Newspapers / Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.) / Nov. 29, 1845, edition 1 / Page 1
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1 I Flctclier Webster's JLcctnrc bnK L tf-Cliiaa and' tbc CIiiese.'V'- --v r . - " 1 ,j i" - ' JV very crowded ana r fashionable, aodk ce assembled, says the N.Y. Herald, to I it Mr. Fletcher VyebsterVifirst lecture -China and the ChineseVThe attrac pre character of the Jjubject, and a ryery cncral desire to. hear the' son of onebf JL Greatest men, and) who himself enjoys ' our -blly respectable reputation as a gen ?jcman of distinguished literary acquire- ments, sufficiently accpuntea tor tnc nu- fljerous aitenuancev , jy e uuuceu uuiiuh -jl 0eUcading jnem fcssibW majjyof our ntostnbted divines, a jriat namberof ourrrtost influential mer- chants, and a congregation of female bcau- lj, elegance, ;and fashion, wJiiehV might l&vc inspired even art ordinary speaker. gut iUr. Webster certainly uiscovereu on r this occasion th at he" is, not an un wort hy representative of a name great.inihe am tas of oratory. ' H is ject u re . was high ly entertaining, well written, and delivered in an agreeable and unaffected st) le;- tVe will gi ve J he best idea of it, and p're readab I e report, by sent perhaps the most riving, from our notes,' a number, of' the most ncrvel and jgraphic, passages. I: f i Camcons' cJt'e; t thi?1 northernend of the town of Macaojisthe cave in which tbc Portuguese poet, Uameons, is s:tid to have written his celebrated poem theT Lu ciad, the subject of which is the voyage round the Capej of Good llope, by Vasco icGainia This is aromaniic and beau tiful spot. The cavo isKtbrmed by two prodigious -boulder rocks, which, wiili great numbers of other smaller ones, seem td have been throwa down Upon ihe earth it random, and piled up by chance in fan tastic and careless shaj)es. The Portu guese, Avith a wooderi cupola, and a wretch ed leaden bust. Qihc,ioMlh end of the island is aChir ese tdmple, situated in si B)iars assemV)!age,ol1 gigantic r'ocks, but extremely tastt ful. ; The localities of the place are taken ad vantage 6t with great skill and judgment ; Itemple after temple succeeding each othr up the steep wind ing ascent, cut jn.the.solid rock, with hea ty balustrades jail of natural rock, or of massive and, beautifully hewn granite. Nature has' been no jvnu.re-distorted, the steps seeming half natural, and all that the hand of man hat) done, to he but car rying out the j design of nature, which, meant it for a place jof worship. A Chinese 2Vjwe.--Vefeaw here for the first-time a beajutilul arrangement, which the Chinese call a moon gate, and which is a favorite arra ngement with them , in their gardens arid temples. Jt is an open circular gateway, through a high granite wall, giving passage Irom one-enclosure of each of the-tem- to another. In front pies we re gran j t e U ra gons, . bea u t i f u 1 ly -.carved in grotesque, Chinese st ile, each I of eranite seen thro' with a moveable, ball the teeth)f Iris closed mouth, 'which'' must li.i-o : k- L.. i 1' .1... s:j., .L vias solid, and the ball could neither be pot io nor taken out, jwit bout breaking ihe fijare. In the interior of each-tempi" 'was u altar of stone, and 'oi.e!6r.more idols in niches in tbe wall, justlaWn and behind the altar. In front of Ihe alrar were bronze oriron tables.;'6n Vvhichwere metal pans nilrd with loose earth, and usi used to set the tras-Iighted sticks in kvjih are burnt be fore the imagk ' Tne f idols were much decorated .will!! gold Jaifd silver tinsel, and in these templ(sfthej w;ere all female (i fures, they being dedicated to the gotldess ... . i j - r, . o the sea. V Flower, botb natural and arl cial, of gold andsi ver leal, which seem fd to' be offerings, were ly i ng at the feet f thevidols, an!d the' gassticks were still hmins as thouirh some worshipper hau 1 i . at just retired froin bis jdevotion. Inhere w as uothere.asth re ism India, any mvsterv. or reserve, or pro libit ion. No guard or priest Jo prevent one 's going where lie pleased, cr to watch h s conduct. We could have tobhed the Jehiple bf all its tinsel and Bowers, pulled the iiofs nose, or desecra- ea the altar. Uiit we felt such would lie 61' the, confidence vybich ill requita as implicitly reposed in us, and. we left ntoucht'd, every spifig and spangle of the .od. First Official Visit. It was announced feministerhatalbtter fromGonCbing, containing an Imper al edict, was about to be brought to him, by four high officer Canton. S The correspondence had often carried on betveeathe Minister and J I hng for some time! yhen t his announce ment was made. Jt-verything was pre pared for the ecepti)n of this first oflicia I 'tfroni high p)iinese functionaries, and awaited their arrival. Alter a while discordant noise, accompanied by loud nes at intervals, wHs heard, and we look-' JMrom the blinds of the verandah, to see , approach of oiir ; visitors. Two ill- ag telloWs. with wire , caps on their leads on: nftliPrt U tb n-v'bin nnrt K .er with an axe in his hand led the. recession. These wcreXhe executioners. always precede a high officer. Next p&e a scoreif poc fly dressed and very soldiers, with spears, and shields and jfoerts. Then a man or two on wretch- Ponies, whose har stood put inll;di ctipns, and whose manes and tails were goorantpf brush or currycomb ; then the . - "u-n-, aim uicu inc orurtii.cunin r. ; " , - iiiciiioci vra. -a mcj. ere 'j11 number, all large and fine looking jsons, dressed -in light colored crape VJDs fastened round their waists By blue es and" buckles of precious stones.----v,fiSt00 W )lo reclctve them jwith I our Oil. fnr ! lis fKmiiCo otiniintfo tiVti tTe.red a mark of. respect; :; TheyenV With iKv.Xm rxb nn fonloin-n wj --- iiilii bnuf una uto jiu tictl aQd blue uttorjs arid peacockV fea- The button. is last ened to the top jjjjr cap andjthe, jleathe hangs down at lt usjl ind the" chief among Ithero - -, a'TOT?; . 1 . i )0 presented the letter to the Minister. ' On receiving it' he. motionedto themUobe1 seated, andtakeoiTtheirapsr serving carefullj' our Own movements, and keeping-exact luac' wlth us they did, One of the Interpreters now read the"!et ter, and lifter a short interval of silence such srtrcojiversatiqn as can, be car jrjed onbyjmeans of interpreters, and looks and signs took place. .The- first civility ivas, on their part, asking' our names; this information being given and recipro cated, they proceeded to shock our notions of good breeding by asking our ages! This, however, is an indisnensable atteni 10.; we. returned it at once and wrere of course much euihed at our lniormalion. . Alter a few minutes conversation, a luncheon, in the Chinese -style, vas an nounced, and we entered the'dining room; our guests, according to Chinese.etiquette, seated on the . left, which, with them, is the palace of honor. "Chop-sticks had been provided for all of us, and we made our hrst experiments vjth them, to the unre strained amusement of our guests. They .showed little iticlmation to eat, but a de cided taste for the barbarian liquors. j champagne and cherry bounce. (A very rea tacea -gentleman, whom kwe. afier wards saw very frequently, a Manchoo Tartar, Ijj' the name of Tung Lin, dispos ed of half a dozen tumblers of cherry bounce in as many minutes ) We were astonished by the very loud tones of their voices ; it must have ?been easy to have heard in the street everything saidjby them. As it js a point of politeness to empty one's ghiss, whenever drinking with a friend and they each drank with all of us they became, gradually, as elevated as their voices. Civilities were now ex changed with the greatest urbanity. One unavoidable one we wrould have gladly flispensed with. It is the fashion, for, eve ry one to help himself with, his own chop sticks from any dish on the table which he can reach ; . and when he feels desirous of offering a testimonial of particular regard, as well as j-espect he reaches out and eizes something with bisWn chop-sticks, and nmtioning'to the individual forXyhom fie designs the favor to open his mouth, puts the morsel, whatever it is, between hrs teeth. As they are not particularly nice in their eating, and their teeth are by no means pearls, we would have pardon ed J he omission of this attention. , It was, hoWever, not to be escaped ; all that was left us was retaliation, which we immedi ately practiced. Alter an hour at table, of shouting conversation on their part, and of nods and becks and wreathed smiles 6n oars.' we rose and moved to the veran dah, where a new series of delicate at tentionssurprised us. They had made us (ell our agesentered with their caps on, shaking their own hands, sat on our left, fed us with their own chop-sticks ; and now they commenceof to Examine our ap parel, piece by piece cravat, coat, waist coat, shirt-bosom, trousers, sword-belt, gloves, all in turn were- inspected For tunately, our good genius, Dr. Parker, told us this .was the very acme ofx politeness, .nd to be imitated without delay. Nothing jvas more. agreeable to us, who had, with great patience -and suavity, shown our hats and swords and coats; and we be jan to Hscrutinize their dress and orna ments. We examined their caps and but tons, nnoT peacock feathers; their little mbroidered bags, which with fan cases and snuff-bokes. they hang from their gir- qles; their thumo-nngs ox agate, their silken girdles and jewelled buckles. One of them, Tung Lin, a Tartar, made him self meriy with a sword belt belonging to One of us. lie put itbn1o shovhowmuch too small it Was, strutted up and down to show us his portly figure, struck his full chest, and told us iri'a voice of tbnnder that he was a Mantcboo he then seized my hand, and squeezed fit, to show his Wength. He was a terror-spreading Tar tar General. (My own, however, being much the largest, for both Tartars and Chinese have remarkably smalrarid deli cate hands, he did not make such an im- ression as he anticipated.) After two ours of intellectual intercourse of this ort, our friends retired. The 'procession re-formed, gongs beat and pipes squealed, the executioners yelled, the little ponies were pulled between their rider's legs, and we were lelt fo.reflect upon Chinese men and manners, .' , x . . I Entering the Canton . Ricer.- For the first twenty miles the waters are general ly rough, the whole bay being exposed to the'northerly and easterly winds, and there are; no: objects of interest. ;By abd by, the Bocca ; Tigris and the , forts (of the Hogue, appear. . -At this point, about fifty miles" above Macao, is the ,actaal mouth ofthe Canton river. The shores approach each i)ther with very high and hilly banks, arid ihe entrance is 'not mpre than a can rion shot wide. " The 'W'hite walls of the forts on both sijles, and on Tiger Island n the centre of the" river, ; present a formida ble a)peara rice? But oh examination they; show theniselves to - be almost useless rections. They are built'not on the top ! oi,lhe,bili; njor or, they, guarded bypther; fortifications oii the topt 'so jthat-to take; them, the English had only to land; out of 1 gunshot, march round to the summit of the mil, ouu.urc uowq oa niu wcupoui They consist of mere walls; not covered in at all, anojof course afford no protectioa Whatever ! against, bombs, , aridthetport ' . .-. - " i-. aoies are as large as ie aoQrapi;an:orpjt jffijj" " jjj" j'' ' ' ' :Syj Fl " ilTfi v ' t safe.- i ; SABISBmYv N. 4 NOVEMBEiEl 29, 1845. nary: barrirIichietfo fight, as one goes up battery; with prirt holesibr more than a hundred guns. of1 which, I1 beficVe, hone were mounted.' 1 . First sight of TVhampot?. About si x milesbelow Canton are the remains of the barrier which the Chinese built to keep off the English. It is a great dyke of stone and piles. A narrow raceway is now made through it. which so compresses the water, that it can be passed only at a favorable time of tide. The current often runs here six or seven miles an hour." At length boats and craft thicken like the carriages in a crowded street. They come' down stream with a line wind, a dozen abreast, occupyingjlhe wjiole river. Collision seems inevitable! A large junk is within twen ty feet, coming ; directly upon your boat, withall sails set. All the tales of cruelty and indifference to human life, which We hear related of the people of China, and especiaIlVthe river population rush upon ihe mind, i l hey certainly mean to run you down, arid j your crew seem to look upon it with perfect apathy. In an in stant within five feet of collision round swings one or the other boat, and they have passed ! The dexterity of the Chi nese with their boats, exceeds that of any other people. Vessels are now seen at anchor, in long rows, and houses floating on the water in great blocks. One sails through st reels boats, as regular as those of houses on land, witlrthcir ornamented fronts, like small cottages; doors, win dows, lamps, eegantly carved and gilt pi lastres and porticos, and abundance of in habitants. Butcher boats, vegetable boats, and scavenger boats, pass up and down the street, their occupants crying their various commodities, and calling to sell or carry away. It is a floating city, said to num ber, tff those who live wholly on the wa ter are born there, pursue their business there, and die there, seldom touching ter-ra-firma three hundred thousand souls. Canton. Canton itself is situated on a low piece of ground, hardly above the le vel of the river. Lofty hills approach it on the east, and an eminence is close to it on w hich is a Tartar military station. I will not attempt to describe Canton at any length. Its population is six hundred thou sand or, more, j Its streets are seldom over eight feet in width ; the houses low and dark. The city within the walls is said to be smaller than the suburbs. One can not discover which is the city, and which is the suburbs, until he is informed. The walls, which are high arid very massive, form the backs of shops and stores, built along them. In walking next the walls, one sees nothing but shops. Even the gates arexnot noticeable, of which there are many in the suburbs, as' well as arch es crossing J he streets. The factories of themerchantsf arc situated on the very bank of the river, and are much the finest and largest buildings that I saw,except , ing the temples. A Chinese Scholar. Having reached Canton, my first business was to find a Tartar, and 4one was, at last, procured w ho undertook to instruct us. He was not a native Tartar, but a Chinese scholar, a tall, good looking, intellectual person, and I augured very favorably of our suc cess with him. I noticed that on his first arrival there was an appearance of irrys tery and concealment. The Chinese who introduced him seemed very anxious. There was a whispering and shutting of doors; and a great many injunctions, ap parently, and assurances.exclamations and gestures. However, we set down to our task at last, and got through the alphabet. The next day, agreeable to appointment, he came again, and there was the same closing of doors, and looking behind and around, and springing up, if any one en tered, and, in short, such a mysterious air about the whole thing, as if we were con spirators in some plot. 1 observed he was a nervous and very much agitated, hard ly able to command himself, and laboring evidently under some very great excite ment. He jumped up at any noise, as though he spprehended imminent danger, or some one was about to spring upon him from behind. However, we got through our lesson. The next day he was missing at the appointed time. The day following., he appeared: and with more perturbation than ever. He could hardly speak or stand. He had grown haggard; his eyes were swollen and staring. Never was mortal fear of something, 1 did not know what, more plainly depicted on a man s face, than on his. He was accom panied by Dr. Parker's attendant. ; They entered, carefully and .soltly, closed and fastened the door, made sure that no one was in the room, and then bis friend in a lowxtone. told me the; nature of the case. He was afraid of losing his head ior comingto teach a foreigner Mantchoa - beffjred me to receive back my . money which he brought in his hand, and let him ... ' ,T .11 go.. He.couw not comeagain. i rjtie Joiq me, and L believe it, that he ;was on the point of taking poison to rid himself of his trouble.: -'That; he had eaten no rice, and taken no sleep since he first ? came. - He expected every- - moment ; to be seized by the Mandarins, and earned off to be be headed. - VThere Avas"no argornent,; with him, no comforting pr assuring hi m i -and the only, lb ing,to be done 1 was . to discharge hith; and let hi m:. goifri 4lAti r-&-A y We were more fortunate afterwards, ; - Ca'.mi. and found twVthorough bred Tartars; who bad no fear of Mandarins, and who re mained yith us, long after all ideaof go ing to Perkiri was abandoned. " A ' ChineselViUa. While r-at' Canton, I had the- pleasure to visit a country seat belonging to a distinguished Chinese gen tleman, Duke Pwon. (Dr. 'Parker had the kindness to invite him to dinner, and the invitation was the consequence.) Duke Pyvon, as he was created while we were in China; but more generally known as Putinqua, is a short stout person of for ty years of age. His mariners not pleas ant, according to our notion. His move merits were very quick and monkey like. He seemed to be uneasy with his feet on the ground, and to want to lift them up on his chair. Ho helped himself with his own knife and fork to. everything he could reach. Told us he had the salt rheum, and pulled up his sleeve to show his arm. He showed us the game played with the fingers, practiced also in Italy, a drinking pastime not unamusing. I do hot wish to describe Duke PwOn under a disagreeable aspect. He was extremely civil, and we afterwards saw much of him. At first one is not pleased with such manners, but a little custom goes far to reconcile the mind to any thing. His villa, called Pun ton g, situated on the river, about three miles above Canton. It has about 100 acres in extent in the middle of paddy fields, covered with water. The approach to it is along a canal leading-from the river. There are several houses, and detached outbuildings which make up the villa.- Long wooden bridges, such as we see re presented on dirinerplates, connect the various buildings, which are all built on piles, of a sort of glazed brick. The main house is perhaps sixty feet square, two sto ries high; with numerous apartments. The large drawing room is handsome and handsomely furnished. In the rear of the buildins: is a theatre, the stage fronting the windows of the drawing room. Be- j tween the two buildings is a fish pond, an indispensable requisite to a Chinese country place. On nights of preformance, long poles are thrust into the mud at the bottom of the pond, with lanterns at their tops. I here was an aviary made of wire filled with gold and silver pheasants of extreme beauty. A tame deer, two beau tiful adjutants, and a monkey, made up the collection of animals. There were no grounds or gardens, being a place built on a shallow pond, and artificially raised a bove the level of the. water ;jthe only walks were wooden bridges. The general ap pearance was pleasing, but there Vas no thing like what we call comfort. Chinese Courtship.- Everv Chinese, as soon as he is in any way able to do so, takes a small footed wife. He sends for some old lady, whose , well known and re cognised, and there considered respecta ble trade, is that of a go-between, and inquires, who among his neighbors has a nice daughter who would do for a wife. The lady mentions one,. and gives a de scription of her appearances. She then sees the young lady whom she thinks he would prefer some Miss Lee INang or Nou Seen, and describes the merits of the gallant, Noo Chung. The parents then. with her help, arrange the settlement, and the bride is given away with as great cer emonies and rejoicings as the means of the families wi .11 allow and in high and wealthy families, the husband first sees her face when he meets her at the door of his house, and taking her out of her sedan chair raises her veil. The Chinese Carriers. There are no beasts of burden, except a few buffalo to plough the rice fields, in all the -lower parts of China. The population is too dense to allow the productions of the earth to be used for the support of beasts. Ev ery thing is done by human labor. There is no wheeled vehicle in Canton. I doubt if there are any in all the lower part ot the empire. Further north they use char riots and, wagons driven by sails. Thus Milton says " Where Chinese drive With wind and tail, they carry wagon light." . Besides the four or five horses used by English gentlemen at Macao; half a doz en ponies in all, not more, certainly. Street Begging in China. The condi tion of the classes of beggars in Canton is worth remarking on. They are very wretched, arid always objects of pit), from some accident, disease or deformity, and their way of getting a living is curious. China has no charitable institutions, no asylum or alms houses, and among such a teeming .population there are Tbf course many beggars, though not so-many as would be supposed ; not so great a pro portion, I apprehend, as in Europe, or in OUT largc-cuies, aincc iuc viu- arc icw, provisions plenty, and the climate mild. But there are beggars enough, and they must live, and Chinese ingenuity provides' for their support by a. true Chinese let alone" policy a: masterly - inactivity very characteristic f Every beggar is pro vided with sorae jnstrument that makes a disagrecablenoisetwo wooden clappers or a small; gong, "-ory at all jents a most villainous yoice.twithM they' goalorigf the streets, selecting at will & shop, 'enter, arid: damnable. faces,'! as Hamlet recommends) begin to jfsihg ;o.rj beat, their: ngv bam boos, to thegreat annoyances ot tne own- errand ths more NUMBER ; 31; OF OLUME II. decent cpstorriers arid here theyVafe at- lowed by law arid custom to remain beat ing and singing uritilthey receive the cash. If the shopkeeper is, as most Chinamen are, blest with that fortitude which is a good remedy for evils, when there is no, other, and lets them beat till they are tired, theyjie down before, the counter and for get their woes in sleep awhile, amHhen up and beat again. It is a trial of pa tience between the two. The beggar holds on as long! as he can, hoping the shop keeper will be aggravated to the amount requisite ;"the shopkeeper sits with the ut most apparent indifference ta let the beg gar seethat he has no chanced Mean while the beggar is losing time, and the shopkeeper customers If the shopkeeper pays at an early period of the visitation, he may get rid of one infliction, only to make way for another. If he keeps one pretty bearable plague he is secure against others, arid may get up a reputation for invincibility and stoicism that will protect him in future. So, there they sit, -shop-keeperand beggar, the one doing his worst to annoy, and the other his best not to no tice it, till the one or the other gives in. System of Government. The govern ment of China is Patriarchal; and it. is a pure unalloyed despotism. The Czar of Russia wields a power less uncontrolled than the Emperor of China. He reigns absolute and supreme, and knows no re straint upon his will. The lavsare the mere expressions of his pleasure. The soil of all China is his own inheritance. lives, fortunes, and honor of his subjects are in his hand. As their father and sov ereign, he may take either or all from any of them, by an arbitrary stroke ot his Ver million pencil. . His power knows no check, or balances, or bounds. He is the representative or victory of the Almighty the head of religion the son of heaven, in immediate communication with the Supreme, and the only being authorized to hold such communication. All religious observances and rites, as well as munici pal laws, derive their sanction and obliga tions from him. In short, he is invested with every attribute that unlimited power can extort from the fear and ignorance of subject millions. His vast empire, for the purpose of government, is div?ded into great provinces. AtHhe head of each of these is a high officer, responsible immedi ately to him for its order and good gov ernment. Each province is again subdi vided into districts, districts into towns, villages and hundreds. . Each of these subdivisions has'its-proper head, who is responsible to his immediate superior, for the conduct and condition of those under his.gfule. In case of crime or even acci dent,punishment is made to fall not only on, the. guilty themselves, but on those whose? duty it was to detect or prevent it. For serious crime or disturbance, not on ly the guilty themselves, but the head of the town in which it took place, and the district in which tne town lies, and of the province in which the district is included, are punished in various degrees. The blow from the Emperor is felt throughout the whole chain. Chinese Police. On some occasion, when there was unusual excitement among the people at Canton, a large mob surrounded, in the evening, the foreign factories. An Ameri. can, who dad been out on the river, was oblig ed to make his way through the crowd to reach his home. On getting into his Hong, as they call each merchant's residence, he found that he had been robbed of his watch. When, or by whom it was taken among that crowd of Chinese all dressed alike, all looking alike, and closely packed together in the dark, no one of whom hchad ever before seen, or would probably see again, of course he could not tell. All he could say was, it had been taken by some one among the hundreds jammed together in the square. The probability of recovering it was very remote, but he made his complaint to the proper Chinese functionary, and stated the case. The Mandarian told him that within so many days he should have the watch. That very day all tho police officers in that part of Canton, to the number of one or two hundred, ivarn connl nnnn a nrl l mnr! 1 n Ol them was then brought before the Mandarin, and the robbery stated to him, and he was in formed that he must find that watch, and bring it back, and that all his comrades would remain in jail until he did. Kach one of the poor fid lows thus confined had a family dependent on him for support, and friends and relations inte rested in his release. All these at once he. came most active in their exertions to discover the watch and set . free the prisoners. Their friends and their friends'. friends were interest ed ; the army of police officers increased geo metrically. Tbe whole people lecame thief takers,' and at the end of three days ihe watch was found, in an obscure but in the country, .twenty miles- from Canton, and restored to-its owner. In other cases of- then, a similar, tho harsher course, is sometimes pursued, but the result is generally the. discovery of the thief sod restoration of the goods. If a theft takes place in a house, on complaint to a Mandarin, all the servants are arrested and taken before him, and both the guilty and innocent bambooed, till the made. - The Chinese code.'both civil and enm inal,is immensely 'voluminous" arid detailed, TJbere is,apparenly nothing which can. be done W suffered .halts not provided lor. 4 ' v5Ve have "thus endeavored, ays. the Ileralct, tot give :jme ides of thi highly entertaining' discoaVsei iU was listened to with marked inV terest, and at the close tbe ptauditi were' loud and enthusiastic" Ailer thanking the audience really guilty at last confesses. , -The cruelty of this course nol unfreqoently indeed generally among foreigners, prevents complaiutsTieiag lor IheiVaUentiohfMrV Webster nnoimcetlthat the second lecture would be delivered on'Frj evening. w -, i ;IiNTEUlESTICG FROM THE FXu An expditiorij the objects of which are fully' explained in t.he ;subjuiried selection i Irorn the corresponaence oi ine uosion jii- -leu oT October 25tbTstarted from Fort Lea- - ven worth recently under command of Col. -Kmnr.'nf iYik AkV Re?rnnent.' The iiifor matioti T which it coritains is interesting m the7extferaeiying;a - of CaritFrembris whereabouts VB, The objects of this expedition xycre, to see that the7on"nr foad to Oregon was ODcn . to the emigrants, antl.tbelSarite;Fctrail to the traders ; . to jyutt Jhe,Indian tribes this side of itheUoc!iMomitainsarid. byliiridness andipresents. tbf shovilhem that the white munis thetr ftirrid-iatlhe same time to overa we. the arid, molestation of citucnsoT the jllriited States would not - go - un pu nished. Andt her ob-- ject was to explore, t hercpuhtr)and rdis-' cover, its military.resourceslUn the 21th . oi iuay,. .ve,sirucK3ne-Mrefc.4V.reoii Trace,, which we kept, to;the!i5duth Pass - v of thaltocVy Mountains.pa,the.29th. or r4i --.. -.. r t-nh . TTfcl kku l nt .fi Platte Hiver, striking It f weritrnile'sfrbm the head .of Grand IshinU; ITherf Nebras ka' River is very swift, Vry muddyj and shallow i; It puts on the airs of aformida- ; ; lMit V 1 ill I lini f ILL 1IJUV 11CUK131VI4CUI nie river, Dulitijrunnavigaoie ; anu wasn- -ington Irving ex presseiHi is fpririciplc, fa-. tures, when he called it the .most" beaut i- . ful and useless of " ri vers 'Th XwaterT ji mount ain men to an other. y On ihe!4th of June we came upon the' first hefdof Bufialo. They continued t i ntf?."at.iurn hers for a " we.ek. supplyingtt be command with a plenty of meat.For.tw'entjv,days alter wo struck the Oregoir Traced wo were continually overtaking" and passing" the e nigrants. This wastn exceedingly interesting featurcin thecatripaigri for : we saw the manner'ini wluch j Jit tt n aV no nnrl vl iVk.r.Sa :. 1 " , general character; and It was gratifying ' to them, to know that "the. gon;rnmentwas sending her troops to keep them from be ing molested, by the hripdVofth6i5avnet on their long andJloilsbriie journey. JThey assemble annually, in the Springs of fhe year, from the middle and Western States, 3 at different points on thejTronticrs j gener-" ' ally at St. Joseph arid Independence, Mo.; where they form -themselves'' 1 into: com pa- nies, of-from twenty-five to fifty farnilies and, when the grass is sufficiently forward to subsist their stock, they commence their journey. "" Zlf'M, " They are bold, hardy farmers; nnd afo fully competent in every respect, to lay the foundation ot a new Colony, jperhaps. 1 a new nation. Oregon is now eyidently filling up fast; and that, too. with citizens from the United States. There, have pass ed over the road to Oregon, this season, CI 2 wagons, and an immense - number, of " stock ; allowing five to a.wagon which is a low estimate, there wnre. nccomnav- v ing those wagons, 3060 souls tfi On jhoL 14th of Juncrwe arrived iat ihLafarnic . Fork of the Nebraska, having followed the latter and its N. Foikto this place.-- tt : a - .' .-it T 1 iicic til c bvvv 1 1 au 1 1 q ju;ii)t xui 1, yvuuj belonging to the American FuftCo? and Port IMattee, to a compauyof gentlerrieh from St. Louis., Onr l he -1 Ct h a ,.G rand Council wasiield at this place.. withfthe Sioiix-rthere. bciiig present sorriel200i of all ages. This Council-was -one of-great1 interest; for the troops had madellheir appearance in a country inhabited by the most powerful and warlike tribe: bf the West; and the motives of their" visit-being a mystery to the 1 nd in they 'were miiia oloii7iiiil qt (iK't f rifl i ItAnnnf (flttV u uiiu aiai iiji-u . uioif t., ,vmp j . . . . . . . L. . . . t were to be chastised ;-Knowing, lull .well, that the scalps of white men wefe.sm6ki ing in their lodges. When told it wastliO, intention of the 'Commaridertoholda.."' Council, they were reassured,!;arid cara forward, well satisfied that nJiainvjis- tn ho ( nno in ihnm. The. Colonel iraVe some eroou auvice. anu wanieu.iiuriii rr. I niAl-clinir ilia troilr nilfl. 5mmi. rTl-!t (timf K. vfn 1 ! npnmii!irt-f' ICI.lt IS. A UI3 I IMIl Wiiwv.m and, after the business ofthe Council was ended, the Colonel distributed presents af mong them, such aslire always gratifying "a anu accepranie 10 jno -inuian. vii.uiej 17th, the command started for the South Pass, leaving a detachment" of 'one! hun dred men at Lararnic.;- On the 30th,r lhT command was mustered at the head way into the Uullpt Ualilornia;..ano; returned to Laramie on the 13th JuyT;'ji''. :. Itnr nPYt mov wnv Irnrri lb TJiIiMl'!i ' ? Southward to the Arkansas lliver. nasih?r wa 11 . a a mm m r - www mmmm mm.t L a . m m ------- rv 700 miles along the base of the main chain or the Kockv Mountains. Ihis nart or our ; lnllrnotr ,'cicz inlapuvtimr !n llta a,lrim-' . I he high oeaks. covered with eternal snow: the valleys, which have never been visit- ed by the blessed light Of sun the fearful . crags; the scathed and splindeVed pinna cles of granite ; the distant slopes cover ed with dark masses of stinted pines ' and kretchingibff like ?an illimitable ocean,' presented a series of pictures which, for v their beauty. and sublimitycarinotwill ; venture to say, be surpassed upon this con-v tinent. CertainUvno pcriof periciljcou ever atfempt'li6"aofjustcetthen eral of the mountains' in thisngaVe iicf loftiest of the whole chain of the Northern Cortlillerasl aridVarnongthem Peak, the very hijghestr:!oumay Ihaye an idea of the altitude of its immense siim- m$Twhen I tell)ypti wepvere marching seven dayslorigarches, directly twardi it, from thettimewe first saw itnjuTf wo, arrived at its base. .This Jart of the march, was severe, for we suffered much fcr want of vkter; and the grassvasetry poor.-- j AYe struckithtArkansasvonUh Juiy,boUtten: miles fronvhem it. de -bbucbeafrbmitBemountans,a ibout-
Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 29, 1845, edition 1
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