£l)c farmer's ittontljlij iHsitov. 



137 



From the Aew York Evening ! 

 The Wild Horses.— A Poem for the Boys. 



Once Ihere was a hltle boy that lived in a cottage by the 



wood j 

 'Twas on the edge of the prairies wide, his falher's cot- 



t i ge s I ; 



And the little hoy was good and brave, and he was fail 



and true, 

 And hi" lather loved him very well, and taught him all he 



knew. 



He taught him lirst to read and write, and to shoot with 



the Indian bow. 

 And how to aim his rifle-ball at the heart of the buffalo : 

 And lie gave him a little pony, too, and taught hnn how 



to ride. 

 And chas<- the wild horses, where they flocked, across the 



prairies wide. 



And the little boy rose every dav as soon as the sky was 



light, 

 And wns oil 10 hunt and shoot and ride, and fallow the 



chase till night, 

 And he was dresi in a hunter's dres6, 'twas green from 



top to toe. 

 But his plumes were black, and his belt was red, and his 



ponv white as snow. 



He carried his rifle on Ins back, in a tassel'd cord 'twas 

 slung, 



His hunting horn was tipt with gold, and in his belt it 

 hung, 



His lasso hung at his saddle bow, his spurs were blight 

 and keen, 



And a prettier hunter boy than he, was never on the prai- 

 rie seen. 



The little boy got on his horse and went to ride one day, 

 And he stopt a while at the village school with the village 



boys to play ; 

 And the little girls came out to see, and they all admired 



him so 

 They gave him a name to know him by and they called 



him Captain Beau. 



And Captain Beau had a little friend, and his name was 



Chinkapin, 

 And the poor fellow had never a dress to go a hunting in. 

 He had no rifle, -nor cap and plume, nor hunter's belt and 



horn, 

 And he sat down by himself and cried, his heart was all 



forlorn. 



Cheer up, cheer up, said Captain Beau, and come to- 

 morrow to me, 



We'll see what can be done for you, cheer up my lad, 

 well see : 



We'll give the tanner ten buffaloes to-morrow night, or 

 less. 



But any way, well give hnn enough to pay for a hunter's 

 dress. 



And so the nest day In the hunt they went, and they 



bought the dress next night, 

 And the cap was as green as Captain Beau's, and the 



spurs as sharp and bright ; 

 And Chinkopin w-as happy and proud, hut he had no horse 



to ride, 

 And fo. as soon as he thought of that, he sat down again 



and cried. 



But Captain Bean bid him cry no more, for, said he, you 

 foolish child, 



There are horses enough For us all to ride, on the prairie, 

 running w ild ; — 



Come down to my house, in your hunter's dress, to mor- 

 row, as soon as it's- light, 



And 1 warrant we'll catch you famous horse before to- 

 morrow night. 



So they went next morning away together, far out on the 



prairie grass. 

 And before they had been an hour to look, they saw the 



w ild horses pass ; 

 And they lound a tree where Chinkopin could climb in 



the boughs and hide, 

 While Captain Beau went after them as fast as he could 



ride. 



And when the pony came near the herd, Ihey jumped and 



pranced anil neighed, 

 And looked delighted, so prettily the little white pony 



played. — 

 And always followed him round and round, till at last they 



came to a stand, 

 Just under the tree where Chinkopin hid with a lasso in 



lis hand. 



He had tied one end of it hard and fast to a stout old 



knotty bough, 

 And there came a line horse just under him j says he, I'll 



noose hitn now, — 

 And In- slip! the other end over his head and dtew it Hose 



and light, 

 And the wild horse kicked and pranced in vain, and the 



rest ran oil' in a fright. 



The pony came up : well done, well done, my friend, 



said Captain Boau, 

 There's a line grey horse for you to ride, now didn't I tell 



you so ; 

 Come out of the tree, come carefully, take care for his 



wicked feet. 

 We'll leave him here tied up to-day with nothing to drink 



nor eat. 



And when he's hungry and tired enough to behave him- 

 self well, we'll come 



And slip a bridle over his head, and away we'll lead him 

 home ; 



And the tanner shall get you a saddle like mine, with a 

 UbSO at tbfl bow, 



And every day next week for that we'll kill him a buffalo. 



So when the wild horse was hungry and tired he began to 



In- gentle and lame, 

 And the little boys left Into there till night, and then with 



a saddle they came, 

 And they put a bridle over his head, and they quietly led 



lino ii a iv , 

 And put him sat'e into the stable at home, and fed hnn 



with oats and hay. 



iNext day Captain Beau and Chinkopin rode down to the 



village again, 

 And all the village came to see the brave little hunter 



men, 

 And the little boys all cried out well done, let's all be 



dresl up so, 

 And lei's rule in a troop with Chinkopin and follow the 



Captain Beau. 



So every day they caught a horse till each little boy had 

 one, 



And they paid lor their dresses in buffaloes as fast as the 

 dresses were done j 



And they blew their horns and cried hurrah, till the prai- 

 rie rang with noise, 



And the prettiest troop in the world it was, Captain Beau 

 and his hunter boys. 



- Krom the Maine Farmer. 

 The River Jordan and the Dead Sea. 



The narrative of Lieut. Lynch, of the navy, 

 who commanded tin; expedition to explore the 

 river Jordan anil the jJead Sea, tinder the au- 

 thority of the United States government, has re- 

 cently been published. The hook is one of great 

 interest, anil will be found to he a valuable con- 

 tribution to biblical knowledge and the cause of 

 science. From the July number of Sartain's 

 Rlagazine we make the following extracts: 



"On the 10th of April, Lieut. Lynch anil his 

 party, in two boats belonging to the ships which 

 bad been left at Acre, and one .small, frail boat 

 purchased at Tiberias, passed from the sea of 

 Galilee into the Jordan. At first the river is 

 three-quarters of a mile wide, with a sloping 

 and undulating country on the west, and the 

 eastern bank broken up into gullies anil alluvial 

 bills. In an hour it narrows to seventy-five feet, 

 banks thirty-five feet high, and rising anil retir- 

 ing away to the mountains which border the 

 valley of the Jordan on either side. On both 

 sides hanks and wavy hills were covered with 

 grass, and a profusion of wild flowers, among 

 which were the lily, anemone, oleander, and 

 marigold ; water clear, from fight to ten feet 

 deep. Scarcely had their wonder and delight 

 liiiii satisfied in gazing on this sweet scene, 

 when they heard the roar of a cataract; and in 

 a few minutes they saw with astonishment and 

 dismay, the waters rushing and leaping head- 

 long down the narrow, rocky channel. During 

 their seven days' voyage on the Jordan, they en- 

 countered more than a score of these dangerous 

 cataracts; anil that the reader may have an idea 

 of them, I give the Lieutenant's description of 

 the descent of one. 



"The current, at first about two and one-half 

 knots, but increasing US we descended, until nt 

 8 20 we came to where the river for more than 

 three hundred yards was one foaming rapid: the 

 fishing-Weirs and tho ruins of another ancient 

 bridge obstructing the passage-. There were 

 cultivated fields on both sides. Took everything 

 out of the boats, sent the men overboard to 

 swim alongside and guide them, and shot them 

 successively down the first rapid. The water was 

 fortunately very deep to the first fall where it 

 precipitated itself over a ledge of rocks. The 

 river becoming more shallow, we opened a 

 channel by removing large stones, and as the 

 current was now excessively rapid, we pulled 

 well out into the stream, bows up, let go a grap- 

 nel and eased each boat down in succession. 

 Below us were yet live successive fills, about 

 eighteen reel in all, with rapids between — a per- 

 fect breakdown in the bed of the river. It was 

 very evident that the boats could not descend 

 them. 



" l>V clearing out a side canal, which had 

 been cut to conduct the water to a ruined mill, 

 the boats were brought below the worst part of 

 the rapids, and by making a breach in the canal 



so as to let the water flow into the river, they 

 were again launched on the current. In this 

 way they cleared these successive cataracts. 

 Others they descended by fastening ropes to 

 bushes on the banks, and thus easing the boats 

 ill their descent. 



The Lieutenant describes the Jordan as a very 

 tortuous river, measuring at least two hundred 

 miles by its channel from the Sea of Galilee to 

 the Dead Son, while it is only about sixty miles 

 in a straight line. It flows in a deep channel, ill 

 BOtne places fori) yards, anil in others two hun- 

 dred witln. It has many little islands, some of 

 them thickly covered with shrubs, reeds, cane 

 and wild flowers-; others only sand-bars. The 



hanks are generally Keep; composed of loam, 

 clay, and limestone; they rise from twelve to 

 thirty feet, and then the country extends back 

 from fbe river to the mountains on either side, 

 which are sometimes close at hand, sometimes 

 several miles distant. The country between 

 these mountain ranges is naturally fertile, and 

 was populous anil powerful not only under the 

 Romans, but also under the Mahometans. Be- 

 tween the mountains and the narrow lower bot- 

 toms which immediately border the river, the 

 valley is undulating with hills of alluvial forma- 

 tion, and in many places luxuriantly covered 

 with grass ami wild flowers. The narrow lower 

 bottoms dipping to the water are covered with 

 thickets; in which the willow, the acacia, and 

 some other trees mingle, rising above the almost 

 impenetrable jungle of undergrowth, composed 

 of grasses, flowers, vines and canes. These 

 thickets abound with birds of varied and beauti- 

 ful plumage, and with wild beasts, among which 

 are the tiger and the boar. The lion also may 

 yet lay down as in ancient days by the margin 

 of the consecrated Jordan. 



The following is an interesting sketch of a 

 Simoon on the Dead Sen, and a night encamp- 

 ment on its margin : 



"A 2.2.5 P. M., close in with the eastern shore, 

 but unable to land from the soft bottom and 

 shoalness oi' the water. At 2.50 a light breeze 

 from the N. N. \V., hauled to the north towards 

 the base of the peninsula. A long, narrow, dry 

 marsh, with a i'nw scrubby bushes, separated the 

 water from a range of stupendous hills two 

 thousand feet high. The clouds on the east 

 (nimbus) seemed to lie threatening a gust. At 

 3.50 Steered N. N. E. along a low marshy flat, in 

 shallow water. The light wind had subsided : 

 air ninety -seven degrees; water twelve inches 

 below the sin Dice ninety degrees. A thin purple 

 haze over the mountains increasing every mo- 

 ment, and presenting a most singular and awful 

 appearance; the haze so thin tli.it it was trans- 

 parent, and rather a bluish than a distinct color. 

 I apprehended a thunder-gust or an earthquake, 

 and for .some moments we feared being driven 

 out to sea. The thermometer rose immediately 

 to 102 degrees. The nun, closing their eyes lo 

 shield them from the fiery blast, were obliged to 

 pull, with all their might, to stem the rising 

 waves, at 4.30, physically exhausted, but with 

 grateful hearts we gained the shore. My own 

 eyelids were blistered by the hot wind, being 

 unable to protect them from the necessity of 

 steering the boat. 



" We lauded on the south side of the peninsu- 

 la, near VVady Ilinneir, the most desolate spot 

 upon which we had encamped. Some went up 

 the ravine to escape the stifling wind ; others, 

 driven hack by the glare, returned to the boats 

 and crouched under the awnings. One mounted 

 spectacles to protect his eyes, bill the metal be- 

 came so heaved that he was obliged to remove 

 them. Our arms anil the bullous on our coats 

 became almost burning lo the touch, ami the in- 

 ner folds of our garments were cooler than those 

 exposed to the immediate contact of the w iutl. 

 We bivouacked without tents on a dry marsh, a 

 few dead bushes around us and some of the 

 thorny tiubk, and a tree' bearing a red berry, a 

 short distance inland, with low canes on the 

 margin of the sea. At a short distance to the 

 north-east, on the peninsula, we found some 

 fragments of an immense and very old mill- 

 stone. The mill had doubtless hern turned by 

 a canal from the ravine, down which the water 

 must flow copiously in the rainy season. 



At five, finding the heat intolerable, we walked 

 up the dry torrent in search of water. Found 



