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7, M.i...i.i.l..i urn ,i ji.ii.hh . .i .ji.w. i n .j i . in niiwii?..i.n ihiij i ii.iiij. PTMigLMJlLiL!!;!!!!!!! 1111.".:'?" 1 L J1?1-"" 'Lwn'J-''n i Volume lNuraber 27: PRAIRIE CITY, KANZAS, THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 1858. Terms $2 Per Annum . V i 1. 1 it e'Vf ft 3 1 1t '- is poblibhkd mar tiiubsday at PRAIRIE CITY, KANZAS, , ; By 8. S. PROUTY. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: One copy one year, , , ' . $2 00 Three copies one year, 6 00 Ten " 15 00 tPaymont required in all casft in ad vance. All papers discontinued at the time for which payment is received. TERMS OF ADVERTISING: First insertion, per line, - : 10 cts. finch subsequent inertion,TW line, S " BTAdvance payment will be requirod for Ad venisemonts from a distance.. tMoneys, properly registered with post masters, may be forwardod by mail at our risk. " LIBERTY OR DEATH." FRJilRIE CITY, K, T JUNE 17, 1858. The Rain.. , Did you ever watch the rain drops falling in the summer time and try ito analyze tho thoughts and dreams that thronged in the minds ? We ;hava boon doing it for tho last hour, scanning the rhythmic linos which the rain spirit is writiig all over the green and blossoming earth. Hark I At its music ; listen to its low mur mured song, or loudly rushing storm chant. Tatter I patter I tho rain drops beat against the window panes. With what a peculiar musical ca dence it falls on the roof, and splash 1 splash !, we hear it on the sodden ground outside. Musio breathes in -trefy drop .and melody flows con-' ataatly in the summer shower. It exercises a weird, dreamj influence on us, casitng us in tho stray land of i -misty shadows that tho soul knows but faintly and words cannot de scribe, where we seem treading that verge of Timo and Eternity, whero the clouds of the one and the over powering glory of the other mingle and blend in one hazy glow, which is forever peopled with an infinito vari ety of embodied fancies; or making us wander back with Memory for at tendant to tho love-peoplod Past where sweet faces, full of joy or sad ness, are met on every hand. , The summer rain we romembor when we lay beneath the green branohes of a distant woodland scone and listened to the murmurs of a swiftly running brooklet swollen by the tears of the storm. Happy thoughts are thronging upon us, as sweet eyes ore looking down into our own, and the precious hopes then treasured fill all tho sky with ame thystine glow. Tears were falling, gentle as that summar shower, re freshing in their , flow. A parting sceno was that; and many a time since have the wilder storms of a stern and battling manhood shrouded us in gloom, only we hope to make the sun shine more glorious, Murmuring falls the rain, and with dotted eyes we listen to its utterings. Dark overhead are th clouds and gloomy undorneath tho earth, yet the distant west is tinged with amber and purple, the prairies are glistening in fb.9 diamond-gemmed robe which 'the fain has spread, over them, and the treos stand like shadowy spirits wrap ped up in amist-voil, enveloping them from the fading storm. Brighter will smile the earth to-morrow and all Na ture laugh out its thanksgiving of beauty 'for the rain and storm. So with tho huln in heart an I Ufa. The flowers will be more radiant and tho verdure more greenj joy will bo ho lier and? love more glorious,' for the Storms and shadows which oftimes rest about $,'," . ' Let us learn from the song of the ' summed taio, ever ohaunting out its i molody and singing its lesson of faith to tho hearts that are watting for the H trsthv ' Listen to its muiio 1 ' ' 7 ' : Song of the Rain. Hark) at tha son? tho summer rain Is forever singing; Falling thro' a dream-linked chain, Its voice co'mes ringing; 'Mid tho thiu aud shadowy mist, ' Which shroud the earth swolls dim, Where murmuring spirits have kissed ' Each word of Ihut sweot hymn. This is tho song the summer rain, All its shadows lighten, "Green grows theearh and from this pain Fragraiit flowewwighton : Dark aro tho elouds, but golden beams, Aye I ontlieodgowillginilo, While tho morrow with joy will gleam. And beauty all bcguilo. " Ever the storm will pass and clouds Give way to sunlight glad, While the storm with its dismal shrouds And voice of wailing sad, Will with pcam of faith peal out, And Bongs of Lovo will send, Thro' all tho Earth a joyous shout, As sun and storm do blend. "So, struggling heart, have faith, look up, Tho lovitijj Father reigns ; Let tho storm fall drink llieu thy cup, '. For God will break tho chains ; Love will be fairer for tho storm, Hope bear radiant hue, ' ' .After tho night cometh the dawn, ( And sunlight pierceth thro'. " Cent ral America. Tho Governments" of Costa Rica and Nicaragua have concluded a very important treaty, which will proba bly affect our relations with those re cions materially. It settles the dis puted boundary line between the two countries, cancels the debt of Nica ragua and provides for the recognition of all treaties made by the latter pow er with the United States. It pro vides also for the formation of a Fed ration or Union of all Central Amer ican States. By a docree of the Vice-President of Costa Rica, issued on tho 23d of April, inducements are offered for fnl immirrr.ltion. A Plant Of land is offered to foreign settlers, a strip of land 500 yards having been set off for that purpose on the river Saripiqui. To every actual settler will be givon a section of ground con taining 50,000 square yards, ach section having a front of 100 yards on the river and a depth of 5.00 feet Streets of twenty yards in width are to be loft between the sections. Set tlers are allowod two years in which to take possession, but will lose their privilege if after five years they have not commenced to cultivate the ground. If any settlor desires to un dertake a plantation of cocoa, . and will plant it within five years, he wi be granted a section 100 yards on tho river and 1,000 deep. Any foreigner who desires to ac cept thoB ooncossions can address himself at once to the Judge of Ha cienda, or to the commandant of Sa ripiqui, as may be most convenient, declaring his intention to become a citizen of Costa Rica, and asking pos session of the first land he is desired to cultivate. Tho Judge will there upon order the commandant to deliver the land, taking note of the name, sex, age, &c, of tha settlor. The titlo deed for the land will not bo given until the settler has been in act ual possession for five years. Such a measure leavos filibuster ism without even a shadow of reason, and, no doubt, it and the treaty and the proposed Federal Union of Cen tral American States, are intended as defensive precautions against future incursions of Northern pirates. -In Sonora (Mexico) great dis order prevails.' It is said thatCapt. Stone, who made a contract with Comonforl for .surveying Sonora, will bo in danger of. losing his lifo if he undertakes to fulfill his contract. The Soriorians are bitterly host! le to any American survey of their Terri tory. There is so much disordor and civil war that a large number of fam ilies were preparing at the latest dates to tome to California.' '' -J "' r XT Economy is wealth, , , , : Rational Progress of America. . Tho striking fact in our history, is the growth of the people. By the g -owth of the people we mean much m're than the numerical increase. Wo mean their rapid advance in prac tical power; in skill, intelligence, and adaptation ; in fertility of thought, expansiveness of sentiment, grandeur ot enterpriso. Tins progress is tin osson or the United States to thi world. . No one can fail to see th v oearing oi our political in iicuuoin on this rotult, but, nevertheless, it h an indirect bearing. There is no nec essary connection between doucracy and worldly success. .Mon may be republicans, and yet have no special sagacity in acquiring wealth. Our civil government has put us in a po sition t exercise whatever abilities we possess to tho best advantage, and protected us in the enjoyments ot our rights. Its offices, moreover, have been mainly negative. It hus served us quite as much by what it had not done as by what it has done. From themselves, not from institutions, our people have derived the power which has signalized their careor. And by what means has such progress been made? Our industry has boon left free to pursuo its own bent ; and although wo have had reasons ot wild speculation, yet there has been little that was artificial and fictitious in our enterprises, lhe gioat mind ot the country has been occupied with sub stantial things ; labor, as one of tho original institutions of God's wisdom, has been certified and confirmed by our position and circumstances ; and directly out of the pnuul elements, which tho aflluence of nuture laid at our feet, we havo had to create our wealth. Power has not come as second-handed thins. It has not been inherited. Mountains, hills, valley 8, prairies, inland xeas, and a world-wide forest, were the real an cestors of our people, and whatever of skill and force wo possess is prac tically their offspring. In this aspect of our civilization wo have a most singular phenomenon, viz., tho vast proportion of our population that has come in immediate contact with tho fresh scenes of American life, and con structed its fortunes from materials that its own hands gathcrod together. What ail impulse this has gives to our industry I What a vitality leaps into muscles and nerves when the re sources of half a continent, for the first time, unlock themselves and surren der their long-concealed treasures 1 To our active mind, to ovr eager grasp the Western World is as a new crea tion. We inaugurate a human lord ship over it. Forests are felled, plowshares pierco the yielding soil, submissive waters flow into our chan nels, cities rise, and States are or ganized as if wo felt conscious of an indisputable sovereignty. Our phys ical energy has really assumed the bettor characteristics of chivalry, and clad in the armor of a fascinating knighthood, we have done our work in tho spirit and style of conquerors. Amidst all our practicalness we have shown an imaginative excitement, a poetio warmth in our blood, a fervor in tho higher attributes of intellect, that exhibit a new phase of business, mind. Owing to this fact, American enterprise has boen something more than an ordinary calculation of capi tal and profits. Itsroalnis have bor dered on the romantic Its broad fiolds. retreating beyond a series of horizons that woaried the eye lo meas ure, have glittered in the golden sun shine. Our countrymen have been intellectually churinml by the magni tude of those schemes which, on a small scale, would have boen nothing more than the dull, dry details of slavish routine. If they had had leis ure and repose the tranquillity of wealth and the power which springs from culture imagination would have immortalized itself in statuary, painting and poetry. But as circum stances have ruled us, imagination has found its full activity in magnif icent enterprise. . Think you that im agination has no other scope than in literature and arts ? Look at that gVeat Erie Canal ; look at that Bal timore and Ohio Railroad ; look at tho Niagara Suspension Bridge, and tlie Saint Nicholas Hotel ; look at ootton-gins and reaping machines. Practical sagacity built those things; but was that all ? Far from it. Bril liant thoughts, splendid conceptions, glowing images, and feelings, that would nave been most eloquent in words, if words had bjen the natural form of their expression, are embod ied in them. ' In this light Amerioa presents her self to the world. In this attitude our psople stand up before the gase of the nation! We are a grand example of energy intellectual, creative, re sistless energy. Our pride has been in woric. Uur demonstration nas boen work. Our true symbols are tho ax, the plow-share, the steam engine. We have mrgnified labor. I salms of thanksgiving have celebra ted its triumphs, and raptures of im agination have eulogized its wonders. It has been garlaaded and crowned. Labar, as God's greatest earthly law; labor, as a sacrament of Providence ; labor, as. the strength, ioy and glory r 9,ta genuine and noble manhood ; la bor, as the broadest and maturest ex ponent of character in its relations to the material universe ; labor, as re warded in itself and enjoyed in its re sults ; the just, philosophic, com manding idea of labor as the regenera tive instrument of outward lifo, has boen sot forth in tho history of our civilization as it was never before ex hibited. Did not tho world need such a spectacle? Could any display of wisdom, could any pageantry ot gor- geousness, could any captivation ot tho senses and fancy equal this in the depth of its interest, in its impress ive importance ? Nowhere else has labor vindicated its intrinsic value on so vast a scale, in such transcend ent connections, with such significant fruits. Nowhere else has it reached the maximum of its ufility, and adorned itself with so much of the beauty of a spiritual sentiment. Nowhere else has it answered the Di vine idea of the institution. Look abroad over the earth and mark its wasted form, its haggard features, its soulless eyot), its wasted hands. In the shadow of vine-hills it pines and weeps, nor does the empurpling bloom or tho clustering fullness bring it joy and hope. Amidst the din of facto ries, where the wail of discontent and sorrow is silenced by the noise of machiuo'-y, it cries to God from out its bursting heart and asks for rest. In large sections of the world labor is man's institution, not God's. To see the condition of tho laborer, you would never suppose that the blood of Christ had adeemed this earth and converted the curse of toil into a blessing. Sin planted thorns all over tho earth, but Christ plucked them from tho soil and bound them on his brow, that hencefoith man might know his Deliverer from tho cruel bondage of drudgery. But the tyr anny of selfishness, the hard exact ions of capital, the Moloch of money, will not let the poor laborer have the benefit of tho Saviour's orown of thorns. Thanks to the spirit of Christianity, there is here a more hopeful state ot things I Providence retained its proprietorship in, at least ono hemisphere of tho globe, and, before kings, barons, monopolies could cover it over with title;deeds and mortgages, tho way was'opened for the poople, aliens everywhere on their native soil, to claim it as thoir property. Labor was honored. Tho man who sowed the seod reaped the harvest, and tho humblest hand that planted a fig-tree and a vino, was en titled to rest in the cool shadow and oat of tho refreshing fruit. This ser vice, then, we have rendered to hu manity, viz., we have shown ourselves to bo a nation of working people, oboying the law of labor as a Divine edict, and by that obedience, raising ourselves to a state of unprecedented power and prosperity. In this re Bpect we have made an original ap peal to the heart of mankind. Amer ican civilization has restored faith in the Christian doctrine of labor to the mind of tho world, and by its earnest assertion of this cardinal truth, by tho vastnoss of the tha rj on which it has vindicated its su premo earthly importance, 'a moral and serial influence hp been exerted that no statistics can compute, no statesmanship measure. Across tho Atlantio, the echoes of tho American voice, proclaiming this gee it senti ment of human brotherhood and Christian sympathy, has boen heitrd, and a now era of theught and effort has boen introduced. A literature of labor has boen written ; and among its works, speaking to the soul of England, what power to penetrate, what startling delineations, what dra matio strength abound in Alton, Locke and IShirley I What mighty utterance in the poetry of Heod, Mrs. Browning, Bartoa and Massoyl What force of roligious thought in Arthur's Christian Merchant, and kindrod productions I On the Con tinent the same ohange is progressing. And although it has assumed extrav agant forms, and, in forgstfulness of us origin, auieu ubuii wuu muueiny and licentiousness," yet through the falsehood a ray of truth struggles forth to tho eyes of the people, and promises the dawning of a better day For tho Freemen's Champion. A Summer's Night , Scene. The night air soft all pendulous droops, Clo-tuly down to tbe dew-geinmcd plain, And the cloud-curtain's fringe lowly stoops To kiss tho bud on its bosom lain : W.iile grandly glowing the summer moon, WilU smiling stars a g'ory-band weaves: Eur.b o'ei'coino by beauty faint doth swoon, And voiceless verdure with rapture breathes. Tho forest (reos, huge sentinels stand, Looming proud agoihit ;diuur sky,. Guarding tho midnight's enchanted land, Wlion wild and weird tlio spiritforras fly; Prairies green like wavy-oceans swell, With billowy bound afar off stretch, Clasping alike where buu rose and fell, And Queen Luna's faintest kiss doth caich. Tho silent stream like silver slice u, lies Glistening in the eve's fuir splendor- Heaven's fret-work lhe fleece clouds flies, Obscuring dim the light that blends o'eri Whilo Night's misty breath hangs humid along, The eihor dome and the' earth swells given, Tbcre seems from faj sphere i spirit's song In mellowed tones to float between. Not oft is Nature in mood like this When firo and softness both mingling dwells, Liko modest desire in a maiden's iss, Or tho lingering sound of Sabbath belli As doth tho wild flo.ver drink the dew, So cnlcrs ihis sceno the soul of man, Flooding it o'er with Heaven's own hue, And awe of tho Creator's vust plan. Paul Potteb. Lawrence, June, 18.)S. For ihe Freemen's Champion. Through all disorder thatwildly rages, Ono eternnl harmony pervades the ages ; Ever Love Omninolenl, docs re'gn, 'Mid sorrow, turmoil, toil and paiu ; All heaven oa ourselves depend, Tho threads of Fate with our volition blend. Paul Poitkb. Look Before you Kick. A minister recently, while on his way to preach a funeral sermon in tho country, called to see ono of his members, an old widow lady, who lived near tho road he was traveling. The old lady had just been making sausages, and she felt proud of them, they were so plump, round and sweet. Of course she insisted on hor minister taking some of the links home to his family, lie objected on account of not having his portmanteau along. This objection was soon overruled' and the old lady, after wrapping them in a rag, carefully placed a bundle in eithor pocket of the preacher's capa cious coat. Thus equipped, he start d for the funeral. While attending the solemn cere monies of the grave, some hungry dogs scented the sausages, and were not Ion" in tracking them to the pock ets of the good man's coat, Of course 'his was a great annoyance, and ho was several times unuer mo necessity of kicking those wholps away, The obsequios at the grave completed, the minister and congregation repaired to tho church where the funeral dis course was to be preached. After the sermon was finished, the minister halted to make some remarks to his congrejation, when a brother, who wished to have an appointmont given out, ascended the steps ef the pulpit and gave the minister's coat a hitch, to got his attention. The di vine, thinking it a dog having a de sign upon his pocket, raised his foot, 5a ve a sudden kick, and sent the good rother sprawling d.wn the stops. " You will excuse me, brethren and sisters," said the minister, con fused! v, and without looking at the work he had just done, " for I could not avoid it. I. have sausages in my pocket, and that dog has been trying to grab them ever since I came upon the premises 1" Our readers may judge of the effect such an announcement would have at a funeral. Germantown Emporium. Steadiness of Purpose. In whatovor you engage, pursue it with steadiness of purpose as though you were determined to succeed. A vacillating mind never accomplishes anything worth naming. There is nothing like a fixed, steady aim. It dignifies your success. Who have secured the rarest honors? Who htve doue the most for mankind ? Who have raised themsolves from poverty to riches ? Those who were steady in purpose. - They move noise lessly along, and jet what wonders they accomplish I They rise gradu ally, we admit but surely. , A Word to the Boys. Come boys, you have now arrived at an age when you must begin to think about doing something for your selves. The first piece ot advice 1 have for oa is, to do everything well which you undertake. There is but little danger of your being too particular in this respect, A boy who is careful to draw a straight line on his slato, will bo very likely to make a straight line through life. There is no position in life in which you will not bo called upon to be exact as pos sible. Step into a jeweler's shop, and see how careful the workman must be in finishing up the article ho holds ia his hands, Visit a ship yard, and the man with the broad-axe must learn to hew on the line, or dismissed. ' You think of boing a clerk. Well, remember that a mistake there is lit tle loss than a crime. I never saw a man who was particular about his af fairs that was not successful. How exact is a military officer in the com mand of a body f men. A clumsy sailor will never rise to the command ofaship. " . But there is one great danger which besets many young mon at the pres ent day. It is the disposition to avoid all solid improvement, and take up with subject that require no thought, a:id which sorves as more excitement to the mind. Your older friends tell you that boys are fast at the present day, but I can remember fast boys long before you was born ; but they never made solid and useful men. Nobody ever trusted ihem. They never rilled any important office or station. They usually became small men, because they had' no capital in their heads with which to workout a living. Out of fifty of that class, I do not know of one who ever accom plished much. As you sow, so shall you reap. Tho boy who spends his hours late and early at the card-table, bowling alloy, or tavern bar-room, is learning nothing useful, but much that is injurious. Listen to such men as Amos Lawrence, Thomas H. Ben ton, Daniel Webster, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington, as they will all tell you that they avoided all these things, and ' owed their greatness to their attention in early lifo to what would be useful te them. This may be a hard lesson for yon, but it must be studied, and the earli er in lifo you acquire it, the better will your prospects bo for a successful careor. The Family Circle. The Baltimore Sun, alluding to the prevalence of crime among tho boys, very properly asserts that one of the mam causes of the decline of moral ity is the decay of partntal discipline. Tho family circle, the domestic hearth, is the true fountain of purity or cor ruption to publio morals. Most peo ple become what they are made at home. They go forth into the world, to act out the character they have formed in the first fourteon years of their lives. It is allegod, in exouse. that children havo become more un manageable than they used to be. We reply, that human nature and human relations are unchangod. Children are just as amenable to authority as they ever were. This is the main purpose for which Provi dence has made them helpless and dependent, that thoy nay be trained to obedience, to order, to industry, to virtue. It is not true that parent have not as absolute control over their children as they ever had. When thore is dependence obedionce may be enforced. The real fact is, that parents are too indolent, too negli gent, too indifferent to tako the pains to train up their children in the way they should go. It requires perpet ual vigilance, and they get tired. It requires self-control to exercise a proper authority over others. Self conquest is the greatest victory of all. There can be no just parental disci pline when there is no character to back it. . . i3T A punster says : " My name is Somerset ; I am a miserable old bachelor.' I cannot marry; for how could I hope to prevail on any young lady possessed of the slightest notions of delicacy, to turn a Sotnortttt" ": M3T Red cheeks are only oxygen in another shape. , G irls anxions to wear a pair will find, them where the roses do out of doors. V, ' Philip James Baily, tho au thor of "Fostns," has published a new poem, which is te be re-produced immediately by Tickaor it Fields of Boston. s ( ' i l