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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed et different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure ere filmed beginnihg In the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams Illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableeux, etc., peuvent Atre fllmte A dee taux de reduction dlffirents. iAfsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul cllchA, II est fllm6 A partir de I'angie supArleur gauche, de gauche A drolte, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'Images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants lilustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 S 6 ..■M. THE f'--^, ■;•%», , #«ESTERS, V "*',*/■ i'f- *■' rAi^^n % 'A^ •;- ' » ' vi DEsrniPTlVE of a >l*(yt J. ) .^ 1, *>,rs,V BY alexXnu:^r WILSOfr,- , ; ArTllQlR OF AMERICAN OKNltl^^LOGY, gcCV .i n>N r^i^d ti^ J* ^^*/ ^ A. '•■'4 (^ *- ■ ■ PRINTtfrr BY J. rilA^feR. * ' ' V. " ^%* ,.. . /"«>: 18^5. .: ~^i :€. ' n .■•a.... ARGUMENT. Exordittm — American scenert/ — seldom the t of poetry — ikeseason — the Foresters, DuncaUf L and the author — Germantoum — Springhouse tavern — its guests, ^c.^Bucks, a Dutch settlement^emplo^" ment of Hans and his frau — Easton — Blue Moun' tain — a school^-the teacher — the dignity, utility , and miseries of the profession — prayer in behalf of teach^ ers,-^Effects of a tornado^^Shades of Deathr^ woodmarCs hut — Address to the Susquehanna-'^-' Benevolent landlord^ Duncan in love — Hospitality apostrophized — a rattlesnake — Keeler*s Ferry — mo^ ney the greatest curiosity in the township — Pat Dougherty's hotel-^Wycdusing — French royalists in exile — Breakneck — Spanish Hill — Apostrophe to In- dustry — Chemung — Euhgium on Sullivan, and oth- ers — Newtown — Catharine^ s Swamps — Exiled In* dian*s Lament — Fowling — howling of wolves — apan* ther seen — the forest on fwt—^ppearance of the, woodman — his nut— parting of friends — a nocturnal voyage — Address to Columbia — Trapper's hut-^ an Indian hunter — Fort Oswego— Lake Ontario-^ embarkation-^-Sickness — landing at Queenstoum — First view of the falls of Niagara — Description of the various falls — AUdressto the God of Nature — the Foresters set oup o7». iftdr return — lodge near the Falls — dream of the scenery — awake in hnror of perishing in the rapids, and are again rocked to rest by the tumult of the waters. V^ '.i!. :!:: » ■ ' . '' '? ^ THE FORESTERS' J %« .1^ i, iMiiv h(,,u, • -.■'visi: t: .♦■^■^ '■ *.->. ■<^ s?' E ;] El S. .- ■>vhVV 4'jf..ci ' •.'I A«- H,W»' ;v -u'it ■*■ :-,' .<; : ' rjov;) ( i^Il ■ \ SoKs of tltc city I ye whom crowfls and noise ' \ Bereavtj ot* peaee and Nature's rural joys, And ye who love through woods and wilds to range, ^^ Who see new charms in each successive change ; ^ ;3r Come roam with me Columbia's forests through. Where scenes suhlimc shall meet your wandering view Deep shades magnificent, immensely spread; I^ajces, sky-encircled, vast as ocean's bed; '^ Lone hermit streams that wind thr-ough savage wooc(s y Enorjmous cataracts swoln with thundering floods ; The settler's*(l) farm with blazing fires o'erspread; The hunter's cabin and the Indian's shed ; The log-built hamlet, deep in wilds embraced ; ' ' The awful silence of th' unpeopled waste : U '' These arc the scenes the Muse shall now explore^ l^cenes new to song, and paths untrod before; To Europe's shores renowned in deathless song», Must all the honours of the bard belong ? And rural Poetry's enchanting strain Be only heard beyond th*^ Atlantic main ? What though profuse in many a patriot's praise. We boast a Barlow's soul- exalting lays ; An Humphreys blessed with Homer's nervous glow ; And Freedom's friend and champion in Freneav ;. » ■' ? I * For Notes see Appendia:, )i • x\i i^ ^ ¥.»>•■' THE FORESTfins. Vet Nntme's charms that blookn so lovely licre^ Unlmilcil arrive, unheeded disappear ; While bare bleak heaths> and brooks of half a iriifo Can rouse the thousand bards of Britain's Isle. There scarce a stroanri eriiepA down itsllarro\f lied. There scarce a hillock lifts its little head, Or humble hamlet peeps their glades among But lives and murmurs iif immortal song. Our western world, with all its matchless floods, Our vast transparent lakes and boundless woody, Stamped with the traits of majesty sublime, ^ '' Uhhonoured weep the silent lapse of time, Spread their wild grandeur to the unconscious sky, In sweetest seasons pass unheeded by ; i WhHe scarce one Muse returns the songs they gave, Or seekis to snatch their glories froJii the grave. The sultry heats of summer^s sun were o'er, Atid ruddy orchards poured their ripened store ; Stripped of their leaves the cherry av*nucs stood, While sage October ting'd the yellow wood, BestrewM with leaves and nuts the woodland path, And roused the Katydid {2) in chattering wrath ; Thecorntttood topped, there pumpkins strewed the ground. And driving clouds of blackbirds wheeled around. Far to the south our warblers had withdrawn ; Slow sailed the thistle-down along the lawn ; High oti the hedge-rows, pendent over head, Th* embow'ring vines their purple clusters spread. The buckwheat flails re-echoed from the hill. The creaking cider-press was busier still ; Red through the smoky air the wading sua Sunk into fog ere half the day was done ; The air was mild, the roads embrowned and dry. Soft, meek-eyed Indian summer (3) ruled the sky. Such was the season when eqiiipt we stood On the green banks of Schuylkill's winding flood. Bound on a tour wide northern forests through. And bade our pai'ting friends a short adieu ; r- '> / N THE FOREsrcns. » r' '> r \ 1 i. Three cheerful partners, Duncan was the guide, Youn^:, gay and active, to the forest tried, A stick and knapsack all his little store, With these, whole regions Duncan could explorct Could trace the path to other eyes unseen, . f. Tell where the panther, deer, or bear had been, : . The long dull day through swamp and forest roam. Strike up his fire and find himself at home ; Untie his wallet, taste his frugal store, >\ And under shelbury bark profoundly snore. And soon as morning cheered the forest scene, - > Resume his knapsack and his path again. Next Leech advanced, with youthful sails unfurled. Fresh on his maiden cruise to see the world ; Red o*er his cheek the glow of health was spread, An oilskin covering glittered round his head ; His light fuzce across his shoulder thrown, ■ .- ...-. • , His neat-slung knapsack full and glistening shone ; Though unknown regions wide befbre him lay. He scorned all fear wliile Wilson shared the way. He next appeared, with glittering arms supplied, A double gun, a deadly dirk beside, A knapsack, crammed by Friendship's generous carci With cakes and cordials, drams, and dainty fare ; Flasks filled with powder, leathern belts with shot ; ... Clothes, colours, paper, pencils — and what not. With hope elate, and ardour in his eye. He viewed the varying scenes approaching nigh, Pteparcd and watciiful (heedless of repose) To catch the living manners as they rose ; «•> Th* exploits, fatigues, and wonders to rehearse, In no inglorious or enfeebled verse ; Nor scene nor character to bring to view Save what fair Truth from living Nature drew. ^Thus each equipt beneath his separate load. We, fellow-pilgrims, gaily took the road, A road immense; yet promised joys so dear. That toils, and doubts, and dangers, disai>pear. ,r. .»:. -.x'^* 'v> '•V "^t A 'i > n « »t. •/ ' ' i Buhtnd us soon the lessening city Ciis, Nuw vcllicfi sink and other hills arinc, Till through old Germontown we lightly trod, That skirts for three long miles the narrow rouJ. And rising Chesnut-Hill around surveyed, ' ^H Wide woods IhjIow in vast extent displayed. Studded with glittering farms ; the distant view Died into mingling clouds and mountains blue ; The road was good, the passing scenery gay, ft ' TVIile after mile passed unperceivcd away, '- "■ • ' Till in the west the day ftegan to close, f * ? And Spring-house tavern furnished us repose. Here two long niws of market folks were seen, ■ ■*.. Hanged front to front, the tabll; placed between, Where bags of Meat and bones, and crusts of bread, And hunka of bacon all around were spread ; One pint of beer from lip to lip went round, ■•'V. And scarce a crumb the hangry house-dog found ; vi ^ Torrents of Dutch from every tjuarter came, >> > :',u .- ' I Pigs, calves, and saur craui the important theme $ While we, on future plans revolving detp, ' Discharged our bill and straight retired to sleep. » /' The morning star shone early on our bed, ( :v.s ' Again our march the vigorous Duncan led, " ^Ui ' The vault 6f heaven with constellations hung^ ^^ 4 ' Their myriads twinkling as he cheerly sung, ■ ^ *><; Beguiling tlie lone hours. Thus half the day^ ' 0*er hill and dale our stretching journey lay, Through fertile Bucks, (4) where lofty barns abound. For wheat, fair Quakers, eggs, and fruit renowned ; Full fields, snug tenements, and fences neat, «/^9 > ^' Wide spreading walnuts drooping o'er each gate ; 'iginy woods: ^Vh8rc the poor S\rul»lan o'er hts (h*i\(l;»i.'ry broo(is ; Toils hard ; and MHien tiic heats of harvest burn, Gleans from the rocks his'ijittatii'e in return. Yet though so cursed his soil, his shenvos so ^mw^ All-contjuering Industry still bears him througli ; Aycrscto change, pleased 'patiently to plod The same dull roiuid his honest father trod. ]3fthoId his low roofed hut on yondtr green ; There no gay front or proud piaz/a'w seen ; * '*'' Ijet wealthy fools their precious hoards disburse, No nbhim c&n tempt him to untie his purse. A moss-grown iKJnthousc shades his narrow door, 'One window joins with patches covered o'er ; -Ardund fbe garden numerous hives are ranged. And pendent gourds to fading yellow changed. iSheds, smoke-house, hog pens, crowd the miry yard, Where endless yells from growling pigs are heard. Approach this humble hiH:'; look in, nor fear ; Say, could Ambition find one comfort here? Yet sweet Content e'en here is sometimes found, Turning the wheel, or slumb'ring by its sound. No mirrors dazzle, no rich beds appear, Wide wasting Fashion never entered here. Those plates of pewter, ranged along the frame, In ancient days from distant T^cuc^/ancf came. That oaken table, so uncouth and low. Stood where it stands some sixty years ago. In this arm chair where Hans delights to snore. His great grandfather nodded long before. Thus glows his greasy stove throughout the year, Tlie torrid zone for ever rages here. Here, when the shades of weary evening fall. Sits Hans, the lord and sovereign of all ; Das Neue Callender (6) from the nail unhooks, His dark brows solemn and morose his looks, ^ ■>"» X ■ • it ,>i ^*v I. ,■/ '! 8 Tllli FOllliSTEKS. Beside his lamp, with spectacles on nose, To-inorrow*g weather seeks, its ruins or snows^ The moon's eventful signs, th' auspicious hour To plant the downward root or rising flower ; Of witch-confounding doctors tells the tale, Sips his metheglin, or his cider stale. All other joys for which he crer sighs His dear-loved aaur-craut or his i)ipe supplies. Abroad ut toil ere yet the morning breaks, Each rugged task his hardy yrau partakes ; With brawny arms the struggling ploughshare guides ; Whips up her nags and o*er the furrow strides ; Awakes the echoes with her clamorouft tongue, And lends e'en Hans a clout when things go wrong. Sweeps round her head the loud resounding flail, And sweats the sturdiest mower in the vale. Light beat our hearts with changing prospects gay, As down through Durham Vale we bend our way, And pause, its furnace curious to explore. Where flames and bellows lately wont to roar, Now waste and roofless : as its walls we pass The massive shells lie rusting in the grass! There let them rust, fell messengers of death ! Till injured liberty be roused to wrath, In whose right hand may they, though hosts oppose. Be blasting thunderbolts to all her foes. The setting sun was sinking in the west, And brightly burnishing the mountain's breast, When from afar, as down the steep we hie. The glittering roofs of Easton caught the eye : Low in the shelter'd vale, while rude around Hills piled on hills the dreary prospect bound. Around the mountain's base, in winding pride. The rapid Lehigh rolls his amber tide. To meet old Delaware who moves serene, ^ While Easion rises on the plains between. Tired with the day's long toil we gladly greet , - The snug stone buildings, and the pavement neat ; X I TliE FORESTEns. f \\ r\ •t -v •IC Mil ..111 li » I »'. ' .-^ '•'I I The busy townsmen^ jabbcrini; Dutcli aluud, l*!ic' court-huusc, furry, hanging signs, and cruwd ; At length one waving sign encliained our vio\V| 'Twas l*at's spUt-vrnWf a filthy raven too. Thither for rest and slicftcr we ref air, And lioine's kind decencies, that llc*e^ wore there. Here might the muse with justice due record The wretched fare its scurvy walls anord ; The black wet !)read, With rancid butter sjircad^ The beastly' dvmkards who beside us fed ; , The bods with flc'as and bugs accursed stored, Wlierc every seam its tetis of thousands poured; The host's grim sulkiness, his eager look, When froni our purse his glittcrhig god Wo took. But nobler themes invite ; be these suppressed. The e.igle preys not on the carrion's breast. Long ere the morn had showed its opening sweets, We clubbed our arms and passed the 'silent streets ; Slow o'er the pavement limpingty Vc tread, ;yu„y;^. f* Kut soon recovering, every ailment fled. " ' ,',,,^ ? Forward we march, o'er fno\mtains rudo and bare, ^ ^ No decent farm, and even a cabin rare; ' •• 7'hick wastes of gfotiiid oak (7,) o'er the coWntry sqircad, While haggard pines srgli dii^mal oVcrTiead. Lo ! the Hiue Mountain now in front appears, ... ^ And high o'er all its lengthened ridge uprears; >'., j /. >" Tir inspiring sight redoubled vigour lends, , ' , And soon its steeps each traveller ascends ; Panting we wind aloft, begloomed in shade, *Mid rocks and mouldering logs tumultuous laid In wild confusion ; till the startled eye Through the cleft mountiin meets the pale blue sky And distant forests ; while sublimely wild, Tow'rseach tall dilfto Ucaven's own portals piled. , Enormous gap ! (8) if Indian tales be true. Here ancient Delaware once thundcr'd through, And rolled for ages ; till some eai-thquakc dread, ?. (;. . ^ The world, in boundless landscape lay below ! , Vast coloured forests, to our wandering eyes, t '-, T Seemed softened gardens of a thousand dyes. ,/ Long lakes appeared; but at th' increase of day , , j, Assumed new forms and rolled in mist away. (9) Scooped from the woods unnumbered spots were seen * ; Embrowned with culture, or with pasture green ; Some cottage smoke moved slow, and dimly white ; ■"[ But every hut had dwindled from the sight. j r? i ' In long trailed fogs, that all its windings showed '\_j For many a league the distant Delaware flowed ; , And all beyond seemed to the ravished eye One waste of woods, encircling earth and sky ! . We gazed delighted then, with short delay, . Descending fixed our loads and marched away. From this rough mountain, northward as we liend. Below us, wide, the woody wilds extend ; The same ground oak o'er all the country lies. The same burnt pines in lonely prospect rise. Mute and untenanted ; save where the jay ^ Set up his shrill alarm, and bore away. , ; . ^ • One solitary hawk that sailed serene, : ,^ Secure, and eyeing the expanded scene. < »s<- :*r > /, ^ THE FORESTERS. < 1 11 irf Til? '-'7 '*ji\ J ■»»■') riff ti"i~ High from his zenith, 'midst the hursting roar, Dropt at our feet, and fluttered in his gore ; ** Thus fallsf'* said Duhcan, ** many a son of prides " While buoyed in thought o^er all the world besute,** From these dull woods emerging into day, We pass where farms their opening fields display, Barns, fences, cottages, and lawns appeared, Where various sounds of human toil were heard ; There, round a hut, upon a sloping green, uj«fi>;'*ilK; n r Gay laujsjhing hands of playful boys were seen ; ^ ;;»<>' * Soon, Books! aloud, is thundered from the door, ^'Vj' And balls and hoops must charm the hours no more ; - '' But frequent tears the blotted leaves assail, > And sighs for dear-loved liberty prevail. - - ^ s ■' 'v.^ iVt'i Thither, by long yet fond remembrance led, / ,"a- it -i: 1 With awe we enter this sequestered shed ; ; ai .'•*.'.'*'. lif All eyes are turned the strangers to survey, fi {UIj;'.*** hr.h One tap is heard ! and all the hint obey ; ■!Vyj^:imii''i Then grave and courteous, rising from his seat,' ^'>td hn/r The decent Master bows with meekness meet, >!< j «*-! ^'> f Invites to sit — ^looks round with watchful eyes, ih.iVi ilu'i^' And bids, by signs, alternate classes rise; t??? "* l> >,';,"»< 1 Hears, reads, instructs, with solemn voice and slow, ^ H/. Deep, busy silence muffling all below ; i . hhi > Slates, pens, and copy books in order pass, : ;.Jif: I ;w ?A And peace and industry pervade each class. • tuiriuu ^fi I Dear to the Muse, to Truth, to Science dear, lA^^'l'A ».{ V Be he who humbly toils and teaches here ! .a •mAi-n'^ jrf" <.* His worth, his labours, shall not sleep forgot, ■• i»'"?!>f|ii And thus the Muse records them as she ought, m^ : v>';''i Of all professions that this world has known, hiu^ nli From clowns and coblers upwards to the throne { lA'i ^ "^ T From the grave architect of Greece and Rome, -t ^^^'t " Down to the framer of a farthing broom, A; 'V J ::^H s T The worst for care and undeserved abuse, >h ii'.' n. A\ ' The first in real dignity and use, . . v, A*v*>i '1?> " (If skilled to teach, and diligent to rule) Is the learned master of a little school. 12 THE FORESTERS. ^1- I ■Ml Not he wlio guides the legs, or skUls the cl'own To square his list, and knock his fellow down ; Not he who shows the still more bajfbarous art "i'o parry thrusts and pierce the unguarded heart ; But that good man, who, fkkhful to his charge, Still toils the opening reason to enlarge ; And leads the growing mind, through every stagei From humble. A, B, C, to God*s oww page ; From black, rough pothooks, horrid to the sight, To fairest lines that float o*er purest white ; '■'^' '" From numeration, through an opening way, Till dark annuities seem clear as day ; Pours o'er the mind a flood of mental light, Expands its wiugs, and gives it powers for flighty Till earth's remotest bound, and heaven*!? bright train- He traee> weigh, measure, picture, and explietin. If such his toils, sure honor and regard And wealth and fame will be his dear reward' ;, Sure every tongue will utter forth his praise^ And blessings gild the evening of his days ! Yes ! — Blest indeed, by cold ungrateful scorn, "With study pale, by daily crosses worn, ''' 7 Despised by those' who to his labours owe '''' ^' All that they read, and* almost all they know; Condemned, each tedious day, such cares to bear As well might drive e*b» Patience to despair ; The partial parent's taunt — the idler diill- — The blockhead's dark, impenetrable scull— ^ The endless round of A, B, C's whole train, •; ^ Repeated o'er ten thousand times in vain. ' Placed on a point, the object of each sneer. His faults enlarge, his merits disappear ; If mild — " Our lazy master loves his ease, ' *' ' " The hoys, fit school do any thing they please.^* If rijgidj^T— " He*s a cross hard hearted wretch, ** He drives the children stupid with his birch. ** My child, with gentle means, will mind a breath ; *' But frowns and flogging frighten him to death.'* tilt') ■ ul ">' % r THE FORESTERS. IS ff,/ >^ 'I- 1.1.4 I ' !l U : .• Do as he will his conduct is arraigned, -■■ *. . And dear the little that he gets is gained ; E*en that is given him, on the quarter day, , , . , "With looks that call it — money throivn awat/. Just Heaven I wlio knows tlie unremitting care And deep solicitude that teachers share, If such tlieir fate, by thy divine control, O give them health and fortitude of soul ! , .,,i -.■. Souls that disdain the murderous tongue of Fame, And strength, to make the sturdiest of them tame ; Grant this, ye powers ! to Dominies distrest. Their sharp-tailed hickories will do the rest. Again the shades of sober eve appeared, . . , Up the dark bindings of a creek we steered, . ? , Where, glad to rest, and each in hungry plight, .^ In Marewine*s humble hut we spent the night. Our social host piles up a jovial fire, ,^^ Brings his best cider, still as we desire, , Inspects our arms, with nice inquiring gaze. And while we cat, his hunting spoils displays: ■> The skins of wolves and bears, a panther's jaws, ( 10) His horrid tusks and life destroying claws; 5 k,* »n Recounts the toils and terrors of the chase ; , , -. , , And gave us fiddling too, by way of grace ; All which, when bed time warned us to lie down, We fully jjaid him for with half a crown. :!w^«|i' Refreshed with sleep, before the peep of day, .^,-^i a^^i^Cf 0*er rising Pocano (11) wo scour away, ■i:^U..^l4^' Beyond whose top the Dismal Swamp extends jj , '^sv^^^f • Where Tobihanna's savagp stream descends. Here prostrate woods, in one direction strewed, Point out the path the loud tornado rode, (12) When from the black north-cast it gathered slrong^ Creating ruin as it roared along, , j^ , Crashing outrageous. Still with awe-struck mien, The pilgrim stops, and gazes on the scene. Huge pines that towered for centuries on high, Ciushed by each otlier's ruins prostrate lie, U >i.l-.i : ...... t(-..^ m ii THE FORESTERS. in Waek with tlovouriag flames, of brnnches hare, '' Their ragged roots high tilted frown in air; While shivered trunks, like monuments of wfa^h, Add deeper horror to the wreck beneath. Cut through this chaos rude, the narrow road, Alone by solitary traveller trod, Winds through the wilds of this forlorn domain Where ruin drear and desolation reign. Ilci-e as we loitered on, with restless gaze, * "' Absorbed in silence, musing and amaze, ' The rustling bushes and the snorting sound ' Of startled Bruin fixed us to the ground! (13) ' With levelled guns we momentary stood — He*s gone! loud crashing through the distant wood; Sad disappointment throbs in every breast, And vengeance dire is threatened on the rest. And now each passing stump, and bush, and nook, ' Is eyed with eager and suspicious look; But one deep solitude around prevails, ' ' ^ ' And scarce a cricket eye or ear assails. Thus many a tedious mile we travelled o*er. Each passing scene more rueful than before ; Till night*s dun glooms descending o*er our path, We took up lodgings at the Shades of Death. (14) The blazing fire, where logs on logs were laid, Through the red hut a cheerful radiance spread ; Large horns of deer the ewner*s sports reveal; The active housewife turns her buzzing wheel ; Prone on the hearth, and basking in the blaze. Three plump but ragged children loitering gaze; And all our landlord's odd inquiries o'er, He dealt out tales and anecdotes in store, Of panthers trapt (15) — of wounded bears enraged; The wolves and wildcats (16) he had oft engaged; The noble bucks his rifle had brought down— • How living rattle-snakes he took to town. His dog's exploits — the glory of his kind ! Now gashed by bears, and lame, and almost bKnd I'M ^ w » '>.i ^^ THE FORESTERS. 15 .' > /•' I > % ,1 . i; ; ,.-f I)isplayed liis hat, with bullet-holes o'errun, To prove the many matches he had won. On powder, rifles, locks and balls enlarged, And a whole broadsido on his art discharged. 'J'he mother spun, the children snored around » And Sox, the landlord, still fresh stories found; ; ' * Our nodding heads the power of sleep confost. And the kind hunter led us to our rest. Once more the dawn aroused us to the road, • ' Our fare discharged, we left this lone abode, * And down, through deepening swamps, pursued our way^ Where pines and hemlocks quite shut out the day; Majestic solitudes ; all dead and deep ! The green moss matted o*er each mouldering heap ; ' On every side with watchful looks we spy, ' ' !Each rustling leaf attracts our eager eye ; ' ' ' Sudden the whirring tribe before us rise ! " • *» '^ ' ^ The woods resound — the fluttering partridge dies ; (17) Light floating feathers hover on the gale, And the blue smoke rolls slowly through the vale. Again, slow stealing o'er the shaded road, Trailing their broad barr'd tails, two pheasants strode, (18); The levelled tube its fiery thunders poured. And deep around the hollow forest roared ; ' • ; • ; J Low in the dust the mangled victims lie. And conscious triumph fills each traveller's eye, *' •' No"W thickening rains begin to cloud the air^ Our guns we muffle up — our only care; Darker and heavier now the tempest lowered, ' And on the rattling leaves incessant poured ; ' The groaning trees in hollow murmurs waved ; And wild around the rising tempest raved ; Pelow dark dropping pines we onward tread. Where Bear Creek grumbles down his gloomy bed, Tlirough darksome gulls, where bats forever skim, '' ^■ llic haunts of howling wolves and panthers grim. At length two hovels through the j)ines appear, And IVom the pelting storm we shelter here. 1 #^ '> 15 THE FORESTERS. il . It i tw: > W: Two lank, lean dogs pace o*er the loosened floor ; A pouch and rifle hung behind the door ; Shrill th/ough the logs the whistling tempest b«ats. And the rough woodsman welcomes us to seats Before the blazing pile we smoking stand, i ir u. Our muskets glittering in the hunter's hand ; ,i^« '•' Now poised, now levelled to his curious eye ; ? Then in the chimney corner set tp dry. ' Our clear, green powder flasks were next adrntred ; Our ])owder tasted, handled, rubbed, and fired ; ^' '^ Touched by the spark, lo ! sudden blazes soar. And leave the paper spotless as before. From foaming Brandywine's rough shor^ it came^ 1 o sportsmen dear its merits and its name ; Dupont's (19) best Eagle, matchless for its power Strong, swift and fatal as the bird it bore. > ; ^'^ • Like Jove's drctid thunderbolts it with us went, -; To pour destruction wheresoever sent. . f> These, as they glistened careless by our side, "With matvy A wishful look the woodsman eyed I'hus bears on beech nuts, hungry steeds on maizoy Or cats on mice, or hawks on squirrels gaze. His proffered skins of all the forest train. His looks, and empty horn, implored in vain ! Till to a family's wants we freely gave What cold, h^rd hearted Prudence bade Ufi save., A nd, nowr this, treasure on our host l)estowed. His sun burnt visage at the present glowed ; . Kew-moulded bullets quickly he prepared ; Surveyed the glistening grain with fixed regard, Then charged his rifle with the precious store. And threw the horn his brawny shoulders o'er. Secured his punk, his matches, flint and steel. The dogs in transport barking at his heel ;. u Then, in his blanket, bade his wife good-bye, '^ r For three long nights in dreary woods to lie. • ,. .if .< Our morsel ended, through the pouring rain, t .!!>s,< y! } O'er barren mountains we proceed again ; ^. U ■{■ f .9i- > ■% THE roUESTERS. 17 '1 ♦ . r I ^ ' 1 /■• N «. And noyr Wiomi opened on our view, And, far beyond, the Alleghany blue, Immensely stretched ;. upon the plain below Tlic painted roofs with gaudy colours glow, - • - . And Susquehanna's glittering stream is seen a Winding in stately pomp through valleys green. Hail, c]iarming river ! pure transparent flood ! Unstained by np^tiokis swamps or choaking mud; Tliundering through broken rocks in whirling foam ; Ojr pleased o'er beds o^ gfittering sand to roam ; Green be thy banks, sweet forest-wandering stream ! Still may thy waves with finny trpasures teem ; The silvery shad and salmon cro^ thy shores. Thy tall woods echoing to the sounding oars ; ^ • On thy swoln bosom floating piles appear. Filled with the harvest of our rich frontier : ■ ' ■ Thy pine-browned cliils, thy deep romantic vales. Where wolves now wander, and the panther wails, . Where, at long intervals, the hut forlorn ^ .. ...i' Peeps from the verdure of embowering corn, . 5 ;; In future times (nor distant far the day) Shall glow with crowded towns and villas gay ; ; Unnumbered keels thy deepened course divide ; And airy arches pompously bestride ; ^ , ^ r The domes of Science and Religion rise. And millions swarm where now a forest lies. Now up green banks, through level fields of gras9» With heavy hearts the fatal spot we pass r, Where Indian rage prevailed, by murder fired, % ? And warriors brave by savage hands expired ; *i .i Where bloody Butler's iron-hearted crew i; V'^- Doomed to the flames the weak submitting few ; While screams of horror pierced the midnight wood, And the dire axe drank deep of human blood. Obscured with mud, and drenched with soaking rain. Through pools of splashing mire we drove amain; Night darkening round us ; when in lucky hour, ^t Led by its light we reached a cottage door, .» ..«u '^ B 2 *i \ > I - ■■; -* '■^m- 13 THE FORESTEHS* ■ • ).-(U' There welcoir. ' *n we blest our happy lof, ' And all the drudgery of the day forgot* A noble fire its blazing front displayed ' Clean shelves of pewter dazzling round arrayed. Where rows of ruddy apples, ranged mth care, With grateful fragrance filled the baimy air ; Our bard (chief orator in times like these,) Though frank, yet diffident, and fond to please^ In ))roken German joked with all ar9und, Told who we were, from whence, and whither bound j The cottage group a ready opening made, And "welcome, friend^" the little Dutchman said. ■' Well pleased our gun^and knapsacks we resigned, Th* adjoining pump, or rimning stream to find. ' There washed our boots, and entering, took our scat, Stript to the trowsersin the glowing heat. ■ '^ <" • < The mindful matron spread her table near. Smoking with meat, and filled with plenteous cheer; And, supper o*er, brought forth and handed round A massy bowl with mellow apples crowned ; For all our wants a mother's care exprest. And pressed us ofl, and picked us out the best ; But Duncan smiled, and slyly seemed to seek More tempting fruit in Susan's glowing cheek. Where such sweet innocence and meekness lay As fairly stole our pilot's heart away. He tried each art the evening to prolong, ^**'^ "" And cheered the passing moments with a song, So sadly tended, with such feeling raised, '^rrri. That all but Susan with profusion praised ; She from his glance oft turned her glistening eye, And paid in tears and many a stifled sigh. Thus passed the evening charmingly away, /. Bach pleased and pleasing, innocent and gay, !> '?<'V hn-f . Till early bed-time summoned us to part, lt^> h'r ■♦>;'.:'*"> And Susan's glances spoke her captive hftart. : fhv'niil' Swift flew the night, in soundest sleep enjoyed, ' .' -^ By dawn we start and find all hvinds employed; , h\-l ' ''•n::\i It'.- ■US: id in ; V ■t-«i , THE I'OREsrlSRS. 10 r ':1 \ \ The wlice), tlie cards, by fire-light l)tizzihg go ; The careful mother kneads her inurvvy dough ; Even little Mary at her needle sits, And while she nurses pussy, nicely knits. Our generous friends their courtesy bestowctl, Refused all price, and pointed out the road ; "With kindest wishes hade us all farewell ; What Susan felt, the rising tear could tell< ^ Blest Hospitality I the poor man's pride, The stranger's guardian, comforter, and guide, Whose cheering voice and sympathetic eye, Kven Angels honor as they hover nigh ; Confined (in mercy to our wandering race) To no one country, people, age, or place ; But for the homeless and the exiled livcs> And smiles the sweeter still the more she gives ; O if on earth one spot I e'er can claim, One humble dwelling, even without a name, Do thoii^ blest Spim f be iiiy partner there, W^ith sons of wo our little all to slmre ; • > "• Beside our fire tlie pilgrim's looks to see, */ ' ' That 5wim in moisture as he thinks on thee ; To hear his tabs bf w'ild woods wandering through ; His ardent blessings as he bids adieu ; Then let the selfish hug their gold divinef ' Ten thousand dearer pleasures shall be mine. The morning fogs tliat o'er the country lay. Dispersing, promised a delightful day, ■ •' ' Clear, wariil, serene ; the sun's rcspkMidertt l>eam?, Plays on the rocks and from the river gleams. The cheerful robins (21) chattering round us fly. And crested wood-cocks (22) hammer from on high*^ Poor Duncan's sober looks, and glistening eye, His broken sentences, and half-fetched sigh, I'- His frequent Ijackward gaze, and anxious mien, < - While Susan's sheltered cottage could be seen. Betrayed the thoughts that hovered through his I The fruitful source of many a rallying jest ; yf t ar LA 20 i:U£ FOIIESTEIIS. •->' • ' M : At length Ills song the echoing forest hailed* And Isiiighing Comus over love prevailed. By Susqnehanna*s shores we journey on. Hemmed in by mountains over mountains thronrn» Whose vast declivities rich scenes display Of green pines mixed with yellow foliage gay ; £ach gradual winding opening to the sight . New towering heaps of more majestic height. Grey with projecting rooks ; along whoi^ steeps The sailing eagle (23) many a circle^sweeps. Few huts appearea; the wretched few we spied Seemed caves where Sloth and Poverty reside; ' The ragged owners happier far to hear / Men, boys, and dogs arouse the bounding deer ; In fluttering rags, with scarce a hat or shoe, ^< ; ^ Down the rough steep the roaring chase pursue. To tree the bear; the midnight wolf to watch ; Minx, otters, 'possums, or racoons to catch ; , The bloody panther boldly to destroy. Their highest glory and their greatest joy. ., , While round each hut the richest soil is seen. Bleak squalid wretchedness is found within. Filth, want, and ignorance from sire to son, ., The sad attendants of the dog and gun ; ^ As sage experience long ago has said, , « , '. A good amusement, but a wretched trade, , . , *jTwas now deep noon, the winding pathway led Beneath tall maples near the river*s bed. Where ihoss-grown logs in mouldering ruins lay, ,^ And spice and dogwood fringed the narrow way ; The scarlet berfies clustering hung around, And mixed with yellow leaves bestrewed the ground ; There glistening lay, extended o*er the path, s5,« f -.i With stedfast, piercing eye, and gathering wrath, A large grim rattlesnake, of monstrous size ; Three times three feet his length enonnous lies ; His pointed scales in regular rows engraved ; ilis yellow sides with wreathes of dusky waved : ,1 iJ ^u r THE FORESTERS. 21 m \ ^ r> :/ T »' Kixed to tl)e !i|)ot, with staring eyes vrc hIocmI ! He, slowly moving, sought the adjoining wood; •C^onscions of deadly power, hencenied to say, ** 1*4188 oi\ ; in peace let each pursue his way.** Biit when th' uplilU'd musket met his view, Sudden in sounding coils his form he threw ! Fierce from the centre rose hiii flattened head, With quivering tongue and eyes of fiery red, And jaws extended vtist, where threatening lay ' ' The fangs of death in horrihie array : ' ' ' While poised above, invisible to view, '» ' *' '' " ' His whizzing tail in swift vibration flew. Back sprung our bard ! and, aiming to lot fly, iilanctid o'er tlic deadly tube his vengeful eye ; And now destruction seemed at once decreed ; ^^ But Duncan'a pleading checked the Imrbarons deed; •' O spare the brave !'* our generous pilot cried, l^et Mercy, sir ! let Justice now decide ; - ^''*^' ' I This noble foe, so terrible to sight. Though armed with death, yet ne*er prov(4ccs the fight ; Stern, yet magnanimous, lie l<>rm« his den Far from the noisy, dangerous haunts of men. " '"^ ' Tir unconscious foot that presses him be siiures, ' - And what was liarmless meant forgiving bears; But dare bis iife.-^Beliold, he rinses brave, *' **;. To guard Uiat being bounteous Nature gave. We are th* aggressors here; the Hero he ; Honor the brave defence of one to thrJ^k !'* < He spoke. Three cheers the voice of Mercy hailetf ; And heav'n's most glorious attribute prevaiJed. Here, in deep glens, we groves of shellbarks fouivd; f And brought their thousands rattling to tlie ground. Here clustering grapes on bending saplings grew. And down the loaded vines we labouring drew ; The histfious fruit our vigorous toil rey)aid, '^ ' ' And Bswchus* honors crowned us in the shade. ->' ■ : Now iw*eler*s Ferry lieartily we hail, " ^ And o^er the clear expanse serenely sail; .1 ■ '•' W' '\ oo I THE FORESTERS. High lip iW (uljaccnt bunks Again we go, >• ' Tiiu iessiMK-il river winding deep below ; "• .t I Here rocky masses iVom the cliflii wr tore, ,• i < ^ And down the mountain made them bonncfing roai* 'J'hrongh tops ofcrashing pines, with whist lin;^ iiound, Da-shing the thundering waves in foam around. Kow night drew on, dull owl« began to scream, ^Ve crossed Tunkhannoc*s slow and silent stream ; Lodged at a furnished inn that near it stood, . ; Of all things destitute save fire and wood; «' > ' Old Squares, the owner, indolent and poor, .if ' His house unshinglcd and without a door ; No meat, or drink, or bread, or liquor there; Ah Afric's wilds, of every comfort bare ; i - ; . l\ut Duncan*^ load across his cudgel cast, Fruits birds, and beasts, bespeak a rich repast ; -^ While Leech's knapsack loaves of bread supplied^ • And mine a cordial for the heart beside: > So, sans delay, all hands at once begin. Some pick the pheasants, some the squirrels skin, Noon o'er the fire our crackling nostrums brawl. And soon like hungry wolves to work we fall, ' Hew down the wheatcn loaf, o*cr whose thick dJs The amjile sheets of yellow butter glide. While piles of bones like polislied ivory rise. And the starved boors look on with wild surprise. ' '' Such blessed comforts health and hunger bring, The hunter feasts more nobly than the king, .. 'j { Whose sated appetite, by luxury cloyed* Even richest sauces satiate unenjoyed. - . - • The table cleared, our journal we survey, • . • And minute down the wanderings of the day; For fresh materials at our host inquire. Who broiled his brawny limbs before the fire. *' What Township's this, old daddy ?" Whff—hm^ivcU : Township? The dickens f SiVy if I can fell; Its Pennsylvania though. Right, daddy S<(uarcs. ^ >Vho arc your nearest neighbours ?" Whjt the bears. f f \"' <■',. > I y\\v. fouksti:R5!. 2i ** No inill or Kcliool-Iioii^p ncnr 3*011?" VVs, wc\'e ont lieyondthv vhurrh a piev.e^ on Path'J.f.'ti liun. " Is cimrcli far distant, daddy ?" ^^'h*| — hin — no { Down \^usquvhtmnn, twenty wUeit or so, •* You go to preaching, then ?" Jiesurc; that's clear ; We go to mill and mecluKj tirlra u-}jear» ** No curiosities about ?'* Why — ycs^ You've hrovght a feu^ of them yourselvfft, I ynrss, " What, dollars?" Aye^ and fi'-ncnnybits, J swear Are downright rarities among us here. Thus passed the evening till the time of bed, When to a kennel we at last were led ; There, slumbering, shivered till the dawn of day Then cursed this scurvy cave, and marched away. Before us now in huge extension rise Dark wood-clad mountains of enormous size ; Surrounding fogs their towering summits hide, And sailing clouds, in silent grandeur, glide ' ^ Around their any cliffs. These we survey , . , As dull forebodings of a cheerless day. , Up steeps immense with labouring steps we bend, Then down in hollow gulfs for miles descend, lUiried in depth of woodr, obscure and dark, Where pheasants drum, and angry squirrels bark ; With these (though rain in streaming torrents [)oured) Our pilot's pack abundantly we stor;.'(lj And when, at length, the driving tempest cleared. And through the woods a distant hut appeared, There, though the sour inhospitable clown Returned our smiles with many a surly frown, Compelled by Hunger, that imperious, loid. We cooked our game, and shared our little hoard ; And left the savage boor, whose looks conveyed ,^ Dark hate and miu'der every move they made. Still through rude wilds with silent steps we steer, Intent on game, all eager eye and car ; Each opening turn, each dark recess survey, Each mouldering heap that round tumultuous lay. J , ii I r 1 ',f*^y v"^ • «f 2-1^ THE FORESTERS, *W v: I ^' i As o'er those Alpine steeps we slowly past j •; l^ut all was silent, solitary, vast ! ^ . No sound of distant farm assailed the ear ; • No rising smoke ; no opening fields appear ; Ikit each high summit gained, the eye was shown' Hills piled on hills in dreary prospect thrown. So, from thtt mast, when boisterous tempests roa^^ A nd the tost vessel labours far from shore. The toil-worn sailor all around him spie» One sea, of mountains mingling with the skies. At length with vast descent we winding go, And sec the river gliding deep below ; And up the vale, suspended o'er the path, A sign- board waving o'er the hut beneath ; The straggling characters with soot portrayed. Defied awhile all eflbrts that we made ; At length we spelt this precious piece of lore ; Pat Dougherty* s Hotel and Drygood Store, Blest tidings ! welcome to the wandering wight. As sheltered hart ours in a stormy night ; And thou, sweet Muse ! in lofty numbers tell The matchless comforts of this log hotel. Here streams of smoke the entering stranger greet Here man and beast with equal honors meet ; The cow loud bawling fills the spattered door ; The sow and pigs grunt social round the floor ; Dogs, cats, and ducks, in mingling groups appear, And all that Filth can boast of riots here. Happy the hun^y souI& who hither speed ! Here, like cameleons, they may freely feed ; Here champ, with vigorous jaws, the empty air ; Without a bottom find one broken chair ; On dirty benches snore the night away, * And rise like thieves upon their judgment day. Ye threadbare pilgrims ! halt as ye pass by, This gorgeous store will all your wants supply ; Three long tobacco-pipes the shelf adorns ; Two rusty penknives fit to saw your corns; ■iiiijai;\iii ?< '^■%*V-*<- THE FORESTRHS. r>5 « So straight, so tall, so tow*ring side by side, « Each, in itself, appears the Ibrest's pride, A thousand fleets, with twice ten thousand more, May here find masts in everlasting store. Here melancholy monks might moping dwell. Nor ray of sunshme ever reach their cell Through the dead twilight, reigning horrid here, In holy groans their relics sad revere. Great solitary shades ! so still and dee^. Even passing sighs in hollow murmurs creep f ^ The silence deep, the solemn gloom profoondi/*^:!": -- '. The venerable piles that rise around, • " <•.*:'•"•' Such awe impress, that as we upward gaze, 'i.^'i ' ■ " '-^ In whispers low we murmur our amaze ! ' '• ■ ;^ Here to the god, (30) whose keen voracious brood ^ Pursue the pilgrim ravenous for food, ^ ^ With stump of pine, an altar we uprear, And round its mouldering roots arranged appear; '-' *'^-* ,. There bread, cheese, meat, with liberal hand we laid, ^ And, like true priests, devoured the offering made ; The power appeased, in silence soon withdrew, ; ', And left us braced with vigorous life anew. All day through this deep swamp, in splattered plight; Begulfed in mire we laboured on till night. When lo, emerging from the opening wood, " ^ -^ * >, '" * Midst narrow fields a little cottage stood ! A mill hard by in clattering murmur played ; Before tha door a rapid rivulet strayed ; Trees round the garden bent with apples hung, And cows and sheep their tinkling music rung. ' % Sacred to peacc; it seemed, and calm repose. And here, well pleased, our night's retreat we chose ; Approached the door, presenting our request, ^ Tbe dame*s kind looks already bade us rest ; ' And soon the landlord, entering with his train. Confirmed her kindness o*er and o'er again ; '^*^ And now the table showed its welcome head, ^ '*' With cheering fare, and rural dainties spread ; *•' ' ii \i M M u •T.-' 4n ^ I! S6 THE FOUESTIillS. Green sparkling tea, obscured with floatinsf cream ; Delicii>us salmon from the ncii^hhouring stream ; -, Nice cakes of wheaten Hour, so crisp and good, And piles of honeycombs, ambrosial food ! While in the cheerful looks of all around ' .. ' A still more pleasing, grateful treat we found. Our host intelligent, and fond of news, > '• - I-ong tales of trade and politic*; pursues ; The State's enlarging bounds, so mighty grown, >■ That even the bare extent remains unknown ; Of Europe's wars and Bonapartte's glories, Wolves, rifles, Louisiana, whigs and tories ; Of bears and wildcats, many a tale relates, "^Vith every circumstance ofpUce and dates; Till leaden sleep our weary eyes assailed, And spite of eloquence at length prevailedt The following morning found us on the way. Through woods of walnut trees conversing gay. Whose limbs enormous spread sublime around, Their huge forefathers mouldering on the ground ; The soil with leaves and showers of nuts was spread^ While millions more hung yellow overhead. Here maples towered with little troughs below, From whose gashed sides nectarious juices flow; The half-burnt logs, and stakes erected near. Showed that the sugar camp once flourished here. (31) Ye generous woodismcn 1 let this bounteous tree, . Forever sacred from your axes be ; O let not mangling wounds its life destroy ! . lint the nice auger for the axe employ ; So shall these trees for ages \ih their head, i And green and fresh their thickening foliage spread ; And each returning Spring their tribute pour. More rich, and more abundant than before. . ;», Mow opening woods, in circuit wide, display, A level vale with lawns and pastures gay, Where music hailed us from a numerous brood, The lone bells jumbling through the sounding wood y THK FORESTERS'. 53 f > V ■ij. ii. A' • "Who drove thom howling through th' aflVighte^ wastp. Till British regions sheltered them at last* Here, on the heights, whoro suddenly arrayed^ These hordes their last despairing ellbrt made, Where still U»e mouldering breastwork meets the view^ From whose defence as suddenly they flew, (2(y) Here, on th* approach of night we lodgings found, ,?t / And buried all our toils in sleep profound. . Vrii; The lingering night s^ill hung in drowsy gloom, In '/ IVlust'ring our loads we ]iace the darken'd room, %.'*: With tedious groping find at last the door, And down the narrow stair our way explore; *; :;• Bull fogs and darkness o'er the country lay ; * • But guiding fences pointed out the way. ?'> -'vf -. In cheerful chat we marched along, till morn, On dewy wings frotii eastern regions Imrne, / • 'Rose on tlve world, arid o'er the landscape gay, ' ^f- ' 'Midst songs of joyous birds, led on the day. ■. ''■■;'' Two whirring pheasants s-wept across our path, • • * And swift as lightning flew the fiery d«athf , li'l ?; ; /. A cloud of-, hi ■H r 34. THE i'ORESTERS. riills, towering steeps and precipices high, Rich plains and hanging rocks behind them fly ; The watchful pilot every eddy eyes, As down the torrent's foaming course he flies; Views with stern look, the frightful ,/&//*• disclose, And down th' outrageous breakers headlong goes ; ' A thousand toils, a thousand dangers past, Columbia's (28) harbour shelters them at last; '' With lingering steps the busy streets we trace. Pleased with the prospect of this growing place ; ' Though now so gay, scarce fifteen years have flown Since two log huts were all that it^could own ; Since waving reeds and scrubby ground-oak grew Where stores and taverns now arrest the view. Around the tree where panthers lurked for prey. Now evening groups of laughing children play ; And churclies neat their pious crowds enclose Where Indian fires and midnight yells arose. So wonder-working is the hand of toil, When Heav'n has blest and Freedom guards the soil. And streams so vast their powerful aid bestow To float down plenty wheresoe'er they flow. ■ - Mow to the north, through open plains, we wind, And leave the river's bending course behind ; And now, where level lengthening meadows spread. Through hazel thickets rapidly we tread, Here, when descending rain in torrents pour. And the broad meadows float from shore to shore, In two wide routes their waters seek the main ; Part through St. Lawrence meets the sea again,. Part to the south pursues its wandering way. And rolls to Chesapeake's capacious Bay. (29) Now dark before us gulfs of pines are seen, That bear the name still of their Indian Queen ; Great Catharine's Swamps, that deepening round extend, Down whose dun glooms we awfully descend; " •• Around us thick the crowding j)illar,> soar. Surpassing all we ever viewed before, y N IIWJlllll.lllli. THE FORESTERS. \h Lend* The threatening storm soon drove us to the plain, ; ;- i^nd on we wandered through the woods again, For many a mile through forests deep we passed, , : Till girdled trees rose to the view at last ; . ' * The fence and field successively appear, And jumbling cow-bells speak some cottage near ; Anon the sounding axe, the yelping dogs, ,\ The ploughman's voice, the sight of snorting hogs, And sudden opening on the ravished eye, Green fields, green meadows, garden Sj orchards, lie ,, ' t In rich profusion round the cottage neat, ^.i Ci: Log-built ; but Peace and Industry's retreat. M f Here down green glades the glittering streams descend ; Here loaded peach trees o'er the fences bend ; , ^ . / • Deep flowery pastures clothe the steeps around, .; ; , • Where herds repose, and playful coursers bound, „• :"l The groaning cider-press is busy heard, . / The fowls loud cackling swarm about the yard, j\ ? The snowy. geese harangue their numerous brood, .; y;;'i' The flapping flail re-echoes through the wood, CluuJ^ ui And all abound that meets the eye or ear, . . ,:. ^,x»X\ Proclaims the power that spreads its influence hcjrei -.{Vi Hail, ],lural Industry! man's sturdiest friend, , ^,:^; joV To thee each virtue must with reverence bend; . ;^ yili' To thee what heart denies spontaneous praise, :v;;.j; ^";j/.^ From gloomy woods such glorious scenes to raise ! ;onoii Great giver of God's gifts to man below ! y //" : Through wjiose rough hand all human blessings flow, ". Here a3 in; anci-ent atid illustrious Rome, , .. , / IMay chiefs and herociS cheer thy humble home ; v , , ; (/ The wise, the brave, from public broils retreat. To walk with heaven and tiiee through arbouris sweet. To share thy toil^; thy little plans inspire, vr i .^<.ji And joke at night around thy glowing fire. . , it. Still, near thy hut, upon the flowery green. May Temperance, Hope, and Cheerfulness be seen, , Health, Plenty, Innocence, thy temples crown. And Pcace^ each night embo:>om thee in down, ,< ft S 3*i THE FOKE.ST£KS. t 1 ' And still, where'er tliy humble rooft arise, In northern climes, or under burning skie.s, i IMay guardian Liberty thy fields enclose, Befriend thy friends, and bailie all thy foes. Cheered with the rural sweets on every side, Slow through this charming vale we gaily glide* X)elightful spot ! from stormy winds secured, By mountains sheltered and in wilds immured ; Still as we pass rich level fields appear ; Chemung's huge barns and fertile farms draw near. riow changed those scenes from what so late they were I Ere Freedom's banners waved triumphant here ; While o*er our coasts a powerful foe prevailed, Here from behind the savages assailed ; In bloody bands ransacked our weak frontier, ' ' ' Fire, rapine, murder, marked their fell career. Amid his corn the gasping planter fell, Deep sunk the axe, and direful rose the yell ; The midnight cottage, wrapt in sweet repose, f- In flaming ruins with the morning rose ; TTiere slaughtered corses, babes and fathers lay. The naked mothers driven 'mid fiends away. To thee, brave Sullivan ! who scourged this crew, Thy country's gratitude shall still be due ; And future ages on these summits rear Honors to him who planted freedom here. >K^ We pause to mark amid this valley green ■ How changed the tenant, how improved the scene ! Where wretched wigwams late like kennels stood. Where bark canoes stole skulking o'er the flood. Where mangled prisoners groaned, and hatchets glared. And blood-stained savages the fire prepa cd ; There glittering towns and villages extend, " ' '■''- There floating granaries in fleets descend, ' There ploughmen chant, and mowers sweep the soil. And taverns shine, and rosy damsels smile. ' ' Thanks to the brave, who through these forests bore Columbia's vengeance on the sons of gore ; ^ ,t \'if ;re !* ?d, THE FOREiitEns. 29 \Vith deep reluctance, ne*er to be forgot, And many a lingering look, we left tliis spot, Since called Olympusy worthier of the name Than that so blazoned by the trump of fame. Ye souls ! whom nature's glorious works delight, Who chance to pass o'er this stupendous height, Here turn aside ; and, if serene the day. This cliff sublime will all your toils repay ; Here regions wide your ravished eye will meet, HiUs, rivers, forests, lying at your feet : Here to Columbia make your muskets roar. While heaven's artillery thunders back encore, *Twas now dull twilight, trudging on we keep, Where giddy Breahneck nods above the steep ; And down the darkening forest slowly steer, Where woodsi Receding, showed a dwelling near, . A painted ^i^nie, tall banracks filled with hay, Clean white-wai^hed railing$ raised along the way, Young poplars, mixed with weeping willows green Rose o*er the gate, and fringed the walk within ; . An air of neatness, gracing all around,; ^ (. ; .' • Bespoke tiiat courtesy we so quickly found j; v J •. The aged Judge, in grave apparel dressed, * ^ To cushion*d chairs invites each weary gu^st ; " *5 0*er the rich carpet bids, the talkie rise, .;•, f f^-> With all the sweets that Inaia*^ clime supplies ; * <* And supper served y^ith elegancie, the glass ''-■ . . I In sober circuit was allowed to pass. The reverend sire, with sons and grandsons round, Ruddy as health, by summer suns embrowned, • Inquires our road and news with modest mein, * ,« Tells of the countries he himself had seen ; His Indian battles, midnight ambuscades ;, Wounds and captivity in forest glades. And with such winnii;g, interesting store, Of wild- wood tales and literary lore. Beguiled the evening and engaged each heart. That though ^ikep summoned, we were loath to part; € 2 •H '.'- 4 'J 90 THE I''OUESTEK,«r, And ev'n in bed rcposedytfae listening car ' Sttcmetl still the accents of the sage to hear. The morning came; ye Gods ! how quickly liiev "To weary folks the hour when they must rise ! Groping around we fix our various load, a\nd full equipt forth issued to the road ; Inured to toil, the woods slide swiftly past ; O'er many an opening farm our eyes we cast. H'ere rich flat meadows most luxuriant lie, Some glowing orchards gladly we espy, Full-loaded peach trees drooping hung around, Their mellow fruit thick scattered o'er the ground ; Six cents procured us a sufficient store, Our napkins crammed and pockets running o*er ; Delicious fare ! Nor did we prize them less Than Jews did manna in the wilderness. Still journeying on, the river's brink we keep, And pass the Narrows* high and dangerous steep. That to the clouds like towering Atlas soars, "While deep below the parted river rears* Beyond its eastern stream, on level lands, ;^ There Athens (once Tioga) straggling stands ; : Unlike that Athens known in days of old, Where Learning found more worshippers than gold. Here waste, unfinished^ their sole S(Jliool-house lies, While pompous taverns alt arotind it rise* ^ NoMr to the lefl the ranging mountains bend, ' And level plains before us wide extend, , }.. Where rising lone, old Spanish-Hill (25) appears, The post of war in ancient unknown years ; -Its steep and roirt[iding sides with woods embrowned^ Its level top with old entrenchments crowned ; Pive hundred paces thrice we measure o'er £re all their circling boundaries we explore ; Now overgrown with woods alone it stands. And looks abroad o'er open fertile lands. ; ^, , Here on the works we ruminating lay, f ■ . Till »uddcn darkness mulHed up the day ; '. •\ f \ M !• r ... ■■■',.' f^! , * ),;!:% 7/ l'i~' j^rr.*. \ « ' . 1 i • : ' . , V :..i.X « * ^ • THE FORESTERS. 21 f '■ f I > .i Tlirough paths where late the skulking Indian trody Smeared with the infant*s and the n^other's blood. Their haunts no more ; far to the setting day In western woods their prowling parties stray, Where vast Superior laves his drifted shores, Or loud Niagara's thundering torrent roars ; Gaul's exiled royalists, a pensive train, Here raise the hut and clear the rough domain ; The way-worn pilgrim to their fires receive. Supply his wants ; but at his tidings grieve ; Afflicting news ! forever on the wing, A ruined country and a murdered king ! Peace to their lone retreats, while sheltered here; May these deep shades to them be doubly dear ; . /" And Power's proud worshippers, wherever placed, Who saw such grandeur ruined and defaced, By deeds of virtue to themselves secuere ' ^ Those inborn joys, that, spite of kings, endure. Though thrones and states from their foundations part; The precious balsam of a blameless heart. All day up winding solitudes we past. Steep hung o'er steep as if at random cast ; Through every opening towering groups were seen Piled to the clouds, with horrid gulphs between ; Thus (as the bard of old creation sings, Mongst other marvellous scenes and mighty things,) When squabbling angels raised in heaven a rout. And hills uprooted flew like hail about. Thus looked, in those tremendous days of yore. Their field of battle when the fight was o'er, Impending cliffs with ruined woods o'ergrown, And mountains headlong over mountains thrown. One vast pre-eminent ascent we scaled. And high at last its level summit hailed, There, as we trod along fatigued and slow, Through parting woods the clouds appeared below, And lo ! at once before our ravished view, A scene appeared, astonishing and new. r, r'-T i' - m ' ■•■ V 1 I'V" 28 THE FORESTEKf^j •<<• <. • iyond, immense, to the horizon's close, .<: > v ; ' < .) i^Iuge amphitheatres of mountains rose. ; T Charmed with this spot, our knapsacks wc resigncdr . And here, like gods, in airy regions dined ; Like gods of old the cordial cup we quailed. Sung songs to Liberty, and joked and laughed ; Iluzza'd aloud — then listening from on high , vt If haply slumbering Echo would reply. > A long dead pause ensued — — ^at once the sound In tenfold shoiits from distant hilli^ rebound ; Not Polyphemus* trelf e'er louder roared, . ... When burning goads his monstrous visage gored. Huzza ! huzza ! the echoing mountains cry ; , , , , /luzzal huzzal more distant hills reply, ,, , "^And still more distant, till the faint huzza, ,,r , ,,, In lessening shouts, successive, died away. , Surprised, astonished ! heedless of our meal We seized our muskets for a nobler peal. Filled their dark bowels witli the glistening grain. And, facing, pointed to the extended scene, „ .. Then at the word their fiery thunders poured, . That through the wide expanse impetuous roared. Deep silence hung the loud returning roar From bellowing mountains thunders o'er and o'er l*cal after peal successive burets away, . ,_-5 And rolls tremendous o'er the face of day ; , . From hill to hill the loud responses fly, And in the vast horizon lessening die. (21) ^ Thus from Olympus, o'er a prostrate world, ,* : The fabled Jove his bolts imperious hurled ; ICarth heard, and echoed back the peals profound. And heaven's exalted regions shook around, -tr >\ J e y ''■•-.\ ' M. rilE t iKESTEHS. 25 < . > • T ' I I ^ ^ ( ' .' / M >i 'iC ^■1. ^m- rnjif Tcahco m imisty folds; • . ' •«t.ick ' limI oiu 'rair ko2f (»f brandy, glorious cheer ! •"' Arrivi's • mh Philadelphia once a year. V li.it h'.iindless wealth ! what can they wish for more Who such a tavern meet, and such a store? To crown the whole — defiled from ear to ear, lk>hold the majesty of clouts appear ! • . The ragjj;od lord of all this costly scene, " ' Whose hands and face old ocean scarce could clean ; Whose sun-hurnt leg».and arms and shoulders bore What once was rofrt and 'trowserf^ — such no more ! But shapeless fragments, gashed with holes profound* And rag-formed fringes dangling all around. ' ^ ^^^ Bent o'er a tub that once tobacco knew, . ' it • ' And still from whence the dear effluvia flew, • '•? Pat grumbling stood ; and while he eager viewed, Each nook and seam, the scanty gleanings diewcd ; His busy mouth such savoury joys cxprest . ' That scarce our stiUcd laughter we supprest. On this foul mass of misery as we gazed. The man of rags his brandy loudly praised ; Leech sought tlfie door, disgusted with the scene. And Duncan .followed, grasping hard his cane; Our bard, alone, with pleasure in his face, Silent surveyed the wonders of the place. In whose vile groups -he but a picture saw, i • That all might manvel at ; but few could draw. .Though long and rough the road before us rose. And toll and evening urged us to repose. Yet were 4;lic forest glooms at once preferred To this vile Hottentot's most beastly herd. So thence, up towering steeps again we scale, ' '' '-i' And trace the depths of many a darksome vale ; • "!! While oft some oak's huge, antiquated form, *> That through long ages had defied the storm ; ■ i' Whose hollow trunk had lodged the skulking bear, s^SVVhile owls and 'possums found concealment there,' ^ ' »» r f *'.'%■ 1 \ ■J .-1 .:t ::.v'* 2G THE I'ORESTEKS* '••H Rose, likf tlic ruins ofsome reverend prio, While m()s« and lichens its hoar arms doHIo ; Great in distress it niouldcrins; drops nway, Time's mournful monitor of life's decay. Night's shades at last descend — the stars appear— Dull barking dogs proclaim tht^ Tillage near ; Soon AVyalusing round us we survey, And fniished here tlio labours of the day. The inn was silent, not a mortal there. Before the ftre each plants his craxy chair, When slow down stairs a cautious 4tep was heard, And Job, the landlord, soberly appeared ; Begged our excuse — bewailed his luckless lot. Wife in the siraiVy and every thing forgot \ So finding honest Job so hard bestead. We skinned our squirrels, supped,' and went to bed. The morning dawned, agitf n . we took the road, Each musket shouldered o'er the lightened load* Through Wyalusing's plains we Mily pass m y • 'Midst matted fields of rankJtMV^'^Si'nt grass. - \ Here Nature bounteous 181 eiltc^^ has been ; Yet loitering hunters scarce a living glean ; Blest with a soil that, even in winter gay, Would all their toils a hundred fold repay, '' Few cultured fields of yellow grain appear ; Rich fenceless pastures, rot unheeded here. Huge from the vale the towering walnuts grow. And wave o'er wretched huts that lie below. No blossomed orchards scent their opening May ; No bleating flocks upon their pastures play ; The wolves, say they, would soon our flocks destroy ; And planting orchards is a poor employ. The hungry traveller, dining on this plain, ' Ma}' ask for fowls, and wish for eggs in vain ; And while he dines upon a flitch of bear, ' To wolves and foxes leave more gentle fare. Now down through hoary woods we scour along. Rousing the echoes with our jovial song, ■ / riiv. loarisi r.us. ti7 I yj yjhecp, oxen, cows, in busy jxirtici siraycd, : • While snorting steeds uur passing steps surveyed:;; .^ Surrounding hills this peaceful ])lacc inclose, ^; And form a scene of sheltered sweet repose. (32). Ah ! niclanoholy scene, (though once so dear) ^ To the poor Indian hnply wandering here, «,. Whose eye forlorn, amid the gushing flood, •« < Beholds the spot where once his wigwam stood, ; , Where warrior's huts in smoky pride were seen, His nation's residence ! his native green ! Methinks, even now. ;|;herc yon red maples play. The black-haired wanderer slowly bends his way, ♦, And pensive stops, and heaves the stifled s»gh, , "• As well known r' iccts meet his rueful eye ; .;,,/. No words esc;: j, but, while memory grieves, These gl >n jghts his burdened heart relieves : ** O happy ' ! for ever, ^ver gone ! When ther'rt ^l ods to white men were unknown ; Thei. the Cueat 6pirit gave us from on high, A plain broad path, and an \^nclouded sky ; ^ * Then hords of deer in every thicket lay, Peace blessed our nights, and Plenty crowned our day But now, dark clouds around our nation roar, The path is lost ! we see the sun no more ! A poor lone wanderer here unhappy raves, • Returned once more to see his fathers' graves ; ^' . ^ Where all he sees bereaves his heart of rest, ., ' And sinks like poisoned arrows in his breast. " Here stood the tree, beneath whose awful shade. Our aged chiefs the nation's welfare weighed ; In these sweet woods my early days I spent; There through the hare, the quivering arrow sent ; Or, stealing; wary by that creek so clear. Transfixed the struggling salmon with my spear. > Here rose our fires in many a towering flame, f* When the young hunters found abundant game ; '- ■ The feast, the dance, whole days and nights employ, These hills resounding with our screams ef joy. H ■ M M f58 THE FOltttbTERS. Thcr«, on that bank our painted warriors stood, Their keen knives reddened with the white men's blood. Now all is lost ! and sacrilege is spread ! Curst ploughs profane the mansions of the dead I Our warriors wander on a distant shore, And strangers triumph where they begged before." Indignant sorrow rushes on liiseoul, And in wild agony his eye-balls roll ; Wrapt in his rug, the forest he regains, ■ A homeless exile on his native plains. Howe'er stern Prejudice those woes mny view, A tear to Nature's tawny sons is due ; The same false virtue and ambitious fire. Which nations idolize, and kings admire, Provoke the white man to the bloody strife, And bid tiie Indian draw his deadly knife; The glory ours, in victory to save. His, «till to glut with every foe the grave ; Nor age, nor sex, his country's foe avails, ^ So strong this passion o'er the rest prevails ; And equal woes must wring his manly heart, - From native shades for ever forced to part. Tlirough this sweet vale, that wooded hills enclose, A clear deep stream in glassy silence flows ; (33) There sportive trout disturb the dimpling tide, And shoals of salmon, pike and suckers glide ; - • Thick vines and sycamores in rich array, r .* Bend o'er its banks, and mark its winding x^ay ; Gigantic walnuts, bare and blasted rise, (34i) And stretch their bleached arms midway to the skitt, There sits the hawk, (35) inuried to feasts of blood. Watching the scaly tenants of the flood, -'-^ ■•""■•' Or listening, pensive, to the distant roar ' <' > - ^ ; Of yon white falls that down the mountain pour;' • ; Thence to the lake broad level marshes spread, Where close rank reeds conceal the muskrat's bed ; • Above, tround, in numerous flocks are seen Lonj lines of ducks o'er thi.^ their fav'rite kcene j ^ Tft-E FOTlKSTEnS. $^ I. ■ I's blood. •e. >♦ os«, kits. I. > Homo to til? laktt in weilj^cd division!* bend ; Soiiiu o'er tli« creek in icngthonin/ji; showers desiccnd. Ah, how could sportsmen snch a sight survey Nor seek to shure the pleasures of the day ! Do well drest beauties sljun theatric walls? Or sleeps the swain when his own sweetheart call* ? A skiffann paddles near the landing lay, *i'wo striplijinrs proffered to conduct mj way, I'ixed in the bow for slaughter I prepare, The deadly barrels ready poised in air ; Slow round an opening point we softly steal, Where four large ducks in playful circles wheel. The far-famed canvass hacks (36) at once we knotr, Tlieir broad flat bodies wrapt in pencilled snow ; The burnished eliesnut o'er their necks that shone,. Spread deepening round each breast a sable zone; Wary they gaze our boat in silence glides, The slow-moved paddles steal along the sides ; Quick flashing thunders roar along the flood, And three lie prostrate vomiting their blood \ Thejburth aloft on whistling pinions soared, _ _ One fatal glance the fiery thunders poured, Prone drops the bird amid the dashing wave-s And the clear stream his glossy plumage laves. Kow all around us rising trains appear, Wild whisiling wings on every hand we hear! Th' alarm of death amid their legions spread, In files immense they winnow orephead ; Hoarse heavy geese scream up the distant sky. And all the thunders of oqr boat defy ; ,; ,^, Close under rustling vines we skulking glide Till the loud uproar and alarm subside ; Here grapes delicious, clustering, hung around. The mother vines through bending birches wound j; Not richer ripen on Vesuvius' side, Than here spontaneous nodded o'er the tide. VJow all again is silent and serene, . , , .,,^ Slow glides our iskiff'nlon^ the glawy scene, ~^a 'Mi n 40 THE FOUESTERS. O'er tlie flat marsh we mark tbo plovers sweep. And, clustering close, their whc ling courses kei^p, ' Till, like a tempest, as they i)a.st us roar, Whole crowds descend, to rise again no more ; J*rone on the sand, the snowy tribe are spread, Then hove on board, and piled among the dead. '■ Beyond a point, just opening to the view, ^i?:*^ ; ' A flett of ducks collect their scattered crew, - > Part, soon alarmed, with sudden splattering soar, The rest remaining seek the farther shore ; There 'cross a neck, concealed by sheltering vines, Down the smooth tide I view their floating lines. With sudden glance the smoky vengeance pour, And death and ruin spread.along the shore ! I^he dead and dying mingling, float around, And loud the shoutings of my guides resound. But now the Lake (37) wide opening spreads below. Bright o'er its smooth expanse the sun-beams glow, There downward skies in concave vast appear. And circling wide complete one boundless sphere ; Far spreading- forests from its shores ascend ; And tow'ring headlands o'er the flood impend ; Those, deep below, in softened tints are seen, Where Nature smiles upon herself serene. O lovely scenes ! in ecstacy I cried, ^ 'J'hat sink to nothing all the works of pride ! ' What are the piles that puny mortals rear, 'I'heir temples, towers, however great or fair, ' Their mirrors, . carpets, tapestry, and state. The nameless toys that Fashion's fools creati?. To this resplendent dome of earth and sky, Immensely stretched ! immeasurably high ! Those yellow forests, tinged with glowing red, ' So rich around in solemn grandeur sj)rcad, Where, here and there, in lazy columns rise. The woodman's smoke, like incense to ihe skies ! "^^lis heaven>reflecting Lake, smooth, cleur, profquriilj''* And that primaeyal peace that reigns avouud 1 '1^- ;iA;. W-i, '^ivif I'ME roKESTEn«. 4't ow, ■•» >v •■>v ^^ ' A* well may worms compar« with souk divine, As Art, O Nature! match her works with thine. ,;' Now high in heaven the hastening sun had sped, . ; ; My comrades, too, were trudging far ahead, ^ -, Piled at my feet enough of carnage lay. So slow to shore we cut our liquid way, ; , •. There, where a hill the level marsh confines, • - ., Lifts its rough front, and o'er the Lake reclines,. Where glittering through the trees that rise below, A brawling cataract falls in sheets of snow, _ , . . , . J, Prone from the precipice, and steals unseen, ;• . .1., , Through birchen thickets to the lake Serene, , . j / While softened echoes join in cadence aweet, , .. • • And sheltering scenery form a blest retreat ; _ "■ '/ - ;■ There, on the slaty shore, my spoils 1 spread, :, -. v • Ducks, plover, teal, the dying and the dead ; Two snow-white storks, 1 38) a crane of tawney hue, Stretched their long necks amid the slaughtered crew ; A hawk (39) whose claws, white tail, and dappled breasV And eye, his royal pedigre4*^"^nft'st ; - ; - : Snipes, splendid summer-dti^*"fe'40) and divers wild, In one high hL»ap,triumphan£I^°^^i)iled ; -, ^ Then joining, heads^that ne'er were joined before, . .; ., Across my gun.l^he feathery burden bore ; Sought out tha'path t^^|t»ealed the mountain's side, Farewell ! " Goodbye !" the smiling younkers cried ; Up through the incumbent shades I tabk my way, ... , They to their boat with glittering dollar gay. ' . The day was hot, the load of ponderous size. To heaven's own gates the mountain seemed to rise ;. - Large ruined logs the winding labyrinth crost, _■■ [ And soon the path in tangling brush was lost. Up these rough steeps J bore my plunder through, That still more prized and more oppressive grew. Till drenched with sweat, I gained the mountain's head/ And steered as chance or blind conjecture led ; Filled the deep forest with the shouts I made, ' - That died, unanswered, through the distant shade ', d2 /- :i "i-i- J J ■'\"^'*^V r! vi THE FORESTERS. While startled squirrels, mounting in affright* • • TiOoked down, and chattered, at th' alarming sight. At length two guns, that made the mountain roar, Produced an answering peal from those before ; And ten long miles in doubt and drudgery pasit, I reached my comrades and the road at last ; Where peals of mirth succeeding their amaze, They shared my load, and loaded me with praise* Beyond the woods where Erie's waves extend, Behold, once more, the setting sun descend; » Lone chirping cricketb hail the coming night, And bats around us wheel their giddy flight; j • . The drumming pheasant vibrates dn the ear ; The distant forests dimly disappear. Slow sinks the day ; and through the impending woods, Night spreads her wings, and deepening darkness btoods. A death like silence reigns the forest through ; At last the path evanishes from view. • • Here as we stoop, our dubious course to steer, Inhuman screams at once »"«n^ our ear ; The hollow, quivering, •>^i itsrepeated howl, Full overhead, betrays t. o'oflaggard owl ; Who, well for her, in muffling darkness past. Else this heart^sinking scream had been her last. Thus through the forest, wrapt in deepest shade, Beneath black arms of towVing oaks we strayed, At solemn intervals the peace profound Disturbed by rattling nuts that dropt around* Shrill, wildly issuing from a neighbouring height, The woirs deep bowlings pierce the ear of night ; From the dark swamp he calls his skulking crew. Their nightly scenes of slaughter to renew ; -,; , Their mingling yells sad savage woes express, * » » And echo dreary through the dark recess. - Steady along through swamps and pools we went ; The way-worn foresters fatigued and faint, - ^^ \;, Scrambling o'er fallen logs that fractured lay, "' ^ " Or stunned by viewltss boughs that crossed our way ; *' ♦ • '\'-^W--y mmmtKimtm^ TWE i?OKKi>TEllS. 43 '' " i « » • tods, oods. T <( «< ^'liile glaring round, through roots and stumps decayed, . Phosphoric lights their pallid gleams displayed. .... . Sudden a horrid human shriek we hear., * ' Z That shot its terrors through our startled ear ; ^^ Ha ! are you there !" the watchful Duncan cried, " Halt! fix your bayonets, and look out ahead !'* • A second scream announced tlie panther nigh, .', The dark woods echoing back the rueful cry ; i ,, '. Still as the grave, suspending every breath, '■.•:.'.' V Steady we stood to mark its passing path, ., ' Prepared, and eager for one deadly aim, To pour destruction through its tawny frame ; But vain our listening ; nothing seemed awake. Save the lone murmur of the neighbouring lake ; r All else lay dead and silent as before ; i ,. , . And even the distant wolf was heard no more. ; ' ri . . Amidst this deep Egyptian darkness lost, : ;^ • { . Our faithful pilot ne'er forsook his post ; c' r -i! .. j '• But knew, or seemed to know, each swamp and pond. And kept his steady com*se unerring on. ^ » Behold ! in front, a spreading radiance gleams ! ; ' :;: ' Wide glowing, ruddy and immense it seems, ^ . Tk Such as the rising moon's broad orb bestows, " , When up night's starry vault she solemn goes, - , u. ;' . Fach moment brightening, lo ! to our amaze. The woods on fire in ardent fury blaze ; Dark trees before us, of gigantic size, ; In deeper shades and gloomy pomp arise ; ' The flames beyond, ascending with them bear Thick clouds of sparkling smoke that fill the air. Approaching near, it opes in dread display, : . DiflTising round th' effulgency of day ; . r WKi 'e, glad to view each other's looks again, We stand contemplating this furious scene; *' Here piles of logs like furnaces appear. The rows of underbrush rage far and near ; ^ ^^ v Huge tow*ring oaks amid this sea of firr, Descend in thunders, and in flames expire: ■ ; *' ^/ ,'7 i i i i ^ H THE FOREStEnS. Or, biasing high, with burning gaps imprest/ ..* Kaiu showers of lire infectious on the rest, .-•' < Loud roar the flames, the crackling branches flyy And black behind the smoky ruins lie. • ' ^ , - Thus some fair city, pride of many an age, .,. ; i^ ' Gleams with the light of war's devouring rage, Through its high domes the flaming torrents pour, And naked turrets o'er the burnings lour ; The midnight sky reflects the dreadful blaz^ The foe at distance, with enjoyment gaze, ->,.•■ Exult to find their vengeance well employed, , ,:.- The works of ages in one night destroyed. ■ . >;• > So looked the woodman, who behind 14s stood^ .. ^ <■ Begrimmed with soot, in tattered garments rude» i On pitchfork leaning, hailed with " How d'ye doT* • And looked like Lucifer ; just risen to view. - ,4 i? Z^. At Duncan's voice, advancing, stood amazed, . :^ i m: ' And each on other for a moment gazed; •* What, Johnny!" ** Dtmcan!" " Bless my heart, so naart '* How glad our folks will he to ^ee you here V* Kind invitations now were not forgot, ';..•) . And through corn fields we followed to his cot, »;•: There " O's !" and " DearsV" and salutations o'er, ; The ponderous knapsacks sunk upon the floor ;, . ■, '■ Seats, quickly ranged, our weary limbs invite^^, j- •,; •; : T And kind inquiries! all our toils requite ; < • . -. ' And while our media young brunnette prepared^ - ^ - !. The ancient father's humorous jokes we shared ; /. - • > Though ninety years had silvered o'er his head, ;,,ji ^ r : Yet life's green vigour seemed but little fled; ^' ?,* ; : ^ ' The burning woods that late before us blazed, .'t , His axe had levelled, and his handspike raised ; :. 'x ■', Kone laughed, more hearty, sung with livelier glee, _-Vi ■-■' Or joked, or told a merrier tale than he; ^jI^ Kind, cheerful, frank ; in youth a sailor brave, : > - . - - '* Now bound for brighter worlds beyond the grave.'' Two favorite sons, obliging, open, mild, .r^r <.i s^ri . \S'ith wild wood anecdotes the hours beg"'^^^ ; uu ^js. i t • • TUE FOKESTKRS. 45 "Produced their rifles, sedulous to please, Described their iarm, their horses, harvest, bees, 'While a whole hi-ve, the crowded garden's boast. Crowned our repast, and spoke the generous host. To Johnny's joke succeeded William's tale. Sweet Mary served with many a witching smile, And thou. Devotion, wert a kindred guest, Of all our joys the noblest and the best ; Around, convened with David's holy lays, In solemn strains awoke our evening praise ; The kneeling father'js fervent prayers ascend, " O be the strangers' comfort, guide and friend ; 'i'heir trust, their guardian, wheicsoe'er they go, To view thy greatness in thy works below^ O leave them not ! but their Director be. To that last stage that leads them home to Thee !'* Such pious goodness, aged wocth so dear. The trembling voice that spoke the soul sincere. With thoughts unspeakable my mind opprcst, Till tears relieved the tumult of my breast : And all to rest retired, and silence deep. To lose the hardships of the day in sleep. By bawling calves and jumbling bells awoke^ We start anutzed to see the morning broke; Such blest oblivion baJmy sleep bestows Where toil-worn Industry and Peace repose. Geese, turkeys, ducks, a noisy, numerous brood, Mingle their gahblings with the echoing wood, Through whose tall pillared trees, cjctcnding blue^ The lake Cayuga (4il) caught our ravished view. Soon on its oak-crowned banks sublime we stood, And viewed, from right to left, its lengthened fl^pdj Of vast extent, pure, glassy and serene; "; Th' adjacent shores and skirting huts were seen. The eye could mark the whitened frames, the ear Faint sounds of barking dogs remotely hear. ; Hither before, our liberal friends had sent WIitttt*er of stores we voyagers might want, * ,*•<-•►' "■' ^1^1 '■■. ► ■■{■»■ irj^ k A'^ Tiiit. Foni:sTKa>i. r T'illed all our wallet"*, prossed us to t«lce inorcT, And side by sid« convevcd us to the shore ; There the good fiither grasped each traveller's liaiuf, Ills sonsnnd family niingiiugo'or the strand, •• 1 arewoll !" "Goodbye !" »« God bless you !" was i\w cry, 'jriic tears of friendship swelling in ej»/ ' eye. CUiarmed with a love, so free, so nobly show^n,- Uii clubbed fuzec across his shoulder thrown. Our pilgrim bard the parting group addressed^ And thus his gratitude and ours expressed : " For all your goodness, ho.^pitable friends I Wc gladly would but cannot raakeam^^nds j All that wo can we humbly offer here, Our dearest wishes, ardent and sincere ; ' • Long with success may all your toils be blest, And each rich harvest rival all that's past ; Long may your glittering axe, with strength applied^ The circling bark from massy trunks divide, > - Or wheeled in air while the wide woods resound, Bring crashing forests thundering to the ground ; Long may your fires in flaming piles ascend, And girdled trees their wintry arms extend ;. Your mighty oxen drag the logs away, > .' And give the long hid surface to the day : While fields of richest grain and pasture good Shall wave where Indians strayed and forests stood' ;: And as you sweat the rustling sheaves among, Th* adjoining woods shall echo to your song. ' i a . •.* . These are the scenes of truest, joys below, i '^ From these health, peace and independence flow ; Blest with the purest air, and richest soil. What generous harvests recjompense your toil ! ^ -f ' Here no proud lording lifts his haughty crest ; No tinsel'd scoundrel tramples the distrest ; ' , ' No thief in black demands his tenth in sheaves ; But man from God abundantly receives. . ? • In rustic dress you range the echoing wood, « ' .' H«alth makos you gay, and simple mannerik gsctd^ t TITK. rORF.STKRS. l)«~ / I V AacIety'K best joys your bosoms know, , . And plenty's smiling cup without its wo«», Farewell, good friends ! be virtue still your guide; Still scorn injustice, cruelty and pride. Whate'er be your pursuits, whate'cr your care, Let temperance, peace and industry be there ; From these' want, pain, and care, and ruin fly. And halt' the ills that tcuch mankind to sigh. Fear notpuccess ! though one attempt should fail, Fate yields when strength and constancy assail ; ♦Store up your harvests, sow your winter grain, IVepare your troughs the maple's juice to drain, . Then, when the wintry north outrageous blows. And nought is seen but one wide waste of snows. Ascend the fleeting sleigh, and like the wind, Scour o'er the hills, and leave the woods behind, / Along the drifted swamps and mountains high, O'er rocks and narrows (42) make your horses fly, Shoot o'er the Susquehanna's frozen face, -,-.. And bleak Wyoming's lofty hills retrace ; Nor let the hunter's hut, or venison stale, , ' , .; . Or his loved bottie, or his wond'rous tale Of deer and bear, your lingering steeds detain ; ^ , But swift descend and seek the southern plain ; ,,. There where the clouds of Philadelphia rise, ^ And Gray's flat bridge across the Schuylkill lies 5 There shall your grateful friends with choicest store. And hearts o'erflowing welcome you once more ; There friendship's purest joys will crown the whole. The feast of reason and the flow of soul.** .;* ,,-/ Our boat now ready and our baggage stored. Provisions, mast, and oars and sails aboard, With three loud cheers that echoed from the steep. We launched our iKifF Niagara to the deep ; The shores recede — ^the oars resounding play, Fleet through the unruffled flood we scour awayi ; ,; Till evening sweet suspends her starry veil, <, And all around her sparkling; orbii prevail, . , ,.*..{ i *' - v.- i h 48 rilK I'OHK.S TK f and flap, and scream around. . * 1^ THE FoarcsTKius. 4S> iCtV^i. 4 »* rise: Here from tlic shore, low marslies wldi' expaiul, Where bare aiitl bleak the little salt-works slanJ, There numerous i)its their briny treasures yiehj, And pumps antl tunnels checker all tho field ; Whether Old Neptune these blest springs supplies, Oi deep below the massy substance lits, Let idlers guess ; while nobler souls revere The all-providing Power who raised them here. Beneath mild sunshine as we onward glide, Flat moss-clad forests rise on either side ; High *midst the leafless multitude is SL«en The dark majestic pine in deepest green ; The snow white sycamores, that lore to drink The passing stream and skirt the river's brink, Wide o*er the flood their arms, capacious, throw. To meet their softened forms that lie below. Still files of ducks in streaming thousands pour. At every bend their rising torrents roar, Till near Musquito poinjt their flocks decrease, ' ' Where night o*ertook us and we moored in peace- High rose its banks, and on its rugged height, A small log hovel shone with glimmering light; Here one lone woman and a boy we found. The trapper, absent on his usual round. On board his skiff had sailed, six days ago, To try his luck some twenty miles below. This solitary hut, small, cheerless, rude. Amidst vast swamps and wildernesses stood. Where nightly horrors banished oflt repose, Such savage cries from wolves and panthers rose ; Even round the bolted door, the woman said, At midnight frequent she could hear their tread.* The fire blazed bright ; around us we surveyed The pendent furs with which it was arrayed ; A sacred horse shoe, guardian of the whole, ,' Terror of spirits profane, and witches foul, Dread, powerful talisman, 'gainst imps unknown I N.iilcd o'er the door in silent mvstorv shone. ^V't % tr' ( .,'^«' I ,50 Tfltt lORKiiTUIU. Jufil U2 tint ilune Iter glowiii'r hearth had cUaraJ. The rnggcd uwiier of the hut Appeared, l.ndcn wifh ekins l)i^ traps around hini khing ; Two di-nd racoons across Ids shoulder hnng; Muskrats and 'po^^u^i*' •" P«ch hard he bore; A large hrown otter trailed along the floor ; And as he soused them down with surly gloom^ The skunk's abhorred effluvia fdlod the rrjom. (44) ** Friends, how d*yc do? Well wife, how come you on ? How fare the calves ?" ** Why three of them are jijone!" ** Three I...D — n these wolves ! they'll cut up house and hall! , , -• And have thev killed the sheep ?'* '* They have.** — *• What, o//?" "Yes, all." . . " I thought it would be 50. Well, now they're at the devil, let them go." So said, he whets his knife to skin his store, While lieaps of red raw carrion fill the floor. As morning dawned, our little skiff we trimtncd. And through the misty flood with vigour skimmed ; Now gliding smooth, we hail with songs the morn y Now down white boiling breakers headlong homo; Again, enclosed, the gray woods r«jund us rise. We pass where Cross Lake green and stagnant lies^ And mark the snakes, amid their wat'ry way, With heads erect our dipping oa^s survey. Dead lie the lonely woods, and silent shore. As Nature slopt and mankind were no more* Howr drear ! how desolate to ear and eye I What awful solitudes around us lie ! i u m Sad were his fate, too dreadfully severe, ' • :.0 For life condemned to linger hopeless here ;; . • From such lone thoughts of gloomy exiled wo> • All human ties for ever to fo:*ego ; The heart shrinks back, dejected and dismayed^ And owns that man for social joys was. made. Yet still, whate*cr our doubtful hearts may sny, ,; Even Nature's self to habit will give way; I TMr ronr.sTER*. SI r on ? 2 and i ''^"" these >i5t nolltudcs lo deep and drear, '^' more trtqueutud miglit become more dear. Oil yonder island, upuning by degrues* BchoUi th« IJuc smoke mounting through tli« trt-Mj There, l)y his i'nv, 'mid sheltering brush obscured, iris bark canoa along the margin moored, With lank jet locks that half his lace conecalf The Indian hujiter eats his morning meal. Stakes rudely reared his little pot suspend, Amid the smoke his bnsy partners bend j r«t'yond, sly peeping, fearful to bo seen, Twt) copptr chubs their favourite shelUbarks gloan. Another night another hut supplies, In half an hour the crazy fabrics rise ; ' The roof with bark, the floor with spruce besproadt The stakes around with skins and Tenison clad ; At our approach suspicion lours his eye, That scarce regards us gliding swiftly by. I His life how simple, and his wants how few ! A blanket, Icg^ins, rifle, and canoe, /' Knife, hatchet, rnockasins,>— not much beside^ ^* And all beyond to him is empty pride. O'er these lone swamps the Muse impatient flioi^ Where mightier scenes and nobler prospects rise, Nor stoops, in dull rehearsal to detail Each roaring rapid and each adverse gale, AV'hat vagrant tribes, what islands met our view ; How down Oswego's foaming Falls wc flew, Now plunging in our kinking bark to save, Now headlong hurried down th' outrageous wave ; How through the clear still flood, with sounding oara^ We swept, and hailed with songs the echoing shorefe. These had their pleasures, and perhaps their fears ; But terrors fly when daring courage steers. ' ; A thousand toils, a thousand dangers past, The long-expected Lake appears at last, .Seen through the trees, like Ocean's boundless blue, IIuuaI huzju! Ontario is in viosY ! # i,) ;^■•■i ,<•%■-. -'^i. THE FOnr.STEKS, t V»'ith flying hats we hail the glorious spot, And every care and every fear's forgot, i?Q, when of old, we crossed th* Atlantic waves. And left a land of despots and of slaves, < With equal joy Columbia's shores wespyed, . ,<.... And gave our cares and sorrows to the tide. Here, ere we launch the boundless deep along, Surrounding scenes demand their share of sotig. Mark yon bleak hill, where rolling billows break, Just where the river joins the spacioua lake, ' , ■ i . High on its brow, deserted and forlorn, ,.. ., ,> Its bastions levelled, and its buildings tor,n, Stands Fort Osivego\ there the winds that blow Howl to the restless surge that groans belo^' ; '■■^'. There the lone sentry walked his round ; or stood, if ., To view the sea-fowl coursing o'er the flood ; - . 'Alidst night's deep gloom shrunk at the panther's howl. And heard A foe in every whooping owl, , .^ ,; , ; ,. ,, i , Blest times, for soldiei's ! times, alas, not near, , , Wlien foes like these are all they have to fear ; it, . > , AVhen man to man will mutual justice yield, -J .., And wolves and panthers only stain the field. - . Those straggling huts that on the left appear, Where boats and ships their crowded mjists upcear, Where fence, or field, or cultured garden green. Or blessed plough, or spade, was never seen, ., .; Is old Oswego; once renovvned in trade, ^ Where numeraus tribes their annual visits pai^, From distant wilds, the beaver's rich retreat, For, one whole moon they trudged with weary feet ; Piled their rich furs within the crowded store, vr • t: • ^' Replaced their packs, 8nd plodded back for mi)re. But time and war have banished all their trains, And nought but potash, salt, and rum remains. The boisterous boatman, drunk but twice a daj4. . .-f' < Begs of the landlord ; but forgets to pay ; . . ,i\y , ,. Piedgf^s his salt, a cask for every quart, . i ;, _.r : ^'leased thus for poison vv ith his pay to part. .1 f.; + A. y J .\ THE FORESTERS. 5i . 4 ■ 1;/. I^rom morn to night here noise and riot reign ; Prom night to morn tis noise and roar again. Aromid us now Ontario's ocean lay, • i .,.' rv Kpugh rose its billows, crowned with foaming sprays The grim north-east in roaring fury blew, C-'; And our frail bark, deep dashing laboured through; Our blanket sail, and feeble sapling mast, Drank the rough waves, and quivered in the blast. ' ' A friendly sloop for Queenstown (45) harbour bounds While night's foul hurricanes were gathering round. Beheld our danger, saw our numbers fovTy ^^vj : .-w; > And for our boat received its willing crew ; Both safe on board, they trim their thundering sail, The boom and miin-sheet bending to the gale. Hard by tlie helm th' experienced master stood, And, far to vrindward, eyed the whitening flood, ;' .. Saw in the cast the coming tempest lour, (46) ♦ l On night's black wings impetuous to devour! • , .: .' Her roaring bow the boiling spray divides, - ' Two foaming torrents sweep along the sides, - : \ Reef after reef retrench the straining sail, '- . V' ' And the racked vessel staggers in the gale ;'?* .? r h? r Now up th* outrageous waves' high steep we go, . : Now plunge down headlong in the gulf below. Slow rising, shivering through tempestuous clouds. That howled like demons in the whizzing shrouds* Down in the cabin by the uproar driven. Heedless of all the warring winds of heaven, ^- - Sick, groaning, speechJess, and unfit to pray, Our tln*ee pale foresters inglorious lay ; Groan answered groan ; while at each desperate throd Tlie deep bilge water churned and roared below. Sad night of sickness, tumult, fears and hopes. Of roaring surges, and of rattling ropes, \ Hnart-rendin.^ij retchino's, tossinss to and fro, And all the horrors land-born lubbers know. At length fhe morn arose, the storm withdrew, • - And fair the b':Jczc "with steady vigour blew. -^r V'l X'i; :» # SJj:-Si :s: 1 > .1. 54- THE rORESTERS. Jl:' r I i ^< First upon deck, our bard, unchee/ed with sieepr Gazed silent round upon the shoreless deep; From whose vast bosom, where th« orient glows, , The glorious sun in reddening pomp arose. The cold camboose with blazing faggots filled, ;, And, though in culinary lore unskilled, -.;.., ..^•., ,,,;;-' Fryed the nice venison, well with onions stored, ' ; ,' And.summoned Leech and Duncan to the bodrd. • 'r Slow from the cabin mount the staggering pair, Pale their changed cheeks, and wild their haggard air. So look two ghosts that Tyburn's tree ^attend, .« -. When the last signal calls them to ascend. Soon as the sav'ry steams their nostrils gain. They sicken, heave, and stagger down again. Bold hearted Duncan ! who'd have dreamt to see This pale Sea-spectre fix her fangs on thee ? ' • On thee, who dauntless down the torrent's course, 'Midst rocks and foam, defied its roaring force ; Still first the fl''»i«2;ers of the chace to share, ■", To pierce the pu "'"r, or overwhelm the bear ; And at the joy* i 1 .ast that crowned the whole, t With mirth and songs to elevate each soul. " Cheer, comrades, cheer ! deliverance is at hand ! ■" Lo ! ,on the Ice-bow lies the hazy land !" l.oud hailed the bard. At once, in cheerful mood, Finn upon deck the active Diuican stood; The wide expanse with freshened looks he eyed, And** Who's afraid V* in sportive humour cried. ♦ i J| Meantime the gale our flying vessel bore, On wings of wind, full thirteen knots arf hour ; And, just as day its closing light withdrew, • * Niagara's light-house opened on our view. •. Its star-like radiance shone with steady ray, Like Venus lingering in the rear of day. 15y slow degrees the sinking breezes die, And on the smooth still flood wc logging lie. ' Housed by the morning, and the neighl.'ouring druj% Swift 'ipon deck with eager eyes wc come, t-<-' -t ;' f ' / % iriE FORESTERS. I V '/ 3 UK i r There, high in air, (the fortress full in view) Our star-crowned stripes in waving triumph flew. Plail, sabred flag! to sons of Freedom dear. Thy country's valour reared thine honors here ; Eternal blessings crown her rich increase. Her BANDS OF UNION and her stars of peace. "' Before us now the opening river pours, Through gradual windings and projecting shores ; Smooth slopes the green where Newark's village lies. There, o'er their fort, the British ensign flies. *'From whence?" they hail; we shout with trumpet's sound, ** Frojn Fort Oswego ; up to Queenstown bourid." ., ';;^. *' What news ?" " The Speedy* s pump on hoard we hddrj, *' The sole found fragment of that sad affair." Th* increasing distance drowns their faint reply, ' - ' " And up the adverse stream we foaming fly. Now fuH in front the Ridge (4i7) its height uprears,. Its high, grim gap, like some vast cave appears ; Thick wheel strong eddies, marked with whirling foam. As from this gloomy chasm they hurrying come ; Low at its foot, with stores and gardens gay, Close, snugly sheltered, little Queenstown lay; •-'; Here night onca more her shadows o'er us threw, And, safely moored, we bid our bark adieu. " ■ Long seemed the night ; impatient of repose, By day's first dawn delighted we arose ; A day replete with scenes sublime and new .' ' About to burst on our astonished view. /' Sweet rose the morning, silent and serene. No vagrant cloud, or stirring leaf was seen, The sun's warm beams with dazzling radiance glow, And glittering dance upon the flood below. Soon full equipt the towering ridge we scale. Thence, gazing back, a boundless prospect hail. Far in the east Ontario's waters spread, Vast as the Ocean in his sky-bound bed. Bright through the parted plain that lay between^ Niagara's deep majestic flood wan seen ; ** :-:>:. u H>*. A^'^i-'^li «?' ■w - rv H' % ■ t-i'. *.X ■% % >!■.., -l_L.U- i LJ $6 THE FOUESTERS.. -"$.■/>. The riyht a wilderness of woods displayed. Fields, orchards, woods, were on the left arrayed. There, near the lalce's green shore, above the flood^ The tall, white light-house like a column stood. O'er each grim fort, high waving to the view, Columbia's stars and Britain's crosses flew. Thus two stern champions watch each other's eye, And mark each movement ready to let fly. Up to the ridge's top, high winding led, ' There on a flat, dry plain, we gailyVtread, And stop, and list, with throbbing hearts to hear The long expected cataract meet the ear ; But list in vain. Though five short miles^ahead, All sound was hushed and every whisper dead. (1-8) *' 'Tis strange," said Duncan, " here the sound might reach." ^* *Tis all an April errand," answered Leech. ' ' /^^ ' ** Men to make books a thousand tales devise, And nineteen-twentieths are a pack of lies. ' Here three long weeks, by storms and famines boat. With sore bruised backs, and lame and blistered feel, ' " Herey nameless hardships, griefs and miseries past, We find som 3 mill-dam for our pains at last. Once safe at hotne, kicked, cudgelled let me be If e'er bookmaker make a fool of me." He spoke, and groaned ; for, heedless of his woe, A stubborn stump assailed his corny toe, Stunned with the stroke, he grinned and hopped around» While peals of mirth and laughter loud resound. Heavy and slow, increasing on the ear, Deep through the woods a rising storm we hear, Th* approaching gust still loud and louder grows. As when the strong north-east resistless blows, Or black tornado, rushing through the wood, ' ' , ', Alarms the affrighted swains with uproar rude. Yet the blue heavens displayed their clearest sky» ; And dead below, the silent forests lie ; And not a breath the slightest leaf assailed ! •'^'; ^ ..) Btit all around, tfanquility prevailed* • ' '- ' <• •'* •• , ■^1 ^'■'' I i ■ • ht r 1 / \ . . ^1 THE FORESTERS. ^ ■*r. v-,'* *^ What noise is that ?'* wo ask, with anxious mien, K dull salt driver passing with his team, *' Noise ! noise ! — why nothing that I hear or see, But Nagra Falls — Pray, whereabouts live y " All looked amazed ! vet not untouched With fear. Like those who first the battle's thunders hear, . Till Duncan said, with grave, satiric glee — ^* Lord, what a monstrous Jiiill-dam that must be !'* Leech blushed asstiii, ; while, as we nearer drew, The loudening roar more harsh and heavy grew. Awe-struck sensations now all epeech represt, And expeciatiun throbbed in every breast... ■ ' Now IVoni the woods, emerging into day, * " * , , Before us, iields and tarms and orchards lay, I'he sloping hills a hollow vale disclose, Whence hurrying clouds of boiling smoke arose, (^^ ^i 1'!' Till in one congregated column thrown, ; * ^ ^ ''.^^' 1%,^ On whose bright side a glorious ruiubow shone ; ■'^^; K ** ' High in the heavens it reared its towering head» And o*er the day its train gigantic led. Beyond its bdse, there like a wall of foam, " ' ; Merc in a circling gulf unbroken thrown, With uproar hideous, first the FaUs appear, " ,' ; The stunning tumult thundering on the earl'. Above, below, where'er the astonished eye ; v I'urns to behold, new opening wonders lie, Till to a steep's high brow unconscious brought. Lost to all other care of sense or thought, There the broad rivei', Uke a lake outspread, The islands, rapids, falls, in grandeur dread. The heaps of boiling foam, th* ascending spray, The gulf profound, where dazzling rainbows playi, This great, o'erwhelming work of awful Time, In all its dre'iid magnificence sublime, Rose on our view, amid a crashing roar That bade us kneel, and Time's great God adore. As when o'er tracks immiense of deserts drear, Throiigh dangerous hations, and 'midst toils savevc. . f ■ f t <• ••■. i ■J 7 ^ ■ 'M^ i*, y.- >i:t:i.^^ IS! ss Tir« F(^RE,STi:ns. m >w Day after day coiidemned a -var to wage Witli tliirst and hunger, men and lions' ragi*, . ,. Koon's burning heat, and night's distressing cold, . Arabian pilgrims Mecca's Valk behold ; Those holy walls, whose sacred roof contains ' ' JVIahomet's tomb — their prophet's blest remain*, Past sufferings vanish, every sigh's supprest, A flood of rapture rises in each breast, All hearts confess an awful joy serepe, And hurabjy bow before the gloj*ious scene. Such were our raptures, such th h ' iwo That swelled our hearts at all *. _ her and saw 5 Fixed to the rock, like monuments we stood, On its flat face, above th* outrageous flood, - '-' There, while our eyes th' amazing whole explored^ The deep loud roar our loudest voice devoured* _, ' riig'h o^er the wat'ry uproar, silent seen, Sailing sedate, in majesty serene, " ^ ' Now 'midst tlie pillared spray sublimely lost^ And now, emerging, down the rapids tost, ' ''' \' ' » V. >>wept the gray eagles, gazing calm and slow, On all the horrors of the gulf below ; Intent, alone, to sate themselves with bloody, ' ' • From the torn victims of tlie raging flood. Whate'er the weather, or whate'er the gale, . / Jlere ceaseless haze and flying rains prevail ; Down bend ihe bouglis, with weight of moisture bonuv Kach bush, each tree, the dazzling drops adorn ; ' Save wlien deep winter's fiercest rigours blow, ' , " *'• Then falls the whirling si)ray In silent snow : "While the dew-drops to icicles are changed, \ ' " In glittering pendent parallels arranged. Then, too, amid the Falls, stupendous rise Brigiit iey pillars of prodigious size! ' " •' r.- A« if some pile, immense, of Greece or Rome, Were deep engulfed within their hideous womb. Prenched to the skin, our baggage down we throv-^ J'lxjtid tp descend into the culf below, ' h&i-i '»>**«' ^Tfr^r t THE rORKSTERS. t9 1UIW -*^^t. Amid wliosa wreck, and from whose depth profound, Some new resource for wonder miglit be foimd; Along the dreadful verge we cautious steered, Tfil the tall ladder's tottering top appeared ; (50) ''' ' [ A tree's projecting root its weight sustains, The dread abyss wheels round our giddy brains ; ' ^ Leech, like a bird, with the whole gulf in view, Down its slight slippery bars regardless flew ! The bard came after, not devoid of fear, ,; And Duncan, gay and laughing, closed the rear; The cumbVous weight its bending sides assails. It yields ! it cracks ! its whole foundation fails ! Fear, swift as light, the rocks* grim pavement stains With mangled limbs, and blood, and spattdred brains; . But firm iabove the roots remained, though rude, ' '; , And safe below on Chaos' shores we stood. ^ . '^; e^ Genius of song ! Great Source of light and day r ' ' How shall the Muse this dreadful place pourtray I • ' Where, all around, tremendous rocks were spread, (51) That from our feet in headlong fury fled ; Rocks that great Ajax, with his hundreds more, "* \ Could scarce have moved one hairbreadth from the short ; Whertt logs, and boards, and tfees of reverend age, I'eat to a pulp amid the torrent*s rage. '^"' '''^ ''^^:^ Fragments of boats, oars, carcasses unclean, ''' '/^ ^'^'■' f)r what had bears, deer, fowls and fishes been, Tj.iy in such uproar, 'midst such clamour drowned, That death and ruin seemed to reign around ! High in our front th' outrageous river roared, And in three separate falls stupendous poured ; First, slow Fort Slusher*s (5S) down was seen to roam In one vast living sheet of glittering foam ; -\:;^ On its south side a little islet towers. There one small pitch o'er broken fragments pours ; fyoat'Id,<~'' i*-^-**?! /!'■» '-.v -v^- :'0«l ■/:r ^^-l:i ^i-. •.i^f :l w mift"! ■x.'i ■■n t. fl'K-:J, 'lET-. "^tf: W .';% J(k^UjV4 i't "•, ff ■ r.j. ..**- J ., C^. ^ , 4 ^ . r-. 4 ^fl"''tA^ mi ^smtumm M ; « NOTES. V\ Note 1— .Page 3. Seltlers. — A term usually applied in America to thoinv ptTBons who first commence the operations of agriculture in a new country, by cutting, clearing, and actual settle- ment. The varied appearance of the woods where thestf are rapidly going on, forms a busy, novels and interesting picture. ,. Note 2 — Page 4-. Katydid, — A species of Gryllus very numerous and very noisy in the woods at that season. Note 3 — Page 4w • ^ Indian Summer. — This expression is so weir under- :\ stood in the United States as hardly to require an expla- nation. Between the months of October and December there is usually a week or two of calm serene smoky weather, such as here desoribed, which is universally de- nominated the Indian summer. Note 4^^Page 6. Swhs. •« The- County of Bucks, in Pennsylvania, is a rich, well cultivated* tract of country, containing nearly half a million of acres, and upwards of 20,000 inhabi- tauts. ' ■*■ " . Note 5— Page 7. iVcr^Affmpton.— -Northampton is an oblong hilly coun- ty, adjoining that of Bucks. It is crossed nearly at right angles by that remarkable range of the Allegany known by the name of the Blue Ridge or Blue Mountain, which presents the appearance of an immense rampart, extend- ing farther than the eye can reach, with an almost uni- form height of summit, '--lil. N NOTES. •tiS Note — Page 7' X)as A'tjuc Ciilonder. — The New Almatmc. Note 7 — Page 9. Ground Oak. — This speu>c.s of dwarf oak procIucM f(rc>at quantities of acorns, w^icli the bear.^ pigeons, grous, jay.s, &;c. are extremely fond of. It grows to the height of about five feet, very close, and ailbrds good shcU tcr for the deer and bear. Note 8 — Page 9. Enormous Gap, — This pass in the Blue Mountain i« usually called the Wind Gap. The reader will find some enrious conjectures on its formation, in JetTerson*s NotM on Virginia, Note 9 — Page 10. Long lakes, ^c. The effect of this deception was really astonishing. Nothing could be more evident to the eye — the shores, the waters, studded with numerous islands, seemed to •disappear as if by enchantment. ,..,,.-... Note 10— Page 13. PanfAcr. -Tills animal, {ojenerally, tho'irapropefly, called by the dbove name, is^jl^Zw couguar of European writers; and is considered ar. the most dangerous and formidable inhabitant df our forests on this side of the Ohio. Tbey are still numerous among the mountains of Pennsylvailiia that border on the Susquehanna, and frequently destroy deer, calves, sheep, colts, and sometimes, it is said, horses and cows. They are bold and daring ; and lie in wait in the low branches of trees for the deer, on wliom they spring vvith prodigious force, and soon destroy them. The one mentiontid above had seized a calf in the eveu- ing, within a few feet of tlio girl who was milking ; who ^ supposing it to bu a large do^, gave the alarm, and at- tempted to drive it off. The old hunter, our landlord, soon drove him u^. a tree with his dog, where he shot him. , . Notu U— Papc J3. . Pgcano. — J^ small {«piir of the bhie ridge, and one of the few places in Pennsylvania frccfucnlcd by the fcfrao c^ . ifiido, or pinnated grous. "^ . , ,• n '>¥■ .-A ''<^ iv-4t;. .fJ^i'-'ki'^ ':> ■«■. v;:af^:-: 64 I NOTES. • Note 12— Page 13. •• - Tornado. — These tornadoes are very frequent in tli« difterent regions of the United States The one above alluded to, had been extremely violent ; and for ninny miles had levelled the voods in its wav. We continued to see theeftects of its rage for upwards of twenty miles. Note 13— Page 14. Bruin. — At this season of the year great nuinbers of bears resort to the mountains in search of whortleberries, which they devour with great voracity. They are at this time very fat, and individuals are frequently shot that weigh upwards of 400 lbs. Note 14 — Page 14, -^■ Shades oj" Death, — A place in the Great Swamp, us« ually so called, from its low, hollow situation, overgrown with pjne and hemlock trees of an enormous size, that almost shut out the light of day. . , , , , •*'; Note 15— Page 14. ■ " . PantherH trapt. — Our host made himself very merry by relating to us an anecdote of one of his neighbours, living ten or twelve miles off, who, having fixed his large steel, trp.ps, in the evening, returned to the spot next morning, w^en to his terror be saw two panthers (JP. Couguar) surrounding a trap in which a very large one was taken by the leg. Afraid to hazard a shot, lest the surviving one who was at liberty might attack him, he hurried: home, loaded another gun and gave it to his wife, an in- trepid amazon, who immediately followed him to the scene. Arrived within forty or fifty yards, the hunter presented to take aim, but was so agitated with terror that he found himself altogether unable. His wife in- stantly knelt down before him, ordering him to rest the f ifle on her shoulder, which he did, and by th; ^ ^T" I 66 ... .. . NOTES. word, or words were distinctly articulated ; as if giants l,.^ were calling to one another from mountain to mountain. When our guns were discharged at once, the effect was still more astonishing, and I scarcely believe, that a suc- cession of broadsides from a train of seventy-fours, at like distances, in any other place, would have equalled it. The state of the atmosphere was very favourable; and the report roared along the clouds in one continued peal. / ; Note 25— Page SO. Spanish Hill — This detached mountain stands near the line which separates New- York from Pennsylvania, not far from the public road, is of a donical form, and may be between .two and three hundred feet high. Note 26 — Page 33 — ■ — Here on tfie heights, Sfc, ■ In this rexpedition against the hostile Indians, which was committed to the management of general Sullivan, and crowned with the most complete success, the only sitand made by the savages was at this place, August 29tli, 1799. After a short skirmish they were driven from this their last hold, and pursued beyond the Gennessee river. Forty of their towns, and upwards of 160,000 bushels of Indian, corn were, destroyed i The remnant of the tribes tool^, refuge in Canada; and thus an immense extent of the niotfyertile pountry of the United States was laid open %0 tli^ enterpria^f our active and industrious settlers. *jhie white population of tiies6 parts of the State of New- York, settled since, may be fairjy estimated at three times ^he number of all the Indians within five hundred miles oftheplaee. ' *^... -. , w .. . .^ . . • i -- Note 27— Piage 33. "" V r Arks- — These vessels are constructed of oak and pine plank, aqd built in the form of a parallelogram ; they ^re flat bottomed, and strongly floored ; and capable of containing many thousand bushels of wheat each ; some- times droves of oxen compose part of their cargoes, ilri arriving ^t. their place of destination, and the cargo yheat, . flour, lumber, &c. brought down the river for an extent of more than three hundred miles. The bridge which it is in contemplation to erect over the Susquehanna near this town, will be an additional source of prosperity to this thriving and populous place. , ^ ,_ ,..,„, ./ Note29— Page 34. ^^■-' ^:^;^'y^'^. , ^ In two wide, dfc. In a matter of fact poem, such as this, I need hardly observe, that the above is literally true. The proprietor of part of this meadow, assured me, that with his spade he could, at pleasure,^ send the waters either Into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, or the Chesapeake Bay. A. spe- cies of salmon, common to the river Susquehanna and to Lake Ontario, has been frequently known to pass from' one to the other by this communication. **''!^ * Note 30 — Page 35. — —Here tc the god — HuifCEiii. • ^■ ,.^ ,. ..M Note 31~Page 36. ....,,., ? . . , The Imlfiburnt logs, Sfc, , ^^£ i' . ^^^ • In passings among these stately ojid noble tre t m NOTES. It was totally destroyed in 1779, by the troops under tlijs command of general Sullivan, who, entering the place at night, found it nearly deserted of its inhabitants. One miser]ftble old squaw alone remained, who, from extreme old age, was incapable of walking ; and looked like " the last survivor of the former age." The general ordered a h^t to be erected for her, with provisions for her subsis- tence f but she did not long survive the catastrophe of lier nation. Note 33— Page 88. Through this sweet vqie, ^c. Catherine's Creek, which forms the Iwad praters of the Seneca Lake, and T^Us into its southern extremity. From this lake tQ the landing, a distance of about fivo miles, the creek is navigable for large loaded boats. The country between this place and Newtown, oh the Susque- hanna, is generally level ; and the distance, in a direct line, is probably hot moire than twenty miles. The practicability of uniting these two waters, by a canal, at a comparatively small expense, and the immense advantages that would result from the completion of such an under- taking, have lon;^ been evident to all those acquainted with that part of the country. Note 34— Page 38. Gigantic Walnuts, Sfc Some of these trees, owing to the richness of the soil grow to aih extraordinary size. I measured one that was nearly thirty feet in circumference* Note 35--Pagc 38; ^ Tlierc sits the hawk. — The fishing hawk, or osprey ; differing considerably from the bird of. that name in .Europe. Note 36— Page 39. CanvasS'hacks, — These celebrated and justly esteemed ducks, appear to be the Anas Ferina of Lin. From the great abundancy of their favourite food, (the roots of the Valiseneria Americana,) in the tide waters of many of our large rivers, it is probable that their flesh is much more dtlicioiis here than in Europe. / i .1 NOTLS,, ft; 69' i ,-3 : . u.^^'i Noto 37— Page 4.0. >. . ., s* ^...: . . :. Note 43— Page 48. The lighted bridge appears. — This bridge extends across the lake, which at this place is about a mile in width. It is built of wood, is laid on two hundred and tifteen trtstles, "each consisting of three posts, connected by girths ;^nd braces. The posts are sunk to hard gravel, which is generally about thirty feet from the surface. — Tho ex- pence was twenty thousand dollars. ^^^ Note 44— Page 50. ^y 77ie Skunk. — The reader is not to imagine that this animal formed part of our trapper's game. It is never i^n in this particular part of the country ; and the ^rap- pprs take advantage of this circumstan.ce to circumvent tUeir pr«?y. In the lower parts of the sAate where this ^inial is abundant, thca'c are people who collect the liquor with which Nature has supplied it for its defence. This is put into small vials, sealed, placed mouth down- wards in a pot of earth, and sold to" the trappers. A drop or two of this precious aroma is put on or near the stigel traps after they are set, and the strange and extraor- tary odour is said to decoy other animals to the spot, r landlord himself being furnished with a bottle of tkiH:essence of skunks and his traps profusely saturated with Xhc same, produced the effect glludcd to. < Note 45— Page 53. Quemstown, — This place lies on the Canada side of the iSiaffara river, seven miles below the fall*. .:*■ aront ; abun- > and last, umped th. sides d, ill jreast. HO TEST. r M 77i« coming tempest lour. — These storm* are rery fre- quent on this lake ; and the want of sufficient eea-rooxn is also dangerous. A few days previous to our arrival at Oswego, a British packet called the Speedy, with ^e judge advocate on board, the judges, witnesses, and an- Indian prisoner, and others to the amount of twenty or thirty persons, foundered in a violent gale, and every foul perished. No part of the vessel was afterwards found except the pump, which we picked up, and carried to Queenstown. .^ Note 47— -Page 55. . -• The ridge its height uprears. — This singular ridg« commences about the head of lake Ontario, and running in an easterly direction, loses itself in the country towards- the Seneca kke. The plain, extending from its base northwardly to the shores of the lake, is between two and three hundred, feet lower than that extending from its- top, south, to lake Erie. V • , ■ ' j . ;'■' Note 48 — Page 56. . ; - ^ ; :^;; AU sound was hushed^ ^c, Thfs will appear almost Incredible to those who havr heard it asserted that the noise of the cataract is frequent- ly heard at the distance of forty miles. Both these facts however, are actually true, and depend entirely on. the state of the atmosphere and current of the air. ..,.. ,. .,. Note 49 — Page 57. Whence hurrying chuds, Sfc. This train of black clouds extends along the heavens in the direction in which the wind blows, as far as the eye can reach, forming a very striking and majestic appearance* Note 50— Page 59. TtU the tall ladder^ s tottering top appeared. This ladder was placed in an almost perpendicular posi- tion, not leaning on the brink ; but fastened to a projec- ting root, in such a manner that, on descending, the steep was on our right hand, and a tremendous abyss, of a hundred and fifty feet deep, prewnted itself before ufj^. ^^ 4 /,V '•.'*1 • tht 't'f»'petP*l aetioftilftC- 4il|^Wi|^j kntf1>iiifl; ^llfwi?^ *«|t(i»ep declivity^ compased?of 1oi|a^-i^^ owies, Jp'ere^displ^qid at every prittetir^ of tltfl^ foot; fto that unhsf „^.t-^ft lirgP^Htbah firilktopes ^^erei reoiinlyr hitmclic^ ^^oij^ x/ • . |lsS!l|i a Siift^^ ^i^y-irehdii^^ it ,highlyi dangerouV w l^^iiifeopr^tbiin one perj^^^^ f , , f ^lh^»,|«||Ei^ lie 154. f^k ; #li^^ j.;„..-jji»i:^-.i4^^g jj. muth slower than iii'aily otK»ei'piT^i^^ riisbci w^tj^t tliisiplftce with' iifrell&a^l and uiiw*"^ ^ * U^miwmie^dnstroi^ ikk^ and comitry r^HtM,^ j^ t^^***:-;-. -:^:-i>. ^kkervsAiUiUirosg ^imi^^ix^-^^^- : ,* ' - ] ;!^'*;:|^ 'f. ■■■,.•■•; •(-■ ■ r '• 1 ■ ■ . • ;■- - -^ ' ■ ■, .•■ ij.irs,. ';^-t#i ^-■.*'^ 'vf^;jims3::'t-~' that masf >q4 f down niminense:'' > :iV^''':?Ns ^. ;i;" ' t c •.^ x-ZV'-f'^v' y.