280 MAUCH CHUNK. MAUCH CHUNK. The Coal Landing and town of Mauch Chunk, of which the above is a correct view, is situated on the right bank of the River Lehigh, in Northampton county, twelve miles above the Water Gap, the point where the Lehigh breaks through the Kittatinny or Blue Mountain, and enters the Lehigh Valley. It is 80 miles by land and 127 by canal from Philadelphia, and 96 by land, and 152 by canal from New York. It is 36 miles from Easton, the seat of justice of Northampton county, and 32 by turnpike from the Susquehanna and Pennsylvania canal at Berwick. The town occupies a small area at the confluence of the Mauch Chunk creek and the Lehigh, and is nearly encircled by a chain of mountains some of which obtain an elevation of a thousand feet. The face of these mountains, although covered with fragments of rocks, and displaying in many places huge precipices of great extent, is scattered over with trees and shrubs, which in the summer season spread their green canopy before the eye obscuring the rough surface of the mountain, and forming a pleasing contrast with the white cluster of buildings which lie buried beneath its shade. Previous to 1818, the spot where the town now stands, was a perfect wilderness, covered with forest trees and under brush, affording a secure retreat and covert for the wild animals common to this mountainous region. It had been known many years previous to this date, that the Mauch Chunk Mountain contained anthracite coal, but up to this time every attempt which had been made to work the mines and convey coal to market, had proved abortive. In the spring of 1818, JOSIAH WHITE and ERSKINE HAZARD, having satisfied themselves of the advantages of anthracite coal as a fuel, by a series of experiments which they had made with it in the manufacture of iron wire at the falls of the Schuylkill, determined on visiting this region, with a view to ascertain the extent of the coal beds, and the facilities which the River Lehigh presented for a slack water navigation. Their exploration was completed in the course of a few weeks, and notwithstanding numerous obstacles presented themselves to the accomplishment of the enterprise which they had in view, such as the elevation of the coal beds, their distance from the Lehigh-the rapidity and turbulence of that stream, foaming and dashing over a confined and rocky bed for many miles, and varying its course to nearly every point of the compassthe general sterility of the country, and the want of a convenient market, they determined on making a trial; and accordingly in the summer of 1818, commenced operations in the immediate vicinity of Mauch Chunk. From that time to the present, the town, under the auspices of these gentlemen and their associates, protected by an act of incorporation, has continued to increase until it has justly acquired the celebrity of an active business place, as well as become the favorite resort of the wealth and fashion of our populous towns and cities. But the improvements of the town have thus far been marked by the progress and limited by the extent of the trade which first brought it into existence; and few investments have been made in the 281 THE MARINER'S COMPASS-THE BENEVOLENT QUAKER. erection of houses and business establishments, extensive improvement, and ere long become a in the anticipation of the future. The houses flourishing and populous business town. and shops have all been constructed to accommodate the circumstances of a laboring community, and with less regard to taste and elegance than convenience and economy. With the exception of the Company's offices and store, and the hotel, which are plain but spacious stone buildings, they generally small, having rooms on a floor. floor, and two stories high. Some of them are plaistered or stuccoed on the outside, which gives them a very uniform and neat appearance. are two The town now contains about one hundred and fifty dwellings and shops of every description, and supports a resident population of one thousand inhabitants. It has a place of public worship, four elementary schools, two of which are taught by males and two by females; a resident physician, a post office, a printing office, two stores and one tavern. There are four daily arrivals and departures of the mail by stages-one from the city of Philadelphia, and three from different parts of the country. In addition to the usual trades prosecuted in country towns and villages, this place supports an iron foundry, a manufactory of rail way cars and other cast and wrought iron machinery, and a cast steel axe manufactory; and affords employment to about one hundred and fifty boat builders, sawyers and carpenters. The whole number of men employ. ed in the various branches of the coal trade of Mauch Chunk at the present time, is from six to seven hundred. The dependencies of the Company's establishment include the village at the great coal quarry or Summit Hill, and the village of Nesquihoning, in the valley of the same name, near the coal mines recently opened at Room Run, and from which a rail-road four miles in length, terminating on the Lehigh at Mauch Chunk, has been completed. These dependencies give em THE MARINER'S COMPASS. It is somewhat uncertain at what precise period this noble discovery was made; but it appears pretty evident, that the Mariner's compass was not commonly used in navigation before the year 1420, 490 or only few years before the inven tion a of Printing. ing. The lordstone, in all ages, was known to have the property of attracting iron; but its tendency to point towards the north and south seem to have been unnoticed till the beginning of the twelfth century. About that time some curious persons seems to have amused themselves by making to swim, in a basin of water, a loadstone suspended to a piece of cork; and to have remarked, that, when left at liberty, one of its extremities pointed to the north. They had also remarked, that, when a piece of iron is rubbed against the loadstone, it acquires also the property of turning towards the north, and of attracting needles and filings of iron. From one experiment to another, they proceeded to lay a needle, touched with the magnet, on two small bits of straw floating on the water, and to observe that the needle invariably turned its point towards the north. The first use they seem to have made of these experiments, was, to impose upon simple people by the appearance of magic. For example, a hollow swan, or the figure of a mermaid, was made to swim in a basin of water, and to follow a knife with a bit of bread upon its point which had been previously rubbed upon the loadstone. The experimentor convinced them of his power, by commanding, in this way, a needle layed on the surface of the water, to turn its point from the north to the east, or in any other direction. But some geniuses, of more sublime or reflective powers of mind, seizing upon these hints, at last applied these experiments to the wants of navigation, and constructed can now direct his course to distant lands through ployment to about three hundred men, princi- an instrument by the help of which the mariner pally miners, which together with their families, The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company have at length, by a steady perseverance in their hazardous enterprise for more than fourteen years, and at an expenditure of two millions and a half of dollars, brought to a conclusion their magnificent scheme of improvement, and are now prepared to meet with a supply of coal the increasing demands of the market. With their accustomed liberality, they have thrown open to public enterprise so much of their property as the public are likely to be interested in, and have recently effected sales to individuals, of several water powers along the line of canal, and of a large proportion of the town plot of Mauch Chunk, improvements upon which, at private cost, and for private purposes, have been commenced and are being prosecuted with great spirit and activity. Viewing the various advantages which this place presents for individual enterprise as well as combined capital, and looking to the rapid increase of the coal trade, little doubt can be entertained that it will shortly exhibit a scene of THE BENEVOLENT QUAKER.-Doctor P. a Quaker of Philadelphia, is very kind to the poor. In times of sickness, produced by whatever cause, he is always ready and willing to assist them. His benevolence, in such cases, extends farther than his gratuitous services as a Physician. Of course he is beloved. Our streets are frequently somewhat crowded with building materials-so much so as often, at particular places, to prevent two vehicles from passing each other, if the driver of either is dis posed to be obstinate. As the Doctor was one day proceeding to visit a patient, his progress was impeded by a draythe driver of which had stopped his horse in one of those narrow passages. After waiting several minutes, the Doctor requested the drayman to allow him to pass. The latter, who had heard of, but did not know the former, poured forth a volley of the vilest abuse upon the "straight coat," and swore he would not move till he thought proper. "Well, friend," said the Doctor, "all I have to observe is this: If thee should get sick, or if 282 MY OWN OPINION-COL. CROCKETT. thy family should ever be in distress, send for LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF COL. DAVID CROCKETT OF WEST Dr. P. and he will do all he can to assist thee." I need scarcely say that the heart of the drayman was subdued by the kindness of the man he had abused. He was ashamed of his conductstammered an apology, and removed the obstruction as speedily as possible. TENNESSEE. This is a rigmarole of more than 200 pages, duodecimo, made up principally of the anecdotes and tales of the redoubtable Col. Crockett, that have been going the rounds of the newspapers for several years past. The annexed is illustrative of the Colonel's electioneering tact: In the canvass of the congressional election of 18-, How true it is, that "a soft tongue breaketh Mr. ****** was the Colonel's opponent a gentleman of the most pleasing and conciliating manners-who seldom Written for the Casket. MY OWN OPINION. There are, who say she is not beautiful. "Yes, gentlemen, he may get some votes by grinning, for he can out-grin me, and you know I an't slow-and to prove to you that I am not, I will tell you an anecdote. I was concerned myself, and I was fooled a little of the ddest. You all know I love hunting. Well, I discovered a long time ago that a 'coon could'nt stand my grin. I could bring one tumbling down from the highest tree. "Her forehead's not well turned," cries one. "The nose I never wasted powder and lead when I wanted one of Too large." "Her mouth ill chiselled," says a third. With these, I claim no fellowship-For me, the creatures. Well, as I was walking out one night, a few hundred yards from my house, looking carelessly about me, I saw a 'coon planted upon one of the highest limbs of an old tree. The night was very moony and clear. and old Ratler was with me; but Ratler won't bark at a 'coon--he's a queer dog in that way. So I thought I'd bring the lark down, in the usual way, by a grin. I set myself, and after grinning at the 'coon a reasonable time, found that he didn't come down. I wondered what was the reason. I took another steady grin at him. Still he was there. It made me a little mad; so I felt round, and got an old limb, about five feet long-and, planting one end upon the ground, I placed my chin upon the other, and took a rest. I then grinned my best for about five minutes, but the d-d 'coon hung on. So, finding I could not bring him down by grinning, I determined to have him, for I tho't he must be a droll chap. I went over to the house, got my axe, returned to the tree, saw the 'coon still there, and began to cut away. Down it come, and I run forward; but dd the 'coon was there to be seen. I found that what I had taken for one, was a large knot upon a branch of the tree--and upon looking at it closely, I saw that I had grinned all the bark off, and left the knot perfectly smooth. Look you! That man was born a carpenter, Or chess-board, or a writing desk! Oh, no! (For choose of Earth the most symmetric face, That the deep beauty lies! Give me the face Give me the Face that varies with the Thought! It is itself a Heart, and, of itself, Doth heave, and palpitate! And such is hers. P. H. It is difficult to live long and remain in good humor with your species. Hence, benevolence in old age is most to be esteemed. "Now, fellow-citizens," coutinued the Colonel, "you must be convinced, that in the grinning line, I myself am not slow-yet when I look upon my opponent's countenance, I must admit he is iny superior. You must all admit it. Therefore be wide awake, look sharp, and do not let him grin you out of your votes." FACTS IN PHYSICS.-Gold beaters, by hammering, reduce gold to leaves so thin, that 282,000 must be laid on each other to produce the thickness of an inch. They are so thin, that if formed into a book, 1500, would occupy the space of a single leaf of common paper. A grain of blue vitriol, or carmine, will tinge a gallon of water, so that in every drop the color may be perceived and a grain of musk will scent a room for twenty years. A stone which on land requires the strength of two men to lift it, may be lifted in water by one man. A ship draws less water by one thirty-fifth in the heavy salt water, than in that of a river, and a man may support himself more easily in the sea than in a river. An immense weight may be raised a short distance, by first tightening a dry rope between it and a support, and then wetting the rope. The moisture imbibed into the rope by capillary attraction causes it to become shorter. A rod of iron, which, when cold will pass through. certain opening, when heated expands, and becomes too thick to pass. Thus the tire or rim of a coach wheel, when heated goes on loosely, and when cooled it binds the wheel most tightly. One pint of water converted into steam, fills a space of nearly 2000 pints, and raise the piston of a steam engine with a force of many thousand pounds. It may afterwards be condensed and reappear as a pint of water, A cubic inch of lead is forty times heavier than the same than the same bulk of water. bulk of cork. Mercury is nearly fourteen times heavier Sound travels in water about four times quicker, and in solids from ten to twenty times quicker, than is air. SNAKE STORY-POPPING THE QUESTION, INTERESTING SNAKE STORY. A writer in Silliman's Scientific Journal gives an account of an interesting experiment made upon the body of a large Rattle-snake a few years since in the northern part of the State of Ohio were Rattle-snakes are said to be very large and numerous. The experiment which we are about to relate, was made about thirty years ago by Judge Woodruff in order to test the accuracy of a prevaling notion among the people that the leaves of the Whiteash were highly offensive to the rattle-snake, and that this horrid reptile was never found on land where the white-ash grows. It is the uniform practice among the hunters who traverse the forest in summer, to stuff their boots and shoes and pockets with white-ash leaves for the purpose of securing themselves against the bite of the rattle-snake; and it is said that no person was ever bitten who had resorted to this precaution. The account given by Judge Woodruff mentions that he was one of a small party who went to the Mahoning river for the purpose of hunting deer. The party took their station upon an elevated spot, fifteen or twenty yards from the water's edge. Here the men watched for their wished for game about an hour, but instead of a harmless and beautiful deer, they saw a large rattle-snake which had crawled out from among the rocks beneath the men and was slowly making his way across a narrow, smooth sand beach towards the river. Upon hearing the voice of the men the snake halted and lay stretched out with his head near the water. It was determined to try the effect of the ash leaves. Accordingly search was made, and a small white-ash sapling, eight or ten feet long, was procured, and with a view to make the experiment more satisfactory, another sapling of sugar maple was cut. In order to prevent the snake's retreat to his den, the Judge approached him in the rear, and when he had advanced within about eight feet of him, the snake coiled up his body, elevated his head several inches, brandished his tongue and thus signified his readiness for battle. The Judge then presented the white-ash wand, placing the leaves upon the snake. The snake instantly dropped his head upon the ground, unfolded his coil, rolled over upon his back, twitched and twisted his whole body into every form but that of a coil, and gave signs of being in great agony. The white-ash was then laid by, upon which the snake immediately placed himself into a coil and assumed the attitude of defence as before. The sugar maple stick was next used. The snake darted forward in a twinkling, 283 Even though she love you with the whole of her little heart, she possesses a flow of spirit and a woman's ready knack of preserving appearances; and though her bosom may heave responsive to your stammering tale, she will lure you on with kind complacent looks, until you have told your "pitiful story," and then laugh in your face for your pains. It is not this either that I meant to express. Men are not cowards, because they see distinctly the danger that lies before them. When a person has sufficient to appreciate its full extent, he has in general either self-possession enough to back out of the scrape, or, if it is inevitable to march with due resignation to his fate. In like manner, it is not that poor Pillgarlick, the lover, has a clear notion [persons in his situation are rarely troubled with clear notions] of what awaits him, but he feels a kind of choking about the neck of his heart, a hang-dog inclination to go back wards instead of forwards; a check, a sudden stop, in all his functions. He knows not how to look, or what to say. His fine plan, arranged with so much happy enthusiasm, when sitting alone in his arm-chair, after a good dinner, and two or three glasses of wine, in the uncertain glimmering of twilight, with his feet upon the fender, proves quite impracticable. Either it has escaped his memory altogether, or the conversation by which he hoped to lead the fair one from different topics to thoughts of a tenderer completion, and thus, by fine degrees, [he watching all the time how she was affected, in order to be sure of his strength, before he makes the plunge,] to insinuate his confession, just at the moment that he knows it will be well received. thrust his head into the leaves, "with all the malice of the resolutions-notwithstanding the encouragement afforded under fiends," and the next moment coiled and lanced again' darting his whole length at each effort with the swiftness of an arrow. After repeating this several times, says the Judge, I again changed his fare; and presented him the white-ash. He immediately doused his peak, stretched himself out on his back; and writhed his whole body in the same manner as at the first application. It was then proposed to try what effect might be produced upon his temper and courage by a little flogging with the white-ash, This was administered. But instead of arousing him to resentment, it proved only to increase his troubles. As the flogging grew more severe, the snake frequently struck his head into the sand as far as he could thrust it, seeming desirous to bore his way into the earth and rid himself of his unwelcome visitors. Being now convinced that the experiment was a satis. factory one, and fairly conducted on both sides, we deemed it ungenerous by taking his life after he had contributed so much to gratify our curiosity; so we took our leave of the rattle-snake, with feelings as friendly at least as those with which we commenced our acquaintance with him, POPPING THE QUESTION. There is no more delicate step in life than the operation designated by the elegant phrase I have selected for the title of my present lucubration. Much winding and caution, and previous sounding is necessary when you have a favor to ask of a great man. It is ten chances to one that he takes it into his head to consider your request exorbitant, and to make this the pretext for shaking off what he naturally considers a cumbersome appendage to his estate a man who has a claim upon his good offices. But this hazard is nothing in comparison with the risk you ran în laying yourself at the mercy of a young cipsey, more fond of fun and frolic than any thing else iv life. The desperate struggles and flounderings by which some endeavour to get out of their embarrassment are amusing enough. We remember to have been much delighted the first time we heard the history of the wooing of a noble lord, now no more, narrated. His lordstup was a man of talents and enterprise, of stainless pedigree, and a fair rent-roll, but the verriest slave of bashfulness. Like all timid and quiet men, he was very susceptible and very constant, as long as he was in the habit of seeing the object of his affectious daily. He chanced, at the beginning of an Edinburgh winter, to lose his heart to Miss, and as their families were in habits of intimacy, he had frequent opportunities of meeting with her. He gazed and sighed incessantly a very Dumbiedikes, but that he had a larger allowance of brain; he followed her everywhere, he felt jealous, uncomfortable, savage, if she looked even civilly at another; and yet, notwithstanding his stoutest him by the lady, a woman of sense, who saw what his lordship would be at, esteemed his character, was superior to girlish affectation, and made every advance consistent with womanly delicacy-the winter was fast fading into spring, and he had not yet got his mouth opened. Mamma at last lost all patience, and one day, when his lordship was taking his usual lounge in the drawing room, silent, or uttering an occasional monosyllable, the good lady abruptly left the room, and locked the pair in alone. When his lordship, on assaying to take his leave, discovered the predicament in which he stood, a desperate fit of resolution seized him. Miss- sat bending most assiduously over her needle, a deep blush on her cheek. His lordship advanced towards her, but losing heart by the way, passed in silence to the other end of the room. He returned to the charge, but again without effect. At last, nerving himself like one about to spring a powdermine, he stopped before her "Miss will you marry me?" "With the greatest pleasure, my lord," was the answer, given in a low, somewhat timid, but unfaltering voice, while a speaker. end dee good made hi deeper crimson suffused the face of the Francis First, having asked Castelan, Bishop of Orleans, whether he was of noble extraction, "Sire," replied he, "Noah had three sons in the ark, I cannot say from which of them I descended." Among many other evils that attend gaming, are these loss of time, loss of reputation, loss of health, loss of fortune, loss of temper, ruin of families, defrauding of creditors, and what is often the effect of it, the loss of life itself. A hackney-coachman has constantly cause to complain of the hardness of his lot, for at the best of times his business is at a stand. |