Part 18 (1/2)
About nine o'clock, PM, or shortly after, a succession of loud and appalling roars thundered through the forests Peal after peal, crash after crash, announced the sentence of destruction Every succeeding shock created fresh alary With greedy rapidity did the fla could iress
They removed every obstacle by the desolation they occasioned, and several hundred miles of prostrate forests and s way
”The river, tortured into violence by the hurricane, foa spray upon the land The thunder pealed along the vault of heaven--the lightning appeared to rend the firmament For a ned over every thing All nature appeared to be hushed, when suddenly a lengthened and sullen roar ca a thousandflalasstown, and the whole northern side of the river, extending fro to the Naashwaak, a distance of th, became enveloped in an immense sheet of flame, that spread over nearly six thousand square miles! That the reader may form a faint idea of the desolation and misery, which no pen can describe, he e and rapid river, thickly settled for one hundred miles ortowns, two on each side of this river, and then reflect that these towns and settlements were all composed of wooden houses, stores, stables and barns; that these barns and stables were filled with crops, and that the arrival of the fall importations had stocked the warehouses and stores with spirits, powder, and a variety of cumbustible articles, as well as with the necessary supplies for the approaching winter He must then remember that the cultivated or settled part of the river is but a long, narrow strip, about a quarter of abetween the river and ale of its precints and all around it Extending his conception, he will see the forests thickly expanding over more than six thousand square miles, and absolutely parched into tinder by the protracted heat of a long su countless tribes of wild animals, and hundreds of do done all this, he will have before hieneral circumstances of the country, which, in the course of a few hours, was suddenly enveloped in fire Apicture of huined The whole district of cultivated land was shrouded in the agonizing ladness that forer heard, for the voice ofbroke upon the ear but the accents of distress; the eye saw nothing but ruin, and desolation, and death New Castle, yesterday a flourishi+ng town, full of trade and spirit, and containing nearly one thousand inhabitants, was now a heap of slasstown, nearly one-third of its size, was reduced to the same miserable condition Of the two hundred and sixty houses and storehouses, that composed the former, but twelve remained; and of the seventy that comprised the latter, but six were left The confusion on board of one hundred and fifty large vessels, then lying in the Mirier, was terrible--so, and the reroups of half-famished, half-naked, and houseless creatures, allthe loss of some property, or children, or relations and friends, andering through the country Of the hu, others with the flesh all consu; some with headless trunks, and severed extremities; some bodies were burned to cinders, others reduced to ashes;in the last distorted position of convulsing torture; brief and violent was their passage from life to death, and rude and melancholy was their sepulchre--'unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown' The is! Thousands of wild beasts, too, had perished in the woods, and from their putrescent carcasses issued streaious domes over the dismantled settle in different parts of the country Myriads of salmon, trout, bass, and other fish, which, poisoned by the alkali formed by the ashes precipitated into the river, now lay dead or floundering and gasping on the scorched shores and beaches, and the countless variety of wild fowl and reptiles shared a similar fate
”Such was the violence of the hurricane, that large bodies of ignited timber, and portions of the trunks of trees, and severed liles, boards, &c, were hurried along through the frowning heavens with terrible velocity, outstripping the fleetest horses, spreading destruction far in the advance, thus cutting off retreat The shrieks of the affrighted inhabitants,of horses, the howling of dogs, and the strange notes of distress and fright fro with the roar of the flaars description
”Their only means of safety was the river, to which there was a si whatever was buoyant, however inadequate; ; some succeeded; others failed, and were drowned One woed into the river, and was safely towed to the opposite shore
Those ere unable to ed into the water to their necks, and, by a constant application of water to the head, while in this sub In some portions of the country, the cattle were nearly all destroyed Whole crews of , were consuration of 1825, on the Mirimachi”
PIRATES OF THE RED SEA
The coreatly suffered from the depredations of Arab pirates, who infest the entire coasts The exploits of one individual is dwelt upon by his late _confreres_ with particular enthusiasm; and his career and deeds were of so extraordinary a character, that we feel justified in giving the following brief detail of thelish traveler:
This dreadful man, Ramah ibn Java, the _beau ideal_ of his order, the personation of an Arab sea robber, was a native of a se near Jiddah At an early period he coenial to his disposition and nature Purchasing a boat, he, with a band of about twelve companions, commenced his career as a pirate, and in the course of a few months he had been so successful that he became the owner of a vessel of three hundred tons, and manned with a lawless crew It was a part of his system to leave British vessels unood terms with them We have heard an old officer describe his appearance He was then about forty-five years of age, short in stature, but with a figure coorous, and the characteristic qualities of his countryue Several scars already seamed his face, and the bone of his ar a vessel It is a rehed away, and the arm, connected only by flesh and muscle, was still, by means of a silver tube affixed around it, capable of exertion
Ramah was born to be the leader of the wild spirits around him With a sternness of purpose that awed those ere near hiree of dread, which totally astonished those who had been accustomed to view the terms of equality in which the Arab chiefs appear with their followers, he exacted the most implicit obedience to his will; and the th he was disposed to go with those who thwarted, or did not act up to, the spirit of his views The young , had been dispatched to attack some boats, but he was unsuccessful ”This, dastard, and son of a dog!” said the enraged father, who had been watching the progress of the affair, ”you return unhar him over the side!” The chief was obeyed; and but for a boat, which by so some miles astern, he would have been drowned Of his existence the father for many months holly unconscious, and hoas reconciled we never heard; but during the interval he was never known to utter his name No cause, it appears, existed for a repetition of the punishment; for while yet a youth, he met the death his father would have most coveted for hi a fort
Many other acts of cruelty are related of hi boat, he plundered her, and then fastened the crew--five in number--round the anchor, suspended it fro burden, sink to the bottom He once attacked a small town on the Persian Gulf In this town lived one Abder Russel, a personal friend of the narrator, who related the visit of the pirates to his dwelling Seized with a violent illness, he was stretched on a pallet spread on a floor of his apartment; his wife, to who him, his head placed in her lap A violent noise arose below--the door was heavily assailed--it yielded--a sharp conflict took place--shouting and a rushi+ng on the stair-case was heard, and the pirates were in the apartment ”I read their purpose,”
said Abder to me, ”In their looks; but I was bed-ridden, and could not raise a finger to save her for whose life I would gladly have forfeited my own, Ramah, the pirate captain, approached her Entreaties for life were unavailing; yet for an instant her extreme beauty arrested his arlea victim beside me Cold and apparently inani past me, and with her life it ebbed rapidly away My eyes must have been fixed with the vacant look of death: I even felt uners, stripped the jewels from my hand--the touch of that villain who had deprived th, a happy insensibility stole overI remained in this condition I know not; but when I recovered ain traversed ed bathinghimself while the h a man of feords with his creas nevertheless very communicative to our officers, whenever he fell in with theed the plans, and by an irand secret, he knew full well, was in his utter conteht eloquence, at the hour of need, where time is brief, and sentences must be condensed into words, which marked his career Success crowned all his exploits; he made war, and levied contributions on whom he pleased Several times he kept important sea-port towns in a state of blockade, and his appearance was every where feared and dreaded
He took possession of a small sandy islet, not many miles from his native place, where he built a fort, and would occasionally sally forth, and plunder and annoy any vessel that he h now perfectly blind and wounded in almost every part of his body, yet such was the dread inspired by the energy of this old chief, that, for a long tile vessel which he possessed At length, a sheik, bolder than his neighbors, proceeded in three heavy boats to attack Ramah The followers of the latter, too well trained to feel or express alarm, save that which arose fro ter force, and counseled his bearing away fro drew near, and closed upon hiained the deck An instant after, dead and dying, the victor and the vanquished, were given to the wind Ramah, with a spirit in accordance with the tenor of his whole career, finding the day was going against hiazine, and then, it is supposed, applied the pipe he had been s the action to the powder Such, to his life, was the fitting end of the pirate chief
[Illustration: GENERAL JACKSON AND WEATHERFORD]
GEN JACKSON AND WEATHERFORD
After the battle of Tallapoosa, General Jackson returned with his victorious arive his ene the misfortune that had befallen him, he recommenced operations iain set out for Tallapoosa, with the view of foria troops under Colonel Milton, and coation of the country On the 14th of that month, the union of the two armies was effected, and both bodies moved to a place called the Hickory Ground, where, it was expected, the last final stand would be reed on The principal chiefs of the different tribes had assembled here, and, on the approach of the ar them was Weatherford, celebrated equally for his talents and cruelty, who had directed the massacre at Fort Mimms It had been the intention of General Jackson, to inflict a signal punishment upon him, if ever in his power Struck, however, with the bold and nervous eloquence of this fearless savage, and persuaded of the sincerity of his wishes for peace, he dismissed him without injury Some of the speeches of this warrior have been preserved, and exhibit a beautiful specie hero, la General Jackson, he said, ”I am in your power--do with me as you please I am a soldier I have done the white people all the harht them bravely There was a time when I had a choice, and could have answered you: I have none now,--even hope is ended Once I could animate my warriors; but I can not anier hear a, Tallushatchee, Emuckfaw, and Tohopeka While there was a chance of success, I never left one; and I now ask it for my nation and myself” He shortly afterward beca peace, which was concluded by the total subreed to retire in the rear of the army, and occupy the country to the east of the Coosa; while a line of Aia, to the Alabama, and the power and resources of these tribes were thus effectually destroyed
CRUISE OF THE SALDANHA AND TALBOT
At ht of Saturday, the 30th of Novehed froate, of thirty-eight guns, Captain Packenham, with a crew of three hundred men, on a cruise, as was intended, of twenty days--the Saldanha taking a westerly course, while we stood in the opposite direction
We had scarcely got out of the lock and cleared the heads, however, e plunged at once into all thethe three following days, it continued to increase in violence, when the islands of Coll and Tiree became visible to us As the wind had now chopped round more to the north, and continued unabated in violence, the danger of getting involved aed headlands, on the northwest coast of Inverness-shi+re, became evident It was therefore deemed expedient to wear the shi+p round, and make a port with all expedition With this view, and favored by the wind, a course was shaped for Lochswilly, and ae scudded under close-reefed foresail and main-topsail, followed by a tremendous sea, which threatened everyshowers of hail, and a gale which bleith incredible fury
The same course was steered until next day about noon, when land was seen on the lee-bow The weather being thick, some time elapsed before it could be distinctly made out, and it was then ascertained to be the island of North Arran, on the coast of Donegal, ard of Lochswilly