EXTRAORDINARY SPEECH BY AN INDIAN.

Waikato Times, Volume VII, Issue 350, 11 August 1874, Page 2

EXTRAORDINARY SPEECH BY AN INDIAN.

At a Masonic banquet given in Chicago, 111, a short time ago, Ely S Parker, a chief of the Six' Nations, and a practising lawyer of Calena, deliveied a speech, which is thus spoken of in an article in the Masonic Journal :—": — " One speech of the evening, also an incident attending it, deserves more particular mention. It was that of Bro Sir Knight Parker, a grandson of Bed Jacket, and his vSuccessox of the Six Nations. He is a full blooded chief, but highly educated, and an eloquent speaker. I shall not attempt even an outline of his speech, for if reproduced, it should be with its charms of action and utterances which very few men can equal. He spoke of himself as almost a lone remnant of wliat was once a noble race ; of his straggle coming to manhood, and seeing his race diappearing as the dew before morning sun. As he found his race waisting away, he asked himself, ' Where shall I find home and sympathy, when our last council fire is extinguished i I said I will knock at the door of Masonry, and see if the white race will recognise me, as they did my ancestors, when we were strong and the white men weak. I knocked at the door of the Blue Lodge, and found brotherhood around his altar. I went before the great light in the chapter, and found their Valiant sir knights willing to shield me here without regard to race (or nation. I went further. I knelt at the cross of my Saviour, and found Christian brotherhood the crowning charity of the Masonic tie. lam happy to meet yon in the grand councils of the gatherings, and sit with you at this festive board to share those greetings and hospitalities. I feel assured that when my glass is run out, and I shall follow the footsteps of my departed race, Masonic sympathises will cluster around my coffin, and drop in my lonely grave the evergreen acaia, sweet emblems of a better meeting. If my race shall disappear from the continent, I have a consoling hope that our memoiy shall not perish. If the deeds of my ancestors shall not live in stories, their memories remain in the name of our lakes and rivers, your towns and cities, and will call up memories otherwise forgotten. Few eyes could withhold their tears as he poured forth in words like those the utterance of a full heart. Silence for a time prevailed after he sat down he ai-ose and said — ' I have in my posession a memento which I highly prize ; I wear it near my heart. It came from my ancestors to me as their successor in office. It was a present from Washington to my grandfather, Red Jacket, when our nation was in its infancy. You will be glad to s>ee and handle it, and I should do wrong not to give you the opportunity.' As he spoke thus he moved the wampun neck", and drew from his bosom a large massive medal in an oval form, about seven inches by five, and it pas&ed from hand to hand along the tablts. On one side of this medal were engiaved in full length the figures of two chief— Red Jacket in costume, presenting the the pipe of peace, and Washingtop, with right hand extended, as in the act of receiving it. On the other side, the Masonic emblems, with the date 1792, if memory is correct."

AHungirinn count, named Enling, found himself lately in New York with a curious household upon his hands, consisting of a wife ten years older than himself, and a handsome mistress, whose position was recognised by Mrs Enling without annoyance. He was also almost destitute, but fouud money enough to take out a policy for $10,030 upon the life of his mistress, who fortunately soon alter fell sick. A doctor was called in who seems to have been a very incompetent physician, and after the farce had been played a short while, the girl shammed death, deceived the physician, and successfully lay for inspection by fnetds for about an hour. Then the coffin came, and full urmngeruents »ero made for the funeral. After the obsequies, Enling lost no time in making his claim upon the insurance company. Something in the case, however, aroused their iuspicions, and they got an order fiosr. the Board of health to exhume the coffin, which, upon inspection, proved to contain nineteen bricks carefully held iv place by some slips of board. The undertaker has sinco confessed lo having shared in the business for a bnbe of §250, ami Enling and the women hay both been arrested. Great interest is shown by the public in the case, and Burnum, whose monster show is to open very soon, has bought the coffin and eighteen surviving bricks — for one of the nineteen has been stolen by a cuiiosity hunter — for $1,000. Although a ring is absolutely necessary in a Church of England marriage, it may be of any metal, and of any size. Some years since, a ring of brass was used at Worcester at a wedding before the registrar, who was threatened with proceedings lor not compelling a gold one to be employed. A story is told of the wedding of two paupers who came to the church, and requeued to bo married with the church key, an the pnrochiul authorities had not furnished them, with a ring. The clerk, feeling some delicacy about using the key, fetched an old curtain-ring from his own house, and with that ai tide the marriage was celebrated. The church key was used in lieu of a wedding-ring at a church near Colcliester early in the present century, and that was not a solitary instance within the past one hundred years in this couatiy. The Duke of Hamilton was married at May Fair witk a bed curtain ring. A'otes and Queries for October, 1860, relates that a ring of leather, cut traversely from a linger of tho bridegroom's glove, was used as a substitute for the wedding-ring on ene occasion. A clergyman unjustifiably stopped *a wedding in India because the bridegroom offered a diamond ring instead of one generally in use. In Ireland, the use of a gold ring is superslitiously required. It was about two o'clock on Friday morning that Mrs Maguire, thinking she heard a noise in the kitchen, crept out of bed and to that room to see if it was not Maguire, who had been expected for several hours. On reaching the kitchen sho lound her lord and muster sitting on the floor, with his new silk hat in between his knees, and in the hat several dned herrings and abwut two quarts of water. Maguire was eyeing the mixture with profound gratification. "Peter Sloguire!" screamed the lady, "what ore you doing 9 ' "Me?" inquired Mr Maguire, with a look of surprise. " "Why, Matiliy, I'm (hee) starting an (his) aquarium for you at Christmas. The ordinary processes of adulteration are not the only source of danger to which wine diinkers are exposed. It nppears that a poison lurks m the bottles as well as in the wine. At a recent meeting of the Academic dcs Sciences. M. Fordos denounced the mode in which bottles are cleaned by rinsing them out with email shot. He has discovered that by this pictess a curbonate of lead is formed, and this attaches ilsell to firmly to the inside of the glass that it can only be removed by the action of aeidj. Thus it happens that acid wines, which are by no means uncommon, dissolve the lend, and the wme drinkeis take the hurtful mixture. M. Fordos suggests a remedy for the evil. Instead of lead, he pioposes that inn should be mod. The cleansing properties of small pieces of iion would be not lees than those possessed by lead, and the existing source of danger would be rather beneficial The ru»t which results irom oxidisation mixing with the vine would produce an effect by no means injurious to health ; indeed, for persons whose blood is impoverished, it would be of positive benefit. It is to be hoped thut. wine merchants do not still employ lead in cleaning their bottles. A veiy large quantity of claret f'ecidedly acid is bottled here, and it would be rather disastrous it el'cap wine became tho \ chicle for lopd pouoniug.

A somewhat tinguhir discovery »a« accidentally made ]ito/'v by ii gentleman of Buninyong. Tlie llallarat Courier reports that somo tune ngo lio bought at an auction sale of drnpt-ry, a p.fco of printed flannel, the cmbellidhmcnts of •winch consisted of a vnrioty of i' aits, flowers and foliage, depicted in flamm,; colours on tlio material. Ho had the stuff mnde into a number of shirts to It worn nevt the slnu Tn cour-e of tin .■• lie divoverc.], to his utter astonishment, tlmt tlie flornl decoration of the under garment had trnnpforrcd itself on to the form of his pri-on. A mild application of soap and wiW-r was at first employed to remove tho bbjectionable adornmon«« ; but those proving futile, recoimo was had to moro strmgint measures, in the shnpo of strong siidi, vigorously applied with a scrubbing brush. But the obnoxious tatooini,' only Showed itself in higher relief. In t!.i« dilemma the chemist wan consulted, who recommended the application ol acid and alkali, and other agents used for discolouration. The excruciating pain caused by these experiments wa* endured with becoming fortitude. The result, however, was scarcely commensurate with the pain inflicted, the only apparent advantage gained being that tho blue changed into red, nnd the green to blue. The unfortunate man Is noiv off to Geelong to try what a change of air and sea b.ithing will do. Atorrespondeiit of the North British Agriculturist writes : " I Inall bo glad to know t'>o best plan of treatment for what is milled grease. I have two horses which showed symptoms of'it during the summer, when on clover ; one has become rapidly worse, has now what is called budding, and being a valuable mare, and in foal, I am the more anxious for a cure." To the abovo communication tho veterinary editor replies as follows :—": — " G-reaso consists in inflammation of the thickened skin of the horse's heels. The irritated sweat and oil glands pour out an abundant unsavoury discharge, inflaming and blistering the surface with which it comes in contact. The skin about tho heels is swollen, fonder and cracked. Often the animal becomes feveribh. In badly treated or neglected caies, portions of the skin ulcerate and slough, and fungoid granulation! appear, commonly known as grapes. In some chronic cases an ncaris is found on the itching, irritable, scurfy surfaces. The hind • limbs, being exposed to wet and dirt, suffer more particularly from greaie. Round-legged, rough-haired, under-bred carthortes are it» ordinary lubjects. The tendency to it is doubtless increased by washing horses' legs and leaving them undried. The old-faihioned plan of walking the farm-horse two or three times through the pool before they are stabled for tbe night, -proves a prolific source of grease. Similar wettingi of our own hands or feet in like manner chill, irritate, inflame, and crack the skin. The slighter cases are bcit dressed with oxide of zinc ointment, or with a solution of sulphate or chloride of zinc dissolved in forty parts ot water. A daily dressing of weak watery or oily solution of carbolic acid will hasten healing and abate the noisome smell. A dose of physic, and laxative, cooling diet expedite the cure. The buds or grapes of which you speak aro best got rid of by the hot iron." About two years afeo (says the ' St Louis Journal ') a Missouri steamboat left Port Benton with a party of tough and well-to-do miners on board. There were alsojdniong tho passengers three or four ' brace mon,' and bofore arriving at Sioux City they bad, generally, cleaned out the pockets of the miners. The boat stopped at Sioux City to wood up, and found, among others waiting to get on board, a minis-terial-looking personage, with tlie longest and most solemn countenance on him you can well imagine. He was dressed in a suit of black, wore a irhito stove-pipe hat and choker collar ornamented with a black neckerchief. Well, ho got on board, and the boat started do«rn the stream. For two days he was unnoticed by the other passengers, but one of the sports at last thought he saw a chance to make something out of the sad and melancholy individual. Tho lut'or would, once or twice a day, step up to tho bar, and, with a Toice that was as mild and gentle as a maiden's, ask for ' A glass of soda, if you please ;' and then he would pull a roll of bills from his pocket, and take a quarter from their interior layers. Then ho would say to tho bai keeper, as if under a thousand obligations, ' Thank you, sir,' and walk aft again at if about to commit suicide. This thing had gone far enough, and the gambler I have spoken of at last approached him. ' Would you like a game of sevon-up, sir ? ' • Seven-up ? What is seven-up ? Please tell me, good friend.' 'Why, a game of cards, you know, just to pass away the time. Let us play a game.' 'My good friend, I do not know anything concerning cards ; I cannot play them. 1 'Well, come along, we'll show you how to doit.' And the mild gentleman in black, after some further protests, at length consented. They showed him how it was done, and they played several games. Tho gentleman in black was delighted. Gamblers want to know if ho will play poker, five cents, ante — just for the fun of tho thing. Gentleman in black says he cannot play the game, but they explain again, and the poker commences, Tlie gentleman in black loses all the time. There are six men in the game. Each one deals before tho gentleman in black, and the ante is raised to a dollar. Gent in black deals awkwardly, and looks at his band. Next man to dealer bets five — goes round, and bets are raised to 100 dollars. Gen*, in black sees it, and makes it 100 better. Gamblers look surprised, but will not be bluffed. Tho bet had reached 500 dollars— looo, All drew out except Pike's Peak miner, who sees and call* him. ' What have you ? ' ' Waal,' answers the gent in black, ' I haye — let me see, let me see — waal, I have four onei.' The gamblers, who have suspicioned some time before, now look wild, and the light begins to dawn in the miner's mind. He leaned across the table, and said in the most sarcastic tones ho could command, ' Oh, you heave, btave yer? You sanctimonious •hnfllor! ' Tho gent got up from the table, and handed one of the gamblers his card. It read, ' Bill Walker, New Orleans — one of the moit successful sharpers in the country. The mortal remains of Adolphe Brideau, a French Communist of the wildest type, were lately interred at Finchley. Tho coffin, wrapped in red flags, was borne through the •treets, followed by about 200 Frenchmen. Tho procession was also headed by a large crimson flag.