BRAVE T1113 01‘ 13413; How JACK CAPTURED MEXICO AND - LET 113 GO AGAIN. Uncle Sam In These Days Went Around will) I Chip on file Shuuhlg-r, and [II- quh'y _Boatds Rendered Verdicts Be- fore They Slept. One day, in the year 1842. Captain Thomas, .13, Catesby Jones, then at Callao in commandof a strong squad‘ ron, which-had been sent to the Pacific coast by the United States to prevent the seizure of California by' the British, picked up a newspaper and read there- in an article which declared that Mex- ico had just ceded California to En-- gland. Before the close of the day a British frigate came. into view, and. stoppingonly long enough to take a. brief look at. the Yankee squadron. sailed northward. The appearance of the English warship and her apparent haste to move northward, seemed to newspaper story he had just read. the British were taking possession of California he had work to do. Up went his anchors and the prows of his : Pacific coast. W E. E K L,.Y.. government with John C. Freemont at the head The Mexicans rallied and fought fiercely. for. their homes. Los? Angeies and Monterey were retakcn and Santa Barbara threatened. The Mexicans in the country far outnum- bered the Americans; but the superior deurage and skill of the Yankees event- ually carried all before them. Brig. adier- General Stephen W. Kearney came from Sante Fe, New Mekico, with one hundred men. and, reinforced by two hundred and fifty _,men marched to San Diego. An army of seven hun- dred men was raised for another at- tack, on Los Angeles, and that city was rc-captured on January 15,1847 Captain Stockton now returned to the east, and Commodore William Bradford Shubrlck with the liner In- dependence, and the brig Preble, and Commodore Briddle came to the coast. In a short time every Mexican port _north' of Acapulco was blockaded. The custom-house at Mazatlan was admin— istered by the Americans and nearly Captain Jones to substantiate the :' $300, 000 collected on imports. 11‘ An incident will illustrate the char- acter of the naval warfare along the During the blockade at ' Mazatlan, Lieutenant G. W. Hariison ships were headed Californiaward. He 3 reached Monterey. harbor, and at once ' landed and took. possession. of the . town. .The next day, very much to his - chagrin..he learned that the newspaper story'waszafakeaand that he .had tak- en forcible possession of- a town he- longing to a :_nation with which the ; United States was at peace. He promptly surrendered the town and made what amends he could. This is an interestingfact because it part of the United States against Mex- ice was. maderby a naval oflic'er some four yearsIJ'prevlous to actual hostili- ties, and illustrates the distrust with which England was regarded by the United States at this period. The 011161.113 declaration of war was made four .1 years later. can May 13, was out with three small boats on the watch for blockade runners. in his zeal he wandered far from the protec- tion of the guns of his ship. The Mex. leans, observing this, determmed to capture h1m and his men; and, man- ning four big bargeswith at least three 1 times as3many men as Harrison had, started after him. .Harrison’s men \could easily outrow the Mexicans; but 1.8.46; .butfit;.was not. until the 8th ;day ' ofthe following-June that. Captain John. Drake Slo'at, commander of the Pacific squadron. then stationed at Mazatlan. Mexico. learned that War had been declared. He at once headed his ship, the frigate Savannah. for 3 Taylor at Point Isabel. An attack was Monterey, California. When he reachs ed. this place he found the United States ships, the Warren Cyane, and Levant “anchor in the harbor. Two hundred and fifty men were ordered to land and take possession of the - town, which was accomplished without opposition on the“ part or the Mexicans. Captain Sloat resigned on July 23, and the more active Captain Robert Field Stockton was ordered to take his place. Stockton proved to be the right man m the right place. Heat once moved against Los Angeles, with three hun- dred and fifty men, and, on August 13. 1846, he entered the city without oppo- sition. Here he organized 3a state flying from such an enemy. did not suit the bold Yankee officer, and he shows that the first warlike act on the 5 headed the “at“ ”ca-“ht m u“ M” icans. The Mexicans? courage evap- orated, and they turned about and fled for their lives, the moment the American rifie balls began whistling in their ears, and this, too, when they were supported by field guns ,on the beach. No wonderthe Yankee-sailors felt themselves vastly the superior of the timid Mexicans. 3 3 The first work ,of the .navy' in the Gulf of Mexico. was at~ the battle of Palo. Alto, when Commodore- David Connor, commander. oft-the Gulf squad. ron, landed five hundred-men to. help protect the garrison left- by General made on Alvarado, an important port south of Vera Cruz, also on Tuspan, and a second attack on Alvarado; but these all failed.. .Captain Calibraith Perry, brother of Oliver .Hagard Perry, commanding the Mississippi, was sent against Fontera.. This. is the same Perry who afterwards won distinction for opening the ports of Japan to American commerce. He had with him two steamers, the, Vixen and Spit- 1 fire, and four schooners, with two hun- dred marines and ample crews for all the vessels. A short distance above the mouth of the river, which empties into the Gulf at Fontera, was a consid erable fleet of Mexican merchant ves- sels. Captain Perry dashed over the Dolly Waltz. river’bar, with the steamer Vixen and two schooner‘s"; and. surprised and cap- tured the shipping. The forts and town surrendered: and Perry ascended the river seventy-two miles and took the City of Tabasco. But the most important work of the navy in, the Gulf was the assistance it rendered in the capture of Vera Cruz. In March, 1847, _there were seventy ships and transports before Vera Cruz, with, General Winfield Scott's army of312,000 men on board. A combined naval and army attack was planned. _The contest began on March 9, 1847, with the landing of General Scott’s army. On March 22 the land forces opened fire on the city: and the next day an attack was made on the Castle, the main fortification of the city, by the navy. At 8 o'clock on the morning of the 25th the Mexicans requested that the bombardment of the city he stopped, and on March 28, 1847, the city of Vera Cruz was surrendered. No further work of importance was done by the navy in the Gulf during this war. . The war with Mexico gave the navy few opportunities—Mexico had no navy and there was no real naval bat- tles; but, in accomplishing the little work it was called upon to do, it showed that the same energy and cour- age whichhad made it famous in 1812 still animated its officers and men. SHADOWGRAPH. A New Name Given to an Old Time Amos. 3 ment which All Enjoy. Shadowgraphs, a new and coined name for our old friends, Shadows on the Wall, with which our grand- fathers and great-grandfathers used to delight their grandchildren when the day was closing, and the candles were alight, These shadows, indeed, have lived through centuries, but in late years have been very much improved Upon, so that now they form a most fascinating amusement for both old and young, at entertainments, at home. at schools, bazaars, etc. Now, if my readers wish to appear 35 entertainers with this most innocent and mlrthful amusement, and they 101‘ low cut the instructions here given taking a careful survey of the drawings illustrating this article, I can .assure them, as a professional entertainer that they will succeed; but practice they must, for without it nothing can be accomplish.ed First and most important is the light. The stronger the illuminant the better. 3 For ordinary use the magic lantern ‘3 comes first, as it gives a strong and 3 steady light, and leaves the apartment f in darkness. Then, we can recom- mend the bull's-eye lantern; and last- ly, even a good candle will answer the purpose very well. 3 Whatever light is used, it must be placed at the back, and nearly oppo- site the centre'of the screen. The dis-3 tance therefrom you must determine for yourself, as it will depend on the CLARA A. Kass. N331 13311 3.1113 111.3 3 .311 .137. 1; size of the screen and the space you wish to cover with light. By referring to Fig. 1, you will see the performer at work. For a screen or sheet to project. the shadowson to, here is shown a wooden hoop. such as young ladies use for mild exercise, at a certain season of the year, and which can be purchased cheaply in various sizes from most toy—shops. Having got your wooden hoop, next procure a piece of calico sufficient to cover it and turn over at the edges of the hoop. and then, as you stretch it carefully. knock in smalltacks to fas- ten it on. You may support it in any manner that pleases you; but here is illustrated a single support, which ex- plains itself. The performer is cast- ing the shadow of an elephant's head upon the sheet. Meaning of Thumb-Prints. It is curious to notice that while a great deal has been written in a scien- tific spirit of the value of thumb-prints as a means of identification, no one has yet found out what these lines in the thumb mean, or what they may in- dicate in determining character, 3 The variations have been traced, and the fact has been noticed that no two thumbs show precisely the same lines. The lines in the palm of the hand have been studied, too. for centuries, and the believers in the possibility of reading character from the lines in palm are numerdus, even among the educated. But the gifted scientists and the palmists stop ..here The _.thumb, they know, contains lines as remark- able and as varying as the palm. But what it all means no one. knows, nor has any one attempted to guess. _ When we hark back to the mystical knowledge of the ancients, it .is mar- vellous that they, too, in many ways wiser than we, should have been baf- fled in reading the thumb. And at the same time they used thumb-prints as seals. m The American Girl. american girls in good social posi- tions. are allowed more freedom than” the girls of any other nation. The Eu- ropeans are shocked. at the way an- married women in America are permit- ted ., .to go out alone with young men, or receive them alone at their homes, but it. is not recorded that the morals of American women are any the worse .for the liberty allowed them. In the European countries a young lady must be under the wing of a chaperone at every turn. Ultra fashidnable society in this country is taking up the chaper- one idea more and more every year— but the mass of American girls are still free to go and come as they please, and nowhere on earth are the girls so self- reliant or mere virtuous. An eminent astronomer says that for communication with the inhab. ants of Mars we should require a flag as large as Ireland, and a pole 500. miles long. ‘ r - 1 . ' J . ‘E 1’s" ":1 1 z ‘3 .53. ME“. ~ -ns s..--~ .m .1..,..'. TURNED OUT HIS USUAL LUCK. Nickle He 1-11.11 to Save Dfshoneetly Cost ‘ m:- a Situation. . be born to bad luck. Misfortune seems to shake hands with them at ever! on the north side has had a distressing experience lately which he attribute. to a. perpetual evil genius which fol- lows him. Some time last fall when in a Clark street cable car he became deeply in- terested in the paper which he had just bought and paid his fare twice. As soon as it flashed across his mind he felt very flat. but determined to get it .back some day. Consequently, from that time forth a good deal of at- tention while on the street care was di- rected toward this end. This laudable design was partly balked because he did not travel so much as formerly, having lost his situation. But a friend of his negotiated an opening for him. One morning a week or so ago he was on, his way down to slip into this berth, having nothing to do but introduce himself to the proprietor. He felt in 11. very good humor, and he bethought himself of his purpose to recover the nickel. The car was unusually crowded. He busied himself in a newspaperand Iiooked very demure. For once at least in his life his perseverance was re. 'warded. He, got down without paying anything. "But he _was six or eight times on the point of giving up, because of the looks that his fellow passengers gave him. There Was a portly gentle— man seated directly _ opposite who seemed especially indignant. but con- trary to the young man's expectations he did not call the conductor's atten— tion to him. He stepped off the car at Washington street in a better humor than he had been in for months. Then he stopped to have his shoes shined. This done he hurried off to .theoflice of his prospective employer. congratulat- ing himself thatfor once in his life he had escaped his perennial bad luck. But his cheerfulness faded into homer when on appearing before the magnate he discovered him to be no other than the man who had sat opposite tohim in the car. He did not get the situation. ~Chlcago Times-Herald. MRS. CAPTAIN SI‘GSBEE. She Comes of Military Stock and is Not Atrlld of War. 3. Mrs. Sigsbee comes of military stock and is used to the alarms of war. Her house at Washington is the rendezvous for naval officers at the. capital, by -whom she is highly esteemed. They entertain but little, but when they do their receptions and dinners are charm- ing. In fact both the captain and his wife are exceedingly popular among all classes in Washington. Mrs. Sigs- bee received much information from her husband about _the disaster to the Mainé, but she considered herself sub- ject to naval orders and would not dis- close her knowledge, even to her most intimate friends. .— There are some people who seem to 3 3t113rn in their lives. A rising young man , - weight. MRS. SIGSBEE. 0f medium height, with broad shoul- ‘ders, a spare frame, and hair and 1111111- tache just beginning to turn gray, (lap- tain Slgsbee looks like a man capable of coping with almost every difficulty which might arise in the service. fact, his experience in almost every branch of the navy has fitted. him for emergencies. Born in Albany. County, Maine. fifty-two years ago, _he moved to New York and was appointed as a cadet in the Naval Academy from that 3 State in 1859. Shifting the Responsibility. _ "It has been proved by half a dozen witnesses,” said the Police Magistrate. “that you are selling bread under Have you any explanation to offer?” “The flour’ a so bad these days, your ’honor,” replied the honest baker, look- ing the magistrate fearlessly in the eye, “that my conscience won 't let me sell it to the people in greater quanti- ties than I can help."—Chicago Tri« “Do you know a good tonic for nervous persons, Simpkins?" “No; what I want to find is 3a good tonic for people who have to live with them. '——Boston Traveler. A GUILTY CONSOIENCE Jagson—‘(AWakening.befuddled, af- 3 ter a night with the boys). 'Shwat I ’speCtedi Drunk an‘ disborderly, 'reshtr ed, an’ here I am bebin’ she here again!“ Sherves me right! x3121 '— _ _._-_.. "“3!”— . .. ~d+-d—-— —~- -
Norwalk Chronicler