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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent ia m6thode. rata lelure. 32X 1 6 I ■''! JC UN JOURNAL OF AN EXCURSION t (I ft TO THE iiJ UNITED STATES AND CANADA. 1 \ \ I ! ^UN! A 1' h<)\A> ALS JOURNAL ( r AN i;X(JLU:-lON To TUK f UNITED STATES AND CANADA IN THE YEAR 1 83 1 : WITH HINTS TO EMIGRANTS; A N J) A I'AIll AND IMPARTIAL EXrOSlTION OF TUK ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ATTENDING EMIGUATION. IJY A * CITIZEN OF EDlNIUJliUH. EDINBUKGH: .lOlIN ANDERSON ^\jk., EDlNlUJKtill, o."). North Bridge Street ; KM,!) ALSO BV .JOHN m'LEOD, GLASGOW; W. GRAl'EL, l>I\ERi'(n>L ; AND SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL, LONDON. 1835. f^tl I i ^ D K 3 n .J D-34 \ ^O^t»07 i^fov . V»**-» Vw^*** 4 >^ <*»i,*i^ K.x.^J X-***^ I'RINTEI) BV NEILLs|)ectfi they hold out a delusion." I have ])een told, and I believe it, tliat there are land companies in America, who pay certain individuals in the mother coun- try considerable sunjs of money to write flatterinth March 1835. I I for Liv( Woi for even thirt hour blow: sea, £ ^ Ti gow \ stewa sive c rate o '^ c^^^teii I Kit I heard, witliheld no IV 'g ofTencc. down ail ah t to in the re- lich are now to the induU JOUKNAF, OK AN EXCURSION TO THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. I LEFT Edinburgl, on tl.e 21st March 1834 .J>r New York, by the way of Glasgow t„d Liverpool. At Glasgow I found that L John 5 Wood Steamer sailed at 10 a. m. next mom ".g, and accordingly I took n.y passage The for Liverpool, where I arrived on Sundav evemng, at 8 p. m., after a rough passage Tf hirty-four hours, including a stoppage ff an W at Greenock to take in good'-fhe wind Uow.„g strong from the westward, with IZu ■ Ihe passage-money in the cabin from Glas- ive of ;1 ' ^T^'^ " ^"^•' ^''^ ^-clu- rate of 2s. for dmner, and Is. 6d. for breakfast. 'I M !f t HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. On Monday the 24tli March I took lodgings at an Inn near Clarence Docks, and then went to make the necessary inquiries regarding the ships that were lying in the berth for New York. I found that five or six ships were to sail in a few days, and I ultimately agreed with Messrs Fitzhugh and Grimshaw, ship- brokers, No. 10, Goree Piazzas, for a berth in a state room, containing two beds, one above the other, in the cabin of one of the transient vessels. The ship was not to leave the dock before the 29th, and I had thus some days to spend at Liverpool, where I received some hints which may be useful to those preparing to leave the old country. I consider it necessary to be very concise in my directions, as the emigrant has much to confuse his head when on tne eve of setting out upon a long voyage. After having come to the resolution to emigrate, the two first things to be considered are, the time of sailing and the port to ship from. I recommend the first week in April as the most advisable time of the year to emigrate to America : if he sail sooner he runs a chance of being overtaken by h took lodgings nd then went •egarding the rth for New ships were to lately agreed inshaw, ship- for a berth in Is, one above the transient iave the dock some days to 3ceived some 3se preparing very concise t has much to eve of setting having come the two first :ime of sailing icommend the dvisable time ica: if he sail overtaken by HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. 3 the equinoctial gales ; and if he defer his de- parture much later, he loses the valuable op- portunity for advancing his agricultural ope- rations before the winter sets in. Those who sail in January, February, and March, genp- rally meet with a boisterous and tedious voy- age ; the nights are short and the icebergs dan- gerous, if ran foul of, all of which may be avoid- ed by sailing in the beginning of April. Emigrants who prefer sailing from Scotland, from motives of economy or local convenience ought always to sail from a port in the west of Scotland, as they thereby shorten the voyage considerably, and escape what often proves to be the most disagreeable and dangerous part of It, the passage round the north of Scotland It would be about as absurd for a person wish- ing to go from Edinburgh to Belfast, to ship at Leith instead of Greenock, as it is to ship from Leith for New York. Another advan- tage in sailing from Greenock is, that there are a greater choice of vessels than in the east coast. Still lam decidedly of opinion, that the steerage of the regular line of packets from Liverpool is the best conveyance for emigrants I i 4 HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. in middling circumstances. They may go in the steerage for L. 4 to L. 5, 10s. each, fur- nishing their own provisions ; and they are al- most certain of making a short passage and of having a gentleman for a captain ; and as these vessels carry only a few steerage passengers, they escape mixing with the Irish emigrants, who generally go in the steerage of the tran- sient vessels. The charge made in the steer- age for a passage to New York, in the tran- sient vessels from Greenock or Liverpool, va- ries from L.e, 5s. to L. 4, the ship finding wa- ter, fuel, and bed-place only. In the cabin of transient vessels the custo- mary charge is from L. 14 to L. 20, for which you are found in provisions and spirits, but not wines. In the regular linars or packet- ships, which sail every eight days from Liver- pool, the passage in the cabin is as high as L. 35 ; but certainly the accommodations are splendid, the dinners superb, and the attend- ance excellent. To those of limited means who furnish their own provisions, I would re- commend the following as a sea-stock, which will be found sufficient for the voyage : i ^ may go in each, fur- hey are al- age and of nd as these passengers, emigrants, if the tran- [ the steer- n the tran- erpool, va- finding wa- ; the custo- I, for which spirits, but or packet- from Liver - ; as high as )dations are the attend- lited means I would re- itock, which ^age : PROVISIONS, Sio. 28 lb. Biscuit, finest, @ 22! € lb. Raw Sugar, @ 6d. 1 lb. Tea, @ 5s. . 1 lb. Coffee, @ 2s. 1 Bottle mixed Pickles, @ Is 5 lb. Butter, @ lOd. 1 lb. Raisins, @ 6d. Half hundred Eggs (packed m 1 Pot prepared Mustard, 2 oz. Ground Pepper, . 2 Gallons Ale, @ Is. 6d. A Jar to hold it, . 2 Bushels Potatoes, Turnips, Onions, and Carrots 3 lb. Rice, 6 lb. Flour, . 7 lb. Oatmeal, Beef or Pork, about 20 lb. 2 Dozen Red Herrings, 2 Lemons, A Tin Tea-Pot, . A Tin Chamber-Pot, A Boiler, tin, A Wash-hand Basin, 1 Tin Plate, . 1 Pannican, . A Tin Pudding Dish, A Brander, A Knife and Fork, A Tin Water Barrel, 1 Spoon, 5 L.O 3 5 2 1 4 2 6 salt), 3 6 8 3 3 1 6 5 1 1 3 1 1 2 10 1 1 1 1 1 5 3 1 I 6 1 9 2 Carry forward, L.3 7 ii.i il i I' f ' > i y fif f 5 HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. Brought forward, L.3 7 1 Tea-spoon 1 Bedding, cost about 15s., including Matress, Pillows, 1 pair Blankets, andCoverled, . . • • <> ^^ ^ Total, L.3 15 8 If any brandy or hoUands is required, it will be best for several passengers to club together, and take a case of brandy or hoUands out of bond. A case contains three dozen quart bot- tles ; the gin costs L. 2, and the brandy L. 3, 3s. per case. I would advise a sleeping place near the midships, the motion of the vessel being least there, and the situation being close to the hatchway, both the light and air are good. In entering into engagements about the pass- age, it is advisable to have the engagement in writing, and also a special clause, that you may be received on board, and allowed fuel and water for cooking, from the day the vessel is advertised to sail, or an allowance for every day the ship is detained after the appointed time. On the 29th March, the day on which the ship was advertised to sail, I went on board Li.3 7 I 15 L.3 15 8 lired, it will lib together, ands out of Q quart bot- ndy L. 3, 3s. ce near the . being least ilose to the r are good. >ut the pass- gagement in 36, that you allowed fuel ay the vessel ice for every le appointed ►n which the '\i on board. EMBARKATION. '^ but learned that the vessel could not be ready before the 2d April, as she had part of her cargo to take in, besides her water-casks. However, it was some consolation, that as the wind was against us, we could not hav^j got away, even if she had been ready for sea. The steerage passengers, with their luggage and provisions, were taken on board on Satur- day the 30th, after 2 p. m., and certainly such a miserable looking set of men I never saw before. They were principally from the Eme- rald Isle ; tall, pale, lean fellows, with igno- rance strongly expressed on their vacant coun- tenances, which betrayed no regret at leaving their native country. Indeed I suspected they were so miserable at home, that any change must be for the better. The accommodation in that part of the vessel called the Second Cabin, which is charged about 20?. more than the steerage, is very little different from the latter. It is merely the after-part of the vessel separated from the fore-part, by boards about an inch thick. Families of four persons, going in the second cabin, may have a separate room erect- I I s EMBARKATION i r Iff I, I I i i i I ■ * ed, with a door to lock, for their exclusive use, by paying about L,2 additional, or 10s. each, to defray the expense of putting it up, which is often done by those who wish to keep them- selves separate from the other steerage passen- gers. The ship was ready for sea on Tuesday evening the 2d April. She left the dock next morning, and was towed by a steamer down the Mersey, nearly as far as the battery, when she brought up, as the wind was still against her. We had on board in all 245 souls, whereof 222 were passengers, the remainder consisted of the captain, two mates, and the crew. After dinner on Wednesday, most of the cabin passengers joined the ship. We hired a steamer to take us on board, which, when there are several passengers going off, is by far the best way, as the men belonging to the small boats are very apt to take advantage of pas- sengers going off* singly. They demanded from me 7s. 6d. to be taken to the ship, a dis- tance of about two miles, whereas tae steamer took us for 6d. a-head. I learned on going on board that two of the second cabin passen- gers, who had neglected to make a bargain » FROM LIVEIll'OOL. i Inclusive use, )r 10s. each, it up, which ► keep them- irage passen- on Tuesday 16 dock next aer down the ry, when she against her. uls, whereof ler consisted } crew, most of the We hired a 1, when there is by far the to the small itage of pas- y demanded e ship, a dis- s tae steamer led on going cabin passen- ke a bargain with the boatmen, were forced to ]ydy a sove- reign for being taken on board. If the boat- men see passengers simple, and very anxious, and afraid of losing their passage, they are sure to take advantage, and overcharge them. On Thursday the wind was blowing fresh from the N. N. W. On Friday I witnessed a regular Irish row. Two of the steerage pas- sengers quarrelled and came to blows. The friends of each interfered. Shillelahs, billets of wood, and pokers were flourished in the air. Their Irish blood was fairly up. Several of them got broken heads. The quarter-deck was stained with their blood, and at one time it rather had an alarming appearance ; but the mate, with the assistance of the crew, at last succeeded in quelling them. The behaviour of the Irish on this occasion impressed me with a very unfavourable opinion of them. I saw one defenceless man knocked down by another with a heavy bludgeon, in a most cowardly and savage manner. He took three diiferent aims before he could get the man's head into a position to get a fair blow at it. The expression 'ki 10 VOYAGE. of fury on thciv faces during the iwsliewed how little command they have over their passions. The Captain having engaged a steamer to tow us out five miles beyond the floating light, which lies about sixteen miles from Liverpool, we were taken in tow at 11 a. m. on Sunday the 6th April. The wmd m the morning was from the N.W., but about mid- day it fell calm. About one hundred vessels left Liverpool the same day ; they had, like ourselves, been wind-bound for some days in the Mersey. As many of the large ships as could procure steamers were dragged out by steam power, the others made sail and worked out. We soon left thelatterfar behind us. We passed within a mile of the wreck of a vessel, lying on her beam ends on the sands. It proved to be the brig Speedy from the coast ot Africa, laden with palm-oil. Saw several casks of the palm-oil floating past. She was lost through the carelessness of the pilot, who was intoxi- cated : the crew were all saved. It may be interesting to mention how the passengers pass their time on board. A ship 4 AMUSEMENTS, &C. 11 lewed how passions, steamer to le floating iiiles from at 11 A. M. v^ind in the about mid- L-ed vessels y hadj like me days in ips as could it by steam ^vorked out. , We passed vessel, lying [t proved to ;t of Africa, casks of the ost through was intoxi- Lon how the ird. A ship 1 lias been compared to a prison, with the chance of being drowned ; but I do not think the com- parison correct in some respects. The air of a prison is not so free as it is upon the open sea, the company not so select, the wonders of the deep, and the sublime raging of the sea, are not to be seen in a jail. Still the resem- blance holds true in one particular of import- ance, for the sailor and the prisoner may both exclaim with the bird in the cage, " I can't get out, I can't get out." The common amusements are, walking on deck, — standing or sitting in groups telling long stories, — shooting at sea gulls, or any other sea birds that venture within shot, — playing at cards, draughts, or backgammon, — and, if a fine evening, dancing on the quarter deck and poop. Sometimes a strange diversity of oc- cupations may be seen, " We have dancing on the main deck, And preaching down below, We have swearing in the fore top As through the waves we go." Among the passe 3rs in the second cabin, there is a clergyman who performs family ,1 12 VOYAGK ACROSS :t..l:i VI ' W" ' f ' M.' * jfen- %i worshii. every eveuing to all who choose to attend ; but the Irish llouian Cathoiics take a great pleasure in dancing Irish jigs over his head dnring the service, to prevent, I suppose, what they consider the growth of heretical principles. After the steamer left us on bun- day afternoon, we made very little progress, the weather being calm, with light a.rs fron. the northward, until late on Monday night a fair wind sprung up from the S.E. which car- ried us along about seven miles an hour. On Tuesday the 8th, at 4 v. m. we were abreast of Tuscar light, and about twenty "I'les dis- tant from the rock situated on the Wexford coast in Ireland. Wednesday the 9tli April. Blowing fresh from the S.E. ; ship steering W. by S. roUmg and pitching a good deal. Most of the passen- gers sea-sick : the ship's buckets in great re- quest as reservoirs to the stomach-pumps, which were in full play all day. A great fall- ino- off in the consumption of provisions. A tumbler of sea-water is the best specific for sea sickness ; it acts as an emetic, and, by thoroughly cleaning the stomach, is the means ^ THK ATLAxNTU. la choose to ilcs take a s over his I suppose, f heretical us oil Sun- e progress, t airs from iay night a which car- hour. On ere abreast y miles dis- lie Wexford owing fresh )y S. rolling I the passen- in great re- nach-pumps, A. great fall- ovisions. A : specific for etic, and, by is the means of sooner restoring the stomach to a hnalthy state than any thing else that can be taken. April 10. — A fresh breeze from the S. E. Running nine miles an hour. At 4 a. m. the til- ler rope broke ; replaced it with another ; the passengers in the steerage all below, and sea sick. The mess they are in beggars all descrip- tion. About 180 men, women, and children all confined in a space not larger, than a large drawing room, with no air or light but what ' comes down the hatchway. I popped my head down for a minute or two, but the smell was too powerful for my olfactory nerves — children crying, women screaming, and all tossing about from side to side as the vessel pitched ; butter, biscuit, treacle, herrings, beef, and potatoes all lying higgildy-piggildy, and rolling from side to side, altogether made up a scene of misery and confusion such as I never saw before. April 11. — A strong breeze from the S... with cloudy weather and squalls at times. We are walking through the water in style, having gone by log 205 miles in the last twenty-four hours ; steering W. N. W. This course may B - ft f 14 VOYA(iE ACROSS 'vr seem strange, but when it is explained that the variation of the compass is '2^ points to the westward, it will appear that the course we are steering is W. ^ S. ; Latitude by obser- vation at noon 49° 5' N. ; Longitude by chro- nometer 20° 10' W. A few of the passengers are beginning to appear on deck again. 1 have noticed an interesting young female among the steerage passengers often sitting upon a hen-coop on the deck and musing. I felt a curiosity to know the particulars that had caused her to leave her native land. She told me she belonged to Dalkeith, and had been in service in Edinburgh, where she got acquainted with a young man, who fell in love with her, and offered her uuuriage if she would accompany him to Ne\, V oik. She said that she would prefer coming out to him in two years if he succeeded in business. lie had kept up a correspondence with her, and finally pre- vailed upon her to come out, and she is now on her way to join him. I observed her to- day writing something with a pencil on the white leaf of a book ; and, by a little coaxing, I got her to shew it to me. It ran thus : — t. i laiiied tliat \ points to the course e by obser- ie by chro- passongers again. I ing female rten sitting musing. I iculars that land. She b, and had ere she got fell in love f she would le said that him in two :Ie had kept finally pre- she is now v^ed her to- ncil on the tie coaxing, 1 thus : — rnr: Atlantic. i;, " Sailing' across the Atlantic J To liim whom I adore, I muse upon my lonely state, » Amid the billows roar. r think upon the land I left, And all my friends so dear. Which jnakes my trembling heart to swell While I let fall a tear. But there is one more dear to me Than all I left at home ; And for his sake I'll plough the waves, And ride upon the foam." Poor creature ! She seemed deserving of a berth in the cabin. I gave her a couple of oranges, which she accepted ; and I offered her a glass of brandy toddy to comfort her poor sea-sick and love-sick soul ; but she de- clined it with many thanks. April 12.— Blowing a gale of wind; the ship rolling so much, that we were often carried on our seats from one end of the cabin to the other. At dinner one of the passengers receiv- ed a plateful of pease-soup into his breast, which he intended to have gone down by his mouth into his stomach. When the ship gives a heavy lee-lurch, every thing, animate or inani- mate, that is not lashed, flies away to leeward. Hi ftf^ UJ VOYAGE ACllOSS * •* iJ I Among our cabin passengers we liavf^ a young couple, who were only married about two weeks before we sailed. They came from an in- land county in England, and had never seen the sea before. I was amused with the lady : she seemed so pleased that she was soon to see the beautiful large waves. " O," says she, " how I shall love to look at them : dear me, I shall be so delighted. I do so much wish we may have a storm ; you cannot conceive how I long to see all them sort of fine sights. I once saw a storm acted in the theatre in our county town : it w^s so fine,— but a real storm, you know, must ^e a great deal finer. We lost the pitching of the ship, and the roaring of the wind and waves, and the smell of the tar. I do like the smell of tar so much." What a happv couple, they were so loving and so lovely. " They were all in all to each other," the first night they came on board the ship when she lay in the river. They were very happy indeed ; in the words of the poet, *' They lookM up to the sky, whose floating glow Spread hke a rosy ocean, vast and bright, They gazed upon the glittering sea below, Whence the broad moon rose circling into sight. my rii ina j so. ] have 3 we do I Lat Loi Apt #. r THK ATLANTIC. 17 vfi a young about two from an iii- never seen li the lady : soon to see s she, " how me, I shall ish we may 3 how I long I once saw our county I storm, you We lost the iring of the he tar. I do hat a happy L so lovely, ler," the first when she lay ppy indeed ; ting glow ight, slow, ; into sight. I They heard the waves splash, and the wind so low, And saw each other's dark eyes darting light Into each other, and beholding this Their lips drew near, and clung into a kiss." Alas that so much happiness should be so soon clouded. Scarcely had we got into blue wa- ter, when the happy couple were laid prostrate before father Neptune. I saw nothing of them for some days. This afternoon, when the gale had abated, I paid a visit to the lady. I found her in bed, very pale and dejected. I asked her how she was. " O," says she, " I am so bad, you have no idea. I have done nothing but vomit these four days past, and have suffered dreadfully. That nasty rude sea, I do detest it so. You cannot imagine how it used me last night. It threw me out of the bed right over Mr D., and I fell upon the deck ; the wrist of my right arm is all sprained, and my body is all in a jelly with the vessel knocking me about so. I hope, in the name of heaven, we wont have no more storms ; I am sure I will die if we do." Latitude at noon 48^^ 5' N. Longitude ditto 'i.T 40' W. April 1.3. — A moderate breeze from the a I £■■ r'fl )h VOYAGE ACllOSS S.E., with thick cloudy weather, and rain in fore part of the day. Sailing, during the night, nine miles an hour. Dr Johnson remarked, that he thought the greatest pleasure on earth was attained by rolling rapidly along in a coach. For my part, I think the pleasure is greater in sailing along with a fine spanking breeze to your desired haven. Nothing tends to raise the spirits more. As the breeze freshens, your hopes brighten : you imagine you see the long-wished for shore, and are greeted by your friends and acquaintances, in a land where every thing is new and strange to you ; and where, if you have few friends, you have no enemies. I am sensible to-day of an alteration in the weather ; it is considerably warmer. I spend much of my time on deck, either in walking, or in lolling on a hen-coop, and conversing with one or other of the passengers about their prospects in America. This day, being Sunday, the captain pro- posed that we should have the parson on deck to give us a word, to keep the crew and the low Irish in order. " I am not against reli- gion," says he, " if you keep it in its proper 14 V I d rain in the night, remarked, 3 on earth in a coach, greater in breeze to o raise the >^our hopes ng-wished i'iends and y thing is if you have im sensible ther ; it is ich of my in lolling ith one or r prospects aptain pro- on on deck ew and the Lgainst reli- i its proper THE ATLANTIC. 19 place ; but catch me on the banks of New- foundland, in a calm, on a Sunday, and see if I don't catch fish, although I had a whole cargo of parsons on board." Accordingly the minis- ter was ushered up in form ; he was placed with his back to the capstan, with a large bar- rel containing salt beef, before him for a cu- shion. The genteel passengers sat on stools in front of him, and the Irish rag-tag-and-l)obtail made up the back ground of the congregation. I have seen the Hindoos on the banks of the Ganges, worshipping the golden images of their fathers ; I have looked on while the Parsee offered up his homage to the rising sun ; I have been present at the setting of the sun on the coast of Coromandel, and heard the Moor offer up his evening prayer to the Pro- phet Mahomet ; and I have been at Seceder meetings in my native land ; but divine service in a ship in the middle of the ocean, is calcu- lated to impress the mind with holier thoughts, and more devout feelings, than all the others put together. There we need no monitor to tell us of the omnipotence of God. The mountain waves declare his power ; the immense abyss %i A! i 20 VOYACiK ACROSS of waters remind us of eternity; while the stormy winds fulfil his decrees. The subject chosen by the clergyman was appropriate, al- though I cannot say that his sermon was in the first style of oratory. Towards the con- clusion an accident occurred, which nearly up- set my gravity ; the rolling of the ship caused the parson to lose his balance, and he fell for- ward, knocked over the cask of beef in his front, and both were deposited in the lee-scup- pers. April 14 The wind veered round in the night to W.S.W., and blew fresh, with squalls. About four in the morning, the jib-boom was carried away in a hard squall, the ship heeled over nearly on her beam-ends, and presented an alarming appearance. The ship has been rolling to-day to such an extent, that it is im- possible to stand or sit. One woman was knocked over, and nearly got her arm broke. An elderly gentleman, in ascending the poop- ladder, fell, and the ladder falling upon him, bruised his arm severely. This arose from the ladder not being lashed to the poop, which it ought to have been. In the forenoon we ship- is sue passa^ m close 1 the he I prema steerai was S2 as Ian cerem rolling hard s lightni main t THE ATJ.ANTIL. 21 liile the B subject riate, al- [1 was in the con- early up- p caused 3 fell for- ef in his lee-scup- d in the ii squalls. »oom was ip heeled ^resented has been it is im- man was m broke. :he poop- pon him, from the which it 1 we ship- ped a heavy sea, part of which poured down into the steerage, and made the poor wretches there believe that the ship was going down. Some were praying, others cursing, and all wishing themselves anywhere but in their pre- sent situation. To add to the whole, the mas- ter had ordered the after and main hatches to be battened down ; so that they were shut up in total darkness, where they were left in a state not to be envied. The clergyman is very unwell, and confined to bed ; he thinks if there is such a place as purgatory, it must be the passage from Liverpool to New York. As a close to the catastrophes of this eventful day, the heaving and straining of the ship brought premature labour on one of the females in the steerage. By the assistance of the doctor, she was safely delivered of an ocean child, before as large a company as ever was present at a ceremony of the kind. April 15 — Blowing fresh all night; ship rolling very much. At half-past 6 a.m., in a hard squall, the ship was twice struck with lightning, which carried away her fore and main top-masts. The scene during the squall 1/ T V()YA(;E. was awfully sublime ; the wind blew very hard, the rain descended in bucketfuls, the thun- derbolts could be seen in all directions darting through the air, and then plunging into the sea. When the first bolt struck the ship, it knocked down the master and one of the pigs, but what part of the ship it struck, was not ascertained, — most likely one of the anchors. After about two minutes the master recovered his legs, and was again giving orders to the men, when a most tremendous thunderbolt struck the main top-mast, and shivered it and also the fore top-mast into splinters. The bolt then flew down the fore-mast into the steerage among the passengers, and took a direction at right-angles with the mast for the ship's side, and escaped into the sea, by staving a large hole in the side of the vessel. After the se- cond bolt struck the ship, there was a death- like silence for the space of a minute. The deck appeared a sheet of fire. The master and crew were all struck down, apparently dead, on the deck. As soon as the crew recovered, some six or seven ran into the cabin, and threw themselves on their faces, declared they could STOKM AT SKA. 113 ery hard, le thun- s dar/ting into the i ship, it 'the pigs f was not anchors, ecovered [•s to the inderbolt ed it and The bolt i steerage ection at ip's side, 5 a large [• the se- a death- The deck and crew d, on the Bd, some id threw ey could do no more, — that the tore-mast was gone, that the bolt had gone through the ship's bot- tom, and set Iier on fire. They lay in the ca- bin for some minutes, till the master had re- covered from the effects of the last thunder- bolt, and got upon his legs again, when he came to the cabin-door and called out to his men, " Are ye men, or are ye children ! Come along with me, and help to stop up the hole in the ship's side, and extinguish the fire in the steerage !" At the well-known voice of their commander, whom they supposed dead, they went forward to their duty, and succeeded in extinguishing the fire, and in stopping up the leak. At the time when the ship was last struck, there were no less than two water- spouts on our starboard beam. One of them came so near, that it threatened to break over us, and send us to the bottom. Indeed, it ap- peared as if we were doomed to destruction. It takes danger of no ordinary description to appal British seamen, but the combmed terrors of the winds and waves, thunderbolts, light- ning, water-spouts, and fire, had caused them to despair. I \ : . MA ^ w i t 1 1 I m ! 'Ill I ( ■ f4 VOYAGE ACROSS The passengers were dreadfully alarmed; delicate females were seen, half frantic, stag- gering about in their chemises; all delicacy was at an end for the time. As soon as the ex- tent of our misfortune was ascertained, — for the sailors,in their terror, had overestimated the danger,— there was a general feeling of grati- tude to God, that we had escaped with such a trifling loss, compared with the apparent mag- nitude of the danger. Notwithstanding that the bolt had gone into the steerage among the passengers, no person had been killed, and on- ly one slightly wounded or burned by the bolt, as he lay in his bed below the place where the lightning had escaped into the sea. It is but justice to mention, that the captain, under such trying circumstances, stood to his post, and did his duty to the satisfaction of all on board. The escape of a part of the crew was most providential. They had been ordered up to close-reef the fore top-sail, and when half- way up the fore shrouds, they were called down again by the captain, to defer reefing until the severity of the squall had passed over. Had they been on the top-sail yard at the time THK ATLANTIC. 25 alarmed ; tic, stag- delicacy as the ex- iled, — for nated the of grati- th such a 'ent mag- ding that mong the I, and on- ^ the bolt, where the It is but in, under his post, of all on crew was ►rdered up vhen half- ere called er reefing issed over, it the time the lightning struck the fore top-mast, and car- ried the mast and yard away, they must all have been precipitated into the sea. After the accident occurred, we bore away before the wind; the men were served out a glass of brandy ; they were employed the rest of the day in clearing away the wreck, getting down the masts, yards, rigging, and sails, and saving as much as they could from falling into the sea. The captain proposed running for the nearest port to refit the ship ; but as the accident oc- curred in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about 1300 miles from land, we had but a gloomy prospect before us. The nearest port we could make, with our present wind, was St John's, Newfoundland, which, in our present crippled situation, would take several weeks to accomplish. The next nearest port was Halifax, in Nova Scotia, which, as it afforded superior advantages to St John's, we resolved, in the event of not falling in with vessels to' assist us, to steer for. April 16 — The wind having moderated during the night, we steered our course again W.N.W.; wind at S.S.W. Saw at daylight, c ijjj.f/ fel' f ka [ 2« VOYACiE ACROSS ii ^s much to our satisftiction, three vessels in slight; hoisted a signal of distress. The first vessel that came up with us, bore down and came un- der our stern. She proved to be the brig Pro- mise, of and from Liverpool, bound for Que- bec for timber. We informed her of our situ- ation, and craved her to give us a spar to make a top-mast of; but the master replied, he was sorry that he had none to spare. The next vessel that saw our signal, and bore down to our assistance, was the bark Admiral Ben- bow, from Liverpool for Quebec. The captain hailed us, and told us to send a boat on board, and he would give us a top-mast ; which we did, and were thus relieved in some degree from our helpless state. We observed, a long way to windward, a bark in great distress ; she had lost her fore top-mast, and seemingly sprung her main-mast. She was bearing down upon us, but it fell calm in the afternoon, and prevented us giving her any assistance, or hearing the extent of her calamity ; very likely she had been struck with a thunderbolt in the same squall that dismasted us. April 17 — A breeze sprung up early this niorinn we ma our CO change we hop us to tl I un( it is ui from til are the passage then cli the mo voyage!! Latit Long Apri same as breeze c supersti opportu charactf having i: was seal ed ; and Tin; AiLANTK . 27 n slight ; ^t vessel aine un- rig Pro- br Que- )ur situ- spar to replied, 3. The re down al Ben- captain ti board, liich we degree , a long listress ; smingly ig down on, and Lnce, or y likely t in the irly this iriorning from the N.K., and being a fair wind, we nuide all the sail we could, and steered our course for New York. As the u ind had changed at the second quarter of the moon, we hoped it might last for a few days, and waft us to the banks of Newfoundland. I understand that, at this season of the year, it is usual to find the wind in the Atlantic from the N.E. The months of April and May are the most favourable for making a short passage to North America, the wind being then chiefly from the KE.; and October is the month that the shortest and pleasantest voyages are made to England from America. Latitude at noon, by observation, 49° 14' N. Longitude, by chronometer, 34° 10' W. April 18 — Wind and weather much the same as yesterday, but in the afternoon the breeze declined. Sailors are said to be very superstitious ; our late calamity gave me an opportunity of observing this point in their character. The cook attributed it to the ship having some Irish murderers on board. The ship was searched for such characters before we sail- ed ; and he concluded they must be on board still. ! 5' ( 28 VOY/\riE ACIiOSS If they were, I should liave liked to Iiave oxa- niined their faces by the glare of the light- ning ; their feelings at that moment, when they saw the judgments of God coming down upon them, must have given them such a look of horror as the damned may be supposed to have amid the tortures of eternal punishment. I am surprised that the ship had no conductors for the lightning at her mast-heads. No ships on foreign voyages ought to sail without them. Had we been provided with this safeguard, the calamity in all likelihood would have been averted. I think it would be good policy if Lloyd's refused insuring all ships, the masters of which did not provide themselves with con- ductors ; the expense of them is a mere trifle, and I believe their efficacy is undoubted. No-' body can tell how many fine ships lie buried in the ocean, having been sunk by a thunder- bolt, and not a soul left to tell the sad tale. April 19.— The fickle ^vind has changed to S.S.W., a stiff breeze ship-steering W. by N., and going at noon eight miles an hour. A strange sail in sight, about two miles on the weather-beam. Saw for the first time a Mother ■ I ■1^* f rnii AiLANTU". •217 Lve oxa- e light- len they n upon look of to have ent. I (luctors o ships tthem. ird, the been olicy if iiasters fch con- 3 trifle, . No- buried under- lie, ged to ^yN, r. A n the [other ■ Carey's l)ird, skimming aUjng the waves, not nnhke a large martin. In sailing along the dreary waste of waters, there is little to attract attention. Man is no- where taught his insignificance more than on the ocean. The meanest peasant and the great- est monarch are there upon a level ; the sea pays no respect to persons. His Atlantic ma- jesty in a rage is above all crowned heads. King William the Fourth may reign on shore and conimand, but on the sea, at the command of his oce- lie majesty, he must stoop his royal head, and give up his dinner to the fishes. Sunday, April 20 — Wind the same as yes- terday, with hazy weather and rain ; running six miles an hour. We are now half-way across the Atlantic. The rain prevented the performance of divine worship. The barome- ter is now between change and rain ; the ba- rometer, which, in a town, is only useful to in- dicate to the citizens whether or not it is ne- cessary to carry an umbrella, is at sea of the greatest importance. When the barometer falls suddenly, the mariner is forewarned of a gale ; be immediately prepares for it, by taking in \ ! 30 VOYAGE ACROSS % I ;l sail, and making his vessel snug, before it over- takes him. Sometimes a tempest comes on suddenly, the sky gives no signs of its ap- proach, and without that useful instrument — the barometer — many more ships would be lost or dismasted than now are. April 21. — When I went on deck this morn- ing, I found we had an Irishman's hurricane — the wind right up and down ; that is, a dead calm ; but a gentle breeze soon sprung up from the E.S.E. At 11 A. m., a large fish was ob- served, about twelve yard^ astern, swimming after the ship : the top fin alone was seen : it came nearer, and raised its head a little out of the water, as if it were smelling at the ship : it was a large blue shark, and seemed very hungry. We got a shark hook, and baited it with about six lb. of pork, and threw it over the stern, taking care to make fast the other end to a bolt in the ship. The bait had not been in the water over two minutes, when the shark got his eye upon it ; he came swimming slowly up, turned half over on his back, and, making a grab at it, he fairly swallowed hook and all. As soon as he found himself in limbo. JiS^'liiiiHi f THE ATLANTIC, in it over- mes on its ap- tiient — be lost 3 morn- cane — a dead ip from ;^as ob- imming een : it } out of J ship : d very aited it it over 8 other ad not len the mining k, and, i hook limbo. lie became furious, lashed the water with his tail, and struggled so, that I expected the rope every moment to give way. We run out all the rope we could ; gradually his struggles be- came less. We succeeded in hauling it on board, but even then what a row it kicked up on the quarter-deck : it lashed the deck with its tail so, that it was dangerous to go near it. The captain called for the carpenter's axe, and cut off the tail, and then the head, which some- what quieted him ; still, although decapitated, had the head of any unfortunate wight come in its way, it would most certainly have shared the same fate, for a shark can bite even after its head has been severed from the body ; indeed, so tenacious are they of life, that I am told that the heart of a shark, which was cut out and laid upon the deck, actually contracted and dilated for two hours and twenty minutes after- wards. The shark we caught measured twelve feet three inches long. It had three rows of teeth ; each tooth was in the form of, and as sharp as a lancet. Its jaws, when extended, could easily have taken in any man on board. W o^ VOYACiK ACROSS If: 'i^ lli . <.j I.;. . ■ m I On cutting it up, we found five young sharks in her inside, about a foot long ; and wc took out of the stomach a shoe and a hairy cap, that had been lost overboard the night before. Ajjril 22.— The wind changed during the night to N.W., which forces us to steer three points more to the southward than our course lies. We are now on the outer edge of the banks of Newfoundland : we are surrounded by fog, and the weather feels very chilly and disagreeable : the fog is more piercing than a Scotch mist. The temperature of the sea was tried, and found to be 37° of Fahrenheit's ther- mometer. Passengers ought to be cautious not to expose themselves unnecessarily to the fog in this latitude, as severe colds are often the consequence, which are difficult to be got rid off. That the banks of Newfoundland are almost always covered with fogs, appears strange: the natural causes which produce this effect, I believe, consist in the vapours from the deep sea being condensed on the banks of Newfoundland. April 23.~Blowing a gale of wind right in our teeth, and so cold, that wc suspect there must b pitchin, gerous the bre when t] two rol table ; a stool, deck,— starboa state-rc luck, b ocular ( possess! It is sengers thoughl they n kind of ship ha tin, or ( very mi same p penduli deal of i.\^ THE ATLANTIC. 3«> .3 must be icebergs in the noiglibourliood ; ship pitching and rolling so mncli, that it is dan- gerous to get out of bed. I ventured up to the breakfast- table, and was hardly sat down, when the ship commenced a fit of rolling. In two rolls, there was hardly any thing upon the table ; every article had vanished. I sat upon a stool, which happened not to be lashed to the deck, — I went slap-bang, stool and all, to the starboard side. My head came against the state-room door ; and if it had not, by good luck, been a thick one, I should have given ocular demonstration to all on board that I was possessed of brains. It is of importance to the comfort of pas- sengers going to America, (but too seldom thought of till too late to be remedied,) that they make themselves acquainted with the kind of goods the vessel is laden with. If a ship has in her bottom much iron, lead, block- tin, or other heavy goods, she is sure to roll very much in the sea, as the iron acts upon the same principle as the weight attached to the pendulum of a clock. Our vessel has a great deal of pig-iron in her hold, and, in conse- In : I i i iff- h 'I ;n VOYAGE ACROSS Irf i ■•• I i <■ I 'i queiice, she rolls so, that mmiy a night I get no skiep, but lie tossing about in my bed, sometimes expecting her to roll the masts over her side. A great part of our loading consists of salt, which is a very unsafe cargo, as, in the case of springing a leak, the salt will melt, and the ship, for want of ballast, turn bottom-up. The best cargo is what is called a lively one, such as spirits, molasses, flour, bale-goods, and such like ; they move with the ship, strain her less, and assist her sailing. April 24 Wind right a-head, making no progress to the west. The weather is clear. At 4 p. M. a very large shoal of porpoises were seen sporting all around the vessel : we fired some balls at them, and shot two or three ; nevertheless, they continued their gambols till after 6 o'clock. They seem to be very full of blood, as those wounded dyed the water red in their track for a good while after they were shot. At half-past 6 o'clock, we hove to and put out a line, in hopes of catching cod ; but got none, as we were in too deep water. Latitude by observation, 43° 12' N. Longitude by chronometer, 49° 49' W. '^. f TIIK ATLANTIC. April 25. — Nearly calm in the morning, and tine clear weather, which is very uncommon on the banks of Newfoundland. At half-past 10 A. M., a breeze sprung up due north. The ship can barely lie to her course (W.N.W.) ; it is still very cold ; ship running about four miles an hour. We have engaged an Irishman to assist the cook, as he had more than enough to do. I suppose his abilities only extend to boiling a murphy, as, from his appearance, he cannot have been caught above three months ; yet, by the assistance of the new married lady, who is now seasoned to the hardships of the sea, we managed to have a plum-pudding to dinner to-day, which would have done honour to a restaurateur in Paris, and a comfortable glass of hot brandy-toddy after it. The wind headed us again in the afternoon, and it be- came piercing cold. At 5 p. m. we saw two icebergs to leeward : they were at a great dis- tance, and appeared very like the engravings I have seen of them in Scotland. I have no doubt, from the intensity of the cold, that we have plenty more of them to windward. At half-past f) we spoke the Donn, a bark from \ ! \ 1 I m VO' ACltUSS I ,4 Hull for Quebec, out thirty -one days. The master stated that he had seen a deal of ice. I hope it will keep at a distance from our ship, as I would be sorry to see her locked in the embraces of such a cold-hearted paramour. April 2Cy — Wind right in our teeth, and cold weather. Spoke a bark from London for Quebec, twenty-one days out. In the after- noon we hove the ship too, and set up our main and mizen-rigging. Two lines were put over the side to catch cod ; but we had no success. At 6 p. M., the wind shifted to the S.S.E., which raised our spirits much. We set all sail, and were dashing merrily along, when, about 8 o'clock, the wind chopped round to the old point, W.N.W., and blew a hard gale of wind. We furled our sails, and hove the ship too under a close-reefed main top-sail. The captain was upon deck a great part of the night, and was most attentive to his duty. Sunday, April 27 — Still blowing a gale, sea running very high ; but the ship is very easy under it. April 28. — At 3 a. m. a breeze sprung up from t times. and at clear m sight. deal oj cigar a: admirii clouds. the W. been vi comes f outstret and roai four hoi Aprii pitching April went int ed forth a chang wind, bu tion. This tonous ir ■f THK ATLANTIC. :n . The of ice. ur ship, in the )ur. th, and don for B after- up our ere put lad no set all when, und to d gale ve the )p-sail. of the I gale, is very ing up i trom the S.E. Dull hazy weather, with rain at times. At noon the wind died nearly away • and at 4 p. m. it changed to the S.S.E., with' clear weather and sunshine. Three vessels in sight. Between 8 and 10 p. m. we had a great deal of lightning to windward. I took mv cigar and walked the deck for about an hour admiring the electric fluid darting among the '"= ^-^-W, and blew a gale. The wLl has been rathe., coquettish for two days past; it comes fair for two or three hours and woos our outstretched sails, then turns round upon us and roars and rages for the rest of the twenty- lour hours. ^ April '^9._Wind dead against us ; ship pitching very much. ^ April .30.- Wind still against us. The moon went into her last quarter at 4 a. m. We look- ed for this event with anxiety, anticipating that a change would thereby be produced in the wind, but ,t passed away without any altera- This day has been one of the most mono- tonous m my existence. I have lain the best 1 > 1 % I f if i if i ii ' * DEATH OF A CHILD. part of it in bed, reading. The spirits of all the passengers are much depressed, owing to the continuance of adverse winds. One of the children in the second cabin is very ill : by the advice of the doctor, he was removed into our cabin, and placed on a matress in front of the fire. I heard the poor child moan- ing all night. At 7 P. M. a breeze sprung up from E.S.E., and we made all sail, going during the night about five miles an hour. Ma?/ 1. — I rose early this morning, and walked the deck. I gathered no Maj'^-dew, but my cap was thickly covered with bank fog. The breeze continued favourable till 10 a. m., when it fell nearly calm, and continued so till about 5 p. M., when it blew again from the old point (right against us). At 9 a. m. the poor child departed this life, just as we were sitting down to breakfast. At 6 p. m. we committed the body of the little innocent to the rude waves of the Atlantic. We all assembled on deck, and the clergyman gave us a suitable prayer on the occasion. It was a peculiarly affecting ceremony. There were no outward 4 symbol the hea the bus were eJ saw arc ncss, ai of the I May a wind eye. ' we wei it liead tue to double submits sea life, way to impatie found t iiojourn ly V AN OCKAN KUNEllAL. 'MJ s of all owing One of ery ill : 3move(l ress in I nioan- i night and Lj'^-dew, ,nk fog. ) A. M., so till the old ie poor sitting imitted e rude led on uitable !uliarly utward symbols of woe, — no crape, no weepers, — but the hearts of all were affected. The bustle of the busy world, with all its thoughts and cares, were effectually excluded, and every thing we saw around, reminded us of our own nothing- ness, and of the omnipotence of the great Ruler of the Universe. He died far, far from home and friends, Upon the Atlantic wave ; The shark swims by, the wild sea-gull Is hoveling o'er his grave. Ma?/ 2. — At 1 A. M. we were favoured with a wind from N.by E., which was worth a Jew's eye. We made all sail, and, as it blew fresh, we went rattling along until 11 a. m., when it headed us again. Patience is a usefid vir- tue to possess any where, but it becomes of double value at sea. If a person cheerfully submits to the hardships and privations of a sea life, he hardly feels them ; but if he gives way to a spirit of discontent, fretfulness, and impatience, he makes himself miserable. I have found the truth of this observation during my iiojourn aboard of ship. That I have met with \ I ^^ 1 40 \()YA(,K ACIIOSS I! IP B (■ many hardships and annoyances, cainiot be dc- niod, but I laugh at them all; I have even made them a source of amusement. It has been remarked, that"God sends meat, and the devil sends cooks"; a' 1 my experience verifies the proverb. It is no uncommon occurrence to have the tea made with half salt water. Many a night the rolling of the ship excludes all hope of sleep, and as the body rolls with the vessel, the cheek on which I lie is some- times chafed with the friction of the pillow during the night, and I am in danger of a con- cussion of the brain against the bed-post, from a sudden pitch of the vessel. But still these petty miseries, when borne in a spirit of cheer- fulness are as nothing. I have been accus- tomed at home to all the comforts of life, yet I have laughed more, and been as happy, un- der my present circumstances, as ever I was in my life. Latitude, by observation, at noon, 43° 35' N. Longitude, by chronometer, 55° 38' W. Ma?/ 3.— They say no wind at all is half a fair wind. We were in this situation until noon. I ^.^»- fl THE ATLANTIC. 41 yet when a gentle breeze sprung up from N.N.E., and wooed the swelling sails. Early this morning another of the childreu in the steerage departed this life. I did not ascertain the name of the child. At 4 p. m. we committed the body of the deceased to the ^ deep, having previously sewed it up in canvas, with about thirty pounds of iron attached to it, to sink it. The boisterous weather we have had lately, has been very severe upon the chil- dren. Their tender frames are ill fitted to en- dure the sudden changes of temperature we have met with since we left Liverpool. May 4. {Sunday,) — The breeze continues steady from the N.N.E. ; ship going five miles an hour. About 2 a. m. I was awakened by a great noise. It proceeded from the second cabin, and seemed to me as if the people there were fighting and quarrelling. At breakfast- time I learned that it proceeded from a drunk- en frolic. Several of the passengers in that part of the ship had been drinking together till a late hour. One of them, a Scotsman, had been asked to furnish a bottle of brandy to the others. He said he had none. As they knew D 2 i \ 42 VOVAlii: ACROSS 1 i' -' ■M fin to tlie contrary, however, having seen two bot- tles of li(|uor in his chest, they said nothing more at the time, but procured more liquor from another quarter ; and, when the debauch was at an end, they planned an attack upon the Scotsman, who had retired to his bed. They extinguished the light, put on the hatches, to prevent the cries ascending, and alarm- ing those on deck ; seized the poor wretch by the head and foot, and dragged him out of bed. He roared like a stuck pig. They clap- ped his own hands upon his mouth to silence him, and he, being the worse of liquor, and in total darkness, mistook his own hand for that of his antagonist, and actually bit his own thumb half off before he found out his error. They then took the key from him, opened his chest, took out a bottle of hollands and a bottle of brandy, and shared both among all who chose to partake. While this was going for- ward, the man, who thought he was to be rob- bed and murdered, roared long and loud ; and tlie noise of so many tipsy people speaking all together, formed no unapt resemblance to what we (conceive of pandemonium. TlIK AT I, AN IK". 4:\ A bark in siglit to windward, about ton miles distance, standing on the same course with ourselves. Latitude observed, 42^ 20' \\ . Longitude, by chronometer, 57° 40' N. Mm/ 5 A steady breeze from tlie N.N.E., and fine clear weather. At daylight saw three small vessels steering to the eastward. At 9 a. m. we spoke them : tliey had left Boston five days ago, and were bound for the banks of New- foundland for fish. We learned from one of them, that sixteen vessels from Britain had ar- rived at Boston this spring. The new married lady has been complaining for two days past, and to-day is very unwell. She was quite delirious last night. She raved about drowning, storms, sharks, and lightning, all night. I gave her some cooling powders, and she is rather easier this afternoon. Mai/ 6. — The wind shifted at midnight to E.S.E., and is now quite fair. We have our studding-sails set on both sides, which look like wings, and make us skim through the water like an eagle winging its way through I i: i i; h i 1 j vm < ' P '/> ■ :f i lA 44 A SAILOR OVERBOAllD. ^u i :m the sky. If the breeze holds, we will be at New York by Saturday. I was hardly risen from breakfast this morn- ing, when I heard the alarm given of a man overboard. The deck was covered in a mi- nute, all exclaiming, where is he, who is it ! The helm was put hard a-starboard, which brought the ship's head up to the wind, and stopped her way through the water. The boat was about to be lowered down, when we dis- covered the unfortunate man about twelve yards astern, holding on like grim death to a rope. The men were hauling him on board half-drowned, when, to my utter astonishment, whom should I see emerging from the waves, but our assistant-cook and valet de chambre. The poor devil had been drawing a bucketful of salt-water, to wash the potatoes for dinner : he had leaned too far over the ship's side, and lost his balance, and fell headlong into the sea : luckily the rope he had in his hand was at- tached to one of the sails, which, when the slack ran out, brought him up. Had he let go the rope, his fate would have been sealed. I shall never forget his appearance when he got 1 THE fiULI' STREAM. on board, " Ocli ! your honour," says he, " I was after cleaning the taters, but sure, and I have cleaned myself instead." I took him into the cabin, and gave him a stiff glass of Hol- lands to warm him after his cold bath. We have seen a great deal of gulf weed to-day. We are now on the edge of the gulf stream ; it flows from Florida, and it takes a kind of circular course, first to the northward and eastward, and then to the southward and westward, round by the Azores and Madeira to the coast of South America, then up the Car- ribbean Sea to Florida. The current near this part, runs about two miles an hour to the east- ward, so we are keeping to the north to avoid it. The high temperature of the water in the gulf stream, ranging from 65° to 75° Fahren- heit, is very remarkable ; and from this fact ma- riners are enabled to know when they are in the gulf stream. May 7. — The breeze died away at 2 a. m., and remained calm until 5 p. m., when it blew fresh for about three hours from S. by E., with some heavy showers, and foggy weather. It is difficult for any but those who have I 1^ I 4() VOVAIili ACROSS I' -i n it spent several weeks pent up in a ship, to ima- gine what interest we take in any change of the winds, which acts as a kind of spirit baro- meter upon all of us. I could almost tell if the wind is fair by looking at their counte- nances. They say " hope deferred maketh the soul sick." We expected to be in New York on Saturday the 1 0th current; but now we have lost all confidence in the fickle wind, and in proportion as our spirits were elated, so is now the depression. Ma?/ 10 — When 1 awoke this morning, I learned that the new married lady was danger- ously ill. She had been in a burning fever for some days before ; and had tasted no food for forty-eight hours. She raved wildly about her dear mother ; talked of taking a walk in the front of the house ; and begged her hus- band, by the love he bore her, to bring her a drink of new milk. The poor man looked quite bewildered, and no wonder. " O, Sarah," says he, " you know, my dear, you are on board the ." These words immediately gave birth to a train of the most painful ideas in the poor lady's mind. " O take me out of THE ATLANTIC. this horrible ship !" she cried ; " and put me upon any shore you please. O take away tliat monstrous shark ! I see it follows the sliip ! I know it is waiting for me ! I am so afraid • do, for God's sake, captain, turn back the ship, and take me home to my mother !" After raving for some time, she at length fell back in a faint in her husband's arms. The weather is very gloomy to day. We are surrounded with dark clouds, which, as they pass over us, inundate our decks with rain. It is very warm and close ; and the air appears loaded with electric fluid. The spirit barome- ter is uncommonly low ; and the wind seems to be seeking a point to blow from, and is changing every ten minutes. I hope, when it makes up its mind on the subject, it will blow ^*n our favour. May 12. — About half-an-hour after mid- night, I was aroused from sleep by a thunder storm, accompanied by very vivid flashes. The master came into the cabin to tell the doctor that a fire-ball had settled on the cross-jack- yard. I arose, went out upon deck, and saw a fire-ball on the yard ; it was stationary, and I ''% If: I ' » ■ 48 VOYAGE ACROSS had a very unearthly and supernatural ap- pearance. One of the sailors called it a blue devil. While I was on deck, a dreadfully vivid flash of lightning illuminated the whole sky, and made the sea appear like an ocean of liquid fire. I had hardly returned to bed, ere I was called up again to see another fire-ball on the fore-yard-arm. I suppose these balls are neither more nor less than igfiis fatuus, what- ever the sailors may say to the contrary. Had it not been raining so hard, I would have gone up to the yard-arm and taken a nearer inspec- tion of them. It blew very hard while the lightning lasted, but moderated towards day- light. May 13 — Blowing a gale of wind due west ; making no progress. \t is with difl^culty we can hold our own. Many of the steerage passengers are out of provisions, which is a great misfortune at sea, where they cannot get a fresh supply. The water is so bad that it is a punishment to drink it ; and the stench so great, that I am obliged to hold my nose with one hand whilst THE ATLANTIC. 49 I I bolt it. I would give a handsome price for good pure water, if it was to be had. " When men at sea have had a six weeks' spell, They wish they were where truth is, in a well." May 14. — Nearly calm all day. About 5 p. M. a fair wind sprung up from the S.S.W., which increased after the sun set. The pas- sengers were all in the best spirits. At 9 p. m. we had a dancing party on the deck, which was kept up until half-past 10 o'clock, when they were desired by the captain to give up, which led to refusal on the part of a gentleman from Dublin, of high and respectable connec- tions ; but who, being unused to be treated in such a tyrannical manner, and not acquainted with the power delegated to a captain at sea, foolishly refused to obey the master. The consequence was, that the master went into his cabin for the irons, which he brought out to put upon him. The gentleman's wife, who had just gone to bed, rushed up in her night- gown to save him ; clasped him round the neck, and cried herself into hysterics. The Irish, when they heard the row, came on deck in crowds, with their shillelahs under their m - ' I ! 50 VOYAGE. coats, and, as the gentleman was a great fa- vourite among them, having been very gene- rous and kind to many of them when sick, and in want of provisions, I am afraid, had the master followed up his intentions, the conse- quences might have been very serious. May 1 7 — The wind is still against us ; and what makes this the more to be lamented, is that several of the steerage passengers are en- tirely out of provisions ; two of them have had no food for the last 24 hours. If we anj many more days at sea, not one of them will have a morsel to eat. At noon, I saw two whales on the larboard bow, about two miles off, spouting water to a great height. Sunday, May 18 — A dead calm in the fore part of the day. Weather very agreeably warm. About 10 a. m. while I was in my cabin dressing, I heard those on deck running hurriedly about, speaking all at once. I went out half-dressed to see what was the matter, when I found one of the cabin passengers was overboard, and fast drowning. Tempted by the fine day, he resolved to have a bath in the open sea ; and, having undressed himself. ^W % « n A PASSEN(;iliIl OVIillliOAUI). .) 1 V I recat fa- y gene- ck, and lad the conso- ls ; and nted, is ire en- n have we ar(j im will LW two miles he fore reeably in mv unning 1 went matter, Ts was ted by )ath in limself. lie laid hold of a rope ; he slipped down the side of the vessel by it into the Atlantic. It never struck him that it was not so easy to get up again, and that the strain upon his arms, when the vessel rolled, would in a few minutes tire his arms out, and make him un- able to hold on, and he soon found his situa- tion a critical one. Luckily he was observed by some one on board, and the alarm given. An attempt was made to haul him up by the rope, to which he held on ; but, when he was lialf way up, his strength failed, and he was precipitated into the sea. The ship had a very little headway, so it was leaving him as- tern. However, he swam for his life, and reached the rope again. By this time a ladder had been lowered down to the water's edge, upon which he got, and was delivered from his dangerous situation. The minister proposed preaching as usual this afternoon ; but the ignorant Irish and the superstitious sailors were so opposed to it, that they declared they would stop him if he attempted. He wisely gave way to the tide which had set in against him. No sooner was M h A 52 LAND. hr ■ I H i «■ y I his resolution known, than the sailors assured us we should have a fair wind ; and certainly, about 5 p. M. a fair wind sprung up, and never left us till we anchored in New York bay. Monday, May 19 — A steady breeze car- rying us gently along. Saw a great many vessels all steering for one point. Passed a number of fishing sloops at anchor, fishing for mackerel. At 10 a. m. I went out to the jib boom-end, and sat there watching for the first glimpse of the land, which we expected to make about 1 2 or 1 o'clock. I had just gone on deck, and was conversing with a lady, when I saw the land about two points on the weather bow ; but as fog-banks are sometimes mistaken for land, I resolved to wait till my opinion was confirmed by others. In about three mi- nutes the cook, who had likewise seen it, gave out i!i\Q joyful tidings, and " land, land, land," resounded from every tongue, and joy was dif- fused over every face. I ran forward again to my station at the jib boom-end, and sat feasting my eyes on the land as it gradually became more and more distinct. At length I could distinguish the trees and the houses. ARRIVAL AT NEW YORK. 53 The wind from the land was very warm. 1 was sensible of it whenever we got fairly under the lee of the land. A pilot came on board about 4 p. M. and took charge of the ship. We passed the lighthouse at Sandy Hook about half-past 6 p. m., and, in other two hours, got tlirough the Narrows formed by Staten Island and Long Island, and anchored abreast of the city of New York between 9 and 10 p. m. The view in sailing up between the light- house and the city, a distance of 18 miles, is very grand. Any attempt at description would utterly fail. I will only say that I have sailed into many harbours in all quarters of the globe, and I never saw any thing finer than the en- trance into New York harbour. Tuesday, May 20. 1834.— At 2 p. m. I landed at New York^aftc^ spending forty-nine days on board the ship^and found the heat most oppressive. I w^ent in search of a board- ing house, and, after calling at one or two, I resolved to take up my lodgings at one kept by a widow lady in Pearl Street, the terms, four dollars a- week. As this concludes my sea narrative, I shall discontinue the form of a journal during my residence here. E 2 ; I ,'*; f f 54 NEW YORK. New York, which at some future period is destined to be perhaps tlie greatest city in the world, is built upon an island bearing the same name. It was formerly called Manhattan Island, but it was afterwards changed to New York, in honour of the then Duko of York. The city was founded by the Dutch in 1615, under the name of New Amsterdam. The island on which the city stands, according to the au- thorities,* which I have here access to, is fif- teen miles long, and from one to three miles broad. It is bounded on the east by East River, on the south by the harbour, on the north by Harlaem River, and on the west by the Hudson River. The harbour, which is large, being about twenty -five miles in ciicum- fereuce, can receive the largest ships. They can go close up to the wharfs to load and un- • For the statistical notices of the City of New York and the other towns through which I passed in my tour, I am indebted to several works published in America, among others, to « The Tourist for 1834," New York as it is," and " The Traveller's Guide " fs^ f NEW YOUK. 55 load. The wharfs are built on both sides of the city ; but the most of the shipping lies on the east side. The mouth of the harbour is called the Narrows. It is eight miles from the city. A fortification of great strength is built on both sides at this place, where all ships bound for New York must necessarily pass. The battery lies on the S. W. point of the city. It is a fashionable promenade. In the evenings the view of the bay, and the cool sea breeze, render it both pleasing and refreshing. To a person who has seen London and Pa- ris, there is nothing to attract particular atten- tion in New York. Broad-way is decidedly the finest street in the city. It extends about three miles in length, and is eighty feet wide. The shops are many of them got up in the first style, with marble fronts ; and the hotels would do credit to any city in the world. The baths are superb, and the boa/ding-houses, of which there are a great number, are convenient, and also reasonable in their charges. Broad-way and most of the principal streets run north and south, and these are crossed by others running to the rivers on each side. The Til Nil. I ■ I bij NKW YORK. Hi! ■ I i i« northern part of the city is of modern date, and is erected in a style of great elegance. Many of the houses have granite and marble fronts, with silver name-plates, door handles, and bell-pulls. The houses in the centre of the city are mostly built of brick, but there are in the suburbs a great many wooden houses ; the pavement is composed in many parts of stone, but in other parts of brick, and both are allowed to go into a very bad state of repair. The City Hall is, I think, the finest building here. The front and sides are built of white marble, with the exception of the ground flat, which is stone, and which, I think, is a great pity, as it spoils the look of the rest, and was but a paltry saving. The back is built of free- stone : it is 216 feet in length, 105 feet in width, and 6.5 feet high. It consists of a centre and two wings, with columns of the different orders of architecture. It cost 538,734 dollars. The city abounds with literary, scientific, and charitable societies. There is the American Academy of the Fine Arts— the New York Historical Society— the Literary and Philoso- phical Society— American Tract Society— ii % TliMPKKANCK SOCIETIKS, ."^7 date, Home Missionary Society—the Sunday School Union— Seamen's Friend Society— Deaf and Dumb Institution— Orphan Asylum— Temper- ance Societies, and many others, too numerous to mention. The last mentioned societies, how- ever, from the hold these institutions have taken of the people, and from the good they are allovred to have done, deserve particular notice. In the State of New York alone, there are about 2500 temperance societies, and up- wards of 350,000 members. Many distilleries have given up working, and many hundred stores have discontinued the sale of ardent spirits. The number of temperance societies in the United States exceed 10,000, with more than a million of members. Some of the mem- bers go so far as to abstain totally from wine, cider, and beer, and have even gone the length of excluding wine from the Sacrament, and substituting water in its place. This appears contrary to Scripture in both cases; in the one, where we are enjoined to use wine at the Lord's Supper, and in the other, where we are told to take a little wine for the stomach's sake. An immeise deal of business is done at New h'ii ■| r .■ M :)S NEW YORK. ^ ork. It has the carrying trade of a great part of the goods consumed in the northern and western parts of the United States. Some thousands of strangers are landing daily, but more particularly in the spring months, from all parts of the old world, and from many parts in the interior of the new. People from every nation may be seen walking in Broad-way, and heard speaking in every tongue on the face of the earth. New York may be said to be a miniature of London. The air, however IS very different, as it is here pure and clear' 1 do mc consider New York a very h-althy place ; the variations in the temperature are very great, and sometimes sudden, and, in con- sequence, colds prevail to a great extent, which too often end in consumption. Indeed, it has been said that consumption destroys as many persons in New York, taking the average of; few years together, as the yellow fever does m ^ew Orleans. The inhabitants are pale, and ook sickly, and just as if they had been par- boiled. '^ I would advise strangers and emigrants to be very cautious how they expose themselves ■' i m' a great lorthern . Some ily, but IS, from ly parts 1 every d-way, on the said to >wever, clear. I'^altPiy re are n con- which it has many e of a oes ill 3, and I par- Its to selves DEMAND FOR SKllVANTS. to the Iieat of the sun in the middle of the day and also to avoid exposure to the fogs at ni^ht' I have heard it said that the second summer of a stranger's sojourn here is the most tryin- to the constitution. ^ During the months of July and August, the heat is most intolerable. About this time the better classes generally remove for their health to Saratoga Springs, or some other watering- place. ^ I have conversed with some gentlemen from Scotland. They speak in a desponding way, and are evidently unhappy. They say store or shop keeping is quite overdone here ; many failures are taking place. It is next to an im- possibility for a clerk of any kind from the old country to get into a situation without some extraordinary merits. Maid-servants are in demand, if they can produce good characters, and their appearance corroborates their character. Their wages may be from L. 1 5 to L. 25 a-year, and they are more respected here than they are at home ; but I must also in justice say that they are worked much harder. Tradesmen and labourers ge- 60 HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. i; n ■ 11. nerally may expect to find work either in New York or neighbouring cities in ordinary times. Lately, the pressure for money has been ao great that work has been very scarce. A tradesman lives better here than at home, and may board and lodge in New York for about 9s. Sterling a-week, in a style very dif- ferent, indeed, from any thing he was accus- tomed to at home ;— fish, roast-beef, and pud- ding for dinner every day. Still he is expected to work vory hard, and that in a climate un- congenial to his constitution, and in a land of strangers said to be prejudiced against people from the mother country. My opinion is, if a man can do well, or even tolerable, at home, let him remain where he is ; but to those whj are borne down by want— who can work, but who can get no employment—who see the work-house staring them in the face— who have a large family and no means to keep them,— to all such I would say, come over here, and you will never regret it. I speak only of those inured to labour. As for the quill-drivin- tribe, to them I hold out no hopes. If a man IS given to dissipation, his friends should on NEW YORK. 61 no account send him here, expecting him to reform, for they generally get ten times worse, and either die in an hospital, or are found (if in winter) frozen to death in the streets. A man is judged of greatly by his appear- ance. If he looks like one given to intem- perance, nobody will trust him or employ him ; and if he has not funds to carry him home again, he is worse off than he was before. The first night I slept here I was reminded I was in a strange land by the landlady telling me that other two foreigners slept in the bed- room, a part of which I was to occupy. Shop-keepers do not hesitate to overcharge a customer, if they know him to be a stranger. The theatre at the park is an elegant house, equal to the Edinburgh theatre. I thought the actors very indifferent. The night I was there, Mr and Mrs Wood, two stars from our hemisphere, were the great attraction. I observed the gallery was divided by a railing through the centre ; one-half was set apart for whites, and the other half for coloured people, who are much despised here. During I H^ 62 CHARACTER ;' the farce I was much amused seeing so many faces as black as Day and Martin's blackin- all grinning at the same time. Their whirj teeth made a curious contrast with their jet black physiognomies. However, they seemed as happy as their oppressors. If I may be bold enough to give an opinion of the citizens of ]\ew York, I would say that their grand cha- racteristic is national vanity. They also seem to be deficient in feeling. They appear cold and heartless. Children do not seem to have much affection for their parents. They have little attachment to their native soil, and will move with unconcern from one part of the Union to another. They are an amazingly cool, calculat- ing people, and have a great command over their passions, more so than any people I ever knew. They are civil and polite, but they seem to put little trust in what strangers tell them. It is easy to perceive from their eyes that they do not believe and have no confidence in what is told Ihem. Next to their national vanity is their love of dress. Both ladies and gentlemen carry this to a great height. A tailor or a milliner, who is a first-rate hand, is OF THE PEOPLE. ()3 many lackinor^ r white leir jet seemed be bold sens of id cha- eem to Id and much ! little move ion to iculat- 1 over [ ever they s tell ' eyes ience :ional 3 and . A id, is sure to succeed in New York, as they will give any money to have their clothes cut in the first style. But they neglect the more so- lid and useful branches of education, and are woefully ignorant on many subjects. The great mass of the citizens of New York hardly ever read any thing but the newspapers. Even on Sundays they have religious newspapers The New York citizen is grave, and seldom gives a hearty laugh, or unburdens his mind to others. These remarks, hastily j at toge- ther, are merely my first impressions of the inhabitants of New York, and of course it would be as improper to judge of a nation by the peculiarities of the citizens of New York as it would be to judge of the English charac- ter by the Cockneys. On my return to New York, I shall attempt a description of the New York ladies, and make any farther remarks that may occur. May 24 — Being anxious to proceed to York (now called Toronto) with as little de- lay as possible, I left New York on my way to Upper Canada, on Saturday afternoon, the 24th May, at 5 p. m. I had my choice of go- I w^ 64 STEAM-BOAT FROM ing to Albany in one of those splendid steam- boats which are the pride of the Americans, and the wonder of strangers, and make a pas- sage in about ten hours, or proceed in an infe- rior class of steam-boats, which, in addition to carrying passengers, drag up large boats load- ed with goods, and on that account take more time and are cheaper. I preferred the latter, because I had a quantity of heavy luggage which I could not take in the best boats, without being put to considerable expense for freight. I went in the steam-boat called the Fanny. The charge from New York to Albany, includ- ing provisions and bed, is only two dollars, or 9s. Sterling. The distance is 144 miles. There is great regularity observed in the boat. A person called the Second Captain collects the fare, goes personally and sees to the com- fort of the passengers. The waiters are active and attentive. Every thing seems to be re- gulated like clock-work. A bell rings at every meal. The breakfast hour is 8^ m., dinner hour 1, and tea 6 p. m. The custon? of eating rapidly, which is general in this e')imtry, is steam- ericans, J a pas- in infe- ition to :s load- B more latter, aggage boats, ase for ^anny. nclud- ollars, miles. ! boat. )llects corn- active )e re- every inner ating y, is NEW YORK TO ALBANY. Go kept up even in the boat, where they have no occasion to do it, as here the passengers are idle; and time of little value. The gentlemen's ca- bin is large, and contains twenty beds. The dinner-table (the top of which is not connect- ed with the feet, but only composed of long boards), is taken down after every meal, and the feet, which are made exactly like tresses, are also removed, so that the cabin is clear and roomy. A handsome stove stands in the centre of the cabin. The stools are square and made with rattan bottoms. By placing eight of them together, they answer the pur- pose of a bed, and are used as such when the boat is crowded with passengers. Between 7 and 8 in the evening, the sky became sud- denly overcast, the forerunner of a squall. It continued for some hours, during which the lightning was so very vivid, that my eyes were much affected by it. Each flash illuminated the whole sky, as well as the river and the banks ; and had it been a little hotter, would .have resembled what my imagination has /painted the infernal regions to be. Sunda?/, 2Uh Jf«//.~-Whcn coming upon F 2 I' I SCENERY OF THE HUDSON. deck this morning at 6 o'clock, I was perfectly astonished with the beauty of the scenery on both sides of the Hudson. I have read in no- vels and romances of such places, but until this morning I never believed such scenes existed. The only place I know that has any resemblance to it is the Trosachs in the west- ern Highlands of Scotland. The landscape here is certainly not so wild nor the hills so high, but still when you behold the noble river studded on both sides of its banks, with splen- did mansions, and the Highland or FiskhiU Mountains in the back ground, extending twenty miles on both sides of the Hudson, and towering 1400 feet above the river, you can- not fail to be delighto I. The beautiful and the sublime are here contrasted. Mountains covered with a forest of trees, impenetrable even to the footsteps of the wild Indian. Lawns, mansions, farm-houses, and villages altogether make up, as the vessel glides through the water, a moving panorama, which is quite enchanting. Little regard is paid to the Sabbath on board the Fanny. The second captain and "*%. HUDSON TOWN. 61 another American are playing on the flute and the captain is shooting at the eagles with a rifle loaded with ball. The Hudson river is called after Henry Hudson, the person who, about 200 hundred years ago, first discovered it* Its source is in a mountainous country, between Lakes Ontario and Lake Champlain,' near Canada. It runs about 250 miles South, and empties itself into the sea at New York. We passed the Hudson Town at six in the evening. This place is said to contain 6000 inhabitants, and is dignified by the Americans by being called a city. It is built upon an elevation, and as it is a manufacturing place, having a command of water power^ it is ex- pected to rise into importance. New Lebanon springs, a Shaker settlement, is in this neighbourhood. It lies on the road from Albany to Boston, about twenty-five miles from the city of A^lbany, and thirty miles from Hudson Town. The owners of the Fanny are members of a total abstinence society, and in consequence no liquor stronger than water can be had on board. These temperance societies have doubtless 1'. ' i i}3 (lone rOLlSH llErUGEES. de[ Lii immense Before they were established dissipation was carried to a great height all over the Union, but now tliey are mueh retbrnied. During my stay at New York, I did see several people in- toxicated, but they belonged to the lowest class, and I have reason to believe were foreigners. In the boarding-house where 1 resided, about twenty-five persons boarded, and to the best of my knowledge not one of them (myself and other foreigners excepted), drank any thing but wa- ter. Among the passengers were several Po- lish refugees proceeding to the interior. This poor unfortunate race seem to be dispersed over all the world. I could not for some time learn who they were. J spoke to them in Eng- lish, they shook their hrads. I then addressed them in French with the same success, but I ultimately was informed who they were. In travelling on the rivers in America one meets with people from every nation, all hastening to settle in this great country— the land of promise to the poor hard-working man. arrived at Albany at half-past 9 i'. m., ALBANY. 69 having tal State, and also to Canada. It contains about 30,000 inhabitants. The capital where the Legislatuie sits, and where the state -ourts are held, is a noble building. It extends 115 feet in front, with a portico supported by four Ionic narble columns, each 33 feet in height. This cit^ has changed its name several times since its first founda- tion. It was finally called Albany, after the I .4 ■\ 70 TllK SHAKliUS. U \l Duke of York aiid Albany ; and it appears to me wonderful that the Americans did not change the name once more, when they gained their mdependence. ^ There is a Shaker settlement eight miles h'om Albany, at a place called Niskayuna. Ihis religious sect are followers of an enthu- siast of the name of Ann Lee, originally from J^^ngland. She, like many other fanatics, laid claim to miracles and visions from heaven, fehe was a great enemy to matrimony, Iter chief and leading doctrine being celibacy. I feel regret that my time prevented me paying a visit to this settlement. The Shakers, I am told, may be known by their walk, which is any thing but .j^raceful. When they perform their religious services, it is accompanied with a peculiar motion, between dancing and sha- king, to which they add a monotonous sonc. Ihey hold their goods in common, and all work for the general behoof. A love affair took place not long ago, which ended in a mar- riage, and the consequent exclusion of the happy couple. O tempora ! O mores ! I procured a car, to carry my luggage from banks- ' W^i'^ '^fllKNKcTAIn. 71 Ita.l oa,l ( ompany's Office, in Ktato Street (m- ..0 r,«,d about, .Sterling, uj'!^ Tzx s:r Zn v.: ''^r "^"'-''"'^ miles. ri.e coach was impelled by steam an,I went to Schenectady in about an l,„ 't country through which I passed was unb tere - s The black stun,p of the old ones werf st.ll be seen. The fences are all made of vvood, and not so pleasant to the eye T the liedges in the old country. ^ I breakfasted at a hotel at Schenectady for w^nch I paid .37i cents, or about Is. 6d St " '"■f ; '»"''' '' «'e canal boat for Buffalo 1^ 'ottostarttiIlhalf.past,l..M., Ihadfm^ ake awalk through the tow^; but I ^w nothmg worthy of particular notice The tow! upports two newspapers, and contains t" banks, and a population of about 5000. It Z Irt T"' '' "'"''"^'^'^''^ ''"-ess but me the formation of the Erie canal, t ha fe en very much off, as goods are n w fo - ^varded d.rect to Albany, witi.out stopping at, li 'I 72 THE ERIE CANAL. it ' 'f i Schenectady. This shows the uncertain value of property in this new world. The making of a canal or a railroad ruins some towns, while it enriches others. Precisely at 1 2 noon, I started from Schenec- tady, on board the Erie canal traders' line- boat, the Saranac, on my way to Toronto. The charge by this boat is 2| cents per mile (about l^d. Sterling), which includes provi- sions, and is surely cheap. The distance from Schenectady to Buffalo is 342 miles, and the charge is only 8 J dollars, or about L. 1, 17s. Sterling, and includes excellent fare all the way. The Erie canal, an undertaking which was begun under the patronage of the State, on the 4th day of July 1817 (the anniversary of the declaration of independence), was finish- ed in 1825, at an expense of seven millions of dollars. The length of the canal is 363 miles, commencing at Albany, and terminating at Buffalo ; thus uniting the waters of the Hud- son and Erie. The canal is 40 feet wide at the top, and 28 at the bottom : the water in the canal is 4 feet deep, and the tow path is 4 feet above the surface of the water, and 10 THE ERIK CANAL. 73 feet wide„ Tliere are 8.3 locks, a„d 18 aque- ducts, in the whole line ; and the rise and fall of the locks is 688 feet. Lake Erie is 568 feet higher than the Hudson River. There are a great many wooden bridges across the canal, and they are made so low, that when the boat passes under them, the top or roof of the boat comes sometimes within about a foot of the arch of the bridge, which causes the passengers to descend every time they pass througl a bridge. This is not only troublesome, but sometimes accidents occur, and lives are lost through neglect. The heat is to me to-day ^very oppressive. I am sitting in the cabin .without my coat, waistcoat, and shoos, and yet ' I am almost overcome by it. My fellow-tra vellers tell me this is nothing to what they ' often have it here ; perhaps by time I may be- come more accustomed to it, if not, I do not think any tiling would tempt me to reside per- manently here. The canal boat moves along about 2^ miles an hour. It is dragged by two horses. The driver sits on the hind one. The captain is a civil, obliging man. 3 I M^ !) (■ . 74 PASSENGFRS IN CANAL-UOAT. We have in the boat a family of Yankees, consjstnig of a father, mother, a pretty daugh^ ter, and three sons, who are removing. The place they are going to is Montezuma, 96 miles *rom Utica. They are removing between 200 and 300 miles from their former abode, and yet they seem to think no more of it, than J wouM of removing from one street to another m Edinburgh ; the Jews were proverbially a wandering race ; but I think the Americans bid fair to match them. I have remarked often the peculiar easy independence of manner the young people assume towards their parents and superiors. 4 p. M. I have just lent my album to the Yankee's fair daughter, and she is quite de- lighted with it. While she is perusing it, I am jotting down her remarks, as they pop out of her pretty little mouth, viz.-« It is dread- ful pretty, I guess. There, see to her eyes, how pretty ! Dear ma, there that is the pret- tiest of all ! There, that looks just like an angel ! There, that is the beauty of the whole ! Well, I expect the book is not half through (.U: AMSTERDAM. yet ! I am dreadful glad of it ! Lord help me, see how he is grinning !" At this exclamation, I felt an irresistible im- pulse to smile. I could not refrain ; and my sly piece of womankind imagined, not without cause, that I was smiling at her : so she drop- ped her notes of admiration, and looked over the remainder of the pictures in silence. When she ceased admiring the pictures, I requested her for a song, and she sung me a favourite Scotch song, " Ye banks and braes of bonny Doon." When I looked around, and saw the Mohawk river winding beneath, and the mountains of the Mohawk towering above, I remembered I was far from the Land of Cakes ; and the words of the f^ong recalled a thousand pleasing recollec- tions of home. By sunset we got the length of Amsterdam, which lies low, and close to the banks of the Mohawk river. The village contains about 100 houses. A creek passes through it, and there are some beautiful natural cascades in the neighbourhood, which will in the course of time be valuable for manufactures. The country through which I have passed ir> 'JUK COLXTUV. ) ' h % fine mansions to be sPPn h . ^ . "^ *^^^' tWekly planted al a :„:«tLr:;r"^ "" Most of these houses arc^ • od li^: T" roofs, made to resemble slates xtr general a light soil. Here and ther " , k" 'T '■"'' '™'^' ^»d ^-"etimes bank of sn f where nothing grows. B..t altogether 'f ' -pleased with the appearance of tie cli"" -and the people have an air of indene „! - about them, and appear to enjov a f '^^ ' comfort, which couW hardlv beT r ^''' "^ t-^e short period that harSprsStta' first settled. *^ ^^s wfwi !'■?'''''! '^"'^""a"^ a^e early risers w 6 had sixteen beds made im ;« *i, men's cabin, which w!re all o" P""" when I awoke at half-Zt fo r 7^'"^ ' '"" were nil , ^ "'"'^' *''e passenffers T\ "P ''"'^ ^'■«='*sed but myself TI, chamber-maid was removing the be! t took the hint, and rose too. ' '" ^ The air on deck was raw and dump. The 1 PROJECTED RAILROAD. 77 y pictu- 'lill and beauti- ^ry few isos are ' canal, wooden d is in fiay be ' sand, I arn miry ; dencii 'ee of ed in t was isers. ntle- and §:ers The o I riie fogs were waiting the rising sun to dry them up. By half-past five, the sun had made it quite agreeable to be in the open air ; but be- fore ten, the heat of the sun was so great, that I preferred lounging on a sofa in the cabin, and admiring the scenery from the cabin-win- dow. Boats are passing us on the canal every two or three minutes. I am told that not less than 3000 boats ply on this canal. A railroad from Schenectady to Utica, a distance of 80 miles, is projected, and is on the point of being made. If ever the railroad is continued forward to Syracuse (61 miles), and from thence to Oswego (37 miles more), where steam-boats on Lake Ontario traverse to all the towns on boiu .ides of the lake, the whole distance from New York to Toronto in Upper Canada may then be performed in forty-five hours. My ears were > -galed this morning by the warbling of birds. I distinguished the robin, the thrush, and the blackbird. The robin is much larger here than at home. I have no- ticed a great abundance of tame geese all along the sides of the canal. They are sold at about Is. sterling each. G 2 I 7/1 if I I 78 CAVAL TEMPERANCE I I 'fteada, to resemble women mri «.. t .»t.- E." ?"' ""i "» '»°* «' «"> At goes on to say, « Wp <,p^K ^i • , . because, from evidence whi;.. "''J''''* -■nds irresistible, ^Zuet.TrZ''' r spirit, as a drink, is useles uU 'a^v • '"' stances of labour, fatigue, orexposu e Vd'X' this meets Jon" v^fslto ^'^ ^^°°' "' tendant vices. Of all ihc. ^ T '*' ^^- -^ of all ti.e dr'Jlk rM"hte" T "''^"' ^ »*^ nave ever seen, SOCIETY. 'D not one became intemperate at once. Tliere were degrees in his career dovvn\\ ards ; first a moderate drinker, then a free drinker, tlien a tippler, and finally a sot. 4th, The only per- fectly safe path is the path of total abstinence from strong drink. No man will ever become a drunkard upon water, the original beverage given us by our Maker. The canals are justly the boast and the pride of the State ; so those who navigate them ought to seek and cherish a reputation which shall wipe from the calling all reproach, and make the opening of naviga- tion a welcome rather than a dreaded event. The character of canal men h as precious as the character of any other class of citizens. Certainly the occupation is as useful as any ; and you have the power to make it respectable and honourable, but to do it, you must remove fromit the reproach of intemperance Albani/, 2\st April, 1834." It appears from this circular that intemper- ance is, or at least has been, a common vice of the Canal men ; but, for my part, I have seen none of it. Ever since I left New York, I have observed that the men, both in the ", 1 O'ij ! I 80 tiTTLE FALLS. ^;^^''^^ ->^ C.,^.l.o^s, .ere reu.,,,^,^ the Little Falls to rl;. • . ^ """^ <=^"''d »"; .f «. ell .r ?£,Xr^ «" said to be large. At n - ;,^> ^^^ich are ^he Catsberg ^s 17;:'^; t'" "'' s> ;< n^ \ UTICA. 81 company. He attended personally, and saw my luggage safely removed from tlie boat to the hotel, which was close adjoining. On in- quiry, I found that the mail-coach started at 4 next morning, and, having secured a seat, I took a walk through the town, which lies on the banks of the Mohawk River, and appears to be a flourishing city. Like most of the cities in America, it is of recent origin, having re- ceived a village charter so late as 1 784. In 1813, it contained 1700 inhabitants. It now contains from 10 to 12,000. About two years ago, the town was incorporated into a city. From its central situation, and from the Erie canal passing through it, it may be expected to prosper. I stopped for the night at a very extensive establishment, the Canal Coffee-house, kept by Mr Sheppard. There is a regularity and ci- vility to travellers generally in the hotels which reflect credit on the Americans. They seem to be anxious to appear to advantage in the eyes of strangers, and to impress them with a favourable opinion of the national character. They are a cool grave people ; at least, if they 82 AMEliicA}i MAIL-COACH. ' I Ir have lively feelings, they seldo.n display the.n ^^ve „ot seen, since I ea,ne among tUemZ exuberance of ane-er in,, „ ' ^ feted l,v anv A • ^^' '°''''°"'' '"»'»- from my ralle ir""" ^'''™ ' '■^*"™«' asked for IT d Ij T "T '" •''*"'''"^- ^ bedded room: the other hi '" " ''""'"e- TWs is common in AmeHc. Z °""P"''- those customs which tu'\ " ""' "*' approve of. countrymen do not maffo:S*''''~^*'^-^-I-toffbythe r e sonTSd:";' ""'°"^'' " '^ -* '^ fo outside) I Ctlf" r""^"''" "^ '^-"^d f-sfroithera.S^TAS:-/''^'^- broad^•s Plaudits ILltitrr^-'^'^r to support their backs T I ^ " '"'^''^' fore I found land tr ;,«„!' „ 7 '°" '^^ '^■ "ot very agreeable. J? f slv Z'V '"' X sdy the roads are #» BAD ROADS. s:i bad, r would not use strong enough language, for certainly tliey are most exocrahlo. The jolting is dreadful. V^hen the driver eunies to a hole in the roau, where he might pos- sibly stick, he drives faster thnn usual in order that the rebound may jerk tiie coach'out agam. If I get to Oswego with only two or three of my bones broken, it is as little as I can expect. A sudden jolt nearly caused me to bite ofF part of my tongue, so I am obliged to keep my teeth clenched to prevent the same i^appening again. The first stage I came to was Rome, where I breakfasted, for which I paid 25 cents (Is. Sterling). I observed, hang- ing in the breakfast room, neatly framed and glazed, an engraved copy of the celebrated Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America." There were about Jifty signatures attached to it, all fac-similes. rhe signature of Benjamin Franklin was a. fine a specimen of handwriting as I have ever seen. I bought a newspaper at Rome called the liome Telegraph ; in reading it over the fol- lowing advertisement from the proprietors of # IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / O fe %' LO [ffi ■M I.I 1.25 2.8 ;:;3,2 US u ■ 4 1.4 IIIM [2.0 1.8 L6 P / ^7 ^J>> S '■^ DVii-iii _ ■/^rTnoT^i^i'^ Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 # V^V ^Oi V \\ % V ». '<<^J^ '^ / 4^ t^ ^.. «. I' 8-1 HOME, WILLI AMSTON, &C. the paper struck me as a novel mode of crav- ing. " ATTENTION ! ! ! " If the following named persons will call and settle their accounts with the subscriber, they will save themselves some trouble. Amos Bull. J. N. H. Zebalon Lord, &c. &c. &c. &c." On leaving Rome two gentlemen took their seats in the coach. They were very commu- nicative, and gave me much information about the country. They were bitterly opposed to the politics of General Jackson. After we had travelled a considerable way, we came to a narrow pass not more than four or five feet broader than the coach, with deep ravines on each side, so deep that I could not see the bottom, but only the upper part of the tall trees which grew in the abyss beneath. The land between Rome and Williamston is not very good ; a great part of it is covered with pine, which Is a sign of inferior land. I arrived at Williamston about /? p. m., where I dined, and ^vhere my fellow travellers left me alone once more. For the next twenty miles AMEIICAN FOREST. 85 I had to pass through the forest; the trees were felled on each side the road, and lay where they had fallen ; in some cases they had fallen across the road, and then that part which was on the road was sawed off, and the stumps stood about three feet from the ground. Here and there a partial attempt had been made to burn the timber, and the black appearance of the half-burnt wood, threw a gloom around, which the dark forest tended to increase. In one place, the fallen timber was on fire ; the smoke from the flames ; the heat of the sun right over my head ; the hot dust raised by the wheels of the coach; and the close confin- ed state of the air from the thick forest around, together with the dreadful jolting, almost suf- focated me. I think it requires a stout heart and a strong arm, for a man with nothing but an axe, and a few other necessary tools and provisions for nine months, to settle down in these woods. The first sight of the forest, and the hardships to be endured, are calculated to appal even the stoutest hearts. M i i m 8f; osvvE(;o. ■ I ■■ I passed several log houses, where I saw the settlers, with their patches of cleared land, the stumps standing, and a few sheep, pigs, &c. &e. feeding hard by ; the fences are of wood placed zig-zag. When I arrived within about twenty miles of Oswego, the land along the road-side was w^ell cleared ; but the stumps of the trees were, in many places, still standing. It takes seven years before the roots become rotten, and the stumps in a fit state to be removed from the soil. It was 9 P. M. before I ieached Oswego, thus taking seventeen hours to travel seventy- five miles. The steam-boat for Toronto had sailed half-an-hour before my arrival ; and the Oswego steamer, which ought to have sailed next day, was so much damaged, by being driven on shore in a late gale, that she was under repair, so the earliest conveyance I could have to Toronto, was the steam-boat on Friday evening, for which 1 resolved to wait. I took up my lodgings at the Welland House oi Hotel, kept by Mr Spencer; it is situated on the banks of the Oswego river, w^hich runs through the town, and is near the wharf, where the I SCENE AT AN INN. steam-boats sail fron), and on that account pe- culiarly well adapted for travellers. May 29 I was roused this morning at half'past six o'clock by the ringing of the first bell for breakfast. I would fain have lain still ; but whether it were better to sleep on and lose a meal, or rise at once, " that wa? the question."— My appetite was bad, and said unto me, sleep on, and so I turned myself upon the feather- bed, and would Uve dozed away heaven knows how long. My aching bones, and bruised body, called out for rest ; and my appetite, gone with the heat and the fatigue of the past day, made no opposition. About 10 a. m. the chamber- maid makes up the beds ; my room was No. 23 ; the girl who did not know, and could not sus- pect, any person lying in bed till that hour, came into my bed-room, and not seeing my head, which happened to be off the pillow, with one pull at the blankets, hauled all the bed-clothes to the floor ; judge of the aston- ishment of both parties ; the wench went off like a flash of lightning, and was seen no more. I rose and took a turn through the town ; in I3assing through one of the streets, T saw on a M « \ iti- 1 1 ]\ i 88 A COFFIN WAKEHOUSE. sign " Ready made coffin warehouse." I stood gazing for a minute ; the shopkeeper stepped forward, and handed me a bill of his coffins, wherein he requests the public to call and ex- amine the article for themselves ; and farther states, that he is ready to preserve hi- cus- tomers, when dead, from all smell and putrefac- tion in the warmest weather for any reasonable time, say from one to ten days : a respectable person will always be ready to lay out the dead. I wondered if the man saw any thing in my face that marked me out for his official interference ; perhaps my gazing at the sign-board had been the cause of his unwelcome intrusio Oswego is a small town, containing about 4000 mhabitants. The river of the same name, which here falls into Lake Ontario, runs through it. The river is about 1 50 yards wide and is crossed by a bridge, which is supported by seven wooden arches. A charge is made of one cent (id. Sterling) for each foot passenger 7^ passes along. The town supports no less than two newspapers, and is a thriving place. Ihe Welland House, where I stopped in Os- wego, is an excellent house. I had a single CIVILITY OF THE AMERICANS. bedded-room (a luxury I had not enjoyed since I left home) ; my shoes were cleaned by a man of colour ; the board is excellent, and includes brandy, beer, and cyder ; the charge by the day is one dollar (4s. 2d. Sterling) ; no extra charge for servants ; and the master of the house waits upon us during dinner, along with the other waiters. When I left the house, he sent my luggage on board the steam-boat with his own cart, and drove me down himself in his own carriage to the boat, free of all expense. Now that I am about to leave the United States for Canada, I consider it my duty to mention, that I have experienced great civility from every American whom chance threw in my way ; and all those gentlemen whom I met from the old country, in my travels to Upper Canada, spoke in the same terms of the civil treatment they received while travelling through the State of New York. The only time I got a smart answer from a Yankee, was in travel- ling by the mail from Utica to Oswego. When I reached Rome I called for the master of the hotel, and desired him to give me breakfast immediately ; he made answer, you will get H 2 90 LAKE ONTARIO. breakfast if you wait until it is ready. It is the general custom for all the boarders and strangers to breakfast together, and the master of the house supposed i wished to breakfast alone, which, as it would have given him a great deal of extra trouble, he most likely would not have agreed to. The steam-boat expected on Friday evening did not arrive, which de- tained me at Oswego till Saturday evening, when I sailed on board the St George steam- boat for Toronto at nine in the evening. The charge from Oswego to Toronto in the cabin IS 6 dollars, or L. 1, 7s. Sterling, and provi- sions furnished ; and in the second cabin 1 Is. 3d. without provisions ; the deck passage is 2 dol- lars, or 8s. 4d. Sterling, and not found either in bed or board. Sunday, June 1.— When I got upon deck this morning, I found myself out of sight of land. I could hardly believe I was sailing on a fresh-water lake, it was so different from the lakes at home. Lake Ontario is 180 miles in length, and varies from 30 to 60 miles in breadth. The water is pure, and is said to be very deep. It STEAM-BOAT TO TORONTO. 91 abounds with salmon, sturgeon, and various other kinds of fish. We had a great many deck passengers in the steam-boat, many of whom were emigrants. I met in with a family from Edinburgh, con- sisting of about twenty-five persons, all related to one another, either by blood or marriage. They were proceeding to a settlement in Upper Canada. I had a long conversation with them. They all seemed to regret leaving home, and were quite dissatisfied with the climate, the country, and the people. I tried to comfort them, by telling them they would like it better when they got accustomed to it ; but it would not do. I saw they were all home-sick, as too many of their countrymen are when they first come here. This feeling of love for their na- tive country is more strongly implanted in the Scotch, than either in the English or Irish, and, consequently, they feel the pang of sepa- ration more keenly. It is certainly a trait in their character, which does them honour ; but it is the cause of much unhappiness to them, and too often paralyses their exertions ; causes them to despond, and even brings on disease. 1 .! 9-2 AMKIIIC AN COURTSHIPS. lu i\. It IS but right to n.c-ntion this fact, as it is too much overlooked by those leaving home, an.l, ■n my opinion, is a point of the greatest im- portance ; as, what avails even plenty in a strange land, to those who are pining for home, for fnends, and for all the thousand endear- ments they have left behind them ? If the emi grant expects to find himself at home here I .nust tell him, before he comes, he will be bit- terly disappointed. In a conversation I had in the steam-boat, on Lake Ontario, with two respectable-look- ing farmers, from the State of New York, thev mentioned (and they pledged their words for Us accuracy^ a peculiar trait in the manners of the farmers, or land proprietors, in the United t^tates (for most of them cultivate their own lands,) in regard to the way courtships are conducted among them. When a loving swain pays a visit to a neighbouring log or frame house, where there is a marriageable daughter. If the young lady feels disposed to encourage h.m, she detains him after the usual hour at which the family retire to rest (for the parents leave the daughter to manage the affair in her 1 cobouik;. l^'J own way). Thus the happy coui)U; arc left to themselves. They can sit chatting and making love all night. There is a good bed in the room, and, if the young lady's charms prove irresistible, such consequences follow, as make it almost imperative upon him to marry her. The laws in the United States being very se- vere in all cases of refractory gallants, heavy damages, long imprisonment, or marriage, are the alternatives. This is what is called spark- ing in America. When the poor wight is fined in such heavy damages as he has no means of paying, he is put in prison ; and it is a com- mon thing for his fair antagonist to visit him in jail, to see if he is willing to recover his liberty, by changing his situation ; and if he at last consents, she proceeds to the prison in company with a parson, who rivets the matri- monial chains before she trusts him with his liberty. We touched at Cobourg, a town on the Canada side of Lake Ontario, to land and re- ceive passengers, at 1 1 a. m. ; and at 1 p. m. we called at another town, Port Hope, for the same purpose. As the wind was fair, we 94 V U A V E L L I N a li XI' E N SK S. hoisted our sails in addition to the steam, wliich propelled us along in fine style ; and by 6 p. m. we had arrived alongside of the ^vharf at T-^ ronto, when Handed, and took up my lodgings at the British Coffee-House, kept by Mr Keat- ing. I shall here subjoin a note of my travelling expenses from New York to Toronto :-^ oi I X /. ^-r Dolls. Cnts. Jbteair-boat from New York to Albany, in- cluding provisions, Car to carry my Luggage to the Railroad in Albany, Fare^ in Railroad Coach, from Albany to Schenectady, Breakfast at Schenectady, . Passage-money from Schenectady* to Utica, seventy-nine miles, l>y the Traders' line-' boat, including provisions, Bed at Utica, ..... Mail-coach from Utica to Oswego,* seventv- five miles, .... Breakfast, Dinner, and Tea.* on 'the 'jour- ney, ; Three days' Board and Lodging at Oswego, 1 assage-money in the Steam-bcat from Os- wego to York, •> -J 50 37a 2 .5 25 3 75 3 18 5 Which, reckoning 4s. 6d. to the dollar, is L. 4 : 1 : 2i sterling. - AMKKICAN NEWSI'Al'KUS. ^> When passing tlirough the dim«ront towns in tho United States, I made a point of pur- chasing a newspaper at each phicc I came to, from which a good deal of the peculiarities of the people may be learned ; and, since my arrival at Toronto, I have had time to look over them, and I find that the system of puff- ing is practised all over America, with as much effrontery as ever it w^as in Edinburgh. I shall here insert a few of them. 50 37^ .5 25 75 A HAIR- DRESSER'S PUFF. All kinds of Hair-work dressed over in a superior style. Gentlemen's Wigs from 7 to 10 dollars ; Ladies' Wigs from 7 to 15 dollars. " Can gh'ttering pearls sufficiently impart That gorgeous aspect to the head as art ? Can Nature, with her fairest fair, Presume complete, while destitute of hair ? How needful then it is for to supply The head with hair, so that the gazing eye Could then behold it, and the cheat not see- So false are wigs, yet natural seem to be." A DYER'S PUFF. Always Dyeing, and yet living, at the Steam- 3 I I U6 AMEIIICAN NEWSPAPERS. Dressing and Dyeing Establishment, No. —, &c. &c. &c. ! Wi A QUACK DOCTOR'S PUFF. A word to the wise is sufficient. Twenty years experience in the various climates ; twelve years in extensive hospitals. Salus populi suprema lex. A. B. C. continues, as usual, to be consult- ed at his counselling official Departments, No. — , — , — . His experience is very great ; his success astonishing, &c. &c. &c. BLACK-FACED MUTTON.* One hundred dollars reward, for the apore- hension and delivery of Negro girl Louisa, aged about seventeen ; she is low in stature,' well made, and inclined to be fat ; neat in her appearance ; smooth brown skin ; round face, with features peculiar to the Negro, but quite likely ; wears her hair neatly combed, tied up * Copied from a paper published in one of the Southern States. S r PUFFS. 97 with a black ribbon, and parted on her fore- head. A DUN. All persons indebted to the Subscriber are hereby informed, that he is in want of cash about these days ; and that unless they hand over immediately, their notes and accounts will be handed over to a Magistrate for collec- tion. " Delays are dangerous." A. P. A NEGRO-DEALER'S PUFF. Negroes for Swap."^ I have on hand a few Negroes of superior quality, taken to this place for the purpose of selling to the inhabitants of Mobile. Negroes of that kind appear not to be in demand, and, as I intend leaving shortly, I feel disposed to change a few of them for Negroes of less cha- racter, that may suit the Louisiana market. The bigger ^he rascal the better, provided the owners are willing to make up in cash what is wanting in good qualities. A. P. * From a Mobile paper. 1 i)S MANNKUS OF THE AMERICANS. I was SO much engaged, during my journey from New York to Albany, that I had no time to note down any thing that struck me as pe- culiar among the people through the country I passed ; but, now that I have got a leisure moment, I will endeavour to lo so candidlv. 1 have no interest to serve in praising or con- demning the people or their country. I came here solely out of curiosity, without the slight- est intention ever to settle in it. In travellinc: through the country, I have desired the drivers of the coaches, and the captains of the steam and canal boats, to direct me to the best hotels in the towns, where I have had occasion to stop ; and there I must have fallen in with many American gentlemen at the public diping-tables, and yet, to the credit of the American character, I have not met with an individual who has attempted to arrogate a superiority over me in one way or another. In America, so long as you behave yourself like a gentleman, you are treated on all occa- sions as an equal. I have already spoken of the treatment of travellers by hotel-keepers, coach-proprietors, steam and canal captains, as WORSHIP OF MAMMON. {yj very praiseworthy. Americans may justly aspire to be regarded as equal to any other na- tion in this department. I have now stated what I consider admira- ble in the country. I may, I hope, without giving offence, speak of what I dislike in the habits and manners of the people. It has been said, that gold is worshipped in all climates, without a single temple, and by all classes, without a single hypocrite. I believe this is pretty correct ; but, if there is one people in the universe who sacrifice more time to the amassing of money than the rest, it is the American nation. They rise early, and toil hard ; they give up no time to the social en- joyments of life ; they take their meals at the ringing of a bell, and hurry througli it more like beasts feeding, than Christians dining There is no interchange of friendly sentiment or humorous joke ; all is planning, speculating, and calculating. When they get a glass, and, notwithstanding the Temperance Societies, they sometimes do, their boasting, on( of their greatest national peculiarities, begins to shew itself A good i •: I 100 CHARACTER OF V story is told of a major and another Yankee, A Yankee says to a major, " Can you shoot a rifle, major ?" — " Pretty considerable," says he ; "I can hit a chip in the air," says the Yankee, " five times out of six shots." The major replies, " Well, I can beat that, I guess, for I can hit one seven tiines in four shots" — " Well," says the other, " that's enough ; we wont waste powder, and I knock under." The Yankees who live in the country in America have none of that boorish awkwardness which is a distinguishing feature of the country people in Scotland. On the contrary, they are sharp and intelligent, and quite alive to their own interest. " Friend, mind thyself," is the com- mandment, of all others, they most scrupulously attend to. If you get into conversation with any of them in the course of travelling, two to one but he will be for selling you his watch, his gun, or some of his property. A simple man has no chance with them. They consider all such as fair plunder ; and how they can reconcile this line of conduct with the prin- ciples either of religion or humanity, I am at loss to discover. I am sorry to say, that the THE AMKIIICANS. iOl standard of morality established in America by the middling class, who constitute tlirc'C- fourths of the community, is much below what it is in the old country. Here one of the first cautions you receive is, to put no trust in any one's word, if he has, or by possibility can have, any interest in deceiving you. The pu- nishment by solitary confinement, combined with hard labour, is so severe, that it deters from a direct breach of the laws in cases where, were it not for this salutary check, crime would be committed. Still the love of money is so strong in the breast of a genuine Yankee, that it would not be safe to trust to his honour alone. They are too greedy to be honest be- yond the limits of the law. They all cut their eye-teeth at a very early age in this country. They are not easily roused to anger ; but when their spirit is up, I am told they are very blood-thirsty and revengeful. They resemble the American Indian in the worst feature of his character — revengefulness, for they never forgive or forget an injury. They are fond of good living, which a bountiful country enables them to gratify. They eat butcher-meat three I 2 102 INQUISITIVENESS. • *i ( « r times a-day, and this, I presume, is the cause why so many of them are troubled with sto- mach complaints. They are proud, but the equality principles of their government pre- vent them ever attempting to assume any tone of superiority. They are very inquisi- tive. I have often been pestered with such questions as, " I guess you be from the old country. — I guess this is a fine country : your poor can get along when they come here : I wish they would stay at home and take from your nobles a share of what belongs to them. — I guess you are going to settle here : are you buying land ?" and so on, are the questions I have had put to me fifty times since I came here. These remarks apply to that class of people who may be on an equality with the small far- mers and small shopkeepers in the old country, and to those beneath them. Toronto, where I arrived on the 1st June, is the capital of Upper Canada, and is situated near the head of Lake Ontario, on the north side of the harbour, which is formed by a long sandy peninsula, stretching from the land east TORONTO. 103 of the town to a point called Gibraltar Point, abreast of the present fort. The streets cross each other at right angles. The princii)al street is King Street, which runs through the centre of the town from east to west, and is about a mile and a half long. Most of the houses are built of wood, but some of them are of brick and stone. This place has the usual number of public buildings, which it is quite unnecessary here to enumerate. I learned that store-keeping has been quite overdone. Goods are sold every night by auction, which hurts the store-keepers by interfering with their profits. On the whole, it is as dull a hole as I have been in. A number of half-pay officers, with their noses in red uniform, may be seen strutting about the town and lounging about the hotels. They are chiefly from Ireland, and talk about their cousin Lord this, and their uncle Lord that. There are another class of men who also frequent the wharfs, the hotels, and the coffee- houses for their victims. This class prey upon the poor unhappy emigrants on their arrival. 104 CAUTION TO SETTLERS. 11 Tlicy are up to all sorts of tricks to defraud the new-comer out of his dollars ; and so sure as a settler has any transactions with them, so sure is he taken in. Perhaps the titles to the land turn out bad, or the land is useless, or they have no right to sell. Something is sure to be wrong. All emigrants ought to avoid them. Let them go to the government agents and responsible men for information, and make their purchases of land, and then they will be safe. One or two of these land sharks, who are mostly old countrymen too idle and dissi- pated to work themselves, made an attempt upon me ; but as soon as they found my object was merely information about the country, they went off, and troubled me no more. The appearance of many of the inhabitants of Toronto would lead me to think that it is rather a dissipated place. The town of To- ronto contains about 8000 inhabitants, com- posed of Scotch, English, and Irish, native- born Canadians, and a few French Canadians and Negroes. There is wanting that spirit of enterprise which you see in the States. I was struck with the change. They reckon the EMIGRATION. 105 importation of emigrants, which takes place every spring, as their harvest ; and I guess they do with them as the Yankee young ladies do with their live geese — they pluck the fea- thers off them every spring. What they call out for at Toronto is, for men of capital to come out to them. Now, the question comes to be, is it advisable for men of capital, who can live comfortably at home, to go there. If you read the statements of those interested — if you trust to the letters sent home by resi- dents here — you are too apt to be deceived. They have a direct interest in getting out wealthy settlers to the colony. They describe the country as immensely fertile, the climate delightfully salubrious, bracing and invigorat- ing the human frame, and stimulating to and sweetening labour with the prospect of pros- perity to a wealthy settler, to which it would be difficult to assign bounds. Now, my con- scientious opinion is, that this statement is not consistent with facts ; and I would advise no one who has capital, an^l can live at home, ever to come here. I shai* give my reasons as briefly as I can. In the first place, I consider I'i; 10() DISADVANTAGES OF /i I- 5 the climate decidedly injurious to the cu.isti- tutions of people from the old country : a re- sidence of two years here sometimes makes a person look fifteen years older than he did before. Instances of this kind have come under my own observation ; and it is allowed to be an established fact, that the sudden changes of the climate, the extreme heat and cold, the liability to fever and ague, and the frequency of diseases of the lungs, are very trying to Europeans, and tend materially to shorten life. In the second place, a wealthy settler from Europe rarely ever finds himself at home here. He deprives himself of many of the comforts which added to his happiness there which he can never find here, and too Citen the sweets of home are not known or little valued, till they are sacrificed for ever. He who has seen the settlers in the woods, as I have done, and has questioned them about their feelings, will tell you that they are often discontented and unhappy, and nothing but necessity makes them stay. I do not doubt there are many exceptions, but as a general rule it will hold good. The next and last f:mi(;rati(): 107 J Coiisti- y : a re- makes a he did e come allowed sudden eat and and the re very rially to wealthy himself >f many ippiness md too own or )r ever. )ods, as a about ■e often ing but t doubt general nd last reason I will give is, that a largo capital in- vested in farming in America does not pay a remunerating profit. It is allowed by all the farmers, both in the States and Canada, whom I spoke to on the subject, that farms do not yield a fair profit for the amount of capital embarked. This is owing partly to the low value of produce, and partly to the high price of wages, and partly to the system of bartering they carry on, which makes it very ditiicult to realise the cash. Provisions of most kinds are dearer at To- ronto than they are hi the States ; indeed a great part of what is consumed in that town is brought over from the States. But clothes are cheaper. I paid a dollar per day for my board and lodging at the British Coffee-house. We breakfasted at 8 a. m., had luncheon at 1 , dined at 5 p, m., and drank tea at 8. After dinner it was customary to sit and drink wine, and talk over the news and politics of the daj^ During my stay at Toronto, I took an excur- sion thirty miles into the interior of the coun- try. After visiting several of the farmers in their log houses, I went into the woods to n |1 « f I -i i } 1 1 !■ 1 ( : iik:^ I 108 INTKUIOII OF TIIK COUNTllY. shoot pigf ons. I was not gone long (I had shot throe pigeons and a black squirrel), when I thought of returning ; but I found, as the moiire in the trap did, that it was much easier getting into the woods than getting out of them again. I walked in a direction which I thought the right one, till I was sure I must have got to the clearing ; but always the more I walked the less likelihood I saw of getting out. I halloed till the birds rose from their resting places, wondering what strange animal this was that had come among them. Well, what was to be done ? My legs were fairly tired out. I sat down on the stump of a tree to take a rest ; but I had not been se.ited fiv^ minutes ere I saw a snake u';^ut three feet long, creeping as sly as you please through among the underwood in the direction where T sat. I could not make out from his hissing 10 V, nat tribe he belonged ; but I thought his eye by far too sly for me : so I walked off as fast as I could to give my gentleman a wide berth. I now walked any way, for I thought chance might do for me what I could not do for my- A CANADIAN lOllKST. I(>1> ? (I had 2l), when 1, as the ch easier J out of which I ? I must :he more ' getting )m their 3 animal . Well, re fairly )f a tree ted five ree feet through n where '< hissing light his id off as a wide ; chance for my- self, that was to take me out aijain. IJur no ; I walked on till I was like to drop down. It was now b(?twoen 7 and 8 p. m. ; tlu^ sun set or setting, and ihv woods threw^ a gh>oni around, which made me feel something like Eve, after her fatal intercourse with the Ser- pent. I had been told that the wolves were sometimes heard howlin«i- in the forest; and I recollected of hearing of a Canadian, who, when out shootinii: deer, was devoured bv them; all which was no consolation to me. f was now fain to scramble up a tree, and nestle there for the night; but the trees were all straight, and without any branches, except near to the top, so it was impossible to ascend any of them. I was startled ^^ hen I heard any thing move. At one time a frog as large as a ,cat, with a voice strong enougli to lead in the '100th Psalm at a Burgher meeting, looked u}) in my ftice ; as nmch as to say, " Don't harm me ;" but by this time I was willing to let alone for let alone, and, acting on this principle, I spared a large grey squirrel within six yards of me. At last, when nature was nearlv e\- hausted, I came to a tree that had been felled K ii/'Li no A NIGHT IN A 1 ORES'I'. ■4 either by the lightning or the wind, and in falling had come in contact with the tree next to it, and thus hnng half way to the ground, forming a kind of bridge, by which I could as- cend to the adjacent tree. I climbed up and took possession, quite happy to escape from the dangers below. But I had no easy job in getting myself and gun to the top of the tree, and then to prevent myself from falling down again I had to tie myself with my handker- chief to the tree, but still T did not feel quite at home. Perched ^^o like a baboon in a fo- rest, about midnigL. a storm of wind and rain, thunder and lightning, came on ; I was fairly drenched through and I shook as if I was in a fit of the North Carolina ague. The storm lasted, I think, about three-quarters of an hour. When it abated, I was so overpow- ered with sleep that I could hardly keep awake. I dropped my gun at this time, which shews I must have been napping. But the longest night will have an end. Daylight came at last, when I descended from my airy habita- tion, and went again in search of the civilized world. About 5 in the morning I heard a •,.,-Ur-.j Z"i "■• rORT NIAGARA. Ill and in ee next ground, luld as- iip and e from job in le tree, ^ down indker- 1 quite n a fo- ld and I was r I was The ters of erpow- awake. shews ongest Lme at labita- vilized card a bell ringing at a great distance. I followed in the direction the sound came from, hallooing as loud as I could. The sound came nearer and nearer, till at last I saw the settler whose house I had just left before I ^^ent into the woods. He had come into the woods to seek me. He told me I was not above a mile from his log house. He had taken the precaution to bring a pocket compass with him ; so in a short time I was safely sitting in his house at breakfast, which I did ample justice to, as I had not tasted food for eighteen hours. As I soon saw every thing remarkable in and about Toronto, I took my departure on the morning of the 4th June, in the steam- boat the Canada, for Niagara. I started at 7 in the morning to cross Lake Ontario, and ar- rived at a small town, called Fort Niagara, by half-past 11a, m. The passage in the cabin is two dollars, with provisions, and on the deck one dollar, without provisions. The day was cool and clear. At Fort Niagara, I found stages waiting to carry the passengers by the steam-boat forward to the Falls of Niagara ; so J lost no time there, but took my seat in the i ' I 11:? FALLS OF NIAGARA. / ( N t M .1 I'-l stage to i\w. Falls ; fare one (iollar. The road was close to the Nijigara river, and considerinjj that it was a Canadian road, was tolerably good. When I came within six miles of the Falls 1 heard thv, roaring of the cataract, which im- pressed me with feelings of a\\ e, wlien T thought of tlie mighty spectacle 1 was so soon to be- hold. I took up my lodgings at Mr Slater'^ National Hotel, mu\ then sallied forth to con- template the vast scen(\ I had a rpiarter of a mile to walk before I reached them. They burst upon my sight as soon as I reached a certain point of the road, and although tliey were certainly grand, yet I must, in truth, say, that they did not come up to the descriptions I had read of them. I had heard them com- pared to a sea descending from the moon, which is comparing a mole-hill to a mountain. These overdrawn descriptions do much ill, as they lead the mind to form too great expecta- tions, which are sure to bf3 afterwards disap- pointed. The roaring of the falling waters was not so loud either as I expected. The sound was something similar to that made by the wind in a storm, when passing through u ■»■ ,1 V, FALLS OF NIAGARA. 113 'iie road sidering >]ygood. Falls 1 licli im- tIiou^<>'ht 1 to be- Slater's to con- arter of They iched a ;rli tliov -7 ft/ tl), ^'ly. "iptious 11 com- moon, untain. 1 ill, as ipecta- disap- waters The ide by )ugli a forest of tall trees ; while the abyss below, into which the foaming torrent is hurled, resembled an immense caldron, where the foam, white as the driven snow, is lashed to and fro by the sheet of water pouring over the rocks into the gulf. After I had gazed for a couple of hours from the Table Rock, I thought of returning to my hotel ; but I found the longer I gazed the more I was fascinated with the sight. 1 was so intent, indeed, that I did not perceive the approach of a thunder-storm, till I was awoke from my reverie by a peal of thunder close by. Although I was within a few yards of the Great Horse Shoe Fall when the thunder- storm came on, I heard distinctly every peal, which proves that the roaring of the Falls is not so wonderfully great as some people would make us believe. The Falls of Niagara are situated on the ri- ver of the same name, which connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence. Niagara River is thirty-five miles in length, and varies from about half a mile to five or six miles in width. The Falls are situated ahout 114 iroRSE-siio!: fall. twenty miles distaut from Lake Erie and four- teen from Lake Ontario. At Chippewa Creek (two miles above tlie Falls), the width of the river is nearly two miles, and its current ex- tremely rapid. From thence to the Falls it gradually narrows to about a mile in width. The descent of the rapids has been estimated at 58 foQt. The cataract pours over a summit in the form of a crescent, extending some dis- tance up the stream. Tlie sheet of water is separated by Goat Island, leaving the grand fill on the Canada side about 600 yards wide, and the high fall on the American side about 300. The fall on the American side drops almost perpendicularly to the distance of 161 feet. The grand or Horse-shoe Fall, on the Canada side, descends to the river below, in the form of a curve, 158 feet. The whole height, in- cluding the descent of the rapids above, is 216 feet. When evening began to set in, I forced myself away from 1 able Rock ; and when I got back to my hotel, I found that this was the review day of the (\^nada Militia, and that my landlord had all the officers in his house at ' I TlIK CANADA MIMTIA. IIT) Llld foLll'- in Creek h of the rent ex- Falls it n width, sti mated summit )me dis- water is e grand Js wide, le about s almost M feet Canada le form ^'ht, in- , is21f) forced ^vhen I I lis was nd tliat ouse at dinner. They sat till about ten or eleven at night, when most of them were more than half- seas over. They were exceeding noisy. Not content with thumping on tlie table with their hands, thov also knocked on the floor with their heels, aud bellowed at a great rate : which, as I was sitting in the next room, in company with a gentleman from Scotland, was very annoying. One of the ofHcers, who, I suppose, had been unable to sit longer at the table, had lain down in tlie sofa, before I came into the room, unperceived by me. I remark- ed to my companion, alluding to tliese officers, that there were plenty of wild beasts in this country. M}^ drunken specimen of bestiality put his hand on his sword, and hiccupped up, " Beasts, — aye, beasts, — damn you, I'll beast you !" But fortunately for me, he was too far gone to be able to rise, and I escaped from his martial fury. Another of these warriors of a day, after he had mounted his cliarger at tlie door of the hotel, had great difficulty in balancing him- self. Before leaving, he bawls out, " I say, Jf)]in, mind you clip the sheep to-morrow, or ■Af"'- '-^ 11 P 116 THE SPIRAL STAIH. i» I I else ril knock you down ; as for me, I fe danger, I go right ahead ;" and the ar no ^ ^ n off he set to his settlement in the woods. On the 5th, 6th, and 7th of June, I paid morning and evening visits to the Falls, to con- template the sublime cataract ; and every day 1 felt more and more reluctance to leave. On the morning of the 9th of June, I visited them tor the last time ; and on that occasion I sum- moned up resolution to venture behind the great sheet of water. Before descending the spiral stair which leads to the waters below the Falls, I was shewn into a room to undress and I was supplied with a complete suit from' the keeper's wardrobe, which I put on ; and then the guide conducted me down the stair and along a rough path which winds along the' bottom of the precipice, and leads along the excavated bank, which overhangs about thirty or forty feat. The path was very slippery trom the water, and just as I had passed the en- trance into the cavern behind the Falls, I made a stumble, but did not fah. Before I had gone three yards more, I was completely drenched with the spray, and I felt a sensation 1 ] TERMINATION liOCK. 117 I fear no »ff he set I I paid , to con- ery day ve. On ed them I sum- ind the ing the low the mdress, it from n ; and e stair, )ng the ng the thirty ippery he en- [ made I had )letely sation t similar to what is felt hy the siiock of a shower- bath. It took away my breath for a few mo- ments, and, to avoid falling, 1 leaned against the rock. My guide, not thinking but that 1 followed, went forward, and left me standing alone. He soon returned to me. I saw his lips moving, but if the tongues of a thousand archangels had been given to him, the mighty roaring of tl)e watca-s from above would have silenced them all. However, I guessed he was urging me on, and i involuntarily exclaimed, " Whero the devil are you taking me to ?" and followed hiiu close wn, lill I reached as far as I could go. This point is called Termina- tion Rock, anrl is said to be 153 feet from the commencement of the volume of water at Table Rock. At times there was a whirl of wind, which brought some of the fallii]g water down upon me, with a force that made me almost fall. Whether the wind being in a direction to blow against the Falls caused this, I cannot say; however, after standing about two mi- nutes, I found my situation so disagreeable, if not dangerous, that I retraced my steps as fast as possible, and came out as completely drenched '( I* I 118 FALLS OF NIAGARA. !. as if I had been immersed in the foaming cal- dron beneath. A cloud-like smoke overhangs the Falls, and gives to the white foam below the appearance of an immense boiling caldron. The amount of water which passes over the Falls is estima- ted at 100 millions of tons in an hour. The depth of water at the principal Fall cannot be ascertained. It is supposed by some to be 600 feet, but I should not think it was the quarter of that depth. It is said that when a boat ap- proaches within a certain distance of the Falls, it is difficult to arrest it, by reason of a mag- netic attraction towards the precipice. Hence the tradition of the Indian, who, finding his canoe within the influence of this attraction, gave up all hope, laid down his paddle, swal- lowed the last drop in his flask, shrouded him- self in his blanket, and was precipitated over the fall. I was charged for the use of the amphibious suit of clothes, and for the guide, half a dollar. My name was inserted in the book for regis- tering the names of those who have passed behind the great falling sheet of water to Ter- 1 AI,LS OF N'lAGAUA. 119 ming cal- Falls, and )pearance B amount is estima- iir. The ;annot be to be 600 e quarter boat ap- the Falls, !" a mag- . Hence ding his ;traction, le, swal- led him- ted over phibious a dollar. )r regis- i passed to Ter- mination Rock; and I received the following certificate : " This may certify, that Mr ^.^?}V: . j^f^ has passed behind the great falling sheet of water to Termination Rock. Given under my hand, at the Office of the General Register of the Names of Visitors at the Table Rock, this 9th day of June 1834. (Signed) Jea. Graskey." While I staid at Lundy's Lane, in Mr Sla- ter's, I found the weather excessively hot, which confined me to the house from six in the morning till six in the evening. Mr Slater, his wife, and family, had come out from Eng- land about two years ago. He spoke by no means favourably of his prospects here. Ke complained of the scarcity of money. There was little or no money to be seen, it was most- ly all barter. Mrs Slater said she never felt this place as her home till her eldest daughter, who died last summer, was buried here ; and since that, her ties to the land which incloses one so dear to her have become stronger. Still I saw they were both depressed, and far from being happy. They told me that the masters ll'U MAGAilA niVlill. i) '>; fins funntry ;„•(• ^lav,..s .„ ,l„.i, servant, llioy daro notadmo.iisi, tlic, iCthoy do »,o..i> mal if tl,ey ar.. in.pm-tiiu.it, th,.y ,„„st «,.|.niit to It. I left Mr Slater's, „i, Jloiiday tl,,. tlio water there wa.s »ree }'ears )it, a citv hi in how s he, " I 3 for part to death Ls not iov ne Jiere ; e of my ilized to m think- le to (h) d return When the stage reached a small village call- ed Waterloo we alighted, as here we were to cross over to the American side. We were taken across by a ferry-boat, propelled by two horses ; the horses were made fast so that they conld not advance; but the power of their limbs in the attempt, moved round the frame where they stood, which, being connected to the paddles of the boat, propelled her through the water. I was charged Is. York, or f]d. Ster- ling, for my passage over. The place where we landed is Black Rock, a village, containing about 700 inhabitants. The Erie Canal passes close to it. The stage was in waiting to carry us forward to Buffalo, three miles farther, where I arrived at 7 p. m., and put up at the Hotel, one of the largest establishments in Buffalo. Buffalo is perhaps the most flourishing city in the States. It has natural and artificial ad- vantages, which point it out as likely to be- come a great city ; at present it is just in its infancy ; but situated as it is, in the midst of the enterprise and business of this new world, 1 2'J illJFFAI.O. where the pro«Jn(>o of t]w west, coming frou, the shores all alon- I,.,i,o e.j^, ^nd the other lakes to the westward, here fiiul an outh^t In the canal to the eastward and ))y Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence to the Atlantic, it is destined to increase rai)idly in size and poi)u- lation. The streets are broad, and many of the shops are very splendid. Bnffalo was burned by our troops during the last war, in retaliation for similar outrap-es committed by the Americans in Canada ; a"nd there was but one house left standing. It was not rebuilt until the Erie Canal was opened, when it rose like the PhcT-nix from its ashes with renewed splendour. After tea I took a stroll through the town. I met a great many of the Indians on the streets, the first I had ever seen. I could not but feel a deep sympathy for these poor un- fortunate beings, who were the original pro- prietors of the soil, and yet seem destined in a century or two more to be extinct. I observed two women, one apparently the mother, and the other the daughter, both '^ pretty lilK rilF.ATKi:. iL>:i niiig fi'oh! llio other outI(;t by 0, Ontario it'ie, it; is md ))oj)u- many oC IS during outrages CD ada; and 'anal was : from its tea I took IS on the ;ould not poor un- inal pro- 5tined in Dntly the I ^'pretty com ider able'' druniv ; they were staj»gering about the streets, and every now and then uttering a strange savag(! yell, soni(;thing v(M'y similar to the cry of the milknwn in N(!W York, when they arrive in their spring-cart at the doors of their customers. About nine o'clock I i)opped into the theatre, where I sau- the worst actinjr, and the ugliest female performers, I had ever Avitnessed. The place was full, yet there wen; not above four females present. I only re- mained half-an-hour : and, on my return to my hotel, I again met the two Indian women ; they were lying on the pavement, and rolling about in the last stage of intoxication. June 10 — It is at all times unpleasant to have to note down any occurrence unfavour- able to the manners and customs of a neople among whom we are travelling, but perhaps it is wrong entirely to pass over such things. I men- tioned, I think, already, that I stopped at the Hotel, in Buffalo, one of the largest houses of the kind in the United States. When I desired to be shown into my bed-room, I was ushered by a black valet-de-chambre into f. f; 124 AN AMERICAN KREAKrAST a large spacious apartment, containing four beds, which were afterwards occupied "by as many different gentlemen. This practice might do in the cabin of a steamer, but it seems rude and indelicate in a groat hotel ; and I regret to have to add that I have every reason to believe that the indelicacy is some- times carried much farther. The bell rung to breakfast at 8 o'clock, and I followed the crowd of boarders into a long room, where covers were set for about 120 people, although only about 80 sat down. The ladies sat at the upper end of the table, and took no notice of the gentlemen. The tea and coffee cups were filled by the waiters at side-tables, and handed to the company, who put in sugar and milk to their taste. The table was covered with a profusion of fried fish, beefsteaks, mutton-chops, eggs, radishes, raw onions, and cresses ; and the ladies seem- ed to do as much justice to the good cheer as the gentlemen. All seemed as if they were eating for a wager ; and the moment they had bolted the last morsel, they rose and left ■; / hlh ■•' « SENKfA. 12; inirig four •ied by as practice er, but it iat hotel ; ave every is some- 'lock, and I to a long- bout 120 it down, he table, m. The e waiters any, who te. The of fried radishes, es seem- cheer as ey were int they and left the room. 1 waited until they had all vanisli- ed, when the white attendants, becoming im- patient at my delay, took their seats alongside of me, and began fortifying tlieir inner man. About 10 A.M. I set off on an excursion, to visit a tribe of Indians who are settled at the village of Sejieca, about three miles from Buf- falo. The Indians, with their squaws and papooses, were all new to me, and I felt a deep interest in this singular people. '• Not many years ago, the Indians were the sole possessors of the land ; the valleys and the hills re-echoed with their shouts of victory ; the lakes and the rivers were covered with canoes, while the smoke from the birch-bark wigwams ascended from tlu3 lakes to the ocean." William Penx, who, from long intercourse, had an excellent opportunity of knowing them, observes that " the Indians, in their persons, are generally tall and straight, well built, and of singular [)roportion ; they tread strong and clever, and mostly walk with a lofty chin. Of complexion black, but by design, as the gipsies in England. They grease themselves with L 2 i \ 1! i\ 126 THE INDIANS. ill V i • i I bear's fat clarified; and, using no defence against sun or weather, their skins must need be swarthy. Their eye is little and black, not unhke a straight-eyed Jew, The thick lip and flat nose, so frequent with the Negroes, are not common to them ; many of them have fine Roman noses. Their langi age is lofty, yet narrow, but, like the Hebrew, is in signification full. Like short-hand in writing, one word serveth in the place of three, and the rest are supplied by the understanding of the hearer • imperfect in their tenses, wanting in their moods, participles, adverbs, conjunctions, and interjections. " Of their customs and manners there is much to be said. I will begin with children. ho soon as they are born, they wash them in water ; and, while very young, and in cold weather, they plunge them in the rivers, to harden and embolden them. The children will go very young, at nine months commonly • if boys, they go a-fishing till ripe for tue woods' which is about fifteen ; then they hunt ; and after having given some proofs of their man- THE INDIANS. 127 o defeijce iiust need black, not 3k lip and ^roes, are have fine 0%, yet nification >ne word rest are hearer : in their ions, and there is children, them in in cold ivers, to children inioniy ; 3 woods, it; and ir man- hood, by a good return of skins, they may marry ; else it is considered a shame to think of a wife. " The girls stay with their mothers and help to hoe the ground, plant corn, and carry bur- dens ; and they do well to use them to that when young, which they must do when they are old, for the wives are the true servants of the husbands ; otherwise the men are very affectionate to them. " When the young women are fit for mar- riage, they ivear something about their heads for an advertisement, but so as their faces are hardly to be seen but when they please. " The age they marry at, if women, is about thirteen and fourteen ; if men, seventeen and eighteen : they are rarely older. " Their houses are made of mats, or barks of trees, set on poles, in the fashion of an Eng- lish barn, but out of the power of the winds, for they are rarely higher than a man : they lie on reeds or grass. In travel, they lodge in the woods, about a great fire, with the mantle of duffels they wear by day wrapt about them, 128 i'HE INDIANS. aiid a few boughs stuck round them. Tlieir diet IS maize or Indian corn, prepared in dif- ierentways; sometimes roasted in the ashes • sometimes beaten and boiled with water, which' t'.ey call J.o,uine. They also make cake,, „o unpleasant to eat. They have likewise se^ral ZZ T^ '"'' ''""*" *'''' '''' S°°d nourish- "e it ; and the woods and the rivers are their ,,: ^,* '"' European comes to see them, or calls for lodgin. at their house or wigwim icy give him the best place, and first cut. If hey come to visit us, they salute us with an 'ah , wh.eh ,s as much as to say, rjood he to you, and set them down ; which is mostly on the ground, close to their heels, their le<^s up iiglit. It may be, they speak not a word, but observe all passages. If you give them any thing to eat or drink, well ; tbr they will not ask ■ and be it little or much, if it be with kindness they are well pleased, else they go "»ay sullen, but say nothing. They are J^i concealers of their own resentments ; brouglu to it, I believe, by the revenge that hath been liiactised among theni ; but in liberality they !• Their ^d in dit- he ashes ; er, whicli ake§, not »e several Mourish- ire their til em, or vigwani, cut. If with an ^d be to 3stly on egs up. ^rd, but 5111 any nil not 36 with hey go e great rough t h been y they THE INDIANS. 1 -21) excel. Nothing is too good for their friend. Give them a line gun, coat, or other thing, it may pass twenty hands before it stops. Light of heart, strong affections, but soon spent. The most merry creatures that live ; feast and dance perpetually. Tliey never have much, nor want much. Wealth circulateth like the blood ; all parts partake ; and though none shall want what another hath, yet exact observers of pro- perty. They care for little, because they want but little ; and the reason is, a little contents them. In this they are sufficiently revenged on us : if they are ignorant of our pleasures, they are also free from our pains. We sweat and toil to live : their pleasure feeds them. I mean their hunting, fishing, and fowling ; and this table is spread everywhere. They eat twice a-day, morning and evening : their seats and table are the ground. In sickness, impa- tient to be cured, and for it give any thing, especially for their children, to whom they are extremely natural. Their mourning is black- ing of their faces, which they continue for a vear. I ^nm ^ It' I I' I I 10 i HE INDIAN'S: " Their govenmu .. is by kiugs, which they call Sachama; and those by succession, but always of the mother's side. For instance, the children of him that is now king will not suc- ceed, but his brotlier by the mother, or the children of his sister, whose sons (and after them the t :idren of her daughters) will reign ; for no M'oman inherits. The reason they r'^u- der for this way of descent is, tliat tlunr issue may not be spurious." The Indians '^inca the days of William Penn, are some^^hat degenerated. Their in- tercourse with the whites has done them no good. They have thereby added to their other vices that of drunkenness, which, of all others, is the sin which most easily besets an Indian. Still I am told that an Indian and his wife never get drunk together ; when the one gets drunk, the other keeps sober, and so they take turn and turn about. Drunkenness, unfortunately, is not looked upon by them as a crime. It would be well if it w.re so, as public opinion is a law to them; so much so, Hiat if any one among them commits a crime THE INDIANS, I :? I icil thev ion, but nee, thu lot suc- or the id after 1 reign ; ley ren- ir issiio Villiam leir in- lem no ) their of all ;ets an in and en the and so snriess, em as so, as ch so, crime deserving of death, he seldom makes an at- tempt to escape, but gives himself u]), and suf- fers death, preferring to die rather than to live under the curse of public opinion. The Indians are amazingly acute of sight. If they see a person once, thej^ will know him always after. If you confer a favour on one of them, he will remember it with gratitude as long as he lives ; but if you do him an injury, he never forgets or forgives it. Those In- dians that I saw at Seneca were rather less in stature than the Yankees. Their skin was of a dark, smoky, copper colour; their hair long, black, and coarse. Some of them wore large ear-rings. The young papooses were amusing themselves shooting with bows and arrows. I asked one of them to take nim at an orange which I placed on a stone at a con- siderable distance, he hit it at once, and seem- ingly almost without an effort : so expert are they. In their traffic with the white skins, as they call the Americans, they are sometimes imposed upon ; but they have now learned pretty well in what estimation to hold the n ]S2 SELLING A HORSE. word of a c/ereuine Yankee. A gentleman whom I met at Seneca related a conversation which passed bet^ een an Indian and a Yankee in his presence, which shews that the Indians do not want for shrewdness. The Yankee had a horse to sell. It was old, broken in the knees, and had many faults. He met an In- dian, and calculated he would come Yankee over him. So he commenced a long harangue m praise of the horse, and finished by stron-ly urging the Indian to barter some of his goods for the animal. The Indian, with the greatest patience and politeness, heard him to an end and replied, " You say very true-your horse very fine horse ; you should not sell such a fine animal, you should keep him to yourself." The veracity of the Indians was held in such esteem by the Dutch, that, in one of the old laws in the State of New York, wherein tavern-keepers were fined for giving the In- dians too much liquor, the word of the Indian, when sober, was good enough evidence in a' court of law against the white person who made him drunk. w THE INDIANS. 133 ^ntleman ^ersation Yankee Indians ikee had in the an In- Yankee arangue itrongly s goods greatest m end, r horse such a Lirself." leld in i of the i^herein he In- fndian, 'e in a n who The race of tlie Indians are fast dwindling away. No doubt, there is a kind of show of mock justice observed towards them by the Americans, who make treaties, and wlio pur- chase their lands from them ; but, as the lands reserved for the Indians become unfit for them to live upon so soon as they are surrounded by settlers, who clear the country round about, and thereby drive away the game on which the Indians subsist, they are thus forced to re- linquish their lands for what the Americans choose to give them, and to remove far away, where the white skin has not yet intruded. " It was once their highest gratification to be accounted the white man's friend. And it has been truly said, none ever entered the hut of an Indian, and he gave him no meat, — or cold and naked, and he gave him no clothes ; but now, alas, these generous Indians are forced to leave the home of their fathers. ' Few and faint, yet fearless still !' They shed no tears, they utter no cries, they heave no groans. There is something in their M i:m LAKK KKIK. If hearts which surpasses speccli : it is courage absorbed by despair." I took my leave of tliis interesting people about 4 p. M., and readied Buffalo a^min in time to tea at the Hotel, where I stop- ped all night. June 1 1 — After breakfast I walked out to take a ramble through the town, nor did T halt until I came to Lake Erie, when I was aroused from my reverie by the waves break- ing on the shore. The wind was blowing strong from the west, and I could hardly con- vince myself that the lake before me was not the sea. A steam-boat for Detroit (the capital of the Michigan Territory) was on the point of sail- ing. I observed on deck about fifty emigrants from the old country, who were proceeding westward. The distance from Buffiilo to De- troit is about 300 miles. The intercourse be- tween these two places is increasing every year. This season I am told there are no less than 30 steam-boats, and 1 50 sailing vessels, navigating Lake Erie. The passage-money to Detroit is eight dollars in the cabin, and four Iin-; WKM-AMJ (ANAL. 135 i c'ouragt- q; people ai^ain in e I stop- d out to >r did T en I was s break - blowing dly con- was not ■d of the of sail- nigrants ceeding » to De- Lirse be- ? every no less vessels, oney to nd four dollars on the deck. The passage takes up from 35 to 40 Ijours. Lake Erie is 290 miles long, and in the widest part 63 broad. It is only about 1*2 fa- thoms deep. Tliis lake receives into its bosom the surplus waters of tlie upper lakes, besides some tributary streams. Its waters appear green, and it is frozen over every winter. It lies 300 feet above the level of Lake Ontario. A canal called the Welland canal, was made some years ago, to connect these two lakes to- gether, large enough to allow tlie vessels navi- gating the lakes to pass through. The canal is 42 miles in length, 58 feet wide at the top, and 26 at the bottom. i returned to the hotel at 11 a. m., paid my biJl, and set off in the first canal packet-boat, on my way back to New York. The packet- boats are exclusively fitted up for passengers and their luggage. They carry no goods, and go about fi.ve miles an hour. The company met with in these boats is more select than in the line boats. During my travels 1 have experienced pain- ful sensations in leaving the towns I had vi- I3(i AMEUICAN LADIES. ^i\l: sited, arising from the reHection that I was ne- ver to see th(nii again. It is painful to part even with a Yankee town for the last time ; and although I never met with a Yankee who' was open and generous, still, in parting with the companions whom accident threw in my way in canal-boats and steamers, and knowing that I never should see one of them again, it threw a temporary sadness over my mind, v/hich those who have wandered over distant lands can easily conceive. In the boat I found twelve passengers, four of whom were ladies. The title lady is applied in America to all females ; even a white ser- vant would be affronted if she were not styled a young lady. Her master terms the servant a help, and she calls her master the Boss ; ser- vant and master being titles the Americans consider totally inconsistent with their notions of liberty and equality. I looked around among my fellow-travellers for a sociable companion to converse with, when I soon saw one to my mind '* L^^?\^ j*'"^ ""^^ '''^"' '^^*'^ ^ l^J'ge round belly. Which shook, when he laiigh'd, like a bowl full of jelly." lONNKWAN 1 A. 137 I was ne- 1 to part ist time ; ikee who ting with w in my knowing again, it y mind, ' distant ers, four 5 applied lite ser- )t styled servant ss ; ser- aericans notions avellers e with. a full of I made u[) to him, and broke the icu by some casual remark or other. We were soon intimate. He was an old sea-captain, and had sailed many hundred thousand miles. H(^ had been twice round tlie worhl. Like most sailors, he liked a glass of grog, and hated the Temperance Societies, He had been aw ny in the Miciiigan country, with a view of pur- chasing an estate, intending to cast anchor there for life ; but he had not made a pur- chase, as he thought the countrj^ too new to admit of the comforts and the society he wished for. At one o'clock we were sunnnoned to din- ner. The ladies sat at the upper part of the table, as stiff and cold as ice ; they looked nei- ther to the right nor to the left. The dinner was over in ten minutes. Nothing but water was drunk at the table; however, the jolly old captain and I had a glass of brandy and water on the deck, where we smoked our cigars, while he told some queer stories. About ten miles from Buffalo we came to a creek called Tonnewanta, which serves for twelve miles as M 2 mi "T ■ ! ■ 1 ; 1 M ' ' i ^ii f. .j ;.i 1 k i 138 LOCKPORT. a natural canal, and has saved the expense of cutting. At six o'clock we arrived at Lockport, where I left the boat, and took leave of my jolly companion. Lockport, so called from its vicinity to a number of locks, is another of those mushroom villages, which the Erie Canal has raised into existence. It is stated that, in 1 821, there were only two houses at this place; now, in 1834 there are above 400. It may appear strangj that a village of this size should not contain an inhabitant above fifteen years of age. born in the village ; the inhabitants are strangers from many parts of the world, hr.v^e been, by various causes, led to make this place their adopted home. When I landed, I was accosted by a youth wishing me to go to an inn only a few yards off. He offered to conduct me there, and to carry my luggage, which offer I accept- ed. The landlord of this inn happened to be from Edinburgh. He had come out, along with his wife and family, four years ago. They had been wrecked on the voy je from Liver- pool to Quebec, and escaped with only their AN EDINBURGH LASS. 1 39 ipense of iOckport, e of my ity to a usliroom sed into ere were in 1834, strange contain ^e. born trangers •een, by !e their youth, a few : there, accept- l to be along They Liver- y their Hves, having lost their all. After working, as a wright, for two years in Upper Cana- da, he removed into the States, and finally set- tled down as an innkeeper here. He seemed a kind-hearted man, for, when I told him from whence I came, the feelings of the Scot over- came all the coldness of his adopted country, and he shot out his hand and exclaimed, " O man, but I'm glad to see you !" He asked me to take tea with his wife and family, and I spent a niost agreeable evening. He had a daughter about twenty years of age, a most amiable good-looking girl. She had a sweet musical voice, and sung Scotch airs with much feeling. After she had sung several songs, I asked her if she would favour me with " Home, sweet home." She complied; but I was sorry after that I had asked her. When she sung " there no place like home," the tears started into her eyes, and trickled down her cheeks ; and I saw that the poor las- sie thought she was far from home. It is a great luxury to make any one happy, and I was almost tempted to tell her that I would take her back again to Aidd Reekie. i40 A LIBERATED COWIC]' June 12 — At Lockport there is a double set of locks, which allow the boats passing west to go by the one, while those going east pass by the other, thereby saving a great deal of time. I saw^ nothing else worthy of remark in the village, so I took leave of mine host of th(> inn, and his lovely daughter, at 10 a. m., and leaped on board the first line-boat which pass- ed on the canal, where I found all strange faces again. I was not long on board ere I obser- ved sitting in the fore-part of the boat, a half- starved, half-clad human being. He had terror and misery strongly marked on his counte- nance ; all the social feelings seemed dead in liirn forever. I found on inquiry he iiad lately been an inmate of Sing- Sing Prison. He 'had been sentenced for fourteen years, but I could not learn his crime. I was anxious to know some particulars of this f-imous prison, where 1000 convicts are kept at hard labour, and doomed to perpetual sdence, during the term of their confinement. I got into convei'sation with the poor wretch, and he certainly described the horrors and the <:Tnelties of that prison to l)e such a. must SING-SING PRISON. 141 a double sing west east pass t deal of emark in )st of i\w ^. M., and ich pass- nge faces I obser- t, a half- id terror counte- dead in id lately He 'had I could ulars of icts are ^rpetual lenient, wretch, and the * must shock the feelings of humanity. The pri- soners are worked hard, and allowed but a scanty share of provisions. They never get a meal full, so there is a constant craving for food ; and yet, if any of the prisoners, through illness, have any of their provisions left over, they are flogged severely if detected in giv- ing it to another, and the receiver is also flogged. This prohibition is so strictly en- forced, that my informant declares he was once flogged for picking up an old chew of tobacco which one of the keepers had spat out of his mouth. No wonder that such cruel treatment breaks down the health and the spirits of those unfortunate wretches. Some of them commit suicide ; others are taken sick, and when death comes to their relief, one would think some sympathy might be shewn to the dy- ing man ; but no,— with a refinement in cruelty peculiar to the Yankees, no friend, not even a father, a brother, or a wife, is allowed to sooth his dying couch ; he sees before him the dark valley of the shadow of death, and in that aw- ful hour, he looks around for some one he loves to sooth the agonies of his soul, but he looks in vain. I 142 TKEATMENT OF PUISONKRS. I'i These prisoners, who have transgressed the laM's of their country, are still human beings ; they are all more or less susceptible to kind treatment ; they have a sense of natural justice about them ; they feel that the punishment in- iiicted IS far beyond even what is due to the crimes they have committed ; a spirit of re- venge is first cherished in their bosoms against their keepers ; they next become dejected and almost heart-broken under the merciless casti- gations which they see inflicted every day around them ; their constitutions fail, and if they survive the term of their imprisonment they come out objects orJy for the cliarity work' house. I sincerely trust that our free and happy country may never be disgraced by the adoption of such a system of brutal tyranny and oppression. While I listened to the narrative told me by this man, I had occasion to put some questions to him, and I noticed when I spoke that he gave an involuntary shudder ; I asked him the cause, and he said, that for four- teen long years he had hardly ever heard a ^-•uman voice, except that of his keeper, and ALBION'. 14:> ressed the m beings; le to kind iral justice ihment in- line to the irit of re- ns against ected and less casti- very day il, and if isonment, ity work- free and 3d by the tyranny told me ut some I spoke I asked for four- heard a 3er, and even that he had scarcely ever hoard, ])ut it was to order him to strip to be Hogg(Ml. ] felt deeply for this miserable outcast, and js^ave him a trifle of money, and left him sittings where I first saw him. I sat below tlie most of the forenoon writing my journal ; however, when we came to a village, T generally went up on the roof of the boat to see anvthim^ worth seeing, but the heat was so great that I could not stop long there. The country through which we passed wari level ; and in some places appeared wet and marshy. When it gre\v dark, I was struck with the myriads of fire-flies that were flying about every where, which the Yankees call lightning bugs ; they are very pretty, and give an animated appearance to the scenery around. At 9 P. M. the boat reached the village of Albion, where I resolved to stay all night, pre- ferring a bed in an inn, with perhaps only one or two persons in the same room, to being shut up in a cabin with two dozen or more. June 13. — I rose at .5 a.m. and walked down to the canal, to take the first line-boat passing eastward, being anxious to arrive at 3 144 AMERICAN VILLAGES. Rochester before dark ; fortunately I had not ^ ery few m.Ies we passed some village or h5:;t;"'''^r"''''"°'''-- E-hviag naa at least one rhurph ivi'fu ^ i ^ 'Z'' «--d -"h tin, guttering inM s™ There were only six passengers in the boTf' c.:::;rn"'wr'/™"' "''- — - ^'^^ s" ile H- '""""^ °' ^"-'i'ng divine dutv to dn °^''?'"' ^'"'^'^ *^* ■' -as his du^y to do so, and argued that the Sabbath into t 'T7 "'"■' "'"" "n-- Saviour came no the world. Both quoted Scripture to suit heir purpose ; and both, I doubt not, were smeerem their belief; but the parson had the best of the argument, he having the Bible at h,s finger ends : however, the other put a stop he had a direct interest in advocating public worship, as he made his bread by preaching. Dunng the forenoon I chatted in the cfbin With a young lady, and in the course of the conversation, I happened to mention a place Vor.UNTAKV CIILKCIIES. llTi I had not it came up. village or ^ch village y wooden 1 the sun. the boat : r, to be a 5t, he was an argu- Jg divine t was his Sabbath 3ur came fe to suit ot, were ^ had the Bible at it a stop ?rgyrnan ? public 3hing. le cabin ! of the a place of punishment, vuloarly called Hell, wIk-u my lovely and frail sinner exclaimed—" Lord help me! You surely do not believe in juiy sueii place? Do you I)elieve that a God of iuiinite goodness and love would make human ])eiijos to torment them for ever ? Impossible ! all men are to be saved by Christ, who died for all men." She run on in a rhai)sody of this kind for some minutes. I heard my pretty preaclier with no litth^ astonishment, and, at t!if> close, I told lH>r she had a most convenient and comfortahh; creed, but one I was not inclined to put faith in. It is well known that in America thei-e is no Established Church. Every preacher, of what- ever persuasion, being provided for by th(» people who clioose him for their pnstor. It has been a matter of much dispute, whether this experiment of voluntary churches has suc- ceeded in advancing the interest of true reli- gion or not. One party say it has failed ; and the other, that its success has been triumphant. That there is no want of churches, wherever I have been in the State of New York, is true. That niany of these charges have ministi SL.WKHV. Inins(,!f a UoU\vv of six slaves, (Icpivcatdd Ut- terly the iiiteifoK^iico of the otlicr States, i„ printing iuu\ (listributiiig inflainniatorv placards among tlioir slav(!s. Ho acknowledged the f^vils of slavery, and said, " he regretted and detested the system as much as any man could 'lo ; still, until an equivalent or value was offer- i d for them by the legislature, that it would be mere robb(M-y to make a law to emancipate theni." lie said that the slave holders would i-eadily consent to give up twenty per cent, of their value to meet any arrangement that mi^rht he suggested ; but he very jjlainly hinted, tliat the slave States would not allow themselves to be dictated to in the matter by any other prrt of the Union. ^ I slept on board the boat. Two tier of l>eds were made up in the cabin. I went to bed about 9 p. m., but the heat and the con- fined air made me pass a restless night, and I r'ose V. ith the first dawn of day. As no spirits were to be had on board, I had brought a pint bottle of brandy for my ow n use at dinner. I gave it in charge to the chamber-maid, who con- trived, between dinner and supi)er, nearly to i Ky^ SYIlAl US1-. 110 viiipty the bottle. As this youny lady was a member of the Total Abstinence Society, and would have been insulted if I had offered her even a glass of brandy, her behaviour appeared to me very unaccountable. However, I took no notice of it. June 15 The beds in tlie canal boats are much infested with bugs ; the inns, also, and the boarding-houses are not without them. Fortunately I am one of those happy persons whom they do not bite ; but still when I found them dropping from the roof of the bed on my cheek, I felt rather annoyed. We came to Sy- racuse about noon, where I left the packet, having resolved to wait a few hours there to see the town, and pay a visit to the salt-works in the vicinity. This town has the same busy, bustling, commercial appearance as we meet with generally in the States. The manufac- ture of salt is the chief employment of the in- habitants. A plain of 300 acres is covered with vats for making salt by solar evaporation. I walked to the place about half a mile off, and examined the process. The salt water which is used is brought from the great salt spring N 1 I "lO s.\r/r woHKs. N t h t^ at Saliua, jilxmt a mile distuiil, in wuoflcn pipes. ¥aw\i vat lias a light rover, which, when tho sun shiiios, is taken otf; and in rainy ov (lamp weather the cover is i)ut on. The spring at Salina is said to have been first lound oat by tlu? Indians, who observed vast inunbers of deer and other wild animals re- sorting to the plac(> to drink the water. Forty gallons of the water produces about a bushel of salt. The salt-works and the springs of salt water belong to the State of New York. A barjel, containing five bushels of salt, pays to the State 63 cents (2s. 7d.) of impost, and every manufacturer pays two cents per bushel for the use of the water. There are in the neighbourhood many factories where the salt is made by boiling. I could not learn what revenue the State of New York received from the salt-works, but it must be considerable. When I got back to Syracuse, I found that the next packet would not pass for some hours, so I went and got my dinner at the Syracuse house, and waited for the boat, which on its arrival, I joined, as I had made up my mind to remain on board ;dl night, and in spite of the i If 1 .i* i.;.:s. ( ONCLUSION OF JOrUNAT . i:>i NVOOfU'II which. 11 rainy I. The en first ed vast lals re- Forty bushel ings of r York. it, pays st, and bushel in tlie he salt ti what d from erable. d that hours, raeusc on its mind of the ))ugs and the boat, I nianacjcHl to sleep pretty A\ell. June 10 Passed Utlca early this morning, and as I had alr(>ady travellcHl betwec^n All)any and Utica, on my way to Upper C^anada, the country had lost its novelty, and tlie time hung heavy on my hands. To make it pass more merrily away, I got my j;«ui on deck, and amused myself shooting at the birds on the banks of the canal. The packet stoi)ped at Sch?nectady, between 7 and 8 i>. m., and I took up my abode for the night at an mn close to the canal. June 17. I started at 8 a. m. by the rail- road, for Albany— found a steam-boat at Al- bany ready to start— took my passage in her (fare two dollars, including i)rovisions),— and by 6 P. M. on the following day, 1 landed at New York, and took up my residetic(; at the boarding-house kept by the widow iu Pead Street, where I lived when I was in ^e^v \ork before. This concludes tlie journal o. my tour through tlie country. 152 ■* ti NEW YOUK. 1 promised, on my return here, to give mv opinion of tlie ladies of New York. I wish I had not undertaken the task, for assuredly it .s a difficult one. This country is said to be the paradise of women. It is at least not Mahomet s paradise. I think it is the paradise ot tools. The women in this country have managed to assume an imposing attitude, which has inverted the order of things. No man wishes more than I do to see a proper respect paid to the ladies. As the weaker vessels, they are objects of our kindness and sympathy. Iheir modest demeanour commands our es- teem, and their delicate lovely forms and the graces that surround them, make them the object of oui affections. The New York gentlemen, however, in the spirit of overstrain- ed gallantry, have given them more than all this. They Imve bowed their necks beneath the yoke of female supremacy. They have overshot the mark, and the ladies love power too well not to seize (he proffered crown wIkm. .ii FEMALK INl-LUKNCl'. 1 K? i within their reach. The it'Hiah's \wi\i do nut look up to man for his respect. They claim it as an homage due to them. They look like beings accustomed to command ; and let you be as kind as ever you will to a female, slu^ thinks it uo more than her due. If you are riding in a coach, and a female of the lowest class enters it, you nmst resign your seat to her. It is demanded as her right. The Yan- kees laugh at the English for allowing a queen to reign over them, but tliey (poor hen-pecked (•reatures) are subject, every one of them, to the despotism of a petticoat government. It is this circumstance which gives a key to tlu> character of the New York ladies. The clergy, who have long seen the iniluence of the ladies, have joined their cause, which has, in the mean time, strengthened it. If a political change is to be brought about in the situation of the Negroes, it is the combined forces of the clergy and the ladies who effect it. If in- temperance is to be arrested, they an* the prime movers in it. If a Methodist minister is to be acquitted, although believed guilty of I 154 NEW YORK LADIES. r I'li ■• t f! ".urder, ti.ey can achieve it. I„ fact they are omnipotent. ^ It will be asked, How does this new system of tlnngs answer ? Do the ladies make good ho„sew.ves? Are they loving and obelent 'vives ? Is the moral character of the ladies as high as it is in Scotland ? r would that these questions had not occur- . ed It IS painful for „« to tell the true state so w"n ,f ^'^f ^'-^' I -PPO- I must do so. Well then, be it known that the genera- I'ty of the ladies in New York are S to make very bad wives. They nedeet the household duties • anH *l,„ *■ "^sf <=' ">e *.. 1, . . ' ""^ *"»*' ^''■"ch ought to be occupied in domestic affairs is spent at- tending societies of different kinds. They are also allowed to be very extravagant ; and se! »ons, .nhibitions, and divorc:s ar^ common The inhabitants of New York would fain b thought a moral people. My observation does not coincide with their wishes, and a very wcn-thy Christian in New York, who de! plored tlie grievous depravity of the sex, pub- NEW YOllK LADIES. 155 they ar ;*e system ^e good bedient i ladies occur- le state lust do genera- said to Jct the ought int at- ey are id se- mmon i fain i'^ation md a de- pub- i lished and circulated a report, wherein he made out, that one half of the ladies in New York were no better than they should be. In their persons they are rather tall, thin and lanky, with contracted chests. Their faces when young are rather pretty, but want ex- pression. They are pale and of a sickly hue, but they call in art to assist nature, and they bedaub their cheeks and necks with powdered starch, over which they put a coat of red paint. They are made up with hollow breast- ed stays and other nameless articles of dress, that defies you even to guess at their shapes ; so that one of their own poets has very justly remarked — " Thus finish 'd in taste, while on her you gaze. You may take the dear charmer for life ; But never undress her, for out of her stays, You'll find you have lost half your wife." A stranger in New York is struck with the great number of coloured people he meets on the streets. There are said to be not less than 20,000 in the city, chiefly employed as servants, in unloading ships, and other menial occupations. They are said to be very de- i M iw: Is t i\ i i )N .-I ..I I i;v; THK NK(iJi()KS. praviMl ill tlic'ir morals, wliich iiorlinps is owiiij. to tlieir want of education. It is only a ih^^ years (1828, 1 believe) since slavery was abo- lished in the State of New York. The Americans say that tlie Ne-^'roes are inferior in tlieir intellect to the whites, but until tiiey receive as good an education as their former masters, and are allowed the pi'i- vilege of mixing in society with the whites, a true estimate of their abilities cannot be form- ed. The Yankees have liberty and equality constantly in their mouths, but their treatmeiU of the poor blacks proves tliat they have none in their hearts. I observed very ^ew dogs on the streets of New York. On inquiring the cause, I learned that about three years ago some dogs had gone rnad, and a reward of a dollar was given, by order of the Mayor, for the head of eVery doi,^ taken to the Police Office ; and the Negroes killed all they found loose for tlie sake of the reward. Whisky is very cheap. It is sold whole- sale at lOd. per gallon. A man can get rea- -sonably drunk for I id., and dead drunk for IS owing ly a tV'w ivas abo- des arc* tes, but itioii as the pri- liites, a )e fonii" [•quality oat men t ve none reels of learned :id gone veil, by 3ry dog s^egroes of the wliole- et rea- nik for ARDENT SPIRITS. 157 2d. 1 would recommend emij^rants, particu- larly those who have little commanrl over themselves, to join a Temperance Society on their arrival. I am convinced these societies have been the salvation of thousands. Drink- ing ardent spirits is much more hurtful to the constitution in America than it is in Europe, and ought to be guarded against, as, after a person has indulged to excess in the use of spirits, it is very difficult indeed to reclaim them. A preacher descanting on the impos- sibility of the drunkard reti acing his steps after he had gone a certain length, made use of the following strong simile — " My brethren, it is a very easy task to row a boat over the falls of Niagara, but an all sufficient job to row it back again." Rents are high in New York. Wages are also high, and clothing dear, particularly wool- len goods. The high duties levied on goods imported into the states from Europe accounts for it. Wearing apparel, ready made, is sub- ject to a duty of 50 per cent. Blankets pay 25 per cent ; cotton shawls 25 per cent ; cut- o m iMP<-S'I' DliTIKS. ; r J ; {( u levy 25 pw mM ; oarpotii.i.- 25 por cent ; aiui sfiawls made of wool no pc- ^.,;„t. Madeira and sheny wine pay a duty of Is. per ^rallon ; foreign spirits about 2s. (Ul p(T gallon, and tea of all kinds is charged 10 cents (5(1.) per pound of duty. The high duties on Europeaji goods arc^ laid on to protect the infant manufactories of America, and although, from the high price ol labour, they will not for a long time be able, on equal terms, to cope with Europe even in' their own markets; still, in case of a war witJi tlie mother country, the Americans judge it prudent to encourage the growth of manufac- tories at home, although it is done at a con^ siderable sacrifice, as the capital thus em|)loyed might be more profitably invested. It is very difficult to recover money from persons who have left the old country in debt. They either change their names or go into J partnership. The only chance there is of get- ting payment is to threaten to expose tlumi, and, if they are doing well, and the debt small! perhaps they will pay to avoid exposure. ^ -"»../Mt*"> VANKI.KISMS. I .Jt small, re. The (/e/iuiui' Yankees liavc a vast numljiM- of exi)res»ions peculiar to themselves. I shall, as a kind >f curiosity, note down a f(»w of the Yankeeisuis. I guess — get along — go a-head— lu'ctty coii- sideral)le — stump'd — a tarnal lie — not as 1 knows on — snorted and snikered — I tell you — here 1 be— we had a great time on't you may depend — that's right— -my notion — dreadful handsome galls— spunky looking critters — a close shave — snaked — down cast — wrathy — ienfftliv, &c. &e. A division of a street is called a block : a married lady is not called Mistress, but Misses : a Negro is nicknamed a darky, or a woolly head : a grocer's shop is designated a grocery store : a baker's shop a bakery. Fires are very frequent here. Hardly a night passes without one. I was present at two great fires, both of which took place in Pearl Street. At the first fire, two of the fire- men lost their lives by the fioor falling in un- expectedly. They were much lamented by the citizens, and their remains were honoured by a funeral procession. i i I lf)() I! I %\ m I :i^) il SHOPKEEPKllS. The fire-engine department is very effi- cient ; the services of the engine men being gratuitous. It is reckoned an honourable ser- vice. The men are very daring, and often, I am told, risk their lives in a needless and reck- less manner. I found the shopkeepers far from being civil. Some of them were even insolent ; I shall mention one case.— I had occasion to change a few sovereigns for dollars. I went to an office in Wall Street, where I learned the exchange was 4 dollars and 54 cents ; but it being only eight in the morning, I was told that they did not open their coffers till nine or ten, I forget which, and I was desired to call back at that hour. In the mean time I took a stroll along Broadway, and I observed, on my way back, in a money broker's window, a ticket up with the following notice :— " Sovereigns exchanged at Wall Street prices." I stepped in anc^ asked what he gave for sovereigns;— '' Four dollars 50 cents," says he. I told him I had just been at Wall Street, where they told me the price was 4 dollars 54 cents, and if s!ic)i'Ki:i:ri:us. ir,i vy etti- « being Me ser- often, I id reck- i being lent ; I sion to I went learned s ; but as told nine or to call took a on my L ticket Teigns »ped in ^ns;— d him y told md if he would excliange tlieiu at the sanic ratt-, t hat 1 would cliange with hlni. " Wliy," says ho, " 1 don't bolievo what every body tells me.'' I said to him, " Do you not believe what 1 say ?'" " No, I don't," says he, Tiiis iiisu- lent Yankee knew well I was telling him the truth. He saw I was a foreigncH', and he wished to impose upon me. He failed in doing that, and out of dislike to an old counn-y man, he insulted me. I would reconuuend strangers, in all their transactions with the New Yorkers, to make a sure bargain. Trust not at all to their gener- osity, for tliey know not what it is. Put no faith in their gratitude, for they have not a spark of it in their breasts. They may have a goodwill towards your dollars, but depend upon it they hate you in their hearts, and they will los(^ no opportunity of legally defrauding you. They reckon strangers ftiir plunder, and, as a vast umltitude of strangers pass through New York, Ijound to all parts of th(^. interior, who never rev^isit it again, and who have no oppoi iinity of exposing their roguery. () 2 J iG2 UOAUDIN(J-IIOUSK. \? the sliopkeepers in New York manage, / te/l yo?/,to give their visitois a prettf/ considerable close shave. I shall mention how I was treated at a boarding-house, where I thought the apj>.-rent respectability of the old widow who kept it would hpve insured me different treatment. I had been the means of introducing about a dozen of my fellow voyagers to her house, and I bargained with her for four dollars a- week. I promised to return to her house when I got back to New York, but not feeling comfortable, owing to all the other boarders being genuine Yankees, I resolved to leave the house after the first week. I asked th« old lady what I had to pay :— " Well, I guess," says she, " it will be a dollar a-day." I was surprised to hear her, and I asked her why she charged me more than I paid before. " Why," says she, " you made no bargain the last time you came." On or about the 9th, lOth, and 1 1th of July, the heat became so intense that it was almost insupportable. During three days many people KMIGUAN'I'S. 16: gr, / tell siderahlc ted at a api>v^rent ' kept it ment. ig about r house, )llars a- r house t feeling joarders eave the th« old guess,'* I was er why before. :ain the )f July, almost people dropped down dead from the heat ; others died from the etfects of drinking oold water. Fah- renheit's thermometer si od, in the shade at noon, from 94' to 100°. I saw several tine liorses lyi »g dead in Broadway, ]\aving taUen down while running on Hie streets. The very Yankees called out thai it was " dreadful hot." On the nth I took refuge on board tlie vessel which I had taken my passage out in for Eng- land, and there I felt somewhat cooler. vVhile T remained in New York, I met a great many of the lately arrived emigrant< - many had not been able to get employmerS and regretted leaving h< me • some of them had got employment, but the hard work, joined *o the great heat, was so severr iipuii their coiist'tutions, that th( y said they did not think they would remain long tliere. Some said that they felt ashamed to go home inmiea tely, and therefore, they would try and weather it out for one year, and then return to their own country. I met with ouIn w o people who spokti fa- vourably of the change they had made. One J \(ll II ,> I h , t '''>'!(; HANTS, ^vas a tailor, a r-inW..i * i 'I'l..,' ..the,. „.as . " ;'''^ ^"""' '"'l^'"'- "- --SOS -are l" i t, .'Tr' ^''^ "--'• tl-at ^' ^"<^ tlie manners nf fi "^ any one, .vl,o has a business Vf i '' '''°"''' "f co„.i„g to Now York alT.f '''"' *'"'"'^ '^ ""Pitul, and is com , ^ , '""" ^'''' ''"« '-;•*" 'eavo his h„„.e fo.. 1 Sea ' *"'''■ I -led Hn I 1^;.^ APPEND'X. Whites. Under 5 years, CENSUS OK 1830 Taken from the MarshaVs Males. i;i,(;44 10,3.57 8,656 9,918 21,409 13,6o9 6,6'2.> 3,207 1,46"8 449 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 90 to 100, 100 and upwards. 5 to 10 to 15 to 20 to 30 to 40 to 50 to 60 to 70 to 80 to 14 7 Total, 89,523 Coloured. Under 10 years, 10 to 20, 20 to 36, 36 to 55, 55 to 100, 100 and upwards. Males. 1,261 1,358 1,774 1,269 371 5 'Vt Total, 6,038 'i'otal persons classed, Persons returned not classed, Returns. Females- 13,265 10,665 9,802 11,556 22,556 12,916 6,694 3,702 1,793 178 2 93,82(; Females. 1,431 2,135 2,495 1,530 449 5 8,045 197,432 5,525 Grand Total, 202.957. WORKS PUBLISHED BY JOHN ANDERSON Jun. 55. North Bridge Street, Edinburgh. A POPULAll VIEW of CHEMISTRY. By John Murray, M.I)., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Member of the Royal Medical Society, Royal Physical Society, &c., and Lecturer on Che- mistry ; and GeorcxE Murray. I'imo. Hand- somely done up in fancy Cloth Boards, titled in Gold, and illustrated with numerous Wood-Cuts. Price Cs. " The volume before us contains a great amount of valuable and curious information, compriaes the General PrLnciples of Chemis- try, developes its History and Progress, and the diiferent theories of the most eminent chemists, and points out the applicability of the various discoveries in the science to arts and manufactures. The style is perspicuous and pleasing, the speculative portions of the work philosophical, and the whole well calcvdatcd to inspire a taste lor science in the public rnhnV'—Obunvcr. V" ( it »:* } 2 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY SKETCHES of the EDINI5UUGH CLERGY of the ESTABLISHED CHUllCH of SCOT- LAND, including the MinisLer« of St Cuthbert's, and brief Memoirs of the late Sir Henry Moncreiff' and Dr A ndrew Thomson : With Portraits of Doc- tors Chalmers, Gordon, Inglis, Sir Henry jMoncreitf, and Anflrew Thomson. Fancy Cloth Boards with Gilt Leaves, price 7s. «d. ; stitched, with plain Covers, Gs. ; without the Portraits, 3s. •'' The Author (Mr Anderson) has executed his task wr h much discrimination and judgment, and, in a briet compass, has present- ed us with many interesting details, estimating justly the talents and styles of eloquence peculiar to the individual subjects of his ^\^f^t.che^:'-Wefklij Journal. • "i nis COMMON-PLACE BOOK of PllOSE, First and Second Series, consisting of an original Selection of elotpient and interesting Pieces, including several never before published ; with Portraits of Dr ChaU mers and Ilev. Bobert Hall. 2d edition. 2 vols. l2nio, bds. 15s., or each series 7s. Cd. ; or 24mo, 4s. each series. The following names of a few of the Authors (iuote