Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, January 3, 1873, Page 2

W THE CHIC 0 DAILY TRIBUNE: FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 18% —_— MANITOBA. - Something About the Canadian Pacific Railway. Difficulties of the éoute East of the Red River. Tho Line Capable of Being Used.in the ihe Summer Only---Intense Coldaess of the Winter. ‘Wixxreea, Nov. 27, 1872, T the Editor of The Chicago Trivune : ¥ Bm: During s recent trip into the United Btates, nothing seemed to puzzle and annoy me more than the fact that ninety-nino people ot of o hundred in Chicago, when aeking the part of the country I came from, ssemed utterly ig- norant of the exjstence of : THE “ CITX OF WINNEPEG;" nay, more, they looked in blank amazement when I spoke of Manitobs, and were even impo- lite enough to ask in what part of the States it laid ; but what still more astonnded me was that when I mentioned the fact of its being in Brit- ish North America, they invariably sdded, “Ob, sh! yes,I know; it'sin Canads you mean.” Now, my dear gir, let me assuro you that no greater insult- could be offered to s native- ‘born Winnipegger than to be called a Canadian : it ia an actual term of roproach,~—a vile slander which the poorest half-breed will resent, and I _think with some show of reason, as I hope to ‘prove to you before this letter concludes. I think that, even thus far in my letter, you will perceivo that my feelings have been wounded, for, as & leading citizen of Winnepeg, I had be- gun to fancy no small beer of it ; the wonderful progress it has mado daring the last two-years Liad really led me to imagine that in time it would equal, if it:did not excel, your boasted City of Chieago, and that, if we only once got TIE CANADIAN PACIFIC BAILWAY 3 brough it's —ah! well, I must be carefnl what Ieay on that subject, for Iknow you Amer- icans cre awfolly skeptical about it, and between ourselves, I don't believe in it quite g0 much as I did before my journey South; in {fact, Mr. Editor, itis with ‘a half-confidential kind of foeling I vrite to sny, that my journcy bas opened my oyes to & good many things of which I was before ignorant. In the first placo T find that Winnapag in not much thought of soath of Pembina ; und, what ie still more ex- traordinary, I really believe that Brother Jona- #han is not everlastingly on tho lookout to gob- ble us up (a3 we are continually led to beliove ap hero); and, after seaing a Lttle of IMinois Tows, Nobraskn, and Eanses, my prido i s goo deal pulled down, and I half-think now that we poy, rather. dearly for tho privilege of calling oursclves * British subjects,’ when I compare our climate with that of the States just inentioned. Infact, I may a8 well out with the trath at once, and tell you that I Lave mado’ up ‘my mind not to be humbugged ary longer, even st the risk of being considered a renegndo by Archdeacon McLean (who, botween our- selyes, is an awfal man for Clurch and State, and respectability in religious matters). Ko, sir, I won't, I won't stand it any longer ; tho state ments made in the Canadian papers_aro awfally Titrae, and especially abont that railway, Wiy, £ir, I'vo heard at least half-a-dozen of theic own surveyors say the thing 15 AN DIPRACTICADILITY east of tho Red River ; that, if they phe?e tho whele Dominion to construct it, it would take that, and more too. Now, sir, what I want to =now is this: “Who's pulling the strings ?’ «Who ara the gufiua that are to make their pilo out of it ?” 'That's what I'want {o know, Ono ovening Iast snmmer, I happencd to bo at a house where a lot of " theso 3aun§ surveyors lodged, and & pretty brisl conversation was Lept up eamong .them on this vory wbjecty uad I gathored, from what théy said, thaftho original ides of starting from Fort William, on the morth ahioro iof Lake Buperior, was abandoned, as amore prac- ticable route had becn discovere BETWEEN LAKE NIPIGON AND LAKE WINNEPEG. In this they all agrco; but one young fellow muggested that thoy might bo getting a Little too farnorth, in_which I thought he wasn’t far ‘wrong, considering it is at loast six degrees north of Winnepeg, or_on tho 5Gth parallel of lati- €udo. Gracious! it made ma shiver to think ofit. Just fancy the difficulty of running loco- motives in winter even in this latitude of Min- nesota,—nay, even of Northern Xllinois,—and then judge what it will be nearly twenty degrecs farther north. Nov, gir, there is another point on which they #an't be induced to tell the truth here, and that is § 3 AS REGARDS THE TEMPERATURE. Dear lifo ! Lo it used {o ‘make mo langh, Tast winter, (o sea our leading paper, the Mani- oban, coolly state, after one of the cold snaps, that, from a register kept by our worthy fellow- towneman, Mr. —, the lowest range of the thormomelor wae, on such and such day, when it fell to 35 degrees below zero, when; for dava both béforo sad after, my unfortunate bit of quicksilver bad covered itself up in the bulb to Eeep iteelf warm. On ono occasion, I was talk- ‘ing to & fellow-townsman, who aasured me that Lie spirit-thermomwetor, on the 2ith and 25th of December, 1871, regittered 55 degrees below zerg! Fancy being one of 8 party of travellers on the road between Nipigon and Winnepeg at such a time 85 that, where there is not, and I can’t believe ever will be, a house in the whole distance ; Zor what would peoplo be_doing et~ tling up there ? The summers herc barelyreach 1o 180 days,—never that long without frost. There is one_thing that bothers ma ‘more than enough, and that is, why the Canadians, before bresldag up house and hometo settle here, don’t como and see for themselves. Truly some do, but thoy always uee it ot the best—in sum- mer ; if thoy want to gee it in winter thoy must stop, for, ouco into Maditoba after September and you are very much liko A BAT IY A TRAR,— sou can't gof away, unless e{"on take a dog-sleigh forit. After leaving Morehead (the crossing of the Northiern Pacific in Minnesota), the emigrant o Manitoba ‘leaves everything in the shape of civilization behind him ; ho p!nnges into a coun- 4ry of scarcity ; food for himsel? and family in~ creases in price every mile he goes ; oats, that in 8t. Paul aud St. Cloud cost 85 cents a bushel, are £1.40 at Georgetown, and gradually riso as ha proceeds_north, and 80 on iith every necessary of life. But TIE GREATEST WANT of all others inthis countryis timber; itis all ‘but a timberless region, a8 mflebe proved by the fact that the commonest Iumber, last summer, Totched from $90 to $40 o thousand ; tho bulk of that sold was brought from AlcCauley’s mill, at Fort Abercrombie, and drafted down the Bed River a distanco of 800 miles. Now, I want to Jmow how this country is evef going to be what tho designers of the Cansdisn Pacific Railroad Tepresent; under these circumatancee. have. had sevoral opportunities lately of conversing with one or two of s * THE §CODTS 2 5 employcdtgy tho .Canadian n.rt(x;omm!\?o“ to ac- compaty the surveyi ics, and wasnot a Tet1o iniorosted in then, (o thoy axe, o8- & aloy very. peculiar men,—something after Cooper’s Leatherstocking stylo, tacitum’ and reticent al- most to a fault; but, once hit the right nail on tho head, and you will got moro trath and common rense out of them than s whole house. full of the mrrorors (for iho laiter axe, asa rule, the =ons of leading members of tho communiy in Canads, and some Englishmen, but all afilicted moro or less with that idiotic ah! ah! style of the young English swell of the preseat day). Ono cvening, & friend of mino and mysolf .+ happened .to fall in with one of tha scouts, strolling along the river-bank. A cheerful good avening,” and a hearty shake of the hand, were introductory to s long conversation on the sub- ject of the railway; and for the first timo I got what I considered reliable information as to tho country between Collingwood and Lake Winne- peg via Lake Nip'gou. Tho cunnh'i along the eastern shorea of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron e describes as being elmost as bad, in an ca- gineering point of view, as that between Thun- der Bay and tho Lake of the Woods, which oven tize Canadiun authoritics Lsve condomned as im- practicable. This diffienlty it is proposed to meet by steambest service between Collingwood end Lake Nipigou; if 8o, this at once constitutes the Canadian Pacific Railroad into one of SUMMER ERVICE ONLY. or from, say, the 20th of May to the 20th of No- vember. The country batwesn Nipigon and Winnepeg bo described as principaily consisting of prairic-land, butias cold, desolate, miserable rogion, fit ouiy foribe fur-hunter, and all but timberless on the lino of theroad, although tiere is fine pino, or rather spruco and tamarack, scutlz of it, but in a country that is almost inac- cesgible even to teamsters. It is said thero are coal deposits both on the_ Aesiniboine and Sas- katchawan Rivers, but Ihave never met with ag one who had actually seen them. A leading officer, however, of the Hudson’s By Company onco admitted tome, in a way that led me to believe thero wes truth in such’ reports, but that it was not their interest to be too communicative on the subject. Tho _country between Winnepeg and tho Rocky Mountains is 3 ONE VAST LEVEL PDAIRIE, admirable, in every sense of the wotd, in an en- gineering point of view, and uve%lnule thoy go west_ameliorntes the climate. Tho countryis precisely the same as that crossed by the North- ern Pacific Railroad in Dakots, but in winter pro- portionately colder, in that one is about 300 ‘miles north of the other. Thero aro two passes through the mountains, both_described as per- foctly within the reach of ordinary enginecring abilities ; but, once on the other side, and again they are in a country, between the Cascado and Rocky Mountains, every mile of which will COST A8 MUCH 48 FIFTY on tho prairica. But I havonot much foar of this part of the road, * Impossibility,” in an en- ginoering sonso, ia & word that may be struck out of the dictionary, if the money is to the foro, the work can be done, if the climate is only of & ‘nature to admit it, and here there is no fault to be found on that score; in fact, the scheme is parfectly feasiblo from our cify west, bnt both climate and the faco of the country, east of us, ronder it, in my opinion, impracticsble, excoptas a summer ronte. With reference to_the animosities existing be- twoen the half-breeds (or Metis) and the Cana~ dians, Iwill reserve them for another letter, o8 Ihave s little advice to offer those proposing emigrating from Canada o this conntry in the coming spring. “Yours'most truly, Tue Forore Mavon or WINNEPEG. SR R CONIFERAE OF THE ROCKY R'CUNTAINS. J. G. Enapp, Esq., of Madison, Wis., has, in the “Transactions of tho Wisconsin Acsdomy of Sciences,” an interesting article on the Con- iferm, or evergrcens, of the Rocky Mountains, some of which he recommends for cultivation by our farmers and landscape-gardeners. We hope our nurserymen will give them a fair trial, g their successful introduction would add much to the beauty of the surroundings of our West- era homes. : Mr. Knapp suggoats that pines from tho moist climnte of Europe, and from the lower wooded districts of America, often feil in our dry cli- ‘mate, and that thoso from the Rocky Mountains would staud s much better chance to meet the hopes and wishes of our cultivators. The writer first notices Pinus Edulis, callod also the Pinion Pine by the Mexicans. It bears 5 8weet and nutritions nut, which is highly val- ued 28 an articlo of food by tho Indians.’ He describes the tree as follows : g 1t §s usually a small tree, short-bodied, With numer- ous crooked branches, and a denso follage. Tho wood is very hard and fall of piteh, compact and brit- tle, and, when dry, 18 equal fo tho beat of hickory for fugl, 1t'is first gecn near tho foot-hills of the moun- taing, on rocky points and ridges, and in the outlying ills, where ft can recelve but a scant supply of molsture. Grain in its neighborhood s only grown by irrigation. Hero the summers are only long enongh toripen besns, and tho emallest and earliest varitics of corn. Tho Dest trees are found in regious 100 clovated to produce any culttvated crop. It avoids the beds of sircams, and {5 seldom found in tho Lottoms of valleys wherd watar from melting snows or rains may run, On high table-lands, ridges, cud steep, rocky mountain-sides, it takes its strongest hold and tlourishes best. T'he leaves aro ig pairs, two inches long, durk green, coarse, and ridged, and'sre persistent for two or more years. - Tho Gives s denso shode, and makes an exccllent wind-breaker. It is tco slow of growth for "general use ns an ornamental or forest tree; but, on Dard, rocky, dry ridges, and at the brow of stecy ble-lands, it would thrivewell. When, at the end of 3 bundred 'years, the tree bas reached thirty or forly feot in Lieight, sud 38 many in diamicter at {ts ronnded top, it possesses great beauty, aud gives its bieunial crop of yuts, and would then be_greatly esteemed. It would never suffer from tho draughts of snmmer, ar e likely to perish from the cold or winds of winter, a8 it thrives to tho very limit of the pines, and neszly to b line of daily frosts. This description is accurate, as every one who has - vigited the Rocky Mountains and noticed Pinion Pino can testify. In favored localities, it growsin large numbers at coneidersblo dis- tance from its fellows, and gives tho landscape the appesrance of a beautiful park. It then ex- cludes underbrush and other trees. Such a park of surpagsing beauty can bo found on the south- eastern spur of the mountain along the rosd leading from the mines on Mounts Lin- coln and Bross to Fairplay, in Color- ado. On- tho' high, gravelly ridges slong the Arkansas,” below the Twin Lakes, and especially- alovz the rosd that leads to tho Poncho Pags across the dry, gravelly ridgo between the Arkansaa and its South Fork, this tree grows in the' greatost perfection and abundance. For the locations mentioned by Mr. Knapp; it would well ropay the cost and the labor of ita introduction. The Pinus Englemani is also recommendod for cultivation. = It grows:'high up on the mountains, resembling, when seen at a dietance, the Pitch Pine of the Enstern States. Mr. Enapp gives tha following facts in regard toit : Tho trees grow tall and siraight, with smooth etems, snd produce a yellowlsh kind of ‘wood. _Tliough tis wood is hard, the tree lius but liitle. s2p-wood, and, in most, cases, i is tolerably clear of pitch. When sawed, the timber is applicd to all purposcs whera while ping inused by us, and it may be reckoned us a good bullding material, 1t is o rapidiy growing tree, and more orna- mental than the Auétrian or Red Pine. Thousands of theso pines have boen peeled by the Indians fn time of famine with them, for tho eake of tho cambrium, which s eweet and nutritious, and nsed, by them for food, In this respect it soems allied to tho Sugar Pine of California. Pinus Flexilis is {he White Pine of the Rocky Mountains, In contonr, it resembles the White Piue of the Northern Statcs. ' The dark green leaves grow in fives, and are six inches in length, fine and flexible, —hence its pame, The bark of old ‘treea is dark and decply farrowed. The cones are besutifully formed, four {nehes long, and thres in their greatest diameter ; Bceds aro as largs us peas, sweet, olly, and edible. - The tree is a large onc, often reachinga hundred feet in height, with limbs siarting ~ out about twen- g, St from tho gromad. It grows in 0 same dry lands 28 (ho other pines of the region, 2nd yeaches from the foot-hills to the line of dally frosts. This would make a highly orusmental treo where s dark shiadeis desired ; and its long, fexible Teaves xnd Jaree cones pivo ¢ froat beatty whon mear at hand, and its conical-formed top and green foliago make it a graceful feature in the landscope, It would mako an excellent sheller 23 & wind-breakor fo protect 1;\:1“1:‘1-1::55, crops, and animals from the eflccts of the ‘The writar describes the Douglas Spruce as atall, straight troe, where it grows in thickets, or has o ;:?r'mpply of waler, a3 1n the canons of the’ moun- tains, In dry and open gronnds, it holds its long, horizontal Nmba near tha ground, and with thess formea perfect caulcal top, il o' diametor noarly cqual to ils sltitude, The foliage is denso and dar] green. Tho leaves oro omo and one-half incues long, growiug in two ronks as a slender epray, much like tho hemlock' . I Jnow f ' mo ~ mpruce that would bo e valuablo an scquisition to our ornsmental trees and tree-belts 2a this would be, nlly for dry sit- uations. Tho periods of long ‘dronght in ‘its uative Babitat do niot affect it ; snd it fourishes sbove tho pines, thua proving incoutestinly ita hardy character, ‘© may thereforo safely concludo that the Douglas Spruce wenld thrive whore all other species of the family woild fail from the cffects of drought and cold. To the Silver Fir, which Mr. Knapp names the Abics Nea Mezicana, Mr. Enapp ecarcely does justice. In, our -judgment, it is incom- pirsbly the most beantiful eversreen in America. Its common name—what the botanists call it wo do not happen to know—is derived from tha color of its lesves. Their glossy pale green surface reflects in the sunbeams a soft, silvery shaen of indescribable besuty. The tree is tall, limbe rather short, surronnding tho bank closely for a lopg distanco, and densely covered with leaves. It grows in rather scattored clumps in tho Rocky Mountains; but, in the Bierras of California, groves of it can bo found that would make o tree-fancier wild with delight. Itis probable that it would roquire earofu} culture to coax it to grow in our Iower landscapes, for it Qiadsins to live in a natural state below about 7,000 feat aboro . the ees. It selects moist, rich ts along tho streams for its habitat, rather the dry sides of tho mountains. If it is poesible to domesticato it, and induce it readily togrowin our yards and parks, it should bo dore, for it would form an attraction which no other evergreen conld possibly equal. —_— —Who owns_the harbor is a question that has been raised in New Haven, Ct..—in other words, whether shore-owners are eutitied to the * flats™ of the harbor and may build wharves in the water frontago of their iois, or whether the city has exclusive right to this property. The issue has been beforo the State courts several times, in one form or another, the city claiming the right by o grant from Charles IL. in 1662, and hag been decided in favor of the private owners, and a contributor to the Register cites thesa do- cisions and one of the United States Supreme Court in & similsr case in Philsdelphia, 85 pretty conclusive evidence of the validity of the shore- - WASHINGTON. Credit Mobilier and the Contest in Massachusetts ' and . Boutwell wvs. Dawes. Butler The National Library---Postal Telegraphy and Chorpenning «~-- A Fire- Proofl Material From Our Own Correspondent. WasmINGTON, Dec, 29, 1872, MASSACITUSETTS. The contest in Messachusctts now lies between Dawes and Butler. Dawes was the architect of tho present Governor of Massachusetts, Wash- burn. After a strong contest’ng Worcester, the ‘Western Massachusetts erowd, backed by the re- spectability of the State, beat Butler. No soon- er wasg the choice made than Washburn began to preparo the way for Dawesto be the next Sena- | ator. Butler waa tho lawyer of the Credit Mobi- lier Company, but ho refased to take any stock or contingent in the enterprises of Messrs. Ames and Alley. Being tho attorney, however, for the Crodit Mobilier, hio knew what persons wero implicated in the transactions of his clionts. He helped Boutwell to beware of any such compli- cation, and, theroforo, he and Boutwell- appear at present with clean skirts. Butler abets Bout- wall for the Senatorship, and expects Boutwell's asgistance for himself for tho Governorship, while both havoe the pomts to declare war upon Daxwes for Laving talken Credit Mobilier stock. The State of Massachusetts is very much dis- gusted over the fact that this vast scandal of the Credit Mobilier comes down to the Puritan Com- ‘montealth in its origtn end inception. There is 8 disposition in the State to drop the men iden- tified with this ewindle. Massachusetts has ‘been shown to be the ewindling Commoniwealth of the country through tho aperations of Amea, _Alley, otc. AMES ET AL Onkes Ames knows very well that he has no chanco to reappear in Congress, where he is classified with tho bigamist Bowen, with Roder- ick Batler, and with tho othors who have used Congress for base purposos ; and ho will be glad enough to got ont without being expelled for bribery. His miserable’ colleagme, Alley, is al- ready out, und, tharefore, not amenable to legis- Iative sction. But ono Gooch has beon clocted to succeed General Banks, and to drive on the canse of Onkes Ames ; while one Williams hag been mado a_Congrossman, in_tho new district sbout Cambridge, iu order, it is belioved, topress tho jobs of tho Central Division of tho Pacific Railroad. PATTERSON, OF NEW IAMPSHIRE, & was beaten for tho Senatorship by Edward Rol- lins, on account of this samoe Credit Mobilier. Patferson hed snid:. “If you_elect Ed. Rolling to the Scaate, you mersly clect n lobbyst for the Union Pacific Railrond.” When thia Was r- ported to Rolling. ho gaid : *Is it worso to have an sgent for tho railroad than to have boen its bireling, 53 Pattorson was, taking Credit Mo- bilier sfock?" Both -sides woro shut Tp, end both Rollins ond Patterson lost tho Henete, while anothor man got it. has hed tho mistortuno of donying that he over held any stock in the Credit Mobilier. He be- longs to that weak class of public_men who aro ensily frightened, and who deny in sdvanco, to the injury of their reputation. Hia explanation now is, that he wished to investin tho Codar Repids’ Railrond, snd had $900 with which to e tho ~ invostment. He went to Oakes i Ames, and e8 eeid : 50C can bo made to tnm out better if you will add 2100 to it and buy in the Credit Mobilier.” Dawes wanted to know what the Crodit Mobilier might be, and Ames replied that he would gmmln e hum in writing 10 per cont, provided Le Dswes, would sharo an greater dividends with him, Ames. Very mucl in the same manner Henry Wilson was taken in by Ames. Scoficld, Kelley, Allison, and Tim ilson, besides Garfiold end Binghsm, got into the samo box. When Jerry Black was made attorney for Harry M'Comb, he told nll that .he Imow in advence, and sil hastened to unload. “Bocause,” said Black, “you men will ali:Lo ruined when this disclosure is made,” : M. CAKES AMES has been the dirty sheep of New England in all these transactions. Nothing could be lower than his reletion this regard, cxcept the speech of ~ James Brooks, who' sttempted to bluff off inspection. The onus of tho entiro_transaction is upon Oakes Ames, who fastenod tho members of Con- gress down to 10 ger cent upon their invest- ment, end mado them agreo to divido the pddi- tional dividend with himaelf. Ho kept the stock of tho Credit Mobilier corporation 88 trustee, and proclaimed to be * placing it” whero it wonld do the most good, whercashowas making nearly all tho dividends. - Dissatiefied with his partiali- ty and meanness in “placing” thostock, 3'Comb ‘bronght suit against Ames, and so ‘this whole ‘matter has como out. Had nobody made a de- mial, it might havo looked well enongh; but Davios and many other men rashed. on o show that they bad no stock in tho Credit Mobilier, and now they must expiain the fact of their stock, as well as their denials, The Committes appointed by Congress tolook into the guestion means to do nothing until Con- grctstunh adjourn, when it is hoped that the matter - ‘WILL BLOT OVER. For one, [ do not mean to eee the matter blow over, but o follow it along from man to .man, untif the country becomes satisfied that tho Con: gross on which it relics is corrupt, as thia tran- saction must sbow it to bo. MASSACHUSETTS AGAIN. Having bravely knocked ovorboard 3fr. Snm- ner, Massachusotts noturally falls into thehands of Butler, At this reading thero soems to bo littlc doubt but that Bontwell will como to tho Senate, aud Butlor carry the Gubernatorial nom- ination; This will mako Butler an eminent can- didate for the Presidency, in the list with Boat- well, Wilson, Morton, and Elihu Washburno. CONELIZG R gupposed that o was in lino for the Prosidency, but, like all men of Littlo motives, ho stopped to carly tho Now York Tribune,jast 85 Ganoral Somgbody stopped, on tho batilo-feld of Gar- mantosn, to- dislodgo o few Grenadiers from some old houso, and lost, the main engagem ent. The New York Zribunc hea merely riscn up and sat down upon Conkling, and Whitelaw_Reid is 8 more notable man in country to-day than TRoscoo. Evon thie Now York Times—that great mush-making apparatus—hes gone back upon Roscoo, for o Loars that tho caboodle who con- trol it mean to. support Morgan, or somebody elso, against Conkling for tho Nenate. Therods one dopartimont at Washington which may ostend itsolf sud its uses indofaitely, sud ill do nobody injury. - I mean e THE LMRARY, 2 now nontnimn; nearly one-quattor of a million of books. The Joint Commitico havo at last swakened to the ‘importance of this collection, which is tho best monument of the_ Nation, ing, indeed, its fullest history, and it is pro- | posed to take ono of the condemned squares on Capitol Hill, and ecrect a fire-proof edifice npon ‘the newest principles, adaptable to literary stu- dents and public readers in a great_ bibliotheque, At present, the L is littlo. better than a show, and o circulating shop to give novel-reading to the wives of members. Its space 18 contracted, and but four tables aro nllotted to general resders. The now building would probably tako ihe name of tho Library of tho United States and afford space for several hundred readers an students, and, ot the ssme time, give area to preserye and exhibit such conscientious collec- tions as Catlin’s Aboriginal Portraits, which are now buried away in that imponderable ‘institu- tion, the Smithsonian. The Documents of Con- gress and the Executivo Dopartments require a completo sasortment, indexing, and redistribu- tion; for they contain in themselves the most perfect history of the operations of Govern- ment, Theso documents aro st present stowed away in vaults Am}lgamstu, where they are monld- cring or lost. Collected and bound, they would make a library in themselves, and, if added to such books 28 are essential for daily nse by Con- gressmen, would completely fill the shelves of the present library. There are now five district libraries in the Capitol edifico : tho House col- lection, the Senate collection, and the Document collection,—each under separate management ; the law library is in the basement, and the gen- eral library on the upper tioor. Twics a fire has swept out the collection of books in the build- ing, and the loes of the third library would be s amity to civilization. GOVERNOR OB, who has condoned all his sins ‘lg joining the nartr and bes nat had it watasmad & sin o have “ cago, and Boston—has had **Your’ bolted tho regular ticket in his native Stals, has been calling on the President proparatory to his Russian trip. His sppointment excitps 1o com- ment, althongh some of the temperance men havo been proffering sdvice as to the proper fiunnent_ion between cold water aud St. Peters- TOSTAL TELEGRAPHY AND THE CHORPENNING Tho fight about postal telography began i o about postal telegraphy began in a respecttul way, and has ot down £o bo & bitter; scandal-making contention. Ar. Orton and Creswell interrupted each;other at & recent henri‘n‘f, and, taking advantago of tha situation, the advocates of tho Chorpenning clim are again_ demanding that it be rovised and passed.” Judgo Diack wuperintouds” this™ job, amongst the innumerahle others in which ho is retained, and now the newspapers tro -taking suspiciously accordsnt views with -“Black an Creswoll. ~ A femalo writer,—oditross of tho Chronicle here, I -think,—has launched a book upon the equity of the Chorpenning cuso; and a Donn Piatt hag assailed Dawes for doing just what Piatt praised him for at the tim e. arresting this fraud. If Mr. Creswell has no other reason for wishing this claim again adju- dicated, it is that he may slip ont from tho very ugly situation in which ho put himself to pass it. "o is the most ambitious man in the Cabi- net, and dods not want Mr. Chorpenning’s shiadow to darken his monument. Thore are no new reasons to argue this claim to anything bot what it _ is—an _im- %ndonk and aged swindle, . John ‘essna, the man who set up this claim, betwoen the Postal Comumittee and the” Post Ofiice, haa been re-glected to. Congress by a dull conetitu- ency, whom ho amusod on tho stump with stories in dialect, Creswell and Cossna on ono side, with Jerry Black rotained on the other, will make a gallant trio when they come to press this claim ; and, to sdd to the motley character of the assemblago, they have got a spintual me- dium along with them, who sliows the ghosts'of their grandmothers, and gives large scances to tho conscript fathars. Hero wo have o postal telography, old mail-contracts, and nnumd mag- | notism performing in unison’ upon the Pablia SOME CURIOUS THINGS aro loaking out about tho telegraph, no matter who gets the control of it. I have been told that, in the case of two of the rival nows naso- ciations which send matter from this city, ono or tho other employs o coaple of mon to be altor- nates within gcnring of tho main instrumont at the Capitol, and read o by ear whatever the other sido sonds away. Hora is & hint to our old friend, the maiden Indy. Bhe has only to learn the businoes of operating on the instru- ment,—which i8 gaid to take about iwo weeks,—and then tako lodgings next door to tho telegraph . ofics, . when sho will bave the - oarliest nows which comes to town or gots out of it. In & distant city lives a luxurious young man who was onco an operator, but made a bounco in life by con- voying information which he derived at the in- strument to certain specalators. - Long attach- ment to his mechanical nvocation suggested to him that bo might as well have a privato instru- ment at homo and a wire of his own. So thero- ho lies in bed till 11 o’clock, and, whilo hoe talkes his breakfast, tho news of the world passes through his ears; and, if this information which 1 am giving you had béen put on tha wire instead of going by mail, he would have known it as quick a3 myself. 3 A FIRE-TROOF MATERIAL. Thio rocent dostruction of o most valuabl portions of threo greet cities—Portland, Chi~ a marked influence in tarning the attention of inventors to sume- thing which ehall prevent like calamitios in the {uture. One of my old associates amongst tho army-correspondents, Willism H. Morriam, has been cxplaining to me_a very romarkablo con- trivance in this direction, which sesms to be & combination of ashestos, lime-putty, and psper- pulp. The psper-pulp is dispansed with excapt 13 & covering for boilers, steam-pipes, etc., while the asbestos and lime-putty only are used to cost shutters, Mansard roofs, and portions of build- ings, eafes, ete., oxposed to firo. This invention, afthongh very simplo, is_coming into use throughout the wholo country, and I refer to it 28 & matter of somo moment to the Chicago Efioplu, who are still 2t work rebuilding and ro- bilitating tho town. The inventor of this patent is a Mr. John Ri- loy, whose attention was turned in this direc- tion by tho growing torrors of fires at ses and in cities, and hie songht first to sccomplisa o relin- Dle felting to cover boilers. Afterward ho ex- tended tho patent. in the line of editices which aro liablo to conflagration from the proximity of heat, Asbestos i3 an ordinary.but not & common ‘mineral, ranking with hornoblends, aud consists of gilica, magnesia, lime, and oxide of jron, and “has a _flno fibrons character, with a color generally whitish or .greenish.” Tt was formerly msed in a woven form to wrap up the bodicz of the doad, and to preserva their ashes through centuries. It has 2150 beon used for lamp-wicks. Ssvoy, Corsica, the Shetland Jalands, and parts of Scotland pro- duce this romsrkable mineral, which seems to be presented to us in the nick of time. 1t ia assuring tothe public to know that an sbsolutely and incontestably fire-proof material has baen digcovored, and is now in use, that will put » period to the possibility of theso largacon- tlagrations. Gara, THE BOSTWICK CLAIAL To the Editor of The Chicago Tribunes Sm: ILappensd to own, orsupposed that I did, & fow acres of land in the wost half of the sonth- weat quarter of Section 9, 33, 14, and have boen in -peaceable poscession sixteon or seventcen years. Mr, Bostwick camo to Chicago in the spring of 1855. - Ho came into my offico, and said that he wanted to buy somo real estate. He wanted that I ehonld show him where was tho Dest outsido property to buy. Ishowed bim 80 ncres in the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 8, 83, 14. Mr. Doatwick wanted that 1 should find the owner of it, and ho would buy it. I found the owner, David Hess, and got them together, but scon found that Mr. Bost- wick had not got sny monn‘y, and was & man well advanced in years. Whether he paid Hess avy meney, I do not know. -One thing I do Imor, that M. Bostwick never psid for building any for.es or any othor improvements that were put on tho 80 acres. R. B. Parmer, B. F. Smith, and mgmu aid for all thos improvomonts. 2. David Hess, of Naporville, I know well, and know lum tobe an upright, honest man, and_ know that he wounld not give us deeds if thore had becn o contract .cut. As far as Mr, B. F. Downing and Paul Cornell aro concerned, thoy never had any interest in the 80 acres in Section 8, 83, 14,—not one cent. Ar. Bostwick often told mo what s friend Paul Cornall had been to him, Mr. Bostwick told mo all nbout his big mansion at Alton, and that the bnilding of that had caused his rnin. - -The truth of this matter is this: that Mr. Bostwick came to Chicago & poor man, staid here four or five months. aud died a poor man. The 80 acrog that Mr. Bostwick ked of Luying, when ho died, would not have brought what ho talked of paying forit. Three years after his death, I sold some of tho samo property —Gj acres, and tho best part of the 80 acros—for ‘a little over one-half per acre that Mr. Bostwick was inkin%:f paying for it. Talk about frand in scttling Bostwick's estate,—to tho best of my ‘belief, there was no chance for fraud. I believe that Paul Cornell did all that he could to_help the poor widow after Mr. Bostwick's death. There was no time within five years_after Dost- wick’s death that'tho property would Lave paid Bostwick’s debte. Ono thing I askis, that the Courts of Cook County ghall reqnire parties to givo bonds for all damages before suits can bo commenced. L. W. StoxE. Citcaco, Jan. 2, 1873, A Peculinr Sect. A poculiar sect of the Greek Catholic Church Tive in the nelghborhood of the Caspian Ses, un- der Russian dominion, and bearing the namo of Shabotnics. Tho’following account, published in tho Israelite, is the first correct and reliable statement givon of them. It is by & Shabotnic, who becamo s Jew: - Under the Czar Alexis Michailowicz (1€45 ‘o 1676) tho Jews of Russia wero exposed fo great persecutions, and many of them, in order to es- capo certain death, {:inafl, ontwardly, the Greek Catholic Church, whilo in heart théy remained faithfal to the Jewish religion, and practised, in secret, Jewish rites. --To escape, however, tho dangers connected with such practices, they con- cluded to seek more distant regions. - They ec- lected for their sottlement theregion between the Don and Wolgs, in tho neighborhood of tho Cax- pian Bea, where, in the Government of Simbirg&s Samaresk Savalow, and Woronesh, about 7, Bhabotnics are still living, of whom, however, only from 2,000 to 8,000 aro descendants of tho immigrants. The balance consists of original Christians, who joined them, a8 they considersd the celebration of Saturday more in” accordance with the Bible. In the course of time, by their exclusion from their former coreligionists, and by the suffering thoy experienced for disagree- ing with the ‘State Church, they lost more and more of the Jewigh re!igifmf & ‘decay which in- termarrisges with foreign elements has largel; nogmented. . Still theix origin was remombered in most families, either by verbal or written tra- dition. 8o tha reporter of these facts is able to give the namea of his Jewish forefathers, whnue savanth despandant ba ia ART MATTERS. What San Francisco Has Done—-An Example for Older Cities. The Son Franeisco Art Association e-- A Graceful Compliment from {he French Government. Special Correspondence of The Chicago Tribune. A% Frucisco, Dec. 20, 1872 The methotic calturo of tho city is illustrated in a striking manner by the success of the local Art _Association, an institution poseessed of characteristics that are of intercst to every truo friend of painting, and cortainly a blessing to this isolated community. Eightcen months sgo, twenty or thirty artists snd amateurs mot at the residenco of Mr. Wendesfordo for the purpose of forming on Art Association npon tho theory of o l socinl club. After goma discussion, thoy ab: doned the original idea of organization, and sdopted a constitution which embodied tho plan for an ACADEMY OF ART AND SCHOOL OF DESIG, tobe establislied under the su-pices of tho Asso- cistion. It was proposed at the timo to assimi- late the organization to tim plan of the New York aund Chicago Acedemies of Art, lodging the control in an - Execntive Committea composed of . artists exclusively, and having soveral grades of membership; but, the artistic fraternity of San Francisco being comparatively wesk in numerical strength, and the means necossary to tho &uccess of tho insti- tution having to come 8o Iargely from outsiders, tho project of patterning after tho Academios mentioned was not carriedout; and, instead theraof, any person recammended by the Board of Directors was considered aligible to fail mem- ‘bership, and officers were chosen from the mom- boers at large, although care was takon, as a mat- ter of fairness, to have artists ropresented in tho prominent official positions. The Bonrd of Di- rectors consisted of eleven persons, including tho regular officers. Tho first Presidont was J. B. Wandesforde, formerly a well-known artist of New York; and Fred. Whymper, suthor of an excellent work on Alasks, and brother of the famonus Alpine climber, and at present a practical journalist here, haa beon Socratary since the crganization was effected. Tho second and present Prosident is William Alvord, Mayor of the city, who takes o warm and generous in- torest in the Association and its objccts, and has been the means of obtaining a large number of life-members at 2100 each. The Associstion is supported by an entrance fee of 22and month- ly dueaof $1. The money derived from tho sale of life-memberships, now amounting to 24,000, is paidinto a special fand, to bo devoted to the ca- tablishment of an Acadomy of Art and School of Dosign. A_portion of thia fund has alrendy been cxponded in fitting up rooms for a gallery and school. Tho present membership of 680 in- cludes a majority of tho most ealtivated and in- zeuiicnz ppeoplo in the city, together with a large number of the wealthier class. The Association givos QUARTERLY RECEPIIONS to its members and invited guosts, on which oc- casions the resident nriists exhibit their bost works, and contributions are received from tho finest privato collections in the city. These re- ceptions have been aa entirely new featurs in the social and intellectual ammsements of San Francisco, and have been highly sitractive. They are held in rooms rented by the Associa~ tion, and latterly tho gallery has beon open to tho general public, at o small feo, for soveral weeks succeeding tho regular receptions. The present exhibition, now tewr .days in pro- gress, comprises over TIDEE HUSNDRED WOERS OF ART, including a collection formad Ly the late F. L, A. Pioche (who committed snicide while Iaboriog undor mental aberation), and willed by him to tho Stats University, which numbars about 73 works. The value of this_collection, bowever, has been greatly overratod. Tho old mesters, so-calied, ara probably only copies, and not alwaya good ones; etill, thoy aro of usozs a ide to the study of art, in tho abscnco of Dbet- er works. Soms of tho paintings by contempo- rary artiste, and many of the drawings, are vory meritorious. OQutsido of the Piochg collection, there aro on exhibition really fine works by con- temporary American and_ Europoan_ mastors; among tho latter, Gerome's celobrated paintin, of “Cleopatra Beforo C:esar,” lately parchase by D. B. Mills, President of the Cali- fornia Dank, together with ‘a number of -ehining examples of the French, Gorman, nnd Flemwh schools. One of tho gems of the exhibition ia o brilliant water- color,—a view of the Alhambra.—by Tapiro, s Gronnda artist, who i8 nnrivalled n his special- ty. Among the American artists roprescnted arotho following: Thomas Hill, who, withina few years, has taken s leading rank 28 aland- scape-painter, and who has execated one of the grandest and most truthful views of Yosemite extant; Albert Bierstadt, who, liko Mlr. Hill, is &ponding a year or twoin California in the study of our rngzed mountains and delicately-tinted atmosphere, .and who exhibits his well known picturo of Mount Hood; Gilbert ‘Munger, also staying here; William Keith, formerly of San Francisco, and late of Boston; John F. Kcnsett, Ldward Moran, Gifford, and others. The local artists = figaring _ in the exhibition include Samuel- Al Brooks, fampua for still-lifo pictures; Denay, tho marine paint- or; Irwin, Shaw, Nayot, and others, excelling in riraita; Deskin, Campion, Tloomer, etc., in ndscape; -and Besumgras, whoeo works in fruit are highly commended by connoissenrs. Will- iam Hahn, a Dusseldorf artist, now living hero, has produced & number of illustrations of San Francisco street lifo, in the Chiness quarter, abut the markot-places, and along the city-front, which ere full of picturesquo n:xlil?, and are Sdmirably paintod. - Aprapas of Hahuoy works 1g . A QUEER JORE - told by himself. Through the judicial distribu- tion of sundry bits of siiver, he had secured the- sttendanco of soveral ragged gamins b his im- promptu studio under a pier, whero they were utilized as models, and was making nico progress with o genre picture, when one day he was as- tonished at seeing ouo of his puhiacts apper with o cloan face, nicely combed hair, anda neat suit of clothes. Tho Jad had to retum to his normal condition bofore tho artist could proceed with his work, and the latter eubse- quently hod to_make poaco with n decidodly mother. Haln will horeafter solect waifs ond bong fide orphans ns subjects for his skotches. . One of the features of tho oxhibition is a lnrzfla collection of water-colors, drawings, and etchings, mostly Caropean, that is possessed of great merit, and invariably oxcites compli- entary remarks by visitors. - "PROSFECTS OF THE ASSOCIATION, A fow months ago it made an application to tho French Government for purchaso of casts of the School 6f tho Louvro, and that Govern- ment, in recognition of the hearty sympathy and Iarge amount of money bestowed by San Francisco upon the French csuso during the late Franco-German war, declined to receive any money, and has advised the Presidont of the Association, throngh the French Consul General hicre, that it has ordered s set of casts to be ~ exenuter and will bhave them delivered to tho agent of the Associstion in Parisas soon 28 done. Theso caats, after the autigue, together with other studies and objects to bo bought in Paris, will amivo hero noxt spring. and immodiately thereafter the Associa- tion will organizo a School of Design. It hus already laid the foundation for an Art Library, having procured, by purchaso znd donation, nearly o thousand dollars’ worth of toxt-books on art, This feature of tho Aerociation, which is expected to dnvnlogein(o one ol great interest and importance, will be a valuable adjunct to the Behool. When the proper timo rrives, the artists, and a fow others, will contribute a number of works of art to be sola for tho benefit of the Academy fund; and, when the lease of the Tooms at present occupied shall Lave expired, and effort will be made, cEmhanL‘wflh success, to sccure a building which shall ba the property of the Association, It has alresdy becomo an institution of the city, and there are too many men of means and influenca in the membership toallow anything like finaacial doterioration. Tho ‘most anwux‘ging fzct in this connection is, that merelovers of art, and these swho appreciato it a3 & means of refinement and education, are 88 entbusiastio in the support of the Association s the artist clasa proper. Iis plan of organization will always bring it fresh recruits, and its admission to membershi; 2nd office of women, whether artists or not (nufi there ara many female painters and cngravers in the city), introdnces an efficient workiog elo- ment, generally barred ont of rimilar institu- tions, that adds much to its social power. The greater part of the time since the orzamization of tha Asaociatinn ana of its most actiua mam bers, and one who has served actively on several Co’;{minces, has been Miss Richardson, a clever cngraveron wood. and a sincers erthusiast in the profession. The Association is on 8 sonnd financial basis, and, as the reader will easily perr. ceive, Lias tho promise of a glorious fature. e GENERAL NEWS ITEMS. “Brighton is getting vary impaticut to be an- nexed to Boston. ” =iy ; —A #trip of land on Pearl street, Boston, six inches wide, wat sold last woek for $845. It was 130 feot long. FaE R . —The profits-on Stato printing in Kansas, un- der tho present law, are ostimated at $25,000. —TLo oxtension of the jurisdictional limits of the city and county of Now York will ba vigor- ously pushed in the Btate Legislature this win- ter. —Tifty Yowa convicts havo gone from Fort Aadison to Annmosa to work on tho' new’ Poni- It:ntim'g;l 5 » = —John Hurley, living_ nt Wilbur, Ulster County, N, Y., drank threa balf pints of rum on_ 8 wni;:r. His funeral took place ou the follow- 8 i Poweshiek County (Iows) saven-dollar calf case, which alroady foots up nearly 2400 in costs, is going up:to tho Supreme Court. —2 man at 8¢. Clond, Ainn., while stapefied by liquor, was eo badly frozen thet he .will. bo's ripple and a charge on the county tho balanco of his life. Ho hasa wifo and six children in desti~ tute circumstances, - - - - - . —A West Rutland (Vt.) liquor dealor experi- onced tho disadvantages of a good customer, the | other day, wl:an a man teatified before n Justico that he had n:de 30 successful applications for rum at his saloon, and tho Justice tucked on a fine for each time, —A miscreant named Lovett Pratt, who was seatonced to Stato Prison for life, in 1866, for firing & public building in Charlestown, and only & year or two ago reccived a conditional pardon, was caught, Friday night, attempting to firo a stablo in that city. = —Among the inmates of 8 gambling hell upon ‘which tho polico of Boston lately made s descent Tas e clergyman of a moighboring cily. il ploads that he was there incog. for tho porpose of ascertainiug facts, g0 that ho conld make his ij‘mm sermon against gambling more elfect- va —The St. Clundfl&][inm\) Journal says the salo- of pine lands closed on Wednosday, and 30,000 acres were sold at $1.25. Think of ' solling pino land at £1.25 por acre! That waa because it woa “ gatisfactorily arranged 8o that there was no competition.”” It has been * satisfsclorily ar- tanged " to have another eale Jan. 13, 2 —Tho Rov. 3. N. Adams, agent of tho Sisse- ton Indians at Lac Traverse, atiempted to re- turn home via the Winona & St. Peter Road, but. upon arriving at New Ulm, found that the horso disease prevailed 80 generally throughont the Upper Minnesota River sottloments that it was impossible to gecure tranaportation, and was forcod to return to 8t. Paul. 2 —A terrible fight recently occurred in San Francisco, between o man named Krager snd a clerk in his cmploy. Tho former was armed with a razor, and, though the latter had his clothes torn'off his back, Krager was finally killed. The peculiarity of this combat was that the two parties were on excellent terms, and the only object of their atruggle was to prevont Krager from being injured. In other words, Krager was dotermined to cut his throat, and his clork wag detormined that ho should do no such fl.\ing‘.h —Thero is great and jusgt complaint in Adams County, Neb., that the Indians are zllowed - to Eu.se and repass thoir towna on their annual’ unt. They 'demand focd, frighten the women and children, and do & great deal of pilfering in a small way. If thoy must hunt, lot them go in- some other direction to the hunting gmnng. It is not plessant for a family to ba aroused and find as many Indian faces at’the window as thers is panos of glass. It istrue they aro at peaso, bt thoir room is atall timesbotter than their com- peay to the settlors.—Omahe Republican. SMALL-POX AT THE EAST. There ara at least fifty cases of emall-pox in Hartford, Ct., and the people think ii i3 about time something was done. —The Metru?&!;'fimn ond Middlesex Railroad Companies, of Boston, h.we»ul?w:l 2 plan of daily disinfecting thoir cars, 8o that passengers may foal protected against any contagious influ~ ences. —George Hatch, ‘of Marblehead, o Representa- tivo in ii.o Maseachusects Legislature, dicd sud~ dealy, on Christmes_evening, from o malignant type of the disease, having been in Boston, on Monday, in his nsusi health, and only taken sick tho day beforo ho died. : —A family in South Dartmonth, Mass., has suffered terribly from the diseaso, the fourth victim dying last weak, but tho other cases in that town are doing well. —Viola Vanee, an _actrees performing at the Opera House in Now Haven, Conn., died of small-pox about three weoks ago, though the affair has been quiet till now. When her disease RAILROAD NEWS, The Chicago & Muscatine Roag Heard From, GE* Rgilroading in Indiana---St, 5058;1\, 1Xo., Roads ~— Narrow Gauge Roads, ‘The Chicago & Muscatine Reilroad ':"m:hny were an organization formed to build o {from Chicago to Myscatine, Towa. For toma time the company have not been heard. snd it was the fear of many that tho profect hay that tke officers of the company are Bgxin may. ing a movement in its intorest, and are endesygr. ing to ruise money to complete the BUryey., The eastern ond hse boon surveed, ud, ss the amotnt required to complete thesurvey isemall, it is bolioved that tho neccmary gy can bo raised along the line. of thy road. The road has been gurv from Chicsgo direcily southwest to Joliet, thénce to Homer, geven miles south of Mendy: croages. tho Iilinois- River at Genesco, ran, through important coal-flelds west of that {1 and 80 on to Muscatine. Bince its genera] coarsa is parallel to tho Chicago, Rock Islad & Pacific Road, and not many miles from g point on .that road, it must become ifs rival jn - marketing the products of a good partion of this State. It 13 probablo that, if the oflicers meet with the success they anticipate, a branch wi be built to Rock Island. The interests of the section of country through which this rosd will run seems to domand a more direct connection with Chicago, and tho managers cxpress a firm belief in the ultimate success of the entarprise. Several Chicngo gentlemon have recently interested _themselves in tho project, and, with their aid, it is not nnreasonable to ane ticipate that the Chicago & Muscatine Railrosd will soon be placed on a firm footing. - B5 o ronon secentar s el vegusin y 8 report recently made public regardis railivay duvela'f‘!:cnt inlndin.ug for the yesr 1872, we find b there axo 3,600 miles of il way within the Stato limizs, A less number of miles of new track is riror:cd for 1872 than for 1871, and yet the nciual railway progress mado scems greatly in advance of any provios year. The report confains no data as to the enrnings of tho various roads, bat evys that tho yoar lLas been ona of ‘marked progress and improvement. Almost every roed in the Stato has largely increased its motive power and carrying capasity. .Oneof tho most remarkable facts stated, considering that tho yzar has been 80 prolific of disaster, that no serious 'accident hes oceurred on a rail- road within the State during the year. Among the importantitems _for tho year, wo note that the Indisnapolis, Cincinnati & Lafayetto Come pany have opened 8 now and desirable ronteto hucago, Imown as the Knnkskee route. The Cincinnati & Indianapolis Junction Road has passed into the eontrol of tho_Cincinnati, Hau= ilton & Dayton Company, and sctive moasurss hav been adopted to placo the track in good order and - equip tho road with_fmste class rolling stock. Tho Indianapolis, Bloom- .dngton & Western Company Lave completed their lin to Bock Island, and tre rapidly pnshing forward théir rond from Champaign to the Mis- sissippi. Tho Indianapolis, Yeru & Chicago Company have, during the year; addad an im- portant passenger line to Detroit aud Cacads, over tho new Detroit, Ecl River & Tllinois Tho Lonisvillo, New - Albany & Chicago . Road was ordered to bo sold under foreclosnre on the 27th of December. The Pittsburgh, Cincinpati & St. Louis Com{al:\n bave the greatost nume ber of miles in the State. The &t. Louis, Van- dalia & Terro Haute Company have the best passenger business in the State, and are pushe ing tho coal interest with great vigor. ST. JOSEPH, MO., RAIPROADS. The first city on the Misgouri River to becomo connected with Chicago by.rail waa St. Josoph, Mo. This was elfected by the completidn of the Chicago, Burlington .& Quincy aud the Hannie ‘bal & St. Joseph Railroads. As a result of this, 8t. Joseph has rapidly advanced in wealth and populition. In 1860 it had 8,932 people, and'in in 1862, 17,000. By ® recont census, it was ghown tho city had a population numbering 80,000. Its railway and internsl progress lLas been remarkable. One of the most important railway lines in process of construction is the St. Jase)ih & Denver City Baifroad, which will bo comploted next summer. - It travcrses the richest and finest portions of Kansas and Ne- shortest and mozt direct route, tia tho Gnion Pa- was discovored sho was taken to the almshouse, where oll tho city paupors were oxposcd, but was afterwards removed to the pest-houso, where sho died, it i8 said, for want of prngor caro. - —Ono'of tho saddest deaths in Po o., was that of Alrs. Pettingill, a dressmaker, who contracted the disease while making purchasea at Boston, and was removed o the post-house, ‘where she has since died, while her two children wero foft at home with no one to_care for them, and bardly anybody daring (o go“to tha house. P, W. 8. Nickersou, another of last week's vic- tims, contracied the discase while attending a woman at South Lawrence, Mass., who had been left to die slone. Though mot vaccinated, he nursed the woman through her sickness, and thus bronght death upon himself. —Soma time sinco & lady usidinfi in this cit; while in the street wns passed by & hearse whic emitted an offensive odor. It occurred to her that it might contain a victim of small-pox, and if so, she foared eho might have the dizense. Going home et once, ehe wrota a note to her husband and child stating her fears, and inform-~ ing them that sbo was going to Billerica notil sho was enre sho could associate with them in eafety. Sccuring some requisite articles and two attendants she went to an unoccupied house in Billerica which was owned by a relative, and making herself comfortable prepared for the worst. In ten days tho disease attacked her, ehe suffercd its var ous stages, recovorcd, and returned to her family whom sho had kaved by her couragcous fidelity.—Bosion Adcertiser. FOREIGN ITENMS. Capitz! punishment is not inflicted in Portagsl, Sasony, ifciaad, and Boumania. Tho Pafia: ment of Northi Germany voted, in_3farch, 1870, to abolish tha death penalty, but since then Bis- marck's influgnce has cansed & reconsideration. Though capital punishmest Ia not sbaolutely prokhibited in Sweden, Belginm, Wurtemburg, and Beden, executions aro afmost unknown. —Somo froubles arc likely to arian from tho selection of the ox-King of Hanover, or his son, to succecd to the throna of ths Duchy of Bruns- wick on tho death of Duke William, when_the presont ruling House will bs oxtiuct. The Em- peror of Germany will hardly permit the peaco- *ful accession of his enemy to poswor which wonld chicfly bo employea in undermining his own au- thority in Germany. —North Germany is aghast over the disclo- sures which havo been made concerning the criminal prigon ot Butzow. The Warden and the Matron of the femals dopartment have been in tho babit of flogging and_otherwiso maltreating both tho male and female convicts in the most bratal manner. - Their victims were 80 fright- cued that theydared make no complaints, until one, whose innoceace of the crime for which ho was imprisoned was aftorward proved, ventared to utter her complaints. The merciless officiala have been arrested, and aro Likely to bo savoroly punisied. g IESCELLANEOUS. . 1. U. Reavis is at it again, capital-moving. Go to, L. U, Reavia. : ¥ Saited " is what they calla womanin Color- 8do wio wears unlimited diamonds. —The steamer Ino, of tho Coyuga Lako fleet, gu been sunk by thomuslkrats gnawing holos in or. —Senator Harlan has been elected Prosident, and his son Becrotary, of the Codar Rapids & St. Lonis Railroad. —The women of Columbus, Ga., have, digcsrd- ed silks and sating, and are wearing the plaids and checks manufactured in that city. —The following reminder has just been placed on o tomb in Montmartre; * Oh, my dear Hen- ;y, ug;m '?nd rojoia me as soon £ conveniently fossible. ! —A. 8t. Paul reportor was visited nt his houso by seven indignant women and s dog, and they whacked aud Dit him until ho won't got out of bed this winter. —The editor of the Wabash (Ind.) Sentinel wants to know if “the man who seat Lim a challenge to fight & ducl means business,” or ‘whothor his buzzaxd squl laughs ot the ghastly Joke. —Ruskin faye, in his * Fors Clavigers " for December, that.he shall cease bis communica- tions, since, in the two years that ho has been wpmdf; these letters, he has not received one friendly word for answer. —A goro aflliction has fallen upon President Lounsberry, of Griswold College. His only 8on Leighton, B promising young man of 23 years, died yeaterday moming at 5 o'clock, ak the pest houss, pear Camp McClollan, of Lmurraego of o langs, whiie i -pox.~— , A suffering from small-pox.. cific Railroad, to the Pacificcoast. 1t will connect with the lattor road at or near Kearney Junction, abont 196 miles wost of Omaha, aud be 957 miles Ion; Cars are running daily over it, 250 miles, to Hastings, in Adams Couaty, Nebrasks, whers it croses the Burlington & Missonri River Railrond. Ninety miles of track Lave been 1aid sinco last March, and 37 miles more will completa the connection. THE MILWAUKEE & NORTHERN RAILEOAD, ‘which, when completed, will connect Green Bay with Milwankee, has been recently finished to Menasha Junction, & distance of 83 miles, where it connects with the Chicago & Northwestern and Wisconein Central Railroads. A dally freight and accommodation train has been run- ning between Milwaukee and Menasha for somo timo, and this week a 23t pastenger tram will bo put on tuo road. Closo connectiona will then be made with northern aud southern trains of tho Chicago & Northwestern Road at Men- ssirn Junction, and_at_Plymonth Junction with the Sheboygan & Foud du Lac Railrond. Tha road has been led and bridged from Menasks Junction to Green Bay, a distanco of 27 miles, and tho ties aro being distributed. This portion of the road will bs complsted and in operation by the 1at of March next. The distance between Bfllwunkuu and Greon Bay will then be but 110 m leg, by nearly an air line route, and tho con- naction will manifestly be ons of great impor- tanco snd advantzge to Loth citica. ¢ -A GREAT TUNNEL.. Ono of the largest tunnels over built in- this countrr is in procosa of conatruction near Sparts, Wis., ou the west end of the Madigon extension of thie Chicago & Northwestern Road. When completed it will be 3,300 feet in length. Tho heading bave beon driven 1,700 feat, and for 900 foet tho oxeavation has been enlarged fuall proportions of the tunnol.- Tho work wss began lst apring, 2nd will not Lo finished be- fore noxt summer. Captain E. E. Woodman'is tho civil engineer in charge of tho work, and has shiown remarkable ekill in ita constructicn.. & Iarge volume of water impedos “the- progress of tho work, but no serions difticaltics heve béen encountered. The weat end of this branch of road hns been completed from Winona, 3Minn., to Sparts, and with the exception of threo tun- nels, the ‘romaining thirty-five miles bstween 8parta and Elroy are ready for iho rolling stock. 'NARIOW GAUGZ ROADS. 3 Tho construction of natrow gauge railroads in new and musottled countriea Las been much agitated. As yet, they are looked upon by rail way bailders 23 experimeatal, aud, indeed, not Iikely to succaed. A narrow gaugo raiirosd in Tows, however, has been in aperation somo time, and seems to fulfl :;:5’ expectation, Itistbe only narrow gauge rond in the State, and extends from McGregor to Elkader. It is under the control of Judge Williams, of McGregor, who is an enthusinet rezarding tho efficiency of suci roads, and thinks that they havo solved the problem of cheap transporiation in new coun- tries. Judge Williams expects to extend Lis road next summer much farther into the country, and finally conuect it with the greaé sysiem of narrow gaugs roads, whi is contemplated in Kansas and tho Territories. OPEX ¥ROM ST. PAUL. The entiro train over the Chicago & Norih- wostorn and West Wisconein roads, from St. Paal, arrived in tho city last Tuesdsy morning. It consisted of fourteen freight cars diroct fzom Bt, Paul, ten of which were loaded with flour billed throngh to New quk', and four with venison destined for Chicago. fhe_opoening of this lino will begin a_hot contest betwean. the Milwankee & 8t. Panl and tho Chicago & Nortbe westorn Roads, which will increase in inteneil when the Chicage Branch of the Milwaukee £o= is comploted, PERSONAL. A Mr. H. P. Staawond, Genoral Ticket Agent &f the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Compsasy bias been appointod General Psssenger Ageas o that As_befors nnnounced in THE Tnisgx=, Mr. W, P. Thrall, Jately connecied with the linois Contral Road, succeeds to Xr- Stanwood's forher position. ekl ey —The breach-of-promiso case now on trisl be- fore Judgo Blair, R whiich the 4ff, Mist Florenco L. Jolinson, brings suit ag:mg",’é’ Alonzo Tyner, a promizent r of our cifYy sttracting coneiderablo nitention, tho Court room beingerowded with interested spectators— Indianapokis N i " —Tha City of Cleveland, Oisio, Las now abo £2,000,000 at its command as tho result of 80 in- vestmont of 500,000 in tho stock of allrvady ety yoara ago. It is, howsrer, in it 0%} ion to ell other c lack, Réarly an exception to r been sbandoned. Bat we arohappy to announey braska, and its mauagers claim will bo the’ 1 to the - e YU ] i e A 3 3 3 :