Category: Essay

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1880s Essay Farm life Harvest Native American Seasons Sketch

The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons

By William Lear
Annotations by Karen Kilcup
The Four Seasons, by William Clarke Rice. Oil on fabric, 1923. Courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Spring is a very lovely season. Everybody delights to be out doors, to enjoy the pure air. In the fields some of the farmers are plowing, others are sowing their crops or preparing the ground for their vegetables. We see the birds in the trees flying about. They seem very happy, and are singing their sweetest songs. In the woods spring up beautiful wild flowers which we pick, some for our church, and others for our little oratory of St. Aloysius in our schoolroom.[1]

Then summer comes; it is the hottest of all the seasons. The berries are ripe and people, old and young, are picking them for their use. When it is very hot, no one likes to work outside in the sun, but the hay and grain must be cut and stored away. This is a very busy season for farmers.

After this we have autumn. The heat of the summer is gone, and we must now provide wood and fill up our sheds as much as we can, to keep us warm in the cold winter days, for we already feel the cold a little in the morning. Besides this we gather our vegetables and fruits, and keep them in a safe place, but sometimes the rats and mice have a good time with them.

Now comes the terrible and dreaded winter. How we like to have warm clothes, and fire is a precious thing. But there are many poor people who have no homes, and no fire to keep them warm. On the western coast of North America the winters are milder than on the eastern coast. We have snow in December and January. It does not stay long, but people make good use of it while it lasts.

Lear, William. “The Four Seasons.” The Youth’s Companion 6, no. 1 (November 1881): 143.

[1] St. Aloysius (1568-1591) was an Italian-born nobleman who relinquished his wealth to become a Jesuit priest in the Roman Catholic church. White religious leaders considered him to be an important spiritual model for students in the Tulalip Indian School.

Contexts

Begun in 1881, The Youth’s Companion—a name that many nineteenth-century publications shared—was a monthly student magazine that published articles written by pupils of the Catholic-run boarding school located on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. A federally recognized tribe located in the mid-Puget Sound area, the Tulalip Tribes received reservation lands—22,000 acres—in 1855, with its legal boundaries established by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1873. According to the Tulalip Tribes website, “it was created to provide a permanent home for the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish Tribes and allied bands living in the region.”

Nineteenth-century Indian boarding schools aimed to assimilate Native Americans into white culture. They separated children from their families, required students to dress like white Americans, and prohibited them from speaking their language. They also emphasized so-called “industrial” training: boys learned agricultural and industrial skills, while girls learned how to cook, sew, and clean a household. Students were often expected to become servants or to provide manual labor help for whites.

Unlike many contributions to Native American student periodicals, this conversation was published with an author’s name. William Lear (Lummi) appears in the 1885-1940 Native American Census Rolls in 1901, when he was thirty-six, so he would have been about fifteen when he composed “The Four Seasons.” He was the father of thirteen-year-old Clara and fifteen-year-old Florance, who are listed in 1910 school census. Students living on reservations during this time often received educations governed by white religious authorities who emphasized moral training. In describing the seasons, this story mirrors much of the nineteenth century’s natural history writing for children. The sketch of winter veers from convention, focusing on the region’s poverty and ending with a hint of pleasure.

Resources for Further Study
Contemporary Connections

“Tulalip History Minute 04—The Tulalip Indian School presented by Mary Jane Topash,” the Tulalip History Project. Provides Tulalip-sponsored background on the tribe.

“Editorial: Getting to the truth of Tulalip boarding school,” September 26, 2021, HeraldNet (Everett, Washington). Caution: includes information about abuses at the school.

urrent significance.

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1860s Essay

American Animals Part II: The Buffalo

American Animals Part II: The Buffalo

By Jacob Abbott
Annotations by Josh BEnjamin
George Catlin. Buffalo Bull, Grazing on the Prairie. Oil on canvas, c. 1882-83, Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.

We gave two weeks since an article on the Beaver, his habits, &c. The second in the series is a sketch of the Buffalo. The article is long, but very interesting:

The buffalo, or bison, is a sort of wild bull, with a monstrous, shaggy head and ferocious aspect. They are gregarious animals, that is, they live and feed together in immense herds. Almost all animals that feed on grass and herbage are gregarious, while beasts of prey are generally solitary in their habits. It is necessary for them to be so, for in order to succeed in their hunting, they must prowl alone, or watch in ambush, patiently and in silence, for their prey. There are some exceptions, as in the case of wolves, for example, which usually hunt together in packs. There is a reason for this exception, too, for the wolves live generally by killing and devouring animals larger than themselves, and so are obliged to combine their strength in order to overpower their prey.

The buffalos are gregarious by habit in order that they may the better defend themselves from their enemies; and so abundant is the food furnished for them by the luxuriant grass of the prairies, and so boundless is the extent of the plains over which they roam, that the herds increase to an almost incredible extent. Travellers sometimes find the whole region black with them in every direction as far as they can see. In one case that is described, the country was covered with a herd, or an aggregation of herds, so vast that the party journeying were six days in passing through them. The aspect which they presented with five, ten, and sometimes twenty thousand in sight at a time, spreading in every direction over the plains, some bellowing, some fighting, others advancing defiantly toward their supposed foes, and tearing up the soil with their hoofs and horns—the earth trembling under their tramp, and the air filled with a prolonged and portentous murmur, presented to the view of the traveller a really appalling spectacle.

The bellowing of a large herd is sometimes heard at a distance of two miles!

Of course the frosts and snows coming down from the Arctic regions in winter bind up arid cover large tracts of land which in summer are clothed with luxuriant herbage. The grazing animals, accordingly, move northward to great distances as the season changes.

Miner Kilbourne Kellogg. Buffalo, Gulf of Nicomedia. Pencil on paper, n.d., Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.

The country being intersected by rivers and streams in every part, would seem to interpose great difficulties in the way of the passage of the animals to and fro. The herd, on approaching a river, if it is fordable, descend the bank in a massive column, and wade or swim across. If the descent of the bank is not already gradual, it soon becomes so by the trampling of so many heavy hoofs, the most daring, of course, impelled partly by their courage, and partly by the pressure from behind, going down first and breaking the way.

If there are calves in the herd, and the bank remains so steep that they dare not go down, their mothers always wait with them upon the margin in great apparent distress, and make every effort to encourage them to go down. Sometimes it is said that the calves contrive to get upon the backs of the cows, and are conveyed in that way across the stream.

It not unfrequently happens that the landing proves not to be good when the animals arrive on the further side, so that instead of a hard beach by which to ascend to the level of the plain, they find themselves sinking into quicksands or mire. The scene which is witnessed in a case like this, presents sometimes, it is said, an aspect almost awful. The older and stronger beasts are perhaps able, after long-continued and desperate struggles, in which they trample down and climb over the others in their excitement and terror, to regain their footing and clamber up the bank; but often many are unable to extricate themselves, and perish miserably—their bodies being borne away by the current down the stream.

The case is still worse sometimes when the river is frozen, and the herd is consequently compelled to cross upon the ice. The animals have no means of judging of the strength of the ice except by taking the opinion of the leaders, who go down cautiously, and step in a timid, hesitating manner upon the margin of it, and then if it gives no sign of weakness under the weight of a single tread, they conclude it to be strong, and proceed. But it may be strong enough to bear one, while far too weak to sustain the weight of a hundred.

Still the whole herd follow on, and perhaps when the head of the column has advanced toward the middle of the stream, some cracking sound, or other token of weakness, gives the alarm. The leaders stop, the others press on, the ice becomes immensely overloaded, and presently goes down with a great crash, carrying hundreds into the water. Then ensues a scene of struggling, and commotion, and terror impossible to describe. Animals of every age and size are writhing and plunging in the water, vainly trying to climb up upon cakes of ice, or to force their way through the floating fragments to the shore—bellowing all the time with terror. Some at last gain the bank, but others are swept away in great numbers beneath the unbroken ice below, and drowned.

In making their journeys the buffalos move in columns, those behind keeping in the track of those before, and in this way they make trails which soon become well worn; and being pretty wide, on account of the columns being formed with several animals abreast, they look like wagon roads. These roads extend, in some places, for hundreds of miles across the country. When they are once made, they are followed year after year by successive herds. In this respect the habits of the buffalo correspond with those of domestic cows in the pastures of New England, who lay out paths on the hillsides and in the woods, and continue to use them, when they are once worn, for many years.

The buffalo, as may readily be supposed, was a great resource to the Indians. His flesh furnished him with an abundant supply of excellent food. His skin served for cloth, and, when cut into thongs, for cords. His horns were made into vessels and implements of various kinds. Some tribes also made boats of his hide by stretching it, when green, over a frame made of a suitable form for the purpose intended. This, of course, was a very clumsy sort of craft, but being made without any seam, was perfectly water-tight and very serviceable.

George Catlin. Dying Buffalo—no. 17. Lithograph, n.d., Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.

The buffalo has many enemies, but the greatest of all is civilized man. So long as the vast herds were attacked only by bears, packs of wolves, and Indians armed simply with spears and arrows, they were able to hold their ground. The bulls of the herd, with their prodigious strength, and the formidable weapons with which nature has provided them in their horns, would maintain terrible conflicts with any of these foes, and would often come off victorious from the fight. But when the white man came, mounted upon a horse and armed with a rifle, no choice was left to him but to abandon the field; and in proportion as the tide of emigration moves toward the west, the buffalo retires before it; and will probably in time entirely disappear.

The frontiers, however, of his old dominion are drawn in very slowly and reluctantly, so that even the steamboat sometimes overtakes him. Cases have occurred in which steamboats, in feeling their way up some of the western branches of the Mississippi and Missouri, have come upon a herd of buffalos crossing the stream, and the poor beasts, in the midst of their amazement at the spectacle, have been shot by the rifles of the passengers from the deck.

There is one case mentioned in which a steamboat passed so near a buffalo swimming in the water that a passenger on board, who had learned the use of the lasso in South America, threw a rope, with a slip noose at the end, through the air and caught him by the horns. The crew then pulled the poor beast alongside of the steamer, and, getting slings under him, hoisted him on board and butchered him for his beef.

George Catlin. Buffalo Bulls in a Wallow. Oil on canvas, c. 1837-39, Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick
Gallery, Washington, D.C.
Abbott, JAcob. “American Animals.” Youth’s companion 35, No. 24 (June 1861): 100.
Contexts

Youth’s Companion excerpted this selection from Jacob Abbott’s longer work, American History Volume I: Aboriginal America, published in 1860 as an illustrated book with ten chapters: “Types of Life in America,” “Face of the Country,” “Remarkable Plants,” “Remarkable Animals,” “The Indian Races,” “The Indian Family,” “Mechanic Arts,” “Indian Legends and Tales,” “Constitution and Character of the Indian Mind,” and “The Coming of the Europeans.” Abbott intended his series to be a complete overview of American history that began with the geography, flora and fauna, and indigenous people as indicative of the “earliest periods” of the country. Several more volumes followed, titled Discovery of America, The Southern Colonies, The Northern Colonies, Wars of the Colonies, Revolt of the Colonies, War of the Revolution, and Washington.

Abbott’s introduction reads:

“IT is the design of this work to narrate, in a clear, simple, and intelligible manner, the leading events connected with the history of our country, from the earliest periods, down, as nearly as practicable, to the present time. The several volumes will be illustrated with all necessary maps and with numerous engravings, and the work is intended to comprise, in a distinct and connected narrative, all that it is essential for the general reader to understand in respect to the subject of it, while for those who have time for more extended studies, it may serve as an introduction to other and more copious sources of information.

The author hopes also that the work may be found useful to the young, in awakening in their minds an interest in the history of their country, and a desire for further instruction in respect to it. While it is doubtless true that such a subject can be really grasped only by minds in some degree mature, still the author believes that many young persons, especially such as are intelligent and thoughtful in disposition and character, may derive both entertainment and instruction from a perusal of these pages.”

Mistakenly called buffalo, the American Bison once roamed across North America in large numbers. Though we may never know how many bison were alive at their peak, experts believe they once numbered between 30 and 75 million. By 1800, the herds east of the Mississippi were killed off. By 1838, many herds in the northern and southern portions of the Great Plains were destroyed. There were only 300 wild bison by the turn of the 20th century. In 1894, Congress passed a law making it illegal to hunt bison in Yellowstone National Park. Twenty-one bison were purchased in 1902 to rebuild the Yellowstone herd. In 2019, the Yellowstone herd numbered nearly 5,000, and there were nearly 40,000 bison across North America.

Definitions from Oxford English Dictionary

aggregation: A whole composed of many individuals; a mass formed by the union of distinct particles; a gathering, assemblage, collection.

gregarious: Of classes or species of animals: Living in flocks or communities, given to association with others of the same species.

herbage: Herbs collectively; herbaceous growth or vegetation; usually applied to grass and other low-growing plants covering a large extent of ground, esp. as used for pasture.

prodigious: That causes wonder or amazement; marvelous, astonishing. Also in an unfavorable sense: appalling.

Resources for Further Study
Contemporary Connections

The National Park Service has information on bison conservation, as does Bison Range Restoration, which is in the process of transitioning oversight of the National Bison Range from U.S. Fish and Wildlife to resource managers from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CKST). The National Wildlife Federation is also involved in ongoing efforts to return bison to tribal lands.

There are several works of fiction regarding the Native American connection to the American Bison:

  • Buffalo Dreams by Kim Doner links the traditional connection to buffalo to the present day.
  • Buffalo Song by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) is a buffalo history: how they came to be, why they were almost killed off, and how Great Plains Natives still see them as sacred.

Categories
1860s Essay

American Animals Part I: The Beaver

American Animals Part I: The Beaver

By Jacob Abbott
Annotations by Josh Benjamin
Original engraving by H.W. Herrick from American History Volume I: Aboriginal America by Jacob Abbott.

We propose to give a short series of articles upon the habits of some of the animals found in America, as the buffalo, the eagle, the alligator, &c. These sketches are taken from Abbott’s “Aboriginal America.” We give this week

THE BEAVER.

One of the most remarkable of the animals found in America is the beaver. Species nearly resembling the American beaver formerly existed in the old world, but they have long been nearly or quite extinct. The class of animals to which the beaver belongs is common all over the world, namely, the class of Rodentia, which means gnawing animals. The beaver is the greatest gnawer of them all.

His cutting teeth are broad and flat, and are brought to so sharp and hard an edge that the Indians were accustomed to set them in handles and use them for cutting instruments before they obtained iron and steel from the Europeans. It is said that by means of these teeth the beavers can cut off a stem in the woods as big as a walking stick at a single bite. By more continued efforts they can fell trees of very considerable size, not greater, however, than eight or ten inches in diameter, though one trapper in the service of a fur company says he has seen trunks eighteen inches in diameter cut through by them.

The beaver has acquired a very extensive fame among mankind, the foundation of which is two-fold. First, the exceeding softness and richness of his fur, which made his skin very valuable as clothing to the native tribes before Europeans came to the country, and which have since caused it to be still more highly valued by civilized nations all over the world; and secondly, his distinguished reputation as a builder. Both these characters of the animal result from the same cause, namely this, that he is intended to live in a very cold climate, that is, a climate which is very cold for half the year, and to get his living from the roots of plants growing under water, which, during the cold season, is covered with ice from one to three feet thick. To meet these exigencies he is provided with an extremely thick and soft fur to protect him in his winter excursions upon the land, and with certain very remarkable building instincts, by which he is enabled at all times, however cold the weather and however thick the ice, to procure access to the water.

The first object of the beaver in his engineering operations, is to keep the water deep in the stream that he inhabits, in order to prevent its freezing to the bottom. To effect this he forms a company, and the whole band proceed to build a dam. They gnaw down trees and bushes and drag them into the stream at the place which they have chosen for the dam, and pack them together in a close and impenetrable mass ten or twelve feet wide at the bottom, and diminishing gradually to the top. As they proceed they fill up all the interstices of the work with stones, gravel, mud, turf, roots, and everything else that they can bring. Of course a great deal of their work is washed away by the current while they are building, but by means of their indomitable perseverance, they finally succeed, and a massive and permanent obstruction to the stream is created. In process of time the trunks and stems of trees which they have introduced into their work decay, and the whole settles and consolidates into a permanent bank, which endures sometimes for centuries. Of course, so long as the pond is occupied the dam needs constant watching and frequent repairs, but this work the company always attend to in the most prompt and systematic manner.

In laying the materials of which the dam is composed the beavers go continually to and fro over their work, trampling down the soft substances with their paws, and patting them with their broad tails. This patting motion of their tails, which they make instinctively when they walk about upon the ground, gave rise to the story that the beaver uses his tail as a trowel. This, though it is not literally and exactly true, is, after all, not far from the truth, for the effect of the patting is analogous to that produced by the trowel of the mason in laying stones in mortar.

John James Audubon. American Beaver. Illustration, 1844, Digital Public Library of America.

Besides the dam, the beaver builds what may be called houses on the bank, where he can live during the winter sheltered from the cold, and protected from the wolves and similar wild animals that would otherwise prey upon him. These houses are built of logs of wood formed from the trunks of trees, which the beavers gnaw down in the adjoining forests, and then cut to proper lengths for their purpose. They dig in the ground to get good foundations, arid then build up walls four or five feet high, much in the same way as they construct the dams. They then lay other trunks of trees across from one wall to the other, and cover the roof thus formed with stones, bushes, moss, mud, and other similar materials, and smooth the whole over at last with their paws and their tail, so as to make a sort of mound of their work, with a hollow in the centre. The whole structure is so solid, and all its parts so closely compacted together, that the wolverines and wild cats cannot get in. It is very difficult even for men to break through such a solid mass.

From these habitations subterranean passages run in various directions — some opening into the pond under the ice, so as to afford the inhabitants free access and egress to the water at all times, and others lead to holes and caverns which the animals make as places of retreat from their enemies when they are alarmed, and perhaps for warmth in times of extreme cold.

It is a very curious circumstance that the beavers do all their work in the night, and thus no person can watch them at their operations except at a great disadvantage. In the day time they keep very quiet. Their motive, probably, in thus arranging their time, as far as action prompted by such animal instincts may be said to have a motive, is doubtless to avoid attracting the attention of their enemies.

The beavers were once very numerous throughout the whole northern portion of the territory now occupied by the United States. In all the settled parts of the country, however, they have nearly or entirely disappeared; and so valuable are their skins, and so closely do the hunters and trappers follow up the work of taking them, that it will not be many years, if the present state of things continues, before the whole race will be completely exterminated.

Abbott, jacob. “American Animals.” Youth’s companion 35, no. 22 (June 1861): 92.
Contexts

Youth’s Companion excerpted this selection from Jacob Abbott’s longer work, American History Volume I: Aboriginal America, published in 1860 as an illustrated book with ten chapters: “Types of Life in America,” “Face of the Country,” “Remarkable Plants,” “Remarkable Animals,” “The Indian Races,” “The Indian Family,” “Mechanic Arts,” “Indian Legends and Tales,” “Constitution and Character of the Indian Mind,” and “The Coming of the Europeans.” Abbott intended his series to be a complete overview of American history that began with the geography, flora and fauna, and indigenous people as indicative of the “earliest periods” of the country. Several more volumes followed, titled Discovery of America, The Southern Colonies, The Northern Colonies, Wars of the Colonies, Revolt of the Colonies, War of the Revolution, and Washington.

Abbott’s introduction reads:

“IT is the design of this work to narrate, in a clear, simple, and intelligible manner, the leading events connected with the history of our country, from the earliest periods, down, as nearly as practicable, to the present time. The several volumes will be illustrated with all necessary maps and with numerous engravings, and the work is intended to comprise, in a distinct and connected narrative, all that it is essential for the general reader to understand in respect to the subject of it, while for those who have time for more extended studies, it may serve as an introduction to other and more copious sources of information.

The author hopes also that the work may be found useful to the young, in awakening in their minds an interest in the history of their country, and a desire for further instruction in respect to it. While it is doubtless true that such a subject can be really grasped only by minds in some degree mature, still the author believes that many young persons, especially such as are intelligent and thoughtful in disposition and character, may derive both entertainment and instruction from a perusal of these pages.”

Definitions from Oxford English Dictionary:

exigency: What is needed or required; a thing wanted or demanded; a requirement, a necessity.

Resources for Further Study
Contemporary Connections

Once declining in number due to the fur trade, American beavers are gaining attention for their effects on the environments in which they live and what we can learn from them about ecosystem management.

Categories
1830s Essay Fable

The Wonders of the Ocean

The Wonders of the Ocean

By Anonymous
Annotations by Kristina Bowers
“Ocean Life” by James M. Sommerville, 1859, Watercolor, gouache, graphite, and gum arabic on off-white wove paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Erving Wolf, in memory of Diane R. Wolf, 1977. Public Domain.

COLLECTED AND ARRANGED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES.

[Continued.]

In general the bed of the ocean is tolerably level, but sometimes in the midst of the furious waves, an island raises its head and braves their utmost force. Such islands may be considered as the mountains of the sea. In fact, the surface of the earth below the sea is evidently similar to that above it; here rising into mountains, the summits of which may be called islands and continents, and sinking into vallies[sic]. 

The bottom of the ocean, wherever opportunities of examining it have occurred, is found to resemble the dry land in materials as well as in features; if it is dug to any considerable depth, rock is uniformly met with as in the land. The strata, are similar, and supposed in the same manner, and springs of fresh water, so voluminous as to displace the current of the salt, for a considerable distance, issue from the bed of the sea; neither are there wanting to complete the resemblance, volcanoes, which vomit forth their perpetual fires. 

The earth, therefore, whether dry or covered with water, forms but one whole; the surface of the water being to that of the land as three to one.[1] 

This account of the ocean, its properties, movements, and effects, may be appropriately concluded with the extraordinary history of a Sicilian diver, which is related on the authority of Kircher,[2] and some other ancient authors, but it has so much the air of a fable that it is difficult to determine on the exact degree of credit which it merits. 

Nicola pesce[3] lived in the reign of Frederick, king of Sicily, and obtained his surname from his amazing skill in swimming, and his ability to remain under water for an astonishing length of time. He earned a poor subsistence by diving for corals and oysters; and his long familiarity with the sea made him regard it almost as his natural element. He frequently spent five days at a time in the midst of the waves, with no other provision for his sustenance than raw fish. He often swam from Sicily to Calabria,[4] a tempestuous and dangerous passage, being employed to carry letters of importance. Some mariners at sea one day observed an object at a distance, which they imagined to be a sea monster, but on approaching nearer, they discovered it to be Nicola who was bound on one of his expeditions. They took him with them into their ship, and enquired[sic] whither[5] he was going in so rough and stormy a sea, and at such a distance from land; he showed them a packet of letters, fastened up in a leather bag, which he was carrying to one of the towns of Italy. He remained with them for some time; and after eating, and refreshing himself, he took his leave, and jumped into the sea, to pursue his strange voyage. Nature seemed to have prepared him in a very singular manner for these aquatic expeditions, for the spaces between his toes and fingers were webbed, like the feet of a goose, and his chest became so very capacious,[6] that he could take in at one inspiration, as much breath as would serve him for a whole day.

The account of so extraordinary a person, soon reached the ears of the king; who actuated by a strong curiosity, not unmixed with incredulity, ordered Nicola to be brought before him. It was no easy matter to find an amphibious animal who spent the greater part of his time, in the watery deserts; but at length, after much research, he was discovered and presented to the monarch. The king had conceived a strong desire to gain some knowledge of the bottom of the Gulf of Charybdis;[7] and he gladly availed himself of so unlooked for an opportunity of gratifying it, and disregarding entirely, in his eagerness to obtain the fulfilment[sic] of his wishes, the imminent risk to the life of a fellow-creature, he commanded the poor diver to examine the dreadful whirlpool. To stimulate his efforts he commanded a golden cup to be thrown in and promised that it should be the prize of his success. The poor fisherman was not insensible to the dangers of the enterprize[sic], and ventured to remonstrate[8] against undertaking it; but at last the hope of reward, the desire of pleasing the king, and above all the pride of showing his skill, prevailed, and he consented. He leaped into the gulf, and was instantaneously swallowed up in its abyss.

He continued under water for three quarters of an hour, and re-appeared on the surface, holding the cup triumphantly in one hand, and the other buffetting[sic] the waves. He was received with universal applause, and the golden goblet was his reward. When he was in some measure recovered from his fatigue, which had been excessive he gave an account of what he had seen. According to his statement, four circumstances rendered this gulf terrible, not only to men but even to fish; the force of the water bursting upwards from the bottom; the steepness of the surrounding rocks; the violence of the whirlpool dashing against those rocks; and the vast number of polypus,[9] some as large as a man, adhering to them, and projecting their fibrous arms to entangle every thing that came within their reach.

The curiosity of the king being still unsatisfied, he desired him to descend again into the tremendous gulf. At first he refused compliance with this inhuman mandate; but being earnestly requested, and tempted by the promise of a much more valuable reward, than that bestowed on him before, the unfortunate man plunged again into the whirlpool, and never was heard of more.—Ed.

Anonymous. “The Wonders of the Ocean.” Youth’s Literary Messenger. 1, No. 9 (January 1838): 306-312.

[1] This is accurate, approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface is water.

[2] Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century Jesuit Priest and a prolific scientific thinker and writer.

[3] “Pesce” is the Italian word for “fish.” (Cambridge Dictionary)

[4] This distance equals roughly 173 miles.

[5] Whither: To what place, where. (Merriam-Webster)

[6] Capacious: Containing a great deal.

[7] The Gulf of Charybdis probably refers to the Strait of Messina between Sicily and the “toe” of the boot-shaped Italy. In Greek mythology, Charybdis was a sea monster that represented whirlpools.

[8] Remonstrate: To plead in protest or opposition. (Merriam-Webster)

[9] Polypus is an archaic spelling of “polyps” which are types of coral or sea anemones. (Merriam-Webster)

Resources for Further Study
Categories
1870s Essay

Fishes at Work

Fishes at Work

By Rhoda Little
Annotations by Kristina Bowers
Rev. William Houghton, “British Fresh-Water Fishes.” London; W. Mackenzie, Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology, 1879, Plate: Sticklebacks (Illustration). Not in copyright.

In a late number of THE LITTLE CORPORAL, is an interesting description of “fishes at play.” The sight was wonderful and rare, and few of those who read the account, will ever see the like; but many of us may watch fishes at work, without going to the sea. For fishes do work, and I have often seen them. 

On some parts of the Island of Aquidneck[1], where I live, the shores are marshy, with fresh streamlets, here and there, meandering down to the salt water. 

There is one marsh in particular, at the edge of the bay, with still pools sunk in the peaty[2] soil. These are filled partly by rain, from the clouds, and partly by the sea, that sometimes overflows them at spring tides. Coarse grass droops around their margins, forming dark, sheltered recesses among its roots; while sea lettuce[3], and other marine plants, float in broad, green patches on the surface of the brackish water. Every spring, scores of little fishes find their way into these pretty lakelets, and lay their eggs, or, as we commonly say, spawn, in their quiet water. 

Many an hour, from March to June, do I spend in watching their attractive ways, as, all unconscious of observers, they carry on their busy housekeeping. 

My favorite, among them, is the two-spined stickleback. It is only two or three inches long, sharp nosed, straight backed, flat sided, rough tailed, and bony; with spines about it; the two upon its back as big and sharp as the prickles upon a gooseberry bush. Yet it is beautiful. Both male and female are green and brown above, and silvery below, with great, round eyes; but the male is much the handsomer of the two. His colors are deeper, and there are times when his cheeks and sides become of a brilliant red.

While the sun has shone through many long days, and the water is warm and clear, the sticklebacks know it is time to get ready a lodging for their eggs. The male finds his mate, and, side by side, the pair swim up and down, seeking a convenient place. Sometimes a whole day is spent, in searching about, and holding consultations. 

At last, a spot is chosen, somewhere upon the bottom, and the male sets to work. He begins by clearing off whatever sticks, or other rubbish, may be in the way, carrying each bit to a distance. Then he takes away the sand, a mouthful at a time, until he has formed a hollow, of the size and shape of a watch crystal[4]. 

Sometimes a fragment of shell, or stone, sticks up, and the little fellow has to tug long and hard, to remove it.

When the nest is deep enough, he lines it with fronds of hollow-weed, sea lettuce, or some other smooth plant. These he cuts with his teeth, and lays the strips, one by one, strewing a little sand upon each, to keep it from being brushed aside. When the bottom of the nest is covered with a layer of strips, all lying one way, he spreads another layer across it, with all the pieces lying the other way, making a soft, even mattress. Often, he sinks down upon this bed, and presses it with his breast, fluttering his wing-like fins, much like a hen canary bird, when lining her nest. 

All the while he is at work, his mate sails up and down, encouraging him by her presence, but taking no part in his toil. Every now and then, he swims swiftly toward her, and insists on her coming to see the nest. She does so willingly, bending down, and looking at it with silent approval. 

Francis Ward, “Marvels of Fish Life: As Revealed by Camera.” London; Cassell and Company, Limited, Smithsonian Museum, 1912, Illustration. Public domain.

Sometimes, she wanders in search of food, and gets out of sight. He does not always miss her at once, but when he does, you should be there to see. He drops his precious piece of silky frond, no matter how carefully he has shaped it; he quits the nest, and, like one bereft[5] of common sense, rushes wildly about, as if all his aims in life were lost. When he finds the unwitting truant, he seems to chide her, and with impetuous[6] haste, drives her back to the scene of his labors.

Calm and serene herself, she cannot share his frenzy; but she gently gives up her own will to his, although she sees no reason for his perturbation[7]. Then he forgets his fears, forgives the cause, and resumes his task.

Now and then he stops work for a few minutes and has a little frolic with his mate. They affect to bite each other, and lay their heads across each other’s necks, like friendly horses in a field. They swim, side by side, in narrow circles; they chase each other, rising one above the other in pursuit, like swallows sporting in the air. 

Two days, or more, pass thus, and at last the nest is ready, and the eggs are in it. 

Then the careful stickleback makes haste to cover them. Working more mightily than ever, he brings frond after frond of some delicate water plant, and spreads over them. Crossing these as before, he takes no rest while a chink remains, through which can be seen a single egg. 

He goes further, and piles on more leaves, with so ingenious a show of carelessness, that no boy or girl would ever suspect that beneath his little patch of shredded weeds, there was hidden a fish’s cradle. 

The stickleback’s tasks are not yet ended. He has other work to do. Some rude intruder may meddle with his charge. He must not leave it. 

Accordingly, he sets himself to watch. All day he sails up and down, and round about, feeding scantily upon such morsels of food as drift within his beat; never losing sight of the nest.

All night he hovers above it, even sleeping with so much wakefulness as to be roused to vehement[8] action by the slightest stir in the water. If a strolling crab chances to sidle by, he rushes headlong upon it, and bites madly at its defenceless[sic] eyes. If an eel wriggles near, he erects his horrid spines, and dashes furiously against it, threatening to tip it up with these double daggers. He darts with the speed of lightning. The irides of his eyes, his cheeks, his sides, glow with vivid scarlet. 

No foe dares resist him, but every one makes haste to quit the field.

For three weeks, this faithful sentinel keeps guard. Toward the close, his vigilance increases. He often draws very near the nest, and peers closely. Sometimes he touches it with his nose; puts down his head, as if listening. 

Suddenly, he acts as if he had gone mad. He seizes the loose, outer covering, that served as a screen, and scatters the pieces right and left. He tears open the inner coverlid, that he had so carefully felted. He hangs breathless above the nest. What does he expect?

Presently, there issues from the rents[9], a train of fifty to a hundred tiny creatures, no bigger than midges[10], with filmy, transparent bodies, and wide, staring eyes.

The eggs have hatched, and these are the baby sticklebacks. They swim away, and the father’s work is done.

There is something beautiful in all this toil and watching, and anxiety, and bravery, and patience, of the little two-spined stickleback. 

It is not for himself; it is wholly for others; for little ones that are to appear before him for a moment, and pass out of his sight, to be known no more. 

When we see the self-devotion, that the Maker of us all has taught this humble fish shall we waste our higher lives in self pleasing? Let us rather learn from these lowly dwellers of the pool, that His works and His word teach the same lesson: Live for others, and not for yourselves.

Little, Rhoda. “Fishes at Work.” The Little Corporal: An Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls. 12, No. 6 (June 1871): 205.

[1] Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island, is located in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island.

[2] Peat: Partially decomposed vegetable tissue. (Merriam-Webster)

[3] Sea Lettuce: Marine green algae sometimes eaten in salad or soup. (Merriam-Webster)

[4] Watch crystals are approximately 12 to 57 mm.

[5] Bereft: Lacking. (Merriam-Webster)

[6] Impetuous: Impulsive vehemence or passion. (Merriam-Webster)

[7] Perturbation: State of being upset, bothered. (Merriam-Webster)

[8] Vehement: Intensely emotional, passionate. (Merriam-Webster)

[9] Rent: An opening made by rending or splitting. (Merriam-Webster)

[10] Midge: A tiny fly. (Merriam-Webster)

Contexts

The many varieties of the stickleback fish have a mating ritual that is accurate to the one described in this essay. The Encyclopedia Brittanica describes the mating as “highly ritualized.” The male stickleback takes a large role in building and guarding the next as well as parenting the young once they’ve hatched. [1]

Resources for Further Study

Categories
1890s Book chapter Essay

Dumb Creatures

Dumb Creatures

By Mrs. Augusta Joyce Crocheron
Annotations by kathryn t. burt
Edward Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom, 1833, oil on canvas. Worcester Art Museum, 1934.65.

When the all-wise God created animals, and some of them for the use of man, it is not to be believed that he intended creatures of the highest degree of intelligence to be cruel to those so much inferior in understanding and so helpless. When men fight, it is considered cowardice for one to strike another when he is down. (Gentlemen never fight, they reason the matter to an understanding and settlement.) But man will strike poor dumb animals, who are all the time down in helplessness. A gentleman never does this wrong to his honor, for he knows there are other ways of doing. Man would soon weary of the many heavy burdens, or sink under them, if he and not the horse had to bear them. There would be few journeys made, and where would be the delightful rides and sleighing were there no horses? In some countries men transport great loads of freight upon their backs, and how strange it looks to us, even in pictures.

Cows are generally timid creatures, and, in a certain way, the best of animals. How many good things to eat would be lacking if we had no milk! Nothing in the vegetable kingdom would answer the purpose. The cow, then, should at all times be regarded as our benefactress as much as man is hers, and should receive our kindest treatment. What would the children do without bread and milk? How some folks would miss ice-cream in the summer-time! And then such frolics as the children have in the country with bossy’s calf.

But aside from our own ideas and pleasure on the subject, we have a Master who is the friend of all dumb creatures, and some day we and they will meet Him and have to listen to what will be said.

In the Bible it is written: “And at His coming all flesh shall speak, and the trees shall clap their leaves for joy.”[1] All flesh includes animals, birds, and every other living thing. How will some persons feel in the day of judgment when the dumb creatures they have beaten or half starved rise up before them and bear witness against them? The Creator is just, he will hear the helpless, and he will not say, “Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you;” no, those cruel hearts will have to meet their reward.

It seems to me that a person who will take two peaceable dogs and worry them into a cruel fight, is not even of so good a spirit as the dogs themselves. It is strange that human intelligence can stoop to such a level, no, beneath the level of the brute creation.

Cruelty to animals is receiving a large share of attention in some cities, and laws to protect these dumb creatures and punish their cruel masters, have been enacted. There is an association[2] which publishes a good paper called Our Dumb Animals, and it is a good one for everyone, old and young, to read. Many thousands of children are joining it by letter. Its object is to teach kindness, and thus the law become natural and universal. Many beautiful stories are related, and they desire to learn all they can of such in the experience of their new members.

In a certain kingdom, Norway, I am told that if a man beats his horse cruelly, or overloads it, or drives it too fast, he is brought before the proper officers of the law and fined. If the offense is repeated, he is fined and imprisoned, and on the third offense these penalties are again imposed and the animal taken from him. But in that country it is seldom that cruelty is exercised, for it is hard for the poor to earn a living, and a horse or a cow is regarded as riches, and these creatures are generally treated with all the kindness they need. Sheep are also very kindly treated, for the nice long wool will some day be transferred from its own place into the family’s use.

I have even seen a bed-spread made from cow’s hair, and it was a handsome one, too. I knew. a young girl who told me: “In my country I was poor and could not afford to keep a pet hen, even, times were so hard. Now I keep sixty. I am rich.” This girl made a good use of her income, and in two years’ profits of her industry, emigrated a lone relative, who now unites with her in the same business. These good women saw much among us Americans that looked to them like waste. A friend once remarked: “These foreigners use what we would waste, and sell what we would use, and that is why they prosper where we do not get ahead.” I once saw a Swede currying[3] his horse and observed that he carefully saved the hair in a box. As a dear friend of mine says, “ I haven’t got a particle of inquisitiveness, but my ‘want to know ‘ is very large,” so I asked him why he did that. He told me that he was going to add a room to his house before long, and would use this in the plaster instead of throwing it away and buying more. Then he patted his horse and praised its shining coat and ended by thanking Blackbird for the contribution.

Cocheron, Augusta Joyce. 1890.”Dumb Creatures” In The children’s book; a collection of short stories and poems. A mormon book for Mormon Children, 164-167. Utah: Bountiful Davis Co.

[1] “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isa. 55:12 KJV).

[2] The association Cocheron refers to here is the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which started publishing issues of Our Dumb Animals in 1868 under the guidance of George T. Angell. The magazine’s motto was, “We Speak For Those Who Cannot Speak For Themselves.”

[3] A curry or curry comb is a horse grooming brush that removes shedding hair, dead skin, and sweat from the horse’s body.

Contexts

In the original Preface of A Mormon Book for Mormon Children., Augusta Joyce Crocheron wrote the following:

A Little Talk with the Children, 
    The thought came into my mind, Write a book for the children; and while I listened, it became a desire and a pleasant one, for I would dearly love to become the household friend of many little children who are growing up within the homes of the Saints.  
    If they are willing to listen, I will tell them a few true stories, not fairy ones, indeed, of which little ones are so fond, so fascinating, but, alas! so false. No, these must be true. 
    Many pleasant hours have I spent in story-telling, and surely my pleasure was as great as theirs; stories to sleepy eyes, out in the summer moonlight on the veranda, with great patches of flowers faintly showing in the shadows of wide branches, and night-birds singing over us; story-telling on rainy afternoons, or by roaring hearth—light; at home and abroad—how many listeners there have been. But I must not tell you what I have read, as I did those little hearers, it must be some things that I have known. If I could only show to my little friends of the present time, the sweet faces remembered looking anxiously into mine, it would be the best part of the book; those—no story could equal. 
    Would that I could make these, also, my friends, as the authors I so loved were mine.
    And, if I should ever travel from home, as some of the Sisters do, to visit the associations, I would be happy to have you tell me, if we meet, if anything written herein has pleased you. 
    Pleasant smiles and kind words from good hearts are some times worth more than silver and gold. 
    This book is the fulfillment of a wish expressed by President Brigham Young a short time before his death, and in conclusion he said, “Who will write a book for the children?” 
    To attempt this was in my power, but it required means to publish, and this I could not do alone. Two good Brethren, who think more of the youth of our people than they do of riches, were kind enough to lend me the use of what was needed to accomplish the object. 
    When you read this book, I want you in your hearts to thank Bishop Jacob Weiler, of Third Ward, Salt Lake City, and Elder Alwood Brown, of Centreville, Davis County, and ask our Heavenly Father to bless and prosper them long upon the earth, and may their names beheld by you in pure and lasting remembrance.
                                                                                                                                            Augusta Joyce Crocheron
Bountiful, Davis County, Utah,
September 3, 1890
Resources for Further Study
  • Angell, George T. 1868-1951. Our Dumb Animals. Boston:  Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006069414.
  • Davis, Janet M. 2016. The Gospel of Kindness : Animal Welfare and the Making of Modern America. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199733156.001.0001.
  • Finsen, Lawrence, and Susan Finsen. 1994. The Animal Rights Movement in America : From Compassion to Respect. Social Movements Past and Present. New York: Twayne.
  • Linzey, Andrew, and Clair Linzey, eds. 2018. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Animal Ethics. Routledge Handbooks in Religion Ser. Milton: Routledge. https://doi-org.libproxy.uncg.edu/10.4324/9780429489846.
Pedagogy

Several animal welfare and animal rights organizations and activists have excellent online humane education materials for teaching children about the importance of treating their fellow animals with respect. Listed below are just a few of many such resources:

Categories
1850s Essay

The Cold Snap of January 10th

The Cold Snap of January 10th

By William Hoyt Coleman
Annotations by Maggie Kelly
Winter’s Enjoyment in Central Park by George Blair (ca. 1890). Image courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (CC0).

Bitter, bitter cold! Nine degrees below zero, says the thermometer in the city. Away to the northward, it creeps down to thirty and forty. The snow creaks under foot, and rings with a musical sound, as the heavy wheels roll over it, for Jack Frost can make music as well as paint pictures. What wonderful scenes grow under his busy hand on window-panes in hall and hovel! Trees, and flowers, and castle, and mountains, and fairies, glittering on the wrinkled panes of the Five Points, and on the plate-glass of Fifty Avenue. [1] But few people care to look at them. Glowing fires are pleasanter pictures to those in-doors. And who can stop in the biting air, outside, to look at anything?

People trot along the walks, slapping their sides, blowing their fingers, and now and then slipping up, and coming down with a heavy thump on some bit of ice.

Youthful beards are venerably gray; whiskers of every hue are edged with white, and even the horses have a fringe of icicles around their noses. Slim clerks and portly merchants, muffled in overcoats, shawls, furs, and comforters, rush hastily down-town-ward, puffing clouds of frosty breath like so many locomotives. The rivers are smoking too. Down in the bay a white mist is rising from the water. One would think old Neptune was getting up a good vapor-bath, or that some waggish imp were really “setting the river on fire.” [2] The poor omnibus drivers! Well may they dread this weather. Tough as they are, the nipping air touches them cruelly during their long, bleak drives. We do not wonder when the morning journal tells us that one poor fellow was taken senseless from his box.

Madison Square, New York, in the Evening by Charles Graham (1882). Wood engraving on paper. Originally appeared in Harper’s Weekly. Image is courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (CC0).

The sun shines bright, but there is no heat in his rays. One can look him in the face at noonday without harm; he is shorn of his strength. In-doors, furnaces, grates, and stoves are choked with coal, till the red-hot iron glares in fury. Jack Frost and the Fire King are in fierce contest. Folks shiver and shake, and confess Jack the victor.

So the day wears on. Night comes with increasing cold. Frozen noses, hands, and toes are to be met with in all parts of the city. People hie them home with all speed, and none walk that can ride. “The cold has got into the house,” says mother; and father believes it. Water-pipes are on a “bust,” and the meter won’t mete, unless it has plenty of whisky. [3] Extra cups of tea are taken at supper; and not a few warm their stomachs with something stronger. The spare blankets are brought out, the beds are loaded, and the household retire at an early hour, to curl themselves up into little balls, and shiver through the night; getting “warm as toast” just as the bell rings the next morning.

But how fare the poor to-night? In dwellings cold and cheerless, with scanty fires and scantier beds, or destitute of both, let imagination picture how. Let her picture those homeless ones, wandering through the streets, sleeping in coal-boxes, or on the bare ground—to awake in another world. I will not do it. And so New York passed through the Cold Snap, snapping its cold fingers at old Boreas, [4] as if he had no right in the city.

Coleman, William Hoyt. “The Cold Snap of January 10th.” Robert Merry’s Museum, March 1859.

[1] Five Points was the name of a 19th-century neighborhood in New York City.

[2] Neptune: the Roman god of the sea and freshwater; Waggish imp: a mischievous sprite

[3] In this sentence, the speaker is making a joke about the water pipers, which have frozen and burst, and the gas or electricity meter, which won’t record consumption unless it’s had an alcoholic beverage to warm it up.

[4] Boreas is the Greek god of winter and the North wind.

Contexts

This piece appeared in March 1859 edition of Robert Merry’s Museum, a popular children’s magazine at the time. The author of this short piece is William Hoyt Coleman; he “was one of the most popular and prolific subscribers to Robert Merry’s Museum; in letters spanning 13 years, he often wrote descriptions of life and times in New York state. He later became a journalist” (Pflieger). Coleman was 19 or 20 when this piece was published. If you’d like to learn more about Coleman, be sure to check out Pflieger’s bio of the author.

Resources for Further Study
  • For more information about Robert Merry’s Museum, be sure to check out Pat Pflieger’s extensive website on 19th century children’s literature; this website features a page dedicated to this magazine in particular, which not only has selections from the magazine, but historical information and scholarly resources as well.
Categories
1870s Essay

Ladybirds

Ladybirds

By Marie Estelle
Annotations by Kristina Bowers
Ernst Ludwig Taschenberg, “Die Insekten, Tausendfüssler und Spinnen” [“The Insects, Millipedes, and Spiders”]. Leipzig; Bibliographische Institut, 1877, Plate 2. Public domain.

My Dear Little Corporal: No double you have often taken upon your hand the pretty, little, pink-and-black-spotted beetle called the ladybird, or ladybug, and after admiring its beauty to your satisfaction, attempted to hasten its flight by the alarming information, 

                                                      “Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home, 
                                              Your house is on fire, your children will burn!”

Do you know how that curious couplet came into use? Its origin is probably this: In England and other European countries, the ladybird larvæ, or young, feed principally upon the aphides[sic], or plant lice, which infest the hop vines; and when, in spite of the efforts of the ladybirds, these aphides multiply excessively in the hop gardens,[1] the usual remedy is to let a fire run through the latter, and thus burn up leaves, plant lice, ladybird larvæ, and all. It was their acquaintance with this practice, which, many generations ago, suggested to children of those countries the warning lines now so familiar on both sides of the ocean.

The ladybirds, although such small and inconspicuous insects, have received very great distinction and honor. Their very names – ”Ladybird,” “Ladybug,” “Our Lady’s Key Maid,” “Lady Cow,” etc., are designed to recall their dedication to the Virgin Mary,[2] and by many of the associations and superstitions connected with them, which prevail in northern Europe, we are reminded of the worship of the “sacred beetles”[3] by the ancient Egyptians. 

They are relied upon to foretell various kinds of happiness and prosperity, by the circumstances under which they are seen, or the manner in which they take flight after certain mysterious words have been repeated over them. In Germany, where they are great favorites, they are usually connected with the weather. Mr. Cowan, in a very entertaining book called “The Curious History of Insects,”[4] tells us that at Vienna, the children throw them into the air crying, 

                                                      “Little birdie, birdie,
                                                       Fly to Marybrun
                                                       And bring us a fine sun.”

Marybrun being a town not far distant from the Austrian capital, where there was an image of the Virgin supposed to be capable of working miracles, the little beetles were sent, with all faith in their power, to solicit good weather from their patroness in behalf of the “merry Viennese.”

Everywhere in Europe, it is considered a good omen to see ladybirds, and extremely unlucky to kill them.[5] (How daring the professional bug hunters must be in those circumstances!) In earlier times, they were also much used in medicine. There was no remedy, we are told, for toothache, equal to ladybirds; one or two of them being crushed and placed in the hollow of the aching tooth, were said to relieve the pain instantly.[6] 

The predictions made by means of these beetles regarding the crops, have a foundation in well-known facts; for their aid is often invaluable in destroying the insect foes of certain grains, fruits and vegetables, and if the ladybirds are numerous, it is quite safe to foretell that they will keep the plants clear of aphides and the like, and consequently the harvest will be abundant in proportion. Within the last few years they have been discovered to be the most formidable enemy of our destructive Colorado potato beetle.[7] 

There are, in all, about one thousand different species of ladybirds, and as they are, for the most part cannibals, it will be seen that they rid us every year of vast numbers of insect pests. Their larvæ are very voracious, ugly-looking little creatures, in color dark brown or black, spotted with orange, and roughened with small tubercles[8] and spines. When full grown, they are rather more than one-third of an inch in length, and are very active in securing their prey and eluding capture. Figure 3, in the accompaning [9] illustration, may be taken as a type of the larvæ of several of the best-known species. When ready to undergo transformation, the larva fastens itself at one end, with some gluey substance, to a stem or leaf; the larva skin then gradually wrinkles up and hardens, and is retained as a protection to the pupa within. It does not long remain quiescent,[10] for the beetle issues in seven or eight days. It is in the perfect state that they pass the winter, sheltering under loose bark of trees, in crevices of buildings and fences, under fallen leaves, etc.

In the spring, as soon as the herbage appears, and plant lice and potato beetles begin their depredations,[11] the ladybirds are ready for a fresh attack. Thus we see that aside from their beauty, there are good reasons why they should be guarded from injury and treated with consideration. 

Estelle, Marie. “Colors.” in “Ladybirds.” The Little Corporal: An Illustrated Magazine for Boys and GIrls; 12, No. 3 (March 1871): 99.  Caption reads: Colors, – Fig. 1, pink and black. Fig. 2, brown, black, and white. Fig. 3, black and orange. Fig. 4, dull red and black.

In our illustration, fig. 1, at the top, represents, somewhat magnified, the ladybird with which we are all of us most familiar. Its scientific name is Hippodamia maculata. Fig. 4, of the right of the larva, is its nearest relative, H. convergens. Fig. 2, is the smooth, brown ladybird, Coccinella munda, often seen in the fall on composite plants.

Besides their other distinctions, ladybirds are among the few insects that have had the honor of stirring the poetic fancy, owing probably to the superstitions which attracted attention to them. Hurdis[12] devoted quite a long dialogue in one of his dramas to the description of the appearance and virtues of a ladybird; and Southey immortalized the same insect under the name of the “Burnie Bee,”[13] in two fine stanzas, with which I will close this little history. 

“Back, o’er thy shoulder throw thy ruby shards, 
With many a tiny coal-black freckle decked; 
My watchful hand thy footsteps shall protect. 

“So shall the fairy train, by glowworm light, 
With  rainbow tints thy folding pennous fret,[14] 
Thy scaly breast in deepest azure dight, 
Thy burnished armor decked with glossier jet.”
Estelle, Marie. “Ladybirds.” The Little Corporal: An Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls; 12, no. 3(March 1871): 99. 

[1] Hop gardens: Hops have been historically grown as a mild sedative and were added to ale as a preservative in the 15th and 16th centuries, bringing the new label of “beer” to the concoction.

[2] See Fireflies, Honey, and Silk (2009) by Gilbert Waldbauer, pg. 6-7.

[3] The scarab beetle was considered sacred by ancient Egyptians due to the similarity in its dung ball rolling to the way the god Khepera rolled the sun across the sky. The beetle also represented the soul leaving mummified bodies similar to the way adult beetles emerged from the dirt after growing from the larval stage. See Fireflies, Honey, and Silk (2009) by Gilbert Waldbauer, pg. 94-95.

[4] Curious Facts in the History of Insects; Including Spiders and Scorpions (1865) by Frank Cowan. See page 17-18 for discussion of Viennese rhyme.

[5] “Bad luck will attend anyone who kills a ladybird” (pg. 160) Ecyclopaedia of Superstitions (1891) by Edwin E. Radford.

[6] See Fireflies, Honey, and Silk (2009) by Gilbert Waldbauer, pg. 157-58.

[7] Named for their appearance alongside potato crops, Colorado potato beetles eat the leaves of plants and are considered a garden pest.

[8] Tubercle: A small, knobby, nodule or protuberance on a plant or animal. (Merriam-Webster)

[9] Orig. spelling.

[10] Quiescent: Tranquil, inactive. (Merriam-Webster)

[11] Depredate: To plunder, ravage. (Merriam-Webster)

[12] Possibly referring to Reverand James Hurdis (1763-1801), a British poet and professor of poetry at Oxford University. See his poetry here.

[13] “To the Burnie Bee” by English poet Robert Southey in Joan of Arc, Ballads, Lyrics, and Minor Poems (1857), page 390.

[14] Impennous: Wanting wings. (Emily Dickinson Lexicon). Here, “pennous” most likely refers to the insects wings.

Contexts

The Author: Although little is known about Marie Estelle, she also published two other articles about insects in The Little Corporal, “The Katydids” in Volume 11, issue 5 (November 1870) and “The Praying Mantis” in Volume 12, issue 1 (January 1871). (Philadelphia Area Archives Research Portal).

The Little Corporal: On her website titled “Nineteenth Century Children and What They Read“, Pat Pflieger writes of this periodical: “Founded at the end of the Civil War, The Little Corporal featured a military metaphor and a mascot dressed in a Zouave’s uniform. It devoted itself to “fighting against wrong, and for the good, the true, and the beautiful.” Not especially famous for the quality of its stories or illustrations, the Corporal offered readers pieces emphasizing morality, and a certain coziness.” (The Little Corporal). Pflieger also notes that the Chicago Tribune reported in 1866 President Andrew Johnson had subscribed to the periodical. The publication was eventually absorbed by another popular juvenile periodical of the time, St. Nicholas.

Categories
1870s Essay

Life Among the Mountains

Life Among the Mountains

By S. B.
Annotations by josh benjamin
Artist Unknown. Autumn in the Alleghenies (horse shoe bend). Chromolithograph, 1878, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

We have already been told that much of the Alleghanies is still in woods, but in the part of which we now speak (southern Pennsylvania) there are a number of small, log houses scattered through the woods, with little openings around them where the mountaineers dwell in true pioneer fashion.

Some of these people are hard-working, honest men and women, who have come here because a home could be procured for less money than elsewhere, and they find, perhaps, more of the comforts than the luxuries of life, though neither are enjoyed to the full extent; in summer, however, they have pasture for their cattle in abundance, also the most refreshing springs of water, all free of expense, and with a flourishing garden around their humble dwelling, it has something of the look of home; but in winter the snow falls deep, and continues long, and having no stores, mills, or anything of the kind, they are obliged to go down to the valleys for nearly all their comforts; this is hard work for them, but notwithstanding their laborious life they are generally a strong, healthy people.

The scenery in some parts of the mountains is exceedingly grand; one stream of water called Clear Shade, is particularly beautiful; it flows through a dense forest, while on either side, the Rhododendron maximum (great laurel) grows in luxuriance, bending over the stream, almost forming a canopy, while the waters, clear and cold throughout the year, flowing over the moss-covered rocks through the dark shade, is surely one of “Nature’s master-pieces.”

Scientists would find much of interest here, both in botany and geology, and we hope that Professor Leslie, our State geologist, will give us something on these subjects, that the boys and girls who are growing up all over the State, and who ought to acquire a knowledge of the rocks, plants and animals around them, can read and understand and apply.

Mary Vaux Walcott. Rhododendron. Watercolor on paper, 1880, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

But though we find much in the scenery of the mountains that is instructive and interesting to visitors, yet if the boys and girls could see the privations that the children here have to undergo, their little hearts would, perhaps, often swell with thankfulness for the many comforts with which their own homes are surrounded.

Bertha E. Jaques. Cabin in Wilderness. Drypoint print, n.d., Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.
S. B. “for the children: life among the mountains.” Friends’ intelligencer 31, No. 31 (September 1874): 493.
Contexts

This story appeared during the Reconstruction era following the U.S. Civil War, and also the same year in which Pennsylvania adopted a new state constitution. For the first time, public education was codified into Pennsylvania state law. Historic LaMott provides a brief overview of that constitution, as well as additional historical context for the state during Reconstruction.

Professor Leslie is J. Peter Lesley, a professor and geologist who became the Pennsylvania state geologist in 1874. According to his biographical memoir presented at the National Academy of Sciences, he “undoubtedly knew more about the geology of Pennsylvania and was more widely known as representing the geological formations and resources of that State than any other man, but his knowledge ran far beyond the State boundaries.” He published writings on coal and iron production, two industries that helped shape Pennsylvania’s development in the 19th century.

Resources for Further Study
  • Pennsylvania provided a large portion of the steel used in America in the 19th century, and this story coincides with the growth of industry throughout the state. The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission gives an overview of the growing economy after the Civil War.
  • The Appalachian Trail, the world’s longest hiking-only trail, runs from Maine to Georgia, crossing into Pennsylvania near the New Jersey border and exiting in the southern central part of the state, continuing into Maryland.
  • Clear Shade Creek is now a popular fly-fishing destination in Southwest Pennsylvania.
Contemporary Connections

The long-term effects of Reconstruction are still present in the U.S., as Henry Louis Gates, Jr., points out in his Time article, “How Reconstruction Still Shapes American Racism.”

Categories
1820s Column Essay

The Ant

The Ant

By Willis and Rand [1]
Annotations by Jessica Abell
Image from Ants in an Ant Hill by Writers’ Program, Pennsylvania. 1940

In eastern countries, Ants build their nests the height of from six to twelve feet, which is curiously formed, with numerous apartments and passages, consisting of regular walls and ceilings; these are made of bits of wood, sand, earth, and gum, and are usually built near some large tree and a stream of water. The body of the black ant is divided into head, breast, and belly. In its head are observed its eyes, under which are two small horns, or feelers, each composed of twelve joints, all covered with very fine silky hair. The mouth has two crooked jaws, in each of which there appear to be teeth. From the breast project six legs, each armed with two small claws. The Ants, like the Bees, are divided into three classes of males, females, and neutrals. The females are the largest, and the working tribe, or neutrals, are the smallest. The males and females have wings, which they sometimes lose.

So soon as the winter is past, these insects make their appearance, and the Ant-hill swarms with new life. On the first day they never leave home, but appear running about in all directions over the hill, as if to examine its condition, and to observe what repairs it may require. They then go to work with surprising activity to set all right, and pass the summer either in the employment of repairing their houses, or laying in a stick of food. It is a very curious sight to notice the laborious manner in which the bring various things home. If they meet with any thing too heavy for one to carry, several will assist, some dragging, others pushing; and thus in time they convey it home.

The fond attachment that the Ants have for their young is remarkable. In cold weather they take them in their mouths down to the bottom of their habitations, where they are less subject to the severity of the season. In a few days they remove them with the same care, nearer the surface, where they may be cheered with the warm beams of the sun.

At the slightest alarm, the Ants will sally out upon whatever disturbs them, and if they have time to stop their enemy, they show him no mercy. Sheep, Hens, and Rats, are often stung to death by multitudes of these merciless insects, and the flesh devoured to the bone. No anatomist in the world can strip a skeleton so clean as they; and no animal, however strong, when they have once seized upon him in sufficient numbers has power to resist them.

Anecdote.–In Africa, Ants are exceedingly numerous. Mr. Smith says, that during his residence at Cape Coast Castle, a body of these strange visitors came to the fortification. It was about day-break when the foremost part of them entered the chapel where some negro servants were sleeping. The men were quickly alarmed at the invasion of this unexpected army, and prepared as well as they could for their defence.–While the foremost battalion of these insects had already taken possession of the place, the rear-guard was more than a quarter of a mile distant. The while ground seemed alive and crawling with unceasing destruction. After considering a few minutes what was to be done, it was resolved to lay a large train of gun-powder along the path they had taken: by this means millions were blown to pieces, and the rear-guard perceiving the destruction of their leaders, thought proper to retire back to their original habitation.

Scripture References.–The few references that are made in Scripture to the Ant are of the considerable interest, , as they convey some important instructions. This active little insect is presented to our attention as a pattern of commendable saving, and increasing industry. Agur calls them exceedingly wise, and says of them, “The Ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meet in summer.”–Proverbs xxx: 25. He therefore sends the sluggard to them to learn wisdom, foresight, care, and diligence. The admirable order and harmony which prevail in their society, the amazing care with which they lay up their food, the unwearied industry and activity with which they pursue their work, and the prompt manner in which they run to lend their most friendly assistance to each other, all afford so many striking examples to mankind, that the Ant, though a most feeble creature in its nature, and most humble as it respects its station is yet well worthy to be regarded as a useful instructor of the human race, especially that part of them who mispend their time in improvident speculations, or wilful idleness, “Go to the Ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise; which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.” Proverbs vi: 6. The skill, the vigour, the amazing activity, which the little Ants display in digging under ground, in building their houses, in forming their apartments, in filling their granaries with corn for the winter, in forming channels to carry off the rain, and in brining forth their hidden stores that are in danger of being spoiled by moisture, and exposing them to dry by the sun and air, all afford many most useful lessons.–How much reason then had Solomon to point to its shining example as worthy of imitation, and how much reason also have teachers now to address their scholars and say, “Go thou and do likewise,” that ye may not only become learned in notion, but wise in practice.

Reflections.–To be wise, provident, and, and diligent in the affairs of this life if of much importance.–It is better to labour advantageously, like the Ant, than to skip abroad and take pleasure in the sunshine, like the Grasshopper[2]. The former has a store laid by to preserve its life in the winter: but the latter perishes when the sever weather comes.

It is, however, of a far greater importance that we should become wise into salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus, and lay up durable riches while the season of mercy continues. We are commanded to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling,” and thus, by the blessing of God, provide for a state of never-ending duration.

Black Female Carpenter Ant. 1921

Writers’ program. Pennsylvania. Life in an Ant Hill,. Chicago, A. Whitman & co., 1940. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/lifeinanthill00writ.
Willis and Rand. “The Ant.” Youth’s Companion, vol. 2, no. 2, June 1828, p. 3.
“Black Carpenter Ant.” Smithsonian Institution, https://www.si.edu/object/black-carpenter-ant%3Anmnheducation_10002840. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.

[1] Nathaniel Willis and Asa Rand were the publishers of Youth’s Companion and are the likely authors of “The Ant.”

[2] Willis and Rand are referring to Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper.”

Contexts

Youth’s Companion is a weekly turned monthly children’s periodical that ran from 1827-1929. It began as a Sunday School companion.

Resources for Further Study
Pedagogy
  • Have you observed ants acting in the manner described in the article?
  • What kinds of different ants are there?

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