Christian Messenger (Bonham, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 18, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 7, 1879 Page: 2 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Fannin County Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Bonham Public Library.
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 7,1879.
mTTTj' Til’ll Q Q T? \TP< T?'D I wealth to field and mart,
**■ isi-XU lOOrillUrrii\,! Lay a cool hand on the throbbings of her
wildly restless heart,
Cleanse her senate, raise her people,make
them great as they are free,
Lead her on, with thoughtful courage, to
her glorions destiny.
—Independent.
-■ *-
The Open Polar Sea. v
PLOD.
BY REV. A. J. HOUGH.
Of *he wise and holy Maker, of the good
* and gracious God, I From the St. Louis Republican.
c*p‘- A- B- T",Uc- rt°
Showy gift may be attractive, glibly talk claims to liave had a larger and
of-‘going to do,” more varied experience as a
to “put her through.- seaman than almost any man
He is mightier than all genius, greater now living, Wa8 in the city yes-
than all boasted skill, terday on his way to Wash-
H»ving lor his inspiration an indomitable h tQ negotiate with the
WllL 1 * * 11 f
Genius is a passing meteor; Plod a never-1 government for a small Steam-
setting sun; I er to assist in his further explo-
WhereaU else hath failed and fainted, rations iQ arctic seas. Capt.
He “r^r^tTi^with a TntUe is a native of New York,
strength god-like, sublime; I but at the early age of sixteen
Made a highway for the nations through ran away from his parents and
R„whancie,nt^l8rf^mc- went to sea, and ever since-
He hath made the lightning serve him, 5 ,
counted stars and measured gpace; 80me thirty-five years— has
Wealth and genius fairly beaten in the been a Sea-faring man. He
middle of life’s race. has been all over theTglobe, he
when Plod once says “I will,” 1®ays, and has sailed in every
He is just as sure to do it as the lightning 1 sea, and has made twenty voy-
is to kill. ages to the arctic regions
He m?dsb7oTd,the bUUdiDg °f the ^ Since his early manhood he has
And, though kings sought deathless men* been captain of whaling and
tion, ’tis of Plod their tale is told. surveying ships. One of
Never yet hath wond’ring pilgrim ’neath the ^ g that particularly at-
theirgloomy shadows trod , , . * . . ...
Without feeling and believing the omnip- tracted hlS attention ill Sailing
. otenceofPiod! northward was .that he founc.
He hath yet beheld no mountain where sea more and more open
Justh^^ehdeadfto-t?htoU aud eit especially every fourth year,
down and say “i can’t.” He made his last trip about a
Id the sober days ofplodding, thirty, for- y6ar *8°’ parting from Hako-
ty years ago, do, Japan, m a full-rigged ship
We had more ot solid progress, less of with forty-five men all told. In
tinsel and of show. latitude 78 he found an open
how to scrub, gew, chum and bake; |sea c^ear lce* latitude cl
How to take a turn in haying, on the he noticed an extrordinary dip
load or at the rake; of ^he compass, and on taking
“hTetstpTBSr^’"T*** di8COTered the CaUSe
Crack the whip and take the produce to j of it to be immense lodes of a
the market or the mill. magnetic substance in five fath-
Never smarter, wittier lasses traded at oms Qf water. it was mixed
the country store; I . , , , „ . ,
And they more than mashed the saucy, With minerals and fine particles
smooth-tongued peddlers at the door, of gold. In latitude 82 he
Handsomer they were and nobler, in the encountered the ice belt,Jgroun-
Tha^tte moU«nPWy^utting in a rufi ned °nder tbe Water’ and eS‘
fled wilderness. tending in height in some plac-
They would rather go to meeting, sitting, es over four hundred feet. It
in apP7 “S? ., . stretched east aud west as far
In the old pung, racked and broken, than , , , , Tt
to go in debt for style. as the eye could leach. He
Not a dollar would they squander, not an here discovered that the needle
_ extra ribbon get, pointed due south, and in his
Till the parlor had been furnished and the ✓ • n i .-i i.
farm was out Of debt. owfi mmd concluded that the
They’d have scorned the thought of sit- magnetic deposit he had passed
ting, dressed in frills and boughten J had some connection with
t the direction in which the
pack of hired gii-is; needle usually pointed. By
Or, to be accomplished ladies, make an climbing to the highest points
organ squeal and moan, 0n jCy Barrier he could See
worked their Anger* to the bone. Erectly mto an open polar sea
Yet, with all this sober plodding, Nature lying beyond, and by tracing
had no richer charms along the belt eastwardly he
T“Sg^PdT“°n the|f0Dnd a Pas8aSe through this
But this age of great inventions, deeperT8eaJ wi^ a depth of ninety
thought, and clearer light _ fathoms, or five hundred and
Has produced a patent Lady, and Dame forty feet. The water was
Fashion holds the right. . ^ , - .«
quite warm, and a gulf stream
Not content with sober plodding, tired of was steadily Setting OUt, with a
loafing and unrest, | . . ' - - P
All the boys are taking tickets for the vei°clty from four to SIX
prairies of the west; miles per hour. He pulled
And they need but small persuasion to through this passage in whale
To ffiSSTjEiK harvest if she', boat3’ and f°and U‘° beab°Ut
tickled with a hoe. . eighteen miles wide. In the
But I’ve somehow got the notion that a j north part of this open sea he
lad, with prospects fair, (found fresh leaves of plain-
a' Tre any wherengUnd %aU*y8’ *tail" I tains, bananas and other tropi-
Hemay iiave the mildest climate, he may j Cal plants lloatlDg on the water
have therkhest sod, and showing that they hac.
Bat^aIeapMir“ tothinRifhehasn't I been off Che trees but a short
It may be the age is giving birth to piore 1 time. Last October he founc
enlightened views, a large female whale going
But it doesn t do to farm it in a pair of north through the open passage
patent shoes. , , j , .
And it simply stands to reason that a man mentioned, and «ilS0 saw
the year there is a warm cli-,
mate within the open polar sea
sufficient to produce tropical
ruit. In the ice barriers on
one of his trips he found bones
and tusks of the mastodon,
which in 1876 he carried to the
centennial at Philadelphia.
They were so large that some
naturalists thought the animal
to which they belonged must
have been forty feet in length.
He also found some hard wood
in the shape of troughs imbed-
ded in the ice. They looked
like feeding troughs, and the
edges had the appearance of
having been gnawed by ani-
mals. In sailing west he s truck
the north part of the coast of
New Siberia, where he found a
race of people that he thought
no one had ever seen before or
heard of. They spoke an un-
known language which sound-
ed like Hebrew. They spoke
a few words of Hawaiian and
the Esquimaux lauguage, and
with these and the aid of signs
they conveyed the idea that
they came from the north. He
was1 a little acquainted with
the Esquimaux language, hav-
ing passed four winters with
that people, living on raw wal-
rus, whale blubber and bear
meat. During one of these
winters, which are without day-
light, he made a journey of 380
miles in the dark. During his
adventurous career he has met
with many disasters, the most
serious of which was an en-
counter with a polar bear. He
had both arms and both legs
broken, and lost one finger off
lis left hand, another being so
badly lacerated by the teeth
of the animal that it is sadly
out of shape. He also lose two
ribs, which were completely
torn from his body, which bears
the marks of wonnds which it
seems almost incredible that
any man could receive and live.
The polar bears attain an in-
credible Size, some being re-
ported to weigh as much as
3000 pounds. He contemplates
making another trip to further
explore the open polar sea, but
needs a small steamer for tow-
ing purposes, which he hopes
to obtain from the government.
He proposes tp start some time
in 1S80, and leaves for Wash-
ingtion City this morning.
can’t till bis ground
If one-half the time he's loafing, and the
other—riding round.
Barns well-shingled, thriving cattle,stone-
* loss aercs, rich and broad,
Come troni nothing else, believe me, but
the steady, sober plod!
Plod can bring back for this nation solid
migratory birds going north.
In July these birds went south
with their young and about the
same time he observed whales
going south with young. From
these facts lie concludes tha
Mbat Scientists Say of The Bib Ic.
A correspondent of the Inter-
Ocean, who has read Col. In-
gersoll’s lecture, ha3 collected
the following utterances of sci-
entists, statesmen, and thinkers
in regard to the Bible :
SCIENTISTS.
The grand old Book of Ooc.
still stands, and this old earth
the more its leaves are turnec.
over and pondered, the more
it will sustain and illustrate
the sacred word.—Prof. Dana.
*
Infidelity has from time to
time, erected her imposing
rampartC and opened fire npou
Christianity from a thousand
batteries? But the moment the
rays of truth were concentrated
upon tljfcir ramparts they mel-
ted away. The - last clouds of
ignorance are passing and the
thunders of infidelity are dy-
ing upon the ear. The union
and harmony of Christianity
and faience is a sure token
that the flood of unbelief and
over the world.—Prof. Hitch- our citizens? Or have you
cock. hopes of corrupting a few to-
All human discoveries seem a-ssist yon in so bad a cause ?—
to be made only for the pur- Samuel Adams’ Let ter to Thom-
pose of confirming, more and as Paine,
more strongly, the truths con- Christianity is thelonly true
tained in the sacred Scriptures, and perfect religion, and that
—Sir John Her shell. in proportion as mankind
The Bible furnishes the only adopt its principles and obey
fitting vehicle to express the its precepts, they will be wise
thoughts that overwhelm us an<i happy. AndAa better
when contemplating the stel- knowledge of this religion is
lar universe.—O. M. Mitch- to be acquired by reading the
ell. Bible than in any other way.—
In my investigation of natu- Benjamin Rush,
ral science,I have always found When that illustrious man,
that whenever I meet with any- Chief Justice Jay, was dying,
thing in the Bible, on any sub- he was asked if he had any
ject, it always affords me a farewell address to leave his
fine platform on which to stand, children, he replied, “They
—Lieut. Maury. have the Bible.”
If the God of love is most I always have had and aL-
appropriately worshiped in the ways shall have, a profound
Christian temple, the God of regard for Christianity, the re-
Natnre may be equally honor- ligion of my fathers, and for
ed in the temple of science, its rites, its usages and observ-
Even from its lofty minarets, ances.—Henry Clay,
the philosopher may summon A few days before his death,
the faithful to prayer; and the “the foremost man of all his
priest and the sage exchange times” drew up and signed this
altars without the compromise declaration of his religious
of faith or knowledge.—Sir faith: “Lord, I believe; help
David Brewster. thou mine unbelief. Philosoph-
I have not space to quote ical argument, especially that
from Agassiz,Hugh Miller,Pro- drawn from ;the; vasmess of
fessor Airey, Sir William the universe, in comparison
Thompson, Faraday, Silliman, with the insignificance of this
and others,who not only loved, globe, has sometimes shaken
read, and revered the Bible, my reason for the faith that is
but great scientists as they mCjbut my heart has always
were, spoke brave, true, and assured and resassured me,
glowing words iD defense of the that the gospel of Jesus Christ
Book, of boon . must be a divine reality. The
STATESMEN. 8erm0n 011 th® m0ant «“ a0t
* , . . , .. .. be a merely human production.
There is a book worth ^his betief enters into the very
other books which were ever q{ C0Mcience._
prmted.—Patrick Henry. Daniei Webster.
The Bible is the best book in g0ld fast to the Bible a§ tbe
the world. John Adams. * ■ gjjget-anchor of our liberties;
So great is my veneration for Write i t s precepts on y<*
the Bible that the earlier my hearts, and practice thi
children begin to read it the y0ur lives. To the i
more confident will be my 0f this book we are intf1
hope that they will prove use- f0r the progress made
ful citizens to their country, civilization, and to this
and respectable members of i00k as our guide in the
society.—John Quincy Adams. XJ. S. Grant.
It is impossible to govern the great thinkebs.
world without God. He must It a belief in the Bible
be worse than an infidel that|which has 8erved me M the
lacAS faith, and more than. 2Uj(]e 0f my morai and literary
wicked that has not gratitude ^_
enough to acknowledge his * 0 . *
° fi ■ I account the Scriptures of
obligation—George ashing- ^ A * ...
, ° ° God to be most bublime philos-
. . , . ophy.—Sir Isaac Newton.
Pointing to the family Bible |
on the stand, during his last To give a man full knowledge
illness, Andrew Jackson said true morality, I should need
to his friend : “That book sir, t0 6end blm no other book tban
is the rock on which our repub- ^be ^ ew 1 estament. Locke.
lie rests.” I know the Bible is inspire/3,
I deem the present occasion because it finds me at greater
sufficiently important and *sol- depths of my being than any
emu to justify me in expressing ot^er b°°k- Coleridge,
to my fellow citizens a f>ro-1 A noble book! All men's
found reverence tor the Chris- book. It is our first statement
tian religion, and a thorough of the never-ending problem of
conviction that sound morals, man’s destiny and God’s way
religious liberty, and a just! with men on earth.—Carlyle,
sense of religious responsibil-j* j must confess that the ma-
ity, are essentially connected j jesty 0f the Scriptures strikes
with all true and lasting hap-, me w-^ astonishment.—Rous-
piness.—Gen. Harrison’s In- geau>
augural Address. j . . . . .
® There is not a boy nor a girl,
As to Jesus of Nazareth, my | ap Christendom through, but
[berries; 1
>n your
thr jMa
m
during a considerable part * ef i ignorance shall nevermore go
opinion of whom you so par-
ticularly desire, I think the
system of morals, and his re-
ligion, as he left them to us, is
the best the world ever saw or
is likely to see.—Benjamin
Franklin.
Do you think that your pen,
or the pen of any other man,
can unchri&tianize the mass of
their lot is made better by this
great book.—Theodore Parker.
m
The child’s mind is keen
enough .to see the folly of
much of the reasoning of his
seniors. The danger is not
that too early the needed train-
ing will be begun, but that it
will be delayed too long.
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Burnett, Thomas R. Christian Messenger (Bonham, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 18, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 7, 1879, newspaper, May 7, 1879; Bonham, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth914121/m1/2/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bonham Public Library.