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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul ciich6. 11 est film6 A partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. r errata d to It le pelure, ;on d n 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOUR THROUGH PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. BY A BRITISH SUBJECT. LONDON: LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, AND GREEN, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1826. PREFACE. As the contents of the following Letters, relate to a portion of the world not very frequently visited by British Travellers, it has been thought that the novelty of the subject may perhaps compensate for the deficiencies of the style ; and if my endea- vours to do justice to the many estimable qualities of the American citizens, or the assertion that their prosperity is a source of just pride to the Mother Country, shall tend to strengthen those bonds of mu- tual good-will between the two Nations, which are rapidly succeeding the ani- mosities of the revolutionary struggle ; I shall consider my late excursion has been useful, as well as highly agreeable. THE AUTHOR. itr I' *t. if « ■i ' i' i Voyage - Custoi NewYc Feel in : -Pap Steam-B and I tution Hudson Falls- Falls- Indians- Freem Falls ( Kidgevva Erie— iVgrici CONTENTS. LETTER I. Voyage— Entrance of the Hudson— Quarantine Regulations— Custom-House Annoyances— Restrictions on Aliens . . . .page 1 LETTER n. New York — Ship-Building- Inhabitants and Customs — Good Feeling tovvaids Britain— Descendants of Dutch— Irish Residents [ — Paper Money 10 LETTER in. Steam-Boats— Public Coaches— Philadelphia— Baltimore— Hotels and Mode of Living— Washington City— Slaves— the Const?, twtion . , 21 LETTER IV. Hudson River — Passengers in Steam-Boats— Albany — Cohoes Falls— Erie Canal — Mohawk River — Utica — Roads — Trenton Falls — Value of Land — Produce and Labour 41 LETTER V. Indians— Meals when Travelling— Discipline of Jails— Lakes- Freemasons— Rochester— Dwellings— Law of Inheritance- Falls of the Genesee River 57 LETTER VI. Kidgeway— Settlers in the Wilderness— Lewistoil— Buffalo— Lake Erie— Ohio— Yankees— Mr. Owen's Settlement — Complaints of Agriculturists— Laws— Little Cheerfulness ,, 7» Viii CONTENTS. LETTER VII. Falls of N'ia;2;ara — Tumulus of Skeletons — Late War — Anecdotes — Indian ^^'arfare qQ LETTER VIIL Niagara Town — York — Lake Ontario — Kingston — Rapids of St. Lawrence — Error in fixing Boundaries — Causes of Discontent in Upper Canada — Montreal — River Richelieu — French Canadians —Constitution of Canada , 108 LETTER IX. Lake Champlain — Irish Emigrants— Plattsburg — Sir G. Prevost — Lake George— Massacre by the French in 1757 — Saratoga — Re- flections — Class of Emigrants who succeed best I2(i f... :';trf '^'.'JI- r i i'f^. . £ • , !, 11: <,.■■•. :,-, ■II ;»♦:; Anecdotes — 90 A TOUR apids of St. iscontent in t Canadians 108 TiiRovaa THE UNITED STATES. . Prevost — a toga — Re- t • • • • • iid\J LETTER I. ' ' •• . .1, VOYAGE— ENTRANCE OF THE HUDSON— QUARANTINE REGULA- TION8 — CUSTOM-HOUSE ' ANOYANCES — RESTRICTIONS ON ALIENS. •' New York, April «0, 1887. DEAR Rambling as have been my habits, I really felt at some loss, when selecting the American packet to convey me across the Atlantic. They are all in truth such fine vessels, varying in size from 350 to 500 tons, and with such excellent accommoda- tions for eating and sleeping, that a less fastidious man than myself might well be puzzled ; I fixed however finally on the port of Liverpool, in pre- ference to those of Havre and Cowes; and we embarked — a motley crew of passengers. Each dormitory arranged round the " salon B a manger" has two births in it! It is a kind of latticed box, with just sufficient room to stand and wash between the beds and the door ; and I was especially careful to seize on the upper coffin for my resting-place, because, in case of sea-sickness, the cascade is sometimes impelled by the rolling of the ship over the face of the unlucky sleeper below. At first, what a lovely deep blue the unfathom- able waters of the great ocean assume ,* but very speedily the charming monotony of sea and air, and air and sea, begins to grow tedious. Eyes are strained round the horizon for a new object ; and some even brave the dangers of fines and falls, by cautiously creeping up the shrouds and through lubber's-hole, to enjoy a better look-out. Shouts of ^' A sail — a sail," then cause even the miserable vomiters to rush on deck, with cries of '^ Where — where?" Alas! it is only a Portuguese man-of-war; a sort of small animated blubber, which raises or lowers at will its pale lilac-coloured bladder to the winds. • . -..i , ..j Four times a-dav did the well-covered table of this packet groan under a variety of dishes, con- taining flesh, fowl, and pastry; and as often did the majority of those with weak stomachs quit their lairs for the feast. The sea air, they said, gave them an appetite; and well it might, for they had all the pleasure of mastication with- out the trouble of digestion. How 1 pily Helio- gabalus, for not having tried the pleasurable sensL - ' of a sea voyage ! If he could have seen the delight with which some of my companions gorged the good things^ and quaffed the wines and other beverages they perhaps were not always in the habit of regaling on, he must have envied their capabilities, and lauded their ardour : yet strange as it may seem to you, I did not observe, at the end of the voyage, much difference in the bulk of myjovial acquaintances; their faces were plumper, and their swallows distended their cravats a little, which were all the ill effects, as far as they were concerned, of eating out the value of their thirty-five guineas* passage-money, in about as many days. How many laughable accidents I could tell you, caused at our meals by a sudden lurch of the vessel ! One good-tempered little man in particular, who was all back, except two little dangling apologies for legs, was always meeting with some mischance or another ; not only more than his fair proportion of tureens of soup, sauces, puddings and joints of meat, were pre- cipitated in his face and lap, but, as his feet could not reach the boards, he continually slipt from his seat under the table, disappearing in a manner at once the most extraordinary and ridiculous. We at length adopted the plan, in rough b2 weather, of passing a handkerchief under his anns, and tying him to the back of the bench. The New York packets have generally an ex- perienced captain ar.d mate, with a well-behaved crew of sixteen or t>v^enty individuals ; and I be- lieve it is a well-known fact, that the discipline on board all the American vessels, whether (or war or commerce, is carried to greater lengths than with us. But notwithstanding iliis, the Sundays are not marked eitlier by prayers or the clean holiday dresses of the sailors ; which, in both respects, must be considered a deviation from wholesome regulations. v - ^ I was iold, on remarking the neglect, that the men, however submissive in respect to details of duty, would mutiny at such tyrannical orders as related to dress, or shaving, or praying ; and I could only smile at the stiange inconsistency of our nature. . » • Landsmen are astonished at seeing so few fish in so long a voyage ; for, except c shoal of por- poises now and tlien, or the still scarcer dolphin sporting its vivid and ever-changing hues in the wake of the ship, the ocean appears void of other inhabitants tlian the myriads of sparkling animalcula, which, on a dark night, make the foam around resemble liquid fire.^sn^,^, \„rr The joyful tidings of land ahead were at last heard; and soon afterwards we regaled our sight with looking on a low, sandy, and not very pleasing shore, having a light-house placed op- posite to a dangerous hidden shoal that stretches to Long Islrjid, and leaves the entrance to the harbour ^' pretty considerably" narrow. Sailing now due north for a few miles, the prospect began to brighten. A small ridge has been burst asunder by the torrents of the river Hudson, forming what are called ^^ The Narrows ;" a passage about half a mile wide, ahd well fur- nished with formidaMe batteries on either side, besides the innnense red brick fort of La Fayette, standhig at some distance in the Channel. ^ It seems to me, that this approach to the city of New York is far more expensively fortified than necessity demanded : for if an enemy really determined to attack this emporium of American commerce, I presume a force would be landed at the back of Long Island, and marching across that short space, fall at once on the naval arsenal, and thence pass over to the town, or rattle the houses about the ears of the inhabitants. Few views can be more cheerful and magnifi- cent than the one which I enjoyed on passing the Narrows. It wanted nothing but a back-ground of mountains to make it unrivalled. The morning was oright and lovely ; the country on both shores highly cultivated, and though rarely exceeding a hundred feet in eleva- tion, is broken by gentle undulations in a very pleasing manner. Neat and comfortable-look- ing houses, quite in the English style, are dotted about, amidst gardens and orchards, shady groves, fields, and hedge-rows. The same indus- try and national habits met my eye on every side ; and I w is forced to remark that most of the houses were built of planks nicely painted, and that the vast natural harbour formed by the expanded waters of the Hudson, was on a grander scale than usual in Britain, before I quite recollected I was a foreigner. -: To the left, on Staten Island, is a rapidly in- creasing town, and several spacious public build- ings for hospitals. This is the quarantine ground for the state of New York ; and Its regulations, as explamcd to me, were not only very uicon- sistent, but taught me the practical truth — that every species of government has its disadvantages. Vessels arriving from South America, or those places where contagious fevers are prevalent, here come to anchor. The crew and passengers are visited by medical men of ability, and de- tained on board a certain number of days ; but those who take oath of intending to pass into Penn- sylvania or other states, are permiitf^d to cross the island^ and get on board any one of the steam-boats plying to Pliiladelphia or elsewhere. It is evident, that the most malignant plague might thus be disseniinated throughout the Uiiiou ; but on the other hand^ said my friendly informer, '^ what right can the state of New York have to regulate by her laws the internal coijjwunica- tions of the federation?" At no other custom-house in the world does a stranger meet with so much civility and so many inconveniences as at that of New York. The officer who boards the vessel is neither drunken, insolent,nor taken from the lowest orders of society ; but receiving from ten to twelve shillings a-day throughout the year, is respect- able from his situation, and rigidly faithful to his government. Any attempt to bribe one of these individuals would be resented as an insult, and a personal quarrel would probably be the least evil attending it. But commerce not being properly represented in C' mgress, and the duties at sea-ports being almost the only source of revenue to tjie fede- rative government at Washington, several an- noying, and the merchants declare, very inef- , ficient, orders have been given. The highly respectable firm to which I was recommended, kindly sent a gentleman with me, well acquainted with all the forms required ; and! was handed about from desk No. 1, to that of 5, in the corner, thence to office 2, and thus under the scrutiny of seven or eight different 8 checks on each other's conduct. One begged me to write a list of my boxes and their contents ; to another I paid some trifling fees ; and to a third I made oath my list of baggage was correct : when this latter gentleman, in the politest manner possible, gave me leave, not to bring my boxes on shore, but to go and have them examined by the officer on board the vessel. " But my oath, sir ! is not that sufficient to save me further trouble T said T, rather piqued at being, as I thought, treated like a smuggler. " Indeed," replied the civil man at the desk, '^ I really am sorry you should have so much trouble ; but the oath is only taken as a matter of course, and because sometimes small dutiable articles are thus revealed which might otherwise escape the searchers." ' > '«'•'• -j - «'..:/. m s .?^ Two of my trunks being filled with books and other articles liable to the customs, I was desired to value them as high as I possibly could; because, if the duty amounted to above fifty dollars, I should only have to pay a per centage on that sum; but if only to 49|: dollars, then the whole would be demanded. My goods being rather expensive I got off for 3| dollars ; but had I been less able to afford the money, I should by the present system, have been much more hardly dealt with. This regulation in the land of the emigrant and the destitute, the home for the poor and the A.~Ld 9 persecuted of all other nations, struck me as very incongruous ; but a citizen shortly after explained, '^ that the people of the United States were far too wise to be willing to make their country a general alms-house for Europe. A general work-house their philanthropy taught them to make it ; but for those only who would work, not for the idlers or beggars who come to live comfortably on the industry of others." ^' To prevent this,'' continued he, " each captain who brings emigrants is obliged to enter into securities with the authorities, that none shall be chargeable to the community for a cer- tain length of time ; and I suppose there being no drawback allowed on duties below fifty dol- lars, is a part of the same system." This is, in fact, an alien bill, under another name ! There are several good hotels at New York ; but as I intended remaining some time, T was recommended to go to one of the numerous pri- vate boarding-houses : and I fortunately fixed on one in which a small, but agreeable party is resident ; where 1 am now as much domesticated as the kindness of the elder ladies, and the good- humoured liveliness of their nieces, can make me. By no means a slight relief during the wet, cold, and changeable weather, of the present season on this side the Atlantic, -uim -^ ^-y* 1* ' tirr: *;,i: .^ ^r-:n ^> I remain, &c. to • ': . LETTER II. NEW YORK— SHIP-BUlLDlNG — INHABITANTS AND CUSTOMS- tiOOD FEELING TOWARDS BRITAIN— DESCENDANTS OF DUTCH- IRISH RESIDENTS — PAPER MONEY. ISeto York^ Maij 7, 1327. DEAR New York was founded by the Dutch, very early in the seventeenth century, at the southern end of a long narrow island ; the cows and other domestic animals having had the merit, as their historian Knickerbocker supposes, of laying out the streets and alleys. The truth is, that the old part of the town, like similar ones in Europe, is narrow, crooked, and inconvenient ; but the larger and more modern portion is built with wide straight streets, good foot-pavements, and neat red brick houses, exactly in the English style. As the cities in America were originally constructed of wood, many houses of that material still remain ; and occasion such constant accidents by fire, that scarcely a night passes without two or three. The engines are numerous, and well served, being turned out with alacrity as soon as the ringing of the church bells give an alarm ; 11 and so accustomed are the inhabitants to the noise and bustle of conflagrations, that unless one happens in their immediate neighbourhood, they take no notice whatever of the occurrence. This city does not contain many handsome buildings to attract the stranger, except the town- hall and the exchange — both built of stone ; but there are two small museums, a neat arcade for shops, cl'?an baths, several theatres, billiard tables, and the castle battery, which projects some dis- tance into the bay, and being converted into a species of Vauxhall, affords a cool and delightful promenade on summer evenings. Broadway would be considered a handsome street in any town, and there is a great deal of commercial activity and bustle in every direction ; but the whole city is badly cleaned and lighted, without sewers, and destitute of any palatable water, not brought from the opposite village of Brooklyn. The private equipages here are neither very numerous nor elegant ; but the hackney coaches are good, and the number and convenience of the steam-boats seen plying about the river in every direction is truly astonishing ; so that for a penny you can cross over to Jersey or Long Island almost at any moment. The two branches of the Hudson which enclose New York form so extensive a bay, that during 12 very heavy gales from the north-west vessels have been frequently injured ; to lessen which danger, and render the loading and unloading of cargoes more convenient, a vast number of jetties or small piers have been projected, fifty or a hundred yards into the water ; forming a kind of dock between them for merchantmen, but open to the river. The Government naval yard is at Long Island, east of Brooklyn ; and is considered the most complete establishment of the kind in the United States. There is not much activity in that department at present ; but vessels are generally framed from a beautiful model, and are much slighter than with us ; being built rather for fast sailing and economy in materials, than for tonnage and dura- bility. Their masts rake aft much more than ours, which may perhaps be one cause of their confessed superiority in sailing ; though the following rea- son given me by a shipwright appears plausible : The British act of parliament orders, that the tonnage of merchantmen shall be registered by multiplying the length into the breadth, and that product into half the breadth for the depth ; which induces the owner to build his ship as narrow, deep, and wall-sided, as he possibly can, making the stern nearly straight up and down, without that degree of projection necessary either for elegance or proportion. A large East 13 or West Indiaman^ he told me^ would thus gain 150 tons at least over the register ; wherein con- sisted the true reason why they were in general such floating tubs, and made such long voyages. Several naval officers here have good humour- edly laughed at me, as an Englishman, because our Admiralty has appointed ten-gun brigs for the packet service, and employed the same descrip- tion of vessels to cruize against the pirates and slave traders. For they affirm it to be a well- known fact, and a British commander corroborates their testimony from his own experience, that those brigs are the worst sailers and incon- veniently arranged ships of war in our service ; so that they never can, except by chance, make a capture or quick passage, besides being par- ticularly uncomfortable. '»^<>' -,i' ju ? .,.; . New York contains, I should think, about 180,000 inhabitants, and both from its population and other advantages, is decidedly the most important city in the Union. Every man here is employed in some trade or other ; and though they have universally discarded the word shop as ungenteel, and adopted the softened term of store, yet Buonaparte's taunt of being a nation of shopkeepers, would have been much more ap- propriately applied here than in Britain. Dinner parties are not very common, but small dances and evening societies are both frequent and agreeable. 14 Many of the ladies are lively, handsome, and well educated; cultivating music, French, Italian, and other accomplishments, with great success. Their complexions, features, and manners, are de- cidedly English ; but they are fond of adopting the gaudiest French modes of dress, and do not, I think, show in general much taste in the blend- ing of colours. ' The men are by no means deficient in acquire- ments, but have often a rude dictatorial way of contradicting each other, and wearing their hats in all places and under all circumstances, which betokens ill manners instead of perfect equality : in fact, there is here, as elsewhere, a complete aristocracy ; only the distinction is marked by superiority of wealth instead of birth ; and those who hold situations in the militia or other depart- ments are remarkably tenacious of their honor- ary titles. / , i. The superiority affected by the descendants of the Dutch settlers is quite amusing ; as I am told they rarely associate or intermarry with their neighbours and fellow-citizens, but represent their ancestors as- having belonged to the first families in Holland, quite different from the needy or persecuted beings who usually become colo- nists. Their historian Knickerbocker, however, treats these worthies with something of disrespect ; and tells us how they first intoxicated the Indians 15 with gin, then cheated them out of small portions of land, built forts, and by violence and bloodshed afterwards increased their territory. There are very few peculiarities here in the dress of the male population ; scarcely any are ragged, but many are shabby. Excessively long watch-chains and large seals are commonly sported ; high hats, large at the top, and with little brim, are worn, and it is the custom to rub the beaver against the fur ; so that one closely and neatly brushed, as with us, is a sure criterion of a fo- reigner. Persons in mourning wear voluminous folds of crape round the hat, with long flappers sticking out behind, like our undertakers ; and in riding, the saddle is placed much more for- ward than with us, without any crupper: this may, perhaps, be owing to the horses being usu- ally large in the barrel, as they are never stinted in regard to water; but it decidedly has an un- graceful appearance, and, I should think, must deprive the rider of much of his power over the animal. ^ The number of free blacks in this city is consi- derable : and on the 4th of next J uly, even those few negroes in the state who have not completed the age of twenty-five years, will be emancipated: they are generally employed as domestic servants ; the want of which class in the community is severely felt by families. The lowest stations of the hard- 16 working classes are generally filled by Ifishmen, who are as much vilified here, whether ju&tty or not I cannot tell, as in England or Scotland. They are accused of lighting false fires on the coast to cause shipwrecks, and then of plunder- ing the vessel, having first knocked the cfHiffon the head with stockings filled with stones ; and in short, if any peculiar atrocity is committed ia the land, friend Pat is immediately suspected. New York is well supplied with fuel, vege- tables, fruit, meat, apd: poultry, {root 4aong Island and Jersey ; fish is abundant, and of va- rious spe^es ; but I cannot think the large taste- less oysters here, are equal to those we get in England. Wild fowl is innumerable; >/ines, whisky, and spirits, the same as with us ; and, in short, there is no want of good eating and drinking, hut it does not seem to me at -Ihuch more^ reasonable prices than with us. As chiirch and state do not go hand in hand here, there are no tithes, each sect suppprting its own ministers and places of worship ; but the distinction of pews is quite as rigidly enforced as with us, the doctrine of equality not extending to a communion of seats, or in truth to .|iny of the other good things of this world. i - I am much pleased at observing the khidly feelings towards the mother country, which are now very generally prevalent, and the fiberal \ 't^ ting the as ing of Idly tare jral 17 sentiments of almost all I meet. It is plain they are no longer afraid of our attempting the hope- less task of reconquering tliem ; and, therefore, refrain from implanting ridiculous prejudices and untruths in the minds of their children ; and the last war, by showing clearly the value of the commercial intercourse between the two nations^ the difficulty of their acquiring the Canadas, and our ability to harass their coasts, has likewise ma- terially tended towards a perfect recoiiciliation. That these republicans would exalt the British empire by undervaluing themselves, I conceive no man could either expect or wish : but I have met several highly respectable individuals, who declare the late hostilities to have been the work of a comparatively small faction^ which thought England was too much hampered by the French under Napoleon to be able to attend to her American possessions, and therefore seized the opportunity of giving the sick lion a kick. Mr. Clay, I believe, or one of the commis- sioners who made so favourable a treaty at Ghent, wrote a very energetic letter to his government, on the renewed vigour and overwhelming power of the British; and the great majority of the American citizens, thinking that the precise mo- ment of the quarrel did them no credit, were highly gratified when the peace was proclaimed. The letter alluded to, is now brought forward c 18 in accusfition of the writer, by his political pp^ pQuepts. Some of my acquaintance here have taken ^luch pains to describe to me the torpedos. and various infernal machines which were invented by the New Yorkers, for the annoyance of Sir T. Hardy, when he blockaded their port; and they all speak in high terms of the skill and ho- nourable warfare of that distinguished officer, who, it appears, most effectually cut up their commerce. The like praise is not bestowed on another British admiral, whom they accuse of having allowed the w^omen in a small town near the Chesapeake to be ill used by his crews ; and they speak of our liaving burnt the records and historical jdocuments at Washington as a very paltry and unworthy measure. There are several very pleasing excursions within a short distance of this city, both in the well-cultivated and undulating district of Long Island, and in the state of Jersey, near the woody cliffs of Hoboken ; seventeen miles from whence, close to the manufacturing town of Pat- terson, are tiie highly-beautiful Falls of the Passaic river ; which many persons assure me, are the most picturesque ones in America ; but I have not yet visited them. At Hoboken, a number of gigs, horses, and neat light vehicles, called pleasure-waggons, are 19 rom always kept for hire, as the excursion to the Passaic is a favourite amusement with the citizens of New York ; so is likewise a visit to the hand- some town of Newhaven, about sixty miles east, and in the state of Connecticut^ to which the steam-boats convey them in rather less than six hours. There is one, and, I believe, several other packs of hounds kept in this vic'nity, which, during the season, are hunted in the English style ; but the severity of the winter naturally curtails the number of sporting days. The breed of horses in New Jersey is extremely good ; and races are annually hold in Long Island. New York is governed by a mayor and corpo- ration, as with us ; and the regulations of police, parish-rates, fines, and punishments, appear to be of a similar nature to our own. An European is struck with the almost total want of the precious metals which prevails^ and the substitution of paper-money, for the value even of a dollar, or four shillings, throughout the United States. These notes are issued by private bankers, who obtain an act of incorporation without difficulty; for if one state legislature refuses to grant it, another is not so scrupulous. The coun+ry is inundated with banks, and some failures continually take place ; but their very number is a protection to the public, as it is rare c 2 for any one firm to have a large sum in circu- lation. During the last war \vith Britain, paper- money as low as one cent, about a halfpenny, was the medium instead of cash. I shall not apologize for Ihe length of my letters, because you pj-ovoked me to the task, and must suffer the penalty ; and in regard to any errors in judgment I have committed, or may hereafter be led into, I can only promise not to mislead you wilfully. Two individuals rarely see objects through the same medium ; therefore be not too harsh, should you find my accounts differ from those given by other writers. Yours sincerely, &c. 21 LETTER III. STEAM-BOATS-PUBLICCOACHES-PHILADELPHIA-BALTIMORE —HOTELS AND MODE OF LIVING — WASHINGTON CITY — SLAVES—THE CONSTITUTION. DEAR Washington, May 18, 1827. I QUITTED my friends at New York with the regret due to their constant kindness and at- tentions. The steam-boat I embarked in was really superb, both in size and fitting up ; con- taining two elegant cabins, and a smaller one for the ladies; a bar supplied with fruit, wines, and all other etceteras; a hair-dresser's shop; and on the deck, plenty of chairs and benches, with a linen awning to keep off the sun. The price was as reasonable as the acccmmo- dations were good; the conveyance of ninety- six miles, to Philadelphia, being about seventeen shillings ; and the only trouble entailed on the traveller, was to keep a sharp look out after his portmanteau, the owners of the boat not bei.ig liable for losses. About 150 passengers of every grade in so- 22 ciety hastened on board as the bell gave warn- ing of six o'clock being about to strike ; and the powerful engine was stopped every few miles on our progress^ either to take in more indivi- duals, or allow those already with us to land. There was no other distinction of persons or place than the single regulation, '^ No smoking aft the boiler>" and that of very propetly al- lowing the ladies to seat themselves at table, before the cabin doors were opened, and the breakfast bell rang its welcome summons. Wel- come indeed it was -, and the instantaneous rush was terrific ! One of those cold north-westers, which cut to the very bone, had sharpened our appetites ; and with a most determined regard to seH but without quarrelling with his neighbours, each person precipitated himself down the stairs to the spot where fish, flesh, fowls, Qggi^, butter, tea, and coffee were disappearing with a sur- prising velocity. The great bay of the Hudson, westward of New York, is filled with strong stakes, driven into the mud by the fishermen, to secure their nets; and between these our enormous but easily managed steam-boat had to track her course. The legislature of New York has long declared them a nuisance and impediment to navigation ; but the opposite state of New Jersey has taken them under her protection^ as the law- 23 ful rights of free citizens. To obviate this dif- ficulty. New York has laid claim to the whole river, as far as high-water mark, on the Jersey shore ; the other resists, and the lawyers have kindly undertaken to defend the interests of all parties. An American man-of-war was now lying at anchor in the centre of these important stakes, and at every change of the tide her huge sides swept away acres of the annoyance. It was quite amusing to listen to the remarks of my fellow- voyagers : " A glorious sweep, that last," said the New Yorkers : '^ A damnation tyrannical act,'^ replied a Jerseyite ; '' I guess they lengthen the cable and shift their situation on purpose. I see no right the time-serving government at Washington has to order its ships into our waters, and I will move in the House that they be or- dered out.'^ Theshores on both sides, as we passed be- tween Staten Island and Jersey, were dotted with farms and neat-looking houses : all were built of boards, painted white, with green window- shutters or Venetian blinds. Cultivation did not appear to extend far from the rivers, but was carried on exactly as in England, in fields and small divisions : the general appearance of the country was flat and woody, the hills, or rather undulations^ lowj but the spires of village 24 clmrches were seen peeping out in various di- rections ; while the reflection, that each inmate of the pretty and comfortable houses around was proprietor of the land and orchard he cultivated, added much cheerfulness to the whole scene. At the town of New Brunswick on the Raritan, ten stage-coaches were in readiness to convey those who chose to the Delaware. These ve- hicles are low, without springs, and open on every side, unless the leather curtains are let down ; but the road was tolerable, and I did not get my bones quite so much dislocated as I anticipated. There were three seats inside, containing in all nine persons, besides one on the box with the coachman; and 1 assure you, the four strong handsome horses, with harness like our own, but without brass ornaments, were driven over the twenty-seven miles in three hours and a half. The drivers change with their horses, and never ask for fees! We passed through several villages, one of which contained a college for the professional studies ; and I remarked, that the farms were large, of a light soil, well cultivated, with each an extensive orchard of apple, pear, cherry, and peach trees, besides vast tracts of small timber, for the supply, I understood, of fuel to New York. * f = i . At the well-built and populous town of Trenton, 25 a steam-boat was waiting* on the Delaware for our arrival. The river is there al)out as wide as the Thames at Kew, with five wooden arches across it, and the road suspended below by strong beams, so as to be quite level : it is, in fact, upheld in a manner just the reverse of our chain bridges in North Wales. The banks of the Delaware are pleasing, and have many country-houses; among others, that of Joseph Buonapai-te, once king of Spain, but now known only as a wealthy and amiable country gentleman, entirely occupied with his obser- vatory and scientific pursuits. Further down, I saw Burlington, Bristol, several other villages, and a quicker succession of gentlemen's seats, which are built of dark-coloured stone in Penn- sylvania, till at length, about sun-set, the large city of Philadelphia rose like an amphitheatre, thirty or forty feet higher than the sweeping bend of the fine river, which the wheels of our vessel were violently agitating. We had run the forty miles from Trenton in three hours and a half, against both wind and tide. Philadelphia is the most regular built town I ever saw : but as it is entirely of red brick, with houses all of the same size, only two stories above the ground floor, and has but one steeple to break the monotony of the scene ; it is rather 26 remarkable for neatness and comfort, than the slightest pretensions to magnificence. The streets are about as wide as Bond Street, quite straight, and a mile and a half long, well paved and clean, with a broad footway of bricks on each side, and in some places a few trees, which greatly enliven the view. The town-hall is a large heavy building, in which is a statue to Washington, and a museum, not so good, I think, as those of New York. The theatre is small and neat, and in it I saw perform a Mr. Forrest, who is certainly a pro- mising tragedian, but rather a ranter. Several of the private banks are built of stone in a very handsome style ; but the Exchange and Custom- house are unworthy of so great a city. In the centre of the town is Market Street, sufficiently wide to allow along well-built covered shed to run down the middle, and spoil the best thoroughfare of the place : besides, the ex- cessive length of the stalls must render the pur- chase of articles extremely tedious and incon- venient. There are also two smaller markets ; and it seems generally allowed, that no town in the Union is better supplied with the necessaries and comforts of life, or at a more reasonable rate, than Philadelphia. The society of well edu- cated and agreeable families, is likewise on a set, Ired »est lex- lur- m- it [he Ind te, u- 27 more extended scale in that city than any other of the Union ; for though there are many whose esteem and intimacy you would wish to cultivate in other places, no spot in America can boast of so many citizens of easy fortune, free from the anxieties of speculations and disappointments : in short, more elegantly dressed pretty women, and gentlemenly young men, with neater turns out of horses and equipages are seen there than any where else in the, Union ; and Chesnut Street is more fashionable, taking the year round, than either the Broadway of New York or the Avenues of Washington. The dock-yard is small, and at the southern extremity of the town. The Americans there build their vessels^ under large wooden houses, and place salt between the ribs, as they declare, to prevent the dry-rot. Scarcely any thing is now going on; but a sixty-gun frigate and a large three decker are on the stocks nearly complete. That port is evidently sinking daily in commercial importance, which arises, perhaps, not only from the long and dangerous navigation of its river, and the proximity of New York, but from the minds of the population turning with more pleasure towards agriculture, coal-mines, and manufactures, than the dangers and dis- comforts of a seafariiig life. Will you think me blind to the resources and 28 genius of this thriving repiil)lie, when I assure youj v islands of pastm-e and trees, divide the stream ia the vicinity. This town is the seat of government for the state of New York, and contains about 18,000 peopU% whose wealtii and numbers increase vearly ; but it was the tirst spot in the re[)nblic where I had met with l)eo*- gars ; and I am sorry to acknowh^lge they were Irish. It is a renuirk nuuh" in everv societv, and every viUage of this immense coimtry, that the Scotch, English, Gernums, and Dutch, all ^ei on and thri\e ; but the Irish labourer verv rarelv attains inde}*eudence, changing only the nature of his toil, from the hackney coachman to the porter, the pavi()r, or the hired drudge. The hotels in Albany are equally comfortable with the others I had met with ; and, as usual, I found the inmates divided into political parties and factions. For the mass of the people here are more addi('ted to such discussions and dis- putes, than even my good I'ounirymeu at home. Souje ileclared vehemently that the legislature was both formed and ruled bv the back-settlers, while trade and nu\nufactures were without re- presentation or protection ; others asserted that agricultiuv alone ought to be favom'cd, and the import duties un goods should be reiluced one- half: but every body joined in the njost furious 47 table isual, uties here (Us- Dine. iture lers, re- Itlmt the hne- ous abuse of a clergyman at Boston, who had recently ilared, thev said, contrary to the ordinances of Cod and man, to nuirrya white t»irl to a free nci>ro. Excellent horses and ^ios can be hired at Albany, and I ilrovc in one of thcni over a vtM'y bad road, to see the Cohocs Falls on the Mohawk. A little to the north of the town, I }>asscd the good brick mansion of the ^* Patroon," or head of the Rensselaer t'aniily, one of the lari»est and richest landowners in America ; and close to it. the Erie Canal falls into the Undson. This noble work is iitU) miles in length ; and by the means of eighty well-constructed stone locks, is raised (>()*i icci to the height of Lake Erie. It is forty i\>(^i wide at the snrface, fonr feet deep ; and barges of 150 tons \\\i\\ Hour, salt, anil the other pr(»dnctions of the western countries, besides t-overed tow-boats, are con- stantly passing it. This canal, together with the northern one for Lake (yluunplain, cost rather less than i:'i,(XH^,000 ; a sum which the tolls \\\\\ very speedily repay. But it is iujpossible not to admire the energy and public spirit oi' the state of New York, which tonnncnt tul and tinished so yast an inidertaking, although refused assistance by the Congress at Washington. At the villag'e of Ciibbons\ille is a national dep()t of arms and stores for the northern and eastern section of the Union ; which, by its neat- 48 ness and good arrangement^ does great credit to the government. On the opposite side of the river is Troy ; one of the best built and most thriving towns in the country, with a population of 8000. ' Steam ferry-boats ply across continually ; and immediately behind that place are green pasture hills, some hundreds of feet high, besides the deep woody glen and cascade of Ida. To other spots in the vicinity such classical names as Olympu!^, &c. are given ; which appears to me rather pedantic, where there is not the slightest resemblance to Asiatic climate, customs, build- ings, or people. ' ' v ( The river Mohawk, is from 250 to 300 vards across, just above its junction with the Hudson ; and after rushing down a short declivity, pre- cipitates itself over a ledge of black slate rock, seventy-six feet high. In one spot a large mass projects some feet down the stream ; and over this the water trickled in ten thousand silvery veins, while the beams of the sun formed a beautiful rainbow on the white foam. The best situation for viewing the scene, is from among a few trees on the southern cliff; and as I had never before witnessed so vast a fall of water, I was undoubtedly struck with nnngled sensations < ■■- Those I saw were of a dark copper colour, often strong and tall, but in dirty ragged dresses, half European, half Indian. Some of the young women were decidedly pretty; ge- nerally a blanket was wrapped round them, and a few had large ornameiitt', apparently of silver. Their infants were tightly bound in wrappers to a board, so as to have no possibility of moving, and then slung to their backs. , t^ , .,* The attempts to civilize Indians and turn them to agriculture appear to me, as far as I havv; yet had an opportunity of observing or inquiring into, a complete failure; for in re- signing the better qualities of the savage, they have only adopted the most vicious propensities of their conquerors. They wander about a listless and despised race, reside in wretched log huts, and in dress and filth are like the worst descrip- tion of gipsies or tinkers : and really when in- dividuals assert that Europe only shews the re- luta, trip- ia- re- 61 mains of better days, while here all is cheering" improvement, they should pause, and remember the living ruins which America exhibits. Both hemispheres have much to boast of, and no doubt also much deserving of animadversion. The Oneida Reservation is a tine tract of land ; a continued succession of hills and valleys, from one of the highest of which, I loolced back over the level country to where the granite ridge crosses the Mohawk at Little Falls. It is a vast natural basin, and tlie conclusion seems rational of its having been another of those immense fresh-water lakes still so common on this con- tinent. . ^ When the river Mohawk burst its rocky bar- rier, tiie soil became gradually drained and covered with forest, while the waters receded to the present Lake Oneida, which is about forty miles long and eight or ten across. I am told here that such will probably be the case with Lake Erie some centuries hence, as the Falls of Niagara are gradually wearing away the iime- rock which obstructs their migiity torrent, and the surface of Ontario is below any part of the bed of its sister lake, which has been fathomed. Near the beautifully-situated village of Chit- tenningo are the remnants of a large petrified pine-tree, some specimens of which, with shells embedded in the wood, I obtained for your col- «- lection. At the large and regularly-built village of Maulius, the coach stopped for dinner; and having now advanced so far into the interior, the following bills of fare may be taken as a fair specimen of the accommodations and style of living in this state. We had already made a hearty breakfast on veal cutlets, beef steaks, toasted ham, fish, both broiled and pickled, roasted potatoes, eggs by the dozen, tea, coffee, toast, rolls, excellent bread, with butter and cream that would have done credit to a Devonshire larder, and all was served round by the landlord's daughters in blue and white china ; while a clean linen table-cloth, good knives, forks, spoons, cut-glass tumblers and castors, pickles, and the purest of salt, decorated the table. Our dinner consisted of joints of beef, mutton, and pork, pigeon and veal pies, asparagus, with other vegetables and salad, tarts, apple and peach sweetmeats; while decanters of brandy and Hollands, with crystal water in jugs, served to slake the thirst. The cider is some- times very good, but it is most frequently spoilt, for want of attention in picking out dect>yed apples from the press. Alas ! there were no French dishes ; no nice little "portions," exactly measured out for one ; every thing was agreeable to the homely English phrase of cut a;id come again, and no reasonable 63 ish )Ie man could grumble at what was set before him. The charges are usually eighteen-pence or two shillings; but those who wait neither expect nor ask for any remuneration. Tea or supper is much the same as the breakfast, with the addition of plenty of cakes and a sort of apple mar- malade. The next village we came to was called Onondaga, near which is another small settle- ment of Indians, and what is much more interest- ing, several earthen entrenchments with ditches have been discovered, similar, it is said, to others that exist throughout the line of country which extends from the lakes along the banks of the Mississippi to New Orleans. This has opened a fine field for conjecture, because the Indians are said to have no traditions whatever about them, and they were evidently constructed by a people accustomed to a different sort of warfare. In the swampy ground a few miles to the northward and close to the Erie Canal, are the towns of Syracuse and Salina, with the fine salt- springs which supply their evaporation works : the situation is considered peculiarly aguish and unhealthy, but is found to improve as the country is cleared of woed. The road from thence continued over a succession of small hills and valleys, varying much in the nature of the soil ; but cultivation is gradually advancing 64 into the fine forest which in that part of the state covers five-sixths of the land. ' * The well-built village of Skeneateless is most beautifully situated on a bank above a lake of the same name, commanding a sheet of water fifteen miles long, and varying much in width : it is a lovely prospect; the banks sloping gently, and broken into numerous bays and woody head- lands, with cleared spaces for farms in various directions. Eight miles on this side of it, is the large town of Auburn, with the usual wide regular streets and foot pavements, and ex- cellent houses and inns ; but for some unac- countable reason, its site has been chosen so as not to enjoy a view of the neighbouring Lake Owasco. The coach stopped there for the night, having been sixteen hours in traversing the seventy-six miles from Utica ; not that we had travelled slow, considering the indifferent state of some porti(>ns of the road, but unfor- tunately we carried the mail, and were detained a tedious time at each village post-office : for instead of having a small bag for each, which might be left without trouble, all the letters are thrown indiscriminately into one large sack, and the passengers are detained while the whole are looked over again and again. The law, I was told, only allowed each post- master five minutes to sort his letters; but it 65 tiac- o as jake the ing we ent for- ned for lich are nd are )St- it might just as well be silent on the suoject^ as from a quarter to half an hour is always thus occupied and lost. ' You are aware^ that the different states of the Union are subdivided, like England, into counties, parishes, &c. Auburn is the chief town of Cayuga county, and not only contains the usual court-houses and gaols of its own ju- risdiction, but also the state prison for the western section of New York, calculated to hold eleven hundred convicts. This establishment isextreiaelywell conducted. Solitary confinement in cells seven feet by three and a half, and seven feet high, together with hard labour at various cheap and easily-learned trades, is the system adopted : the head gaoler has also discretionary power to inflict whippings on the refractory, and to put any prisoner who obstinately refuses to work into a sort of cistern v/ith a pump in it, where the water gradually mounts, so that if the man will not employ him- self to throw it out he must drown. I asked if any convict ever had perished in this novel kind of bath, and was told it was not likely to happen ; as in the few cases when the water had been allowed to reach the neck, the prisoner had begun plying the pump-handle most furiously, roaring out for assistance in a terror that effectually precluded the necessity of his undergoing the experiment a second time. The d;Aily labour of a convict is never found to equal in results that of e free man^ but the produce goes to thv state towards defraying the ejcpenses ; and li, ie^ said, that not only the ge- neral conduct of the prisoners is good, but many become permanently reformed. For my part, I think the Americans show great good sense in making their prisons places of deprivation, hard work, and punishment ; instead of following our plan in England of rendering them most com- fortable and eligible houses of entertainment during the winter season. Westward of Auburn, I found the country more cleared and evidently longer settled than within the Oneida Reservation ; the stumps of trees were more generally grubbed up, and the orchards better stocked with peach, apple, plum, and pear trees, than any I had before seen. It seems to have been a rule with the settlers, to plant their first two or three cleared acres with fruit trees, sowing their wheat or other crops between the rows, as is practised in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and nothing could give a more cheerful aspect to their white houses. Flower gardens with roses, woodbines, and other creepers, so continually seen about English cottages, have not yet been introduced 67 the >ple, J fore the ired It or tised |hing rhite Ines, »out iced here, and possibly the winters are too cold for such plants. The road passes Lake Cayuga on a low wooden bridge or causeway one mile and a quarter long, which is often damaged by the floating ice. This magnificent piece of water is forty niiles in length, the shores low, but pleasingl) indented; and not only aie a good many sloops employed carrying timber, flour, &c. from the diff*erent villages, but a steam- boat plies backwards and forwards from the bridge to the town of Ithaca. This last-named place is situated at the upper end of the lake, and from it they propose .to cut a canal to the Susquehanna river, a distance of only thirty-one miles; when it will become of great importance, as commanding a water communication between lakes Erie, Ontario, and the Chesapeake. Not far from the town of Ithaca is a fine waterfall, well worth an excursion in the steam-boat to be visited. The country between the lakes Cayuga and Seneca is agreeably hilly, and tlie road runs not far from the navigable river which unites their waters. The village of Waterloo is larger and handsomer than usual, but is far eclipsed by the town of Geneva, which rises like an am- phitheatre above tl>e expanded basin of the Seneca, whose limits extend thirty-rive miles, by three or four wide. • F 3 Geneva is two hundred miles west of Albany, and lias a road through Ithaca direct to New York. Its population is between 3000 and 4000, many ol* whom are in tolerable affluence, and keep pleasure-boats on the lake. The streets are well built of brick houses, as is also a large square ; and the college forms a conspicuous object on approaching from the eastward. The next placo we arrived at, after a delight- ful drive f \teeii miles^ was Canandaigua; which stani?> oa i hill about a mile from the lake, and contains any really elegant-looking houses, each being surrounded by a garden; one of which, belonging to a Scotch gentleman, was better laid out and possessed more varieties of flowers than I had previously seen in America. It is the county town of Ontario; and the whole republic is in a ferment about the disappear- ance of a man named Morgan who was confined hi its gaol. The popular outcry is, that he has been murdered by the freemasons for betraying their secrets : and so strange is the infatuation, that it is insisted he was drowned at the junction of the Niagara river and Lake Ontario, a dis- tance of one hundred and fifty miles, when the deep lake close at hand would have answered the purpose so much better. Several respectable individuals have been arrested on suspicion, and refused bail ; while Morgan's widow is making a fortune by the 69 publication at Baltimore of various pamphlets. Orders have been sent to drag the water near Fort Niagara for the body; but many persons suppose Morgan is quietly living in concealment on the proceeds of his alleged martyrdom. Be this as it may, the poor freemasons are suf- fering much obloquy, and in some instances have been grossly attacked. I have met here a fine young man, a gunsmith, with half his lower lip bit off, and marks of teeth on his cheek, fingers, nose, &,c. He tells me, that passing along the Erie Canal near Ron^e, a few days back, the boat was detained; H.'.d ») pass away his time, he walked into r *^cwjc where he saw a number of persons asof^i 'b ed, who proving to be freemasons he soon Quitted, but was attacked in the street by half a dozen fellows who kicked, bit, and beat him shame- fully. " However," continued he, " I marked the man who eat my lip, for I seized him by the hair, and getting my thumb in the corner of his ^yc^ I ' gouged ' him." I really gave a cry of horror, at the idea of such a monstrous barbarity, which the narrator noticed by saying, " I don't mean to defend the action, but I did not take his eye quite out, only poked it half way from its socket ; and let me tell you, when a man is attacked by half a score, and ill-used as I was, he is not over nice in his mode of escape." 70 Before taking leave of the district of these lakes, I cannot help reniarkinf»", that it is in my opinion the most diversified and eligible tract of country in America. There are, it is true, no romantic rocks and precipices ; few of the hills can be called high ; and much of the soil is poor when compared with the alluvial flats ; but then it is a healthy, ever-varying scene of woods, and slopes, and water; possesses several sulphur or burning springs ; is situated in the heart of a most powerful state ; abounds in fish ; and where the partridge or native quail would soon, if a little caro was taken, become numerous. It was in this vicinity that the Indians of the Iroquois or Five Nations had fixed their principal settlements some time previous to 'the revolutionary war ; and as they most zealously espoused the part of the British government, they committed several horrible acts of devastation on the neighbour- ing villages. To revenge which, and prevent future incursions, General Sullivan marched with an army of 5000 men, defeated the savages, and having utterly destroyed their habitations, drove them far to the westward. Since that period the Mohawks and their con- federates, once the most powerful tribe in North America, have almost become extinct as a nation. The thirty miles from Canandaigua to Roches- ter, is rapidly becoming settled and cultivated ; 71 led (1; several villages have been formed, and the road is undergoint^ repair, which, by the bye, it cer- tainlv needed. I told you at the commencement of this letter, that Rochester was quite a new town ; the oldest person born in it being only seventeen years of age. It owes its rapid increase and importance to the rich agricultural country of Genesee, the Erie Canal, and the great water power — or, as the inhabitants term it, ^* privilege of water"— of the river which passes through it. The streets are laid out wide and regular, so that improvements to any extent may take place hereafter ; but at present the houses have been run up in such a hurry, as to have a most strag- gling appearance ; whife the stumps of trees are still sticking two or three feet out of the ground between them. From the attention shown in the cultivation of small gardens, and evergreens against the dwellings, I should imagine many of the people were newly-arrived emigrants ; and that idea is further strengthened by the numer- ous manufactories of different articles recently established. The generality of houses throughout the state of New York are of neat planks, painted white, with green Venetian blinds to the windows. The smallest have usually the door in the centre, and a sash window on each side, without any other 72 than the ground floor. The second size have a floor above, and are sometimes donble ; while the largest have two windows on each side the door. It is rare to see a house carried higlier, except those built in the towns, of brick; and should more room be required in the country, whigs and out-houses are added. The cost, I was informed, varied from £50 to £250, doors and windows included ; and though nothing can look more forlorn and wretched than an old unpainted wooden house ; yet every dwelling in these western countries is of so recent a date, that all are clean, comfortable, and cheerful ; even the few log huts I have passed were plastered and had small windows. The roofs are covered with wooden shingles, cut into sizes about as big as slates ; and the interior of the houses are not only often papered and painted, but by no means deficient in furni- ture. I am informed the inn I am at is noi the best in the town, but it is both large and clean, and I never in England had a better four-post bed and chamber conveniences. I ought, in fairness, to tell you, that all my American acquaintances declare my tour to have been much more comfortable and agreeable, because it was undertaken so early in the sea- son. In fact, I heard at New York and other cities, that the number of travellers iu July, 73 sa- er August, and September, was so great, as fre- qnently to cause several to he put into the same bed-room, besides otiicr annoyances. I relate things t) you as I found tliem ; and have certainly experienced nothing but civility, excellent acconnnodation, and amusement, throughout my excursion. I have stated in a former letter, that those who visit tiic interior of this republic must conform to the customs of the people; for if they expect post-horses, much individual attendance from waiters, or dinners to be served up in private apartments, they will meet with nothing but disappointments, mortifications, and ridicule. Visitors to Italy soon become reconciled to discomforts, and fleas and vermin ; because they can eat delicious ice and macaroni, see splendid galleries of sculpture and paintings, and enjoy the sun. Here, where there are an infinite number of good things, it is only requisite to forget two or three luxuries almost peculiar to Great Britain. Rochester, besides the shops and etceteras of a bustling, trading town, has some neat sulphur baths, and a museum. These latter are very frequently met with in the United States; and althou^ h the intrinsic value of the contents of each is trifling, yet they serve to diffuse a gene- ral taste and knowledge of natural history among 74 all ranks of society ; and are the means of pre- serving many fossils and petrifactions which would otherwise he lost. How often is it lamented in England, that Roman tesselatcd pavements, baths, coins, tombs, and other antiqnities, have been destroyed, throngh the ignorance or carelessness of their owners. Now 1 don't think a similar circum- stance would occur here, because vdmost every individual has seen things of alike nature valued and taken care of in their local museums. It is pleasing in these vast countries constantly to see near the better farms, tomb-stones and other mementos of the dead. They were erected when no church, perhaps no neighbour, was to be found within leagues ; and are generally placed on r^ gentle rise, deeply shaded by over- hangfinff trees. The quantity of wheat produced in the Genesee district is almost incredible : I heard, and can scarcely credit the fact, that one person shipped 130,000 barrels of flour ; principally for the British West India Islands. A gentleman named AVadsworth, owns 40,000 acres of land in this neighbourhood, of which between .5000 and T.OOO are in the highest state of cnltivatiim: he has no children ; but by the laws of the states, his fortune must be equally divided among his five nephews and nieces. 75 )00 licli of led Some wealthy citizens are bec^iii\iin^ to evade tins enactment, by nuiking- their intended heir independent in theiv lifetime ; and he has also his share of the residne at his relation's death : so desirous are men to leave their posterity richer and more powerful than their neighbours, that an equality of jroods would seem to be as inconsistent with the bias of the human mind^ as an equality of intellect is contraiy to the laws of nature. This distribution of property may be neces- sary and advantageous under a republican form of government ; but it is evidently erroneous policy in a monarchy. Tn France, for instance, what can s\ich a law tend to, but the impoverish- ment of the nobility • and mailing them sub- servient to the court and minister^ instead of being a barrier between king and people, as they ought to be. In Germany, where the titles are given to all, and the wealth only to one, mat- ters are much worse. Tn short, there is no constitution framed on more intelligent principles than that of England ; or which practically works better. You see I am still a genuine John Bull ; though I do find some things to admire and praise out of the narrow limits of my native ountry. The river Genesee is about 150 yards across at Rochester ; and just below the bridge, falls 9i over a mass oflirnestoiie, ninety feet perpendicu lar. This cataract is rendered more beautiful by the convex form of the rock, and a small island which extends to the very brink of the precipice where you can stand while the torrent rushes down on each side of you, but it is by no means a good point of view. The fall would be extremely picturesque had not the timber on its immediate banks, and on the island above-mentioned, been cut down ; but settlers in a wilderness of woods have a natural antipathy to the sight of a tree, and the axe levels all without distinction. There are many factories on its westf ni side ; and to the east a saw-mill actually overhangs the gulph. On a projecting crag behind this building I could almost touch the water ; and can only compare its appearance, when rushing over, to a torrent of flakes of falling snow. The beams of a setting sun shining through the liquid curtain, and the ever-changing hues of the rainbow formed on the rising spray, had a fine effect. A ramble down the banks of the stream, which are very steep and woody, is highly interesting, as new and pleasing views of the cataract can conthmally be obtained through the foliage ; and at the village of Carthage, one wile and a half below, the river takes another leap of sixteen or twenty feet, after which it tumbles down a sue- liich can laud half h or ac- cession of small ledgesj eighty feet high, in a most grand and imposing sheet of foam. This is the finest scene of the kind I over yet wit- nessed ; and much enhanced by fishermen below with their nets and hooks. The accompanying rocks arc of a reddish sandstone ; the river there becomes perfectly smooth, and from twelve to fourteen feet deep the remaining six miles to Lake Ontario; so that sloops come up, and by means of an in- clined plane from tiie cliflT, are loaded with salt, flour, Virghiian tobacco, and other goods for the Canadian market. I remain yours very truly, &c. >* ^^ 78 LETTER VI. RIDGEWAY — SETTLERS IN THE WILDERNESS— LEWISTON—BUF- FALO— LAKE ERIE— OHIO— YANKEES— MR. OWEN'S SETTLE- MENT — COMPLAINTS OF AGRICULTURISTS — LAWS — LITTLE CHEERFULNESS. Falls of Niagara, June 6, 1827. DEAR Few spots in the world can command such a sublime — such an awful prospect,, as now meeti^ my eye from the balcony c>f the hotel where ) am sitting. A river two or three miles l>ioac' is suddenly contracted to less than half that c; :.- pause; and then rolling over abrupt and ste p shallows, in a most tremendous agircttoti oi whirlpools, eddies, mid contending waves, it bounds over the precipice h\ one deep and solemn roar. As I am now, however, in Canada, and have found by experience that the grandeur of the scene before me becomes more perceptible to my senses the longer I am acquahited with it ; I will, as far as I can, afford you the same oppor- tunity for rellcction, by first finishing my de- 79 e- soription o'^^he opposite state of New York, and then reverting to the far-famed cataract. On quitting Rochester the road was formed for eighty miles along a mo st extraordinary natural causeway, called the Ridge, composed of sand and small gravel, which is not above ten or twe;ity yards wide at top, and perhaps twelve feet in elevation above the rich alluvial country, to which it slopes very gradually on each side. This was, without doubt, a former boundary of Lake Ontario, from which it is now distant about ten miles ; and two miles farther south is another boundary— a cliff of limestone 150 feei high, running in a parallel direction, to where the Niagara separates it from Queenston heights. That section of country has been but recently settled ; yet Parma, Clarkson, Gaines, Oak Orchard, Ridgeway, and other villages, are fast springing up : all have churches with lofty wooden spires ; and many of the houses have the English paling before them, with fine single trees left standing to afford shade, and hives of bees in the gardens. I was told they were I oly come over from '* the Old Country." The coach quitted the Ridgeway for > few miles, to cut off a great angle ; and I thi re had an opportunity of seeing the wilde u ss or *^ bush," untouched by man, and in all its solemn magnificence. 80 The narrow roud, ^ormed of lop^s and eartb, shaking" under the; ^low motion of the wheels, gave a long- straight opening through the trees, and disclosed a riohoii of blue sky. To the right and left it seemed as if a fowl could not make way ; so thick was it, indeed, as to check the rank vegetation natural to damp swampy ground. The forest is composed of a variety of species. Oak, elm, beech, maple, and other deciduous trees, generally cover the better soil; cedar and larch are found in the most marshy places ; the hemlock-fir, and pine, in rocky sandy tracks. The loftiest timber may be 120 or 130 i'eei high ; below it is another growth of seventy or eighty feet; a third of thirty or forty feet ; and tiie interstices filled up with shrubs, brushwood, &c. Into this solitary wild of woods one or two poor settlers had just brought the axe : the sight to me was novel and disheartening. A man having made his bargain as to price per acre, with the governi scd ., or It wo fue, laiiy 8S is an elderly Scotchman, and a hard taskmaster ho appears to be. He travelled some distance along the Ridgeway in the coach, for the amiable purpose of " prosecuting according to law" some children, who had thrown stones through his windows and serenaded him with yells, be- cause he had turned their father out of his farm. He is a long-visagecl, crabbcd-looi^ing person- age, with enormous overhanging eyebrows; and told us with much glee how he had found out the perpetl'ators, and how he would make them smart for it. A respectable farmer in vain endeavoured to deprecate his wrath, by saying he had known the debtor many years, as a sober, hard-working man, bringing up a large family ; for the old fellow declared he would have law, if law was to be got, and that the tenant was a poor devil without a cent, and out he should go. This liarshness so exasperated the young man who \n\{\ ^^only half poked out" his assailant's eye at Home, and who was also a passenger in '.he ve- hicle, that 1 thought he would certainly have rob- bed the Scotchman of his shaggy eye-shades; but fortunately we had nothing beyond a wordy war. I have since heard at Buffalo, that in the far- thest parts of Ohio and other back settlements, where, the arm of the law does not reach so surely, families are not turned out quite in so G 2 84 unceremonious a nrifinner; it might be dangerous. A compromise there takes place ; the tenant gives up the land lie can*t pay for, and the landlord gives him 500 or (iOO dolhips for his improvements and labour, log-hut, &c.tv With this sum he goes westward, and })ecomes a pur- chaser ; while his late tenement is sold to the first emigrant who arrives with enough money to commence comfortably. Thus, according to my information, it is not very connnon to lind a man actually owning and occupying land which he cleared himself. My coach companion the " Gouger," gave me to understand, in the course of conversation, that he had lived many years in Upi)er Canada ; and was then on his way from New England to in- form the disaffet ted, that if thev chose to make a stand against the British Government, there were from 10,000 to 20,000 Yankees quite tired of their houses, and ready to join them. 1 na- turally asked if the Canadians were much op- pressed ; and he replied, *' Oh, no ! we pay neither tithes nor taxes, only a nominal rent of one penny in twenty shillings, and are, in fact, (|Hitc favoured and spoilt ; but it is the surest way of preserving those privileges to kick up a row now and then." 1 had heard at New York and other towns on ray journey, that Upper Canada was in a state of 85 almost open insurrection ; and now I am actually in it, I can only wonder at such gross t'xaggera- tions being prevalent. But a circumstance re- lative to this colony, v/hich has come under my own observation, will possibly engage much of your consideration. I have met some highly respectable persons, who, after enumerating the various advantages of Canada, ended by stating, " We left it how- ever for the States, because in it there is no en- couragement for exertion and industry ; every one has enough, and will not labour for more ; which occasions an apathy and listlessness to us intolerable. Here, we have taxation and other rates to provide for ; and yet are not only more comfortable, but gain more money likewise." Lewiston is 320 miles from Albany, and on the eastern bank of the river Niagara, which is rapid even there, although seven miles below the Falls. At that place the sloops from Lake Ontario unload, to allow of the land portage towards Lake Erie ; as the cataract impedes all further navigation. I was iurprised not io hear the roar of the water in the stillness of the night, at so short a distance, but the wind was contrary ; and next morning it was distinct enough. From Lewiston the road winds up the limestone cliff I have described as the ancient boundary of Lake Ontario ; on the IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 12.8 110 ■ 2.2 m 12.0 ^1^ % 7i /: o / /A PhotDgraphic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) S72-4S03 8fl top of which is an extensive view over a flat sur- face of woods ; and it Is evident the river has worn throug-h the portion of the ridge which was joined to Queen&ton heights, having no doubt, at one period, formed its cataract at this spot, which uas gradually washed away the softer rock, and thus receded. The road next passes a lofty precipice, im- pending over the now raging stream, and noted for the destruction of a party driven over by the French during the colonial wars. Close to it some person has had the good taste to cut an opening in the wood, which affords a distant, but highly picturesque view of the Falls. At the thriving village of Manchester is a good hotel kept by a General ; but the twenty- three miles from thence to Buffalo, is along a truly infamous road, made of trunks of trees, and not in sight of the river^ but through a thick wilder- ness, in which black bears, wolves, and rattle- snakes, are not unfrequent; and quails, also black squirrels, are very numerous. Buffalo is a handsome and improving town, just above the north-east end of Lake Erie, and has been entirely rebuilt since the late war; which accounts for the streets being unpaved, and want of footways. It contains 4000 inha- bitants, two churches, a theatre, town-hall, and several excellent inns ; among which, the one 87 kept by Ratliburn, although constructed of wood, is as extensive and elegant as can easily be met with in any part of Europe. I was often at a loss to comprehend how such numerous houses of public entertainment could exist with profit, in every little town of the republic ; but it was explained to me, that the proprietors not only possessed large farms, but their houses served the three purposes of lodg- ings, hotels, and mere eating-taverns. Thus at Rathb urn's, above forty persons have hired apartments by the year, in preference to having the trouble of servants and establishments ; and above a hundred sit down dail y to his dinner-table ; so that with casual travellers and visitors to the newspaper room, the most liberal landlord can gain a livelihood. The Erie Canal joins the lake at the village of Black Rock, about three miles north of Buffalo ; but as the stream of water at that point rushes swiftly into the river Niagara, the cut has been contumed to the latter place. In its vicinity also, is a large settlement of the half-civilized Indians ; and another is between Lockport and Lewiston. Buffalo will certainly become, at some future period, one of the most important towns in America ; for from the light-house erected at the mouth of its creek, the navigation of the 88 fresh-water seas to the west and north-west is said to be unimpeded by rapids or other ob- structions for some thousands of miles. Lake Erie itself is two hundred and seventy miles by sixty broad, and only two hundred feet deep ; while the surface of that of Ontario is three hundred and thirty feet below the Falls of Ni- agara. Steam-boats and sloops are continually con- veying merchandise on Lake Erie ; and some of the sailors insisted, that a tide of a few inches was perceptible at all seasons. A road runs from Buffalo to Pittsburg, on the Ohio river, thus opening an internal communication with New Orleans on the Gulf of Mexico, and it is even talked of cutting a canal in that direction. While in Buffalo, I made very particular in- quiries concerning the rapidly improving states of Ohio and Indiana, the former of which has sprung up to be the fourth, if not the third in the Union. They are represented as vast woody plains of a rich alluvial soil, but with very little wholesome water, owing to the sluggish nature of the rivers and creeks, which likewise deprives the settlers of many '^ privileges " for machinery. Their population has been swelled not only by new-comers from Europe, but from Massa- chusetts, Connecticut, and other parts of New Engljind^ where the people have lately been 89 seizei with such a mania for emigration, as to attract the attention of their local governments : like young birds, which as soon as fledged and old enough, quit their nests, and forget '^ kith and kind : " so the Yankees, as their countrymen call them, are found scattered over every section of the Union as pedlars, hucksters, quacks, and speculators. They are a shrewd, intelligent race, much more talkative and inquisitive than their neigh- bours ; and if the accounts of the southern states are to be credited, where Yankees are hated and accused of excithig disturbances among the slaves, they know how to drive a hard bargain, and have fairly jostled the Jews out of the re- public. From a variety of anecdotes related in ri- dicule of their parsimonious habits, I shall select the following. A Yankee being far to the west, with his little cart of pedlery, found the wheels wanted greasing, and stopped at the next house for the purpose ; where he was sup- plied so abundantly with the needful, that he not only finished his job and replenished his grease-pot, but still had a great deal left. After looking at the residue a few moments, he turned to the good-natured giver, and said, ^' I calculate they may want some of this fat at the 90 next hut, so I will just step over, and see what they will give nie for it." They are chiefly descended from the secta- rians who fled from persecution hi the seven- teenth century ; and some of the curious puri- tanical names are still existing among them. Of the philanthropic Mr. Owen's settlement, called New Harmony, 1 have heard but a so-so account. It appears, in truth, a most inhar- monious society; for the healthy and indus- trious do not relish that entire community of goods and produce, which causes them to work hard day after day for the purpose of feeding the idle and sickly ; and it is therefore splitting into almost as many divisions as there are fa- milies, each taking care, while following the old system, to benefit as much as possible by the expenditure Mr. Owen has incurred in en- deavouring to introduce a new one. t The farmers I have met with all declare, that though they have abundance to eat and drink, for any number of children, yet such is at present ,the low value of produce, they cannot gain any money; and that a man who has to realize the price of his land, in addition to earning a comfortable living, must find it a most difficult task, under even favourable cir- cumstances, as he cannot convert his flour. 91 sheep, and cows into cash. The late quarrel therefore with Great Britain, which excludes them from the West India islands is very un- popular ; and yet as they now have the privilege of bonding their flour in Canada, the loss must chiefly fall on the shipping interests at Boston, Charleston, Baltimore, &c. : for it is notorious, that hitherto where the British flag was seen once in those seas, the American was met with ten times; their vessels being freighted with flour, fresh meat and poultry, packed in ice, eggs, kept sweet for any period by being covered with salt, and other provisions. This valuable trade is now lost to them, because their govern- ment persists in levying heavy import duties on foreign goods, in order to encourage the home manufactures. The overwhelming influence in the United States is decidedly that of the agriculturists; and they assert continually, " If we could only have a market in England or elsewhere for our flour, our cotton, tobacco, &c. we should never think of employing ourselves in manufactures; for we had rather earn the value of two shillings on our own farms than two dollars in close build- ings, as the wages of a master.'* Law is as plentiful in the American republic as in Great Britain, and the people seem more litigious. It is a thriving trade, and in almost every village, the words ^^ Attorney at Law Office," written in large characters against two or three houses, infuses a reasonable degree of terror into the passer-by. It is singular, when independence was obtained, the opportunity of getting rid of the old complicated system of jurisprudence was allowed to be lost ; but ^it proves, I think, there were but few disinterested patriots beside Washington ; and that the lawyers associated with him were much more assiduous in securing the loaves and fishes, than in rec- tifying errors which had arisen from time and obsolete usages. Some few changes were made, and perhaps the most important, the restricting the award of death to three or four crimes only ; so that the perp ; ..tors, if discovered, are certain of meet- ing Jieir reward. We have, I think, in Britain sixty or seventy different cases in which a like sentence is recorded ; and then to obviate the reproach, that our laws were written with blood instead of ink, not above one out of three hun- dred condemned to capital punishment is left for execution. The Anglo-Americans still have however their John Does, Richard Roes, and other legal fic- tions ; and judges who are quite deaf and almost childish from age, are still allowed to exercise their high functions^ because there is no ade- 93 quate pension appropriated to their retirement from office. Gentlemen of large landed property are some- times distinguished by the name of their estate, which sounds very aristocratical ; and the title of squire is very commonly given to the owner of the best house, but whether as the justice of peace or not, I could not ascertain. By the bye, I am told, very strange sort of characters, and men whose attainments are not suited to the situation, sometimes get appointed magis- trates in the republic. » It may be so : for I know a wealthy county in England where, since the obloquy thrown on the unpaid magistracy, and Lord Sidmouth's neglect in supporting gentlemen who had ac- cepted the commission, the almost only active member of the bench is so illiterate, as to have written the following mandate against a culprit, Hugh Hughes : — '^ U'll take U Us, an hav ini well wiped." In those parts of the Union I have visited, the people appeared as healthy and robust as with us, and the only peculiarity I remarked was, the number who had weak eyes and wore spectacles. . . . That they have every reason to be a happy people, and really are so, I think no candid traveller will deny. But they certainly are not 94 cheerful, seldom laughing or talking with each other or strangers, unless first spoken to ; and the drivers of coaches or masters of boats, al- though in the employment of the same person, rarely notice each other in passing. The French say, John Bull sometimes becomes lively and good-humoured when well jolted in a stage : but such is not the case with these re- publicans, who are so intent on calculations of profit and loss, as to have no time for commu- nicativeness. ' ' One circumstance I cannot forgive, the un- grateful indifference, nay oblivion, with which all classes of the community treat the memory of Washington : he still has some admirers un- doubtedly, and Boston as well as Baltimore has a monument to his honour. But if it were not that the Federative city is called Washington, I do not believe his name would be uttered in society from year's end to year's end. Neither do the revolutionary soldiers appeal to have been treated with liberality, according to the statements which are frequently inserted in the newspapers; for though some of the officers got grants of land instead of their arrears of pay, the privates received no remu- neration. What a contrast to the splendid re- ception and gifts bestowed on the Marquis Lafayette ! ^ 96 On quitting Buffalo, I proceeaed to the neat village at Black Rock, and got into a ferry- boat, which is impelled by four horses treading on a horizontal wheel, which gives motion to the paddles ; but such was the rapidity of the river, that though not, I think, half a mile wide in that part, the boat was carried three quarters of a mile down the stream in crossing. I landed on the Canadian shore, close to the ruins of Fort Erie, and found a neat coach ready to convey the passengers along an excellent road to this hotel. . , Yours most truly, &c. > <■.,*.., '1 . » - » '■!■- ?i i -.50 Ci b LETTER VII. FALLS OF NIAGARA — TUMULUS OF SKELETONS — LATB WAR- ANECDOTES — INDIAN WARFARE. Falls of Niayara, June 12, 1827. DEAR Those who visit this wonder of nature, sliould certainly take up their residence on the Cana- dian side, in one of the two capital hotels built in situations commanding* views of the torrent. I doubt whether the most faithful delineation with the pencil could give any tolerably just idea of the mighty scene below ; at least, those sketches I have seen are stiff, unpleasing, and unworthy of the subject. Nor is it easy to write a description, and I must beg your in- dulgence before I make the attempt, for if I give way to the feelings excited by what I now see from my window, you will laugh at me as an enthusiast; and as I cannot shake off those feelings, I find it difficult to embody them in proper language. When I first arrived at the cataract I was 97 was disappointed : I could nnt tell why, or vviiat ideas my iniagiiiatioii had i^ ^lerly conjured up; but the breadth of the object took off from its apparent height; and then its being curved in- stead of straight, seemed to diminish its vast- ness, and the fall was not in one expanse, but divided by an island of some extent. The longer I gazed, however, the more accustomed my eye became to the magnificence of the scene; and the more capable of appreciating the various beauties of the parts, and the sublimity of the whole. On the eastern side a small stream has been separated from the larger by a mass of rock, and forms a fall called Montmorenci. It is between the two great ones, and on so grand a scale is every thing around, I for some time considered it a mere silvery ribbon, undeserving of much notice ; but on further examination, I acknowledged that the Falls of the Clyde would appear very insignificant by its side. Stairs are constructed against the precipitous cliffs : foot-paths, seats, and ferry-boats have been provided; in short, all that could gratify the most insatiable curiosity, and I made nnple use of these conveniences in my rambles, find- ing at each point some nevf beauties to admire. When the sun was bright, I nave seen three distinct rainbows playing their various hues on H 98 the ever-changing form of the milk-white mist ; which sometimes towers liigh into the air, at others is driven down the stream, forming a transparent or impenetrable curtain, according to the denseness of the vapour. In thick or rainy weather a gloom overspreads the whole prospect; and at night, if the moon shines out, it lends a softness and indistinctness to every object, which is quite charming. But on every occasion the same deep, solemn roar, unvarying and unchangeable, tells that the accumulated waters of the western re^rions are pouring be- fore me. Very soon after quitting Lake Erie, the river is divided into two channels by some large islands, but the streams unite again about four miles above the cataract, forming a considerable expanse, broken by woody headlands and inlets. The water is clear as crystal, very deep, and supposed to continue so to within less than a mile of the precipice ; while the surface is smooth and silent, flowing onward with p swiftness quite appalling to those who have seen the gulf ?"> near at hand. Se^ eral individuals are recorded to have been arned down the current within the last few years; some by having attempted to row across the rivor a few miles above, when they became terrified at the rapid descent of their boat, and 99 gulf lost all further power of exertion ; others by falling" asleep in their canoes, which by some accident got adrift and floated down. It is as- serted, that even the small sleam-boat which plies from the Chippewa Creek to Fort Erie had li very narrow escape last summer. As the immense moving body of water ap- proaches the rocks which render its bed quite shallow, it takes a bend, and becomes nnich narrowed; so that its endeavour to force u pas- sage over the impediment it now meets, is at- tended with a violence unexampled, and a noise almost deafening : and the rocks being of lime- stone, have been worn into ridges and hollows which dash back the foaming waves, rendering the agitation still more terrible. The slope down which the river here preci- pitates itself for the extent of nearly a mile^ is so very abrupt and imposing ; that if the per- pendicular fall did not exist, these rapids alone w ould be the grandest cataract in the universe. The great Fall of Niagara is in the form of a fish-hook. The eastern sheet of three hundred and eighty yards, with the line precipice of Goat Island crowned with timber three hundred and thirty yards, make the shank; while t \e larger sheet, called the Horse-shoe, of seven hundred yards, may be represented by the curved portion of the hook. The hei^^ht in a H2 100 hundred and sixty fee. , and the quantity of water dashed over each minute, has been computed at one million seven hundred and one thousand five hundred and sixty-two tons and a half. Some visitors prefer a station on the very edge of the abyss, so as to lo:)k down on the falling water; others go further along the cliffs, so as to have a front view ; but I think the ca- taract is seen to greatest advantage from the boat when crossing the river. The ferry is so close, and the water so agitated, as to have a frightful appearance ; but it is at that spot quite safe, while lower down the stream, even as far as Queenston, a boat would inevitably be dashed to pieces. The river is projected over the ledge in one unbroken sheet of water, and \7ith such force as to leave a space of about fifty feet between it and the rock. Into this extraordinary cavern the guide has formed a path along the top of the slippery, shelving stones which have tumbled from the wall; and on it the visitor must walk, blinded by the spray, wetted to the skin, and rendered deaf by the horrible noise. If your breath does not entiitily fail, it is pos- sible to advance thirty or forty yards along this singular footway; and almost as much more over a smooth ledge of rock, terminating in an abyss of such depth as to render further pro- 101 gress impossible. The light of the sun pene- trates dimly through the falling curtain of this unique grotto; the roof is masses of limestone, jutting out from the precipice, and which are continually worn away by the torrent, so that Mr. Forsyth, of the hotel, assures me the Horse-shoe Fall has receded about a hundred yards during the forty-two years he has resided near it. Perilous as a walk under the Fall appears to be, there is not in reality much danger. I^adies continually venture during the summer months ; and many persons go to catch the eels, which are found in great numbers sticking to the rock. In winter the scene, I am told, has its own peculiar beauties. Enormous pieces of ice float down from Lake Erie, and are dashed over with terrific violence ; the spray gets frozen and at- tached to the trees and rocks, resembling tur- retted castles, columns, every variety of shape ; wild fowl get entangled in the rapids during dark nights, and are picked up below, either killed or with broken wings; and it would seem there is a strong current of air as well as water at the brink of the cataract, for birds flying near it are often seen to fall as if powerless, re- covering the use of their wings before they reach the bottom. 102 The Eastern or American Fall is not so tre- mendously awful as the other ; but there is a wooden bridge to Goat Island just above it, where you can stand in the centre of the rapids and see the water tumble towards you in billows of foam. Why it does not sweep the frail tim- ber on which you stand over the precipice, is almost incomprehensible; but it glides close under. The man who first constructed this bridge must have had nerves and talents rarely excelled. One or two rocky islets amid these rapids add greatly to the picturesque effect. Under the shady foliage of one is an apartment for billiardSj refreshments, and specimens of petri- factions ; on another is a water-wheel ; and under the lofty trees of Goat Island itself, a number of most agreeable walks have been laid out. ' ' I know it is the custom to talk of man sinking into insignificance beside the mighty works of nature ; but I beg to differ on this subject. If it is meant, that the works of man become insig- nificant by comparison, I agree to the truth ; but I never think human nature so ennobled as when I view the wonders of that world which has been Sfiven it as an inheritance. The Falls of Nia- gara and other sublime objects make me more feelingly alive to the power and goodness ol 103 :mg the Supreme Being, but certainly do not cause me to repine at the natural advantages of my species. A military road is now being formed along the Canadian banks of the river ; which if ever finished, and the trees not too much cut away, will afford perhaps the most interesting drive in the known world. Far below the Falls the tor- rent is pent up into narrow limits by lofty woody precipices, so that it rages with a long conti- nuance of rapids, eddies, &c. hollowing out in one place a deep recess, called from its boiling vortex, '' the DeviPs Whirlpool." Not far from this hotel is a remarkable sulphur spring, which on being confined in a tub, and a candle applied, the vapour will burn like gas : there is another at the foot of the cataract, but only lately discovered. Seven miles westward of hence, the Welland Canal is now being excavated : it will be thirty-five miles long, is to cany vessels drawing eight feet water, and must rise three hundred and fiftv or three hundred and sixty feet between the Lakes Ontario and Erie. In the same direction the present governor of Upper Canada has a house and grounds much in the English cottage style; and from which is an extensive prospect to the northward, over woody flats and the far-spread- ing lake. ^ I was conducted to the highest part of the 104 small hills, which continue from Queenston to where a tumulus had been found some years back full of human skeletons ; and I saw many bones, but could not trace any remains of a ditch or rampart. A much larger pile of skeletons has been cut through in laying out the streets of Columbus Town in Ohio ; and others are re- ported to exist along the banks of the Ohio and Mississippi, near those ancient entrenchments I formerly mentioned. Some insist they are the remains of a civilized people, exterminated by Indian hordes from Asia who fled thence at the time of the Maho- metan conquests ; others consider they belonged to Prince Madoc and his Welsh followers in the twelfth century ; many higenious disquisitions are also to be found in Governor Clinton's Treatise on American Antiquities : but I believe the only well-authenticated historical facts on which all these pretty superstructures have been raised, are the existence of pyramids in Mexico, and the re- fusal of Montezuma and some of his chiefs to resist Cortez, because he had come from the land of their forefathers. What a pity it is, some expert craniologist does not cross the Atlantic to inspect the skulls ! for he could doubtless tell us, whether their possessors had been red, white, black, or tawny men, and so clear up the mystery. . ^ 105 In the vicinity of the Falls of Niagara are likewise the fields of battle of Chippewa, Lundy Lane, and other sangninary contests in 1814; at all of which it would seem much animosity was shown, and the drubbing tolerably equally divided. So little was it anticipated the American go- vernment would push matters to extremity, that when the war broke out, only one British bat- talion was stationed in the extensive district of Upper Canada; but General Brock was uni- versally beloved, and when he called on the young men to come and defend the frontier, they flocked with spirit to his standard. That gallant officer was killed in a skirmish, much la- mented by both parties ; and a handsome column has been erected to his memory on Queenston heights, near the spot where he fell. As reinforcements arrived, villages w^ere burnt, first on one side of the river, then on the other, each army declaring they only did it in retaliation; but what officers of either nation have assured me they thought equally disgraceful and ineffi- cient, was the employment of Indians. A chief, named Tecumseh, renowned for his superior acquirements and influence, went even to the rocky mountains of the West, persuading the tribes, that now was the opportunity, by as- sisting their Great Red Father, to exterminate 106 those who wrongfully held possession of their forests and hunting-grounds. Nearly six thousand warriors were thus induced, I hear, to follow him to the scene of warfare ; and an English officer of rank declared to me, that they were one con- stant source of uneasiness and annoyance, by their habits of insubordination, drunkenness, and contemptuous rejection of rations on the most frivolous pretexts. The Americans on their side brought up In- dians from the south ; and a body far more for- midable and equally ferocious, the back-woods- men with their rifles. Tecumseh's troops were almost annihilated, through the obstinacy of a British commander, who insisted on their fighting in an open space, instead of availing themselves, as accustomed, of the thickets and trees. The chief himself was shot down after displaying much bravery; and an American told me, the flesh was cut into strips from the body almost before life was ex- tinct, and carried off" as trophies of the event. *' But," continued the narrator, " those back- woodsmen are worse than the savages they hunt and murder ; they have nothing of the true Yankee breed in them; they are, in short, blood- thirsty Irish." So you see, poor Pat gets accused, let him mix with what nation he may. Lord Chatham's famous speech against the 107 employment of Indians^ is said to have made his hearers shudder at the possibility of atrocities, which ill those days could only be very limited in extent; but now that the United States contain a population of twelve millions, and women with children are as numerous hundreds of miles in the interior as they then were around Boston or Philadelphia, what man would willingly load his conscience with such a reflection, as that of having been accessary to letting the savages loose. The Indian's glory consists in killing as many as possible without injury to himself; therefore, he naturally seeks the scalps of women and chil- dren in preference to those of men, because the latter may prove more powerful or more for- tunate than himself in the encounter. Yours sincerely, &c. (. '. 108 LETTER VIII. NIAGARA TOWN— YORK— LAKE ONTARIO— KINGSTON — RAPIDS OF ST. LAWRENCE— ERROR IN FIXING BOUNDARIES— CAUSES OF DISCONTENT IN UPPER CANADA — MONTREAL — RIVER RICHELIEU— FRENCH CANADIANS— CONSTITUTION OF CANADA. St. John's Village^ Lower Canada ^ June 28» 1827. , DEAR *• The tract on the Niagara river being one of the oldest settlements in Upper Canada^ has a large strip of land in excellent cultivation and good orchards ; but is without any signs of recent im- provement: no acres lately cleared of wood, with the stumps sticking up to show progressive industry, are there seen ; the houses are usually old, unpaiiited, wooden ones, and the furniture neither so good or convenient as in the opposite state. On the ruins of Fort George, a town of 1200 inhabitants has been entirely built since the last war; it is called Niagara, is well laid out with wide unpaved streets, and the houses being new and painted white, have a cheerful, neat appear- ance. It contains several good inns, and till the troops were removed was very thriving, as no 109 less a sum than 4000/. per month was paid out by the commissariat department alone. At pre- sent I understood the chief employment to be, a contraband trade in tea and some other ar- ticles, which are cheaper in Canada than the United States. Tiie gardens, orchards, &c. were all destroyed when Fort George was taken. On the opposite side of the river, on a small peninsula jutting into the lake, is the old French Fort of Niagara ; in which the strong stone house with a high j)eaked roof, and some other build- ings, have rather a striking effect. It is now abandoned as a fortress, and the soldiers with- drawn to Washington ; for I believe the repub- lican government keeps up a small standing army of 6000 men. A steam-boat runs daily from Niagara town to the seat of government at York, a distance of thirty-six miles across the lake ; and returns at night. This latter place is low and unhealthy, but some new military roads have been made from it to Fort Maldon at the western end of Lake Erie, and other important points, so as to keep open the communication between the set- tlements. Other boats run to Kingston at the north-east end of Ontario, and besides passengers carry great quantities of flour secured in barrels. This lake is a hundred and eighty miles by forty. no and in one part seventy broad ; the depth is ge- nerally five hundred feet, the water quite clear and well tasted, with a great variety of fine fish. It is subject to most tremendous storms, when the quickness with which the waves follow each other, causes vessels to labour heavily and run much danger : in winter it is never quite frozen over. That portion of Canada which forms its north- ern shore appeared to be of a poor, sandy soil, abounding in fir and cedar trees, and scarcely with any houses or cleared spaces. Two or three woody islands are found in its waters, but I believe very few shoals or rocks, and no cur- rent or tide is visible, though after the melting of the snow its surface rises considerably. Kingston is in a very pleasmg situation on a small hill sloping from a creek, and commands an extensive prospect. Its streets are straight and wide, though not paved ; it has 4000 people, and some of its houses are built of brick or stone. On the opposite side of the creek is the royal dock-yard, with neat ranges of buildings for the shipwrights and workmen, a good resi- dence for the commissioner, barracks, and some strong batteries and forts. One one-hundred-and-ten-gun ship, two se- venty-fours, a frigate, and some other vessels, left agreeable to the terms of the late treaty, are Ill fast decaying; as is a hundred-and-twenty-gun ship, and several smaller ones in the rival and opposite dock-yard of Sacket's Harbour. The Americans do not keep up any establishment there whatever. Soon after quitting Kingston, the St. Lawrence begins to run rather rapidly between the beau- tiful-looking granite islets which rise above its surface in every direction. The whole scene is highly picturesque, on account of the waving fo- liage which commonly shades the rocks ; and it is called the passage of the Thousand Islands, though their number amounts to one thousand seven hundred. Cultivation did not seem to ha\ e made much progress on either side the SL Lawrence, until the steam-boat arrived at the thriving little town of Prescot, where all goods are landed, and put on board flat-bottomed boats. The neat town of Ogdensburg is on the New York side of the river ; which is there one mile\nd a half wide, rapid, and often tempestuous. The banks of the St. Lawrence are thirty or forty feet above the stream ; and along the Ca- nadian side, a good road runs for fifty miles to the village of Cornwall, through a well culti- vated slip of land, from which, perhaps, after all, the rapids can be seen to greatest advantage. But I M^as determined to try some of them in an 112 opiMi boat, ami soon K uiul inysclf ])ast tboso calliMl i\\v (iallo|), wliiili are short aiul not much ajjitatctl. Tho no\t rapiil was two mih's in lon«i»th, ami iiuich inoiv hi^islcroMs; lait tht* thirtl, uaiiKMl •* lion;L»*uo Saut," is by Car tlio j^raiulest am! most (hinj»vrous. 'V\\v Ih»iI of thi» rivor is thtMV not only unuli t'ontnutoiL but ilividiMl l>v iu» ishuul intt) two channels, thronj^h vvliich tho watt»r pours on a stot»|» (h'sront tor nino i.iiUvs ; w indin^- amono^ rotks nnd round abrupt turnings, >vith wliirl- pools, and o(hU(»s, anil waves ilashinj»" against iMuh othor from rvory ilircction. 'r!io Ixnit I was in took just halt' an hour in shoot inu' il()wn tho distance; but I was assured that ** batteauv '* lieavily laden wouhl ^lide the nine miles in tilteen or twenty minutes. The i'onnneneeinent of that rapid is bad; but the worst spot is Avhere thi» Northern or Lost Chan- nel unit »s with the other near the bottom, tor there the waves eontinually break over the boat and half till it w ith water. This (excursion on the St. liawreme, in addi- tion to the novel, anvl somewhat alarmiui*' appear- ance o\' tilt* rapids, is rendered deliohtl'ul by the i»reen-sward and nark-like scenery ot^en witnessed on its banks ; and il the water is tolerably hioh, there is no danger oi' an at cident with a steady 113 pilot, who knou'M tho ilooposi clmnnrl. Tlu> soutluM'ii or AiiuMi('j\!i sido oC llu* counlrv doos not stHMii to ho iiniili sottlod yt^t ; and some of the lioudhuids in that torritorv wlmo roully bouu- tilul. Cornwall is n noat and thriving' villa^o, with u nnu^h hotter inn than at IVoscot, and a steam- boat which navig-att»s hiivo St. Trancis, a part of the river so (udU»d (Voni its l)(Mng' spread ov'm* a width of seven mih's, and ihversilied witli several woody islands. The shores on iMieh side are low, the (tiengarry settlement extending* abcmt thirty miles along* the northern, and tlu* Indian village St. Regis, which is the boundary of the United States, being* to the south, with the moun- tains of Lake Champlain appearing; in the i\\v distance over it. • On landing* at the villag;e ot*'* Ootean de Lac," 1 was in Lower Canada; and will theretbrt^ now give yon such particulars concerning* the state of the upper province, as I have been able to learn iVom apparently good authority; always pro mising*, that a travcMer is geueraily led into many errors bv contradictorv and prtMudiced infonua- tiou. I'pper (-anada is su()posed at Ihis uuiukmU to contain 180,000 people, ol'vhidi more than one hair are emigrants iVouj the llnited States, many 114 of Wliorii came in with their parents as early as General Simcoe's proclamation at the end of the revolutionary war. Among the whole of these much dissatisfaction prevails, on account of some late resolutions of the Legislatui'e respecting oaths of allegiance, oaths of abjuration of other governments, and deeds of naturalization. The first they declare they have already taken repeatedly, particularly on three occasions during the last war, but do not care if they take it ag^ain. The second oath they object to, because many hold lands in the United States, which they fear to loof^e, and because Englishmen are allowed to hold pt-operty all the World over, without their government interfering: but to be called on to admit themselves aliens is the great griev- ance. They assert, some limitation ought to be made ; such, for instance, as including those only who have entered Canada since the con- clusion of the late war ; for it is absurd, that those who have fought and bled in defence of the frontier, who have received commissions, and now hold pensions for wounds, or as half pay, she rid all at once be told they do not belong to the country. Thty represent it as a trick of the present members of the House of Assembly, who by thus getting temporary possession of their free- 115 holds, will deprive great numbers of the right of voting at the approaching election, and so ensure their own return. Another class of the inhabitants deeply resent some former attempts to provide for a national church by tithes, and fear bills of a similar nature may be again brought forward : they also want to know how the money paid by settlers as fees is appiopriated ; viz. twenty-seven dol- lars for every deed of one hundred acres, se- venty-five dollars for two hundred acres, and so in proportion; and affirm positively, that the present regulations respecting grants of land occasion much fraud, and great detriment to the colony. I should imagine the greatest evil to be, the total separation which I hear exists between the various people who compose the scanty po- pulation. Thus the Americans, Scotch, English, and some Dutch a\id Germans have no other interest in common than thwarting each other as much as possible. Two Pennsylvanian farmers who have been travelling through the western countries appa- rently on a mission of inspection, assured me that a finer tract of land could not be found in all America than that part of Upper Canada, which extends along the northern shore of Lake Erie ; but that in the one ot two comfortable 13 116 villa^^^es they found there, the occupiers seemed quite satisfied with what they then had, without any attempts being made at improvement. A Canadian Land Company has lately been formed in Great Britain, but I believe sufficient time has not yet elapsed to judge of the progress it is likely to make, or whether the terms will be more favourable than those of the Holland Company in the state of New York. A Scotch gentleman is the resident agent. I must not omit remarking on the extraordinary oversight which the British commissioners ap- pointed to fix the boundary line of the two nations, have committed on the St. Lawrence. By hav- ing ceded the majority of islands below Prescot, the United States Government has the means of erecting batteries on both sides the only na- vigable channel ; and in other places, the breadth of the river has been so equally divided, and the depth of water so little considered, that scarcely six inches draught can float along the British half. The American commissioners knew personally the localities and navigation of the river ; aud the advantage they gained is not of such trivial im- portance as may at first appear ; for already the republicans talk of the injustice of British subjects navigating their side of the St. Lawrence, unless a free passage is allowed to the citizens of the United States, as far as Montreal,[Quebec, and 117 the Ocean. This is one strong reason why canals are now being cut^ or recommended in the Canadas, to avoid all parts impeded by rapids, or within the territory of New York. From '' Couteau de Lac" to the village and rapids of Cedars, the road passes along a well- cultivated country, where the language spoken is a French patois ; and by a contented healthy- looking peasantry, who are evidently resolved to leave things in the same state as their fathers left them. At the foot of the Cascade Rapids, the great river Ottawa joins its muddy stream to the transparent waters of the St. Lawrence; but they flow some distance before mingling together. Another steam-boat stationed at that point, conveys travellers to the village and rapids of ^' La Chine," seven miles from Montreal, having run over a part of the river called Lake '^ St. Lewis.' Montreal is situated below all the rapids which impede the navigation of the St. Lawrence ; and amid a rich and beautiful scene of cultivation, which extends to a distance unusual in America, and proves it to be an old established settlement. The city has narrow streets stretching a consi- derable distance along the river, but neither well cleaned nor well paved; the houses are generally small, but of stone, and covered with tin roofs, to prevent accidents by fire, which reflects the sun's rays in a most painful manner. 118 To the northward of the town is a high hill ; and several handsome country houses are scat- tered about in the vicinity. The churches and monasteries are not remarkable for architecture ; but a fine cathedral is now being built by the catholics to supersede the ancient one. The court-house and jail are substantial build- ings, \yith a good parade for the garrison behind the latter ; a monument to Nelson, surmounted by his statue, is in tolerable taste ; and there is also a theatre, a circus, and some barracks. The markets are abundant, and many of the shops well supplied with goods, arranged with consi- derable taste. The hotels are excellent. I know no city where a more convenient or handsome quay might be constructed, as a saifi- cient space has been left along the St. Lawrence, which is there two miles across ; but the road at present is little better than a mass of filth, from one end to the other; in short, the town not being incorporated, has no competent authorities; and as the French inhabitants resolutely oppose all innovations or improvements, it has not made that progress which its wealth and population of 25,000 residewts would seem to warrant. A small island just below Montreal, and ap- propriated to the ordnance department, is de- lightfully shaded with trees, and laid out iq walks, drives, &c. That qjiarming spot used, until very 119 recently, to be the favourite resort of all such respectable inhabitants as ccAd hire a boat ; but the major commanding has no^ offended the whole neighbourhood, by restricting the walk to those who may obtain his permission. It can scarcely be called fortified, as there are only two breastworks towards the river. Among other novelties an order has lately arrived from the Master-General of the ordnance in London, forbidding officers of the engineers from complying with any requisitions of the local government, respecting improvements, maps, surveys, &,c. unless they judge their tune and duties will not be too much interfered with. This is giving a most comfortable degree of latitude to the corps, and I should imagine is an infringe- ment on the powers vested in the king's repre- sentative in Canada. A steam-boat runs down to Quebec in twenty- four hours, and back in thirty-six ; but you have so often read accounts of that city, its beautiful situation, fortifications, and neighbouring falls of Montmorenci and Chaudier, that I can have no excuse for writing on the subject. A class of men, styled ^' voyageurs," engaged in the lumber or timber trade, deserve particular notice ; because a certain degree of eclat has long been attached to the performance of one or more of those dangerous voyages; so that few 120 youn^ Canadians of the lower ranks settle in life before they can boast of the perils they have thus encountered. By drinking large quantities of spirits they make their bodies almost callous to the snow, frost, water, and scorching heat of these climates ; but their constitutions are undermined, and it is rare for one to arrive at the age of fifty : the oc- cupation being one routine of fatigue, idleness, privations, debauchery, and lawlessness. What these men will undergo as long as they have hope is almost incredible ; but with the French character of great bravery and sudden panics, they quickly despond when entangled in the rapids, and instead of pulling at the oar with vigour, empty the brandy-bottles ; so also, if threatened with famine and want of provisions, all authority and obedience is at an end, and they devour or waste what little is left. Few rafts arrive at Quebec in an uninjured state, and a great many are totally destroyed ; so that taking all these things into consideration, a Canadian gentleman I became acquainted with, who is much attached to his native province, in- sists that the lumber trade, instead of being ad- vantageous to the inhabitants, is the great cause why they make such little progress in modern arts and inventions. The large village ** La Prairie" is nine miles 121 south of Montreal ; and the current runs so rapidly, that the steam-boat crosses slowly enough ; I was two hours making the passage. The level country from thence to the river Richelieu, is entirely cleared and cultivated ; and also as far down as Fort Sorel. The village of Chamble is agreeably situated on a bay of the Richelieu, and at the foot of some dangerous rapids, which are the sole obstacle to the navigation of that river for the largest vessels, from tlie farthest parts of Lake Champlain to the sea. Opposite the vil- lage is a large extent of cultivation, and some rocky isolated mountains of no great extent, but forming a fine background. An ancient square fortress, built by the French, with strong stone walls, is still existing at Cham- ble in tolerable repair, and has more the ap- pearance of a baronial castle than any buildhig I have seen in America. Not far from it are some cavalry barracks, occupied in 1814 by a British regiment of dragoons ; and a few miles beyond it is the village of St. John's, from whence the Champlain steam-boat takes its departure, and where I have found a comfortable inn. This is the limit of cultivation on this side ; as the British frontier post called " Isle aux Noix" is only twelve miles further up the stream. The French Canadians seem a good humoured happy race ; are of the catholic religion ; obstinately 122 averse to any and every change ; and, I am told, very generally ignorant of reading and writing. Even the mode of dress does not appear to have undergone much alteration ; nor could it be wished that the girls, who have often fine dark eyes and pretty features, should discard their present large brimmed straw-hat, placed very backward on one side of their heads. In agriculture they use the old heavy plough ; of rotation in crops they are ignorant — sowing wheat year after year till the ground becomes unproductive, when they let it lie fallow; of manure they either do not know the use, or are too indolent to apply it ; and of turnips none are cultivated either here or in the United States, except in gardens. The Canadian horses are small and ill-looking, but hardy. The sledges driven in winter are so low and badly contrived, that the front pushes on the snow till the accumulation makes a great resist- ance ; when the exertions of the horses pull the machine over the heap, which it thus presses into a solid mass. So the Canadian roads, dur- ing frost, are compared to waves of two feet high, which have suddenly been congealed. - A few winters ago, three sledges were made and driven about the streets of Montreal, to overcome, if possible, tf^e prejudices of the people; one like those commonly used, a second '%s are 123 similar to the excellent ones of the United States, and a third endeavouring to unite the two ex- tremes. On the market ^ays the farmers gazed and admired ; acknowledged the advantage of having two smooth tracks like a rail-road, instead of the former jolting hillocks, and praised the in- vention. But on being desired to adopt the improved machine, Montreal was left without fire-wood or provisions, as nobody would come to the town except in the old way. Each of the Canadas has its upper and lower House of Assembly ; the members of which are elected by the people, and have great privileges, such as raising the monies necessary for local expenses, making laws, &c. which are laid before the governor, for his approval or rejection ; and the filial appeal is to the ministry in London. Alarge annual sum has beenexpended hitherto by the British government in gifts and presents to the Indians, or rather in affording those sa- vages an opportunity of getting drunk for ten days or a fortnight. This, with the fortifications, garrisons, and various other items, has caused an outlay to the Mother Country, of above one million per annum. : ' ■ That they are fine provinces, capable of vast improvements, and may soipe day or other be- come import£^nt, I (}q not deny ; but why they 124 should at this moment be considered of so much value, I really cannot imagine. As an outlet to our surplus population, they have as yet been of no benefit, or why has not the number of their inhabitants increased in proportion, or the marks of progressive industry become more apparent ? Particularly in Upper Canada, which possesses the more temperate climate, and perhaps on the whole the better soil. i In that province I have heard a few persons talk wildly of forming a republic, independent of England and the United States; whereas it is clear, that with their present trifling resources, they must either be a colony of Britain, or a part of the Federation. In Lower Canada there exists an hereditary hatred to the people of the Union ; nor would those who by commercial intercourse have become acquainted with the severe colonial laws now enforced by France in her West India Islands, at all relish the idea of being ruled by that power. Some Canadian gentlemen once told me, they believed the surest way of putting an end to all the existing disputes and animosities would be for Great Britain to threaten a total abandonment of the two provinces, leaving them to their own resources and management. Of one thing I am very certain, that to send out emigrants to these countries, who have been 125 brought up in the hot-bed factories of cotton or woollen J give them hind and an axe/ and say, '' tliere — cut away, work, and become your own master and landlord," must appear little better than cruel irony to those who have seen what an uiicleared wilderness is. In many instances the poor creatures have dragged through that period v^hen provisions and other assistance are allowed by government, and then have taken the first opportunity of selling their allotment of ground to some richer neigh- bour, and abandon the country. j^ ' Yours truly, &c. ;),*•' 126 LETTER IX. LAKE CHAdfPLAlN — IRISH EMIGRANTS — PLATTSBURG — SIR O. PREVOST — LAKE GEORGE — MASSACRE BY THE FRENCH IN 1757--SARATOGA— REFLECTIONS— CLASS OF EMIGRANTS Who SUCCEED BEST. Saratoga, July 10, 1827. DEAR The steara-boat in which I left St. John's, was neatly fitted up, and the charge of conveyance one hundred and fifty miles, with three well- supplied meals was twenty-five shillings, but the time occupied in running that distance was uselessly protracted to twenty-four hours. The river Richelieu is in general about half a mile wide, and the banks on both sides when near the frontiers are covered with thick woods. At the ^^ Isle aux Noix " the British have a small dock-yard, and a strong square fort is being constructed. The position is excellent, as it completely commands the navigation ; but the soil is of so loose and swampy a nature, as scarcely to bear the weight of the ramparts, and I shculd fear it wil) prove an unhealthy aguish post. 127 The line of demarcation between the two na- tions is the 45" of latitude, and at that point a strong stone fortress was erected by the Ame- ricans very recently, but being found a few yards within the British territory, is now aban- doned. We had with us as passengers on the fore- castle a great many poor Irish ; and I understood the boat was always crammed with them, on every voyage from Canada to the United States. They told me on being questioned, it was their intention to proceed to New York, and there petition the English Consul to ship them back to Europe. I suggested, that Montreal or Quebec, being British towns, would have answered their pur- pose better, and been nearer at hand ; but they did not like Canada, was the reply, so they got out of it as fast as possible. Some gentlemen on board suggested, that as most probably these people had been sent out at the government's expense, there was a very natural objection to sending them back again in the same manner, consequently, they went to a city where the fact could not be so easily ascertained. Whether this trick is often practised I of course cannot pretend to form an opinion ; but it in some measure accounts for so many Irish beggars being seen in the streets of Albany, and is worth while enquiring into. 128 Lake Champlain at its commencement is much broken by islands^ some of large extent, others mere rocks^ but all of them covered with timber. The village bearing the same name is seen to the right, and the mountains of Vermont rising 2000 feet, form a fine boundary to the upper end of the water. The bustling little town of Plattsburg is forty miles south of St. John's village, and was rendered remarkable in 1814 by our vessels being defeated, and by Sir George Prevost fairly running away at the head of one thousand three hundred men ; or as an English colonel expresses himself, *^We were long enough iu reaching Plattsburg, but we got back again in one-third of the time." In regard to the naval victory, an American officer who served there says, the contest was long doubtful, and even unfavourable to them at one time, owing to a brig having quitted her position near the Commodore : but a fortunate manoeuvre, and consequent sinking of a British vessel, gave such a turn to the affair as insured them success. " And then," continued he, ^^ we had the unexpected satisfaction of seeing Ge- neral Prevost making a hasty retreat, and long puzzled ourselves with conjectures, as to the cause of his so sudden change in resolutions.*' It would seem that Sir George's great failing was indecision and want of moral courage ; for as to personal bravery, liis bitterest accusers <( we 129 admit he was seldom excelled. One gentleman told me, that he had himself seen General Pre- vostatlhe attack on Sacket's Harbour, when the landing party began to waver, jump on the beach and cry, '' Grenadiers of the regiment, form yourselves on me ! " then lead them to the charge, and take possession of the place. After this gal- lant exploit however, his evil genius prevailed ; and looking for some minutes stedfastly at the surrounding forest, he ordered an immediate retreat. " At the back of Plattsburg commences a long range of hills, running south, which abound in va- luable iron ore, and employ many people. There also, the Lake begins to expand into a surface seven or eight miles wide , and the shores are not only delightfully undulating, but have a thriving appearance of progressive industry and cultiva- tion. Port Kent and other little hamlets line the western shore ; while the handsome town of Bur- lington adds beauty to the other, many of the houses being large, and the population almost 3000. From thence the passage up the lake continually improves; the mountains almost touch the water, only leaving at their base a succession of cultivated knolls and slopes, vary- ing hi height from 100 to 300 feet. It was the most lovely scene I had witnessed on my tour. At Crown Point the French had a strong fort, 130 and another at Ticonderoga ; where an outlet from Lake George affords the traveller an oppor- tunity, if he chooses, by going round some rapids of two miles, to sail over that beautiful sheet of water, and so pass to Saratoga ; instead of con- tinuing with the steam-boat up a deep creek to the village of Whitehall/and thence by the public coach or canal to the city of Albany. Lake George is the most celebrated in North America for its picturesque beauties. Its ex- treme length is thirty-six miles ; its width varies greatly, being sometimes narrowed into a mere river, by the near approach of abrupt mountains and a long projecting headland, and then expand- ing into a surface of several miles, dotted with islands. The water is perfectly clear, and said to be often sixty fathoms deep. The fish are abundant, as by law no nets are allowed to be used; and there are great numbers of green turtle, from three to thirty pounds in weight, whose flesh is excellent, but the shell too soft and thin for making combs or other similar purposes. - It is a complete mountain lake, surrounded oi; every side by steeply rising hills of 800 or 1200 feet in height, which are covered with pines and other wood for building and fuel. The soil in its vicinity is a poor sand, or rock, so that the farms are neither numerous or of much value ; and the 131 forest not only harbours a few panthers and wolves, but is noted for rattle-snakes. I cannot compare Lake George to those of Cumberland and Westmoreland, in precipitous crags, deep glens of shady oaks and watered by a cascade, in parks, cultivation, or the towering peaks of a mountainous outline ; but it is, never- theless, a lovely scene, which will afford ample gratification to every visitor. The village of Caldwell, which is delightfully situated at the southern or upper end of the water, contains several inns, one of which is large and comfortable ; with a steam-boat plying daily, during the summer seasons, to Ticonde- roga and back again. I could pass a month or six weeks much more agreeably there, than in the fashionable town where 1 jow am. On a small hill above Caldwell are the ruins of Fort George, built by the English as a frontier post, when that of William Henry, a few hundred yards to the westward, was destroyed by the French in 1757. This conquest was attended by one of the most disgraceful transactions of any nation on record ; and such was the horror excited, that notwithstanding the lapse of time, and various changes among the inhabitants, the following tradition is still kept up in the vicinity, as well as a strong hatred towards the French. The Marquis Montcalm, Governor of Canada, K 2 132 with 7000 French troops, and rather under 4000 Indians and colonists, suddenly invested the in- trenchment called William Henry, before it was in a proper state for defence ; but the spirited commander, a Colonel Monroe, repulsed every assault during" six days ; when, havhig burst his guns, expended his ammunition, and been twioft refused assistance by General Webb, who was only fourteen miles off with a well-disciplined army of 6000 men, the fort was surrendered on condition of protection to the garrison, and a French escort to the nearest English post. By this agreement, nearly 2000 persons, sol- diers, peasants, women and children, were marched out unarmed ; but before they had pro- ceeded a quarter of a mile, an indiscriminate massacre, with circumstances of unprecedented barbarity, was commenced. Monroe rushed back to the Marquis, and upbraided his treachery, insisting that the escort ought to be compelled to interfere ; but Montcalm declared himself and troops were afraid the Indians might attack them also. After much expostulation and entreaty, with remarks on the French soldiers being twice as numerous as their savage allies, their general was absolutely shamed into exertions ; but it was almost too late, 1500 had already been scalped. 133 Montcalm, in 1759^ died at the head of his troops, bravely defending Quebec against Ge- neral Wolfe. But, after the above atrocious action, he was undeserving of so gallant a fate, and ought rather to have been hanged at the gate of that city. The American novelist, Mr. Cooper, has given an interesting and faithful account of the above massacre, with descrip- tions of the cowardly nature of Indian warfare, in his work called ^^ The Last of the Mohicans." It is said that General Webb was never pun- ished for his refusal to assist Colonel Monroe and his garrison, because the immense distance between the colonies and the mother country precluded the government from learning the truth. This and many similar instances are ad- duced, to show that the very best of men are unfit to rule over any country which is removed several thousand miles from them. The land between Lake George and Saratoga is generally sandy, and covered with pine forests; but it is broken into hill and dale, and a ridge of low mountains bounds the western prospect. At the large village of Glenn's Falls, on the Hud- son, that river has a very picturesque appear- ance, for its dark lime rocks are worn into various shapes and fissures, over which the water forms a highly beautiful cascade of forty feet. The existence of several ruinous-looking saw- 134 mills and a dam, with v^ii old wooden bridge, and the want of trees, have tended to destroy much of the romantic natnre of this scene ; but it forms, with Baker's Falls, three miles lower down, where the Hudson rushes down a precipice of seventy- six feet, a most delightful morning's excursion from this place. To those who have time and inclination for rambles, the banks of the Hudson, for many- leagues above Glenn's Falls, winding its devious way amid mountains and opposing rocks, will afford a continual variety of solitary and charm- ing scenes. The river continues eighty or a hundred yards wide, a very long distance, with occasional cascades and rapid descents; and, if my information is correct, the best shooting countrv in the State of New York is to be found among the sources of that great stream. Saratoga has become, within the last ten years, the Cheltenham or Buxton of the United States, on account of a strongly effervescing saline spring, the waters of which are by no means unpleasant vO drink, and are thought highly sa- lutary from the quantity of fixed air they contain. The spot was disclosed to the governor by an Indian, as much as seventy years ago, and the sprhig then used was reserved for public accom- modation, when the land was granted to set- tlers; but the superior quality of the newer-found 135 sources, particularly that called Congress Water, has thrown the ancient one into disrepute, and none drink at it, except those who do not wish to pay for the privilege. Saratoga is laid out in one long wide street, which has a most cheerful appearance; for though all the houses, with one single excep- tion, are built of wood, yet, being neatly painted, and having columns and verandas, overgrown with woodbine, clematis, &c., the whole town is pleasing iid gay. Besides several dozen board- ing and lodging-houses, inns, &c., there are thr hotels on the most extensive scale, each having accommodation for nearly three hundred visitors, in addition to baths and billiard tables. The furniture and fitting up is handsome, the tables well supplied, and wines, with all other luxuries, may be had on calling for. The proprietors of these hotels take it by turns to give nightly balls, with good bands of music stationed in the gardens ; and they enforce such excellent regulations, by turning any person out of the three houses, who misconducts himself in either, that, although the company consists of all classes, very few quarrels take place. The season this year is uncommo.ily backward, by reason of the cold weather in May, and there- fore I have not seen Saratoga in all its glory of crowds and fashion ; which I lament exceedingly^ 136 because families from every part of the Union, even from New Orleans, three thousand miles off, are said to frequent its healing waters. The roads about this neighbourhood are sandy, the country poor but undulating; and among the many agreeable rides, is that to the charm- ing little lake of Saratoga, where an unexpected scene of rich farms and pastoral beauty is dis- played. A few miles further, is the neat village of Ballston, with some large handsome hotels for visitors to the springs of that place. The soil about there is richer, and has evidently been much longer under cultivation ; but the houses are often unpainted, and have not that clean, comfortable appearance of the newer settle- ments to the west. One reason given me was, that the occupiers were generally tenants in- stead of owners, the farms in that quarter being very extensive. The hire of a labourer, they told me, was fifteen shillings a-week, besides meals. Another excursion, and very naturally a fa- vourite one with the American public, is to the remains of Fort Edward, and thence to Bemiss Heights, where, on October 17, 1777, General Burgoyne aid a British army of 6000 men, were compelled to surrender to General Gates. A road from thence runs along the side of the Hudson to Waterford, a fine village, and so on to the Cohoes Falls, and Albany, iu 137 in- I much fear this will be the last letter I shall be able to send you from America, at least as far as regards the continuance of my tour, for circumstances seem likely to prevent my excur- sion from Albany to Boston, and thence through Hartford to New York. ' I regret this disappointment the more, because I am assured the towns and scenery, in both Massachusetts and Connecticut, are well worth a visit ; and that in the villages, I should often observe the two or three shady trees planted on the parish green, as used so commonly to be the case in England before the Inclosure Act. Allow me to fill up this paper by indulging in a few reflections, which, after the many hundred miles 1 have passed over, and the gratification and kindness I have experienced, may, I think, be deemed pardonable, if not absolutely called for. In the United States, the best feelings of the heart and the understanding are constantly called into play, by the sight of a well-fed, well-clothed, industrious people, without beggary, or fears of having too large a family ; and never did I feel so proud of being an Englishman, as while travelling through the vast territories of this republic. True, it is no longer a part of the British em- pire ; but it WLS an English colony, and it is, in 138 language, manners, dress, customs, laws, almost government, a second England. No similar ex- ample exists in history. Where are the colonies of the Egyptians and Phoenicians, of Greece and of Rome ? Modern nations may, perhaps, dispute as to which language and code of laws most nearly resemble those of the ancients. But in what part of the world do those people still exist ? Not in Greece ; not in Italy ; for, even in language, the Spanish more nearly approaches the pure Latin than the present dialects of either Rome or Tuscany. '-• ♦ u \ >. If Britain shall follow the law of nations, and, like all other powerful dominions, shall sink into insignificance and ruin, she will still live in a por- tion of America as large as half Europe. Pro- bably she will appear also in the vast settlements of New Holland, which will, no doubt, likewise free themselves from the tutelage of a govern- ment situated on the other side of the globe. .» And does the mother country really lose, by her colonies becoming suflBciently rich and pow- erful to declare themselves independent? I believe such ideas are becoming very generally exploded ! Her pride is wounded, her power is somewhat humiliated ; and human nature will not tolerate such injuries without a struggle. But when time has obliterated those causes of 139 animosity, who is it tliat loses by the cliange ? Those only who have enjoyed the patronage of making governors, coninuindants, judges, and the numerous placemen of a colonial government. It is said that not a single British colony pays its expenses ! Now let any man look back to what was the annual expenditure in this country, and call to mind the necessary increase which must have taken place, had we preserved the territory ; and I think he will acknowledge, that by paying their own fleets and armies and go- vernment, and trading with our ports to the amount of many millions a-year, these worthy citizens have conferred a most important benefit on England. In regard to liberty of person an(' security of property, these republicans are not one jot better off than ourselves in Britain : each change of President creates great civil dissensions, which must increase in proportion to the number of wealthy and powerful candidates ; an evil avoided by our having an hereditary dynasty. But what seems strange, is the complaint of many here, that the election by ballot is found to be quite as open to bribery and corruption as our ^' viva voce" system. Three great advantages the inhabitants of the Union do certainly enjoy over us ; they have no excise, no tithes, and no game laws. All car- 110 prniors, Miirksniitlis, wlu'ohvripflHM, luorltanirH, lahoui'tM's, ill sliort all >vlio ^t't a livcliliood hy tho work ofllicir own haiuls (t»\«M'|)t stMloiilary iiiaiui- lachinM-s) will l)rin^ up a largo laiiiily \\vrv with iiiort' lacilily and ooinlort than in Kn^lancl ; hut rarnuM.s who have Ixmmi rontiup; (o tho {uuoiiut of IT)!)/, or *2(K)/. a-ytMU', and all those wln» havo IxMMi more acrustonuMl to supcrintond and di- rect otluM's than wcu'k thoiusolvos, will linriMMngahie to mount their hacks, and ride about their lields to see all was right, as they used to do wIhmi let«seholders in l<]ngland, they mu.st now strip oiVtlieir eoats, and join in the work ot* the few labourers they have Ixmmi lueky enough to hiri\ <»r else not a spade or a pitehlbrk will be moved. " Those eursed fellows," eontiuu<*d the rom- plaiuauts, " eall themselves ludpers — not ser- vants ; and devilish little they do help us, for we have to load nu)st of our earts ourselves." With respeet to the nuMnis this country pos- sesses, of providing during any long period for the rapidly-inereasing population which is pour- ing in from all sides, a gentleman who has been surveying a line of road to tlio Paci'»<', informs mo thai the gcncrul clmructcr of the land bo- f* 111 voiuHlio Missouri is sttM'ilo ; und licdors not • lliiiik iluMriihal parts ol'llic ('oiiliiuMil ran vwv Ix' lliii'kly peopled: lail licyoiul i\w ^vvwi wvM- vvw iiKMiiiluiiis a iVuiHul tract exists, mIucIi Ik* hn|>|)()S(\s will he ({iiickly ()V(M'S|)r(M)(l hy tlio tlou- risliing- sctthMiirnts on (N)liiiul)ia ri\rr. Tlio ;i»n'al Stale «»!' Now \'(»rk lias now alxmt two millions of inliahitants, lint could (Misily uunntain tixc or six tinus that nuuilicr: otlar states uiaN possibly be as productive, and of (Mpial territory ; but. alter all, it is idle perhaps to write on a subject so dependent on politic id events; lor so various, and in many cases «ippo- h''{\ WW the interests td' the ililVerent mendu '.s id' this l<'ederatiou, that the l^iiicm hau^s by a men* thread ; and I lirndv ludieve it is tin* tear of their slaves alone whicii has pr«"\entiM| tin* Southern States from s<»puratin)4' themselves belbre this. With the sineer(^ wish that the wide waters