Southern sentinel. [volume], October 14, 1857, Image 1

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

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VOLUME X.
PLAQUEMINE, PARISH OF IBERVILLE. LA., OCT. 14, 1857.
NUMBER 11.
published every wednesday MORNI5G by
WILLIAM P. BRADBURN.
"Office on Main street."
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The Hidden Cavern :
—OK—
THE HUNTER'S ESCAPE
* ET T. Ö. WIS.K1HS.
On the battlements of a small fort that
liad been built as a frontier station on the
shores of Lake Erie, at the hour of sun
set, might have been seen three persons,
who were silently gazing on the broad
expanse of water that lay before them,
tinged by the mellow light of the setting
sun. The scene on which they gazed
was indeed beautiful; the dark woods be
hind the fort were dressed in all the gaudy
livery of the earlier months of autumn, ere
yet the leaf had been touched by the trans
forming hand which prepares the earth
for the approach of winter, while the dan
cing waters, stretching away until they
uiidiscerttably melted into the congenial
blue of the pverhangitig sky, off» red
rare picture of loveliness untu the eye of j
ihebe&oldçr. J
The group that we have' mentioned, :
consisted of two men, dressed in the com
mon habihnents of the hunter and frontier
sman of that period (I8|3), the eldest of
whom held the rank of captain of the
fort, while the other was his lieutenant,
Htui a young girl of apparently not more
than twenty summers, who was the daugh
ter of the eommander. The silence that
had prevailed for some time was first
broken by the youngest of the two first
named individuals, who addressing the
other, said :
'Captain Highton, may I inquire who
that person was who came to the fort
yesterday, and remained but till this
morning Ï'
'He represented himself to be a stranger,
journeying alone to the next post.'
•It is utinusai for men to traverse these
forests alone, in these troublous times, and
there was something singular in his ap
pearance that struck me when first I saw
him—something suspicious, that warned
me to be on my guard against him; but, by
the by, sir, they say that the Indians are
again beginning their devastations in this
part of the country, and it might be well
for us to be on our guard against them.'
'Pshaw ! pshaw ! Stewart, you give too
much credit to idle rumors; in my opinion
we might as well return to our homes for
the war in reality is over, and no more
ganger to be feared from the savages.'
'But, sir, n large body of Shawnecs fully
armed, were lately seen by one of our
ecouts, and as long as they gather in large
«umbers there is danger to be feared.'
♦Well, well, have it your own way,
then, but for my part, I see no necessity
in shutting ourselves up in the fort, for
fear that there may be some few strolling
Indians in tbe woods;' so saying he turned
away, and walked to another portion ,of
the fort.
'And do you really think, Edward, that
there is any danger to be apprehended
from savages!* inquired Caroline High
ton, who had"listened to the^conversation
between Stewart and her father.
*1 know not what to think,' was the re
ply. That there are Indians and British
in the surrounding woods, I have no
doubt, for the former have been repeatedly
seen by our men, and I have ray suspi
cions in regard to the character of the
individual who paid us so short a visit
yesterday—but come what may, not one
hair of your head shall be harmed while
there remains one droop of, blood in the
veins of Edward Stewart.*
The period of our tale was shortly after
the force of British and Indians, under
Proctor and Tecumseh, had been defeated
at the battle of the Thames by General
Harrison, and peace (or a while restored
to the western settlements. The fort was
at that time garrisoned by a small force of
twelve men, composed of hunters and
MUlerf, who had taken up arm« to defend
their homes against the attacks of a ruth
less and cruel foe. Lulled into false se
curity by the absence for some months of
the bands of Indians who formerly had
annoyed them by sudden attacks and
! ambushes, Captain Highton and most of
his men had fallen into a degree of apathy
in regard to the dangers that threatened
them, and spent their time in hunting or
fishing, or idly wishing to return to their
homes, believing that the war was at an
end, leaving the gates of the fort open,
and the entrenchments in au almost des
fenceless condition.
Caroline Highton was the only daugh
ter of her father, and had joined him dur
ing the summer, and taken up her abode
with him iri the fort, being the only wo
man to be found for miles and miles of
pathless forests that lay between the frons
tier station and the nearest settlements.—
Thrown into constant connection with
each other, an affection which gradually
flamed into love, had grown up between
her and Edward Stewart, and they were
generally considered by the other inmates
of the fort, as being in that condition
which now-a-days would be called 'en
gaged.'
Edward Stewart knew well to what
dangers the fort was subjected, he knew
that the cessation of hoistilities would on
ly be of short duration, and that before
they were aware of their presence, the dark
forests would pour forth again their bands
of painted savages, before whose sudden
attacks an unguarded situation would
easily fall a trap. He had of'.en before
earnestly expressed his sentiments to the
captain, and warned him to be on his
guard, but his words were always met with
an incredulous smile, and his warnings
fell unheeded ou the ear of the comman
der.
Not more than a week had elapsed, af
ter the conversation we have related had
taken place, than, one night when the in
mates of the fort were reposing in un
guarded slumbers, a sudden yell, uttered
as if it were by an hundred unearthly
voices, was heard ringing without and
within the fort, and its defenders were
suddenly aroused to meet unarmed a
savage foe led on by the very same stran
g«r who had been received as we have
mentioned, a few days before, and who
had conducted his swarthy followers into
the fort while its inmates were wrapped
in sleep.
At the first alarm, Edward Stewart
leaped from his bed, and seizing his rifle
that he always had near him, rushed forth,
butto see his companions fighting in vain,
and ov^-powered by a force of well-armed
Indians, He first thought was to join in
the fray and share the fate of his com
rades; but bethinking himself of his
promise made to Caroline, he rushed to
her arpartment just in time to save her
from the blow of an Indian, whose toma*
hawk was upraised to murder the insensi
ble form lying before him. Killing with
one blow of the hatchet which he also
carried, the intruder, he grasped Caroline
in his arms, and bore lier through the
crowd of fighting savages to the gate of
the fort, from whence he proceeded to the
beach, and laying the senseless form in
the bottom of one of the many canoes
which were hauled up on the shore, he
pushed off into the lake. The Indians,
after they hi d completed their work by
slaying all the inmates of the fort, dis
covered the loss of Stewart, who had pas«
sed through them to the gate, and rushed
down to the beach in pursuit of him.—
Three canoes were soon manned and
pushed off, while another band of Indians
skirted the shore, to prevent the fugitive
from making his escape. It was a bright,
moonlight night, and although Stewart
had a few minutes start, his pursuers
gradually gained on him, and fired seve
ral shots at him. Bending low in this lit
tle cràft, so as to hide his body from the
Indians, he paddled with such swiftness
out into the lake, that it kept bis pursuers
busy to keep in sight of him. Suddenly,
he made a turn in his course, and put di
rectly for the shore, tbe high banks of
which were overhung by a dense growth
of bushes and small trees, which took root
in the soil. This movement was hailed by
the Indians who were following him by
loud shouts, for they thought he was a
bout to land on the shore, where they
could easily follow him up, and capture
him.
Swiftly the canoe which contained Ed
ward Stewart 3nd his precious charge,
neared the shore, arid it had already
touched the overhanging branches, where
he rose and fired into the foremost canoe
behind him. The effect of the shot was
told by the falling of a heavy body into the
water, and in another moment the catioe
•of Stewart disappeared among the bushes.
His pursuprs approached the place
where he had so strangely vanished from
their sight, paddled around, above and be
low it and landing on the shore, beat a
bout the woods for some hours, striving in
vain to capture the remaining hunter of
the fort, till at last they relinquished the
search.
Some months previous, when out upon
a hunting excursion, Stewart had wound
ed a deer and had driven it into the lake.
Following it in his boat, he pursued it for
some distance, till it neared the shore and
mysteriously disppeared as he at first
thought, in the earth; hut just as he was
giving up the chase, he accidentally dis
covered the opening of a small cave, hol
lowed as if it were in the rocky sides of
the bank, but the ingress to which was
completely hidden by a thick growth of
foliage over the entrance. He there found
the deer he had wounded, in the last
agonies of death, and had as we have re
lated, occasion to make use of his dis
covery in escaping from a merciless foe.
A Bit of Romance.
Ten years ago a young Englishman
ran away from London, where he was
highly connected, came down to Liver
pool, took a ship that was up'for New Or
leans, and in due course of time landed in
this city with, with a light heart in his
breast and between one and two hundred
pounds in Bank of England notes in his
pocket. He had been a mauvais sujet at
home, and, what between wine and wo*
men, had managed to squander a large
fortune, besides involving himself seriously
in debt. He had taken the precaution to
protide himself with letters of introduce
tion to respectable parties in this city, and
by this means he soon formed the ac
quaintance of a young lady, who, by the
death of her father, had just been left sole
heiress to a large estate. A warm attach
ment soon sprang up between the two,
and our young Englishman, one fine day,
made the lady a formal tender of his band
and heart. The answer he received was
the followiug : M love you and will mar
ry you, hut only on these conditions, and
these only—1st, you must stop drinking,
2d, you must pay your debts; 3d, you
have squandered one fortune, you must
set to work and make another.' Tbe lover
entreated, but the lady was inexorable.
Just then the gold fever broke out, and
our hero determined, without loss of time,
to try his fortune on the shores of the
Pacific Ocean. Ile sat down, wrote a let
ter to the lady, in which he announced his
determination, assured her of his unaltera
ble affection, and begged her to be faith
ful to him, and without further adieu
started for New York andjjtook ship for
San Francisco via the Cape. In Califor
nia he led for some time a wandering, dis
solute life, and finally joined the unfor
tunate expedition which Raousset de
Boulbon fitted out for the conquest of
Sonora. It was known that he was a»
mong the few who escaped to tell the fate
of their heroic leader, but nothing further
was heard of him or his where abouts un
til last Saturday, when a friend of his in
this city received a telegraphic dispatch
from him, stating that be was among the
fifty persons saved from the 'Centrai
America, and brought into Norfolk by the
bark 'Eloise.' The dispatch further stated
that the writer had hist $150,000 in gold,
which was in the hands of the purser, but
that it was luckily insured for its full
value in a London office. We learn that
the lady to whom he was engaged is still
unmarried, and it would not be strange if,
in the course of human events, we should
be called upon to indite a paragraph with
that fashionable heading, 'Marriage in
High Life.—New Orleans Bee.
How it was Done .— Miss Fitz
nancy, elderly maiden, charged Mr.
Cleaver, the gay, young man accus
tomed to carry home her marketing,
with having forcibly kissed her, in the
entry of her own house. Mr. Cleaver
though proud of his-personal appear
ance, was short, considering his whis
kers; his height, even in French boots,
only four feet eleven. Miss Fitznafts
cy, on the,contrary, ran up a foot high
er and staid there, being of remarkably
rigid deportment. She swore the ab*
breviated yet amorous butcher kissed
her! by assault, and hauled him up for
it. Butcher with some expression of
disgust more emphatic than necessary
denied the charge. Butcher was fnt,
lady wasn't. Cleaver had antipathy
to 'scraggy' women, and vowed he
hadn't kissed her, and wouldn't. Mo
ney, coy Id'nt hire him to.
Cross -examined, lawyer inqures of
the lady the circumstances; when,
where, how. Lady replies with pars
ticularity. On Monday morning, at
ten o'clock, in the entry; resisted all
she could, but he persevered and tri
umphed. Lawyer asks:
"Did not he stand on anything but
the floor?"
"No; he stood on the floor; no chair,
stool, or anything else."
"But, madam, this is impossible! you
are twelve inches taller. How could
he reach your lips?"
Lady hadn't "thought of that; but
she was not tobe tripped up by the
"Oll, ha! weil, I know! yes. to be
sure! But then you know, I scrootch^
j glibbest lawyer cf them
1 plies:
Thank yon, mndani.—
ed a little!"
"Exactly!
That'll do.'
'•Nothing further, your honor."
Verdict for the short defendant.
[English Paper.
A Brave Officer .—The Minne
sota Pioneer relates the following inci.
dent:
Liant. Spencer, of the 2nd U. S. In
fantry performed an act of bravery du
ring the trying times at Yellow riiedi^
cine, in July last, which we believe
lias not been but which ought to be
recorded to his credit in the public
press. He it was who was ordered to
demand the Indian who stabbed the
soldier. With a few men and his ill"
terpreter he proceeded to the Indian
camp, and upon seeing them assume
an attitude of offense he ordered his
men, as an evidence of his pacific in*
tention, to halt, while he and his ins
terpreter rode up to the Indians. Two
hundred guns were levelled at him, in
support of threats which his compan<
ion understood too well to disregard.—
The Lieutenant called him to his side,
gave him his pistols for his re^assu«
ranee, jumped off his horse when with
in'speaking distance, unarmed and
alone, breasted the savage multitude
and fulfilled his duty.
Learned Elephant .—"That's a
werry knowing hanimal of yours,'said
a cockney gentleman to the keeper of
an elephant.
"Very," was the cool rejoinder.
"He performs strange tricks and
hantics, does he?" inquired the cock
ney, eyeing the animal through the
çlass.
"Surprisinl" retorted the keeper,
"we've learnt him to put money in
that box you see away up there. Try
him with a dollar."
The cockney handed the elephant a
dollar, and sure enough he took it in
his trunk, and placed it in a box high
up out of reach.
"Well, that is werry hextraordina*
ry—hastonishin 1 truly! Now let's see
him take it out, and hand it back a
gain."
"We never learnt him that." retor
ted the keeper with a roguish leer, and
then turned away to stir up the mon
keys and punch the hyenas.—[Spirit
of the Times.
î'It is all Luck ."—"It is all luck,"
said an old man, as in poverty and
misery, he found old age upon him,
and the night of death at hand. "It is
all luck,some born to be rich, and oths
ers poor. Instantly our mind rever>
ted to the old man's past life; we saw
his wasted youth, his neglected oppor
tunities, his sloth, improvidence and
want of forethought, and then looking
upon his desolate state, we asked ours
selves, "Isit luck?" Never believe it,
young man] Pluck, not luck, is the
ruler of our destinies. The strong
hand and the willing heart set luck at
defiance, or rather make it serve them
He is lucky who is industrious and
cheerful, who neglects no opportunity,
who wastes no time in idleness, and in
the present provides for the future.—
All other luck is a delusion and snare."
A new married couple went to Nis
agara on a visit, and the gentleman
in order to convince his dear that he
was brave as well as gallant, resolved
to go down into the 'cave of the winds.'
She, of course, objected; but finding
that he was determined, affectionately
requested him to leave his pocket-book
and watch behind.
Curious Trees in Cuba .—The
editor of the Horticulturist, who is a
professor of botany, spent the last wins
ter in Cuba, where he found many
trees and plants very different from
anything in this country, some of
which are very carious in their habits;
one of which is called the copey, and
another of almost identical habits call*
ed jaqttey—both parasites. The seeds
being deposited by birds in the forks of
trees vegetate there, and send down
small fibrous roots along thetrunk un*
til they reach the ground, however
distant; and these roots continues iqs
creasing, until the whole body is en«
veloped, the roots uniting together
where they come in contact, until they
finally form an inveloping case, with
the bole of the old tree for the heart,
which is killed by its parasite; a new
top is formed and there stands a lofty
tree, which is sometimes six or eight
yards in diameter at the bottom, ft is
described as a beautiful and delightful
shade tree. The wood is of no value
—the juiceis soglutinous that it serves
as birdlime. It is suggested that the
resinous gum exuding might be used
in book-binding, since it is proof
against fill insects.
U" We wish it lo be distinctly understood that
no announcement of a Candidate for Oßce will
be inserted in this paper, unless accompanied
with the cash, Ig 10.
O" All letters, communications or notices sent
lo this paper, and intended lo promote the in
terests or gratify the wishes of an individual, a
party or a corporation, will be charged as ad
vertisements.
ANNOUNCEMENTS i
For Asses§or.
Q^" We are authorized to announce U. S.
HAASE a« a candidate foi Assestor —election
next November. f a b7 *
For Sheriff.
Mr. Editor: Please announce m» in your paper
as an Independent Candidat« for Sheriff.
jan31 J. M. RILS.
For Recorder.
Mr. Editor: F lease announce my name as a
Candidate lor the office of Recorder at the ensu
ing election. ADONIS PETIT.
For Coroner.
We are requested to announce J. A VOISIN
as an Independent Candidate for Conocer at the
ensuing November election. my26
Justice of tlie Peace.
Mr. Editor : Please announcd OSCAR LAUVE
Esqr.. as a cardidate for Justice of the Peace for
2nd Ward. Isepl9] HIS FRIENDS.
Motice.
Those who get our paper from this date,
without having ordered it, are simply requested
to accept it, without charge, till November,
when it will be stopped unless ordered other«
wise. We ask all such to receive it till that
time, as a favor.
Parish or Avotkxas .— 1 The Marksville Vilm
lager, the only Democratic paper published in
Avoyells, in noticing tbe defeat of Judge Bowie,
in St. Tammany, who was the regular nomi
nee of the Democratic party for Judge, and the
election of Penn, mainly accomplished through
the influence of Davidson in favor of tbe latter,
thus concludes :
The spirit of Democracy «hail haunt your
sorry dreams, Col. Davidson! Laurent Sigur
the spotless and chivalrous champion of true
Democracy, will crush your aspirations and
bare you to the world's gaze—amen.
The Harkey House, Batox Rouge .—We
are happy to learn that Slaj. Rhodus, the late
superintendent, has become the proprietor of
this popular establishment. The house is to
undergo a thorough overhauling, and a large
and magnificent billiard saloon, bar, Sic., will
sdorn the basement. We know the Major ta
be personally very popular among all who have
hud the pleasure of parte king of tbe good things
at the Harney House, and of his eniire success
in his new position, there can be no doubt.-—
We join with the Sugar Planler in hoping that
Miijor Rhodus may realize a fortune and in the
earliest possible time ; that he merits it, alike
with all men of energy and industry, he has
given the fullest evidence.
ET A Democrat informed us the reason why
Col. Davidson did not attend the meeting at
Harvey's School House, Livingston parish, was
bnennse he "got the rheumatics very bad in hi»
cruti h." In giving this explanation to the
wor d « c assume neither personal nor political
responsibility.— Cresant.
It is well yon, don't, or else we should be
compelled to take up the cudgel in behalf of
venerable Thomas. We say its a slander—
flat burglary as ever was committed! We
know he Was troubled with the "Sigur thumps"
—a malady much afflicting the Old War Horse,
at present. —Sugar Planter.
There's a good many others afflicted or
"troubled"' with the "Sigur thumps" besides
the "Old War H-irse,"
Vert Remarkable .—Mrs. Graves, wife of
a conductor on the Concord and Montreal
Railroad, was on a visit to Wells River, Vt.»
the other day, and as she had never seen the
inside of a telegraph office, a visit was paid to
it, and thé first message that came while she
was there, was one directed to herself, annoon»
cing the death of her husband.
In èvery 1000 persons only one reaches I00
years of life.