze the enemy by a bold and deter- j
mind attack, so as to gain tune for the construe
lion of defences, and lor reinforcements. He was
after a moral effect, by which the feelings of his
own troop" should be elevated to ihe highest pitch, J
and those of the enemy depressed. But for t Iris j
the British would have mtrched into Now Orleans
the next morning.
Every moment in these critical movements was
of the utmost importance. No general ever knew j
the value of lime better than Jackson, anil no one
ever used it better. lie ordered Col. Ilayne to
march with his mounted men to meet the enemy,
and, if he found them advancing, to engage them,
so as to retard their mirch, until he, Jackson,
could support him. If the enemy were encamped,
the order wis to cover his force in an orange j
grove in Lrond's plantation, and await ihe co-op- 1
eration of the forces which Jackson was lo hasten
forward, In less than an hour Hayne moved out j
of the city at the head of lioO men. Jackson push
ed matters with his usual energv. The 44th re
giment was on the opposite side of the river, and
il was hurried over with the utmost celerity.
About sunset. Jackson having 2.167 troop3, left
ihe city for his night attack. Of this number
1.881 engaged in the fight. These were ail raw
troops, but to show what stuff thy were made of,
Coffee's brigade, on hearing of the peril of N"w
Orleans, had marched in (he last two days 120
miles, through a wilderness of swamps, and in
most dreadful weather. We have seen how
promptly this brigade responds to Jackson's order
for bis night a'iock.
I And now lei the reader pause and reflect lhal
; mot of Jackson's men were just Iresh Irom iheir
farms and work-shops, and that ihey had never
seen a disciplined enemv. But at the command
,
of their leader they marched with alacrity to meet
the- best troops ol the British army. INot one ol
them had any idea how strong the enemy might
be, and few of them ctred. They knew their
leader, and he knew them. All reliable accounts
show that ihe British force handled by Jackson
that night was 6,000 strong, for heavy reinforce
ments reached liie enemy during the fight.
Jackson marchsd down to the vicinity of the
enemy, whom he lound spread over the plain Irom
the bank of ihe river. He recounoitered ihe posi
tion and force of the enemy, and, even after he
found out iheir force, his iron will never quailed
for a moment. Having made his reconnoisnnce,
he arranged his order of baltle. The enemy were
enjoying themselves in a great variety ol ways.
Jackson had approached ihem,
Stili as the breeze, but terrible as the storm,"
and even the picket qu i i ds were ignorant of his
presence. Jackson's right flank resled upon ihe
river bank, and his line extended across the plain,
and Coffee occupied the extreme left. .jjThe plan
was for Coffee to turn the right flank and attack in
the rear, while Jackson moved upon the left flank
and centre his with lorce. The Caroline was
ordered to drop down the river slowly, to anchor
opposite the enemy, and open a fire upon ihem as
soon as (he 'land attack commenced. The Caro
line was challenged, however, and had 10 precipi
tate her cannonade, which gave the enemy warn
ing that Jackson's army was upon them. Coffee
found his advance checked by a ditch, and was
forced to dismount, and leHve a great part of his
lorce to hold the horses. But though frustrated in
commencing the attack, he did his duty nobly.
The cannonade of the Caroline produced the
most terrible consternation in the tirilish lorce,
and ihey were converted into a mob for some min
utes. In ihe front ol the line commanded by Jack
son in person, some derangement took place in
consequence of the misconception of a subaltern
officer, but nothing could stop the advance ol Jack
son. He pushed into the Biitish line, and Gen.
Iveane, the Briting commander, says: " A more
extraordinary conflict has perhaps never occurred;
absolutely hand-to-hand, both officers and' men."
And in this hand-to-hand conflict the raw militia
of Jackson drove three times their number of the
veterans of the British army fully a mile from
where the light commenced. And Coffee's bri
gade were rifles, nnd iherelore had no bayonets to
use. But Coffee drove iho enemy before him, and
they sought an orange grove for safety. Here
Coffee pressed upon ihem and drove them from
the grove. They retreated to the riverbed found
safety in a double embarkment, and Coffee' retired
to join Gen. Jackson.
tfrrtm lK ' -' -r .L TV'..
ish army no part of Jackson s force ever paused
in its advance until il came to the hand-to hand
conflict. The enemy were driven at all points one
mile from where the fight commenced, and Jack
son's troops occupied the mile of ground gained.
They slept upon the field thus won, and moved ofT
next morning as orderly as if marching to a fun
eral. Jackson left General Hinds, with a forge of
three hundred men, in a house within six hundred
yards of the British army, and this force remained
four days afler Jackson went up the river.
Where, then, can an American writer find any
sign of a repulse or failure on the part of Jackson
in any portion of this eventful fight? Wh eigh
teen hundred men he had met six thousand of the
veterans of Wellington, nnd in a hand-to-band con
flict had driven them a mile back from their'ori
ginal position. He had taught his men the truth
of Proctor's sentiments :
Courage! Nothing e'er withstood
Freemeii fighting for their good;
Armed with all their father's fame,
They will win and wear a name
That shall go to endless glory,
Like the gods of old Greek story."
It is a species of sacrilego to tear from the he
roes of the night attack on the 23d nf December,
1814, an iota of the glory w hich (hey won. They
went forth lo a night battle, utterly ignorant
whether they were to meet hundreds or thousands
of the flower of the British army. They met
the peril and conquered it ihey drove the enemy
a mile belore them, and slept on the field Ihey had
so nobly oo, And American writers, forty years
after ibis glorious victory, gravely assert that these
heroes were repulsed, and foiled in their attempt !
This is too bad, too intolerable.
4nd what were the consequences of Jackson's
ntghi victory ? Ho paralyzed the British force.
He checked all propensity on their part to meet
him again without large reinforcements, and
though numbering more than three to one of Jack
son's force, Ihey lay cooped up at the place to
which Jackson bad driven them on this memora
ble night until Packenham arrived, on the 25th,
with forces lhat swelled iheir number to fourteen
thousand iroops. Jackson had so effectually whip
ped ihem in his night battle that they did not dis
:urb him in his construction of those works which
he had gained time to make by his night attack.
On ihe mjrning after his battle he marched about
two miles up the river, cut the embankment, and
let in the river between himself and the enemy.
Behind this point he constructed those work'which
on the 8th of January conferred immoWafity on
himself and the troops under his commafro.
It is obvious, therefore, that Jackson's night at
tack saved New Orleans. But for that the enemy
could have marched "into the city on the 25th, and
no power could have stayed their progress. And
shall theso men, who undauntedly fought and
nobly triumphed on such an occasion, ana in such
circumstances, be robned or any portion ol Ine
glory which they earned so hardly?
We have shown Jackson's object in fits night
attack, nnd have demonstrated that he was per
fectly successful in all ol them. We have dwelt
at length upon some points involved in iho ques
tions connected with thia proud triumph of western
valor, but we could have elaborated many others
which we have touched but cursorily. -3ut the
fame which Jackson won in his defence of New
Orleans is dear to every American citizen, and we
cannot consent to see the public mind schooled
into the belief that Jackson was 'repulsed in hi
night attack on the British army. There would
be as much truth in the representat:o 1 ih.it he was
' repulsed' oo ihe 8.h of January. That was a
gn at day in African history ; I ui the night of
the 23d ol December was a greater night, and WO
are sure (lint there is no reader of the ' Courier '
who will not be gratified in perusing the fact on
the subject which we have given to-day.
Louisville Daily Courier.
Discovery or a Sew People on Che Wet
tern Continent.
A discovery which, even in (his age of almost
daily revelations of antiquities and wonders of
rtuiole times and people, must strike the world
with wonder, has just been made by the officers
of ihe sloop-of-war Decatur.
It will he recollected that the Decatur sailed
from Bio in company with the Massachusetts
(propeller) that they parted company, and that
tor some weeks the loss of the Decatur was looked
upon as certain. She was afterwards discovered
by her consort, part way through the Straits of
Magellan, and was towed into the Pacific by the
Massachusetts. The New Orleans Picayune, of
ihe 1st instant, publishes a letter received from O.
H. Green, dated on bonrd the Decatur, off the
Straus of Magellan, February 15," and which
contains some statements so startling that we make
the following extracts. From the apparent re
speciabilit of the source, we see no reason for
doubting '.he narrative, remarkable as it is. The
wriier says :
There being no appearance of a change of
weather, I obtained leave of absence for a few
days, and accompanied by my classmate and
chum, Dr. Bainbridge, assistant surgeon, was
landed on Terra del Fugo. Whh'great labor and
difficulty wo scrumbltd up the mountain sides,
which line (he whole southeast shore of these
Straits, and after ascending" 3,500 feet, wo came
upon a plain of supassmg richness and beauty,
fertile fields the greatest variety of fruit trees in
full bearing, and signs of civilization and refine
ment meeting U9 on every side. We had never
read any account of theso people, and thinking
this island was wholly deserted, except by a fi w
miserable cannibals and wild beasts, we had come
well armed, and you can judge ol our surprise.
The inhabitants were utterly astonished at our
appearance, but exhibited no signs of fear, nor
any unfriendliness. Our dress amused them, and
being the first w hite men ever seen by them they
imagined thai we had come from their God, the
Sun, on some peculiar errand ol good. They are
the noblest race 1 ever saw, the men all ranging
from 6 feet to 8, we'll proportioned, very athletic,
and strait ns an arrow. The wtm?n were among
the most perfect models of beauty ever formed,
averaging 5 feel high, very plump, witb small
feet and hands, aui with a jet black eye which
lakes you by storm. We surrendered at discretion,
and we remained two weeks with this strange
people.
The ship is in sight that will carry this to you
l.mnoP.,(l38.i.u9Pj8ayinf? that, tho offi
will be filled with ihe most interesting matter, and
astonish the American people, The vessel provsa
to be the clipper ship Creeper, from tho Chinchi
Islands, with guano, for your port, and I will
avail myself of this opportunity to send you a
specimen of painting on porcelean, said to be over
3,000 years old ; and an image, made of gold and
iron, laken in one of their wars many years before
the Straits of Magellan existed.
Their teachers of religion speak tho Latin lan
guage, and have traditions from successive priest,
through half a hundred centuries.
They tell us that this island was once attached
to the main land; that about 1,900 years ago, by
their record, their country was vitited by a vio
lent earthquake, which occasioned the rent now
kmwn as the Straits of Magellan ; that on tho lop
of the mountain which lifted its heafl to the sun,
whose base rested where the waters now flow,
stood their great temple, which, according to their
description, as compared to tho one now existing
we saw, must have been 17,200 Icet square, and
high, built of the purest pantile marble.
They number about three thousand men, wo
men and children, and I was assured the popula
tion has not varied two hundred, as they prove hy
their traditions, for immemorial ages. At Ihe
aged grow feeble ihey are left to die, and if lh
children multiply too rapidly they aro sacrificed
by the priests, ibis order comprises about one
tenth of the population,' and what the ancient
Greeks called ' GymnophisH." They aro all of
one peculiar race, neither will they admit a stran
ger into their order. They live for tho most pari,
near the beautiful stream called Tanucm, which
takes its rise in the mountains, passes through tho
magnificent valley of Leuvu, and empties into the
Atlantic at the extreme southwestern point of the
island.
This residence is chosen for the sake of their
frequent purifications. Their diet consists of milk,
curdled with sour herbs. They eat apples, rice,
and all fruits and vegetables, esteeming it tho
height of impiety to taste anything that has life.
They live in little huts or cottages, each one by
Inmself, avoiding company and discourse, em
ploying all this time in contemplation and their
religious duties. They esteem this life but a ne
cessary dispensation of Nature, which they vol
untarily undergo as a penance, evidently thrirst
ing alter the dissolution of their bodies, and firm
ly believing dial the soul, at death, is released
Irom prison, and launches forth info perfect liber
ly and happiness. Therefore, ihey ore always
cheerfully disposed lo die ; bewailing those that
are alive, and celebrating the funerals of tho dead
with joyful solemnities and triumph.
Hos Drunk.
The Moblesville (Ind.) Patriot gives an amusing
account of ihe destruction of five hundred dollars
worth of liquor by the lemperance people. Sumo
seventy'barrels and kegs were consummed. Tho
I) ty ton ale would not burn of course, and the
Patriot says :
The next morning, droves of hogs licked tho
foam of beer, drank tbu half frozen spirits, and
soon Mr. Poiker begin to hang his head and lop
his ears, swinging head towards tail and tail to
wards head, fhowmg ihs white of his eyvs, and
opening his mouth as if things didn't feel right in
his internal arrang"rnent. Tby soon look a
lino for the river, hut occupying all aides of tho
street in imitation of his mora noble boon com
panion, iho biped. Didn't catch them at il the se
cond time. They were seen lor days after, stun
ding sullenly and sigaciously beside a fence, look
ing as if the Maine law was iu opeistion.'