Decatur Eagle, Volume 10, Number 11, Decatur, Adams County, 8 June 1866 — Page 1

THE DECATUR

VOL» 10.

DECATUR EAGLE, ISSUED EVERY FRIDAY MORNIUG, BY A J. HILL, PUBLISHER AND PROPRIETOR. OFFICE—On Monroe Street in the second story of the building, formerly occupied by ( Jesse Niblick as a Shoe Store. Terms of Subscription: Giro copy one year, in advance, $1,50 • If paid within the year. 2,00 If not paid until the year has expired, 2,50 O’No paper will be discontinued until all arrerages are paid, except at the option of the publisher. Rates of Advertising: One column, one year, $60,00 One-half column, one year 3 >,OO ( Otte-fourth colnnin one year, 20,00 Less than one fourth column, proportional rates will be charged. Legal Advertisements: One square [the space of ten lines brevier] one insertion, Si ,50 • Each subsequent insertion. 50 tTNo advertisement will be considered less than'one square; over one square will be counted and charged as two; over two as three,<fcc. ILT Local notices fifteen cents a line for each insertion. . ILF Religious and Educational notces on advertisements, may be contracted for at lower rates ,by application at the office. (EFDeathsand Marriages published as news —free' JOB PRINTING. We are prepared to do all kinds of Plain and Fancy Job Printing. at the most reasonable rates. Give us a call, we feel confident that satisfaction can be given. ADVENTURE OF A VIRGINIA SETTLER. It was about the year 1805, that Ist tied in Virginia, neir the falls of the Kanawha, The country at that time was an unbroken wilderness. But few settlements had been made by the whites, and they were so far apart as to render vain nil hope of assistance in case of an at tuck from hostile Indians, numbers of whom stiil infested the neighborhood. I lived there alone with my wife for several months unmolested, and by dint of preservance, being young and hardy, had succeeded in making quite a clearing in the forest, which I planted with corn, and which promised an abundant yield. One morning after we had dispatched oui humble meal, and I had just pre pared to venture forth upon my accus tomod routine of labor, my attention was arrested by the tinkling of a cow bell in the con -fold. •‘There!” said my wife, “the cow is in the corn field.” But the ear of the backwoodsman becomes by education very acute, especially so from the fact that his safety often depends upon a nice cultivation of that sense, I was not so easily deceived - I listened. The sound was r< peated. — •“That,” said lin reply to my wi’e’s remark, "was not the tinkle of a bell upon the neck of a cow, but a decoy from some Italian, who wishes to draw me into ambus 1 ' ” Believing this to be the case, I took down my old musket, and seeing that it was properly loaded, I stole cautiously around the field towards the spot from which the sound seem to proceed. As I suspected, there in a clump ol hushes crouched an Indian, waiting for me to appear in answer to his decoy-bell, that he might send the fatal bullet to my heart. I approached without discovering myself to him until within shooting ■distance, then raised nay piece and fired. The bullet sped true to its maik and the Indian fell dead. Not knowing but that he might be accompanied by others, I returned with all speed to the cabin, and having firmly barricaded the door, I watched all day , long from the port hole in anticipation of | an attack from the companions of the Indian I bad killed. To add to the danger, and seeming helplessness of my situation, I discovered that I had but one shot, then , if attacked by numbers I should be en-l tirely in their power. Determined to do ; the best with what I had, I poured out the last charge of powder and put it into the musket, and waited for the approach of night, feelmg sure an attack. Night came at last. A beautiful moonlight it was, too, and this favored me, 1 greatly, as I would thereby be able to observe the movements of the enemy as they approach the cabin. It was some two hours after nightfall, and as yet I had neither seen or heard a sign of the Indians, when suddenly I was startled by the baying of my dog at the stable. I knew that the Indians were coming. The stable stood a little to the , west of the cabin, and between the two was a patch of clear ground, upon which the light of the full moon fell unobstructed. Judging from the noise at the stable, that they would advance from that direction, 1 posted myself at the port-hole on that aide of the cabin. I had previously placed my wife on the cross-pole in the chimney, so that in case our enemies affected an entrance into our

cab'n, she climb out through the low chimneys and affect bar escape. For myself, I entertained no hope, but determined not to be taken alive, and to sell my life dearly. With breathless anxiety I waited at the port-hole. At length 1 saw them emerge from the shadow of the stable, and advance across the open ground towards my cabin. One—two —three—great Heaven! six stalwart Indians, armed to the teeth, snd urged on by the hope of : revenge; and I alone to oppose them with one charge of powder. My case was desperate indeed. With quick and stealthy step, in close, single file, they approached and were within a few yards of the house when a slight change in the movement of the forward Indian changed the position of the six, so that a portion of the leftside of each was uncovered. They were in a range, one aim would cover all. Quick as thought I aimed and fired. As the smoke cleared away I could hardly credit what my sense showed me as the result of my shot. The fifteen slugs with which I had loaded the musket, had done their work well, five of the' six Indians lay dead upon the ground, and the sixth had disappeared. Although no enemy was now in sight,\ I did not venture forth until morning.— ' There lay the bodies of the five Indians j undisturbed, together with the rifle of! the other. Securing the arms and amu-1 nition of the fallen Indians, I followed up the trail ol the missing one until it reached the river, beyond which point I could discover no trace whatever. From the amount of blood which marked his trail, together with the unmistakable evidence that he had picked his way with difficulty I was led to believe that he was mortally wounded, and in order to prevent his body falling into the hands of the white foe, he had groped his way to the river, and thrown himself into the current, which had borne it away. The Indians had killed my eow, and ihat you may be assured was no trifling loss; yet, in my gratitude for my escape from the merciless savages, I would have been entirely willing to have made greater sacrifices. I was well provided, by means of arms and ammunition taken from the six Indians, in case of a second attack, but this, fortunately, proved to be my last adventure with the savages. No one of the band had escaped to tell j the tale and incite his brethren to revenge , the death of his comrades. "Ah!” exclaimed the old man, while i the tears gushed from his eyes, at the memory of that eventful night, "that was . a glorious shot—the best I ever made!” The hero of this adventure lived to see the rude wilderness where be had pi'c' o 1 his lonely cabin, transformed into smileing fit Us, and peopled with hardy and enterprising pale faces, among whom his last days were passed in peace and plenty undisturbed by his old foes; but he don’t . tell us whether his wife ever came down from out the chimney, or how he disposed of the five dead Indians. The Printer’s Litany* From want of gold, from wives that scold, from maidens old, by sharpers "sold”—preserve us! From foppish sneer, mock auctioneers, and woman’s tears—deliver us! From stinging flies, from coal-black eyes, and babies’ cries—protect us! From seedy coats, protected notes, and leaky boats—protect us! From creaking doors, a wife that snores, and all such bores—defend us. From shabby hats, and torn cravats, and flying brickbats—save us! From the landlords’ hand, a greedy band, now infesting our land —preserve us! From a “solid take,” which is our fate ! sometimes to partake—henceforth deliver usl From making “pi,” which docs anj noy, and tempers try—prevent us! Tub Murder of John Cox. —The exi amination of the young men, Day and , Tomlin, for the murder of Cox, on Sat urday evening, tsok place yesterday before Esquire Dannihie, who, after hearing the evidence, pro and con, held them : the first in SI,OOO, and the other in-3500 , for their appearance at the September term of the Circuit Court. In default, of the requisite bail, they were remained to jail to await the action of the grand jury.— Terre Haute Journal. gaj-An unfortunate editor has lost his umbrella. He says it was a very good I one, although there were a number of I holes in it, and as it takes a year now to 1 earn money enough to buy a new one, he is rather sorry to lose it, and has a great curiosity to know where it is gone. SS'K bachelor editor, sensitive in re* laHon to fair rights, objects to taking a wife, through fear that if she should have a baby, his contemporaries, who habitually copy without credit, would 1 refuse to give him credit for the baby.

"Our Country’s Good shall ever be our Aim—Willing to Praise and not afraid to Blame.”

DECATUR, ADAMS COUNTY, INDIANA, JUNE 8, 1866.

Maximillion in Mexico. The correspondent of the New York Herald writes as follows to that paper from Mexico: NATIVES DISLIKE THE EMPEROR REDUCTION OF EXPENSES. The Emperor leaves no measure untried to conc.liate the Mexican people and to attach them to him rather through love and respect than through fear. The grounds at Chapultepec aro thrown open to the public, and every Sunday, thousands of all classes throng the woods and walks around the castle, and even pone-1 trate to the Emperor's apartments. The | Emperor and Empress mingle with tjhe crowd as unostentatiously as private individuals, and the only indications to a stranger of the presence of their Majesties is the undisguised wonderment of the lower order, who dog their footsteps wherever they go. All the ministers, Council of State, and nearly the entire Cabinet are Mexicans. Mexicans only or Mexican citizens can get office under the Government, and Mexican servants alone are now employed at the palace and about the persons of their Majesties. But all ■ this coaxing and courting Mexican popu--1 larity will wholly fail in its object; al- ' though the Emperor and Empress possess I great personal popularity, and that under , no circumstance would their persons be in danger, especially from the poorer clasI ses. Still their 'Majesties, as such, are hated by two thirds or more of the Mexicans, and nothing that they can do while they retain their positions will change this feeling. The Emperor is a man of noble impulses, and has the good of his people at heart. His ambition is to make Mexico a power on the Western continent, second only to the United States, and to leave behind him the name of a human benefactor; but, unfortunately for that ambition, he has not the firmness necessary to his position. Hundreds of instances can be cited of his kindness of heart, and where he has made sacrifices in ord rto relieve the distressed. One of these recently came under the notice of the American Consul, and the facts are fully substantiated. Sometime since, Colonel Rojas, a libera! chief, captured a Mexican, the son of American parents, and horribly mutilated him. The man, maimed for life, presented himself to the Consul, who, of course, could not interfere in the matter. The poor fellow then I made personal application to the Emperor who immediately gave him five thousand dollars from his own private purse. Maxamillian is decidedly “fast,” and would be a splendid spendthrift if not restrained. He delights in fine palaces, elegant gardens, fancy horses, and has already expended large sums upon his favorite bobbies in Mexico. The castle and grounds at Chapultepec were being remoddled at great expense, and tbe im- ■ perial residence at Cuernavaca is being | refitted in a style to accord with the im perial taste. The palace in this city is also undergoing great changes and improvements, which, when completed, will altogether alter the character of the building. The public purse, however, would not stand all these strains—it suddenly collapsed, and the works upon all the palaces and gardens have been suspended. The work upon the public roads, which lad been sadly neglected during the last fifteen years, but upon which thousands of laborers hare recently been employed, has been stopped, and almost every other public improvement undertaken j,by the Government, lies idle. No more subsidies for opening roads, building telegraph lines, etc., will ba paid for a long time, and consequently all the telegraph companies, except these between Vera Cruz and the capital, have suspended operations. The strictest econemy is ob-1 served in every department, and even extends to the royal household, the Emperor having cut off every unnecessary expense. But whether this praiseworthy course will have the desired effect of sus- j I taining public ciedit, and enabling Maxi-| million to weather tbe financial storm that. has gathered around him, is extremely problematical. It will take a better financer than has yet been found in Mexico to create a national credit either at home or abroad, and every department of the Government will require to be remoddled up- ■ on a more comprehensive and liberal basis before Mexico can expeet to become prosperous, wealthy and great. maximillian’s expenses. The report of tbe iutendente of the Civil List, just published, throwslight upon the Emperor’s expenses, and places his Majesty in a more favorable position . before the people. When Maximillian was called to Mexico, the Regency fixed the amount to be allowed him at lb 1,500.- ■ 000—the same as was given to Yturbide ; in 1822. This includes the Emperor’s < salary, repairs of public buildings, furnishing palaces, saleries of ministers and cabinet, and everything pertaining to the i civil list, When the royal household ar-

rived, actually no decent quarters had been provided for it. Tbe palace had been used for public offices, store-houses armories, and by private families; was filthy beyond description, and almost entirely destitute of furniture. After the arrival of the Emperor a room was hur riedly prepared for him, and a bed placed in it, but their Majesties resolved to spend the night at Chapultepec. Here matters were found to be, if possible, in a still worse condition. Windows bad been demolished and doors thrown down, filth covered the floors, and not an article of furniture had been left in the castle.— The Emperor and Empress were obliged to spend their first tight in their capital up in the floor, not even a bed having been furnished them. In reparing the palace and castle, and refurnishing them, the Emperor lias already spent $661,845. In addition to this, he has spent large sums in adorning the city, erecting statues to distinguised Mexicans, and encouraging Mexican art and industry. With a disinterestedness unexpected to him, the Emperor determined to materially reduce the sum allowed him by the government, and accordingly, on the 29th ultimo, addressed the following letter to the Minister de Haciendo, by which it will be seen his Majesty will in future receive but 8500,000 for his own salary, and to run the government machine at the capital: \My Dear Minister and Intendente oj the Civil List. The regency which preceded us on establishing the basis of the empire, promulgated a decree in which there was assigned to the Emperor of Mexico, for all private and official expenses, as well as for the maintenance of the court and its functionaries, the same allowance that the Emperor Yturbide had half a century ago by decree of the National Congress, issued 18th December, 1822. It also accorded, as is the custom in other nations, that the expenses of preservation, repair, interior arrangement and new construction of imperial palaces should be charged to tbe account of the State. It being disagreeable for us to touch upon points which so nearly touch our personal interests, we accepted the termination of the Regency without mater ially changing it; but the ministry, sub sequently, by a decree charged upon our allowance the quota of the Princes of Yturbide and the amount of $661,345 42, which is the amount of expenses incurred in the reconstruction and interior arrangements of the Palace of Mexico, the Castle Palace and Fortress of Chapultepec, and purchase ot some lands adjacent to it, and which amount ought to be charged to the account of the State, and not to our civil list. These expenses were incurred not only for ’the purpose of rendering the aforesaid residence habitable, but with the object, as you know, of providing a place which might at once serve as a retreat to the public and also might be grown'rare plants and seeds for gratuitous distribution, and to encourage arts and national industry. Likewise we made arrangements to charge upon our civil list, for the benefit of the State, by taking therefrom $150,000 given to the family of Emperor Agustin on account of bis claim against the treasury of 8100,000, which is deposited as the equivalent of tbe palace of Buena Vista its gardons and parks. But the moment has arrived to occupy us carefully for the first time in so delicate a manner.

Tbe financial situation of the empire now exerts all our attention, and we consider it both proper and a duty that tbs chief of a nation should be the first to give the example of restricting the most rigid economy in his personal expenses, j both of his family and his household. Let it not merely be understood that we censure any functionary of our imperial household. On the contrary, after having seen with satisiaction the account presented, which correspond with those |of last year, we believe them worthy of praise; but, in view of the actual ex- | igencies of the treasury, as long as the circumstance of the treasury continue to be difficult, it is our firm resolution that we draw from the treasury of State, for the civil list, only the third part of j the annual allowance which pertains to ! it, according to the aforesaid decree of the Regency; that is to say, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars for all the necessary expenses referred to. You will consequently take care to comply with this our express instructions as we propose to ourselves at once, in conformity therewith, a reduced estimate of the expenses of the imperia] household, which is served for the remaining months of the present year. In introducing all these iudi sponsible economies you will take care that the good service of our household be not prejudiced; and, above all let not the poor be forgotten, who, full of confidence, address themselv es to us. This reduction in the expense is in ac-

cordance with our own inclination, anc is preferred by us to the splendor anc display which is customary in the Euro pean courts, because its simplicity anc moderation better agree with more dem ocratic ideas which animate us, and wl.icl besides, enhance the prestige of the monarch equally with the splendor of a daz zling court. Maximillian. The reform has commenced in earnest and already has the swarm of cormorants that feasted around the palace been driven away. The Emperor ap pears determined to run into the opposite extreme, and to become as noted for economy as he was formerly for extravagapce. He has a hard and unthankful task befoie him; if successful be will prove himself another Napoleon 111., for it will require Napoleonic nerve and loresight to bring Mexico through her troubles. HOW TO MAKE COFFEE. nr professor Charles a seely. In the capacity of parterfamilias and chemist I have made occasional descents into the kitchen, and so have become interested ano somewhat skilled in affairs which to most men are profound mysteries. The visits have been profitable, for in consequence of them practical changes have been brought about, which in the course of a year, will effect the saving of a handsome amount in time and money, and what is of more consequence, they have furnished material for serious reflection. The preparation ol food, though one of the most ancient of the useful arts, and perhaps tbe art of arts, as Prof. Blot w ould have it, is yet very fur from Icing perfected. It is only in the nineteenth century that science and inventive genius have been z-alously employed for its improvements; with what effect they have been bo employed almost any person who can look back from the shady side of forty can tell. What changes in forty years! The dear old chimney corner, the pot hocks, the bake kettle, the brick oven, the Yankee bakery exist only among the fairy remembrance of childhood. What will come in the next forty years! But I reluctantly dismiss these thoughts to fulfill the promise which the title of this ar tide indicates. The virtue of coffee consists in its volatile aroma and its fixed extractive matter. The happy combination of these with hot water is the problem for the coffee maker. This happy combintion, in my opinion, when realized in perfec tian, implies that all the aroma and all the extractive mattar of the ground coffee be got into the hot water, and retained there. It seems to me that no argument is required to show that any armor which escapes into tbe air, or any extractive matter left in the ground is so much virtue wasted Now, to get at the same time.the whole of these constituents of coffee has seemed very difficult. If boiling water be filtered through ground coffee—this is the French plan—the aroma is promptly extracted, and very little else, for the fixed matter needs more coaxing. If the ground coffee be boiled a iong time in water—the Turkish and more common American plan—the aroma escapes with the steam. The French waste tbe extractive matter; the Turks, the aroma. The plan which secures one of the ingredients allows the other to escape. Baron Liebig has investigated this subject and those who have read his interesting paper published in the Scien tific American a short time since, will perceive that so far I have only repeated his ideas. He proposes to avoid the difficulties in the case in this way:—He boils three-fourths of the ground coffee, and thus secures all the extractive matter from that; the other fourth be adds after the boiling, and secures the aroma from that. I know that Liebig’s coffee is excellent, for I have made it; but I respectfully submit that it is not tbe perfect coffee, it is not the happy combination, which we are seeking for. Liebig loses aroma from three fourths of bis coffee, and extractive matter from onefourth.

I now propose a plan which on reflection and after a considerable experience I find to be nearer perfection. My coffee making is a continuous piocess, and may be carried on for a life time. It takes two days to get well itarted, but after that there is a daily routine. To begin, I take rather more than the usual amount of coffee, and pour on it hot water when it is ready to be used; in other words, I make French coffee. The grounds from this operation I leave to soak in the pot till the next day, whan I begin coffee making by pouiing hot water on these grounds, which hot water I I use according to the French plan m making coffee from fresh ground C'fffC. The process is now in full operation, and every time coffee is wanted the man-| ipulations ot the second morning are re-1

I.K.

I peated. I thus ex'* and useful matter of r?' \\. waste nothing. To put the art in the tnos form I have found it necessary u ily the coffeepot. Perhaps the simpv apparatus is the most ordinary pot provlved with two strainers. The strainers are of cup form, and fit into each other and into the top of the pot. For use I set a s'rainer on the top of the pot, and into the strainer I place fresh ground Coffee; over this I use the second strainer, containing the grounds of the last operation. Now hot water is poured into the upper strainer, and percolates down into the pot, carrying with it al! the goodness remaining in the grounds, and the aroma and much of the extractive of the Resh ground coffee. When the wet r has passed down, I tl;row away the now useless contents of the upper strainer, and upset the contents of the lower strainer into the pot. Delicious coffee is now ready to be served to the appreciative household. I have now unwittingly made this article so long that I am obliged to . rtsit the scientific considerations and arguments, pro and con, which I hive thought over for the occasion, and a dircussion of the question from an economical point of view, wherein I was prepare! to show the millions of dollars per annum that an adoption of my process might save to the world. I dismiss the subject with reluctance. Mote — Tbe above is the first of a series of articles which I propose to write for die Scientific American. The subjects of these will cover a verv wiJe range, and in the end, perhaps, I shall have been in rapport with all classes of readers. — Scientific .American. The Sullivan County Oil and Mining company have secured a lease of the well bored by the railroad company for water near tbe depot. It was sunk some six or eight years ago to the depth of over six hundred feet, when the effort was abandoned. The oil company have erected a derrick, have an engine on the ground, and will be soon at work cleaning out the hole and boring still deeper in pursuit of oil When the well was first sunk, a peculiar and heretofore unknown substance was pumped ap, which is now supposed to have been petroleum. It was found about 600 feet below the surface.—Sullivan Democrat.

JEiFMaj. Giberi, detailed by gen, Howard to investigate the cause of the Memphis riot, has made a partial report on the subject. He avers that tbe civil authorities have not taken any notice of the terrible riots, and seem to regard them as simply a skirmish between the police and negroes, and claims that the newspapers of Memphis are to blame (or the whole matter. Mexican advices state that the contemplated withdrawal of the French troops has caused considerable excitement in the capital, and that Maximillian will probably abdicate before they are withdrawn. "Saving at the spigot and wasting at tbe bunghole” applies as well to legislatives bodies and corporations as to ciderbarrels. At the present moment the departments at Washington are kicking out a half hundred of poor unfortunate clerks with a view to save their saleries to the country, and at the same time there is a proposition to vote §12,000,000 for the use of that Puritan sham, the freedmen’s bureau. The mere mention of these facts suggests the necessary comments. — Chicago Times.

Who Shall Decide? —Dr. Hall, in nn elaborate article in his Journal of Health, on cholera and its treatment, takes Che ground that calomel is the only proper remedy, and that to employ any other is to trifle with human life. Dr. Scott in a long article on the same subject, published in the University Journal of Health, says: “It cannot be denied that great fatality attends the treatment ot cholera by calomel.” Who shall decide when doctors disagree?

A greater part of the town of Winona, Wis., being under water, “brick” Pomeroy, of the La Crosse Democrat, says there are still inducements for enterprising gentlemen to settle there. Among others, are that "they can fish out. of their garret windows, swim in their parlors, build skiffs on tbe'r roofs, practice rowing over their door-yards—and keen ; ducks.” | On Saturday week, at Nunda Lexing- ! ton county, New York, a little boy between five and six years old was convicted l of assaulting a full grown man, and sent to jail for thirty days. Why is an angry printer like fifty-nine minutes past twelve? Because he’s ready to strike one.