NEWS: Items from The Alleghanian, February 13, 1862, Cambria County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Patty Millich Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cambria/ _________________________________________ The Alleghanian, Ebensburg, Pa. Thursday, February 13, 1862 Volume 3, Number 21 Local Etchings Tomorrow is St. Valentine's Day on which occasion as the legend hath it, the birds will prove their devotion to Union by choosing their respective mates for the coming summer. We point a moral herewith by saying to those of our readers who approximate to the feathered creation by reason of their incessant "billing and cooing," Go and do likewise. Mr. Frank Hay of Johnstown whose Safe recently refused to open at bidding has had the difficulty remedied by shipping it to Philadelphia and allowed the makers to operate on it. The cost of transportation, etc. amounted to over twenty dollars - which sum is rather steep than otherwise, all things considered. Mr. H. has the satisfaction of knowing, however, that his money has been invested in a very Safe channel! We are sorry to learn that our matrimonially disposed young friends, the Misses Sorrcuto - whose manifest appeared in these columns some weeks since - have signally failed as yet in securing their "hearts brightest, fondest dreams." The house of Wm. Carland in Allegheny twp., this county, together with its contents was completely destroyed by fire on the night of the 30th ult. The borough election, which is to be held on Friday week, appears to absorb very little public attention. The first step toward naming candidates for the various offices remains yet to be taken. On Saturday last Mr. Jack M'Bride, a teamster in the employ of Mr. P. Collins, in this place had one of his legs fractured by a mule stumbling and falling upon him. A squad of about forty recruits for Capt. Linton's cavalry company left this county for Philadelphia on Saturday last. The officers of the company are: Captain William Linton; 1st Lieutenant, Geo. J. Rodgers; 2d Lieutenant, Chas. Zimmerman, Jr.; 1st Sergeant, George Wehn. A Villain Nabbed Samuel Welsh, who will be remembered as the individual incarcerated in our county jail in the summer of 1860 for the heinous offence of committing a rape upon the person of a married woman in Jackson township, and who made his escape there from after a confinement of about a month was recaptured in Allegheny City on Monday. He was removed hither on Tuesday and remanded to jail where it is to be hoped he will remain until he secures the just retribution of his crime. Accident Mr. John Bumford, of this place, met with an accident one day last week which came well-nigh proving fatal. When driving a sled down the descent from the west end of town the locking-machine came in contact with a stone, causing it to fly back suddenly and with great force and striking Mr. B. a terrific blow in the region of the left eye. He was severely and even dangerously injured but is now recovering. Letter from the Silver Grays Camp Curtin, Feby. 10, 1862 Another week has passed and with it the usual occurrences which distinguish a life in camp from that in the outer world. A camp may, with propriety, be termed a world in miniature in which all the phases of human character are exhibited - in which good is separated from evil - vice from virtue - kindness from misanthropy - in a word, the opposites which struggle for mastery in the soul of man here develop themselves and are made manifest in the causal observer. A stern necessity arises from this state of things, that law and order be maintained by the punishment of the violator of them. There are peculiarities which belong to the kind of chastisement and the manner of its infliction. Incarceration is the general punishment meted out to the evil doer. A restraint upon liberty - and a temporary deprivation of food have been found to work admirably in preventing the infringement of the established rules of the camp. When these fail in accomplishing the desired end, the more summary and degrading sentence "to be drummed out of camp," is passed upon the prisoner. There are however lesser inflictions for lesser crimes. The particular scale depends very much upon "the inventive genius" of the commanding officer. I have witnessed the condemned "driven on foot" over the grounds, with an empty flour barrel upon his head. I have seen others marching from point to point, under the direction of a guard, having their knapsacks heavily loaded, strung upon their backs. Notwithstanding all this, we have the evil disposed among us who laugh at the "pains and penalties" of the law. After having viewed the whole subject I have come to the conclusion that a Camp is not the place to secure a reformation, nor will a sojourn in it make saints out of sinners. For the first time since the entrance of the "Silver Grays" into Camp Curtin, one of our members has been an occupant of the Hospital. A few days ago John Murray, a private, formerly residing in Johnstown was taken to the retreat for invalids. This building is within the Camp enclosure and is so constructed and furnished as to afford every comfort possible to its afflicted inmates. For cleanliness it cannot be surpassed. It is a credit to those who originated it and to those who preside over it. The Hospital is attended by skillful physicians, among whom I must particularize Surgeon Frow having become somewhat acquainted with him. In the Doctor I can easily discern the sympathizer with the afflicted - a heart overflowing with the milk of human kindness - a hand ever ready to minister to the wants of those seeking his protecting care - and a thorough knowledge of his profession. Were all the Surgeons in the Army like unto Surgeon Frow, there would be less suffering and fewer victims for the stern destroyer, Death. But the Government has not stopped at this, in providing for the welfare of the sick in Camp Curtin. The benevolent and self-sacrificing Sisters of Mercy have volunteered their services to soothe the soldier's fevered brow, to offer the cooling draught to his parched lips, and to confer upon him all those attentions which woman alone can suggest. Our sick comrade is nursed by these Servants of Him from whom proceedeth "every good and perfect gift." His confidently expected restoration will be another exemplification of the triumphs of charity upon earth. Expectation is on tip-top, in reference to the proposed "Keystone Naval Expedition." The "Harrisburg Telegraph" of this morning has the following which may be considered as foreshadowing the result of Governor Curtin's praiseworthy efforts to add to the already well earned fame of Pennsylvania's sons now in the field: "Unofficial information received in this city today from parties in Washington who have large access to knowledge of the plans of the government, lead us to believe that the proposition of Gov. Curtin to organize a naval expedition with the troops now in this State is most favorably considered by the President and Cabinet. Judging from this favor, and the high repute in which the military energy of Pennsylvania is now regarded by the country, we have a right to look for a speedy order on the subject and the fitting out of an expedition at the wharves of Philadelphia, in every respect commensurate with the power and the resources of Pennsylvania." In my last I proposed to devote a portion of this letter to the Cambria County Regiment (the 54th) commanded by that true soldier and gentleman, Col. J. M. Campbell. You are aware that this Regiment is the realization of an idea originated with Col. Campbell. His object seems to have been to organize a corps in which our county would feel an interest from the fact that a large portion of it would be composed of her sturdy yeomanry. The consummation has been triumphantly realized and Col. Campbell's Regiment stands forth as honor to its projectors and a source of pride to our "Mountain home." The Regimental Staff is composed of Col. Campbell, Lieut. Col. McDermitt, Major Linton, Adjutant Rose, and Quartermaster Gordon. Take these gentlemen, collectively or individually and I challenge the production of their superiors from any other county in the State. Great praise has been awarded the 54th as a well drilled body of men. Their physique is not surpassed by any corps in this camp. Officers and privates are of the right stamp. Their friends at home may rest assure that Cambria's escutcheon will not be tarnished by either one or the other. The Regiment, in its present stage of organization, is composed of four companies from Cambria, three from Somerset and one from Dauphin county. The Cambria companies are commanded by Captains Suter, Bonacker, Lapsley and Graham. These officers were well known to your readers as being worthy sons of our proud little county. They have the confidence and respect of their respective commands. Our adjoining county, Old Mother Somerset, furnishes three fine companies, as a portion of Col. Campbell's Regiment. These are commanded by Captains Hite, Yutzy and Long. I have not the pleasure of an acquaintance with either of these gentlemen but I only reiterate that which is attested by those who have, when I assert that they are worthy companions in arms for our own county's noble sons. They will, it the hour of battle, stand side by side as men having but one soul, animated by one great glorious holy ambition, to sustain our Flag and secure the integrity of the Union. The 54th will soon be completed by two more companies being attached. In the event of the proposed Naval Expedition as suggested by our patriotic Governor, being adopted as a part of the plan of the General Government, it will take a prominent place in that enterprise. It is to be hoped that such may be the destiny of the Cambria Regiment. It would open the path to glory, so anxiously desired by officers and men. [Signed] High Private Diphtheria The diphtheria has been unusually prevalent this winter in the various districts in Pennsylvania and very many cases have resulted, fatally owing to inattention in the early stages of the disease. Some very good advice is given regarding its early symptoms and how it should be treated. The Philadelphia LEDGER says: It generally begins in a family among the children, one of whom will be restless and feverish for a day or with symptoms not unlike those which precede scarlet fever exhibiting strong constitutional derangement. Then comes on a complaint of soreness in the throat, followed by small patches of white or sometimes yellowish coating matter on the throat. The moment these appear no time should be lost in sending for a medical man who has had experience and success in treating this disease, because there are in fact two diseases to be treated at once. One is in the throat where there is local danger; but there is also another in the fluids of the whole body, which is, after all perhaps the chief thing, though most out of sight. It is well known that the best mode of treating scarlet fever, measles and even typhoid fever, is to regard them as the effects of some poisonous matter inhaled through the lungs and carried perhaps as the oxygen gas is carried through the capillaries of that organ into the circulating system. In scarlet fever and measles the best treatment has therefore been found not to bleed or reduce the system but rather to stimulate it so as to aid it to throw off to the surface the poison which in those cases blossoms out on the skin and dies there. The same sort of general treatment is found most used in diphtheria. If a child has an ordinary attack of sickness or sore throat, a little abstinence or opening medication will greatly reduce it. But in a disease of this kind on the contrary a general diet and a gently stimulating treatment seems to strengthen nature to throw off the disease. Whether diphtheria is contagious or not has been doubted. In all probability it is not. But it may and does become epidemic in the atmosphere. Whenever there is exposure to it, fresh pure air is one of the best preventives and even medicines both for the individual patient and for the prevention of the spread of the disease. A room well aired and lighted and warmed so freely as to allow of a constant change without draft or any extreme heat or cold, will of itself do much in the way of medicine. But there is no time to be lost in the commencement of active treatments the moment the disease shows itself. Precautions 1. Never sleep in a room where there is any green paper on the walls as this color is made of arsenic or lead, the former is by far the most dangerous, being scheeles green, and is known positively by a drop of muviatic acid on the green leaving it white. 2. White glazed visiting cards contain sugar of lead, and will poison a child who is tempted to chew them from the slight sweetish taste. 3. Green glazed cards used for concert tickets are still more poisonous, a single one of them contains a grain and a half of arsenic - enough to kill a child. 4. Never put a pin in the mouth or between the teeth for a single instant because a sudden effort to laugh or speak may convey it to the throat or lungs or stomach causing death in a few minutes or requiring the windpipe to be cut open to get it out. If it has passed into the stomach, it may, as it has done, cause years of suffering, ceasing only when it has made its way out of the body through the walls of the abdomen or other portions of the system. 5. It is best to have no button or string about any garment during the night. A long loose night gown is the best thing to sleep in. Many a man has facilitated an attack of apoplexy by buttoning his shirt collar. 6. If you wake up of a cold night and find yourself very restless, get out of bed, standing on a piece of carpet or cloth of any kind and spend five or ten minutes in rubbing the whole body vigorously and rapidly with the hands, having previously thrown the bed clothing to the foot of the bed so as to air both bed and body. 7. If you find that you have inadvertently eaten too much, instead of taking something to settle the stomach, thus adding to the load under which it already labors, take a continuous walk, with just enough of activity to keep up a slight moisture or perspiration of the skin and do not stop until entirely relived but end your exercise in a warm room as to cool off very slowly. 8. Never put on a pair of new boots of shoes on a journey, especially on a visit to the city; rather wear your easiest, oldest pair, otherwise you will soon be painfully disabled. 9. A loosely fitting boot or shoe, while traveling in winter, will keep the feet warmer without any stockings at all than a tight pair over the thickest and warmest hose. 10. Riding against a cold wind immediately after singing or speaking in public is suicide. 11. Many public speakers have been disabled for life by speaking while laboring under a hoarseness of voice. 12. If you happen to get wet in cold weather, keep on foot with a rapidity sufficient to ward off a feeling of chilliness until you get into the house and not waiting to undress, drink instantly and plentifully of hot tea of some sort; then undress, wipe dry quickly and put on warm, dry clothing. 13. Never go to bed with cold feet if you want to sleep sound. 14. If a person faints, place him instantly flat on a bed or floor, or on the earth, on his back and quietly let him alone at least for ten minutes. If it is simply a fainting fit, the blood flowing on a level will more speedily equalize itself through the system. Cold water dashed in the face or a sitting position are both unnecessary and pernicious. List of Letters Remaining in the Post Office at Ebensburg up to February 6: M. S. Adams Daniel Brown Geo. W. Brown Emma Bryan Daniel J. Davis - 2 James R. Davis Barney Delancy John Elder Sr. - 3 Irvin Edwards Bertha Eger Mrs. Margt. Evans Miss Jane Evans Miss Ann Evans Mr. J. Evans Mrs. Margaret Evans Hugh Evans Evan Griffith Daniel Garman - 2 W. W. Griffith T. H. Humphreys Thos. Hughes Susan Harkins E. J. Humphreys Ely E. Hyatt Miss Margt. Hines Patrick Hays H. J. Humphreys Benjamin Hinds Miss Jane Jones David T. James Miss Susan James Evan James Miss Margt. James Bernard Kelly Ann Kurtz J. C. Luke L. K. Lane Silas Lewis Anna May Leff Philomena Moser Miss Rebecca Miller Mrs. Mary Minser James McCloskey Mrs. Catharine Miller Miss Amanda Ott Mrs. Wm. O'Connell Mrs. Margt. Pringle Mrs. Susan Pryce Miss Mary J. Reese Miss Jane Roberts Miss Ellen Short Wm. Simmons John Singer Wm. Scowdin Wm. Wilson E. Williams Wm. J. Wens Thos. Williams Persons inquiring for the Above letters will please say they are advertised. John Thompson, P. M., Ebensburg, Feb. 6, 1862 Trial List The following is the list of cause set down for trial at the court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, commencing on Monday, 3d March, 1862: First Week Stremmill vs. Handshue Richardson et al vs. Hohman, et al Henley vs. Warner Fronhiser vs. Penrod Cassiday vs. Petty's Admir. Commonwealth vs. Roberts, et al Same vs. same Glass vs. Flinn Ex'rs. Morrison vs. Murray, et al Griffith vs. Rose, et al Matthew vs. Troxell Noble vs. Same Tiley vs. Moyer, et al Com'th for use vs. Moores Rise Admr. vs. Fockler & Ellis Eager vs. Thompson Luose vs. Vogel M'Quaide vs. Boyer Admr. Religious Service in the M. E. Church The fourth quarterly meeting of the Methodist Episcopal Church will commence at the M. E. Church in Ebensburg on Saturday, February 16. Preaching at 2 and 6 o'clock P. M. Also, on Sabbath morning at 10 1/2 A.M., after which the Eucharist will be administered, and preaching at 6 o'clock in the evening. Preaching may be expected every evening during the week following. The Rev. D. P. Mitchell will officiate as Presiding Elder. S. T. Snow, Wilmore, Feb. 15, 1862 Religious We are requested to announce that a protracted meeting will be held in the Disciples' Church, in this place, during the present week, under the lead of Rev. O. P. Miller of Pittsburg. Preaching every evening at 7 o'clock. The public is invited to attend.