iiiiiii,
y " THE PUBLIC GOOD SHOULD EVER BE PREFERRED TO PRIVATE ADVANTAGE."
Volume 5. Lincolnton, North Carolina, Saturday JNWmng, C iobfr 27, 1849. Number 35.
PRIMED AND PUBLISHED WEEKLY, BY
THOMAS J. LCCLES.
TEtiMB. Two dollars pel annum, payable
in auvance ; $2 50 if payment be delayed 3
months. A discount to clubs of 3 or more.
Advertisements will be conspicuously insert
ed, it $1 pet square 14 huesj lor the nrut.and
25 cents ior each subsequent insertion.
"UNCLE NED."
The admirer? of negro melodies who
are familiar with "poor old Ned," (and
who is not?) will be amused at the para
phrase below, which we find in theSalem
Register, taken Irom a Cincinnati paper.
""Uncle Ned" was written by S. (J. Fos
ter, of Cincinnati, who also computed
the music. The Pitisbur Despatch
j'ssys, it was composed of three more
; verses not now sung,
The following are the three verses
)Of the song heren fore unpublished, par
aphrased by the author:
f Dechild'en all loved htm bekase he was so
kind,
And nebber got tired ob dere talk.
Ilf'd play for dem to dance, or totter on be
hind, When Dinah took them out to walk.
Chorus.
Den lay down the shovel and the hoe,
Hang up de fiddle and the bow
No r ore hard work for poo- old Ned,
- For he's gone bar de food niggers go.
Some niggers like to play the tamborine,
Kase it cultivates the noble tones
But when dey hear Ned on the old violin,
Dey lay down the banjo and the bones.
Den lay down the shovel, &e.
Some say old age wes de cause ob his death,
But this chile tinks dafs a lie,
For I'6e ob de 'pinion dat he couldn't get his
breath,
And dai am de reason why he die.
Den lay down the shovel, &c.
PARAPHRASE.
, Tained the hearts of the juvenile members
of" the family by his uniform forbearance,
Inasmuch as h never became weary of their
loquaciousness.
He vtould enliven with melody, the inno
cent rambles,
Which they were wont to take under the
surveilance of the indulgent Dinah.
There are individuals of Ethopian extrac
tion. Who prefer the Chinese style of music;
This prejudice has, however, been in many
instances eradicated.
By one dclcet strain from the bow of the
now lamented musical defunct.
It has been asserted that his death was the
result of the extreme longevity;
But this I consider an erroneous supposition,
Being impressed with the belief that his
demise
Was partially owiny to a physical inability
to inhale the vital gases.
From the Ashsville Messenger.
JOHN HILL alias NIXON CURRY.'
'Truth stranger than Fiction." j
This is the heading of a slor publish
ed in the "Democratic Review," and ex
tensivelv copied m the Southern coun
try. As the ancle occasionally stum
bles on the truth, and as many of the
events occurred in North Carolina, and
said Curry was confined in Buncombe
jail for one of his offences, we deem it
a matter of justice lo put the public in
possession of some facts, unadorned
with romance, imagination and false
coloring. We copy the articles (that
precedes the main article) giving a
glimpse of his public life in tho West.
."Among the truest friends of the pen-
p . ol all tn the present Convention, may
"y
be named John Hill, of Si. Francis
Hi ftneriyv. eloouenre and courace lulU
. . . j i
and we trust, will long retain Lxtxle
Rock, Gazette, tn the days of the Con
rentton.
"Bloody Affray.- h. desperate ren
contre occuned last week inSi. Francis.
Two distinguished citizens were killed,
and three others dangerously wounded.
The? difficulty resulted from an atten.pt
to arrest John Hill, a member of the
lat Legislature, and formerly of the
State Convention, who, as it is alleged,
is the notorious robber, Nixon Curry,
thai committed such atrocities fifteen
years ago in the mountains of Carolina
Little Rock Guzette of May, 1640.
The writer gives Iredell county tie
place of his nativity, correctly, but all
iii gammon about his being the son ot
.a Presbyterian Minister, ol high morl
charaotsr of the Governor offering five
thousand dollars reward oi Curry
running " 200 armed men" of the re
nowned "fighters of the Weu" off the
"prairie" &(., &r., are all uuerly wih
out the least foundation ot troth. Said
Curry, while confined in our Jail, (ha
ving been removed here for safeiy.pend-
ing his confinement for the murder of a
negro,) got in with the Jailor's wife, m
some way, so as to get hold of the key,
with which he made hi escape in the
night, and after leaving the village he
got bewildered and lost in the wood,
and the next day was ai rested twoor
three miles from town, by some persona
who were out driving for deer, and sale
ly lodged in jail again. Curry had not
the advantages of education, but was
possessed of a prepossessing appearance
and uncommon shrewdness. Those
persons familiarly known as "granny's"
held a consultation over him belore
committing him to the cradle, and' de
cided in Solemn conclave and prophe
cy.1 that that child would be hung."
lie missed the prophecy but a little
he was killed. Hi- due, from what we
know, wou'd have been a rope. His
character, in short, from whit we con
reive to be the best authority is, that
he was distinguished from his earliest
youth, (or the most marked and com
plete desperation of character. Out of
a 'youth rf idleness, irregularity, and
dissipation, he emerged into munh' od ot
most atrocious villainy. His first great
crime was stealing a negro from a re
spectable farmer by the name of John
ston, and carrying him off from the
country. His second was dealing ano
ther nero from a farmer, by the name
of Jnes Gibson, which he took to Ti
ger River, JS. C, where, for fear of de
tection, he led him to the river bank,
under pretence of gelling wood, and
knocked bis .skull off with an axe, and
cast him in the river) His third was
the murder of Benjamin Vilson who he
believed, was in no-session of informa
tion that would convict rum of both the
former murders. Fur the murder ol
Wilson he was tried and acquitted at
the Superior Court of Mecklenburg.
For stealing the negro of Gibson, he
nan tried in Iredell Superior Court and
convicted, and while under sentence of
death, escaped from prison with all h'.s
guilt and crime upon him, and fid to
the West, where there i no rMonal
doubt he appeared and figured so ex
tensively as the great leading Democrat
"John Hill," of Arkansas. He was
well calculated to deceive and betray
any individual oi community a travel
injt embodiment all the evil propen
sities cf whicir tne numan mind is sue-
ccntiMe" ; a will and nerve to execute
every wicked imagination. And unless
, .ii
his life in Arkatiras was totally diiierem
Irnm tits course in North Carolina, we
d not wonder at his covering up and
Bulweizing his native and historic
meanness.
The writer of the story ends the life
of Hill in Pope county, Ark., 184d, by
a bowie knife in the hands ol ivioses
Howard, at he Court-house which said
Hill had cleared Judge, Jury, and all, 1
wmle in a tit ot rage and drunkenness.
Those papers that have copied the
"story" w.u!d do well 10 nonce these
facts and "er justice.be done, though
the heavens fall.
A Dry Clay Brick Press. We re
cently t xamiued in theilall ot theFran!;
ltn Hoiel, Chestnut street, a model of
one of the most ingenious and uccessfui
machines for brick making, that vbas
ever yet been produced. It is the in
vention of Mr. I Cuibeiton, and is
patented by Messrs. Cuibertson & Scott,
of this citv. Already one ot these
presses lain lull action near New O
leans, where the Biloxi Steam llnck
Cnmnanv have cnteied into co .tract to
supplvthuty millions ol bricks cbteflv
lor the building of the new Custom
n...0 .n thP .rrat Kn.ithern rami!
nnd nort. The Machine is very ationg,
i . ;i ..,ctri,n,.n h4 lint fpw
BIIIIUIG til iu mug'iuniuii, "
I r ...
ear.nguriawS,irHu..wuui
r u.. l.t.in
I er to drive it. and uui a lew nauds to
attend it. Ii is sell-feeding aud sell-
delivenng, and opera.es witn great cer
tainty and accuracy,and will make with
eat,e 25,000 Brick per day, requiring
no preparation of ihe clay other man
pulverising or running through rollers
attached to the machine, and no yard
room for drying, as liis liricks are sufii
ciemlv hart to stack up in the kiln at
once. 1 he linck are of a uniform s ze
and shape, are harder, smoother, and
stronger, and being iess porous will ab
sorb much less water : and it is tso a
ell established tact, will stand fir
better Uui those made in the ordinary
way. The pressure being gradual and
conunuous,al!ows the air to escape free
iy as the clay is forced into the moulds;
and as each mould passes twice under
the cylinder, first in one and then in
other direction, reaving clay from the
hoppers each wav, the Bnex is not only
full and perfect n all the comers and
t'uges, out tne omereni particles or ciay
are by this rolling or kneading process
completely united. By a slight .altera
lion of the moulds alone, Brick ;of any
desired size or shape tniy be made for
paving, lining cisterns, building srehes,
&c. As theworks will all be; under
envr, Brick ean be made as well in wet
as in dry weather ; they can also be
made earl er in the Spring and Mer in
the Fall than in the ordinary wa,
A large "Brick Press' is atxut to be
erected immediately at the exensive
brick fields of Messrs. C Ss Sv, Pea
Shore four miles from Camden, '. N. J.,
in which, we learn, that the enormoVs
pressure of one hundred tons wili be ap
plied to the formation and compression
of each brick. Mwrnmoth Gazette.
Remains of Whitfeld Rev. Jona'
than F. Stearns writes to the Newbury
port Herald.that it has been well known
"that one of the principal bones of
Whitfield's right arm has been missing
from among the remains of that eminent
saint, deposited iu the vault under the
pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church
in mis town. 1 he bone was in pos
session of a person in London. Mr.
Stearns srates further that he recently
received a package, containing the sto
len relic, with a letter, from which an
extract is given beiaw, with Mr.Stearns
remark thereupon :
"Some years ago a brother clergy
man was requested to obtain an original
letter ol the dear and honored Whitfield
for me, which he thought he could easi
Jy do. He failed, however, in the at
tempt ; bui to my great surprise and
mortification, sent me what he called a
precious relic ol the holy man ol God,
one of his bones ! and preetous it is, bui
it was of too sacred a nature to expose
to the public eye, and I have preserved
it, hoping to restore it to its proptr place
with my own hands. This 1 must now
intrust to you, and I shall be happy tu
learn irom you that it has been done
The trust committed to me, 1 am
happy to say, has been discharged.-
The venerable relic was convened to
the vault where its kindred remains lie,
and in the pretence of the Session ot tne
Church and the Pariah Committee, re
sn rea to its place yesterday "earth to
earth, ashes to ashes, dus: to oust."
As u seems not proper that names
6houid be mentioned in this matter, I
would only beg leave to add, that (he
gentlt-mau by whom the restoration has
been made, is known oy reputation to
me and others tn tins community, and
.u ....... f .: -l - i . .. iTL ...
ioe wumt ui uit tuaraticr uauim icm
guarantee mat ine transact-on is gooum,
and tne motives which have influenced
his course honorable and sincere.
Jonathan I. Stearns.
Newburjpon, bept 28, 1B4U.
Departed Friends. The preserva
tton ol tne memoirs ot lost friends u
l0l oniv a cood exercise for Hie affec-
u0!1s, and the soutca o: a pleasing hope
l0 a,j wuo are ye: to die, but it is cl
culated to have a soothing and refining
effect upon those who indulge ti. Our
departed tnends always appear to us in
the light of beings removed to a purer
existence aud a higher s'aie of intelli
gence, so as to br enabled to see and
judge correctly of all our thoughts aud
scions. If we bear tnem any res
pect, wu will hesitate, under this ideal
censorship, lo do things wnicti are un
worthy of us, and lor which perhaps
the ptesetil world has no punishment
We will try, on the contrary, to be us
pure in thought and deed as possible,
in oru r that we rnav be the more pea-
sing to those who, we conceive, are aho-
g- l""ca'w ?
,u'ly desire lo concise. lu ihs
midst, too, ol the bustle auC shock oi me
present lite, wheu Mile mterestsa.id pei-
l jealousies are i earing memaeivts Ate
serpents in
our heans, now salutary
-
I -k
to .ttlect that all advantages we can
now aeek either to gam or deienu, are
but trash aud dross in me estimation ot
those from whom we lately parted, and
in no long time will be the same in our
own. Are we proviuea wnu a large
are ut such fio-to as this world lias
lo give ihen wal we couirol our appre
ciation oi them, by reflecting oi how ut
ile accouutihey will be wnen we have
rejoined mose friends in another worid
Are we poor, and injured, aud iritnd
less, tneu will the recollections ol ou
departed mend tend to enter us, by
presetting tne idea ot iheir superiorly
to ail bucn evus a super.ority soon
be our own. Robert Chambers
W hat is the safest capiial a man ca
invest in business, and wmcn snail in
I suie him the greatest amount ol liter
the lest ! Answer: Civility.
A COLLEGE LARK. i
The following capital iory is told by
"one who knows," ol Dr. Alaxcey, and
rannot fail to amuse our readers. On
one occasion, several of the students of
South Carolina College resolved to drag
the doctor's carriage into the woods, and
fixed upon a night for the performance
of the exploit. One of their number,
however, was troubled with compuuet
ious visttings, and managed to couvev
to the worthy President a hint, that it
would be well for him to secure the
door of his carnage house. Instead of
paying any heed to this suggestion,
the doctor proceededon the uppointed
night, to the carriage house, and e scon
ced his portly person inside the vehicle.
In less than an hour some halt a dozen
young gentlemen camp o his retreat,
and cautiously withdrew the carriage
iito the road. When they were fairly
oht of the college precincts, they began
to ke freely with each Other by name.
One of then) complained of the weight
of the carriage, and another replied by
b wean ng that it was heavy enough to
have the old fellow himself in it. ror
nearly a mile they proceeded along the
highway, and then struck into the woods,
to a cover which they concluded would
effectually conceal the vehicle. Making
themselves infinitely merry at the does
tor s expense and conjecturing how and
when he would find his carnage, they
t length reached the spot where they
ad resolved to leave it. Just as they
tere about to depart having once
nore agreed that "the carriage was
heavy enough to have the old doctor
and all his tube in it" -thev were star-
i ed by the sudden dropping of one of
tue glass panels, and the well known
voice of the doctor himself thus addressed
tnem:
"So, so, young gen'iemen, you are
going to leave me in tho woods, are
you? Surety, as you have brought me
hither for your own giatificaiion you
will not reiuse totakenie uack ior mine.
Come, iVlessts. , and , and
buckle to, and let us re urn, it's
getting late !'
I'here wai no appeal; for the window
was rdistd and the doctor resumed his
seat. Almost without a word, Hie dis-
cotnfiited young gentlemen took their
places at the pole, at the back ot the
vehicle, and quite as expeditiously, u
with less voice did they leiracw their
course. In silence they diagged the car
rmge into its wontei place, and then
retreated prccipaieiy to their rooms, to
dream of the account they must rendei
on memoi tow. W nen they had gone,
tne doctor quiteiy vacated tne carriage.
and went to bis house, where he reia.ed
e iory to his family with, much gtet
He never called ihe heroes of tnat uoc
iural expedition to an account nor was
the carnage ever afterwards drugged at
nigh into the wooos.
THE Y ANKEE FOX SKIN.
BY YAJSKEE HILL. 1
Morniu squire!' said 'down east,
giving a nod uid a wmk to Lyman and
1 owie, as iIioaO gent stood in their
store one morning, up aud dressed,' lor
business
How are you, sir?'said ine merchants.
'Pooty well, cousidenn tne siate of
mugs ui genera w. 1 say, yeou sell
kins here, doui yeoul
We do, occasionally, was ihe res
ponse.
Well, sol calkelated; buy Fox Sknia
teou 1 reckon?'
Sometimes. Why have ou got
some tor sale?'
Some. Yo-s, guess I hev one, us
some teou, 1 tell yeou.'
'Lets look at it, says one ot the
merchannt. Ihe ownui oi the skin
tugged at the capacious pocket of nis
yaner overcui, a few minutes, aud out
came a prettv considerable, sizcauie
bdtjg-upot a venerable reynanl.
1 here a is, a perfect bewiy it is, too.
Ami u?
Seen many finer ones, says Towle.
Praps yeou hev, aud praps you hami;
but I deou think us a rate bewiy -slick
dad snmv as a bran uew hat.
When did you get this sKioT sys
the merciiam.
U heu did 1 get it ! Why, whenl
kilted ihe daru'd critter, ot course!'
'leg, ve know; but was it iu the fall
or summer, or wueu:
On! ye-s; weil, 1 reckon, 'iwarut fur
irom 4i u July, any wax, lur iu jest
cieuo d up my oid shouiin p ece, lor
p'rade on tne glorious anuiversdry , and
along cornea Hit old cnuer, and 1 jest
give nun a np in ihegizzaid i4iit settled
uis hash uiignty auJucn 1 tell yeou.'
'Fox skins,' said me mercuanis, 'are
not very good wiieii taiteu Ui hot wea
iu r; tne ior and luir is imn, and teji fit
mi much in summer.
ell, neow 1 reckon since I come
toihmk it ever, 'iwar'ut not weather,
when i shot the critter; no, I'll be darned
ef it was; made a thunderin mistake
uaut that, lur 'twas nigh on to Christ
mas, was by golly fi'r 1 and Seih Peur
kins wur gmn to iroltc. 1 remember
it like a book, cold as sixty, snowin aw
'ul, was, by finger!'
WHi, siys the merchants, 'was the
Fox very fat!'
Fa "t! O! Molly, warnt it fai? Ne
ver did see such a fat iet.'er in all my
beoin days. Why yeoo, tbe la-tcamo
clean through the critter's hide, run
down his legs, vtill the very ainh was
greasy where the darned varmint
crawed areound. Did by peunkinsl'
'Too tat then, we guess, said Towle.
Fat skins, sir, are not as good as ihose
taken from an animal not more than or
diuary Int.'
Weil, guest 'iwar'nt bo darned fat
nuiher; come to think on it, waa anu
tner Fox our Siah shot last fall; this
old critter war'nt so da rued tat, not over
ly fai lact, I guess it was rey.ther
poor ; kmd of lean, tree-menjus lean;
poor old varmant was about lo die ot pure
biarvanoii; never did see such a darned
etarnal starved, lean, tank, lainwned live
critter on airth beiore?'
Very poor, eh' said Lyman
Very poor? I guess 'twas; so al
mighty poor that tne old critter's bones
stuck clean eout, almost through his skin;
had nt killed it jest wnen 1 aid, it would
died afore it got ten rods further along.
Fact! by golly!'
An! weil, says the merchants, we
see the skin is poor, very poor; the lur
is linn atid loose, and would not suit us.
Wuntsuit yeuu? Neow look ahere
yeou,' says ine Yankee, folding up his
versatile skin 'J dunt kind o like sicti
dealing as that, no heow, and 1 11 De
darned to darnutton el you ketch me a
tradm tox Skins with yeou agin, there
ami no lumber in the state o Mainel
and tne holder ot the sktti vamosed.
Tie Yankee. No other man is like
him. It has been said of him, that he
was made lor all stations, and manages
to work his way in all places. Place
him upon a rock in the mid9t ot the
ocean, and with a penknife and a bunch
of slt.ugies, ne wouid work his way on
shoie. He sells salmon, from Kenne
beck, to ine people oi Charleston ; hud'
dock, fresh from Cape Cod, to the plan
ters of Maianzas; raises coffee in Cuba
swaps mules and horses tor molasses in
Porio Kico ; retails ice from Fresh Pond
in Cambridge, in (he East Indies ; takes
mutton from Brighton, to New Orleans
and to South America ; manufactures
mucalis ior tne geveruor of Jamaica ;
becomes an admiral in a foreign nation:
starts in a cockei-suell craft oi h7:een
tons londed with onions mackerel, aud
tnotions," ior Valparaiso; bans his
trap on ihe ( oiumoia river; catches
wild beasts in Amca, for At scomber's
caravan; sells granite on contract, to
rebuild fit. Juan 4e Uiija; crosses tue
Rio Grande, and daguerreotypes dead
Mexicans ; he is ready , tike Ledyaid,
lo start lor Timbuctoo lo-morrou u.orn
ing,--ex lies himself lor years Irom
home, to sketch in their wilderness the
wild men of tne woods, and astonishes
refined Europe wuh the seeming pies
ence ol tne uuiutored savagt . Intro
duced lo Metiernicn, he aaks, "wtiat's
the news?" Says "how do vou do.
inarm?" toQueeu Victoria. Prescribes
rnompson's eye water to the mandarins
of Chiua, and if lie pieases, makes ttie
scouting Noulneins rich vvnn cotton in
veiuious. He is lound loremost among
those who sway tue eiemeuis of society
-is tne schoolmaster ol his couotry.
and missionary for the heaiiieu world.
tie is untOjUaica, m tact, and instead of
gomg round about ways, atarts across
lots tor any desired point. Ii peip' tual
motion is ever to be discovered, oe will
be sure to b; the lucky cummer ior
he is the factotum lor the wiioit world.
Jin Easy Rule for Farmers A
quarter oi wheat 14 au English measure
of eignt sianda.d bushels; so n you see
lhai quoted at ntty-six shillings, it is
seven shillings a bushel. A smiling it
twenty lour cents multiply by seven
and you nave Si 68 ptt bushel.
The Men with Tails. The tribe of
canmoal negroes uteiy discovered uiAf
rica, b the Fiench traveller Ducouet,
wun a tail three or lour tuches long,
number about 4U.0U0, aud a lew rnern
oersot 11 are staves 11 tho city of Mec
ca. 1 beir owners nave u gorge them .
once 01 twice a week with raw meat, lo
keep them trout being sJangerous.
It is said that most of the suicides in
this country are cotnuuUed by foreign
ers, as every ifankee ex peels lobe Prts-
idem, and he lives 10 see what the dos
trine of chance may bring forth.