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  • .»*'.4>- y errata ed to int ne pelure, ipon d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 NOTES ON THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. PHILADELPHIA. rKINTES AT THX OTFICE OF THE VMITSD STATES 6AZETTC. 1806. ip \ \ 1 i Monday morning f nth Nov* 1806. My dear Sir, IN answer to your inquiries resp-^cting the United States of America, I send ou the enclosed notes which you may communicate to any of your friends who may be prompted by curiosity or interest to seek information on the subjects to which you referred. You will, however, take notice, that I do not aspire at the character of an author, and therefore the hints now sent are not to be published. I am, With esteem and respect. Your obedient servant. I IH i 1 NOTES, esfc. :■! 1 BETWEEN the high colouring of exag- geration and the dark shade of detraction, it may be difficult to discern the truth in what re- lates to America. Not only the manners, which travellers estimate, as usual, by comparison with their own, have been exalted by some to the innocenc of paradise and degraded by others to the corruptions of a brothel ; but things which admit of more easy and accurate esti- mation, even the soil and climate, have been represented as variously as the temper, genius, and manners of the people. NOTES OM THE ** I am sorry, Sir, you kept such bad com- pany in Spain," said a gentleman in Paris to one who indulged himself in the ridicule of Spanish customs. This flippant reply might be made to certain descriptions of American society, which border on caricature. But instead of resorting to repartee, which would here be misplaced, it seems proper to remark, that when strangers undertake to delineate the character of a nation from what they meet with in trading towns, great part of whose inhabi- tants are (like themselves) strangers, the por- trait, however excellent in colour and expres- sion, will liardly possess the merit of a good likeness. These painters should consider that a miin who has a proper regard for his own character would be restrained from such great incongruity, if not by candour, at Least by common sense. They should consider too tlmt customs aiid manners must be taken toge- tlier by him who would estimate them justly ; because the best, when viewed in detail, may be made a subject of blame or ridicule. Fi- lyitlTED STATRS, mlly they should know that long residcr.cc and an intimate acquaintance with the best company are pre-requisites to forming a just opinion and delineating a faithful resemblanofe. It is easy to conceive that one bred in the politer circle* of London might not be pleased with the man- ners of Amsterdam, Hamburgh, or Philadel- phia. The inhabitants of those towns have the humility to believe they want that high polish which courts alone can give. But what shall be said of youngsters just fledged and yet warm from the nest of Cambridge or Oxford^ who discover in the best company of Berlin or Vienna a fund of contemptuous merriment f Who consider the gentlemen of Germany as bears, and those of France as monkiesi When the count de Laraguais was asked, on his return from England, his opinion of its produce and inhabitants, he exclaimed, " Ah " c'est le pais le plus drole qu' on puisse imagi- ner. lis ont vingt religions, mais ils n'ont qu* une sauce. Toutes les liqueurs sont aigres " hormis k vinaigre. lis n»ont de fruit m^ « it 8 NOTES ON THE "/ " que les pommes cuitcs, et de poli que " I'acier.'* "^Tis the strangest place you can conceive. They have twenty religions and but one sauce. All their liquors are sour except the vinegar. They have no ripe fruit but baked apples^ and nothing polished but steel. It would be well that this speech were printed on the title page of some books of travels in America which Englishmen have published, and in which (with no evil intention perhaps, but merely to display their genius and national superiority) they have degraded Ame- ricans below the most vile and vicious in Eu- rope. That we, like others, have too good an opinion of ourselves may be true ; but foreign- ers who on this ground charge us with ridicu- lous vanity should recollect the decision on a memorable occasion. ** Let him who is guilt- ** less cast the first stone.'* It may also be true that we have in the north the vices attached to commerce, and in the south those which result from domestick slavery ; but we have I UNITED STATES. the virtues which arise out cf those conditions. He who travels through this extensive country, picking up rare incidents to pourtray manners in which the meanness of a Dutch huckster shall be combined with the profligacy of a Polish lord, may gratulate himself on the col- lection of materials for a biting satire. But should he put them together and publish the patchwork, it would perish before his eyes by the mortal disease of self contradiction. The American who claims for his country a proud exemption from the ills attached to humanity is less to be applauded for his zeal than pitied for his folly. Truth, however, will warrant the assertion, that our vices are not so great as might be expected from our condition. The Virginian is not cruel : the Yankee is not dishonest : the spirit of commerce has not de- stroyed the charities of life, and taken in the aggregate there is as fair a proportion of genius, virtue, and politeness in America as in Europe. Particular comparisons would be invidious. There is, however, one general trait which must B 1 10 NOTES ON THE .!* strike the most cursory observer. The stran- ger of every country is 'received here with frankness and cordiality. He cannot, indeed, enjoy the venal respect of an inn, but may on the contrary be offended by a surly manner, amounting, sometimes, to downright rudeness : for American tavern keepers too often take occasion to display their pride (which they falsely consider as a mark of freedom) to guests- whom they are bound by duty as well as interest to serve and to please. No man of sound mind will defend or attempt to excuse this- conduct which is equally ridiculous and bru- tal ; but it may be accounted for by a simple fact. In the early settlement of a country, few are wealtliy enough to keep an inn. Those - few being of what the French would call les «or^^/« are persons of higher standing in so- ciety than the greater , part of their guests. The commercial spirit has not yet bent their pride ; but it will eventually, as in other countries, smooth the supercilious brow into a smile of wejcpme* Each reserving, as in other coun- J ^ f^i UNITED STATES* 11 tries, the right to compensate his cringes to the rich by his contumely to the poor. Another disgusting trait of American manners is the insolent familiarity of the vulgar. But this does not arise from the greater stock of imper- tinence in our blackguards, but from the want of those restraints which they feel elsewhere. Let it, however, be observed, that the insolence complained of is perceivable only in the lowest, worst educated, and truly contemptible part of the people, or rather (to speak correctly) of the populace. Secondly, that the great ma- jority of that populace is made up of imported patriots, the offcast and scum of other countries. And, thirdly, that these wretches abuse a mo- mentary consequence, arising from the dearth 4>jr labour, to supply the increased and increa- sing demand of agriculture, manufactures, and trade. When peace shall confine commerce to its former channel, such fellows must take their flight or model themselves to the respect- ful demeanour which distin^ishes the real pco- p\t of America : than whom lione are more 12 NOTES ON THE civil and obliging when fairly treated. But he who displays in this country the insolence of an upstart will surely meet with mortifica- tion. There is one striking characteristick in the manners of America, which is generally in- teresting. A traveller who would be intro- duced into the first companies of Europe, bating the case of uncommon merit or peculiar felicity, must show his stars, his ribbands, his military commission or noble descent. Above all, he must not show that he is a merchant or mechanick. But in America these passports and precautions are alike unnecessary. He who behaves himself well will be well received. He will be estimated at what he is worth. His money, if he has any, will procure him as much respect as elsewhere, provided no glaring vice or folly destroy its influence. Even then he may in America, as elsewhere, find societies to receive him when repelled by those who respect themselves. He will be estimated at UWITED STATES IS what he is worth, and if he has merit, the honours and offices of the country are open to him. The extent of the United States renders it impossible to speak of the climate but in reference to particular parts. It is so various that amateurs can please themselves. The Province of Maine offers to them the fogs of Britain, and by visiting Georgia they may bask in the heat of the torrid zone. But, cries an Englishman, have you any where a temperate climate. By this, especially if he comes from Lancashire, is meant a climate in which it would be difficult, but for the relative length of days and nights, to distinguish winter from summer, and in which it rains four days out of five. Those who seek such climate in America must go to the neighbourhood of Nootka Sound. But if by a temperate climate be meant an atmosphere warm enough in sum- mer to ripen every fruit not peculiar to the tropicks, without that intensity of heat unfa- •t 14 NOTES ON THE Si ill vourable to health and industry, a climate not so cold in winter as to destroy the cherry, apricot, or peach tree, yet cold enough to g^ve the earth repose from vegetation, and provide ice for the succeeding summer ; that climate is found in the middle states of America. The winter along the sea coast, commencing about the middle of December and continuing to the middle of March, is variable. Sudden thaws are succeeded by sudden frosts. A south- east wind brings vernal air from the Gulph Stream, and a north-wester pours down frost from the mountains. Beyond these mountains, however, the cold is steady and not severe. From the middle of March to the middle or end of April, the weather, generally bad, is some- times fine enough to deserve the name it bears of spring. May, though cloathed in blossoms, and sometimes in the beginning bound by frost, may generally be .ranked among the summer months, and September has equal rights, although sometimes a slight frost sup- ports the clium of autumn. Thus the slimmer UNITED STATES. 15 is nearly five months long, and in that period five to fifteen days may be expected uncom- fortably warm. The months of October, No- vember, and great part of December, are fine. No man who has not enjoyed the autumn of North America can form an idea of weather so constantly pleasant. But the climate is change- able, say Europeans, 2iXi6. therefore unhealthy : to which it might be tritely replied, the climate is healthy, and therefore not changeable. All things figure by comparison. Climate among the rest. An insular position, especially if the island be small, free from mountains, and far from any continent, secures an equable; tem- perature of the air. But if there be no sudden changes of heat andcold, there are frequent variations of another sorti Almost every wind brings rain or damp,^ drizzling, disagreeable weather. Such weather is scarcely known in the middle states, of America. It rains ^nd snows in eamestf after' which the atmosphere resumes its usual brilliance* That the climate is fa- vourable to human life is proved by the rapi- 16 NOTES ON THE I M II dity of population ; to which emigrations from Europe do indeed contribute, but in such small proportion as to be scarcely worth notice. The instances of healthy old age are no where more numerous. They who contradict this fact in- sist that the proportion of those in America who reach the age of eighty is much smaller than in Europe. This remains to be proved. But if admitted, let it be considered that the population of Europe has increased but little in eighty years, whereas that of America, dou- bling in twenty years, was not, eighty years ago more than one sixteenth of the present number. Europe therefore ought to show sixteen times as many old men as America. To say that a climate is variable can form no objection unless the supposed mutability be injurious to health or vegetation. But if we descend from animal to vegetable life, the advantage of America over Europe is unquestionable ; for there it is common to loose the fruit by unseasonable weather, a thing which rarely happens here. UNITED STATES. 17 Of the American soil it is impossible to speak justly without being very minute. There is, perhaps, none quite so bad as the heaths of Brabant, Westphalia, and lower Saxony, There is a great deal very good — some fields unex- hausted by the constant harvests of a century without manure. To speak, however, as nearly as may be in general terms, if beginning where Hudson's River enters the sea, a line running south of Philadelphia along the falls of Susque- hannah, Potomack, and Rapahanock be con- tinued through North Carolina, South Caro- lina, and Georgia, the lands east of it are of indifferent quality, although there be many large tracts of excellent soil. West of this line to the mountains the land is generally good, but yet large tracts may be found which are bad. From New York to Boston the land between the mountains and the sea is rocky, and in some places the soil, generally fruitful, is meagre. There are fine vallies between the different ranges of mountains, and some of the mountains have excellent soil to the top. The e 18 NOTES ON THE It III ih great western valley from Quebeck to New Orleans, is perhaps unequalled for extent and fertility. In ascending the St. Laurence and descending the Alleghany and Ohio, the moun- tains on the left recede, and at length subside : those on the right lie at a vast distance beyond the western shore of the lakes. At the head of the St. Laurence is that congeries of inland seas, whose waters, almost as trans- parent as air, preserve in this majestick stream its constant fulness. Those lakes, of which Ontario, the last, and by no means the lar- gest, presents a surface of more than five thou- sand square miles, are of such vast extent, that no supposable quantity of rain can make any important change. Moreover, all the rivers they receive would not supply in a year the waste by evaporation in a month. They are unquestionably fed by springs, and as their surface varies very litde, so the supply of water which they pour into the St. Laurence is con- stant. Many considerable streams which some- times overflow and are at other times much UNITED STATES. 19 reduced, flow into that river ; but the amount of what they furnish is so small compared with the volume from Lake Ontario, that in a space of fifty leagues from Cadaraqui to the mouth of Attawa River, the depth of water seldom varies a foot in a year. The climate of this immense valley is un- commonly regular, fenced by a broad rampart of mountains against the mutability of the ocean, its seasons are determined by the ad- vance and recess of the sun ; and as causes must precede effects, the warmth of spring in the latitude of forty. five (which is the northern boundary of the United States) is seldom com- pletely established before the first of May, neither does the cold reign of winter commence until the middle or end of November. A recent fact deserves to be noted here. During the storm which on the 23d and 24th of last August made such dreadful ravage along the sea coast from New Hampshire to Georgia, it was (beyond the first range of mountains) calm I' I ,^ 20 NOTES ON THI I m and pleasant. In going from St. Regis south- wardly up the river for forty miles, there is little cliange of latitude or climate : but there, having ascended the rapids, the influence of the lakes becomes perceptible. The winter is less cold and the summer more mild. Keeping on east of the lakes for about five hundred miles through eight degrees of longitude and three of latitude, the climate is nearly the same. All the fruits of a temperate climate flourish and come- to great perfection in the open air except the peach, which has not yet succeeded beyond the latitude of Niagara, but at that place it is abundant. After getting on further south and losing the influence of the lakes, the climate is governed by the latitude, till at length, in the neighbourhood of New Orleans, are found the orange and sugar cane. Some credulous people, seduced by flat- tering descriptions of America, have been led into ruinous speculations. They rashly sup- posed that man could here, as m a terrestrial pa- 's ITMITXD tTATXS. 21 i^ radise, live without labour and without law. These were the dreams of unripe judgment, and these were not the only illusions. It may dissipate some of them to inform Europeans that in America the professions of law, physick and divinity, are fully supplied. That the ar% of trading with small capital or no capital, is well understood. That the fine arts, little cul- tivated, receive but small encouragement. That those who wander from the path of indus- try will soon be entangled by want. That thoj?e who expect to live by contrivance will be greatly disappointed. The market is already overstocked with that commodity. Labourers and mechanicks cannot f^ul of success if they be sober, honest, industrious and steady. But such men seldom emigrate. The idle and dissolute are better pleased than at home, be- cause wages are high, and ardent spirits cheap, so that with tolerable management they can be drunk three days in the week. But this rogue's jubilee is almost over. The great demand for labour must cease wUh the war ; and even I 22 NOTES Olf THE while it lasts it would be better for such fellows to enlist in Europe. They can be as idle, will enjoy better health, and may live longer; for rum and whiskey are as fatal as the gun and bayonet. We frequently see an old soldier, but an old sot is very rare. I The influence of exaggerated description has in nothing been greater than in what relates to the land of America. Those awful forests which have shaded through untold ages a boundless extent; those streams, compared to which the rivers of Europe are but rills, streams which, deep and smooth, meander many hundred leagues through a soil waiting only the hand of culture to produce luxuriant abundance ; those forests, streams and plains, dazzled the eye of reason and led the judg- ment astray. It should have been considered that great labour njust be applied to destroy the forest before it can yield a harvest. That harvest too must with labour be gathered and prepared for market. At length embarked on UNITED STATES. 2S the bosom of the flood, it must traverse exten- sive regions before it can be sold. It must pay (in freight) not only the expense of a voy- age to the sea, but that of the boatmen on their return. Foreign articles also must bear a great charge of transportation ; so that if the inhabi- tants can obtain from their produce tlie supply of their wants, little if any thing will remaifi to pay for land. He, therefore, who traces along the map the course of those majestick rivers should calculate a little before he counts on the advantage of their downhill navigation. The time will come, and perhaps it is not remote, when manufacturing to^^Tis will be established in those regions. The produce of the farmer will be then consumed by the artisan, and the articles he prepares will be used by those who till the soil. An intercourse more certain and more lucrative than foreign trade. But until that period arrives, every proposition respect- ing the western country should be examined with great sobriety. f 34 NOTES ON THE «: Here the question may be asked, if it is in no case advisable to purchase American lands ; and as this subject may hereafter occupy much of publick attention, some moments bestowed on it may not be misapplied. Unquestionably the lands of America present a valuable object to those who are in condition to avail them- selves of the advantage, provided they acquire the needful information and act prudently. The reason is obvious. Not much more than a century has elapsed since the land of America was worth little or nothing. At first it was worth less than nothing, for the original settlers were obliged to bring with them not only cloaths and tools, but food, and must never- theless have perished if the original stock of necessaries had not been frequently replenished by supplies from their native country. Land was then given away, and few would accept the gift coupled with the condition of settle- ment. As population increased, it became of more value, and as settlements extended, the value advanced slowly at first, then with acce- I UNITED STATES. 25 ■ lerated velocity, so that in tlie last ten years it has been greater than in the preceding twenty. Several causes combine to produce this effect ; as first a general rise in the price of all commo- dities, or, wliat is equivalent, a general de- crease in the value of money owing to an in- crease of the quantity. This, liowever, is not so great as many have imagined ; for the price of wheat throughout Europe, during the eigh- teenth century, has been on an average about one penny sterling a pound, and nearly as dear in the last period of twenty years as in the first. The expense of living arises in some degree from taxes imposed on consumption, and partly from the higlier style of modern house- keeping. Admitting, however, tlie existence and the operation of this general cause, a re- sort must be had to others more efficient. For the better understanding of these, let it be ob- served that, from the progress of commerce and the useful arts, the price of land hjis in- creased in some parts of Europe, while it declined in others without any considerable D Hi 26 NOTES ON THE I change in the state of population, and that in general where population has increased the value of lands has also increased. Thus we have three distinct causes, commerce, manu- factures, and population. These are perma- nent. Those which are fortuitous should not be noticed. Now these permanent causes have been more developed in America than in any other country. The population has doubled every twenty years ; the progress of manufac- tures is as rapid at least ; and that of commerce is equal to both. The increase of American manufactures is scarcely suspected abroad or at home : but forty years ago hardly an axe or a scythe was made on the western side of the Atiantick. Carriages of pleasure, household furniture, and even butter, cheese, and salted provisions were imported. Things are in this respect greatly changed. Much is exported of the articles last mentioned, and even the manufacture of superfine cloth, now in its in- fancy, bids fair to become extensive, the wool of America being little inferiour to that of I UNITED STATES. 27 Spain. The wide range of our commerce is generally known, but one circumstance which bears on the present object must not be omit- ted. That commerce, which twenty years ago was wholly supported by English credit, rests now principally on American capital, which is more than sufficient for the trade that will re- main at a general peace. To apply these facts with mathematical precision would gratify only inquisitive minds fond of nice calculation, and would convert this hasty sketch from loose hints to abstruse speculation. It is sufficient, on the present occasion, to say that by these causes the value of land has been raised and from the continuance of these causes must continue to rise. Peace must operate to the same end. first, by lessening the demand of money to support commerce, and of course leaving more for the purchase and improve- ment of land; secondly, by a fall in the price of labour, because produce being the result of a combination between land and labour, the share of land increases in proportion, as that of ft 28 WOTES ON tHE labour is diminished ; and thirdly, by the dimi- nution of freight and ensurance, which, facili- tating the interchange of articles, foreign and domestick, gives greater intrinsick value to both. Judicious speculations in land have yielded more in the last ten years than in the twenty preceding, or the antecedent forty. Hence it is reasonable to believe that they will continue to be advantageous. But the ques- tion occurs, where and how are they to be made ? Those who Would derive a great imme- diate revenue from land should purchase in the lower parts of South Carolina and Georgia, or in the vicinity of New Orleans. They must purchase slaves also, and superintend the plant- ing of cotton, rice and sugar. The profit will be great j but the climate is not favourable to northern constitutions; tlie culture is un- pleasant, and there are some inconveniences, such as occasional hurricanes and the danger to be apprehended from a revolt of slaves. UNITED STATES. 29 f This culture, moreover, requires previous in- struction and experience. North of the dis- trict just mentioned) little revenue can be de- rived from land. The culture by slaves in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, sel- dom pays five per cent, on the capital employed. But in these states, particularly the two first, a gentleman who wishes to enjoy the pleasures of a country life, coupled with its cares, who has no objection to become the master of slaves, and can submit to the inconveniences of a warmer summer than he has been accustomed to in Europe, with the consequent defect of verdure, may with little difficulty discover ex- cellent situations. He will find among the gentlemen honourable temper, liberal man- ners, and frank hospitality ; among the ladies beauty and accomplishment, joined to virtue and good housewifery. But he must not expect that his property will increase in value. This Catmot happen until the labour of slaves shall have been replaced by that of freemen, a period which seems to be remote. s. f 30 NOTES ON THE I It has already been hinted that property on the rivers which empty into the Mississippi cannot attain to great money value until manu- facturing towns shall grow up in that quarter. It is to be observed that the American cultiva- tor generally pays more for his produce in labour than in the price of land. A first crop of wheat costs about twenty dollars per acre, exclusive of the land on which it is raised. The crop in countries favourable to it may be taken at from fifteen to five and thirty bushels : rarely on new land so little as fifteen and sometimes more than forty. It is evident that the expense and amount of a crop being the same, the value of land must depend on the price of its produce. Where wheat sells for a dollar, the crop usually pays for both clearing and culture — frequently for the land and some- times more ; but when it will not bring above a quarter of a dollar, the most abundant crop will scarcely defray the expense of tillage. Hence it follows, that if this great western re- gion were as favoun'ble to wheat as it is to In- lir UNITED STATES. 31 dian corn, it must lor a long time be of little value. The scene for advantageous specula- tions in land, therefore, is confined on the south by the southern line of Pennsylvania, on the west and northwest by the Alleghany moun- tains, till we come south of Niagara, and then by Lake Ontaf io, and the river St. Laurence, and on the north by the boundary of the Uni- ted States. From this tract, however, must be excepted the province of Maine, in which, nevertheless, there are said to be some tracts of excellent soil, and which can certainly boast of fine harbours and fisheries. But taken in general, the country is not fertile, and the cli- mate is not inviting, wherefore the current of emigration from New England sets westward. The northern parts of New Hampshire are inclement and mountainous. Good land there as well as in Vermont, is deai', and large tracts of it are not to be purchased, neither are such to be had either in Massachussetts or Connecti- cut, which states are so full of people that many thousands annually emigrate. Small tracts I f ii'' 32 NOT£$ ON THE may be found which from the populousness of the neighbourhood will yield with good man- agement a fair rent. Men possessing about ten thousand pounds sterling might establish themselves here, but not before they have dwelt long enough in the country to know the usages, manners, and disposition of the inha- bitants as well as the climate, soil and circum- stances peculiar to different positions. In gene- ral, those parts of Connecticut and Massachus- setts which border on New York would be preferred ; but it must be remarked that lands along the sound bear a price far beyond their value, and more especially those near the city of New York. North of Massachussetts along Connecticut river there is a charming country, but the climate becomes harsh in going north- ward, and rising at the same time to a greater elevation from the level of the sea. Men of the property abovementioned might perhaps find a few good positions in New Jersey, or the cultivated parts of Pennsylvania or New York. But in none of these places is there il UNITED STATES 33 room for what is understood in America by land speculations. They must be confined to the unsettled parts of Pennsylvania or New York. Most of the former lie west of the Alleghany, and the remainder consists of se- veral ranges of mountains with the vallies be- tween them. These mountains are in general hi.];h, rough, and not unfrcquently sterile. The vallies are narrow, and the access to them difficult, The land beyond the mountains falls under the general description of that which is watered by the western streams, although Pittsburg, already a manufacturing town, gives value to the neighbourhood. In effect, the lands conveniently situated in Pennsylvania are for the most part inhabited ; still, however, good tracts may be found in the counties of Luzerne and Northampton, not too remote.- from the circle of commerce. The roads now laid out, and in part completed through the states of New York and New Jersey, to con- nect these lands with the city of New York, together with those which open a communica- I 34 NOTES ON THE illlv tion with Pliiladelphia to great part of them, must rapidly increase their value. The inte- riour of the state of New York presents the fairest scene for operations on land, because it lies within the influence of commerce. A bare inspection of the map will show that in going round by water from Oswego, on Lake Onta- rio, to St. Regis, on the St. Laurence, and thence by land to Lake Champlain, the whole course is within about fifty leagues of Water- ford, a village at the confluence of the Hud- son and Mohawk rivers, to which sloops ascend from New York. Thus, not to men- tion the facilities which the river St. Laurence presents, produce, when the roads now in ope- ration shall be completed, may be brought from the parts most remote to the tide waters of Hudson's river for twenty dollars a ton, without the aid which is derived from the Mohawk river and lake Champlain. In going west of a line from Oswego, to where Tioga river falls into the Susquehannah, we recede from the influence of commerce. The num- 1i( UNITED STATES. as ber of coi moLiities which will bear tt nsr^- tation, is Uiminishc J by the distance. ' om Oswego to Albany, and i m Ti* ;;;a to ^^^w York, is about the sam distaiv i, and the Hudson running nearly parallel to tlie line from Oswego to Tioga, the facility of navigation through the whole intermediate space is nearly equal. It must not, however, be forgotten that a broad tract of mountains extends in a southwesterly direction from Lake Champlain to the northeastern comer of Pennsylvania. These render the space they occupy less valu- able, and render the communications more difficult ; but during the last five years, so many turnpike roads have been made, and so many more are now making, that the trans- portation will soon be easy throughout, saving always the effect of distance. Nature pre- sents also great facilities for inland navigation. That of the Susquehannah has been practised with success from above Tioga down to Balti- more. That of the Mohawk is so much im- proved that the merchant at Utica sells goods f i .mjJMf T. p 36 NOTES ON THE as cheap as at Albany, and gives nearly the same price for procliicc. It must be noted also that the mountains last mentioned do not form a continued chain, but lie in detached masses. Those who ascend the Mohawk river to Rome in a batteau are already on the western side of the mountains and can in the same boat descend by Wood Creek, Oneida Lake, and Oswego River, to Lake Ontario. I Hitherto the advantages to be derived from the navigation of the St. Laurence have been unnoticed, but they are eminent, and the more so from that constant fulness of the stream which has already been mentioned. From the sea port of Montreal to the mouth of Lake Ontario, merchandise is transported for one dollar per hundred weight, a small addi- tion to the value. The navigation downward is much less expensive, and by means of it, timber, which in clearing many parts of Ame- rica must be destroyed, can be turned to good account. Many productions sell as high at UNITED STATES. Montreal as at New York ; some higher. From the hills southeast of the St. Laurence pour down numerous streams which give value as well as health and beauty to that country. The coincidence of these things, with an un- common fertility of soil, have induced num- bars to come in from the eastern states ; and there is every reason to believe that all the land fit for culture will be speedily settled. It remains to consider the manner in which operations of the sort now contemplated are to be performed. And first, the purchase may be either in large tracts of uncertain quality, or in small tracts, the soil of which is known to be good. He who purchases a small tract of choice land, must pay a large price, but he has the moral certainty of a speedy sale. He who purchases a large tract unexplored pays less, but much of it may be bad, and the sales will not speedily be completed. Opi- nions on this subject vary; but experience favours the purchase of large tracts at a mode- i I 1' i) ,1, )((, 38 NOTES ON THE rate price. In this case there is less to be apprehended from the mistake or misrepresen- tation of surveyors, and frequently the pro- portion of good land is so great, that if made to bear the whole price, it will be as cheap as the small tract, leaving the inferiour quality a clear profit. Moreover, when the best lands are sold and in cultivation, those which adjoin them find as good and sometimes a better market. !■,,, Supposing the purchase made, there are several modes of sale. First, the land may be sold as it was bought, in mass, at an advanced price, which is the easiest, but not the most profitable mode. Secondly, It may be retailed to settlers by an agent on the spot, who is to receive a fixed salary or a commission. The landholder who gives a salary to his agent is certain of nodiing but the expense. He will generally be pestered with costly projects of roads, mills, and viiiages, ^vhich seldom answer any UNITED STATES. 39 good purpose^ The roads, if not laid out judi- ciously will not be travelled; in which case they soon grow up in bushes and become im- passable. The mills must have millers, and the millers must have salaries, which they are careful to receive, but neglect their mills for the sake of hunting, fishing, or other idle pursuits ; whereas the settler who builds a mill for his own account attends to it for his own interest. Houses built by a landlord arc generally occupied by vagabonds. The industrious prefer living on their own land in their own houses. But bad settlers repel good ones. If the agent be paid by a commission, he will still hanker after expensive establishments, tending, as he supposes, to increase the sales, and at any rate to give him an air of importance. He will moreover pay too little attention to the moral character of settlers, which is neverthe- less an important circumstance ; for land al- ways sells higher in the neighbourhood of sober, honest, industrious people, than in that It.. i '1 I 40 NOTES ON THE of the lazy and profligate. Whichever of these two modes be adopted, the agent, if not perfectly honest, may sell the best land to friends, and share with them in a profit on the re-sale. To avoid these inconveniences, a third mode has been adopted. A contract is made with a capable person, and the lands are fixed at a price agreed on. He superintends the sale to setders, which is not to be under a price also agreed on, and for his compensation receives one half of what remains after paying to the owner the price first mentioned with the interest. By this means, the interest of the agent is so intimately connected with that of his employer that he can seldom promote one at the expense of the other. Whatever mode of sale be adopted, these things are to be remarked : first, the choice of farms and of sites for mills, must be given freely to the first comers on moderate terms and long cre- dit, because the future price will depend much on the improvements they make. Secondly, in the progress of settlement, prices must be UNITED STATES. 41 raised and credit shortened, so that, having taken care that the first settlers were good, idlers and paupers may be kept off. Thirdly, the landlord must make no reservation of par- ticular spots, because he would thereby dis- gust settlers and turn them away ; whereas he can always get back any part which may strike his fancy, by giving a little more land in tlie vicinity, and a fair compensation for the expense of clearing. Besides, a choice of situation is more easily made after the country is opened than before. Finally, when the sales are sufficient to reimburse the capi- tal employed, with the interest, it is wise to pause and let the effect of cultivation be felt. Purchasers become eager, and prices rise, so that what remains of good land will sell well : the bad should be kept. It will in a certain time become of great value, because settlers cut down and destroy timber as fast as they can, counting on the purchase of wood lots when their own farms shall be stript of trees. To get these lots they will pay three times as p 42 NOTES ON THE much for bad land as the good cost them ; but the, landlord had better not sell, but kt thejn have wood at a low price, until they are aU in want of fuel, and then a permanent revenue muiy be raised from the forest. This, by the by, is a better provision for posterity than to leave a large tract unsettled. In that case intruders go on, careless of title, whom it is difficult and expensive to renv)ve. There remains another mode by which lands niay be disposed of, which has not been hi- therto practised, and for which, indeed, the country was not ripe. A man may purchase from twenty to sixty thoujsand acres, and se- lect foV his special domain in the centre, as much as he shiUl think proper. After making an accurate survey, obtaining good inforraar tioo, and duly considering all circumstances, he may fix an agent at the, place proper for a village, give away to good tradesmen, some building lots, and (with each) a smaU lot for p^tujije, it^