Southern sentinel. [volume], June 20, 1857, Image 1

About Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858

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SOUTHE
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SENTINEL.
VOLUME IX.
m
MU
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING B5T
WILLIAM P. BRADBURN.
—Office on Main street.-»
TEItTIS.
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WHISTLE, »AlliHTtii.
Oh, whistle, daughter, whistle !
And you shall have a cow !
I never whistled in my life,
And I cannot whistle now !
Oh, whistle, daughter, whistle,
And you shall have a man !
I never whistled in my life.
But I'll whistle if I can 1
Osefttl ftcccipts.
To Remove Moles from the Skin. —Lemon
juice rubbed on the moles will ofien greatly
diminish, if not entirely efface them.
To Remove G 'ease, from the Collar of a
Coal. —Obtain a little spirits of ammonia and
run it in a pint of cold water; then well sponge
the co lar or other parts until (ho grease dis*
appears, which it will quickly do. Or, dip a
»oft flannel in spirits of turpentine, and rub
the greasy part with it.
To Clean the Gilding of Pier Glasses.—
Tik e a -jma'l quantity of soft soap, about as
much as you could put on a shilling, and mix
it 0rndua.il, with a pint of water that has been
boiled, and allowed to get cold; put this mix
ture into a buttle, and shake them well toge.
ther. Add two tablespoonfuls of hartshorn,
and again shake the buttle welt. The gilding
must then lie brushed over with a very soft
camel hair brush which has been dipped in this
liquid After the detergent has been on the
jnit a minute or so, u^ing a slight brushing to
the dirtiest urid most intricate portion of the
work, it niiift be freely washed off with plenty
of soft water, and then left to dry .of its own
accord. To dry it you would do well to place
it in the drought or where the sun may shine
on it. Next day it must be slightly rubbed
with a new washlenlher, which will enhance
its brilliancy.
To Take Grease out of Carpets. —Scrape
find pound together, in equal proportions, mag
nesia in the lump, and fullers' earth; having
mixed these substances, pour on them a suffi
cient quantiiy of boiling water to make into a
paste; lay thh paste as hot as possible upon
the grease spots in the carpet and let it dry.—
Next day, when the composition is quite dry,
brush it off, and the grease spots will have dis
appeared.
To Cure Warts. —The treatment of warts
is to pare the hard and dry skin from their
tops, and thon touch them with the smallest
drop of strong acetic acid, taking care that the
acid does not run off the wart upon the neigh
boring skin, for if it does it will cause inflam
mation and much pain. If this practice be
continued once or twice daily, with regularity,
paring the surface of the wart occasionally
when it gets hard and dry, the wart may be
noon effectually cured.
A 'Cute Paddy.' —An Irishman was brought
up hsfore s late magistrate for the fast riding
on a charge of vagrancy and was thus ques
tioned:
"What trade are you?"
Pat—"Sure, now, your honor I'm n sailor."
"You in the seafaring line? I question whe
ther you have ever been at sea in your life."
Pat—"Sure, now, does your honor think I
Came over from Ireland in a waggon."
"Commit him—commit him."
Strychnine in Liauor. —The Legislature of
Ohio has just passed an act making it a penal
offence to use strychnine in the manufacture of
liquors.
hen the United States become as
ulated as Holland, they will con»
00 inhabitants; nearly the près»
of the whole human race.
tai
•nt
I have always preferred cheerfulness to
mirth. The latter I consider as an aTt, the for«
mer as a habit of mind. Mirth is short and
transient, cheerfulness fixed and permanent.
A friend of ours says, that he has been with-,
out money so long that his head a .thes "ready
Co split," when he tries to recollect how a sil
ver dollar looks. He says the notion that "we
lite in a world of change " is a great fallacy.
One tenth of the entire population of New
York are said to be in extreme poverty, and
most number entirely destitute, not knowing
for a day where the mean» of existence are to
some from.
PLAQÜEMINE. PARISH OF IBERVILLE, LA., JUNE 20, 1857.
I was brought up near the Canada line
in Vermont, where my father owned a
large farm. Not far from his farm was a
quiet lake, where we used to enjoy our
selves fishing and sailing. One afternoon
I saw a flock of black ducks fly over 4 the
house, and I was sure they lighted on the
lake; so I seized my double barrel shot
gun and amunition and started oft*. When
I reached the landing, I saw the ducks
away off by the opposite shore. 1 at once
cut some green boughs with my knife;
and, having rigged up the bows of a
small flat-bottomed scull we kept on pur
pose for such work, I jumped in and star
ted off. I had got near enough for a shot
and had drawn in the scull, and was in
the act of taking up my gun when the
ducks started up. As quickly as possible
I drew one hammer and let drive. I hit
two of them, but they didn't fall into the
water. They fluttered along until they
fell into the tall grass up in the cove.—
The water was low and the place was
dry where they were. I pulled up as far
as I could, and then got out and walked
up. I knew very near where one of the
ducks had fallen, and very soon had tnv
"eye on it. As I ran to take it, I saw the
head of a black snake pop out and catch
it by the wing. I saw only the head and
neck of the reptile, and had no idea how
large it was, or if I had, probably I should
have done just as I did, fori had no idea
of fearing such a thing—so I just ran up
and snatched the bird away. I had left
my gun in the boat, and had nothing to
kill the chap with; but as I took the duck
I just put my foot on the thief's neck.
The ground was moist and slimy, and
as the snake had his body braced among
the roots of the stout reeds, he took his
head out from under my foot about as
quick as a man could comfortably think.
I thought I'd run back to my boat and
get my gun and try to kill this fellow, and
I had just turned for that purpose when
I felt something strike my leg as though
somebody had thrown a rope around it.
1 looked down and found that the snake
had taken a turn around my left leg with
his tail, and was in the act of clearing
his body from the grass. I dropped the
duck and gave a smart kick, but that
did'nt loosen him; so I tried to put my
right foot on him, and thus draw my leg
away; but 1 might as well have tried to
put my foot on a streak of îightnirg.
I had forgotten the proportionate size
of the head of this species of black snake.
I had expected to see a snake four orfive
feet long, but instead of that he was near
ly eight feet and a half. Still I had'nt
any great fear, for I supposed that when
I came to put my hands on him I could
easily take hiin off, for I was pretty strong
in the arms. In a few seconds he had
his body all clear, and it was then that
the first real thrill shot through me. There
he held himself by the simple turn around
my leg, and with his back arched in and
out, he brought his head on a level with
mine. I made a grab for him but missed
him; and then, ns quick as you can snap
your finger, he swept his head clear
around my body, and then straightening
up and looked me in the face again. I
made another grab at him, and another
as quick as 1 could; but he dodged me
in spite of all I could do.
I next felt the snake's body working
its way up. The turn of the teil was
changed to my thigh and the coil around
my stomach began to tighten. By this
time I began to think there might he some
serious work, and the quicker I took the
snake off the better. So I just grasped
him as near the head as possible by ta
king hold where he was around me—for
he could'nt dodge that part you know—
and tried to turn him off. But this only
made it worse. The fellow had now
drawn himself up so high and stretched
himself so that he whipped another turn
around me. His tail was now under my
left thigh, and the rest of him turned
twice around my body—one of them be
ing just at the pit of my stomach and the
other above it. All this had occupied
just about half a minute from the time he
first got the turn around my leg
His head was now right around in front
of my face, and he tried to make his way
to my mouth! What his intention was I
cannot surely tell, though I have always
beleived that he thought he could stran
gle me in that way. He struck me one
blow in the mouth that hurt me consider
ably, and after that I got him by the neck
and there I meant to hold him—at least
so that he should not strike again. The
moment 1 grasped the neck he commen
ced to tighten his folds about my body!
I soon discovered that he'd soon squeeze
the breath out of me in that way, and I
determined to unwind him. He was
wound in this way—the turn aroünd the
thigh was from left to right, then up be
tween tbelegsto my right side and around
my back to my left side—and so on with
the second turn—thus bringing his head
up from under my arm. 1 had the snake
now with the left hand, and my idea wa«
to put its head around my back until 1
could reach it with my right, and so un
wind him. I could press the fellow's head
down under my arm, but to get it around
so as to reach it with my right hand I
could not. I tried—I put all my power
into that one arm—but it was an impos
sibility to do it.
Until this moment I had not really been
terrified. I had supposed I could unwind
the serpent when I tried. I never dream
ed what power he had. I tried it until I
knew I could not do it, and then gave up.
My next thought was of my jack knife;
but the lower coil of the fellow was di
rectly over my pocket, and I could not
get it.
I now for the first time called out for
help. I yelled with all my might; and
yet I knew that the trial was next to use
less, for no one could easily gaia the
place where 1 was, except with a boat.—
Yet I called out, hoping against hope. I
grasped the snake by the body and pulled;
I tried to break his neck. This idea pre
sented a gleam of promise; but it amoun
ted to nothing. I might as well have tri
ed to break a rope by bending it.
A full minute had now passed from
the time when I tried to pass the snake's
head around my back.
His body had become so elongated by
his gradual pressure around my body,
that he had room to carry his head around
in a free symmetrical curve. He had
slipped from my grasp, and when I next
caught him, I found that I was weaker
than before! I could not hold him! The
excitement had prevented me from noti
cing this until now.
For a few moments I was in a perfect
frenzy. I leaped up and down—cried
as loud aslcould—and grasped thesnake
with all my might. But it availed me
nothing. He slipped his bead from my
weakened hand and made a blow at my
face.
This made me rwad, and I gave the in
fernal thing another grasp with both
bauds, trying once more to twist his neck.
The result was that I got another blow
on the mouth.
But the moment of need was at hand.
[ felt the coils growing tighter and tighter
around my body, and my breath was get
ting weak. A severe pi.in was beginning
to result from the pressure, and I saw that
the snake would soon have length enough
for another turn. He was drawn so tight
ly that the center of his body was no big
ger than his head. The black skin was
drawn to a tension that seemed its ut»
most, and yet I could tell by the working
of the large hard scales on his body that
he was drawing himself tighter still.
Stricken with absolute fright, "What
shall I do?" What could I do? The en
emy for whom I had at first held so little
thought was killing me—killing me slow
ly, surely—and I bad no hope! I, a stout
strong man, was being actually held at
the deadly will of a black snake! My
breath was now short, faint and quick,
nnd 1 know I was growing purple in the
face! My hands and arms w^ere swollen
and my fingers were numbed! I had let
go of the snake's neck, aud he now car
ried the upper part of his body in a grace
ful curve, his head vibrating from side to
side with undulating motion of extreme
gracefulness nnd fascination.
At length I staggered. I was losing
my strength rapidly, and the pain of my
body had become excruciating. The
snake's skin, where it was coiled about
me, was so tight that it seemed almost
transparent. He had found me, or I had
found him, in a state of hunger, his stom
ach free from food and life's muscular
forces unimpaired. A second time 1 stag
gered, and objects began to swim before
me. A dizzy sensation was in my head
a faintness in my heart, and a pain the
most agonizing in my body. The snake
had now three feet of his body free. He
had drawn himself certainly three feet
longer than before. He darted his head
under my right arm, and brought it up
over my right shoulder, and pressing his
under jaw firmly down there, he gave a
sudden wind that made me groan with
pain. Each moment was an age of ago
ny—each a second step nearer to death.
My knife! O, if I could reach it! Why
not? Why not tear it out? My arms were
free. Mercy! Why had I oot thought
of that before when my hands had some
strength in them? Yet I could try it. Î
collected aijg|py'tœmaining power for th
effort and made the attempt. My trows*
ers were oflw&e cotton s,|f||Land very
strong—I could not tear it! ~ thought of
the stitches, |hey might ü§PPi so tena
cious. f grasped the cloth upon the in
side of the thigh, and gave my last item
of strength to thè effort. The stitches
started—they gave way! This result
gave me hope, and hope gave me pow
er. Another pull with both hands nnd
ihe pocket was laid bare. With all the
force I oould command, with hope of life,
of home, of everything, I loved on earth
in the effort—I caught the pocket on the
inside and bore down upon it. There
wm « crackling of threads, a sound of
I tearing cloth, and—my knife was in my
j hands!
I 1 had yet sense enough to know that
I the smallest blade was the sharpest, and
j I opened it. With one quick, nervous
I movement, I pressed the keen edge upon
i the tense skin, and then drew it across!
! With a dull tearing snap the body parted,
'and the snake fell the to ground in two
I peices! I staggered to the boat—I reach
; ed it, and there sank down.
i I knew nothing more until I heard a
; voice calling me by name. I opened my
j eyes and looked up. My father stood
! over me with terror depicted in his coun
i tenance. I tald him my story as best I
I could. He went up and got the duck 1
; had taken from the snake—the other one
I he could not find—and also brought
along the two peices I had made of my
enemy. He told me he had heard me
cry out, and at once started after me in
the large boat, though it was a long while
ere he saw my boat. I had lam there
over half an hour, exhausted, when he
found me.
When we reached home, the snake was
found to be eight feet four inches in
length. It was a month before I fully res
covered from the effects of that hugging,
and to this day there is something in the
very name of snake that sends a thrill of
horror to my heart!
Chance for a 'Smart' Wife .—The
last Water Cure Journal has an adver
tisement for a husband. The young lady
gives the following account of herself.—
We think it is a rare chance:
I am just twenty, but will not marry
before 1 am two years older. I can do
and love to do, all manner of housework,
from making pies and bread to washing
shirts; I can do all kinds of sewing, from
embroidery to linsey pantaloons; I can
skate, ride, dance, sing, plav on the pi
ano or spinning wheel, or anything that
may reasonably be expected of my sex.—
If required, I can act the part of a dunce
in society of the 'upper ten' or the part of
a woman among women. As for riding,
here let me make a banter: any man
may bring two horses, give me choice and
ten feet, and then if he overtakes me in
one mile I am his; if not, then the horse
is mine. Beware! By fops I am styled
handsome; by those 1 frown upon, 'the
devil's imp,' by the wise and sober I am
called wild and foolish; by my female ac
quaintances 'Molly,' and by my uncle I
am called 'Tom.'
A Leak in the Watering Cart.—
Tucker, the indefatigable contractor for
watering the streets, was much amused
yesterday by a countryman, who is, per
haps, first introduced to town by the 'iron
horse' penetrating to his sylvan retreat.
Tucker was mounted upon one of his
new sprinkling carts, with water trick
ling out behind from the gutter, effectual
ly dampening down the troublesome dust
when turning a corner, where leaning
against a post was our country-cousiu,
he was thus accosted: 'Helloa, mister,
ye're spilling all yer water!' This natu
rally enough caused an outburst of mer
riment from the knowing ones in the vi
cinity, and Johnny Green, hitching up
his home-spuns, moved on in seach of
other sights, muttering half inaudibly
that he would like to know what them
'fellers' saw to make them 'bust out a
sniggerin' so.' [Memphis Bulletin.
A tree of large circumference
sprang from a root as delicate as a hair;
a tower of nine stories arose out of a
handful of earth; a journey of a thousand
leagues began by a step.
gCP'Boy,' said an ill-tempered old fel
low to a noisy lad'what are you hollerin'
for when I am going by?' 'Humph,' re
turned the boy, 'what are you going by
for when I'm hollerin'?'
XCB I— ICE ! !
VESS1ER & DÜBUCLET, JR.,
RESPECTFULLY inform the plantérs and
others of Iberville, and the citizens of Pla
quemine, that they have at great expense, fitted
up an extensive Ice House in this town on the
lower floor of the large building of M. Hebert,
on Maui Street, where they will keep the
Best Boston loo,
constantly on hand throughout the season, which
they will dispose of at a reasonable price.
The citizens of Grosse Tete who patron
ize them, they will attend to having thy Ice con
veyed to the Village. 9L
They will also furnish casks ofjfflen size as
their customers may order them wnave made.
Drayage gratis within the corporation.
Messrs. Vessier & Dubuclet, Jr., .trust that by
close attention to theii business, and aft untiring
desire to please all, that they will receive the pa
tronage of the comrauaity. feb!4
(ilSfAVE MAILLAN,
housb asm siew taxkti
Flaqaemifie, La,
UTAH work will be executed with fidelity?
punctuality and despatch. The patronage of the
public is respectfully solicited, ap5-ly
NUMBER 45.
PLAQI'EMIXE:
Saturday, Jane 20, 1857.
PEIISOXAL.
a
I
1
in
in
of
of
I
It is dangerous, now-adays, for an editor to
give vent to any expression of a political cha
racter thai does nut strictly conform with the
coarse prescribed for him by party tactics—
that is. it he lias iitiv fear of a "strain of sar
casm atui ridicule" from some colewporary of
his party whose fetters are too strong (from
the pecuniary interest probably which the par
ty has in his journal) to allow him a similar
privilege, should he wish to exercise it.
What more humiliating condition can a pub
lic journalist descend to, even though he be a
partizan, whose position is such, ideally erre«
ally, that he dare not give origin or publicity to
any great political theory or truth without first
ascertaining the sentiments, wishes or policy
of his party from the local segment around
him, and then through the interpolation of
some half a dozen aspiring demagogues ? Or,
who dares not even insert a communication,
without first submitting it to some big-bug
leader of his party, whose approval or condem
nation may take trom such an editor (pardon
the misnomer !) the responsibility of his course
with reference to said communication, whether
he concludes to publish it or reject it! Is
there a person in this or any other community,
who has paid any attention to the manner in
which partizan newspapeia have been conduct
ed, who eannot point to an editor of this class,
and who has not at the same time a most bit
ter contempt for such slavery or imbecility of
mind ?
Of those with whom we have had weekly
conference for the last nice years, it is unne
cessary to ask whether we have been the sup-i
pliant slave of a party, the pliant tool of any
political clique, the intellectual begger for the
effusions of other men's brains, thai the edito
rial columns of our paper might make a res
pectable display of ability—or one who has
so little confidence in himself, and so weak, as
to be continually seeking of the party he rep
resents (through a few interested politicians)
their wishes or sentiments with reference to
his editorial course.
Though we have never wished and have
never sought the editorial aid of any man of
our party, or the benefit of his political expe
rience—nor have we in any one instance been
the recipient of such favors—yet, the visits and
advice of all good men of our party, would
at all times be gratifying to our feelings. But
we presume to know our duty and the business
we are engaged in ; as an editor, we are ear»
nest and enthusiastic, and believe what we
write. To please all, or be a general favorite
even with our party, is what we never dre&mpt
of accomplishing, and never tried to. As a
partizan (if the reader will excuse this appa
rently egotistical representation of perfections
or imperfections) we have ever been aware of
glaring faults ; one of which is, we have an
itching Jo speak facts, without stopping to
think of their effects politically—another is,
it is with bad grace that we would attempt to
advocate a political falsehood or. persist in a
false political theory, knowing them to be such.
We could produce thirty-eight other reasons
showing our inability as a partizan editor, but
presume that these two are sufficient to con
vince all who have an object to be obtained,
or who can only see ourtnerits according to
the venom or vituperation which might appear
in our columns. Notwithstanding, we believo
that if we were this day to call upon our
friends to rally around us, to prevent a ruin
that seemed impending, we would not call in
vain; we believe we would grasp the warm
hand of .many who would not only aid as pe
cuniarily, were it necessary, but who would
uphold our political course in the face of any
opposition that might be arrayed against it.
We find that we are drifting far out of the
latitude that we had prescribed for ourself at
the beginning of this article, and before we
conclude we fear its length will be unpardon
able; much of the above, we admit, is inop
portune, and inapplicable to the subject in view
yet not wholly inappropriate, perhaps, in the
face of that "tumble-set" mass of falsehood
and misrepresentation which appeared in the
Sugar Planler of last week—author, friend
Htams.
• To say that wo were surprised, after read*
iug such » hotch-podge—such a hash of slang
and attempted sarcasm, at variance with truth
and courtesy from beginning to end—would
give but a faint idea of our feelings, when is
taken into consideration the elevated idea we
have had of the wit and accomplishments of
our friend as an editor, and that magnanimity
which we thought he possessed to a very great
degree, of treating thos ■ beneath him in inteU
leci and strength of mind with that considera
tion which their weakness and ignorance de»
nded.
he article in qu^tion we would copy in.
Wour columns, that our readers for the laut
nine years might learn something respecting