AMERICAN ANECDOTES. round for the originals, and discover, with astonishment, that the sole performer in this singular concert is the admirable bird now before us. During this exhibition of his powers, he spreads his wings, expands his tail, and throws himself round the cage in all the ecstacy of enthusiasm, seeming not only to sing, but to dance, keeping time to the measure of his music. Both in his native and domesticated state, during the solemn stillness of night, as soon as the moon rises in silent majesty, he begins his delightful solo; and serenades us the livelong night with a full display of his vocal powers, making the whole neighborhood ring with his inimitable medley. ANTS IN A FLOOD. D'Azara informs us, that during the inundations of the low districts in South America, when the ant-hills, which are usually about three feet in height, are completely under water, the ants avail themselves of an ingenious contrivance, to prevent their being carried to any With this view, distance from their habitation. and for their greater security, they collect into a compact mass, and keep firm hold of each other, previously attaching one of the extremities to some neighboring plant or fixed point of support, leaving the other end free, and floating on the surface of the water as long as the inundation, which usually lasts a few days, continues. THE BEAVER. So much that is wonderful has been recorded of the beaver, that several intelligent writers have not scrupled to express a belief, that it possesses but little of that surprising sagacity One of the latest and skill ascribed to it. writers on the subject, however, Mr. Joseph Sansum, of New York, gives an account of the Canadian beaver, which confirms the general character given of their habits and physical He tells us, that in the deep recesses economy. of Canadian forests, where the beaver is undisturbed by man, it is a practical example of almost every virtue, of conjugal fidelity and paternal care; laborious, thrifty, frugal, honest, watchful, and ingenious. He submits to government in the republican form, for the benefits of association; but is never known, in the most powerful communities, to make depredations upon his weaker neighbors. Wherever a nuber of these animals come together, they immediately combine in society, to perform the common business of constructing their habitations, apparently acting under the most intelligent in the habit of The Indians were design. prognosticating the mildness or severity of the ensuing winter, from the quantity of provisions laid in by the beavers for their winter's stock. Though there is no appearance indicating the authority of a chief or leader, yet no contention or disagreement is ever observed among them. When a sufficient number of them are collected to form a town, the public business is first at In tended to; and as they are amphibious animals, With this view, a lake or pond, some.imes a As many as can find room, are engaged in Where two or three hundred beavers are united, these dams are from six to twelve feet thick at the bottom; at the top, not more than In that part of the dam which is two or three. opposed to the current, the stakes are placed obliquely; but on that side where the water is to fall over, they are placed in a perpendicular direction. These dams are sometimes a hundred feet in length, and always of the exact height which will answer their purposes. The ponds thus formed, sometimes cover five or six They generally spread over hundred acres. grounds abounding with trees and bushes of the softest wood, maple, birch, popiar, willow, &c.; and, to preserve the dams against inundation, the beaver always leaves sluices near the middle, for the redundant water to pass off. When the public works are completed, the beavers separate into small companies, to build cabins or houses for themselves. These are built upon piles, along the borders of the pond. They are of an oval construction, resembling a bee-hive; and they vary from five to ten feet in diameter, according to the number of families These dwellings are they are to accommodate. never less than two stories high, generally three; and sometimes they contain four apartments. The walls of these are from two to three feet thick, formed of the same materials with the dams. On the inside, they are made smooth, but left rough without, being rendered impenetrable to rain. The lower story is about two feet high, the second is formed by a floor of sticks covered with mud, and the upper apartment terminates with an arched roof. Through each floor there is a passage, and the uppermost floor is always above the level of the water. Each of these huts has two doors, one on the land side, to admit of their going out and seeking provisions that way; another under the water, and below where it freezes, to preserve their communication with the pond. No association of people can possibly appear more happy, or be better regulated, than the tribe of beavers. The male and female always pair. In September, they lay up their winter's stock, which consists of bark and the tender twigs of trees. Then commences the season of love and repose; and during the winter they remain within, every one enjoying the fruits of his own labor, without pilfering from any other. Towards spring, the females bring forth their young, to the number of three or four. Soon after, the male retires to gather firs and vegetables, as the spring opens; but the dam remains at home, to nurse and rear up their young. The male occasionally returns home, but not to tarry, until the end of the year; yet, if any injury should happen to their works, the whole society are soon collected, by some unknown means, and they join all their forces to repair the injury which has been sustained. Whenever an enemy approaches their village, the beaver who first perceives the unwelcome stranger, strikes on the water with his tail to give notice of the approaching danger; and the whole careful tribe instantly plunge into the water. In a state of nature, undisturbed by barbarous and selfish man, this provident animal lives fifteen or twenty years, and prepares the way for several generations, adapting his dwellings to the increase of his family. INEXORABLE CREDITOR. The following affecting narrative of the cruelty of a creditor towards an unfortunate debtor, is to be found among the notes to a volume of American Poetry, published at Philadelphia by || Mr. Woodworth. cases), and made a solemn oath to keep him in jail till he rotted!' I watched Brown's countenance when he received this information; and whether it was fancy or not, I cannot say, but I thought I saw the cheering spirit of hope in that moment desert him forever. "Nothing gave Brown pleasure but the daily visit of his amiable wife. By the help of a kind relation, she was able to give him sometimes soup, wine, and fruit; and every day, clear or stormy, she visited the prison, to cheer the drooping spirits of her husband. She was uncommonly pretty. She seemed an angel, administering consolation to a man about to converse with angels. One day passed the hour of one o'clock, and she came not. Brown was uneasy. Two, three, and four, passed, and she did not appear. Brown was distracted. A messenger arrived. Mrs. Brown was very dangerously ill, and supposed to be dying in a convulsive fit. As soon as Brown received this information, he darted to the door with the rapidity of lightning. The inner door was open; and the jailer, who had just let some one in, was closing it as Brown passed violently through it. The jailer knocked him down with a massy iron key which he held in his hand; and Brown was carried back lifeless, and covered with blood, to his cell. "Mrs. Brown died; and her husband was denied even the sad privilege of closing her eyes. He lingered for some time, till, at last, he called me one day, and gazing on me, while a faint smile played upon his lips, he said, he believed death was more kind than his creditors.' After a few convulsive struggles, he expired. "Legislators, and sages of America! permit me to ask you, how much benefit has that creditor derived from the imprisonment, and conse. quent death, of an amiable man, in the bloom of youth, who, without this cruelty, might have flourished, even now, an ornament and a glory to the nation ?" DREAMING MATCH. Sir William Johnson, who was superintendent of Indian affairs in America previous to the revolution, received some suits of clothes from England richly laced, when Hendrick, king of the five nations of Mohawks, was present. The chief admired them much, but did not say any. thing at the time. In a few days Hendrick called on Sir William, and acquainted him that he had had a particular dream. On Sir William inquiring what it was, he told him he had dreamed that he gave him one of those fine suits which he had received from over the great water. Sir William took the hint, and immediately presented him with one of the richest suits. Hen "Some years since, a young man by the name of Brown was cast into the prison of this city for debt. His manners were very interesting. His fine dark eyes beamed so much intelligence, his lively countenance expressed so much ingen-drick, highly pleased with this generosity, reuousness, that I was induced, contrary to my usual rule, to seek his acquaintance. Companions in misery soon become attached to each other. "Brown was informed that one of his creditors would not consent to his discharge; that he had abused him very much, (as is usual in such tired. A short time after this, Sir William, happening to be in company with Hendrick, told him that he also had had a dream. Hendrick being very solicitous to know what it was, Sir William informed him that he had dreamed that he (Hendrick) had made him a present of a particular tract of land (the most valuable on DELAWARE INDIANS. In the year 1785, an Indian murdered a Mr. Evans at Pittsburg. When, after a confinement of several months, his trial was to be brought on, the chiefs of his nation (the Delaware) were invited to be present at the proceedings, and see how the trial would be conducted, as well as to speak in behalf of the accused, if they chose. These chiefs, however, instead of going as wished for, sent to the civil officers of that place the following laconic answer: "Brethren! you inform us that N. N. who murdered one of your men at Pittsburg, is shortly to be tried by the laws of your country, at which trial you request that some of us may be present. Brethren! knowing N. N. to have been always a very bad man, we do not wish to see him. We therefore advise you to try him by your laws, and to hang him, so that he may never return to us again." THE DEAD ALIVE. Some hypochondriacs have fancied themselves miserably afflicted in one way, and some in another; some have insisted that they were teapots, and some that they were town-clocks; one that he was extremely ill, and another that he was actually dying. But, perhaps, none of this bluedevil class ever matched in extravagance a patient of the late Dr. Stevenson, of Baltimore. This hypochondriac, after ringing the change of every mad conceit that ever tormented a crazy brain, would have it at last that he was dead, actually dead. Dr. Stevenson having been sent for one morning in great haste, by the wife of his patient, hastened to his bed-side, where he found him stretched out at full length, his hands across his breast, his toes in contact, his eyes and mouth closely shut, and his looks cadaverous. "Well, sir, how do you do? how do you do, this morning?" asked Dr. Stevenson, in a jocular way, approaching his bed. "How do I do!" replied the hypochondriac faintly; "a pretty question to ask a dead man.” "Dead!"replied the doctor. "Yes, sir, dead, quite dead. I died last night about twelve o'clock." Dr. Stevenson putting his hand gently on the forehead of the hypochondriac, as if to ascertain whether it was cold, and also feeling his pulse, exclaimed in a doleful note, "Yes, the poor man is dead enough; 't is all over with him, and now the sooner he can be buried the better." Then stepping up to his wife, and whispering to her not to be frightened at the measures he was about to take, he called to the servant: "My boy, your poor master is dead; and the sooner he can be put in the ground the better. Run to Cm, for I know he always keeps New England coffins by him ready made; and, do you hear, bring a coffin of the largest size, for your master makes a stout corpse, and having died last night, and the weather being warm, he will not keep long." Away went the servant, and soon returned with a proper coffin. The wife and family having got their lesson from the doctor, gathered round him, and howled not a little, while they were putting the body in the coffin. Presently the pall-bearers, who were quickly provided, and let into the secret, started with the hypochondriac for the church-yard. They had not gone far, before they were met by one of the town's people, who having been properly drilled by Stevenson, cried out, "Ah, doctor, what poor soul have you got there?" "Poor Mr. B," sighed the doctor, "left us last night." "Great pity he had not left us twenty years ago," replied the other; "he was a bad man.” Presently another of the townsmen met them with the same question, "And what poor soul have you got there, doctor?" "Poor Mr. Bagain, " is dead." answered the doctor "Ah! indeed," said the other; " and so he is gone to meet his deserts at last." "Oh villain!" exclaimed the man in the coffin. Soon after this, while the pall-bearers were resting themselves near the church-yard, another stepped up with the old question again, “What poor soul have you got there, doctor?" "Poor Mr. B-," he replied, "is gone." "Yes, and to the bottomless pit," said the other; "for if he is not gone there, I see not what use there is for such a place." Here the dead man, bursting off the lid of the coffin, which had been purposely left loose, leaped out, exclaiming, "Oh you villain! I am gone to the bottomless pit, am I? Well, I have come back again, to pay such ungrateful rascals as you are." A chase was immediately commenced, by the dead man after the living, to the petrifying consternation of many of the spectators, at sight of a corpse, in all the horrors of the winding sheet running through the streets. After having ex. ercised himself into a copious perspiration by the fantastic race, the hypochondriac was brought home by Dr. Stevenson, freed from all his complaints; and by strengthening food, generoas wine, cheerful company, and moderate exercise, was soon restored to perfect health. AURORA BOREALIS. This beautiful phenomenon has never been seen in European countries to the southward of London; at least not in modern times; and yet when we reflect upon the phenomena in early times, to which superstition affixed the appellation of showers of fire, fiery swords, &c., even as far south as Jerusalem, it is scarcely possible to doubt that they have been seen farther south than they appear at present. In Scotland, the Aurora Borealis was unknown previous to the commencement of the eighteenth century, when the Northern Lights were supposed to be prophetic of the intestine troubles that followed the Hanoverian succession. The same superstition prevails in the northern parts of England, where it is confidently asserted they never were seen until the execution of the earl of Derwentwater, in 1715, with which event it is not doubted but they were in some degree connected. A living traveller relates a curious fact connected with their appearance in the southern states of North America, which shows with what avidity the imagination raises a superstition on natural phenomena. "In the autumn of 1789," he says, "I was at Norfolk in Virginia, where a frequent subject of tea-table gossip was a prophecy, printed in New England, stating that the world was to be destroyed by fire, on a specific day in November in that year; a prophecy which, absurd as it was, actually made a deep impression even on those who professed to laugh at it. It happened on this very day that I crossed Elizabeth river, and stopped in Portsmouth to spend the evening at a house where there was a large party of both sexes. There the prophecy became the subject of conversation; and the day being nearly past, the whole party were speedily becoming more courageous philosophers. All at once, our ears were assailed by loud murmurs outside. We rushed to the door, and were much astonished at finding the whole population of the place in the street; the greater part of them on their knees, and uttering the loudest lamentations. Attracted by the brilliancy of the beavens, I raised my eyes upwards, and observed a very vivid Aurora Borealis casting its coruscations over more than half the hemisphere. On turning round, I saw the whole party on their knees, and evidently in great trepidation. The scene was certainly awful, yet I could not restrain a burst of laughter; when my friends, with the utmost horror, begged me to desist, and not draw the wrath of offended Heaven upon them. "With difficulty I at length persuaded some of them to listen to me, when I assured them that all they saw was a common phenomena in more northern latitudes. I also endeavored to convince some of the strangers nearest to me, that there was no cause for alarm; but I could gain no converts. I succeeded, however, in drawing my own party back into the house, where I was considered something more than human, for relieving their minds from the horrors which assailed them. Towards midnight the Aurora dispersed, as did the fears of the good people of Portsmouth. On crossing the ferry to Norfolk, I found that the same species of alarm had also existed there to a considerable extent, and was as happily extinguished." THE ESQUIMAUX. A singular story which circulated at Nain in Labrador, in the year 1773, and gained credit with the Esquimaux, may be mentioned as an instance of that deeply rooted inclination for the marvellous and supernatural, which has rendered tent. it so difficult even for the Christian converts to wean themselves from their attachment to former superstitious notices and observances. It was reported that the men in the north had at length killed lanukpak, with his wife and family. This was a murderer of such monstrous size, that while he stood in the valley of Nain, he might have rested his hand on the summit of the adjacent mountain. His dress was the white skin, of the nennerluk, an amphibious bear that hunted and devoured the seals, each of whose ears was large enough for the covering of a capacious This beast did not scruple to eat human flesh when he came on shore, where some affirmed they had seen him, and were vexed when their testimony was doubted. Indeed the Christian brethreu in Okkak, thought they saw such a sea monster one evening, in the August of 1786, which rose up to the height of a huge iceberg in the mouth of the bay, showed its white color, and then plunged down again, leaving a whirlpool of foam. The Esquimaux, without hesitation, pronounced it to be the nennerluk; but as the description is so vague, it may justly be supposed that they were deceived by some tumbling iceberg. FAITHFUL NEGRESS. In the dreadful earthquake which made such ravages in the Island of St. Domingo in the year 1770, a negress of Port-au-Prince found herself alone in the house of her master and mistress, with their youngest child, whom she nursed. The house shook to its foundation. Every one had taken flight; she alone could not escape, without leaving her infant charge in danger; she flew to the chamber, where it lay in the most profound sleep; at that moment the walls of the house fell in; anxious only for the safety of her foster child, she threw herself over it, and serv ing as a sort of arch, saved it from destruction. The child was indeed saved; but the unfortunate negress died soon after, the victim of her fidelity. AFRICAN SLAVES. A planter of the West Indies, who was owner of a considerable number of slaves, treated them with the utmost cruelty, whipping and torturing them for the slightest fault. One of the unfortunate victims of his cruelty, thinking any change preferable to slavery under such a barbarian, attempted to make his escape among the mountain Indians; but, unfortunately, was taken, and brought back to his master. Poor Arthur (so he was called) was immediately ordered to receive three hundred lashes, when stript, which were to be given him by his fellow slaves, among whom happened to be a new negro, just brought from Africa, and who had been purchased by the planter the day before. This slave, the moment he saw the unhappy wretch destined to the lashes, flew to his arms, and embraced him with the greatest tenderness; the other returned his transports, and nothing could be more moving AMERICAN ANECDOTES. than their mutual bemoaning each other's misfortunes. Their master was soon given to understand that they were countrymen and intimate friends; and that Arthur had formerly, in a battle with a neighboring nation, saved his friend's life at the extreme hazard of his own. The new negro, at the same time, threw himself at the planter's feet with tears, beseeching him, in the most moving manner, to spare his friend, or, at least, to suffer him to undergo the punishment in his room, protesting he would rather die ten thousand deaths, than lift his hand against him. But the wretch, looking on this as an affront to the absolute power he pretended over him, ordered Arthur to be immediately tied to a tree, and his friend to give him the lashes; telling him too, that for every lash not well laid The new on, he should himself receive a score. negro, amazed at a barbarity so unbecoming a human creature, with a generous disdain refused to obey him, at the same time upbraiding him with his cruelty; upon which the planter turning all his rage on him, ordered him to be immediately stripped, and commanded Arthur, to whom he promised forgiveness, to give his countryman the lashes he had been destined to receive himself. This proposal too was received with scorn, each protesting he would rather suffer the most dreadful torture than injure his friend. This generous conflict, which must have raised the strongest feelings in a breast susceptible of who pity, did but the more inflame the monster, now determined they should both be made examples of; and to satiate his revenge, was resolved to whip them himself. He was just preparing to begin with Arthur, when the new negro drew a knife from his pocket, stabbed the planter to the heart, and the following instant struck it to his own, rejoicing, with his last breath, that he had revenged his friend, and rid the world of such a monster. LADY HARRIET ACKLAND. Lady Harriet Ackland accompanied her husband to Canada in the beginning of the year 1776. In the course of that campaign, she tra versed a vast space of country, in different extreamities of the seasons, and with difficulties that an European traveller will not easily conceive, in order to attend her husband in a poor hut at Chamblée, upon his sick bed. In the opening of the campaign of 1777, she was restrained from offering herself to a share of the hazard expected before Ticonderoga, by the positive injunction of her husband. The day after the conquest of that place he was badly wounded, and she crossed Lake Champlain to join him. As soon as he recovered, Lady Harriet proceeded to follow his fortunes through the campaign. Major Ackland, her husband, commanded the British grenadiers, who formed the most advanced post of the army, which required them to be so much on the alert, that frequently no person slept out of their clothes. In one of these situations a tent, in which the Major and Lady Harriet slept, suddenly took fire. An or derly serjeant of grenadiers, with great hazard tent. This accident neither altered the resolution Having obtained permission of General Bur- as soon as her case was made known to General COLUMBUS. When Columbus, after having discovered the Western hemisphere, was, by order of the King of Spain, brought home from America in chains, the captain of the ship, who was intimately acquainted with his character, his knowledge, and his talents, offered to free him from his chains, and make his passage as agreeable as possible. Columbus rejected his friendly offer, saying, "Sir, I thank you; but these chains are the rewards and honors for my services, from my king, whom I have served as faithfully as my God; and, as such I will carry them with me to the grave." |