Newspapers / Western Carolinian (Salisbury, N.C.) / April 16, 1822, edition 1 / Page 4
Part of Western Carolinian (Salisbury, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
rOM THE CIIARLKSTOX COCHlEn. TJin COUAL GROVE. Beef in the w ave is a Coral Grove, "Where the purple mullet, and gold-fish rove, "Where the sea-flower spreads itslcaves of blae, That never are wet with fulling due, But in bright and changeful beauty shine, Far down in the green and glassy brine. The floor is of sand, like the mountain drift, And the pearl shells spangle the flinty snow ; From coral rocks the sea plants lift Theirboughs, where the tides and billows flow; The water is calm and still below, For the winds and waves are absent there, And the sands are bright as the stars, that glow In the motionless fields of upper air: There with its waving blade of green, The sea-flag streams through the silent water, And the crimson leaf of the dulse is seen To blush, like a banner bath'd in slaughter : There with a light and easy motion, The fan-coral sweeps thro the clear deep sea ; And the yellow and scarlet tufts of ocean, Are bending, like corn on the upland lea : And life, in rare and beautiful forms, Is sporting amid those bowers of stone, And is safe, when the wTathful spirit of storms Has made the top of the wave his own : And when the ship from his fury flies, "Where the myriad voices of ocean roar, AVhen the wind-god frowns in the murky skies, And demons arc waiting the wreck on shore ; Then far below, in the peaceful sea, The purple mullet, and gold-fish rove, Where the waters murmur tranquilly, Through the bending twigs of the coral grove. 1 ORIGINAL. TOR THE WSTERX CAROLINIAN'. Events of the Revolutionary War CONCLUDED FROM OCR LAST. Collection of American forces to surprise Major Ferguson Battle at King's Mountain, and defeat and death of the latter Capture of a British Garrison at Colleton-Hall. On the defeat of Gen. Gates, the surprise and complete dispersion of Gen. Sumpter s, and dispersion of Gen. oNl'Dowell's army, no appearance of an American corps existed to the south ward of Virginia ; and many of the whigs from the Carolinas and Georgia, with Gen. M'Dowell at their head, re treated to the west side of the Allegany mountains, for refuge from a pursuing foe. It was at this gloomy period of the Revolution that Col. Shelby, Col. Sevier, Col. Campbell, and Geo. M' Dowell, who had fled to their country, began to concert a plan for collecting a force and making a forced march to surprise iMaj. Ferguson with his party, who had advanced up to the foot of the mountains, on the east side, and threat ened to cross over and lay waste the country on that side, for their opposi tion to his majesty's arms. The Americans once more, in pur suance of their plan which they had concerted on the Western Waters, be gan to collect on Doe river, in the edge of the mountains which separate the Eastern from the Western Waters, about the 24th of September, 1780: at which place Col. Shelby, Col. Sevier, and Col. Campbell, with their regi ments, and Gen. M'Dowell, with his followers, rendezvoused. But pre vious to their march from Doe river, it was discovered that a certain Craw ford, and one or two others, had de serted to the enemy. They proceed ed, however, on their proposed route to the top of the Yellow Mountain, but here it was determined in a council of officers, as useless to attempt to sur prise Maj. Ferguson ; and they conclu ded to file off to the left, through moun tains almost impassable, get in the en emy's front, and act as circumstances might enable them to do. Fortunately, on the first day after they got clear of the mountains on the east side, they fell in with Col. Cleveland, an officer of great zeal in the cause of liberty, with 400 men, vho had embodied in the northern counties of North-Carolina, with a view to join any other American party that might he collect ed to oppose the advance of the enemy. The next day they fell in with Col. John Williams, and sundry other offi cers of distinction from South-Carolina, with their followers, who had alsoad- vanced with a view to join any Amer icans conecieu to oppose tne enemy. havingaltogether about 400 men. The whole then moved on towards Gilbert town, where it was expected Fercu son's army lay. It wis now ditjover- ed that the American army, thus acci dentally collected without a head, was a mere confused mass, incapable of perlorming any great military achieve ment. The officers commanding regi ments assembled and determined that a commanding office r was expedient ; but the senior officer of the army was unpopular, and as the campaign was a volunteer scheme, it was -discovered that those who had the right to com mand would not be chosen. It was determined to send for Gen. Morga or Gen. Davidson, to take the com mand, and Gen. Charles M'Dowell proposed to undertake the mission, and actually set out in pursuit of one of those Generals. During their sitting, it was proposed that until Gen. Mor gan or Gen. Davidson arrived, the of ficers composing that board should meet once a day and determine upon the movements of the army this be ing agreed to, it was also proposed and agreed to, that Col. Campbell should be appointed officer of the day to execute the plans adopted by the commandants ot regiments. These regulations being adopted. the army marched into Gilbert town : rerguson had left it two or three days. The Americans pursued upon his trail, which lor some distance appeared as if he intended to take shelter under the walls of Ninety Six. In order to move with greater velocity in their pursuit, the American officers spent the whole or I hursday nitrht in se- lecting their best men, best horses and guns ; and by day-light, on Friday morning, were ready to pursue with nine hundred and ten picked men, well armed, ard mounted on good horses : the residue, about seven hundred, of weak horses and footmen, were direct ed to follow on as fast as pot,sible. The Americans pursued hard on the enemy's trail all day on Friday without alighting, until they arrived at the Cow pens just at dusk. Here they killed some cattle, stayed an hour and roast ed some beef, then resumed their pur suit. The night was very dark ; but it was discovered that Ferguson had changed his route, and that instead of Ninety Six, his object oppeared to be to get in the rear of Lord Cornwallis, who lay at Charlotte, in North-Caroli na, with the British Grand Army ; and that his making this circuit was merely to gain time to collect his tories, who had been suffered to go to their homes before it was known that the Ameri cans had collected to oppose him. At the Cowpens Col. Williams and his men left the army and started just af ter dark to go to attack GOO tories said to be collecting at Geibs's but a few miles distant from that place. The Colonel was much importuned to aban don that object, but refused. In the morning, however, just at day-light, on the army arriving at Cherokee ford of Broad river, Col. Williams with his men came ur in the rear. This was a welcome sight, as from the sign on the enemy's trail, the American ar my had gained ground greatly upon him and the conflict was growing to a crisis. 1 nis was baturuay morning, j and at sun-rise it began to rain hard. The army, however, continued unre-' mittingly to pursue its mam object, traveled hard all day through the rain, until they got within a few miles of the enemy, where he lay encamped on King s Mountain, and where he had arrived late tne evening ueiore. On gaining information of the posi tion of Major Ferguson's army, the American line of battle was formed as follows : Col. Campbell's regiment, headed by himself, formed the centre column to the right ; Col. Shelby's reg iment, commanded by himself, formed the centre column on the left. The right wing was composed of Col. Se vier's regiment, Col. M'Dowell's reg iment. Col. Winston's regiment, &C. commanded by Col. Sevier in front. The left wing was composed of Col. Cleveland s regiment, Col. William s regiment, Col. Lacy's regiment, and Col. Brannun's regiment, Sec? headed in front by Col. Cleveland himself. In this order the American army ad vanced in four lines, until it arrived in sight of the enemy's camp on King's Mountain, at three o'clock in the af ternoon of Saturday, the Tth day of October, 1780. The two centre col umns then wheeled to the right and left, formed a front, marched up and attacked the enemy, while the right and left wings were marching round. The action then became gen eral and lasted one hour and a half. 1 he Americans had upwards of sixty killed and wounded, and they killed and took of the enemy eleven hundred and five : three hundred and seventy five of them were left weltering in their gore on King's Mountain. Among the latter was Maj. Ferguson himself. He fell in the close of the action. A bout the same time Col. Williams was mortally wounded, of which he died. The American arms from this pe riod were successful to the end of the Revolution. In November, 1781, Gen. Marion received information that four or five hundred Hessians in garrison at Colleton-Hall, near Monk's corner, were in a state of insurrection. He detach ed Col. Mayam, of the dragoons, Col. Sevier, and Col. Shelby, with a party of 800 men, to attack that post. The party was commanded by Col. Mayam. They appeared before the British gar rison early on the 2Gth day of Nov. 1781. The Hessians had been sent to Charleston the day before, under an apprehension of their disaffection. But the British in the garrison, amounting to 150, surrendered at discretion, un der the impression that the Americans had artillery. This post was six or eight miles below the enemy's grand army at Ferguson's swamp, command ed by Gen. Stewart. The detachment were all mounted, and carried the pris oners by turns through the woods on their horses, and arrived the night af ter, about one o'clock, at Gen. Marion's head-quarters in the swamp of Santee river, at the distance of nearly 50 miles from where the British surrendered. Gen. Stewart sent a strong detachment to regain the prisoners, but could not come up with them. The enemy's whole army retreated to Charleston two days after the reduction of the post at Colleton-Hall, and never came out again during the revolution. AGRICULTURAL. Hail! first of Arts, source of domestic ease ; Pride of the land, and patron of the seas. OX THE CULTURE OF COTTON THE HOT IN THAT PLANT. In a letter from Col. G. .If. Troup, of Georgia to Thomas Chambers, Esqr. of Iiovvan ; select ed from the papers of the Rowan Agricultu ral Society. Dublin, Lauren Co. Ga. Sept. 22, 1822. dear sir: . I received your esteemed favor of the 3d inst. in which you request me to communicate " my plan in the rais ing and management of the cotton plant." I comply with pleasure or rather I give my crude notions of what ought to be done, rather than vrhat is actually done in cultivating the cotton plant. You are not to be instructed, that in the Southern coun try a good practical system of farming scarcely any where obtains. Our planting is conducted generally upon loose and un settled principles, and this will probably be the state of our agriculture, until a dense and more stationary population shall give an augmented value to our lands, and make it cheaper for the farmer to improve old than to purchase nevj. The modes which prevail have nevertheless their de grees of comparison, good, bad, indif ferent. It is certain that land for cotlon, as for every other seed, ought to be well prepared that is to say, well broken and pulverized, by ploughing and harrowing, and in soils admitting it, by deep plough ing. The minute division of soil, and to a considerable depth, is particularly im portant and it is so from the nature of the cotton plant. Besides the germina tion of the eed requiring every facility of access to be given to air and moisture, the long taproot descending perpendic ularly should descend unobstructed. The lateral roots, which arc at first small and delicate, should be permitted to search their way in the finely divided mould with ease and freedom. The soil being thus pieparcd, it is laid off in beds or ridges, either with the hoe or plough 3 or 4 furrows thrown togeth er with a small bar-share is a good mode the distance between' the beds depends upon the fertility of the Innd ; and it va nes from 3 to G feet : In very good land at the distance of 6, the branches will in terlock in ordinary seasons. The beds being prepared, open them in the centre with an instrument like a colter and diop the seed to guard against accidents, wev sow very thick the covering should be light. The cotton is up in its infancy always sickly and rickctty, it soon begins to droop and die, and the Planter, who never looks at his crop with pleasure, is afraid that the survivors of these puny seedlings will hourly disappear. The pelting storm forces it from its bed the gentle frost nips its tender leaf, and the influence of the eastern gale blasts it. The number of plants, however, is his security ; and at the end of 4 or 5 weeks the roots begin ning to fix themselves firmly and the third leaf to shoot, the cotton is thought to be out of danger, and the hopes of the Plan ter revive. This appearance is not ev ery where the same it has always seem ed to mc to be better or worse as the soil was better or worse cultivated. The root5 of the young plant are too delicate to over come the obstructions either of coherence and tenacity of soil, or others ; and they perish, and of course the plant with them. In this dubions interval, the Planter runs his plough and kills the young grass as it springs ; and he can do little more. But now the plant is daily growing stronger, and as soon as it acquires its 5th or 6tn leaf, he begins to cut out with the hoe, leaving a half dozen or more stalks in a hill, and separating the hills by a distance of a foot or so. When this operation is completed throughout the crop, he can venture to thin by the hand; and then he reduces the number of stalks in a hill to 3 or 4. It is a good practice to throw a little earth to the cotton in cutting out but in thinning by the hand, it is indispen sable ; and ever after this time, when your crop is worked, give it earth: if? in a grassy season, you are obliged to take a Wav restore itimmediatelv: never give it, however, in excessive wet or excessive drought, for in either the leaves and forms fall off. The first thinning by the hand has left 3 or 4 stalks, and these about one foot apart : you run over the crop afterwards and reduce them to one or two, always, as in distance between the beds, consult ing fertility of soil. Varieties of practice obtain in this respect: We have respect able advocates of either. I advise you to be governed by your own judgment, which will realize as much to you as the best of others it is only necessary to avoid extremes. Take care in working your cotton to regulate your operations by the stage of its growth, that you may interfere as little as possible with the hor izontal roots it is the ramification of these which contributes to the ramifica tion of the trunk or stem, and these are multiplied by successive accumulations of earth on the former. Thus you con tinue to work the crop, until the grassy season having passed, it is laid by. The harvest soon follows ; but before, if the growth be luxuriant und the season still fa vorable to vigorous vegetation, top it, say by the 10th of August. Pick the wool clean sun it well, and the ginn will pre pare it well for market. Pack with a screw it saves labor, and what is of more importance, saves an unwholesome opera tion the feeding of the ginn is sufii cientlv so ; but for this we have no reme dy. You ask what is the cause of rust : I believe Insect a very small one, discov erable most frequently under the leaf. IVIy opinion that rot is a constitutional dis ease of the plant remains unchanged like most other plants, the cotton is liable to the attacks of botlL. Having suffered little from the rot last year, I flattered my self it was passing away ; but it has revis ited me this season with increased severi ty, destroying in the proportion of one half or two thirds. Your own seed im ported is equally liable to take it. The Alabama seed is not exempt ; but boiling better, the loss is not so great ; the quali ty is, however, depressed in the market about 2 cents below our own green seed. The Black Seed, or Sea-Island, is not af fected by it ; and from a field of mine last year, at the distance of 120 miles from the ocean, I made a very good harvest. The Secretary of the Treasury at Washington was so good as to send me the other day two qualities of Malta cot ton seed, to which I intend to give an at tentive and careful tiiul ; and he promis es samples, if he can procure them, of a fine Nankin, and, as is reported to him, of a fine sky-blue cotton, the growth of the same Island. Similarity of latitude and climate promises success to this ex periment ; and we are prompted by every incentive of interest to pursue it. If the cotton cultivation fail us, we are undone if ve cease from our efforts to restore it, we deserve to be. Very respectfully, dear sir, your cbt. servt. G. M. TROUP. In the month of June, the cotton being a bout 3 feet high, and forming very fast, an in sect attacked the calyx, perforated the corolla, and both fell off together. Not a form escaped. It continued its destructive career for about 4 weeks, when it suddenly disappeared so that for this period the progress of the crop was en tirely suspended, and that, too, at the most pro ductive season : the same happened to many. "Religions. MORGANTON BIBLE SOCIETY. communicated. Address to the Citizens of liurke County and the adjacent counties. Permit us, Fellow-Citizens, to invite your atten tion to a subject of greater interest than any which has engaged the attention of mankind since the promulgation of Christianity. We mean the circulation of the Holy Scriptures through the agency of Bible Societies. The success of these societies in which men of all parties and religious denominations become united in their efforts to distribute that heavenly treasure the Bible, appears to be the earnest of that better day when religious altercation shall finally cease, and the will of our common lord and master be done on earth as it is in heaven. The immense progress, indeed, which Bible Societies have made within a few years, in trans lating and distributingthe Bible among the heath en nations where the glad tidings of the Gospel were never before made known, is incalculable ; and never could have been accomplished without special divine assistance. Already has the Bible been translated into sixty-six different languages and dialects, and more than three million six hundred thousand copies of the Bible and Tes tament have been distributed by these societies in the short space of about seventeen years. It is estimated, however, that ninety-seven out ot ever hundred of the human race t destitute cf the holy scriptures, though at the same time we are happy to observ e that the whole world appears to be preparing and pre pared to give and receive them. May we not, then, fairly indulge the pleasln idea that the day is now advancing when the everlasting gospel will be preached "to everv nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people ;"! and when " they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord," but all shall know him from the least to the greatest ? When all shall feel the truth of the holy scriptures, and act accordingly ? When every malice, slander, lying, and all the malignant passions of fallen man, shall no long er disturb the peace and happiness of society ? When "the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings," and "his glory shall cover the heavens and the earth shall be full of hia praise ?" Will you not, then, fellow-citizens, become cheerful instruments in accelerating that glorious day ? Divine providence has blessed many o? you with the good tilings of this world, and you cannot be ungrateful for his bounty. You will not, therefore you cannot refuse to patronize so honorable, so beneficent, so heavenly a work as is now proposed. Are you poor and do you feel yourselves unable to contribute the small amount which this charity requires ? Only use r. little economy. Betrench some of your need- less expenses, and you will have something to devote to this work of the Lord,' and draw down his blessings upon the rest. Do you wish to im prove the morals and the happiness of the peo ple ? How can you do it more effectually than by inviting them to pursue the precepts of the Bible ? Some of our missionaries, we know, have given it as their opinion that they have done more good by distributing the scriptures to the destitute, than by their labours in every other way. And indeed what book could be placed inthcir hands containing such a complete system for the regulation cf their conduct in all the walks and pursuits of life ? What book pre sents such powerful motives to shun every vice and follow every virtue ? Are you professing christians ? No matter to what denomination you may belong ; no matter what may be your station in the church ; whether you are watchmen on the walls, or obscure members of Christ's kingdom much is required of you. Do you profess to have an inheritance in the kingdom of God ? To have partaken of the dying love of our Saviour ? And will you remain inactive, while millions of our fellow creatures are destitute of the Bible, and have never heard of a Christ ? Oh no ! You value the Bible as your greatest treasure, and would not be deprived of all you know cf it for the world's best gifts. You feel a disinterested benevolence towards all mankind, and an earnest desire that all should come to the knowledge cf God as it is in Jesus ; and that desire will be ac companied with corresponding exertions to pro mote the diffusion of this knowledge throughout the world. Let us come forward, then, fellow-citizens and fellow-christians, with one heart and hand to the work in which we are now invited to engage. Let us forget all party names, and sectarian pre judices, and unite as a band of brethren in rally ing around the standard of our common Lord. The blessing of God will be upon us even in this world, and in that which is to come we shall not lose our reward. There is no virtue more acceptable to God, and in practice, more conducive to human happiness, than resignation to the divine will. He, who presumes to ques tion the wisdom, the goodness, and the paternal solicitude for the felicity of man, of the Supreme Beixg, is worthy of the most severe punishment. That wisdom, which is displayed in the economy of the vast system of creation that goodness, which every page in the volume of na ture exibits in language the most forci ble and endearing that paternal solici tude which the scheme of redemption and pardon so gloriously illustrates, should silence every murmur when we are chas tised for the most benevolent purposes, and corrected that we may be more wor thy of those unfading joys for which wc are ultimately designed. This globe was not constructed for the eternal abode of an immortal soul. Wc should view all its comforts and all its perplexities as equally short-lived and transitory. lie who uses the good things of this world without abusing them ; whom prosperity cannot elate ; who puts a just value upon what he possesses, and is ready to resign the blessing which he is favored with into the hands of him by him whom they were bestowed, when the requisition is made, is an object of divine complacency, and will surely receive an abundant reward. Resignation can alleviate the distresses of this life, calm its varied troubles, pour a ray of comfort to enliven the vale of tears through which our pilgrimage must be made, and cheer with consoling ex pectations the gloom that lowers over the piliow of death. Who then would have the hardiness to doubt the justice of the dispensations of Providence, or ar raign Omniscience at the tribunal of hu man presumption i That men usually grow more covetous as they grow older, does not so much pro ceed from the increase of their affection for wealth, as from, the decrease cf their inclinations for any thing beside: then regard for money continues the same, but they meet with fewer temptations to part with it ; their love of pleasure is lessened by satiety their ambition by disappoint ments, their prodigality by experience, and their generosity by ingratitude. Men's opinions much oftener proceed from their actions, than thcir actions from their opinions : they act first, and then with great facility reconcile their princi ples, to their conduct; for which reason we find many, whom no advantage can induce to do any thing, which appears to them wrong ; but cf that many, very few, who can ever be convinced that any thing is wrong, from whence either pleasure o; profit accrues to themselves.
Western Carolinian (Salisbury, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 16, 1822, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75