THREE YEARS IN NORTH AMERICA. LONDON : GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST. JOHN'S SQUARE. THREE YEARS IN NORTH AMERICA BY JAMES STUART, Esq. The true state of every nation is the state of common life." Samuel Johnsok. "• ■' > ''.->»" ' "^ ** .,'''' •?piftD E<)li?5(>Nf; %J7i5^d/», IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. EDINBURGH : PRINTED FOR ROBERT CADELL, EDINBURGH; AND WHITTAKER AND CO. LONDON. MDCCCXXXIII. ! ^33 B E'CiE, 58 • / 1 ' ,? . . f c .e e ' c 'c CONTENTS OP VOL. 11. CHAPTER XXI. January and February, 1830. PAGE Journey to the South — From New York to Philadelphia — Balti- more — Washington — Details — Capitol — Mr. Madison's Paper on Religious Freedom — Visit to President Jackson — Congress — Devastation committed by the British at Washington — Settle- ment of American Persons of Colour on the Coast of Africa — Canal between Chesapeak and Ohio Rivers 1 CHAPTER XXII. ■ February and March, 1830. From Washington to Richmond and Raleigh — Canova's Statue of Washington — From Raleigh by Fayetteville and Georgetown to Charleston— Rice — Cotton — Evergreen Oak 66 CHAPTER XXITI. March, 1830. Charleston — Details— Slavery — War of the Revolution at Charles- ton — Lord Rawdon ..*••• 96 215903 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIV. March, 1830. PAGE From Charleston to Savannah — Augusta — The Territory of the Creek Indians — Details respecting the Treatment of the In- dians by the General Government of the United States — State of some of the Indian Tribes as to Civilization — Some Details as to Florida 117 CHAPTER XXV. March, 1830. From the Creek Territory, through the State of Alabama, to Mo- bile and New Orleans 168 CHAPTER XXVI. March and April, 1830. New Orleans — Details — Slavery — Battle of New Orleans — Booty and Beauty, the Watchword of the British Army — History of Louisiana, and of the French Territory on the Mississippi — Treaty between Buonaparte and the American Government. . 193 CHAPTER XXVII. April, 1830. The Mississippi — Voyage from New Orleans to Louisville on the Ohio River — Camp Meetings 240 CHAPTER XXVIII. April, 1830. Junction of the Mississippi with the Ohio — Louisville — Details — Voyage from Louisville to St. Louis — Passengers 282 CHAPTER XXIX. April, 1830. St. Louis — St. Charles — Details — Prairies — Mounds — French Village — Barracks on the Mississippi 307 CONTENTS. Vll CHAPTER XXX. v May, 1830. PAGE Journey in Illinois — Confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri — Military Bounty District — Sangamon District — Mr. Picket, the Priest — Jacksonville — English Settlers — Emigration — Mr. James Kerr of Queensferry — Vandalia — Albion, the Settle- ment of Messrs. Birkbeck and Flower 330 CHAPTER XXXI. May, 1830. Harmony — Mr. Owen's Settlement on the Wabash — Princeton — Mr. Phillips' Plantation — Reasons why the British frequently'^ dislike the United States — Vincennes 403 CHAPTER XXXII. May, 1830. Second Visit to Louisville — Kentucky — Frankfort— Lexington — Paris — Cincinnati in Ohio — Mr. and Miss Flint — Discussion as to Mrs. Trollope's Account of the Religious Meetings here, and -- all over the United States 434 CHAPTER XXXTII. May and June, 1830. Voyage up the Ohio — Wheeling — Pittsburgh — The Alleghany Mountains — Chambersburg — Harrisburg — Philadelphia — New York... 470 CHAPTER XXXIV. Summer and Autumn of 1830. Residence at Hoboken — Mr. Anderson's House on Long Island, near Hellgate — Temperance Societies — Manners of the People in Long Island — Account of the Difficulties and subsequent success of John Boswell 493 vm CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXV. Summer and Autumn of 1830, and Winter of 1830, and Spring of 1831, till 25th May. PAGE Visit to Dr. Hosack — Captain Hall's Assertion, that North America is an Unpicturesque Country — Mr. Poinsett — Ex- amination of some of Mr. Ferrall's Opinions — The Right of Search — Return to Hoboken— Celebration of the French Re- volution—Funeral near New York — Voyage from New York to London 512 I THREE YEARS IN NORTH AMERICA, CHAPTER XXI. Journey to the South — Frankford — Colonel Burn — Visit to him — Terrapins — Canvas-back duck — Its excellence — Philadelphia Mar- ket — Mansion-house at Philadelphia — Stage to Baltimore — Colonel Mechia — Hominie — Passage of the Susquehannah — Baltimore—' Statue of Washington — Journey to Washington with three Cherokee Indians— Gadesby's Hotel — The Capitol— Pictures in the Great Ro- tunda, painted by Colonel Trumbull — Colonel Trumbull's Imprison- ment in the Tower — Benjamin West's Intercession for him with George the Third — The King's Courteous Answer to Mr. West- Supreme Court of the United States— President's House — Perma- nent Committees of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker — Debates in the House of Representatives — Period allotted to them — Silence maintained — No " Hear, Hear," — Mr. Foote's Motion — Speakers in Congress — Mr. Clay — Mr. Webster and Mr. Hayne — Mr. Berrian — Mr. Wirt — All Members conversant with Bu- siness — Inconvenience of Secretaries of State not being in Congress — Character of Mr. Webster — Mr. Hayne — Mr. Berrian — Mr. Wirt — Mr. Livingstone — Mr. Rowand — Colonel Johnson — His Report on the subject of the Conveyance of the Mail on Sundays — Mr. Madi- son's Paper on Religious Freedom — Mr. Cambreling — His Report on the Tariff Laws — Customs of Congress — Divine Service every VOL. II. B 2 : ».►* FR^^i^?|itD; Sunday ijt.t1jj&ff/rjse/|fJRf^Ve^^"taJives—*Mr. Kennedy, Theological Bookseller from Scotland — Mf.»I&aft5dy,'»* Brother a Senator in Maryland, formerly a Member of the British Convention — Sermon by Mr. Durban — President Jackson present — Visit to Mr. Smith, the Registrar of the Treasury — Visit to the President — Details — Visit to the Secretary at War, and to Mr. Lewis, the Auditor of the Treasury — Chateaubriand's Account of his Interviews with General Wash- ington — Theatre at Washington — Mr. Jonathan Elliott's Book-store — His Civility — Library of the House of Representatives — Dugald Stewart's Letter to Mr. Jefferson — Mr, Jefferson's Library — De- struction of the Library and Public Buildings at Washington by the British — Sir George Cockburn — Details of the Devastation — Oppo- site Conduct of Louis the Fourteenth — Destruction of StatePapers — Destruction of Mr. Gales's Printing Establishment by Sir George Cockburn — Meditated Revenge by the Americans — Newspaper called the Banner of the Constitution — Roman Catholic Seminary and Society of Nuns near Washington — One of Prince Hohenlohe's Miracles performed at Washington — Details — Patent Office at Washington — Settlement of American Blacks at Liberia — Coloniza- tion Society — Mr. Innes's Account of it — Mr. Clay's Account of it — President Nott's Opinion that Slavery cannot longer exist in the United States — Canal between the Chesapeake and Ohio Rivers — Waiters in the Hotel at Washington — Men of Colour not to be trusted — Different Conduct of the White Servants in the United States — Antliracite Coal. January and February, 1830. On the 29th January, I set out on a long projected expedition to Charleston, New Orleans, the Missis- sippi and Ohio. My first day's journey by the stage took me to Frankford — a clean, well-situated village, a few miles from Philadelphia, where I had the plea- sure of staying a day or two with Colonel Burn, an American by birth, but who had been long in Britain, being possessed of landed property in Scotland. His manners and mode of living were as much British as TERRAPIN DUCK. 3 American. He commanded the American cavalry in the last war ; but had now retired, and lived very hos- pitably at Frankford. Colonel Burn was kind enough to give me a letter to a friend of his at Charleston, which was of great use to me. He mentioned to me, what I had never heard before, that Buonaparte had been prevented by force from finding his grave in the battle of Waterloo ; and he mentioned, as his autho- rity. General Barnard, now in the service of the United States, who was at Waterloo with Buonaparte, and who asserted positively that Buonaparte, as soon as he saw the guards repulsed, said, we shall iind our graves here ; but the other officers, surrounding him, carried him off. At Colonel Burn's house, I first tasted the terrapin, — a small land turtle, of which excellent soup is made. I also first saw here in perfection the canvas-back duck of the Potomac, which is reckoned, and I think justly, the greatest delicacy in the United States. It is con- siderably larger than our wild duck, and far more deli- cate in flavour. An epicure would be puzzled whether to give the preference to this bird or to Scotch grouse. The Americans eat the canvas duck with currant jelly, as if it were venison, I thought it better with our wild duck sauce. Port wine heated, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, &c. I had again an opportunity, while here, of seeing Philadelphia market. Meat of every kind was very plentiful, at an average of about twopence halfpenny a pound. The price of a very large wild goose, three quarters of a dollar. It happens singu- larly enough that, at present at Philadelphia, the two b2 ^ CROSSING THE SUSQUEHANNAH. principal physicians are named Dr. Physic and Dr. Hartshorn. I left Colonel Bum's house on the 2d February, and remained a night at the Mansion-house Hotel at Phila- delphia, which I found quite as comfortable in winter as in summer. A little snow had fallen, and the boys were skaiting over the streets. Next morning I started in the mail stage for Baltimore — it carries six passengers. My fellow-travellers were Colonel Mechia, secretary to the Mexican legation, and his servant, an intelli- gent Irishman. We breakfasted at Chester, a village fifteen miles from Philadelphia, where there was only one public room for the guests ; and the Irishman, it was obvious, would have made a better breakfast, if, according to the custum of his own country, his master and he had sat at separate tables. We dined at Elk ton, where, for the first time, I tasted hominie, an excellent preparation of Indian corn stewed, which they use, in- stead of potatoes, with their animal food. The most interesting part of this journey occurred in the evening. We arrived at the ferry, across the Susquehannah river, at Havre de Grace, at 10 p. m., in a fine moonlight evening. The river was hard frozen, and we expected to cross on the ice ; but the passage of the mails on the ice is, it seems, prohibited by the rules of the post-office of this country ; and persons are employed to keep an open course for the small rowing boats, in which the mails are transported. We embarked and were pushed forward by three men, who propelled the boat by long poles shod with iron, and darted on the ice from STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 5 the boat, — Colonel Mechia and I being directed con- stantly to keep the boat rocking like a cradle, in order to break the ice forming on each side of her. This is a tardy way of carrying forward the great southern and northern mails of the American continent ; but its novelty amused us, for three quarters of an hour were consumed in proceeding a single mile. Colonel Mechia is a very agreeable and well in- formed person. He has been twenty years in the Mexican army; he was in the late action with Bar- radas, in which he had a command. He is without the smallest fear of Spain ever being able to make any impression upon Mexico. But he is most anxious that the government should become settled without the domination of military leaders. I found at Baltimore that the statue of Washington had been placed upon the top of the monument since I was there. The monument has now a very fine effect. The statue is from the chisel of the Italian sculptor Causici ; and he was engaged on it for about two years. It cost 10,000 dollars, and required forty horses for two months to move it fourteen miles, when in its rough state. The whole expense of the monument has ex- ceeded 200,000 dollars. I left Baltimore in the stage, before the public dinner-hour at the hotel. I therefore ordered a chop before going away; but canvas-back ducks are so abundant here, that I found one of them prepared for my dinner without any extra charge. In the stage to Washington, there were three Cherokee Indians, well educated men, who were on their way to bS b WASHINGTON. "Washington on a mission from their nation in Georgia. There is no difference in their dress or general appear- ance from that of the Americans or British ; and they were very ready to enter into conversation with us. On arriving at Washington, I again pitched my tent at Gadesby's, where now, when Congress is sitting, there are about 170 guests and about fifty servants. The estabhshment is very good, though very far from equal to that of Mr. Head at Philadelphia. Congress being at present in session, I made it my business, during the ten or eleven days that I remained at Washington, very frequently to attend their debates in the House of Representatives, and in the Senate ; but unfortunately at that time they were not of an in- teresting nature. The Capitol, the whole of which is at this season employed in forwarding the business of the only great republic in the world, made even a deeper impression upon me than before. The more I saw it, the more imposing it appeared. The building covers an acre and a-half of ground, and has cost three millions of dollars. The great Rotunda, which is ninety-six feet in diameter, by ninety-six feet high, is the prin- cipal entrance hall, leading to the legislative halls and their library. The pannels of the circular walls are appropriated to paintings and to basso relievos of histo- rical subjects, of which the landing of the Pilgrims in New England, William Penn's treaty with the Indians, the Assembly in Philadelphia at which the Declaration of Independence was signed, the surrender of General Burgoyne, the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, and the COLONEL TRUMBULL. 7 resignation of General Washington at Annapolis, after the peace of 1783, are the principal. These pictures are the production of an American artist still alive, who was an officer in the revolutionary army, Colonel Trumbull. During the war of the re- volution, Colonel Trumbull proceeded to England; and when he was a pupil of the late Benjamin West, he was apprehended, and sent to the Tower, on the ground that he was a spy. He has written the following curious account of his apprehension and detention, which I the more readily insert, as showing that George the Third, though a cordial hater of the American rebels, could do a kind thing even to an American, when he took a fancy to him. West, it is well known, was a great favourite with the king. " I was arrested (says Colonel Trumbull) at twelve o'clock at night of the 19th November, 1780, in Lon- doDj on suspicion of treason. I was then principally occupied in studying the art of painting under Mr. West. Mr. West well knew that his attachment to his native country gave offence to some individuals who were about the king's person. He therefore went the next morning early to Buckingham-house, and re- quested an audience of the king. It was granted ; and he proceeded to state the origin and nature of his ac- quaintance with me, concluding, that, whatever might have been my conduct in America, he could conscien- tiously state to his majesty, that, since my arrival in London, the principal part of almost every day had been passed under his roof, and indeed under his eye, B 4 8 BUSINESS OF CONGRESS. in the assiduous study of his profession, leaving little or no time for any pursuit hostile to the interests of Great Britain. The king, after a moment's hesitation, made this answer : — * Mr. West, I have known you long, — I have confided in you, — I have never known you to mislead me, — I therefore repose implicit confi- dence in this representation. This young gentleman, must, in the meantime, suffer great anxiefy. He is in the power of the laws, and I cannot at present in- terfere. But go to him, and assure him from me, that, in the worst possible legal result, he has my royal word, that his life is safe.' Mr. West came to me with this message immediately; and you may well believe that it softened essentially the rigours of an imprisonment of eight months." The apartment in which the Supreme Court holds its sitting is on the lowest story of one of the wings. It is semicircular ; and the light is awkwardly admitted at the backs of the judges. In other respects it is a handsome apartment, well suited to its purpose. The president's house is at the distance of a mile and a half from the Capitol. It is a very handsome house, with abundance of open space towards the river. It has a southern and a northern front, the entry being on the northern ; but, although it is of considerable size, being 175 feet long, and 85 feet wide, and has two stories above the basement, there is nothing about the house to lead one to suppose that it is the palace of the first magistrate of the nation. The business in Congress is almost always prepared FORMS OF BUSINESS. 9 by permanent committees, which are appointed by the speaker, with perfect fairness, at the beginning of each session. There are committees on foreign rela- tions, on Indian affairs, on commerce, on finance, on agriculture, on public lands, on the justiciary, on the post-office, on military affairs, on the militia, on the public buildings, &c. &c. in both Houses. Far more general attention is bestowed on private business than in the British legislature. Every member must, from the nature of the forms, become acquainted with the way of conducting it ; and I am quite persuaded that both the Houses of Congress act admirably, not only in the management of private business, but in the mode of referring petitions and resolutions moved by members, in the first instance, to committees, which are named, not for the occasion, or partially, as frequently hap- pens in the British Parliament, but independently and fairly at the beginning of each session. It is in the power of any member, at the beginning of each session, to move an amendment on the speaker's nomination of the committees ; but this, I believe, rarely happens, the nomination being understood to be made without the least bias or party feehng. Almost always, when a new measure is submitted to Congress, it is sent, in the first place, to one of the committees named at the beginning of the session, whose report is, in a great majority of cases, adopted without further dis- cussion. But, if a debate takes place, the time allotted to it is the period from 12 to 3 p. m., unless a special order be made for continuing the debate for a longer b5 10 AMERICAN LEGISLATURE. period, which often happens at the end of a session. If many speakers are anxious to deliver their senti- ments, adjournments take place from day to day ; and the same subject may be the sole public matter of dis- cussion for many weeks. Although the forms of car- rying on the public business in the Senate and House of Representatives of the general government, as well as of the separate States, are very much the same as in the British House of Commons, the business is cer- tainly conducted in what appears to be a far more dig- nified manner in the American Houses of Legislature, because with far greater attention to order and deco- rum. The most complete silence prevails in the Se- nate ; and there is very little interruption to it in the House of Representatives. Members are never brow- beaten nor coughed down, nor are the " hear, hear," and other cries that prevail in the British House of Commons, at all tolerated. Any of the States would look on itself as insulted, if its representatives were to be used slightingly or contemptuously in the great council of the nation. The people of each State send to Congress those whom they think best fitted to re- present them, and would not submit to Congress inter- fering in any way with their right. During the protracted debates alluded to, the great public business of the nation is forwarded in the usual way by the committees, which assemble in the morn^ ing, and in the afternoon, and evening. The duties of a member of Congress are not light. Mr. Foote, of Massachusetts, had some weeks before PUBLIC DEBATES. 11 I reached Washington, introduced a question relative to the disposal of the public lands belonging to the United States, the discussion of which continued dur- ing the whole period I was at Washington, and for several weeks afterwards. Mr. Webster, Mr. Hayne, Mr. Rowand, Mr. Livingstone, and almost all the emi- nent men, delivered long formal speeches upon this question, on which, as it appeared to me, Mr. Calhoun, vice-president of the senate, allowed them to speak at as great length as they chose, and to wander from sub- ject to subject, and into matter the most irrelevant at pleasure. He came at last to see the error he had committed, but it was then too late to repair it, for he could not refuse to the speakers at the end of the debate that latitude which he had given to speakers at its commencement. Mr. Clay is not at present a member of Congress. The speakers whom I liked best were Mr. Webster and Mr. Hayne in Congress ; and Mr. Berrian, the pre- sent attorney-general of the United States, (since re- signed), and Mr. Wirt, the former attorney-general, in the courts; but I must candidly admit, that I had no favourable opportunity of judging of the ability either of those whom I have mentioned, or of many other individuals, both lawyers and members of Congress, who are reckoned eminent men. I can, however, bear testimony to the general infor- mation which the whole members of the House of Re- presentatives seemed to possess upon all the questions, public and private, which were the orders of the day, bG I^ PUBLIC SPEAKERS. while I was at Washington. It is not. as in Britain, where, often in public, and generally in private, par- liamentary business, a small number of members only are thoroughly acquainted with it, and the great bulk of those who vote know little or nothing of the subject. At Washington, the whole" house are conversant with all the business that can be brought before it on a par- ticular day. So far as respects the speaker of the house, and the order of the proceedings, and the duties of the clerks, every thing seemed to be well conducted. In- stances occurred, even during the short period of my stay at Washington, which led me to think, that, in- stead of the house sending to the ministers for infor- mation, it would be attended with advantage that the secretaries of state, even if they had no vote, should be allowed to sit and speak in the house. Mr. Webster is considered a man of great industry, and a very energetic sound-headed speaker. He seems himself to believe every word he says, and to endea- vour to convince his audience, not by any appeal to their passions, but to their reasoning powers. He has been about twenty years a member of Congress, and is about fifty years old. He is an active robust-looking man, with somewhat of that ease, or confidence of man- ner, which a lawyer generally acquires. No man at present at the bar in the United States ranks higher as a lawyer. Mr. Hayne is a South Carolinian gentle- man, and, I believe, of considerable fortune. His ap- pearance is very youthful and gentlemanlike, his voice particularly good. If he was in the British House of EMINENT LAWYERS. 13 Commons, and was to speak in the easy agreeable man- ner he does here, no one would doubt that he was a well-informed country gentleman. There is nothing professional-looking about him. He lately had a very warm argument with Mr. Webster, in which the friends of each of those gentlemen claimed the victory for him to whom they were politically attached^ Neither of them, as I, a spectator, thought, had any reason to regret the conflict. Mr. Webster knew better, as a professional man, how to improve any advantage he gained ; but Mr. Hayne was excited, by being opposed to such an adversary, to make greater exertions than he was previously thought capable of making. Mr. Berrian, being attorney-general, is of course pre- cluded from sitting in Congress, — it is therefore only as a lawyer that I can allude to his style of speaking. His manner is extremely agreeable, and most remark- ably chaste. He seemed to me to speak with as much good taste and perspicuity as any of the most able professional men at the English bar. He has also the character of being an excellent lawyer, and is gene- rally a favourite with the public. He is from the state of Georgia. Mr. Wirt is another lawyer of acknowledged talents, a close arguer and an excellent man. He is from Vir- ginia. The lawyers of the United States not only prac- tise in the Supreme Court at Washington, but also, if they choose, in all the courts of the different States of the Union. Mr. Webster was called, while I was at New York, to plead in a great cause between the State 14 PUBLIC SPEAKERS. of New York and Mr. John Jacob Astor, a very saga- cious, as well as rich merchant at New York, probably the most monied man in New York State, or in the United States, excepting perhaps Mr. Girard, the banker of Philadelphia, (now dead). No long time has elapsed since Mr. Wirt was employed at Boston, in New England, in opposition to Mr. Webster. Mr. Livingstone is a man far advanced in life, ex- tremely acute, and very able, — he is well known as the author of the Louisianian Code of Laws. It is men- tioned, in praise of his perseverance, that a considerable portion of the manuscript of his code having been de- stroyed by an accidental fire in the evening, he was found busily employed next morning in preparing a second edition of that part of his work. Mr. Living- stone is now (1832) General Jackson's secretary of state, or first minister. Mr. Rowand of Tennessee, though not a man of bril- liant talents, is an honest plain speaker. I heard him discourse for above two hours upon the tiresome ques- tion relative to the public lands ; but what chiefly dis- tinguishes him is his remarkable likeness to the late illustrious Charles James Fox. Even in person he is not unlike Mr. Fox ; but the similarity in expression of countenance is such, that it could not fail to be ob- served by any one who had seen that great statesman. Mr. Rowand was heard for two hours without the slightest interruption ; there was neither cheering nor coughing, but the most complete order and decorum. It is difficult to conceive that business is not better 8 COLONEL JOHNSON. 15 conducted in an assembly, in which such perfect de- corum is preserved, than where there is an almost constant noise, and an unpractised speaker is subject to interruptions of every kind. Colonel Johnson, from Kentucky, is a very popular member of the House of Representatives, more on ac- count of the general gallantry and fearlessness of his character, than of any shining talents which he has shown. Colonel Johnson was a zealous advocate for the war with Britain in 1812 ; and, after voting for it, went to Kentucky to assist his brother in raising a regiment of mounted volunteers, in which he accepted a lieutenant- colonel's commission ; and very soon after this regiment was raised, he was at the head of it in the battle near Detroit, on the lakes, in which the American General Harrison, on the 5th October, 1813, defeated the Bri- tish General Proctor. Colonel Johnson in the course of the action shot Te- cumseh, the most celebrated of the Indian chiefs who has appeared in modern times. Tecumseh was a man of undoubted bravery, extremely active and capable of sustaining fatigue, his eye penetrating, his visage stern. His ruling passion was glory ; wealth was beneath his ambition. He always sought the hottest of the fire. Tecumseh had shot at Colonel Johnson, and wounded him in the arm, when the colonel fired his horse pistol at him, within six or eight yards, and brought him down. Colonel Johnson has lately attracted public notice, by being the author of the report of a committee ap- 16 OFFICIAL REPORT pointed by the House of Representatives, to consider numerous petitions which they had received, praying for a legislative enactment to prevent the transportation of the mails through the United States on Sundays. These petitions chiefly proceeded Irom the Presbyte- rians, who, it was observed, seemed to have forgotten that in the United States there is no national religion ; and that the same principle, which might lead to the pro- hibition of the transportation of the mails on the Christ- ian Sabbath, might also extend the prohibition to the Jewish Sabbath. The report made by the committee, of which Colonel Johnson was one, was approved ; and as it contains a great deal of matter explanatory of the present views of the people of this country, with respect to a State religion, I insert it, as well as the remon- strance of the citizens of Virginia against a public pro- vision for teachers of the Christian religion under the authority of the state, which was written in the year 1784 by Mr. Madison, afterwards president of the Uni- ted States, and which was in the end so extensively signed by the people of every religious denomination, that the projected measure was entirely abandoned, and the bill establishing religious freedom declared in the charter affixed to the constitution of the States. " I. — The Committee on Post-Offices and Post- roads, to whom the memorials were referred, for prohibiting the transportation of mails, and the opening of post-offices on Sunday, report : — " That the memorialists regard the first day of the week as a day set apart by the Creator for religious ex- ON SUNDAY MAILS. 17 ercises, and consider the transportation of the mail, and the opening of the post-offices on that day, the vio- lation of a religious duty, and call for a suppression of the practice. Others, by counter-memorials, are known to entertain a different sentiment, believing that no one day of the week is holier than another. Others, holding the universality and immutability of the Jewish decalogue, believe in the sanctity of the seventh day of the week as a day of religious devotion ; and, by their memorial now before the committee, they also request that it may be set apart for religious pur- poses. Each has hitherto been left to the exercise of his own opinion ; and it has been regarded as the pro- per business of government to protect all, and deter- mine for none. But the attempt is now made to bring about a greater uniformity, at least in practice ; and, as argument has failed, the government has been called upon to interpose its authority to settle the controversy. " Congress acts under a constitution of delegated and limited powers. The Committee look in vain to that instrument for a delegation of power, authorizing this body to inquire and determine what part of time, or whether any, has been set apart by the Almighty for religious exercises. On the contrary, among the few prohibitions which it contains, is one that prohibits a religious test ; and another, which declares that Con- gress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The Committee might here rest the argument, upon the ground that the question referred to them does not 18 OFFICIAL REPORT come within tlie cognizance of Congress ; but the per- severance and zeal with which the memorialists pursue their object seems to require further elucidation of the subject. And, as the opposers of Sunday mails disclaim all intention to unite church and state, the committee do not feel disposed to impugn their motives ; and what- ever may be advanced in opposition to the measure, will arise from the fears entertained of its fatal tendency to the peace and happiness of the nation. The catas- trophe of other nations furnished the framers of the constitution a beacon of awful warning, and they have evinced the greatest possible care in guarding against the same evil. " The law, as it now exists, makes no distinction as to the days of the week, but is imperative, that the post- masters shall attend at all reasonable hours in every day to perform the duties of their offices ; and the post-mas- ter-general has given his instructions to all post-masters, that, at post-offices where the mail arrives on Sunday, the office is to be kept open one hour or more after the arrival and assorting of the mail ; bi^t', in case that would interfere with the hours of public worship, the office is to be kept open for one hour after the usual time of dissolving the meeting. This lij?^ral construction of the law does not satisfy the memorialists. But- the Committee believe, that there is not just ground"^ of complaint, unless it be conceded th5?t they have a con- trolling power over the consciences of others. If con- gress shall, by the authority of the law, sanction the measure recommended, it would constitute a legislative ON SUNDAY MAILS. 19 decision of a religious controversy, in which even Christians themselves are at issue. However suited such a decision may be to an ecclesiastical council, it is incompatible with a repubHcan legislature, which is purely for political, and not religious, purposes. " In our individual character we all entertain opi- nions, and pursue a corresponding practice upon the subject of religion. However diversified these may be, we all harmonize as citizens, while each is willing that the other shall enjoy the same liberty which he claims for himself. But in our representative character our individual character is lost. The individual acts for himself, — the representative acts for his constituents. He is chosen to represent their rehgious views, — to guard the rights of man, — not to restrict the rights of conscience. Despots may regard their subjects as their property, and usurp the Divine prerogative of prescrib- ing their religious faith ; but the history of the world furnishes the melancholy demonstration, that the dis- position of one man to coerce the religious homage of another springs from an unchastened ambition rather than a sincere devotion to any religion. The principles of our government do not recognise in the majority any authority over the ^minority, except in matters which regard the conduct of man to his fellow-man. A Jew- ish monarch, by grasping the holy censer, lost both his sceptre and his- freedom. A destiny as little to be envied may be the lot of the American people who hold the sovereignty of power, if they, in the person of their }<5l> OFFICIAL REPORT representatives, shall attempt to unite, in the remotest degree, church and state. " From the earhest period of time religious teachers have attained great ascendancy over the minds of the people ; and in every nation, ancient or modern, whe- ther Pagan, Mahomedan, or Christian, have succeeded in the incorporation of their religious tenets with the political institutions of their country. The Persian idols, the Grecian oracles, the Roman auguries, and the modern priesthood of Europe, have all in their turn been the subject of popular adulation, and the agents of political deception. If the measure recom- mended should be adopted, it would be difficult for human sagacity to foresee how rapid would be the suc- cession, or how numerous the train of measures which might foUow, involving the dearest rights of all, — the rights of conscience. It is perhaps fortunate for our country that the proposition should have been made at this early period, while the spirit of the revo- lution yet exists in full vigour. Religious zeal enlists the strongest prejudices of the human mind, and when misdirected, excites the worst passions of our nature under the delusive pretext of doing God service. No- thing so infuriates the heart to deeds, of rapine and blood. Nothing is so incessant in its toils, so persevering in its determinations, so appalling in its course, or so dan- gerous in its consequences. The equality of rights secured by the constitution may bid defiance to mere political tyrants, but the robe of sanctity too often glit- ON SUNDAY MAILS. 21 ters to deceive. The constitution regards the conscience of the Jew as sacred as that of the Christian, and gives no more authority to adopt a measure affecting the conscience of a solitary individual than that of a whole community. That representative who would violate this principle would lose his delegated character, and forfeit the confidence of his constituents. If Congress shall declare the first day of the week holy, it will not convince the Jew nor the Sabbatarian. It will dissa- tisfy both, and, consequently, convert neither. Human power may extort vain sacrifices, but Deity alone can command the affections of the heart. It must be re- collected, that, in the earliest settlement of this country, the spirit of persecution, which drove the pilgrims from their native homes, was brought with them to their new habitations ; and that some Christians were scourged, and others put to death, for no other crime than dissent- ing from the dogmas of their rulers. " With these facts before us, it must be a subject of deep regret, that a question should be brought before Congress which involves the dearest privileges of the constitution, and even by those who enjoy its choicest blessings. We should all recollect that Catiline, a pro- fessed patriot, was a traitor to Rome ; Arnold, a pro- fessed whig, was a traitor to America ; and Judas, a professed disciple, was a traitor to his Divine Master. "With the exception of the United States, the whole human race, consisting, it is supposed, of eight hundred millions of rational human beings, is in religious bon- dage ; and in reviewing the scenes of persecution which %% OFFICIAL REPORT history every where presents, unless the Committee could believe that the cries of the burning victim, and the flames by vrhich he is consumed, bear to Heaven a grate- ful incense, the conclusion is inevitable, that the line cannot be too strongly drawn between church and state. If a solemn act of legislation shall in one point define the law of God, or point out to the citizen one religious duty, it may with equal propriety define every part of divine revelation and enforce every religious obligation, even to the forms and ceremonies of worship, the en- dowment of the church, and the support of the clergy. " It was with a kiss that Judas betrayed his Divine Master, and we should all be admonished, no matter what our faith may be, that the rights of conscience cannot be so successfully assailed as under the pretext of holiness. The Christian religion made its way into the world, in opposition to all human governments. Banishment, tortures, and death, were inflicted in vain to stop its progress. But many of its professors, as soon as clothed with political power, lost the meek spirit which their creed inculcated, and began to inflict on other religions, and on dissenting sects of their own religion, persecutions more aggravated than those which their own apostles had endured. The ten persecutions of Pagan emperors were exceeded in atrocity by the massacres and murders perpetrated by Christian hands; and in vain shall we examine the records of imperial tyranny for an engine of cruelty equal to the holy in- quisition. Every religious sect, however meek in its origin, commenced the work of persecution as soon as ON SUNDAY MAILS. 23 it acquired political power. The framers of the consti- tution recognised the eternal principle, that man's rela- tion with God is above human legislation, and his rights of conscience unalienable. Reasoning was not neces- sary to establish this truth : we are conscious of it in our own bosoms. It is this consciousness which, in de- fiance of human laws, has sustained so many martyrs in tortures and in flames. They felt that their duty to God was superior to human enactments, and that man could exercise no authority over their consciences ; it is an inborn principle which nothing can eradicate. " The bigot, in the pride of his authority, may lose sight of it; but strip him of his power; prescribe a faith to him which his conscience rejects; threaten him in turn with the dungeon and the fagot ; the spirit which God has implanted in him rises up in rebellion and de- fies you. Did the primitive Christians ask that govern- ment should recognise and observe their religious insti- tutions? All they asked was toleration; all they com- plained of was persecution. What did the Protestants of Germany, and the Huguenots of France, ask of their Catholic superiors ? Toleration. What do the perse- cuted Catholics of Ireland ask of their oppressors? Toleration. " Do not all men in this country enjoy every religi- ous right which martyrs and saints ever asked ? Whence, then, the voice of complaint? Who is it that, in the full enjoyment of every principle which human laws can secure, wishes to wrest a portion of these principles from his neighbour? Do the petitioners allege that they 24} OFFICIAL REPORT cannot conscientiously participate in the profits of the mail contracts and post-offices, because the mail is car- ried on Sunday? If this be their motive, then it is worldly gain which stimulates to action, and not virtue and religion. Do they complain that men, less con- scientious in relation to the Sabbath, obtain advantages over them, by receiving their letters, and attending to their contents? Still their motive is worldly and selfish. But if their motive be, to make Congress to sanction by law their religious opinions and observances, then their efforts are to be resisted, as in their tendency fatal both to religious and political freedom. Why have the petitioners confined their prayer to the mails? Why have they not requested that the government be required to suspend all its executive functions on that day ? Why do they not require us to exact that our ships shall not sail, — that our armies shall not march, — that officers of justice shall not seize the suspected, or guard the con- victed? They seem to forget that government is as ne- cessary on Sunday as on any other day of the week. It is the government, ever active in its functions, which enables us all, even the petitioners, to worship in our churches in peace. Our government furnishes very few bless- ings like our mails. They bear, from the centre of our re- public to its distant extremes, the acts of our legislative bodies, the decisions of the justiciary, and the orders of the executive. Their speed is often essential to the defence of the country, the suppression of crime, and the dearest interests of the people. Were they sup- pressed one day of the week, their absence must often ON SUNDAY MAILS. S5 be supplied by public expresses, and, besides, while the mail-bags might rest, the mail-coaches would pursue their journey with the passengers. The mail bears, from one extreme of the union to the other, letters of relatives and friends, preserving a communion of heart between those far separated, and increasing the most pure and refined pleasures of our existence ; also, the letters of commercial men convey the state of markets, prevent ruinous speculations, and promote general as well as individual interest ; they bear innumerable re- ligious letters, newspapers, magazines, and tracts, which reach almost every house throughout this wide repub- lic. Is the conveyance of these a violation of the Sab- bath? The advance of the human race in intelligence, in virtue and religion itself, depend, in part, upon the speed with which a knowledge of the past is disseminated. Without an interchange between one country and ano- ther, and between different sections of the same coun- try, every improvement in moral or political science, and the arts of life, would be confined to the neighbourhood where it originated. The more rapid and the more frequent this interchange, the more rapid will be the march of intellect, and the progress of improvement. The mail is the chief means by wliich intellectual light irradiates to the extremes of the republic. Stop it one day in seven, and you retard one-seventh the improve- ment of our country. So far from stopping the mail on Sunday, the Committee would recommend the use of all reasonable means to give it a greater expedition and a greater extension. What would be the eleva- VOL. II. c ''>p?^' 26 OFFICIAL REPORT tion of our country, if every new conception could be made to strike every mind in the union at the same time ! It is not the distance of a province or state from the seat of government which endangers its separation, but it is the difficulty and unfrequency of intercourse between them. Our mails reach Missouri and Arkan- sas in less time than they reached Kentucky and Ohio in the infancy of their settlements ; and now, when there are three milhons of people, extending 1000 miles west of the Alleghany, we hear less of discontent than when there were a few thousands scattered along their western base. " To stop the mails one day in seven would be to thrust the whole western country, and other distant parts of this republic, one day's journey from the seat of government. But were it expedient to put an end to the transmission of letters and newspapers on Sun- day, because it violates the law of God, have not the petitioners begun wrong in their efforts ? If the arm of government be necessary to compel man to respect and obey the laws of God, do not the state governments possess infinitely more power in this respect ? Let the petitioners turn to them, and see if they can induce the passage of laws to respect the observance of the Sab- bath ; for if it be sinful for the mail to carry letters on Sunday, it must be equally sinful for individuals to write, carry, receive, or read them. It would seem to require that these acts should be made penal, to com- plete the system. Travelling on business or recrea- tion, except to and from church; all printing, carrying 2 52 LIBRARY DESTROYED to the war, in decided hostility to the British. If the dock-yard and public stores at Washington had been alone destroyed, the transaction would have been j usti- fiable, — but the destruction of the Capitol, including the Senate-House and the House of Representatives, — of the Treasury and the War-Office, and of the pre- sident's palace, and the great bridge across the Potomac ^ nearly two miles broad, all of which it was admitted in the official dispatch were set fire to and consumed, was an act unworthy a great nation, and contrary to the received usages of war. Almost all the great capitals of Europe had, within the dozen years previous to the capture of the seat of legislature of the United States, been in the possession of the French army ; Paris was soon after occupied by the allied armies, yet in no case was any unmilitary building destroyed, far less any valuable state papers or books. Even Louis the Fourteenth acted very differently. During his war with England, instead of returning thanks to his officers, as the British did to those who commanded at Washington for destroying a building not devoted to military purposes, he sent them to gaol. The Frenchmen had landed on the Eddystone rocks, on which the lighthouse w^as then erecting, and carried .the workmen to France, together with their tools. While the captives lay in prison, the transaction came to the knowledge of the French monarch, who imme- diately ordered the prisoners to be released, and the captors, who were expecting a reward for the achieve- BY THE BRITISH. 5S ment, to be confined in their stead, declaring, that, though he was at war with England, he was not at war with mankind. He therefore directed the men to be sent back to their work with presents. The library, and a great part of the state papers of the nation, were destroyed with the public buildings. I heard many anecdotes of this much to be regretted incursion. The commanders had directed private pro- perty to be respected, but it was impossible to restrain the soldiery. Much private property was destroyed. Mr. Elliott was with the army. His house was sacked. The destruction of Mr. Gales's printing establishment was the most pitiful of all the proceedings. His father had emigrated from Britain above twenty years pre- viously, and Mr. Gales himself conducted a newspaper at Washington, devoted to the American cause. For this reason, as it was supposed, an order was issued for destroying his property by fire ; but a lady, who lived in the neighbourhood, entreated that it might be re- called, because it was but too probable that her pro- perty, which adjoined, would fall a prey to the flames. Sir George Cockburn, who had issued the order, was so far moved by her entreaties, as to limit the destruc- tion to the printing-presses, and to the establishment within the walls. It is asserted in the American history of the war, that Sir George himself over- looked this part of the work. Although the Americans had suffered much from Sir George Cockburn's piratical expeditions on the Chesa- peake, and his destruction of French Town, as well as d3 54 INTENDED ATTACK ON GENERAL ROSS*S PROPERTY. from the establishment of a rendezvous for runaway negroes, on an island of the Chesapeake, who had been armed by him and again put on shore, they were not at the time aware, that it was to Sir George Cockburn they were indebted for the \dsit of the British to Wash- ington ; and it was upon the brave and amiable General Ross, who afterwards fell in the attack upon Baltimore, that they intended to retaliate for the devastation at Washington. To send a fleet and an army to any part of the British isles was impossible ; but it was resolved to send a fast-sailing armed vessel to the coast of Ireland, to destroy Cross Trevor, the beautiful property belong- ing to General Ross. A party were to land in the night at the entrance of Carlingford Bay; one division of which was to burn the house upon the mountain ; and the other the village below, before the troops at Newry could have got intelligence, or have come near them. The peace, which immediately followed, put an end to this design, which was, however, seriously en- tertained. The Gazette dispatches, afterwards pub- lished, established the fact, that Sir George Cockburn suggested the attack on Washington. On looking over a file of newspapers in the reading- room at Washington, I observed a number of a news- paper called the Banner of the Constitution, which con- tained an article that I wished to preserve. I applied at the office for a copy of it, and it was immediately given me gratis. I afterwards found, on making a similar application for other papers, that they were given me in that liberal way entirely on account of SISTERS OF THE VISITATION. 55 my being a foreigner. The Banner of the Constitu- tion is a weekly paper sold for sixpence. At Georgetown, about a mile from Washington, there is an eminent Roman Catholic seminary of con- siderable size. The Catholic clergy of Maryland, a small part of which is in the district of Columbia, or Washington, are possessed of considerable revenues derived from land, and the greater part of it has been devoted to the purposes of education. It was made a university by the Congress in the year 1815. The Society of Nuns, incorporated by Congress under the name of the Sisters of the Visitation, con- sists of about sixty, are devoted to religious duties, and to the education of females. The younger sisters teach an eleemosynary school, in which 400 young girls are taught gratuitously; but the most valuable part of the establishment is a boarding-school for young ladies, which is in a very flourishing state. The languages and music are remarkably well taught ; but the system of education extends also to the minttte duties of housewifery, not excepting the mysteries of the culinary art. This convent was established more than thirty years ago. The superior is elected by the sisterhood every three years, and is ineligible for more than two terms in succession. Thus the elective fran- chise in this country, in its most republican form, has found its way into the convent. In a visit which I paid with a friend to this establish- ment, we were delighted with the cleanness and neat- ness of everything we saw. The house in all its parts d4 56 WASHINGTON. was most comfortable. Two daughters of the unfor- tunate Iturbide are at school here. One of Prince Hohenlohe's most astounding miracles was performed at Washington in the year 1824; an attested account of which has been written by a pro- fessor in the Georgetown College, now at Rome. The sister of the Mayor of Washington was at the point of death, and her disease declared by her physi- cians to be out of the reach of medical assistance, when according to the directions of Prince Hohenlohe, a nine days' devotion was performed ; and after the cele- bration of mass, at the very moment of her swallowing the sacrament, at four minutes after four o'clock in the morning, she was restored to a most perfect state of health, and has continued ever since perfectly well. The whole of the parties in this case are most respect- able ; and the facts unquestionably happened as here stated. There are many fine villas about Washington. The handsomest house in the neighbourhood is Arlington House, the seat of Mr. Custis, the last survivor but one of the Washington family. The house is upon the side of the Potomac, opposite to Washington, between 200 and 300 feet above the river, and commanding a view of extraordinary beauty. Mr. Elliot took me to the patent-office at Washing- ton, in which there are between 4000 and 5000 models, — mechanical ingenuity being one of the most striking and useful traits of the American character. It is under the charge of Mr. Elliot, a nephew of Mr. CAPITOL FREE BLACKS. 57 Jonathan Elliot, who has lately been travelling in France and Great Britain. He made an observation to me, in the truth of which I entirely concurred, that he had seen no building in the course of his travels so imposing as the Capitol; and that the House of Representatives was a very superior hall to the Chamber of Deputies in Paris. Having, as I have already mentioned, obtained, from the liberality of Mr. Kennedy, copies of the reports relative to the settlement of the American Blacks at Liberia on the coast of Africa, I had intended to extract from them such information as I conceived to be gene- rally interesting to the public on that subject; but I have been anticipated by my friend Mr. William Innes of Edinburgh, who has published a brief, but clear and satisfactory, report respecting that colony, and of the benefit likely to be derived from it. The society was formed about thirteen years ago, with a view to pro- vide for the abolition of slavery, by establishing an independent colony of Free Blacks on the coast of Africa, The funds they have expended have hitherto been very small, — not exceeding 27,000/. sterling, — yet they have succeeded, although exposed to perils and hardships almost unparalleled, in establishing a flourishing colony of 2000 emancipated slaves, in the neighbourhood of which the sale of Blacks is now en- tirely put a stop to. The society was organized at the city of Washing- ton, and there transacts its business. Auxiliary in- stitutions have been formed in various parts of the D 5 1 58 LIBERIA, Union, to aid the parent asssociation ; and the society has an annual session in the city of Washington, which is attended by its members, and by representatives from the auxihary institutions, when the board of managers make their annual report. It appears that the society are enabled to hold out, that for 7Z. 10s. they can not only secure the freedom of a slave, and pay his passage to Liberia, but consti- tute him a freeholder of thirty acres of fertile land. A most excellent account of the society has been some time ago given by the celebrated Mr. Clay, when addressing the Auxiliary Colonization Society of Ken- tucky on the 1 7th of December, 1829, from which the following very short abstract is taken : — Mr. Clay states, that " one of the earliest acts of the society was to dispatch an agent, in the choice of whom they were eminently fortunate, to explore the coast of Africa, and to select a suitable spot for the colony. A selection was finally made of a proper district of coun- try, and a purchase was effected of it from the native authorities in December, 1822, to which additions have been made as required. The country acquired em- braces large tracts of fertile land, — possesses great commercial advantages, with an extent of sea coast from 150 to 200 miles in length, — and enjoys a climate well adapted to the negro constitution. The society founded its colony under the denomination of Liberia, established towns, laid off plantations for the colonists, and erected military works for their defence. An- nually, and as often as the pecuniary circumstances oi JLIBERIA. 59 the society would admit, vessels from the ports of the United States have been sent to Liberia laden with emigrants, and with utensils, provisions, and other ob- jects for their comfort. No difficulty has been expe- rienced in obtaining as many colonists as the means of the society were competent to transport. They have been found, indeed, altogether inadequate to accom- modate all who were willing and anxious to go. The rate of expense of transportation and subsistence during the voyage, per head, was greater in the earlier voyages. It was subsequently reduced to about twenty dollars ; and is believed to be susceptible of considerable further reduction. " The colony in the first period of its existence had collisions with the native tribes, which rose to such a height as to break out in open war. " It was speedily brought to a successful close, and had the efiect to impress upon the natives a high idea of the skiU, bravery, and power of the colonists. " The colony has a government adequate to the protection of the rights of persons and property, and to the preservation of order. The agent of the society combines the functions of governor, commander-in- chief, and highest judicial ofiicer. The colonists share in the government, and elect various officers necessary to the administration. They appoint annually boards or committees of public works, of agriculture, and of health, which are charged with the superintendence of those important interests. The colony has established d6 60 LIBERIA. schools for the instruction of youth, and erected houses of pubHc worship, in which Divine Service is regularly performed; and it has a public library of 12,000 volumes, and a printing-press, which issues periodi- cally a gazette. " The colonists follow the mechanical arts, or agri- culture, or commerce, as their inclinations, or attain- ments prompt them. The land produces rice, cassada, coffee, potatoes, and all kinds of garden vegetables, and is capable of yielding sugar-cane, indigo, — in short, all the productions of the tropics. It is rich, easily tilled, and yields two crops of many articles in the circle of a year. They carry on an advantageous com- merce with the natives, by exchanges for ivory, gums, dye-stuffs, drugs, and other articles of African origin, and with the United States, which is annually increasing, and which amounted last year to 60,000 dollars, in the produce of the colony, and in objects required in their traffic vvdth the natives ; receiving in return such supplies of American and other manufac- tures as are best adapted to their wants." In a subsequent part of Mr. Clay's address he shows, that the plans which have been suggested for sending the slaves as colonists to Hayti, or the country west of the rocky mountains, are objectionable on several .grounds, and maintains, that one million of dollars supplied annually during a period of sixty or seventy years for the purposes of the society, would, at the end of it, so completely drain the United States of all the FREE BLACKS. 61 coloured portion of their inhabitants, as not to leave many more than those few who are objects of curiosity in the countries of Europe. One reason exists in the United States for the esta- blishment of such a colony, as this of a very peculiar kind. The white people, in the greater part of the country, have invincible prejudices to the intermarriage of persons of different colours, and to any intermixture between them. Nothing is more repugnant to the feel- ings of an American, than the mere idea that any female relation should be connected with a man of colour.. The mere emancipation of the slaves, there- fore, would still leave them a totally separate, and, of course, an unhappy set of beings. This consideration has been ably explained in an ad- dress for the organization of an Auxiliary Colonization Society, delivered by President Nott, of Union College, in the State of New York, who boldly states his opinion to be, that slavery cannot much longer exist in the United States. " To sustain such an abuse, (says Mr. Nott,) is im- possible. There needs no domestic insurrection, no foreign interference, to subvert an institution so repug- nant to our feelings, so repugnant to all our other in- stitutions. Public opinion has already pronounced on it ; and the moral energy of the nation will sooner or later effect its overthrow. But the solemn question here arises, in what condition will this momentous change take place ? The freed men of other countries have long since disappeared, having been amalgamated 62 SLAVERY. in the general mass. Here there can be no amalgama- tion. Our manumitted bondsmen have remained al- ready to the third and fourth, as they will to the thou- sandth, generation, — a distinct, a degraded, and a wretched race. When therefore, the fetters, whether gradually or suddenly, shall be stricken off, — and stricken oif they will be, — from those accumulating mil- lions yet to be born in bondage, it is evident, that this land, unless some outlet be provided, will be flooded with a population as useless as it will be wretched ; — a popu- lation which with every increase, will detract from our strength, and only add to our numbers, our pauperism, and our crimes. Whether bond or free, this will be for ever a calamity. Why then in the name of God, should we hesitate to encourage their departure ? It is as wise as merciful, to send back to Africa, as citizens, those sons of hers whom, as slaves and in chains, we have to our injury borne from thence. ** The existence of this race among us, — a race that can neither share our blessings nor incorporate in our society, — is already felt to be a curse ; and though the only curse entailed upon us, if left to take its course, it will become the greatest that could befal the nation." The great public work in this part of the United States, in which the people are engaged, is the canal between the Chesapeake and the Ohio rivers, that is, between Georgetown and Washington on the one hand, and Pittsburgh, on the western side of the Alleghany ridge, on the other. This prodigious work, which is CANAL BETWEEN THE CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO. 63 HOW in progress, is estimated by General Barnard at about twenty-two millions of dollars. The sum of fifteen hundred thousand dollars subscribed for the work by the citizens of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, on the Potomac, has been obtained from Dutch Capitalists, the house of Messrs. Crommelin, of Amsterdam. The canal is 60 feet on the water line in width, and 42 feet on the bottom, and 6 feet deep. The locks are 100 feet by 15 within the gates. This depth of water will pass boats of more than 100 tons, drawing not more than four feet water. Prodigious difficulties are to be surmounted in the progress of this work. Its length is 341 miles. There are 398 locks ; a long tunnel, passing under a very elevated ridge ; walling unusually frequent along the whole line; extensive portions of deep-cutting in rocky ground ; and side-cutting predominating from one end of the canal to the other. This communication, by which the difficulty of crossing the Alleghanies will be obviated, and which will bring into contact districts separated by physical obstacles, is an undertaking without any equal, in re- lation to the immensity of its construction, or probably to the prodigious political and commercial advantages which will result from it ; connecting, as it wiU do, the great western country of America beyond the Alleghany ridge, with the north-eastern section of the American continent. The waiters at the hotel at Washington are men of colour : many or all of them slaves. Maryland, and 64 SLAVE WAITERS. all the States to the southward on the Atlantic coast of theUnited States, are slave-holding States ; butin Mary- land, as well as in the district of Columbia, the half of which formerly belonged to Virginia, and the other half to Maryland, a district of 100 square miles of which Washington is the capital, slavery appears in the mildest form. At least I saw no instance of harshness to the slaves, nor did I see them treated in any way different from the free men of colour. It is always convenient for a stranger at a hotel where the servants are men of colour, to have one of them attached to him, for waiting at table, brushing his clothes, shoes, &c. He will be rendered sufficiently attentive, and even ob- sequious, by giving him a very trifling douceur on en- tering the house, and promising him a compliment on going away, provided he does his duty. I attended to this direction on placing my self in Mr. Gadesby's hotel. Jesse was the name of the slave who attended me, and a very good servant he was, and expressed great grati- tude for some little attention I had it in my power to show him during a severe but short illness he had. I gave him, on coming away, a douceur quite equal to his services, but I found, after leaving Washington, that he had appropriated to himself three pairs of shoes, — the whole of my stock. He had offered to assist me in packing my portmanteau, but I did not avail myself of his assistance until I had put up every thing but the shoes, which I gave him to stuff into the top of it, before he closed it for me. Instead of putting them into the portmanteau, he must, as I have every reason to sup- WEATHER. 65 pose, have very dexterously put them in his pocket, for they were not to be found when I re-opened the port- manteau. The people of colour are undoubtedly sadly addicted to pilfering, which is not to be wondered at, considering their total want of education, and the sad treatment which they receive from the whites. I am bound, however, to say, that I always felt myself at ease respecting any Httle articles I might leave in the room, when the servants, whether male or female, were white Americans. This testimony to their honesty lean bear, after travelling through almost every part of the United States. The white servants never forget the respect due to themselves, and consider it a thing quite as likely, that the guest should pilfer from the waiter, as the waiter from the guest. The weather, although the thermometer was never so low as zero, was piercingly cold during the whole period I remained at Washington ; and there was a fall of snow, the only one I saw this winter, but not a heavy one. The rooms in the hotel were quite over- heated with Anthracite coal of Pennsylvania. 1 66 JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH. CHAPTER XXII. Journey to the South by Stage — Alexandria — Major Lomax— Break- fast at Occoqua— Mr. May, a South Carolinian — His Account of Mr. Stanley — Abundance of Provisions in Virginia — Dinner at the Merry Oaks— Richmond in Virginia— Eagle Hotel there— Coloured people confined to the house after Eight o'clock at Night — Change of Tem- perature in going Southward — Evergreen Shrubs — Situation of Richmond— The River James — The Capitol — Legislature in Session — Mr. Forbes, a Scotch Gentleman, the Founder of the Library in the Capitol— Law respecting the Free Menof Colour— Prejudices against them — Bill to prevent the Circulation of Seditious Writings — Effects of Slavery— Petersburgh — Anecdote of La Fayette — Mail-Stage to the South — Virginian Legislator — Enter North Carolina — Pass the Roanoke — Traffic in Slaves — Provisions not so good — Soil of North Carolina — Gold Mines— Raleigh — Canova's Statue of Washington — How obtained — Pride of India Tree — Presbyterian Church at Ra- leigh — Mr. Gales — The Episcopalian Church — Thermometer above 70" on the 21st February — General Daniel — Fayetteville — Uncom- fortable Stage — Travelling in the Night — SevenFerries to Charleston — Stop at a Plantation — Change of Manners — Slaves — Rice Planta- tion — Dreadful Punishment of Slaves — their broken Language — Intercourse between Male and Female Slaves — Mail Stage driven by White Men — Manners of the Drivers — Unheal thiness of the Climate — Crops in the Southern States — History of the Rice Cultivation — Cotton — Swampy Land in South Carolina — Boiled Rice and Homi- nie — Feeding of Hogs — Cross the Black River — Georgetown — Passengers in the Stage — Planter's Account of his Slaves — Some of ALEXANDRIA. 67 his Children wait at Table — others sold — Road from Georgetown to Charleston — Evergreen Oak — Ferry over Cooper's River. February and Marchy 1830* The ice on the rivers having put an end to all tra- velling by steam-boats in the neighbourhood of Wash- ington, I was obliged to make the first part of my journey to the south by land to Richmond, the seat of legislation for Virginia. Stage arrangements being little resorted to here, since steam conveyance has taken their place, they are very inconvenient. We got no farther than Alexandria, seven miles from Washington, on the first afternoon, travelling in a long coach, which carried eighteen within and eight without. On arriving at the hotel, I immediately in- quired for and bespoke a single-bedded room, and got it. I have never hitherto had any difiiculty in having a single-bedded room when travelling alone in the United States. But the suspension of steam-boat travelling during the severe frost increases the stage travelling so much, that I was not without fears of being consigned at this place to one of the public bed- rooms, where six or eight people, or even a greater number, sleep on bedsteads without curtains, which gives the rooms quite the appearance of an hospital. Next morning before daylight, the stage started with four of her passengers. I did not join in the con- versation until after the daylight allowed me to have a peep at them; but I had hardly made my voice heard, when one of them said, " I think you are a Scotchman ;" and on my replying in the afiirmative, he rejoined, "you have reason to be proud of your I 68 CANVAS-BACK DUCKS. country, for there are the bravest soldiers, and the best writers in the world." The gentleman who addressed me proved to be Major Lomax of the United States' army, a companion so agreeable, that I was very sorry to lose him when we stopped at Richmond. We breakfasted this morning at Occoqua, where, besides many other good things that were set. before us, there was the finest brace of roasted can- vas-back ducks I had ever seen. We all did justice to the very excellent breakfast. Major Lomax setting us a good example, by eating one of the canvas-back ducks, and part of the other. Occoqua is a famous point for those ducks. Major Lomax bought some from the hotel-keeper, to carry forward with him to Virginia, at a shilling sterling a-piece. Soon after breakfast we were joined by Mr. May, a South Carolinian, who has lately settled as a lawyer at New York, and had a very pleasant journey together. We very soon escaped from the region of frost and snow; but the roads of Virginia are proverbially bad, and we found them so. Mr. May had formerly been a member of the House of Representatives in South Carolina, and told me, that Mr. Stanley, now a promising member of the British House of Commons, (secretary for Ireland, 1832), was present when he introduced a bill in the legislature of South Carolina, which was carried, de- claring it murder to kill a slave. I fear this bill will be but nugatory, wMe the evidence of slaves is not received in a court of justice; and also, because this law declares, that the offence shall be only considered MR. STANLEY SLAVERY. 69 murder if committed deliberately, and shall be punish- ed by fine and imprisonment if committed in sudden heat and passion. Mr. Stanley, it is probably known to the public, travelled some years ago in Canada and the United States with a party of friends, who made them- selves very popular, by evincing a total absence of those intense prejudices in favour of the institutions of their own country, which the Americans find very frequently prevent the British from considering or discussing the expediency of their institutions. He afterwards publicly, in the House of Commons, bore testimony to the hospitable reception which he had experienced in that great country, and to the love and attachment felt by the people of the United States to the mother country. We had a great deal of talk on the subject of slavery, which my fellow-travellers all agreed in wishing to see abolished, but they were equally clear, that no plan had yet been thought of by which so desirable an object may be attained. The senate of the United States is held in great re- verence by the people of the country. To become a member of the senate, my fellow-traveller, Mr. May, said, was the object of ambition to hundreds who never arrived at it. Provisions are most abundant and cheap in Virginia. When I was laughing with Major Lomax at the im- mensity of the breakfast he had made, he told me, that I was not aware that I was travelling in Virginia, where the tables of the hotels were so loaded with good things, that it was absolutely necessary to make an exertion to 70 MAJOR LOMAX — DINNER. relieve them, and that, although he had made a tolera- ble breakfast, he expected he should make a still heartier dinner. He predicted, too, that during the two or three days I was to be in Virginia, I should not fail each day to see a whole ham on the table. The dinner this day, the 16th February, was in all respects equal to Major Lomax's anticipations, consisting of roast turkey, a whole ham, roast beef, canvas-back ducks, a pie of game, potatoes, hominie, &c. Four sorts of spirits were on the table, of which we were at liberty to take as much as we liked. To such a dinner all did justice. The ham was admirable, though I was not able to discover its superiority to the best English, the Cumberland, or Westmoreland haras ; but I must ad- mit, that pork is remarkably well cured in all those parts of the United States where I have been. I have nowhere seen a bit of ill-cured pork, even at the end of last summer after the warm weather was over, al- though it had probably been cured ten months previ- ously. We reached the pleasant village of Fredericks- burg in the evening, and although we were not yet sixty miles from Washington, we found the climate quite changed, and that the steam-boats here would probably move next day. On the following day, we had an equally bountiful breakfast, although the canvas-back ducks were want- ing. But the dinner was superb. There was some- thing in the very name of our hotel, " The Merry Oaks," and in the comfortable appearance of the place, and of the landlord, who was quite a Boniface, and in the em- 8 RICHMOND. 71 ployment in which we found him engaged, preparing light cold punch for us, which was cheering. The dinner itself consisted of every good thing, a ham, ex- cellent poultry and game, and then the punch was weak and seducing. I hardly ever saw a party enjoy themselves more at a country inn, nor ever saw every- thing so nice, nor put on the table with more neatness and cleanness. We prolonged our stay as long as we dared. But the second blow of the horn forced us to rise, and, with regret, to leave our hospitable landlord. The charge against each person was half a dollar, little more than two shillings. We reached Richmond, the seat of legislation of Virginia, late in the evening, although we had only made out seventy miles in the whole day ; but the bad state of the roads in Virginia renders it impossible to proceed at a quicker rate than four or five miles an hour. Open carriages are here generally abandoned. The people ride much more on horseback than in the States to the north. We landed at the Eagle Hotel, a large four-sided building, containing a great deal of ac- commodation. Mr. Hallam is the landlord, a very civil person, who lounges about the bar-room, without ap- parently giving himself any trouble about the house, which is as dirty as possible. The tea and supper meal was as abundant as all meals, I presume, are in Virginia. After it was finished, I salHed forth under the guidance of one of the waiters, a man of colour, to get the first glimpse of the city. He showed me to a bookseller's shop, whence I told him he might go 12 RICHMOND. home, as I knew my way back to the hotel ; but he dared not, he told me, set his foot on the street after eight o'clock at night, under the risk of being seized and punished, without a pass from a white man : this pass I accordingly gave him. Next morning, the 18th February, I was glad to find, on going out, a great change of temperature, as well as a great change in the appearance of the country. The thermometer was now above 50 ; and we were, it was apparent, out of the region in which the severity of the frost renders it impossible to pre- serve the holly, the laurel, and the other classes of common evergreen shrubs, during the winter. Those shrubs do not survive the winter in Canada, or in any of those parts of the United States where I had hitherto been ; but at Richmond, I found them uninjured by the frost around all the pretty villas, of which there is a considerable number in the neighbourhood of the city. The situation of Richmond is very striking, on the top of a beautiful bank rising from the river James, which winds beautifully below it. The river naviga- tion extends to Richmond. The town is built on rising grounds of various shape, descending to the eastward ; but though it possesses every facility for being kept free from filth, it is the dirtiest city, with the worst kept pavements and streets, which I have seen in this country. The chief street is handsome and spacious. The erection of the Capitol, which is in the form of a Grecian temple, must have been a great exertion for 10 CAPITOL — LIBRARY. 73 this State, at the period when it was built, immediately after the revolution. It contains the House of Representatives and the Senate-House ; is situated on an eminence, and com- mands one of those great views of land and water of which it is impossible to tire. The legislature was in session ; and I went to the House of Delegates, (for so the House of Representatives is here called) under the guidance of Mr. Macgrouther, a Virginian lawyer, who had travelled with us yesterday, and who intro- duced me in the Capitol to Mr. Forbes, a gentleman from the west of Scotland, who has considerable pro- perty in this neighbourhood, and has been in this coun- try about thirty years. Mr. Forbes is not now, but was formerly, a member of the legislature of this State. The proceedings, both in the House of Delegates and in the Senate-House, were, in point of form, very similar to those in the British House of Commons, and in the Capitol at Washington. I heard no long speech ; but I heard many members deliver their sentiments vnth perfect ease and freedom, although not so well apparelled as the gentlemen of St. Stephen's chapel, or at Washington, being plain country-looking farmers. Mr. Forbes takes great credit to himself for having been the founder of a library in the Capitol at Rich- mond. I was present in the Senate when the library report for the preceding year was read ; from which it appeared that the annual expenditure had amounted to 7000 dollars. There is a statue of Washington by Houdon in the Capitol ; and there is also a picture of VOL. II, E 74 RICHMOND. Jeiferson in the Senate-HalL On tlie pedestal of the statue by Houdon is the following inscription, written by Mr. Madison. This statue was erected in the year 1788, during the life of "Washington. "The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia have caused this statue to be erected, as a monument of affection and gratitude to George Washington, who, uniting to the endowments of the hero the virtues of the patriot, and exerting both in establishing the liberties of his country, has rendered his name dear to his fellow-citizens, and given the world an immortal example of true glory." Mr. Forbes was very glad to give me all the infor- mation he could ; and he was in his turn very anxious to get answers to many inquiries he made respecting Scotland. He had been well acquainted with the late Lord Cullen, an eminent Scotch lawyer, and judge, and told me that he was still possessed of a letter from him, when a lawyer, to himself, excusing him for not attending some meeting in the west of Scot- land, on account of his having undertaken the de- fence of Downie, who was found guilty of treason, at Edinburgh, about the year 1795. Mr. Cullen WTote, that, although he was not in that line of prac- tice, he could not refuse Downie's application to him, lest he might seem to shrink from the avowal of those political principles which he had professed through life, and because the man had not a bawbee (a half- penny.) One of the great wants of the hotel at Richmond is DESTRUCTION OF THEATRE. 75 that of water-closets, or of any tolerable substitutes for them. Nothing can be worse. A most lamentable accident, the total destruction of the Richmond Theatre by fire, took place here about twenty years ago. The Protestant Episcopal Society have erected a church upon what was the site of the theatre, and placed a monument on its west side, con- taining the following inscription : " In memory of the awful calamity that, by the providence of God, fell on this city, on the night of the 26th of December in the year of Christ 1811, where, by the sudden and dreadful conflagration of the Richmond Theatre, many citizens of different ages, and of both sexes, distinguished for talents and for virtues, respected and beloved, perished in the flames, and in one short moment public joy and private happiness were changed into universal lament- ation, this monument is erected, and the adjoining church dedicated to the worship of Almighty God, that, in all future times, the remembrances of this mournful event on the spot where it happened, and where the remains of the sufferers are deposited in one urn, may be united with acts of penitence and devotion. Above sixty killed and many others maimed." A law was in progress while I was at Richmond, for preventing the free men of colour from being edu- cated. It passed the House of Delegates, but was re- jected in the Senate by a small majority, as 1 afterwards heard. The prejudices, however, against the people of colour being educated are very strong. A pamphlet was lately pubHshed by a free man of colour, at Boston, e2 76 ANTI-SLAVERY PAMPHLET. named Walker, expatiating on the cruelty of the treat- ment to which men of colour were subjected in many of the States, which has excited great indignation in the southern slave-holding States ; — and it so happened that upon the very day on which I attended the sitting of the legislature at Richmond, a letter from the mayor of Boston, in answer to a communication from the slave- holding States, declaring his disapprobation of the pam- phlet, but at the same time expressing his opinion, that the writer did not seem to have violated the law, was laid before the house. Mr. Otis, the mayor of Boston, while in that letter he makes a declaration that the pamphlet does not contravene any law, with singular inconsistency adds, in his public letter, that he regards it with deep disapprobation and abhorrence. This seemed a strange communication from a magistrate in a non-slave-holding State. A bill was immediately brought into the House of Delegates here, which from its title, " To prevent the circulation of seditious writings," I should rather have expected to be pro- posed in some other country than this. The fate of this bill I never heard. I was anxious to see the anti-slavery pamphlet, which was making so much noise, and went into a bookseller's store of the name of Scaraway, or some such name, as I think, but I found his prejudices were as strong as those of any of his countrymen. " Any man that w ould sell it should (he said) be gibbeted." The effects of slavery are nowhere more visible than in Virginia ; the population not having increased like PETERSBURG. 77 that of the free States of the north. In 1790, Virginia contained in her boundaries one-fifth part of the whole political power of the American confederation, was twice as large as New York, and one-third larger than Pennsylvania ; — but times are changed. Her political weight will be just one-half of that of New York in the Congress under the new census, and one-third less than that of Pennsylvania ; — she will have to rank with Ohio, — a State that was not in existence when she was in the zenith of her prosperity. On the 19th of February, I started from Richmond for Petersburg, twenty-five miles to the south of Rich- mond, and when I arrived there, found the spring ended and the summer begun. The thermometer was above 60°, and the inmates of the hotel were enjoying themselves in the verandas. The hotel is large and good, and the dinner as abundant as any that I have seen in Virginia. There are some fine large single holly trees in the approach to Petersburg, which is a thriving place, with a population of 6000 or 7000 people. La Fayette, on his late visit to the United States, mentioned when he was at Petersburg, the very re- markable fact, that his own father, a colonel in the grenadiers of France, fell by a cannon shot at the battle of Minden, fired from a battery commanded by the English general Phillips, who commanded at Petersburg during the revolutionary war, and ex- pired there of indisposition, at the very moment when La Fayette himself had erected a battery, e3 78 MAIL-STAGE. which was playing incessantly on the house occupied by Phillips. It appears frona the order which is in the London Magazine for 1759, that General, then Captain Phil- lips, received 1000 crowns from Duke Ferdinand, as a testimony of his esteem for the gallantry of the former at the battle of Minden. I was sorry to find here that I had no way of getting on to Charleston but by the mail-stage, which travels day and night. I was obliged, therefore, to set off from Petersburg at ten o'clock in the evening. I was alone in the stage when we started, but we picked up soon afterwards a Virginian legislator, from whom I learned with dismay, that, upon the road we were now about to pass, it was no uncommon thing for the coach baggage to be cut oifby robbers. He was so anxious about the preservation of his own portmanteau, that he prevailed upon the driver to allow his portmanteau to be an inside passenger. The driver, however, it after- wards appeared, was not without some alarm, for he stopped in the course of the night, in consequence of observing a light on the road, to ascertain, before going on, from whence it proceeded. This Virginian gentle- man had got leave of absence from the house of dele- gates for the rest of the session, and was on his way home. He blamed his co-legislators for not being sufficiently assiduous, his impression being, that too many of them had no objection to spend their time at Richmond, while they got four dollars a-day for their attendance in the legislature. SLAVE MARKET. 79 It turned out, as I had been previously led to expect, that a great change is visible on entering North Caro- lina. The driver advertised us beforehand, that he was uncertain whether he could get us a breakfast at North- ampton, which is the usual stopping-place, and three miles within the North Carolina territory. The house was a shabby one I must admit, but we procured a very tolerable breakfast. The horses were brought out from a wooden cabin, and nothing was done without all hands swearing, which I had scarcely before heard in the United States, but which I afterwards found to be a common practice in the southern, and part of the western States. We were ferried over the Roanoke river in aflat, drawing not six inches of water, by slaves, without the horses being taken out of the stage, and afterwards stopped at Hahfax to change horses. While I was sitting in the portico there, for the day was very hot, I was accosted by a gentleman who re- quested me to let him know what was the number of slaves for sale at the court-house to-day. I explained his mistake to him, and I then asked him some ques- tion with respect to the slave market here. He said the price generally given for a young man was 375 dollars, though for the best hands 400 dollars are some- times given ; that 250 dollars was the price for a fine young woman, until after she had her first x:hild, after which she became more valuable, as she was then more to be depended on for increasing the stock. He never, he said, separated husband and wife, but some people did separate them, as well E 4 »0 NORTH CAROLINA. as children, and then they had a crying scene, that was all. The fare was very different at dinner at Enfield, in North Carolina, from what it had been in Virginia, but still there was nothing to complain of, there being plenty of wholesome food on the table. The travelling in the night was unpleasant, a great deal of time being lost in getting the horses out. We arrived soon after day- light at the city hotel ; the sign post, the head of Sir Walter Raleigh at Raleigh, the seat of legislation of North Carolina. The soil of North Carolina is inferior to that of the States in the neighbourhood, but the gold mines, which have been lately discovered, are working to some extent. I travelled some time ago in the stage from Schooley's Mountain to New York, with a gentle- man who was proceeding thither with a view to make a purchase of a large tract of country in North Caro- lina, which is of lit'tle or no value, unless for the gold, which he expected it to contain. He had been lately engaged in these mines, and said that he expected that gold to the extent of at least 128,000 dollars would be produced in the course of the last year, 1829. Gold mines are wrought both in North and South Carolina, and in Georgia. Raleigh is a beautifully lying town, rising from the governor's house, at the foot of a broad street, to the State-house or Capitol, at the top of it. The State- house contains, in the entrance hall, the most precious work of art in the United States, — the statue of Wash- ington by Canova. General Washington is represented Washington's statue. 81 sitting, with a tablet supported by his left hand, on which he is about to write the constitution of America, with a style which he holds in his right. He is clad in a Roman military dress, with part of the thigh, knees, and legs, bare, and military sandals. On the sides of the pedestal there are representations of Washington, as Cincinnatus, following the plough, — of Lord Corn- wallis's surrender to Washington, — of Washington's resignation of his office as commander-in-chief at An- napolis, and of his inauguration as president. The likeness of Washington is not well preserved, but I have never seen any work of art of this descrip- tion which pleased me so much. It is singular enough that so valuable a work of art should be found in a State comparatively so small as North Carolina. The House of Commons, (for so their house of representatives is in this State called,) passed a resolution, as I heard, to have a statue of Washing- ton, and requested Mr. Jefferson, who had been long on the continent of Europe, to procure it for them. Mr. Jefferson, with great judgment, applied to the first source ; and although the cost, about 20,000 dollars, in the outset staggered the North Carolinians, they are now more than satisfied, as there is hardly a State in the Union which would not be glad to pay a much higher price for such a gem. At Raleigh I first saw the streets shaded by the beautiful and fast-growing Melia Azadiracha, the pride of India tree, which is covered, even when it is deprived of the foliage, with bunches of small berries, and comes E 5 8^ KALEIGH CHURCHES. out early in the spring v/ith a delightful fragrance from its blossom. It was Sunday morning when I arrived at Raleigh. I went to the Presbyterian church in the forenoon, and heard rather an enthusiastic sermon from Dr. Hunt. In the afternoon I accompanied Mr. Gales, formerly the editor of the Sheffield Iris, and to whom I had brought a letter from his son at Washington, to the Episcopalian church, where I heard Mr. Freeman preach. The thermometer was above 70°, (21st Feb- ruary) all the doors and windows of the churches were open during service. I went to the front gallery of the Presbyterian church in the forenoon ; but I had not been long there when General Daniel, the State mar- shal, ascended to the gallery, and begged me, as a stranger, to take a place in his seat, which was well cushioned, and which I accordingly did. I suspect this is not the sort of politeness which would be approved at Almacks. The General would be voted a bore for adhering to the good manners of the old school ; but it is not therefore to be inferred that, in this respect at least, the Americans are not the politest people in the eyes of the world. Mr. Gales is a fine old man, and as much alive as ever to what is going on in the world of politics. He is the editor of a newspaper here. The hotel at Ra- leigh, as well as those which we passed next day, were of an inferior description, but still there was abundance of food. I had intended to go no farther than Fayette- ville, sixty miles from Raleigh, on the day I left Ra- leigh, but it turned out that Washington was born on FERRIES. 83 the 226. February, and that there was a ball in the ho- tel on the anniversary of his birth-day. We found, on inquiry, that there was no prospect of the ball ending till the morning was far advanced ; and I therefore re- solved to proceed, much to my regret, for the night was dark, and the hotel is obviously an excellent one, as appeared from the style of the house, and from the tea and supper they gave us. The stage had been changed while we were in the house, and we had set off, we found, in a very uncom- fortable carriage, with the mail-bags inconveniently placed at, or rather among our feet. The night became very dark, and there was no lamp, and the road was bad. We asked the driver how he was able to get on at all, and he answered very frankly and simply, that it was now too dark for him to guide the horses, and he therefore left it to the four horses to find their way as they best could. The only light we occasion- ally had was from travellers with their waggons, going to and returning from market, and who were bivouack- ing in the woods, not far from the road sides, and had lighted fires in order to insure their safety from wild beasts. In the course of this and the following day, we cross- ed no less than seven ferries, over considerable rivers, called the Great Pedee, Lynch's Creek, Black River, and the Santee, before we got to Cooper's River, ad- joining to Charleston. I made a stop on my way at a pretty large plantation, where guests were admitted ; and though there was a considerable number of people e6 84 TREATMENT OF SLAVES. in the house, I succeeded in getting a comfortable bed and a room to myself. As soon as tea and supper were over, I went to my bed-room, and told the slave to whom I gave my shoes to be cleaned, that I was so much fatigued that I did not intend to appear next day until eleven o'clock, and I adhered to my intention, although the landlady sent me a message that eight was the breakfast hour. I, however, found an excellent breakfast prepared for me when I did appear, and was not a little surprised, when I sat down to partake of it, to find one female slave fanning me from the opposite side of the table, with a fan of peacock feathers, while another brought me what I required at breakfast. My stopping-place was on a rice plantation, so unfavourably situated during the unhealthy season of the year, that the planter and his family always leave it. The slaves were numerous, and were, I had reason to beKeve from what I afterwards heard, as well treated as they gene- rally are in this country ; but it did not seem to me that their want of education, and the want of ordinary comforts, place them in a situation much removed from the brutes. They had little clothing, all of one drab colour ; and not one of them had bed-clothes. I had full leisure to talk with them, but of course I was bound to do so with prudence. Every one of them, however, with whom I had an opportunity of conversing, de- clared themselves unhappy and miserable in their situ- ation. A certain task is allotted to each of them, and if this is not done, they are subjected to one of three punishments, whipping, wearing irons, or putting in TREATMENT OF SLAVES. 85 the stocks. They detest nothing so much as to be pu- nished by a black overseer — by one of their own race ; they view the degradation to be comparatively trifling when the punishment is inflicted by the master himself. I was told here, on authority which seemed to be quite unquestionable, that of a wealthy planter who lived in this neighbourhood, that a planter, whose estate is at no great distance from the high road which I was tra- velling, was in the habit of punishing his slaves, when he thought that they required severe discipline, by put- ting them in coffins, which were partly nailed down, and that this punishment had again and again resulted in the death of the slaves. The gentleman who com- municated this information to me, spoke of it with hor- ror ; but upon my asking him why such conduct was not punished, since it was known in the neighbourhood, by virtue of the law, which declared the killing of a slave to be murder, he replied, that his neighbour took very good care of himself. The punishment was inflicted only in the presence of slaves, whose evidence was in- admissible. He added, however, that the coffins had been seen, and that the slaves, who it was said had lost their lives, had disappeared, and that no doubt was en- tertained that their deaths had been occasioned by their being shut up in coffins. The same person who has recourse to this savage punishment works his slaves on Sundays, though contrary to law, taking care that no white man sees them ; but the usual practice in the West Indies is not only to allow Sunday to the slaves, but also part of another week-day. The slaves here, as in 86 TREATMENT OF SLAVES. other countries, speak a broken language peculiar to themselves, — the consequence of their total want of education, — but still many of them go to church, and are admitted to church privileges. Although the church is ten miles distant from the plantation where I stop- ped, many of the slaves go to it ; but I have seen enough, even already, to be satisfied that, generally speaking, they are brought up in such ignorance, as well as in a way so repugnant to moral feeling in the earlier part of their life, that it is surprising to see so many marks of civilization among them. Marriage among the slaves is generally allowed ; but where a young man has a fine family, the planter very often, with a view to the increase of his stock, forces him to have many wives ; and in the same way married females are often obliged to receive more husbands than one, as the planter may order. In fact, the slaves are as much obliged to obey the commands of their masters, in respect to sexual intercourse, as anything else, the effects of which upon their morals may be easily conceived. Such a system, is no doubt discouraged by many of the masters whose dispositions are humane ; but that this evil does exist to a great extent is unquestionably true. In the journey from Richmond to the neighbourhood of Charleston, a very visible change in the appearance and manners of the people has taken place. Slaves be- come more numerous in proceeding toward the south, and the whites become comparatively languid and inac- tive-looking. The law requires, that the mail-stage in which I was travelling shall be driven by white men ; MAIL-COACH DRIVERS. 87 but although very large allowances are made to the drivers, — some of them having from 300 to 500 dollars a year, according to the number of miles they under- take, — it is difficult to procure them, on account of the unhealthiness of the swampy country during the summer months. These men are extremely insolent to the people of colour. They universally eat at table with the passengers, and assume an air of equality, which is not found in persons of the same description in the more populous parts of the United States. It would be wrong, at the same time, not to admit, that they are careful as well as skilful drivers. A passenger feels perfect security, even in the worst roads in this country. It is frequently necessary to make detours into the forest, on account of trees that have fallen upon the road ; but although on these occasions the line of path is often covered with stumps of trees, the stages are always extricated, and progress made on an average at the rate of five or six miles an hour. I never felt so much tired after being in the stages of this country, and on the worst roads, as I have done after sitting for a whole day in an English mail-coach, which I attribute to there being so much more room for the limbs in the American than in the English car- riage, and to its being in the power of the passengers, at every stopping-place of the American stage, to get out and walk about for five or ten minutes. The unhealthiness of the climate makes it very diffi- cult to get an overseer of a plantation in this district. 88 VIRGINIA BREAD. and sums of from 1000 to 1500 dollars a year are often given. The habit of lording it over the black population and swearing at them, seems to have induced a gene- ral habit of swearing among the whites as well as the blacks, which is the more remarkable, because an oath is scarcely ever heard in the northern States of the Union. The whole coloured population from Richmond to the southward, are extremely obsequious to the whites, bowing and taking off their hats to every white man they meet. Much less wheat is grown in Virginia than to the north. It is of inferior quality, and is rarely culti- vated where I now am, in a swampy district, where cotton and rice, and chiefly the latter, are the princi- pal productions. The moment I entered North Carolina I found a great change in the quality of the bread, less attention being paid to the wheaten bread, and the wheat flour being inferior in quality ; but bread made from Indian corn, a sort of cake in which eggs are used, is quickly prepared, is very good, and, as I found, supplied the place of wheaten bread very well. Maize thrives in this country. Rice was first introduced into this part of America by a vessel from Madagascar, the master of which made a present of a small quantity to a gentleman in Charles- ton, who sowed it in his garden, where it grew luxuri- RICE COTTON. 89 antly. It was at the beginning raised on the uplands, where, however, it turned out, that cotton was a more profitable crop, unless for family use ; but the water culture of this grain, which was only introduced since the revolution, has rendered it a most valuable crop, both to the State and to individuals. The usual time of planting rice is from the 20th of March to the 20th of May, and the harvest commences about the 1st September. No grain yields more abundantly. From forty to seventy bushels an acre is an ordinary crop ; but eighty and ninety bushels are often produced on strong lands, having the advantage of being overflowed from a river or reservoir. It is sown in rows of fifteen inches' distance from the centre, which gives 120 rows to half an acre. The water is not let in upon the field till after the second hoeing, and is kept on frequently for thirty days. Far more rice is produced in South Carolina than in any of the other States ; but it is a hardy plant, and may be produced in any of the low lands, from the Mississippi to the Delaware. Cotton is most extensively raised in the southern States, and has, even in some of the counties of Vir- ginia, supplanted the culture of tobacco. It has been introduced into this country on a large scale, and for exportation only, since the revolution. Cotton, in the first stages of its growth, is destroyed by the slightest frost, and even the cold rains sensibly check its growth. The black seed and green seed cot- ton are the two kinds generally cultivated. The black 90 CULTURE OF COTTON. seed is of superior quality, and thrives best near the sea-coast ; — that of the finest quaUty on the sea islands of Georgia and South Carolina. The green seed is more prolific, not so liable to be damaged by the incle- mency of the season, and better adapted to inferior or exhausted land. The cotton is an annual plant, growing sometimes as high as six feet, and throwing out a number of branches, on which form large and beautiful whitish- yellow blossoms. It is kept perfectly free of weeds, and is thinned carefully with ploughs in the form of scrapers. The process of picking commences in Sep- tember, and is renewed again and again, as it ripens, at successive periods. A labourer will cultivate with ease more than twice as much cotton as he can collect. The ordinary quantity picked in a day is between fifty and sixty pounds. Children from eight years old can be employed to advantage to pick the cotton. On the cups of the flower balls or cocoombs, or, as they are here called, forms, grow three or four elliptical seeds, three or four times as large as a wheat kernel, and of an oily consistency. The cotton is the down with which these oily seeds are generally enveloped. The gathering season often continues for three months or more, until it is necessary to burn the old stalks, in order to commence ploughing for a new crop. The quantity of oil that cotton seed yields has been estimated at about one gallon to 100 pounds of seed. The cotton in the seed undergoes an operation called ginning, performed by a machine discovered by an SOIL AND CLIMATE. 91 American, which detaches the down from the seeds and blows it away, while the seeds fall down by their own weight. It is then packed in bales, which being pressed, are ready for exportation. The quantity of cotton produced on an acre varies from 1400 to 800 or 600 pounds, 700 pounds being a fair average crop. The price of cotton is extremely variable, the green seed fluctuating from sixteen pence sterling to five pence, and the black seed from one shilling to one dollar per pound. The soil of South Carolina consists of the swampy land, which is devoted to cotton and rice, the only con- siderable articles of exportation but maize ; and, in the upper part of the State, wheat and other grain, as well as tobacco and indigo, are grown upon the high-lands. There are still great tracts of lands devoted to oak and hiccory, as well as to pine trees. Boiled rice and hominie are common at the hotel tables in this country. The Tanya, a very pleasant root, somewhat resembling the Jerusalem artichoke, I have seen, within the last day or two, for the first time. Hogs are very generally allowed to feed on the nuts in the woods for some part of every year. The climate is so mild during the winter in South Carolina, that they are allowed to roam about during the whole year, feeding on nuts, acorns, &c. which are very abundant in the woods of this country, and occasionally on fallen fruit. They are considered very useful in destroying snakes. Sometimes, however, they are a prey to tigers, bears, and wolves, of which there are still a few 92 SOUTH CAROLINA. in the forests. Very few sheep are kept here, on ac- count of their being subject to be destroyed by wolves, and because the people, and especially the less rich classes, dislike mutton, which they call sheep's-meat. Sheep do not thrive well in the forest. In general, in this country only such a number of sheep should be kept as are requisite for the production of wool. The day on which I halted at the planter's house had been very rainy, and at its close was very dark. After joining the stage in the evening, it stopped on the top of a steep bank, at the bottom of which it is carried over rather a dangerous ferry on the Black River, a few miles from Georgetown, about sixty miles from Charleston. I was alone in the stage when the driver stopped, opened the stage-door, and told me, that it was usual for passengers to get out of the stage and walk down the bank, as there was some risk in driving the stage in the night right into the flat from the bottom of the bank ; but, he added, that the road was so very wet and deep, that I ought to re- main, — there were plenty of slaves with torches of pine to give him light, and, as he was going to trust himself upon the driving-seat without, I might trust myself within. I took his advice, and we got safe over ; but I was afterwards told that I had acted very rashly, as this was the greatest hazard on the road, and fatal accidents had frequently happened. Although our ar- rival at Georgetown was at one o'clock in the morn- ing, the postmaster detained us for three quarters of an hour. Here we were joined by a very wealthy and well-known planter of South Carolina, not by any GEORGETOWN. 93 means a young man, ana by a gentleman from Charles- ton ; and afterwards, at breakfast, by a medical man in the neighbourhood, who was going to the vicinity of Charleston to see a patient. It continued very dark when we left Georgetown. The planter volunteered to carry a lamp on the driving- seat for a few miles, while the darkness continued. He afterwards joined us in the stage. The driver break- fasted with us, and was quite as free and easy with the whole party as if they had been his companions. The doctor recommended brandy and water as a pre- ventive of all disorders in that climate ; and, having set the example by partaking of some, it was liberally followed by all the party but myself. The planter and the doctor seemed to be on intimate terms, which rendered their conversation tolerably un- reserved. The doctor asked the planter, what could have induced him to stay at such and such a plantation during the unhealthy season. I shall never forget the sang froid with which the question was answered by his friend. He said, he found that half a dozen of the girls could no longer be trusted without a husband, for one of them had been already seized by the black- smith at his gate ; and that he thought it was not only for his interest, but that of the plantation generally, that he should be the first husband. This answer, of course, gave rise to a great deal of merriment among the friends ; and the doctor, who gave us similar ac- counts of his management of his own slaves, admitted the validity of the reason. In the course of the con- 94 EVERGREEN OAK. versation which followed, it turned out that this planter was frequently waited upon at table by his own chil- dren, and had actually sent some of them to the public market to be sold as slaves. Great part of the road from Georgetown to Charles- ton was good; and the driver carried us on very rapidly, on one occasion, four miles in twenty-one minutes. On this day's journey I first saw, and in great num- bers, the most valuable of the American trees, the evergreen oak the Quercus virens of the southern States of North America, the most durable of oaks. It flourishes most on lands adjacent to salt water. It is almost as heavy as lignum vitije. Its trunk is gene- rally not long, but its large crooked branches fre- quently spread over more than a quarter of an acre of ground. The wood of this tree is almost incorruptible. It was on account of the abundance of this tree in Florida, fit for building ships of war, that the Ameri- cans showed so great an anxiety, which was at last gratified in 1819, to add Florida to their extensive territories, and which has led the general government, since its acquirement, to lay out very large sums in the preservation and establishment of live oak planta- tions in it. Indeed, I have heard of the formation of plantations of trees, upon a great scale, nowhere in North America but in Florida ; but this need not oc- casion surprise, for there is no object which the people of the United States are so anxious to attain as the possession of a powerful navy. On the way between 8 CHARLESTON. 95 Georgetown and Charleston, I observed one very sin- gular mixture of grov^^ing trees, — a pine of some size growing from the top of the trunk of a live oak. The ferry over Cooper's River to Charleston is about four miles wide. We crossed it in a very long boat with a sail. 96 CHARLESTON. CHAPTER XXIII. Difficulty of obtaining Accommodation at Charleston, on account of Races — Planters' Hotel — Population of Charleston — Houses — Churches— Situation of Charleston — Harbour — Theatre — Slaves sleep in the Passages — Manners of the People— Equipages — Race — Jockey Club — Stewards of the Race — Treatment of the Coloured Peopleon the Race- Ground — Tropical Fruit — Situation of theSlaves at the Planters' Hotel — Ceremonious Dinner at Charleston — Dr. Tidyman's Kindness — Service at St. Michael's Church — Dr. Tidy- man's Slaves — Orphan Hospital — Rice Mill — Dr. Tidyman's Cal- culation respecting the Expense of Slaves and that of White Men — General Hampton's Treatment of his Slaves — Patrole at Charleston — Fever at Charleston — Country in the neighbourhood of Charleston and in South Carolina — Treatment of the Men of Colour — Laws respecting them and the Slaves — Mrs. Street's Cruelty to her Slaves, particularly to the Cook — Punishment inflicted on the Slaves in the Gaol — Duke of Saxe Weimar's Account of the Gaol — Public Sale of Slaves at Charleston — Their Separation from their Relations on Sales taking place — Slater's Trial for the Murder of a Slave — Thirty- five Slaves executed at Charleston in July 1822 — The Judge's Ad- dress to them — The Proceedings justified by the execution of Fifty- four Persons in Britain after the Rebellion of 1745 — Slavery an anomaly in a Free Country — Jefferson's Opinion respecting Slavery — Charleston the Theatre of War during the Revolution — Clinton, Tarleton, and Lord Cornwallis — Lord Rawdon's unprincipled Exe- cution of Colonel Hayne — Details — Marquis of Hastings became a RACE-WEEK. 97 different Man — Colonel Huger's Attempt to relieve La Fayette at Olniutz. MarcJi, 1830. I HAD heard on the way to Charleston, that this was the week of the Charleston races, and I was therefore not much surprised when I found, that I could not be accommodated at the Carolina coffee-house, kept by Stewart, or at Jones's hotel, which I had been desired first to try. From thence I went to the Planters' hotel. On my mentioning that I required a room for myself, the landlady protested that the house was so full that it was impossible to let me have one. I pressed my suit, however, so long and so earnestly, that she at last became propitious, and told Mr. Street, her husband, who happened to come in at the moment, what she had done, but that she was persuaded that I was at least a colonel. I got possession of a small apartment ; and after th« races were over, I exchanged it for a good room. The ordinary at this hotel was very good. It being the race-week, the table was full, and there were se- veral ladies. The dinner consisted of turtle-soup, fish, and abundance of food. Mrs. Street sat at the head of the table, and her husband at the foot, I lost no time in walking about the town, which is as different as pos- sible from any of the American cities I have yet seen. The population is somewhat above 30,000. The fine houses are very large, many of them inclosed like the great hotels in Paris, and all of them covered with ve- randas, and situated in gardens neatly dressed, and at VOL. II. F 9S CHARLESTON. this season not only adorned with the finest evergreen shrubs, but with a great variety of beautiful roses, jon- quils, and summer flowers. On the other hand, many of the streets, though not all of them, were dirty and unpaved, and the houses in some parts of the town had a filthy appearance. It was at once obvious, from the style of the town, and the appearance of the people, many of them but meanly apparelled, and from the great number of coloured people, that I was now in a State where there was a far greater inequality of condition than in the American cities which I had yet seen, and that I was in a slave-holding State. In fact, the co- loured population is greater than the white population in the State of South Carolina. The churches and public buildings are handsome, especially St. Michael's church, with its steeple 168 feet high. The post-office is a large and rather imposing structure. All the finest buildings were erected previously to the revolu- tion. There are many charitable institutions, among which the orphan asylum stands in the first rank. The situation of Charleston, which is within seven miles of the ocean, is a good deal like that of New York. It stands upon a piece of land projecting into the bay, at the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers, and has a deep^and safe harbour. Ships drawing twenty feet of water pass the bar. I went to the theatre on the evening I arrived at Charleston. It is a clean-look- ing house both vdthout and within, — particularly with- in. I was surprised to see it so ill-attended, especially in the race-week. When I returned to the hotel in COLOURED PEOPLE. 99 the evening, I found the streets totally deserted. I hardly met a person of whom I could ask my way home. This is owing to a regulation which requires that all the coloured people, — that is, about half the popula- tion,^ — shall be in their houses or residences by nine o'clock in the evening. On opening the hotel door, the male servants of the house were, I found, already laid down for the night in the passages with their clothes on. They have neither beds nor bedding, and you may kick them or tread upon them as you come in with impunity. On the following morning, I had a delightful walk in the city and its environs, and was very much con- firmed in the opinion which I had formed at first sight. There is obviously a great distinction of classes here. Some of the houses are worth 10,000/. and are real palazzos, surrounded with orange trees, magnolias, pal- mettos, and other trees almost of a tropical climate. The streets are lined with the " pride of India" tree. The whole appearance is far more that of a city where luxury abounds, than what I have previously seen in the United States. Early in the forenoon I went to the race-ground, which is on a piece of very fine turf, about two miles from the city. Many altera- tions in the manners of the people were obvious. The equipages were much handsomer. Coaches with coats of arms painted on the doors were not uncommon ; and there were several servants in livery. The race was very well attended by gentlemen and by the mobility, but the number of ladies was compara- f2 100 RACES JOCKEY CLUB. lively small. There is a jockey club, from whom the stewards of the races are chosen. The stewards wear roses of crimson ribbon in their breasts, to distinguish them, with top boots and white corduroys, and seem disposed to exert their little brief authority to the utmost. Although there are constables at the starting post, to prevent the people from coming on the course, one of the stewards appeared very much to envy them their calling, for no sooner did a man of colour appear on the course, and within his reach, than he struck him with his horse-whip. No wonder that these people thirst for vengeance. Here, on the race-course, there were at least two men of colour for every white person, yet were they obliged to submit to treatment which a white man dared not even to have threatened to a per- son of his own colour. The race turned out a very good one, as the horses, though of no great swiftness, were well matched. There were four heats. The riders were all boys of colour. The thermometer is at present here above 70°. I saw no mosquitos, but the flies were exceedingly troublesome, and are kept off the provisions while on the table, by slaves with palmetto fans. Oranges, shaddock, bananas, and other fruits of a tropical coun- try, are very abundant here. Oranges are sold for a halfpenny each. There is frequent communication with the Havannah. On returning to the hotel from the race-ground, I found a gentleman had in my absence called for me, and left a note asking me to dine with him TREATMENT OF SLAVES. 101 next day. Having written my answer accepting the invitation, I went to the bar-room to beg Mr. Street to send it by one of the boys, of whom there were several about the house, but he at once told me, that he could not send any of his slaves out of the house. The bar-keeper, Mr. Ferguson, from Golspie, in Suther- land, North Britain, seeing my dilemma, offered to carry my note, and the landlord consented. Ferguson, however, afterwards told me, that the landlord had been very ill-pleased with him for showing me so much civility, because he knew that his presence was always necessary in the bar-room. Ferguson at the same time told me, that the slaves were most cruelly treated in the house, and that they were never allowed to go out of it, because as soon as they were out of sight, they infallibly 'made all the exertion in their power to get away. Next morning, looking from my window, an hour before breakfast, I saw Mrs. Street, the landlady, give a young man, a ser^^ant, such a blow behind the ear, as made him reel, and I afterwards found that it was her daily and hourly practice to beat her servants, male and female, either with her fist, or with a thong made of cow-hide. I dined with a large party this day in a very hand- some house of some antiquity, the rooms fitted up with figured wainscot in the old EngHsh style. Twenty persons sat down to dinner at about half-past four o'clock. We had a most abundant feast, of which I mention the particulars merely to show the style of such a dinner here. It was attended by an upper ser- f3 102 CHARLESTON. vant and three servants in livery, all of course slaves. The table was covered v^ith turtle soup, fish, venison, boiled mutton, roast turkey, boiled turkey, a ham, two boiled salted tongues, two tame ducks, two wild ducks, some dressed dishes, boiled rice, hominie, potatoes, cauliflower, salad, &c. The whole dinner was at once placed on the table before we sat down. When it was removed, a complete course of pastry and puddings succeeded, and then a most excellent dessert of oranges, shaddocks, bananas, and a variety of West India fruits, with iced cream in profusion. The liquids consisted of Champagne, Madeira, sherry, port, claret, porter, lemonade, &c. The ladies left the table soon after the dessert appeared, and the gentlemen broke off one by one, and always went out by the outer pas- sage, and not by the stair to the drawing-room, from which, and from coffee not being announced, I pre- sumed that it was not understood that the dinner party were expected again in the drawing-room. I took my leave before eight o*clock, when only three or four of the party remained. Dr. Tidyman of Charleston, to whom I had been made known by Colonel Burn, was at great pains to show me the objects worthy a stranger's attention here, although my visit happened to be at a time not very convenient for him. He could not see me at first when I called, but he applied to one of his friends within an hour or two afterwards, to take me to the race, and who came to the hotel for me in his carriage. He took me to his seat in St. Michael's Church on the MANNERS — SERVANTS. 103 following Sunday forenoon. This is a very handsome church, of the Episcopalian persuasion, with as respect- able and genteel-looking a congregation as one would see anywhere in Britain. I afterwards went to his house, where I met many of the principal inhabitants of the city. It seemed to be the fashion for them to come for a few minutes on a Sunday forenoon to drink a glass of wine, and take a bit of cake. The custom seems to be the same here as in the northern parts of the United States, that when two gentlemen are intro- duced to each other, they shake hands. I have found this custom to be universal in every part of the United States, instead of the formal bow in Great Britain. I afterwards again and again partook of Dr. Tidy, man's hospitality. His dinner was very much in the English style. Venison is on the table at every dinner, and although not so dry as in the Northern States, it is very inferior to the wild venison of Scotland, or even to a good leg of Scotch Highland mutton. Dr. Tidyman had four livery servants, of course slaves, who, by their obvious attachment to him and his family, and the alacrity with which they attended to every instruction that was given them, showed their sense of the kindness with which they were treated. Dr. Tidyman, in a late publication, relating chiefly to the estabUshment of the recent tariff, states the ex- pense of providing clothing, food, &c. for a slave, on a well-managed plantation, to be about thirty-five dollars per annum. He also states the amount of the wages of F 4 104 CHARLESTON. a labourer, a white man, in the United States, to be three times as great as in Europe. Now, supposing the price of a slave to be 400 dollars, and 40 dollars a year's interest at ten per cent, on his price, the pro- digious saving by employing slaves is ob-sdous. The wages of a white man at Charleston cannot be reckoned at less than 500 or 600 dollars. Dr. Tidyman mentions that, with kind masters, the condition of slaves is ren- dered as happy as a state of slavery can admit of. This is unquestionably true. Indeed I myself have seen instances of quite as strong, if not stronger attachment, on the part of a slave, than I ever saw on the part of a white man to his master ; but the master may, at plea- sure, be guilty of abuse of power to his slave ; and it is quite notorious in the southern parts of America that the greatest slave proprietors, whose interest ought to lead them to treat their slaves well, treat them worst. I could easily refer to many instances. One, however, is so well known, that there is no impropriety in mention- ing it, viz. that of General Hampton, one of the greatest, if not the very greatest, slave proprietor, in the United States, a South Carolinian, with, however, the chief part of his property situated in Louisiana. He not only maltreats his slaves, but stints them in food, overworks them, and keeps them almost naked. I have seen more than one of his overseers, whose representations gave a dreadful account of the state of slavery on his planta- tions, and who left his service because they would no longer assist in the cruel punishments inflicted upon his slaves ; but I do not mention such a fact as this merely DR. TIDYMAN — HOSPITAL. 105 on such authority. General Hampton's conduct to- wards his slaves is a matter of notoriety. Dr. Tidyman has a large plantation ; his overseer's salary is 1000 dollars a-year. He carried me round the environs of Charleston in his carriage, to the orphan hospital, in the front of which is a statue of the great Lord Chat- ham, who- was justly popular in this country, on ac- count of his opposition to the war with the colonies. The whole hospital is clean and well kept. The top of the hospital affords the best view of the city and neighbourhood of Charleston, and of the bay and ad- joining rivers. Dr. Tidyman also took me to a rice-mill, the whole arrangements of which are very conveniently and beau- tifully managed. The process is shown, — beginning with the conveyance of the rice from the schooner into the cart, until it is ground and ready for packing. There is at Charleston a guard of soldiers, who pa- trole the city during the night. During part of the summer months, so dangerous a fever prevails here, that a great part of the inhabitants leave the city, — many of them go to an island in the bay, called Sullivan's Island, — others go to the moun- tains or hilly part of South Carolina, which is quite healthy, — and many emigrate to the north, to Sara- toga springs, or the neighbouring States. Dr. Tidy- man and his family go regularly to the vicinity of Phi- ladelphia. I took a long drive on the 4th March, in an open 106 CHARLESTON. carriage, to see the country in the neighbourhood of Charleston, great part of which is of a very sandy soil. The roads are in some places very bad, owing to the great weight of the waggons bringing cotton to Charleston. The scenery would be very tame, were it not for the fine rivers on both hands, — but the in- land part of South Carolina is in many places moun- tainous and beautiful. There is a considerable extent of country, from eight to eighteen hundred feet high ; and the summits of some of the spurs of the Alleghanies, which project into this State, are between 3000 and 4000 feet above the sea. Table Mountain, a rock of granite naked on three sides for 1 100 feet above its base, and between 3000 and 4000 feet above the sea, is the highest of the mountains. A great many of the finest trees in the neighbourhood of Charleston, and especially evergreen oaks, are co- vered, wherever the neighbouring ground is moist, with long pendulous moss (Tillandsia usneoidesj, which, when properly prepared, is used in stuffing mat- tresses. Cattle are fond of it before the grass springs. This moss is injurious to the trees, to which it at- taches itself. It robs them of their nourishment, and prevents them from receiving the heat of the sun. My driver was a free man of colour. He gave a frightful account of the treatment to which he and all the people of colour, whether free or slaves, are subject in this State. He had been accustomed formerly to go every season to the State of New York during the pe- riod when, owing to the inhabitants leaving the city. TREATMENT OF SLAVES. 107 business was almost at a stand ; but, by an act passed a few years ago, it is declared that a free person of colour leaving the State, though merely crossing the boundary, shall not be allowed to return ; and as he has a wife and family, he feels himself really and truly a prisoner in the State of South Carolina. The same law declares, that it shall not be lawful for free persons of colour to come from another State into this. If they should be brought in a vessel, they are imme- diately confined in gaol, till the vessel is ready to pro- ceed to sea, — the captain paying the expenses of their detention. It is now contrary to law that even free persons of colour should be educated ; — they are incom- petent witnesses in any case where the rights of white persons are concerned ; and their trials are conducted by a justice of the peace and freeholders, without the benefit of a jury. So far as respects the slaves, they are even in a worse situation ; for though their evi- dence is in no case admissible against the whites, the affirmation of free persons of colour, or their fellow- slaves, is received against them. I was placed in a situation at Charleston which gave me too frequent opportunities of witnessing the efiects of slavery in its most aggravated state. Mrs. Street treated all the servants in the house in the most barbarous manner ; and this, although she knew that Stewart, a hotel- keeper here, had lately nearly lost his life by mal- treating a slave. Stewart beat his cook, who was a stout fellow, until he could no longer support it. He rose upon his master, and gave him such a beating that it f6 108 ■ CHARLESTON. had nearly cost him his life : the cook immediately left the house, ran off, and was never afterwards heard of, — it was supposed that he had drowned himself. Not a day however passed without my hearing of Mrs. Street whip- ping and ill-using her unfortunate slaves. On one occa- sion, when one of the female slaves had disobliged her, she beat her until her own strength was exhausted, and then insisted on her bar-keeper, Mr. Ferguson, pro- ceeding to inflict the remainder of the punishment. — Mrs. Street in the meantime took his place in the bar- room. She instructed him to lay on the whip severely in an adjoining room. His nature was repugnant to the execution of the duty which was imposed on him. He gave a wink to the girl, who understood it and bel- lowed lustily, while he made the whip crack on the walls of the room. Mrs. Street expressed herself quite satisfied with the way in which Ferguson had executed her instructions ; but unfortunately for him, his lenity to the girl became known in the house, and the subject of merriment, and was one of the reasons for his dismissal before I left the house ; but I did not know of the most atrocious of all the proceedings of this cruel woman until the very day that I quitted it. I had put up my clothes in my portmanteau, when I was about to set out, but finding it was rather too full, I had difiiculty in getting it closed to allow me to lock it ; I therefore told one of the boys to send me one of the stoutest of the men to assist me. A great robust fellow soon afterwards appeared whom I found to be the cook^ with tears in his eyes ; I asked him TREATMENT OF SLAVES. 109 what was the matter ? He told me that, just at the time when the boy called for him, he had got so sharp a blow on the cheek bone, from this devil in petticoats, as had unmanned him for the moment. Upon my ex- pressing commiseration for him, he said he viewed this as nothing, but that he was leading a life of terri- ble suffering ; — that about two years had elapsed since he and his wife, with his two children, had been ex- posed in the public market at Charleston for sale, — that he had been purchased by Mr. Street, — that his wife and children had been purchased by a different person ; and that, though he was living in the same town with them, he was never allowed to see them ; — he would be beaten within an ace of his life if he ven- tured to go to the corner of the street. Whenever the least symptom of rebellion or insubordination appears at Charleston on the part of a slave, the master sends the slave to the gaol, where, for a trifling douceur to the gaoler or his assistants, he is whipped or beaten as the master desires. The Duke of Saxe Weimar, in his Travels, mentions that he visited the gaol in December 18^5 ; that the " black overseers go about everywhere armed with cow-hides ; that in the basement story there is an apparatus upon which the negroes, by order of the police, or at the request of the masters, are flogged ; that the machine consists of a sort of crane, on which a cord with two nooses runs over pulleys; the nooses are made fast to the hands of the slave and drawn up, while the feet are bound tight to a plank ; that the body is stretched out as much as possible, — and thus the miserable creature receives 110 CHARLESTON. the exact number of lashes as counted oS. The public sale of slaves in the market-place at Charles- ton occurs frequently. I was present at two sales, where, especially at one of them, the miserable crea- tures were in tears on account of their being separated from their relations and friends. At one of them, a young woman of sixteen or seventeen was separated from her father and mother, and all her relations, and every one she had formerly known. This not unfre- quently happens, although I was told and believe that there is a general wish to keep relations together, where it can be done." The following extract of a letter from a gentleman at Charleston, to a friend of his at New York, published in the New York newspapers while I was there, con- tains even a more shocking account of the public sales of slaves here. — " Curiosity sometimes leads me to the auction sales of the negroes. A few days since I attended one which exhibited the beauties of slavery in all their sickening deformity. The bodies of these wretched be- ings were placed upright on a table, — their physical proportions examined, — their defects and beauties noted. — ' A prime lot, here they go !' There I saw the father looking sullen contempt upon the crowd, and expressing an indignation in his countenance that he dared not speak ; — and the mother, pressing her infants closer to her bosom with an involuntary grasp, and exclaiming, in wild and simple earnestness, while the tears chased down her cheeks in quick succession, * I can't leff my children! I won't leff my children!" But on the hammer went, reckless alike whether it TREATMENT OF SLAVES. Ill united or sundered for ever. On another stand I saw a man apparently as white as myself exposed for sale. I turned away from the humiliating spectacle. " At another time I saw the concluding scene of this infernal drama. It was on the wharf. A slave ship for New Orleans was lying in the stream, and the poor negroes, handcuffed and pinioned, were hurried oflf in boats, eight at a time. Here I witnessed the last fare- well, — the heart-rending separation of every earthly tie. The mute and agonizing embrace of the husband and wife, and the convulsive grasp of the mother and the child were alike torn asunder — for ever! It was a living death, — they never see or hear of each other more. Tears flowed fast, and mine with the rest." Charleston has long been celebrated for the severity of its laws against the blacks, and the mildness of its punishment towards the whites for maltreating them. Until the late law, there were about seventy-one crimes, for which slaves were capitally punished, and for which the highest punishment for whites was imprisonment in the penitentiary. A dreadful case of murder occurred at Charleston in 1806. A planter, called John Slater, made an unof- fending, unresisting slave, be bound hand and foot, and compelled his companion to chop off his head with an axe, and to cast his body, convulsed with the agonies of death, into the water. Judge Wild, who tried him, on awarding a sentence of imprisonment against this wretch, expressed his regret that the punishment pro- 1 112 CHARLESTON. vided for the offence was insufficient to make the law respected, — that the delinquent too well knew, — that the arm, which he had stretched out for the destruction of his slave, was that to which alone he could look for protection, disarmed as he was of the rights of self-de- fence. But the most horrible butchery of slaves which has ever taken place in America, was the execution of thirty-five of them on the lines near Charleston, in the month of July, 1822, on account of an alleged conspi- racy against their masters. The whole proceedings are monstrous. Sixty-seven persons were convicted before a court, consisting of a justice of the peace, and free- holders, without a jury. The evidence of slaves, not upon oath, was admitted against them, and, after all, the proof was extremely scanty. Perrault, a slave, who had himself been brought from Africa, was the chief witness. He had been torn from his father, who was very wealthy, and a considerable trader in tobacco and salt on the coast of Africa. He was taken prisoner, and was sold, and his purchaser would not give him up, although three slaves were offered in his stead. The judge's address, on pronouncing sentence of death on this occasion, on persons sold to slavery and servitude, and who, if they were guilty, were only endeavouring to get rid of it in the only way in their power, seems monstrous. He told them that the servant who was false to his master would be false to his God, — that the precept of St. Paul was to obey their masters in all things, and of St. Peter, to be subject to their masters with all fear, and that, had they listened to such doc- TREATMENT OF SLAVES. 113 trines, they would not now have been arrested by an ignominious death. The proceedings of this trial made some noise at the time. An official account of it was published, in which the execution of so great a number of persons was justified by the precedent of George the Second, who executed fifty-four of the first men in Britain for the rebellion of 1745. The existence of slavery in its most hideous form, in a country of absolute freedom in most respects, is one of those extraordinary anomalies for which it is im- possible to account. No man was more sensible of this than Jefferson, nor more anxious that so foul a stain on the otherwise free institutions of the United States should be wiped away. His sentiments on this subject, and on the peculiar situation of his countrymen in maintaining slavery, are thus given in a communication to one of his friends : — " What an incomprehensible machine is man ! who can endure toil, famine, stripes, imprisonment, and death itself, in vindication of his own liberty, and the next moment be deaf to all those motives whose power supported him through his trial, and inflict on his fellow-men a bondage, one hour of which is fraught with more misery than ages of that which he rose in rebellion to oppose. But we must await with patience the workings of an overruling Pro- vidence, and hope that that is preparing the deliverance of these our suffering brethren. When the measure of their tears shall be full, — when their groans shall have involved Heaven itself in darkness,- — doubtless a God 114 CHARLESTON. of justice will awaken to their distress, and, by dif- fusing light and liberality among their oppressors, or at length, by his exterminating thunder, manifest his attention to the things of this world, and that they are not left to the guidance of a blind fatality." During the revolutionary war, Charleston and the State of South Carolina were frequently the theatre of hostilities. The first attack of the British on Charleston in 1776 was repulsed, but in the year 1780 Sir Henry Clinton made himself master of it, and for some time afterwards Colonel Tarleton, in the British service, carried the horrors of war throughout the State, and Lord Cornwallis sent off many of the inhabitants of the city, of whose influence he was afraid, to Saint Augustine. But one act of severity is, most of all, even to this day remembered — the execution of Colonel Hayne, a citizen of Charleston, of great respectability of character, and large fortune. He had served as an officer of militia during the siege of Charleston, and having no way of escaping close confinement when it fell into the hands of the British, but by signing a declaration of allegiance to the king of Great Britain, which contained a clause requiring him to support the royal government with arms, he subscribed it : but he expressed to the British general, Paterson, his deter- mination never to bear arms against his country, and told him that he was forced to the step of signing the declaration, merely that he might be able to join his wife and children, who were at his plantation in a dis- tant part of the State, and in most pressing need of EXECUTION OF COLONEL HAYNE. 115 his presence and support, the small-pox having afflicted them. Being afterwards threatened by the British with close confinement, in case of a refusal to take arms against his countrymen, he considered himself as re- leased from his allegiance ; and when he found the British no longer able to give that protection, which was to be the compensation of his allegiance, he ac- cepted a military appointment in the American army. Subsequently he fell into the hands of the British, and Lord Rawdon, then commanding in South Carolina, ordered him to be executed without even the formality of a trial, for which he had applied, though most powerful intercessions were made in his favour. The British lieutenant-governor, and many of the inhabit- ants, prayed that he might not be executed ; the ladies of Charleston sent a petition in his behalf; his wife had died of the small-pox after his release from the capitu- lation ; and his children, nine in number, accompanied by their near relations, presented themselves on their knees to Lord Rawdon, as suitors for their father's life, but all in vain. At his lordship's express com- mand, an order for immediate execution was given. His son, a boy of thirteen, accompanied Colonel Hayne to the place of execution. The boy told his father, in the sight of the gallows, that he felt he could not survive him, and he actually died insane shortly afterwards. Mr. Hayne, the present Governor of South Carolina (1833), is the nephew of Colonel Hayne. Lord Rawdon's cruelty, while he commanded in South Carolina, is a theme of conversation even at 116 CHARLESTON. the present day. In one of his letters to a command- ing officer which was taken, he thus expresses him- self: — " I will give ten guineas for the head of any deserter belonging to the volunteers of Ireland, and five guineas only if he be brought alive." Fortunately for Lord Rawdon, afterwards Earl Moira, and Marquis of Hastings, he lived long enough to establish a character for humanity and benevolence, founded on very diiFerent principles from those which influenced his conduct in early life in South Carolina. On one of the last days that I remained at Charles- ton, I made a trip to Sullivan's Island, a flat sandy island in Charleston Bay, covered with palmetto trees, to which the inhabitants frequently resort in the very hot weather, as I have already noticed, and upon which stands Fort Moultrie, celebrated for its defence against the British fleet in 1776. Colonel Huger, who so gallantly attempted to re- lieve La Fayette from his confinement at Olmutz, is a native of Charleston. Dr. Bolman, a young Hano- verian, and he, got information conveyed to La Fayette, by prevailing on the gaoler to deliver to his prisoner, open for his inspection, a book which contained pencil mark, hardly noticeable, but discovered by La Fayette on a careful perusal. They succeeded in rescuing La Fayette from his keepers, and mounting him on a fleet horse, but he mistook his way, and was quickly recap- tured. Huger was rigorously confined for a long period, but at last was restored to freedom, and is now in his native country. CHARLESTON. 11 CHAPTER XXIV. From Charleston to the Western side of the Creek Territory — Steam- boat to Savannah and Augusta — Details of " John David Monguin" Steam-boat — Intricacy of Passage — Situation of Savannah — Orange Trees — Turtle — Defence of Savannah by the British — Regulations respecting Free Men of Colour — Passage to Augusta — Major Spriggs, a fellow-passenger — His Post in the Neighbourhood of the Sioux Indians — Streets of Augusta — Dr. Ray — Recent Conflagration in the City — Globe Hotel — Altercation with Driver respecting Baggage— Warrenton — Newspaper Office— Leggatt, a capital Driver — Macon — Gambling — A Sportsman — Planters' Houses — Knoxville — Mr. Thomas Crowall — Rogers' Plantation, wretched Place — Columbus — Georgian Laws respecting Slavery — Proceed to Fort Mitchell — Enter the Territory of the Creek Indians — Particulars respecting them — Recent occurrence, Tuskina — State of matters between the Cherokee Indians and the State of Georgia — Major Wager's Proclamation against the White Men remaining in the Territory of the Creeks — Dinner at the Hotel at Fort Mitchell — Manners of the Indians — Their Numbers generally — Their Title to their Territory — Confirmed by the Senate — General Washington's Address — Guarantee to the Cherokee Nation by Treaty recognised by the State of Georgia — Sales of Territory by the Cherokees — Their Determination to sell no more — Treaty between Georgia and the United States — Report by the Legislature of Georgia upon the subject in 1827 — Projected division of the Cherokee Country by the State of Georgia— Extra- ordinary Provisions of the Law passed by the Legislature of Georgia —State of the Cherokees, a civilized people— Cherokee Newspaper — Mr. Jefferson's Address to the Cherokees — Mr. Clay's opinion— that 118 CHARLESTON. of the American Negociators at Ghent — Mr. Wirt's opinion — Ulte- rior Proceedings of the State of Georgia — Fruitless Representation of the Cherokees to the General Government — Act of the General Le- gislature authorizing Grants of Land to the Indians beyond the Mis- sissippi — Debate between Mr. Forsyth and Mr. Sprague — Acts of the Legislature of Georgia and of the General Government reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States — State of the Choctaws, Chicasaws, and Creeks — Address from one of the Choctaws in the State of Mississippi, a Candidate for Congress — Hotel at Fort Mitchell, a very bad one — Conduct of Mr. Crowall to the Creeks — His Treatment of a Missionary— Details respecting Mr. Crowall's Traffic with the Indians — Colonel Colman, a South Carolinian, his Plantation in Florida— Favourable Account of Florida — Climate of Florida — Cul- ture of Sugar Cane — Journey through the Creek Country with Colo- nel Colman — Harris's Hotel — Fort Bainbridge — Intelligence of Tus- kina — Ten Persons at Supper — An Indian Passenger in the Mail- Stage — Manners of the Indians — Sexual Intercourse — Anecdote of Indian Chief at Mount Vernon — Anecdote related by Brackenbridge — Flint's Statements respecting the Indians. March, 1830. On the 6th of March I left Charleston in the steam- boat " John David Monguin," for Savannah and Au- gusta in Georgia, the distance to Augusta being above 400 miles, for which no less than fifteen dollars was the fare, the intercourse not being so great as to war- rant much competition. The voyage to Savannah may be said to be entirely inland, the course for a consider- able space passing through no less than sixteen rivers, some of them not much wider than the boat itself, and so shallow, that she was sometimes propelled by booms; and in other places, being at sea, behind no less than thirteen islands. Several of the cuts from river to river were made by the British during the revolution- VOYAGE TO SAVANNAH. 119 ary war, in order to facilitate the conveyance of mili- tary stores. It is not improbable that our great mili- tary canal in Canada, now in progress, may, at some future day, be in hke manner serviceable to the United States. On our voyage we passed two or three steam- boats loaded with cotton ; but we saw no other steam- boat for passengers. The passage was so intricate that we generally stopped for a few hours during the night. The steam-boat was about 180 tons burthen, of forty-two horse power, and had a high-pressure engine. No other boat having left Charleston for Savannah after the races, she was crowded with passen- gers, there being no less than fifty cabin passengers, among whom were several ladies. The Savannah party of the passengers, who were on their return, seemed a very happy set of people; some of them play- ing upon the guitar, and others singing all the way ; but the boat was not well managed, and I did not feel easy until I had finally left her. The management seemed to me to be carelessly attended to, and neither the captain, mate, nor steward, disposed to be obliging. It was difl[icult even to get a place for a bed on the floor, and it was almost with equal difficulty that enough of provisions could be had, except at that part of the table where Mr. Monguin, the proprietor of the boat, who was with us for a considerable part of the way, seated himself. Mr. Cooper, a well known veteran on the American boards, and I, were obliged to show some- what of a seditious spirit before we succeeded in en- forcing a more equal division of provisions. We had /' ' ^ 120'\ SAVANNAH. o go out of our way in order to land Mr. Monguin at his country seat. The ticket in the steam-boat included provisions, and oranges, as many as we liked to use, but it did not include liquor. There was card- playing on board, but not to any extent; but I observed brag-hands, on which there were twenty dollars. Almost all the people we saw at Beaufort, and on our route, were people of colour. The city of Savannah, in Georgia, is about seventeen miles from the mouth of the river of the same name. Vessels drawing fourteen feet water come up to the city. Its situation is upon a plateau of dry light land, forty or fifty feet above the river. The population between 7000 and 8000. The situation looks healthy, but alas ! there are extensive swamps on the opposite side of the river, which render it quite the reverse in the hot months. The town is regularly and handsomely laid out. The streets wide, and ornamented with the ' pride of India " tree, the leaves of which are now expanding themselves quickly. The hotels and boarding-houses here are good, — Mrs. Maxwell's boarding-house hand- some. The orange-trees many of them loaded with fruit ; turtle in great abundance, sold at six-pence per pound. One individual here gave me an account of the treat- ment of the slaves, very much resembling what I had witnessed at Charleston. I was prepared to expect this from observing, that the city council of Savannah had lately passed a law, imposing a tax of 100 dollars SAVANNAH. 121 on free persons of colour coming to that city. Can there be a more atrocious violation of the principles of liberty than is contained in such a regulation as this, which may render it impossible for a free man even to visit his father or mother at the point of death ? but this pro- hibition is positive in Louisiana and South Carolina, which no freed man of colour from another State dare, on any terms, enter. Savannah, when in the hands of the British during the revolutionary war in 1779, sustained a siege. Ge- neral Lincoln commanded the American army, and the Compte d'Estaign commanded the French. They made a gallant attack upon the batteries, but were so greatly galled by grape-shot and musketry when they reached the abatis, that they were forced to retreat with the loss of 1000 men, while the British suffered very little, — Closing not above fifty men. The assault was made by desire of the French commander, instead of proceed- ing regularly, as the American commander wished, by working in the trenches, and contin uing to push forward the sap. The event was very much the same as when the British attacked the Americans in the war of 1815, at New Orleans ; the losses of the British and of their enemy being nearly in the same proportion. Sir Edward Pakenham proceeded to the attack before his scaling- ladders were brought up, and before Colonel Thornton had got possession of the batteries which he had been ordered to capture, and which, when taken, would have contributed much to annoy the American line. From Savannah to Augusta, the strength of the VOL. II. G 122 AUGUSTA. current prevented the steam-boat from proceeding up the river at a quicker rate than about three miles and a-half an hour, and we had to stop several times to take in wood, generally for about an hour each time. On board the steam-boat, we had Major Spriggs, of the United States army, on his way to his Post in the north-western territory of the United States, which it requires twenty-four days' travelling from Savannah to reach. The tribe of Sioux Indians, consisting of about 40,000 persons, inhabit the country all round his post, and he has only about 150 men for the protection of 10,000 lead-miners belonging to the United States. The streets of Augusta are wide, and shaded with trees. It is a great place for the exportation of cotton, which is annually carried down the river for the Euro- pean and northern markets. Broad-street, where the greatest part of the produce is sold, is 180 feet wide, and two miles long, passing nearly through the centre of the town. The City-Hall is a handsome building, and at the top of the gate, on the exterior, " La Fayette" is in- scribed ; on the one side of the gate, " What are his titles?" On the other, "The great and good." "What are his services ?" " Behold your country." Dr. Ray, a respectable physician, who has been here twenty-seven years, represents this city as much more healthy than the other southern towns, owing to the absence of rice swamps in the neighbourhood. He has had a family here for twenty-five years past, during which he has been married. The members of his EXPENCE OF TRAVELLING. 123 family now amount to twenty-five, and there never has been a death in it. There was a great fire in this city in the month of April last. A very considerable part of it was destroyed, and many of the beautiful " pride of India" trees consumed. The fire was believed to be the w^ork of incendiaries among the people of colour. One slave, a female, was convicted, executed, dissected, and exposed, but she died denying the crime. Another, now with child, is sentenced to be executed in June, but she still denies her guilt. I fear these unhappy creatures are convicted on what we should consider very insuflicient evidence. The Globe Hotel at Augusta is a very comfortable house. In the evening of the 10th March, I paid ten dol- lars for my seat in the mail-stage, which was to set ofiT next morning at three o'clock for Milledgeville, ninety miles distant. The ordinary rate of travelling in the mail-stage, in the southern States, is about sixpence sterling per mile. Next morning, the driver refused to allow me to enter the stage, without paying two dollars for the car- riage of my portmanteau, which was merely of ordi- nary size, because it was not marked in the way-bill. I remonstrated, telling him, which was true, that ho one had ever asked a farthing for it from me in jour- neying the whole way from New York ; but my ex- postulation was of no avail ; he positively refused to admit me into the stage. The people in the house were all in bed, and I had no alternative but to compound g2 124 MILLEDGEVILLE. with him by giving him a dollar, which I have no doubt he put into his own pocket. We stopped to breakfast at Kirkpatrick's hotel, where, on a cold morning, we got a bad breakfast, after a twenty-two miles' ride. We dined at Warrenton. The charge was three quarters of a dollar for a bad dinner, and we got on to Sparta, about sixty-four miles from Augusta, in the evening. There is an excellent academy at Sparta. Next morning we breakfasted at Milledgeville, in a good hotel. Milledgeville now contains above 2000 people. It is regularly built. Three newspapers are published here. I called at one of the offices and ob- tained some newspapers, for which payment was de- clined. In the course of the drive from Milledgeville to Macon, a town founded in 1823, and now containing 3500 people, we passed through a considerable extent of fine cotton land and many good plantations, one, in particular, belonging, as we were told, to Mr. Gurhaise, where there were hedges of the Cherokee rose ; and another, to Colonel Mohom. The road was very bad for the last thirteen miles of the way to Macon ; but we had four beautiful horses in high condition, bays, and a driver whose name was Leggatt, so capital a whip, and at the same time so well educated and well informed, that he would have done honour to the Four- in-Hand Club of the metropolis of England. At Ma- con, the landlord, after promising me a single-bedded room, wished to send me to one of the general bed- rooms ; but a little smooth talking induced him to fulfil his original engagement. I have never hitherto had any CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PEOPLE. 125 difficulty in getting a single-bedded room for the night for my own occupation. I found here, in a Georgia newspaper, the following extract, from a Philadelphia paper, of a recent letter from the governor of Georgia to a friend of his at Philadelphia. Many governors of States in the United States, might, I presume, make similar communications ; but it is worth while to record the important fact mentioned in the letter, as it rests upon evidence so unquestionable: — " We have no such class as the poor. Our lands are so cheap, and the absolute necessaries of life so easily obtained, that the number of dependent poor are scarcely sufficient to give exercise to the virtue of charity in individuals. A beggar is almost as rare with us as a prince. Chil- dren, instead of being an incumbrance to the poor of our country, are their riches." The waggons, heavily loaded with bales of cotton, are very injurious to the roads of this country. From Macon we next morning went seventeen miles to breakfast, to Mr. Hick's hotel. One of his daughters presided at the breakfast-table, a fine, good-looking girl, who was quite as inquisitive as any New Englander I have seen, anxious beyond measure to get information respecting the manners of her English forefathers, and especially to see London. Since I left Augusta I have had few fellow-travellers, and have been frequently in the stage alone ; but there were two gentlemen, one a very young man, in the stage for the latter part of the journey yesterday. This young man accompanied me part of the way to-day, and told me that our fellow- g3 126 MACON GAMBLING. passenger had taken him yesterday evening, after his arrival at Macon, to a gambling-house, where, playing at Faro, he had lost twenty dollars, but had gained upon the whole ; — that he had found at the gambling-house that his fellow traveller was a sportsman, which means in the southern States, or rather, I believe, over the Union, not a fox-hunter, as in Britain, but a person who gives himself up to gambling as a profession. There is almost always gambling going on in the southern steam-boats, and some of this fraternity of sportsmen too frequently on board to entrap the unwary. Brag and vingt-un are the games generally played. The planters' houses in the southern States are very different in their mode of construction from those in the north. The common form of the planters' houses, and indeed of all houses that you meet with on the road- sides in this country, is two square pens, with an open space between them, connected by a roof above and a floor below, so as to form a parallelogram of nearly treble the length of its depth. In the open space the family take their meals during the fine weather. The kitchen and the places for slaves are all separate build- ings, as are the stable, cow-houses, &c. About ten buildings of this description make up the establishment of an ordinary planter, with half a dozen slaves. In the course of the day we passed through Knox- ville, quite a new village; and, a few miles after, crossed the Flint river, about four miles beyond which the stage stopped at a very comfortable looking plantation, where some passengers were to be taken up. A gen- KNOXVILLE. 127 tleman, whom we found to be Mr. Thomas Crowall, came out to the carriage, and insisted upon our going into the house to have some dinner, as he was not yet ready. Accordingly, with the view to save time, we had our dinner without having any thing to pay ; and afterwards proceeded to Rogers' plantation, about twenty miles to the eastward of Columbus, on the Chattahoochee river, the boundary between Georgia and Alabama. In the evening it became wet and cold. The houses which Mr. Rogers had recently erected are altogether insufficient for a hotel-keeper. We, a party consisting of six, were, first of all, shown into a separate building of one apartment, in which there was a large bed, and a blazing fire of wood, standing with their backs to which were the landlord, and a traveller who had previously arrived. These persons continued in their several positions, notwithstanding the various hints that we gave them as to the propriety of opening the circle round the fire to the stage-passengers on so cold an evening. At last I took the liberty of asking the stranger what was the custom in this part of the country, whether the hotel- keeper appointed any person to attend to his guests, since it was obvious that he paid no attention to them himself. We were both cold and hungry, but could neither procure food nor get to a fire. Mr. Rogers made no reply, but walked ofi", and we afterwards found that he was one of those persons who do nothing without being very plainly spoken to. . Some time elapsed, but no supper appeared ; our host G 4 128 UNCOMFORTABLE LODGINGS. was waiting for the passengers expected by the stage from Colombus, which meets the other stage here. There was, however, no trifling with our appetite ; so that we forced our host to place his miserable meal upon the table before the other stage arrived. His accommoda- tion for strangers consisted of the eating-room, and a general bed-room adjoining, and a separate bed-room, into which we had been first of all shown. It was, there- fore, in vain to apply for a separate room. Nothing more could be done than to secure a separate bed in the general sleeping-room,which I accordingly did, though not with- out entreaty; but it was with great difliculty that I could get a couple of chairs on which to place my clothes ; — a wooden bicker full of water instead of a basin ; and a pillow not much larger than the pin-cushion that in former days ornamented a British lady's toilet table. The bed itself was as wretched as possible ; but, cover- ing the bed-clothes with a great coat and sleeping in a night gown, I contrived to get as much repose as usual. There was no bolt nor lock on the door, and the boards were open to the blast. We found that General Van Rensellaer, the Patroon of Albany, with other passengers, had arrived by the stage from the south soon after our supper was over. How they were accommodated I cannot conceive. Next morning we quitted this uncomfortable place, and proceeded at an early hour to Columbus, where we got a good break- fast in a comfortable hotel. A great part of the road for some days past has been a mere track in the forest, in which many of the stumps of the trees still GEORGIA — SLAVE LAWS. 129 remain. The distance from Augusta to Columbus is 247 miles ; and we were in the mail-stage three days and part of the fourth. Marks are seen everywhere of the improvement of the country being quite in an in- cipient state. Much of the soil is good and productive ; but there is also a considerable quantity of sandy gra- velly land. Cotton is the great staple of the country. The sugar-cane has only hitherto been cultivated for home consumption. Very little rice is grown in the State of Georgia. The laws on the subject of slavery in the State of Georgia are as tyrannical as in any of the States. In case any slave, or free person of colour, teach any other slave, or free person of colour, to read or to write either written or printed characters, the free per- son of colour, or slave, is punished by fine and whip- ping ; and a white person so offending is punished with a fine, not exceeding 500 dollars, and imprisonment in the common gaol. Any slave, or free person of colour, or any othei person, circulating papers, or bringing into this State, or aiding in any manner in bringing into the State, papers for the purposes of exciting to insurrection, conspiracy, or resistance among the slaves, or free per- sons of colour, against their owners, or the citizens, is to be punished with death. All ships coming into any port of this State, having on board any free negroes, or free persons of colour, whether passengers, or in any other capacity, are sub- g5 130 VILLAGE OF COLUMBUS. ject to quarantine for forty days. This regulation is obviously intended as a prohibition of free persons of colour from entering the State by sea. Cutting off the ears and the pillory are punishments for slaves sanctioned by the legislature of Georgia ; but the universal punishment is whipping. Its inflic- tion, to the extent of twenty lashes, on the bare back, is deemed in a great variety of cases of insufficient moment to claim the intervention even of a single magistrate. Any white person, a drunken patrole, an absconding felon, or a vagabond mendicant, are sup- posed to possess discretion enough to interpret the laws, and to wield the cow-skin or cart-whip for their infraction ; and should death ensue by accident, while the slave is thus receiving moderate correction, the constitution of Georgia kindly denominates the offence justifiable homicide. The village of Columbus is situated on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River, immediately below the falls, which stop farther navigation. But the steam- boats ply to Columbus, although 430 miles from Ap- palachicola Bay, in the Gulf of Mexico. Columbus is an extraordinary instance of the surprising celerity with which a town, in a favourable situation, becomes a considerable place in this country. It was only laid off by commissioners appointed for that purpose in the month of July 1828; and now, in March, 1830, there is a population of 1500 people, three churches, a post- office, several brick buildings, and above 130 frame 2 ENVIRONS RIVER. 131 buildings of wood, most of them painted without, and the whole erected on a regular plan. No inland town of the south has increased with more rapidity than Columbus in substantial improvements ; and none has, as I am told, a better prospect of attaining commercial importance. The Steubenville was the first steam-boat that ascended the Chattahoochee as far as Columbus, in February 1828; but that vessel and three others have since been regularly plying. We arrived at Co- lumbus on a Sunday morning ; and I learned from the driver, that the mail-stage generally remained here all Sunday ; but Mr. Crowall, who, I found was, as well as his brother, agent for the United States government at Fort Mitchell, in the territory of the Creek Indians, eleven miles from Columbus, was so very anxious to get home immediately, that I yielded to his entreaty, and agreed, after taking a walk to see the environs of Columbus and the river, to proceed to Fort Mitchell. Our progress was not, however, to be forwarded by this movement, as the mail-stage is not allowed to carry on the mail from Fort Mitchell until the Monday. Co- lumbus is situated on a level piece of ground, about sixty feet above the river, which is about 250 yards wide, and the banks of which, close to the town, are ex- tremely beautiful. The morning was clear and bright when we were there ; and it seemed as if the whole population of the place were on the banks of the river, which were crowded with people, many of them fishing on the river edge, and others in boats on the stream. We crossed the river on a float ; and on landing on g6 132 CREEK INDIANS. the west side found ourselves in the territory of the Creek Indians, in the State of Alabama. The Creeks are numerous, consisting of about 20,000 persons. Their lands are about 100 miles long, by sixty in breadth. A considerable part is of very fine quality, lying along the noble river Chattahoochee. The soil of that part of this district which we first saw is good ; and the appearance of the country, and altogether of the houses, fences, and roads, very pleas- ing, — many charming groves of magnolia, holly, rho- dodendron, &c. Most of the people we saw were in their holiday dresses of gaudy colours. Some of the young men were rather scantily dressed. But Euro- peans will be surprised to hear that many of these people have large property in slaves and cattle ; some of them to the extent of thirty slaves, and great herds of cattle. Still, however, most of the Creeks are fonder of hunting, and amusements of that kind, than of a civilized life. Mr. Crowall said, that he had been engaged in large commercial transactions with the Creeks for many years, and been much with them ; and that he could put as much confidence in them, in all respects, as he would do in his white countrymen. Mr. Crowall having been expected home to-day, a con- siderable number of the chiefs had assembled at the hotel, that they might have a talk with him respecting a recent occurrence of an unpleasant kind, in which one of the chiefs, Tuskina, had involved himself, and which rendered it not so agreeable as usual to travel for three days, as we were about to do in this terri- CREEK CHIEF. 133 tory. Tuskina had, at the desire of the contractors for the mail-stage, rendered passable a communication of some length for the stage, on the verbal promise of the contractors for the repayment of the money. He had often applied for payment, but the contractors, instead of attending to his application, treated him with derision. This exasperated liim, and having met the stage on the 1st February, after he had been taking liquor, he hailed the driver in broken English, requiring him to stop, and to convey a message to the contractors respecting the money due to him. The driver seemed to pay no attention to his wish ; and the passengers, Messrs. Cline, the famous German rope-dancers, spoke roughly to him. This conduct excited Tuskina still more. He, therefore, taking advantage of a turn in the road, crossed over, so as to place himself before the stage. He attempted to take hold of the reins ; and made a demonstration as if he was about to attack the driver with a common jack- knife. The passengers and the driver then became alarmed, and stopped the stage, but after a detention of about an hour and a-half, it was allowed to proceed without further molestation. This rencontre happened at an unlucky moment, when the Cherokee Indians in the neighbouring State of Georgia, and the State Legislature did not under- stand each other well, and when the general govern- ment had certainly shown a very unfair disposition to annoy the Indians. This incident was therefore laid hold of as a pretext to produce impressions unfavour- able to these unfortunate people. Two troops of cavalry. 134 CREEK INDIANS. under the command of Captain Abercrombie and Cap- tain Henry, and a troop of volunteers, under Colonel Freeman, were dispatched in aid of the sheriff to arrest this Indian chief. Tuskina, however, who knew every foot of the morasses, and who was assisted by, and got timely intelligence from, every Indian in the district, was nowhere to be found ; and the armed force had left the Creek territory without accomplishing their object, before we arrived at Fort Mitchell. The government had resorted to very severe mea- sures against the Creeks, on account of the delin- quency of one individual ; and only four days before our arrival, had insulated them from the whites, by a proclamation dated the 10th March, issued by the Major of the United States army, commanding at Fort Mitchell, giving notice, that he had received instruc- tions from the department of war, that all white men not married to Indian women must leave the Indian country within fifteen days. This tolerably despotic measure had given offence to the Creeks, and it was in this state of matters that we met a considerable number of them here, well mounted, and very handsomely dressed in their own fashion. Their scarlet turbans, their blue dress co- vered with beads, and their long spurs, gave them an imposing appearance, when their accoutrements were not too nearly inspected. All parties dined at Mr. Johnson's hotel, which is close to Fort Mitchell. The officers at the fort always mess there, and they included Majpr Wager, who had issued the proclamation. Mr. Crowall, and the passen- CREEK INDIANS. 135 gers in the stage, dined with them, and the Creek In- dians afterwards. What passed between Mr. Crowall and them I do not know, but after their conversation they seemed in good humour ; and such of them as could speak English became very familiar with us. They attached themselves to me as a Scotchman, for one of their number, Robert Grierson, a fine jolly-looking feEow, not unlike a Leadenhall-street butcher, is the son of a Scotchman of the same name, by a Creek woman. In fact, however, the British are far more popular with the Indians than the Americans. The In- dians have been taught by their forefathers to believe, that the British were scrupulous in observing their treaties with them in their spirit, as well as in the letter. The Americans have hitherto adhered to the letter of their treaties with them, but have on many occasions taken unfair means to deprive them of by far the greatest part of the territories which remained to them. Of late, they conceive that the State of Georgia, as well as the general government, are endeavouring most unjustifiably to wrest from them what remains of the land guaranteed to them by treaties. The Indians now remaining within the territory of the United States consist of at least 400,000 persons. There does not seem to be any accurate census of the number, but I have not seen them anywhere rated at a number exceeding 600,000, or under 400,000. Of this number, about 75,000, consisting of tribes called Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, and Choctaws, are 136 CHEROKEE INDIANS. in possession of separate territories in Georgia, Ala- bama, and Tennessee, &c. The Cherokees are the most civilized of those tribes ; their population consists of about 15,000 persons, in- habiting a very fine country, of about five millions of acres, in which there are extensive and fertile plains, well watered, in a healthy climate, and a lofty range of hills stretching across the country. The title of the Indians to the territories occupied by them in the United States is clearly established by treaties entered into between the general government and them subsequently to the revolution, — for it is to be always kept in view, that, by the constitution of the United States, Congress alone has power to transact with the Indian tribes. The Indian tribes were always addressed as independent sovereignties. Their terri- torial rights were guaranteed to them, and they were dealt with by the American government in all respects as capable of making treaties, and of retaining for ever their original rights of territory and government. In this manner boundaries were fixed, and an implicit guarantee of territory was given to the Cherokees. General Washington applied directly to the senate to give a solemn guarantee to the Cherokees of the land not ceded, and the senate, in the year 1789, unanimously acceded to the application. In 1790, General Washington delivered a speech to one of the tribes of Indians, from which what follow are extracts : — " The general government only has the power to GENERAL WASHINGTON'S ADDRESS. 137 treat with the Indian nations, and any treaty formed, and held without its authority, will not be binding. " Here then is the security for the remainder of your lands. No State nor person can purchase your lands, unless by some public treaty held under the au- thority of the United States. The general government will never consent to your being defrauded, but it will protect you in all your just rights. " But your great object seems to be the security of your remaining lands, and I have, therefore, upon this point, meant to be sufficiently strong and clear. " That in future you cannot be defrauded of your lands. That you possess the right to sell, and the right of refusing to sell your lands. " That, therefore, the sale of your lands in future wiU depend entirely upon yourselves. " But that, when you may find it for your interest to sell any parts of your lands, the United States must be present by their agent, and will be your security that you may not be defrauded in the bargain you make. " The United States will be true and faithful to their engagements." More particularly, as to the territory of the Chero- kees, a solemn treaty was entered into between the general government and them on the 2d July 1791, the seventh article of which declares, that " The United States solemnly guarantee to the Che- rokee nation all their lands not hereby ceded." The State of Georgia expressly recognised the esta- 138 INDIAN TERRITORY. blished rights of the Indians by a law passed in 1796, in which their territory is described as " subject only to the right of treaty of the United States, to enable the State to purchase under its pre-emption right the Indian title of the same." Here the Indian title is ex- pressly admitted, and the claim of the State of Georgia restricted to the right to purchase the pre-emption right. Since the period of the revolution, various treaties have been entered into between the United States and the Cherokee nation, never between separate States, by which above two hundred millions of acres have been ceded to the United States. The Indians have ceded great portions of their territory ; but since the year 1819, they have peremptorily and constantly refused to sell another foot of land. To every application they have replied, " We are not disposed to sell any more. We have betaken ourselves to an agricultural life. We are making progress in civilization. We have not too much land for our own comfort." No right, there- fore, can be more clearly established than that of the Cherokee nation to their territory in the State of Georgia. But the claim which the State of Georgia is now making, with a view to expel the Cherokees from their territory, rests on a treaty, to which the Che^ rokee nation were no parties, entered into in the year 1802, between the United States and the State of Georgia, by which long disputed claims between the parties were settled, by Georgia ceding to the United States a great extent of land, of which the States of Alabama and part of Mississippi are now composed ; INDIAN TERRITORY. 139 and the United States paying to Georgia above twelve hundred thousand dollars. By one article of this treaty, the United States agreed to " extinguish, for the use of Georgia, as early as it may be peaceably obtained on reasonable terms, the Indian title to all the lands within the State of Georgia." The United States accordingly have, at various times, subsequently been able to ex- tinguish the Indian title to three quarters of the land belonging to the Indians in the State of Georgia, of which that State is now in possession ; and it is not pretended, that if the United States had been able to obtain, peaceably and on reasonable terms, the rest of the territory of the Cherokees, it would not have been delivered over to Georgia ; but the State of Georgia being disappointed in not having the Indian title of the whole territory of the Cherokees extinguished, seems, in the year 1827, to have resolved by force to effect its object. This subject was, in 1827, submitted by the legisla- ture of Georgia to a joint committee of their House of Representatives and Senate, whose report, afterwards approved by the legislature, bears, that, as the Euro- pean nations established their supreme command over such parts of America as each discovered, and success- fully asserted their right of occupying them, every foot of land in the United States is held by the same title of discovery ; that the right of soil and sovereignty was therefore perfect in Great Britain ; that the title of the Indians was temporary ; that they were mere tenants at will, removeable at any moment, either by 140 CLAIMS OF GEORGIA negociation or force. " It may be contended, with much plausibihty, (the report bears) that there is in these claims more of force than of justice ; but they are claims which have been recognised and admitted by the whole civilized world; and it is unquestionably true that, under such circumstances, force becomes right'' The State of Georgia would, I apprehend, have acted far more wisely, and not more unjustifiably, by calling out their militia, and de piano expelling this un- fortunate and inoffensive people, than by promulgating to the world this most flagitious state paper, which is directly in the face of the general guarantee of the Indian title, in contravention of the treaties entered into between the United States and the Cherokees, recognised by the State of Georgia, and of the treaty entered into between the United States and the State of Georgia in 1802, and which, therefore, admits of no palliation whatever. Following up this report, the State of Georgia, in the next year, 1828, passed a law, dividing the Cherokee country into five portions, attaching to each county of Georgia one of these portions (to be afterwards given by lot to the white inhabitants,) declaring all the Che- rokees residing in their territory, after June the 1st, 1830, to be subject to the laws of the State of Georgia, — declaring all Jaws and customs of the Cherokees to be, after the 1st June 1830, null and void; and, proh pudor / enacting, " That no Indian, or descendant of an Indian, residing within the Cherokee nation, shall be deemed a competent witness, or a party to any suit, in any TO INDIAN TERRITORY. 141 court created by the constitution or laws of this State, to which a white man may be a party." But provi- sions, even more despotic and tyrannical, were intro- duced by this law. It declares, that it shall not be lawful for any person to prevent, or to endeavour to prevent, any Indian of the Cherokee nation from re- moving from the nation ; or to prevent, or offer to pre- vent or deter, any Indian from selling or ceding to the United States, for the use of Georgia, the whole, or any part, of their territory ; or to prevent, or offer to prevent, any Indian from meeting in council, or treaty, any commissioner, or commissioners, on the part of the United States. The punishment for contravention of these regulations is declared to be hard labour in the penitentiary for not less than four, nor longer than six, years. Under the administration of this law, a white man, it is clear, may rob or murder a Cherokee in the presence of many Indians, and descendants of Indians, and yet the offence could not be proved. The effect of the last regulation is such, as to put an entire stop to any consultation between two or more Indians respecting their most important concerns. In short, the sole object of the law was to render the servitude and situation of the Cherokees so intolerable, that they could no longer remain in the land of their native forests, — in the land of their birth. Such a law would, upon every principle of justice, have been condemned as being in the face of positive guarantees and treaties, if it had affected only a tribe of the merest savages, even although it had proceeded 14^ STATE OF THE CHEROKEES. from a most despotic gevernment, regardless of all laws of morality and religion; but in the United States this most flagrant wrong has been perpetrated by the govern- ment of a free republic, which sprang into existence with the declaration, " That all men are created equal, — that all are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, — among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The nation or people against whom this flagrant violation of right and of natural feeling is to be enforced, are peaceful agriculturists, better clothed, fed, and lodged, than many of the peasantry in the most civilized countries, have sus- tained diplomatic relations with the whites from the first settlement of the country by Europeans, and have for forty years maintained with the United States a peace unbroken by a single act of hostility. The Cherokees are essentially a civilized people. Each family has its little farm, and derives at least a part of its support from agriculture, or some other branch of civilized industry. They are planters and farmers, trades-people and mechanics. They have corn-fields and orchards, looms and work-shops, schools and churches, and orderly institutions. In 1824, when the population of the Cherokees was 15,560 persons, it included 1277 negroes; they had eighteen schools, thirty-six grist-mills, thirteen saw-mills, 762 looms, 2486 spinning-wheels, 172 waggons, 2923 ploughs, 7683 horses, 22,531 black cattle, 46,732 swine, 2546 sheep, 430 goats, 62 blacksmiths' shops, &c. ; with several public roads, and ferries, and turn- MANUFACTURES NEWSPAPER. 143 pikes. Their climate is healthy, and' their winters mild. The soil produces maize, cotton, tobacco, wheat, oats, indigo, sweet and Irish potatoes. The natives carry on a considerable trade with the adjoining States, and some of them export cotton to New Orleans. Apple and peach orchards are common, and gardens well cultivated. Butter and cheese are the produce of their dairies. There are many houses of public enter- tainment kept by the natives. Numerous and flourish- ing villages are seen in every section of the country. Cotton and woollen cloths and blankets are every- where met with. Almost every family in the nation produces cotton for its own consumption. Nearly all the nation are native Cherokees. A printing-press has been established for several years ; and a newspaper, written partly in the English, and partly in the Cherokee language, has been suc- cessfully carried on. This paper, called the Cherokee Phoenix, is written entirely by a Cherokee, a young man, under thirty. It had been surmised that he was assisted by a white man, on which he put the following notice in the paper : — " No white has any thing to do with the management of our paper. No other person, whether white or red, besides the ostensible editor, has written, from the commencement of the Phoenix, half a column of matter which has appeared under the edi- torial head." The missionaries among them declare, that the members of the Cherokees generally are very attentive to preaching, and exemplary in their conduct. Public worship, conducted by native members of the 144 CHEROKEE NATION. church, is held in three or four places remote from the stations. The pupils are making great progress at the schools. Many of the pupils are leaving the schools with an education sufficient for life. The Gospel of Saint Matthew, and a collection of Hymns translated into the Cherokee language, have been printed at the Cherokee press. Temperance societies are formed. New Echota is the seat of government of the Chero- kees. The provisions of the constitution are placed under six heads, subdivided into sections. The trial by jury is in full operation. The right of suffrage is universal. All free male citizens who have attained the age of eighteen years, are entitled to vote at public elections. The Cherokee nation made the most affecting re- monstrances to the general government against the contemplated proceedings on the part of the State of Georgia, but to no purpose. They are told by the president, that the general government can only main- tain them in the possession of the mere soil ; — that, although they have uninterruptedly possessed the sove- reignty, that is, the right of establishing their own se- parate government, and enforcing their own laws, ever since their discovery by the Europeans, that sovereignty belongs to those States within whose limits the Indians are situated ; — and that, therefore, they can only be as- sured of protection and peace by a removal beyond the Mississippi, where the United States' power and sove- reignty would be able to say to them, " The soil shall be yours while trees grow or the streams run." RIGHTS OF INDIANS. 145 There is an abundance of authorities in opposition to the pretext, that the Indians are not now entitled to live under their own laws and constitutions ; but it would be sufficient to refer to the treaties entered into, year after year, between the United states and them, as se- parate nations. There are two or three authorities, independently of state papers, which most unambigu- ously prove, that it was never supposed that the State governments should have a right to impose their con- stitution or code of laws upon any of the Indian nations. Thus Mr. Jefferson, in an address to the Cherokees, says, " I sincerely wish you may succeed in your laudable endeavours to save the remnant of your nation, by adopting industrious occupations. In this you may always rely on the counsel and assistance of the United States." In the same way the American ne- gociators at Ghent, among whom were the most emi- nent American statesmen, Mr. John Quincey Adams, and Mr. Henry Clay, in their note addressed to the British commissioners, dated September 9, 1814, use the following language : " The Indians residing within the United States are so far independent, that they live under their own customs, and not under the laws of the United States." Chancellor Kent, of New York State, (the Lord Coke or Lord Stair of the United States), has expressly laid it dovm, that " it would seem idle to contend, that the Indians were citizens or sub- jects of the United States, and not alien and sovereign tribes ;" and the supreme court of the United States have expressly declared, that " the person who pur- VOL. II. H 146 CHEROKEE TERRITORY. chases land from tlie Indians within their territory, in- corporates himself with them ; and so far as respects the property purchased, holds his title under their protec- tion, subject to their laws. If they annul the grant, we know of no tribunal which can revise and set aside the proceeding." Mr. Clay's language is quite decided : — " The Indians residing within the United States are so far independent, that they live under their own cus- toms, and not under the laws of the United States. That their rights, where they inhabit or hunt, are secured to them by boundaries defined in amicable treaties be- tween the United States and themselves." Mr. Wirt, the late attorney general of the United States, a man of great legal authority, has stated it to be his opinion, " that the territory of the Cherokees is not within the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia, but within the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the Cherokee nation ; and that, consequently, the State of Georgia has no right to extend her laws over that territory." I learned some time after my retiu-n from this journey to Nev/ York, but before my return to Great Britain, that the State of Georgia had passed other most objec- tionable laws against the Indians, and had adopted measures even more unwarrantable, with a view to the expulsion of the Cherokees from their territory. A law having been enacted, making it a high misdemean- our for a white man to reside in the Cherokee nation without obtaining a permit from the governor, the Georgian government sent a party of the Georgian guard into the Cherokee territory, and upon a Sunday, ARBITRARY CONDUCT. 147 apprehended the Cherokee missionaries, and marched them off*. Such of the printers of the Cherokee Phoenix as were white men were obliged to leave the Cherokee territory; but Mr. Boudinot, the editor, was not to be intimidated, as had been expected. The next number of his newspaper presented only half a sheet ; but he gave notice, that he should do the best he could. " We have (he writes) intelligent youths in the nation, and we hope, before long, to make up our loss," All the Cherokees who had been engaged at their gold mines within their territories, were removed in consequence of another Georgian act, authorizing the governor to take possession of the gold mines belonging to the Cherokees. A Cherokee was arrested in the Cherokee nation by an officer of the State of Georgia, for mur- der committed upon the body of another Cherokee, was tried under Georgian laws, found guilty, and executed, notwithstanding an appeal to the supreme court of the United States had been entered. Again, the Cherokee nation sent delegates to Wash- ington to represent the grievous hardship of their situation-, but all in vain. There is great eloquence in the last part of their representation, which is in these terms ; — " To convince the United States of our friendship and devotedness to treaty obligations, we have endured much, though with bleeding hearts, but in peace. And we hope enough has been done to con- vince even the most sceptical, that a treaty on ' reason- able terms' can never be obtained for our nation, and that it is time to close this scene of operations, never h2 148 APPEAL OF CHEROKEES contemplated by the compact between the State of Georgia and the United States. How far we have contributed to keep bright the chain of friendship which binds us to these United States, is within the reach of your knowledge. It is ours to maintain it, until, per- haps, the plaintive voice of an Indian from the south shall no more be heard within your halls of legislation. Our nation and our people may cease to exist before another revolving year reassembles this august assem- bly of great men. We implore that our people may not be denounced as savages, unfit for the good neigh- bourhood guaranteed to them by treaty. "We cannot better express the rights of our nation, than they are developed on the face of the document we herewith submit ; and the desires of our nation, than to pray a faithful fulfilment of the promises made by its illustrious author, through his secretary. Between the compul- sive measures of Georgia and our destruction, we ask the interposition of your authority, and a remembrance of the bond of perpetual peace pledged for our safety, — the safety of the last fragments of some mighty na- tions, that have gazed for a while upon your civiliza- tion and prosperity, but which now tottering on the brink of angry billows, whose waters have covered in oblivion other nations that were once happy, but are now no more. " The schools where our children learn to read the Word of God, the churches where our people now sing to his praises, and where they are taught, ' that of one blood He created all the nations of the earth ;' the TO AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. 149 fields they have cleared, and the orchards they have planted ; the houses they built are all dear to the Che- rokees ; and there they expect to live and to die, on the lands inherited from their fathers, as the firm friends( of all the people of these United States." In order to enable lands to be provided beyond the Mississippi, for such of the Cherokees, or other In- dians, as were wilHng to emigrate, the government at Washington were obliged to apply to Congress for the necessary authority ; but they were only able to ob- tain a recognition of the proceedings against the In- dians by a very narrow majority, and after the keenest discussions that have ever taken place in the Senate of the United States. Mr. Forsyth, the late governor of Georgia, having, as he thought, made good the claim of Georgia on the Indian territory, and on the treaty of 1802, triumphantly exclaimed, " I will have my bond : I will have my pound of flesh." To which Mr. Sprague, of the State of Maine, replied, " Geor- gia shall have her bond fulfilled ; but she must take care that no blood he drawn. The cession is only to be made when it can be procured peaceably, and upon reasonable terms. Let the compact be fulfilled to the division of a hair ; but let the Indians have their gua- ranteed rights maintained with equal scrupulousness." I have learned since my return to Britain, that the supreme court of the United States, which is specially empowered finally to decide in all cases of treaties made under the authority of the United States, in all controversies to which the United States shall be a h3 150 INDIi\N CIVILIZATION. party, and in controversies between two or more States, have on an appeal by the Cherokees to that court, annulled the before-mentioned laws of the State of Georgia, and of the United States, and left the Che- rokees in jDossession of their territory and of its so- vereignty. This information is, I trust, true in its fullest ex- tent. It is what was to be expected, from the known justice and impartiality of this distinguished court, at the head of which still is Chief Justice Marshall ; but it is mortifying to be obliged to confess, that, upon such a question as this, the principles of the President of the United States, and of the American government, as well as the government of the State of Georgia, have been proved to be as overbearing and as arbi- trary, as those of the European governments towards the unfortunate Poles, and the unoffending inhabitants of Hindostan. The Cherokees are certainly the most civilized of the tribes of Indians ; but all the southern tribes, Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks, are betaking themselves to an agricultural life, and be- coming industrious, and to some extent or other adopting the manners of civilized life. There are both churches and schools among the Choctaws. A few books have been published in the Choctaw language. In one part of their territory, wdiere the population amounted to 5627 persons, there were above 11,000 cattle, about 4000 horses, 22fi00 hogs, 530 spinning-wheels, 360 ploughs, &c. &c. One CHOCTAWS — CHICK ASAWS. 151 of the missionaries writes of them in August 1829, that probably there are not 20,000 white men to be found residing together in any part of the United States who have not used twice the quantity of ardent spirits which the Choctaws have used during the past year. According to the laws of the State of Mississippi, the Indians residing within the limits of that State are en- titled to the full rights of citizenship. Mushulatubba, a Choctaw chief, has now offered himself a candidate for Congress, and has circulated a very sensible address to the voters. " While in a state of nature, (he writes) my ambition was alone in the shade, my hopes to be interred in the mounds of my ancestors, but you have awakened new hopes. Your laws have, for me, bright- ened my prospects. According to your laws I think that I am qualified to a seat in the councils of a mighty republic, of which the State of Mississippi is a compo- nent part, and I could yield to no citizen in point of devotion to the laws and constitution of the same. If, fellow citizens, after examining my pretensions, and impartially comparing them vrith others who will be my opponents, if you vote for me, I will serve you. I have no animosity against any of my white brethren who enter the lists against me, but with Indian sin- cerity I wish you would elect me a member to the next Congress of the United States." The Chickasaws are particularly sober. Whiskey is banished from the country. They have reclaimed great tracts of the forest, planted orchards, and erected houses, and have schools and churches. They export H 4 ^ 152 CREEK TERRITORY. cotton, beef, and pork. In 1829 they exported 1000 bales of cotton. The men, with few exceptions, cul- tivate the earth themselves ; while the female part of the family is engaged in their household affairs. Re- ligious worship is performed both in the English ancj Chickasaw language. The Creeks are less civilized than any of the other tribes in the south-western States. From all that I have mentioned it will be suffi- ciently apparent, that, at the time when I arrived in the Creek territory, there could be no good understand- ing between the Indians and the whites. I did not therefore feel entirely at ease when, on surveying my bed chamber at Fort Mitchell, in a separate building, in the course of the afternoon, I found there was no bolt to the door, nor to the wooden board to shut up the window opening, for there was no glazed window. Still though the Indians were loitering about the place during the evening, they seemed so very good humoured, that I was persuaded I had no reason to be alarmed. Mr. Johnson's hotel, which Mr. Crowall had in the morning recommended as a good one, when he was anxious for the stage proceeding without delay to Fort Mitchell, turned out to be of a very inferior description. Even the bread, and the accommodation in all respects, were indifferent ; but Mr. Crowall's civility lasted no longer than until the period of his arrival at Fort Mitchell, I saw no more of him after he returned to his comfort- able house, 300 or 400 yards from the hotel. He had MR. crowall's conduct. 153 gained his object in getting home by the stage a day ear- lier than he could have done without my concurrence. But although it was quite in his power, had he been so inclined, to have prevented me from suffering (owing to my confidence in his representation that Johnson's hotel was a good one,) any inconvenience by the offer of a bed in his house, he left me to my fate in one of the worst sleeping places I have seen in this country. This, however, is a matter of little importance, com- pared with the duties, with which he is entrusted on behalf of the Indians. I learned from several of the Indians, and their information was afterwards confirmed in a way that left me no reason to doubt the fact, that Mr. Crowall had been lately instrumental in depriving the Indians of a most useful missionary, Mr. Rhodes, stationed at Fort Mitchell. The Indians were very fond of him, and he took great pains to instruct them and their children. But Mr. Crowall, who has a great storehouse at Fort Mitchell, and large transactions of a most lucrative nature with the Indians, became jea- lous of the missionary, who was aware of the enormous profits he was drawing from the Indians. He and Mr. Johnson found out the missionary's weak side, — that he was a nervous man ; and they worked upon this failing by the constant use of fire-arms about his house at night, till at last he and his family took fright ; — they left their house and resorted to the Fort, and to Major Wager for protection. But the major was a party in the plot, and barbarously refused to open either the gates of the Fort, or his own door to them. The con- H 5 154 FORT MITCHELL. sequence of tins treatment was, that the missionary left the station, and his place has not yet been filled. The agent himself is not authorized to have a store, or to transact with the Indians, but he is entitled to grant licences to trade ; and the only licence which he has given is to his own brother, with whom he is un- derstood to be in partnership. At Fort Mitchell the buildings are detached from each other. The colours were flying, and drums beat- ing, but both officers and soldiers were lounging about in what would be considered in England a very unmilitary-looking way. At the hotel here, I met Colonel Colman, a South Carolinian, but who has lately commenced a consider- able sugar plantation in Florida, at Fort Mitchell. He had come up the Appalachicola and Chattahooche rivers, and was now on his way to New Orleans to buy pork and provisions for his slaves ; which are procured there at a cheap rate and in any quantity that maybe required. Colonel Colman gives a very favourable account of parts of Florida, where the soil is good, on the river side. He himself has purchased 900 acres on the banks of the Appalachicola, all of excellent land, for which he paid 9000 dollars. He has only yet forty slaves upon this property ; but he tells me that twenty slaves are necessary for every 100 acres of sugar-cane land. The grant by Congress to La Fayette was supposed at the time to comprehend a large tract of sugar-land, but this has turned out not to be the case. The great difficulty in settling in Florida consists in the judicious selection SUGAR CANE. 155 of the land, in point of soil and local situation. Steam- boats pass Colonel Colman's door. Sugar cane is propagated by laying cuttings or slips of the cane horizontally in furrows in the end of Fe- bruary. The shoots start from eyes at the joint of the slip. When grown it resembles the maize. When it is cut for the mill, or to express the saccharine sap, about a foot from the top is lopped off for slips for planting. The rows in the rich land are planted six feet apart. It requires the richest soil, at least a foot deep. There are three or four varieties, — the African, the Otaheite, the West Indian, and the Ribband cane. The Otaheite grows luxuriantly, and ripens earlier than the West Indian, but does not contain so much saccharine matter as the other kinds. The Ribband cane is a new species. It abounds in saccharine juice, and does not require so long a season for ripening as the other kinds. It can be raised two degrees further north than any other kind. Sugar cane is a very hardy plant, and is cultivated much in the same way with maize. The abundance of the crop depends upon the number of joints that ripen before the frost, so as to save the crop of saccharine juice to granulate to sugar. A slight frost favours the fermentation, which is necessary to the formation of sugar from the sap ; but a severe frost destroys the vegetation of the cane. The cane lies a short time after it is cut to favour the fermentation. It is then passed between two iron cylinders, by which the cane is crushed, and the sap forced out. It flows into boilers ; and the H 6 156 FLORIDA. process is simply that of evaporation by boiling. The crop, while growing, has a beautiful appearance. The sap is so rich in the stalk of the cane as to have almost the consistence of syrup ; and sugar exists there as nearly in a complete state as it can be in solution. An acre, properly managed, will yield a hogshead of 1200 pounds. The work is admitted to be severe for the labourers ; requiring, after it has commenced, to be pushed night and day. A sugar establishment is necessarily expen- sive, on account of the houses and expense of the mills, where the plantation is large. It has, however, been found of late years that sugar can be made profitably on a small scale, and without any very great capital. Colonel Colman represents the climate of Florida as extremely healthy, and so mild in winter, that it is unnecessary at any time either to put horses or cattle into the house. The cattle feed in the winter very much upon cane, of which a great part of the under- wood in southern countries consists. The botanical names of the cane are the Arundo gigantea and Arundo aquatica ; and the fresh shoots are very fattening. Cane brakes are very useful near a plantation. Veni- son is much fatter in Florida than in other parts of the United States ; and there was fat beef from the cane brakes when the Colonel left home in the begin- ning of March. A good Florida cow and calf are sold for seven dollars. A planter near Colonel Col- man's property has 1000 cows. Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, only contains 1200 8 TALLAHASSEE. 157 or 1500 people, but it increases rapidly, a great emi- gration from the United States to the sugar country having lately taken plaee. The trees in this region are noble. The shrubs the finest in the world. The cli- mate, though hot, is always elastic and pure. The coun- try near Tallahassee is the most valuable district of Florida; it is about 150 miles long, and 30 miles broad. Colonel Colman was the only passenger in the stage when we set off on Monday morning, the 15th March, from Fort Mitchell. We dined at a very tolerable country inn, fourteen miles from Fort Mitchell, kept by a person of the name of Royston. The Indians whom we saw were very civil, giving us presents of the peccan nut now and then, when the horses were watered. In the evening we stopped at Harris's hotel, near Fort Bainbridge, which is now dismantled. We arrived there early in the afternoon. I was glad to find the hotel more comfortable than that at Fort Mitchell. I secured a single-bedded room as soon as I arrived, and was surprised to find Cowper's poems on a table in the room, while there was not even a pane of glass in the window. Two persons on horseback reached the hotel soon after us. One of them turned out to be the overseer of a great plantation in the neighbourhood. He repre- sented his situation as very desirable in all respects, excepting the duty which he had to perform of whip- ping the slaves. He and his fellow traveller, soon after their arrival, got water, and proceeded to wash and shave in the open space between the pens of the dwell- 158 FORT BAINBRIDGE. ing house. Here there was a bench for pewter basins of water ; and a very large towel, meant for general use, was hung on a wooden roller, fixed to the side of the wall. I have seen the same sort of washing equi- page in the porticos at the back of the house, and in these open spaces in many of the smaller country hotels ; but I found little difficulty here, or on former occa- sions, in procuring a basin of water and towel sepa- rately for my own use. Walking out in the evening to see Fort Bainbridge, I met several Indians, who were perfectly kind and good-humoured. One of them did me some mischief unintentionally, by breaking a small pocket thermometer, which I was showing him. From them I learned that Tuskina had been here yes- terday, and that he was determined to deliver himself up before the time appointed for his trial, — his object in avoiding being at present taken into custody, was merely that he might not incur the risk of being im- prisoned. In the evening the stage from the south came up, and at supper there were no less than ten persons, including an Indian, a very handsome young man, who, we found, was to travel with us on the following day. Mrs. Harris presided at the head of the table, her husband acting as waiter. We had every thing very good, but no wheaten bread. Excellent coffee and tea, venison, fowls, ham, eggs, &c. We breakfasted on the following morning at Walker's house, the last of the hotels in the Creek country, and found good bread and an excellent breakfast. We observed very fine poultry in the neighbourhood, and Guinea and pea-fowls. We SEXUAL INTERCOURSE. 159 found the Indian who accompanied us, and who, with some of the Creeks, had recently been induced to emi- grate to the western side of the Mississippi, and had now been on a \asit to his old friends, by no means an uninformed person. He is now engaged in agricultural pursuits, but still seemed to regret having left the land of his fathers. He spoke EngUsh well, but had not been taught to read so as to make him a proficient. The fe- males among the Creeks he represents as perfectly chaste and virtuous after marriage, but not restricted in their intercourse while unmarried. Widows are prohibited, from marrying, and from all sexual intercourse, for four years after the death of the husband ; and this regulation is strictly enforced. A plurality of wives is allowed where the husband is possessed of suffi- cient property to enable him to maintain them. The customs of different tribes of Indians, are, however, essentially different in these respects Brackenridge relates, that the Indians on the Missouri seemed to put no value on chastity, and offered to a guest their wife, sister, or servant, according to the estimation in which they held him. This practice certainly existed among many of the Indians ; an extraordinary anecdote con- nected with which is so well authenticated, that it is worth mentioning. An old Indian chief, who was in the fatal expedition with the British army under Gene- ral Braddock, and formed part of the detachment which General Washington saved, dined with him at Mount Vernon. After the repast, the chief indicated signs of disappointment. When the General inquired, by the 1 160 ANECDOTE BY BRACKENRIDGE. interpreter, the cause of his chagrin, the savage stood erect, and told his host that some years ago, when he was in the Indian castle, he, the savage, had offered him the embraces of his squaw, and that he was surprised that the General had not returned his civility by a similar offer of Mrs. Washington. The general excused himself by averring, that it was not the custom of his country. Mrs. Washington, who was present, understood the terms of the demand : she became much agitated, which the Indian perceiv- ing, he told her with dignity, that she had nothing to fear ; as, if the general had complied, he should only have walked up to her, to signify his right to this sort of hospitable courtesy, and, then bowing, have re- signed her to her white chief. Brackenridge, too mentions a singular custom of the Indians on the Mis- souri, where prizes are publicly exhibited for such of the girls as continued virgins. " The old men, who re- side in the Temple, proclaimed, that whoever was yet a virgin should come forward and touch the bough and take the prize, for it was in vain to think of deceiving, as the manitou (their deity) would reveal every thing. The young men w^ere moreover required to declare against any one, who should attempt it, all they knew. The daughter of the interpreter, a beautiful girl of six- teen, came forward, but, before she could ascend to touch the bough, a young fellow stepped out, and beg- ged her to remember a certain place. She withdrew, confused and abashed. There was a pause for a consi- derable time. I began to tremble for the maidens of MR. flint's statements. 161 Arilcara, (a village on the Missouri) when a girl of seventeen, one of the most beautiful in the village, walked forward and asked * where is the Arikara who can boast of having received favours from me,' then touched the bough, and carried off the prize. Others followed," &c. Mr. Flint, in his Geography of the Western States, has given full, and apparently very accurate, informa- tion respecting the Indians, and their present state, to which I must refer. It is, however, always to be at- tended to, that the customs of the various tribes are in many particulars very different. The great distinction in the appearance of the In- dians, consists in their being copper-coloured, — their complexion is not red, but somewhat darker than un- tarnished copper. The same tinge distinguishes both the northern and the southern Indians. Their hair is always black, and, in mixture with the whites, remains visible to the third generation. They pull out the hair of their beard, as soon as it appears, with pincers. It is quite a vulgar mistake to represent the Indians as without a beard. They are generally of fine forms, with few instances of decrepi- tude, which results partly from the manner in which the children are reared, unswathed, as well as from this circumstance, that feeble children cannot endure the hardships which they have to sustain in their very first days. They have clean limbs, but not muscular, and bodies with less tendency to corpulence than the whites. The legs, both of the male and female, have 162 MR. flint's statements a curve quite as remarkable as that of the negro. In walking they are remarkable for placing one foot in a right line before the other, seldom turning the toes from that line. In this way they instantly discover the track of their own people as different from that of the whites. Their acuteness of hearing is most wonderful. Many an Indian can hear the steps of another Indian at the distance of four or five hours' journey, by clap- ping his ear to the ground. The white reveals his race to the Indian by the heaviness of his tread. The sound which he produces does not progressively in- crease. The European turns around, — the Indian proceeds in a right line. Their forehead is broad and retiring ; their nose is prominent ; and the base of the nostrils has a remark- able expansion. The lips are neither so thin as those of the white, nor so thick as those of the negroes. The cheek-bones are high, and the face below the eyes wide. The eyes are almost invariably black. The female Indian has the same delicacy of limb, and slenderness of hand and foot, as if reared in luxury. The Indians are free from the effluvia which is more or less observable in all the negroes. Although no people are more active, or able to per- form more incredible feats in war and in hunting, still their general disposition leads them to indolence. Until of late years, they never could be brought to practise habits of industry, or to betake themselves to the labours of agriculture ; but it is observed, that RESPECTING THE INDIANS. 163 wherever they do so, as is now the case with the Cherokees and the Choctaws, they increase in a ratio almost as great as that of the whites, which in different circumstances never takes place. The appearance of the Indians in general is sullen and thoughtful, as if they were only capable of being aroused by some over- whelming excitement. Their fortitude and endurance of suffering, and the steadiness with which they ad- here to engagements, are among the highest of their attributed, and prevail universally among the race. A most striking example of fortitude and of contempt of death, as well as of adherence to what was con- sidered the law of his tribe, under the most trying circumstances, was a few months ago exhibited at the town of Alexandria in Louisiana. A party of Indians had been exhibiting themselves to the citizens in one of their ball plays, but having indulged in a drunken frolic, one of the Indians was slain by another in the streets, and the survivor immediately surrendered himself to the relatives of the deceased. In cases of murder, the general law among the Indians places the fate of the crimhial at the disposal of the nearest relative to the deceased. An attempt to escape is never heard of, though the prisoner is seldom vigi- lantly watched. In this case the offending Indian was so far in cus- tody ; but on the following day, he exhibited himself in various parts of the town, and conversed composedly respecting his execution, with the utmost indifference to, his fate. He afterwards went to the place fixed 164 MR. flint's statements upon for the scene of slaughter, — a large body of citi- zens of Alexandria being present. Efforts were made by the offer of a considerable sum of money, and other inducements, to have him released, but without avail. The prisoner discovered no wish to avoid the impend- ing stroke ; and the brother-in-law of the deceased shut his ear against every persuasion. Death was to be inflicted by shooting, but, after many endeavours, no gun could be procured, and the victim, impatient of delay, threatened, if he was not immediately punished, to leave the ground. Upon this the brother advanced upon him with a spade, — prostrated him, and split his skull with the blow% The modes of contracting marriage are as various as among the whites. The parents generally arrange it, and the young warrior, (for the prowess of the bride- groom must previously have been shown in war,) in the morning, finds the squaw elected by the parents sitting in his residence, with whatever she is expected to bring as dowry vdth her. Their houses are generally dirty ; but this is not universally the case. They are extremely superstitious ; and listen with docility to expositions of the Christian religion, and they expect the same docility and com- plaisance to their creed, when they relate in return their owm fables. They are extremely hospitable. An enemy present- ing himself fearlessly has the sanctity of an asylum extended to him ; and although their appetite is most voracious, they endure hunger and thirst with great RESPECTING THE INDIANS. 165 patience. Their fondness for ardent spirits is greatly to be regretted. Both males and females are very fond of gaudy dress. The chiefs and warriors in full dress have one, two, or three clasps of silver about their arms, and generally jewels in the ears, and often in their nose. Painted porcupine quills are twisted in their hair, A necklace of bears' teeth, or red beads, hangs about the neck. The legs are ornamented with little per- forated cylindrical pieces of silver or brass, that tinkle as the person walks. A soldier's coat, of blue, faced with red, covers the customary calico shirt. Such is the description of the dress of a young Indian at a public dance. The males, for the most part, wear leggings of smoked tan deer-skin. Their moccasins are orna- mented with coloured porcupine quills. In regions contiguous to the whites, they have generally a calico shirt of the finest colours, and they are particularly at- tached to a long calico dress resembling a morning gown. Red and blue are their favourite colours. They have various dances, and dance with great vigour. Mr. Flint's opportunities of observation have been very ample, as much so, certainly, as those of any man in the western country : and he is not only an acute, but a diligent, observer. He expressly writes that he '^ considers the Indians naturally a shrewd intelligent people, with heads capable of the highest development in every department of thought, in as great a degree as our own race ; but what has struck him in contemplat- ing the Indians with most astonishment and admiration. 166 INDIAN MOURNERS. is the invisible, but universal, energy of operation, and influence of an inexplicable law which has a more cer- tain and controlling power than all the municipal and written laws of the whites united." Mr. Flint once witnessed a spectacle which the In- dians are shy of exhibiting to strangers not only among the whites, but even among their own race. This was a set mourning for a deceased relative. Mr. Flint was accidentally walking near the place with part of his fa- mily. Their attention was arrested by a group of nine persons, male and female. Only four men enacted the mourners, who were in a peculiar posture, and uttered a monotonous and most melancholy lament, in a kind of tone not unlike the howling of a dog. They walked up to the mourning ; but it went on as if the parties were unobservant of their presence. Four large men sat opposite, and with their heads so inclined to each other as almost to touch. A blanket was thrown over their heads ; each held a corner of it in his hand. In this position, one that appeared to lead in the business would begin the dolorous note, which the rest imme- diately followed in a prolonged and dismal strain, for more than half a minute, — it then sunk away. It was followed by a few convulsive sobs, only giving way to the same dismal howl again. This was said to be a common ceremony in like cases, and it was a pre- concerted duty which they met at this time and place to discharge. The performance lasted something more than an hour. The squaw, and sisters of the person deceased, were walking about with unconcern. To be able to judge of the sincerity with which these INDIAN REMEDIES. 167 mourners enacted their business, and to satisfy himself whether they were in earnest or in jest, Mr. Flint sat down close by them, so that he could look under their blanket and he saw the tears actually streaming down their cheeks in good earnest. When the mourning was over, they arose, assumed their usual countenances, and went about their ordi- nary business. It appears to be the habit with them, to perform all their manifestations of joy, grief, or religion at once, at a stated time. Gambling is one of the few excitements capable of arousing them. It is a passion for which they have been known to sacrifice everything. The Indians are acquainted with a great number of simples proper for healing wounds and removing dis- ease ; but the most valuable of their remedies is one which they undoubtedly possess for the cure of the bites of the rattlesnake and copperhead. I should hardly have given credit to this, had I not been as- sured that there was no doubt of the fact, by one of the most eminent physicians in New York. There is a degree of repulsion between the Anglo- Americans and the Indians which prevents their in- termixing. The French on the contrary, settle among them, learn their language, and intermarry ; and it is a singular fact, that the Indian countenance, hair and manners, descend much farther in these intermixtures, and are much more slowly amalgamated with those of the whites than those of the negro. 168 CREEK TERRITORY. CHAPTER XXV. Leave the Creek Territory — Mrs. Lucas's Hotel — Capital Dinner — Montgomery — Cii'cuit Court — Want of Accommodation — Major Johnson — Untimely visit of Tommie Collins — Board and Lodging — Journey from Montgomery to Mobile — Captain Wade in the Stage — Dangerous Passage of the River — Waggon-load of Whisky — Prairie Land — Flowers, Plants, and Shrubs — Islands of Wooded Land in the Prairies — Want of Roads in the Prairies — Mrs. Bonum's Breakfast — Manners of the Hotel-keepers and Drivers in this Coun- try — Treatment of an Old Woman by the Indians — Colonel Wood's Hotel — His Killing the Deer — Origin of Colonel Wood's Military Title — Lynch's Law — Fine Trees and Shrubs in the Southern Coun- try — Oak, Tulip- tree Magnolia, Dog-wood, Red-bud, Catalpa — The Wild Turkey — Want of Singing Birds — Major Taylor's Hotel — Thunder Storm — Price's Hotel — Mrs. Price from Isle of Skye — Their opinion of Captain Hall's Travels — Thinness of the Popula- tion — Piney and Oakey — Cocker's Hotel — Longmyre's Hotel — Elisha Lolly, a Driver — His Oaths — Splendid Evergreens — Butter- flies — Mrs. Longmyre's Skill in Medicine — DuncanMacmillan's Ho- tel, Argyleshire Man — He and his Wife speak Gaelic — His Farm — Manners of the Family — Family Worship — Breakfast at Mr. Peebles' Hotel —Conduct of the Driver — Mrs. Mills — No ardent Spirits in any of the Hotels here — Indian Gamekeeper — Stage-house building for Mrs. Mills — Pork, the general Food at this Season — Custom to wash in the open space in the houses — Judge Burns' House at Blakeley — Driver to Mobile — His Salary — Steam- boat from Blakeley to Mobile, and from Mobile to New Orleans — Mo- bile unhealthy — Details of the Steam-boat from Mobile to New Or- Lucas's hotel. 169 leans — Claret in General Use — Pascagola — Pelican Bird — Sheeps- head Fish— Canal for Six Miles to New Orleans. March, 1830. A FEW miles after leaving the Indian territory, we stopped at the hotel of Mrs. Lucas to dine. She has been a good-looking woman, but now is fatter at her age (only thirty-five) than any woman I ever saw. She is married for the second time, her first husband having been killed in a conflict with the Indians. She takes the entire management of her house, and from what I saw and heard, manages it admirably. At dinner, she sat at the head of the table, her husband sitting at one side ; and the dinner, consisting of chicken-pie, ham, vegetables, pudding, and pie, was so neatly put upon the table, so well cooked, and the dessert, consisting of dried fruits, preserved strawber- ries and plums, was so excellent, and withal the guests seemed to be made so welcome to every thing that was best, that Mrs. Lucas was, in our eyes, almost as meritorious a person as the old lady at the Bridge Inn, at Ferrybridge in Yorkshire, whose good cheer no Scotsman, travelling between London and Edinburgh, ever omitted, if it was in his power, to enjoy. The preserved plum was in as great perfection here as at Ferrybridge. There was wine on the table, as well as brandy and water ; and plenty of time was allowed us to partake of our repast. The whole charge was only three-quarters of a dollar for each person. This certainly was as comfortable a meal as we found anywhere in travelling in the United States. We VOL. II. I 170 MONTGOMERY. reached Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, in the evening ; but the circuit court being here, it was very difficult to find accommodation at either of the hotels. The landlord of the hotel where we stopped, smiled when I asked if I could have a separate bed-room. As soon, therefore, as I had my portmanteau deposited in a place of security, I walked out, under the guidance of one of the waiters, with a view to find out a lodging. I was told that Major Johnson, a Scotch gentleman, who is well known in the United States, on account of the exertions he made to save part of the Archives at Washington, on occasion of the British incursion, re- sided in the suburbs, a;nd was always glad to see his countrymen. It turned out unluckily, when I went to his house, that neither he nor any of his family was at home. I called at two or three other places which were pointed out to me, but had no better success, and returned to the hotel without attaining my object. The bar-keeper, however, after some talk, took pity on me, and told me he would put me in a double-bedded room, into which he should take care that no one should have right from him to enter ; but that I must keep the door bolted, to prevent any one from coming into the room and taking possession, when he found only one of the beds occupied. I need not say that I obeyed orders ; but I had not observed that there were two doors in the room to be secured, and only secured one. About the end of my first sleep, I was awakened by the noise of an intruder in the room. He brought no light with him. I started out of bed, and called. MOBILE. 171 " Who's there ?" He answered, " I'm, I'm Tominic Collins." Whoever you are, I replied, you must get out of the room, — both beds are taken. I hurried him out of -the room without a moment's delay. I found the door at which he had entered, and had it bolted immediately. When I rose very early next morning, I discovered that the door of the hotel had not only not been locked, but had been standing open all night. I see in the newspapers, published here, that boarding and lodging may be had by the year, in the best hotels in the neighbourhood, for 100 dollars. On the following morning, I started by the stage for Mobile, on the Gulf of Mexico. There is steam- navigation from Montgomery to Mobile by the Ala- bama River ; but the steam-vessels are more for the conveyance of cotton than of passengers ; and the dis- tance by the river, about 400 miles, is more than twice as long as by land. I had only one fellow-traveller in the st'dge, Captain Wade. He was acquainted with the country ; but I believe he, as well as I, thought the driver had got us into a scrape, by preferring the ford to the bridge over the river, on our way to the south of Montgomery. We were all but swamped. The water got into the carriage ; but the American drivers, though very fond of sailing close by the wdnd, never run any hazard, as far as I have seen, without being sure that they will be able to extricate them- selves. On the road near the river, we met an im- mense waggon-load of whisky proceeding to Mont- gomery. The driver stopped and saluted ; and the i2 172 PRAIRIE LAND. driver of the whisky allowed our driver to take as much of it from a great greybeard as he chose. He had also the courtesy to offer to the inside passengers as much of the liquor as we liked. But, while we acknowledged his kindness, neither of us had any dis- position, so early in the morning, to hob and nob with him. Not long after leaving the river, the stage passed through the first prairie land that I have seen, con- sisting of large undulating pastures, which never seem to have been covered with wood ; on the skirts of which are fine forest trees, and frequently dropping trees, and clumps of wood adorning the plains. Before I saw the prairie land, I was impressed with the notion that the prairies were great arid plains, almost entirely level ; but the first prairie I now passed convinced me of my mistake, as it consisted of waving ground, necessarily of good soil, from the beautiful sward of grass rising from it. This is the character of a great part of the prairie land ; but there are some entirely level plains in Louisiana. The great prairie land of America bears, as remarked by Darby, a close resemblance in geographical position, and in charac- teristic marks to the Steppes of Asia. The inhabit- ants, too, of each of those districts, have been free as the plains over which they roam, knowing no luxury beyond the chace, nor any pursuit beyond their herds and their fields. I can hardly trust myself to describe the prairie lands of this and the western States, where I afterwards PRAIRIE LAND. 173 was. ^ The variety of their beauty is such, and their style and appearance altogether approach so much to the English park, after it has been adorned at great cost, and with all the taste which generations of pro- prietors have possessed, that it is much safer for me to give the statements of Mr. Flint, who has seen more of the country than I have done, than to attempt to give any idea of their magnificence myself, under the very vivid impressions they made on me of their extra- ordinary beauty. The name prairie is French, denoting a meadow. *' The i&rst view of a prairie will probably excite more surprise in the mind of a traveller in the United States, than the grandest objects of nature. Riding day after day through forests, in which the cleared land is not of sufficient extent to interrupt the general aspect of wood, he breaks at once upon the view of a fine open country, — he beholds extensive plains of the most soft and beautiful verdure, covered with flowers of every scent and hue. Occasionally on the prairie, and often in their centre, are clumps of fine trees, especially of the oak and black walnut, so charmingly disposed, that the traveller can hardly believe that they have not been placed by the hand of man. The views of tracts of coun- try of this description are in many places far more ex- tensive than are to be met with in any country, where land has been laid out in this way, artificially with a view to its beauty, and to increase its value to its pos- sessor. The prospect from the high grounds that often surround, the prairies, comprehending verdant i3 174 PRAIRIE LAND. lawns, large forests, through which vast rivers are roll- ing their mighty masses of water, and fine hills in the distance, with cottages, cattle, horses, and deer, is alto- gether as fine as can be conceived anywhere." The grass of the prairies is tall and rather coarse, but in the early stages of its growth, it furnishes suc- culent and rich food for cattle ; and if it was cut in that state or a little afterwards, it would make excel- lent winter fodder; but as the summer advances, the grass becomes tough, and of course, when cut in that state, it does not become so nourishing food for the winter. In many parts of the country the number of cattle is so small in proportion to the quantity of her- bage, that much of the grass remains neither depas- tured nor cut ; and it is a common practice to set fire to the dry grass in the spring, in order to prevent the rotting of the roots. The alluvial prairies are generally to be found on the margins of the rivers, and they are of a deep pliable soil, of extraordinary fertility. During* the months of vegetation, no adequate idea can be formed of the number, form, varieties, and hues of the flowering plants and shrubs of the prairies. In spring, the prevalent colour of the prairie flowers is bluish -purple ; in midsummer, red, with a considerable proportion of yellow ; and in autumn, the flowers are very large, and so many of them of the helianthus form, that the prairie receives from them quite a splendid covering of yellow. In many of the extensive prairies in Louisiana and elsewhere, there are what are called islands of wooded ISLANDS OF WOODED LAND. 175 land. They generally have an appearance of such beauty, and are so well placed, that a stranger is with difficulty convinced that they are not clumps of trees planted out in circular, square, or triangular forms, for the beauty of their appearance. It is impossible to convey to one who has not seen it any idea of the effect produced by one of these circular clumps of trees, rising like a tower from the smooth surface of a ver- dant plain. Wherever a streamlet crosses the prairie, it is marked with a fringe of trees, which very much increases the variety of the scenery. There are few roads yet made in the prairie land, but as the prairies are only to be found in the warm climates of the south and the west, where the soil is seldom wet for any long period, the tracts of road are almost at all times good, except in the low lands, or swamps by the river sides. Indeed, in many parts of the dry prairies where I travelled, the roads were as smooth as those which are generally to be found formed and covered with small broken stones and gravel in an English park, and had very much the same appearance. After a charming drive we arrived, with a keen ap- petite for breakfast, at a small cabin kept by a person of the name of Bonum. There was only one apart- ment in the house, and in it Captain Wade and I found Mrs. Bonum seated at the head of a table, on which there were still some remains of a breakfast. The driver who was to proceed with us, was just about finishing his meal. Mrs. Bonum seemed to remain in- i4 176 MRS. bonum's breakfast. active on our taking our places at the table ; and upon our telling her that we could not breakfast upon what we saw on the table, she said that was none of her bu- siness, that she had put a good breakfast on the table at the stage hour, but that we were far too late. In the mean time, she appeared to commence making some preparation, and I, for the sake of talking, asked the driver where in the world he lodged, as there did not seem to be another habitation in the forest, into which we had now got. He replied, that he lived in the same apartment with the landlord and landlady and their children. My question, and the reply, enraged the cross-grained Mrs. Bonum to such a degree, that she intermitted all preparation for breakfast, mutter- ing, that the inquisitiveness of stage-passengers was past bearing. I immediately gave her to understand, that unless we got a good breakfast, the half dollar, which is exacted at all the hotels in the south for breakfast, would not be paid ; and that we must have broiled chickens and eggs, of which ^ve saw the first breakfast had been composed. She denied having any eggs for a long time, but, at last, finding us resolute, she pro- duced them. Still, however, to preserve a consistency of character, she told me, when I asked for salt, which was nowhere to be found on the table, that she "thought I had no occasion for it, as the butter was salted, and would make very good spice for the eggs." In the end, however, we prevailed, and got every thing ne- cessary for making a good breakfast, though from the worst-tempered American female I had seen on my HOTEL-KEEPERS AND DRIVERS. 177 travels ; but this road passes through a country, a very small portion of which is yet settled, and where there are no other hotels than those at which the mail-stage stops. The hotel-keepers, therefore, if they deserve the name, and the drivers, usurp an authority which would not be submitted to in peopled parts of the country. The drivers place the mails in the stage so as very much to annoy the passengers, and give them- selves no trouble about their baggage, which must be constantly looked after from the interior of the stage. It would be far better for the passenger to give a regu- lated trifling fee to the driver, than to be subjected to this never-failing sort of annoyance. Before we left Mrs. Bonum's hotel, we saw an old woman, who had gone as far with her waggon from the south as the march of the Indian territory beyond Mrs. Lucas's house ; but she found, as she had only a little boy with her to protect her, and as the Indians appeared rather mischievously inclined, on account of the irritation excited respecting Tuskina, that it was not so safe for her as it might be for a mail-stage to pass through the territory ; and she was therefore re- turning home not a little out of spirits. The Indians , had taken some trifling articles from her, probably more with a view to plague her, than on account of their value. Captain Wade, who turned out to be a planter in this country, only accompanied me a few miles further than Bonum's house. Arrived at the next hotel, which is the usual dining i5 178 COLONEL wood's HOTEL. place, we found neither the hotel-keeper. Colonel Wood, nor the driver at home. Both were hunting. At length they appeared with a fine buck, which they had killed ; but the dinner was very indifferent, consisting of a sort of dried venison, not the most digestible sort of food. The people, however, were very civil ; and as they produced the best they had, no fault was found. They had one excellent article, beer brewed from mo- lasses, of very good quality. I ventured to ask Colonel Wood, whether he was a colonel of militia, and he replied very candidly that he was not. Understanding, however, the drift of my question, he added, that, as this district of country was thinly peopled, and bordering upon the ter- ritory of the Indians, with whom they sometimes had collisions and quarrels respecting their hunting-grounds and other matters, it was necessary that the planters in this district of country should have some one of their number in whose judgment they could confide, who might call them together when necessary; that they had thought proper to nominate him to this situation with thei:itle of Colonel. The colonel has no pay, and his honorary distinction is therefore well earned. In an extensive district of country, where the expense of a police establishment cannot be borne by a few in- habitants, scattered at considerable distances from each other, no better scheme perhaps can be devised than that the inhabitants should, with a view to their secu- rity, place themselves under the controul of some one of their number, in whom they have confidence. Many instances of this have occurred in Southern and Western 6 lynch's law. 179 America, and, in various cases, the newly established ' State governments have winked at the infliction of public punishment on depredators and criminals by such authorities as those I have mentioned, where it was obviously impossible to have criminals, and the necessary witnesses, carried to a circuit town, owing to its great distance, and to the almost total absence of officers of police. I have heard, and I believe correctly, though I cannot specify my authority, that soon after the war of the revolution, when many lawless acts were committed by the disbanded soldiers in the United States, especially in the mountainous parts of the States of Carolina, the inhabitants deputed powers of this description to an individual of the name of Lynch, who exercised them with such impartiality, that his decisions were almost looked upon as having the force of law. They were said to be pronounced according to Lynch's law ; and now, whenever a delin- quent is summarily punished by the neighbourhood in the way I have mentioned, he is said to be punished by Lynch's law. There are yet, on the western bank of the Mississippi, occurrences which require that this law should be resorted to, and even capital punishment inflicted. Sometimes, however, these self-constituted courts have done wrong; and, in such cases, have been called to account for their proceedings before regular courts of judicature, and had to pay heavy damages. These local courts almost in all cases dissolve them- selves as soon as the district is able to support anything like a regular police. i6 180 TREES AND SHRUBS. Since passing the Chattahoochee river, the beauty of the county, so far as respects trees and evergreens, has greatly increased. There are many splendid oaks, tulip-trees, chesnuts, and sycamores, skirting the woods. The Magnolia grandijlora is found in great numbers, dog-wood, Cornus Jlorida, and the red-bud, Cercis Canadensis, of great size, covered with a profusion of the most brilliant colours ; but nothing is more beau- tiful in the woods than the dog-wood. Many groves of large trees in this district have the appearance of having been formed by art, consisting of a few great forest trees, and the underwood consisting of magnolia, catalpa, the red-bud, the dog-wood, the wild plum, and the crab-apple. The wild vine en- twines itself beautifully with the largest trees ta the very tops. The wild turkey abounds in these woods, and when fat is an excellent bird ; but as the wild turkeys are shot indiscriminately, they are often brought to table when they have not been sufficiently fed. I was always better pleased to see the tame than the wild turkey on the table. The venison is generally better flavoured and fatter than in the northern States. Still I think it foodt)f an inferior description; but the want chiefly remarked by the traveller in the finest part of the spring, when the country is most inviting, and the trees and shrubs fresh-looking and of the greatest beauty, is that of singing birds. The notes of the thrush, the blackbird, and the nightingale, are never heard ; and certainly occasion a great blank to 10 Taylor's HOTEL. 181 those who have been accustomed to them in similar scenes. In proceeding in the evening from Colonel Wood's to the hotel of Major Taylor at Grenville, we encoun- tered a very heavy thunder storm, and quite a deluge of rain, which had nearly penetrated the roof of the stage when we arrived at the hotel. It was no easy matter to escape a ducking in merely getting out of the stage and into the hoteh Nothing very com- fortable was to be got there, except a small room or bed-chamber for myself. There was no bedding ex- cept a feather bed, into which the feathers had been thrown loosely, and not half so many as it should have contained. Next morning I proceeded in the stage from Gren- ville to Price's hotel, fifteen miles. Price himself had driven me from Grenville ; his wife had an excellent breakfast prepared. Perceiving, after I had begun breakfast, that she was not partaking, I asked her the reason. She never breakfasted, she said, without her husband, and he was still with the horses. Mrs. Price is an Isle of Skye woman, her name Fraser, of the Lovat family, as she told me ; but her chief anxiety was to hear particulars as to the family of Macleod of Macleod, respecting which it was luckily in my power in some degree to gratify her. She had lived a long time in South Carolina, but liked Alabama quite as well, were it not for the want of schools for her chil- dren, — the climate was more healthy, and her husband better paid. Captain Hall's Travels had been read in 18^ this cabin, and with no small disapprobation. He knew nothing, she said, of American manners. The population in this neighbourhood is still very thin; but there are patches here and there of corn crops. The wheat is already in the ear on the 18th March. The road runs through the forest, part of which, con- sisting mostly of oak, they call oakey, and part of pine, which they call piney. The people consider piney, which is chiefly dry and of thin soil, to be the most favourable for health. From Price's hotel we proceeded to Cocker's — thir- teen miles, — and, after changing horses, to Longmyre's hotel, — sixteen miles. The drivers by no means im- prove in civility in going south. They seem to look upon themselves as the lords of the road, and pay no attention to any directions given them as to baggage or anything else. One of them, by name Elisha LoUey, who took the reins at Longmyre's, was as uncivil and rude as possible. He never opened his mouth without swearing, especially when he called to his horses, which he generally did, by damning their little souls. He put off his time on the road, although he had to pass a dangerous creek or river, which he did not do without great difliculty, in consequence of its being almost dark. He had very nearly upset the stage in passing over a bank of sand, which had been yesterday thrown up here by a flood. After he had got safe over, he turned to me, with the most perfect sangfroid^ to ask how I liked travelling in the night in the woods of this country ? Splendid evergreens under fine oaks were common BUTTERFLIES. IBS in many parts of this road, and we passed through many new settlements of plantations. Butterflies are at present as common here as in Britain in the middle of summer. The lady of the hotel at Longmyre's assumes to herself great skill in medicine, and was taking the sole charge of a young man, one of the drivers, who had a severe attack of bilious fever. He was lying on a shake-down in one corner of the room, and looked so haggard and ill, that I advised him strongly to resort to the advice of a regular physician, although at the distance of eight or ten miles ; but his brother, another of the drivers, had so great faith in Mrs. Longmyre's knowledge, that I feared the patient would be their victim. LoUey had to drive about six- teen miles to Duncan Macmillan's, where we were to remain for the night. It being dark when we arrived, Duncan himself came out to welcome me, and, as soon as he discovered that I was from Scotland, he gave me his hand ; and his pleasure on seeing me was increased, when he found that I could ask him how he was to-day in Gaelic ! Duncan came from Argyle when he was very young. He is married to an American woman, whose parents were Scotch ; but she, as well as he, can speak Gaelic. He settled in this country about ten years ago, and has seventy acres cleared by his own industry, and a con- siderable tract of wood-land. He was very inquisitive respecting his native country, but he did not hint at any wish to return to it. He was, he said, under a good goveniment, that did justice to all, and he had 184 macmillan's hotel. many advantages. He never went to market but for coffee. He grew both sugar and cotton on his own plantation ; and, being a member of a temperance society, he did not taste fermented liquor. Coffee w^as, he said, the best stimulant, and very good coffee he gave us. The drivers, both Mr. Lolley and he who was to be charioteer next morning, were, of course, at supper with us ; and I was glad to find, that Mr. Mac- millan had so much influence with them, as to put an entire stop to their rude, boisterous swearing. Mr. Macmillan promised me a separate bed-room, and he was as good as his word ; but it was a very small apartment, thinly boarded, with hardly any room for a chair or any thing else. He said, however, that he was a man of invention, and, taking his carpenter's tools with him, he in a moment put up pins for a looking-glass and other necessary articles. I was not long in bed when I distinctly heard him, through the thin boarding of the room, engaged in family worship with his family, consisting of his wife and two daugh- ters, who were young women. If. Mrs. Trollope had witnessed this scene, her talent for sarcasm and ridicule would, no doubt, have had as fair a field for display as on occasion of the private prayer-meeting at Cincinnati, or its neighbourhood, which she attended by invitation from the wife of a market gardener. It is worthy of observation, 'how- ever, that, while she holds up that meeting to the deri- sion of the public, she has not mentioned any occurrence as having taken place during the proceeding, or any MRS. TROLLOPE. 185 doctrine as maintained, to which a believer in the Christian religion could object. The apostles were the inspired expounders of the doctrines of Christianity. They were humbler, in point of situation, than the cottage apostle of Cincinnati, as Mrs. Trollope calls him, and they recommended no duty more earnestly than that of prayer. Mrs. Trollope's opinions on such a subject do not, however, appear to be entitled to much weight. She recommends the religion of the Church of England, because sanctioned by a nation's law, as if a nation's law could improve, or alter in one iota, a reli- gion, which is only the Christian religion, if believed, as handed down from the inspired vmters. With sin- gular inconsistency, she, at the same time, applauds the lectures of her friend. Miss Wright, who openly and avowedly preaches against all religions or superstitions, as she calls them. This is perfectly fair conduct in Miss Wright, a professed infidel, whose great object in life seems now to be not only to expose, as she thinks, the imposture of the Christian religion, but the absur- dity of the marriage tie, and of the social relations. Her proceedings are at least open and candid. Mrs. Trollope, on the other hand, with ill-concealed hatred to anything Hke the sincere profession of the Christian religion on the part of those who beheve it, shelters herself from the loss of character or of friends, which might perhaps follow such an avowal as Miss Wright's, by declaring, in the nineteenth century, that the rehgion of the Church of England is to be trusted because sanctioned by a nation's law, and that 186 SCOTTISH HABITS. religion is one of the points on which the magistrates should dictate their belief to the people, so as to pre- vent those differences of opinion which she witnessed in America, and which she might witness at home, if she were to resort, as she did in America, to the meet- ings of Methodists, Baptists, &c. This is mere cant, or hypocrisy, or both. It is easy to divine what is the religion of Mrs. Trollope. It delighted me to find this honest old Scotchman, Macmillan, in the midst of the forest of Alabama, not forgetful of those habits inculcated on him in his youth in the country of his nativity, habits delineated so beautifully, and with such exquisite feeling, in " The Cotter's Saturday night," one of the most delightful poems of Burns, the Scottish bard, whose sentiments harmonize but little with those of Mrs. Trollope in the contempt he so justly expresses for " religious pomp." *' The cherfu' supper done, wi' serious face, They, round the ingle, form a circle wide. The sire turns o'er, with patriarchal grace, The big ha' Bible, ance his father's pride : His bonnet rev'rently is laid aside. His lyart haffets wearing thin and bare ; Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide. He wales a portion with judicious care ; * And let us worship God!' he says with solemn air. *' Then kneeling down to Heaven's Eternal King, The saint, the father, and the husband prays : Hope * springs exulting on triumphant wing,' That thus they all shall meet in future days : There, ever bask in uncreated rays. No more to sigh, or shed the bitter tear, A LAWLESS. DRIVER. 187 Together hymning their Creator's praise, In such society yet still more dear ; While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere. " Compar'd with this, how poor religion's pride, In all the pomp of method, and of art. When men display to congregations wide, Devotion's ev'ry grace, except the heart. ** From scenes like these, old Scotia's grandeur spring?, That makes her lov'd at home, rever'd abroad : Princes and lords are but the breath of kings, — * An honest man's the noblest work of God.' " In the morning I found Duncan waiting for me, that he might get as much more information as he could respecting his native country before the stage drove off. Mr. Peebles kept the hotel where we breakfasted. The appearance of the house, of its furniture, of the landlady herself, and of the breakfast, at once showed that the planter's family were in a different situation of life, in point of education, &c., from those we had lately seen ; but here the most lawless of all the drivers I had yet met got charge of the stage. At the distance of two or three miles from the house, at a point where the road was covered with stumps of trees, he drew up, and tying the reins up at the front window, he said to me, the only passenger, " look to the reins till I come back." He was obliged to go a little way to give out some sewing, as he said. There was neither a house nor a human being in our view, and I felt it unpleasant to be left alone in the forest, — but there was no alterna- 188 TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. tive, for the driver was out of sight behind the trees in a moment. He did not return for thirty -five minutes, and then, feeling some apology to be necessary, he said, " I was obliged to hear her story. The fact is, I keep a girl a little way off. I have built her a house, and we have a negro wench to attend her. Yet the peo- ple are making a mighty fuss about it. How do they manage these matters in the north. Sir?" I of course advised him to marry, as they do in the north ; but he said the girl's family were not equal to his, and he could not think of disgracing himself, though he was very fond of her. The great fault, however, which the public have to find with this person, whose name is Symes, is that of leaving the whole southern mails at the mercy of a stranger, of whom he knew nothing, and who could not be expected to make any extraordinary exertion if any attempt had been made to carry them ofiT. At the distance of a mile or two farther to the southward, we picked up, at a house by the road side, Mrs. Mills, a lady who has a hotel somewhere in the neighbourhood, an active intelligent woman, who is about to get the next stage-house, which is only now building for her. She does not allow a drop of spirits to be kept in her house, and told us that the influence of the temperance societies is such, that spirits are not to be had in half the houses where they were formerly sold. She was afraid, however, she said, that she must have some wine or spirits in the house, when her son, a young man, came home with some of his companions, and she expected them soon. GAME— FIRE-FLIES. 189 Mrs. Mills spoke very favourably of the cheapness of the country. Every thing required for family use was raised by her on her farm, excepting coffee, — and her game-keeper, an Indian, gave her abundance of game, especially of wild-deer and wild turkeys. He had brought her forty deer from the 1st January to the 19th ^Tarch. The wild turkey is very plentiful here, and easily brought down. At the stopping-place we found a carpenter fitting up a house for Mrs. Mills. He was bivouacking with his wife and family on the spot. His wife was prepar- ing cotton for the loom, and makes all the cloth used in the family, including table-cloths and" shirts. The whole operations of carding, spinning, and weaving^ are done by the women. We dined at Macdavid's hotel, ten miles further on, and had plenty of very nice pork, which in some shape or other is the food gene- rally used in this thinly peopled country at this season of the year. When the stage stopped at Macdavid's, the driver called to the slave in waiting, " Where is the pan? come let us take a wash." This is very much according to the custom here. The water is brought in a large pewter basin, and is set down in the space be- tween the parallel apartments of the house, where there is a large towel upon a roller. From Macdavid's we proceeded to Judge Burns' hotel, five miles from Blakeley. On our way our path was illuminated by fire-flies, which are here very large, and are called light- ning-bugs, — but, notwithstanding, we for the first time got entangled upon one of the stumps, and lost so much 190 MOBILE. time in extricating ourselves, that we did not reach Judge Burns' house till one o'clock in the morning. I could find no fault, the driver being civil and obliging, and doing all he could in roads that should not be tra- velled after sunset, — merely a tract in the forest covered with stumps. Judge Burns' is a good hotel, and no difficulty was found in getting us coffee, even at one in the morning. After an excellent breakfast next morn- ing, at which the Judge presided, we started for Blake- ley, five miles off on the eastern outlet of the Mobile River. The driver to Mobile both understood his business and was civil. He was bribed to come to this country fronf Washington, by an offer of 400 dollars a-year, besides his board. A few years ago Blakeley was a thriving place, but the situation has turned out to be unhealthy, and building is now at a stand. A steam-boat was in waiting at Blakeley to carry us to Mobile, twelve miles. The boat was sufficiently dirty, and the persons who navigated her careless, swearing people. She was only of eighteen-horse power. The general government pays 1000 dollars a-year for trans- porting the mail in this boat these twelve miles. There were some Choctaw Indians in the boat, who were on their way to Mobile to sell their deer skins. On reaching Mobile, I found that it would be ad- visable to proceed immediately by steam to New Or- leans, the stage road being at present almost impass- able. Mobile is an increasing place, notwithstanding a great fire which some time ago destroyed a very con- siderable part of the town. The situation is on the STEAM-BOAT TO NEW ORLEANS. 191 west side of the Mobile bay, one of the safest shipping stations on the Gulf of Mexico, but the neighbouring swamps render it at certain seasons unhealthy ; a great deal of cotton is now raised in this neighbourhood, and exported at Mobile, so that it has become, what it never was under the Spanish or French regime, when attached to West Florida, a very considerable shipping port for cotton, inferior only to Charleston and New Orleans. The population of Mobile is understood to be about 6000 persons. The steam-boat for New Orleans, distant about 190 miles, started from Mobile within an hour and a half after we arrived there. She is a vessel of a very dif- ferent description from that in which we came from Blakeley in the morning. She was built in the north, — is of the burthen of 130 tons, and of forty-five horse power, with a low-pressure engine, — ^her name the Mount Vernon, Captain Quin, the commander, takes care that she is well managed, and that the passengers are well treated in all respects. The fare, twelve dol- lars, including provisions, and light claret, which is distributed to all the boatmen, and is in common use on the Gulf of Mexico : even at breakfast they use it. The price of this wine, the captain told me, is about tenpence per bottle. The engineer has 1200 dollars a-year; the pilot 75 dollars a-month. The general government pay 2500 dollars a-year for hav- ing the mail conveyed from Mobile to New Orleans. The passage is almost entirely within a range of islands, which breaks the force of the sea, so that it is generally made in still water. We had rather rough weather on 192 sheep's head fish. the evening on which we left Mobile, — and, finding that w^e touched the bank within Dauphin Island, we were obliged to go without it into the Gulf of Mexico. On the 21st March we stopped at Pascagola bay to take in wood. Here, upon an island, is a cu- rious settlement of French people, who came here about a century ago, and hve in a most primitive style on what the island affords — venison and game, fish and oysters. They still speak French, and have always maintained the character of being a virtuous people. The island is very healthy, consisting of land chiefly covered with pine-wood, which is now becoming valu- able, from the increasing demand for steam-vessels. The inhabitants are beginning to improve and make roads. Their island must soon be of considerable value. On this passage I for the first time saw^ the pelican, a large bird, with white plumage. They ap- peared in considerable numbers, and made a prodigious noise. The sheep's-head fish, which is certainly one of the best that is found on the American coast, abounds in the Gulf of Mexico. In the steam-boat we were well supphed with it, and with oysters, of which they made excellent soup. We had a remarkably pleasant party of passengers, among whom I can never forget Mr. Daly, an Irishman, who had all the vnt and good hu- mour of his countrymen. The steam-boat comes only to within six miles of New Orleans, — the rest of the voyage is made in a small boat on a canal, which brought us to New Or- leans before breakfast on the 22d March. NEW ORLEANS. 193 CHAPTER XXVI. Richardson's Hotel at New Orleans — Lavand's Planters' and Mer- chants' Hotel — Waiters — Slaves— Laws as to Slaves — Green Peas — Bites of Mosquitos— Mosquito Curtains — Situation of New Orleans — Population — Theatres — Levee — Internal water communication — Steam-boats — Cotton and Sugar — Mr. Flint's description of New Or- leans — Its insular Situation — Stripe of fertileLand — Market-place — Cleaning of the Streets — Relative Number of Americans and French — Sign-posts — Lotteries, &c. — Corps of Gens d'Armes — French Theatre best attended on Sunday — Female Beauty — Manners of Fe- males — Marriages of the Quadroons — Women of light Character not distinguishable on the Streets of the American Cities — Strict Deco- rum preserved — Way of spending Sunday — Few Churches — Treat- ment of Slaves — Sent to Prison and punished by the Gaoler — Num- ber of Slaves for Sale here — Duke of Saxe Weimar's Account of the Punishment of a Slave here — Louisianian Laws affecting Slaves and Free Men of Colour — Execution of a Slave — Retrospective Effect of the Laws — Newspapers at New Orleans have decreased in Number during the last Twenty Years — Reading- Rooms only lately esta- blished — Edinburgh Scotsman Newspaper — Newspaper half French, half English — Hackney Coaches at New Orleans — Labourers' Wages high — Visits to Plantations — Mr. Flint's Account of a Louisianian Plantation — Slaves on the Plantations — Details of Mr. Hopkins' Plantation — Education of Slaves — Capital Error in not educating them in the British Colonies — Education must precede Emancipa- tion — New Orleans' Battle Ground — Details of the Battle — General Jackson's brief Account of it — His great Merit consisted in restoring Confidence — His Decision of Character saved New Orleans — His VOL. II. K 194 NEW ORLEANS. dictatorial Measures — Money afterwards made of the Cotton Bags — Plunder of New Orleans said to be promised by the British Com- mander to his Army, and Booty and Beauty the Watchword of the British Army — Authorities for this Statement — Villas along the Mis- sissippi — Race-ground — History of the French Territory in North America ceded to the United States in 1803 — Count Marbois' His- tory of Louisiana — The French Descent of Mississippi in 1672 — The Colony ill-governed — Colonists settled where they chose — French Possessions extended to the Gulf of Mexico on the one hand, and to the Alleghanies on the other — Peace after the War of 1754 — France cedes to Britain all on the Eastern Bank of the Mississippi but New Orleans — New Orleans and Louisiana given to Spain in 17fi8— Re- stored to France in 1800 — Treaty in 1803 between Buonaparte and the American Government, resulting in the Cession of New Orleans and all the French Territory to the United States — Mr. Jefferson's Instructions to the Negociators — Buonaparte, foreseeing that Lou- isiana would be captured by Britain, resolved to sell it to the United States before the Commencement of the War in 1803 — Opinions as to the expediency of the Measure by Marbois and Talleyrand — Two States formed of the Cession — Louisiana and Missouri — Extent of Country acquired by the United States since the Treaty of 1783 — W^estern Country — Astoria — United States send Geometers and men of Science to establish the Limits of its peaceable Conquest — Mar- bois' Opinion of the Change in New Orleans since the Cession — Gratitude of Louisiana to Munroe and Jefferson. March and April, 1830. Richardson's hotel at New Orleans had been re- commended to me, but it was full, and, not without difficulty, I got a room in the Planters' and Merchants' hotel, kept by Mr. Lavand. This v/as a large house, and quite full ; the waiters all slaves, hired from their masters, — many of them very fine-looking men. Their masters receive from twenty to twenty-five dollars a month for their work, and board and washing are GREEN PEAS MOSQUITOS. 195 furnished to them by the hotel. The value of a slave is prodigiously increased when he is instructed as a waiter, and can perform his duty well. If a young man," his value rises from 500 dollars to 1 800 dollars, — and even so high as 3000 dollars. The highest value attaches to such slaves as not only are good waiters, but who can also read and write. But a slave is not at present allowed to be taught to read or to write in the State of Louisiana, nor in most of the slave-holding States. Two things struck me as remarkable at the hotel on the day when I reached it. At the dinner, which was very abundant, on a very long horse-shoe table, there was a larger quantity of green peas, just at the period of their greatest perfection, than I ever saw produced any- where before. This was on the 22d March. Then, on the evening of the same day, or rather on the following night, I suffered more from the bites of mosquitos than I have ever done before or since. I went to bed, never dreaming of mosquitos in the month of March, and after being in the steam-boat during the two pre- ceding nights, slept most soundly, so that I was an easy prey to these troublesome insects. When I awoke in the morning I was absolutely alarmed by the swelling of my legs and ankles, which had been the chief object of attack ; and I found no pity shown me when I made my complaint to the chamber-maid of the mischief she had occasioned, by not giving me a hint that the enemy was in the field, so that I might have provided for my defence by procuring a mosquito curtain. She smiled when I told her my unhappy condition. She had, she k2 196 NEW ORLEANS. said, put a mosquito curtain upon the bed, and never doubted my having recourse to it. The mosquito cur- tain is formed in this way. A tester is made of thick muslin, about the length and breadth of the bed, to which is attached a curtain four or five feet high, with- out openings at the sides. This curtain thus made, and suspended so as to admit of its being folded beneath the bed-clothes, generally has the effect of excluding the attack of the mosquito. I must confess, however, although perhaps this might be owing to my want of skill in the use of the curtain, that I, again and again, while at New Orleans, found that the enemy had broken through the protecting curtain, and had not left me altogether uninjured. The first night, however, was by far the worst. The mosquito curtain is universal among all classes of people here ; indeed the loss of rest from the sting of the mosquito has been frequently known to bring on fever. A cup of hot coffee was introduced immediately after dinner at the hotel, a practice I found very com- mon here. New Orleans is situated on the eastern bank of the Mississippi, about 100 miles from the mouth of the river, on ground perfectly flat, and as there are few steeples, it makes no striking appearance. The whole city is built in the form of a parallelogram composed of six com- plete squares, with suburbs, called Fauxbourgs, which are rapidly increasing. The streets in the old city are hardly forty feet wide. The cathedral is at the head BUILDINGS — RIVER. 197 of a square ; it is an old building with four towers, and massive walls, ornamented with figures of saints in the niches. It is the only public building at all imposing. Public institutions, though numerous, are built in an unpretending style. There are very few churches com- pared to the population, which is now approaching to 50,000 persons. The French theatre is in the city, and the American one in the suburbs. The houses are chiefly of brick, many of them stuccoed externally of a white or yellow colour. The doors of many of the houses in the narrow streets open into the street itself. They are often left open during the day, and curtains substituted in their place. The river, which is here above half a mile broad, is confined by a bank of earth, or gravel, called the levee, which is very requisite, as the streets of New Orleans are a few feet lower than the river, so that in walking through them the hulls of large vessels in the river appear to a passenger, and really are, much higher than the pavement on which he is walking. The tide is hardly perceptible at New Orleans. The water of the river is very muddy, but when filtered is considered wholesome. The situation of New Orleans is admirable for a com- mercial city. A forest of masts is seen along the levee, and the ships, the bank of the river being steep, are easily approached, and their cargoes delivered, or put on board, by means of large wooden platforms. There is no occasion for wharfs or piers. The extent of boat navigation from New Orleans into the interior is far k3 198 NEW ORLEANS. greater than that enjoyed by any other city, exceeding 20,000 miles in length. The internal water commu- nication is not only by the Mississippi, and the other great river to the north, but to the east as far as Flo- rida, and to the lower parts of Louisiana, by means of numerous lakes and land-locked seas. There are some- times 1 500 flat boats lying at the sides of the levee at a time, and frequently at the same moment 5000 or 6000 boatmen. Steam-boats are arriving every hour. I have seen fifty steam-boats at one point. No city contains a greater variety of population. Inhabitants from every State in the Union, and from every country in Europe, mixed with the Creoles, and all the shades of the coloured population, form an astonishing con- trast of manners, languages, and complexions. Cotton and sugar are the great articles of exporta- tion. The value of the exports is said to be nearly twenty-five millions of dollars. Many parts of Mr. Flint's description of New Or- leans are very accurately drawn. " A hundred miles from the mouth of the Mississippi, and something more than a thousand from the mouth of the Ohio, just below a sharp point of the river, is situated on its east bank the city of New Orleans, the great commercial capital of the Mississippi valley. The position for a commercial city is unrivalled, I beUeve, by any one in the world. At a proper distance from the Gulf of Mexico — on the banks of a stream which maybe said almost to water a world — but a little distance from lake Ponchartrain, and connected with it by a navigable canal — the im- SWAMPS — YELLOW FEVER. 199 mense alluvion contiguous to it — penetrated in all directions either by bayous, (that is, sluggish creeks or rivers), formed by nature, or canals, costing little more trouble in the making than ditches — steam-boats visit- ing it from fifty different shores — possessing the im- mediate agriculture of its own State, the richest in America, and as rich as any in the world, with the con- tinually increasing agriculture of the upper country, — its position far surpasses that of New York itself. " It has one dreary drawback — the insalubrity of its situation. Could the immense swamps between it and the bluffs (the high grounds) be drained, and the im- provements commenced in the city be completed ; in short, could its atmosphere become a dry one, it would soon leave the greatest cities of the Union behind. " Great efforts are making towards this result. Un- happily, when the dog-star rises upon its sky, the yellow fever is but too sure to come in its train. Not- withstanding the annual, or at least the biennial, visits of this pestilence ; although its besom sweeps off mul- titudes of unacclimated poor, and compels the rich to fly ; notwithstanding the terror that is everywhere associated with the name of the city, it is rapidly advancing in population. When I visit the city, after the absence of a season, I discover an obvious change -^new buildings have sprung up, and new improve- ments are going on. " The Americans come hither from all the States. Their object is to accumulate wealth, and spend it some- where else. But death, which they are very little dis- K 4 200 NEW ORLEANS. posed to take into the account, often brings them up before their scheme is accomplished." The Mississippi insulates New Orleans on the one side ; and on the other, Lake Borgue, Lake Ponchar- train, and Lake Maurepas, with a small river, or bayou, called Ibberville, which leaves the Mississippi about 120 miles above New Orleans, and discharges itself into Lake Maurepas, complete its exclusion from the continent. The island of New Orleans is a narrow stripe of land situated between these lakes and river, and the Mississippi. About one-third of this stripe is cul- tivated, two-thirds are swamp. The coast is that part of the bottom, or low alluvial soil, which commences with the first cultivation, about forty miles below New Orleans, and which extends about 150 miles above it, secured on both sides of the river by a levee, from four to eight feet high, and sufficiently broad for the most part to serve as a fine highway. The levee extends somewhat higher on the west than on the east side of the river. The coast is from one to two miles in width, and consists of a tract of land, believed to be as rich and fertile as any to be found on the globe. The market-place adjoins the levee. The market is said to be abundant and cheap. The quantity of peas, salad, and other vegetables, was very great at the period when I was at New Orleans. Peas are very ge- neral here during the whole winter. Strawberries were in the market, but not in great quantity. The general hour of the market is about seven o'clock in the morn- MARKETS — STREETS. 201 ing. Negroes, Mulattos, French, Spaniards, Germans, and Americans, are all crying their several articles in their peculiar languages. The women of colour seem very strong, carrying baskets of bread, and every thing on their head. The streets of the town are not so well cleaned as they ought to be, considering that, even in the month of March, the thermometer is above 70°, and that in the summer months the heat becomes intolerable. Only a few of the streets are paved. The cleaning of the streets is performed under the direction of overseers, by slaves chained together, with hardly any clothes on their backs, sent for the purpose, at the discretion of their masters, as a punishment for some delinquency, whether real or supposed. Even females are frequently employed in this way. The masters generally receive about a shilling sterling per day for each slave thus employed. Females frequently walk about the streets of New Orleans without bonnets, merely with a small cap, or a bit of muslin over their heads. This was even more generally the case before New Orleans was ceded to the Americans. The number of French and of American inhabitants is supposed to be pretty much the same; but the French predominate in the old town. In the old town, almost all the inscriptions on the sign-posts are in the French language, and very many of the store-keepers are unable to speak English. Nothing can be done here without a considerable payment in money. I had to pay a quarter of a dollar for sewing the silk part of an umbrella to one of the k5 ^02 NEW ORLEANS. whalebones, — as much for sewing a button on a coat, — and a dollar per dozen is charged for washing clothes, no matter what they be, whether shirts or pocket handkerchiefs. The object of all seems to be to make money, and to spend it. The legal interest of money in this State is ten per cent. The number of billiard rooms, gambling-houses, and lottery offices is immense. In the old city every second house seemed to be occupied in one of those ways. The lotteries have singular names. There is the French Evangelical Church Lottery, the Baton Rouge Church Lottery, and the Natchitoches Catholic Church Lottery, &c. The police, considering the great number of strangers in the city and on the levee, did not seem to me to be faulty. There is a corps of mounted gens d'armes. In this respect, in the appearance of an armed police, Charleston and New Orleans do not resemble the free cities of America ; but the great number of blacks, and the way in which they are treated by the whites, render this precaution, I have no doubt, indispensably necessary. There is, as already mentioned, both a French and an American theatre. The French theatre is large, very neatly fitted up, and well attended. There were several very good performers from Paris when I was here, as well as Herr Cline, a famous German rope- dancer. The French theatre is always most crowded on Sunday evening, and although the admission to the boxes and pit was at this time two dollars, it was filled LADIES MANNERS. 203 to excess. The weather was so fine in moonlight evenings, that not a carriage was to be seen at the door of the theatre. All the ladies walked home, many of them uncovered. Ladies dress very smartly at New Orleans. I had heard a great deal of the beauty of the fair sex here, and of the interesting appearance and grace of the Creoles, as well as of the quadroon popu- lation ; but it did not appear to me that more female beauty was to be seen than at New York. The com- plexions, of course, owing to the greater influence of the sun, in general very sallow. Much has been written, especially by British travel- lers, which would lead one to expect more looseness of manners among the people than I either observed, or have any reason, from what I heard, to believe. Excepting only the appearance of lottery offices and billiard-rooms, vice is much more prominent in Lon-. don, and even in Edinburgh, and, I suspect, in most of the European cities, than at New Orleans. Females of light character are nowhere seen on the streets of public resort, or at the doors, or in the lobbies of the theatres : and there seemed to me to be more perfect propriety of conduct at the theatres than at any public place of that description in Britain, and more general attention to dress. In fact, every body who goes to the French theatre must dress in the same way as if going to the opera-house in London. The tales which have been told of the assemblage of beauties on the levee at sunset, where the mother or female relation makes the best bargain she can for her k6 204 NEW ORLEANS. daughter or her ward, are, I am quite satisfied, merely travellers' stories. It is no doubt true, that where connections are formed by the quadroons or coloured ladies with the whites, the prejudices which exist on the American continent prevent a regular marriage from being entered into. But the attachment of the quadroons is so constant, and their conduct so free from stain, that the connection is considered in the light of a left-handed marriage. It very generally lasts for life, almost always where it is not the fault of the hus- band. It is impossible not to feel pity for those who are thus kept in a state of degradation, merely on ac- count of a distinction, frequently a very trifling one, in point of colour. The quadroons are often as well educated, as interesting in appearance, and of as cul- tivated manners, as those who would consider it almost sacrilege to notice them in any way. It is a striking fact in the manners of the people of the American cities, and is very much to their credit, that there is no appearance of women of light character upon any of the public streets at any time, either by day or night. The police does not interfere with them, while they conduct themselves, in all respects, apparently as virtuous women : but were they to dress absurdly or immodestly, or were they to act in any such way as to attract the notice of passengers, they would be pre- ven ted from appearing in the street. It is only by their acting, so that they cannot be distinguished from vir- tuous women, that they pass without observation. If SUNDAY AMUSEMENTS. 205 they meet their friends, whether male or female, they must recognise each other just as people of good cha- racter do, if they mean to escape the vigilance of the poHce. That ladies of impeached character walk on the Broadway, — the great promenade of New York, — at the same time with the most virtuous ladies in the world, is unquestionable ; but the latter know nothing of this, because the recognition of the former by any of their friends whom they meet, is attended with the usual marks of respect and courtesy. I am quite con- fident that no stranger would discover, unless from conversation, that either at Philadelphia, New York, or Baltimore, or in the streets of public resort in New Orleans, he had met females of a questionable descrip- tion. On the levee there is a great degree of rudeness, and a great deal of swearing, among the carmen or carters, and among the persons delivering goods from the vessels and loading them ; but upon the whole. New Orleans appeared to me a more orderly, or, at least, a far less disorderly, place than I had expected to find it. In one respect there is greater laxity than in any of the American towns I have seen. The people spend the Sunday more in amusements and in shopping, (for the shops are generally open on Sunday,) than within the walls of their churches. There are fewer churches here in relation to the population than in any other of the American cities. The Roman Catholics go to church early on the Sunday morning, and very gene- rally dedicate the rest of the day to amusements, and the evening to balls or the theatre. There is one Pres- 206 NEW ORLEANS. byterian, now become a Unitarian, church, and one Episcopalian church, but neither is well attended. I have already mentioned that all the waiters in the hotels where I lodged were slaves, but they were not positively ill treated, like the unfortunate creatures at Charleston. They had no beds, however, to sleep upon, — all lying, like dogs, in the passages of the house. Their punishment was committed by Mr. Lavand to Mr. Smith, the clerk of the house, who told me that no evening passed on which he had not to give some of them stripes; and on many occasions to such an extent, that he was unable to perform the duty, and sent the unhappy creatures to the prison, that they might have their punishment inflicted there by the gaoler. Nothing is more common, than for the mas- ters and mistresses of slaves, either male or female, when they wish them to be punished, to send them to the prison, with a note to the gaoler specifying the number of lashes to be inflicted. The slave must carry back a note to his master, telling him that the punish- ment has been inflicted. If the master so orders it, the slave receives his whipping laid flat upon his face upon the earth, with his hands and feet bound to posts. In passing the prison in the morning, the cries of the poor creatures are dreadful. I was anxious to get into the inside of this place, but though a friend applied for me, I did not succeed. Mr. Smith told me that he was very desirous to leave his situation, merely because he felt it so very disagreeable a duty to be obliged to whip the slaves. CRUELTY TO SLAVES. 207 There were about 1000 slaves for sale at New Or- leans while I was there. Although I did not myself witness, as I had done at Charleston, the master or the mistress of the house treating the slaves with barbarity, yet I heard enough to convince me that at New Or- leans there are many Mrs. Streets. The Duke of Saxe Weimar, who was at New Orleans in 1826, and who lodged in the boarding-house of the well-known Ma- dame Herries, one of the best boarding-houses at New Orleans, has given a detailed account of the savage conduct of this lady to one of her slaves, which I tran- scribe in his own words : " One particular scene, which roused my indignation in the highest manner, on the 22d March, I cannot suffer to pass in silence. There was a young Virginian female slave in our board- ing-house, employed as a chamber-maid, a cleanly, at- tentive, quiet, and very regular individual. A French- man residing in the house called in the morning early for water to wash. As the water was not instantly brought to him, he went down the steps and encoun- tered the poor girl, who just then had some other oc- cupation in hand. He struck her immediately with the fist in the face, so that the blood ran from her forehead. The poor creature, roused by this un- merited abuse, put herself on her defence, and caught the Frenchman by the throat. He screamed for help, but no one would interfere. The fellow then ran to his room, gathered his things together, and was about to leave the house. But when our landlady, Madame Herries, was informed of this, in order to satisfy the 208 NEW ORLEANS. wretch, she disgraced herself, by having twenty-six lashes inflicted upon the poor girl with a cow-hide, and refined upon her cruelty so much, that she forced the sweetheart of the girl, a young negro slave who waited in the house, to count off the lashes upon her. This Frenchman, a merchant's clerk from Montpelier, was not satisfied with this : he went to the poHce, lodged a complaint against the girl, had her arrested by two constables, and whipped again by them in his pre- sence. I regret that I did not take a note of this mis- creant's name, in order that I might give his disgraceful conduct its merited publicity." The laws respecting slaves are as cruelly strict and tyrannical here as at Charleston, or in Georgia. The State Legislature have now, on the 6th and 17th days of March, passed two acts, not many days before I reached New Orleans, containing most objectionable provisions. The first act provides, Ist, That whosoever shall write, print, publish, or distribute any thing having a tendency to create discontent among the free coloured population of this State, or insubordination among the slaves therein, shall, at the discretion of the court, suffer death or imprisonment at hard labour for life. 2d, That whosoever shall use language in any public discourse, from the bar, the bench, the stage, the pul- pit, or in any place, or in private discourse or conver- sation, or shall make use of signs or actions having a tendency to produce discontent among the free coloured population in this State, or to excite insubordination LAWS AGAINST SLAVES. 209 among the slaves therein, or whosoever shall know- ingly be instrumental in bringing into this State any paper, pamphlet, or book, having such tendency as aforesaid, shall, at the discretion of the court, suffer at hard labour not less than three years, nor more than twenty years, or death. 3d, That all persons who shall teach, or permit, or cause to be taught, any slave in this State to read or write, shall be imprisoned not less than one, nor more than twelve, months. The second act provides, 1^^, For the expulsion from the State of all free people of colour, who came into it subsequently to the year 1807; and then confirms a former law, prohibiting all free persons of colour what- ever from entering the State of Louisiana. 2d, It sentences to imprisonment, or hard labour for life, all free persons of colour, who, having come into the State, disobey an order for their departure. 3d, It enacts, that if any white person shall be con- victed of being the author, printer, or publisher of any written or printed paper within the State, or shall use any language with the intent to disturb the peace, or security of the same, in relation to the slaves or the people of this State, or to diminish that respect which is commanded to free people of colour for the whites, such person shall be fined in a sum not less than 300 dollars, nor exceeding 1000 dollars, and imprisoned for a term not less than six months, nor exceeding three years; and that, if any free person of colour shall be convicted of such offence, he shall be sentenced to pay a fine not 210 NEW ORLEANS. exceeding 1000 dollars, and imprisoned at hard labour for a time not less than three years and not exceeding five years, and afterwards banished for life. And 4fth, It enacts, that in all cases it shall be the duty of the attorney-general and the several district attorneys, under the penalty of removal from office, to prosecute the said free persons of colour for violations of the act, ox ^whenever they shallhe required to prosecute the said free persons of colour hy any citizen of this State, These acts are signed by Mr. Roman, speaker of the House of Representatives ; by Mr. Smith, president of the Senate ; and by Mr. Dupre, governor of the State of Louisiana, all in March, 1830. Nothing can be more clear than that neither the liberty of the press, nor the liberty of speech, exists in a state or country where such laws are to be found in the statute-book. The following occurrence proves pretty convincingly the truth of this observation. It took place on one of the last days of March, while I was at New Orleans : — A slave was hung for some trifling- offence, but none of the newspapers took the slightest notice of the execution \ the editors being naturally afraid that their doing so might be construed into an offence against the laws passed only a few days previously. I only accidentally heard of the execution some days after it happened, and was told there were not thirty persons present at it. What makes the severity of those laws even more galling, is, that their retrospective effect forces into banishment many citizens of New Orleans, — free men LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 211 of colour, — who were among the most conspicuous de- fenders of the State during the invasion of the British in 1814. The enactment against writings was intended to be enforced against the only liberal paper at New Orleans, "Le Liberal," which occasionally inserted articles favourable to the black population. The publication of newspapers is not a thriving speculation in the despotic States of the Union. I view South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana decidedly in that light, because in those States the liberty of the press is denied altogether to the coloured, and, in a very considerable degree, to the white population. Com- pare the increase of Newspapers in some of the free States with their present condition in the three slave- holding States to which I have alluded, and the result will go far to establish my proposition. Sixty-six news- papers were published in the State of New York in the year 1810: 211 are now published. Seventy-one newspapers were published in Pennsylvania in 1810 : 185 are now published. Fourteen newspapers were published in Ohio in 1810: sixty-six are now published. But in South Carolina ten newspapers were published in 1810. and only sixteen now. Thirteen newspapers were published in Georgia in 1810, and only the same number now. Ten newspapers were published in Louisiana in 1810, and now only nine are published. Louisiana is the only State in which the number of newspapers has decreased during the last twenty years, and yet during that period the population has in- 212 NEW ORLEANS. creased from 20,845 to 215,272; so that while the population is nine times as great as in 1810, the effect of arbitrary laws has been to render the number of newspapers less for 215,000 inhabitants than for 20,000. So much for slavery and a government des- potic, so far as concerns a great part, — more than half its population. It is not to be wondered at, under such circumstances, that the establishment of public reading-rooms has only been attempted of late years, for the first time. Miss Carrol, a lady very well qualified, has set agoing aninsitutionofthis kind, on a small scale, consisting of the American and British Reviews, — the Libraries of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge, — the New York and other American newspapers, — a few magazines, political and religious, — vnth only one British news- paper, which, I was surprised and pleased to find, was the Scotsman of Edinburgh, — a paper which has uni- formly maintained a high character, not only for talent, but for the consistency and constitutional soundness of the political opinions which it has advocated. Miss Carrol told me, that, having only fifty subscribers, she could not afford a British daily paper, and had got the Scotsman, because it was recommended to her as the best of the twice a-week papers. She has at present an advertisement in the newspapers of New Orleans, in which she states, that the indifference to her esta- blishment " discourages the ardent hopes of success cherished by the proprietor, who was flattered into the belief, that the city of New Orleans was more than NEWSPAPERS. 213 ripe for some species of common resort for useful in- formation, and rational entertainment." The news- papers printed at New Orleans consist of four pages, two in the French, and two in the English language. Let it not be inferred, from the remarks I have ven- tured to make respecting the oppressive and arbitrary nature of some of the legislative enactments in force in the slave-holding States of the south, and especially in Louisiana, as well as respecting the manners of the people in those States, that they are not firmly attached to the general government of the Union. On the con- trary, I am persuaded that, in the States to which I have alluded, and above all in Louisiana, there was never at any period a more general, or more sincere, devotedness to the American constitution. The peo- ple universally consider the government as the cheap- est, most effective, and freest in the world. Even the Louisianians care for freedom, so far as the whites are concerned. No State has made more rapid progress in improvement than Louisiana, and the whole of the territory ceded by the French in 1803. Marbois says, justly, that New Orleans languished for a century, and that the enjoyment of a free system for twenty- five years has made it one of the most flourishing cities in the world. The American and the French population do not even yet amalgamate well together. It is obvious that the American population will, in the end, preponde- rate in numbers as well as influence. There are about forty hackney coaches at New Or- 214 NEW ORLEANS. leans ; but the drivers are almost as uncivil as those of the mail-stages in the southern country, and are most extravagant in their demands. A previous bargain must always be made with them. There is no delivery of letters here. They are called for at the post-office. Wages of labourers are very high, two dollars a day being quite common. A good tradesman generally has three dollars. I again and again, while at New Orleans, visited some of the neighbouring plantations. The country is not interesting, the ground being flat and swampy. I saw part of the process of sugar culture. The plough- ing between the rows was going on while I was there. The fragrance of the orange groves at this season is most delightful. The trees are in blossom, except in a few places, where the fruit has been allowed to re- main on account of its beauty. The following is Mr. Timothy Flint's account of a Louisianian plantation: — " If we could lay out of the question the intrinsic evils of the case, (he had been alluding to the state of the slaves) it would be a cheer- ing sight, that which is presented by a large Louisiana plantation, — the fields are as level and regular in their figures as gardens. They sometimes contain 300 or 400 acres in one field ; and I have seen from a dozen to twenty ploughs all making their straight furrows through a field, a mile in depth, with a regularity which it would be supposed could only be obtained by a line. The plough is generally worked by a single mule, and SUGAR PLANTATION. 215 guided by a single hand, who cheers the long course of his furrow with a song." This description is quite correct. The drills of the finest turnip-fields in Norfolk, or even on Mr. Rennie of Phantassie's beautiful farm in East Lothian, are not more accurately drawn, nor is the whole management more admirable than the lines and the cultivation of the cane, on one of the great plantations of Louisiana. Everything I saw in my perambulations and rides in the neighbourhood of New Orleans, confirmed me in the belief that the slaves, especially the females, are in general cruelly treated in respect to the tasks allot- ted to them, and the stripes and degradation to which they are subjected. In this warm climate ihey seldom complain of want of clothing. In most cases it is not so much with the quantity, as with the quality, of their food that they find fault. Mr. HuUin, a gentleman from New York, to whom I was introduced, carried me out in his carriage to a great sugar plantation of Mr. Hopkins, about four miles from New Orleans, over which I had the pleasure of walking, and seeing the slaves do the wor k very nicely. The orange-trees, pomegranates, magnolias, and myr- tles, were beautiful, and the " pride of India" tree in full blossom. The sugar-mill upon this property cost about 12,000 dollars. The slaves are estimated at about 50,000 dollars. ¥ The appearance of the slaves in this plantation was in every respect creditable to their owner ; and I have 8 216 NEW ORLEANS. no doubt they had as many comforts as their situation admits of; but it is impossible for me to look upon human beings, who are constantly subjected to the degradation of the lash, and who are prohibited by law from education, as far removed above the brute creation. It is by education alone that they can be civilized, and become rational, accountable creatures. In the great slave-holding States of the Union, edu- cation is entirely denied them ; but I suspect that even in the colonies of Great Britain a great error has been committed during the quarter of a century which has elapsed since the abolition of the slave trade, in the zealous attempts which have been made to Christianize the slaves before they were educated. If a regular system for their education had been adopted, they might long ago have been civilized ; and, in that case, the present dangerous situation of the colonies might have been avoided. The colonists have been made to incur unexampled risk from the well-meant exertions of individuals, and from the measures which govern- ment have been forced to adopt, many of them very inexpediently, in consequence of the representations of societies and individuals ignorant of the true state of matters. There may yet be time for us to retrace our steps. We shall certainly do dreadful and irre- parable mischief, if education and civilization do not precede emancipation. Why should it be attended with more difficulty to establish schools in every district for the black than for the white population, as is done in the whole of New England, and in 6 BATTLE-GROUND. SI 7 the State of New York ? The views of the Americans, — I mean of the Americans who inhabit the southern slave-holding States, — are totally different. They con- ceive that the increasing numbers of their slaves require more coercive laws, and greater severity of treatment, and are proceeding on this principle, every year in- creasing the hardships of their almost intolerable situation, and adding new fetters to those which are already too heavy for them to wear. No one uncon- nected with America can wish that their policy may prove well-founded. Every stranger who is led to New Orleans, must of course visit the battle-ground, which was so fatal to the British in January, 1815. I was on the spot on the 28th March, and had the ground very correctly, I believe, pointed out to me. The plain on which the battle took place is at the distance of between four and five miles from the city, is quite level, and of con- siderable extent. At the period of the battle, the sugar cane was cultivated upon it. It is now in pasture- grass, with a great many cattle upon it. It is bounded by the Mississippi on its west side, and by a cypress swamp, almost impenetrable, upon its east side. There are still remains of the ditch in front of the straight" line which General Jackson formed across this field, from the river to the swamp. The ditch was neces- sarily a very shallow one, because the water would have risen and filled it, had the ground been opened, even to the depth of twenty inches. The breast-work was raised and strengthened by bales of cotton, which VOL, II, L 2\8 NEW ORLEANS. were brought in great quantities, and wliichj when placed along the line, formed an impenetrable bulwark. Behind these cotton-bags, General Jackson placed his riflemen, each of whom had one, two, or three men behind him to reload the rifles, or to hand him those already loaded. Previously to the great engagement, some skirmish- ing took place for two or three weeks from the time that Sir Edward Pakenham landed, but the forces on both sides were unbroken when Sir Edward com- menced storming the line on the 8th January. The field in front of the line was perfectly smooth, — not a bush to be found, when Sir Edward Pakenham led his army to the attack. The British were forced to advance without shelter, and were first exposed to a terrible fire of artillery, within half cannon shot, and afterwards to the fire of the rifles and small arms of the Americans, which broke their columns and forced them to seek for shelter. The fire of the Ameri- can militia was unintermitting and destructive ; the men, in some places, ranged six deep, loaded the arms, and rapidly passed them to the front rank, all com- posed of picked marksmen. Sir Edward Pakenham, 'with the greatest gallantry, after the disorder into which the precision of the fire had at first thrown them, attempted to lead on his men a second time, but a cannon shot wounded him in both legs, and he was killed by some rifle shots while the soldiers were car- rying him off*. His body was placed in the first in- stance under four splendid evergreen oaks, one of them DISASTROUS ENGAGEMENT. 219 nearly twenty feet in circumference, at some distance in front of the line. General Gibbs and General Keane, who succeeded to the command, attempted to rally the troops, who pressed forward in a new column, but the precision and exactness with which the Americans fired was overpowering and murderous. The British never reached the ditch. General Keane was mortally wounded, and General Gibbs dangerously. General Lambert, who succeeded to the command, made a last attempt to force the line ; but it was unsuccessful, and the English retreated to their entrenchments and re-embarked. The British are understood to have had between 10,000 and 12,000 men in this engagement, and the Americans between 3000 and 4000. The British lost between 2000 and 3000 men ; the Americans six killed and seven wounded. Such a result could not have taken place without great military faults on the part of the assailant, who had his choice of time and place, and also had to decide whether, in the circumstances in which he was at last placed, it was prudent to make the attack at all. Accordingly, the British commander- in-chief has been severely blamed for delaying his attack for several weeks after he landed, and thus giving the Americans an opportunity to collect troops and to recover from their panic, and for his over- weening confidence in the bravery of his own troops, and the want of discipline on the part of the Ame- ricans. It is admitted on all hands that British bra- l2 220 NEW ORLEANS, very was never put to a severer test ; nor ever was more conspicuous. The generals, officers, and men, marched steadily to the mouths of the guns. The ac- count which General Jackson has given of the engage- ment on the 8th of January, in his farewell address to his troops, contains some information which the pre- judices of Englishmen make them slow to believe, without the unfortunate proof of its reality, which was given on the spot. " On the 8th January (General Jackson writes,) the £nal effort was made. At the dawn of day the bat- teries opened, and the columns advanced. Knowing that the volunteers from Tennessee and the militia from Kentucky were stationed ony our left, it was there the enemy directed their chief attack. " Reasoning always from false principles, they ex- pected little opposition from men whose officers even were not in uniform, — who were ignorant of the rules of dress, — and who had never been caned into disci- pline : — ^fatal mistake ! a fire incessantly kept up, di- rected with calmness, and with unerring aim, strewed the field with the brave officers and men of the column which slowly advanced, according to the most approved rules of European tactics, and was cut down by the un- tutored courage of the American militia. Unable to sustain this galling and unceasing fire, some hundreds nearest the entrenchments called for quarter, which was granted, — the rest, retreating, were rallied at some dis- tance, but only to make them a surer mark, for the grape and canister shot of our artillery, which, without ex- GENERAL JACKSON. 221 aggeration, mowed down whole ranks at every dis- charge, and at length they precipitately retired from the field. "Our right had only a short contest to sustain with a few rash men, who fatally for themselves, forced their entrance into the unfinished redoubt on the river. They were quickly dispossessed, and this glorious day terminated with the loss to the enemy of their comman- der-in-chief, and one major-general killed, another major-general wounded, the most experienced and bravest of their officers, — and more than 3000 men killed and wounded, and missing ; while our ranks were thinned only by the loss of six of our brave companions killed, and seven disabled by wounds." GeneralJackson's great merit in this short campaign, apart from his bravery, which is unquestionable, con- sisted in the confidence which he restored at New Or- leans as soon as he arrived there, and in the energy of character which he uniformly displayed. The legisla- ture of Louisiana had been wavering until his arrival, and the inhabitants, afraid of the consequences of making a stand, had showed symptoms of a desire to save the city by treating with the enemy. As soon as he reached New Orleans, all vacillation was put an end to. In an address to the governor, he said, " Whoever is not for us is against us, — those who are drafted, must be compelled to the ranks for punishment. We have more to dread from intestine, than open and avowed enemies. Our country must, and shall be de- fended." At this time the General was absolutely with- l3 222 NEW ORLEANS. out troops. The apprehensions and distress of mothers, wives, children, and pusillanimous citizens, in the view of the approaching contest, may easily be imagined. When he left the city with but a handful of men, he directed Mr. Livingstone (author of the Louisianian code of laws, and now (1832) General Jackson's Secre- tary of State) to address the people in the French language. " Say to them," said he, " not to be alarmed, the enemy shall never reach the city." But in the critical situation in which he was placed, he found it indispensably necessary to assume almost the powers of a dictator. He subjected the city to martial law. He punished some deserters capitally. He removed, 120 miles into the interior, some of the French citizens who claimed exemption from military duty. He arrested the French consul for resisting martial law after it was proclaimed, — and confined a judge, and removed him without the lines of defence, because he had issued a writ pf habeas corpus to compel the en- largement of the consul. The emergency of the case called for a man of his decided character, and the people of New Orleans, aware of the escape which the energy of his measures procured for them, received him after the victory in triumph, as the saviour of the city and country. It is a curious fact, that a very large sum of money was made of the cotton contained in the bags which were employed in the defence of General Jackson's line. It was sold by auction, bought at a low price, and turned out to be very little, if at all, damaged. SIR EDWARD PAKENHAM. 223 It has been said, and never contradicted, so far as I could learn at New Orleans, that the British com- mander-in-chief had promised the plunder of the city to his army. This is a matter which even now con- cerns the honour of the British name, for the state- ment is founded on no light authority. Mr. Eaton, holding one of the highest offices in the general government of the United States, the present (1830) secretary of war to the American government at Washington, and the author of a life of General Jackson, expressly asserts, in that work, that " Booty and Beauty," was the watchword of Sir Edward Paken- ham's army in the battle of the 8th. He thus writes : " Let it be remembered of that gallant but misguided general, who has been so much deplored by the British nation, that to the cupidity of his soldiers he promised the wealth of the city as a recompense for their gal- lantry and desperation, while, with brutal licentious- ness, they were to revel in lawless indulgence, and tri- umph uncontrolled over female innocence. Scenes like these, our nation dishonoured and insulted, had already witnessed at Hampton and Havre de Grace, (alluding to Sir G. Cockburn's expedition,) but it was reserved for her yet to learn, that an officer of high standing, polished, generous, and brave, should, to induce his soldiers to acts of daring valour, permit them, as a re- ward, to insult, injure, and debase those whom all man- kind, even savages, reverence and respect. The history of Europe, since civilized warfare began, is challenged to afford an instance of such gross depravity, such l4 224f NEW ORLEANS. wanton outrage on the morals and dignity of society. English writers may deny the correctness of the charge; it certainly interests them to do so, but its authen- ticity is too well established to admit a doubt, while its criminality is increased, from being the act of a people who hold themselves up to surrounding nations as ex- amples of everything that is correct and proper." This charge does not rest upon Mr. Eaton's authority alone. It is mentioned in all the American statements relative to this battle down to the present day. Mr. Timothy Flint, who has given a detailed account of the campaign, repeats it in his geography and history of the western States, — and it also appears in the travels of Bernhard, Duke of Saxe Weimar, brother-in-law to the Duke of Clarence, (now King of Great Britain,) published so late as 1828. It would not be fair, considering the extraordinary degree of order which prevailed in the newly raised American levies which defended New Orleans, not to give the praise which is due generally to the officers of the American army. Small as that army is, consisting of only 6000 men, it is not too much to say, that there is not an officer belonging to it who is not qualified to do his duty. Their education is admirable. Upon this subject, I am unable to refer to more competent evi- dence than that of the Duke of Saxe Weimar, who thus writes of some of the officers whom he met at a party at Washington : " The gentlemen I found here are mostly officers of the army. There is scarcely an army in Europe in which the corps of officers is better i: AMERICAN ARMY. ti',i5 composed than in the small American army ; since in the United States no one can, on any account, be an officer if he is not well educated. The officers are exclusively taken from the Military Academy at West Point. No subaltern officer is promoted. Therefore, if a young man is seen in the uniform of an American officer, it may with confidence be inferred, that he is in every respect fit to maintain his place in the best society." Prince Paul of Wirtemburg travelled in the United States in 1829. His account of the American army, from which the following extracts are made, is ex- tremely favourable. " There exists," he writes, country where soldiers are so usefully employed. Europe, a soldier often spends the whole day in drills, parades, dressing, or idleness. The American soldier is constantly employed in agricultural labour. The strict discipline, to which he is subject, keeps him on a level with the dispositions which are endeavoured to be produced in other countries by continual parades and drills ; the effect of which is perhaps to destroy, in a time of perfect peace, as many warriors as would perish in an active campaign of the same duration. No sol- diers in the world are as well fed, as well clothed, and us well paid, as those of the United States, ** The American government has ingrafted its mili- tary institutions on its civil administration, and the result it has obtained is not only an improvement, but a masterpiece of military system." The terms of engagement with recruits are contained in the following advertisement, which is common in the l5 226 LOUISIANA. newspapers of the United States : — " Wanted, for the United States land service, a number of active young men, between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five years, and about five feet six inches in height. They will receive five dollars bounty-money, and an abun- dant supply of food' and clothing, and five dollars per month. Apply, &c." The villas, along the Mississippi, on the road side, all the way from New Orleans to the battle-ground, are very comfortable, neat-looking places, covered with piazzas and galleries. They are generally at the dis- tance of 200 or 300 yards from the road, inclosed in gardens, in which there are hedges of orange-trees, magnolias, and the finest evergreen shrubs. The New Orleans race-ground is in this vicinity. The races took place while I was here, and I went down the river in the steam-boat, which brought us back again, in order to be present at one race. It was not well attended, but the ground was good, and in excellent order. It seemed to be quite a day of sport for the coloured population. The acquisition by the United States, in 1803, of the territories belonging to France in North America, in- cluding New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Missi >sippi, was a most important one, and obtained upon very easy terms. Count Marbois, who was formerly secretary of legation, and consul-general from France to the United States, was the plenipotentiary employed by Buonaparte (one of whose ministers he then was) to LOUISIANA. 227 conduct the negociations witli the United States, which resulted in the cession of the French territory in North America, exceeding in extent the whole land then be- longing to the United States, for sixty millions of francs. Count Marbois has, not long ago, published a very interesting history of Louisiana, in which he has included the details of the negociation. A short ab- stract from his work will suffice here. In 1672, the French, in Canada, descended the Mis- sissippi, as far as the river of the Arkansas, about the thirty- third degree of latitude ; and in 1682, the go- vernor of Canada reached the Gulf of Mexico, and gave the name of Louisiana to the countries which he had seen. The French took possession of the country from the mouth of the Mobile to the Bay of St. Ber- nard, which is 12.0 leagues beyond the mouth of the Mississippi. Louis the Fourteenth granted to Crozat, a rich financier, the exclusive trade of the colony for twelve years. Crozat gave it up in 1 7 1 9, and the colony was then transferred to the company of the west, and numerous colonists left France. Father Charlevoix, a Jesuit, travelled through the colony in 1721 and 1722. While he laughs at the boasted metaUic riches of Louisiana, he predicts the degree of splendour to which New Orleans would rise through its agricultural wealth. The colony was ill governed. The company quar- relled with the Indians, and, in 1731, the trade was declared free. It was some time after this period that the French government wished to realize a plan of L 6 ^28 LOUISIANA. uniting Canada and Louisiana, in the hope that their union would shut out from the English colonies all ac- cess to the regions of the west. The British at that period had not penetrated to the westward of the Al- leghany mountains. At this time some of the French colonists had transferred their fortunes to Illinois, a soil of almost inexhaustible fertility, watered by several navigable rivers, and enjoying one of the mild- est climates in the world. The colonists, on their arrival in the French Ameri- can territories, settled wherever they chose without restraint, instead of keeping their plantations close together, and only gradually extending them. The war between France and Britain in 1754 suc- ceeded, at the end of which the English completed the conquest of Canada, and made France cede all the ter- ritory to which she laid claim on the eastern bank of the Mississippi. New Orleans alone was excepted ; a line drawn through the middle of the Mississippi sepa- rated the possessions of France from those of England. In 1764, Louisiana was abandoned to Spain by a private treaty with France ; but the administration re- mained in the hands of France until 1768. Subsequently the American revolution and the French revolution took place. Buonaparte became the head of the French nation, and the possession of Louis- iana seemed to him particularly favourable to the pro- ject he had formed, of giving to France a preponderance in America. He accordingly, in the year 1800, pre- vailed upon the King of Spain to restore to the French LOUISIANA. 229 -republic the whole of Louisiana. His treaty with Spain, however, was kept secret until after the preli- minaries of peace with Britain were signed, but was known before the treaty of Amiens, which was signed on the 27th March, 1802. Immediately after the treaty of Amiens, the clamours in Britain on the subject of the cession of Louisiana to France became loud. Lord Hawkesbury's explanation in the House of Commons was, "that the French had long possessed Louisiana without deriving any advantage from it." It was upon this occasion that he uttered the very unguarded expression, " "We only wish to make an experimental peace." General Bernadotte, now King of Sweden, was first of all named governor of the colony, but he declined accepting the command, except on conditions, to which Buonaparte refused to accede, and General Victor had accepted the situation, and was about to set out at the very time when hostilities between England and France were recommenced. In the meantime, Congress was informed of the ces- sion of Louisiana to France, and that France was pre- paring to take possession. Congress partook of the apprehension, that the neighbourhood of the French would not be so pacific as that of the Spaniards, and that obstacles might be imposed to the navigation of the Mississippi. The alarm was so great in the west- ern part of the United States, that it was with great difficulty that Mr. Jefierson, then president, and the American government, could prevent ebullitions from 10 230 LOUISIANA taking place, which might have had an injurious effect on the negociation with France, which the American government saw to be indispensably necessary for main- taining the navigation of the Mississippi, and the right to the port of New Orleans, as a place of deposit for the produce of the States to the northward. At this period, Mr, Livingstone, well known to the world as the coadjutor of Fulton, in the establishment of steam-vessels, was the minister of the United States at Paris. He had made representations to the minister of foreign affairs, which remained unnoticed : and Mr. Jefferson, fully aware of the importance of the crisis, resolved to dispatch an envoy extraordinary to Europe to treat with Buonaparte ; and, if no satisfactory ar- rangement could be made, to enter into communica- tion with the court of St. James" and Madrid. Mr. Jef- ferson selected for this important mission Mr. Munroe, afterwards president of the United States, who was already advantageously known in France, where he had resided as envoy in the time of the Directory. The mission entrusted to Mr. Munroe and Mr. Liv- ingstone, was to obtain from the French government, for the payment of a sum of money, the cession of New Orleans, and of all territory belonging to the French on the east side of the Mississippi, the middle of v/hich was to be the line of separation between the American and French territory ; and they were instructed, in case they did not attain that object, or at all events, the navigation of the Mississippi, and New Orleans, as a port of deposit, to consult with England, with the view of 2 CEDED TO AMERICA. 231 making common cause with her against France. Mr. Jefferson also wrote to Mr. Livingstone in these terms, which very completely negative the charge of partiality to France, which has been so often imputed to him : *' The day that France takes possession of New Or- leans fixes the sentence which is to restrain her for ever within her low-water mark. It seals the union of two nations, who, in conjunction, can maintain exclu- sive possession of the ocean. From that moment we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation," &c. When Mr. Munroe, who left New York on the 8th March, 1803, the very day on which the British Parlia- ment received a message from the Crown, informing them of the approaching rupture with France, reached Paris, he found the chief of the French government very well disposed to treat. As soon as Buonaparte was convinced that war with England was inevitable, he perceived that it was requisite instantly to change his policy in relation to Louisiana. Louisiana was then, and had been from the time that the French had possessed acquisitions in North America, apart from Canada, — the general name of the whole of the French possessions in North America, exclusive of Canada. Buonaparte, aware that as soon as the war commen- ced, Louisiana would be at the mercy of the English, who had a naval armament in the neighbouring seas, was satisfied that he had only one course to pursue with ^S2 LOUISIANA. respect to this valuable possession, viz. before the iirst blow wsis struck, to sell it to the United States. In this way he would not only prevent its conquest by the British, but reap some advantage, peculiarly requisite at that moment, from the payment of a large sum of money which the United States, he had no doubt, would be ready to give him for so valuable a cession. Before, however, proceeding to take any active step, he sub- mitted his views to two of his ministers. One of them (Marbois,) coincided in his views ; his opinion being founded on general principles, which led him to think that commercial establishments are preferable to colo- nies. Marbois' sentiments have been practically con- firmed by the striking fact, that the French commerce with Louisiana has increased tenfold, since Louisiana was incorporated with the United States. The other minister, (Prince Talleyrand,) however, did not see the matter in the same light. He thought that France, deprived of her colonies, would be stript of a great part of her strength ; that Louisiana would some day indem- nify them for all their losses ; an4 that, if the English should seize on Louisiana, Hanover would be imme- diately in their hands as a pledge of its restoration. " There did not," he said, " exist on the globe a single port, a single city, susceptible of becoming as import- ant as New Orleans. The Mississippi does not reach New Orleans till it has received twenty other rivers, most of which surpass in size the finest rivers of Europe. The climate is the same as that of Hindostan, and the Buonaparte's opinion. 233 distance only a quarter as great. The country was boundless, and all the productions of the West Indies suited Louisiana." On the morning after this conference, Buonaparte sent for the minister, (Count Marbois,) who had ad- vised the cession, and declared to him, " I renounce Louisiana. It is not only New Orleans that I will cede, it is the whole colony without any reservation. I direct you to negociate this affair with the envoys of the United States. 1 require a great deal of money for this war, and I would not like to commence it with new contributions. If I should regulate my terms according to the value of these vast regions to the United States, the indemnity would have no limits. I would be moderate in consideration of the necessity in which I am of making a sale. I want fifty millions, and for less I will not treat. Mr. Munroe is on the point of arriving. Begin by making the overture, without any subterfuge. You will acquaint me, day by day, hour by hour, of your progress. " The cabinet of London is informed of the mea- sures adopted at Washington, but it can have no sus- picion of those which I am now taking. Observe the greatest secrecy, and recommend it to the American ministers." The conferences began the same day, and, the minis- ters of both countries ha\ing an equal interest in not allowing the negociation to hnger, it made rapid pro- gress. The American negociators had no powers to enter into a treaty of such magnitude, — their powers, as already mentioned, only extended to an arrange- 234 LOUISIANA. ment respecting the left bank of the Mississippi, in- cluding New Orleans, It was impossible for them to have recourse to their government for more ample in- structions, for hostilities were on the eve of commenc- ing, and to defer the cession, would have been to make Louisiana a colony of England. The American ne- gociators, therefore, did not hesitate to take upon themselves the responsibility of treating for that vast portion of North America, belonging to France, carry- ing their limits to the great Pacific Ocean, and ex- tending over the largest rivers of the world. Mr. Munroe, as already mentioned, did not leave New York until the 8th March ; he arrived at Paris on the 12th April, and the treaty of cession was signed on the last day of that month. Eighty millions of francs was the price of the cession, but it was agreed, that of that sum twenty millions should be retained by the govern- ment of the United States, on account of previously existing claims on France. Buonaparte was delighted when he was made ac- quainted with the result. " Sixty millions," he ex- claimed, " for an occupation that will not perhaps last a day. This accession of territory strengthens for ever the power of the United States. I have given to England a maritime rival, that will sooner or later humble her pride." The sixty millions were spent on the preparations for an invasion, which was never to be carried into effect. Buonaparte temporized with Lord Whitworth, the British ambassador at Paris, while the negociation was in progress ; and his Lordship had not a suspicion of EXTENT OF TERRITORY. 235 what was going on, until the treaty was ratified by Buonaparte before the war began. The ratification experienced no delay at Washington ; and as Louisiana then became a province of the American Union, all idea of its being attacked by the English was at an end. Since this period, two States have been formed of part of the great territory thus acquired from France, and have been admitted into the Union, viz. Louisiana, the southern part of what was the French territory^ including New Orleans, and consisting of 48,000 square miles : and Missouri, a part of the very extensive ter- ritory of Missouri, on the west side of the Mississippi, including St. Louis and St. Charles, through the middle of which the Missouri flows, consisting of 63,000 square miles. The great territory of Arkansas, also part of what was French , property, situated on the west side of the Mississippi, and interjected between Louisiana and the State of Missouri, has not yet been formed into a State. It is about 550 miles long, and 220 miles broad. The north-western Missouri country, extending from the Missouri State towards the Pacific, is of immense size. The Misssouri runs through it between 2,000 and 3,000 miles. Considering the prodigious extent of this tract of country, and the great possessions of the United States towards the north-west, as well as the quantity of land still unsettled in the States admitted into the Union, and in the territories of Florida, Michigan, &c. we have little doubt that Chateaubriand is correct in assuming that the population of the United States 2S6 LOUISIANA. does not yet occupy an eighteenth part of their terri- tory, Marbois, long officially employed in the United States, entertains, as appears from the following pas- sage, pretty much the same view : " It is," he writes, "in the boundless regions of America that the human race may henceforth freely multiply. There, for many centuries, want will not throw impediments in the way of the conjugal union, nor will parents have to fear that the earth will refuse the means of support to those to whom they may impart existence." In fact, the extent of country which the United States have acquired since the treaty of 1783, Louisi- ana, including the whole French possessions in North America, Florida, and the Indian territories, far ex- ceeds three hundred millions of acres, in the very heart of their territory ; besides the boundless regions to the west and north-west. A great proportion of this prodigious extent of land remains with the general government, and must, in the course of years, produce to the United States some thousand millions of dollars. The value of these lands in the hands of individuals, defies all calculation. All the unsettled lands that had not been granted by, France or Spain, became, in consequence of the treaty with France, the property of the United States. The government at Washington had hardly given or- ders for taking possession of the French territory, when exploring parties were sent out in all directions to examine those western regions, which geographers still distinguish by the name of unknown countries or wild deserts. To explore them was to acquire their EXPLORATORY EXPEDITIONS, 2S7 sovereignty ; expeditions were sent to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, and across the Rocky Mountains. A,set- tlement has been formed on the shores of the Western Ocean, at the mouth of the Columbia river. The founder is Mr. John Jacob Astor, of New York, whom I have already mentioned, and the post is called Astoria. " Conquerors (says Marbois) extend their states by war ; they distinguish their reigns by the blood of the men, and the desolation of the countries which they acquire. The republic of the United States is enlarged by sending geometers and men of science to a distance of 1 500 leagues. It establishes without force the limits of its peaceful conquests ; and secures, by good laws, the lasting happiness of the communities that may settle within them." Marbois describes with animation the change which has already taken place at New Orleans, the population of which, and of the adjoining country, was only 8000 persons at the period of the cession in 1803. ** New Orleans, which was founded in 1707, and which lan- guished for nearly a century, is, (he writes) after en- joying a free system for twenty-five years, one of the most flourishing cities of America. Twenty years' good government have effected what ages could not have accomplished under the prohibitory system ; ge- neral and local interests have sprung up and made rapid advances. The population, which under an absolute government was stationary, has been tripled, (he might have said quintupled.) The lands are ca- pable of producing everything useful, — from articles of primary necessity to those of opulence and luxury. 238 LOUISIANA. " The temperature of Louisiana is that of the coun- tries most favoured by nature. " The Louisianians have begun to understand better the riches of the soil which they possess. The sugar now made in the ceded territories is adequate to the consumption of almost half the United States. The other productions of the territory have been propor- tionably advancing. Heaps of furs of every kind are now to be seen on the quays of New Orleans. The ermine, the martin, and the beaver, are brought there from the high lands on the north shores of the Missis- sippi; and the store-houses in which they are deposited likewise receive the sugar, the tobacco, and the cotton, that are grown on the southern borders of this river. The increased facilities of intercourse with Europe have diminished the price of all kinds of merchandise which the colony receives from thence ; and it pays for them by its own crops of corn, cotton, and sugar. Some of its riches are obtained without effort, viz. horses, cattle, &c. which only cost them the trouble of bringing them to market. The lands in the interior, which were sold at an insignificant price under the French dominion, acquired immediately after the ces- sion a considerable value. The lead mines of St. Genevieve, on the Mississippi, in the State of Missouri, are so abundant, that veins and heaps of the metal are obtained by only digging a few feet in the ground. " France, in forming this colony, had imposed on it all the shackles which the jealousy of commerce is capable of forging. She had even forbidden the rais- ing of corn. The Louisianian planters can now culti- TEMPERATURE. 2S9 vate their lands according to their own interest or caprice. They have themselves proclaimed the happi- ness which they enjoy. It was after an experience of more than twenty years that the House of Represen- tatives expressed by an unanimous resolution — * its veneration for Mr. Munroe, and its gratitude for the part which he had taken in the proceedings that united Louisiana to the American Confederacy ;' and the le- gislature of Louisiana, on the 16th March, 1827, passed the following act: — " * Thomas Jefferson, after a life devoted to the ser- vice of his country, and of human nature, has died, leaving to his children as their only inheritance the example of his virtues and the gratitude of the people whose independence he has proclaimed to the universe. The legislature of Louisiana, a State acquired for the Union by his wisdom and foresight, owes to him her political and civil liberty ; and, to perpetuate the re- membrance of profound respect for the talents and vir- tues of this illustrious benefactor, it is enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Louisiana, in general assembly convened, that 10,000 dollars be transmitted to Thomas Jefferson Randolph, for the be- nefit of the family of Thomas Jefferson.'" * The weather was hot, that is to say, the thermome- ter was about and above 70° during almost all the time that I remained at New Orleans ; — even the fog from the river was hot. When the weather was windy, there was so much dust that it was blown in heaps to the very tops of the houses. 240 MISSISSIPPI. CHAPTER XXVII. Steam-Boats on the Mississippi — Passage from New Orleans to Louis- ville in the Constitution, commanded by Captain Paul — Establish- ment of the Boat — Character of Captain Paul — Description of the Boat — Provisions — Discrepancy between this Description of a Mis- sissippi Steam-Boat and that lately given by a Lady explained — Mr. Bullock's Account of a Mississippi Steam-Boat — Leave New Or- leans on the 5th April —Ardent Spirits at the command of everybody in the Boat — Stopping-Places for Wood — Detailed Account of the River — Depth— Current— Annual Flood — Turbidity— Narrow in relation to its Depth — Comparison of the Features of the Mississippi with the River St. Lawrence — Bends of the Mississippi — Islands — Planters and Sawyers — Dreadful Accident from a Boat striking a Snag — Pilotage of the Mississippi — Navigation of the River previ- ously to the Introduction of Steam-Boats — Flats — Boatmen — First part of the Voyage from New Orleans — Baton Rouge — Red River — The Raft Region — Current — Passengers in the Boat — Gambling — Natchez — Houses at the Landing Place devoted to Debauchery — Beauty of the Town — Pride of India Tree — The Natchez Newspaper — Robbery of a Kentucky Farmer — Thunder Storms — Situations for Sugar Cultivation — Cotton — Apples — Sweet Orange Tree — Olive Tree — Evergreen Oak — Mrs. Tyler's Plantation — Quantity of Wood used per Day in the Constitution — Vicksburgh — Dinners in the Con- stitution — Arkansas River — Montgomery's Landing — Occurrence in the Territory of Arkansas — Murderer summarily executed — Wes- tern People carry large Knives — Melancholy Occurrence — Murder of Descartes — Memphis — Upright Shaft in the Constitution broken — Disputed Possession of a Plantation in the State of Missouri — Bar- STEAM-BOAT CREWS. ^41 barous Manners of the People — Mosquitos — Wolf Island — Mr. Hun- ter, occupant of Wolf Island — Gorman's Plantation — Want of Churches — Camp Meetings — Mr. Timothy Flint's account of one — Statement of Mrs. Trollope as to Camp Meetings — Irreconcileable with Mr. Flint's account. Jpril, 1830. The steam-boats that navigate the Mississippi are very various in their kinds, their accommodation, and management. Accidents are so numerous upon the western rivers, that great care should be taken to select a vessel in which the captain and mate, and engineers and pilots, are well known to the public to be skilful and trust-worthy persons. The rest of the crew in a steam-boat generally consist of hired slaves. It is fre- quently not very easy to get a passage in a steam-boat in which the accommodation is good, the passengers well attended to, and the vessel a safe one, and care- fully managed. I was advised by a friend at New Or- leans, to whom I had been made known, to go up the river in the " Constitution," commanded by Captain Paul. The establishment of this boat consisted of the ' captain and mate, two engineers, two pilots, two stew- ards, a female steward, and ten firemen, who were hired slaves. Captain Paul is rough, or, more properly, blunt, in his address, and, like the southern people in general, seldom opened his mouth without swearing, — as unlike in his manners to the captain of a steam-boat on the Hudson, as the captain of a British man-of-war at the present day is to one of the commanders who cir- cumnavigated the globe with Commodore Anson more VOL. II. M ^^ 242 MISSISSIPPI STEAM-BOAT. than a century ago. But he was frank and good- humoured, and most assiduously attentive to his duty ; so much so, that I believe he never slept an hour at once during the twelve days which I spent with him on our voyage to Louisville, on the Ohio. The Con- stitution is of the burthen of about 400 tons, and of 130 horse power. On her lower deck were the engine, the engineer, and the firemen. The second deck, which only extended from the stem of the boat three quarters of the way, that -is, 90 feet out of 120 to her bows, was the cabin for the passengers, surrounded by a gallery or veranda. Above the passengers' cabin, was the cabin for the deck-passengers, as they are called, that is, for persons who pay a comparatively trifling sum of passage-money, — who bring provisions with them, cook for themselves in their cabin, and who are generally bound to assist in carrying wood for the firemen and furnace into the vessel, at the various stopping-places on the river. A part of the passengers' cabin next the stern of the vessel is partitioned ofif for the ladies. In the sides of the gentlemen's cabins are their state- rooms, twenty in number in this vessel, each of which has a window at the side of the vessel, and of a size so much larger than a state-room in an ordinary sailing packet, that there is sufiicient space for a desk and a cou- ple of chairs. The water being perfectly smooth, I found reading and writing in my state room, with the window open during part of the day, very pleasant; and had no fault to find, except with one species of accommo- ACCOMMODATION. 243 dation, which is in bad order wherever I have travelled in the United States. The distance from New Orleans to Louisville is be- tween 1300 and 1400 miles, — and the steam-boat fare, including provisions, but without liquors, which was a few years ago a hundred dollars, is now reduced to thirty. The provisions are very good ; fresh eggs, butter, and milk, being got every day on the banks of the river, at the stopping-places for wood. A passenger should merely carry with him a few bottles of claret, which he can get at a very reasonable rate at New Orleans. It is not furnished in the New Orleans' steam-boats. I was surprised, while revising these memorandums, to find, in a recent publication by a lady who passed some time, nearly at the same period with myself, in the west- ern part of the United States, the following caution: — " Let no one who wishes to receive agreeable impres- sions of American manners commence their travels in a Mississippi steam-boat, — for myself, it is with all sin- cerity I declare, that I would infinitely prefer sharing the apartment of a party of well-conditioned pigs, to the being confined in its cabin." I can no otherwise account for the great discrepancy in point of statement, contained in the representation of this lady, and the preceding details relative to the steam- vessel in which I ascended the Mississippi, than by sup- posing that our voyages were made in vessels of a very different description. Among 300 or 400 steam-boats on the western rivers of North America, there are of course good, bad, and indifferent ; and I cannot doubt m2 244 MISSISSIPPI STEAM-BOATS. that the lady in question had been ill-advised on this occasion, and made her voyage in a disagreeable, ill- found vessel. She ought not, however, as I conceive, on that account alone, and without having taken the trouble to inform herself well on the subject, to caution travellers against all Mississippi steam-boats. She might as well caution a friend against coming up the Thames in a king's yacht, because she had herself been obliged to come up that river in a dirty coal barge. But the statement the lady has given, renders it necessary for me to confirm the information on this subject, which I have ventured to convey to the reader ; and I do not know where I can resort to better evidence than that which is afforded by the well-known Mr. Bul- lock, formerly of London, in his sketch of a journey through the western states of North America in 1827. It appears that his voyage up the Mississippi in the year 1827 was made even in a finer vessel than the Consti- tution. " On the 3d April (he writes) we left New Orleans in the beautiful steam-boat ' George Washing- ton,' of 375 tons, built at Cincinnati, and certainly the finest fresh-water vessel I have seen. River boats like these possess the advantage of not having to contend with the ocean storms, as ours have, and are, therefore, built in a different manner, having three decks or stories above water. The accommodations are much larger, and farther removed from the noise, heat, and motion of the machinery. Wood being the only fuel made use of, they are consequently not incom- moded by the effects of the dense smoke so annoying in 6 ACCOMMODATION, &C. 245 some of our steam-vessels. The accommodations are ex- cellent, and the cabins furnished in the most superb manner. None of the sleeping-rooms have more than two beds. The principal are on the upper story, — and a gallery and veranda extend entirely round the vessel, affording ample space for exercise, — sheltered from sun and rain, and commanding, from its height, a fine view of the surrounding scenery, without being incommoded by the noise of the crew passing overhead. The meals furnished in these vessels are excellent, and served in a superior styje. The ladies have a separate cabin, with female attendants, and laundresses ; there are also a circulating library, a smoking and drinking-room for the gentlemen, with numerous offices for servants, &c. &:c. They generally stop twice a-day to take in wood for the engine, when fresh milk and other necessaries are procured ; and the passengers may land for a short time. The voyage before the introduction of steam was attended with much risk and labour, and occupied ninety days from New Orleans to Cincinnati for small vessels; the same voyage, of 1600 miles, is now per- formed, with the greatest ease and safety, in eleven or twelve days, against the stream, and the descent between the above places is done in seven days, each vessel taking several hundred passengers, besides her cargo of merchandise. The rate of travelling is extremely mo- derate, in proportion to the advantages of the accom- modation. We paid about eight pounds each from New Orleans to Louisville, 1500 miles, which includes every expence of living, servants, &;c. In ascending this m3 246 MISSISSIPPI STEAM-BOATS. magnificent river, the Mississippi, of which the Ohio may be considered a continuation, is navigable for the largest vessels at high water, from the Gulf of Mexico to Pittsburg, 2212 miles. The traveller is now en- abled, without the least danger or fatigue, to traverse the otherwise almost impassable and trackless wilder- ness and wilds that bound the western States of Ame- rica, — and this, vdthout leaving his comfortable apart- ment, from the windows of which he can enjoy the constantly varying scenery, so new to European travel- lers." I may also refer to the recent publication of Mr. Ferrall, whose voyage on the Mississippi was made in the same year with my own, in 1830. He mentions that "the steam-boats on the Mississippi are large, and splendidly appointed. The interior has more the appearance of a well-fitted-up dining-room, than the cabin of a boat. Meats, fowls, vegetables, fruits, pre- serves, &c. are served in abundance, and of the very best quality." The Constitution was to sail at ten o'clock in the morning of the 5th April, but three hours passed away before the passengers were collected, and she actually started. In the mean time spirits of aH kinds were on the side-board, and every one that came into the boat was invited to drink as much as he liked. This course was followed during the whole of the voyage. Every person employed in the boat, and all who came on board during the voyage to sell wood or any thing else, had it in their power to take as much spirits as they chose. Even the firemen, all of them slaves, had whisky at BANKS OF THE RIVER. 247 their command. Yet I never saw an intoxicated per- son in the vessel. The slaves were often merry with liquor, but they knew well, that, if any of them had got drunk, they would have been sent back to their mas- ters disgraced, and subjected to severe punishment. The banks of the Mississippi and of the great west- ern rivers being in general flat, there is much sameness of scenery; but there is a great deal of pleasure in penetrating into the very heart of an immense conti- nent, by so easy, and, in many respects, luxurious a mode of conveyance. There is every day some novelty at the various stopping-places, where one set of pas- sengers leave the boat and another enter it, as well as at the places where wood is taken in, and where passengers may go on shore and have a walk, or look into the cabins of the people, generally for half an hour or more. The river exceeds 100 feet in depth at New Orleans ; and, from the immediate margin of this prodigious mass of water, the country falls by a very slow inclination. The bottoms of the deepest lakes, Pontchar train, Maurepas, &c. vary from five to twenty feet below the general level of the Delta, leaving the bottom of the Mississippi above 100 feet below that of Pontchartrain or any other lake of Louisiana. The depth of the river varies considerably. Darby mentions, that it is 180 feet deep about seventy miles above New Orleans, before some of the bayous or sluggish rivers that flow through the low grounds leave it ; and that it is about eighty feet deep at Natchez, M 4 248 MISSISSIPPI — CURRENT. near 300 miles from New Orleans. The average width of the river he reckons 800 yards; but Mr. Timothy Flint states the average width to be consi- derably greater ; and my own observations, as well as the opinion of Captain Paul, who has long navigated the river, would lead me to agree with Mr. Flint. This width continues to the junction of the Ohio with the Mississippi, — about 950 miles from thence to the junction of the Mississippi with the Missouri the ave- rage width of the Mississippi^ is about three quarters of a mile; while to the northward of that junction it increases to about two miles. The current of the Mississippi is calculated to be less than two miles an hour ; but after its junction with the Missouri above St. Louis, the rapidity of the current is considered to be greater than four miles an hour. Until its junction with the Missouri, the Mis- sissippi is a gentle, placid, clear stream, with smooth shores ; but the Missouri totally changes the character of the united stream. It prodigiously increases its depth, and its mass of waters. The current becomes furious and boiling, — the mass of water turbid, — the shores dilapidated, — and great deposits of mud remain wherever the waters recede. It is not easy for an individual ascending this river for the first time to have an adequate idea of its grandeur and sublimity ; but when he sees the Mississippi receiv- ing in succession the Illinois, a noble stream, 400 yards wide, the mighty Missouri, the beautiful Ohio, the Arkansas, the Red River, and many other rivers of ANNUAL FLOOD. 249 great depth and body of water, and absorbing them all apparently unchanged, he begins to estimate rightly the depth of current that must roll on into the deep channels of the sea. Carried out of the river, and sailing with a good breeze, he sees nothing on any side but the white and turbid waters of the Mississippi for many hours, long after he is out of sight of land. From the sources of the river to the junction with the Missouri, the annual flood generally commences in March, and does not subside until the end of May. Between the j unction and the mouth of the Ohio the medium height of the flood is about twenty-five feet, — from the Ohio to Natchez it is about fifty feet, — from thence it declines gradually, until at New Orleans the medium height is not twelve feet. This gradual diminution of the flood results from the numerous outlets of the river that convey considerable portions of its waters, by separate channels, into the sea. In the season of inundation the river exhibits a very striking spectacle. At that time it is from 30 to 100 miles wide, all overshaded with forest, except an inte- rior stripe, about half a mile in width, visible between the trees, and the water stands among the trees from ten to fifteen feet in height. The appearance is that of a vast forest rising from a lake, with its waters in de- scending motion. Each of the hundred rivers that swell the Mississippi is more or less turbid. The Upper Mississippi is the most transparent of them all. The mud of the Mis- souri is as copious as the water can hold in suspension, M 5 250 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. and is whitish in colour, much resembHng water in which fresh wood ashes have been mixed. The Mis- sissippi below the Missouri assumes the colour of the latter. The Ohio brings in a flood of a somewhat greenish colour. The water of the Arkansas, when high, is as turbid, and holds nearly as much mud in suspension, as the Missouri, and its waters have a bright reddish colour. The Red River brings in a turbid mixture of the same thickness, but of a dark red. After it has received these two rivers, the Mis- sissippi loses something of its whiteness. From the hills far up the Missouri, the Arkansas, and Red River, a great quantity of soil is washed down. The Mississippi then may be considered as constantly bearing in its waters a tribute of the finest and most fertile vegetable soil, collected from the most various quarters, and carried from great distances. The marl of the rocky mountains, — the clay of the black moun- tains, — the earth of the Alleghanies, — the red loam washed from the hills at the sources of the Arkansas and Red River, are every year deposited along the allu- vial banks of the Mississippi, or are carried into the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi rises in high table- land above the Falls of St. Anthony, which have about sixteen or seventeen feet of perpendicular descent. The length of its course is about 2500 miles. It is in many respects the noblest river in the world, drain- ing a larger valley, and irrigating a more fertile soil, than any other stream. The entire surface drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries, including the Mis- TURBIDITY NARROWNESS. 251 souri, Ohio, &c. amounts to the prodigious extent of one million and ninety-nine thousand square miles, comprehending the central Mississippi valley, and the Missouri and Ohio valleys. The Mississippi is the most turbid river known, has the widest alluvial bottom, and is beyond all compari- son the narrowest river which conveys so much water. From the quantity of earth which it holds in suspen- sion in its descending waters, and which it is continu- ally depositing along its banks, it will always be con- fined within a narrow and deep channel. In common with most of its great tributaries, it widens as it as- cends, being, as already noticed, wider above the mouth of the Missouri, with scarce one-tenth part of its water, than it is at New Orleans. In the same way, the Ai'- kansas and Red River are wider a thousand miles from their junction with the Mississippi than they are at that point. As the western rivers of America approach their embouchure, and increase their volume of water, they become narrow, and deepen their channel. No two rivers differ so essentially in their general features as the two great North American rivers, the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence, although rising from the same vast table-land. The St. Lawrence is as re- markable throughout the year for its uniform diurnal or monthly expenditure, as is the Mississippi for its continual change. The Mississippi is turbid, in many places even to muddiness. The waters of the St. Law- rence and of its lakes highly limpid. The channel of the one river is chequered with innumerable lakes, M 6 252 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. some of which are of immense extent, whilst in the other no lakes of any note occur. Annually the Mis- sissippi swells and overflows its banks, overwhelming the adjacent country. A casual rise of three feet, once or twice in fifty years, is considered a great rise of the waters of the St. Lawrence. The Mississippi, flowing from north to south, passes through a great variety of climes, whilst its rival, winding from its source in a south-easterly direction to near N. lat. W, turns gra- dually to north-east, and again passes into its original climate of ice and snow. The Mississippi, before its final discharge into the Gulf of Mexico, divides into a number of channels, having their separate egress. The St. Lawrence imperceptibly expands to a wide bay, which ultimately opens into the gulf of the same name. The banks of the Mississippi, particularly near the mouth, present a level scarcely rising above the supe- rior or highest spring-floods of the stream ; those of the St. Lawrence generally slope from the river margin by a gentle acclivity, and, when cleared from timber, have the aspect of a delightful basin. Much of the surface within the Mississippi basin consists of prairie lands, and of open grassy plains, in some parts of which few trees break the monotony of the landscape. Nearly the whole of the St. Lawrence basin, in a state of na- ture, is covered with a continuous and almost imper- vious forest. The water discharged by the St. Law- rence is supposed somewhat to exceed the half of what is discharged by the Mississippi. The uniformity of the bends of the Mississippi is SINUOSITIES — NAVIGATION. 253 very remarkable, — the curves are described with equal precision, as if they had been formed by the sweep of a compass. The river makes a circular turn, perhaps the half of a circle, and is precipitated from the point in a current diagonally across its own channel to another curve of equal regularity upon the opposite shore. The deepest channel, and the heaviest current occur in the bend, so that the river is generally making inroads upon its banks on that side on which is the bend. The curves are so regular on the Mississippi, that the boatmen and Indians, instead of calculating distances by the number of miles or leagues, estimate their progress by the number of bends. The sinuosi- ties of the river are so uniform and regular, that there are only three reaches, i. e, distances, where the river is nearly straight, between the mouth of the Ohio and the Gulf of Mexico. The tendency of all the western rivers of North America is to run in great curves or bends. One of the bends of the Missouri includes forty miles in its curve. The course of the Atlantic rivers, on the other hand, is generally straight. The islands in the Mississippi are very numerous : many of them very beautiful, and generally situated in the bends of the river. The navigation of the river is not only rendered dangerous by the instabihty of the banks and the impetuosity of the current, which is constantly undermining them, and tumbling immense masses into the river, but by trunks of trees in the river, called snags, planters, or sawyers. The trees are called snags and planters when they are firmly fixed in the bottom 254 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. of the river perpendicularly, and appear a foot or less above the surface of the water ; the sawyers when fixed less perpendicularly in the river, yielding to the pressure of the current in some degree like the mo- tion of a saw-mill saw, from which their name is de- rived ; and sleeping sawyers, when the top of the tree does not quite reach the surface of the water. There are also in the Mississippi many wooden islands, more dangerous than real ones, from their being a new or additional obstacle thrown in the way of the current. They consist of large quantities of drift wood arrested and matted together. Many fatal accidents happen in consequence of boats running against planters and sawyers. Mr. Flint has given a striking description of the dis- astrous fate, a few years ago, from this cause, of the steam-boat Tennessee. " It was a beautiful morning when she started. Her deck was absolutely crowded with passengers, — not less, I was told, than 300 being on board. They cheered the multitude ; waved their hats ; fired their swivel repeatedly ; and went off with unusual demonstrations of gaiety. Above Natchez, in a dark and sleety night, and in one of the furious cypress bends of the river, the boat struck a snag. She began to fill ; and everything was consternation and despair. One wretch seized a skiff* and paddled round the boat, calling on a passenger to throw his saddle- bags into the skiff*, informing him with great agony that all his money was in them. He might have saved a dozen persons, but he kept so far aloof that no one Disastrous AcciDEfjT. 255 could get on board. We sometimes see in the very same crisis, that one man will exhibit the dignity and benevolence of an angelic nature, and another will dis- play the workings of a nature almost infernal. The engineer, who was greatly beloved, was invited to save himself in the yawl. His reply was noble ; * who will work the engine if I quit ? I must do my duty.' They tried in vain to run her on a bar. She sunk ; and this intrepid man, worthy of a statue, was drowned in the steam-room. The passengers, — men, women, and chil- dren, — separated, and in the darkness were plunged in this whirling and terrible stream. The shrieks, the wailings soon died away. I believe it was not ascer- tained how many perished ; but the number was known to exceed thirty persons. The rest made the shore as they could." Great experience is required before a pilot becomes thoroughly acquainted vdth all the hazards of a passage on the Mississippi, especially in ascending the river. He must not only be well acquainted with the situation of the planters, and islands of various kinds, but with the eddies ; and must constantly have his wits about him, that he may give the necessary signal for stopping the boat on the very instant that she incurs any unforeseen risk. Good pilots, therefore, who know the river well and the planters and sawyers, get liberal allowances in the steam-boats. There are two pilots in the Consti- tution, each of whom has 125 dollars per month ; but 150 dollars are, I understand, frequently given. One of our pilots particularly is a most respectable person, 13 256 Mississippi river. possessed of a large plantation on the Ohio River, near Golconda Island. ^ Until the introduction of steam-boats in the river, the produce of the great territorities to the north of the Mississippi, including the States that adjoin the Ohio and the Missouri, was brought down the river in boats or arks, most various in their kinds and constructions. Their progress down the river was tolerably easy ; but their ascent was most tedious, laborious, and difficult. Six or eight miles a-day was good progress. They had two yawls, one in advance of the other, carrying out a v^^arp of some hundred yards in length, making it fast to a tree, and then drawing the barge up to that tree by the warp, when that warp was coiled ; the yawl in advance had another laid, and so on the labour pro- ceeded. A passage from New Orleans to Cincinnati, made in 90 or 100 days, was reckoned good. ^\^^ Since, however, steam-boats have become numerous upon the river, the flat is the only description of boat in which the produce of the great districts already men- tioned is carried down the river. The steam-boats, no - doubt, carry a considerable portion ; but at least three- fifths are carried down in the flats, which never re- ascend the river, but are sold at New Orleans for eight, ten, or twelve dollars, for firewood, or any other pur- pose. The boatmen come back as deck-passengers in the steam-boats. The boats are simply an oblong ark, with a roof of circular slope, about sixty feet long, and eighteen feet wide ; their timbers are massive and strong. They were formerly fitted up occasionally with STEAM-BOATS. 257 a stove and family apartments ; but good accommoda- tion for cattle and horses is now more looked to in these vessels than for human beings. Mr. Flint very correctly observes, that it was perhaps necessary to have something of the experience of the slowness, difficulty, and danger of propelling boats against the current of the Mississippi, and of the great western rivers of America, in order fully to estimate the advantage of the invention of the steam-boat. He himself had ascended the Mississippi in the way for- merly practised, for fifty days in succession, and con- sidered ten miles a-day as good progress. It is now, he says, refreshing to see the large and beautiful steam- boats scudding up the eddies as though on the wing. When they have run out the eddy, and strike the cur- rent, it is a still more noble spectacle. The foam bursts in a sheet quite over the deck ; the boat quivers for a moment with the concussion ; and then, as if she had collected her energy, she resumes her stately march, and mounts against the current five or six miles an hour. A family in Pittsburg consider it a light matter to pay a visit to their relations on the Red River, at the distance of 2000 miles. An invitation to breakfast at a distance of seventy miles, it is no difficult matter to comply with. The passing steam-boat receives you in the night, and you reach your destination at the appointed hour as certainly as by a British mail-coach. With all these manifold advantages, the steam- boats are very unpopular among that description of the population on the banks of the rivers, who were 258 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. formerly employed in the boat-navigation of the Mis- sissippi, and of the other great rivers. Above 10,000 of those persons have been obliged to betake them- selves to other occupations. There was something romantic in the toil, and danger, and exposure, and accidents of this long and perilous voyage. The in- habitants on the banks of the rivers saw the boats pass- ing their habitations, on fine . spring mornings, when the beauties of the forest, the mild temperature of the air, the clear sky of this country, and the deep river floating the boat gently forward, present delightful images to the beholders. At such a time no danger is visible. There is no call for labour ; the boat takes care of itself ; one of the boatmen plays a violin, while the others dance. Greetings, trials of wit, offers of love to the girls on the shore, or saucy messages be- tvyeen those in the boat and those on land, fill up the time. The boat glides on until it disappears behind a projecting part of the forest. Then the bugle, with which all these boats are provided, is sounded at a dis- tance over the water. Such a scene has charms for the imagination, which are irresistibly alluring to the young, along the banks of these sublime rivers. The first part of the voyage from New Orleans up the Mississippi is very pleasant. There are numerous villas on the banks of the river, and nothing to be seen but plantations of sugar, cotton, and rice, excepting the gardens in front of the villas, adorned with the finest evergreen shrubs, and with orange trees. The slaves where we passed were busy at work in many of BATON ROUGE. 259 the plantations. In one break I counted sixty. Ge- neral Hampton has great plantations on the banks of the river, about seventy miles from New Orleans. I could have wished that he had been present, to hear the remarks made by the passengers in the boat gene- rally on the severe and cruel treatment with which his numerous bands of slaves are treated ; and that here, where people are obliged to speak with great caution, not one individual said a word on the subject, who did not express themselves in terms of commiseration for the unfortunate creatures subjected to his tyranny. Donaldsonville, the seat of legislation for Louisiana, is situated on the river at about the same distance from New Orleans. Baton Rouge, sixty miles further on, is a fine emi- nence, on the left side of the river, on which is the town of the same name, with a population of 1200 or 1500 people, and barracks for the United States troops. Before reaching Baton Rouge, and about four miles from it, we stopped at the plantation of Mr. Mackillop, a Scotchman as I was told, which seemed to be in ex- cellent order. We were delayed some time here in taking into the boats some hogsheads of sugar. Not long after we had gone to bed on the first evening, I was awakened by the cry of " Stop her, stop her." We had touched a snag, but without injuring the vessel. The cry became so frequent during the night, that it soon ceased to alarm us, or to interest any one but those engaged in the navigation of the vessel. We were, however, very frequently obliged to lay-to 260 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. during the night, if it was at all dark, that we might not incur too great risk. Red River discharges itself into the Mississippi, about thirty miles above Baton Rouge. It is one of the most considerable tributaries of the Mississippi, taking its rise in a chain of hills near Santa Fe, in Mexico. Its course is through a region of prairies of red soil, on which are droves of wild cattle and horses. It runs through the territory of Arkansas, and then by a winding channel of upwards of 300 miles through Louisiana. It enters Louisiana by a single stream ; but about thirty miles from the boundary, it breaks into a most intricate maze of islands, islets, and lakes of every size. This tract, annually inundated, averages about sixty miles in length, and eight miles in breadth. It is called the Raft Region, owing to a mass of timber and fallen trees which have come down the river, and been here stopped and blocked up. Having a course of above 1500 miles, and draining at least 150,000 square miles, the Red River bears into Louis- iana an immense body of water. Among all the great branches of the Mississippi, no one, for the breadth and fertility of its alluvions, exceeds the Red River, which resembles the Nile in its features more than either the Missouri, or any of the western rivers of America. In this part of the river the boat was steered so near the land, that it would have been easy to throw a biscuit ashore. There are many old French settlers in this neighbourhood, and several very fine sugar plantations. The river is often darkened with floating CURRENT PASSENGERS. 261 wood. One plantation was pointed out to me, the owner of which, named Mitchell, has been lately ap- prehended on a charge of having murdered three of his slaves some years ago. The current, on the second day of our voyage, was running at the rate of five miles an hour. This only happens when the water is rising, as is at present the case. Captain Paul tells me, that it will not be ne- cessary for him to clean the boilers of the boat oftener than twice on the voyage to Louisville, which is gene- rally calculated to occupy ten or twelve days ; but that the water of the Missouri is so thick and muddy, that, if he was navigating the boat in that river, he should be obh'ged to clean the boilers every night. There are about twenty passengers in the boat, of whom five or six are females. The male passengers occasionally read and write, play at draughts, a favou- rite game in the United States, or at backgammon, or at cards. A greater number seem to be engaged at brag than at any other occupation ; but they neither play for much money, nor late at night, nor on Sun- day. The pilots and the mate often join this party for an hour or two. One person left the boat when we got to the Ohio, who makes a trade of voyaging in the steam-boats to make money by play. He was said to have carried off about 100 dollars, and to be well con- tented with his gains. This shows the nature of the play. I did not hear of any one losing more than twenty or thirty dollars. People of all difierent situations in point of wealth 262 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. associated together, on perfectly equal terms, during the voyage. The weather was close and warm. On the third day of our voyage, towards evening, we reached Natchez, which is very beautifully situated on high grounds on the east side of the river, at the distance of about three-quarters of a mile from the shore, and is the largest town of the State of Missis- sippi, containing a population of 5000 or 6000 people. Captain Paul cautioned me to leave my watch and money on board, as he considered the neighbourhood of Natchez to be the most profligate place in this country. There are three or four houses, situated at the landing-place, open for travellers, in which vice and immorality of every kind are unblushingly displayed. Dancing assemblies, which are frequented by persons of bad character of both sexes, are held in the public rooms of these houses almost every night ; and there are rooms in the same houses devoted to gambling. One of the passengers, with whom I had become acquainted, agreed to walk with me to the town, which is well laid out, contains many handsome houses, and commands delightful views. Indeed, this is one of the most beautiful towns in the United States, but occasionally very unhealthy. The "pride of India" tree, shading the streets, was in blossom, and the odour charming. The top of this tree is full of blossoms, having a greater resemblance to the lilac than to any other of the flowering shrubs. The tufts are larger, and it remains in flower for a long time. Its leaves are long and spiked. The growth of these trees is so NATCHEZ. 263 rapid, that in a few years they completely embower a village, and give a delightful freshness to the landscape. The profusion of reddish berries, with which the tree is covered, after they fall off, is such, that the robins immigrate to this region in the end of winter, settle on the trees, and feed on the berries. The berries possess an intoxicating quality ; and the robins, sitting on the trees in a state of stupefaction, may be easily killed with a stick. An excellent newspaper is pub- hshed here, called " The Natchez," which advocates the cause of the Indians, and partially, probably as far as it can do with safety, the cause of the coloured popu- lation. I procured a few numbers of it. This town, though so well situated, has been visited by the yellow- fever, which has prevented its becoming so great a place as was expected. On our return to the boat, we found the rooms lighted up at the infamous hotels adjoining the landing-place. These rooms open to the road, and the curtains were drawn back, so that we could not pass the houses without seeing the dancers. We resisted an invitation to join the party ; and ten minutes after we got into the boat, we were again ploughing the Mississippi, without any loss to my companion or to me ; but a Kentucky farmer who went on shore with us, had his pocket picked of a pocket- book containing 500 dollars. Such a nuisance as that which exists, in the open and avowed manner which I have mentioned, so near the landing-place at Natchez, would hardly be toler- ated anywhere, in a similar situation, in Great Britain, 264 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. or in Europe. Strange it is that it should exist here, in a country, in the chief cities of which so much more decorum is observed than in the capitals of Europe. We had not left Natchez more than ten minutes, when a very severe thunder storm, accompanied by heavy rain, and a very violent squall directly in our face, overtook us. The captain was twice knocked over by the wind ; and the people exposed to the blast were hardly able to keep their places. The great vio- lence of the storm only lasted for about twenty minutes ; but it blew so hard for three hours, that, during that period, we did not advance more than five miles. Natchez is about 300 miles from New Orleans. Sugar cultivation does not extend beyond that town, or SV I nor does the proper cultivation of cotton ex- tend beyond 33" ; but it is raised in favourable posi- tions for home consumption as high as 35^. Apples grown below 35^ have seldom much flavour. The re- gion of the sugar cane is also that of the sweet orange tree, and, if it were cultivated, of the olive tree. The Quercus virens does not thrive further north than the latitude of Charleston, or 32\ About seventy-five miles above Natchez, we saw one of the finest and most extensive cotton plantations upon the river, belonging to Mrs. Tyler, the wife of a Presbyterian clergyman. She was formerly Mrs. Turner. We had excellent butter-milk a little further on, at one of our stopping- places for wood, occupied by a tenant who pays four dollars an acre of yearly rent for a few acres of ground. He has four cows, two oxen, &c. But the most of VICKSBURGH. 265 his money is made by cutting and preparing wood for the steam-boats. The Constitution uses about twenty- six cords of wood per day ; a cord consisting of about 1 28 cubic feet. A cord of wood sells from a dollar and a-half to three dollars. The average price in the western rivers of America is rather above than below two dollars per cord. Vicksburgh is the next place in Louisiana of much importance. It is 115 miles above Natchez, a very thriving place, situated upon the side of a hill. There are fine hills in the neighbourhood, rising on the river side to the height of about 500 feet. The dinners on board this steam-boat are very abun- dant; poultry and animal food being procured at a very cheap rate at the various stopping-places. Pas- sengers have the first dinner-table ; the mate, the pilots, &;c. the second ; the stewards, engineers, &c. the third. The refuse of every thing that remains after dinner, and the other meals, bread, meat, &c., is thrown into the river. The steward, an Englishman, whose name is Elford, tells me, that no one in this country will make use of it. On the 9th of April, we passed the great Arkansas River, which is the chief tributary of the Mississippi, excepting always the Missouri. The remote sources of the Arkansas are yet unexplored ; but its known length is at least 2000 miles. It is na- vigable for about 600 miles, and is about 600 yards wide. The alluvial earth along the bank is in some places so strongly impregnated with salt, that cattle VOL. II. N 266 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. kill themselves by eating it. Its waters are of a deep red colour. In the spring floods, steam-boats can ascend it nearly to the mountains. At the distance of about twenty miles farther up is Montgomery's Land- ing, a settlement where there are a few houses, and where passengers going up the Arkansas, or the White River, land. The White River here is na\dgable for boats for about 400 or 500 miles, proceeding more north into the Arkansas territory than the river Ar- kansas itself. In the course of the 10th of April, while we were still in the territory of the Arkansas, and in a very wild part of the river, we stopped to take in wood. I had not intended to go ashore, but Captain Paul, who was obligingly anxious to make me acquainted with every thing that he thought would interest or amuse me, after being ashore, returned to insist upon my accom- panying him to the residence of a planter, who was a judge, by which I mean a justice of peace, in the neigh- bourhood. The judge was a fine old man, in a very comfortable habitation, clean and well kept, and pressed me to join him in a little rye whisky, which turned out to be the best whisky I had tasted in the United States — for it is very seldom of good quality. I found that Captain Paul's object in getting me ashore was to prevail upon this old gentleman himself to relate to me an occurrence which took place here a few days ago, and to which he suspected I would not give credit if I had heard it only from him, the captain, at second hand. It seems that several boats, going down the MURDERER EXECUTED. ^67 river with the produce of the country a few days ago, had stopped during the night in this neighbourhood ; and that in one of the boats a murder had been com- mitted ; and the murderer detected almost in the fact. The people in the boats were excited — the victim was the friend of many of them ; and they feared that his death would remain unrevenged if the murderer, whom they had immediately apprehended, was handed over to a very distant Arkansas court, where there was little prospect of any witness attending. They therefore re- solved instantly to try him by Lynch's law, and ordered him to be hung not many hours afterwards. Notice of the proceedings was given to the judge, whom I was visiting, but he had no force to prevent the execution of the sentence, had he been so inclined. In point of fact, he, as I was told, rather thought that the example would be productive of good effects, on account of the number of lawless people at present upon the river. No one is more exposed to depredations that the judge himself. His plantation is on the edge of the river ; and he has rather a nice orchard and garden, and large stacks of wood ready for the steam-boats. The people of this country all carry a large sharp knife, not unlike a carving knife, in the side-pocket of their breeches, that they may be able to defend them- selves if they are attacked by wild beasts. But it is probably necessary in such a country as this, — great part of it uninhabited and still in a state of nature, — for those who leave the neighbourhood of their habitations to be armed. The conversation of the people is quite n2 2GS MISSISSIPPI RIVER. sufficient to convince a stranger that there is in these wild regions great recklessness of human life. A melancholy occurrence, showing the lawless state of this country, happened a few years ago in this terri- tory, recorded in the following epitaph near one of the posts in the Arkansas : " Beneath this melancholy mound reposes the body of Jean Jacques Descartes, a native of Languedoc, France, who, on the 10th day of July, 1817, was murdered on the spot where he now reposes, by the hand of some cowardly assassin. He was in the quiet pursuit of his travels for adventure. He had wronged no man, and knew no enemy. He was in the possession of treasure when murdered, but the assassin took nothing from him, and all of his ef- fects were recovered by his wife, who, on learning the fate of the man she worshipped, unaccompanied, unpro- tected, and cheerless, left her native country for love and vengeance. She has not discovered the perpetra- tor of her husband's murder, and has erected this rude monument, to tell the assassin, if he lives, that he shall yet feel the severity of a widow's vengeance.'* The body of the unfortunate man was found by the wood-side. His pockets were not rifled. He was shot through the head, but on what account was never dis- covered. On the same day that we were at Montgomery's Land- ing, we made a stop for some time at Memphis, which is situated on the northernmost point of the State of Mis- sissippi, on an elevation about 100 feet above the river. I had originally proposed to proceed from Memphis by MEMPHIS. 269 the stage to Nashville, and thence by steam-boat to the Ohio River, but before reaching Memphis, I was led to fear that the stages had not yet begun to run for the season. On landing at Memphis, I learned that the stage would not be upon the road for some time. I had, therefore, no alternative but to continue my voyage in the Constitution. On the forenoon of the 12th April, we were so un- lucky as to break one of the upright shafts on board the Constitution, which forced us to pause for nearly twenty-four hours in order to get it replaced by one, that was ready to supply it, in the boat. We drew up close to the forest at a place called the Little Prairie, in the State of Missouri. We found ourselves here close to the plantation of a person of the name of Brown, who very soon convinced us that we were still among the wild people on the Mississippi. Brown has got a regular title to his plantation on the shore where we had landed, for which he has paid the price, a dollar, or perhaps a dollar and a quarter per acre ; but previously to his getting a title, a person of the name of East- wood had, without a title, taken possession of part of his land. This is no uncommon occurrence in this country. Eastwood, who lives at the distance of two miles, had, within these few days, invaded that part of Brown's property which he formerly possessed, and was actually ploughing it when we went ashore. Brown and his two daughters, of whom his family consisted, seemed to be in a state of great exasperation against the intruder. Whether the father or the two n3 270 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. daughters were most loud in their imprecations against Mr. Eastwood, it would be difficult to determine ; but such oaths and curses as they uttered I have seldom, if ever, heard. I have never seen more barbarous- looking people. Brown had sent his eldest daughter to some neighbour at a distance to borrow a long rifle, that he might take secure aim and bring down the man, but, after having got the gun, his affection for the girl prevented him from using it. He bethought himself, that if he had shot Eastwood, she might have been tried as an accessary before the fact. Eastwood's con- duct was not so absurd as persons merely accustomed to the usages of a civilized country might at first sup- pose. Nothing is more common in the western States of America than for settlers to take possession of, and to improve land, without having ever thought of pro- curing a title ; and when the State Government after- wards sells, and gives a title, the first settler has in most cases the first offer of purchase, or an allowance for the expence of his improvements. The settler has not, however, any legal claim to have this justice done him. Eastwood's statement was, that he had had no offer of sale, and had been allowed no part of his ex- pences. His land had been inclosed certainly at con- siderable cost. During the night that we passed on the side of the Mississippi, while the upright shaft was repairing, we were invaded by mosquitos from the shore, and made a most ridiculous spectacle at breakfast next morning, with swollen and inflamed foreheads, eyeHds, noses, &c. ISLANDS. 271 No mosquito curtains were on board, as mosquitos are not expected so early in the season on the river. There are about 125 islands of considerable size, and a multitude of small ones, in that part of the Mississippi between New Orleans and the junction of the Ohio. Wolf Island, about twenty-four miles below the confluence, is situate in a fine part of the river, where the banks are high, and the current rapid. This island is about twenty miles in circumfe- rence, and contains 15,000 acres of good land, with a fine prairie in the centre. I find, in a book containing directions for the navigation of the Mississippi, pub- lished at Pittsburg in 1824, the following singular note: — "A Mr. James Hunter, the only man I ever knew who seemed to take a pride in letting it be known that he was a professed gambler, is the only occupant of Wolf Island at present," He has a thousand head of hogs, and a large stock of cattle, with whose beef and pork he supplies boats passing up and down the river, together with butter, milk, &c. There are many beautiful scenes in passing the islands upon the river, which I saw to great advantage, it be- ing full, and yet only in a few places overflowing its proper course ; but natural beauties of this kind, where all that sort of variety of feature is wanting which de- pends upon the neighbourhood of mountain and hill, and where nothing but the forest is to be seen, excepting, at considerable distances from each other, patches of cultivated ground, soon cease to be very interesting, and the river, the prodigious length of which, as well as its N 4 272 RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. great volume of water, astonish the beholder for the first time, is the only object that on such a voyage as this continues powerfully to arrest the attention. About six miles from Wolf Island, we stopped to take in wood at Gorman's plantation, where we had a chat with the people. They seemed to like their situa- tion, chiefly on account of the price which they now get for their wood from the steam-boats, which have opened quite a new source of revenue to them, — but they com- plained much of the want of neighbours and want of churches, no church being nearer than twenty miles. They would be more miserable, they said, were it not for the camp-meetings that were occasionally held in the neighbourhood. I am confident, from what I have heard, that this feehngis general among the industrious, well-disposed part of the population along the western, rivers. So much has been lately written contemptu- ously of the religious meetings in the United States, that it may not be improper to appeal, in confirmation of what I heard and believe, to the sentiments of a most unprejudiced witness, Mr. Timothy Flint, himself a New Englander, and educated in New England, but who has passed the greater part of his life in Louisiana, Missouri, and on the Ohio. He is a person of most unquestionable veracity, — and, although a clergyman, as far from being a religious enthusiast or fanatic, in the generally received acceptation of the terms, as any man alive. He is, on the contrary, rather inclined to adopt some of the doctrines of the Unitarians, — and he himself expressed to me his regret, that the well known CAMP-MEETINGS. 273 Dr. Chalmers was too rigid a Calvinist. His means of acquiring information upon such a subject as this have been so extensive, that I view his testimony as decisive, and not affected, even in the very slightest degree, by that of recent British travellers, especially of a lady, who confesses that her knowledge of a camp-meeting, was derived from an irruption which she made into the heart of one commencing an hour before midnight, and concluding at three o'clock in the morning. The state- ments given by this lady, of the whole people being en- gaged in worship at eleven o'clock at night, — of public worship beginning at midnight, and continuing during a considerable part of the night, — and of private devo- tion again beginning at day-break, — as well as of what she saw by peeping into the tents, which the spectators, as she writes, very unceremoniously opened to her, are so irreconcileable with Mr. Flint's account of camp- meetings in the western States, with the general rules of camp-meetings, and with all that I have heard on this subject in quarters to be relied on, as well as with the known manners of the Americans, that I should have paid no attention to such details if they had proceeded from a gentleman ; but, coming from a lady, their cor- rectness dare not be questioned, although it must be matter of deep regret to her friends that the period at which she did not think it unbecoming her sex to visit such an assemblage as this, consisted of the hours from eleven o'clock at night till three o'clock in the morning. What opinion would a British gentleman form of an American lady, the writer of an account of the manners n5 274 RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. of the English, who, when she proceeds to describe their theatrical amusements at the period of her visit to Britain, instead of endeavouring to give some idea of the almost super-human powers of a Garrick or a Siddons, then in all their glory, indulged in high- coloured allusions to those scenes which she had wit- nessed on peeping by stealth into the saloons, the only part of the theatre which her barbarous taste had, as it appeared, induced her to visit ? The lady to whose recent publication I refer, was herself well acquainted with Mr. Flint, and has written a most merited eulogium on his character, in which she describes him " as the only American she ever listened to whose unqualified praise of his country did not ap- pear to her somewhat overstrained and ridiculous." Mr. Flint's recital, relative to the religious meetings referred to, is a most interesting one ; but let me par- ticularly call the attention of the reader to the last part of it, in which he, with the best means of knowledge that ever man possessed, relates the general salutary effects which result from such meetings in reclaiming the pro- fane, the drunkard, and the gambler, and in producing most beneficial changes in the habits of the people. Evidence to this purpose, unqualifiedly given by so re- spectable a person, weighs more in the balance than all the absurd and wonderful stories which Mrs. Trollope, and many prejudiced British writers on America, have sent forth to the world. Here is a person of the most unblemished reputation, residing On the spot, and enjoying the most favourable opportunity for forming a 2 RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. 275 correct judgment, bearing testimony to the great, the unspeakable advantages derived from the camp-meet- ings of America. ** None, (says Mr. Flint), but one who has seen, can imagine the interest excited in a district of country perhaps fifty miles in extent, by the awaited approach of the time for a camp-meeting ; and none but one who has seen can imagine how profoundly the preachers have understood what produces effect, and how well they have practised upon it. Suppose the scene to be where the most extensive excitements, and the most frequent camp-meetings have been during the two past years, in one of the beautiful and fertile valleys among the mountains of Tennessee. The notice has been cir- culated two or three months. On the appointed day, coaches, chaises, waggons, carts, people on horseback, and multitudes travelling from a distance on foot, wag- gons with provisions, mattresses, tents, and arrange- ments for the stay of a week, are seen hurrying from every point towards the central spot. It is in the midst of a grove of those beautiful and lofty trees natural to the valleys of Tennessee, in its deepest verdure, and beside a spring branch for the requisite supply of water. " The ambitious and wealthy are there, because in this region opinion is all-powerful ; and they are there either to extend their influence, or that their absence may not be noted to diminish it. Aspirants for office are there, to electioneer and gain popularity. Vast numbers are there from simple curiosity aud merely to enjoy a spectacle. The young and the beautiful are n6 276 RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. there with mixed motives, which it were best not severely to scrutinize. Children are there, their young eyes glistening with the intense interest of eager curi- osity. The middle-aged, fathers and mothers of fami- lies, are there, with the sober views of people whose plans in life are fixed, and waiting calmly to hear. Men and women of hoary hairs are there, with such thoughts, it may be hoped, as their years invite. Such is the congregation consisting of thousands. " A host of preachers of different denominations are there, some in the earnest vigour and aspiring desires of youth, waiting an opportunity for display ; others who have proclaimed the Gospel as pilgrims of the cross from the remotest north of our vast country to the shores of the Mexican Gulf, and ready to utter the words, the feelings, and the experience, which they have treasured up in a travelling ministry of fifty years, and whose accents, trembling with age, still more impressively, than their words, announce that they will soon travel, and preach no more on the earth, are there. Such are the preachers. " The line of tents is pitched, and the religious city grows up in a few hours under the trees beside the stream. Lamps are hung in lines among the branches ; and the effect of their glare upon the surrounding forest is as of magic. The scenery of the most brilliant theatre in the world is a painting only for children com- pared with it. Meantime the multitudes, with the highest excitement of social feeling, added to the gene- ral enthusiasm of expectation, pass from tent to tent, RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. 277 and interchange apostolic greetings and embraces, and talk of the coming solemnities. Their coffee and tea are prepared, and their supper is finished. By this time the moon, for they take thought to appoint the meeting at the proper time of the moon, begins to show its disk above the dark summits of the mountains, and a few stars are seen glittering through the intervals of the branches. The whole constitutes a temple worthy of the grandeur of God. An old man, in a dress of the quaintest simplicity, ascends a platform, wipes the dust from his spectacles, and in a voice of suppressed emo- tion, gives out the hymn, of which the whole assem- bled multitude can recite the words — and an air in which every voice can join. We should deem poorly of the heart that would not thrill as the song is heard, like the * sound of many waters,' echoing among the hills and mountains. Such are the scenes, the associ- ations, and such the influence of eternal things upon a nature so * fearfully and wonderfully' constituted as ours, that little effort is necessary on such a theme as religion, urged at such a place, under such circum- stances, to fill the heart and the eyes. The hoary orator talks of God, of eternity, a judgment to come, and all that is impressive beyond. He speaks of his ' experi- ences,' his toils, and travels, his persecutions, and wel- comes, and how many he has seen in hope, in peace, and triumph, gathered to their fathers; and when he speaks of the short space that remains to him, his only regret is, that he can no more proclaim, in the silence of death, the mercies of his crucified Redeemer. 278 RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. ** There is no need of the studied trick of oratory to produce in such a place the deepest movements of the heart. No wonder, as the speaker pauses to dash the gathering moisture from his own eye, that his audi- ence are dissolved in tears, or uttering the exclama- tions of penitence. Nor is it cause for admiration, that many who poised themselves on an estimation of higher intellect, and a nobler insensibility than the crowd, catch the infectious feeling, and become women and children in their turn ; and though ' they came to mock, remain to pray.' " Notwithstanding all that has been said in derision of these spectacles so common in this region, it cannot be denied, that their influence, on the whole is salutary, and the general bearing upon the great interests of the community, good. It will be long before a regular ministry can be generally supported, if ever. In place of that nothing tends so strongly to supply the want of the influence resulting from the constant duties of a stated ministry, as the recurrence of these explosions of feeling which shake the moral world and purify its atmosphere, until the accumulating seeds of moral dis- ease require a similar lustration again. " Whatever be the cause, the effect is certain, that through the State of Tennessee, parts of Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, these excitements have produced a palpable change in the habits and manners of the people. The gambling and drinking-shops are deserted ; and the people that used to congregate there, now go to the religious meetings. RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. 279 The Methodists, too, have done great and incalculable good. They are generally of a character, education, and training, that prepare them for the elements upon which they are destined to operate. They speak the dialect, understand the interests, and enter into the feelings of their audience. They exert a prodigious and incalculable bearing upon the rough back-woods- men ; and do good where more polished and trained ministers would preach without effect. No mind but His for whom they labour can know how many profane they have reclaimed, drunkards they have reformed, and wanderers they have brought home to God." I have already noticed that Mr. Flint is no fanatic, and I think I can prove this on his own authority, by quoting the following striking passage from one of his letters to a friend : — " You and I, (he writes), think alike about the monstrous absurdities of the Catholic faith ; but we differ about what it would be if these ab- surdities were laid aside, as I trust they gradually will be. There can be no question about the revolting con- tradictions of the real presence, the infallibility of the pope or the church, and other additions of the dark ages to their faith and ceremonial. But their reveren- tial attachment to their ministers, their disposition to regard their church, and their doctrine everywhere as one ; their unwillingness to dispute about the articles of their faith ; their disposition to sacrifice personal in- terests to the common cause ; and the imposing forms of their worship ; might not be regarded by Protes- tants without utility. When I have seen tranquillity ^80 RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. settle on the expiring countenance of the Catholic, after his minister has administered extreme unction and said, * Depart, Christian soul,' I have regretted the condition of those who have always been perplex- ing themselves about points that human reason has no concern with, and who have nothing but doubting for this last solemn hour." Mrs. TroUope's opinions are upon this subject in direct opposition to her friend Mr. Flint's. She sees nothing right, at least if she writes what she really believes, but the doctrines and forms of the National Church. She seems even a more prejudiced person in religious matters than Dr. Johnson, who, when writing of the state of religion in the western islands of Scot- land, which he was visiting, admitted that the people " had no reason to complain of insufficient pastors, for I saw not one in the islands whom I had reason to think either deficient in learning or irregular in life, but found several with whom I could not converse with- out wishing, as my respect increased, that they had not been Presbyterians." Dr. Johnson admitted, that the clergy were able, learned, and of irreproachable lives; but all would not do, unless they were of the Church of England. Mrs. TroUope's views are even more contracted than those of this most illiberal high churchman. She allows no good quality where the individual does not belong either to the Roman Catholic Church, or to the Church of England. About twelve o'clock on the 14th April, we reached 10 RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. 281 the junction of the Mississippi with the Ohio, which Mr. Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia, describes as " the most beautiful river on earth ; its currents gentle ; waters clear ; and bosom smooth ; unbroken by rocks and rapids, — a single instance only excepted, — for nearly 1000 miles. The French who first navigated the Ohio, on their descent of the Mississippi from Canada, uniformly called it " la helle riviere,'' 282 MISSISSIPPI. CHAPTER XXVIII. Junction of the Mississippi with the Ohio — Turbidity of the Mississippi and clearness of the Ohio — Extent of the boatable Waters of the Ohio — Course of the Ohio — Current — Tennessee River — Cumber- land River — Shawneetown — New Harmony — Mr. Audubon — Banks of Ohio — Shipping-port — Hacks to Louisville— Passengers in the Constitution — Mr. Ferrall's Description of the Society in a Missis- sippi Steam-boat — Accidents to Steam-boats on the Mississippi — Rapids of the Ohio — Canal to remove the obstruction they create — Allen's Hotel at Louisville — Details oftheTown — Mr. Palmer, book- seller — Mr. Cosbie — Churches — Evening Society here — Morals of the People — Mr. Abel, a Catholic Clergyman — 700,000 Catholics in the United States — Sunday at Louisville — Houses of doubtful Cha- racter in the Neighbourhood of Louisville — Mrs. Trollope's opinion of the Decorum of the American Ladies — Opinions respecting Mr. Owen's Establishment at Harmony, by Mr. Ainslie and others — Theatre at Louisville — Mrs. Drake — Market — Hotel Table — Voy- age in the Volunteer Steam-boat from Louisville to St. Louis — Double Steam-boat for removing Snags— Construction of the Boat — Value — Commercial Loss annually occasioned by the Sawyers and Planters — Number of Steam-boats on theWestern Rivers — Tonnage — Number of Flat-boats — Quantity of Wood used in the largest Steam-boats — Passengers to St. Louis — A married Lady going a Thousand Miles on a Visit — Mr. Garrard, an English Farmer — Mr. Mather, Member of the House of Representatives of Illinois — De- tails from Mr. Mather as to Mr. Birkbeck, and his appointment as Secretary of State, and Rejection by the Senate — No Grounds for the reported Antipathy of the Americans to the British — Mr. Mather's JUNCTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 283 Recommendation of the Sangamon District of Illinois — Four Emi- grants from New England to Illinois — A British Officer now settled in America, who was with Mr. Hunt at the Manchester Meeting — Mr. Keyte, Merchant at St. Louis — His Purchase of Land on the Missouri — Captain Rice — A German carrying Monangahela Whisky for Sale — Mr. Brox's Farm on the Ohio — Appearance of the Mis- sissippi above the Confluence with the Ohio — Cape Girardeau Plantations — Kaskaskia River — St. Genevieve — Herculaneum— Cliffs of Selma— Village of Carondelet— Approach to St. Louis. April 1830. The Ohio enters the Mississippi nearly in a south- easterly direction ; but the latter turns immediately to the south-west, and thence moves on majestically, with a current more rapid than the Ohio, In ordinary seasons and in ordinary circumstances these rivers are nearly two miles wide, and with a volume of water pretty much alike at the point of junction. They seem to oppose an equal resistance, slacken their course, and appear to sleep together for some leagues in their com- mon bed. When floods take place, and the Ohio is the highest, it was no easy matter, before the introduction of steam-vessels, to accomplish the ascent of the Ohio at the junction. When the Mississippi is the highest, the Ohio is often as it were dammed up for several miles. On the one side you perceive the Mississippi presenting a vast agitated and turbid body of water ; and on the other the Ohio comparatively clear, calm, descending slowly from the north. The point where their streams unite, though elevated more than twenty feet above them, is not visible in great inundations, when their united waters form a prodigious lake. The 284 OHIO RIVER. turbidity of the Mississippi, and the comparative clear- ness of the Ohio, are distinctly observable in the rivers when their waters meet. No river in the world rolls for the same distance so uniformly, smoothly, and peacefully, as the Ohio. Boats are never endangered on its bosom, except by mismanagement or by storms. The banks of the river are generally high, rising into cliffs and hills frequently to the height of 300 or 400 feet. Between these high grounds and the river there is generally a stripe of land, of unequal width, called the bottom. This appellation is generally given to the alluvial land on the banks or edges of the rivers. Between the mouth of the Ohio and Pittsburg, situated at the junction of the Alleghany and Monan- gahela rivers, which form the Ohio river, there are above 100 considerable islands, many of them of ex- quisite beauty, covered with the finest trees, and afford- ing most enviable situations for residences. The trees on the sides of the Ohio, especially the sycamores, are reckoned the largest in North America. The rapidity of the current varies at a rate between one and three miles. The river is subject to great eleva- tions and depressions. The average difference between high and low water is about fifty feet, the lowest stage being in September and the highest in March. It is said to be difficult to decide whether the Ohio has the most beautiful appearance in the spring, when it rolls along between full banks — or in the autumn, when between the ripples it is calm and still, with broad and clean BREADTH CURRENT. 2S5 sand-bars,— or in the ripples, where its transparent waters glide rapidly over the pebbly bottom. The Ohio and its tributaries contain at least 5000 miles of boatable waters. Few rivers in the world, therefore, can vie with it, either in utility or beauty. Its general breadth is about 800 yards, varying from 400 to 1 ,400. Its navigation is stopped for about six weeks every year by ice. After a day's sail upon the river, Captain Paul asked me if I had ever seen so beautiful a river ? I replied, that, though I admired it much, it was not to be com- pared, in point of varied and striking scenery, with the Hudson. I do not know that he would have been well pleased if I had compared it with the Rhine or any European river, and had not given the preference to the Ohio ; but he was quite satisfied with my answer. He knew, he said, that I was without prejudices. It is, I believe, chiefly to my always giving my real senti- ments, free from gibe or sarcasm, to the people of this country, and convincing them, even when I have dif- fered from them in opinion, by the manner of doing it, that I have no inimical feeling, that I am indebted for the never-failing attention which I receive — I never have been treated by any one whom I had the slightest reason to care about in this country, otherwise than with kindness and civility. Our course after entering the Ohio was, owing to the current being less rapid, considerably quicker than it had been in the Mississippi. We now sometimes proceeded at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour. 2S6 OHIO RIVER. About five hours' sail from the Mississippi we passed the mouth of the Tennessee river, which after a course of 1200 miles in the States of Kentucky and Tennessee, including 1000 miles adapted to boat navigation, and a great part of it to steam-boats of the largest size, dis- charges itself into the Ohio. Tennessee is so large a river, that it has been ques- tioned whether its volume of water does not equal that of the Ohio. About sixty miles after we entered the Ohio we passed the mouth of the Cumberland river, which is navigable for steam-boats as far as Nashville, the capital of the State of Tennessee. Not far from the mouth of Cumberland river we stopped to take in wood at a point w^here the banks were very picturesque and deep. The population here becomes much more considerable, and the wood proportionably cheaper, — about a dollar and a half, and in some places a dollar and a quarter, per cord. At this station all the people putting the wood on board wore yellow leather slippers. About 120 miles from the junction of the river, on the south-west border of Illinois, in Shawneetown, a place of some consideration on the banks of the Ohio. There is a great deal of cultivation and good land. Judge Hall, author of Letters from the West, pub- lished in London in 1828, who formerly resided here, is now settled at Vandalia, the seat of legislation for Illinois. Near Shawneetown is a saw-mill driven by the back water from the river. About ten miles fur- ther on is the mouth of the Wabash river, the boun- SHIPPING PORT. 287 dary between the States of Indiana and Illinois. This is a beautiful river, which rises in the north-western part of the State of Ohio, and is navigable for steam- boats for about 400 miles, one half of that distance being above Vincennes. New Harmony, formerly Mr. Owen's settlement, is about 100 miles from the mouth of the Wabash. Hen- dersonville, on the Kentucky side of the river, between forty and fifty miles from the "Wabash, is remarkable for having been for some time the residence of Mr. Audubon, the ornithologist. The banks of the river from hence to Louisville become even bolder than be- fore, and the country better inhabited and more culti- vated. About twenty miles from our landing-place, a sycamore tree was pointed out to me on the banks of the Ohio, which is fifty-four feet in circumference. We reached Shipping-port, an inconsiderable place, within a mile of Louisville, in the night between the 16th and 17th. Shipping-port is the place at which all the steam-boats coming from New Orleans, unless when the river is very high, are obliged to stop, in consequence of the falls or rapids of the river, which occur immediately above Shipping-port. When we landed at between five and six o'clock on the morning of the 17th April, we found hackney coaches in abundance waiting to convey us to Louis- ville, and, what amused us, some of them were drawn by four horses, on account of an ascent of no great consequence, on the way from Shipping-port to Louisville. 288 STEAM-BOAT TRAVELLERS. There was no remarkable person among the passen- gers in the Constitution ; but I do not remember to have heard an angry word in the vessel, unless when the captain, on our touching at any of the landing-places, found that the curiosity of the passengers had led them to the veranda or gallery, on that side of the boat next the landing-place. The veranda being on the outside of the upper deck, any great extra weight in that situa- tion makes the boat heel to one side, and then there is some risk of an explosion of one of the boilers from want of water. Mr. Bamborough came up to Missis- sippi from Natchez with us. He resides at Shipping- port, and gains a livelihood as a portrait painter, occa- sionally visiting distant parts of the country by the steam-boat, with the view of increasing his professional income. He is a very good-humoured person, and seemed a great favourite with the Americans. He is from Newcastle-on-Tyne, and, I believe, came out here originally with the intention of farming. There was also in the boat a young man of the name of Macleod, from Glasgow, a locksmith, who had been for some years at New Orleans, and whose health has never yet suffered, owing, as he says, to his sobriety and modera- tion. He admits that he is in a far more comfortable situation here than at home. He receives regularly seventy-five dollars a month, and 100 dollars per month if he remains in the city, which he has hitherto done, during the unhealthy season. He has seen almost all his friends, who remained in the city during the un- healthy part of the season, die. He was making this STEAM-BOAT SOCIETY. 289 trip merely with a view to see the country, and for exercise and health. The general description of the society in a Missis- sippi steam-boat is very accurately given by Mr. Fer- rall : — " Here you may see gentlemen, * nigger trad- ers,' farmers, * Congress men,' captains, generals, and judges, all seated at the same table, in true republican simplicity. There is no appearance of awkwardness in the behaviour of the humblest person you see seated at those tables, and indeed their general good conduct is remarkable : I mean when compared with that of the same class in England. The truth is, the tradesman here finds himself of some importance in the scale of society, and endeavours to show that he is fully quali- fied to be seated at the same table, en passant, with the most wealthy citizen. No doubt the higher classes have some of that high polish rubbed off by these occasional contacts with their less civilized fellow-citizens ; but the humbler classes decidedly gain what they lose. All dress well, and are American gentlemen." ^^ Many accidents happened to the steam-boats on the I river, at the time when we were on the Mississippi, from the bursting of the boilers, especially to the Huntress, the Kentuckian, and the Caledonian, and a great loss of lives took place; but such accidents occur so fre- quently on the western rivers, that they make far less impression than would be expected, especially by those who remember the intense sensation that followed the loss of the Comet steam-boat in the river Clyde, in Scotland, some years ago. VOL. II. o v/ 290 OHIO RAPIDS. The faJls or rapids of the Ohio, near Louisville, which are the only rapids in that river, amount to a descent of twenty-two or twenty-three feet in two miles. Above the rapids the river is deep, and three-quarters of a mile broad. The rapids are occasioned by a ledge of rocks extending across the river, hardly perceptible when the river is full, unless by the greater velocity of the boat, which descends over them frequently at the rate of twelve miles an hour. When the water is low the passage be- comes dangerous, and generally impracticable. The merchants of Louisville are therefore the agents for the great business which concentrates here, taking out the goods from the steam-boats below the falls, and re- shipping them in the steam-boats above them, and which proceed to Cincinnati, Pittsburg, and all the upper part of the Ohio. The great inconvenience which the falls occasion to the navigation of the river is in full progress of being removed, by a canal undertaken by an incorporated company. The work is carried on on the Louisville side of the river. The canal is two miles in length, cut out of the solid rock, and in some places forty feet deep, and is of sufficient width to allow the largest class of steam-boats to pass. Dry docks are to be constructed for the repairing of steam-boats. The execution of the work seemed to me to be good. There is at present a want of funds, but the work is so far advanced, that there is no risk of its not being completed. The falls are visible from the town, and form a striking feature in the beautiful view which it commands of a very LOUISVILLE. 291 fine country, very unequal in height, and of the noble river, embracing a large island immediately below Louisville, together with the village of Shipping-port on the one side of the river, and of Jeffersonville, in the State of Indiana upon the other. I was conveyed in one of the hacks (of which there are about fifty, and for which the fare is a quarter of a dollar for each person,) from Shipping-port to Allen's hotel at Louisville. This hotel, a large comfortable house, is situated in the main street of Louisville, which is about a mile in length. The three chief streets run parallel with the river, and the appearance and situa- tion of the town are altogether handsome. There are several churches, though not so many considering that the population is about 10,000, as in the towns of equal extent on the eastern coast of America. I had resolved to remain two or three days here, and then going by the Mississippi to St. Louis, to re- turn to Louisville, through the States of Illinois and Indiana. I lost no time after breakfast in proceeding to a bookseller's store, and very luckily stepped into that of Mr. Palmer, whom I found to be a Scotchman from Kelso, settled in this country since the year 1801. Here I met Mr. Cosbie, who is at the head of a seminary for education at LouisviUe. No formal introduction to strangers being necessary in this country, we soon be- came acquainted, which I found a very fortunate cir- cumstance for me during the days I passed here, before going to St. Louis, as well as on my return. Mr. Palmer and Mr. Cosbie were kind enough to make me spend o2 292 - LOUISVILLE. a considerable part of my time with them, either in Mr. Palmer's or Mr. Cosbie's family. Both of these gentlemen are thoroughly conversant with the state of this country. I learned from Mr. Cosbie that he had heard from Nashville in Tennessee, that Major Lewis, of the treasury at Washington, had written to a friend of his there to be serviceable to me, in case of my visit- ing that place. This was a mark of very uncommon attention on his part, which I fear it may never be in my power to acknowledge in person. I had a great deal of conversation with Mr. Cosbie, as well as with JMr. Palmer, respecting the measures at present in pro- gress against some of the Indian tribes, as well as the state of slavery in the southern parts of the Union. There was no real difference of opinion between us upon these important subjects. All must be aware that great difficulty exists in the way of any general scheme of emancipating slaves, but Mr. Cosbie expressed his anxious wish, as well as his expectation, that slavery would soon be at an end in the State of Kentucky ; the people being generally satisfied, from the example of the neighbouring State of Ohio, a free State, the pro- gress of which, though not consisting of better soil than Kentucky, has been so much more rapid in population and wealth, that the existence of slavery is inimical to the march of improvement in all respects. The slaves compose only about one-fifth part of the popu- lation of Kentucky. Mr. Cosbie seems confident that they will all be emancipated in ten years. Mr. Cosbie pointed out to me the views in the neighbourhood, and POPULATION. 293 showed me every sort of civility v^^hicli a stranger can receive. The way of spending the evening here (I had the pleasure of spending several with Mr. Cosbie and Mr. Palmer), is similar to that which prevails generally in the United States. Tea and coffee, with variety of bread, and some meat, are put on the table, between seven and eight in the evening ; and after tea wine is introduced. Mr. Cosbie seems to me admirably cal- culated for the situation which he fills. There is no pedantry about him, and his manners are as agreeable as those of any one whom I have seen in this country. The ladies in both famihes are worthy of all praise. The morals of the people at Louisville, owing I suspect to their intercourse with Natchez, and with New Or- leans, and also to the population being very shifting, (sometimes thirty steam-boats here, and sometimes none), are far less strict than in many parts of the United States. Only a small part of the population go to church. It was recommended to me, on the Sunday which I passed there, to hear Mr. Abel, a Roman Ca- tholic clergyman, preach in a small chapel, which was very crowded. He is a clever young man, and speaks with great ardour, though rather in an angry tone ; but he is exceedingly fluent, and will, I have no doubt, in pro- gress of time, be an eloquent preacher. He spoke about forty -five minutes on faith, which he defined to be a belief of mysteries beyond the reach of the human understand- ing. Before the service was concluded, he recommended to the notice of his congregation, that they might sub- scribe for it, a periodical publication, edited by the Ca- o3 294} LOUISVILLE. tholic clergy. He charged the Catholics of the United States generally with supineness and lukewarmness in not encouraging such publications. There were, he said, 700,000 Catholics in the United States, and only four periodical publications, ill supported, published at Boston, Baltimore, Charleston, and in some other of the cities, the name of which did not reach my ear. A great many of the people in Louisville seem to amuse themselves on Sundays in driving about the town in the four-horse hacks. The drive is very beau- tiful ; there is a considerable extent of smooth dry sward, upon which there are still some handsome dropping trees, which, however, will soon disappear, as the build- ings increase, Louisville being a very thriving town. A little way out of town, on the way to Shipping- port, there are two or three houses, obviously occu- pied by females of light character, as they display them- selves at the doors. This is a nuisance which certainly ought to be abated, as well as the still more flagrant abomination of the same kind, which exists at the land- ing-place at Natchez ; but it would be unfair not to mention, that with these exceptions, I have seen no instance of female indecorum in the streets of any of the cities or villages of the United States. It is pro- bable that the young married lady of fastidious deli- cacy, whom a late female writer on America describes as living near a house of doubtful reputation, at some dis- tance from a populous city, and employing herself in watching the people who went to it, that she might ex- pose them, resided near some of those houses in the AMERICAN LADIES. 295 environs of Louisville, because, from what I observed, and w^as told, I take it to be very difficult to point out houses of this description any where else situated out of the towns. This story is laid hold of by the lady in question to aflford her an opportunity of introducing an insinuation amounting pretty nearly to this, that the American ladies are not possessed of those feelings of delicacy to which they lay claim. The story as it appears to me is far more improper for the eye of the public than of the individual to whom it was communicated. Want of decorum is more chargeable on her who pub- lishes, than on her who communicates it in private. But what importance can be attached to a solitary insulated fact of this kind in the face of the same writer's repeated declarations, that the American ladies devote too much of their time to the cares of their famiKes, — to their domestic duties — and of the instances of even too great female prudery, which she relates. At Louisville I became acquainted with several peo- ple who, some time ago, formed part of Mr. Owen's celebrated estabKshment at New Harmony. Mr. Ains- lie, a Scotchman, now an extensive brewer here, — Mr. Simpkins, an English farmer, — Mr. Mackenzie, a Scotchman, both of whom are now doing well as store- keepers at Shipping-port. All give a lamentable account of the want of arrangement and management which prevailed in that establishment, and which, with other causes, soon led to its end. Altercations never ceased. Mr. Owen wanted firmness to proceed on the same or any regular system for any length of time. These o 4 296 LOUISVILLE. gentlemen whom I saw, would have blamed Mr. Owen much for inducing persons to come from Britain to ac- cept profitable situations as was represented to them, in the establishment, and for subsequently dismissing them at once when he broke it up, were it not that they were satisfied, that during the period when the estab- lishment was carried on, his loss must have been great. At present he is unable to dispose of the very valuable part of the settlement which still belongs to him. The Theatre at Louisville was under repair when I was there, but though in an unfinished state, it was open one evening while I remained, and I had the pleasure of seeing Mrs. Drake, the best tragic actress in the United States, and who would be reckoned a good actress anywhere. This theatre, though small, is on a very improved construction in one respect, that it has a totally separate entrance for ladies who are not received in society. Why is not this attended to in the large British theatres ? There is a very good market at Louisville, at a very early hour, as is usual all over America, between five and six o'clock, a. m. at this season. There are public reading-rooms here, to which every stranger is ad- mitted gratis. At the hotel table at Louisville, there was a greater rush into the room when dinner was announced, than at any other place where I have been. There were probably fifty or eighty people at table. "Wherever I found this to be the case, which seldom happened, I have waited until the whole crowd went into the room. DOUBLE STEAM-BOATS. 297 I never failed to find the place which I liked the best, next or near the landlord. I embarked in the Volunteer steam-boat, Captain Wood, on the afternoon of the 20th April, for St. Louis. She is of the burden of 120 tons, and of sixty- horse power. We had, in the first place, to retrace our steps to the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi. We passed a new double steam-boat employed in removing the ob- structions to the navigation of the Mississippi and Ohio. The control of all the commercial concerns of the United States, being reserved by the constitution to the General Congress, the legislature has, since the intro- duction of steam-boats, been employed in devising measures to remove the obstructions occasioned by the sawyers and planters in the western rivers, and has granted funds for that purpose to the amount of 200,000 or 300,000 doUars. The boat which we passed is the invention of Captain Shreve, one of the oldest navigators of the Mississippi, and has cost between 26,000 and 27,000 dollars. It is a double steam-boat, united at the bows by an immense beam. The whole weight and power of the boat and engine are made to operate by the use of this cross beam, as a lever upon the sawyers and planters, and they are forced from their position, or broken off near the bed of the river, with great ease and rapidity. This boat has already rendered safe some of the worst channels of the Mississippi ; and some of the most dangerous passes of that river present now only smooth sheets of water. o5 298 DOUBLE STEAM-BOATS. The loss to the commerce of the western States, occasioned by the sawyers and planters, has been esti- mated at ten per cent. ; and some idea may be formed of the quantity and value of the produce transported up and down the Mississippi from the fact, that there are now (1830) 330 steam-boats, averaging 250 tons' burden, engaged in the commerce of the western rivers, besides 4000 flat boats, the average cost of which is about 100 dollars each, which, after their arrival at New Orleans, are broken up, and sell for a mere trifle, — six or ten dollars. It is calculated that three of these double steam- boats, called snag-boats, will be sufficient to remove all the obstructions annually forming by the fallen trees, besides deepening the channel of the Mississippi, over the bar at its mouth. A very large steam-boat met us on the second day of our voyage, of the burden of about 600 tons. Her ex- pence during her last voyage for wood amounted to no less than 1500 dollars. She had nine eighteen-feet boilers, double flued. There was a very pleasant and rather remarkable assemblage of passengers on the voyage to St. Louis. One of them was a married lady, with two children, going above 1000 miles, on a \dsit to her father at Pal- myra, on the upper part of the Mississippi. She was to re-embark at St. Louis in another steam-boat. There was Mr. Garrard, an Englishman, who had been in this country for above seven years. He had been a farmer in the neighbourhood of London, the tenant of FARMING MR. GARRARD. 299 about 180 acres of land in Middlesex, belonging to Mr. John Trotter, of Soho Square, on the side of the road opposite to Mr. Byng's property. Every year, for seve- ral years before his emigration, he had found his capi- tal diminishing, notwithstanding the exertion of all the industry in his power. He therefore gave up his farm, while he still had some part of his capital remaining. He acquired 150 acres at some distance from Pittsburg, and commenced farming with English servants. He did not find this plan answer. He could have lived on the farm without diminishing his capital, but he could not make any great surplus. The land, however, was wanted for some public purpose, and he got a liberal payment, on the sale, for all his improvements. He then took on lease, and has occupied for the last two years, 270 acres of land near Pittsburg, which, he finds, makes him a valuable return, chiefly for potatoes and hay. He has now American servants, who board and eat with him. His words to me were, that they were ten times better informed than Englishmen, who knew nothing beyond their own business about farming or marketing. Mr. Garrard does not approve of the Ame- rican custom of having the servants out at work more than ten hours a-day. He thinks that quite as much work is done in ploughing or carting by an English- man as by an American ; but that an American is more ready to put his hand to any sort of work than an Englishman, — and if he has to work with an axe, can do a great deal more. Mr. Garrard gets all his imple- ments at Pittsburg, as well as if he was in London. o6 300 MR. BIRKBECK. Mr. Garrard seemed to me a well-informed person on agricultural subjects. We had also in the steam-boat Mr. Mather, a member of the House of Representatives of Illinois, who was formerly speaker of that house, at the period when Mr. Birkbeck was appointed secretary of state for Illinois by Mr. Coles, the governor of that State, and when he was rejected by the senate, solely on ac- count of his anti-slavery sentiments. The fact was, that Mr. Birkbeck had been very instrumental at a convention held by the people, in preventing IlHnois from being a slave-holding State, by writing a great deal against slavery, and very much to the purpose, especially by the letters which he published under the signature of Jonathan Freeman. He thus be- came very popular with the people, as well as with the governor; but a majority of the senate were slave- holders, and wished slavery to be continued in the State. Mr. Birkbeck was very much hurt when he heard of his rejection, thinking that it had taken place on account of his being a foreigner ; but he was quite reconciled to it, on finding that the real cause was his anti-slavery opinions. Mr. Birkbeck, during the short period that he acted as secretary of state, wrote an excellent message from the governor of the State to the legislature. . The antipathy to the British, which is said by many late English writers to prevail in America, is not coun- tenanced by such an appointment as that of Mr. Birk- beck's, to fill the second office of a State larger in ter- 6 SANGAMON DISTRICT. 301 ritory, and far more fertile in soil, than Great Britain, at a period when he had been only a very few years in the United States. Neither does it appear in the other appointments which I have mentioned in the course of this journal, of Englishmen and Scotchmen to be mem- bers of the legislature, and to fill other employments. Mr. Gales, the mayor of Washington, is an English- man. The officers of militia are in many States ap- pointed by the inhabitants indiscriminately from the English as well as the American settlers. One of Mr. Owen's sons has a command in the militia of the State of Indiana. I have never heard a foreigner settled in this country complain that he was not treated as well in all respects as the natives. Mr. Mather very much recommended me, as a tra- veller, to visit the Sangamon district, which is situated in Illinois, about twenty miles from the Illinois River, giving it as his opinion that the situation was healthy, and the land of the finest quality that he knew any where. There are no less than four persons in the upper cabin of the boat firom New Hampshire, in New Eng- land, on their way to get settlements in Illinois. One of the most singular passengers in the boat is an English gentleman, who now has a manufactory on the Ohio. He had formerly been an officer in the British army, and fought at Corunna ; but after the war, he had been in the habit of attending political meetings, and was at Manchester on the lamentable occasion when many lives were lost, in the year 1819. He did not think it prudent to risk a trial, as Mr. Hunt did, and 302 MR. KBYTE. having escaped to France, he emigrated to the United States with his family, and is now engaged in a pros- perous undertaking. He has still a great deal of the manners of an old soldier, and cannot live comfortably without his port wine. He cannot get it good at the hotels, or in the steam-boats of this country, and there- fore carries it about in large bottles, called Jeroboams, with him. It happened oddly enough, when he was giving us an account one evening of the particulars of the Manchester transaction, that a gentleman upon the opposite side of the table in the saloon of the steam- boat, interrupted him, in order to set him to rights as to some details w^hich he was relating, and that this gentleman also was present at Manchester, an eye- witness of the deplorable proceedings which took place there. He turned out to be Mr. Keyte, a merchant of some eminence at St. Louis, who left Manchester in consequence of what he considered to be the illegal interference of the military on the occasion alluded to. Mr. Keyte told us that he had made an immense purchase of land upon the Missouri river at a very low price, far below the State price of a dollar and a quarter per acre, in consequence of the land being part of the bounty lands given by Congress to the soldiers during the last war. Many of the soldiers had grants of 320 acres each in the western States ; the soldiers' bounty lands, therefore, amount to immense tracts in the v^estern country. Whole counties belong to them. This land is frequently re-sold at a low price ; but dif- ficulties sometimes occur as to the title, so that, on the whole, it is more prudent for a stranger to buy from MR. BROX*S FARM. SOS the State. Mr. Keyte's land had been bought, in the first instance, from the soldiers, or their representatives, by Mr. Stokes, an Englishman, who had made a great deal of money by being engaged in conducting the de- fence of the late Duke of York, when arraigned before the House of Commons in the year 1809. Mr. Keyte was one of the people at St. Louis to whom Captain Hall had introductions. It so happened, also, that one of our fellow passengers in the boat was Captain Rice, captain of a steam-boat, who carried Captain Hall to the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri. Among the deck passengers, there was a German who had 2300 gallons of Monangahela whisky on board. He had already carried it 1300 miles, and expected to carry it 700 miles further before he could get a market, even at the too cheap price of about one shilling sterling per gallon ; — it was of very tolerable quality. One of our stopping-places for wood, not far above the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio, was at Mr. Brox's farm, on the west side of the river. He has 700 acres of fine land, about 100 head of cattle, and an innumerable quantity of pigs. He says he has no diflSculty in selling all the produce of his farm ; he dis- poses of his stock to the New Orleans' butchers, who go all over this country to make their purchases ; — and there are merchants who have great depots of grain, salted pork, and other agricultural produce, which they scour the country to collect, and afterwards carry to New Orleans. The prices are variable — and Mr. Brox 304 CAPE GIRARDEAU PLANTATIONS, thinks, as every farmer or planter does, are too low ; but there is no want of a ready market in any part of the western States hitherto settled. Navigable rivers, generally fit for steam-boats, are within reach. Mr. Brox claims descent from Bishop Brox of England. Above the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi, the appearance of the Mississippi changes a good deal for the better ; the high grounds approach nearer the river, and a greater number of old French plantations are in view. About fifty miles from the confluence on the west side of the river, there is a considerable col- lection of settlers at a place called Cape Girardeau, situated on a height. The plantations in this neigh- bourhood extend forty or fifty miles into the interior. About ten or twelve miles further on, the current, close to the Hanging-Dog Island, and to the Devil's Tower, is so violent, that we made very little head- way in a dark night, between the 22d and the 23d of April ; but the scenery, when day-light allowed us to enjoy it, was interesting. The heights reach very nearly to the river, and there are fine single trees on its banks. The deer were swimming in the river here at no great distance from the boat. About ninety miles from the junction we passed the mouth of Kaskaskia River, in the State of Illinois, on the east side of the Mississippi. A few miles from the mouth of this river, the French, in former times, had one of their greatest establishments, even of a date prior to the foundation of the great city of Philadelphia. At one period it contained 7000 inhabitants, now re- ST. GENEVIEVE ISLAND. 305 duced to about 1000. The situation is beautiful, in the centre of a fine piece of land, and in a fertile dis- trict. It is still, however, the seat of justice for a county, — has a bank, a printing-oflice, a Catholic church, and a land-ofiice. St. Genevieve Island is about seventy miles from St. Louis, near the mouth of a creek, about a mile wide, within which is the town of St. Genevieve, occupied chiefly by a French population. A good deal of busi- ness is done here, and there are about 2000 inhabit- ants. Twenty miles further on is the flourishing town of Herculaneum in Missouri, a great mart for lead, and for the manufacture of shot. Captain Wight's house, near the shot tower, is a good specimen of a stone house in this remote country. In the neigh- bourhood of Herculaneum are the singularly beautiful cliffs of Selma, limestone rocks of the most diversified heights and figures. There are great rafts of wood in this part of the Mississippi, and the most unremitting attention is ne- cessary, in order to avoid accidents. Carondelet is another of the old French villages which we passed, and is in a rather handsome situa- tion. This place has also got the name of Vide Pouche, from the inhabitants not being in a thriving condition. They are French people, — settled upon the land with- out getting a title to it, and who, being unable to pay for the improvements, are constantly in fear of being turned out of possession. The approach by water to St. Louis, which may be 306 ST. LOUIS. properly called the metropolis of the country on the west side of the Mississippi, is very handsome. The bank rises rapidly for about twenty feet above the river, and then more gradually for forty or fifty feet further. The side of the river, as well as part of the plain above it, is covered with the houses which ex- tend along the river in three parallel streets, rising above each other. The principal street is above a mile long. St. Louis was first settled by the French about the year 1765. There are several hotels. There is a Cathohc Cathedral, two Presbyterian Churches, one Baptist, and several other meeting-houses. ST. LOUIS. 307 CHAPTER XXIX. St. Louis — City Hotel — Bed-Rooms meagrely furnished — Situation of the Town — Rich Land — Prairie — French and American Popula- tion — Lead Mines — Minerals — Population — Presbyterian Church — Funeral Sermon — Meeting-house of People of Colour — Coal Fires — Cross the Mississippi in Steam Ferry-boat to Illinois — Team-boat former Conveyance — Captain Williams commands the Steam-boat — Allowance to Engineer — Drive over the Prairie — Its Beauty — Full of Game — No Restriction as to Shooting, nor as to putting Cattle upon the Prairies — Mounds in the Prairie containing Human Bones, Pottery, &c. — Details respecting these Mounds — French Village of Cahokia — Mr. Flint's Account of a French Village, of what it was, and what it is — The late Changes have made the Country not so agreeable to the French, and many have emigrated to the South — Mr. Abrams recommends Illinois, and especially Jacksonville — Mr. Kenney, a Baptist Minister, Candidate to be Governor of Illinois — His Address — Notice of Mr. Kenney from the Illinois Intelligencer — Mr. Lebarge's Carriage — Excursion to St. Charles — Drive to St. Charles — The Missouri — Its Character — Extent — Council Bluffs — Whether has the Name of the Mississippi been properly retained after its Junction with the Missouri — Team Ferry-boat across the Missouri — St. Charles— Situation — Popula- tion — Churches — The French People here — Mr. Mack's Hotel — Mr. Mack gave me a Horse to the Prairie and the Mamelles — Mr. 308 ST. LOUIS, Flint's Account of his First Visit to the Prairie and the Mamelles — Excursion to the United States' Barracks on the Mississippi-^ Beauty of tlie Terrace — Village of Carondelet. April, 1830. We arrived at St. Louis on Sunday the 25th of April, on so cold a morning that the first request I made on reaching the City hotel, in the upper part of the town, was for a fire, which was immediately granted. The hotel turned out a very comfortable one. It contains a great deal of accommodation. The only inconvenience I felt arose from the people not being accustomed, as seems generally the case in the western country, to place water-basins and a towel in every bed-room. The system of washing at some place near the well is general, but the waiters or chambermaids never refuse to bring everything to the bed-room that is desired. It is, however, so little the practice to bring a washing apparatus to the bed-rooms, that they are very apt to forget a general direction regularly to do so. We had a great quantity of fine poultry at this house ; and the table, upon the whole, was extremely well managed. There is much rich land, and a great deal of prairie on both sides of the river in the neighbourhood of St. Louis. It was essentially a French place until within the last fifteen years ; but the American population is now great, and the town in a very thriving state. St. Louis is more nearly in the centre of the great ter- ritories, of which the United States consist, than any LEAD MINES. 309 other city in the Union, and most advantageously situ- ated for commerce, near the point of union of the greatest of the American rivers. The Mississippi is at all times navigable between St. Louis and New Or- leans. The fur trade is carried on to a great extent ; and the neighbourhood of the lead mines, the most ex- tensive on the globe, (consisting of the richest ore, and covering an area of more than 3000 square miles,) renders St. Louis the chief mart for lead. St. Louis is not only rich in this mineral, but contains im- mense quantities of the richest iron ore, and a prodi- gious field of lime, as well as coal. The population consists of about 7000 persons. Several newspapers are printed here. I attended divine worship in the Presbyterian church on the day I reached St. Louis. Having asked the landlord of the inn which was the best church to go to, he at once replied, " I go to no church ; but the Presbyterian minister is the rage." The Presbyterian minister, Mr. Potts, delivered a very good sermon upon this text, " The sting of death is sin," in a very neatly seated church in the upper part of the town. It was a funeral sermon, in consequence of the death of Mr. Woods, an EngUsh gentleman from London, one of the elders or deacons of the church. In the afternoon, I went into a meeting-house of people of colour. They had one of themselves preaching sensibly, though it appeared he was not a man of much education. The sermon was, in great measure, composed of Scriptural quotations, and was delivered impressively ; but there was far less manifestation of excitement than in a church 310 ST. LOUIS. of people of colour, which I afterwards attended at New York. I found that coal fires were universal at St. Louis. There were more Frenchmen than Englishmen in the hotel, and a group of Mexicans from Santa Fe. There is a road or a passable tract, from hence to Santa Fe, which waggons travel with an escort. I made an excursion to the opposite bank of the Mississippi, into the State of Illinois, on the following day. There is a steam ferry-boat across the river, which is about a mile broad. The fare is sixpence sterling ; and seventy dollars is about the amount of the average daily receipts. The first boat put upon the river was a team-boat ; and it answered so well, that a steam-boat has now been established, and the concern is a very good one, belonging to New York people, one of whom. Captain Wiggons, commands the boat. He is a very intelhgent person, and seemed very anxious to substitute a low-pressure engine for the high-pressure one in the boat. I entered into conversation with him ; and as soon as he found that I was from Britain, and travelling for amusement, he directed his collector to receive no money from me, however often I might cross. I availed myself of this privilege again and again, even in taking a carriage and horses across. The engineer of this boat has 1200 dollars a-year. After crossing the river, I engaged one of the neighbouring farmers, Mr. Abrams, to drive me out for a few hours over the immense prairie adjoining, PRAIRIE GAME. 311 which, in one direction, is 100 miles long. The prairie was in great beauty. It consisted of undulating ground, in which there were tracts of roads generally dry. It was covered with wild strawberries, and with crab apples. Here and there, there were lakes, and now and then we came to a plantation of ground, enclosed with the ordinary strong railing of this country, a good cottage, and some cultivated land. The prairie was full of game, deer, wild geese, wild ducks, and the prairie hen. One of the planters whom I saw, a Frenchman from Verdun, gave us a glass of excellent cyder. He is just now finishing a house in the middle of the prairie, attached to which he has got 300 acres of land. He gives a magnificent description of the quantity of game that surround him. With the assistance of a boy, he has killed sixty wild ducks in a morning. There is no restriction against his or any of the planters put- ting as many cattle or horses as they choose on the un- inclosed part of the prairie land, or cutting as much grass as they like ; but the extent of the ground is so great, that a good herdsman is indispensably necessary to look after any cattle put upon the prairie. Mr. Flint says, in reference to the Missouri, what is per- fectly true, that " hundreds of thousands of acres of first-rate wheat land, covered with grass, and perfectly free from shrubs and bushes, invite the plough ; and ,that, if the country were cultivated to a proper extent, it might be the granary of the world." In the prairie which I saw to-day there are a great many of those mounds, some of them of considerable 8 I 312 CONICAL MOUNDS. size, which were undoubtedly used chiefly as the bury- ing places of former races of Indians, or the original in- habitants of the country. The mounds are all of regular form, generally cones or pyramids, terminated by a platform, and contain such quantities of human bones as show that the country was at one time inhabited by a far more numerous population than now. Quantities of broken pottery, and ornaments of copper and silver, are frequently found in these mounds. Mr. Flint mentions his having himself discovered in an enclosure near St. Charles, on the Missouri, in which there were two conical mounds, at the depth of four feet, great quantities of broken pottery, belonging to vessels of all sizes and characters, some of them of a size sufficient to contain four gallons. The pottery is unbaked, the glazing incomplete, and the basis of the composition appears to be the alluvial clay carried along the waters of the Mississippi. Some of the mounds are of a height that could only have been raised by many thousand labourers, employed during a great number of years ; some of them being at their base more than 2500 feet in circumference, and nearly 200 feet in height. The pyramid is terminated by a platform of several feet in diameter. Some less elevated platforms are formed on a regular plan, either oval or square. The means employed to render the access to them difficult, seem to indicate an intention of defence. In other parts of the country these constructions are different. In the vicinity of Zanesville, in the State of Ohio, a THEIR GREAT ANTIQUITY. 313 great number of those mounds are surrounded by ramparts, and are excavated within. The ramparts are sometimes of great height, and enclose areas of twenty-five or thirty acres. A great number of human bones are scattered in them. Upon some of these mounds there are trees of prodigious age, — an une- quivocal proof of their great antiquity. It is calcu- lated that there are nearly 3000 of these hillocks in the parts of the country that have been examined. Though rude, they could not have been constructed without the co-operation of a great many men, accustomed to obedience, habituated to discipline, and directed by persons not entirely strangers to the practical rules of geometry. The native inhabitants, the Indians of the present day, are neither sufficiently docile nor suffi- ciently numerous for their chiefs to undertake such works. They, consequently, attest the presence of races less ignorant than those which we see there, though perhaps not much further advanced in civiliz- ation. The first races to which we refer have not existed for several centuries. After driving through the prairie, my charioteer, Mr. Abrams, carried me as far as the village of Cahokia, near which are many of these mounds. It is a French village, in which there seems to be little bustle, but the inhabitants are quite primitive people. They were even surprised to find a stranger among them, and several of them came out of their houses and invited me into them. I went into two of their houses, which were very clean and neat, and had good gardens VOL II. p 314 FRENCH VILLAGE. attached to them. The people still speak the French language. They lead an indolent life in this fine cli- mate. They can support themselves by working two or three days in the week. They dance and fiddle during the rest of it. Mr. Flint has drawn the picture of a French village in the Mississippi in its real colours : It might be Ca- hokia, as it formerly was ; or it might be St. Genevieve as it now is. I can only make a few extracts, but enough to con- vey some idea of his description. ** On the borders of the Mississippi there may be seen the remains of an old French village, which once boasted a numerous population, of as happy and as thoughtless souls as ever danced to a violin. If content is wealth, they were opulent; but they would have been reckoned miserably poor by those who estimate the worldly riches by the more popular standard. Their houses were scattered in disorder like the tents of a wandering tribe, along the margin of a deep bayou, and not far from its confluence with the river ; between which, and the town, was a. stripe of rich alluvion, covered with a gigantic growth of forest trees. When the mosquitos came, the Mounseers lighted their pipes, and kept up not only a brisk fire, but a dense smoke against the as- sailants; and when the fever threatened, the priest, who was also the doctor, flourished his lancet ; the fiddler flourished his bow ; and the happy villagers flourished their heels, and sung and laughed; and fairly cheated death, disease, and the doctor, of patient and of prey. FRENCH VILLAGE. 315 Beyond the town was an extensive prairie, a vast un- broken plain, of rich green, embellished with innume- rable flowers of every tint, and whose beautiful surface presented no other variety than here and there a huge mound, the venerable monument of departed ages, or solitary tree of stinted growth, shattered by the blast, and pining alone in the gay desert. Herds of deer might be seen here at sunrise, and here might be seen immense droves of French ponies, roaming untamed, the common stock of the village, ready to be reduced to servitude by any lady or gentleman who chose to take the trouble. " With their Indian neighbours the inhabitants have uninterruptedly maintained a cordial intercourse. The French have invariably been more successful in secur- ing the confidence and affection of the Indian tribes than any other nation. The French alone have won them to the femiliar intercourse of social life, by treat- ing them as friends and equals. ** This little village society was composed partly of emigrants from France, and partly of natives, not In- dians, but bona fide French bom in America, but pre- serving their language, their manners, and their agility in dancing, although several generations had passed away since their first settlement. There they live per- fectly happy, for they enjoy to the full extent those three blessings on which the American declaration of independence laid so much stress, — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Whether it was ovring to their temperance, or their cheerfulness, or their activity, or p 2 316 FRENCH VILLAGE. to their being acclimated, or to the want of attraction between French people and fever, or to all these toge- ther, certain it is, that they were blessed with a degree of health only enjoyed by the most favoured nations. As to liberty, the wild Indians scarcely possessed more. For all the grand monarque had not more loyal sub- jects in his wide domains, he had never condescended to honour them with a single act of oppression, unless the occasional visits of the commandant could be so called, who sometimes, when levying supplies, called upon the village for its portion, which was always con- tributed with many protestations of gratitude for the honour conferred. As for happiness, the people pur- sued nothing else. To enjoy life was their daily busi- ness, — to provide for its wants an occasional labour, sweetened by its brief continuance and its abundant fruit. They had a large tract of land around the village, which was called the common field, because it belonged to the community. Most of this was allowed to remain in open pasturage, but spots of it were cul- tivated by any who chose to enclose them, and such enclosure gave a firm title to the individual so long as the occupancy lasted, but no longer. They were not an agricultural people, further than the rearing of a few esculents for the table made them such ; relying chiefly on their large herds, and on the produce of the chase, for support. With the Indians they drove an amicable, though not extensive, trade, for furs and poultry, giv- ing them in exchange merchandise and trinkets, which they procured from their countrymen at St. Louis. To FRENCH VILLAGE. 317 the latter place they annually carried their skins, bring- ing back a fresh supply of goods for barter, together with such articles as their own wants required, not forgetting a large portion of finery for the ladies, a plentiful supply of rosin and catgut for the fiddle, and liberal presents for his reverence the priest. " Few evenings passed without a dance, at which all were assembled, young and old, the mothers vieing in agility with their daughters, and the old men setting examples of gallantry to the young. I accompanied their young men," says Mr. Flint, " to the Indian towns, and was hospitably entertained. I followed them to the chase, and witnessed the fall of many a buck. In their light canoes I glided over the turbid waters of the Mississippi, or through the labyrinths of the morass, in pursuit of water-fowl. I visited the mounds, where the bones of thousands of warriors were mouldering, overgrown with prairie violets, and thousands of name- less flowers. I saw the Mocasin snake basking in the sun, — the elk feeding on the prairie ; and returned to mingle in the amusements of a circle, where, if there was not Parisian elegance, there was more than Pa- risian cordiality. ** Several years past away before I again visited this country. The jurisdiction of the Americans was now extended over this immense region, and its beneficial efiects were beginning to be widely disseminated. The roads were crowded with the teams, and herds, and families of emigrants, hastening to the land of promise. Steam-boats navigated every stream, — the axe was p3 318 FRENCH VILLAGE. heard in every forest, — and the plough broke the sod whose verdure had covered the prairie for ages. The Indians had sold their hunting-grounds, and their re- moval deprived the village of its only branch of com- merce. Surveyors were busily employed in measuring off the whole country, with the avowed intention, on the part of the government, of converting into private property those beautiful regions v/hich had heretofore been free to all who trod the soil, or breathed the air. Portions of it were already thus occupied. Farms and villages were spreading over the country with alarming rapidity, deforming the face of nature, and scaring the elk and buffalo from their long-frequented ranges. Yankees and Kentuckians were pouring in, bringing with them the selfish distinctions and destructive spirit of society. Settlements w^ere planted in the immediate vicinity of the village ; and the ancient heritage of the ponies was invaded by the ignoble beasts of the inter- lopers. Certain pregnant indications of civil degene- ration were alive in the land. A county had been established, with a judge, a clerk, and a sheriff; a court- house and jail were about to be built ; two lawyers had already made a lodgment at the county seat ; and a number of justices of the peace and constables were dispersed throughout a small neighbourhood of not more than fifty miles in extent. A brace of physicians had floated in with the stream of population, and seve- ral other persons of the same cloth were seen passing about, brandishing their lancets in the most hostile manner. The French argued very reasonably from all FRENCH VILLAGE. 319 the premises, that a people who brought their own doctors expected to be sick, and that those who com- menced operations in a new country by providing so many engines and officers of justice, must certainly in- tend to be very wicked and litigious. But when the new comers went the fearful length of enrolling them in the militia; when the sheriff, arrayed in all the ter- rors of his office, rode into the village and summoned them to attend the court as jurors ; when they heard the judge enumerate to the grand jury the long list of offences which fell within their cognizance, these good folks shook their heads, and declared that this was no longer a country for them. Some of its inhabitants followed the footsteps of the Indians, and continue to this day to trade between them, and the whites, forming a kind of link between civilized and savage men. A larger portion, headed by the priest, floated down the Mississippi, to seek congenial society among the sugar plantations of their countrymen in the south." Leaving our friends at Cahokia, I returned to Mr. Abrams' house, where I had a very good dinner, with spirits and water, for a quarter of a dollar. Mr. Abrams was as loud in his praises of the Sangamon district of Illinois as Mr. Mather had been, most particularly re- commending the neighbourhood of Jacksonville. I endeavoured, as the stage had not yet, on account of the wetness of the roads, began to run through Illinois, to make a bargain with Mr. Abrams to drive me through the Illinois country, but I thought he asked too much money, and afterwards succeeded at St. Louis in pro- p 4 320 ILLINOIS. curing a better driver, a better carriage, and as good horses, at a cheaper rate. Mr. Abrams gave me an ad- dress from Mr. Kenny, a Baptist minister, the deputy- governor of the State of Illinois, and nov7 candidate to be governor, containing a great deal of curious matter relative to various transactions of his previous life, v/hich had been raked up against him by some of the friends of his opponent. " It has been frequently stated," he says, "by my political enemies, that I am in the habit of treating people for the purpose of influenc- ing their votes. This I consider an aspersion on the in- dependent voters of this State. It is not so, for I have a better opinion of the free and independent voters of Illinois, than to think their votes could be bought with ardent spirits, or any thing else ; and lam not conscious that I have acted with more liberality towards my friends or enemies, either at home or abroad, on the eve of an election, than at any other time. My oppo- nents not being able to produce any evidence from my official or private acts to show that I was a preacher, who ought to be considered dangerous in a church and state point of view, have gone to Virginia and borrowed a part of John Randolph's speech against allowing preachers to have a seat in the legislature. But there are always exceptions from a general rule, and had John Randolph known me as well as my political ene- mies do, I think he would have excepted me. " Great pains have been taken to induce the belief, that I am a violent and intolerant party man. This is not going any farther than that I belong to the repub- ILLINOIS. 321 lican party, and advocate reform when the public good requires it. I hope I shall ever be found opposing every measure that has the most distant tendency to connect church and state, and I shall never be found acting in concert with that class of preachers who ought to be considered dangerous to the civil rights and religious liberties of the community." This is probably a sufficient specimen of an elec- tioneering address in the western country. I see from the Illinois Intelligencer, a newspaper published in Vandalia, that Mr. Kenney is the popular candidate. ** Mr. Kenney (says this paper) has grown up in Illi- nois, and has, by a long course of fair and honourable conduct, built up a reputation which his enemies are vainly endeavouring to overthrow. His reputation must rest on a solid foundation, or it could not have withstood the assaults which have been made upon it with such violence." In the evening of the 26th, after returning to St. Louis, I called at some of the newspaper offices, and procured some newspapers, as usual, gratis. I also set about finding a proper conveyance for one or two expeditions in this neighbourhood, and to take me through Illinois. I fortunately stumbled upon Mr. Lebarge, at St. Louis, a French Canadian, who keeps a second-rate hotel, and lets out carriages and horses, and who agreed to take me on the following day to St. Charles, on the north side of the Missouri. I undertook this expedition on a most lovely day, of which I made a great deal of use. We set ofi" early p 5 3^2 MISSOURI RIVER. in the morning, and in about three hours got the first sight of the gloomy, rapid, and grand Missouri. The distance between St. Louis and the Missouri is about twenty miles, and the drive a very pleasant one, — part of it through prairie land, but most of it through the forest, in which there are numerous plantations. In the midst of it there is a Catholic chapel. The road was very bad, and full of mud holes, when we reached the alluvial land on the side of the Missouri. The sight of the Missouri made me think lightly of the annoyance and jolting to which I had been sub- jected. The first view of the river is far more striking than that of the Mississippi. Its impetuous and wild character, the quantity of trees and wood, and the masses of soil which it tears up and sweeps along with its current, audits extraordinary turbidness, — for in ap- pearance the waters seem almost as thick as thick water- gruel, imparts to this river more, perhaps, than to any other, a degree of natural grandeur allied to the sub- lime. The Missouri rises in the rocky mountains about 3000 miles from: its confluence with the Missis- sippi. The alluvion of the river within the State of Missouri are higher and narrower than those of the Mississippi, and a considerable part of them is settled, that is in the hands of the planters. The Council Bluffs, — an important military station, — is 600 miles up the Missouri. The country in that neighbourhood and to the westward, is still very much in the pos- session of the Indians. It is the home of the buffalo, elk, white bears, antelopes, and mountain sheep. ST. CHARLES. S2S Much has been said on the impropriety of the Mis- sissippi retaining its name after its junction with the Missouri, because the course of the Missouri, pre- viously to the junction, is far longer, and because the quantity of water contained in the Missouri is at the junction far more considerable than that of the Missis- sippi ; and because the character of the river, after the junction, is that of the Missouri, not that of the Mis- sissippi ; the Mississippi being clear and placid, and the Missouri rapid and turbid. But, on the other hand, the course of the river after the junction is that of the Mississippi to the southward, not that of the Missouri, to the eastward, and, what may be thought of more importance, the Mississippi drains a far more extensive and fertile valley than the Missouri. Upon the whole, therefore, and most of all considering that the Missis- sippi is in possession of the name, " the father of wa- ters," seems sufficiently entitled to the designation which he has so long borne. On reaching the shore of the river opposite to St. Charles, we observed the team ferry-boat leaving the opposite bank, but the current was so rapid that she was three quarters of an hour in crossing to the south bank, though the distance is not much more than half a mile. "We succeeded, by running some way along the shore, in recrossing in the team-boat in ten mi- nutes. St. Charles consists chiefly of one long street, con- tains about 1500 inhabitants, and is situated about twenty miles above the mouth of the Missouri, and p6 324f MISSOURI. about the same distance north-west of St. Louis. The bank between the village and the river is of lime- stone, and above the village there is a plateau of great extent. From the high grounds, the prospect of the Missouri, of its islands, and of the neighbouring country, is very magnificent. There is a Protestant and a Catholic church here, and many very fine farms in the neighbourhood. The number of Americans in this village, which was originally French, is now some- what greater than that of the French, St. Charles being now a place of considerable business. The French still present the appearance, in a great degree, of a distinct people, from their gait, complexion, and houses. They have a different costume, walk quicker, and have more sallow complexions, — they bow with more grace, — are more fluent iu conversation, and are always gay and seemingly happy. The wives of the French of this ^ class are accustomed to work at drudgery with sub- \ mission, and, on the whole, there is a much nearer Wssimilation to Indian thoughts and habits than among Wie Americans. They are accustomed from infancy, rather to the life of huntsmen and boatmen, than to that of husbandmen. One of my objects in journeying to St. Charles, was to see the beautiful prairie in its neighbourhood, — and to behold the view of the great rivers, and of the heights which bound the prospect from the Mamelles on the west side of the prairies. I told Mr. Mack, the intelligent hotel-keeper at St. Charles, in whose house we had excellent cheer, that PRAIRIE. 325 it was with this view I came here, and he immediately offered to me, without fee or reward, the use of his horse for this occasion. Mr. Lebarge procured another, as we had left our conveyance on the south side of the river. I do not know when I have had a more delight- ful ride than in the neighbourhood of St. Charles, over the prairie, and to the top of the Mamelles. Mr. Flint's account of the impression made upon him by his first visit to this prairie, and to the Mamelles, is so ex- ceedingly accurate, and so very interesting, that it would be inexcusable were I to omit inserting it. — " It was Sabbath, and a fine September morning, when T came out upon the first prairie of any great size or beauty that I had seen. Every object was brilliant with a bright sun, and wet with a shower that had fallen the preceding evening. The first time a stranger comes in view of this prairie, take it all in all, the most beau- tiful that I have ever seen, a scene strikes him that will never be forgotten. The noble border of wood, that, with its broad curve, skirts this prairie, has features peculiar to the Missouri bottom, and distinct from that of the Mississippi. I observed the cotton trees to be immensely tall, rising like Corinthian columns, en- wrapped with a luxuriant wreathing of ivy, and the Bignonia radicansy with its splendid trumpet-shaped flowers, displayed them glittering in the sun quite on the summits of the trees. The prairie itself was a most glorious spectacle, — such a sea of verdure, in one direction extending beyond the reach of the eye, and presenting millions of flowers of every scent and hue, S26 MISSOURI — MAMELLES. seemed an immense flower-garden. The air was soft and mild. The smoke streamed aloft from the houses and cabins which indented the prairie, just in the edge of the wood. The best view of this prairie is from the " Mamelles," which bound it on the west. " There are evident indications that these mighty- rivers, the Missouri and the Upper Mississippi, once united at the foot of the Mamelles. These are a suc- cession of regular, cone-shaped bluifs (heights,) which the French, — who are remarkable for giving names significant of the fancied resemblance of the thing, — have supposed to resemble the object whose name they bear. From the declivity of these beautiful eminences to the present union of the rivers, is, by their meanders, twenty-five miles. The prairie extends from them more than half this distance towards the junction. To the right, the Missouri converges towards the Missis- sippi by an easy curve, the limits of which are marked by the Missouri bluffs, which form a blue and indented outline over the tops of the grand forest bottoms. You can trace these bluffs to the point of union. To the left, your eye catches the much broader curve of the Upper Mississippi, which presents a regular section of an immense circle. Your eye follows this curve forty miles. In the whole of this distance, the opposite or Illinois shore, is marked with a noble or bold outline, over which hovers a blue and smoky mist. The per- fect smoothness of the basin enclosed between the two rivers, — a carpet of verdure diversified with the most beautiful flowers, and the great extent of the curve, 2 MAGNIFICENT VIEW. 3^7 give the perpendicular bluffs that bound the basin the aspect of mountains. This curve presents an unbroken blue outline, except in one point, and through that chasm is seen the Illinois, whose cliffs are just dis- covered fading aw^ay in the distance at the east. " Between such magnificent outlines, from the foot of the Mamelles, the prairie, in ascending towards the north, has a width of five miles, and is seventy miles in length. On the Mississippi side the prairie touches the river for most of this distance. The aspect of the whole surface is smooth and level, the verdure charming, and the eye reposes upon it with delight. Houses at eight miles* distance over this plain seem just at your feet. A few spreading trees, planted by the hand, are dotted here and there upon the surface. Two fine islands of wood-land, of a circular form, diversify the view. Large flocks of cattle and horses are seen grazing to- gether ; and frequently a herd of wild deer is seen bounding over the plain. In the autumn, immense flocks of pelicans, sand-bills, cranes, geese, swans, ducks, and all kinds of aquatic fowls, are seen hovering over it. The soil is of the easiest culture, and the most exube- rant productiveness. The farms are laid out in paral- lelograms. At the foot of the Mamelles are clumps of hazel bushes, pawpaws, wild grapes, and prairie plums, in abundance. The grass is thick and tall. Corn and wheat grow in the greatest perfection. When I first saw this charming scene, * Here,' said I to my com- panion who guided me, * Here shall be my farm, and here I will end my days.' In effect, take it all in all, 3^8 MAMELLES. I have not seen, before nor since, a landscape which united, in an equal degree, the grand, the beautiful, and fertile. It is not necessary, on seeing it, to be very young or very romantic, in order to have dreams steal over the mind, of spending an American life in these remote plains, which just begin to be vexed with the plough, far removed from the haunts of wealth and fashion, in the midst of rustic plenty, and of this beau- tiful nature. " I will only add, that it is intersected with two or three canals — apparently the former beds of the river ; that the soil is mellow, friable, and of an inky black- ness ; that it immediately absorbs the rain, and affords a road always dry and beautiful to Portage des Sioux. It yields generally forty bushels of wheat, and seventy of corn, to the acre. The vegetable soil has a depth of forty feetf and earth thrown from the bottom of the wells is as fertile as that on the surface. At a depth of forty feet are found logs, leaves, pieces of pit-coal, and a stratum of sand and pebbles, bearing evident marks of the for- mer attrition of running waters. Here are 100,000 acres of land of this description Jit for the plough, " At the lower and northern edge of this prairie is the French village of Portage des Sioux ; and on the op- posite side of the river the beautiful bluffs of which I have spoken. While I stood on the Mamelles, and was looking in that direction, slight clouds and banks of mist obscured them from view. In a few moments the wind arose and dispersed the mists, and they burst upon me in all the splendour of their height and hoary 10 BARRACKS. 329 whiteness. My companion, accustomed as he was to the view, and not at all addicted to raptures, exclaimed that he had never seen them look so beautiful. For myself, although I had seen on passing them, that they were on the skirt of an unpeopled soHtude, I could hardly persuade myself, so complete was the illusion, that I did not behold a noble and ancient town, built of stone, whose immense buildings were surmounted vdth towers and spires." On the following day, the 28th April, Mr. Lebarge conducted me to the United States' barracks, upon the Mississippi, about ten miles to the southward of St. Louis. The barracks consist of a plain and handsome oblong building, in which, at present, there are about 500 troops ; but there is sufficient accommodation for double that number. There is an eminently beautiful terrace on the east side of the building overhanging the river, — indeed the finest terrace, so far as I have ob- served, upon the Mississippi. The ground in the neigh- bourhood is sprinkled with large and spreading single oak trees, so that the place altogether has very much the appearance of a heavy wooded English park. The ground is beautifully undulated. We passed through the village of Carondelet in going to the barracks, and in returning we crossed a small river, more swollen than we had expected, which took Mr. Lebarge's horses off their feet for a moment ; but I found that trifling difficulties did not startle Mr. Lebarge, and I was en- couraged by what T saw on our expedition on these two days, to engage him to take me through Illinois. 330 ILLINOIS. CHAPTER XXX. Journey in Illinois — Cross the Ferry at St. Louis — Road through the Prairie to Edwardsville, and from thence to Lower Alton — Mr. Mil- ler's Hotel — Ride on Horseback to the Confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi — Charlevoix's Description of the Confluence — The River Illinois — Description — French Emigration to this Country — Boatable Communication of this Country — Great Military Bounty Tract in Illinois — Description — Soil — Parts of it unhealthy — San- gamon District of Country the finest — General Description of the State — Extent — Population — Description of Sangamon District — Stop at Mr. Picket, the Priest's — Details of himself and his Family and Farm — Striking Resemblance to the Vicar of Wakefield — Ab- surdity of giving Females Romantic Names — Breakfast at Car- rolton, the Capital of Green County in the Sangamon District — Appearance of the Soil — Dr. Eaton's Account of its Healthiness — Great Extent of a beautiful and rich Prairie — Laid out by the hand of Nature, as if it were an English Park — Arrival at Jacksonville, the Capital of Morgan County in the Sangamon District — Tom Bentley's Hotel— Laughable Conduct of the Inmates — Situa- tion of Jacksonville — Its rapid Progress — Handsome Academy — Church — Distance from the River Illinois — Population of Green, Morgan, and Sangamon Counties, of which the Sangamon District is composed — Mr. Wilson's Plantations — Details — Two Crops of Wheat without sowing Seed for the second — Mr. Wilson's Character of Tom Bentley — Rate of Boarding in the Academy, and in the Town of Jacksonville — Mr. Hayne's Plantation — Only Difficulty in the first breaking up of the Prairie — Sermon by Mr. Sturtevant in the School-house — Expence of Education in the Academy — English Settlements on the West side of Jacksonville — Mr. Killam's Plan- tation — Full Details — Messrs. Alison's, of Yorkshire, Plantations — Their Success after a Seven Years' Residence — Advantages of their Situation — Mr. Brick, a Presbyterian Clergyman from ILLINOIS. S31 Cheshire, settled near Jacksonville — Hisinteresting Account of this Country — Absurdities of the Hotel People continued — Visit to Mr. James Kerr — Satisfactory Details received from him — His Voyage from Leith, Success at New York, and Acquisition of 500 Acres of beautiful Land here — Markets — Run for Cattle in the Prairie — Great Emigration to Illinois — Difficulty of having Servants in this Country — View from Mr. Kerr*s House — Mr. Kerr wishes, after a ten Years' Residence here, that some of his Friends from Scotland should join him — Emigrants should have Credentials — Continuation of the Prairie Ground to Springfield, the Capital of Sangamon Coun- ty, in Sangamon District — Fine Country — Particulars to be attended to by Emigrants to this District of Country — Situation of Spring- field — Bad Hotel — Saucy People — Meet Mr. Strawbridge from Do- negal in Ireland, who was ten Years in Ohio, and has possessed 640 Acres for ten Years in this District — Ample Details from him — Newspaper at Jacksonville and Springfield — Details from Mr. Wallace, a Nova Scotia Man, and Mr. Lucas, a Kentuckian, who have Plantations here — Meet Emigrants on the Road, coming here with their Property for Settlements — Pass through the Grand Prairie of Illinois — A small Prairie to be preferred to a large one — Mr. Hen- derson's Hotel and Plantation — Civility in the Manners of the Peo- ple — Stop at Colonel Soard's Plantation — Meet Mr. Maclintoc — His Account of Mr. Birkbeck — His Account of the Fertility of the Land near Vincennes — Arrive at Vandalia, the Seat of Legislature of Illinois — Mr. Duncan's Hotel — Politeness of Mrs. Hall — Attention of Mr. Blackwell, the Publisher of the Illinois Intelligencer — Fer- tility of Soil — Rate of Interest — Antiquarian and Historical Society of Vandalia — Their Proceedings published — Extract from Judge Hall's Address to the Society — Canal from Lake Michigan to Illinois River — Proposals for Publications in Illinois Newspapers — Publica- tion of Illinois Monthly Magazine — Description of Mississippi Valley extracted from it, as well as of the Prairie Land of Illinois — Mr. Dur- ham's Plantation twenty-five miles from Vandalia — Road through the Occa Flats very bad — Quantity of Honey at Mr. Durham's — Plantation for the New Orleans Market — Mr. Durham's activity and desire for Information respecting Farming^Proceed to Elliot's Ho- tel, and, from want of Bread there, to Cycle's Hotel — His Statement of General Jackson's Attention to him — Ramsay's Hotel — Proceed to 332 ILLINOIS. a neighbouring Plantation for the Night — Miserable Place and Pfeo- ple — Details — Wanborough, and the Settlement of Messrs. Birk- beck and Flower — The English Prairie — The Town of Albion — Mr. Birkbeck's Property not in good Order — Mr. Pritchard's Plantation and Cottage quite a Bijou — Plenty of Work here for the Suffering Population of England — All have prospered here who came with Small Funds — Mr. Birkbeck's Labourers now all Landed Proprie- tors — Details as to Albion — Substantial Improvements — Mrs. Oveat's Hotel — Meet Mr. Stephens, an Old Acquaintance — Visit to Mr. Flower — Polite Attentions of him and Mrs. Flower — Beauty of his Situation on the Prairie — His and Mrs. Flower Senior's House — Ride through the Prairie with Mr. Flower — Wolf-trap — Rate of Interest — Important Details communicated by Mr. Flower re- specting the Advantages of the Situation — Good Sweet Wine made here — Improved Land may be had here — Dr. Spring, an English Physician's, neat Cottage — Other Cottages — Dr. Spring and Mr. Stephens show me the rest of the English Prairie — General Cor- rectness of Mr. Birkbeck's Statements — Soil here not equal to the Sangamon District — Great Advantage of the State of Illinois for Emigrants — Hints to them — Ride to Bompas — Mr. Cole's Farm — Beautiful Plantation belonging to Mr. Thomson from East Lothian — Information received from him — Mr. Lebarge's Observation on Mr. Thomson's Farm — Letter from Mr. Duncan, with important Infor- mation as to Settlements in Illinois — Road to the Ferry over the Fox River, where Mr. Birkbeck was drowned — Mr. Birkbeck's Name always mentioned with respect here — Ferry across the Wabash, and Arrival at Harmony, in the State of Indiana. April and May, 1830. On the S9th April, we left St. Louis, and after crossing in the ferry-boat to the opposite side of the Mississippi, we proceeded to the northward ; my first object being to have a view from the heights on the east side of the Mississippi of the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri. A considerable part of our drive was through the LOWER ALTON. 833 prairie, where the road was a mere track, but generally smooth and good, unless where the ground was wet or swampy, in which case we were sometimes detain- ed, picking out the driest land we could find. The road improved after we left the prairie, and before we reached Edwardsville, was very good. At Edwardsville there are considerable settlements. After waiting at the hotel there in vain for half an hour for some din- ner, which was promised, I found the day so far ad- vanced, that it was imprudent to stay long, especially as Mr. Lebarge had informed me after starting this morning, that, with the view to render us independent, he had brought along with him a dozen of venison hams, which are sold at St. Louis at sixpence sterling a-piece, a loaf of bread, and a bottle of rye whisky. At the next hotel where we had intended to stop, there was no room for us, and we did not arrive at Lower Alton, three miles above the junction of the rivers, until past ten o'clock in the evening, both hungry and tired. There was bright moonlight ; and we passed through some splendid oaks before we reached Mr. Miller's hotel, quite a second-rate house of enter- tainment, where the inmates were already in bed. Mr. Miller soon appeared and helped us to carry in the baggage, before there was any light except that afibrded by the moon. I was told I could have a separate room. A small room upon the right was pointed out, and Mr. Miller was showing me the way to it through another room. Before going in I asked if there was any one in the room. " Yes, (he replied) my lady is in bed." 334 CONFLUENCE OF THE Mrs. Miller, however, quickly appeared, lighted a fire, and soon gave us excellent coffee, and ham and eggs. I found next morning, that Lower Alton was in a very beautifully situated part of the river, with good trees in the vicinity, and several houses in progress of building. The position is so fine, that the place hsis been talked of as the seat of the legislature, but at present there are only a few houses. The climate is so mild in this country, and the winter so short, that, although the cattle are never lodged in a house, they are already fat, (the 29th April.) There is a beautiful Mamelle above Lower Alton, from which the view of the Mississippi is very splendid. Having told Mr. Miller my wish to visit the confluence of the rivers, he at once volunteered to accompany me as guide. I mounted one of the barouche horses, and he rode one of his own. The heights on the river side opposite the confluence very closely approach its edge, and from these heights I en- joyed one of the most extraordinary views in the world. Opposite to the height where I stood I beheld the greatest of the American rivers bringing his vast volume of waters with impetuosity into the clear and compara- tively smoothly gliding stream of the Mississippi. The rivers at this point almost form a sea adorned with islands. The Mississippi is a mile and a-half broad. The width of the Missouri at the opening is rather more than half a mile. On the one side is the beau- tiful valley of Illinois, and on the other the Mamelle Prairie, and a great extent in every direction of culti- vated land, as well as of beautiful forest-trees, MISSOURI AND MISSISSIPPI. 335 I rode along the bank of the river for a considerable way, so as distinctly to perceive the clear water of the Mississippi close to the bank on the east side of the river, and a few yards further to the westward the turbid water of the Missouri. Charlevoix, the best historian of the early French discoveries in North America, and who was in Ame- rica in 1724, says of this confluence of the rivers, " I believe this is the finest confluence in the world. The two rivers are much of the same breadth, each about half a league, but the Missouri is by far the most rapid, and seems to enter the Mississippi like a con- queror, through which it carries its white waves to the opposite shore without mixing them. Afterwards it gives its colour to the Mississippi, which it never loses again, but carries quite down to the sea." At about fifteen miles to the north-west of Lower Alton is the mouth of the river Illinois, which gives its name to the State, and which is the most important river, having its whole course within one State, in North America. It enters the Mississippi through a deep forest by a mouth 400 yards wide ; and no river in the western country has so fine a boatable navigation for so great a distance, its whole length being about 400 miles, most of it accessible for steam-boats. It was. on the banks of this river that the first French emi- grants from Canada, more than a century ago, fixed themselves, and here was the scenery of which they gave so highly coloured descriptions. The intersection of the State of Illinois by waters is such, that no settle- SS6 ILLINOIS. ment can be made in it far from a point of boatable communication, — from Lake Michigan, the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Illinois, the Kaskaskia, the Rock River, the Wabash, or some of the other smaller rivers of the State. The State is understood at present to have 4000 miles of boatable waters, and the government of the United States have appropriated 110,000 acres of land to the improvement of the navigation of the lUinois river. The waters of Lake Michigan are on the northern boundary of Illinois, and there are many beautiful lakes in the State, one of which, the Illinois lake, twenty miles long and three broad, is remarkable for the fineness of its fish. The Kaskaskia river has a course of between 200 and 300 miles in the State. Vandalia is situated on the Kaskaskia river. The Rock River rises beyond the northern limits of the State. The rich lead mines of Illinois are on its banks. It enters the Mississippi above the northern- most part of the military bounty lands. The little Wabash has a course of about 1 30 miles, great part of it navigable. The great military bounty tract, reserved by Con- gress for distribution among the soldiers of the late war, commences in the neighbourhood of Lower Alton. It comprehends the north-west comer of the State, — about 170 miles long and sixty miles broad, — and is situated between the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. This district of country has prodigious advantages ; but MILITARY BOUNTY TRACT. 337 a great part of it, especially the delta of the rivers, is understood to be unhealthy. The soil is extremely fertile, of the finest and deep- est black loam, and much of the prairie ground is emi- nently beautiful. In this State, as well as in Missouri, there are pro- digious lead mines, as well as coal and lime. There is also building-stone in the bounty tract. The heights above the Mississippi are all of limestone. This is certainly a very inviting part of the State : and I am very much misinformed, if there be not in it many situations free from the objection, which I have stated, of unheal thiness ; but as it appears from the concur- ring accounts from various quarters, that that objection applies less to the Sangamon district of country than to any other part of this State, in which a considerable number of settlers have already got grants of land of the highest fertility, I am more anxious to pursue my tour through that district. It is, at the same time, worthy of observation, that large portions of the bounty tract may frequently be had at a comparatively low price, where purchasers are so well advised as to secure the title they obtain to their purchases. The title, when given by the State, is never liable to any objection. The general description of the State of Illinois is, that it contains 58,000 square miles, — is the fourth State in point of extent in the Union, only inferior in this respect to Virginia, Georgia, and Missouri, with a general level, not varying above sixty feet, — and that VOL. II. Q 338 ILLINOIS. it consists, with little interruption, of one vast prairie of admirable soil, extending from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan. It is the richest country in point of soil in the world. The French called it the Terrestrial Paradise. Count Marbois thus writes of this country generally: " At the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri, the lands lying towards the north-west are of admirable fertility. Emigration already inclines there, and these districts, though very remote from the sea, will one day be as well peopled as any other country in the world. The Mississippi, the Missouri, the Arkansas, and the Red River, and their tributaries, water 200,000 square leagues, within the space of country called the basin of the Mississippi. This internal navigation pre- pared by nature has already been wonderfully extend- ed and improved by canals, excavated by the labour of man, and steam-boats descend and ascend against wind and tide, brave the most rapid currents with more speed, and with more convenience than the finest roads of Europe can be travelled. Wood and coal, indis-. pensable agents in this navigation, abound on the shores of the rivers, and the steam-engine has put an end to the difficulty of communication, heretofore one of the greatest obstacles that were ever opposed to the improvement of colonies." The population of Illinois amounts (in 1830) to 1 57,000, having trebled in the last ten years. On our return from our ride, after paying Mr. Miller's demand against me, which was, for supper PRAIRIE GROUND. 339 one shilling, for breakfast one shilling, and for bed sixpence, we set off on our journey to the northward, to visit the Sangamon district of country, which is un- derstood to comprehend the counties of Green, Mor- gan, and Sangamon, the latter by far the largest, all bounded upon the west by the Illinois River. The Sangamon River, which discharges itself into the Illi- nois, runs through the counties of Sangamon and Mor- gan. Mr. Miller advised us to stop at the priest's to- night, the distance being about thirty-five miles, which we could easily accomplish. Great part of our road passed through the prairie ground, of which above two- thirds of the whole State of Illinois are composed, most beautiful at all times, but especially at this season, owing to the brilliancy of the flowers now in blossom. Plantations we saw here and there, but the general appearance of the country was that of a fine waving surface of strong grass, covered with strawberry plants, and the finest flowers, and with wood on the high grounds and hollows, and occasional dropping trees, and clumps or islets of wood. In general, there was quite enough of wood in the view, and far more hap- pily disposed than if the trees had been planted by the hand of man. We had our lunch in the prairie, while the horses bivouacked for an hour, and did not reach the priest's, as it is called, until the dusk of the evening. I learned in my way, that the priest was a proprietor and farmer, of the Methodist persuasion, recognised by their society, who, on account of the distance (ten miles) at which he lived from any church, q2 340 ILLINOIS. performs divine service almost every Sunday in the open air, if the weather is good, and in his house, if the weather is bad. When we arrived, we found that Mr. Joseph Picket, for that is the priest's name, had set off some time before to the nearest store, in order to procure an increase to his supply of sugar, which had waxed low. Mrs. Picket and the three young ladies were busied with the cows and the dairy, and her two sons had not yet come in from the plough. The house looked small, but Mrs. Picket at once assured me, that she could accommodate us, and that I could have a separate room, which I afterwards found very small and uncomfortable, in a loft above the kitchen. She is an active lady, and a good ma- nager. The fire was lighted, her Indian corn bread baked, and a very good supper prepared, all in a trice, in the room in which we sat, rather a large one, but which was the cooking, the eating, and the sleeping- room. As soon as our reverend host, a very primitive benevolent looking person, made his appearance, and had asked a blessing, we began our meal. He had been unsuccessful in his pursuit of sugar, so that we were rather on short allowance for that necessary article, but everything else was good of its kind, and abundant. Mr. Picket very speedily expressed his anxiety to learn all the recent news I could tell him, which was not to be wondered at, considering his remote and solitary situation. On the other hand, he gave me minute information as to his own mode of life. He performs all the ministerial duties gratis, — MR. picket's family. 341 preaches, marries, baptizes, visits the sick, without receiving any money. The style of the house affords abundant evidence that he is any thing but rich, but he is obviously good humoured and contented. His enclosed land consists of about 100 acres. His sons plough and labour the land, and his wife and daugh- ters manage eight cows, which he has on the prairie, and on which he may put as many cattle as he chooses. This is a prodigious advantage. Some farmers have 300 or 400 cattle on the prairie, and people to attend to them. The cattle do not feed well on the prairie grass without frequently having salt, but salt is abun- dant in this country. I was amused when Mr. Picket called one of his daughters to him, to find that her name was Minerva, and still more, when I afterwards learned that the Christian names of each of his daughters terminated in the letter A. The Vicar of Wakefield flashed upon my recollection. I remembered his daughters Olivia and Sophia, and the primitive simple character of the man ; that he was a priest, a husbandman, and a father of a family ; that his wife was a notable woman, and that for cookery none could excel her ; that though the same room served for parlour and kitchen, this only made it the warmer ; that his sons and he pur- sued their industry abroad, while his wife and daugh- ters employed themselves in providing meals for the family at home ; and that, when the father and sons, after the sun was gone down, returned home to the q3 342 ILLINOIS. expecting family, a smiling look, and a pleasant fire were prepared for their reception. Goldsmith must have had Mr. Picket, the priest of Ilhnois and his family, in his eye, when he sketched their picture so exactly to the life. I remonstrated with Mr. Picket upon the Minerva names of the female part of his family. He defended himself on the ground, that it was now the universal custom of the country that the Christian names of ladies should end with the letter A. His defence is, I believe, generally well founded ; but it is as singular that such a custom should prevail in a new country, professing perfect simpHcity of manners, as that new families in England should almost invariably abandon the far more beautiful and simple names of Mary, Jane, &;c. and adopt the fanciful and romantic names of Theodosia, Constantia, &c. in preference to the good old names of their mothers and grandmothers. Mr. Picket's charge against me was very trifling, — sixpence for supper, sixpence for bed. Next morning, the 1st May, we passed through a fertile tract of country in the county of Green for ten miles to Carrolton, its chief town. Wherever we saw land cultivated in this ride, the soil was a dark deep loam, and the wheat plants well coloured, vigorous, and far advanced. We had an excellent breakfast at Bletsoe's hotel at Carrolton, where I chanced to meet Dr. Heaton, the iEsculapius of this district, who recom- mends all that part of the Sangamon country, which is BEAUTY OF COUNTRY. 343 not in the neighbourhood of the river Illinois, as most eminently healthy. The alluvial land on the side of the river is, of course, frequently visited with the bilious fever of the country. From Carrolton we had one of the most beautiful rides I ever enjoyed in so fine a country to Jackson- ville, the capital of Morgan-county. It appeared to me that we passed through the most delightful as well as the richest district I had ever seen. The form and appearance of the prairie and of the surrounding woods were most beautiful. Think of Windsor Park, or Strathfieldsaye, or of parks for all the noblemen and wealthy landholders in Britain to be had here at a dollar and a-quarter an acre, in the neighbourhood of- such rivers, and all consisting of land of the richest soil, and of the most beautiful waving shape and smooth surface, all laid out by the hand of Nature, as English parks are, — the wood far more beautifully. The plough alone is required to make this land pro- duce the most abundant crops; — manure would destroy it. We bivouacked on the prairie on our way to Car- rolton, and did not reach Jacksonville until the even- ing. In the last field which I passed through, before coming into the town, there was growing a crop of wheat of great extent, and the most promising in ap- pearance that it is possible to conceive. I made inquiry on the road from some passengers as to the hotels at Jacksonville, and was told there were two, neither of them good, but that Bentley's was the best. I found on going into the house that the tea Q 4 344 ILLINOIS. and supper were nearly finished ; and it was not with- out some difficulty, and rather uninviting looks from a young lady who was acting as waiter, that I procured afresh supply of coffee and eggs. This was Saturday evening, and the young ladies, after having cleared the table and again covered it with the necessary articles, sat down to their meal with me on a footing of the most perfect equality. I found them very inquisitive : far more so than any of the New Englanders I ever met with ; but I afterwards learned that these people had lately come from a remote part of the country, where probably there were no schools. Such silly conduct, in respect to their own interest, as they were guilty of during the forty hours I remained with them, is gene- rally the. offspring of ignorance. I found the hotel- keeper a masterpiece of rudeness ; and very soon got a candle and retired to my bed-room. I was told that the breakfast-hour was half-past seven, but I started from my pillow on the following morning at six, when I heard other people stirring so early, and the break- fast had commenced before I was able to get to the parlour. I asked how this happened : but I found from the answer that it was quite unnecessary to have any further discussion with such a barbarian as Squire Bentley. He did not care for the custom of the British. His forefathers had left England to avoid tyranny, and they did not care for seeing foreigners here. Jacksonville is situated on a rising ground siirrounded by-hills, some of which are covered with trees. The JACKSONVILLE. 34f5 town was only begun three years ago, and consists almost entirely of one square, with 600 or 800 inhabit- ants. A church is building, but not yet finished; but the situation of the place is in all respects so attrac- tive, that already a large academy, for which Congress has made a grant of land, amounting to 46,080 acres, under the superintendence of teachers from New Eng- land, has been set agoing in a charming situation, at the foot of one of the wooded hills, about half a mile from the town. Jacksonville is about eighteen miles from the river Illinois ; but its distance from Naples, its port on the Illinois, is twenty-five miles. The po- pulation of this county is said to consist of about 8000 individuals ; and that of Green county to be not much different. The population of Sangamon county is said to amount to nearly 20,000 persons. After breakfast I walked out to the high ground on which the academy is built, and from thence to the edge of the hill, near which there is a nice-looking plantation, with a good garden and orchard. Mr. Wilson, to whom the farm belongs, happened to be out of doors, and we immediately joined in conver- sation. He told me that he was the second settler in this county ten years ago, and continued as much attached to the situation as when he came here ; that the soil of all his farm was at least three feet deep, and very rich. He never thought of giving a particle of manure to his land, and always kept it in wheat ox in maize, generally two years of the one, and two years of the other. His wheat never yields less than forty q5 346 ILLINOIS. bushels per acre, and he has had second crops of wheat without sowing any seed, yielding thirty-four bushels per acre. He pointed out to me a field of wheat, at present on his farm, on which he had sown no seed and in which the plants were looking vigorous and well. In explaining to me the advantages of the situa- tion, he particularly noticed the excellence of the roads in the dry prairie ground, without any road-making. Having mentioned to Mr. Wilson that I was at Bent- ley's house, and what a sad place I found it to be, he said, " I don't frequent the house. Tom Bentley was a farmer, and should have stayed where he was. He is as fit to be a lawyer as to keep such a house. T'other house is not much better ; but you should have gone to a private house kept (I think he said) by Widow Tay- lor." I afterwards saw one of the ushers of the aca- demy, from whom I learned that the boarding at the academy was at the rate of a dollar and a-half per week ; and that all the necessaries of life were so cheap, that boarding is generally to be had in the town at a dollar and a-quarter per week. On my way back to the vil- lage, I went into Mr. Hayne's plantation of eighty acres. He has a charming view of the town and adjoining grounds, from a very pretty cottage he has erected. The only difiiculty he has found in the management of the land occurs on the first breaking up. The roots of the prairie grass are so firmly interwoven with the soil, that it requires all the power and steadiness of oxen to tear up the ground ; but after the first plough- ing with six or eight oxen, horses do the work well. ENGLISH SETTLERS. 347 and crops are raised with more ease than in any other country which Mr. Hayne has seen. Eight oxen are most generally employed for the first ploughing. The church not being finished, I attended public worship in a school-house in the town. Mr. Ellis, who generally ofi[iciates, was not at home, but Mr. Sturte- vant of the Illinois academy officiated for him, and gave us a good discourse. I see, by a notice in the Western Observer of Jacksonville, (for every town or village has its newspaper,) that the annual expense for the teachers of the academy is for English alone twelve dollars, and for the languages, mathematics, philoso- phy, &c. sixteen dollars. The Reverend Mr. Beecher, a son of the eminent Dr. Beecher, of Boston, the head of the orthodox clergy of that city, is now principal of this seminary. Dinner was ready when the congregation was dis- missed, and, as soon as it was over, I went out in the barouche to see the English settlements on the west side of Jacksonville. After passing Mr. Wilson's farm, the first house I reached on the west side of the rising ground on which Mr. Wilson's farm is placed, belongs to Mr. Killam, in a fine open situation, overlooking a charming prairie. Mr. Killam came to this country last year (1829) with twenty-five families from York- shire. His family consists of himself, his daughter, unmarried, and three sons. I understood from them that they and many of their neighbours at home, found their circumstances very much altered, owing to the depressed rate of wages ; and, in these circumstances, q6 348 ILLINOIS. were induced to emigrate to this part of the United States, owing to the favourable representations they had received from Mr. Alison, who had been in their neigh- bourhood in Yorkshire, and who, with a brother, has been settled in the vicinity for seven years past. Mr. Alison had been in England in the beginning of 1829, and had given such promising accounts of his settlement in Illinois, that no less than twenty-five families came out with him last year. Mr. Alison merely stated facts to them, but would incur no responsibility in re- commending them to accompany him to Illinois, which they did from Hull to Quebec, and by Lake Erie. All those who came out last year in this way have got good situations, and, as far as Mr. Killam knows, are well satisfied. Some of them were tempted, by the high wages offered to them on landing, to accept offers of work on the river side : and of those who did so, some of them contracted bilious fevers and agues, which, however, in no case proved fatal ; but there has not been an instance of fever or ague in Mr. Killam's, or in any of those families which at once left the river, and came into this district. Mr. Killam, immediately on his arrival, secured land by proceeding, according to Mr. Alison's direction, to Springfield, the capital of Sangamon county, properly -so called, where there is a land agency office. Before concluding his purchase, he went through the district to inspect different situations, and preferred the land in the neighbourhood of Jacksonville to any other, and especially to that of Springfield. The house ENGLISH SETTLERS. 349 which Mr. Killam's family have erected is merely a temporary one, near one of the tracks of road through the prairie ; but they have made it very comfortable. They have put up a large plated iron stove which they brought with them ; and their furniture is as shining and neat as possible. Their farming stock is as yet small ; — two pairs of oxen, one of which cost thirty, the other twenty-seven dollars ; and three cows, one of them costing eight, another seven and a half, and the third, six dollars. With some assistance, however, they have already broken up so much of their purchase on the prairie, that they have considerable patches of wheat, maize, beans, peas, and potatoes. They view the right to put cattle upon the unin closed part of the prairie as quite invaluable. Here is a large family, with but slender means, settled in a moment, and with- out any diflGlculty, in a fine country. As their means increase, they will increase their cattle, without limita- tion as to food. Even houses are not necessary for them in winter. No care is required but to watch them, and to give them salt once a-week. In their bit of garden-ground, they have onions look- ing admirably at this early season. This family seem to have no fear of doing well, being abundantly sup- plied with the necessaries of life, even although they should not be able to raise more than thirty bushels of wheat per acre, — and although the price should not be higher than it was last year in this neighbourhood, viz. half a dollar per bushel. They speak in terms of grati- tude of the exertions which Messrs. Alison have made 350 ILLINOIS. for some of the party who came out last year, in making temporary advances of money to them, which could not here have been obtained for less than twenty or twenty- five per cent. Messrs. Alison are now men of con- siderable property, — have excellent houses and esta- blishments, and a flour-mill. Mr. Killam has erected a saw-pit in the English style, which the Americans never saw before, and is putting his wood to good ac- count, — some part of the family being carpenters. His cattle cost him nothing for food, — they feed upon the prairie ; and he has also a quantity of fine barn-door fowls, which support themselves entirely upon the prairie. His sons kill abundance of wild turkeys and prairie hens without any restriction. There are still a few wolves in the neighbourhood ; but they do no mis- chief where three or four good dogs are kept. Almost every planter must have three or four strong dogs. After hearing this gratifying account from Mr. Kil- lam, I proceeded through the prairie and saw several of the plantations. The soil everywhere seems admirable, — of deep black loam. Mr. Alison's plantations were, of course, superior in appearance to the others. I did not call on Mr. Alison, it being Sunday evening, but, upon my ride through the prairie, I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Brick, a Presbyterian clerg}^man, from Cheshire in England. He left England about thirteen years ago in disgust, on account of some of the arbitrary proceedings of the government ; and has been employed by the American Missionary Society in the States of Missouri and Illinois. When I met 1 BRITISH EMIGRANTS. 351 him, he was returning on horseback from preaching at Exeter, nine miles to the north-west of his house, which is about two miles on the east side of Jackson- ville. He brought out some money with him, part of which, he tells me, he has laid out well on land about his house. He has a large plantation of wood land, which he values more than in other places, as there is rather a deficiency of wood in this neighbourhood. Mr. Brick is a fine hale man, well advanced in life. He expressed himself in terms of warm commendation of Messrs. Alison, who have done much for this country, and also of Mr. Kerr, a Scotchman, who has a planta- tion about a mile from Jacksonville, which I must pass to-morrow on my way to Springfield. Mr. Kerr, he says, would be very much hurt if a Scotchman passed his door without calling. No one can be fonder of this country than Mr. Brick. In the course of my ride I heard of another Englishman, Mr. King, who came out to this country about the same time with Mr. AHson, and is doing equally well. The tea and supper at the hotel in the evening was even a more ridiculously managed meal than any of those which had preceded it. The female waiter, it being Sunday evening, was particularly smartly dressed, and sat at the end of the table, and at some distance from it, much more intent on placing her one leg above the other in a proper position for showing her foot and ancle, than in giving the necessary attendance at the tea-table, — but she was such a good-humoured, " romp- loving looking Miss," that, though she did any thing S52 JACKSONVILLE. rather than attend to her duty, I believe she was the most popular of all the hotel family, with the strangers. Everything was bad, and the hotel people completely lost temper when they noticed that we did not even find fault with them, but laughed at the absurdity of being so treated. Even the bread was execrable, — a most uncommon occurrence in the United States. I soon left the supper table, and, when sitting in my thinly-boarded room, heard the landlord tell a traveller, who had recently arrived, at ten minutes past nine in the evening, that he must go to bed, — he could not wait longer to show him his room. Candlesticks seemed never to have been cleaned, — snufiers were wanting, and as for shoes, there was no one to clean them while I was in the house. At an early hour on the following morning, the 3d May, I left Jacksonville, not without thanking Tom Bentley for his civility, and telling him how utterly unfit he was for his situation. I soon reached the farm belonging to Mr. James Kerr, which Mr. Brick had described to me. I found Mr. Kerr out of doors, and he received me with so hearty a welcome, that we were soon acquainted. Mrs. Kerr provided an abun- dant breakfast, consisting of tea, coffee, eggs, pork- steaks, peach preserves, honey, and various sorts of bread. Mr. Kerr is from South Queensferry in Scot- land, brother-in-law to Mr. Hugh Russell there, and is married to Miss Rowe of Fountain Bridge, near Edin- burgh. He was formerly foreman to Mr. Francis Braidwood, a well known upholsterer in Edinburgh. FERTILITY OF THE SOIL. 353 Mr. Braidwood's workmen, about twenty years ago, combined to give up work unless they got higher wages. Mr. Braid wood offered Mr. Kerr higher wages, but he dared not accept the offer, on account of the conse- quences which he had reason to apprehend from the workmen if he had acted in face of the confederacy. He, therefore, without much consideration, accompanied by a friend of his of the name of George Elder, put his foot in a vessel at Leith bound for North America. When he reached New York, he for some years suc- cessfully prosecuted his business of a carpenter and upholsterer, — but it turned out that buildings had been erected too rapidly for the population, and there was a want of employment in his line. At that period the New York newspapers were filled with inviting descriptions of settlements in IlHnois. He, therefore, came directly here from New York, and procured 500 acres of the very best land in the State, as he thinks, of rich soil, from three to four feet deep. It produces from thirty to forty-five bushels of wheat, and excellent com and oats in rotation. It would do it injury to give it manure. The land is so easily ploughed, that a two-horse plough goes over two and a-half acres per day. There is never any want of a market. Everything is bought by the merchants for New Orleans, or for Galena, where a vast number of workmen are congregated, who are employed in the lead mines on the north-western parts of this State, There is also a considerable demand for cattle for new settlers. Cattle are allowed to run out on the prairie 354 JACKSONVILLE. during the whole winter ; but Mr. Kerr thinks, that even during the short winter of this country, it would be advisable to have the cattle fed in houses on the prairie, and a sufficiency of grass cut and made into hay in the preceding summer. The cattle on the prairie must, he remarked, have salt at least once a-week. Mr. Kerr, as well as Mrs. Kerr observed, that nothing annoyed them so much as the difficulty of getting ser- vants. I have already noticed that Illinois is not a slave-holding State. Indeed, I have seen fewer people of colour since I came into Illinois than in any of the other States of the Union, probably not half-a-dozen altogether. The immigration to Illinois is so great, that the supply of servants has never yet been equal to the demand ; — the consequence is obvious, not only that wages are high, but that servants are saucy, and diffi- cult to please. It may, too, be presumed, that many of those servants who have turned out ill in other places, and who, on that account, cannot find situa- tions at home, may be disposed to remove to a country where there is an unusual demand, and where they may readily get employment. In such a mixed popula- tion, there must, for some years, be a greater number of worthless persons, and of persons of doubtful cha- racter, than in the old peopled States of North Ame- rica ; but the universal education of the people, where- ever the population becomes considerable, will soon banish this temporary state of inconvenience. After breakfast Mrs. Kerr, who had come out with us, put the question plump to me, whether I did not MR. kerr's farm. 355 think the view from the door of their house was equal to that from Hopetoun House. In order to render this question, and my answer, at all intelligible, it is necessary to remark, that Hopetoun House is the finest place in the neighbourhood of Mr. Kerr's birth-place, Queensferry, — and that the view from the terrace in front of that house is one of the noblest that can be imagined, commanding the Frith of Forth the whole way to its mouth, with the most beautiful of its banks, and a diversity of ground almost incapable of being described. I could not, therefore, answer Mrs. Kerr's question exactly in the affirmative. I told her that the view which she enjoyed was as fine as that of many of the noblest places in England, but that the presence of the Frith of Forth was necessary before it could be likened to that from Hopetoun House. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr are advanced in life, and he seems as much satisfied with his situation as it is possible to be. He has not only a beautiful farm, but an excellent well- furnished house, and a good garden and orchards. He considers the situation eminently healthy. He made me the bearer of a communication, which I lost no time in forwarding through a friend, expressive of his earnest wish that some of his friends near Edinburgh should come out to Illinois and join him, and, that I might not be without credentials for the commission I undertook, he, at parting, put the following memo- randum into my hand : — 356 JACKSONVILLE. " Jacksonville f Illinois, May 3d, 1830. " Mrs. Adam Gaul, Castle Barnes, vicinity of Edin- burgh, sister-in-law to James Kerr. Mr. Stuart, please give her all the information in your power, and you will much oblige yours, " James Kerr." Mr. Kerr represents Mr. Brick to be a most respect- able, well-informed man, and a good sincere preacher. Mr. Brick lived two years in Mr. Kerr's house, before he erected the house on his plantation. Mr. Kerr said that there was still a vast tract of unemployed land in this neighbourhood, and that it would at all times give him pleasure to be of use to his countrymen in pointing out the best situations, and how to acquire them. Per- sons of all descriptions and ranks coming from Britain to this country, should have credentials of some sort or other, stating who they are, and their object. If the writer of such credentials is not a public character, or generally known, a note under the hand of a magistrate or a clergyman will be quite sufficient. Before I left Mr. Kerr's house two young ladies, daughters of a neighbouring farmer, came in on a visit, dressed, on account of the brightness of the sun, in the broadest brimmed straw hats I have seen. Females very generally ride on horseback in this country, and all of them have these broad brimmed straw hats. The prairie land continued almost all the way to Springfield, which is thirty-three miles from Jackson- ville. I passed through much fine and beautiful land, CHOICE OF SITUATION. 357 one delightful piece of prairie, about eight miles from Springfield. I like the district within a few miles of Jacksonville better than any other, not only on account of the land, which is as good as any, but on account of the very fine situation of the town, and the conve- nience of having such an academy close to it ; and I was assured by persons in whom I can confide, of the perfect healthiness of that part of the country. Still it would be presumptuous in one whose leisure did not allow him the opportunities which a surveyor has to make up his mind, after minutely inspecting the whole district, to hazard an opinion that there are not in other situations in the Sangamon district, settle- ments equal or superior to those in the neighbour- hood of Jacksonville. What I would recommend to a stranger emigrating to this country would be, that he should apply at the land-oflSces at Springfield, or at Vandalia, or at any other of the land-ofiices, and get the surveyors to show him those situations which they look on as the most desirable, ^r*^, in point of health ; secondly y in point of soil ; thirdly, in being provided with good water, and a sufiicient quantity of wood, which is not always the case in the prairie land, and ought most especially to be attended to, strong wooden fences being indispensable ; and fourthly y in point of convenience of situation, including the neighbourhood to a town, schools, and churches, and the means of communication by roads and rivers. Having got this information, let him lay it before persons of experience in the district or State, such as 2 358 SPRINGFIELD. Mr. Alison or Mr. Kerr, and be much more guided by their advice than by that of the surveyors. The sur- veyors may be all very good, trust-worthy men, but they may have objects to serve in disposing of this or that tract of land, which a stranger cannot divine. Springfield is a straggling village, somewhat larger than Jacksonville, but the situation is not at all equal to it in point of beauty or interest. The hotel was very nearly as bad as that at Jacksonville. Hornden was the name of the landlord. It was difficult to say whe»- ther he, his wife, or his daughter, was the sauciest. They certainly were as rude untutored Americans as I have seen. The lady undertook to wash some linen for me, and there was no difficulty about it, as I got to her house early in the afternoon, — but she delayed and delayed, so that I was obliged to carry them away only half dry next morning after seven o'clock. There is a Presbyterian minister here. In walking about the town in the evening, I met Mr. Strawbridge, formerly a farmer in Donegal, in Ire- land; a gentleman seventy-five years old, w^ho brought a family of five children with him to this country twenty years ago, all of whom have done well. He was first settled in the State of Ohio ; but hearing of the prodigious fertility of the soil of this part of Illinois, he disposed of 100 acres which he had improved in Ohio, and purchased 640 acres about eight miles to the north-west of Springfield, great part of which he has now improved, and where he also has a mill. His de- scription of his land and of its produce was quite equal in LEAD MINES. 359 point of quality and quantity to that of Mr. Kerr : and he added, that parts of his land had produced forty bushels of wheat to the second crop without sowing. He has advantages, too, in point of situation, by being nearer to the Galena lead mines, to which he last year sold 8000 wooden posts, at three dollars per hundred. No person can be fonder of this country than Mr. Strawbridge. He had been in Scotland: but there was no land in that country to be compared (he said) to that of his farm ; and he viewed this district as quite a paradise or garden. Finding him so much disposed to praise, I asked him how he was off for servants. His answer was marked. " You have hit the nail on the head. It is difficult to get servants here, and more difficult to get good ones." This difficulty has, I find, been increased of late, in consequence of the number of labourers required at the Galena lead mines, where great inducements are held out to them ; the num- ber not long ago amounted to not less than 10,000 persons. Farming is permitted free of rent to those persons, wherever it can be done without interfering with the timber needed for mining purposes. The labourers are entitled to the free use of timber for building and fuel. We escaped from Springfield next morning as early after breakfast as was in our power ; my object now being, after the view I had got of the Sangamon dis- trict to cross the State by Vandalia, its seat of legisla- tion, to Albion, Mr. Birkbeck's settlement, on the Wa- bash, thence to Harmony, Mr. Owen's settlement, on 360 ILLINOIS. the east side of the "Wabash, and to return by Vin- cennes to Louisville. I cannot, however, leave the Sangamon county, though not so fond of it as of the adjoining county of Morgan, w^ithout mentioning the extraordinary fact that, five years ago, the official census of Sangamon county rated it at 500 inhabitants. It nov7 possesses nearly 20,000 persons. There is a newspaper published at Springfield. Very heavy rain had fallen in the night of the 3d May. This morning, the 4th, the road through the prairie is heavy. About six miles from Springfield, I fell in with Mr. Wallace, a Nova Scotia man, who had been in different parts of the United States before he came here, six years ago. He says the land here is a half better than anywhere else where he has been. Two miles farther on, I met Mr. Lucas from Kentucky, who has 320 acres of land here, and is equally well pleased with it. On my road to the south-eastward, I met a great many new settlers coming into the country, with their waggons, horses, cows, cattle, dogs, furniture ; in short, their whole moveable property. These prodigious assemblages regularly bivouack in the prairie. The cattle and live stock feed at large. The human beings eat and sleep in the waggons. One of these assemblages was pre- ceded by a large coach, in which the ladies of the family were travelling. Before reaching the first stopping-place, which was twenty-eight miles from Springfield, we travelled for some miles over the prairie, which is called the Grand Prairie of Illinois, being the largest. It is not more Henderson's plantation. 361 beautiful than the smaller prairies, nor is the soil in general so good. It contains fewer settlements. A smaller prairie is far more convenient than a large one, because the cattle are much more easily watched and kept in. Between two and three o'clock we reached Mr. Henderson's plantation, which was our destined stop- ping-place for dinner. Mr. Henderson was from home ; but one of his daughters soon prepared a very good dinner, and sat at table with me while I partook of it. Coffee was on one end of the table, which she explain- ed, by telling me that there were no spirits in the house. A heavy thunder-storm came on after dinner, and forced me to remain here all night, the next stopping-place. Colonel Soard's, being twenty miles distant. There is a school in the neighbourhood of Colonel Soard's house; and the younger part of Mr. Henderson's family are boarders there, that they may be able to attend the school. This sbows how thinly peopled this part of the State is. I had plenty of books to amuse me during the afternoon, there being a very good library here. The young ladies, of whom there were two at home, were very anxious to have every thing nice. I drank tea with them. One of them was named Miss Henderson, and the other Miss Langdon. I afterwards found that Mrs. Henderson had been twice married ; Mr. Langdon being her first husband, and that Mrs. Henderson had borne twins to each of her husbands. Mr. Henderson is from Georgia, and has been here VOL. II. R S62 ILLINOIS. only two years. The evening was cold ; and a fire was put in the bed-room without being asked for. There was only one bed-room for strangers in this house. It contained three beds, all of which were oc- cupied. I do not know what would have happened if a greater number of strangers had arrived. There was merely a leathern latch to the door. I found, on getting up next morning before five o'clock, that the fire was lighted in the parlour, and a cup of coffee and a bit of toast prepared before I en- tered it, and this was from pure civility. No charge made for it. I told Miss Henderson that I was going on to Colonel Board's, and she sent by me her best compliments to the family. There are few settlements between Mr. Henderson's and Colonel Soard's plantations ; but there is a great deal of good land in various places, and a prodigious run for cattle. At Colonel Soard's house, which is called Blooming Grove, I found Mr. Maclintoc, a gen- tleman engaged in land agency in this State. He had been detained here some days, in consequence of a fall from his horse. Mr. Maclintoc knew Mr. Birkbeck well, who, he said, was universally respected, and very much liked in this country. Mr. Maclintoc was with him be- fore he made his' purchase, and recommended him to buy in another situation, but Mr. Birkbeck was capti- vated by the beauty of the English prairie, which he purchased, and would not be dissuaded. Neither Mr. Birkbeck's settlement, nor Mr. Owen's at Harmony, are at all times free from fever. * VANDALIA. Mr. Maclintoc is very partial to the Sangamon dis- trict ; but the Indians possessed it at the time when Mr. Birkbeck made his purchase. Mr. Machntoc re- presents part of the alluvial land on the river side near Vincennesas the richest in the State. It has carried crops of grain in succession for 100 years without any ma- nure, and without any perceptible diminution of its fer- tility. A crop of maize occasionally intervenes between the wheat crops, in order to keep the land clean. Having left Blooming Grove, where the hotel seems very comfortable, shortly after breakfast we came into a more peopled district. We passed Jackson's hotel, and a large brick house belonging to Mr. Tilson, a farmer and land-agent. I met several immigrants with their waggons and property. The road became wet and heavy before reaching Vandalia, which how- ever, we accomplished, though a distance of fifty-one miles from Mr. Henderson's, before eight o'clock in the evening. The Hotel at Vandalia is kept by Mr. Dun- can, a very obliging person. He was bred a lawyer, and is now a large proprietor near Mr. Henderson's farm ; and the brother of Mr. Duncan, the member of Congress for Illinois. Mr. Duncan intends to live upon his farm in the prairie, as soon as he gets his house built. Judge Hall, whom I formerly mentioned as now residing at Vandalia, is not at present at home ; but Mrs. Hall, to whom Mr. Duncan applied on my behalf, was so good as to send me by her daughter, a fine little girl, some of his publications since he came to Vandalia, Mr. Blackwell, thepublisher of the Illinois Intelligencer, R 2 364 VANDALIA. a very well-conducted newspaper there, gave me some Vandalia newspapers and publications, gratis, as usual. The opinion I have formed respecting the great value of land in Illinois was even increased by what those gentlemen told me. They can point out in situations, favoured in other respects, a great deal of land, the soil of which is five feet deep ; and they tell me, that many persons who have settled without a title have, rather than give it up, borrowed money at twenty-five per cent, interest, to prevent it from being ofifered for public sale. It is an extraordinary fact, that in this town, the capital of Illinois, a State more extensive, and infinitely more fertile than England, the first house in which was not begun until the year 1821, three an- nual meetings of an antiquarian and historical society have already taken place, and the whole of their pub- lished proceedings are as regular, as well conducted, and as well printed, from the Blackwell press of Vandalia, as if the seat of the society had been at Oxford or Cambridge. The whole annual disburse- ments in this State for salaries to the executive do not exceed 10,000 dollars. The people of Illinois have adhered tenaciously to democratic principles, retaining in their hands every power which can be conveniently withheld from the rulers. Elections are frequent, and the right of suffrage general. Imprisonment for debt and law^s against usury are abolished. Judge Hall's second address to the society in 1828, contains the fol- lowing remarkable passage : — " It is but eight years since the axe was first laid to the tree on the spot where JUDGE hall's address. S65 we are now assembled. All round was one vast wilder- ness. The gentle stream that murmurs past our town had never been traced through its meanders by any but the hunters. A rich growth of majestic oaks covered the site of the future metropolis, and tangled thickets, almost impervious to the human foot, surrounded it on every side. The gentlemen who attended the first session of the legislature, which sat at this place, sought their way through the neighbouring prairies as the mariner steers over the tractless ocean, by his know- ledge of the cardinal points. Our judges, legislators, and lawyers, came pouring in from opposite directions, as the wandering tribes assemble to their council, and many were the tales of adventure and mishap related at their meeting. Some were lost in the prairies, — some slept in the woods, — some were almost chilled to death, in plunging through the creeks and rivers. Now we have post-roads diverging in every direction, and our mails are brought in stages from the east, the west, and the south. The fine country to the north was then just beginning to attract attention. Wonderful ac- counts came to us from the Sangamon and the Mauvais- terre (part of the district of Morgan county in the neighbourhood of Jacksonville,) of rich lands, and pure streams, and prairies more beautiful than any which had previously been discovered. But those lands had not yet been offered for sale by the United States, and were not included in the limits of any county. The adven- turous settlers neither ovnied the soil on which they lived, nor enjoyed the benefit of any civil organization. r3 366 VANDALIA. What a change has been produced in eight years ! The country, which, previously to that period, was known only as an inviting frontier, forms now the fairest por- tion of our State. A dozen counties have been formed in that direction, and within that time, three of which rank among the foremost, in wealth, improvement, and population. A canal has been projected, to unite that section of our territory with the northern lakes, and the accomplishment of that work, which may be confidently expected to take place within a few years, will open a highway to the east, through a country which has no superior in fertility or beauty." The canal alluded to by Judge Hall is to connect Lake Michigan with the head of the steam-boat naviga- tion on the Illinois River. It has been surveyed by order of the general government, and it has been ascer- tained that the summit level of the country, dividing the waters of Lake Michigan from those of the Mis- sissippi River, was only twelve feet nine inches above the surface of the lake. The general government have granted 300,000 acres of land in the upper part of the State of Illinois towards the constructing this canal. The Illinois newspapers which I got from Mr. Black- well contain a proposal for publishing, under the superin- tendence of Judge Hall, a monthly magazine at Van dalia. They also contain proposals for publishing reports of the cases decided in the supreme Court of Illinois from its first organization in 1819, to the end of 1829 ; the work to be revised by two of the judges, and to be sold at three dollars and a-half, for an octavo volume MONTHLY MAGAZINE, 367 of about 300 pages ; and also, for publishing a book of practical forms, adapted to the Illinois statutes, by Jaines Jones, editor of the Miners' Journal at Galena, in Illinois. There are also in these newspapers lists of all the unclaimed letters in the different post-offices in the State. It is a universal and a very praiseworthy prac- tice throughout North America, that lists of unclaimed letters, in all the States, are regularly published in the newspapers. I subsequently learned at New York, that the Illinois Monthly Magazine was carried on prosper- ously. I procured the second number, published in November, 1830, which seems to be as handsome and as useful a publication as the old Scotch Magazine, or the now more famous Blackwood or Tait of Edinburgh. This number contains an article, entitled Notes on Illinois, in which some curious matter is to be found. The State of Illinois being a part of the great plain of the central or Mississippi Valley, an admirable descrip- tion of that valley, which some time ago appeared in the American Quarterly Review, forms the first part of the article in question. It may be useful for the better understanding of this journal, to insert this general description : " This great plain extends from the western slope of the AUeghany to the sand plain that we have just described, a distance of about 1500 miles, and, from the valley of the northern lakes, to the mouth of the Ohio, a distance of 600 miles in width. This is the most valuable region of the United States, R 4 S6S VALLEY OF MISSISSIPPI. uniformly fertile, and the seat of our western popula- tion. It embraces the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illi- nois, Missouri, Kentucky, parts of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennesse, Arkansas, and Michigan, and a region of about 500 miles in width, lying west of these States and organized territories. No part of the globe presents such an extent of uniform fertility. It is literally all arable; there are no sterile plains; no rocky or precipitous ridges, and scarcely any swamps to deform its fair surface. This uninterrupted fertility arises from the decomposition of the great limestone pan on which it rests. " This region, although crossed by the large rivers Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and their branches, is really not a valley but a plain. The difference in eleva- tion over its whole surface is only a few feet. Actual surveys tell us that such is the fact. The north-east corner of this plain, near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, lies about 800 feet above the tides. The plains of Ken- tucky and West Tennessee are about the same height ; those at the mouth of the Ohio but little different ; and as we go westwardly up the Missouri or Arkansas to the sand plains, the same conclusions force them- selves upon us. The great and numerous rivers that cross this plain, instead of forming distinct valleys, do but indent narrow lines or grooves into its sur- face, barely sufficient to contain their floods. These river channels, as the current rolls on, must form a declivity, and, towards the lower parts of their courses, sink deeper into the plain ; hence the large rivers LIMESTONE BASIN. 369 Ohio, Missouri, and others, seem bordered with abrupt hills of several hundred feet elevation towards their mouths ; but the tops of these hills are the level of the great plain ; and they are formed by the small streams which fall into those large rivers, when their channels are thus worn down. To give themselves an easy slope, these small streams must wear down in a corresponding manner the neighbouring parts of the plain, and, leaving the abrupt points between them, present the appearance of river hills. " The formation of this plain is decidedly secondary, resting upon a horizontal limestone rock, whose thick strata has never been penetrated through, although the augur has pierced in many different places in search of salt water to the depth of 400, and fre- quently 600 feet. This limestone is hard, stratified, imbeds innumerable shells of the terebratulae, en- crinites, orthocerites, trilobites, productus, and others. It seems to be older than the lias of Europe. This limestone pan is generally but a few feet below the surface, and supports strata of bituminous coal and saline impregnations throughout most of its whole extent. It runs under the Alleghany mountains on the east, and sand plains of the west ; rests on the granite ridges of Canada on the north, and is limited by the Cumberland and Ozark mountains on the south. The decomposition of this rock has fertilized this wide region, and its absorbent and cavernous nature prevents swamps and moisture from accumulating upon its surface, without mountains to relieve, or R 5 370 VALLEY OF MISSISSIPPI. deep valleys to draw off the water. This widely ex- tended region appears dry, clean, and healthful. " In addition to its unlimited agricultural capacity, this great plain abounds in mineral resources. Its coal- field would cover half of Europe, and is 1500 by 600 miles in extent. We enter upon this bituminous coal in Pennsylvania, or the western waters of the Susque- hannah, and travel upon it through Ohio, Indiana, Illi- nois, Missouri, and to the very sand plains of the west, — a distance of more than 1500 miles, — and from the Cumberland mountains in Kentucky and Tennessee, to the plains of Arkansas, — a distance of 600 miles. This coal is pure ; lies above the river channels ; and to quarry it costs about twenty cents a ton. Iron ore abounds generally ; but in Missouri there is a mass of this ore forming a hill of 500 feet in height, and five miles in extent, which yields seventy-five per cent, of fine malleable iron. The lead districts of Missouri and Illinois would cover 200 miles square, and seem to be the richest region of that metal on earth. Twelve millions of pounds were smelted in 1828; and it is confidently expected to furnish twenty millions for market in the year 1829. Salt water is found over the whole extent of this region, yielding from one-eighth to one-twelfth of its weight in pure muriate of soda. This salt water in many places breaks out in the shape of springs and fountains ; but more frequently the in- habitants bore to the depth of from 300 to 600 feet in solid rock ; and when they strike the veins, it gene- rally rises to the surface ; and so general is the distri- MINERAL RESOURCES. 371 bution of this indispensable article, that no doubt exists of its meeting the wants of the population in all stages. Gypsum and saltpetre are found in abundance, and most of the clays and earths useful in the arts. Here, indeed, will * every rood support its man ;' for of such a region, without slope, without barren, heath, moun- tain, waste, and where all is fertile and healthful; where no timber lands need be left for fuel ; with mine- ral resources enough to stimulate all the arts, and con- tribute to all wants, who can say what is the limit of its future population ? Europe could seat all her na- tions comfortably on this plain." Various details respecting the State of Illinois follow the general description of this grand plain. Some of these respecting the prairie land, which to me appears so attractive, will be found very interesting : " Ad- vancing to the north, the prairie surface begins to pre- dominate ; the prairies now become large, and com- municate with each other like a chain of lakes, by means of numerous avenues or vistas : still, however, the tra- veller is surrounded by timber ; his eye never loses sight of the deep green outline, throwing out its capes and headlands, though he sees no more those dense forests and large trees whose deep shades almost ap- palled him, in the south. " Travelling on from the centre of the State to its northern limit, we find ourselves surrounded by one vast prairie. In the country over which we have passed, the forest is interspersed with these interest- ing plains ; here the prairie is studded with groves and r6 S72 PRAIRIES. copses, and the streams fringed with stripes of wood- land. The eye sometimes wanders over immense plains covered with grass, discovering no other object on which to rest, and finding no limit to its vision but the distant horizon ; while more frequently it wanders from grove to grove, and from one point of woodland to another, charmed and refreshed by an endless va- riety of scenic beauty. " The prairies afford a subject of curious inquiry to every traveller who visits these States. That these vast and fertile plains should be totally destitute of trees, seems to be an anomaly in the economy of nature. Upon the mind of an American especially, accustomed to see new lands clothed with timber, and to associate the idea of damp and silent forests with that of a new country, the appearance of sunny plains, and a diver- sified landscape, untenanted by man, and unimproved by art, is singular and striking. Providence has, with un- erring wisdom, fitted every production of nature to sustain itself against the accidents to which it is most exposed, and has given to the grasses of the prairies a remarkably tenacity of life ; so that, although bitten off and trodden, and even burned, they still retain the vital principle. That trees have a similar power of self- protection, if we may so express it, is evident from their present existence in a state of nature." Reasons are then given by the writer of the article, which it is unnecessary to detail here, for supposing that the prairie ground has at one time been co- vered by trees which perished by fire. He then pro- DESCRIPTION OF SURFACE. 373 ceeds thus : " The prairie, for the most part, extends to the water, and no pen can describe the singular and captivating effect of such scenery. Imagine a stream of a mile in width, whose waters are as transparent as those of the mountain spring, flowing over beds of rock or gravel ; — fancy the prairie commencing at the water's edge, — a natural meadow covered with grass and flowers, rising with a gentle slope for miles, so that in the vast panorama thousands of acres are exposed to the eye. The prospect is bounded by a range of low hills, which sometimes approach the river and again recede, and whose summits, which are seen gently waving along the horizon, form the level of the adjacent country. The prairies are not flat, but composed of a succession of swells ; and the idea impressed upon the mind by the whole conformation of surface is, that the. level plane of the country once terminated on the brink of the river, — that the channel of the latter has been for ages increasing in depth ; and that the vales, which we now see receding from it, were at first mere ravines, washed by the torrents of rainwater, which have been gradually widened and rounded off by beating rains into their present hannony of outline. The timber is scattered in groves and stripes, — the whole country being one vast illimitable prairie, ornamented by small collections of trees. Sometimes the woodland ex- tends along the river for several miles continuously ; sometimes it is seen stretching in a wide belt far off into the country, and marking the course of some tributary stream ; and sometimes in vast groves of 374 PRAIRIES. several miles in extent, standing alone like islands in this wilderness of grass and flowers. But more often we see the single tree without a companion near, or the little clump composed of a few dozen oaks or elms, and not unfrequently hundreds of acres embellished with a kind of open woodland, and exhibiting the appearance of a splendid park, decorated with skill and care, by the hand of taste. Here we behold the beautiful lawn en- riched with flowers and studded with trees, which are so dispersed as not to intercept the prospect — standing singly so as not to shade the ground, and occasionally collected in clusters, while now and then the shade deepens into the gloom of the forest, or opens into long vistas and spacious plains destitute of tree or shrub. " We doubt whether there can be found on the globe a tract of country to compare with this. Com- mencing a little north of St. Louis, and extending 200 miles from east to west, and the same distance north, is to be found the most extensive tract of rich land in the world. Within these bounds the country is nearly all as captivating to the eye as that which we have described. Scarcely any of the land is subject to inundation. On the contrary, although incalculably rich and suffi- ciently level for cultivation, it is a high rolling cham- paign country, and the shores of the streams are mostly bold. Healthy it must be. Here the wild honey-suckle flourishes luxuriantly; — thousands of acres are covered with the wild gooseberry, plum, grape, mulberry, and other indigenous fruits ; and the soil teems with the richest beauties and bounties of Providence." OCCA FLATS. 375 I left Yandalia after breakfast on the 7th May, at half-past eight a. m., and reached the next stopping- place, at Mr. Durham's plantation, at the distance of twenty-five nxiles in nine hours, at half-past five. The first part of our way was through a very dangerous swamp, the Occa flats, through which, with great diffi- culty, we found a way. If the driver had not been stout-hearted, the horses strong, and the carriage ex- actly suited for the occasion, we should never have got through the swamp. We did not advance at the rate of a mile an hour for the first two hours ; and had again and again to back a quarter of a mile in order to obtain a tract where the holes were less deep, — but Mr. Lebarge was the very man fitted for the duty. He encountered every difiiculty with alacrity, and would not be discomfited. The road was wet and swampy for a great part of the way, and hardly a plantation to be seen. We found the buildings at Durham's were consider- able in point of numbers. A large court round the houses contained a prodigious number of wooden boxes, in which bees are kept in this country ; and I found that Mr. Durham calculated upon having annually 1000 pints of honey, which he can readily sell to the Albion merchants for the New Orleans market. Mr. Durham, a New Englander, was from home; but Mrs. Durham, also a New Englander, and a very pretty woman, soon prepared the tea and supper meal, which was excellent. There were no spirits in the house, and no liquid but water or coffee. The evening was cold, and a fire was 10 376 Durham's plantation. put in the large sleeping-room before Mr. Durham made his appearance. He is a clever, active man, and under- stands his business as a farmer well. He has a great many cattle on the prairie, and also a great many pigs, which go in the woods, where the wolves sometimes destroy them. The wolves were not far from the house this evening, and Mr. Durham let out a pack of dogs after them. They had a long run, but did not kill. I do not know, during the short time I sat by the fireside with Mr. Durham, whether he asked most questions from me or I from him, for the questions related to the farming in our respective countries. He was most excited, when I told him of the different sorts of work which some good Scotch labourers could and would do, during the ten hours that they worked, — how they fared, — and what were their wages ; and his last words to me when I came away were, "Do send me a labourer from Scotland." There were four beds in the sleeping-room, and all occupied. I was surprised to observe, that Mr. Durham was going to occupy a bed in the room himself. He asked me, as soon as I got into bed, ' if there was enough of kivering." I answered in the affirmative, for I had attended to that before-hand. He then continued his questions ; and I began to suspect, that his object in sleeping in the room was to put questions, and get farther information from me ; so, being fatigued, I feigned to be asleep, and there was quietness for the night. Next morning all were out of bed at a very early hour ; and I contrived to get, what perhaps was never 6 PRAIRIE ROAD. S77 in the room before, water, a basin and towel, and to have the room alone for the purposes of ablution. We left Mr. Durham at a quarter past six, our intention being to breakfast at Elliot's hotel, sixteen miles on our way to Albion. The road was altogether through prairie, in which we saw many deer and wild turkeys ; but it was wet and deep, and we did not reach Elliot's hotel till eleven o'clock. There was neither bread, nor flour, nor Indian meal, in Mr. Elliot's house. The last bread had been used that morning. Mr. Elliot is a justice of peace, and his house is apparently a good one. This was therefore, a serious disappointment to hungry travellers. We had no alternative but to pro- ceed six miles further, to Cycle's hotel. The road was good, through a dry prairie ; and we found Mrs. Cycle, about a stone's throw from the house, attending to a washing of clothes. Here, however, we were in clover. She was in the house in a moment, baked the best Indian corn bread I ever saw, for she had no wheaten bread nor flour in the house, and gave us a most luxurious breakfast. Cycle was formerly a planter in Tennessee, and lost his plantation in consequence of a judicial decision, importing that the Indian title had remained unextin- guished in the district where his settlement was, and that the land must be restored. General Jackson knew the particulars of the case, and thought it attended with circumstances of peculiar hardship upon Cycle. He therefore came to his plantation, and stayed a day and night at his house, to make minute inquiries on the sub- 378 cycle's plantation. ject, and being satisfied that Cycle was not to blame, he promised, whenever it was in his power, to see Cycle put to rights. Soon afterwards Cycle acquired the plantation where he now lives, and laid out some money in improving it ; but General Jackson did not forget his professions of kindness ; and a tract of land, called the Jackson purchase, being afterwards set apart from the Indian territory for settlements, he obtained autho- rity for placing Cycle in a favourable situation, but Cycle was previously so well settled here, that he rather chose to remain where he was. I asked at Cycle's where our stopping-place should be for the night. He answered, that " the next hotel was fifteen miles further on at Ramsay's : but that the lady was so old and helpless, that he was afraid that we should not be well fixed." He therefore recommended to us rather to try some of the plantations beyond Ram- say's. Our road was still through the prairie, upon which the cattle seemed to make no impression what- ever. I should not have known, from its appearance, that there was an animal pasturing on it. Sometimes near a plantation a little of the grass had been cut for hay ; and such places afforded the only sign that the luxuriant field of grass we were passing through, was appropriated to any use. I called in passing at Ramsay's, but the old lady seemed in her dotage. Stopping there was out of the question, and on we proceeded, not knowing whither. It was now evening, and although moonlight, the tracks on the prairie were so various, that we were WRETCHED ACCOMMODATION. 379 afraid of losing our road, and were obliged to make our halt for the night, rather unluckily, at a planta- tion, where it was soon obvious that the people were not in the habit of receiving strangers. The planter's wife, a coarse Amazonian-looking personage, was sit- ting smoking a pipe at the <^oor. I left the barouche at the bottom of the court, and as soon as I approached her, requested her to let me know whether we could be accommodated for the night. She did not rise, and referred me, more by signs than by words, to her hus- band for an answer. The husband had drawn near us in the meantime. ** He did not (he said) contemplate taking lodgers, but he would do all he could." I told him that we only required supper and beds, and he agreed to receive us. First of all, the horses, which had done a very severe day's work, were to be attended to. It turned out that there was no stable, nor any house in which they could be put, — they were, therefore, tied to a manger, and got plenty of Indian corn not separated from the straw. Our supper consisted of Indian corn bread, and milk from the cow. There was no coffee, nor any ferment- ed liquor in the house, neither were there any candles. Partitions for the inside of the place divided it into three apartments by pieces of thin boarding and of can- vas, so that the blazing of the fire in the kitchen or parlour afforded sufficient light for the whole of the house. Two miserable shake-downs were constructed in one of the inner apartments, the bedding and bed- clothes of which I shall not attempt to describe. After I got into bed, I found, on looking up, that the roof 380 WANBOROUGH. was more open than closed. A heavy shower of rain would have deluged us. I need not say that we left our pillows at day-light. I requested some water and a towel, and to my horror, instead of the latter, a part of an infant's paraphernalia was given me, the name of which is well known in Scotland, but which would be so unintelligible generally, that it is as well not to mention it. There was not even a board to close up at night the opening for a window. This planter, though he has about 100 acres of land, is miserably poor looking. He has a large family of children, all as dirty as possible. There was not, however, any wish to extort money, for his charge was very trifling, — and I rather suspect that the poverty and misery of the family are owing to the indolence and inactivity of the lady. She has pro- bably broken her husband into her way of thinking, that they can live as well without as with the ordinary comforts of life. I could not have believed, without seeing it, that there was either in Illinois, or in the western part of the United States of America, a family apparently in so wretched a situation. From this plan- tation, after a drive across a fine prairie, we came to a ferry on the Little Wabash River, which we crossed in a flat. The road from thence for two miles was heavy in low grounds. We then passed through some fine woodland before we reached Wanborough, and the settle- ment of Messrs. Birkbeck and Flower, on the En- glish prairie, on which the town of Albion, now the capital of the county of Edwards, with a population of MR. birkbeck's property. 381 4000 or 5000 persons, is situated. The first view of the settlement is by no means favourable. The road is good ; the soil seems of excellent quality, and the whole appearance of the country is agreeable; but there are obvious traces of the fences having been in better order, and of more of the land having formerly been in cultivation. This was Mr. Birkbeck's part of the English prairie. Mr. Birkbeck was drovmed in the Wabash River some years ago, and none of his sons were in a situation to succeed him here. Since his death, the property has not been managed as he would have managed it. Mr. Pell, one of his sons-in-law, is here, but, as I was afterwards told, has no turn for pro- ceeding with the improvements. It is, however, suffi- ciently apparent that Mr. Birkbeck was possessed of a very comfortable settlement here, and that his residence and the accommodation aiforded, were in substance such as he represented them in his publications. In proceeding from his land towards Albion, I was passing a nice-looking English villa, at the distance of perhaps a hundred yards to the northward, when I found a young man at the plough close to me, in the field in front of the house. I learned from him, on making in- quiry, that the place had belonged to Mr. Pritchard, a gentleman from England, of the quaker persuasion ; that he was now dead, leaving a widow, a daughter, and two sons, of whom this young man was one. At his request, I went to the house, which is extremely neat, and the view from it quite as delightful as an inland view can be. In short, it is a bijou of a place. The situation is considerably higher than the 382 ENGLISH PRAIRIE. English prairie, great part of which it overlooked, — and the view of hill and dale, of woodland and of cul- tivated soil, is as rich and diversified as can well be conceived. Mrs. Pritchard told me that all were doing well here, and that, when she saw from the news- papers the sufierings of great part of the population in England, she lamented that they did not come here, where all would be well ofi' who could work. Were they thousands, and thousands, and thousands, all would be provided for, and she spoke from experience, hav- ing been here for nearly a dozen years. She added, however, that those settlers were not the most prosper- ous who had come with their pockets full of money, and had made large purchases of land, and had laid out considerable sums of money in buildings, and in prodi- gious purchases of cattle, &c. as no adequate return had been obtained for great expenditures ; but that every one of the labourers who had come to this country with Mr. Birkbeck and Mr. Flower, or who had fol- lowed them to their settlements, and who had turned out sober and industrious, were now in possession of a plantation of some extent, yielding them a comfortable livelihood. The wages of every one of the labourers was such as to enable them to save a certain sum every year from the period of their arrival, and, in the course of ten or twelve years, they had all scraped together enough of money for the purchase of settlements, on which they were hving in comfort, in houses which they had built. They were, in fact, landed proprietors and farmers, living on their own property, and in as respectable a situation as any persons in this country. ALBION. 383 All had done well who had not begun on too large a scale. Mrs. Pritchard has shown great taste in cutting trees here and there, to obtain the sweetest peeps of the prairie. I hardly remember to have seen a more delightful prospect in any of the fertile valleys in England than from the front of her house. Albion is upon Mr. Flower's part of the prairie, and was built by him. It was only begun twelve years ago, and contains a town-house, a smithy, three stores, one broad street, with lanes to the prairie and woods, all handsomely laid out, and perhaps more in the sub- stantial English style than I have seen elsewhere in the western country. Mechanics of every necessary description are now resident at Albion. I should rather suspect that too large a sum has been expended upon the town. Mr. Churchill, one of the store-keepers, is principally engaged in raising the castor-oil plant, and making the oil upon an extensive scale. The hotel here, kept by Mrs. Oveat, is excellent. She attended to everything I wanted herself, and showed every sort of attention that a traveller requires. In going through the village, I accidentally met in one of the stores, Mr. Charles Stephens, son of the late respected Mr. Richard Stephens, well known in Edinburgh, and over Scotland, for his skill in the draining of land, and as a judicious adviser in laying out pleasure-grounds. Mr. Charles Stephens is now in a very comfortable situation here, taking charge of the business of one of Mr. Flower's brothers-in-law, who is an extensive merchant. 384 MR. flower's prairie. The business of the merchants here is very extensive. They buy up the produce of the land, consisting of wheat, maize, and other grain, of cattle, salted pork, butter, cheese, and other articles, which they carry to New Orleans, and there they purchase sugar, coffee, tea, foreign wine, woollen cloths, and all those articles which the Illinois planters require for their own use. The merchant, of whose store Mr. Stephens was taking charge, had some time ago sent down to New Orleans 200,000 weight of salted pork. After a rest at the hotel, I mounted one of the barouche horses, and set off to get a look of Mr. Flower's prairie. His house is at the distance of some- what more than a mile from Albion, and the approach to it is singularly beautiful. Not far from the town, there is a charming cottage, belonging to Mr. Pickering, an English gentleman, married to one of Mr. Flower's sisters, who has lately been at great pains in bringing from England varieties of the best sheep. Beyond this cottage the approach passes through as beautiful a piece of wood as I have ever seen, majestic oaks, with fine underwood on varied ground. Mrs. Flower happened to be in the way when I was passing near the house, and was so obliging, on my asking the way into the prairie, as to insist on my see- ing Mr. Flower, who was engaged in some agricultu- ral operation, overseeing sheep-shearing in the neigh- bourhood of the house. Mr. Flower gave me a kind reception, and I owe him and Mrs. Flower sincere ac- MR. flower's prairie. 385 knowledgments for the pleasure I had in passing an afternoon with them, and for the invitation they so hospitably gave me to remain some time with them. The plan I had sketched out for the remainder of my tour put it out of my power to accept it. The situation of the houses on Mr. Flower's prairie is very much that which a large landed proprietor in England would select for his residence in the heart of an extensive wooded park, and there is a neatly-erected porter's lodge at the gate. The views, though very fine, did not strike me as so interesting as those which I had enjoyed from Mrs. Pritchard's cottage, but I must give such an opinion with great caution, consider- ing the short time I passed at either place. There are two houses on Mr. Flower's prairie almost adjoining each other ; the one occupied by Mrs. Flower, a fine old lady, the mother of Mr. Flower, whose father died here lately, and the other occupied by Mr. Flower himself and his family. I had the pleasure of accompanying Mr. Flower in a ride through the prairie, and saw him, for he puts his hand to the work himself, assist in laying a trap with part of a dead horse, for the wolves, which had lately been troublesome. Mr. Flower had been employed to- day (the 6th May) in having his Merino sheep shorn. He considers the month of May here as pretty nearly equal in climate and forwardness of vegetation to the month of June in the south of England. I adverted in conversation to the rapid changes of climate in the United States from heat to cold and vice versa and to VOL. II. s 386 RATE OF INTEREST. their injurious effects on the human constitution, but I found that Mr. Flower, after the experience of ten or twelve years, rather thought that the changes in Britain from dry to wet and vice versa, were upon the whole more mischievous. The general rate of interest in this part of this State is very high. Mr. Flower often lends sums of money, on the best security, at ten per cent., and the borrower reckons it a great favour to have it at that rate. Both Mr. and Mrs. Flower seem to me perfectly dis- posed to conform to the customs of the country in every thing, and are very fond of the situation. They have a fine family. Mrs. Flower was very recently the mother of twins. It is, however, impossible to deny, that persons brought up in England in luxury and affluence, as Mr. Flower's family were, must have frequent cause for self-denial here. It is only by reasoning on the advantages and disadvantages of their present situation for themselves, and the future pros- pects of their family, that they can reconcile themselves to the privations to which persons formerly in their circumstances in England must necessarily submit in the western country of America. Labourers, with a little money to buy a bit of land, mechanics, storekeepers, and farmers, are all pretty much upon a level in this country so far as respects con- dition, privileges, and every thing like rank in society. They eat together ; if males, they sleep in the same room. They are eligible to the highest offices in the community. Riches confer no power, — they merely MANNERS. 387 afford the means of enabling the possessor to live upon more expensive articles, to dress in a more expensive way, or to have more expensive equipages, or effects, or property, than others. Mr. and Mrs. Flower, how- ever, appeared to me to make light of that great alter- ation in the state of society, which they cannot but feel, and to be more desirous of noticing how beneficial the more natural style of living was for the mass of the people, and how beneficial it would be for the unem- ployed part of the English and Irish population to come here, where every individual would at once be well provided for. Mr. Flower spoke of it as certain, that there was abundance of employment for any number of labourers, however great, that would come out to this country. There is perfect freedom from anxiety, so far as regards one's circumstances in life, and that feeling, Mr. Flower said, more than any thing else, made them happy. He knew that every child of his, that was industrious and acted discreetly, would be well provided for. Mr. and Mrs. Flower are obliged to adopt the custom which is quite universal here — of eating with their servants, who are very numerous : they all eat and drink alike ; but Mr. Flower makes it a condition, on hiring ser- vants, that, when strangers come to see them, they live apart from the servants. There are good gardens, orchards, and a fine lawn close to Mr. Flower's houses. But the ground about them is kept in a style more conducive to the business of the plantation or farm, than clean, and nice, and dressed, as if it were a piece of s 2 3S8 ENGLISH PRAIRIE. mere pleasure-ground. Mr. Flower represents every- thing to be very cheap except labour. Butter is at pre- sent at five-pence sterling per pound. His hogs, he says, literally feed on peaches, apples, and Indian bread. The grapes are said to be better in this country than in other parts of America. I tasted home-made wine from the wild grape of this country, both at Mrs. Flower's, senior, and at one of her daughter's houses, very much resembling Spanish sweet vdne, and better in quality than any wine made in America which I had previously seen. This wine is to be had for sale in the stores at Albion. Improved land, that is, land with the fences and houses already put up, may be had for four or five dollars an acre. Mr. Flower's is the only house in America where I saw egg-cups. Wine-glasses are universally used instead of egg-cups everywhere else. Dr. Spring, an English physician, settled at Albion, has a very nice house, quite a cottage orne in the town. In the neighbourhood of Albion there are a great many inviting cottages with land attached to them, and the whole style of the buildings in this vicinity is far more English than American. The black- smith at Albion is Alexander Stewart, the son of a blacksmith at Lawers, in Scotland, and the nephew of Alexander Stewart, who is or was a veterinary surgeon at Crieff, in Scotland. Stewart is doing well, and has got some land. Mr. Flower, finding that it was not in my power to remain with him, was so good as to accompany me to ALBION. 389 the hotel at Albion late in the evening, a beautiful moonlight night. On the following morning, Dr. Spring and Mr. Stephens took me through all that part of the English prairie which I had not seen, before I left them on my way to the other side of the Wabash, to Mr. Owen's settlement. I saw quite enough here to be perfectly satisfied of the general correctness of the statements made by Mr. Birkbeck in his published notes and letters relative to his settlement. The favourable geographical position of the settlement is accurately described, and the quality of the soil is by no means exaggerated. I can entertain no doubt, that the price of produce and rates of labour mentioned by Mr. Birkbeck, were those ex- isting at the period when he wrote ; but wheat was then at three quarters of a dollar, instead of being now at half a dollar per bushel ; I have no notion, however, from anything that I heard, that any sort of farm-work can be done in Illinois, even by the piece, so cheaply as in England. Upon this subject, therefore, I am inclined to think, that Mr. Birkbeck must have been misinformed in the notes he sent to England. The soil of the Albion settlements, though an excel- lent moist sandy loam, is by no means so rich as that of the Sangamon district, or of many other parts of Illi- nois. I do not believe, from what was told me, that the Albion settlement is an unhealthy one, but unless I have been much deceived in the evidence which I got s 3 390 ILLINOIS. respecting the Sangamon district, I consider it more desirable in point of health, as well as in point of soil, and I view the neighbourhood of Jacksonville to be the most inviting part of that district, in beauty as well as in convenience of situation. I have no doubt from what I heard, that portions of the Missouri State may be as attractive for emigrants in almost all the parti- culars I have mentioned, but slavery exists in that State, and wherever it does exist in North America, it is obviously a bar to improvement, of which the States of Virginia and Kentucky afford decided proofs. Be- sides, I have seen enough of the slave-holding States to be very much disposed to agree in opinion with Mr. Birkbeck, that " every class of the white population is in those States more or less corrupted by idleness, ex- travagance, and debauchery." Enough has now, I hope, been said to satisfy the reader, that in my opinion no part of North America is so much to be recommended to emigrating farmers, as the State of Illinois. There is nowhere else in the United States so great an extent of rich prairie land, nor is there any where else so great an extent of the most fertile soil to be disposed of. The territory is greater than England, and contains only a population of 150,000 persons. There is a ready market for all sorts of produce ; — the best internal communication by water in the world ; — no slaves. The climate excellent, consumption little MINERALS. 391 known, great part of the State perfectly healthy, and there are chuiches and schools m many parts of it. The emigrants from Yorkshire, who accompanied Mr. Alison in 1829, came by way of Quebec, the St. Lawrence, and the lakes. The last part of the voyage to Quebec is attended with danger, and ships are every year lost on it. I should, therefore, advise emigrants to prefer the New York packets, either from Liverpool or London, in which they will be uniformly well treated in the cabin or steerage, according to their means. From New York, the cheapest way of travelling to Illinois is by the Hudson River and the Erie Canal, to Lake Erie, and then by the Lakes ; but to those who are not straitened for money, the route of Philadelphia across the Alleghany mountains to Pittsburg, and from thence by the Ohio and Mississippi, is the most agreeable. The State of Illinois is in many places full of valua- ble minerals. Lead, coal, lime, and mineral salt which abounds in various parts of the Mississippi valley, are found in large tracts in Illinois ; salt especially, near Shawneetown, where there are great salt works in ope- ration. The muriate of soda generally appears on sandy flats, the water strongly saturated with salt, of which cattle are very fond, penetrating through the earth, and during the drought of summer forming on the surface a solid layer of salt, from two to six inches thick, equal in quality to what is obtained by artificial crys- tallization and evaporation. In Illinois, about 120 gallons of water yield sixty pounds of salt, sold at twenty s 4 392 ILLINOIS. ' pence sterling per bushel. The ground on which the salt water appears is generally called salt hills. No one, however, should emigrate from his own country, even to this land of milk and honey, who has not sufficient firmness of character to enable him en- tirely to change his mode of life, and conform to that of the people with whom he is in future to live. He will do no good, if the disease of home-sickness afflict him. Difficulties as to servants he must be prepared to meet ; but in one respect the servants are far supe- rior to British servants. There is never any pilfering on the part of American white servants, and there are no people of colour in Illinois. Even in travelling, frequently in the wildest country in the civilized world, for some thousand miles, I never had the slightest ap- prehension, excepting on one occasion in Virginia, — a country of slaves. Where robberies are committed, the delinquents are, with few exceptions, either people of colour, or natives of other countries. Many persons in Illinois, equally well qualified to give information and advice as those I have mentioned, are unquestionably to be found ; but I am persuaded, that if other names are not pointed out, emigrants will obtain the most useful communications on all necessary particulars, from the gentlemen I have mentioned, or from Judge Hall at Vandalia, or Mr. Maclintoc at or near Shawneetown. If, however, the object be to obtain land already im- proved, with houses ready for the reception of a family, I cannot doubt, from the experience I have had of Mr. BRITISH EMIGRANTS. 393 Flower's wish to be of use to strangers, as well as from what he told me, that it will give him pleasure to point out the best situations to those who may apply to him. After quitting the English prairie, and my obliging friends who escorted me to the end of it, we passed through a continuation of uncommonly beautiful country, called Wood's prairie, on which there are several settlements, to Bompas, a straggling village, where we dined. Mr. Payne the hotel-keeper is married to a grand-daughter of a Provost Gray of Aberdeen, in Scotland. Here I met a person who was lately an overseer in one of General Hampton's plantations, and who left his situation because the treatment of the slaves was so cruel, that he would no longer be concerned in it. A considerable number of the English emigrants who followed Mr. Flower have settlements in this neighbourhood, and are doing well. On our way to Bompas we passed one of those settlements. Primrose Hill, which belonged to Mr. Coles, now deceased, and also a farm house, the garden in the front of which next the road must strike every stranger that passes, from its being so unlike the garden of an American planter. One would suppose, from its neatness and cleanness, and the good order in which the vines and the straw- berries, the vegetables and the flowers are kept, that the wages of a labourer here were as cheap as they are in East Lothian in Scotland. The farm, which is a very handsome one, belongs to Mr. David Thomson, a farmer from East Lothian. I called at his house, but s5 394 ILLINOIS. he was from home. I was afterwards, however, so fortunate as to meet him upon the road, and stopped and had some conversation with him. He is perfectly satisj&ed with his situation, his land, and its produce ; — and when I mentioned the probability of other British farmers coming to this country, he said there was abun- dance of fine land for them, and of every thing they re- quired. " Let them bring nothing here but industry; not even an implement. The implements here are ex- cellent, for the Americans are far better axe-men than we." Mr. Thomson is a stout vigorous man, — continues to speak his native language in purity, but is quite an American in political principles. He made particular inquiries about Mr. Walter Dickson, the seedsman, of Edinburgh, Mr. Brown of Markle, and Mr. Dunlop of Linton, in East Lothian. He is decidedly of opinion that the bacon of this country is better than in Britain, but the beef not so good. Mr. Clay, he says, some years ago, brought out some real short-homed cattle to the neighbourhood of Lexington, in Kentucky, where he lives, but they did not thrive so well as the ordinary cattle of the country, which he thinks, upon the whole, well suited to it. Mr. Thomson was originally a gardener ; — this ac- counts for his garden being so nicely dressed. On coming to the frontof Mr. Thomson's farm, Mr. Lebarge, my charioteer, who spoke broken English, very sagaciously observed to me, " that no pe Ameri- can's farm." From Bompas the road continues equally good for MR. birkbeck's death. 395 ten miles to the ferry across the Fox River, a branch of the Wabash. This was the spot where Mr. Birk- beck was unfortunately drowned. The ferry-boat had been stolen on the day before he came here on his way home. He and his son being well mounted had no doubt of being able to swim across the river ; but the current was too strong, and his son with difficulty es- caped. I have never, during the few days I passed in Illinois, heard Mr. Birkbeck's name mentioned, but with respect and regret. Some of the English settlers, I have been told, complain of his taking a profit from them upon the price of the lands, his original purchase between Bompas and Albion, which he sold to them ; but I suspect that this complaint is groundless, — being founded upon the present and altered state of things, — the general government having lowered the price of land from two dollars to a dollar and a quarter per acre ; and a prodigious extent of the richest and finest land in Illinois, which was at the time of Mr. Birk- beck's purchase possessed by the Indians, being now in the market. After my return to New York I was so satisfied, from what I had seen and heard upon my journey, that the state of Ilhnois offered the best situations for the settlement of a foreign emigrant, that I wrote to Mr. Duncan of Vandalia, whom I have already mentioned, begging him to communicate to me in writing various particulars which he had mentioned to me verbally when I was in his house ; and also to give me informa- tion respecting the best places for a stranger to reside s6 396 ILLINOIS. in near Vandalia until he obtained a settlement. He was so obliging as, immediately upon the receipt of my letter, to send me an answer, from which the following are extracts : — " Vandalia, June 30, 1830. *' Dear Sir, — Your letter of the 15th instant was received yesterday, and I hasten to give you the infor- mation you desire. " There is a beautiful country between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, the greater part of which has been donated by the government as military bounty lands to the soldiers of the last war. Most of those lands have been sold by the soldiers to other indivi- duals, and are now owned in great quantities by gen- tlemen in the eastern States. They are divided into two descriptions of claims ; one of lands bought from the soldiers to whom they were granted by the Govern- ment, and which have not been sold by the State of Illi- nois for the taxes and costs which have been accrued on them, are safe and indisputable titles. They have been sold by the soldiers for about fifty dollars for a quarter section, containing 160 acres, which, according to the act of Congress, was to be * fit for cultivation,' in con- formity with which, each deputy-surveyor was com- pelled to make a note upon his field-notes, of 'Jit or unfit for cultivation! upon every quarter section which they surveyed. There is another description of claim upon soldiers' lands, called ' tax titles.' Those claims are derived from the State, who have sold them for the MILITARY LANDS. 397 taxes and costs, upon which two years were allowed to the original owners for redemption, by paying double the purchase-money, and upon which no redemption was made. Many of our best lawyers, as well as the attorney-general, place implicit confidence in those claims : and public opinion is so much in favour of them, that the holders of the original patents dispose of them for mere trifles to the holders of the tax- titles. Great fortunes have been made by speculating in the military lands. The country, in many parts, is much such a country as the county of Morgan through which you passed. Indisputable patent titles in the military district could be bought for about fifty cents (that is, half a dollar) an acre at this place, and tax- titles at a much less sum; but I would not advise more than 1500 dollars to be laid out in the military lands, while I beheve that that amount could be laid out to great advantage in them at this place. Mr. Stephen B. Mun of New York is a large holder of military lands, and could give you great light upon the subject of them. " The speculation, or rather the advantageous mode, to which I alluded when I had the pleasure of seeing you, was the investment of funds in the location of the governmental lands in the districts ofVandalia, Spring- field and Edwardsville. Those lands are sold by the government at one dollar and a-quarter per acre. I am myself acquainted with a great many unappropriated situations, combining good soil, good water, and good timber, with eligibility of situation ; some of which 398 ILLINOIS. lie on and adjacent to the national road, which has lately been marked out, and for the opening of which an appropriation of 40,000 dollars was voted by the last Congress. As you would yourself have the se- lection of those lands, you could not fail to appropriate money to advantage upon them. They will be the property of, and a patent will be issued in the name of, the person in whose name they are located. " There never can be, from the nature of our sur- veys, a dispute about the title of lands derived from the government in the State of Illinois. This was not the case in the old States, where the surveys were made by individuals, and clashed with each other. It was this conflicting of titles that enriched the lawyers of Ken- tucky and Tennessee, and rendered so doubtful and precarious the freeholds in those States. " The house of Mr. Soard at Blooming Grove is at this time full, having in it three families. Jackson's at Hilsboro' would be a better place. They have but one servant, and could probably not spare more than one room. The family is amiable and agreeable, and would do all in their power to add to the comfort of both Mrs. and yourself; but, if you should con- clude to examine the country on the national road, (which I would certainly advise,) it would be better for you to spend part of your time at the seat of govern- ment, where you can be furnished o/if^r a fashion with both rooms and servants, for something like six dollars per week for both of you. And you would, I suppose, have to pay about the same price at either Jackson's or MR. Duncan's letter. 399 Soard's. The cheapest and most agreeable plan for you to travel at this season of the year would be to purchase a vehicle and horses, and come by land. I do not know the price of horses in New York ; but I am certain, that, if you were to purchase a handsome dear- born there, you could sell it for a much higher price here, — at least twenty-five per cent, above cost ; and, while you were in this beautiful level prairie country, it would be the means of affording amusement and recreation both to Mrs. and yourself ; and, as you would have to employ a pilot to show you the country and the surveys, it would be a cheap and agreeable mode of passing from point to point. As the attorney- general does not live in this place, and Judge Hall is an excellent lawyer, I showed your letter to the latter gentleman, who freely afforded the legal advice con- tained above upon the subject of the military and pub- lic lands. As tke land-office is in this place, he thinks it would be quite as convenient for you to fix your temporary residence in it. " If the Ohio should be high, which seldom happens at this season of the year, would it not then be best for you to bring a dearborn to Louisville, and purchase horses at that place, and come through by land? Horses are, I understand, low at Louisville. " As I have been engaged in surveying public lands, and have a good knowledge of the country, it is pro- bable that I could be of service to you, if you should conclude to make some locations in this State, in which case I will be happy to serve you. 400 ILLINOIS. " If any accident should have detained my brother, General Joseph Duncan, who is the Member of Con- gress for this State at New York, where he was at the date of your letter upon business, hunt him out, and he will have it in his power, and will take a pleasure, in giving you more information than could be ex- pected in the limits of a letter." I have been surprised, while engaged in revising what I had written at the time respecting Albion and the English prairie and neighbourhood, to observe, in the fifth chapter of Mr. Ferrall's book, the statement as to the settlement of Messrs. Birkbeck and Flower, in which he describes Albion as "a small insignificant town," — " their property as having passed into othe^ hands," — and " the members of their families as in comparative indigence." I was fearful, on obtaining this information, that some calamity had recently befallen the settlement, since I visited it in May 1830, and turned over the pages of Mr. FerralFs book to learn when he was there. Mr. Ferrall is, I found, entirely silent as to dates of his ramble, but he mentions in his very last chapter, that he left New York on his return to Britain on the 1st October 1830, which proves that he could not have seen Illinois much later than I did. The discrepancy between his representation and my own, therefore, appears to me not easily to be accounted for. It is clear from what he writes, for he states the fact positively, that he was at Albion, but he ALBION. 401 must have seen it with very different eyes from mine. The late Mr. Flower laid out, confessedly, far too large sums in expensive buildings there, for which his family are not likely, at least for a long period, to have any adequate return. But it is a thriving place, a county town, the great market for the produce of a very large district of Illinois, and the residence of extensive mer- chants. The country in the neighbourhood is singu- larly beautiful. That the property had not passed from the families of Messrs. Birkbeck and Flower, when I- was there in May, 1830, is most certain. The original settlers, Messrs. Birkbeck and Flower, were, it is true, both dead : Mr. Birkbeck drowned, not as Mr. Ferrall mentions, when he was Secretary of State, but after the Illinois senate had rejected his nomination, and he had again returned to a private station. His son-in-law, Mr. Pell, and his daughter, were residing on his property when I was on the spot. Mr. Flower's property passed to his eldest son on his death. He and his family, and his mother, are all resident upon it, and, as far as I observed or heard, in flourishing circumstances, contented and happy. It may be very true, that Mr. Flower is not so rich a man as his father, who had a large family, and divided his fortune among his children, not in the unequal proportions very common in England. I cannot con- ceive that Mr. Ferrall was himself on the English prairie, or at least on Mr. Flower's settlement, nor does he say that he was. I therefore suspect that the information he has given on this subject has been de- 402 ILLINOIS. rived from others, in which case I submit, that, con- sidering the nature of the information, and the effect it might have on the friends of the parties, and perhaps on some part of the pubHc, he ought to have men- tioned the source from which he had received it. I know nothing of the hostihty said by Mr. Ferrall to have been shown by the back-woodsmen to Messrs. Flower and Birkbeck. Neither Mr. Flower, nor any of the gentlemen I saw at Albion, ever mentioned any thing of the kind. I cannot give any credit to the story. The Wabash River having lately overflowed its banks, we had to pass five miles of very wet bad road before we arrived on the west bank of the Wabash, opposite to Harmony, where the river and its banks are very beautiful. I was struck with the gay appear- ance of the place, before the ferry-boat moved from the east side to carry us over. The population seemed to be altogether out of doors, on a beautiful Sunday even- ing. In a few minutes after I crossed the river I found myself in an excellent hotel, where there was a good reading-room, at Harmony, in the State of Indiana. NEW HARMONY. 403 CHAPTER XXXI. Mr. Owen's Settlement, New Harmony — Mr. Timothy Flint's Account of it — Details on the same subject by the Duke of Saxe Weimar — Faults found with Mr. Owen — His celebrated Address on the 4th July 1826 — Effect of the Address — Stale of the present Society at Harmony— General Twigg — Mr. INIaclure's Library — Ride from Harmony to Princeton in Indiana — Visit to Mr. Phillips' Plantation — Mr. Phillips' grounds for dissatisfaction with his Situation — Details upon this subject — Want of well educated Medical Men in the West- ern part of the United States — Road from Princeton to Vincennes — Vincennes, a French Settlement — Excellent Land, in the Neighbour- hood — Journey in the Mail-Stage from Vincennes to Louisville — View over the Ohio at Louisville. V May 1830. Harmony has lately become so celebrated from its having been the theatre of Mr. Owen's experiment on the social system, that I am anxious to detail, though, of course, very briefly, all the particulars respecting the settlement which have come to my knowledge. Mr. Flint's history of the western States, to which I have already so often alluded, contains the following brief account of it. Mr. Flint was, and I suppose still is, the friend of Mr. Owen, and was made acquainted by him with his 404 INDIANA. proceedings. His statement, therefore, so far as it goes, may be considered as authentic. " Harmony, fifty-four miles below Vincennes, and something more than 100 by water, above the mouth of the Wabash, is the seat of justice for the county of Posey. It is situated on the east bank of the river, sixteen miles from the nearest point of the Ohio, on a wide, rich, and heavily-timbered plateau, or second bottom. It is high, healthy, has a fertile soil, and is in the vicinity of small and rich prairies, and is, on the whole, a pleasant and well-chosen position. It was first settled, in 1814, by a religious sect of Germans, deno- minated Harmonites. They were emigrants from Ger- many, and settled first on Beaver Creek in Pennsylva- nia. They moved in a body, consisting of 800 souls, to this place. Their spiritual and temporal leader was George Rapp, and all the lands and possessions were held in his name. Their society seems to have been a kind of intermediate sect between the Shakers and Mo- ravians. They held their property in common. Their regulations were extremely strict and severe. In their order, industry, neatness, and perfect subordination, they resembled the Shakers. They soon erected from eighty to one hundred large and substantial buildings. Their lands were laid off with the most perfect regu- larity, and were as right-angled and square as compass could make them. They were wonderfully successful here, as they had been in other places, in converting a wilderness into a garden in a short time. They had even the luxury of a botanic garden and a green-house. NEW HARMONY. 405 Their great house of assembly, with its wings and ap- pendages, was nearly 100 feet square. Here they lived, and laboured in common, and in profound peace. But from some cause, their eyes were turned from the rich fields and the wide prairies, and the more southern and temperate climate of the Wabash, towards Beaver Creek, the place where they had first settled. While they were under the influence of these yearnings, the leader of a new sect came upon them. This was no other than Robert Owen, of New Lanark, in Scotland, a professed philosopher of a new school, who advocated new principles, and took new views of society. He calls his views upon this subject * the social system.' He was opulent, and disposed to make a grand expe- riment of his principles on the prairies of the Wabash. He purchased the lands and the village of Mr. Rapp, at an expence, it is said, of 190,000 dollars. In a short time there were admitted to the new establishment from 700 to 800 persons. They danced altogether one night in every week, and had a concert of music on another. The Sabbath was occupied in the delivery and hearing of philosophical lectures. Two of Mr. Owen's sons from Scotland, and Mr. M'Clure joined him. The society at New Harmony, as the place was called, excited a great deal of interest and remark in every part of the United States. Great numbers of distinguished men, in all the walks of life, wrote to the society, making in- quiries respecting its prospects and rules, and express- ing a desire, at some future time, to join it. Mr. Owen remained at New Harmony but little more than a year. 406 NEW HARMONY. in which time he made a voyage to Europe. The 4th of July, 1826, he promulgated his famous declaration of * mental independence.' The society had begun to moulder before this time. He has left New Harmony, and ' the social system' seems to be abandoned." The Duke of Saxe Weimar, who visited Mr. Owen's settlement in April, 1826, and spent six days there, has supplied more information respecting the proceedings of the society at the period of its greatest activity, than any other writer. From his Travels I extract the fol- lowing curious facts, not so much respecting the prin- ciples, as the actual proceedings of the society when the Duke was on the spot. Mr. Owen was at this period himself with the society. He carried the Duke to the building formerly used as the church of Rapp's society, which is now appropriated to joiners' and shoemakers' shops, in which the boys were instructed in these mechanical arts. Another large building is situated behind the church, which Mr. Owen then intended to convert into a library and a cabinet of natural history. This was accordingly done, and a theatre was also erected in the building. The society at this period consisted of about 1000 members, associating together at their meals in four boarding-houses, till a general table should be insti- tuted, according to the fundamental constitution of the society. In the evening Mr. Owen conducted the Duke to a concert in the large building before-mentioned, most of the members of the society being present. The con- MR. Owen's establishment. 407 cert was surprisingly good. Declamation was inter- spersed amongst the musical performances. Lord Byron's stanzas to his wife after their separation were extremely well recited. Between the two parts of the concert, the music having played a march, each gentleman gave a lady his arm, and a promenade took place, resembling the polonaise, sometimes in two couples, sometimes in four. The concert closed with a lively cotillion. This general evening amusement took place often. The Duke seems to have been much annoyed during a large portion of the evening by an elderly French lady, who presided over the department of young mo- thers, and stuck by him, tormenting him with her philosophical views, and preventing him from enjoying the scene with which he would otherwise have been much amused. On the second day he saw the boys at military exer- cise and fencing, and he also visited the shops of the shoemakers, tailors, saddlers, and smiths. The greater part of the young girls, whom he found at home, were employed in plaiting straw hats. In the evening the Duke accompanied the ladies to a dancing assembly, which was held in the kitchen of one of the boarding houses; but finding the unpractised dancers were getting a lesson there, he went home, afraid lest his presence might create some restraint. On the third day Mr. Owen showed the Duke one of the newly-built houses, in which the married mem- bers of the society were to dwell. Each family to have 8 408 NEW HARMONY. a chamber and alcove, which would be sufficient accom- modation, as the young children would be in a nursery, and the larger at school. No kitchen nor parlour would be required, as all were to eat in common. In the evening there was again a concert, and Mr. Owen delivered a discourse upon steam-engines and steam- boats. Subsequently, the band played a march ; each gentleman took a lady and marched with her round the room. Then a cotillion was danced, and the ladies were escorted home. On Sunday morning the society met in the large build- ing, and the meeting was opened by music. Mr. Owen delivered a discourse on the advantages of the society. In the evening the Duke paid visits to the ladies, and witnessed philosophy, and the love of equality, put to the severest trial with one of them, young and hand- some. While she was singing, and playing very well on the piano-forte, she was told that milking of cows was her duty. Almost in tears, she betook herself to this servile employment, deprecating the new social system, and its so much prized equality. After the cows were milked, in doing which this pretty girl was trod on by one, and daubed by another, the Duke made one in an aquatic party with the young ladies, and some young philosophers in a boat upon the Wabash. The even- ing was beautiful. The Duke's heroine regaled the party with her sweet voice. Afterwards the whole party amused themselves in dancing cotillions, reels, and waltzes, and with such animation, as to render it, as the Duke adds, quite lively. A new figure had been 1 MR. Owen's establishment. 409 introduced into the cotillions, called the new social sys- tem. Several of the ladies objected to dancing on Sunday. " We thought, however," writes the Duke, " that in this sanctuary of philosophy, such prejudices should be utterly discarded, and our arguments, as well as the in- clination of the ladies, gained the victory." The two following days there were balls or concerts as usual. The greatest novelty which the Duke appears to have seen was a plate exhibited to him by Mr. Owen, having this superscription, " The scale of human facul- ties and qualities of birth, with ten scales, thus enti- tled, self-attachment, affections, judgment, imagination, memory, reflection, perception, excitability, courage, strength." Each scale is divided into 100 parts, which are marked from five to five. A slide that can be moved up or down shows the measure of the quah- ties therein specified, each one possesses, or believes himself to possess. The costume of the society for the men consisted of white pantaloons, buttoned over a boy's jacket without a collar ; — that of the women, of a coat reaching to the knee, and of pantaloons such as little girls wear. The Duke mentions his having renewed acquaintance at Harmony with Mr. Say, a distinguished naturalist from Philadelphia, who appeared quite comical in the cos- tume of the society, vdth his hands full of hard lumps and blisters, occasioned by the unusual labour he was obliged to undertake in the garden. The peculiar doctrines of the society, so far as ex- plained by Mr. Owen to the Duke, were, that it was an VOL. II. T 410 NEW HARMONY. absurdity to promise a never-ending love upon mar- riage ; that children would cause no impediment to a separation, as they were to belong to the community from their second year ; that the society were to pro- fess no religion, each person to have his own belief; that there was to be perfect equality in the society, &c. Mr. Owen, in his conversations with the Duke, looked forward to nothing less than to remodel the world entirely on such principles as these ; to root out all crime ; to abolish all punishments ; to create similar views and similar wants ; and thus to avoid all dissen- sion. He was too unalterably convinced of the results, to admit the slightest room for a doubt. The Duke's admissions sufficiently prove that the seeds of disunion had been abundantly sown at this period, even before the establishment had been one year in operation. The Duke states, that it shocked the feelings of people of education to live on the same footing with everyone indiscriminately; and that seve- ral of the discontented wished to leave the society im- mediately, and to go to Mexico. One lady, the widow of an American merchant, was full of complaints of disappointed expectations. The Duke obser\^ed the better educated members of the society keeping them- selves together, and taking no notice of tatterdemal- lions, who stretched themselves on the flatform. The young ladies of the better class kept themselves in a corner, forming a little aristocratical club, and turned up their noses apart at the democratic dancers, who often fell to their lot, when the gentlemen, as well as MR. Owen's establishment. 411 the ladies, drew numbers for the cotillions, with a view to prevent partialities. The Duke expresses his re- gret that Mr. Owen should have allowed himself to be so infatuated by his passion for universal improvement, at the very time when almost every member of the so- ciety with whom the Duke had conversed apart, acknow- ledged that he was deceived in his expectations. The Duke's observations, upon the whole, agree very much with what I had heard from Mr. Ainslie, Mr. Stephens, and other gentlemen connected with the society, whom I had seen at Louisville and at Albion, and who had been employed in the society. Mr. Ste- phens, who at that period had charge of the cattle at Harmony, told me, that he was the very person who was sent with the message to the young lady, who was then singing and playing in the presence of the Duke, to remind her that milking the cows was her duty. The great error with which they all charge Mr. Owen, was his receiving in the commencement into the society, persons of all descriptions and of all coun- tries, without any inquiry into character, and the con- sequent mixture of many persons of dissolute lives, and of no principle, and who were possessed of no pro- perty, with those who joined the society from a belief that the system of equality and community was prac- ticable, and who were willing to make considerable sacrifices of fortune, with a view to give it a fair trial. They also charge Mr. Owen with concealing his views on the subject of religion at the formation of the so- T 2 4.12 NEW HARMONY. ciety, or, at least, with not making it known, that it was to be understood that his views in this respect were to be professed by the society in general, or brought forward by him in the authoritative manner he afterr wards adopted. They said they had all predicted the total dissolution of the society from the 4th July, 1 826, the date of the fiftieth anniversary of the American declaration of political independence, on which day Mr. Owen delivered his celebrated address to the society, which he afterwards published, dating it in - the^r^^ year of mental independence, A few extracts from this extraordinary paper will show its character. " My friends, there is a noble object before us, to be won by some party or another, in this or some other country. It is no less than the destruction of the threefold causes, which deprive man of mental liberty, which compel him to commit crime, and to suffer all the miseries which crime can inflict. " Let me now ask, are you prepared to imitate the example of your ancestors ? — are you willing to run the risks which they encountered ? " Are you prepared to achieve a mental revolution, as superior in benefit and importance to the first revolution, as the mental powers of man exceed his physical powers ? " If you are, I am most ready and willing to join you in this deed, — the last and most daring that has been left for man, in his irrational state, to perform. , "But, my friends, knowing, as I do, the ^immeasur- able magnitude of the good which this mental revolu- MR. Owen's establishment. 413 tion will eifect, and permanently secure for human nature through all future ages, I deem the continued existence a little longer here of a few individuals, to be of no consideration whatever in comparison with its attainment ; and therefore, as I cannot know the present state of your minds, and as the continuance of life at my age is very uncertain, I have calmly and deliberately determined upon this eventful and auspicious occasion, to break asunder the remaining mental bonds, which for so many ages have grievously afflicted our nature, and, by so doing, to give for ever full freedom to the human mind. " Upon an experience, then, of nearly forty years, which owing to a very peculiar combination of circum- stances, has been more varied, extended, and singular, than perhaps has ever fallen to the lot of any one man, and during which period my mind was continually occupied in tracing the cause of each human misery that came before me to its true origin, — I now declare to you and to the world, that man, up to this hour, has been, in all parts of the earth, a slave to a Trinity the most monstrous that could be combined to inflict mental and physical evil upon his whole race. " I refer to private or individual property, — absurd and irrational systems of religion, — and marriage, founded on individual property, combined with some one of these irrational systems of religion. " It is difficult to say which of these grand sources of all crime ought to be placed first or last, for they are so intimately interlinked and woven together by t3 414 NEW HARMONY. time, that they cannot be separated without being destroyed; each one is necessary to the support of the other two. This formidable Trinity, compounded of ignorance, superstition, and hypocrisy, is the only demon or devil that ever has, or most likely ever will, torment the human race. It is well calculated, in all its consequences, to produce the utmost misery on the mind and body of man of which his nature is sus- ceptible. The division of property among individuals prepared the seeds, cultivated the growth, and brought to maturity all the evils of poverty and riches existing among a people at the same time ; the industrious ex- periencing privations, and the idle being overwhelmed and injured by wealth. " Religion, or superstition, for all religions have proved themselves to be superstitious, by destroying the judgment, irrationalized all the mental faculties of man, and made him the most abject slave, through the fear of nonentities created solely by his own disor- dered imagination. Superstition forced him to believe, or to say he believed, that a Being existed who pos- sessed all power, wisdom, and goodness, — that he could do, and that he did every thing, — and yet that evil and misery superabound, — and that this Being, who makes and does all things, is not the direct or indirect author of evil or misery. Such is the foundation on which all the mysteries and ravings of superstition are erected in all parts of the world. Its inconsistency and in- conceivable folly have been such as to keep the world in continual wars and massacres, and to create private MR. owen's establishment. 415 divisions, leading to every imaginable evil ; and it is probable that superstition has caused more than its third of the crimes and sufferings of the human race. " The forms and ceremonies of marriage, as they have been hitherto generally performed, and afterwards supported, make it almost certain that they were con- trived and forced upon the people at the same period that property was first divided among a few leading individuals, and superstition was invented ; this being the only device that could be introduced to permit them to retain their division of the public spoils, and create to themselves an aristocracy of wealth, of power, and of learning. " Upon the experience of a life devoted to the in- vestigation of these momentous subjects, I fearlessly now declare to you, from a conviction, as strong as conviction can exist in the human mind, that this compound of ignorance and fraud is the real and only cause of all the crime, and misery arising from crime, which can be found in human society. *' For nearly forty years have I been employed, heart and soul, day by day, almost without ceasing, in preparing the means, and arranging the circumstances to enable me to give the death-blow to the tyranny and despotism which for unnumbered ages past have held the human mind spell-bound in chains and fetters, of such mysterious forms and shapes, that no mortal had dared approach to set the suffering prisoner free. Nor has the fulness of time, for the accomplishment of this great event, been completed until within tliis hour, — T 4 416 NEW HARMONY. and such has been the extraordinary course of events, that the declaration of political independence in 1776, has produced its counterpart, — the declaration of mental independence in 1826, the latter just half a century from the former. Rejoice with me, my friends, that your mental independence rests now as secure as your political independence. " Under the circumstances in which this mental re- volution has been made, no human power can undo, or render nugatory, that which has now been done. This truth has passed from me beyond the possibility of recal : it has been already received into your minds : speedily it will be heard throughout America, and from thence it will pass north and south, east and west, as far as language is known, — and almost as fast as it shall be conveyed, human nature will recognise and receive it. Rejoice then with me, my friends, that this light is now set upon a hill ; for it will increase daily, more and more, until it shall be seen, felt, and understood, by all the nations of the earth. " In furtherance of this great objec t we are preparing the means to bring up your children with industrious and useful habits, with natural, and, of course, rational ideas and views, with sincerity in all their proceedings ; and to give them kind and affectionate feelings for each other, and charity, in the most extended sense of the term, for all their fellow-creatures. " By doing this, — by uniting your separate interests into one, — by doing away with individual money transac- tions, — by exchanging with each other your articles of MR. owen's establishment. 417 produce on the basis of labour for equal labour, — by looking forward to apply your surplus wealth to assist others to obtain similar advantages, — and by the aban- donment of the use of spirituous liquors, you will, in a peculiar manner, promote the object of every wise government, and of all really enlightened men." On the Sunday following the day on which this oration was delivered, Mr. Owen, addressing the meet- ing, alluded to the great mental revolution which had been achieved on the previous Tuesday, mentioning that the oration was to be printed in the Harmony Gazette, that it might be read and studied at leisure. He added, that, if no error could be found in it, "a course of action might be founded on these principles, which would lead to the commencement of measures which might not improperly be termed the beginning of the Millennium." The publication of this address perhaps caused the dissolution of the society to take place a little sooner than it otherwise would have done. Most of the peo- ple of property or principle left the society ; and Mr. Owen, tired of supporting the others at his own ex- pence, put a final end to the society in the following year. Mr. Maclure, a Scotch gentleman, a man of science, and of considerable property, who had joined Mr. Owen at Harmony at this period, or soon after- wards, purchased a part of the houses and lands from Mr. Owen for, I beheve, 50,000 dollars, and other smaller sales were made ; but Mr. Owen still retained, when I was on the spot, by far the largest part of the T 5 418 NEW HARMONY. property, and must have incurred a great loss. Part of Mr. Owen's family resided there. One of his sons is a captain of militia. The whole grounds, it is universally admitted, were in admirable order when Mr. Rapp left them ; and the situation is one of the most attractive that I have seen in America, upon one of its finest rivers, consisting of highly cultivated land of the richest soil. The situa- tion, however, is not altogether free from fever, and this circumstance is said to have rendered Mr. Rapp not indisposed to part with the property. The houses, fences, and grounds, are now in a most neglected con- dition, — merely the wreck of what they were in Mr. Rapp's time. Some individuals of the society, who came there merely to make all they could of it's founder, and of such of his associates as had any thing to lose, committed some very wanton depredations on the pro- perty on the dissolution of the society. The only exception 'to this dilapidated state of things was to be found, when I saw it, in the orchard, vineyard, and garden of 100 acres, originally formed by Rapp, which seemed still to be well kept. The roads and walks about the place are most inviting, and Harmony cer- tainly still continues to be a place which every tra- veller in the western country of America ought to see. If it was as healthy as it is beautiful, I think it a situa- tion much to be recommended to persons wishing to settle upon an improved plantation in the western States. From what I heard, I suspect, that the society still remaining here, consisting of people from aU parts of MR. OWEN*S ESTABLISHMENT. 419 the States and from all countries, is extremely demo- ralized ; but the place contains a few excellent persons, who came here with a view to a permanent resi- dence, and have made comparatively small purchases from Mr. Owen. Harmony still contains about 600 people. The Duke of Saxe Weimar will be glad to know, that the lady whom he has so much celebrated, on ac- count of her attractions and musical accomplishments, has been respectably married for some years, and is an excellent wife and mother. General Twigg, a medical gentleman, from London, who has been settled in this country for about a dozen years, — son of the late Mr. Twigg, the vicar of Saint Stephens, Coleman Street, London, to whom I was made known, had the civility to walk about the place with me, and to show me the gardens and buildings. The view from the top of the buildings is very fine. The turnings of the river give it all the appearance of a lake. He also showed me Mr. Maclure's library, — a fine collection of books in good order. General Twigg tells me that there are several improved plan- tations in the neighbourhood of this place, with good comfortable houses, which might at present be had for 1000 dollars, that is, for about 2S71, sterling. This gentleman is a brigadier-general of the American mi- litia, elected in opposition to one of the members of the legislature. Here is another proof of the unpopu- larity of the British in this country. I supped upon squirrel at the hotel at Harmony, t6 420 PRINCETON. which I had never before seen at table. It appeared to me very good, and very like chicken. The ride from Harmony to Princeton, thirty miles, passes through a country not thickly settled, but there are some good houses, and a great many noble tall trees, some of them of great girth. There was no good stopping-place on the road, and we had therefore re- course to Mr. Lebarge's venison ham and rye whisky. Princeton is in an elevated situation, in a fine waving country, about ten miles from the Wabash. The soil is good, and there are many nice-looking plantations in the neighbourhood. I have not seen a better hotel in the western country than Mr. Brown's at Princeton. The house is large and good, but without a bolt or lock. Every thing set on the table was excellent. Both the landlord and landlady seem to understand their business well, and to attend to it thoroughly. I never had a better breakfast than Mrs. Brown (to whom I had in the evening mentioned my wish to have breakfast early next morning), had ready on the table at six o'clock. Two and a half dollars is the rate of board per week here. The charge against me for tea and supper, bed- chamber and breakfast was half a crown. After breakfast I paid a visit to Mr. Phillips, who has a very fine plantation, the best in the neighbour- hood, about a mile from the town. Mr. Phillips is an Englishman, and was contractor for the mail-coach esta- blishment at Edinburgh, in Scotland, where he made a fortune. His farm is of excellent soil, beautifully situated, commanding a delightful view. He told me. PRINCETON. 421 that, literally, his hogs were fed with peaches and apples. In short, he is living as the proprietor of a place, so comfortable in appearance in all respects, and so much improved in the British sense of the term, that, if it were in Scotland, it would be en- vied by many ; but he is obviously not altogether satisfied with his situation on some accounts, which, I think, I may perhaps be able, in consequence of the conversation I had with him, to understand, and to explain better than he could do himself. First of all, he has committed an error into which British emigrants, who come out here with their pockets full of money, very generally fall, viz. that of laying out a large sum of money in improving and beautifying his land in the British style. Such improvements yield no adequate return in this country, even upon a sale. The price of labour is high ; the value of produce is low. I am not therefore at all surprised that Mr. Phillips feels chagrined on account of his having laid out his money unprofitably, but he is wealthy, and this circumstance is obviously not that which annoys him most. His complaint is, that he has not a gentle- man in his neighbourhood to associate with. To explain what, I presume, Mr. Phillips means by this expression, I must premise, that Mr. Phillips, at the period of his, emigration to the United States, was in the possession of a competence at home of his own acquisition, and in the enjoyment of every comfort in that walk of life in which Providence had cast his lot. His occupation must have led him to be chiefly engaged 4f22 MR. PHILLIPS. in transactions with farmers, innkeepers, and persons following his own business. People pursuing what was his professional occupation lead a varied, bustling life. They generally keep a mercantile inn or hotel, and much of their time is occupied in attending to it, and to their numerous servants and coachmen, and in the purchase of carriages and horses, and of food for the latter ; but, notwithstanding the number of their occu- pations, they in general contrive to find time for the enjoyment of what they consider the comforts of life, and also for amusement. They seldom conclude a transaction, or make a bargain of importance, without the parties engaged in it eating and drinking together, and, if a Mend or two are in the way, they are asked to partake, and one, two, or three hours are spent over a bottle or two of wine, or a jug of spirits and water. If the bargain is one of great moment, or to last for a period of years, a distant day is named, in order to drink good luck to it, so that the attendance of the intimate friends of the parties may be secured to an entertainment not exactly in the " pot luck" style. Family dinners, too, among the friends and relations of people in this class of life in Britain, are quite com- mon, and the whole afternoon is on such occasions pretty generally spent happily together in convivial conversation, and an approach to jollification. Now Mr. Phillips has thought fit to put himself down in a very beautiful, but still very thinly peopled, district of the western country of America, and I have no doubt, that he believes what he says, — that he has not a gen- MR. PHILLIPS. 423 tleman to associate with, — because his idea of a gen- tleman is that of a person who will eat and drink and spend his time with him according to his previous modes and habits of life, and who should be on what Mr. Phillips would consider, friendly and social terms with him. Americans would very probably, I suspect, make the same complaint against him, — that he does not live as they live, eat his meals as rapidly, smoke his cigar, and take a little spirits and water, half a dozen, or a dozen times, perhaps, in an afternoon. They have exactly the same grounds to complain of him. My own impression is, that every Englishman of Mr. Phillips' habits and situation will prefer the mode of life to which he has been previously accustomed ; but that is nothing to the purpose. The Americans are so thoroughly occupied by their own business that they seldom find leisure to sit and converse over their " tipple" for two or three hours at a time ; and long- continued habit leads them to prefer their own mode of enjoyment, — smoking and drinking their spirits and water, not at one long-continued session, but now and then when they feel disposed. It is quite a good-humoured, but still a complete mistake on Mr. Phillips' part, to charge the Americans with not being gentlemen, because they do not choose to live as he lives. The mistake is in his conceiving the term applicable only to people who live as he would like to live, and as he did live at home. This mistake is frequently committed by persons of various descriptions 424} AMERICAN GENTLEMEN. in other countries as well as in America. The term gentleman is as well known and recognised among highwaymen and pick-pockets as with the highest duke in the land. No doubt their interpretations of the term do not agree. But if the most generally accepted definition of the term be admitted, that it includes all persons of good education and good manners, I venture to say, without fear of contradiction from any one who has had opportunities of seeing the mass of the popu- lation of the United States, — the north and the south, the east and west, — that that country contains an infinitely greater number of gentlemen than any other which exists, or ever has existed. I am glad to be supported in this opinion by at least one late British traveller in America, Mr. Ferrall, who says, " that all in America are gentlemen." Mr. Phillips has, I am persuaded, other reasons for not being very partial to his situation in this country. His circumstances at home would probably lead him to frequent fairs, horse-markets, cattle-shows, &c. He has no substitutes in this country for the pleasure which he probably took in such meetings, and in the society to which they led. He was easy in his circumstances, and in the possession of every comfort at home; and most probably he came here tempted by flattering representations that the money which he had made would bring him a far better return in this country than in Britain, — would enable him to buy a much larger estate, — perhaps to keep a carriage, — to purchase every article he required free of duty, — and that he 10 DIFFERENCE IN MANNERS. 425 would be at once liberated from the payment of that direct taxation to which his property in Britain of course subjected him. Every part of this representation, if it was made to him, is true, and Mr. PhilHps is proprietor of a fine estate, which would be thought a desirable one in any part of the world, but he does not feel at home with the people, and he dislikes their mode of life, which is totally difierent from that to which he had become at- tached. He misses his frequent chats with his neigh- bours, and the companions of the first part of his life ; and he cares little about the enjoyments, of which he is possessed in this country, unless he can share them with his friends. This is all very natural ; — but had Mr. Phillips come to this country at the age of thirty or thirty-five, with manners not so entirely formed as they seem to have been, without prejudices, — with some such sum as 700^. or 800Z. ; and with a wife and a family of half a dozen children, for whose support that sum would have availed but little at home, he might have obtained a plantation, from the produce of which, if managed discreetly and without unnecessary expense, he not only could have maintained his family well and respectably, and given his children excellent education, but have at once come into possession of every political privilege, — in fact, have become a coun- try gentleman. The situation and station of such a family coming to this country are entirely altered. Their prospect at home is gloomy and dark. Here with industry, it is bright and secure. 426 ARISTOCRATICAL FEELINGS It is for persons of this description, (no matter though they have a little more money, but they must not be rich or independent,) and for mechanics and labourers, that the United States hold out induce- ments to emigrants not to be found elsewhere; — but the rich, the luxurious, the man of letters, or of re- fined habits, should never, in existing circumstances, think of crossing the Atlantic vi^ith a view to better themselves by a permanent residence in the United States. The British have far more aristocratical feel- ings and manners than the French, or the people of any other nation. Haughtiness to their inferiors, although implying conduct very different from that of a gentleman, must, I fear, be attributed more to individuals of rank and riches in Great Britain than in any other country. The aristocracy of England could not fail to find the United States, and especially the western countries, a horrible country to live in. There is no class of people there who live at all like the select, — or artificial class of London or of British Society, — who yawn themselves out of bed at eleven or twelve in the forenoon, — pass an hour sipping their coffee over the brilliant columns of the Morning Post, — who afterwards find it difficult to kill time in St. James's Street, or in some frivolous pursuit, until their ennui is in the evening relieved by a luxurious dinner, accompanied and followed every day by no small quantity of wine ; and whose evening and night are afterwards passed in the House of Commons, (a seat in which was obtained OF THE BRITISH. 427 with a view to the exclusive society it has hitherto con- ferred or rendered comeatable,) if there is to be an im- portant division ! — at the opera, in the gambling-house, or in some house of entertainment. People born with a fortune, and thus making use of it, — the real fruges consumere nati of other countries, are utterly unknown in America. They would there be viewed as having lost their senses, and would be so treated. Men of science too, and of literature, not a small body in England, find but few persons in the United States not engaged in professional business, and have not in that country the means of resorting to great public libraries, which they find in England in- dispensable for their pursuits. They meet with few people disposed to sympathize with them in the objects which interest them; or to enter into their feel- ings, — or to live in the way in which they have been accustomed to live. The United States do not ofier a desirable asylum for persons of this description, even if they are in straitened circumstances. It will be much more for their happiness to contract their style of living in England than to make a voyage to Ame- rica. I do not think, however, that the same rule is to be applied indiscriminately to that description of persons which comprehends physicians, lawyers, merchants, and clergymen. On the contrary, I have met with many individuals in all those professions, originally from Bri- tain, who had adopted the American mode of life, and were perfectly satisfied with the country and with the 428 ARISTOCRATICAL FEELINGS manners of the people. But it is universally observed, that the British have more difficulty in changing their mode of life, and especially in accommodating them- selves to the manners of the Americans, than any other people. No people consider it so great a hardship to be obliged to eat or associate with those vrhom they consider to be their inferiors, in point of station, as the British. It is, therefore, very hazardous for people, even of the middling classes, to come here unless they arrive in early life, and with manners still in a great degree to be formed. In the United States the slight- est assumption of superiority over a person conceived to be lower merely in point of station or wealth, is not tole- rated. Superiority is yielded to men of acknowledged talent alone. New York would be in a fever of joy were Mr. Clay, a man certainly of the first talents as a statesman in America, though at present unem- ployed and in retirement, to appear there; but the richest man in the United States — such as Mr. Girard who died lately at Philadelphia worth many millions, — though he appeared with as great a display of wealth as George the Fourth at his coronation, would com- mand no respect or attention whatever. Men of re- fined manners, and accustomed to the British mode of living, can as little submit to such a state of things, as to the American style of living, the constant business, the hurried meal, the frequent cigar and spirits and water. There are, it is true, many accomplished and polished persons, in the best sense of the words^ in the United States ; but their number is infinitely OF THE BRITISH. 429 smaller in reference to the population than in Great Britain. In this admission, I of course neither allude nor mean to allude to that class of persons, whose mode of life I have already attempted to describe, who acquire artificial habits, and pass through life alike use- less to themselves and to the world. They are objects of pity in all countries. Our boasting, however, must be carried no farther than to the class of the highly educated, accomplished, and refined ; for the great mass of the people of the United States are so much better educated, so much better informed, and possess so much better manners, so much more self-possession and ease, that it is absolutely ludicrous to compare the people of Great Britain with them in those respects. To the poor, then, if industrious and able to work, the United States is the most inviting country that ever existed ; they are sure of obtaining political pri- vileges, station, and a competency. No wonder, then, that the great people of this country, whether the old Noble, or the merest upstart, should be alike disposed to adhere tenaciously to things as they were and as they are, which give them much in propor- tion as they yield little to the mass of their country- men. Mr. Ferrall has entered precisely into the views which I am attempting to explain, when he says, that ** the higher classes in the United States have some of that high polish rubbed ofi*, by their occasional contacts with their less civilized fellow-citizens, but that * the humble classes decidedly gain what they lose,' and that the general good conduct of the humblest persons is 430 MEDICAL MEN. remarkable when contrasted with that of the same class in England." Even the American servants are so well informed, and in early life associate so much on a footing of equality with those who constitute the higher classes in America, that it is generally impos- sible, in travelling in steam-boats and in stages, to dis- tinguish between the highest and the lowest classes when the individuals are dressed alike, and especially when those in the lower ranks are females. An Eng- lish female servant, on the contrary, often dresses as smartly as her mistress. But her inferiority appears at once, if an opportunity is afforded of observing her manners, and of entering into conversation with her ; such at least is generally the result. In the packet ship in which I returned from New York to Great Britain, the stewardess was a woman of colour from Connecti- cut, where all are well educated. She was not fault- less ; but although there were several ladies in the ship, she had far more geographical knowledge than all of them, and was possessed of the best library, and the best series of maps, in the ship. Her manners and edu- cation were altogether superior to those of a female occupying such a situation in Great Britain. Mr. Phillips noticed to me before I left him, the want of well educated medical men in the western parts of America. This I had before observed ; and I am convinced there are many very eligible openings in the western States, and especially in the States of Missouri and Illinois, for medical gentlemen of skill. They should get a small plantation in one of the increasing PRINCETON TO VINCENNES. 431 towns, and, if capable of enduring fatigue, there is no doubt of their success. I heard at Princeton a sad instance which had oc- curred some time ago in Illinois, of the fatal effects produced by the great dislike entertained there to the people of colour, and especially of any intermixture of blood with them. It had been for some time sus- pected, that a white girl was engaged in an intrigue with a man of colour. She denied it, but they were caught together, and apprehensive of the consequence, they instantly ran off; the man was taken, and so se- verely injured by the people, that he died. The road from Princeton to Vincennes is very agree- able, so far as respects the country passed through, but it is heavy and wet. There are many good settlements on the way, and a comfortable stopping-place about half-way. I crossed a ferry over the White River, which is 700 feet wide, at a very interesting and beau- tiful place. The last part of the road to Vincennes, which is twenty-five miles from Princeton, is through a fine rich prairie. The hotel is an old French house, in which there are some French engravings, especially some good ones of Abelard and Heloise. The town of Vincennes is one of the oldest of the French settlements. It is in a very low situation, and often subject to fever. In the environs of the town, there are some clean comfortable-looking villas, with gardens attached to them crowded with fruit trees. Some of the low land in the neighbourhood of the river is peculiarly rich, and consists of very deep soil. 432 VINCENNES. Manure has never been given to it, and it produces great crops. The town has lately increased very much in size. The large prairie contiguous to the town, consisting of 4000 or 5000 acres belongs to the inha- bitants of Vincennes in common. Finding, upon my arrival at Vincennes, that a stage would depart from thence for Louisville next day, I took a place in it, — 1 10 miles for five dollars andahalf, and parted, not without regret, with Mr. Lebarge, who had performed his contract with me admirably. His bargain was, that he should receive four dollars and a-half per day for his carriage, pair of horses, and him- self, he paying his own expences, the keep of his horses, and all the ferries we should pass on the road, and that I should pay him at the same rate for the number of days which it would take him to return to St. Louis from the place where I quitted him. He was with me thirteen days, and his journey to St. Louis from Vincennes was one of three days. I had, therefore, to pay him seventy-two dollars, with which he was perfectly satisfied. I can safely recommend him to any traveller, as the best person in his line I ever met, — intelligent, sober, obliging, and never afraid to encounter any difiiculty that might occur. The worst bit of road I ever travelled in my life in a carriage, was that through the Occa swamps near Vandalia. The mail-stage did not leave Vincennes till one o'clock on the 12th May, and brought us to Louisville in the evening of the 13th. We had to travel all night. A great part of the road was hilly and rough, as bad, on LOUISVILLE. 433 the whole, as any that I have passed in a stage in the United States. On the first part of it near Vincennes we saw some nice villas, and a good deal of old cleared land; but, from the time it became dark, the road was bad, and the drivers proceeded not without fear. I do not know how we could have gone on, but for the light afforded by the fire-flies, which was peculiarly brilliant. We were frequently obliged to stop and walk some miles, especially in the woods. We had two forks of the White River to cross in boats. The night being so gloomy, two drivers were required for the four horses, the passengers carrying lights within the carriage. The drivers, whose names were Lynch and Macneille, were very civil, and asked us to carry lights, saying to us, " in such a case as this, gentlemen, we must be friendly." The stopping-places were but indifferent. We stopped at Mount Pleasant, break- fasted at Paoli, and dined at Grenville, twelve miles from Albany in Indiana, three miles below Louisville, on the opposite side of the Ohio. After dinner we got a skiff to Shipping-port. The view from the top of the hills above Albany, of the finely wooded and precipitous fore -ground of the river, the towns on both sides, and the State of Kentucky beyond it, is one of the most splendid and extensive I have seen in America, and compensated in a great degree for the fatigue of the journey from Vincennes. VOL. II. 434 LOUISVILLE. CHAPTER XXXII. Second Visit to Louisville — Journey from thence through Kentucky to Frankfort, Lexington, Paris, and Georgetown ; and from thence to Cincinnati in the State of Ohio — Beauty of Cincinnati and of its Vicinity — Visit to Mr. Bullock, formerly of the Egyptian Hall, Lon- don — His delightful Villa and Grounds — Meeting with Mr. Timothy Flint — His Politeness — Miss Flint — Mrs. Trollope's Information respecting the Religious Meetings in the United States — Her Ex- aggerations as to the Social Prayer-Meetings which she describes — Captain Hall's Advice to Travellers not to look out exclusively for the remarkable features of a scene — Bishop Hobart — His excellent Letter to the Mayor of New York — Episcopalian Churches in New York — Methodist Meetings at New York — Other Evidence in op- position to Mrs. Trollope's Statements — Extracts from Mr. Flint's Work decisive against Mrs. Trollope's Statements, founded on her Prejudices in favour of the Forms and Doctrines of the Church of England — Her Colloquies on this and other Subjects with her Ser- vants and other Persons — The Animus with which she writes on this subject — Captain Hall's Statements of what he observed at Religious Meetings in America — Mr. Ferrall's Views on this sub- ject — Religious Meetings in New England — Boston, the Chief Seat of Unitarianism — Details — Mr. Cooke's Sermon — Captain Hall's Observation, that Unitarianism is the Democracy of Religion — Re- ligious Sects in Pennsylvania — Roman Catholics in Maryland and Louisiana — Mr. Cooper's Opinion on the subject of Religious Meet- ings in America — Mrs. Trollope's Disappointments at Cincinnati — Examination of her own Evidence on the subject of Religious Meet- * FRANKFORT. 435 ings ; First, what she saw and heard ; Secondly, the Gossip she heard from her Maid-servant and Mantua-maker — Real State of the Case. May 1830. Arrived at Shipping-port, I soon got to Mr. Allen's hotel, at Louisville, in a hack, and was wel- comed back again by Mr. Allen and his bar-keeper. Next day I saw my acquaintances, Mr. Ainslieand Mr. Bamborough, and passed the evening at Mr. Cosbie's with Mr. Palmer. Mr. Cosbie was, I found, aware of the striking view above Albany, but he had only for the first time seen it since I had gone to St. Louis. He recommended to me so strongly to see a part of Ken- tucky, especially Lexington and Paris, that I deter- mined on spending two or three days in that State be- fore going to Cincinnati. Accordingly, on the follow- ing morning, the 15th of May, I took my place in the stage at an early hour for Lexington. We break- fasted at Middleton, twelve miles, dined at Shelby ville, and reached Frankfort in the evening. Frankfort is the seat of legislation for Kentucky. The town is handsome, chiefly built of stone, — and the situation on the Kentucky river, the banks of which are deep and precipitous, and covered with wood, is very romantic. The State-house is a fine building of marble. The circuit court of the supreme court of the United States was in session. I heard a lawyer of the name of Munroe speaking before Judge Maclean, The alluvial plain about Frankfort is extensive, and of rich soil. There is steam navigation in the river Kentucky as high up as Frankfort, which is about sixty-two miles V 2 436 LEXINGTON. from Louisville. In the stage, we had various passen- gers during the day, and for some part of the way, Mrs. Kinloch and Miss Stannart, two English actresses, very agreeable women. I have again got into the region of green peas and strawberries. The drivers both breakfasted and dined with us. Next morning the stage started early, conveying us to Rice's hotel, about halfway to Lexington, twenty-five miles, to breakfast. A merchant from Philadelphia, a well-informed person, was in the stage, — he had travelled extensively in Europe, and was now on his way to Tennessee. The country through which the stage passed was well cultivated, and of good soil, — and the hotel where we stopped at the confluence of two great roads, more English-looking than any house I have seen in this country. The breakfast was in every respect equal to what the appearance of the house led us to expect. There were large fields of beautiful clover in the neigh- bourhood, and the country undulating, well cultivated all the way to Lexington, which is a very gay-looking town. Its situation is in the heart of a fine district, with a great many comfortable-looking villas and farm- houses in the neighbourhood. The crops of clover are the most beautiful that I have ever seen. The town itself consists of handsome and substantial buildings, and is not unhke Doncaster. The chief street is a mile and a quarter in length, and eighty feet wide. I went to the Episcopalian church in the forenoon, and to the Presbyterian church, where Mr. Young preached, in 1 PARIS. 437 the afternoon. Neither of the churches were particu- larly well filled, but there was a greater number of handsome coaches, some of them with servants in livery, than I have met with, excepting at Charles- ton. There is an air of wealth about the place. The hotel, kept by Mr. Postlethwaite, is as good as pos- sible. Mr. Clay's house and property are in the neigh- bourhood. There is nothing remarkable about his house, which is of brick, situated upon flat ground near the road, nowise better in appearance than a very ordinary English parsonage. The land about it is, however, excellent. I have nowhere seen larger nor finer fields of clover. There being at present no stage from Lexington to Paris, though it is the richest district in the State, I hired an open carriage, and was gratified by seeing a well- peopled and well- cultivated district of considerable ex- tent. The road, however, is bad, and almost every per- son we saw was riding on horseback. We met whole families travelling in this way ; the children sitting before the female servants, all slaves. Paris is a consi- derable manufacturing town. From thence I proceeded to Mr. Ferguson's plantation and hotel at Johnson's Stand, about five miles from Paris. The landlord here is wealthy, and has a large improved farm, and good cattle and horses. He was anxious to get infor- mation from me respecting some of the English stud horses (for this, he tells me, is a great breeding country,) which had lately been sent from England to Kentucky. I was unluckily unable to give him satisfactory an- u 3 4^^H GEORGETOWN — CINCINNATI. swers to his inquiries. They never sow white clover here, — it comes up spontaneously. They trust almost entirely to timothy grass and red clover. The farmers grow the grass seeds themselves. The luxuriance of the red clover exceeds belief. I had a beautiful ride this morning from Mr. Ferguson's farm, eleven miles to Georgetown, through a rich country, well cultivated. The farm-houses are of brick, and comfortable looking. In short, excepting in point of roads and fences, this tract of country might vie with rich parts of England. Tiie farmers begin to fear that they have already cut too much wood, with a view to their future demands for firewood and fences, so that the wood-land is reckoned as valuable as any part of a plantation. Horses here are worth from 100 to 120 dollars, and the farmers have fine heavy horses, sometimes five or seven in their large waggons. Georgetown is a county town, and well situated on the branch of a river. Here I dined and then proceeded in a stage toward Cincinnati, which is above seventy miles distant. The road to Jones's hotel, twenty miles, passes through a very heavy country, but there is a great deal of romantic scenery in the landscape. The soil is not so rich as that about Paris, Lexington, or Mr. Ferguson's farm. About six miles from Jones's hotel, a log-house is most charm- ingly situated, surrounded by an amphitheatre of hills. Jones's hotel was very much crowded, but I had no reason to complain, as I got a small room alone. Next morning the stage started at an early hour for Williams- ton, fourteen miles, to breakfast, and from thence,- CINCINNATI. 4S9 nineteen miles, to the hotel at Colonel Gaines', the proprietor of the stage, to dinner, which was excellent. The day was hot, and we enjoyed our repast the more, that it was set out for us in a large shaded veranda. From Colonel Gaines' hotel, the distance was eighteen miles to the southern bank of the Ohio. The country through which we passed was varied and beautiful, but there was not much of the richness of soil and landscape which I had seen in the neighbourhood of Lexington. The view from the high grounds overlooking the Ohio and Cincinnati is magnificent. The party in the stage on this occasion was a very agreeable one, several of them Kentuckians, and all re- probating slavery as the great bane of this fine country, and wishing that it may speedily be put an end to. A gentleman, member of a learned profession at Cincinnati, joined the stage on our leaving Jones's hotel. The con- versation happened to relate to subjects connected with a branch of the healing art, on which, though entirely unlearned, I ventured to give my opinion. My tra- velling companion took it, I suspect, for granted, from what had passed, that I was a medical man, and some time afterward sHpped a bit of paper into my hand, on which, in a note written in pencil, he requested me to let him know if I was acquainted with any remedy for a local complaint, which he mentioned, and which then gave him great pain. In my reply, written in the same way, I told him that I was ignorant of any remedy to which he could immediately have recourse, but that I knew that the frequent use, for the purpose of ablution, u4 440 CINCINNATI. of an implement, which I specified, and which is to be found in almost every bed-chamber in France, and now very generally in Britain, was the preventive uniformly approved by the faculty. He seemed surprised when he perused my note, and at our first stopping-place, inquired eagerly what it was that I had recommended. I found, on explaining, that he had never even heard of the implement to which I alluded, and of course could not comprehend what I meant. The practice of travellers washing at the doors, or in the porticos or stoops, or at the wells, of taverns and hotels once a-day, is most prejudicial to health ; the ablution of the body, which ought never to be neglected, at least twice a-day in a hot climate, being altogether inconsistent with it. In fact, I have found it more difficult in travelling in the United States to procure a liberal supply of water at all times of the day and night in my bed-chamber, than to obtain any other necessary. A supply for washing the face and hands once a-day seems all that is thought requisite. Even during my long voyages in the steam-boats on the Mississippi and Ohio, I uniformly had to bribe one of the stewards before I could regularly get as much water as necessary, every morning and evening, when I required it ; and I need not say that in voyages on those rivers there was an ample supply of water for the purposes of ablution at command. We crossed the Ohio in a horse team-boat, and, arriving before five o'clock in the afternoon, I soon had a walk over Cincinnati, the greatest and the most beautiful city of the western States. I found com- MR. BULLOCK. 441 fortable accommodation at the Broadway hotel, kept by Major Henry, a most obliging person. I had no difficulty in getting a single-bedded room. A fine range of wooded hills surrounds Cincinnati. On the side towards the Ohio, to which the descent is rather steep, more beautifully shaped hills cannot be conceived. The view from them is dehghtful. The town itself is handsomely built. The number of churches in Cincinnati is eighteen, of which there are two Episcopal churches, Roman Catholic cathedral, Jews' synagogue. Unitarian, Universalist, Lutheran, Reformed meeting, Quakers' meeting; the other churches are Presbyterian, Methodist, or Baptist. I have hardly ever seen a finer town of its extent, (the population 28,000) both in point of appearance and situation. The river, and the trees about it, are magni- ficent ; and, being in the middle of a rich country, pro- visions are as cheap as any where in America. The plain upon which Cincinnati is situated occupies about four square miles. The height of the rising ground above the alluvial plain is about fifty feet. The population of which Cincinnati consists is much mixed, composed of emigrants from all States of the Union, and from most of the countries of Europe. Several Scotchmen are settled here. Mr. Bullock, who has written a brief account of Cin- dnnati, mentions the price of various articles : thirteen- pence for a turkey, the same sum for a roasting pig ; beef three-halfpence, pork one penny a-pound. The progressive increase of the population of Cin- u5 442 MR. bullock's property. cinnati has been most remarkable. In 1813, tliere were about 4000 inliabitants,— in 1820, 10,000,— and now about 28,000. Having heard of the beauty of Mr. Bullock's pro- perty, about two miles from Cincinnati, on the opposite side of the river, I paid him a visit, and saw one of the most charming places in the world, certainly the most captivating residence which has come in my way in my course on the western side of the Alleghany mountains. The terrace-walk by the river side towards the house, shaded by noble trees, is splendid, and there is as much varied ground in the domain, and as many inter- esting and beautiful views, both from the valley and the summits of the hills, as are to be seen any where. Mr. Bullock has adorned the house with many valu- able works of art. I was surprised the other day (1832) to find it stated by a lady who had resided some time at Cincinnati, that the forest trees there are neither large nor well grown, because I do not recollect ever to have beheld finer forest trees than the neighbourhood of Cincinnati afibrds, and those especially which I saw on the banks of the Ohio, I noted down at the time, as superb trees of great girth, height, and health. Mr. Bullock, in his own brief report, expressly states, that there are woods upon his property to which nothing in Europe can compare, from the " size of the trees, their beauty, and variety." In the course of the forenoon which I spent at Cin- cinnati, I found, on looking into a bookseller's store, a 2 MR. AND MISS FLINT. 443 book which I wished to purchase, but the bookseller told me he could not sell it without the consent of the gentleman to whom it belonged. On my calling back at the time he mentioned, he referred me to a gentle- man in the inner part of the store, whom I found to be Mr. Timothy Flint. I approached him, and apologized for introducing myself, which he told me was very un- necessary in that part of the world. He allowed me to have the book I wanted, and after some conversa- tion, invited me to spend the evening with his family, which I accordingly did, much to my gratification. I do not know whether I was more pleased with the un- affected simplicity of his own character, or with Miss Flint's information, manners, and appearance. It was quite a treat to me, at such a place, to hear the talents of Mr. Jeffrey lauded as they were, with no ordinary degree of discrimination, by this accomplished female. I can forgive Mrs. TroUope many of the mistakes, which to me it appears she has committed, in consi- deration of the merited eulogium which she has, with equal skill and good taste, pronounced on this amiable person, whose portrait (for Mrs. Trollope does not mention her name,) I could not fail at once to recog- nise, although I had seen her only on this occasion. I only regret that so interesting a passage of Mrs. Trol- lope's work should serve as the introduction to her ac- count of what she seems to expect her readers to sup- pose to be a sketch of one of the first ladies of Phila- delphia, and as applicable to the whole ; of her mode of passing her time, — ^lier breakfast, — her pastry, — her u6 444 REMARKS ON carriage, — her drive to the Dorcas Society, and her work and her conversation there, — of her return home, — her visit to the kitchen, — and her own party at tea in the absence of her husband. I am very sure that the character is not generally true, nor more applicable to the ladies of Philadelphia, than that of the benevo- lent and active Mrs. Fry to that of the ladies of London. Mrs. Trollope's details relative to the religious meet- ings of the people of the United States, and to the in- fluence of the clergy on the ladies of that country, and most especially of Cincinnati and the western States; appear to me to be the most objectionable part of her work; and the more so, because she expressly declares (Vol.1, p. 151,) that she does not describe them " as belonging to the west alone, but to the whole Union." I was only a couple of days at Cincinnati, and, there- fore I admit, that it is not at all surprising that I should have heard nothing of those extraordinary prayer meetings, of which Mrs. Trollope has given so highly coloured an account, even if they actually existed ; but I certainly mixed enough in society in the western States to be thoroughly satisfied that there is, to say the least of it, most gross and pal- pable exaggeration in the general statements she has communicated to the public. My own belief decidedly is, that there is infinitely less hypocrisy in matters of religion in the United States, and, certainly, not more enthusiasm or fanaticism, than in Great Britain. Without referring to serious works for a refutation of Mrs. Trollope's views on this subject, I think there MRS. TROLLOPE's STATEMENTS. 445 is enougK of evidence to render her exaggerations ap- parent, by attending somewhat closely to what she has herself written, and also by resorting to the evidence of Captain Hall and Mr. Ferrall, and to the notices of religious meetings which these pages may be found to contain. I should be entitled entirely to discard, — because she admits that her narrative depends on hearsay evidence alone,— the statement which would lead the readers of Mrs. Trollope's book to believe that the ordinary even- ing parties of the ladies at Cincinnati consist of social prayer-meetings, where a first-rate Presbyterian or Methodist lady secures the attendance of a favourite itinerant preacher by a display of the best rooms, the best dresses, and the choicest refreshments, and where the party eat, drink, pray, sing, hear confessions, and make converts. Mrs. TroUope assimilates those meet- ings to those of a first-rate London blue, blest in the presence of a fashionable poet. The resemblance would have been far more accurate, had it been traced to the evening meetings of the dis- ciples of the Reverend Edward Irving, with their great apostle at their head, at the house of a well-known member of the British Parliament. These meetings were held in the British metropolis at the very time when Mrs. Trollope was publishing her book there. Truly that nation, where Johanna Sou thcote and Ed- ward Irving have been followed by multitudes, should take the mote out of its own eye before it holds up to ridicule persons, who, for aught which Mrs. Trollope knows, were merely obeying one of the precepts of the 446 REMARKS ON religion which they professed. Strip the narrative of the absurdity of the assembly for prayer being a full dress-meeting, and of the women being coaxed to con- fess all their thoughts, faults, and follies, which Mrs. Trollope did not witness, but believed merely because it was told her, what is there in the whole particulars which should make any one blush who professes the Christian religion ? The scene is exactly conformable to the precepts and practice of the believers in Christ in the time of the apostles. The Christian religion either is of divine origin, or it is a fable. Those who believe that it is of divine origin certainly do their duty by obeying its precepts ; but it is not equally clear, that those who consider it a fable act wisely or fairly in holding it up to derision and contempt, unless they have, or think they have, a better and truer system of religion, and a better system of morality, to substitute in its stead. It is clear, from the regret which Mrs. Trollope ex- presses, that there is not such a national religion in the United States as in England, that she either is, or professes to be, attached to the Church of England ; and it is, therefore, rather a striking circumstance, that neither at Cincinnati, where Mrs. Trollope chiefly resided for a period of two years, nor in any city of the United States where she was, at any time during her three years' residence in that country, does it ap- pear from her publication, that she was ever present at any Episcopal Church. Captain Hall, in his Voyage to Loo Choo, mentions in terms of disapprobation, that " both writers and MRS. TROLLOPe's STATEMENTS. 447 artists are too apt to look out exclusively for remark- able, rather than ordinary and characteristic features of the scene before them." It would have been well that Mrs. Trollope had profited by this remark. In that case, her remarks on the religious assemblies of the United States would not, during the period she passed there, have been limited to meetings of Methodists and Presbyterians, to two Roman Catholic cathedrals, one Unitarian church, one Quaker meeting, and to one Camp-meeting, but would have embraced the Episcopal Churches, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Congregationalists, the Lutherans, and the Baptists. In that case, it would not have been her unceasing employment to find out what she might consider as blemishes in the forms of worship, — with which she was, it is obvious, previously entirely unacquainted, — of part of the Christian population of the United States, and to hold them up to the derision of the public. She would have been attending the devotional exercise of the Episcopal Church, to which she herself belongs, or means it to be understood that she belongs, and would have been enabled to convince her countrymen at homej that the example of the United States at this moment proves, thata bishoprick, unaccompanied by the vast re- venue and allurements which generally attend it in other countries does not deprive its possessor of Zealand great activity to propagate the religion of which he is a mi- nister. Bishop Hobart, the bishop of New York, while Mrs. Trollope was in the United States, devoted him- self to the duties of his calling with a degree of per- severance and ardour, and with what, I have no doubt, 448 BISHOP hobart's character Mrs. TroUope would call religious enthusiasm, which have seldom been surpassed. He died before Mrs. TroUope left America, when journeying in a distant part of the State of New York, in the discharge of his duties. Having mentioned his name, I cannot resist introducing here a letter written by him to the mayor of New York, in answer to a request of the corpora- tion of the city, that the Clergy would notice the death of Governor de Witt Clinton in a solemn man- ner in their churches. Governor Clinton, at the pe- riod of his sudden death, was the chief magistrate of the State of New York, which is nearly equal in extent to England, and possessed far greater power in that State than the King of Great Britain in his dominions, inasmuch as all his acts in the discharge of his execu- tive duties, such as the pardon of criminals, &c. are performed by himself upon his own responsibility. He was a most eminent, upright, and amiable person. Bishop Hobart's letter is in these terms : — " February 16, 1828. " Sir, — I have this day received from the clerk of the corporation of the city a copy of a resolution of the common council, in which * the reverend, the clergy in the city, are respectfully requested to notice, in an appropriate and solemn manner, in their respective churches to-morrow, the deep bereavement sustained by our common country, by the death of our chief magistrate and fellow-citizen, De Witt Chnton.' " As I feel myself under the necessity of declining to comply with this request in Trinity Church, and in OF GOVERNOR CLINTON. 449 St. John's and St. Paul's Chapels, of which I have the parochial charge, I hope you will permit me, in order to prevent misapprehension, to state the reasons which have influenced me in the determination. " The prostitution of religion to the purposes of secular policy has produced the greatest mischiefs; and, I conceive, that the studious separation of the church from the State, which characterizes our republican con- stitution, is designed to prevent religion and its minis- ters from being made subservient to the views of those who, from time to time, may administer public affairs; but, if the civil or municipal authority may desire the clergy * to notice, in an appropriate and solemn manner,' the death of a chief magistrate of a State, the request may be extended to every distinguished citizen who has filled a public station, and thus the ministrations of the clergy may be made to advance the influence of political men and political measures, — an evil from which, in the old world, the most unhappy effects have resulted, and against which, in this country, we should most sedulously guard. " The character of the individual, too, whose memory is to receive these high religious honours, may not ren- der him worthy of this sacred distinction. In seasons of great political excitement he may be as obnoxious to one portion of the community as he is the idol of another ; and thus the clergy, who should be devoted to the exercise of their spiritual functions, may be drawn into the ranks of party, and suffer in its rude conflicts. In almost every case, from the varying opinions of the relative merits of public men, the 450 REMARKS ON ministers of religion, in the capacity of eulogists, may as much fall short of the ardent expectations of some, as they exceed the more sober estimate of others. There is no view of this matter which does not, in my judgment, present serious objections to a compliance with the request of the corporation. " As far as my private feelings are concerned, it would be most grateful to me to bear my pubHc testi- mony to the eminent talents, the civil services, and private virtues, of the lamented chief magistrate of this State. " And most certainly great deference is due to a request of the functionaries of the city in which I am a minister. But paramount considerations of duty will prevent my compliance with a request, which, in the principle that it involves, and in the precedent which it will establish, appears to me of dangerous tendency in regard to the spirit of our firee constitution, and to the spirit of religion, and the character and influence of its ministers. — I have the honour to be, with high respect, your most obedient friend and servant. " J. H. HOBART." But to return to Mrs. Trollope's assertion, — that the religious scenes which she describes belong not to the west alone, but to the whole Union, let us first of all consider it with reference to the State of New York, and in a general point of view. The State of New York contains a population of MRS. TROLLOPE's STATEMENTS. 451 about one million eight hundred thousand white persons. There are about 20 Episcopalian churches in the city of New York, and 129 in the State. The Episcopalian church of the city is possessed of very valuable lands in its vicinity; and the clergymen have comfortable, though not overgrown, livings. The management of the funds of the Episcopal church at New York is committed to trustees, who act with great prudence, as well as liberality. Bishop Hobart was advised, on account of his health, to visit Europe a few years ago ; and the trustees desired him while there to live like a bishop. When he returned, after a two years' absence, they gave him 14,000 dollars. Many very able men at present belong to this church, among whom I may mention, without impropriety, Bishop Onderdonk, now bishop of New York, and Dr. Milner. I again and again attended divine worship in the Episcopal churches, as well as in the Presbyterian churches, of New York, and saw quite as little appearance of extravagant en- thusiasm or fanaticism in the one as in the other, or as in churches of a similar denomination in Great Britain. And I will venture to say, that nothing at all resem- bling any of the scenes which Mrs. Trollope describes, is to be seen in any of the churches or religious assem- blies of New York, excepting in two or three Metho- dist meetings of some peculiar denomination, and in the religious meetings of part of the coloured popula- tion. Of those meetings I was told ; and I attended one of each description, the meeting of Methodists in Duane or Devayne's Street, off Hudson Street ; and of people of colour in Church Street, off Hudson 4-52 REMARKS ON Street. I knew people of sterling worth, members of the first meeting. Still both of those assemblages ap- peared to me to exhibit symptoms of so much greater excitement on the part of the preacher and the audience than I had before witnessed, that I admit I was stag- gered. Many of the congregation seemed so much affected, and gave utterance to such exclamations, that the preacher's voice was sometimes drowned. He be- came more earnest, in proportion to the interest with which he seemed to be heard ; but the congregation was dismissed in the usual way. They all departed ; and I saw nothing of such improprieties as Mrs. Trollope declares that she observed, and am per- suaded, from what I heard from many quarters, that no such improprieties existed. I have no doubt, how- ever, that it was in the power of new converts in this and in other churches to remain, and have conversations with the clergyman, before being admitted members of the congregation; but I am bound to say, that I utterly discredit the statements of what passed at the Presbyterian churches in Cincinnati, which are to be found in the seventh chapter of Mrs. TroUope's work. No one can read those statements, without believing that a great deal more is meant to be understood by the reader than is expressed and meets the eye; and that it is Mrs. TroUope's intention that it should be believed, that the religious meetings in the United States end in scenes of debauchery. She makes no exception. The same scenes (she says) belong to the whole Union. Mrs. Trollope may well ask, holding such a statement to be true, (Yol. I. page 113,) — "Did the men of I MRS. TROLLOPE's STATEMENTS. 453 America value their women, as men ought to value their wives and daughters, would such scenes be per- mitted among them ?" The first answer to that ques- tion is this, that, although divorces are, in the United States, in the power of all, and not, as in England, accessible to the nobility and the very wealthy alone, there is no nation in the world where the marriage bond is so religiously observed as in the free part of the United States. I know too little of Louisiana and the slave-holding States to be able to give any evi- dence respecting them ; but neither do I suppose, not- withstanding the universality with which her opinion is expressed, that Mrs. Trollope intends to apply her assertion as to the religious meetings of the United States to New Orleans or Natchez. Sure I am, that the inhabitants of New Orleans are not chargeable with too great enthusiasm in matters of religion, or with too great attention to its duties. Mrs. Trollope describes the men of the United States as totally inattentive to religious duties, and as never going to church. This I know to be a mistake, for I have never any where seen, except in the Roman Ca- tholic cathedral at Baltimore, any religious meeting in the United States, in which there did not seem to me to be present a greater number of males, in respect to the number of females, than in the churches or reli- gious meetings of Great Britain, and especially of Lon- don ; but, were it otherwise, it is not pretended that at all those meetings the congregations were not composed in part of males ; and is it credible, that the husbands and fathers all over the United States, would permit 454 REMARKS ON those mystic caresses, those scenes that made M^^s, TroU lope shudder, when again and again she saw the young neck encircled hy a reverend arm, to be repeated, or the guilty to escape without punishment ? Such impostors, if they actually existed, would be more summarily dealt with in the United States, than in this, or any other country. If such scenes took place once, certainly those fathers and brothers, who neither cared for religion nor religious teachers, would take very good care that they never should happen again ; but I am bound to say, that I conceive it to be morally impossible that such a scene as that which is said to have occurred in Mrs. Trollope's presence, at the principal Presbyterian churches in Cincinnati, and to he constantly repeated there, could have occurred openly in any church of the United States. At the period when Mrs. TroUope was at Cincin- nati, the population amounted to about 25,000 persons, divided into about thirteen religious sects ; and it is abundantly clear, that, if such abominable practices as those which Mrs. Trollope has noticed had actually been in observance every Sunday in open church, they would have been exposed to the public by some one of the pastors of the other religious denomina- tions in the place, or by some of the persons present. It is inconceivable and incredible that, day after day, the scene was repeated without check, and without remonstrance. Mrs. Trollope herself has mentioned, in terms of merited encomium, the Roman Catholic bishop of Cincinnati, and the Reverend Mr. Flint, both long resident at Cincinnati, and certainly men whose MRS. TROLLOPe's STATEMENTS. 455 known and established characters afford sufficient evi- dence that they would use every exertion in their power to put a stop to such a demoralizing system, as that which Mrs. TroUope would have her readers believe prevails in the religious meetings at Cincinnati. I am not aware that the bishop has written any thing upon the subject of the religion of the United States. Mr. Flint's evidence has already been produced as to the utility of camp-meetings, and is in direct opposition to the sentiments and statements of Mrs. Trollope. In treating of Ohio (of which Cincinnati is the chief city) in his geography and history of the western States, he does not say one word in the article Religion, to lead his readers to suppose that enthusiasts in religion were more frequent there than elsewhere, or that any thing like improprieties in religious professions or practice existed. He merely mentions that in Ohio " there are numbers of all the knowTi existing sects ; that the Presbyterians and the Methodists are the prevalent denominations ; that German Lutherans exist in consi- derable numbers; that most people are desirous of being thought to belong to some religious denomination ; and that it is affirmed, that there are a greater number of professors of religion, in proportion to the whole numbers of the people, than in any other State in the Union ; that the people generally are a quiet, orderly, peaceable, moral, and industrious race ; and the moral character of the people is highly respectable." This is the testimony of a gentleman, more than omni exceptione major — of an individual, who, if not a professed Unita- rian, inclines to Unitarian doctrines, and avows him- 456 REMARKS ON self a liberal in matters of religion. This evidence re- lates to the State of Ohio alone ; but, in an article in the same work on the religious character of the western people of North America, his opinion on this matter is infinitely more important. " Nine-tenths of the reli- gious instruction of the country," he writes, " is given by people who itinerate, and who are, with very few exceptions, notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary, men of great zeal and sanctity. These earnest men, who have little to expect from pecuniary support, and less from the prescribed reverence and influence, which can only appertain to a stated ministry, find at once that every thing depends upon the cultivation of popular talents. Zeal for the great cause, mixed, per- haps imperceptibly, with a spice of earthly ambition, and the latent emulation and pride of our nature, and other motives which unconsciously influence, more or less, the most sincere and the most disinterested, — the desire of distinction among their contemporaries and their brethren, — and a reaching struggle for the fascination of popularity, goad them on to study all the means and arts of winning the people. Travelling from month to month through dark forests, with such ample time and range for deep thought, as they amble slowly on horseback along their peregrinations, the men naturally acquire a pensive and romantic turn of thought and expression, such as we think favourable to eloquence. Hence the preaching is of a highly popular - cast ; and its first aim is to excite the feelings. Hence, too, excitements, or, in religious parlance, * awaken- ings,' are common in all this region." MRS. TROLLOPE's STATEMENTS. 457 Mr. Flint's valuable work was published in 1828, — it does not contain one word relative to the absurdities or gross improprieties in matters of religion, of which Mrs. Trollope accuses the whole people of the United States. Mr. Flint entered into conversation with me on the very subject in question, — the churches of Cin- cinnati, — of which one in his own connection was open- ed on the day, the evening of which I spent with him. Two clergymen from New England had been engaged with him in the forenoon in opening the church. They were present, but not a word was said by any one of them relative to improprieties or enthusiastic proceed- ings in any of the religious meetings at Cincinnati, although Mr, Flint, as already mentioned, when al- luding to the talents of Dr. Chalmers, spoke with re- gret of his being so rigid a Calvinist. The best apology that can be made for Mrs. Trol- lope, is by supposing that she never attended any reli- gious meeting but those of the established church in her own country, and that, believing the standard of faith and form of worship to be that alone approved by the church of England, she holds the belief and practice of all other denominations of Christians not only as unworthy of credit, but as fit subjects for sarcasm and contempt. In short, she is a mere cockney, so far as religion is concerned. There is far more ultra-absurdity and religious fanaticism in many of the chapels of the city of London, of which Mrs. Trollope probably never heard, than in the useful, eloquent, and ardent preach- ing of the zealous itinerant clergy of America. I am VOL. II. X 458 REMARKS ON persuaded that if Mrs. Trollope, with her present views, were to hear a sermon on the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, preached by Dr. Chalmers himself, Professor of Divinity in the University of Edinburgh, she would find it to be quite as far removed from that standard of belief which she has established for her own conduct, as any of those discourses or colloquies on the subject of religion to which, she says, she listened in the western country of America, and which she has endeavoured to make the subject of merriment. As to the colloquies which Mrs. Trollope has introduced on this and other subjects, especially with her servants, I must be permitted to say that I put no faith in them ; I view them merely as representations of what Mrs. Trollope wishes to be believed, and I entirely adopt the sentiment of Mr. Ferrall, when he writes, " I must confess that I never was so fortunate in America as to come in contact with any who reasoned so badly as the persons Captain Basil Hall introduces in his book." The animus with, which Mrs. Trollope writes on this subject may be fairly inferred from one circumstance, albeit a minute one. It is in reference to the dreadful Presbyterian church meetings at Cincinnati, of which she has endeavoured to make so much, that she writes, that " it was in the middle of summer, but the service we were recommended to attend did not begin till it was dark. The church was well lighted." From this statement, any one in Britain perusing Mrs. TroUope's book would be inclined to suppose that the meeting was purposely delayed till a very late hour in the evening. MRS. TROLLOPE's STATEMENTS. 459 Now the fact is, that the sun sets in the United States on the longest day so early as half-past seven, p.m. ; the labourers and mechanics in the United States work till sunset, and not merely till six p.m. as in Britain ; a general assemblage of persons cannot, therefore, be obtained until sunset or " sun-down," as it is called in the United States. Accordingly, meetings of the people for political or religious purposes are generally called in the United States during the two or three summer months, not at any particular hour, but at sun-down. With respect to the State of New York, however, I am bound further, and even in justice to Mrs. Trol- lope herself, to observe, that at least, so far as respects the city of New York, she, before the end of her second volume, retracts her general accusation in as general terms. " Were all America (she writes) like this fair city, and all, no, only a small proportion of its popu- lation, like the friends we left there, I should say that the land was the fairest in the world." Captain Hall's statements of what he observed at meetings for religious worship in America are very brief, but very comprehensive and decided, and directly in the teeth of all that Mrs. Trollope has written upon the subject. He declares, that " he never saw the slightest indecency of any kind in an American church. On the contrary, there always appeared to him the most remarkable decorum in every place of worship which he entered in that country." Mr. Ferrall's opinions are even more valuable as an antidote to Mrs. TroUope's assertions than the general opinion which Captain Hall x2 460 REMARKS ON has expressed, because his tour is almost exclusively confined to the western States, and chiefly to the State of Ohio. His views are thus expressed : — " There is no provision made in this (Ohio) or any other State, for the ministers of religion, which is found to be highly beneficial to the interests of practical Christianity." — " Notwithstanding the numerous religious sects that are to be found in this country, there is nothing like sectarian animosity prevailing. This is to be attributed to the ministers of religion being paid as they deserve, and no one class of people being taxed to support the religious tenets of another." — *' There had been lately throughout the States a good deal of excitement pro- duced by an attempt made by the Presbyterians to stop the mails on the Sabbath. At a meeting at which I was present at Cincinnati, the people were most enthu- siastic, and some very strong resolutions were passed expressive of their abhorrence of this attempt to vio- late the constitution of America." It is impossible that Mrs. TroUope could be serious in declaring that the scenes which she describes at Cin- cinnati belonged to that great part of the Union known by the name of New England, comprehending about a sixth part of the population of the United States. In the first place, Mrs. Trollope never was there. If she had been there, she could not have failed to know that Boston, the capital of New England, al- though formerly famed as the refuge of the Puritans, is now equally well known as the chief seat of Unita- rianism, and of liberalists in religion. Half the churches MRS. TROLLOPe's STATEMENTS. 461 in Boston belong to the Unitarians, — the most emi- nent preacher there is an Unitarian, — one half of the people are Unitarians, — the head of the great college of Cambridge, in the neighbourhood of Boston, and several of the professors, are Unitarians. In fact, Cambridge university is now considered Unitarian. Mr. John Quincy Adams, the late president of the United States, originally from the village of Quincy, in the neighbourhood of Boston, and who now resides there, is an Unitarian. Is it possible to maintain, in the face of such facts as these, that the people are alto- gether Methodists ? and that the ladies of the United States are universally priest-ridden, and under the do- minion of Methodist preachers ? I have many docu- ments in my possession, showing that, for a considerable period, too great liberality in matters of religion has been held to prevail in New England by many of the descendants of the Puritans. In a sermon preached on the annual fast-day, in 1 828, by Mr. Cooke, minister of the church of Ware, in the environs of Boston, he says, " There had been in other days statesmen as wise and patriotic as those who were not free-thinkers in reli- gion. The fathers of New England are examples. If they had not been formed of just such materials as they were, — if their mighty spirits had not felt the im- pulse of a religious principle, which liberalism discards, this fair inheritance of ours would still have echoed to the savage yell. Their religion was the most prominent feature of their character. It was their orthodoxy that made them what they were, — wise, daring, patriotic, x3 462 REMARKS ON and invincible. Had it not been for their hardier and sterner traits of character which this produced, our nation could never have forced its way to existence and renown. Had the pilgrims been endowed with the spirit and policy of our liberal men, they would have found no occasion, and no relish, for a voluntary exile to a far-off wilderness. And had they inculcated the laxity of doctrine and morals so popular now, their en- terprise grand as it was, must have failed. Had they been a senate of deep-sighted politicians, they would not have dispensed with one item of the strictness of their faith and practice from motives of policy. The time has been, then, when political sagacity and integ- rity were consistent vnth an orthodox faith. " But if the evangelical faith has borne such fruits in other days, ought we not to hesitate before we pro- nounce it a disqualification for office ? Were evangeli- cal men those whom the wisdom of God selected to lay the foundations of this empire in perilous times ; and, will it be pretended now, that men who have not aban- doned their faith are incompetent to share a part in carrying up the superstructure ? But away with such notions. Who ever heard of monopoly of intellect ? — of all mental endowments falling to the lot of a favoured few ? We shall here search in vain for the cause of all our offices being filled by the liberal sect." Captain Hall attributes everything with which he finds fault in the United States to the power which the people possess in the government. Upon this princi- ple, he lays it down, that " Unitarianism might fairly MRS. TROLLOPE's STATEMENTS. 463 be called the democracy of religion." He adds, that in the United States the popular cast of their religious institutions is so great, that their liberal doctrine of Unitarianism is almost sure of ultimate success. How widely different are the opinions and views of Captain Hall and Mrs. Trollope on the state of religion in that country ! Captain Hall, in another part of his work, declares, (Vol. II. p. 84,) that " dram-drinking is the boon companion of democracy." This observation, however, whether well or ill-found- ed, is not original, and is applied by our own poet Burns, to Captain Hall's own country, the land of cakes : " Scotland, my auld respected mither, Tho' whyles ye moistify your leather, Till whare ye sit, on craps of heather, Ye tine your dam, Freedom and whisky gang thegither, Tak aff your dram." In Pennsylvania the number of Episcopalians and of Quakers is very considerable. There are no less than 282 German reformed churches, to which I never heard the charge of enthusiasm applied, and there is not half the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist churches, which exist in the State of New York. A majority of the population in Maryland and Louisiana are Roman Catholics. Even Mrs. Trollope would retract her charge of ultra-Methodism, so far as they are concerned. There remain then of the now slave-holding States only New Jersey and Delaware, on the eastern side of the Alleghany mountains, which x4 464 REMARKS ON contain a greater number of Episcopal, as well as of Dutch reformed churches, but the population of both States does not amount to 400,000 persons. On the other side of the Alleghanies, there are the States of Indiana and Illinois, which are only yet partially set- tled, containing about the same number of persons, and so few churches erected, that they cannot at present be taken into view. In the slave-holding States, the man- ners of the people sufficiently prove that it is not of too much enthusiasm in religion that they can with truth be accused. I saw enough of the manners of St. Louis, at Louisville, throughout the State of Illinois, at Lex- ington, and at Frankfort, to be perfectly certain, that generally in the western country of America there is not the slightest ground for such a charge. Mission- aries, generally of the Methodist, Presbyterian, or Bap- tist persuasion, occasionally go through the populous parts of these extensive regions, and collect the people at religious meetings, or camp-meetings, and explain to them the truths of religion with most commendable zeal. I shall only adduce one other evidence to the good effects of these meetings, viz. Mr. Cooper, the author of the Spy, a person not to be suspected of ultra-Metho- dism, or of extravagant enthusiasm in matters of reli- gion. He thus describes meetings of that description : '' The Methodists have at stated periods what are called camp-meetings. They assemble in thousands in some wood, and hold their religious festivals in a manner that is as striking by its peculiar simplicity, as it is touching by the interest and evident enjoyment they experience. MRS. TROLLOPE's STATEMENTS. 465 " It is a fashion to ridicule and condemn these meet- ings, on the plea, that they lead to excesses, and encou- rage superstition. As to the former, the abuse is enor- mously exaggerated, though, beyond a doubt, there are individuals who attend them that would seek any other crowd to shield their vices ; and as to the latter, the facts show, that while new and awakened zeal in igno- rant persons frequently breaks out in extravagance and folly, they pass away with the exciting cause, and leave behind them tender consciences and a chastened prac- tice. What are the weaknesses of these men to those that are exhibited in countries where faith is fettered by the law ? Or, if you maintain an establishment, and let men follow their private opinions, in what does America differ from other countries, except in things that are entirely dependent on the peculiar temporal condition of the republic, and which could not be avoided, if the citizens were all in full communion with the church of Rome itself? " It is a mistake to believe, that the liberality on re- ligious subjects, which certainly exists to so eminent a degree in this country, is the effect of there being no establishment. On the contrary, the fact that there is no establishment, is owing to the liberal institutions, and to the sentiments of the people." It seems to me abundantly evident, from the evidence referred to, that Mrs. Trollope's assertions respecting the religious meetings at Cincinnati, and generally over the United States, have been made rashly, and without x5 466 REMARKS ON the knowledge of facts, which is absolutely requisite to support them. Her obvious desire seems to have been to see that only which she expected to be able to find fault with. She was looking " for something remarkable, neglecting the ordinary features of the scene." Mrs. Trollope had, it is understood, two objects in view at Cincinnati. She wished to settle one of her sons there. She herself attempted to establish a bazaar. She failed in both objects. Is it not possible that her disappointment may have led her to imbibe prejudices unfavourable to the country and people, of the manners of which she professes herself to be the delineator ? How can her constant recurrence to this subject other- wise be accounted for ? All she has written on it here and there, and everywhere, through her lively and amusing volumes, is founded, so far as supported by her own evidence; firsts on two attendances at one Pres- byterian meeting at Cincinnati (see Chap. 8) ; second^ on one attendance at a prayer-meeting near Cincinnati (Chap. 13) ; tMrd, on one attendance at a camp-meet- ing, from 11 p. M. to 3 a. m. (Chap. 15) ; fourth, on her attendance at the conference at Baltimore (Chap. 29) ; fifth, on one attendance at the induction of a Presby- terian minister (Chap. 26) ; and sixth, on one attend- ance in a Methodist Church in Alexandria (Chap. 29). There is nothing to be found fault with, nor is any thing found fault with, as to Nos. 2 and 4 ; and she praises the clergyman No. 6, as the most valuable priest that could officiate. Therefore, the charge which Mrs. Trollope has brought against twelve millions of people, and most especially against the ladies of the MRS. TROLLOPe's STATEMENTS. 467 United States, of being guilty of gross improprieties in their religious assemblies, such as made her, and must have made her readers, shudder, rests, so far as depends on her own testimony, on what passed on two occasions at one Presbyterian meeting at Cincinnati, — on one occasion between the hours of 1 1 p. m. and 3 A. M. at a camp-meeting in the western part of Ame- rica, — and on one occasion at the Baltimore Confer- ence. Here, too, it ought not to be lost sight of, that her general accusation, so far as respects Cincinnati, ought to be very much restricted, even holding her statement as correct, for half the churches there, as already mentioned, hold doctrines directly opposed to those of the Ultra-Methodists. This is the result of a very careful examination of the evidence, and can- not but be regarded as deciding the question of Mrs. Trollope's absolute and complete incompetency and unfitness to maintain the opinions she has promulgated on an important subject. No doubt she attempts to bolster up her views by reference to conversations with servants, mantua-makers, &c. but she abstains, like her predecessor. Captain Hall, from giving names and dates, whether from motives of delicacy, like that gallant officer, or to render it impossible to trace the stories and refute them, I know not ; but, referring to those stories on which Mrs. Trollope relies the most, what do they amount to? First, There is the maid-servant, (Chap. 6), whom Mrs. Trollope eulogizes as an excel- lent servant, performing more than was expected of her ; but she was a professor of religion, and, when taken ill x6 468 REMARKS ON and delirious, "her wandering thoughts seemed to ramble to Heaven." This was enough for Mrs. Trol- lope, for, when she went for a few days to the country, some gossiping neighbour having told Mrs. Trollope many circumstances prejudicial to her character, she communicates them to this excellent servant on her return, refusing at the same time, to tell her who washer informer, and immediately dismissed her. This piece of flagrant injustice on the part of her mistress, did not prevent this meek, and for aught that Mrs. Trollope mentions, pious creature, from leaving the house with- out first wishing " all the family good bye," — an exam- ple of Christian charity, which it would be well that all such people as Mrs. Trollope should follow. Then there is the mantua-maker, (Chap. 26), who narrates, that an itinerant preacher had obtained great influence with her and two sisters, especially with the youngest; that their father observing the "covert passion that gleamed through the eyes of his godly vi- sitor," and " the pallid anxious look on the young brow of his daughter," forbade him his house ; and that, in due course of time, no less than seven unfortunate girls produced living proofs of the wisdom of the mantua- maker's worthy father. This statement, if well-founded, merely proves that the man was an impostor. It should never have seen the light, for the sake of those whom it may affect, even of Mrs. Trollope's informant and of her sister. But how are Mrs. Trollope's views advanced by it ? Will that lady maintain, that the truth of the Christian religion is affected by the backsliding MRS, TROLLOPE's STATEMENTS. 469 of any of its professors, or that the Church of England should be put down on account of sms of commission, far weightier than those of her itinerant preacher, of which, even in these later days, one of its dignitaries has been guilty ? That there is more undisguised appearance of atten- tion to the duties of the Christian religion, on the part of persons professing that rehgion in America, than in Britain, more regular attendance on divine worship, more frequent instances of family worship, and of meet- ings for prayer, is readily granted ; but withal there is far more toleration for people of all sentiments and sects, as well as for the sceptical, and for those who admit that they have no belief. A remarkable fact, showing how little the opinions or practice of people in religious matters, or matters of conscience, affect them in the United States, came to my knowledge at New York. The Journal of Commerce, — a newspaper filled with advertisements, and of the first circulation among the mercantile classes, to the number of 4000 or 5000 daily, is conducted by persons, whose senti- ments on matters of religion will not allow them to insert any notice of a theatrical exhibition, or of a Sunday steam-boat excursion, or any notice of a simi- lar description. The Christian religion, as professed and believed in the United States, is, I am convinced, far more the religion of peace, good-will, and charity, than it is in Britain. Instances to the contrary, no doubt, may be adduced ; but the state of matters gene- rally is as I describe it. 470 WESTERN STATES. CHAPTER XXXIII. The Metropolis of the United States will some day be in the Western States of America — Mr. Flint's Advice as to the Health of Emi- grants — Soil of the States of Ohio and Indiana — Manufactures at Cincinnati — Voyage from Cincinnati to Wheeling — Marietta — Bap- tism of an Adult Female — Blennerhassett's Island — Mr. Blenner- hassett engaged in Aaron Burr's Plans — Zanesville — Hours of Meals — Wheeling — Journey by Stage from Wheeling to Pittsburg — Pitts- burg — Situation — Coal-Hill— History of the Place — Manufactories — Ship building — Mr. Clay's Anecdote respecting a Pittsburg Ship — Inhabitants — Alleghany and Monangahela Rivers — Equestrian Cir- cus—Caution to Travellers not to attempt to interfere with the Cus- toms of the Country in which they are living for a time— Journey from Pittsburg across the Alleghanies — Chambersburg— Fellow- Pas- sengers, Mr. Biddle, Ladies and Children — Views over Pittsburg — Mount Pleasant— Chesnut Ridge— Laurel Hill— Summit of the Alleghany Mountains — The Alleghany Mountains or the Appala- chian System, as it is called, one of the dividing Lines of the Three Sec- tions of the United States — Description of the Three Sections — The Rocky Mountains, or the Chippewayan System, as it is called, the other of the dividing Lines — Bedford — Valleys on the top of the Alle- ghanies — Pefect Safety of the whole Road to Chambersburg — Pro- spects of the Country on the Descent — Chambersburg — German Watchmen — Journey to Harrisburg — Finely cultivated Country and thriving Farmers — From hence to Philadelphia — Mansion- House Hotel — Journey to New York — Many Members of Congress Fellow- Passengers — Recommendation to Travellers in the United States for Amusement, as to that part of the United States to which they may without much loss limit their Route — May avoid the Southern WESTERN STATES. 471 States — But ought thoroughly to see the Eastern and Western — Great Heat and Noise at New York during the Summer — Advice to Travellers to go to a Private Boarding-^ ouse at Brooklyn or Hobo- ken — Convenience of Boarding-Houses for Strangers — Instances of Incivility and Kindness during my Travels. May, 1830. Mr. Flint seems to be decidedly of opinion, that the metropolis of the United States will some day or other be in the Western States of America. The asto- nishing fertility of the soil, the great extent of terri- tory, and the convenience of internal navigation, are every day leading towards that result. Mr. Flint recommends it, as indispensably necessary for Europeans coming to the Western States, to pay great attention to their health for the first season, by the use of small doses of calomel frequently repeated. In this way they escape, as he thinks, the bilious fever of the country ; and, when strangers are once accli- mated, he considers this country to be as healthy as any part of America. Freedom from consumption in a great degree more than compensates for the increased tendency to fever. The atmosphere he considers to be far purer and clearer than on the eastern side of the AUeghanies. The soil, both in the States of Ohio and Indiana, is extremely productive, and there are great prairies in both States ; but as the prairies are not so extensive as in Illinois, and the soil in Illinois is certainly the most fertile in the Union, it appeared to me to be unneces- sary to make a minute inspection of any part of the 472 CINCINNATI. other Western States, after having seen the most fertile part of Illinois, or to state more in detail the nature of the soil, and the advantages and disadvantages of situation in the other Western States. It may, how- ever, be worth while to mention, that plenty of im- proved land is to be had in the neighbourhood of Cin- cinnati, varying in price according to its distance from the town. The country near Cincinnati abounds in limestone. Wood is the prevailing fuel. The coal from Pittsburg is sold for about sixpence sterling per bushel. There are numerous manufactories of cotton and woollen at Cincinnati, steam saw-mills, and ma- chinery and mechanics for almost every sort of work. There is also a manufactory of lead, as well as dis- tilleries and breweries. The water is strongly saturated with salt in many parts of the Ohio, and there are salt- works in various counties. There is both an institution for general education, and a military college, at Cin- cinnati, and a library and museum of natural history. From the top of Letton's museum there is an extensive and beautiful prospect. On the 21st May I left Cincinnati, and proceeded up the Ohio in the Rein-deer steam-boat, commanded by Captain Burnet, — a vessel of seventy-two tons, and thirty-eight horses' po\^er, which originally cost 8000 dollars. The daily expense, I was told, exclusive of wear and tear was fifty dollars. The pilot has sixty- five dollars a month. The wood for the vessels going up this part of the Ohio is placed in boats, which are MARIETTA. 473 lashed to the side of the steam-boat, so that the wood is got into the boat while she is proceeding on her voy- age. As soon as the wood is taken out of the wood- boat she is set at liberty, and the current carries her home. Our rate of progress was about six miles an hour against the stream. We met with one trifling accident in our voyage to Wheeling, — one of the wheels being damaged by a snag in a very dark night, — but everything was put to rights again in the course of two hours. The voyage up the Ohio is extremely pleasant ; the banks of the river being very beautiful, and in many places a great deal of fine alluvial land, which I was informed sold for ten or twelve dollars an acre. Al- though the heights on the sides of the river differ con- siderably in point of elevation, there is none of the strikingly diversified, bold, and interesting scenery of all descriptions, which render the Hudson probably the river in the world the best worth being seen. There are many pretty little towns on both banks of the Ohio, adorned with trees, and single houses, and gardens. Marietta, about ^70 miles from Cincinnati, is one of the handsomest of those towns, and placed in a fine situation; but its progress has been somewhat re- tarded, owing to its being visited more frequently by fever than had been supposed likely. The baptism of an adult female took place on the side of the river opposite to Marietta, when we were passing it on a Sunday evening. There seemed to be 6 474 ZANESVILLE. about 200 or 300 persons present, and about half a dozen in the water. A few miles below Marietta is one of the most beautiful islands in the Ohio, called Blennerhassett's Island. It is of considerable size, and finely wooded. It was, not many years ago, the residence of Mr. Blennerhassett, an Irish gentleman of fortune, and fond of literary pursuits. He retired to this island with Mrs. Blennerhassett, a lady of great beauty, and his family; erected a fine house, and adorned the grounds at great expense ; but the well-known Aaron Burr engaged him in his plans upon the province of Texas, or perhaps upon part of the western territory of America, and he was involved in ruin and disgrace. The island has been long in a deserted state, and now seems entirely neglected. Aaron Burr resides at New York and has extensive practice as a barrister, being consulted on questions of legal difficulty. Zanesville is about sixty miles above Marietta, and is a considerable manufacturing town, with about 4000 inhabitants. The hours of our meals in this boat are, six for breakfast, half-past eleven for dinner, half-past five for tea and supper. There was no card-playing ; all were in bed soon after eight o'clock. We reached Wheeling at half-past two on the 24th May, having run 363 miles in seventy-five hours. Wheeling is in a fine situation, surrounded by hills, and enjoys charming views of the river, and of a very pic- turesque island in front of it. The national road from PITTSBURG. 475 Baltimore to St. Louis crosses the Ohio at Wheeling. It is now completed a considerable way through the State of Ohio, and is to be carried through the States of Indiana and Illinois to St. Louis. There is a great quantity of coal in the neighbourhood of the town, and the coal smoke is very unpleasant. There are several very handsome book-stores, but the hotel kept by Denniston is by no means a good one. In the evening after my arrival I set off in the mail- stage called the Ivanhoe for Pittsburg. The road is rough ; but the country, though not of rich soil, is full of beautiful undulations. Washington, where the stage stops, is a considerable town of western Pennsylvania. The hotel kept by Irons is good. Washington is twenty-five miles distant from Pittsburg, the latter part of the road to which is very interesting, and the views of the town and of the Ohio striking. Pittsburg is well known as the great manufacturing city of Western America, and would be a very delightful place of residence, but for the clouds of coal smoke which cover it, and give a gloomy cast to the beautiful hills which surround it, and to all the neighbouring country. The situation of the city is at the head of the Ohio River, upon a point of land formed by the junction of the Alleghany and Monangahela rivers, the former running from the north-east, and the latter from the south-west. The town is built on an alluvial plain in the delta of the two rivers. Over the Alleghany is a high plain, bounded by bold hills. 476 MANUFACTURES. The coal hill across the Monangahela rises more than 300 feet. On the Monangahela side is a manufactur- ing village called Birmingham, and on the Alleghany side, there is a town called Manchester. The site of the town was selected at an early period in the French wars, as an important point in the chain of posts connecting Canada wdth Louisiana. It was then called Fort du Quesne. When it came into the possession of the British in 1758, during the war with France, 60,000/. were expended in building a new fort, and the grounds in the neighbourhood were improved, but the war of the revolution, and quarrels with the Indians, prevented any great increase of the town till 1793. Since that time it has become a great manufac- turing city, and the population now amounts to about 17,000 persons. There are steam flour-mills, carding and spinning-mill, iron-mills, distilleries, breweries, brick-yards, air-furnaces, lead-factories, naileries, glass- establishments, potteries, gun-smitheries, tobacco fac- tories, tanneries, with establishments of all the ordinary trades ; but ironmongery, cutlery, and glass, are the most important manufactures. Cottons and woollens, pottery, and copper-ware are exported to a great ex- tent. Ship-building is carried on, though Pittsburg is about 2000 miles from the sea ; and boat and steam-boat- building have been pursued here on a greater scale than in any other town of the western country. Re- specting the ship-building of this place, Mr. Clay made the following relation in one of his speeches a few years ago in Congress: " To illustrate the commercial habits PITTSBURG. 477 and enterprise of the American people, he wouldrelate an anecdote of a vessel, built and cleared out at Pitts- burg for Leghorn : when she arrived at her place of destination, the master presented his papers to the cus- tom-house officer at Leghorn, who would not credit them, and said to the master, ' Sir, your papers are forged ! there is no such place as Pittsburg in the world ! your vessel must be confiscated !' The trembling cap- tain laid before the oflicer a map of the United States, — directed him to the Gulf of Mexico, — pointing out the mouth of the Mississippi, — led him 1000 miles up it to the mouth of the Ohio, — and thence, another 1000 to Pittsburg. * There, Sir, is the port whence my vessel cleared out.' The astonished officer, before he saw the map, would as soon have believed that this ship had been navigated from the moon." The supplies of pit-coal in the neighbourhood of the town are inexhaustible. The coal costs little more than the mere expense of digging, and there is no fear that the supply will fail, or become difficult to procure* The inhabitants area mixture of all nations, — Ger- mans, Irish, English, Scotch, French, &c. The habits of the people are industrious, frugal, and economical, and without show. The Alleghany river joins the Monangahela nearly at right angles, and its current being more rapid, it ge- nerally forces the current of the Monangahela on the opposite shore with violence. The clear water of the Alleghany, and the muddy appearance of the Monan- gahela, form a striking contrast, which is observable ten miles below the junction. 478 EQUESTRIAN CIRCUS. There is nothing remarkable about the public build- ings of the town. Some of the streets are wide, and there seemed a considerable number of churches. There are many nice-looking villas in the neighbour- hood of the town. The equestrian circus was open. The performers, — especially a lady, — were uncommonly good, — quite as wonderful, as I thought, as those at Astley's. I lodged at Griffith's hotel, which I found very comfortable. Having caught cold in the steam-boat on the Ohio, I had landed at Wheeling, instead of proceeding, according to my original intention, by water to Pittsburg. Being still unwell at Pittsburg, I applied to the clerk of the stages in Mr. Griffith's house to know whether he could secure me a place in the stage across the Alleghanies to Chambersburg in the hindmost seat, in which I thought I should be able to travel with most ease. On his answering in the affirmative, I paid eight dollars for my place. Next morning (the 27th of May) I was the only passenger in the stage, at starting from the door of the hotel, and I seated myself in my snug corner as I thought. The stage then went about the town to pick up those who had taken places, and at last stopped at the door of a house where the driver announced that ladies were coming into tbe stage, and applied to me to take ano- ther seat. This I declined to do, in consequence of what I told him had passed when I paid for my place. The party in the house refused to come out until they were sure of having the seats in the back row. I, on the other hand, was equally decided not to give up the PITTSBURG. 479 place, to which I maintained I had a complete right in consequence of a special bargain. The landlord of the hotel was sent for to set matters to rights ; but after hearing my story, he said that "ladies were always preferred," and denied his clerk's authority to make any special bargain. Still I was obstinate. The stage proprietors must be bound by the acts of their clerk or servant. Mr. Griffith then rather lost his temper. If I had been a young man, he said, he would have had me pulled out of the stage by force : but it was lucky that another stage was at home, and he would order the horses to be taken out and put to the other stage, — into which the party in the house should first of all be privileged to enter. I heard this threat, and a good deal more of impertinent language, which fell from the landlord and driver, as well as from some of the by- standers, for a crowd of people had now surrounded the stage, with philosophical indifference ; but when I found that the landlord's threat was actually putting in execution, and that the horses were taken out of the carriage, it became indispensably necessary for me, with a view to my own accommodation, to change my plan of proceeding \^dth what grace I could : and I accord- ingly, to the no small amusement of the by-standers, removed to the front seat in the stage. The horses were again put to, and the party from the house, con- sisting of a gentleman, two ladies, and three children, one of them an infant, entered the stage, and we drove off, on a two days' journey, even if the parties were to go no further together than to Chambersburg. It was 8 480 AMERICAN STAGE. some time before I ventured to reconnoitre the new comers into the stage ; but the first glance I had of them convinced me that I never could have made such a stand as I had done at a more unpropitious moment. One of the ladies was as interesting a female as I have ever seen ; so young looking, that I should never have supposed that she had been married, if she had not been wearing the deepest mourning dress of a widow, and had her infant child in her arms. The party con- sisted of Mr. Biddle, of Nashville, in Tennessee, the brother of the president of the National Bank of the United States, at Philadelphia ; of his daughter, the young lady whom I have mentioned ; and of her friend, Mrs. Fisher, with her son and daughter, about six, or seven, or eight years old. Half an hour or more passed, a very unusual thing in an American stage, before any general conversation took place. At length the awkwardness that prevailed was put an end to by a trifling but fortunate incident. The stage stopped suddenly. One of the ladies inquir- ed the cause. I looked out first and gave an answer. The ice was now broken ; and from that moment we got on quite as well as if nothing unpleasant had hap- pened at the outset. At the end of the first stage, ten miles from Pittsburg, Mr. Biddle asked me to take a little spirits and water with him, to which I consented ; — though I would far rather have declined the offer, — with a view to convince him that there was no lurking ill-humour on my part. I never travelled with more agreeable people, nor with strangers who had more STAGE PASSENGERS. 481 the art of making a long and rather tedious journey appear short. Mr. Biddle's daughter had been married, not a year previously, to the object of her affection. Soon after their union, he was ordered to the province of Texas for the restoration of his health, which had suddenly become impaired. Thither she accompanied him, though a delicate female, subjected to many dis- tressing inconveniences in travelling in that new coun- try. She had only brought him back to Tennessee to assist in closing his eyes for ever, when she gave birth to the infant which she was suckling. She was now on her way to revisit her relations at Philadelphia. She and her father left us at Chambersburg, as it was necessary for them to take Baltimore on their way ; and when we separated they gave Mrs. Fisher and her children in charge to me for the rest of their journey. I have mentioned these particulars, though perhaps not altogether creditable to myself, with a view to point out in strong terms the folly of the British, or fo- reigners, interfering in the United States with the cus- toms which they find established there. This is almost a solitary instance of my attempting to do so ; and was in reality far more matter of necessity than of choice with me. But I was more than properly punished for my indiscretion. When I got the first glimpse of the lady whom I have described, who occupied the seat which I had endeavoured to retain from her, I could almost have wished myself under the earth. In ascending the high grounds towards the Alle- VOL. II. Y 482 MOUNT PLEASANT. ghanies, we had many noble views over Pittsburg, and the neighbouring rivers and country. Our second stopping-place was at Stuartsville, — ten miles. Our third, at Madison, — nine miles ; and our fourth at Mount Pleasant, — eleven miles ; in all forty miles. The road, though hilly, was good, and our stopping-place was very comfortable. Mr. Biddle and I were in a double- bedded room. Next morning, before starting at four o'clock, we had coffee, for which no extra charge was made. It is universally the custom in travelling in stages all over the United States, to stop early in the evening, generally at an hour not later than seven, so that passengers may go soon to bed, and be ready to start very early in the morning. Mount Pleasant contains about 500 or 600 inhabit- ants. Two or three miles after leaving Mount Plea- sant we began to ascend what is called the Chesnut ridge of the Alleghany mountains, from its being par- tially covered with the sweet chesnut-tree. I was agree- ably disappointed in finding the ascent of this hill, as well as of the Laurel Hill beyond it, so exceedingly easy. The stage, as already described, is a very heavy ma- chine, and was well filled ; but the driver never asked any of the passengers to get out of the stage and walk, in order to lighten the burden of the horses. When we walked, it was on our own account, with a view to exercise and amusement. The surface of the road was smooth. It was more the length of the hill than its steepness which fatigued the horses. The Laurel Hill is covered with various descriptions ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS. 483 of laurel, and other shrubs ; but chiefly with rhodo- dendrons, of great size, growing most luxuriantly. The blossoms of that species upon the hill are of a pale pink colour, and gave a pinkish colour to the land- scape. There is also a great quantity of the wild Vir- ginia strawberry, now ripe, all over the hill. Our first stopping-place this morning (the 28th of May) was at Jones' Mills, — twelve miles ; the next at Somerset, — sixteen and a-half miles ; and the third, where we dined, thirteen miles, on the summit of the Alleghany mountains. The road has hitherto con- tinued good, and without any thing like a hazard. From this spot there is a magnificent and very ex- tensive view of hill and forest scenery, and of some well cultivated farms and fine pastures among the hills all over the top of the ridge. The Alleghany mountains, or, as they are more com- monly called by geographers, the Appalachian Moun- tains, or the Appalachian System, form one of the great dividing lines of the three sections of the United States. The Alleghany mountains divide the first section, that of the Atlantic slope, the most thickly inhabited, but by far the smallest section, from the second sec- tion, bounded on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, on the north by the interior seas of Canada, and by a wide sweep spreading from the Appalachian to the Rocky or Chippewayan mountains, or system, which range al- most at right angles to the Appalachian system. The important part of the great central valley of the con- y2 484 ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS. tinent of North America is included in this section, which is composed of two inclined planes, sloping from the two mountain systems, the extent of which corre- sponds in a great degree to the relative size of the moun- tain masses. The plain, falling from the Chippewayan mountains, which rise in Mexico into vast volcanic peaks, and stretch across the territory of the United States, in elevated lateral ridges, having much the ap- pearance of the Andes of the South American conti- nent, is above 3000 miles in length ; averaging from five to about 1000 miles in width, and varying in ele- vation from the oceanic level 8000 or 10,000 feet. The plain falling from the Appalachian system is about 1000 miles in length, with a mean width of 300 miles, with a height generally of from 600 to 4000 feet above the oceanic tides, — excepting when the mountains ap- proach the St. Lawrence, when they reach an eleva- tion of 6000 or 7000 feet. The third section extends from the Rocky or Chip- pewayan mountains towards the Pacific Ocean, com- prehending the great basin of Colombia or Oregon. This section is far more extensive than that of the Atlantic, but great part of it is still very imperfectly known. The Appalachian system has a range not deviating much from north-east and south-west from the sources of the Chattahoochee and Mobile to those of the Con- necticut, almost touching the ocean on the coasts of New York, Connecticut, and the rest of New England ; and penetrating more deeply into the continent in its ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS. 485 range to the south-west, through New Jersey, Penn- sylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the two Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama. From the two bounding mountain systems of the North American continent, issue the thousand streams of the Mississippi, the Missouri, and those of their con- fluents. The Appalachian mountains present an almost infinite variety of landscape. Darby says correctly, that in a distance as great as from the Pyrenees to the Carpathian mountains, the United States afford a suc- cession of natural pictures which, if not so magnificent, are more soft and more easily approached, than Alpine glaciers. The Appalachian system remains undefined at its two extremities, but taken in the fullest extent over which the mountain chains rise to evident import- ance from Alabama to Maine in New England, and including all its lateral chains, the Appalachian system extends 1200 miles, with the mean width of 100 miles, embracing an area of about 1 20,000 square miles. The mountain chains occupy about one-third of this area, leaving two-thirds for the intervening valleys. After dining on the top of the Alleghanies, we pro- ceeded twenty-four miles farther to Bedford, where we slept. Bedford is a village with about the same number of inhabitants as Mount Pleasant. Our road passed through the valleys and rising grounds on the top of the Alleghanies. Here there is a great inequality of surface, but the land, though not equal to that of Western America, is good and well-farmed, and the country is y3 486 BEDFORD. healthy. The inhabitants seem a vigorous race of people. Here I was told, that gooseberries, currants, and similar fruits, generally come to perfection, while in the low land, on both sides of the Alleghanies, the in- fluence of the sun is too great for that description of fruit, which becomes shrivelled, and withered, and without flavour, before it ripens. The hotel at Bedford, kept by Mr. Leader, is very good. We set out on our journey again at four o'clock A. M. on the 29th May, and passed through a similar description of country for fourteen miles and a half, to Juniata, from the neighbourhood of which the descent of the hills on the eastern side begins. There is a good deal of side-cutting of the hills for the road, but it is of sufficient width, and, I believe, neither any of my fel- low-passengers nor I, felt the slightest uneasiness in being driven with speed, and without a drag to any of the wheels, through M^Connel's town to Chambersburg, about thirty-four miles from Juniata. The whole of the road continued smooth and well kept, which sur- prised me exceedingly, because the road remains the same as when Captain Hall crossed the Alleghanies two years ago; and he describes the state of the roads to be so wretched, that his family underwent sufferings ex- ceeding anything they had previously seen in America. I cannot conceive how this could happen. Captain Hall, like myself, travelled at a very favourable season of the year, — in the very beginning of June, — and the road is in no part of it more steep, or in any respect worse, than the road near Shap on the western road between London and Edinburgh, or than many parts CHAMBERSBURG. 487 of the Highland road between Edinburgh and Inver- ness. In fact, both in point of accommodation and roads, I had not a pleasanter journey anywhere in the stage in the United States, than between Pittsburg and Chambersburg. A great part of the road was, of course, very hilly, but that only prevented our getting on with rapidity. The road was perfectly smooth, and perfectly safe. The prospects in the descent of the hills of the finely cultivated farms of Eastern Pennsylvania, especially at this time, when every field was green, and all the land well farmed by as thriving a set of yeomen as are in the United States, were extensive and beautiful. Chambersburg is a considerable place, with good hotels. I was surprised on going out in the evening, to find a watchman, a German, caUing the hours, who could not speak a word of English. We had nice strawberries and cream at the hotels in crossing the AUeghanies. They are got without price, merely on paying the children for pulling them. Salad was pro- duced to us at one of the Dutch hotels in the AUegha- nies, with a hot, sweet, and acid sauce but as this was not relished, the ladies of our party made the usual salad sauce, substituting for oil the liquor from a boiled ham just cut, which is in the United States generally preferred to oil whenever it can be had. The butter was in most places not good, a wild garlic, of which cows are fond, being very prevalent at this season in this and other parts of the United States, and communicating a disagreeable taste to it. Y 4 488 HARRISBURG. Chambersburg is at the distance of 148 miles from Philadelphia. On the following day, the 30th May, we dined at Harrisburg, the seat of legislation for Pennsylvania, situated on the eastern bank of the Susquehannah River. The banks of the river here are uncommonly beautiful, and even romantic. The capitol is a hand- some building. Here Mrs. Fisher and her son and daughter, to my regret, quitted the Philadelphia stage, and set off for their destination, which was the beau- tiful village of Hagarstown, in Maryland, as they de- scribed it to me. I proceeded to Lancaster, which is the capital of the fertile and well-managed county of the same name. The people in this neighbourhood are almost all Germans. Half the newspapers are published in the German language. The waiter at the hotel was a German, who could not speak English well. I slept at Lancaster, and, setting off early on the following morning, I easily reached Philadelphia, sixty-two miles distant, before the dinner hour. The whole district of country through which I tra- velled was equal in point of appearance of cultivation, and in the style and size of the farm-houses, and office- houses, (generally of brick,) to what is to be seen in the best districts of England or Scotland ; but thorn hedges, and in general dropping trees, are wanting even in this district to make the picture of a beautiful English farm complete. The crops of rye and clover were particu- larly fine, and the gardens good, and in good order. In some respects, however, the farmers here have PHILADELPHIA. 489 great advantages. They are all proprietors of the soil, and of course not liable to be removed. They are all in such easy circumstances, that every one of them keeps his own comfortable open carriage. Mr. Porter's farm, near Lancaster, was especially pointed out as being well managed and cultivated. In crossing the AUe- ghanies we met with no travelling carriages but the stages. Goods are transported between Pittsburg and Philadelphia in great waggons, drawn by the heavy horses of Pennsylvania, which are very fine animals. We met many of those waggons. At Philadelphia, I again enjoyed the comforts of Mr. Head's, the Mansion-house hotel, and next day, the 1st of June, I returned to the excellent family boarding- house of Mr. Van Boskerck, atHoboken, near NewYork. Mr. Foot, Mr. Sprague, and several other members of Congress, and the well-known Mr. Noah of New York, were fellow-passengers in this journey. There was, as usual, an excellent dinner in the steam-boat, and I ob- served, what would appear very strange in Britain, not a drop of wine was used by any of those gentlemen. It will appear from the preceding journal, that there is far less to interest a traveller in the Southern States of North America, including Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, than in the other parts of the continent which I visited. There is, too, greater difficulty and greater expense in travelling through the southern than the northern division of the L^nited States. I incline, therefore, to think, that y5 490 DIRECTIONS TO the fatigue and expense of a journey to the south is hardly repaid by the sight of any thing that is not to be found in the northern States. I would there- fore recommend to persons from Britain travelling in the United States for amusement, and who have no business or avocation that calls them to the south, to confine their journeying to Washington, and that part of the States to the northward of it, on the eastern side of the Alleghanies ; and on the western, to limit their travels to the line of the River Ohio, and to the States to the northward of that river, and of its confluence with the Mississippi, which they ought by all means to see. In this way a traveller may obtain as perfect a notion, and as perfect a view of the great American rivers, as by descending the Mississippi to New Or- leans. All travellers should see the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri, and the beauties of the prai- ries and country in the neighbourhood of St. Louis, St. Charles, and in the western States. There are objects here of the most magnificent description, quite unlike any thing to be seen in Europe. Louisville, Lexing- ton, and Frankfort, are quite in the way of a traveller in going up or down the Ohio, and ought to be visited ; but, above all, let the traveller see New York and its vicinity, and New York State, and New England and its villages, well and thoroughly. If he take pleasure in the most beautiful scenery in the world, he will be amply repaid for the inconvenien- cies necessarily attending his passage from Europe, by a day's voyage on the glorious Hudson. On arriving at 6 AMERICAN TRAVELLERS. 491 New York, supposing him to arrive in summer, as most travellers do, and taking up his abode in one of the great hotels in Broadway, he will find the heat at first intolerable, and the noise very irksome, from carriages, carts, and waggons, all of wliich move at a trot. I would therefore advise him, instead of domiciliating himself in a great boarding-house or hotel, to betake himself to a quiet house on the terrace at Brooklyn, or to some such one as that of which we were inmates at Hoboken. Should he go to a private boarding- house, he may require a little wine. It is always very high-priced, owing to the trifling demand for it, and often not of the best quality in such places, — but at any wine-merchants, Madeira and Sherry may be pro- cured of good quality. Port and claret are not so easily to be had, but port is to be got good and cheap from Mr. Tobias, in Broad Street, and claret good and cheap from Mr. Dufau, Mr. 50, Gold Street. The conveyance by ferry steam-boats is easy and sure, either from Brooklyn or Hoboken, and only oc- cupies a few minutes. The view from Brooklyn is magnificent, and makes a traveller at once in love with America. The shady walks at Hoboken lead me to give it the preference, independently of the comforts and retirements of Mr. Van Boskerck's boarding-house, which, if Mrs. TroUope had ever enjoyed them, would have induced her to be a little more guarded in her general, and altogether exaggerated abuse of the boarding-houses of the United States. Strangers and travellers are the very last persons who should find Y 6 49^ DIRECTIONS TO AMERICAN TRAVELLERS. fault with the boarding-houses of the United States. To them these houses afford ready means for see- ing the people, and mixing with them, and observing their manners. A stranger who conducts himself v/ith propriety can thus always form acquaintances that will be useful to him. I quite understand the feelings of the Americans when they complain, as they often do, that they never found themselves so much thrown on their own resources as when they land at Liverpool without recommendations, and are shown into the lonely parlour of a hotel or inn, where the waiter asks them what they will order for dinner. Mrs. TroUope seems to have been unfortunate in her selection of hotels and boarding-houses almost everywhere ; but even she sometimes stumbled upon such as she liked. I found the system of living together, upon the whole, comfortable for strangers — much more comfortable on a long lonely journey than the solitary inns of Britain. I have mentioned every instance, without exception, where the treatment at any of the hotels was not such as a traveller has a right to expect ; and I may fear- lessly ask of any one entitled to answer the question, whether it be at all likely that an individual travelling through Europe for as many thousand miles as I did through America, almost through all the States, un- known, and generally without any introduction or let- ter of recommendation, would have had as many acts of kindness and attention, and as few instances of incivility to record, as occurred in the course of my long journeys? HOBOKEN. 493 CHAPTER XXXIV. Weather at Hoboken — Crowds of People enjoying the Walks there — Mrs. TroUope's Complaint against the Ladies of New York, for not being found in the Hoboken Walks on the Sabbath, during the performance of Divine Worship at New York — Sufficient Evidence that Mrs. Trollope objects to going to Church at all — Miss Wright's Paper respecting Divorces and Illegitimate Children — Removal to Mr. Anderson's House near Hellgate in Long Island — Description of it— Mode of Life there— Thermometer 90<> and 93''— Deaths from Cold Water — Temperance Societies — Their good and bad Effects — Extravagance of Dr. Beecher's Opinion against fermented Liquors — The late Dr. Benjamin Rush, a safer Authority upon this subject — Intoxicated Persons rarely met with in the United States — The People drink frequently, but very little at a time — Description of Hellgate on Long Island Sound — Washington Irving's Account of it — Number of beautiful Villas in the Neighbourhood — Views from the Vicinity of Hellgate — Farm — Vegetables, Fruits — Comparison of Fruits with those in England — Newton Pippins — Dutch Re- formed Church at Newton — Mr. Anderson's Carriage — No Carriage allowed to pass another here — Dominie Schoonemaker's Church at Newton — Number of Carriages at Newton during Divine Service — All ride — Mr. Anderson, Deacon of Mr. Schoonemaker's Church — Takes charge of Sabbath School — Visits to the neighbouring Pro- prietors and Farmers — Tea Parties — Affectionate Greetings of the Dutch Females — Manners of the Farmers — Wages of Labourers — Price of Growing Oats — Application from John Boswell, a young man, a Ship-builder, from the west of Fife, who had emigrated with his Family to get Work here — Difficulties of his Situation from 494 HOBOKEN. coming without Attestations of his Character— His subsequent Suc- cess— No Emigrant should come to this Country without Credentials. Summer and Autumn of 1830. The weather was now getting very warm at New York ; and the crowds of people who came over to enjoy the cool shady walks at Hoboken, great, at all times in the afternoon, but especially on Sunday. Mrs. TroUope, who was delighted with Hoboken, its terrace and its scenery, again breaks out into loud complaints, when " she went there on a bright Sun- day afternoon, expressly to see the humours of the place," because the ladies were at church, and because of the many thousand persons in the grounds, nineteen- twentieths were, as she states, men. I and many of my friends were frequently in these grounds on Sun- day afternoons ; and I am very sure that, though the number of males was greater than that of females, the number of females was never less than one-fourth of the whole number. Besides, Mrs. TroUope should have known, that it is not altogether reckoned fashionable or creditable for ladies of her own caste, presuming, as 1 do, that she at home belongs to the west end of the town, to promenade at Hoboken on Sunday after- noon ; but her remark on this subject proves a great deal more, probably, than she intended. It proves that she not only objects to the ladies of America attending Methodist meetings, or those of the Calvinistic Pres- byterians, but that she objects to their going to church at all. ** The Sabbath-day (she says) is ill passed, if passed entirely within brick walls, listening to an earth- MISS WRIGHT. 495 born preacher ;" and then, assuming that all the clergy of New York are self-elected and self-ordained priests, she asks, " How can the men of America offer up their wives and daughters to propitiate them ?" This is mere stuff. Mrs. Trollope should know, that, although it is the custom in London for a great part of the nobility, and of the exclusive classes, to devote the Sunday afternoon to the display of themselves and their equi- pages in Hyde Park, no similar custom prevails gene- rally over Great Britain. I suspect that, in Manchester and Liverpool, and I know that in Glasgow and Edin- burgh, ladies are not given to promenading during divine service on Sunday afternoon. It was just about this time when I returned from my journey to the south that a paper, written by Mrs. Trollope's friend. Miss Wright, and signed with her initials " F. W." was put into my hands. The first part of it will show the notions which ladies who abandon all profession of religion are not ashamed to promulgate to the world. These are its terms : — " Strange acts of legislation. " Among the late multitudinous acts of the Penn- sylvania legislature, we notice eight in annulment of marriage-contracts, and three in favour of illegitimate children ; by virtue of which latter decrees, it is ac- corded to some children, for or by whom application had been made, to inherit the property of their fa- thers. " Truly, it is inconceivable how we can hear and read similar facts without ever drawing a conclusion, or forming an opinion from the same. Men and wo- 496 TUSKINA. men permitted, by act of the State, to live apart ! Is it not possible for us to see what this means ? That, as the first union of men and women gives fees to the priest, or the magistrate, so their parting may give fees to lawyers, and an excuse to legislators for taking the people's money under plea of legislating for some pur- pose, real or imagined, no matter which ! " Now, should the legislature pass acts protective of the children born under the ill-starred unions they are called to sever, there might be a plea for its interfe- rence ; but surely common sense must be at a loss to discover what interest the people at large, or their re- presentatives, can have in the binding together those who desire each other's company, or the ostentatiously setting apart those who are disposed to be asunder." While I remained in the neighbourhood of New York, I learned that the Indian chief, Tuskina, who, as already mentioned, had eluded the search of the Americans while I was passing through the Creek ter- ritory, had surrendered himself to the circuit court of the United States, on the day appointed for trial, and that the trial had issued in his acquittal of feloniously stopping the mail, and conviction for stopping its pas- sage. The sentence was merely a fine of 100 dollars ; which sufficiently proves the motives of those who made this mole-hill trifling occurrence a mountain. At this period a calculation appeared in the New York newspapers of the number of persons who daily came into and went out of New York. The amount was said to be considerably above 20,000 persons. CATTLE-SHOWS. 497 I found in one of the newspapers an account of a cattle-show somewhere on the Hudson, in which no- thing is of course said of the attendance of ladies. I notice this circumstance, because Captain Hall has alluded to their absence on such occasions, as showing how seldom ladies are present at public meetings in the United States ; but the truth is, that, for very obvious reasons, it would be reckoned a breach of delicacy in Britain for ladies to attend cattle-shows ; — and they never are present at such assemblages. The writer of this journal has attended cattle-shows in both parts of the Island of Great Britain, as often as most people, and he never saw a lady, but one, pre- sent on such an occasion, — and her absence would have been thought more fit and proper. There is no restraint in the association of persons of both sexes in the numerous steam-boat excursions in the neighbourhood of New York and elsewhere. There is a greater separation between them in churches, at balls, and at public dinner-tables, than exists in what are called the higher circles in Great Britain ; but not greater, I apprehend, than takes place in the pro- vincial towns of Britain. Captain Hall's views on this subject are altogether assimilated to what he has seen in London in the higher ranks. There are far more easy and less artificial manners in the mass of the people in America. It is the exclusive, the haut ton, who are not to be found there ; or who are only to be found in very small and very harmless numbers. 498 LONG ISLAND. Marriages are more generally celebrated in the United States on Sunday, than on any other day. The weather now became so hot, that, after looking about some time for a boarding-house, placed in a cool situation in the neighbourhood of New York, in which we might pass the warmest part of the summer, we were glad to take up our quarters for some time in the house of Mr. Anderson, on the shore of Long Island, near Hellgate. Mr. Anderson is a Scotchman, who having in a very few years made a competency at New York, and married a lady of Dutch extraction on Long Island, retired to a beautiful farm of thirty or forty acres here, on which a most excellent house had been previously erected ; — such a house in point of size and large comfortable rooms, as would be suitable for an estate of a couple of thousands a-year in Britain. There are a few good shady trees about it, and an ex- cellent garden, in which there are some particularly fine hydrangias, about six feet high. The Althea frutex^ too, is a beautiful shrub here, retaining its flower for a long time. Mr. Anderson had not been in the habit of taking boarders; but it is not reckonedat all impertinent in this country to apply at once to know whether a family will take boarders. Accordingly, a friend of mine in New York, to whom, and to his wife, I was much obliged for their good offices on this and very many other occasions, thinking the place very like what we wanted, made the application to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, who were good enough to agree to receive us, provided we could con- TEMPERATURE. 409 form to the hours of their meals, which were six A. M. for breakfast, twelve for dinner, and seven for tea and supper. We never hesitated about this, knowing how much one's comfort depends in sultry weather on airy rooms and airy situation; and we afterwards found that nothing was so conducive to health during the intense heat of the summer, as to go to bed very early, and to rise very early. The heat is very great until the sun sets in the evening; and immediately after sunset, dews fall during the very short twilight, which render it unwholesome to take exercise in the open air ; but the mornings, and for some time previously to the appearance of the sun and at the period of sunrise, are sufficiently cool to enable any one in tolerable health to take walking exercise for an hour or more. We followed this course pretty rigidly for several weeks during the month of July and beginning of Au- gust, when the thermometer was almost every day at 90°, sometimes at 93", and escaped without fever, although the deaths at New York, for about a fort- night, amounted to double the usual number. A re- port of the deaths at New York is weekly printed in all the newspapers. I was surprised to observe the very considerable number of deaths at this period from the use of cold water, and found, oti inquiry, that those deaths were owing to taking cold water without any mixture of spirits. The temperance societies over the United States have certainly done a great deal of good, and are en- titled to praise for the activity with which their exer- 500 TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. tions have been conducted. They have not only esta- bhshed a weekly paper called the " Journal of Huma- nity and Herald of the American Temperance Society," devoted to the objects of the society, but have engaged a dozen clergymen as agents, who go all over the United States to point out the evil consequences of indulging in spirituous liquors, and establishing auxi- liary societies in many of the towns. It may be ques- tioned, however, whether rather too much enthusiasm has not been displayed in carrying into view the praise- worthy objects of the society. The daily use of ardent spirits in any considerable quantity is no doubt very likely to lead to intemperance, and to the destruction of health, — but in a country where labourers and me- chanics cannot fail to be exceedingly overheated when at work, they cannot, I suspect, quench their thirst with any safety without mixing a small quantity of spirits with the liquid which they drink. The deaths at New York caused by cold water have increased very much since the labourers became members of temperance societies, one article in the constitution of which is, ** That ardent spirits are not to be tasted at all." Many very sensible men have sent forth opi- nions upon this subject, which are, I fear, likely to do harm. Dr. Beecher. of Boston, whom I have already men- tioned, has published a series of short sermons on the nature, occasions, signs, evils, and remedy of intemper- ance, in which he writes, " I know that much is said about the prudent use of ardent spirits, but we might as well speak of the prudent use of the plague. Strong TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 501 beer has been recommended as a substitute for ardent spirits, and the means of leading back the captive to health and liberty ; but though it may not create in- temperate habits as soon, it has no power to allay them. It will finish even what ardent spirits had begun, and with this difference only, that it does not rasp the vital organs with quite so keen a file, and enables the victim to come down to his grave by a course somewhat more dilatory, and with more of the good-natured stupidity of the idiot, and less of the demoniac frenzy of the madman. Wine has been prescribed as a means of decoying the intemperate from the ways of death, but habit cannot be thus cheated out of its dominion, nor ravening appetite be amused down to a sober and tem- perate demand. Retrenchments and substitutes, then, are idle ; and if in any case they succeed, it is not in one of a thousand. It is the tampering of an infant with a giant, — the effort of a kitten to escape from the paws of a lion." I cannot help thinking that these views are extrava- gant, and that more good is likely to be permanently done by following the advice of a celebrated physician of Philadelphia, the late Dr. Benjamin Rush, who, more than twenty years ago, published an inquiry into the effects of ardent spirits upon the human body and mind, in which he deprecates their use, unless in certain cases which he mentions, especially when the body has been exposed for a long time to wet weather, more particularly if it be combined with cold ; but recom- mends in their stead the use of cider as perfectly whole- 502 AMERICAN SOBRIETY. some, the use of malt liquor, as containing a good deal of nourishment, — and the use of wine as cordial and nourishing, and inspiring cheerfulness and good humour. It is certainly singular to find so great exertions on the subject of temperance in the United States, when I can bear testimony to the greatest appearance of so- briety among the people. During the first three months that I passed in the United States, T only saw one in- toxicated person, an Oneida Indian. I did not, dur- ing my residence in the United States for nearly three years, see a dozen people the worse for liquor. At the same time, there is no doubt that a larger quantity of spirits is used by the people of the United States, in reference to their population, than in Great Britain ; but this fact, which has at first sight a startling appear- ance, is easily explained. Wine is in much less general use in the United States than in Britain ; but the whole people, the mass, are in such easy circumstances, and the price of spirits of all kinds is so cheap, that all, without exception, can afford to use spirits daily as they like. Brandy and water is the favourite liquor of the male population, but they take it, though frequently, in such small quantity at a time, that they are rarely in- toxicated. Still the habit is a bad one, and prejudicial to health ; but the way to get rid of it is, I am per- suaded, not by preaching a crusade against all fer- mented liquors, but by recommending such Kquors as are considered salutary by Dr. Rush, for obtaining which, the finances of every one in the United States, who is industrious, are suflScient. HELLGATE. 503 While we remained at Hellgate during the hot weather, when a large quantity of liquid is almost in- dispensable, I found a small mixture of rum with water perfectly wholesome, and I saw it used in the same way by many people in the neighbourhood, and have no doubt of its not being prejudicial to health when taken in moderate quantity. Hellgate, on the east side of which Mr. Anderson's house is very beautifully situated, on an eminence, is a narrow strait on the East River or Long Island Sound, as already mentioned, about half a dozen miles from New York, in which, when the water is low, there are numerous whirlpools or eddies, occasioned by great masses of rock, which leave only a very contracted pas- sage for vessels. A very experienced pilot is requisite for sailing vessels, which, if they get into the eddies, are twirled about in a most extraordinary manner. Washington Irving describes Hellgate " to be as pacific at low water as any other stream. As the tide rises, it begins to fret ; at half-tide it rages and roars, as if bellowing for more water ; but when the tide is full, it relapses again into quiet, and for a time seems almost to sleep as soundly as an alderman after dinner. " It may be compared to an inveterate hard drinker, who is a peaceable fellow enough when he has no liquor at all, or when he has his skinful; but when half-seas-over, plays the very devil." The borders of the sound, all about this strait, are broken and indented by rocky nooks, and the bay to- wards the city is so beautifully shaped, and the views 504 HORTICULTURE. on both sides so interesting, that the shores and neigh- bourhood of the bay are adorned with a greater number of handsome, and some of them expensive villas, than any place where I have been, either in this neighbour- hood or elsewhere in the United States. There is no- where, even upon the Thames, in the same space ol ground, a greater number of country houses or villas. Mr. Anderson's house is in the highest situation, above and close to the whirlpool, and the views from it are at all times fine, and while the shipping are dancing through Hellgate frequently very amusing. The farms in the neighbourhood are all cultivated ; but having been long accustomed to the plough, and the soil very different from that of Illinois, the appli- cation of manure is indispensably necessary. The con- tiguity to New York insures tolerable prices for green crops, and a great part of the land is devoted to them. Even the Lima bean is cultivated in the field. The varieties of the bean in an American garden last during great part of the summer ; but the heat of the sun is too great for green peas after the first or second crop. Neither do artichokes thrive well, nor cauliflowers, nor brocoli ; but the tomata is excellent and abundant, and pumpkins and vegetable marrow are plentiful. Asparagus, too, is often culti- vated on the field in Long Island, and is nowhere of better quality. It is sometimes sold in the New York market at twopence sterling per hundred. Upon the whole I think the vegetables for the table in Great Britain are fully equal in variety and quality to those in FRUITS — GRAPES — MELONS. 505 the United States, but they are much higher in price. A great distinction is to be drawn between the two countries respecting the article fruit. The Americans have peaches, melons, apples, strawberries, and cherries, all of excellent quality, and in such abundance, that there is not a single individual in the whole country, even the very shoe-black, whose funds do not enable him to have as much of these fruits as he likes at the proper season. There are also abundance of walnuts, and of various sorts of nuts for every body. In many places, but not universally, there are plums, pears, and grapes. The plums, so far as I have seen them, are not equal to the English, — the pears, especially the sickle pear of Penn- sylvania, excellent, — the grapes quite inferior to those in the open air in France, or in the south of England ; but the great difference between the countries exists in the abundance of the first-mentioned fruits for the whole mass of the people. Peaches are raised on standard trees only, and, though universally good, are not supe- rior in flavour to those raised on garden walls, or in hot-houses in England. They are reckoned better at Philadelphia than any where else. Melons are con- sidered best flavoured in Virginia and the Carolinas ; but they are so plentiful at New York, that there is hardly a labourer who does not partake of water- melon every day during the hot season. Apples are as good in the neighbourhood of New York as anywhere. Apricots, and nectarines, and figs, are hardly ever seen. It is therefore clear, that a man of wealth may obtain greater variety of fine fruit in England than in the VOL, II. z 506 CLERGY. United States, the melon and apple alone being inferior to the melons and apples of America ; but all in this country have plenty of excellent fruit. There is not, properly speaking, a fruit shop in any of the great cities in the United States. The Newton pippin is the apple most prized. It was originally observed 150 years ago at Newton, a nice village in Long Island, about five miles from Mr. Anderson's house, and where, while we resided with him, we attended divine worship every Sunday. Mr. Anderson had a four-seated-carriage and a pair of capital brown horses, which allowed no com- petitors to pass them. This is generally a matter very much attended to in a great part of the United States, that one carriage should not pass another upon the road. Mr. Schoonemaker is the minister of the Dutch re- formed church at Newton, a very respectable person, who had succeeded his father in the ministry of the §ame church. The Dutch clergy in the neighbourhood of New York still retain the original appellation of Dominie, and Mr. Schoonemaker was, I observed, ge- nerally called in conversation the Dominie, or Dominie Schoonemaker. There was also an Episcopalian church at Newton, and the number of carriages waiting during the period of divine service at this trifling village of 600 or 800 people, was probably as great as at all the churches in Edinburgh put together ; but no one coming from the country to the village ever thinks of walking. I remember mentioning to a lady in Long Island, how different were the habits of people in Great Britain in this respect, on which she remarked, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 507 that before she had children she used to walk, but upon questioning her how far she used to walk, she admitted that a mile was her limit. Mr. Anderson, our landlord, was a deacon of Mr. Schoonemaker's church ; he also was one of those who took charge of a Sabbath School at Hallet's Cove, a small village at the distance of about a quarter of a mile from his house. There was family worship every Sunday evening in Mr. Anderson's house, and the children of the Sabbath School, with their teacher, and some of those persons, both male and female, who took charge of them, came to Mr. Anderson's house on a week day evening once a-month. The children were examined by their teacher and by Mr. Anderson, and after the examination was over, a passage in the Bible was read, — a hymn or psalm was sung, — and a prayer was offered up, either by Mr. Anderson, or by some of those who accompanied the children. There is a per- fectly good understanding among the different classes of religious persons in this country. No superiority is claimed, or allowed by one over another. I remember on one of these occasions in Mr. Anderson's house, that Mr. Hallett, a blind gentleman, an Episcopalian, prayed with great fluency and propriety. Mr. Cook, the teacher of the school was a Presbyterian, so there were here three sects, as we call them, joined together in one good work. I have reason to believe that such meetings as those I have now mentioned are common, both in this and many other parts of the United States, among those persons who profess the Christian reli- z2 508 CONVIVIAL MEETINGS. gion, not because it is the national religion, but because they believe it. We accompanied our landlord and landlady on seve- ral visits to the neighbouring proprietors and farmers. There seemed to me to be a great deal of hospitality among them, without any ostentation or ceremony. It was at tea-parties, chiefly at an early hour in the afternoon, that any preparation was made, and then it chiefly consisted of the addition of a variety of cakes, for which the Dutch, from whom the Long Island farmers are chiefly descended, are celebrated, such as wafiles, crullers, dough-nuts, sweet-cakes, and ginger- bread, with sliced ham, and preserves of all kinds. Wines and spirits were generally on the side table, of which all partook at pleasure. Draughts and backgammon were sometimes intro- duced. The never-failing tobacco-pipe or cigar accom- panied convivial meetings of this description, and did not tend to increase their enjoyment to me. The greetings of the Dutch families are very aflfectionate. They generally kiss each other at meetings, and even the same sort of friendly salutation is extended to a stranger lady, when they become acquainted with her. Some of the farmers in Long Island are wealthy, but in general they are contented to live comfortably and hos- pitably with all the ordinary necessaries and comforts of life, without show, and without seeming to care so much as other classes of people in this country generally do about money. The wages of a labourer, while I was in Long Island, were generally a dollar a-day, exclu- 6 CERTIFICATES OF CHARACTER. 509 sive of board, and a quantity of spirits, if he was em- ployed in mowing grass, reaping grain with the cradle- scythe, or in any severe work. Growing oats were bought by Mr. Anderson from a neighbouring farmer at five dollars and a-half per acre ; he got them cut and bound for a dollar and a-half per acre. Oats yield from twenty-five to thirty bushels per acre. The price is about one shilling and threepence sterling per bushel. I had not been long at Mr. Anderson's when I was applied to by a good-looking young man, from the west of Fifeshire in Scotland, whose name was John Bos- well, to give him, or procure for him, a letter of recom- mendation to a ship-builder in New York. I had never seen him before, so far as I knew ; but I had been ac- quainted with his father, a very respectable person in his line, farm overseer to the late Mr. Mutter of Ann- field, near Dunfermline. Boswell's story was this: — He had been bred a ship-carpenter, had married, and was the father of two children. Finding his wages of about 2s. or 2s. 6d. per day insufiicient for the main- tenance of his family, he commenced being toll-keeper, but did not succeed in his new profession. He had, therefore, brought his wife and children to New York, being possessed only of a small sum of money, and of some furniture, a fowling-piece, &:c. He had made application, immediately on his arrival at New York, some weeks previously, for employment, but no one would receive him into his ship-building yard, in which there is much valuable property, without attestations of z 3 510 CERTIFICATES OF CHARACTER his character for honesty and sobriety. He accidentally heard of my being in the neighbourhood, and applied to me to give him such attestations. Knowing nothing previously of this young man but what I have men- tioned, it was impossible for me to comply with his request, but I gave him a letter to a gentleman in the neighbourhood of New York, who might, I thought, be of use to him, stating exactly what I knew of him. Workmen in the ship-building line were at this period plentiful, and months followed before any opening oc- curred for employing Boswell. In the mean time his finances were exhausted, and he had been obliged to part with some of the property he had brought with him. He was beginning to wish himself well home again when an offer of work was made to him. I happened to be at New York on the very day when this occurred, and remember well the pleasure which beamed in his eyes when he told me of the offer, and asked me what wages he should propose. My advice to him was to leave that matter to his master, after he had been at work for a week, and showed what he could do. The next time I saw Boswell he was in the receipt of two dollars a day for ten hours' work, and of as much more at the same rate per hour, if he chose to be longer employed. His gains, — for he told me that he could live at half the expense which it cost him to live in Scotland, although his family here had animal food three times a day, — soon enabled him to have a comfortable well-furnished house, where I again and again saw his family quite happy, and in NECESSARY FOR EMIGRANTS. 511 which he had boarders. I sent for him to Hobokeii, where I was then living, two or three days before I left New York in the month of April, 1831, that I might learn if I could be the bearer of any communi- cation to his friends in Scotland. He came over to me ^vith a better suit of clothes on his back and a better umbrella, than, I believe, I myself possessed. He only wished, he said, his friends to know how well settled he now was. He had earned on the preceding day almost as much as he could earn at the same business in Scotland in a week; and he hoped in less than twenty years to make a fortune, and return to Scot- land. I have mentioned the whole particulars of this case, because it contains information which may be useful to many. I had reason to know, before I left New York, that Boswell was an excellent workman, — industrious, honest, and sober. He told me that he never drank much whisky in his own country, and that he would take far less of it at New York, where, though it was much cheaper, it was of very inferior quality. Certifi- cates of good character are very requisite for all emi- grants to the United States, but especially for mecha- nics and labourers ; and they should either be pro- cured from magistrates or from clergymen, no matter to what sect they belong. I need not add, that it is most important to obtain recommendations, where they can be got, to some respectable individual at the port where the emigrants first of all arrive, z 4 512 HYDE PARK, CHAPTER XXXV. Visit to Hyde Park, Dr. Hosack's magnificent Seat on the Hudson, which every Foreigner should see — Dr. Hosack's manner of Ad- dressing his Servants — Sailing Vessels on the Hudson — Captain Hall's Declaration, that North America is an Unpicturesque Coun- try — Captain Hall at no pains to see the most Interesting Scenes within his reach — Staten Island, Hellgate, Mount Vernon, &c. — Mrs. Trollope's authority directly opposed to Captain Hall's — Rea- sons why she must be in the right — Works of Nature on a magnifi- cent scale on this Continent — Flushing in Long Island — Botanic Garden and Nurseries there — Protected by Sir William Erskine during the Revolution — Price of Evergreen Shrubs there — Camp- Meeting of People of Colour near Flushing — Price of Peaches and Melons — Mr. Poinsett, late Minister of the United States to Mexico — His Observation respecting the Eastern States of America — Mr, Ferrall's Charge against Mr. Poinsett unfounded — Extract from one of Mr. Poinsett's Diplomatic Papers — Mr. Ferrall's and Mr. Alex- ander Baring's views as to the acquisition of Texas by the United States — Mr. Ferrall's opinion, that Animosity towards Britain pervades America, unfounded — The right of Search, the only point of contention, and which should be arranged in quiet times — Out- rages committed by British Ships of War, as detailed in the Eleventh Chapter of Captain Hall's Fragments, which every Englishman ought to read — The British Name a Passport in the United State — Return to Mr. Van Boskerck's Boarding- House at Hoboken — Celebration of the French Revolution of July 1830, at New York, on 26th November 1830 — Order and Decorum of the People, the Pro- cession consisting of above one hundred thousand Persons — No Dis- turbance — No Accident — Prodigious Display of Individual Wealth DR. hosack's seat. 513 — Knthusiastn of the People — Erroneous notion of Mrs. Trollope, that the People are indifferent as to the Political Condition of any Nation but their own — Rejoicings in the United States on account of Catholic Emancipation in Britain — Remarkable Persons attend- ing the Procession, Mr. Munroe, Enoch Crosby, Anthony Gleen* David Williams — Severe Winter — Sleighing at New York — Young Burke at the Park Theatre — No grounds for Mrs. TroUope's Re- mark as to the Rudeness of Persons in the Theatre — Illness and Death of Mr. Van Boskerck, our Landlord, at Hoboken — Details of his Funeral — Voyage from New York to London in the President Packet Ship — Severe Storm on the 24th and 25th April — Hint not to prefer a Ship on her First Voyage — Contrary Winds — Made the Voyage from I7th April to 25th May, when we landed at Deal. Summer and Autumn q/lSSO, and Winter o/*1830, and Spring of 1831, till 25th May. I LEFT Mr. Anderson's house for two or three days in the beginning of July to pay a visit, which I had long projected, to Dr. Hosack, at his magnificent seat on the Hudson, where I was most kindly received by himself and his amiable family. He lives very much in the same style as an English country gentleman of large fortune, possessing every luxury and comfort which wealth, and the knowledge how to make use of it, can bestow. His mansion-house is large, elegant, and well-furnished ; but it is not my object to describe a place laid out and embellished as a fine residence and fine grounds in England are, or to tell the readers of these pages of the size of Dr. Hosack's rooms, of his eating or drawing-rooms, his excellent library, his billiard room, or his conservatory, of his potters' lodges, his temples, his bridges, his garden, and the other et ccsteras of this truly delightful domain which he has adorned, z5 514 DR. hosack's grounds. and was, at the time when I was there, adorning with great taste and skill, and without much regard to cost. The splendid terrace over the most beautiful of all beautiful rivers, admired the more the oftener seen, renders Hyde Park, as I think, the most enviable of all the desirable situations on the river. Dr. Hosack has now retired from practice as the first physician in New York. His activity is however unabated. He takes great delight in superintending his numerous workmen, and the management of his place and farm. He has 800 acres adjoining to his house, all, I believe, in his own occupation, and is taking great pains to ob- tain the best breeds of cattle and sheep. I saw many good specimens of the Tees-Water breed. His park contains deer and a few Cachmere goats, which are particularly handsome. In short, this is quite a show place, in the English sense of the word, which every foreigner should see on its own account, — on account of the great beauty of the natural terrace above the river, and the charming and varied views from it, — as well as on account of the art with which the original features of the scene are advantageously displayed. Persons in the situation of Dr. Hosack's family differ so little in their mode of living and manners in the United States, in Britain, and on the continent of Eu- rope, that there are no striking points of discrimination. In the United States all go to bed earlier and rise earlier, and, of course, breakfast and dine at earlier hours. I neither saw a tobacco-pipe nor a cigar while I remained at Dr. Hosack's house, nor were spirituous DR. hosack's grounds, 515 liquors of any kind upon the table. The greatest hos- pitality was shown me ; and I have cause to regret that circumstances prevented me Irom availing myself of it frequently. I observed that Dr. Hosack, in speaking to his work- men, never addressed them by their Christian name alone, but always in this way : " Mr. Thomas, be so good as do this," or " Mr. Charles, be so good as do that." It would not be easy for an Englishman of rank or great fortune to form his mouth so as to give his or- ders to his servants in similar terms; but the more equal diffusion of wealth, and greater equality of condition, which prevail in this country, put the sort of submission of inferiors to superiors, to which we in Britain are ac- customed, quite out of the question in the free part of the United States, and undoubtedly render the mass of the people far more comfortable, contented, and happy. The saiHng vessels on the Hudson are extremely beautiful in form. They have no foresail, — merely a jib and main -sheet, bleached as white as a table-cloth, by the sun. The Americans may perhaps with some j ustice be accused of want of taste, in the sense in which the British generally understand the term. But I suspect, that in Naval architecture, in the form of their ships, and boats of all descriptions, in their adaptation for sailing with speed, and their clean and handsome appearance, we ought to admit that they excel all other nations. Dr. Hosack's grounds are so very charming, and the views from them so picturesque and striking, that I z6 516 AMERICAN SCENERY. cannot help wishing that Captain Hall had seen Hyde Park Terrace before he declared ** North America to be the most unpicturesque country to be found any where." This seems to me a most rash assertion, proceeding from an individual who merely had time to traverse the vast territory of the United States, about as large as Europe, in one line to the south and one to the north. What should we think of an American traveller who had journeyed from London to Newcastle by the east, and had returned from Carlisle by the west road, declaring Eng- land to be an unpicturesque country ! and yet he would be far better entitled in that case, to deliver an autho- ritative opinion on the subject of England, than the gal- lant officer on the subject of America; forhe would have travelled in two directions through England, which is not so considerable in point of extent, as several of the separate States of America. But Captain Hall had, in fact, admitted himself to be incapable of giving an opinion upon this subject worthy of any consideration. He tells us in one part of his book, that " there are few things so * fatiguing as fine scenery,'" and in another, that " the most picturesque object in every traveller's landscape is the Post Office," — he acted accordingly ; and has confirmed the truth of his remarks, so far as he is concerned, by omitting to take the trouble to visit the most interesting scenes easily and daily for a long period within his reach. It does not appear from his book, that he ever was on Staten Island to enjoy the views from it, though the most diversified and beautiful in America, and daily in his power. He passed through Hellgate in AMERICAN SCENERY. 517 the dark, and never returned to see it, though one of the most singular scenes of that description in the world, within much less than an hour's drive of New York ; and although he was long at Washington, he left it without seeing Mount Vernon, which was within an hour and a-half's drive of him, because, as he states, the steam-boat did not pass the place at a convenient hour. It would have been absurd to point out these omis- sions, which are merely a sample of many that might be noticed, were it not to prove, that, notwithstanding Captain Hall's opinion is expressed in terms so peremp- tory, it is not entitled to any weight. Well might Mrs. Trollope ask, " Who is it that says America is not picturesque ? I forget, but surely he never tra- velled from Utica to Albany." This is a severe question, for Captain Hall travelled in the very same line as Mrs. Trollope. " I have often confessed, (Mrs. Trollope adds,) my conscious incapacity for description, but I must repeat it here, to apologize for my passing so dully through this matchless valley of the Mohawk. I would that some British artist, strong in youthful daring, would take my word for it, and pass over for a summer pilgrimage through the State of New York. In very earnest he would do wisely, for I question, if the world could furnish within the same space ^ and with equal facility of access^ so many subjects for Ms pencil. Mountains, forests, rocks, lakes, rivers, cataracts, all in perfection. But he must be bold as a lion in colour- ing, or he will make nothing of it." Think of the magnificence of the rivers of the west- ern part of the United States, — of the Hudson, the 518 AMERICAN SCENERY. most lovely of all rivers, — of tlie scenery of the Alle- ghanies, running from one end of this great Continent to the other, in all variety of shapes, and with nmne- rous offsets or spurs to the right and left, covering 1 20,000 square miles, and then judge v^hether the sen- timents of Captain Hall or Mrs. Trollope, for these great doctors differ toto coelo on this question, are the best founded. The truth is, that all the v^^orks of na- ture on the continent of America are on a magnificent scale ; mountains, rivers, lakes, valleys, and plains. British travellers, indeed, cannot fail to miss the smooth pastures, the beautiful and richly dressed fields, the hedges, and the dropping trees, of England. But, because the United States are not in the ad- vanced state of cultivation of our own country, and because great plains, one of the grand features of this continent, must sometimes be passed over, for a tra- veller to forget its splendid, striking, and most pecu- liar features, and, in one line, pass sentence of con- demnation on the whole country, as unpicturesque, is utterly absurd. Such a mode of proceeding only proves that the traveller never saw it. Flushing is a handsome village in Long Island, a few miles from Mr. Anderson's house, at the head of Flushing Bay, between which and New York steam- boats were regularly passing Hellgate. Here are a botanical garden and nurseries belonging to Messrs. Prince, whose family formed the establishment above eighty years ago. It is the greatest of this description in the United States. Mr. Prince, Senior, is a scientific person, of most agreeable manners, and makes every BOTANIC GARDEN. 519 one welcome to see his fine collection. The extent of the grounds is about forty acres; and they contain 10,000 species of trees and plants. There are about 30,000 plants in pots in the hot-houses. About forty labourers are constantly employed. Mr. Prince has paid great attention to the vine, and has about 100,000 of his own rearing. Mr. Prince's family (his father was then alive) were very much afraid, he told me, that their grounds would' be ravaged by the British soldiery when they were in possession of Long Island, during the war of the revolution. They applied to the British general. Sir William Erskine, for protection. He gave them a corporal's guard, which remained with them, and no injury of any kind was done. Mr. Prince is at present getting from Scotland the seed of the larch tree, and the seed of the mountain ash tree. Neither of those trees thrive so well in this country as in Scotland. The larch tree only thrives in a moist situation in the United States. The price of orna- mental evergreens is immense at this nursery. They can only be raised in hot-houses, as the severity of the winter frost does not allow them to live out of doors. The most common privet, Arbor vitcs, or whin, costs half a dollar per plant. English laurel, Portugal laurel, English evergreen oak or holly, cost a dollar for each plant. The variety of magnolias in this nur- sery is prodigious. There was a camp-meeting of people of colour near Flushing, on the 29th August. I accompanied a great body of them on Sunday morning from Hallet's Cove 1 520 CAMP-MEETING. to Flushing. Peaches and melons were at this time very abundant; and there were great quantities of them in the boat for the use of the people. Peaches were at this period selling for ninepence a bushel, and musk melons, of delicious flavour, at a penny each. There were about 450 people in the steam-boat, the Linnaeus, of seventy tons, on our trip to Flushing ; and it re- quired nice management to keep the people properly balanced on each side of the upper deck. There might be about 3000 or 4000 people at this meeting. The preachers were all men of colour ; one of them, though speaking the broken English, which is universal among the coloured people, possessed a great deal of natural eloquence, and was not at all de- ficient either in matter or manner. There were at this meeting a great many people from New York, who came in carriages by land ; indeed, the multitude and variety of carriages were as great as at most race courses in Britain. Perfect order was maintained during the service, both in the forenoon and after- noon ; but the contiguity of the village, where spirits and fermented liquors of all kinds may be procured, seemed to me unfavourable for that strict preservation of decorum which is indispensably necessary at such meetings. I left the ground w^hen the afternoon ser- vice was finished. At this period, I had the good fortune to become acquainted at New York with Mr. Poinsett, who had lately returned from Mexico, where he was minister from the United States for some years. Mr. Poinsett MR. POINSETT. 521 is one of the most accomplished men whom I have met in the United States. He was originally educated at Edinburgh, with a view to the medical profession, but having afterwards succeeded to a large fortune, he became a diplomatist. The truth of an observation of his, when I was expressing to him the admiration with which I had beheld the extent, the fertility, and the internal water communication of the western part of America, struck me very much. He said, " that he now looked upon the eastern States of America," that is, the whole country to the eastward of the Alleghany Mountains, " merely as the portico to the great terri- tory of the United States." Mr. Ferrallis, I observe, guilty of a popular mistake, in accusing Mr. Poinsett of interfering when he was minister, in the internal concerns of Mexico. This charge was, long before Mr. Poinsett left Mexico, es- tablished to be groundless. Mr. Poinsett was recalled, not until after his conduct had been fully approved of by president Jackson's cabinet in a public document. Before quitting Mexico, he presented a most able and spirited reply to the attack which had been made upon him by the State of Mexico, the conclusion of which is in these terms, and is well worthy of being preserved, if it were only on account of the comprehensive state- ment which it contains of the blessings enjoyed by the people of the United States. " The undersigned cannot take leave of the Mexican people, to whom he directs his speech for the last time, without exhorting them to remove from their minds all suspicion against foreign nations which proffer friendship. The deceit, 522 ADDRESS TO THE MEXICANS. concealment, and intrigue, which characterized di- plomacy in ancient times, are no longer practised by- civilized nations ; and although weak and evil-minded men may interpret the simplest actions and the most honourable conduct, as resulting from dark and mys- terious purposes, which have for their object the injury of this country, the Mexican people may rely upon it, that there is no nation, either American or European, which degrades itself by such tricks. In fine, the undersigned exhorts them to believe, that their neigh- bours, the United States of America, have always re- garded them with sympathy, and with the most lively interest, and that it is utterly impossible they can ever entertain the slightest jealousy in respect to the pros- perity of Mexico, " The United States are in a state of progressive aggrandisement, which has no example in the history of the world. Its federal union, instead of dissolving, as had been predicted by European politicians, has strengthened with the progress of time. Its commerce rivals that of the most ancient nations of Europe. Its internal communications, its rivers, canals, and roads, are animated with the commerce of a rich, and indus- trious country. Its manufactures are in the most flou- rishing condition. Its fortifications, its army and ma- rine, can compare with those of any in the world. Its revenue is about sufficient, without imposing internal duties; and, finally, the mass of its population is better educated, and more elevated in its moral and intellectual character, than that of any other. If such is its poli- tical condition, is it possible that its progress can be ADDRESS TO THE MEXICANS. 523 retarded, or its aggrandizement curtailed, by the rising prosperity of Mexico ? Instead of entertain- ing suspicions or distrust of their neighbours, the Mexican people ought to search out the circumstances to which this state of singular prosperity is to be attributed, and adopt them as the most noble means of rivalry. " They will be found to consist in liberal institu- tions, wisely and faithfully administered; a rigid adhe- sion to the constitution, without which one branch of the government usurps the prerogatives of another ; a perfect submission to the will of the people constitu- tionally expressed ; an universal desire to promote the common good, and an intimate union for this end ; a strict and impartial administration of justice; the liberty which every one enjoys of employing his time and means in improving his condition, without the inter- ference of the government ; the equality of all before the law ; direct and purely popular elections, which elevate the character of the mass of the people ; and lastly, the means of education abundant and cheap, which make the people capable of governing them- selves. "With a spirit of sincere friendship towards the Mexican people, which can never be changed by the insults or persecutions of a faction, the undersigned exhorts them to be united, and to practise those virtues which have elevated the United States to the rank which they hold among the nations of the earth." Mr. Ferrall, in the same part of his work, recom- 524 ANIMOSITY TOWARDS BRITAIN. mends to the British government to be alive to the in- terests of the nation, and to be prepared to resist the efforts of the Americans to get possession of the pro- vince of Texas, which lies projected into the territory of the United States. Mr. Alexander Baring, if I re- member right, two or three years ago, made some re- marks to the same purpose in the House of Commons. To me it appears perfectly ludicrous, that we should think of attempting any interference in such a question. We might as well endeavour to prevent the Missis- sippi from reaching the Gulf of Mexico, as do any thing with a view to check the immensity of the grow- ing power of the great nation of the west ; and whe- ther it consists of one State more or less, what does it signify to us ? Her power must be colossal ; but when did the go- vernment of the United States interfere, with a view to. prevent the increase of the British territories in Hindostan, in the Mediterranean, or in any part of the world ? Mr. Ferrall seems also to think, that although the Americans allow foreigners in their country to act as (he says) they like, and to laugh at their habits if they choose, a deadly animosity pervades America to- wards Great Britain. My impression from all that I saw and heard while I was in the United States, is the very reverse. I am most thoroughly convinced, that there is no people with whom the American govern- ment and nation desire so much to be at peace, and on friendly terms, as the British ; that the American RIGHT OF SEARCIIu 525 government desires no extension of territory from the British, either in Canada or in the West Indies ; and that the single point, with the exception of the naviga- tion of the St. Lawrence, already alluded to, on which it is at all likely that any collision will take place be- tween the two nations, is that connected with our right to search their ships. That question, which was left undiscussed, and for future consideration, by the treaty of Ghent, ought to be present to the consideration and deliberations of the statesmen of both countries in these peaceful times, so that some satisfactory arrange- ment may, if possible, be adopted. The Americans are acquiring a pow^erful navy. They are excellent sea- men, and have already shown us that they can fight as well as ourselves. Let any unprejudiced person read the eleventh chapter of Captain Basil Hall's "Frag- ments of Voyages and Travels," entitled " Blockading a Neutral Port," and then say, whether, if he was the citizen of a free country, he would not be ready to give half his daily bread, were it necessary, to support a government that would, by force of arms, put a stop to such atrocities as Captain Hall bears witness that the British, by virtue of their right of search, commit- ted on the Americans, in time of peace, in the sight of New York, the greatest city in the American Union, — the second commercial city in the world. It would appear, by Captain Hall's narrative, that the Ameri- cans had good reason to go to war with us in 1804, although they delayed it until 1812 or 1813. Captain Hall, then an ofiicer on board the British ship-of-war 526 CAPTAIN hall's account Leander, was for a long time in the year 1804 lying off New York, when the Leander and Cambrian block- aded that port. The material part of his statement is in these words ; — " Every morning at day-break, during our stay off New York, we set about arresting the progress of all the vessels we saw — firing off guns to the right and left, to make every ship that was run- ning in, heave to, or wait until we had leisure to send a boat on board, * to see,' in our lingo, * what she was made of.' I have frequently known a dozen, and some- times a couple of dozen ships, lying a league or two off the port, losing their fair wind, their tide, and, worse than all, their market for many hours, sometimes the whole day, before our search was completed. I am not now inquiring whether all this was right, or whether it was even necessary, but simply describing the fact. " There was another circumstance connected with our proceedings at that time, of still more serious an- noyance to the Americans and one requiring in its discussion still greater delicacy of handling. I shall not indeed presume to enter upon its very difficult me- rits, but, as before, content myself with merely describ- ing the circumstances. I need hardly mention that I allude to the impressment of those seamen whom we found serving on board American merchant ships, but who were known to be, or supposed to he, British sub- jects. What the strict letter of the law is now I am not aware, — I mean what would be considered the * law of usage' in the event of another war. But, I presume, we should act pretty much as we did before, OF A NEUTRAL BLOCKADE. 527 and, consequently, incur the risk, whatever that might be, of converting a neutral into an enemy, rather than agree to relinquish our right to command the services of any British-born subject, w^henever we found him on the high seas. At all events, it seems quite clear, that while we can hold it we will never give up the right of search, or the right of impressment. " We may and ought certainly to exercise so disa- greeable a power with such temper and discretion as not to provoke the enmity of any friendly nation. " But at the time I speak of, and on board our good old ship the Leander, whose name I was grieved, but not surprised, to find, was still held in detestation three or four-and-twenty years afterwards at New York, I am sorry to own that we had not much of this discretion in our proceedings, or, rather, we had not enough consideration for the feelings of the people we were dealing with. " To place the full annoyance of these matters in a light to be viewed fairly by English people, let us sup- pose that the American and French were to go to war, and that England for once remained neutral, — an odd case, I admit, but one which might happen. Next, suppose that a couple of French frigates were chased into Liverpool, and that an American squadron sta- tioned itself off that harbour to watch the motions of these French ships, which had claimed the protection of our neutrality, and were accordingly received into * our waters,' — I ask, * would this blockade of Liver- pool be agreeable to us or not ? ' 528 CAPTAIN hall's account ^' Conceive, for instance, that the American squad- ron employed to blockade the French ships in Liver- pool were short-handed, but, from being in daily expec- tation to bring their enemy to action, it had become an object of great consequence with them to gel their ships manned. And suppose, likewise, that it were perfectly notorious to all parties, that, on board every English ship arriving or sailing from the port in question there were several American citizens, but calling themselves English, and having in their possession ' protections' or certificates to that effect, sworn to in regular form, but well known to be false, and such as might be bought for four shillings and sixpence any day. Things being in this situation, if the American men-of-war off the English port were then to fire at and stop every ship, and, besides overhauling her papers and cargo, were to take out any seamen to work their own guns withal, whom they had reason, or supposed, or said they had reason, to consider American citizens, or whose country they guessed from dialect or appearance, I wish to know with what degree of patience this would be submitted to on the Exchange at Liverpool, or elsewhere in England ? " It signifies nothing to say that such a case could not occur, as the Americans do not impress seamen ; for all who have attended to such subjects know well enough, that if they come to be engaged in a protracted war, especially at a distance from their own shores, there is no other possible way by which they can keep their armed ships manned. This, however, is not the OF A NEUTRAL BLOCKADE. 529 point now in discussion. I merely wish to put the general case broadly before our own eyes, in order that we may bring it distinctly home to ourselves, and then see whether or not the Americans had reason for their indignation. " The truth is, they had very good reason to be annoyed; and, if the guiding practical maxim amongst nations be, that * might makes right,' as I conceive it always has been, and ever will be, so long as powder and shot exist, with money to back them, and energy to wield them, then we really cannot pretend to find fault with the Americans because they took advantage, or tried to take advantage, of that moment when our 'right' being the same, our * might' appeared to be waning. I allude to their declaring war against us in 1812, when we, fighting single-handed in the cause of Eu- ropean independence, were so hard-pressed by Napo- leon and others. For the Americans to have taken an earlier share in the struggle against us, when we were lords of the ascendant, would have been the extremity of Quixotism. But when John Bull was pressed on all hands by numbers, and his strength exhausted by long contests, albeit in the cause of liberty, which his bro- ther Jonathan professes to adore, he, Jonathan, would have been a fool, — a character which he certainly never was accused of enacting, — if he had not taken advantage of the moment to try his strength. The provocation we gave was certainly considerable, and the retort, it must be owned, very dexterously managed. The re- sult, I trust, is, that things are on a better footing than VOL. II. A a 530 CAPTAIN hall's ACCOUNT before ; both parties have learned civihty and caution, and they will not agree the worse on that account. To forgive and forget is the old English maxim, as our friends well know. Let them imitate us in this respect, and they will be all the happier, and not one whit less powerful. " In putting a parallel case to ours off New York, and supposing Liverpool to be blockaded by the Ame- ricans on the ground of their watching some French ships, I omitted to throw in one item, which is neces- sary to complete the parallel, and make it fit the one from which it is drawn. " Suppose the blockading American ships offLiver- pool, in firing a shot a head of a vessel they wished to examine, had accidentally hit, not that vessel, but a small coaster, so far beyond her that she was not even noticed by the blockading ships ; and suppose, further, this unlucky chance-shot to have killed one of the crew on hoard the said coaster ^ the vessel would of course, proceed immediately to Liverpool with the body of their slaughtered countryman ; and in fairness it may be asked, what would have been the effect of such a spectacle on the population of England ? more parti- cularly if such an event had occurred at the moment of a general election, when party politics, raging on this very question of foreign interference, was at its height. " This is not an imaginary case ; for it actually oc- curred in 1804, when we were blockading the French frigates in New York. A casual shot from the Leander hit an unfortunate sloop's main-boom; and thehrokenspar OF A NEUTRAL BLOCKADE. 531 striking the mate, John Pierce hy name, killed him in- stantly. The sloop sailed on to New York, where the mangled body, raised on a platform, was paraded through the streets, in order to augment the vehement indigna- tion, already at a high pitch, against the English. " Now, let us be candid to our rivals ; and ask our- selves, whether the Americans would have been worthy of our friendship, or even of our hostility, had they tamely submitted to indignities, which if passed upon ourselves, would have roused not only Liverpool, hut the whole country, into a passion of nationality ?" Let this question be arranged, and there is no risk from any animosity that the people of the United States bear to the British, either as a nation, or as individuals. The British name is a passport to all who travel in the United States, who conduct themselves as gentlemen, in the best sense of the word. On the 8th October, after the gay season at Hobo- ken was entirely at an end, we returned to Mr. Van Boskerck's boarding-house, which was more conve- niently situated for us, owing to its contiguity to New York. From this period until we left America in the following month of April, there never were more than two boarders in the house besides ourselves, so that it was almost a family party of friends, — and we felt quite at home in every respect. Soon after we returned to Hoboken, preparations commenced for celebrating at New York the French revolution of the preceding July on a grand scale. I witnessed the progress of the whole proceedings, and Aa2 5S2 CELEBRATION OF THE was present at the procession, which took place on the 26th November. The whole details differ so much from what takes place on similar occasions in this coun- try, that it may not be uninteresting to relate them. The first preparatory meeting was held by the work- ing men of the city of New York, who appointed a committee for one of each of the fourteen wards of the city, to prepare an address, and call a public meeting to congratulate " the glorious Parisian population on the happy result of their noble devotion to the cause of the liberties of mankind." On the 8th November, the committee increased their numbers from persons of all conditions in New York, to the number of nearly 300, and then, on the 12th November, a general meeting of the committee and of the citizens was held in the great hall at New York, called Tammany Hall, and Mr. Munroe, the late pre- sident of the United States, who happened to be then at New York, was called to the chair, and addressed the meeting. Resolutions were unanimously adopted, inviting the mayor and commonalty of the city of New York to participate in the festivities of the day, — invit- ing the natives of France to unite in the celebration, and directing the tri-coloured flag to be displayed from all the public places ; requesting the students of Co- lumbia College, with their president and professors, together with the scholars of the public schools, to join in the procession ; appointing a committee of seven persons to prepare an address to the French people, expressive of the feelings of the people of New York on their recent and glorious triumph ; appointing a FRENCH REVOLUTION OP JULY. 5SS committee of seven persons to select an orator on the occasion ; appointing a committee of seven persons to choose a grand marshal of the day, and a committee of j6.fty persons as a general executive committee of arrangements. Mr. Swartwout, collector of the customs at New York, was named marshal-in-chief, and he appointed twenty-one gentlemen as his aides-de-camp, all of whom were on horseback, in uniforms ordered for the occa- sion — the tri-coloured cockade and plume in their hats. Separate meetings were then held by the printers, the students of Columbia College, the daily journal printers, the natives of France resident in New York, the tailors, the coopers, apprentices, the butchers, the saddlers, the leather-dressers, the cordwainers, the painters, the bricklayers, plasterers, and slaters, the black and white-smiths, the house-carpenters, ship- joiners, sash and blind-makers, the steam-engine build- ers, stone-cutters, musical instrument makers, cabinet- makers, upholsterers, carvers and gilders, chair-makers, tobacconists, news-carriers, members of the fire depart- ment, Seamen's Society, pilots of the port, watermen, jewellers and silversmiths, comb-makers, gas-work- men, Hibernian Society, type-founders, bookbinders, car-men, apprentices, auctioneers' clerks, merchants' clerks, New York State artillery, infantry of the city and county of New York, and officers of the United States army resident in New York, all for forming their own arrangements as to joining the procession, and fixing on the uniform and badges they were to wear. I had a good station for seeing the procession, which 534 CELEBRATION OF THE certainly was one of the most extraordinary sights I ever witnessed. Although those engaged in the pro- cession were formed as widely as the street allowed, the whole line did not pass me for above three hours. A squadron of cavalry was in front ; then followed the marshal-in-chief, with four of his aides-de-camp, and a detachment of French gentlemen residing in New York, wearing the uniform of the French national guards. A barouche containing the ex-president Munroe, and Mr. Gallatin, formerly minister at St. James's, with the orator of the day, and reader of the address, succeeded. The original committee of fifteen came next in order, and all the committees of arrangements, wearing badges engraved for the purpose ; bands of music, — choristers belonging to the theatres, — the mayor and corporation, high sheriff and deputies, members of Congress and of the State Legislature ; judges of the United States and State courts, with their officers, foreign ministers, and consuls ; the New York Chamber of Commerce ; citizens of France, about 500 in number, all on horse- back, wearing the uniform of the national guards ; the trustees, faculty, and students of Columbia College, the trustees of the New York University ; trustees of the public and private schools ; members of the college of physicians and surgeons, and medical students ; mem- bers of the bar, and students of law ; officers of the army, navy, and marine corps ; printers and type-foun- ders, with appropriate banners and devices. The prin- ters had two platforms, each drawn by four horses, the first having two printing-presses, striking off an ode written for the occasion, and distributed among the FRENCH REVOLUTION OF JULY. 535 crowd, and the other having one of the newly invented printing-presses, throwing off various publications. The type-founders wore a tri-coloured cockade, and a badge with a likeness of Washington and La Fayette. The tailors followed the printers, — then the bakers, the coopers, and the butchers, about 300 in number, with white aprons, check sleeves, and tri-coloured cockades, all on horseback. The marshal and butchers, and his aides-de-camp, wore tri-coloured scarfs and sashes; the butchers had four cars, the first drawn by four oxen, contained the skin of an ox so admirably stuffed and set up, that I was for some time in doubt whether it was a living or a dead animal, — this car was adorned with tri-coloured ribbons, the star spangled banner, and the tri-colour of the French ; the second - drawn by four horses, led by blacks in oriental cos- tume, was occupied by a band of music in uniform ; the third contained two lambs, with four boys dressed in white ; the fourth car contained a variety of meats, and of persons employed in making sausages, &c. Next followed the hatters, the masons, house-carpen- ters, and joiners, and the smiths' society. The ma- nufacturers of steam-engines and boilers formed a re- markable part of the procession. On a car drawn by four horses, mounted on a stage richly decorated, came a steam-boat furnished with all its equipments, and thoroughly manned with officers and crew, cables, anchors, steering-wheel, bell and fuel, surmounted by flags, ornamented with a portrait of Louis Philippe, with the names inscribed of Fulton, Livingstone, and Allaire. The brass steam-engine was on the principle of 5S6 CELEBRATION OF THE the high and low pressure combined, such as are used in the towing-boats on the Hudson, and which were first applied by Mr. Allaire to that purpose. Though the cylinders of this little engine were only one and-a-half and three inches in diameter, its power is calculated to be nearly equal to half that of a horse. Then followed the painters, glaziers, stone-cutters, musical instrument makers, iron-founders, and cabinet-makers. The cabi- net-makers had a car drawn by four horses, on which was shown a variety of cabinet furniture. The patent sofa bedstead manufacturers followed, with a car con- taining a beautiful sofa bedstead. Then came the car- vers and gilders; and after them the coachmakers, saddlers, and harness-makers, who made a great dis- play. They had a band of music, a military charger, led by two grooms, a gentleman's saddle-horse led by a groom, a lady's saddle-horse led by a groom, and a great variety of horses and carriages. The bricklayers, plasterers, slaters, and tobacconists, followed. The tobacconists had a car, on which a number of persons were employed in manufacturing tobacco, snuff, and cigars, which were liberally distributed to the people. They were succeeded by the fire department, amount- ing to above 1 000 persons, and occupying more than a mile of the route. Forty-four engines were drawn, some of them by members, some of them by Negroes in Moorish attire, some of them by four horses, some of them on stages drawn by four horses. The pilots' society followed, preceded by a stage drawn by two horses, on the fore-part of which was placed, just shortening sail for a pilot, a French ship of war, with FRENCH REVOLUTION OF JULY. 537 a tri-coloured pendant flying at the main. Astern of the ship was a complete pilot-boat under full sail, with her yawl in readiness to put the pilot on board of the ship. The New York watermen followed the pilots, with a barge on a car drawn by four horses. Then came the chair-makers with a car, in which were men at work, who, during the procession, manufactured a maple cane seat chair, and presented it to Ex-president Munro. Then came the comb-makers, and the book- binders, in the centre of whose line a ponderous volume, entitled French Revolution, July 1830, was elevated on a stage drawn by horses. Then followed the New York gasmen, the Hibernian Benevolent Society, the Erin Friendly Society, with their harp drawn in a car. Then came the seamen and the cart- men ; the cart-men, in number about 300, in white frocks, all on horseback, wearing on the left breast a tri-coloured cockade, and a badge printed on white satin. The Cordwainers' Association followed, in the centre of which was a magnificent car drawn by four white horses, the front horses ridden by jockeys in tri- coloured dresses, the interior representing a shoe-shop in full operation, with young men and young ladies engaged in trimming shoes. The tanners, skinners, and morocco-dressers completed this part of the line, which was succeeded by all the infantry under arms. The whole of the societies engaged in this procession had appropriate flags, banners, and badges, and every one was well-clothed. The prayer and oration were delivered in Washington Square ; and the immense assemblage afterwards dispersed in the most quiet and 538 CELEBRATION OF THE orderly manner. The working-men had a great dinner in the masonic hall in the Broadway, and many of the citizens of the wards of the city dined together in public. The theatres were illuminated, and the even- ing spent in festivity. The circumstances which appeared to me to be the most singular and worthy of notice on this occasion were, — \st, The order and decorum with which so prodi- gious a mass of people were disciplined and formed into the procession, with as much regularity as if they had been drilled to it. The procession consisted of above one hundred thousand persons. The whole male population of New York and a considerable part of the population of the adjoining country were engaged in it. Few people were seen in the streets or at the windows on that day, but females or children. No disturbance of any kind took place, — not a single accident ; and, 2dlyf The prodigious display of individual wealth which the procession exhibited. There was no public subscription, Without which no procession of this kind could have been got up in Britain. No one was pre- sent who did not expend at least a couple of dollars in procuring necessary alterations of dress, the tri-colour, and the badge. Many persons were at an expense of eight and ten pounds sterling for dress alone. In the corporations and societies large sums were expended in their exhibitions and cars, the cost of which was de- frayed J^y the individual members. It seemed to be admitted, that according to the lowest calculation, an average of three dollars per man was hardly sufficient to have defrayed the whole expenditure. FRENCH REVOLUTION OF JULY. 539 The enthusiasm which was shown bj the people of New York on this occasion, and in similar rejoicings at Philadelphia, Boston, and the other great cities of the United States, afford a sufficient answer to a flip- pant ill-founded remark of Mrs. Trollope, that all the enthusiasm of America is concentrated to the one point of her own independence, and that the want of interest upon all subjects, not touching their own concerns, and indifference as to what people's political principles may be, is universal among the people of the United States. I may also refer to another fact, to which I have already alluded, to prove how erroneous are Mrs. Trol- lope's sentiments upon this subject. I was at Phila- delphia when the news of the emancipation of the Roman Catholics in Ireland arrived, and I do not believe that greater public joy was shown in London, on account of that long delayed triumph of justice and liberality, than in Philadelphia. These rejoicings were not confined to Philadelphia, but were general at New York, Charleston, Baltimore, &c. Many remarkable persons attended the procession at New York. 1^^, The Ex-President Monroe, who, since that period has died, as Adams and Jefferson, two of the ex- presidents, had done before him, on the anniversary of the declaration of American independence. He died on the 4th July, 1831. At the period of the procession, I was told the following remarkable instance of the strictness of his integrity by Mr. Gauvain, with whom I was acquainted at New York, and who was his French secretary for three or four years, while Mr. Munroe 540 CELEBRATION OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. was ambassador at Paris. Mr. Munroe was there dur- ing the most convulsed period of the French revolu- tion, when real property was of very little value. He bought a house for 50,000 livres, the price of which he paid by assignats to that amount, which only cost him 12,000 livres. Before he left Paris, the government had become established, and he could easily have got 100,000 livres for his house, but he did not think him- self entitled to receive a farthing upon his embassy, except his salary. He therefore called the gentlemen together who wished to have the house, among whom were Cambaceres, Merlin of Douay, and others, and desired them to raffle for the house at the price which it had originally cost him. Merlin of Douay was the successful competitor, and got the house. 2d, Enoch Crosby, the original Harvey Birch of Cooper's novel of the Spy, was also present. It was in the year 1776 that he became the spy of the neutral ground, and was of great use to Washington's army at White Plains. Crosby is eighty years old. Sdj Anthony Gleen of Saratoga county, who was also present, was an officer in the army during the re- volution. He saw much of the hardest fighting in the revolutionary war, and was the first person to raise the American standard, when the British evacuated New York, on the 25th November, 1783. 4^7i, David Williams, the only survivor of the cap- tors of the unfortunate Major Andre, was also present. The autumn of the year 1830 at New York was very delightful, nor was there any severe weather during the winter, until the beginning of January, when NEW YORK WINTER. 541 heavy snow-storm fell, and the frost became intense. Then the New York carnival began, and the beautiful light-looking sleighs made their appearance. The rapidity with which they are driven, at the rate of ten or twelve miles an hour, is very delightful, and so ex- citing, that the most delicate females of New York think an evening drive, of ten or twenty miles, even in the hardest frost, conducive to their amusement and health. Even the stages are taken off their frames, and mounted upon sleighs. At this time the Irish prodigy, young Burke, was performing at the Park Theatre, at New York. I saw him several times ; but neither then, nor on other oc- casions, at the New York Theatres, or at the Theatres of Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, or Charleston, did I ever see any rudeness on the part of any portion of the male audience, nor do I believe any person would have been tolerated in sitting on the edge of the box enclosure, with his back to the performers. I mention this in reference to a statement of a contrary import which Mrs. TroUope has made, in order, most probably, to add to the effect of one of the whimsical sketches which accompany her volumes. The occur- rence, which she has noticed, must have taken place after the curtain had dropped. Not long after the frost had become very severe in the end of January, when the thermometer was only two or three degrees above, — one night as low as zero, — our worthy landlord, Mr. Van Boskerck, who was at an advanced period of life, — I suppose verging on seventy, — ^was seized with a bad cold, which speedily 542 DEATH OF MR. BOSKERCK. produced tubercles on the lungs, and terminated his life, to the great affliction of his family and friends, on the 20th March. Part of his family belonged to the Dutch reformed church, and part of them were Episcopalians. The funeral, on the 22d March, was, therefore, attended by Mr. Taylor and Mr. De Hayes, the two neighbouring clergymen of the Dutch church, and by Mr. Berrian of the Episcopalian church of New York. The people assembled for the funeral, (the burying-place being at the distance of eight miles,) at eleven o'clock. Five rooms were thrown open for them, as well as the stairs, — Mr. Van Boskerck being a well-known popular person, most of his neighbours attended at the house without invitation. Mr. Astor, the richest man in the State, came to the house on foot. I never heard more affectionate, or more im- pressive, or more suitable addresses to persons assem- bled on such an occasion, than those which were deli- vered by Mr. Taylor and Mr. De Hayes. Their ad- dresses and prayers lasted for about an hour. They spoke near the door of one of the rooms, so that they were everywhere heard. My wife and I were asked to accompany the funeral to the grave. She went in a coach with the ladies of the family, and I with the clergymen. Fifteen carriages accompanied the funeral. Several of the persons, even in the carriages, did not wear mourning, which frequently happens in this coun- try, and even, as I have before observed, in the city of New York. Mr. Berrian read the English burial ser- vice at the grave. The coffin was lowered down into the grave merely by the official people, without the SEVERE STORMS. 54^ assistance of the relations. The clergymen and the medical attendants wore large white linen scarfs, which were presented to them on the occasion, according to the usual custom here. In the following month, (on the 17th of April,) we embarked in the President packet ship, Captain Cham- plin, on her first voyage from New York to London, and had a tedious and uncomfortable passage. Con- trary winds for above two-thirds of the voyage, — one tremendous storm, — heavy rolling seas, — and cold dense fogs, which lasted for twelve days continuously, would have made our passage almost intolerable, but for the very agreeable society of our fellow-passengers, — espe- cially of some medical gentlemen from New York, and their friends, whose good offices to us when we were sick, and almost fretful from the continuance of bad weather, we shall always remember with grateful feel- ings. The storm which we encountered on the 24th and 25th April, was more severe than frequently oc- curs on the course from New York to Britain, and occasioned, I believe, some anxiety or uneasiness to all on board. The ladies, four in number, showed quite as much firmness as the gentlemen. The wind rose in the forenoon of the 24th, when we immediately shortened sail. Before the evening we were scudding before the gale with very little can- vas, reefed fore-sail, and close reefed maintop-sail, at the rate of ten miles an hour. The wind varied much during the day, blowing from the south, south-west, west, and north-west. When it got to the north-west at half-past one, on the morning of the 25th, " it blew 544 ARRIVAL AT DEAL. a complete hurricane." Such were the words of the log-book. The ship rolled dreadfully ; the sea, a short cross sea, running high, so that we often appeared to be under water, with heavy seas almost touching our topmast ; the bulwarks five feet high under water at every roll ; the captain standing on deck in water up to his knees. One sea knocked him over, but he was unhurt. His skill and persevering attention were most conspicuous. He never left the deck from the morning of the !24th, until the morning of the 25th, at half-past five, when he paid a very welcome visit to the ladies' cabin to tell us that the gale was abating. At six o'clock we went to bed, but the rolling of the ship put sleep out of the question. The President proved herself an admirable sea-boat, and was as tight after the gale as before. No serious accident happened, excepting the loss of part of our live stock. Easterly winds, which prevailed on our approaching the British Channel, prevented our reaching the Downs until the 25th. May, when we landed at Deal. I should not again be disposed to prefer a ship on her first voyage. There are always omissions in fitting her out. In our case, some of them were inconvenient enough. What is worse, new rigging stretches so much, than in a gale the masts are more likely to give way. Our greatest risk on the 24th April was from this cause, or from the ship not steering well and easily. THE END. Gilbert & Rivington, Printers, St. John's Square, J^ondon. HOME USE RETURN MAIN CIRCULATION ALL BOOKS ARE SUBJECT TO RECALL RENEW BOOKS BY CALLING 642-3405 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW AUTODISC ^C MAYll'94 MAY 2 2 199 u.immmz3'9l FORM NO. DD6 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY BERKELEY, CA 94720 Yb 36668 GENERAL LIBRARY U.C. BERKELEY I BDD0770mM i ^ :i/>5-9o>3 - V. i THE umvERsnr of California ubrary