f ' f
Bt P. M. HALS AX W. I SAUNDERS.
RATES OF ADVERTISING,
Published Daily (except Monday) and Weekly.
'J
'"" .(" ! 11.'.
.
Katss or SFBacurnoir n AnvAirct.
Daily, one year, man postpaid,. ts 00
" six month. " ''...,. OQ
" .Hire " " ....,...,.,, 100
Wetly, one year, maU postpaid,.... 00
six months," . 1 00
To city subscribers Thx Omm Will be do-1
llvered daily at twenty oenta per week ; aerenty.
Ave cents per month; two doUara lor three
months. ' - . .
rARXJLXVQjtltDgXXOTXS.
' Original and Compiled.
OS THX OULTTVATKHl OF WHEAT. .
SoiL That suits best in which clay pre
dominates; sandy lands are not suitable
unless highly manured; dryness is essential,
a rolling surface is preferred, as from drain
ing better it is less liable to rust. Land
foul with weeds not favorable; if used
should be plowed under deeply and seed
put in shallow. No land should be sown
that will not produce eight barrels of corn
to the acre unless manured. No crop so
uncertain on poor land, none more certain
on land rich enough and well prepared.
. Seed Bed. Deep plowing is injurious
plant seems to need a firm understratum,
not far from the surface to imbed its roots
in and with this advantage, withstands the
throwing out produced by alternate thaw
ing arid freezings better than when the
soil has been stirred to a considerable depth.
A proper distinction should be made be
tween a subsoil rendered impervious to the
action of the air by long Test and continu
ous packing in plowing the surface soQ,
and that firm mellow body of earth which
is produced by deep cultivation; this im
, portant distinction allows nothing to be
detracted from deep plowing, it is only
when the previous working has been most
thorough that the plant reaps a due advan
tage from shallow plowing. :
. . Seed, The following extract from an
eminent writer contains all that can be
said on this point: "The development ot
a plant depends upon its first radication
and the choice of proper seed is therefore
of the greatest importance for the future
plant; a mixture of seed unequal in their
development or dirierent in the quantities
of amylum, gluten, and tn organic mat
ters which they severally contain, will
nmrft'ra rmn nf nlanta m linennaJ in their
developments as the seeds from, which
. . . - - - . : . .
they sprung. Plants .from good seed have
a larger fowd absorbing surface than those
deficient in amylum, fcc, make a better
' growth from the beginning and mature
more evenly. -
One bushel when a drill is used and 1$
broadcast is the average quantity for an
, acre, increasing the quantity somewhat for
late sowing. Drilling has many advantages
ovei broadcasting. Time and labor are
economised, seed ia saved, and a. larger
yield is secured.
Time to Sine. Sow early enough to give
plants time to get strength to withstand
injuries produced.bv cold and frost, and
late enough to avoid the "fly." I have
known wheat, sown on the 10th of Sep
tember, injured by the fly. The 1st of
October seems to be the correct medium
for this latitude. "When the land is well
prepared and manured, early sowing is not
best, the later you sow the better you must
nrenare and manure vonr land.
Manure. Should be put in just under
the surface; soluble matter will be washed
down by the rains when applied in the
falL Lime and salt may be often used
with great profit on land rich in humus.
John Johnston says 1 bbl. salt to the acre
made his wheat much taller and four days
earlieF.
Plaster is good in some seasons, but is
uncertain; nitrogenous manures are best
suited for . wheat; the. nitrogen makes the
. leaves and stems; but if an excess is used
the plant will become so large and succulent
that tbe roots will not De able to support
it and 'Will tall down, we must use a
manure that will give strength to the stem
as well as weight to tbe grain.
Lime and salt act more powerfully when
mixed than when applied separately. Both
salt and magnesia give weight and solidi
ty to the grain; 96 bushels to the acre have
been raised in England by a mixture of
salt and barnyard manure. Phosphoric
both here and in Europe show the great
importance of its solubility. Soluble phos
phoric acid increasing the weight of a bush
el 6.1 lbs., while tne insoluble increased it
nnlv 1 ft. ltia It haa Ivuin frtnnsf tfiafr
not only increases tbe crop but also the
weight of the grain; the number of heads
of wheat on the same area, and tbe weight
of the heads is apparently increased in pro
portion to the solubility of tbe phosphate
used. . .
i no iuuuwiag lut no acre ia recom
mended with confidence (with all the
fights that modern cherflstry affords); this
supposes that the land is well prepared
and the seed selected; the yield will be
over o buabeis per acre, perhaps su
Grange, Fertilizer, 300 lbs.; ashes from
hard wood, 8 bushels; cotton seed, 55
bushels or 1,640 pounds.
Stab& manure can be substituted for
, cotton seed but should be used in pro
portion of tour ol stable manure to one of
. cotton seed. Tbe Orange r ertiuzer con
tains 10 per cent, soluble phosphoric acid.
. 5 per cent, sulphate potash, 4 per cent, sul
' phate and muriate magnesia, and sulphate
h me and chloride sodium, and tbe above
formula combines everything necessary for
the growth of the plant and ensures a large
yield. The genuine Grange Fertilizer costs
3U per ton ana ireignt. i ne imitations
will not answer for this formula, neither
will a simple superphosphate. Be careful
' to avoid buvinz suDemhosDhate' in which
he soluble and precipitated phosphoric
acid are combined in giving tbe analysis ;
each should be stated distinctly. '"The pre
cipitated is not as valuable for . plant food
as tne soluble.
As I have often been questioned about
Stockbridge's formulas, I give his formula
lor wheat, viz : JXitrogen 41 lbs. ; potash,
24 lbs. ; phosphoric acid, soluble, 20 lbs. ;
and may be prepared as follows :' Sulphate
Ammonia, 24 per cent, 171 lbs. ; sulphate
potash, 27 per cent.,- 89 lbs. ; Superphos
phate, v per cent., 233 lbs. ; lor one acre,
yield 25 bushels. . .
' The cotton seed . and ashes should be
turned under so as to cover all the seed
and the Orange Fertilizer harrowed .in, or it
may be sown at the same time the seed is
1 . . 1 1 S I . .1 SM . 1
ana uoia ix iiarroweu in wgemer, u me
seed is sown broadcast.
IIxavikg. Much wheat is lost every
year by being "heaved out" by frost. This
is most apt to occur in light soils or in un
drained soils, or when the seed has been
sown late in the fall so that it has not time
. to become firmly rooted, before vegetation
is checked by frost. Wheat is never
"heaved out" in land which has been tho
roughly drained and deepened by snbsoil-
mg.
Umct. May be prevented by soaking in
solution of sulphate copper fbluestone) 1
lb. bluestone dissolved in water enough to
cover 4 or 5 bushels of wheat. Let it
stand one hour, then drain the solution
from the wheat.
' ' PKKViors Pbkparatios of thx Lasd.
The largest yields of wheat are only made
wucu UK uuu UBS Muuctuuc WW4 picii-
s ous preparation, preparing it ior tne wneat
crop such as a clover fallow; when clover
" cannot be grown tbe best preparation is to
sow in Hay or as soon as all danger of
frost is over, two bushels of peas and 1501
, pounas oi urange .Fertilizer, tbe land hav
ing been broken up during winter with a
two horse plow; when tbe peas are ma
. tured turn them under clean, not deep; if
a large crop apply 15 bushels of lime per
acre, roll with a heavy roller, let it remain
until ready to plant, or rather to turn tin-
aer your cotton seed or stable manure.
Much more ought to be said, but this
article is now twice too long. K. B. 8.
Diphthxria. Mr. Wyatt Cole, who
resides in Wolf Pit township, near this
town, has lost another child. We under
stand this is the third child Mr. Cole has
lost within a week, all from that dreadful
disease diphtheria. Jtoekitujham South.
Thx Mxxicah Bosdkh. A Ran Antonio
telegram says positively that a resident of
that city has received a telegram from Gov.
Hubbard to proceed at once to raise quietly
1,000 men for active service on the Rio
Urande.
VOL. 1.
TUESDAY...
OCTOBER , 18TT.
SORTB CAROLINA ST GETTYSBURG.
The Norfolk Virginian presents as "an
interesting contribution to history" a letter
from J. C TixBBia.&KXv EJ., formerly
the Major of the 53d Virginia Regiment,
giving" his recollections of .the assault "on
the third day at Gettysburg. ?v We print
the letter elsewhere In f uH The Major's
statement is manifestly incomplete in some
respects and inaccurate in others. In all
essential particulars, however, it seems to
be correct, " . ? V ' 3
The statement makes no mention of the
entrance of any troops save those of his
own (Abxistxab's) brigade into the ene
my's works, and in this respect we are in
clined to think that the men of both Qae-
kxtt's and Kzxpbb's Brigades of Pioxxtt's
Division will agree with us in saying it is
incomplete. The Major says also that
Arvistxad's Brigade was in the second
line, and yet without having made any
mention of a change In its position, he says
that he and Gen. Arxistxad went to the
rear of their brigade to enable the men to
commence firing. There is evident : in
completeness in this also, or the men in
the first line must have fared badly, being
between two fires, one from their comrades
in tbe rear and the other from the enemy
in their front. The Major says that after
his brigade had gone to the battery and
had retreated therefrom back to the stone
wall his command was 4,perfectly deci
mated," which Is surely inaccurate No
troops could have gone through that "grand
diapason of hell" as it was so aptly termed,
if we mistake not, in the Confederate Con
gress, without losing more than one man
in ten. The North Carolina Troops were
certainly less fortunate.
But these are little things, and the grand
salient facts are the only ones we care
about. So far, therefore, from disparaging
the' Major's testimony because of trifling
omissions and inaccuracies, we thank both
him and the . Virginian for printing bis
statement, inasmuch as it conclusively
proves everything we have ever claimed
in contradiction of CoL Tatlok's state
ment CoLTatlob says that Pxttioexw's
(Hxth's) division and the brigades sup
porting it, (Lass's and Scales',) retired
from the field, leaving Pickett's division
to make the charge alone, and this we have
declared to be untrue. If CoL Taylor
had contented himself with saying a por
tion of Pettiobbw'8 (Heth's) division
had retired, there would have been no
difficulty. He took upon himself to assert.
however, that the whole of it retired, and
not only that, but the two brigades under
Trimble, to-wlt, Scales' and Lake's.
Now what does Major Tdcbeblaeb
say? He says that being on 'the extreme
left of Pickett's division, and , when
within three hundred yards of the enemy s
works, be happened to look to the left and
saw certain troops going to the rear, but
that they were North Carolina troops he
expressly refuses to say. He goes so far
only as to say he Heard they were North
Carolina troops. Whether be beard so
from the enemy after be was captured or
upon his return home, does not appear.
But his own testimony,, and the known
position of the troops, amply show that
those be saw falling back were not North
Carolina troops. Abchxh's gallant Tennessee
brigade, a mere handful of men, was next
to Pickett and Pettiqeew's brigade, un
der CoL Marshall, was next to Arch li
lt is clear from what the Major says that a
part of the "line connecting with him" went
to the rear, and that a part kept on with
him to the front. Had the troops at his
elbow given way, be would have said sat
Doubtless the Malor did see troops going
to the rear on his left, for it is admitted on
all bands that Brockenbo bough's Virginia
brigade gave way there and was followed
by D avis' Mississippi brigade to the rear. 80
there is no conflict between us and Major
TlXBERLAKE. '
But Major Tixbeklakb says further that
Aemistxad's brigade' went over tbe
works and went to battery of artillery
that had been abandoned by the enemy,
and that upon Abxistead being mortally
wounded, be (tbe Major.) ordered the
troops back to the stone wall. . How the
Major came to assume such a responsibili
ty in the presence of superior officers, it is
not necessary to inquire. His superior
officer, Lt. CoL Martin, was shot while
obeying that order it seems. Having fallen
back to the stone wall, and being once more
in a place of comparative security, the
Major found himself in command, not
only of tbe regiment, but of the whole
brigade, and in spite of tbe presence of CoL
White. But the "brigade" then, how
ever, consisted of only a "few men" the
Major says. Where was the balance of tbe
troops of Pickett's DivMon 1 They were
evidently not about the Major's neighbor
hood from the moment he ordered the
retreat from the Federal Battery, as from
that moment till bis surrender the Major
was in supreme command.. But having
retreated from the guns back to the stone
wall and aialt in the advance of the enemy
giving him time to breathe and look about,
what does the Major do? Does he depend
on his own Division, on Pickett's men for
support? .By no means. He ' says not a
word about Pickett's Division, but in
forms ps be looked to the left to see what
was going on there, and what met his
eyes was troops going to the rear just pre
cisely what be bad been doing. Does any
body deny this ' save CoL Tailor ? - We
have said all along that when Pickett's
men gave back our men gave back. Doubt
less if the Major bad bad time to look to
the left" before he got back to the stone
wall, he would have seen that the retreat
of hismen was the signal for retreat all
along down the line .from right to left.
Major Timbxrlaee conflicts here with no
one save - CoL Tatloe, who says , there
were no troops on the Major's left at that
time, and of course if CoL Tatlor Is right
Major Ttmbxelaxe is wrong in saying be
aw them there. z?-:i:xu c xri
- But troops meving to the rear was not
the only sight that gfeetedlhe Major's eye as
be surveyed tbe field toths leftof idm. He
saw quite another sight, that is to say, he
T
saw a full line of battle advance and so near
to him that he "jumped np on tbe wall and
called to them for God's sake to come on."
But what troops were these ? . They were
on his left for he was looking to the left
when he saw them. They were close! to
him as he stood on the enemy's works 1 for
he expected theufto hear him. , Now j we
had no fresh lines of . battle lying around
loose between our base and the enemy's
works ready Jo start up and advance upon !
the enemy; and to suppose that the Major
referred to a line of battle away back at
our base along the line from which! the ;
charge started and that he got up on the stone
wall to call troops to his aid from that
point by his single voice, in all that din,
confusion and smoke would be to suppose
an absurd thing. We take . it therefore
the full line of battle" the Major aw
was a part of the troops that engaged In the
assault, that is to say, Lake's brigade.
which, being furthest to the left was owing
to their conformation furthest from the ene
my's works. We have always maintained
that General Lane's brigade continued the
advance longer than any other portion of
the line. That be did not respond toi the
call of , the Major and with his single
brigade undertake to hold works that two
divisions had failed to hold will scarcely be
considered anything to his discredit for judg
ment as an officer. So there is no conflict
here either, save one between Major Tix
beklakb and CoL Tatlor who says there
were no troops there in "full line of battle.'
Of course if CoL Tatlor is right and there
were no troops there to be seen Major
Tuiberlake is wrong in saying he ; saw
them at all, to say nothing of seeing them
In "full line of battle."
Major Timbsrlake therefore demon
strates the untruthfulness of CoL Taylor's
statement that Pettiorew's (Heth's)
division and tbe brigades supporting it
retired from the field leaving Pickett
to make the ch arge alone.
And now a word in regard to the ex
tract from the report of Gen. Losostrkst,
which by the way we have never before
bad the good fortune to see in print. , It
will be time enough to bring Gen. Loxg
stseet forward to testify in behalf of
Col. Taylor, when Col. Taylor admits
Gen. Loxostrest to be a trustworthy wit
ness. That CoL Taylor does not regard
Gen. Loxostrest as a trustworthy wit
ness is apparent from the fact that in mak
ing his statement CoL Tatlor utterly-dis
regarded and knowingly threw aside
what the General said. Colonel Tay
lor says Fettiorbw's division and
Lass's and Scales' brigade, retired
from tbe field and left Pickett to make
the charge alone. Gen. Losqstrkxt says
Pettiorew's Division, and the two sup
porting brigades went with Pipkett; until
Pickett struck the enemy's works thus
flatly contradicting the Colonel in an es
sential particular, and proving that aa that
talk of tbe Colonel's about Pickett's mov
ing on so steadily, and there being no fal
tering in his ranks after our North Carolina
troops left and before striking the works,
is simple boelj. We leave the Colonel and
the General to settle their differences as
best they may with the simple remark that
neither one was a participant in the charge.
But in order that there may be no mis
understanding in the premises- we say
plainly that with the cloud, of witnesses
sustaining us, that we would not permit
the most emphatic declaration of Gen. Lee
himself, reflecting upon the conduct, of the
North Carolina troops at Gettysburg or
any where else to pass .unchallenged. We
are not to be silenced by
tbe shadow of a name.
a name cor by
The Virginian, in its article of jyester-
day, does itself no less than The Obser
ver injustice in stating that CoL Taylor's
declaration that Pickett's Division "was
the only organized body that entered the
works of the enemy," is the cause of the
offence we have taken at his statement
We have distinctly stated all along that we
took issue with CoL .Taylor as to tbe fal
tering and retiring of our troops from the
charge. How inaccurate it is in making
such a aeciarauon as ine aoove,,uie Vir
ginian will see upon recalling what .The
Observer has said from time to time.
On the 80th of August we said? ,
' In the face of all these things, however.
he (CoL Taylor) deliberately pubs forth to
tbe world as a fact tbat Pickett's: Division
was the onlv organized command that
reached tbe enemy's works at Gettysburg;
all the other troops that took part in the
assault according to his statement having
first faltered" and then Anally retired"
from tbe charge, .. , -On
the 13th Sept we said :
z So verv effective was Colonel Tavloi's
eloquence in describing the heroic deeds of
Pickett's Division, and so graphic was
be in describing tbe faltering abd retiring
of "PettigreWs division, and thjj brigades
supporting It, that the virgtnum straight
way threw np its hat and re-echoing the im
partial Colonel, cried out, 'Plckett's divis
ion alone reached tbe enemy's works,
Pettigrew's division .and the brigades
oDoortine it faltered and nnajiyi retired.
leaving the carnage and the dory of the
day to Picketfs magnificent Virginians."
i A word more and we are done for the
nresent The 'Virginian says it is con
fident that no one regrets more than CoL
Taylor what it is pleased to term "the ef
fort on the part of The Obsx rYkb to make
it appear that he naa maae or aesignea
an invidious comparison- between the
troops of the States." Now if that is not
both cool ' and refreshing we know not
what would be. If it be not an 'Invidi
ous comparison" to say that North Caro
lina troops ran 'away while 'magnificent
Virginia troops alone sept heroically on in
the charge to carnage and to glory,' then
we do not know what tbe words mean.
Would the Virtnnian in our position and
with our belief say less than we have
said f We think not. and no if our co
temporary shall give its readers the benefit
of what we have said as we have given our
readers the benefit of what tbe Virginian
has said, we will or fiontentr
On the inn 01 September we
The Virginian charges us also with going
beyond tbe bounds of fair discussion in
raising a new issne and with (misrepresen
tation of CoL Taylor in saying that be de
clared "the troops of North Carolina ran
away while magnificent-- Virginian - troops
alone kept heroically in me cnarge." i h
Virginian is mistaken aa to both points.
Wa hTA not misrenreaented 'CoL tTavlor.
He said unmistakably that tbe three North
Carolina brigades failed in their duty, and
that Pickett's three brigades did not fail and
so far as CoL Taylor represent with 00
greater obstacles to encounter.- If this be
cot resecons on kotw caroana troops-we
know not the meaning of language. To
it
v J W.J
RALEIGH, N: C TUESDAY, OOTOBEIRA 1877,
say that North Carolinians went from the
fight, while Virginians under similar cir
cumstances went towards it, looks to ns
ust about equivalent to sayine North
Carolinians ran away. So much for mis
representation. The Virginian is equally
mistaken in saying we have sought to
change the issue. We neither made the
issue nor have we ! sought to change It.
CoL Taylor said the North Carolina brig
ades ' assigned to a place in the assaulting
column first faltered and then retired,
and that Pickett's Division went on and
was the only organized command that
entered the enemy's works. The state
ment of Col. Taylor was explicit It was
not bis purpose simply to claim for
Pickett's " Division better organization
when they reached the works. He charged
distinctly, not that being disorganized the
North Carolina brigades went to the front
but that being organised they went to the
rear. And upon this we have joined issue
with him, and have produced irreproach
able witnesses who contradict him flatly, '
or rather contradict ' his statement for TT
we are not mistaken CoL Taylor makes no
pretence to have been even an eye witness
of the assault Indeed in his article in the
TSmet he says be well recalls bis "Sur
prise and disappointment tehen it wa$ as
certained h&l only Pickett's Division and
the troops from : Hill's Corps had taken
part in the movement." That is scarcely
the language of a man who speaks of what
he saw. Our witnesses were a part of the
assaulting column.
n.1. - ir- 1 - . -
A lie r irgintun, uowever, Beeiua uuw w
be of the opinion that Col. Taylor re
gards the conduct " of the North Carolina
troops that took part in tbat assault as be
ing as commendable as that of Pickett's
men, and that it was bis purpose to con
vey tbat idea, - We think, however, it will
be a long time before CoL Taylor endorses
the present interpretation of the Virginian;
when he does so all that ire ubhervsr
has ever claimed will have been admitted.
and this controversy will be at an end.
Col. Taylor can settle this matter at any
moment be pleases, if he really thought
and intended to convey to his readers the
impression that Pettigrew's division, and
the brigades supporting it, acted their part
as well as Pickett's division did. What
does Col. Tavlor say? Is the Virginian
right in its interpretation, or is The Ob
server? Can it be possible for a part
of the line to go to the rear and part,
under similar circumstances, keep on to
the front when both are ordered to the
front and yet both be equally worthy of
commendation ? We think not, and there
fore until Col. Taylor retracts his state
ment that our brigades faltered and retired
from tbe charge, or until he proves our
witnesses to be imbecile or untruthful, we
shall maintain that he has done North
Carolina crave injustice. And in conclu
sion, for the present, all we have to say is,
tbat if our co temporary thinks the cause
of The Observer is not esteemed the
cause of North Carolina, we commend to
it a Derusal of its North Carolina ex
changes.
We feel quite sure that our cotemporary,
when it recalls the above utterances of
The Observes from time to time during
this controversy, will admit that its state
ment in its issue of yesterday, of the cause
of the offence taken by The Observer at
Colonel Taylor's publication in the Phil
adelphia Timet, about the battle of Get
tysburg, is not entirely accurate.
GBRltANTOWN.
To-day is the Centennial Anniversary of
the battle of German town, and will be cel
ebrated on the memorable site with appro
priate ceremonies. German town is situ
ated six miles North-west of the State
House in Philadelphia, and what a hundred
years ago was merely a straggling post
town in Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania,
is to-day twenty-second ward of the city of
Brotherly Love, and numbers some twen
ty-five thousand or more inhabitants.
But it is as the scene of the defeat of
the American army under Washington by
the British on the 4th of October, 1777,
that Germantown is now most memorable.
About sunrise on this day one hundred
years ago, the American troops leu upon
the British encamped across the main
street and at right angles' to it, and having
taken them by ' surprise, at first routed
them with slaughter, .but the morning
being dark and foggy, the Americans were
thrown into confusion by the many small
enclosures of the village, and the British
rallied and attacked in turn, and what had
promised to be such a splendid victory,
waa changed into a defeat Washington
withdrew in good order, having lost about
a thousand. The British loss was upward
of bIx hundred. ' " s ' "
Among the former was General Francis
Nash, of North Carolina, brother of Gov
ernor AbnerNash, of Revolutionary fame,
and uncle of Chief Justice Nash, of more
modern times. Gen. Nash, who was a
distinguished citizen of Orange county,
was appointed Colonel of the 1st Regiment
of North Carolina troops by the Provincial
Congress at Halifax on the 23d April, 1776,
and subsequently promoted to be Brigadier-
GcneraL He was ordered to join Gen. Wash
ington and commanded a brigade in the
attack on Germantown, where his thigh was
shattered by a cannon ball from the effects
of which he died. . Tbe same shot killed
both his horse and his aide-de-camp.
Gen.' Nash's remains lie buried in the
Mennonist burying ground at Kulps-
ville, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,
twentv-six miles - from- Philadelphia. A
monument was erected over his remains
by the patriotic liberality of the citizens of
Germantown and: Morristown, through
John F. Watson Esq., of Germantown.
The following is a copy of the inscrip
tion: " .
."VOTA VIA MSA JCB PATRIA. .
. IN HEMOBY OF .
GEN. NASH OF NORTH CAROLINA.
Mortally wounded
At the battle of Germantown.
Here interred, October 1777, in the presence
; Of the army here encamped. '
: J. F. W.'
GenL Nash was one of the most brilliant
officers North Carolina could boast during
the Revolutionary war, and his untimely
end was a sad blow to the patriot cause.
Pennsylvania has drunk deeply and of the
best blood of North Carolina. When in
1776 she rave Nash to the cause of inde-
w , .
pendence, and when in the same holy
cause near a century later, she gave Avery
and Pender, North Carolina sacrificed upon
the altar of liberty her bravest and her
best . .... . .. ; .
Cotton. Cotton is beginning to come
into market rapidly, but the receipts so far
are far behind those of this, date last year.
On Friday forty-one bales were sold the
lanrest number sold , any one day yet The
receipts for the week ending September
28th were 67 bales 54 bales of ' which
were new cotton, and 13 old.' The price
ranged from 9 to lot ceaxa. -Monroe jsx-
I M. M M ft I ft V. i V ' 11 V ' 1 II V : - A
The General Coimmnos of the Pro
testant Episcopal Church in America began
its sessions in Trinity Church, Boston, yes
terday morning. Among "disturbing ques
tions" likely to a3se are said to be the pro
posed division of the Protestant Episcopal
Church into seven , Archiepiscbpal sees,
with the Archbishop of New York as Pri
mate of the Church ; the change of name
from Protestant Episcopal to "The AmerT"
ican Catholic Church ;" , permission to
shorten- - the services at pleasure,' - and
greater freedom to those of the clergy who
are ritualisttcally inclined. The House of
Bishops now - numbers- fifty -nine, , and
two Bishops ' are waiting consecra
tion. The religious politics of the
Episcopal body is thus summarized
by a New York paper 1 Twenty-nine of
the bishops may be classed as "High
Church" in doctrine, If not in practice.
Fourteen are . moderate churchmen, and
fourteen . belong to the ' "Low Church"
party distinctively, Two are of the "Broad
Church" , stripe -the ' eloquent Bishop of
Rhode Island leading this infinitesimal
section. . Among the leading High Church
Bishops are Potter, of New York,
MeCoske'y, ". of ' Michigan,' tWhitting
ham,. of. Maryland, Kip, of Califor
nia, Quintard, of Tennessee, Doane, cf
Albany, and Perry of Iowa.'. The Low
Church leaders are Smith of Kentucky,
the Presiding Bishop; -Lee of Delaware,
Bedell of Ohio, Stevens of Pennsylvania,
Whittle of Virginia, and Vail of Kansas.
Among the more moderate class are Atkln
son of North Carolina, Kerfoot of Pitts
burg, Littlejohn of Long Island, and
Beckwitlt of Georgia. As a body the
Bishops are. disposed to be conservative,
and it cannot be expected that their final
action will give aid and comfort to either
of the extreme parties in the Church. The
House of Clerical and Lay Deputies is said
to be rather a High Church body, so far as
its clergy are concerned, but the laymen
(who have an equal vote on all disputed
questions) are decidedly conservative.
The Clerical Deputies from North Caro
lina are Rev. Drs. A. A. Watson, Jartis
Bcxton, J. Hcske, and N. Collin
IlroHES,- with Rev. Drs. D. H. BfrEL, R.
B. Sutton, Geo.. Patterson, and M. M.
Marshall, as Supplemental Deputies.
The Lay Deputies are Hon. W- H
Battle, Dr. Al J. DbRosbst, Richard H
Smith, Esq., and Gen. J. G. Martin;
with Messrs. K. P. Battle, W. P. Mar.
tin, John Hughes, and John S. Hender
son, as Supplemental Deputies.
"I know the ordeal I have to go through,1
exclaimed Morton, the Philadelphia street
railroad man, "and with my sensitive na
ture it is terrible." The sensitive creature
has been caught stealing half a million dol
lars in an over-issue of stock. . It is aston
iahing how sensitive men are about being
caught in their rascality. They manage to
get along well enough withthe conscious
ness of guilt They go to bed with it,
and they wake up with it, and they carry
it about with them all the day long and
smile and smile, villains though they are,
just as if they were honest men. Indeed,
there are no men with prouder bearing
than they. But just let them be caught
and their villainy exposed and straightway
they are crushed, completely overwhelmed,
and their sensitive natures cry aloud. It
is getting caught and not committing the
crime tbat ails them.
The Nashville American says President
H ayes' felicitous illustration of the result
of tbe late war by tbe quotation of "Greek
meets Greek," and that the side ."having
the most Greeks must conquer," was very
graceful and magnanimous. All rules,
however, have their exceptions, and this
among the number. . , Mr. Hayes' rule
works out exactly on . Radical Returning
Boards ; and on Electoral Commissions,
where there are eight Greeks to . seven, it
works out "to a fraction," but when about
5,250,000 Greeks go to the polls and vote
for Tilden, and' only 5,000,000 other
Greeks go there and vote for Hayes, it
does not work so welL At least, at the
present writing, Hayes is President and
Tilden Isnt. , '
. , : THE TURKISH PASHA.
The title of Pasha, which is merely &
personal one, denoting tbe otncial aristoc
racy, civil and military, 01 tne ut toman
Empire, is derived from two Persian
words. BianifyinK "the foot of the King.
In former times, when tbe chief territorial
divisions were called Sanjaka, ruled over
by Beys, the larger Saniaks, ' or two or
more smaller ones, were put under a Pasha,
and called Pasbaliks. --.The military gov-
eroors of provinces, who were only subor -
dinate to the Urand Vizier, were styleu
Bey ler beys, or Bey of . Beys. European
Turkey, was divided ' into two
Beylerbeyuks -Uoumeliar ana xsosnia.
The latter included Servia, . Croatia,
and the Herzegovina. . . Constantinople and
Wallachia and Moldavia were not included
in any of these jurisdictions. . The Archi
pelago was under the Capitan i'asba. ine
Pasha of Rutaya was called the Bey ler bey
of Anatolia, and in that capacity command
ed all the Asia Minor troops in war. , The
Diarbekir Pasha ' was also a Beylerbey.
Tbe Pashas consisted of three classes, and
were distinguished by tbe number of horse
Ui lis borne before them as standards a
custom brought from Ttrtary. which
is said to have originated with some chief
who. having lost his standard, cut off his
horse's tail and displayed it as a substitute.
The Governors of. the larger districts were
Viziers, by virtue of office. Tbeirinsignia
were the aiem, abroad standard, tbe pole of
which was surmounted by a crescent ; tne
VtabL or military music, consisting of nine
drums, nine fifes, seven trumpets, ana lour
cymbals; the tugh, of three horse tails, ar
tificially plaited: one sanlak. or green stand-
dard. similar to that of the Prophet and two
large ensigns called bairak. Othen Pashas
had but two tails with the other i nsignia. ; A
Bey had only one, together with one stand
ard. The Sultan's standard counts seven
horse-tails, and the -famous All Pasha of
Janina arrogated to himself no less than
thirteen. At th: present day all this is much
modified. The civil Pasha, or Governor
of district, is called a Vali, and his Gov
ernment a- Vilayet - The - grades among
military Fashas are Mushir, Marshal; JTerk,
Lieutenant General j Liva, Major General.
Jrwld officers are called Beys. '
' Personal. CoL Hicketts, ' of ! Wilkes-
barre. fa., who visits this State on a pros
pecting tour among tbe iron interests, is in
tne city, ana Tavorea uy with a call to-aay.
CoL Ricketts commandea a battery .of ar
tillery at Gettysburg and thinks that there
were afew North Carolina troops left in
the army of Northern Virginia at that time," I
inasmuch as they captured and spiked two
of his pieces on that occasion.-- WUming.
tonxetuw. a .
NEW YORK CORRESPONDENCE.
- TCorreanoniMfiaft of Tm ntuimm
' ' New York, Bept 29, 1877. -
ATwflSRH TCrtnvwa . Th tnnilanvj nf Vm
age is unquestionably to. a want of faith
faith In religion,-in history, in man, in
anything and everything. The world is so
given to lying that one is inclined to doubt
tne truth 01 anything that he does not
himself see, and even of some of what
he does Bee.' ; There are some, things
which have passed for- veritable' history
that it is a pity to find denied or disproved,
such, for instance, as the romance of Poca
hontas, who has of late years been shown
as no better thai she ' should have been.
And now comes the assertion that the can
tors of Andre in the revolutionary. wAr-
Williams, Paulding, and Van Wart were
not patriots whose deed deserves the mon
uments which a grateful people are now,
though late, erecting to their memory,'
but tramps and highway robbers I It
is asserted . that people' are now living
wno . Knew w uiiama (.not - in - nau 01
course, but afterwards) who assert; that
tbe three patriots were bent on relieving
Major Andre of his watch and money
When tney discovered in his boot the doc
uments he was carrying .from the traitor
Gen. Benedict Arnold to the Britisb com
mander, and which they at once concluded
would be worth more to them than the
watch and money. Hence - their , patrio
tism, which has been rolled as a sweet
morsel in every history from that day to this.
It is a pity , to have .such a good , story
spoilt, and it should not be allowed but
upon better testimony than has yet been
adduced, it harmed; nobody to believe
that here were three humble and poor men
such lovers of then country and its cause
tbat they refused Ahlre's liberal offers of
money to let him go, but delivered him
and his documents to the proper authori
ties. . This is not such history as the Vir
ginia Taylors are endeavoring to make,
not only for self glorification, but
for - disparagement of others. - The
latter should be, as it has been, scouted
out of countenance: whilst the former
may be allowed to stand until disproved,
to the detriment of none, bu to the hon
or of our country and of mankind.. -
As to the Virginia controversy, 1 nave
been glad to see Maj. Engelhard's conclu
sive refutation ol the itortolK vtrgtntanyt
points. 1 here must be scattered Over tbe
State many of Pettigrew's officers and
men who could speak to the same purpose.
There was aMoore county company, I
remember, wmcb lost nearly every man
killed or wounded ' on that dreadful
3d of July. I .to-day asked a friend
from" that county ' if . there were
not some of the few survivors who
could give an intelligent account of the
part they took in the battle. He said that
tbe man best qualified for that duty had
died a year or two ago. But let it be every
man's business, - not according to the pro
verb, but In reality.
The action of Senator uonlcnng and his
large majority or the Republican party in
the State convention at Rochester has made
an apparently, irreconcilable breach in
that party and lef t the- Democrats an easy
victory in this State at "the ensuing elec
tion.- Unless he has more vitality than 1
think, Conkling has ' committed political
suicide.
The trade season has almost come to ah
end, rather sooner than 'was expected, but
it was very good whilst it lasted.. - II
Letter ibq halIfax.
Correspondence of The Obsibvbr.
Caledonia Township, Sept 29, 1877.
Messrs. Editors As to our crops; cot
ton on the Roanoke is as good as I ever
saw it ; 'off from the river, in the light
land it has been injured to some extent by
too much rain. -- Corn is every where first
rate, where the land . has been thoroughly
drained; but as a great deal of our best
land has not been thoroughly drained
(though1 ordinarily it will produce from
thirty to fifty bushels per acre) this year
it will not maKe ten bushels in many cases,
and in some instances none at alL A great
deal of fodder nas been necessarily tost
but as our farmers are turning tbeir atten
kionf to Borne" extent, to millet a crop that
can be cut ior iorage in two months
after being sowed, there will not be much
necessity for buying hay, and 11 there is.
it can be bought from, some of our river
farmers, who always have it to sell in the
ereatest quantity and of the best quality.
1 wui now; leave ine crops ana go 10 a
subiect that; is to me, though a farmer,
quite as interesting, ; When I remind you
that our county eave birth to such men as
Generals Ben McCulloch, Felix Zollicoifer,
Junius Daniel and W. R. Cox. That it
furnished first and last more soldiers than
it had voters That it had representatives
in every battle of any note in Virginia
from Bethel to the surrender. Tbat in the
time that tried - men's souls, "the retreat
from Petersburg," besides many other
good men it bad air 'least three gauant
ydung officers killed, Captains Nicholson,
Gee and. WhitaKer When 1 nave saia
this, it is hardly necessary to tell you how
we as a-people sympathise' with you in
your able oeience oi- jXQrtn carouna, as
represented bv.the brigades ot -reuigrew.
Scales and Lane. on the "3rd day" at Get-tvsbure.-.
I belonged to one of the three
North Carolina brigades that formed a part
of Rodes' division and we did an of our
fighting ott the "Ustday." a day that in my
humble opinion reflects more credit upon the
participants than either 01 tne others ior 11
was the only nay on wnicn anyiuing was
aecomptuiiiea. $uu -tne "iw aay; nas
always interested me more than the others
for the- reason that a part
that a part of the troops
engaged have always, been so cruelly and
- 1 - .u . -. -
1 persistently slandered 1 had many mends
ungauer iu uore u. w
life at a Doint which according to our ene
mies, the Virginian Historians, they never
reached. , Our . enemies, indeed, they are,
more to be hated than-the yankeea, for the
latt?r onlv killed some of us during the war.
Said historians would dishonor us alL if
thev could, during peace. From the ar
tillery in rear of Heth's division to the en
emy it was about one mile. ; In the after
noon of July 3d 18G2, any one standing
amongst this artillery would have .seen
(except wnen prevenieu , ay soioty me
whole line move over the plain as if on
drill 'till just before the Emmetsburg road
was reached. "He would, there have seen
. ' 1 1N . 1
trooDs.covering about five hundred yards,
and on the left of the line, suddenly break
Off and come to the rear. : Not very long af
terwards he would have4 seen five or six
hundred more of the line break off. ' Had
he looked again, the smoke permittiug, he
wouia nave seen a - secona nne move up
and take their .place. Scales' somewhat
overlapping Pettigrew's and Lane's on
their left , Then e wouja nave seen a
body of troops, beginning about four hun
dred yards from the.- extreme right and
stretching about eight aunarea yaras enter
tbe works, and hold them, tut the enemy
bad somewhat recovered from the shock-
say for about fifteen minutes. Then he
would have seen the line on the extreme
right wluch bad never been in, the works
begin to crumble, i nen tne men, wno
were in the works, who were willing to
risk their lives for their liberty gave way
with a rush. After this the brigades com
manded by -Gen. ' Trimble were ordered
back and they fell back in "respectable or
der," which cannot be. said of any other
troops on tbe field, s ; , : u
tt T? imiiW A Trimble v ror.
nxmMufont mhn n.oa in AfnntcTnmprv mnn.
Srinrtmr mnrnWtha 18th instl Mr. Henrv
McRae. who lives' In two miles of that
place, on -waking up, found, lying In the
bed with him, a huge rattlesnake contain
ing twenty-five rattles. He threw the snake
out of the bed. and killed it with his bare
feet" -Jfonn Express. ;.
NO 46.
letter from ham fax.
Cot. W.R. Davie Willie Jone-Other I
ntrani 01 tiHIIIBX r&trlnl ijuIim I
cnjrre Aniiquittoe-fAn Historic
oakThe' eid Kurjiny Ground
inixcence aad Reflection.
. t Correspondence of The bsisver. ;
; " Halitax, N. C, Sept 27, 1877.
This old, historic borough is notable as
the place of residence, a century ago, of
some of the most eminent of North Caro
lina s Revolutionary patriots, whether in
the forum or the field. In CoL William
R. Davie both military and forensic genius
were conspicuously combined. Those in
fant days of the Republic were wonderful
ly fruitful in men of manifold accomplish
ments, most versatile ability and many
sided talent To Governor Davie espec
ially 8 word and pen were equally familiar
and skillfully wielded weapons. - In turn a
soldier and a ' student, books . and arms
divided his attention during the first five
years of the war for independence. He
alternated between the cloister and the
camp. His college vacations were cam-
'paigns'; and after graduating primut inter
pares at 1 nncetoo, his studies of Uoke and
Blackstone were ever and anon interrupted
by the welcome summons to the conflict
This chivalrous youth it was who, in Sep
tember, r9u, alter tne aeieat of Uatea at
Camden had seemingly - completed the
royal conquest of South
iCarolina; flung
himself, with a handful of brave men. bke
a new Leonidaa, across jthe triumphal
march of Cornwallis, and defied and check
ed bis entire army at Charlotte court house
on tbe very spot made memorable in May,
1773. bv the MecKienburcr resolves, wavio
did gallant duty too, at Guilford, at Hob-
kirk's mil, and at the siege of Ninety-Six.
He was a man of solid learning and a bril
liant orator, and after the successful close
m l l At it A i .
ol me war, lie iook me ioremosi rans: at
the bar, traversing the whole State for his
circuit and Appearing in; every case of
consequence, criminal or civiL With
spaight Blount and Williamson, he was
one of the North Carolina framersof the
national Constitution adopted at Phila
delphia in 1787 ; and he warmly advocat
edthe ' acceptance of that instrument by
this state.
Here too. lived Willie Jones, scholar at
!
once and statesman. As President of the
Committee of Safety for the whole State
in 1776. he was its virtual governor, and
discharged tbe difficult and delicate duties
-
of his anomalous otnee- with remarkable
efficiency. John B. Ashb is another of
this old town's 'heroes of ia hundred vears
ago. He was a captain in the regiment of the
Emghtiy Alexander juillmgton, the vic
torious American commander in that sharp
encounter with the Highlanders at Moore's
Creek Bridge, Feb. 27thrS177. Amongst
the other hfstoric. names I which illustrate
the annals of Halifax are j Long and Brad
ford, tlogan, Mcuunoch; i Williams, Hay
wood. Sumner. Weldon, Webb and Haynes.
Nor were tbe gentler sexi behind the men
in patriotism. 1 he names of Mrs. Willie
Jones, Mrs. Allen Jones, find Mrs. Nicho
las Long, all of Halifax, are honorably
recorded by Mrs. Ellett, iji her "Women
of "the Revolution," as driving oy their
zealous and spirited devotion to the Amer
ican cause, a decidedly patriotic tone to the
public sentiment of their section ,in the
days of '76. Mrs. WilBe Jonesi was a
daughter of Col. Montfort, and added , to
extreme beauty of person, great brilliancy
of wit and exquisitely polished manners.
When the British army, Under Lord Corn
wallis, were on their march irom Wilming
ton, N. C. to Hicksford, Va., in May.
1781, they remained for some days on the
banks of the Roanoke, and the English
officers quartered among the families of the
town, tradition .ascribes I to Mrs. Jones a
sharp passage of repartee 'between her and
Col. Tarlcton, who was i wounded at the
Cowpens from a sabre but in the hand
from the sword of Uol. William washing-
ton. Upon Tarleton'8 speaking of Wash
ington as an ignorant illiterate fellow,
hardly able to write his name, she promptly
retorted, "An I tjoionei, you bear on
your person proot tnat.ine Knows very
well how to make j Jut mark "
Again, at the house Of Mrs. Ashe.
where Lieslie and other officers were billeted,
Colonel Tarleton essayed the same sarcas
tic tone saying he would like to see Col
onel Washington, for he had heard he was
remarkably diminutive and ungainly in
person. Mrs, Ashe replied, "If yob had
looked behind you, Colobel Tarleton, at
the battle of the Cowpens; you would have
enjoyed that pleasure." A romantic in
cident is related, also, of Miss Bishop.
afterwards Mrs. Powell; how she pene
trated at night into the British camp alone
and on foot and recaptured and rode away
a favorite pony which thejtroops had taken
away from her premises, j -
. This old town was tne workshop or the
first Constitution framed by the people of
North Carolina, which' npble instrument
went into effect in 1770 ana continued in
force, without amendment, until 18357 a
nerlod of nearly sixty years. . Here. ISO v.
12th. 1776. assembled the! Provincial Con
gress, charged with the duty "not only tp
make laws, but also to frame a Constitu
tion, which was to be the corner-stone of
all law; and, as it was well or : ill ordered,
would tend to the happiness or misery ci
the State." The body was icom posed of 169
delegates, representing every county and
town in North Carolina, who were elected by
the people Oct 15th, 17761 Their work was
completed uecemner i, iro.m tne adop
tion ot a constitution ana oni oi Kignts ;
and Richard Caswell was elected Governor,
with a Secretary of State and counsellors.
It was here, at the session of the Provin
cial Congress in April. 1776, that a thor
I fill VF 1 1 IIIIHIJirv fl lnillJll 1IIU UL LI1C klA d
ough military organization of the entire
j wa8 rfted for the troublous
time8 that were to follow!, the declaration
at Philadelphia made three months later,
A resolution was unanimously passed by
this State Congress. April 12, 1776, em
powering the delegates from tbe colony in
the Continental Congress1 to concur with
the delegates from the other colonies in
declarlns independence. I It' was here, too.
that ' the National Declaration of. Inde
pendence of July 4. 1776, was first cele
brated and proclaimed in: North Carolina.
The Provincial Council of Safety was
then in session at Halifax town, which
was the capital of the nascent: State. Tbe
great Declaration reacbed them on the
22d ef July. The Council unanimously
resolved, "that the committee of the re
spective counties and towns in this State,
on receiving the Declaration of Independ
ence, do cause the same to be proclaimed
in tbe most public manner." i he nrst aay
of August was fixed', for proclaiming the
new maana eharta in Halifax.. Accord
ingly at noon of that day Cornelius liar
nett, or Wilmington, ascenaea a pnuiorm
fwnin r. . V. A 4W.i.v4 KmioA QTlt fPOt ltd tVlTll
iiuunug kug tuutuuuow -. . .-
ling words, amidst the acclamations of the
multitude and tbe boom! of cannon. ' ' , ' '
' The county to which this old' town gave
its name, w,as cut off in 1758 from Edge
combe, which bad been! formed from Cra
ven, one of the original precincts or tne
Lords Proprietors, a quarter of a century
before. Its primitive court house, long
since torn down, was for some years the
joint seat of Justice of the three counties
oi liaiuax, liranvnie ana noruiBmpwn.
Caotain it B. Pierce. Itbe veritable "old
est inhabitant" a veteran of the war of
1812. and a pensioner of the United States,
now upwards of 90 years of age, courte
ously walked with me; to the site of this
old temnle of the blind-folded goddess. It
mtnnA An fh nntskirtw of the present vil-
I We of Halifax.' The place is now a corn-
I field. - Hard bv Stands tbe Old ' "Clerk S
I office. built of English brickT and now
I tenanted by a family; of negroes.: This
building, and a few old tumble-down
wooden houses with Dutch roots, are the
only survivors of the Orignal structures of
Halifax. The ' old gentleman ' thence led
me to a huge ancestral oak of an age
''whereto the memory of man runneth not
si 00
1 60
" " two days........
" three M
' tour
! " Ave -
s 00
a w
s 00
8 50
Contracts for advertising for any space or time
maybe made at the office of The Observer,
ObserTef Bnlldlng, FayettevUle Street, Raleigh
Nortn Carolina. ' -' - 'i-w-.1' . ?
to the contrary." This tree is one of tbe
traditional landmarks of this section: and.
in its viimrous vitality, fitly tvniflfia that
t 1 .1 usu " 1
Huet . 01 ln0 oiu time aicnemy.
It is, indeed, a magnificent specimen of
forest royalty. Its circumference, three feet
above the ground, is 80 feet Under its
ample Bhadow pic-nics and barbecues have
been held for generations. It has been the
political hustings of the county for a
hundred .years, and it has witnessed
many an oratorical encounter between v
the chosen champions of the 1 old
Whig and Democratic "parties. . It was
Once, the legend tells us, a trysting place ;
of the aborigines, where many an ."Indian!
lover wooed his duaky.mate."" Near it is a "
.J - . J . J. . . 1 . 1
ueep anu wiue ravine, inrougn wmcn
crawls a" sluggish brooK.
I next visited the old buryingground.
The enclosure around it has long ago dis
appeared. A, dilapidated building m one
corner, I was told, was the first Baptist .
Church hi the county ; it has been turned
over to the blacks, and is still used as a
house of worship. The inscriptions on
most of. the tombstones have become al
most totally illegible, either by the lapse
of time or by reason, of the unfitness of
the stone to withstand the weather., I
transcribe a few of such as VI was able to
decipher.
'Mrs. Justina Nash, Ob. 6th December, -
An, Dom. 1771, in the 25th year of her
Tf
nic jacei corpus r ranees Anne lirimage,
uxor Oulielmi Brimage, Hanc Coloniss,
Arm. ; Obij't 21st December. - An. Dom.
1706. Aetatis suae 29.",, v- . .
Sacred to the memory of Sarah Davie. .
daughter of General Allen Jones, born the
23d Sept '1762. She- ;was married
to William R. Davie. Esq., on the 11th of
April 1782, and departed this. life, on the
lh ot April 1803, leaving; three sons,
Allen J., Hyder, A., and Frederick Wil
liam, ana tnree aaugnxers, mary, caran
and Rebecca. . In the midst of life we are
in death." , '
My cicerone pointed out to meas proba-
bly tbe oldest of these 'stones a tablet of
dark slate, seven inches thick, having on
the reverse side the words, "Memento
Mori," and a very long inscription on the
other side. I managed to make out the first
thine linen, which were in lnrmr lPttAnntr
and more deeply cut than the remainder,
aa luiiowtt: , - -, . ; ,
This stone is erected in Memory of .
William Alexander, late Madam In Hali
fax." .- . - : -..-:
Leaving this resting place of the dead, I
visited the Office of Hon. John T. Gregory-,
Probate Judge and Clerk of the Supe
rior Court for Halifax county. Here, piled
on shelf after shelf, in alcove upon alcove,
was a mass of several tons ot antique .
volumes of manuscript bound in flexible
parchment covers. The paper is of that
peculiar hue which belongs to ancient doc
uments.. This county enjoyed, owing to
its interior position, an entire immunity
from "raids" of the Union troops during
the war of -secession, and all of its old
court records are extant They can hardly ,
be called intact, however, for many of
them have been sadly mutilated by the
ravages of profane, remorseless worms.
They came to be thus worm-eaten, I was
informed, from the dampness of their place
of deposit at a mill bear town, where they
were concealed by Major-uenerai Matt w.
Ransom, who carried them thither for safe .
keeping upon an apprehended incursion of
the Federal forces- Among the records
which I examined, were a Superior Court
trial docket from 1766 to 1770 a County
Court docket for the year ending May,
1747, and minute Hbooks of the Inferior '
s-, . . t m - i r . o !
vxJUTk ui. x mas anu vuaimr ocaaiuua irum v
1761 to 176. The chirography in ail or
them is remarkably distinct and clear,
showing that our great, great grandfathers,
though ignorant then of the uninvented
steel pens, and the many convenient appli
ances of modern stationery, were much
more successful scribes than we. I
was also shown "Will Book. No. 1.' '
ui which are recorded the earliest "last
wills and testaments." : The first of these
id of George Keeling, and was probated at
Halifax September Court, 1759; James.
Montfort a skilful penman, was clerk, and
signs his attestation with scrupulous latini
ty, "dermis curia," which style I noticed he
adheres to all through the book. The tes-.
tator gives his body to be buried accord-
ingHo the discretion of his executors, aid
his soul to Him that gave it : He gives to
his son John "one negro fellow named
Jerry, and a negro boy named Dick." To
his daughter jaizabetn ne Dcqneatnea
'one negro fellow named Frank, and a
negro wench named Agga and her child.
To Ann Frances and Agatha Keeling ho
gives "one shilling sterling" each. These
items appear to embrace the man's entire
worldly possessions.
in the office oi Mr. itooertj. lewis,
registrar of deeds, I looked over the an-
niunt mnmmonra rr citipot inn 1m11np.nr.nr7.
Here I found the same painstaking, clear
cut penmanship which seems to have been
a characteristic oi our ancestors, xne -
first volume of the - record of sales 'and .
transfers of land is of 441 pages, of thick
water lined, foolscap, each folio of which
bears the impress of the royal arms, and
covering the period from 1732 to 1740.
The first instrument recorded is a deed of
240 acres . from Philip Mulkey and Sarah
his wife to Davie Hopper. It begins by .
sending "greeting to all Christian people,"
and concludes thus : "In witness whereof
we hava hereunto set our hands and seals
this 15th day of August in the year of pur "
Lord God 1732,. and in the fourth year of
the reign of our sovereign Lord George
the Second, King of Great Britain, &c."
Tbe record is attested by Robert Foster.
Clerk. - - ' -
J Bailey's Dictionary states that Halifax
isa(name of Saxon .origin, and means
f 'holy hair," from the sacred hair Of a cer-
fl-nin mvvin . whvm a ftlflflr twihoalH rtffc
cause she resisted his power." The.appel- .
lation of tbe town, however, is derived
from the Earl of Halifax, who was at the
lime the first, lord of the board of trade.
It is located on the west bank of Roanoke
river, which like the island of. tbat name
whereon Amidas and Barlowe landed in
1584, preserves the otherwise extinguished
memory of a long lost tribe of res men.
Up this stream saiiea Lane ana Harriott,
nearly three centuries ago, in eager search
of the western passage to the Indies. On
its banks Sir Walter Kaleigb's venture
spme emigrants first noted tbe cultured .
potatoes, tobacco and Indian corn plants
then new to Christendom. . -
At this far, inland point, during the re
cent war, was a Confederate navy yara,
and near here was constructed tbe famous
ram Albemarle,"' which destroyed Flus
ser's naval fleet at Plymouth in April,
1864. One brief year later and the Union
gunboat Tosco steamed up the winding
river and Federal officers participated in a
lull i htsM rr t ho f !Anfn1ovota
soldiers returning from Lee's surrender. '
In 1776 one of the five newspapers .:of -North
Carolina was published here; the oth
ers being printed at Wilmington, Newbern,
Hillsborougn ana JUienton. liaiuax was
then one of tbe most important of the half
dozen to wns in North Carolina. Now it
is a mere nomims -umbra. .The pall of its '
dead renown shrouds it in aaombre dull
ness. Its dilapidated dwellings, suffering
for repairs and paint ; its ill kept streets ;
tbe utter absence of all - stir and move
ment; its silence unbroken by the
sound of "axe or hammer or any tool
of iron. all speak of a glory which
is past of a listless, unhoping present and
of a future without a destiny. Both town
and county ire under negro dominion, and
even Northern immigrants avoid it It
sadly typifies the bound Prometheus of
the gallant South. Let us trust however,
II n IT . MMm. I I .
the new epoch which has already dawned,
may soon share with all this-Southland,
once so fair and joyous, In a grand revival
of hfP nlil nmanmitv atu" rnrth.
Psi UrsnjOK..
One square (I inch) one day
i-i