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MASTER 07 TH£ KOLLS. Tt is very probable that the friends, ^ l^whofe fblicitations I was iftr duced?^ arrange in the following pagjBS my early recoUeftions, ftudied more the amufement I (hould derive from executing this talk, than any pleafure they could expeft from its completion. The principal pbjeft of this work is to record the few incidents, and the many virtues which diveriified and A 2 dif- Iff f4 Hi l?S ■.m j^w . ( 5v ) • diftinguifhed the life of a moft vahted • friend. Though no manners could be more finiple, no notions more pri- mitive than thofe^ which prevailed aniong her afibciates, the ftamp of originality^ with which they were * marked, and the peculiar circumftan- v^ces m which they flood, both with regard to my friend, and the infant fociety to which they belonged, will, . I flatter myfelf, give "an intereft with reflefting minds, even to this defiil-. tory narrative 5 and the mifcellany of, defcj'iption, obfervation, and detail,' which it involves, r If truths both of feeling andnar^. ration, which are its only merit§| prove a fufficient counterbalance to^. care- % ( V ) carelefTnefs, laxity, and incoherence of ftyle, its prominent faults, I may venture to invite you, when you un- bend from the ufeful and honourable labours to which your valuable time is devoted, to trace this feeble deline- ation pf an excellent, though unenx- belUfhed chara£ler -, and of the rapid pace with which an infant fociety has urged on its progrefs from virtuous fimplicity, to the dangerous " know- ledge of good and evil :" from tremu- lous imbecility to felf-fuffident inde- pendence. To be faithful, a delineatioii muft neceffarily be minute. Yet if this fketch, with all its imperfections, be honSured by your indulgent perufal, A3 jTuch ♦ 11 % m m li ■* ■9^y< ' ( vi ) fuch condefcenfion of timcL^and talent muft certainly be admired, and may perhaps be imitated by others. I am. Sir, very tefpedfuUy, . Your faithful humble fervant, THE AUTHOR. ift> -^fi/ l^yv:. ^jj w- *• ' • - ll'JI ■f '■■ Province of New York. — Origin of the fettlement of Albany. — Singular polrtfi%n kcid by the patron- s—Account of his tenants, -• o CHAP. il. Account of the Five Nations, or Mohawk Indians.— Building of the (6vt at Albany*— John and Philip Schuykr. - -■ ,.^.Matn.}iT>M CHA|. III.^ Colonel Schuyler perfuades four Sachems to accqni- pariy Kim to England.— Their ^eceptipjn and re- turn, — ^w. ~ 24 I s- 1; f •■ . . 1^' i .-i CHAP. # ( vHi ) i CHAP. IV. Return of Colonel Schuyler and the Sachems to the interior. — Literary^acqulfitions. — Diftinguifhes and inilrudU bit favourite niece. — Manners of the fet. tiers, - . . » - Page 30 CHAP, v./ State of religion among the fettlers. — InftroAion of children devolved on femalcB — to whom the charge of gardening, 5cc. was alfo committed.— Sketch of the AaU of the focicty at New York, - 38 CHAP. VI. X>rfcription of Albany. — Manner of living Hermitage, &c. *w - ... there.— 44 CHAP. VII. Cent]# treatment of flaves among the Albaniani.— - Confequent attachment of domeftica. — RefleAiont on farvitude, *- «^. '51 c«AP. vin. Education and early habits of the Albanians defcribed, ' . CHAP. IX. Djcfcriptlon of the manner in which the Indiaa traders £ct out on their fiift advcnturey m 7a . CHAP. % C « ) • CHAP. X. Marriageif ^mufements, rural excurfioDai &c. ampof the AlJ)anian«, - , Pag«.9" CHAP. XI. Winter smurements of the Albanians, &c. 104 CHAP. XII. Lay-Brothers. — Catah'na.— Detached ^Indians^ 1 14 CHAP. XIII. Progrcft of knowledge. — Indian mtimers^ - 12$ CHAP. XIV. ' Marriage of Mifs Schuyler. — Defcriptiop of the Flats, - -* is* \, 14^ CHAP. XV. * Character of Philip Schuyler.—* His management of the Indians, - ^ * ^S§^ "X CHAP. XVI. Account of the three brothi^nrs. '59 CHAP. XVII. . ' ■ ■ , ■ . ' > ■ The houfe an^^ rural oeconomj of the Flat*.— »Btvds and infers, — -^ 164 CHAP* I m ' T '"■■,. €«iAP. xvm. ^ !i)clbriplion of Colonel Schuyler^ b£rft> tHe coih« mooi and its various ufesj •^ Page 176^ CHAP. XIX. Military preparations. — Difinterefted condufl the fureft road to popularity«~Fidclity of the Mb- bawksj. ' - >« 1.84 ^'ivV C HA P. XX. Account of a refractory warrror, and of the fpirit ' which ftill pervaded the New England* Provincesi 192 , CHAP. XXI. -t>iftinguifhS(ig charaderiftici of the New York co- loitiftil to what owing.r— I ugonots and PahtineSf their chfernflery, - — 199 CHAP. XXII. A child ftill^born.i^AdQpttu.. of children common in the province. — HUii^xat^^vj/iUoNew Tork, 205 CHAP. XXIII. ^"^■ Colonel Schuyler's pjiTtiality to the military chil- dren rucceflivcly addpted.-^Indiah character faKely (Sharged^with idlenefsi at I CHAP, *> ( xi ) . CHAP. XXIV^; .-- TVogrefs of civilization in Europe.— Northern oa<* tions inftrufled in the arts of life by thofe they had tubdued, - - ^ Page 22Q v^ ^ " CHAP. XXV. ]^ean8 by which the independence of the Indians vras firft diminifhed, - •*• %i^ ^ * ' CHAP. XXVI. ^'^'^^^ Pecuh'ar attra^ions of the Indian mode of life.«- Account of a fettler who refided feme time atnong them> -* m, 949 Mi ititr *''lfl CHAP. xxvn. * Indians only to be attached by being^onverted.*— . The abcrtive expedition o£ Monf. Barrc-^lranical iketch of an Indian, «• 25a CHAP. XXVIII. Man-^f-ment of the Mohawks by the influence of the Chriilian Indians, •> •• 261 CHAP. XXIX. Madam^t adopted children. ^- Anecdote of filler Sufan^ m, wm ': 275 CHAP. f- ^y ( xH ) ■;■*'-' CHAP. XXX. Death of young Philip Schuyler.. — Account of his ' family, and of ihtfoctetj/ at the Flatt, Piige 2S6 m c. Family Details, CHAP. XXXI. I • • • • 3 m «. . CHAP. XXXII. mb ^it-mw Refources of Madavc.-^ProvincIal cuftom8> 3 1 1 y ■ .-. : *• ?^ ,lfri>14 rj .] . ■ ' ■■ w*-: • - ■- ._: ^= t^isilsil :|3e to tht'il^x f % , ^ 'v V * .■. ., n. ;j.i jft • .^. , i^y^i iii^iUiid^ '^•i #: ' .A H •) .,',j. .^a; INTRO. r' at V. INTRODUCTION. m. TO DEAR SIR, r\TH£Rs as well as you have exprefled a wi(h to fee a memoir of my earlieft and . moft valuable friend. To gratif]^ you and them I feel many in« ducements, and fee many obje£tions. ' To comply with any wiih of your*s is one ftrong inducement. . To pleafe myfelf with the recoUeftion of pafl: happinefs and departed worth is an-^ other; and to benefit thofe into who^c hands this imperfect iketch may fall> i$^§,t third. For the authentic record of an^««i emplary life, though delivered in the mol^,. VOL, u B unadorned i II r f -n ^m m -. ■: ■ . ( a ) ,-, .... ..- 4 ' unadorned manner, or even degraded by po- verty of (lyle, or uncouthnefs of narration, lias an attradion for the uncorrupted mind. It is the rare lot of fome exalted charac- ters, by the united power of virtues and of talents, to. fgar s^bpve their fellpw-mortals, and leave a luminous track behind, on which JfucceBive ages gaze with wonder and de« light. Butthefweet influence of thefe bedgn fiars that now and then enlighten the page of hiftory, is partial and unfrequent. They to whom the moft important parts on the ilage of life are allotted, if pofleiTed of abilities undirected by virtue, are too Often «.W|fi^ tft,ivt>,iiu^9^ ,a?^f4 tn^nqjci^;* ^^^ '-? •'^■'r** ifftor \ that is really good and deiirable. l%ey, again, where virtue is not fup* ported by wifdom, are oftcn^ wi^h the beft" intent!' ns, made fubfervitnt to the ihort- fighted craft of the artful and defigning, fience, though we may be at times dazzled Ijrith the bhize of heroic atchievement> or V conrem- • ( 3 ) . I contemplate with a purer fatisfadlion thofe <• Awful fathers of mankind," by whom nations were civilized, equitable dominion cftabliihed, or liberty reftored. Yet, after all, the crimes and miferies of mankind form fuch prominent features of the hiftory of every country, that humanity fickens at the retrofpe£l> and mifanthropy finds an. excufe amidfl the laurels of the hero, and the deep-laid fchemes of the politician : vy»^ ■ *• And yet this partial view of tWnga f? ' •* Isfurcly not thebcft." Buries/' Where fhall we feek the antidote to this chilling gloom left on the mind by thefe buftling intricate fcenes, where the bell charaders, goaded on by furious fadlions or dire ncceffity, become involved in crimen that their fouls abhor ? It is the contemplation of the peaceful vi^rittes in the genial atmofphere of private life, that can bell reconcile us to our na- ture, and quiet the turbulent emotions ex- cited by •• The mndnefs of the crowd.'* B 2 But Ci?- ?;;y*: I': m V 'i ' ■ 1 II ■f 'f'., . B \ ' ' ' ^ 4.,) .:::■■■ ■„ ' . But vice,' folly, and vanity are fo noify, fo reftlefs, fo ready to ru(h into public view, and fo adapted to afford food for ma- levolent curiofity, that the fmall dill voice of. virtue, adive in its own fphere, but unwil- ling to quit it, is drowned in tbi^ir.tvigiulu This is a remedy, however, ^ynm;> fiiir^^o ** Not obviou8> not ottrufive." "ctBt .mi! ■:=/■• i\FT.tf\ X.> If we wdiild counteraft the. baleful in- fluence of public vice by the contempla- tion of private worth, we muft penetrate into its retreats, and not be deterred from attending to its fimple details by the want of that glare and buftle ^wilh which a fie- : titious or artificial charaQer is generally furif-s rounded. But in this wide field of fpeculation one might wander out of fight 'of the original fubjed. Let me then refume ir, and , re- turn to my objections. Of thefe the firft and greateft is the dread of being inaccu- rate. Embellifhed fa6ls, a mixture of truth and ficlion, or what we fometimes meet with. '^'? ■ , ■ ( s • ■■ whb, a fi£litious fuper(lru6lure biiilt on a foundation of reality, would be deteftable on the fcore of bad tafte, though no moral fenfe were concerned or . confulted. 'Tis* walking on a river half frozen that betrays your footing every moment. By thefe rc^ , pulfiye artifices no perfon of real difcern* ment is for a moment impofed upon. You do not know exadly which part of the narrative is falfe ; but you are fare it is not all true, and therefore didrufl what is ge« nuine> where it occurs. For this reafon si fidion^ happily told, takes a greater hold of the mind than a narrative of fadts, evidentlyt embeUiihed and interwoven with inven* ^ians. I do not mean to difcredit my own vera-, city. I certainly have no intention to relate any thing that is not true. Yet in the dim. diftance of near forty years, unaflifted by written memorials, (halll not miftake dates, mifplace fads, and omit circumdanqes that form effential links in the chain pf narra- tion? Thirty years fmce, when I expreffed. a wi(h to do what I am now about to at- , . B 3 temp *ipii w ^m <4 ■■'■vA ( 6 ) tempt, how differently (hould I have exc- cured it. A warm heart, a vivid imagina- tion, and a tenacious memory, were then all fiHed with a theme which 1 could not touch without kindling into an enthufiafm, facred at once to virtue and to friendship. Vene- rated friend of my youth, my guide, and my indrudrefs, are then the dregs of an enfeebled mind, the worn aflFe^ons of a wounded heart, the imperfed efforts of a decaying memory, aH that remain to confe- crate diy remembrance, lo make known thy worth, and to lay on thy tomb the of- fing of gratitude ? My friend's life, befides being moftly pafled in unruffled peace and profperity, affords few of thofe viciiOtudes which afto- tkidi and amufe. It is from her relations, to thofe with whom her aflive benevolence conne^ed her, that the chief interefl of her ftory (if (lory k may be called) arifes. This includes that of many peribns, cbfcixre indeed but for the light which >her regard and beneficence refledted upon them. Yet without thofe fubordinate perfons in the ^\.h drama. I - lenall touch Tacred 'ene- and >f an of a of a [mfe. own eof. ( > ) ' drama, the a<6lioB of ^ human hTe, efp^cialfy fuch a life as her's, cannot be carried on» , Thofe can neither appear with grace, nor be omitted with propriety. Then, remote and retired as her fituation was, the variety of nations and chara£lers, of tongues and of complexions, with which her public fpirit and private benevolence connedled her> might appear wonderful to thofe unacquaint- ed with the country and the times in which (he lived ; without a pretty diftind view of which my narrative would be unintelligible* I mud be excufed too for dwelling, at times» on the recollection of a Aate of fociety fo peculiar, fo utterly diflimilar to any other that I have heard or read of, thatjt exhi- bits human nature in a new afped, and is & far an objed): of rational curiofity^ as well aa a kind of phaenomenon m the hiflory of colonization. I forewarn the reader not to look for lucid order in the narration, or intimate connection between its parts. I have no authorities to refer to, no coeval witneflfes of faCts to confult. In regard to the companions of my'youth, I fit like the ft 4 ** Voice ii'iri ' 1^^ km fil ■•-, "i^ i \ r.'!-ff iC, ^ ( 8 ) uke turn too, muft mufe in fil-nr* ,-u intervals the « r ich, c '' "" ?' before I can ca«tLt "' '"' ""■«'" other time*"' Jn" ^ u ^ '** "^ '="'« °f »eIativeTo ' f • Jf'' ^'''''^ P^""'-'-" ^IJ ni''!;^ ■*;■•■ ■-, ■ ■•• . ■' ';■':' \U . «' :-k -''^• ii *ih^ ,,\ CHAP. C 9 ) f • CHAP. L Province of New York — Origin of the Settlement at Albany. —Singular Poflefllon held by the Patron* —Account of his Tenants, TT is well known that the province of New York, anciently called Munhattoes by the Indians, was originally fettled by a Dutch colony, which came from Holland, I think« in the time of Charles the Second. Finding the country to their liking, they were followed by others more wealthy and better informed. Indeed feme of the early emigrants appear tor have been people re- ipedable both from their family and cha- rafter. Of thefe the principal were the Cuylers, the Schuylers, the Renfelaers, the Delancys, the Gortlandts, the Tinbrdoks, and the Beckmans, iy|| have all of them been fmce diflinguifl^v in the hte civil wais, either as perfecuKd loyalifts or trium- B 5. the XT Hm If . § ,1 .'■■-(a . •■'•■I'll '■'■'I i I % ( lo ) phant patriots. I do not precifely recoHeft the motives afligned for the voluntary exile of perfons >vho were evidently in circumflances that might admit of their living in comfort at home, but am apt to think that the early fettlers were thofe who adhered to the intered of the Stadtholder's family, a party which, during the minority of King William, was almod perfecuted by ^he high republicans. They who came over ^t a later period probably belonged to the party which oppofed the Stadtholder, and which was then in its turn depreifed. Thefe perfons afterwards diftinguifhed themfeives by an averfion, almod amounting to anti- pathy, to the Britidi army, and indeed to all the Britifh colonifts. „Their notions were mean and contracted ; their manners blunt and audere ; and their habits fordid and parfimonious : as the fettlement began to extend they retired, and formed new eila- blifhments, afterwaj^ncalled FirkkilU Efo pus, &c. To the SchuyldlV Cuylers, Delancys, Cortlaadts, and a few others, this defcrip- ft tion ^' C " ) • - tion d!d by Do means apply. Tet they too bore about tbem the tokens of formeir affluence and refpedkabiKty, fuch as family plate, portraits of their ancc(h)rs executed in a fuperior (lyle, and great numbers of ori- ginal paintings, fome of which were much^ admired by acknowleged judges. Of thefe the fubje£ts were generally tzktti from fft> cred hiftory. A I do not recollect the exa£^ tiihe, but think it was during the lad years of Charles the Second, that a fettlement we thieh po& fefled at Surinam was exchanged ibr thfe extenfive (indeed at that tim^ bodhdleSy province of Munhattt)^^' #hich, in coih^ pliment to the then heTr apjpar^nt, tidi called New York. Of the part of that country then explored, the molt iiiirttle ahS beautiful was iituated far inland, on thk banks of the Hud^^ River. This ^ pious and majeftic flHi is navigable 170^ miles fMrnlts motM^HbejBels of So oi 76 tons burthen. Nei^^K head of it, a^ a kind Off barrier agau||phe natives, and a Central refort for trac^ipy the fotmdatlott B 6 was i ill p. ^:4i .' ^'i I *^ \>ii if'- i-if ii'M f.'i; m !|!l; ( la ) was laid of a town called Oranienburgh^ and afterwards by the Britifh, Albany. After the necelTary precaution of ered- ing a fmall ftockaded fort for fecurity, a church was built in the centre of the in- tended town> which ferved in different re« fpeds aa a kind of land*mark. A gentle- man of the namei of Renzelaer was con- fidered as in a manner lord pazamount of this city. A pre-eminence which his fuc« ceflbr ftill enjoys> both with regard to the . town and the lands adjacent. The original prbpxietor having obtained from the high and mighty dates a grant of lands^ which,,' beginning at the church, extended twelve lollies in every dire£iion> forming a manor twenty^four Dutch miles in length, the lame in breadth, including lands not only of the^ beft quality of any in the province, b,ut the mod happily fituated both for the purpofes of comp ittUB and agriculture. This great proprie||flH|i»- looked up to as much as republicax^^B new country could be fuppofed to loqHlp to any. one. He was called the Patropn^ a defignation tan- 10 tamount ■^ 1^ ^^^ M- f . - ( '3 ) tamount to lord of the manor. Yet, ui the diftribution of thefe lands, the flurdy Belgian fpirit cf independence fet limits to the power and profits of this lord of the foreftsj as he might then be called. None of thefe lands were either fold or alienated. The more wealthy fettlers, as the Schuylers, Cuylers, &c. took very extenfive leafes of the fertile plains along the river, with boundlefs liberty of woods and pafturage^ to the weftward. The terms were, that the leafe (hould hold while water runs and grafs grows, and the landlord to receive the tenth, flieaf of every kind of grain the ground produces. Thus ever accommodating the^ rent to the fertility of the foil, and changes of the feafons, you may fuppofe the tenants did not greatly fear a landlord,, who could neither remove them, nor heighten their rents. Thus, without the pride of property,, they had all the independence of proprie- tors. They were like^ German princes^ who, after furni(h^g their contingent to the Emperor, might make war on him when they chofe. Befides the ,pro6ts (yearly i tr : >^ - : augmenting) lil ■^ i ' m ( u ) m lillill r;ll' 'r ' augmenting) which the patroon drew from his ample poflfeflionS) he held in hi^ own hands an extendve and fruitful dethefne* Yet preferving in a great meafure the fimple and frugal habits of his ance(lors> his wealth was not an objed of envy, nor a fource of corruption to his fellow-citizens. To the northward of thefe bounds, and at the fouthern extremity alfo, the Schuylers and Cuylers held lands of their own. But the only other great landholders I remember, holding their land by thofe original tenures, were Philips and Cortlandt ; their lands lay alfo on the Iludfon's River, half way down to New Tork» and were denominated Philips' and Cortlandt's manors. At the time of the firft fettling of the country the Indians were numerous and powerful along all the river ; but they confided of wander- ing families, who, though they affixed fome fort of local boundaf ies for diftinguilhing the hunting grounds of each tribe, could Hot be faid to inhabit any plaoe* The cool and crafty Dutch governors being unable to cope with them in arm?, purchafed from them them the mod valuable trails for fome petty confideration. They affe£led great friend- fhip for them ; and, while confcious of their own weaknefs, w^e careful not to provoke hoftilities ; and they, filently and infennbiy^ cflablifhed themfelves to the wed. -■I i .i rt, si^. CHAP. :l C '6 )' i'- •». f: ■ > 3,»iJf :liii;>U I!! ! Hill- I ! lilli CHAP, n: '"■Uii^ji"- Account of the Five Nations, or Mohawk Indians.— r Building of the Fort at Albany.— John and Philip Schuyler. „ , ,^,,. . Y^N the Mohawk River, about forty milea diftant from Albany, there fubfifted a confederacy of Indian tribes, of a very diffe- rent character from thofe mentioned in the preceding chapter ; too fagacious to be de» ceived, and too powerful to be eradicated^ Thefe were the once renowned five na- tions, whom any one, who remembers them while they were a people, will hefitate to call favages. Were tbey favages who had fixed habitations ; who cultivated rich fields j who built caftlfjs, (for fo they called their not incommodious wooden houfes, furrounded with palifadoesj) who planted maiz€ and beans, and fhewed confiderabie ingenuity ia conflruding and adorning their canoes. ::'^-\ ( \7 ) canoes, arms, and clcching ? They who had wife though unwritten laws, and conduiSted their wars^ treaties, and alliances with deep and found policy i they whofe eloquence was bold, nervous, and animated ; whofe language was fonorous, mufical, and ex« prefTive; who poifeiTed generous and ele- vated fentiments, heroic fortitude, and un* ftained probity : Were thefe indeed favagesf Tut difference ** Of fcent the heidlong Ii'onefs between " And hound fagacious, on the tainted green STi-iS'tfilt. »*• is not greater than that of the Mohawks in point of civility and capacity, from other American tribes, among whom, indeed^, cxifted a far greater diverfity of charafter,. language, &c. than Europeans feem to bQ aware of. This little tribute to the me- mory of a people who have been, while it foothes the penfive recolie6lions of the, writer, is not fo foreign to the fubjed as it may at firfi: appear. So much of the peace, and fafety of this infant community de- pended on the friendfhip and alliance pi / : '^ ' * -. - thefe ,,1-.^ ^^n. 'K if, ■ i i ' : N ( 18 ) > thefe generoos tribes; afid to tbhcfliafe and retain their affedions fo much sTddrefs was necefikry, ttiat commoln 'charadets were un- equal to the talk. Minds liberal and up- right, like thofe I am about to defcrtbej coi2ld alone excite that efleem, and preferve that confidence, which were elTc^tial to- wards retaining the friendship of thofe va- luable allies. From the time of the great tebellion, fo many Englilh refugees frequented Holland, that the language i^d manners of our country became familiar at the Hague, par- ticularly among the Stadtholder's party. When the province of New York fell un- der the Briti(h dominion, it became necef- fary that every body (hould learn our lan- guage, as all public bufinefs was earned on in the Englifh tongue, which they did the more willingly, as, after the revolution, the acceflion of the Stadtholder to the Englifli crown very much reconciled them to our government Still, however, the Englifli was a kind of court langnago ; little fpo- kenj and impeffe&ly underftood in xhe in- tenor. • ( »9 ) . tenor. Thofc who brought with them the French and £n£f)i(h languages foofn acquired a fway over their lefs enlivened fellow fettlers. Of this number were the Schuy- lers and Cuyler^, two families among whom intellefl of the fuperior kind feemed an in- heritance, and whofe tntellrgence and libe* rality of mind, fortified by well-grounded principle, carried them far beyond th;e petty •and narrow views of the rtft. Habituated itt home to centre all wifdom and all happi- fiefs in commercial advantages, they would have been very ill calculated to lay the foundation of an infant ftate in a country that afibrded plenty and content, as the re- ward of induftry, but where the very na- ture of the territory, as well as the ftate of fociety, precluded great pecuniary acquifi- tions. Their objedt here was taming favage nature, and making the boundlers wild fub- fervient to agricultural purpofes. Commer- cial purfuits were a diflant profpedt ; and before they became of confequence, rural habits had greatly changed the charader of thefe republicans. But the commercial Ipirit, .;> ' !■" , ■ i- m m ( ao ) fpirit^ inherent in all true Batavian.r^ only ilept to wake again^ when the avidi&y of gain was called forth by the temptation of bartering for any lucrative commodity. The furs of tile Indians gave this occafion, aiid were too ioon made the objed of the avi- dity of petty traders* To the infant fettle- ment at Albany the confequences of this ihort>(ighted policy might have proved fatal, had not thefe patriotic leaders, by their ex- ample and influence, checked for a while fuch illiberal and dangerous pradices. It is a h€t iingularand worth attending to, from the leifon it exhibits, that in all our diftant colonies there is no other in (lance where a confiderable town and profperous fettle^ snent has arifen and flourifhed, in peace and iafety, in the mid (I of nations difpofed and often provoked to hodility ; at a didance from the protection of (hips,, and from the only fortified city, which, always weakly garrifoned, was little fitted to awe and pro- teit the whole province. Let it be remem- bered that the diftance from New York to Albany is 170 miles j and that in the iu-» T..- ,. termediafe ( 31 ) termediate fpace, at the period of which I fpeak, there was not one town or fortified place. The (hadow of a palifadoed fort*, which then exided at Albany, was occupied by a fingle independent company, who did duty, but were -difperfed through the town, ; working at various trades ; fo fcarce in- deed were artizans in this community, that ; a tradefman might in thefe days afk anyJ wages he chofe. l To return to this fettlement, which evi- ' denily owed its fecurity to the wiidora of its leaders, who always adled on the (imple laaxim that honefty is the beft policy; fe- veral miles north from Albany a confider-^'* able polfeffion, called the Flats, was inha- bited by Colonel Philip Schuyler, one of the moft enlightened men in the province.^ This being a frontier, he would have found " it a very dangerous fituation had he not '.n !■'■ * It may be worth noting, that Captain MalTey, who commanded this non-cffe6lIvc con»pai-.y for many years, was the father of Mr^. Lennox, an eftiinable charadcr, well kno'v n for her hterary prodiK^tions, and for bting the friend and protegee of Dodor Johnfon. been .r I been a perfonof (tngular W4>xt;h, fortitude, and wtfdoRL Were I not afraid of tiring my reader with a detail of occurrences which, taking place before the birth of my friend, might feem irrelevant to the prefent purpofe, I could relate many inftances aU mod incredible^ of the power of mind dif* played by this gentleman in governing the uninftrufled without coercion or legal right» He poflefled this fpecies of power in no common degree; his influence; with that of his brother John Schuyler, was exerted to conciliate the wandering tribes of Indians ; and by farr traffic, for he too was a trader, and by fair liberal dealing, tliey attained their objed. They alfo flrengthened the league already formed with the fire Ma« hawk nations, by procuring for them fome aflUflance againd their enemies, the Ohon* dagoes of the Lakes* ''- -^ Qijeen Anne had by this time fucceeded to the Stadtholder. The gigantic ambition of Lewis the Fourteenth aftuated the re- nvoteft parts of his extenfive dominion!; and the encroaching fpiric of this reAlefs^ /* i nation ( *3 ) nation began to difcover itfelf in boftilities ' Co the infant colony. A motive for which could fcarce be difcovered, poiTefling, as they did, already^ much more territory than they were able tooccypy^ tlie limits of which wer,e undefined^ But the province of New York was a frontier ; and, as fuch, a kind of barrier to the fouthern. colonies. It be- gan alfo to compete for a (hare of the fur trade, then very confiderable, before the beavers were driven back from their origi- nal haunts. In (hort, the province daily rofe in importance ; and being in a great meafure protected by the Mohawk tribes^ the policy of courting their alliance, and impreiliiig their minds with an exalted idea of the power and grandeur of the Bri- tifh empire, becamte obvious. I cannot re- colledt the name of the governor at this time; but whoever he was, he, as well as the fucceeding ones^ vKiced the fettlement at Albany, to obferve its wife regulations, and growing profptrity, and to learn max- ims of found policy from thofe whofe inte«> reds and happinets were daily promoted by the pra^ice of it* CHA?. m '■M m ';.:ll m Um ) jfi.1.-.. J ■ff?:!' CHAP. III. .»^ '■''«; gi'ib^y* Colonel Schuyler perfuades four Sachemes to accom> pany him to England. — Their Reception and Re- turn. IT was thought advifeable to bring over fome of the heads of tribes to England to attach them to that country : but to per- fuade the chiefs of a free and happy people^ who were intelligent, fagacious, and aware of all probable dangers ; who Were Gran- gers to all the maritime concerns, and had never beheld the ocean ^ to periuade fuch independent and high-minded war- riors to forfake the fafety and enjoyments of their own country, to encounter the jrerils of a long voyag^, and trull them- foJves among entire ftrangers, and this merely to bind clofer an alliance with the fovereign of a diftant country — ^ a fe- male fovereign too ; a mode of government .hat mud have appeared to them very in* . ../, ' .'■ .1.' .;p"^f"°}is. ( 25 ) congruous; this was no common under- taking, nor was it eafy to induce thefe chiefs to accede to the propofal. The prin- cipal motive for urging it was to countera£b the machinations of the French, whofe emiifaries in thefe wild regions had even then begun to flyle us, in effe£t, a nation of (hopl(;eepers ; and to imprefs the tribes dwelling in their boundaries with vafl ideas of the power and fplendour of their Grand Monarque, while oar fovereign, they faid, ruled over a petty ifland, and was himfelf a trader. To counterwork thofe fuggeftions, it was thought requifite to give the leaders of the nation (who then in h&. protect- ed our people) an adequate idea of our power, and the magnificence of our court* The chiefs at length confented, on this only condition, that their brother Philip, who never told a lie, or fpoke without thinking, fhould accompany them. How- ever this gentleman's wifdom and , inte- grity might qualify him for this employ-^ ment, it by no means fuited his placid temper, fimple manners, and habits of life. '^ i'.- I t'! f^f^VOL. I. at \\r. • ! 1'^ M MM ' . - ( 26 ) ' ■ at once pafloral and patriarchal, to travel over Teas, vifit courts, and mingle in the budle of a world, the cuiloms of which were become foreign to thofe primitive inhabitants of new and remote regions. The adventure, however, fucceeded be- yond his expectation ; the chiefs were pleafed with the attention paid them, and with the mild and gracious manners of the queen, who at different times admit- ted them to her prefence. With the good Philip fhe had many converfations, and made him fome valuable prefents, aniong which, I think, was her pidure ; but this with many others was loft, ia a manner which will appear hereafter. Colond Schuyler too was much delighted with the courteous affability of this prmcefs $ fhe of- fered to knight him, which he refpedful- ly, bat pofitively refufed : and being pref- fed to a^gn his reafons, he faid he had brothers and near relations in humble sir- ^mftances, who, already his inferiors in property, would feem as it were depreffed by his elevation : and though it fliould have ■ •:»*' ■•' • IK)- •i , ( 27 ) no fuch effed on her mind, ic might b^ the means of awakening pride or vanity in the female part of his family. He returned, however, in triumph, having completely fucceeded in his mifTion. The kings, as they were called in England, came back In full health, deeply imprefled with efteem and ^attachment for a country which to them appeared the centre of arts, intelli- gence, and wifdomj where they were treated with kindnefs and refpe£l ; . imd neither made the objeds of perpetual exhi- bition, nor hurried about to be continually didraded with a fucce/llon of fplendid, and to them incomprehenfible fights, the quick fhifting of which, rather tends to harafs minds which have enough of native flrength to refledl on what they fee, with* out knowledge fufHcient to comprehend it* It is to this childifh and injudicious mode of treating thofe uncivilized beings, this mode of rather escorting from them a tribute to our vanity, than taking the neceflary pains to inform and ipsprove them, that the ill fuccefs of all fuch experiments iince have c 2 beeA ■;f '9 wi '^iii I , i, ■ i'i 1- , ( 28 ) . been owing, Inftead of endeavouring to conciliate them by genuine kindnefs, and by gradually and geviily unfolding ro them fimple and ufeful truths, our manner of treating them feems calculated to dazzle, opprefs, and degrade them with a difplay of our fuperior luxuries and refinements : which, by the elevated and felf-denied Mo- hawk, would be regarded as unmanly and frivolous objecls, and which the voluptu- ous and low minded Otaheitean would fo far relifti, that the privation would feem into- lerable, when he returned to his hogs and his cocoas. Except fuch as have been pre- vioufly inoculated; (a precaution which voy* Tigers have rarely had the prudence or hu» inanity to take,) there is fcarcely an inflance of favages brought to Europe that have not d^iedof thefmall pox ; induced either by the infcdion to which they are expofedfiom the indifcriminate crowds drawn about them;*' or the alteration in their blocd, which un- ufual diet, liquors, clofe air, and heated room«5 mud neceflarily produce. The pr^fents made to thcfe adventurous - • ' ' • >' *. war- t'-m ( 29 ) . warriors were judicioufly adapted to their tafte and cuftoms. They confifted of flievvy habits, of which all thefe people are very fond, and arms made purpofely in the form of ihofe ufed in their own country. It was the fortune of the writer of thefe memoirs, more than thirty years after, to fee that great warrior and faithful ally of the Brilifli crown the redoubted King Hendrick, then fove- reign of the five nations, fplendidly arrayed in a fuit of light blue, made in an antique mode, and trimmed with broad filver lace ; which was probably an heir-loom, in the family, prefented to his father by his good ally, and fifler, the female king of Eng- land, ' I cannot exadly fay how long Mr, Schuyler and his companions flaid in Eng- land, but think they were nearly a year ab- fent. In thofe primeval days of thfe fettle- ment, when our prefent rapid modes of tranfmitting intelligence were unknown, in a countrv fo detached and inland as that at Albany,, the return of thefe interefting travellers was liiwethe fird lighting of lamps in a city. ' c 3 CHAP. "-' « >r«-:i')i ' i: '1.;* 1:: ■If-. i ( 30 ) Jl I - * ,• , ■ •»' CHAP. IV. ' ^. >\i m... 1 ' '*' ' Return of Colonel Schuyler and the Sachems to the interior. — LiteraryAcquiTitions. — Diftingm'fheaand Inftruda his favourite Niece. — Manners of the Set- tlers. -vvM r* •^-^His fagacious and intelligent patriot thus brought to the foot of the Brltifh throne the high fpirited rulers of the boundlefs wild, who, alike heedlefs of the power and fplendour of diflant iponarchs, were accuftomed to fay with Fingal, *' fuffi- cient for me is the defart, with all deer and woods." It may eafily be fuppofed that fuch a mind as Philip's was equally fitted to ac- quire and communicate intelligence. He who had converfed with Addifon, Marlborough, and Godolphin, who had gratified the cu- riofity of Oxford and Bolingbroke, of Arbuthnot and of Gay, with accounts of nature in her priftine garb, and of her chil- ^dren in their primitive fimplicity j he who could s ^^^^^ m ^'^^^^ m bea m clilig< '■ talle 1 had >fl foil* m ^^^^ !■ p^^"^ ( 3' ) CO aid do all this, no doubt received ample returns of various information from thofe beft qualified to give ii, and was befides a diligent obferver. Here he improved a talte for literature, native to him, for it had not yet taken root in this uncultivated foiK He brought home the Spectator and the tragedy of Cato, Windfor Foreft, Young's poem on the Laft Day, and in (hort all the works then publiihed of that conftellation of wits which diflinguiihed the laft female reign. Nay more, and better, he brought Paradife Loft ; which in after-times ailbrded fuch delight to fome branches of his family, that to them ' *' Paradife (indeed) feemed opened in the wild.'* But to return to our Sachems, from whom we have too long digrefled : when they arrived at Albany, they did not, as might be expected, haften home to com- municate tiieir difcoveries, or difplay their acquifit'ons. They fwmmoned a congrefs there, not only of the elders of their own naiion, but the chiefs of all thofe with c 4 whom 11 n ■ ;^'j ■fe .', ( ■ '.■ ■ I, IT , , ' 'flip ■ 1 J -I ■:pii ^k 'II! I !l !!.;.! "I. ; -■ h II I ;1 Ml '!i MWV li ' . ( 32 ) whom they were in alliance. This folemu meeting was held in the Dutch church. In the prefcnt deprefled and diminifhed date of thefe once powerful tribes, fo few traces of their wonted energy remain, that it could fcarce be credited, were I able to relate with what bold and flowing eloquence they clothed their conceptions ; powerful rea- foning, emphatic language, and graceful ad:ion, added force to their arguments ; while they perfuaded their adherents to re- nounce all connexion with the tribes under the French influence ; and form a lading league, oifenfive and defenrfive^ with that great quee: , whofe mild majefty had fo deep- ly imprefled them : and the mighty people whofe kindnefs had gratified, and' whofe power had aftoniftied them, whofe popu- lous cities fwa^med with arts and commerce, and in whofe floating caftles they had rode fafely over the ocean. I have feeii a vo- lume of the fpeeches of thefe Mohawks pre- ferved by Colonel Schuyler ; they were li- terally tranflated, fo that the native idiom was preferved j which, inftead of appearing i. ; ' J'i' «' un- C 33 5 uncouth, feemed to add to their ftrength and fiiblimity, • * ' • ' *- When Mr. Schuyler returned from Eng- krid, about the year 1709, his niece Cata- lina, the fubje<5l of this narrative, was about feven years old ; he had a daughter and fons, yet this child was early diflinfruifhed abov^ the reft for docility, a great defire of knowledge, and an even and pleafing tem- per ; this her uncle early pbferved. It was at that time very difficult to procure the means of inftru^tion in thofe inland di(lri6ls ; female education of confequence was con- duded on a very limited fcale ; girls learnt needle work (in which they were indeed both fiiilful and ingenious) from their mothers and aunts'; they were taught too at that period to read, in Dutch, the bible and a few Calyinift trads of the devotional kind. But in the infancy of the fettle- ment few girls read Englifh ; when they did, they were thought accomplifhed ;. they generally fpoke it, however imp«fedly^ and few were taught writing. This confined education precluded elegance ^ yet> ehougj| ^5 r,3 m ■I'-H , 1 fWi ^ ^!'|f» m ^ ) ■■ 1 ' ■, m f, ■ :-V.;',?l 'm - PL in '^i '. ■ ( 34 ) there was no polifli, there was no vulgarity. The dregs of the people, who fubfide to the bottom of the mafs, are not only degraded by abjedk poverty, but fo utterly (hut out from intercourfe with the more enlightened, and fo rankled with envy at feeling them- fclves fo, that a fenfe of their condition gradually debafes their minds ; and this degradation communicates to their man- ners, the vulgarity of which we complain. This more particularly applies to the lower clafs in towns ; for mere fimplicity, or even a rullic bluntnefs, I would by no means call vulgarity. At the fame time thefe unembel - lifhed females had more comprehenfion of mind, more variety of ideas, more in fliort cf what may be called original thinking, than could eafily be imagined. Their thoughts were not like thofe of other illite- rate women, occupied by the ordinary de- tails t>f the day, and the goffiping tattle of the neighbourhood. The Jife of new fet- tlers, in a iituation like this, where the very foundations of fociety were to be laid, was |ili£e Zf exigencies. Every individual took # . ( 35 ) . an interell in the general welfare, and coa-» tributed their Tefpe6live lliares of intelligence and fagacity to aid plans that embraced important objedls relative to the common good. Every day called forth fome new expedient, in which the comfort or advan* tage of the whole was implicated ; for there were no degrees but thofe afligned to worth and intcUed. This fmgular commu* nity feemed to have a common (lock, not only of fuflferings and enjoyments, but of information and ideas ; fome pre-eminence, in point of knowledge and abilities, there certainly was, yet thofe who poflefled it feemed fcarcely confcious of their fuperi- ority ; the daily occafions which called forth the exertions of mind, fiiarpened fagacity, and flrengthened charadlerj avarice and vanity were there confined to very narrow limits; of money there was little j and drefs was, though in fome indances valuable, very plain, and' not fubje£l to the caprice of faOiion. The wolves, the bears, and the enraged or intoxicated favage$, that always hung threatening on their bounda* ries, made them more and more endeared Q 6 to ■i id X ':,,:. ' r ■ ' ' '.ti 'i 'i' ~ . ■m ii"^ f':!li.!fJII'' iii'f ! I ! !|iK .#■ I'll .(.36 ) to each other. In this calm infancy of focie- ty, the rigours of law flept, becaufe the fury of turbulent paflions had not awaken- ed it. Fafhion, that capricious tyrant over aduit communities, had not ereded her flandard ; that (landard, to which the looks, the language, the very opinions of her fubjedls muft be adjufted. Yet no per- fon appeared uncouth, cr ill bred, becaufe there was no accoraplifhed ftandard of com - parifon. They viewed no fuperior with fear or envy ; and treated no inferior with contempt or cruelty ; fervih'ty and infolence were thus equally unknown : perhaps they were lefs folicitous either to pleafe or to Jhlne than the members of more polilhed focieties; becaufe, in the firfl place, they had no motive either to dazzle or deceive y ^nd in the next, had they attempted it, they felt there was no aiTuming a character with fuccefs, where their native one was fo well known. Their manners, if not ele- gant and polifiied, were at lead eafy and independent : the conflant efforts neceflary to extend their commercial and agricultu* lal poSEeiSonSs prevented ]^l«a^; and in* -J&. ( 37 ) induflry was the certain path to plenty. Surrounded on all fides by thofe whom the lead inftance of fraud, infolence, or grafp. ing meannefs, would have rendered irrecon- cileable enemies, they were ,at firft oj^liged to " afTume a virtue if they had it not /* and every circumftance that renders vir- • tiie habitual, may be accounted a happy one. I may be told that the virtues I de- * fcribe were chiefly thofe of ficuation. I ac- knowledge it. It is no more to be expeded that this equality, fimplicity, and modera- tion, fhould continue in a more advanced ft ate of fociety, than that jhe fublime tran« quillity, and dewy frefhnefs, which adds a naihelefs charm to the face of nature, in the dawn of a fummer morning, fhould continue all day. Before increafed wealth and extended territory ; thefe ** waffel days'* qukkly receded; yet it is pleafmg to in^. dulge the remembrance of a fpot, where - peace and felicity, the refult of moral ex* cellence, dwelt undifturbed^ for, alas I hardly for a century* CHAP. ',M I ' ' If,' I ' I'' ■ il MM ■ i 3-,-n*.r. "I'll '■:VA ili ' 1Rlai> ( 33 ) ".;■■ ■» 1 1 I'll'' I! I i|iitl %' % . ■», . C H AP. V. : . ' .«, . ■ State of Religion among the Settlers. —Inftruftion of Children devolved on Females — to whom the Charge of Gardening, &c. was aifo committed. — Sketch of the Slate of the Society at New York. ; . T MUST finifh this general outline, by fay- ing fomething of that reh'gion which gave (lability and efFe£l to the virtues of this infant fociety. Their reh'gion, then, like their original national charader, had in ft little of fervour or enthufiafm : their man- ner of performing religious duties was re- gular and decent, but calm, and to more ardent ifnaginations might appear mechani- cal. None ever doubced of the great truths of revelation, yet few feemed to dwell on the refult with that livefy delight which devotion produces in minds of keener fenfibility. If their piety, however, was without enthufiafm, it was alfo without bigotry : they wilhed others to think as they !i ( 39 ) they did, without (hewing rancour or con- tempt towards thofc who did not. In many individuils, whofe lives fcemed governed by the principles of religion, the fpirit of devotion feenied to be quiefcent in the heart, and to break forth in exigencies ; yet that monfter in nature, an impious wo- man, was never heard of among them. Indeed it was on the females that the talk of religious inftrudion generally de- volved ; and in all cafes where the heart is interefted, whoever teaches, at the fame time learns. Before I quit this fubjed, I mufl: ob- ferve a fingular coincidence ; not only the training of children, but of plants, fuch as needed peculiar care or (kill to rear them, was the female province. Every one in town or country had a garden i but all the more hardy plants grew in the field, in rows, amidft the hills, as they were called, of Indian corn. Thefe lofty plants (heltered them from the fun, while the fame hoeing ferved for both : there cabbages, potatoes, and other efculent roots> with variety o( V. gourds. P:. •■•I •1? i!-'1ii )i il >: ■ :S^ Ilii If. ■ill :, m I • C 40 ) gourds, grew to z great fize, and were of an excellent quality. Kidney-beans^ afpa- ragus, celery, great variety of fallads and fweet herbs, cucumbers, &c., were only admitted into the garden, into which no* ^ foot of -man intruded, after it was dug in fpring. Here were no trees, thofe grew in the orchard in high perfedion ; in thefe ftrawberries and many high flavoured wild fruits of the fhrub kind abounded fo much in the woods, that they did not think of cultivating them in their gardens, which were extremely neat, but fmall, and not by any means calculated for walking in. I think I yet fee what I have To often be- held both in town and country, a refpefl- able miftrefs of a family going out to her garden, in an April morning, with her great calafh, her little painted baiket of feeds, and her rake over her fhoulder, to her garden labours. Thefe were by no means figurative, a t ^^i^ ; v _ u. *■' From morn till noon, from noon till dewy cyc." » A wonian, ia very eafy circumAancea, and - ' abuiv- , ( ^I ) abundantly gentle in form and manners, would fow, and plant, and rake, incef* fantiy. Thefe fair gardeners too were great floiids ; their emulation and folicitude in this pleafmg employment, did indeed produce " flowers worthy of Paradife.'* Thefe, though not fet in '' curious luiots," were arranged in jeds, the varieties of each kind by themfelves ; this, if not varied and elegant, was at lead rich and gay. To the Schuylers this defcription did not apply ; they had gardeners, and their gardens were laid out in the European manner. Perhaps 1 (hould referve my defcription of the manner of living in that country for that period, when by the exertions of a few humane and enlightened individuals it af- fumcd a more regular and determinate form. Yet as the fame outline was preferved through all the flages of its progreffion, I know not but that it may be beft to (ketch it entirely, be/ore I go further; that the few and fimple fads which my narrative affords may not be clogged by explana- tions relative to the cuftoms, or any other ' pecu- A I ■>\- m \ ,1,1. ■Mi M. ^im rrn' peculiarities which can only be underftood by a previous acquaintance with the nature of the country, its political relations, and the manners of the people : my recolledioft all this while has been merely confined to Albany, and its precin^ls. At New York there was always a governor, a few troops, and a kind of little court kept ; there too was a mixed, and in fome degree, poliflied fociety. To this the acceffion of many fa- milies of French hugonots, rather above the middling rank, contributed not a little : thofe conicientious exiles had more know^ ledge and piety than any other clafs of the inhabitants; their religion feemed indeed endeared to them, by what they had fuf- fered for adhering to it. Their number and wealth was fuch, as enabled them to build not only a ftreet, but a very refpe£lable church in the new city. In this place of worfliip fervice continued to be celebrated in the French language within my recoU ledion, though the original congregation was by that time much blended in the mafs of general fociety. It was the cuftom of > ' ' the. ( 43 ) the inhabitants of the upper fettlement, who had any pretenfions to fuperior culture or polifti, among which number Mr. Schuy- ler fcood foremofl, to go once in a year to New York, where all the law-courts were held, and all theimportant bufinefs of the pro- vince tranfaded, here too they fent their chil- dren occafionally to refide with theit rela- tions, and to learn the more polilhed man<- ners and language of the capital. The in- habitants of that city, on the other hand, delighted in a fummer excurfion to Albany. The beautiful, and in feme places highly fmgular banks of the river, rendering a voyage to its fource both amufmg and interefting, while the primitive manners of the inhabitants diverted the gay and id^% and pleafed the thoughtful and fpeculativc* Let me now be indulged in drawing a picture of the abode of my childhood jufl: as., at this time, it prefents itfeU' to my mind. '■:.ii m ' : ■;■'■<■'■ ^'m .\^ ^^^yrM CHAP, Jh ( 44 J • ' I { 11 i; 'W pill CHAP. VI. D€fcription.of j^lbany. — Manner of living there- Hermitage, 3c c. « rpHE city of Albany was ftretched along the banks of Hudfon ; one very wide and long flr^&t lay parallel to the river, the in- termediate fpace between it and the (bore being occupied by gardens. A fmall, but {Veep hill rofe above the centre of the town, on which ftood a fort, intended (but very ill adapted) for the defence of the place, and of the neighbouring country. From the foot of this hill, another flreet was built, floping pretty rapidly down till it joined the one before mentioned that ran along the river. This flreet was dill wider than the other ; it was only paved on each fide, the middle being occupied by public edifices. Thefe confifled of a market-place, or guard-houfe, a town hall, and the Eng- lifh • ( 45 ) lifli and Dutch churches. The Engli(h thurch, belonging to the epifcopal perfua- fion> and in the diocefe of the bifliop of London, flood at the foot of the hil^, at the upper end of the ftreet. The Dutch church was fituated at the bottom, of the defcent where the ftreet terminated ; two irregular (Ireets, not fo broad, but equally long, ran parallel to thofe, and a few even ones opened between them. The town, in • proportion to its population, occupied a great fpace of ground. This city, in (uort, was a kind of femi-rural eftablifliment ; every houfe had its garden, well, and a little green behind ; before every door a tree was planted, rendered interefting by being coeval with fome beloved member of the family ; many of their trees were of a pro- digious fize and extraordinary beauty, but without regularity, every one planting the kind that befi pleafed him^ or which he thought would afford the moif agreeable {hade to the open portico at his door, which^ was iitiround«d by feats, 4nd afcendediby a^ V few :<^' ^:l' U ! m li: n tj' f 'J Ml - ;:; 'liV -» 111 ' ( 46 ) f<2W ueps. It was in thefe that each domef* tic group was feated in fummer evenings to enjoy the balmy twilight, or ferenely clear moonh'ght. Each family had a cow, fed in a common pafture at the end of the town* In the evening they returned all to- gether, of their own accord, with their tink- ling bells hung at their necks, along the wide and grafly "ftreet, to their wonted fheltering trees, to be milked at their maf- ter's doors. Nothing could be more plea- ling to a Timple and benevolent mind than to fee thus, at one view, all the inhabitants of a town, which contained not one very rich or very poor, very knowing or very ignorant> very rude or very poliflied indi- vidual^ to fee all thefe children of nature enjoying in eafy indolence, or focial iMer- courfe, . ** The cool, th€ fragrant, and iht du/iy hour," clothed in the plained habits, and with minds as undifguiifed and artlefs. Thefe primitive beings were difperfed in porches ^oupcd according tofimilarhy of years and in- : ( 47 ) ^ .■: inclinations. At one door young matrons, at another the elders of the people, at a third the youths and maidens, gaily chatting or Tinging together, while the children play* I round the trees, or waited by the cows, for the chief ingredient of their fru- gal fupper, which they generally ate fitting on the (laps in the open air. This pidure, fo familiar to my imagination, has led me away from my purpofe, which was to dc- fcribe the xural ceconomy, and modes of living in this patriarchal city. At one end of the town, as I obferved. before, was a common paflure where all the cattle belong- ing to the inhabitants grazed together. A never-failing indind guided each home to her mailer's door in the evenings where, being treated with a few vegetables and a little fat, which is indifpenfably neceflary for cattle in this country, they patiently waited the night ; and after being milked in the morning, they went off in flow and regular procefiion to their pa(lure» At the other end of the town was a fertile dain lo along ym 'If" ■ iil ■n i1: ' \i I -IS*! '- J. if'.i in mh III; |i I i . ( 48 ) along the river, three miles in length, and near a mile broad. This was all divided into lots, where every inhabitant raifed Indian corn fufficient for the food of two or three flaves, (the greateft number that each family ever poffefled,) and for his horfes, pigs, and poultry : their flour and other grain they purchafed from farmers in the vicinity. Above the town, a fong flretch to the weftward was occupied firft by fandy hills, on which grew bilberries of uncommon fize and flavour in prodigious 'e.Lf4f\-J>l^ di,<5|iib}j<^ ^^m . . ■ " " ■■ ■ ' •* ■ -x • ' ;' ••» ■ ,.«'^ ■ J\ :!' CHAP. . I CHAP, VII. Gentle Treatment of -Slaves amongthe Albaniani.-* Confequent Attachment of Domeftios. — Reflec* tlons on Servitude.' TN the fodety 'I am defcribing, even the dark afpedl of flavery was foftened into a i«nile. And! mud, in judice to the befi; pofTible maders, fay, that a great deal df that tranqulHity and comfort, to call it by no higher name, Avhich di(Hngui{hed this fociety from all others, was owing to the relation between mafler and Servant being better underflood here than in any other place. Let me not be detefted as an advo« cate for ilavery when I fay that I think I have never feen people fo happy in fervi* uide as the domedics of the Albanians. Onereafon was, (for I do not now fpeak of the virtues of t«heir maders,) that each famil;jf kad few of them, and that there were no field vnegroes« They would remind one of D 2 Abra* m 'l'"' '■i,| Hmi ' if: pi ft I' •' i m I: 'I !|5 \'', 'I I !li!!(! < 5i ) i^braham's fervants, who were all born lA the houfe, which was exadly their cafe* They were baptifed too, and (hared the fame reh'gious indru^ion with the children of the family ; and, for the firft years, there was little or no difference with regard to food or clothing between their children and thofe of their niaders. . When a negroe- woman's child attained the age of three years, the firft New Year's Say after it was folemnly prefented to a ion or daughter, or other young relative of the family, who was of the fame fex with the child To prefented. The child to whoni the young negroe was given immediately prefented it with fome piece of money and a pair of (hoes ; and from that day the ftronged attachment fubfifted between the domeftic and the deAined owner. I have no where met with indances of friendfhip more tender and generous than that which here fubfifted between the flaves and their naAers and miftreflfes. Extraordinary proofs of them have been often given in the Gourfe of hunting or Indian trading, when ( 5J ) * %hen a young man and his flave have gone to the tracklefs woods together, in the cafe of fits of the ague, lofs of a canoe, and other cafualties happening near hoftile In- dians. The flave has been known, at the imminent riik of his life, to carry his dif- abled mafter through tracklefs woods with labour and fidelity fcarce credible y and the mader has been equally tender on fimilar occafions of the humble friend who ftuck clofer than a brother ; who was baptifed with the fame baptifm, nurtured under the fame roof, and often rocked in the fame cradle with himfelf. Thefe gifts of do^ medics to the younger membets of the fa- mily were not irrevocable : yet they were very rarely withdrawn. If the kitchen family did not increafe in proportion to that of the ma(ler> young children were pur- chafed from fome family where they abounded, to furnifh thofe attached fer- vants to the rifmg progeny. They were never fold without confulting their mother^ who, if expert and fagacious, had a great deal to fay in the family, and would not . -^ D 3 allow !l ■I • '; ■'i*! 1 >; m !l'.» '•I;' ( il I", ill m- I i t allow her child to go into any family with whofe domedics fhe was not acquainted* Thefe negroe-womeni piqued themfelves on teaching their children to be exeellem fer- vant», well knowing fervitude to be their lot for life, and that it could only be fweet- ened by making themfelves particularly ufeful, and excelling in their department. }f they did their work well, it is aftoni^ing, when I recolle£k ir> what liberty of fpeecb was allowed to thofe adttve and prudent mothers. They would chide, reprove, and expodulate in a manner that we would not endure from our hired. fervants } andibme- times exert fully as much authority over the children of the family as the parents^ con* fcious that they were entirely in their power. They did not crufh freedom of fpeech and opinion in thofe by whom they knew they. were beloved, and who watched with in* ceiTant care over their interefl and comfort. ASe^ionate and faithful as thefe home-bred fervants were in genera), there were fome JDAances (but very few) of thofe who, through levity of mind, or a love of liquor „;S-' ! or C 55 ) ffhery, betrayed their truft, or habituall/ negle£ted iher duty. In thefe cafes, after every means had been ufed to reform them, no fevere punifhments were inflided at home. But the terrible fentence, which they dreaded worfe than death, was pad— ►* they were foFd to Jamaica. The neceflity of doing this was bewailed by the whole family as a mod dreadful calamity, and the culprit was carefully watched on his way to New York, ieft he fhould evade the fen- tence by felf-deftruflion. '*^* V One mud have lived among thofe placid and humane people to be fenfible that fer- vitude, hopelefs> endlefs fervitude, could exi(i with fo little fervility and fear on the one fide, and fo little harflinefs or evea fternnefs of authority in the other. In Eu- rope, the footing on which fervice is placed in confequence of the corruptions of fociety, havdens the heart, deftroys confidence, and embitters life. The deceit and venality of fervants not abfolutely diflioneftj puts it out of one*s power to love or truft them*. And if in hopes of Jiaving people attached to i n ,1 i>5 r^- ,) 1 ■ .M, 'k '•J'.i «i~'. 14 HSwiTH 1:13. 1l 11 ll§ ( i« ) to us, who will neither betray our con^ dence, nor corrupt our children, we are at pains to rear them from childhood, and give them a religious and moral education; after all our labour, others of their owq ' dafs feduce them away to thofe who can aibrd to pay higher for their fervices* This is not the cafe in a few remote diflridts, where furrounding mountains feem to ex- clude the contagion of the world, fome traces of fidelity and a£Fe6tion among do- medics ftill remain. But it mud be re« tnarked that, in thofe very diftrids, it is ufual to treat inferiors with courtefy and kindnefs, and to confider thofe domeftics who marry out of the family as holding a kind of relation to it, and (IHl claiming pro- tedlion. In ihort, the corruption of that clafs of people is, doubtlefs, to be attributed to the example of their fupericrs. But how feverely are thofe fuperiors puniflieJ ? Why this general indi^erence about home ; why are the houfehold gods, why is the facred hearth fo wantonly abandoned ? Alas ! the charm of home is ^p^i'^y^^y ^i^c^ ^^^ children^ ( S7 ) children, educated in diftant ieminarieSy are flrangers in the paternal maniion ; and our fervants, like mere machineSj move on their mercenary track without feeling or exciting one kind or generous fentiment. Home» thus defpoiled of all its charms, is no longer the fcene of any enjoyments but fuch a& weahh can purchafe. At the fame time we feel there! a namelefs cold privation, and confcious that money can coin the fame enjoyments with more variety elfewheiie* We fubditute thefe futile and evanefcent pleafures for that perennial fpring of cakn fatisfadion, ** without o'erfiowing full,** which is fed by the exercife of the kindly affe£tions, and foon indeed mufl; thofe (lag* nate where there are not proper ob|e£l8 ta excite them* I have been forced into t\m painful digreifion by unavoidable compart* ions. To return :— ' ^ * - Amidfl: all this mild and really tender in* dulgence to their negroes, thefe colonifts had not the fmalleft fcruple of confcience with regard to the right by which they held them infubjeftion. Had that been the cafe, their .'<•: „'i.! sip '■■km - "m ■k H:^. m i'l m ' m n: t-M'l' their (ingular humanity would have been incompatible with continued injudice. But the truth is, that of law the generality of thofe people knew little ; and of phtlofophy, nothing at all. They fought their code of morality in the Bible, and there imagined they found this haplefs race condemnied to perpetual flavery ; and thought nothirrg remained ht them but to lighten the chains of their fellow Chridians, after having made them fuch. This I neither ** extenuate," nor ** fet down in malice," but merely re- cord the fad. At the fame time it is bu't juftice to record alfo a fingular inftance of moral delicacy di(lingui(hing this fettlement from every other in the like circum(lance>» though, from their fimple and kindly modes ©f life, they were from infancy in habits of familiarity with thefe bumble friends, yet being early taught that nature had placed between them a barrier, which it was in a 'iiigh degree criminal and difgraceful to pafs, they confidered a mixture of fuch diftind races with abhorrence, as a viole- ticn of her laws. Xhis greatly conduced to '• » t ■■*f{ . ( 59 ) 10 the prefervarion of family happinefs and concord. An ambiguous race, which the law does not acknowledge 5 and who (if they have any moral fenfe, mud be as much afliamed of their parents as thefe lafl are of them) are certainly a dangerous, becaufe degraded part of the community. How much more fo muft be thofe unfortunate being<^ who ftand in the predicament of the bat in the fable, whom both birds and beads difowned ? I am forry to fay that the pro* grefs of the Britifii army, when it arrived^ might be traced by a fpurious and ambigu«> ous race of this kind. But of a mulattd< born before thdr arrival I only remember a fmgle in fiance ; and from the regret and: wonder it oc<:afioned; confidered it as fm**, gular. Colonel Schuyler, of whom I am to fpeak, had a relation fo weak and defeflive in capacity, that he never was intruded with any thing of bis own, and lived aa idle bachelor about the family. In procefs of time a favourite negroe-woman, to the great offence and fcandal of the family, hore a child to him, whofe colour gave tef- ^ . 1x6 . timony \ I ' ' .if \B 1" ii ftvL K'li^ r}'\n '*} ' id f ! li "'it. ( 60 ) timony to the relation. The boy was care** fully educated ; and when he grew up a farm was allotted to him well flocked and fertile^ but *' in depth of woods embraced,*^ about two miles back from the family feat» A deftitute white woman, who had fome- kow wandered from the older colonies, was induced to marry him ; and all the branches of the family thought it incumbent on them now and then to pay a quiet vifit to Chalk (for fo, for fome unknown reafon, they al- ways called him). I have been in Chalk's houfe myfelf, and a mofl conifortable abode it was ; but confidered him as a myftcrious and anomalous being. i have dwelt the longer on thb fingular inftance of flavery, exifting devoid of its attendant horrors, becaufe the fidelity and stfFedion refulting from a bond of union £> iearly formed between mafler and fervant contributed fo very much to the lafety of individuals, as well as the general comfort of ibciety, as will hereafter appear. .CHAP. ( 6i ) .,ry i:ie?i^i^ fW'-i fit ;.s, .V x;ift-\<|5!3i mM- ■■% *-v- CHAP. viir. u^'i^^-^^mi Education and early Habits of the Albaniany delcribed. y. f ■■''' 'HE foundations both of fnendfhip and flill tenderer attachments were here laid very early by an inftitution which I always thought had been peculiar to Albany, till I found in Dr. Moore's View of Society on the Continent an ac- count of a (imilar cuftom fubfifting m Geneva* The children of the town were all divided into companies, as they called them, from five or fix years of age, till they became marriageable. How thofe compa- nies firft originated, or what were their exad regulations, I cannot fay ; though I, belonging to none, occafionally mixed with feveralj yet always as a flranger, thongtl I fpoke their current language fluently. Every company contained as many boys as girls. But J do Rot know that there was a any ; )! ■ ,.m I'm ( 61 ; • any limited number ; only this I recolleft^ that a boy and a girl of each company, who were ^ older, cleverer, or had fome other pre-eminence above the reft, were called heads of the company, and, as fuch, obeyed by the other?. Whether they were voted in, or attained their pre-eminence by a t^cit acknowledgement of their fupeiiority^ T know not ; but however it was attained it was never difputed,. The company of little children had .alfo their heads. All the children of the fame age were- not in one company ; there were at lead three or four of equal ages, who hada ftrongrivalry with each other;, and children- of different ages^ in the fame family,, belonged to different companies* Wherever there is human na« ture there will be a degree of emulation^ ftcife, and a defire to leflfen others, that we may exalt ourfelve?. Difpaflionate as my friends comparatively were^ and bred up in the higheft attainable candour- and inno<^ cence, they regarded the company moil in competition with their own with a degree of jealous anioM^fuy. Each company, at a I / certain m. ■ { «3 ) certam time of the year, went in a body to gather a particular kind of berries, to the hills. It was a fort of annual fedival, at« tended with religious punduality. Every company had an uniform for this purpofe ; that is to fay, very pretty light bafltets madfe by the Indians^ with Kds and handles, which hung over the ann, and were adorned with various colours. One company would never allow the lead degree of tafte to the * other in this inftance ; and was fure to vent ks whole (lock of fpleen in decrying the rival bafkets. Nor would they ever admit that the rival company gathered near fo much fruit on thefe excurfions as they did'. The parents of thefe children feemed very much to encourage this manner of* marfhaK ling and dividing themf^lves. Every child was permitted to entertain the whole com- pany on its birth-day, and once befides^ during winter and fpring. The mailer and miftrefs of the family always were bound to go from home on thefe occafions^ while feme old domeftic was left to attend and vratch over them, with an ample proviiioA of, *; >:i^ i' 1 . *,' ^y ' n "m \k ::,:,:,:| t'li I f' f,! 'lii !:■ i'!' ■ill'- ' i 11 ' ( 64 ) of tea, chocolate^ preferved and dried fruits, nuts, and cakes of various kinds, to which was added cyder or a fyllabub, for thefe ^ young friends met at four, and did not part till nine or ten, and amufed themfelves with * the utmoft gaiety and freedom in any way their fancy di^lated. I fpeak from hearfay; for no perfon that does not belong to the company is ever admitted to thefe meet- ings : other children or young people vifit occafionally, and are civilly treated, but they admit of no intimacies beyond their company. The confequence of thefe ex« dufive and early intimacies was, that, grown up, it was reckoned a fort of apoftacy to marry out of one's company, and indeed it did not often happen* The girls, from the example of their mothers, rather than any compu^lfion, became very early notable and tnduftrious, being condantly employed in knitting (lockings, and making clothes for the fiimily and flaves ; they even made all the boys* clothes* This was the more ne» ceffary, as all articles of clothing were ex* iremelydear. Though ail the neceflkries of ( «5 ) of life, and fome luxuries, abounded, money, ^ as yet, was a fcarce commodity. This in- dudry was the more to be admired, as chil- dren were here indulged to a degree that, in our vitiated (late of fociety, would have rendered thein good for nothing. But there, where ambition, vanity, and the more turbulent paflions were fcarce awakened ; where pride, founded on birth, or any ex- ternal pre*eminence, was hardly known; and where the afiedions flourilhed fair and vigorous, unchecked by the thorns and ihiilles with which our minds are curfed in a more advanced flate of refinement, a£^ fedion retrained parents from keeping their children at a diftance, and infliding harfh puniihments. But then they did not treat them like apes or parrots, by teaching them to talk with borrowed words and ideas, and afterwards gratifying their own vanity by - exhibiting tbefe premature wonders to com- pany, or repeating their fayings. They were tenderly cherifhed, and early taught that they owed all their enjoyments to the divine fource of beneficence, to whoia i\ ' ,-•' ■.. V n 'Mi I % ■;^ ^^i5| J I] ' ml 11' ■!■('(• ,1 ■'i. > .h. , ■!] !''ip I ( 86 ) they were finally accountable for their ac^ tions ; for the reft ihey were very much Itft to nature, dlid permitted to range about at full liberty m their earlieft years, covered in fummer with fome (light and cheap garb, which merely kept the fun from them, and in winter with fome warm hahit, in which convenience only was confulted. Their dreft of ceremony was never put on but when their company were aflembled. They were extremely fondof their children; but, luckily for the latter, never dreamed of being vain of their immature wit and parts, which accounts, in ibme meafure, for the great fcarcity of coxcombs among them. The children returned the fondnefs of their parents with fuch tender affefVion, that they fieared giving them pain as much as ours do ptinifhment', and very rarely wounded th^ir feelings by neglbcl, or rude anfwer?. Yot the boys were often wilful and giddy at a* €C! tain age^ the girls being fooner tamed and dofT.'efticated. w^^tw. w:(. '' 11 w !• 'I §1 li.. . i •sroofls all the reft of the day. If the mcrn* iug be dry and windy, all the fowlers (that IS ©very body) are difappointtsd, for then they "fly fo high that no ifhot can reach them; but in a cloudy morning the carnage is in. credible^ and it is lingular that their re- moval falls out at the times of the year that the weather (even in this Cerene -climate) is generally cloudy. This migration, as it pt^fTod by, occafionedj as J faid before, a total relaxation ftom all employments, and a kind of drunken gaiety^ though it was rather flaughter than fport.; and, for above a fortnight, pigeons in pies and foups, and ©i^ery way they could be drefled, were the food of the inhabitants. Thefe were im- mediately fucceeded b^^ wild geefe and ducks, which concluded the carnival for that feafon, to be renewed in September. About fix weeks after the pafTage of thefe birds, fturgeon of a large fize, and in great '| quantity, made their appearance in the river. Now the fame ardour feemed to.pervade all ages in purfuit of this new objedl. Every family had a canoe \ and on this occafioa I? •" »M*r. ' ' all ■,« " ' ■■'> '■■ M .» ' ,' d,> I i 5- 4^ i -J .} .d * ' * , .u ^11 were launched ; and tliefe perfeveiing fifhers traced the courle of the (lurgeon up the river 5 followed them by torch light 4 and often continued two nights upon the water, never returning titi ^ey had loaded their canoes with this valuable fifh, and many other very excellent in their kinds, that come up the river at the fame 4ime« The ftui[geon not only furniflied them with good part, of their food in the fummer months, but was pickled or dried for future tife or exportation* Qfi ^^i}u,i^: m ,tivv';>v#Oi^ -=^^1 CHAP. • #■ ■1 : 1! '■ '1 I (I I If t !i.l im ( 7» ) .- N-.. .f)-, CHAP. IX. ■■f^ ' ii ill DefcriptioD of the Manner in which tne laciianTrader» fct out on their fir ft Adventure. T^o return to the boys, as all young men were called here till they married. Thus early trained to a love of fylvan fports, thch" cbara£lers were unfolded by contingencies. In this infant fociety penal laws lay dormant, and every fpecies of co- ercion was unknown. Morals, founded on chriilianity, were fcf* '^ tered by the fweet influence of the charities of life. The reverence which children in particular had for their parents, and the young in general for the old, was the chief bond that held fociety together. This ve- neration, being founded on efleem, certain- ly could only have exided thus powerful- ly in an uncorrupted community. It had, however, an auxiliary no lefs power- ful. Herej ( 73 ) /Here, indeed, it might with truth be laid, ':■•'-: '-^^ . -•'•-'^ v ■ ; <* X.OVC breath 'dhU infant fighs from angaifh free.'* In confequence df the fingular mode of aflbciating together little exclufive parties of children of both fexes, which has been already mentioned, endearing intimacies, formed in the age of playful innocence, were the precurfors of more tender attach • mcnts. • 'i'^^' .'•""? ■^•-'- .■''^;-' -y^^** ^ Thefe were not wrought up to romantic enthufiafm, or extravagant paflion by an inflamed imagination, or by the feurs of rivalry, or the artifices of coquetry, yp;t they had power fuflRcient to foften the manners and elevate the character of the lov^r. 4-* I know -not if this be the proper place to obferve, how much of the general order of fociety, ^and the happinefs of a people, depends oa marriage being early and uni- verfal among them : but of this more here- after. The defire (undiverted by any other paflion) of obtaining the object of their af- voL. r K . feQion, ^ i\ m $7 ' ' ,' • 4 - fl?S^ I',- m :« y C 74 ) fe^lion, was to them a flimulus to early and fevere exertion. The enamoured youth did not liftlefsly fold his arms and figh over his hopelefs or unfortunate paf- fioii. Of love not fed by hope they liad not an idea. Their attachments originated at too early an age, and in a circle'too fa- miliar to give room for thofe firft fight impreffions of which we hear fuch won* ders. If the temper of the youth was rafh and impetuous, and his fair one gentle and complying, they frequently formed a . rafh and precipitate union without con- fulting their relations, when perhaps the ■elder of the two was not above feventeen. /Ills was very quietly borne by the parties tiggrieved. The relations of both parlies met, and with great calmnefs confulted qxi %vhat was to be done. The father of the youth or the damfel, whichever it was who had moft wealth, or feweft children, brought home the young couple; and the new married man immediately fet about a trading adventure, which was renewed every fcafon, till he had the means of pro- .., viding \m ( fs ) viding a home of his own* Meantime the. intreafe of the younger family did hot feem an inconvenience, but rather a fource of delight to the old people ; and an ar- rangement begun from neceflity \vas often continued through choice for many years after. Their tempers, unruffled by the , endlefs jealoufies and competitions incident to our mode of life, were fingularly placid^ . and the love of offspring, where childien were truly an unmixed blefling, . was a common fentiment which united all the branches of the family and predominated ft ' . ? over every other. TJie jarring and dif- 'trufl:, the petulance and egoti/my which, diftind from all weightier confiderationsj would not fail- to poifon concord, were dilTercnt families to dwell under one" roof here, were there fcarcely known. It is but judice to our acquired delicacy of len- 'timent to fay, that the abfence of refine- ment contributed to this tranqjillity. I'hefe primitive people, if they did not gather the flowers of cultivated elegance, were not wounded by the thorns of irrita- " . E 31 b!e C.:' ■4,> .I'f; ^ m # 1 311 k 1 !' S1? i; ■;if:- I l>! ;^. ( 76 ) !ble delicacy : they had neither artificial wantSj nor artificial miferies. fn (hott^ they were neither too wife to be happy, nor too^ witty to he at reft. ^ Thus it was in the cafe of unauthorized imariiages. In the more ordinary courfe of tilings, love, which makes labour lights tamed thefe young hunters, and trans- formed them Into diligent and laborious traders, for the nature of their trade in- > eluded very fevere labour. When one of rthe boys was deeply fmitten, his fowling- \ piece and fifiiing rod were at once relin-^. quilhed. He demanded of his father forty or at mod fifty dollars, a negroe boy, and a canoe ^ all of a fudden he afTumed the brow of care and follcitude, and began to ^fmoke, a precaution abfolutely neceflary to repel aguilh damps, ^nd troubleforne in- fe£ls. He arrayed himfelf in a habit very little differing from that of the Aborigines, into whofe bounds he was about to pene- triate, and in (hort coaunenced Indian trader. That (Irange amphibious animal, who^ uniting the acute fenfcs, flrong in- -14 ilinfls, ■ t'^ r\ ^ m ( 77 ) ,1 pi - , • - . nm<5ls, amd unconquerable patience and fbrtitiide of the favagei with the art, po-~ licys and inventions of the European, . en- countered in the purfuit of gain dangers and difficulties equal to thofe defcribed iii the romantic legends of chivalry. The fmair bark canoe in which this hardy adventurer embarked himfelf, his fortun^^ and his faithful y^t/Zr^, (who was generally born in' the fame houfe, and predefined to his fervice,) was launched amidd the tears and prayers of his female relations, amongft whom was generally included his defined btide, who well knew herfelf to be tlic mo- tive of this perilous adventure. The canoe was entirely filled with coarfe - flrouds and blankets^ guns, powder, beads, &c. fuited to the various wants and fancies of the natives ; one pernxious article was never wanting, and often made a great part of the cargo. This was aidcnt rpirit&j for which the natives too early acquired a relifh, and the poffeflion of which alw ys proved ^ dangerous, and fometimes fatal to the tra* - d€rs. The Mohawks bringing their furs' # E 3 ,. and • 'm -i'l •*• m '?* wm 1| "■n '■■■\\ n 1 m and other peltry habitually to the (lores of their wonted friend$ and patrons. It was not in that eafy and fafe diredion that thefe trading adventures extended. The canoe generally (leered northward towards the Canadian frontier. They paflfed by the flats and (lonebook in the outfet of their journey. The;n commenced their toils and dangers at the famous water^fall called -the Cohoes, ten miles above Albany, where three rivers, uniting their ftreams into one, , da(h over a rocky ihelf, and falling into a gulph below with great violence, raife cloud^.of mid bedecked with fplendid rain. bows. This was the Rubicon which they had to pafs before they plunged into path- lek wpods, ingulphing fwamps, and lakes, the oppoiite (hores of which the eye could not reach. At the Cffhoes, on account of the obflruction formed by the torrent, they unloaded their canoe, and carried it above a mile further upon their (houlders, leturning again for the cargo, which they were obliged to tranfport in ine fame man* ner. This was but a prelude to la- . hours . V r '• ■<,. ^^^r .■ , C 79 ) V . ji bours and dangers, incredible to thofe who dwell at eafe. Further on, much longer carrying places frequently recurred j where they had the veffel and cargo to drag through thickets impervious to the day, abounding with fnakes and wild .beads, which are always to be found on the fide oP rivers, > ;r:w : . . Their provifion of food was neceflarily fmall, for fear of over-loading the (lender and unliable conveyance already crouded with goods. A little drl^d beef and In- dian corn«meal was their whole flock, though they formerly enjoyed both plenty and variety. They were in a* great me?- fure obliged to depend upon their own (kill in hunting and fifhing, and the hof* pitality of the Indians: for hunting, indeed, they had fmall leifure, their time being fe- dufoufly employed in confequence of the obftacles that retarded their progrefs. In the flight and fragile canoes, they oftea had to crofs great lakes, on which the wind raifed a terrible furgc. Afraid of goin'^ into rhe track, of the French traders, who • E 4 . , were... .1^ :s 1 ■ if- \ A' •I ;.i M ■i-:v '^rl ^. > IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^O /^A^^ .V V K^ e 4"^^ ^ 1.0 ^1^ Ui 2? Uk ^" I.I £ lit 12.0 ^ HiotQgraphic Scieices Corporation 23 WKT MAIN STMIT WltSTU.N.Y. USM (716)t7a-4S03 '^Sili . . i »o ) II were al>vays dangerous rivals, and often declared eDemies, they durft not follow the diredion of the river St. Lawrence ; but, in fearch of didant territories and unknown tribes, were wont to deviate to the eaft and fouth-wed, forcing their painful way •^towards the fource of ** rivers unknown to fong," whofe jwinding courfe was often in- terrupted by (hallows, and oftener fttll by fallen trees of great magnitude lying acrofs, . which it was requifite to cut through with . their hatchets before they could proceed. Smalt rivers which wind through fertilt valleys, in this country, are peculiarly li« fible to this«ob(lru6tione^ The chefnut and hiccory grew to fo large a fize in this kind of foil, that in time they become top heavy, and are then the firft prey to the violence of the winds; and thus falling, form a kind of accidental bridge over thefe rivers. :^ When the toils and dangers of the day. were over, the (till greater terrors of tbe night commenced. In this, which might literally l^e Ailed the how^Uiig wildernefsji they were forced to fleep in the open air, which ■m i * ( 8t ) which was frequently loaded with the hu-' mid evaporation of fwamps, ponds, and^ redundant vegetation. Here the axe mu(t be again employed to procure the male- - rials oF a latge fire even in the warmeft' weather. This precaution was neceifaty,'' that the flfes and mufkitoes might be ex-' pelled by thtf fmoke^ and that- the wolves^ and bears might 'be deterred by the flame • from ' incroachinp; on their place of reft.' But the light which afforded theni protect ' tion created frefh diftui baivc^. <* Loud as che woI^nss on Orca'^s ilormy fteepy Howl to the roarings of the northern deep, >» the American wolves howr to the fires*' kindled to- aftVight ' them, watching the* whole night' on the' furrounding httls to" keep up a concert which truly •* rendefett'- ntght hideous :■ * meantime the bulUfrogs, *' terrible though harmlefs, and fmallcr * kinds of various tones and countlefs nuni- '^ bersj-feemcd all night calling to 'each ' other from oppofite fwamps, forming thb" moft" difmal aflcmblage of- difcordaiit* ■ - 15 founds* • '»1 I >• M 1 1 ■i, ' ii 'Ai un ' fi-l.. m III 11 lilflii!:! I m ^ a founds. Though ferpents abounded very znuch in the woods : few of them were noxious. The rattle-fnake, the only dan- gerous reptile, was not fo frequently met >vith as in the neighbouring provinces ^ and the remedy which nature has bedowed as an antidote to his bite, was very gene- rally known. The beauties of rural and varied fcenery feldom compenfated the traveller for the dangers of his journey. •^ In the clofe prifon. of innumerous^ boughs,'* an4 on ground thick with un- der-wood, there was little of landfcape open to the eye. The banks of flreams and lakes no doubt afforded a rich variety of trees and plants : the former of a moft juajedic fize, the latter of fingular beauty apd luxuriance; but otherwife they 'only ti;aveUed through a grove of chefnuts or oak, to arrlye at 'another of maple, or pop«rr 1^, or a vaft flretch of pines and other, eyer-greens. If by chance they arrived sfcl a hill crowned with cedars, which affordedr; fqme command of profpe£l, ftill the gloomy b and interminable forejd, only varied mtk m^ different (hades of green, ni^et the eye which ever way it turned, while the mindi -; repelled by folltude fo vaft, and filence fo profound, turned inward on itfelf. Na- ture here wore a veil rich and grand, but impenetrable: at lead this was the itn-« preihon it was likely to makei on an Euro- ^ pean mind ; but a native American, fa- miliar from childhood with the produc- tions and inhabitants of the woods, fought the nuts and wiM fruits with which" they abounded ; the nimble fquirrel in all its* varied forms, the architect beaver, the favage. racoon, and the (lately elk ; where we (hOuld fee nothing but awful folitudes untrod by human foot. It is inconceivable how Well thefe young travellers, taught by their Indian friends, and their experi- % mental knowledge of their fathers, under- ftood every foif and its produdions. A ^ boy of twelve years old would aftonilh you with^ his accurate knowledge of plants, their properties, and their relation to the foil and to each other. " Here," faid he, [* is a wood of red oak, when it is grubbed' E 6 ^ i^. ,n ' vlrvM -■* I II ( 84 ) ** up tin's will be loam and fax^d, and make «« good Indian* corn ground. This chefnut '•iwood abounds with ftrawberries, and is ** the very bed foil for wheat. The poplar ^ wood yonder is not worth clearing ; the •* foil is always wet and cold. There is a *' hiccory wood, where the foil is always wch ** and deep, and does not runout -, fuch and ** fuch plants that dye bluey or orange, grew ** under it.*' ,.J^ , . This, is merely a flight epitome of the ' wide views of nature that, are laid open to thefe people from their' very infancy, the acq[ui(ition .of this kind of knowledge being, one of. their fird amu(ements> yet thofe who were capable, of adonifhing you by. the extent and variety of this local (killy in. objeds fo varied and fo complicated, never, heard of a petal, corolla, or (tigma in their lives, nor even of the (Irata. of that. foiL with the productions and properties of; which they were fo intimately acquainted.. Without compafs, or guide of any kind, the traders fleered through thefe pathlcfs forefts. In thofe gloomy day* k « when «1 wheathe fu» is not vifible, or in winter^, when the falling f'nows obfcured his beams, they made an incidon -on the bark, on the different fides- o£ a tree; that on-> the north was iovariabiy thicker thaa« the other, and covered with mofs in much* greater quaoiity* And this never failing;: indicatioa- of- the polar influence, was to thofe fagacious travellers a fuiHcient guide. They had indeed feveral fubordinate. mo-^ niiors* Knowing fo well as they>did the quality, of thefoibby the trees or plants inoft prevalent, they^ could .avoid a Xwamp^ or approach- with, certainty to a river or* high ground if fuch was their. wKhy by . means that to us- would feem incomprehen- fible. Even the favages . feldom vifited thefe didfid&t except in the dead of winter ; they had. towns, /as they called their fum- mer dwellings^ on the banks of the lakes and rivers in. the interior^ where their great fifliing places were. In the winter^ their grand hunting parties were in places more remote front our boundaries, where the deer and other larger animals took ihelter !1 4 ;. ' llS' ( 86 ) • • from the neighbourhood of man. Thefe fingle adventurers fought the Indians in their fpring haunts as foon as the rivers were open ; there they had new dan^ gers to apprehend. It is well known that among the natives of Afnerica, revenge was adlually a virtue, and retaliation a po* fitive duty ; while faith was kept with thefe people they never became aggreflbrs. But the Europeans, by the force of bad exam^ pie, and flrong liquors, feduced them from their wonted probity. Yet from the firft their notion of juflice and revenge was of that vague and general nature, that if they confidered themfelves injured, or if one of their tribe had been killed by an inhabitant of any one of our fettlements, they confi- dered any individual of our nation ^as a proper fubjeft for retribution. This felddm happened 'among our allieis ; never indieed, but wh^n the injury was obviouS, and bur people very culpable. But the avidity i of gain often led our traders to deal Wrrh Iii-^ dians, among whom the French pofiefled a degree of influence, which' produced a ' ^^ . (mothered « ( 87 ) fmochered ammoiity to our nation. When at length, after conquering numberlefs ob- (lades, they arrived at the place of their deftination, thefe daring ad«renturers found occafion for no little addrefs, patience, and indeed courage, before they could difpofe of their cargo, and return fafely with the profits. j The fuccefsful trader had now laid the foundation of his fortune, and approved himfelf worthy of her for whofe fakt he encountered all thefe dangers. It is« utterly inconceivable, how even a fingle feafon, fpent in this manner, ripened the mind,'^ and changed the whole appearance, nay the very charader of the countenance of thefe demi-favages, for fuch they feem on returning from among their friends in 4he fbrefts. Lofty, fedate, and. col! ited, they feem mafters of thepfelves, ai. I in«^< dependent of others; though fun-burnt and auftere, one fierce knows them till they unbend. By this Indian likenefs, T « do not think them by any means degraded«fi One muft have feea tt^efe people, (the In« 12 \. dians I '>■ m dtanrl mean^) to have any idea^ what a nci Ue animal man is^ while unfophifticated. I'have be«n often amufed with the defcrip- tions that philofophers, • in thdr clofetsy who never 'ini their lives faw man, but in* hrs improved or degraded ftate,' give of unciviliztid people; not recolIe£ling that they are at the fame time- uncorrupted# Voyagers,-^ wha have not their* language, and merely fee thenv trandently, to wonder and be wondered aty are equally Grangers' to the real charadker of- man in a focia!,> though unpoli(h«d (late. . It is>no criterion'^ to judge of this (iate of fociety by the roam.' ing ravages -^ truly fuch) who are met- with;' on thefe inhofpitable coads, where nature ' is niggardly of h^r ^ifts^ and where the^ fkie» frown x:onrinttaI)y on her bard- fated < children. Foribme good reafon^to U9 un*i known, it^is retfuifite that human beings ibould be fcattered through all habitable - fpace, ^< till 'gradual: hfe goes out beqfeath the pole :" and to beings fo dedined, what ' mifery would refuk from focial tender^ nefs and fine perceptions^ Of the claf&J of focial being»(for fuch indeed they were) of whom I fpeak, let us jiidge from tHe traders who know their language and cuf- toms, and from the adopted prifoners who have fpent years among them. How une* quivocaly how confident is the teflimony they bear to their humanity, friendflifp, fortitude, fidelity, and generofity ; but the indulgence of the recolIe£Hons thus fug*- geded have already led me toa far from my fubjed. " . • ' The joy that the return of the(e youthft occafioned was proportioned to the anxiety their perilous journey had produced. In fbme inftances the union of the lovers immediately took place before the next career of gainful hard (hips- commenced. But the liiore cau* tious went to New York in winter, difpofed of their peltry, purchafed a larger cargo^ and another €ave and canoe. The next year they laid out the profits of their for- mer adventures in flour and provifions, the flaple of the province ; this they difpofed of at the Bermuda Iflands, where ihey ge- nerally purjjjiafed one pf thpfe light-Jailing 1> %:.J ■■-..: / cedar ., (■* 1 r ■' * 9r i '■■•>' ''I ill ■I'll r ,11! #• I- III' IIM •♦ ( 90 ) cedar fchooners, for building of which thoTe iflanders are famous, and proceeding to the Leeward Iflands, loaded it with a cargo of rum, fugar> and molaffes. « They were now ripened into. men» and confidered as atflive and ufeful members of fociety, polTefling a flake in the common weaU /-tThe young adventurer had generally finiOied this procefs by th^ time he was one or, at mod, two and twenty. He now married, or if married before, which pretty often was the cafe,, brought borne his wife to a houfe of his own. Either he kept his fchooner, and, loading ber with produce, failed up and down the river all fommei\ and all wiater difpofed of the cargoes he obtained in exchange to more didant fet^ tiers ; or he fold her, purchafed European, goods, and kept a (lore. Ofherwife he fet- tled in the country, and became as diligent in his agricultural purfujts as if he had never known any other. ( 9« ) i T,V ^ISI CHAP. X. Marriagesi Amurementa, rural ExcurHonst &c. among the Albaniain. m-r\it^^_ TT was in this manner that the young cq« lonift made the tranfitioa from boyhood to manhood } from the difengs^ed and carelefs bachelor, to the provident and thoughtful father pf a family ^ and thus was fpent that period of life fo critical in polifhed fociety to thofe whofe condition exempts tbem from manual labour. I^ove« undiminiihed by any rival paflion, and €he» riihed bjLinnocence and candour, was here fixed by the power of early habit, and flrengthened by fimilarity of education,, taftes, and attachments. Incondancy or even indifference among married couples was unheard of, even where there happened to be a confiderable difparity in point of intelled. The extreme afFedlion they bore their mutual offspring was a bond that for ev§ ;Hf' ■'I i. ;;|J ■ -hi k y'\ ■■ n ■'iil ■ Mi it ^b I ■ \ 0: 4t 'sa i. ki. m m ' W' I 111 ' ever endeared them to each other. Miarriage in this colony was ^dways early,, very often happy, and very feldom indeed int^reiled. When a man hafd no fon there was nothing to be expelled with a daughter but a we!U brought-up female (lave, and the furniture of the beft bed*chamber. At the death of her falher (he obtained another divifibn of hbeffe^9> fuch as he thought (he needed er defervedj for there was no rule fai theilb «a[es. ■■ ^^1'^^%^^ ' / ^- ' Such was the manner in whicH thofe co* tenifis began life; nor ^u(l it be thought that thofe were mean ( r uninformed per^ fons> Patriots, magiilr: es, geiftirais, thofe who were afterwards wealthy, powerfuhj and^ diftinguifliad, all, isxcept a,J|w elder brothers^ occjped' b' their poflSnons at home, fet' out in ^he la^ie manner ; and in after life, even in the moft profperous cir- cumftances, they delighted to recount the " humble toils and deftiny obfcare'* of their, early years. Uhe. v^ry idea of being afliamed' of any thing-. ( 9i ) thing that was neither vicious nor indecent never entered an Albanian head. Early accuflomed to this noble fimplicity, this dignified candour, I cannot exprefs the contempt and difgufl X felt at the (hame of honourable. poverty. Tlie extreme defire of concealing our real condition, and appear- ing what we are not, that peculiarly cha« ra^erizes, I had almodjaid difgraces, the northern part more particularly of. thi$ ifland. I have often wondered how this vile fentiinent, that ^undermines all true grisatnefs of mind«ihonld prevail more here than in England, where wealth, beyond a doubt, is^lttf^ refpedled, at lead preponde- rates more o^ birth, and heart, and mind, and many other valuable confiderations. As a people we certainly are not fordid, why then (hould we defcend to the mean- nefs of bting afliamed of our condition, while we have not done any thing to de- grade ourfehres? Why add a fling to po- verty, and a plume to vanity, by the poor tranfparent artifice that conceals nothing, [and only changes pity into fcocn? Before '■IP-'* -w '.■'Mm m^-' m •n -f \ ■■'■sii tH'r ^illi III ( 94 ) . \, . Befote i quit the fubjed of Albaninii toahners I muft defcribe their amufements^ and fonie other peculiarities in their modes of lifei When. I fay their amufements, I mean thofe in which they differed from mod other people. Such as they had in* com. mon with others require no defcription. They were exceedingly focial, and vilited each other very frequently, befide the re- gular aflfembling together in their porches every fine evening. Of the more fubftian- tial luxuries of the table they knew little, and of the formal and ceremonious parts of good breeding ftill lefs. ^ , If you went to fpend a da^My whercj you were received in a maniiier we (hould think very cold. No one rofe to welcome you ; no one wondered you had not»come fooneif or apologized for .any deficiency in your entertainment. Dinner, which was V^ry early, was ferved exactly in the fame manner as if there were only; the family* The houfe indeed, was fo exquifitely neat and well regulated, that you could not fur- prife them^ and they faw each other fo often ~ ( 95 ) •o6eA ar.d fo eafily, that intimates made no difference. Of ftrangers they wefe (hy ; not by any means from want of hofpitality, but froni a confcioufnefs that people who had little to value themfelves on but their knowledge of the modes and ceremonies of polifhe4 life, difliked their fmcerity, and defpifed their fimplicity. Jf you (hewed no infolent wonder, but eafily and quietly adopted theit manners, you would >eceive from them not only very great civility, but much elTential Idndnefs^ Whoever has not common fenfe and common gratitude enough to pay this tribute of accommoda- tion to tbofe among whom he is def* lined fbr the time to live, muft of courfe be an fnfulated, difcontented being; and come home railing at' the people whofe fecial comforts he difdained to partake. After fharing this plain and unceremonious din* ner, which might, by the bye, chance to be: a very good one, but was invariably that which was meant for the family, tea was ferved in at a very early hour. And here It was that the diftin£limi (hewn to ftrangers commenced. m ■ ' i teJ ■\} ' ■•:i i -1 'fU 'ir I'll Commenced* Tea here was a perfect regade ; accompanied by various fof ts of cakes un- known to u«, cold pa{lry> and great quantities of rweetmeat€ and preferved fruits of various kinds, and plates of hiccory and other nutc ready cracked. In all manner of confedion- ary and paflry thefe people excelled ; and having fruit in great abundance, which cofl: them nothing, and getting fugar home at an eafy rate, in return for their exports to the V/ed Indies, the quantity of thefe articles ufed in familiesL, otherwife plain and frugal, was aftonifhing. Tea was never unaccom- panied with fome of thefis petty articles; but for (lranger« a great difplay was made. ]f you (laid fupper, you were fure of a moft fubftantial though plain one. In this meal they departed, out of compllm^it to the ftrangers, from their ufual fmipliciiy. Hav« ing dined between twelve and one you wer« quite prepared for it. You had either game or poultry roafted, and always ihell-fifh in the feafon : you had alfo fruit ki abundance. All this with much neatnefs but no form. The feeming coldnefs with which you were - ' firft firft. receive^ wore off by degrees. They could not accommodate their topics to you, and fcarcely attempted it. But this conver- fation of the old, though limited iii regard to fubjedsy was rational and eafy, and had in it an airof originality and truth liot with- out its attradtions. That of the young was natural and playful, yet full of locailities, which leifened its interefl: to a (Iranger, but which were extremely amufing wheir you became one of the initiated. Their amufcments were marked by % fimplicity which, to (Irangers, appeared rude and childiOi, (I mean thofe of the younger clafs:) Jn fpring, eight or ten o£ the ypung people of one company, or re- lated to each other, young men and mai- dens, would fet out together in a catioe on a kind of rural excurfion, of which amufe- ment was the object. Yet fo fixed were their habits of induftry, that they never failed to carry their; work-ba(kets wi^ them, not as a form, but: as an ingredient necelTarily mixed with their pleafures. They had no attend^mts^ mA il^r.ed ^ VOL. I. F devious ■*i, j*^ 'I' '.. 'life. I ' ■■.'■I ■,;*!',! i ' -,1 i'lm : ,!•' -, tMi wt !":;''i ^ 4mou& comft of four, Urt, or fttrhapt more, milesytill the^r arrived at ibme of the touitifiil iOands wkh wliich this Bne river aiMHiiided, or at fame feqo«fteffcd fpot on Its bad^ty whore ddlicious wild fruiu, or |>aNioitUr to a different pkoe, and joined them, ^r induced them to take their route. A beHket with tea* fugar, and the ptheif ufual piovifions fer breakfaft> with the apparatus .fer codkiag it; a little rum and fruit for makmg cooLweak punch, the uTual beve- rage in the middle of the day« and now and then fome cold pa(lry> was the fole provi- fion ; for the great affair was to depend on the fole exertions of the ioys^ in procuring fifli, wild dtteks> &c. for their dinner. Tbey were aH, Hke IndianSa ready and dex- terous with the axe, gun, &c. Whenever ^y arrived at their deftination th^y (ought loiit a dry and beautiful fpot opposite to the stiver, erhapt of the e fiver pot on iit«, or Bforded illy^ ar- fet out un^rife. i them, ite. A ei^ ufual ^paratus Tint for il beve- K>wand ; provi- )ciid on ocuring idiiiner. nd dex- henever r (ought to the river, river, and in an tnftant with their axes cleared fo much fuperfluous (hade or flirub- ' bery as left a femicircular opening, above which they bent and twhied the 'boughs, fo as to form a pleafant bower, while the girls gathered dried branches, to which one of the. youths foon fet fire with gun- powder, and the breakfaft, a very regular and cheerful one, occupied an hour or two; the young men then fet out to fifh, T>r per- haps to (hoot birds, and the maidens fat bufily down to their work, (inging and converging with all the eafe and gaiety the bright ferenity of the atmofphere and beau- ^ ty of the furrounding fcene were calculated to infpire. After the fuhry hours had been thus employed, (he ^s brought their tri- bute from the river or the wood, and found a rural meal prepared by their fair companions, among whom were generally their fiders and the chofen of their hearts. After dinner they all fet out together to gather wild ftrawberries, 6r whatever other fruit was in feafon ; for it was accounted a reflection to come home empty ^lianded. F 2 When Mm r^. m "i< t ^' f^!.!: ( 100 ) When \eearied of this amufement, they either drank tea in their bower, or return- ing, landed at fome friend's on the way, to partake of that refrefhment. Here, in- deed, «* Youths* free fpirit, innocently gay, Enjoyed the mod that innocence could give.*' ' Another of their fummer amufeiments was going to the bu(h, which was thus ma- Jiaged : a party of young people fet our in little open carriages, fomething in the form of a gig, of which every family had one ; every one carried fomething with him, as in thefe cafes there was no hunting to add proviHon. One brought wine for negus, another tea and coffee of a fuperidr quality, a third a pigeon pye; in ihort, every one brought fomething, no matter how trifling, for there was no emulation about the ex- tent of the contribution. In this fame bufh, there were fpots to which the poorer members of the community retired,* to work their way with patient induftry, through much privation and hardfhip, • compared ( >oi ) compared to the plenty and comfort enjoy* cd by the reft. They perhaps could only aflFord to have one negroe- woman, whofe children, as they grew up, became to their mafter a fource of plenty and eafe : but ia the mean time the good man wrought hard himfelfy with a little occalional aid fent him by his friends. He had plenty of the neceflaries of life, but no luxuries. His wife and daughters milked the cow» and wrought at the hay, and his^oufe ix^s on a fmaller fcale than the older fettle|li^d. theirs^ yet be had always one neatty fur* niflied rooip. A very clean houfe, with a pleafant ]^ortico before it, generally a fine ftieam befide his dwelling, and fome In- dian wigwams near- it. He was wood-fur- rounded, and feemed abfolutely to live in the bofom of nature, fcreened from all the artificial ills of life ; and thofe fpots cleared of incumbrances, yet rich in native luxu- > fiance, had a wild originality about them not eafily defcribed. The young parties, or fomeiimes elder ones,* who fet out on this woodland excurfion, had no fixed ^ . F 3 deftina- ■' r ■ Vi '■ It i !(!?!' n:vl -1 ' ' (?!■ 'I m I ';■/.'■ ',i « •. m •f '♦'i ■'|['|a t>. -I- I'M .1;! I deftfmtion; they went generally in the i&renoon» and when they w^re tired of going on the ordinary road^ tamed into the bujh, and whenever they faw an inha- bited fpot, with the appearance of which they were pleafed, went in wi(h all the eafe of intimacy, and told them they were come to fpend the afternoon there. The good people, not in the leaft furprized at this incurfion, very calmly opened the re- fer ved apartments, orJf it w^re very hot, received them in the portico; The guefts produced their ftoivt, and they boiled their tea kettle, and provided cream, nnts, or any peculiar dainty of the woods which tfaey chanced to have ; and they always fumifted bread and butter, which they had excellent of their kinds* They were Invited to fliare the collation, which they ^ with great eafe and firanknefs: then dancing, or any other amufement tf^at flfruck their fancy, fucceeded. They faun- tered about the bounds in the evenings and returned by moonlight. T|ie(e good peo- ple feU not the leaft embarrafled at the ruf- * • tic ( '•» ) tic plainnefs of every thing about them ; they confidered themfelves as on the w^» after a little longer exertion of patient in» duftry, to have every thing that the others had: and theii guefts thought it an agree* able variety in this abrupt manner to vlHt their fequeftered abodes* y-^^a :■ ;i 7Mt m ^f'r 'III ■;■■''' '•' I" 'I :;t i X- (.' m^i: f> »4 chap; iii'' :*■• ft ( 104 ) I, t'lri ' m I i"i fiiil <>• y . ", '■ .ff-j'%: ,-?*7v *;t .,';♦')•• CHAP. X. ft- Winter Amufements of the Albanians) &c. T TN Winter the river, frozen to a great depth, formed the principal road through the country, and was the fcene of all thofe amufements of fkating, and fledge races, common to the north of Europe. They ufed in great parties to viiit their friends at a didance, and having an excellent and hardy breed of horfes, flew from place to place over the fnow or ice in thefe fledges with incredible rapidity, fliopping a little while at every houfe they came to, and al- ways well received, whether acquainted with the owners or not. The night never impeded thefe travellers, for the atmof- phere was fo pure and ferene, and the fnow fo refleded the moon and ftar-lighr, ► that the nights exceeded the days in beauty* 1 In \ ( >«s ) In tOM^n all the boys were extravagantly fond of a diverfion that to us would appear a very odd and childifli one. The great flreet of the town, in the midft of whicu, as has been formerly mentioned, ftopd all the churches and public buildings, floped down from the hill on which the fort (loody towards the river; between the buildings was an unpaved carriage roacl, the foot-path beGde the houfes beyig thp only part of the (treet which was , paved* In winter this iloping defcent, continued for more t|)an.a quarter of a mile, acquired firmnefs from the frod, and became ex* tremely flippery. Then the amufemejit commenced. Every boy and youth„ in town, from eight to eighteen, hadatittfe low fledge> made with a rope like aC oridle to the front, by which it could be dragged after one by the hand* On this one or two at mod could fit,, and this doping defceot being made as fmooth as a looking^ glafs, by Aiders' fledges, &c. perhaps a hundred at pnce fet out in fucceflion from^ thg top_,pf ^tbis ^flreet, each feated. m hk m 'j '1 t» It. if ' ii Ji, ( «ofi ) .^.J : :I\N: . little &edgi3 with the rope in his hand, which, drawn to the right or left, ferved to guide him» He piifhed it off with a little iftick, as one would launch a boat; atid then, with the moft aftonifhing vfelo- city, precipitated by the weight of the owner* the little machine glided pail, and was at the lower end of the flreet in an in- ftant. What could be fo peculiarly de- lightful in this rapid and fmooth defcent, i could never difcover ; though in a more retired place, and on a fmaller fcale, I hafe tried the amufement : but to a young Albsmian, flaying, as he called it, was one of the firft joys of life, though attended with the drawback of walking to the top of thMeclivity dragging his fledge every time he renewed his flight, for fuch it inight well be called. In the managing this little machine' feme dexterity was ne* ceflary: an unfliilful Phaeton was Aire to fall. The conveyance was fo low, that a fall was attended with little danger, yet with much difgrace, for an univerfal laugh from alt fides aflailed the fallex^ charioteer. ■ • -^^.^.:. This '»7 ) This lau^h was from a Tery fqll diorus* for the conflant and rapid focceffion of this proceffion> where every one had a brother^ lover» or kinfman) brought all the young people in town to the porticos, where the^ ufed to fit wrapt in fiirs till ten or eleven at night, engrofled by this delegable fpec- tacle* . What .. magical attraction it could pofiibly have, I never could find our ; but^ I have known an Albanian, after r^ingi Ibme years in Britain, and becoming i po^-; liflied fine gentleman, join the fport, audi • ■ •■'1 ilide down with the re(U Perhaps, after all our laborious refinements in amufements- being eafily pleafed is one of the great ie* crets of happinefs, as far as it is attainable' m this *^ frail and feveriflibeing/^ ,. i Now there remains another amnfement; to be defcrtbed> whicb I mention with re*- Ia£tance, and fhould fcafcef venture to> mention at all, had I not found a prece-^ dent for it among the virtuious Spartanst*. Had Lycurgtts himfelf been the founder of^ their community, the young men could^ fcaice have ikden^^ with more ahcrity andi -v| \ V ^ dexterity. m - % i 1;^ •', til-* %r ■( ;i' :^'t:'i ^i m lit M mi i't !iii ( 108 ) dexterity. I could never conje£lure how the cudom could pofiibly originate among a fet of people of fuch per fed and plain in- tegrity. But thus it was. The young men now and then fpent a convivial even-^^ ing at a tavern together, where from the extreme cheapnefs of liquor, their bills (even when they committed an occafional excefs) were very moderate. Either to leflen the expence of the fupper, or from the pure love of what they ftiled frolick^ (Anglicd mifchief,) they never failed to fteal either a roafting pig or a fat turkey for this fpftive occafion, The town was the fcene of thefe depredations, which never extended beyond it. 3wine and tur- keys were reared in great numbers' by all the InMbir^nts. For thofe they i>rought tototr^ in winter, they had $m appropriate p^ce at the lower end of the garden, in which .they were locked up. It is obferva- ble, that thefe animals were the ^ only thmgs locked up about the houfe, for this good reafon, that nothing elfe ran the leaft rifle of being ftolen. The dexterity of the •'*^ - theft (109 ) thjeft confiding in diftibing over very higl^ walls> watching to ileal in when the ne- groes went down to feed the horfc or cow, or making a clandeftine entrance at fome window or aperture : breaking up doors was quite out of rule, and rarely ever re* forted to. Thefe exploits were always per- formed in the darked nights ; if the owner heard a noife in his flables, he ufually ran down with a cudgel, and laid it withx^ut mercy on any culprit he could pvertak€|^, This was either dexteroufly avoided, or patiently, borne. .To .plunder a m^ui, and afterwards offer him any perfonal injury, - was accounted fcandalous; but the tfirkies or . pigs were never recpverec}. . , In . fome , inflances -a. whole band of thefe young < plunderers would : traverfe t}ie tc^w% and . carry aff fuch a prey asi woi^ld afiqrd pro«,j vifion for many jovial, nights^ Nothing was more common than to findone^s bro^ thers or nephews amongft thefe pillagers* ; Marriage was followed by two dre|dful privations : a married man could not fly down the Areet in a little iledgCi or join ^ 5 party 'ff 'I i %m 'm .-■.-I ^:1 i^i i^ i '. i l.f ■* ( »«o ) party of pig ftealerd, without outraging decorum. If any of their confederates marriedy as they frequently did^ very young, and were, in circunUbnces tobegia houfe^keeping> th«y were fure of an early vi(it of ihis nature from their old confede- rates. It was thought a great a£b of gal« lamry to overtake and chaftife the robbers. I recoiled an tnftance of one young married man*, who had not long attained to that dignity, whofe turkies fcreaming vblemly one R^ht, he ran down to chaftife the a^^giPeflfors ; he overtook them in the §iii : bat finding they were hia old afibciatea could not refift the force of habit> joined the reft in another exploit of the fame na- ture^ and then fhared his own turkey at the tavern. There werr^ two inns in the town, the mafters of which were ^ honoucr. able men;'* yet thefe pigs and turktes^ were always received and drefled without queftioning whence they came. In one in« ftancc, a young party had in this maiuier provided a pig, and ordered it to be roaft- ed at the King's Arms y another party at- ' . , tacked '' .'. C III ) tacked the fame pl?ce whence this booty vas taken, but found it already rifled; This party was headed by an idle mifchie- vous young man, who was the Ned Poins of his fraternity : well gueffing how the (lolen foafting pig was difpofed of, he or- dered his friends to adjourn to the rival tavern, and went himfelf to the King's Anns. Enquiring in the kitchen (where a pig was roafling) who fupped the^e, he fobn arrived at certainty : then taking an^^ opportunity when there was no one in the j ' kitchen but the cook- maid, he fent forvt one of the jovial party, who were at cards ^ up ftairs. During her abfence, he cut the« (Iring by which the pig wai fufpended^ laid it in the dripping-pan, and through the quiet and dark (Ireets of that tobtf city^ . carried it fafely to the other tavern : where, after finifhing the roading, he and hb com« panions prepared to regale themfelves^ Meantime the pig was niifled at the King*$ Arms ; and it was immediately concluded, from the dexterity and addrefs with which this trick was performed, that no other bur 6 the ,T* 4 ■^S.:> .) " k. ! I ■ri' ri ^Ni, I f ...u .1,1 . m 'I, t»': ' if" F' -^ III 1 !tli:':l ^.te:|i|,|.: pi;! i ( 114 ) th& Poms aforefaid could l)e the author of it. A new flratagem was now devifed to qutwit this flealer of the (tplen. An ad- venturous youth of the defpoiied party laid do^nfn a parcel of fhavings oppofite to the ^other layemj and fetting them in a blaze>. cried fire! a mod alarming found her^, where fuch accidents were too fre- quent* Every one ruihed out of the houfe, ^Jiere flipper had been juft ferved. The dei^tro)}^. purveyor, who had occafioned alL this didurbance, Aole in, fnatched up )he dUh with the pig in it, dole out again )>y^tjie b^ck, door, and feaded his compa- nion^* with the recovered ipoils. Xljefe were a fe\w idle young men, the fon$ /Of avaricious fathers, who grudging toadyance the means of pudiing them for- ward, by^ the help of their own indudry to independence, allowed them to remain fo long unoccupied, that their tim^ was waded, and habits of conviviality at length degenerated in thofe of difUpation. Theie w^re not only pitied and endured, but re* celyed with a great deal of kindnefs and in- <^r«i dul- • ( »«3 )' dulgence that was wonderful. They were ufually a kind of wags, went about like privileged perfons, at whofe jefis no one took offence : and were in their difcourfe and flile of humour, fo much like Shakf- peare's clowns, that on reading that ad« mirable author, I thouglit I recognized my old acquaintances. Of thefe, however, I faw little, the fociety admitted at my friends being very feleft. - -^h^ ; .. ,, >v (■'H '< ' ' K?i '■'l^i-% i] .■«M«^'^*'*' H-TV .,'^t^-'^T'^» :r>?S5^ .( ' -. ■ 'v-v^^!^ d:>hiw ■■i-,:^U-;.:;.w .<;».l. tHAP. '# I » • '!'li: 1 . ^i f 'I I i ■; .!:W| f;.i ( "4 ) •M » « I ;r!f i.'ii:' m. i.^ I y-i-i . J., ; • .:,K3^ ■'r '*;-fnnf;\!r,^ ^;*i viJ- . V'M''*/-,M # . ^^-^^^'^M CHAP. XX. '■ ^ Lay-Brothers.— Cbtalina.— Detached Indians* ^^'■ IJEFoRE I quit thfs attempt to delineate ^. the number of \vhich this community was compofed, I mud mention a clafs of aged perfonsj who, united by the fame re- collections, purfuits, and topics, affociated very much with each other, and very little with a world which and w«re treated in the fame manner y for- they>> never fpoke unlefs when addveffed)<^ and feemed very carelefs of the things of this w0ridj like people who had got above it. Yet they were much together^ and Tdemedt tO' enjoy each other's converfation. Retro- ^ fpedion on the fcenes of early life, antici- pations of that futurity fo clofely veiled from our iight, and difcuiTions regarding difbrent paifages of holy Writ, feemed tl^W\ favourite themes. They were mild and benevolent! but abdraded, and unlike othei^ -i^^oi- people. # '0^ p... fJ' m H r JBJ^^H i. ^^rIo' ''/^^^H ^^^R'^^ w. S'i :3! .ill: n |:;, 1% ^f^% ^, 4t !'<> ) people. Their happinefs, for happy I am convinced they were, was of a nature pe- culiar to themfeives, not obvious to others. Others there were not deficient in th«ir at- tention to religious duties, who living 18 h the bofoni of their families^ took an adive and cheerful concern to the lafl: in all that amufed or intereded them ; and I never underdood that the lay-bro* thers, as I have chofen to call them, blamed them for fo doing. One of the fit Hi chridiaa virtue8> charity in the mofl: obvious and common fenfe of the word, had little icope. Here a beggar was unheard of. People,, fuch as I have defcr:bed in the bttjhf or going there, were qo more confidered as objeds of pity, than we coniider an ap- prentice as fuch for having to ferve his time before he fets up for himfelf. In fuch cafes, the wealthier, becaufe older fettlers, frequently gave a heifer or colt each to a new beginner, who fet about clearing land ia their vicinity. Orphans were never neg- le£led; and from their early marriages, 0ii the cafualties their manner of life fub- ' \,- ' jested je6led them to, ihefe were not unfrequent. You never entered a houfe without meeting children. Maidens, bachelors, and child- lefs married people, all adopted orphans, " and all treated them as if they were their ; own. - >. .1 , ^- - V 1 Having given a (ketch, that appears to my recolle^ion (aided by fubfequent con- verfations with my fellow travellers) a faith- fulonei of the country and- its inhabirahts, it is time to return to the hiftory of the mind of Mifs Schuyler, for by no other cir- cumftances than prematurity of intelle£l, and fuperior culture, were her earlieH: years diftinguiflied. Her father, dying early, left her very much to the tiition of his brother. Her uncle's frontier fituation made him a kind of barrier to the fettle- ment ; while the pawerful influence, that his knowledge of nature and of charafter^ his found judgment and undained integrity, had obtained over both parties, made him the bond by which the Aborigines were united with the colonics. Thus, little lei* fure was left, him for dpmeflic enjoyments, .^. ■ ' ' -or f m m m k:|| ■■ ; 1 t \ ■Hi. ' ■ it? m im ■( *! !f- '■ i. ( ii8 ) "^-' or literary purfuits, for both of which bis mmd was peculiarly adaj^ted. Of the lei. fure time he could command^ however, he made the bed ufe ; 3^ foon didinguifli* ' ing Catalina as the one amongft his £amily to whom nature had been mod liberal, he was at the pains to cultivate hertade for reading, which foon difcovered itfelf^ by procuring for her the heft authors in hif- tory» divinity, and belles lettres : in this latter branch, her reading was not very extenfive : but then the few books of this ^kind that (he pofTefled were very well cho fen ; and Ihe ws^ early and intimately fa- miliar with them* What I remember of her, aififteil by comparifons fmce made with others, has led me to think that exten- five readings fuperficial and indifcriminate, fuch as the very eafy acceis to books among uft encourages, is not at an early period of life favourable to folid thinking, true tade, or fixed principle. Whatever ihe knew, flie knew to the bottom; and the refle^ions^ which were thus fug- gefted to h«r flrong difcerning mind, were ' ■ digeded m ' . i }"9 ) ■■■■ digefted by means of eafy and inftruQive converfation. Colonel Schuyler had many relations in New York ; and the governor and other ruling, charaders there carefully cultivated the acquaintance of a perlbn fo well qualified to indruA and inform them on certain points as he was. Having con- fiderable dealings in the fur trade too, be went every winter to the capital for a (hort time, to adjuft his commercial concerns, and often took his favourite niece along with him, who, being of an uncommon quick growth and tall (lature, foon attract* ed attention by her perfonal graces, as well as by the charms of her converfation. . tl have been told, and ihould conclude from a pi^ure I have feen drawn when (he was Bfteen, that (he was in her youth very handfon>e. Of this few traces remained when I knew her ; exceflive corpulenqe having then overloaded her majeQic perfon^ aod entirely cbanged'the afped of a couo- tenance onoe enunently graceful. In no pkce did lismale excellence of any kind more amply receive ]|& due tribute of ap^* V plaufe # ■<• t i 3r ][. it I? '■■i > • •. # " . C '20 ) plaufe and admiration than here, for various reafons; firft, cultivation and refinement were rare. Theii, as it was not the common routine that women fhould ne- ceflarily have fuch and fuch accomplifh- ^ments, pains were only taken on minds /flrong enough to bear improvements -without becoming conceited or pedantic. ^And laftly, as the fpur of emulation was etiot invidiouily applied, thofe who acquired .a fuperior degree of knowledge confidered themfelves as very fortunate in having a •tiew fource of enjoyment opened to them. But never having been made to underfland that the chief motive of excelling was to 'dazzle oir oiitfhine others, they no more thought of defpifing their lefs fortunate companions, than of aifuming pre-eminence Tor difcovering a wild plum-tree or bee- hive in the woods, though, as in the former xafe, they would have regarded fuch a dif- covery as a benefit and a pleafure ; their acquifitions, therefore, were never (haded by affeftation. The women were all na* tlves of the country, and few ha4 more than ts . ^ domeftic m domeflic educationi But men> who pof-.« feifed the advantages of early culture and »' ufage of the world, daily arrived on th^r continent from different parts. of Europe* r So that if we may be indulged in the inele* - gant liberty of talking commercially of fe« ; male elegance, the fupply was not equal \to / the demand. It may be eafily fuppofedr that Mifs Schuyler met with due attention n who, even at this early age, w^s refpeded for the (Irength of her chara£ler, and th^ dignity and compofure of her manners.^ Her mother, whom (he delighted to recolf^ le£t, was mild, pious, and amiable ; her ac- knowledged worth was chaflened by the utmod diffidence. Yet accuftome^ to ex« < ercife a certain power over the minds qf the natives, (he had great influence Iq reftrajn* ing their irregularities, and fwaying their opinions. From her knowledge of their ^^ language,, and habit of converHng withp tliem, fome r^etached Indian families refided for a while in fummer in the vicinity of,, houfes occupied by the more wealthy and benevolent inhabitants. They generally- ■vox., u G buiic '»■ ■'!*'■' i| • il m li. >t.> * til ^'1 ''^1 ■^ biine a flfght wigwam under ihelter of the oi'chard fbnce on the (hadiefl: fide; and Titver were neighbours more harmlefsj peaceable, iand obliging; i might truly add, induilrldus; for- in one way or other they were conftantly occupied. The v^o- lAen and their children employed them- iibr&s in many ingenious handicrafts, which, fifibe the introdii£lion of European arts and inanufaflures, have greatly declined. Bkk* ijfig trays, wooden hood, which however derived its principal ^^ fubfiflence from an exchange of their ma<> I nufadures with the neighbouring family for milk, bread, and other articles of food. | The fummer refidence of thefe ingenious artifans promoted a great intimacy between t he females of the vicinity and the Indian ^: women, whofe fagacity and comprehenfion of mind were beyond belief. ^ It k a Angular circumftance, that though they they faw the negroes in every refpe£lable family not only treated with huma|ity9 but cheriflied with parental kindnef8,>^they al- ways regarded them with contempt and dif- Hke, as an inferior race, and would have no communication with them. It was necef* fary then that all converfations fliould be held, and all bufinefs tranfadked • with thefe females, by the midrefs of the family. In the infancy of the fettlemcnt the Indian language was familiar to the ihore intelli- gent inhabitants, who found it very ufeful, and were, no doubt, plepfed with its ner- vous and emphatic idiom, and its lofty~and fonorous cadence. It 'v^'^as indeed a noble arid copious language, when one confiders that it ferved as the vehicle of thought to a people whofe "ideas and fphere of adion we ihould cforifider as fo very confined. v W Hm 'A. ■ 1.'>^'l *:•'! <, •"' ■jY ,♦ "•« f i ■■•; \ * ■ »> i.. ■ G« , , , 'l|v .. -, , , .. ■'*... «■: :/• -CHAP. . * .-;' •i ,1 ( 126 ) • -r^ -J"-, ):; •\ i , I'f "t m) ,' ' i: ,■ CHAP. XIII. Progrefs of Knowledge. — Indian Manners. (Conversing with thofe interefting anid deeply reflefiing natives, was to think- ing minds no mean fource of entertainment. Communication fopn grew eafier; for the Indians had a fmgular facility in acquiring pther languages; the children 1 well re- jmember, from experimental knowledge, for ~ I delighted to hover about the wigwam, and converfe with thofe of the Indians, and w^ very frequently mingled languages. But to return : whatever comfort or advan- tage a good and benevolent mind poiTefles, it is willing to <^xtend to others. The mother of my friend, and other matrons, who like her experienced the confolations, the hopes, a'hd the joys of chriilianity, wifhed thofe eftimable natives to ihare in their pure enjoyments; *'* . C 127 J Of all others thefe mild and {vta^icaF chriftians were the beft fitted for makioig profelytes. Unlike profefiied miffionariet,. whofe zeal is not always feconded by judgment, they did not begin by alarming the jealoufy with which all manner of peot- ple watch over their hereditary prejudices. Engaged in active life, they had daily op- portunities of demonftrating the truth of. .their religion by its influence upon their conduct. Equally unable and unwilling to enter into deep difquifitions or polemical arguments, their calm and unftudied ex« planatioQS of the efTential doctrines of chriitianity were the natural ^refults which arofe out of their ordinary converfatidn. To :make this ibetter underdood, L mull: endeavour to explain what I have obferved. in the ilnpoUfted fQctetyyithat occupies the .wild and remote dcftrids of different coun- :trie8. Their converfation is not only- moz^ originial, ^bti^, however odd the expreffion may appear, more philofbphical than th^ of perfons equally -deftitute of mental axU inre la more populous diftrids* They did- 04 ..kv! ■v.«.»ri-ii. *rive ■•w- !£;- fcff ■m m ni rive their fabjeds of refIe£lion and conver- ifation more from natural obje£t8, which dead niinds> poffeiling a certaip degree of intelligencey more forward to trace effeQ.$ to their caufes. Nature there, too, is feen arrayed in virgin beauty and iimple majef- .ty)^( Its various afpe^s are more grand and impreliive. Its voice is more diflindly heardy and fmks deeper into the heart. Ihefe people, more dependent on the fim- pies of the fields and the wild fruits of the woods; better acquainted with the forms and iniUnds of the birds and beads, their fellow denizens in the wild ; and more ob* fervant of every conflellation and every .change in the flcy, from living fo much in :the open air, have a wider range of ideas than we are aware of^ With us^ art every where ; combats ^nature, oppofes her plain* •eft didates, and too oftea ccmqaers her. .The poor are fo confined to the fpot where their occupations liei ib engrp&d by their ili'tagglefc for daily breads and fo fup'round* •ed. by the works of : man, that thofe of -their Creator rsre almoft excluded from •-fh^^ \- <> - their # • _ ( ;:29 ) their view, at lead form a very fmall part of the fubjeds that engrofs their thoughts* What knowledge they have is often merely ^the: huiks and orts that fall from the table of their fuperiofs, which they fwallow with- out chewing. ?(it- it finr; ^n:| ' .» r Many of thofe who are oiie degree above the lowed clafs, fee nature in poetry^ novels, and other books, and never think of looking for her any where elfev like a perfoa amuftd by feeing the refledlion of the (tarry heavens or fhifting clouds in a calm lake, never lifting his eyes to thofe objeds of which he fees the imperfedl though refembling pidures. Thofe who live in the undifguifed bo- fom of tranquil nature, and whofe chief employment it is, by difmcumbering her of wade luxuriance, to difcover and im« prove her latent beauties, need no borrow- ed enthuliafm to reliOi her fublime and graceful features. The venerable (impli« city of the facred fcriptures has fomething' extremely attractive for a mind in this date. The foul, which is the mod familiar ■I -^v ' t 1 m -1 rc: « -V.| Mill.,; m- ... ;!tf ill i^^ (fi^^i, 'iiu (( 1:30 >) in^ith its Creator in his works, will be iHl. %^y8 the mod ready to recognize him in '^his word. Converfations, which had for ^their .ubjed the natuve and virtues of plants, the extent and boundaries of woods and lakes, and the various operations of inftind in smlmals, under thofe circum- -Aances where they are folely diredted by -it, and the didinft cudoms and manners of various unt-utored nations, tended to expand the mind, and teach it to afpire 'to more perfeA intelligence* The untaught -reaibners of the woods could not but ob- ferve that the Europeans knew much that was concealed from them, and derived many benefits and much power from that knowledge. Where they faw adiv^ virtue 'keep pace with fuperior knowledge, it was ^natural to conclude that perfons thus be- neficially enlightened, had clearer and ampler views of that futurity, which to them only dimly gleamed through form- 'lefs darknefs. They would fuppofe^ too, that' thbfe illuminated beings had fome means of approaching nearer to that feurce of ♦•.^'. r ^- 6f light arid perfe^ion from whkh 'Vy^ifilotxi is derived, than they themfelves had at- tsuned. Thdr mmds being thus prepared by degrees, thefe pious matrons (probably aflifted by thoiie lay-brothers of whom .It have fpoken) began to diffufe the know- 'ledge of the diilinguifhing dodtrines. o£ chriftisnity among the elderly and well^m- f Mentioned Indian women. Thefe did not by any means receive the truth, without ^^examination : the acutenefs' of intellect ; which difcovered itfelf in their objedions^ <{of which I have heard many ftriking ih- vftances.) was aftonifhing; yet the humble; Mlad fuccefsfiil inftruments of enlightening 'thofe £ncere and candid people, did by coo means tiikt to themfelves lany merit ItL ^making profelytes. When they, found ^tfaeir auditors difpofed to Hften diligently, 'to the > truth, they fent them ta the clergy- man of the place, who inftru^ed, coh* '&'med> and baptized them. 1 am forty that I have not a clear and diftind recoU le^on .of the exadt manner, or the nnih* b«rs/^c* of thefe iirft 6 of whdib G ^ lihall m t It '. 1 * 1 . V 1 ■..* m i « ■; y ,,'■•'' p' ''■;|-i"' '-,|-| 1 -lu ' . ^ ■ ■■«•■ 1: .::: 'M'^ ''J! »,ff. M] .i;f;« m ':*■■ \ \ iiil .... ' • I ^t • I ■ . • I (hall fay more hereafter; but I know that thit was the ufual procefs. They were, however, both zealous and perfevering, and proved the means of bringing many others under the law of love, to which it is reafonable to fuppofe the fafety of this unprotected frontier was greatly owing at that crifis, that of the firft attacks of the !^rench. The Indian women, who from motives of attachment to particular fami- lies, or for the purpofe of carrying on the fmall traffic already mentioned, were wont to pafs their fummers near the fettlers, were of detached and wandering families, who preferred this mode of living to the labour of tilling the ground, which entire* ly . devolved upon the women among the Five nations* By tilling the ground J would not be underflood to mean any fettled mode of agriculture, requiring : cat- tle^ inclofures, or implements of. hufban- dry. Grain made but a very fubordinate part of their fubOdence, which was chiefly ^derived from fifhing and hunting; The little they^ had was maize j this with kid* ,... xu ■' ■- . . '>ney ( '33 ) «ey beans and tobacco, the only plants : they cultivated, was fowed in fome very plea-* .fant fields along the Mohawk river, by the women, who had no implements of tillage ) but the hoe, and a kind of wooden fpade. . Thefe fields lay round their cajlles^ and while the women were thus employed, the men were catching and drying fifh by the rivers or on the lakes. The younger girls were much bufied during fummer apd au- tumn, in gathering wild fruics, berries, and grapes, ' which they had a peculiar mode of drying to preferve them for the winter. The great cranberry they gather- ed in abundance, which, without being dryed, would laft the whole winter, and was much ufed by ' the fettlers. Thefe dryed fruits were no luxury; a fafiidious taile would entirely rejedfc them. Yet, befides furnifhing another article of food, they had their uie, as was evident. With* out fome antifeptic, they who lived the whole winter on animal food, without a fmgle vegetable, or anything of the nature of bread, unlefs now and then a little 1 Vl ^mufl; have been liable to that ; great fcour^ge of northern nations in their primitive ftate, the fcurvy, had not this fimple defert been a prefervative againft it. Rheumatifms, and foHietinies agues a€e6bdtlieqa, biit no ^fymptom of >ady cutaneous dileafewas ever ;feen on an Indian. . iAi^l >.< . The (Iragglers from fhe lionfines of the orchards 4id not fail to join theirrttibcs .in winter; and were >zealous> and dfiioi oibcGersfiil 4n Spreading rtheir neiw ophiions. Jndiaas. filppefcd that 'cvesy t^tintny rhad rpi.8 jO(wnrfiiiode of honouring tlie.g^eatr^il'its flo . whofDi all ^iJiieyerequally acceptable. This fields oa<»Qie handj the bad effe^ dF maidiig Tth^m ftti^fied vrilh their own iraguie icmd ^)in^efin«d notions^; and on »the other, the ,§19011 0ne::Of making tbei|i irefy tdlosntdf f ho(e of ^het«* If you ^ not iiifalt thilr J^lief) (for mode of jvonfliip tiiey haise rfcaroe ianysi) l^ey will hear you talk ef .yours with the jgreateft patience and attea- ii99» T^hdr good broedingyiia tb{8'r€4>e<^> •■^•* was i' ( I3S ) ;Wa8 really fuperlative. No Indian €v*rMrter- ruptedany^ the moft idle talker : but when they concluded, he ^would deliberately, me- thodically, and not ungracefully anfwer or comment upon all they had faid, in a man- ner whiqh ihewed that not a word had efcapedhim. ■,. ; ^^^ ^ - Lady Mary Montague ludioroufly fays, that the court of Vienna was the paradile of old women; and that there is no other place in the )^orld where a woman pafl fifty excites the lead intereft. Had her travels extended to the ulterior of North .America, fhe would have feen another in- iflance- of this inversion of the common mode of thinking. Here a woman never was of confequence, till ihe had a fon old enough to fight the battles of bis country ; from that date ihe held a fnperior rank in Society ; was allowed to live at eafe, and even called to confultations on national sflfairs* In favage and warlike countries, the reign df 4>eauty is very (hort, and its Influence compartitively limited. The giris rin iihildhood haid^ very plea^mg aj^ar- ^r . 2 , ancc ,< '.^'1 ■" t i »36 ), • ' ance; but excepting their fine hairy eyes and teeth, every external grace ivas foon banifhed by perpetual drudgery, carrying burdens too heavy to be borpe, and other flavifh empioy. . ments confidered beneath the dignity of the men. Thefe wall^ed before, ered ^nd grace- ful, decked with ornaments, which fet off to i advantage the fymmetry of their well form- ed perfons, while the poor women fol- lowed, meanly attired, bent under the weight of the children and utenfils, which they carried every where with - them ; and disfigured and degraded by ceafelefs toils* They were very early married : for a Mohawk had no other . fervant but his wife ; and whenever he commenced hun- ter, it was requifite that he fhould have fome one td carry his load, cook his kettle, r make his mo^^nefaiis, and above all, pro- duce the young warriors who were to fuc- ceed him in the honours of the chafe, and of the toma-hawk. Wherever man is a mere hunter, woman is a mere flave. it is domeflic intercourfe that foftens man> and elevates woman i and of that there can be^ttle, 's-t- where ' ( »37 y ■':. where the employments and amufements are not in common : the ancient Caled-jni- ans honoured the fair ;' but then, it is to be obferved, they were fair huntrefles, and moved, in the light of their beauty, to the hill of roes; and the culinary toils were entirely left to the rougher fex. - When the young warrior above alluded to made his appearance, it foftened the cares of his mother; who well knew that when he grew up, every deficiency in tendernefs to his wife would be made up in fuperabun- dant duty and alFedtion to her. If it were pqifible to carry filial veneration to exceft, It was done here; for all other charities were abforbed in it* I wonder this fydem of deprefling the fex in their early yea^*:, to exalt them when all their juvenile a^ tractions were flown, and when mind alone can didinguiih them, has not occuried to our modern reformers. The Mohawks took good care not to admit their women to fliare their prerogatives, till they ap^ prove themfelves good wives and mothers. This digreiCon, long as it is, has a very ■m m ■l\ ', ,1 I ■ ( W.i m 'Ml ' '■i '!' 'i 'i'i'l .,. I . ( «38 ) ■ , intimate connexion with the chara£ler of my friend ; who early aidopted the views of her family, in regard to thdfe friendly In- dians, which greatly enlarged her mind, and ever after influenced her conduct* She was, even in childhood, well acquaint- ed with their language, opinions, and cuf- toms ; and, like every other perfon pof- ftiTed of a liberality or benevolence of mind, whom chance had brought acquainted with them, was exceedingly partial tothofe high- fouled and generous natives* The Mo- hawk language was early familiar to her ; fht fpoke iDutch andxEngliih with equal eafe and purity^ was no (Iraog^r to the French tongue; and could (I think) read German. 1 4iave heard her fpeak it* From the converfations which her adHve curiofity led her to hold with native Africans, bro^ght into her father's family, ihe was more intimately acquainted with the cuf- toms, Rianners, and government of their native country, than iLe could have been, by reading all that was ever written on the fybjeft- Books are> no doubt, the ^ra- ':H ■ T • ■" nariei ♦' ■ . ( '39 ; nafies of knowledge: but a diligent, en- quiring mindy in the a^ive morning of life^ will find it (Irewed like manna over the face of the earth; and need not, in all cafes, reft fatisfied with intelligence accu- mulated by others, and tindlured with their paQipns and prejudices. Whoever reads Homer or Shakfpeare may daily difcover that they defcribe both nature and art froin their own obfervation. Confequently ^ou fee the images, reflected from the mirror of their great minds, differing from the defcriptions of others, as the reflexion of an obje6k in all its colours and proportions from any polifhed fi^rvice, does from a (ha- dow on a wall, or from a pidiire drawfi from recolledlion. The enlarged mind of my friend, and )her iimple yet eafy and dignified manners, made her readily adapt herfelf to thofe with whom (he converfed, and every where command refped and kindnefs ; and, on a nearer acquaintance, affeflion followed ; but ihe had too much fedatenefs and independence to adopt tho£b carefling and infmuating manners, by which the V ■> ■■ '■* ' It' I 'rt [ .1 t| i ■ . ;■ |£ mi ?f •'■d .1 ''r* -«! m M \%. 'ri m ; . .. '( 140 ) _ . the vain and the artful fo foon fmd their way into fhallow minds. Her character did not captivate at once, but gradually un- folded itfelf; and you had always fome- thing new to difcover. Her ftile was grave and mafculitie, without the lead embelliih- ment ; and at the fame time fo pure, that every thing flie Md might be printed with- out corredlion, and fo plain, that the nloft ignorant and mod inferior perfofls were never at a lofs to comprehend ft. It pof- fefled, t00| a wonderful flexibility \ it feemed to -rife and fall with the fubjedt. I have not met with a ftile which, to noble and uni- form fimplidty, united fuch variety of ex- predion. Whoever drinks knowledge pure at its fources, folely from a delight in filling the capacities of a large mind^ without the defire of dazzling or out-fhin- ing others; whoever fpeaiks for the fole purpofe of conveying to other minds thofe ideas, from which he himfelf has received pleafure and advantage, may podefs this chade and natural dtle : but it is not to be ac:quired by art or dudy. CHAP. V ^.-.t^Qfn •>: i4« ) i • 1 ;>.^f--j • CHAP. XIV. ,, „ ,.^,, Marriage O' Mifs Schuyler. — Defcription of the Flats. iCU-i'.j iiyriss S. had the happinefs to capti-' vate her coufin Philip, elded fon of her uncle, who was ten years older than herfelf, and was in all re/feds to beac-.* counted a fuitable, and in the worldly fenfe, an advantageous match for her. His father was highly fatisfied to have the two objedls on whom he had beftowed to much care and culture united, but did: not live to fee this happy connexion take - place. They were married in the year 1719'^, when ihe was in the eighteenth year of her age. • When the old colonel died, he left confiderable pofleflions to be divided < among his children, and from the quantity of plate, paintings, &c. wl^ich they (hared, there is reafon to believe he mud have brought fome of his weahh from Holland, * Mifs Schuyler was bom In the year 1701* ' as 1 I*;-' .••I ' "'i ; i' '.i m I ' -. : ',!■■ 1 I iiM*iiii • -r ^f iCf' ( I4» ) , as in thcfq days people had little means of enriching themfelves in new fettlements. He had alfo confiderable pofleflions- in a place near the town, now called Fifli Kill, about twenty miles below Albany. His family refidence, however, was at the Flats, a fertile and beautiful plain on the banks of the river. He pofTeiTed about two miles on a (Iretch of that rich ^nd level champain. This poifeiTion was bound- ed on the eaft by the river Hudfon, whofe high banks overhung the dream and its pebbly (Irand, and were both adorned and defended by elms (larger than ever I havq feen in any other place), decked with na- tural feftoons of wild grapes, which abound along the banks of this noble dream. Thefc lofty elnis were left when the coun- try* was cleared, to fortify the banks againd the ihades of thick ice which make war upon them in fpring, when the mehing fuows burd this glaify pavement, and raife the waters many feet above their ufual Iqvel. This precaution not only an fivers that purpofe, but gratifies the mind by m ' m' prefenting • \ ■■'■ i 143 ) :■ prefendhg to the eye a remnant of the wild magnificence of nature amidft the,^' fmiling fcenes produced by varied and^ fuccefsful cultivation* As you came along ' by the north end of the town, where the Pctroon had his feat, you afterwards pad by the inclofures of the citizens, where as formerly defcribed, they planted their corn^ and arrived at the Flats, Colonel Schuyler's poffeffion. On the right you (aw the river in all its beauty, there above a mile broad. On the oppofite fide the view was bounded by (leiep hills, covered with lofty pines, from which a waterifkll defcended, which not oilly gave animation to the fylva» fe^r^V but was the befli baro- mttet imaginable, foretelltng by its varied aiid iilteHigible founds every approaching chafige^ not 6h\j of th^ weather, but of the wind. Oppofite to tl^ grounds lay ait ifkii^V above a nfiil^ inf fen^gth*^ and abbtlt a quartiir in breadth, whidv alfo belonged to the Colonel: eStquifitely beautiful it was^ ^nd though the haunt t mod delight* ed in, it id not in my pO^r^to^ defcribe if. Imagine !. • f* t. 1^ '.I! " (144 )• ' • Imagine a little Egypt^ yearly overflowed^ an4'of the mod redundant fertility. This charming fpot was at firft covered with wood, like the red of the country, ex- cept a long field in the middle, where the Indians had probably cultivated maize; round this was a broad (helving border, where the grey and the weeping willows, the bending ofier, and numberlefs aquatic plants not known in this country, were allowed to flourifh in the utmofl: luxu- riance, while within, fome tall fycamores and wild fruit trees towerjsd above the red. Thus/ was formed^ a broad belt, which in winter proved aft impenetrable barrier againd the broken ice, and in fummer was the haunt of numberlefs birds and frnt^l animals, who dwelt \n perfe£l fafety, it being impbdible to penetrate it. Num- berlefs were the productions of this luxu- riant fpotf never was a richer field for a botanid ; for though the ice was kept off, the turbid waters of the fpring flood over- flowed it annually, and not only depofited a rich fediment, but left the feeds of va- -Uidf nous • ' ( «45 ) rious plants fwept'from the (hdres it /had paflfed by. The centre of the iiland, which vas much higher than the fides, produced with a' flight degree of cuhure the mod; abundant crdps of 'wheat, hay, and flax* At the end .of this ifland, which was exa^- ly oppofite to the family manfion, a bng fand-bank extended ; on this was a very valuable fifliing place, of which a confider- able profit might be made^ In Aiffimer, when the water was low, this narrow ftripe (for fuch it was) came in fight, and fur- nifhed an amufing fpeflacle ; for there the bald or white-headed eagle (a large pic* turefque bird, very frequent in this coun* try)j the ofpray, 'the heron, and the cur- lew, ufed to (land in great numbers in a long row, like a military arrangement, for a whole fummer day, fifhing for perch and a kind of frefh- water herring which abounded there. At the fame feafon a variety of wild ducks, who bred on the fhores of the ifland, (among which was a fmall white diver of an elegant form), led forth their young to try their firft ex- VOL. !• H. ' curfion. 1 1 J 1 !' ■i ' i' ■ '!- 1 < . 1 ■1 •''1 I . • 1 I ' ■ 1 . u fr if , '■^M i 1 i 1 1 ■■ 1 •'it H i ml] ^ . 1 'i^ f . w m i w il' C <46 ) curfion. What a foene have I beheld on a calm fiunincr evening I There indeed were ^* ft'inged banks^ tichly fringed, and vnoD^ derfully variegated ; whei^e every imagin- able (hade of colour mingled, and where life> teemed proKfv: on every fide. The viver, a pevfe^ mirror, refleding the ptne^ covered hills oppoftte ; and the pliant (badea that bent without a wind, round this en- chanting ifland, while hundreds of the white divers, (aw-bill ducks with fcarlet heads, teal^ and other aquatic birds, fported at ence on the calm waters* At the difcharge of a gun ^om the fhore, thefe feathered beauties all difappeared at once, a$ if by magic, and in an inflant rofe to view in different places. How much they fetmed to enjoy that life which was fo new to them ; for they were the young broods firft led forth to (port upon the waters. While the fixed attitude and lofty port of the large birds of prey, who were ranged upon the fandy ihelf, formed an inverted pidure in the feme clear minor, and were a pleafing contrail \ '■■-,'.■( t47 ) - ■ contctfl: to the playful multknde arouncU Thefe they acnrer attemiiicd to dffturb, well aware of the facttky aS cfcape which their dd lecreats afibrded them. Such of mjr readers as have hod patience to follow me to ^s £Kveurite ifle^ will be, ere now, as much bewHdesed as I have often been my* felf on hs hixuriant ihore8» To return to die fouthward, on the confines of jsphat might then be called an iAtermmable wild, rofe two gently flopmg eminences, about hatf a mile from the (hore. From each of thefe a large brook defcended, bendii^ through the plain, and having iheir courfe marked by the (hades of primaeval trees and fiirubs left there to flielter the cattle when the ground was cleared. On thefe enu- nences, in the near neighbourhood and full view of the manfton at the Flats, were- two large and well built dwellings, inhabited by Colonel Schuyler's two younger fons^ Peter and Jeremiah. To the eldeft was allotted the place inhabited by his father, which, from its lower fitaation and level furface, ..HZ was ' % » y h' m ir mm: m III ( 148 ) DPas called the Flats. There was a cuftom prevalent among the new fettlers fomething like that of gavelkind ; they made a pretty equal dividon of lands among their younger ions. Theeldeft, by pre-eminence of birth, had a larger fhare, and generally fucceeded to the domain inhabited by his father, with ihe.flaves, cattle, and effedls upon it. This, in the prefent inftance, was the lot of the eldeft fon of that family whofe pof- feflions I have been defer ibing. His por- tion of land on the (hore of the river was fcarcely equal in value to thofe of his bro* thers, to whofe pofleflions the brooks I have snentioned formed a natural boundary, di- viding them from each other, and from his. To him was allotted the coflly furniture of the family, of which paintings, plate, and china condituted the valuable, part ^ every thing elfe being merely plain and ufeful. They had alfo a krge houfe in Albany, which they occupied occafionally. I have negledled to defer ibe in its tight place the termination or back ground of the the landfcape I have fuch delight in recol- leding. There the folemn and intermi- nable fore It was varied here and there by rifing grounds, near ftreams where birch and hiccory, maple and poplar, cheered the eye with a lighter green, through the pre- vailing (hade of dulky pines. On the bor- der of the wood, where the trees had been thinned for firing, was a broad fhrubbery all along, which marked the edges of 'the wood above the pofreflions of the brothers as far as it extended* This was formed of Shumack, a fhrub whh leaves, continually changing colour ' through all the varieties, from blend- ing green and yellow to orange tawney, and adorned v^ith large lilac-fhaped clufters of bright fcarlet grains, covered with pungent duft of a (harp flavour, at once faline and acid. This the Indians ufe as fait to their food, and for the dyeing of different colours. The red glow, >hich was the general refult of this natural border, had a fine effeft, thrown H 3 out m 1 ' . '11 ,U,ii i ( 150 ) OQt. from the duiky fliades which tpwered behind. To the northward, a Tandy tra£^, covered with low pines, formed a bound.try betwixt the Flat$ and Stonehook, which lay further up the liver* ./*■ .: ./> -'■ « IV ;< :li. ■ * ti>' ^.) .?>*#■;-- «•' CHAP. ( »p ) h' ■ ■• '^ '.''is CHAP. XVm - Charader of Philip Schuyler.— His Management of , the Indians* • Philip Schuyler, who, on the death of his father, fucceeded to the inherit tance I have been defcribing, was a perfim of a mild benevolent character, and dxixx* cellent underftanding, which had received more culture than was ufual in that coun- try. But whether he had returned to £u« rope, for the purpofe of acquiring know^^ ledge in the public fefninariei thcre^ or had been inftrudted by any of the French pro* teftantSi who were ibmetiimes retained in the principal families for fach purpo(bs, I dc^ not exa6lly know; but am led rathet* to^ fuppofe the latter, from the connexion' which always fubfifted between that clafs of people and the Schuyler family* When the intimacy between this gentle- man and the. fubjed of thefe memoirs took place ihe was a mere child ; for the coloneI> H 4 as k 'l;. vr tip ^■ym b N 11 m <:ih- * as he was foon after called> was ten years older than fhe. This was fingular there, where moft: men married under twenty. But his early years were occupied by momentous concerns ; for, by this time, the public fafety * began to be endangered by the infidious wiles of the French Canadians, to whom ' our frontier fettlers began to be formidable rivals in the fur trade, which the former W'ilhed to engrofs. In procefs of time, the, Indians, criminally indulged with ftrong li- quors by the mod avaricious and unprin- cipled of the traders, began to have an in* fatiable defire for them, and the traders*, avidity for gain increafi^d in the fame pro-' portion. ~ . ^^;;,,^ Occafional fraud on the one hand gavQ^ rife to occafional violence on the other* t Mutual confidence decayed, and hoAility betrayed itfelf, when intoxication laid open every thought. Some of our traders were, as the colonifls alleged, treacheroufly killed in violation of treaties folemnly concluded between them^and the ofiFending tribes^ ^ The mediation and protection of the^ . Mohawk Mohawk tribes were, as ufual, appealed tov But thefe fhrewd politicians faw evidently the value of their protedion to an unwar- like people, who made no eflFort to defend themfelves ; and who, diftant from the fource of authority, and contributing . no- thing to the fupport of' government, were in a great meafure neglected. They began alfo to obferve, that their new friends were extending their poffeffions on every fide, and confcious of their wealth and increaf- ing numbers, did riot fo afliduoufly culti* vace the good will of their faithful allies as formerly. Thefe nations, favage as we may imagine them, were as well (killed in the arts of negociation as the mo(l polite Euro- peans. They waged perpetual war 'with each other about their hunting grounds ; each tribe laying claim to fonie vad wild territory deftined for that purpofe, and di- vided from other diflrifts by boundaries which we (hould confider as merely ideal, but which they perfedtly underftood. Yet thefe were not fo diftindly defined as to preclude all, difpute ; and a cafual encroach- H 5 nient '-l«|l' i!' ■'^•'. U:HV: I '" '^! ;' m t4, '. I ■1 ! . ( »54 )■ ■ . ^^' ' V - ment on this imaginary deer parfc was a fttfficient ground of hoftility ; and this, not for the value (^ the few deer or bears which might be killed, but that they thought their national honour violated by fuch an aggreC fion. That fyftem of revenge, which fub* lifted with equal force among them j^U, ad* xnitted of no iincere conciliation till the ag- grieved party had obtained at leaft ao equal number of fcalps and prifoners for thofe that they had loft. This bloody reckoning was not eafily adjofted. After a ihort and hollow truce, the remaining balance on either fide afforded a pretext for new faofti- Mties, and time to folicit new alliances ; for which laft purpofe much art and much per* ftiafive power of eloquence were employed. But the grand rayftery of Indian politics wait the flattery, the ftratagem, and addrefs employed in detaching other tribes from the alliance of their enemies. There could not be a ftronger proof of the reftlefs and tur- bulent nature of ambition than thefe artful negociations, the coniequence of perpetual hoftiHty, where one would think there wa&^ fo ( 155 J It;,. . t ■ • 1 (o little ground for quarrel; and tSat amoogft a people who, individually^ were by no means quarrelfome or tovetou8> and feemed la their private tran&dions with each other, imprefied with a deep fenfe of moral re£iitude ; who reafoned foumUy, re^ fledted deeply, and a^ed in moft cafes con« fequenttally. Property there was none, to afford a pretext for war, excepdng a litde poffefled by the Mohawks, which they knew ^ fo well how to defend, that their bounda<* ries were never violated ; •( For their awe av^d their fear was upon all the nzx tions round about." ^ ■ . ■ Territory could not be the genuine fubje£i; of contentkm in thefe thinly peopled forefts^ where the ocean and the pole were the only limits of their otherwife boundlefs domain. The confequence attached to the authority of chiefs, who, as fuch, polfefied no mora prouetty than others, and had not power to command a Angle valfal for their own per* fonal benel^, wa« iiot fuch as to be the ob* H 6 jpGt ' i- '■■■ ivi; -! '. i^ f- U'M iTi f*^ M 1 m f !! It Sf fi i: 51 • ,1 ■! C "56 ) j«ft of thofe wars. Their chief privilege inras that of being firfl in every dangerous enterprize. They were loved and honour- ed, but never, that I have heard of, tra- duced, envied^ or removed from their pain- ful pr^-eminence. ' The only way in which thefe wars can be accounted for is, firfl, from the general de- pravity of our nature, and from a fmgularly deep feeling of injury, and a high fenfe of national honour. They were not the hady outbreakings of favage fury, but were com- menced in the moll folemn and deliberate manner ; and not without a prelude of re- monflrances from the aggrieved party, and attempts to foothe and conciliate from the other. This digrefHon muft not be conti- dered as altogether from the purpofe. To return to the Indians, whofe hidory has its life in Jlluflrating that of mankind : they now became fully fenfible of the impor* tan(;e they derived from the increafed wealth and undefended (late of the fettlement. They difcovcred too, that they held the ba- lance I I i: rilege erous lour- tra- pain- To ( 157 J ' )ance between the inurior fettlemexvts of France and England, which, though dill diflant from each other, were daily approxi« mating. . The Mohawks, though always brave and always faithful, felt a very allowable repug- nance to expofe the lives of their warriors in defence of thofe wha made no effort to defend themfelves ; who were neither pro- te^ed by the arms of their foveretgn^ nor by their own courage. They came dowi^ to hold a, folemn congrefs, at which the heads of the Schuyler and Cuyler families aifided ; and where it was agreed that hof- tilities fhould be delayed for the prefent, the hoflile nations pacified by conceffions and prefents, and means adopted to pMt the fettlement into a (late of ^defence againft future aggreffions. .a^a. •^a: \r^^i .-T'On all inch occadons, when previoiifl^ fatisfied with regard to the juftice of th^ grounds of quarrel, the Mohawks promif- ed their hearty co-operation. This they were the readier to do, as their young brother Philip (for fo they flyled Colonel VOL. 1. 'h 7 Schuyler) M s'^'r-"- •'«•/- ■*%;u.«., - *^-. ^m IL ^f tm ( '58 ) Schuykr) offered not only to head fuch troops as might be raifed for this purpofe, but to engage his two brothers, who were well acquainted with the whole frontier territory, to ferve on the fame terms. This was a Angular inflance of public fpiric in a young patriot, who was an entire ftranger to the profeiUon of arms; and whofe fedate equanimity of character was advetfe' to every fpecies of ralhnefs or en- thufiafm. Meantime the proyifions of the above-mentioned treaty could not be car* tied into effe^, till they were ratified by theaiTembly at New York, and approved by the governor. Of/ this there was little doubt'; the difficulty was to raife, and pay the troops. In the interim, while fteps #m taking to legalize this project, in 1719, the marriage betwixt Col. Schuyler ^nd fait coiifin took place under the hap- ^ieft afufpices. ^ >■ •' '' *-» it V > CHAP. ■....„'■.. .^3- , , , ■ V ,•»• *# r ( '59 ) . CHAP. XVI. Account of the Three Brothert. ''"^ /COLONEL Schuyler and his twp brothers all poflefltd a fuperior degree of intel- Ted, and uncommon external advantage?. Peter, the only one remaining when 1 knew the family, was (till a comely and dignified looking old gentleman ; and I was told his brothers wtre at lead equal to him in this refpedl. His youngeft brother Jeremiah, who was much beloved for a difpofidon, frank, cheerful, and generous to excefs,, had previoufly married a lady from New York; wiih whom he obtained fome for* tune : a thing then fingular in that country* {|This lady, whom, in her declining years, I knew very well, was the daught«r of a wealthy and didinguiihed family of French pr<^e(lants. She was lively, fenfible, and well informed. Peter, the fecoiid, v/as married tQ a n^^ yoL. I. ^H a live >■ n m m m %• W '.t' I' if' IS' : I J I III;,, ( i6o ) tive of Albany. She died early : but left behind two children ; and the reputation of much worthy and great attention to her conjugal and maternal duties*. All thefe relations lived with each other, and with the new married lady, in habits of the mod cordial intimacy and perfect confidence. ^hey feeiped, indeed, actuated by one Tpirit; having in all things fimilar views and fimilar principle;. Looking up to the colonel as the head of the fomily, whofe worth and affluence reflected confequence upon them all, they never dreamt of envy- ing either his fuperior manners, or his wife's attainments^ which. they looked upon as a benefit and ornament to the whole. Soon after their marriage ihey vifited New York, which- they continued to do once a year in the earlier period of their marriage^ on account: of their connection in that city, and the pleafmg and intelligent fociety that was always to b^ met with there, i}oth on account of its being the feat of government, and the refidence of the commander in chief on the continent, 6 — ^ who • ( >6« ) who was then necefTarily inveded with cdn« fiderable power and privileges, and had, as well as the governor for the time being, a petty court aflenibled round him. At a very early period a l^etter flyle of manners, greater eafe, franknefs, and poli(h prevailed at New York, than in any of the neigh- bouring provinces. Thefe was, in parti- cular, a Brigadier-General Hunter, of whom I have heard Mrs. Schuyler talk a great deal, as coinciding with her uncle and huf- band fucceflively, in their plans either of defence or improvement. He, I think, was then governor ^ and was as acceptable to the Schuylers for his colloquial talents and friendly difpofition, as edimable for his public fpirit and application to bufinefs, in which refpe6ts he was not equalled by any of his fucceflbrs. In his circle the young couple were much diftinguifhed. There were too among thofe leading families the Livingftors and Renfelaers, friends con'- neded with them both by blood and attach- nient. There was alfo another diiT;inguifli- ed family to whom they were allied, and I hi}' •^ 'V » VOL. U ^H g with. 1^^ if, ■ « Hil'"' * :■. / - < 162 ) with whom they lived in cordial intimacy *, thefe were the De Lancys, of French de- fcent, but, by fubfequent intermarriagesv blended with the Dutch inhabitants. Of thefe there were very many then in New York, as will be hereafter explained ; but as thefe confcienticus exiles were perfons allied in religion to th^ primitive fettlers, and regular and induflribus in their habits, they foon mingled with and became a part of that fociety, which was enlivened by their fprightly manners, and benefited by the ufe- ful arts they brought along with them. In : this mixed fociety, which mufl: have had at- tradlion for young people of fuperior and, in fome degree, cultivated int<:lle<^, this well-matched pair took great pleafure ; and here, no doubt, was improved that liberality of mind and manners which fo much dif- tinguiflied them, from the Ifefs enlightened inhabitants of their native city. They were lb much careffed in New York, and found fo many charms in the intelligent and com- paratively polifhed fociety of which thc^y Aiade a part there, that they had at fad t *' •* fome. ■•:. f^fi fome thoughts of refidiag there. Thefe, however, foon gave way to the perfuafions of the old colonelj with whom .they pririci- pally redded tUl his death , which happened in 1 72 1, two years after. This union was produ^ive of all that felicity which might be expected to refult from entire congenia- lity not of fentiment only, but of original difpofitions, attachments, and modes of living and thinking. He had been aecuf- tomed to confider her as a child with tender endearment. She had been ufed to look up to him from infancy as the model of manly excellence ; and they drew knowledge and virtue from the fame fountoin, in the mind of that refpedtable parent whom they equally loved and revered. ..^5i; J*-- n-^^' A «-% . : MT'^Jk *1 v7,<^: /.n^H^- fOL. I. *H VO CHAP. ,'■1' ?ti ■.; 11 m \0 li " ■^■'^ ».. ■ m - » i .'la-v '>V>f/vq tl?;^ flif:^: .a* 1;; C H A P., XVIT. . The HoUfc and rural CEconoiny of the Flat!.— Birds and Infects, T HAVE already fketched a general out- line of that pleafant home to which the colonel was now about to bring his beloved. • m^,- Before I refume my narrative, I fhal! indulge myfelf in a dill more minute ac- count of the premifes, thb mode of liv- ings &c. which will afibrd a more dillindb idea of the country; all the wealthy and informed people of the fettlement living on a fmaller fcale, pretty much in the fame manner. Be it known, however, that the houfe I had fo much delight in recollefl- ing, had no pretenfion to grandeur, and very little to elegance. It was a large brick houfe of two or rather three (lories (for there were excellent attics), befides a funk ftory, fnlflie 4 with the exa^eft neatnefs. . ' . ^ . . / The ! J ',1 (' -i .•;■■ ' i tis ). ''"' ■■■■■■ The lower floor had two fpadous roomsy with large light clofets j oii the firfl there were three rooms, and in the upper one four. Through the middle 6f the houfe was a very wide paflfage, with oppotitei^ front and back doors, which in fummer admitted a dream of air peculiarly grate« ful to the lanugid fenfes. It was furniChed with chairs and pictures like a fummei^ parlour. Here the family ufually fat In? hot weather, when there were no ceremo-^ ^ nious ftrangers. Valuable furniture (though perhaps not* very well chofen or aflbrted) waS' tiie fa* vourite luxury of thefe people; and in all the houfes I rementber, except thofe of the brothers, who were every way more liberal, The mirrors, the paintii^s, the china, but above all, the ftate bed, were confidered as the family Zeraphim, fecrefly wcrfhipped, and only exhibited on very rare occafions. But in Colonel Schuyler's family the rooms were merely fhut up to keep the flies, which in that country are » - an * * .1 t, J ■'1... 1 ■ ) ., ^i.ii i'M V . [1 iSi! y V . C i66 ) a& abfelttte nuifance, from fpoiling thefuN niture.' Another motive was, that they might be pleafantly cool when opened for company. This houfe had alfo two ap- pendages common to all thofe belonging to pefibns in eafy circumftanoes there. One was a Itlrge portico at the door, with a few (leps leading up to it, and floored tike a room ; it was open at the fides, and had feats all round. Above was either a flight wooden roof, painted like an awning, or a covering of lattice-work, over which a tranfplaoted wild vine fpread its luxuriant leaves and numerous c!uiters« Thefe, though fmall, and rather too acid till fweet- ened by the frofl:, had a beauti&il app^u** ance» What gave an air of liberty and &fety l» thefe ruftic porticos, which al- ways produced in my mind a fenfation of pleafure that I know not how to define, was the number of little birds domedicated these. For their accommodation there was a fmidl fhelf built round, where they nellLed, facred from the touch of flaves 6 and .^ ( >«7 ) : - and children, who were taught tQ regard them as the good genii of the place, not to be djfturbed with impunity. I do not recollect fparrows there^ ex* cept the wood fparrow. Thefe Hale bi)?df were of various kinds peculiar to thexoun^ try; but the one mod frequent and far miiiair< wa^s a pretty little ci!eature> of a bright cinnamon colour, called a wren, though little refembling the one: to which we give that name., for it is more fpright- ly, and flies higher. Of thefe and other fmall birds^ hundr^s gave and received protefkion around this hofpitable dlweUing^ The protedlion they received confided merely in the privilege of being let alcmeik That which they beftowed was of more importance than any inhabitant of Britain can imagiiie. In thefe new countries^ where man has fcarce afl'erted his domi* nion, life fwarms abundant on every fide ; the infc£l population is numerous beyond belief, axid the birds that feed on them are in proporiion to their abundance. In procefs of time, when their ftelterlng • ' _ woods a. i^ t.' m ! 3 ' , ( 168 ) woods are cleared, all thefe recede before their mafter, but not before his empire is fully edabliflied. Thefe minute aerial foes are more harafling than the terrible inha- bitants of the foreft, and more difficult to expel. It is only by protefting, and in fome fort domefticating, thefe little winged allies, who attack them in their own ele- ment, that the conqueror of the Hon and tamer of the elephant can hope to fleep in peace, or eat his meals unpolluted. While breakfaAing or drinking tea in the airy portico, which was often the fcene of thefe meals, birds were conftantly gliding over the table with a butterfly, grafshopper, or cicada in their bills to feed their young, who were chirping above. Thefe familiar inmates bruftied by without ceremony, while the chimney fwallow, the martin, and other hirundine^ in countlefs numbers darted pad in purfuit of this aerial popula- tion, while the fields refounded with the ceafelefs chirping of many gay infers un- known to our more temperate fummers. Thefe were now and then mingled with " jv*-. ... . , tue riCi >v ( »69 ) • the animated and not unpleafin^ cry of the tree-frog, a creature of that fpecies, but of a light (lender form> almoft tranfpa- rent» and of a lively green; it is dry to the touch, and has not the dank moifture of its aquatig relations ; in fhort is a pretty lively creature, with a flngular and cheer* ful note. This loud and not unpleafing Jnfedl-chorus, with the fwarms of, gay butterflies in condant motion, enliven fc^nes to which thte prevalence of woods, rifmg *^ (hade above (hade" on every (ide, would otherwife give a iiill and folemn afpedl:* Several objeAs, which with us are no fmall additions to the foftened changes and end* iefs charms of rural fcenery, it mud: be confefled -are wanting there. No lark welcomes the fun that rifes to gild' the dark forefts and gleaming lakes of Ame- rica ; no mellow thrufli or deeprton^A blackbird warbles through thefe awful fo- litudes, or foftens the balmy hour of twi- light with it The liquid language of the jrovw." ^ e if i !■• VOL. I, Twlli-ht irH' h:\ mm \4h ' c' • ' ( 170 ) . ' ■■ Twilight itfelf, the mild and (hadowy hour, fo foothing to every feeling, every penfive mind; that foft tranfition. from day to night, fo dear to peace, fo due to meditation, is here fcarce known, at lead only known to have its fhprtnefs regretted* No daify haflens to meet the fpring, or embelliflies the meads in fummer : here no purple heath exhales its wholefome odour, or decks the arid wade with the chaftened glow of its waving bells. No bonny broom, fuch as enlivens the narrow vales of Scotland with its gaudy bloom, nor flowering furze with its golden blof- foms, defying the cold blafts of early ' fpring, animate their fandy wilds. There the white-bloiTomed floe does not forerun the orchard*s bloom, nor the pale primrofe ,. ihelter its modefl: head beneath the tangled flirubs. Nature, bountiful yet not profufe, . has afligned her various gifts to various climes, in fuch a manner, that none can claim a decided pre-eminence; and every country has peculiar charms, which en- dear it )to the natives beyond any other. i J have ( 171 ) - 1 iiave been teihptcd by lively rccoUedlibns into a digreflioa rather unwarrantable. To return:— '^ *« At the back of the large houfe v/3l$ a fmaller and lower one, fo joined to k as to make the form of a crofs. There one or two lower and fmaller rooms below, and the fame number above, afforded a refuge to the family during the rigours of winter, when the fpacious fummei rdoms' would have beea intolerably c6ld^ and the fmoke of prodigious wood ^res would liave fullied the elegantly clean furniture. Here, too, was a funk ftory, where the kitchen was immediately below the eating parlour, and encreafed the general warmth of the houfe. In fummer the negroes refidedJn flight outer kitchens, where food was drefl: for the family. Thofe who wrought in the fields often had their fimple dinner cooked without, and ate it under the (hade of a great tree. One room I (hould have faid, in the greater houfe only, was opened for the reception of company ^ all the rell were bed b^e. The bed bed-room was hung with family portraits^ fome of which were ad* mirably executed ; and in the eating-room, which, by the bye, was rarely ufed for that purpofe, were fome line fcripture paintings ; that which made the greateft impreflion on my imagination^ and feem- ed to be univerfally admired, was one of Efau coming to demand the anticipated bleilings; the noble manly figure of the lucklefs hunter, and the anguifh exprefled in his comely thou^ flrong featured coun- tenance, I (hall never forget. The houfe fr lin^ the pericr^nhiRt with fmall twigs and horferlfatr^and there lay » her^gain full fecurity. It is very amuf. kig fo fee the little creature carelefsly ga out and in , at, this aperture, though yoo fiiould be (landing immediately befide it*. Not fatisfied with providing thefe fmgular afylums for their feathered Hends, the ne> groes neyer fail to n^ake afniall round hole in the crown of every old hat they can lay^ their hands on, and nail it to the end of the kitchen, for the fame purpofe. Yqu pftea fee in fuch a, one, at once, thirty or forty of thefe odd little domieils^ with theinha« bitants bufily going out and in. i . ' . ^ Befidqs all t^efe falutary provi^ons for the ^omeftic comfort of the birds, there was, Ja clearing the way for their firft eftabliflim^t» ft; tree always left in the middle of th^ back, yards for their fole emolument : this tree being piurpofely pollarded- at Midf):inimer,, when all the branches were full of fap. JVJ?erevcif there bad been a branch, the 4ec^ of the iniide prodi|iced.» h|pl^> ^^4 every hole wasrtbe habiutiqn of a bird. . . , Thefe ti^iUlA (175') Thefe were of various kinds ; feme of which had a pleafing note, but, on the whole, their fongfters arc; far inferior to ours. I rather dwell on thefe minutiae, a» they not only mark the peculiarities of the country, but convey very truly the image of a people not too refined for happinefs, which, in the procefs of elegant luxury, is apt to die of difgufl:. ■ nt.. '4 « CHAP- m 1 15 t ( «7« ) f ' s /^r /^pnf^m.Qn/^p^ XVIII. Dtfcrlption of Colonel Schuylcr*« Barn, the Com- mon, and its various Ufet. A DjoiNiNG to the orchard was the moft fpacious barn I ever beheld ; vhich I fhall defcribe for the benefit of fuch of my readers as have never feen a .building con- ftrufted on a plan focomprehenfive. This barn> which, as will hereafter appear, anfwer<* €d many beneficial purpofes befides thofe ufually allotted for fuch edifices, was of a vafl fize^ at lead an hundred feet long, and flxty wide. The roof rofe to a very' great height in the midft, and floped down till it came within ten feet of the ground, when the walls commenced ; which, like the whole of this vaft fabric, were formed of wood. It was raifed three feet from the ground, by beams reding on done; and on thefe beams was laid, in the middle of the building, ,a very mafCve oak floor. fit Before B^fiH'^' the door'wsM a. large'filti d^phg dowilWard<9 of tlfe faMemftteria^Isi About twelve feietin breadth (^ 4ead^ fidebf tfbii capacious buiidifSg Wdre dkided djf f6i^ cattle; on one Ms rai a ihaii^er^ at ^ aboremetifioiied 4iftattce ffom the ti^aH, tifd whole length of the building> with ai^ck above it ; oti the'othets wereflall^ £[>r the other cattle, running alfo the whole leti^tH of the buildings live cattle a#i hoi^fes. flood with their hihdei* ^eirti t6 theP iH^H^ anid their .heads }>rd^e6Hng lowarda^ the rhreihing flobh Inhere' was a p^bdigiotia large bdx or open chefl: ia one fide ^le upj for holding the cOm after it was thrafliedj and che roof, which was ver^ l^y/and fpacious; wasfiipported by/kn^ crofs beatos : #oin one to the other of thefi^ wa& ftretchedsa great nqmber of long pole^,^ ib as to fsrto a (brt of open loft, on Dirhielt the whble rich crop was laid up» The floor ai t^ofe parts of the barn, which aii«- fwesfed the purpofes of a ftable aiid co^-> houfe) WaB made of thick flab deals, laid loofely over the fupporting beams* And the mode of cleaning thofe places Was b^ I 5 * * turning .1 a ■m <> .1 ■111 %\ ^J^^S^^^H^tlW'it;:--:- "'^^iggff^^allPlilg-Y.i^' ^■■^Uly.- n^fi Itii it m: B 'fe MJi^'^rit^.4 -< *78 ) • tiiifQiilg (h^bpartte, And.permittingthe dung ai^d Ktter tO; fall into the nec^ptacl^s left cgp^anibelpw fo? th* .pqrp.Qfe ^ from thence, i^ fpiing,';g 4qpt8„ and |wq qth^is that OpcH^d ^i.;]CJertaiB^ly i^cver did cheeffiil i^ufal tpila \reaj(;' arUlore exhilarating afpedl; than while the dpH^eftias were lodging the ])upciiiriant: hs^?yeft j^ this capaciousi repofitQ^y. When fpeaking of the dooirS} I (houl^ haye men^ tipped, that they were made in^ the gable ciids ; thofe in the back eq^Uy laM^ge» ta« cpr|:efpond with thofe in the front; v^hile coi each fide of the great dpprs were fmal- Ui ones, for the cattle ^nd h^rfes to ^ter» 'V^henever the corn or hay was, reaped or, cut, and ready for carrying hom^^ \dliiish in that dry and warm climate, happened in av Yery few days^ a waggon loaded with hay,r lor in(tan<;e, wa3 driven into the midft of . ;^ By the front ti meant the gable end, which tta^ tains the entrance. <^-.t # ' . this L^ *».•' « \ 'ii^ir.' .,/m ■*'■«!Ja^3f^»^H*t..^ ,^jS(ii«^^ ,! 'fl 'l~>k^- ( »79 ) this great barr ; Iqaded alfo with num- berlefs large grafshoppers, butterfliesy and cicadas, who came along with the hay. From the top of the waggon, this was im* mediately forked up into the loft of the barn, in the midd of which was an open fpace left for the purpofe; and theii the unloaded waggon drove, in ruilic ftate, out of the great door at the other end* In the mean time every member of the family witnefTed, or aflifted in this fummary procefs ; by which the build- ing and thatching of Hacks was at once faved; and the whole c^op and cattle were thus compendipufly lodged under one roofl V^^t ^> The cheerfulnefs of this animated fcene was much heightened by the quick appear- ance, and vaniihing of the fwallows; who twittered among their high built dwellings in the roof. Here, as in every other in- dance, the fafety of thefe domeftic friends was attended to; and an abode pro* vid^d for them. la the front of this tw> *",■ ■ ■■'■■■: -.-,■■■ " Uii-ili ^ 16 . barn ^^1 ; 4 ^ ill ». 3t.'!-« »<:i'.. ., \_ '-iiiftjt,;. .<%wyS:*" h' l-m m ( ) barn were many holes, like ^hofe of a pid-^ geon-hoiffe, for the accommodation of the martin ; that bemg the fpecies to which this kind of home feems moft congenial ; and, in the infide of the barn, I have counted above fourfcore at once. In the winter, ivhen the earth was buried deep in new fallen fnow, 'and no path fit for walking in was left, this barn was like a great gallery, well fuited for that purpofe i and furniihed with pictures, not unpleafing to a fimple and contented mind. As you walked through ^his long area, looking up, you beheld the abundance of the year treafured above you ^ on one fide the comely heads of your fnorting deeds prefented themfelves, arranged in feemly order; on the other, your kine difplayed their meeker vifages, while the perfpedive, on either, was ter^^ minated by heifers and fillies no leis in'> terefting* Iii the fnidft, your fervanti . exercifed the flail ; and even, while they > threlhed out the (Iraw, diilributed it tb the expectants on both fides ; \trhile the 41 ' •' liberal ^*s*^. •S^^tlm. ( tU ) v. V •* liberal handful'^ was otczCicmzWy thrdwii to thd msiny coloured pbultry oh the hiR. winter itfeif never tnade this abdde of life afid plenty cold or cheerlefs. Here* yOU mfght walk and view all your' fubjeiflsiy^ and their means of fupport, at one glance j except, indeed, the fheep ; for whom a large and commodious building wa$ erect- ed very ne4r the barn; the roof of which, was furnifhed with a loft hrge enough to contain hay fufficient for their winter^s food. ^^ ''^'^^ ^'^ •hlli^'t'^dil r:vyon>i tr/i /nov?' - Gbtohel Schuyler's barii wis 'ISy fii*' the largdl I have eVer feen : but all of them, in that country, were conflru^ed on the fiithe plan; furnrfhed 1;^ith the famg accommodation, and prefent^'d' tiie fame' cheermg zfyt€t. The orchard, as I for- merly ihentioned, was on the fouth fide of the batH 5 M the nbrth, a little farther batk towards the wood, whkh formed t dark Ikreen behind this fmiKng fc|;ne> there wal aft inclofure, in which the rc-^ mains of the deceafed members 6f the fa* V niiiy ■ V V ■ 1 i .V X , -i.'ii '^v, ^^1 Hi 1 ¥m i I,,,. ;,„ si'M '•^\ mm^mx^imar^^ ,.i-^ when the troops pro- ceeded '•■A-.>;, t:i- ( 183 ) ceeded northward, a little colony of help- lefs women and children, belonging to them, was left in a great meafure de- pendant on the companion of thefe worthy patriarchs ; for fiich the brothers might be juftly called. , . -m y-t?,Hm -Oik ^iii ,Ui i ' ■'•>"''-.' ■-■t ■•.•;.( Qf^' '.:;■€. ,i5.iil, 10 (fa-3far-.|i£i«| ,-• » r\ ffl tf! Kif^l '-,, ■lU.t t(4^ i 'J i v *} '^fb.'y .>';H. 'l6^t^i!^rp4T Cll\ ■,nm CHAP^ - .ifffi ! 'W »» t. ^M--^.-.-- ...^^-'ff;:!/*-*"**" 1 •■'i M •i llll : 'M ' '^'M ■ •'. '"' "li i M, 1 'f'-SS'^ ' --fn! '' .: ! .'■i\ III u Ip>' t^fi id^ua ^T^^'C HAP. XIXkjVi ^'doAfiitiixj Military Preparations. — Difintercfted Coti^uA, the fureft Road to Popularity,— Fidelity of the Mo- hawks. 'jThe firft year of the colonel's marriage was chiefly fpent in New York, and in vifits to tl^e friends of his bride, and other relations. The following years they fpent at home ; furrounded daily by his brothers, and their families ; and other relatives, with whom they maintained the mod affedlionate intercourfe. . The colonel, however, (as I have called him by antici- pation) had, at this time, his mind en- gaged by public diities of the mod urgent nature. He was a member of the colonial affembly ; and, by a kind of hereditary right, was obliged to fupport that charac»<, ter of patriotifm, courage, and public wif- dom, which had fo eminently diflinguifhed his father. The father of Mrs. Schuyler, il too. ■■™««f«t-,'-;^ •».«»:y.w«^ X : ( i85 ) - too, had been long mayor of Albany ; aC that time axi office of great importance ; ' as including, within itfelf, the entire civil power exercifed over the whole fettlement as well as the town, and having attached to it a fort of patriarchal authcrhy ; for the people, little acquainted with coercion, and by no means inclined to fubmit to it, had, however, a profound reverence, as is generally the cafe in the Infancy of foci- cty, for the families of then: firft leaders ; whom they had looked up to merely as knowing them to poifefs fupefior worth, talent, and enterprife. In^ a fociety, as yet imcorrapted, the value of this rich in* beritattce can only be dlminifhed by degra- dation of charader, in the reprefentative of a family thus feif-ennobled ; efpecially if he be difinterefted. This, though ap-^ parently a negative quality, being the one of all others that, combined with the high- er powers of mmd, moft engages affedioxi in private and efteem in public life. Thlff is a fbield that bldnts the flialts which env/ never fails tb level at tLe profperous, evdt , '\ • t- * ■ ■ ■■ ^i « I.' II i"- ri « > '.I .;■ I '' 'I V I i il 1 If n V;!i;K ill old eftablifhtnents ; ^here, from the very nature of things, a thoufand ob- ftrudlions rife in the upward path of merit ; and a thoufand temptations appear to mif- lead it from its direct road ; and wher.e the rays of opinion are refraded by fa many prejudices of contending intereds and fadlions. Still, if any charm can be found to fix that fleeting phantom popularity, this is it : it would be very honourable to human nature, if this could be attributed to the pure love of virtue $ but, alas ! mul- titudes are not made up of the wife, or the virtuous. Yet the very felfifhneis of oar> nature inclines us to love and trail :hof& who are not likely to defire any h aefit from us, in return for thofe they c afer. Other vices may he, if not Social, r fome diegree gregarious : but evcii the avr . icious hate avarice in all but themfelves^. . .^^ -.^ Thus; inheriting unftained integrity ,^ unbounded popularity, a cool determined Ipirit, and ample poflefHons, no man had fiairer pretcnlions to unlimited fway, in the fphete in which he moved, than the ^ ^ colonel i ill H , . ( i87 ) - colonel i but of this, no man could be lefs defirous. He was too wife,- and too happy to folicit authority^ and yet too public- fpirited, and too generous to decline it, when any good was to be done or any evil refifted ; from which no private bene- fit refulted to himfelf.,; ,f»j d|ir# r? , > * Young as hi& wife was^ and much as ihe valued the blefling of their unions and the pleafure of his Ibciety, (he ihew-^ ed a fpirit worthy of a Roman matron ; in willingly rifking all her happinefs, even in that early period of her tnar*^ riage, by confenting to |;iisL.airuming a military command ; and leading forth the provincial troops againil the common ene** my: who- had now become more boldly dangerous than ever. Not content with fecretly flimulating the Indian tribes, wha were thier allies, and enemies to the Mohawks, to a£ts of violence> the French Canadians, in violation of exifling treaties, began to make incurfions on the ilighteil: pretexts^ It was no common warfare in which the colonel was about to engage: but wm to " I "5 VY' ( i88 ) but the duties of entering on vigorous meafures, for the defence of the country, became not only obvious but urgent. No other perfon but he had influence enough to produce any cohefion among the people of that diftrift, or any deter- mination, with their own arms and at their own coft, to attack the common cne- my. As fornaerly obferved, this had hftherto been tnifted to the five confede* rate Mohawk nations j who, thbugh ftilfc faithful to their old friends, had too much fag^ity and obfisrvation, and indeed rcrcr ftroiiga native fenfe of reditude> t6 peifuade their ybun|; i)partiors to go t)n vehtttting} their Kves in defence of thofe, who, fVbm (heh" increafed power and numbers, were db!e to defend themfeives with the aid of thefr allies. Add to this, that their pof- feilioils were on all fides daHy eictending ; and that they, the Albanians, were caiw ryijig their tiaJ.^ for furs, kc. into th^ deeped recefTes of the foreils, and toward8^ thofe great lakes which the Canadians were accuftomed til tionfid^t a^ the boundaries of ' /■ . ( iH > \ of their dominions; and. where ^thiey had Indians whom they were at great patn$ to attach to themfelveS) and to infpire againft us and our allies. . -; j^-u-^v^ ^t^ » Colonel Schuyler's father had held the fame rank in a provincial corps formerly; but in his time, there was a profound peace in the diftrid he inhabited ; though from his refolute temper and knowledge of pub« lie bufmefs, and of the different Indian lano guages> he was fele6ted to head a regiment raifed in the Jerfeys and the adjacent bounds, for the defence of the .back fron- tiers of Penfylvania, New ^nglaad, &c« Colonel Philip Schuyler was the firO: wba raifed a corps in the interior o£ the pro^ vince of New York ; which was not ontf done by his perfonal influence, but occa« fioned him a confiderable e:q)ence, though the regiment was paid by the prodnce, the province alfo furnilhing arms and miiit)|py: ftores ; their fervice being, like chat of all provincials, limited to the fummer half year* i^The governor and chief commander came up to Albany to view and approve the ;Mi.jMi • , i . prepara- * :5f il i'l ■,'W'' m ii' ;'■■■ hi |t: , !,!■: If m £ preparalions making for this interior war» and to meet the congrefs of Indian fa- chems ; who, on that occaiion» renewed their folemn league with their brother the great king. Colonel Schuyler, being then l^e perfon they moft looked up to and confided in, was their proxy on this occa* fion in ratifying an engagement to which they ever adhered with Angular fidelity. And mutual prefents brightened the chain of amity^ to ufe their own figurative lan- guage. . '-^^^ '^"^ \-^^f'-- The common and the barn, at the Flats, were fully occupied, and the hofpitable manfion, as was ufual on all public occa- fions, overflowed. There the general, his aid-de-camps, the fachems and the priucipal officers of the colonel's regiment, i^ere received *, and thcfe who could not find room, there of the next clafs, were accommodated by Peter and Jeremiah. On the common was an Indian en- campment \ and the barn and orchard were full of the provincials. All th^fe lafl brought as ufual their own food : but were fupplied IfappHed fa I produ£tior chard. ^ exercifed this untri the calm trying ea good brei dated hei and by tl concsrnsi gularity out vifib miflrefs eafe to h her dilli] ' -U'- 5fcl ^' J • 'S' ^'r^-^ I {applied by this liberal family with every produ^lion of the garden, dairy, and or- chard. While the colonel's judgment was exercifed in the neceflary regulations for , this untried warfare, Mrs: Schuyler, by the calm fortitude (he difplayed in thi!s trying exigence, by the good fenfe and good breeding with which fhe accommo- ,' dated her numerous and various guefts, and by thofe judicious attentions to family concsrixs, which, producing order and re* gularity through every department with* out vifible buftle and anxiety, enable the miftrefs of a family to add grace and eafe to hofpitality, (hewed herfelf worthy of her diflinguifted lot.^^^^^^ ^,j,.^^ ^i^^^^ ,>r^ -^m '-a f^li '•I''' 1,1-, >* ■• J Ji ;!;it fr. ■■■[': 1 - ill;: I »• ■ ',t ! I'' '■■■■'!■ 'vwm CHAP. • ■' hi i ttlV." !;• w ■' ( '9* ) ^^i:^ii Account of a refra^oiy Warrior, and of the Spirit vhich ftill pervaded tbe Nevir England Province!. o VrTHlLE thcfe preparations were going ^ on, the general* was making every efibrt of the neighbourhood to urge thofe who had promifed affiftance, to come for- ward with their allotted quotas. *' t'*^'--* "On the other fide of the river, not very fer from the Flats, lived a perfon whom 1 (hall not name ; though his conduct was fo peculiar and chara^eriftic of the times, that his anti-heroifm is on that fole account worth mentioning. This perfon lived in great fecurity and abundance, in a place like an earthly Paradife, and fcarcely knew vrhat it was to have an ungratiHed wiih, having had confiderable weahh left to him J and from the fimple and domef^lc Shirley. habits # :M' Z'- ( m ) habits of his life, had formed no defires beyond it, unlefs indeed it were the de- fire of being thought a brave man, which feemed his greatefl ambition \ he was ilrong, robuft, and an excellent markf- man; talked loud, looked fierce, and al- ways expreffed the utmod fcorn and de- teflation of cowardice. The colonel ap- plied to him, that his name, and the names of fuch adherents as he could bring, might be fet down in the lift of thofe who v/erq to bring their quota, againft a given time, for the general defence: with the requeft he complied. When the reildezvous came on, this talking warrior had changed his mind, and abfolutely refufed to appear; the general fent for him, and warmly expoftulated on his breach of promife; the bad example, and the difarrangement of plan which it occafioned : the culprit fpoke in a high tone, faying, very truly, *' that the general was poflefTed of no <* legal means of coercion ;* that every one *' went or (laid as they chofe; and that " his change of opinion on that fubjeft VOL. I. K " rendered ■ '% 1 I'u ■!■■* ■■'■ in, * ' ii •■■ 4 i \ 1 ■ i; 11 I, !. ';V'P' ' i ■'I^'' ' ^^ rendered him liable to no penalty wliat* "** ever.*' Tired of this fophiftry, &tt en- gaged general had recourfe to club laiv; and leizing a cudgel, belaboured this re- creant knight mod manfully ; while feveral Indian fachems, and many of his own ' countrymen and friends, coolly ftood by ; for the colonel's noted common was the fcene of this aflault. Our poor neighbour (as he long after became) fuffered this dreadful baftinado, unaided and unpitied ; and this example, and the confequent con« tempt under which he laboured, (for he 'was ever after ililed Captain, and did not refufe the title,) was faid to have an excel- lent efied in preventing fuch retrogade motions in fubfequent campaigns*. The - ^ . .provin- it 1 1 11 • Abov« thirty years after, when the writer of thefe pages lived with her family at the Flata, the iiero of this little tale ufcd very frequently to vUit her father, a veteran officer ; and being a great talker, ■war and politics were his inceffant topics. There vms no campaign or expedition propofed biifwhat he cenfured and decided on; propoilng methods of his -flwn, by which they might have been nauch better tdfldu^ted I ^ en- ub la^v; thjs r€. e feveral lis own )od by ; was the jighbouT red this npitied ; ent con* (for he did not n excel- Jtrogade ^ The -provin- writer of Flats, the ly to vifit :at talker> I. There t\7bftt he >d» of hii ch better induced : »95 ) provincial troops, aided by the faithful Mohawks, performed their duty with great fpirit and perfeverance. They were, in* deed, very fuperior to the ignorant, obdi* nate, and mean-fouled beings, whoj in lifter Jmes, brought the very name of pro- vincial troops into difcredit ; and were ac- tuated by no fmgle motive but that of avoiding the Jegal penalty then affixed to difobedience, and enjoying the pay and provifions allotted to them by the pro- vince, or the mother country, I cannot exadly fay which. Afterwards, when the refufe of mankind were feleded, like Fal- (laff's foldiers, and raifed much in the fame way, the New- York troops ftill <:onduded : In Hiort Parolles with his drum was a mere type of our neighbour. Her father long won* dered how kindly he took to him, and how si perfon of fo much wealth and eloquence (hould dwell fo ob* fcurely, and fhun all the duties of public life ; till at length we difcovcred that he ftill ioved to* talk arro- gantly of war and ptiblic affairs, and pitched upon him for a liftener, as the only perfon he could fup* pofe ignorant of his difgrace. Such is human na<* ture J and fo incurable is human vanity ! I K 2 mam- .(*»i iii H 1 . ,*'■! '' tall inaintained their' refpe£lability. This fupe- riority might, without reproaching others, be in fome meafure accounted for from incidental caufes. The four New England provinces were much eaflier fettled, af- fumed fooner the forms of a civil commu- nity, and lived within narrower bounds; they were more laborious; their fanati- ' cifni, which they brought from England in its utmod fervour, long continued its €fFei vefcence, where there were no plea- fures, or indeed lucrative purfuits, to de- -tach their minds from it : and long after that genuine fpirit of piety, which, how- ever narrowed and disfigured, was flill ' fmcere, had in a great meafure evaporated ; enough of the pride and rigour of bigotry remained to make them deted and defpife the Indian tribes as ignorant heathen fa- vages. The tribes, indeed, who inhabited their diflrid, had been fo weakened by an unfuccefsful warfare with the Mohawks, and were fo every way inferior to them, that after the fird edablifhment of the co- lony, and a few feeble attacks fuccefsfully 13 repulfed^ t'- % -> ( 197 ) repulfed, they were no longer enemies to be dreaded, or friends to be courted. This had an unhappy efFe£l with regard to thofe provinces -, and to the different relations in which they flood with refpecl: to the Indians, fome part of the (Irikiug difference in the moral and military cha- rader of thefe various eflablifhments muft be attributed. fThe people of New England, left the mother country, as banilhed from it by what they confidered oppreilion ; came over foaming with religious and political fury, and narrowly miifed- having the mofl: artful and able of demagogues, Cromwell himfelf, for their leader and guide. They might be compared to lava, difcharged by the fury of internal combuflion, from the bofom K}i the commonwealth, while in- flamed by contending elements. This lava, every one acquainted with the convulfions of nature mull know, takes a long time to cool; and when at length it is cooled, turns to a fubflance hard and barren, that long refifls the kindly influence of the ele- i^ K 3 , ments, t ■8 :i n :| 1$ ( 198 )> ' ments, before its furface refumes the ap* pearance of beauty and fertility. Such were the almoft literal efifcd^s of political convulfions, aggravated by a fiery and in* tolerant zeal for their own mode of wor- (hip, on thefe felf-righteous colonifts. • Thefe preliminary remarks oii the tliver- fity of character in thofe neighbouring provinces lead the way, in the mean time,, to a difcrimination, the effeds of which have become interefting to the whole world* .^,uju»i*>.^ , *„ .^' f ": :';/cm.:?''! * i : . »•?!' tV CHAP. le ap. Such [Iitical id in* wor. « if (. 199 ) ,.i ;»!j»iw -it*' -. .kin -{i^thi . / 'Vt^^^i^v CHAP. XXI. Dldlngulrtiing Charafteriftics of the New York Cof lonlils, to what owing.— Hirgonots and PalatineSf their Character. T>uT to return to the fuperlor moral and military charader of the New York populace. It wa& in the firft place owing to a well regulated piety> lei^ concerned about forms than effentials. Next, to an ipflux of other thaa the anginal fettlers* whicl^ tended to render the general fyflenk of opinion more liberal and tolerant. The French protedants^ driven ironi their native land t^y intolerant bigotry, had lived ac home excluded alike from public employ-r ments and faihionabie fociety. Deprived of fp many refoiurces that were open to their fellow-fubjeds, and forced to feek comfort in piety and concord for many privations^ felf-comma^d and frugality had been in a manner focced upon them^ confequently J : - K 4 they r».i II i \A 1 J! I- ; ; m '■-I F>. ''I'll ^!i p.. f'W 5i; :• j s. Sj! Pi I". ; 't •:>■' air M I » , ( 200 ) ; ' they were not To vain or fo volatile as to difgufl their new aifociates ; while their cheerful tempers, accommodating manners, and patience under adverfity, were very prepoflefling. V . - = Thefe additional inhabitants, being fuch as had fuffered real and extreme hardfhips for confcience-fake from abfolute tyranny and the moft cruel intolerance, rejoiced in the free exercife of a pure and rational religion, and in the protection of mild and equitable laws, as the firfl; of human bleflings ^ which privation had fo far taught them to value, that they thought no exertion too great to preferve them. I (hould have formerly mentioned, that, befides the French refu- gees already fpoken of, during the earliefl: period of the edablifhment of the Britifh fovereignty in this part of the continent, a great number of the proieftants, whom the fury of war and perfecution on religious ac- counts, had driven from the Palatinate, dur- ing the fuccefsful and defolating period of the wars carried on againft that unhappy country by Lewis the Fourteenth. The fubdued as fo their inners, re very uch as ips for y and m the itable which value, eat to rmerly refu- ^arlieft 3ritifh int, a n the isac- dur- 'd of ippy l^he lued (201 ) ' , fubdued and contented fpirit, the fimple and primitive manners, and frugal, induflriouv habits of thefe genuine fufFeiers for con- fcience-fake, made them an acquifitlon to any fociety which received them, and a mofl: fuitable infufion among the inhabitants of this province; who, devoted to the purfuits of agricuhure and the Indian trade, which encouraged a wild romantic fpirit of adven- ture, little relifhed thofe mechanical employ* ments, or that petty yet neceflary traffic inf (hops, &c. to which part of every regulated fociety muft needs devote their attention- Thefe civic toils were left to thofe patient and induflrious exiles ; while the friendly intercourfe with the original natives had ftrongly tindured lire firlt colonills with many of their habits and modes of think- ing. Like them, they delight:ed in hunt- ing ; that image of war, which fo gene* rally, where it is the prevalent amufcinent, fcrms the body to aiMetic force and patient endurance, and the mind to daring intie- pidity. It was not alone the ti^morous- deer or feeble hare that were the objeds of ' . - ^ S their # ./';:■ Mi f 'r, n ^ 11. i <:i^i '■^m ■ mm ) « - ( 202 ) their purfuit ; nor could they m furh an impenetrable country attempt to rival the fox in fpeed or fubtlety. When they kept their " few (heep in the wildernefs,** the ihe bear, jealous for her young, and the wolf, furious for prey, were to be encoun- tered for their protedlion. From thefe al- lies, too, many who lived much among them iiad learnt that fearlefs adherence to truth, which exalts the mind to the noblefl: kind of refolution* The dangers they were expofed to of meeting wandering indivi> duals, or parties of hodile Indians, while traverfing the woods in their fporting or commercial adventures, and the neceflity that fometimes occurred of defending their families by their own perfonal prowefsy from the ftolen irruptions of detached par- ties of thofe ufually called the French In- dians, had alfo given their minds a warlike bent y and as a boy was not uncommonly trufted at nine or ten years of age with £^ tight fowling-piece, which he fpon learned to ufe with great dexterity, few countries could produce fuch dexterous markfmen, i ^:i = .' -; -- A ' ^ or •;■... ■, ^ J03 ) ■■■"■:;:/••■■ r.«« fo well qualified for conqueting^ .11 and when headed by a leadw TrJe lotd and uufted, fo much a. , t aifcolonei Schuyler, a well arme** tl of N?JTorfc provUals had nothing ':ltdbttanagueoranamburc^.- 1 c < hi.h thev were much expoled on T bit of thi Takes, and amidft the • tlmpTlU. through .hich they had ^ ,-t^^^:liapurfuUofane„emy;^o;^^^^^^^ « they wanted but day i.gtvt ^^^.^^^„ :!► # ■ :* i'.iti^l ::■■'. -M m *f' ;: ;W ■:!!:' IS''., <■', m " him.** This firft effay in arms of thofe , provincials, under the aufpices of their brave and generous leader, fucceeded be- yond their hopes. This is all I ^an recol« left of it. Of its deflination I only know that it was direfted againfl: fome of thofe edablifhments which the French began to tnake within the Britifli boundaries. The expedition only terminated with the feafon. The provincials brought home Canadian prifoners, who were kept on their parole in the houfes of the three brothers, and be- came afterwards their friends ; and the Five Nations brought home ^ Indian prifo- ners, mod of whom they adopted, and fcaips enough to (Irike awe into the adverfe % nations, who were for a year or two after- wards pfetty quiet. ! k :' V5 4^ U ':■' ■H' SJ^t. -ri Y.,y\'') •»" „7 ■' tr t.- j;;. ■.-i- CHAP. m itMl. ( 205 ) ^ ,\ ', 1. -J-":. -;,»"!* I CHAP; XXII. -'^mmm^i A Child ftill-bom — \doption of Children commoii in the Province. — Madame's Fifit to New Tori. ■ >r - . Ti^RS. Schuyler had contributed all in her power to forward this expedition^ but was probably hurt, either by the fatigue of receiving fo many friends, or the anxiety produced by parting with them under fuch circumftances ; for foon ^fter the colonePs departure (he was delivered of a dead child, which event was followed by an alarming lUnefs ; but (he wifhed the colonel to be kept ignorant of it, that he might give his undivided attention to the duties in which he was engaged. Providence, which doubt- lefs had fmgled- out this benevolent pair to be the parents of many who had no natural claim upon their aiFedion, did not indulge them with any fucceeding profpeds of a family of their own. This privation, not a frequent one in this colony, did not chill w the •s Is ■"■' ■. l-'l.. I';" .1 ■I i t ,. -jI '»'.-> ^t''*'^^- '^'-tsaifc*^- - 'I': ll ffie minds or narrow the hearts of people, who, from this cir^umflance, found them* felves more at liberty to extend their bene- ficence, and enlarge that circle which em« braced the objeds of their love and care» This indeed was not fingular during that reign of natural feeling which preceded th& ][>Tevalence of artificial modes in this primi- tive dillrid. The love of offspring is cer- tainly one of the (Irongefl defires that the tincorrupted mind forms to itfelf in a ftate of comparative innocence. AffefUng indif- ference on this fubjedl is the fure(l proof of a difpodtion either callous, or led by tx^m treme vanity to pretend infenfibility to the beft feelings of nature* ^ '^"' - To a tie fo exquifitcly tender, the pledge- and bond of connubial union; to that bud of promifed fdicity, which always cheers with the fragrance of hope the noon-day of toil or care, and often fupports with the rich cordial of filial love and watchful duty^ the evening of our decline, what mind can be indifferent. No wonder the joys of paternity fiiould be highly reliflied^ where n^ where they were fo richly flavoured ; where parents knew not what it was to find a rebel or a rival in a child ; firft, becaufe they fet the example of (implicity, of moderation, and of feeking their higheft joys in domeftic Kfe; next, becaufe they quietly expefted and calmly welcomed the evening of life ^ and did not, by an abfurd defire of being young too long, infpire their offspring with a premature ambition to occupy their place. What facrifices have I not feen made to . filial piety ! How many refpedable (though not young) maidens, wh% without pretend- ing a diflike to marriage, have rejedled men whom their hearts approved, becaufe they would notforfake, during her lifetime, a wi- dowed mother^ whofe fole comfort they were! For fuch children who, that hopes to grow old, would not wifh ? A confideration which the more polifhed manners of Eu- rope teach us to banifh as far as poflible from our minds. We have learned to check this natural fentiment, by finding other objeds for thofe faculties of our minds, which nature intendied to blefs and ^ ^ benefit A - (■ I I I Ah in ,»(' , ., M l:i:"' f. t;4 .,..-. .. ( 208 ) . ■• benefit creatures born to love us, and to enlarge our afFedions by exciting them. If this dream, which fo naturally inclines to flow downwards, happened to be checked in its cdurfe for want of the ufual channel, thefe adepts in the fcience of happinefs im- mediately formed a new one, and liked their canal as well as a river, becaufe it was of their own making. To fpeak without a metaphor, whoever wanted a child adopted ^one ; love produced love, and the grafted fcyon very often proved an ornament and defence to the fupporting ftock. But then the fcyon was generally artlefs and grateful. This is a part of the manners of my old friends which I always remember with de- light ; more particularly as it was the inva- riable cuflom to fele£l the child of a friend who had a numerous family. The very animals are not devoid of th'at mixture of ^fFedlion and fagacity, which fuggefts a mode of fupplying this great defideratum- Next to that prince of cats, the famous cat qf Whittington, I Wiould place the cat re- corded by Dr» White m his curious natural I ' ' . ^ * > hiflory. ■ -f,v% ii ■■ ( 2<59 ) / hiftory, who, when deprived of her young, fought a parcel of defefted leverets to fuckle and to fondle. What an example ! Tfie following year produced a fufpen- fion of hodilities between the Provinces tnd the Canadians. The colonel went to New York to attend his duty, being again chofen a member of the Colonial AfTembly. Mrsa Schuyler accompanied him | and being im- proved both in mind and manners fince her marriage, which, by giving her a more im* portant part to a£l, had called forth her powers, (he became the centre of a circle by no means inelegant or uninformed ; for fociety was there more various and more polifhed than in any othet part of the con- tinent> both from the mixture of fettlers, formerly defcribed, and from its being fitu- ated in a province moft frequently the feat of war, and confequently forming the head- quarters of the army, which, in point of the birth and education of the candidates for promotion, was on a very different footing from what it has been fince. It was then a much narrower range, and the feledion more attended to. Unlefs a man, by fingular powers. 1. p. : ,1 !■ m ■i t 1 , ^> m tr i: M ■m f r'-i'i m 11 ¥ .Hi: if! I ill! Rii, :'^ «. ( axa ) powers or talent, fought hh way from the inferior rank; here was hardly an in- ftance of a perfon getting even a fubahern'a cornmiffion whofe birth was not at lead genteel> and who had not intereft and alli- ances. There were not fo many lucrative places under government. The wide fielu of adventure fmce opened in the Ead was fcarcely known ; a fubaltern's pay was more adequate to the maintenance of a gentleman; and the nobleH: and moft re* fpedled families had no other way of pro^ viding for fuch younger brothers, as were not bred to any learned profeifioa, but b^ throwing them into the army. As to mo- rals, this did not perhaps much mend the matter. Thefe officers might in fome in* fiances be thoughtlefs, an^d even profligate, but they were feldom ignorant or low bred ; and that rare chara^er called a finilhed gentleman, was not unfrequentty to be found among the higher ranks of them ; who had added experience, reading, and refledion to their original ftQck of ta- lents and attainments. '^ CKAP* -.(:?; J! -k .^^''i^ii-'J k 2'i ) the ■■' v-'i'>'i• ' ^4 .♦• » ' A f » ■% V • \ ( 213 ) ♦ • * which; but I remember her many years after as Mrs. Vander Poolen ; when, as a comely contented looking matron, flie ufed to pay her annual vifit to her beloved be- nefadtrefs, and fend her ample prefents of fuch rural dainties as her abode afforded. I have often heard her warm in her praifes; faying how ufeful, how modeft, and how affe'6lionate (he had been ; and exulting in her comfortable fettlement, and the plain worth, which made her a blefling to her family. From this time to her aunt's death, above fifty years* afterwards, her houfe was never without one, but much oftener two children, whom this exemplary pair educated with parental care and kind- nefs. And whenever one gf their prote- gees married out of the houfe, which was generally at a very early age, (lie carried with her a female flave, born and bapiifed in the houfe, and brought up with a tho- rough knowledge of her duty, and an habitual attachment to her midrefs^ be- fides the ufual prefent of the furniture of a chamberi and a piece of plate, fuch as a tea' • "ft" ,( '.-, ■I ■■'1 'i giril ; '.)■;; bill 'i -i ;«> ' ' < 214 ) tea-pot, tankard, or fotne fuch ufeful mat- ter, which was more or lefs valuable as the Jprotegee was more or lefs beloved : for though aunt Schuyler had great fatisfadion ^^from the chara^ers and conduct of all her adopted, there were, no doubt, degrees of merit among them, of which" ftie was better able to judge than if fhe had been their ac- tual mother. There was now an interval of peace, which gave thefe philanthropifts more l^i- fure to do good in their own way. They held a three-fold hand of kindnefs in their l¥ant!s, by which they led to the defirable purpofe of mutual advantage ; three very difcordant elements, which were daily be- coming more difEcult to mingle and to rule ; and whieh yet were the more depen- ^"dent on each other for mutual comfort, from the very caufes which tended to dif^ unite' them* In the firfl place, the Indians began to iiiTume that unfavourable and uncertain af- ped, which it is the fate of man to wear an tfie fM itqjs of his progrefs from thttt 7 ft^te . M 111 mat- 5 as the d : for sfa^lion ' all her grees of IS oetter their ac- F peace, lore 1^- . They } in their defirable ree very daily be- and to c depen- comfort^ d to dif- began to :crtaih af- to wear Tom thtit (late v. w flate where he is a being at once warlike and focial, having few wants^ and being able, withotit conflant labour or diviHoti of ranks, to fupp^ly them ; where there is Sko di&in£lion, fave that attained by fupe- rior Hrength of mind and body ; and where there are no laws, but'thofe didlated by good fenfe, aided by experience, and enforced by affedtion, this (late of life may be truly called the reign of the affcdions : the love of kindred and of country, ruling paramount, unrivalled by other paffions, all others being made fnbfervient to thefe. Vanity, indeed, was in fome degree flatter- ed,; for people wore ornaments, and were zt no fmall pains to make them. Pride - oiifted : but was differently modified from what we fee it ^ every man was proud of the prowefs and atchievements of his tribe coUed'ively ; of bis perfonal virtues he was not proud, becaufe we excel but by com- parifon j and he rar Jy faw inftances of the oppofite- vices in his own nation, and looked on others with unq>idiified con- tempt. - When j i ; ■' '^' ill '-'Ml If . ■ .'I'if.- t . !''i !'i» m .,iii ^ When any public benefit was to be obtained^ or any public danger to be averted, their mutual efforts were all bent to one end ; and no one knew what it was to withhold his utmofl: aid, nor indeed could in that ilage of fociety have any mo- tive for doing fo. Hence, no mind being contracted by felfifh cares, the community were but as one large family, who enjoyed or fufFered together. We are accuftomed to talk, in parrot phrafe, of indolent fa- vages; and to be fure in warm climates, and where the (late of man is truly favage, that is to fay, unfocial, void of virtue and void of comforts, he is certainly an indo- lent being; but that individual, in a cold climate, who has taded the fweets of focial life, who knows the wants that arife from it, who provides for his children in their belplefs (late, and where tafle and inge- nuity are fo much improved, that his per- fon is not only clothed with warm and feemly apparel, but decorate4 with nume- rous and i\ot inelegant ornaments ; which from the fcarcity and fimplicity of his toolsj he he has no ready or eafy mode of produc* ing : when he has not .only found out all thefe wants» which he has no means of fupplyiog but by his individual ftrength* dexterity, and ingenuity, induftry muft bcs added, ere they can be all regularly gra- tified. Very a6live and induftrious, in fad, the Indians were in their original (late ^ and , when we. take it into contiderationil that befide all thefe occupations, togethejr with their long journies, wars, and con* flant huntings and filhing, their leifure was occupied not only by athletic but (lu« dious games ; at which they played for day$ together with unhearc of eagernefs and per fever ance ; it will appear they had very little of that lounging time/ for which wc ^ are fo sg;)t to give them credit. Or if a chief Qccafionally after fatigue, of which we can form no adequate idea, lay filent in the ihade, thofe friiking Frenchmea whQ have giy^n, us mod deta^ cpiicerning them, were too relllels themfetves to fub- due their (kipping fpirits to the recotleJEtion* that a Mohawk had no (tudy or arm chair VOL* I. JL wherein i!i^ 'M m m •y- \: N a ( 218 ) Tvherein to mufe and cogitate ; and that his fchemes of patrlotifm, his plans of war, and his eloquent fpeeches, ^^efe dl like the meditations of Jacques, formed ** under "the greenwood tree." Neither could any man lounge on his fofa> while half a dozen others were employed in (hearing Jthe fheep, preparing the wool, weiaving and making his coat> or in planting the dak fot his future linen^ and fiaying the ox for his future (hoes i were he to do all this himfelf, he would have little leifure for (ludy or repofe. :And all this and more the Indian did> under other names and Forms* So that idlehefs, with its gloomy followers ennui and fuicide, Were unknown among this truly adlve people : yet that there is a higher Aate of fociety cannot be denied ; nor can it be denied that the intermediate (late is a p^bfiii and en« feebling one^ ■ ' ' . Man, In a ftate pf tiatute, is taiight by bis more civilized brethren a thbu- fand new wants before he learns to fupply one. Hience bartet takes pkee; • '^hich ci that 'f war, 11 like * under could half a learing eaving ing the the ox all this fiire for id more nes and gloomy nknown yet that cannot tl^al the M en- taught ftis to pUte ; %hich - ( 219 ) ; ; V which in the firH: flage of pro^reflion is univerfally fatal to the liberty, the fpi- rit, and the comforts of an uncivilized people* In the eady ;■!':>:; 1 I: (■ 1 i ^■■:\ ' 1;' '■■MM , *. '^^.. ^'f; \ |!rii^ kl'lr nv. ( 22a ) -P'*- "JfO CHAP. XXIV. Frogfrcfs of Civilization in Europe.— Northern Na- ^ lions inft-ruded in the Arts of Life by thofe they had fubdued. ;}(';^^i"n}l|r/| ■ -Ari^ -^st'siI^**^*-* "POPULATION extending to the milder re- ^n" gions of Europe, brought civilization along with it; fo that it is only among the ravages (as we call our anceflors) of the North, that we can trace the inter- mediate ftate I have fpoken of. AmongO: them, one regular gradation feems to have takai place ; they w^ere firft hunters^ and then warriors. As they adva9ced in their knowledge of the arts of life, and acquired a little property, as much of paftbral pur- fuits as their rigorous climate would aUow» without the aid of regular agriculture, mingled with their wandering habits. But, except in a few partial inftances, from hunters they became conquerors : the war- like.habits acquired from that mode of life lO TaifiDg w ^ ( 221 ) raifing their minds above patient indudry, and teaching them- to defpife the fofter arts that embeijiih fociety. In fine, their ufual procefs \9?.s to pafs to civilization through the medium of conqueft* The poet fays J r tf>'^"*-^^* , ,_ '* With noble fcorn the fir ft fam'd Cato viewed^ Rome learning arts from Greece^ which (he Aibdued." • ■ The fully cenfor might have fpared his fcorn, for doubtlefs fciencey and the arts of peace, were by far the^ mod valuable acquifitions refuhing from their conqueft: of that poliihed and ingenious people- But when the favage hunters of the north became too numerous to fubfift on their deer and fi(h, and too warlike tp dread the conflidt with troops more regularly^ armed, they rufhed down, like a catara£t» on their enfeebled and voluptuous neigh- bours; deftroyed the monuments of art,, and feemed for a lime to change the very face of nature. Yet dreadful as were the devaftadons of this flood, let forth by dif ''Vi -.t'l ^ 3 vine :ii* \^I. I , 1 ltfl 'II I- *•> .\ :|^222 ) vine vengeance to punifh and to renovate, it had its^ ufe, in fweeping away the hoard* cd mafs of corruption with which, the dregs of mankind had polluted the ^arth. It was an awful» but a needful procefs; which, in fome form or other, is always renewed when human degeneracy has reached its ultimatum. The dedrudion of thefe feeble bemgs, who, loft to every manly and virtuous fentiment, crawl about the rich property which they have not fenfe to ufer worthily, or (pirit to defend manfully, may be compacied to the efiibrc nature makes to rid herfelf of the noxious brood of wdfps -9iid flugs, icheriOied by fuc- eeflive ttnild wifvters. .A dreadful froft e^^mes^ rnati Aaiiers, and complains; his ivibjt^ animals fuffer ibore, and all his "^orks ate for a time idifpended : but this ialutary iail^dion purifies the air, melio' ratei the Ibil, and deftroys millbns of lurking enemies, who would othaiwife have consumed the proda6b'aas of the torth, and deformed the face of nature. la thefe barbarous irruptions, the monu- ^ ^ ments iovate, dregs :h. It rocefs ; [always \y has Irudion every |I about r ve not drfend e effort ooxious by fuc- il. froft IS ^ hh all his lut this melio' ons of of the fiatnre. monu- ments ( ?a3 ) , iTients of 9xt, ftatu£s, pi£lure^, reippl^s, and palaces, feem to be tnoft lamented. From age to ag$ the virtuofi of every country have re-echoed to each other their keble plaint^ over the lod works of art; as if th^t had been the heavled for row ixy • the g€x>eral wr^k ; and as i^f the powers "* that prqduced them had ceafed to exiH:. It, IB oyer (he defaced image of the divine author, and nojt merely the mutilated r^« fembl^c^ of his creatures, that the wife and virtuous fhoul4 lament ! We are tpld th^t ia Ronii^ there wejre a^ many (latues as men: bad 9U thefe latnenkd ila^ues^ been preferved) would tj^e world be much wifer or happier ? ^ fi^jKcient ^utpUer remain as mQ^^ ^e)$ to future Sat.qaries, and memorials ;of departed wtt md gepius. Wealth, dir^i^ed by tade mi liberality, jnay be much bet- ter employ^ in calling fprth, by due e(]i« cauragement, tha,t genius yrhich dQubtlefs eKJfts among our cotemppraries, than in paying eatarbiiUntly tki^ ymd^r of j^ag^ ment^. ♦ \ ■ • " • \ r- L 4 « Min4« A * m •I i.,K ( a24 ) A ** Mind, mind alone, bear' witnefs earth md Hcat'nl } The living fountains in itfelf contains Of beauteous and fubllmc." ' And \ihat has mind atchleved, that^ in a favourable conjun£lure, it may not again afpire to? The loft arts are ever the theme of clalTical lamentation; but the great and real evil was the lofs of the vlr- tues which protected them; of courage, fortitude, honour, and patriotifm : in fliort of the whole manly chara£ter^ This muft be allowed, after the dreadful tempeft of fabverfion was over, to have been in fome degree reftored in the days of chivalry : and it is equally certain that the victors learnt from the vanquifhed many of the arts that fupport life, and all thofe which cmbellifh it. When their manners were foftened by the aid of a mild and charita- ble religion, this blended people aflfumed that undefined power, derived from fu- perior valour and fuperior wifdom, which has fo far exalted Europe over all th« re- ' gions ^ gions of the earth. Thus, where a bpld and warlike people Aibdue a voluptuous and effeminate one, the refult is, in due time, an improvement of national charac- ter.^ In fimilar climes and circumftances to^ thofe of the primeval nations in the other hemifphere, the cafe has been very dif- ferent. There, too, the hunter, by the fame gradation, became a warrior ^ but firll allured by the friendfhip which fought' his protedionf then repelled by the art that coveted and encroached on his terri > tories; and laftly by the ^ avarice which. taught him new wants, and then took aa undue advai^tage of them; they neither wilhed for our fuperfluities, nor envied our mode of life;, nor did our encroach- inents much didurb them, as they receded into their tracklefs coverts as we approach* ed from the coad.* But though they fcorned pur refinements ;. and. though our gpvernment, and all the enlightened minds ambngil us, dealt candidly and generoufl/ with all fuch as were not fet on. by our enemies to injure us, the blight of Eum iii JL i ropean # » ' , '% ■i It-'; ropean vices, the mere confequence of pti. vate greedinefs and fraud, proved fatal to our very friends. As I formerly obferved, th^ nature of the tlimate did not admit of the; warriors paHing through the medium of a (hepherd's life to the toils of agricul- ture. The climate, though extremely warm in fummer^ was fo fevere in winter, and that winter was fo long, that it re- quired no little labour to fecure the food for the animals which were to be main* tained; and no fmall expence in that country to procure the implements necef- fary for the purpofes of agrtciilture. la other countries, when a poorihan has not wherewithal to begin farming, he ferves another; and the reward bf his toil enables him to fet up for hinifelf. No fuch refource was open to the Indians^ had they even inclined to adopt our mOd^s. No Indian ever ferved another, or received aiHflance from any one except h» Qwn fa- mily. ^Tis inconceivable, too, what a dif- ferent kind of exertion of fttength it re- quires to cuMvate the ground^ and to en- . ^ , . t^ ' dure IQOI dure ^he fatigues of the chace, long jour- nies, &c. To all that induces us to la- bour they were indifierent. When a go- vernor of New York was defcribing to an Indian the advantages that fome one would derive from fuch and fuch pofrelTions; " Why," (aid he, with evident furprize, '* Should s^ny man defire to poflefs more \\ (han be ufes ?** Mpre appeared to his untutored fenfe an incumbrance. ^^, 'I have already obferved how much hap- pier th^y confidered their manner of Uying than ours ; yet iheir intercourfe with us daily diminifiied their independence, their happin^fs, ^nd even t^^ir numbers. In the new world this fatality has never failed to follow the introdudiQn of European fet- tiers.; rwho, inftead of civilizing and im- prc^ving, flowly copfume and wafte ; where they dp nptt^llke the Spaniards, nbfolutely dedroy and exterminate the ns^tives. The very nature of ;CYen pjur ,mpft frii^ndly mode pi dealing with them was pernici- ous to tl^eir n\Qi;al y^^lfare ; which, though !9^^J^F> i})^?y iy.9Jl..WO.d6rftQod, an«i.coul4 V 'I ■i I ■: m I'll 'am ■'1 1^'. I ■ I' as well explain. Untutored man> in be- ginning to depart from that life of exi- gencies, in which the fupeiior acntenefs of his fenfes, his fleetnefs, and dexterity in the cliace, are his chief dependance^ lofes fo much of all this before he can be- come accuftomed to, or qualified for, our inode'of procuring food by patient labour, that nothing can be conceived more en- feebled and forlorn than the (late of the few detached families remaining of vanifli- ed tribes, who, having loft their energy^ and even the wifh to live in their own manner, were flowly and relu6lantly be« ginning to adopt ours. It was like that fufpeniipn of life which takes place in tht chryfalis of infedts, while in their prbgrefs towards a new (late of being. Alas ! the indolence with which we reproach themj was inerely the cofnequence of their commer- cial intiercourfe with us ; and the htsA paf^ fioii for (Irong liquors whtch refulted from it. As the fabled enchanter, by waving his magic wand, cl4ains up at once the faculties of t4s opponents,, and renders ftrength ■m ftrength and courage ufelefs; the iiiofl: wretched smd fordid trader^ poflefTed of this mader-key to the appetites and paflions 6f .ie power of fending, by mimic thunder, an unfeen death to a diftant foe, which filled the fofter inhabitants of the fouthern regions with fo much terror^ was here merely an objed of deftre and e^pulation ; * and fo eagerly did they adopt the ufe of fire-arms^ that they foon became lefs expert; in ufmg their own miflik' weapons.. They could ftiil throw the tomahawk with fuch an unerring aim, that, though it wgnt circling through the air towards its ob|e£l, it never failed to reach, it. Sut the arrows, oh which they had formerly fo much depend- ed, were now confidered merely as the weapons of boys,, and only diredte^ againfb birdSt. iiai:^?itsb '1 . ,,;, •' ** - • Thus V. ! 'Mn mi ■«i m mi ■ - MM Sf I'i* . ( 430 ) 4i j^hus was ote ftrong link forged in tbe tliain of dependence ; next> liquior became a necelTary, and its fatal efFe£ki who can detail ! But to make it (Hll clearer, I have mentioned the paflion for drefs, in which all; the pride and vanity of thb peo« ple^ was^ centered. In former' days this had the ; bed effe£t, in beiiig a. Aimiulus to iaduftry. The provifion requifne for making a fplend id appearance at the twin- ter^eeting« for hunting and the hattonal , congrefs, occupied the leifnre hours of th« whole fummer. The beaver fltins of (He laft yeat^ huffing w^^ to beiaccurat^ly dreikd, aind fewcid together^itto f^tni that mantle which was as much valued, and as .necetfary to their con fequence, as the pe^ lice of fables to that of an Eaft( rn^bafliaw, A deer (kin, or that of a bear, or beaver, had their dated price. The bolded and. mod enrpert huntei;had mod of thefe com«> modities to fpare, and was therefore mod. Iplendidly arrayed. If he had . a rival, k was in him whofe dexterous ingenuity H cr. , faUri- ( «3« ) fabricating the materials of which hia annl drefs was compofed, enabled iiim to vie with the hero of the chace. ^ Thus fuperior el^ance in drefs was not, ki with U8y the diftinflion of the luxurious and e(Feitiinate, but the privilege and f e* ward of fuperior courage and induftry} and became an object worthy of compe* tition. Thus employed, and thus adorn •> ed, the fachem or his friends found little time to indulge the (lupid indolence we have been accudomed to impute to them;» Another arduous ta(k Remains uncalcu- lated : before they became dependent on us for the means of deflru^lion, much time was confumed in forming their weapons; in the con(lru£lion of whi^h no lefs pa- tience and ingenuity were exercifed than in that of their ornaments : and thofe too were highly embellifhed, and made with great labour out of flints^ pebbles, and ihells. But all this fydeni of employment, was.foon overturned by their late acquaint- ance with the infidious arts of Europe ; to the ufe of whofe manufa^ures they were infenfibly Mi 'iY'! ■i.-c;' Jk HI W .r."( t Ad Ml'; , ' "Ik,' infenfibly drawn in, firft by their paflion for iJEre-arms, and finally^ by their fatal appetite for liquor. . To make this^ more clear, I (halt infer t a dialogue, fuch as, if not literally, at lead in fubftancei migh( pafs betwixt an Indian warrior 8^d ^ trader* -■ i fcW '- Jf »..' ■.-f:.v (*■«.■ \V-' * ^Jf•'t^t i-ji- , If:: is' Li,.. uoj ..1 t^:.. I '^Miii ^<..i ^^V^iS I 233 ) .J^^OT:ii:■^■'ijV^^ri ,vh:u.i umT- m^di -i ..J-ij«jl4^*. CHAP. XXV. ■HKi)5ticr Means by which the Independence of the IndianiT was firft diminlfhed. Indian.-^** gROT^iER, I am come to trade with you: burl forewarn, you to be more moderate in your * demand! than formerly.'* / .. trader *'^^* Why, brother, are not my goods of equal value with thofe you had laft year ?" , 1 ^ ! Indian*^^** Perhaps they may 1 but mme are more valuable becaufe more fcarce. The great fpirit who has withheld from you (Irength and ability to provide food and clothing for yourfelves^ has given you cun- ning and art to make guns and provide fcaura * ; and by fpeaking fmooth words to fimple men, when they have fwallowed madnefs, you have by little and little pur- chafed their hunting grounds, and made * '11 I; '^^lli m .m .'*'if.i ■mfi M ■ '$. • . ■• rr-Hil ■iA\\ l: * Scaura is the Indian name for rum. them Mill,': . C 23^ ) them corn lands. Thus the beavers grow more fcarce> and deer fly farther back ; yet after I have referved Ikins for my mantle, and the clothiog of my wifca I will exchange the reft/* . >, Trader. — " Be it fo, brother ; 1 came not to wrong you, or take ^ your furs againit your will. It is true the* beavers are few, and you go further for them. Come, brother, let us deal fair firfl, an3 fmoke friendly afterwards, ' Your l^ft gun cod fifty beaver (kins i you . fliall ^ave this for forty; and you'fhair'givQ n^^rten and racoon (kins in the fame prpportipp for powder and fliot/' i^ - ^ - a -v^ * ' TncTtan.rr^^ Well, brother, that is equaf." Now for two (liver bracelets^ 'wi,th long peri -^ dent ear-rings of the fame, fuch as you fold to Cardarani in the fturgeon * m9nth laft year. IJow n:\uch will ypu demand ?V ^ Trader,-^** The ikins of two deer for uv •J . ,i »*■**«■ il * The Indians appropriate a month to catch fffhV or animals, which is at that time the predominatitt objcA of purfuit ; as the bear month*, the beaver moHth, &c. ■•i ^M,s- hiv^.iu ..nl,.. ". . .. ■ ■ . the the bracelets, and thofe of two fiiwns for the ear-rings,*' Indian.-^^^ That is a great deal ; but wampum grows fcarce, and filver never rufts. Here are rhe (kins." " Ttader,^^" x^o you buy any, more? Here are knives, hatchets, and beads of all colours," ' uj.yf ., Jndian,'^-^^^ I will have a knife and a hatchet ; but mifd not take more : the reft of the (kins will be little enough to clothe the women and children, and buy wampum. Your beads ar« of no value» no warrior who has flain a wolf will wear them v iij 5>a earnedly urging the trader to give him beads, filver, broaches, aad above all ^ fcaura. ^M\"- !■ •i y : A ■ ' I, ;- I .■ ■'46 a' [A' :j. 1 ;i!i': i: W:^ . ( 238 ) ftaiira, to their full amoutit. This, with * much afieded reluctance at parting with 'the private flock> was at lad yielded. I'he warriors now, after giving loofe for a while to frantic mirth, began the war- whOop> made the woods refound with in« ^fariate howlings; and having exhaufted their dear-bought draught, probably de- termined, in contempt of that probity ";which at ail other times they rigidly ob- tttwed, to plunder the inflruments of , their pernicious gratification. He, well aware of the confequenceSj took care to remove himfelf and his goods to fome other place ; and a renewal of the fame.fcene enfued* Where, all this time, were the women, whofe gentle counfels might have prevented thefe exceifes ? Alas ! unredrained by that delicacy which is certainly one of the bed fruits of refinement,' they fhared in them, atid fuhk fooner under them. A Jong and deep fleep generally fucceeded ; from which they awoke in a (late of dejedtioh and chagrin, Aich as no Indian had /ever 4 cxpe. experienced unxler any other cireumilance* They felt as Miltdn defcribes. Adam and Eve to have dotie after their tranfgreffion. Exhaoded and forlorn, and flung with the confcioiirner& of error and dependence, they had neither the means nor the defire of exerci5ng their wonted fummer occu* patlons suMi fpirit. Vacancy produced tan^uOTy and * languor made them again wiflk for the potion which ga>^ temporary theerfulhefs^. They carried their fi(h to the next fort or hatritation to barter for rum. T. J brought on Uays of frenzy, fdcceedi^d by torpor. When again roufed by want to exertion^ they faw the feafon paffing without the ufual provifion ; and by kn effort of per fevering induftry, tried i6 rtidke up for pad negligence ; and then %onA out hf ex^rtion^ funk into iupine iildibflfnte> till the approach of winter called l!httti to hum the bear; and the arrival of thatti (theit^ bufy feafon,) iirged on their 3' • Fr^hi Peter Sdhoyler* brotkr t6 the colonel, I h^^« heard many fucb details. tyr^-i ■ . M ir ■■■'■ f ■•(■■I ( ^40 ) diftant exciirfions in parfuit of deer. Then they xefamed their wonted cbaradler, and l3ecaine what Uhey ufed to be » but con- fcious that acquired tad^t and wants^ which they had lofl the habit of fupplying themfelvesy would throw them agaiin on the traders for clothing, &c. luey were themfelves out-draining every, finew to procure enough of peltry to anfwer their pnrpofe, and to gratify their newly acquired appetites^ Thus the energy, both of their characters and conflitutionsy was gradually under* ^ined ; and their numbers as effedkually dt- iminiihed> as if they ,had been wafled by war. ■ V. rl v^fif/rt^ivny'^ ^fSi'**r/^-r ri The fmall-pox w^s alfo fo fattal to them, that whole tribes on the upper lakes 4)ave been entirely extinguiihed by it^ ' Thofe people behig i^ the habit of ufing all pofiibie means of clofing the pores of the ikin, by painting and anointing them- selves ; with bears' greafe^ to defend them againfl: the extremity of cold, to which theirmanher of life expofed them ;rand not being habitually fubjcS to aity cutaneous ^m'ih , difeafc. w " % ( HI ) • • il* " <« difeafe, the fmail-pox rarely rifea upon ihem; from which it may be underftood dow littfe chance they had of recovering. All this I heard Aunt Schuyler relate, whofe obfervations and reflexions I merely detail. ■♦ 'I' il ... it !• 'm -I •* \ -l-ftu Tii^-] • J ' 1 ■' ' ■■;■»>; ^i> 1^ bifv -. fi .iG i.c'i/ C'W»;t ', .-•: 'h w. M CHAP. m m m m w- t M^ ) • i ' » xm-km c . ■ ■ ^ -4 X ' '.J i .•;i r i . >• ; i - - ; ■ • ' ■ -"^jKwii ..W"~,n CHAP. XXVL , / ' * Peculiar' A ttraftions of the Indian Mode of Lifir.^— Account of a Settler who rtfided fome Time among them. Tif this wild liberty, habits of probity, mutual confidence, and conflant variety, there was an undefiilable charm, that while they preferved their primitive manners, wrought in every one who dwelt for any time amongft them. I have often heard my friend- fpcak of an old man who, being carried away in his infancy by fome hoftile tribe who had flain his parents, was refcued very foon after by a tribe of fiiendly Indians, who, from mo- tives of humanity, refolved to bring him up among themftlves, that he might, in their phrafe, " Jearn to bend the bow, and ** fpeak truth." When it was difcovered fome years after that he was ftill living, hi^' gelations reclaimed him } and the commu- ; nity » 4 » • » ' A^i -Ml of liifir.-— ^ime among F probity. It variety, that while manners, tit for any peak of an jvay in his had flain m after by , from mo- bring him 1 might, in e bow, and 5 difcovered i living, hij iie commu- nity ij; 'Mm , { U3 ) ixity wiflied him to :rfet«rn ; $nd > inherit l^s father's landsj! iiQWrbecomfe morecdnfi- derable. The Indians were unwilling tp part with their protege ; aad hejw^is ftiil more reluftant to return* Thisi >fV.as» cpn- fidered as !a bad precedent :; th^ early fct- tiers having found it conve;iient in feveral things regatding hunting, food, &c. to aflimilate in fome degree with the Indians i and, the young, men occafionally^ -at. tl^at eady period, joining their hunting aiidfil^i!; ing parties. It-^^as confiderjsd as a mattes^ of ferious import to reelaim this young aliein ; left others (hould be lofi: to th^ cpm-^ munity and, to their religion by fqllowing hit example.. With difficulty tjiey forced hitn .home; where they never cpulft havp detained him, had they not carefully and gradually inculcated into his mind the trufhSi of eh^iftianity.. To thofe inftr^C;* tion$ even jiU Indian predile^jons taught \^m tp lift^n ; fqr it was thaj-ejigion of his fathers,, and venerable to Jnm, as fuch : ftill, hawe.yer, |iis diflike, of qur manners was nevirr ciuiffJly. p(?;iqHe|^4,, ^9,^ y!^ hi? at- M 2 tachmenv ' !?5fP'l| » \'ku\ "t;' ] ^fill ^l-k n- ■.t;4;: injno : m II ^*>. n ■111' S( ■I' Jl ( H4 ) tachment to his fofter fathers ever mmch diiiiinifhed. He was polTefled oif a irery found inteile^, and tifed to declaim with the mofl: vehement eloquence againft our ^ crafty afid iniidious eticroacrhments on our t>1d friends. His abhotrefice of the pretty iatfehoods to which cuftom has too well teconciied us, and thofe little artifices which we all ocCafionally pra^life, tofe to ti height fully equal to that felt by Gulliver* Swift and this other mifanthrope, though they lived at the fame time, could not bave had any intei'courfe, elfe otie might have fuppofed the invedtives which he has put mto the mouth of Gullivet, were bor rowed from this demi*fava^ge ; tvhofe cOii-^' tempt and hatred of felfiflincffs, meanntefs, and duplicity, were exprelfed in language worthy of the dean. Infomiich, that years after I had heard of this lingular oharis^ery I thought, on reading Gulliver's afperities after returning from Houiiyhnhamland, fhat I had met my old friend agam. Oiie teally does meet with charafiers that il£ki6A would &em too bold ill pourtftyiiig. Thiv o »• «ll '' '■ ( us > *• Gxigiml had an averfion to liquor^ whlciif. amounted to abhorrence^ being embittere4 by hb regret at the mifcbiefs refulting from k to his old friencls> and rage at the traders. for adminiitering the means of depravity.^ He never could bear any feafoning to his food r 3^ defpifed luxury in all its forms* For all the growing evils I have been^ defcribing, there was only one remedy* which the faga^ity of my friend and her other felf foon difcovered; and therr hu- manity a& well as principle led them to try all poilible means of adminidering. It was the pure light and genial influence of ehriftianity alone that could cheer and ame^ liorate the (late of thefe people, now, front a concurrence of circumftances fcarcely to^ be avoided in the nature of things, de- prived of the independence habitual to their own way of life, without acquiring in ita room any of thofe comforts which fweeten our& By gradually and gently unfolding to them the views of a happy futurity, and the means by which depraved ■ humanity was reftqred to a participajtbii M 3 of \ ■ .'i'i :i:^ .>!'':i' 4 4 ' 1 ' h. tell Hi m iiif: 5,'ii .-ifl of that bleffing; pride, revenge,- arid the indulgence of every excefs of paffioa or appetite being reftrained by the precepts of a religion ever powerful where it is fin- cere ; their fpirits would be brought down from the fierce pride which defpifes im- provement to adopt fuch of our modes, as would enable tHem to incorporate in time with oiir fociety, and procure for them- felves a comfortable fubfiftence, in a coun- try no longer adapted to fupply the wants of the houfelefs rangers of the for^ft. The narrow policy of many looked coldly on this benevolent proje6^. Hunters fupplied the means of commerce, and war- riors thofeo£ defence; and it was quef- tionable whether a chriflian Indian would J>unt or fight as well as formerly. This, however," -had no power with thofe in whom chfiftiawicy was any thing more than a nam^. There were already many chriflian Indians ; and it was v«ry encouraging, that hot one> once converted, had ever forfaken the firidt profefiion of their reli- gion, or evqr, in a fingle inilanc^, aban- doned ( 247 ) doned . ihcmfelv^s to. the vexceffes fo per-ft nicious to their uDconverted brethren* Never was the true fpirit of chriftiaaity. more exemplified than in the livesi of thofe^ comparatively few converts j who, abOjUt, this time amounted to more than two hun* dred. But the tender care and example of the Schuylers co-operating with the in-; ceflant labours of a judicious and truly, apoftolic miflionary, fome years after great-, ly augmented their numbers in. different, parts of the continent: and to this day,* the memory of David Brainard, the faith ? , ful labourer alluded to, is held in venera-?* tion in: thofe diftri^ls that were, blefled with his minillry. He did not confine ic, to one people or province, but travelled . from place CO placey to diffeminate the got?, pel to new converts, and confirm and che* ri(ti the truth already planted. The firH: foundation of that church had, however^ as I formerly mentioned, been laid, 4oag ago: and the examples of piety, probity^ and benevolence fet by the worthies at the • , M 4. Plats/ m ■4 ■■ I ■ w 1" ■, jj '!■■■• ; 4 ■ +ift 'i'^ 'I li^s H^fc, '■» -t lit ( 248^ ) PJIats, and a few more, were a Very ne- cfeffary comment on the dodlrines to which the!)' aflent was delired. The great ftumbling block which the . miifionaries had to encounter with the In- dians, (who> as far as their knowledge went, argued with great acutenefs and lo- gical precifion,) was the fmall influence which our religion feemed to have over many of its profefTors. •* Why," faid they, *• if the book of truth, that (hews ** the way to happinefs, and bids all men *' do jufiice, axid love one another, is •* given both to Corlaer and Onnonthia% /i does it not dn-eft them in the fame **'way? Why does Gnnomhib Worfhip, *• anrd Corlaer negle£i*, the mother of the ** bleflfed one? And why do the mifllon- ** arids blame thofe for worshipping things '* niad6 with hands, while the pri^fts tell * Corfaer was the title given by them to the go- vernor of New Yofk : and was figuratively uled for the governed, and Onaoathio for thofe of Canada in the (ame manner* . \ \ahi ' . « the i*. * c< t€ ( »49 ) ** the praying nation*, that Corlaer and^ fi his people have foifaken the worfliip' of ** his forefathers: befides, how can peo^ "* ple« who believe that God and good- M fpirits view and take an intereft in al^ ^* their anions, cheat and diflemble> drink ** and fight, quarrel anc) backbite, if they ^believe the great fire burns for thofe ** utrho do fuch things. If we believed ^' what you fay, we fliould not exchanges fo much good for wickednefs, to pleafe an evil fpirit,* who wqpid rejoice at our ** deftruQion/'. ... . .^ To this reafoning it ws^ not eafy to oppofe any thing that could carry convidion to untutored peo- ple, who fpoke from obfervation and the evidence of the fenfes; to which could: only be oppofed fcripture texts, which'< avail not till they are believed ; and ab« fir^f^ eafoning, extremely difficult to bring- to the level of an unlearned underftanding. Great labour and perfeverance wrought oo^ * Praying nation was a name given to a village of Indiana near Montreal> who prof€0«d the cathfolic faith. M c ' the ■i> ... ■M :l M ;i. ■! ^i: 'K im ( 450 ) the minds of a few,, who felt coilviftiorl, as far as it is to be afcribed to humag agency, flow from the afFedlionate perfua* fion oftholb whom they vifjbly beheld tarried for their etetnal welfare; and whert -a few had thus yielded *, the peace . and purity of their lives, and the fublinie en- joyment they feemed ,to derive from the pro ^pe£ls 'their faith opened into futurity, was anindbcfemenc to others to follow the fame path* - This, abftradedly from reli- gious condderations of endlefs futurity, is iihetitiS and' only way to civilization^ and 'fe^lhe blending together the old and new '■^'''^ Soffie "of them liHve ir.adc fuch a proficienjcy in jjpra^i'pal rf lig^n a» ought to (hame many q( Up, who boail the illuminating aids of our native chriftianity. TNbt one of thcfe Indians has been concerned in thofe 'baibaroiis irruptions which deluged the frontiers of Q^rflMith'Wtliern provinces with thebloo^ of f^ map^ innocents, of. every age and fex. At the commencc- mtnt of thefe ravages, they flew into the fatjtments, ^andput thtmftlvtfs into the protefliun of {rovernzkient. The Indians no fooncr became rhriftians, than they openly proftffed their loyahy to King George; and ihi^refdrc, to contribute to ih^iw?4 ?ii%L;-;' f^:ftC'th .' •fT=> ■■ ) :.:*■ ;.; .:.ki iiii^ 'jI ,,s:}ir^:Jpf< ■ .■ ■■ ■' , ■ . r . ■.H-^c)^ i V liH.^ai' .f> >. . . ii^ji »' * '^ % -^ *■' I ■.T^*: r\, I r.iilit.. ♦(-.•,'.'■« » ft,*. i*i' r . - '■ ^ ::' -:m ■I,:- iM II 6 CHAP. ( 25« ) Ij h ^1i:'n\iif)^^a -1 !'^ ■ CHAP. xxvn. N?;j{T '>i*l ?..:"''i.> Indiaoi only to be attached by being converted •<-«- The abortive Expedition of Monf. Barre*— Ironi- cal Sketch of an Indian. ■•< ■J 1 U PON th: attachment the Indians had to our religion was grafted the ftrongefl iregard to our government, and the greatefl fidelity to the treaties made with us. I fhall infert a fpecimen of Indian eloquence, illuftrative of. this laft ; not that I.confider It by any means fo rich, impreffive, or fub- lime as many others that I could quote, but as containing a figure of fpeech rarely to ))e niet with among favage people, and fup- pofed by us incompatible with the ft ate of intelle^ual advancement to which they have attained. I mean a fine and well fupported irony. About the year 1 686, Monf. Barre, the commander of the French forces 'm Canada, made a kind of inroad, with a waiUke deiign, into the precinOs claimed <.:. ■ .- by ( ^S3 ) t>y our Mohawk allies; the march was te« diousy the French fell Tick, and many of their Indians deferred them. The wily commander^ finding himfelf unequal to the meditated attack, and that it would be un- fafe to return through the lakes and woods, while in hourly danger of meeting enemies fo juftly provoked, fent to invite the Sa- chems to a friendly conference ; and, when they met, aflerted in an artful fpeech that he and his troops had come with the fol^ intention of fettling old grievances, and iinoking the calumet of peace with them. The Indians, not impofed on by fuch pre- tences? liftened patiently to his %eech, and then made the anfwer which the reader will find in the notes *• It is to \^e obferved, that ^ <* Onaontbb, I honour yon ; and all the waiw ' inon who arc witli me tikewil'e honour you. Yotir lOterpreter hat finifhed his fpeech, I begin min«. ^ My words make hafle to reach your ears ; hearken to> them, Yonnondio.. You mud hare beh*cved, whett you left Quebec, that the fun had burnt up all the • f<»i«ft« whiitfar made out country fo inacceffibid t^ t)ie ■ 'i French; m I' ' ■i'l ( 1 ■'■' 'I W :i ::-r .,' i ■ I ; 'i tJ Pi I ( 254 ) that whoever they confidered as the ruling perfon for the time being in Canada, they filled Onnonthio ; while the governor of New York they always called Cor laer. ^mf "ifl bhi" vTwice u; » - t % ' t!-S- dim; •?: m I' French ; or that the lakes haJ fo far overflowed their bauksf that they had furrounded our caille?, and that It was impcfllMe for tis to get out of thvin. .Yes, Yoni.ondio, furely you have drtamt fo ; and the cu- r*i(;fity of feeing fo great a wonder has brought "you fo far- Now you are undeceived, iince I and the war- riors here prefent are come to afTure you, that the Huron?, Onondagoes a^d Mohawks ate yet alive. I thank you in tl^eiraiame for bringing back into their country the calua.ct, which your prcdeceifur received from their hands. It was happy for you that jx)u left undtr ground that murdering hatchet, which has been fo often dyed with the Mood of the Frf nch. Heav> Oniiondio, I do not deep ;'I have my eyes open ; and the fun which enlightens me difcovets to me a great captain, at the head of his foldlcrs, ^vho fpea^s as if he were dreaming. He fays that he only came to the lake to fmoke out <»f the great c^alumit with the Five Nations ; but Connaratego fays that he feet the con- trary ; that it wai to knock them on the head if fiek- nefs had not weakened the arms of th( French. I fee .Onnonthio raVing in a camp of Hcli men, whofe lives •the great fpirit has faved by infliding this ficknefs upon them. Hear, Oanoathio, our women bad taken , ihim^ ■ - ■ theic ( ^55 ) - /^ Twice in the year the new convertsi^ame to Albany to partake of the faaament, be- fore a place of wor(hip was erected for vmii . thtm- ■I their clubs; our children and ol4 inen had carried .their bows and arrows into the heart of yoUrcamp^ if our warriors had nut difarmed them, and kept them back, when your nncflcngcr came to our cailles. It Ts done, and I have faid it. Hear, Yoiinondio, weplun* .' dered none of the French, bUt thofc whocafrh'^d gun^, po\«'der, and ball to the wolf and elk tribes, becaule thofe arms mi^ht liave coll us Our lives. Herein we follow the examplie of the jcfu^ts, whb ftave all' the kegs of rum brought to the cullies where they'are'y lell the drunken Indians diould knock them on the head. Our warriors have not beavers enough to p^y for all thofe arms that they have taken ; and 6'ur old men arc not afraid of the war. This belt prtfcrveb my words. We carried the EngliOi into our lakes, I'd trade with the wolf and elk tribes, as tht praying In- 'dfans bi ought the French to our caftles, to barry' on k ' trade, which the Engllfh fay is their^ We arc bbth free. We neither depend upon Onnonthio hdr Gor- Taef; we may go where we pleafe. If ybUr allies bie your Haves, ufe them as fuch ; command them to rc- , ccive no other but your people. This belt prcfefVes my words. We knocked the Connei^icut Indians dnd their confederates on the head becaiifcf they had cut down the trees of peace, wlilch Were theiimitsuf our country. They have hunte'4 beavers on our lands, contrary ( 1 f ''mi thcni^lvcs. They always fpent the night, or oftcner two nights, before their joining in this holy rite at the Flats ; which was ''''^'^^ their contrary to the cultoms of all Indians, fortney nave left none altve. They have killed both male and fe- male. They brought the Sathanas into our country to take part with tbem, after they bad fornaed ill de- figns againft us ; we have done kfs than they me- rited. ** Hear, once more» the words of the T>ve Nations. They fay that when they buried the hatchet at Car- daragni, (in the prefence of your predcccflbr,] in the middle of the fort *, they planted the tree of peace in the fantc placet to be there carefully preferved ; that inftcad of an abode for foldicrsi that fort might be 9 lendex^vous for merchants ; that in place of arms and 9mmunition> only peltry and goods (hould enter thert. '* Hear, Yonnondio, take care for the future that fo great a number of foldiers as appear there do not choke the tree of peace, planted in fo fmall a fort. It will be a great lofs, after having fo eafily taken rout, if you (hould ftop its growth, and prevent its covering your country and ours with its branches. I afiure you, in the name of the Five Nations, that our warriors (hall dance to the calumet of peace under its leaves, and (hall remain quiet on their mats ; and that they (hall never 4^ vp the hatchet till Corlaer or On- » Detroit. nonthio, ( ^57 ) their general rendezvous from di^rent quarters. There they were cordially rt- ceived by the three brothecs, who always met together at this time to have a confe- Ji Ilk A)^.jm^^^\ ^ . .^:iir IsMUDi! ■ nonthio> either jointly or feparately, attack the coun- try, which the great fpirit hath given to our anceftors. This belt preitrves my word», and this other the autho- rit) y^hich the Five Natiotw have given me." THen, Garangula, addrefllifg himfelf to Monf. de Maine^ who underftood bis language, and interpreted) fpoke thus : *« Take, courage, friend, you have fpirits^s fpeak^ explain my words, oipit nothing. Tell all that your brethren and friends fay to Onnonthio, your governor, by the mouth of Gssrangula, — who loves you, and defires ycru to accept of this prefent of bea'- ver» attd take part with me in my feaft> to which I it^Vtte yoju. This prefent of beaver is fent to Yoa- nondio on the part of the Five Nations." ' Monf. Barre returned to hi'i fort much enraged at what he had heard | Garanguk feafted the French officers, and then went home ; and JMonf. Barre fet out on his way towards Montreal ; and as foon as the general, with the fewfoldiers who remained in healthy had embarked, the militia made thsir way to their own habitations without order or diCcipIme. Thus a chargeable and fatiguing expedition, meant to ftrike the terror of the French name into the ftubborn hearts of the Five Nations, ended in a fcold between a French general and an old Indian. — CoUen^sffifiorj of the Five Nalions, page 63. rence tf- ill iil^ ''M 11 ^i: ( as8 ) rence with them oa fubje£ls the mod im- t)or taut to their prefent and future welfare, Thefe devout Indiaivs feemed all impreiTed with the fame feelings, and moved by the fame fpirit. They were received with affec- tionate cordiality^ and accommodated in a njanner quite conformable to their habit?i in the palfage, porch^ and ofHces ; and fo deeply imprefled were they with a fenfe of the awful duty ihst brought them there, and the rights of friend fhip and hofpitality^ and at this period become fo much ac- quainted with our cufloil^s, that though two hundred communicants, followed by many of their children, were ufed to af* femble on thofe occafions> the fmalleft in« fiance of riot or impropriety was not knowri amongd them. They brought little prefents of game, or of their curious handicrafts, and were liberally and kindly entertained by their good brother Philip, as they familiarly called him. In the evening they all went apart to fecret pray ex ; and in the morn- ing, by dawn of day, they affembled before the portico; and their entertainers, who rofc y the in a abit?. ( 259 ) rofe early to enjoy, unobferved, ,a view of their fecial devotiozs beheld them with their ' mantles drawn over their heads, prodrate oil the earth ; oflfeiing praifes and fervent fup- plications to their Maker. After fome time fpent in this manner, they arofe, and feated in a circle on the ground, whh their heads^ veiled as formerly, they fang an hymn^ which it was delightful to hear, from the flrength, lichnefs, and fweet accord of their uncbmmonly fine voices ; which every one that ever heard this facred chorus, however indifferent to the purport of it, praifed as incomparable. The voices of the female Indians are particularly fweet and powerful* I have ofteii heard my friend dwell with fmgular pleafure on the recolle£lion of thofe iicenes, and of the cunverfations (he and the colonel ufed to hold with the Indians, whom (he defcribed as poffeffed of very fu- perior powers of underflanding ; and in their religious views and converfations, uniting the ardour of profelytes with the firm decifion and inflexible (leadinefs of their national chara^er. It was on the :UAi return ^ .• hm I K l.,f^^ ;: I" i -i «) i/i ■(' m-. i retuTh of thofe new ckriftian& to the Flats^ after they had thus fokmnly fealad their profeffion, that thefe wife regulations for preferving peace and good-will between the fettlcrs (now . become confident and care- liefs from their numbers) and the Indians, jealous with reafon of their ahcient rites,, were concluded. ^ ^*-i; Ril^: w "V 1 V /' ill • ^'*^" v^,* i!liJ:i4L, P «»»:- : CHAP. lit!; ( ^^^ ) *;m&^t-..::i CHAP. XXVIII. . Management of the Mohawks by the In^uence of the 'Chriftainltidians. (HE inihienoe thefe converts had obtained OTer the mmds of thofe moft venerated for ivifdom among their countrymen 9 was the medium through which this patriot fa- mily, in fome degree, -controuled the opi- nions of that community at hrge^ and kept them faithful to the Britiffi interefts. Every two or three years there was a congrefs held, by deputies from New York, who generally fpdie to the Indians by an inter- preter i went through the form of deliver* ing prefents from their brother the great king, red refliog petty grievances, fmoking the caiamci* of peace, and delivering belts, the pledges of amity. But thefe were mere public forms ; the real terms of this often renewed amity having been previouily di- geftcd by thofe who ' fiftr be'trr underftood the ■ e .(, if fi\'.1 r I;. i\ ' f i) /(. 1 i I' IN ' !' •r.^tei;: ( 262 ) the relations fubfifting between the contraft- mg parties, and the caufes mod likely to interrupt their union. Colonel Schuyler, though s^l ways ready to.fery^ his country in exigencies^ did not like to take upon him- feif any permanent r^fponfibility, as a fuper- intendant of Indian affairs, as it might have •diminifhed that private influence which arofe frdnfi the general veneration for his charac- ter, and from a convi^lipn that the concern he took Ayas voluntary and impartial; nei- ther did he choofe to facrifice that dom6^ftic peace and leffure, which he fo well knew ^how to turil to the beft account, being con- 'Vihi!ed that by his example and influence, us a priviite 'gentleman, he; had 'it in his poWer tbjdo much good of a peculiar kind, whkh was incompatiblef^with the weight and 'budle of public affairs, or with that hofpi- ^tality whith; as the.y rrianaged it, was pro- * duAive of fo many beneficial' effe£ts. I iiave ^^Ir^ady ihewh how, by prudent ad- 'ilrefs and Rind conciliation, this patriotic pair •foothed'jtnd.attacbied^he Indians to the Bri- tifh intehcftl ^ Afe ttie country grew more 4* populous, >it.j ' t'1 CI -A contraft- llkely to Jchuyler, Duntry in )on him- s a fuper- ight have lich arofe is charac- B concern rial; nei- : doin^ftic veil knew t>eing con- infiuence, vit in hh rliar kind, ireight and hat hofpi- > was pro- -ffeas. I udent ad- it riot ic pair to the Bri- Tew more populous, ( »63 )■ ; populous', and property nidre abutidaht and trtore Pjcure, the face of fociety in this in- land tegion began to change. They whbfe quitch and orderly dcnieanouri devotion; and fntegtity didinbt^ much requiris the eftforciei- Trteht of hwsV began no^ to think thern- fdves above th^/ To' a deputed autho^ rityi the foiirce of which hy beyond the Athntici they paid llftle : deference ; and frofn theif neighbours of New Hampfljire and Gbnnedlicut, who bordered 6ii their frontiers, and ferved with tliem in the co- lonial w'Afs, they had little to learn of loy- alty or fubmiflioh, Thefe people they held in* gi^eat contempt, bo^K as foldiers and ilatefmeri ; and yetj from their frequent intercoutfe with thoPe who talked of law and politics in their pecviliar uncouth dia- •le£l: inc^flantly, they infenfibly adopted titKtny of Hbeir notions. There is a certa'n 'point* of feblevhappmeft at which our iin- -perfiaft. nature merely feems to arrive ; for ' the" very m^-e^iak- of which It is formed contain the feeds off irs deftrudion. This W0ti'^tl)d cafe here ;fhjlt peaceful and de- :j i rt firable 'll t!! 5^1 '■"('" i| :H .1: I I ';l| i r ■J \ M 'Ik I :-m II ( a«4 ) fyMe eqtiarlity of coAdiiionSi from whi^h fy many comforts refuhecl) in proceis of lime occafioDed an averfioa to 'f^p«rlors» to whom they were aot accuftomed, and ati «xaggeiated jjsaloufy of ibe vpower wbicli was jQxercif^ rfpr (heifowa fafetj and^com^ fort< Their manners unfophifUcated, and th^ir morals in a great meafure uncorrupt- ^d, led them to reganl with unjuftUi^ble fcQfnr and averfion tbofe Grangers who brought wi(|i them the manners of more poIKhed, though lefs pure, communities. Proud of their haughty bluntBefs, which daily increafed with their wealth and fecu- rity, they began ^p confider refpe^tfurl and polite behaviour as a degree of fervility and duplicity ; while they revolted ^at tbe power exercifed over thcmfelves^ and very > reludantly made the exertions nece&ry for their own pro^efliqi^ they ib($W(|d ^every inclinati0^ to ufurp ^e leirvitorl^s of thoir Indian allies; jand ufe to the very utmoft the power th^ hjtd ac^ioiKr^rovjer ^hem, by fupplying their wdn)($. ja^^v > At the liberal tabJe of Aum &bu;y{«ri 91 where ( »65 ) there was always intelligence, ju(l notions, and good breeding to be met with> both among the owners and cheir gueds, many had their prejudices foftened down, their minds enlarged, and their manners improved. There they met Britifh officers of rank and merit, and perfons in authority ; and learnt that the former were not artificial coxcombs, nor the latter petty tyrants ; as they would otherwife be very apt to imagine. Here they were accu domed to find authority refpe^t- ed, on the one hand, and on the other to fee the natural rights of % man vindicated, and the utmod abhorrence expreded of all the fophldry by which the credulous were mided by the crafty, to have a code of mo- rality for their treatment of heathens, dif** ferent from that which direded them in their dealing with chrid«ans. Here a fe- le£lion of the bed and worthied, of the diderent characters and clafTes we have been defcrlbing, met ; and were taught, not only to tolerate, but to edeem each other : and it required the calm, tempe- VOh. I, N rate '•> . :::,- , i M L •IS! II.^ lit*',! ■•■ M Eh. ( 266 ) _,. t^T^ViTdom, and eafy verfatile marffiet's of my friend to bring this about. It is, when thpy are called to a£l in a new fcene, and among people dilFer€fnt from any Liey had known or imagined, that the folly of the wife and the weaknefs of the ftrong become difcernible. Many officers juftly efteeraed, poftelTed of capacity, learning, and much know- ledge, both of the ufages of the world, and the art of war, from the want of certain habitudes, which nothing but expe- rience can teach, were difqualified for th6 warfare of the woods ; and from a fecret contempt witli which they regarded the blutit fimplicity and plain appearance of the fettlets, were hot amenable to their ad- vice on thefe points. They were not aware how much they were to depend on them for the means of carrying 6n their oj)efatiohs; and by rude or negligent treatment fo difgufted them, that they withheld the borfes, oxen, waggon?, &c. which were to be paid for, merely to ihew their 1 1 ( 26y ) • their independence; well knowing the dreaded and deteded military power, even if coercive meal\ires were reforted to, would have no chance for redrefs in their courts ; and even tht civil authority were cautious of doing any thing fo unpopular a8 to de- cide in favour of the military. Thus, till properly inftrudted, thofe bewildered (Iran, gers were apt to do the thing of all others that annihilates a feeble authority ; threatea where they could not ftrike, and forfeit refpecl where they could not enforce obe-» dience : a failure of this kind% clogged and enfeebled all their meafures; for without the hearty co-operation of the inhabitants in furnifcing pre-requifites^ nothing could go on in a country without roads> or pub- lic vehicles, for the conveyance of their warlike flores. Another rock they were apt to run upon was, a negled of the Ini dians, whom they neither fufiiciently fear* ed as enemies, nor valued as friends : till taught to do fo by maturer judgmentSt Of this, Bxaddock's defeat was an infbnce; N 2 he • i ■■) pi' I i t ♦/.. !:# IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I £! m Z US 12.0 u L25 iu 116 t" m ^^^V *^'i FhotogFaphic Sdmoes Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STMIT WIISTIR,N.Y. 14SM (71«)»72-4S03 .V o it 'I / ( 268 ) he was brave, experienced, and verled in •all military fcience ; his confidence in which occafioned the deftrudion of him« felf and his army. He confidered tbofe ^lounfels that warned him, how little ma* noeuvres or numbers would avail in the iclofe prifon of innumerable boughs, as the Tefult of feeble caution -, and marched his army to certain ruin, in the moft brave and fcientific manner imaginable. Upon certain occafiotis there is Ho laiowledge fo valuable as that of our own ignorance. At the Flats, the felf-righted boor learn- ed civilization and fubor^ination : the high bred and high fplrited field officer gentle- jiefs, accommodation . and refped for unpo- lilhed worth and untaught valour. There, too, the flirewd and^ deeply refleding In* dian learnt to refped the Britifh charac* ttr, and to confide in that of the fettlers ; by feeing the bed fpecimens of both acting candidly towards each other, and gene- jF^ufly to himfelf. My friend was inoft pariirularly calcu- . - lated \ id verled in nfidence in ion of him* idered thofe m little ma* avail in the ughs, as the marched his >ft brave and Upon certain e fo valuable i boor learn- m : the high fficer gentle- e£l for unpo- our. There, reflefting In- ritiih charac- the fettlers; f both acting ', and gene- rularly calcu- . . lated , (269 ) lated to be the coadjutor of her e&cellentf confort, m thu.s fubduing the ^irits of dilFerent claifes of people, (Irongly difpofed to entertain a repulfive diflike of each other; and by leading them to the chaftened en- joyment of the fame focial pleafures> under the aufprces of thofe, whole good v/ill they were all equally convinced of. She con- trived to fmooth down afperities, and af- fimilate thofe various charadlers, in a man- ner that could not be done by any other means. '*■ Accuftomed from childhood, both from the general ftate of fociety, and the enlarged minds of her particular aflfociates,' to take liberal views of every thing, and to look forward on all occafions to confe« quences, (he (leadily followed her wife and benevolent purpofes, without being at* trailed by petty gratifications, or repelled by petty difgufh. Neither influenced by female vanity, or female fadidioufnefs, fhe might very truly fay of popularity, as Fal- Ihff lays of Worcefter's rebellion, " it lay :^¥i til I; '.it'' !l t N 3 " in •ir '% ^ I l\ liJI < 270 ) «* In her way and fhe found it :*' for no one ever took lefs pains to obtain it ; and if the weight of folid ufefulnefs and be* neficence had not, as it never fails to do in the long run, forced approbation, her mod^ of conducting herfelf, though it might greatly endear her to her particular affociates, was not conciliating to common , minds. The fad was, that, though her be* nevolence extended through the whole cir- cle of thofe to whom (he was known, fhe had too many objeds of importance in view to fquander time upon' imbecility and in* fignificance. Nor could fhe find letfure for the routijie of ordinary ^vifits, or incli* nation for the infipldity of ordinary chit chat. If people of the defcription here al- luded to could forward any plan advanta- geous to the public, or to any of thofe perfons in whom fhe was particularly Jnte- refled, fhe would treat them occafionally with much civility : for fhe had all the power of fuperior intelled without the pride of ( 271 ) ' af it; but couM not ftibmtt to a perpetual facrifice to forms and trifles. ' This, in her, was not only juftifiable, but laudable j ypt it is not mentioned as an example, becaufe a cafe can very rarely occur, where the benefit refulting to others, from making one's own path, and forfaking the ordinary road, can be fo effential"; few ever can have a fphere of adtion fo peculiar or fo important as her's ; and very few indeed have fo found a judgment ta dired them in chufiug, or fo much fortitude to fupport them in pur- fiitng, a way of their own. In ordinary matters, where neither re- ligion nor morality is concerned, it is much fafer to trud to the common fenfe of man- kind in general, than to our own particular fancy. Singularity of condudfc or opinion is fo often the refute of vanity or afFedation, that whoever ventures upon it ought to be a perfon whofe example is looked up to by others. A perfon loo great to follow, ought to be great enough^ to lead. But / N 4 though -1 I ii [ !t n , , 1'' f''U I 1. 1 I ill II ii M': If.: ( ^7^ ) though her converfation was referved for thofe (he preferred, her advice, compaffion, and good offices were always given where moft needed. ?f •/ ; "1 ■■ i^'.'-x / ■■')' w> CHAP. ^^Ir C m ) ^'i! I I -Y-, -j i CHAP. XXIX. Madame* s adopted Children.— Anecdote of Sifter Sufan* "?' ' ' . - . , ■ ' . ■ • ^BARS pafled away in this manner^ va« ricd only by the extcnfion of that pro- tedion and education, which they gave to a< fucceffion of nephews and nieces of the Colonel or Mrs. Schayler. Thefe they did not take from mere companion, as all their relations were in eafy circumdances ; but influenced by various confiderations^ fuch as, in fome cafes> the death of the mother of .the children, or perhaps the father; in others* where their nieces or nephews married very eafly> and lived in the houfes- of their refpeftive parents^ while their young family, increafed before they had a fettled home ; or in inftances where, from the remote iituations in whieh the parents lived, they conldnot fo eafily educate them. Indeed the difficulty of N 5 getting •MUl m m i^'i;^' ( ^74 ) getting a fuitable education for children^ whofe par^nt^ were ambitious for their iin - provement, was great ; and a family fo well regulated as her's, and frequented by fuch fociety, was in itfelf an academy, both for the bed morals and manners. When people have children born to them, they mud fubmit to the ordinary lot of humanity : and if they have not the hap- pmefs of meeting with many good qualities to cultivate and rejoice over, there is no- thing left for them but to exert themfelves to the utmoft, to reform and ameliorate what will admit of improvement. They muft carefully weed and prop ; if the foil produce a crop both feeble and redundant, affedtion will blind them to many defeats ( imperious duty will ftimulate t^m, and hope, foothing, however deceitful, will fup* port them. But when people have the privilege, as in this cafe, of chufing a child, they are fairly entitled to fele£^ the moft promifing. This fele^ion, I under- ftood always to have been left to Auiit Schuyler^ and k appeared, t>y the event, : , to to have been generally a happy one. Fif«' teen, either nephews or nieces, or the children of fuch, who had been under her care, all lived to grow up and go out into the world : all a^ed their parts fo as to do cre(}it to the inflrufllon they had received, and the example they looked up to. Befides thefe, they had many whom they brought for two or- three years to their houfe to re^ fide ; either becaufe the family they came from was at the time crowded with younger children, or becaufe they were at a time of' life when a year or two fpent in fuch fo- ciety, as was .there afTembled,, might not poly form their manners, but givf a bia$ U> their future character. m. Ij Abou^ the year 1730^ they brought borne a nephew of the colonel's, whpfe father having a large family, ar having, to the beil of my recoUdEUon, loQ hi^ wife, .entirely gave over the boy to the protediou -of this relation. This boy was his unck*s |[od-fon, and called Philip after him. He; wa^ d great tavourite in theJamlly ^ for, though apparently thoughtlefs and giddy, he had t^ N 6 avery sU I ■' they prefenred a kind of dignity, and went beyond others in the nnaterials, though not the form of their apparel. Yet their principal expence was a moft plentiful and well ordered table, ^uite in the Englifli (l^le \ which was a kind of innovation: but (b many ftrangers frequented the houfes of the three brothers, that It was necelTary for them to accommodate themfelves to the habits of their guefls. Peter being in his youth an extenfive trader, had fpent miKh time in Canada^ among the noblefie there \ and had ferved in the continental levies. He bad a fine commandbg figure, and quite the air and addrefs of a gentleman, and was^ when I knew him, an 6ld tftan. viu^i.^i (Intelligent and pleafing in a very high degree, Jefemiah had too much familiaf kindnefs to be looked up ta like his brdi ther. Yet he alfo had a very good ^a^ der (landing, great ftanknefs and affability, and was defcribed by -aU who knew him, a9the very foul of cocdial frieadfiup and j^^- warm 1 .\i{\ " '(.'1 I jJi; 'i^^ m i M iivl;i|fl i m < »7« 'y iratm bfneyoleticfv Ht married a po- lHb(Bd ]ind well educated perfon, whole parent CFrench proteftants) were people of the iirft fafliioii in New York, and had given with her a good fortune, a thing very unufual in that country. They ufed in the early years of their marriage, to pay a vifit every wmter to. their connexion^ at New York, who pafled part of ev^ry fum- mer with them. This connexion, as well, as that with the Flats, gave an air of po- % U(b, and a tindure of elegance to this fa- mily beyond others; and there were few fo gay and foci^l* This cheerfulnefs w^ fupported' by a large family, fourteen, I think, of very promifing jchildren* Thefe, iiowever, inheriting: firom their n^other's family a delicate .eonftkntiqiiu jtied one yfter ai^hi^r aa they cam^ to m^turiity : Ukt only, ft daughter, lived to b^ married ; . but died after having had one fon and one 4aaigbte]> ■, / >: ^ • -.h y:li fair th^ mother pf tt»s large faiair . ly^ aiter jout'^mng her own children^ and » iliU grfiskter s^uatber of brothers and muw fifters. Al ( a79 ) fiders, who had all fettled in life, prof- perous and flourifhing, when (he mar- tied; I faw her a helplefs bed-ridden invalid ; without any remaining tie, but a fordid grafping ibn-in^law, and two grands children, brought up at a diflance from her. With her, too, I was a great favourite,. becaufe I liftened with inter eft to hdr de- tails of early happinefs, and fubfcquent woes and privations ', all of which (he de- fcribed to me with great animation, antf the mod pathetic eloquence. How much a patient URener, who has fympathy and * intereft to beftow on a tale of* woe, will hear! and how afFeding is the refped and coinpaffion even of an artlefs child, to a heart that has felt the bittemefs of negled, and known what it was to pine in folitaty fadnefs ! Many a bleak day have I walked a mile to vilit this blafted tree, whkh the ftorm of calamity had ftripped of every leaf! and furely in the houfe of forroM^tlie heart is lade better. * ^^ ^C 5 From -. r. .': U ^'f^ » t ^H 1 '. rl' m m ' Is ki.iBi ■ .* • - ( a8o ) From this chronicle of pad times> I de- rived much information refpefiing our good aunt; fuch as fhe would not have given me herfelf. The kindnefs of this generous fi(ler-in-law was indeed the only light that (hone on the declining days of lifter Sufan, as (he waii wont afiedionately to call her. What a fad narrative would the detail of this poor woman's forrow$ afford ! which, however, (he did not re- late in a querulous manner ; for her foul was fubdued by afHidion, and fhe did not ** mourn a& thofe that have no hope." One inftance of felf^ccuf?tion I muft re* cord. She ufed to defcrlf e the farhily (he left as being no lefs ha] )y, united, and highly profperous, than tb t into whicl) (he came: if, indeed, (he ould be faid to leave it, going aj (hedi^ for fohie- months every year to her mothc/s houfe, whofe darling (he was, and whoj being only fif- teen years older than herfelf, was more like an elder fifter, united by fond affec-r tion. She ( 28l ) ""^ She went to New York to lye in, at her mother*8 houfe, of her four or five fir ft children > her mother at the fame time having children as young as her's : and thus careifed at home by a fond huiband, and received with exultation by the tendered parents ; young, gay, and fortunate, her removals were only va- riations vof felicity ; but gratified in every wifh, (he knew not what forrow was, nor how to receive the unwelcome ftranger, when it arrived. At length fhe went down to her father's, as ufual, to lye in of her fourth child, which died when it was eight days old. She then fcreamed with agony, and told her mother, 'Who tried by pious counfel to alleviate her grief» that (he was the moft miferable of bumair beings I for that no one was capable of lov:ng their child fo well as (he did herV, and could not think by what (in (he hanf provoked this afflidion: finally, (he clafp*' ed the dead infant to her bofom, and wsii^ not, without the utmofl difficutty, per- fuaded to.part with it^ while her franttc 'm ■ Mi la a m 'il m- 1.^ ( > 282 ) grief outraged all decorum. After this, faid (bcy " I have feen iny thirteen grown, up children, and my dear and excellent hufbanda all carried out of this houfe to the grave: I have loii the worthieft and mofl affectionate f)arents, brothers, and fif- ters, fuch as few ever had; and however my heart might be pierced with forrow,. it was ftill more deeply pierced with a conviftion of my own paft impiety and ingr^tude; and. under all this afflidUon I wept ftlemly and alone } and my out** cry or lameRtation tv^s never hea^d bj mortal.'* What a kffon waa thi^ .^^j y ^^^ This once much loved and much re* ipe^ied woman,. Lave I feen fitting in h^er bed, where fhe had been long con- £uicd, negleCled by all thofe ^hom (he hs^d known in her better 4^y9r ^xijept** i^§ ai^j^ Schuyler, yfho unwieldy ani ijin6t for viiiting as fhe was, came out two ^ <^x .three times in the year to fee )»er, and conftantly fent her kindly tokens of remembrance. Had ihe been more careful to preferite her independence, and - ' had; # ( 283* ) hiid fhe accommodated herfelf mote to tn^ plain manners of the people fhe lived among, fhe might in her adverfity have met with more attention ; ^but too confci- " pus of her attainments, lively, regardlefs, * and perhaps vain,^and confident of being furrounded and admired *by a band of kinsfolk^ fhe was at no pains to conciliate others; fhe had, too, fome expenfive ha- bits; which^ when the tide of profperity ebbed^ could meet with little indulgence among a people who never entertained an idea of living beyond their circum* ftances. Thus, even among thofe unpolifhed people^ one might learn how fevere- ly .the infolence of profperity can be '-avenged on us, even by thofe we have r defpifed and flighted ; and who perhaps were very much our inferiors in every refpe£t : though both humanity and good fcnfe fhould prevent our mortifying themy by fhewing ourfelves fenfible of that cii* cumftance. This year was a fatal one to the 'fa« railles ''I iiif^'*^' 'm m m i n I^pp ' ( 2B4 ) Allies of the three brothers. Jeremiah^ impatient of the uneatinefs caufed by a wen upon his neck, fubmitted to under- go an operation ; which, being unfkilfully performed, ended fatally, to the unfpeak- able grief of his brothers and of aunt,, who was particularly attached to him, and often dwelt on the recolledion of his fingularly compailionate difpolition, the generous opennefs of his temper, and peculiar warmth of his affections. He, indeed, was *^ taken away from the evil to come }'' for of his large family, 'one after the other went off, in confequence of the weaknefs of their lungs j which withrtood none of the ordinary difeafes of fmall-pox, meazles> &c. till in a few years, there was not one remaining. Thefe were melancholy inroads on the peace o£^^, who might truly be faid, to "watch and weep, and pray for all:" for nothing could exceed our good aunt's c«re and tendernefs for this feeble fa- mily; who feemed flowers which merely bloomed to wither in their prime ; for they / ( »85 ) they were, as is often the cafe with thofe who inherit fuch diforders, beautiful, with quicknefs of coinpreheniion» and abilities beyond their age. :*^^j>^*:=4^;r> hi ^1 m fim ■^In ^^m "I t ■i I CHAP. ?-,' t a86 ) \ * ■ CHAP. 3tXX. . Deatli of young Pliillp ScKayler. — Account of hi9 Family, and of the Society at the Flatu ANOTHER very heavy forrow followed the death of Jeremiah 5 Peter, being the elded brother, his fon, as I formerly mentioned, was confidered and educated as heir to the colonel. It was Peter's houfe that flood next to the colonel's ; their dwellings being arranged according to their ages, the youth v^as not in the lead ei^ tranged from his own family (who were half a mile off) by his refidence m his uncU's, and was peculiarly endeared to aH the families, (who regarded him as the fu- ture head of their houfe,) by his gentle manners and excellent <}ualities. With i\\ thefq perfonal advantages, which diftinguifli- ed that comely race, and which give grace and attradion to the unfolding bloflbms of virtue, at an early 9ge he was fent to a kind . i/>llsv , > of '(« nt of his bllowed •, being ormerly icated as 's houfe ; ; their tto their eaft ef- o were * in his ed to aH s the fu- s gentle With ill linguifh- ive grace »flbins of o a kind of * ' ( ^87 ) of college, then eflablifhed irir New Jerfey ; and he was there iilftrucled, as far as in that place he could be. He foon formed an attachment to a lady ftill younger than him- felf, but fo Avqll brought up, and fo refpe£l- ably conned ed, that his friends vfQve greatly pleafed with the marriage, early as it was, and his father, vAth the higheft fatisfaftidnif received the young couple into the houfe. There they were the ddight and ornament of the famrly, and lived among (I them as k comthon bleffing. The firft year of their mai^rfege a daughter was born to them, whom they narted Cornelia ; and the next, a fon, -whom they called Peter. The fol- lowing year, v^hich was the fame that def- privfed them of their brother Jerethiah, prdv^d fatal to a great many children and ypung people, in confequence of an ende- mial difeafe, which every now and then ufed to appear in the country, arid made great havoc. It was called the purple ^r fpotted fever, and was' probably * f the jjutriil kind: be that as it may. It proved f^ttat t^ this Jnterefting young couple. Peter, Wh6 liad '1^ n M 1 1 ill I v.il ii i^"^ -■ » .i! II ( 288 ) had loft hU ^ife but a (hort time before, was entirely overwhelmed by this ftroke : a hardnefs of hearing, which had been gra- dually Increafmg before, deprived him of the confolations he might have derivjed from fociety. He encouraged his fecond fon to marry ; (hut himfelf up for the mod part in his own apartment ; and became, in efied, one of thofe lay brothers I have for- merly defcribed. Tet, when time had blunted the edge of this keen affliflion, many years after, when we lived at the Flats, he ufed to vifit us ; and though he did not hear well, he converfed with great fpirit, and was full of anecdote and infor- mation. Meanwhile, Madame did not (ink under this calamity, though (he felt it as much as her huiband, but fupported him ; and exerted herfelf to extract confolation from performing the duties of a mother to the infant who was now become the repre- fentative of the fatpily. Little Peter was accorditt^y brought home, and fucceeded to all that care and afie£tion of which his j^her bad formerly been the objefl, while l,t,:i " 3 Cornelia ■^ •■ •• before^ (Iroke : een gra- him of derived s fecond the mod scame, in have for- time had affli^ion, sd at the hough he with great nd infor- d not fink felt it as rted him; lonfolation ;other to Ithe repre- |Peter was fucceeded which his je6t, while Cornelia - ^ ( aSo ) ( . .,. f , ■ ■ -1 ■ .* - Cornelia was taken home to Jerfey, to the family of her maternal grandfather, who was a diflingui(hed perfon in that^diftrifb. There (he was exceedingly well educated, became an ekgant and very pleafmg yottng wortani, and was happily and moft refpeflably mar- ried before I left the country, as was her brother very foon after. They areftill liv- ing \ and Peter, adhering to what might be called, eventually the fafer fide, during the war with the mother country, fucceeded undiflurbed to his uncle's inheritance. All thefe new cares and forrows did not in the lead abate the hofpitality, the popu- larity, or the public fpirit of thefe truly great minds. Their dwelling, though in fome meafure become a houfe of mourning, was ftill the rendezvous of the wife and ' worthy, the refuge of the ftranger, and an academy for deep and found thinking, tafte, intelligence, and moral beauty. There the plans for the public good were digefted bjf the rulers of the province, who catiiie, un» der the pretext of a fummer excurfion for mere amufement. There the operations of « VOL. I. ' o • the f^ m M .1 I ll'j I m Mi X a9« ) the araiyi and the treaties of peace or alli- ance with various nations, were arranged ^ for there the legiflators of the (late, and the leaders of the war, , were received, and mixed ferious and important counfels with • convivial cheerfulnefsj and domeftic eafe and fomiliarity* 'Tis not to be conceived how efleiitial a point of union, a barrier againil licence, and a focus, in which the rays of intelled and intelligence were con- centrated, (fuch as in this family,) were to unite the jarripg elements of which the •community was compofed, and to fugged to thofe who had power without experience, the means of mingling in due proportions Its various materials for the pubh'c utility. : Still, ^houfgh the details of family happinefs were abridged, the fpirit that produced it continued to exift, and to find new objects of interefi* A mindt elevated by the con- fcioufneb of its own powers^ and enlarged by the habitual exercife of them, for the great purpofe of promoting the good of others, yidds to the preflure of calamity, but finks not under it ; particularly ^n^hen habituated. 5 or alVi- ranged •, , and the red, and ifeU with eftic eafc conceived a barrier which the were cbn- ,) were to which the to tugjeft experience, proportions )lic utility. y happin^^^ )roduccd it lew objcas )y the con- id enlarged , for the je good of of cabaonity* fulaxly when babitnated. C ^91 ) habituated, like thefe exalted charaders, to look through the long vida of futurity to- wards the final accompiifliment of the de« figns of Providence. Like a diligent gar- dener, who, when his promifing young plants are blafted in full ftrength and . beauty, though he feels extremely for their lofs, does Pot fit down in idle chagrin, but redoubles his efforts to train up their fuc* cefTors to the fame degree of excellence* Gon(idering the large family fhe (Madame) always had about her, of which fhe was the guiding flar as well as the informing foul, and the innocent cheerfulnefs which fhe en* couraged and enjoyed ; confidering, too, the number of interefling guefls whom fhe re- ceived, and that complete union of miRvJs, which made her enter fo intimately into all the colonel's purfuits, it may be wondered hoyr fhe found time for folid and improved reading $ becaiufe people, whofe time is fo much occupied in bufinefs and fociety, are apt to relax, with amufing trifles of the de« fnltory kind, when they have odd half hours 10 bellow M Ut^ary amttfements. But her . o a firong * It -,111 it.-..) • \- 'ly' 1 ■M I ;( ^9* ) ; ftrong and indefatigable mind never loofen- ed its grafp ; ever intent on the ufeful and the noble, (he found little leifure for what are indeed the greateft objedls of feeble characters. After the middle of life ihe went little out ; her houfehold> long fmce arranged by certain general rules, went re- gularly onj becaufe every donieftic knew exactly the duties of his or her place, and dreaded lofing if, as the greated poiTible misfortune. She had always with her fome young perfon, " who was unto her as a *'. daughter J** who was her friend and companion s and bred up in fuch a man- ner as to qualify her for being fuch ; and one of whofe* duties it was to infpedl the ilate of the houfehold, and " report pro- ♦* grefs/' with regard to the operations going on in the various departments. For no one better underdood, or more juflly eftimated, the duties of houfewifery. Thus, thofe young females, who had the happi- fiefs of being bred under her aufpices, very loon became qualified to aflift.h^r, inftead «f encroaching much on her time. The example •^ lofcn- l and what feeble fe (he ; fince ;nt re- knew e, and poflible •r fome IT as a id and . a man- h ; and '. ea the rt pro- eratlons IS. For e juftly Thus, happi- es, very inftead . The example • . ^ ( 293 ) • t example and converfation of the family in which they lived) was to them a perpetual fchool for ufeful knowledge, and manners eafy and dignified, though natural and art- lefs. They were not indeed embelliOied, but then they were not deformed by a6Fec- tation, pretentions, or defective imitation of fafhionable models of nature. They were not indeed bred up *^ to dance, to drefs, to " roll the eye, or troul the tongue ;'* yet they were not le£lured into unnatural gra- vity, or frozen referve. I have feen thofe of them who were lovely, gay, and ani- mated, though, in the words of an old fa- miliar lyric, " Without difguife or art, like flowers that grace ^ the Ayild, " Their fweets they did impait whene'er they fpoke or fmird." Two of thofe to whom this defcription par- ticularly applies, dill live ; and flill retain not only evident traces of beauty, but that unftudied grace and dignity which is the refult of confcious worth and honour, ha- bituated to receive the tribute of general 03 refpeft. •i m tA 4rf>; ^i til J' J' ( m ) ^ rerpe£l:. This. is the pmilege of miad» which are 'always in their own place, and ^either ftoop to folicit applaufe^ ftom thek inferiors, nor ftrxve to rife to a fancied equality with thoie whom nature or fortune have placed beyond them. Aunt was a great manager of her time, and always contrived to create leifure hours for reading ;. for that kind of converfatibn^ which is properly ftyled goflipping, (he had the utmod contempt. Light fuperficial reading, fuch as merely filla a blank in time, and glides over the mind without leaving an impreflion^ was little known there ; for few books crofled the Atlantic but fuch as were worth carrying fo far for their intrinsic value. She was too much accuilomed to have her mind occupied with objeds of real weight and importance, to give it up to frivolous purfuits of any kind. She be- gan the morning with reading the Scrip- tures. They always breakfafted early, and dined two hours later than the primitive inhabitants, who always took that meal at twelve. This departure from the ancient T ' - y cuftoms *■ r' ( ^-95 J !» and thck ancied Drtune r time, ; hours ■fatK)n» he had lerficial in time, leaving , . re J for fuch as ntrinfic >med to efts of . e it up She be- : Scrip- •ly, and Timitive meal at ancient cuftoms cuftoms was neceflary in this family, ta accommodate the great numbers of Britifli ' as well as ftrangers from New York, who were daily entertained at her liberal table. This arrangement gave her the advantage # of a longer forenoon to difpofe of. After breakfaft fhe gave orders for the family do-- tails of the day, which, without a fcrupu- lous attention to thofe minutiae which fell more properly under the notice of her young friends, fhe always regulated in the moil judicious manner, fo as to prevent all appearance of hurry and confufion. There was fuch a rivalry among domeftics, whofe fole ambition was her favour, and who had been fo trained up from infancy, each to their feveral duties, that excellence in each department was the refult both of habit and emulation ; while her young protegees were early taught the value and importance of good houfewifery, and were fedulous in their attention to little matters of decora* tion and elegance, which her mind was too much engrofTed to attend to ; fo that her houfehold affairs, ever well regulated, went 04 OJ* ■ m •ii i. ■■.-•!; Ill ' III IS1 » on in a mechanical kind of progrefs, that feemed to engage little of her attention, though her vigilant and overruling mind fet every fpring of adlion in motion. Having thus eafily and fpeedily arranged the details of the day, fhe retired to read in her clofet, ^ where fhe generally remained till about ^eleven ; when, being unequal to diftant walks, the colonel and fhe, and fome of her elder guefls, paffed fome of the hotter hours among thofe embowering (hades of her garden, in which (he took great plea- fure. Here was their Lyceum j here quef- tions in religion and morality, too weighty fpr table talk, were leifurely and coolly dif- cuflTed ;. and plans of policy and various uti- lity arranged. From this retreat they ad- journed to the portico j and while the co- lonel either retired to write, or went to give diredlions to his fervants, (he fat in this little tribunal, giving audience to new fettlers, followers of the army left in haplefs depen- dence, and others who wanted adidance or advice, or hoped (he would intercede with the colonel for fomething more peculiarly -*» Is, that tention, g mind Having e details ;r clofet, [I about ) didant fome of le hotter [hades of eat plea- lere quef- ) weighty oolly dif- rious uti- they ad- ; the CO- Til to give this little fettlers, efs depen- iftance or cede with peculiarly in ^ ■ * in his way, he having great influence with the colonial government. At the ufual hour her dinner-party affembled, which was generally a large one ; and here I mufl^di'* grefs from the detail of the day to obferve, that, looking up as 1 always did to Madame with admiring veneration, and having al* ways heard her mentioned with unqualified applaufe, I look often back to think what defeats or faults (he could poffibly have to rank with the fons and daughters of imper- fe£tion, inhabiting this tranfitory fcene of exiflence, well knowing, from fubfequent obfervation of life, that error is the una- voidable portion of humanity. Yet of this truifm, to which every one will readily fub- fcribe, i can recoiled no proof in my friend's condufl, unlefs the luxury of her table might be produced to confirm it. Yet this, after al), was but comparative luxury. There was more choice and fe- le£tion, and perhaps more abundance at her table, than at thofe of the other primitive inhabitants, yet how (imple were her re- pads compared to thofe which the luxury 11 i \ m of the higher ranks in this country offer to provoke the fated appetite* Her din- ner-party generally confided of fome of her intimate friends or near relations^ her adopted children, who were inmates for the time being; and (Irangers fome* times invited, merely as friendlefs travellers, on the fcore of hofpitality, but- often weU corned for fome time as flationary vifitor^, on account of worth or talents, that gave value to their fociety ; and, laAIy, military guefls, feledted with fome difcrimination on account of the young friends, whom they wiihed not only to proted, but cultivate by an improving aflbciation. Converfation here was always rational, generally inftruc-' tive, and often cheerful < The aftemooit frequently brought wim they vate by erfation inftruc- temoon fet of y here ; vas at- uries of ght well )fc early ;one by. the beat of ; . ( 299 ) • ; , of the day was pad, for the young people to go in parties of three or four, in open car^ riages, to drink tea at an hour -or two's drive from town. The receiving and entertaining this fort of company generally was the province of the younger part of the famUy ; and of thefc parties many came, in fummer evenings> to the Flats, when tea^ which was very early, was oven The young people, and thofxi who were older, took their different walks, while Madame fat in her portico, engaged in what might comparat- tively be called light reading, eflays, bio* graphy, poetry, &c. till the younger party itt out on their return home, and her do* meftic friends rejoined her in her portico, where, in warm evenings, a flight repaft was fometimes brought ; but they more frequently (hared the lad and mod truly ibcial meal within, ' "W inter made little difference in her mode of occupying her time. She then always retired to her clofet to read at dated periods. In converfation flie certainly took de- light, and peculiarly excelled^ yet did not in ^™ 06 the i 4' .^ 5^ ( 300 ) *' the lead engrofs ii, or feem to didate. On the contrary, her third of knowledge was fuch, and (he pofreff^^d fuch a peculiar ta* lent for difcovering the point of utility ia all things, that from every one's difcourfe ihe e3ctra£ted fome information, on which the light of her mind was thrown in fuch a diredion, as made it turn to account* * Whenever (he laid down her book (he took up her knitting, which neither occupied her eyes nor attention, while it kept her fingers engaged ; thus fetting an example of hum- ble diligence to her young protegees* In this employment ffie had a kind of tender fatisfa^ion, as little children, reared in the i^mily, were the only objedls of her care in this refpeft. Forthofc, (he conftantly pro- vided a fupply of hofiery till they were feven years old ; and, after that, transferred her attention to fome younger favourite* In her earlier days, when her beloved co- lonel could (hare the gaieties of fociety,^ I have been told they both had a itiigh reli(h for innocent mirth, and evei:y fpecies of hii- morous pleafantry } but in my time there •-• 'ji ' -I was -•1^ -r fiV . ; ( 301 ) was a chadened gravity in her difcourfe, whicb> however, did not repulfe innocent cheerfulnefs, though it^|(hed all manner of levity, and that flippanrjr w|iich great fami- liarity fometimes encourages amongd young people, who live much together. Had Ma- dame, with the fame good fenfe, the fame high principle, and general benevolence to- wards young people, lived in fociety, fuch as is to be met with in Britain, the prin- ciple upon which (he a6led would have led her to have encouraged in fuch fociety more gaiety and freedom of manners; As the re- gulated forms of life in Britain fet bounds to the eafe that accompanies good breeding, and refinement, generally diffufed, fupplies the place of native delicacy, where that is wanting, a certain decent freedom is both fafe and allowable. But, amid the iimpli* city of primitive manners, thofe bounds are not fo well defined. Under thefe circum- flances, mirth is a romp, and humour a buffoon; and both mud be kept within ftri^ limits. it m Jj. ■■'■* . 1 ■ i.-^. ■•■ 'R /|i:-':*v'*),''*/t' '-'i^'-'-''^ CHAP. Ti**.-^ :%r.T ?.iMr**»*i^-'V*"w* MMI^ 'h 'r »-,.' ( 3<5« ) r tr 30 i " • •• ■'I , • ' »T^HE hofpjtaUties of this family were fo far beyond their apparent income, that all ftrangers were aftonifhed at them. To account for this, it mud be obferved that, in the firft place, there was perhaps fcarce an inflance of a family pofleffing fuch un- commonly well trained, adlive, and diligent flaves, as that I defcribe. The fet that were (laid fervants when they married, had fome of them died off by the time I knew the fa- itiily ; but the principal roots from whence the many branches, then fl©uri(hing, fprung,^ yet remamed. Thefe were two women, who had come originally from Africa while very young ; they were moft ex- cellent fervants, and the mothers or grand- mothers of the whole fet, except one white- woolled negroe-man^ who, in my time, * . ■ . .. ^ fat ■4(M«BIIMiB ■'-*■ ( 3^3 ) * • -^ . were fo ne, that m. To ;cd that, )S fcarce kuch un- l diligent hat wete lad fome B^r the fa- 1 whence mrifhing, vere two lly from ; moft ex- )r grand- ne white- ly time, (at fat by the chimney and made (hoes for all the reft. The great pride and happinefs of thefe fable matrons were, to bring up their children to dexterity, diligence, and obedience. Diana being determined that Maria's children fhould not excel hcr*s in any quality, which was a recommendation to favour; and Maria equally refolved that her brood, in the race of excellence, fhould out- ft rip Diana's. Never was a more fervent competition. That of Phillis and Brunetta, in the Spectator, was a trifle to it : and it was extrer* ely difficult to de- cide on their refpeftive merits ; for though Maria's fon Prince cut down wood with more dexterity and difpatch than any one in the province, the mighty Csefar^ fon of Diana, cut down wheat, and threflied it, better than he. His fifter Betty, who, to her misfortune, was a beauty of her kind/ and pofFeiTed wit equal to her beauty, was the beft fempftrefs and laundrefs, by far, I have ever known ; and plain unpretend- ing Rachael, fifter to Prince, wife to Titus, alias Tyte^ and head cook, drefled dinners •. ^ that ;^i lift n ■«MMi M that might have pleafed Apicius. I record my old humble friends by their real names, becaufe they allowedly flood at the head of their own clafs ; and diilindion of •every kind (hould be refpeded. Befides, when the curtain drops, or indeed long before it falls, 'tis, perhaps, more creditable to have excelled in the lowed parts, than, to have fallen miferably fliort in the higher; Of the inferior perfonages, in this dark drama I have been characterizing, it would' be tedious to tell : fuffice it, that befides fil- ling up all the lower departments of the houfehold, and cultivating to the highefl advantage a mofl extenfivc farm, there was a thorough bred carpenter and fhoe-maker, and an univerfal genius who made canoes, nets, and paddles ; fhod horfes, mended implements of hufbandry, managed the fi thing, in itfelf no fmall department, rear- ed hemp and tobacco, and fpun bothj. made cyder, and tended wild horfes, as they call them; which was his province to manage and to break. For every branch ~ of 1 '] record names, ticad of F- every , -when )cfore it to have to, have er. Of k drama ould* be fid-es fil- ls erf the I higheft here was e-maker, e canoes, mended iged the ;nt, rear- in both; lorfes, as- province ry branch of • ( 305 ) • / of ihe domeflic oeconomy, there was a per- '- Ion allotted ; educated for the purpofe ; and this fociety was kept immaculate, in the fame way that the quakers preferve the reditude of theirs ; and, indeed, in the , only way that any community can be pre*, ferved from corruption; when a member (hewed fymptoms of degeneracy, he was immediately expelled, or in other words more fuitable to this cafe, fold. Among the domeftics, there was fuch a rapid in- ' creafe, in confequence of their marrying very early, and living comfortably with- out care, that if they had not been detached off with the young people brought up in the houfe, they would have fwarmed like . an over-docked hive. The prevention of crimes was fo much attended to in this well regulated family, that there was very little punifhment neceifary ; none that I ever heard of, but fuch as Diana and Maria infiided on their progeny, '' with a view to prevent the dreaded fetitence of expulfion; notwithflanding the petty ' . rivalry * * Ir : * ( 3o« ) - rtvalry between the branches of the two orr- ginal flocks. Inter-marriages between the Montagces and Capulets of the kitchen, which frequently took place, and the habit of lif ing together under the fame mild, though regular goyernment, produced a general con diality and affedion among all the members of the femily, who were truly ruled by the law of love; and eren thofe who occanonally differed about trifles, had an uncoofcious attachment to each other, which (hewed itfelf on all emergencies. Treated themfeNes with care and gentle- nefs, they were careful, and kind, with regard to the only inferiors and dependants they had, the domeftic animals. The fu<*> perior perfonages in the family, had always fome good property to mention, or good faying to refpeft of thofe whom they che- fifhed into attachment, and -exalted into in- telligence; while they, in their turn, improv- ed the fagacity of their fubjedl animals, by carefling and talking to them. Let no one laugh at this ; for whenever man is at • '■■■.-' - ' .. -. cafe two on- pcen the kitchen, 5 habit of [, though icral CON members ruled by lofe who I, had an :h other, icrgencics. nd gentle- uiid, with iependants . ThefU'^ had always , or good n they che- ted intoin- rn, impiov- inimals, by Let no •r man is at eafe ^ ( 307 ) eafe and unfophidicated, where his native humanity is not extinguished by want, or chilled by oppfeffion, it overflows to in- ferior beings ; and improves their indinfts, to a degree incredible to thofe who hav^ not witnefled it. In all mountainous coun- tries, where man is more free, more ge- nuine, and more divided into little focie- ties much detached from others, and much attached to each other, this cordiality of fentiment, this overflow of good will takes place. The poet fays, ♦ ■ • *' Humble love, and not proud reafbn. Keeps the door of heaven." This queftion mud be left for divines to determine ; but fure am I that humble love, and not proud reafon, keeps the door of earthly happinefs, as far as it is attain- able. 1 am not going, like the admirable Crichton, to make an oration in praife of ignorance; but a very high degree of re- finement certainly produces a quicknefs of difcernment, a niggard approbation » and 'li ( 308 ) and a faftidioufnefs of tafle, that find a ihoufand repulfive and dlfgufting qualities mingled with thofe that excite our admira- tion, and would (were we lefs critical) produce afFedion. Alas ! that the tree fhould fo literally impart the knowledge of good and evil ; much evil and little good. It is time to return from this excurfion, to the point from which I fet out, ^ The Princes and Csefars of the Flats had as much to tell of the fagacity and attach- ments of the animals, as their midrefs ref- lated of their own. Numberlefs anecdotes that delighted me in the lad century, I would recount : but fear I fhould not find my audience of fuch eafy belief as I was ; nor fo convinced of the integrity of my in- formers. One circumftance I muft men- tion, becaufe I well know it to be true. The colonel had a horfe which he rode occa- iionally, but which oftener travelled with Mrs. Schuyler in an open carriage. At par- ticular times, when bringing home hay or corn, they yoked Wolf, for fo he was cal- led^ in a waggon ; an indignity to which, for • at find a r qualities ar admira- ls critical) the tree owledge of little good, curfion, to le Flats had and attach- miftrefs re- fs anecdotes century, I puld not find ef as I was; y of my in- mufl: men- to be true, he rode occa- ravelled with age. At par- home hay or b he was cal- iiy to which, for ( 309 ) for a while, he un\villingly fubmitted. At length, knowing refiflance was in vain, he had recourfe to (Iraitagem ; and whenever he faw Tyte marflialling his cavalry for fer- vic^, he fwam over to the ifland ; the um« brageous and tangled border of which I formerly mentioned: there he fed with fearlefs impunity till he faw the boat ap- proach' ; whenever that happened he plung. , ed Into the thicket, and led his followers fuch a chafe, that they were glad to give up the purfuit. When he faw from his retreat that the wort was over, and thq fields bare, he very coolly returned. Being, by this time, rather old, and a favourite, the colonel allowed him to be indulged in his diflike to drudgery. The mind which is at eafe, neither (lung by remorfe, nor goaded by ambition or other turbulent paflions, nor worn with anxiety for the fupply of daily wants, nor funk into languor by (lupid idienefs, forms attachments and amufements, to which thofe exalted by culture would not ftoop, and thofe cru(h« ed by want and care could not rife. Of this , -^i " n nature ^' '*• I nature was the attachment to the tame ani« mals, which the domedics appropriated to themfelvesy and to the little ^nciful gardens where they raifed herbs or plants of difficult <:ulture, to fell and give to their friends. Each neg roe was indulged with his racoon, his great fquirrel, or mu(k rat ; or per- haps h')s beaver, which he tamed and attach- , ed to himfelf, by daily feeding and ca- reiTmg him in the farm-yard. One was fure about all fuch houfes, to find thefe anhnals, in whom their maders took the higheft pleafure. All thefe fmall features of human nature mud not be defpifed for ^ their minutenefs. — To a good mind they afford confolation. Science, directed by virtue, is a god- like enlargement of the powers of human nature ; and exalted rank is fo neceflary a finilh to the fabric of fociety, and fo inva- riable a refult from its regular eftablifhment, that in refpeding thofe, whom the divine wifdom has fet above uv, we perform 9, duty fuch as we expert from our own in- fierion ; whkh helps to fof^ort the gene- I ral » tame ani* ropriated to iful gardens s of difficult leir friends. i his racoon, at; or per- 1 and attach- ing and ca- . One wa« o find thefe ers took the fmall features c defpifed for od mind they (3^' ) . ral order of fociety. But fo very few in proportion to the whole can be enlighltened by fcience> or exalted by ficuation, that a good mind draws comfort from difcovering even the petty enjoyments permitted to thofe in the (late we confider mofl: abjed and de- prefled. ' -'S'^ I r i^i le, is a god- jrs of humaa fo neceffary a , and fo inva* eftabliihment, am the divine we perform ^ our own in- porttbe gene- ral .%f ^;r:. *">; t CHAP. ( 3»2 ) ii II, ft 1. ' >■• f n yrr * ,'■■*' CHAP. XXXII. < »v <- »■• ' Rtfources of Madame. — Provincial Culloms. ^ TT may appear extraordinary, with fd mo* derate an income, as could in thofe days be derived even from a condderable eftate in that country, how Madame found means to fupport that liberal hofpitality, which they conftantly exercifed. I know the utmod they could derive from their lands, and it was not much: fome mo« ney they had, but nothing adequate to the dignity, fimple as it was, of their flyle of living, and the very large family they always drew round them. But with re- gard to the plenty, one might almofl call it luxury, of their table, it was fupplied from a variety of fources, that rendered it lefs expenfive than could be imagined. Indians, grateful for the numerous bene- fits they were daily receiving from them, were conftantly bringing the fmaller game, and, in winter and fpring, loads of venifon. i little f Vi ) ■J\^' 1 Cuftoms. sritb fo mo* d in thofe :on(iderable dame found hofpitality, 1. I know from their : fome mo- adequate to of their ftyle family they iut with re- almod call ivas fupplied rendered ft le imagined, lerous bene- from them> [nailer game, Is of venifon. Little Little money paCed from one hand to ano- ther in the country ; but there was con- fiantly, as there always is in primitive abodes, before the age of calculation be- gins, a lundly commerce of prefents. The people of New York and Rhode-Iiland, fcveral of whom were wont to pafs a part of the fummer with the colond's family, were loaded with all the produflions of the farm and river. When they went homie, they again nev-er failed, at the feafon, to fend a large fupply of oyders, and all other {hell-ii(h, which at New York abounded ; belides great quantities of tropical fruit, which, from the fhort run between Jamaica and New York, were there ^Imod as plenty and cheap, as in their native foil* Their farm yielded them abundantly all that in general a muiket can fuppty ; and the young relatives who grew up about the houfe^ were rarely a day without bringing ibme fupply from the wood or the dream. The negroes, whofe bulinefs l^y frequently in the woods, never wil- lingly went there, qx any where elfe, VOL. I* f with- m •1 m^ without a gun, and rarely came back empty handed. Prefents of wine, then a very ufual thing to fend to friends to whom you wifhed to fliew a mark of gratitude, came very often, poffibly from the friends' of the yoving. people* who were reared ' and inftrudled in that houfe of benedic- tion ; as there were no duties paid for the entrance of any commodity there, wine, ^ rum, and fugar, were cheaper than can cafily be imagined ; and in cyder they abounded. ;^ v r. /* The ne^oes of the three truly united brothers, not having home employment" in winter, after preparing fuel ufed to cut down trees, and carry them to an ad- joining faw-milF, where, - in a very (hort time, they made great quantities of planks, ftaves, &c. which is ufually lliled lum- ber, for the Weft- India market. And when 2k fliip load of their flour, lumbet', and fahed provifions were accumulated, fome relative, for their behoof, freighted a veffel, and went out to the Weft-Indies with it. In this flygiah fchooncr, tl^ ,4 -de. 9 ack empty ;n a very to whom gratitude, he friends re reared ' benedic- iid for the re, wine, than can /der they I -. .. . • ,• . / '[ r ily united pioymcnt fed to cut I 3 an ad- ery (hort of plankif led lum- it. And , lumbet*, antulated, eighted a 'eft-lndic« rncr, ikt i 3^5 ) ; departure of which was always loc^d for«» ward to with unfpeakable horror, all the ftubborn or otherwife unmanageable ilaves v'er€ embarked, to be fold by way of puniOiment. This produced fuch falutary terror, that preparing the lading of thif fatal veflel generally operated ^ temporary reform at leaft. When its cargo was dif-^ charged in the Weft Indies, it took in a lading of wine, rum, fugar, coiFee, cho^^ colate, and all other Well-India produc-* tions, paying for whatever fell (hort at the value, and returning to Albany, fold the fur plus to their friends, after referving to themfelves a mod liberal {upply of alt the articles thus imported. Thus they had not only a profufion of all the requi- fites for good houfe-kedping, but had it in their power to do what was not unufual there in wealthy families, though none carried it fo far as thefe worthies. In procefs of time, as people multiplied, when a man had eight or ten children to fettle in life, and thefe marrying early, and all their families increafing faft, though f» 2 thef > ( 3»« ) they always were confidered as equals, and each kept a neat houfe and decent outfide, yet it might be that (ome of them were iiar lefs fuccefsful than others, in their various efforts to fupport their families ; but thefe deficiences were fupplied in a quiet and dehcate way, by prefents of every thing a family required, fent from all their con- nexions and acquaintances; which, where there was a continual fending back and forward of faufages, pigs, roaftmg pieces, &c. from one houfe to another, excited little attention : but when Aunt's Weft- Indian cargo arrived, all the families of this defcription within her reach, had an ample boon fent them of her new fup- ply. The fame liberal fpirit animated her fifter^ a very excellent perfon, who was married to Cornelius Culler, then mayor of Albany; who had been a nioft fucccff- ful Indian trader in his youth, and had acquired large poffeffiohs,/and carried on an extenfive commercial intercourft with the traders of that day, bringing from *- Europe ( 317 ) Europe quantities of thofe goods that beft fuited them, and fending back their peltry in exchange; he was not only wealthy^ but bofpi table, intelligent^ , and .iiberaU minded, as appeared by his attachment to the army; which was> in (hofe days^ the diflinguifiiing feature of thofe who in knowledge and candour were beyon<| others. His wife had the, fame confideratei and prudent generofity, which evet dired-* ed the humanity of her fifter; though^. having a large family, (he could not carry it to fo great an extent-. . . -^^^--k -w< If this maternal friend of their roujuai relatives could be faid to have ar preference among her own, and h&r hufband's rela^ tions, it was certainly to this family* Th^ ejdcft fon Philip, who bore her hufbandflf name, was on> that and other accounts, a( particular favourite; and was, J. think, a9^ much with them in cbiMhood, as his at«< ■n tention to his eduction, which was cef .r tainly the bed the province cou^lda^ordi), would permit* . o dihvmg become diflin^uiihed thto^^hi It j !' « M { 3«8 ) all the northern provinces, the common people, and the inferior ciafs of the mili« tary, had learned from the Canadians who frequented her houfe, to call aunt, Ma- dame Schuyler; but by one or other of thefe appellations (he was univerfaliy known; and a kindly cuftom prevailed, for thofe who were received into any de- gree of intimacy in her family, to addrefs her as their aunt, though not in the lead: related. This was done oftener to her> than others, becaufe (he excited more re- fpe£t and affe£l;ton; but it had in fome degree the fan^ion of cuilom* The Al- banians were fure to call each other aunt or coudn^ as far as the moft (trained con- ftrudion would carry thofe relations^ To ilrangers they were indeed very ihy at firH:, but extremely kind; when they not only ^ proved themfelves eftimable, but by a con* .t defcenfion to their cudoms, and acquiring a fmattering of their language, ceafed to be firangers,-then they were in a manner adopt* ed: for the (irft feal of cordial intimacy among the young people was to call each 1 othejf « ti other coufin; and thus in an hour of playful or tender intimacy 1 have known it more than once begin : ** I think you *' like me well enough, and I am fure I *' like you very well ; come, why (hould *' not we be coufins ? I am fure 1 (hould " like very well to be your coufin, for I have no coufins of my own where I can reach them. Well, then you (hall " be my coufin for ever and ever." In this uncouth language, and in this artlefs manner, were thefe leagues of amit^ com- menced. Such an intimacy was never formed unlefs the objedl of it were a kind of 'favourite with the parents, who im- mediately commenced uncle and aunt to the new coufin. This, however, was a high privilege, only to be kept by fidelity and good c6ndu£i. If you expofed your new coufin's faults, or repeated her mf« nuteft fecrets, or by any othier breach of conftancy loft favour, it was as bad as refuHng a challenge ; you were coldly re« ceived every where, and could never regain your footing in focicty, ^4^ . . Aunt'i Jb.vl; m fir ' . m ' p^'i-t' pi ( 320 ) . % > > Aunt's title, however, became current every where, and was moft completely con* firmed in the year 1750, when (he gave with mo^e than common folemnity a kind of an- nual feaft, to which the coloners two bro- thers, and his fiflers, aunt's fifler, Mrs. Cor- nelius Cuyler, and their families, with feveral otheryoungpeoplerelatedtothcm,aflembled. This was not given on a Qated day, but at the time when mofl of thefe kindred could be collected. This year 1 have often heard my good friend commemorate, as that on which their family flock of happinefs felt the Brft diminution. The feafl was made^^ and attended by all the collateral branches,) confiding of fifty-two, who had a claim by*, marriage or defcent, to call the colonel and my friend uncle and aunt, befides their parents. Among thefb were reckoned three or four grandchildren of their brothers, i At this grand gala there could be no idk. than fixty perCbns, but many o£ them were^ doomed to meet no more; for the next year the fmaU-pox, always peculiarly mortal here, (where it was improperly treated im V»23i;A ' . *he ( 321 ) the old manner,) broke out with great viru« lence, and raged like a plague ; but none of thofe relatives u'hom Mrs. Schuyler had domefticated fufFered by hi and the (kilt which (he had acquired from the commuixi* cations of the military furgeons who were wont to frequent her houfe, enabkd her to adminifter advice and affi (lance, which ef- fentially benefited many of the patients in whom (he was particularly intereded f though even her influence could not pre* vail on people to have recourfe to inocula« tion. The patriarchal feafl: of the former year, and the humane exertions of this« made the colonel and his confort appear fo much in the light of public benefadors> that all the young regarded them with a kind of filial reverence, and the addition of uncle and aunt was become confirmed and univerfal, and was confidered as an hono- rary diftinftion. The ravages which tha fmall-pox made this year among their Ma« hawk friends, was a fource of deep conceriv to thefe revered philanthropifts j but this was an evil not to be remedied by a^y or- dinary 1' ■f dinary means. Thefe people being accuf- tomed from early childh- ME. NEW WORKS, Pr/»/^/flr Longman, Hurst, Reesj^G^RMB, 1 Paterno/ier Row, T. THE HIGHLANDERS, and other Poems. By Mrs. GRANT. In ' vol. foolfcap 8vo. The 2d Edition. Price 7s. in t. ira Boards, 2. LETTERS from the MOUNTAINS ; being the real Correfpondence of a Lady, between the Years 1773 and 1803. In ij vols. i2mo. The jd Edition. Price 13s. 6d. in Boards. " The charm of thefe letters confifts in tfieir being the artlefs^ efFufion of a fuperior mind. There is fterling good fcnfe in moft ^ of her remarks'on books, manners, ed,ucation, tec. and a great ) Ihare of originality. She always appears to us in a light at once refped^ble and amiable. : Her underftanding is flrf^ng, her fan- cy lively, her fenfibiiity acute. She. has the art of placing every, thir.g be fore our eyes ; we fee her, vve hear her, and we become ' acq^uainted- with her ; and when we fhut her book, we leem to take leave of a friend." ^n. Rev. 3. LETTERS FROM ENGLAND. ByDOJT MANUEL ALVAREZ ESPRIELLA. Tranflated' from the Spanifb. The 2d Eciition. In 3 vojf. i2mo. Price 1 8s. in Boards. ** Viewing thefe letters as fpirited remarks oik England, we ' mud pronounce them to dcferve, in niany refpe(6)8» the noticed of EngliAi readers. They contain many particu|ars of whi«li<:. the generality of our countrymen are ignorant, and they are in-- terfperfed with anecdotes and b^n-mttif which end the narrative 1 and produce a^good et£c£l." Af. J2«v. 4. MEMOIRS OF MARMONTEL. Written by himfelf. Containing his Literary and Political Life, and Anecdotes of the Principal Chara6er% cf the Eighteenth Century. A new Edition^ corrected throughout. In 4 vols. i2mo. Price One Guinea in Board?. ** This is one of the moft Interefting productions which has ifl'ued from the French prefs ftnce the revolution." Mf. Rev, ** Tile narrative is fo gay and airy, the tone of fentiment fo mild and unafluming, and the living pi^ures with which the bufuft part of the fcuic is crowded^ fo full of delicacy, truth, and ^