MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
whose odorous presence was enough to 
extinguish forever all romantic ideas of 
the delightful freedom of savage life. 
Having got the use of a large un¬ 
decked barge, carrying some ten tuns, 
the laborers of the Expedition 
NORTH-WESTERS CANADA, 
and the lake superior region, 
GLIMPSES BY A RECENT TOURIST. 
THE RURAL HOME. 
com¬ 
menced the work of landing their sup¬ 
plies. Having finished our explorations 
and thanked Mr. McIntyre, the trader w 
in charge, for his eourtesy, the passen- 0^ 
gers returned to the steamer for tea.— J83.- 
The barge we found along- side fairly 4 
laden with all sorts of liquid and solid 
supplies for the long dreary marches l 
and canoe voyages before our friends of 
the Expedition. A part of these were 
to be stored at Fort William, and the re- 
mainder were to be put in order for | ? | ■ 
portage carrying. The pork was to be [gsllflll 
taken from barrels dried in the sun and 
put in bags, carrying ninety pounds 
each. The bread and other supplies 
were also prepared in the same manner, 
and each man's baggage was to be re- 
duced to a similar weight It was late 
in tire evening before these supplies ig§|^| 
were discharged and our friends pre- 
pared to leave us. It was a beautifully 
bright and calm evening. As soon as 
we had left the Fort, Indians in num¬ 
bers began to paddle otT to see the 
steamer and their visitors. We hear 
that the Indian has no curiosty, but 
never did a Yankee village at the first 
visit of a menagerie show more of that quality than 
did our red acquaintances of Fort William. 
The Collingwood was, we believe, the first steam¬ 
er which had ever visited the Bay, and many of the 
younger class had never been on board of one.— 
As we were sitting in the stem enjoying the sun¬ 
set three or four pairs of coal black eyes surround¬ 
ed with elf-like locks suddenly peered down from 
the covering over our heads. A number of young 
Indians had climbed stealthily over the upper works 
and creeping to the stern, were sating their curi¬ 
osity by looking at our ladies and the furniture of 
the cabin. We summoned one of the half-breeds 
who could speak Ojibbeway and took them 
through the steamer, giving them such expla¬ 
nations as they could understand. Another party 
we hired to paddle our ladies for a half an 
hour in a birch canoe. One of the larger birches 
was selected, some clean hemlock branches were 
laid on the bottom and the ladies carefully seated 
upon them. The signal for starting was then given 
and the Indians being put upon their mettle we 
fairly flew over the crystal waters. Our passengers 
were wild with delight Being paddled over the 
waters of Thunder Bay in a birch canoe at such a 
speed by a party of wild Indians must be confessed 
to have been slightly romantic. Other parties of 
Indians came along side with enormous trout for 
sale, surprising us by declining money in return.— 
The Hudson Bay Company pay no money and are 
said to discourage its introduction. Bread we 
found to be a better circulating medium than gold 
or silver. Our cook disposed of his whole store of 
broken bread in exchange for trout, some of which 
weighed forty pounds each. 
Late in the evening we bid farewell to the last 
boat-load of our friends of the Expedition with 
sincere regrets and kind wishes. It was near 
twelve at night before we weighed anchor. We 
ran down the bay in the light of a beautiful har¬ 
vest moon leaving that magnificent basin to the 
Indian, the waterfowl, and the trout, unvexed by 
the noise of traffic and the keels of commerce.— 
The solemn beauty of the scenery as we passed 
from the moonlight into the deep shadow of the 
Cape can be imagined but not described. In two 
hours we were at sea again with the lessening 
masses of the Pate, the Cape, and the Papillottes 
behind us, and running for the north shore of 
Michipicoten island where we were to land. It 
was late the next day before we reached the land¬ 
ing place. 
One of our passengers had an interest in an j 
abandoned copper mine at this point, and wished, j 
in behalf of himself and the Alining Co., to make I 
some explorations. The north side of this island { 
People may talk of the pleasures of city life, of 
the giddy dance, the concert, or the theatre,_of 
fashionable display, or princely palaces; but how 
often does the morning’s reflections bring a pang 
of regret, an aching head, an uneasy mind. Tho- 
scenes that surround the young in cities, often 
draw away the mind from contemplating the more 
sublime and exalted subjects that present them¬ 
selves for our consideration. I love the rural 
home, and the Rural New-Yorker, because it 
makes the home more pleasant The orchard yields 
its delicious fruits, to reward the husbandman for 
his care and toil; the vine clambers over the arbor, 
article sixth: 
Quebec Harbor—Agate Hunting—Afloat and Off—North 
Shore— Thunder Cape—Mouth of the Kamenistiqua — 
Fort William—Indians and their Curiosity — Canoe 
Paddling icith Cadies—Return Voyage — Michipocolen 
and its Copper Mines—Mineral vealth of Lake Basin- 
Arrival at the Sault—Sources of Information. 
After the firsf annoyance at our second ground¬ 
ing was over, we found that it would be easy to get 
afloat, when we were once on an even keel and in 
sailing trim. Our good humor returned and our 
day’s labor and explorations gave us an excellent 
night’s rest In the morning a clouded sky and a 
drizzling mist, interspersed with showers of pour¬ 
ing rain, had dimmed the glory of our beautiful 
resting place. Nothing daunted, however, our 
sportsmen got out their guns and fishing tackle, 
and the geologists their hammers, and were soon 
scattered in all directions. Having borrowed a 
rubber overcoat I joined aparty in pursuit of agates. 
We rowed off to a small island, the shore of which 
we found literally abounding in the mineral we 
were seeking. The matrix of the agate is the 
amygdaloidal trappean formation, of which I have 
before spoken. The disintegration of the rock 
leaves the agates partially separated. The harder 
masses of the rock appear in the form of partially 
rounded boulders which are easily broken by a 
sledge. The agates appear in nodules—sometimes 
lengthened into the shape of a horn—impressing 
the casual observer with the possibility of their 
being fossils. In some cases the agatized matter 
forms a thin shell or crust filled within by common 
quartz or calcareous spar. 
The sportsmen and explorers were soon recalled 
by the bell. The steamer, having been trimmed 
and found to be in good condition, was drawn off 
by a hawser fastened to a tree, and we once more 
started on our voyage. By nine o'clock next 
day we came in sight of the north shore of the 
lake. The columnar form of the trap remain¬ 
ing after the denudation of all the softer material 
gives a varied and singular appearance to the coast 
The Pappillottes, two beautifully rounded hills near 
each other, are the most remarkable. South of us 
we caught a distant prospect of Isle Royale, belong¬ 
ing to our government, aud so marked for its miner¬ 
al treasures. The old voyageurs, one of whom had 
forty times made the trip to Lake Winipeg, now be¬ 
gan to arouse themselves and gather around the bow 
of the steamer looking out for the high lands of 
Thunder Cape. Asa bank of fog lifted in the distance 
one suddenly shouted voila! ce’st Cap Tounerre! 
As we neared the cape we were surprised at its 
height and beauty. It is mainly slate but with an 
overlying mass of columnar basalt some three 
mmz. 
and not only gives pleasant shade, but in the proper 
season adds its juicy fruit to the rural delicacies. 
The flo werp, too, cheer the heart of the ruralist. Oh, 
what a dreary place is home without flowers. Their 
beauty far excels the works of man, their fragrant 
perfume is ever welcome to old and young. They 
beget exalted thoughts. Their cultivation andtho 
careful study of ibeir nature is not only useful, but 
a pleasant recreation for the young. Who ever 
regretted an hour spent in the flower garden? No 
rural home is complete without flowers. Some 
may say that it takes too much time to cultivate 
them, or that they cannot have such nice ones as- 
their neighbors; but that is no excuse, for the com¬ 
monest are beautiful. Rise half an hour ear! / r ar; fi- 
devote that portion of time to such flowers ■< rar.y 
be obtained; then you will soon be proud of your 
flowers, and will not regret the time or labor. 
Springfield, Ill., 1858. Will. 
WSBRSm 
6REEMA1, 
RUINS OF ANCIENT CITIES.-BABYLON 
Babylon, the “ lady of cities,” the “ beautiful f halt 
queen ” among the nations of antiquity, was the 
earliest post-diluvial city, and is the oldest in the 
world of which any traces are now remaining. She 
was anciently the capital of the Babylonio Chaldean 
Empire, and was situated on an extensive plain, 
bordering upon the river Euphrates. 
Tradition preserved a dim 
once a great city, which, from 
the wickedness of its inhabitants, had been desert¬ 
ed of God, and given over to evil spirits, who had 
hurried it to destruction, and who had since made 
it a rendezvous for blasphemous nocturnal orgies. 
It remained for the indefatigable Layard to iden¬ 
tify this shapeless mound with the ancient site of 
Babylon. 
Nothing could be more imposing than the ap¬ 
pearance of this t ancient city, which the sacred 
writers described in such glowing terms. Jere¬ 
miah said of her, “ Babylon hath been a golden cup 
in the Lord’s hand,” and Isaiah calls her “the 
A Word from Stark County, Ohio.— What a 
beautiful thing it is to have in anticipation the 
coming season. What a delightful sight, to behold 
the fruit trees covered with beautiful blossoms, 
that bespeak of a bountiful harvest and good living. 
Old Molly. Stark can’t be beat in raising produce. 
Her soil is rich and fertile, and produces largo 
crops, when rightly cultivated. She abounds in 
hills and plains. The soil of the hills is generally 
clayey, and lime-stone abounds. In some sections 
of the county, lots of stone-coal, free-stone, and 
ore is generally found. Clinton, its capital, is built 
in a beautiful valley, unsurpassed by any in the 
State for beauty of location. It contains a good 
market, and produce sells at a reasonable price. 
The County Fair Grounds lie three-fourths of a 
mile north-east of the city, in a beautiful grove, 
near the Railroad. It cannot be surpassed by any 
county in the State for the beauties of nature.—S. 
C. Beach, Stark Co., Ohio, 1858. 
The modern 
town of Hillah occupies a portion of the site. 
Babylon was a walled city, and covered so much 
ground as would make London, with its forty 
miles of brick and mortar, appear insignificant 
in comparison. According to Herodotus, these 
walls were sixty miles in circumference, eighty- 
seven feet thick, three hundred and fifty feet high, 
and contained twenty-five gates of solid brass, and 
two hundred and fifty towers. The walls were 
constructed of brick laid in asphaltum. 
The name of Semiramis is intimately connected 
with the early growth and wonderful splendor of 
Babylon, and it is almost impossible to regard her 
in any other light than its founder. If she did not 
actually construct the walls, before hertime it was 
an obscure and insignificant place. She threw a 
bridge across the Euphrates, uniting the city, which 
lay upon each side of the river; at each end she 
raised a magnificent palace, so that the pass was 
directly in the royal power; besides this, she tun¬ 
nelled beneath the river, securing a subterranean 
communication in case of war from abroad, or in¬ 
surrection at home. 
For ages the wandering Arab, and the caravan, 
so necessary to Oriental commerce, observed a 
colossal mound rising in the center of a vast plain, 
(see engraving,) which had become associated with 
wild and terrible superstitions. The traveler 
passed beneath its overhanging shadows in silence, 
and at night-fall, if it were possible, would never 
Pea Nuts. —Young Ruralists, can any of you in¬ 
form me how to raise the pea nut,—what kind of 
soil is best adapted to its culture—how, and when 
to plant, and harvest? I raised a peck last season, 
and wish to try it again this spring, and hope I 
shall succeed rather better. Then I shelled them 
from the pods, of course, and planted in rows two 
feet apart one way, and six inches in the rows, and 
tended them very carefully through the summer. 
As I never saw any grow before, I supposed they 
grew on vines, somewhat like peas. The vines 
blossomed out very full, and I expected to see them 
loaded with nuts, as well as flowers, but I was much 
disappointed. I let the vines stand until the frost 
killed them in the fall, when pulling them up, I was 
surprised to see that the nuts grew in the ground. 
I had quite a quantity, which I picked up and dried; 
but on opening the pods, there was not a pit in one 
of them. Can any one tell me as to the cause of 
this?— Ira S. Pettit, Wilson, N. V, 1858. 
An Evergreen. — I have growing in my garden 
a small tree, which perhaps you can give me the 
proper name of, by examining the enclosed leaf, or 
bristle, and a limited description. The tree is an 
evergreen dwarf, not more than five feet high, with 
thick and very crooked branches. Please inform 
me in the next Rural, and also its uses.—A. R., 
Hccktoum, Pa,, 1858. 
Remarks.— Your tree is the Red Cedar ,(Juniperius 
Yirginiana,) one of our most beautiful and valuable 
evergreen trees. 
tree of the hanging gardens. 
For Moore’s Rural New-Yorkat, 
GRAMMATICAL ENIGMA. 
The walls by which Babylon was surrounded, 
were built in terraces, and were lined with the 
abundant vegetation of that beautiful climate. The 
hanging gardens were the wonder of the world; 
and when we consider that the largest trees were 
suspended thus above the heads of the passers-by 
below, growing without hindrance from an abund¬ 
ant soil, raised at an infinite cost, we cannot with¬ 
hold our admiration, even at this day, when im¬ 
possibilities can hardly be said to exist* 
I am composed of 13 letters. 
My 1,13, 9, 7, 3, 10 is an adjective. 
My 2, 11, 9 is a noun. 
My 3, 9, 7 is a verb. 
My 4, 5, 9,13 is a participle. 
My 5, 2 is an interjection. 
My G, 3, 9, 7 is a verb. 
My 7, 5, 9, 13 is a participle. 
My 8, 6, 12 is a noun. 
My 9, 5, 1 is an adverb. 
My 10, 6, 11, 9, 2 is an adjective. 
My 11, 9, 7, 3, 10 is a preposition. 
My 12, 8, 1 is an irregular verb. 
My 13,12, 7, 3, 10 is an adjective. 
My whole is taught in the Ten Commandments. 
April, 1858. Lomu. 
?yg~ Answer in two weeks. 
bals among the outlaws of the Indian tribes there 
can be little doubt; that Michipocoten has been oc¬ 
cupied by such persons is not calculated to recom¬ 
mend it as a permanent residence to the supersti¬ 
tious natives. That this whole island and the 
whole northern shore is full of mineral wealth is 
beyond dispute. Nothing is better calculated to 
impress the mind with the mighty resources of 
North America than an examination of the miner¬ 
al region of the vast basin of Lake Superior.— 
In the production of copper and iron it will in 
time affect the trade of the world. Having reach¬ 
ed our steamer we were soon under way for the 
Sault. The next morning the thermometer stood 
at 35° at 4 o’clock—just as we were entering the 
This affords an idea of the 
of communication and trade we refer the reader to 
Ballantynes “ Hudson Bay” lately published by 
T. Nelson & Sons, New York. There is no work 
accessible which paints the peculiar life of the 
Hudson Bay trader so vividly and trustworthily as 
this. The report of the late Red River expedition 
has been laid before the Canadian Parliament and 
will soon be printed in full. Professor Hind has 
prepared an abstract of this report which has 
been published in the Toronto Globe. This re¬ 
port promises to be a work of great value 
and interest. It is probable that a separate colo¬ 
ny under the general protection of the Cana¬ 
dian government will be established on the Red 
River, and vigorous measures taken to insure 
the settlement of the country, and thus open 
up new sources of trade to Canada, Whatever 
success shall attend this endeavor the benefit will 
mainly redound to the Mississippi Valley. The in¬ 
tercourse with Pembina and St Paul is so much 
easier than with Toronto, that trade will inevitably 
seek its natural channels in spite of national feel¬ 
ing or Canadian legislation m. b. a. 
mmaieu on iwo sides oi an enclosed square 
fronting the river. On the northern side was the 
dwelling house occupied by the chief trader in 
charge of the post, and his family. This was a 
square wooden structure one story high with a 
wing on each side. It was built of solid timber 
and covered with clapboards on the outside and 
ceiled within on all sides with boards which were 
guiltless of paint. The rooms ■were low, provided 
with enormous box stoves, the windows arranged 
for double sashes and everything seemed subordi¬ 
nated to defence against the cold. On the same 
6 ide with the house was a large store-house filled 
with goods. On the west side of the square were 
the remains of an old block house at which termi¬ 
nated a dilapidated line of palisades extend¬ 
ing to the rear; the remnant of the old war 
between the Hudson Bay and North-West compa¬ 
nies. Between the block-house and the river was 
a solid stone building two stories high, used for the 
uouble purpose of a dairy and a store-house for 
furs^and the dry goods for the Indian trade. In 
front, near the river was a sort of Lookout covered 
with a roof some twelve feet square and twenty-five 
feet high. The level land around had been cleared 
for raising oats and grass for the cattle belonging 
to the station. On each side of the river within 
and without the enclosure of the station Indians 
and half breeds, engaged in fishing and building ca¬ 
noes, were encamped. We were soon surrounded 
by a “rabble rout” of dirty, half-clad barbarians. 
For Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
PROBLEM. 
canal it stood at 90°. 
extremely sudden changes of the temperature on 
this lake. 
Arrived at the Sault we take leave of our readers 
with a word upon the sources of information on 
this region of country. With the American ac¬ 
counts of the southern shore all are familiar. The 
northern shore is littte known. The book of El¬ 
liot who accompanied Prof. Agassiz on his tour 
around the lake has a certain value, but it is in 
many respects very unsatisfactory. The geologi¬ 
cal reports of Sir William Logan are reliable for 
topography and all scientific purposes. The re¬ 
ports on the claims of the Hudson Bay Co. made 
to the Canadian Parliament give much statistical 
and historical information regarding the measures 
and policy of that corporation. For a racy and 
picturesque description of life among the fur¬ 
trading stations of the company and their system own meditation that must form our judgment 
There is a spar composed of two equal frua- 
trums of a paraboloid joined together at their 
bases. It is 42 feet long, 20 inches in diameter in 
the middle, and 8 inches at either end. This is 
covered, by wrapping, with inch rope, which has 
previously been covered, by wrapping, with marl¬ 
ing, or twine, i inch in diameter. Required the 
number of feet of rope and marling—supposing 
that in wrapping, the centre of a cord or rope re¬ 
mains undisturbed. R. L. Howell. 
Roadstown, Cura. Co., N. J., 1858. 
Answer in two weeks. 
ANSWERS TO ENIGMAS, Ac., IN NO. 432. 
Answer to Geographical Enigma:—A little learn¬ 
ing is a dangerous thing. 
Answer to Algebraical Problem:—375. 
