The River Falls journal., June 13, 1857, Image 2

About The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861

Image provided by: Wisconsin Historical Society

                
BIVER FALLS JOURNAL
L. A. & IL A. TAILOR, Editors.
Kiver Falls, Pierce County, Wisconsin,
Saturday, June 13, 1557.
A Word at tlsc Start.
That the North West is a “great coun
try” every one knows. That men of in
dustry and economy, in a few years acquire
a competency, and make for themselves a
comfortable home; that shrewd and ener
getic men rapidly accumulate fortunes, is
a fact sufficiently proved by the history of
the past. That some are dissatisfied and
unfortunate is no less true. They return
to the East, with dreadful stories of high
prices and speculation. They bear back
dismal reports of a land where
'•Fevers burn and agues freeze us.”
At the commencement of our enterprise
oi publishing a Newspaper, we deem it
proper to say a few words in regard to
this section of country, and our own im
mediate 'oeat.un. There is always a mag
ical charm investing our idea of a “far
cc.u. ugf ?. ll.Uidimji vkiftT"
to the view,” and thft view frequently re
fuses to return it. In this lies the secrel
of much of the disappointment experienced
at the M est. The cuimrant comes expect
ing to make a fr/ttune by some lucky pur
chase, some '"Sudden rise in real estate, or
by rt-<rfvingan enormous price for labor;
and if he does not instantly succeed, he is
disgusted and leaves, or like “Mr. Micaw
ber,” waits for something “to turn up,”
forgetting that it is the “hand of the dili
gent which maketh rich.” The West is
not a “Loafer’s Paradiso.” Ho can live
cheaper elsewhere. But to the Worker,
whether with mind or muscle, it opens its
arms of welcome and gives sure promise
of bounteous reward. But so many being
engaged in speculation, as a consequence
speculation becomes bolder and more
reckless than at the East. Years ago
Charles Dickens visited the “Great West”
and in “Martin Chuzzlewitt” has given
his impresions to the world. When first
reading it we supposed we were enjoying
“fancy sketches” drawn by the inimitable
pen of the great English Artist. But
his spicy pages have the flavor of truth.—
“Eden” has many a counterpart. There
are many real estate agents, like Mr Scad
der, anxious to do the people good, and
etill mere anxious to fill their own pockets
well, "here are many adventurers like
“Martin and Mark,” who have selected
and purchased city lots from a plot, where
Churches, Schools, Markets and Hotels
were drawn in magnificent properpotions;
that
the stately pF l kj edifices were visTbl®.
only to the “eye of faith,” in short, that
their just-grasped wealth hail vanished as
suddenly as a paper of free tobacco in a
village store. But the misrepresenta
tions of eager speculators, and the mis
fortunes of evry credulous purchasers, do
not alter the fact that the valley of the
Mississippi is the richest, and is destined
so ?n to be the wealthiest and most popu
lous portion of the United States. All
through this valley, large towns and re
spectable cities have sprung into existence
with a rapidity which seems miraculous.
The cabin of the settler is built, and
his breaking plough turns its broad
furrow within sight of the fast retreating
Indian. And still they come. Every
ma I East bears back letters of invitation
and encouragement, and the fleet of
steamers that plough the waters of the
Upper Mississippi groan beneath the
Weight ot “fair women and bravo men.”
But in all h • West we know of no sec
tion wiiich oilers greater inducements to
the emigrant than North Western Wis
consin, and especially Bierce and St Croix
Counties. Wo do not propose to give a
full and elaborate description of all the
advantages of those counties, but merely
to state a few things “that«we do know.’
First as to
\ CLIMATE.
Lyi?lg on the 45th. parallel of N. lat
itude we of course experience some “cold
t rms. diet the atmosphere is so free
frorfc mist and vapors, that the cold does
not chill as at the East. No climate can
bo more healthy. Fever and ague is un
known unless brought in by some thin
abaky fellow in quest of health. Doctors
find bttle to do in easing people out of
the world, though they drive a brisk busi
ness in helping young folks in.
SOIL AND SURFACE.
The surface is gently rolling. No ex
ten>ivc prairies, no unwholsome marshes
no deep impassable ravines. Mounds are
scattered all over the country, rising about
SO feet from the level, but acce.--.dble bv
teams. Coolies, generally covered with
timber, project into the sides of the most of
them, and while the surface of the land is
sh from stone, the sides of the mounds are
filled with "the best of stone for building
and other purposes. The soil on the prai
ries is generally a deep, rich mold, with
<?;ay, or fine sand subsoil. On some of the
h gher land it is a sandy or clayey loam.
The average crop o f wheat is 30 bushels
per acre. Many farms yield 40 and some
times more. Oats from 40 to 60 bushels
v.:rscr-. Com 40. AB kinds of
root crops yield very abundantly. Prices
are invariably good. Wheat is now
worth 81,25 and oats, SI,OO per bushel.
TIMBER.
One great objection to many parts of
the West is the scarcity of timber. Here
wc arc well supplied. A largo portion of
Pierce and St. Croix counties is well tim
bered. Wood is worth $3.00 per cord.
Lumber is worth from 15 to 25 dollars
according to kind and quality. Wc have
the best of hard wood lumber for all me
chanical purposes.
WATER.
' This is one of the best watered sections
in the "W est. Besides the Mississippi and
St. Croix, there are the Wiilow, Kinnic
kinnic, Rusli, Trimbelle ami Big rivers,
and plenty of smaller streams. Large
springs are very numerous. The quality
• of the water needs no other recommenda
tion, than the fact, that it is filled with
the finest kind of speckled trout.
FRUIT.
“Can y-.u raise fruit?” eagejlj asks the
new comer. Wc answer, yes. Apple trees
do well here. Plums of all varieties,
which for size and flavor compare favorably
with. *hn eh/wHL w’tfich are raised cast
grow wild in the greatest abundance.—
All of the smaller fruits grow profusn’v.
We now proceed to speak move partic
ularly of our own location, the village oi
RIVER FALLS.
River Falls is situated on the Kinuic
kinnic River six miles east <|f L:ki St.
Croix, twelve miles North East from
Prescott, and ten miles South East from
Hudson. For beauty of situation an 1 su
perior natural advantages it L unrivalled.
The “Pierce Co., Review,” published in
Jan. 1856, thus speaks of it:
“The village of River Falls, A deserving
' of special notice on account of its superior
natural advantages as a comn\ereial and
manufacturing town. It is situated in a
charmng valley at the junction of the bran
' chcs of the Kinnickinnic. The North fork
I falls by a succession of declivities some
i seventy five feet, and thesouth fork about
■ forty feet, both forming a water power
sufficient for driving any kind and amount,
of machinery, and in all respects acknowl
edged to be the best in the Si. Croix
valley.”
The first settlement here was made
by Joel Fester in the autumn of
1849. There is much of romande con
nected with the settlement of the West,
and River Falls has its share. Mr. Foster
i hearing a party of Land Surveyors talk
ing about the Falls, and their value, im
mediately made a pre-emption covering
most of the water power. Nature kindly
furnished him with a dwelling, more snug
than capacious. Like the conies, ho had
his “hole in the rocks.” In a, rugged
bluff, just below tho principal fall is a
mail cave, where he and n negro boy
“kept house” during the winter. His on
ly immediate neighbor was a wild goose,
wh o resided in another stone block just
above. Mr. Foster has now a pleasant
residence near his former abode, and as
he has sold his pre-emption for the snug
sum of $3,000, he reflects with quite
complacent feelings on his first winter in
River Falls. He was followed by Messrs
N. N. & O. S. Powell, who in the fall
of 1854 laid out their farm into village
lots. Others have since laid out large
additons to the village and it has now
five or six pro} rioters, though most of
the water power is owned by Powell A
Co.
We pass over two or three succeeding
rears, and speak of the village in its pres
ent state.
It now contains four dry goods and
grocery stores, one tin and sheet iron
store, a fine tavern and a large first-class
boarding house, one large flouring and
grist mill, a three story turning and
plaining mill, one saw mill, one wagon
shop, two cabinet and furniture shops,
one livery stable, a cooper shop, boot and
shoe shop, printing office, two blacksmith
shops, a painter, two or three masons,
and a good supply of carpenters. There
is a large school house and a fine and
commodious academy for both males and
females. The academy is under the
charge of Prof. B. Wilcox, an able and
successful teacher, who has long been at
the head of one best institutions in New
A ork: and aflhrds the best opportunities
for acquiring a thorough English and
classical education. There is a Congre
gational Church with about seventy mem
bers and a settled Pastor, and also a Bap
tist Church, who support a regular min
ister.
A large lime kiln supplies tho country
with the best of lime and a brick yard is
nearly completed. The town is-settled
with enterprising farmers mosllyfrom the
East. The support of two ministers, a
fine village library, the largo number of
literary papers recieved at the Post Office,
the building of the academy and the lib
eral support extended to the local papers,
is sufficiently indicative of the moral and
intellectual character of tho place. Of its
natural beauty—its charms for the poet
ical eye, we will not now speak, but sim
ply say to all who are looking for a
pleasant home in the West, come and
see us.
Hay is quoted at from fifty to sixty
dollars per ton in the St. Paul Jfinnesc
tian. The demand for it is active even st
that price.
Oar Position.
In entering the field of journalism, we
feel it is due both to our readers and our
selves, that we briefly define the position
: which we shall occupy. In politics, we
■ shall advocate those principles which are
‘ now’ upheld by the Republican Party.—
We regard slavery as a great evil. We
; beleive it to bo condemned alike by every
sound principle of political economy and
by all the better and holier instincts of
humanity. We believe Freedom to be
the normal condition of every Territory,
' and that slavery if it exists, must be the
creature of positive legislation. Wo be
lieve the further spread of slavery to be
dangerous to the interests of our country
and that it is the duty of Congress to de
' crec Freedom to all Territories under its
care. These opinions wc shall freely ad
vocate, yet those opposed to us in senti
ment will have access to our columns.—
. In all political matters we shall strive to
■ oppose measures, not men; to deal fairly
and honestly with all, and not merge the
man an the gentleman in the partisan. Tho
“Journal” will bo decided it its support
iof the cause of Temperance. While we
, believe tlierehas been hurried and unwise
action on this subject, we think it the duty
lof the Press to discuss it, so that the
People may be prepared to act wisely and
well. We have no dogmas of religious
faith to defend, but shall strive to pro
-1 mote public morals, popular education
and whatever els * seems to us to be con
ducive to the welfare of society. Finally
we shall strive to be liberal and catholic
i in our treatment of all subjects; radical
‘ enough to accept the New, when it comes
with sufficient promise of blessing, and
I conservative enough to cling to the Old
w hile it continues to be useful and true.
To osir Headers.
■ We now’ lay before you the first copy
iof the “Journak” It is the largest coun
-1 ty Paper ever started in tho North West.
Its size is now equal to any and superior
to the most. We present a large quantity
I of reading matter this week, more than
we usually shall, though we shall never
I permit our paper to be so over-run with
l advertisements, but that it will contain a
large amount of other matter. We enter
the field of Newspaper publishing mean
ing to deserve and secure success. Wo
do not expect to manage a paper with the
ability of a veteran Editor, but we believe
that w’ith honest intention, and earnest
endeavor, we can present our readers with
a sheet which they will be pleased to re
ceive, and we not ashamed to own. We
send this paper to many who have not
' yet subscribed for it. We hope they may
: give it a welcome and also give us the
small sum which will pay for its weekly
visits. Not having got our office com
pletely arranged yet, our next paper will
not be issued until one week from next
Wednesday. After that we expect our
course will bo like that of a good man’s
life, “evenly and on.”
Tsie Province os a Newspaper.
The form in which thought seeks ex
pression is continually changing. In the
palmy days of Romo pantomine rivalled
oratory, and action and gesture spoke
eloquently to the applauding populace. —
Then the drama appeared, and Shakes
peare and Ben Jonson, and tho host of
lesser luminaries, revolving around them,
shaped their thought into graceful d:a
logue, and the actor was tho medium
through whom they approached the pub
lic. The narrative poem too had its day
of favor when Scott gracefully struck tho
“Harp of tho North,” and Byron hymned
the stern and mournful music of “Child©
Harold.” More lately, the novel has
attained wide and almost universal favor.
Many of the best intellects of our own and
other lands, have chosen it as a fitting
veheilo in which their royal thoughts
may ride. Yet now the life of intellect
is being determined more and more to
the weekly and daily papers. Instead of
being mere news carriers, they are often
the receptacles of the finest poetry and of
the most finished and elaborate prose.—
All the varied subjects of interest, from
tho sublime mysteries of religion and tho
gravest questions of legislation down to
the breadth of a skirt and the stylo of a
bonnet are freely discussed in its pages.—
With so wide a field before him, tho Jour
nalist, if fitted for his post, need never be
at a loss to present his readers with some
thing interesting and useful. We shall
strive to make the Journal valuable to tho
lovers of good literature. In our selec
tions, we shall seek for that which is not
only pure in sentiment, but which in style
and rhetoric will bo a safe criterion by
which those beginning to write may com
pare themselves. Poetry, is a great refill
ing and educating power, and we shall
take special pains to have each copy of
the “Journal” contain one poem, elegant
in diction, eloquent in moaning, be
sides a fair share of the lighter forms of
verse, whose object is merely to interest
or amuse by exciting transient emotion.—
The Farmer will not be neglected in our
pages. Knowing agriculture to be the
basis upon which our prosperity rests, w e
shall make such selections from the lead
ing agricultural papers and insert such
original ai tides on this subject as we deem
best adapted to meet the wants of the
( farmer. The general news of the day
we shall carefully gather and present to
our readers. We shall strive to make
our local department full and interesting,
that our paper may be valuable to all who
would know of the growth and resources
of this section of country. Finally as our
paper is a country paper, we trust that
the freshness and vitality of country life
shall prevade it ; that our readers may
w elcome it, as they welcome the summer
breeze and the breath of roses.
How to Have a Good Paper.
The following communication has been
handed to us for publication. It so clearly
expresses our own thought, that wc do
not need to preface it with any remarks.
But while we shall try to faithfully perform
the duties of an Editor, we earnestly de
sire our friends to act upon tho suggestions
here given, and be prompt in furnishing
us with such items of local news as may
interest our readers.
It is comparatively easy to start a news
paper enterprise; it is not so easy to
carry it forward successfully. To secure
such a result tw’o things are essential.
I. The Editor must be competent for
-w * 1
the post. Ho must know the particular
wants of his locality; he must understand
the interests of his patrons, so as to defend
! them when right and urge to -correction
when wrong; and, beyond all else, he
must be guided in everything by those
principles of integrity and fidelity to truth
and duty which arc the basis of all true
civilization.
11. The paper must Lave good subscri
bers. That is to say, it must have a good
many good subscribers. Of course, no
paper will live a long life that has them
not. And the only way that a good pa
per can be maintained is that it have an
extensive circulation.
These two requisites will cause the pa
per to thrive; fill the Editor’s heart with
’ content and his stomach with broad and
butter; and give every reader the worth
I of his money.
In a country village remote from the
centers of trade and intelligence, a news
journal is driven to rely for its chief inte
rest almost entirely upon its record of local
matters, and its comments upon the cur
rent household topics of the community.
To accomplish this with most success there
needs to lie constant intercourse between
Editor and reader. Whenever the latter
becomes possessed of a fact likely to inte
rest his neighbors, let him communicate it
for publication. An Editor is not omni
present, or he would do it himself. He
need not be if each reader will take the
trouble to write briefly the facts of any
accident, —a new commencement of any
enteprrise or more vigorous prosecution
of an old one, ■— in short, any remarkable
occurrence of whatever kind that falls
within his notice. In this way the news
paper becomes the medium through which
the intelligence and life of to-day are made
the common property of the entire com
munity.
co-operate v, ith its Editor in this endeavor,
I doubt not it may become a living insti
tution that shall be not altogether unwor
thy their patronage. Dutton.
That Comet.
Every body has heard about “that
comet.” Poets have written il oades" to
it. Proscrs have almost exhausted them
•selvcs, and quite exhausted the patience
of their readers, in discoursing about it.
Scientific men have discussed it and jo
kers Lave make fun of it, and some nerv
ous men and weak women have been
“dreadfully skeered” by it. In common
with others we meant to “pitch in” and
have our say, but v c see it stated in an
exchange, that the monster has,
“Ten million cubic miles of heal
Ten Billion leagues of tail,”
and we grow cautious. “Discretion is the
better part of valor.” We have made
up our minds to let tho Comet alone, if
he will us.
m ■
For the Journal.
An Impending Hanger.
Messrs. Editors :
“coming events cast; their shadows be
fore;” and if any reliance can be put
upon present reports ami prospects, we
may rest assured that our heretofore quiet i
village is now in extreme danger, and it
behooves all candid, thinking persons in !
the village and vicinity to resolve at once
to take proper means either to avert, or
with becoming fortitude endure, the im
pending calamity.
It is said that all effects have their '
causes, ami that all causes have their le- ;
gitimato efleets; and, therefore, the proper
remedy, in hiany cases, is to remove the '
cause. But we apprehend that the cause |
of this threatening catastrophe lies entirely i
beyond our reach or control; and under
such circumstances it ill becomes us to
murmur or complain.
The danger to which we allude, and
which is fraught with such important con
sequences to our peaceful ami quiet town, |
arises from its location, since it is now |
nearly certain that we must be afflicted
with a railroad, and the town is said to be
exactly in the way.
That the Superior & St Croix railroad
must pass via this p.ace to Prescott, we
deem no longer a problem, and we mav
as well prepare to meet the consequences.
And when we look at th? topography, as
j well as geography of the country from
; Eau Claire to Lake St. Croix, and
; thence to St. Pau], we can scarcely avoid
i the conclusion that a railroad designing to
tap Minnesota at St. Paul, or in any way
to make the acquaintance of the Saint,
must pass directly through our town, and
cross Lake St. Croix at Cat-fish Bar.
Our neighbors, Hudson and Prescott,
for a few months back, have been sorely
troubled about this “ vexed question." —
But more recent developments have qui
eted their nerves, and each concedes that
the danger to which they were exposed is
no longer of a threatening character; and
they now rejoice that in their efforts in
trying to crowd each other into the way
they have tumbled the thing, with all its
concomitants, into our heretofore quiet
town.
Well, now, it is wrong to exult over the
unfortunate, and we have that generous
confidence in both of our respected neigh
bors, to believe that they will extend that
charity towards us to which we are prop
erly entitled; and more especially will
i they consider our condition when they re
flect upon the fact, that the Author of na
ture has so fixed our location in relation
■to other important places, that we cannot
well avoid this connection.
1 have no desire, gentlemen, to unneces
sarily alarm you or your readers; but a
word “ fitly spoken ” in this hour of dan
ger, may be of service to them. It may,
also, be a timely hint to others who have
an idea of coming hitherto tarry with us;
and if they are duly forewarned, they can
never bring an action against us for “ ex
emplary damages.”
With these few remarks I submit the
question for the careful consideration and
' calm deliberation of the people of our town
and vicinity. Jake.
For the Journal.
A lAttle Walk.
Prescott, Wis., June 1, 1857.
Messrs. Editors:— Thinking a little
change of exercise, in the wav of footing
it through the country, might bo benefi
cial if not pleasant, I concluded to take a
bit of a tramp through the timber. I
started from Prescott, though, down the
river by the steamboat Northern Light,
one of the new boats of the Packet Com
pany’, and as well managed as any of the
boats in the line. Capt. P. Lodwick, last
year of the Northern Belle, and Messrs. J.
D. Dubois and E. K. Cooley, clerks, are
all superior officers, and general favorites
among travellers and business men who
know them.
I landed at North Pepin a little before
sunset, and in company with some friends,
began to look the place over. It is very
well located on the K.-sr kUotb of f
Pepin, about six miles above Waumadee,
or Reed’s Landing.
In the morning I started on foot on the
Dunnville road,stages being too slow and
j too expensive to be a popular moans of
I traveling on that road. The country in
the Southern part of Dunn County is i
generally pretty good for farming purpo- ;
' sos, though quite broken near the Chip- !
pewa. Long before night I had got as
far as Dead Lake Prairie, some sixteen
or eighteen miles from North Pepin.—
Here, where the road crosses the Eau
Galle, there comes in a beautiful little
stream called the Arkansas, and a short
distance up the creek a village is laid out
and begun, which the proprietor, Mr.
Holbrook, calls Union Village. There are
some half dozen families there, a large
saw-mill in good operation, a furniture es
tablishment which makes some as nice
looking furniture of curly-maple and but
ternut as I have seen for many a day.—
Several buildings are under way, and the
prospect is fair for a thriving little \ illagc
soon.
I made a very pleasant stay here over
night, and in the morning started up the
stream into the heavy, unbroken timber,
of which such a vast body lies in the
Eastern part of Pierce and Western part
of Dunn Counties. I followed up the ■
creek to the head, some five or six miles,
crossing every few rods a little spring
brook forming a tributary. Having ex- '
amined the timber in this valley as much
as I wished, wli'di, by the way w.*w the
principal object of my tramp, I pushed on
towards home.
If a person wishes to appreciate prop
erly the romance of the forest, he ought
to tramp a day or so in the timber thro’
this region. I plodded on in a Northwest- ;
erly course across Plum creek, a sb rt dis
tance above the upper fork, striking Rush
river at El Passo. A mile or two from
this place I found the first mark of an ax,
or anv other sign of civilization I had seen
since starting in the morning, some twen
ty miles or more back. My progress all
day had been much impeded, owing to the
difficulty of carrying a well filled carpet
sack through the brush, which in some
places on Plum creek and its tributaries
was almost impassible. I had become
very much fatigued in traveling and half
concluded that, unless I discovered some
settler's cabin very soon, I should take
lodging on my own hook, thinking it
would be rather refreshing
“On the cold damp ground to sleep so sound.”
El Passo, by the way, is not much of
a place yet, (the only house there being :
burned down some time th» Spring,) but i
! there is a splendid opportunity to make a
I place there. The best water I found
■ all day was in the stream which unites
with Rush river at this point. From here
I found a road running up to Pomeroy's
mill, after following which a mile or two,
| I came to the house of Mr. Lawrence,
j where a good supper and comfortable
■ lodging made me feel quite improved.
The timber for twenty’ miles East of
Rush river is the best I ever saw any
where. Oak, elm, maple, and basswood
predominate. The land is quite level and
available for farming, and on nearly every
quarter section may be found a clear cold
spring brook,and occasionally large patch
es of rush, which is always green, furnish
i . - °
, mg m mid-Wihter good pasturage for
cattle. All things combine to make this
one of the richest natural agricultural and
timber districts under the sunshine of hea
ven, and pleasant forthose who choose the
timber. But at present the main body of
the land is untouched by’ any stroke of
improvement. Although it was entered
originally by speculators it may be bought
at v< ry reasonable prices.
When the State road from Prescott to
Eau Claire is putili a traveling conditi< n,
' it will open up this rich and < xcellent coun-
■ try. 1 learn also that a road is projected
from the Eau Galle at the mouth of the
Arkansas creek, to cross Rush river either
I at or south of E! Passo.
i That part of our County lying cast of
' Rush river, and which the road passes
through from River Falls eastward, is
magnificent, and to notice as it merits
would protract this article to a wearisome
length but should any of the eastern rea
ders of the Journal chance to visit this
portion of the West, a day or so will not
be misspent in passing through it.
Yours, Walker.
Spirit nalisrn.
We find in the Daily New York Herald
a detailed account of the action of the Con
vention of Spiritualists recently assembled
in that city’. We look with hopeful inter
est upon every movement designed to ele
vate the moral and social condition of man.
j Vv hat Spiritualism requires of its believers
:we do not know. We apprehend that it
has no settled and definite creed but is
; greatly’ modified by the peculiarities of the
individual receiving it. But it has be
come a great power in our land. Many’
earn '-st and true men advocate its claim
and ascert its pre-eminence ov* r the old
er forms of religious faith. While we do
not accept all they teach, we arc willing
to give them a fur hearing. The
honest and impartial man never shrinks
from the investigation of any principle of
' morals and religion, but his cry is like
that of the dying Goethe, “light, more
fight.” But to the Convention.
ST? rto n p a-* u» iiouWSi. me
speeches, but merely’ to give some ex
tracts from one or two of them, to show
our readers in what direction thought is
tending. One of the secretaries, Mr. T.
S. Sheldon read a paper, communicated
ly spirits on “a new order of existences.”
Everything has within itself to some
extent life, activity. Ail things are tend
ing upward passing into liner conditions.
Minerals, vegetables, animals, human be
ings, are but consequences—that is, con
ditions are- favorable; and these are
generated into form. Now, the ag
riculturalist knows that he can take a ;
strawberry from its rude condition, place
it in other soil with favorable surround
ings, and although it is yet a strawberry,
yet it is improved in quality. Everybody
knows that nearly’ ail the fruits can be
improved by an intelligent poinologist;
everybody’ knows that animals—especially
those used for domestic purposes—can be
cultivated, improved, rendered more
beautiful, docile, and consequently’ more
useful. If, then, it be possible to improve
vegetables, and the lower animals, who
shall say it is impossible to imp-rove man ; !
is man an exception to all below and
around him —is he introduced to this
sphere a perfect being, or is this but a ru
dimental state, and is he placed hero that
he may grow, bo cultivated, improved,
and be prepared, for transplantation to a
higher sphere? Undoubtedly man is ca
pable of progression to an extent far be
yond that which has been comprehended.
Up to this hour little or no attention has
been turned to human chemistry, to phil
osophic man culture. Veg cation has
been improved, elaborate works written
thereon animals are of a vastly finer charac
ter than appeared in a former age; these
are exhibited, inspected, inquiries are
made in regard to the t]>o ng and
care of these forms of existence. Sup
pose, then, a fine child were placed on
exhibition, its form and all its parts are
examined with as much freedom as one
would inspect a lower animal. The child
is seen to be a fine specimen. What ob
jection can there be to instituting inquiries
in regard to that product? Why should
not the progenitors be present, inspected, i
their forms considered, their complexions ;
observed, the inter-blendings of their ■
hairs, the color of their eyes, the size and :
symmetry’ of their limbs, &c.
The paper here goes into particulars
which we do not care to reprint, It says:
“Spintuahsm is not squeamish. It comes ■
to the inspection of subjects of this char- I
aeter, with as much free Join as the pom- |
ologist shall inspect his orchard.”
After advocating at length the stud y !
of human chemistry, the writer breaks out
in tlm following strain of prophecy.
tuo, at a distant day there will appear
on this planet not only fine humans but
super humans; they wi’ll have all the pow
ers and faculties of the human, and there '
will l>e certain things superadded, throw
ing the humans comparatively in the
shade, and yet these superhumans could
not have appeared, had not the humans
prepared the way.”
We do not wish to scout the ideas hero
advanced, though wc do not expect to see
the “superhumans.” Physiology t« a «'-»
many truths, which if heeded womd no
doubt bring man to a more healthy an
natural state. If spiritualism is but a high
er branch of this science we bid it “God
speed.” The despised theories of one
generafea are frequently the st -rung
truths of the nexfo Perhaps we s ia. a
see the time when Newßp*B’P ers lia
a Homo-cultural department
ges be cmbelished with cuts of
ous” couples, aud their promising : ' h '
spring. .
But we proceed to extract the follow:: ~ •
Miss Caroline Hinckley, one of the scS
rotaries, then read a scriptual communica
tion on the subject of “Combination,
from which wo make the following ex
tracts :
There will bo just and intelligent com
bination of persons in the marriage rela
tion. Those, divested of selfishness,
cannot come together for self-grat fi'iea
tion; cannot be moved by a desire to grat
ify the low’er propensities; cannot come
together for mere ease and convenience,
but would come together because in the
highest sense they’are one; and wrten by
any series of aveuts there mny come to bo
a diversity’ of feeling, separation will be
there will be no jar, no discord, because
the word “mine” shall have been erased
and “ours” written upon all things. And
it is this very’ condition of freedom, tins
v ery purity of soul, which shall b nd heart
to heart and make them in a divine sense
one. ’Tis a narrow view to . say even,
“My child, my’ busband, my’ wife. Per
sons will not combine seeking their own,
but the highest good of each ano ad.——
Legalism will be unknown truecouju
galism will take its place.
It may bo a “narrow’ view’,” but wo
apprehend there are many’ very’ worthy
persons who will cling with considerable
tenacity to the old fashioned and long
hallowed words “my husband, and my
wife.”
Penates, can never become community
gods. We do not think the mass of pro
fessed spiritualists, wish the time to come
when “legalism will be unknown.”
A paper of much interest, and
ly the best written one of all, was presen
ted by Mrs. Farnham of New’ York.—
Mrs. Farnham is well known in that
state. She has for some time been mat
ron in the state Prison at SingSfhg and ia
a woman of more than ordinary mental
power and of irreproachable character and
benevolent dispos tion. Her words cer
tainly have a claim to attention. Some
of her ideas we think beautiful, some true,
some visionary and absurd. Her paper
was on the “Mission of Women.” Wo
can make but few extracts. After open
ing the subject w ith a poetical description,
of Eden, aud its loss she proceeds to say
It is for her to be so cultivated, so hap
py, spiritualized, to become so ebaste, to
live so religiously that in the nature of
things there cannot, through her, be ven
erated low, licentious thoughts. One
would think that ages nn|st elapse before
such a condition could be roched, and vet
it must be kept in min 1 that a new era is
beginning to dawn upon tin’s earth; that
there will be new attractions—new desires
and loftier aspirations. The poor, living
in wretched hovels, dwelling in miserable
garrets, have around them certain attrac
tions of a low character ; the middling
cuisses have attractions of another chara<>
ter—these they follow. A state ofhivh
sp.r.tual growth, of great moral and re
ligious character will have its attractions.
A nd in another place she adds.
It is, then, for woman in the nineteenth
century to so live, be so pure, so holv
that evil can find no place in her bos >m
and by a law of necessity she cannot at
tract evil How, then, shall woman -> r
rve at this high plane? Answer fi.. st 2_
By a thorough renunciation ,f the world
c\n thoughts, lower i ronotisi+ks «t b
mo;get thee behind me—l have no h*’ 0
tor thee.” In the «•«,„<(
needs to have a great p IWi „, s 0 j |;f
something to work for, ti TO U ortto
higher, nobler powers; to MBVra( , Al
upon pure and lofty ohieets ru™.,.. .i
m:n.l with high thongh'ts I-ft.. |,i 1 •’ *'*?
it has no time for ‘“I'A a ' ,J
.. xi t ® ‘Wl.lwJlg and cultiva-
ting the lower propensities T„ p o i
place, she needs to seek tU . L 1; L l!rl
the holiest, purest and
From
the. hoi r feelings and they l.v. oni „ °
bolj and divine states. I n q™, '
place, she needs to have great onre in
spoetto ablution?. in r 44 •
the purer fluids, nh
needs to enrobe herself
vm-st garments, that a]] her
This is nil very good, but | Ww ; s ’
mon to bowme n pure llob .
evil can find no place in her bos 'm
She answers, “by a thorough renuncia
tion of the wond and its vain allurement ’
Certainly; but what
once will bring women to renounce these
things. What will give her high and en
nobling views of life, drive out passion
selfishness, and vanity; fill her .lavs with
deeds of benificence and love, aa d
her life rad ant with beauty and blessing
To this all important question, the orae’e
returns no answer. If there is some mav.
ic power by which the pure aad virtuous
can magnetize and draw intc there 7-v.’
sphere the vicious and the vjh then trulv
a “new era is beginning to lawn.”
But we do not believe in he potency of
such influence. Noble and
have always lived upon the earth and men
and women are blind and groveling still.
No suggestions for