The Weekly Independent. (Belton, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 21, Ed. 1 Saturday, September 19, 1857 Page: 1 of 4
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:Mír
IB PUBLISHED EVERY 8ATURDAT
BY
A. MARSCIIALK fc SOW.
TERMS.—Subscription, Two Dollabs
and Fifty Cents per annum, in advance ;
hree dollars •within six months, and four
dollars if not paid until the end of the year
Adyebtxsements will be inserted at the
Tate of one dollar per square for the first,
and fifty cents for each subsequentinsertion
—eight lines (or less) constitute ft square.
A liberal discount will be to those
who advertise by the year.
All communications, except such as tend
to the advancement of the personal inter-
ests of the writer, will be inserted gratis.
No communication .or advertisement <of an
abusive character will be inserted into our
columns on ant teems.
N. B.—All advertisements not marked
with the length of time desired for publica-
tion, will be inserted till forbid, and charged
accordingly.
Job W obk executed to or tier vitli neatness
and dispatch.
0"A11 kinds of producetaken in exchange,
for subscription, advertising and iob work
at this Office.
SHORT PATENT SERMON.
by dow, jr.
marriage a Duty.
text:
Don't tell me you "havli't got time,"
That other things claim your attention;
There's not the least reason or rhime,
In the wisest excuse you can mention;
Don't tell me about "other fi6h,"
Tour duty is done when you but em,
And you never will relish the dish,
Unless you've a woman to "fry 'em."
My hearers—I have no doubt that
after you have heard my discourse,
you will ask in your own miuds wheth-
er your preacher has taken unto him-
self a wife, and is now luxuriating in
the tall clover of connubial bliss, that
he preacheth thus. Therefore, I an
swer before-time, No; but I have got
measured for one, and expect to con-
jugate as soon as my somewhat di-
verged r*ys, of affection can be brought
a little more to a focus through the
burning lens of love: I deem it the
.duty of all to get married— once in
their life-time, at least. It is but
yielding obedience to the wise com-
mands of nature. Every gander has his
goose, and the birds all mate at a prop-
er season.-—Who over heard of an
old gander going down to the grave
gosling-less, unless, he was prevented
from fulfilling his destiny by the ar-
bitrary customs of society ? It is God
that tells the brute creation to multi-
ply and replenish without the fuss and
flummery of a long and tedious court-
ship ; they implicity obey, even to the
wood-house. The same God also tells
you to marry, and do the best you can
to be fruitful; but you don't always
do it. You frame some paltiy excuse
or ether—such as "I have other fish
to fry," "circumstances will not admit
at present," "I'll lhink of it by and
by," &c. ; and so you trudge on
through the wide world alone from
the meridian of manhood to the sunset
of age, without having effected the ob-
ject for which you were placed upon
earth, and of no more use to it than
the fifth wheel of a coach, a moon in
the day-time a lock without a key, or
a saddle and no horse to ride.
Young man! if you have arrived at
the right point in life for it, let every
other consideration give away to that
of getting married. Pont think of any-
thing else. Keep poking about among
the rubish of the world till you have
stirred up a gem worth possessing in
the shape of a wife. Never think of
delaying the matter; for you know
delays, as well as wild boars, are
dangerous. A good wife is the most
constant and faithful companion you
can possibly have by your side while
performing the journey of life—a pet
isn't a touch to her. She can "smooth
your linen and your cares" for you—
mend your trowsers, and perchance
your manners—sweeten your sour mo-
ments as well as your tea and coffee
—ruffle, perhaps your shirt bosom,
but not your temper; and, instead of
sowing the seeds of sorrow in your
path, she will sew buttons on your
shirts, and plant happiness instead of
harrow-teeth in your bosom. Yes—
and if you are too confoundedly la?y
or to proud to do such work yourself,
die will carry swill to the bog*, chop
wood, and dig potatoes. foy dinner—
for her love for her husband iaevfch
that she will do any thing to please
oim—-except teceive company in her
every day clothes.. When a woman
loves, she love with a double-distilled
devotedness; and when she hates, she
hate on the high-pressure principle.—
Her love is as deep as the ocean, as
strong as a hcippen halter, and immu-
table as the rock of ages.—She won't
change it, except it is in a very strong
fit of jealousy; and even then it lin-
gers, as if loth to part, like evening twi-
light at the windows of the west.—
Get married by all means. All the
excuses you can fish up against "do*
ing the deed" ain't worth a spoonful
of pigeon's milk. Mark this—if, blest
with health and employment, you are
not able to support a Wife, depend
upon it, you are not capable of support-
ing yourself. Therefore, so much
more need of annexaton; for in uñida,
as well as in an onion, there is strength.
Concentrate your affections upon one
object, and not distribute them crumb
by crumb, among a host of Susans,
Sarahs, Marys, Elizers, Betseys, Peg-
gys and Dorothys—allowing each
scarcelyeuoughtonibbleat. Get mar-
ried, and have somebody to cheer yuu
up as your journey through this "lowly
vale of tears"—somebody to scour up
your dull, melancholy moments, nnd
keep your whole life, and whatever il-
nen you possess, in some sort of a Sun-
day-go-to-meeting order.
Young woman! I need not tell you
to look out for a husband, for I know
that you are fixing contrivances to
catch one, and as naturally on the
watch as a cat is for a mouse. But
one word in your ear if you please.
Don't bait your hook with an artificial
fly of beauty; if you do the chances are
ten to one that you will catch a gud-
geon—some eillv fool of a fish that
isn't worth his weight in sawdust.
Array the inner lady with the beauti-
ful garments of virtue, modesty, mo-
rality, wisdom, and unsophisticated
love, and and you will dispose of your-
self quicker, and to much better ad-
vantage, than you would if you dis-
played all the gewgaws, ilipperings,
fol-de-rols, and fiddledees in the uni-
verse. Bemember it is an awful thing
to live and die a self-manufactured old
maid!
My hearers—divide off into couples,
sexually, as soon as possible, if you
would add considerable to your own
happiness, and posterity. Your days
upon earth are but short at the longest
and they should be passed as righte-
ous and pleasantly as the weather and
circumstances will permit. Get mar-
ried while you are young, and then,
when the frosts of age shall fall and
wither the flowers of youthful affec-
tion, the leaves of connubial love will
still be green; percbance, a joyous off-
spring will surround and grace the par-
ent tree, like ivy.ontwining and adoring
the time-scathed oak. So mote it be!
The following paragraph from the
Chicago Tribune of Tuesday, gives
an idea of how harvesting is done at
the West: A friend of ours says that
one day last week he went up on top
of a hill called Mt. Zion, six miles from
Janesville, Bock county, Wis., and
counted on the surrounding plain one
hundred and Sixty-four horse power
nftchines, busily cutting down wheat.
There were one thousand men, women
and boys following after, binding and
shocking up the golden sheaves. It
was a sight worth seeing to behold the
grain falling and being gathered up at
the rate of two hundred acres per
hour.
¿9T We hope to see such a sight in
Western Texas, before many years.
SUNDAY READING.
Look up.
r 7' • '■ i * '
A ship, becalmed at sea, lay rock-
ing lazily. A sprightly lad, the cap-
tain's only son, not knowing what to
do, began' mischievously to climb the
m «t. He had got half way to the
top, when, turning his eyes below to
see how far he was from the deck, he
suddenly became dizzy. "I am fal-
ling ! I am falling !'• he cried. "Look
aloft," shouted his father, who at that
moment was leaving his cabin. The
boy, accustomed instantly to obey that
voice, looked up to where the main
truck swung against the sky, recover-
ed heart, went on, was saved.
We do not give this anecdote as
new. Doubtless every one of our
readers has heard it before. But tho
story has a significance not always no-
ticed. Others, besides the Captain's
son, have been saved by looking up.—
In the dizzy ascent of life many a man
has been on the point of falling, when
some sudden thought has bidden him
"look up," he has taken courage, has
persevered and won the prize. .Bruce,
when he saw the spider fall aix times
yet succeeded at the seventh, was of
this class. So was Washington when
Cornwallis had driven him across the
Delaware, and when, instead of giv-
ing up in despair, he suddenly collect-
all his resources, fell on tho British
lines and achieved the victory at Tren-
ton.
There come times in the experience
even of the bravest when the heart is
ready to give up. Affliction after af-
fliction, for example, has assailed him
till hope itself despairs. Perhaps a fa-
vorite child has been suddenly strick-
en down. Perhaps a terrible epidem-
ic has destroyed more than one little
one. Perhaps the wife of his bosom
is no more. Perhaps, by one of those
awful catastrophes which occasionally
occur, his entire family has been swept
into eternity in a moment of time, in
the twinkling of an eye. He feels as
if there was no longer any object for
him in life. In the first shock of his
agony he would not care if news was
brought to him that his fortunes were
bankrupt, and he was a disgraced
beggar. But by and by, a still, small
voice whispers "look up." He sees
that the sky is still as bright as ever,
the breeze as blessed, the trees as
beautiful. He hears the waters run
leaping and laughing down the hill-
side, glistening in silver as they go.—
The earth is not less lovolv than be-
¥
foie, the stars areas numberless, the
ocean and mountains as sublime. His
fellow creatures have the same kindly
hearts towards him. He owes them
the same old duties. Gradually he
realizes that he has much yet to live
for. It time even he regains a sub-
dued and quiet happiness. He has
learned to "look up."
A great financial crisis overtakes the
strong man in the midst of his schemes.
He gathers up all his resources, con-
tending gallantly and desperately long
after liope is over; struggling for his
family rather than himself; fighting,
agonizing, like Laocoon, in the ser-
pent's folds. It will not do. The
mighty whirlwind, whose outer eddies
he has been striving to resist, wheels
down upon him in all its power; he
is torn up in an instant; he is hurried
on the ground; he is left breathless^
bruised and seemingly dead. At
first, when he regains sensation after
the overwhelming shock, he is with-
out hope. He has neither strength
nor wish to resume his work. He is
willing that the tempest shall sweep
the wrecks of his fortune out of sight
forever. It is useless, he says to him-
self, even to try to gain what he has
lost. At last, a gentle wife, or sym-
pathising friend, bids him not to des-
pair. "Look up," they say. He
looks. At once he is a new man.—
He recovers his name and fortune.
In every circumstance of life, "look
up." Are you about to enter a pro-
fession? Aim at no secondary suc-
cess; fix your mark high; "look up."
Are you a merchant ? Become lead-
er in your business; and to do this,
first "look up." Are you ambitious
of politioal distinction ? Scorn to bé a
mere demagogue; resolve to be a
statesman ; "look up." Is authorship
your wish? Endeavor to take rank
among the classics of your language,
studying manner as well as matter;
aspire to triumph greatly and perma-
nently, rather than prematurely; in a
word, "look up."
Ah! if all would only "look up."—
But some never hear the cheering
words. Some disregard them. Of
the thousands who have failed utterly
in life, or met only a secondary suc-
cess, the majority owe their misfortunes
to not "looking up." In sorrow or
disasters, remember the boy upon the
dizzy mast, and "look up, look up."
—Baltimore Sun.
Ttae Camels.
Two lots of camels have been pro-
cured from the East, and are now in
Texas. The first lot was obtained in
«
1855—'0, through the agency of Maj.
Henry C. Wayne, of the U. S. Army,
under the direction of the War Depart-
ment. Thirty-three animals were ob-
tained at Tunis, Cairo, and Smyrna
—a part of them gifts from the local
authorities. The sum expended in se-
curing them was about eight thousand
dollars.
Major Wayne says he is satisfied
that Americans will be able to manage
oamels not only as well, but better
than Arabs, as they will do it with
more humanity and far greater intelli-
gence. The camels obtained by Maj.
Wayne were landed at Indianola Tex-
as, on the 4th of May 1856, and he re-
mained in charge of them until Jan-
uary of this year. In a letter to the
Secretary of War on the 12th of Feb-
ruary, he says that the process of ac-
climation has been partially, and so
far successfully accomplished; so that
he has no doubt of its complete suc-
cess. He proposes that the camels
should have a fixed home for three or
four years at some point on the fron-
tier, where they may be carefully at-
tended, and their increase in number
promoted, and from which they may
be used from time to time in transporta-
tion and scouting. Their present loca-
tion (Camp Verde, Texas,) is recom-
mended as an excellent one. After
the thirty-three camels procured by
Major Wayne were landed, the United
States ship Supply was immediately
dispatched for another lot, which were
duly obtained and landed at Indianola
on the 10th of February last. They
were forty-one in number, and much
finer animals than the first lot, although
the cost was no greater. Tho prices
of camels range almost as widely as
tho sums paid for horses in this coun-
try. They are soldfiom $15 to$1,000
each, according to their breed and pe-
culiar characteristics. They have been
used in Tuscany for two hundred
years. The present Grand Duke owns
two hundred and fifty, and although
badly cared for they will do the work
of one thousand horses.
Chinese Sugar Can*.—It is stated
that over 100,000 acres of land in the
United States have been planted with
the Sorghum, or Chinese sugar cano.
This is a wonderful result, when it is
considered that only two or three
years have elapsed since it wos first
introduced in this country.
The oil painting of Jacob Hays, form
erly renowned as the great thief-taker
of New York, was sold at public auc-
tion at New York, on Wednesday, to
satisfy two judgements against the city,
amounting in all to a little over $200.
It was struck off for $850 to Aid Blunt,
he being the only bidder.
HUMOROUS,
Old bnt Good.
One of the oomic papers revives an
old story that is better now than it was
before these days of spirit-seeing and
hearing. It seems that an old sea
captain, that had retired from service,
and was living on a farm, had a wild
harum-scarum nephow living with him.
He could never drive or frighten said
nephew to do anythiug in its proper
timé; Among the rest he could not
get him to drive the cows up to milk
before dark—he had to drive tliom up
from a back pasture through the sugnr
bush. Finally the captain asked the
lad if he was not afraid to go through
the woods in the dark.
"Fruid! what is that ? I never
seeu a frnid," replied tho boy.
"Well never mind, my liid; you will
see one some of these night?, if you
do not get tho cows up before dark,"
said the captain, meaningly.
That night the boy played until dusk
before he went after tho cows as usu-
al The captain took a sheet and fol-
lowed him. Now, the captain had a
tamo monkey, who saw the perfor-
mance, and monkey like, took a table-
cloth and followed the captain at a res-
pectful distance. The captain went
into the middle of the woods, where
there was a big log by the side of the
path. Going to the further end of it
he wound his sheet around him, got
upon it, and stood still. The monkey
got on the first end without noise, and
did the same. So the parties stood
when the boy came whistling along
with his cows. They shied a little
upon seeing the two ghosts, which cau-
sed the boy to look ahead.
"Hello, what is that?" he shouted;
"by golly, I guess it's a fraid 1" and
then, spying the monkey; he sung out,
"by Jerusalem, if there ain't two
fraids—a big fraid, and a little fraid!"
This caused the captain to look
round, when he saw, for the first lime,
his ghostly companion. He thought it
it was a fraid sure enough. The old
captain streaked it for home, the mon-
key chasing him, and the wicked ne-
phew clapping his hands and shouting,
"Bun, bii( fraid, run, or little fraid '11
ketch you!"
The (Size of London.
When the stone in Payer's alley was
placed on its site three centuries since,
the circumference was about five miles.
At present however to make a pedes-
trian expedition around the metropolis
would to most persons be an underta-
king of some importance, as may be
seen by referring to the following par-
ticulars, which have been gathered
from a recent published map: From
Chiswick to Kentish town 12 miles;
from Kentish to Mil wall, 17¿ miles,
very near three days journey at the
rate of 20 miles a day; and it will be
that in the line drawn, Battersea, Clap-
ham, Baning town, and many other
places which even at present can
scarcely be said to be seperated from
Londcn, have been left out. "As the
crow would fly" across streets and hou-
ses from the point whenco we started
at Chiswick to the farthest east, the
distance is nearly eleven miles and the
greatest width from north to south up-
wards of seven miles.—-The Builder.
It is supposed that Brazoria county
rests upon an immense cavern. The
late Major J. P. Caldwell and A. E.
Westall, while boring for water, lost
their augurs in this supposed cavern,
some thirty-four feet from the surfncc.
Grasshoppers are said to exist in
great numbers in New Jersey this pea-
son. Whole fields in the neigborhood
ofBelviderc are made desolate, as
if recently ploughed- Young clover
seems to be their favorite food, but
when hard pressed they devour mul<
lens and alder, stripping them clean.
V. 0. Seizure of Formosa.
The Island of Formosa lies about
90 miles off the southeast coast of
China, embraces an area of about
15,000 square miles, and contains flvfr
two millions of Chinese inhalants,
besides an unknown number of natives,
who inhabit principally tho eastern
portion of the Island. The Chineso
who live on tho Island are generally
of a bad character, as Formosa hps
for a long time been used as a sort of
penal colony for the Chineso Empire;
the natives are half civilised and cruel.
The country is well watered and fer-
tile, and produced great quantities of
cotton, rice, sugar, with wheat, maize,
and various tropical fruits. A corres-
pondent of tho N. Y. Times Writes
of the seizure by- the United States as
follows:
U. S. Flag Ship San Jacinto, )
Hong Kong, June 9, 1857. J
I stated in my letter of May 25,
that there was a project on foot for the
seizure of the rich Island of Formosa.
By a letter received yesterday by an
offloial, to which as yet very little pub-
licity has been given, I learn the fol-
lowing additional facts. They are per-
fectly reliable. Some1 three months
since Capt. J, D. Simras, of the Uni-
ted States Marine Corps—attached to
the 8an Jacinto—was mysteriously
missing, gone nobody but our execu-
tives knew where.
It was understood after a few weeks
that ha had been detailed for duty;
where, and for what kind, was known
to the elect. It is now ascertained
that his instructions were to proceed
to Formosa, and in the city of Fung -
han hoist the American flag and tain for-
mal possession of the Island. It is to be
held as an indemnity for the looses sus-
tained by American citizens during
the present war. Oars being the pri-
or elaim will of courso bo respected by
the contending parties, bo they Eng-
lish Frenoh, or Spanish, all of which
Power m«y have a finger in this
pie. ' >'■>
This step has given the English au-
thorities in China huge satisfaction, a
every successful step towards further
collision with the Chinee does. This
is in my opinion, is a wise.dip towards
securing our rights in China, and a
safe wty of making sure of remunera-
tion for our losses.—Should wa peek
territorial aquisitions in this part of the
world, no more desirable portion of the
Chinese Empire could be seized upon
than Formosa, rich in mineral and ag-
ricultural wealth, its valuable coal
mines make it a coveted spot with the
maritime nations of the world. It is
only within a few years that its resour-
ces have bocome known owing to the
hostility and exclusiveness of its peo-
ple, who aro Chinamen. Already
there is a profitable trade carried on
between foreigners in China and its
people, and it only needs developing to
make it invaluable. Of this maUcr
more anon.
Telegraphic Line or the Would.
—The whole length of the Telegraph-
ic lines of the world, which hav? been
since the discovery of Professor Morse,
amounts to about 78,000 miles, of
which more than one half is in tho
United States, and the balance
rope; all of which willprobably, s!iould (
the trans-atlantie telegrapli prtvc suc-
cessful at the next attempt to ley ¡Lb
connected together.
• • • • j m '
Jno. M. Harris, Esq., the lately
elected Representative from Titus Co,,
is dea/1.
Faith can do no moró than remove
mountains—it can still a clamorous
conscience, uiako a bad conspicuce
good, and toften a hard heart, bend a
stubborn will, and bring God and man
together,
A man on thVTron mountain Bail-
road , shot a deer frojn the 1 ocomotive,
while the train was going at the rate
of fourteen or fifteen miles an hour.
&
• •
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Marschalk, Andrew, Sr. The Weekly Independent. (Belton, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 21, Ed. 1 Saturday, September 19, 1857, newspaper, September 19, 1857; Belton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth180539/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.