1
■.%.
^.
.0 "\^^^
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)
//
7
m^
L^/
s'..
z
1.0
I.I
1.25
1^1^ 12.5
?^ lifi llliio
18
U 11.6
Photographc
Sdences
Corporation
iV
,\
4
■i;^
<>
\
o^
'^j^
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580
(716) 872-4503
<^
V
■;l
,i
>
CIHM/ICMH
Microfiche
Series.
CIHM/ICMH
Collection de
microfiches.
Canadian Institute for Historical IVIicroreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques
The Institute has attempted to obtain the best
original copy available for filming. Features of this
copy which may be bibliographically unique,
which may alter any of the images in the
reproduction, or which may significantly change
the usual method of filming, are checked below.
D.^:
Coloured covers/
'Ccuverture de couleur
r~| Covers damaged/
n
D
Couverture endommagde
Covers restored and/oj- laminated/
Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul6e
Cover title missing/
Le titre de couverture manque
Coloured maps/
Cartes gdographiques en couleur
Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/
Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)
Coloured plates and/or illustrations/
Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur
Bound with other material/
Relid avec d'autres documents
D
Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion
along interior margin/
La re liure serrde peut causer de I'ombre ou de la
distortion le long de la marge intirieure
Blank leaves added during restoration may
appear within the text. Whenever possible, these
have been omitted from filming/
II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes
lors d'une restauration apparalssent dans le texte,
mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont
pas dtd film^es.
Additional comments:/
Commentaires suppl6mentaires:
L'Institut a microfilmd le meilleur exemplaire
qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details
de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du
point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier
une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une
modification dans la mdthode normale de fiimaue
sont indiquds ci-dessous.
I I Coloured pages/
D
Pages de couleur
Pages damaged/
Pages endommagdes
Pages restored and/oi
Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculdes
Pages discoloured, stained or foxei
Pages d6color6es, tachet^es ou piqu^es
Pages detached/
Pages d6tach6es
Showthroughy
Transparence
Quality of prir
Qualit^ indgale de I'impression
Includes supplementary materit
Comprend du materiel suppl^mentaire
Only edition available/
Seule Edition disponible
I I Pages damaged/
I I Pages restored and/or laminated/
ryi Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/
I I Pages detached/
r~~| Showthrough/
I I Quality of print varies/
I I Includes supplementary material/
I I Only edition available/
Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata
slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to
ensure the best possible image/
Les pages totalement ou partiellement
obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure,
etc., ont 6t6 film6es d nouveau de fapon d
obtenir la meilleure image possible.
This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/
Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqud ci-dessous.
10X 14X 18X 22X
26X
30X
J
12X
16X
20X
24X
28X
32X
The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks
to the generosity of:
^^ — . Library of the Public
Archives of Canada
L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grAce d la
g6nArosit6 de:
La bibliothdque des Archives
pubiiques du Canada
The images appearing here are the best quality
possible considering the condition and legibility
of the original copy and in keeping with the
filming contract specifications.
Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed
beginning with the front cover and ending on
the last page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All
other original copies are filmed beginning on the
first page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, and ending on the last page with a printed
or illustrated impression.
The last recorded frame on each microfiche
shall contain the symbol -^ (meaning "CON-
TINUED "), or the symbol V (meaning "END"),
whichever applies.
Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec ie
plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et
de la nattetd de l'exemplaire film6. et en
conformity avec les conditions du contrat de
filmage.
Les exemplaires orlginaux dont la couverture en
papier est imprimie sont film6s en commengant
par Ie premier plat et en terminant soit par la
dernlAre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par Ie second
plat, selon Ie cas. Tous les autres exemplaires
orlginaux sont film6s en commengant par la
premiere page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par
la dernidre page qui comporte une telle
empreinte.
Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la
dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon Ie
cas: Ie symbols -^ signifie "A SUIVRE", Ie
symbols V signifie "FIN".
Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included In one exposure are filmed
beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to
right and top to bottom, as many frames as
required. The following diagrams illustrate the
method:
Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., pauvent §tre
filmds i des taux de reduction diffdrents.
Lorsque Ie document est trop grand pour dtre
reproduit en un seui clich6, il est fiim6 d partir
de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite,
et de haut en bas, en prenant Ie nombre
d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants
illustrent la mdthode.
1
2
3
1 - :■ « , ;: 3
I 4 5 6
%^
^
Mexican Soldier.
fh^.^ ,^<>4^.- ^Z^t
«-<.
/«.'
I'RAVELS
IN
NORTH AMERICA.
Moose Deer.
/JTo ■
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR C. J. G. & F. RIVINGTON,
Booksellers to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD, AND WATERLOO-I'LACE.
1831.
t ;
k
n
It
3
pub
the
K'll
hiji
cuU
mot
/XDVEiri'lSEMF.NT.
Kb'
!!;
Hi
This Work, originally prepared and
published by the '' Society for Proinoting
the Education of the Poor in Ireland, held in
Kildare Place, Dublin,'' has been repriided
by their permission, and illustrated ivith neiv
cuts, for the use of The Society for Pro-
luoting Christian Knowledge,
W\
N, Am.
I
^1'
rRAYELS
IN
NORTH AMERICA.
If:
1^
It matters not how fond a man may be of tra-
velling about ; perhaps there is not one who
has returned home after a long absence, without
feeling a sensible satisfaction. In every spot he
sees an old acquaintance, whilst he recognises,
with pleasure, every face that was familiar to
him before his departure, even though the indi-
vidual himself was a perfect stranger. He even
remarks, with interest, (if he had been an inha-
bitant of a city,) the improvements that a few
years, or perhaps months, have produced — the
new buildings that have been erected, the old
ones that have been thrown down, the streets
that have been enlarged, and even the houses
that have changed their possessors. Some of
those persons with whom he was formerly ac-
quainted, he indeed misses in his daily walks,
and, on enquiry, he is told they are dead. Others,
having embarked in different pursuits, have
shifted their residence ; and others still, whom
X TRAVKLS IN NORTH AMKIllCA.
lie never before saw, occupy their places. Some
have sunk in the world by unforeseen distress ;
many hy imprudently living beyond their means;
and some by the exposure of their dishonest
practices ; whilst, on the other hand, it is no
less true than satisfactory to the industrious, that
worldly success has seldom failed to attend on
those who are not wantini^ to themselves. It is
not surprising, therefore, that George Phili})s,
after an absence of nearly two years in South
America, whither commercial business had first
led him, and curiosity had afterwards detained
him, thought a long time must elapse before he
would again exchange the comforts of his native
city for tl e hardships and the privations neces-
sarily to be undergone, when a man travels in a
foreign country, particularly ifit be but partly
civilized. He had visited the most remarkable
places on that vast continent, and though the
barbarism of the inland tribes had prevented him
from traversing s the middle districts, he liad
gained either from books, or from those who
liad themselves travelled over the country, a very
adequate knowledge of the rest. He had seen
the far-famed mountains of Cotopaxi and Chim-
borazo, the ranges of the mighty Andes, the
rivers Amazon, the Oronoco, the La Plata, the
valuable silver mines of Potosi ; and, having thus
gratified his curiosity, he resolved to devote
himself steadily to business, perfectly aware how
much he owed to the unremittincj kindness of
his partners, for with the greatest readiness they
Some
stress ;
ncans ;
ihoiiest
: is no
js, that
end on
It is
Miilips,
South
ad first
ctaincd
fore he
> native
i neces-
els in a
partly
arkable
iffh the
ed him
le liad
sc who
, a very
id seen
Chim-
es, the
ita, the
nif thus
devote
ire how
ness of
.'ss they
TRAVELS IN XOKTII AMKUICA.
3
had dispensed with Ins personal assistance in the
counting-house, during the whole period of his
absence.
However, it has been often said, that to know
one's self is the most dilHcult of all sciences,
and it will not be wondered at that Philips was
mistaken, when he thought he would never again
feci a desire of visiting foreign lands. For two
years after his return, he continued to bestow
liis unremittinjj attention on the business of the
fnm in which he was a partner. Active and in-
tclligf^nt as he was naturally, travelling had
opened his mind and sharpened his understand-
ing, and he was deservedly esteemed excellently
well informed upon commercial affairs ; his part-
ners also W'Cre active in business, and, as every
transaction was governed by the most unshaken
integrity, it may be well believed that they pros-
l)ered. At the end of this period, however,
Pliilips again felt the w^ish of enlarging his
sphere of observation, by visiting the same quar-
ter of the world, but not the same scenes which
he had before seen ; for whereas he had formerly
explored the region of South America, he now
felt the most eager desire to examine that of
North America, and as much as possible not
only to become acquainted with the United States,
but with the manners of the Indian tribes which
lie scattered through its more westerly districts.
It was not with Philips as with some giddy
men, who no sooner entertain a wish than they
are impatient to g
II
i
HV
;*\
B 2
I,
^1
'II
i!|i
ii
TRAVELS IN NOUTH AMERICA.
foiLitlJcn it, lie could liavo <Tivon up Iiis plan
wiihojit ro'rrct, and reniaiiicd at homo ; but the
fact
•li
d(
itcd to check
uas, no such consideraiiou existed to ciiec
his purpo.se. His two partners were fully com-
petent to carry on the business during his ab-
sence, and he therefore saw no obstacle to the
induljrence of his inclination. A vessel "^vhieh
belonged to one of his commercial Iriends was
about to sail ibr Ijarbadoes, and after touchinjx
at several of the oilier West India Islands, to
sail to Vera Cruz, a considerable sea-])ort on
the ea:>t( rn coast of Nl Spain. " In this way,"
thought he, as he traced his future course U})on
the map, '* I shall gain a knowledge of that nu-
merous cluster of islands which arc called the
West Indies, and having landed in the kinirdom
of New ^^pain, my acquaintance with North
America will be resumed almost at the Isthmus
of Panama, wliich divides it from South America,
and should the Almighty grant me health, I may
then shape my course northwards, according to
circumstances.''
He was too upright, however, to expect the
same share in the commercial profits of the
house, which would have been justly due to him
had he continued to give his personal assistance
to the management of its affairs. His proposal
was an equitable one, and therefore acceded to,
after some friendly altercation, in which one
side desired to act with generosity, and the other
with a duL regard to justice. It was this : — that
during his absence he should be what is called
r RAVELS IN NOUin AMEiacA.
his plan
hut the
to chock
Uy coni-
his ah-
c to the
•1 ^vhicli
nds was
touching
Linds, to
•])ort on
lis vvay,"
ISC U})on
tiiat nu-
ullcd tlie
\inLnlom
1 North
Isthmus
rri erica,
, I may
rding to
)cct the
of the
to him
sistance
proposal
eded to,
ch one
le other
: — that
s called
an anonymous partner, drawing annually a fair
and lihcral jxr-ccntage on his capital, with a
clear uiulerstanding that on his return he should
take up the same situation in the firm from which
ho was now for a time to absent himself. His
expedition would most probably occupy him
more than two years ; but he not only engaged
to transmit regular accounts of his proceedings,
whenever opportunity should occur, but to men-
tion in these letters what course he intended to
take, so thai in case any circumstances should
require his presence in Europe, he might receive
the earliest intimation ; and in addition he was
to look after some sums of money due to the firm
by persons residing in St. Domingo, besides
making any commercial speculation which cir-
cumstances might render advisable.
It was on the last day of the old year that
Philips embarked at Cork, in the south of Ire-
land, on board his friend's vessel, and it may
well be supposed that, being of a serious turn
of mind, he was impressed with this ce'ncidencc
between the period of the year and the circum*
stances of his situation. He was leaving behind
the year that was drawing to a close, and the
friends and connexions with whom his early
life had been spent ; he was about to enter upon
another year, and upon a new scene, and it might
be, he would never see the close of that year,
or return to the scenes he was quitting. Earn-
estly, therefore, did he offer up his prayers to
God, that He woidd guide and counsel him, that
■i
■*« '
I
ii
B 3
6
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
I I
I .
I Ir I
^li
f i
It
ili!
! f
i' I
He would protect him from secret and open dan-
ger, and (iiially receive him into His kingdoin.
Phihps was a rchgious man : liis parents had
early imbued him with a fondness for devotion,
and though some ungodly persons might be found
to mjdve light of it, the reader will not think the
\vorse of him, that, obout to absent himself for
so long a period, and to pass a part of his time
at least in the remote and imperfectly explored
parts of North America, he reflected with pain
that he was voluntarily withdrawing himself
from those places where Christians can offer up
in a house of worship their united prayers. He
resolved, however, to do all that he could to
supply his loss ; he brought with him a small
portable copy of the Holy Scriptures, in order
that he might read therein, and be warned from
it of his duty, both to Him whose revealed will
it contained, and to his fellow-creatures, whom
it commanded him to love as himself, \
i . When the vessel set sail the weather was
clear and mild, but soon afterwards they had a
succession of storms and fogs, whicli obscured
the sun, and gave Philips every moment the ap-
prehension that the vessel in which he was a pas-
senofcr would run aboard some other, and either
founder or be materially damaged. Other fear
than this Philips had not, for he had now been
often enough at sea to feel ail a seaman's secu-
rity, when he is sailing in what they term a
good sea-boat ; and in truth, the hard gales they
met on the passage, sufliciently te^nPcd the truth
r
!i|!
i
t
1
a
"■
c
v'l
c
1
b
h
•ji
c
-
b
w
tl
1;
tl
St
.1
w
f
w
1
82
1
til
tl]
>M
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
pen dan-
njjtloiTi.
rents had
devotion,
; be found
tliink the
nisclf for
f his time
explored
with pain
T himself
I offer up
ers. He
could to
n a small
, in order
ned from
aled will
?s, whom
Ither was
y had a
ibscnred
It the ap-
las a pas-
id either
;her fear
low been
's secu-
term a
lies they
lie truth
of the technical expression — that she can I'tce in
all weathers. lie knew that the captain was
an experienced seaman, and liis crew steady,
and thus felt no alarm at the immense mountains
of waves which sometimes struck the sliip, and
sometimes hung curling over the sides, as if
ready to burst and pour a deluge upon the deck.
At one period, her top-masts, yards, and differ-
ent parts of the rigging were carried away,
her sails were split, her quarter boards stove
in ; every thfng that was loose on deck washed
away ; yet in an incredibly short time the
hardy sailors had repaired the damage, and the
good ship was holding on her course, as if no-
thing adverse had befallen her.
In the first voyage that our traveller had made
across the Atlantic, he had observed with won-
der the effect of the trade wind, which, at a
certain latitude, always blows from East to West ;
but it now appeared more striking to him per-
haps from the boisterous weather with which he
contrasted it. For three weeks the vessel had
been tossed about at the mercy of the waves,
when, by degrees, the wind began to subside,
the sea became calm and smooth as a lake, and
the captain announced that they had passed the
stormy latitude, and would shortly feel the trade
wind. In this expectation every preparation
was made — the top-gallant- masts were set, the
sails made ready, and an awning prepared for
the quarter deck, all which indicated to l^hilips
that steady hreezes, warm regions, and pleasant
•i-
■ t
\
II
! I
!|r|i
8
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
sailing, were reckoned on. The crew were
also, according to custom, set to clean, paint,
and adorn the vessel ; or, as the seamen call it,
to give her a new jacket, in order that she might
appear to advantage in the harbours of the
West India Islands ; and in this all the sailors
have a degree of pride — every one wishing that
his vessel may become the object of admiration.
Indeed it amused Philips to see how far this
spirit was carried : from head to stern not a
plank-rope, mast, or yard, ring, bolt, or even
nail, escaped — every thing received a full-dress
coat of paint, or was made new with a black
varnish of tar. The barrels, the buckets, the
handle of the pump, were painted ; and, that
nothing might be omitted, even the inside of the
water-buckets received a coating.
The change was delightful, for the vessel lay
upon the water without motion, and this calm
continued for two days, until every one began
to wish for a little wind to carry them on their
voyage. It was on the 23d January that Phi-
lips was observing from the deck the smooth sea
around, when looking towards the eastern ho-
rizon, he saw a vessel moving towards him with
full sails ; a few moments after, the sky dark-
ened, a gentle ripple spread over the hitherto
still and smooth surface of the water, and a breeze
came on so steady, that almost without being
sensible of any motion, the vessel advanced at
the rate of five miles an hour. In a moment
every hand was busy in preparing and setting
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
ew were
m, paint,
:n call it,
jhe might
rs of the
lie sailors
shing that
Imiration.
V far this
jrn not a
;, or even
full-dress
h a black
ickets, the
and, that
jide of the
vessel lay
this calm
)ne began
1 on their
that Phi-
nooth sea
tern ho-
him with
^ky dark-
hitherto
a breeze
ut being
anced at
moment
setting
every possible sail, for it was the trade wintl,
and experience told the seaman that once arrived
in this latitude all his labour is over, the vessel
scuds constantly before the wind. The sails re-
main spread ni^ht and day, no chani^e is neces-
sary, occasional bracing only is required, and in
this way she will proceed from IGO to 200 knots
(or miles) in twenty-four hours.
It was on the 10th of February that ** land"
was shouted from the mast head ; but it was the
practised eye of a sailor alone that could have
discerned it. Philips looked in vain for it, and
when at length he discerned what was said to be
Barbados, it looked more like a cloud forming
a long dark streak a little above the horizon.
This streak grew gradually more and more dis-
tinct, till breaking, as the vessel advancf^d, it be-
came unequal, assumed the form of mountains,
and at length the land became distinctly visible.
The island of Barbados, which our traveller
was now approaching, is one of a great many
islands, called the West Indies, which lie scat-
tered dirough the wide sea separating the con-
tinents of North and South America, and wash-
ing the eastern side of the narrow isthmus of
land that joins them. As they are too numerous
for mention, it will be sufficient to say, that the
chief of them sweep in a circular line to the
north-west, from the north-eastern part of South
America, near the river Oronoco ; they are,
Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent, St.
Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, Dominica, Gua-
10
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMEIIICA.
I i
!
I i
n
111
tlaloupe, Antigua, St. Christopher, St. Bartholo-
mew, extending througli nearly six hundred
miles of latitude. From the most northerly and
westerly of this circular range of islands, Philips
found that a straight line running westward
would pass through the large islands of Porto
Rico, St. Domingo, and Jamaica, and that to
the north of St. Domingo, a chain of small
islands, five hundred in number, (many of which,
however, are only rocks and cliffs,) reached as
far as the coast of Florida, on the south coast of
North America, thus establishing a chain, as it
were, between the north-eastern extremity of
South America, and the south-eastern province
of North America. Though the name of West
Indian Islands, however, is given to the whole
of those composing this vast range, some of those
which have been already enumerated are known
by other denominations ; that numerous cluster,
for example, last mentioned, is sometimes called
the Bahamas, whilst the several islands from
Trinidad to Domiaica, were denominated the
Windward Islands by the Spaniards, who dis-
covered them about three hundred years back,
and thence northward to Porto Rico, the Lee-
ward Islands, from the circumstance of their
position with respect to those who were sailing
with a trade wind from Spain westward.
It was night when they made the entrance of
the harbour of Bridgetown, the capital of the
Island of Barbadoes, and, as a smart breeze was
blowing from the land, they were obliged to
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
11
3artliolo-
hundred
lerly and
s, Philips
westward
of Porto
1 that to
of small
of which,
cached as
h coast of
hain, as it
remity of
1 province
le of West
the whole
e of those
ire known
IS cluster,
nes called
mds from
nated the
, who dis-
ears back,
, the Lee-
j of their
ere sailing
d.
ntrance of
tal of the
)reeze was
bliged to
lie-to till morning. This, however, which was at
first considered a disappointment, gave Philips
an opportunity of admiring the beautiful scenery
which the day-light presented to him. I'hc har-
bour is a fine open bay, capable of containing
five hundred ships : many ships were riding at
anchor, and a number of boats and small craft
were sailing to and fro. Through the shipping
at the bottom of the bay were seen numbers of
neat cottages, surrounded by tropical trees, re-
markable for the richness of their foliage. On
the south-west stands the town, and beyond it
verdant fields of sugar, coffee, and cotton, coun-
try houses, clusters of negroes' huts, wind-mills
and sugar-mills ; in short, nothing appeared
wanting to complete the beauty of the landscape.
The island of Barbadoes is about twenty-one
miles in length, and fourteen in breadth, most of
it being under cultivation ; the population con-
sists of about 20,000 whites and people of co-
lour, and G0,000 negroes ; these last are slaves,
who are the property of their masters, and work
without wages : but it is only necessary to see the
indolent manner in which they labour, to be con-
vinced that it is not only cruel, but unwise, to
exact this kind of service from our fellow-crea-
tures ; for, as Philips remarked, half the num-
ber of hired labourers would easily have per-
formed as much work in a given time as a dozen
of these oppressed beings.
Bridgetown, the capital, contains about 1:200
houses, built mostly of brick, with ornamented
J*;
'd
1$
t ■•
'•f*-
^^.^
ri
■i
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
balconies ; tlic streets are wide, and the neigh-
bouring low grounds, which were ibrmerly often
ovcrHowed by tlie spring tides, being drained,
the town has in consequence become more
healthy; but, like all the rest of the West India
Islands, it is subject to hurricanes, of which we
in Ireland can have no idea. These hurricanes
are a sudden and violent storm of wind, rain,
thunder, and lightning, attended with a swelling
of the sea, and sometimes with an earthquake.
Whole fields of sugar canes are whirled into the
air, and scattered over the country. The strong-
est trees of the forest are torn up by the roots,
and driven about like stubble, the wind-mills are
swept away in a moment, and even the huge
copper-boilers and stills, of several hundreds
weight, are wrenched from the ground and bat-
tered to pieces ; even the houses afford no pro-
tection, the roofs being torn off at one blast,
whilst the rain causes torrents, which rise seve-
ral feet and rush in like a flood upon them. ^
It is now above fifty years since the most vio-
lent of them happened, and yet so great was the
damage done by it, that the town has not since
recovered from it — four thousand of the inhabit-
ants perished ; and so great was the force of the
wind, that it not only blew down the strongest
walls, but even lifted some heavy cannon off the
ramparts, and carried them some yards distance ;
and the injury done to property was computed
at not less than one million three hundred thou-
sand pounds.
I "
I ll
I of
I .n
I wl
TRAVELS IN NOUTII AMERICA,
1^
le neigh"
ily often
drained,
le more
est India
^hich we
urricanes
ndj rain,
swelling
thquake.
I into the
e strong-
[he roots,
-mills are
the huge
hundreds
and bat-
no pro-
)ne blast,
ise seve-
lem.
Tiost vio-
was the
not since
inhabit-
ce of the
strongest
)n off the
istance ;
omputed
ed thou-
As tijc vessel in which Philips was had but
a short time lo stnv at 13ar!)a(locs, he thought it
better to live aboard, makini;, liowever, daily
excur.sions in all directions ; and in this way he
had frequent opportunities of observing the ha-
bits of the people. On one of these occasions
he ibund that it was the custom to bring the ani-
mals alive to the market, to be killed after the
different joints were sold, and that the meat is
often slaughtered, dressed, and brought to table,
in the course of a few hours. He was not long,
indeed, withcut perceiving that the extreme
heat of the weather rendered it very difficult to
keep meat, and yet it always revolted hiin to eat
of the animal which he knew to have lived so
short a time before. But there was no subject
which possessed so painful an interest as the
treatment of the slaves. These, the reader will
understand, are unhappy Africans, who, hav-
ing been torn away from their native country by
traders who deal in this unchristian traffic,
and carried to the West Indies and the United
States of America, are sold to masters, who
oblige them to work without wages, and flog
them with the greatest cruelty for the slightest
fault, oftentimes, indeed, without cause. Fre-
quently did he see them labouring in the
plantations under the direction of an overseer,
who with a whip kept them to their work. It is
true, that this inhuman traffic is no longer sanc-
tioned by Great Britain, and that any of her sub-
jects engaging in it are liable to the severest
c
■"I
• r
u
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
punisliment. It is also true, tliat the laws of
the United States proliibit it, and that some other
European powers have promised to follow the
example of England by abolishing it, but such a
measure could only prevent any further impor-
tation of slaves from Africa ; it could not go so
far as to emancipate those who had been pur-
chased, some at the cost of 60/. 70/. and 80/.,
and therefore, in their persons as well as in the
l^ersons of their children born before the passing
of the act, slavery still continues. What right,
thought he, has one man over another, to make
him thus toil like a beast of burden without
wages? Are we not all come from the same pa-
rents ? Have we not a common nature? Is
not God the Father of us all ? It is said that
these unfortunate beings are ignorant ; well, let
us instruct them, and they will become better —
but let us not treat them as if they were not
men. It is said also that they are sold to Eu-
ropeans by their own countrymen, who take them
prisoners in their wars with one another, and
that it is the custom of their country to make
slaves of such ; but the fact is, that it is the white
men who engage in this trade who encourage
those uncivilized people to go to war, and these
wars will continue so long as we continue to
purchase their captives.
A few days after he had made these reflections,
he happened to meet an African funeral, and
though he saw in it much to reprove, he was
far too sensible not to ascribe the blame to their
I
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
15
laws of
Tie other
How the
It such a
r impor-
iot go so
sen pur-
md 80/.,
IS in the
; passing
lat right,
to make
without
same pa-
ure? Is
said that
well, let
better —
Yere not
to Eu-
ake them
ler, and
o make
he white
icourage
nd these
itinue to
flections,
jral, and
J, he was
e to their
owners, who did not teach them better. The
corpse was conveyed in a neat small hearse,
drawn by one horse. Six boys, twelve men,
and forty-eight women walked behind in pairs,
but not indeed as mourners. Instead of sorrow,
or even seriousness, they followed talking and
laughing, jumping, and sporting with each other
in high festivity. " Such,'* thought Philips, "is
the conduct of these ignorant people, who think
of death, perhaps, as only a release from slavery.
When the procession arrived at the gate of
the burying ground, the corpse was taken from
the hearse and borne by eight negroes, not upon
their shoulders, but upon four white napkins
placed under the coffin. The body was carried
directly to the grave, and though Philips ob-
served thoy said no prayers over it, it was laid
down and covered with the earth with great
decency and decorum, the clay being first put
into a basket, and then gently strewed over it ;
during the whole of which time an old negro
woman continued singing a wild African song.
When the funeral was over, every one gathered
round the grave, and, as if addressing the de-
ceased, called aloud, " Gooil night, good bye —
me soon come to you ;" then each scattering a
handful of clay over the grave, they all dispersed
and went away.
In Barbadoes the land is cultivated in open
fields ; hedges, walls, and all the usual fences
seem to be unknown, nor can the eye discover
c 2
. IS
1 »,•
!.Ti
«
'.T
■i.
iii'l
10
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMKUICA.
any distinct separation of the (lifFcrent estates ;
and altljoiifrli the whole face of the codntry is
for the most part well cidtivated, it has a naked
and nnintcresting appearance from tlie want of
wood, of which tlu re is not a sufTIciency to be
ornamc ntal to the country. Anxious, during his
short stay at Barhadocs, to 5;ce whatever the
Island af lorded worthy of a traveller's notice,
Philips made frc(juent excursions of some miles
through the country ; the usual conveyance on
these occasions beinij a sort of simple horse-
ch.'use, with a leather roof like the head of a
gig. Nothing was to him more revolting than
the custom of being attended by slaves on foot,
who run by the side of these carriages, and
whose duty it is to keep up with the horse the
whole way, in order to be ready to hold the
rein whenever the rider chooses to alight or stop ;
but we in this country can have no idea of the
hardships these poor people undergo — and all
this they endure under a burning sun, which even
the rich and great with all their luxuries and means
of self-indulgence, find almost insupportable.
In Barbadoes, as well as throughout the
West Indies, the rains make the only distinction
of the seasons — the trees are green the whole
year round ; they have no cold, no frosts, no
snows, and but rarely some hail. The storms
of hail, however, are very violent when they
happen, and the hail- stones very large. Lying,
as these Islands do, so near the middle parts
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
17
estates ;
jdntry is
a naked
want ot*
icy to be
uring liis
tever the
s notice,
mie miles
yance on
le liorse-
lead of a
ting than
5 on foot,
iocs, and
horse the
hold the
t or stop ;
ea of the
— and all
lich even
nd means
table,
bout the
istinction
he whole
rosts, no
e storms
len they
Lying,
lie parts
of the eartli, the heat would be intolerable,
if the sea- breeze, rising gradually each day
as the sun advances, did not blow in uj)on
them from the sea and refresh the air. — On
the other band, as the night advances, a breeze
begins to blow smartly from the land, and it is
a most curious circumstance that it proceeds,
as it were, from the centre of each island in all
directions at once. To this account of the cli-
mate, it may be added, that the rains are by no
means so moderate as with us. Our heaviest
rains are but dews comparatively. They are
rather like floods of water poured out from the
clouds with prodigious impetuosity — the rivers
rise in a few hours, new rivers and lakes are
formed, and in a short time all the low country
is under water.
Thougb the West India Islands produce cof-
fee in great abundance, together with the plant
from which cotton is obtained, and the root called
ginger, the great article of West India com-
merce is sugar. This is the juice extracted from
the sugar-cane, by bruising them in vast mills,
and then boiling it to a proper thickness. This,
when suffered to cool gradually, is the brown
sugar of this country. From the syrup which
is found at the bottom of the coolers after the
sugar is made, and which is called molasses, a
strong spirit called rum is distilled, and from
the scummings of the sugar an inferior one is
produced. The tops of the canes, and also the
c 3
I ,:
18
TRAVELS IN NOUTH AMKRICA.
It'avcs wliicli prrow on tlic joints, make very ir^md
food for tlic'ir cattle, and t\w ri'liisi; of tlu? cams,
after f(rin(lin;f, serves for fuel, so that no part of
this excellent ]>lant is witliout its use.
In tlie West India Islands an estate or plan-
tation is not valued by the number of acres of
wbicb it consists, but rather by the stock the
owner bas on it ; — the windmills, the boilintr,
coolin<if, and distillin^-bouses, the buyin<jf and
suppciiing a suitable number of slaves and cattle.
The price of a male ne<^ro, on bis first arrival,
used to be in Barbadoes from .'JO/, to 3()L wo-
men and boys about 51. less ; but the importation
of fresb slaves into the island beini^ now prohi-
bited by law, there arc instances of a siui^Ie ne-
gro, expert at business, brinj^ing 150 guineas. —
'riie negroes are supported at a very cheap rate ;
to each family the owner appropriates a small
portion of land, allowing them two days in the
week to cultivate it. All the rest of the charge
consists in a cap, a shirt, a pair of breeches, and
a blanket, and the profit of their labour yields
from 10/. to 12/. annually.
During Philips's stay in Barbadoes, the wea-
ther was several times sufficiently clear to ena-
ble him to see the island of St. Vincent, which
lies about the same distance west of Bridgetown
that Holyhead is from Dublin, that is, al)out
sixty miles ; but he was not able to gratify his
wish of visiting it. It is true the trade-wind
would have brought him there in a few hours,
TllAVEI..'. IN NORTH AMLUICA.
10
but tlic jx'ilocl of the vessel's departure In vvliicli
lie Iwid corm; out was too uncertain to allow his
absentiiiji; hinisc if. lie found nund)ers, how-
ever, able to answer all his erujuiries, and soon
ascertained that it was soniethini; larirer than
Darbadoes, and extremely rruitful, resend)lin<r
the other islands in the commodities it f)ro(luccs,
and consisting of a mixed population of wiiites
and nej^roes. But the subject on which he was
most desirous to be informed, was the volcanic
eruptions which took place in the year 181i2, for
he had heard, even in Ireland, of the ashes, thrown
out by the burning mountain, having fallen on
the decks of vessels which were above 1.50 miles
from the island ; fortunately, be found one who
bad been actually on the spot at the time, and
from him he obtained a particular description of
the catastrophe.
The mountain is tbe loftiest of a chain which
runs througb the island ; it had been sending
out quantities of smoke during the preceding
year ; the apprehension, however, was not so
great as to prevent repeated visits to the place
whence it proceeded. *' I was," said Philips's
informant, ** along wiib a party who ascended
to it on the 26ih April, the day before the erup-
tion, and found it one of the most beautiful scenes
I ever beheld. About twelve bundred feet from
the level of the sea, and at the south side of the
mountain, I saw a circular opening about a mile
and a half in circumference, and five hundred
I <
if
fr
I
■ t
m
20
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
feet (leop. Looking down into tliis luige bowl,
I beheld a conical hill, three hundred feet high,
and sixty yards in diameter, richly adorned with
shrubs and vines half way up, and the remainder
covered over with fine powder of sulphur to
the top. From several cracks in this cone
white smoke was rising, now and then tinged
with a slight bluish fiame ; the sides of the bowl
were also covere^. with evergreens and several
beautiful plants, and at opposite sides of the
cone, and still within the bowl, were two pieces
of wator, one quite pure, the other strongly
tasting of sulphur. Nothing, one would think,
could have added to its beauty, and yet we found
the eflect improved by several blackbirds that
had built their nests there, and were singing
most melodiously whilst we looked over into the
opening. Such was the Sulphur Mountain
when we visited it ; but four hours had not
elapsed when the scene was completely changed.
At noon on the following day, a dreadful crash
was heard at a great distance, and a vast volume
of thick black smoke, like that from a glass-house,
burst forth at once, showeri;ig down sand, earth,
and ashes on all around it, covering every thing
with light grey-coloured dust. At night the
brim of the crater or Ijowl was like red-hot iron,
but it was not till the 30th April that the flames
burst forth. During this whole interval, how-
ever, it continued to emit ashes, and in such
quantities that it was evident the fire was strug-
TRAVLLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
^^1
LM
<rling for a vent, and labouring to throw off ilie
load which kept it down. Never shall I Ibrget
the eilect produced by the rising sun, as its
bean)s fell that morning on the thick curling
smoke which shot up to a great height. I had
seen the loftiest Andes, whose tops are covered
with snow ; I had also seen Cotopaxi ; but this
could only give a faint idea of the fleecy white-
ness ynd brilliancy of this awful column of smoke
and clouds. In the afternoon, the noise, was
incessant, and resembled the approach of thunder
still nearer and nearer ; there was also a trem-
h' ng in the air, which affected us with an in-
describable sensation, but there was as yet no
earth(piake. The natives, however, who were
settled at the foot of the mountain, became
alarmed ; they left their houses and cattle, and
fled towards the town ; the birds fell to the
ground, overpowered with the showers of ashes,
unable to keep themselves on the wing ; the
cattle were starving for want of food, as not a
blade of grass or a leaf was now to be found ;
and perhaps it w ill not appear the least remark-
able of these awful appearances, that the sea,
though very much discoloured, was quite tran-
quil and did not £ppear in ''.ny manner to share
in the agitation of the land. It was just seven
o'clock in the evening when the flame rose like
a pyramid from the crater, through the mass of
smoke, and Mie rolling of the thunder became
more awful and deafening, and soon after the
m
kl
if
1 ■ y if
W\
■A. ''>'
n
TRAVELS IN NOllTtl AMERICA.
lava appeared boiling up over the sides and
flowing down the mountain like a torrent of fire.
After running for a short distance, it met with a
rising ground which stopped its course for a few
minutes, but at length receiving fresh supplies
from behind, it parted and drove on, forming
the figure of V in grand illumination. In four
hours this stream of fire reached the sea, as we
observed from the reflection of the fire, and the
hissing noise it made as it rolled into the water.
At three o'clock the following morning, the first
earthquake was felt, and this was succeeded by
a shower of stones which fell on the roofs of the
houses, and threatened to bury us under them.
We sought shelter in the cellars, under rocks,
or any where, for every place was licarly the
same ; and the poor negroes, flying from their
huts for safety, were knocked down or wdunded,
and many of them killed in the open air. Had
these stones been heavy in proportion to their
size, but few could have escaped death, for they
were in many places as large as a man's head,
but thanks be to Providence they were very light,
being what is called Pumice. This dreadful
shower lasted upwards of an hour, and was again
succeeded by cinders from three until six o'clock
in the morning. Earthquake followed earth-
quake at short intervals, the surface of the ground
being agitated like water which is shaken in a
bowl." " We know," continued he, " that these
awful catastrophes arise from natural causes,
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
ii3
:::^:
(les and
t of fire.
2t with a
or a few
supplies
forming
In four
a, as we
, and the
le water.
the first
jeded by
)fs of the
er them.
;r rocks,
;arly the
3m their
^'dunded,
Had
to their
for they
I's head,
ry h'ght,
dreadful
as again
o'clock
1 earth-
i ground
ien in a
at these
causes,
r.
)
i
1
from water rushing in great quantities into those
depths where sulphur and iron are contained ;
and it is also well known that they have the
most beneficial results, defending the earth from,
or else checking the violence of earthquakes,
which, but for those eruptions, would in the
neighbourhood of volcanos always cause the
most calamitous effects ; but most impressively
do we learn from them the Omnipotence of that
Being who rules the universe, and whilst he
permits such dreadful visitations sometimes to
occur, retains them within bounds, and prescribes
the extent to which they shall proceed."
The vessel in which Philips was a passenger
was now ready to sail for St. Domingo, and he
gladly obeyed the captain's summons to prepare
for liis departure. He had now nothing to de-
tain him, having fully gratified his curiosity, but
the duty of taking leave of the friends from
whom he had received kindness. Before twelve
hours had elapsed, the vessel had hove her an-
chor, and was sailing towards her destination
under a steady breeze. In fact, there was no
course more direct than that on which he was
now proceeding, for the trade- winds constantly
blow in one direction, and all that is necessary
for ships steering westward is to spread the sails,
and set the helm to the due point.
During the voyage, and indeed whilst he re-
mained at Barbadoes, he had not been incurious ;
he endeavoured to gain all the information pos-
1
• I
! ;
21
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMLIUCA.
siole concernin*^ those other islands vvliich it was
not in liis power to visit, and it was fortunate
for him he could not have applied to a more
competent person than the cajjtain, who had been
many years in the West India trad^^^and knew
every one of them, he said, as well as he knew
the parts of his own ship. '* As you have been
so long in these seas," said Philips, " 1 suppose
you can give me some account of the present
state of Domingo, to which we are going?"
** That I can," replied the captain, ** for I was
on the spot at the time the revolution broke out
in 1791. At that period, the whole island,
which is nearly four hundred miles long, and in
some places one hundred and fifty broad, was
divided between France and Spain — that por-
tion belonginsj to the latter being of the two
mucli the more extensive as well as fertile.
The population amounted to about 150,000
whites and people of colour, and half-a-million
of negro slaves. So great a disproportion, you
may imagine, was dangerous ; and it proved so ;
for the blacks, irritated I believe by cruel treat-
ment, rose upon their masters and rendered the
whole French part of the Island a scene of mas-
sacre and devastation. The enormities com-
mitted on both sides during the war that ensued
were great, but at last the whites were expelled,
and a regular government was formed of the
blacks, who chose one of their own number as
their chief. Soon after this they quarrelleu
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
25
I
■>
.}
i
among tlioniselves ; but lliere is no use in de-
tailiu'r tlicir dissensions. When vou land vou
will both bear and see many proofs of the wick-
edness oHiuman nature, when it is not restrained
and directed by reli^non. At present they are
at peace with each other, and we may hope they
will continue so, lor they are now labouring
strenuously towards the improvement of their
coiuitry. Schools have been established upon
the plan of the British School Society, and I my-
self in a late voyage actually bad several young
men passengers who came from London for the
j)urpose of organizing these scbools. 'i'bey have
also a college where the different sciences are
taught by European professors, and there is
every reason to suppose that, at no very distant
period, this nation of blacks will contain as
great a proportion of well-educated people as
any country in Europe.*'
The next subject on wbich the captain was
able to satisfy Philips, was concerning Porto
Kico, within view of which they sailed in their
run to St. Domingo, and wbich was distant from
the latter place sixty miles to tbe eastward. He
had read that at the time of its discovery by
Christopher Columbus, it was supposed to con-
tain 000,000 inhabitants, who received the
Spaniards amongst them as beings of a superior
order; irritated, however, by the cruelty of their
invaders, they for a long time carried on a war
against them, but were at length exterminated.
At present it is inhabited by whites and their
t i
. 1
; (
:' >
■
I,: ■) -f
■f '-
£■■>*'■
2Cy
TRAVl^LS IN NORTH AMERICA.
!!!
negro slaves, like tlie other islands, and is ex-
tremely fertile — being beautifully diversified
with woods, hills, and valleys, and watered by
streams that descend from the mountains. It is
140 miles in length from east to west, and thirty-
six in breadth from north to south. The mea-
dows are so very rich, that the cattle originally
introduced into the country from Spain and the
other parts of Europe, have multiplied so ex-
ceedingly as to become an article of trade, the
inhabitants exporting great quantities of them.
Its principal traffic, however, is in sugar, ginger,
cotton, salt, and fruits.
At the expected time from his embarkation,
Phili[)s landed at the town of St. Domingo, the
capital of the vyhole island, and it possessed no
small interest in his eyes as being the oldest city
in the Western World, having been built by the
celebrated Columbus in the year 1496. Pre-
vious indeed to leaving Europe, our traveller
hoped to touch at the island of Guanahani, or
St. Salvador, which was the first land discovered
by that illustrious navigator, and of forming to
himself, upon the actual spot where the scene
took place, a more lively idea of the astonish-
ment and admiration of the poor Indians, when
they saw the ships, which they at first mistook
for living creatures, filled with beings so differ-
ent from themselves ; and the joy of the Spa-
niards, as they knelt on the shore to return
thanks to the Almighty, who had guided them
in safety over the vast ocean four thousand
i! ' i!
M.kf
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
27
miles from home, and disclosed to them a New
World. — This desire, however, so natural in one
like Philips, he feared he could not gratify.
Gnanahani, or St. Salvador, or Cat Island (for
it is known by the three names) being one of
that vast chain of islands called the Bahamas,
which stretch from the northern tropic along
the east coast of Florida in North America, and
therefore it lay too much to the northward of
his course.
He found St. Domingo a handsome city,
built of a kind of marble found in the neigh-
bourhood, and in the okl Spanish style, with flat
roofs, the apartments being built round tlie four
sides of the court-yard, which of course they en-
close. The rain water is collected in cisterns,
from these flat roofs, for supplying the wants of
the inhabitants. The number of persons dwel-
ling within the walls of the city is estimated at
l.'2,000, and that of the neighbouring district at
10,000. Here, indeed, all his previous ideas
were reversed : he had just left a place where
black men are too often looked upon as an infe-
rior race ; but in St. Domingo he found all the
improvements of civilized life — education, po-
lite manners, and even the very titles and grada-
tions of rank, prevailing amongst those whom
the ignorant or illiberal have been accustomed
to look down upon as an inferior race, and Eu-
ropeans permitted to enter the country, not on
account of any imagined superiority they pos-
sess over black men, but relying upon that pro-
d2
1 4: t
i
tin
SP
If
jl
28
TRAVELS IN NOKTil AMERICA.
tection vvhicli every civilized nation will afford to
a stranger. Eastward from tlie town there lies an
immense plain, nearly ei«4luy miles in length
and twenty in breadth, whieh is well adapted
for the growth of every tropical production, and,
from the number of rivers passing through it,
capable of navigation to any extent. To the
soutli also lies another plain, nearly of the same
length and breadth, and so great is their tlrtility,
that Philips heard many of the most intelligent
inhabitants say, that they were capable of pro-
ducing riiore sugar and other valuable commo-
dities than all the British West Indies put toge-
ther. The Spaniards, however, wanted industry,
and suffered these fertile plains to be overrun
by wild animals, such as swine, horses, and horned
cattle, great quantities of which were formerly
exchanged with the contiguous settlements of
the French, for those articles of European ma-
nufacture of which they stood in need.
The climate Philips found to be moist, but
the excessive heats were in part moderated by
the sea-breeze, which regularly sets in about ten
in the morning, and towards evening is suc-
ceeded by the land breeze. The heaviest rains
fall in May and June, and this alternation of
heat and damp often renders the climate fatal to
Europeans. In the dry season, the rivers may
be crossed on foot ; but one tempestuous shower
changes them into a flood, which rushes along
with a force that sweeps away every obstacle :
they abound with alligators, and also with turtle.
■'4
:
TRAVELS IN NORTH A^SIK RICA.
ft9
Philips liad often dealt in St. Domingo maho-
gany as an article of commerce, and knew it to
be closer grained, and more bcantifnlly feathered
or marked than that which grew on the shores
of Ilondnras Bay, which lies on the eastern
coast of the province of tiie same name, and
north of the Isthmus of Darien. However, he
had arranged with his partners to send home
a cargo of the Honduras kind and log-wood,
and therefore as the vessel in which he came
out was to stop some days in Domingo, he lost
no time in chartering one of the many ships he
found there in order to dispatch her to Ireland,
after taking in a lading of this valuable article.
For the purpose also of doing his business more
satisfactorily, he proceeded in her across the Bay
to Balize, a settlement which the British have
made on its shores for the purpose of cutting
down mahogany and log-wood. Arrived there,
he found that the number of negro slaves
amounted to three thousand, and that the cutting
down of the woods which we have mentioned
formed their sole occupation. Si)me of the tim-
ber is rough-squared upon the spot, but this is
generally suspended until the logs are rafted to
the entrance of the different rivers. Some of
the rafts which Philips saw consisted of two
hundred logs, and they are often floated as many
miles. It happens, however, not unfrequently,
when the floods are unusually rapid, that the
labour of a season is destroved by the breaking
D 3 '
li
i
f.
r
„i
T
it
.'X
m
iii)
TUAVKLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
! I
m
asundin- of a raft, and the wliole of the mahogany
being hnrrird ])r(ci|)itntc'ly to the sea.
The gangs of n(^groes ein[)loyed in this work
consist of from lO to 50, each Iiaving one at-
tached to it called the huntsman, whose business
it is to precede the gang at the proj)er season
for the purpose of discovering where the tree is
most abimdant ; and it is most surprising to see
with wliat sagacity he will, without compass or
guide, cut his way through the thickest and
darkest foiests to the spot where previous ob-
servation has sativsfied him that it is growing.
The maliogany is always cut in blocks as long
as the tree will permit ; the logwood tree, which
is used by dyers to give a fine purple or black
colour, is cut into logs about three feet in length,
and sent into Europe in that form. Philips,
therefore, had no difficulty in purchasing a cargo
from the proprietors on most advantageous
terms, after which he returned in his chartered
vessel to Domingo, where she was to take in the
remainder of her cargo. This once accom-
plished, and hi« other buisiness being satisfacto-
rily arranged, he soon embarked for .lamaica
with his friendly captain, who was going there to
take in a cargo of sugar, the produce of an estate
belonging to one of the mercantile firm who had
employed him. It was but 30 leagues from the
west point of the island of St. Domingo, and,
therefore, it required but little time to reach it.
On this voyage, however, Philips did not lose
TRAVrLS IN NOllTII AMERICA.
31
(lie opportunity of gaining some additional par-
ticulars concerning tlie neighbouring islands,
and as lie had not an opportunity of visiting
Cuba, his enquiries were chiefly directed to ob-
tain inlbrmation on the subject of its climate,
appearance, &'c. and the captain informed him
that Cuba is at its greatest extent 7G4 miles in
length, and l.'^l' miles in breadth; the interior
of the country is mountainous, and is well wa-
tered, and the soil luxuriant ; it has been com-
puted that no less than two hundred rivers
fiow down from the mountains into the plains.
At the foot of these mountains the country opens
into extensive meadows, which afford pasture
to numerous herds of cattle, the skins of which
are to them a valuable article of trade, and of
which they annually export about ten or twelve
thousand.
The principal town is called the Havannah,
and is built on the northern coast of the island,
that situation being chosen because the channel
between Cuba and the main land of North Ame-
rica was found the most convenient passage for
merchant vessels bound for Europe from Mexico,
in consequence of which the Havannah was built
on that side of the island as a port to receive
them. Philips enquired if the harbour was a
capacious one. " 1 have seen a thousand vessels
lying there at once," replied the captain, ** and
so secure, that you would have thought the an-
chors that held them superfluous ; such a fine
depth of water does it afford, and so sheltered
„f
TT
32
TRAVLLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
is it from the winds !'' The entrance into the
harbour, howover, is so narrow a channel, that
only one vessel can come in at a time ; in con-
sequence of which, it rrccjuently happened durinpf
the war, that when vessels purj'ied by the
enemy were llyinj^ into this port lor refuge, those
in the rear were generally captured. 'J he town
is situated on the western side of the harbour,
and both are strongly fortified. The public
buildings and almost all the houses are built of
stone, and the town contains a population of
about 25,000 souls.
The importance of this place to commerce
lias caused it frecpiently to be taken and retaken
by ditterent nations ; it has jnore than once been
alternately in the possession of France and Eng-
land, and now rests with Spain : " and well,"
said the 'captain, '* may they prize that spot of
land, for the bones of Columbus lie buried
there."
Arrived at Jamaica, Philips found himself
once more amongst his countrymen, and being
well known to many of the merchants, he had
no difficulty in procuring the best accommoda-
tion the town afforded.
A lofty range of mountains, called the Blue
Mountains, runs through the whole of this island
from east to west, dividing it into two parts. —
On the north side of the island, the country is
one scene of richly wooded hills and valleys ;
and no part of the West Indies abounds with
so many streams as Jamaica — every valley has
TUAVKLS IN NOilTU AMKUICA.
33
into ilie
icl, that
ill con-
d durinjj
by the
(^e, those
he town
harbour,
B public
built of
iation of
)mmerce
I retaken
nee been
ind Eng-
Id well,"
spot of
buried
hinfiself
d being
he had
mmoda-
le Blue
s island
jarts. —
untry is
valleys ;
ds with
ley has
iis rivulet, every hill its cascadt, and at one
j)art of the northern shore of the islaiul, whenj
the rocks overhang the ocean, no less than eiglit
waterfalls are seen at the same time. The coun-
try on the southern side is of a different nature
— the rocky mountains stretch down nearer to
the shore, and at their foot are extended vast
j)lains, covered with plantations of sugar -cane,
coffee, bread-fruit tree, and rice. The island
also produces several kinds of fruits — the pine-
apple, tamarind, cocoa-nut, Spanish gooseberry,
prickly ])car, and many others.
The principal town is Kingston, which con-
tains a population of 33.000 persons, of which
number there are not less than 18,000 slaves;
it is a wealthy, commercial town, situated on
the southern coast of the island, and being built
on a plain which rises with a gradual ascent
from the shore to the foot of the mountain,
enjoys both the sea and mountain breezes, and is
consequently esteemed one of the most healthy
towns in the West Indies. The ascent on
which it is built, however, has one inconveni-
ence attending it, that it admits, during the wet
season, a free passage to the torrents of rain,
which rush through the streets with such im-
petuosity as to render them impassable, even to
wheel-carriages, and carry down quantities of
mud and rubbish to the wharfs which are built
on the beach.
The cedar trees of Jamaica are remarkably
fine, as are also the mahogany trees. The island
I'.
Mi-
\T
31.
TRWKLS IN Nl.RTn AMERICA.
Ill
m
4^'^'
iiii
also produces several other useful kinds of tim-
ber. TIio cabbage mc, remarkable for the
hardness and durability of its wood; the palma,
which yields an oil, - ich ejteemed by the na-
tives both in food and medicine : the soap
tree, whose berries answer all the purposes of
soap in washing ; the mangrove and olive-bark,
useful to anners : and tlie logwood so much
used by dyers. These, and its rich productions
of sugar, indigo, and coffee, render Jamaica the
first commercial island in the West Indies. Of
the latter commodity alone, the :;uantity ex-
ported yearly is estimated at 28,500,000 lbs.
weight, and the island may well be considered
one of the mosi valuable possessions Great Bri-
tain holds in that quarter of the world. 'J'he
governor is an English nobleman of high rank,
and European habits rmd customs have made
considerable progress there, even to the adop-
tion of English names to their towns and pro-
vinces. Strange enough it was to Philips's ear,
to hear them talk of Surrey, Middlesex, and
Cornwall, at a distance of four thousand five
hundred miles from the British shores.
Here our traveller took leave of the captain,
vvho, havini? completed all his business in the
Western World, was about to return to Europe
with a cargo of sugar. He was now to pursue
his course alone, and it may well be believed,
that he saw the vessel sail out of the harbour of
Kingston, just as a man setting out upon a dis-
tant and perilous journey takes leave of a friend
fli
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMLUICA.
35
\vlio has accompanied bini part of his way. As
loiifT as he remained a passenger in this vessel,
he t'clt as if the distance uhicli separated liim
from Europe was diminished ; hir crew were
mostly his countrymen, he had seen them in his
n:itive city, and their presence constantly re-
minded him of home : but for the future he was
to meet none but strangers, many of wliom had
never even heard of Ireland, whilst .he uncivi-
lized manners of the Indian tribes, among whom
in all probability he nould pass some time, gave
him no assurance of protection.
From Kingston to Vera Cruz, which lies on
the eastern coast of New Spain, the distance was
not great, and with the assistance of the friendly
trade winds, our traveller soon reached it in
one of those small craft, which are constantly
plying between the two places. Vera Cruz,
thoi5gh not the capital of Mexico, is its princi-
pal sea- port town, and the seat of all the com-
merce of that kingdom. It is also one of the
earliest settlements which was made in this part
of the world by the Spaniards, when they con-
quered the country, under Ferdinand Cortcz.
It was with some interest t'hat Philips found
bimseliin this land of gold and silver, and his
lirst object waT to visit the mines for which the
country is so justly celebrated ; he was also de-
sirous of seeing the city of Mexico, which is the
capital of the country ; and he therefore deter-
mined to proceed directly thither, a distance of
about eighty-four leagues. The quantity of
•"'If
I'-'
l''^
o
VI
iiCy
TRAVKLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
I
!
i ;■
silver annually pxtracted from the mines of
Mexico, is computed to be ten times more than
what is furnished by all the mines of Europe
together, though he could not but think how
dearly such wealth was purchased, when he saw
the toil which the Indians endure who are em-
ployed in these works. A European miner,
accustomed to see labour so much lightened by
the use of machinery, >vould scaicely believe it
possible that all the metal dug out her^; is car-
ried up to the mouth of the mine in loads on
men's backs. The shafts or pits are run in a
slanting direction down into the earth, and
flights of steps are cut in the sides by which the
carriers pass up and down in their works. Files
of fifty or sixty of these poor wretches are con-
stantly to be met with in these mines, and in
coming up the steps, they are obliged, from the
heaviness of their burdens and the steepness of
;-ie ascents, to bend the body forwards, sup-
porting themselves as they go along on a short
walking-stick, net more than a foot in length.
They are observed likewise to traverse these
flights of steps in a zig-zag direction, crossing
the way from side to side, a.j a horse is known
to do in going up a steep hill, it being much less
oppressive to them than if they came straight
up the f^eclivity at once. Latterly, in some of
the mines, mules have been employed for this
part of the labour, and have been so well trained
that they go up and down the shafts with the
greatest safety. The persons employed in
TllAVKLs IN N OUT 1 1 AMKIUC A.
.37
these mines are, however, neither forced la-
bourers, slaves, nor criminals, but are free to
engage in the works or not as they please ; and,
however severe their toil may be considered,
their pay is good. Each man generally earns
from five to six dollars a-week : this is the waijes
of the mirier ; but the carriers who bring up the
loads of ore, receive 5 shillings for a day's work
of six hours, though, from the dearness of pro-
visions, this hire is not more than a much smaller
sum in a country where the soil is better culti-
vated. The mines of Mexico have been more
celebrated for their riches than those of Potosi
in South America ; notwithstanding which they
are remarkable for the poverty of the mineral
t!r ; . cain — that is, so great is the quantity
of c^ross mixed with it, that out of 1600 oz. of
silver ore, not more than 3 or 4 oz. of pure sil-
ver can be obtained. It ir; not, therefore,
so much from the richness c " the ore, as from
its great abundance, that these mines derive
their celebrity. Having now witnessed the pro-
cess of drawing out the metal from the mine, of
roasting, and afterwards separating it pure from
the earthy mattor with which it is ir'xed, it may
well be sup o'swi that Philips next visited the
mint, where ; 3 wrought into coin, and which
is well worthy Ue attention of travellers, from
the order and activity which prevail in all the
operations of the works. Here are nearly four
hundred workmen in constant employment ; and
so great is the activity which prevails, that
i
t
? '■ '.
Jir-
!'#
1
I \
IIP'
H
f
i J?!;
■ r-ln
.38
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
SO, 000,000, piastres, which is equal to 7j mil-
lions sterling, is the average amount of the quan-
tity yearly C(;ined there.
From the mineral productions of this country
Philips naturally turned his attention to the ve-
getables, and though he found, for the most part,
those which are common in the West Indies, he
likewise met there many of the fruits and flow-
ers of Europe. Peaches, cherries, apples, and
pean;, grow there in the greatest abundance ;
and the natives are remarkable for their fond-
ness for tlowers. ^n the fruit market of Mex-
ico, their shops a^ dstefully decorated with
them ; and, though a grave and melancholy peo-
ple, having none of the vivacity which usually
prevails in the Indian character, they take great
delight in these simple pleasures.
The town of Mexico, of which the population
is estimated at liiO,000 souls, is the oldest city
of America, and was built on a group of islands
in a lake called Tezcuco, which are connected
together, and with the main land, by several
bridges ; the new parts of the town, however,
have been built on the main land, and the whole
city now forms an extent of four miles in length.
The streets are spacious and regular, and the
public buildings good, particularly the hospitals
and prisons.
The manufactures carried on in Mexico,
though they are not considerable, have of late
years been very much on the increase ; those of
weaving cloths, printing calicoes, and likewise
I
> 7^ mil-
he quan-
; country
the ve-
lost part,
ndies, he
md flow-
pies, and
indance ;
eir fond-
of M ex-
ted with
holy peo-
h usually
ike great
)pulation
dest city
f islands
nnected
several
lowever,
le whole
n length.
and the
lospitals
fexico,
of late
Ithose of
likewise
i
Mexican Wuuiuu of Rank.
i ,► .
i
•t
TIIAVLLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
39
all kinds of silversmiths* works, are the principal
trades flourishing there.
It was at this city that Philips had the good
fortune to hear of an expedition, which the go-
vernment of the United States was about to send
into the Western and inland parts of North
America, for the purpose of exploring that hi-
therto undiscovered region. The Continent of
North America, the reader should be informed,
is divided into two great parts — the civilized
and the uncivilized, the former lying principally
to the East, and inhabited by those colonists
i'rom Europe, who first settled there in the year
1()07, and have since gradually, but uninter-
ruptedly, been stretching westward and inland
from the coast; the latter extending from thence
to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, where the
Russians have established a few trading settle-
ments. — The situation of the line, however,
which should mark the separation between both
it would be difficult to determine in such a work
as this, since it must be evident that this line is
constantly shifting as the Indians retire, and
settlers advance into the interior, and that a
considerable tract on the borders is still wan-
dered over by savage tribes, although here and
there the traveller will meet with a farming set-
tlement belonging to a colonist. It will be suf-
ficient therefore to sav, that the greatest breadth
of North America being nearly 8000 miles, two
great rivers, the Mississippi and the Missouri,
join at 1368 miles from the entrance of the
E 2
i$
- i. '
h i-\
■|i;;v
yli'ia;'
40
TUAVEI-S IN NOKTll AMERICA.
-»
!
i
iifl
united stream into the sea, the former river
flowing from the East, the latter from the West
— thus forming a Y, and that all the country
that is situated on the right hand, as you look
up the rivers represented by the letter, is pos-
sessed by the United States of North America
and is inhabited by a civilized people, vihilst the
tract between the branches, and on the left of it,
is wandered over rather than inhabited by various
rude nations of Indians, who chiefly subsist by
hunting. 'J'he object, therefore, of the expedi-
tion was, to ascend the stream of the Missouri
to its source ; and, crossing the great western
ridge of mountains, to proceed down one of the
rivers at the opposite side, to its mouth, and thus
to acquire a knowledge of these remote districts
hitherto unknown, to establish an intercourse
with the nations who occupy them, and to intro-
duce among them those arts of which they are
utterly ignorant ; and as it was under the au-
thority of the Government of the United States,
it may well be supposed no expense or care was
to be spared in its accomplishment.
Happily for Philips, one of the persons who
were to conduct the enterprize was then in
Mexico upon some private business, and to him,
therefore, he applied for permission to join it;
nor was he long in obtaining it. Captain Lewis
saw him active, intelligent, and fearless, and as
such was the character he wished to engage in
the expedition, he not only complied with his re-
quest, but in compliment to the mercantile house
12
TRAVELS IN NORTH A:^1 ERICA.
41
I
ill wliich lie was a partner, assured him lie would
have every attention |)aid to liis accommodation.
(There is no saying, thouglit Philips, of what in-
estimable value is a good character, or in how
many unexpected instances a man will derive
advantage from it.) He also, in the kindest
manner, offered him a passage from Vera Cruz
to New Orleans, which is situated near the mouth
of the Mississippi, from whence they could pro-
ceed together up that river to St. Louis, where the
party selected for the expedition was to assemble.
This was an opportunity too favourable to be
disregarded, and therefore, in a few days, behold
liim along with his new friend, steering across
the gulf of Mexico to the mouths of the Missis-
sippi ! Nor were they long in making their
j)assage, (though the distance was fully 1300
miles between the two parts,) the gulf- stream,
as it is called, which always sweeps in a rapid
current round the shores of New Spain and the
Fioridas, carrying them rapidly along.
The town of New Orleans, where Philips soon
arrived with his new acquaintance, is the capital
of the state of Louisiana, which was formerlv a
French colony, but now forms a part of the
United States of America, and lies on the
western side of the great river Mississippi, one
hundred and five miles from its mouth. Here
he found all the marks of a city rising fast into
commercial importance, it being the great mart
for the produce of the western part of the United
States of America, to which the Mississippi
E 3
1 f
a
,o
TRAVM.S IN NOllTII AMERICA.
I
• J-,
'' i'i
1
|:|
Mk
forms tlie only outlet to the sea ; indeed, the
quantity of goods brought into it Irom this quar-
ter is immense. The iiouses were built of wood
a few years ago. but those recently erected are,
for the most part, of brick. In 1802, the po-
pulation consisted of ten thousand souls — it now
amounts to forty thousand ; and its exports
were, in 1817, valued at four millions sterling.
In the i^ame year, about one thousand flat-
bottomed boats and barges arrived from the
Upper Country, bringing its productions ; and
the number of steam-vessels navigating the
Mississippi and the Ohio, which flows into it,
amounted to twenty, a prodigious number indeed,
when the time that has produced this improve-
ment is taken into account, but ^till not less than
the vast extent of country through which the
Mississippi, and the rivers which fall into it,
direct their course.
As Philips was now about to traverse a con-
siderable portion of the vast continent of North
America, his first object was to form to himself
some precise idea of its geography, and happily
he found no dilficulty in discovering the grand
features, (its mountains, rivers, and lakes,) by
which it is distinguished. In his journey through
South America he had seen the immense chain
of the Andes, which stretches from the Straits
of Magellan in the South to the Isthmus of
Darien in the North, sending oft' to the East
great lateral ridges of mountains to feed with
their streams the Oronoco, the Amazon, and the
'JKAVlil.S IN NORTH AMI! UK A.
4^
Plate rivers ; his visit to Mexico had also satis-
fied him from inspection, tliat the same range of
iTiounlains spreads through the kingdom of New
Spain, and he now found that they continued
their course through North America, under the
name of the Rocky or Stony Mountains, running
in part parallel to the shores of the Pacific Ocean,
at the distance of about fi^'e hundred miles, and
separating the rivers which flow into the Pacific
Ocean, which lies to the West of America, from
those which run in an opposite direction towards
the Atlantic Ocean. As Philips looked there-
fore Northwards from New Orleans, he saw the
commencement of this chain to his left, and af-
terwards found that it extended quite through
North America from south to north, until it
reached the shores of the Frozen Ocean. But
there was also another range of mountains lying
between the Rocky Mountains and the Atlantic
Ocean, called the Allegany or Apalachian Moun-
tains, preserving throughout a nearly equal
distance of two hundred and fifty miles from the
Atlantic, a space too small for the uniting toge-
ther of many rivers, and hence these streams —
such as the Potomac, the Susquehana, and the
Delaware, make their way, each in its own se-
parate channel, to the sea.
Between these two great chains, the Rocky
Mountains on the west, and the Allegany on the
east, the country is extended into an immense
valley from 12 to 1500 miles in breadth, and here
tlierefore it is that we find the largest rivers, the
I ;
I '.
I <
t
{;;'A
;^:
41
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMKUICA.
I f
'■■■ I
!i
K
Mississippi, and tlic Missouri, toi:^(?tlu)r vvitli tljoir
tributary streams ; tlioiigh these two join toge-
ther, tlicy are each to be considered rivers of the
largest class — the Missouri, before its junction,
being calculated to extend to the enormous
length of three thousand miles, and the Missis-
sippi being two thousand miles long from its
source to its mouth ; the Missouri receives all
the rivers which flow eastward from the Uocky
Mountains, and the Mississippi all those that
flow westward from the Allegany ; and it will
give some idea of tbe great extent of these
tributary streams to say, that one of tbem, the
Ohio, is the channel which receives the waters
from a district about four times as large as Great
Britain and Ireland.
"i'his immense valley, however, does not extend
fartber North than the 50th degree of latitude,
being bounded by a ridge of high grounds, which
separates tbe waters of the Missouri from tbose
which flow northwards, and shuts in, as it were,
the immense district which we have mentioned
as bounded by the Rocky Mountains westward,
the Allegany Moimtains eastward, and the Gulf
of Mexico in the south. Eastward of this ridge
the continent is still further divided bv another
grand feature — namely, that hne of lakes, of
which, in the course of Philips's travels, we shall
have occasion to speak more at large.
Having thus, therefore, ascertained generally
the country through which he was about to pass,
and made such preparations as were pointed out
TKAVl.LS IN NORTH AMKKU A.
'{.]
to him, and vritten to his partners to mention
the journey he had in contemphition, and also to
ini'orm them, that if it pleased Providence to
prolong his life, it would most probably be two
years before he would have another opportunity
of communicating to them his movements, he
and his friend embarked in a steam-vessel at
New Orleans, and though the current ran rapidly
against them, it was surprising what way they
made, owing to the great size of the steam-en-
gine which impelled them. We shall not, how-
ever, detail this voyage minutely, as it afforded
nothing very material. It will suffice to men-
tion, that for the first eighty miles he found the
cultivation of the sugarcane much attended to —
the »-ichest plantations extending down on both
si(? o the banks. He had also an opportunity
of icuiarking the great appearance of thriving
and indefatigable industry, which every where
presented itself. At Natches, which was 320
miles northward from New Orleans, the steam-
boat stopped 10 disembark some of its passengers,
and the commodities which they had with them,
and he found it a neat handsome town, extreme-
ly well situated for a commercial station, having
a fertile and well-cultivated country in its rear,
which produces great quantities of cotton. Its
population amounted to five thousand souls ; and
it seemed to him no weak proof of the spirit of
the inhabitants, that there were two printing
presses in the town, at each of which some of
the most useful European works were in a course
4 ■ -
4C
TKAVKLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
irs
of publication. Protroding thence for three
Iiundred and fifty miles, he met one of the largest
steaiii-vessels that ply between New Orleans
and the Western States. Ii was no less than
four hundred tons burden, and had descended
the Stream of the Ohio from Pittsburgh, and
from the place where it entered the Mississippi
to that where Philips saw it, a distance of one
thousand nine hundred miles, in twenty days. —
'J'he next halting station wbere our traveller
had J»ki opportunity of making some observations
was the flourishing town of New Madrid, on
the west branch of the river, and seventy miles
below the mouth of the Ohio, where that stream
flows into the Mississippi. The Ohio, though
but a tributary stieam, would, in Europe, be
considered a river of great magnitude. Its na-
vigable length from Pittsburgh is nine hundred
and fifty miles, and its main breadth is not less
than five hundred yards. To mention the names
of the towns which have lately risen up along its
banks could not interest, as Philips*s course lay
in a different direction, and he was unable to
visit them ; it is sufficient to say, that there are
eight, every one of them a station for promoting
an intercourse with remoter districts.
The town of St. Louis, where the steam ves-
sel arrived fifteen days after its departure from
New Orleans, from which it is distant 1350
miles, and where Philips and his companion
found all ready for setting out upon the expe-
dition, is built on an elevated, pleasant, and
\.h
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
47
healthful situation oijly eighteen miles below the
junction of the Missouri with the Mississippi ;
to Phi'ips' great surprise it contained no less
than three thousand inhabitants, but this was
accounted for, when he considered how advan-
tageously it lay with regard to the United States,
being as it were at the junction of these three
great rivers, the Missouri, Mississippi, and the
Illinois, the first flowing from the west three
iiiousand miles, and the two latter from the east
country, and being thus the point of intercourse
between these head waters and the Gulf of
Mexico : he found it indeed in a state of rapid
improvement, fast increasing in population and
trade, and promising in a very few years to be-
come a large city, and the centre of an extensive
trade.
As the expedition which Philips had now
joined was one from which much interesting in-
formation was expected concerning the interior
of the American Continent, as well as much fu-
ture advantage to the inhabitants of the United
States, by establishing a commerce with the na-
tive Indians for their furs, every thing was pn-
vided, as we have mentioned, which could con-
tribute to its success ; besides the leaders of the
party. Captain Lewis, and Captain Clarke the
other commander. Philips on his arrival at St.
Louis found twenty- three robust active young
men, who had volunteered to accompany them,
two French watermen, an interpreter and his
wife, to enable them to hold communication with
8
i • >
W^'
\ =1:1
. .1
1 1
i ■:>
48
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
m
'*!!'
the Indian tribes tliey might njeet with in their
course, a hunter, and a black servant belonging
to captain Clarke. From these, three were ap-
pointed Serjeants, and in addition, six soldiers
u*nd nine watermen were to accompany them in
order to assist in carrying the stores, and in re-
pelling the attack of any hostile tribes of In-
dians. These stores were divided into seven
bales, and one box was filled with a small por-
tion of each article, in case any accident should
befal the others ; they consisted of a great va-
riety of clothing, working utensils, locks and
ammunition. To them were added fourteen
packages and bales of presents for the purpose
of conciliating the friendship of the Indians,
comprising richly laced coats and other articles
♦of dress, medals, flags, knives, tomahawks, or-
naments of different kinds, particularly beads,
looking-glasses, handkerchiefs, paints, &c. ; the
•party also were to embark in five boats, and two
horses were at the same time to be led along the
'banks of the river for the purpose of bringing
home game, or for hunting in case of scarcity.
It was on the 19th of May, 18 — , the expe-
dition set sail from St. Louis, and for the first
twelve days they met with various settlements
and farms, which bore the marks of neatness
and industry ; but after this they passed into a
country where none were to be met with but
wandering Indians, and the country bore but
little marks of cultivation, though every thing
announced the fertility of the soil. It was on
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
4J>
the first of June they reached the moutli of
tlie Osage, a considerable river which flows
from the west, and falls into the Missouri,
one hundred and thirty miles' distance from the
mouth of the latter river. Here they stopped
for a couple of days in order to repair their
oars. The Osage gi\ s its name to an Indian
tribe, which inhabits its banks to a considerable
distance ; their number was about one thousand
three hundred warriors, as they are called, for
Philips found that neither women nor children
werv^ ever numbered : those only being men-
tioned who were able to carry arms. They
consist of tbree tribes — the Great Osages,
of about five hundred warriors ; the Little
Osages, of half that number ; and the Arkansaw
band, of six hundred. The last were a colony
of Osages, who had left them a few years before,
under the command of a chief called Bigfoot,
and settled on the Arkansaw river. (This rises
in the mountains westward and after a course
of two thousand miles falls into the Mississippi.)
Let the reader understand from this the advan-
tages of civilization ; this tribe has made con-
siderable advances in agriculture, but hunting
being with them, as with the Indians in general,
their chief support, they soon exhaust a country
of its provisions, and therefore are obliged to
separate whenever their numbers increase, so
that our traveller computed that their hunting
parties, consisting of a few hundreds, used to
range through as many miles of country as would
r
)
50
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
'1
-H
have sufficed for the support of millions, had
they employed themselves exclusively in agri-
culture. The Osage Indians are so tall and
robust as almost to deserve the name of Giants,
few of them appear under six feet, and many of
them are above it. Their shoulders and coun-
tenances also are broad, which tends to increase
the ferocity of their appearance. The next
morning, Philips was walking on the river bank
with one of the hunters, when he observed two
women, as he at first conceived, carrying a tub
of water suspended on a pole. — His companion,
however, made him remark that one of them had
more the appearance of a man than a woman.
He told him also that there- were several others
amongst the tribe, who, like the one before them,
were condemned for life to associate with the
squaws or women, to wear the same dress, and
to do the same drudgery. — When the Osagcs go
to war, they keep a watchful eye over the young
men, and such as appear to possess courage are
admitted to the rank of warriors or brave men.
But if any exhibit evident marks of cowardice,
they are compelled to assume the dress of wo-
men, and, as no opportunity is ever afterwards
afforded them to recover their char.jcter, their
condition is fixed for life. The men do not as-
sociate with them, nor are they allowed to marry,
and they may be treated with the greatest in-
dignity by any of the warriors, as they are not
suifered to resent it.
When we are considering the habits of these
IS, had
n agri-
all and
Giants,
many of
d coun-
increase
:ie next
er bank
^ed two
ig a tub
ipanion,
lem had
woman,
il others
re them,
^ith the
!ss, and
lagcs go
; young
age are
ve men,
vardice,
of wo-
jr wards
, their
not as-
marry,
est in-
re not
»f these
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
1
uninstnicted savages, it must not surprise us
that many of them should exhibit a cruel and
blood-thirsty disposition. It is customary among
their fighting men to register every exploit in
war, by making a notch for each on the handle
of their tomahawks or hatchets ; and they con-
sider themselves rich or poor, not according to
their possessions, but according to the number
of notches. At their war-dances, any warrior
that chooses may relate his actions. A post is
fixed up in the centre to represent the enemy,
and into this he drives his tomahawk when in
the act of describing how he struck him to the
ground, and he concludes by repeating what he
said to the wounded man, which is always to the
following eflTect — " My name is Cashegrr, I am
a famous warrior, and am now going to kill
you ; when you arrive at the land of spirits, you
will see my father there — tell him it was Cashe-
gra that sent you there." How cruel is man !
thought Philips, as he witnessed one of the war-
riors boasting of his actions, and shewing the
scalps of those whom he had killed. It is
Ciiristianity only which teaches him peace and
good-will to his fellow creatures.
This mode of living by the chase enables the
Indians to kill great quantities of animals, the
furs of which they sell to the Europeans, who
give them in excliange iron, hardware, rifles, and
ammunition. These latter commodities assist
them in their hunting expeditions ; but it is a
great pity that they should find the traders with
F 2
5^v
i' f^.
o2
TKAVia.S IN NORTH AMERICA.
I-
..1;
a
M
'1
I
whom they barter always ready to let them
lave as much rum as they desire — for, like all
irbarous ni
ways drin
II rum as ti»ey ciesire
tions, they are fond of spirits, and
L to excess when they have the
liquor.
Frequently the party met boats and rafts be-
longing to traders, who, having passed some
time in those places favourable for hunting, and
purchased skins from the Indians, were now de-
scending the river to St. Louis with their car-
goes. One of them, named Rogers, was coming
from the Sioux Nation, where he had resided
twenty years, and had succeeded in gaining their
confidence; he therefore appeared to Captain
Clarke to be a very useful person to accompany
the expedition, and was fortunately easily induced
to return with them.
The general rate at which the party pro-
ceeded was about ten miles a-day ; nor must
this be thought little, when it is considered that
considerable labour was requisite to make way
against the current of the river, which was ex-
tremely rapid. Another difficulty they bad
daily to encounter arose from bars of sand,
which the force of the stream continually washes
down from the banks at both sides and causes to
shift from place to place. When the boats struck
on one of them, the effect would have been to
upset them immediately, if the men did not jump
out and hold them steady till the sand was washed
from underneath them. The general appearance
of the country was as if it had been divided
'
TRAVELS IN NOUTII AMERICA.
n*^
t them
like all
its, and
vc the
ifts be-
1 some
[ig, and
low de-
'\r car-
coming
resided
ng their
Captain
)mpany
nduced
ty pro-
r must
?d that
ke way
as ex-
had
sand,
ivashes
uses to
struck
een to
tjump
^^ashed
arance
ivided
into distinct farms or large tracts of pasture
ground, divided by narrow stripes of woodland
which grow along the bo.ders of the small
streams which run into the river. The huntinnf
party along the banks was occasionally relieved
by others from the boats, so that all had their
share of exercise. It may well be supposed that
Philips generally accompanied these, and that
his enquiring mind found continual occupation
in examining tue animals and productions of the
country. On one day he found a nest of rattle-
snakes, three of which he killed, but the rest,
being more active, escaped, These serpents give
the most deadly bite, a bag of poison being con-
tained in the gum, out of which a small quan-
tity passes through a hollow tooth lying above
this bag into the wound, and causes death
generally in a few hours after. On another day
Philips came to a large pond, where he saw a
number of young swans, some of which were
quite black. ** It is a common opinion in Eng-
land," said Philips, on his return to the boat,
" that all swans are white, but 1 shall be able
on my return to assure them that a black swan
is by no means a prodigy." As the party pro-
ceeded on their course. Philips had frequent op-
portunities of observing the great windings of
the river ; on one occasion the distance made
by the boats between morning and evening, was
twelve miles ; and yet when they had cast an-
chor. Philips went ashore, and having pursued
some game in an easterly direction for about a
F 3
f
5i
TKAVKLS IN NORTH AMEKlCyV.
in
♦ 1
•I
V.
M I
quarter of a mile, found himself exactly at the
same point of land which they had left in the
morr.mg.
They had proceeded for some time without
meeting any Indian tribes, though they occa-
sionally came across a few straggling hunters,
and indeed, without the occurrence of any thing
remarkable, for the events of each day were
almost similar. But the leaders of the expedi-
tion wanting now to open a communication
with the natives for the purpose of gaining their
friendship, to Philips's great surprise. Captain
Lewis ordered the surrounding meadows to be
set on fire. This, he found, however, was no
injury to property in a country whtre the long
thick grass grows to rankness for want of
animals to consume it ; and besides that, it was
the customary signal used by the traders to ap-
prize the Indians of their arrival. It is also
used between different tribes to indicate any
event which they have previously agreed to an-
nounce in that way, and as soon as it is seen it
collects the whole neighbouring people, unless
they apprehend that it is made by their ene-
mies.
This signal soon brought down the Sioux, to
the number of five chiefs and seventy men and
boys. Like all the other Indians whom they
had hitherto met, they came almost naked, hav-
ing no covering except a cloth across the loins,
with a loose blanket or buffalo's skin thrown
over them. When they appeared first in sight,
\/ at tlie
t in the
without
y occa-
lunters,
y thing
ly were
expedi-
nication
ng their
Captain
s to be
was no
he long
^ant of
t it was
to ap-
is also
fttc any
to an-
seen it
unless
ir ene-
DUX, to
en and
n they
1, hav-
i loins,
hrown
sight,
IRAVtLS IN NOKTII AMLRICA.
iJ.)
a Serjeant was dispatched to meet thein with a
present of tobacco, corn, and a few kettles, and
to inform them that they would be received the
next morning. In return for these he was pre-
sented with a fat dog, ready cooked, of which
he partook heartily and found it well flavoured.
The Sioux, therefore, encamped for the night in
tents of a conical form, covered with buffalo
skins, painted with various figures and colours,
Avith an opening in the top for the smoke to pass
through, each of which contained from ten to
fifteen persons, ai.d in the interior was compact
and handsome, having a place for cooking
detached from it.
On the next morning the fog was so thick
that the party coulJ not see the Indian camp,
though it was near at hand, but it cleared ofF at
eight o'clock. The chiefs, therefore, were re-
ceived at twelve under a large oak tree. The
conference was opened by Captain Lewis deli-
vering a speech, with the usual advice for their
future conduct. He then presented to the grand
chief a flag, a medal, and a string of wampum,
to which was added a chiefs coat, that is, a
richly laced uniform, and a cocked hat, and red
feather. To the inferior chiefs were given medals,
tobacco, and several articles of clothing. '1 hey
then smoked the pipe of peace together, and the
chiefs retired to a bower formed of bushes by
the young men, when they divided among each
other the presents, and smoked and deliberated
on the answer to be given to their new friends
i
m
j^.'
m
'i
M
oO
TRAVELS IN NORTIT AMERICA.
on the next day. The young people exercised
their bows and arrows in shooting at a mark for
beads, which were distributed to the best marks-
men, and in the evening the whole party danced
to a late hour.
The next day, the chiefs met after breakfast,
and sat down in a row with pipes of peace,
highly ornamented, and all pointed towards the
seats intended for Captains Lewis and Clarke.
When they arrived and were seated, the grand
chief, whose name in English was Shake-hand,
rose and spoke at some length, approving what
had been said on the preceding day by their new
friends, and promising to follow their advice.
Philips observed that the chiefs in general
spoke very little : indeed they considered talka-
tiveness a great mark of a narrow capacity ; the
younger men also never expressed their opinion
before their elders, and were altogether silent
when they were agreed, conceiving it quite un-
necessary to consume time in discoursing on what
had already received all the reflection which age
and experience could give. The conclusion of
all their speeches recited the distresses of their
nation — they begged the Americans, their new
friends and visitors, to have pity on them, to
send them traders ; that they wanted powder
and ball, and seemed anxious to be supplied
with what they called their great father's milk,
meaning whiskey or rum. Mr. Rogers was here
prevailed on to remain behind for the purpose
of accompanying some of the Sioux Chiefs down
Ui
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMliRlCA.
Ji
the river to St. Louis, and from thence to
the United States, where they could enter into
a treaty of peace and commerce with the go-
vernment.
Ill person, the Sioux Indians are stout, well
])roportioned men, and have a certain air of dig-
nity and holdness ; they were fond of decora-
tions, and used paint, porcupine quills, and fea-
thers. Some of them wore a necklace of white
bears' claws, three inches long, and closely
strung about their necks. They had only a few
I'owling-pieces, being generally armed with bows
and arrows.
Like most savage nations these Indians are
fond of war ; but they have another enemy to
contend with, which thins their numbers still
more considerably — the small pox, which they
first caught from the traders, has oftentimes de-
populated the most thickly inhabited villages.
Indeed, in the course of the expedition the party
heard the names of several tribes which existed
hut a few years before, but had altogether, or
almost, disappeared from this cause. One tribe
had been reduced from two hundred fighting
men to fifty, for they knew no remedy for it,
either in the way of prevention or cure, and the
appearance of the disorder, which is known at
times to cover the body from head to foot with
one sore, only increased the terror which its
deadly nature excited.
It was at this period of their journey that the
expedition was threatened with hostility by the
^Wt
■f i
1
58
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMKRICA.
'ill'
ill ii'
Teton Indians, who had collected in great num-
bers on the bank to oppose their advancing. By
using mildness, however, and steadiness, and at
the same time ])resenting them with a few rolls
of tobacco, peace was made, and the party was
suffered to proceed. The following day the
weather was extremely inclement and the waves
high, but this did not prevent two or three
squaws from rowing out to the boats in little
canoes, made of a single buBalo skin, stretched
over a frame of boughs interwoven like a basket.
Every thing on board excited their admiration ;
but the object which appeared to astonish them
most was the black servant York, a remarkably
strong stout negro. They examined him closely
and rubbed his skin with water, in order to wash
off the paint ; nor was it until the negro unco-
vered and showed his short hair, that they could
be persuaded that he was not a painted white
man. — They had never before seen a man of
that colour, and therefore, as soon as the account
spread of his being aboard, the people flocked to
see him in great numbers. It has been already
mentioned, that the Indians in general are fond
of whisKey, and that those with whom they trade
too often encourage this liking, by providing
them with large quantities in exchange for their
skins. — Philips, however, now became ac-
quainted with a tribe that never made use of
spirituous liquors of any kind, the intemperance
of the traders who brought it to them having in
fact disgusted instead of tempting them. The
1 y-
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
59
ur-
nieaning
Americans at first supposing that it was as
agreeable to them as to the other Indians, offered
them whislcey, but they refused it with a remark
that wouUl have done credit to many people,
who think themselves far more civilized than
these ignorant savages. — ** They were
prised,' they said, *' that their father, nn
the President or Chief Governor of the United
States, should present to them a liquor that
would make them fools ;" and, on another occa-
sion, they observed to the interpreter, that no
man could be their friend who would lead them
into such folly.
Proceeding still onward up the river, and
holding a conference with the tribes of Indians
that dwell upon the banks, the expedition
at last found the cold becoming so severe, that
they could no* think of advancing further till
the end of the winter. It was now November,
they therefore sought a convenient spot for
huilding a fort, but were obliged to relinquish
their intention, the timber in the neighbourhood
not being in sufficient quantity for the purpose.
They were thus obliged to continue advancing
further up the stream. In the evening that they
formed this resolution, a prairie, by the incau-
tiousness of the Indians, was set on fire, and so
swiftly did the long grass burn, that the whole
plain was in a few minutes enveloped in flames.
A man and woman were burned before they
could reach a place of safety, and several others
narrowly escaped destruction. Amongst those
u
GO
TRAVKLS IN NOKTII AMKKKA.
'■ ,. ii
• ■' 'b
■ h
III
14
i|
g
Hi
i (■:■
i ;i;
v.'lio escaped was a boy, who owed liis preser-
vation to tlie presence of mind displayed by his
mother, who seeing no hopes of carrying off* her
son, threw him on the ground, and covering him
with the fresh hide of a buffjdo, escaped herseh'
from the flames. As soon as the fire had passed
she returned and found him untouclied, the skin
having prevented the flames from reaching tiie
spot where he lay.
It was about tliis time that Phihps was
awakened one night by the serjeant on guard,
to see that striking appearance in the sky called
the Northern light, of which he had often heard,
but never before had an opportunity of behold-
ing, for it is not visible except in such high
latitudes. Looking out towards the North, he
saw a large space of the sky occupied by a
light of a pale but brilliant white colour, which
rising from the horizon extended itself to a
great distance above it. After glittering for
some time, its colours became overcast and al-
most obscured, but again it burst out with re-
newed beauty. — The uniform colour was pale,
but its shapes were various and fantastic. At
times the sky was lined with light-coloured
streaks, rising perpendicularly from the horizon,
and gradually widening into a body of light
which sometimes advanced, and sometimes re-
treated, assuming various forms. So much in-
terested was Philips in this beautiful appearance,
that he never once left the deck till towards
morning, when it faded away.
TUAVhLS IN NORTH AMEKlCA.
61
The weather liad now become so cold, (it was
the commencement of January) that the party
suffered much, and, finding it impossible to pro-
ceed further, they soon, with the assistance of
the Indians, erected a fort or strong block-house,
where they resolved to remain till the weather
should moderate, the more particularly as it was
situated in the neighbourhood of one of the
Indian villages, the inhabitants of which ap-
peared well disposed towards their visitors ; and
also, because they found wood there in great
abundance for the erection of their house. The
cold, however, did not prevent several from
going out each day with the Indians, to hunt
the buffaloes, vast numbers of which resort at
this time to the extensive pasture lands that over
the whole face of the country. It was worthy
of remark, however, how much more patient of
cold the Indians were than their new acquaint-
ances. One young man had by chance separated
from the hunters, and remained abroad the
whole night, with no other covering than his
leggings and buffalo robe ; his feet, however,
were frozen, and it required some time before the
circulation of the blood could be restored to
them. When he first came in, several persons
ignorantly proposed to set him before a good
blazing fire, thinking it the best way of restoring
warmth to his limbs. Philips, however, soon
dissuaded them from this measure, by assuring
them that such a plan would infallibly bring on
a mortification in his feet, and perhaps cause his
o
02
TRAVELS IN NOUTII AMERICA.
I
^t
A*
•X'
'
'U':
i !
' 'Ml
:m
death, unless he permitted the mortified parts to
be cut ofFby a surgeon. He desired, however,
that they should be gently rubbed with snow and
afterwards put into cold water, and thus by
gradually restoring warmth, the man in a short
time perfectly recovered. About this time an
Indian who had also been missing, came to the
fort, and although his dress was thin, and he had
slept on the snow without a fire, he had not suf-
fered from the cold.
It is a singular custom with the Indian tribes
to break up from, their villages when the winter
season commences, and in a body to pass into
those parts favourable for the chase. Nearly
half of a very numerous tribe passed the fort
on one occasion, to hunt for several days. Nor
did the men go alone, for women, children, and
dogs — all had left the village together, and hav-
ing found a convenient spot near the fort, pitched
their tents there, and began to prepare for their
hunting operations. In this labour all the family
bear their part, and the game is equally divided
amongst the families in the tribe. When a sin-
gle hunter returns from the chase with more
than is necessary for his own consumption, the
neighbours are entitled, by custom, to a share of it ;
they do not, however, ask for it, but send a
squaw, who, without saying any thing, sits down
by the door of the tent, till the master under-
stands what she wants, and gives her a part for
her family.
But there is a mode of hunting the buffalo,
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
63
arts to
wever,
)w and
ms by
1 short
ime an
to the
he had
ot suf-
I tribes
winter
iis into
Nearly
he fort
Nor
n, and
li hav-
)itched
r their
family
ivided
a sin-
more
, the
gofit;
end a
down
nder-
irt for
iffalo,
n
peculiar to the spring season, which it will in-
terest the reader to explain. At the close of
the winter, when the river is breaking up, and
the ice is floating down in large quantities from
the cold latitudes, the surrounding plains are set
on fire, and the buffaloes are thus tempted to cross
the river in quest of the fresh grass, which im-
mediately succeeds to the burning ; on their way
they are often seen standing upon a piece of ice
which floats down the river. The Indians now
select the most favo'irable points for attack, and
as the buffalo approaches, throw their darts with
astonishing agility across the ice. The animal
is thus rendered unsteady, and his footsteps in-
secure, so that he can make but little resistance,
and the hunter, who has given him his death-
blow, paddles his icy boat to the shore and se-
cures his prey.
It was about the middle of April when the
cold became so much moderated, as to permit
the expedition again to proceed up the river. —
They now were warned by the Indians to be-
ware of the white bears, which they would
meet in great numbers. They themselves never
venture to attack this fierce animal but in
parties of six or eight persons, and even then
are often defeated with the loss of one or more
of their number. Having no weapons but bows
and arrows, and the bad
guns
with which the
traders supply them, they are obliged to ap-
proach very near to the bear, and, as no wound,
except through the head or heart is mortal, they
G 2
i>>)i
Uy t
64f
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMKRICA.
1
1
i-M
%
1 ^ .^
I
frequently fall a sacrifice if they miss their aim.
He rather attacks than avoids a man, and such
is the terror that he has inspired, that the Indians
prepare themselves for the contest with as much
form as if they were going to make war on a
neighbouring nation. Hitherto Philips had seen
none very desirous of encountering him ; but
although to a skilful rifleman the danger is
much diminished, yet the white bear is a terrible
animal. He was one morning ashore with a
hunter, when they saw two at a short distance.
They immediately fired at them, and each
wounded his mark ; one of them made his es-
cape, but the other turned upon Pliilips, and
pursued him seventy or eighty yards, but, being
badly wounded, it could not run so fast as to
prevent his reloading his piece, which he again
aimed at it, and a third shot from the hunter
brought it to the ground. It was a female not
quite full grown, and weighed about six hundred
j)()unds. Near the spot where she at first
shewed herself. Philips found three small cubs,
which in fact had been the cause of her advan-
cin<T to meet the danjrer — one of these cubs he
took in his arms. It seemed sensible of its si-
tuation, and cried at intervals ; and it was dis-
tressing to observe, that whenever it uttered a
cry, the convulsions of its dying mother in-
creased. Indeed as he afterwards learned,
nothing can surpass the attachment of the she-
bear to her young. Even when they are able
to climb a tree her anxiety for their safety is but
TRAVELS IN NORTH AM K RICA.
65
iir aim.
rid such
Indians
s nnuch
ar on a
ad seen
m ; but
nger is
terrible
with a
istance.
d each
liis es-
38, and
t, beinjj
lit as to
3 again
hunter
ale not
undred
It first
I cubs,
advan-
bs he
ts si-
is dis-
ered a
er in-
arned,
e she-
able
is but
little diminished. At that time, if hunted, her
first care is to make her young climb to a place
of safety, and having succeeded in removing
them out of danger, she turns fearlessly on her
pursuers.
It was now, however, after Philips had been
ten months ascending the Missouri, independent
of the time they were obliged to halt by reason
of the cold, that he had the opportunity of wit-
nessing one of the first objects in nature — a noble
river precipitating itself down a fall of eighty
feet. He had gone ashore early in the morning
with the hunters, for the purpose of penetrating
in a due western direction, in the hope of seeing
the Hocky Mountains which stretch through
the continent of North America, from north to
south. The day continued fine, and they almost
insensibly wandered on for twenty-seven miles
before they thought of returning ; but it was now
too late, and Philips also felt himself unwell
from fatigue and too much exertion ; they, there-
fore, resolved to rest that night where they were,
and in the morning to resume their course still
westward.
At sunrise the following day, finding himself
perfectly refreshed, Philips was ready to set out
with his companions ; after a course of six miles,
the ground gradually ascending all the way, they
overlooked a most beautiful plain, where they
saw more buffaloes grazing than they had ever
before seen at a single view. Across this plain
they had advanced about two miles, when their
g3
I
(JG
TK.WliLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
ri ^
<•
1 '
I
.1 ■ • .'
■ v,
i
:
ears were saluted with the sound of faUing water,
and they saw a spray rising to a great height,
like a column, and then vanishing in an instant.
Towards this spot they directed their steps, and
the noise, increasing as they approached, soon
became too tremendous to be mistaken for any
thing but the great falls of the Missouri, which
the diflerent traders they had met in their route
had described as so magnificent. Havinsr tra-
veiled seven miles after first hearing the sound,
the party reached the Cataract about twelve
o'clock, when Philips, outstripping the others,
hurried down the steep banks which lined the
river on both sides, and seated himself on some
rocks exactly opposite, in order to enjoy the
sublime sight.
The river, immediately at the cascade, is three
hundred yards wide, and falls from a perpen-
dicular height of eighty feet in one unbroken
sheet of water. The spray which rises from
this assimies a thousand different shapes, some-
times ffying up in columns of fifteen or twenty
feet, and marked with the bright colours of the
rainbow. Below this fall, the river is one con-
tinued succession of rapids and cascades, over-
hung with perpendicular cliffs a hundred feet
high on each side. Above the fall at the dis-
tance of a few hundred yards, the whole Mis-
souri is suddenly stopped by one shelving rock,
whicli, without a single niche, and with an edge
as straight and regular as if formed by art,
stretches itself from one side of the river to the
: water,
height,
instant,
ps, and
(I, soon
for any
, which
r route
1^ tra-
sound,
twelve
others,
ed the
n some
oy the
s three
lerpen-
)roken
from
some-
wenty
of the
i con-
over-
lI feet
le dis-
Mis-
rock,
edge
art,
lo the
TKAVELS IN NOKTil AMI; RICA.
()7
other, for at least a quarter of a mile. At half-
a mile higher up, there is another of a similar
kind — except that in the former, the perpendi-
cular depth to which it fell was fifty feet, whilst
in the latter it is only fourteen feet. Just below
the falls is a little island in the middle of the
liver, well covered with timber. Here, on a
cot ton- wood tree, an eagle had fixed its nest,
certain of security in a place which neither man
nor beast could approach.
When IMiilips had satisfied himself with the
view of these falls, he reascended the steep
bank, in order to return to his companions. On
his way through the plain, he met a herd of at
least a thousand buffaloes feedin*;, and beinsj
desirous of jiroviding for supper, he shot one
of them. I'he animal immediately began to
bleed ; and Philips, who had forgotten to re-
load his rifle, was intently watching to see him
fall, when three buffalo bulls, which were
leeding with the herd at the distance of half a
mile, left their companions and ran full speed
towards him ; however, he had reason to thank
Providence for his preservation, for when they
came within a hundred yards of him they stopped,
looked at him for some time, and then retreated
as they came. He now was at liberty to pursue
his course, and accordingly in a few hours after
it was dark reached his companions, who had
been very anxious for his safety, regretting
that they had not awaited his return from the
falls — and had already decided on the route
mi ]•
w
08
TRAVKLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
•I
m
m
m
!ilf
wliicli each should take in the morning to look
for him.
This cataract appeared to put an insuperahle
bar to the further progress of the expedition —
that the boats should proceed in the face of such
a cascade was quite out of the question ; and it
was also found that, above and below these falls,
for a great distance, the bed of the river is so
broken by rocks and bhoals — that from the place
where the boat rested for the day, to the spot
above where the river became again navigable,
was in all eighteen miles. Various measures
were proposed, but none being found eligible,
they were all rejected. The most judicious plan,
however, seemed to be to leave as many of the
boats as possible below the falls, stowing in them
all the stores and baggage not indispensable for
the continuance of their progress, and carrying
the remaining boats across the distance which
separated the two navigable points. Accord-
ingly, a carriage was soon made, on which the
largest boat was placed, and though the labour of
dragging it over the unevenness of the ground
was great, (and in many places they were
obliged to cut a road for it,) they at last
succeeded in launching her safely on the river
above the falls — the same was done with two
other boats ; and as for the canoes, they admitted
of being taken to pieces and put together again,
so that their transportation was not difficult.
Once embarked upon the stream, the party
now proceeded with comparative ease— the
TKAVKLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
69
o look
)erable
ition —
)f such
and it
le falls,
:r is so
e place
e spot
igable,
?asures
ligible,
IS plan,
of the
n them
ble for
irrying
which
ecord-
ch the
)our of
rround
were
,t last
J river
h two
mitted
again,
It.
party
J — the
banks, however, were in many places high, and
prevented their using the tow-line by which they
dragged the boats against the stream, but the
stream was deep, and therefore, on such occa-
sions, they could put out their oars. Nothing
remarkable now occurred, till they arrived at
the point where the Missouri appears formed by
the flowing of three rivers into one common
stream. During all this course, which occupied
them about twelve days, they met with no Indians,
though their tracks in many places, and also the
remains of their tents, which they now and then
passed, showed that it was not long since they
liad broken up from this part of the country. — .
They met with plenty of game, but there was
now reason to fear, that if they endeavoured to
advance through the mountains, it vvould soon
abandon them. Their object was, after tracing
the Missouri up to its source, to cross the Rocky
Mountains, and, getting down upon the other
side, as near as possible to the head of the Co-
lumbia river, to descend that stream till they
reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. It was
now, therefore, of the utmost consequence that
diey should meet with the Snake Indians, who
should serve them as guides, as without these
they would be quite unable to find a passage
across the mountains, at least such a one as
should lead to the Columbia ; and even were
they so fortunate as to find a branch of that
river, the timber which they had hitherto seen
in those mountains did not promise any fit to
70
TUAVUI.S IN NORTH AMKKICA.
I
V
I
•I
innkc canoes, so that it became still more ne-
cessary to meet some tribe irom whom they
could procure horses.
All their efforts were now therefore directed
to the discovery of that stream, amongst the
three, which led to the source of the Missouri,
and also to search for the guides, whom they
expected to conduct them across the mountains.
Different parties were sent up the three rivers,
to which they gave the names of Jeflfcrson,
Madison, and Gallatin, and the main body
remained at the forks, for the purpose of con-
verting the skins of the animals which they had
killei into articles of clothing, of which they
now began to be very much in want. Indeed,
they had some reason for imagining hat they
were not very far from some tribe who could
assist them, for the wife of the Indian who had
accompanied the expedition as interpreter in-
formed them that they were on the precise spot
where her countrymen, the Snake Indians, had
their huts five years ago, when they were sud-
denly attacked by a hostile tribe, and she herself,
with four others, was carried away a prisoner ;
the party, therefore, which was sent out under
Captain Lewis, for the purpose of accomplishing
these objects, for ten days proceeded in search
of the Indians, but without success ; the great
difficulty in their course being to know which
stream to follow, in order to reach the true
source of the river ; for as they went on they
found so many forks, caused by the flowing of
TRAVELS IN NOKTH AMERICA.
71
m
m they
lirectod
igst tlie
issouri,
m they
jntains.
rivers,
ffcrson,
1 body
of con-
ley had
:h they
Indeed,
at they
o could
^ho had
Iter in-
se spot
IS, had
re sud-
herself,
'soner ;
under
lishing
search
great
which
e true
n they
iving of
many lateral streams into one, that in the impos-
sihihty of deciding which to trace, when all
were so nearly alike in size, they often took that
which was wrong, and had to return to the point
from which they had started, in order to try
another. In one place where they found an
Indian road or pathway, which gave them hopes
of being on the right track, they immediately
dispatched one of their number to a certain spot,
whither it had been agreed that the body which
remained at the forks should send for informa-
tion of their proceedings — this plan, however,
was frustrated by a singular circumstance: the
man on arriving at the preconcerted position,
set up a tall pole, to the top of which he tied the
note of which he was the bearer, and returned ;
the stick, however, was soon after cut down by
the beavers and carried off, so that when the
messenger sent to take it reached it, he saw the
pole gnawed across, and only a fragment of the
note which had stuck to the bushes, and on
which but a few words were visible. Captain
Lewis had been often disappointed in the way
we have mentioned, and had now completely
lost sight of the Indian path, when he resolved
to wade across the river, in order to get to a nar-
row pass, which he saw at a distance — it was here
twelve yards wide, and barred in several places
by the dams of the beaver. He also requested
Philips to follow the river on the right, and sent
another to go along the left, in order to search
lor the road, and if they found it, they were to
4
H
72
TRAVKLS IN NORTH AMIilllCA.
111
let liirn know by raising a Iiut on tlie mu/zle ol'
H gnn. In ihis order they went Tor about live
miles, when a man on horseback was perceive 1
comingalong the plain, at the distance of two miles
from them. On examining him witb the glass,
it was easily seen he was of a different nation
from any Indians hitherto met ; he was arnied
vriib a bow and a quiver of arrows, mounted on
an elegant horse without a saddle, and a sm.-ill
string attacbed to tbc under jaw, answered as a
bridle. Convinced that he was a Shosbonee,
and knowing how much the success of tbe expe-
dition depended on tbe friendly offices of that
nation. Captain Lewis was full of anxiety to
approach without alarming him ; be, therefore,
proceeded on towards tbe Indian at bis usual
pace. When they were within a quarter of a
mile of eacb other, tbe Indian suddenly stopped,
Captain Lewis immediately followed bis example,
took bis blanket from his knapsack, and holding
it witb both bands at the two corners, unfolded
it, as if in tbe act of spreading it. This is the
universal sign of friendship among tbe Indians
on tbe Missouri and tbe Rocky Mountains — as
usual, be repeated tbis signal three times ; still
tbe Indian kept his position, and looked witb an
air of suspicion on Philips and bis companion,
wbo were now advancing on eacb side. Any
signal to them to halt, sucb as firing a musket,
would only have increased tbe suspicion of the
Indian, and they were too distant to bear his
voice. Lewis, therefore, took from bis pack
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
7:i
uzzle of
out iivo
:rceivf 1
wo milts
le glass,
t nation
i arnjeil
in ted on
a sn):ill
red as a
>shonee,
le expe-
; of that
jiiety to
1 ere fore,
lis usual
ter of a
topped,
xatnple,
holding
nfolded
is is the
Indians
lins — as
?s ; still
with an
panion,
Any
iiusket,
of the
ear his
i pack
some beads, a lookin^ij-i^lass, and a feiv trinkets,
which he had brou^^dit for the purpose, and, leav-
ing his ^un, advanced unarmed towards the In-
dian, who remained in the same position till he
came within two hundred yards of him, when he
turned his horse, and be<^an to move otI\sl()vvly ;
Captain Lewis then called out to him in as loud
a voice as he could, repeating the word, *' Tabba-
bone," which, in the Shoshonee tongue, means
white man ; but, looking over his shoulders, the
Indian kept his eyes on Philips and the other,
who still advanced without considering the im-
propriety of doing so at such a moment. A
si<rnal was now made for them to halt — this
Philips obeyed, but the other, not observing it,
still went forwards : seeing Philips halt, the
Indian turned his horse about as if to wait for
Captain Lewis, who now reached within one
hundred and fifty paces, repeating the wor^ls
*' Tabba-bone,'* and holding up the trinkets in
his hands, at the same time stripping up the
sleeve of his shirt to show the colour of his
skin. Tbe Indian suffered him to advance
within one hundred paces, then suddenly turned
his horse, and giving him the whip, leaped him
across the creek and disappeared in an instant
among the willow bushes. This was a sad dis-
appointment to the party, who now resolved to
follow the track of the horse in the hope of ar-
riving at the Indian camp; but though they
advauQed twenty miles, they were not able to
discover tbe course of the flying Indian. The
H
!:{■
■
I^^^HS'^
I^Kx;
|W''
»;,
h'S'
f\
74
TRAVLLS IN NOKTIJ AMERICA.
next (lay, they continued their course along the
stream, and, at the distance of about seven miles,
found it so diminished in breadth, that they
were enabled literally to bestride the Missouri.
Thev had now reached the hidden source of that
river, which had never before been visited by
white men, and ss they quenched their thirst at
the spring from which it first issued, and which
was in fact the commencement of that mighty
stream along which they had travelled for three
thousand n.'les, they felt themselves requited
for all their labour and difficulty. They were
now close to the top of that ridge which, as has
been mentioned, divides America, and separates
the streams which flow into the Atlantic on the
east, from those which run into the Pacific on
the west ; it was there, with feelings of painful
anxiety, that they now began to look out for
the waters of the Columbia — nor will it he
wondered at, when it is recollected that the
discovery of this, was like finding a path which
should conduct them to their journey's end.
Their search for this river was not difficult,
for after following a descent much more steep
than that on the eastern side, they reached, at the
distance of three quarters of a mile, a stream of
cold clear water running westward. Philips
was an enthusiast in his fondness of travelling
— he could only think of the success which had
attended their course hitherto, and of the delight
of having in one day visited the sources of two
wateis which were in their course to travel
TRAVELS VN NORTH AMliUICA.
75
)ng the
1 miles,
,t they
ssouri.
of that
ted by
hirst at
I which
mighty
r three
equited
jy were
as has
parates
on the
cific on
painful
out for
it be
lat the
which
id.
ifficult,
steep
, at the
earn of
Philips
ivelling
ch had
delight
of two
travel
through such a distance, and to visit oceans so
widely separated. On the next morning, when
the whole party set forward, they discovered
two women, a man, and some dogs, standing on
a height at the distance of a mile before them.
The man instantly fled, and, as they found
afterwards, for the purpose of acquainting his
companions with the news ; the women, how-
ever remained, and, seeing no chance of escape,
they hung down their heads in expectation that
they were immediately to be put to death. Thi-
hps and his companions instantly put down their
rifles, and advancing towards them took the wo-
men by the band, raised them up, and repeated
the words " Tabba-bone," at the same time
stripping up their shirt- sleeves to prove that they
were white men, (for their hands and face had
become, by exposure, quite as dark as that of
the Indians.) This had the effect of relieving
them from their alarm, and by their means it was,
that the party were conducted towards the camp
where their countrymen were. Accordingly,
they marched about two miles, when they met
a troop of nearly sixty warriors mounted on ex-
cellent horses, and riding full speed towards
them. Their chief, who was with two men in
front of the body, seeing that Captain Lewis had
laid aside his gun, went back to inform his com-
panions that the strangers were friends. The
three men now leaped from their horses, came
to Captain Lewis and embraced him with great
cordiality, putting their left arm over his right
«
H
"^
75
TRAVLLS IN NORTH AMLRICA.
shoulder and clapping liis back, at the same time
jjpplying their left cheek to his, and frequently
shouting out — *' Ah he e! Ah he E !" *' 1 aai
much pleased ! I am much rejoiced." The main
body of the warriors now came forward, and
the whole party received their caresses togetlur
with no small share of the grease and paint with
which their new friends daubed their faces ; after
this embrace, Lewis offered them a pipe to smoke,
but, before they would receive this mark of
friendship, they pulled off their buskins, a cus-
tom, as it was afterwards understood, which
indicates the sincerity of their professions — as if,
in fact, they meant to convey that they would
deserve to go constantly barefoot, if they proved
faithless, — a penalty by no means light to those
"who rove over the thorny plains of their country.
After smoking a few pipes, some small presents
were distributed among them, with which they
seemed well pleased, particularly the blue beads
and the vermilion. ^ ^
Having thus fnind those who could act as
guides, and persuaded them i,c accompany him,
Captain Lewis set out on the following day to
return to the falls, where he had left his com-
panions. On this journey an accident happened,
very characteristic of savage life : — their stock
of provisions being very scanty. Captain Lewis
had sent a hunter considerably a-head of the
jiarty in order to find Kome game ; this ex-
cited the susj)icion of the Indians, who imme-
diately said that he was goue to apprize hiy
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
/ i
me time
5qiiently
*' 1 aai
'he main
arcl, and
togetlur
aintwitli
;s; after
[) smoke,
mark of
5, a cus-
, which
IS — as if,
;y would
^ proved
to those
country.
presents
ich they
e beads
1 act as
ny him,
day to
s com-
pened,
stock
Lewis
of the
lis ex-
imiiie-
ize his
companions of their approach, in order that they
might attack them. 'J'o do away such injurious
suspicions, Captain Lewis assumed a serious
air, he told the chief that he pardoned their dis-
trust, because they were ignorant of the charac-
ter of white men, among whom it was disgrace-
ful to lie, and entrap even an enemy by false-
hood ; that if they continued to think thus
meanly of their new friends, they might be as-
sured no white man would ever come to supply
them with arms and merchandise. This accord-
ingly, for the present, allayed their apprehen-
sions, and they were proceeding along, when,
just as they had passed one of the narrows, they
saw an Indian who had been sent out to watch
the hunter's motions, riding towards them at full
speed ; on coming up, he spoke a few words,
when the whole troop instantly dashed forwards
as fast as their horses could carry them. As-
tonished at this movement, Philips and his com-
panions were borne along Ibr nearly a mile,
before they learned that all this hurry was oc-
casioned by the Indian havirig 'announced that
the white man had killed a deer. This was the
joyful intelligence that had occasioned all this
confusion, and when they reached the place
where the hunter had thrown out the intestines
of the animal he had just killed, the Indians
dismounted in the greatest haste to pick up the
ofFal, and ran, tumbling over each other like
famished dogs ; each tore away whatever part
he could, and began to devour it instantly ; some
H .'J
i^Hi'
^
7S
TRAVKLS IN NOKTII AMEIUCA*
liad the liver, some the kidneys, some the heart.
It was indeed impossible, as Philips thought, when
he saw these wretched men ravenously feeding
on the filth of animals, not to perceive i?ow
nearly the ignorant savage approaches the lower
animals, whose whole waking hours are spent
either in planning the capture of its prey, or in
devouring it.
Though this' ravenous disposition represents
the Indians in a very unfavourable light, there
was one circumstance in their conduct which
deserves to be recorded, and indeed is worthy
of imitation— though suffering with hunger, they
did not attempt, as they might have done, to
take the whole deer or any part of it by force,
but contented themselves with what had been
thrown away by the hunter ; they were just,
even at the moment that they showed the strong-
est marks of barbarism. U'he deer was then
skinned, and, after reserving a quarter of it for
his own people, Lewis gave the rest of it to
the chief to be divided among the Indians,
who immediately devoured nearly the whole of
it raw.
The next day. Captain Lewis and the Indians
met his friends at the place where he had ex-
pected. As soon as they appeared in sight, the
wife of the interpreter recognised her country-
men with signs of the most extravagant joy, and
by sucking her fingers indicated that they were
her native tribe. As the Indians drew near, a
woman made way through the crowd towards
I K-^'
TRAVELS IN NOIITII AMHRICA.
79
3 heart,
t, when
feeding
e l?ow
c lower
J spent
f, or in
resents
, there
which
worthy
?r, they
one, to
/ force,
d been
e just,
itrong-
is then
f it for
if it to
idians,
hole of
ndians
ad ex-
ht, the
untry-
>y, and
y were
near, a
)wards
this poor croaturd, whose name was Sacajawla,
and embraced her with the most tender aftec-
tion ; their meeting indeed was so tender, that
it artected Philips. They had been both com-
panions in childhood, and in the wars with the
Minnetarees they had been taken prisoners
together, and liad shared the rigours of captivity,
till one of them had niade her escape with scarcely
a hope of ever seeing her friend released from
the hands of her enemies. While Sacajawla
was renewing? amon<{ the women wiio belonj^ed
to the Shoshonees the friendship of former days,
Captain Clarke went forwards and was received
by Captain Lewis and the Indian chief; who,
after the first salutation was over, conducted him
to a sort of circular tent of willows ; here he
was seated on a white robe, and the chief im-
mediately tied in his hair six small shells resem-
bling pearls. The mocassins of the whole party
were then taken off, and after much ceremony
the smoking began. After this the conference
was opened, and Sacajawla was sent for to in-
terpret ; she came into the tent, sat down, and
was beginning to perform her office, when in the
person of the chief she recognised her brother —
she instantly junij)ed up, and ran and eiiibiaced
him, throwing over him a blanket, and weeping
with joy. The chief himself was moved, though
not in the same degree : after some conversation
between them she returned to her seat and at-
tempted lo interpret, but the pleasure of being
restored to her friends every moment over-
80
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
i /■
powered her, and she was frequently interrupted
by her tears.
With such means of comnriunicating with
these Indians, it is not surprising that a satis-
factory arrangement was speedily made, which
secured to the expedition the assistance of the
Shoshonees, who promised not only to guide
them across the mountains, but to traffic with
them for horses ; this done, they had leisure to
examine the different objects which they now
saw for the first time, — the appearance of the
white men, their arms, their clothing, the canoes,
the strange looks of the negro servant, his
black skin and curled hair, and the sagacity oi'
a dog which was with the expedition, — all these
by turns excited their surprise ; but their asto-
nishment was most raised by a shot from an
airgun, which Captain Clarke always carried
with him, and the construction of which they
could not be made to comprehend.
In order still more to engage their services,
several presents were distributed among them,
which they appeared to receive with the greatest
satisfaction ; to the chiefs, medals, uniform
coats, scarlet leggings, and tobacco ; to the rest,
mocassins, knives, beads, and looking-glasses.
The next object of the party was to procure
from them, by traffic, a sufficient number of
horses to transport their baggage across the
mountains, and, as the little articles they had to
give in exchange were very attractive in the
eyes of the savages, they soon obtained twenty-
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
81
nine, which were supposed to be siifiicient for
their purpose ; they also persuaded an old man,
who understood the geography of the country
lying at the west side of the rocky mountains,
to accompany them as guide ; and after various
consultations, which served to convince them of
the difliculiics which lay before them, they at
last set out in the direction of the north-west.
They were now, however, leaving the district
where the hunters had been able to procure
them such plenty of provisions, and would be
obliged to content themselves with such food
as satisfied the Indians, and this was principally
salmon. The cold was also another source of
difficulty, for the winter season was near at
hand, and the height to which they had ascended
was very great : on the 21st of August the air
was so cold, that tlie water which stood in ves-
sels was frozen to the depth of a quarter of an
inch in the course of a night, the ink froze in
the pen, and the low grounds were white with
hoar frost ; indeed provisions were becoming so
scarce, that the natives themselves were has-
tening from the country to that side of the
rocky mountains which the expedition had left,
where they hunt the buffalo, and pass the win-
ter till the return of summer invites them again
to the Columbia ; and, to add to all this, the
hunters would be quite unable to procure them
food, for they would tind at the western side of
the mountains no animals of a kind larger than
a pheasant or a squirrel, and of these only a few.
II
' 11
w
\ 1.
•"Tin
82
tuavi:ls in noutu ami:kica.
'I
1
I
,1
\mH'
i
As none of these difficulties, however, was sul-
ficient to deter the party from proceeding, the
boats were immediately sunk by means oi' large
stones, till their return, and such articles as were
too heavy for being transported were buried in
a large hole dug to receive them, and covered
up so privately that the Indians were not aware
of it. It is but justice, however, to say, that
they never exhibited the least sign of dishonesty,
never touching any thing which they saw lyin«»
about, though to them they were most tempting
articles, and when they borrowed any thing, they
always returned it with the greatest fidelity.
Though these people possess so many good
qualities, it is to be recollected that they were
savages, and had the faults which might be ex-
pected in people so ignorant ; the leaders, there-
fore, of the party, along with Philips, were obliged
to hold many consultations upon the best way
of keeping them in good humour ; sometimes
they distributed small presents among them, at
others they brought out the violins, and made
the men dance to the great delight of the In-
dians ; they also gave them an equal share of
whatever provisions they had, making no dis-
tinction between them and their own followers ;
and, in short, succeeded so well, that they ap-
peared to regret that the time of separation was
drawing near.
It happened one day, that one of the women
who had been leading two of the horses which
carried the luggage, halted at a stream of water
TRAVELS IN NOKTII A.MKRICA.
83
about a mile behind, and sent on the two horses
by a female friend ; on inquiring of the chief the
cause of her stopping, he answered with great
appearance of unconcern, as if there was nothing
extraordinary in it, that she had dropped behind
to lie in, and would soon come up with the
party. In fact. Philips was astonished to see
her in about an hour's time, come on with her
new born infant, apparently in perfect health.
Without particularising, however, the trans-
actions of each day, it will suffice to mention,
that these friendly Indians having assisted the
expedition in making the necessary prepara-
tions for their journey across the mountains,
and seen them provided with horses, took their
departure for the plains, where they intended to
winter, leaving with the party the old man, who
had promised to act as guide, and his four sons,
'i he journey on which they now entered lasted
from the 18th of August, when they left their
canoes on the Missouri, to the 7th of October,
when they again embarked in canoes, which
they had themselves made on the river Koos-
kooskee ; they were assisted in this journey by
the few families whom they met on the route,
and yet so much were they straitened for food,
that they were frequently obliged to feed on
horse flesh.
When they had embarked in their canoes on
the Kooskooskee, they had a succession of the
most abrupt and dangerous rapids to encounter ;
4
I
84
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMKRICA.
'Ml
' 1
i(
tlicsc, liovvpvcr, they surmounted wiili so much
address and c()ura«;e, that tlie Indians used to
run ah)ng the; tops of the rocks that overhiinrf
the river, astonished at tl)c ellbrts of the white
men. In their course, they met witli many
tribes of Indians, who received them with great
Iiospitality, but there would be great sameness
in describing tliem, tlieir customs and appear-
ance being almost exactly similar, and the cere-
monies of smoking with the chiefs, explain: ^
the object of the expedition, and bestowing the
presents, being repeated in every tribe. Amongst
the Sokuiks, Philips observed with great satis-
faction, the great respect which they showed to
old age ; amongst other marks of it, he observed
in one of the houses an old woman perfectly
blind, and who, he was informed, was more
than a hundred years of age ; in this state she
occupied the best part of the house, seemed to
be treated with great kindness, and whatever
she said was listened to with reverence and at-
tention : how much were it to be wished that
every one would reverence the aijed after the
example of these untutored Indians! They
were also by no means intrusive, and, as their
fisheries supplied them abundantly, they ap-
peared contented, nor did they, like some others,
importune the party by bogging.
On the 7th of November, Phdips and the rest
of his party first got sight of the ocean, the ob-
ject of all their labours, and which they now
so Tnnc]i
iisfd to
iverliuri!;^
lie white
:h many
itli groat
lameness
appear-
the cere-
;plain: „'
wing tl)e
Vmongst
'at satis-
lowed to
observed
:)erfectly
IS more
tate she
^med to
latever
and at-
ed that
er the
They
IS their
y ap-
others,
he rest
Ihe ob-
ly now
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMr.UICA.
8.:
felt as tlio reward of all their anxieties. 'I'his
view raised tluMr spirits, an<l they were presently
further eheered by ihe roar of the distant break-
ers : they therefore went on with «^reat cheerful-
ness, under the hi^h mountainous country which
continued along the right bank ; the sea shore
was however so bold and rocky, that they coulil
not find any spot fit for an encampment. 'J'hey
found that this ])!ace is much frecpiented by
ships, both British and American, who come
during the summer to buy furs from the natives ;
tlie people were consequently not strangers to
white men, and liad many little articles of lux-
ury or show, and particularly of blue beads,
which they prefer to every other thing, ami use
as money in their dealings with one another.
They were, generally speaking, of a more mild
and gentle character than those on the eastern
side of the Stony Mountains; in many other re-
spects also, they were very ditf* rent from one
.'i other, some vejy honest, aii others of a
thievish disposition ; some tall and handsome,
and others ill-shaped and dwarfish. Tluir 1 m-
guages, likewise, were very different, so that
tlie neighbouring tribes could i-ot always con-
verse together, on which account the inter-
course between the new comers and the natives
was often carried on with difficulty.
The following, for example, was the circuit-
ous mode in which Philips ^n as obliged to com-
municate to the '"'
lapi
any
was desirous of saying to them. In the first
''\4
,.^..
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
^/.
j?
1.0
I.I
1.25
2.8
2
|25
IIIIIM
U IIIIII.6
VQ
v^
A
y
>^
f
jes
Corporation
^^^^'
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580
(716) 873-4503
^
«?^^
.^%>
'V^
86
TIIAVLLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
■ I
*
^•.'
^% ■
■
i
1
■
I
place, what was originally said in English was
translated into French for Chaboneau, the in-
terpreter ; he interpreted it to his wife, in the
Minittaree, she then put it into Shoshonee, and
a young man, a Shoshonee, who had been taken
prisoner by this tribe, and by long residence
among them had acquired their dialect, im-
parted to the Chapunish.
Thus arrived, however, at the end of their
journey, it became an object of the first consi-
deration to fix upon a spot for their winter quar-
ters, for they could not hope to return till the
snow was melted on the mountains, and also to
ascertain what supplies of provisions they could
obtain, either by traffic with the inhabitants, 3r
through the activity of their hunters ; for both
these purposes. Philips, by directions of the
commanders, set out with five men, and after a
very fatiguing course at last pitched upon an
eligible spot, about 200 yards from the water's
edge, and 30 feet above the high tides ; they also
met with such numerous herds of elks as pro-
mised them plenty of provisions during the win-
ter. On their way back towards their compa-
nions, they met three Indians who were return-
ing to their village at some little distance, loaded
with fresh salmon which they had just caught,
and at their request Philips accompanied them.
Arrived at their huts, they laid before Philips
and his party with much hospitality, in a bowl
made of light coloured horn, a kind of syrup,
the juice of a kind of berry common in the
sii was
the in-
, in the
lee, and
n taken
sidence
;ct, im-
jf their
t consi-
tr quar-
till the
i also to
y could
ants, ■>r
br both
of the
. after a
ipon an
water's
ley also
as pro-
he wiri-
compa-
return-
, loaded
caught,
d them.
Philips
I a bowl
syrup,
in the
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
S7
country, and very pleasant to the taste ; of these
berries a sort of bread was also prepared, which,
being boiled with roots, ibrms a soup that was
served in neat wooden trenchers ; this, with some
cockles, was their repast. In the mean time,
the squaws examined Philips's dress, and in
particular his mocassins, and finding some re-
pair wanting, one of them immediately brought
a small leather bag in which she kept the awls,
and split sinew, and put them to rights : when
their guests appeared disposed to sleep, new mats
were spread near the fire, where they lay com-
fortably till morning. It is pleasant, thought
our traveller, to observe such kindness of dispo-
sition amongst those whom we are accustomed
to look down upon as savages : indeed, in the
present instance, there was a neatness in their
houses, and a cleanliness in their persons, which
might reproach many who dwell in civilized
countries. On the following day, which was
the third from his departure, he returned to ac-
quaint his companions with the result of his ob-
servations, and found that they had added, by
hunting, to their stock of provisions.
In the fort which the party now erected, they
were obliged, very much against their wish, to
remain till the 1st of April ; about the middle
of March, however, they became seriously dis-
tressed for want of food, for the elks, their
usual subsistence, had at length deserted their
usual haunts in the neighbourhood, and retreated
to the mountains ; thev were too poor to pur-
i2
^'4
88
THAVELS IN NOIITH AMERICA.
1''
m ■
•-■1
chase other food from the Indians, for their lonjr
journey had exhausted all the stock they had
brought with them, so that they were sometimes
reduced, (notwithstanding all the exertions of
the hunters,) to a single day's provisions in ad-
vance, 'i'his, therefore, was an urgent cause for
their departure ; but it was also supposed that
the men might be benetited by leaving the coast,
for the constant rains, and the confinement
within doors, had rendered them unhealthy.
During the winter, they had been very indus-
trious in dressing skins, so that they had now a
sufficient quantity of clothing, besides between
three and iour hundred pairs of mocassins, but
the whole stock of goods on which they were
now to depend, either for the purchase of horses
or of food, during their long journey of between
three and four thousand miles, was so much di-
minished, that it might all be tied in two pocket
handkerchiefs. In fact, they had nothing but
six blue robes, one of scarlet, a coat and hat of
the United States' artillery uniform, and sonie
old clothes trimmed with ribbon. They felt,
therefore, that their whole dependence must be
on their guns, which were all in excellent order.
The powder had been secured in canisters, and
though on many occasions these had been im-
mersed in water, it had remained perfectly dry,
and they were possessed of 140 pounds of it,
with twice that quantity of lead, a stock quite
sufficient for the route homewards.
Before the expedition set out on its return,
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
89
leir lonjr
liey had
netimes
tions of
s in ad-
ause for
sed that
le coast,
inement
healthy.
indus-
d now a
between
iins, but
ey were
f horses
between
luch di-
pocket
linur but
d hat of
id some
ey felt,
nust be
t order.
?rs, and
:;en im-
tly dry,
of it,
:k quite
return,
Captain Lewis gave to the Clatsop and Cha-
punish Indians, a certificate of the kindness and
attention he had received from them ; he also
thought it right to circulate among the natives
several papers, one of which was also posted in
the fort, to mention that the persons whose
names were annexed, and who were sent out by
the American government to explore the in-
terior continent of North America, had pene-
trated the same, by way of the JMissouri and
Columbia rivers, to the discharge of the latter
into the Pacific Ocean, where they arrived on
the 14th of November, 1815, and departed on
the 23d of March, 1816, on their return by the
same route by which they had come out.
But it will not be necessary to detail the va-
rious particulars of their journey homewards.
It will suffice to say, that their greatest diffi-
culty arose from scarcity of food. The principal
food of the natives at this time was a bulbous
root, called wappatoo, the manner of gathering
which deserves a particular description. It
grows in the mud at the bottom of the nume-
rous ponds which cover the plains, and is col-
lected by the women chiefly, who go out in ca-
noes from ten to fourteen feet in length, two
feet wide and nine inches deep ; shallow though
this may be, it is sufficiently large to contain a
single person, and several bushels of roots, yet
so very light that a woman can carry it with
ease ; she takes one of these canoes into a pond,
when the water is as high as the breast, and, by
I 3
M
i *
i.
i
f.
00
TRAVELS IS NOUTH AMERICA.
means of her toes, separates from the root this
bulb, which on being freed from the mud rises
immediately to the surface of the water, and is
thrown into the canoe. In this manner these
patient creatures remain at work for several
hours, even in the depth of winter.
It was on the 7th of May, that the parf;
reached that spot on the Kooskooskee, where
they had concealed such articles as they imagined
they should have no occasion for. On the lOth
of May they recovered their horses, and found
their saddles in the spot where they had buried
them : they now prepared for their journey
across the mountains, but the snow was too thick
on the ground to permit them to do it in safety ;
they therefore chose a spot for a camp, and em-
ployed themselves in making additions to their
stock of provisions ; and as their hunters were
excellent marksmen, and their rifles good, they
were enabled to regale their Indian friends, who
encamped about them in great numbers, and to
whom animal food was a great rarity. It will
perhaps surprise the reader to learn, that,
with so much game in their neighbourhood, the
chief subsistence of the natives should be
roots ; but the fact is easily ^accounted for, —
the elks and deer are too wary to suffer the
Indians to approach within bow-shot ; hence
they seldom get a meal of flesh more than once
a month.
The party now recrossed the mountains, and
proceeding down the Missouri, in due time, after
TRA ELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
Ul
aot this
id rises
I and is
r these
several
; parr-
, where
lagined
he lOth
I found
buried
lourney
10 thick
safety ;
,nd em-
o their
s were
d, they
Is, who
and to
It will
, that,
od, the
ild be
for, —
er the
hence
m once
IS, and
2, after
suti'ering great hardbhips from the cold and from
scarcity of provisions, arrived at the place where
they had sunk their boats and buried their stores ;
these they quickly raised, and now proceeded
down the stream, a party under orders of one
of the Serjeants being directed to conduct the
horses to the forks of the Jefferson river by a
nearer way across the plain, and to wait there
till joined by their companions. Of the trou-
ble, however, of attending upon the horses they
were soon eased by the Indians, through whose
country they were now travelling, and who in
this respect were very different from those they
had left on the western side of the mountains.
These followed their track so secretly, that the
hunters never could light upon them, though night
after night they by degrees carried the horses
off; fortunately this happened at a time when
these animals were no longer essentially neces-
sary to their progress, and therefore, without
delaying to make a search which would in all
probabihty be fruitless, the serjeant and his party,
no longer obliged to pursue their course by
land, resolved to make the best of their way to
the river, and, having no means of building
canoes of timber, formed some for themselves
like those they had seen among the Mandans,
and other tribes — two sticks were tied together
so as to form a round hoop, which served ior the
brim, while a second hoop was made for the
bottom of the boat, in the same way, and both
secured by sticks from the sides of the hoops,
Mpi
92
TRAVELS IX NORTH AMERICA.
. « aS
tn
tA
';' » s.
M
^!J» ■ 1*
making a frame-work of a basin shape, seven
feet in diameter and sixteen inches deep. This,
uhen covered with skins drawn closely and tied
with thongs, was sufficiently large to carry six
or eight men with their loads, and in this ma-
chine they passed in perfect safety through the
most difficult shoals and rapids of the river,
without ever taking in water even during the
highest winds, and at last reached the forks,
where their companions had arrived but a short
time before them.
The whole party thus happily united, and
now arrived in a district where they found trees
for their purpose, constructed a sufficiency of
canoes to replace those which the weather had
rendered unserviceable or accident had destroyed,
and proceeded without further delay to Fort
Mandan, where they held a council of the
chiefs, in the hopes of inducing some of them
to accompany them to the United States. Here,
however. Philips resolved to part from his com-
panions, Captains Lewis and Clarke, and to
take advantage of the company of a trader whotn
they met here, and who was about to set out by
a well known track to Chipaway, which lay
600 miles in a due easterly direction, not
very distant from the southern shore of Lake
Superior.
He had followed the course of the Missouri,
from its confluence with the Mississippi to its
source, and as his object in joining the expedi-
tion had been to see as much of the North Ame-
TRAVELS IN NOUTII AMERICA.
93
'■
i
p, seven
This,
and tied
arry six
his ma-
>ugh the
e river,
ing the
e forks,
; a short
ed, and
nd trees
ency of
her had
stroyed,
to Fort
of the
of them
. Here,
lis com-
and to
r whotn
: out by
ich lay
m, not
•f Lake
issouri,
i to its
expedi-
1 Ame-
rican continent as possible, it is obvious that
much time would be unnecessarily lost in return-
in*? by the same way to the point from which he
had set out; whereas he had now an opportunity
not only of seeing new ground, — a great induce-
ment to one who travels for information, — but of
visiting the British Settlements in North America.
In order, however, that the young reader may
understand this, he must be reminded that at the
distance of about 600 miles east of Fort Man-
dan, Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie,
and Ontario, form a vast irregular chain of in-
land seas stretching from west to east, dividing
the possessions of the English, which are 1500
miles broad, and 700 long, from those of the
United States ; and as Fort Mandan was the
nearest point in his course to the most westerly
of them, Lake Superior, it will at once appear
why he availed himself of the means of reaching
that point where he could have the advantage
of water carriage through an extent of nearly
twenty degrees of longitude, for, once arrived at
the farthest extremity of Lake Ontario, he could
take advantage of the Saint Lawrence to reach
Montreal and Quebec, before the ice should
render that river unnavigable, and then shape
his course either to England or to the United
States, as an opportunity might happen to pre-
sent itself.
The person with whom Philips had engaged
to cross the country to Chipaway was one of
the numerous body, who carry on a trade with
t*
u
94
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
If'!
'!>
^
lfi': ■
i^^' '. '
the Indians for furs. FIc liad wintered amongst
the remote trihcs, who dwell in the west of the
^reat continent of Norrli America between the
Stony Mountains and Canada, several hundred
njiles north of the track which Philips nd his
party liad pursued, after leaving Fort Mandan ;
and having sent his canoes along the course of
rivers and lakes, which led to Lake Superior, he
was about to join them with all the expedition
he could use. After two days, therefore, they
set out, and occasionally using horses to cross
the plains and forests which lay in their way,
but through which there was a very good Indian
path, and sometimes in canoes, when the course
of the rivers favoured them, they arrived at the
great portage of Lake Superior in the short
period of sixteen days. In such a rapid journey,
it may well be supposed, Philips had not time
for much observation, except what the country
he passed through afforded him ; his companion,
however, had traversed almost every part of that
extensive region which the fur company of
Canada visited, and Philips was enabled, from
his information, to add considerably to his own
stock. The first, and by far the most inte-
resting account, was that concerning the traffic
in which he was himself engaged, and which
carries those who embark in it to the astonishing
distance of 4000 miles west of Montreal ;
Philips, however, was better able to understand
this, from the journey which he had just finished.
The merchants who are associated to conduct
w
TKAVliLS IN NOUTII AMERICA.
05
imongst
t of the
een the
lundred
id his
andan ;
)urs>c of
Tior, he
sedition
e, they
cross
ir way,
Indian
course
[I at the
e short
oiirney,
ot time
country
panion,
of that
any of
d, from
bis own
jt inte-
; traffic
which
nishing
►ntreal ;
erstand
nished.
londuct
If, arc cither natives of Canada or Englislinien,
and employ no less than fifty clerks, seventy-one
interpreters, 1120 canoe-nien, and thirty-five
iruides, who are attended by about 700
Indians, men, women, and children. The goods
which are found to be most in demand among
the different tribes, are coarse cloth, arms,
and ammunition, tobacco, cottons, threads, and
twine, cutlery and ironmongery, kettles of brass
and copper, bats, shoes, and hose. ** I fear," said
Philips to bis informant, whose name was
Dixon, " you have forgotten to include spirituous
liquors amongst the commodities you barter."
" At first," answered Dixon, ** it was a custom
not to sell any thing of the kind to the natives,
but unfortunately it was not long adhered to ;
some worthless men who soon after engaged in
the trade first introduced it among them, and
tlie savages, having once tasted, afterwards re-
fused to deal with those who did not come pro-
vided with their favourite liquor ; and now, I
regret to say, it forms one of the principal arti-
cles of traffic.*'
These commodities are made up into pack-
ages in Montreal, and, the necessary number of
canoes being purchased, the expedition sets out
about the beginning of May, when the rivers
and lakes are free from ice. To see one of
those slender vessels heaped up with goods, and
sunk with her gunwale within six inches of the
water, one would think they never could reach
their destination ; and yet so expert are the ca-
11
II
II
1^
yf)
TRAVLI.S IX NORTH AMPTiirA.
fr
«.*.i
if
noe-mpn timt accidents rarely liappcn. — " The
detaclinieiit," continued Dixon *' which thus
leaves Montreal in the beginnini^ of May, ar-
rives at the f^rand Portaj^e upon Lake Superior
about the middle of June. It is to trade with
these, with the furs which 1 collected in tho
course of rny winter traffic, that I am come, and
though they arc not yet arrived, yet in less than
a week you will see upwards of 1j200 men, and
during the fortnight that this number of persons
will remain together, an opportunity will be af-
forded you of learning several interesting par-
ticulars concerning our proceedings. In that
time we settle our accounts together, recelvino
from the party that came up from Montreal the
articles necessary for carrying on the trade du-
ring the ensuing winter, and returning the furs
which we have already collected." ** But have
you," asked Phili[)s, ** water carriage the whole
way ?" *' Far from it," answered Dixon. " In
the course of our progress westward from Mon-
treal, we have the advantage of either navigable
lakes or streams to the extremity of Lake Supe-
rior, but, after that, we are often obliged to
transport the canoes and their lading across the
distance which separates the different rivers
along which we proceed. This distance is some-
times only twenty or thirty paces, but it is at
other places thirteen miles ; and the number of
these carrying places, or portages, as they are
called, is no less than 1,30 : nor is this the only
obstacle ; we are obliged when we meet with
-•li thus
ay, ar-
superior
Lcle with
in tho
me, and
ess than
icn, and
persons
U be af-
n^ par-
In that
3ctjlvin2
real the
ade du-
the furs
lit have
e whole
"In
1 Mon-
vigable
e Supe-
iged to
•OSS the
rivers
s some-
it is at
Tiber of
hey are
he only
Bt with
TUAVLLS IN NORTH AMKRICA. 07
rap'ds, and you know liow frequently they occur,
to unload the canoes, and tow throuirh two hun-
dred of them, whilst the cartroes are conveyed
on men's shoulders by land." *' This," said Phi-
lips, •' must boa very tedious course, and, besides,
the time consumed before your furs can be sold
in England and Ireland, so as to give you a re-
turn, must be very long." " The statement of
the lime it takes is curious," said Dixon, ** and
will yive some idea of the difficulties which com-
merce is able to overcome."
*' We send our orders to England say
in October 1 800
They are made up and shipped from
London, Marcli 1801
They arrive at Montreal, June . . 1801
They are arranged for tralHc with the
Indians, and sent from Montreal,
May 1802
They arrive in the Indian country, and
are exchanged for furs the following
winter 1802-/5
Which furs come to Montreal, Sept. . 180cJ
And are shipped for Great Britain
and Ireland, where they are sold,
April 1804.
*' It is not surprising, therefore, that these
articles, which are so much worn by the upper
classes of our countrywomen in muffs, tippets,
&c. should sell at high prices, when we consider
the time, labour, and expense, at which they are
procured.
K
98
TKAVLLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
'¥■'
'j
,'' <
ik,i
" As you will see the Lake Superior, and
also the course of the St. Lawrence from Mon-
treal to the entrance into it, it is not necessary
to liescribc it to you ; hut the following is a slight
sketch of the route leading from the spot on
Lake Superior, to which are now journeying,
to Fort Chipewyan, which is the remotest point
at which our traders have established them-
selves.
** From this place then, the grand portage at
Lake Superior, the goods are conveyed by men
for miles, over hills and mountains, to the canoes
that are to proceed to the north-west ; these are
not half the size of the canoes which come from
Montreal. At the distance of about sixty miles
they reach the highest land, as it is called. This
high land, however, it should be understood, is
not that before mentioned, as dividing the streams
of the Missouri from those of the lakes, but a
ridge of mountains lying northward of the lakes,
and which separates the waters which flow into
the Atlantic Ocean from those that discharge
themselves into Hudson's Bay, and the ocean
lying to the north. From this elevated ground,
therefore, we proceed with the current, and cross
many a lake, and wind along many a stream,
which it would be uninteresting to detail to you,
until we reach the before mentioned Fort
Chipewyan ; the face of the country during this
first part of the route is generally a wild scene
of huge hills and rocks, separated by stony val-
leys, lakes, and ponds ; the ground, where there
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
99
or, and
m iMon-
ecessary
a slight
spot on
rneying,
jst point
1 them-
rtage at
by men
e canoes
hese are
me from
:ty miles
i. This
stood, is
streams
IS, but a
\e lakes,
ow into
scharge
e ocean
ground,
fid cross
stream,
to you,
d Fort
ing this
d scene
)ny val-
'c there
is any soil, being sheltered by oak, elnn, ash,
maple, and pine. It will give you some idea ot*
the difficulties we have to surmount, that, after
setting out, v/e have not ad vanced two miles, before
we are obliged to unload and carry our packages
600 paces ; after three miles and a-half, there
occurs another portage of 680 paces, and, in the
next three miles, a third portage of nearly half
a mile. In this way we toil on, sonnetimes sail-
ing down the rivers or crossing the numerous
lakes in our canoes, at other times carrying them
and our merchandise across the distance which
separates any two of them, and which are there-
fore called portages, and at last we reach Lake
Winnipic, which is indeed capitally situated for
the purposes of the fur trade. This fine lake
communicates with the southern shores of Hud-
son's Bay by two rivers called the Severn and
the Nelson, and is connected with the head wa-
ters of the Missouri, which you have just left,
by the Assimboin, and Red rivers ; there are
two trading establishments on it. The country
on each side consists of plains, where herds of
buffaloes and elks graze at full liberty ; the east-
ern side abounds in beavers, bears, and deer.
The banks of the Red River, which runs into the
south, is inhabited chiefly by the Assimboins,
who confine themselves to hunting the buffalo,
and trapping wolves. They never eat the wolves,
but make tallow with their fat, and dress their
skins, which they exchange with us. The buffalo,
which they do not immediately want for food or
K 2
w
100
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
',. .,-, ■
clothing, they pound into ^^cm/cflw, something hke
potted meat, and dress tlie skins for winter."
*' But tell me," said Philips, " is the country as
thinly inhabited as that through which I have
passed ?" " Still more so," replied Dixon,
*' that afflicting disease, the small pox, got
among them about thirty or forty years ago, in-
troduced, no doubt, by some traders. 1 had the
account from a comrade who traded with them
at that time, and he compared the rapidity with
which it spread amongst them, to the fire which
consumes the dry grass of a field. They knew
no remedy against it, and the nature of the dis-
ease, which renders the whole body one sore,
terrified them more than any sickness which
might have destroyed life without much alter-
ing the appearance ; this has cut down the na-
tives of this vast continent, and the remnant
whom it has spared are gradually growing less
by the free use of spirits, in which they indulge
to excess ; you see, therefore, they have no
reason to rejoice at their intercourse with white
men, for though we have introduced many com-
forts among them, we have also been the means
of conveying to them a loathsome disease, arid
intoxicating liquors." " Still, however,*' said
Philips, ** the cow-pock invention will, it may be
hoped, stop the further progress of the small
pox ; and surely some efforts will also be made
to give them something more valuable in ex-
change for their furs, than spirits, guns, and am-
munition." ** Yes," said Dixon, ** they now
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA,
101
inglike
ter."
intryas
I have
Dixon,
X, got
igo, in-
md the
h them
tv with
which
y knew
he (lis-
le sore,
which
I alter-
the na-
?mnant
ng less
ndulge
ive no
I white
y corn-
means
ie, arid
, said
may be
i small
i made
in ex-
nd am-
y now
willingly present themselves to be vaccinated,
and I myself hnve been the means of bringing
amongst them some papers of that remedy, it
is also true, that various efforts have been made
to civilize them ; but, to tell you what I think,
the habits and improvements which good and
charitable men would introduce amongst them,
can avail but little to alter them, whilst our trade
has the effect of preventing their settling down
to a quiet life, and the spirituous liquors which
we give them not only make them less fit for
settled industry, but also tend to keep up every
bad disposition which they had originally. If
they were obliged also to labour more for their
si^pport, we might hope to see them improving ;
but it is unfortunately a bar to their improve-
ment, that there is not perhaps a finer country
in the world for the residence of uncivilized men
than all the country about the Winnipic : it
abounds in every thing necessary for the wants
and comforts of such a people ; fish, venison, and
fowl, are in great plenty, whilst at the same time
the life they lead in procuring this food, requires
that bodily exercise so necessary to health and
vigour.
'* But to proceed upon our course from Lake
Winnipic — the passage of our canoes to the ex-
treme station of our trade to the north-west, is
interrupted in the Saskashawan river by a rapid,
in which the waters tumble over ridges of rocks
that cross the river. At the foot of this water-
fall, a great quantity of sturgeon is caught, and
K 3
K *i»'5
102
TRAVELS IN NOllTlI AMERICA.
;• jf'!
Ji'Vii'-P
it is frequented by numbers of pelicans, and
cormorants, watching for the fish which arc
killed or disabled by the fall. A succession of
small lakes, interrupted here and there by rapids,
extends to the great Churchill River, where there
is a portage of some difficulty. It was at this
point that Mr. Frobisher, an Englishman, who
set out from Canada in 1774, for the purpose of
trading with the Indians, met them as they were
proceeding with their canoes filled with valuable
iurs. They traded with him for as many as his
canoe could carry, and, in consequence of this
transaction, the portage has since retained his
name. The next portage after this is by far
the most considerable, extending for thirteen
miles ; within a mile of its northern termination,
the way leads across a very steep precipice, the
ascent and descent of which appear equally im-
practicable, but the Canadians whom we employ
contrive to surmount all these difficulties, even
with their canoes and lading.
" I suppose," interrupted Philips, " the top of
this eminence affords you a fine view of tbe
surrounding country : where lakes so much
abound, the face of the land must be seen lying
beneath you as a map.'* " Yes,** replied Dixon,
" it commands a most extensive prospect. There
are several rivers winding most beautifully
through the plains, whicb are skirted on each
side by lofty bills covered with fine forests. At
the time I ascended, there was every thing be-
fore me to increase the effect ; my people were
TKAVl-LiJ IN NOUTII AMERICA.
103
s, and
icli arc
ision of
rapids,
e there
at this
1, who
:)ose of
;y were
al Liable
as his
of this
led his
by far
birteen
nation,
ce, the
lly im-
iinploy
s, even
top of
of the
much
I lying
3ixon,
There
ti fully
I each
ts. At
ig be-
I were
employed below ])itching their tents in a fine
meadow, in the distant part of which, herds of
elks and deer were pasturing, several (ires had
been lighted for preparing our suppers, and
when 1 looked down upon the different objects, —
the moving figures, the tents, the columns of
smoke rising in different directions, I almost for-
got that I was so many days' journey from the
habitations of civilized men.
" This," concluded Dixon, " is my account of
the journey made by the fur traders, in their
course from Lake Superior to the inland and
northern parts of North America, to the tllk
River which runs still northwards with a stronir
current into the Lake of the Hills, in latitude
fifty-eight and a-half north, and where, on the
southern side, is Fort Chipewyan, the establish-
ment to which I had been advancing, by so te-
dious and fatiguing a journey. It was then
about the beginning of October, and, though
the cold winter was advancing, I lost no time
in sending one party up the Peace River, to trade
with the Beaver and Stony Mountain Indians,
and another to the Slave River and Lake, to
traffic with the inhabitants of that country.
The party under me consisted of one hundred
men, and the lake was our only means of sup-
port, for the provisions we had still remaining
it was necessary to keep untouched, for the de-
mands of the spring."
** I suppose," said Philips, " the natives were
awaiting your arrival, in order to dispose of
l^'
H^>T
lOi
TRAVELS IN NOUTII AMKIUCA.
i't.< .
their furs for the commodities you hrought."
** The Indians meet us," replied Dixon, '* at the
fall of the year for that purpose ; they then pro-
ceed to hunt the beaver, and do not return till
the beginning of the following year, when they
obtain by barter a fresh supply of our commodi-
ties. But I received most pleasure from study-
ing the native manners, an opportunity for which
was amply afforded me during the time I re-
mained amongst them." " This," said Philips,
** was what I always most desired ; but, as in my
course to the mouth of the Columbia, we got
amongst a people who looked upon us with, per-
haps, some alarm, and we passed through them
always with rapidity, I was not able to observe
many of their domestic habits." " But you
will," answered his companion, " have every
opportunity of gratifying your wish in this re-
spect, in your journey from Lake Superior down
the St. Lawrence.
" Among the nations whom we visited, the
occupation of the men is war and hunting, but
the management of their huts is left to the
women. These are kept in a subordinate state,
as amongst other savage tribes, but the severity
of their labour is much diminished by their situa-
tion on the banks of lakes and rivers where they
employ canoes."
It was in this way that Philips and Dixon
conversed, as they passed along the distance
that separated Fort Mandan from the grand
portage of Lake Superior ; but when they came
lUAVliLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
105
•ought."
'* at the
len pro-
turn till
en they
mmodi-
1 study-
)r which
16 I re-
Philips,
IS in mv
we got
ith, per-
jh them
observe
ut you
3 every
this re-
3r down
ted, the
ing. but
to the
;e state,
severity
r situa-
ire they
Dixon
iistance
I grand
y came
within view of this noblebody of water, nothing
could exceed Philips's astonishment and admi-
ration. He had now nearly gratified his long
/^jherished wish of seeing foreign countries — he
had crossed the wide Atlantic, and seen the vast
rivers which water the continent of South Ame-
rica, but he had never seen a lake which the
eye could not all at once take in at a view ; and
this was one immense sea, extending 381 miles
from north to south, and 161 miles from east to
west. What a noble country, thought he, for
inland commerce, where Providence has afforded
such means of intercourse, between the most
distant parts, by water ! and this opinion was
still more strengthened, when he recollected,
that through the whole distance from Quebec to
the Fort which Dixon had been describing, the
country is thickly studded with lakes and rivers.
" Besides this, however," said Dixon, *' there
are many lakes and rivers north of those we
have mentioned, though but few of them have
been as yet accurately examined. — From Fort
Chipewyan, however, Mr. Mackenzie, who was
a trader in our company about thirty years ago,
proceeded in the first instance to the Pacific
Ocean by a diflPerent route from that you took;
for, setting out from Fort Chipewyan, he ascended
the Peace River, which led him westward
through a narrow opening of the rocky moun-
tains, which seem to divide as if it were in order
to allow the srrcam to pass ; from the source of
this river, which, it is remarkable, is but a few
ion
TRAVET.S IN NORTH AMERICA.
;.*•♦<'
miles from that of the Columbia, he made his
way westward, through many difficulties, to the
shores of the ocean, about 600 miles north of
the mouth of Columbia River. On another occa-
sion, he determined to follow the Peace River
to its mouth, and, embarking on it, he found that,
after passing through a great body of water,
called the Slave Lake, it flows out of its north-
ern extremity, and after a course through nearly
ten degrees of latitude, runs into a sea, which is
now generally supposed to wash the northern
shores of North America, and to connect the
waters of Baffin's Bay with those of Behring's
Straits, forty miles wide, which latter separates
Asia from America. Mackenzie here found
every thing to convince him, that it was part of
a great sea ; he was unable, for instance, to resist
the swell which came in from the north ; he felt
the rising of the river, such as would be caused
if the tide flowed up the mouth of a river ; and
he also saw whales there. In the latitude of
seventy degrees, however, he was unable to pro-
secute his design of further examination, the
cold being so very intense as to obhge him to re-
turn with the knowledge he had acquired.*' —
" To me," said Philips, who had listened with
great attention to his companion, whilst he gave
him this explanation : ** this is very interesting,
and I only wish it had been in my power, when I
was returning from the Pacific Ocean, to pass to
the source of the Peace River ; for, in this way,
I should have enjoyed the satisfaction of passing
La
rn
Hi
TRAViaS IN NORTH AMERICA.
107
ado his
J, to the
lorth of
3r occa-
:e River
nd that,
r water,
5 north-
h nearly
which is
lorthern
lect the
ehrinff's
jparates
; found
part of
to resist
he felt
caused
fcr ; and
tude of
to pro-
on, the
n to re-
red/'—
ed with
le gave
resting,
when I
pass to
lis way,
passing
from the (nilf of Mexico by the Mississl|)pi, the
Missouri, and the Columbia, to the Western
Ocean, and from thence by the Peace River, the
Lake of the Hills, the Slave River and Slave
Lake, and Mackenzie's liiver, to the Northern
Ocean ; perhaps alpo, by making excursions east
and west from the mouth of Mackenzie's River,
1 should have had the good fortune to ascertain
that long disputed question, of a passage by the
Northern Ocean from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Ocean." — " I doubt much," replied Dixon, " that
you would have found it practicable, for, when
Captain Cook sailed through those straits, which
are called after their discoverer, Commodore Beli-
ring, on attempting to steer eastward along the
northern shore of this continent, he was stopped
by an impenetrable barrier of ice of unknown
extent, whicb stretched right across the strait
from the shores of America to that of Asia.
Mackenzie also found the face of the country so
barren and desolate, and the few people he met
there so intractable, that he was glad to return ;
but it is right also to mention, that Mr. Hearne,
another of our company, in a journey which he
made to explore the country due north of the
eastern extremity of the Slave Lake, saw another
part of the sea, which is supposed to connect the
two oceans, full twenty-five degrees, or 1 800 miles
eastward of the mouth of Mackenzie's River ; so
that, as I said before, there is but little reason
to doubt the existence of such a sea, although,
from the great coldness of the climate in this
%
108
TlMVr.LS IN NOUTIl AMFRICA.
liigli latitudo, it is more than probuhle tliat, for all
useful purposes, it will be found unnavigable.
It was a few days after IMulips's arrival at tlie
^rand jmrta^e, and when all the traders were
assembled, that a seene presented itself, the ani-
mation of which nothin<^ that he had heard could
afford him any idea of. — The fort, where the
merchants and their clerks assembled, was com-
posed of several wooden houses, surrounded
with strong pallisades, to guard against any
sudden attack from tlie Indians ; the hardy
hunters, who had come down from the remote
inland parts of North America with tlie furs
which they had collected, were lodged in tents
which they had pitched near the fort ; and the
rowers, who are for the most part Canadians, had
drawn their canoes up on the bank, and were
lodged beneath them. Here this party, which
consisted of not less than 1 i^OO men, remained
together for about a fortnight ; and it deserves to
be mentioned, that, though the roving life which
many of these hunters lead from choice must
render them, to a certain degree, impatient ,of
control, and, from the circumstances of the case,
the authority of their employers must be re-
laxed, there was no violence in their conduct,
each was paid his wages, and had the choice
either of returning to Canada, or of entering into
a fresh agreement for the ensuing winter. And
here Philips had an opportunity of observing the
attachment which those people have to their
hardy life ; there were very few, as his friend
*■*
TRAVULS IN NOKTll AMtlUCA.
10.9
It, for all
^able.
al at the
?rs were
the ani-
rd could
lere the
as com-
rounded
nst any
3 hardy
remote
lie furs
in tents
and the
ans, had
id were
't which
ijmained
erves to
e which
le must
tient ,of
he case,
be re-
onduct,
choice
ing into
•. And
nngthe
their
1 friend
assured him, but had come to the rendezvous
resolved to return with the homeward party to
Montreal; but the opportunity they had here of
conversing together, soon altered this intention ;
each related his own exploits, and the various
escapes which he had had ; and some of them,
indeed, were most wonderful ; until at length
diey began to acquire a distaste for the quiet life
to which they were returning, and eagerly sought
a new engagement from the merchants.
There were three men whom Philips parti-
cularly remarked, who had been for several years
hunting, on and beyond the rocky mountains,
until at length, they thought it time to be tired
of a hunting life : one of them was sixty-six years
of age, and, in an engagement with a tribe of
hostile Indians, had been actually scalped, and
was obliged to wear a handkerchief on his head
to protect the part ; and yet he and his compa-
nions were amongst the first to ask a new en-
gagement.
During their stay at the Portage, the north-
men (as they are called) are regaled with bread,
port, butter, liquor, and tobacco, (luxuries which
they never enjoy on their expeditions,) and are
then dispatched to their respective quarters ; — ■
those who were to go north in canoes to Fort
Chipewyan, received the packages of goods
with which they were to trade with the Indians ;
and the agents, assisted by their clerks, prepared
for their return, by making up the furs in bun-
L
110
TKAVliLS IN NOIITII AMUIUCA.
''.♦
. -in
(lies convenient for carriage, and vvitli tlicm Phi-
lips also rtsolvt'd to take a passage.
At tlio app()intt?d time, IMiilips eniLarked with
those traders who were about to return to Mon-
treal, in a vessel of seventy tons' burden, whieii
the fur company always use for transporting
their commodities to and from St. Mary's, which
lies on the opposite eastern extremity of Lake
Superior, where its waters communicate witlj
Lake Huron. This point of connexion is called
the Falls of St. Mary's, of which, however, the
waters do not descend in one fall, but rush alons^
a narrow rocky bed, in a deep and rapid cur-
rent, for nearly three quarters of a mile, where
they flow into Lake Huron ; at the foot of this,
that is, at its junction with Lake Huron, immense
quantities of fish abound, and the natives resort
thither in great numbers in the months of Sep-
tember and October, to collect their winter store
of this provision.
Though the current is so violent, yet the
extreme de.:terity of the natives in guiding their
canoes enables them to pass down it without dan-
ger ; and our travellers, who exchanged their
large vessel for several canoes at St. Mary's,
reached the extremity of it in safety, and there
embarked with their packages of furs on board
one of the small vessels which usually ply upon
this lake, and proceeded on their course across
Lake Huron with a favourable wind.
In point of size Lake Huron equals only one
TUAVKLS IN NOUTII AMLUICA.
Ill
Mil Phi
wctl with
to Moil-
1, whicii
<portinir
s, which
af Lake
itc witli
is called
ver, the
sh al()n<^
[)id cur-
, where
; of this,
mmense
js resort
of Sep-
ter store
yet the
ng their
jutdan-
ed their
Mary's,
id there
board
ly upon
across
nly one
(jiiartcr of the surfaco occnpiod liy I^akci Supe-
rior, l^'rom tlu' western shore an extensive rani^e
of islands stretclu^s ont in an easterly direction
lor IGO miles; many of them measuring IVoni
twenty to thirty miles in length, by ten or fifteen
in breadth. IJesides these, there are a vast
number of smaller ones, grouped together in dif-
ferent j)arts of the lake, all which render the
navigation extremely dilHeidt.
It will give the reader some idea of the vast
extent of the American lakes, so far as they
have been ascertained, to learn that Lake Su-
rior covers 21,0u0,000 of acres, Lake Huron
.5,000,000, Lake Erie 2,G00,00O, and Lake
Ontario 2, .'500,000.
The weather was fine when our travellers
commenced their voyage in the morning, but
this lake is peculiarly liable to violent storms,
and of this I'hilips had ample experience before
many hours elapsed, for towards evening the
sky grew dark and lowering, distant thunder
was heard, the wind rose rapidly, and as night
came on it rained violently ; apprehensive,
therefore, lest they should be swamped in the
middle of the lake, they steered for the shore,
and, having left some of their party to guard
the merchandise aboard, they, with the assist-
ance of some Indians, whom they found as-
sembled round a blazing fire in an adjoining
wood, reached a bouse, where they passed the
night, and the next morning proceeded on their
way, the storm having abated, and the vveatber
L 2
I
!■',,
, r
•'K
112
TRAVELS IN XOKTII AMERICA.
proving in every respect favourable, except tiini
there was still a considerable swell in the lake.
The same evening they reached the straits, and
finally landed at the town of Detroit in safety.
This channel of Detroit is about forty miles in
length and five in breadth, and, as has been
before mentioned, connects Lake Huron with
Lake Erie. The town stands on its western
banK, which, as well as the opposite shore, is in
a good state of cultivation, and studded over
with villages and farm-houses: it contains
about 200 houses, and is strongly fortified. A
rich wood skirts along the shores on eithe side,
and the river was crowded with Indian canoes
and bateaux ; several large fishing-boats were
also cruizing backwards and forwards, and the
whole presented an animated and picturesque
appearance.
They were several days on their passage
through Lake Erie, it being between two and
three hundred miles long, and about sixty wide ;
that is to say, it is at its greatest breadth as wide
across as from Dublin to Holyhead, and is ,so
deep, (affording from forty to fifty fathoms of
water,) that in calm weather the largest vessels
may securely ride at anchor in any part of it,
but when stormy, the anchorage is not to be
trusted, because the sands are loose, and give
way. The height of the land along the coasts
is very variable ; in some places long ranges of
steep mountains rise from the very edge of the
water, and in others, the shores are so flat, that
Wvf
XKAVJiLS IN NORTH AMIiUlCA.
IIJ
:cpt thai
he lako.
lits, and
1 safety,
miles in
as been
on with
western
►re, is in
ed over
contains
ied. A
le side,
1 canoes
its were
and the
uresque
passage
wo and
y wide ;
as wide
id is ,so
loms of
vessels
•t of it,
it to be
nd give
coasts
iges of
of the
at, that
when a strong wind drives the water towards the
land, the country is inundated ibr miles.
On the w'jstern side of the lake are several
clusters of islands, which are ricldy wooded, and
the water near the banks is covered with the
dowers of the water-lily. The timber on these
islands, principally oak and red ':edar, is of
such extraordinary size, that they are often car-
ried forty miles distance, to Detroit, for sale.
The islands are flat and mars' y, and abound to
such a degree with serpents and snakes, that it
is dangerous to walk among the long grass; and
in winter, when the lake is frozen between the
main land and the islands, troops of bears are
often seen traversing the ice, and are found
rambling ail over the islands.
As the vessel drew near the north- western
extremity of the lake, I'hilips's anxiety increased
with his approach towards tlie river Niagara,
of which the celebrated falls had betrn one of his
principal objects in visiting this part of America.
The vast expanse of water which he had been
hitherto traversing, here narrows to a space
scarcely ii^ore than iJOO yards wide, and con-
tinues about tlie same breadth for the first few
miles of the river which joins the waters of Erie
to Ontario.. The stream is, however, deep
enough for vessels drawing nine or ten feet
water, but the current is so extremely rapid
•md irre</ular, and the channel so intricate on
account of numberless large rocks in different
places, that no other vess'ds than boats ever
L 3
W
\%
114
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
attempt to pass along it. In proceeding down-
wards, the river widens, no rocks are to be seen
either along the shores or in the channel, and
the waters glide smoothly along, though the
current continues very strong. The river runs
thus evenly, and is navigable with safety, for
boats, as far as Fort Chippeway, which is about
three miles above the falls ; but here the bed
again becomes rocky, and the rush of the cur-
rent so violent, that were a boat by any chance
to be carried but a short distance beyond Chip-
peway, where travellers usually stop, it must
almost inevitably be dashed to pieces. This,
therefore, is the place where the boats proceed-
ing to Quebec are unloaded, and the merchandise
is carried to Queenstown, which is a portage of
nine miles. Philips, therefore, resolved to take
advantage of the time, during which his com-
panions would be thus engaged, to see the cele-
brated cataract of Niagara, the wonder of the
natural world; and by the advice of one of his
companions, who agreed to join him, he engaged
a canoe and men, and by keeping dexterously in
the middle of the stream from Chippeway,
reached an island, called Goat Island, which
divides the river at the very falls. It was here,
therefore, that he had his first view of what he
justly considered one of the finest objects in na-
ture. The white foam from the fall had appeared
rising like a cloud before him, for at least seven
miles before he reached the spot, and the roar
of t^ e waters he could likewise plainly hear at
^ down-
be seen
nel, and
ugh the
^er runs
Pety, for
is about
the bed
the cur-
r chance
id Chip-
it must
. This,
)roceed-
:handise
rtage of
to take
is com-
he cele-
r of the
e of his
engaged
ously in
ppeway,
, which
as here,
^hat he
^s in na-
ppeared
5t seven
he roar
hear at
Mi>
It
P'i
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
115
tlie same distance ; many travellers even assert,
that both can be distinguished at a distance ot*
forty miles, on a clear day, and when the wind
blows from that point.
The river Niagara is divided by the island
into two distinct cataracts, of which the most str-
pendous is that on the north-eastern side, and is
called the Horse Shoe Fall, from its resemblance
to that shape. The height of this fall is estimated
at 150 feet, and it is 600 vards broad. The
other is denominated Fort Schloper Fall, and is
only 1050 feet wide. Down both these cataracts
the water dashes with the most tremendous im-
petuosity, into a gulf beneath, so dark and deep
as almost to make the head reel to look over it.
The lofty banks on each side are covered with
thick woods, which, together with the tremen-
dous roar of the waters, and the cloud of white
foam thrown up by the fall, form, altogether, a
scene almost surpassing description for sublimity
and grandeur.
It may well be supposed with what feelings
of awe and wonder Philips gazed around him ;
while he thought within himself, if so stupendous
are the works of the creation, what must be the
power of the Creator I
After some hours spent in enjoying this mag-
nificent scene, he and his companion having
returned to Chippeway, by keeping their canoe
in the middle of the stream, they set out to walk
to Queenstown, whither the merchandise had in
the mean time been removed by the remainder
ni!
IIG
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
i f
of the party : here they found a steam- boat
ready to set off, which was to proceed down the
river and across Lake Ontario.
This was a large steam-boat, calculated for
the carriage of goods as well as of passengers ;
her engine was of fifty-four horse power, which,
though not so great as many others that ply upon
the rivers and lakes of America, is sullicient for
that course, where there is no strong current.
Our travellers, therefore, descended the river
Niagara in her as far as the town of Newark,
and sailed tiie next morning in the same steam-
vessel at four o'clock.
Canada, the country inio which Piiilips was
now entering, is an extens;ive region of North
America, lyuig between sixty-one and eighty-
one degrees of west longitude, and between
thirty-two and forty-two oi north latitude. The
countries which bound it on the north have been
so little explored, that tliey are almost unknown
to us ; on the east it is bounded by New Britain
and the Gulf of St. Lawrence; to the south lie
its great lakes and the United States ; and on
the western side its boundary is quite unde-
fined.
In the year 1791, Canada was divided, by an
actof the'British Parliament, into two provinces.
Upper and Lower Canada. To the north-east
lies Lower Canada, and Upper Canada is on the
south-west ; the latter is divided into eight dis-
tricts, and these are acrain subdivided into
twenty- three counties.
■^
team- boat
. down the
lulated for
issengers ;
er, wliich,
t ply upon
fiicieiit for
^ current,
the river
Newark,
ne steam-
lilips was
of North
id eighty-
bet ween
Kle. The
liave been
unknown
;w Britain
south lie
; and on
ite unde-
ed, by an
)rovinces,
lorth-east
is on the
LMght dis-
dcd into
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
117
Lower Canada is intersected by several ridges
of lofty mountains, which, however, are mostly
unexplored, and are only known to be covered
witli immense forests, over which range the wild
animals of the desert, and the wandering tribes
of savages, who prey on them for subsistence.
Canada, as is well known, is remarkable for
its numerous rivers and lakes ; amongst the
former the St. Lawrence may be reckoned the
most considerable. This river issues from Lake
Superior, and, flowing successively through Lakes
Huron, Erie, and Ontario, falls into the ocean,
after a course of 2000 miles. Its breadth at the
mouth is 90 miles, and it is navigable for ships
of the line 400 miles from the sea. The other
important rivers of the country chiefly fall into
the St. Lawrence.
Such is the swiftness with which the steam-
boats ply, that at noon they had reached the
town of York, a distance of thirty-six miles ;
and in twenty-eight hours more, they were 161
miles further, at the town of Kingston, where
the lake empties itself into the river St. Law-
rence. The land on each side of the lake ex-
hibits but little beauty, except that it is richly
wooded, but it is for the most part low and
marshy, particularly on the north-east coast.
There are several islands at the eastern extre-
mity of the lake, and below this, in the channel
of the St. Lawrence, they are so numerous, that
they have been named the Thousand Isles. The
depth of water in the lake varies considerably ;
«•*
118
TRAVELS IN NORTIt AMERICA.
M '
in some parts it afFords scarcely ten fatlioms, in
others about fifty, but near the centre a sound-
ing line of 300 fathoms has been let down with-
out reaching the bottom. The harbour of King-
ston is very good, and there is also a fine dock-
yard, where, at the time that Philips visited it,
there were several large vessels building.
The rapidity with which ships were built
there during the time of the war is quite asto-
nishing. One of the men at work in the dock-
yard told him, that a three-decker of 1 10 guns,
called the St. Lawrence, had been made ready
for sea in five months from tlie day her keel was
laid down ; and two unfinished three deckers,
which he saw lying there, were contracted for
by a shipwright, to be finished in three months ;
but the peace came, there was no longer occa-
sion for their use, and they lay on the stocks
half built.
After remaining a day at Kingston, our tra-
vellers embarked in one of those large flat-bot-
tomed boats called bateaux, the only kind of
vessel by which the river St. Lawrence is navi-
gable down to Montreal, a distance of 210 miles,
on account of the frequent recurrence of rapids,
rocks, and shoals in the river, all which render
this passage, perhaps, one of the most danger-
ous in the world, and prevent the bateaux-men
from attempting to navigate it after dark,
obliging them to take three days to pass to the
town of Montreal.
The island of Montreal, which lies at the con-
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
119
oms, in
sound-
n with-
f Kinjr.
e (lock-
sited it,
•
e built
te asto-
e dock-
guns,
i ready
eel was
leckers,
ted for
lonths ;
r occa-
stocks
ur tra-
at-bot-
dnd of
navj-
) miles,
rapids,
render
anofer-
x-men
dark,
to the
le con-
fluence of the Ottowa river with the St. Law-
rence, is about thirty miles in lenirih and ten in
breadth, and contains innuy very flourishing
towns, of which the most considerable are La
Chine and Montreal ; the former is situated near
the foot of a high mountain, the summit of which
commands a noble view of the river. Montreal
is about eight miles from La Chine, and the ap-
proach to the town presents a very singular
aspect ; it has avast number of spires and other
lofty buildings, all of which, and nearly all the
houses, are covered with bright tin plates, which
in the sunshine have a most dazzling appearance ;
from the dryness of the climate they never con-
tract rust, and are consequently so durable that
many of the roofs have not been repaired for
upwards of forty years. The city is a large and
flourishing one, and contains many public build-
ings, of which tlie most worthy of notice is the
store-house for furs, belonging to the North
West Company. Philips made some inquiries
as to the usual prices of furs, and learned that,
in general, good bear-skins sell for twenty dol-
lars, (that being the current coin of the country) ;
buffalo, seven ; otter, four ; wolf, one ; and beaver
from four to five dollars per pound, which is the
quantity usually contained in one skin.
As the merchants with whom he had been
travelling were proceeding no further than
Montreal, he here quitted his party, and con-
tinued his course in a steam boat to Quebec, 120
miles distant down the St. Lawrence. The
lit*!
iii
120
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
f^
whole of the left side of the river is in the high-
est state of cultivation, and thickly inhabited ;
dwelling houses are built all alon^^ its banks, and
their gardens, which stretch down to the water's
edge, almost all join each other, so that they
present, as viewed from the river, one unbroken
line of garden ; and the inhabitants find this cus-
tom necessary to preserve communication with
each other during the winter snows. The oppo-
site side of the river is nearly a desert, and pre-
sents a striking contrast to this highly cultivat-
ed scene. They pursued an uninterrupted course
along the river, until they reached the town of
Sorel, about forty-five kiiiles below Montreal,
which is situated where the Richelieu flows into
the St. Lawrence ; here, however, they only
stopped to take in a supply of fire-wood for the
steam engine, and continued their passage down
the river, nothing particularly worth Philips's
notice occurring on the voyage, except to note
the different towns they passed, amongst which
was that of Trois Rivieres, situated at the mouth
of the river Richelieu where it falls into the St,
Lawrence. The whole length of the river from
Montreal to Quebec is 180 miles, and nothing
can be finer than the appearance the latter pre-
sents on approaching it by water — the high clitf
on which it stands seems to tower over the river,
and the tops of the houses being, like those of
Montreal, overlaid with tin, the glittering roofs
are seen at a distance long before the rest of the
town can be discerned ; the mountains here be-
TRAVKLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
121
le higli-
labited ;
iks, and
water's
lat they
nbroken
his cus-
on with
le oppo-
ind pre-
;ultivat-
1 course
town of
ontreal,
)ws into
2y only
for the
ye down
Miilips's
to note
t which
? mouth
the St.
er from
[lothing
ter pre-
gh clitf
e river,
hose of
g roofs
t of the
ere be-
gin to rise, and render the scene more interest-
ing, the country having hitherto been invariably
flat.
Quebec is situated on a lofty point of land,
at the junction of the river St. Charles with the
St. Lawrence. It is divided into two parts, the
upper and the lower town, the latter lying close
on a level with the water, and the former stand-
ing above it on rocks so steep, that they are
almost inaccessible ; its elevated situation ren-
ders it healthful and pleasant, while on the con-
trary the lower town is considered unwholesome,
the streets being extremely narrow and confined ;
it is therefore chiefly inhabited by traders con-
cerned in the shipping, all the wealthy inhabit-
ants residing only in the upper town. The latter
stands at the height of a thousand feet above
the level of the river, and commands a most
magnificent prospect of the St. Lawrence, the
St. Charles, and the whole of the adjacent coun-
try. The climate of Lower Canada, of which
Quebec is the capital, is very fine, and the soil
extremely productive, particularly of small grain,
small fruits, and garden vegetables of every
description ; currants, gooseberries, raspberries,
and grapes grow wild, the last are particularly
fine, and abound in the woods. These fruits, ?s
well as other commodities, the people carry to
market in little carts drawn by dogs, that re-
semble the Newfoundland breed, and are ex-
tremely sagacious and tractable. Philips him-
self had not been many hours in Quebec before
M
it'
1^5 III
122
TRAVKLS IN NOllTII AMKRTCA.
he took .1 drive in n sninll cariole drawn by
several of tlu-m yoked to^cilher, and tliey drew
him along not only snliily, bat swiftly.
The variety of trees winch jL^row in the forests
of Canada is snrprising, there bein*^ oaks, ehns,
ashes, pines, sycamores, chestnuts, and walnuts,
besides many others not so well known. Tbe
sugar-maple grows in all parts of tlie country,
and is a very useful tree, as not only sugar is
made from its sap, but vinegar, table-beer, and
an excellent spirit. The country people pierce
these trees with an auger, and put a vessel be-
neath to catch the sap as it falls, which they re-
fine by boiling, until it is converted into sugar,
and a sufficient quantity is thus procured for
the supply of the inhabitants, who seldom use
any other.
As Philips had followed the course of the
great St. Lawrence from its entrance into Lake
Superior, and through the great chain of lakes
to the city of Quebec, where it attains the
breadth of two miles, he became desirous of
going down the river to the sea, the more par-
ticularly as it would afford him an opportunity
of visiting the great island of Newfoundland,
which is situated at its mouth, and is so valu-
able to Great Britain for the cod fishery carried
on there.
At this period of the year, it was not difficult
to procure a passage in one of the vessels which
were going to the British settlement of St. John's,
on the eastern coast of the island, for a supply
TUAVrLSIN NORTH AMERICA.
12J
•awn by
ley drew
o forests
(s, eiins,
walnuts,
n. The
country,
sugar is
eer, and
le pierce
2ssel be-
they re-
sugar,
J red tor
dom use
of the
ito Lake
of lakes
ains the
irons of
ore par-
ortunity
jndknd,
so valu-
1 carried
difficult
Is which
:. John's,
a supply
of this useful article, and intondnd returning
before the inonth of December, when tlie frost
sets in, and the navigation of the river is sus-
j)cnded till the month of April in the following
year. During all tins period, the river from
Quebec to the sea is not frozen over, but the
force of the tides, even above that city, is con-
stantly detaching the ice from the shores in
such immense masses, that these, as they float
down, would endanger the safety of any vessel
they met in their way.
A little below Quebec, the river, after passing
the Isle of Orleans, which lies in the middle of
the stream, widens to thirteen miles, and the
appearance of the adjacent country is extremely
beautiful, being interspersed with churches and
villages, whose houses, being always whitened,
form the most pleasing contrast with the dark
woods which cover the rising grounds behind.
Though this is the breadth, however, it is so in-
terrupted by shoals and icsiands, that at one part
the passage across is not half a mile between
the buoys that mark the edge of the shoals. On
entering the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is
distant 400 miles from Quebec, Philips found
that the breadth across was 10.5 miles; his
course carried him along the shores of New
Brunswick, the Island of St. John's, the nor-
thern coast of Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton,
all w^hich belong to England ; he nex steered
along the southern shore of Newfoundland, and,
doubling the south-eastern point of that island,
M 2
«•<
i'l
'I 1, ,11
;;!!'
j'nii cijti
■;^. !:
124
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
1
If!,
I'
i
I
arrived without accident or adventure at the
town of St. John's.
The island of Newfoundland is situated on
the east . Je of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and
is, at its greatest extent, 380 miles long and
about 280 wide. The country i« covered with
richly wooded hills and mountains, which are
more lofty in the interior parts than near the
shores. The whole circuit of the coast of this
island is full 900 miles, and abounds in bays
and harbours, all so spacious, and so i>heltered
by the mountains, that vessels lie there in per-
fect security.
Newfoundland, as has been said before, is in
the possession of the English, and is valuable
on account of the great cod fishery that is car-
ried on there ; the whole of the coast abounds in
this fish, and all along the shores may be seen
the dwellings and the store-houses of the Eng-
lish settlers engaged in this trade ; but it is on
the shoal called the Great Bank of Newfoundland
that this fish is found in most abundance. This
shoal, which, for size, may be compared to a
mountain ridge under water, is not less than
330 miles long and 70 broad ; the depth of w?.-
ter over it varies considerably in different parts,
but in some places there are full sixty, and no
where less than fifty fathoms ; the bottom is
covered with shells, and a quantity of small
fish which serve as food for the cod, and
are the means of collecting them in such
numbers on the bank; for it is a singular
W1
TRAVELS IN NORTH riMERlCA.
125
at tlic
ated on
jce, and
ng and
^d with
lich are
ear the
: of this
in bays
leltered
in per-
re, is in
'aluable
is car-
unds in
3e seen
le Eng-
it is on
mdland
. This
^d to a
ss than
of wa-
tt parts,
and no
ttom is
r small
d, and
1 such
lingular
fact, tliat though so many hundred vessels hav^
been yearly laden with them for two centuries
past, yet tills prodigious consumption has not
lessened their plenty. But Great Britain does
not enjoy the whole of this valuable trade ex-
clusively ; America shares a certain portion of
it with hvir by treaty, and it is computed that the
number of vessels annually employed by both
countries in the tisherj dors not amount to less
than ^000, while there are full 100,000 persons
engaged both on board the vessels and on
shore, in curing antl preparing the fish for ex-
portation ; so that this fishery is not only a
valuable branch of trade to the merchaiit, but a
source of livelihood to many thousrinds of poor
people.
The soil of this island is very unproductive; it
yields the inhabitants scarcely more than a
scanty crop of summer herbs, and affords but
little grazing for cattle; they therefore ob-.ain
almost all their supplies of provisions from
Great Britain and America, Their principal
town is that of St. John's, which lies on the east-
ern coast of the island ; Philips, however, hiid
not much gratification in stopping there, ff^^ he
arrived immediately after a dreadful fire had
taken place, by which nearly flOO houses had
been burnt to the ground, and property destroyed
to the amount of £500,000. This calamity, as
may be supposed, had reduced the town to cuch
a state of distress, that he only remained there
while the vessel took in her cargo of fish, and
M 3
Ifh
M t*!
I
12G
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
I* >^
W:
then gladly availed liimself of the opportunity of
returning to Quebec.
But this voyage brought Philips acquainted
with a person who was able to give him a great
deal of accurate information on a subject which
had long interested him much. This was a
young and intelligent seaman, who was the mate
of a merchant vessel lying at Newfoundland,
but whom business for his v mployers called to
Quebec. He had been a harpooner on board
a Greenland Whaler, and, having for some years
spent a few months of each summer in those icy
seas which lie north of the great continent of
America, had even penetrated farther than ar>v
other whale vessel, and was very compete *
afford Philips all the information he requred.
From this man, therefore, Philips set himself
to obtain all the intelligence he could upon the
subject — but we must previously inform the
readf r of the geography of these unfrequented
shores.
The breadth of the North American continent,
where it is widest, is not less than 8000 miles,
that is, from Behring*s Straits on the west, which
separate Asia from America, to the eastern part
.of the Labrador coast. How far, however, this
tract of land extends northwards, has been hi-
therto in dispute ; some maintaining that the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans communicate by a
sea which washes the shore of North America
about the 70th degree of latitude, whilst others
assert that the land stretches even as high as
11
i
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA,
127
mity of
Jainted
a great
; which
was a
e mate
idland,
Liied to
board
e years
ose icy
lent of
an anv
tf -1
^ui-ed.
bimself
>on the
•m the
uented
itinenf,
miles,
which
n part
?r, this
?en hi-
lat the
e by a
merica
others
ligh as
the north pole. In support of the first opinion,
it was urged, that this sea of communication
had been seen by two different persons, and at
distinct places, in 1771 and 1789, and that the
ships which used to sail up Davis's Straits and
Baffin's Bay each year, in quest of whales, of-
tentimes killed animals of this species which
had been previously harpooned by whale- fishers
in the Pacific, and therefore, that they must have
passed by this way from one place of resort to
the other, an opinion which gained strength from
the rapid current which constantly set out of
Baffin's Bay, and was quite independent of tides.
On the other hand, it was said that as far as
whalers had proceeded up Baffin's Bay, no open-
ing had been discovered westward — and one
person had even asserted that a large bay called
Lancaster Sound, which lay considerably above
the 70th degr^'^' of latitude, had nothing in its
appearance to encourage the supposition, that it
would lead into the Pacific, and was, moreover,
at seme distance from its mouth closed in by
high mountains stretching right across the head
nf it. To make this clearer, it should be also
j^entioned, that the ships which sail on these
n rthern expeditions, after passing the mouth
(f the St. Lawrence and the coast of Labrador,
which lies north of the gulf of St. Lawrence,
soon meet with an opening on the left, which
leads due west into Hudson's Bay, of which we
have already spoken, and another opening which,
extending due north, separates the shores of
■
128
TUAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
East Greenland from that unknown and unex-
plored region lying north of Hudson's Bay —
could Philips, therefore, have put either of these
questions to rest, no doubt it would be produc-
tive of the greatest satisfaction ; but he found
this impossible, when he reflected on the length
of time he had now been absent from his busi-
ness, and therefore, he wisely contented himself
with learning from his shrewd companion what-
ever had been observed, and also his own feelings
on V '*''Vfx those places, where the feet of Euro-
peans . never before trodden.
It was on the first day of their voyage to
Quebec from St. John's, that the captain, having
some fear of an approaching storm, lowered the
top-mast sails, and made all things snug for the
night, and thus having no more to do, Philips
called the mate into his cabin, and requested him
to give him his promised account, which he did
in the following words.
" It was about the middle of April wheii I
quitted great Britain ; we sailed from Aberdeen
in the Lord Duncan, and favourable breezes
bore us swiftly on our voyage. On the 10th
day we passed the Shetland Isles, but at such a
distance that their barren rocks and rugged shores
were all that met the eye : our course lay nearly
due westward, and we had a run of three-and-
twenty days across the Atlantic before any thing
of interest occurred. At this time the change
of climate warned us that we were approaching
the frozen regions, and as this was the first time
of
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
129
unex-
3ay—
' these
oduc-
found
ength
busi-
imself
what-
^elings
Euro-
age to
laving
ed the
for the
Phih'ps
ed him
he did
rhert I
erdeen
)reezes
3 10th
such a
shores
nearly
e-and-
' thing
change
achinjj
it time
I had ever visited that quarter, I looked forward
with no small anxiety to seeing those great
masses of ice, of which I had heard so much. It
was on the morning of the succeeding day that
the first of them met our view ; what was my
astonishment to see an enormous body of ice,
full a thousand feet along, and forty high, float-
ing along che water ! — nor is it possible to ima-
gine any thing more beautiful than the variety
of colours which these icebergs display ; by
night, as well as by day, they glittei: with the
most brilliant splendour, assuming different tints
as the light changes on them.
Steering our course northwards to proceed up
Davis's Straits, these objects gradually presented
themselves more frequently, and soon my eye
became almost familiar to them, though it may
well be conceived how much I was at first struck
with the singularity of the scene. — There was
no land within sight, and, as far as the eye could
reach, nothing was to be discerned but these
floating masses of ice, of various forms and sizes.
Sometimes they passed the ship at a distance,
and at other times they would approach so near
as almost to strike against her ; and from the
great force with which their own size and the
motion of the water carries them along, they
might have produced the most serious conse-
quences. During the passage up Davis's Straits,
1 observed the various colours that the sea
assumed : in some places it appeared of a fine
azure colour, in others it was black, brown, and
i
m
Ii
F
130
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
green, though when we drew it up in vessels we
could discern nothing pecuhar in its tint ; this
changeful appearance could only be attributed to
the colour of the sand at the bottom ; for at one
part, where the water seemed of a bright green,
on sounding, soft mud of the same colour was
taken up from a depth of 300 fathoms. Whalers
usually calculate on being successful when they
happen to come where the water is of a brownish
colour ; and so we found it, for in a short time
we had killed fifteen fish, and stowed their blub-
ber in casks on board. It was, indeed, a suc-
cessful season, but we had brought out with us
some Congreve rockets, with which we fired at
them from a great distance, and never failed to
strike them.
" Hitherto the weather had been almost unin-
terruptedly calm ; but on the morning of the
7th of August, a severe gale arose, which threat-
ened us with the most extreme danger : the
waves began to swell, the great masses of ice
came rolhng along — the only chance of safety
the ship now had, was to endeavour to force its
way northwards, where the ice partially opened ;
but the channel was so blocked up that the ut-
most efforts of the crew were ineffectual ; the
ice closed in upon us, and we began to feel its
pressure very severely, until at length it became
a trial of strength between the ship and the ice
—every support threatened to give way, the
beams in the hold began to bend, and the iron
tanks settled together. At this critical moment,
, ! ' J' ■ >!
4f
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
131
sels we
; this
uted to
at one
green,
ur was
Whalers
n they
ownish
rt time
r blub-
a suc-
vith us
ired at
liled to
t unin-
of the
threat-
r : the
of ice
safety
►rce its
pened ;
he ut-
il ; the
eel its
►ecame
the ice
y, the
le iron
:>ment,
when it seemed impossible for the sliip to bear
the increased pressure much longer, by the
heavin^^ of tlie naves and the ice collectin<(
under her, she was raised up several feet, while
on either side, the ice, which was more than six
feet thick, broke against her sides, curling back
on itself; the great stress now fell on her bow,
and after being again lifted up, she was carried
with violence towards another of the vessels ;
every effort to avoid their getting foul of eacb
other failed ; the ice anchors and cables broke
one after the other, and at length the sterns of
the two vessels struck with such force together,
as to crush to pieces a small boat that could not
be removed in time. The shock was tremendous ;
nothing less was expected than the loss of our
masts, but at this eventful moment, by the mercy
of Providence, we were saved ; the ice opened
from tbe ships on each side ; they again floated
on, and got disentangled from each other with-
out either having experienced any considerable
damage. Accidents of this kind occur to the
whalers almost every year, and frequently cause
their complete destruction ; the masses of ice
piling over each other, and crushing in the sides
and decks like an egg-shell, and burying the
broken vessel in the ruin : the crew then having
no resource whatever but to spring out of the
ship, and take their chance of life upon the ice
until they can be taken up by some of the vessels
in company.
" On the cessation of this gale, land was seen.
^
ilf^
132
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
which we found to be the western coast of
Greenland ; and soon afterwards drew towards
it, near enough to perceive a number of strange
wild-looking people coming down to the shore,
those who were foremost seeming to advance
with signs of fear and distrust ; occasionally
they retreated, then again came forward, stop-
ped, listened, and each grasped a long knife
firmly in one hand, while in the other he carried
something resembling a lash-whip ; this, it was
evident, they had with them for the purpose of
driving their sledges, a kind of low car drawn
by dogs, and which is calculated by its construc-
tion for using in icy regions. When they arrived
on the shore, the captain by signs invited them
on board, pointing, at the same time, to a plank
that he had laid down from the ship's side to the
beach ; but they seemed fearful of venturing, and
soon perceiving in the vessel the Indian whom
we had taken out with us to act as interpreter,
they expressed the strongest desire that he should
come ashore to them : this request was readily
granted, though when the man went over to
them, they retreated to a distance, and would
not let him even touch them ; by degrees their
fears seemed to wear off, they advanced towards
him, took some presents which he laid before
them, and, at length, one of them took courage
to exchange his knife for another which the In-
dian offered him. The captain now went ashore,
upon which the natives all crowded eagerly for-
ward, and many of them drove down to the beach
TT
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
133
I
?
in their sledges. The noise and clamour that
followed is hardly to be conceived ; all were
shouting and hallooing to each other with the
utmost vociferation ; the dogs were howling,
and the men flogging them to preserve order.
Amongst the presents which the captain offered
them were small looking-glasses, in which they
viewed their own faces with the most innocent
delight. For the first moment they stood in
silent astonishment, looking frequently to the
back of the glass, as if expecting to see there
the person whose face appeared to them on the
other side.
" They now seemed to have gained so much
confidence, that the captain invited some of them
to go on board his ship, to which they readily
assented ; one of them, to his great amusement,
first addressing himself in a long speech to the
vessel, as if he thought it a living creature that
could answer him ; and even addressed the In-
dian who acted as interpreter, to inquire what
great creature it was, and whether it came from
the sun or the moon ; the other endeavoured to
make him understand it was a house, made of
wood, but it was quite in vain, for, from the flap-
ping of the sails and the rocking motion of the
vessel, not one of the party could be persuaded
it was not alive.
" When on board, their astonishment was ex-
cited to the highest degree, but the quantity of
wood appeared to be the chief object of surprise,
their knowledge of timber being limited to the
*'ii
N
134
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
few heaths which their own country produced.
The only thini^ which they seemed to regard
with contempt was a little terrier dog, heh)nfi:ing
to one of the sailors, being accustomed only to
those of a large kind, which they train up to the
chase and to draw their sledges. The captain
now brought them down to the cabin, where he
gave them coffee and biscuit, which they ap-
peared to relish exceedingly, and after returning
upon deck they all joined in a dance, somewhat
resembling a Scotch reel, which they kept up for
a considerable length of time, with a glee and
vivacity that afforded the highest amusement to
the ship's crew. At length, evening coming on,
they returned to shore.
" The captain the next morning allowed one
of the officers and some of the men to land, but
with strict orders that no person should remain
absent after dusk ; at this time the cold was in-
tense, the face of th*^ country before us was one
sheet of snow, the rocks along the shore were
thickly incrusted with ice, and the icebergs floated
on the sea all round, nor was there a vessel in
sight except the whaler of our own company.
Almost the only animal we had yet seen was a
kind of seal called the Walrhus ; these are crea-
tures which are of an amphibious nature : they
were seen swimming round the vessel, and scram-
bling up the rocks in great numbers. In size
they are enormous, often being found eighteen
feet in length, and their whole body large in pro-
portion, except the head, which is small, and the
ne(
TRAVELS IN NOIITII AMERICA.
135
(lucod,
r(>irar(l
[)nly to
to the
captain
lere he
ey ap-
lurninff
newliat
up for
ee and
nent to
ing on,
ed one
nd, but
remain
was in-
sras one
•e were
floated
?ssel in
mpany.
I was a
e crea-
: they
scram-
In size
ighteen
in pro-
and the
neck very sliort. In the upper jaws are two
long tusks btut downwards, which seemed to
serve them principally for collectini:; their food,
by scrapipt^ up the shell- fish from the bottom of
the sea. The natives come down to the sea sliore
to catch them, when they lie on the beach at
night. This, however, they do not always easily
effect, as it rarely happens that the whole herd
go asleep together, one or more of them gene-
rally keeping watch while the others rest. The
different parts of this animal when killed are
applied to various useful purposes ; the skin is
cut into slices two or three inches wide, and
exported into England for glue, and to America
for carriage traces. Its tusks are very much
used as a substitute for ivory, but'that which
furnishes most profit to the Greenlander is the
blubber. A large seal which would weigh from
1500 to SOOOlbs. would yield about one barrel
and a half, or two, of oil. This kind of seal, and
sometimes a few bears, straying along the coast,
were the only animals we saw, except that now
and then a few sea birds, like gulls, were seen at
a distance flying over the water.
" The whole of the day on which the officers
and men went ashore, passed without their re-
turning; evening came on, and still no tidings of
them ; as it grew dark the anxiety of the re-
mainder of the crew became extreme, and the
night passed without any one of the party arriv-
ing. Early the next morning, the captain, judg-
ing it most probable, that, having been induced
•liilf'
!!!'■
T
ISG
TRAVKLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
to penetrate farther into the country tlian they
intended, they had lost their way, sent a party of
seamen on shore, with orders to ascend to the
top of a neighbouring rising ground, and there
to erect a flag-staff, in the hope that shouhl
they, in wandering about, come within view of
it, it might serve to guide them to the shore.
About mid-day, a number of men were seen
coming down the side of the hill, who soon
proved (to the great joy of their fellow-seamen,
who had almost despaired of ever seeing them
again,) to be the party who had been absent.
All had returned safe and well, except one
man ; one was still missing, of whom the others
could give no further account, than that they
had not proceeded far into the country «fore
they came up with a hunting party of , na-
tives, all in eager pursuit of a white bear^ and
having joinved them, they were thus induced to
proceed to such a distance that when the day
began to decline, they found it impossible to
retrace their way to the shore : during the whole
night they wandered about, enduring the most
extif-eme suffering from the cold : this man,
who was now missing, they said had separated
himself from them during the night, for when
tlie day-light dawned he was no where to be
found ; they called loudly for him, wandered
about in search of him, and no one could con-
ceive what had become of him, except that one
of the men remembered his having proposed
some plan for going before dawn to the top
T
r"
TKAVias IN NOUTII AMERICA.
137
m they
)arty of
to the
d there
shouhl
iriew of
shore,
re seen
o soon
leamen,
^ them
absent,
pt one
; others
at they
«fore
. na-
ar^ and
uced to
he day
iible to
e whole
le most
s man,
parated
ir when
J to be
mdered
Id con-
hat one
•oposed
he top
of a hill which lay before them, from wlience
he mijj^ht, perhaps, be able to jud^e of what
course they ou<,'ht to take. From this scheme
the other endeavoured to dissuade him ; but
no doubt remained now that the poor fellow had
been so imprudent as to persist in this under-
taking, and had before now perished either by
the cold, or been killed by some of the wild
bears. The party who returned had suffered
severely from the frost, their hands and feet
being almost benumbed with the cold ; had it
not been for the delay occasioned by this man's
absence, they might have returned several hours
sooner; but tliey were unwilling to quit the spot
where he had loft them, untd they found the day
advancing without his retuni, and it was not
until they had walked several iiiilcs, that they
first perceived the Mag-stall on the hill.
** The night of the second day was now fast
approaching, and all hopes of the sailor's return
had been nearly abandoned, when one of the of-
ficers said he thought he could perceive some
person coming along the shore. Upon this the
captain ordered out a boat, but charged the men
to be cautious how they landed ; in a short time
afterwards the boat returned, and to the joy of
all on board, it brought back their lost compa-
nion. But what was their astonishment, when
they found him with every appearance of being
intoxicated ! his speech was altered, he was al-
most unable to stand, nor did he seem to com*
prehend what was said to him ; the men who
n3
!i:r
\ss
TRAYELS IN NORTii AMERICA.
fetched him in the boat, said they had almost
to lift him into it to get him away, for he ijid
not seem to recognise them, nor to understand
what they wanted with him. The captain, how-
ever, who had a good deal of experience of the
effects of extreme cold, knew that this alone was
sufficient to cause it, and he was the more con-
vinced of it from the absolute impossibility of
the man having obtained any spirituous liquors ;
his hands and face were dreadfully frost-bitten,
and his feet also bad suffered so severely, that
he could scarcely walk. By degrees, as the
natural warmth of the body was restored, his
faculties returned, until at length the effects of
the cold wore off completely, and he was then
able to tell them, that having, according to his
design, quitted his party before day-light, he
had ascended to the top of the hill, from whence
however, when morning came, he could disc* ver
aothing but one uninterrupted tract of barren
country, and that in endeavouring to return to
them he missed his way, narrowly escaped pe-
rishing in the drifted snow on the side of the
hill, and finally wandered about without know-
ing where, when he unexpectedly found himself
close to the sea- shore.
" All concurred in describing the interior of
the country as being almost totally devoid of
vegetation, except for the few mosses and heaths
that were here and there to be met with ; but
even these, however unserviceable they may
appear in our eyes, the natives know how to
TRAVAILS IN NORTH AMLRICA.
1^9
;ht> he
i^hence
sc» ver
barren
urn to
id pe-
jf the
knovv-
imself
ior of
3id of
leaths
; but
may
Dw to
apply to various useful purposes. The moss
is not close and short like sod, as that of our
own country is, but grows to the length of six
or eight inches : they gather, dry, and steep this
in seal oil, thus making what serves them for
comfortable and excellent fuel, as well as for
light. The heath affords food and shelter to the
hares and game, which the seamen said they
saw in great numbers ; and the stems of it tied
together make a good handle for the whip with
which the men drive their sledges. The habi-
tations of the natives, the seamen described as
being partly sunk under ground, a mode of de-
fence from the weather not unusual in cold coun-
tries. They said they appeared to be a harm-
less simple race of people, to have no 'oea of war,
and to live peaceably amongst themselves.
" While we were steering up Davis's Straits
we were frequently visited by thick fogs, and so
intense was the cold, that the moment this mist
touched the ropes of the ship, it froze, and left
them in a short time covered with ice to the
thickness of a man's arm, which at every motion
of the vessel broke from them and fell on the
deck in glittering fragmen^^s. In the intervals
between the fogs, the weather was in general
beautifully clear, which enable*! us to discern
at a vast distance the singular forms that the
icebergs assumed ; sometimes they were in the
shape of trees, and a number of these toget'ier
bad all the appearance at a distance of a frozen
forest ; sometimes the ice formed one long line
i
'Hi
140
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
of a solid mass, like a wall, but more usually it
was in detached blocks, several hundred feet in
leng«:h, which floated on the water like moving
islands, varying in their colour, and sparkling
with a lustre which in sunshine was almost
dazzling.
" On quitting this coast we pursued our
course northr'ards, desirous of steering for Lan-
caster Sound. A voyage of some days brought
us to the entrance of this bay, but the passage
was so obstructed bv the accumulation of ice
which we encountered, that we determined to
pursue a northerly course no farther. It is re-
markable, that the depth of water found here
was greater than we had reached in any other
part of Baffin's Bay ; upon throwing out the
sounding line it fell to the depth of 1005 fa-
thoms, and took nearly an hour for all hands to
pull it up again. But the most extraordinary
circumstance that came under my observation
in the course of this voyage was, that in these
northerly regions, during a certain part of the
year the sun never sets, and we had now had a
period of continued sun-shine for 1872 hours;
towards the close of August this season passed
away, and on the 24th we once more saw a sun-
set, and I could not but think how times were
changed with me, when I was now regarding as
a novelty what in our own country passes by al-
most unnoticed every day."
It was in this manner that Philips endeavoured
to profit by every means offered to him for ex-
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
141
tending his knowledge. It is true, he might
have read all that is mentioned above, but he
was one of those who always thought it more
satisfactory to obtain the information he wanted
upon countries, by conversing with those that
had 'actually travelled over them ; for in this
way he could put questions upon such subjects
as arose in his mind. — But to resume our nar-
rative : his return to Quebec, so close upon the
winter, gave him an opportunity of witnessing
some of the amusements of the season which are
customary there ; of these the principal one was
driving in sledges on the snow, the roads being
quite impassable for any other kind of vehicle.
This sledge is a light carriage, open or covered,
built somewhat like a chariot, and instead of be-
ing made with wheels, it is set upon two iron
runners, shaped like a pair of skates, and is
drawn by one or two horses. I'his machine
glides over the snow with sur'> swiftness and so
little noise, that, to prevent act ident, those who
drive in them are obliged to give notice of their
approach by bells fastened to the harness, or by
sounding a horn before them.'
Though the cold is intense, the inhabitants
defend themselves so well from it, by hav ug
their dress composed almost entirely of fur,
that they don't suffer more from the weather
than we often do on a winter's day ; the doors
and windows are double, so that but little cold
air can enter, and every part of the house is
warmed with stoves.
IH
14^
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMKRICA.
In Canada, tlic snow generally begins to fall
in November, and ceases about the middle of
December, when a hard frost sets in ; the air
then becomes clear, the weather is bright and
cheerful, and the inhabitants, glad to escape from
the confinennent the snowing season subjects
them to, mount their sledges, and pass their
time in gaiety and amusements. This lasts for
about six weeks, when the frost ceases and
spring begins to appear ; the sun shines most
warmly, the snow melts rapidly, the fields be-
come green, and in a few days winter has as
completely disappeared as if it were so many
months that had elapsed.
The rivers which flow through the adjacent
country form some beautiful cataracts, which
Philips lost no time in visiting, particularly the
falls of the Montmorenci, a river which unites
with the St. Lawrence, about seven miles be-
low Quebec, and the falls of the river Chau-
diere, which lie not far distant. The country
through which the Montmorenci passes, is wild
and thickly wooded, and its course lies over a
bed of broken rocks till it comes to the brink
of a precipice, down which it descends in one
uninterrupted fail of ; 40 feet ; but what is most
remarkable in this cataract is, that the stream of
water, being but scanty, instead of tumbling
down the rocks with the usual impetuosity,
appears to fall slowly, and at a distance its white
foam presents all the appearance of broken
masses of snow rolling slowly nd heavily down
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
113
to fall
Idle of
the air
ht and
)e from
ubjects
5 their
vSts for
s and
I most
dvS be-
has as
many
jacent
which
ly the
unites
es be-
Chau-
>untry
s wihl
over a
brink
in one
1 most
am of
ibling
lositv,
white
roken
down
I
the declivity, but casting up at tlie bottom a
considerable spray, whicli, in briglit sun-shine,
ghtters in a thousand colours.
As Philips was now about to enter the terri-
tories of the United States from the north, it
will be for the satisfaction of the young reader
to make some preliminary observations on the
geography of the United States, in order that
he may have a general idea of the great extent
of territory that is known under this name, as
well as of the climate, manufactures, and com-
merce of a district in which so many of his
countrymen have at different times settled, and
whither so many are every year emigrating, in
the hope of bettering their fortune : these obser-
vations, also, will be us»- "j1 on another account,
for as it is impossible for our friend Philips, in
whose company we have been so long travelHng,
to visit every part of the country, we shall from
them be better able to understand the relative
situation of the few places he v^^as enabled to see.
The United States of America, then, are com-
posed of twenty-one provinces, or districts, each
governed by its own peculiar institutions, but
united together for the purpose of mutual sup-
port and advantage. Formerly, indeed, it con-
tained but thirteen states ; but almost every year
it has added to the number in its union, and ex-
tended its territory westward into the unculti-
vated parts about the Mississippi and Missouri.
These twenty-one states are generally classed
under the divisions of North, Middle, and South.
144
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
The northern states, with their chief towns^
are
1. District of Maine,
2. New Hampshire,
3. Vermont,
4. Massachusetts,
5. Rhode Island,
6. Connecticut,
7. New York,
The middle states are : —
8. New Jersey,
9. Pennsylvania,
J 0. Delaware,
11. Maryland,
The southern states are : —
12. Virginia,
13. North Carolina,
14. South Carolina,
15. Georgia,
IG. Kentucky,
17. Tenessee,
18. Louisiana,
19. Ohio,
20. Indiana,
Portland.
Porcshiouth.
Windsor.
Boston.
Providence.
Hartford.
New York.
y
Trenton.
Philadelphia.
Newcastle.
Baltimore.
Richmond.
Raleigh.
Columbia.
Louisville.
Frankfort.
Knoxville.
New Orleans.
Columbus.
Corydon.
Montecello.
21. Mississippi,
" These states collectively are bounded on the
east by the Atlantic, on the north by Canada
and the Lakes, on the south by the Gulfs of
Mexico and Florida, and on the west by the Mis-
sissippi ; their extent from north to south being
1000 miles, and from east to west 1300, and
the population about 10,000;000 of inhabitants.
Si
TRAVKLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
1 4r>
Hf
Though this, however, is its extent and po-
pulation it must be also mentioned that it is not
much more vdu two hundred years since the
first settlement was made in the country, by a
colony of British, in the reign of James I, in
honour of whom the town built by them, and
situated in Virginia, was called. The present
inhabitants of the United States are the descend-
ants of these English colonists, and of Swedes,
Germans, Dutch, and French, who at subsequent
periods settled there : a considerable increase
also is yearly made to this population, by those
who emigrate from different parts of Europe.
With regard to size and consequence, the prin-
cipal cities are New York, Philadelphia, Boston,
Charlestown, and Baltimore ; but the capital is
Washington. These towns are all situated
either upon the sea coast or on the banks of na-
vigable rivers ; hence the inhabitants devote
themselves to commerce, which is indeed very
considerable. The inland states are necessarily
more given to agriculture ; and hence the popu-
lation, instead of being collected in large towns,
is more scattered amongst the. farms which have
been brought into cultivation. The chief manu-
factures are tanned leather and dressed skins ;
ships, for which indeed no country in the w^orld
is more amply supplied with timber ; cables,
sail-cloth, cordage, hats, sugar, and gun-pow-
der, are all American manufactures. Good
wines also have been made by French settlers
on the Ohio, from grapes which grow n iturally
!!■ i \i
o
J4G
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
on its banks, and also from scions which have
been brought from the wine countries in Europe.
'J'he maple sugar is prepared in the northern
and middle states, and is deemed by many equal
to that from the cane : indeed it has been cal-
culated that this article could be made in such
quantities as not only to supply the market for
home consumption, but to allow an annual ex-
portation of 100,000 hhds.
But it must be obvious that it will be some
time before American manufactures can arrive
at perfection, so long as the population is so
small when compared to the extent of terri-
tory over which they are spread, being nearly
600,000,000 of acres. The towns along the east-
ern coast are, as has been mentioned, more thickly
inhabited for the purposes of commerce; but
every where the price of labour is so high, as of
necessity to render their manufactures too dear
for any but the home market. It is the high
price of labour that holds out such inducements
to emigrants to go and settle there ; and yet
many a man who quits his own country has
been known to regret having done so.
It has been oftentimes the case that an igno-
rant man, not having money to carry him out,
or to support himself and family on his arrival,
has been obliged to article himself to an em-
ployer for a certain number of years, and to
work for his profit alone. What is the man, so
circumstanced, but a bond servant for so long a
time ? And would it not be much better for him
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
147
to consider well before he takes such a step as to
quit his home and friends in the hope of betterin<r
his condition, and be afterwards disappointed i
It is not, however, meant to say but that very
many have got on well in America ; but then it
was by industry, and by saving up whatever re-
mained over and above their necessary support —
perhaps had they dones^ at home t%oy need not
liave emigrated, for industry and prudence may
succeed in Englanu and Irelau'l as well as in
America. It is not, thought Philips, by working
r'iree days in a week, and giving up the other
three to idleness and intoxication, like too many
tradesmen at home, that a man prospers here,
but by labouring late and early, and by making
up a little store which shall give him the means
of buying a spot of ground of his own.
Are there not many, it may be asked, who
have brought themselves and their families to
poverty by the want of diligent attention to
their calling? and yet they are generally the last
to accuse themselves — they lay the blame upon
the times, upon the taxes, upon the clearness of
provisions : they say America is a fine country,
and they resolve to emigrate ; whereas the real
fact is, as Philips had abundant opportunities of
observing, the idler and the drunkard are poor
in America as well as at home ; and though
wages are high, so are provisions also, so that
a larger hire there will not go farther than a
smaller hire at home ; unless, indeed, a man
amends his life : but if he does this, perhaps Ive
o 2
ill:
n
148
TKAVEI.S IN NORTH AMDIUCA.
would find his trade as lucrative at home as any
where else. — The Hict therefore is, that industry
and contentment are two great practical virtues
incumbent upon all men, but especially essential
to Christians ; and there is, perhaps, no civilized
country under the sun where they will not bring
a man competence and respectability.
He had purposed going to visit Lake Cham-
plain, and, having crossed it, to continue his
journey by Albany to New York and Philadel-
phia, but this intention he renounced, as the
lake at the present season of the year is so com-
pletely frozen as to render it quite unnavigable ;
he changed his route therefore to Boston, and,
though his sledge carried him swiftly over the
road, he had a journey of several days before
he arrived there.
The town itself, which is the capital of the
state of Massachusetts, is peculiarly situated,
being built on a peninsula of irregular form,
which runs out into the bay, and is joined to
the main land, at the southern extremity, by an
isthmus full two miles long, though scarcely
more than 700 yards broad, even at its greatest
breadth. A second promontory of land, similar
to that on which Boston is built, also runs out
into the bay ; on it stands Charlestown, which
is connected with Boston by a wooden bridge,
1500 feet in length and about forty in breadth ;
but that which joins it to Cambridge Town is
indeed the wonder of brid^^e arcliitecture, beinj^
34^S3 feet in length, and standing on 180 piers.
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
119
I as any
ulustry
virtues
ssential
ivilizcd
t briiiir
Cham-
iiie his
liladcl-
as the
o corn-
gable ;
1, and,
ver tlie
before
of the
uated,
form,
ned to
by an
arcely
•eatest
limilar
ns out
which
ridge,
adth ;
)wn is
being
piers.
Boston harbour is capacious enough for 500
vessels to ride at anchor in good depth of water,
whilst the entrance is so narrow as scarcely to
admit of two ships coming in together. This
town, which contains about .30,000 inhabitants,
trades to almost every quarter of the world ; it
even carries on a considerable commerce with
China, to which it brings valuable cargoes of
furs, and barters them for the various commo-
dities of that country. Boston has at different
times suffered severely by fire, the houses being
mostly built of wood ; on one occasion, about
thirty years ago, there were nearly 100 houses
burnt at once ; and in consequence of the num-
ber of lives that were lost, there was a regula-
tion made, prohibiting the erection of wooden
buildings of more than one story high, a mea-
sure which has considerably added to the uni-
formity as well as the security of the town. The
principal manufactures carried on here are of
rum, loaf-sugar, chocolate, and all kinds of rope
and cordage ; but there is also a very consider-
able one of pot and pearl ashes, which article,
it may be necessary to inform the reader, is pro-
duced from the ashes of burnt wood, for which
the extensive forests that cover the uncleared
part of the country furnish them with an am-
ple supply of timber. The only difference be-
tween pot and pearl ashes is, that the latter is
better prepared and dried, and of a finer quality
than the other. They are both very much used
in various branches of trade; the glass maker..
O o
''■■■I
]o()
TUAVLLS IN NOIlTll AMEItlCA.
the bleacher, tlie soap-maker, the dyer, um\ the
apothecary, woukl each be at a loss to complete
several of their preparations without this valuable
ingredient.
But this city did not possess so much interest,
in the eyes of our traveller, by reason of its
trade, as on account of having been the birth-
])lace of the celebrated Doctor Benjamin Frank-
lin, to whom a monument has been erected.
'J'his man was bred a printer, and, havin<( come
over to England, worked for a considerable
time in a printing-office in London as a journey-
man ; not being at that time remarkable for any
great talents, but possessing that industry and
application to his business, which, when joined
to sobriety and prudence, seldom fail to be suc-
cessful in life. It would be long to detail the
events of this extraordinary man's life, but it
will suffice to say, that he was afterwards the
author of several useful works, and raised him-
self to such eminence amongst his countrymen,
that he was sent as an ambassador from the
United States to France.
Anxious, however, to pursue his journey,
Philips, having fully gratified his curiosity, quit-
ted Boston, and set out on his road to New
York, a distance of ^10 miles, and, like Boston,
situated on the eastern coast, at the confluence
of two rivers, called the Hudson and East rivers,
which, rising westward, fall into the Atlantic
ootiju. The province ot which it is the capitid,
is considerably larger than Ireland, being 300
TRAVKLS IN NOIITII AMKRICA.
151
miles from north to soutl), and 350 from cast to
west. Its area is 55,000 square miles, and its
population nearly 1,000,000.
The frost still obliged him to travel in his
sledj^e, and the face of the country heinf^ still
covered with snow, offered him so little variety
of prospect, that he het^an to lon<^ for the si^ht
of green fields and shady trees. His road lay
nearly along the sea coast, and brought him
through the towns of Plymouth, Hartford, and
Newhaven. it was growing dusk as he entered
New York, late on a cold evening in January.
New York is remarkable for its numerous
handsoirie public buildings, and also for its great
trade, ,"00,000 tons of shipping belonging to the
port. It may, therefore, be supposed a place of
great wealth ; and indeed the spirit with which
works of utility are planned, and carried on,
shews how anxious the inhabitants are for its
improvement, and at the same time accounts for
its flourishing condition. When Philips was
there, they had actually began to cut a canal,
which was to unite the Hudson river with Lake
Erie eastward, a distance of S50 miles, and give
that whole district the means of water carriage
for brinoinu their commodities to New York.
The estimated expense was 1,200,000/.
The city, though connected by bridges with
the main land, is situated on an island called
New York Island, which is formed by two rivers,
the Hudson and Kast River, which here How
into the sea. 'i'he town txtentis along the Hud-
n
n
U 1*
III
152
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
son about two miles, and along tlic other nearly
four, its width being little more than one mile
and a half even at its greatest breadth. Its
principal street, called Broadway, is eighty feet
wide, and handsomely built, and runs for three
miles in a straight line through the town, being
terminated at the upper end by a handsome
square, with the governor's house in front.
But travelling as Philips did, from town to
town, their similarity soon made him cease to
find any curiosity in them ; and were it not for
some commercial transactions, which obliged
him to lengthen his stay there, he would have
gladly resumed his journey. From this delay,
however, he derived one advantage, that the
frost had ceased, and the spring set in before he
was again on the road.
East of New York there lies a very consider-
able island, called Long Island, 140 miles in
length, and about ten in breadth. This island
is thickly inhabited, and very highly cultivated,
and presents a beautiful appearance from the
sea, to vessels coming into New York harbour.
Quitting New York at six o'clock in the
morning, he embarked in a small steam boat
which took him to Elizabeth Town, across the
harbour, a distance of sixteen miles, in an hour
and a half. He there took the stage coach for
Philadelphia, and passed through the town of
Trenton, remarkable for having a very singular
wooden bridge across the Delaware, of which
the carriage-way is made underneath the arches,
TKAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
15^
and is supported by heavy iron chains, let down
to it from the top of the bridge. There i*, no
doubt, a great waste of tinnber by this mode of
building it ; but in America, where that is so
plentiful, it is no object to save it, and the road-
way is preserved quite level, as they thus avoid
the ascent and descent which it otherwise must
necessarily have had. From this town nothing
particularly worthy of his notice occurred until
he arrived at Philadelphia, which is 90 miles
distant from New York, and stands at the head
of a noble bay, formed by the mouth of the river
Delaware, on the west bank of which the town
stands ; it is 126 miles from the Atlantic, by the
course of the river and bay, being navigable
the whole way for ships of the largest tonnage.
The shores on each side ure richly wooded, and
studded over with neat farm-houses and vil-
lages. Few cities can be compared with it in
point of beauty, the cleanliness of its streets, as
well as the regularity with which they are built.
Of these the principal one is 100 feet wide, and
the others vary from fifty to eighty ; all are well
paved, and the foot- way on each side is formed
of red brick, instead of flags. The houses are
brick also, though for the most part they are
faced with a kind of white marble which abounds
in that part of America, and with which most of
the public buildings of the city are built. Places
of worship of all kinds are numerous, but of
these none gave Philips more pleasure than the
African church for the use of the negroes ; and
I
■i:
,iir
;li <
If '.
u.
154
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
here these poor creatures come in great num-
bers, eager to receive rehgious instruction, and
a clergyman of their own colour attends regu-
larly.
There are few instances of a city rising by
such rapid progress to so great a height of pros-
perity as Philadelphia ; an old man there told
our traveller, that lie remembered when there
were but three carriages in the whole town, and
now the streets are full of them ; and he hke-
wise said, that at so low a state was their com-
merce then, that two or three vessels at most
arrived yearly with the manufactures of Great
Britain ; while at present the trade is so much
increased, that some thousands of ships go out
of the port yearly to different quarters of the
world, and as many in proportion come into
the harbour ; so that Philadelphia may be con-
sidered as one of the most flourishing cities in
America.
But no part of the city did Philips visit with
so much interest as the prison, which stands as
an example of the advantages that may be de-
rived from the wise and judicious treatment of
criminals. Nothing can be better contrived for
this purpose, than the plan on which the jail is
built ; it is spacious and airy, and has extensive
yards attached to it, well paved and walled
round. Such of the prisoners as have been
convicted of any great crime, are put into soli-
tary confinement, from which upon a course of
good conduct they are relieved, by being given
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
155
num-
n, and
regu-
ng by
' pros-
e told
there
n, and
B like-
* com-
t most
Great
much
JO out
of the
e into
e con-
:ies in
t with
ids as
3e de-
ent of
ed for
jail is
ensive
ivalled
been
soli-
tirse of
given
employment in their own cells ; or, after a time,
they are allowed to work in the room with some
of the other prisoners, who are all granted more
or less indulgence according to the nature of
their offence, and to their conduct in the prison
during the term of their confinement. All are
well fed, well clothed, and treated with great
strictness, but with great humanity. They are
employed in working at different trades ; one
room being set apart for tailoring, another for
shoe-making, another for basket-work, and so
ou ; and in the yards are stone-cutters, smiths,
nailers, and other tradesmen who require room
for their work ; this part of the prison present-
ing more the appearance of a manufactory than
a place of confinement; and many are the in-
stances of prisoners being dismissed, so much
reformed from their evil ways, that they after-
wards became good and useful members of
society. . .
But although Philips found so much in the
habits and manners of the people of Philadelphia
to admire and approve, there was nothing which
raised them so high in his estimation above other
parts of the United States, as the law which had
been framed there, abolishing slavery ; the more
especially when he found that in some of the
neighbouring states it still prevailed to a very great
extent. Can any thing be more surprising, thought
he, than that men so ardent in the love of liberty
as the Americans should be the means in any de-
gree of countenancing the slave trade ? This city
li i
!■ i
M
150
TRAVELS IX NORTH AMKUICA.
was founded 150 years ago, by tlio celebrated
William Penn, who having received from Charles
the Second a grant of land on the western side
of the river Delaware, formed it into a province
and named it Pennsylvania. The wisdom and
judgment of this great man*s character were
eminently shewn in his plan for building the
city, and his laws for the government of his
province ; and even at this day his memory is
held there in the highest esteem.
The reader will understand that the monarcli
whom we have mentioned, in common with other
European princes, exercised this right of be-
stowing lands in America, in virtue of England
having first discovered that part of the North
American shore. But William Penn was too
upright to suppose that this gave him any power
to drive out the natives by force of arms ; they
were the original owners of the soil, and justice
told him that he had no claim upon them for a
single acre, unless they voluntarily, and for a
sufficient compensation, made over to him their
property. He therefore invited the Indians to
treat with him amicably, and proposed that they
should send some of their number for the pur-
pose of settling the terms on which they would
transfer the land to him. Several came accord-
ingly, and an arrangement was soon made, for
one side wished for nothing but what was equit-
able, and the Indians, inhabiting a vast extent
of country, of which they cultivated but little,
living chiefly by hunting, were easily induced
TRAVELS IN NOUTII AMERICA.
ir>7
W^
were
to resign tlie entire province, and to retire west-
ward into the more inland parts of tlie conti-
nent.
On the day that he concluded his agreement
for the lands, a great concourse of the neigh-
bouring tribes came down into the province, and
assembled under the spreading boughs of a largo
elm tree that grew on the banks of the river ;
nor could any thing be more singular than the
appearance they presented, with their dark
countenances and brandished arms, moving in
vast swarms in the deep of the woods, which
then overshadowed the whole of what is now a
highly cultivated country. On the other hand,
William Penn, quite unarmed, and with the
moderate attendance of a few friends, advanced
to meet them in his usual plain dress, distin-
guished from his companions only by wearing a
blue sash of silk net-work, (which, it is said, is
still in preservation) and by having in his hand
a roll of parchment on which were written the
articles of the treaty. As soon as he drew near,
the whole body of Indians threw down their
weapons, and, seating themselves on the ground,
listened in silence while he addressed them in
the following words : " The Great Spirit who
made you and me, who rules the heaven and
the earth, and who knows the innermost thoughts
of man, knoweth also that I and my friends have
a hearty desire to live in peace and friendship
with you, and to serve you to the utmost of our
power. It is not our custom to use hostile wea-
! '
;i:
I >'■
■>
I I
158
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
pons against our fellow-creatures, (this excellent
man was a Quaker) and for this reason we are
come unarmed. Our object is not to do injury,
and thus provoke the Holy Spirit, but to do
good. We are, therefore, met on the broad
pathway of faith and good will, so that no ad-
vantage is to be taken on either side, but all is
to be openness, brotherhood, and love."
Having thus spoken, he unrolled the parch-
ment, and by means of an interpreter, read to
them article by article, the several conditions of
the treaty, and, among other things, faithfully
promised them, that they should not be molested
in their lawful pursuits within their own territo-
ries, and that they were to have full liberty to
do all things for the improvement of their
grounds, and the support of their families.
He then paid them for the land, distributed
some presents amongst them, and the Indians
having pledged themselves to live in love and
friendship with William Penn, so long as the
sun and moon should endure, he delivered up
the parchment to their chief, and took his leave,
happy in having made the first treaty ever con-
cluded between savages and Christians that was
not confirmed by an oath ; thus leaving to man
a striking proof how easy it is for those who
are really sincere and friendly in their views,
to live in peace with those who are supposed to
be fierce and faithless.
The tree, under which this treaty was made, is
still standing, at a short distance from the town,
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
1
59
eel lent
we are
Injury,
to do
broad
10 ad-
t all is
parch-
ead to
ons of
;hrully
)lested
errito-
rty to
their
•
ibuted
Qdians
e and
IS the
ed up
leave,
r con-
it was
3 man
who
/iews,
sed to
ide, is
town,
and few strangers come to Philadelphia without
visiting it.
After making the necessary stay at Piiiladel-
phia, our traveller set out on his further journey
through the United States, and determined to
make his next visit to Washington. He travelled
in one of those carriages called a light waggon,
and found it, though a rumbling heavy machine,
stout and strong e>^ough for the rugged roads it
had to contend with.
The country through which they first travelled
was the province of New Jersey, and from thence
they passed into that of Maryland ; on quitting
Philadelphia, their road led through a well-cul-
tivated country, which, however, to Philips had
yet a bare appearance, from the custom the in-
habitants have of cutting down all the trees near
the houses ; this they do, not only for the value
of the timber, but also for the sake of clearing
the ground for the plough. The want of hedges
also adds to the nakedness of the prospect ; for
the fields are divided only by a rude paling,
which, to those acquainted with the neat hedge-
rows of England and Ireland, had a very bleak
and unsheltered appearance.
They crossed the Schuylkill river by one oi
those floating bridges which are sometimes to be
met with in America, and of which there are
three over this river. These are made of large
stems of trees laid side by side, and chained firmly
together ; the length of the beams forming the
breadth of the bridge ; over these is placed u
p2
1()0
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
second layer of the same construction ; the whole
is then boarded like the floor of a room, and a
railing is put upon each side. This being made
long enough to extend from bank to bank of the
river, is fastened firmly at each end, and floats
on the water like a raft ; it is capable of bearing
the weight of carriages and horsemen, though
it perceptibly sinks in some degree as they pass
over it. The only danger to which these float-
ing bridges are liable arises from the shoals of
ice in the winter, which come down the stream
with such force as would almost overthrow the
strongest stone bridge. Philips's road from
hence lay through a wooded and fertile country ;
and passing through the town of Wilmington
and the village of Havre de Grace, he had his
first opportunity of seeing the river Susquehan-
nah, which is here a mile wide ; its banks are
fine rising grounds, richly wooded, and the
whole scene, as he passed it, was enlivened by
the multitude of wild fowl that were sporting
on the water. As there was no bridge on this
part of the river, they passed it in ferry-boats,
and, resuming their seats in the carriage, were
jostled over rugged roads, through a barren and
uninteresting country to Baltimore ; at times
the ruts in the roads being so deep that they
almost despaired of extricating the wheels from
them ; and, to guard against this danger, the
driver always took care to warn them when the
carriage was about to sink to the right side or
to the left, by calling out to the gentlemen, that
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
ICl
this
they should lean towards the other, in order thus
to balance the vehicle. When Philips reached
Baltimore, he found letters awaiting him from
Europe, which required him to hasten his arri-
val in Washington ; he therefore stopped no
longer here than to admire its noble harbour,
capable of containing 2000 sail of merchant-
men, and situated at the head of the river and
bay of the Chesapeak, 270 miles from its mouth ;
in two days, therefore, he was on his journey
to Washington, which is 50 miles distant, a city
of which he had heard so much since his arrival
in America, that he expected to find it at least
equal to Philadelphia. But instead of the hand-
some well-built town that he looked forward to
see, he found what appeared to him more like
a number of villages scattered through a wood,
for such is the scene that an unfinished Ameri-
can city always presents, from the custom of
first building houses at the extreme ends of the
portion of land marked out for the city ; and as
these lie at wide distances from each other, as
lonsr as the intermediate around remains unoc-
cupied, they appear more like detached villages,
than the separate parts of one town. Washing-
ton stands on the river Potomac, which takes
its rise in the Allegany mountains, and, after
winding through the country for an extent of
400 miles, falls into the river Chesapeak, being
navigable, however, from its junction with that
river, full 190 miles above the citv.
The mountains in the vicinity of the city
r 3
%
\C)2
TRAVLLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
afford tlic traveller many specimens of natural
wonders. 'J'he principal of these is a rock
bridge, which appears as it' an earthquake had
suddenly cleft a mountain asunder, leavin^r only
a single rock connecting the two parts, and
which arches across from one to the other, at a
height of i^'tO feet. This rock is all one solid
stone, forty feet thick ; but part of this thickness
is formed by a coat of earth, which extends
along the top of the rock, and affords growth to
many largo trees, principally cedars and pines,
A guide, whom Philips employed, now led thern
by a winding foot-path to the top : one side of
the bridge is protected by a parapet-wall, but
the other is open, and affords no kind of protec-
tion from the deep abyss which lies beneath,
through which there flov a loud and rapid tor-
rent. There is a road inade along the bridge,
and waggons pass it in safety, the breadth being
no less than 80 feet. Having quitted the Rock
Bridge, Philips set out on horseback on an ex-
cursion of about 50 miles' distance to the north-
ward, behind a range of hills called the Blue
Mountains, to see a large cavern usually known
by the name of Maddison's Cave. The guide
entered with a lighted torch, arid led Philips by
a long passage into a smaller cavern, or chamber,
which the guide called the Sound Room, from
the great echo which is to be heard there. Re-
turning from this clwimber, the guide conducted
him through a long broad passage, Irom whence
they scrambled down a steep slippery descent
TRAVfcLS IN NORTH A.MKRICA.
IGJ
into another cavern, more sjKicioiis than tlic
lornicr. The petrifactions fbrnied by the water
trickhnjif from above, huni^ down from the roof
hke icicles. This Phihps had observed all
tlnongh the cavern ; but in that part of it which
lie now entered, their appearance was particu-
larly striking, being nearly a foot in Icntj^ih, and
in such numbers, that, as the torch-li«^ht gleamed
on them, the whole roof glittered with their bril-
liancy, while, at the same time, similar petrifac-
tions had formed upon the Hoor of the cave, and
seemed as if rising to meet those which hun*i;
from above. Evening was coming on as he and
his guide quitted the cave, and he began to feel
his journey over the mountains lonely enough :
however, it was shortly after enlivened by his
falling into the company of a young man, who
was, like himself, a traveller, and whom curio-
sity had likewise led some time before to visit
Maddison's Cave. The night came on as they
rode together, and as there was no appearance
of any kind of dwelling where they could rest
till morning, they determined to continue their
journey on througli the ni<j[ht. The night was
dark, and the tired travellers were anxiously
looking out for a resting place, when they sud-
denly saw a light glimmering throui^h the trees
at some distance. Delighted at the prospect of
finding some dwelling near them, they quickened
their pace; but what was their astonishment on
findujg tliat it moved from them, then drew near,
and at length vauibhcd enlnely from their sight!
1G4
TKAVKLS IN NORTH AMERICA.
Whilst they wore considering the cause of this
extraordinary appearance, they suddenly per-
ceived the same li^^ht in a busli close by them,
and, advancin<T towards it, found that it proceed-
ed from a swarm of insects cal.ed the fire-fly,
so named from their power of giving out a light
from their bodies. This fly abounds in the woods
of America at night, though seldom seen in the
day ; in size and colour it most resembles a large
moth, though the form of the body is not so
long and tapering ; the light comes from under
the wings, and when the flies rise in the air, they
look like sparks appearing and disappearing
every moment. The night passed without any
ftirther adventure : towards morning they reached
a cottage, where they rested themselves and
their horses, and arrived late the next day at
Washington. This city affording, as we have
said, but little variety to a stranger, and Philips,
having now visited every thing in its vicinity
worthy of attention, once more resumed his
journey.
From Washington he took his road southward
into the state of Virginia, after coasting along
the Maryland shore of the Potomac. This
tract is flat, sandy, and dreary ; the houses in
many places have an ancient appearance, and
are built with brick and stone, but most of the
modern ones are only of wood, and have always
a pent-house in the front, which is often carried
all round the dwelling, and affords a shady
retreat in the heat of the day from the scorching
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
1()J
US
rays of tlic sun, uliicli in bright weather are
intense at noon, thouirli the atmospliere is as
variable here as in other parts of America, often
changing from lieat to cohl several times in the
same day. In the centre of those houses wliich
beh)ng to the better class, is generally a hall or
saloon, furnished like a parlour, with sofas, &c.
where the family pass much of their time, for
the purpose of enjoying a thorough current of
air. Nothing is to be seen, for miles together,
but extensive plains, which have been exhausted
by the culture of tobacco, this being one of the
staple commodities of that part of the country.
After a short stay in Norfolk, Philips took
his road, still southwards, through the states of
North and South Carolina, of which the country
is for the most part low and marshy. This kind
of soil, however, being favourable to the growth
of rice, the cultivation of that grain is here
carried on to a more considerable extent than in
any other part of the United States : for this
purpose; the ground is turned up into furrows,
in the months of April and May; women are
then employed to sow the seed, and the negro
men follow and cover it over with earth. The
plant shoots up in ten or twelve days, and when
it has grown about six inches high, a stream of
water is conducted to the top of the field, which
is generally a falling ground, and is allowed to
flow over it in such abundance, that little more
than the tops of the blades can be seen above it.
In a few weeks the water is turned off, to give
16G
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
the negroes an opportunity of weeding the rice ;
when that is done, the field is again covered
with water till the crop is ripe, which is known
by the yellow colour of the ear and the hardness
of the stem. When reaped, it is kept in stacks
till winter; but a great deal of hard labour is
necessary before it becomes fit for exportation.
After being sifted through a large sieve, raised
from the ground on pillars, the outer husk is
nexc taken off by a hand mill, and, lastly, the
w* ole is winnowed and beaten with clubs, to
take off the inner husk ; the larger grains are
then sorted from the small, and packed in casks
for sale. — This process Philips had frequent op-
T)ortunities afterwards of observing, as he travel-
ed along the sea coast, through the towns of
Savannah and Sunbury, to the town of St. Au-
gustine, in the state of Florida, where he hoped
to embark for Europe.
We have now accompanied Philips through
a course which has been undertaken by few. —
From the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Superior,
from the mouth of the river St. Lawrence on the
east, to that of the Columbia on the west, he
had seen whatever was remarkable, and he now,
therefore, naturally began to think of returning
home. " Surely," said he, as he retraced his
journeyings on the map, *' I may well be satis-
fied with having traversed, in so many directions,
this immense continent, and may novv decide on
giving my whole attention to business. When
at home, and possessed of those comforts which
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
107
home alone can give, how apt are we to under-
value what we enjoy, and to imagine any change
to be an improvement ! but let a man travel as
much as I have done, and I am mistaken if he
will not feel as I do, a longing desire to sit down
once more at his own fire-side, surrounded by
those who speak the same language, and enjoy-
ing that security which equal laws, and advanced
civilization, alone can give.
St. Augustine, indeed, was not the most
favourable port he could have chosen for his
embarkation, being engaged in trade only with
the adjacent coasts of the United States ; but to
his great joy he found that a merchantman, laden
with a cargo of Virginia tobacco, had put in
there some days before, under a stress of weather,
and was on the point of continuing her course to
Liverpool, the gale having moderated. In this
vessel, therefore, he soon engaged a passage ;
and so anxious was he to avail himself of the
opportunity of revisiting home, that in 12 hours
he had laid in his sea store, and packed his lug-
gage. . .
Thus then ends the account of Philips's travels
and observations in North America, for the
weather was fortunately mild, and the voyage
homeward presented no fresh incident worthy of
mention. On the 25th day after quitting St.
Augustine he had the inexpressible happiness of
discovering the shores of his native land, near
Cape Clear, from the mast head, where he had
regularly taken his station every
niornmg
for
168
TRAVELS IS NORTH AMERICA.
the preceding- week. We have already said tliat
the vessel's destination was Liverpool, hut a
very Httle persuasion to the captain, and the
promise of a handsome reward to the men, easily
obtained for him the great favour of being put
ashore, along with his luggage, near Kinsale, in
the county of Cork ; and from thence the mail
soon conveyed him to his native city, where his
friends received him with the kindest welcome.
Let us hope that the reader does not part from
Mr. Philips without regret, if he has followed
him in his wanderings, he must have learned at
least one lesson from the perusal — We have all
our allotted duties in life, and if they call us into
foreign lands we should not hesitate to obey ;
but whether we travel into Africa or America,
through the burning deserts of the one or along
the mighty rivers of the other, we travel but to
little purpose unless we return with increased
relish for home and its gratificationis, and in-
creased thankfulness to Providence for having
placed us in a country where it must be our own
fault if we (1^ not enjoy every blessing which a
mild climate, a fertile soil, and wise laws, can
bestow.
THE END.
Gilbert & Rivington, Printers, St. John's Square, London.
^ said that
ol, hut a
, and the
len, easily
being put
u'nsale, in
i the mail
where his
I'elcome.
part from
followed
earned at
J have all
II us into
o obey ;
America,
or along
el but to
ncreased
and in-
r havinjr
our own
which a
iws, can
i, London.
<<
#