APRIL 10 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
peep at the state of the boats in case it should be 
necessary to use them. As is usually the case 
in such circumstances, neither boat was in a 
condition to be immediately used. Plugs and row- 
locks were soon repaired. The falls by which alone 
they could be lowered, were cleared of kinks and 
snarls and the boats were ready for instant use.— 
Our hope was now in getting our coal, of which we 
had thirty tons on board, into the stern and thus to 
lighten still more the pressure of the steamer’s bow 
upon the rock. All the deck hands were thus em¬ 
ployed while the engine was kept in reverse action 
with the hope of soon getting us afloat. At day¬ 
light the fog cleared up and we proceeded to make 
a new observation of our position. We found our¬ 
selves fast upon a rook of near two acres in extent 
lying about one mile south of the western end of 
Hichipicoten Island. 
Written for Moore's Rnral New-Yorker. 
NORTH-WESTERN CANADA, 
and the lake superior region. 
THE REASON WHY. 
It has been often asked why young men leave 
the farm and seek other business, and answers have 
been given, but fail, in my opinion, to give a correct 
idea why it is so. There are many reasons assign¬ 
ed, and all seem to be consistent. One is, in making 
; ll P Lis mind to leave farming, the farmer boy does 
| not weigh the two subjects equally. For instance, 
: a boy thinks to leave the farm for a clerkship. In 
reasoning with himself he counts the hard labor of 
the farm so much harder than that of his desired 
occupation, while the latter he paints in glowing 
colors, as being easy, remunerative and pleasant— 
in all of which he is much mistaken. Here, then, 
we have one reason. From the imperfect knowl¬ 
edge he has of clerkship, he is led to believe that 
the labor is light, but experience often teaches a 
different lesson. 
Again: young men are sometimes so situated as 
to be under the necessity of resorting to some 
other business, more remunerative, in order that 
they may afford the support necessary to an aged 
mother. Is he right in supposing that he can do 
better otherwise than on the farm? Instead of an¬ 
swering the question directly, an anecdote may not 
be out of the way, and all can draw their own infer¬ 
ences. 
Not many years ago, there lived in this neigh¬ 
borhood a man who was given to rum-drinking to 
such an extent that his family often suffered for the 
want of bread. The oldest son, — only fourteen,— 
was very industrious, and would have supported his 
mother had not the father taken from him his small 
wages, leaving them to suffer. As much as the 
thought was dreaded by him, he was, nevertheless, 
obliged to think seriously of leaving his home, as 
he could do no good by remaining. 
With but a dollar in his pocket, he started for 
the West, traveling on foot, and working here and 
there, when he would want more funds. When ho 
arrived at his destination, he purchased an axe and 
went to chopping wood and clearing a piece of 
land for a man who offered him half of the land 
he would clear from the heavy timber. When 
spring opened, he had quite a quantity a land 
cleared, and erected on his own piece of land a 
small cabin, where he cooked his food, such as he 
wanted, and planted corn, and other grain; and, 
when it was growing, continued his chopping.— 
Fall came, his grain was harvested, sold, and a por¬ 
tion of the proceeds sent home. An ox team was 
bought, and he labored on with them another year, 
at the end of which he had amassed enough money 
to bring his parents to him. The father felt rebuk¬ 
ed by the example and exertions of his son, and 
quit his evil ways. Money rolled in upon them, 
and aside from that, he had saved his father from 
ruin, and brought him to a good standing in 
society—and all this was done with an Axb ! Can 
you not follow in his footsteps? The West is not 
recommended as the best field for operations; with 
discretion you can succeed anywhere. Only keep 
an eye to the business, and you will prosper. 
Watertown, N. Y., 1858. Bhozb. 
ARTICLE FIFTH: 
Leaving the Sault — Gtos Cap and Point Iroquois—A 
Lake Superior Squall—Mountains on the Worth Coast— 
Fog and Darkness—Ashore on a Rock — Variations of 
the Compass— Exploration of the Rock , and preparations 
for getting off the Steamer—Prospects —All at JTork— 
Again afloat—Quebec Harbor—Again ashore. 
It was after 5 o’clock on the 27tli of July, before 
we were able to leave the canal for our trip on the 
great lake. The St. Marys river nominally extends 
15 miles above the rapids. On the north side, the 
entrance to the Lake is flanked by Gros Cap, a bold 
headland of reddish porphyritic granite, rising to 
the height of 700 feet, and crowned with a thick 
growth of evergreens. On the south, some three 
miles distant, is Point Iroquois, somewhat inferior 
in height and boldness, from the foot of which a 
long, low, sandy beach extends for some distance, 
forming the shore, and terminating in a projecting 
tongue called Whitefish Point 
Soon after leaving the canal, we were struck 
with the wild appearance of the clouds which were 
gathering around Gros Cap. In a short time they 
accumulated in mass and density, extending across 
from headland to headland, leaving a strip of clear 
sky beneath, thro’ which the setting snn streamed 
for a few moments, opening a vista of surpassing 
As the cloud rushed down 
was cast immediately 
The rock was nearly naked 
having barely soil enough in some crevices to hold 
the roots of a two or three stunted and rag¬ 
ged spruces, from whose storm-beaten branches 
hung long festoons of the Caribou moss. The rock 
was a detached mass of amygdaloid traversed by 
dykes of trap similar to the whole formation of the 
main Island and the adjacent coast. Our disaster 
had arisen from failure to make allowance for the 
very unusual and enormous variation of the com¬ 
pass in this part of the lake. No reliable magnetic 
observations seem to have been made for some 14 
years, when Admiral Bayfield prepared his chart 
of the northern shore. Beacons and Light-houses 
are confined to the American coast, and we were 
obliged to trust entirely to the compass. As we 
were unable to measure the rate of variation which 
in some places changes several points in a few 
miles, our accident was easily explained. 
So soon as it was found that there 
grandeur and beauty, 
the lake, its dark shadow 
before it, turning the water black as ink, and con¬ 
trasting strangely with the bright green of that 
along side. Its movement toward us was marked 
by the white caps which it drove before it. Ere 
we had time to appreciate the beauty of the scene, 
the squall was upon us in all its power. In five 
minutes our little steamer was throwing the spray 
over the upper deck, her bulkheads were creaking, 
and her whole frame quivering like a frightened 
deer. Everything moveable was secured or stowed 
below, new fastenings were put upon the bark 
canoes belonging to the expedition, and we were 
soon “ snug,” and prepared for a gale. As the wind 
was directly ahead, and with a heavy draft of water 
and a weak engine, we made little progress, the 
Captain decided to run for a small harbor formed 
by a projecting sand spit, called Ouiske Bay.— 
Here, sheltered from the storm, contrary to our 
expectations, we spent a quiet night. The next 
morning was beautifully clear and fine. 
Leaving Whitefish Point on our left, and passing 
close to the Gros Cap on our right, we laid our 
course for the broad channel which separates the 
Caribou and Michipicoten islands. For some 
time we coasted the low sandy shore of Parisien 
island. Over this, on the mainland, the view was 
varied by the Batcheewauning mountains, rising 
some 800 feet above the lake. Passing these, we 
came next in sight of the Mamainse range, the 
highest peaks of w'hich rise some 1,800 feet above 
the water. Their irregular outline appeared above 
surrounding masses of clouds, which reached to 
about two-thirds of their apparent height. The 
varying hues of the clouds and crags gave us a new 
landscape with every cables’ length of our progress. 
The refraction of light, caused by the constant 
changes in the temperature of the currents of air, 
produced optical illusions which added constantly 
to the wild and strange effect of the landscape.— 
While in the midst of our enjoyment of this beau¬ 
tiful mixture of illusion and reality, we were sud¬ 
denly enveloped in a fog bank, which seemed to 
have risen “ like an exhalation,” right from the 
surface of the lake. Our landscape disappeared, 
and for the rest of the day and night we were com¬ 
pelled to steer by compass, a course which we laid 
from the American lighthouse on Whitefish Point. 
We watched all day, and till past ten at night, for 
a view of Caribou island, but all in vain. We ran 
at half rate of speed and constantly throwing the 
lead, but without finding bottom. Nearly all re¬ 
mained on deck watching with some anxiety, until, 
judging by our Velocity of the distance run, the 
Captain supposed himself clear of Caribou island 
and well through the channel, altered his course 
for Thunder Cape, our next point of destination. 
About II o’clock, thinking our danger over for the 
night, we, with most of the passengers, retired._ 
Me had just fallen asleep, when four or five start¬ 
ling strokes of the engine bell gave an unequivocal 
hint that something was wrong. Before a single 
turn of the reversed engine could be made, a shock 
which made our little steamer quiver from keel to 
smoke pipe, told us we were ashore! That shock, 
and the fearful grinding sound, which no person 
who heard it once can ever forget, lifting our 
bow five or six feet out of the water, brought our 
was no imme¬ 
diate danger, all with one accord, set themselves 
to extract amusement from our situation. The 
ladies and passengers explored the rock—botanists 
with herbariums, geologists with hammers, and 
artists with their portfolios—meanwhile the officers 
and crew were anxiously contriving means for ex¬ 
tricating the vessel from her position, which was 
by no means desirable. So long as the weather re¬ 
mained calm all was safe, but we knew well that 
many hours would not be likely to pass without a 
puff of wind from the mountains which skirted the 
northern shore—one of these would suffice to finish 
our steamer. Assistance could be got at no point 
nearer than the Sault, and we were entirely out of 
the range of the lake navigation. The prospect 
of an encampment with our ladies on the rock, or 
the uninhabited Island near us, was not pleasant. 
A boat’s crew was now sent to the island for two 
spars, which were set nearly upright on each side 
of the vessel’s stem. Heavy purchases were lashed 
to the tops of these spars and also to the hulL To 
the purchase was added the power of the windlass. 
The force thus generated tended at the same to lift 
the steamer and press her off the rock. Voyageurs 
firemen, laborers, and all the passengers not too 
lazy or too ignorant to work, were put in requisi¬ 
tion. About noon, we succeeded in moving the 
vessel slightly but with our most strenuous exer¬ 
tions it was six o’clock in the evening before she 
swung clear. No such a shout surely ever before 
rolled back from the rocky shores of Michipicoten 
as rose, three times three, from our steamer’s deck, 
as once more she became obedient to the paddle 
wheel and the rudder. We were, however, by no 
means in a condition to go to sea. We were seve¬ 
ral feet out of trim, all our coal, anchors and move- 
able articles of weight were crowded into the 
stern, and we were not exactly sure that our craft 
would not leak more than would be convenient._ 
It was decided to run a few miles down the island 
to a land-locked bay, called Quebec harbor, and 
wait until the next morning. 
No more beautiful evening ever shone than was 
that which witnessed our entrance into Quebec 
harbor. We threaded our way among a nest of 
beautiful wooded islets, under the shadow of the 
high mountainous ridge which formed the spine of 
Michipicoten Island. Spreading out Bayfield’s 
chart on the binnacle, the captain watched the 
courses and soundings marked upon it and follow¬ 
ed them with confidence, though an utter stranger 
to the locality. As we entered the Jittle bay the 
view was lovely beyond description. The water 
was transparent as crystal, not a breath of air stir¬ 
red the trees which feathered over the hills that 
formed the bay, beautiful beaches lined the shore; 
a mountain stream suggestive of trout dashed 
from the hills about half a mile above where we 
proposed to anchor. We felt the excitement of 
which travelers speak in the consciousness of utter 
freedom from the restraints of civilization. We 
were alone with nature, and she had put on her best 
attire to receive us. Just in this joyous mood, just 
as we were getting our anchor ready to let go, 
what should we hear but the harsh grating sound 
of our keel upon the bottom! We were again 
aground 1 
RUINS OF ANCIENT CITIES.-PERSEPOELS 
The site of Persepolis,—often known by the name 
of Istakhan or Estakhan,—like that of many ancient 
cities, w'as not favorable either to protracted growth 
or to a continuance of existence. Prior to the con¬ 
quest of Babylon if. was the favorite residence of 
the Persian Kings, and even after the fall of that 
“lady of cities,” Cyrus accumulated here a vast 
amount of treasure, w'hich was to enrich him and 
his people. Here were the sepulchres of the Kings 
of Persia, and the “Place of Graves,” it is well 
known, is one of solemn reverence and munificent 
adornment with the Oriental. After the conquest 
of Alexander, who destroyed the magnificent 
royal palace, it became the policy of this conqueror 
to despoil the subverted cities of the people who 
fell under his arms, and with the rich materials so 
obtained embellish others which were to bear his 
own name, and thus Persepolis was reduced to 
comparative poverty and insignificance. The ruins 
cover a wide surface, and on a terraced platform, 
1,430 feet in length, and from 800 to 900 feet in 
width, are large gateways, numerous columns and 
bas-reliefs, the whole supposed to be the remains 
of this palace. After Alexander had exhibted his 
despoiling power, the caravans, convening the bar¬ 
baric splendors of Ind, sought other marts, and a 
blight fell at once upon this opulent city. Manu¬ 
factures declined,—the wealthy sought out a gayer 
field, and the poor became the prey of wandering 
hordes of Arabs, who found a temporary and de¬ 
lightful repose amid the decaying glories. 
The ravages of time and men soon destroy what 
is left out of repair, and Persepolis is now deserted 
and nearly forgotten. A writer in the United Stales 
Magazine says:—“She lives, it is true, in Oriental 
legendry, where the wildest adventures and most 
astounding narratives of genii, and spirits, and 
magic, and incantation, invest the dead city with a 
wild, melancholy splendor. Like many whom the 
grave hides from our sympathy or dislike, Perse¬ 
polis has an ever-living interest to the lovers of the 
marvelous, and the thought of her gives rise to a 
thousand ideas of luxury and cabalism. She be¬ 
comes peopled, not with owls and bats, but with the 
graceful or magnificent creations of fancy, and 
her dim corridors are thronged with gnomes, and 
genii, and enchanted princesses, potent in mischief, 
or tender and winning in misfortune. Thus it is 
that the world is loth to let the beautiful die, even 
when its elements have lost their significancy.” 
LOOKING FOR PEARLS. 
CnARLKY, did you not know that the conditions 
of every good thing correspond exactly to the 
nature of that good thing? Well, then, my son re¬ 
member that pearls demand, as the condition of 
lying in your hand as yours, a good diver, a good 
swimmer, a good pair of lungs, or good breath; 
sharp eyes, and much experience. Pearls are not 
found scattered in the highway, to be kicked about 
by idle feet—yet pearls are plenty. God has set 
them thickly, studding the beautiful places of 
creation. To find them, my son, the first condition 
is a good pair of eyes, called, sometimes, observa¬ 
tion, quick percejttion, sharpness, skill, and boys call it 
smartness. Call it what you please, it is after all 
the eye. It is the eye well trained, that sees the 
difference between gold and its imitations—that 
sees the difference between the counterfeit and the 
genuine of every valuable thing. The eye of the 
body, the eye of the mind, the eye of the spirit, or 
soul, may each be taught to find pearls. 
The boy who can dive into deep water, and bring 
up the precious things that lie on the hidden 
sands and along the concealed rocks, is the picture 
of the boy who can see the beauty of a good deed 
done where no eye but that of God will be likely 
to notice it. Such pearls are to be found only by 
the eyes of those who look and dive far down into 
the depths of society, among the poor and distress¬ 
ed, over whom the waters of life roll and exclude 
from common observation. 
If you are not employed in seeking pearls by 
some “ little deed of kindness ” among the deep 
waters of human sorrow, you may always be fishing 
for pearls of noble thought “ Wisdom is a well- 
spring of life, and a man of understanding will 
draw it up.” Noble thoughts are sisters to noble 
deeds. Little pearls are better for little ornaments 
than large pearls. My son, think much of those 
things that have the marks of God’s fingers in their 
structure, for they either point you to pearls, or 
they contain them. “Cast not these pearls before 
swine,” said Jesus. Keep your pearls of thought 
to yourself, until you find a suitable ornament to 
set them in beauty. Tell not all your thoughts, 
except to God, the Savior. Expect to find pearls 
wherever you go, and you will not be often disap¬ 
pointed. Be earnest, and you will find the “ Pearl 
of Great Price.” J. H. Wilson. 
New York, April, 1858. 
Facts for the Curious. —Thomas Jefferson and 
John Adams both died on the 4th of July, 1820.— 
John Adams died in his 91st year, and was eight 
years older than Thomas Jefferson; Thomas Jeffer¬ 
son was eight years older than James Madison; 
James Madison was eight years older than James 
Monroe; James Monroe ivas eight years older than 
John Quincy Adams. The first five of the Presi¬ 
dents— all revolutionary men — ended their terms 
of service in the 60th year of their age. Washing¬ 
ton, born February 22, 1732; inaugurated 1789; 
term of service expired in the 66th year of his age. 
John Adams, born October 19th, 1735; inaugurated 
1797; term of service expired in the 66th year of 
his age. Thomas Jefferson, born April 21st, 1743; 
inaugurated 1801; term of service expired in the 
66tli year of his age. James Madison, born March 
5th, 1751; inaugurated 1809; term of service ex¬ 
pired in the 66th year of his age. James Monroe, 
bom April 2d, 1759; inaugurated 1817; term of 
service expired in the 66th year of his age. 
For Moore’g Rural New-Yorker. 
HISTORICAL ENIGMA. 
I ah composed of 21 letters. 
My 14, 21,1,12 was the name of an ancient city. 
My 7, 5, 10, 11, 3, 21 was the seat of a number of 
wars in ancient times. 
My 15,16, 12, 20, 19 was the name of a king who 
reigned 54 years in ancient Syracuse. 
My 1, 15, 2, 6, 12 is the name of a river where a 
battle was fought in the 1st Punic war. 
My 15,12, 4, 19, 18, 17 was a name given to slaves 
in Peloponnesus. 
My 20, 8, 10, 12, 7 were sports very much enjoyed 
by the ancients. 
My 8, 8, 1, 2, 9 was a leader of the children of 
Israel. 
My 15,19, 17, 12, 8 was an ancient king noted for 
his piety. 
My whole is the name of a book on ancient his¬ 
tory. Wm. A. L'rodie. 
Rochester, N. Y., 1858. 
Answer in two weeks. 
DISCOVERIES IN CENTRAL AFRICA. 
The Progress of Medical Science.— The effects 
of the means adopted for checking disease in Eng¬ 
land, France and Germany, during the past centu¬ 
ry, are such, that, while formerly one out of every 
thirty of the population died each year, now the 
average is one to forty-five; reducing by one-half 
the number of deaths in those countries. In the 
year 17^0, one out of every twenty-five of the 
population died in each year in England. In 1801. 
the proportion was one in thirty-five; in 1811, one 
in thirty-eight; and in 1848, one in forty-five; so 
that the chances of life have been nearly doubled 
in England within eighty years. In the middle of 
the last century, the rate for Paris was one in 
twenty-five; now it is one in thirty-two. 
Equatorial Africa has been laid open, and the 
erroneous ideas which once prevailed upon the 
subject altogether dissipated. Instead of the mas¬ 
sive Mountains of the Moon, there are a few isolat¬ 
ed mounts; where a dry, desolated plateau was 
expected, there have been found wide and fertile 
plains, less than 1,000 feet above the level of the 
sea, and intersected by innumerable broad water¬ 
courses with scarcely any inclination. From the 
Kwarra upwards, along its Eastern branch, the 
river Benuwe, there is a natural passage without 
any obstruction, navigable for vessels drawing no 
more than four feet of water, into the very heart of 
Africa, up to the confluence with the Kebbi, near 
Gewe. Dr. Barth sees reason to believe that dur¬ 
ing the highest period of the inundation, flat- 
bottomed boats like those of the natives may extend 
this navigation considerably further into the coun¬ 
try of the Tuburi, which lies South of latitude 
10°, and East of longitude 14°, and even that a 
channel may be found which for a part of the year 
will oonnect the basin of the Kwarra with that of 
the streams which fall into the Tsad. 
“ I am persuaded,” ho says, “ that in less than fifty 
years, European boats will keep up a regular annual 
intercourse between the great basin of the Tsad and 
the Bay of Biafra. The whole country between the 
rivers Benuwe and Shari is extremely rich and fer¬ 
tile, intersected by countless water-courses in every 
direction. Cotton, iDdigo, vegetable butter, ground 
nut, ivory, wax, and many other articles might be 
procured in abundance from these regions, the 
only question being what should be imported in 
exchange for them.” 
For Moore’s Rnral New-Yc*ker 
MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM. 
Required the number of cubic feet in a square 
stick of timber being 12 inches square at the 
larger end, 6 inches at the smaller end, and 24 
feet in length. C. B. Tifft. 
ComiDg, N. Y., 1858. 
Answer in two weeks. 
j Pbkmium for Boys. — I understand that some 
! premiums are offered by the New York State Agri¬ 
cultural Society for crops raised by boys. As the 
Rural circulates more generally among the young 
than the documents of the State Society, or other 
agricultural papers, will you please tell us what 
these premiums are, so that we can compete for 
them?—J. S., Ontario Co., N. Y 
Remarks. —In 1856, the Hon. Horace Greeley 
authorized the State Society to offer to boys under 
18 years of age a premium of $50 for theliest crop 
of corn, and the same sum for the best acre of car¬ 
rots. The premium for corn was awarded^to F. B. 
Spaulding, of East Otto, Cattaraugus Co., and a 
silver medal was presented to M. Ottley, of Phelps, 
Ontario county. There was but little competition 
for the premium on carrots, and it was not awarded. 
This offer of $50 for the best acre of carrots_^is 
open for 1858. The ground must be in one con¬ 
tiguous piece, be prepared and the crop cultivated 
and secured by the applicant himself, who must 
furnish a statement of the manner in which it was 
done. The Secretary, B. P. Johnson, of Albany, 
will furnish full particulars. 
ANSWERS TO ENIGMAS, Ac., IN NO. 429. 
Answer to Miscellaneous Enigma:—Procrastina¬ 
tion is the thief of time. 
Answer to Geographical Enigma:—Hudson Bay 
Company’s Territory. 
Answer to Mathematical Problem 
pole, 70 feet. 
To the “ Batavia Girl” I wish to say 
I solved your problem in this way— 
Thirty pounds for the horse so fat, 
The harness fifteen, just half of that; 
Forty-five pounds we now have used, 
And the chaise is not excused— 
He fifteen for the chaise did give, 
This is right “ as sure as you live.” 
Now if your rig is very fine, 
Just send it up most any time. 
My regards to you in this, 
Including one tremendous kiss. 
Taylorsville, N. Y., 1858. M. B. Baob. 
P. S. I first solved it by algrebra, then dissolved it 
into poetry.—M. B. S. 
A New Mode of Ventilation.— Charles Watson, 
a Scotch school teacher, finding his health injured 
by the confined air of the school-room, has invent¬ 
ed an original mode of ventilation. It is entirely 
simple, and is based on the fact that if two tubes 
of unequal length be admitted into a room, the 
cold air will enter the shortest and the warm air 
will be expelled through the longest. Mr. Watson’s 
application avoids the unpleasant and dangerous 
draughts created by most modes of ventilation.— 
He has applied it successfully to many public build¬ 
ings in England. 
-Length of 
An author is known by his writings, a mother by 
her daughter, a fool by his words, and all men by 
their companions. 
