Chapter C: A. Reynolds

_Answer._—Under the pre-emption laws, which restrict the pre-emption privilege to heads of families, widows, or single persons over the age of 21, who are citizens of the United States or who have declared their intention to become such, it has been judicially decided: 1. That if a single woman marry after filing her declaratory statement, she thereby abandons her right as a pre-emptor, although it is not so in the case of timber-culture claim or homestead entry; 2. The “head of a family” means the actual, living head of a family; hence, that “a deserted wife or one whose husband is a confirmed drunkard may be the head of a family;” also, that “a married woman who has minor children and has been abandoned by her husband without cause and left to support and maintain herself and children, is the head of a family and entitled to pre-empt in her own name.” Under like circumstances married women may make homestead and timber-culture entries. Otherwise a married woman cannot pre-empt government land or make a homestead or timber-culture entry.

CASUALTIES OF THE CIVIL WAR.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Will you please settle a dispute by telling how many lives were
lost in our civil war; and how many were so wounded as to seriously
cripple them for life?

A READER.

_Answer._—According to the Provost-Marshal General’s report, the casualties in the Union army from the commencement of the late civil war to its close, or say until Aug. 1, 1865, were as follows:

Killed—
Volunteer officers, white 3,357
Volunteer enlisted men, white 54,350
Officers of colored troops 124
Enlisted men of colored troops 1,790
Regulars 1,355
——————
Total 60,976

Died of Wounds—
Volunteer officers 1,595
Volunteer enlisted men 32,095
Officers of colored troops 46
Enlisted men of colored troops 1,037
Regulars 1,174
——————
Total 35,959

Died of Disease—
Volunteer officers 2,141
Volunteer enlisted men 152,013
Officers of colored troops 90
Enlisted men of colored troops 26,211
Regulars 3,009
———————
Total 183,467

Discharged for Disability—
Volunteer officers 3,058
Volunteer enlisted men 209,102
Officers of colored troops 166
Enlisted men 6,889
Regulars 5,091
———————
Total 224,306

The report of the Adjutant General of the army about five years later, Oct. 25, 1870, puts the total number of deaths in the Union army during the rebellion at 303,504, while the Surgeon General of the army reports the number at 282,955. The Adjutant General reports the total number killed in battle as 44,238; the Surgeon General reports 35,408; the former reports the total number who died of wounds as 33,993; and the latter as 49,205; the former reports the number who died of disease as 149,043; the latter as 186,216. The Quartermaster General reports the total number of graves under his supervision as 315,555; only 172,309 of which have been identified. Taking all things into consideration, the differences, according to these several reports from officers of different departments, are, in most instances, readily accounted for.

According to the only data at hand, the total Confederate losses in action are estimated as follows: Killed, 51,525; wounded, 227,871. The number who died of wounds and disease is not stated; according to a “partial statement” in the American Almanac for 1883, was 133,821. It is not clearly stated whether this includes those killed on the field.

To the above should be added the losses in the Union and Confederate navies, amounting in the case of the former to 4,030 killed and wounded in action; 2,532 died of disease; and 2,070 other casualties.

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa.

Will the Curiosity Shop please to give the origin of the Church of
England, and an outline of its history?

H. N. BAKER.

_Answer._—The history of the Church of England previous to the Reformation is closely connected with that of the Roman Catholic Church. Tradition states that some of the Apostles first carried Christianity to Britain, and the later work was carried on by Sts. Augustine, Aidan and Chad. From the eighth till the sixteenth century the English Church was subject to Rome, and the final separation was due to the extreme measures adopted at the Council of Trent. But for 200 years the seed sown by Wycliffe had been bearing fruit and preparing the people for the great work of Luther. From 1066 to 1356 there was a constant struggle between the civil and ecclesiastical powers. Then came Wycliffe’s translation into English of the Bible, and his continued war against some of the leading doctrines of the Romish Church, which led to the formation of a new sect called the Lollards, holding views similar to those of the present church. Despite persecution the new doctrines spread, encouraged by Cranmer, and later by Queen Elizabeth, until in 1562 the thirty-nine articles of faith were finally reviewed and adopted, and Protestantism was recognized as the religion of England. In 1801, by the “Act of Union,” the Episcopal churches in England and Ireland were united but the latter church was disestablished and disendowed in 1869.

WILLIAM WALLACE—ROBERT BRUCE.

VALLEY, Wis.

1. Will you please give a few of the principal facts in the life of
Sir William Wallace? 2. Where and when did Robert Bruce die?

E. F. MARSHALL.

_Answer._—1. Wallace was the younger son of a Scottish knight of good family in the southwest of Scotland. Neither the date nor the place of his birth is definitely known, but the former must have been about 1270. There is nothing certain known of his early life. He first comes into notice as the leader of an insurrectionary movement against Edward I. who had usurped the regal rights of John Baliol, King of Scotland, and held him a prisoner in the Tower of London. In 1297 the rebellion against Edward had become general, and Wallace, resolved to force the liberation of Baliol and the independence of Scotland, made preparations to invade England. On the 11th of September he defeated the English forces under the Earl of Surrey at Sterling Castle with great slaughter, and, pursuing them into Cumberland and Northumberland, ravaged that portion of England. On his return he was made Governor of Scotland, or Regent, in the name of the imprisoned monarch. This elevation of a man of comparatively humble birth over the nobility of Scotland excited fierce jealousy among the latter, which undoubtedly had much to do with the defeat of the Scots the subsequent year by the English King and an overwhelming army at Falkirk, July 22. The war was continued with varying fortunes for seven years, but in 1304 Edward compelled the Scots to submit, granting amnesty to all the insurgent nobles. Wallace, however, was excepted from amnesty, and, having been betrayed into the hands of Edward by his own countrymen, he was carried to London, where, after a mock trial on the charge of treason, and the endurance of barbarities of the most savage nature, he was executed Aug. 23, 1305. His name is held in reverence by all true Scots, who now concede to him the glory of having roused the Scotch love of country, and led the way to that sturdy resistance of English oppression which finally resulted in averting the fate that overtook Ireland. A monument to Wallace was erected at Abbey Craig, near Stirling, at a cost of £13,000, and inaugurated Aug. 27, 1869. 2. Robert Bruce, King of Scots, died at Cardross Castle, on the firth of Clyde, June 7, 1329.

ANNUAL EXPENDITURES OF THE UNITED STATES.

DIXON, Ill.

What has been the least expenditure of the United States Government
in any single year since it was established; also what has been the
greatest, and what has been the annual expenditure of each year
since the war?

A SUBSCRIBER.

_Answer._—The gross expenditures of the United States Government in 1791 amounted to $3,797,436.78. This is the lowest sum, and the next lowest was in 1793, $6,479,977.97. The greatest amount any year before the great rebellion was in 1859, during Buchanan’s administration, when his Secretary of War was so busy arming the South, $83,678,642.92. The largest amount expended by the government in any single year was in 1865. Beginning with that year the table below shows the gross expenditures of the government year by year down to June 30, 1882:

1865 $1,906,443,331.37
1866 1,139,344,081.95
1867 1,093,079,655.27
1868 1,069,889,970.74
1869 584,777,996.11
1870 702,907,842.88
1871 691,680,858.90
1872 682,525,270.21
1873 524,044,597.91
1874 724,698,933.99
1875 682,000,885.32
1876 714,446,357.39
1877 565,299,898.91
1878 590,641,271.70
1879 966,393.692.69
1880 700,233,238.19
1881 425,865,222.64
1882 529,627,739.12

TRUMAN HENRY SAFFORD.

AURORA, Ill.

What has become of that wonderful mathematician, T. H. Safford?
Does he still retain those remarkable powers which distinguished
him as a boy? Oblige several readers with a few facts as to his
life.

F. STRINGER.

_Answer._—Truman Henry Safford, once widely noticed as “the remarkable boy mathematician,” was born at Royalton, Vt., Jan. 6, 1836, and graduated at Harvard in 1854. He compiled an almanac when he was 9 years old, making all the astronomical and other calculations. When he was but about 14 he calculated the elliptic elements of the first comet of 1849. He was appointed in 1863 Adjunct Observer in the Cambridge University, and two years later made Acting Director. While at this observatory he determined the right ascension of 1,700 stars and the declination of 450, and made 6,000 transit observations, besides completing Professor Bond’s report of discoveries in the constellation Orion. On Dec. 28, 1865, he accepted the post of director of the Chicago Observatory, where he remained until 1878, making many observations of similar nature to the last above named. He is now connected with Williams College.

HERO AND LEANDER.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Please tell the story of Hero and Leander, illustrated in the
picture displayed in a window on State street, corner of Adams.

IGNORAMUS.

_Answer._—Hero was a priestess of Venus. Leander was a youth of Abydos, a famous city on the Asiatic side of the strait of the Hellespont, nearly opposite the city of Sestos on the European coast, where he first saw Hero. It appears to have been a case of love at first sight, and an intensely ardent case at that. Hero’s office as priestess, and the resolute opposition of her parents stood in the way of their union, cold and strong as the swift current of the Hellespont, which at this its narrowest point, is swift and deep, and about one and a quarter miles wide. Undaunted by all these obstacles, Leander swam across the strait every night to visit his beloved, who directed his course by holding a torch from the upper window of a tower on the shore. After many delightful meetings, the dauntless lover was drowned one stormy night, and his body was washed ashore at the foot of the tower where Hero stood, expecting him. Heartbroken at the sight, she flung herself from the tower into the sea, and passed with her lover into the immortality of art and song.

XENOPHON AND GROTE.

PETERSBURG, Ill.

1. Please give a sketch of the lives of the historians, Xenophon
and Grote. 2. Describe the scythed chariots of the Greeks and
Persians.

CONSTANT READER.

_Answer._—Xenophon, son of the Athenian, Gryllus, was born B. C. 445-4. He was a pupil of Socrates. He joined the expedition of Cyrus against Artaxerxes, King of Persia, and in the retreat of the ten thousand, following the battle of Cunaxa, became the leader of the Greeks, after the treacherous execution of their former generals. A full account of the expedition and retreat is given in his “Anabasis.” Being banished from Athens soon after his return, he joined the Spartan army, in which he fought against his own countrymen at Coronea. He lived at Scillus, in Elis, for more than twenty years (until driven thence by the Eleans), hunting, farming, and writing. It was there that he wrote the “Anabasis” and the “Hellenica.” The last years of his life were passed at Corinth, where he died about 356 B. C. George Grote, politician, historian, and philosopher, was born at Clay Hill, Beckenham, Kent, Eng., in 1794. As a statesman he was in sympathy with the leading reforms of his time, and made several effective speeches in their behalf. His first work as an author was upon parliamentary reform. The preparation of his history of Greece occupied thirteen years, and the last two volumes were published in 1856. In 1865 appeared his work on Plato. Thereafter he devoted himself to the study of Aristotle. 2. The scythed chariot was used by the Britons and Persians. It had two wheels connected by an axle, upon which rested, without springs, the body of the chariot, consisting of a floor with a semi-circular guard in front about three feet high. It had no seat, and was open at the back. In it stood the warrior and his charioteer. Attached to the rims of the wheels projecting on each side and bristling from the axle were scythes or blades of swords for cutting down those who came in the way.

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE.

ROBERTS, Ill.

Tell us something of the birth, education, and work of Florence
Nightingale, the famous hospital nurse.

JAMES BOND.

_Answer._—She was born at Florence, Italy, in 1823, being the daughter of William Shore Nightingale, Embly Park, Hampshire; she was educated with great care, and was rather notable for her brilliant accomplishments. Very early she showed great interest in all institutions for the alleviation of suffering, and later visited and inspected hospitals throughout Europe. She studied with Sisters of Charity in Paris their system of nursing in the hospitals of that city, and was trained also in the institution of Protestant Deaconesses at Kaiserwerthen, on the Rhine. Later she organized the Sanitarium for Governesses in London. Soon after the breaking out of the Crimean war she offered to organize a nursing department at Scutari, and with the consent of Lord Herbert left England Oct. 21, 1854, reaching Constantinople in time to take charge of the wounded from the battle of Inkerman. In 1855 she was prostrated by a fever, the result of overwork, but refused to rest, and remained in Scutari until the English evacuated Turkey, July 28, 1856. The British army almost idolized her. For some years Miss Nightingale has been an invalid, but she has never ceased to plan and work for the welfare of soldiers. At the close of the Crimean war a fund of $250,000 was subscribed to enable her to establish a school for the training of nurses, which is doing a noble work. She has published several books bearing upon the work to which her life has been devoted.

ARTIFICIAL POULTRY BROODERS.

WICHITA, Kan.

What is an “artificial mother” or chicken brooder? Please tell us
what it looks like and how to use it?

AN OLD SUBSCRIBER.

_Answer._—There are two or three illustrations and descriptions of chicken brooders, but they are all essentially the same thing. Of course the nearer it comes to being a good substitute for the hen mother the better it will be. Make a box about three or four feet square and five or six inches deep, with a board top and a sheet-iron, or, still better, a zinc bottom. Some tack a lamb skin, drooping nearly to the bottom, to the top of this box and do not use artificial heat; but the generally approved plan is to use one lamp and tin flue like those used in the artificial incubator, hitherto described, for warming a brooder of this size. Bore several small auger holes through the top as escape flues for the heat; or, still better, arrange three or four tin escape pipes of an inch diameter, as was done in the “heater” of the incubator, dropping them down to within a couple of inches of the bottom of the box. Next cut a strip from some old blanket, or other coarse, soft woolen stuff, and tack it around the lower edge of the box so that it will hang down about four inches all round. Slash this at intervals of three or four inches, so that the chicks can push through it. Now set blocks two inches thick under two corners and three inches thick under the other two corners, and your brooder is ready for use. Keep the temperature up to 80 or 90 deg. Keep the box thoroughly clean, and move it from one dry place to another every day or so. Dust the chicks occasionally with sulphur or pyrethrum, to keep off vermin, and smear their feathers here and there with paraffine. On one side of the brooder there should be a “run” for the chicks to exercise in, which may be a box covered with laths on top and sides, but with space next the ground to allow them to run out. For protection against rats at night cover the whole brooder with a close box perforated with small auger-holes for ventilation.

RELIGIOUS STATISTICS OF CHICAGO.

ROCKFORD, Ill.

What is the present number of churches in Chicago? Does the
increase of churches and church membership keep pace with the
increase of population?

MRS. W.

_Answer._.—Mr. E. F. Cragin, one of the officers of the Congregational Club of this city, has given some attention to this subject, and at the last meeting of the club presented the following figures, based on the census and the number of churches and church members, computed from the best data at hand:

Churches Ratio of
and Members
Year. Missions. Year. Population. to Pop.

1840 6 1840 4,479 1 to 747
1851 28 1850 28,269 1 to 1,009
1862 84 1860 109,260 1 to 1,301
1870 187 1870 298,977 1 to 1,599
1880 242 1880 503,185 1 to 2,079

These figures include Protestant and Roman Catholic churches, Jewish synagogues, two Mormon churches, several Spiritualists societies, and indeed, every society listed in our city directory as religious organizations. There are 188 of the 242 churches given for 1880, which are classed by Mr. Cragin as Evangelical Protestants, of which 38 have services conducted in foreign languages. The population between 6 and 21 years is given as 155,000, while the total membership of Sunday schools is but 81,289. By way of postscript Mr. Cragin remarks that the number of arrests in 1882 was over 33,000, or 1 to 18 of the population.

BRUNO, THE PANTHEIST.

NORTHWOOD, Iowa.

Who was “the Philosopher Bruno?”