Evening Star Newspaper, April 18, 1891, Page 13

- Ld f THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C, SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 1891—SIXTEEN PAGES. FOUNTAINS OF KILAUEA. mountain to rainy Hilo. The first part of the trip was on horseback, and we had hardly got started before we struck the rain clouds that roll up the mountain on the windward side continuously, and all the way down to Hilo we were going th @ succession of showers, alternated by streaks of hot sunshine that would make our sweltering waterproofs almost ee ay ‘3 va a~ , om “es —= unbearable. But the moment they were thrown off down would come the rain again. And so with the bother of our wraps and the difficul- fies of guiding our ponies down the alippery track, over the rounded lava rocks, in the blind- ing rain we had e busy time of it._“These moun- horses, however, are wonderfully sure footed, and we presently found that the best ‘way was to let them take their own course. We followed this rough trail for sixteen miles and then struck a good carriage road (made by convict labor) that extended fourteen miles s. DOWN INTO THE VOLCANO. A Literal Bottomless Pit and Lake of Everlasting Fire. THE GREAT ORATER OF KILAUEA Fit Home of the Beautiful and Malignant Goddess Pele—Jets, Whirlpools, Surges and Sprays of Liquid Fire—Dante’s Iferno— Ruth's Sacrifice to Pele. Editorial Correspondence of The Evening Star. Ho, Istaxp of Hawart. N ¥ LAST LETTER DESCRIBED OUR trip from Honolulu to the great volcano of Kilauea on the Island of Hawaii and closed ‘with the account of the adventures of the night in the storm and earthquake-rocked Voleano House. The morning following upon the tem- pestuous night was bright and clear, giving promise of a favorable day for the descent into the volcano. The usual time for making the ‘volcano trip isin the afternoon, sothat the burn- ing lake can be seen after dark, when the dis- play is most effective. The forenoon was, therefore, devoted to explorations in the region around the great pit. Standing on the cliffs in frontof the hotel we had spread out before us the great flattened top of Kilauea, a vast lava waste larger than the entire District of Colum- bia. The whole of this wide area was covered with seams, cracks and blow holes, from which eame jets of hot steam or sulphurous vapors. The sights and smells and the frequent tremors of the lava floor upon which we stood were all | fearfully suggestive of the fragile nature of the thin crust that seperated us from the infernal abyss boiling beneath. It was a curious freak of nature that many of these sulphur vent holes were lined as far down asthe eye could reech with luxurious vegeta tion. Sometimes this vegetation grewso rankly | over the mouths of the vent holes that one hac | to'move around with care to avoid stepping | into one of these treacherous pitfalls. OVERLOOKING THE GREAT PTZ. Advancing a couple of hundred feet from the Volcano House we found ourselves on the brink of the great crate>whica occupies the center of the vast smoking territory. Below us was an oblong parallelogram-shaped pit, with nearly perpendicular walls, from 500 to 1,000 feet deep, and covering an are about ten miles in cireumference. This immense pit was floored with a desolate waste of rough lava, that, like the whole mountain top outside, was spouting hot steam and sulphurous gases from thousands of vent holes. The level of this frregnlar floor is constantly changing from eruptions and overflows, and in the last forty years has varied sev- eral hundred feet in depth. Occasionally the entire floor js broken up and the whole vast pit, ten miles in circumference, is in vio- lent commotion. a terrible abyss of surging red- hot lava, clouded by dense volumes of smoke and vapor and accompanied by thunderous de- give the idea that the erd of the i. For the most part, however, © activity is confined to a lake some the hundreds of feet in circumference that bursts up capriciously through the floor crust at dif. olean ferent points, and continually changes boundaries. This uncertainty as to where it may break out next. «d the tremors, heat and smoking ors experienced over the whole | floor, give that feeling of insecurity and terror that makes such an element of the sublime in nature. ‘These successive Inke developments take dif- ferent names. The present fi fountain is very properly named Dana lake for the scien- tist of that name, who is the principal authority on volcanic action. WHEN THE LAKE SINKS. Sometimes the subterranean lava lake of fire sinks suddenly several hundred feet and the floor or roof of the great pit collapses cor- respondingly, like the ice on a mill pond when the water has been suddenly withdrawn. Some- times, on the other hand, the lava overflows the lake banks and forms an elevation of con- siderable height about it. ‘We started on the voleano trip about 2 o'clock in theafternoon. We had two guides, one s Portuguese and the other a half-breed named Aleck, who spoke English. He was a bright. alert fellow, and could be styled a “smart Aleck” without sarcasm. 1 and some biscuits for a lightlunch. Each mem- ber of the party was provided with a stout staf | of the Alpenstock pattern. A quaatity of shewls and waterproofs were also taken, bat these were speedily dumped upon the shoulders of the guides, as the didiculties of the trip began to develop | tion. | grandeu: coils of twisted wire cables of monster size, or the form of enormous serpents. Constantl we were passing over or around huge roundi domes—tlava bubbles—that gave a hollow sound beneath the feet, and every now and then some heavy weight of our party would break through these lis, making a momentary panic. Some of these fractured bubbles showed. cavernt underneath. Innumerable earthquake cracks, sending out steam and sulphur vapors, were encountered. Our course for four miles to the burning lake lay over this rugged steaming territory. A BAD QUARTER OF AN HOUR. In the latter part of the trip the lava up- heavals grew more mountainous and difficult to climb and the vaporous jets took the form of furious blasts of choking sulphur fumes. The guides made ys stop here and take » rest to get breath for the dangerous trip through the sulphur district. We were then required to tie moistened handkerchiefs over our mouths and were admonished not to breathe while passing through the sulphur fumes. Also to hurry through as fast as possible. It was « pretty bad ten minutes that followed. We had to stride or leap across a series of chasms of unfathomable depth that were spouting out dense volumes of sulphuric acid fumes most irritating to the lungs. The women were carried over by the guides. It was a job to get the fat woman over. Luckily the sulphur vents were on the down-hill side of the ridge, and we all got through somehow. Then we stopped a while, sprawled about on the lava anting for breath like fish out of water. After recovering wind somewhat, we went on, clam- bered over more piles, crags, terraces and ridges of rough Java, and on mounting a still higher rest came in sight of the object of our search at the bottom of the encircling lava hills on which we stood. Here we left our water canteens and lanterns and extra wraps, and scrambled down the rough hillside to the brink of the lake. A WONDERFUL SCENE. The scene presented defies adequate descrip- ‘The open lake of fire, some thirty feet be- low our level at the moment and perhaps, 1500 feet in circumference, was constantly changing inform and boundaries. It seemed as if we were literally looking down into the bottomless pit—the fire that burns without ceasing. This restless, boiling, surging abyss of molten fire was an outward demonstration—the open mouth—of the fires that rage in the center of the earth. Everything was of the Supernatural order. Amidst the whirlpools, vortexes, jets, spouts, boiling currents and other forms of violent commotion of this troubled abyss there was always a general movement of the current to the southern end of the lake, where the fiery surf broke with a ponderous metallic roar, most unearthly and quite unlike the swashy sounds of water breakers. A BLOOD RED SURF. There was also something most uncanny in the fiery spray that fell in splashes, dabs of crimson and deeper red, looking like clots of gore. The lava banks of the lake were ata red- white heat and at several points the ponderous surf had undermined them, forming terrible caverns, roofed with rock at a white heat, and extending beyond the reach of the eye. Into these vast caverns or grottoes the heavy me- tallie surf dashed with a thundering crash that shook the ground all about. The surf in som places had pounded with such tremendous power into these caverns as to force a vent through the roofs, forming spouting horns, or chimueys above by accretions of falling lava, to a lofty height, through which there was a_con- stant jet of fiery vapor and red-hot lava. Every ow and then large masses of the undermined cliffs would break away and fall into tle gulf. The throbs and tremors in the under our feet indicated ominously that the same awful forces wore at work directly beneath us. PERIODICAL FORM OF THE ACTIVITIES. At first sight the grand colossal activities of the place seemed to be confused turmoil, but after a time it was seen that there was @ cer- tain sort of order in the manifestations. After a scene of violent ebullition, in which the mol- ten flood had risen nearly to the level of the banks, there was a subsidence of some thirty to forty feet, and there was a period of com- parative quiet. The surface of the lake be- came coated with a crust of cooling lava. This crust at first took a delicate lustrous gray color, like frosted silver, then deepened to s steel gray, mouse color and finally to a shade almost black. Then it seemed as if the fires had gone out, the lake had dried up and there was nothing more to be seen. But we notice presently that the surface of the lake is rapidly rising. “The black cout of lava is broken over by zigzag seams of @ fiery red, through which wells up a flow of red- hot lava. The imprisoned gases below the crust are lifting the whole surface of the lake in their Titanic furious efforts to secure a vent—vast ridges of the gray elephant-col- ored crust swell up, presenting a curious resemblance in color and the seams and wrinkles in the hide, to some water monster Like the hippopotamus rising to the surface. Presently the crust gives way, lai itare engulfed only in this case lava. nd go unde fe, down ins spri 1e engulfing flood feet. scene is now one of indescribable beauty There is a combination of heav. and hell—the sublime, the beautiful and the devilish. redominant characteristic is, however, one of beauty. FIRE FOUNTAINS OF RADIANT fairy-like grace danced over the surface of the lake. Then geyser-like torrents of liquid golden fire shot violently up, and a 2 ‘THE FAT WOMB SITS OW 4 BUBBLE. The fat woman was on hand again, sweating slong under «load of wraps, sticks, kodacks, ke., blowing like a porpoise, but plucisy to the last. How sheever got through that day roughing itand carried her 250 pounds over that mountainous, billowy lava waste, and lifted herseif over the sulphur cliffs, and escaped choking in the sulphur fumes, and came up smiling whenever she crushed through treacherous lava bubble that she had chosen for a seat, is hard to imagine, but she did it. In the start we made a sharp descent of some 500 feet down the pr of the crater. The sides of the precipice were lined with a few abrubs and tlowers, but not a sign of vegetation Was to be seen over the great lava waste below. About half way down there was an ominouslooking tombstone over the re of am: died here of the volcano trip. From above, the floor of the great crater had looked to be a toleratty-smooth and level surface, but the bettor an appalling stretch of . There Mermces. tains and valleys.of lava. It up in every form of contortion. 4 BATTLE OF THE TITANS. Sometimes it took an odd resemblance to human forms and presented the appenrance of 1 battle field of the Titans, covered with bodies and dismembered limbs of gigantic propor been thrown tions. Then again it took the exact shape of in falling convulsed the lake into enor- ‘mous whirlpools. And then again the jets | Would take the form of glittering fireworks on | colossal scale, sometimes outlined on the black sky like the tracery of delicate silver- | colored lace work or in the shape of golden wheat sheaves or in brilliant rockets emitted | with tremendous force that broke against the | wind into glittering golden spi ceeding tenuity that as it cooled it assumed the | shape of filaments of Ci glass of the color and fineness of thistle down, filling the air and | floating off to settle down upon the rocks and banks, clothing them with a furty coat that takes the felicitous name of Pele's hair. PELE'S KINGDOM. Kilauea in this period of sublime activity and infernal beauty seemed a fitting home for the goddess Pele, the most radientiy beautiful, powerful and malignant of the Hawaiian deities. She is credited in the Hawaiian mythology with the beauty of Venus and the malignity of Circe! One could well imagine her as disporting with her attendant train in these dencing flames or these fiery grottoes. Mount Olympus seems » tame, commonp! for the gods com. wit Pele “reveled with her attendant flames; the unearthly were the mi thed in the as it dashed crater, b oe | family grated from Tabitt soon after family were regarded *yoleano wi . Lhe was their dence, though occasional: they renovated their ‘constitutions amid @ snows of the mountains. On such ocaasions their journey- ings were accompanied by earthquakes, erap- tions, heavy thunder and lightning. All were malignant spirits, delighting in acts of ven- geance and destruction. Offerings were made annually to keep her in good humor and no traveler dared venture near her precincts with- out seeking her good will.”” ‘These sinuous, graceful dancing forms of fire could well be imagined to be Pele and her train. Sometimes a dozen of these fire fountains were playing over the surface of the lake at the same time. Then, again, the mighty rush would takea centripetal direction, throwing up a vast single column of fire from the center of the lake. the features of this display were beautiful and eful as well as sublime. ‘There was no dis- iguring black smoke over the scene. A deli- cate, thin vapor hung over the lake, through — the stars shone, a vivid, supernatural fue! When all the lake was in agitation the heat ‘was so intense as to cause a rapid retreat. And none too soon, for jets of lava with showers of | Vicinity are "bite hot splashes fell directly upon. the posi tion we just vacated. 1 irrepressible Aleck, hovering as near as he could to the fur- nace heat and flery shower, gathered the clots othot lava with slong pole, drew them away, and, shaping them deftly between his rough- shod feet, enclosed Hawaiian coins in the molten “specimens.” THEY WANTED TO G0 HOME. One of us in climbing to gather some of Madame Pele's hair from the rocks, broke through a lava bubble and fell upon all fours some four or five feet to the bottom of the bubble. No harm was done beyond some bruises of hands and knees upon the sharp lava points, but the incident was so suggestive of ‘THE HALF-WAY HOUSE. ‘There is s Half-way house—a native grass house—on this side ot the mountain, but we did not stop there, as the house is under ban just now because of the discovery lately of some cases of lepro ong the native occupants. We were obliged instead, to take our cold lunch uncomfdgtably in a forest of tree-ferns, which, though gigantic for ferns, did not amount to much as @ protection from the pelting rain. The specimens of tree-forn seen on this route are said to be among the finest known. In this nantities of the edible ohelo berry, resembling the cranberry somewhat ii shape and color, but which is said to be a vai y of the blueberry or huckleberry of Amer- ica. This is Pele's sacred berry. Our course was mainly over old lava fields, but at points skirted upon the great lava flows of 1855-6 and of 1880-1. The first con- tinued over a year, extended a distance of sixty miles, and stopped within six miles of Hilo. The eruption of 1890-1 continued for nine months, but was more rapid in its movement and reached within tiree-quarters of a mile of ‘The enormous lava river was impending di- rectly over Hilo and the people of the pleasant coast city were abandoning it as certainly doemed for the fate of Herculaneum. iiately concluded that they had seen enough and wanted to go back. They said they were tired and were afraid it was going to rain and wanted to get back before dark. Eight of them started back with the Portuguese guide, leaving five of us with Aleck. We staid for three hours longer or until 9 o'clock at night, and then left most reluctantly. As often as we would make a move to leave, the volcano would enter upon some new display of its wonderfulactivities. With all this variety of manifestations there was @ general course of action, as above described. After the volcano had blown off steam in this prodigious fashion there would be a subsidence; a cooling of the surface forming a crust capable sometimes of bearing the weight of an adventurous guide. Then the great volumes of gases generated below, confined under the crust begin to seek vent. ‘Then followed the wonderful series of geyser- like jets, whirlpools, dancing fountains, surges of fire throwing great gory clots on the banks; fireworks breaking in the air and sending out @ golden spray of ethereal grace and fineness that settling down clothes the rocks with “Pele's hair.” PELE'S MALIGNANT BAIR. This hair, by the way, is of a malignant nature, fitting its name. It has to be handled with extreme caution, for it penetrates thick gloves, and if itonce gets into the flesh is more painful and difficult to dislodge than so many thistle points. The completion of each of these courses of cooling and eruption occupied about three- quarters of an hour, so that in the four hours of our stay we witnessed five or six of the won- derful scenes. We left feeling it never in this world should we see again such a display of the powerful, the sublime and the beautiful in nature. OLD PRINCESS RUTH. At this crisis the Princess Ruth, a hideous old pagan who had sturdily held by the old idol worship of the islands, made he: appearance and with a party of her followers went out to the front of the lava flow and performed a round of idol rites propitiatory of the goddess Pele. These included sacrifices to the goddess of Uving animals, pigs and white chickens, bottles of brandy and whisky, bright colored cloths, red handkerchiefs, &c. | These articles, which are believed to be specially acceptable to Pele, were thrown into the lava. flood, though some of the irreverent assert that Ruth cheated the goddess out of the liquor and sacrificed the empty bottles. The curions fact about the whole business is that the lava flow stopped then and there and did not progress a foot further to- ward Hilo, Ruth may have shrewdly timed her visit when the flow began to show signs of ex- haustion, but the fact that it did stop coinci- dent with the rites to Pele, has served to revive the never thoroughly extinguished native faith in the old idols. ives Mrs. Dominis, the heir apparent (now the queen), and one of the pil- Jare of the leading native church in Honolulu (known as the stone church), is said to have made a pilgrimage to the volcano and offered asacrifice to Pele for relief from some ailment. ‘THE VOLCANO Woops. Seven miles from Hilo we struck what is a delightful tropical forest, perfect tangle of luxuriant vegetation, bright-colored flowers, tree ferns, creeping plants and vines. In one part is a flourishing ‘THE RETURN TRIP. Scrambling back to where we left our lanterns and waterproofs, we took a drink of the tepid rater left in the canteens, took each a lantexp and started on the home trip. Leaving the furnace heat of the lake we found the air decidedly chilly, but soon got warmed up by the hardships of the climb, especially when we reached the sulphur district. The passage through this truly satanic region was awkward enough by daylight and on the down grade. Now we had a steep, dificult climb, where it was impossible to hold the breath, as enjoined, or even to keep the wet handkerchief gan. Ancient shigrations and conquests brought about the carrying of different kinds of plants from one pert of the world to another,and they were also in a friendly way among nations, so that each valuable vegetable became distributed from its original source, where it grew wild, throughout distant countries, the ple of which found it available for cultive- ion. Seafaring tribes, too, conveyed such native productions of their own to distant portions of the world. In all these ways the plants which nature had placed upon the earth In scattered patches were spread and made The dis- vent cultivated useful to the entire human race. covery of America was the last which completed the diffusion growths. “It is most curious to consider from what sources the fruits and vegetables most familiar ® us, nearly all of them exotics, were origi- nally obtained. Oranges first grew in southern China and in Cochin, China. The lemon is indigenous to India. ‘Grapes were cultivated in very ancient times, in fact, the fruit of the vine “ was used” by the pre-historie Peoples of both | Europe and Asia. 1 records of wine making in back 6,000 years. Our common strawberry is one of the Most widely diffused plants, partly owing to the small size of its seeds, which birds carry to great distances. It is found all around the Arctic circle in a wild state, as far north as the cold will permit. Where it started no one can precisely tell, but it is cortain that its cultiva- tion was not introduced until about four cen- turies ago. ‘FROM THE ORIENT. “The common plum existed first in northern Persia and the region of the Caucasus. Apri- cots came from Armenia and the Greeks and Romans began to grow them at about the begin- ning of the Christian era, The almond tree is 4 native of western Asia. Peaches came from China originally and pears belonged at the be- ginning in the temperate belt of Europe. The earliest apples grew in the neighborhood of the Caspian sea, and the same may be said of uinces. It is contended by some authors that the apple disputed for by Juno, Venus and ‘Minerva was in reality a quince. “The watermelon, of which the colored peo- ple are reputed so fond, was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians in the time of the building of the Pyramids. It is found represented in many of the paintings which they left behind. Likewise there is reason for believing it was known to the Israelites of old. There is no doubt that it originated in the north of Africa. The cucumber belonged to the northwest of India. Olives were first brought from the south coast of Asia Minor. Mythology at- tributed to Minerva the planting of the fruit in Greece, which probably signifies the introduc- tion of cultivated varieties and of processes for extracting the oil. The traditions of ancient peoples, embellished by poets, have commonly attributed the first steps in agriculture and the introduction of useful plants to some divinity. PEPPERS AND OTHER THINGS. “Red peppers are of American origin. The fig is native to the southern Mediterranean basin from Assyria to the Canaries. Dates are indigenous to the region between the Euphra- tes and the Nile. The people of Baby- lon and of Egypt cultivated them most anciently. Banangg had their first exist- ence in the th of Asia, and not in the tropical parts of this continent. Probably the species was early introduced to the Ameri- cas by the Spanish and Portuguese. The pine- apple is an American plant and was suitably exchanged for the gift of the banana by intro- ducing it to Asia and Africa. “Radishes were cultivated in gardens from the earliest historic times throughout the tem- perate region of Asia and Europe, so that it is impossible to tell where they starte1. Turnips are European. Salsify was first foun‘. in Greece and Italy. ‘The potato is one of America’s most important contributions to the world’s stock of vegetables. Spanish voyager? con- veyed it abroad first, though the credit for its introduction to the’ old world was for a long time given to’ Sir Walter Raleigh. Chili was the birthplace of the tuber. It is commonly imagined, though incorrectly, that the sweet potato belongs to the same family as the potato. Probably the sweet potato originated im America, though some authorities con- tend that it first grew in Asia. Beets belonged in southern Europe and southwest Asia. Garlic is Mongolian. The origin of the onion is dis- puted, though it probably was derived from southwest Asis. By the Egyptians of old it was largely eaten, and one varicty cultivated in their country was so highly esteemed that divine honors were bestowed upon it. CABBAGES FROM EUROPE. “The cabbage was European. In its wild state it was found on the rocks by the seashore. The date of its cultivation is very ancient. Garden cress came from Persia, likewise spin- ach. The tea plant came first from China, and ite existence is accounted for by a legend to the effect that a priest, having succumbed to sleep when he had wished to watch and pray, in anger cut off his eyelids, which were changed intothe shrub whose leaves are calculated to prevent sleep. Sugar cane was first grown in Southern Asia, whence it spread into Africa and later to America. Tobacco, of course, is native to this continent. At the time of the discovery of America the custom of smoking, of snuff taking and of chewing tobacco was diffused over the greater part of the new world. Pipes in great numbers and of won- derful workmanship have been discovered in the ancient tombs of the Aztecs and the Mound cocoanut grove, an exceptional growth of this coast tree at this distance from salt water. A portion of this forest has been cleared of the undergrowth, and coffee plants set out under the taller trees, as they prosper best in the shade. Skirting the forest were specimens of the graceful “‘umbrella tree.” over our mouths. Our lanterns hardly gave light enough “to make darkness visible, the dense sulphur fumes blinded the eyes and clouded the awfnl earthquake cracks of un- known depth among which we were gropin The ubiquitous Aleck was bobbing around with Figaro-like agility, crying “Look out!” THE UMBRELLA TREE AND OTHER HAWAIIAN TREES. On emerging from the forest we came to ex- tensive sugar cane fields, fenced with wire, and With 4g Zailroad extending through them to carry the cane to the sugar mills at Hilo. ‘As we passed through these fie and then a slender, weasel-shay be seen darting across the somehow to the top of the sulphur cliffs we Ee sso Ses acy Se She darkness somes dots of Sight, shoving Ghee tap parks obs tnt et some three hours before were Casta ye ola steep ascent of the crater-wall near the ho Ttwas n scene to be remembered. Behind was the mystic lake veiled by the clouds of shades of vapor . color— blueish white, pink, golden, all ground us yore the’ awful salphur regions, In front was the head of our lantern-light pro- .sround among the earthquake lights bri out in startling ‘Titad-limbed fgutes and unearthly pretty nearly exterminated the rats aad 18 now foing for the chickens and eggs of the planters ® way that makes them somewhat of a nuisance, in turn. ete iets Builders.’ 13 FIRING ON SUMTER. How the Beginning of the War Changed Things in This City. WHO FIRED THE FIRST SHOT. —— Downfall of the National Intelligencer—The Attempt Made to Keep it Afloat—Distin- guished Commissioners of Patents—Some 8 I BEGIN MY WEEKLY CONTRIBU ‘tion to the columns of Tus Sram (Sunday, April 12), I am reminded that this day thirty years ago the first gun was fired on Sumter. Thirty years ago! It seems but afew years, comparatively, and yet there are not many here todayito recall the intense excitement which ‘this city and the country. Here the events which followed had been in some mens- ure anticipated. The ordinances of secession had been passed in many of the southern states. We had said good-bye to many southern friends afew months before as they withdrew from Congress to take part with their respective states, but there was still the hope that a re- treat from the last step toward actual war might be averted. The peace congress met some weeks later here in Washington and there was a good deal of confidence felt that peace in some way would again spread her wings over the threatened disrupture. The hope Indeed, this city hi already put on the babili. ments of war, tor on the day after the fall of Sumter Mr. Lincoln issued his call for 75,000 men, which Gov. Seward thought would be all that would be needed for a sixty-day war, as he expressed it. I remember how even then we seemed unwilling and almost unable to com- rehend the situation as it actually existed. fight in the streets of Baltimore on the 19th of April between the Sixth Massachusetts, cor manded_ by Col. Jones, now lieutenant gover- nor of New York, and the mob which raged there to prevent their passage through the city to relieve Washington dispelled all hopes of From that time “the cry was still they come,” until, in a very brief time, the public build- ings ‘had been’ transformed into military de- pots for men and arms and all the needed re- quirements of a campaign. How suddenly the transformation came! Every hour of every i The rumbling of ar- lery became a familiar sound. We grew used to th area be lerly as he dashed through the streets. The provost marshal and his fuard were met on duty almost everywhere, and “grim-visaged war” was seen and felt in the preparations under way all over the city. ‘The change all this brought to Washington cannot be realized now, for the sheds and tem- porary shops and stores improvised for the oc- casion and to meet the demands of the rapidly increased population have long since been swept away and stately residences have taken their places. THE FIRST SHOT. A New York journal states that Gen. Roger A. Pryor was present at Charleston when the guns were trained on Sumter and was offered the first shot, but that he declined it. If that be So, all that Ihave heard of that famed shot, which aroused the country from ii state of repose, is indirect contradiction, and sought information of it from a confederate officer upon whose knowledge I would rely. He says the first shot was fired by Mr. Edwin Ruflin of Virginia; that Mr. Ruftin was then man over seventy and during the war was at tached to no command, but was generally on the skirmish line with a Maynord riffe, his in- separable companion, and at the close of the war he returned to his home in Virginia and, writing a brief note saying he had no desire to survive the liberty of his country, shot him- self. This gentleman says the second shot was fired by John Mitchell, the Irish patriot, who had two sons in the reoceupied Fort Sumter which was not captured during the war, but at ite close was evacuated and has never been occupied since. The regiments which came to Washington and encamped around the city—the Seventh of New | York, the Rhode Island regiment, commanded | by Gor. Sprague, and other regiments—made | ll the region north of the city, then entirely | tural, very attractive. Every afternoon the grounds at Eckington, where the Rhode Island- | ers were encamped, and the encampment of the | Seventh, were thronged with visitors. We saw only the bright side of the picture then, but ¥ery soon the reverss was prescnted tous, when, after the battle of Bull Kun, the wounded were brought in, and while hospitals were being pre- pared the public squares were resting places, where the weary burden of wounds and fatigue found rest, and there tha ladies of Washington, like ministering angels, thronged to comfor? and console and ly the wants of the suf- fering. All of thi twice-told tule, and yet in how many homes came the thought that this day, the 12th of April, thirty years ago, began the greatest war in history. DOWNFALL OF THE “NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.” To me that period was an anxious one. At one fell swoop the National Intelligencer lost its main support. The thousands of southern subscribers who had taken the National Intelli- gencer for two generations were cut off by the stoppage of the mails south of Washington, | The large amount of dues for subscriptions were lost forever. The friends of the old rallied. Mr. Thurlow Weed was called to ington by Gov. Seward, always a staunch friend, and was desired ‘to find the means needed to supply the loss and continue its pub- lication. Mr. Lincoln, whose old whig procliv- ities, bound him to the organ of that grand old party, desired something should be done to sus- tain the paper and Mr. Weed consulted with Messrs. Gales and Seaton as to the amount needed to carry it safely over the breakers then in view. I returned to New York with Mr. 4 “How Far to the Grave?” “How far is it called to the grave?” ‘The boy looked up from his play— “The grave? I have not heard of the grave; It must be far away. “Often the sailors have told me Of lands where the palin trees wave, Of lands of beauty and wonder; But they never spoke of the grave.” Nanght he knew of the silent grave; ‘Naught he knew but his play and prayer; Yet his life’s travel was nearly o'er, His little feet just there. “How far is it called to the grave” ‘The lover looked up with a smile— “Abt from the golden days of love It must be many a mile. “Onur road lies yet in the sunshine, ‘Through songs and through scented May; Far, far off is the silent grave, ‘And its shadows cold and gray.” ‘He could not see that his darling, ‘With the bride flowers in her hair And the wedding token on her Was almost, sfiost theres “How far is tt called to the grave?” ‘The mother turned with a tear; ‘White grew the rose in her cheek, ‘Her heart stood still with fear. “How far? "Tis close to the hearth-stone; Alas for the baby feet— ‘The little bare feet that all unled ‘Haste there with steps so feet! “And alas for the aged footsteps And those that have gone astray! And alas for the broken-hearted, ‘They find it far away. “Yet the longest journeys have their end, “And the darkest shadows tes, And even the dreariest rivers. ‘Find their way into the sea.” ‘How far is it to the grave? It is only a life, dear friend; And the longest ite is short at last ‘When Heaven ls at the end. Weed to obtain the amount required—about $30,000. Thad never betore met Mr. Greeley and I found in him a very earnest friend, and after a day or two Mr. Weed said the sum had been secured. That mght’s mail brought a copy of the National Intelligencer containing an article denying any power in the gov- ernment to coerce a state. Very able, but st that moment most unfortunately in- sppropriate. |My mission ended very abruptly and I returned without receiving the promised heip. In the clash of arms the voice of the Constitution was unheard or was unheeded. Mr. Weed subsequently, urged from Washing- ton, secured some relief, and Messrs. Gales and Seaton struggled on, fighting in their own way for the preservation of the Union. long since Dr. Welling told me that an eminent Jegal gentleman of New York had suggested to him the republication of the articles written at that time and published in the National Zntelli- gencer, a8 now, he said, the country would listen to them. During the whole war the National Intelii hhad the confidence of ‘Mr. Lincoln and Gov. Seward, though the ultras, except the Hon. us Stevens, did not agree with it. On one occasion Gen. Schenck came over from Baltimore while in command there and told Mr. Lincoln it was useless for him to remain in Wishe | D Not | der His was in reply to one delivered by yeh hen. eo 5 otinn oy iy from _— == ty for the jhanence of very. Mr. Jacob Thompson was Secretary of the Mr. Bishop was comm: sioner of the \t office, between the . Bishop a very warm friend- ship existed. ‘MR. THOMPSON'S CONFIDENCE SHOCKED. Mr. Bishop visiting Niagara Falls during the war met the ex-Secretarr, then confederate commissioner, whose confidence in the defeat of Sherman was #0 great that hep the success of the confederacy would soon fol- low. While talking with Mr. Bishop and ex- pressing his contidence a telegram was banded im announcing the capture of Atlanta. Ite effect upon him, Mr. Bishop said, was almost rostration. He rose from his seat, anid good- ye and left without another word. EDMUNDS’ AND THURMAN'S INTIMACY. ‘The withdrawal from the Senate of the very able representative from Vermont, Mr. Ed- munds, takes from that august body one of its most conspicuous membera. The retirement | some time ago of his old friend and companion, | Judge Thurman, must have made the Senator from Vermont jonesome. The intimacy be- tween these sages was somewhat remarkable, and the exhibition of their congenial tastes caused considerable amusement on the floor of the Senate. Their long service on the judiciar committee cemented that friendship. At r | Ular intervals during the sessions of the Senate Jablast from the Ohio Senator's “bandana,” heard echoing through the chamber, arn the attention of the chairman of the jadiciary committee, who, pushing aside his law books however deeply engaged, he obeyed the sum- mons, gravely rose aud followed the lead of the Senator from Ohio, though by an opposite door, and, at all roads lead to Rome, they soon tek at the door of the committee room on the judi- ciary, from which they soon emerged, wiped their mouths, refreshed and invigorated, to re- turn to the Senate as gravely as they had left it, same opposite doors. It was Mr. two democratic Senators came upon the floor of the House of Representatives and urged the passage of that measure. They cannot divest themselves of the responsibility for the defeat of Gov. Tilden. ELLIOTT WAS THE ARCHITECT. ence and the journal of the late Wm. P. Elliott, proving him to be the architect of that beautiful uilding, the patent office. obt. Mills was constructing architect, and vas the architect of the treasury building. Letters and official documents from the committess of the two houses of Congress attest Mr. Elliott's claim. The evident desire of some one to deprive Mr. Elliott of that well-deserved bonor gave him, during the later years of his life, incessant trouble. Mr. Elliott's journal contains the fullest details of every meeting held by the congressional committees and the cabinet son while the question of the building wus be- ing discussed in cabinet. After the matters had been fully arranged and Mr. Elliott ordered to proceed in laying out the ground for the founda~ tion of the great building Gen. Jackson or- dered a change that would not disturb old Mrs. Orr's cottage or cabin. Mr. Elliott declined to make the change, and after some delay the architect was ordered to begin on his own lines, regardless of Mrs. Orr's pigs and poultry. __ The patent centennial celebration, at its meet- ing, expressed very decided opposition to the of the building designed and erected for the patent office alone, which invasion, as the; gard it, so contracts and lessens the space needed that the patentecs whose funds oon- tributed for patent rights not only sufficed to erect the present building, but they are willing, they say in their report, that the four millions patent fund in the treasury shall be appro- priated to the erecting of a new Department of the Interior that they may be the sole occu- nts of the patent office. A perusal of Mr. iott's journal recalls so many of our old re dents and events filled with interest thet it would repay publication. Mr. Elliott's fame is safe in the hands of the friends he left, and they are many, who are not likely to forget an architect of such eminent ability. SOME INEXCUSABLE BLUNDERS. In the years gone by long ago there was in the office of the Nationa! Intelligencer, among the many worthies who filled the old building, Mr. George M. Grouard. Mr. Grouard had charge of the public printing, was the foreman of that department, which was in the lorge for many years was foreman of the office on D street, where the Register of Debates was printed, and where Gen. Simon Cameron as a Young man worked ‘“at case.” Mr. Grouard Was mau of somewhat choleric temperament, and when a “dirty proof” was put before him his expletives were original, if somewhat tinc- tured with oaths. One of his expressions Comes back to me very frequently as I read the most inexcusable errors in the daily press. He would say i: tones of thunder, there is more stupidity to the square inch in a printing office than anywhere on earth.” One of our city journals gravely announced the Bonaparte who died recently (Pion Plon) | was the husband of Miss Patterson, who was married in Baltimore in 1803. What excuse could there be for this in this age of biograph- ical dictionaries and encyclopedias? Another poblishing an old whisky list of Mr. Thomas ougherty at the Indian Queen Hotel in 1615,be- fore the days of Jesse Brown, says Mr. Dougherty was agentieman from Pennsylvania prosecut- ing a claim here, when a moment's research of Ben: Perley Poore's Congressional Directory would have informed him that Mr. Thomas ougherty was a member of Congress from 1812 to 1814, from Kentucky, and then was elected clerk’ of the House of Errors so easily avoided are unpardonable in newspaper. ‘The Arlington has published a very handsome little souvenir of its surround- ings, but in mmit a frightful blunder. The author of it says Sir Henry Bul- wer accepted the Freeman mansion with his talented son, Lord Lytton (“Owen Meredith”), Sir Henry Bulwer was, I think, a bachelor, and Owen Meredith the son of his brother, the almost at his hand, so universally acce are now all books of reference, and p: larly in Washington. ‘The old “Indian Queen, painted on swinging sign, was a very im: ing affair. ears after this period, when Jesse Brown the landlord, an old gentle- man named Venable rode upon horseback, and handing over the counter, then office and’ bar, his saddle bags, requested Mr. Brown to lay them aside, as he would return home tomor- row, having only a little claim to settle with one of the departments. His horse was «tabled and very soon “eat his head ‘The old gen- man remained at the hotel while his money lasted, and then begun the inevitable descent, from the hotel to « boarding house of the best class, then the lower class, and to save the old gentleman his friends obtained him a place as doorkeeper of one of the galleries at the Capi- tol. He there remained until he died, ‘and the little claim” remains unpaid. This is the story Edmunds’ assurance of investigation and his | Iwas shown extracts from the correspond- and of the interviews he held with Gen. Jack- | occupancy by the Department of the Interior | building on 7th street, and Mr. Sam'l McElwee | RAILROADS. Qvenze Axo Laxe St. J ons Ramwar. ‘Only rail route to the delightful summer resorts north of Quebec, through the CANADIAN ADIRONDACKS. Magnificent scenery. Beautiful climate. Monarch Parlor and Sleeping Care Hotel Roberval, Lake St. John, recently enlanred, Das first-class accommodations for 300 quests, apd i@ Fun in connection with the “Island Hous” at the Grand Discharge, the center of the *‘Ouanahlché” fishing frounds. Daily communication by steamer acromthe lake. ‘The fishing rights of Lake St. Joba and tributaries, an area of 20,000 square miles, are free to guests of the hotels. For information as to hotels apply to manager Hotel Roberval, Roberval, Lake St.John. For folders and suide books apply to G. LEVE, 45 Brosdway, New apte.1m | York. | (CHESAPEAKE AND Ono RAILWaT. | Leave Westnet. n MORE & ONTO RAILROAD. Maret 2, from station evenbe and C wire | | For Chicago and Northwest, Ve press daily, 1? wa N 0 aisd points tn the Shenandoah Valley, wgler and way Stations, 13.30. “S50 pan oh eye re, wick dng, nintites) & "ke. oo 4.0 WE REY 45-ruin utes d : Bd. Saintes) 6:18, 6.30. 7 0. B80 Wt, 110.40 a. LINE. at PHILADELPRI i, Boston, ug Car on the Palinan Buffet Sleep. Pm with ii to Duwton withow cl lating " pasemngere fa noon, ) detuutted expreme, {Sunday ont a from hotels tod i A ROUTE. AND SoU b Wasi EK OF OTH AND B tiabure and th er Cor Weahunraae te Care “Harrisbure toe ond Dining Oar Har nod tinct cua “ate Exprem, too =, feats mi. daily, for DSSS TEE teroueh Sieeper to Pittsburg, aid Pattee BALTINOL For < it AND POTOMAC RAILROAD, ati Rovhester and Nagure hs Slvam laeator enter vo and Eluaire 610.50 ou port, Hien tS £OK PHILADELPHIA ORLY. Sat cae: PN A and dome. gary, a dork city” Fotki, Wook daye, 1235 p.m. ud 115 pe 20a uie aud 4-30 p.m. dally, 10and 4:29 1 Se ereee) week days For huctancnd Sally. Accommodation 4 ‘Trains leave Alexandra ior $40 ga Jes Tae Oo, 3 0, > 44, O24, 11.08 "p.m. On’ Sunday. 146 am 204, Olu 7 se a on 2 ‘ickete and information st the office, northeast con. er of 1th street and Feunay!vemie eveanen eek a ears Yo Gretinetion tras Lota epieat eae 4. Wood, GH on Genera Vesmmcer Aiwa. soi cate, pean RMUNOND ax DaNviie y weenie an effort Malic Sy raiga leave and arrive at Punaayieeee: passenger Warkincom DC eee muy’ for Culperee, | Charlottenvilig, Lywchburg. Kocky Mount, Denville Greene Kaleuch, Asheville, Qhariotte, Coluge New laura, Biruinchass, Mongernee and Caitioruia. Pulluan Seaper New ors te % stat m.—Southern Expres daily for he Asbevile, Chatiotim OC . Atlauta, dunt of hundreds who come to Washington, lured by the syrene song of justice from the govern- ment of the United States. Joun F. Coxe. paneer Bt In Savannah. command in that city while the National In- telligencer was allowed to be circulated there, and asked permission to suppress it.. Mr. Lin: coln replied: ‘General, let those old gentlemen y know better than we do what they treat of, and are as loyal as we are. I wish there were more like them.” DISTINGUISHED Ss one of the fest solsatite in ts country. Ano! bese He i [| Hi A i ie i ! E i E E Z u Hl 5 i nF i [ f é i | Fy & H 22 & i z i Sunday: Trough teaine from the south via Yillgand Lywchbuy arrive us Wanuinwrion Oot ana 1025 a.m. So Pm. . Vie East lounesses, wae pa 7 reservations nts Sees mots ee eee Faulroad, Uti 7 mh AS. L. TAYLOR. Gen. Pam Agent —————— SS POTOMAC RIVER BOATS. - : -