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Les diagrammes suivants iliustrent la m*thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 LETTERS / siH FROM AN AMERICAN FARMER; ^*E SCRIBING CERTAIN PROVINCIAL SITUATIONS^ MANNERS, AND CUSTOAIS, NOT GENERALLY KNOWN} A N D C O N V E Y r N O SOME IDEA OF THE LATE AND PRESENT INTERIOR C I R C U ?v1 S T A N C E S O F T H E , BRITISH COLONIES NORTH AMERICA. WRITTEN FOR THE INFORM VTION OF A FRIEND IN ENGLAND, By J. H E C T O R ^S T. JO H N, A FARMER IN PENNSYLVANIA. LONDON, PRINTED FOR THOMAS DhVIES IN RUSSEL STREFT COVENT- GARDEN, A.^D LOCKYER D-VVIS IN IK LBORN, M DCC LXXJni. |^:V wm mmmBm. f' ^ ¥ ^. L E T T E R S FROM AN AMERICAN FARMER. K fmrnm* ADVERTISEMENT. rr^H E following Letters are the genuine produ5iion of the American Farmer whofe name they bear. They were privately written to gratify the curiojity of a friend y and are made public ^ becaufe they contain 7?iuch authentic information, little known on this fide the Atlantic : they cannot therefore fail of being highly interejiing to the people of England, at a time when every body s attention is dire^ed toward the affairs of America. That thefe letters are the adfual refult of a private correfpondence, may fairly be inferred (exclufive of other evidence) from the file and manner in which they are con^ A 3 ceived ; r ADVERTISEMENT. cehed 'y for though plain and familiar, and' fometimcs animated, they are by no means exempt from fuch inaccuracies as muft unavoidably occur in the rapid effti/ions of a confejjedly inexperienced ivriter. Our Farmer had long been an eye-wit nefs of tranfa5tions that have deformed the face of America : he is one of thofewhodreaded^ and has fever ely felt, the deflating confe- quences of a rupture between the parent fate and her colonies : for he has been driven from a ftuation, the enjoyment of which, the reader will find pathetically dcfcrlhcd in the early letters of this vo- lume. 7he unhappy contefi, is at length ho'v:ever, drawing toward a period ; and it is now. only, I' ft us to hope, that the obvious interefs and mutual wants of both countries J jnay in due tuge, and infpitc of all ohfacles^ hdppily re-unite them, ^ *n * ■ r I! I \\ I'' Should ADVERTISEMENT. Should our Farmer s letters be found to afford matter of ufeful entertainment to an intelligent and candid publick, a fecond volume f equally interejling with thofe now publiJJjed, may foon be expelled. ivi /♦ r V • .1 i rf- < t V ' i ' : 1 'v • . • ' r TO THE ABBE RAYNAL, F.R.S. BEHOLD, Sir, an humble American Planter, a fimple cultivator of the earth, addrefTing you from the farther fide of the Atlantic ; and prefuming to fix your name at t j head of his trifling lucubrations. I wifh they were worthy of fo great an honour. Yet why fhould not I be permitted to difclofe thofe fenti- ments which I have fo often felt from my heart ? A few years fince, I met acci- dentally with your Political and Philofo- phicalHiflory, and perufed it with infinite pleafure. For the firft time in my life I refle(5ted on the relative flate of nations ; I traced Wf' i 4*' m DEDICATION. I traced the extended ramiffcations of a commerce which ought to unite, but now convulfes the world -, I admired that univerfal benevolence, that difFufive good- will, which is not confined to the narrow limits of your own country ; but! on the contrary, extends to the whole human ..ice. As an eloquent and powerful ad- vocate, you have pleaded the caufe of hu- manity in efpoufing that of the poor Afri- cans : you viewed tliefe provinces of North America in their true light, as the afylurn of freedom ; as the cradle of future na- tions, and the refuge of diilreffed Euro- peans. Why then fhould I refrain from loving and refpeding a man whofe writ- ings I fo much admire ? Thefe two.fenti- ments are infeparable, at.leaft in my breaft. I conceived your genius to be prefentat the head of my iludy : under its invifible but powerful guidance, I profecuted my fm.all labours : and now, permit me to fi^ndtify them under the aufpices of your name. ' ' Let •^ s. ... ■^ r •4^' DEDICATION. Let the fincerity of the motives which urge me, prevent you from thinking that this well meant addrefs contains aught but the purefl tribute of reverence and affec- tion. There is, no doubt, a fecret com- munion among good men throughout the world ; a mental affinity connedling them by a fmiilitude of fentiments : then why, though an American, (liould not I be permitted to fliare in that cxtenfive intelledlual confanguinity ? Yes, I do : and though the name of a man who pof- feffes neither titles nor places, who never rofe above the humble rank of a farmer, may appear infignificant ; yet, as the fentiments I have expreffcd, arc alfo the eccho of thofe of my countrymen ; on their behalf, as well as on my own, give me leave to fubfcribe myfelf, ' Sir, Your very fincere admirer, Crhilein J. RECTOR ST. JOHN, ! 01 • CONTENTS. LETTER XL From Mr, Iw — n Al — z, a Rufjian gentlemany dejcribing the vifit he paid, at my requeji^ to Mr, John Bertram,, the celebrated Pennfyhanian hotanift - - - 247 LETTER XII. , Dijlrejfes of a Frontier -man 270 Map of the ijland of Nantucket Map of Martha's Fineyard 122 160 Pi e-^t ». .( ,f- TABLE O F CONTENTS. >; i LETTER L iNrRODUCriON LETTER IL Page 1 On the fttuation, feelings^ and pleafures of an American Farmer - - ai LETTER in. What is an American ? LETTER IV. 4S Defcription of the ijland of Nantucket y with the mannens, cujiomsy policy, and trade of the Inhabitants - - 114 •4- CONTENTS. LETTER y. Cujlomary education and employment of ihc inha- bitants of Nantucket - - ijo "i!!' ■lit •I I- II I! LETTER VI. Defcription of the ijland of Marthas Vineyardy and of the Whale Fijhery - - 159 LETTER VII. Manners and cufioms at Nantucket LETTER VIII. Tecidlar cufioms at Nantucket - ' .76 - , r^ '.-,•' r 194 l^ L E TT E R IX. Defcription of Charles-I'cwn ; thoughts on flavery ; Oil phyfical evil ; a melancholy fcene - 213 ■' k, *•,-*. . ■ ' * ' LETTER X. On flakes ', and on the bumming-lird XETTm t »<7- 5^ ard, ^59 176 194 ivery \ in './• j LETTERS r v FROM A N AMERICAN FARMER 12 LETTER L INTRODUCTION. WH O would have thought that be- caufe I received you with hofnitality and kindnefs, you fliould imagine me capable of writing with propriety and perfpi- cuity ? Your gratitude mifleads your judge- ment. The knowledge which I acquired from your converfation lias amply repaid me for your five weeks entertainment. I gave you nothing more than what common hofpitality didated ; but could any other guefl have in- ilru6led me as you did ? You conduded me, 011 the map, from one European country to another; told me many extraordinary things of our famed mother-country, of which I knew very little j of its internal navigation, agriculture, arts, manufaftures, and trade : you guided me through an extenfive maze, and I abundantly B profited r .«t; w» ' 'I ' ill lU : 'i f yjf^ I »■' ' 1 INTRODUCTORY LETTFR. profited b7 the journey ; the contrail therefore proves the debt of gratitude to be on my fide. The treatment you received at my houfe pro- ceeded from the warmth of my heart, and from the correfponding fenfibility of my wife ; what you now defire, muft flow from a very limited power of mind : the tafk requires recollec- tion, and a variety of talents which I do not poflefs. It is true I can defcribe our American m des of farming, our manners, and peculiar cuftoms, with fome degree of propriety, be- caufe I have ever attentively fliudied them ; but my knowledge extends no farther. And is this local and unadorned information fufficient to anfwer all yourcxpedations, and to fatisfyyour curiofity ? I am furprifed that in the courfe of your American travels, you fhould not have found out perfons more enlightened and better educated than I am ; your predile6tion excites rny wonder mucli more than my vanity -, my ihare of the latter being conHned merely to the neatnefs of my rural operations. My father left me a few mufty books, which bis father brought from England with him; bu^^what help can I draw from a library con- fining mofi:ly of Scotch Divinity, the Naviga- tion of Sir Francis Drake, the'Hifl:ory of Queen Elizabeth, and a few mifcellaneous volumes ? Our Minifier often comes to fee me, though he lives upwards of twenty miles diftant. I have '■<.i- f ' 1 INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 3 \ have fiiewn him your letter, alked his advice, and folicited his afildance j he tells me, that he hath no time to fpare, for that like the rcll of us muft till his farm, and is moreover to ftudy what he is to fay on the fabbath. My wife, (and I never do any thing without confulting her) laughs, and tells me, that you cannot be in earned. What ! fays fhe, James, wouldft thee pretend to fend cpiftles to a great European man, who hath lived abundance of time in that big houfe called Cambridge ; where, they fay, that worldly learning is fo abur>dant, that people gets it only by breathing the air of the place ? VVouldil not thee be afliamed to write unto a man who has never in his life done a fingle day's work, no, not even felled a tree j who hath expended the Lord knows how many years in iludying liars, geometry, ftones, and flies, and in reading folio books ? Who hath travelled, as he told us, to the city of Rome itfelf ! Only think of a London man going to Rome ! Where is it that thefe Englidi folks won't go ? One who hath {ccn the fadlory of brimltone at Su- vius, and town of Pompey under ground ! wouldft thou pretend to letter it with a perfon who hath been to Paris, to the Alps, to Peterfburgh, and who hath feen fo many fine things up and down the old countries ; who hath come over the great fea unto us, and hath jour- neyed from our New Hampfnire in the Eaft to B2 our •• ■.. ^ *4. . li l.» ■ 'S 4 INTRODUCTORY LETTER. our Charles Town In the South ; who hath vi- fited all our great cities, knows mod of our famous lawyers and cunning folks ; who hath converfed with very many king's men, gover- nors, and counfellors, and yet pitches upon thee for his correfpondcnc, as thee calls it ? furely he means to jeer thee ! I am fure he does, he cannot be in a real fair earned. James, thee muft read this letter over again, paragraph by paragraph, and warily obferve whether thee can'ft perceive forae words of jelling j fomething that hath more than one meaning : and now I think on it, hufband, I wifh thee wouldft let mc fee his letter; though I am but a woman, as thee mayeft fay, yet I underfland the purport of words in good meafure, for when I was a girl, father fent us to the very beft mafter in the precin6t. — She then read it herfelf very attentively: our minifterwasprefent, weliflened to, and weighed every fyllable : we all unani- moufly concluded that you muft have been in a fober earneft intention, as my wife calls it j and your requeft appeared to be candid and fincere. Then again. on recolledino: the difference between your fphere of life and mine, a new fit of ailonilhment feifed us all ! Our minifter took the letter from my wife, and read it to himfelf ; he made us obferve the two laft phrafes, and we weighed the contents to the beft of our abilities. The conclufion wc • all INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 5 all drew, made me refolve at laft to write. You fay you want nothing of me but what lies within the reach of my experience and know- ledge; this I underftand very well; the dif- ficulty is, how to collect, digeft, and ar- range what I know ? Next you aflfert, that writinor letters is nothinsi: more than talking on paper ; which, I mufl: confefs, appeared to me quite a new thought. — Well then, obferved our minifler, neighbour James, as you can talk well, I am fure you mud write tolerably well alfo ; imagine, then, that Mr. F. B. is ftill here, and fimply write down what you would fay to him. Suppofe the queftions he will put to you in his future letters to be afked by him ^jiva voce, as we ufed to call it at the college ; then let your anfwers be conceived and exprefled ex- actly in the fame language as if he was prefent. This is all that he requires from you, and I am fure the talk is not difficult. He is your friend : who would be afliamed to write to fuch a perfon ? Although he is a man of learning and tafte, yet I am fure he will read your letters with pleafure : if they be not elegant, they will fmell of the woods, and be a little wild ; I know your turn, they will contain fome matters which he never knew before. Some people are fo fond of novelty, that they will overlook many errors of language for the fake of information. to to We are all apt to love and admire exotics, tho' B 3 they § INTRODUCTORY LETTER. tlicy may be often inferior to what we pofTefs ; .ind that is the rcafon I imagine why fo many pcrfons are continually going to vifit Italy. — That country is the daily refort of modern tra- vellers. jfamcs. I fhould like to know what is there to be feen fo goodly and profitable, that fo many (hould v.ifli to vifit no other country ? Minijier. I do not very well know. I fancy their objecl is to trace the veftiges of a once flourifhing people now extinft. There they amufe themfelves in viewing the ruins of temples and other buildings which have very little affinity with thofe of the prefent age, and mufl therefore impart a knowledge which ap- pears ufelefs and trifling. I have often won- dered that no flcilful botanifts or learned men Ihould come over here j methinks there would be much more real fatisfadlion in obferving among us, the humble rudiments and embryos of focieties fpreading every where, the recent foundation of our towns, and the fettlements of fo many rural diftridls. I am fure that- the rapidity of their growth would be more pleafing to behold, than the ruins of did towers, ufelefs aquedudls, or impending battle- rnents. • James. "What you fay, Minifter, feems very true : do go on : I always love to hear you talk. Mini/ier. INTRODUCTORY LETTER. Miu'iflcr. Don't you hink neighbour James, th;it the mind of a good and enlightened En- gliiliman would be more improved in remarking throughout thcfe provinces thecaufes which ren- der fo many people happy? In delineating the unnoticed means by which we daily increafe the extent of our fettlements ? How we convert liuge forefts into pleafing fields, and exhibit through thcfe thirteen provinces fo fingular adif- play of cafy fubfiftence and political felici^-y. In Italy all the objects of contemplation, all the reveries of the traveller, mud have a refer- ence to ancient generations, and tover_^ diftant periods, clouded with the miit of ages. — Here, on the contrary, every thing is modern, peace- ful, and benign. Here we have had no war to defolate our fields* : our religion does not ^ opprefs the cultivators : we are ftrangers to thofe feudal inftitutions which have en-v.^ flaved fo many. Here nature opens her brc lA^ lap to receive the perpetual accefiion of new \ comers, and to fupply them with food. I am furf I cannot be called a partial American when I fay, that the fpedlacle afforded by thefe pleafing fcenes muft be more entertaining, and more philcfophical than that which arifes from B 4 beholding Of'/ .A^ * The troubles, that nowconvulfe the American colo- nies, had nor broke out when this, and fome of the fol- lowing letters were written. fr i!'' ill I !fi ••■;■; il ■(■! *-N I. rV ^\ K 1 I INTRODUCTORY LETTER. beholding the mufty ruins of Ronne. Here every thing would infpire the reflecting travel- ler with the moft philanthropic ideas j his ima- gination, inftead of fubmiiting to the painful andufelcTs retrofpecl of revolutions, defolations, and plagues, would, on the contrary, wilely fpring forward to the anticipated fields of future cultivation and improvement, to the future ex- tent of thofc generations which are to replenifli and embellifh this boundlefs continent. There the half-ruined amphitheatres, and the putrid fevers of the Campania, muft fill the mind with the moft melancholy reflections, whilft he is feeking for the origin, and the intention of thofeftruClures with which he is furrounded, and for the caufe of fo_great a decay.' Here he might contemplate the very beginnings and out-lincs of human focietv, which can be traced no where now but in this part of the world. The reft of the earth, I am told, is in fome places too full, in others half depopulated. Mifguided religion, tyranny, and abfurd laws, every where deprcfs \ and afflict mankind. Here we have in fomc meafure regained the ancient dignity of cu* fpecics ; our laws are fimple and juft, v/e are a race of cultivators, our cultivation is unre- ftrained, and therefore every thing is profperous and flouriftiing. For my part 1 had rather admire the ample barn of one of our opulent farmers, who himfelf felled the firft tree in his plantation, and ■« 1 INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 9 and was the firft founder of his fettlement, than ftudy the dimenfions of the tennple of Ceres. I had rather record the progrelTive ftepsof this in- duftrious farmer, throughout all the ftages of his labours and oiher operations, than examine how modern Italian convents can be fupported without doing any thing but finging and praying. However vjonfined the field of fpeculation might be here, the time of Englifh travel- lers would not be wholly loft. The new and iinexpefted afpedt of our extenfive fettlements; of our fine rivers j that great field of aftion every 1 where vifible i that eafe, that peace with which fo many people live together, would greatly ' intereft the obferver : for whatever difficul- ties there might happen in the obje6t of their refearches, tliat hofpitality which prevails from one end of the continent to the other, would in all parts facilitate their excurfions. As it is 1 j from the furface of the ground which we '■'U, that we have gathered the wealth we poffefs, the furface of that ground is therefore the only thing that has hitherto been known. It will require the induftry of fubfequent ages, the energy of future generations, ere mankind here will have leifure and abilities to penetrate deep, and, in the bowels of this continent, fearch for \ the fubterranean riches it no doubt contains. ' — Neighbour James, we want much the alTiftance of men of leifure and knowledge, we li If "11 I ,|! 11 .1 1.|'^ n \ J I ■ ,i i;i to INTRODUCTORY LETTER. we want eminent chemifts to inform our Iron mafters ; to teach us how to make and prepare mod of the colours we ufe. Here we have none equal to this tafk. If any ufeful difcoveries are therefore made among us, they are the efFedls of chance, or elfe arife from that reftlefs in- duftry which is the principal charaderiftic of / thefe colonies. James. Oh! could Icxprefs myfelfas you do, iny friend, I Ihould not balance a fingle inftant, I fhould rather be anxious to commence a cor- refpondence which would do me credit. Minijier. You can write full as well as you need, and will improve veryfaftj truftto my pro- phecy, your letters, at lead, will have the me- rit of coming from the edge of the great wilder- nefs, three hundred miles from the fea, and three thoufand miles over that fea : this will be no detriment to them, take my word for it. You intend one of your children for the gown, who knows but Mr. F. B. may give you fome affifl- ance when the lad comes to have concerns with the bifhop ; it is good for American farmers to have friends even in England. What he requires of you is but fimple — what we fpeak out among ourfclves, we call conver- fation, and a letter is only converfation put down in black and white. James. You quite perfuade me — if he laughs at my aukwardnefs, furely he will be pleafed with II INTRODUCTORY LETTER. with my ready compliance. On my part, it will be well meant let the execution be what it may. I will write enough, and fo let him have the trouble of fifting the good from the bad, the ufeful from the trifling ; let him fele6t what he may want, and rejed what may not anfwer his purpofe. After all, it is but treating Mr. F. B. now that he is in London, as I treated him when he was in America under this roof; that is with the beft things I had ; given with a good in- tention ; and the bell manner I was able. Very different, James, very different indeed, faid my wife, I like not thy comparifon j our fmall houfe and cellar, our orchard and garden afforded what he wanted ; one half of his time Mr. F. B. poor man, lived upon nothing but fruit-pies, or peaches and milk. Now thefe things were fuch as God had given us, myfelf and wench did the reft ; we were not the crea- tors of thefe vi6luals, we only cooked them as well and as neat as we could. The firft: thing, James, is to knowv/hat fort of materials theehaft: within thy own lelf, and then whether thee canft difh them up. — Well, well, wife, thee art wrong for once ; if I was filled with worldly vanity, thy rebuke would be timely, but thee knoweft that I have but little of that. How fhall I know what I am capableof tilll try ? Hadft: thee never pmployed thyfelf in thy father's houfe to learn and to \i I ■< ' Bi I i 11 lii 1' i ! 10 m 1 IP 12 INTRODITCTORY LETTER. to pra6lice the many branches of houfe-keeping that thy parents were famous for, thee wouldft have made but a forr\' wife for an American farmer; thee never Ihouldft have been mine. I marrief See not for what thee hadfl, but for Twhat th vnevveft ; doeft not thee obferve what Mr. F. B. fiivs be fide i he telis me, that the art of writing is juft like unto every other art of man ; that iti-s acquired by habit, and by perfeverance. That is fingularly true, faid our Miniller, he that fhall write a letter every day of the week, will on Saturday perceive the fixth Covving from his pen much more readily than the firll. I obferved when I firft entered into the miniftry and began to preach the v/ord, I felt perplexed and dry, my mind was like unto a parched foil, which pro duced nothing, not even weeds. By the blelT- ing of heaven, and my perfeverance in lludy, I grew richer in thoughts, phrafes, and words > I felt copious, and now I can abundantly preach from any text that occurs to my mind. So will it be with you, neighbour James ; begin there- fore without delay ; and Mr. F. B's letters may be of great fervice to you : he will, no doubt, inform you of many things : correfpon- dence confifts in reciprocal letters. Leave off your diffidence, and I will do my bed to help you whenever I have any leifure. Well then, I am rcfolved, I faid, to follow your counfel ; my letters fliall not be fent, nor will I receive any I. -keeping I wouldfl Simerican mine. I but for rve wiiat die art of of man ; ^verance. r, he that cek, will from his obferved id began I dry, my lich pro :he blefT- n Itudy, words ; y preach So will n there- letters A^ill, no refpon- eave off to help 11 then, oiinfel ; receive any INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 13 any, without reading them to you and my wife; women are curious, they love to know their hufband's fecrets j it will not be the firft thing which I have fubmitted to your joint opinions. Whenever you come to dine with us, thefe fhall be the lad diOi on the table. Nor will they be the mod unpalatable anfwered the good man. Nature hath given you a tolerable fhare of fenfe, and that is one of her befl: gifts let me tell you. She has given you befides fome per- ipicuity, which qualifies you to diflinguiih inter- efting objects j a warmth of imagination which enables you to think with quicksefs j you often extra6lufeful refledtions from objeds which pre- fented none to my mind : you have a tender and a well meaning heart, you love defcription, and your pencil, affilre yourfelf, is not a bad one for the pencil of a farmer i it feems to be held v/ithout any labour j your mind is what wc called at Yale college a 'Tabula rafa^ where fpon- taneous and ftrong imprerfions are delineated with facility. Ah, neighbour ! had you received but half the education of Mr. F. B. you had been a worthy correfpondent indeed. But per- haps you will be a more entertaining one drefifcd in your fnnple American garb, than if you were clad in all the gowns of Cambridge. You will appear to him fomething like one of our wild American plants, irregularly luxuriant in its various branches, which an European fclioLu" 'W^ I Mli 1 II, ii! t *!ii !.! k k ' > ' v. :(' / 14 INTRODUCTORY LETTER. fcholar may probably think ill placed and ufe- lefs. If our foil is not remarkable as yet for the excellence of its fruits, this exuberance is how- ever a flrong proof of fertility, which wants no- thing but the progrefTive knowledge acquired by time to amend and to corred. It is eafier to retrench than it is to add ; I do not mean to flatter you, neighbour James, adulation would ill become my character, you may therefore be- lieve what your paftor fays. Were I in Europe I iliould be tired with perpetually feeing efpa- liers, plaflied hedges, and trees dwarfed into pigmies. Do let Mr. F. B. fee on paper a few American wild cherry trees, fuch as nature forms them here, in all her unconfined vigour, in all the amplitude of their extended limbs and fpreading ramifications — let him fee that we are poflefied with ftrong vegitativc embryos. After all, why lliould not a farmer be allowed to make ufe of his mental faculties as well as others ; be- caufe a man works, is not he to think, and if he thinks ufcfully, why lliould not he in his leifure hours fet down his thoughts ? I have compofed many a good fermon as I followed my plough. The eyes not being then engaged on any particu- lar objefl, leaves the mind free for the introduc- tion of many ufeful ideas. It is not in the noify Ihop of a blackfmith or of a carpenter, that thefe ftudious moments can be enjoyed ; it is as we filently till the ground, and mufe along the odoriferous INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 15 odoriferous furrows of our low lands, uninter- ruptcci either by ftoncs or flumps j it is there that the falubrious effluviaof the earth animate our fpirits and ferve to infpire us } every other avocation of our farms are fevere labours com- pared to this pleafing occupation : of all the tafks which mine impofcs on me ploughing is the moil agreeable, bccaufe I can think as I work i my mind is at leifure j my labour flows from inflin6t, as well as that of my horfes ; there is no kind of difference between us in our dif- ferent ihares of that operation j one of them keeps the furrow, the other avoids it ; at the end of my field they turn either to the right or left as they arc bid, whilft I thoughtlcfbly hold and guide the plough to which they areharnefied. Do therefore, neighbour, begin this correfpon- dence, and perfevcre, difficulties will vanirti in proportion as you drav/ neair them ; you'll be fiirprifed at yourfelf by and by : when you come to look back you'll fay as I have often faid to myfelf ; had I been diffident I had never pro- ceeded thus far. Would you painfully till your ftony up-land and negleft the fine rich bottom which lies before your door ^ Had you never tried, you never had learned how to mend and make your ploughs. It will be no fmall plea- fure to your children to tell h.reafter, that their father was not only one of the mod in- duflrious !1 r !i^ 'I •'li HM j if > " I- 'ii^'f /I ., ! iff: i6 INTRODUCTORY LETTER. duftrious farmers in the country, but one of the beft writers. When you have once begun, do as when you begin breaking up your fummer fal- low, you never confiderwhat remains to be done, you view only what you have ploughed. There fore, neighbour James, take my advice ; it will go well with you, I am fure it will. And do you really think fo Sir ? Your counfel, which I have long followed, weighs much with me.- I verily believe that I muft write to Mr. F. B. by the firft veflel. If thee perfifleft in being fuch a fool hardy man, faid my wife, for God's fake let it be kept a profound fecret among us ; if it were once known abroad that thee writeft to a great and rich man over at London, there would be no end of the talk of the people; fomc would vow that thee art going to turn an author, others would pretend to forefee fome great al- terations in the welfare of thy family j fome would fay this, fome would fay that : Who would wifh to become the fubjedt of pub- lic talk ? Weigh this matter well before thee beginneft, James — confider that a great deal of thy time, and of thy reputation is at (lake as I may fay. Wertthee to write as well as friend Ed- mund, whofe fpeeches I often fee in our pa- pers, it would be the very fclf fame thing; thee wouldfl be equally accufed of idlenefs, and vain notions not befitting thy condition. Our co- lonel ; of the 1, do as ner fal- le done. There ; it will And do which I I mC; I r. F. B. in being 3r God's long us -y s writeft; n, there lej fomc \ author, 3;reat al- fomc Who of pub- bre thee deal of lake as I end Ed- our pa- igi thee land vain I Our co- lonel INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 17 lonel would be often conning here to know wliar it is that thee canft write fo much about. Some would imagine that thee wanted to bccoine either an afiembly-man or a m:igiftrate, which God forbid ; and that thee art telling the king's men abundance of things. Inilead of being well looked upon as now, and living in peace with all the world, our neighbours would be making flrange furmifes : I had rather be as we are, neither better nor worfe than the reft of our country folks. Thee knoweft what I mean, though I fhould be forry to deprive thee of any honcft recreation. Therefore as I have faid be- fore, let it be as great a fecret as if it was fome heinous crime ; the minifter, I am furc, will not divulge it; as for my part, though I am a woman, yet I know what it is to be a wife. — I would not have thee James pafs for what the world calleth a writer; no, not for a peck of gold, as the faying is. Thy father before thee was a plain dealing honeft man, punctual in all things ; he was one of yea and nay, of few words, all he minded was his farm and his work. I wonder from whence thee haft got this love of the pen ? Had he fpent his time in fending epiftles to and fro, he never would have left thee his goodly plantation, free from debt. All I fay is in good meaning ; great people over fea may write to our town's folks, becaufe they have nothing elfc to do. Thefe Engliftimen arc C ftrange / il :";! ill M i M I, 11: I J- Ik- ! m |8 INTRODUCTORY LETTER. firange people ; becaufe they can live upon what they call bank notes, without working, they think that all the world can do the fame. This goodly country never would have been tilled and cleared with thefe notes. I am fure when Mr. F. B. was here, he law thee fweat and take abundance of pains j he often told me how the Americans worked a great deal harder than the home Englilhmen ; for there he told us, that they have no trees to cut down, no fences to make, no negroes to buy and to clothe : and now I think on it, when wilt thee fend him thofe trees he befpoke ? But if they have no trees to cut down, they have gold in abundance, they fay J for they rake it and fcrape it from all parts far and near. I have often heard my grand- fathei' tell how they live there by writing. By writing they fend this cargo unto us, that to the Weil, and the other to the Eaft Indies. But, James, thee knowcft that it is not by writing that wc fliall pay the hlackfmith, the minifter, the weaver, the tailor, and the Englifh fhop. But as thee art an early man follow thine own inclinations j thee wanteft fome reft, I am fure, and why (liould'ft thee not employ it as it may feem meet unto thee. -However let it be a great fecret ; how wouldft thee bear to be called at our countiy meetings, the man of the pen ? If this fchemc of thine was once known, travellera as they go aloiig would point out to our houfe, faying, here liveth the fcribbling farmer : bet- ter ■A >l INTRODUCTORY LETTER, 19 ies hear them as ufual obferve, here liveth the warm fubftantial family, that ncvcM* begrndg- eth a meal of vidtuals, or a mefs of oats, to any one that lleps in. Look how fat and well clad their negroes are. Thus, Sir, have I given you an unafFeftcd and candid detail of the converfation which de- termined me to accept of your invitation. I thought it necefTary thus to begin, and to let you into thefe primary fecrets^ to the end that you may not hereafter reproach me wi^h any degree of prefumption. You'll plainly fee the motives which have induced me to begin, the fears which I have entertained, and the princi- ples on which my diffidence hath been founded* I have now nothing to do but to profecute my tafl< — Remember you are to give me my fub- jedts, and on no other fliall I write, left you fhould blame me for an injudicious choice-— However incorredl my ftile, however unex- pert my methods, however trifling my obfer- > vations may hereafter appear to you, afTure \ yourfelf they will all be the genuine difbates of my mind, and I hope will prove acceptable on that account. Remember that you have laid the foundation of this correfpondcnce j you well know that I am neither a philofopher, politi- ( cian, divine, nor naturalift, but a fimple far- / mer. I flatter myfelf, therefore, that you'll re* • ceive my letters as conceived, not according to C 2 fcientitic t .'!' n'l :!.' -:■'. ■i:x i; % INTRODUCTORY LETTER, 20 fcientific rules to which I am a perfe6l ftrangcr, but Agreeable to the fpontaneoiis imprelfions which each fubjeft may infpire. This is the only line I am able to follow, the line which nature has herfelf traced for me ; this was the covenant which I made with you, and with which you feemed to be well plcafed. Had you wanted the flile of the learned, the refle6lions of the patriot, the difcufllons of the j:)olitician, the curious ob^ fervations of the naturalifl, the plcafing garb of the man of tafte, furely you would have applied to fome of thofe men of letters with which our cities abound. But fince on the contrary, and for what reafon I know not, you wilh to corre- fpond with a cultivator of the earth, with a Am- ple citizen, you muft receive my letters for better or worfe. — V)^' ri-^ , " ■ ■ :-■ ( ,; ■; -.'•-'. : ■ .: », f • - . ■ , . J 4 kj .-* V t I 1^ i J 1 > i . ... i • ■ llyy ISO/ - 1 M j 0( I ..... . ' . . 1 I , , , 'I ! » I ■ .'; i.i - I . J ' ' 1 . . , -•ij. 'I. ■ ■* LETTER AMERICAN FARMER. W LETTER II. vO>J THE SITUATION, FEELINGS, AND PLEASURES, OF AN AMERICAN FARMER. AS you are the firll enlightened Euro- pean I have ever had the pleafure of being acquainted with, you will not be furpriled that I fhould, according to your earneft defire and my promife, appear anxious of preferving your friendfliip and correfpond- ence. By your accounts, I obferve a material difference fubfifts between your hufbandry, modes, and cuftoms, and ours j every thing is local ; could we enjoy the advantages of the Englifli farmer, we lliould be much happier, indeed, but this wifh, like many others, im- plies a contradidlion ; and could the Englifli farmer have fom€ of thofe privileges we poflefs, they would be the firll of their clafs in the world. Good and evil I fee is to be found in ^ all focieties, and it is in vain to feek for any fpot where thofe ingredients are not mixed. I there-^ fore reft fatisfied, and thank God that my lot is to be an American farmer, inftead of a RufTlah boor, or an Hungarian peafant. I thank you kiridly for tlie idea, however dreadful, which you have given me of their lot and condition j your obfervations have confirmed me in the juftncfs of my ideas, and I am hapjf>ier now than I thought myfelf before. It is ftrange that^ C 2 mifery ^ \^4' n 111: .,i.' ■t'^:; mo iti'; ■ lli.' ift SITUATION, kc. OF AN • mifery, when viewed in others, fhoiild become V to us a fort of real good, though I anfi far from rejoicing to hear that there are in the world men fo thorcvighly wretched j they are no doubt as harmiefs, indudrious, and willing to work as we - arc. H'^d i< their fate to be thus condemned to a liavcry worfe than that of our negroes. Yet when young I entertained fome thoughts of felling my firm. I thought it affordetl but a dull repetition of the fame labours and pleafurcs. I thought the former tedious and heavy, the latter few and infipid ; but when I came to con- iider myfelf as divefted of my farm, I then found the world fo wide, and every place fo full, that I began to fear left there would be no room for me. My farm, my houfe, my barn, pre- fented to my imagination, objeds from which I ad'^uced quite new ideas ; they were more forcible than before. Why fhould not I find myfeM' happy, faid 1, where my father was be- fore? He left me no pood books it is true, he gave me no other education than the art of i*pad- ing and writing j but he left me a good farm, and his experience ; he left me free from debts, and no kind of difficulties to (Iruggle with. — I married, arid this perfedly reconciled me to my fituation ; my wife rendered my houfe all atoi ce chearful andpleafing; it no longer ap- peared gloomy and folitary as before; when I went to work in my fields I worked with more AMERICAN FARMER. at3 alacrity and fprightlinefs -, I felt that I did not work for myfelf alone, and this encouraged me much. My wife would often come with her knitting in her hand, and fit under the fliady trees, praifing the ftraightnefs of my furrows, and the docility of my horfes ; this fwelled my lieart and made every thing light and pleafant, and I regretted that I had not married before. I felt myfelf happy in my new fituation, and where is that llation which can confer a more fubftantial fyftemvif felicity than that of an Ame- rican farmer, pofle fling freedom ofacflion, free- dom of thoughts, ruled by a mode of govern- ment which requires but little from us ? I owe nothing, but a pepper corn to my country, a fmall tribute to my king, with loyalty and due refpedl j I know no other landlord than the lord ^ of all land, to whom I owe the moft fincere gra- titude. Mv father left me three hundred and feventy-one acres of land, forty-feven of which are good timothy meadow, an excellent or- chard, a good houfe, and a fubftantial barn. ' It is my duty to think how happy I am that he Jived to build and to pay for all thefe improve- ments ; what are the labours which I have to undergo, what are my fatigues when compared to his, who had every thing to do, from the firft tree he felled to the finifhing of his houfe ? Every year I kill from 1500 to 2,000 weight of pork, 1,200 of beef, half a dozen of good wc- C 4 thers *v,? In 'III iiii! :1 ■i,i> ;; ;i^ r'. , I. -m ill:; m 24 SITUATION, &c. OF AN ! thers in harvclt: of fowls my wife has always a { great flock : what can I wifh- more ? My ne- groes are tolerably faithful and healthy ; by a longferics of induftry and honefl dealings, my father left behind himthe name of a good man; I have but to tread his paths to be happy and a good man like him. I know enough of the law to regulate my little concerns with propri- ety, nor do I dread its power ; thefe are the grand outlines of my fituation, but as I can feel much more than I am able to exprefs, I hardly know how to proceed. When my firfl fon was born, the whole train of my ideas were fud- denly altered; nfiver was' there a charm that a6ted fo quickly and powerfully; I ceafed to ramble in imagination through the wide world; my excurfions fince have not exceeded the bounds of my farm, and all my principal plea- fures are now centered within its fcanty limits : but at the fame time there is not an operation belonging to it in which I do not find fome food for ufeful refledlions. This is the reafon, I fuppofe, that when you was here, you ufed, in your refined ftile, to denominate me the farmer of feelings ; how rude muft thofe feelings be in him Vv'ho daily holds the axe or the plough, how much more refined on the contrary thofe of the Euro- pean, whofe mind is improved by education, ex- ample, books, and by every acquired advantage ! Thofe feelings, however, I will delineate as well '^ as. ¥ AMERICAN FARMER. a^ as I can, agreeably to your earned re- quefb. When I contemplate my wife, by my fire -fide, while flie either fpins, knits, darns, or fuckles our child, I cannot defcribe the va- rious emotions of love, of gratitude, of con- fcious pride which thrill in my heart, and often overflow in involuntary tears. I feel the necef- fity, the fweet pleafure of ailing my part, the part of an hufband and father, with an attention and propriety which may entitle me to my good fortune. It is true thefe pleafing images va- nifh with the fmoke of my pipe, but though they difappear from my mind, the impreflion they have made on my heart is indelible. When I play with the infant, m^y warm imagination runs forward, and eagerly anticipates his fu- ture temper and conflitution. I would willingly open the book of fate, and know in which page his dediny is delineated 3 alas ! where is the fa- ther who in thofe moments of paternal extacy can delineate one half of the thoughts which dilate his heart ? I am fu re I cannot ; then again I fear for the health of thofe who are become lb dear to me, and in the'r ficknefles I feverely pay for the joys I experienced while they were well. Whenever I go abroad it is always involuntary, I never return home without feeling feme pleaf- ing emotion, wliich 1 often fupprefs as ufelefs and foolifh. The inftant I enter on my own land, the bright idea of property, of jexclufive right, 4 of Vr wim PllSii ■i if li'|! fell ■■I 'm li^ Hi' iil]: ,1 1 i'^^^ ^ t 1 1 ,-. I :li!,Jl!, 26 SITUATION, &c. OF AN of independence exalt my mind. Precious loi', I fay to myfelf, by what fingular cuftom of law is it that thou v/aft made to conftitute the riches of the freeholder ? What fhould we American farmers be without the diftincft pofleflion oftiiat ibil ? It feeds, it clothes us, from it we draw even a great exuberancy, our bcfb meat, our richeft drink, tlie very honey of our bees comes from this privileged fpot. No wonder we Ihould thus cherifti its pofTeflion, no wonder that fo many Europeans who have never been able to fay thatfuch portion of land was theirs, crofs the Atlantic to realize that happinefs. This formerly rude foil has been converted by iny father into a pleafant farm, and in return it has cftablilhed all our rights i on it is founded our rank, our freedom, our power as citizens, our importance as inhabitants of fuch a diftridt. Thefe images I muft confefs I always behold wi ch pleafurc, and extend them as far as my imagi- nation can reach : for this is what may be called the true and the only philofophy of an Ameri- can farmer. Pray do not laugh in thus feeing an artlefs countryman tracing himfelf through the fimple modifications of his life ; remember that you have required it, therefore with can- dor, though with diffidence, I endeavour to follow tht thread of my feelings, but I cannot tell you all. Often when I plough my low gro'judj 1 place my little bo^ on a chair which fcrews AMERICAN FARMER. ■ 07 fcrews to the beam of the plough — Its motion and that of the horfes pleafe him, he is per- fedly happy and begins to chat. As I lean over the handle, various are the thoughts which croud into my mind. I am now doing for him, I fay, what my father formerly did for me, may God enable him to live that he may perform the fame operations for the fame purpofes when I am worn out and old ! I relieve his mother of fome trouble while I have him with me, the odoriferous furrow exhilarates his fpirits, and feems to do the child a great deal of good, for he looks more blooming fincc I have adopted that pradtice ; can more pleafure, more dignity be added to that primary occlipation ? The father thus ploughing with his child, and to feed his family, is inferior only to the emperor of China ploughing as an example to his kingdom. In the evening when I return home through" my low grounds, 1 am aftonifhed at the myriads of infefls which I perceive dancing in the beams of the fetting fun. I was before fcarcely ac- tjuainted with their exiftence, they are fo fmall that it is difficult to diftinguifli them 5 they are carefully improving this fhorc evening fpace, not daring to expofe themfelves to the blazt of our meridian fun. I never iee an egg brought on my table but I feci penetrated vith the won- derful change it would hav€ undergone but for itiy gluttony $ it might have been a gentle uifc* ful f.\\ I, 10 ,:! ii VM- •ti ii '•ti! vW f' 4¥ m i^i! 28 SITUATION, 5fc. OF AN ful hen leading her chickens ^vitha care and vi- gilance which fpeaks Ih^me to many women. A cock perhaps, arrayed with the moft ma- jeftic plumes, tender to its mate, bold, cou- rageous, endowed v/ith an aftoniftiing inftindl, with thoughts, with memory, and every diftin- guifliing charadleriftic of the reafon of man. I never fee my trees drop their leaves and their fruit in the autumn, and bud again in the fpring, without wonder ; the fagacity of thofe animals which have long been the tenants of my farm aftonilli me : fome of them feem to furpafs even men in memory and fagacity. I could tell you fingular inllances of that kind. What then is this inftindl which we fo debafe, and of which we are taught to entertain fo diminutive an idea ? My bees, above any other tenants of my farm, attratti my attention and refpedt ; I am afto- nifhed to fee that nothing exifts but what has its enemy, one fpecies purfue and live upon the other : unfortunately our kingbirds are the de- ftroyers of thofe induftrious infeds ; but on the other hand, thefe birds preferve our fields from the depredation of crows which they purfue on the w^ing with great vigilance and aftonifhing dexterity. Thus divided by two interefted mo- tives, I have long refilled the defire I had to kill them, until laft year, when I thought they in- creafed too much, and my indulgence had been carried too far -, it was at the time of fwarming ' .> ' when m AMERICAN FARMER. 29 when they all came and fixed themfelves on the neighbouring trees, from whence they catched thofe that returned loaded from the fields. This made me refolve to kill as many as I could, and i was juft ready to fire, when a bunch of bees as big as my fift, ifliied from one of the hives, rufhed on one of the birds, and probably flung him, for he inftantly fcreamed, .; id flew, not as before, in an irregular manner, but in a di- red line. He was followed by the fame bold phalanx, at a confiderable dillance, which un- fortunately becoming too fure of ^'idory, quit- ted theirmilitary array and disbanded themfelves. By this inconfiderate ftep they loft all that ag- I gregate of force which had made the bird fly I ofi^ Perceiving their difbrder he immediately returned and fnapped as many as he wanted j nay he had even the impudence to alight on the very twig from which the bees had drove him. I killed him and immediately opened his craw, from which I took 171 beesfj I laid them all on a blanket in the fun, and to my great furprife 54 returned to life, licked themfelves clean, and joyfully went back to the hive j where they probably informed their companions of fuch an adventure and efcape, as I believe had never happened before to American bees ! I draw a great fund of pleafure from the quails which in- habit my farm; they abundantly repay me, by their various notes and peculiar tamenefs, for the I: I .. ife; i y<; I(»;:t ... ill liK' .•W .1. '1 Ml! " If n > ■ -i- I ■•Hi m rt ' i\i}' 'rip;; I! IKi' a .ta SlTUAllON, &c, OF AN the inviolable hofpltality I conflantly fiiew themi in the winter. Inftead of perfidioufly taking advantage of their great and afFeding dif- trels, when nature offers nothing but a barren univerfal bed of fnow, when irrefift- ible necedity forces them to my barn doors, I permit them to feed unmolefted ; and it is not the leaft agreeable fpe6lacle whicii that dreary feafon prefents, when I fee thofc beautiful birds, tamed by hunger, intermingling with all my cattle and flieep, feeking in fecurity for the poor fcanty grain which but for them would be ufelefs and lofl. Often in the angles of the fences where the motion of the wind pre* vents the fnpw from fettling, I carry them both chaff and grain j the one to feed them, the other to prevent their tender (^Qt from freezing fall to the earth as I have frequently obferved them to do. I do not know an inftance in v/hich the fmgular barbarity of man is fo ftrongly de- iuicated, as in the catcliing. and muythering tboie harmlefs birds, at that cruel feafon of the year. Mr. ****, one of the moil famous and ex- traordinary farmers that has ever done honour to the province of Connedicut, by his timely and humane afiiilance in a hard winter, faved this fpccies from being entirely deftroyed. They perifhed ail over the country, none of their delightful whiftlings were heard the next fpring, but upon this gentleman's farm i and to his humanity AMERICAN FARMER. jf humanity we owe the continuation of their mu- fic. When the feverities of that feafon have dif- piritedallnny cattle, no farmer ever attends them with more pleafure than I do j it is one of thofe duties which is fweetened with the mod rational fatisfaftion. I amufe myfclf in behold- ing their different tempers, adtions, and the va- rious effects of their inftind now powerfully impelled by the force of hunger. I trace their various inclinations, and the different effedbs of their paifions, which are exactly the fame as among men ; the law is to us precifely what I am in my barn yard, a bridle and check to pre- vent the ftrong and greedy, from opprefling the timid and weak. Confcious of fuperiority they always ftrive to cacroach on their neighbours ; unfiitisticd with their portion, they eagerly fwallow it in order to have an opportunity of taking what is given to others, except they are prevented. Some I chide, others, unmindful of my admonitions, receive fome blows. Could victuals thus be given to aien without the afiift- ance of any language, I ani fure they Would not behave better to one another, nor more philofophically than my cattle do. The fame fpirit prevails in the liable j but there I have to do with more generous animals, there my well known voice has immediate influence, and foon reftores peace and tranquillity. Thus by fupe- rior knowledge I govern all my caiUe as v/ifc ;..- I men • I '■■ ill !:fi „•' qfi 'fv;- ■■■' 'lyi '■ In 1 (I i-- n ■■ h'li :► .iii!;i. ■;'■',;;' ■'P ■ 'H i,i; i"' w 3% SITUATION, &c. OF AN men are obliged to govern fools and the igno- rant. A variety of other thoughts croud on my mind at that peculiar inftant, but they all vanifli by the time I return home. If in a cold night I fwiftly travel in my fledge, carried along at the rate of twelve miles an hour, many are the re- flexions excited by furrounding circumftances. lafkmyfelf what fort of an agent is that which we call froft ? Our minifler compares it to needles, the points of which enter sour pores, \yhat isbe- comeofthe heatof the fummer;in what part of the world is it that the N. W. keeps thefe grand magazines of nitre ? when I fee in the morning a river over which I can travel, that in the even- ing before was liquid, I am alloniflied indeed ! What is become of thofe millions of infeds which played in our fummer fields, and in our even- ing meadows j they were fo puny and fo deli- cate, the period of their exiflence was fo fhort, that one cannot help wondering how they could learn, in that fliort fpace, the fublime art to hide themielves and their offspring in fo perfe(ftaman- neras to baffle the rigour ofthefeafon, and preferve that precious embrio of life, that fmall portion of ethereal heat, which if once deflroyed would deltroy the fpecies ! Whence that irrefiftible propenfity to fleep fo common in all thofe who are feverely attacked by the froil. Dreary as this feafon appears, yet it has like all others its miracles, it prcfents to man a variety of pro- - blems m 1 my anifli light It the le re- ,nces. :h we sdles, isbe- ofthe grand •rning even- deed 1 which AMERICAN FARMER. 33 ticms which he can never rcfolve j among the reft, we have here a fet of fmall birds which never appear until the fnow falls j con- trary to all others, they dwell and appear to delio-ht in that clement. It is my bees, however, which afford mc the moft pleafing and extenfive themes s let me look at them when I will, their govern- ment, their induftry, their quarrels, their paf- fions, always prefent me with fomething new ; for which reafon, when weary with labour, my common place of reft is under my locuft- trees, clofe by my bee-houfe. By their move- ments I can predi6t the weather, and can tell the day of their fwarming j but the moft diffi- cult point is, when on the wing, to know whether they want to go to the woods or not. If they have previoufly pitched in fome hol- low trees, it is not the allurements of fait and water, of fennel, hickory leaves, &c. nor the fineft box, that can induce them to ftay ; they will prefer thofe rude, rough habitations to the beft poliftied mahogany hive. When that is the cafe with mine, I feldom thwart their inclinations j it is in freedom that they work : were I to confine them, they would dwindle away and quit their labour. In fuch excurfions we only part for a while ; I am generally fure to find them again the follow- ing fall. This elopement of theirs only adds D to .-''ir i It r . V ' f i : 1 1 i » I i ilfl W ! 1 n ■ i [ 1 ■i i !■!,;■■ ';! r- 1 j • 'i ; ' r ■ 1..,; ■,'';'M ; i ■ f '.:] / ji Situation, &c. of an to mry recreations ; I know how to deceive even their fuperlative inftin6l ; nor do I feaf lofing them, though eighteen miles from my houfc, and lodged in the moft lofty trees, in the mofl impervious of our forefts, I once took yoU along with me in one of thefe rambles, and yet you infifl on my repeating the detail of our operations : it brings back into my mind many of the ufeful and entertaining reflexions with which you fo happily beguiled our tedious hours. After I have done fowing, by way of recre- ation, I prepare for a week's jaunt in the woods, not to hunt either the deer or the bears, as irry neighbours do, but to catch the more harmlefs bees. I cannot boaft that this chafe is fo noble, or fo famous among men, but I find it lefs fatiguing^ and full as profi- table ; and the lail confideration is the only one that moves me. I take with me my dog, as a companion, for he is ufelefs as to this game j my gun, for no man you know ought to enter the woods without one ; my blanket, forr>e provifions, fome wax, vermilion, honey, and a fmall pocket coiTipafs. With thefe im- plements I proceed to fuch woods as are at a confiderable diflance from any fettlements. I carefully examine whether they abound with large trees, if fo, I make a fmall fire on fome ^at (tones, in a convenient places on the fire I put AiMERICAN FARMER. 35 I put fome wax ; clofe by this fire, on another ftone, I drop honey in diftinct drops, which I furround with Imall quantities of vermillion, laid on the ilone j and then I retire carefull/ to watch whether any bees appear. If there are any in that neighbourhood, I reft afTurcd that the fmell of the burnt wax will unavoid- ably attrad them ; they will foon find out the honey, for they are fond of preying on than which is not their own ; and in their approach they will neceflarily tinge themfelves with fome particles of vermillion, which will adhere long to their bodies. I next fix my compafs, to find out their courfe, which they keep in- variably ftrait, when they are returning home loaded. By the afllftance of my watch, I ob- ferve how long thofe are returning which are marked with vermillion. Thus poffefiTed of the courfe, and, in fome meafure, of the di- ftance, which I can eafily guefs at, I follow the firft, and feldom fail of coming to the tree where thofe republics are lodged. 1 then mark it ; and thus, with patience, I have found out fometimes eleven fwarms in a feafon ; and it is inconceivable what a quantity of honey thefe trees will fometimes afford. It entirely depends on the fize of the hollow, as the bees never reft nor fwarm till it is all replenifhed ; for like men, it is only the want of room thac induces them to quit the maf^rnal hive. Next Da I pro- I'll i;: Sifl Ml; :• III Jo i^rni'i' iSli i^'i I" rf/ui 36 SITUATION, &c. OF AN 1 proceed to fome of the neareft fettlements, where I procure proper afliftance to cut down; die trees, get all my prey fee u red, and then return home with my prize. The firfl bees I ever procured were thus found in the woods, by mere accident ; for at that time I had no kind of flcill in this method of tracing them. The body of the tree being perfeftly found, they had lodged themfelves in the hollow of one of its principal limbs, which I carefully fawed off and with a good deal of labour and induftry brought it home, where I fixed it up again in the fame pofition in which I found it growing. This was in April ; I had five fwarms that year, and they have been ever fince, very profperous. This bufmefs gene- rally takes up a week of my time every fall, snd tQ me it is a week of folitary eafe and re- laxation. • The feed is by that time committed to the ground; there is nothing very mattiiai to do at home, and this additional quantity of honey enables me to be more generous to my home bees, and my wife to make a due quan- tity of mead. -The reafon. Sir, that you-found 'min^ better than that of others is, 'Qi'^'rtife puts two gallons of brandy in each barrel, which ripens it, and takes off that fweet, lufcious talle, which it is apt to return a long time. If we find any wheie in the woods (no mat- ter AMERICAN FARMER. 37 ter on whofe land) what is called a bee-tree, we mult mark itj in the fall of the year when / we propofe to cut it down, our duty is to in- 1 form tlie proprietor of the land, who is entitled to half the contents; if this is not complied with we are expofcd to an adlion of trefpafs, as well as he who fhould go and cut down a bee- tree which he had neither found out nor marked. ' • We have twice a year the pleafure of catch- ing pigeons, whofe numbers are fometimcs fo aftonifhing as toobfcure the fun in their flight. Where is it that they hatch ? for fuch multi- tudes mufl: require an immenfe quantity of food. I fancy they breed toward the plains of Ohio, and thofe about lake Michigan, which abound in wild oats j though I have never kil- led any that had that grain in their craws. In one of them, lad year, I found fome undigcfled rice. Now the neareft rice fields from where I live, mufl: be at leafl: 560 miles ; and either their digefl:ion mufl: be fufpended while they are flying, or elfe they mufl: fly with the celerity of the wind. We catch them with' a net ex- tended on the ground, to which they are allured by what we call tame wild pigeons ^ fTrade~blindjJ^_ -and fafl:ened to a long fl:ring ; his fliort flights, | and his repeated calls, never fail to bring them I down. Ihe greatefl: number I ever catched was fourteen dozen, though much larger quan- D 3 titics m-i ■\ ■ ii ■:^tl ( 3S SITUATION, &c. OF AN titles have often been trapped. I have fre- quently feen them at the market fo cheap, that for a penny you might have as many as you could carry away -, and yet from the extreme cheapnefs you muft not conclude, that they are but an ordinary food ; on the contrary, I. tliink they are excellent. Every farmer has a tame wild pigeon in a cage at his door all the year round, in order to be ready whenever the feafon comes for catching them. The pleafure I receive from the warblings of the birds in the fpring, is fuperior to my poor defcription, as the continual fuccelTion of their tuneful notes is for ever new to me. I generally rife from bed about that indiftinfb interval, which, properly Ipeaking, is neither night nor day ; for this is the moment of the moft univerfal vocal choir. Who can lifien unmoved, to the fweet love tales of our robins, told from tree to tree ? or to the fhrill cat birds ? The fubltrrie accents of the thrulh from on high, always retard my fleps that T may liflen to the delicious mufic. The vari- egated appearances of the dew drops, as they hang to the different objedls, muft prefent even to a clownifh imagination, the moft volup- tuous ideas. The aftonifhing art which all birds difplay in the conftrudbion of their nefts, ill provided as we may iippofe them with proper tools, their neatnefs, their convenience^ always — ■ > , ' ' • • ' • make jiji, ill." --AMERICAN FARMER. 39 niake me afliamed of the flovenlinefs of our houfes i their loye tQ their dame, their incef- ^ant careful attention, and the peculiar fongs they addrefs to her while Ihe tedioufly incu- bates their eggs, remind me of my duty could i ever forget it. Tlieir affection to their help- Jefs little ones, is a lively precept j and in Ihort, the whole oeconomy of what we proudly call the brute creation, is admirable in every cir- cun^ilance j and vain man, though adorned with the additional gift of realbn, might learn from the perfeAion of inftin6t, how to regulate the follies, and how to temper the errors which this fecond gift often makes him commit. This is a fubjed, on which I have often be- ftowcd the moft ferious thoughts -, I have often blulhed within myfelf, and been greatly afto- nilhed, when I have compared the unerring path they all follow, all juft, all proper, all wife, up to the necefiary degree of perfedion, with the coarfe, the imperfedt fyftems of men, not merely as governours and kings, but as ma- ilers, as hufbands, as fathers, as citizens. But this is a fanduary in which an ignorant far- iner mufc not prefume to enter. If ever man was permitted to receive and enjoy fome blef- fings that might alleviate the many Ibrrows to which he is expofed, it is certainly in the country, when he attentively confiders thofe ravifhing fcenes with which he is every where P4 i^Jr- \ % \ ,5.. ;:i '■'.. - ■■•■ ^1 m ,1, .•, Wm . : ;•!■ ''i i ¥,3 rli jit 'N;^:!!. iii'lv- 111 l..t! . . :«„ -IP:' It! '» 1 I 40 SITUATION, &c. OF AN furrounded. This is the only time of the year in which I am avaricious of every moment, I therefore lofe none that can add to this fimplc and inoffenfive happinefs. I roam early throughout all my fields j not the leaft opera- tion do I perform, which is not accompanied with the mod pleafing obfervations j were I to extend them as far as I have carried them, I ihould become tedious ; you would think me guilty of affedation, and I ihould perhaps re- prefent many things as pleafurable from which you might not perhaps receive the leaft agree- able emotions. But, believe me, what I write is all true and real. Some time ago, as I fat fmoaking a con- templative pipe in my piazza, I faw with amazement a remarkable inftance of felfifh- nefs difplayed in a very fmall bird, which I had hitherto refpeded for its inoffenfivenefs. Three ncfts were placed almoft contiguous to each other in my piazza : that of a fwallow was affixed in the corner next to the houfe, that of a phebe in the other, a wren poflTefled a little box which I had made on purpofe, and hung between, Be not furprifed at their tame- nefs, all my family had long been taught to refpc(5t them as v/eil as myfelf. The wren had ihev/n before figns of diflike to the box which I had given it, but I knew not on what ac- ppunt i at laft it refolved, fmall as it was, to drive AMERICAN FARMER. 41. drive the fwallow from its own habitation, and to my very great fiirprife it fucceeded. Im- pudence often gets the better of modefty, and this exploit was no fooner performed, than it removed every material to its own box with the moft admirable dexterity ; the figns of tri- umph appeared very vifible, it fluttered its wings with uncommon velocity, an univerfal joy was perceiveable in all its movements. Where did this little bird learn that fpirit of injuflice ? It was not endowed with what wc term reafon ! Here then is a proof that both thofe gifts border very near on one another ; for we fee the perfedtion of the one mixing with the errors of the other ! The peaceable fwallow like the paffive Quaker, meekly fat at a fmall diftance and never offered the leaft refinance ; but no fooner was the plunder car- , ried away, than the injured bird \vent to work with unabated ardour, and in a few days the depredations were repaired. To prevent how- ever a repetition of the fame violence, I re- moved the wren*s box to another part of the houfe. /' In the middle of my parlour I have, y;-.'!.„?ll !.:4 a i! ■!?^l 'I ■yM ■' ■:, ri,, fl.i'li I- r Mi :i*;''-j *" ;i!l''^- I'll; .;iti. 48 WflAT IS AN AMERICAN. faving the unlettered magillrate. There he Tees a parfon as fimple as his flock, a farmer tvho does not riot on the labour of others. "We have no princes, for v/hom we toil, ftarvc, and bleed : wc arc the moft perfed fociety now exiftin.q; in the world. Plere man is free as he ought to be s nor is this pleafing equality fo tranfitory as many others are. Many ages will not fee the fhores of our great lakes re- plenifhed with inland nations, nor the un- known bounds of North America entirely peopled. Who can tell how far it extends ? Who can tell the millions of men whom it will feed and contain ? for no European foot has as yet travelled half the extent of this mighty continent I The next wifh of this traveller will be to know whence came all thefe people ^ they are a mixture of Englifh, Scotch, Irifh, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes. From this pro- mifcuous breed, that race now called Americans have arifen. The eaftern provinces muft indeed be excepted, as being the unmixed defcendents of Englifhmen. I have heard many wifh that they had been more intermixed alfo : for my part, I am no v/ifher, and think it much better as it has happened. They exhibit a moft con- fpicuous figure in this great and variegated pidurcj they too enter for a great fhare in the pleafing perfpedive difplayed in thefe 5 thirteen WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. 49 thirteen provinces. I know it is fafliionablc to reflect on them, but I rcfpccft them for v/hiit they have done ; for the acciAracy and willlom with which they have fettled their territory ; for the decency of their manners ; for their early love of letters j their ancient college, the firft in this hemifpliere i for their induftry ; vvliich to me who am but a farmer, is the cri- terion of every thing. There never was apeo* pie, fituated as they are, who with fo ungrate- ful a foil have done more in fo ihort a time. Do you think that the monarchical ingredients ' which are more prevalent in other govern- ments, have purged them from all foul flains ? Their hillories alfert tlie contrary. In this great American afylum, the poor of Europe have by fomc means met together, and in confequence of various caufes j to what pur- pofe fhould they afk one another what coun- trymen they are ? Alas, two thirds of them had no country. Can a wretch who wanders about, who works and (larves, whofe life is a continual fcene of fore affliflion or pinching penury ; can that man call England or any other kingdom his country ? A country that had no bread for him, whofe fields procured him no harveft, who met with nothing but the frowns of the rich, the feverity of the laws, with jails and puniihments j who owned not a fingle foot of the extenfive furface of this E planet ? 50 WHAT IS AN AM:ERICAN. " ■ I Mi ■r;»ii 4 \m n .:l,:'' 1..- m-t Ki ^m 'V ■It' ■ S|i':,Ji planet ? No ! urged by a variety of motlv&L, - here they came. Every thing has tended to regenerate them ; new laws^ a new mode of living, a nesv focial fyftem ; here they are be- ^ come men : in Europe they were as To many i lifelefs plants, wanting vegitative mould, and refrefliing fhowersi they withered, and were ; mowed down by want, hunger, and war ; bur now by the power of tranfplantation, like all other plants they have taken root and flourifhed ! Formerly they were not numbered in any civil lifts of their country, except in thofe of the poor ; here they rank as citizens. By what in- vifible power has this furprifing metamorphofis been performed? By that of the laws and that of their induftry. The laws, the indulgent lav/s, prote6t them ac they arrive, ftamping on them the fymbol of adoption ; they receive ample rewards for their labours ; thefe accumulated rewards procure them lands j thofe lands con- fer on them 'the title of freemen, and to that title every benefit is affixed which men can poflibly require^ This is the great operation^ daily performed by our la./s. From whence proceed thefe laws ? From our government. Wlicnce that government ? It is derived from the original genius and ftrong defire of the people ratified and confirmed by the crown. This is the great chain which links us all, thi.^i is the pidure which every province exhibits,. Navu' •it^.. WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. 51 Nova Scotia excepted. There the crown has done all ; either there were no people who had genius, or it was not much attended to : the confequence is, that the province is very thinly inhabited indeed ; the power of the crown in conjundlion with the mufketos has prevented men from fettling there. Yet feme parts of it flouriflied once, and it contained a mild harmlefs fet of people. But for the fault of a few leaders, the whole were banifhed. The greateft political error the crown ever com- mitted in America, was to cut off men from a country which wanted nothing but men ! What attachment can a poor European emi- grant have for a country where he had no- thin"; ? The knowledore of the lano;ua2;e, the love of a few kindred as poor as himfelf, were the only cords that tied him : his country is now that which gives him land, bread, pro- teflion, and confequence : Ubi pants ihi patriae is the motto of all cmis-rants. What then is the American, this new man ? Fie is either an European, or the defccndant of an European, hence that ftrange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country. I could point out to you a family whofe grandfather was an Englifliman, whofe wife was Dutch, • whofe fon married a French woman, and whofe prefent four fons have now four v/ives of dif- ferent nations. He is tin American, who leav- E 2 ing \ ■& ■'!.:'■' i'ii ■ H:.'); Ifi WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. ing behind him all his ancient prejurlices and nrianners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new go- vernment he obeys, and the new rank he holds. He becomes an American by being received in the broad lap of our great y^ima Mater. Here individuals of all nations are melted irito a new race of men, whofe labours and polleri- ty will one day caufe great changes in the world. Americans are die weftern pilgrims, •who are carrying along with them that great mafs of arts, fciences, vigour, and induitry which began long fince in the eail j they will finifhthe great circle. The Americans were once l^attered all over Europe j here they are incor- porated into one of the fineft fyflems of popu- lation which has ever appeared, and which will hereafter become diflinft by the power of the different climates tliey inhabit. The American ought therefore to love this country much better than that wherein either he or his fore- fathers were lx)rn. Here the rewards of his in- duftry follow with equal- fleps the progrefs of his labour;, his labour is founded oa the bafis of natuvcy /elf 'interefl i can it want a ftronger allurement ? Wives and children, who bc- fore in vain demanded of him a morfcf of bread, now, fat and frolickfome, gladly help their father to clear thole fields whence exube- rant crops ve to arife to feed and to clothe them go- lds. ved iter. iato teri- the •ims, 3-reat uftry r will once ncor- 3opu- h will f the rican much fore- is in- efs of bafis onger a bc- fct of help xube- clothc them WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. " 53 thtm all; without any part being claimed, either by a defpotic prince, a rich abbot, or a mighty lord. Here religion demands but little of him ; a fmall voluntary falary to the minifler, and gratitude to God ; can he refufe thefe ? The American is a new man, who a6ls irpon new principles ; he mud therefore enter- tain new ideas, and form new opinions. From involuntary idlenefs, fervile dependence, penury, and ufelefs labour, he has pafled to toils of a very different nature, rewarded by ample fub- fiftence. — This is an American, • BritiOi America is divided into many pro- ' vinces, forming a large aflbciation, fcattered along a coaft 1500 miles extent and about 200 wide. This fociety I would fain examine, at leall fuch as it appears in the middle provinces 5 if it does not afford that variety of tinges and gradations which may be obferved in Europe, we have colours peculiar to ourfclves. For » inftance, it is natural to conceive that thofe who \ live near the fea, muft be very different from thofe who live in the woods j the interme- diate fpace will afford a feparate and diftindt clafs. > Men are like plants ; the goodnefs and fla- vour of the fruit proceeds from the peculiar .foil and expofition in which they grow. We are nothing but what we derive from the air we breathe, the climate we inhabit, the go^ E 3 vernment ^h' ■■'■■ ■ m I if m llr'; i^i :• H r , ■ All 1 f ll fi - ■,. ■■ 1-' ^I'l p ■'■':■ ii?V5i^;« 54 WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. vernment we obey, the fyftcm of religion we profefs, and the nature of our employment. Here you will find but few crimes ; thefe have acquired as yet no root among us. I wifh I were able to trace ail my ideas -, if my igno- rance prevents me from defcribing them pro- perly, I hope I fliall be able to delineate a few of the outlines, which are all I propofe. Thofe who live near the fea, feed more on fifh than on flefh, and often encounter that boifterous element. This renders them more bold and enterprifing ; this leads them to neg- le6b the confined occupations of the land. They fee and converfe with a variety of peo- ple ; tiieir intercourfe with mankind becomes cxtenfive. The fea infpires them with a love of traffic, a defirc of tranfporting produce from one place to another ; and leads them to a variety of refources which fupply the place of labour. Thole who inhabit the mid- dle fettlements, by far the mofl numerous, muft be very different ; the fimple cultivation of the earth purifies them, but the indulgences of the government, the loft remonftrances of religion, the rank of independent freeholders, mufl neceffarily infpire them with fentiments, very little known in Europe among people of the fame clafs. What do I fay ? Europe h s no fuch clafs of men ; the early knowledge they acquire, the early bargains they make, : , . ■ . .-. give l^^HAT IS AN AMERICAN. 55 ■give them a great degree of fagacity. As free- n:cn they will be litigious j pride and obftinacy are often the caufe of law fuits ; the nature of our laws and governments may be another. As citizens it is eafy to imagine, that they will -carefully read the newfpapers, enter into every political difquifition, freely blame or cenfure governors and others. As farmers they will he careful and anxious to set as much as they can, becaufe what they get is their own. As northern men they will love the chearful cup. As Chriftians, religion curbs them not in their opinions; the general indulgence leaves ■every one to think for themfclves in fpiritual matters ; the laws infpect our a6lions, our thoughts arc left to God. Induftry, good Jiving, fclfifnnefs, litigioufncfs, country poli- tics, the pride of freemen, rclicrious indiffe- rence, are their charadcriitics. If you recede ftill farther from the fea, you will come into .more modern fettlements ; they exhibit the iame firong lineaments, in a ruder appearance. -Religion feems to have Rill iefs influence, and their manners are lefs improved. Now we arrive near the great v/oods, near the laft inhabited diftricts ; there men feem to be placed fliii farther beyond tlie reacii of government, which in fome meafure leaves them to themfelvcs. How can it pervade every corner 5 as tjiey were di-ivcn tlierc by E ^ mis- Wl'^ I I:- m ■ .' '"■• ''M' |;''"'!../i-i|i:i 1. 1 i,.,.-. '; .... Hi 1 I I :.'.. '. i »■:.-■ •■■ ,.r : d}. J :.ll.. ■ '-1 ; 1 ' ; ';■ 56 WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. misfortunes, ncceflity of beginnings, defire of acquiring large tracks of land, idlencfs, fre- quent want of oeconomy, ancient debts ; the re-union of fuch people does not afford a very pleafing fpeftacle. When difcord, want of unity and friendfhip ; when either drunken- nefs or idlenefs prevail in fuch remote diilri6ls 5 contention^ ina6livity, and wretcliednefs muft enfue. There are not the fame remedies to thcfe evils as in a long eftablilhed community. The few magiftrates they have, are in general little better than the reft ; they are often in a perfect ftate -of war J that of man againft man, fome- times decided by blows, fometimes by means of the law ; that of man againft every wild in- habitant of thefe venerable woods, of which they are come to difpoflefs them. There men appear to be no better than carnivorous ani- mals of a fuperior rank, living on the flefti of wild animals when they can catch them, and when they are not able, they fubfift on grain. He who would wifh to fee America in its pro- per light, and have a true idea of its feeble beginnings and barbarous rudiments, muft vifit our extended line of frontiers where the laft fettlers dwell, and where he may fee the firft labours of fcttlement, the mode of clearing the earth, in all their different appearances ; where men are wholly left dependent on their native tempers^ and on the fpur of uncertain induftry, which WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. 57 which often fails when notfandified by the effi- cacy of a few moral rules. There, remote from the powerof example, and check of fhame, many families exhibit the mod hideous parts of our fociety. They are a kind of forlorn hope, preced- ing by ten or twelve years the moft refpeftable army of veterans which come after them. In that fpace, profperity will polilh fome, vice and the law will drive off the reft, who uniting again with others like thcmfelves will recede ftill farther; making room for more induftrious people, who will finilh their improvements, convert the loghoufe into a convenient habi- tation, and rejoicing that the firfl heavy la- bours are finilhed, will change in a few years that hitherto barbarous country into a fine fer- tile, well regulated diftrifb. Such is our pro- grefs, fuch is the march of the Europeans toward the interior parts of this continent. In all focieties there are off-cads j this impure part ferves as our precurfors or pioneers j my father himfelf was one of that clafs, but he came upon honeft principles, and was there- fore one of the few who held faft ; by good conduct and temperance, he tranfmitted to me his fair inheritance, when not above one in fourteen qf his cotemporaries had the fame good fortune. Forty years ago this fmiling country was thu3 inhabited j it is now purged, a general ^ decency . * ,! ■; ■ ■ Its rin 5S WHAT IS AN AMERICAN, decency of manners prevails throughout, and fuch has been the fate of our bed countries. Exclufive of thcie general charafteriftics, each province has its own, founded on the go- vernment, climate, mode of hufbandry, cu- floms, and peculiarity of circumftances. Eu- ropeans fubmit infenfibly to thefe great powers, and become, in the courfe of a few genera- tions, not only Americans in general, but either Penfylvanians, Virginians, or provincials under fome other name. Whoever travel fes the continent mufl eafily obferve thofe flrong differe' :es, which will grow more evident in time^ The inhabitants of Canada, Maflachu- fet, the middle provinces, the fouthern ones will be as different as their clirlhates ; their only points of unity will be thofe of religion and language. As I have endeavoured to Hiev/ you how Europeans become Americans ; it may not be difagreeable to fliev/ you likewi(e how the various Chriftian fe6ls introduced, wear out, and how religious indifference becomes prevar lent. When any confiderable number of a particular fcS: happen to dwell contiguous to each other, they immediately ere<5t a temple, and there worfhip the Divinity agreeably to their own peculiar ideas. Nobody difturbs them. If any nev/ fe6t fprings up in Europe, it may happen that many of its profeifors will / - '*'" come WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. 59 come and fettle in America. As they* bring their zeal with them, they are at liberty to make profelytes if they can, and to build a meeting and to follow the didlates of their eonfciences j for neither the government nor any other power interferes. If they are peace- able fubjefts, and arc induftrioiis, what is it to tiieir neighbours how and in what manner they think fit to addrefs their prayers to the Supreme Being ? But if the fecT:aries are not fettled clofe together, if they are mixed with other denominations, their zeal will cool for want of fuel, and will be extinguiflied in a lit- tle time. Then the Americans become as to religion, what they are as to country, allied to all. In them the name of Englifliman, Frenchman, and European is loft, and in like manner, the ftri6l modes of Chriilianity ^ pradifed in Europe are loft alfo. This effeft will extend itfelf ftill farther hereafter, and though this may appear to you as a ftrange idea, yet it is a very true one. I fliall be able perhaps hereafter to explain myfelf better, in the mean while, let the following example fervc as my firft juftification. \ Let us fuppofe you and I to be travelling; weobferve that in this home, to the right, lives a Catholic, who prays to God as he has been taught, and believes in tranfubftantion j he works and raifes whevai, he has a large family ,,» ^i \ TfO WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. P it. -: I'; :■ ill ... 4. . 1 •'■ ' ■ -. if I :l| , ; ;■■' ^ . " i ■jj iil 'I 1 i " . i " ■•■ :^| :.;:;: ' 41 ;:■,:■'. JH '>.-,, . i im ' of children, all hale and robuft j his belief, his prayers offend nobody. About one mile far- ther on the fame road» his next neighbour may be a good honeft plodding German Lutheran, who addreffes himfelf to the faipe God, the God of all, agreeably to the modes he has been educated in, and believes in confubftantiation ; by fo dojng he fcandalizes nobody ; he alfo works in his fields, cmbellirties the earth, clears fwamps, &c. What has the world to do with his Lutheran principles ? He perfe- cutes nobody, and nobody perfecutes him, he vifits his neighbours, and his neighbours vifit him. Next to him lives a feceder, the mofl enthufiaflic of all fedaries ; his zeal is hot and fiery, but feparated as he is from othersof the fame complexion, he has no congregation of his own to refort to, where he might cabal and mingle religious pride with worldly obftinacy. He likewife raifes good crops, his houfe is handfomely painted, his orchard is one of the faireft in the neighbourhood. How does it concern the welfare of the country, or of the province at large, what this man's religious fentiments are, or really whether he has any at all ? He is a good farmer, he is a fober, peaceable, good citizen : William Penn hirn- ieJf would not wilh for more. This is the vifible charader, the invifible one is only guefted at, and is nobody's bufinefs. Next ^gaia WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. 61 •ao-ain lives a Low Dutchman, who implicitly believes the rules laid down by the fynod of Dort. He conceives no other idea of a clergy- man than that of an hired man ; if he does his work well he, will pay him the (lipulated fum;. if not he will difmifs him, and do without his fermons, and let his church be (liut up for years. But notwithftanding this coarfe idea, you will find his houfe and farm to be the neatefb in all the country ; and you will judge by his waggon and fat horfes, that he thinks more of the affairs of this world thanof thofe of the next. He is fober and laborious, therefore he is ail he ought to be as to the affairs of this life ; as for thofe of the next, he mull truft to the great Creator. Each of thefe people in- ftrudt their children as well as they can, but thefe inftrudions are feeble compared to thofe which are given to the youth of the pooreft clafs in Europe. Their children will therefore grow up lefs zealous and more indifferent in matters of religion than, their parents. The foolilh vanity, or rather the fury of making Profelytes, is unknown here -, they have no time, the fea- fons call for all their attention, and thus in a few years, this mixed neighbourhood will ex- hibit a ftrange religious medley, that will be neither pure Catholicifm nor pure Calvinifm. A very perceptible indifference even in the firft generation, v^ill become apparent ; and it mav .happen that the daughter of the Catholic will marry M I 'I ,' 1 I ''■■• ' ' i'- ■ ^ '-\i\ t ; fj '^■:\ \ ; ■it "i 1 \t^:;- ".' p ll 1 m 1 ||."-::'i i'' ll;;,^ >JI 62 WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. marry the ion of the feccder, and fettle by them- felves an a diflance: from their parents. What religious education will they give their children ? A very imperfed one. If there happens to be ' in the neighbourhood any place of worfliip, we will fuppofe a Quaker's meeting; rather than not fhew their fine clothes, they will go to it, and fome of them may perhaps attach them- felves to that fociety. Others will remain in a perfedl Hate of indifference ; the children of thefe zealous parents will not be able to tell what their religious- principles are, and their ^ grandchildren Hill lefs. The neighbourhood of a place of worlhip generally leads them to it, and the adlion of going thither, is the ftrdngeft evidence they can give of their attachment to any fed. The Quakers are the only people who retain a fondnefs for their own mode of worfliip ; for be they ever fo far feparated from each other, they hold a fort of communion with the fociety, and feldom depart from its rules, at lead in this country. Thus all fefts are mixed as well as ail nations ; thus religious indifference is imperceptibly diffeminated from one end of the continent to the other ; which is at prefent one of the ffrongeft chara£i:erillicr» of che Americans. Where this will reach no one can tell, perhaps it may leave a vacuum fit to receive other fyffems. Perfecution, reli- gious pride, the love of contradi6lion, are the food of what the world commonly calls reli- / gion. ^5 1 1 WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. 63 gion. Thefe motives have ceafjd here ; zeal in Europe is confined ; here i: evaporates in the great diftance it has to travel ; there it is a grain of powder inclofed, here it burns away in the open air, and confiime? without effed:. But to return to our b:ici<: fettlers. I muft tell you, that there is fornething in the proxi- mity of the woods, which is very fingular. It is with men as it is with the plants and animals that grow and live in the forefts ; they are en- tirely different from thofe that live in the plains. I will candidly tell you all my thoughts but you are not to expecfl that I fhall advance any reafons. By living in or near the woods, their aftions are regulated by the wildnefs of the neighbourhood. The deer often come to eat their grain, the wolves to deflroy their llieep, the bears to kill their hogs, the foxes to catch their poultry. This furrounding hof- tility, immediately puts the gun into their hands ; they watch thefe animals, they kill fome J and thus by defending their property, they foon "become profefled hunters ; this is the progrefs ; once hunters, farewell to the plough. The chafe, renders them ferocious, "V gloomy, and unfociable j a hunter wants nO' neighbour, he rather hates them, becaufe he dreads the competition. In a little time their fuccefs in the woods m.akes them negledl their tillage. They truil to the natural fecundity 2 < of ft, 1 m I'M'-- !||| f'li/ 64 WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. of the earth, and therefore do little ; carelefiT- nefs in fencing, often expofes what little they fow to deftrudion i they are not at home to watch ; in order therefore to make up the de- ficiency, they go oftencr to the woods. That new mode of life brings along with it a nc\; fet of manners, which I cannot eafily defcribe. Thefe new manners being grafted on the old ilock, produce a flrange fort of lawlefs profli- gacy, the imprcflions of which are indelible. The manners of the Indian natives are refpe6t- able, compared with this European medley. Their wives and children live in floth and in- a(5livity ; and having no proper purfuits, you may judge what education the latter receive. Their tender minds have nothing elfe to con- template but the example of their parents ; like them they grow up a mongrel breed, half civilized, half favage, except nature (lamps on them fome conftitutional propenfities. That rich, that voluptuous fentiment is gone which ftruck them fo forcibly s tiie pofTcflion of their freeholds no longer convc"" to their minds the iame pleafure and prade. 'i o all thefe reafons you mud add, their lonely fituation, and you cannot imagine what an efFedb on manners the great diflanccs they live from each other has I Confider one of the lafl fettlements in it's firll: view : of what is it compofed ? Europeans who have not that lufiicient (hare of knowledge they Ill WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. 65 tliey ought to have, in order to profper ; peo- ple who have fuddenly pafTed from opprefTion, dread of go\ crnment, and fear of laws, into the unlimited freedom of the woods. 7"hls fudden change muft have a very great effefl on moll men, and on that clafs particularly. Eating of wild meat, whatever you may think, tends to alter their temper j though all the proof I can adduce, is, that I have feen it : and having no place of worfliip to refort to, what little fociety this might afford, is denied them. The Sunday meetings, exclufive of religious benefits, were the only focial bonds that might have infpired them with fome degree of emu- lation in neatnefs. Is it then furprifing to fee men thus fituated, immerfed in great and heavy labours, degenerate a little ? It is rather a wonder the effe6l is not more diffufive. The Moravians and the Quakers are the only in- ftances in exception to what I have advanced. The firll never fettle fingly, it is a colony of the fociety which emigrates -, they carry with them their forms, worfhip, rules, and decency : the others never begin fo hard, they are always able to buy improvements, in which there is a great advantage, for by that time the coun- try is recovered from its firfl barbarity. Thus c^r bad people are thofe who are half culti- vators and half hunters -, and the word of them are thofe who have degenerated altogether into .i' •■i fn Wf F the 't, :■■ W'U M I:.- "i::. ■ .'1 i. 'li; t ^■■' 15 ' ff it !H.!| li ^l^'^i: H :|!.:il! 66 WHAT IS AN AMERICAl^.. the hunting (late. As old ploughnnen and new men of the woods, as Europeans and new made Indians, they contrad the vices of both;, they adopt the morofenefs and ferocity of a. native,, without his mildnefs, or even his ia- duftry at home. If manners are not refined^ at leaft they are rendered fimple and innofFenfivc by tilling die earth j all our wants are fupplied by it, our time is divided between labour and reft, and leaves none for the commiflion of great mifdeeds. As hunters it is divided be- tween the toil of the chafe, the idlenefs of repofe, or the indulgence of inebriation. Hunt- ing is but a licentious idle life, and if it does not always pervert good difpofitions j yet, when it is united with bad luck, it leads to want : want Itimulates that propenfity to rapacity and in- juKllce, too natural to needy men, which is the fatal gradation.. After this explanation of the ef- fects which follow hy living in the woods, fhall we yet vainly flatter ourfelves with the hope of converting the Indians ? We fhould rather be- gin with converting our back-fettlers ; and now if i dare mention the name of religion, its fweet accents would be loft in the immenfity of thefe woods. Men thus placed, are not fit either to receive or remember its mild inftruc- tions ; they want temples and minifters, hvg, as foon as men ceafe to remain at home, and begin to lead an erratic life, let them be either i i— ■ WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. 67 fekher tawny or white, they ceafe to be its difciples. Thus have I faintly and imperfedlly endea- voured to trace our fociety from the fea to our woods; yet you muft not imagine that every perfon who moves back, adls upon the fame principles, or falls into the fame dege- neracy. Many families carry with them all their decency of condudl, purity of morals, and refpedl of religion j but thefe are fcarce, the power of example is fometimes irrefiftable. Even among thefe back-fettlers, their depravity is greater or lefs, according to what nation or province they belong. Were I to adduce proofs of this, I might be accufed of partiality. If there happens to be fome rich intervals, Ibme fertile bottoms, in thofe remote diftrids, the people will there prefer tilling the land to hunting, and will attach themfelves to it j but even on thefe fertile fpots you may plainly per- ceive the inhabitants to acquire a great de- gree of rufticity and felfifhnefs. It is in confequence of this ftraggling fitua- tion, and the aftonifhing power it has on man- ners, that the back-fettlers of both the Caro- linas, Virginia, and many other parts, have bqi^n long a fet of lawlefs people i it has been even dangerous to travel among them. Go- vernment can do nothing in lb extenfive a country, better it Ihould wink at thefe irregu- F 2 iarities. Jl ■ I i ■'. m:.-' II : ■ M I «8 WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. hrities, than that it fhould ufe means incon'- fiftent with its ufual miklnefs. Time will ef- face thofe ftains : in proportion as the great body of population approaches them they will reform, and become poliflied and fubordinate. Whatever has been fuid of the four New- England provinces, no luch degeneracy of manners has ever tarnillied their annals ; their back-fettlers have been kept within the bounds of decency, and government,, by means of wife laws, and by the influence of religion. What a deteftable idea fuch people muft have given tothe natives of the Eu ropeans ! They trade with them, the word of people are permitted to do that which none but perfons of the beft cha- ra6ters fhould be employed in. They get drunk with them, and often defraud the Indians. Their avarice, removed from the eyes of their fupe- riors, knows no bounds j and aided by a little fuperiority of knowledge, thefe traders deceive them, and even fometimes llied blood. Hence thofe fliocking violations, thofe fudden dev^- ftations which have fo often ftained our fron- tiers, when hundreds of innocent people have been facrificed for the crimes of a few. It was in confequence of fuch behaviour, that the Indians tjok the hatchet acrainft the Virginians in 1774. Thus are our firft: fleps trod, thus are our firft trees felled, in general, by the moft vicious of our people j and thus the path is opened ■-M WHAT IS AN AMERICAN.' 69. «pened for the arrival of a fecond and better, clafs, the true American freeholders j .the moft refpedable fet of people in this part of the world : refpectabk for their indullry, their happy independence, the great fliare of freedom they polTefs, the good regula- tion of their families, and for extending. the trad-e aiid the dominion of our mother <:ountry. , ., Europe contains hardly any other diftindiorts but lords and tenants -, this fair country alone is fettled by freeholders, the pofTelTors of the foil they cultivate, members of the government they obey, and the framers of their own laws, fey means of th^ir reprjefentatives. This is a thought which you have taught me to_ cherifh ; our diftance from Europe, far from, diminifhing, rather adds to our ufefulnefs and confequence as men and fubje£ts. Had out: forefathers remained there, they would only- have crouded it, and perhaps prolonged thofe. convulfions which had fhook it fo long. Every induftrious European who tranfports himfelf here, may be compared to a fprout growing, at the foot of a great tree j it enjoys and draws but a little portion of fap j wrench it from the parent roots, tranfplant it, and it will become a tree bearing fruit alfo. Colonifts are there- fore intitled to the confideration due tothf, aioll ufeful fubjedsi a hundred families barely i^ .WW 5 «. -•* i F 3 ex- n pi i .a iiitti j ; ! i ■ ,i^'f /iV 'I .-f- m .ri?n' / 7<5 WHA-f IS AN AMERICAN. cxifting in fome parts of Scotland, will here in fix years, caufe an annual exportation of io,ooa bujfhels of wheat : loo bufhels being but a com- mon quantity for an induftrious family to fell, if they cultivate good land. It is here then that the idle may be employed, the uffelefs become ufeful, and the poor become richj but by riches I do not mean gold and filver, we have but little of thofe metals ; I mean a better fort of wealth, cleared lands, cattle, good houfes, good cloathsj and an increafe of people to enjoy them. ' ' There is no wonder that this country has fo many charms, and prefents to Europeans fo many temptations to remain in it. A traveller in Europe becomes a ftranger as foon as ho quits his own kingdom ; but it is otherwife here. We know, properly fpeaking, no* ftrangers ; this is every perfon's country j the variety of our foils, fituations, climates, governments, and pro- duce, hath fomething which mufl pleafe every body. No fooner does an European arrive, no matter of what condition, than his eyes are opened upon the fair profped ; he hears his language fpoke, he retraces many of his own country manners, he pei*petua]ly hears the names of families and towns with which he i^ acquainted j he fees happinefs and prolperity in all places difleminated ; he meets with hof* pitality, kindnefs, and plenty every where : ^ WHAT IS ATSr AMEIIICAN. 71 ;he beholds hardly any poor, he feldom hears of * punifliments and executions'; ^d he wonders at * the elegance of our towns, thofe miracles of induftry and freedom. He cannot admire enough our rural diftri(5ts, our convenient roadsj'good taverns, and our many accommoda- tions J he involuntarily loves a country where every thing is fo lovely. When in England, be was a mere Englifliman ; here he ftands on a larger portion of the globe, not lefs t;han its fourth part, and may fee the produc- tions of the north, in iron and naval (lores ; the provifions of Ireland, the grain of Egypt* the indigo, the rice of China. He does not find, as in Europe, a crouded fociety, where every place is over-ftocked j he does not feel that perpetual collifion of parties, that difficulty of beginning, that contention which overfets fo many. There is room for every body in . America ; has he any particular talent, or in- duftry? he exerts it in order to procure a live- lihood, and it fucceeds. Js he a merchant ? the avenues of trade arc infinite ; is he eminent in any refpe6t? he will be employed and refpedted. Does he love a country life ? pleafant farms pre- fent themfelves ; he may purchafe what he vants, and thereby become an American far* nrier. Is he a labourer, fober and induftrious ? he need not go many miles^ nor receive many informations before he will be hired, well fed F4 at .t-' ■Vri'- •'ct' *! m I ■, • '',- 1' , " lt.'-» 1 }\f. 72 WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. at the tabic of his employer, and paid four, or five times more than he can get in Europe. Does he want uncultivated lands ? thqufands of acres prefcnt themfelves, which he may pur-^ chafe cheap. Whatever be his talents or in- clinations, if they are moderate, he may fatisfy them. I do not mean that every one who comes will grow rich in a little time j no, but he may procure an. cafy, decent mainte- nance, by his industry .. Inftead of ftarving he will be fed, inftead of being idle he will have employment ; and thefe are riches enough for fuch men as come over here./ The rich ftay in pAirope, it is only the middling and . poor that emigrate. Would you wifh to travel in independent idlenefsp from north to fouth, .f you will find ^^Sj accefs, and the moft chear- h|i^^w.c /• ful reception at every houfe ; fbciety without f- ' " oftentation, good cheer without pride, and every decent diverfion which the country af- ibrds, with little expence. It is no wonder that the European wlio has lived here a few years, is defirous to remain j Europe with all its pomp, is not to be compared to this conti- nent, for men of middle ftations, or labourers. An European, when he firft arrives, feems li- mited in his intentions, as well as in his views; but he very fuddenly alters his fcalc i two hun- dred miles formerly appeared a very great dif- rance, it is now but a trifle j he no fooner • - •' breathes r* >.' 1/ ■ii M % Mmi WfL'VT IS- AN AMERICAN/ 7^ breathes our air than he forms fchemcS, and embarks in defigns he never would havq thought of in his own country. ^ There tho plenitude offociety confines many ufeful ideasj and often extinguiilies the mofl laudable fchcmes which here ripen into- maturity. Thu^ Europeans become Americans. . But how is this accomplifhed in that croud of low, indigent people, who flock here ever/- year from all parts of Europe ? I will tell you ; they no fooner arrive than they immediateljp feel the good efFecls of that plenty ofprovifions we poilefs : they fiire on our bed food, and- are kindly entertained j their talents, charac-^ ter, and peculiar induftry are immediately in- quired into i they find countrymen every whero-. dilleminated, let them come from whatever- part, of Europe. Let me feleT AMERICAN. y^f deed, conveying to him and his pofterity the fee jRmple and abfolute property of two hundred acres of land, fituated on fuch a river. What an epocha in this man's life ! He is become a freeholder, from perhaps a German boor — he is now an American, a Pennfylvanian, an Eng-t lifh fubjefl. He is naturalized, his name is en-t rolled with thofe of the other citizens of the province. Inftead of being a vagrant, he has a place of refidence j he is called the inhabi- tant of fuch a county, or of fuch a diftri61:, and for the firft time in his life counts for fome^ thing ; for hitherto he had been a cypher. I only repeat what I have heard many fay, and no wonder their hearts fhould glow, and be agi-, tatcd with a multitude of feelings, not eafy tcr defcribe. From nothing to ftart into being ; from a fervant to the rank of a mafter -, from being the flave of fome defpotic prince, to be« come a free man, invefted with lands, to which every municipal bleffing is annexed ! What a change indeed ! It is in confequence of that change that he becomes an American. This great metamorphofis has a double efFeft, it extinguilhes all his European prejudices, he forgets that mechanifm of fubordination, that fervility of difpolition which poverty had taught him ; and fometimes he is apt to for- get it too much, often pafling from one ex- tieme to the other. If he is a good man, he forms m 1.: ..l3« x^^-'^- O .. ** ^ O.. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I |25 1^ 12.2 2.0 1 1-25 1 1.4 III 1.6 < 6" ► V] e%. / y^ ^-^vy 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 <^.r.i '/ '^ i , I i' !l '.ti ■ •hi >■! t"; ■ M V B •' ' K I Iff:! ^ $% WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. man of ours who has been in America thefc ten years, offers to wait for his money until the fecond Crop is lodged in it. What did you give for your land ? Thirty-five fliillings per acre, payable in fcven years. How many acres have you got ? An hundred and fifty. That is enough to begin with ; is not your land pretty hard to clear ? Yes, Sir, hard enough, but it would be harder dill if it was ready cleared, for then we Ihould have no timber, and I love the woods much ; the land is nothing without them. Have not you found out any bees yet ? No, Sir } and if we had we fhould not know what to do with them. I will tell you by and by. You are very kind. Farewell, honeft man, God profper you ; whenever you travel toward **, enquire for J. S. he will entertain you kindly, provided you bring him good tidings from your family and fiirm. In this manner I often vifit them, and carefully examine their houfes, their modes of ingenuity, their different Ways ; and make them relate all they know, and defcribe all they feel. Thefe are fcenes which I believe you would willingly (hare with me. — I well remember your philanthropic turn of mind. Is it not better to contemplate undef thefe humble roofs, the rudiments of future wealth and population, than to behold the ac- cumulated bundles of litigious papers in the office of a lawyer ? To examine how the world is WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. 83 !S gradually fettled, how the howling fwamp is converted into a pleafing meadow, the rough ridge into a fine field ; and to hear the chear- ful whiftling, the riiral fong, where there was )no found heard before, fave the yell of the fa- Vage, the fcreech of the owl, or the hilTing of the fnake ? Here an European, fatigued with luxury, riches, and pleafurcs, may find a fweec relaxation in aferics of intercfting fcenes, as af- fe(5ling as they are new. England, which now contains fo many domes, fo many caftlcs, was once like this, a place woody and marfliy j its in- habitants, no\7 the favourite nation for arts and commerce, were once painted like our neigh- bours. This country will flourifh in its turn, nnd the fame obfervations will be made which I have juft delineated. Poflerity will lookback \\ith avidity and ple^ifure, to trace, if pofTible, the aera of this or that particular fettlement. Pray, what is the jreafbn that the Scots are in general more religious, more faithful, more honell, and induftrious than the Irifli ? I do not mean to infinuate national reflexions, God forbid ! It ill becomes any man, and much lefs an American ; but as I know men are nothing of themselves, and that they owe all their different modifications either to government or other local circumilances, there muft be fome powerful caufes which conftitute this great national differq'nce, • G 2 Agreeable 9 1. f t ''i> ir -. f llf l^. ;il'- ifir'" ■if . ■*: 84 WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. Agreeable to the account which feveral Scotchmen have given mc of the north of Britain, of the Orkneys, and the Hebride Iflands, they feem, on many accounts, to be unfit for the habitation of men ; they appear to be calculated only for great Iheep paftures. Who then can blame the inhabitants of thefe countries for tranfporting themfclves hither ? This great continent muft in time abforb the pooreft part of Europe j and this will happen in proportion as it becomes better known -, and as war, taxation, opprefTion, and mifery incrcafe there. The Hebrides appear to be fit only for the refidence of malefadors, and it would be much better to fend felons there than cither to Virginia or Maryland. What a ftrange compliment has our mother country paid to tv/o of the fineft provinces in America ! England has entertained in that refpedt very miftaken ideas -, what was intended as a punifh- ment, is become the good fortune of feveral ; many of thofc who have been tranfported as felons, are now rich, and ftrangers to the flings of thofe wants that urged them to vio- lations of the laws : they are become induftri- ous, exemplary, and ufeful citizens. The Englifh government lliould purchafe the moil northern and barren of thofe iflands -, it fhould fend over to us the honcil, primitive Hebri- deans, fettle thern here on good lands, as a ^;. - reward mm WHAT IS ANj\MERICAN. 85 reward for their virtue and ancient poverty ; and replace them with a colony of her wicked fons. The feverity of the climate, the inrle- mency of the feafons, the flerility of the foil, the tempeftuoufnefs of the fea, would afHi<5t and punifh enough. Could there be found a fpot better adapted to retaliate the injury it had received by their crimes ? Some of thofe iflands might be confidered as the hell of Great Britain, where all evil fpirits fliould be fent. Two eflential ends would be anfwercd by this fnnple operation. The good people, by emi- gration, would be rendered happier ; the bad ones would be placed where they ought to be. In a few years the dread of being fent to that wintry region would have a much ftronger effedt, than that of tranfportation. — This is no place of punifhment j were I a poor hope- lefs, breadlefs Englifhman, and not re- ftrained by the powe^r of fliame, I fliouId be very thankful for the pafTage. It is of very little importance how, and in what manner an indigent man arrives j for if he is but fober, honell, and induftrious, he has nothing more to afk of heaven. Let him go to work, he will have opportunities enough to earn a com- fortable fupport, and even the means of pro- curing fome land J which ought to be the ut- moft wifh of every perfon who has health and hands to work. I knew a pnaq who G 3 came m ^ •;,»■• w k I liM J \ if; 4 ' H P ' |l''''« mM ^6 WHAT IS AN AMERICAN. came to this country, in the literal fcnfe of the cxprcfTion, flark naked ; I think lie was aFrcnch- man, and a failor on board an Englifh man of war. Being difcontcnted, he had (tripped hiiiifclf and fwam aihorc; ; where finding clothes and friends, he fettled afterwards at Maraneck, in the county of Chefler, in the province of New- York : he married and left a good farm to. each of his fons. I knew another perfon who was but twelve vears old when he was taken on the frontiers of Canada, by the Indians ; at his arrival at Albany he was purchafed by a gentleman, who gencroufly bound him ap- prentice to a taylor. He lived to the a^-'* of ninety, and left behind him a fine eftate and a numerous family, all well fettled j many of them I am acquainted with. — Where is then the induftrious European who ought to defpair? After a foreigner from any part of Europe is arrived, and become a citizen j let him devoutly liften to the voice of o^lr great parent, whicli fays to him, " Welcome to my Ihores, dif- trefled European i blcfs the hour in which thou didft fee my verdant fields, my fair navigable rivers, and my green mountains ! *' — If thou wilt work, I have bread for thee j " if thou wilt be honeft, fober, and induf- *« trious, I have greater rewards to confer on " thee — eafe and independence. I will give *;' thee fields to feed and cloath thee ; a com- ". fprtabk* « r 88 HISTORY OF ANDREW, ' to draw all my food and pleafiire from the fur- face of the earth which I till, that I cannot, nor indeed am I able to quit it — I therefore preicnt you with the fhort hiftory of a fimple Scotchman ; though it contain not a fingle remaricabie event to amaze the reader j no tra- gical fccne to convulie the heart, or pathetic narrative to draw tears from fympathetic eyes. '\ll I wifh to delineate is, the progreffive ileps ^ . a poor man, advancing from indi- gence to eafe ; from opprefTion to freedom ; from obfcurity and contumely to feme de- gree of confequence — not by virtue of any freaks of fortune, but by the gradual operation of fobriety, honefty, and emigration. Thefe are the limited fields, through which I love to wander ; fure to find in fome parts, the fmilc of new-born happinefs, the glad heart, infpir- ing the chearful fong, the glow of manly pride excited by vivid hopes and rifing independence. I always return from my neighbourly excuriions extremely happy, becaufe there I fee good liv- ing almoft under every roof, and profperous endeavours almoft in every field. But you may fay, why don't you defcribe fome of the more ancient, opulent fettlements of our coun- try, where even the eye of an European has, fomething to admire ? It is true, our Amieri- can fields are in general pleafing to behold, adorned and intermixed as they are with fo _, . many I*; ^ THE HEBRIDEAN. g^ many fubftantial houfeSj flourifliing orchards, and copfes of woodlands ; the pride of our farms, the fource of every good we pofTefs. But what I might obferve there is but natural and common ; for to draw comfortable fub- fiftence from well fenced cultivated fields, is eafy to conceive. A father dies and leaves a y^ decent houfe and rich farm to his fon j the -^ fon modernizes tlie one, and carefully tills the other ; he marries the dau.;^hter of a friend and neighbour : this is the common profped: ; but .. '' thougli it is rich and pleafant, yet it is far from being fo entertaining and inftru6tive as the one now in my view. "" I had rather attend on the Ihore to wel- come the poor European when he arrives, I ob- ferve him in his firfl moments of embarrafT- ment, trace him throughout his primary diffi- culties, follow him ftep by ftep, until he pitches his tent on fome piece of land, and realizes that energetic wifh which has made him quit his native land, his kindred, and induced him to travcrfe a boifttrous ocean. It is there I want to obferve his firft thoughts and feelings, the firfl: efTays of an indufl:ry, which hitherto has been fupprefled. I wifh to fee men cut down the firft trees, ered their new buildings, till their firft fields, reap their firft crops, and lay for the firft time in their lives, " This is ^' our own grain^ raifcd from American foil — " on '4 •)■ ' i: I . ■ it !>i ii > i-. . ^\ y^'y iV\ 90 HISTORY OF ANDREW, " on it we fhall feed and grow fat, and con-^ ** vert the rcll in:o gold and filvcr." I want to fee how the ha})py effects of their fobnety, honefty, and induftry are firft difplayed : and who would not take a pleafure in feeing thefe ftrangers fettling as new countrymen, ftrug- gling widi arduous difficulties, overcoming them, and becoming happy* . \ Landing on this great continent is like going to fea, they muft have acompafs, fome friendly dinj6ling needle ; or elfe they will ufelefsly err and wander for a long time, even with a fair wind : yet thefe are the ftruggles through "^ which our forefathers have waded ; and they have left us no other records of them, but the pofleflion of our farms. The refledlions I make on thefe new fettlers recal to my mind what my grandfather did in his days j they fill me with gratitude to his memory as well as to that government, which invited him to come, and helped him when he arived, as well as many others. Can I pafs over thefe reflec- tions without remembering thy name, O Penn ! thou beft of legiflators ; who L/ the wifdom of thy laws haft endowed human nature, within the bounds of thy province, with every dignity it can poflibly enjoy in a civilized ftate ; and Ihewed by this fingular eftablifhment, what all men might be if they would follow thy example ! , In I^THE HEBRIDEAN. 91 In the year 1770, I purchafed fome lands in the county of , which I intended for one of my fons j and was obliged to go there in order to fee them properly furveyed and marked out : the foil is good, but the country has a very wild afpe6l. However I obferved with pleafure, that land fells very faft ; and I am in hopes when rhe lad gets a wife, it will be a v/ell-fettled decent country. Agreeable to our cuftoms, which indeed are thofe of nature, it is our tluty to provide for our eldcft children while we live, in order that our homefteads may be left to the youngcft, who arc the moft helplefs. Some people are apt to regard the portions given to daughters as fo much loft to the family ; but this is felnfh, and is not agree- able to my way of thinking j they cannot work as men do ; they marry young : I have given an honeft European a farm to till for himfelf, rent free, provided he clears an acre of fwamp every year, and that he quits it whenever my daughter Ihall marry. It will procure her a fubftantial hufband, a good farmer — and that is all my ambition. Whilft I was in the woods I met with a party of Indians; I fliook hands with them, and I per- ceived they had killed a cub j I had a little Peack brandy, they perceived italfo, we therefore joined company, kindled a large fire, and ate an hearty fupper, I made their hearts glad, and •ik I k. >H *J lift i'. ■^ »■,!■; . iV.''' 92 HISTORY OF ANDREW, # and we all repofed on good beds of leaves. Soon after d?.rk> I was furprifed to hear a pro- digious hooting through the woods; the Indians laughed heartily. One of them, more fkillfu! than the reft, mimicked the owls fo exadlly, that a very large one perched on a high tree over our fire. We foon brought him down ; he meafured five feet ftven inches from one extremity of the wings to the other. By Cap- tain I have fent you the talons, on which I have had the heads of fnall candlefticks fixed. Pray keep them on the table of your ftudy for my iake. Contrary to my expectation, I found myfelf under the neceflity of going to Philadelphia, in order to pay the purchafe money, and to have the deeds properly recorded. I thought little of the journey, though it was above two hundred miles, becaufe I was well acquainted with many friends, at whofe houfes I intended to ftop. The third night after I left the woods, I put up at Mr. 's, the moft v/orthy citi- zen I know; he happened to lodge at my houfe when you was there. — He kindly enquired after your welfare, and defircd I would make a friendly mention of him to you. The neatnefs of thefe good people is no phcenomenon, yet I think this excellent family furpafles every thing I icnow. No fooncr did I lie down to reft than I thought myfelf in a moft ♦ THE HEBRIDEAN. 93 moft odoriferous arbour, fo fweet and fragrant were the fneets. Next morning I found my hoft in his orchard deftroying caterpillars. I think, friend B. faid I, that thee art greatly departed from the good rules of the fociety 5 thee feemeth to have quitted that happy fim- plicity for which it hath hithert ' been fo re- markable. Thy rebuke, friend James, is a pretty heavy one j what motive canft thee have for thus accufing us ? Thy kind wife made a miftake laft evening, I faid; Ihe put me on a bed of rofes, inftead of a common one ; I am not ufed to fuch delicacies. And is that all, friend James, that thee haft to reproach us with ? — Thee wilt not call it luxury I hope? thee canft but know that it is the produce of our garden ; and friend Pope fayeth, that " to " enjoy is to obey," This is a mcft learned excufe indeed, friend B. and muft be valued becaufe it is founded upon truth. James, my wife hath done nothing more to thy bed than what is done all the year round to all the beds in the family -, fhe fprinkles her linen with rofe -water before llie puts it under the prefs ; it is her fancy, and I have nought to fay. But thee flialt not efcape fo, verily I will fend for her j thee and ftie muft fettle the matter, whilft I proceed on my work, before the fun gets too high. — Tom, go thou and call thy mlftrefs Philadelphia. VVhat^ faid I, is thy wife *7t I n WfJ I i I 'r '< r* \i .' M •■ : 'i i,- ■•1.. f'. 1""'; I 'it •^ HISTORY OF ANDREW,* wife called by that name ? I did not know that before* I'll tell thee, James, how it came to pafs : her grandmother was the firfl: female child born after William Penn landed with the reft of our brethren j and in compliment to the city he intended to builds fhe was called after the name he intended to give it ; and fo there is always one of the daughters of her family known by the name of Philadelphia. She foon came, and after a mofl friendly alter- cation, I gave up the point; breakfafted, de- parted, and in four days reached the city. ' A week after news came that a vcflcl was arrived with Scotch emigrants. Mr. C. and I went to the dock to fee them difembark. It was a fcene which infpired me with a variety of thoughts : here are, faid I to my friend, a number of people, driven by poverty, and other adverfe caufes, to a foreign land, in which they knov/ nobody. The name of a ftranger, inftead of implying relief, affiftance, and kindnefs, on the contrary, conveys very different ideas. They are now diftreffed ; thtir minds are racked by a variety of apprehen- fions, fears and hopes. It was this laft power- ful fentiment which has brought them here. If they are good people, I pray that heaven mav realife them. Whoever were to fee them thus gathered again in five or fix yeais, would behold a more pleafing fight, to which this would THE HEBRIDEAN. 95 t^ould ferve as a very powerful contrafl. By their honefty, the vigour of their arms, and the benignity of government, their condition ^ill be greatly improved ; they will be well cladj fat, pofleflfed of that manly confidence which property confers; they will become ufeful citizens. Some of their poflerity may ad confpicuous parts in our future American tranfadtions. Mod of them appeared pale and emaciated, from the length of the palTage, and the indifferent provifion on which they had lived. The number of children feemed as great as that of the people j they had all paid for being conveyed here. The captain told us they were a quiet, peaceable, and harmlefs people, who had never dwelt in cities. This was a valuable cargo; they feemed, a few excepted, to be in the full vigor of their lives. Several citizens, impelled either by fpontaneous attachments, or motives of huma- nity, took many of them to their houfes ; the city, agreeable to its ufual wrfdom and huma- nity, ordered them all to be lodged in the barracks, and plenty of provifions to be given them. My friend pitched upon one alfo and led him to his houfe, with his wife, and a fon about fourteen years of age. The majority of them had contradted for land the y ar before, by means of an agent ; the reft depended en- tirely upon cliance ; and the one who followed ,. .• / us f.5a"J i - : Ftfti 'fl ;■( ■ 'I . ^^ii' PI--' ;tl" 9', HISTORY OF ANDREW, us was of this laft clafs. Poor man, he fmiled on receiving the invitation, and gladly accepted it, bidding his wife and fon do the fame, in a language which I did not underftand. He gazed with uninterrupted attention on every thing he faw j the houfes, the inhabitants, the negros, and carriages : every thing appeared equally new to him ; and we went flow, in order to give him time to feed on this pleafmg variety. Good God ! faid he, is this Phila- delphia, that blefled city of bread and pro- vifions, of which we have heard fo much ? I am told it was founded the fame year in which my fai jr was born -, why it is finer than Gree- nock and Glafgow, which are ten times as old. It is fo, faid my friend to him, and when thee haft been here a month, thee will foon fee that it is the capital of a fine province, of which thee art going to be a citizen : Greenock enjoys neither fuch a climate nor fuch a foil. Thus we flowly proceeded along, when we met feveral large Lancafter fix-horfe waggons^ juft arrived from the country. At this ftupendous fight he ftopped fliort, and with great diffidence afl^ed us what was the ufe of thefe great moving houfes, and where thofe big horfes came from ? Have you none fuch at home, I aflced him f Oh no j thefe huge animals would eat all the grafs of our ifland ! We at laft reached my friend's houfe, who in the glow of well-meant bofpitality, it IP' THE HEBRIDEAN. ^7 hofpiiallty, made them all three fit down to a good dinner, and gave them a$ much cyder as they could drink. God blefs this country, and the good people it contains, faid he ; this is the beft meal's vidtuals I have made a long time. — I thank you kindly; What part of Scotland doft thee come from, friend Andrew, faid Mr. C ? Some of us come from the main, fome from the ifland of Barra, he anfwered — I myfelf am a Barra man. I looked on the map, and by its latitude, eafily guefied that it mud be an inhofpitable climate. What fort of land have you got there, I afked him ? Bad enough, faid he -, we have no fuch trees as I fee here, no wheat, no kyne, no apples. Then, I obferved, that it muft be hard for the poor to live. We have no poor, he anfwered, we are all alike, except our laird j but he cannot help every body. Pray what is the name of your laird ? M.*. Neiel, faid Andrew j the like of him is not to be found in any of the ides ; his forefathers have lived there thirty genera- tions ago, as we are told. Now, gentlemen, you may Judge what an ancient family eftate it muft be. But it is cold, the land is thin, and there were too many of us, which are the reafons that fome are come to feck their for- tunes here. Well, Andrew, what ftep do you intend to take in order to become rich ? I do not know, Sirj I am but an ignorant man, a .-.j H ftranp-er ,r 1^ II ;t - I 1" :.• : . 1 ■': i'i- ■ S2li..,,.,. ( ^ HISTORY OF ANDREW^, ftrangcr befides— I muft rely on the advice of good Chriftians, they would not deceive me, I am fure. I have brought with me a charader from our fearra minifter, can it do me any good here ? Oh, yes ; buf your future fucccfs will depend entirely on your own conduft ; if you a^e a fober man, as the certificate fays, laborfous^ and honeft, there is no fear but that you will do well. Have you brought ahy money With you, Andrew ? Yes, Sir, eleven guineas and an half. Upon my word it is a confiderable fum for a Barra man; how came you by fo much money ? Why feven years ago I received a legacy of thirty-fcvcn pounds from an uncle, who loved me much -, my wife brought me two guineas, when the laird gave her to me for a wife, which I have favcd ever fihce. I have fold all 1 had ; I worked in Glafgow for fome time. I am glad to hear you are fa faving and prudent j be fo ftili : you muft go and hire yourfelf v/ith fome good people ; what can you do ? I can threlh a little, and handle the fpade. Can you plough ? Yes, Sir, with the little breaft plough I have brought with ■me. Thefe won't do here, Andrew ; you are an able man ; if you are willing you will fooh learn. I'll tell you what I intend to do ; I'll fend you to my houfe, where you fhall ftay two or three weeks, there you muft exercife Vo'urfelf with the axe, that is" the principal tool THE HEBRIDEAN. ^e> tool the Americans want, and particularly the back-fettlers. Can your wife fpin ? Yes, (he can. Well then as foon as you are able to handle the axe, you iTiall go and live with Mr. P. R. a particular friend of nnine, who will give you four dollars per month, for the firfl fix, and the ufual price of five as long as you remain with him. I Ihall place your wife in another houfc, where (he fliall receive half a dollar a week for fpinning; and vour fon a dollar a month to drive the team. You fhall have befhies good vidluals to eat, and good beds to lie on j will all this fatisfy you, Andrew ? He hardly underftood what I faid j the honed tears of gratitude fell from his eyes as he looked at iiw, and its exprcfTions feemcd to quiver on his lips. — Though fiknt, this was faying a great deal ; there was bcfides fomething extremely moving to fee a man fix feet high, thus Ihed tears ; and they did not IcfTen the good opinion I had entertained of him. At laft he told me, that my offers were more than he deferved, and that he would firft begin to work for his vie^ tuals. No, no, faid I, if you are careful and fober, ^nd do what you can, you fhall receive whit I told yoUj after you have ferved a fhorc apprenticefliip at my houfe. May God repay you for all your kindnefles, faid Andrew j as-long as I lire I Ihall thank you, and do what I can for you. A few days after I fent them all H 2 three If ■I A' 'I' % i i I) 1 ' ■■ ; I • i ■ii i ■'■ 19 J! u h 100 HISTORY OF ANDREW, three to, ■ ^ , by the return offome waggons, that he might Have an opportunity of viewing, and convincing himfelf of the utility of thofe machines which he had at firft fo much admired. The further defcriptions he gave us of the Hebrides in general, and of his native iiland in particular } of the cufloms and modes of living of the inhabitants -, greatly entertained me. Pray is the ilerility of the foil the caufe that there are no trees, or is it becaufe there are none planted ? What are the modern fa- milies of all the kings of the earth, compared to the date of that of Mr. Neiel ? Admitting that each generation fhould lad but forty years, this makes a period of 1 200 ; an extraordinary duration for the uninterrupted defcent of any family ! Agreeably to the defcription he gave us of thofe countries, they feem to live according to the rules of nature, which gives them but bare fubfiftcncej their conftitutions are uncontaminated by any excefs or effeminacy, which their foil refufes. If their allowance of food is not too fcanty, they rhuft all be healthy by perpetual temperance and ' exercife ; if fo, they are amply rewarded for their poverty. Could they have obtained but neceffary food, they would not have left it j for it was not in confequence of oppreflion, either from their patriarch or the government, that they had. emigrated, I wifli we had a colony of thefe _ ■ ' honeft m' THE HEBRIDEAN. loi honeft people fettled in fome parts of this province ; their morals, their religion, feem to be as fimple as their manners. This fociety would prefent an interefting fpeftacle could they be transported on a richer foil. But per- haps that foil would foon alter every thing ; for our opinions, vices and virtues, are alto- gether local : v/e are machines fafhioned by every circumftance around us. Andrew arrived at my houfe a week before I did, and I found my wife, agreeable to my inftrudions, had placed the axe in his hands, as his firft tafk. For fome time he was very aukward, but he was fo docile, fo willing, and grateful, as well as his wife, that I forefaw he would fuccecd. Agreeably to my promife, I put them all with different families, where they were well liked, and all parties were pleafed. Andrew worked hard, lived well, grew fat, and every Sunday came to pay me a vifit on a good horfe, which Mr, P. R. lent him. Poor man, it took him a long time ere he could fit on the faddle and hold the bridle properly. I believe he had never before mounted fuch a bead, thous^li I did not choofe to afk him that queftion, for fear it might fuggeft fome mor- tifying ideas. After having been twelve months at Mr. P. R's, and having received his own i.nd his family's wages, which amounted to eighty-four dollars j he came to fee me on a H 3 week I: ';tm-- •t [5 I. ; i . ;■ f ■ 1\. I02 HISTORY OF ANDREW, week day, and told me, that he was a man of middle age, and would willingly have land of his own, in order to procure him a home, as a fhelter againft old age : that whenever this period fhould come, his fon, to whom he would give his land, would then maintain him, and thus live all t«>gether j he therefore required my advice and afTiftance. I thought his defire very natural and praife-worthy, and told him that I Ihould think of it, but that he muft re- main one month longer with Mr. P. R. who had 3000 rails to fplit. He immediately con- fented. The fpring was not far advanced enough yet for Andrew to begin clearing any land even fuppofmg that he had made a pur- chafe } as it is always neceflary that th«; leaves Jhould be out, in order that this additional combuftible may ferve to burn the heaps of brufli more readily. r A few days after, ft happened that the whole family of Mr. P. R. went to meeting, and left Andrew to take care of the houf^;. While he was at the door, attentively reading the Bible, nine Indians jult come from the moun- tains, fuddenly made their appearance, and unloaded their packs of furrs on the floor of the piazza. Conceive, if you can, what was. Andrew's confternation at this extraordinary fight ! From the lingular appearance of thcfe people, the honeft Hebridean took them for \' ; a law- 1 1] i "Si . lis: A THE HEBRIDEAN. 103 a lawlefs band come to rob his maftcr's houfe. lie therefore, like a faithful guardian, precipi- tately withdrew, and fliut the doors, bu^ as moll of our houfes are without locks, he was reduced to the necefTity of fixing his knife over the latch, and then flew up Hairs in queft of a broi^d fword he had brought from Scotland. The Indians, who were Mr. P. R.'s particular friends, guelTed at his fufpicions and fears j they forcibly lifted the door, and fuddenly took pofTcfllon of the houfe, got all the bread and meat they wanted, and fat themfelves down by the fire. At this inftant Andrew, with his broad fword in his hand, entered the room ; the Indians earneflly looking at him, and attentively watch- ing his motions. After a vtry few reflections, Andrew found that his weapon was ufelefs, when oppofed to nine tomahawks j but this did not diminifli his anger, on the contrary; it grew greater on obferving the calm impudence with which they were devouring the family provi- fions. Unable to refifl:, he called them names in broad Scotch, and ordered them to defift and be gone ; to which the Indians (as they told me afterwards) replied in their equally broad idiom. It mufl: have been a mofl: un- intelligible altercation between this honeft Barra man, and nine Indians who did not much care for any thing he could fay. At laft he ventured to lay his hands on one of them, in ordfr to H 4 turn mm' I'P J »^ 1 •" ('. V •; bj: ; p.'"' i\; • >'•'■' B . :■! ' |,Jti I Lii Pi? '.■J \M i L: ; !M 1 1 ■ I \^:' I I'. ;h»* - L«.. . ^< El ■ ^ 104 HISTORY OF ANDREW, turn him out of the houfe. Here Andrew's fidelity got the better of his prudence ; for the Indian, by his motions, threatened to fcalp him, while the reft gave the war hoop. This horrid noife fo efFeftually frightened poor Andrew, that, unmindful of his courage, of his broad fword, and his intentions, he rulhed out, left them mafters of the houfe, and dif- appeared. I have heard one of the Indians fay fince, that he never laughed fo heartily in his life. Andrew at a diftance, foon recovered from the fears which had been infpired by thii, infernal yell, and thought of no other remedy than to go to the meeting-houfe, which was about two miles diftant. In the eagernefs of his honeft intentions, with looks of affright ftill marked on his countenance, he cilled Mr. P. R. out, and told him with great vehe- mence of ftyle, that nine monfters were come to his houfe — fome blue, fome red, and fome black ; that they had little axes in their hands out of which theyfmoked ; and that like high- landers, they had no breeches ; that they were devouring all his viduals, and that God only knew what they would do more. Pacify your- fclf, faid Mr. P. R. my houfe is as fafe with thef- people, as if I was there myfclfj as for the victuals, they are heartily welcome, honeft Andrew -, they are not people of much cere- mony i they help tliemfclves ,thus whenever they THE HEBRIDEAN. 105 they arc among their friends; I do fo too in their wigwhams, whenever I go to their vil- lage : you had better therefore flep in and hear the remainder of the fermon, and when the meeting is over wje will all go Ijack in the waggon together. \ At their return, Mr. P. R. who fpeaks the Indian language very well, explained the whole matter -, the Indians renewed their laugh, and fhook hands with horieft Andrew, whom they made to fmoke out of their pipes j and thus peace was made, and ratified according to the Indian cufbom, by the calumet. Soon after this adventure, the time ap- proached when I had promifed Andrew my beft afTiftance to fettle him ; for that purpofe I went to Mr. A. V. in the county of , , who, I was informed, had purchafed a track of land, contiguous to fettlement. I gave him a faithful detail of the progrefs Andrew had made in the rural arts ; of his honefly, fo- briety, and gratitude, and prcfled him to fell him an hundred acres. This I cannot com- ply with, faid Mr. A. V. but at the fame time I will do better j I love to encourage honed ' Europeans as much as you do, and to fee them profper : you tell me he has but one fon -, I will Icafe them an hundred acres for any term of years you pleafe, and make it more valu- able to your Scotchman than if he was pof- fefled ^*i Pf y .;• » Ik,-.' :*6 ■■ To6 HISTOP' OF ANDREW, fefled of the fee iimple. By that means he m^y, with what little money he has, buy a plough, a team, and fome flock ; he will not be incumbered with debts and mortgages ; what he raifes will be his own ; had he two or three fons as ab'" as himfelf, then I lliould think it more eli^ for him to purchafe the fee fimple. I join with you in opinion, and will bring Andrew along with me in a few days. Well, honeft Andrew, faid Mr. A. V. in confideration of your good name, I will let you have an hundred acres of good arable land, that fhall be laid out along a new road ; there is a bridge already erefted on the creek that pafles through the land, and a fine fwamp of about twenty acres. Thefe are my terms, I cannot fell, but I will leafe you the quantity that Mr. James, your friend, has afkedj the firft feven years you fhall pay no rent, whatever you fow and reap, and plant and gather, fhall be entirely your own j neither the king, govern- ment, nor church, will have any claim on your future property : the remaining part of the time you mufl give me twelve dollars and an half a year ; and that is all you will have to pay me. Within the three firfl years you muft plant fifty apple trees, and clear feven acres of fwamp within the firfl part of the leafe j it will be your own advantage : whatever you do more within that time, I will pay you for it, at m THE HEBRIDEAN. ley at the common rate of the country. The term of the leafe fhall be thirty years i how do you like it, Andrew ? Oh, Sir, it is vjery good, but I am afraid, that the king or his miniilers, or the governor, or fome of our great men, will come and take the land from me J your for r.Ay fay to me, by and by, this is my father's land, Andrew, you muft quit it. No, no, faid Mr. A. V. there is no fuch danger; the king and his minifters are too juft to take the labour of a poor fettler ; here we have no great men, but what are fubordinate to our laA^s i but to calm all your fears » I will give you a leafe., fo that none can make you afraid. If ever you are dilTatisfied with the land, a jury of your own neighbourhood fliall value all your improvements, and you fhall be paid agreeably to their verdi6t. You may fell the leafe, or if you die, you may previoufly difpofe of it, as if the land was your own. Expreflive, yet inarticulate joy, was mixed in his coun- tenance, which feemed impreffed with aftonifh^ ment and confufion. Do you underftand me well, faid Mr. A. V ? No, Sir, replied An- drew, I know nothing of what you mean about leafe, improvement, will, jury, &c. That is honed, we will explain ' thefe things to you by and by. It muft be confeiTed that thofe were hard words, which he; had never heard in his life J for by his own account, the ideas they I I convey PT ■> • . 'r I ^ : i ;■:'■! '■ n , " " ' l! ■- -,» 9 'M 1 , '>■ : i *. •» ., i I m '••(* i- 't ' ; ■!.. ^ io8 HISTORY OF ANDREW, convey would be totally nfelefs in the ifland of Barra. No wonder, therefore that he was embarrafled ; for how could the man who had hardly a will of his own fince he was born, ima- gine he fcould have one after his death ? How could the perfon who never poflelTed any thing, conceive that he could extend his new domi- nion over this land, even after he fliould be laid in his grave ? For my part, I think An- drew's amazement djd not imply any extraor- dinary degree of lOTiorance ; he was an avhlor introduced upon a nfcv/ fcenc^ it required fome time ere he could ri^concile himfelf to the part he was to perform.' However he was foon in- lightened, and introduced into thofe myfleries with which we native Americans are but too well acquainted. Here then is honeft Andrew, inverted with every municipal advantage they confer ; be- come a freeholder, pofTefTed of a vote, of a place of refidence, a citizeni\of the province of Pennfylvania. Andrew's original hopes and the diftant profpefts he had fohned in the ifland of Barra, were at the eve of being realifed -, we therefore can eafily forgive hirin a few fponta- neous ejaculations, which would be ufeleis to repeat. This fhort tale is eafily told ; few words are fufficient to defcribe this fudden change of fituation ; but in his mind it was gradual," and took him above a week before he could be fun*, ''■■-■ i \ that yTHE HEBRIDEAN. iQg that without difburfing any money he could poflefs lands. Soon after he prepared himfelf ; I lent him a barrel of pork, and 200 lb. weight of meal, and made him purchafe what was neceflary befides. , . He (et out, and hired a rboiTi in the houfe of a fettler who lived the moft contiguous to his own land. His firft work was to clear fomc acres of fwamp, that iie might have a fupply of hay the following year for his two horfes and cows. From the firll day he began to work, he was indefatigable j his honefty pro- cured him friends, and his induflry the cfteem of his new neighbours. One of them offered him two acres of cleared land, whereon he night plant corn, pumpkins, fquafhes, and a few potatoes, that very feafon. It is aftoni fil- ing how quick men will learn when they work for themfelves. I faw with pleafure two montlis after, Andrew holding a two horfe -plough and tracing his furrows quite ftraight; thus the fpade man of the ifland of Barra was become the tiller of American foil. Well done, faid I, Andrew, well done ; I fee that God fpeeds and directs your works ; I fee profperity delineated in all your furrows and head lands. Raife this crop of corn with attention and care, and then you will be mailer of the art. As he had neither mowing nor reaping to do that year, I told him that the time v/as come - V tQ iW 111 ' V F I f, J 11^/^ I' ' '• i I ti9 HISTORY OF ANDREW, to biiild his houfe ; and that for the purpofe 1 would myf'elf invite the neighbourhood to a frolick J that thus he would have a large dwel- ling erefted, and foiiie upland cleared in one day. Mr. P. R. his old friend, came at the time appointed, with all his hands, and brought vidtuals in plenty : I did the fame. About forty people repaired to the fpot j the fongs, and merry ftories went round the woods from clufter to clufler, as the people had gathered to t?heir different works ; trees fell on all fides, bulhes were cut up and heaped; and while fhany Were thus employed, others with their teartis hauled the big logs to the Ipot which Andrew had pitched upon for the erefbion of his new dwelling. We ail dined in the woods ; in the afternoon the io^s wetc placed with ildds, and the ufual contrivances : thus the rude houfe was raifcd, and above two acres of land cut tip, cleared, and heaped. < ' '^ ^ Whilft all thefe different operations were performing, Andrew was abfolutely incapable of working ; it Was to him the moll folemn holiday he had ever feen ; it would have been facrilegious in him to have defiled it with me- nial laboxir. Poor man, he fan6l;fied it with joy and thankfgiving, and honeft libations- he went from one to the other with the bottle in his hand, prefling every body to drink, and drinking hiinfelf to fliew the example. He fpent THE HEBRIDEAN. ,n fpent the whole day in fmiling, laughing, and uttering rnonofyllables : his wife and fon were there alfo, but as they could not underftand the language, their pleafure mud have been altogether that of the imagination. The power- ful lord, the wealthy merchant, on feeing the fuperb manfion finifhed, never can feel half the joy and real happinefs which was felt and enjoyed on that day by this honeft Hebridean : though this new dwelling, ereded in the midft of the woods, was nothing more than a iquare inclofure, compofed of twenty-four large clumfy logs, let in at the ends. When the work was finiflied, the company made the woods refdund with the noife of their three cheers, and the honeft wifhes they formed for Andrew's profperity. He could fay nothing, but with thankful tears he fhook hands with them all. Thus from the firft dav he had landed, Andrew marched towards this impor- tant event : this memorable day made the fun fhine on that land on which he was to fow wheat and other grain. What fwamp he had cleared lay before his door ; the effence of fu- ture bread, milk, and meat, were fcattered all round him. Soon after he hired a carpenter, who put on a roof and laid the floors j in a week more the houfe was properly plaifter- ed, and the chimney finifhed. He moved into it, and purchafed two cows, which found plenty trmm 112 . • » ■J . . ^■:n,L* HISTORY OF ANDREW, plenty of food in the woods — his hogs had the fame advantage. That very year, he and his fon fowed three bufliels of wheat, from which he reaped ninety-one and a half; for I had ordered him to keep an exaft account of all he fhould raife. His firft crop of other corn would have been as good, had it not been for the fquirrels, which were enemies not to be difperfed by the broad fword. The fourth year I took an inventory of the wheat this man polTefled, which I fend you. Soon after, further fettle- ments were made on that road, and Andrew, inftead of being the laft man towards the wil- dernefs, found himfelf in a few years in the middle of a numerous fociety. He helped others as generoufly as others had helped him ; and I have dined many times at his table with feveral of his neighbours. Tlie fecond year he was made overfeer of the road, and ferved on two petty juries, performing as a citizen all the duties required of him. The hiftori- ographer of Ibme great prince or general, does not bring his hero vidorious to the end of a fuccefsful campaign, with one half of the heart-felt pleafure, with which I have con- du6ted Andrew to the fituation he now en- joys : he is independent and cafy. Triumph and military honours do not always imply thofe two bleflings. He is unincumbered with debtSj ferviccs, rents, or any other dues ; the fuccefTes \- THE HEBRIDEAN. 113 fuccefifes of a campaign, the laurels of war, mud be purchafed at the deareft rate, which makes every cool reflcding citizen to tremble and fhudder. By the literal account hereunto annexed, you will eafily be made acquainted with the happy effedls which conftantlv flow, i^ in this country, from fobriety and induilry,/// when united with g-ood land and freeaom. The account of the property he acquired with his own hands and thofe of his fon, in four years, is as under : Dollars. The value of his Improvements and leafe 225 Six cows, at 13 dollars - _ - yg Two breeding mares - - - - 5^ The reft of the ftock - - - - 100 Seventy-three buihels of wheat - * 66 Money due to hi in on notes - - 43 j\ Pork and beef in his cellar - - 28 '■■ "Wool and flax ------ 19' Ploughs and other utenfils of hufbandry JT .. /? n lit ,«? •. 240I. Pennfylvania currency — dollars 640 ,.^ A/ 'I . « ^"^-^^ '^'"^- -^^^r':^^. / ■ / . / -^- I LETTER ^ il-. If- i <■•>■ r. ■< 'ill-' ir4 DESCRIPTION OF , '* L E T E R IV. « DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAN'D OF NANTUCKETy WITH THh MAMiVERS, CUSTOMS, POLICY, AND TRADE OF THE INHABITANTS, THE gi'tivten: complirrrcnt that can be paid to the bed of kings, to the wifefl: mini- flers, or the 1110(1 ]>atriotic rulers, is to think, tliat the reformation of political abiifes, and the happinefs of their people are the primary obje(5ls of their attention. But alas ! how difagrecable mull the v;ork of reformation be j how dreaded the operation ; for we hear of no amendment : on the contraiy, the great num- ber of European en^igrants, yearly coming over here, informs us, that the feverity of taxes, the.injuflicc of laws, the tyranny of the rich, and the oppreffive avarice of the church ; are as intolerable as ever. Will thefe cala- V mij:ies have no end ? Are not the great rulers of the earth afraid of lofing, by degrees, their moft ufeful fubje^ls ? This country, providen- tially intended for the general afylum of the world, will flourinr by the oppreflion of their people ; they will every day become better ac- quainted vAih the happinefs we enjoy, and feek for the means of tranfporting themfelves here, in fpitc of all obftacles and laws. To what purpofe then have fo many ufeful books and NANTUCKET. ti5 and divine maxima been tranfmitted to us from preceding ages ? — Are they all vain, all tifelefs ? Mull human nature ever be the fporc of the few, and its many wounds remain un- healed ? How happy are we here, in having fortunately efcaped the miferics wiiich attended our fathers ; how thankful ought we to be, that they reared us in a land where fobricty and induflry never fail to meet with the moft ample rewards I You have, no doubt, read feveral hiftories of this continent, yet there are a thoufand fafts, a thoufand explanations overlooked. Authors will certainly convey ta you a geographical knowledge of this country j they will acquaint you with the seras of the feve^ ral fettlcmentsj the foundations of our towns, the fpirit of our different charters^ &:c. yet they do ' not fuffilciently difclofc the genius of the peoplci their various cuftoms, their modes of agri- culture, the innumerable refoiirces which the induftrious have of raifingthemfelves to a com- fortable and eafy fituation* Few of thefe writers have refided here, and thofe who have, had not pervaded every part of the country, nor carefully examined the nature and prin- ciples of our aflbciation. It would be a taik worthy a fpeculative genius, to enter intimately into the fituation and chara<^ers of the people, from Nova Scotia to Weft Florida ; and furely hiftory cannot poffibly prefent ^ny fubjedl I 2 more i IP'''-' W ' ■' Iv:'- tk m 'M ■i m 1x6 DESCRIPTION OF more pleafing to behold. Senfible how unable I am to lead you through So vaft a maze, let us look attentively for fome fmall unnoticed corner 3 but where fliall we go in queft of fucb an one ? Numberlefs fettlements, each dif-i tinguifhca by fome peculiarities, prelent them^ felves on every fide j all feem to realife the moft fanguine wifhes that a good man could form for the happinefs of his race. Here they live by fifhing.on the mod plentiful coafts in the v/orld ; there tI:Eey fell trees, by the fides of large rivers, for mails and lumber j here others convert inrjumerabic logs into the bei^ boards ; there again others cultivate the landy rear cattle, and clear large fields. Yet I have, a fpo'^ in my view, where none of tbefe occupa^ tions are performed, which will, I hope, re- ward us for the trouble of infpedion -, but though it is barren in its foil, infigniftcarit in its extent, inconvenient in its fituation, de-* priv'^d of materials for building ;. it feems to hare been inhabited merely to " prove what mankind can do when happily governed ! Here I can point out to you exertions of the mofl fuccefsful indullry j inftances of native fagacity iinanirbed by fcience ; the happy fruits of a weH 'direcLcd pcrfeverancc. It is always a refrelli- ing fpe;5tacle to me, when in my review of the various component parts of this immenfe zahclcf I cbferve the labours of its inhabitants *. .. ... fini;ularlv 1; yi lillJfl NANTUCKET. 117 fjngularly rewarded by nature j when I fee them emerged out of their firft difficulties, living with decency and eafe, and conveying to their pofterity that plentiful fubfiftence, which theif fathers have fo defervedly earned. But when their profperity arifes from the goodnefs of the climate, and fertility of the foil ; I partake of their happinefs, it is true ; yet (lay but a little while with them, as they exhibit nothing but what is natural a.nd common. On the contrary, when I meet with barren fpots fertilized, grais growing where none grew before ; grain ga- thered from fields which had hiherto produced nothing better than brambles -, dwellings raifed where no building materials were to be found ; wealth acquired by the moft uncommon means : there I paufe, to dwell on the favourite ob- jeft of my fpeculative inquiries. Willingly do I leave the former to enjoy the odoriferous furrow, or their rich vallies, with anxiety re- pairing to the fpot, where lb many difficulties have been overcome -, where extraordinary ex^ crtions have produced extraordinary effefls, and where every natural obflacle has been removed by a vigorous induflry. I want not to record the annals of the ifland of Nantucket — its inhabitants have no annals, for they are not a race of warriors. My (imple wifh is to trace them throughout their progreffive ftep?, from their arrival here to ^•'-^ V I 3 this ;■ I ■|i.:. M :;ili- li IS ■ '11 .H [•:? ,1 T.-5! ii8 DESCRIPTION OF this prefent hour i to enquire by what means they have raifed themfelyes from the moft humble, the moft infignificant beginnings, to the eafe and the wealth they now poITefs j and to give you fome idea of their cuftoms, reli- gion, manners, policy, and nrjodc of living. This happy fettlement was not founded on Intrufion, forcible entries, or blood, as {q many others have been ; it drew its origin from neceflity on the one fide, and from good >vill on the other i and ever Hnce, all has been a fcene of uninterrupted harmony. — Neither political, nor religious broils ; neither difputes yith the natives, nor any other contentions, have in the leaft agitated or difturbed its de- tached fociety. Yet the firft founders knew nothing cither of Lycurgus or Solon ; for thi^ icttlement has not been the work of eminent men or powerful legillators, forcing nature by the accumulated labours of art. This An- gular eftablifhment has been effeded by means of that native induftry and perfeverance com- mon to all men, when they are protected }py a government which demands but little for its protedion ; when they are permitted to enjoy a fyflem of rational laws founded on per- fect freedom. The pnildnefs and humanity of fuch a government necefTarily implies that confidence which is th€ fource of the moft arduous undertakings and permanent fuccefs. Would NANTUCKET. 119 Would you believe that a fandy fpot, of about twenty-three thoufand acres, affording neither ftoncs nor timber, meadows nor arable, yet can boaft of an handfome town, confifting of more than 500 houfes, fhould polTefs above 200 fail of veflels, conftantly employ upwards of 2000 feamen, feed more than 15,000 flieep, 500 cows, 200 horfes ; and has feveral citi- zens worth 20,oog1. flerling ! Yet all thefe fads are uncontroverted. Who would have imagined that any people fhould have aban- doned a fruitful and extenfive continent, filled with the riches which the mofl ample vegeta- tion affords j replete with good foil, enamelled meadows, rich paftures, every kind of timber, and with all other materials neceffary to ren- der life happy and comfortable : to come and inhabit a little fand-bank, to which nature had refufed thofe advantages -, to dwell on a fpot where there fcarcely grew a fhrub to announce, by the budding of its leaves, the arrival of <:he fpring, and to warn by their fall tlie proxi- mity of winter. Had this iOand been conti- guous to the fhorcs of fome ancient monarchy, it would only have beea occupied by a few- wretched fifhermen, who, opprcffcd by poverty, would hardly have been able to purchafe or build little fifliing barks j always dreading the weight of taxes, or the fervitude of men of war. Inftead of that boldnefs of fpeculation I 4 for i .,'Ji> U ,, 4 120 DESCRIPTION OF . for which the inhabitants of this iflind are {(>■ remarkable, they would fearfully have con- fined thcmrelves, within the narrow linnits of tlie mod trifling attempts -, timid in their ex- curfions, they never could have extricated themfelves from their firfl difficulties. This illand, on the contrary, contains 5000 hardy people, who boldly derive their riches from tile element that furrounds them, and have been compelled by the fterility of the foil to feek abroad for the means of fubfiftence. You mufl not imagine, from the recital of thefe fafts, that they enjoyed any exclufive privileges or royal charters, or that they were nurfed. by particular immunities in the infancy of their fettlement. No, their freedom, their Ikill, their probity, and perfeverance, have accom- pli flied every thing, and brought them by de- grees to the rank they now hold^ From this lirfl Iketch, I hope that my par- tiality to this ifland will be juitified. Perhaps you hardly know that fuch an one exifts in the neighbourhood of Cape Cod. What has hap- pened here, has and will happen every where elfe. Give mankind the full rewards of their induftry, allow them to enjoy the fruit, of their labour under the peaceable iliade of their vines and fig-trees, leave their native aftivity unfhackled and free, like a fair ftream with- f)ut dams or other obftacles 3 the firil. will fer- ■ " tiliae NANTUCKET. * 121 tilize the very fand on which they tread, tlie other exhibit a navigable river, fpreading plenty and chearfulnefs wherever the declivity of the ground leads it. If thefe people are not famous for tracing the fragrant furrow on the plain, they [)Iough the rougher ocean, they gather from its furfiice, at an immenfe diflance, and with Flerculean labours, the riches it affords; they go to hunt and catch that huge fifli which by its (Irength and velocity one would imagine ought to be beyond the reach of man. This ifland has nothing deferving of notice but its inhabitants ; here you meet with neither ancient monuments, fpacious halls, folemn temples, nor elegant dwellings ; not a citadel, nor any kind of fortification, not even a bat- tery to rend the air with its loud peals on ^any folemn occafion. As for their rural im- provements, they are many, but all of the mofl jfimple and ufeful kind. The ifland of Nantucket, a map of which, drawn by Dr. James Tupper, fon of the fheriff of the ifland, I fend you inclofed, lies in lati- tude 41° 10'. 100 miles N. E. from Cape Cod i 27 N. from Hyancs or Barnllable, a town on the moll contiguous part of the great peninfulaj 21 miles W. by N. from Cape Pog, on the vineyard ; 50 W. by N. from Wood's Mole, on Elizabeth Ifland ; 80 miles N. from BoHon 5 1.20 from Rhode Ifland j ■' • 2 .. . ■ Soo'S. f':';;. :m .."■fi, ■;■ :iSi ;; 1 » 102 DESCRIPTION OF 800 S. from Bermudas. A table of references to the map is added below*. Sherborn is the enly town on the ifland, which confifts of about 530 houfes, that have been framed on the main ; they arc lathed and plaiftered witliin, handfomely painted and boarded without j each has a cellar underneath, built withftones fetched alfo from the main : they are all of a fimilar conftruftion and appearance ; plain, and en* tirely devoid of exterior or interior ornament. I obferved but one which was built of bricks, belonging to Mr. , but like the reft it is unadorned. The town ftands on a rifing fand-bank, on the weft fide of the harbour, which Vj, * References to the Map of Nantucket. I 2 3 4 5 6 7 S Point Coitou. Brand Point, on which Hands the light-houfe. Eel Point. Smith Point. Bitter Eels Creeks. Siafconcet Track. Sandy Point. ^ The town, docks, and wharfs. 9 Shoal Water Lagoon, which fuppHes the in- habitants with oyilers. 10 TheTrackofCrofskaty. 11 Squam. 1 2 Long Pond. 13 The Wallung Pond. 14 Miacomet Pond. »5 The Bar, nine feet water. 16 Tetoukemah Lots. 17 The Narrow Pond. 18 Quays, a valuable track of land. 19 Sheep Pafture. 20 Thetrack called Palpus. 21 The filhing houfes of Siafconcet. 22 Suflacacher Pond. 23 Crof katy Pond, full of black ducks. 24 Eall Pond, famous for brants. 25 The North Pond. 26 Tuckanuck IHand. 27 South Side Beach. a8 Matacut Harbour. 29 Kapan High Sand Cliffs 30 The Cliffs. ? 31 New Town Meadow. 32 Tomine Head, an high ground. :?:• ■•■; ^ * -'i ^ \ mM ^' ^^ hj i . >* 4 ,mj ■ 1 £8 \ SandSipp calld Pochicfc = r i if VN4i 5 ., . r'* ■'■» • ■"I"- f T it •*'••*« \ -i. r NANTUCKET. 123 which is very fafc from all winds. There arc two places of worfhip, one for the focicty of friends, the other for that of PrcHDytcrians ; and in the middle of the town, near the market- place, ftands a fimple building, which is the county court-houfc. The town regularly afcends toward the country, and in its vicinage they have feveral fmall fields and gardens yearly manured with the dung of their cows, and the foil of their flreets. There are a good many cherry and peach trees planted in their flreets and in many other places ; the apple tree does not thrive well, they have therefore planted but few. The ifland contains no mountains, yet is very uneven, and the many rifing grounds and eminences with which it is filled, have formed in the feveral vallies a great variety of fwamps, where the Indian grafs and the blue bent, peculiar to fuch foils, grow with tole- rable luxuriancy. Some of the fwamps abound with peat, which ferves the poor inllead of fire-wood. There are fourteen ponds on this iQand, all extremely ufeful, fome lying tranf- verfely, almoft acrofs it, which greatly helpj to divide it into partitions for the ufe of their cattle ; others abound with peculiar fifli and fea fowls. Their ftreets are not paved, but this is attended with little inconvenience, as it is never crouded with country carriages j and thofc they have in the town are feldom made life ^'fl H 11 i'.m B il "'■^•1 B 11 **(' Vffl i **'* tfl i|| ['M ^ n #1 1 f.| ^l 1 H mki V w M t V n4 DESCRIPTION OF life of but in tlie time of the coming in and before the failing of their fleets. At my fir(t landing I was much .furprifed at the difugree- able fmell which flruck me in many psirts of the town ; it is caufed by the whale oil, and is unavoidable ; the neatnefs peculiar to thefe people can neither remove or prevent it. There are near the wliarfs a great many ftorchoufes, where their ftaple commodity isdepo[ited,aswe]l as the innumerable materials which are always wanted to repair and fit out fo many whale- men. They have three docks, each three hundred feet long, and extremely convenient ; at the head of which there are ten feet of water. Thefe docks are built like thofe la Bodon, of logs fetched from the continent, hlled with Hones, and covered with fand. Between thefe docks and the town, there is room fufficlent for the landing of goods and for the pallage of their numerous carts ; for almoil every man here has one : the wharfs to the north and foiith of the docks, are built of the fame materials, and give a ftranger, at his firft land- ing, an high idea of the profperity of thefe people J and there is room around thefe three docks for 300 fail of vcfiels. When their fleets have been fuccefsful, the buftle and hurry of bufinefs on this fpot for fom.e days after their ar- rival, would n^ake you imagine, that Sherborn is the capital of a very opulent and large pro- vince. NANTUCKET. 125 vince. On that point of land, which forms the weft fide of the harbour, ftands a very neat iight-houfe j the oppofite pcninfula, called Coitoii, fecures it from the moft dangerous winds. There arc but few J^ardens and arable fields in the neighbourhood of the town, for nothing can be more ftcrile and fandy than this part of the ifland ; they have however with unwearied perfeverance, by bringing a variety of manure, and by cow-perining, enriched feveral fpots where they raife Indian corn, potatoes, pumpkins, turnips, Szc. On the higheft part of / this fandy eminence, four windmills grind the grain they raife or import j and contiguous to them their rope walk is to be feen, where full half of their cordage is manufaftured. Between the fiiores of the harbour, the docks, and the town, there is a mofi: excellent piece of mea- dow, inclofed and manured with fuch coft and pains as jfhew how nccefiTary and pre- cious grafs is at Nantucket. Towards the point of Shemah, the ifland is more level and the foil better j and there they have confiderable lots well fenced and richly manured, where they diligently raife their yearly crops. There are but very few farms on this ifland, becaufe there are but very few fpots that will admit of culti^ vation without the alTiftance of dung and other manure; which is very expenfive to fetch from *he main. This ifland was parcntfd in thr year K K.W I" • m ■f ' 126 DESCRIl>TION OF year 1671, by twenty-feven proprietors, under the province of New-York ; which then clainncd all the iflands from the Neway Sink to Cape Cod. They found it fo univerfally barren and fo unfit for cultivation, that they mutually agreed not to divide it, as each could neither live on, nor improve that lot which might fall to his fliare. They then call their eyes on the fea, and finding themfelves obliged to be- come fifhermen, they looked for a harbour, and having found one, they determined to build a town in its neighbourhood and to dwell to- gether. For that purpofe they furveyed as much ground as would afford to each what is generally called here a home-lot. Forty acres were thought fufRcient to anfwer this double purpofe ; for to what end fliould they covet more land than they could improve, or even inclofe ; not being poffefTed of a fingle tree, in the whole extent of their new dominion. This was all the territorial property they allotted; the reft they agreed to hold in common, ana feeing that the fcanty grafs of the ifland might feed Iheep ; they agreed that each pro- prietor Ihould be entitled co feed on it if he pleafed 560 fheep. By this agreement, the national flock was to confifl of 15,120 j that is the undivided part of the Ifland was by fuch means ideally divifible into as many parts or /hares ; to which ncvertheltfs no certain de- terminate NANTUCKET. 127 terminate quantity of land was affixed : for they knew not how much the ifland contained, nor could the moft judicious furveyor fix this fmall quota as to quality and quantity. Fur- ther they agreed, in cafe the grafs fhould grow better by feeding, that then four fheep (hould reprefent a cow, and two cows a horfe : fuch was the method this wife people took to enjoy in common their new fettlement ; fuch was the mode of their firft ellablifhment, which may be truly and literally called a paftoral one. Several hundred of fheep-pafture titles have fmce been divided on thofe different tracks, which are now cultivated j the reft by inhe- ritance and intermarriages have been fo fub- divided that it is very common for a girl to have no other portion but her outfet and four Iheep paftures or the privilege of feeding a cow. But as this privilege is founded on an ideal, though real title to fome unknown piece of land, which one day or another may be afccrtained ; thefe Jheep-fafture titles fhould convey to your im.^gination, fomething more valuable and of greater credit than the mere advantage arifing from the benefit of a cow, which in that cafe would be no more than a right of commonage. Whereas, here as labour grows cheaper, as misforti^nes from their fea adventures may happen ; each perfon poflelTed of a fufficient number of thcfe fheep-pafture titles. i 128 DESCRIPTION OV titles, may one day realize them on fome pe- culiar fpot, fuch as fhall be adjudged by the council of the proprietors to be adequate to their value ; and this is the reafon that thefe people very unwillingly fell thofe fmall rights, and e!leem them more than you would imagine. They are the reprefentation of a future free- hold, they cherifh in the mind of the pofTeiTor a latent, though diflant, hope, that by his fuccefs in his next whale feaibn, he may be able to pitch on fome predileded fpot, and there build himfelf a home, to which he may retire, and fpend the latter end of his days in peace. A council of proprietors alv/ays exifts in this ifland, who decide their territorial differences ; their titles are recorded in the books of the county, which this town reprcfents, as well as every conveyance of lands and other fales. ' This ifland furnillies the naturalift with few or no objects worthy obfervation : it appears to be the uneven fummit of a fandy fubma- rine mountain, covered here and there with forrel, grafs, a few cedar bullies, and fcrubby oaks 5 their fwamps are much more valuable ipr the peat they contain, than for the trifling pafture of their furface ; thofe declining grounds which lead to the fea-ihores abound wit^" ieecb grafs, a light fodder when cut and cured, but very good wiien fed green. On the eail; fide of the ifland they have feveral i ^ tracks \»« NANTUCKET. 129 tracks of fait grafles, which being carefully fenced, yield a confidcrable quantity of that wholefome fodder. Among the many ponds " or lakes with which this ifland abounds, there arc fome which have been made by the in- trufion of the fea, fuch as Wiwidiah, the Long, the Narrow, and feveral others ; confequently thofe are fait and the others frefh. The for- mer anfwer two confiderable purpofes, firft by enabling them to fence the ifland with greater facility ; at peculiar high tides a great number of fifh enter into them, where they feed and grow large, and at fome known feafons of the year the inhabitants affemble and cut down the fmall bars which the waves always throw up. By thefe eafy means the waters of the pond are let out, and as the fiih follow their native element, the inhabitanis with proper nets catch as many as they want, in their way out, without any other trouble. Thofe which are moft common, are the ftreakedbafs, the blue fifli, the torn- cod, the mackarel, the tew-tag, the herring, the flounder, eel, &c. Fifliing is one of the greatefl: diverflons the ifland afibrds. At the weft^^ end lies the harbour of Mardiket, formed by Smith Point on the fouth-wefl:, by Eel Point on the north, and Tiickanut Ifland on the north-wefl: j but it is neither fo Mc nor has it fo good anchoring ground, as that near which the town (lands. Three fmall creeks run into K it ■ •■ jj£i3fei, m ■ ■ i f 'i . #"■ . ;. 1 Mil !;Pi| jf i' i^ i 130 DESCRIPTION OF It, which yield the bittereft eels I have ever tafled. Between thelotts cf Palpus on theeaft, Barry's Valley and Miacomet pond on the foiith, and the narrow pond on the weft, not far from Shemah Point, they have a con- fiderable track of even ground, being the lead fandy, and the beft on the ifland. It is di- vided into feven fields, one of which is planted by that part of the community which are en- titled to it^ This is called the common plan-* tation> a fimple but ufeful expedient, for was each holder of this track to fence his property, it would require a prodigious quantity of pofts and rails, which you muft remember are to be purchafed and fetched from the main. Inftead of thofe private fubdivifions each man^s allotment of land is thrown into the general field which is fenced at the expence of the parties ; within it every one does with his own portion of the ground whatever he pleafes. This apparent community faves a very material expence, a great deal of labour, and perhaps raifes a fort of emulation among them, which urges every one to fertilize his fhare with the greateft care and attention. Thtrs every feven years the whole of this track is under cultivation, and en- riched by manure and ploughing yields after- wards excellent pafture j to which the town cows, amounting to 500, are daily led by the town. NANTUCKET. 131 town fhepherd, and as regularly drove bacl-: in the evening. There each anunal -eafily finds the hoiife to which it belongs, where they are fure to be well rev/arded for the milk they give, by a prefent of bran, grain, or fome farina- ceous preparation ; their ceconomy being very great in that refpect. Tiiefe are commonly called Tetoukemah lotts. You mull not ima- gine that every perfon on the ifland is either a land-holder, or concerned in rural operations ; no, the greater.part are at fea, bafily employed in their different fiflieries ; others are mere flrangers, who come to fettle as handicrafts, mechanics, &c. and even among the natives few are poiTefTed of determinate fhares of land : for engaged in fea affairs, or trade, they are fatisfied with polTefling a few Iheep paftures, by means of which they may have perhaps one or two cows. Many have but one, for the great number of children they have, has caufed fuch fubdivifions of the original proprietorfliip as is fometimes puzzling to trace ; and leveral of the mod fortunate at fea, have purchafed and realized a great number of thefe original pafture titles. The beft land on the iflaiM is at Palpus, remarkable for nothing but a houfe of enter- tainment. Quayes is a fmall but valuable track, long fince purcliafed by Mr. Coffin, where he has erefted the bell houfe on the iQand. By long attention, proximity of the '>« mA K 2 fea, U"\ •*u ^■^'.:\ ^•1' :ili' '.•^ • ■• ■ ; > ■> r . ' « il 134. DESCRl!»TION OF inhabitants therefore who live out of town, raife with all fecurity as much poultry as they want i their turkeys are very large and excel- lent. In fijnamer this climate is extremely pleafant j they are not expofed to the fcorching fun of the continent, the heats being tempered by the fea breezes, with which they are perpe- tually refrefhed. In the winter, however, they pay feverely for thofe advantages j it is ex- tremely cold ; the north-weiL wind, the tyrant of this country, after having cfcaped from our mountains and forefls, free from all impedi- ment in its fhort pafTage, blows with redoubled force and renders this ifland bleak and uncom- fortable. On the other hand, the goodnefs of their houfes, the focial hofpitality of their firefides, and their good cheer, make them ample amends for the fe verity of the feafon ; nor are the fnows fo deep as on the main. The neceflfary and unavoidable inaftivity of that feafon, combined with the vegitative reft: of nature, force mankind to fufpend their toils : often at this feafon more than half the inhabi- tants of the illand are at fea, fifhing in milder latitudes. This ifland, as has been already hinted, ap- pears to be the fummit of fome huge fandy mountain, affording fome acres of dry land for the habitation of man ; other fubmarine ones lie to the fouthward of this, at different depths NANTUCKET. 135 tlcpths and different diflances. This dangerous region is well known to the mariners by the name of Nantucket Shoals : thefe are the bul- warks which fo powerfully defend this ifland from the impulfe of the mighty ocean, and re- pel the force of its waves; which, but for the accumulated barriers, would ere now have diflblved its foundations, and torn it in pieces. Thefe are the banks which afforded to the firft inhabitants of Nantucket their daily fub- fiftence, as it was from thefe flioals that they drew the origin of that wealth which they now poffefs ; and was the fchool where they firft learned how to venture farther, as the fifli of their coaft receded. The Ihores of this ifland abound with the foft-flielled, the hard-lhelled, and the great fea clams, a moft nutricious fhell- fiih. Their fands, their (hallows are covered with them j they multiply fo fafl, that they arc a never failing-refource. Thefe and the great variety of fifh they catch, conftitute the prin- cipal food of the inhabitants. It was likewife that of the aborigines, whom the firft fettlers found here ; the pofterity of whom ft*!l live to- gether in decent houfcs along the ihores of Miacomet pond, on the fouth fide of the ifland. They are an induftrious, harmlefs race, as ex- pert and as fond of a feafaring life as their fel- low inhabitants the whites. Long before their arrival they had been engaged in petty wars K 4 againft .If >"/<' ' 1-.''^ ; r • • I' 136 DESCRIPTION OF againft one another ; the latter brought them peace, for it was in quefl: of peace that they abandoned the naain. This ifland was then fuppofed to be under the jurifdiftion of New- York, as well as the iflands of the Vine- yard, Elizabeth's, 8zc. but have been fince adjudged to be a part of the province of Maf- fachufets-Bay. This change of jurifdidlion procured them that peace they wanted, and which their brethren had fo long refufed them in the days of their religious frenzy : thus have enthufiafm and perfecution both in Europe as well as here, been the caufe of the moft ar- duous undertakings, and the means of thofe rapid fettlements which have been made along thefe extended fea-fhores. This ifland, having been fince incorporated with the neighbouring province, is become one of its counties, known by the name of Nantucket, as well as the ifland of the Vineyard, by that of Duke's County. They enjoy here the fame municipal eftablifh- ment in common with the reft j and therefore every requifite officer, fuch as fherifF, juftjce of the peace, fupervifors, afTeflbrs, conftables, overfeer, of the poor, &c. Their taxes are proportioned to thofe of the metropolis, they are levied as with us by valuations, agreed on and fixed, according to the laws of the pro- vince ^ and by aflcffincnts formed byjthe aflef- fors, who are yearly chofcn by the people, and 5 ' " * whqfe i NANTUCKET. 137 whofe office obliges them to take cither an oath or an affirmation. Two thirds of the maffiltrates they have here are of the focicty ot' Friends. Before I enter into the further detail of this people's government, induflry, mode of living, &c. I think it neceflary to give you a fhort fketch of the political flate the natives had been in; a few years preceding the arrival of the whites among them. They ?.re haftening towards a total annihilation, and this may be perhaps the lafl: compliment that will ever be paid them by any traveller. They were not extirpated by fraud, violence, or injuftice, as hath been the cafe in fo many provinces j on the contrary, they have been treated by thefc people as brethren ; the peculiar genius of their fedl infpiring them with the fame fpirit of moderation vs^hich was exhibited at Penfylvania. Before the arriv^al of the Eu'^opeans, they lived on the fiffi of their ihores ; and it was from the fame refources the firfl fettlers v/ere compel^ led to draw their firft fubfiftence. It is un- certain whether the original right of the Earl of Sterling, or that of the Duke of York, was founded on a fair purchafe of the foil or not ; whatever injuftice might have been committed in that refpecl, cannot be charged to the ac- count of thofe Friends who purchafed from others who no doubt founded their right on Jpdian grants : and if their numbers are nowfo decre^fcd ¥'■■ ' :f>-( m' J58 DESCRIPTION OF decreafcd, it muft not be attributed either to tyranny or violence, but to fome of chofecaufcs, which have uninterruptedly produced the lame cffedls from one end of the continent to the other, wherever both nations jiave been mixed. This infignificant fpot, like the fea-fliores of the great peninfula, was filled with thefe people ; the great plenty of clams, oyfters, and other fifh, on which they lived, and which they eafily catched, had prodigioufly increafed their numbers. Hillory does not inform us what particular nation the aborigines of Nantucket were of j it is however very probable that they anciently emigrated from the oppofite coaft, perhaps from the Hyannees, which is but twenty-feven miles diftant. As they then fpoke and ftill fpeak the Nattick, it is reafonable to fuppofe that they muft have had fome affinity with that nation ; or elfe that the Nattick, like the Huron, in the north-weftern parts of this continent, muft have been the moft prevailing one in this region. Mr. Elliot, an eminent New England divine, and one of the firft founders of " -'■ NANTUCKET. »3f The young Europeans learn it with the f-'me facility as their own tongues j and ever after fpeak it both with eafe and fluency. Whether the prefent Indians are the defcendants of the ancient natives of the ifland, or whether they are the remains of the many different nations which once inhabited the regions of Maflipe andNobf- cufTet, in the peninfula now known by the name of Cape Cod ; no one can pofitively tell, not even themfelves. The laft opinion feems to be that of the mod fenfible people of the illand. So prevailing is the difpofition of man to quarrel, and to Ihed blood ; fo prone is he to divifions and parties ; that even the ancient n.idves of this little fpot were feparated into two communities, inveterately waging war againft each otiier, like the more powerful tribes of the continent. What do you imagine was the caufe of this national quarrel ? All the coaft of their ifland equally abounded with the fame quantity of fi(h and clams j in that infl:ance there could be no jcaloufy, no motives to an- ger ; the country afforded them no game; one would think this ought to have been the coun- try of harmony and peace. But behold the lingular defliiny of the human kind, ever in- ferior, in many infliances, to the more certain inftind of animals ; among which the indivi- duals of the fame fpecies are always friends, though reared in diflrerent climates: they under- iland ■1 rj f 140 DESCRIPTION OF Hand the fame l?,nguage, they llied not each other's blood, they eat not each other's flefh. That part of thefe rude people who lived on the eaftern fhores of the ifland, had from time immemorial tried to deftroy thofe who lived on the weft ; thofe latter infpired with the fame evil genius, had not been behind hand in re- taliating : thus was a perpetual war fubfifting between thefe people, founded on no other rcafon, but the adventitious place of their na- tivity and refidence. In procefs of time both parties became fo thin and depopulated, that the few who remained, fearing left their race Ihould become totally extinft, fortunately thought of an expedient which prevented their entire annihilation. Some years before the Europeans came, they mutually agreed to fettle a partition line which fhould divide the ifland from north to fouth ; the people of the weft agreed not to kill thofe of the eaft, except they were found tranfgrefling over the weftern part of the line ; thofe of the laft entered into a reciprocal agreement. By thefe fimple means peace was eftabliftied among them, and this is the only record which feems to entitle them to the denomination of men. This happy fcttle- ment put a ftop to their fanguinary depreda- tions, none fell afterward but a few rafh im- prudent individuals i on the contrary, they multiplied greatly. But another misfortune awaited NANTUCKET. 141 awaited them ; when the Europeans came they caught the fmall pox, and their improper treat- ment of that diforder fwept away grsat num- bers : this calamity was fucceeded by the ufe of of rum ; and thefe are the two principal caufes which fo much diminilhed their numbers, not only here but all over the continent. In fomc places whole nations have difappeared. Some years ago three Indian canoes, on their return to Detroit from the falls of Niagara, unluckily got the fmall pox from the Europeans with whom they had traded. It broke out near the long point on lake Erie, there they all perifhed; their canoes, and their goods, were afterwards found by fome travellers journeying the fame way ; their dogs were ftill alive. Befides the ' fmall pox, and the ufe of fpirituous liquors, the two greateft curfes they have received from us, there is a fort of phyfical antipathy, which is equally pov/erful from one end of the conti- nent to the other. Wherever they happen to be mixed, or even to live in the neighbour- hood of the Europeans, they become expofed to a variety of accidents and misfortunes to which they always fall vidims : fuch are par- ticular fevers, to which they were ftrangers before, and finking into a fingular fort of in- dolence and floth. This has been invari- ably the cafe wherever the fame aflbciation has taken place i as at Nattick, Mafhpe, Soc- canoket m rui I i- m •.'If 0- . br. ».•■ '^^-Cife 142 DESCRIPTION OF canoket in the bounds of Falnnouth, Nobfcuf- fet, HouratonickjMonhaufet, and the Vineyard. Even the Mohawks themfelves, who were once fo populous, and fuch renowned warriors, are now reduced to lefs than 200 fmce the European fettlements have circumfcribed the territories which their anceflors had referved. Three years before the arrival of the Europeans at Cape Cod, a frightful diftemper had fwept away a great many along its coafts, which made the landing and intrufion of our forefathers much eafier than it otherwife might have been. In the year 1763, above half of the Indians of this ifland perifhed by a llrange fever, which the Europeans who nurfed them never caught ; they appear to be a race doomed to recede and difappear before the fuperior genius of the Europeans. The only ancient cullom of thefe people that is remembered is, that in their mu- tual exchanges, forty fun-dried clams, flrung on a ftring, palTed for the value of what might be called a copper. They were ftrangers to the ufe and value of wampum, fo well known to thofe of the main. The few families now remaining are meek and harmlefs j their ancient ferocity is gone : they were early chriftianized by the New England miflionaries, as well as thole of the Vineyard, and of fe- veral other parts of the Mafl^chufets j and to nd: obfervers of the day they remain laws ♦ •:, ^ NANTUCKET. 143 laws and cuftoms of chat religion, being care- fully taught while young. Their fecientary life has led them to this degree of civiliza- tion much more efFedually, than if they hadftili remained hunters. They arc fond of the fea, and expert mariners. They have learned from the Quakers the art of catching both the cod and whale, in confequence of which, five of them alv/ays make part of the complement of men requifite to fit out a whale-boat. Many have removed hither from the Vineyard, on which account they are more numerous on Nantucket, than any where elfe. It is flrange what revolution has happened among them in lefs than two hundred years ! What is become of thole numerdus tribes which formerly inhabited the extenfive (hores of the great bay of Maflachufets? Even fromNumke^ig (Salem)y Saugus (Lynn), Shawmut (Bofton)^ Pataxet, Napoufet (Milton), Matapan (Dor- chefter), Winefimet (Chelfea), Poiaflet, Pokano- kct (New Plymouth), Suecanoffet (Falmouth)^ Titicut (Chatham), Nobfcuflet (Tarmouth), Nauflit (Eartham), Hyannees (Barnftahle), Sec, and many others who lived on fea- Ihores of above three hundred miles in length -, without men- tioning thofe p^owerful tribes which once dwelt between the rivers Hudfon, Connedicut, Pifka- taqua, and Kennebeck, the Mehikaudret, Mo- higuine, Pequods, Narraganfets, Nianticks, .• i Mam.- ! ■■ I ■''tf Jill '•■1 *^5i ' . ifi 144. DESCRIPTION OF MalTachufets, Wamponougs, Nipnets, Tar- ranteens, &c. — They are gone, and every memorial of them is loft ; no veftiges what- ever are left of thofe fwarms which once in- habited this country, and replenifhed both fides of the great peninfula of Cape Cod : not: even one of tlie poftcrity of the famous Maf- conomco is left (the fachem of Cape Ann) -, not one of the defcendants of Maflafoit, father of Mctacomet (Philip), and Wamfutta (Alex- ander), he who who iirft conveyed fome lands to the Plymouth Company. They have all difappeared either in the wars which the Eu- ropeans carried on againft them, or elfe they have mouldered away, gathered in fome of their ancient towns, in contempt and oblivion : nothing remains of them all, but one extraor- dinary monument, and even this they owe to the induftry and religious zeal of the Europeans, I mean the Bible tranflated into the Nattick tongue. Many of thefe tribes giving way to thcfuperiorpower of the whites, retired to their ancient villages, colleding the fcattered re- mains of nations once populous ; and in their grant of lands referved to themfelves and po- fterity certain portions, which lay contiguous to them. There forgetting their ancient man- ners, they dwelt in peace ; in a few years their territories were furrounded by the improve- ments of the Europeans j in confcquence of which NANTUCKET. HS Vv'hich they grew lazy, inadtlve, nnwDling, and unapt to imitate, or to follow any of onr trades, and in a few generations, either totally perifhed or elfe came over to the Vineyard, or to this iOand, to re-unite themfelves with fiich foci- eties of their countrymen as would receive them. Such has been the fite of many nations, once warlike and independent i what we fee now on the main, or on thofe iflands, may be jullly confidered as the only remains of thofe ancient tribes. Might I be permitted to pay perhaps a very ufelefs compliment to thofe at lead who inhabited the great peninfula of Namfet, now Cape Cod, with whofe names and ancient fituation I am well acquainted. This peninfula was divided into two great re- gions ; that on the fide of the bay was known by the name of NobfcuiTet, from one of its towns ; the capital was called Naufit (now Eafiha-m) ; hence the Indians of that region were called Naufit Indians, though they dwelt in the villages of Pam^t, NofTet, Pafhee, Po- tomaket, Soktoowoket, NobfcuiTet (Tarmouth), The region on the Atlantic fide was called Maflipee, and contained the tribes of Hyan- nees, Cofbowet, Waquoit, Scootin, Saconaflet, Maflipee, and Namfet. Several of thefe Indian ■ towns have been fince converted into flouriOi- ing European fettlements, known by different jiames 3 for as the natives were excellent] udges '^' -., L. of 146 DESCRIPriON OF of land, which they had fertilized befides with the Ihells of their fifh, &c. the latter could not make a better choice ; though in general this great peninfula is but a fandy pine track, a few good fpots excepted. It is divided into feven townfliips, viz. Barnftable, Yarmouth, Harwich, Chatham, Eaftham, Pamet, Nam- fet, or Province town, at the extremity of the Cape. Yet thefe are very populous, though I am at a lofs to conceive on what the inha- bitants live, befides clams, oyfters, and fifh ; their piny lands being the moft ungrateful foil in the world. The minifterof Namfetor Pro- vince Town, receives from the government of MafiTachufet a falary of fifty pounds per annum ; and fuch is the poverty of the inhabitants of that place, that, unable to pay him any money, each m after of a flimily is obliged to allow him two hundred horfe feet (fiafpin) with which this primitive prieft fertilizes the land of his glebe, which he tills himfelf : for nothing will grow on, thefe hungry foils with- out the afTiilance of this extraordinary manure, fourteen bufliels of Indian corn being looked upon as a good crop. But it is time to return from a digreflion, which I hope you will par- don. Nantucket is a great nurfery of feamen, pilots, coafters, and bank-filhermen j as a country belonging to the province of MafTa- chufets, it has yearly the benefit of a court of Common MANTUCKET. 147 Common Pleas, and their appeal lies to the fuprcme court at Boftoii. I obferved before, that the Friends compofe two thirds of the magiftracy of this ifland; thus they are the proprietors of its territory, and the principal rulers of its inhabitants ; but with all this ap- paratus of law, its coercive powers are feldom wanted or required. Seldom is it that any individual is amerced or punifhed j their jail conveys no terror ; no man has loft his life here judicially fince the foundation of this town, which is upv/ards of an hundred years. So- lemn tribunals, public executions, humiliating punilliments, are altogether unknown. I faw neither governors, nor any pageantry of ftate ; neither oftentatious magiftrates, nor any indi- viduals cloathed with ufelefs dignity : no arti- ficial phantoms fubfift here either civil or re- ligious J no gibbets loaded with guilty citizens offer themfelves to your view j no foldiers are appointed to, bayonet their compatriots into fervile compliance. But how is a fociety compofed of 5000 individuals preferved in the bonds of peace and tranquility ? How are the weak protedcd from the ftrong ? — I will N tell you. Idlencfs and poverty, the caufes of fo many crimes, are unknown here -, each feeks in the profecution of his lawful bufinefs that honcft gain which fupports them j every period of their time is full, either on Ihore La or ^■.•. J 7 .u^ ''a ^■> / t <■■ I. i48 DESCRIPTION O^ \ or at fea. A probable expedation of reafon- able profits, or of kindly afliftance, if they fail of fuccefs, renders them ftrangers to licen- tious expedients. The fimplicity of their manners fhortens the catalogue of their wants j the law at a diftance is ever ready to exert itfelf in the protedion of thofe who Hand in need of its afTiftance. The greateft part of thenn are always at fea, purfiiing the whale or raifing the cod from the furface of the banks : fome cultivate their little farms with the ut- moft diligence ; fome are employed in exercif- ing various trades ; others again in 2:)roviding every necelTar) ;fource in order to refit their veffels, or repair what misfortunes may happen^ looking out for future markets, &c. Such is the rotation of thofe different fcenes of bu- (inefs which fill the meafure of their days ; of that part of their lives at lead which is en- livened by health, fpirits, and vigour. It is but feldom that vice grows on ^ barren fand like this, which produces nothing without ex- treme labour. How could the common follies of fociety take root in fo dcfpicable a foil ; they generally thrive on its exuberant juices : here there are none but thofe which admi- nifler to the ufeful, to the neceflary, and to the indifpenfable comforts of life. This land mull necelfarily either produce health, tempe- rance, and a great equality of conditions, or the ' ' mofl M NANTUCKET, 149 mofl: abje(5t mifery. Could the manners of lux- urious countries be imported here, like an epi- demical diforder they would deftroy every thing; the majority of them could not cxift a month, they would be obliged to emigrate. As in all focietics except that of the natives, fome dif- ference mud necelTarily exifl: between indivi- dual and individual, for there muft be fome more exalted than the reft either by their riches or their talents ; fo in this, there are what you might call the high, the middling, and the low; and this difference will always be more re- markable among people who live by fea ex- curfions than among thofe who live by the cultivation of their land. The firft run greater hazard, and adventure more: the profits and the misfortunes attending this mode of life muft necelTarily introduce a greater difparity than among the latter, where the equal divifions of the land offers no fhort road to fuperior riches. The only difference that may arife among them is that of induftry, and perhaps of fuperior goodnefs of foil : the gradations I obferved here, are founded onnothingmore than the good or ill fuccefs of their maritime enterprizes, and do not proceed from education ; that is the fame throughout every clafs, fimple, ufeful, and unadorned like their drefs and their houfes. This neceffary difference in their fortunes does not however caufe, thofe heart burnings, L 3 which \ \ / wni -V. ' W '■'■* 1! ■ ; P^^tjjM ML 1 Wf^ Hi! \ ,•■■; a ■ A HI '-' 'iiH . ya..!ii Hi f; ii i ISO E D U C A T I O N, &c. which in other ibcietics generate crinries. The fea which fiirroiinds them is equally open to all, and prefents to all an equal title to the chance of good fortune. A colledlor from Bofton is the only king's officer who appears on thefe fhores to receive the trifling duties which this community owe to thofe who pro- te6t them, and under the fliadow of whofe wings they navigate to all parts of the word. LETTER V. CUSTOMARY EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT OF THE INHABITANTS OF NANTUCKET. THE eafieft way of becoming acquainted with the modes of thinking, the rules of condudt, and the prevailing manners of any people, is to examine what fort of education they give their children ; how they treat them at home, and what they are taught in their places of public worfhip. At home their tender minds muft be early ftruck with the gra- vity, the ferious though chearful deportment of their parents ; they are inured to a principle of fubordination, arifing neither from fudden paffions nor inconfiderate pleafure; they arc gently held by an uniform filk cord, which unites AT NANTUCKET. 151 wnites foftnefs and flrengtli. A perfedl equani- mity prevails in mod of their families, and bad example hardly ever fows in their hearts the feeds of future and fimilar faults. They are corrected with tendernefs, nurfed with the mofl: affeflionate care, clad with that decent plain- nefs, from which they obferve '.heir parents never to depart : in fhort, by the force of ex- ample, which is fuperior even to the ftrongeft inftind of nature, more than by precepts, they learn to follow the fteps of their parents, to de- fpife often tatioufnefs as being finful. They acquire a tafte for that neatnefs for which their fathers are fo confpicuous ; they learn to be prudent and favingj the very tone of voice with which they are always addrefled, efta- bliflies in them that foftnefs of di6lion, which ever after becomes habitual. Frugal, fober, orderly parents, attached to their bufinefs, conftantly following fome ufeful occupation, never guilty of riot, difTipation, or other irre- gularities, cannot fail of training up children to the fame uniformitv of life and manners. If they are left with fortunes, they are taught how to fave them, and how to enjoy them with moderation and decency ; if they have none, they know how to venture, how to work and toil as their fathers have done before them. If they fail of fuccefs, there are always in this iiland (and wherever this fociety prevails) L 4 eflablifhed I "4 i^>^ •M H : ■ € 152 E D U C A T I ON, &c. eftabllfhed refources, founded on the mofl: be- nevolent principles. At their meetings they are taught the few, the fimplc tenets of their fe6t ; tenets as fit to render men fober, induf- trious, juft, and merciful, as thofe delivered in the mofl magnificent churches and cathe- drals : they arc inflruflcd in the moft efTential duties of Chriftianity, fo as not to oficnd the Divinity by the commilTion of evil deeds j to dread liis wrath and the puniflimcnts he has denounced ; they are taught at the fame time to have a proper coifidence in his mercy while they deprecate his jufticc. As every feet, from their difF/rcnt modes of worlhip, and their different interpretations of fome parts of the Scrij'ures, nvxeffarily have various opinions and prejudi :es, which contribute fomething in forming their cJuiradcrillics m focicty ; fo thofe of the Friends jre well known : obedience to the laws, even to non-refiflance, juftice, good- will to all, benevolence at home, fobriety, meeknefs, neatnefs, love of order, fondnefs and appetite for commerce. They are as re- markrl-tle here for thofe virtues as at Philadel- phia, which is tb.eir American cradle, and the boafl of that fociety. At fchool they learn to read, and to write a good hand, until they are twelve years old ; they are then in general put apprentices to the cooper's trade, v^hich is the fecond efTential branch of bufinefs followed here , rN'<:.:. ,^^ii>. PS' ■;^f! AT NANTUCKET. 153 here ; at fourteen they are fent to fea, where in their leifure hours their companions teach them the art of navigation, which t'ley have an opportunity of praftifing on the fpot. They learn the great and ufeful art of working a fhip in all the different fituations which the fea and wind fo often require ; and furely there cannot be a better or a more ufeful fchool of that kind in the world. Then they go gradually through every ftation of rowers, fleerfmen, and harpooners ; thus they learn to attack, to pur- fue, to overtake, to cut, to drefs their huge game : and after having performed feveral fuch voyages, and perfe6led themfelves in this bufi- nefs, they are fit either for the counting houfe or the chafe. \ The firft proprietors of this ifland, or rather the firft founders of this town, began their career of induflry with a fingle whale-boat, with which they went to fifh for codi the fmall diftance from their fhores at which they caught it, enabled them foon to increafe their bufinefs, and thofe early fuccefles, firft led them to conceive that they might likewife catch the whales, which hitherto fported undifturbed on their banks. After many trials and feveral mifcarriages, they fucceeded ; thus they proceeded, ftep by ftep ; the profits of one fuccefsful enterprize helped them to purchafe and prepare better materials for a more extenfive one : as thefe were at- tended ■fe j 1 ^^»y^»'TirT« m Pi;' m 154 EDUCATION, kc. tended with little cofts, their profits grew greater. The fouth fides of the ifland from eaft to weft, were divided into four equal parts, and each part was affigned to a com- pany of fix, . 'hich though thus feparated, ftill carried on their bufinefs in common. In the middle of this diilance, they erected a maft, provided with a fufficient number of rounds, and near it they built a temporary hut, where live of the aflbciates lived, whilft the fixth from his high flation carefully looked toward the Tea, in order to obferve the fpouting of the whales. As foon as any were difcovered, the fentinel defcended, the whale-boat was launched, and the company went forth in quefl of their game. It may appear ftrange to you, that fo (lender a velTel as an ylmerican whak- loaty containing fix diminitive beings, fliould dare to purfiic and to attack, in its native ele- ment, the laro;eft and (Ironffcfi: fifh that nature has created. Yet by the exertions of an admi- rable dexterity, improved by a long practice, in which thefe people are become fupcrior to any other whale-men ; by knowing t temper of the whale after her firft movement, and by many other ufeful obfervations ; they feldom failed to harpoon it, and to bring the huge leviathan on the fliores. Thus they went on until the profits they made, enabled them to purchafe larger vefiTels, and to purfue them far- ther, I AT NANTUCKET. 155 thcr, when the whales quitted their coafls ; thofe who failed in their enterprizes, returned to the cod-fiflieries, which had been their firfl: fchool, and their fi-^ refource j they even began to vifit the banks of Cape l^reton, the ifle of Sable, and all the other fifhing places, with which this coaft of America abounds. By- degrees they went a whaling to Newfoundland, to the Gulph of St. Laurence, to the Straits of Belleifle, the coaft of Labrador, Davis's Straits, even to Cape Defolation, in 70^ of latitude; where the Danes car'-y on fomc fifheries in fpite of the perpetual feventies of that inhofpitable climate. In procefs of time they vifited the weftern iflands, the latitude of 34^ famous for that fifli, the Brazils, the coaft of Guinea. Would you believe that they have already gone to the Falkland Iflands, and that I have heard feveral of them talk of going to the South Sea 1 Their confidence is fo great, and their knowledge of this branch of bufi- nefs fo fuperior to that of any other people, that they have acquired a monopoly of chis commodity. Such were their feeble begin- nings, fuch the infancy and the progrefs of their maritime fchemes; fuch is now the degree of boldnefs and adivity to which they are arrived in their manhood. After their ex- amples feveral companies have been formed in many of our capitals, where every neceffary article i ■■;•■(_ L' M m^'^ 156 EDUCATION, kc. article of provifions, implements, and timber, are to be found. But the indurcry exerted by the people of Nantucket, hath hitherto enabled them to rival all their competitors ; confe- quently this is the greuteft mart for oil, whale- bone, and fpermaceti, on the continent. Ir does not follow however that they are always fuc- cefsful, this would be an extraordinary field indeed, where the crops lliould never fail ; many voyages do not repay the original coil of fitting out : they bear inch misfortunes like true merchants, and as they never venture their all like gamefters, they try their fortunes again j die latter hope to win by chance alone, the former by induflry, well judged fpeculation, and fome hazard. I v/as there when Mr. had miffed one of his vefTels ; ilie had been given over for loft by every body, but happily arrived before I came away, after an abfence of thirteen months. She had met with a va- riety of difappointments o^i the ftation fhe v/as ordered to, and rather than return empty, the people fleered for the coaft of Guinea, where they fortunately fell in with feveral whales, and brought home upward of 600 barrels of oil, befide bone. Thofe returns are fome- times difpofed of in the towns of the continent, where they are exchanged for fuch commodities as are wanted ; but they are moft commonly fent to England, where they always fell for calli. AT NANTUCKET. 157 calh. When this is intended, a veflel larger than the reft is fitted out to be filled with oil on the fpot where it is found and made, and thence ihe fails immediately for London. This expedient faves time, fi-eight, and ex- pence; and from that capital they bring back whatever they want. They employ aifo feve- ral vefiftls in tranfporting lumber to the Well Indian Illands, from whence they procure in return the various produdions of the country, which they afterwards exchange wherever they can hear of an advantageous market. Being extremely acute they well know how to im- prove all the advantages which the combination of fo many branches of bufinefs conftantly affords ; the fpirit of commerce, which is the fimple art of a reciprocal fupply of wants, is well underftood here by every body. They poffefs, like the generality of the Americans, a large fhare of native penetration, activity, and good fenfe, which lead them to a variety of other fecondary fchemes too tedious to men- tion : they are well acquainted with the cheapeft method of procuring lumber from. Kennebeck river, Penobfcot, &c. pitch and tar, from North Carolina \ flour and bifcuit, from Phi- ladelphia ; beef and pork, from Connefticut. They know how to exchange their cod fifh and Weft-Indian produce, for thofe articles which they are continually either bringing to their id and. 158 NANTUCKET. ifland, or fending off to other places where they are wanted. By means of all thefe commercial negociations, they have greatly cheapened the fitting out of their whaling fleets, and therefore much improved their fifheries. They are indebted for all thefe ad- vantages not only to their national genius but to the poverty of their foil j and as a proof of what I have fo often advanced, look at the Vineyard (their neighbouring ifland) which is inhabited by a fet of people as keen and as fagacious as themfelves. Their foil being in general extremely fertile, they have fewer na- vigators ; though they are equally well fituated for the fifhing bufinefs. As in my way back to Falmouth on the main, I vifited this filler ifland, permit me to give you as concifely as I can, a fhort but true defcription of it ; I am not fo limited in the principal objedl of this journey, as to wifli to confine myfelf to the fingle fpot of Nantucket. LETTER MARTFIA's VINEYARD. 159 LETTER VI. DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND OF MARTHAS VINEYARD i AND OF THE WHALE FISHERY. THIS ifland is twenty miles in length, and from feven to eight miles in breadth, as you may fee by the annexed map.* It lies nine miles from the continent, and with the Elizabeth lOands fonns one of the counties of Maffachufets Bay, known by the nam.e of Duke's County. Thofe latter, which are fix in number, are about nine miles diftant from the Vineyard, and are all famous for excellent dairies. A good ferry is eflablifhed between Edgar Town, and Falmouth on the main, the diftance being nine miles. Martha's Vineyard is divided into three townfhips, viz. Edgar, Chilmark, and Tifbury j the number of inha- bitants is computed at about 4000^ 300 of which * References to the Map of Martha's Vineyard. 1 Starbuck Point. 2 Beniah Norton's houfe, the colonel of the ifland. 3 The houfe of James Athearn, Efq. 4 Dr Mahew's houfe. 5 Iron mine, the ore of which is carried to the forges at Taunron. 6 Lagoon, famous for catching bafs under the ice. 7 The beft m >wing grounds in the ifland, yicldiag four tons of black grafs per acre. 8 Excellent planting ground. 9 A mine ot good pipe clay. 'V ■V' '■ ( J ' i6» DESCRIPTION OF ;>* ;■ ^' >». to ■i ^..',.. « which are Indians. Edgar is the befl Tea-port, and the fhire town, and as its foil is light and fandy, many of its inhabitants follow the ex- ample of the people of Nantucket. The town of Chi) mark has no good harbour, but the land is excellent and no way inferior to any on the rontinent : it contains excellent paftures, convenient brooks for mills, ftone for fencing, &c. The town of Tifbury is remarkable for the excellence of its timber, and has a har- bour where the water is deep enough for fhips of the line. The flock of the ifland is 20,000 fheep, 2000 neat cattle, befide horfes and goats; they have alfo fome deer, and abundance of fea fowls. This has been from the beginning, and is to this day, the principal feminary of the Indians ; they live on that part of the ifland whicji is called Chapoquidick, and were very early chriflianifed by the refpedlable family of the Mahews, the firft proprietors of it. The firfl fettler of that name conveyed by will to a fa- vourite daughter a certain part of it, on which there grew many wild vines; thence it was called Martha's Vineyard, after her name, which in procefs of time extended to the v/hole ifland. The pofl:erity of the ancient Aborigines remain here to this day, on lands which their forefathers referved for themfelves, and which are religioufly kept from any in- croachments. The New England people arc ■ remark- ..^" ^ I '^^ - -<^'SliMH^kfl -' Im '1^ ^^^ ■ Bflw!Ui k>£« t- ^ I I* -'^•wil»iK%'--.' # ) 1 Stickauosoti crrFabnoitk^ f^" '"^\J / ^ MAP of flielSI.AXn of Mart has Vine yarj ) witk its Dependencies. s-?**fear/: pi '■-*: '., . •■"! I '-fpFr f ■"'; »*■ •'! I. m ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET {MT-3) /. k A J A 5<1 1= 11.25 40 mil 2.0 12.2 1.4 — 6" 1.6 m 7a ^l w > % > y /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. USSO (716) 872-4503 ■^ i\ • l'Mlll."l|*> ""(IBWB smsBtxm \,f-- ' .;. 161 ACCOUNT OF THE earlieft wifh j and it is a blefling fo ealil^f obtained, that great numbers are obliged to quit their native land and go to feme other countries in quefl: of fubfiftence. The inhabi- tants are all Prefbyterians, which is the efta- blifhed religion of MafTachufets ; and here let me remember with gratitude the hofpitable treatment I received from B. Norton, Efq- the colonel of the ifland, as well as from Dr. Mahew, the lineal defcendant of the firft pro- prietor. Here are to be found the moft ex- pert pilots, either for the great bay, their found, Nantucket llioals, or the different ports in their neighbourhood. In ftormy weather they are always at fea, looking out for vefTels, which they board with Angular dexterity, and hardly ever fiiil to bring fafe to their in- tended harbour. Gay-FIead, the weftern point of this ifland, abounds with a variety of ochres of different colours, with which the inhabi- tants paint their houfes. *^ The vefiels moft proper for whale fifhing, are brigs of about 150 tons burthen, particularly when they are intended for diftant latitudes j they always man them with thirteen hands, in order that they may row two whale boats j the crews of which muft neceflarily confift of fix> four at the oars, one ftanding on the bows with the harpoon, ind the other at the helm. It is alfo neceflary that there fliould be two of thefe WHALE FISHERY. 1^3 4 thefe boats, that if one flioiild be dellroyed in attacking the whale, the other, which is never engaged at the lame time, may be ready to fave the hands. Five of the thirteen are al- v/ays Indians ; the lafl: of the complement re- mains on board to fleer the vefTel during the aftion. They have no wages ; eatli draws a certain eflabliflicd fliare in partnerfhip with the proprietor of the vefTel ; by which oeconomy they are all proportionably concerned in tlie fiiccefb of the enterprife, and all equally alert and vigilant. None of thefe whale-men evek* exceed the age of forty : they look on thofe who are paft that period not to be pofTefTed of all that vigour and agility which fo adventurous a bufinefs requires. Indeed if you attentively confider the immenfe difproportion between the objedt afTailed and the afTailants ; if you think On the diminutive fize, and wcaknefs of their frail vehicle ; if you recoUedl the treachery of the element on which this fcene is tranfiided ; the fudden and unforefeen accidents of windsj &c. you will readily acknowledge, that it muft require the mofl confiimmate exertion of all the ftrength, agility, and judgement, of which the bodies and the minds of men are capable, to undertake thefe adventurous encounters. As foon as they arrive in thofe latitudes where they expe6t to meet with whales, a man is fent up to the mall head j if he fees one, he :.. M 2 imme- *v pt: y. ■' I- ir ■ • 164 ACCOUNT OF THE immediately cries out av/aite pawana, here is a whale ; they all remain ftill and filcnt until he repeats pawana, a wbale^ when in lefs than fix minutes the two boats are launched, filled with every implement necefiary for the attack. They row toward the whale with aftonifliing velocity j • and as the Indians early became their fellow labourers in this new warfare, you can eafily conceive, how the Nat- tick expreflions became familiar on board the "whale-boats. Formerly it often happened that whale veiTels were manned with none but In- dians and the malT:er; rew,olle6t alio that the Nantucket people underftand the Nattick, and and that there are always five of thefe people on board. Inhere are various ways of approaching the whale, according to their peculiar fpecies ; and this previous knowledge is of the utmofl: confequence. When thefe boats are arrived at a reafonable diilance, one of them refts on its oars and (lands oif, as a witnefi of the ap- proaching engagement ; near the bows of the other the harpooner ftands up, and on him principally depends the fuccefs of the enter- prife. He wears a jacket clofely buttoned, and round his head a handkerchief tightly bound : in his hands he holds the dreadful weapon, made of the bed fteel, marked fometimes with the name of their town, and fometimes with that of their vcilel i to the ihaft of which the end WHALE FISHERY. 165 end of a cord of due flrcngth, coiled up with the utmoft care in the middle of the boat, is firmly tied ; the other end is faflencd to the bottom of the boat. Thus prepared they row in profound filence, leaving the whole con- dud of the enterprife to the harpooner and to the fteerfman, attentively following their di- re6lions. When the former judges himfelf to be near enough to the whale, that is, at the diftance of about fifteen feet, he bids them llopi perhaps flic has a calf, whofe fafety at- trafls all the attention of the dam, which is a favourable circumltance ; perhaps flic is of a dangerous fpecies, and it is flifeft to retire, though their ardour will feldom permit them j perhaps flie is afleep, in that cafe he balances high the harpoon, trying in this important moment to colledt all the energy of which he is capable. He launches it forth — flie is ftruck : from her firft movement they judge of her temper, as well as of their future fuc- cefs. Sometimes in the immediate impulfe of rage, flie will attack the boat and demolilh it with one ftroke of her tail ; in an inflant the frail vehicle difappears and the aflailants are immerfed in the dreadful element. Were the whale armed with the laws of the (hark, and as voracious, they never would return home to amufe their liftening wives with the interefting tale of the adventure. At other times flie M 3 will I.U K Il^iik-h^- iiflK^H w 1 111 ill |i! m i66 ACCOUNT OF THE will dive and difappear from human fight j and every thing miifl then give way to her velocity j or elfe all is loft. Sometimes flie will fwim away as if untouched, and draw the cord with fuch fwiftnefs that it will fet the edge of the boat on fire by the friflion. If fhe rifes before fiie has run out the whole length, flie is looked upon as a fure prey. The blood flie has lod in her flight, weakens her fo much, that if flie finks again, it is but for a fhort time ; the boat follows her courfe with an almoft equal fpecd. She foon re-appears ; tired at laft with convulf- ing the dementi which Ihe tinges with her blood, fhe dies, and floats on the furface. At other times it may happen, that fhe is not dangeroufly wounded, though flie carries the harpoon fafl in her body j when fhe will alter- nately dive and rife, and fwim on with un- abated vigour. She then foon reaches beyond the length of the cord, and carries the boat along with amazing velocity : this fudden im- pediment fometimes will retard her fpeed, at other times it only ferves to roufe her anger, and to accelerate her progrefs. The harpooner, with the axe in his hands, ftands ready. When he obferves that the bows of the boat are greatly pulled down by the diving whale, and that it begins to fink deep and to take much water, he brings the axe almoft in contaft with the cord i he pauf^s, ftill flattering himfelf that flie will WHALE FISHERV. 167 will relax j but the moment grows critical, unavoidable danger approaches : fometimes men more intent on gain, than on the prefer- vation of their lives, will run great rifks ; and k is wonderful how far thefe people have car- ried their daring courage at this awful moment! But it is vain to hope, their lives muft be faved, the cord is cut, the boat rifes again. If after thus getting loofe, flie re-appears, they will attack and wound her a fecond time. She foon dies, and when dead fiie is towed along- fide of their veflel, where Ihe is fafiened. The next operation is to cut with axes and fpades, every part of her body which yields oil ; the kettles are fet a boiling, they fill their barrels as faft as it is made j but as this operation is much flower than that of cut- ting upi they fill the hold of their fhip with thofe fragments, leafb a llorm fliould arife and oblige them -to abandon their prize. It is aflonifhing what a quantity of oil fome of thefe fifli will yield, and what profit it affords to thofe who are fortunate enough to overtake them. The river St. Laurence whale, Vvhich is the only one I am well acquainted with, is fcventy-five feet long, fixteen deep, twelve in the length of its bone, which commonly weighs 3000 lb. twenty in the breadth of their tails and produces 180 barrels of oil : I cnce faw 16 boiled out of the tongue only. After M 4 having If [^ 'm\ -•■7i^^* Vk ■m iT? ^7 \ i63 ACCOUNT OF THE having once vanqiiiflicd this leviathan, there are two enemies to be drcadcci befide the wind ; tlie firfl: of which is the fliarlc : that fierce voracious fifli, to wliich nature has given fuch dreadful offenfive wcaj)ons, often comes along- fide, and in fpite of the people's endeavours, will (hare with them in their prey ; at night particularly. They are very mifchevious, but the fecond enemy is much more terrible and irrefillible ; it is the killer, fometimes called the thraflier, a fpecies of whales about thirty feet long. They are porfeffed of fucii a degree of agility and rtercencfs, as often to attack tlic largeft fpermaceti whales, and not feldom to rob the filhermen of their })rey ; nor is there any means of defence againft fo potent an adver- fary. When all their barrels are full, for every thi ig is done at fea, or vv'hen their limited tin^ie is expired and their Itorcs almoll expended, they return home, freighted with their valuable cargo ; unlefs they have put it on boaid a velfel for the European market. Such are, as briefly as I can relate them, the different branches of the cEConomy pradifed by thefe bold naviga- tors, and the method with which they go fuch diiiances from their illand to catch this huge game. ' ' The following are the names and principal charatflerillics of the various fpecies of whales known to thefe people : . • The ' WHALE FISHERY. 169 The river St. Laurence whale, juft de- fer i bed. The difko, or Greenland ditto. The right whale, or (even feet bone, com- mon on the coafti of this country, about fixty feet long. The fpermaceti whale, found all over the world, and of all fizes ; the longed are fixty feet, and yield about 100 barrels of oil. The hump- backs, on the coall of New- foundland, from forty to fcvcnty feet in length. 'I'he finn-back, an American whale, never killed, as bein^j too fwift. The fulpher- bottom, river St. Laurence, ninety feet long ; they are but feldom killed, as being extremely fwift. The grampus, thirty feet lonn;, never killed on the lame account. The killer or thraflier, about thirty feet, they often kill the other whales with which they are at perpetual war. .The black Hfli whale, twenty fe^ty yields from 8 to 10 barrels. The porpoife, weighing about 160 lb. In 1769 they fitted out 125 whalemen ; t!ie firll 50 that returned brought with them 1 1,000 barrels of oil. In 1770 they fitted out 135 vefiels for the fifheries, at thirteen hands each ; 4. Weft- 1 ndi amen, twelve hands ; 25 wood v-.:Jels, four hands; 18 coafters, five hands; 15 London traders, eleven hands. All thefe I amount n •■ .; x:o '•4 •■■ * ■! ^^i I ii I- MANNERS AND CUSTOMS amount to 2158 hands, employed in 197 vef- fcls. Trace their progrefTive Heps between the pofTeirion of a few whale boats, and that of fuch a fleet ! The moral condii(5b, prejudices, and cuftoms of a people who live two-thirds of their time at fca, mud naturally be very different from thofe of their neighbours, who live by culti- vating the earth. That long abftemioufnefs to which the former are expofed, the breathing of faline air, the frequent repetitions of danger, the boldnefs acquired in furmounting them, the very impulfe of the winds, to which they arc expofed; all thefe, one would imagine mull lead them, when on fliorc, to no fmall defire of inebriation, and a more eager purfuit of thofe plcafiires, of which they have been fo long deprived, and which they mud foon forego. There are many appetites that may be gratified on fhore, even by the pooreft man, but which mud remain unfatisfied at fea. Yet notwith- ilanding the powerful effedls of all thefe caufes, I obferved here, at the return of their fleets, no material irregularities ; no tumultuous drinking aflemblies : whereas in our conti- nental towns, the thoughtlefs feaman indulges himfelf in the coarfeft pleafures ; and vainly thinking that a week of debauchery can com- penfate for months of abftinence, foolilhly lavifties in a few days of intoxication, the fruits of half a year's labour. On the contraiy ^J AT NANTUCKET. i;i was peace here, and a general decency pre- vailed throughout j the rcafon I belie'/c is, that almoft every body here is married, for they get wives very young ; and the pleafLire of returnino; to their families abforbs everv other defire. The motives that )ead them to the fea, are very different from tliofe of mofl: other fea-faring men j it is neither idlenefs nor profligacy that fends them to that element ; it is a fettled plan of life, a well founded hope of earning a livelihood j it is becaufe their foil is bad, that they are early initiated to this profeffionj and were they to Hay at home, what could they do ? The fea therefore becomes to them a kind of patrimony j they go to whal- ing with as much pleafure and tranquil indif- ference, with as ftrong an expedlation of fuc- cefs, as a landman undertakes to clear a piece of fwamp. The firfl is obliged to advance his time, and labour,, to procure oil on the fur- face of the fea ; the fecond advances the fame to procure himfelf grafs from grounds that produced nothing before but haflbcks and bogs. Among thofe who do not ufe the fea, I obferved the fame calm appearance as among the inhabitants on the continent ; here I found, without gloom, a decorum and referve, fp natural to them, that I thought myfelf in Philadelphia. At my landing I was cordially feceived by thofe to whom J was recomr^iendedj and K 7 .f •■ m. m i m wyl. . \ ■■ I.Vv ■ t 172 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS •and treated with iiniifFcdcd hofpitality by fuch others with whom 1 became acquainted ; and I can tell you, that it is impolTible /or any traveller to dwell here one month without knowing the heads of the principal families. Wherever I went I found a fimplicity of diction and manners, rather more primitive and rigid than I expeded ; and I foon perceived that it proceeded from their fecUided fituation, which has prevented them from mixing with others. It is therefore eafy to conceive how they have retained every degree of peculiarity for which this fe(5l was formerly diftinguifhed. Never was a bee-hive ir.ore faithfully employed in gathering wax, bet- bread, and honey, from all the neighbouring fields, than are the members of this fociety ; every one in the town^follows fome particular occupation with great diligence, but without that ferviiity of labour which I am informed prevails in Europe. The me- chanic feemed to be defcended fromi as good parentage, was as well drefled and fed, and held in as much eitimation as thofe who em- ployed him ; they were once nearly related ; their different degrees of profperity is what has caufed the various fhades of their community. But this accidental difference has introduced, as yet, neither arrogance nor pride on the one part, nor meannefs and ferviiity on the other. All their houfes are neat, convenient, and com- fortable, V AT NANTUCKET. 173 fortable : fonu' of tncm arc filled with two fa- milies, for w'hi^n the hufbands are at fea, the wives require lefs houfe-rooin. They all abound with the nioH: fubflantial furniture, more \':du.iblc from its ufefulnefs than from anv oriKimerual appearance. Wherever I went, I found <:';o(>d cheer, a welcome reception ; and after the fecond vifit I felt myfelf as much at my eafe as if I had been an old acquaintance of the family. They had as great plenty of every thing as if their illand had been part of the golden quarter of Virginia (a valuable track of land on Cape Charles) : I could hardly perfuade myfelf that I had quitted the adjacent continent, where every thing abounds, and that I was on a barren fand-bank, fertilized with wh . oil only. As their rural improvements are but trifling, and only of the ' feful kind, and as the befl: of them are at a confiderable didance from the town, I amufed myfelf for feveral days in converfing with the mofl: intel- ligent of the inhabitants of both fexes, and making myfelf acquainted with the various branches of their induftry ; the different objeds of their trade i the nature of that fagacity v/hich, deprived as they are of every neceflfary mate- rial, produce, &c. yet enables them to flourifh, to live well, and fometimes to make confider- able fortunes. The whole is an enigma to be folved only by coming to the fpoc and obferving the "■'*■■■ M-^ WW M'i' ■'•■'( '■^ te?f" ! •..' .>! / 175 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS the national genius which the original founder^ brought with them, as v/ell as their unwearied patience and perfeverance. They have all, from the highelt to the lowed, a fingular keen- nefs of judgement, unafTiited by any academical light ; they all poflefs a large fhare of good fenfe, improved upon the experience of their fathers j and this is the fureft and befl: guide to lead us through the path of life, becaufe it ap- proaches neareft to the infallibility of inftindi Shining talents and Univcrfity knowledge, would be entirely ufelefs here, nay, would be dangerous j it would pervert their plain judg- ment, it would lead them o'lt of that ufeful path which is fo well adapted to their fituation : it would make them more adventurous, more prefumptuous, much lefs cautious, and there- fore lefs fuccefsful. It is pleafing to hear fome of them tracing a father's progrefs and their own, through the different vicifTitudes of good and adverfe fortune. I have often, by their iire-fides, travelled with them the whole length of their career, from their earlieft fteps, from their firft commercial adventure, from the poiTefTion of a fingle whale-boat, up to that of a dozen large vefTels ! This does not imply, however, that every one who began with a whale-boat, has afcended to a like pitch of fortune j by no means, the fame cafualty, the lame combination of good and evil which at- tends AT NANTUCKET. 174 tends human affairs in every other part of the globe, prevails here : great profperity is not the lot of every man, but there are many and vari- ous gradations ; if they all do not attain riches, they all attain an eafy fubfiftence. After all, is it not better to be poflelTcd of a fingle whale- boat, or a few flieep paftures ; to live free and independent under the mildefl: governncnts, in a healthy climate, in a land of charity and be- nevolence ; than to be wretched as fo many are In Eurcpe, poflfefring nothing but their induRry : toffed from one rough wave to another ; en- gaged either in the moft fervile labours for the fmalleft pittance, or fettered with the links of the mod irkfome dependence, even without the hopes of rifing ? The majority of thofe inferior hands which are employed in this fifliery, many of the me- chanics, fuch as coopers, fmiths, caulkers, carpenters, &:c. who do not belong to the fo- ciety ot Friends, are Prefbyterians, and ori- ginally came from the main. Thofe who are poliefTed of the greatell fortunes at prefent belong to the former ; but they all began as fimple whalemen ; it is even looked upon as honourable and necefTary for the fon of the wealthieft man to ferve an apprenticcfliip to the fame bold, adventurous bufinefs which has enriched his father ; they go feveral voyages, and thefe early ejccurfions never fail to 5^ t.^^l iv ''■ \- [t,' ':» #: 176 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS to harden their conftitiitions, and introduce them to the knowledge of their future means of fubfiftence. LETTER VII. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS AT NANTUCKET. AS I obferved before, every man takes a wife as foon as he chufcs, and that is ge- nerally very early j no portion is required, none is expedled ; no marriage articles are drawn up among us, by fkillful lawyers, to puzzle and lead pofterity to the bar, or to fatisfy the pride of the parties. We give nothing with our daughters ; their education, their health, and the cuftomary out-fet, are all that the fli- thers of numerous families can afford : as the wife's fortune confifts principally in her future ceconomy, modelly, and fkillful ma- nagement J fo the hufband's is founded on his abilities to labour, on his health, and the knowledge of fome trade or bufinefs. Their mutual endeavours, ifter a few years of conftant application, feldom fail of fuccefs, and of bring- ing them the means to rear and fupport the new race which accompanies the nuptial bed. Thofe children born by the fca-fidc, hear the roaring of its waves as foon as they are able to liften J it is the firll noife with which they become # AT NAKTUClCEf. - 177 become acquainted, and by early plunging in it they acquire that boldnefs, that prefence of mind, and dexterity, which makes them ever after fuch expert feame:*. They often hear their fathers recount the adventures of their youth, their combats with the whales j and thefe recitals imprint on their opening minds an early curiofity and tafte for the fame life. They often crofs the fea to go to the main, and learn even in thofe ftiort voyages how to qualify themfclves for longer and more dangerous onesi they are therefore defervedly confpicuous for their maritime knowledge and experience, all over the continent. A man born here is diftinguifhable by his gait from among an hundred other men, fo remarkable are they for a pliability of finews, and a peculiar agi- lity, which attends them even to old age. I have heard fome perfons attribute this to the effedsofthe whale oil, with which they are fo copioufly anointed in the various opera- tions it muft undergo ere it is fit either for the European market or the candle manu- faaory. ' * ■ ' But you may perhaps be folicitous to afk, what becomes of that exuberancy of population which muft arife from fo much temperance, from healthinefs of climate, and from early marriage? You may juftly conclude that their native ifland and town can contain but a ,^ " N limited p ■ ^ •'ifii'i Wl ii' ?fi l^;:' •■ ^ 8l ii I m^ ;. 1. 178 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS - limited number. Emigration is both natural and eafy to a maritime people, and that is the very reafon why they are always populous, problematical as it may appear. They yearly go to different parts of this continent, con- ftantly engaged in fea affairs j as our internal riches encreafc, fbdoes our external trade, which confequently requires more fhips and more men : forrtctimes they have emigrated like bees, in regular and conneded fwarms. Some of the Friends (by which word I always mean the people called Quakers) fond of a contemplative life, yearly vifit the feveral congregations which this fociety has formed throughout the continent. By their means a fort of correfpondence is kept up among them all ; they are generally good preachers, friendly cenfors, checking vice wherever they find it predominating ; preventing relaxations in any parts of their ancient cuftoms and worfhip. They every where carry admonition and ufeful advice ; and by thus travelling they unavoidably gather the moft neccffary obfervations concerning thQ various fituations of particular diftrifts, their foils, their produce, their diftance from navi- gable rivers, the price of the land^ Sec, In confequence of informations of this kind, re^ ceived at Nantucket in the year 1766, a con-* fiderable number of them purchafed a large track of land in the county qf Orange, in ! ■ . ' ^ North .# ■ AT NANTUCICET. 179 North Carolina, fitiiated on the feveral fpring heads of Deep River, which is the weftcrn branch of Cape Fear, or North Weft River. The advantage of being able to convey thcm- felvcs by fea, to wirhin forty miles of the fpot, th- richnefs of the foil, &:c. made them chearfuUy quit an ifland on which there was no longer any room for them. There they have founded a beautiful fettlement, known by the name of Ne-zv Garden, contiguous to the famous one which the Moravians have at Beth- abara, Bethamia, and Salem, on Yadkin River. No fpot of earth can be more beauti fill i itiscom- pofed of gentle hills, of eafy declivities, excel- lent low lands, accompanied by different brooks which traverfe this fettlement. I never faw a foil that rewards men fo early for their labours and difburfements j fuch in general with very few exceptions, are the lands which adjoin the innumerable heads of all the large rivers which fall into the Chefapcak, or flow through the provinces of North and South Carolina, Geor- gia, &c. It is perhaps the moft pleafing, the moft bewitching country which the continent affords ; becaufe while it preferves an eafy com- munication with the fea-port towns, at fome feafons of the year, it is perfectly free from the contagious air often breathed in thofe flat countries, which are more contiguous to the Atlantic. Thefe lands are as rich as thofe N 2 over :,!^M..-mJ» rt-.r J '•J '■■ Pi • M j8o manners and CUSTOMS over the Alligany ; the people of New Gardeit are fituated at the diflance of between 200 and 300 miles from Cape Fear -, Cape Fear is at leaft 450 from Nantucket : you may judge therefore that they have but little correfpon- dcnce with this their little metropolis, except it is by means of the itinerant Friends. Others have fettled on the famous river Kennebeck, in that territory of the province of Maflachu- fets, which is known by the name of Sagada- hock. Here they have foftened the labours of clearino: the heavieft timbered land in Ame- rica, by means of feveral branches of trade which their fair river, and proximity to the fea affords them. Inftead of entirely confuming their timber, as we are obliged to doj fome parts of it are converted into ufeful articles for exportation, fuch as ftaves, fcantlings, boards, hoops, poles, 6cc, For that purpofe they keep a correfpondence with their native ifland, and I know many of the principal inha- bitants of Sherburn, who, though merchants, and living at Nantucket, yet pofTefs valuable farms on that river ; from whence they draw great part of their fubfiftence, meat, grain, fire-wood, &c. The title of thefe lands is veiled in the ancient Plymouth Company, under the powers of which the Maflachufets was fettled , and that company which refides in 4 Bofton, lil'W"! AT NANTUCKET. i8i Bofton, are flill the grahters of all the vacant lands within their limits. Although this part of the province is (o fruitful, and fo happily fituated, yet it has been Angularly overlooked and negleded : it is furprifing that the excellejice of that foil which lies on the river fhould not have caufed it to be filled before now with inhabitants ; for the fettlements from thence to Penobfcot are as yet but in their infancy. It is true that im- menfe labour is required to make room for the plough, but the peculiar ftrength and quality of the foil never fails moft amply to reward the induftrious pofTefTor ; I know of no foil in this country more rich or more fertile** I do not mean that fort of tranfitory fertility ,. which evaporates with the fun, and difappears in a few years j here on the contrary, even their higheft grounds are covered with a rich moid fwamp mould, which bears the moft luxuriant grafs, and never failing crops of grain. ' If New-Gardenc exceeds this fettlement by the foftnefs of its climate, the fecundity of its foil, and a greater variety of produce from lefs labour ; it does not breed men equally hardy, nor capable to encounter dangers and fatigues. It leads too much to idlenefs and effeminacy -, for great is the luxuriance of that part of America, and the eafe with which the earth is cultivated. Were I to begin life again, I ^ N 3 ^yould fm.f. I,' ■> I i^-' i nn tt'' 4 ; « i.|,t.>'';-.r%j. Ip 1 i''"''^ ,. Ki'j,*;, ^ \ 182 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS would prefer the country of Kennebeck to thcr other, however bewitching j the navigation of the river for above 200 miles, the great abun- dance of fifli it contains, the conftant healthi- nefs of the climate, the happy feverities of the winters always ftieltering the earth, with a vo- luminous coat of fnow, the equally happy ne- celTity of labour : all thefe reafons would greatly preponderate againft the fofter fituations of Carolina ; where mankind reap too much, do not toil enough, and are liable to enjoy too fall the benefits of life. There are many I know who would defpife my opinion, and think me a bad judge j let thofe go and fettle at the Ohio, the Monogahela, Red Stone Creek, &c. let them go and inhabit the extended fhores of that fuperlative river; I with equal chearfulnefs would pitch my tent on the rougher fhores of Kennebeck ; this will always be 4 country of health, labour, and flrong adivity, and thofe are chara^leriftics of fociety which I value more than greater opulence and volup^ tuous eafe, Thus though this fruitful hive conftantly fends out fwarms, as induftrious as themfelves, yet it always remains full without having any iifelefs drones : on the contrary it exhibits con- ftant fcenes of bufinefs and new fchemes i the richer an individual grows, the more extenfive his field of j^6\ion becomes 5 he that is near ending AT NANTUCKET. 183 cflding his rareer, drudges on as well as he who has Jufl begun it ; no body (lands ftill. But is it nc^t Ilrange, that after having accumu- lated riches, they fhould never wilh to ex- change their barren fiiuation for a more Ihel- tered, more pleafant one on the main ? Is it not ftninge, that after having fpent the morn- ing and the meridian of their days amidfl: the jarring waves, weary with the toils of a labo- rious life ; they fhould not wifli to enjoy the evenings of thofe days of induftry, in a larger fociety, on fome fpots of terra firma, where the fevcrity of the winters is balanced by a variety of more pleafing fcenes, not to be found here ? But the fame magical power of habit and cuftom which makes the Laplander, the Siberian, the Hottentot, prefer their climates, their occupations, and their foil, to more be- neficial fituations j leads thefe good people to think, that no other fpot on the globe is f6 analagous to their inclinations as Nantucket. / Here their conne6lions are formed; what would they do at a diftance removed from them ? Live fumptuoufly, you will fay, procure them- felves new friends, new acquaintances, by their fplendid tables, by their oftentatious gencrofity and by affedted hofpitality. Thefe are thoughts that have never entered into their heads j they would be filled with horror at the thought of form- ing wifhes and plans fo different from that fimpli- N 4 city. X jisM; fl\ MX WW l~.!^. ■ * ' : !.':■'■'■■■ 184 mann^rI and customs city, which is their general (tandard in afflu- ence as well as in poverty. They abhor the very idea of expending in iifelefs wafte and vain luxuries, the fruits of profperous labour ; they are employed in eftablifhing their fons and in many other ufeful purpofes : ftrangers to the honours of monarchy they do not afpire to the poflefllon of affluent fortunes, with which to purchafe founding titles, and frivolous names ! Yet there are not at Nantucket fo many wealthy people as one would imagine after having confidered their great fuccefles, their induftry, and their knowledge. Many die poor, though hardly able to reproach Fortune with a frown ; others leave not behind them that affluence which the circle of their bufinefs, and of their profperi ty naturally promifed. The reafon of this is, I believe, the peculiar expence neceflarily attending their tables -, for as their ifland fupplies the town with little or nothing (a few families excepted) every one muft pro- cure what they want from the main. The very hay their horfes confume, and every other ar- facle neceflary to fupport a family, though cheap in a country of fo great abundance as MafTachufets j yet the neceflary wafte and ex- pences attending their tranfport, render thefc commodities dear. A vaft number of little vcflfels from the main, and from the Vineyard, arc ifft AT NANTUCKET. 185 are conftantly reforting here, as to a market. Sherburn is extremely well fupplied with every thing, but this very confbancy of fupply, ne- celTarily drains olF a great deal of* money. The firfl ufe they make of titeir oil and bone is to exchan2:e it for bread and meat, and whatever elfe they want; the necefTitics of a large family are very great and numerous, let its oeconomy be what it will ; they are fo often repeated, that they perpetually draw off a con- fiderable branch of the profits. If by any ac- cidents thofe profits are interrupted, the capital muft fuffer •, and it very often happens that the greateft part of their property is floating on the fea.. . There are but two congregations in this town. They affemble every Sunday in meet- ing houfes, as fimple as the dwelfing of the people J and there is but one prieft on the whole ifland. What would a good Portuguefe obferve ? — But one fingle prieft to inftru6l a whole ifland, and to diredl their confciences ! It is even fo j each individual knows how to guide his own, and is content to do it, as well as he can. This lonely clergyman is a Prefljyterian minifter, who has a very large and refpedable congregation ; vhe other is com- pofed of Quakers, who you know admit of no particular perfon, who in coniequence of being grdained becomes exclufively entitled to preach. f "•ih .yUr.t .-.■it ■mm^' mnm I'lVri .1 ImExS • > Ifciii'n ilk !? '^Pii^ ■■Bi^ 1 >.!■ ■^■.: ■ ^nSUP-^B ir :■ V.i. ' " '■»'.■•■ u. ■ ^« 1 M.J. .. i i86 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS preach, to catcchifc, and to receive certain flilaries for his trouble. Among them, every om. may expound the fcripturcs, v/ho thinks he is called fo to do ; befide, as they admit of neither facrament, baptifm, nor any other outward forms whatever, fuch a man would be ufelefs. Mod of thefc people are continu- ally at fea, and have often the mofl urgent reafons to worfhip the Parent of Nature in the midft of the dorms which they encounter. X Thefe two fefls live in perfe6b peace and har- mony with each other ; thofe ancient times of religious difcords are now gone (I hope never < to return) when each thought it meritorious, not only to damn the other, which would have been nothing, but to perfecutc and rhiirther one another, for the glory of that Being, who requires no more of us, than that we fhould \ love one another and live ! Every one goes :o that place of worfhip which he likes beft, and thinks not that his neighbour does wrong by not following him j each bufily employed in their temporal affairs, is lefs vehement about fpiritual ones, and fortunately you will find at Nantucket neither idle drones, voluptuous devotees, ranting enthufiafts, nor four dema- gogues. I wifh I had it in my power to fend the moft pcrfecuting bigot I could find in • to the whale fifheries j in lefs than three or i \ four AT NANTUCKET. ' 187 four years you would find him a much more tra6lable man, and therefore a better Chriftian. Singular as it may appear to you, there arc but two medical profcflbrs on the ifland ; for of what fervice can phyfic be in a primitive fociety, where the exceflfes of inebriation are fo rare ? What need of galenical medicines, where fevers, and tlomachs loaded by tiie lofs of the digeftive powers, are fo few ? Tem- perance, the calm of palTions, fruQ;ality, and continual exercife, keep them healthy, and pre- ferve unimpaired that conftitution v/hich they have received from pare, ts as healthy as them- felves ; who in the unpolluted embraces of the carlieft and chafteft love, conveyed to them the founded bodily frame which nature could give. But as no habitable part of this globe is exempt from fome difeafes, proceeding either from climate or modes of living ', here they are fome- times fubjedl to confumptions and to fevers. Since the foundation of that town no epidemi- cal diftempers have appeared, which at times caufe fuch depopulations i.i other countries; many of them are extremely well acquainted with the Indian methods of curing fimple dif- eafes, and praftife them with fuccefs. You will hardly find any where a community, compofed of the fame number of individuals, poiTefTing fuch uninterrupted health, and ex- hibiting fo many green old i ?n, who fliew their ^'■a? ) M ;;i.^: If, m> ' : iS8 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS , their advanced age by the maturity of their wifdom, rather than by the wrinkles of their fiaces ; and this is indeed one of the principal bleflings of the ifland, which richly com- penfates their want of the richer foils of the fouth ; where iliac complaints ^and bilious fevers, grow by the fide of the fugar cane, the ambrofial ananas, &c. The fituation of this ifland, the purity of the air, the nature of their marine occupations, their virtue and moderation, are the caufes of that vigour and health which they pofl^efs. The poverty of their foil has placed them, I hope, beyond the danger of conquefl, or the wanton defire of extirpation. Were they to be driven from this fpot; the only acquifition of the conquerors would be a few acres of land, inclofed and cultivated ; a few houfes, and fome moveables. The genius, the induflry of the inhabitants would accompany them -, and it is thofe alone which conftitute the fole wealth of their ifland. Its preient fame would perifli, and in a few years it would return to its prifl:ine ftate of barrennefs and poverty : they might perhaps be allowed to tranfport themfelves in their own veflels to fome other fpot or ifland, which they would foon fertilize by the fame means with which they have fertilized this. _ One fingle lawyer has of late years found means to live here, but his beft fortune pro- ♦ cceds *ih . AT NANTUCKET. 151 ceeds more from having married one of jthe wealthieft heircfTes of the illand, than from the emoluments of his pra6lice : however he i.s fometimes employed in recovering money lent on the main, or in preventing thofe accidents to which the contentious propenfity of its in- habitants may fometimes expofe them. He is feldom employed as the means of felf-defence, and much feldomer as the channel of attack ; to which they are ftrangers, except the fraud is manifeft, and the danger imminent. Lawyers are fo numerous in all our populous towns, that I am furprifed they never thought before of eftablifliing themfelves here : they are plants that will grow in any foil that is cultivated by the hands of others ; and when once they have taken root they will extinguifli every other vegetable that grows around them. The for- tifies they daily acquire in every province, from the misfortunes of their ^ellow- citizens, arc furprifing ! The moft ignorant, the moft bung- ling member of that profcfficn, v/ill, if placed in the raofl obfcure part of the country, pro- mote litigioufnefs, and amafs more wealth without labour, than the moft opulent farmer, with all his toils. They have fo dexteroufly interwoven their dodlrines and quirks, with the laws of the land, or rather they are become fo neceffary an evil in our prefent conftitutions, that it feems u •'•avoidable and paft all remedy. . - What IP • ,*"l' ' 'it ■■.',J.l ^'"^WSSr'VV> i0- 1^! i ^1; / -a ■'!. . I jgo MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. What a pity that our forefathers, who happily extingiiiflied fo many fatal cuftoms, and ex- punged from their new government fo many . errors and abufes, both religious and civil, did not alfo prevent the introdudion of a fet of men fo dangerous ! In fome provinces, where every inhabitant is conftantly employed in tilling and cultivating the earth, they are the only members of fociety who have any knowledge; let thcfe provinces atteftwhat ini- quitous ufe they have made of that knowledge. .-■They are here what the clergy were in pafl centuries with you ; the reformation which ^ ,. : clipped the clerical wings, is the boaft of that age, and the happieft event that could poflibly happen ; a reformation equally ufeful is now wanted, to relieve us from the fhameful fhacklcs and the oppreflive burthen under which wc groan : this perhaps is impoflible j but if man- kind would not become too happy, it were an \ event mod devoutly to be wilhed. Here, happily, unopprefled with any civil bondage, this fociety of fifhermcn and mer- chants live, without any military eftablifli- ments, without govv^rnors or any mailers but the laws j and their civil code is fo light, that it is never felt. A man may pafs (as many have done whom I am acquainted with) through the various fcenes of a long life, may flruggle againft a variety of adverfe fortune, peaceably enjoy .yr,,- |. AT NANTUCKET. 191 enjoy the good when it conaes, and never in that long interval, apply to the law either for redrefs or alBftance. The principal benefits it confers is the general protedlion of individuals, and this protedion is purchafed by the moll moderate taxes, which are chearfully paid, and by the trifling duties incident in the courfe of their lawful trade (for they defpife contraband). Nothing can be more fimple than their muni- cipal regulations, though fimilar to thofe of the other countiesof the fame province; becaufe they are more detached from the reft, more dif- tinfl in their manners, as well as in the nature of the bufinefs they purfue, and more unconnected with the populous province to which they be- long. The fame fimplicity attends the wor- Ihip they pay to the Divinity ; their elders are the only teachers of their congregations, the inftru^lors of their youth, and often the ex- ample of their flock. They vifit and comfort the fick ; after death, the fociety bury them with their fathers, without pomp, prayers, or ceremonies ; not a ftone or monument is ete6bed, to tell where any perfon was buried i their memory is preferved by tradition. The only effential memorial that is left of them, is their former induftry, their kin,dnefs, their charity, or elfe their moft confpicuous faults. The Prefbyterians live in great charity with them, and with one another; their minifter 3 as i;a/ . f (, Villi ■r t- M ^'1 •J,;vk 1 'i ' » ^' U' ■'■» ,;• 'f ■ ■■ !'' -I'v.'-'i I; i : '.: ,i . f^v- r,i . " r.' 192 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS as a true paftor of the gofpel, inculcates to them the doctrines it contains, the rewards it promifes, the punifhments it holds out to thofe who fhall commit injuftice. Nothing can be more difencumbered likewife from ufe- lefs ceremonies and trifling forms than their mode of worlhip ; it might with great propriety have been calldd a truly primitive one, had that of the Quakers never appeared. As fellow Chriftians, obeying the fame legiflator, they love and mutually affift each other in all their wants i as fellow labourers they unite with cordiality, and without the leaft rancotir in all their temporal fchenries : no other emula- tion appears among them but in their fea ex- curfions, in the art of fitting out their veflelsj in that of failing, in harpooning the whale, and in bringing home the greateft harveft. As fellow fubjedls they chearfully obey the fame , laws, and pay the fame duties : but let me not forget another peculiar charadleriflic of this community : there is not a Have I be- lieve on the whole ifland, at leaft among the Friends j whilft flavery prevails all around them, this fociety alone, lamenting that fhocking mfult offered to humanity, have given the wbrld a lingular example of mode- deration, difintereftednefs, and Chriftian cha- rity, in emancipating their negroes. I fhall explain to you farther, the fingular virtue and merit '^'v-t ,'■'■'• I--"-. to ds to iety that ilow they Lheii' with At Nantucket. 193 merit to which it is fo juftly entitled by hav- ing fet before the reft of their fellow-fubjeds, fo pleafing, fo edifying a reformation. Happy the people who are fubjeft to fo mild a go- vernment i happy the government which has to rule over fuch harmlefs, and fuch induftri- oils fubjeds ! While we are clearing forefts, making the face of nature fmile, draining marfhes, culti- vating wheat, and converting it into flour; they yearly flcim from, the furface of the fea riches equally neceffary. Thus, had I leifurc and abilities to lead you through this continent, I could fhew you an aftonifhing profpeft very little known in Europe; one difFufive fcene of happincfs reaching from the fea-fliores to the laft fettlements on the borders of the wil- dernefs : an happinefs, interrupted only by the folly of individuals, byour fpirit of litigioufnefs, and by thofe unforefeen calamities, from which no human fociety can poflibly be exempted. May the citizens of Nantucket dwell long here in uninterrupted peace, undifturbed either by the waves of the furrounding element, or the political commotions which fometimes agitate our continent. n^:^'l! 1 '1 4 t • ' LETTER •-■(X' '•'I I p:^'' m'^. K:. I.-" • Ti ' t ■ kr ' ■■ [r .' '' r • ■ -A- •■ J;f^'. <■■"' k*; .''■■ ■ , ' i-^: 194. PECULIAR CUSTOMS LEXER VIII. PECULIAR CUSTOMS AT NANTUCKET. THE manners of the Friends are entirely founded on that fimplicity which is their boaft, and their moll diftinguifhed character- iilic J and tliofe manners have acquired the authority of laws. Here they are ftrongly at- tached to plainnefs of drefs, as well as to that of language ; infomuch that though fome part of it may be ungrammaticalj yet fliould any perfon who was born and brought up here, attempt to fpeak more corredlly, he would be looked upon as a fop or an innovator. On the other hand, fhould a flranger come he re and adopt their idiom in all its purity (as they deem it) this accomplilhment would immediately procure him the moll cordial reception; and they would cherifli him like an ancient member of their fo- ciety. So many impofitions have they fuffered on this account, that they begin now indeed to , grow more cautious. They are fo tenacious of their ancient habits of induftry and frugality, that if any of them were to be feen with a long coat made of Englilh cloth, on any other than the jirft-day (Sunday) he would be greatly ridiculed and cerfured ; he would be looked upon as a carelefs fpendthrift, whom it would be ■>%. AT NANTUCKET. 195 be unfafe to trufl, and in vain to relieve. A few years ago two fingle-horfe chairs were im- ported from Bofton, to the great offence of thefe prudent citizens j nothing appeared to them more culpable than the ufeof fuch gaudy painted vehicles, in contempt of :he more ufeful and more fimple fingle-horfe carts of their fathers. This piece of extravagant and un^ known luxury, almoft caufed a fchifm, and fet every tongue a-going ; fome predi(5Vcd the ap- proaching ruin of thofe families that had im- ported them i others feared the dangers of ex- ample : never fince the foundation of the town had there happened any thing which fo much alarmed this primitive community. .One of the pofleflbrs of thefe profane chairs, filled v/ith repentance, wifely fent it back to the continent -, the other, more obflinate and per- verfe, in defiance to all remonftrances, per- fifted in the ufe of his chair until by degrees they became more reconciled to it j though I obferved that the wealthieft and the moil re- fpedtable people dill go to meeting or to their farms in 2, fingle-horje carty with a decent awn- ing fixed over it: indeed, if you confider their fandy foil, and the badnefs of their roads, thefe appear to be the bell contrived vehicles for this ifland. Idlenefs is the moft heinous fm that can be committed in Nantucket : an idle man would O 2 foon m^: ?-■■■• .:Me : ^^1. f|r./>. 11 ; < r):^' t 196 PECULIAR CUSTOMS foon be pointed out as an objedl of compafTion : for idlenefs is confidered as another word for want and hunger. This principle is fo tho- roughly well undcrftood, and is become fo iinivcrfal, fo prevailing a prejudice, that lite- rally fpeaking, they are never idle. Even if they go to the market-place, which is (if I may be allowed the exprelTion) the cofFee-houfe of the town, either to tranfa6l bufinefs, or to convcrfe with their friends ; they always have a piece of cedar in their hands, and while they are talking, they will, as it were inftinft- ively, employ thcmfelves in converting it into fomething uleful, either in making bungs or fpoyls for their oil cafl<:s, or other ufeful articles. I muil confefs, that I have never feen more ingenuity in the ufe of the knife ; thus the nioft idle moments of their lives become ufe- fully employed. In the many hours of leifure which their long cruifes afford them, they cut and carve a variety of boxes and pretty toys, in wood, adapted to different ufes j which they bring home as teftimonies of remem- brance to their v/ives or fweethearts. They have fncwed me a variety of little bowls and other implements, executed cooper-wife, with the greatell neatnefs and elegance. You will be pleafcd to remember they are all brought up to the trade of coopers, be their future inten- tions 01 fortunes what they may : therefore almoft everr \^~l lem- 'hey and nth will [tup Iten- loft Iverr AT NANTUCKET. 197 every man in this ifland has always two knives in his pocket, one much larger than the other ; and though they hold every thing that is called fajhion in the utmoft contempt, yet they are as difficult to plcafe, and as extravagant in the choice and price of their knives, as any young buck in Bofton would be about liis hat, buckles, or coat. As foon as a knife is injured, or fuperceded by a more convenient one, it is carefully laid up in fome corner of their defl<:. I once faw upwards of fifty thus prefervcd at Mr. 's, one of the worthiefl men on this ifland 3 and among the whole, there was not one that perfectly refembled another. As the fca excurfions are often very long, their v/ives in their abfence, are necefTarily obliged to tranfadt bufincfs, to fettle accounts, and in fliort, to rule and profvide for their families. Thefe circumftances being often repeated, give women the abilities as well as a tafte for that kind of fuperintendency, to which, by their prudence and good mianagement, they feem to be in general very equal. This employment ripens their judgement, andjuftly entitles them to a rank fuperior to that of otlier wives ; and this is the principal reafon why thofe of Nan- tucket as well as thofe of Montreal * are fo ' O 3 fond * Moft of the merchants and young men of Montreal, fpend the greateft part of th ir time in trading with the In- dians, at an amazing diftance from Canada ; and it odea happens that they are three years together ^bient froni home. X:^ ^Tri--.'^r, »»i « 1. .' ^ip ■t ,•. l-V (,' ■.» • , ■' isirarf i m 19S PECULIAR CUSTOMS fond of focicty, fo afFable, and fo converfant with the affairs of the world. The men at their return, weary with the fatigues of the fea, full of confidence and love, chearfully give their confent to every tranfaftion that has happened during their abfence, and all is joy and peace. " Wife, thee haft done well," is the general approbation they receive, for their application and induftry. What would the men do without the agency of thefe faithful mates ? The abfence of fo many of them at particular feafons, leaves the town quite defolate ; and this mournful fituation difpofes the women to go to each other's houfe much oftener than when their hufbands are at home : hence the cuftom of inceflant vifiting has infefted every one, and even thofe whofe hufbands do not go abroad. The houfe is always cleaned before they fet out, and with peculiar alacrity they purfue their intended vifit, which confifts of a focial chat, a difh of tea, and an hearty fupper. When the good man of the houfe returns from his labour, he peaceably goes after his wife and brings her home ; mean while the young fellows, equally vigilant, eafily find out which is the moft convenient houfe, and thdre they aflemble with the girls of the neighbourhood. Inftead of cards, mufic;^^^ inftruments, or fongs, they relate ftories of their whaling voyages, their various fea adventures, and talk of the different -^Pf.. ant I at the uily has joy ites r cular and sn to than hence fefted .ds do eaned acrity fifts of ipper. J from iS wife oung which they hood, fongs, yages, f the erent AT NANTUCKET. 199 different coafts and people they have vifitcd. " The ifland of Catharine in the Brazils, favs *' one, is a very droll ifland, it is inhabited by " none but men ; women are not permitted to " come in fight of it j not a woman is there " on the whole ifland. Who among us is not " glad it is not fo here ? The Nantucket girjs " and boys beat the world." At this innocent fally the titter goes round, they whifper to one another their fpontaneous refle6lions : puddings, pyes, and cuftards never fail to be produced on fuch occafions j for I believe there never were any people in their cir- cumflances, who live fo well, even to fuper- abundance. As inebriation is unknown, and mufic, ringing, and dancing, are held in equal deteftation, they never could fill all the vacant hours of their lives without the repaft of the table. Thus thefe young people fit and talk, and divert themfelves as well as they can j if any one has lately returned from a cruife, he is gene- rally the fpeaker of the night j they often all laugh and talk together, but they are happy, and would not exchange their pleafures for thofe of the moft brilliant affemblies in Europe. This lads until the father and mother return -, when all retire to their refpe6live hom«, the men re- condudling the partners of their affedlions. Thus they fpend many of the youthful evenings of their lives ; no wonder there- O 4 fore. .11 :Ff' i^--\ l->) V! * ■ 200 r>:CULIAR CUSTOMS fore, that they marry lb early. But no foorver have they undergone this ceremony than they ceafe to appear fo chcarful and gay ; the new rank they hold in the fociety ImprefTcs thern with more lerious ideas than were entertained before. The title of mafter of a family ne- .ccflarily requires more folid"" behaviour and deportment ; the new wife follows in the trammels of Cuftom, which are as powerful as the tyranny of fafliion ; fhe gradually advifes and dire(5ls ; the nev/ hiifband foon goes to fea, he leaves her to learn and exercifc the new go- vernment, in which fhe is entered. Thofe who ftay at home are full as pafTive in general, at leaft with regard to the inferior depart- ments of the family. But you muft not imagine from this account that the Nantucket wives are turbulent, of high temper, and difiicult to be ruled i on the contrary, the wives of Sherburn in fo doing, comply only with the prevailing cuftom of the ifland : the hulbands, equally fubmifTive to the ancient and refpe6i:able man- ners of their country, fubmit, without ever fufpe6ting that there can be any impropriety. Were they to behave otherwife, they would be afraid of fub verting the principles of their fo- ciety by altering its ancient rules : thus both parties are perfedlly fatisfied, and all is peace and concord. The richeft perfon now in the ifland owes all his prefent profperity and fucccfs AT NANTUCKET. 9ci fiicccfs to the ingenuity of his wife: this is a known CiO: which is well recorded; for while he was pcrorming his firll cruifes, flie traded with pins and needles, and kept a fcliool. Afterward (lie piirchaibd more confiderable articles, which flie fold with fo much judge- ment, that flic laid the foundation of aiVilem of bufinefs, that the has ever fince profecuted with equal dexterity and fuccefs. She wrote to London, formed connections, and, in fliort, became the only oUenfiblc inftrument of that houfe, both at home and abroad. Who is he in this country, and who is a citizen of Nan- tucket or Bofton, who does not know y^ujjt Kefiah ? I mull tell you that Ihe is the wife of Mr. C n, a very refpecSlable man, who, well pleafed with all her fchemes, trufts to her judgement, and relies on her fagacity, with fo entire a confidence, as to be altogether palTive to the concerns of his family. They have the befl country feat on the illand, at Quayes, where they live with hofpitality, and in perfedl union : He feems to be altogether the contemplative man. To this dexterity in managing the hufband's bufinefs whiiil he is abfent, the Nantucket wives unite a great deal of induftry. They fpin, or caufe to be fpun in their houfes, abun- dance of wool and flax ; and would be ibr ever difgraced and looked upon as idlers if all the family ril m ^M Vv, ''W m U'-;« ■■i 202 PECULIAR CUSTOMS family were not clad in good, neat, and fuffi- cient homefpun cloth. Firjl Days are the only feafons wm^n it is lawful for both fexes to ex- hibit fome garments of Englifh manufa6liire ; even ihefe are of the moft moderate price, and of tliC graveft colours : there is no kind of difference in their drefs, they are all clad alike, and refemble in that refpecl the members of one family. . A fingular cuftom prevails here among the women, at which I was greatly furprized ; and am really at a lofs how to account for the ori- ginal caufe that has introduced in this primitive fociety fo remarkable a fafliion, or rather fo extraordinary a want. They have adopted thefe many years, the Afiatic cuftom of taking a dofe of opium every morning j and fo deeply rooted is it, that they would be at a lofs how to live without this indulgence j they would rather be deprived of any necelTary than fore- go their favourite luxury. This is much more prevailing among the women than the men, few of the latter having caught the contagion ; though the Iheriff, whom I may call the firft perfon in the ifland, who is an eminent phyfician befide, and whom I had the pleafure of being well acquainted with, has for many years fubmitted to this cuftom. He takes three grains of it every day after break- faft^ AV 'dHLAu AT NANTUCKET. 203 fall, without the cffeds of which, he often told me, he was not able to tranfa6l any bufinefs. It is hard to conceive how a people always happy and healthy, in confcquence of the exerci fe and labour they undergo, never opprefTed with the^vapours of idlenefs, yet fhould want the fi6li- tious effedls of opium to preferve that chear- fulnefs to which their temperance, their cli- mate, their happy fituation fo juftly entitle them. But where is the fociety perfectly free from error or folly; the lead imperfedl is undoubt- edly that where the greateil good preponde- rates ; and agreeable to this rule, I can truly fay, that I never was acquainted with a lefs vicious, or more harmlefs one. The majority of the prefent inhabitants are the defcendants of the twenty-feven firft pro- prietors, who patentced the ifland ; of the refl, many others have fince come over among them, chiefly from the MafTachufets : here are neither Scotch, Irifh, nor French, as is the cafe in moft other fettlements ; they are an unmixed Englifli breed. The confcquence of this ex- tended connexion is, that they are all in fome degree related to each other : you mufl: not be furprized therefore when I tell you, that they always call each other coufin, uncle or aunt ; which are become fuch common ap- pellations, that no other are made ufeof in their daily intercourfe : you would be deemed ftifF and Mt 74,1 m f.m i (,• K^:^':i'. t.f^ i' ; ';' '.» -: « ^Vr: 2G4 PECULIAR CUSTOMS and afFedted were you to refufe conforming yourfelf to this ancient cuflom, which truly de- pids the image of a large family. The many who refide here that have not the leaft claim of relationfliip with any one in the town, yet by the power of cuflom make ufe of no other addrefs in their converfation. Were you here yourfelf but a few dcys, you would be obliged to adopt the fame phrafeology, which is far from being difagreeable, as it implies a general acquaintance and friendfliip, which con- nedls them all in unity and peace. Their tafte for filliing has been fo prevailing, that it has engrofied all their attention, and even prevented them from introducing fome higher degree of pcrfe6lion in their agriculture. There are many ufeful improvements whfch mis:ht have meliorated their foil -, tliere are many trees which if tranfplanted here would have thriven extremely well, and would have ferved to Ihelter as well as decorate the fa- vourite fpots they have fo carefully ma- nured. The red cedar, the locuflj^ the but- ton wood, I am perfuaded would have grown here rapidly and to a great fize, with many others j but their thoughts are turned altoge- ther toward the fea. The Indian corn begins to * A fpecles of whnt we call here the twr-thorn acacia ; »t yitlds the moft valuable timber we have, and its ihade ji \cry beneficial to the growth and goodncfs of the grali. IP- a. ■' pi' u " hjlj'.'*'.\' ■ Si'i''it .■ ' Im ^ik AT NANTUCKIET. 20.; to yielci them confiderable crops, and the wheat fown on its flocks is become a very profitable grain ; rye will grow with little care -, they might raife if they would, an immenfe quan- tity of buck -wheat. Such an ifland inhabited as I have defcribcd, is not the place where gay travellers fhould re- fort, in order to enjoy that variety of plea- fures the more fplendid towns of tliis conti- nent afford. Not that they are wholly de- prived of what we might call recreations, and innocent paftimes j but opulence, inilead of luxuries and extravagancies, produces nothing more here than an increafe of bufinefs, an ad- ditional degree of hofpitality, greater neatnefs in the preparation of diihes, and better wines. They often walk and converfe with each other, as I have obferved before ; and upon extraordi- nary occafions, v/ill take a ride to Palpus, where there is an houfe of entertainment j but thefe rural amufements are conduced upon the fame plan of moderation, as thofe in town. They are fo fimple as hardly to be defcribed -, the pleafure of going and returning together ; of chat- ting and walking about, of throwing the bar, heaving ftones, &c. are the only entertain- ments they are acquainted with. This is all they pradlice, and all they feem to defire. The houfe at Palpus is the general refort of thofe who poflcfs the luxury of a horfc and chaife. ««-: m |U^ [If m ■■1 n f if III as mm •I? p m-' •■ ' ;i. fj-^.' !«f^';;r '■■■<•'.,,■ ' ■ c.'';* "■ 2o5 PECULIAR (^/JSTOMS as well as of tiiofc vvh > iiill . fain, as the ma- jority do, a predile6lion for their primitive ve- hicle. By reforting to that place they enjoy a change of air, they tafte the pleafiires of ex- ercife ; perhaps an exhilirating bowl, not at all improper in this climate, affords the chief indulgence known to thefe people, on thedays of their greateft feflivity. The mounting a horfe, mud afford a moft pieafing exercife to thofe men who are fo much at fea. I was once in- vited to that houfe, and had the fatisfadlion of condufling thither one of the many beauties of that ifland (for it abounds with handfome women) dreffed in all the bewitching attire of the moft charming fimplicity : like the reft of the company, llie was chearful with- out loud laughs, and fmiling without afi^edta- tion. They all appeared gay without levity. I had never before in my life feen fo much un- afi^edled mirth, mixed with fo much modefty. The pleafuresof the day were 'enjoyed with the greateft livelinefs and the moft innocent free- dom J no difgufting pruderies, no coquetifli airs tarniftied this enlivening aftembly : they behaved according to their native difpofitions, the only rules of decorum with which they were acquainted. What would an European vifitor have done here without a fiddle, without a dance, without cards ? He would have called it an infipid aflembly, and ranked this among the AT NANTUCKET. 207 the dulleft days he had ever fpent. This rural excurfion had a very great affinity to thofe praftifed in our province, with this difference only, that we have no objedlion to the fportive dance, though conducted by the rough accents of fome felf-taught African fidler. We returned as happy as we wentj and the brightnefsof the moon kindly lengthened a day which had paft*, like other agreeable ones, with fingular ra- pidity. In order to view the ifland in its longeft di- rection from the town, I took a ride to the eaft- ernmoft parts of it, remarkable only for the Po- chick Rip, where their beftfifh are caught. I paft by the Tetoukemah lots, which are the fields of the community j the fences were made of cedar pofts and rails, and looked perfe6tly flraight and neat ; the various crops they enclofed were flourilhing : thence I dcfcended into Barrey's Valley, where the blue and the^^^r grafs looked more abundant than I had feen on any other part of the ifland j thence to Gib's Pond ; and arrived at lall at Siafconcet. Several dwellings had been eredted on this wild fliore, for the purpofe of flieltering the filhermen in the fea- fon of fifhing J I found them all empty, except that particular one, to which I had been di- redled. It was like the others, built on the higheft part of the fhore, in the face of the great ocean j the foil appeared to be compofed of ■ pi H rl IfOjB ■ ''^^' %Hp E-w :|^| K(# '!»8k W'v '^f llli 2C8 PECULIAR Customs .-■ . H 14 V ■■!' i' of no other ftratum but fand, covered with i thinly fcattered herbage. What rendered this hoiile (till more worthy of notice in my eyes, was, that it had been bnilt on the ruins of one of the ancient huts, ere6ted by the firft fettlers, for obferving the appearance of the whales. Here lived a fingle family without a neighbour ; I had never before feen a fpot better calculated to cherifh contemplative ideas ; perfedliy unconnecfled with the great world, and far removed from its perturba- tions. The ever ra2:inQ: ocean was all that prefented itfelf to the view of this family -, it ir- refiftibly attracted my whole attention : my eyes were involuntarily directed to the horizontal line of that watery furface, which is ever in motion, and ever threatening deftrudion to thefe fhares. My ears were llunhed with the roar of its waves rolling one over the other, as if impelled by a fuperior force to overwhelm the fpot on which I flood. My noftrils in- voluntarily inhaled the faline vapours which arofe from the difperfed particles of the foam- ing billows, or from the weeds fcattered on the fliores. My mind fuggefted a thoufand vague reflcdbions, pleafing in the hour of their fpontaneous birth, but now half forgot, and all indiftindl : and who is the landman that can behold without afiright fo fingular an ele- ment, which by its impetuofity feems to be the. deftroyer AT NANTUCKET. 209 deftroyer of this poor planet, yet at particular times accumulates the fcattered fracjmeiits and produces iflands and continents fit for men to dwell on ! Who can obferve the regular vicif- fitudes of its waters without altoniihment j now 1 welling themfelves in order to penetrate through every river and opening, and thereby facilitate navigation j at other times retiring from the fhores, to permit man to colle6l that variety of fhell filli which is the fupport of the poor ? Who can fee the ftorms of wind, blov/- ing fometimes with an impetuofity fufficicntly llrong even to move the earth, without feeling himfelf affedted beyond the fphere of common ideas ? Can this wind which but a few days ago refrefhed our American fields, and cooled us in the fhade, be the fam^e element which now and then fo powerfully convulfes the waters of the fea, difmafls vefTels, caufes fo many fhipwrecks, and fuch extenfive defo- lations ? How diminutive does a man appear to himfelf when filled with thefe thoughts, and (landing as I did on the verge of the ocean ! This family lived entirely by fifhlng> for the plough has not dared yet to difturb the parched furface of the neighbouring plain j and to what purpofe could this operation be performed! Where is it that mankind will not find fafety, peace, and abundance, with freedom and civil ^happinefs ? Nothing was wanting here to make ' P this '^1 "'1 i a..' iiM '■• OJV It : 1'- 1, ' '• 1 ' if: ■ < i ■'■ ■ :'f 7- •■,i,-i; . V * 210 PECULIAR CUSTOM?. this a mofl philofophical retreat, but a few an- cient trees, to fhelter contemplation in its beloved folitude. There I faw a numerous flimily of children of various ages — the blef- fings of an early marriage ; they were rud- dy as the cherry, healthy as the fifh they lived on, h;irdy as the pine knots : the eldeft were already able to encounter the boifterous waves, and fliuddered not at their approach ; early initiating triemfelves in the myftcries of that feafaring career, for which they were all in- tended : the younger, timid as yet, on the edge ofalefs agiratcd pool, '^ere teaching themfelves v/ith nut-fiiells and pieces of wood, in imitation of boats, how to navigate in a future day the larger veflels of their father, through a rougher and deeper ocean. I ftaid two days there on purpofe to become acquainted with the diffe- rent branches of their oeconomy, and their man- ner of living in this fingular retreat. The clams, the oyfters of the fhores, with the ad- dition of Indian Dumplings *, conl^bitutcd their daily and mofl fubflantial food. Larger fifFi were often caught on the neighbouring rip ; thefe affoiiied them their greatefl dainties j they had likewile plenty of fmoked bacon. The noife of the wheels announced the induflry of the mother and daughters j one of them had ■ been mi ■ * Indian DumpHnp;s, are a peculiar preparation of" Fii' diart njcal, boiled in larg« lumps. AT NANTUCKET. 211 been bred a weaver, and having a loom in the houfe, found means of cloathing the whole family; they were perfeflly at eafe, and feemed to want for nothing. I found very few books among thefe people, who have very little time for reading ; the Bible and a few fchool tra(5ls, both in the Nattick. and Englifh languages, conftituted their mod numerous libraries. I faw indeed feveral copies of Hudibras, and Jo- fephus ; but no one knows who firft imported them. It is fomething extraordinary to fee this people, profefTedly fo grave, and ftrangers to every branch of literature, reading with pleafure the former work, which Ihould feem to require fome degree of tafte, and antecedent hiftorical knowledge. They all read it much, and can by memory repeat many palTages ; which yet I could not difcover that they underftood the beauties of. Is it not a little fingular to fee thefe books in the hands of filliermen, who are perfe(5l ftrangers almoft to any other ? Jofe- phus's biftory is indeed intelligible, and much fitter for their modes of education and tafte i as it defcribes the hiftory of a people from whom we have received the prophecies which we believe, and the religious laws which we follow. Learned travellers, returned from feeing the paintings and antiquities of Rome and Italy, ftill filled with the admiration and reverence P 2 they I i. 1% • <:^'-: !. ,*jt; ,v '\^ ft- W>fM4 \ l^.^oi^i v^ }\ / 214 PECULIAR CUSTOMS •they infpire ; would hardly be perfuaded that la contemptible a fpot, which contains nothing re- markable but the genius and the induilry of its inhabitants, could ever be an obje6l worthy at- tention* But I, having never feen the beauties which Europe contains, chearfully fatisfy my- felf with attentively examining what my native country exhibits : if we have neither ancient amphitheatres, gilded palaces,, nor elevated fpires ; we enjoy in our woods a fubflantial happinefs which the wonders of art cannot com- municate. None among us fuffer opprefTion either from government or religion ; there are very few poor except the idle, and fortunately the force of example, and the moft ample en- couragement, foon create a new principle of a6livity, which had been extinguilhed perhaps in their native country, for want of thofe op- portunities which fo often compel honeft Euro- peans to feek flielter among us» The means of procuring fubfiftence in Europe are limited j the army may be full, the navy may abound with feamen, the land perhaps wants no additional labourers, the manufafturer is overcharged with fupernumerary hands j what then muft become of the unemployed ? Here, on the contrary, human indudry has acquired a boundlefs field to exert itfelf in — a field which will not be fully "^ cultivated in many ages LETTER iiv jcV. CHARLES. TOWN. LETTER IX. DESCRIPTION OF CHARLES-TOWN J THOUGHTS ON SLAVERY ; ON PHYSICAL EVIL ', A ME- LANCHOLY SCENE. CHARLES-TOWN is, in the north, what Lima is in the fouth j both are Capitals of the richeft provinces of their refpeftive he- mifpheres : you may therefore conjedture, that both cities muft exhibit the appearances necef- farily refulting from riches. Peru abounding in gold, Lima is filled with inhabitants who en- joy all thofe gradations of pleafure, refinement, and luxury, which proceed from wealth. Caro- lina produces commodities, more valuable per- haps than gold, becaufe they are gained by greater induflry j it exhibits alfo on our nor- thern llage, a difplay of riches and luxury, in- ferior indeed to the former, but far fuperior to what are to be feen in our northern towns. Its fituation is admirable, being built at the confluence of two large rivers, which receive in their courfe a great number of inferior flreams j all navigable, in the fpring, for flat boats. Here the produce of this extenfive ter- ritory concentres ; here therefore is the feat of the moft valuable exportation -, their wharfs, iheir docks, their magazines, are extremely P 3 con- II ■i'M m y ■'■%m 1. '■ ^■;';. i. '.,y;f.. V fc-A.: "i'-'.i ..- pl^' 1' -■■.. i| ill ME'- m m iSi; a ijL_flys' 214 DESCRIPTION OF convenient to facilitate this great commercial bufmefs. The inhabitants are the gaycft in America ; it is called the centre of our beau monde, and is always filled with the richeft planters of the province, who refort hither in queft of health and pleafure. Here are always to be feen a great number of valetudinarians from the Weft-Indies, feeking for the renova- tion of health, exhaufted by the debilitating nature of their fun, air, and modes of living. Many of thefe Weft-Indians have I feen, ac thirty, loaded with the infirmities of old age; for nothing is more common in thofe countries of wealth, than- for perfons to lofe the abilities of enjoying the comforts of life, ac a time when we northern men juft begin to tafte the fruits of our labour and prudence. The round of pleafure, and the expences of thofe citizens* tables, are much fuperior to what you would imagine : indeed the growth of this town and province have been aftonifhingly rapid. It is pity that the narrownefs of the neck on which it ftands prevents it from increafin^ ; and which is the reafon why houfes are fo dear. The heat of the climate, which is fometimes very great in the interior parts of the country, is always temperate in Charles-Town j though fometimes when they have, no fea breezes the fun is too powerful. The climate renders excefles of all kinds very dangerousj particularly thofe of the tabk; CHARLES -TOWN. 215 table } and yei;, inrcnfiblc or fearlefs of danger, th^y live on, and enjoy a fliort and a merry life : the rays of their fun feem to urge them iiTefiilibly to diffipation and pleafure : on the contrary, the women, from being abftemious, reAch to a longer period of life, and feldom die without having had fevcral hufbands. An European at his tirll arrival muft be greatly furprifed when he fees the elegance of their houfes, their fumptuous furniture, as well as the mao-nirtcence of their tables; cm he ima- gine himfclf in a country, the ellabUfhment of which is fo recenf. ? The three principal clafles of inhabitant^ are, lawyers, planters, and merchants ; this is the province which has afforded to the firft the richeft fpoils, for nothing can exceed their wealth, their power, and their influence. They have reached the ;/^i)///j////r^ of worldly felicity; no plantation is fecured, no title is good, no will is valid, but what they dictate, regulate, and approve. The whole mafs of provincial . property is become tributary to this fociety ; which, far above priefts and bifliops, difdain to be fatisfied with the poor Mofaical portion of the tenth. I appeal to J;he many inhabitants, who, while contending: perhaps for their right to a few hundred acres, have loft by the mazes of the law their whole patrimony. Thefe men are more properly lawgivers than interpreters of the P 4 law ; ^..Mi. a' 1 y ^1^ !,'- l- . ■ ■ ^ ; . i fi^:.:^. .:f:; W: I / '. it ■ 2i6 REFLECTIONS ON . law J and have united here, as well as in moft » other provinces, the fkill and dexterity of the fcribe with the power and ambition of the prince : who can teil where this may lead in a future dsy ? The nature of our laws, and the fplrit of freedom, which often tends to make us litigious, niufl: necelTarily throw the greateft ' part of the property of the colonies into the '.\ hands of thefe gentlemen. In another century, the law willpoflefs in the north, v/hat now the 4 \ church pofTelTes in Peru and Mexico. While all is joy, feftivity, and happinefs . ^ in Charles-Town, would you imagine that //■(.r^jof'f' fcenes of mifery overfpread in the country? Their ears by habit are become deaf, their • ^ •' * hearts are hardened; they neither fee, hear, nor feel for the woes of their poor flaves, from *- .* • - whofe painful labours all their wealth proceeds. Here the horrors of flavery, the hardiliip of in- cefifant toils, are unf'^^en j and no one thinks . • with compalTion of thofe fhowers of fweat and • . of tears which from the bodies of Africans, daily drop, and moiften the ground they till. The cracks of the whip urging thefe miferable beings to excefllve labour, are far too diftant from the gay Capital to be heard. The chofen race eat, drink, and live happy, while the un- : fortunate one grubs up the ground, raifes in- digo, or hufks the rice j expofcd to a fun full as fcorching as their native one; v/ithout the fupport i,,'^..',; m NEGRO SLAVERY. 217 fupport of good food, without the cordials of anv chearing liquor. This great contraft has often afforded me fubjedls of the moft af- Aiding meditation. On the one fide, behold a people enjoying all that life affords moft bewitching and pleafurable, without labour, without fatigue, hardly fubjefted to the trouble of wilhing. V/ith gold, dug from Peruvian mountains, they order vefTels to the coafts of Guinea j by virtue of that gold, wars, murders, and devaftations are committed in Ibme harm- lefs, peaceable African neighbourhood, where dwelt innocent people, who even knew not but that all men were black. The dausfhter torn from her weeping mother, the cliild from the wretched parents, the wife from the loving hufband ; whole families fwept away and brought throu.o;h ftorms and tempefts to this rich metropolis ! There, arranged like horfes at a fiiir, they are branded like cattle, and then driven to toil, to ftarve, and to languifh for a few years on the different plantations of thefe citizens. And for whom muft they work ? For perfons they know not, and who have no other pov,'er over them than that of vio- lence ; no other right than what this accurfed metal has given them ! Strange order of things ! Oh, Nature, where art thou ? — Are not thefe blacks thv children as well as v/e ? On the Other fide, nothing is to be fecn but the moft diifijfive .A: ifel V:'#Mtl 1 wLf "'■ .'1, 1, 1 ' ■» ti'i'v'!; .i! I^Ktlt »,r .■■■; f •■•. *i L.^l» J., r 2lS REFLECTIONS ON diffufive mifery and wretchednefs, unrelieved even in thought or wifh ! Day after day they drudge on without any profped of ever reap- ing for themfelves j they are obliged to devote their lives, their limbs, their will, and every vital exertion to fwell the wealth of m afters ; who look not upon them with half the kindnefs and afFedlion with which they con- fider their dogs and horfes. Kindnefs and af- fedion are not ,the p£)rtion of thofe who till the earth, who carry burdens, who convert the logs into ufeful boards. This reward, fimple and .natural as one would conceive it, v/ould border on humanity -, and planters muft have none of it! If negroes are permitted to become fathers, this fatal indulgence only tends to increafe their inifery : the poor companions of their fcanty pleafures are likewife the companions of their labours -, and >vhen at fome critical feafons they could wifli to fee them relieved^ with tears jn their eyes they behold them perhaps doubly oppreflTed, obliged to bear the burden of na- ture — a fatal prefent — as well as that of unabated tafks. How many have I feen cprfing the ir- refiftible propenfity, and regretting, that by having tafted of thofe harmlefs joys, they had become the authors of double mifery to their wives. Like their mafters, they are not permitted to partake of thofe ineffable fenfa- tion^ .M'^ NEGRO SLAVERY. 219 ^^ tions with which nature infpires the hearts of fathers and mothers ; they muft repel them all, and become callous andpaflive. This unnatu- ral ftate often occafions the mofl: acute, the mod pungent of their affli6tions ; they have no time, like us, tenderly to rear their helplefs offspring, to nurfe them on their knees, to enjoy the delight of being parents. Their paternal fond- nefs is embittered by confidering, that if their children live, they muft live to be flaves like themfcives ; no time is allowed them to exer- cife their pious office, the mothers muft faften thein on their backs, and, with this double load, follow their hufbands in the fields, where they too often hear no other found than that of the voice or whip of the tafk-mafter, and the cries of their infants, broiling in the fun. Thefe un- fortunate creatures cry and weep like their parents, without a pofTibility of relief; the very inftindl of the brute, fo laudable, fo ir- refiftible, runs counter here to their mafter's intereft ; and to thatgod, all the laws of nature muft give way. Thus planters get rich ; fo raw, fo unexperienced am I in this mode of life, that were I to be polTelTed of a plantation, and my flaves treated as in general they are here, never could I reft in peace ; my fleep would be perpetually difturbed by a retrofpedt of the frauds committed in Africa, in order to entrap them j frauds furpalfing in enormity every 'm ;.:i ,^y. (.-.■>.«. 1.1 j|l 1..- y ^K; ;!l I lit ,■■ n\ ■i->' '■ f! ^"'Hr^ m--k' mm ifr-fr'':,' Sft^^ ;- aliWJav ii rifliing, and chaftifing their children, who are taught fubordination to them as to their lawful parents : in fhort, they participate in nnany of the benefits of our fociety-j without being obliged to bear any of^ its burthens* They are fat, healthy, and hearty, and far from repining at their fate/j they think themfelves happier than many of the lower clafs of whites : they fliare with their mafters the wheat and meat provifion they help to raife j many of thofe whom the good Quakers have emancipated, have received that great benefit with tears of regret, and have never quitted, though free^ their former mafters and benefaftors. But is it really true, as I have heard it afTerted here, that thofe blacks are incapable of feeling the fpurs of emulation, and the chearful found of encouragement ? By no means ; there are a thoufand proofs exilling of their gratitude and fidelity : thofe hearts in which fuch noble drf- jiofitions can grow, are then like our's, they are fufceptible of every generous fentiment, of every ufeful motive of action ; they are capable of receiving lights, of imbibing ideas that would grei?tly alleviate the weight of their mi- feries. But what methods have in general been made ufe of to obtain io defirable an end ? None ; the day in which they arrive and are fold, is the firft of their labours ; labours, which from that hour admit ofnorefpite j forthough indulged NEGRO SLAVERY. 22^ irtclulged by law with relaxation on Sundays, they are obliged to employ that time which is intended for reft, to till their little plantations. What can be expeded from wretches in fuch circumftances ? Forced from their native country, cruelly treated when on board, and not lefs fo on the plantations to which they are driven ; is there any thing in this treat- ment but what muft kindle all the pafTions, fow the feeds of inveterate refentment, and nourifli a wifli of perpetual revenge ? They are left to the irrefiftible effedls of thofe ftrong and natural propenfities ; the blows they re- ceive are they conducive to extinguifli them, or to win their affeftions ? thc^y are neither foothed by the hopes that their flavery will ever* terminate but with their lives ; or yet en- couraged by the goodnefs of their food, or tlid mildnefs of their treatment. The very hopes held out to mankind by religion, that confo- latory fyftem, fo ufeful to the miferable, are' never prefented to them ; neither moral nor phyfical means are made ufe of to foftcrt their chains; they are left in their original and untutored ftate; that very ftate where in the natural propenfities of revenge and warm paflions, arc fo foon kindled. Cheered by no one fingle motive that can impel the will, or excite their efforts ; nothing but ter- rors and punifliments are prefented to them; a death M ufP'SUwr "' ' ''' Mm .4i 1 ^^ r.::...' 'n ws- Ili ??'ft It- ■-*^--;".;'- '•1 .■'',■'' ' '■ 224 REFLECTIONS ON death is denounced if they run away ; horrid delaceration if they fpeak with their native freedom j perpetually awed by the terrible cracks of whips, or by the fear of capital pu- uifhments, while even thofe punilhnrients often fail of their purpofe , A clergyman fettled a few years ago at George-Town, and feeling as I do now, warmly recommended to the planters, from the pulpit, a relaxation of feverity j he introduced the be- nignity of Chriftianity, and pathetically made ufe of the admirable precepts of that fyftem to melt the hearts of his congregation into a greater degree of compaflion toward their flaves than had been hitherto cuftomary ; " Sir (faid one *' of his hearers) we pay you a genteel falary " to read to us the prayers of the liturgy, and '^ to explain to us fuch parts of the Gofpel as *' the rule of the church diredls ; but we do not want you to teach us what we are to do with our blacks." The clergyman found it prudent to with-hold any farther admonition. Whence this ailonifiiing right, or rather this barbarous cuftom, for mofl: certainly we have no kind of right beyond that of force ? We are told, it is true, that flavery cannot be fo repugnant to human nature as we at firfl: ima- gine, becaufe it has been praclifed in all ages, and in all nations : the Lacedemonians them- felves, thofe c:reat aifcrtors of liberty cc cc ^Y^ con quered the NEGRO SLAVERY. 225 the the Helotes with the defign of making them their flaves ; the Romans, whom we confi- der as our mailers in civil and military po- licy, lived in the exercife of the mod horrid oppreffion ; they conquered to plunder and to enflave. What a hideous afpedl the face of the earth mud then have exhibited ! Provinces, towns, diftridls, often depopulated j their inha- bitants driven to Rome, the greateft market in the world, and there fold by thoufands ! The Roman dominions were tilled by the hands of unfortunate people, who had once been, like their viftors free, rich, and poflefled of every benefit fociety can confer j until they became fubjeft to the cruel right of war, and to lawlefs force. Is there then no fuperintending , power who conducts the moral operations of the world, as well as the phyfical ? The fame fublime hand which guides the planets round the fun with fo much exaflnefs, which pre- ferves the arrangement of the whole with fuch exalted wifdom and paternal care, and prevents the vaft fyftem from falling into confufion ; doth it abandon mankind to all the errors, the follies, ; ,d the miferies, which their moft fran- tic rage, and their moft dangerous vices and pafTions can produce ? The hiftory of the earth ! doth it prefent any thing but crimes of the moft heinous nature, committed from one end of the world to the Q^ other ? ^'1 X /. ■V •fi; ■' '( ./.' H :i?il|r:;:: r^' I?' ■■'. ":!■ ' ' ■' S.JS 8':.' ■■ • g;;t;'^;{f ^ fl- .-V V ft; H.' ii6 REFLECTIONS ON other ? We obferve avarice, rapine, and nniir- der, equally prevailing in all parts. Hiftory perpetually tells us, of millions of people aban- doned to the caprice of the maddeft princes, and of whole nations devoted to the blind fury of tyrants. Countries deftroyed; nations alter- nately buried in ruins by other nations j fome parts of the world beautifully cultivated, re- turned again into their priftincftate i the fruits of ages of induftry, the toil of thoufands in a Ihort time deftroyed by few ! If one corner breathes in peace for a few years, ic is, in turn fubjedted, tarne, and levelled; one would almoft believe the principles of adion in man, con- fidered as the firft agent of this planet, to be poifoned in their moft elTential parts. We cer- tainly are not that clafs of beings which we vainly think ourfelves to be ; man an animal of prey, feems to have rapine and the love of blood- fhed implanted in his heart .>- nay, to hold it the moil honourable occupation in fociety : we never fpeak of a hero of mathematics, a hero of knowledge or humanity; no, this illuftrious appellation is referved for the moft fuccefsful butchers of the world. If Nature has given us a fruitful foil to inhabit, fhe hasTefufed us fuch inclinations. and propenfities as would afford us the full: enjoyment of it. Extenfive as the furface of this.planet is, not one half of it is yet culti- vatcdj not half repleniflied -, Ihe created man; and NEGRO SLAVERY. 227 placed him either in the woods or plains, and pro- vided him with pafTions which muft for ever op- pofe his happinefs : every thing is fubmitted to the power of the ftrongeft j men, like the elements, are always at warj the weakeft yield to the , mofl potent; force, fubtilty, and malice, always I triumph over unguarded honefty, and fimplicity. Benignity, moderation, andjuftice, are virtues adapted only to the humble paths of life : we love to talk of virtue and to admire its beauty, while in the fhade of folitude, and retire- ment; but when we ftep forth into a6live life, if it happen to be in competition with any paflTion or defire, do we obferve it to prevail ? Hence fo many religious impoftors have tri- umphed over the credulity of mankind, and have rendered their frauds the creeds of fuc- ceeding generations, during the courfe of many ages; until worne away by time, they have been N replaced by new ones. Hence the moft unjuft war, if lupported by the greateft force, always fucceeds ; hence the moft juft ones, when fupported only by their juftice, as often fail. Such is the afcendancy of power ; the fu- preme arbiter of all the revolutions which we obferve in this planet : fo irrefiftible is power, that it often thwarts the tendency of the moft forcible caufes, and prevents their fub- fequent falutary efFcdls, though ordained for the good of man by the Governor of the uni- 0^2 verfe. ^ m ^\m mi\ r^vr 228 REFLECTIONS ON y - y verfe. Such is the perverfenefs of human na- ture ; who can defcribe it in all its latitude ? ■ In the moments of our philanthropy we often talk of an indulgent nature, a kind parent, who for the benefit of mankind has taken fingular pains to vary the genera of plants, fruits, grain, and the different productions of the earth; and has fpread peculiar blelTings in each climate. This is undoubtedly an obje6l of contemplation which calls forth our warmed gratitude j for fo fingularly benevolent have thofe paternal in- tentions been, that where barrennefs of foil or feverity of climate prevail, there fhe has im- planted in the heart of man, fentiments which over-balance every mifery, and ^jpply the place of every want. She has given to the in- habitants of thefe regions, an attachment to their favage rocks and wild fliorcs, unknown to thofe who inhabit the fertile fields of the temperate zone. Yet if we attentively view this globe, will it not appear rather a place of punifhment, than of deHght ? And what misfortune ! that thofe puniHiments fliould fall on the innocent, and its few delights be enjoyed by the mod unworthy. Famine, difeafes, ele- mentary conviiKions, human feuds, diflentions, &c. are the produce of every climate j each climate produces befides, vices, and miferics pecxiliar to its latitude. View the frigi;i fteri- iity of the north, whofe famifhcd inhabitants ^ hardly yed ries leri- mts ^dly NEGRO SLAVERY. 229 Itardly acquainted with the Tun, live and fare worfe than the bears they hunt : and to which they are fuperior only in the faculty of fpeak- ing. View the ar6lic and antarctic regions, thofe huge voids, where nothing lives ; regions of eternal fnow : where winter in all his horrors has eftablilhed his throne, and arrefted every creative power of nature. Will you call the miferable ftragglers in thefe countries by the name of men ? Now contraft this frigid power of the north and fouth with that of the fun ; examine the parched lands of the torrid zone, replete with fulphureous exhalations ; view thofe countries of Afia fubjedt to pellilen- tial infections which lay nature waftc j view this globe often convulfed both from within and without ; pouring forth from feveral mouths, rivers of boiling matter, which are imperceptibly leaving immenfe fubterranean graves, wherein millions will one day perifti ! Look at the poifonous foil of the equator, at thofe putrid (limy tracks, teeming with hor- rid monfters, the enemies of the human race ; look next at the fandy continent, fcorched perhaps by the fatal approach of fome ancient comet, now the abode of defolation. Examine the rains, the convulfive ftorms of thofe cli- mates, where maffes of fulphur, bitumen, jand ele(5brical fire, combining their dreadful powers, are incefifantly hovering and burfting 0^3 over & ,!','. nil' bJm T IM 1 1 1 m ; L MmMfU m f ■;'■« h^-'-M m}lifkW''i^ fj; 230 REFLECTIONS ON over a globe threatened wi*^h diflblution. On this little Ihell, how very few are the fpots where man can live and flourifli ? even under thofe mild climates which feem to breathe peace and happinefs, the poifon p.f flavery, the fury of defpotifm, and the rage of fuperftition, are all combined againft man ! There only the few live and rule, whilft the many flarve and utter inef- feftual complaints: there, human nature appears more debafed, perhaps than in the lefs favoured climates. The fertile plains of Afia, the rich low lands of Egypt and ofDiarbeck, the fruitful fields bordering on the Tigris and the Euphrates, the extenfive country of the Eall-Indies in all its feparate diflricls j all thefe mud to the geographical eye, feem as if intended for ter- reflrial paradifes : but though furrounded with the fpontaneous riches of nature, though her kindeft favours feem to be llied on thofe beauti- ful regions with the mod profufe hand; yet there in general we find the mod wretched people in the world. Almoil every where, liberty fo natural to mankind, is refufed, or rather en- joyed but by their tyrants ; the word flave, is the appellation of every rank, who adore as a divinity, a being worfe than themfelvcs j fub- je6t to every caprice, and to every* lawlefs rage which unreftrained power can give. Tears are llied, perpetual groans are h'-ard, where 5 ^"^y NEGRO SLAV^ERY. 231 only the accents of peace, alacrity, and grati- tude fhould refound. There the very deli- rium of tyranny tramples on the beft: gifts of nature, and fports with the fate, the happinefs,* the lives of millions : there the extreme fertility of the ground always indicates the extreme mifery of the inhabitants ! Every where one part of the human fpecies are taught the art of fhedding the blood of the other j of fetting fire to their dwellings ; of levelling the works of their induHry : half of the exillence of nations regularly employed in deftroying other nations. What little political felicity is to be met with here and there, has cod" oceans of blood to purchafe ; as if good was never to be the portion of unhappy man. Republics, kingdoms, monarchies, founded either on fraud or fuccefsful violence, increafe by purfuing the fteps of the fame policy, un- til they are deftroyed in their turn, either by the influence of their own crimes, or by more fuccefsful but equally criminal enemies. If from this general review of human na- ture, we defcend to the examination of what is called civilized focietyj there the combination of every natural and artificial want, makes us pay very dear for what little lliare of political felicity we enjoy. It is a ftrange heterogeiveous aflemblage of vices and virtues, and of a v;^nety of other principles, for ever at war, for ever ^ 0^4 janing fl:**f [•1 ft'. -''.(la Jig W'- "»;- l!^ /.44 ft;'' ■■■A I'v.". .' . ;' ' "v 'CiV '■-„■•■ . ■. .i. ■ "I ' ,'l U^"" •-■■ ■■'"■ rHi' 232 HORRID TREATMENT OF jarring, for ever producing fome dangerous, feme diftrefTing extreme. Where do you con- ceive then that nature intended we (hould be happy ? Would you prefer the ftate of men in the woods, to that of men in a more im- proved fituation ? Evil preponderates in both ; in the firft they often eat each other for want of food, and in the other they often ftarve each other for want of room. For my part, I think the vices and miferies to be found in the latter, exceed thofe of the former -, in which real evil is more fcarce, more fupportable, and lefs enormous. Yet we wifh to fee the earth peo- pled; to accomplifh thehappinefs of kingdoms, which is faid to confift in numbers. Gracious God ! to what end is the introduflion of fo many beings into a mode of exiftence in which they muft grope amidft as many errors, com- mit as many crimes, and meet with as many difeafes, wants, and fufferings ! The following fcene will I hope account for thefe melancholy reflexions, and apologize for the gloomy thoughts with which I have filled this letter : my mind is, and always has been, oppr^flTed fmce I became a witnefs to it. I was not long fince invited to dine with a planter who lived three miles from , where he then refided. In order to avoid the heatof tfie fun, I refolved to go on foot, fheltered in a fmall path, leading through a pleafant wood. I was Icifurelv A NEGRO SLAVE. -233 Icifurely travelling along, attentively examin- ing fome peculiar plants which I had col- , ledted, when all at once I felt the air ftrongly agitated j though the day was perfedlly calna and fultry. I innmediately caft my eyes to- ward the cleared ground, from which I was but at a fmall diftance, in order to fee whether it was not occafioned by a fudden ftiower j when at that inftant a found refembling a deep rough voice, uttered, as I thought, a few in- articulate monofyllables. Alarmed and fur- prized, I precipitately looked all round, when I perceived at about fix rods diftance fomething refembling a cage, fufpended to the limbs of a tree ; all the branches of which appeared covered with large birds of prey, fluttering about, and anxioully endeavouring to perch on the cage. Aduated by an involuntaiy motion of my hands, more than by any defign of my mind, I fired at them j they all flew to a Ihort diftance, with a moft hideous noife : when, horrid to think and painful to repeat, I perceived a negro, fufpended in the cage, and left there to expire ! I fliudder when I recolledt that the birds had already picked out his eyes ; his cheek bones were bare; his arms had been attacked in feveral places, and his body feemed covered with a multitude of wounds. From the edges of the hollow fockets and from ;he lacerations with which he was disfigured, the ' ■1^* "■;i mM || 1 1IHH 1 m i^ai 'J-i':' m u r.:;.t :■ iflll- ^£f ■f-■-v■■ 234 A NEGRO SLAVE. the blood flowly dropped, and tinged the ground beneath. No fooner were the birds flown, than fwarms of infe^ls covered the whole body of this unfortunate wretch, eager to feed on his mangled flefh and to drink his blood. I found myfelf fuddenly arrcfted by the power of affright and terror j my nerves were convulfed j I trembled, I Hood motion- lefs, involuntarily contemplating the fate of this negro, in all it difmal latitude. The living fpe6tre, though deprived of his eyes, could Hill diftinftly hear, and in his uncouth dialed begged me to give him fome water to allay his thirft. Humanity herfelf would have re- coiled back with horror ; flie would have ba- lanced whether to lefTen fuch relieflefs diftrefs, or mercifully with one blow to end thi^ dread- ful fcene of agonizing torture ! Had I had a ball in my gun, I certainly iliould have difpatched hiiVx i but finding myfelf unable to perform fo kind an office, I fought, though trembling, to relieve him as well as I could. A fhell ready fixed to a pole, which had been ufed by fome negroes, prefented itfelf to me; filled it with water, and with trembling hands I guided it to the quivering lips of the wretched fufferer. Urged by the irrefiftible power of thirft, he endeavoured to meet it, as he inftindlively guefled its approach by the noife it made in pafling through the bars of tiie cage. " Tankc, " you €t ON SNAKES, kc. 235 you white man, tanke you, pute fome poy- ^' fon and give me." How long have you been hanging there ? I afked him. " Two days, " and me no die j the birds, the birds j aaah " me !" Opprefled with the refiedlions which this fhocking fpeflacle afforded me, I muftered ftrength enough to walk away, and foon reached the houfe at which I intended to dine. There I heard that the reafon for this (lave being tlius punifhed, was on account of his having killed the overfeer of the plantation. They told me that the laws of felf-prefervation rendered fuch executions necefTary -, and fupported the doc- trine of llavery with the arguments generally made ufe of to juftify the practice ; with the repetition of which I Ihall not trouble you at prefent. Adieu. LETTER X. ON SNAKES i AND ON THE HUMMING BIRD. WHY would you prefcrlbe this tafk j you know that what we take up ourfelves Teems always lighter than what is impofed on us by others. You infift on my faying fome- thing about our fnakes i and in relating what I / it'.' ; mm ■i'j .«>** \>^.l i^j* ;'* 1 l!ij).V,'.?.-,'.'i.! ■. . ■.■, la.:^ ?*^.-' ',t.':J It'-, . : ,15 ^%m.- ^iift^l "•>. {-^ ;. ■■:■ u 136 ON SNAKES, AND I know concerning them, were it not for twa fingularities, the one of which I faw, and the other I received from an eye-witnefs, I Ihould have but very little to obferve. The fouthern provinces are the countries where nature has formed the greateft variety of alligators, fnakes, ferpents j and fcorpions, from the fmal- left fize, up to the pine barrerty the largeft fpe- cies known here. We have but two, whofe flings are mortal, which deferve to be men- tioned ; as for the black one, it is remarkable for nothing but its induftry, agility, beauty, and the art of inticing birds by the power of its eyes. I admire it much, and never kill It, though its formidable length and appearance often get the better of the pJiilofophy of fome people, particularly of Europeans. The mod dangerous one is the pilot, or copperhead ^ for the poifon of which no remedy has yet been difco- vered. It bears the firft name becaufe it always precedes the rattle-fnake ; that is, quits its ftate of torpidity in the fpring a week before the other. It bears the fecond name on account of its head being adorned with many copper- coloured fpots. It lurks in rocks near the water, and is extremely aftive and dangerous. Let man beware of it ! I have heard only of one perfdn who was flung by a copperhead in this country. The poor wretch inflantly fwel- led in a mofl dreadful manner 3 a multitude of fpots THE HUMMING BIRD. 237 fpots of different hues alternately appeared and vanilhed, on different parts of his body ; his eyes were filled with madnefs and rage, he caft them on all prefent with the moft vindictive looks : he thruft out his tongue as the fnakes do ; he hiffed through his teeth with inconceiv- able ftrength, and becanne anobjefb of terror to all bye-ftanders. To the lividnefs of a corpfe he united the defperate force of a maniac ; they hardly were able to fallen him, fo as to guard themfelves from his attacks ; when in in the fpace of two hours death relieved the poor wretch from his ftruggles, and the fpe6la- tors from their apprehenfions. The poifon of the rattle-fnake is not mortal in fo Ihort a fpace, and hence there is more time to pro- cure relief J we are acquainted with feveral antidotes with which almoft every family is pro- vided. They are extremely inactive, and if not touched, are perfe6lly inoffenfive. I once faw, as I was travelling, a great cliff which was full of them ; I handled feveral, and they appeared to be dead j they were all entwined together, and thus they remain until the return of the fun. I found them out, by following the track of fome wild hogs which had fed on them ; and even the Indians often regale on them. When they find them afleep, they put a fmall forked flick over their necksjwhich they keep immoveably fixed on the grounds giving the fnake a piece of leather to m I.t;'' m - • mPm '■■ IW'.-. r ,,1 I'r ■;■'■■ ', : 1 1 (* 'I 'It ij?' X :': ■••., -" A '-v.' \^' "i ' " ,.•'1; ■ ^^.i.r ■i-.- 238 ON SNAKES, AND to bite : and this they pull back feveral times with great force, until they obferve their two poifonous fangs torne out. Then they cut off the head, fkin the body, and cook it as we do eels ; and their flefh is extremely fweet and wliite. I once faw a iamed one, as gentle as you can pofTibly conceive a reptile to be ; it took to the water and fwam whenever it pleafed ; and when the boys to whom it belonged called it back, their fummons was readily obeyed. It had been deprived of its fangs by the pre- ceding method ; they often flroked it with a foft brufh, and this fridion feemed to caufc the moft pleafing fenfations, for it would turn on its back to enjoy it, as a cat does before the fire. One of this fpecies was the caufe, fome years ago, of a moft deplorable accident which I Ihall relate to you, as I had it from the widow and mother of the vidims, A Dutch farmer of the Minifink went to mowing, with his ne- groes, in his boots, a precaution ufed to pre- vent being ftung. Inadvertently he trod on a fnake, which immediately flew at his legs ; and as it drew back in order to renew its blow, one of his negroes cut it in two with his fey the. They profecuted their work, and returned home J at night the farmer pulled off his boots and went to bed i and was foon after attacked with a ftrange ficknefs at his ftomach ; he fwel- led, and before a phyfician could be fent for, died. s»*-- S».|?. THE HtFMMING BIRD. 239 died. The fudden death of this man did not caufe much inquiry ; the neighbourhood won- dered, as is ufual in fuch cafes, and without any further examination the corpfe was buried. A few days after, the Ton put on his father's boots, and went to the meadow ; at night he pulled them off,, went to bed, and was attacked with the fame fymptoms about the fame time,, and died in the morning. A little before he expired the doftor came, but was not able to afllgn what could be the caufe of fo fingular a diforderi however, rather than appear wholly at a lofs before the country people, he pronounced both father and fon to have been bewitched. Some weeks after, the widow fold all the move- ables for the benefit of the younger children ; and the farm was leafed. One of the neigh- bours, who bought the boots, prefently put them on, and was attacked in the fame man- ner as the other two had been j but this man's wife being alarmed by what had happened in the former family, difpatchedoneof hernegroes, for an eminent phyfician, who fortunately having heard fomething of the dreadful affair, guelTed at the caufe, applied oil, &:c. and recovered the man. The boots which had been fo fatal, were then carefully examined j and he found that the two fangs of the fnake had been left in the leather, after being wrenched out of their 'V'ifj;, "n i^,:|- ■ M^ m^ '^ lt.'< I It.* : ;. ! li It 5' i*t-s ^i 'i> .'i «*- 1^1 ■^ is*^' ■*.^1J5 i -> fi ■ ' ;■• ■ ' ' '" f 3 ?; Is I ;^ ' . *'t , . . .' 242 ON SNAKES, AND ftrong and fo full of limbs as to refemblc young trees : I once afcended one of them four feet above the ground. Thefe produce natural arbours, rendered often flill more compa6t by the afliftance of an annual creeping plant which we call a vine, that never fails to entwine itfelf among their branches, and always pro- duces a very defirable Ihade. From this fimple grove I have amufed myfelf an hundred times in obferving the great number of humming birds with which our country abounds : the wild bloflbmi every where attrad: the atten- tion of thefe birds, which like bees fubfill by fuftion. From this retreat I diftindtly watch them in all their various attitudes ; but their flight is fo rapid, that you cannot diftinguifh the motion of their wings. On this little bird nature has profufely laviilied her moft fplendid colours ; the moft perfed azure, the moft beautiful gold, the moft dazzling red, arc for ever in contraft, and help to embellifti the plumes of his majeftic head. The richeft pal- let of the moft luxuriant painter, could never invent any thing to be compared to the va- riegated tints, with which this infect bird n arrayed. Its bill is as long and as fharp as a coarfe fewing needle ; like the bee, nature has taught it to find out in the calix of flowers and bloflbms, thofe mellifluous particles that ferve it for fufficient food j and yet it feems to - leave U i- THE HUMMING BIRD. 243 leave them untouched, undeprived of any thing that our eyes ct-n poflibly diftinguifli. When it feeds, it appears as if immoveable, though con- tinually on the wing J and fometimes, from what motives I know not, it will tear and lace- rate flowers into a hundred pieces : for, ftrangc to tell, they are the mod irafcible of the fea- thered tribe. Where do pafTions find room in fo diminutive a body ? They often fight with the fury of lions, until one of thecombatants falls a facrifice and dies. When fatigued, it has often perched within a few feet of me, and on fuch favourable opportunities I have fur- veyed it with the moft minute attention. Its little eyes appear like diamonds, refleding light on every fide: moft elegantly finifhed in all parts it is a miniature work of our great pa- rent J who feems to have formed it the fmalleft, and at the fame time the moft beautiful of the winged fpecies. As I was one day fitting folitary and penfivc in my primitive arbour, my attention was en- gaged by aftrange fort of ruftling noife atfome paces diftance. I looked all around without diftinguifhing any thing, until I climbed one of my great hemp ftalks j when to my aftonifh- menc, I beheld two Ihakes of confiderable length, the one purfuing the other with great celerity through a hemp ftubble field. The agareiror was of the black kind, fix feet long j R 2 the m Vl llln y i' M iBJlffi II if WM eJI< 1) mm^ ■)•' -i -i sf*! w-' ■■. ij^i. A FURIOUS BATTLE the fugitive was a water fnake, nearly of eqiiai dimenfions. They foon met, and in the fury of their firft encounter, they appeared in an inflant firmly twilled together; and whilft their united tails beat the grouiid, they mutu- ally tried with open jaws to lacerate each other. What a fell afpedt did they prefent 1 their heads were comprefTed to a very fmall fize, their eyes flafhcd fire ; and afcer this conflidt had lafted about five minutes, the fecond found means to difengage itfelf from the firft, and hurried toward the ditch. Its antagonift in- ftantly aflumed a new pofture, and half creep- ing and half creft, with a majeftic mein, over- took and attacked the other again, which placed itfelf in the fame attitude, and prepared to refift. The fcene was uncommon and beauti- ful J for thus oppofed they fought with their jaws, biting each other with the utmoft rage ; but notwithftanding this appearance of mutual courage and fury, the water fnake ftrll feemed dcfirous of "reating toward the ditch, its na- tural element. This was no fooner perceived by the keen-eyed black one, than twifting its tail twice round a ftalk of hemp, and feizing its adverfary by the throat, not by means of its jaws, but by twifting its own neck twice "ound that of the water fnake, pulled it back from the ditch. To prevent a defeat the latter took hold likewife of a ftalk on the bank, and by ing of BETWEEN TWO SNAKES. 245 by the acqiiifition of that point of refiftance became a match for its fierce antagonift. Strange was this to behold j two great fnakes ftrongly adhering to the groii~aJ mutually fatt- ened together by means of the writliings which lafhed them to each other, and ftretched at their full length, they pulled but pulled in vain; and in the moments of greatefl exertions that part of their bodies which was entwined, feemed extremely fmall. while the reft appeared in- flated, and now and then convulfed with ftrong undulations, rapidly following each other. Their eyes feemed on fire, and ready to ftarc out of their heads ; at one time the conflidt feemed decided ; the water-fnake bent itfelf into two great folds, and by that operation ren- dered the other more than commonly out- ftretched ; the next minute the new ftruggles of the black one gained an unexpeded fupe- " riority, it acquired two great folds likewife, which neceflarily extended the body of its adverfary in proportion as it had contracted its own. Thefe efforts were alternate j vidory feemed doubtful, inclining fometimes to the one fide and fometimes to the other ; until at laft the ftalk to which the black fnake fattened, fuddenly gave way, and in confequence of this accident they both plunged into the ditch. The water did not extinguifli their vindictive ragCj for by their agitations I could trace, R 3 though ■^ uW' Mi f'.^. m W'^^'^^' y;- ijii,;' ^'ii 246 BETWEEN TWO SNAKES. though not diftingullh their mutual attacks. They foon re-appcared on the furface twifled together, as in their firft onfet ; but the black fnake fcemed to retain its wonted fuperiority, for its head was exadly fixed above that of the other, which it inceffantly preffed down under the water, until it was ftifled, and funk. The vidlor no fooner perceived its enemy incapable of farther refiftance, than abandoning it to the current, it returned on Ihore and difappeared. I' A', 'f fl !; ■r';"'7^- ^V^'^- ^'. '.'■.. -' "•' '^■ p. f '. ' f^y } ■■■*}•.■'■■■' \ LETTER VISIT TO MR. BERTRAM. 247 LETTER XI. TROM MR. IW — N AL — Z, A RUSSIAN GENTLE- MAN J DESCRIBING THE VISIT HE PAID AT MY REQUEST TO MR. JOHN BERTRAM, THE CELE- BRATED pensylvanian botanist. EXAMINE this flourilhing province, in whatever light you will, the eyes as well as the mind of an European traveller are equally d€lighted -, becaufe a difFufive happi- nefs appears in every part : happinefs which is eftablifhed on the broadefl bafis. The wifdoni of Lycurgus and Solon, never conferred on man one half of the blelTings and uninterrupted profperity which the Pennfylvanians now pof- fefs : the name of Penfty that fimple but illu- flrious citizen, docs more honour to the Eng- lifh nation than thofe of many of their kings. In order to convince you that I have not beftowed undeferved praifes, in my former let- ters on this celebrated government ; and that cither nature or the climate feems to be more favourable here to the arts and fciences, than to any other American province ; let us toge- ther, agreeable to your defire, pay a vifit to Mr. John Bertram, the firft botanift, in this new hemifpherc : become fuch by a native impulfe of difpofition. It is to this fimple man that R 4 America '■r-\ ! m MU ' l- ;:'(,'' 4m ' \'- ' ; i. Jiffl^»::i 'I:, ' ■ l* '• K . ■•■11 P ,v'- .'in ' '■■ !- *,;4»f r-vf^;ft 'IW' M' '■'■■'■■1 248 VISIT TO MR. BERTRAM, America is indebted for feveral ufeful difco- veries, and the knowledge of many new plants. I had been greatly prepoffefled in his f^ivour by the extenfive correfpondencc which I knew he held with the moft eminent Scotch and French botanifts ; I knew alfo that he had been honoured with that of Queen Ulrica of Sweden. His houfe is fmall, but decent ; there was fomething peculiar in its firft appearance, which feemed to diftinguilh it from thofe of his neighbours : • a fmall tower in the middle of it, not only helped to ftrengthen it but afforded convenient room for a ftaircafe. Every difpofition of the fields, fences, and trees, feemed to bear the marks of perfect order and regularity, which in rural affairs, always indicate a profperous induflry. I was received at the door by a woman drefTed extremely neat and fimple, who with- out courtfcying, or any other ceremonial, afked me, with an air of benignity, who I wanted ? I anfwered, I fhould be glad to fee Mr. Ber- tram. If thee wilt ftep in and take a chair, I will fend for him. No, I faid, I had rather have the pleafure of walking through his farm, I fhall eafily find him out, with your directions. After a little time I perceived the Schuylkill, winding through delightful meadows, and foori call my eyes on a new-made bank^j which feemed greatly to confine its flream. After havipg THE BOTANIST. 249 IS. 11, :h ler icr having walked on its top a confiderable way I at laft reached the place where ten men were at work. I afked, if any of them could tell me where Mr. Bertram was ? An elderly looking man, with wide trowfers and a large leather apron on, looking at me faid, " My " name is Bertram, doft thee want me ?" Sir, I am come on purpofe to converfe with you, if you can be fpared from your labour. " Very eafily ( he anfwered ) I direct and " advife more than I work.'* We walked to- ward the houfe, where he made me take a chair while he went to put on clean clothes, after which he returned and fat down by me. The fame of your knowledge, faid I, in Ame- rican botany, and your well-known hofpitality, have induced miC to pay you a vifit, which I hope you will not think troublefcme : I fhould be glad to fpend a few hours in your garden. " The greateft advantage (replied he) which " I receive from what thee callefl my botani- " cal fame, is the pleafure which it often pro- '' cureth me in receiving the vifits of friends ^' and foreigners : but our jaunt mto the gar- " den muft be poftponed for the prefent, as " the bell is ringing for dinner." We entered into a large hall, where there was a long table full of viduals i at the loweffc part fat his ne- groes, his hired men were next, then the family and t'linjtfc '^VST^T- ■IS-.*' f.Vffi: m 11 ^5i^;-\ ' f- 5.50 VISIT TO MR. BERTRAM, and myfelf; and at the head, the venerable father and his wife prefided. Each reclined his head and faid his prayers, divefted of the tedious cant of fome, and of the oflcntatious Icile of others. " After the luxuries of our cities, ** (obferved he) this plain fare muft appear to *' thee a fevere faft." By no means, Mr. Bertram, this honeft country dinner^ convinces me, that you receive me as a friend and an old acquaintance. *' I am glad of it, for thee ** art heartily welcome. I never knew how *^ to ufe ceremonies; they are infufEcient proofs *' of fincerity ; our fociety, befides, are utterly " ftrangers to what the world calleth polite " expreflions. We treat others as we treat ** ourfelves. I received yefterday a letter ** from Philadelphia, by which I underftand *^ thee art a Ruffian ; what motives can pof- fibly have induced thee to quit thy native country and to come fo far in queft of know- ledge or pleafure ? Verily it is a great com- pliment thee payefb to this our young pro- *^ vince, to think that any thing it exhibiteth *' may be worthy thy attention.'* I have been mod amply repaid for the trouble of the paf- iage. I view the prefent Americans as the feed of future nations, which will replenifli this boundlefs continent -, the Ruffians may be in fome refpeds compared to you j we likewife arc a new people, new I mean in knowledge, • * " ' arts. ^M 3 'm ;,*i' ^nMt'i"'^ ■ ffl.''/'' ,/;'.»( '.■.■'''•'■ (""i ;'■■ • :ii '/'■: n ''-■' ■ I-- M\ i.. 1 .•■ i ■ v'. .t ■'■•7*i":',i ^I'A'J. *■',,'[ •• ^^"^ ?.52 VISIT TO MR. BERTRAM, try, as well as to the proprietors ; the Schuyl- kill in its many windings once covered a great extent of ground, though its waters were *' but fhallow even in our higheft tides : and *' though fome parts were always dry, yet the *^ whole of this great track prefented to the eye nothing but a putrid fwampy foil, ufelefs either for the plough or for the fcythe. The proprietors of thefe grounds are now incor- porated J we yearly pay to the treafurer of the company a certain fum, which makes an aggregate, fuperior. to the cafualties that generally happen either by inundations or the mufk fquafh. It is owing to this happy contrivance that fo many thoufand acres of meadows have been refcuedfrom the Schuyl- " kill, which now both enricheth and embel- liflieth fo much of the neighbourhood of our city. Our brethren of Salem in New Jerfey have carried the art of banking to a ftill higher degree of pcrfc(5lion.'* It is really an admirable contrivance, which greatly redounds to the honour of the parties con- cerned J and fhews a fpirit of difcernment and perfeverance which is highly praife worthy : if the Virginians would imitate your example, the ftate of their hufbandry would greatly im- prove. I have not heard of any fuch alTocia- tion in any other parts of the continent; Pen- fylvania hitherto feems to reign the unrivalled queen (t cc i'Sl;:;.! •I' It ». ■ ■ ' ' It-'; 1*1'. ■' , "■'■'»':■ 1: ■51 cc !i if '■ I'".'.' ii ■J'i^f li % cc <( 256 VISIT TO MR. BERTRAM, idling clover, announced the beft hufbandp/» as well as the mod afflduous attention. His cows were then returning home, deep bellied, fhort legged, having udders ready to burft j fceking with feeming toil, to be delivered fron\ the great exuberance they contained : he next fhewed me his orchard, formerly planted on a barren findy foil, but long fmce converted into one of the richeft fpots in that vicinage. " This (faid he) is altogether the fruit of my own contrivance i I purchafed fome years ago the privilege of a fmall fpring, about ** a mile and a half from hence, which at a " confiderable expence I have brought to this *' refervoir ; therein I throw old lime, afhes, " horfedung, &c. and twice a week I let it " run, thus impregnated ; I regularly fprcad " on this ground in the fall, old hay, llraw, " and whatever damaged fodder I have about my barn. By thefe fimple means I mow, one year with another, fifty-three hundreds of excellent hay per acre, from a foil, which fcarcely produced five-fingers \a fmall ]>iant rejemhling ftrawberries\ fome years before." This is. Sir, a miracle in hufbandry ; happy the country which is cultivated by a fociety of men, whofe application and tafte lead them to profecute and accomplifh ufeful works. I am not the only perfon who do thefe things (he faid) wherever water can be had it (C cc cc cc cc t.f. (C cc m-. ••Hr':;;., THE BOTANIST. 257 it is always turned to that important uft: ; wherever a farmer can water his meadows, the greateft: crops of the bed hay and excellent after- grafs, are the fure rewards of his labours. With the banks of my meadow ditches, I have greatly enriched my upland fields, thofe which I intend to reft for a few years, I conftantly fow with red clover, which is the greateft melioraror of our lands. For three years after, they yield abundant pafture ; when I want to break up my clover fields, I give them a good coat of mud, which hath been expofed to the fcverities of three or four of our winters. This is the reafon that I commonly reap from twenty -eight to thirty-fix bufiiels of wheat an acrej my flax, oats, and Indian corn, I raife in the fame proportion. Wouldft thee inform me whe- ther the inhabitants of thy country follow the fame methods ofhuft)andry ?" No, Sir; n the neighbourhood of our towns, there are ndeed fome intelligent farmers, who profecute their rural fchemes with attention ; but we fiiould be too numerous, too happy, too power- ful a people, if it were pofiiblc for the whole Ruffian Empire to be cultivated like the province of Pennfylvania. Our lands are fo unequally divided, and fo few of our farmers are poflefiTors of the foil they till, that they S cannot m r-x .'I •* T :''!f e*ii V»"- ;«.► '!» SS'l'lil IM 'J K'l'" •' V 1;' if" \ ■ i f' Is',. ■ J ■"* I'' ■ ■■'k ',t,',:i>;. M't' c -*^ Y^m rMttV ■• X- 260 VISIT TO MR. BERTRAM, " though I know that fome of our fricndj " have laughed at it.'* I am not one of thofe people, Mr. Bertram, who aim at finding out the ridiculous in what is fincerely and honeftly averred. " Well, then, I'll tell thee : One day " I was very bufy in holding my plough (for thee feed that I am but a ploughman) and being weary I ran under the (hade of a tree to repofe myfelf. I caft my eyes on a daijy, I plucked it mechanically and viewed it with <* more curiofity than common country farmers are wont to do ; and obferved therein very many diftinft parts, fome perpendicular, fome horizon tal . fVhat a Jhamey /aid my mind, or fomething that injpired my mind, that thee " fioouldeft have employed fo many years in tilling *' the eartjp and deftroying Jo marry flowers and *' planty^ without being acquainted with their ft rue- tures and their ujesl This feeming infpira- tion fuddenly awakened my curiofity, for " thefe were not thoughts to which I had been accuftomed. I returned to my team, but this new defire did not quit my mind ; I mentioned it to my wife, who greatly difcouraged me from profecuting my new fcheme, as Ilie called it j I was not opulent enough, ihe faid, to dedicate much of my time to fludies and labours which might rob me of that portion of it which is the " only wealth of the Am^ri^jan farnner. How- (( (C , ./; > •Hi'-i Rl'4- C( (C 262 VISIT TO MR. BERTRAM, " acquainted with, there are any thee wanted " to fend to thy native country, I will chear- fully procure them, and give thee moreover whatever dire(5lions thee mayeft want.'* Thus I pafled feveral days in eafe, improve- ment, and pleafure -, I obferved in all the ope- rations of his farm, as well as in the mutual correfpondence between the maftcr and the in- ferior members of his family, the greateft: eafe and decorum j not a word like command fccmed to exceed the tone of a fimple wifh. The very negroes themfelves appeared to partake of fuch a decency of behaviour, and modefty of countenance, as I had never before obferved. By what means, faid I, Mr. Bertram, do you rule your flaves fo well, that they feem to do their work with all the chearfulnefs of white men ? " Though our erroneous prejudices " and opinions once induced us to look upon " them as fit only for flavery, though ancient '* cuftom had very unfortunately taught us " to keep them in bondage; yet of late, in **' confequencc of the remonftrances of feveral " Friends, and of the good books they have publifhed on that fubjedl, our fociety treats them very differently. With us they are now free. I give thofe whom thee didft fee at my table, eighteen pounds a year, with vicfluals and clothes, and all other pri- vileges which white men enjoy. Our fo- . ^ , . « ciety ct tl ti <( «( re t< C( cc « CC moral men ; when they do not what we think they fhould do, we difmifs them, which is all the punilhment we inflid. Other focieties of Chriftians keep them dill as flaves, without teaching them any kind of religious principles : what motive befide fear can they have to behave well ? In the firft fettlement of this province, we employed them as flaves, I acknowledge j but when we found that good example, gentle admo- nition, and religious principles could lead them to fubordination and fobriety, we rc- linquifhed a method fo contrary to the pro- feflion of Chriftianity. We gave them free- dom, and yet few have quitted their ancient mafters. The women breed in our families ; and we become attached to one another. I taught mine to read and to write; they love God, and fear his judgements. The oldeft perfon among them tranfads my bufi- nefs in Philadelphia, with a pundluality, from which he has never deviated. They conftantly attend our meetings, they participate in health and ficknefs^ infancy and old ^age» mA S4 cc m ;/"■ f;( i ^ M ■V I- m m | -,,;■> / €< €C (C CC (C 264 VISIT TO MR. BERTRAM, in the advantages our foclety affords. Such are the means we have made ufe of, to relieve them from that bondage and ignorance in which they were kept before. Thee perhaps haft been furprifed to fee them at my table, ** but by elevating them to the rank of freemen, " they neccfTarily acquire that emulation with- *' out which we ourfelvcs fhould fall into dc- " bafeinent and profligate ways." Mr. Ber- train, this is the moft philofophical treat- ment of negroes that I have heard of; happy would it be for America would other denomi- nations of Chriftians imbibe the fame prin- ciples, and follow the fame admirable rules. A great number of men would be relieved from thofe cruel fliackles, under which they now groan ; and under this imprefTion, I can- not endure to fpend more time in the fouthern provinces. The method with which they are treated there, the meannefs of their food, the feverity of their tafks, are fpeflacles I have not patience to behold. " I am glad to fee " that thee haft fo much compaflion ; are there " any flaves in thy country ?" Yes, unfortu- nately, but they are more properly civil than domeftic flaves ; they are attached to the foil on which they live ; it is the remains of an- cient barbarous cuftoms, eftablilhed in the days of the greateft ignorance and favagenefs of and preferved notwithftanding the repeated m;^nners I THE BOTANlSr. 265 cc cc 14. 1 ■ J* 266 VISIT TO MR. BERTRAM, to his bank, to his garden, to his ftudy, ahd «t lad to the meeting of the fociety on the Sun- day following. It was at the town of Chefter, whither the whole family went in two waggons ; Mr. Bertram and I on horfe-back. When I entered the houfc where the friends were af- fembled, who might be about two hundred men and women, the involuntary impulfe of ancient cuftom made me pull off my hatj but foon recovering myfelf, I fat with it on, at the end of a bench. The meeting-houfc was a fquare building devoid of any ornament whatever ; the whitenefs of the walls, the con- veniency of feats, that ol 1 large ftove, which in cold weather keeps the whole houfe warm, were the only eflential things which I obferved. Neither pulpit nor defk, fount nor altar, taber- nacle nor organ, were there to be feen -, it is merely a fpacious room, in which thefegoodpeo* pie meet every Sunday. A profound filence en- fued, which lafted about half an hourj every one had his head reclined, and feemed abforbed in profound meditation, when a female friend arofe, and declared with a n. H: engaging modefty, that the fpirit moved her to entertain them on the fubjed, fhe had chofen. She treated it with gfcat propriety, as a moral ufeful difcourfe, and delivered it without theolologi- calparade or the oftentation of learning. Either fhe muft have been a great adept in public fpeaking. *i w THE BOTANIST. 267 fpeaking, or had ftudioufly prepared hcrfelf •, a circumllance that cannot well be Aippofed, as it is a point, in their profelTion, to utter no- thing but what arifes from fpontaneous im- pulfe : or elfe the great fpirit of the world, the patronage and influence of which they all came to invoke, muft have infpired her with the foundeft morality. Her difcourfe lafted three quarters of an hour. I did not obferve one fingle face turned toward her ; never before had I feen a congregation liftening with fo much attention to a public oration. I obferved neither contortions of body, nor any kind of afFedation in her face, llile, or manner of ut- terance j every thing was natural, and there- fore pleafing, and fhall I tell you more, (he was very handfome, although upward of forty. As foon as ilie had finifhed, every one feemed to return to their former meditation fo about .1 quarter of an hour ; when they rofe up by common confent, and after fome general con- yerfation, departed. How fimple their precepts, how unadorned their religious fyllem : how few the ceremonies through which they pafs during the courfe of their lives ! At their deaths they are interred by the fraternity, without pomp, without prayers ; thinking it then too late to alter the courfe of God's eternal decrees ; and as you well know, without 4f 4 ft ■*i' lii • 1«I »"'. \M.i *W '.^ 268 VISIT TO MR. BERTPJaM, without either monument •or tomb-ftone. Thus after having lived under the mildefl: go- vernment, after having been guided by the mifdeft doftrine, they die juft as peaceably as thofe who being educated in more pompous religions, pafs through a variety of facra- mcnts, fubfcribe to complicated creeds, and enjoy the benefits of a church eflablifh- ment. Thefe good people flatter them- felves, with following the doflrines of Jefus Chrift, in that fimplicity with which they were delivered : an happier fyftem could not have been devifed for the ufe of mankind. It appears to be entirely free from thofe orna- ments and political additions which each country and each government, hath fafhioned after its own manners. • '- *-^ ••' • At the door of this meeting houfe, I had been invited to fpend fome days at the houfes of fomc rcfpedable farmers in the neighbourhood. The reception I met with every where infenfibly led me to fpend two months among thefe gopd people ; and I muft fay they were the golden days of my riper years. I never fhall forget the gratitude I owe them for the innumerable kindnefles they heaped on me ; it was to the letter you gave m© that I am indebted for the extenfive acquaintance I now have throughout Pennfyivania. I muft defer thanking you as I ought. THE BOTANIST. 269 I ought, until I fee you again. Before that time comes, I may perhaps entertain you with more curious anecdotes than this letter affords, FarewelK I N AL Z. •i/' I r 'J "; V 4. ..,■ ■ ' i1 ' '■'• ,■•>«,•♦ S 1^'* ! * ' i ^ Vf,*'" •"^.jy--/"*'7' ' \?, - , ■' » .J .;, 1 >*^ 4. J. * . .• ■ ,' , * ■•■• \s •.•»i UETTER m m i-M m w m 470 DISTRESSES Of •: fv?o:.: LETTER XII. DISTRESSES OF A FRONTIER MANT, It/'' : ., !>,;■■" ('■• U;: m-m Mm Ft ■/ .'^f Pi ,1' i 1WISH for a change of place ; the hour Is come at laft, that I muft fly from my houfe and abandon my farm ! But what courfe Ihall I fleer, inclofed as I am ? The climate bed adapted to my prefent fituation and humour would be the polar regions, where fix months day and fix months night divide the dull year: nay, a fimple Aurora Borealis would fuffice me, and greatly refrcfli my eyes, fatigued now by fo many dilagreeable objedls. The feverity of thofe climates, that great gloom, where melancholy dwells, would be perfedlly snala- gous to the turn of my mind. Oh, could I i'!move my plantation to the fliores of the Oby, willingly would I dwell in the hut of a Samo- yede ; with chearfulnefs would I go and bury myfelf in the cavern of a Laplander. Could I but Carry my family along w'Ji me, I would winter at Pello, or Tobollky, in order to enjoy the peace r.nd innocence of that country. But let me arrive under the pole, or reach the a^itipodes, I never can leave behind me the remembrance of the dreadful fcenes to which I have been a wirnefs ; therefore never can I be happy 1 Happy, wlw would I mention that -'- * — -• ^ fweet. v.«' .J^^- A FRONTIER MAN, 271 fweet, that enchanting word ? Once happinefs was our portion ; now it is }?one from us, and I am afraid not to be enjoyed again by the prefent generation ! Which ever way I look, nothing but the moft frightful precipices pre- fent themfelves to my view, in which hun- dreds of my friends and acquaintances have already perifhed : of all animals that live on the furface of this planet, what is man when no longer connedted with fociety ; or when he finds himfelf furrounded by a convulfed and a half diflblved one ? He cannot live in folitude, he muft belong to fome com- munity bound by fome ties, however im- perfeft. Men mutually fupport and add to the holdnefs and confidence of each other; the weaknefs of each is ftrengthened by the force of the whole. I had never before thefe cala- mitous times formed any fuch ideas ; I lived on, laboured and profpered, without having ever ftudied on what the fccurity of my life, and the foundation of my profperity were efta- bliflied : I perceived them juft as they left me. Never was a fituation fo fingularly terrible as mine, in every poflible refpedt ; as a member of an extenlive fociety, as a citizen of an in- ferior divjfion of the fame fociety, as a hufband, as a father, as a man who exquifitely feels for the miferies of others as well as for his own 1 But, alas ! fo much U every thing now fub- vcrted N >^ 04., I 1 ■[• ■fiti i^ '■ i| 4ii km i ^m?' M. "sin* ' ■ a ,•■.1: «72 " DISTRESSES OF verted among us, that the very word mifery, "With which we were hardly acquainted before, no longer conveys the fame ideas i or rather tired with feeling for the miferies of others, every one feels nov/ for himfelf alone. When I confider myfelf as connefted in all thefe cha- ra6lers, as bound by fo many cords, all uniting in my heart, I am feifed with a fever of the mind, I am tranfported beyond that de- gree of calmnefs which is neceflary to delineate our thoughts. I feel as if my reafon. wanted to leave me, as if it would burft its poor weak tenement : again I try to compofe myfelf, I grow cool, and preconceiving the dreadful lofs, I endeavour to retain the ufeful guefl. . .. You know the pofition of our fettlement ; I need not therefore defcribe it. To the weft it is inclofed by a chain of mountains, reaching to I ' J to the eaft, the country is as yet buc thinly inhabited ; wc are almoft infulated, and the houfes are at a confiderable diftance from ■ each other. From the mountains we have but , too much reafon to expedt our dreadful ene- .. my J the wildcrnefs is a harbour where it is impolTible to find them. It is a door through .which they can enter our country when- ever they pleafe j and, as they feem deter- ^ mined to deftroy the whole chain of frontiers, our fate cannot be far diftant : from Lake ;.ChamplaLn, almoft all has been conflagrated • . . .-. * one A FRONTIER MAN. 273 one after another. What renders thefe inciir- fions ftill more terrible is, that they moft com- monly take place in the dead of the night : we never go to our fields but we afe feifed with an involuntary fear, which lelTens our llrength and weakens our labour. No other fubjeft of converfation lr;tervenes between the different accounts, which fprcad through the country, of fucceflive a6ls of devaftation j and thefe told in chimney-corners, fwell themfclves in our-affrighted imaginations into the moft terrific ideas ! We never fit % A FRONTIER MAN. 291 plough, fome for the fey the ; and this has oc- cupied many years of my life. I have never pofTefled, or wifh to poflefs any thing more than what could be earned or produced by the united induftry of my family. I wanted nothing more than to live at home independent and tran- quil, and to teach my children how to provide the means of a future ample fubfiftencc, founded on labour, like that of their father. This is the career of life I have purfued, and that whiK:h I had marked out for them and for which they feemed to be fo well calculated by their inclinations, and by their conftitutions. But now thefe pleafing expeflations are gone, we mufl: abandon the accumulated induftry of nineteen years, we muft fly we hardly know whither, through the moft imperviouspaths, and become members of a new and ftrange com- munity. Oh, virtue! is this all the reward thou haft to confer on thy votaries ? Either thou art only a chimera, or thou art a timid ufelefs being j foon affrighted, when ambition, thy great adverfary, di6lates, when war re-echoes the dreadful founds, and poor helplefs individuals are mowed down by its cruel reapers like ufelefs grafs. I have at all times generoufly relieved what few diftrefled people I have met with ; I have encouraged the induftrious j my houfe has always been opened to travellers ; I have not loft a month in illnefs fince I have been a man; I U 2 caufed • * •* il iftf :! oil •Vj.M' ■ ' iv uM^ 4h '4 It s 4 hi; ^ £V«' 2^2 DISTRESSES OF have caufed upwards of an hu ndred and twenty fa- miJics to rcnnove hither. Many of them I have led by the hand in the days of their firft trial ; diftant as I am from any places of worfhip or fchool of education, I have been the paftor of my family, and the teacher of many of my neighbours. 1 have learnt them as well as I could, the gratitude they owe to God, the father of harvefts ; and their duties to man : I have been asufefula fubjedlj ever obedient to the laws, ever vigilant to fee them refpefled and obferved. My wife hath faithfully followed the fame line within her province ; no woman was ever a better oeconomift, or fpun or wove better linen j yet we muft peri(h, perifh like wild beads, included within a ring of fire ! Yes, I will chearfully embrace that refource, it is an holy infpiration : by night and by day, it prcfents itfelf to my mind : I have care- fully revolved the fcheme j I have confidered in all its future efFeds and tendencies, the new mode of living we muft purfue, without fait, without fpices, without linen and with little other cloathing j the art of hunting, we muft acquire, the new manners we muft adopt, the new language we muft fpeak ; the dangers attending the education of my children we muft endure. Thefe changes may appear more terrific atadiftance perhaps than when ' '^ ■ ■^' ■ -^ .^ ,; r ■.■ ; grown A FRONTIER MAN. 293 ^rown familiar by praftice : what is it to us, whether we eat well made paftry, or pounded alagriches -, well roafted beef, or fmoked venifon ; cabbages, or fqualhes ? "Whether we wear neat home-fpun, or good beaver; whether we fleep on featherbeds, or on bear-fkins ? The difference is not worth at- tending to. The difficulty of the language, the fear of fonne great intoxication anaong the Indians j finally, the apprehenfion left my younger children fhould be caught by that fingular charm, fo dangerous at their tender years ; are the only confidcrations that ftartle me. By what power does it come to pafs, that children who have been adopted when young among thefe people, can never be prevailed on to re-adopt European manners ? Many an anxious parent have I feen laft war, who at -the return of the peace, went to the Indian villages where theyknew their children had been carried in captivity ; when to their inexpreffible forrow, they found them fo perfedlly Indianifed, that many knew them no longer, and thofe whofe more advanced ages permitted them to recoiled: their fathers and mothers, abfolutely refufed to follow them, and ran to their adopt- ive parents for protection againft the cfFufions of love their unhappy real parents lavifhed on them ! Incredible as this may appear, I have iieard it afferted in a thoufand inftances, U 3 among ■f: •» 1 ■-■■! ! U . \,- A ■rv ■■ ^■■■:*. : ».i. ;:l| •?:'? m .:' ■ .-.) ■>: 0Z m ■:':;■ if'-.. '■" -i 294 DISTRESSES OF among perfonsofcredit. In the village of- where I purpofe to go,there lived, about fifteen years ago, an Englifhman and a Swede, whofc hiftory would appear moving, had I time to re- late it. They were grown to the age of men when they were tuken ; they happily efcaped the great punifliment of war captives, and were obliged to marry the Squaws who had faved their lives by adoption. By the force of habit, they became at lad thoroughly natu- ralifcd to this wild courfe of life. While I was there, their friends fent them a confider- able fum of money to ranfom themfelves with. The Indians, their old mafters, gave them their choice, and without requiring any confidera- tion, told them, that they had been long as free as themfelves. They chofe to remain j and the reafons they gave me would greatly furprife you : the moft perfedt freedom, the eafe of living, the abfence of thofe cares and corroding folicitudes which fo often prevail with us i the peculiar goodnefs of the foil they cultivated, for they did not truft altogether to hunting j all thefe, and many more motives, which I have forgot, made them prefer that life, of which we entertain fuch dreadful opi- nions. It cannot be, therefore, fo bad as we generally conceive it to be ; there muft be in their focial bond fomething Angularly captivat- ing, and farfuperior to any thing to be boafled of ]i A "FRONTIER MAN. 295 tof among us ; for thoufands of Europeans are Indians, and we have no examples of even one of thofeAborigines having from choice become Europeans ! There muft be fomething more congenial to our native difpofitions, than the fi(5litious fociety in which we live j or elfe why fhould children, and even grown perfons, be- come in a Ihort time fo invincibly attached to it ? There muft be fomething very bewitching in their manners, fomething very indelible and marked by the very hands of nature. For, take a young Indian lad, give him the beft education you polTibly can, load him with your bounty, with prefents, nay with riches ; yet he will fecretly long ibr his native woods, which you would imagine he muft have long fincc forgot i and on the firft opportunity he can pofTibly find, you will fee him voluntarily leave behind him all you have given him, and return with inexprefllble joy to lie on the mats of his fathers. Mr. , fome years ago, received from a good old Indian, who died in his houfe, a young lad, of nine years of age, his grand- fon. He kindly educated him with his chil- dren, and beftowed on him the fame care and attention in refpedl to the memory of his ve- nerable grandfather, who was a worthy man. He intended to give him a genteel trade, but in the fpring feafon when all the family went to the woods to make their manle fuQ:ar, he U 4 fuddenly i ! 'i ill; Hi^" III [•5- ■'^i;'?..- yf^'ii:'^ I 296 DISTRESSESOF fuddenly difappearcd ; and it was not iinti,! feventeen months after, that his bencfadlqr heard he had reached the village of Bald Eagle, , where he flill dwelt. I. et us fay whaj; we will of them:, of their inferior organs, of their waA,t of bread, &c. th^y are as ftout and well m^de as the pAiropeans. Without temples, without prijcfts, without kings, aqd without laws, they are in many inftances fuperior to us ; and the proofs of what I advance, are, that they live without care, fleep without inquietude, take life as it comes, bearing all its afperities with unparalleled patience, and die without any kind of apprehenfion for what they have done, or for what they expe6l to meet with hereafter. What fyftem of philofophy can give us fo many neceffary qualifications for happi- nefs ? They moft certainly are much more clofely conneded with nature than we are s they are her immediate children, the inhabi- tants of the woods are her undefiled offspring : thofe of the plains are her degenerated breed, far, very far removed from her primitive laws, ■ from her original defign. It is therefore re- folved on. I will either die in the attempt or fucceed j better perifli all together in one fat^l hour, than to fuffer what we dailv endure. I do not expert to enjoy in the village of , an uninterrupted happinefs \ it cannot be our lot, let us live where we will \ I am not founding mv "n y A FRONTIER MAN. 297 my future profperity on golden dreams. Place \ mankind where you will, they mud always have adverfe circumftances to ftruggle with ; from nature, accidents, conftitution ; from fea-i fons, from that great combination of mifchances which perpetually lead us to difeafes, to po- verty, &c. Who knows but I may meet in ^ this new fituation, fome accident from whence '^ may fpring up new fources of unexpefted prof- perity ? Who can be prefumptuous enough to predict all the good ? Who can forefee all the evils, which drew the paths of our lives ? But after all, I cannot but recollect what facrifice I am going to make, what amputation I am going to fuffer, what tranfition I am going to experience. Pardon my repetitions, my wild, my trifling refledlions, they proceed from the agitations of my mind, and the fulnefs of my heart ; the adlion of thus retracing them feems to lighten the burthen, and to exhilarate my fpirits } this is befides the laft letter you will receive from me ; I would fain tell you all, though I hardly know how. Oh ! in the hours, in the moments of my greatefl anguifh, could I intuitively reprefent to you that variety of thought which crouds on my mind, you would have rcafon to be furprifed, and to doubt of their pofTibility. Shall we ever meet again ? If we fhould, where will it be ? On ^he wild ihores of -—- ^. If it be my doom ^ I ill'!' '%. I '^4 * A- 298 D I S T R E S S E S O F to end my days there, I will greatly improve them i and perhaps make room for a few more families, who will choofe to retire from the fury of a ftorm, the agitated billows of which will yet roar for many years on our extended Ihores. Perhaps I may repoflefs my houfe, if it be not burnt down ; but how will my improvements look ? why half defaced,bear- ing the ftrong marks of abandonment, and of the ravages of war. However, at prefent I give every thing over for loft j I will bid a long farewel to what I leave behind. If ever I re- poflefs it, I fhall receive it as a gift, as a re- ward for my condud and fortitude. Do not imagine, however, that I am a ftoic — by no means : I muft, on the contrary, confefs to you, that I feel the keeneft regret, at aban- doning an houfe which I have in fome meafure reared with my own hands. Yes, perhaps I may never revifit thofe fields which I have cleared, thofe trees which I have planted, thofe meadows which, in my youth, were a hideous wildernefs, now converted by my induftry into rich paftures and pleafant lawns. If in Europe it is praifc-worthy to be attached to paternal inheritances, how much more natural, how much more powerful muft the tie be with us, who, if I may be permitted the expreflion, are the founders, the creators of our own farms ! When I fee my table furrounded with my I blooming •*,! A FRONTIER MAT blooming offspring, all united in the bonds of the flrongeft affedion, it kindles in my paternal heart a variety of tumultuous fentiments, which none but a father and a hufband in my fitua- tion can feel or defcribe. Perhaps I may fee my wife, my children, often diftreffed, invo- luntaVily recalling to their minds the eafe and abundance whichthey enjoyed under the paternal roof. Perhaps I may fee them want that bread which I now leave behind j overtaken by dif- eafes and penury, rendered more bitter by the recolledion of former days of opulence and plenty. Perhaps I may be affailed on every fide by unforefeen accidents, which I fhall not be able to prevent or to alleviate. Can I con- template fuch images without the moft unutter- able emotions ? My fate is determined j but I have not determined it, you may affure your- felf, without having undergone the moft pain- ful conflids of a variety of pafTions j — intereft, love of eafe, difappointed views, and pleaf- ing expeflations fruflrated; — I fhuddered at the review ! Would to God I was mafter of the ftoical tranquillity of that magnanimous fe£t; oh, that I were poffeffed of thofe fublime leffons which Apollonius of Chalcis gave to the Em-^ peror Antoninus! I could then with much more propriety guide the helm of my little bark, which isfoonto be freighted with all that Ipoflefs moft dear on earth, through this ftormy paflbge to a fafe I '^ IH ^o in\ ■ ■"*t , I "i iV'i. '■■'■ I wktit / DISTRESSES OF a fafe harbour j and when there, become to my fellow paflengers, a furer guide, a brighter ex- ample, a pattern more worthy of imitation, throughout all the new fcenes they muft pafs, and the new career they muft: traverfe. I have obferved notwithft:anding, the means, hitherto made ufe of, to arm the principal nations agaihfl: our frontiers : Yet they have not, they will not take up the hatchet againfl: a people who have done them no harm. The paflions nccefTary to urge thefe people to war, cannot be roufed, they cannot feel the flings of ven- geance, the thirft: of which alone can impel them to fhed blood : far fuperior in their mo- tives of action to the Europeans, who for fix- pence per day, may be engaged to Ihed that Vof any people on earth. They know nothing of the nature of our difputes, they have no ideas of fuch revolutions as this ; a civil di- vifion of a village or tribe, are events which have never been recorded in their traditions : many of them know very well that they have too long been the dupes and the vidims of both parties J foolilhly arming for our fakes, fometimes againfl: each other, fometimes againfl: our white enemies. They confider us as born on the fame land, and, though they have no reafons to loveus,yet they feem carefully to avoid entering into this quarrel, from whatever motives. I am ipeaking of thofe nations with which I am beft acquainted. ■■■ A FRONTIER MAN. 301 acquainted, a few hundreds of the word kind mixed with whites, worfe than themfelves, are now hired by Great Britain, to perpetrate thofe dreadful incurfions. In my youth I traded with the , under the condudtofmy uncle, and always traded juftly and equitably; fome of them remember it to this day. Happily their village is far removed from the dange- rous neighbourhood of the whites ; I fent a man,laft fpring to it, who underflands the woods extremely well, and who fpeaks their language ; he is juft returned, after feveral weeks abfence, and has brought me, as I had flattered myfelf, a firing of thirty purple wampum, as a token that their honefl: chief will fpare us half of his wigwham until we have time to ere6t one. He has fent me word that they have land in plenty, of which they are not fo covetous as the whites ; that we may plant for ourfelves, and that in the mean time he will procure us fome corn and fome meat ; that fifli is plenty in the waters of , and that the village to which he had laid open my propofals, have no objec- tion to our becoming dwellers with them. I have not yet communicated thefe glad tidings to my wife, nor do I know how to do it ; I tremble left fhe iliould refufe to follow me 5 left the fudden idea of this removal rulhing on her mind, might be too powerful. I flatter myfelf I (hall be able to accomplilh it, and to 5 prevail i '.ill ) i 1 . r' 302 DISTRESSES OF prevail on her ; I fear nothing but the efFefts ofherftrong attachment to her relations. I would willingly let you know how I purpofe to remove my family to fo great a diftance, but it would become unintelligible to you, be- caufe you are not acquainted with the geo- graphical fituation of this part of the country. Suffice it for you to know, that with about twenty-three miles land carriage, I am enabled to perform the reft by water ; and when once afloat, I care not whether it be two or three hun- dred miles. I propofe to fend all our provifions, furniture, and clothes to my wife's father, who approves of the fcheme, and to referve nothing but a few neceflary articles of covering ; trufting to the furs of the chafe, for our future apparel. Were we imprudently to incumber ourfelves too much with baggage, we fhould never reach to the waters of which is the moft dange- rous as well as the moft difficult part of our journey ; and yet but a trifle in point of diftance. I intend to fay to my negroes — In the name of God, be free, my honeft lads, I thank you for your paft fervices j go, from henceforth, and work for yourfelves j look on me as your old friend and fellow labourer j be fober, frugal, and induftrious, and you need not fear earning a comfortable fubfiftence. — Left my countrymen ftiould think that I am gone to join the incendiaries of our frontiers, I intend . . -, to '•'i.< I A FRONTIER MAN. 303 to write a letter to Mr — , to inform him of our retreat, and of the reafons that have urged me so it. The man whom I fent to village, is to accompany us alfo, and a very ufeful companion he will be on every account. You may therefore, by means of anticipation, behold me under the Wigwham j I am fo well acquainted with the principal manners of thefe people, that I entertain not the lead appre- henfion from them. I rely more fecurely on their ftrong hofpitality, than on the witnefTed compacts of many Europeans. As foon as pof- lible after my arrival, I defign to build myfelf a wigwham, after the fame manner and fize with the reft, in order to avoid being thought Angu- lar, or giving occafion for any railleries j though thefe people are feldom guilty of fuch Euro- pean follies. I fhall eredt it hard by the lands which they propofe to allot me, and will en- deavour that my wife, my children, and my- felf may be adopted foon after our arrival. Thus becoming truly inhabitants of their vil- lage, we fhall immediately occupy that rank within the pale of their fociety, which will afford us all the amends we can polfibly expert for the lofs we have met with by the convulfions of our own. According to their cuftoms we fhall likewife receive names from them, by which we fhall always be known. My youngeft children fhall learn to fvvim, and to fhoot with the J' !■ ; 1 i; iii ^4'V X 304 DISTRESSES OF the bow, that they may acquire fuch talents as will necefHirily raife them into fome degree of efteem among the Indian lads of their own age i the reft of us muft hunt with the hunters. I have been for feveral years an expert markf- man j but I dread left the imperceptible charm of Indian education, may feize my younger children, and give them fuch a propenfity to that mode of life, as may preclude their .re- turning to the manners and cuftoms of their parents. I have but one remedy to prevent this great evil ; and that is, to employ them in the labour of the fields, as much as I can; I am even refolved to make their daily fubfift- encc depend altogether on it. As long as we keep ourfdves bufy in tilling the earth, there is no fear of any of us becoming wild j it is thcchafe and the food itprocures, that have this ftrange efFe6t. Excufe a fimile — thofe hogs which range in the woods, and to whom grain is given once a week, preferve their former degree of tamenefs ; but if, on the contrary, they are reduced to live on ground nuts, and on what they can get, they foon becorfte wild and fierce. For my part, I can plough, fow, and hunt, as occafion my require; but my wife, deprived of wool, and flax, will have no room for induftry j what is ftie then to do ? like the other fquaws, Ihe muft cook for us the nafaump, the ninchicke, and fuch other preparations A FRONTIER MAN. 305 preparations of corn as are cuftomary among thefe people. She miin: learn to bake fquafhes . and pumkins under the aflies ; to (lice and fmoke the meat of our own killing, in order to prefcrve itj fhe muft chearfully adopt the man- ners and cLiftoms of her neighbours, in their drefs, deportment, condu6t, and internal ceco- nomy, in all relpe(5ts.. Surely if we can have fortitude enough to quit all we have, to remove fo far, and to aflbciate with people fo different from us ', thefe neceflary compliances are but fubordinate parts of the fcheme. The change of garments, when thofe they carry with them are worne out, will not be the lead of my wife's and daughter's concerns : though I am in hopes that felf-love will invent fome fort of repara- tion. Perhaps you would not believe that there are in the woods looking-glafles, and paint of every colour; and that the inhabitants take as much pains to adorn their faces and their bodies, to fix their bracelets of filver, and plait their hair, as our forefathers thePidVs ufed to do in the time of the Romans. Not that I would wifh to fee either my wife or daughter adopt thofe favage cuftoms ; we can live in great peace and harmony with them without defcending to every article ; the interruption of trade hath, I hope, fufpended this mode or drefs. My wife underftands inoculation per- fectly well, (he inoculated all our children one , ■ , 'X after U til ■;v "^'.'^■■ Mm !/£<■ v.'?-'i -.;t III) Um^ia 'jh / ^ 406 DISTRESSES OF iifter another, and his fucccfsfuUy perfomnpecf that operation on leveral fcores of people, who,, Icattered here and there through our woods, were too far removed from all medical af- fillance. If we can perfuade but one family to fubmit to it, and it fucceeds, we fhall then be as happy as our fituation will admit of j it will raife her into fome degree of confideration, for .whoever is ufeful in any fociety will always be refpedled. If we are fo fortunate as ta carry one fimily through a diforder, which is the plague among thefe people, I truft to the force of example, \vc ihall then become truly neceflary, valued, and beloved : we indeed owe every kind office to a fociety of men who fo readily offer to admit us into their focial part- nerfliip, and to extend to my family the Ihelter of their village, the ftrength of their adoption, and even the dignity of their names. God grant us a profperous beginning, wie may then hope to be of more fervice to them than even miffionaries who have been fent to preach to them a Gofpel they cannot underftand^ As to religion, our mode of worfhip will not fuffer much by this removal from a cul- tivated country, into the bofom of the woods j for it cannot be much fimpler than that which we have followed here thefe many years : and I will v/ith as much care as I can, redouble my attention, and twice a week, retrace ta , - . - tliem. A FRONTIER MAN. 307 them the great outlines of their duty to God and to man. I will read and expound to them fome part of the decalogue, which is the me- / thod I have purfued ever fince I married. Half a dozen of acres on the fhores of ' , the foil of which I know well, will yield us a great abundance of all we want ; I will make it a point to give the overplus to fuch Indians as Ihall be moft unfortunate in their huntings ; I will perfuade them, if I can, to till a little more land than they do, and not to trufl: fo much to the produce of the chafe. To encourage them flill farther, I will give a quira^ to every fix families ; I have built many for our poor back fettlers, it being often the want of mills which prevents them from raifing grain. As I am a carpenter, I can build my own plough, and can be of greac fervice to many of them j my example alone, may roufe the induftry of fome, and ferve to dired: others in their labours. The difficulties of the language will foon be removed ; in my evening converfations, I will endeavour to make thetn regulate the trade of their village in fuch a manner as that thofe pefts of the continent, thofe Indian traders, may not come within a certain diflance j and there they fhall be obliged to tranfad their bufinefs before the old people. I am in hopes that the conftant relpedt which is paid to the elders, and n:iaine, X 2 may ^ if H I' i ZPS DISTRESSES OF -i !>«' Av, i.'K may prevent the young hunters from infring- ing this regulation. The fon of , will foon be made acquainted with our fchemesj^ and I trull that the power of love, and the ilrong attachment he profefles for my daughter, may bring him along with us : he will make an excellent hunter ; young and vigorous, he will equal in dexterity the ftouteft man in the^ village. Had it not been for this fortunate circumftance, there would have been the greattfl danger j for however I refpeft the fimpic, the inoffenfive fociety of thefe people in their villages, the ftrongeil prejudices would make me abhor any alliance with them in blood : difagreeable no doubt, to nature's intentions which have ftrongly divided us by fo many •indelible charadlers. In the days of our fick- nefs, we Ihall have recourfe to thefr medical knowledge, which is well calculated for the fimple difeafes to which they are fubje^t. Thus (hall we metamorphofe ourfelves, from near, decent, opulent planters* furrounded with every conveniency which our external labour and internal induftry couM give, into a ftill fimpler people divefted of every thing befide hope, food, and the raiment of the woods : aban- doning the large framed houfe, to dwell under the wigwham ; and the featherbed, to lie on the matt, or bear's ficin. There Ihall we fleep undifturbed by fruitrful dreams and ap- prehenfionsv A FRONTIER MAN. 309 prehenfionsi reft and peace of mind will make us the moft ample amends for what we (hall leave behind Thefe blefTings cannot be piirchafed too dear; too long have we been deprived of them. I would chearfully go even to the MilTi- fippi, to find that repofe to which we have been fo long llrangers. My heart fometimes feems tired with beating, it wants reft like my eye-lids, which feel opprefled with fo many watchings. Thefe are the component parts of my fcheme, the fuccefs of each of which appears feafiblej from whence I flatter myfelf with the pro- bable fuccefs of the whole. Still the danger of Indian education returns to my mind, and alarms me much j then again I contraft it with the education of the times ; both ap- pear to be equally pregnant with evils. Reafon points out the neceflity of chufing the leaft dangerous, which I muft confider as the only good within my reach ; I perfuade myfelf that induftry and labour will be i\. fovereign prefervative againft the dangers of the former ; but I confider, at the fame time, that the fhare of labour and induftry which is intended to procure but a fimple fubfiftence, >vith hardly any fuperfluity, cannot have the Hime reftrifliye effects on our minds as when we tilled the earth on a more extenfive fcale. The furplus could be then realized into X 3 folid m 'V- 310 DISTRESSES OF iblid wealth, and at the fame time that this realization rewardec our pafl labours, it ^ngroffed and fixed the attention of the labourer, andcheriflied in his mind the hope of future riches. In order to fupply this great deficiency of induitrious motives, and to hold out to them a real objed to prevent the fatal confe-j, quences of this fort of apathy -, I will keep an' cxad- account of all that Ihall be gathered, and give each of them a regular credit for the amount of it to be paid them in real property at the return of peace. Thus, though feem- ingly toiling for bare fubfiftence on a foreign land, they fliall entertain the pleafing profpe6t of feeing thefum of their labours one day real- ifed either in legacies or gifts, equal if not fu- perior to it. The yearly expence of the clothes which they would have received at home, and of which they will then be deprived j fhall likewife be added to their credit j thus I flatter myfelf that they will more chearfully wear the blaqket, the matchcoat an'^ *-he Mockaflins.' Whatever fuccefs they may meet with in hunting or fi filing, Ihall only be confidered as recreation and paftime j I fhall thereby pre- vent them from eftimtaing their fl O Father of nature, that our ancient virtues, and our induftry, n"say not be totally loft : and that as a reward for the great toils we have made on this new land, we m ly be rcftored to our ancient tranquillity, and enabled to fill it with fucccfTive generations,, that will conftantly thank thee for the ample fubfiftence thou haft given them. The unrcferved manner in which I have written, muft give you a convincing proof of that friendftiip and efteem, of which I am fure you never yet doubted. As members of the fame fociety, as mutually bound by the ties of affedion and old acquaintance, you certainly cannot avoid feeling for my di- ilrefles ; you cannot avoid mourning with me over that load of phyfical and moral evil with which / ^ ■B. 318 DISTRESSES, &c. ' which we are all opprefled. My own fliare of* it I often overlook when I minutely con- template all that hath befallen our native. country, h^^. m :.^....n' ... .-;^ ;T . \f*v: ■■;'."/ .•.■M:iifv .IK r^: •■' ■'' ^ ' '• i' v'J -.'A '^■~ \ '. -ili^ ; {'UiV^^ y *.,. ' i^.J ■-•?". rX-i .... ' •, , ■ '■ ■'■■^-;.,;^-' FINIS. '■' .1 •«■.■• I ^- • '■-' •■■';< ■ '. • '. t "o- ' ?■-'« m. « -•■'" J ■^^ ^■•■' V' V ■ 7-j>::. • . T;«.-I ,'> ' * .4 » * ■ .. - ■ ':h ;:'. 1 f- 1:1 ''i;\^ / « •/' ' ■ f. -» •:^-i, - > v> i.' •t if ;r* } r... ..4. .^ >'»*.,/• (N • \ ._ 4. A i »- ' . - i r * •i r,(' .'.<; ■ *i- I?-. ' 1' 'This Day are publijhed, I. TTJROPOSALS for printing by fubfcription, X^ DRAMATICK MISCELLANIES, 3 vols. 8vo. Confifting of Critical Obfervations on feveral plays of Shalcefpearc. With a review of his principal characters, and thofe of feveral eminent writers, as reprefented by Mr. Garrick, and other celebrated comedians ; with anecdotes of dramaticlc poets, aftors, &c. 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