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About Oregon spectator. (Oregon City, O.T. [i.e. Or.]) 1846-1855 | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1846)
n9r:i?fl 'V 'ffl m - M a fotf From tho Repoaltory of tho Fall Aawriatwa. Life what In It? Go aak tlie aire whote Jioary lock An WanchM with four acoro yean, What'i life to him? A barren rock Amid a vale of team Than aak tho man whoan mTd li fame, IU' toll'd to reach that goal; Ala! 'lb but u nimpicnam ' Which ne'er can wo the oul. Thrn view ttie man who treomirn itoro. Hi eager even to pleaac; (Jure life on him her blowing pour, But la hit iouI at tunc ? Then aak the poor whono hiimblo lot U fraught with toil and care, While aiding 'neath hi lonely cot, Haa ha for life no fear? Yea, aak the youth whoae nnlling fnen Bpenka the jnya within ; Alaa! nlaa! hi jo)aall cav Before they acarce begin. And aak yon maid with eilkrn trfw, And cheek of rawat hwo Her heart la full of tendnmeaa 8ay, what U lifo to ou? Methinka I hear her aniwer come. By sephyri gentl driven ; IJfe naught to me, a better home I artk away in heaven. Ah ! life U but a (raiment bubble On timea widioreun tWd A gale of plramre, then of trouble Then In death'a ocrau lot ! Nov. 25, 1W5. Tar. WAxuaai.tu Hard. For the Spectator. Mr. EoiTOH As thin is the season of tlio year tltot tho emigrating partii'H are prepar. Ing to leave the states, their friends, the homos of their fathers, ami ull that they had learned to consider as denr to them in the land which gave them hirth, to journey across this vust continent, over plains, inoun. tain.s, nnl deerts, one's mind involuntarily roves over the magnitude ol the undertaking. Only think of it for a moment ! A party con. sisttmrof over one hundred wugons, eiicum hcred with their baggage, families and little ones, left the settlements in Missouri in the year 1813, without a road, with no eperi. enccd pilot, and with the received opinion of those who had traveled tho route on horse. back, that it was iinpnictieahlu for wugons on account of the stupendous mountain."; with all those obstacles he-fore thvin, and many others, together with the distant" if VJd'u'O miles beforci them, minds suilicienlly stout for tho undertaking, were found among the hardy pioneers of tho valley of the Mississip. pi. lias tho world ever witnessed such a daring expedition before ? c think it doubt, ful. 1,' is true that Africa has its deserts of and, which arc more dreary even than those of America, as they arc sometimes, in dry seasons, destitute of water, whieh, however, onn never be the case with the latter, as ul. most tho entire route is Krformed on the margins of largo and nevur-failing streams;) but tho crossing the great Sahara, or desert of Africa, with caravansof cumcls and mulcM, on an old and constantly traveled route, can have no comparison with the long and tcdi. ous expedition under consideration, perform ed in wagons drawn by oxen, which rcquir cd, in some instances, over six months to per form it. Who will disputn the characteristic boldness of tho Anglo-Saxon race in Amcri ca? It certainly cannot bn done in this age ; but great actions aro often productive of great ends. Who may dure to say that this little heroic party, directed hither by Prori. donee, has not carried with it to tho shores of the Pacific, tho germ of republicanism or self-government, whoso limits may be boun. ded by tho Frozen ocean on tho north, and Cape St. Luca or Capo Horn on tho south; and may, dispute all other forms of govern ment except that of tho sovereign people, re. gardloss of boundary questions, &c. M. M. M. frln no instances havo tho folly and child ishi'.ess of a large portion of mankind been more strikingly displayed, thnn in thoso va. rious, and occasionally very opposite, modes in which they have departed from tho stan dard of nature, and sought distinction oven in deformity. Thus, whilo ono race of pco plo crushes tho feet of thoir children, an other flattens their heads between two boards; and while wo admiro the natural whiteness of the teeth, tho Malays filo off tho enamel and dye them black, for tho all-sufficient rea son that dogs' teeth uroyhito! A Now Zea land chief nas his distinctTvSNymt of arms emblazoned on tho skin of his faSe, as well as oh his limbs ; and an Esquimaux is noth ing in his own opinion if he has not bits of stone stuffed through a hole in each cheek. saV sssal ti.mlt t: Oregon Spectator, " Waatwari the Htax.of Empire takaa U way." - atxMttnzxtxmjsMssmK Vol. I. Ortgon City, (Ortfon Ttr.) Thnnity, Hay 14, 1M6.. M9.8. Quito an abctird,and still more mischievous, is tho infatuation which, among some Ameri cans and Europeans, attaches beauty to that modification of tho human figure which re sembles the wasp, and compresses tho waist until tho very ribs havo been distorted, and the functions of the vital organs irreparably disordered. Davit China, . (Kr An attentive survey of the tropical re gions of the earth, where food is produced in the greatest aounaance, win seem to justify the conclusion that extremr. fertility, or pow er of production, has been rather unfavora ble to the progress of the human race; or, at least, that tho industry and advancement of notions have appeared in some measure to depend on a certain proportion between their necessities and their natural resources. Man is by uaturo an indolent animalrandwjihout the stimulant of necessity will, in the first in vtance, get on as well as he can with the pro vision that nature has made for him. In the warm and fertile regionsof tho tro pics, or rathcrof the equinoctial, where lodg ing and clothing, the two necessary things af ter food, are rendered almost superfluous by the climate, and where food itself is produced w ith very little exertion, wc find how small a progress has in most instanced been made, while, on the other hand, tho wholo of Eu rope, and bv far tho greater part of China, are situated bevond tho northern tropic. If again, wc gofartlter north, to those arctlcre gioiis where man exists in a very 'miserable state, we shall find that there he has no ma terials to work upon. Nature is such a nig gard in the returns which she makes to la hor, that industry is discouraged and frozen, as it were, in tho outset. In other words, the proportion is destroyed ; the equinoctial re gions aro too spontaneously genial and fer tile; the arctic too unkindly barren; and on this account it would seem that industry, wealth, and civilization have been principal ly roiifmed to tho temperate zone, where there aro at once neccs&ty to excite lahor and production to recompense it. There ?"e, no doubt, other important circumstances, be. sides geographical situations, which influence the advancement of nations; but this, at least, is too eonsiderable an ingredient to bo left out of the calculation. Davis. Collect! suj. The Knickerbocker tells the following hu morous story : A gentleman from New York, who had been in Boston for the purpose of col lecting some money due him in that city, was aliout returning, when he found that one bill of SI 00 had been overlooked. His landlord who know tho dobtor, thought it a doubtful case; but added, that if it was collectable at nil, a tall, raw-boned yankefl, then dunning a lodger in another part of tlie room, would " annoy it out of tho man." Calling him up, therefore, ho introduced him to the creditor who showed him the account. " Wal, 'squire, 'taint much uso tryin', I guess. I know that critter. You might as well try to squeeze ilo out of Bunker Hill monument as to c'lect a debt o' him. But any how, whal'U you give s'pos'n 1 do try?" " Well, sir, the bill is 9100. I'll give you, yes, I'll givo you half, if you colleot it." " Greed!" replied tho collector ; "there's no harm in irg'n'. any ways." Some weeks after, the creditor chanced to bo in Boston, and in walking up Tremont street, encountered his enterprising friend. " Look hore," said he, " I had considers, bio luck with that bill of your'n. You see I stuck to him like, a dog to a root, but for the first week or so' twant't no use not a bit! If he was at home be was short if he wasn't at home, I could jet no satisfaction. By and by, says I, after going sixteen times, I'll fix you; so I sot down on the door step, apd sot all day and part of the evenin.', and, begun arly next day, but about 10 o'clock he gift in. Ho paid me my half,ixA I gin him up the note." " " AffHctaltsmal Cswealstrr MaspHfJe. raoM trots un iitmus mi. til The questions proposed in our last, are con nected with the invariable condition of the air with respect to oxygen. 100 volumes of air have been found, at every period and in ev ery climate, to contain 21 volumes of oxygen, yet ono man consumes by respiration 25 cu bio feet of oxygen in 24 boars, and 1 cwt. of charcoal consume 8,200 cubic feet, during its combustion. How, does it happen then, that tne proportion or oxygon in the atmos phere is thus invariable f The answer to this question depends upon another; namely, what becomes or the carbonic acid, which is pro duced during the respiration of animals, and by the process of combustion ? A cubic foot of oxygen, by uniting with carbon so as to form carbonic acid, does not change its vol time, and the proportion of carbonio acid in the atmosphere may be regarded as nearly equal to one thousandth part of its weight. It is quite evident that the quantities of carDon'c acia ana oxygen in me aimospnere, which remain unchanged by lapse of time, must stand in some fixed relation to one an other; a cause must exist which prevents the increase of' carbonic acid by removing that which ,is constantly formingj"and there must be some means of replacing the oxygen, which is removed from the air by the process of com bustion and putrefaction, as well as by the re spiration of animals. Both-ihese causes are united in the process of vegetable life. It has been stated, that the carbon of plants must be derived exclusively from' the atmosphere; now, carbon exists in the atmosphere only in the form of carbonlo acid; and thereforein a state of combination with oxygen. It has been mentioned Jjke wise, thatctrbon and the ele ments of water form the principal constitu ents of vegetables ; now, the relative quan tity of oxygen in the whole miss is less than in carbonic acid, for the latter contains two equivalents of oxygen, while one only ia re quired to unite with hydrogen in the propor tion to form water ; the vegetable products which contain oxygen in larger proportion are very few. It is obvious, that when the hydrogen of water is taken up by a plant, the oxveen in combination with it, roust be lib. -crated, and will afford a quantity of this ele ment sufficient tor the wants of the plant the oxygen contained in the carbonic acid being unnecessary in the process of vegeta ble nutrition, it consequently escapes into the atmosphere in a gaseous form. It is there fore certain, that plants must possess the pow er of decomposing carbonic acid, since they appropriate its carbon for their own use, and the atmosphere must thus receive a volume of oxygen, for every volume of carbonic acid which lias been decomposed. This remarkable property of plants has been dewr-strated in the most certain man ner ; the leaves and other green parts of a plant absorb carbonio acid, add emit an equal volume of oxygen, and they possess this pro perty quite independent of the plant ; for if, after being separated from the stem, they are placed in water containing carbonio add, and and exposed to the sun's light, the 'carbonio acid is, after a time, found to have disappear ed entirely from the water; if the experiment ia conducted under a glass receiver filled with water, the oxygen emittedfray be collected and examined; but if plants are placed in wa ter which is free from carbonio add, nooxy. gen is emitted. These observations were tr: made by Priestley and Sennebier. Thus the Ufa of. plants is dosbjy connected with that of animals, ia a most simple man ne&and for a wieeandauWim purpose. The presence of a rich awl luxurious vegetation may be conceived .without the concurrence of animal life, but the existence of animals is undoubtedly dependent upon the life and .development of plants ; tbey not only afford the means of nutrition for the growthand con- tinuinoe of animal organization, nut they like wise; furnish that which is, essential for the iinitii i ili' : .H-wO support of the important vital matters froarsh bAbm exhaustible soireef eeqxyj plies the lose which uVeIs taining. AhiriMds ori Mother hsji carDon, wmen plants inspire;, wrnpumjwnoi mcmeojuni Miwn let, 'namely, the atmosphere is constantly unchanged,.,. , , 4 --., The proper, constant, , and ;i .i " . . i . 1 1 a SBS sources oj oxygen, aro me climate where a sky, seh mils tho glowing rays pf theeujf Jgfl oruan immeasuraoiy luxunAM' x me lemperaie nu com zonesi of wood and coal, must replac oi ine sun, prouuec, on we. I uuinu aeiu ui supenuunaanM nended in the nutrition of the The same stream ofair bji revolution oi me earuiiroraj the poles, brines to usl in its the'equator, the oxygen generi carries awav the carbonic leld .- if.-A.lA 1 illlCI, Plants thus improve the air! i. . . .. .. vai oi carbonic acid, and by f oxygen, which is immediately use of man and animals. Thai rents of the atmosphere bring ! mitfti 4tiMV nrw mpW mA change of air between the upptf- strata, which their dtiterenoe or causes, is extremely trifling Hi with the horizontal movemensf Thus vegetable culture hei thy state of a country, and a thy country would be rendered habitable by the cessation of In the primeval ages, the at have contained less oxygenbut portion of carbonic acidthaavitf present time', which accounts forth ana luxuriance oi ine earner vi various layers of wood and well as peat, formins the i meval vegetation. IfutacertJijnsjf nave amvea m wmen ine bonic acid contained in the neither increase nor dlmin preciable quantity; for if it reei uiuumi quantity i uie oaoar f increased vegetation would- b consequence, and the excess w speedily removed. And, oh the if it was less than the normals progress of vegetation would bei me proporuon wouia soon am standard. The most-important in the life of plants, or ir other assimilation of carbon, is the might almost say, the generatiaav no matter can be considered as the growth of plants, which position similar to or identieal and the assimilation of. whiflsl: place without exercising this reverse is the case in the-n: mats ; and hence all the e; and false notions hitherto .eal ogy, that fertile source of ervee, fortunately, led to the very unapi ot the vital functions ot plants animais. t , tl".' WXS. J rf J r The Capo de Void ksuos, ftiastf -. Iv. ham aoAnd ta Mlnkkv of iIaiaa'SWaaasm tracuoa of ualr roraati, ua from too partial ceamtioa m c " . SBBBaaaaSBBBSakaU 4- iXSjBfSSar , i mmmy "mmm MsVssW ' ISu TL. Mtrr- 0A gentleman conceived thsi in his present circumstances, the ootning a popular preacher was he could adopt. Few career' i vitlng, and our friend from the feftf himself a log conventicle, and middle of ita very lofty and ri nit Tl ill,, nf nnanihr, srrjiuii i :;, "- :icr? msttstc-.v.i UUUUUJK W3 CIUWUBU. XltAllsKsJM rriAM sumnAAarisl Ma -' tw--ltm.A J-- -.-1 Jt,, then, for the first time, it ntijdiimH M him that it was possible tor.sj quite v fait at an extemi He kept his congregation ia i for many a long minute. He- throat, and got three times-to aw opening sentence ; but prise was desperate, he at last astonished auditorathus tultf t down there thinks that H V the in the world to preach, let Mil here and trv." 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