Wisconsin

WISCONSIN.

BY A.M. WRIGHT.

Hail Wisconsin! lovely State!
Thou art young, but thou art great;
Mighty waters have thy shore;
Mighty rivers through thee pour;
Rich, exhaustless are thy mines;
Priceless are thy noble pines.

Hail Wisconsin! young and fair!
O! how grand they landscapes are!
Modest plains and groves of trees
Intermixed, the eye to please;
Silver lakes lie ‘mong thy hills;
Through thy vales leap laughing rills.

Hail Wisconsin! who would not
Share the happy Badger’s lot?
Cultivate the fertile soil;
On the fair prairie’s toil;
Sure a hundred fold to reap;
Sure in plenty’s lap to sleep.

Hail Wisconsin! thou hast health;
Hail Wisconsin! thou hast wealth;
Hail Wisconsin! thou hast laws
To protect the poor man’s cause;
Schools to make they children wise —
Who does not Wisconsin prize?

Richland County Observer (Richland Center, Wisconsin) Nov 27, 1855

*****

 Title: A political History of Wisconsin
Author: Alexander McDonald Thomson
Publisher: E.C. Williams, 1900
Page 57 (Google book link)

Building — An Education

Image from Days Gone By

BUILDING

There’s joy in building anything,
Though it may be very small.
A baby whiles away long hours
With building blocks, which fall.

The older boys build sleds and kites,
Of wood and wire and strings;
And tiny girls build home for dolls,
With furniture and things.

Smart engineers build bridges, which
Extend across large streams;
And architects, in buildings, find
The answers to their dreams.

But here’s construction’s greatest boon,
(Though it keeps wise heads swimmin’)
It’s teaching little boys and girls,
Yes, building men and women!

Lyla Myers, Little Rock, Ark.

The Oshkosh Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Mar 10, 1936

Image of Cicero from Wikipedia

Author of the quote not cited in the newspaper, but it is attributed to Joseph Addison.

EDUCATION is like a companion which no misfortune can repress, no enemy destroy, no despotism enslave. At home, a friend; abroad an introduction — in solitude, a solace — in society, an ornament. It chastens vice, it guards virtue; and gives at once, grace and government to genius. Without it, what is man? A splendid slave — a reasoning savage!

American Freeman (Prairieville, Wisconsin) Apr 5, 1848

John Quincy Adams – Patriot, Poet, Statesman, and Sage

[From the Baltimore Patriot.]
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

Wonderful man! whose mighty mind
Not even age itself can blight;
He is an honor to mankind,
And to the world a shining light;
His voice is heard in freedom’s halls,
As oft ’twas heard in olden time,
Echoing along the lofty walls,
In tones of eloquence sublime.

Patriot and poet, statesman, sage,
The friend of freedom and our race;
His fame shall live thro’ every age,
And millions yet unborn shall trace
The record of his bright renown,
And of his brilliant deeds sublime,
Which shall to mighty men go down
Upon the future tide of time.

To Ireland’s hero he the lyre
Has swept and sung of other days,
While listening ears poetic fire,
Perceivedin all his lofty lays;
The thunders of his touching tongue,
From which corruption shrinks in fear,
Thro’ freedom’s temple oft have rung,
When listening Senates’ lean’d to hear.

Had he in ancient Greece appeared,
Immortal would have been his name;
Statues to him would have been reared,
And by the golden pen of fame,
His glory on the mighty scroll,
High in her temple would be placed;
Almost on marble would his soul,
By Grecian gratitude be traced.

J.H.N.

The Ohio Repository (Canton, Ohio) Jul 8, 1847

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

The October Number of the “Democratic Review,” published at Washington, contains some very interesting “glances at Congress,” in which several of the most prominent members are described in a graphic and somewhat impartial manner. The following sketch of that extraordinary man, JOHN Q. ADAMS, will be read with much interest:
Cum. Pres.

“Our attention is now attracted to a ray of light that glitters on the appex of a balk and noble head located on the left of the House, in the neighborhood of the speaker’s chair. It proceeds from that wonderful man who in his person combines the agitator, poet, philosopher, statesman, critic and orator — John Quincy Adams. There he sits, hour after hour, day after day, with untiring patience, never absent from his seat, never voting for an adjournment of the House, his ear ever on the alert always prepared to go at once into the profoundest questions of state or the minutest points or order. We look at him and mark his cold and fearless eye, his stern and abstracted gaze, and conjure up phantoms of other scenes. We look upon a more than king, who has filled every department of honor in his native land, still at his post; he who was the president of millions, now the representative of forty odd thousand, quarrelling about trifles or advocating high principles; to day growling and sneering at the House, with an abolition petition in his trembling hand, and anon lording it over the passions, and lashing the members into the wildest state of enthusiasm by his indignant and emphatic eloquence. Alone unspoken to, unconsulted with others, he sits apart, wrapped in his reveries, or probably he is writing, his almost perpetual employment. He looks enfeebled, but yet he is never tired; worn out, but ever ready for the combat; melancholy, but let a witty thing fall from any member that hazards an arrow at him — the eagle is not swifter in its flight than Mr. Adams; with his agitated finger quivering in sarcastic gesticulation, he seizes upon his foe, and, amid the amazement of the House, rarely fails to take signal vengeance. His stores of knowledge on every subject, garnered up through the course of his extraordinary life, in the well arraigned store house of a memory which is said never to have permitted a single fact to escape it, give him a great advantage over all comers in encounters of this kind. He is a wonderful eccentric genius. He belongs to no party, nor does any party belong to him. He is original, of very peculiar ideas, and perfectly fearless and independent in expressing and maintaining them. His manner of speaking is peculiar; he rises abruptly, his face reddens, and in a moment, throwing himself into the attitude of  a veteran gladiator, he prepares for the attack; then he becomes full of gesticulation, his body sways to and fro self command seems lost, his head is bent forward in his earnestness till it sometimes touches the desk; his voice frequently breaks, but he pursues his subject through all its bearings — nothing daunts him — the House may ring with cries of order — order! unmoved, contemptuous he stands amid the tempest, and like an oak that knows its gnarled and knotted strength, stretches his arm forth and defies the blast.

Alton Observer (Alton, Illinois) Jan 4, 1838

REMINISCENCE OF J.Q. ADAMS.

The Hon. John Quincy Adams concluded his argument before the United States Supreme Court, in the Amistad case, with the following touching reminiscence:

May it please your Honor: On the 7th of February, 1804, now more than thirty-seven years past, my name was entered, and yet stands recorded on both the rolls, as one of the attorneys and counselors of this Court. Five years later, in February and March, 1809, I appeared for the last time before this Court, in defense of the cause of justice, and of important rights, in which many of my fellow citizens had property to a large amount at stake. Very shortly afterwards, I was called to the discharge of other duties; first in distant lands, and in later years, within our own country, but in different departments of her Government. —

Little did I imagine that I should ever be required to claim the right of appearing in the capacity of an officer of this Court. Yet such has been the dictate of my destiny; and I appear again to plead the cause of justice, and now of liberty and life, in behalf of many of my fellow-men, before that same Court, which, in a former age, I had addressed in support of rights of property. I stand again, I trust for the last time, before the same Court, “hic castus artemque repeno.” I stand before the same Court, but not before the same judges, nor aided by the same associates, nor resisted by the same opponents. As I cast my eyes along those seats of honor and of public trust, now occupied by you, they seek in vain for one of those honored and honorable persons whose indulgence listened then to to my voice. Marshall, Cushing, Case, Washington, Johnson, Livingston, Todd: where are they? Where is that eloquent statesman and learned lawyer who was my associate counsel in the management of that cause — Robert Goodloe Harper? Where is that brilliant luminary, so long the pride of Maryland and of the American bar, then my opposing counsel — Luther Martin? Where is the excellent clerk of that day, whose name has been inscribed on the shores of Africa, as a monument of his abhorrence to the African slave trade — Elias B. Caldwell? Where is the marshal? Where are the criers of the Court? Alas! where is one of the very judges of the Court, arbiters of life or death, before whom I commenced this anxious argument? Gone! — gone from a world of sin and sorrow, I trust — to that blest abode, “where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest.” And it is my ardent wish, and fervent prayer, that each and every one of you, may go to this final account with as little of earthly frailty to answer for, as those illustrious dead; and that you may every one, after the close of a long and virtuous career in this world, be received at the portals of the next with the approving sentence: Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

Alton Telegraph And Democratic Review (Alton, Illinois) Mar 17, 1848

MR. ADAMS’ KINDNESS

The anecdotes of he ‘old man eloquent,’ would fill a volume. One of the most touching, and eminently illustrative of the devotedness which his domestic virtues called forth from those in his service, was recently narrated to us in substance as follows:

‘A few years ago, as John Quincy Adams was riding to the capitol, his horses became unmanageable and overturned his coach, dashing the driver, and Irishman, who had long been in Mr. Adams’ employ, with great violence against a post or the corner of a building. He was taken up for dead, and carried to an apartment in the capitol, under the room in which Mr. Adams breathed his last, followed by many persons among them Mr. Adams himself. After some time the injured man was restored to consciousness, and, apparently regardless of his own sufferings, turning his eyes anxiously around, his first words were — ‘Is Mr. Adams safe?’ Mr. Adams replied that he was unhurt. The poor fellow exclaimed, ‘Then I am content,’ and relapsed into an unconscious state. The venerable statesman was deeply moved at his evidence of affectionate regard for his welfare, and tears flowed down his cheeks. The wounded and suffering man was taken to the Patriot’s house, but did not survive until morning. Mr. Adams was engaged to speak in some important cause before the Supreme Court of the United States on that day — it is believed in the Amistad case; but his feelings were such that he went to he Court, and stating the circumstances that had occurred, solicited, as a personal favor, the postponement of the case until the next day, which was accordingly granted. The tokens of mourning were placed on Mr. Adams’ door, as if one of his own family had deceased; and the funeral took place from his house, and under his personal superintendence. Truly has it been said of the illustrious sage, ‘that he concentrated affection at home.’

Salem (Mass.) Register.

American Freeman (Prairieville, Wisconsin) Apr 5, 1848

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS ON EDITORS. 

In July, 1822, a plan for an independent newspaper was proposed to John Quincy Adams by some members of Congress, and the necessity of such a paper was urged upon him with great earnestness. He replied:

“An independent newspaper is very necessary to make truth known to the people; but an editor really independent must have a heart of oak, nerves of iron, and a soul of adamant to carry it through. His first attempt will bring a hornet’s nest about his head; and, if they do not sting him to death or to blindness, he will have to pursue his march with them continually swarming over him, and be beset on all sides with obloquy and slander.”

The Berkshire County Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) Jan 26, 1860

When John Quincy Adams was elected to the House of Representatives he found that he was the owner of some shares in the United States Bank. Before taking his seat he sold his shares, on the ground that, as a representative of the people, he should not have an interest in any matter that might come before the House for legislation.

What a blessed thing it would be if our members to-day were to be governed by the same sense of honor.

Allen County Democrat (Lima, Ohio) Mar 16, 1876

Image from Ancient Faces

The late Charles Francis Adams believed in himself as well as in his ancestors. Introduced to speak at a political meeting as the grandson of President John Adams, and the son of John Quincy Adams, he at once said: “The fact of my ancestry has been referred to several times during the evening. I am proud of my father and grandfather, but I wish it distinctly understood that I appear before you as myself, and not as the son and grandson of any man.”

He then went on and made one of the most powerful speeches of the day. The moral is obvious. Every tub has its own bottom. Every American it his own ancestor.

Bangor Daily Whig and Courier (Bangor, Maine) Dec 15, 1886

Didn’t Inspire Him.

When Lafayette visited Virginia he was entertained with other eminent guests by President Monroe at Oak Hill. Leesburg, too, the historic town nine miles from Monroe’s country seat, accorded him honors on that occasion, and at a dinner at that town John Quincy Adams delivered a famous toast to the surviving patriots of the Revolution, who, he said, were like the sibylline leaves — the fewer they became the more precious they were.

On the return to Oak Hill another of Monroe’s guests said to Mr. Adams:

“Excuse the impertinence, but would you not tell me what inspired the beautiful sentiment of your toast today?”

“Why,” replied Mr. Adams, “it was suggested this morning by the picture of the sibyl that hangs in the hall of the Oak Hill mansion.”

“How strange!” remarked the less brilliant guest. “I have looked at that picture many times during the past years, and that thought never occurred to me.”

Adams County News (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) Jun 25, 1910

*****

Previously Posted:

The Life and Death of John Quincy Adams

Musical Catechism

Image from Family Tree Magazine – Photo Detective

MUSICAL CATECHISM.

1. What is a slur?
Almost any remark which one singer makes about another.

2. What notes require more time than others?
Notes of hand signed by bankrupt debtors.

3. What is beating time?
Singing so fast that time cannot keep up with you.

4. What is a rest?
Going out of the choir to get some refreshment during sermon time.

5. What is singing with the understanding?
Marking time on the floor with the foot.

6. What is a staccato movement?
Leaving the choir in a huff, because one is dissatisfied with the leader’s requirements.

7. What is figured base?
The scribbling usually found on the blank pages of singing books, supposed to  be executed usually during sermon time.

8. What is a swell?
A professor of music who pretends to know everything about the science, while he cannot conceal his ignorance.

9. With what propriety may a clarionet be used as an accompaniment of church music?
With about the same as a tin kettle, beat with a pair of tongs, might be used with an AEolian harp.

10. What is a leg-ato movement?
The escape of Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo.

—Lynn News.

American Freeman (Prairieville, Wisconsin) Apr 5, 1848

Morse’s Electro-Magnetic Telegraph: Truly One of the Wonders of the Age

Image from the White River Valley Museum – Morse Code History

THE MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

BY MRS. E.L. SCHERMERHORN.

The following beautiful verses were received by us from Washington by the Magnetic Telegraph; and though the lightning speed with which they were transmitted, adds nothing to their beauty, it was a happy thought to select the wonderful invention, of which they are in praise, as the medium of transmitting them: — [Baltimore Patriot.

Oh! carrier dove, spread not thy wing,
Thou beauteous messenger of air!
To waiting eyes and hearts to bring
The tidings thou were wont to bear.

Urge not the flying courser’s speed,
Give not his neck the loosened rein,
Nor bid his panting sides to bleed,
As swift he thunders o’er the plain.

Touch but the magic wire, and lo!
Thy thought it borne on flaming track,
And swifter far than winds can blow,
Is sped the rapid answer back.

The sage who woo’d the lightning’s blaze,
Till, stooping from the summer cloud,
It played around with harmless rays,
By Fame is trumpeted aloud.

And sure she has a lofty meed
For him whose thought, with seraph reach,
To language gives the lightning’s speed,
And wings electric lends to speech.

Nerved by its power, our spreading land
A mighty giant proudly lies;
Touch but one nerve with skillful hand
Through all the thrill unbroken flies.

The dweller on the Atlantic shore
The word may breathe, and swift as light,
Where far Pacific waters roar,
That word speeds on with magic flight.

Thoughts freshly kindling in the mind,
And words the echoes of the soul,
Borne on its wiry pinious, bind
Hearts sundered far as pole from pole.

As flashes o’er the summer skies
The lightning’s blaze from east to west,
O’er earth the burning fluid flies,
Winged by a mortal’s proud behest.

Through flaming cherubs bar the gate,
Since man by tasting grew too wise,
He seems again to tempt the fate
That drove him first from Paradise!

Daily Sentinel and Gazette (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) May 18, 1846

The Electro-Magnetic Telegraph.

Some remarkable experiments have been made with Morse’s Electro-magnetic Telegraph arrangements, and they have demonstrated surprising facts. Wires extending in length 158 miles were laid down, the Battery, &c., prepared, and matters communicated that distance in almost a second of time! In experiments to ascertain the resistance to the passage of the electric current it was proved that this “resistance increases rapidly with the first few miles, and less rapidly afterwards, until for very great lengths no sensible difference can be observed. This is a most fortunate circumstance in the employment of electro-magnetism for telegraphic purposes, since, contrary to all other modes of communicating intelligence, the difficulty to be overcome decreases in proportion to the distance.”

This is truly one of the wonders of the age.

Bangor Daily Whig and Courier (Bangor, Maine) Oct 26, 1843

Image from Encyclopedia Britannica Kids – Samuel F.B. Morse; Telegraph

THE MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH — ITS SUCCESS.

The miracle of the annihilation of space is at length performed. The Baltimore Patriot of Sunday afternoon contains the action of Congress up to the moment of its going to press — received from Washington by Magnetic Telegraph Despatch.

The Patriot says:

Morse’s Electro Magnetic Telegraph now connects between the Capitol at Washington and the Railroad Depot in Pratt, between Charles and Light streets, Baltimore. The wires were brought in yesterday from the outer depot and attached to the telegraphic apparatus in a third story room in the depot warehouse building.

The batteries were charged this morning, and the telegraph put in full operation, conveying intelligence to and from the Capitol. A large number of gentlemen were present to see the operations of this truly astonishing contrivance. Many admitted to the room had their names sent down, and in less than a second the apparatus in Baltimore was put in operation by the attendant in Washington, and before the lapse of a half minute the same names were returned plainly written. At half past 11 o’clock, A.M. the question being asked here, “what the news was at Washington?” – the answer was almost instantaneously returned — “Van Buren Stock is rising” — meaning of course that his chances were strengthening to receive the nomination on Monday next. The time of day was also enquired for, when the response was given from the Capitol — “forty-nine minutes past eleven.” At this period it was also asked how many persons were spectators to the telegraphic experiments in Washington? — the answer was “sixteen.” After which a variety of names were sent up from Washington, some with their compliments to their friends here, whose names had just been transmitted to them. Several items of private intelligence were also transmitted backward and forward, one of which was an order to the agent here not to pay a certain bill. Here however, the electric fluid proved too slow, for it had been paid a few minutes before.

At half past 12 o’clock, the following wan sent to Washington, “Ask a reporter in Congress to send a despatch to the Baltimore Patriot at 2, P.M.” In about a minute the answer cam back thus: “It will be attended to.”

2 o’clock, P.M. — The despatch has arrived, and is as follows:

One o’clock. — There has just been made a motion in the House to go into committee of the Whole on the Oregon question. Rejected — ayes 79, nays 86.

Half past one. — The House is now engaged on private bills.

Quarter to two. — Mr Atherton is now speaking in the Senate.

Mr. S. will not be in Baltimore to-night.

So that we are thus enabled to give to our readers information from Washington up to 2 o’clock. This is indeed the annihilation of space.

The Clipper of Saturday contains the following information regarding the construction and working of the Telegraph:

The wire, (perfectly secured against the weather by a covering of rope-yarn and tar,) is conducted on the top of posts about 20 feet high, and about 100 years apart.

We understand that the nominations on Monday next will be forwarded to Washington by means of this Telegraph. The following is the Alphabet used:

We have no doubt that government will deem it expedient to continue this Telegraph to Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, when its utility shall have been fully tested. When understood, the mode of operation is plain and simple.

American Freeman (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) Jun 15, 1844

THE LATE CONVENTIONS.

A brief notice of the proceedings of the Tyler and Locofoco Conventions, held in the City of Baltimore on Monday the 27th of May and the following days —

….. [excerpt]

The Convention met again at four o’clock; when, after listening to sundry speeches, they proceeded to ballot for a candidate for the Vice Presidency, which resulted in favor of Silas Wright, of New York, who received 258 votes, and Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, 8. Information of his nomination was immediately communicated through the magnetic telegraph, to Mr. Wright, then at Washington City, who immediately replied, that [he could not accept] — eleven minutes only being taken in forwarding the information, and receiving the answer.

Alton Telegraph and Democratic Review (Alton, Illinois) Jun 15, 1844

THE MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH

On Thursday, the 23d ult, says the New York Commercial, the experiment of carrying the wires of the electro magnetic telegraph across, or rather under the East river, was made with perfect success. The lead pipe through which this communication is made, weighs over six thousand pounds, and was laid at the bottom of the river from a steamboat employed for the purpose, though not with out great risk and labor. It is one continuous line, more than half a mile in length, without joint. Through this extensive line of heavy pipe are four copper wires, completely insulated, so as to insure the transmissions of the electro magnetic fluid. We understand that the various routs north, east, and west, have been delayed at the intervening streams, for the purpose of learning the result of this experiment. The whole work had bee effected under the superintendence of Mr. Samuel Colt engineer and of the proprietors of the New York and Offing Electro Magnetic Telegraph Line — Repub

Alton Telegraph and Democratic Review (Alton, Illinois) Nov 8, 1845

Image from The American Leonardo: A Life of Samuel F.B. Morse

The late experiment of carrying the wires of the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph across, or rather under, the East river, New York, which was at first supposed to have been entirely successful, seems to have failed — the pipes through which the communication was made, having been brought up a few days afterwards, by the fluke of an anchor. Whether the attempt will be renewed, with such improvements as shall appear calculated to remove the cause of the failure, we are unable to say.

Alton Telegraph and Democratic Review (Alton, Illinois) Nov 15, 1845

It is said that the American Magnetic Telegraph proves more efficient than those used in England and France — the former giving sixty signs or characters per minute, and the English and French not over one-fourth of that number. The impressions made by the American invention are likewise better, and more permanent, than those produced by its European rivals.

Alton Telegraph and Democratic Review (Alton, Illinois) Sep 11, 1846

ANSWER
To the Enigma that appeared in the “Telegraph” of last week.

Maine, one of the United States.
Arctic, the name of an Ocean.
Greece, a country in Europe.
Niagara, a river in North America.
Egina, a gulf in Greece.
Thai, a country in India.
Imerina, a country in Africa.
Chili, a country in South America.
Tigre, a State in Africa.
Erie, a lake in North America.
Lima, a city in South America.
Elmira, a town in New York.
Green, a river in Kentucky.
Runac, a river in South America.
Aar, a river in Switzerland.
Parma, a country in Europe.
Herat, a country in Asia.
My whole is a Magnetic Telegraph, a great modern invention.

H.W.W.

Alton Telegraph and Democratic Reivew (Alton, Illinois) Aug 13, 1847

Image from Telegraph History

From the West Jerseyman.
THE MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

Along the smoothed and slender wires
The sleepless heralds run,
Fast as the clear and living rays
Go streaming from the sun;
No peals or flashes heard or seen,
Their wondrous flight betray,
And yet their words are quickly felt
In cities far away.

Nor summer’s heat, nor winter’s hail,
Can check their rapid course;
They meet unmoved, the fierce wind’s rage —
The rough waves’ sweeping force; —
In the long night of rain and wrath,
As in the blaze of day,
They rush with news of weal and wo,
To thousands far away.

But faster still than tidings borne
On that electric cord,
Rise the pure thoughts of him who loves
The Christian’s life and Lord —
Of him who taught in smiles and tears
With fervent lips to pray,
Maintains his converse here on earth
With bright worlds far away.

Ay! though no outward wish is breath’d,
Nor outward answer given,
The sighing of that humble heart
Is known and felt in Heaven; —
Those long frail wires may bend and break,
Those viewless heralds stray,
But Faith’s least word shall reach the throne
Of God, though far away.

Alton Telegraph and Democratic Review (Alton, Illinois) Mar 17, 1848

Discontented People.

Philosophers have a good deal to say about the blessings of contentment, and all that sort of thing. Nothing, however, can be more uncalled for. Contentment is the parent of old fogyism, the very essence of mildew and inactivity. A contented man is one who is inclined to take things as they are, and let them remain so. It is not content that benefits the world, but dissatisfaction. It was the man who was dissatisfied with stage-coaches that introduced railroads and locomotives. It was a gentleman “ill at ease” with the operations of mail wagons who invented the magnetic telegraph. Discontent let Columbus to discover America; Washington to resist George III. It taught Jefferson Democracy; Fulton how to build steamboats; and Whitney to invent the cotton gin. Show us a contented man, and we will show you a man who would never have got above sheep skin breeches in a life-time. Show us a discontented mortal, on the contrary, and we will show six feet of goaheaditiveness that will not rest satisfied till he has invented a cast iron horse that will outrun the telegraph.

Alton Daily Telegraph (Alton, Illinois) Jul 13, 1853

The First Telegraph.

In 1844 when Professor Morse petitioned Congress to appropriate $30,000 to enable him to establish a telegraph between Washington and Baltimore, Ex-Governor David Wallace, of this State, was a member of the committee on ways and means, to which the petition was referred, and gave the casting vote in its favor. The Whig members of the committee all voted for the measure, and the Democratic members all opposed it. The members who voted with Gov. Wallace were Millard Fillmore, Joseph R. Ingersoll, of Pa., Tom Marshall, of Kentucky, and Sampson Mason, of Ohio. Those who voted against it were Dixon H. Lewis, of Alabama, Frank Pickens, of South Carolina, Charles G. Atherton, of New Hampshire, and John W. Jones, of Virginia.

The Indianapolis News says:

“Gov. Wallace’s vote for the appropriation defeated him the next fall when he ran again for Congress. His opponent was Wm. J. Brown. He was, I’ve been told, a shrewd Democratic politician — the father of Austin H. Brown. The Governor and Mr. Brown stumped the district together, and Mr. Brown, all through the campaign, used as his most effective weapon, against his Whig opponent, the fact that he had voted for this appropriation. Pointing his finger at the Governor, he would say, ‘and the man who now asks you for your votes has squandered $30,000 of the people’s money, giving it away to Professor Morse for his E-lec-tro mag-net-ic Tell-lie-graph,’ with a most ludicrous drawl on the word telegraph. With the rough backwoodsmen, and even the people of the towns, the telegraph in that day was considered some sort of a trick or humbug; and many of Mr. Wallace’s staunchest supporters feared there was something wrong in the old gentleman’s head when they heard from his own lips that he really had voted the subsidy. One honest old Shelby county farmer, Mr. Wallace said, took him by the hand and looked into his face with the tenderest pity. Finally his lip quivered, and the tears fell as he sobbed out, ‘Oh, Davy, Davy, how could you ever vote for that d—-d magnetic telegraph.'”

The bill did not pass the Senate until the last night of the session. The story of its passage by that body has been often told, but will bear repeating. We clip the following from a scrap book’ without knowing the name of the author:

There were only two days before the close of the session; and it was found, on examination of the calendar, that no less than one hundred and forty-three bills had precedence of it. Professor Morse had nearly reached the bottom of his purse; his hard-earned savings were almost spent; and, although he had struggled on with undying hope for many years, it is hardly to be wondered at that he felt disheartened now. On the last night of the session he remained until nine o’clock; and then left without the slightest hope that the bill would be passed. He returned to his hotel, counted his money, an found that after paying his expenses to New York, he would have seventy-five cents left. That night ne went to bed sad, but not without hope for future; for, through all his difficulties and trials, that never forsook him. The next morning, as he was going to breakfast, one of the waiters informed him that a young lady was in the parlor waiting to see him. He went in immediately, and found that the young lady was Miss Ellsworth, daughter of the Commissioner of Patents, who had been his most steadfast friend while in Washington.

“I come,” said she, “to congratulate you.”

“For what?” said Professor Morse.

“On the passage of your bill,” she replied.

“Oh, no; you must be mistaken,” said he. “I remained in the Senate till a late hour last night, and there was no prospect of its being reached.”

“Am I the first then,” she exclaimed joyfully, “to tell you?”

“Yes, if it is really so.”

“Well,” she continued, “father remained till the adjournment, and heard it passed; and I asked him if I might not run over and tell you.”

“Annie,” said the Professor, his emotion almost choking his utterance, “the first message that is sent from Washington to Baltimore, shall be sent from you.”

“Well,” she replied, “I will keep you to your word.”

While the line was in process of completion, Professor Morse was in New York, and upon receiving intelligence that it was in working order, he wrote to those in charge, telling them not to transmit any messages over it till his arrival. He then set out immediately for Washington, and on reaching that city sent a note to Miss Ellsworth, informing her that he was now ready to fulfill his promise, and asking her what message he should send.

To this he received the following reply:

WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT.

Cambridge City Tribune (Cambridge City, Indiana) Jan 1, 1880

Image of Sam Houston from Son of the South

MORSE OFFERED HIS TELEGRAPH TO TEXAS STATE

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug 5. — Samuel F.B. Morse offered the Republic of Texas his invention of the electro magnetic telegraph in 1828, but the offer never was accepted, according to a letter by Mr. Morse found in the state library.

The letter, dated 1860, was addressed to General Sam Houston, then governor of Texas, and withdrew the offer, which had been more than twenty years before General Houston was president of the Texan republic. The communication was written from “Po’Keepsie”, taken by librarians to be Poughkeepsie, New York. It is dated August 9, 1860. Starting with “May it please your excellency” the letter read:

“In the year of 1838 I made an offer of gift of my invention of the electro-magnetic telegraph to Texas, Texas being then an independent republic. Although the offer was made more than twenty years ago, Texas while an independent state, nor since it has become one of the United States, has ever directly or impliedly accepted the offer. I am induced, therefore, to believe in its condition as a gift it was of no value to the state, but on the contrary has been an embarrassment. In connection, however, with my other patent, it has become for the public interest as well as my own, that I should be able to make complete title to the whole invention in the United States.

“I, therefore, now respectfully withdraw my offer then made, in 1838, the better to be in a position to benefit Texas, as well as the other states of the Union.

“I am with respect and sincere personal esteem

“Your Obedient Servant,

“Samuel F.B. Morse.”

Librarians are looking for the letter of 1838 offering the electro-magnetic telegraph to Texas. They are also seeking to find out what “other patent” Mr. Morse spoke of.

Ada Weekly News (Ada, Oklahoma) Aug 10, 1922

This Standard Gasoline advertisement ran in the Abilene Reporter News in 1937

Good Brown Bread

Image from Yankee Magazine online – Granny’s Brown Bread – Recipe at the link

BROWN BREAD.

I’m a Yankee, born ‘mong the rye and corn
Of the Eastern States, ’tis said;
And a tribute I’ll pay, in a rhyming way,
To their loaves of good brown bread.

I’ve lived at best, six years in the West,
Where wheat is used instead,
But in all my round I’ve seldom found
A loaf of good brown bread.

Since I have roamed to my boyhood’s home,
The rocks and hills I dread;
Yet in spite of that I’m growing fat,
Every day, on good brown bread.

You still may make white bread and cake,
By style and fancy led,
But I tell you, sir, that I prefer
A loaf of good brown bread.

N. E. Farmer.

The Berkshire County Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachustetts) Oct 22, 1858

*****

Here are a couple of old recipes found in a Google book search:

Yankee Brown Bread – 1848

To read about the “pearlash” mentioned in the above recipe: Food Facts & Trivia

Apparently, in 1848, they did not steam the bread, but baked it in the oven. This recipe also lacks molasses, so I guess it’s a more “primitive” brown bread.

Boston Brown Bread – 1893

This recipe includes buttermilk and molasses, and is steamed for five hours. The Granny’s Brown Bread linked with the picture, only steams for two to three hours.

The Icy Stage

Image from Golden Landmarks

A TERRIBLE SITUATION

We copy from a Montreal paper the following description of the loss of a mail stage in the ice, followed by the death of the driver, and a narrow escape from death by a passenger:

The night was intensely cold and dark; a drifting snow had fallen, which had obscured the track, and as the stage was on its way from Port St. Claire to Lachine, the horses got off the track and gradually edged to the unfrozen portion of Lake St. Louis. There were but two passengers, Mr. Ogden of Quebec, and Mr. Russell of Ancaster. When the leaders plunged into the water, Mr. Ogden and Mr. Russell both leaped from the stage; the first made good his footing on the main ice, but Mr. Russell’s cloak unfortunately got entangled, and before he could extricate himself, he found himself in deep water.

He clung to the stage, but as the night was dark he could see nothing of his companions. The horses swam with the stage about two miles until it grounded on a shoal, near the Isle Dorval, where the horses perished. Owing to the intense cold, Mr Russell’s clothes were immediately frozen to the stage, otherwise he must have been swept off, as the wind was blowing strongly. Soon after the plunge, Mr. Russell called out to the driver, Mudge, who answered that he was on a sheet of ice and drifting down; but the night was so dark that they could not see each other. Mr. Russell afterwards heard him shouting at intervals, some distance ahead of himself, and there is every probability that the unfortunate man was burried down the Lachine rapids.

Image from L’Île Dorval – Dorval Island

Mr. Russell lay on the stage, where it grounded, exposed to the dreadful inclemency of the weather, for eight hours, from half past one in the morning to half past nine, at which hour he was rescued. When Mr. Ogden escaped, he made his way to the nearest house for assistance for his companions. He procured men and ropes, and returned to the scene of the accident, but discover no trace of the stage; hearing voices, as he thought, in the direction of the Isle Dorval, he made the best of his way to Lachine, and roused the inmates of La flamme’s hotel.

A number of men and canoes were immediately put in requisition, and the party proceeded in a direction in which they thought they hear some one shouting; but owing to the dense fog they wandered up and down for five hours, and finally did not discover Mr. Russell until within thirty feet of the spot where he lay frozen to the stage. — When found his situation was distressing in the extreme; from the continuous beating of the surf over him as he lay, he had become completely encased in ice, to such an extent that it was found necessary to clear it from his with axes, before he could be detached from the stage.

He was perfectly sensible when found, but in a most exhausted state; both hands and the left knee were frozen. Mr. Russell still lies in a most precarious state; and we fear there are but faint hopes of his recovery. The body of Mudge has not been found. The mail bags were recovered, but up to Saturday, the cold was so intense that the state had not been removed from the spot where it grounded.

Alton Telegraph And Democratic Review (Alton, Illinois) Mar 17, 1848

Icaria: Another Failed Utopia

Image from America and the Utopian Dream – Yale University

The Icarian Community.

(Chas. Gray in Annals of Iowa.)

Doubtless comparatively few citizens of Iowa are aware that within its borders, in the county of Adams, about seven years ago, expired the last dying embers of a communistic movement which at one time was probably the greatest socialistic enterprise the world has ever seen, numbering its enthusiastic admirers and supporters by the thousands. I refer to the French colony, established about three miles east of Corning, in about 1858, under the name of “Icarian Community.” At no period of its life in America did Icaria boast so large a membership as many other socialistic communities which have at various times existed in the new world; indeed the zenith of its prosperity seems to have been reached before the Icarians departed from France with the intention of establishing a colony in America, in February, 1848.

Image of Etienne Cabet is from the le bibliomane moderne blog.

Etienne Cabet, founder of Icaria, was conspicuously identified with the revolutionary movements in France during the early portion of the last century. In 1840, after his return to Paris from political exile in England, he published his “Voyage en Icarie,” similar to More’s “Utopia,” in which an imaginary traveler discovers an ideal community based on the socialistic tenets which form the greater part of the foundation of all communistic doctrines. The French people, on account of the then recent political upheavals, seem to have been in just the right mood to accept Cabet’s ideas as promulgated in the “Voyage en Icarie,” and soon many thousands were enrolled under his banner, with the avowed intention of establishing a community in the new world where the precepts of Icaria might be put into practice. To this end a large grant of land was secured in the then newly admitted state of Texas, and in February, 1848, sixty-nine enthusiasts, constituting what its members proudly termed the “advance guard,” set out from Havre, France, for America. On arriving at their destination, near the present site of Dallas, Texas, they were disappointed in finding that the land grant, instead of being one large tract as they desired and had expected, consisted of portions of sections scattered over a large area. This fact, combined with their utter lack of knowledge of agriculture, as exemplified in western ranch life, and the further fact that they were stricken with an epidemic of malarial fever, determined them to give up their present site for a colony in Texas and seek other and more congenial quarters.

Nauvoo, Illinois, having just been deserted by the Mormons, was the most promising field, and the remnant of the Texas colony, joined by a second party from the main body of Icarians in France, in all about 250 or 300 persons, settled in the former stronghold evacuated by the disciples of Joseph Smith. This was in 1849. Cabet himself was with the colonists, having arrived with one of the later contingents from France. Nauvoo, however, was only a temporary camping ground, for soon a large tract “of land was secured in Adams county, Iowa, whither a portion of the colonists came later. During the sojourn in Nauvoo the membership was increased to about 500 and the financial fortunes of the Icarians seem to have been recuperated for a time at least, until dissensions arose which led to a separation of the two factions engaged in the controversy. The trouble seems to have arisen chiefly from Cabet’s desire to arrogate too much dictatorial authority to himself. As a result of this disruption Cabet, at the head of the minority party, went to St. Louis, Mo., where he died a few days after their arrival there. His followers, something less than 200 in number, sought employment, established themselves in a colony based upon communistic theories, and led a precarious existence for about five years, when the experiment was wholly abandoned. This branch was known as the Cheltenham wing of Icaria, so named from the estate upon which they settled near St. Louis.

The misunderstanding at Nauvoo which led to the separation of the two factions, and also the death of Cabet, doubtless had much to do with the loss of enthusiasm on the part of the great mass of his disciples in France, who were anxiously awaiting the selection of a permanent abiding place for Icarians when they would join the commune. Evidently the cold, hard facts of existence could not be harmonized with the Utopian dream of the founder. At any rate, no more recruits came to America from France.

In 1860 the major faction remaining in Nauvoo, consisting of something more than 225 persons, removed to Adams county, Iowa, settling upon the land previously acquired there, and incorporating under the laws of the State as an agricultural society. The community owned a tract of 3,000 acres, but the same was heavily mortgaged, and at that time a suitable market for farm products was a long distance from Icaria. Corning constituted the local trading point. However, by cultivating the sheep-raising industry and taking advantage of the excessively high price of wool during the civil war, together with a surrender of more than half their land, the Icarians finally succeeded in getting out of debt.

Here, then, in Iowa, really began the permanent work-aday life of these communistic enthusiasts. A large edifice was erected which served as an assembly room for the Icarians and also as a dining hall. Here were held all the public gatherings of whatever nature, and they were not a few. An amateur theatrical was often produced, and not infrequently a social ball enlivened the tedium of their existence. Outsiders were frequently invited to attend these social gatherings. Surrounding the assembly hall were the residences of the members, who preserved the family relation sacred. Everything in the community was held in common, and all funds went into a common treasury. A president had general supervision over the affairs of the society in its relation to the outside world, while the duties and assignments of members were made by a board of directors; thus, one attended to making the purchases of food, another of clothing, another directed the labor of the members, etc. Matters of more than ordinary import were discussed in the general assembly, where a majority vote decided the action to be taken. Except in particular instances, women were excluded from the privileges of the ballot, and the usual age restrictions were placed upon the men. So far as I have been able to learn there never was occasion for complaint because of any member failing to fulfill his duties along the lines of manual labor. The peculiar zeal or enthusiasm of the members seems to have been such that each regarded his own portion of the work in building up the community as a sacred duty—a labor of love and sacrifice for the well-being of others, and all entered into the spirit of this idea with commendable zeal, to the extent that the assets of Icaria at one time*reached the sum of $00,000 or $70,000. While a majority were employed in agricultural pursuits, yet other vocations were represented in the community, each member having the right to exercise his preference in the matter of occupation so long as the interests of the colony were subserved and the daily requirements were met. A tailor looked after the wearing apparel of Icarians, and a shoemaker performed a similar office in his line. A flouring mill, sawmill, blacksmith shop and other industries were fostered. The importation of Percheron horses at one time furnished no mean source of revenue to the Icarians, who were among the first to recognize the demand for imported stock in the agricultural country where they were located. The journalistic field was filled by the publication of various periodicals during the life of the colony. The ‘”Revue Icarienne” was an exceptionally well edited journal, and for many years had a wide circulation in France among the devotees of Cabet. In the houses that constituted the homes of these Frenchmen were not a few men of superior intelligence who had had the advantages of education, and the library of the community contained something more than 2,000 volumes of the best literature. The remnant of this fine library is now in possession of Tabor college, in Fremont county, Iowa.

Revue Icarienne newspaper image from the Western Illinois University website

Necessarily, in a community founded upon such principles as those of Icaria, where each individual enjoyed the same privileges as the other, the matter of dress and other expenditures was placed upon a sensible basis. Plain, but serviceable clothing was worn; good, wholesome food was served, and the right sort of literature was placed in the hands of its members. In matters of religion each individual might exercise his own ideas. Sunday was observed in the usual orthodox way and a moral atmosphere permeated the colony, though no religious dogmas in any way entered into the tenets of Icaria. In this particular Icaria occupied a field peculiarly apart from most socialistic experiments, the very foundations of which are usually certain religious theories. A portion of the time when the adjoining country was sparsely settled, Icaria furnished its own schools. While in a sense exclusive, in its dealings with the outside world the community always exercised tact and judgment, commanding and receiving the respect of all. Its members participated in the political movements of the country, and at the time of the civil war, if I am correctly informed, every male member qualified to enlist was enrolled in the Union army, where they made enviable records as soldiers. Mr. E. F. Bettannier, the last president of the colony and still a resident of this county, has always been an active Republican; and, indeed, such has been the political affiliation of every one of the Icarians—a rather peculiar fact. As the accumulation of wealth could not operate for the aggrandizement of the individual, there was small ambition among the members to build up great riches, and a reasonable degree of prosperity seemed to be very satisfactory to all concerned, though their early experience had impressed upon them the importance of keeping out of debt.

So long as the older members, who had together borne the hardships and privations of the early efforts of the community, were in control, matters ran along with little friction in the Iowa community. However, when the younger generation arrived at the age where their voices should be heard in the councils, various little dissensions arose, which culminated in 1877 in a split between the younger members and the old. After various unsuccessful efforts to settle the difficulties, an agreement was at last entered into whereby the old party secured possession of the eastern portion of the domain, and the younger party remained at the old site of the colony. An equitable and satisfactory division of land and effects was arrived at, and the old party proceeded to establish themselves in the new location under the name of New Icaria. The young people continued their organization in Iowa until 1883, when the few remaining (several of its members having withdrawn) went to Cloverdale, Cal., where had already gone several ex-Icarians. In California a new society was formed under the name of “Icaria Speranza,” which existed for several years and then disintegrated.

The veterans of the old party, however, secured a new charter under the name of New Icaria and began anew the labors of establishing themselves. At that time (1883) their membership consisted of just thirty-nine persons, I am informed by credible authority. The organization continued very much on the old lines until 1895, when the membership had become so depleted that it was thought best to disband. Accordingly on February 16th of that year E. F. Bettannier, the last president of the society, was appointed receiver of Icaria and its affairs were adjusted as quickly as possible. An amicable division of the property was arranged and in 1901 the receiver made final report to the court and was discharged. At the time of dissolution there were twenty-one members in the community, with sufficient property to place all in fairly comfortable circumstances.

Thus ended one of the great world movements along the line of socialistic reform—an experiment which has so often been launched, and which has as frequently arrived at the same end as Icaria. In some respects this community was radically different from any other of which I have any knowledge, notably in having no religious ideals to unify its membership; but it did not escape the common fate of all communistic settlements. However, it is not my purpose to theorize in this article, but briefly to give the history of one of the unique undertakings which for a time flourished within the borders of our commonwealth.

The requisites for admission into Icaria were an abiding faith in the communistic idea, and the turning over of all one’s real and personal property to the society, for which no compensation was made and which could not be reclaimed, according to the constitution. A member’s time and services were always at the disposal of the community, and he received no pecuniary reward therefor. An absence of three days without consent from the proper authorities rendered a member liable to censure or expulsion. Offenses against the society were punished by public reprimand. In aggravated cases the offender might be deprived of the privileges of membership. Propositions of names for admission must be made when three-fourths of the voting members were present, and a nine-tenths vote was necessary to elect. Novitiates were received on probation of three to six months. Withdrawals could be made on giving fifteen days’ notice of such intention, and expulsions required a nine-tenths vote of all the members entitled to franchise. The expulsion of a member included his wife and minor children, the latter being at all times subject to the will of a majority during the membership of their parents in the community. The president, secretary, treasurer, and board of directors were elected in February of each year, on the anniversary of the sailing of the first Icarians from France to America.

In concluding, it may not be amiss to mention some of the notable persons who have at one time or another been identified with Icaria. Alcander Longley, founder of the Mutual Aid community at Glen-Allen, Mo., was a member some time in the early 60’s. He was identified with no less than nine different communistic settlements and edited a newspaper called the “Communist” at various times and places during his checkered career. Prof. A. A. Marchand, several times president of Icaria and an able editor of  “Revue Icarienne,” was a talented member whose sterling qualities were much admired in Corning. He was one of the first of the vanguard to leave France, and was also a member at the time of the dissolution of the colony, after which he removed to Florida. A. Picquenard, a member of the society at Nauvoo, became celebrated as an architect. Our own state house and the capitol building of Illinois are monuments to his genius. Don Ignatius Montaldo was a friend and companion of Garibaldi and Chateaubriand, the distinguished French author and statesman. Hearing of the Cabet movement, he joined the colony at Nauvoo. After several years he left, but later rejoined in Iowa, where he died. His eldest brother was judge of the supreme court in Spain. Another brother, who was crippled in the Union army, was at one time professor of Spanish in the Naval academy at Annapolis, Md. Antoine von Gnuvain was a descendant of a French nobleman wlio had been decorated with the cross of the Legion of Honor. Mr. Gauvain was educated in Berlin. He edited a newspaper in New York for a time and then joined the Icarians. Ho enjoyed the distinction of being one of the best educated men in Iowa, for a number of years giving private instruction in Greek, Latin, German and French to pupils who eagerly sought his tutelage. E. F. Bettannier, last president and receiver of the colony, has for many years been a conspicuous citizen of Adams county, identified with many of her progressive movements. The satisfactory adjustment of such large interests in closing up the affairs of the community proves him a man of superior business ability. To him the writer is indebted for practically all the facts herein contained, for which acknowledgment is hereby made.

Corning, Iowa, May, 1903.

Adams County Free Press (Corning, Iowa) Jul 22, 1903

*****

For a brief rundown on the Icaria history and colonies:

THE STORY OF ICARIA
Compiled by Mabel Schweers
in Reflections of Icaria
Vo. 7, No 1, Spring 2004
pages 6-10

*****

Previously posted – A similar failed communal experiment: Ruskin Colony: Socialism Fails Everytime it’s Tried

Wisconsin – An Acrostic

FOR THE ROCK RIVER PILOT:

A C R O S T I C

W ild and romantic are they boundless woods,
I n nature’s loveliness thy prairies bloom;
S weet are thy lonely glens and solitudes;
C heerful thy villages, and free from gloom.
O ‘er thy fair realm the plagues that feed the tomb,
N e’er sweep destructive. Every wayward breeze,
S oft as lnd’s zephyrs laden with perfume,
I nto thy humblest homes wafts health and peace.
N ature’s chief favorites; gifts of heaven’s best grace.

Rock River Pilot (Watertown, Wisconsin) May 17, 1848

The Tee Total Pledge

THE PICTURE. —

Note 1, the object at which they are aiming, viz, the removal of a nuisance, — the total overthrow of the rum casks. All the parties engaged seem to have this object in view, and all are laboring in their respective ways to accomplish it.

Note 2, the different kinds of instruments used for the purpose. Every one must be struck with the admirable adaptedness of the Teetotalers‘ fixtures to accomplish the object. Here is a fulcrum with a broad base, immovably fixed at a suitable distance, upon a solid foundation; lever of suitable size and length is nicely adjusted under the nuisance, and rests upon this fulcrum. Our teetotal men throw their weight upon the extreme end of the lever, and it would seem as certain as the laws of mechanics that the whole range of rum casks must tilt over.

But just as they begin to exult in the prospect of certain success by their admirable contrivance, one of them hastily cries out, “Hold, hold, neighbors, not too fast. You fulcrum is too near; I am afraid you will do injury to our cause by this precipitate measure. Let me place my moderation fulcrum under the lever, a little further back. We must be cautious, gentlemen, that we don’t injure the cause. Bear away upon my fulcrum while I hold on and steady it.”

These honest and zealous neighbors, ever ready to do any thing to remove the evil, again throw their whole weight upon the lever. They pull, and tug, and sweat, till they almost break the lever itself. But the rum casks stand firm; they budge not an inch. The moderation man persists in holding on to his fulcrum, and insists upon it that his plan is the only one that can succeed.

Now is it not perfectly apparent that all efforts upon “moderation” are utterly useless, and that the strength expended by it is lost.

Is it not then perfectly evident, that Mr. Moderation, however well meant his efforts, is in reality standing in  the way of more effectual measures, and doing more hurt than good to the cause.

Is it not also as clear as noonday, that if we would succeed, “moderation” should be laid aside, and all our efforts concentrated upon the “teetotal pledge.”

We commend the above illustration to the consideration of our moderate friends. It certainly contains matter for their serious reflection.

Alton Observer (Alton, Illinois) Jul 20, 1837

Image from the Melissa Launay Fine Arts website.

From the New England Spectator.
TEMPERANCE CELEBRATION.

The Temperance dinner and celebration was held at the Marlboro’ hotel, which was opened on that day, by Mr. Rogers. Mr. Fletcher, member of Congress from this district, presided.

We were much gratified to find such an array of talent and influence at a tee-total dinner, on the 4th of July, and at the opening of a tee-total hotel. It augurs well to the cause. Among others, were the editors of the Advocate and Mercantile Journal, Mr. Hallett and Mr. Sleeper; of the Clergy, Rev. Dr. Pierce, Mr. Pierpont, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Stow, Mr. N. Adams, Mr. Colman, Mr. Clough, &c.; and of other distinguished citizens, John Tappan, Moses Grant, Stephen Fairbanks, Dr. Walter Channing, &c.; and Mr. Snelling and others of the legal profession. There was a degree of hilarity suited to the occasion; and we did not see but that the inspiration of wit and poetry was as well excited by cold water as it usually is by wine.

At the close of the dinner, the following appropriate old composed for the occasion by Rev. Mr. Pierpont, was sung:

In Eden’s green retreats,
A water-brook, that played
Between soft, mossy seats
Beneath a plane-tree’s shade,
Whose rustling leaves
Danced o’er its brink, —
Was Adam’s drink,
and also Eve’s.

Beside the parent spring
Of that young brook, the pair
Their morning chant would sing;
And Eve, to dress her hair,
Kneel on the grass
That fringed its side,
And make its tide
Her looking glass.

And when the man of God
From Egypt led his flock,
They thirsted, and his rod
Smote the Arabian rock
And forth a rill
Of water gushed,
And on they rushed,
And drank their fill.

Would Eden thus have smiled
Had wine to Eden come?
Would Horeb’s parching wild
Have been refreshed with rum?
and had Eve’s hair
Been dressed in gin,
Would she have been
Reflected fair?

Had Moses built a still,
And dealt out to that host,
To every man his gill,
And pledged him in a toast,
How large a band,
Of Israel’s sons
Had laid their bones
In Canaan’s land?

“Sweet fields, beyond” death’s flood
“Stands dressed in living green;”
For, from the throne of God,
To freshen all the scene.
A river rolls,
Where all who will
May come and fill
Their crystal bowls.

If Eden’s strength and bloom
COLD WATER thus hath given,
If, even beyond the tomb,
It is the drink of Heaven,
Are not good wells,
And chrystal springs
The very things,
For our HOTELS?

Alton Observer (Alton, Illinois) Jul 27, 1837

Image from the Ohio History Central website.

BOYS, DO YOU HEAR THAT? —

There is a society of young ladies in Hartford, who pledge themselves not to receive the addresses of any young man who has not signed the tee-total pledge.

At a temperance meeting, not long since, a fair one offered the pledge to her friend, saying, “John, will you sign that?”

He hesitated, and finally declined. “Then,” said she, “you will understand, I shall not be at home next Sunday evening.“

Madison Express (Madison, Wisconsin) Apr 14, 1842

‘The moon,’ said a total-abstinence orator, ‘is not quite ‘tee tee total,’ but she lets her ‘Moderation’ be known to all men, for she only ‘fills her horn once a month.

‘Then she fills it with something very strong;’ observed a by stander, ‘for I’ve often seen her half gone.’

‘Ay,’ said another, ‘and I have seen her ‘full.”

Tioga Eagle (Wellsboro, Pennsylvania) Jul 13, 1842

Image from Karen’s Whimsy

“A frog,” says Professor Pump, “is an amphibious animal, as vat likers on cold water, consequently he inwented the teetotal society. He always walks with a jump he does; and ven he sits down he has to stand up. Being a lover of native melodoes, he gives free concerts every night, he does himself. He perwides music for the millyon which he has been so called because it is usually heard in the mill pond. He is a varmint wot aint so bad when broiled on a griddle. No sir ree.“

Rock River Pilot (Watertown, Wisconsin) Jul 5, 1848

Image from the National Women’s History Museum website.

Maine Liquor Law.

(CONCLUDED FROM THE LAST.)
[excerpt]

It is worthy of note that a large proportion of the Tee-totalers when they go a journey, leave their tee-total principles at home and become temperance men, and take a little wine or brandy occasionally for the stomach’s saxe and their many infirmities. Again it is asserted that a large majority of the people in the State are in favor of the Maine Law. —

Democratic State Register (Watertown, Wisconsin) Mar 15, 1852

MARCH OF MIND. —

An honest farmer in this State married a Miss from a fashionable boarding-school, for his second wife. He was struck dumb with her eloquence, and gaped with wonder at his wife’s learning.

“You may, said he, bore a hole through the solid airth, and chuck in a mill-stone, and she will tell you to a shavin’ how long the stone will be going clean threw. She has kimistery and cockneylogy, and talks a heap about ox hides and chimical affinities.

I used to think that it was air I sucked in every time I expired, howsomever, she telled me that she knew better — she telled me that I had been sucking in two kinds of gin! ox gin and high gin! I’m a tumble town tee total temperance man, and yet have been drinking ox gin, and high gin all my life.”

The Adams Sentinel (Gettsyburg, Pennsylvania) Nov 28,  1860

From Wiki

Teetotal Huzza.

BY JOHN ASQUITH.

As I rambled about one fine summers night,
I passed by some children who sung with delight,
And this was their ditty they sang at their play,
Teetotal forever, teetotal huzza.

Our fathers were sots, they had learned to love ale,
Our mothers were ragged, and their faces were pale;
The teetotal breeze blew their rags all away,
Teetotal forever, teetotal huzza.

Our bonnets were torn, and our shoes went click clack;
Our frocks went to uncles and could not get back;
But master Teetotaler did fetch them away,
Teetotal forever, teetotal huzza.

Our houses were naked, we had scarcely a chair,
The strong drink had broken the  crockery ware,
We have now chairs, and tables, and china so gay,
Teetotal forever, teetotal huzza.

We lived on dry bread, and just what we could get,
And if we had nothing we scarcely durst fret.
We have now beef and pudding, on each Sabbath day,
Teetotal forever, teetotal huzza.

We lived in deep sorrow, and darkness, and strife,
And who knows the ills of a drunkard’s child’s life.
But now we are happy, can dance, sing and play,
Teetotal forever, teetotal huzza.

Cedar Falls Gazette (Cedar Falls, Iowa) Feb 12, 1869

A water-spout — A teetotal lecture.

Indiana Progress (Indiana, Prennsylvania) Jan 29, 1874