Chapter 9

Never visit a sick person (especially if the complaint be of a contagious nature) with an empty stomach, as this disposes the system more readily to receive the contagion. And in attending a sick person, place yourself where the air passes from the door or window to the bed of the diseased; not between the diseased person and any fire that is in the room, as the heat of the fire will draw the infectious vapor in that direction.

MOTHER SHIPTON'S PROPHECY.--The lines known as "Mother Shipton's Prophecy" were first published in England in 1485, before the discovery of America, and, of course, before any of the discoveries and inventions mentioned therein. All the events predicted have come to pass except that in the last two lines.

Carriages without horses shall go, And accidents fill the world with woe.

Around the world thoughts shall fly In the twinkling of an eye.

Waters shall yet more wonders do, Now strange, yet shall be true.

The world upside down shall be, And gold be found at root of tree.

Through hills man shall ride, And no horse nor ass be at his side.

Under water man shall walk, Shall ride, shall sleep, shall talk.

In the air men shall be seen In white, in black, in green.

Iron in the water shall float, As easy as a wooden boat.

Gold shall be found 'mid stone, In a land that's now unknown.

Fire and water shall wonders do, England shall at last admit a Jew.

And this world to an end shall come In eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

CAPTAIN KIDD, a notorious American pirate, was born about 1650. In 1696 he was entrusted by the British Government with the command of a privateer, and sailed from New York, for the purpose of suppressing the numerous pirates then infesting the seas. He went to the East Indies, where he began a career of piracy, and returned to New York in 1698 with a large amount of booty. He was soon after arrested, sent to England for trial, and executed in 1701.

VALUE OF OLD AMERICAN COINS.--1793--Half cent, 75 cents; one cent, $2. 1794--Half cent, 20 cents, one cent, 10 cents; five cents, $1.25; fifty cents, $3; one dollar, $10. 1795--Half cent, 5 cents; one cent, 5 cents; five cents, 25 cents; fifty cents, 55 cents; one dollar, $1.25. 1796--Half cent, $5; one cent, 10 cents; five cents $1; ten cents, 50 cents; twenty-five cents, $1; fifty cents, $10; one dollar, $1.50. 1797--Half cent, 5 cents; one cent, 5 cents; five cents, 50 cents; ten cents, $1; fifty cents, $10; one dollar, $1.50. 1798--One cent, 5 cents; ten cents, $1; one dollar, $1.50. 1799--One cent, $5; one dollar, $1.60. 1800--Half cent, 5 cents; one cent, 3 cents; five cents, 25 cents; [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'ten cents 1'] ten cents, $1; one dollar, $1.10. 1801--One cent, 3 cents; five cents, $1; ten cents, $1; fifty cents, $2; one dollar, $1.25. 1802--Half cent, 50 cents; one cent, 2 cents; ten cents, $1; fifty cents, $2; one dollar, $1.25. 1803--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, 2 cents; five cents, $10; [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'ten cents, 1'] ten cents, $1; one dollar, $1.10. 1804--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, $2; five cents, 75 cents; ten cents, $2; twenty-five cents, 75 cents; one dollar, $100. 1805--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, 3 cents; five cents, $1.50; ten cents, 25 cents. 1806--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, 3 cents. 1807--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, 3 cents; ten cents, 25 cents. 1808--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, 5 cents. 1809--Half cent, 1 cent; one cent, 25 cents; ten cents, 50 cents. 1810--Half cent, 5 cents; one cent, 5 cents. 1811--Half cent, 25 cents; one cent, 10 cents; ten cents, 50 cents. 1812--One cent, 2 cents. 1813--One cent, 5 cents. 1815--Fifty cents, $5. 1821--One cent, 5 cents. 1822--Ten cents, $1. 1823--One cent, 5 cents; twenty-five cents, $10. 1824--Twenty-five cents, 40 cents. 1825--Half cent, 2 cents. 1826--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, 50 cents. 1827--One cent, 3 cents; twenty-five cents, $10. 1828--Half cent, 1 cent; twenty-five cents, 30 cents. 1829--Half cent, 2 cents. 1830--Half cent, 2 cents. 1832-'33-'34--Half cent, 2 cents. 1835--Half cent, 1 cent. 1836--Fifty cents, $3; one dollar, $3. 1838--Ten cents, 25 cents. 1839--One dollar, $10. 1846--Five cents, 50 cents. 1849-'50--Half cent, 5 cents. 1851--Half cent, 1 cent; twenty-five cents, 30 cents; one dollar, $10.90. 1852--Twenty-five cents, 30 cents; fifty cents, $2; one dollar, $10. 1853--Half cent, 1 cent; twenty cents (with no arrows), $2.50; one dollar, $1.25. 1854--Half cent, 2 cents; one dollar, $2. 1855-'57--Half cent, 5 cents; one dollar, $1.50. 1856--Half cent, 5 cents; one dollar. $1.50. 1858--One dollar, $10. 1863-'4-'5--Three cents, 95 cents. 1866--Half cent, 6 cents; three cents, 25 cents; five cents, 10 cents; twenty-five cents, 30 cents. 1867--Three cents, 25 cents; five cents, 10 cents. 1868-'9--Three cents, 25 cents. 1870--Three cents, 15 cents. 1871--Two cents, 10 cents; three cents, 25 cents. 1873--Two cents, 50 cents; three cents. 50 cents. 1877-'8--Twenty cents, $1.50. These prices are for good ordinary coins without holes. Fine specimens are worth more.

LEANING TOWER OF PISA.--The leaning tower of Pisa was commenced in 1152, and was not finished till the fourteenth century. Tho cathedral to which this belongs was erected to celebrate a triumph of the Pisans in the harbor of Palermo in 1063, when allied with the Normans to drive the Saracens out of Sicily. It is a circular building, one hundred feet in diameter and 179 feet in extreme height, and has fine mosaic pavements, elaborately carved columns, and numerous bas-reliefs. The building is of white marble. The tower is divided into eight stories, each having an outside gallery of seven feet projection, and the topmost story overhangs the base about sixteen feet, though, as the center of gravity is still ten feet within the base, the building is perfectly safe. It has been supposed that this inclination was intentional, but the opinion that the foundation has sunk is no doubt correct. It is most likely that the defective foundation became perceptible before the tower had reached one-half its height, as at that elevation the unequal length of the columns exhibits an endeavor to restore the perpendicular, and at about the same place the walls are strengthened with iron bars.

What causes the water to flow out of an artesian well?--The theoretical explanation of the phenomenon is easily understood. The secondary and tertiary geological formations often present the appearance of immense basins, the boundary or rim of the basin having been formed by an upheaval of adjacent strata. In these formations it often happens that a porous stratum, consisting of sand, sandstone, chalk or other calcareous matter, is included between two impermeable layers of clay, so as to form a flat [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'porus'] porous U tube, continuous from side to side of the valley, the outcrop on the surrounding hills forming the mouth of the tube. The rain filtering down through the porous layer to the bottom of the basin forms there a subterranean pool, which, with the liquid or semi-liquid column pressing upon it, constitutes a sort of huge natural hydrostatic bellows. Sometimes the pressure on the superincumbent crust is so great as to cause an upheaval or disturbance of the valley. It is obvious, then, that when a hole is bored down through the upper impermeable layer to the surface of the lake, the water will be forced up by the natural law of water seeking its level to a height above the surface of the valley, greater or less, according to the elevation of the level in the feeding column, thus forming a natural mountain on precisely the same principle as that of most artificial fountains, where the water supply comes from a considerable height above the jet.

HOW MANY CUBIC FEET THERE ARE IN A TON OF COAL.--There is a difference between a ton of hard coal and one of soft coal. For that matter, coal from different mines, whether hard or soft, differs in weight, and consequently in cubic measure, according to quality. Then there is a difference according to size. To illustrate, careful measurements have been made of Wilkes-barre anthracite, a fine quality of hard coal, with the following results:

Cubic-feet Cubic feet in ton of in ton of Size of coal. 2,240 lbs. 2,000 lbs.

Lump 33.2 28.8 Broken 33.9 30.3 Egg 34.5 30.8 Stone 34.8 31.1 Chestnut 35.7 31.9 Pea 36.7 32.8

For soft coal the following measures may be taken as nearly correct; it is simply impossible to determine any exact rule, even for bituminous coal of the same district: Briar Hill coal, 44.8 cubic feet per ton of 2,240 pounds; Pittsburgh, 47.8; Wilmington, Ill., 47; Indiana block coal, 42 to 43 cubic feet.

The dimensions of the great wall of China and of what it is built.--It runs from a point on the Gulf of Liantung, an arm of the Gulf of Pechili in Northeastern China, westerly to the Yellow River; thence makes a great bend to the south for nearly 100 miles, and then runs to the northwest for several hundred miles to the Desert of Gobi. Its length is variously estimated to be from 1,250 to 1,500 miles. For the most of this distance it runs through a mountainous country, keeping on the ridges, and winding over many of the highest peaks. In some places it is only a formidable rampart, but most of the way it is composed of lofty walls of masonry and concrete, or impacted lime and clay, from 12 to 16 feet in thickness, and from 15 to 30 or 35 feet in height. The top of this wall is paved for hundreds of miles, and crowned with crenallated battlements, and towers 30 to 40 feet high. In numerous places the wall climbs such steep declivities that its top ascends from height to height in flights of granite steps. An army could march on the top of the wall for weeks and even months, moving in some places ten men abreast.

Limits of Natural Vision.--This question is too indefinite for a specific answer. The limits of vision vary with elevation, conditions of the atmosphere, intensity of illumination, and other modifying elements in different cases. In a clear day an object one foot above a level plain may be seen at the distance of 1.31 miles; one ten feet high, 4.15 miles; one twenty feet high, 5.86 miles; one 100 feet high, 13.1 miles; one a mile high, as the top of a mountain, 95.23 miles. This allows seven inches (or, to be exact, 6.99 inches) for the curvature of the earth, and assumes that the size and illumination of the object are sufficient to produce an image. Five miles may be taken as the extreme limit at which a man is visible on a flat plain to an observer on the same level.

THE NIAGARA SUSPENSION BRIDGE.--For seven miles below the falls, Niagara river flows through a gorge varying in width from 200 to 400 yards. Two miles below the falls the river is but 350 feet wide, and it is here that the great suspension bridge, constructed in 1855 by Mr. Roebling, crosses the gorge, 245 feet above the water. The length of the span, from tower to tower, is 821 feet, and the total length of the bridge is 2,220 feet. The length of the span, which is capable of sustaining a strain of 10,000 tons, is 821 feet from tower to tower, and the total length of the bridge is 2,220 feet. It is used both for railway and wagon traffic, the wagon-road and foot-way being directly under the railway bed. There is another suspension bridge across the Niagara river at a distance of only about fifty rods from the falls, on the American side. This is only for carriages and foot travel. It was finished in 1869. It is 1,190 feet long from cliff to cliff, 1,268 feet from tower to tower, and 190 feet above the river, which at this point is a little over 900 feet in width.

THE SPEED OF SOUND.--It has been ascertained that a full human voice, speaking in the open air, calm, can be heard at a distance of 400 feet; in an observable breeze a powerful human voice with the wind is audible at a distance of 15,840 feet; the report of a musket, 16,000 feet; a drum, 10,560 feet; music, a strong brass band, 15,840 feet; very heavy cannonading, 575,000 feet, or 90 miles. In the Arctic regions conversation has been maintained over water a distance of 6,766 feet. In gases the velocity of sound increases with the temperature; in air this increase is about two feet per second for each degree centigrade. The velocity of sound in oxygen gas at zero C. is 1,040 feet; in carbonic acid, 858 feet; in hydrogen, 4,164 feet. In 1827 Colladon and Sturm determined experimentally the velocity of sound in fresh water; the experiment was made in the Lake of Geneva, and it was found to be 4,174 feet per second at a temperature of 15 degrees C. The velocity of sound in alcohol at 20 degrees C. is 4,218 feet; in ether at zero, 3,801; in sea water at 20 degrees C., 4,768. By direct measurements, carefully made, by observing at night the interval which elapses between the flash and report of a cannon at a known distance, the velocity of sound has been about 1,090 per second at the temperature of freezing water.

DESCRIPTION OF THE YELLOWSTONE PARK.--The Yellowstone National Park extends sixty-five miles north and south, and fifty-five miles east and west, comprising 3,575 square miles, and is all 6,000 feet or more above sea-level. Yellowstone Lake, twenty miles by fifteen, has an altitude of 7,788 feet. The mountain ranges which hem in the valleys on every side rise to the height of 10,000 to 12,000 feet, and are always covered with snow. This great park contains the most striking of all the mountains, gorges, falls, rivers and lakes in the whole Yellowstone region. The springs on Gardiner's River cover an area of about one square mile, and three or four square miles thereabout are occupied by the remains of springs which have ceased to flow. The natural basins into which these springs flow are from four to six feet in diameter and from one to four feet in depth. The principal ones are located upon terraces midway up the sides of the mountain. The banks of the Yellowstone River abound with ravines and canons, which are carved out of the heart of the mountains through the hardest of rocks. The most remarkable of these is the canon of Tower Creek and Column Mountain. The latter, which extends along the eastern bank of the river for upward of two miles, is said to resemble the Giant's Causeway. The canon of Tower Creek is about ten miles in length and is so deep and gloomy that it is called "The Devil's Den." Where Tower Creek ends the Grand Canon begins. It is twenty miles in length, impassable throughout, and inaccessible at the water's edge, except at a few points. Its rugged edges are from 200 to 500 yards apart, and its depth is so profound that no sound ever reaches the ear from the bottom. The Grand Canon contains a great multitude of hot springs of sulphur, sulphate of copper, alum, etc. In the number and magnitude of its hot springs and geysers, the Yellowstone Park surpasses all the rest of the world. There are probably fifty geysers that throw a column of water to the height of from 50 to 200 feet, and it is stated that there are not fewer than 5,000 springs; there are two kinds, those depositing lime and those depositing silica. The temperature of the calcareous springs is from 160 to 170 degrees, while that of the others rises to 200 or more. The principal collections are the upper and lower geyser basins of the Madison River, and the calcareous springs on Gardiner's River. The great falls are marvels to which adventurous travelers have gone only to return and report that they are parts of the wonders of this new American wonderland.

DESIGNATIONS OF GROUPS OF ANIMALS.--The ingenuity of the sportsman is, perhaps, no better illustrated than by the use he puts the English language to in designating particular groups of animals. The following is a list of the terms which have been applied to the various classes:

A covey of patridges, A nide of pheasants, A wisp of snipe, A flight of doves or swallows, A muster of peacocks, A siege of herons, A building of rooks, A brood of grouse, A plump of wild fowl, A stand of plovers, A watch of nightingales, A clattering of choughs, A flock of geese, A herd or bunch of cattle, A bevy of quails, A cast of hawks, A trip of dottrell, A swarm of bees, A school of whales, A shoal of herrings, A herd of swine, A skulk of foxes, A pack of wolves, A drove of oxen, A sounder of hogs, A troop of monkeys, A pride of lions, A sleuth of bears, A gang of elk.

THE BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.--The monument is a square shaft, built of Quincy granite, 221 feet high, 31 feet square at the base and 15 at the top. Its foundations are inclosed 12 feet under ground. Inside the shaft is a round, hollow cone, 7 feet wide at the bottom and 4 feet 2 inches at the top, encircled by a winding staircase of 224 stone steps, which leads to a chamber immediately under the apex, 11 feet in diameter. The chamber has four windows, which afford a wide view of the surrounding country, and contains two cannons, named respectively Hancock and Adams, which were used in many engagements during the war. The corner-stone of the monument was laid on the fiftieth anniversary of the battle, June 17, 1825, by Lafayette, who was then visiting America, when Webster pronounced the oration. The monument was completed, and June 17, 1843, was dedicated, Webster again delivering the oration.

THE SEVEN WISE MEN OF GREECE.--The names generally given are Solon, Chilo, Pittacus, Bias, Periander (in place of whom some give Epimenides), Cleobulus, and Thales. They were the authors of the celebrated mottoes inscribed in later days in the Delphian Temple. These mottoes were as follows:

"Know thyself."--Solon.

"Consider the end."--Chilo.

"Know thy opportunity."--Pittacus.

"Most men are bad."--Bias.

"Nothing is impossible to industry."--Periander.

"Avoid excesses."--Cleobulus.

"Suretyship is the precursor of ruin."--Thales.

FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE MISSISSIPPI.--Nicholas J. Roosevelt was the first to take a steamboat down the great river. His boat was built at Pittsburgh, in the year 1811, under an arrangement with Fulton and Livingston, from Fulton's plans. It was called the "New Orleans," was about 200 tons burden, and was propelled by a stern-wheel, assisted, when the wind was favorable, by sails carried on two masts. The hull was 138 feet long, 30 feet beam, and the cost of the whole, including engines, was about $40,000. The builder, with his family, an engineer, a pilot, and six "deck hands," left Pittsburgh in October, 1811, reaching Louisville in about seventy hours (steaming about ten miles an hour), and New Orleans in fourteen days, steaming from Natchez.

THE EXPLORATIONS OF FREMONT.--- Among the earliest efforts of Fremont, after he had tried and been sickened by the sea, were his experiences as a surveyor and engineer on railroad lines from Charleston to Augusta, Ga., and Charleston to Cincinnati. Then he accompanied an army detachment on a military reconnoissance of the mountainous Cherokee country in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, made in the depth of winter. In 1838-9 he accompanied M. Nicollet in explorations of the country between the Missouri and the British line, and his first detail of any importance, after he had been commissioned by President Van Buren, was to make an examination of the river Des Moines, then on the Western frontier. In 1841 he projected his first trans-continental expedition, and left Washington May 2, 1842, and accomplished the object of his trip, examined the South Pass, explored the Wind River mountains, ascended in August, the highest peak of that range, now known as Fremont's Peak, and returned, after an absence of four months. His report of the expedition attracted great attention in the United States and abroad. Fremont began to plan another and a second expedition. He determined to extend his explorations across the continent; and in May, 1843, commenced his journey with thirty-nine men, and September 6, after traveling over 1,700 miles, arrived at the Great Salt Lake; there made some important discoveries, and then pushed on to the upper Columbia, down whose valley he proceeded to Fort Vancouver, near its mouth. On Nov. 10, he set out to return East, selecting a southeasterly course, leading from the lower part of the Columbia to the upper Colorado, through an almost unknown region, crossed by high and rugged mountains. He and his party suffered incredible hardships in crossing from the Great Basin to Sutter's Fort on the Sacramento; started from there March 24, proceeded southward, skirted the western base of the Sierra Nevada, crossed that range through a gap, entered the Great Basin; again visited the Great Salt Lake, from which they returned through the South Pass to Kansas, in July, 1844, after an absence of fourteen months. In the spring of 1845 Fremont set out on a third expedition to explore the Great Basin and the maritime region of Oregon and California; spent the summer examining the headwaters of the rivers whose springs are in the grand divide of the continent; in October camped on the shores of the Great Salt Lake: proceeded to explore the Sierra Nevada, which he again crossed in the dead of winter; made his way into the Valley of the San Joaquin; obtained permission, at Monterey, from the Mexican authorities there, to proceed with his expedition, which permission was almost immediately revoked, and Fremont peremptorily ordered to leave the country without delay, but he refused, and a collision was imminent, but was averted, and Fremont proceeded toward San Joaquin. Near Tlamath Lake, Fremont met, May 9, 1846, a party in search of him, with dispatches from Washington, ordering him to watch over the interests of the United States in California, as there was reason to believe that province would be transferred to Great Britain. He at once returned to California; General Castro was already marching against our settlements; the settlers rose in arms, flocked to Fremont's camp, and, with him as leader, in less than a month, all Northern California was freed from Mexican authority; and on July 4 Fremont was elected Governor of California by the American settlers. Later came the conflict between Commodore Stockton and General Kearney; and Fremont resigned his commission as Lieutenant-Colonel, to which he had been promoted. In October, 1848, he started across the continent on a fourth expedition, outfitted at his own expense, to find a practicable route to California. In attempting to cross the great Sierra, covered with snow, his guide lost his way, and the party encountered horrible suffering from cold and hunger, a portion of them being driven to cannibalism; he lost all his animals (he had 120 mules when he started), and one-third of his men (he had thirty-three) perished, and he had to retrace his steps to Santa Fe. He again set out, with thirty men, and, after a long search, discovered a secure route, which led to the Sacramento, where he arrived in the spring of 1840. He led a fifth expedition across the continent in 1853, at his own expense, and found passes through the mountains in the line of latitude 38 deg., 39 min., and reached California after enduring great hardships; for fifty days his party lived on horse-flesh, and for forty-eight hours at a time without food of any kind. These are the barest outlines of five expeditions of which many volumes have been written, but will hint at Fremont's work in the West which entitled him to the name of the "Pathfinder."