^. b^. &rk %. - IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 'i r 1.0 l.f 1^ 1^ E ^ ■ 2.2 I Jo 12.0 1.8 1 t — ' p.25 \A1 1.6 4 • - <•: 6" - _ ^ .■* <^ 7] .>V % ^L^' =^ O // '> > /; / > peuyent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mithode normale de filmage sont indiquAs ci-dessous.^ Th« If poMil of th€ fUmin □ Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur n> Covers da'maged/ Couverture endommagde D D D D D D D D » □ ^ D overs nsstored and/or lamihated/ Couverture restaurie et/ou pelliculAe Cover title missing/ ^e titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ ' Cartes giographiques en couJeur - ^. Coloured ink (i.e. other than. blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que blaue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relit avec d'autras documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ Lareliure serrte peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion l« long do la margo intiriaure Blank leaves added during restoration ,may appear within the text. Whenever possible, theie have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certainas pages blanches ajouttes lors d'unf rcstauration apparaisaont dans le taxta. mais, lorsque ceia itait possible, ces pages n'ont pas At* filmtas. Additional comments:/ Commentaires supplimentaires: a D D Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur ^^, Pages damaged/. '' Pages endommagies Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurtes et/ou pelliculies Pages discolbured. stained or foxed/ D D Pages ddcolor^es, P.ages detached/ Pages ditachtes tacheties ou piquees 0?: Showthrough/ ansparence. □ Quality of print varies/ Qualit* intgale de I'impression [~n Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du matiriel supplementaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible 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.. cnt iti filmies A nouveau de facon i obtanir la meilleure image possible ■ "*>••■ Ori^ir begin the la •ion, othar f irat f aion, or iliii Thai) ahall TINU whici Mapi diffai antiN bagir right raqui math ^ This item i s filmed at tha redi iction ratio checked below/ ■% *■ Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiqu* ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X MX ^ ■ y ■ - ^ "■ — i _ 12X liX ^^'^W 2*^* ^* 32X • . Mi' < ". . ■ ♦ « •Ifs fe .. 1 '*-■ ^ r 1 :&^. *■■ • Oj^^ • ^^ ^ ■■&■■■ ^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^ Wa: e itaiJs s du lodifier r une Image ts errata to pelure. }n d Th« copy filrnad hare hat bean raproducad thanks *fo tha ganarosity of: University of British Columbia Library Tha imagas appaaring hara ara tha baft quality potsibia conaidaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract spacifications. Orijginal copiaa in printad papa^ covars ara filmad -baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion, or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original copias ara filmad baginning on tha first paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion, and ariding on tha last paga with a printad «, or illustratad imprassion. Tha last racordad frama on aaeh microficha shall contain, tha symbol — »• (maipning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol y (maaning "END"), whichavar applias . * . . • Maps, platas, charts, ate, may ba filmad at diffarant raduction ratios. Thosa too larga to Jtia antiraly includad in ona axposura ara filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand cornar, laft to right and top to bottom, as many framas as raquirad. Tha following diagrams illustrata tha mathod: 1 2 3 ■ « "N -.^'» L'axamplaira lilpn* fut raproduit grflca A la g^nAroaitt da: * University of British Columbia Library Las imagas suivantas ont *t« raproduitas avac la plus grand soin, compta tanu da la condition at da ianattat* da l'axamplaira filrn^, at an conformiti avac las conditions du contrat da filmaga. Las axamplairas originaux dont la couvartitra an papiar ast imprimAa.sont fHmte an co|nman9ant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la darniira paga qui comporta una ampra]nt% d'imprassion ou d'illustration, soit par la sacond plat, salon 1^ cas. Tous las autras axamplairas origiriaux sont filmte an commandant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'illustration'at an tarnniinant par la darniira paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. i*^ * ♦ ■ Un das symbolas suivants apparaftra sur la darniira imaga da chaqua microficha, salon la cas: la symbols — ► signifia 'A SUIVRE", la symbols y signifia "FIN". Las cartas, planchas, tablaaux, ate, pauvant Atra filmte h das taux df reduction diff*rants. Lorsqua la documaiit ast trop grand pour Atra raproduit an un saui clichA, il ast filmA A partir da I'angla supAriaun gaucha, da gaucha A droita, at da haut an bas, an pranant la nombra d'imagas nAcassaira. Las diagrammas suivants illustrant la mAthoaa. » »- *• . p * , P « 1 2 3 \ _^__^ j. 32X ■■•■•••■ '» ■ ■ ■ ■ •■-' <• "-'<-- 4 • i * - 6 n - - ,...„ / » \ - \ '.^^- '■ w '*^m •f. •» ^ ' ■ » . . LEV . !• ' , •»■ -.»> • I: ' , ** * • « i 1*' . f * «f ■/ / ♦ ■ • _ " ^'f. TRADESMAN'S TMfELS. f^' m THB UNITED STATES AND- CANAD.A- . <( IN TUB Y£ASB 1810, 41, & 42. a^' WILLIAM THOMSO^f; STONKKAVEN. f S EDINBURGH: OLIVER & BOYD, T\/EED0ALE COURT/ LEWIS SMITH. ABERDEEN; & WILtm JOHNSTON, STONEHAVEN. MDCQCXLH. ) '^ .)-'v% :|^' .f /; |;*;' , ' ;.« .. > •w %:, stonbravbk: ' ■ 6, '4-* CONTENTS -,, K Introduction, CHAPTER I. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN THE SOUTH. ^ Boarding-houses . Hotels . Mechanics' boarding- house . Cleanly habits . Wages . A planters' family . Mode of treating s|i>^ngers . Paternal kindness . Grave-yards . Burisjis . Sabbath observance . Duels . Manners of mechanics . Respect to ladies . Primi- ^ttive mode of agriculture. ... .. ... CHAPTER n. MANNBRS AND CUSTOMS IN THE NORTH AND WEST. Manners of children . Their politeness . Mode of treating them . Marriage . Divorces . Absurdities in dress . Anti-corset Societies .Premature decay . Food. of children . Mode of addressing each other . Superstition . Swearing . Wood fires . Modesty of women' . Disbeliever^ in Christianity . Chewing tobacco^ . Snuffing . Baking bread . Washing clothes . Substitute for blanket3 . A quilting . In- Page. 1 / la \ IV CONTENTS. congruity in dress . Produnciation of states and cities; . Cripples . Seamstresses . Newspapers. Town criers. .,. ... . - ;^HAPTER nij- Roads . Railroads . Expense of traveUing in the south . Class of people who travel . Their appearance and manners . Travelling ih the north and west . Steamers on the Hudson . Passengers . Rate of Steaming . Emigrants . Canal travelling .Erie Canal . Cities and towns . Expense . Diflferent « classes of bqjits . Buying provisions by the way.. mc Ohio Canal. , Towns . Overchargtes . Shooting^; : Crossing over to Cahada . Sailing on the Lakesyi Steam-boats on the Ohio and Mississippi . Charges ^v Maqners of deck passengers . Advice to emigrants i going out to the western states . Changing money &c. &c, ,. ... "^* Page. 27 y" CHAPTER IV. FARMING IN THE STATES. ^Duchess County, State of New York . Mode of tra- xy%lliqg . Beauty of the country . Original prowr^ P|ietors . Size" of farms . Price of land . Value of money invested in Uind . Mr Fergusoa's notions . > Farmers compared with those in Kincardineshire . Frequent removals .Houses . Mr Mitchell's farm and mode of livinf . Working in the harvest fiel^ . Labourers' wages . Thrashing machines . State of Ohio .Price of land . Crops . A|ipeanince of 41 fsjfflgyi<|p \^- *rv \ -v ▼I , CONTJBNTS. ' ^ ' t ■ ^ ' .^ , ^ iil'pet.work, Connecticut . Manufactures in Jereey . Manuikctures in the state of New York . Country customer work . Mode of payment . Manner of living . Country customer weavers . Clouty carpetl» . IV^Is at Rochester . Genessee falls . Manufactures in Ohio . Cincinnati . Wages . Tradesmen's board- itfg-house . Plenty of beef . Prospects of the manu- facturing community. ... ...... ... •I ' CHAPTER VII. MANUFACTURES IN CANADa! . Wool Mills jn Lower Canada . Charges . Mills in Upper Canada . Wages . Price of Machinery . Water Power and Mills at Niagara Falls .^Unifor- mity in the heights of the River . Wool Carding . M'ode of Paymeiit . A customer weaver . Number of domestic looms * Jmprpved spinning wheel . Emi- gration of weavers. ... ... ... • ... CHAPTER VUL ' MOBS. Spirit of licentiousness . Carelessness of human life . A son telling that his father was a murderer . A * mysterious circumstance, involving' loss of life, excites little interest . Influence of public opinion on judges .A murder committed openly* in a bar- room in New Orleans . Stabbing, fighting, and gouging . Mode of killing people quietly . Lax administratfop of the laws . A man taken out of prison and hanged before his trial '. Gang of mur- derers and swindlers on the Mississippi . A judge 109 - ^ 139 W ■^ , ^ '' '^^ CONTENTS. put into prison by a mob, for offering to acqept bail for a prisoner . An abolition Mob . :A, bank mob in Cincinnati, five banks gutted . Ilisk I ran of a visit from Judge Lynch. .•• \ ;, CHAPTER IX. SLAVERY. Baptizing slaves .Jlheir behaviour . Appearance in the Church . Ideas of religion . Sacrament of the Supper . Their dress . Anecdote of a slave and a ram at church . Politeness . MarriSges ^ Separation of families . Shops for the sale of negroes . Value of slaves . Treatment of old slaves after they areom- able to work . Old Saw threatened witK>the whip . Trial of a slave who murdered his jnaster . Negro houses . Negro funk . Stated tasks . House servants .:. Whipping with the cow-skin, . Humanity of the planters • Abolition . Cheerfulness of the slaves*. Factory slave of England . Kind^ feeling of the native Planters' . Comparison of tKe American ' slaves and the British. ... , ... ... ^ . - ■ ■ - , ^ CHAPTER X. K BkLIOIOK. Table, showing the niimDer of churches, ministers, and members of churches in the United States . Compd,rison of the number of churches in British and American cities ., Handsome and comfortable * diurches . Manners of the ministers . Their Building churches^ . Fanaticism . Mormoni^ Latter-I^ay Sailits . General view of the state of religiuu.- .. ... .. ■ ... 194 173 a . wr *^%: s . '• >:) V N •r -. « < r 11- ilk 4 'i. ,^ CONTENTS. CHAPTER. XI. , STATl'sTllCS. ,. Pag^V i ■\-: Government . Election of Pi^ident . Congress : House of Representatives . Compensation of Mem- bers of Congress . Compensation of the Exceptive . Legislature of New Hampshire, . of Ohio, Nev , York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina t^he ^ Ballot . Careless exercise of political privileges . ' Opposition of trades-people to^the penitentiary a system ..Educa^on . Population of ^e principal. , cities . State debts . City debts . ,Kaval power . Regular arni|jr . Militia . Revenue and ex^nditure .Number of slaves . Pork . Quantity of wheat ^ grown, of barley, .oats, rye, buck wheat, Indian ^^^ ^ corn, arid potatoes . Exports ..Quantity of public land sold . Rate of interest . Number of people employed in mining, agriculture, manufactures, &C, Table of population. ...... /.,. ,207 '.*'■- '«■ V.J CoNCLtJSION, V*-- •t* •#• ••• ••• 223 J. lY * •'i-' r * I ^ ^ ¥m'k^'i''% '.V; m •i ;«'5?'rr M '■.rf i'. I '> ^ ) v» . ^- ■ ■ ^r; ■Tf ^'llXi X .<*.?■.' > • cp:?! , . l-'^'.^ fti.;;, i "*i^Sfci- w -*.» ''V <■''' * i . '**«> ;a - ti' > ^- 't*- ' N V ; ^r'A^f I N TRO DUCT roi^. - ^ ;,^ « ' . <" V Haviijj^ lately travelled ihYjmgh the United ^ States: and, althowgb I am but aii htffiablci Jtradestnan^ I do not know any good Teaman yfh^ , I should not -^Mlow the fasMon of greater « m^,aiid wnt& t hdtfk; Not that^ I expect - •to produce ariy thing of \alue Ja a literary ^ „ poin^ df view. To tl^6 I'^ma^ tio prelensnohs . \ - i«4iatever ; but havmg mixed with the mas» | • of the. people, having beei^ emj^oyed in dif- ferent parts of the Union and in Upper Canada, having eaten with th/em, and sat down at their and mechanics, and sometimes amongst- farmers 7-^1 devoted my attentii^ principally to the cqIJ;^ u \ p 2 ^ INTBODUCTION. ' lection of information on the actual condition ' of the farmers, and tradesm^a^-^hat they ea^ v Aink, and M^hat they wear; and seeing thi^^ ; the numerous books th^t have J?eea* written f^ the sulyectdo not descend fkr enough into the .scale of society, do not enter closely epougb into" th^minutia of eiFery-day life, to xjbnVey any^ t thing like a correct idea of the condition of those' purpose to make this my task. And, if truth^/ fulness and t^^gl^^ot^^o^ ^^^< are any recommendatfons; i am eiititled t^ ' benefit of them, I do not propose tp.waUui ^' ^^«lipWJ«ft"f^ )^ ^ve a personal narrative of ^^ -my travels through the great republic ^^^ ^^Pil^^%1^ %5|he public. '^ ^^N^ Viall I occupy the time^^hose who may je^,, , tl^sjyith.,8nything abpulf %sdft ia^ to shew myopportunities pf collecting the fol- ;g|f ?eing. thre^ten^ J^h |,,pulTOn^^^^ \ ^ T^^- -1 .1 1- c - ■:" Ji ■' only chaiM^ of prolonging life ; and, having two l»otbei!rk«dtith Carolina, iir'T ilia a ' , .fr^.t^-^lTfeO;^ i-r,;-mi\W' #inu3 yet rath^ early in the season to go to the l^orthem States, I was advis^, hy bM^ medical friends, to mlil^ rill exeHn^n through the states of North and South Caro- Una and. Georgia^ and then g^^i<|^ ;^ t)^ summer advanced. This plan pleased me^ well, wyAere weiite}^ 9f.40li^i%g^,,ii tfese states thaljjt irished to see ; and besides , I waa desirous of maJcing more jutensim -ab- senra^nm^ i ^ H|M|rdingly left Beaufort ^towards 4he md 50f;I^^uaiy, 18S1, going 'by Gharlestoii, then *tip the eonnti-y 120 miles by thfii South:Ca- P^a i^In)ad,--lH^ my wi^. derings spending my time . sometimes amongst ^WMpi and <^ttdiiN|linf^ the cotton-mills. After spending seven weeks Mn different parts of the above-mentioned states, il^turhed to Beaufort by Savannah, going ddwn to the low country by the H^mlplh tever.- /-.'^ i^-. ,.-,y^.^*r ,>.t'wi-m?^v*>';ir:^ -*-rnf^' . 4i-ft< ; After remaining there a short fime'T started ^ for; the Northern States, arriving in New York about. 1^ ^iddle^nMiii^ wh^ f temniued till the great 4th of July, making two excur- siQns,up the l^i^th :Riwi^4||,J_||wiirt^ii|^ rf^ore pleasant than living in the city, and nearly as cheap as bpardi^g--the fores at thalj.{tii»e being tery1(%.-^#lie mily shadow of disappointment I felt x>a the day «f rgoicing was, thil ^^^(«lt not find an OM Compy Tory, to see how he ^^ "< • 1»BE» w ■# ' 6 k f . ^^uldbok amidst the liberty poles that over-: * glitter ot armed citizens^ SLmid the geneiial / J^^^ings of hund^s of thou?^.|^j^«|^ glorying in the n^me of democracy, and spendl^' ing their mon&f, in, thownd%, to 4eipon«.t^^' . lit*- ^ ~ ) ^^ **'' ' ^f4 yisit^ |t?» ismaB Wool^enlfectorles at'West Farms, near New York, after which I ^ "P ^e cp^g^^uchess County, wher^lf was employed a few weeks at a country carding, mill. The harvest coming on, I nwit about anwwigst ^efarmers, going as far north as the. state of Connecticut worldng l«^^ Art* with different farmers,---.not; indeed; as a thorough^, bred "huke;" but I was^ wUliag ; a^^ ^*il%4«|| ai#^o use the mdle scythe fbf a day, or half a day, at a time, without being f 3 I tbea yt.^ifi iN*. rf.Uift ^untrf for ■ ) .*/- ■■' 1: ?s?Sr'S2S!^ -- ^f^ZiJ&W ' IKTBODTJCTION. 7 '^ along the Erie Canal to Buffalo, stji^ping at difffefei; ^l^^^if^^n^ ii^^^ daily wheiiB there were any mills or public ** wtt^i e^uiritt^^^^ j ^ilfanted it at this time, b^t just to know if I COUI4 find it, if I was jo inclined^ f tM . .crossed over to Canada,/ going, by the Falls, where I intended only to m^h few houi^, Sut I ivas so fa^nated with this almighty work, that I remained two days, spending one on ^[^'■mm U^mmUm thrtrtA l^tember : after viewing the city, I went out to the River HumbeiV a^d ^iW'^t^ht^ ^t^^^v^ at 4 coun- try carding and spinning mill; I next went- to a similar ertablishm^t, at a sm^%ferthat wKs ijdtttiriclacM only four years t^o, called Burrwick. Here, as at other places where t^ t*if elSp^ to get their #ool carded ; I therefc^e had exceUent opp^r- \ .*' » #■ ^ ^ iNTRODtrcrroN. tuitities of ascertaining their opinions : aniias my principal object was to get information; ^ let no opportunity escape. I here yisit^ ^ s^ field preachings «Mk ^i^l raisfif of t#t^ huts. Wherever 1 went I entered the hpuf^s of the >ttl^s with a freedom that liia^ Ife feel that fwak rather impudent ; but after 4 while I felt no more compuucti

^^^ these and similar institutions I may speak '4 when i come to take notice of the sqcW i^. ditionofthep^e,^^ \,.-i%. ^.|^^,; f«. .-Ji.--^*- Atter havmg spent upwards of four months. i» this section of the Union, I arrived m New Oriea* on the 1st (^ March, 1842,^^1 «, , mained seven days-visiting tbe battle ground, : #d evei-ything about i^emtytbf^^^j^^^^^^^ poney t^^t a sight'<^||fft^|K)ok shipping |or Floi^, remaining two days in Key We^ij sailed a^ for Savannah, from thence to Beau- fort, in South Carolina ; and, after bidding my brothers and a nunjber.c£JsWifH«^^^ ^, I sailed for Liverpool, in the " Jolm Ker,^ of Greenock,^u the 25th of Api, 111^^ ^^ in Stonehaven on the 28th of lij^y, 1842, ij| good health. l».>,.-'%xtea.^.lf **1-V. ' ■ r ■.<:- ■ ■■ 'i< \ , .:S " f • V" ~w .;; INTRODUCTION. H lelrt- an outline of my route, and die prindpaK places I visited ;~having travelled, within the territories of the United States^ and tfpper Canada, upwards of 5000 miles— mixing with all classes, with perfect freedom, both in th^ii- work and their amusements. Having been j)red to the fool-manufacturing business, |^* .lliopc^ the facts I have collected, and my ob- ' servations on the manufactories of the country, wSi be bdth tteeful and inter^tiiig to those who, like myself, have" been brought up to a business that affords so precarious a living in this over-peopled country. * 1 ■»;' *' -^i^: -4 .z'.-tl 4^- t^-..' j' • _»• ^<^?f •" ^ rt'foci' ffM^ ;: ■•:« H^fi' r;"^ 'ir^h •:i'^.U ^ ■■! :t'./' '^': ';'i ' .'ii( hx-i'h ififb fr^ul' *' *' "> S|!i or|a«f ij fs* sti.:y .ijhi:.^^*; ■* n. 'r» ?u '■^*r'Ti4 ft-^H 'ivfi' .^f^^^ftf *'*fiJ'''!iiff'? rrrrff . .'^ -jjf. :.%'. ,«f! ^ #1 t t. ^% ^/^ , i.VfB'i * , N-. I -^- > N V • .b&L' ,.;i?';^ -iv;;.^? . .?fi ^^'H» .^u'^ rii -i^, ^^'i 'm'h r4 ^''-^^-4m^r^^J^'jj♦g^y,J,,,.fl/>^.,..^»|r,^^^^^ f 4 J /-< '^^i^''- -11 ,nfe^*'.-^-*':'!^tl,' ' 4 • !>#'ir s ^ BANNERS AND CUSTOMS. ' . ' t i 4 it Boarding-houses— Hotels— Mechanics* boarding-house-^ ^ Cleanly habits— Wages— A planters* family— Mode ot treating strangers— Paternal kindness— Grave-ykfcis > ^®""*'* — Sabbath observance — Duels— ^Manners of rae- ^ ' chanics— Respect, to.lad'ies — Primiliye mode ^ of agri- ■dhlture. d::-_ . ::h.i^- » Cvr^ * s- On eKT^omestic iiiabiiirs # t!id Am^icam^ I will be very brief. So many writers having_ failed to do justice to the subject, I bave iiot the vanity to suppose that I will succeed. To ^y that the people aS-e polite and genteel in tlieir manners, is wlTat eyery one is aware of. In the Carolinas and Georgia, where I ^spent the winter ai»4^s|)ring*of 1^40 and 1841, the custom of yourtg marri^ people of moderate circumstances, living in boarding-houses, is very (jommon. In a private boarding-house tWy can have more elegant and cor^fortable living ibr from four to six dollars than .they c6t^ have for nearly twice that, sum if they kept^ hoiisp for themsblvcs — hcm^^^ri&nt itu4 I ■y7> \ H ■"*. -■^i^, ^ f, ■#»'.■ r.\ H MANNER^ AND CUSTOMS srt-vAiitf being so high. In Beaufort, wfiere I • lived ?ix'or seven weeks in a house of this kind^ I had everything very nice an J cdiAfetaWe for five dollart a week.. People who have been used to this way of living feel quite at home, fondling the childrep, and sometimes each 1 ^^tbtt, vdth almost the freedom of domesti privacy, but never overstepping the houij^c^ propriety or good taste. But these^nd-^^ic hotels halve been often ddscribed, and I shall ^ only men^iii^n the charges I paid in some of the places I lived at in this district of the Unipiij where, in the absence of flt mMdJe cl^ss of so-, tsiety, a poor mj?^n iike me has to subject him^lf , to the same'^xpense in travelling as the tieh. In Charlestoi, at thePtater^' Hotel, one d^k , lar and a half per day. Isi Augusta ((Jeorgia^, •for the first two or three days,, at the E^gle ' and Phoenix flotel, I paid two dollars, pej-^. sTThis would apt 4fi mth ''^^^P^ intended Vf) settle for ^i^ ti«^, and ^Mmfpi* a U|^. f^' ing-houge, sueh a^ n^chaniiPif^oi, but could uot get anything like a dgcpM^. place for legsi ^haR fiye dollars a week, la ihis house were ■^j^t policemen, coc^ters— -ten or twelve alto^ W*'^\ ■ - . ■■*./• ' .;■■„,. r -.:■-*■ , • ■ » ............ ^ipz ■ . .. ■ ' r '-'■/.' ' ■ **■ f " ' ■ .♦'■ ■ "- ■A wfiere I lis^indi ; aide for ve been t home, es each lomestjiS o«».*'f ' n W^." ^# 1 i covHd 9^ im ■ : ; - 'i --■J •e we^f " ' '■ e 2^tO:t ,* « i r f''^'h. I v» v t '-*■''■ - -i ' 'II IN THE.SOUTHiJ^i^lC M ^^«^*^ Single bi^termw Ibr^th^ ni^^^^^ There Dvas % large room for eating in/ whidi hftd no prfetentioii to el^gimce. One of the boarders Was an IBBglishman, a journeyman^ tai€*^ Whd'dte'out about live- years 9^ with only otj6 coat; now he has plenty, sports a ^M watch, and a silver-headed cane ; sat at - i^ifetyof coMuct and gentlemanly manners r^m<»i|;st the same class of. persons k myoiip ^x^ntry^; ;T^a and icoflfee Were used at break- ' fast and supp^^ and water at dinner. At every meal there n abundance>.of beef, pork, ham^ . totigues,. I^ead^ l^andhy, waafel cakes, cumiitfbefSi friesh in season or pickled. It is very rare to see soup , at an American table. Good knivefii .and fiMrks, and dean* J^fcerved iiit^ ^ilBrW^ I^ is about as 6ommon in the States as in this coun- try, ^^^v^y^e rises from table as.soonas.be has shallowed a^ few moutfefuls, for they are not |ieat eatem., T'he general hour for breakfast is bcJtween six and seven o'clac^ and tradesmen ' dwav^ eat tfefor^ ^grning nnt f.. ^mt-y . A%m '^: 'Si "» \ >> v^ 16 . . ilANlfERSI AND CUSTOMS Jjetweeii twflve and one ; and supper at fij^ tlie e);|^i|. .^rjidesmen here are very clea|i in * thpir habits,^ generally washing before they come to table ; and it is rare to see eym ^ I ispeck of dirt lielowAbi nails of tbi?fe:ftiger8» Tli€k jrfurts are generally made without collars; but they have moveable collars, ox "dickies," wbich they renew two ory three times j^ iiivcek, «[id are always ^idy^nd cleans iBaJlheir bed* brooms they have their brushes, comb§^, feci, and- |)erform tljeir toilet with considerable care, -These rem^kfi aj^ljiip jnechaiiicjs ; ^nd this lito,:m#e American vocabulary, applies to all tradesmen. In the southern cities, where * labour is high, a tailor can make twelyie dollaiu 41 WiCek, if A good hand ; and bricklayers, black- sMths, and carpenters, from one and a half to two dollars a day. , But stout, healthy young men^ Ihai c»me^^L.^^^^^^ states and #OTtt B«Tbpe„ fw 'tte sake of high wages, are wilted and withered up in a few year8,*'like a •♦* pinthewiddy/V^rri^iiorj r i.> :^¥hM^^i t^^ ^i*f-.X willow diiiiraiM^^anter's house »^ Sttte of Geoi^a, about eight miles from Augusta, who owned a manufacturing esta- * -I "ii -^^ f?^ ^ ' 1- A ^ Wishment, to whom I went^ipiearch of em-- ^oyment. It was a handsome, but not large house, i^^iiMti^thiflg ui/^ g9od^ ta^ r H. I Wettt tip to the fkmt dooi*, arid asked if Judge Sley was at home 5 a lady an- swered "No, that he 4» on his di^uit (he district Jttdgi), lfe#1lwft kw^wiiS W rs before iiPtetumed." She shewed me into an elegfantly-fumiehed room ; I then told the lady, who was the judge's wilfe, my fisimef atid that ii^iii# Wool-carder and spinner, wanting employment. * A lady In her circum- stances in this country, would very— quidily ^jhave changed her manneri iMa^ gtidi^ a piece of f'%ifbrmat;ion ; but suoh was not the case hert^ I was treated with the greatest consideration and unohtrusiye politeuessr aad desired to malii ihytelf at'hMie, andrenifln'witk them till th* judge returned, which he did in a ^w dayii His reception, after a fortnight's absence, is worthy erf noia^ The old lady caught hold of him fcst, ali4 Wsse^him ;»the daughters, hand*- some. grown-up ladies, put their atms about his neck and huggg^hiBa, the younger ones ilr«>T»^ing tff f^t nt hftn t Atld. what atrnrlr mn ■:^i B 2 \ /-i 18 MA'SVWBi'S- AND CtJSTOks ' > ^ as most remarkable, two oiJim house-s^i^aat^' %ro^ bhdc ji Jlrebus, made a bold push atJ^ ttei^d gentleman, holding out their hand^ which he shook heartily, with kind words, pf inquiry after their heaUl^^^t ,| frm j^a^ed, too, ^f^:^ reception, and could not help drawing a comparloB between his manner to me, and r the hauteur and indifference I have experienced then asking foc^mptey«m«lt from gentlemen .. J^similar circumstances in this country. % speaking, he treated me with perfect equdi^if: called me ^ Mr. Thomson.'' Sfti^^lJ^, ^^'■ J^#f^ust as 1 would do, in ^e^kin^ a gentleman I held in high estimation. I sat at ' I the same table. The young kdies flayed im the piano, and sUrig Scotch- songg. The old gentleman, too, sung « Scots wha hae" with ^^^ great spirit. And all this, not to please, jnd ^ ' mak^ comfbrtftjtle. a gentfewn ^^^^^rtHn^^ employment, not fashionably dressed, but clean and decent. I have. travelled and wroughl iw the prinqpal inanuftc^u^ districts ^f Engk. land and Scotland, but never had a tithe of the kindness and consideration sho^n me t,hM # K -^- i^j J. « i< had her^vt/fiAaii^ this was i||| a sofitaryjl^ stance: on another oceasion, in the State of South Carolina, I appliedto Colonel Beausket, siligf has a eotton and woollen-manufactory at Vacluce, ahout 100 miles from Charleston. On calling on him at his house, near Charleston, I f^iv^ thj^.jjB^mp consideratioii and politeness. |^«^ in the evening when I called, and he was A| home, in the midst of his family. Under sii^h circumfitai|ces in this coui^try:, J wouW bav^ been ti^ lO'^call agai^ mediately shown into the parlour, and seated in the family circle. He told me he cQuld not employ me, but th^| as^I ^^# M|p^^fp the country, X, might stop at his place, and see the establishment, which I will take notice of when I come fp speak of the manufaptories f»f Amei:i^ _^ It Wis something new to me to be treated with such attention by those from whom I was seeking work, This gentlemao beiiigaboiUtp return that evening to the city, asked me to ride down with him in his car- riage; and as it was now dark, I gladly ac- cepted his offer, I may here mention, , that i ffw dftyn ftftfr T wput up thg country to ,n }^^' «#'S \ €> '■'%'• 20 ' m^nH^eks akd customs '' the jnanufectory, wher^ liftnUite* a tv^ and *c^ived the same hospitality from the manager, ^''^^^^'-f^^^^ ^^^m^m&'^lhiym^^ir^m^^- ^While endeavouring j^lUiistme the iBilr iiers of ^feipfe bf thili^jl^ft rfttfe coun&V, *y stating these facts, I will here notice what generally applies to the whole community, Vji^ 1% kindly manner of piira#«d th#^!Mrei£ fflwl the ali^rtionafe and rest)ectful conduct of diildren to their parents^ "%. this conntf^ the^ is not,a shaddP #t^ asttot ^d i^- Arred manner of the poorer and middle classes of Scotland to their children. I have some-, toes envied the kisses that were imprinted on fliiiito t)rows by s^t f^ girls,' as ey said « Good night, pa.'^";^- Good night, my daughter," replies the old man. '^^f*^*^ * The character of ttfe^'W^them st^S, '# tality, stands high, and it is not dveri e rated. They are quite a distinct race from the ^nkees." They have a high sense ol^fcbnmi?^ treatmg every white man as a gentleman, but rigidly exacting the same respect in return f and aWiough many young men carr^ ]^^ knives , s^or d .f ff nffl , or pistolo, after 1 knci y i.iMi' •IN THE SOUTHS & thdm I felt myself as safe from injury or out? Tage as in my own house. In short, the society in this part of the country was the most agie^ tible I ever associated with. In passing along the streets or crowded Hforoughfares of the cities, itwould, be a rare circumstance if any one should jostle or Accidentally come against ^u without making an apology. Ladies are tireated on all occasions with great deference and respect Amidst many in^tapces,i;ba| (?iune under my observation, I \vill mei^tion oi|# : | J. #as inquiring Jf there were any letters for me at the post-office in Augusta. At the same 4ime that I went up t«.il^i^ning at which ^thp clerk was standing, a woman came up, but rather after than before me'; however, I spdce first, i^id I WM civilly desired to ij^ t^U % lady was attended to ; ahd I am sur^ It was neither her dress nor her youth and beauty that gave Jier precedence, fejhe|ms not 4c|i Ja^any of these.- i-^3li .ryi?te;-'|i^#>:^^' ^^ :a ^ The burying-grounds of the dties are gene- rally large, d^d the monuments and head- stones aje*inostly of white Bij|rW^>«xecuted in good tft^te, mux?h bett er than th a t w hi ch di 'if,,hhMm^m^. The custom ^*?|aviiifag ped^^ a iVmeml f ^ gimg ttbtJee in the newspapers, to the jMends and a^squaintances of the deceai^ stating the hour and place, of meeting/ j[| Aw ;0f the friends go inter t^ house, but only «^ ef thdse more iditoediately concerned-^the - others remaining at the dod^ They j^j) theii^^ ^ toe of lifting to a tmm^^if^ to^i ^Ji ride ^mm^^ bat they are krt particulai- in their msB ;^ome will We ^ite hats ; some blue, some white coats, very few black;^o'j,articuw ifcr dress, the; friwids «ad relati jl^™» » *"! ..f ^s^te ; •" ■^^^'h'^'i^^ tms. .souTHf^r 2a shut up their place of business, a piece of crapes ^ also fastened therdi>^%li saosrt oi |he. southeca states t^ Sabbath is observed Tvitli great pr&- I«iety, except in New Orieans, where the -^J'rench fashion is Mk/we^'-^'-^^'^^i'^'-'l&m^^^vM^' ' ^n Sunday, idien I wis^ lliere, -itoi^ principal places eife business were Idbnt Upi Those of the middle class made a sort of a compromise with the day of rest, like our apo^^ thecaries. All the innumerable small stores; and bar-rooms were driving a good trade»!!#«^ while crowds of gaily-dressed ladies and gentle- i»€^|6re Mfrying out in carriages and by the railway cars to the race-course, to ' enjoy thh exciting pleasures of the turf. ^ AH over the doimt^y, men of business and meaiaxii^^c(»Miy»} d# themselves men' of hoq^; but more espe- cially in the south, where they more frequently , tesent any indignity shown them, even at the expense of their life, of that o€ those who veil* ture to insult them. Duels and assassinations frequently occur. This is mudi t(ir be de* plored : but the.effi^ c^ it^li!^. tender tir I)e(^e va^y |)#te aiid gelnittemanly in their I • \ 2tv MANNEB& ,Jkm. CUSTOMS Planners. Men of business and mechanics, when tbpy pass each other in the streets, in^ 8tea4 of the ridiculous custom of telling each, other wXat kind of a day it is, pass with Br bow, a wave of the hand, or "How do you%?", always lifting the hat to ladies. I have Jb- served a crowd of men of different classes look- ing at the windows of a printseller*s store, ' stand by and giv^e^ ample room i^ a lady, on her expressing, by the slightest motion, a de- sir^torsee the pictures in the window. A lady, whether she is well dressed 'or j*cj^ on going into the most crowded church, is as sure of a good seat as if the church was empty. ' The well-dressed and pretty ones are most as- siduously served. On extraordinary occjUions Ihaveseen.them come in, group after group, until they almost crowded the gentlemen out of the house altogether. I do pat rfimejm%|e|b». • have seen a W]? Gimed oAt of cburdh ^ck.' ^The reason, I suppose, is, the houses Ire more > roomy and better ventilated. Fans are ii|. , general use. They sit vei^ qiji^ j^ydiurch ' and wealthy people do not consider it the, f .. . V vs. '%^>, % «*■ IK THE SOUTH. 25 height of good breeding to MJBie 1% disturbing all the congregation, after the service has com- menced. ^ ; In the south, except steam-boats and rail- roads, there is hardly such a Jibing as a labour- saving machine. The negroes cultivate the land with hoes, and grind the com for bread in handbills. The country is so level, that there if no water-power. It does not appear they have made any improvement in agricul-;- -ture since the days of Solomon. On Mr. Milne*s plantation, on Beaufort Island, I ha^ seen twelve or fourteen, negroes all thrashing Itogether on one floor,, making their flails fl; ^^^^ % *^^"Serous proximity tp each othei ^^^^ypoking very like ^ battle of Indies pr 9 iwat Donnybrook fair. ^ :c#f.- 1 ^ ' Tf^ "t%" %' : V-. « -Fr ^ .^ ■• -, "■* ^ » % '^4 IT ■-»K--^ / ' k a I % T^-- » ■ *■ . * - / • 1 w " . ; - • .- --: • -, « . i ,;■-.-■/ ■* ■ ■ ' \ '' BM " ' '^ il i I % i I I't rv ^, \ ' -i ft / CHAP-TER II. ?, ':i MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. ( Manners of children — Their politeness^Mode of treatin^^ them — Marriage — Divorces — Absurdities in dress Anti-corset Societies -^ Premature decay — :Food of children — Mode of addressing each <)yther;->Super8ti- tion^-Swearing — Wood fires— Modesty of won^en*— Disbelievers in Christianity — Chewing tobacco — Snuff- ing — Baking bread — Washi ng clothes — iSubstitute for blankets-^ — A quilting — Incongruity in dress-r-Pro- - nunciation of states a^d cities^CrippIes^Seamstres^es —Newspapers— Town crii The manners in the north and west do notdijl^r very materially from those in tSe south ;• yet the 8tat%ig|,sodety is veiry different in the slave- holding and free states. In the former the blacks do all the hard work, whereas, in the latter |he sl^te of sodety mor€ resembles that in thid country, with this exception, that working men are more upon an equality -^th that class of society who live not by the sweat of the brow ; apd .jtheir houses are more comfortable, and" ^liffe children more polite. I was forcibly slfu^ with the difference in the manners of '■» s «fc^y %» T^— . WT' »? , oat y ' \, J ■i.'.lll.l" ■.'•1; ;?-" -:» .**^V,* li^NNEES AND CUSTOMS ^' ^ childi^en. .ti passing through Glasgow on my return home, I was looking at James Watfs' . monument, when a little gifl. about ten years ot age. camo up to me. and said. " Man, can ye fc - tell me whaur aboot Brig Street is ?" Under . simUar circumstances, an American child of the jery poorest class-^ven^ youig negro-:wouW Aave said, "Pl^se, sir,'' &c. There is a very' aWrd custoiii amongst the workmg classes of Scotland. If a roai» tries to speak the English language with propriety, or . teach his children to be polite and good nM»n. nered, be is laughed at by his nei^bours. - 1 " do not complain of the use 6{ old-fashioned words or proyincial phrases-children may be taught to be polite and to repress themselves^ m any language— it is the sentiment convey^ that I look to; and I think we are far behind fteAmeHeaishi our moSe of cultivating the tefelKctual faculties of children. As fer as | had opportunities of observing, children are fejther advan(id.in nseful and practical know- : ledge tTiatt thote ^^f the same age and under I similar circuntstances in this«mntry are. They |o not whip children much, but treat tWw -^ '#S :' ' :■ ,\ s a -i- r^ '^^•^ the IS J. are der ■i-ti.; -'. ►n my ^ 4. VattVV. 1 years an ye Jnder , f the ' the es to 7> or ■ aan- ^7,1 " ytkd I r he ives^^'li jye^ lind ! * . ' i • -* iNjjmE NOBTH AliD WESt, 29 if tbey wdfe ratioijal beiiigs ; and they are re- paid with' many fond endearments and the pon- fldence of the children. •■V■•^^lt.i1.^l4|r^V%* ;- \ , Marriage isa le^al contraciit ; and^it is nearly, .as difficult to get rid of a bad wife as it is in this couqtry, although several of the state le- gislatures, on the petition of the wife, grant a divorce when the husband is a drunkard, or deserts his family. " In most of the states, when the husband or wife is sentenced to the state prison, a'divorce can be obtai^ned, if the innocent party chooses to take advantage of it. At a late session of the NeW.Hampskire legislature the following provision, regulating divorces from the bonds of matrimony, was enacted. i f **That divorces from the bonds of matri- mony shall be decreed in fa)^ of the innocent party, when the other shall be convicted for a felony, and actually imprisoned for the same; ar when the other shall become a habitual drunkard, and so continue for the space of three years; or having become a habitual drunk- ard, and so continue to be for such further space of thne, not less than one year, as to amount to three when either party r ^ WlffNERS AND Cl/STOMS shall s6 treat die other ^ Jfertotisly to tejure health or ^danger reason ; or when the ccmi- duct of either party shall be so gross, wieked, and repugnant to the marriage covenant a* to occasion th^ sqjaration of the other for the spooe^bfthrfee years." '.;-, .m:^y.,^^,T.--sm-^^^. .^.^.f^ Jt Itis generally known that marriages are ; co;itracted earlier in Kfe in America than in perhaps iflif «tl»er countiy-^fifteen to eighteen years is a very common age. Many ladies are married even before they arrive at\hat early . *te^ The giris are good-looking, and free from Affectation ; in general slight and delicate in their form. They wear bustles and stays, and light thin shoes, following all the absurdities in -dress of i)lder and more foolish nations. Some ^ the worst practices may be abolished in the course of time. There are several "anti-corset societies," besides tee-total society opposed to the use of tobacco ati ^ea. TTlhese have nofe made -much prc^ess, nor attraqjed much nO- I tice. I have heard many public speaker* cm moral^ reform declare thiit^ #»^^ as they can :. ciMiquer the great master-evil, intemperance, they win set their face against every absurd 7 k » ' _ J i^^lMv. it IN THfi ^OUTH AKBf WEST. 31 / custom; for they have no lore for anythhig merely because it is old, ' ., . V I have said the girls are good-looking : but tbey have not the stampia to stand the tear and wear of every-day liik M^ having three or four childn&n, they fade and wither away. rtJs rare to see a hale (Mwi/e stepping about for a quarter of a century after rearing a large family, enjoying the sight and prattle^gfcAgi chddrett', childreff. ■ They have made great progress in developing the mebtal faculties of youth, hut very littfe in cultivating the physical powers.- J . Very littfe children have their place at table^ their tea and coffee, and a little bit of chicken. ^ « Will you have a little bU of haim^ Anne, »Jp dear?" says an affectionate mother to her little daughter, that can hardly lisp "Yes, ma'am/ J^^ used to tell them how they reared the buirdly chiels and strapping lasses in Scotland ; and they could scajrcely believe that the strong and healthy emigrants they are accustomed to see arriving from the **01d^ountiy" did not ^t their *«im of>ef^exc^t perhaps once t, -x M-,..^^: ..^tiM&i )&h r. 'fii 4,??' 'M ■;*'« ,^i 82 ' mS^jners and customs '\ yeac, such as at Christmas, or some other set time. • A «i "^";>. $«I think if the men of America and those of Britain were to have a fight, it migM be an even bet ^o wbuld win ; but if the ladies were to take up the quarrel, " my conscience !" what a whipping the Transatlantic ladies would get There are wives in Stonehaveu that I would back against a dozen of thein. ^ - < Vf ^ ■ t Amongst the working classes it is common, wl^en about the same age, to call each other ^brother y or if one is older than the othfer, he wihcall him "uncle," or if^ery old. "grand- father." Little boys and girls call each other " bub'' and " sis," contractions for brother and sister.' A motlier calling to hel- little giri wfe sky "Come here, my daughter ;" or it m^y be "Come here, my son," or "Go away, sonne." The dress of children is much the same as in ^thir^iitry. The girls wear breeches, or what they call pantanets, very commonly. The foundabout jacket is not much worn by bayt. The most common dress it i^my itett coat of the surtout species, made of material tp 7W-.' *- K ,(■ , ;. ' i . • itj *'' jlwROi* t ' ■- r r IK *rttE NOHTH ANP WEST. M suit the season. In the different houses whare 1 livedo when opportunity offered, I ^quently itttrddtioed ■ fiome i^ries about ghosts. Some I tdd so frequently that I ahnost began to believe them myself, although my wily ob- ject was to Idam whether the people ha^ any tinge of superstition in them; and I found that, although generally professing to disbelieve in anything supernatural, and although not well versed in the poetry of fairfes and bo^es* they have their superstitions and their ghost stories as well tfs people in the same degree of mtelligence in thig •ountrjl*^ % , ■ The abominaMe mistota of swearing fe uttl^ ve«al~.no| indeed in the nujre polished circles, or before ladies— but m the whole k/ia mote common than in S6*tkiid. The most fashion* at)le oath is •• By Jesus Christ ;'\ and this sa^ ored name is used ^^s an e3K;lamati^n#either of surprise, of joy, or anger. Many are 00 fond of •wearing that they wilf put in an oath in the* most nonsensical way. For instance, if one is determined to take his own way, be will teM you "I guest I can do m i d^mm^ please." This is warly e^ua! ' to tbf Scotch gent l eman , i^ * ' •*, mumm^^^im-mfmtt ^A- ? u MANNERS ANU CUSTOMS K- " .; who managed to put an oatH in the middle of a ^ord ; when his derk, in making a circumflexp turned it the wrong way, he exclaimed "How now, Charles ; what the devil kind of a cimim hell of a ^: io-\-i- :^fw- I never saw a wc^an going without slioes. And as for the. process of tramping clothes la a' ttt%, it Is doubtful if ever such a sight was ex-, hibited at any bum-side or washing-green in all that wide country. If it were to take place, -i . V ' 1 ■'M -.r'ri. . i ^i!#^ .' « 1. r I l .- -\ . e of $L ! nflexp V • i r!w ■ IN THE NORTH AND WEST. 85 I stippose the authorities would ' interfere, in the pme way as they do to prevent boys bath- ing within sight of any public thoroughfare. Neither young nor married ladies wear caps or mmchesy except when they get very old and grfey. They follow the English fashion of puttirig on a bonnet whenever they go out, the ^sao^e as a man puts on his hat. There are few illegitimate children see the light, 1 have seen in one quarter off an hour, in the Saltmarket of Glasgow, more vagabond-looking women than l\ '. have seen in all my travels through the United States. . ,S^^-:^-./ ^■'^A i^.. ^here are many honest respectable pec^le all over the country, who do not believe in Chris- tianity, npr make any pretensions to it ; yet this does not appear to hurt their standing in society. Dn Sunday they will sing Songs, sew, or amuse themselves,; but seldom work out of ^ors, ex^ cept sometimes in the harvest season ; and then 1 have seen a lot. of young men meet together and go and cut down a field of wheat for ft .Ju'mer who was behind with his work. 1 n in '■■-<%• <^B laci» 1 / i The men are most inveterate chewers of tobacco ; but it is rare to meet with a 8nu£^, .V' ■'■ JV i r,i' Sa • MANNERS AJia CUSTOMS »ales8, it be aa oU Scotsman. Some of the' kdies use snuff; but, instead of snuffing it they eat it. GM watches, chains^ and b^easti' IBM «re wry- common; and they frequently descend in ^ the scale of wealth as low as me- chanics.. Most famiUes bake their own bread, and make their ojwi yeasj; : airf,* instead of the ipt cask tHit has its appropriate corner in til* SeotcL mechanic's hons^ they send to the store for a barrel of floulr ;: whenit is empty %y break it up, biun it, and send for another. • In .the south, Indian corn is the principal bread stuff; in Canada and the northern state* ■ flour-bread is the principal. In the different states there are diferent modes of, cooking amj ' bating, with great v«dety of roots, vegetables, and fruit. One thing I found common to all. the different sections of the country I Visited,-, that iher^i^as always ^fe»^. • ,i ,,; ,»I ^ ^he women use a simple machine in washing dothes. whiclw^om the universality of its ap- ' pCcatio* r'Amk must be of consideiable use. It consists of a piece of board about fifteea to twenty inches squ»re. grooved or fluted on one'^ Me.^ and- jbced in a standing position in the I * - .'j-.v *. . INIBM KOKTH ANR WEST. 3?: wflBh^tttb, the grooved side mpp^most No^/ ihstead^of rubbing the cloth between the hands,it as women usually do, they press it down on this, board with all the weight .lof the. Sjioi^lder?,* . added to muscular exertion— ^rubfeing it cross-., wise over the fluted side of, it. And this, 1 > was told, was easier for the hands, and, on the^^ whole, a great ;ia||HrQTemenlret^ This I know, it is in uniTerskl use. Cottoui quilts are in common use; and they are a veryr > good and cheap substitute for blankets, , Ji)^ making them, I observed, in Canadai a ctistom. analagous to some ot our old-fashioned Scot;ti8h modes of spending the^ long winter evenings., iMfisf young lasses,_andM^4adff looT «i«^^ til' a** quilting^ in a neigbhour's house; the coverlid is stretched upon a slight frame ; the lasses sit all round about it,^ busy with their Bi~wearia^ all ■<*>- '-^ \ '^, .'■•\ \ v r# ) r. I f 1 V r-K , I sorts olT coats, and the most outrageously-shaped hats. I haye observed great iB^ngruity of dress.^ It4» no uncommon thing to see a gen- tleman with an old torn coat, and a gold watch and chain worth 200 dollars, v.- h. {* t ;, ,,. f There is greater umiormity iii pronuncia^ tfeii than % Britain ; and they speak th^ English language in greater purity. The pro-T nunciation of the names of some states and rivers -jrdiiiferent from that which generally^ obtains amongst strangers. Vermont is . ac canted dn the ^^t ^y^^Mo^Ter-rmnt r*Umn: sachusetta i|. pronounced as it is spelt--^*^ chus-etts; Connecticut— 6'(9w.f^wf; Mississippi —the last letter fuUf sounded, and pronounced*. Q-Brnpine; ArkansasA.^rfe3w,^a«£;; Tennessee --^Temv-ess-ei ; Ohio^ O-high-ds Michig^** Msh-e-ffam Illinois is pronounced variously-- ; sometimes as it is spelt, and sometimes. J7/.<^,W. Thp rivers Mississippi, Ohio, ^c, are pronounced '. the same as the state, to whi^ they stand in the relation of godfather. The Potomi(^~ - Fot-6^mac, the o by itself being strongly aei oented; Nii^ra-^ the second syllable being accented and pronounced Nudg-ara, Cities ■.*♦ V" i- ■ IN THE NORTH aIto WEST. 39 :■• i ''\-; - . V-;;:': •• ' ,: ' -.' fand towns witK French names are variously pronounced; sometimes after what I suppose to fbe the French mode, but more generally aftey^ the English fashion : for instance, Louisville is .^sometimes called Louivills New Orleans— iVew Orleans Betroit-^Petroi i but in general it^ is - "iV^- Orleans and-^.^^^^wfet*r^tf v nnz -^r^-rr t^t- I met with only one case of stammering; remarkably few crippled or maimed persons ; and [, was only once asked fbrAarity* i >; > % Unmarried women c^ generally make ft, living with the needle, or eir^n at washing and dressing. What we call seamstre^fes they call tailoress. % m^ny parts they willi get a d^s^^ for making a shirt, that would bring them in this country only one shilling and sixpence, ^t^ charges for washing are from t^o shillings - and sixpence to three shillings per. dozen articles of gentlemen'sWear. I h^ve paid higher ; but these ara the ^ charges for- regular customers. There is scarcely such a thing as a mangle. , Newspapers and periodicals are much read. In the United States there are 126 daily papers, and 1,555 other periodicals. A city like Aber- deen, instead of having two or three m 4r T^-'-it V "•ji,. . ,' i^ "^ W^S^'T'-"'"' .1 4^,ii^' -:\ /^- />( 40 -^MAMNEas AND CUSTOMS,! jT jmpers, would have at least two daily oneg, and ^^Jj^ six periodicals (rfoM^^k^^^ ^LJWM)tbp. Th«e is no tax on newspapers. The postage i^^ only one <^nt per hundred miles, or one cent and a hal^for any distance. In cities the daily ' ^^^"jyi^ smail^r^ze are sold for one cent/^ .^..^J^^?^^^ they are quite large enough for\ r^mfortable reading. They are used as a me- dium for conveying all kinds of information to ' the public. They hkve town criers; but they ar(& not called into requisition unless on some ' sudden emergency, such as a lost child j whefr, instead of goin^ drawling about thctown with via bell or a drum, they are mounted on a fleet horse, and go galloping along the streets, stopping now and then, making the streets i«itod %ain with the good old-fashioned yes l—O yes !— yes ! - r ^r.'f. ' .t. " > • '■^ J.', : >^ ■-.*, •' o^'^'*' •',-;:/>. X 1 '"TvSle*, , ,, .*■' ,. *-. -~> -ny-?:K.KTTi.-r" •^. 5 on some ' ^ '■,- *> ■i : V' .itmtfi CHAPTER III: f 'U ijr" :'U -- t..-.. . ii. ;%jwi ti^. 'iM! /■ '-Jiitn- • f ^■^ ^^>3'iU"'H'f "^.i;fi|:i'^; lii't '©lis Si:-, jmic-'jj; TRAVELLING. ^ Roads— Railroads^Expense of travelling in the south — Class of people who travel — Their appearance and manners — Travelling in the north and west — Steamers on the Hudson — Passengers — Rate of Steaming— Emigrants— Canal travelling — Erie Canal— Cities and ,1 towns — Expense— Different cksses of boats — Buying provisions by the way — Ohio Canal — Towns — Over- charges—Shooting — Crossing over to Canada-r-Sailing on the Lakes— Steam-boats on the Ohio and Missis- 'sippi— Charges— Manners of deck passengers — Advice > ^ to einigraht\going out to the western states — Changing .money, &c. f\t ^i;^- Many travellers cofnplain of the bad roads in Amedca, ainlnot without reason. The internal parts of the country are badly supplied in this respect. This is to be expected, from the extent of the country, and the absence, in most places, of good inaterial .for makijlg them. But the stiite of inland communication in the United States is not to be judged of by turnpike roads, which is the old-fashioned mode of conveyance. And although immenise sums have been ex? A*?' / \ II (•■ i M > t I 42 ' " • " • .■ ■ k TEAYELLING. ■ .pendcd on their national roal^^omc of whii* would encompass our isla„a-these are but the" byways; the highway* are to be found in thei canals navigable rivers, and railroads; and of these last they have 4,000 n,iles in operation- ^a^.out double the number of n,iJthat are. m use m Great Britain-altogether forming a .^^- Ofbtern.1 W^^ ^ ' m any «mntrys»i:M.„r-.,; .../.... ,-,,.:-^ , [i:, : v .>|^he expense* of traveUing varies much in ' ^fferent sections of the country. ^„ the north- ■ .^^ ""f 'I'^'tern states it is very low. I„ the «uthu is very high; but thi^ elegance and for tins, to those who are able to afford if part of the country ran away with a consider. -On the South Carolina Railroad I paid six cents per mi,e, or ten dollars all the way ^ J-ugh, 130 miles. On the southern railrcS ^Z ; ' "" '"^ o^ P— .er-cars. ex- «pt for the negroes, who are charged half- Pnce, and never allowed to enter the sam. ^^ J-'. '■:' .■". . > TKJtVELLlNa. with white men. The cars are generally much . larger than in England ; some of them will hold fifty passengers. They are hoth cofhfort- able and elegant. On this -ajid^ the' Georgia Railway, where the charges and regulations are out the same, they have a very novel, very iWly, but not uncomfortable carriage, that is geWrally preferred at night : and this .is no^ thing more than a huge cask— built in the usual way, and girded round with iron hoops— about ten or eleven feet dianietcr in the middle, v thirty or thirty-five feet long, painted red, and the hoops black, with a large bunghole ]§ the top, to give light and air. The passengers inside are seated in rows, facing eacli other, with (^ avenue down the centre, and a door at each ead. This machine rests on four pair of wheels, and has a very strange appearance when ft comes booming along at* the rate of twenty- five miles an hour. It is a cheap and strong carriage. The id6a must have originated with a Yankee engineer, for no other would ever have thought of bottling up ^ilway passengers in a porter cask. — -TJie chirge mad&fa-mea k ^long t h \ 0\ m 4A'- i ^mad ather for an omnibus, fbm any of i ; ,depc^„,toacit3,o.for,draytoca^^^ 1^7 '' "' '''^ ^''^' ''°'» ''W^ pre. ^- #SL l^*" *^''"' ^"™-'- -h- r* ^""""^ '^ ^^" for many miH ^hen • there ,s an extra number of passenger, a signali; ,-detotheeWandindefatign,feM;sSeWr: ^0 *.u.a.<^. eaniiUand^coolcadceno - well up *o the trick a^shei. for noine. do " the cars make their ;appearanee than they go . ^mpenngofF in aUdirections. .too sensible !f , he fate that wou4aw,it them, onfaJli„gi„e„ ' .the hands c^l^acti^ ^^„,^, J^ . - :. - ' W--^'i^" ?'^«^-'*■'»'f" i?-#^'^~«J*-^;' r:|^.p-' ^- 'anfa^T''"'''""" P'^'"^'^^" Sava^nai-; -: and ChWeston are ao weU wgWaled as any I >Te seen ., all the country: • Their tables Le ^^te;a„ their arrangements are made w." a wew to the comfort and convenience of the InTT. if^»^''"«^*''"-«eseve«l,ime. and wiHinyly bear ♦^«*- - • ' *^ "^ '^ o" y^to thcii a u| jeriority. TRAVELLING. 40 ^here is opposition on this lii^e : but m what- ever else they differ, they agreed in charging ten dollars *bf good money for carrying a passenger 108 miles, or ten hours' steaming, including all expenses* It is very rare to see gentlemen sit ^imii to taible till all the ladies are seated: and ift these steam-hoats this is a reguktion, and none are allowed to infringe it. There IS steam-boat and railway communica- iioin all tti«?%ay ftom He4 Orleans to New York. The time occupied is between six and ' «everi days, and the expense about ninety dol- Iftrs. The people that travel on these routes are mostly planters and their families, and mercan-, tile men — almost all young people, and well- dressed — tie ladies particularly so. Sometimes # pobi^ man with a linsy^woolsy coat 'and a ^ verv bad hat will travel by these expensive ' f outes ; and I was well pleased to see that such a person was not avoided (nrllook^ down upon ©n that account 1 Neither dil he appear as if he felt any inferiority ; but looked up boldly, and entered into conversation freely with the most fashionably-dressed ; and these did not appear ..a nnoyed whe n a p oo r man m adft^iifito *'.'-«N I • i f r . \ >\-y \ i 46 . ■ V . • TfiA VELLmc. ■ ■^i*lsr■:r?/'r"«» tninjc themselves a whit onf hf fi, • i C '^^^""•^ain before the sick W^ : *° "™-' ""t 'W generally go. b'^^ rhe^b^^are from New Orleans JLV^- or Baltimore is about thirtv-ei»ht ^„n «-*i«g vessej. .The cab.r f coI/T , l" tod the fare trorw? r' .1. 'omfortabJe . eighteen r„ . f" *^ ^'^^'^^ « » abW= eighteen dollars, wuh plenty to^at b„f „ where to sWn « • ^ »" eat, but no- ''eiiio:eb:^"'"'-~p«^''this,if *« own prov,,.ons and cooking th«,^^; J «een or twenty dollars. ' ^^^; "*: y« travelhng commun.ty almost, all you„g „^. ",.?^ *.o ^ ;r '';^^^■.^^- ^:1^ TRAVEIXINCfe- 5^ 47 In factii the whole business of the cotintry ap- pears to be carried on by what, in this country, would be called boys. : > ^^^ f { {:.: .]: . I had no reason to complain of the expense of travelling in the north. The fare, per steamer, from New York to Boston, a litde above 200 mileiB,iiPiwot dollars >^*<)Bly "one class of pass^t^r gers ;-i-some carry provisions and some eat on board. Their charges for meals are moderate. From Boston to Albany, 160 miles ^er railroa<^ six dollars, i.,^. ■ e steam-boats on the Hudson are large elegant, very sharp- at both ends ; some of m nearly 300 feet long. . The decks prefect jover the hull : they are covered in, the covaib forming a very good promenade deck. They aieof^ great power for their tonnage, and bum coal. The engines are placed in nearly a hori- zontal position ; and some of them have small engines attached to each of^;he main engines, for blowing up the fires or citing a draught. Whenever, from any cause, the boat falls below her #peed, an extra supply of steam is directed ^ to these small engines; and they go like the ver^ misithief, making the fi res roar again until mMJ^^Mi'^ m ii)rt "fHijiW luif. II ril ll \ ? • m I ■«■ thavelung:* ,.v -fe^/' 4- ■ ,1 - ' • ^aes an hour LiT ^"^"-^^ »^^^^ twd their procrera tk ^ "^ **' «" . three of them 21 • °"* '^^^ *^» * Messed plLZ ' '" ""'"'^ ''•*h -««. V teiigth by the speed' of th. f. '^''^"'^ I »Vheii I was. in Ne,^ York thp f ■>^* ^ Jow_o„ly oge dollar ^iTAfeT!: 'i Emigrants commonly OT bv fU » . ^v ' they are cheaper -b,./^ ^ t ^"'^'^it . ^hey generally «« J Z 1^ ^T ^°'"« "f*- ' • 1.?. T'"Py the forward part of the is- . J ■• V ' ' " -«• , • ' ■•<^: ••w leek, wh»e gentlemen are perfnitted to smoke, forming a sti'ong contrast with the other pas< sengers, ais they sit in grou|)s oh the deck, in the midst of their hedding, pots, pans, and children with, dirty faces, youn^ wome^. and wives with dirty caps, .rumpled gowns, andv dishevelled hair—having only landed perhaps the day before from an emigrant ship, whey©, for weeks, they have been huddled tc^ethef, with nothing but salt water to wash themselves,, and perhaps riot having seen their pretty faces in a looking-glass since they left. "Ould". Ireland, or, it may be, Dutchland, . ; •; .' ^ Travelling on canalsis both^che^p arid pleasant to those who have time, and wish to 'see the country. . '^he Eiie CanJ^, lyhich passes part pf j;he way through the -valley (tf th^ MoUawlC and '- all the way through abeautiful and thickly-settled country, is a great work of art; apd at present there are some thousaijds of m^ empkyed all dong the line, repairing it> or rather recon- jtructing it altogether^ at an expense of fourteen millions of dollars ; and; when finished, • it will form one of^ the 'greatest Xyork* of the^^nd in t he lyoilJ . The, Itju^gth' x)f thi t ( I ttt^Ql Witt « JopuJation of 10 12» 10 j «x!^^ inhabitant.. TW a«. V ^ ' ''^■^•^ "*• i^ere are two classes of boats ^ one dragged by th«e hordes at a^ J-gt^^eei„ between, b^eea^S^ . ^f • ^^ ohaige th«e eents^aad a half «., . »^e..tendo„a^i„tbewb.e.l4;,^^^^ bv tn/. I.. °* "*»*«• drawn "7 two horses at a wallr -,-,. • «even days Thl ' !' ^""^ «'^"' . aays. , rhese are fitted up „artlv f„, fre^ht and partly for pa««enge«. Thr^Li; « «ppropriated for goods • »nJ * . ^ there i« . „k- .l-I ^ ' *""* »' «»<'h tfnd dxt^r^ "' r *'" ''•"^''' "« «««i "P for Z T' ""^ "■'''^•«»» curtained off fo^ ^.es. with ei^ht berths. The C^i„ i dasfi iif k««* • . ^'^^ "^ this * -f TRAVELLINQ. ' 5} provisions : there were others in the same boat who paid three dollars and provided themselves; ^d they had the same accommodation as we had. There was another class still, who bad their piacfe^amei^st the goods. I do not know exactly what theyNpaid— there were several chil* dren amongst them— probably not more than a dollar each. And the class of travellers, who bought their own provisions, had no diflftculty in gettJiDg along : they could go ashore and get a mea( or they could buy a piece of meat and brin^ it on board, where they had the privilege of cooking it. At every lock, and all along the line of the canal, there are hundreds of little stores and places for selling all kinds of previa sipns (bread, milk, &c.), and all at^noderate prices. There- were two young Englishmen, labourers, in our boat, the " Juniata," whose expenses I took notice of. They paid three dollars a piece for the passage through, bought their own pro- visions, which cost them rather less than a dollat each ; and we were sev^ii 'days; on. passage. • , . ^ .' . , On the Ohio Canal the expense was about the game ; tbe. different classes of boats, and all ' ■''K X— \ \ •si ' f. /• 52 ^r a^ng.me„t^si«a,r to that pu the Erie twenty-four or tvrenty-five towns and viUages -™eo them containing 2, 3. 4. and the W ^a^e eu, eooo inhabitant viz, CoU:^ >be ^t of goven,i„,„t. These canals bclo„: ' r;^"^P^'"'-«'«tes in which they a«,7 tuated,a„danymaH«.„r„naboatonlr on payng t<« ^rding to the amount :; ca go and passengers carried. There are no re- g^lar charges-^every boatman can charge what bothfrcghtandpassage are always low. It i, .^o^monthingfortheseboatmeutopromi^ . ;t «nd of the journey insist on a little rfrore • j;o eases of this kind came under my ow^ Pbsen,at.o„ on the Erie Canal. Boatmen try to get payment beforo they start; but those ;;^;o are accustomed to travelling Jeverp^ I ths way, but take the captain's note, stating tl ~o passage-money, with an underst'ant mg that they can pay for the djjtance they hav9 gone, and take another boat, ifthe accom- ' ♦ft'. I. ' ^ , '' % ' , K ' Mrf f TftAVEL?.ING,» • 53 modation and company do not please them. It is customary to beat them down in the price they ask at first The captain of the boat ** A. It. Cob'^ asked me six dollars to board and carry toe j&om Portsmouth to Columbus, 215 miles. I went and tried some other boats that were starting on the same route ; and I found I could go cheaper, but liked^ the first boat and returned, when he agreed to take me for four dollars. In this boat we had all sorts of pas- sengers ; some going outi to buy land, some going to New Orleans, and some, Germans who could not speak a word of English. The rate of sailing and the stoppages at different places allowed uS; to go ashore and walk, or amuse ourselves shooting as we went along. Several passengers had rifles ; and I was surpris^ at the certainty of their aim. Thereiivere plenty of tarapins, a small species of turtle, a|lint the size of a man's hand, swimming abouf^j^ the canal and sunning themselves on its banks. These they killed almost at every shot, with a single bullet at thirty to fifty yards distance ;' and a miss was more spoken of than a bit. On the Lakes there are plenty of steamers iii ■• - -. ■'.- -- E :5 • • 'v "... /f ^- I f '^ Ontario, ^nt,.,J^::^^:^2 ,1 There ,s a Ja^ ^,^ « looking .teamers on Lake Erie I £ ,i" 1»0 miles on this lake in iU I ^"^ England "for . '"*''"«'«'"»«. ''J^ew. ;e,ngiand, for one and a half dolla,^, medi «nf included: hnt „uu. i. . "> "'eais not ,h.«, . ^ '"'^'' *''^*« I'oats have a shewy appearance, they are quite powerlessTn breeze of wind. In this Jt we ^ S k ^ tv^ve^iles. and took shelter 121^^^^ At D„nk.rk,,„ what would be consider JaZ So^^r^iytrs/r--- ^^-^ieldy. eastellatrooS^^X: ^ -:^r^::of?isef? of water-, steamer of 300 ZZuo/""'' more than six feet. There iT ""' ''"'^"^ ''Hi acre js a smaller class ■y ''."t '•■►rrr'f * ! 'TllAyELLING. ^ I'hm wheiir4he river is low, of from 00 to 1 40 tons ; these do not draw more than two feet. TJiey have all two funnels, and have more resemblance to a house than a ship, 'rhey have no masts. All of them are two stories high ^ and there was one, " The Duke of Oceans," launched at Cincinnati, when I was there, three stories high, the paddle wheels of which were thirty feet in diamater. - -■f The lower decks of these boats are nearly flush with the water ; but they are so top-heavy that in a windy day, or in turning short round, they swing about like a cart-load of hay on a rough road. They are built very slight ; the timbers sawn out of plank —all gingerbread work ;— and the hull of oim i# not reckoned to last more than four years, elfen if tlrey come to a natural end, which is about as uncommon as it is to see a dead ass. The people on the western rivers aie so much accustomed to the blowing up of steam-boats, that when they are describing^ any sudden or extraordinary noise, they will compare it to the bursting of a steam- boiler, as the most familiar illustration.' The expense of travelling on thi western *'--':m' f ^ -rss " ■ i'**S I' »l"" n 1 1 ! \ I ti i K 11 f ^" , . tfiAVELLING. • ^ river, U not much more tha, 11^,^5 at a good J8«-2„the fare from Pittsburg to New OrlU --'yfr-flfteentotwentMpdoIl.'t Jtd^ng a well-spre^Hl table three times a day, .,|f distance. 1977. miles, occupying f„,m seven to«medays-this.ariatfo„„fth,^^^^^ by stopping on t^jjay. and pntting out «.d ^WmgocKi. Afewyearsagolwastold e fare was from fifty to «xty dollar.; but the opposition , so great ,ow^,t money is seldom «fi«ed when offerei, ^tey have no regular Pnce. every one making the best sbargaifhe m-l came down from Portsmouth to Cin- J.n„ati-m the best chin; and some of us paid • fonr^ dollar, some four and a half, others L. .n for ttie same distance an^i,ccomm<^tion. tion for steerage passenge^jiMerths to sleep <*m bnt no bedding or vict«ailf%,,. ^^,,2 accommodation forcookin^r. ,I„ thisly.asadeck passenger. Wvelled. gt different tim^ all the ^» Cincinnati to New Orie^nJaistanc: of WO miles, for four d<»lh«s ; a„d my expense ftr provisions did mm^Mm^e iL , . *• -■ ■. '^^.'V >/' V '/r ^n;;r \ dollar and a half. Two or three of us would cluh together, and at the different places where we stopped, buy provisions and cook them our- selves! And what pleased me most, even amongst this class oC people-^-who, I would tup- pose, from their dress and mode of travellingiV were what might be called thj poorer class- there was the same politeness and self-respect that I have^j^fipyed as common to the Ame- ricans gen^j^^^^lthough . we had only one istove for cdi™^|wiere was no scrambling Who would haveHlS breakfast first : ever^r one seemed willing to prefer and accommodate his neighbour, with a consideration and politeness I have never seen in the steerage of a steam-boat, ei|her in Scotland or England. Pass^ers of ^hfcl^s ar^not allowc^to enter t% best cabjn, but the promenade deck, or roof of tfie house, is cominon to all. ^ ^' I have sometimes bfienMpfoishe^t the dis- crepancies in the tales that travellers tell, in describing the same object ; but after this I am not to be surprised at any ordinary difference of opinion ; for in steaming down the Mississippi I could not make a n estimate of the ^igner^ ^ ' ... - . ' . • f *i ^* SStLfffi'SSaL iSaSSKLL -. ^^ i^isr^ ^ \ 1 f-^ 1 i 1 ■ r ■ f •« ' '1 ; 5j ' 1 I '1 1 1 , ■ F 1 ! • 1 1 1 If H M B '■ m" 1 ■ 1 ft ',■ ifi "^s- JRAVELLmo. ^ ^ breadth of the river to please mv^plf ^r Dliwi fn o /• 11 ^ myself^ and I ap* P^^ to a fellow-pa«,ei,ger for his opinion wt t^.-^dely. that I thought rwo^d^ <«notner, and another, and we vari«l i„ ;;P»i-'« can -iv;:tt:it:t;zt:?"v^^ ^ time occupied in g^::^;^-;^:; f • k^- c ' iy TRAVELLING. 5d little mor^ than ill cxuf^i&g down, The tdiU are lighter, and do not make so many calls ; and instead of coming boldly down the centre of the current, they go puffi]%^and blowing along the sides of the river, selecting the stillest and smoothest waters. The fare going up is aboiiti the saine as in coming down. I have known passengers taken at two dollan^ach for 1600 miles when the boats carry wood. But this is a miserable job, and not without danger ; and I would not advise any one, except in the last extremity, to have any thing to do with it. I spoke to two English emigrants who came out from Liverpool by this rouie, to the, state of Indiana ; and the whole of their expense Was only L.5 each. '' •; '^ ^m.-K] k- -I did not travel very much on stage coaches $ and the little thatl did travd in this way left aie nothing toT^et. I found the same Heavy lumbering machines, suspended with leathern bands, both in the south and north. The horses were, in general, good ; and the coaches, though far from handsome, were well suited to the roads, which «are v^y bad, when lepmpared -'a. ■v I \ 1 I ^ y *•* ^ TKAVELUNO, ' • .With the turnpikes of Scotland o,f the nresfent The greatest annoyance I was subjected to in travelhng WW in exchanging money. Itf^g i^. possible to describe the wretched state of the ««rency-which is all bills issued by private •'?•'":■ '°"'P'"''«»' «««». »°d states; almost all of which are bankrupt; or, what amounts to the same thing, they cannot r^eem their is- sues. All the bills are .t 1. discount, varying ' from ten to fifty per cent.; and su.h rags of bills, too!- In some, of the states they mm bank notes for as small suras, si thkepence' ,sterhng ;, and in all df them the byis are as low M one dollar And these do not pass out of the state, or frequently out of the dly in which ■ they *e issued.. It is tn» lere is. in Charles- ton New York, and some of the eastern cities, .good pioney issued by pivate banks, that can * ^be converted into specie at sight; but the MlftUnt.of this ifloney in cirinlati^n is so small, tti^it forms no important part /f the currency of the country, which is generally i„ the dep«^ - OaM « shifl posters" ^ these banJc^t banks. 'k'^ "wr "^. , , A\' •If, v *- TRAVELLINOi 61 Some of these bills prcmiise to pay (?) Jtt specie ; some are issueST^promising to be 're- ceived in payment of debts due to said com- pany ; some promise to be paid on demand in current bank ijotes» which are as bad as their own; some bear a promise to be received in payment of a ride on a railway ^all sorts of notes — some«iibearing interest. But all are de- preciated below the specie standard. There are some Altierican gold and silver, and some English sovereigns ; but these are bought and gold like any othw commodity, and not generally used in business, except in small sums for cha%e. The specie is mostly in the hands of moneySBrokerg--** numerous class in every town, who ^ke a very profitable business by dealing in exchanges, buying and selling specie, sellings cheques on different parts of the country, to men of bi^sifiiif anSlfitlia'avellerg. To illustrate .this I sh^ suppose a case. A travelW arrives in Louisville from New Orleans, and M has twenty doUars o^he municipal mo- neytf the latter city j-^-thev are of no use to him here, for they are not current. He goes to -an exc han g e ofYir c, and h e gets aiiictoon dolla rs . . ...... F ■,;. .nir-:- ■ ^ ♦ ■♦■ \ U I t! '■" li '' • k, t r^.- / - - '^ .. - (• " ,- ' 62 ^ TRAVELLINQ. ^ for his twenty, equally bad, btit they are current j^ Louisville. The next customer that eomet in^tothe money merchant & going to ^W Orleans and he wants to exchange his money fw bills thdt will pass current there; and he gets them on paying a per-centage to the bidter. And thus, what gives peopig traveUing a great deat of annoyance, makes a profitable business to the money-changer. v / ., . ' -I con^ved, as much, as possible, to have my money for defraying travelling expenses in Afne- , iican or' English gold; but I did not pay iT »way, as all the charges on tjie road were ex- pected ta be piid in hills below >ar-^the com- mon cmrrenqr. When^I had a payment to fiiake, say of ten dollars, I would go to a broker ^th two sovereigns-the specie ^^m^Xif whidh Wtt 1^ dolk^^ ind seventy cents-^and get eleven, or, if the paper was very bad, twelve dol- lar biUs for my two sovereigns ; and these answer- ed my purpose as well as specie. But the diflPer- enoe was not all pMt. When I received thirty doUars of wages for working, say in Cinciimati, I wanted to carry tweaty of it. away with me ; bit k im ^m w to me out of the state, so * . ^^. -^^._,^,. ,j^. . , , TRAVELLING. ;^ 6^ I carried it to a broker, and sold it to hinr for sevenfeen Spanish milled dollars. And thus, whiat «im€ in at flie door went out at the win- doi and a little more ; for these money-changers pharge no regular r^s of per-centkge— which, indeed, would be impossible in buying or, selling bills that are changing their value every d|y. At the custom-house and post-oflice one dollar is. estimated equal to four shillings and twopence sterling. One cent is the hundredth part of a dollar, and equal to one halfpenny sterling. These are the legal rates of exdiange ; but in ordinary bftsiness transactions, in most of the states, the comparative, value of sovereigns is'as^ changeable as the weather, and has been ever since King Jackson pulled down the United States Bank, and threw the whole financial affairs of the country into almost inextricable cpnfusioa..^>%r:--„^, ; .^ :'..-. . « «s ^ . < «• ^ (TO # ♦ ]., ' . / ^ % t & ^ '> ' •. $. '. 4v*':>-^ V^ CHAPTEB IV. , ■ . ■ - " • FARMING IN THE. STATES. •■\ » ' Duchess County, State of New Yor|i— Mode of travelling : — Beauty of the country— Original ppoprietors — Size of farms— Price of land-— -Value of money invested in land— Mr. Ferguson's notions — Farmers compared with those in Kincardineshire — Frequent removals— llouseti — Mr. Mitchell's farm and mode of living-^ Working in the harvest field— Labourers* wages^^— Thrashings ma* " chines— State of Ohio— Pri•■■ 1 << . 68 FARMING IN THE STAtA. " ^ bought a section of knd twenty mUes square, at a quarter of a dollar per acre. I could not leant thataay of the original proprietors derived aiy •*"*% from the speculation. Those who from them and settled on the landi and P remained on it for any considerable length of t.n.e,1ia re donewel l. I had the.account from a» old f'^mme fether owned half an on- ginal share : -He bought 200 acres about "forty years ago, at ten dollars per acre?. which wascon- sid«.ed very high at the time; and he had a h^^truggle for many years. He has brougfi^ upa large family, and now his land is worth eighty dbltari per acig. He said he could^ seventy dollars for every acre oM, in hawl cal ,_aj any time. This increase in the value oflanu , ^asmade most of those rich who have had pa-?' tience ta#|main long enough to tSte advantage, m^'^^Sf^^ prosperity is the appli. UponW 8 ^ manure called plaster. It is a *"**»/ rock foubd i^Nova Scotia, ground in- ,^Bdso,ni^he;la„|,it^,^h, , .ttd. caft be gofelliiiy 4iantitT# >^ecoi . be jf<% /Jiiantity y^asi^iickiy settled on as it can ' purposes., The average am 1 FAaMli|i| IN THE STATES. 69 of fanns is about !^ acres, part of which is co- vert with wood, principally oak, which is con- sidered as valuable as cleared land. The ave- rage price may be about seventy dollars per acre. Two small farms, in the immediate-neigh-' bourhood of Messrs, Gilderstiene and Burch's mill, wcffe lately Md--one for 115 the other for 00 dollars per acre. I made particular inquiries at some intelli- gent farmers and rtieu of business, what money was worth invested in land ; and all accounts agree that it will not return more than from three to four and a half per cent, ^the conti- nued rise in the value of land may intrease the return to ^bout five and a half per cent. This does not agree very well with Mr. Ferguson's calc^iations of profit from the farms on the I banks of the Hudson. My object, however, is to make my statements agree with truth ; and 1 warn the public against putting faith in his calculations and imaginary proAts^Wch have no existence in reality, nor ever haW^^ except in his own imagination. ; A farm in any of the older settled states, Mierethqft are good^ society, ^^pportuaitie s-^€^ • I^SMfeNj \ I.- 1 I? ^ ^ FAHMING IN THE^TlfiS. . ^ .:. giving children a good ec^t^, and wHhin reach of all the conveniences and comforts %at conduce so much to the happiness of a family, Soost more money to buy the land and stock han would be required to commence farming •8 a tenant in Scotjand. And, as fer as I h^ c^portunities of judging, it does not appear to ^nie that a certain sum of money laid out in farming here wUl give a greater return, or a more I comfortable living to the farmer. I know I am j not well qualified to judge of this matter; but \l have called to my remembrance farmers that \ I knew in Scotland, who had laid out L.50ft iaiid someiwho have expended L.800 or L.lOO0i Jarstocking their fo^n^and in making improve- ments ; and, on comparing their condition with those in the well-settled districts df America, #0 have laid out similar sums in purchasing land and stock (farming it themseleves), it does not appear, on the whole, that^e ktter are more- ^^^ff'^^ m^ more moiiey. I could point 6tt as many cases of successful farming—* " of men who had commenced with very little capital, and who had realized a competency, or made a comfortable living for themselves and v;s-' • FARMING IN THE STATES. 71 • families, in Kincardineshire, as could be done in any district of the States similarly situated. It is difficult to ascertain the condition or prosperity of a class of people from a short resi-^ dence amongst them. The American farmer who has L.500 laid out on his business, does not wear a better hat or coat, a cleaner shirt on Sun- - day (well brushed-shoes never, unfess he do it himself, for it is impossible to get the women to work) ; neither . are his famny better edu- cated, nor does the " good wife" wear a prettier || shawl, better shoes, or warmer stockings, than the farming class in Kincardineshire. To be sure they eat more butcher-meatr^oultry, fruit, and good things ; but they are not so fat, nor so . strong-limbed ; neither do they live so long. It appeared to me rather strange, that al- though almost all farm thieir own lauds, they do not remain so bng in a place as the farmers in Scotland do, who are tenants. Go into any parish in Scotland, and inquire how long this one has been in the neighbourhood, or how long that oie has^ been in the IVIains or the Mill- town: it %iJiy3ppear some have been twelve, twenty, sooirTOcty years <» more. FathCT and ^******^- 'i'-M^i* , 'I \ 72 FABMING IN THE STATES. ' » , grandfather are' iecolleeted. The Americang are so mutable, so niuch given to change their business and residenc^tbat I bwe scarcely met with one who knew who his ^ndfethSr was. ' The firmer wlio leaves Scotland with some ■ money and a rising family, to purchase lind, to . &c himself for.the-remainder of his.dltyg, and^ «ettfe his childr^ comfortably around him4 _building castles of independe;<»,and domestic liappiness^wiU often find he is. Je^i„g„^„.i 6r<^enreed..«^r «*^^ I|A« ekape the di^aseo/'locomotim. his family >• , are almost sure to catch it from the,"e«9mnle'*t * aU around them.? ij^|p.»ft.«^^^ the stafiF of his old age. i, away wiih some com" panidn^o the "far west." whSte there is no- thing but health and' plenty, and ^old grofe' ' up^n trees. Th«,da«ghter ttat was "to smootl a«e pillow of dedining years is njarriei'*^ away beyojid the R»cky Mountaini, to |,1 newe* aad.mofe fer||tcoButry/ :, Theseareriotencouragingpro^pects ; but they- ■ afe jast as likely to take placeas tbat^e »,ubles ' of the farmer are ended^ewh whence si« down iiponapieceofricVli«,dof-hJa>,p,,,vherethW , nr-|77-~?»'-r a*. « » ■ .«. "5r *r^ V :#: ' v fc«' .(• -01 ; FAEMING IN THE STATES. 73 are no taxes (which is a mistake),, and where thercj is no rent-day to prepare for. I think the following exti-act from Mr. Fer- guson's book will speak for itself. If ever it ha? bfeen seen by apy of the Canadian fahners, they would; have some difficulty in reconciling it with their experience. Speaking of the ca- ^abilities |)f the township of Nichol, in Upper Canada, he igysi "A man with"L.5QP sterling, eq^al; to L.60O currency, may purdiase 200 acres of wild, land ; and, after paying household and all o^pr expenses, there will remain a clear |#pr6St of-^ , vFirst ye^f , .. . . ."• . . . S6cohd, . ...... • . Fourtli, £200 •380 . ^420 600." i> He, gives a very plausible statement of all^ the itenra- of expenditure and profit, but they are not worth thq labour of transcribing. After building a conafortable house for th^ farm, erect- ing ,2iihrashing-rfiachi^, fencing in tde fietds, Hii^l clearingf 150 acref of land, he sumaupl)y •^ying, at the end of the fourl^ year, the ftrmer <*» *t 4) ■.■- ij 1*1 i4 ' i * *-r' \ '%^ i •74 *'A«MING IN THE STATES. » has bis &rm paid for, stocked, and L.600 our- rency in his podcet. Taking notice of Mr. F^uson's extravagant' statements has led me away from my immediate object^which was to give some jMscount of thi, partu«lar district-^whlch. it must be observed. 18 withm the influence of the city of New Yorlj The houses are built of wood, painted whit% dean and^ comfortable, roomy -and airy; veir good for summer, but not well calculated for the^ extreme cold of winter. They are eaqjetted. fciwe sofas and si,^eboards ; many of themj»ve silver . table spoons ; their wives and daugj* dre,«^ >n_s.lk. surrounded with aU the comforts of ail vJ.zed life. It is worth while being a farme^P daughter he,« ; for they do no out-door work not even milking the cows, -never think miking on foot, even for short distance,.-^ anving their elegant waggons frequently them- selves, rhave seen the fanper.' daughter, sittmg mnhe shade of the piazza, that form. P«t of every house, sewing or amusing them- •elve.. while he himself w*. busy milking the i C 4 FARMINO IN THE STATES. 75 Mr. Mitchell, ft neighbouring fanner, sent to me one day, asking if I would help him'tb cut down some oats. This was a business I knew very little about ; however, as the mill was stopped for want of water, "and as I was always anxious to gather information, away Iwent. I shall describe exactly how I got on. It wais ioid^ay when I arrived at the house, which was bemitifully situated on the side of the tumpke, surround^ by an orchard ; and just before the • 41Jf, on the green sward. Uncle Mitchell was hfHtig in the shade of a cherry-tree^ resting an , Mkr in the heat of the day. He was lying on his^ back, a broad-brimmed straw-hat over his ^^^ his neck Was bare ; had on a coarse cot- rton rfiirt. . p^ of cotton Osnaburg trojlw. _ ntiided about the kn«(^ ;^ a pair of roughl^^ • hilf iMiite, half shoes, ^t(tat had never beeiT MKld or greased ; without stockings ; with • k . chew of tobacco in hia «iouth : and this man owned 120 acres of lah#, worth L.18 or L.20 p«p i^re. He told me ** he wM 'was very glad twifee me, for be gueiiii h^ was pretty well used up." I sat down beside him,' and ate 4 . ^ % ' § \ II li 1 -.•'■ j-m i f' ' I f ^ ■ \ I \ * J ■' » i i 76 F^MIl^G IN THE STATES. ' sptae apples and some ehemes that the diiWren brought us. I told him I cp pump inside, and all, supplied fro* the same " well. We sat down to dinner in a comfortable lUtle parlour, with a painted floor, , Yankee dock, and cane-boMomed chairs. The wife was a clei.n "tidy" bedy; there were %o half-grown boys and a little girl. Before us there y^^ a well-spread table, a clean table-doth (mMof coarse cottoD. Joth), a piece of boiled pOrk a. piece of cold beef, crild mush (vei'y good), flour ,breao^i?':^^-r-''y^"^etti„g,a- • boM a T r "■■ '^""''" •*«"«'•''• With ^ at the farmer's table, are the highest wages ,n summer. It is not common to hJe ior more than » ,„onth at . W. mL f *''- have thA.i„g.„achi„es: some of thoi -^--»"erth:t:e::z"L,!!r- .vl.j M35«^«sr" ' '■ - ' IV 80 FARING IN THE igfeTE*: tucky. Indiana. &C.. wh«re t^y pu.^ase cleared land, that is half won. out. for fto„ kven to fifteen dollar, an acre ; and, by introducing , comparatively better system of farming, make a more comfortable liring than the first settlers aid. : \ ,^ We shallow take . a View of the former, in the west-m, the state of Ohie-^j^e a good farm can be bought within a day's journey of a market town, for from fifteen to eighteen llrs per acre. The priilcipal c^ are Indian corn, wheat; hay. odto,. and barley; a,^ the south, tobacco. Thej^cultivate artificial^sses. And although the dwellings are not so handsome, nor so w^l f^i^^ ,, ^^^ they have aU the necessaries of life in excee Lg abundance. Th,e general appearance of the «y is level, and covered with interminable ,. , loresti. In looking from any eminence.- ovtr a well-settled district, it has th. appearance of , contmuous forest. It is seldom oAe can get so Jvated a, to be able to look right down upon the setUements. Many of the cultivated fields havo a very desolate and cheerless 'aspect, from the aimber otkrge trees th«t h« L ..„,„ ..i^,. FARMING IN THE STATES, 81 and left stafi&ing to wither »nd die. I have ^ seen several modes oi rooting out the stumps of trees ; and the most simple was the most effectual. First th^^ut the surface roots all round with a grubbing hoe, then one end' of a strong pole, of from tvMve to twenty-five feet in length, was fastened with a chain to the stump, and a yojke of oxen to the other—they were then driven ^pund the stump, as in a thrashing-mill, until the tape root was Ipisted and broken ; but the most common way is to let the stump rot out of its own a»„^ with'** way they brought them down from, tad^ branches of the moss-grown tr^ P.eked up several that fell as>ad as J n «ng».Vno wound, otev«.as..tch.^to\ seen on them. Shooting them down in thiJ " Z^Jt""''"^ Not Wishing to'l^r- Z f *^ »■"»»«'• *ey «im at'the limb of the tree to whid, it clings; and the shock oftl^I.^ I . ' ' ' »' ' - HIUIL.I. i " FARMING IN THE STATES. 83 (^intermg of 4he bark stnni them. Whether «*« WM the right reason, or whethw the var^ mnt were so, weiPbnvinced of tie unerring aim of these mmers, that they gav^ „p the ghost as soon as the rifle was fired, whethetl' they were shot or not; the fact, at leftt, was, many of them came tumbling (foW^, without any apparent hurt. fp We entered two of thagferest like cabins we saw. In one was a middle-^;ed man and his wife; the man was restjng on the bed ; the wife was reading the Bibl^with a pair of silver spectacles on her nose, f he m,n was without h.s coat ; had on a clean shirt and bad shoes; and the wife had a gown of worsted stuff TJie iioor of the house was of timber, dean^xcept ' at the bedside, where the r/an was spitting to- bacco juice. On one side of the room the riffe andp«waer.hom hung conspicuous; on the other was a saddle, h^ging by p„e of the rtuTup-irbn, from a wooden peg in the waU. .There were a.few pieces of bacon, and some hm meat." Cabins of thepoorest kind have j Chimneys for conveying the «moke out of the ^1 f .'imii j i / ^^9^5^^ ^PW ^^! "\ ■"' ^f « wm mf ■t. 1 «,-,";■" 1 / ■ -1 • • k* » % f • 1 *""" ■ t - , ■ ■ .. * ■^ ■ '•Sr- /.i * !* 1 ' t /«; ''<*- , '^ - e v* ., " '■■'',, . - ,-^wr;' 1 r . - k " i WM i ■ i 1 1 ■ 1 1 ■ ■ % /- ^%. #. j^ f IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) m /. //^/^^* ^ AK^ y. u. ^ v.. f* i,. 1.0 I.I ^ |2J ■ SO i ■^ Uii 12.2 Z vs. 12.0 IL25 till 1.4 mm 1.6 ^. Pliulugiapliic . Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WliSTH.N.Y. MSM . (7U) •73-4503 4^^ m // y^:\' ^^^.4^ I/. (/. i*;. 1 -..^,.-r M. J/-^*. S ii." -L-, ;v ^ s^ ',%•»' 84 F*ARMING IN THE STATES. This man had a few acr^s of hiiid, a cow, and a horse, i He wrought for neighbouring farmerg ; said the times were veiy ^||^ he^^oiild ftot get more than ten dollars a month and his victuals. ) The ncj^t we entered was a little house^bf the ^^^^ ^^^ *^^^* appeared to- have- been lately bedau^foyer with mud to fi|l up the openings be|ween the logs. Inside were two trpckle beds, pided fj a piece of " clouty carpet." It w.as a sober duelling; but everything was clean itt it. There were two children, a grown-up young lady, and an older one, who seemed to be the .mother of all, welWressed and dean. Ttf# yOlHig lady had on a silk dress, her hair nicely 'braided, and plaited behind into two tails, one hanging on each shoulder. The husband w#g out ; but they told us they were latef^r frpm the state of Vermont ; had bought 160 acres of l«hd, about CO of it |kjared, for eight dollars per acre, and appeared well pleased with their bargain. In returning tclwardfc Aberdeen, we came x)n a few men, some/ of them sitting on a fence, some of ^|P leining dver it, and two horses . I STATES. )f kmd, a^cow, and jbbouring^ farmert ; and he^4»uld i^ot i monCb and his little house^tjf the have* been lately 1 up the openings J two truckle beds, carpet." It w^s ling was clean vi> I grown-up young leemed to be the md elean. Tlii i, her hair nicely nto two tails, one Che husband w|>g re latefy from the ht 150 acres of for eight doJlars leased with their leeu. we came nn ting on a fence, and two horses ' #- * PABMING IN THE STATES. 85 \vith ragged riding saddles^Vgrazing beside them. We joined the party, and found they were neighbours,: who had met. to lounge aw^y an hour or two and exchange news. They all appeared to be farmers: some of them had. cotton Osnaburg jackets ; one had a long- tailed linsey-eoat, \\^h several holes in it, and one had no coat at all ; nt)ne of them had neckcloths, and only some of them had clean shirts; mo»1?r,of them had long beards, and their hands were hard and homy ; their boots had never been cleaned — the. very leather was rough and grey. After joining them a little while, we ifet the converwtion fall ^'nto their own haiids altogether ; whidi turned out to be about some of their neighbours, and. of little interest. They i^-ere gaping and yawning as if they had spent a wearisome day. The only thing tlicy seemed to ;take an interest in was cutting the fence witii their knives, and Iookiil|r now and then towards the sun, which was then in the west— evidently wearied, and anxious for his setting. ^ I shall now describe the appearance of the H • i J ; .wf ^1 % . » ->• '■»» . ■<, M 8« . FABMING IN THE STATES. ^ ' 1^7?'.*^'^ ""'^'"*'' Cincinnati, thi pri„. mere are markets every day exr/^nf c iU"ir^ '" '■'^ "'"^■°«- ^- the aS! ftur hor.sge„era.]y,|,„t varying fr„„. two to tean,. -As they come into the city they take th«r places, side by side, backed upi ZSt pa^ment-^nyoking their horses.',^ f^I:'- ^tbem from a tro^gh«,at has its place 6b every -waggon. Then „the fanner turns inl^S ^-eh^up in his blanket, sleeping 1„4# gon , and as soon as daylight appears he &T and ready for business. « "«,» up J shall describe the contents of o^e of these wagons selecting one that .ill give , fai, !;: r^dian'^:^^"'*^-^^-^-^"^ **iui«ii torn ; in one corner an nU a / . JFARMING IN THE STATES. 87 buy a basketful for five cents; then we have a bag or two of grits--.that is ground Indian com ; Indian com meal ; a b^ of pease (k beans; next we have two or three roasting pigs- ready for the spit —these for half a dollar a pie^ce ; a large hog, at an English penny a pound (this in the autumii of 1841) ; then we have an earthen jar of jg)pk-butter-. nasty black-looking stuff, but very good to eat; a barrel of eggs, at seven or eight cents per dozen; butter made up in square pieces, the size of half a brick, formed in moulds—not over clean, »»<^ «lgiH>rai;ce of bac^gB|rs-^Flourjgi|l^w-miUs — raising a log- hoii^^™|d-preachi((^^^M|ppearance of the people. I BJ^^^bndjer at ^^H^t variety ^f Qpinioii th^HJBsts on the Mpot of emigFation to €^ma., WhJn I was working at the Messrs. by and Scott's carding and spinning-mill, and likewise at the wool-mill at Burrwick, I had amp^e opportmiiti^, as the farmers and their wives' came with t4ieir wool to he carded, of getting their candid opinions on this subject, which were just as various as t^e notions that prevail at home. Some found fault with the ¥ if # \ i5r 1 'I \- V 02 / FARMING IN CANADA. counti-y, without being able to give any good reason ; som^ complained of general discomfort and the want of society ; some complained that, although they had no fear of Ifeing turned out , of their farms or of i^wnting^ bread for them- selves or family, they^could not make money. It appeared to me that a love of fatherland, and a keen remembrance of early friends and asso- ciations, were considerable drawbacks on the happiness of the Jrijsh, Engli*, and Scottish settlers. I conversed with some who, having left home in disgust, glorjed in their^eparation. As a general rule, J||I||L that th< "" emigrated, after an^^^Hmiddle y ted they had come <^^Hpt least tl could have done* as ^^ and been mo| fortable, if they had remained at home, this, to anyone wlio knows human naturefcs nothing strange; and I only mention it to remark, that those who have arrived at middle life are not the best subjects for emigration. Those who had come out early in life, or been bom here, all liked it— every body loves their native land. z^" "The* custom that prevails so extensively in the States, of shifting about from place to place— from farming to trading, and so on, all over the gamut— ;is nearly as common in Canada, and equally detrimental to success in life. In the midst of a rich an* fertile land, and iirthe midst of plenty, many frequently fail to make a comfortable living anywhere, '^ust like a man loorking for a stick in a hedge ; h.^ goes on, > and on, till suddenly be comes to the end ; an€ lo ! he j^tip stick at aill, after having passed twenty g<^*^ones. !l^[^his only pro\^s that ^8 of f^^^B^y a^e great, and laking^^^^p' so numerous, that lly know ^^^H^ fix themselves, unhealthy neighnourhood, is a frequent caK of removal ; and, as to this, I will remark vvimt applies equally to the States and to Canada:— wherever land is nevHSettled and the ■i3 soil rich, fever and ngue, mere or less, will he the htqf those who settle there. However, as an offset to' this, there are iidt many oases of sumption. v From the best information I cquM get COil- i' from t f ' ' ■_ ..^ ■ ■• , f ■ \ t r I I, - 04 FAuiVllNG IN CANADA. a considerable speculator in Jand and other property, Mr. A. Burr, Yonge Street and from the farmers themselfes, it appears tha> land has rather decreased in value since the M*Ken^ie rebellicto, which has uji^ettkd men's minds,, and cast a ^ioom over the province, €-om which it, perhaps, may not recover till something else, occur t9 alarm them. ' • Those who ar^ not frightened at such pro$- pects, can make a better bargain of land than in the iStates. Gc^pd rich fonp laiid «anbe bought, within a day's JQur^i^|poronto, the /capital of^ Upper Canada, ^^^^B^tion of 1^000, fbrf twelve dollars peri^Mp found a number of Yankees here, ^ vjjjj^ers and medw^ics, insiing money, which they can do eve^lH^ except amongstJews or Scotsmen. ^■\ Many years ago the whole province wasTid out in sections, and Quarter section's, diviSng the whole country like a "damboard." Each section, of a quarter o£ a mile, is^ numbered, and there is no more diflSculty of finding a farm by its nunj|er than a merchant in a city. Farms are called .by the. number or the name >r 1 tr,. FARMING IN lof^iTAiyA. ' of the ownear ; tbefe.' is no shtiilftr custohi, either in Canada «p tjie United States tb that which ■ " ' . .',.,■ > ' ' '. ' prevails ii. Scotland, of 'calling particular farms r by particular n^ines. I.did nbt like the manners of the people^in Canada sp^el} as those iiL the ^ States, althouglfthere is notl^ng very objection- able in l^eir intercourse. with^ach other. One tiling^ I lucea better ;^he |bws of tlie .. country are more supreme, and perhaps fully as purely administered. In coil(paring Upper Ca- nada with New^ork» ^femy of the older states ;^ 1;he UnitWr it is far :Jil||d ill wealth, culti- valiant and internal c<^M^^Hvd. But this is not to be wondered at : IHHR impot^tant, and C#mparatively4vealthy Sta^*%hen the province \ ^as ftii^ uninhabitable forest. The progriess ^ mde, when compared/with the western and n)ore recently-settled States, h\ not at alj^un- . favourable to Canada; and there are lUany beautiful districts I had no. opportunities of see- itig, for my peregrinations were limited ; 'bi^ the beautiful farms and rich clover lields'oii ^Ighat is there called Yonge Street, will coinpare^ with any pari of the States. / W**' 4- . -% n W- \ r y FAKMIXBjSeAXADi;, k Ij^ wi«h to presenrtny readers with a da*,, of farmers different from thos^ that „«e *ilvW s^H8. I visited some new settlements of the very poorest kiml. near wheft D^Has StreW ' c^» the rrun.ber. AlthougJ, f am no great ^^ I bought some tobaeco and a pipe. tJteV l-ghtrng of which: gave^ft a good excuse for ■ ent«-ing their hoirses. . . fK fv.' ff ""' ^ '"'""l '"'* » «"'« fcg ''0»'« tha^had been built a %w months befb«>; Th«* mterstices ^tween th^ogs Hid not yerb«„^ h led up. and I couI4 see through and throZ^ ^ hou«e : witBH^l ^ exposed at «« gJa„r There were no partition walls or fl,h.itnre not even a stool to sit down upon. I did not ^sk a single question, but will describe what I saw In one corner was a bed, the roughest dencern 1 had seen-the iark was not even scraped from the P.ne H« of which it was made_a„d on it "ft lv...g a man about thirty-five years of age. :f y«"?- features, a Jong black bea.^. and , dirty face. He was partty covere,! over with a « .rty coverlid ; his feet we.^ sticking out beyond 'ts ,*«nty longitude, dirty and « black as a ^: FAHI^IHe IN CANADA. 97 negro's; ' His mk, a poor, down-hearted-like, dirty dral^ the /fdowiest-look^g**. mortal I had seen In i^l the country ; a little child too, but it hfd not the bright looks of happy childhoo4« Thfr^ wiia a ^oung pig, too, running all abdui an4 bdbw the bed, and it was the pool'est ana- tomy of all. Thtere was no flitch of bacon here, no Indian com ; all the eatables were a few pota- toes in a comer ; and there was nothing behind the scenes, all being exposed at. one Apce. 1 txtmed AWAjf f ■J and several cows and young cattle. He has two hundred acres of land, all fenced and iu beautiful order ;— not a stump to be see» in any of his fields except on two small endosures of-' his last purchase. Me has had the good taste tq leave a few of the largest and most beautiful forest trees standing on varioiis parts of his farmj and now the whok of it is worth from t^hirty- five to forty dollars an acre. He said he would not seU it for that : for now he has plenty ^f neighbours, is within a mile and a half of .a meeting-house, and would be contented to die where he had spent the best of his dap, mi be buried in an inclosed corner of one of his own fieWs, which he pointed out to me as the family burying-ground. He has, indeed, good reason to be contented ; for he lives here in the midst of plenty, and far *way from the bustle and the rivalry of active life,' nei^ier caring to know nor concerning himself bow the v/orld goes. This was at the time of M*Leod's trial, and I was astonished at the numbers that knew nothing about it. I found some poor settlers who. did I 2 ^92 FAEMING IN CANADA. not know whether there was a king or a queeii <» t)ie throne of England. However, this wa. not so bad as the parish minister of St Kilda, who, it is said, continued to pray for our late good king, William the JReformer, long after the poor man had been gathered to his fathers. I was told an anecdote that will illustrate how ignorant some of the most remote back settlers are, as wefl of public events as of theolo- gy, but cannot vouch for the truth of it. ^ n g £na.aftbem (danced to "-y —irthing ihim th^ AM»tt of our Lord Jesus Christ, when the oth«. ■ om l mw ed, 'itl»-4i»«iimM^ « There are flqur mills in Canada that surpass anything of the kind I have ever seen in Scot- land-some of them very large. As an instance I refer to Mr Gemble's works on the Humber which I visited. The building is six stories high wiA six run of stones. All the work is done by water powei^from the emptying of the waggons that l^ing the grain to the packing of the flour ..^<'^ FAKMIKG IN CANADA. 1Q8 barrels. Farmers can aly was get casb for wheat at these establishments, of which there are in the upper province, according to parliamentary re- turns, 500 ; and in the year 1834, according to the same authority, there were 677 saw-mills. A new settler has not much difficulty in get- ing the neighbours to turn out and assist him to build a house ; but idle drunken fellows are al- ways most forward on such occasions; and many of them will go to these routs rather than work at home. I went to see two raisings, as they - are called, one of which I shall describe. It was in the township of Vaughan, and for a poor Irishman and his family. I ^as on the ground early, and found the settler and his wife busy cooking at a large fire, surrounded by fallen trees and brushwood. The neighbours came by > twos and threes, from different quarters, with axes over their shoulders ; and as they came up each got a drink 4Jf whisky out of a tin can. The stuff smeiled most horribly, 3|et noi^ of them made a wry face at it. «ome had straw hats, some Scotch bonnets ; some had wincey coats, some had none ; all had strong boots, and (Q >^ y > / N," r 104 FARMING IN CANADA, most of tbem had torn •'inexpressibles." Those who did not smoke tobacco, and some of thosi^^ who did, masticated it with the m(fst untiring industry. Four blocks of wood, about a foot and a half above the ground, marked out the comers of the dwelling that was to be erected before night. . On these blocks were laid the first iier of logs, dove-tailed in a very rough way. Four of the most experienced hands took their station, one at each corner, whose *dut} it was 1:6 itiake the joints and carry up the angles perpendicular. I observed that they took^ particular car^ not to let the logs touch each other, except iat the cor- ners where they rested. After the waHs got so .high that they could not lift up the logs, two saplings were cut, and the bark being stripped off to make them smooth, they were placed against • the wall in a slanting position. This answered for a slide, on which the people below pushed up the logs with crutches, or long poles with forked ends. f. At first they went to work moderately and with quietness, but after the whisky had been FARMING IN CANADA. 105 lianded about severai times the^ got veryVup- roariou^-^swearing, shouting, tumbling down, and sometimes Uke^ figbt. I then left off working, thinking I yrould be as safe out of the way a little ; but this vould^ not do, as they would hare no idlers there. The handing round of the whisky was offered to me, but I declined the honour, being a teetotaller. So I had now no choice but commence working agwn, ad 1 wished to see the md of the matter. I was sick of it before this; for most of them were drunk and all of them exdted. The manner in which they use their axes was' a ** caution." Many accidents happen, and lives are frequently lost on these occasions, both from accidents and quarrels. In all there were about twenty-four men, one half Irish; on the whole about the roughest specimen of humanity I have ever seen. So much was I disgusted at their conduct, that, even if paid for it, I would pot live amongst them. The walls of a house, 15 by 26, and 12 feet high, were up before night ; and some of the nearest neig' JOurs were to return next day and €1. ♦ ♦- ;P»- r t \ HI i ^96 rARMINO IN CANADA. cut out the doors and windows. WBe^ aU was ™eat and dnnkmg whisky (I believe of the -«*quahty as that known in Aberdeen by L wZ^ha ^'''^'^""">— '^•-^-oiset r«W.-'»P^ "Old Castle of Fi r i,„me «n their most uproarious days I foundation of n.y house laid with so many oah to «p,secmte it as I had heard that day Just befofe my return to Toronto" „n -te hack, the United States;::,,:!^ :ht"S'''"^^:,^^^^^''^P«f^tobicokt' wflerelhad a good opportunity of seeing fh «h hu. .ml ™i|^ „, J p«Jt .S ■S I "^ FARMING IN CANADA. 107 praying commenced at nine o'clock in tte morn- ing and continued till* five in the afternoon. AU behaved themselves deftly except the dogs, who made a noise, and^^ horses, who neighed to keep them company. The peopje^ in general had not the healthy, robust appear- ance of a Scottish country congregation : they looked more like- a number of manufacturing servants; and, althpiigh black and sun-burhed, they wei*e* generally as thin in flesh as hand- loto weavers — t^at is before these pinching days of actual waiit blanched their cheeks and sharpenied their bone§. ni ^■x> % V. I ': ,'«f*. 4 r > ** N K^ > M 'r\ . <•■> ■J^t 1^' ♦ • ¥:-r / -VT' '"V HAPTEE yi. RES IN THE STATES. ft mliPB l Machinery— Capital employed in cotW rafanu- fa^res-*»Manufacturing states — Quantity of wool grown— Quality — Price — Cotton Mills in the southern states — Factory at Vacluce, South Carolina — ^^Wages— Belvei factory, in Geofgia — Mod^ of raising a water- , fall — Black hand^-^Wages — Hcmrs of work— Mannerof employers to tjhweir workmen — Lowell — Cotton^mills — Power-loortis^'Quantity of cloth made— Hands employ- ed — ^^Woplenfcmills-^Machine-shop — Factory girls — Wages — Price of provisions — C}othing — Condenser- Wages at Thompsonville carpet-Mjprk, Connecticut- Manufactures in Jersey — Manafactuies in the State of New York — Country customer work— Mode of pay- ment — Manner bf living — Country customer weavers — . , Clouty carpets — Mills at Rochester — Genessee falls- Manufactures in Ohio— Cincinnati — Wages — Trades- men's boarding-house — Plenty of beef— Prospects of the manufacturing community. ^ Xaj^CTn^ States have rtiade far^^reater pro- gress in manufactures than is^ generally sup» posed, I certainly was not prepared or expect- ing to see the splendid and large establishments for the manufacture of cottons ^d woollens »~ -.i :\ ^. \/. '■.19. ■r\ 110 MA>rU?ACTURES -V _- that I witnessed in, theVaribus Wes I visited. ' Aetf MA^nery; in iinisl,, design, ingenuity^ . aia m the particular and general arrange- ments for the saving of human labour, has ar- rived at the same perfection as in England • in fact It is the same machinery. No sooner does .an improved machine make its appearan<« in Manchester, Leeds, orGksgow, than it is taken "P by the machine-makers in Lowell, Boston and Philadelphia. In this respect they show more wisdom'than onr mechanics do : for I have seen several arrangements and some machines that have had their origin in America, and, al- though decided improvements, they have not been adopted by us «ith the same spirit nor" ^ the same, extent as they adopt our improve- ments. There are no linen manufetwring esta- , bl.shments,-this article being admiUed free of ^luty, when not coloured. . • -* ■The capital employed in' the cotton business at the present time is estimated at twelve mil- lions sterling. The principal manufacturing states are Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey! - '-•'•aM^^^^'i^HSitWiSt-'" IN THE STATES. _ There are small establishments for spinning and ^. weaving cotton Scattered over the southern states, and similar mills, both for cotton and '*: wool, established all over the north-east and . western states, but these last mostly for the pur- pose of facilitating domestic manufactures. It is well known that there is no want of the raw material to supply the cotton-mills ;* bu| the amount of wool produced is not so generally known. According to the census of 1840 there were 19,085,962 sheep, excluding North Caro- lina, Michigan, and Kentucky, the returns for which were not complete. In the year 1839 the state of New Yorjt produced 4,012,144 lbs. of wool, Ohio 3,65(),970, VfSiont 2,257,795, Pennsylvania 3,070,783, Virginia 2,672,044, Maine 1,466,551, New Hampshire 1,260,988, Indiana 1,202,209, Massachusetts 1,055,591, Tennessee 1,029,516, and the other states va- ^ rious amounts, between the 893,675 Ibg, of Connecticut and the 4r),524 of Louisiana. The wool in general is superior in quality to that of England, and far superior to our Scotch clips. I think the price of wool is "nofmuch different from the i^rice Ift this country, tht ' ! T^BT ((•'^^(■^M-'V^a^^y / t .7: i' 112 ^ MANUFACTURES . ■w, - - -■■■-■ "■■*'"■ ' . ■ ' ■- -qualities being th^ same. From forty to fifty cents per lb. is the price of a very good quality, v of which they make a heavy but very good broad-cloth, and fine satinetts ; the lower qua- _ Jities, at eighteen to twenty-five cents, are us^4 for carpetting, stocking-ya^s, &c. Although the least important, I will first take some notice of the manufactures of South and North Carolina and Georgia. There' are some ftfteen different establishments in South Caro- lina, principally situated in the upper parts of the state ; about an equal number in North Carolina! and considerably more in Georgia. ^ They will average rather over 1000 spindles ' each for cotton ; most of them have a condenser and a roller-jack for carding and spinning wool. The goods thej^make are cotton Osnaburgs— a heavy article, with cotton ^varp and woollen weft— for negro wear ; good linsey and cotton yams, for sale amongst the farmers for domestic uses; and a good profit they make on this branch, buying the cotton at seven cents per lb., and selling these yams (Nos. 5 to 9) at twenty, t^o cents per lb. But I must be brief on the manufactures in this part of the country, as m t A, IN THE STATES. 113 the demand /or hands is very limited, the fac- tories much scattered over the country, and many of them in unhealthy situations, so that I conceive few of my fellow-labourers in the busi- ness will be much interested in them. jST^t many are induced, for the sake of high wages, to settle here. In some places all the hands, except the overseers, are negroes; as, for in- stance, at the factory at Columbus, in Ndrth Caro||||t, where they employ upwards of eighty h|rti|f but, in general, there is a pretty elq[ual mixture of black and white. I will submit the * factory at Vaclace, in South Carolina, owned by Messrs. Beausket and Jones, as a fair specimen. It was built in 1834, four Itories high, of granite; has 1900 spindles, two wool-carding engines (one of which is a condenser), and a roller-jack ; employs seventy bands ; one overseer, at 600 dollars per annum ; an overseer of the carding- room, one dollar and a half per day ; a ma- chinist, one dollar and a half per day ; the negroes belong to the firm ; and the white women and children, who attend the spinning-frames and power-looms, have two and a half dollars K j5 4 f'f*-. 4*** '■) .v' .V^,,J_, r \ 1] 1 ^1 ..i III fi IMI i HijrJ \ i 114 MANUFACTURES ^ - ■ ^V , ■ ■ — ■ •■ ' ^ per week on an average. The place is situated about seven miles from Aiken, a small town' about 100 miles from Charleston. The country around it is very poor and barren, and they are not very well situated in such places for getting .the many comforts and conveniencies of life/' necessary to make a permanent residence de- sirable. I lived here a week ; and, although Very hospitably treated By the manager, I did not consider the situation of jthe hands at flalt enviable. * , / ^ I will here give another exar/ple of a southern factory in the state of Ge/rgia, about eight miles from Augusta, owned by Judge Schley. In this part of the countrl, where the surface is generally level, the mode theytak^ to get a waterfall is this :— they first sdect a place in the valley or bottom in which thi^ river r|ins, and build a dike across there-^d^mming the water back for two, three, or four miles, cover- ing a large space of ground— and in this way they get a fall of from eight to twelve feet on the most sluggish streams. Such was the plan of the water-works *at the place I now Se. '*•, -W IN THE STATJES; ^ ■■■■*.• allude to, commonly known as Belvel Factory, But this is not a good plan ; for wliere ther§ ^e jjerhaps twenty milk of one kind or another on a river, and one dam-dike gives way, all helow it, to the last one on the river, go slap out; which wis the case on Horse Creek, when I was there in the month of March, 1841— just as I , have seen a school hoy setting up twenty bricks ' on end, and so near each other that when the [ first one got a kick, down they went, one after the other, to the end of the chapter. This factory was partly built of" wood, aiid partly of stone, three stories high ; has 1000 spindles, employing forty hands; the principal hands white ; a part of the others (black) owned by the proprietor ; the weaving all done by power-looms. The judge and his sons superin- tend themselves. One man, who had charge of the weaving, preparing the warps, and looking after the condenser, &c., had two dollars per day ; another machinist, who was making some power-looms, had the same wages ; the overseer of the spinning-frames, preparing, &c, had one dollar and a half per day ; the other hands had r ' I ^^^ , MANUFACTUEES : about the same as at the former place. I no- ticed here that the slaves would not and did not work so steady as the white people. There was a black fello* spinning after the condenser. ■ and bethought nothing of «e<^»j, his machine and going out to look about Wm for half an hour at any time. In spinning cotton, mules were formerly used, .but now ,the throsUe- frame has mostly superseded them. At these works inthe south, they have not any very -regular h&ur^. but generally work from day- • light till dark all the year round, libing seldom more than three-quarters of an hour for meals. In general they work fully as long as in well-regulated factories- at home. The houses built for the work-people are not well ^ finished, nor very comfortable. The situation of ' the mills being low, and frequently in the neighbourhood of stagnant water, are unhealthy. ^ ' There was another factory, about the same size v 'as the above, at Richmond, about ten miles • from - Augusta, owned by, .Governor Schley. Near Athens (seventy .miles further up the country, but on the line of the raUwav). was'one <"*aSSKU)Kfc^ iM,, x ■ ^ \ ^ IN THE STATES. 117 owned by Messrs. Baxter and Dearihg; another by a Mr. Williams ; each of them about 1000 spindles, with some wool machinery. The manager of Richmond Factory has 800 dollars a year ; but I did not find that any of those who had come fprn the eastern states liked the south. There are many drawbacks. The. money is bad ; and when they leave the country they lose from twelye to twenty or twenty-five percent, in getting their depreciated currency mto a shape that will be useful in another state, it is. very expensive travelling in the south ; and I would- not recommend an| one to go there, unless on an especial agreement. The only thing I liked particularly in this part of the country was the respectful and gentlemanly con- duct of employers to their workmen y not that all are upon an equality— faf from it Mor i^ ♦^ man is poor, there are a hundred and fifty ways in which he will feel it. , : We shall now turn to a part of the country where manufactures have become established on a permanent footing ; and where there is no difficulty of finding employment in ordinwy ^-vi:^ y -jSak, » ' F 1 ' ' K 111 1 1 pi ; 7;'-' 1 1 ft 5 «.f It !'■ 118 -4 MANUFACTURES times; and where the wages are sufficient, in the hands of a sober and industrious man, to maintain his family decent^, and send his chil- dren to school. All that part of the States lying east of the river Hudson, sometimes called Yankie-land, are manufacturing districts,~-Low- ell, in Massachusetts (a town of 20,000 inhabi- tants, near Boston), being the principal site, is sometimes called the Manchester of America, where there is plenty of water power, and where there is invested in tfe manufacturing business' alone, 10,500,000 dollars. There are 32 cotton- mills, running 166,000 spindles, and 5,183 ;power-looms, consuming annually 1,955,000 lb; ^f cotton, and manufacturing 58,263,400 yatds of doth, giving employment to 6,430 females, and 2,077 male operatives; besides several esta- blishments for the manufacture of worsted. There are likewise many hundreds of machine- makers employed in the different machine-shops. And the females that are employed in "the cotton-milk, instead of spending their nights and spare time in idleness and. debauchery, as :^oo manyjf oiu Jactory-girls do, dress them- i'. ' IN THE STATES, 119 selves genteelly and behave decently, cultivating their minds. As an evidence of which, I may mention that they publish a literary periodical, edited and contributed to entirely by them- selves ; which boasts many articles, both in prose and verse, that would not disgrace a Lon- don annual. They have taken a high stand in morals, and will not work or associate with a notoriously-indecent girl ; and they have turned out and refused to work till suph have been expelled. -f||.^^^-^':-, -: •';::- ^-^^^ ^ The ordinary wages for overseers of flats in cotton-mills, is a doljar (4s. 2d.) fo a dollar and a quarter a day ; and for girls about three ^dol- lars a week. A barrel of flour (194 lb.) is generally about 2(^. to 25s. sterling ; beef 3id. per lb. ; salt pork 2d. ; shoes as cheap as in Scotland, ^nd better made ; cloths not much dearert^nd linen: as cheap as in Belfast. In wool-miTls,^ood hands, ih the condensing, spin- - ning, weaving, dying,' and finishing departments, have one dollar a day. Children are not much required in wool-mills since the introductioi^ of the condenser — a machine that does away with ."^ -■^ i ■fi I 1 n I I^ . - .MANUFACTURES the making of rolls, the slubbing bUly, and the, necessity of employing children for piecing. The machine is not unknown here to those who are acquainted with the business; and I will ttier% remark, that those iij general use have only one cylinder, of the usual diameter — thirty^ , incHfes to three feet; two small doffers, three workers, and a fancy. The rings on the doffers are about two inches wide'; the crank isisused for cleaning^ the doffers ; the slivers are rubbed between a system of rollers, that have a circular motion and a lateral one at the same time. The machine winds two spools at a time-j-^ne attacjied to each doffer — on whioli ther# are.. . wound from tw^elve to sixteen slivers, the feame distance from each ether as (he spindles ofithe spinning-machine. They can generally mend i|n end and shift the spools without stopping the machine. v^ , >; ' „ J There is considerable variety in the make and form of these machines. Some I have seen with the cylinder covered with rings of filleting corcesponding with the rings on the doffer ; in which case the vvool is taken from the scribbler 'm >iA 'I , jks^ K ~\ • # - - IN THfe STATES. 121 in the form of. a heavy sliver, wound on spools^ and bijng up in a frame before the condenser — one of which is introduced between the feeding rollers, just opposite every ring on the cylinder ; —the workers and strippers are covered in the usual way. This* plan works pretty well, and iss in some respects superior to the other. On these madiines they cannot do more than from thirty to My pounds a day ; and I think it is doubtful if tke process is cheapened, or whether it is really any improvement on the old carder aad slubbipg-billy. I have spun after these machines, ?^both on mules, and hand jennies, and o I like it better ffian slubbifg; but I dt> not tliink they can spin the»saip^jpality of wool so { sm^ll by this process as by the old plan. Per- haps it is betterisuited to the American manu- facturer than the^British, because the foriner has more difficulty in procuring children ; and, be- sides, their wool is easier wrought, shorter, and . more'equal in quality. Some of our long wools, spun in this way, would make a hard^ bare thread ; but out of their wo4^y make a pretty soft thread, either fo^lHh ox^^heeling worJ ■ L "A orw \ ^ .r •N •i w >^ 122 /" •^ MAKUFACTUBfeS* They are yery proud of this machine, and con- sider themselves the inventors of it ; but J have seen the same machine, in principle, in operation at the works of Messrs. Alexander Hadden and Sons, Aberdeen, years before the date of any of their patent-rights. But whether they, invited it or not, they deserve the credit of jgenerally adopting a plan that has relieved the little chil- dren from very hard work, and from the terrors of the billy-roller. S'.i ' ' ' • ' The wages, throughout the manufacturing states are ncjiStrly the same as in Lowell. When I was in New York I called oii'JNWsrs. Thomp- "son and Co., 8, Spruce Street, who have a carpet- manufactory at Thompsonville, in Connecticut- one of the largest in the country. I ask|^ a job from them, and they offered me one dollar a day to go out to their place and attend to a flat of cardjng-machines. They said this was the highest wages they paid to any of their men except the principal overseer, who was an Aber- deen man. T)ie rate of boarding was one dol- lar and a half per week. A few weeks before, they told me, they sent out tp the work, three •» " r \ '■X p and con- it J have )peration Iden and )f any of invited generally ttle chil- ie terrors facturing When Thomp- a earpet- ecticut— [ ask|^ a ne dollar end to a this was heir men an Aher- one dol- ts before, rk, three .A^ ; IN THE STATES, mff^ ' 123 - carpet- weavers who had just arrived from Scot- • land, and they appeared to like the plaee. . Before I left New York, I went over to Jersey, to see .the manufacturing town of Pat- terson, a very prosperous place of about 16,000 inhabitants. They have here almost unlimited water power. There are a nuiliber of cotton- factories; also machine-makers, who manufacture > all soirts of machinery, of the very best descrip- .tion. There are no woollen-works here ; but there are hundreds of small mills scattered oyer ^ the state, for carding and spinning coimtry , wofk, many of them employing six or eight I* men, who can earn, on a^ average, a dollar a day, at spinning and weaving, &c. The same remarks apply to the state of Pennsylvania, I where there are several works of considerable extent. Their mode of going to work is, in some respects, different from ours ; but any one who has been bred to the weaving and spinning, or carding, in this country, has no difficulty in falling intp their plans. Hands are generally employed to work by the piece in all the de- partments except the carding. Those who en- '■«■,. . -SV «'!?]* *- f2^ MANtTFACTURES ^ gage to work at this department in small con- cerns generally feed for themselves, cleaning the engine and shifting the spools on the con- denser. For country carding they use the same machine as we do — packii^ up the rolls in the same way, charging generally about 3id. per lb. There is an immense quantity of work of this kind done throughout all these states. I have 1)eeu told on all hands that one cannot travel ten miles in any direction through Jersey, Pennsylvania^ or any of those which I have enumerated as manufacturing states, without seeing some of these small works. In one diiS- trict near Patterson, a friend of mine who wrought there named more than ten, and not • one of them more than twelve miles from where we stood : and those engaged in these works, as far as I had opportunity of observing, were rather better off in regard to lodging and clothing, and decidedly superior in manners, to people of the same description in Scotland. The state of New York is full of these places too. Around Poughkeepsie, a town of ^0,000 inhabitants; on the banks of the Hudson — /'-■• ^W^ X / ^i 1 ill con- leaning le con- e same in the per lb. )f this I have travel Fersey^ [ have ithout le dis- :id not where rks, as were r .^^ jrs, to places p,000 son — \ •"-""" f ♦ IN THE STATES, 125 ■ * ' where there is plenty of water-power, and whfere there are several carpet-works within twenty- miles of the place— .^here are at least thirty of these small establishments. Some of these have as many as eight broadrlooms employed, partly on country work, and partly manufacturing for the New York market ; at one of them, near Washington Hollow, I wrought for a few weeks, spinning on a hand-jenny of eighty spindles, after a condenser. This place was altogether for coun-, try work. A short time ago it was a satinett manufactory. There were eight very good power-looms, but they are not in operation now. The farmers brought the work to the mill in their riding waggons ; and when it was for rolls, carried it home with them again tp be spun, as • in Scotland ; but the principal part of the wool brought to mill was left to be manufactured into cloth— flannel, satinett, and broad-cloth. Some paid money, but more wrought on shares; that is, the farmer brought 100 lbs. of wool, which was manufactured into cloth; the manu- facturer receiving one half of the finished goods in payment for his work, and the fanner, wh^ ^'m =X=# • % 126 MANUFACTURES Bitfplied tM wool, getting the other half J and i this plan is followed very generally through, the * . • i different States where I Jiave heen. Cash is generally paid for carding* rplls. 1*he manufac* * turer pays his store accounts with cloth or yarn ; ■% and when he rents the mill of another, part of ^ the rent is not tinfrequently paid in kind. ; Another very common plan is to pay the work- men one half in money and the other in goods. Workmen, after they get acquainted in a neigh- ^ bourhood, do not dislike this plan ^. much as might be supposed ; for they can generally p^y their own store accounts with goods. If tl/^y ' want a pair of shoes', they can give the shoe- maker a {)iece of satinett that will make a/ of trousers in payment for thenj, and so on I shall now describe how we got on at the place above alluded to. The mill was a frame house, three stories high ; the pcfwer a bucket-well wheel ; in the lower flat were the fulling-mill, scouring- roUers, cropping-machine, &c. ; in the next flat there were three Carding-machines (two for card- ing rolls), and one condenser ; tjie third flat was ^ J^ill of power and hand-looms, aijd the jenny I ur •»'■■ W^ % 'i nufaoo ' IN THE STATES. 137 wrought on— all as good as if John Sugden, of Leeds, had made them. Here we were paid in I money, my own mge^and that of the otheis varying from five to seven dollars a week. We boarcled with the Boss (at two dollars per week, including washing), who had a femily of grown- ^ up daughters ; commenced work at sun-rise, and were always called to breakfast before we . had wrought one hour. Our breakfast-table was cov^ed with a whit^ cotton Osnaburg cloth ; ^ there was always some kiiid of meat— sometimes • |roast fowls, hot bread, raw onions (Sished up fwitk vinegar and pepper), mush, pickles, buck- Ipvheat cakes (smoking hot? which were very^ good when buttered on both sides, and eaten with moksses). 'W^^returned to^ork .imme- diately on finishing breakfast ; and were called lo dinner at twelve, which was not very dif- ' ferent from breakfast, only the the tea-things iwrere not paraded with so much show. The Workmen sat at table without their coats, iWith their shirt sleeves rolled up; and I never "^w them fit down without washing their I ,.«/ i m0tm ' ^ 'l iI^ • » ' V■tilLLii ' 3^l.., f3m^"':~: %. V s 1^: 4 128 ' MANUFACTtJRES * hands, and tB'eir face, too, if it was dirty. * ifter dinner we rested an hour ; had supper at six o^dock — pretty much th€ same as at breakfast, and we then wroUght till dark. ' Although the man who rented and carried on^the place was a ' poor hard*working man, the same politeness and good feeling prevailed in the family that I have ^oken of as characteristic oi^ the Americans generally. Our Sundays were spent in lounging about ; some went to riteeting, but mye went » to gather cherries arid huckle-berries. The first Sunday I was there, while sitting at the door, 'remarking to myself on the gay parties that wete driving along the road in their waggons, the BosSi thinking, I suppose, I felt lonesome, asked me to go into the room, where his daugh- ters were chattering, laughing, and amusing themselves. When they understood that I liked music,' they sung to me the *\Braes of Birniebousle," and " Jessie, o/ Dunblane," as pleased and as innocent-like as young lambs. • Tliis was rather a diflPerent way of spending the ^ Sunday afternoon from what I had^been taught %' •y-;"- V . •k:> • fl[ ■■- "'I-- I*/ IN THE STATES. 129 ii^my. father's house : Yet such is the effect of example, and the influence of bright eyes and sweet voices, that I waslpleased. • There are numeroiw hand-loom weavers throughout all these states, who make a very comfortable Kving. Th/ way they carry on their work is pretty much ^the same as that of the country weavers in Scotland, only they have, longer webs, and are rather bettei* paid. The kind of work most common is wincey, satinettSj and flaimel ; the latter article is very ge- nerally used ty thq countr)' people, for shirtis to the men and petticoats to the women. ; It is always woven white, and the yam is very good. ' An ordinary hand' with the fly-lay can weave liH^i^r tweljpyards easily; the usual price is about -]BixpeS|iRe)'ling per yard ; no allowance . for warping^Jp gearing. In the agricultural districts, any man that can do this kind of work may get throu^ the world very easily. Many of the' faripers have looms in their own houses ; but this is nioi^ a matter of necessity than d]oi(«, andMh|^con8idA*jk weaver in the neigh- bourhood an acquisition ; will help him to build * V:--^- ^^ss m««!m«eimmimmmm 130* " ■ MANUFACTtmES a house, sellrhim a few. acres of land, and take an interest in his success. I have* been, told by weavers and-people about the "mills, that a good many leave their places and buy — even.sonie- times get — a few acres of land, and comtnencp . in this Wiay. I' have seen several who were Very comfortable ; theirhouses literally crammed with bundles of yam, and their children filling bobbins— and .who owned a cow- or two, a pig, some chicken|Jots of Indian corn, and potatoes. -Emigrants of the handicraft class co^e crowd- ing to the manufacturing to\yns and well-known districts, where they frequently cannot get work until their nieans are expencted : besioies, thpy glut the labour market^ when other places are in want of them : instead of w|[ich, if thej would just shut their eyes, adju^alk twenty mWbs straight into any ordinal well-settled district, they would find profitaW^ employment in this and many other ways.* p A number of weavers find employment in all the cities and towns, weaving clouty carpets ; but this field is pretty well ^JM^ed. Still there are hundreds in New York, Boston, Bal- ■'< . f- • 1 IN THE STATES. 131 ■ , f . ■ timore, Philadelphia, &c., who make a living in this way. ^ ^ The iiQxt place I WroughFH^ m" tfie ^tet^ was the city of Cincinnati, in the state of Ohio. But I may mention, that, in my progress out to the west from the state of New York, I stopped j,t several pkces along the liue of the Erie Canal, Jvhere there were factories, some of them_rather considerable; for instance, the city of Roches- ter, where a river as large as the Bee, in Scotland, falls over a precipice 180 feet high, called the Genessee Falls. There are a number of tiiills here, both cotton and Woollen ; iron-foundries and extensive machine-shops, and some of the most splendid flour-ftiills that I ever saw. I could have got a job here, in a -^ cotton-mill, but did not want it. ^ I arrived in Cincinnati on the 5 th Novembier, 1841, I found here several cotton-mills, and two small woollen-works — all having steam-power. Coal was ap.ch^p as on the east coast of Scot^ land, and superior in quality. I found, from the information of my " brother -chips," that there were plenty of 9paall ^ wooll||i-mnis for : i- t h r i 132 MANUFACTUREiS country work throu^out the states of Kentucky, Indiani- and Ohio; and in the latter, in the' neighbourhood of Dayton, about sixty niil6s above Cincinnati, on the line of the Dayton Canal, there are some considerable works; The wages here are nominally more than in the eastern states, but the currency is bad ; and, on the whole, I do not think it so good a place for making a lure living, the works being siftall and far scattered ; and when once one falls oirt of a job^ it is diffecult to get in again. I commenced work on the 8th, with J. C. GeisendorflS\1n the city, who carried on a trade* "in making ingrain carpets and stocking Vam. The carpet-looms were on the most approved principle. 1 observed the designs they wrought from were published in Paisley. The weavers made about seven dollars per week. I spun stocking yarn on a roller-jack, something bie^ tween a mule and a jack, of 120 spindles, after a- condenser. On an average I could spin 30 lbs. of 3 lb. yam, earning about seven and a half dollars per week. The people in this country never call their ^ THE STATES. 133 tucky, in the inil6s )ayton The n the nd, on ace for a^lland It of a J. C. i trade* :Vam. prov ^ ed^^-«^ ■tt ro'ught ireavers [ spun ng be^ after a' 30 lbs! a half 1 their ^ ^smpioyermas^ Boss is the name most gene- rally used ; an| here, as elsewh€|ji# I observed .the same resp^tfuj conduct of the Boss td his Jiands. In spewing to them on the street or in -the counting-house, he will say, ** Yes, sir/* or .«*No,.sir/'^,.v->- ^ ' I The style of living amongst^tradestiien in the *^ Queen City of the West," is superior to anyr -thing I had hitherto seen. The usual yate of boarding is two dollars per-week. In the iyouse where I boarded (/. G. Jones' s» Seventh Str^t), we paid two and a balf dollars per week. In this house we had, as lodgers, two single ladies— { seamstresses, or, as they are called here, tailor- esses. J believe they paid rather less ; perhaps one and tluee-quarters or two dollars. They managed to pay this by workingrat the needle, and ito dress gent^Uy. There werfe also one house- fjunter, \whose wages, in winter, was one and a quarter dollar a day, in summer one and a half ; a man that wrought in a pork-house, whose wages varied from one to two dollars per day ; three ca* binst-makers, whose general wages, at piece-work, varied from seven to ten dollars per week (one 1 M V t »!■ 134 manufacttjr:es of them sametimes as high as foiirteen dollars) -^ ft loa/er (that is, an idle fellow), whose wife ma- naged, at dress-making, to keep' them bath; and myself a wool-spinner, making frpm seven to eight dollars per week. This was our family; whose wages are a fair sample of what trades- ipen can make here. Our bed-rooms were large and airy, but crowded. In my room there were three beds^ two sleeping in each ; but the mis- tress would not venture to put two together without the' consent of both parties. I observed they were cleanly in their habits— u^ng night- shirts, washing as I'egularly/as they rose, and rising regularly as day-light heg^n to glim- mer. A hand-bell was rung about a quarter of an hour before breakfast, and agaia^when it w^s on the table, where all, as they cante from their rooms, -took their regular seats, without ^race, or waiting for their neighbours ; and, having swallowed their breakfast hurriedly, got up and w0nt oflP to work. The morning salutations were such as are not very common amongst tradesmen, in this country. " Good morning, Miss Sto^e f " Qood morning, ^ir ;"— •" Morning,"— •«* Morn- ■■•« •m ollars) '^ ife ma- ;h ; and ven to iamily ; trades- e large, •e were e mis- )getlier )served Dight- e^ and glim- Tter of it was 1 their grace^ baving ip and s were esmea iojge ;" Mom- IN THE STATES. 135 ing,'V " Morning," all round. Coffee and tear ham and eggs (which ' they eat out of tumblers, breaking in three or four, stirring in a little salt, supping it all up in the time one would be of scraping out the shell of an egg after the fashion of the Old Country) ; roasted chickens, sallads, pickles, vinegar, pepper (black and red), hot biscuits, Jonney cake, and buck-wheat cakes and butteF, were the constant* fare at breakfast. But the dinner was glorious : — ^roast pig, a tur- nkey (the very ruins of which would have dinedm small family), a|d rounds of splendid beef. C^t. Barclay of Ury may say wlvat he chooses about the breed of cattle ; 1 only wish, amidst all his improvements, he could introduce a breed that the workin^eople of this c^try could get half as good a §hare of as the lafenirers in America get of theirs* •" The prospect before Ihe master manufacturers is Qertainly very encouraging; they 'have raw material in abundance, and a home market, the rapidly-increasing demands of which they have not yet been able to supply. Tteir boasted ,.i^' r i .K . I 136 mQ^nufactuiies ' Tbolitical aod social institutions have drawn from all parts of the world hundreds of thousands of the very best workmen, who carry with them the accumulated improvements of centuries in theif different trades and handicrafts. But still there are many drawbacks. The principal of these are the want of capital, an ill-regulated system of credit, and an utter want of a circ^i- lating medium of any value or stability. Be- sides, the manufactures of cotton, woollen, iron, &c., depend upon legislative protection for their very existence, without which they could not contend with those of Europe. It frequently happens, therefore, that alterations in the tariff destroy the stability of manufacturing property. But in the face of all this, they are rapidly be- coming a manufilcturing nation. In the year 1840 they exported 3,515,00/ dollars'' worth of cotton goods of their own manufacture. I have seen a fair article of broad-cloth made in the . state of New York, at from two dollars to two- and-a-half ; domestic cottons, of the lower quali- ties, as cheap as they could be bought in Glas> •#s- A ■m:' V '■ M lar . . IN THE STATES. gow ; cut nails at four cents per pound ; and aU this, not by the labour of a pauper population, but from improvements in mechanics, labour- saving machines, and the abundance of all th>^-^ materials ofvw^tb. ■%■;• :M" \i m2 '* f' \ ■■/■-■' r » • M- ■ •' •* " » ' ' •» / ' 1 -■ • 1 ■■• m t I'S-Tri'-fSi^^r) % ff & % ■y ';#« ^ . m'. vi f^ - * . « r M ,. V . 3 *' hV* t "• J 1 '' V i' i^ #, « I . : '^'fc V ^i i^ J , .> • ^». «, •;, -^ - , _^ . '-, f |-^ i\ . 'iJ ;',•* ,''j»^-fj i/s- if " ' »<-?rtv '.>' ■•1. ^ ;•.'».) ; ^,: fe' < ' V* ,^'» •4-".- ^i^!"^: ^m0 [i-^'vfn /■ . f i. ift'suj-.^ r i CHAPTER VII. MANUFACTURES IN CANADA. I :.:i». I :^5sfe%v Wool Mills in Lower Canada— Charges— Mill* in Upper Canada— Wages— Price of Machinery— Wat^r Power and Mills at Niagara Falls— Uniformity in the heights of the River^Wool Carding— Mode of Payment— A cusiomer weavfer — Number of domestic looms— Im- proved spinning wheel-^Emigration of weavers. Theue af e no manufacturing establishments in Canada, except for domestic purposes. Not hav- ing been in the lower province, I cannot speak with much painty in regard to it. In cross-, ing over Lake Ontario, in the steamer "Transit," I accidentally got acquainted with a gentleman wbo owned a wool-carding and spi|ining-mill in Lower Canada. He had been out travelling in the state of Ohio, looking for a place to emigrate to ; butj after visiting a number of similar places in that state, he resolved to remain in Cfuiada, and was then on his way home. This gentle- •-» !■ 140 ' MANUFACTURES . inan told me there nfight be about thirty caiding- mills ill Lower Canada, ^11 of which have fulling- mills. attached ; and one of these, a consider* Me work,, employing twenty-five hands.; Most of them have some machinery for spinning. They charge about 3d. sterling per pound, an the country people grease tlie wool themse ' Carding is a better job than in Sie States. have about the same price for it ; but the wo coarser, and, on the sanae machine, they can hiore of it in the same time. He told me tS m twenty years, he had never known any man erect one of these mills and fail to make a living ■—jjliless it was through drink — and he had never known any (including himself) who had made a fortune by it. ^ * ^ In Upper Canada, there are seventeen or.eigb- \een of these wool-mills equally scattered over the province — some of them employing eight or ten men. The hands are mostly paid by the month. -From eighteen to twenty dollars, with board, is 6bout the ordinary wages ; but fre- quently one-third or one-half is paid in cloth or X yam. • i # <* ■-; y-r^. :---; ■■ ■ ^ ^ . V i ' ' ( ft / -'■ 1 .r.*^'' ^ .- t V 1 ' ♦ P tf f I V IN CANADA. HI The condenser has superseded the billy here, as well &i^m the States ; and I have learned what I did not expect— they get the machinery from the States. I saw several cards that had ^ heen made in Rochester, about thirty inches^ wide ; two cylinders, with four workers on each, •ed with card-doth, No. 00 up to 120, with s, &c. ; in short, every thing to complete the ine, and make it ready for work, aU of the ^ best workmanship, for 600 dollars. There is no other but Water-power ; and they have, this in considerable Jgdance. When I visited the Falls of Niag^Jon the Canadian side, I found a small woollen factory, employing sev¥n men; they wrought country work, and manufactured a Uttle for themselves. I nearly concluded a bargain to work here for a few weeks at eighteen dollars per month, with board, one-half paid in cash, the other in cloth ; bUt Another came m who had a previous promise. This place was built about three quarters of a mile above the Falls, in dangerous-like proximity to the rapids ; a pier of rock and loose stones running into the river a little, standing upwards, guiding a stream ■ i ni Ii4 L i' 142 , MANUFACTURES of water to the wheel. . Th^re is a grist mill, too, similarly situated. - * • There is iio great physical difficulty of em-' ploying the gr^pt Falls for manufacturiiig ipur- • poses. The river is perfectly manageahie; thfe waters never rising or falling more 'than a few \ inches ; the extensive system of lakes, regulat- ' ing the supply of water with a uivfbrmrty 1^- " known to any other river. In speaking of ^e 'ittaiyifectures 6f the States, I ought to have ' mentioned % small town on the American side of , the Falls,^ called Manchester, and sometimes * Niagara, situated on the edge of the rapids. A ' company, a number of years ago, attempted to turn this immense p^er to manufacturing pur- poses.,. They b^ilt a pier into Uie rapids, currying, .by means of a canal, a considerable current of water into tfie town. The different mill sites were to lie between the c^nal and "tiie river, each oue having a sluice to supply it with water from the c^nal-r-all the water returning to the river before it came to the great Falls. Some of these nlill sites are occupied with flour-mills, ' saw-mills, &c* There is only one small wool- \ \ \' • \ \ 46^^d|^ ' IN CANADA.. ' 143 carding an^l apnning-mill ; \nd many of the r^ sluices aie running waste water — ^ready to l^e let ' tq any ope wishing to commence ^ husinessje- " ; quiring power. \ : / I wrought at two carding-mills in Canada ; one in the township of Etohicoke, owned by Miessrs. Hendry and Scott; the othe/ in the township of Vaiighan, occupied by Mr. George Selph, a Yafikie. I had t^^ty dollars a-month in both ^ , l^ces, and hoarded,^this was the highest wages. I'he machinery was good— all niad« in the States. , •' At one of these places, that in Vaughan, there were two power-looms, ^he system prevsals • heffe, of woi-kirig on shares knd payijig for wolrk with wool. ' . r These establishments a^e of great value. to r^. the farmers, many Of whoni have looms in their houses, from which they have a supply of home- made stuffs ; and here, too; as jn the States there is a numerous class of country weaverr, who make a very good HvImt, working for the farmers, arid cultivating a piece of land for themselves. There was one of these, in the last-nimed township, that I used to visit, of whoVl shall takepartj- ^.r •.' ' 1.4 • • i \ 144 , mX^jotactukBs • ^ *,riarnoti6e. ashe is a fair example of thi^jf^ ;lesn.en. His name wa« John KeUy.-n I«sh* mati : he came out her* five years 9go; arid ^ the Vncledge heHad of th,h«siness was karned in wLvingUuendpwlas atafaetoryuearBelfest, - rtd a ^fe. two children, and five sovere.g« . when he arjjved in lordnto- He sj^ h«nsdf he- i%nlyfe.shmings,h«ihisw.fetoM^e he had L.5. and I l^eliev.^ her ^^'^ gome fr&nds to advise and assist t.m Now he Wanicemtle frame-honse. with ^InUta^a ' 6«^,nd a stair leading b^ween the apartments ^to a roomy garret.. wh.re.he has h>s warprng Ll-He hasalsoa cowandadf ; twosw,he ; Uof eo«ks and hens; four children ;w.th dogs Wa^d cats, and all the etcfetras omhrivmg house- •*S" ftisloomwasinacftmeroftheapartmen •they liy^ i«. just beside the fire-place, -d al ajoywereheavibundlespfwoollenyani. He X«ghtwUhtheW-shuttle;hi|chUdren llj .the ^.. and he taught them t« read -hUea^ ■ loA;nowandthensweari«g«ByJ.sus he . wouldmnrderthem. He has four aaes of cleared ■ land ; plenty •fpototoes.-oatmeal.Indun com, «^c. • • • 'I N. I *%. elissof aiid all learned Belfastt rereigns nself be« toldine , Ijebad Kow be itt aiid a artments warping ro swiiie ; with dogs ng house- ipartment «, and alt ram. He [dren filled d while at Jasus" be IS of cleared m com, &fc. • . ' ' ' ' • 145 • ■ \ .; . ■' ■•!« CANADA. thi wife sai4. «uch ; thing as ^?^S ^^ ILi flthemselves or cWdren never camfe «• 'Stod&rJohnhaampreworkthanhecouW ^ I toferved that there ^ " . , f, - ^ \ ri,P fehners iirthe States; and « Ca- :3tadSy4n>provedwheelfpjspin^ V It is^f ti «,n.«ckle;-«Tieel speci*; mngwool. It IS -01 tn ^' • 5 j, i^^ess, «nilthe improvement cona^ m usig^ anditbe.imp. ..g^i^ij^-but^ostly m a its Woportjon, general du" '^ '^ 'i„A\r s mLmodeof increa.ing*esp^of the«^^n^^ .rthe head of the wh.el ther^ » a sm«l -n - ihift about the si.e of* q«ll.oawbieh there , t ;opuUies.oneabou^anin ■ ' * - ■» ' '^' : -i — — T" — /> . • , • 1 M'^ ^ ^ MANUFACTUBftS I oft^p thought it a pity that SO inanjr.of my •tt^i^^en, wlio have been brought up to the weavin^usiness, shoidd have to labour twelve or sixteen hours a day for the privilege of being • half starved and brought to a premature grave, when there is such a wide and continuJUy in- creasing field open to thWIi, all over Canada and the northern and western states ?f 4he Union ; although LoVr.Canada is probably not the best place 10 emigrate <«, For the purpose of giv- ing some iaii^ o^the aihount of their domestic manufacture, I may mention that,* according to Parliaiftentary returns, the number of domestic . looms is estimated at 1S,400 ; and their annual produce is assumed to be—coarSe wooUen-cloth, about 1,400,000 yards ; flannel, 081,000, and fiien 1,366,720. The condition of the customer weavers all over the States and Canada is equal, if not supe- rior, to that of the country weavers in Scotland, some forty ;rears ago, when every one had a cow and a little bit of land, and when they spent ^^^g winter evenings, as often by the fireside * Ihey did between what is ne?^; appropriately I of my to the twelve f beiog ' gfave. Illy in- da and Jnion ;. le best rf giv- •mestic ing to inestic mnual ■cloth, ^ and Ts all supe- tlabd, lad a spent reside ' lately i iIN CANADA. 14:7 called the "four stoops o' misery." But, although there are as good prospects for this class of trade*^ men, both jn the United States and Canada as for any other, I feel great hesitation in advising any to emigrate; so much depends on individual courage, perseverauce, tact, and management. Their previous habits, too, are much against their chance of comfort, and success, in beginning a comparatively new mode of life ;but the greatest diffiiculty of all is in the Want of means. I can- not conceive how a weaver, with men a small family, could leave this country and commence, as a customer weaver, in any part of America, un- less he could raise some L.80 or L.3o at the leasts— and where is he to get it ? I • * •^■r i'l \ » \ # CHAPTER VIII. I: i. # MOBS. Spirit of licentiousness — Carelessness of human life— -A son telling that his father was a murderer— A mysterious circumstance, involving loss of life, excites little inte- rest — Influence of public opinion on judges— A murder . committed openly, in a bar-room in New Orleans — Stabbing, fighting, and gottging — Mode of killing people quietly — Lax administration of the laws — A man taken out of prison and hanged before his trial- Gang of murderers and swindlers on the Mississippi — A judge put into prison by a mob, for offering to accept bail for a prisoner^ — An aboUtion Mob — A bank mob in Cincinnati, five banks gutted— Risk I ran of a visit from Judge Lynch. The worst feature in the state of Society in the United States appears to me to be a disregard of human life, with a very dangerous custom the people have of taking the law into their own hands. Thus»periling their liberties, disgracing the country, and, in certain cases, exercising a tyranny more capricious, and more destructive of constitutional liberty, than that proceeding from the written laws of any monarchy. The spirit from which this despotism springs is not, ■ N 2 I* /" ' * I k 15^ MOBS. perhaps,, bad in itself. It is the spirit of liberty, but certainly run mad, and crossing over the line that dividet it from licentiousness. Murders are "committed with comparative impunity: atrocities that would make the blood run cold at almost every fireside in Scotland, are scarcely heard of beyond the bounds of a town. Whether it is that, in Britain, we set too h^h a value on human life, or whether, in the United Stirtes, they estimate it too lightly, I do not know; but there is a very wide difference between the two countries in this respect. Killing a man in an ordinary quarrel (if there is not very strong evi- dence of previous malice) is not considered "a grievous offence, and the actors generally get xjff with a fine or short imprisonment, when theyjp- .; main and take their trial ; but they very ^^1^ leave the neighbourhood for some other par^f"'^ the country, and then there is io more of it. In the boat I jailed inXfrom New Orleans, there was a lad going > his fatlier in ^i^lorida. He was a young traveller to be ^one. I made up to him, and he told me he wk^ gjw^ to Key West. I asked him whut his fath^ was ^«P!. l!f)i' liberty, ;he line lers are rocities almost heard bether due on Stipes, w; but he two i in an ig evi- ered "a get^ff 1 \'. J9r m ?r was MOBS. , 151 doing there, wlien he told me he had killed a man, and was obliged to run away. I asked him how it wan. He said, a neighbour and he had quarrelled, and his father came into the house, loaded his rifle, went out, and shot hinj. Now, although there were a number of passengers b^^ side, who heard the lad telling the story, it did They did not ion to it than -day life ; land reserve as if it not seem to attract their regard it, or pay any m< to an ordinary occurrence" the lad related it with as^ had been a meritorious action. While I was living in Cincinnati a strange cir- cumstance took place in our neighbourhood, close by Seventli Sfei^ti In a stabler's premises, whife Qountry^^«^i and others put up their^ teams, a countryman, one day, in cleaning Ms horses, had occasion ifor a brush. After looking for it in the' usual place, he found it «^ingst ^ some straw in a manger ; but was surprised and shocked to find a man*s hand fastened in it by the band that crosses over the back. One of our boarders, having occasion to be about the stable, told me of it. I went to see, and found At^ \ \W H \ t -"W^' "M^" J 1;J^2 ^ MOBS. it lyin^ i\\ the stable, with some of the hangers-^ • on and loafers making remarks, more in the spirit of levity, than with the abhorrence which the cir- cumstance was so well calculated to call forth ; for it was evident a foul murder hadlbeen dommitted here, and nootie regarded the fact, nor knew any- thing about it. The hand was cut oiF a little above the wrist, gind it did not appear to be morg, * than a week or te|i days sitfce it had been cut off. There was a recent cut on the brush, that evidently had been made with an axe — probably by the same blow that had separated the hand from the arm. All the neighbours were convinced that a murder had been eommitted. I took par- ticular notice of all that was done and said about the matter. All seemed to view the circum- stance with perfect indiiFerence. There was no " investigation by the authorities, and the story was forgot in two or three days. It was u^ti, even ta'ken notice of by the ifewspapers. % I do not mean to say that all crimes are view-^ ed with. inc\iiFerence ; for sometimes the pub- lic indignation isi^oused to such a pitch thalt it*^ is diflScult for an accused to get a fair trial. In J » MOBS. 153 w i sbtae states the judges are appointed, by'the sut frage of the people, for a short term of years, and the influence of public opinion ^sYelt in their judgments ; and the people themselves, while exercising this influence, copnplain of it. Shooting and stabbing in the streets are not uncommon pccurrenoes ; bowie-knives and ptftols ' are commonly carried. A young man I travelled with for eight orpine days, while in the western stat^, related to me an occurrence which he had witnessed in New Orleans a short time before. He was sitting in a bar-room, afd observed two vttien come in and go up to the hHk ; one of them askid the waiter for a light, which he gave, but the man being a little the worse for liquor neg- lected the lighted paper, till it burned out ; he asked for another, which he got^; still the cigar was not lighted ; when he asked for a third the bat- keeper said he coutd not be bothered with hinv and told him to go away : he immediateiy laid hold of the waiter by the coUaf, drpw him to- wards him, across the counter, and, at th« same itime, pulled from his breast a large bowie-knife,' /which he plunged into the unfortunate bar- -TT-^ r^ i \< .■■!^ k >i ,} % i54 MOBS; keepeir's back, right through his body, until the point stuck in the table. The man died instant- ly ; and thip murderer walked deliberately out of the room, although there were more than a dozen of people in it, and went over to a coffee-room on the other Mde af the street, where he and his companion ordered supper ; and, about an hour afterwards, ^hile they were enjoying ^heir liquor, the personal friends oi the deceased, with some policemen,, apprehended him. But it was my in- formant's opinion, that if it had not been for the friends of the bar-keeper, who came in, the mur-, derer might have escaped ; and, as it was, he had no difficulty, if so inclined. I do not know the result; but, judging fix)m the punishment in-i flicted for similar offences, a few years' imprison- ment would probably be the extent of it. 1^ It cannot b^ denied that an indulgence in pugilistic practices (however much patronized by our aristocrats) is a serious ini'oad on the^ morals of^ society ; yet such is the constitutional infirmity of many individuals, that, when under the inQuence of passion, or a mistaken sense of^sult, they will fight : StiU, if men> labour- . ■**■-, ■■ jfe_ .* /• t 1 the tant- ut of lozen mon d his hour quor, some lyin- ►rthe mur- j had N the itin- •ison- ice in [lized k I the/ ional mder sense 30ur- ■>v_ MOBS. 155 ing under the dominion of false judgment, require satisfaction (?) how much better is it that jthey (Should be guided^ by hvrs of honour (so-called), have a fair ** stand-up fight" and ** fair play,^-than to stab, kill, and gouge eadi other, as they do in America? "Wlien thej/ fight, it is a scramble for life ; and when they have no deadly weapons in theij^^ hands, they bite off each other's noses or ears, or ^ear each other's flesh like doga^ They have a- custom of gouginjg ; and some iie even celebrated for expertness in this horrid practice. In the dead-' ly struggle, when one getsi-f n the top of the other, he inserts a thumb in the comer c^each eye, and shells them out likl muscles. Some- times gouged eyes can be replaced, but they are frequently torn away altogether. ^ In which case the man is disfigured for life ; tliat is if he has any life left in hita after the fight. ' "^ They have another ;very Effective mode of dropping a man/sLS it is called, mostly used in the west and in the .valley of the Missiisippi by _ robbers, who have none of the redeeming quali- ties or diivakic pride of a Robin Hood, Rob 'M i&3iii>mmms^mmim»iiam i^'iiii>u»; «iiw«^aet»w ai! i w ^t , ..«xte>ii^<.v ^^ B , 156 MOBS. RQy,ior an 0:Hanlm. Th^r mofto is^ •'Dea^ men teU no tales." When quietness is an ob- j«it,Vttey tie a heavy leaden bullet in the cor- na- of 4 l^aridierchief, and a slight stroke oii the head with such -a weapou, makes all quiet enough indeed. It is not that they want good and ^alutary- laws. But these laws ai'e not carried out by the servants of tlie public with that i^erseverance and certainty that a well-regulait^d state of society requires ; and this is frequeiitly the immediate cause of tl?e outbreaking 'that disgracd this otherwise noble and enhghtened country.^ Tn almost all cases of mobs thit have come to my knowledge, /l;he people seem to be in the right, morally speaking, but thi$ is a poor ap(^logy for trampling under f6ot and disregarding tHe^ supremacy of laws they th^mselves'have made, tf would be nothing very remaHcable if the working men of Great Britain were. to take this mode of setting themselves right, but it is Utterly disgraceful to the men of the tJnited States— possessed of political franchise, with the ballJt-box to protect themHn the use of it. « ,*' l>*tji^ ' .VT^ MOBS. 157 I shall briefly, give a few instances of what they do in this way. In the montl^ of October, 1841, there was a man in jail in Kentucky, charged with murder. He had^een convicted b^ore of murder in the second degree, and there was littli "doubt about his guilt in this case; but the peot)le were afraid that the evidence might be defective,. and that he would escape a second time. , So, to make sure work of it, they took him out of prison, witkout trial, and hanged bink About two years before this there was a nu- merous gang of swindlers and. robbers banded to- gether, who hadin vested the Mississippi for years, '^comihitting robberies and murders to a frightful extent. It was their regular business, which they carried on sys^tematically ; having agencies sleeps ing, and active partners established along all the principal con^mercial and travelling routes. The were so strong in weal^icmd numbers, and a ^kst got so bold and open, that the people could« no longer bear it— -rose, almos^|p a 4nan, and shot, hanged, and drownM all connected||p^h tjie gang, by the dozen. ; t x:> ^ ?•►►' ? f\] 158 ;.^l %■ I was iHl^nned of a case that occiirred in Buf- falo. Ttte capiknin of a. j^eam-Jboat running tween that^place and ClAreland, on a trip dtf the Jake, toolra fan(^ 1^ amassenger, ^ goMfloi ing^^untr^^ girl. .She hM a hr^Hi* on%)ard mn l)i^n the aftei^oon, thei|||ltaixi trmSim him y/ith liquorf t^ mak^ Md the girl tv to biftf^^crwn rooin. home before, had mnii of t|pi^l|> and laid Jierself c^ym U- #ptain went into the room^imd to take her life if she made the lept remain^, with her* a considerabll ».;|f th#night. In the morning, she toU ^rdther, who n\^nti§ned the circumstance tb . a5me*^f the passengers ; ai^d, before the^ got h> •^ ^uii^, it t\ras g^n^erally known amongst tljemf K B^^ever, noAe of them inehtioned it to the cap- \ ' taipi|^' thel)oat was alongside the wharf, when they ^erit forward, laid hold of hjm, and mai'ch*- ^him up to the court-house. After hearing evidence, bail was oflPered by the captain's fne ' and accepted by th^ court. By this time / '% f w ro 01 a at ui cl P< ra d( w ai I : > V % ¥."*?*V-"! rat to! J cap- ^ MOBS. 159 story was noised abroad through the city. ^ * ^reat crowd was gathered hefore the house ; when was determined not to allow the judge to ac-, it of bail, and they sent in word of their resoli^- ;ion, the reason of which was, that ttey fus-* j^ected he would run away. The judjge was %m: told them he had done his duty, and would stand to it. Then the people demanded that the c«ptain should be again delivered into their hands. This was refused, and the doors were bolted.' The house was then guarded all. ' round by the mob. Some of the citizens brought out their arms ; and, before a quarter of ai^hour, a piece of ordnance ca;ne rattling; along the street at full speed— some of the nfte'R having their uniforms on. They unlumlDcred the gun, and cleared the space all round ; loaded, primed, and pointed it at the house with the greatest delibe- ration. When the match was lighted they or- dered the judge and captain' to come out, other- wise they would blow the house about th^eir ears ; and would have done ife but they surrendered. The mob marched b<«l^ judge and captain up to jail, handed them (over to the keeper, and told ■' . ' .. / «' * y^ ■. -' '' ^v- i\ 4 ili \-:,. ^-^ *'*•■" ^■"' -aW^ ■■"' "^ r 1 160 MOBS. him to answer for theii? safe keeping with his li%. And that captain has, while I write this, the pleasure of teasing oakum in Sing Sipg; and, having heen sentenced to ten y^ars* imprison- ment, will not have completed his task when this little book of mine is perhaps forgotten. Thfere was an abolition mob in Cincinnati a fortnight before my arrival, and the excite- 'ment had hardly subsided then. Let it be re- membere4 Ohio is a non-slave state. Two boys were playing near the canal, and^Jbiothering a negro man, whogot intdf a passion,T ana' stabbed onet)f them with a knife. The negro was ap- prehended ; but the citizens were so indignant - at the outrage thai they determined ta hunt the negroes out of the town altogethel^ For this purpose, they met at Fifth Stireet Market, |f^ some thousands strong, with rifles and two field- pieces, and inarched in regular ormt to the dis- trict of the city where the n^rdes principally resided. The blacks were numerous, and rumour s^d they were to show fight, Many of them had armSi Some said they fired on the citizens, and others not: There was^qmQ firing ; but I w -•* is 11^. I, the and, rison- n this tnnati xcite- be re- iboys ing a ibbed IS ap- rriant ' hunt For irket,^ field- er dis- ipally rnotir them zens, btuti n ^ MOBS. 1^1 xsould not ascertain if any of the blacks mete killed, the accounts were so various. Some of them, I believe, did not want to tell the truth. The end of the matter Was, that they hound- ed them out of the town, and not a negro durst show his black face in the town, for a week. Many of them fled to the authorities of the town for protection ; and the jail-yard was crowded with the poor creatures who had fled for their lives. An arrangement was immediately come to, between the authorities and the citizens ; to the effect that no negro should be allowed to live in the dty who could not find a whilte man to become his, security, and be answerable for his conduct. tT There were two days of mobbing. The second day they gutted an abolition printing esta- blishment, and sunk the press in the middle of the Ohio River, where it now lies— rwhile perhaps the outlandish-looking fishes, in happy ignorance of the strife and contention of the world above, are snuffing about it, and making as sage con- jectiiPes I aboi^t^ use, as some of our philoso- o 2 ^M Ht% ■«* rt-** r 162 MOBS. phers da when they attempt to enlighten a|i ignorant world, hy ^||i|g||^^ings ^^«y ^"^ nothing ahout thU^^^^^ * * ' While I wi^ifi Cincinnati a very serious bank moh took* place. In order that this case may be understood, I may x|p|||pt|0|^at there were a nuiliber of small banking establisments which, a|i^ugh not strictly legal managed, by ^ "hookojpry crook" to get a large quantity of their m^' into circulation, and as the times grew yrorse they fell in value. Such a thing as getting easMbr them at par was never hea^d of in the best if times ; and now, as there .wai A some prospect |tf the state passing an act, com- pelling all to rei»me specie payments, these establishments got embarassed, and some ot n them began to fail in beir^ a»le to red|^m their issues with notei^^ |j^er htnkg- ^Several throughout the stafe and in the 9ty became bankrypt in the mosl^udulentJjjianneril The people were roused, and madel wuymbnihe# # One looming the run upon djji Mam| Export- ing Compaay's Bank was so Spt Hat their ^nds alsjgjfin short. Now, althpuglrtheir notes bore to f ^ '% ^. r 1 ap tnoW •s rious case lettts l,by ^ ^ of imes hiiig lea^d eom- ;hese e ot .. their reral janie The >ort- Elnds re to MOBS. 163 M be payable in speqie, the people only demanded 4be notes of other banks in which they had a little more confidence. However, they stop- ped about ten o'clock in the morning, and a shout ,ran through the crowd to mob them. Immediately the window-frames were smashed, ibe doors broken, and the establishment com- |>letely gutted .;— counters, desks, books, papers, money, &c., being promiscuously hurled to the street, amidst the shouts and execrations of thKnobl When I got to the «cene of action, which at the comers of Main and Third Street* ^rty of sixteen pr eighteen soldiers had possession of the ransacked building. The Iftayor and the marshal of the city attempt- ed to aii^l^ss the mob, ' but in vain, for they could not be heard. The marshal, a bold, ac- tive man, ^as on horseback, riding through the streets, calling u|)on all good citizens to disper but few such were to be found. They t tried a rus^ ;— they rung the city bells to the startling and well-known tune of "Fire," but this also failed. The firemen j^^d many of -m t64 MOBS. , the citizens, with the involuntary movement cf well-trained soldiers, started at the word of com- xifiand, and began t^^-run to their stations. At this time I was standing on the steps in front of the Old United States' Bank, which was crowded with spectators looking down upon the scene, when I observed one of those little inci- dents that have turned the fate of greater field days than this. As the firemen and others were running past, just opposite to where we stood, a fellow got up on a cask or box, at one of the shop doors, where he stood conspicuous, with his thumb at his nose, and his fingers, stretched out, thereby intimating, iuYKST^vay, that a deceit was about to be practised on them. The people "smelled a rat," and immediately returned to the work of demolition in greatly- increaked numbers, and apparently more exas- perateji, both at the cheat practised on them, and atj the sight of the spldiers. They stood at bay fcjr some minutes, moving a little back- ' wards and forwards, evidently preparing for a struggle. The troops had their bayonets fixed and their muskets levelled. There was not ; (/ MOBS. 165 more than ten yards between them. The crdM b^n to throw brick-bats. Two or three of the company fired. The crowd then came forward like a wave of the sea ; the company'^ ired a volley, and several of th§ rioters fell wounded. Such a shout was then raised, all along the crowded streets, and from the spectators on the tops of the houses, as I never heard before '^Jar I had never seen the " sovereign people" iii a ragp till now. By the time the smoke and dust cleared away, and the astonishment of the moment past, there was not a feather of the soldiersVcap^-toHbe seen. The authorities ordered them to fall back to the mayor's office, which was immediately in the rear. This was a wise movement ; for, I think, s^f they had remained other five minutes it would have been doubtful if any of them would have *« chewed their cud" over their pork that night, llbelieve the mayor had strong doubts whether he had any legal right to shoot* the citizens on such an occasion ; and nomore soldiers appear- ed that day. It is ttM^ihe companies were ordered out, but they pM^iio attention to this V ?,i(.a * s W ■'1,'i 'iS' ^} f 1% % i'' r • .1^6 ' > MOBS. a ■order; i^ feet, the greater part of them h^cl^ ^ I not tiv^, for they were busy, in the mob, helpJ ; '"^ ing to wind up the affairs o^^he banks ; and thiii ; they did, effectually, before night. After this, the mob had complete 'possession of the city, and the run upon the banks con- tinued ;by^ they gave them fair^lay. As^long^ji, i as they, were able to redeem their notes they al- "" . lowed thim to go 6n, but the moment the funds riin short, smash went the windows and doers ; •" and the work of destruction eommenced.' The - tankers fled for their lives. In this way they- £ demolished the inside of five of these "djin- ■ p-' ; plaster mAufactories," aS' t|iey called them, be- < r 'forenight - ' .. \y The^ were a great number of special co^^ * ' ; stables sworn in, and they came ou£ a;bout two - V o'clock, each „ with a handkerchief ti^ i-ou^d . '>^^ .his hat to jlistinguish them. They tU|^ them- t^i Selves in liiied^^^^ the streets lead% to the ^ ^ rtiQbbed^ar^ of the city, allowing every body ; ;, ; .^ j^o pass away fromi but none towards, the dis^ ^ ''^ / tftrbed districts; but it would not* do. ^ Tl}e / ^ ; :'lieople;broke through; and I do pot think the '^'- :• ps^ bef 0; e -i'^ ■ --' ^ i-- .■■»..'k.W •^ K' ^^ ^ . ■.^3r ti • ; ^-; r— --" ' ' W 'TTJl'^ -;: •*" ' w,. ^~i'; N*»^p^- ,>,,,> ,•« "•^TTfV l^^ >"«nn»*(»«iiB:»>».(.»» ^. 4Ji \ K coi^i two "■'Ut .• . The liiob went to ^rk Very deliberately, 'and, %fi;er they had, ever}'tfring their own way; .with good humow, ' I Was pleased, with the %irit of '*,£m^h^^lt[6^ to the Plakteii' and : Mechanics* Banks, which WcrV thought to be weak^ The cry to pull them down was^equently ^ lai^d, b|it a number of thi active rioters de- Ijfe^ed the Remises Ito^tly; and tli^ continue', paimig^ day, to r^eem their^ notes. The ^iRfeJlon them was tremendous, but th^ stood out the storm ; and, at night, posted bills," stat-^ in^that they would open next moling an hour before the usual time^ */ . : / Therjl were several of, those engaged in the ^ lipptelt^died thrdughout the day ; some of th^ with. considerable sums of mon^y on them. •,-.. ■ ■'^ 1 • ., .•/, ■■■• ' ■ 'i»^., ■>■ . i .1 '^ '•« ^v4 u j 1= ,f i-H itt T «., n; r '!*. rt( '.*• *■, „i_^ -.-«*- ■^kiSlM 4^-:i^«*i»it- ff, '<'**' i> •J ■4 ¥^ 'i".*: "¥: \ j#* ll-- \% !• «■■■ /. Vf^' 168 ^* F MOBS. t Everybody had plenty of money that day, such as it was. The very children were running ah^ut with handfuls of dollar bills ; several of which fell to my share ; and I have them yet as trophies, and an evidence of the mode of regu- , lating the currency in the " Queen City of the "West.^*- There were several other banks in the city, respectable establishments, in which there was plenty of good money and specie, but the mob never made the slightest move towards them. ' These areexamples fenough, to give some idea how the Americans execute judgment when they tidtethe law into their own hands. There tvap one case more in which I nearly got inta tbe hands of Judge Lynch. In my passage out from Liverpool to Charles-* tob-.«?n the barque "garnet and Jessie," of Charleston^' Captain M*Kown, the captain and I h^d many arguments about slavery. He held that the negroes did not belong to th|i same s species of hijman beings as white men. I com- batted this argument; and held out against the assumed right of any;, class of men holding S^fz ijA lor pej ; sel, • ^ret i ■! mods; 189 other in bond^e. Although we differed in opi^ nion on this and some other things, we got along Veryi pleasantly ; but the morning after our , arrival in Charleston, when he went ashore to the custom-house, he reported me as a rank Scottish abolitionist, and as such I was entered in thdr hooks. There was an excitement immediate- ly. The authorities and mob were after me, but, " 'fortunately, I had left early that morning in the steamer "Beaufort District," for Beaufort, in happy ignorance of the risk I ran ; fpr if they had caught me there, I would have been tarred ted feathered, ai the very least ; and any very mitl^ treatment, or exposure, in my then deli- . cate state this circumstance, if i^ had npt fteen to warn, ., . '^ others, travelling in slal^ stated 1;b be extremly ,; * guarded in their expressiops Upon the sAjeqt of . ' j . slavery. Thfgre is an jolScer in every town, whos? : L ^ . 4uty it is to look after all strangersY and the summary mode? of treatihg . suipecte4 persons is A very cogent reason for, catjgfalileag. . "* ^' ■^ I" f ■ ■ ' ; .1 y , * . ' .. ;« r "' t '. " i. .■,/, '•.*f*t^' • (4 ,V^ » » M. ^ •■ - -■ -# 'j '• l' -■■^v ""' '» ,?i / J i:.1 It is vdfy foolish, indeed, in th^people of the slave states, to expect any community of feeling or sympathy, futther than what justice reqiriri^] frouEi, men bbrh amidst the hills and vallies of Scotland, consecrated, to liberty by the blood df W^lace upd Briijicie,-^where the only remains of • fb^gti d^^jy^^ ar^;^e cairns raised ^ over tfefe graves of the onpe powerful -Dane and the s^ill more powerful. R<^ipan. - - '* i^' v< V t- f,''.' « r '»■• ' '^ W' •r •4 A' ' .1 ; - ^, CHAPTER IX. \ %».f('; (■ SLAVERY. Bapt^izing slaves — Their beBav^oyr^ — Appearance \n the Cl\ur9h — ^Idi^as of religion— -Skcrament of the Supper ' — Their dress^^— Anecdote -df a slave and a ram at church — Politeness — Marriages— Separation of fami- lies— SKops for the sale of negroes — Value of slaves- Treatment of old slaves after they are unable to work — Old Saw. threatened with the whip— .Trial of a slave who murdered his master — Negro houses — Negro funk — Stated tasks — House servants — Whipping wkh #ie cow-skin — Humanity of the planters — Abolition—- Cheerfulness of the slaves— Factory slave of England — Kindly feeling of the native Planters— Coraparisou of the American slaves and the British.^ On my arrival in South Carolina, the first thing that particularly attracted my attention was neg^o slavery. ^ Two days after my arrival in Beaufort, the quarterly meeting of the Baptist* Chur6h occurred, heing Sunday the 11th October 1840 ; and, as I imderstood that some sixteen / , or eighteen negfd slaves were to be baptized, >« p 2 « ' , - ^ ^ \ ' ii74 SLAVERY. \ ^I went to the river in the morning at seven o'cloclt, and found the banks crowded with • some hundreds of black faces, and' a few white people. ^ . \ Jt was a beautiful mornings with a dearef sky than is often seen in^dotland. I almost expected to see something ridiculous, but, in reality, the whole affair had rather an impos- ing and solemn effect. The black peopR^ be- haved themselves decently, and with great pro- priety, much more so than a^ parcel of young gentlemen who were looking on, enjoying the scene in their own way,Jbut not niiuch to their credit, as men of » -sense or good feeling. The V parson, who was dressed in a white gowni^^went mia the river, till the water dame up to his waist. A very large fat negro man, named Jacobs one of the deacons of the chur<;h, led the people into the river, and stood by, while Ae parson immersed them, I suppose, to see that none of them were carried off by the stream ; and sure enough, it would have taken : a pretty strong tide to carry him off. They wen|i into the riyej: one by one, the men first, and I i 1 A ( li ■%-*!Y"ft 11^ ^ .to^ iX » SLAVERI^ .175.' then tibe women. The effect was really solemn, as the dear voice of thejiistor resounded through the crowd, and alori^he hanks of the river, mth. the words—**! haptize thee in the nkme of the Father, ^nd of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost — ^Amen ;" and when all was done, they came up from the river, in a hody, singing the ibeati^Uful hymn — " I'm not ashamed to' own my Lord, Or to defend hU cause : Maintain the glory of his cross, And honour all his laws.^ At eleven o'clock we went to church, which was very Crowded. I believe there are about twelve or fourteen hundred negro members be- longijigtoit, ^)artly house servants, but mostly slaves from thfe cotton plantations in, the neigh- bourhood, ^^jir-the church,, the il^oes (with the exception of. those who were baptized in the ttiorning), were seated in the gallery, the men ' rni the one side, and the women on , the otljer. They had a very strange appearance to me. It was a novel «ght to see so many Macks. They appeared all verf much alike, as^ii|ich So as^ _§#: of i^hdpp does p a stranger. In flieir outward ■' ^ I. J « "-<< > 176 SI^AVEUY. appearariQe, tficy w^Jhe most serious and at- tentli'e congregation ^Hiye saen. Aftijr prayej^ and prai»&, ^ negroes who were baptized i^P^ the morning, were requested by. the pastor to ' stan4 up, when he addi-essed himself to them ; telling them particularly their duty to. God and to their Masters, and to hold fast by the profession of Chidstianity they had that day made. Then the pastor, the Bev. Mr Fullen, who was standing, surrounded by his elders, im- mediately before the pulpit, told them to come forward, and receive the right hand of fellowship. As they came forward, he took them by the h^d, and badOtop welcome as .brethren in Christ. I todv^l^P^ular notice of the shaking of hands. *It wa|^=a real transactipn ; and in the act, the women made a curtsey, and the men a bow, with abetter grace than many of the servant lads and lasses in this country would have done. All, except one, were new members ; and on this^one they had been exer- cising church discipline ; I believe, folr inconti- . neuce^ but, after a reprimand before ^he congre- gation, he was bid "Go in peace, aiid sin no I * ■ ii^ • tl ^ S< i *'" g W * • 11 a i a 1* ■ f- 1 *i y ,- #. SLAVERY. 177 moi€*' AH churches admit them as members, after instructing them in the great features of Christianity and some of the most practical and useful dogmas. I frequently conversed with them on this subject, and they generally had ii tolerable scriptural idea of Hell and the Devil, of God and Heaven, and of Jesus Christ, who died for their sins ; -or, with the ide^pF a little schoolboy, they would tell me th^t Heaven is good, and that Hell is bad, — that the wicked will be punished in the one, and the good en- joy the other. Yet some of them are learned in the Scriptures, I have heard them praying and exhorting in their own homely way ; but, as with their white brethren, this does not appear to have any practical eflPe^ on their conduct. - In the afternoon th^ Sacrament of the Supper was administered. There were black deacons, wha handed round the breM and wine to the negroes, 'they all used the same wine and bread. The white people did not use any of the cups that the slaves drank out of, but the cups that the whites ha^^ used were then used by some of the slaves. The negroes have gene- M ^.:A1. -iTf "' ''^''*?nf -nF*""* » * « ■ ■• .• "• * * t % » • . ' rr t P' / * '*/ - d- ' ' $ » '• ■ ■■■1 n ^^ ■ ^ ! » BH ' - F'^'.-C"-! ^^r' ■ 1 " . ' • « f V\ « .r^ 1 • " ^ ,^ . \ • • ' - • ■ • ^ 4 ' •> , " n J * ( ■ k '«f / . \ ... • -f: ' - - ' « , -ji ' # ■- ■ — ' — - — *■- 1 • 1 .''•• f- " y - • ; f^^ / ■T ♦ » >-•'». Ik* « ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) m A .^^ '> »" lis 111112.2 ^ U4 I.I , I •« i^ _ ^. 18 ^ ill U III 1.6 ^v^ Sciences Corporation 33 WBT MAIN STRUT' WnSTM.N.Y. MStO (7U) •72-4503 4(^ ■^-■mm : ^ *\ ,s z "^ :f ^ ^ k 6^ 1 i,*-i '%. / , . s 17$ )} SLAVERY T Jfally fine voices, and they joined in te psalmody of the church. They, of course/ do not jise anjr*. books ; for it is contrary to law to teach a negro to read or write ; but the pastor gives out the ' hyn^n in two Imes at a time. Thej;^ appeared if pay great attention toy the service ; but I was ^ sorry to observe Ihat the minister never turned - his eye to the galleries, nor addressed himself to the limited capacities of the slaves. Judging from the discourse, and the manner of the minis* ter, one wo|^d not have known there was an ig. norant negro,in th^ house, although there vi^ere five (Mr six timesas many black skins as white* . - It .would be a hard task to describe the dress of the slaves. The men could not have p^. sented a greater variety of dress if a cart-load ^ . of clothes, beggars' duds, gentlemen's dress- * coats, with silk.velvet collars, good Imts, shock- . ' ing bad hats, the miserable remnants of black and white •* castors" that had served a severe apprenticeship to their masters, and all sorts of ' inexpressibles, had beA all mixed together, and each one sent blindfolded to put on what first came to hand ; and this would, indesi^, convey ' X ■/' . y ■ i ■ar- viist. ■:.:{: ody ant ;grd the' \ii wai K Fto iiig %- ere ess ^ re- V ►ad*^ . SS-. 5k. ick ?re ^,;:- of ^ nd rst ey SLAVERY. 170 ■ * some Idea - df thelt dress, 'J[f out one-half of them had shoes on. I have often heard it said, it is the life of an old hat to cock it well, but never saw the thing so well illustrated as I' ^id here. Their plantation dress, although coarse, is far mote becoming; but they are so ^mhi, 'and their taste is so little cultivated, that they prefer, when going to meeting, the verf-^ rags and tatters of ^n old dress coat to their own Osnaburg- jlacke|. A few were as well dressed as maky^hite men. ^ > ^*Tqe dresses of the females Were about as varied as those of the men. One uniform custom prevails of wearing gaudy-coloured handk^r- diiefs on the head, a la turban, many of them tartan, the bright and heart- warming colour^ of which seemed strangely out of place on the head of a slave. • *f w^s told a ludicrous cir^^istancfe that had occurred lately. It is customary, when the church ia throiiged, for the slaves to sit on th.e stairs ; sometimes they bring stobls with them, on which they sit about the. doors. One Sunday, an old slave, whose black head was turned 17 H / :i.i. / 180 SLAVEEY. ■ - ■ r ■ grey, s^t do^Vta at the door on the remaiilder of an old chair. From .the heat of the day^ and perhaps partly from the soporific quality of the -^^ discourse, the old man fell alileep, and was nod- ditig very comfortahly. ThJ^ attracted little **aUention from the congregation, but it did not escape the observation of a ram that was feeding 6lose by. Every nod the negro gave, the ram approached a little closer. He stood at bay, in the attitude of boxing, just . for a sufficient length 01 time to attract- the attention of^he minister and a great part of the congregation, who saw what was coming, but had not time, to interfere before the. unconcious cdd man gave a larger nod than tisual.. .The ram" considering this a fair challenge, c^flpbang up against his head with a cr^ck that wrauld have fractured the f skull of any white min, and sent him in ai the church door onliis back, with the broken chair on the top of him, shouting murder, amidst the ill suppressed laughter of the congregation. ' After the services of the day were over, I was amused with their appjearance and manners, when ^ they congregated iu crowds and ^groups around ..-<-:-2S ;%-?• ■a- ler of , arid )(the= nod- little d not sding 5 ram ly, in icient fnhii ition, ne.to ave a ering st his d the ' lithe chair it the I was when :ouQd SLAVERY* 18 ") 9 . t the (church, after the manner of the people ia country parishes in Scotland, hnt with much more of light-hearted happiness in' their blade and glistening faces. Their politeness, too, wat pleasing, though it amounted to the ridiculous-^ a shaking of hands, such bowing and scraping ; the young wenches kissing each other for very joy. " How you do, Miss Diana?" "Pretty i?rell, Massa Talleyrand ; how you do?"' -Curt- seying, chattering, and laughing, and showing rows of pearly teeth that a duchess might envy What a contrast appears l^etween these and their task-masters, as they lead tHfeir ladies to their carriages, through .the crowd, — thin and deli- cate, wilih care and disfease written upon their wrinkled but haughty brows. _ Surely, I said to myself, thfese men suflFer more of the eVils and the cuKses that- always follow slavery than the slaves themselves. f The negroes are allowed to do as they please, Vith regard to marrying and becoming mem- bers of churches. Their masters prefer ^t 4hey should marry, as it is favourable to in- crease ; and I found, more frequently than might /t ■Ks;.- > /. i .■■• ^182. SLAVERY. be ex^^^cted, tliat they choose a wife from a ^if-: ferent plantation. The reason of this is to give them an apology for getting away /when their task is done ; or, Oti Sundays, to see ^heir neigh- bours, which they are very fond of: The slave owners are not apt to separate fa- inilies, although they are always liable to be sold ; but, in reality, they Are not so much scat^ tered as the families of working men in Scot- land, whose necessities compel them to separate ^t an age when the American slave is running; about, gathering health and strength, and play- ing mischief. In the slave states there is some- thing of the spirit of the ancient feudal times. 1/ ^ The planters like to keep up the number of their slaves ; and it is considered, if not dis- graceful, at least an evidence of failing credit and 1 respectability to be obliged to sell their negroes. When a man and his wife, or a mother and ber daughter, who love each other, are separted, Ijhey com|>rain of it to their owners, who make an arrangement either to "buy or sell.'* This is frequently done. Sometimes slaves are bought at private sale, but more frequently at, auction. §t,AV^RX. 183 In several southern cities, J observed shops full of negroes for sale. In New Orleans they v^ere most numerous ; where there is a street with nothing in it but stores for the sale of negroes. They are tricked off to the best advantage, sit- ting on seats all round the store, arid under the shade at the doors. I^ tried to screw up my courage to go in and ask the price of some of ' them, but could not do it. Howeve-r, I fi;e- quently saw them selling at Ruction in the streets .and market-places. Good house servants and mechanics frequently bring one thousand dol* lars; field hands and labourers, five hundred. The value of negroes on a plantatibi^jncluding old and young, may average about 350 dollars «ach. Th^. value of this kind oi property, as they call it, is very fluctuating. It is considered real property, and is conveyed by regular articles r and title-deeds. ^ Money is borrowed on it by I mortgage, and it is willed away the same as houses or land. Accx)rding to law, a slave cannot hold any ' property ; but, in practice, many of those. who • are hired out make more money than the stipu- ■::'Sr ,184 SLAVERY. Jated wages their owners require. With this they are allowed to do as they please. V i took particular notice Jxow masters treated the old slaves after they were unable to work in the fields. Their laws lirovide that they shall be fed and clothed ; but I found that a better feeling than necessity propipted the planters to minis- ter to the wants of their aged servants. T have their houses; blanketsj shoes, clothing, %d their allowance of corn, the same ati9 prime han^s, I knew some of them that iad- been toddling about for twenty years after they were unable t^ work. Many of these old[ hands keep them- selves in tobacco, molassejs, &c., by feeding a pig, or raising a few chickens. To feed them, they will cultivate a little/ patch of ground, but as frequently steal com f/om " Massa" for tliis purpose ; and, after all, if the planter's family want to buy any of the^r eggs or chickens, they will not sell them to tl^em one cent cheaper than the regular market price. These old hands are a sort of privileged persons, and are never abused or neglected. I was acquaintedf'fvith a planter on Beaufort Island, who had a rfttle wrinkled f. ■^k ii^'. ■ ^*w'. •-««w«rei«^' SLAVERY. ISo slave called " Old Saw." He was so bldthat he remembered the ** war of independence." He had ^een his father's coachman, and his own for many years. When a boy, this negro attended him when he went out ; taught him to ride and hun^ ; and, although the planter's ^lead was now silvered ov^r with the frost of years, " Old Saw" 'still looked upon him as a boy, and often spoke to him as such. One day " Old Saw" did some- thing that displeased the planter very much, e gave the old man a scolding, and told him e deserved to be whipped for it. " Old Saw" bristled up like fire, exclaiming—-" You whip me !— you whip me! You little rascal, I knew you 'fore you was born. I knew your daddy a picayune. You little rascal, you whip me !" The gentleman retreated mkp the hoitse ; but " Old Saw " followed him ^nto the drawing- room amoligst the ladies, .who, by then* laughter, encouraged the old fellow till the planter was fairly obliged to leave the room. " Old Saw" retired, not even deigning to reply to the ladies, >vho tried to pHcify him, muttering to himself, " Little rascal, whip me !*V Q 2 y____ r ]>-* }^^ SLAVERY. A negro, whether he is bound or free, t;an- not bear evidence against a white man in any W the slave states ; but when he commits any grievous oflPence, he has the benefit of trial ♦ %jury, but not by his peers, any more than the labourers of this country can be tried by theirs. However, I believe they get a fair chance for their lives. To illustrate this, I shall ; mention the case of a planter who was tnurdered by one of his own slaves in Beaufort District, in the spring, of the present year. . It is a custom with those planters, who do not live upon their estates to go once a-week and serve out provision's to the people. This gentleman found that his corn-house had been entered in his absence. He suspected his driver or head slave, and taxed him with having stolen his corn. The negro denied that he had anything to dp with it. The planter told him if, on his return, he found the practice continued, he would not serve- him out . his allowance. But, poor gentleman, he never re- turned ; for this same slave waylaid him on tlie road, in the dusk of the evening, and coming sud:. denly behind him with a club or grubbing hoe. 'J. 4? /' i*W^ -- ■^ . ; " ' SLAVEKY. .187 beat out his brains— mangling him in a shock-, ttg manner, after which, he threw the dead b^y into a neighbouring swamp. ^ The cunning of the slave was remarkable." He joined in th^ search that was immediately made for the miss- ing planter; anS, I believe, actually had'-the'. lierve jto be the first to discover the mangled corpse. It wag a fortnight afte? this.^^fore suspicion rested on hitn. When apprehended, ^e confessed all. "Counsel was assigned him ; and, when brought to trial, he pleaded guilty. - The court ladvised him to retract -^is plea of ' guilt, and "take his trial ; but he would not He said he liad murdered his Massa, and could not deny it.. When asked his reason for com- mitting* so hbrrid a crime, he said* it was the devil that put it into his mind, apd he was now , sorr^for what he had done;. for Massa was "^ alwipSgood.^ him. He was executed on the i^pot where the murder was cgmmitted. All the . slates in the neighbourhood were turned out to - witness the -execution ; and when the ^sheriff asked if any of them would assist to run him up the4imb of a tree, a niimber of them came \ % / mmmmmm ^ ¥" J^P SLAVEUT. forward very readily, ^nd gave thei>' assistance —evidently satisfied with the justice of the sen- tence. . . • ' On plantations, eaUi fafnily has a small housed generally, built of wood, in tows, and mostly.with some show of taste 6r re^gulariiy. ' I have ih- spected plantations where they work from ten to one hundred hands ;, ^nd shall describe pne^ house, which will serve for ^specimen in gene- ral .-—Built of wood, covered with shingles, ten feet wide, twelve or fou^rteen feet long ; a chihi- ney and fireplace at one end, sometimes made of lath and plaster, sometimes built of brick/ without any stove or grate, which, indeed, there is 1)0 use for ; a few boards in one comer, some- j times raised a little from the floor, to lie on ; and this, with a blanket, constitutes their bed. They have frequently anj)ld trunk or box for holding their clothes;, although many of them hjive little occasion for^such a convenience ; a pot, an iron ^poon or two ; jsome firewood in the corner ; a little black negro lying naked in the floor, scram^ bling about, as plump and shining as '^th^ hair bottom of a new chair ; a seat at the door of the ^•^ N '■^4 r I / -^- .^ rJ" / f . I , tance ■ '■■■^ I sen- bus4 ' 2 ih- 1 ten one^ ' ^ i ;ene- . ten . bifn- lade her^ ime-^ and , li"g ■ : . :ttle * . ^/ / -r X i iron ';a im- lair the / ' tabiuj where they'«it, sometimes nursing,' some- iimes sleeping. They -have lodts on their doors, which are necessary,.for they ^te^l like rats. They ' fre4uently have a few chickens, or a pig or two, \n aUittle crib before their houses; Which thev trnt^Qt trade away for tobacco/jnolasses, &c'. ; In their persons they are dirty. Tffey have, f-^iasly smelj, '^commonly called ne^ro fmky which is quite perceptible, and not very agree- •^le, ** when they pass between Ae wind and- your nobility," They are very careless of their clothes,-~careless of their houses, orf*whether theybe clean and comfoijtable f so much so, that §. knew ^^ who shifted his bed from one' corner |o another, when tfelp rain^am.e in, to save him Ihe^^oublfe of^putting a shin^e oh the roofl But t;he fact is, when it rains tbfey cannot mend the house, and when it does not rain, it is not necessary to have thtem water-tight. They"liave Stated tasks^ to perform. Custom has established great uniformity in the amount of. Work they . have .to perform ; and, as far as I could judge, from tbe physical condition of thfe sljives, and ^..' th^ length of time they are generallv^in the- % tj \~^K ""|?^SSEE^^-gev*t ■ SLAVERY.; :; field, tbey are not overwrought. I have se^n • them finish their task by inj^-day, and some m^ ' not have-finished their task When it is da^ia which case the deficiency is' Carried forwarl^nd added to their next day's work ; but, in general, they have no difficulty in accomplishing^their tasks. Those ofthemwhoareemployed as house servants have not one-fourth so much work as » ScQt^ servant lass : but they do not sleep very soft at night— which, indeed, is no luxury in a I warm climate, generally laying themselves down, " with their blanket gbout them, in the hall or lobby of theHiouse, or about the landings of thf stairs. The " cow-skiu*' is not mueh used in the field. The driver is always a black man, yvho ha5 the immediate oversight of the hands in the field. Sometimes he carries a bundle^ of^small wands, perhaps five or six ; some have a horse- whip, which they apply to the shouljers of the women, and the bare buttocks of the men, when they make bad work or misbehave in any way ;fl^ but this Sort of punishment is not very severe. It is when .the " cow-skin," a piece of hide twisted into the appearance of a riding- switch, .-i '' •■A.v . SLATEEY. igi femetfrnes painted red. is appW to their bare baok for some heinous offfence, that they make • the,,|fld8 ring with their cries, which I have heard ; but I never saw the punishment inflicted. and I hope never shall. ' But truth is all the end I aim at In writing .these pages. Truth, then, compels me tii say that the planters in general treat their sl^s with great humgty. Would to God the' aristocracy * .or the govMment of this country would interest themselves hajf as much to improve the phj^&I condition of the factory slave of England! Affer I got acquMi^ with the planters," I used to speak freelr^)n the subject with iome ofuSem ; s, «nd some ofthe more moderate and reasonable did not pre(;fnd to defend slavery, on principle orfrom nature. It is a curse entailed on them : and ho* are they to get clear of it ? No practicable plan has been proposed to them. If the philajj. ijgifopists throughout the world want to free »e negro race, and assert the inalienable rights of human nature, they ought to follow the ex- . ample, of the Government of Great Britain, in freeing the West India nfegroes, at least m far /'I ' f" ' *" if ft* ^ [#■ f 102 ' SLAVERY. as indemtiity goes, tt is too much to put |hf planters to great pecuniary loss for the plei* sure of those who wish to rescue the negroes from domestic slavery. From whatT'have sai4 it; will appear to those who knew my opinions m slavery before I visited that country, that, like most others, who can judge dispassionately, I have changed my opinions considerably. Although there are many cases of great cruelty, domestic slavery, in the southern and slave states of America, is not that horrid system of cruelty and opptession that is represented in this coun-' try. It is true slaves can neither read nor write, have no intellectual cultivation, and y^|;, I believe, they laugh and sing more than any class of mei;i^ on earth. I have seen them laughing at the jokes of the auctioneer who was selMg them at at public auction, like the beasts that perish* This, by some, will be called strong evidence ol the great evils of the system. Well, be it so^ I only wish, without being in their stead, f covlI^ laugh as hearty and as ofjen as they do. must bring this chapter on slavery to a con* X elusion, although I have not expressed one hah ••""^ '*'-.».«-.,.• put |ll# le ^lea- negroes ve said, lions on at, like , I have though omestic ;ates of cruelty s coun*^ r write, believe, of inej*< at the hem at peridb* ence ot te it S0|i^ tead, f jy do. ) a Con- ine hah vime observatiohs I made in my tt-avels tLugh the southern states. Yet, one remark n^re.-^I Mve seen chUdren in faefories, both in England and Scotland, under ten years of age, /workihg twelve hours a-day, tiU their little ha^ds were bieedmg. ' I have seen these children /whipped, when their emaciated limbs could no li^nger sup. - port them to their work; and I beHeve there w not a planter in America whose blood would not. rise, and whose arm would not be lifted up to defend even the negroes from s^ch cruelty; especially the native planter, who k much bet- ter to his negroes than the planters that have been brought up in free states. tJiis is an ac-^ knowledged fact, and therefore /need not il- lustrate it. ,If I were to Jook/for the cause of the comparative kindly ^lin^ of the native planter, it would partty b^fom^ in his having ^en nursed and tended in iiifancy by some |areful negro, and having m^e playmates of . fie Uttle black fellows of his ^kther's house. I fcknowledge.that the misefilrly degfuded state of the factory slave, or the Equally unnatural condition of the miners, is i^o apology for the ^ # *»-"- » ,,. „ jrt- If ■! It" ' f' 104 V SLAVERY. continuance of n^ro slavery ; and I only nqake the comparison to show how difficult it is» un- der the present irrational state of society, to jrender pleasant the condition of the "hewers of Wood and drawers of water," I consider my- self in some degree qualified to make this com- parison, foir I have witnessed negro slavery in mostly all the slave^holding stateif in America ; havmg lived for weeks on cottou plantations, ob- serving closely the actual condition of the ne- groes ; and can assert, without fear of contra- diction from.any man who has any knowledge of the subject, that I have never witnessed one* fifth of the real .suffering that I have seen in manufacturing establishments in Great Britain. In regard to their moral condition, let those who have had the temerity, who have dared to lay their hands on fellow-men, to claim them as property, let them answer for themselves in this matter to the Almighty, who still permit- teth this extraordinary condition of society to exist. Let none suppose that my object is to defend slavery : but. dearly as I love personal liberty, I i .§. "iS 1 } i % y iqake is, u»- ety, to swers of er my- is com- kvery in merica ; Dns, ob- the ne- contra- )wledge ed one- seen in Britain, t those ;ared to hem as Ives in permit- dety to defend t)erty, I . SLAVERY. 195^ I- ' ■ ^ love justice and tl^uth as well, jyhich compel me to say that the, condition of the negroes is not so anomalous as that of the labouring men o£ this dountry. They have no responsibility, no fear that their children may be left to want, no provision to make for age, no fear of being ne- glected in sickness, or of being compelled, in their old age to beg their bread from door to door. Whereas the labouring men of this boasted country have all the care and responsibility of freemen, and none ©f theri valued privileges. They are used as animals of burden, and have not even the right of shifting the load from one ^boulder to the other, without the consent of their task-masters. I do not make these com- parisons between the negro and the worst-off class of manufacturing people for any invidious purpose, but only to enable me to convey a cor- rect idea of their condition, by comparing them with a class that live amongst ourselves, and whoi^e condition we kn^. il I # \ i\: r" f .*-j^. « ■•■I- S:-*.. )*■. 'vy,-^rUv;'v,; i*.,v ¥^ ■>!; ^ ' , !* ■ ■■ ■ !'r « ■ ^ 1 • * ^' ...,._._ ■':^''':^^^''v .■"^■'■; ._ . i- 1* - " • ■• - •■ ■ •■ /; " ■V ■ ■ *• u ' ' ' .W '"• *■ ■ "" ». ' « . » ' ,(*•*'»■••«"«."• nr CHAPTER X. 9 . mn a REDIGION. Table, allowing the number of churches, ministers, and members of churches in the United States — Comparison of the number of qhurches in British and American cities — Handsome and comfortable churches — Manners of the minisJers— fTheir dress — Building churches — Fanaticism — Mormons, oi? Latter- Day Saints — General view of the state of religion. Although there is no* public provision made for the support of Christianity, there ij^no great want of churches or preachers. The following statements of the number of churches, ministers, and members of the different denominations, are from thfe American Almanac for 1842, and have been derived chiefly from official docu- ments published by the different denominations ; but the last column contains 'rather a vague estimate, made a few years since, and which has appeared in various publications, of the total num- ber of people who are attached to, or show a pre- ference for the several religious denominations ! ■' ! I 108 RELIGION. Denomination^. Baptists, . « ' Freewill, ^ " Seventh Day, " Six-Principle, . Catho|ic8, Christians, . , . Congregationalists, . Dutth Reformed, . . Episcopalians, . . Friends, German Reforme'd, . .; Jews, . , , Lutherans, Menonites, , , . , Biethodist?, ". . ^ " Protestant, . Moravians or United Brethren, Mormonites, . . . New Jerusalem Church, Presbyterians, , ;- ,, " Cumberland, v^ * " Associate, " Reformed, . . " Associate Reformed, Shakers, . , « . Tunkers, . . , , Unitarians, , Universal ists, . Churches or Congre ■rations. Mini&ters. 6,319 753 42 16 512 1,000 1,300 1^7 950 500 600 750 200 24 27 2,807 500 183 40 214 15 40 200 653 4,239 612 46 10 545 800 1,150 1^2 849 180 267 3,106 400 33 33 2,225 450 87 20 116 45 40 174 317 Members or Communi- cants. l^pulation. 452,000) 33,876 4,503 2,1 17J 150,000 160,000 22,51-5 30,000 62,266 30,000 686,5491 50,000/ 5,745 12,000 274,084" 50,000 16,000) 3,000 12,0007 6,000 3,000 4,300,000 800,000 300,000 1,000,000 450,000 600,000 100,000 15,000 ~~ 640,000 3,000,000 12,000 12,000 6,000 2,175,000 6,000 30,000 180,000 600,000 In a work recently published,*bn national esta- blishments of religion, by John Taylor, London, he adduces the following striking comparison of towns in Britain and America of similar im- ^'i ni- Population. 4,300,000 800.000 aoo,ooo 1,000,000 450,000 600,000 loo.doo 15,000 ■~ 640,000 3,000,000 12,000 12,000 5,000 2,175,000 6,000 30,000 180,000 600,000 esta- •ndon, son of r im- 1 RELIGION. -m \ortance and population. It will be observed that the population, both of American and Eng- lish cities, is that of the year 1830 ; but this does not affect the comparison materially. i- Kwu tei. tMK LlVERPOOL. Population, . . 210,000 Clergymen, . . ) 57 Churches, , , . $»7 Glasgow. Population, . . 220,000 Clergymen, . . 78 Churches, ... 74 Nottingham. Population, . . 50,000 Clergymen, . . - 23 Churches, ... 23 New York. Population, . . 229,000 Ministers, ... 142 Churches, ... 134 Philadelphia. Population, . . 200,000 Ministers, ... I37 Churches, ... 133 Boston. Population, . . 60,000 Ministers, . . . 5? Churches, ... 55 I have no doubt of the correctness of the above statement ; for there is no want of churches in all the American cities and populous districts, except New Orleans. The chiirches are in ge- neral more elegant, roomy^ and better venti- lated than the parish churches of Scotland. The seats are cortmonly cushioned, the passes carpetted, and the people do not sit so crowded. There are generally a number of free seats set apart for strangers, and those who are not will- i-l k ?00 RELIGION. ing or able to paV for them. I seldom missed an opportunity of going to church, and always found sot^ebody ready to show me a seat. It is no uncommon thing to se6 hung up in the entrance hall or lobby of churches a plan of the seats, with the names of the owners attached. Those^hat are set apart for strangers and the poor are marked on the plan, so that a stranger has no difficulty in finding a seat without the help of the pew-opener, by which he will not disturb aii^l^ body. I have never s6fn a sound- board over the pulpit. The pulpits are various in their form, and in far better keeping with good tastfe than tlie sentry-boxes that are post- ed up agaiijst the walls of the parish churches of Scotland. I have not seen m any meetings 'house,.desks before the seat^ The people hold ^h^ir books in their hands, \and they are not necessary for any other purpose, for they do not sleep much in chiuxh. As speakers, the minis- ters, as far as I am able to judge, are superior: to the generality of our Scottish clergymen ; .perfectly free from the drawling, tonte and pe- culiarities, of gesture and pronunciation .that s N . \ r •^. r N J • ' S N ■' KELIGIok. . 201 ' * . ' ' ' • _ ■ ■ jsometime« insensibly creep on somcivof our r^yeifed and worthy clergymen. • . 4 t Ministers are not at all formal in their dise < Ne^^es ; neiiher do they dwell so much on the mysteries^of relidon, as oij, its practical appli* cation. Many of their discourses ha^e more tlie appearance of an oration on morals tian a ri : m> gular sermon. ^ , The conservative Catholics apd Episcop^ians stick to their fopns aV^ ceremonies, but mini^ T^T^ers^ of all other denomination^, are perfectly free from any peculiarity of dress or manner : preach* ing in blue coats, green coats, surtoutSj^or bench- ers. Some old men wear white neckdoths, . but this is not common^ Most Presbyterians have organs in their churches, and very good .singing. y X^urches are^ Ir^quently built on specidatiou by individual! and companies. JSometin^es they let the pews, and feometimes they sell theitt ; and in^pwHs they pay well. Ministers, of course, are p^d by the congregation ; some have large incomes aiid some are very poor. , In the back countries, and in thinly-settled * I I 'i M ,'• I 202 RELIGION. '' I i tf i ^ ^ *^ diitrictf, they are pot well supplied with preach* ing ; and what they get is not of the very b^st^ quality. Many of these preachiirs ate ignorant men, whose preaching on ignorant congregations sojipetimes produces scenes of fanaticism that ar^/ disgraceful to human nature --^ leading ^^f^l^ j*. the weak-minded, and disgusting people ,43jfiMfiSr '^^' mon sense. . -' j. ^,At ,^-. *' One of the newest lights is a sect^SHed Mor- mons, whose leader is Joseph Smith whom I saw in the city of Rochester, a chuckle-headed looking fellpw, who assorted he had found a new Bible, hid in a rock, written in an unknowi eharact^on leaves of gold ; and that, hy tile gift of The Hdy Spirit, he was enabled to read . ijb. It is now published in one volume, about the size of the New Testament. From it they* * Jearn that our Saviour was in America, and un^ derwent the same trials aAd sufferings he did in • the Old World, some^^ tip in "the west, whereM%hip cannot j^^P&er a^i|pley^^th . oars." They Jbeliev^fflirtne Saviour will re- turn in about sixty, or, I believe, fifty-eight, jears from the present time, and assunae the \- •itr ^ . .. » InSy**^'''"^^ " t"« j [on: ■ ■i # - - \ . ^ - m ■ , of fcjrsonf who had been rbcovered from sickness • by the laying on of hands, and by the prayers of the saints ; and, on the whole, Jie had probably the best of the argument. However, that was^ no great triumph. XJnitarianism is malting great progress. All" the preachers of Ihis denomination that I have* heard appear to me to be men of considerable power of mind. ' , I did not withess aiiy of the large and con- - ^tinned ca(np meetings, abowt which so much ha^' been said and written; but, from \^hat I could learn, I have little doubt but they sometimes exhibit human nature in a way that would as- tonish the natives of th^ year 2842, if it should ever reach their ears. It wpuld fill a volume to give an aCQpunt of all the different sects that Aave arisen—some calling themselves Saints,jrtid ' some Sinners,— Cfepkers and Shaking Quakers. I think they might all be shaking? ' ^ Taking a genei^al view of the state of religion in America, it appears to me that the active and . energetic minds of that enterprising people are in hot pursuit after truth. It is true, they ap*. If. • • ■ ■f ' .■ * ,- _ ' Tip: z - ! « - \ • i ■•# ^ W ■• ;knes8 rers of bably it was All [ have * erable ' ■«• .'?w,- i con- !h has could itimes Id as- hould me to I that 8, (Mid aikers. ligion eand le are yapu BELIGION. 205 pear to be groping in the dark — extending their arnis in all directions, like a blind man searching for a lamp-post — catching at, and carried away by some unsubstantial shadow, "finding no rest for the soles of their feet." ^ What the end of the matter will be cannot be told. But, looking at the whole circum- stances of the case, as a man of the world, it seems not improbable that, in process of time, by adding and siibstracting, pulling down and building up, denying old established faith, and inventing new, they will fritter do\\Ti the whole Christian faith, until they leave not a Vestige of it in the public mind But if Christianity, aifile believe, be founded on immutable truth, it will triumph amidst all the mutations that may ta^e place in tli'at changing country, and exist wh|i|, perhaps, every other feature of the present staff of society shall be" known only as a matter of history. • r^>f%'v. .^^ . ^t : .,:' 1**^'? -•.*"'" *. < .u '■%'-- < ^f "■ - f ' "^L. ^•.-i<- .liny- ^K^t '^^ .mi^'^v^^ \ fe^ ■*■■ hi Hi V •> ' t :>. I' * ( h i •') f > V ft^^vii •' «• '^ 5_ V',, !»' •ij ,V /V^'"^ *%*'' ^' '**---' k^-. - ■ ^•'i'-*Y<^C*~^^**K/'f£S.'i». ,, ;.; 1^ •* -•f > ' . 1 1 ,^ . -. < '4? V' -tf ,n <* ,4 it % A '^ji^ ■ ri ii'5 •■ ,-:^; MkiilCl 1^1 *-1i»;- A^i ■ ■i^-#ys*i v^ f t "I ^'b'Sif-t •.%■■' f » ■f •^ ■« ii I7 * 1 ^ '-r- '"'.;'^,i " ;^'.' ^--■r-.;j.i-fe STATISTICS, &c. Government— Election of President— Congress— House of Repretentatives — Compensation of Members of Con- ,, gres* — Compensation of the Ejcecutive — Legislature of '' New Hampshire, of Ohio, Ne.w York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina — The Ballot — Careless exercise of political privileges— Opposition of trades-people to the ' penitentiary system — Education — Population of the principalcities^State debts— City debts — Naval power .^^egular army — Militia — Revenue and expenditure — Number of slaves — Pork— Quantity of wheat grown, of J barley, oats, rye, buck wheat, Indian corn, and potatoes —Exports — Quantity of public land sold— Rate of. in- terest — Number of people employed in mining, agri- culture, manufactures, &c.— Table of population. Many of those for whom I write may nothiive a verlaccurate idea of the nature of the Govern- ing of the United States. I do not^^ow hMI ahoiit the constitution myself ; hut, in ge- neral, I may remark that it is a confederation of republics, bonded together for mutual protec- tection ; each state being possessed of all the privileges of an independent country, in every- thing, except the powers it has ceded to the Ge- mi i il Govcrnmcrit »t Ai^shiftg"ton» bjr written k^M^,iM\k ftt rt , ^^^ ' STATISTICS. , /contract. This circuriistaii(^s1^oulrf1be kept in visw, in considering si^h things as negro sla^ty. The General Government has no more right ^^ •to legislate4)n this suhject for any of m iM& .yidual states than to prescribe laws to a foreign ;' .country.-. ■ mn - j^ ■ ^'^^ /-^~ - In the case of M'Leod, whom l^telf #fea . for murder in the state of New York, although , . he acted under the authority of a*regulariy re- ^ ;. cognised Government, the Government of ffie ^. United States could not interfere constitution- > ally in the matter, because the power to punish for all crimes committed withii the territories, of • New York belonged to that mtW^ liaf^ ^ ' been cieded to the General Government. This may be a defebt in their constitution ; and^T not v amended, may lead to serious consequq|[s in I ,/ I # their intercourse with foreign powers. ' Jk ■ ' , The President and Vice-President oTOe^ / • United States are elected, for the term of foi^ years, by a certain number df elector, chosen^ty the people of the various states for that particu- :^:^.. ^^^ purpose. "''.^;'^'!:.v 'j::''f /-C: '■''''':' ^tj^:^M$M^ .:. ^ , The Congress consi^ of a SenateM Mil of Rp prPRp ntati m ; aAdm ust^fw^mble e very STATISTICS. (T-^ 200 year, on the ls| of December, unless otherwise provided for by law. , The Senate 11} composed of two members from each state, and, of course, the number at presetlt is fifty-two. They are chosen by the legisla- turesof the several states, fof the term of six years— one-thir^ of them being elected bien- nially. The Vibe-President is the President of ■ the Senate,^ in vfhkh body he has onjy a casting The House of Representatives is composed of members fristm the several states, elected by all ' • J;he citizens, for the term of two years. The ppresen^tives are apportioned amongst the dif- ferent states according to theijr population. JVhile acting on the census of 1§30,, one repre- sentative was returned for every 47,700 persons, —five slaves, although having no vote, being . computed equivalent to three free p.ersons. , The regular number at present is 242 repfesenta- tatives and three delegates. The compensation of each member of the Senate and House of Representatives is eight 7 ' " ■» a-day, during the period of his attend- / '•■4 wtthoi ^<"i s 2 tion m q^se^ m S"*!** r ) K, *^ 1 ,. i- . t . ■ : 210 * StATlSTICSt ' sickiiess) and eight dollars for every twenty miles travelled by the usual road, going to and returning from the seat of Government. The compensa- tion of the Speaker of the House of Represen- tatives is sixteen dollars a-day. The salary of the President is 25,000 dollars • a-year ; the Vice-President, 5000 ; the Secre- tary of State, Secretary of- the Treasury, Secre- tary of War, Secretary of the Navy, and |^6 Fostmaster-CJeneral, 6000 dollars each; and the Attofney^General, .4000 dollars per annum ; iii all 64,000 dollaa^., Theise form, the Cabinet of the .United Statea is: : r!y^ v , i ^ ., >^ The individual states forcing this great republic have each their own government and constitution. They are not very dissimilar in this respect ; and. I shall only mention the prin- cipal leatiires of a few. « ^7 * H %^ ■ Btate of New Mmpshire,—^\xei\eg\si2it\xtQ is called the General Court, and is composed of two bodies, the Senate and House of Representa- tives. The senators are elected annually, by all the males of iHpyty^n© y©ar^ pay taxes; the reftesenlatives in -the same way' m ^ix^ po^ is v e st e d in a Governc aT- V.:. *- y .- )f... ■<»» I II , I ' mtt ltmi '»• liars » jcre^ jcre- » f 'v^^-i^^^^H»l^''m* ■■ STATISTICS. who is annually elected by the citizens of twenty- ^me years of age. State of Ohio. — The legislative body consists of a Senate and House of Representatives, elect- ed by all the males of twenty-one years of age, and who have resided in the state one year pre- ceding the election. They are chosen biennially, and one-half vacate their seats every year. The •irprerae executive powe^ vested in a Governor,, who is elected for the term of two years by the same constituency. ^ State of New ybr^.— The executive is vested in a Gpvernor and Lieutenant-Governor^ elected by the people, for two years. They have a^Se- ^nate and House of Ass%ibly, elected annually by the citizens, of twenty-one years of age, who have been'inhabitrats of the state for one year, and of the county for which they offer their votes f(» six months preceding the election. Negroes, if twenty-one years of age, possessed of an unin- cumbered freehold estate, worth 250 dollars, 'may vote in this state. ?.ir Pennsphanim^^The government of this state consists of a Governor, Senate, and House of U WRSrywfr"'- — ■'^*i»tf«iilir^--aai»»wii nwmpBwmn ^ im 1 1 n il T i l I I i MM i j i Ij ii ti r i K „ ^Sv. , ' ■ .. - 212 STATISTICS. €d,for one year, by all male citizens who are twenty-one years of age, who have resided in the st&teAwo years, and paid'^taxes. The senators are chosen for four years ; one-fourth are renew- ed annually. The Governor is elected for three ^^ years, and may, if re-elected, hold office nine ^'' years out of twelve. ^^^^^^^^^^^■^^^^;; , South Carolina, — The legislative body con- sists 01 a Senate and House of Representatives. * The senators are elected for four years ; but half the numbel vacate their seats every two years, t^^^ The representatives are chosen for two yeari, w by every white citizep, twenty-one years of age, paying taxes. The executive power is vested in ■ a Governor, who is elected, by the joint yot^ pf .. the legislature, for two years. The above is a fair sample of the leading fea- tures of the constitution of the different states. Every state sends two senators to |;he General, Government at Washington. In this branch of the legislature, the small state of Rhode Island, with a population of only 138,830, hail - as much influence as the state of New York, which has a population of nearly two millions, ..Mid^ h a1 f ; b ut the n umber of yepyegcntatiyieip - !*?■ STATISTICS. 213 sent to Congress from each state depends on tfcfe amotrnt of population. . No foreigner can become possessed of ^he, pri- vileges of a citizen until he makes application to the authorities of the place, before whom he must make, oath that he renounces all allegiance to any foreign power, particularly the country from which he caihe, and that, in general, he is favourable to a republican form of govern- ment. The ballot-box is used at all their state and general elections ; but in reality they vote openly. There is, indeed, little cause for secre- cy in exercising their franchise, for there is not, t# any important extent, an aris^cracy so short-sighted as td act as if they Md a sepa- rate interest from the rest of the people. The principal evil, in a political point of view, seems to be a carelessness on the part of the labouring aW poorer classes of society, in exercising their privileges. I have attended som.e political meet- ings of the working classes, and they have a very long catalogue of complaints against their politi- cal rulers. I may mention one cause of discon- tent that exists at present amongst the trades- pcoplc,* more especially a» the present policy of ^! 'A; / 1 /'I k V' 1 *1 ^+* STATISTICS. ' this country seems to be verging towaitls the same: I mean the state prison, or panitentiiqir ■ system, where they employ mechanics and trades- people at their handicrafts. It looks ,U veip-, - well to have a large prison or penitentiary, capt able of containing tw? oj three hundred, or a thousand convicts, anf a great part of the ew penseof the establishment defrayed by theju," b«ur of the convicts. But-^^ American pe% chinics, whoJi^ve had a/ftir trial of it, 8i» deddedljfi opposed to it, be'rause it interf^es' with their trades ; for master^manufacturew ,p| shoes, saddlery, clothiery, iron work. &c., who contract'with the (^pagers of the state prison, are enabled to ucfideisell the regular tfl>de«. people. I saw a number of articles, produced by convict labour, exhibited at a piiblic meeting in New York; and in the prices, compared with - similar articles madeby honest trades-people, thel difference was so gifeat that there jtppeared goodt cause of comi^aint ^ , r # It is not likely that our prison boards aritfl county gentlemen will understand this ; but, if, in the penitentiary at Perth, and others that ^ are being established in different parts nt fTiA /. ■* t '7/ J--, i\ X ^'l ■ojtf ^M,. ^P / STATISTICS. 215 ccAnt^ t!iey tj^to manufacture (if It were possible) potatoes and-^ barley^ partly at the public expense,,and push' these articles into the hiarket at .a cheaper^ate than they could produce . them, they would understand tl4t. * t am not able to say , much itf regard to the state of education from my own knowlWlge. l^fae (ddlntnon schools are. supported partly at the public expense of the various states ; an3 wherever these are most numerous, education drrathfet the ability to read and write, is most general. The following table, from the returns of 1840, shows the number of whites in the Ilnite4 States, over twenty years of age, who catttidt read or write :— <^ * *^'A- Connecticut, 526 574 Maine, 3,241 Vermont, 2,270 N. Hampshire, 927 Massachnsetts, 4,44S* Michigan, 2,173 Rhode Island, 1,600 New Jersey, 6,385 New York, 44,452 Pennsylvania, 33,946 Ohio, uil, 4^. 35,394 Louisiana, 4,861 Maryland, 11,696 154 128 107 104 97 66 55 65 49 42 32 27 mM¥ •Mississippi, Indiana, lUinois, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, S. Carolina, Arkansas, Delaware^ Tennessee, N. Carolina, 56,609 , 9,3(50 38;! 00 37,502 19,457 22,593 •30,7]7 45,018 5S,732 20,615 6,567 4,832 58,831 Being I in 21 ' ; 18 . 17 r J 5 •13 13 • 12 12 ,12' 12 11 9 • I Total, 684,547 ^ w -^'iw ,■,.-. 7 ., '■STATisTics;:^^,. .:■-,:■''■-:"■ /a : r The extraordinary: increase of population in ' tlie'' various cities may be seen from the follow Jrig table, extracted* from the same valuable source of information from which the former table was derived. .. '-^^rf^i New York, Philadelphia,' Baltirnore, > New Orleans, Bostonj Ciacinimti, Brooklyn, Albany, Charleston, Wa^hin'gtbn, Providence, Louisville, Pittsburg, Lowell, Rochester, ,|lichmond,. Troy, Buffalo^ Newark^ St Lotiis, Portl{ind| Salem, ^^ 1800. 60,489 70,278 26,614 24,927 750 3,298 5,349 18,712 3,210 7,614 1,565 5,537 3,77 9,454 ,1810. 96,373 96,664 46,555 17,242 32,250 2,540 4,402 9,356 24,711 8,208 10,071 1,357 4,768 9,735 3,885 1,508 7,169 12,613 1320. 123,706 108,116 62,738 27,j76 43,298 9,644 24,831 ' 7,175 12,630 24,480 13,247 11,767 4,012 7;24i^ 1,502 12,046 - 5.264 2,095 J6,507 4,598 8,581 12,731 .•18j0.. 20300,7 167,118 80,625 46,310 61,392 16,060 11,401 8,653 10,953 5,852 12,601 13,886 1340. I 312,710 228,691' 102,21 a 102,193 93,383 46,338 36,233 33,721 29,261 23,364 23,171 21,210 21,115 20.796 12,402 24,238 30,289 18,827 16,832 10,352 12,54t> 6,474 9,26^20,191 20; 153 19,334 18,213 17,290 16,469 15,218 15,082 Although the Genera^ Government has nd national debt, the individual states, comprismg the republic, have as much as is good for them, a r id some of them a littl e more. It is;trUc, : ...t._^^ I ■ i^"" .,*^-' STATISTICS. ' : 217 most bf the states have got into deht,'by mar-~ ing improvements within their territories ; but in many cases, this has been done so injudiciously, that they are now in the unenviable situation of bankrupt states. The total amount of- the debt of all the states amounts to 226,469,090 dollars. The total debts of ten of the principal cities are, 23,372,540 dollars. This is municipal debt, .not coniiected with the state debts. 4The Americans rank as the fourth naval power in the world. In July, 1841, they had eleven ships of the line, mounting from seventy- four to eighty gUns, including the " Pennsyl- vania," which I saw at New York, mounting one hundred and twenty guns ; fifteen frigates of the first class, all forty-four guns, except tl « Independence, " ^h has fifty-four ; t ^ frigates of the second class, of thh-ty-six gun eich ; twenty-one sloojiof war, mountibg from sixteen to twenty-nine guns each ; twelve brigs ; and schooners, of from four to ten guns ; five small war steamers, atid two large ones of the the first class, launched last winter, equal in size to any of our Atlantic steam-ships ; one Allrd the " Mississippi," the other ^« Missouri." •:*. « f:il :. . 218' ■^-^■■.■A';■^^■■- -'statistics. • ■- :, ^e regular ktmy of the United IStates (as ' ^^ ^ted by Colonel Jones, Adjutant-General)^ iu * December 1840, including officers, horse, iu- |fontry, and artillery, amounted to 12,537. ' f ^^ According to the Army. Register for 1841, f -,^«^tne number of militia, or men in possessioiii and trained to the use of arms, was 1,503,052. ~ According to the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, in December 1840, the revenue of the General Government, including a sur- plus 0^ the previous year, of Upwards of two * ^ millions, was 28,234,612 dollars ; the expendi- ''■'"■•'■;-■■■ -ture, 26,643,656. ^..^^-'v^''^' --^ ■^';^-^*H-HU:;--.^fi:v/'- ■ In the year 1700, there were 507,807 slaves * in ^e United Statejs; in 1820, there were 1,538,064 ; in 1840, 2,487,113.< -; H ^inceSir Robert Peel's new tariff bill came kito operation, the people* ^ttracontitiyfe r" beginning to loot about them, to see where they • dan get cheap meat; I shall therefore mention the number of swine in the United States, a STATISTICS. ; The quantity of public land sold in, and since, the yfear 1833, was, in round numbers — in the year 1833, three million of acres'; 1834, four million acres ; 1835, twelve million ; 1836, twenty mil- lion; 1837, five million; 1838, three million ; 1839, four million ; 1840, up to the 30th Sep- ^ tember, one million six hundred thousand. The average price paid, about one and a fourth dollar per acre. It maybe necessary to observe that government land is bought up by specu- lators, «jid not to any great extent by emi- grant^. ■: ;- ■ .^- ■ , , .^ ,, ,. - The legal rate of interest varies in the differ- ent states, from 6 to 8 per cent. ; in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, it is 8 per cmt. ; in New York and South Carolina it is 7 ; and in most "• of the others it is 6 per cent, per annum. # According to the American - Almanac, for 5, in the whole of the states there are em- ^ |>loyed in mining, 15,203 people, nearly one- I Iphird of whom are' in Pennsylvania ; in agricul- I v^*!^ ^»^17,756 ; in commerce, 117,575; in ^ijiianufactures and trades, 791,546 ; navigating the ocean and canals, 89,087 ; beloiiging to |}ie i i. /i I.A I tr tl jpamed professions, 65,236 pcroono. . H*^ -**rt^5*x!^ijf^<"»»»^ » ^ smce» le^ear nillion illion;"^^ 1 Sep- Lisand. ;ti fourth 4 bserve ]|. i specu- ■ li A ' emi- J I ' ' -^ ^ { ' ■ /I ■ ' iiffer-' ''j JSippi, '/ j New "''I 1 most t/ ■ * -r-wi 3 em- one- .M ricul- i ating • oltie ..^^ •4» ■"I" ' STATISTICS. 2M POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES, ACCORDING TO THE FIVE ENUMERATIONS ; From the Official Revision. l\ ''I states. Maine, - N. Hamp. Vermont, Mass. . R. Island, Conn. N. York, N. Jersey, Penn. Delaware, Mary**- Virginia, N.C. S. C. Georgia, Alabama, Mp. ,,«» Arkansas, Tenn. Ken. Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, D. Colum. Florida, Wiscon*. Iowa, 1800. 151,719 183,762 154,465 423,245 69,122 251,002 586,756 211,949 602,365 64,273 341,548 880,200 478,103 345,5tJl 162,101 8,850 105,602 220,955 45,365 4,865 14,093 i»ia 228,705 214,360 217,713 472,040 77,031 262,042 955,949 249,555 810,091 72,674 380,546 974,622 55^,500 415,115 252,433 20,845 40,352 76,566 261,727 406,511 230,760 4,762 24,502 12,282 20,845 24,023 1830. 5,305,925 V,239,8U 298,335 244,161 235,764 523,287 83,059 275,202 1,37.2,812 277,575 1,049,458 752,749 407,350 1,065,379 638,829 502,741 840,987 127,901 75,448 1 53,407 14,273 422,813 564,317 581,434 8,896 147,178 65,211 66,586 33,089 9,638,131 T £ 1830; 399,955 369,328 280,652 610,408 97,199 297,665 1,918,608 320,823 1,348,233 76,748 447,040 1,211,405 737,987 581,185 516,823 309,527 136,621 215,739 80,388 681,904 687,917 937,9031 31,639 343,031 167,455 140,445 39,834 34,730 1840. 501,793 284,574 •291,948 737,699 108,830 309,978 2,428,921 373,306 1,724,033 78,085 469,232 1,239,797 753,4I«9 594,398 691,392 590,756 375,651 352,411 97,674, 829,210 779,828 1,519.467 212,267 685,866 476jl83 383,702' 43,712 54,477 30,945 43,112 12,866,920 17,062,566 e> I rf % ■ '.•' . \ », "ffT"^,- ^ f " # '^ -^j^ 1 J ^ , ' t .J "T-T — ■.*,,■■ eai '» ■• /v, i .» :{•*)' *.»^- ', « ».' ' -f^V^ , *,' . !' 1 • .',! ' "•"' j' 'q^ 'Y '.i ' 'ii-i r, ^*^>: ' -1.. • >'**' '.'? ' * ii r ^■'^^.-■m: I i \\ l. CHAPTER XII. •: 'ftl-'- ■*. CONCLUSION. I KEJoicE that I have now arrived at a conclu- sion ; but there are few pleasures without alloy, and in this instance I am not exempted ; for I cannot resist the conviction that I have failed in 'IT'' ' . . ■ being able to convey that information I could have wished. I have laid before my readers a plain " unvarnished" statement, according to .the best of my ability ; and hope that the im- perfect manner in which I have expressed my- self, will be considered in connection with the fact that this is the production of an unlettered man, one who makes no pretensions to literature. I am not ignorant of the willingness of the pub- lic to be gulled, and their readiness to pay for it, too. If, I had held up the bright side of the picture alone, and brought prominently forward all the most successful cases of emigration, as k^ ■.irr-;-y ^.; /^ -ift t.: I 'l r s 224' CONCLUSION. ' ' , SOBtte writers have done, this work would have had a tetter chance of success ; but, although?f poor man, I cannot descend to such quackery. * It is true that my judgmenif tnay^have failed ill arriving at just conclusions ; but I have stated facts correctly, and endeavoured to convey th^'^ impressions made^ 0» H(jy own mind with scrup^ ious fidelity. Inconsistencies may appear in ' what I have written ; but let it be kept in viei': tb|t,I have J^een attempting to give spmle iil . cdunt df*a conntiy full of inconsistencies, a land .where political liberty is blended with licentious* ness, and j)ersonal liberty with domestic slavery. . "^he impression left on .my mind in regard to - ; the manners of the Amaricans^mode of living -and the progress made in the arts and sciences^ as indicated by the- splendour of their cities means of internal communication, manufactures^ and commerce, js highly favourable ; and if tlje gre4 amount of political liberty enjoyed by them, has tidt pftklticed a greater amount of in* dividual happiness than that enjoyed under some other forms of govenimenl, they have at least the power of adopting aU improvements in the ■ s. . CONCLUSION, 225 science of government that experience may sug- gest,' without having to struggle, as we have to dp in Britain,, for ages, for every trifling amend- ment in our political and social institutions. I The Americans generally hate the aristocracy of this country for their power and policy ; and tdespiser the people for submitting Ho he mis- governed by themi' But in. many respects the pinions of the masses in America, in regard to th^ social condition of the people of this coun- try are very erroneous. They look upon us as serfs ; compelled to .bow down to the dust when we meet a lordling, and to siibmit to Queen * Victoria's, will without a murmur ; never con- siderijig the beam that is in their own eye, in the shape of a President, who exercises a power that the Sovereign of this ppuntry would not dare to oix. ^;*=-;;y(K^v:..i>tt.: -^^ ■'; . The Americans look upon Britain as a coun- , try which they can fight successfully. When the excitement was at its height about M*Leod's ' trial, and rumours of war were rife,* I Used to put in a word in favour of peace, and hinted the risk they ran of having their commerce and their / 7 / /- ^ I ►■•' ::■. 226 '.'^. CONCLUSION. t; cities on the sea-boarcl destroyed ; but my mouti was Always shut with this, " They had wlHi)pe| ^ England twice, and they were ready and willing to do it 9gain." Many of the people are no! ^ only willing, but anxious. However, this i^ ^ ing does not pervade all classes, and has no ^xkU} ence in the southern states to any extent jiOTwt even in the northern, and western states, most of the well-informed and* educated classes,- fti speaking of England, express themselves with respecft.. O* the 4th. of July, last >ar, in the Broadway Tabernacle, New York, a church that contains 6000 people, I heard an orator deliver a splendid orati«m on the glorious achievement ,<^ Am^can independe&er^nd there was npt one word uttered that could ofiend a British ear. In fact, I thought the speaker magnified the power and importance of England, in wderto increase the efiect of their own triumph. « •; ' • I have not expressed ^y decide opinion on the propriety of emigration ; and I feel great hesitation in so doing. So much of content- ment and happiness depends on acquired habits, temperament, and constitution of mind, that it is -■\ -^-■ CONCLUSION. scarcely possible for one man to judge for another in tfi# respect. But, in general, I think the demons entertained in this country of the ad- vantages of emigration to America are over- rated. It is true that land can be bought at the prices stated, com grown, hogs and poultry can be fattened^^; and people that are industrious and abl^ to cultivate land need have no fear of want. But the great evil lies in this, that people do not know themisefes ; they do n6t know, until it is too late, how stijong the ties are that bind them to their native land. After the novelty and ex- cit^mefit of commencifag a new* settlement are over, and things settle dowurinto their -ordinary routine of every-day life, they begin to feel the want of a sight of " old familiar faces," and evrfri things inanimate. ^^ very trees and dyke- sides, hills, valleys, and bumsides, about which thejr spent a happy childhood, are^vested with charms u^felf at home, and rise up M^^heir rtiemories to haunt them like a dream, or^ favourite tune, i ^ « ,^ n ' " Oh ^ what would they not give to wander Where their old companiona dwell!" m '.■ 228 , co. * '■- ■ . - ■ " , ■ ■^. / *.- ■-. > • .>■ 1 . 4. - -- "-/■^': ■ -■'--- " '■'P',:--^' ■.Jife« ^.•^' \ .,#' J^A . ,■■• 1: ■? J • , .. > > ■ ■, . I- ' - ' * n - ■'■ ■■( -*«* - » -:--^- - I» '^■_ ItS^ . ^-1. . — '~ :s,., " ■ ■ " ■ ., safe'. - $> . , ...... ,^ ■■:;.■ -J.':*, -Si.. ^g|_^ ^am