^ *p TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NOKTH AND SOUTH AMERICA: EMBRACING AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR SITUATION, ORIGIN, PLAN, EXTENT, THEIR INHABITANTS, MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND AMUSEMENTS, AND PUBLIC WORKS, INSTITUTIONS, EDIFICES, &c. TOGETHER WITH SKETCHES OF HISTORICAL EVENTS. BY C, A, GOODRICH, WITH ENGRAVINGS. HARTFORD: CASE, TIFFANY & CO. 1852. Entered according- to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by CASE, TIFFANY AND CO., in the Clerk s office of the District Court of Connecticut. LOAN STACK I 852, INTRODUCTION. A distinguished senator in our American Congress, some years since, in the course of one of his speeches, when speaking of the commercial enterprise of our countrymen, related the following curious incident : " A ship which had been built at Pittsburg was freighted and cleared from that place for Leghorn. On her arrival at the place of her destina tion, the master presented his papers to the proper officers, who would not credit them ; but said to him, Sir, your papers are forged. There is no such place as Pittsburg in the world ! Your vessel must be con fiscated ! The trembling captain laid before the officer a map of the United States directed him to the Gulf of Mexico pointed out to him the mouth of the Mississippi led him a thousand miles up to the mouth of the Ohio, and thence another thousand up to Pittsburg. There, sir, is the port whence my vessel cleared. " The ignorance of the Leghorn officer of the customs was quite par donable, since in relation to a new country, and to its far distant and quite inland ports of entry, he might not have had an opportunity to in form himself. But, whatever mortification he experienced, it must have been far less than that of a certain English nobleman, who, during his travels in Italy, was shown a church, which he so much admired for its elegance of structure, as to request permission to take a sketch of it. " Oh ! " said the gentleman, who accompanied him, and was showing him the building, " You have no occasion to put yourself to that trouble ; the model was taken from a church in London, the very place where you reside." Surprised and confused, his lordship desired to know what edifice like it London could contain, which had escaped his observation. He was told that it was St. Stephen s, Walbrook, near the Royal Exchange. It is further added, that his lordship had no sooner arrived in London, than he went to take a view of that beautiful monu ment of architecture, which is esteemed Sir Christopher Wren s mas terpiece, before he saw any of his friends, or returned to his own home. The author has introduced these humble anecdotes by way of illus trating the importance of a knowledge of the world, which may be viii INTRODUCTION. inferred from the first and especially of one s own country, and what of improvements it contains, which is strikingly exhibited in the second. It is indeed true, that in older countries, where the arts have had longer time to ripen, and wealth to increase, the traveller will find greater and more numerous objects of curiosity, than in a country, which, like our own, has recently sprung into existence, and where as yet the wealth of the people is employed rather in expansion than in tasteful improvement. Yet, with a little more than two centuries gone over our heads, since the planting of the first colony in America, and while a good portion of that period has been spent in clearing our forests, and providing the means of subsistence, advances have been made in literature, in the arts, in architecture, &c., creditable to the taste, genius, and enterprise of our countrymen. We have, indeed, no cities, which can compare with several in the eastern hemisphere no monuments like theirs no palaces, nor baronial castles nor a hundred other objects of taste and curiosity. But, in the settlements of a wilderness, stretching hundreds and even thousands of miles, on every side in the erection of towns and cities in the manufacture of articles of taste and fancy in the variety and expansion of commerce in the patronage given to the fine arts in the elegance and even grandeur of some of our public edifices, we have exceeded all anticipations, and are without a parallel, consider ing the infancy of our country, in the history of nations. For centuries after the invasion, London, that world in miniature, bore no comparison to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Boston. Westminster Abbey was the labor of half a century, and was com pleted at the distance of more than one thousand years from the founda tion of the city in which it stands. St. Paul s that monument of taste and wealth was finished less than one hundred years ago. The marvel then is, not that America has achieved so little, but that she has accomplished so much. Foreigners, who haw travelled through our country, have been wont to indulge in illiberal criticisms, comparing our cities, our public buildings, our specimens of the fine arts, &c., with those which they have seen beyond the waters, in countries which have been settled for centuries, and where princes and noblemen have lavished their millions upon these and similar objects, gathered from unwarrantable and oppressive taxation. But how absurd the comparison ! When America shall have attained a similar age when her forests shall have been felled when her wealth shall have increased, and it is rapidly rolling up when her enterprise and genius shall become concentrated, and be applied to works of taste and mag nificence, we shall doubtless see in her works, objects as grand, and monuments as splendid and enduring, as are now the boast of countries INTRODUCTION. IX which were grown to manhood, when she first came on to the stage. The amateur may find as much to admire, as he now does in London, in Paris, in Rome, or was once admired in Athens, in Thebes, or Tadmor of the Desert. But already our country presents objects sufficient to command the admiration and gratify the taste and curiosity of her citizens. Were these better known, they would be more appreciated. Personal obser vation is always more gratifying, and makes deeper and more lasting im pressions, than verbal descriptions. But there are a multitude, who enjoy not only no opportunity for foreign travel, but have neither the means nor the time to examine the various objects of interest in their own land. They visit such as are in their immediate neighborhood, and must depend upon written statements for the rest. Hence, who ever furnishes a correct and candid description of objects at a distance, performs for this numerous class a valuable service. With this object in view, the author has prepared the present work. It is designed not for the traveller, who has had the advantage of a per sonal visit to the places described, but for those who have not enjoyed, and are not likely to enjoy that privilege. The attempt, it is believed, is new, at least so far as to bring into a single volume, and independent of other subjects, a view of the cities of the American continent. It is offered only as an approximation to what is confessedly a desideratum among the books, which are found in the families of our country. The object of the work is two-fold to furnish a book of rational enter tainment one which may pleasantly occupy for a few weeks the leisure hours and long evenings, when severer toils and more engrossing occupa tions are necessarily remitted ; and secondly, and primarily, to present an opportunity to the younger classes of society, to become more ex tensively acquainted with the chief places of the land, and the interest ing objects which they contain. As was noticed in the prospectus cities are, in every country, and justly, objects of curiosity and attrac tion. They are usually centres of wealth, influence and fashion. They are emporiums of trade and commerce the theatres of pleasure and amusement the seats and patrons of the fine arts the workshops of articles of taste and fancy the localities for rich and splendid speci mens of architecture. Here, also, may be seen, in profitable contrast, society in its different materials, forms and conditions the native and the foreigner the wealthy and the poor the industrious and the idle the sober and the dissipated the serious and the gay. From a view of mankind thus relatively situated, and yet differently circumstanced, important lessons regarding manners, morals, and duty, may be gather ed. The more we know of our country of her history of her govern ment the genius of her inhabitants their enterprise the institutions, NTRODUCTION which they have founded the cities, which they have planted the public works, which they have projected and accomplished, the greater will be our admiration, and the stronger our patriotic feeling. At the same time, such knowledge will furnish us with topics of useful and enlightened conversation. We shall also be better prepared to travel abroad, if that privilege and pleasure be our good fortune, and better qualified to estimate the value and correctness of the many works per taining to our country, which issue from the press the workmanship of foreigners, who have not in all cases been disposed to do America or Americans justice. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. NORTH AMERICA. CANADA. QUEBEC. Anecdote of Dean Swift ; Situation of Quebec; Origin; Appearance; Harbor; Public Edifices ; Mr. Duncan s visit to the. Ursuline Convent ; Fortifications ; Re duction by Wolf ; Death of Wolf; Reflections; Assault under Montgomery; his deut.li ; Character. MONTREAL. Mode of travelling between Montreal and Quebec ; Situation of Montreal ; Ap pearance ; Dress and Manners of the Citizens ; Merchants ; Edifices ; French Church ; Visit of Mr. Duncan to it ; Society ; Military Events ; Anecdote of Ethan Allen. UNITED STATES. MASSACHUSETTS. BOSTON. Settlement of Boston ; Situation ; The Mall ; Stats House ; Tremont House ; Dinner Scene ; Farieuil Hall ; Population ; Government ; Literary and Educational Institutions ; Harvard College ; Mount Auburn ; Characteristics of the Citizens ; A Caricature ; Patriotism ; Revolutionary Incidents; Destruction of Tea. CHARLESTOWN. Settlement ; Situation ; Public Works ; State Prison ; Battle of Bunker Hill , Ceremonies at Laying the Corner Stone of Bunker Hill Monument ; Webster s Address on the occasion. MAINE. POHTLAHD. Situation ; Harbor; Ports; Public Edifices; Character of the Inhabitants; Sav age Depredations ; Attack of Captain Mowatt. NEW HAMPSHIRE. PORTSMOUTH. Situation; Population; Appearance; Harbor; Forts; Public Buildings; Bridges , Settlement ; Story of a Hermit. VERMONT. VEROENNES-. j Settlement ; Situation ; Population ; Commodore JVlcDonough s Flotilla. BURLINGTON. Delightful Situation ; Vermont University ; President Dwight s description of the surrounding scenery. CONNECTICUT. HARTFORD. Original Settlers ; their Journey to Connecticut ; Distress of the Colonies ; Re moval of Mr. Hooker ; Gloomy state of the Colony ; Invasion of the Perjuot country ; Amusing extracts from the Hartford Colony Laws; Situation of Hartford ; Descrip tion ; State House ; Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb; Retreat for the Insane ; Wash ington College ; Election Day. NEW HAVEN. First knowledge of the English of the place ; Arrival of Mr. Eaton and his Asso ciates ; Situation of New Haven ; Description of the city ; Surrounding Scenery ; Adventures of Goffe and Whalley ; Col. Dixwell ; Cemetery ; Character of the cit- i/.eris ; Public Edifices ; Yale College ; New Township ; Fair Haven ; Dragon Point ; Extracts from the early Code of Laws ; Attack of the British, 1779; Sufferings of President Daguett. MIDDLETOWN. Origin of the Settlement; Account of Sowheag, an Indian Sachem; Beautiful situation of the city ; Wesleyan University ; Upper Middletown. NORWICH. First settlement of Norwich ; Situation of the city ; Scenery ; Water privileges ; Biiryins-gr -und of Uncas ; Origin of Sachem s Plain; Uncas and Miantonimoh; Subsequent History of Uncas. xi Xll CONTENTS. NEW LONDON. Settlement of New London; Situation; Description; Forts; Burning of New London by Arnold ; Anecdotes of the Rogerines. RHODE ISLAND. PROVIDENCE. Situation of Providence ; Pnlilic buildings ; Blackstone Canal ; Boston and Prov idence Rail Road ; Character of the Citizens; Roper Williams ; Birth ; Early His tory ; Removal to America; Settlement at Salem; Expulsion from the Colony; Founds Providence ; Family of Mr. Williams ; Visits England and procures a char ier ; Difficulties with the Indians ; Death of Mr. Williams ; Character. NEW YORK. NEW YORK. Discovery of New York by Verrazzano, 1M4 ; By Hudson, 1M9 ; Incidents of his voyage ; Settlement by the Dutch ; Notices of the first Dutch settlers ; Houses , Cleanliness; Curious domestic o|*rations ; Parties; Manners; Festivals of the Dutch ; Dress; Furniture ; New York in ItMU ; In subsequent years ; Population ; Situation of the city ; Approach to It ; Harbor ; Broadway ; City Hall ; Park ; Bat- lery ; Churches ; Literary and other In.-titutions ; Masonic Hall; New Custom House ; Schools ; Pa|*rs ; Health of the city ; Temperature ; Languages ; Cooper s account of the Market; Fruits; Style of Living; Domestic comfort; Description of a house in Broadway belonging to a gentleman of fortune ; Carriages ; Military events ; Retreat through Long Island ; Evacuation of the city ; Residence of the British officers. BROOKLYN. Local advantages ; Rapid Growth ; Literary and Sci entific Institutions ; Navy Yard ; Greenwood Cemetery ; Harbor; Atlantic Dock. ALBANY. Situation ; Original settlement ; Dutch architecture ; Change effected in its in habitants ; Plan of the ( iiv ; Capitol and other edifices ; Commercial advantages of Albany; Opening of the Erie Canal. HUDSON. Situation of Hudson ; Present state ; Whale fishery ; Population. TROY. Situation; Business portion of the city; Public buildings; Female Seminary; Rensselaer School ; Character ; Commerce ; Flour manufacture. SCHENECTADY. Origin of the name ; Situation of the city ; Architecture; Union College ; Canal- ing operations ; Early History ; Indian massacre of 1G90. UTICA. Situation of the city ; Hugh White, the first settler ; Thrilling incident respecting his family ; Progress of L tica ; Population ; Prospects. ROCHESTER. Recent settlement ; Historical facts relating to its settlement ; Adventure of Enos Stone ; Religious festival of the Senecas ; state of Rochester in 1814; Military tac tics of an American officer ; Commencement of its prosperity ; Character of its set tlers ; Ecclesiastical History ; Literary establishments ; Business style of Archi tecture ; Water power of the Genesee -, Canal trade of Rochester; History of the flour trade. BUFFALO. Situation ; Beauty of the surrounding scenery ; Destroyed in 1814 ; Thrift ; Des cription of the city ; Rlack Rock ; Lines of communication ; Seneca Reservation ; Red Jacket; Oratory of this chieftain ; Anecdotes. NEW JERSEY. TRENTO*. Settlement; Kalm s description of Trenton in 1718; Situation; Present state; Capture of one thousand Hessians, by Washington in 177C> ; Consequences of this victory. PENNSYLVANIA. PHILADELPHIA. Philadelphia prior to the Revolution ; Character of the inhabitants by different travellers ; Philadelphia and New York compared ; Commercial advantages ; First impression* ; Penn s Purchase ; Regularity of the city ; Market street ; other streets ; Public buildings ; Old State House; Bank f Pennsylvania ; Rank of the United States; Churches; Jewish synagogues ; Charitable and Literary institutions ; Girnrd College ; Kair Mount Water Works ; Peale s Museum ; Academy of Fine Arts ; Li- brarie- ; Philadelphia press ; Pennsylvania University ; American Philosophical So ciety ; Character by Mr. Hodffon ; Early History ; Arrival of IV mi ; Conference with the Indians ; The treaty Elm tree ; Penn s early residence ; Shippen s house ; Fir.-t Church ; Franklin s account of the early inhabitants ; Customs before the Rev olution ; Wedding entertainments ; Diet ; DreM ; Various reminiscences. MARYLAND. BALTIMORE. Rapid growth of Baltimore; Ktlei t of the late war upon Baltimore; Speculations of 1818 ; Situation and plan of the city ; Merchants Exchange ; Catholic Cathedral , CONTENTS. Xlll Socinian Chapel ; Washington iMonuinerit ; Battle Monument ; Trade of Baltimore ; Flour Mills j Attack of the British, in 1814. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WASHINGTON. Situation of Washington ; Anecdote of Gen. Washington ; Cession of the District by Maryland and Virginia; Removal of the government in 1801); Progress of the city prior to 1S14 ; Effect of burning the Capitol ; 1 lan of the city ; Description of the Capitol; Senate Chamber ; Representatives Hall; Rotunda; Paintings; Library; Supreme Court ; President s Uonse ; Dinner parties ; Offices; State of Society ; Lit erary taste ; Amusements; Invasion of Washington; Destruction of the National edifices; Mount Vernon ; Tomb of Washington ; Visit of Lafayette ; Last hours of Washington ; Character of Washington, by Lord Brougham. GEORGETOWN. Situation; Population; Society; Public Institutions; Convent of Visitation. ALEXANDRIA. Situation; Harbor; Commerce. VIRGINIA. RICHMOND. Situation ; General description ; Burning of the Theatre in 1811. NORTH CAROLINA. RALEIGH. Origin of its name ; Situation ; Brief description. SOUTH CAROLINA. CHARLESTON. Situation ; Account of Charleston, by Capt. B. Hall ; Remarks, by F. Hall ; Un- healthiness ; Extract from the Duke of Saxe Weimar s travels ; Rice Mill; Popula tion; Character; Manners; Attack on Charleston, 1776; Gallant defence of Fort Moultrie; Heroic Achievement of Sergeant Jasper. GEORGIA. SAVANNAH. Situation ; Plan of the city ; Business ; Commencement of Savannah by Gen. Ogle- thorpe ; Mary Musgrove anil Thomas Bosom worth ; Difficulties produced by them ; Revolutionary incidents; Siege of Savannah ; Enterprise of six Americans. FLORIDA. ST. AUGUSTINE. Settlement ; Situation ; Plan of the city ; Fort Mason ; Population ; Character; Schools ; Resort for invalids ; Yellow Fever ; Cultivation of the Orange ; Patgo ; Pozev dance. LOUISIANA. NEW ORLEANS. Imposing view of New Orleans ; Situation ; Extent; Style of Buildings ; Plan ; Cathedral ; Churches ; Charitable Institutions ; Population ; Character of Citizens ; Health; Water; Commerce; Market; Influence; Police; Balize ; Breaches in the Levee ; Battle of New Orleans. KENTUCKY. LEXINGTON. Settlements; Appearance of the city ; Transylvania University ; Public edifices. LOUISVILLE. Commercial importance of Louisville ; Public buildings ; Inhabitants; Canal. OHIO. CINCINNATI. Situation ; Rapid Settlement; Admirable position of Cincinnati ; General plan of the city ; Public buildings ; Manufactures; Commerce; Population 5 Schools; Pork establishments. MISSOURI. ST. Louis. Situation ; Recent settlement ; Rapid advancement ; Future prospects. ALABAMA. MOBILE. Description; Commerce; Railroad; History. MISS I SSI PPL VICKSBURG. Description; Commerce; Railroad. ARKANSAS. LITTLE ROCK. Description ; Other towns in Arkansas. TENNESSEE. NASHVILLE KNOXVILLE. Description; Scenery; Commerce. INDIANA. INDIANAPOLIS VINCENNES. Description; History; Settlement; Indian Wars; Colonel Georjre Roarers Clarke; Capture of Vincennes. ILLINOIS. KASKASKIA CHICAGO NAUVOO GALENA. Description; Capture of Kaskaskia; Description; Massacre of Chicago; Description; The Moruions at Nauvoo; Description. 14 CONTENTS. MICHIGAN. DETROIT. Description; Siege by Pontiac; Surrender of Hull. WISCONSIN. MILWACK.IE PRAIRIE u CHIEX. Description; Commerce; Council at Prairie du Chien. IOWA. BURLINGTON. Description ; Other towns. CALIFORNIA. TUB ROUTE SAN FRANCISCO BEMCIA SACRAMENTO SEACOAST TOWNS Los ANGELES. The Isthmus Route; Description of San Francisco; Its history; Inhabitants and Trade; Description of Benicia; Description of Sarramento: Its history; Inhabitants and Trade: Monterey; Santa Barbara; San Juan; San Diego; Los Angles; Its beauties; The Hold Discovery; Description of Stanislaus Mine; The Miners and their Implement*; History; Discovery of California; Settlement by the Jesuits ; Conquest by the United States Forces; Consequences of the Gold Discovery. MEXICO. VKRA CRUZ. Introductory remarks; Approach to Vera Cruz; Castle of St. Juan d Ulloa; Re cent destruction of it by the French; Port of Vera Cruz; Description of the city; UnhealthiiK ss; Society; Population. PUEBLA. Situation; Population; Description; Religious edifices; Carriages; Market; Manufactures. CHOLULA. Situation; Population; Manufactures; Celebrated temple. MEXICO. Situation; Invasion of Cortes. 1519; Armament: Conduct at Vera Cruz; Attempted interview with MonU-zuma; Resistance to this proposal; Character of Montozuina ; Indecision of the Kmpcror: Cunning of Cortes; Progress of the Invaders; Conference IM-IWCCU Montezuma and Cortes; Description of the City by Cortes; Access to it; Tem ples; MonU-zumall.: Splendor of his Court; Sacrifices; Gladiatorial Sacrifice; Games; Fliers; Powers of Hereuta; Measuresof Cortes to extend his power; Montezuma sei/.ed ; K volition of Qualpopoca: Artful expedient of Cortes to secure the command of the lake; Critical situation of Cortes; Attack upon the inhabitants ; Retreat of Cortes and death of Montczuma; Reappearance of Cortes; Death of Gnatimozin: Capture of the city ; Modern Mexico; Situation; Humboldt s estimate of Mejcico ; Plaza Ma jor; Cathedral; Palace; I otanical Garden: Churches; Palace of the Inquisition; Hospital of Jesus; Present state of the arts; University; Intelligence of the people; Alinoda, or Promenade; Paseo Nuevo ; Police; Population. GDANAXUATO. Situation; Description; Population; Gold and Silver mines; Inhabitants. GU AT KM A L A. G UATEMALA. Conquest of Guatemala; Situation; Old Guatemala; Calamities of the old city; Earthquakes; Epidemics; Destruction; Founding of the new city ; Scenery; Appear ance; Plaza, or Market-place; Aqueducts; Houses : Smoking: Domestic occupations; Costumes; Marriage customs; Funerals; State of Society ; Wretched character of the Police. SOUTH AMERICA. BRAZIL. FT. SEBASTIAN, OR Rio DK JANEIRO. Situation; First Settlement; Harbor: Style of Architecture; Nuisances; Descrip tion of the city ; Churches; Cathedral; Royal Palace; Aqueduct; Manners; Ladit-s; Shopkeepers; Superstitious Observances; Barbers; Post-office; Administration of .hi-M.-e; Instance of A<saiinition ; Police; Executions; Commerce; Manufactures; Exports; Coffee; Sugar; Population. BAIIIA. Situation; Trade; General Description; Late Improvements; Society; Drew; Amusements. CONTENTS. 15 COLOMBIA. BOGOTA. Situation; Appearance; Public Buildings; Principal Streets; Plaza; Sale of Dif ferent Commodities; Environs; General Routine; Priests; Population; Climate; Cataract of Tequendama. CARACCAS. La Guayra, the port of Caraccas; Road to Caraccas ; Mr. Semple s Journey; Situa tion of Caraccas; Description; Public Edifices; Population; Awful Convulsion of 1812; Extent of the Desolation. NEW VALENCIA. Situation; Advantageous "Position ; Population; Character; Description. PUERTO CABELLO. Importance; Situation; Harbor; Unhealthiness ; Bay of Burburata. CARTIIAGENA. Bay and Port; Situation of the City ; Description; Strength; Population; Trades; Women of Color ; History ; Climate. BOLIVIA. CHUQOISACA. Situation ; Popul&tion ; Climate ; Public Buildings. POTOST. Situation; Population; Elevation; Mines; Mint; Climate; Market; Singular Cus tom; LaPaz; Oropeza; Oruro. PERU. LIMA. Situation; Callao. the port of Lima; Roari ; Appearance of Lima; Inhabitants; Great Square: Cathedral: Parish Churches; University; Colleges; Inquisition; Adventure of Mr. Stevenson : Tsmtheon: LuNury and Dissipation; Abandoaed Char racter of the Priests ; Houses ; Streets ; Climate ; Earthquakes ; Dress. CUSCO. Situation; Houses; Population; Antiquity. AREQUIPA. Situation; Population; General Remarks. TRUXILLO. Situation; Extent; Streets; Dress and Customs. BUENOS A YRES. BUENOS ATRES. Name: Situation: Population; Houses; Inhabitants: Gauclios; Ox-wagons Fruits; Market; Plaza; Simps; Appearance; Dress; Churches. CHILE. SANTIAGO. Situation; Representations of Travellers; Plaza; Palace; Cathedral; Cocsulado; Mint; Approach from M^ndoza. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Frontispiece. Ornamental title page. PAGE View of Quebec, from the Harbor 23 Portrait of General Wolfe 25 Portrait of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham 34 Siege of Quebec 36 Wolfe s Army ascending the Heights of Abraham 38 Death of General Wolfe ! 39 Portrait of General Montgomery 41 Death of General Montgomery 43 Funeral of General Montgomery 45 Place d Armes, Montreal 53 View of Boston and Bunker Hill, from Chelsea 60 Park street church, and Trinity church, Boston 65 Bowdoin Square church, Tremont House, Faneuil Hall, Hospital, and King s Chapel, Boston 66 View of Faneuil Hall, Boston 68 Destruction of Tea in Boston Harbor 77 View of Boston, from Dorchester Heights 79 Washington s Head-Quarters at Cambridge 81 Battle of Bunker Hill 83 Portrait of General Howe, and of General Burgoyne 85 Portrait of General Stark 86 View of Bunker Hill Monument 90 Portrait of General Warren 93 View of the Burning of Falmouth 103 Retreat for the Insane at Hartford 112 Emigration of Mr. Hooker and his Colony 117 Destruction of the Pequots 120 Wadsworth Athenseum, Hartford 126 View of Yale College and Park, New Haven 134 2 17 18 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Portrait of Sowheag, the Great Sachem 155 Portrait of Uncas 158 Portrait of President Jackson 161 Portrait of Miantonimoh 163 View of New Loudon 172 Portrait of Benedict Arnold 177 Burning of Groton 179 First Baptist Church, Providence 185 Roger Williams received by the Indians 191 Roger Williams in exile 193 View of Neif York from Weehawken 202 Portrait of Vcrazzano 207 View of New York, from the Harbor 223 View of the Park and City Hall, New York 226 Custom House, New York 229 Trinity Church, New York 230 Retreat of the Americans from Long Island 245 View of the City of Albany 249 Portrait of Count de Frontenac 259 View of the City of Utica 2b l View of the Genesee Falls, at Rochester 276 Portrait of General Schuyler 281 Washington crossing the Delaware at Trenton 289 View of the Battle of Trenton 290 View of the Battle of Princeton 293 View of Philadelphia, from Camden 296 Portrait of William Penn 299 Artist s Fund Hall, Philadelphia 302 Portrait of Stephen Girard 305 Girard College 308 Suspension Bridge over the Schuylkill River, at Philadelphia 311 Franklin entering Philadelphia. Franklin founding the Phila delphia Library 314 United States Mint, Philadelphia 317 Pcnn s Treaty with the Indians . 323 Battle Monument, Baltimore 339 View of the City of Baltimore 341 Bombardment of Fort McIIenry 345 Full length Portrait of General Washington 348 View of Mount Vernon View of Georgetown 351 Capitol at Washington 353 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 19 PAGE President s House at Washington 359 Portrait of Commodore Barney 369 View of Mount Vernon 373 View of Fort Washington 376 View of the Old Tomb of Washington 379 View of the New Tomb of Washington 379 View of Richmond 387 Attack of the British on Charleston, June, 1776 401 Portrait of Admiral Parker 402 Portrait of Sir Henry Clinton 405 Portrait of Lord Cornwallis 406 Portrait of General Oglethorpe 413 Portrait of Bosomworth and Malatche 417 Portrait of General Lincoln 421 Portrait of Count D Estaing 422 Death of Pulaski 424 Portrait of General H. Lee 425 View on the Alabama River 433 Stage-Coach travelling in the Western Country 436 Flat Boats 439 View of the City of New Orleans 440 View of the Cathedral at New Orleans 444 General Jackson relieving the wounded after the Battle of New Orleans 457 View of Nashville 460 View of the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky 465 View of Detroit 497 Portrait of Pontiac 498 View of San Francisco 514 Street in San Francisco in 1850 517 View of Vera Cruz 541 View of Jalapa 544 View of Pueblo de los Angeles 547 Pyramid of Cholula 553 View of the City of Mexico 554 Portrait of Cortez 557 View of the Great Square in the City of Mexico 564 View of the City of Mexico, from the Convent of San Cosme 567 Common Sacrifice 569 Gladiatorial Sacrifice 570 Mexican Feats of Activity The Fliers 573 20 LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Mexican Feats of Activity The Dancers 574 Montezuma chained by order of Cortez. Retreat of Cortez 579 Portrait of Sandoval 583 View of the Interior of a Mexican House 586 Group on the Stone of Sacrifices 589 View of Chapultepec, the fortress which commands the City of Mexico 596 Portrait of Alvarado 602 View of Rio Janeiro 615 View of the City of Bahia 631 Arrieros, or Carriers ."37 Portrait of Pizarro 669 Ancient Peruvian Architecture 673 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NORTH AID SOUTH AMERICA. NORTH AMERICA. CANADA. QUEBEC. IT is somewhere related of the eccentric Dean Swift, that in one of his pedestrian journeys to Holyhead, he stopped at the sign of the Crown, in a place called Church Stratton, and ordered dinner. But, not loving to digest a good meal alone, he inquired of" mine host," who was a good humored and obliging man, whether there was not some agreeable per son in the town, whom he could invite to share a good din ner with him. The landlord, on casting about, suggested the curate, Mr. Jones, " who," he said, " was a very com panionable man, and would have no objection," he dare say, " to spend a few hours, with a gentleman of his (the Dean s) appearance." The Dean being quite pleased with the recommendation, desired the landlord to wait upon Mr. Jones, with his com pliments, and say that a traveller would be glad to be favor ed with his company, at the Crown, if it was agreeable. It happened to be the lecture day of the curate ; but he, thinking that his duty to the stranger and his people might both be performed, accepted the invitation ; and at the hour named, sat down to partake of the hospitality of his new friend, whose name continued still unknown to him.. On the arrival of three o clock, the curate felt obliged to excuse himself, to attend divine service at the church. Upon this intimation, the Dean replied, that he would do himself 21 22 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES QUEBEC. the pleasure to attend also, and hoped to see his clerical friend again, after service. When the two gentlemen found themselves once more at the Crown, the Dean began to compliment Mr. Jones, on the delivery of a very appropriate sermon ; and remarked " that it must have cost him some time and attention, to compose such a discourse." The curate replied, that his duty was rather laborious, as he also served another parish church, at some distance, and therefore he could pay less attention than he could wish to the composition of his sermons. " Well," said the Dean, " you have a fine talent at deliv ery, and it is well you have ; my sermon, which you preach ed this afternoon, cost me a great deal of labor, but you spoke it admirably." The curate s countenance fell. " However, my good friend," continued the Dean, " don t be alarmed you have so good a talent at delivery, that I hereby declare, you have done more honor to my ser mon, than I could have done myself; and now, by way of compromising matters between us, you must accept this half guinea." It will readily occur to our readers, that the author of the following work, is in circumstances, not altogether dissimi lar to those of the curate. For, not having had the advan tage of a personal visit to a moiety of the places, which he proposes to describe, he will have to depend upon the pub lished accounts of travellers, who have been more fortunate. But while he avoids the sin into which the curate fell, in at tempting to conceal his plagiarism, he hopes to merit some what of the praise bestowed by the comic Dean, by making his descriptions appear better, in this volume, than they do even in the works of the actual travellers themselves. This he will attempt, by enlargement, in case of deficiency, and abridgment, in case of prolixity. And while for the " hon or" thus done to several authors, he might, perhaps, in courtesy, expect from them a" half guinea," he will be con tent to receive it from any, who will do him the honor, to purchase the volume. Without further detention, by way of exordium, he begs leave to introduce his travelling companions to the ancient and celebrated capital of the Canadas QUEBEC. 24 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES QUEBEC. This city is situated in the lower Province of British America, on the north-west side of the river St. Lawrence, 180 miles below Montreal ; 400 miles from the sea ; TOO west-by-north from Halifax ; and 740 from Washington. The city was founded on the third of July, 1008, by Sam uel de Champlain, geographer to the king, lie commenced building on Cape Diamond. In 1629, it \vas taken by the English ; but was esteemed of so little value, that it was re stored to the French in 10*2. It continued in the hands of private adventurers, or trading companies, till 10:53; when it was made a royal government, and became a regular and important colony. it was again taken by the British in 1759, and with the whole country, was confirmed to them by treaty, in 1763. Since that time, it has been the capital of the British Provinces. Quebec occupies the extremity of a promontory, formed by the rivers St. Lawrence and St. Charles. The latter of which, coming down from the northern hills, flows for a time nearly at right angles to the former ; it then makes an abrupt bend towards the east, and gradually inclines down ward, till the two streams unite before the rocky cape upon which Quebec stands. The city is thus surrounded with water on all but one side. The appearance of Quebec, as you approach it coming down from Montreal, by steamboat, is very imposing. The banks, for some distance above Wolfe s cove so called, from being the spot, whence General Wolfe and his army ascended the heights of Abraham are covered, observes Mr. Duncan, with brush-wood, and on the beach below white houses are scattered, at short intervals. The fortifi cations of the city come gradually into prospect; first, are seen two of the Martello towers, which like gigantic senti nels keep watch over the celebrated plains : then, the re doubts around the citadel, on the summit of Cape Diamond, slowly develop their strength ; embrasures, cannon, and loop holes, successively presenting themselves. Over one battery appears the mast and yard of a telegraph ; and close to the brow of the steep rock, 345 feet above the waters of the river, is the flagstaff and banner of the citadel. At the very bottom of the steep, and apparently covering the very scanty portion of ground which is saved from the encroachment of the river, are the numerous buildings of the lower town of GENERAL WOLFE. 26 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES QUEBEC. Quebec, with the wharfs, \\4iich have been projected into the stream, and vessels of various kinds crowding around tin-in. On the right hand bank, and a little lower than the city, Point Levi, covered with buildings, and sloping up more gradually from the river, stretches out, so as considerably to contract the channel. Before you is the ample bay, four miles in length, with the island of Orleans for its back ground, while to the right and left and all around, are nu merous merchantmen, and an occasional man-of-war ; some of them recently from the ports of Britain, and others wait ing a wind, to waft them to its shores. The harbor is said to be one of the grandest imaginable, strongly resembling the Bay of Naples. It is capable of ac commodating one hundred sail of the line. The tide rises about 17 feet in common tides, and 23 in spring tides. The common depth of the water is 28 fathoms. Above the city, the St. Lawrence is 12 miles wide ; but here it contracts it self suddenly to the width of one mile. From this circum stance, according to some authorities, the city derives its name Qucbeio or Quebec, signifying in the Algonquin lan guage, contraction. On disembarking at the wharfs, it is sometimes necessary to ascend by a sloping plank 40 or 50 feet long. To a traveller from the United States every thing around him, on entering this city, wears a new and foreign aspect. " Buildings of wood and even of brick," says Professor Sil- liman, " are almost entirely unknown. Stone, either rough from the quarry, or covered with white cement, or hewn ac cording to the taste and condition of the proprietor, is al most the only material for building; roofs, in many in stances, and generally on the better sort of buildings, glitter ing with tin plate, with which they are neatly covered ; and turrets and steeples, pouring a flood of light from the same substance : these are among the first things that strike the eyes of a stranger, entering the city cf Quebec." On looking round upon the inhabitants, " he sees a new population, and, to a great extent, a completely foreign peo ple, with French faces and French costume ; the French language salutes his ear, as the common tongue of the streets and shops : in short, he perceives that even in the very capital, there is only a sprinkling of English popula tion; it is still a French city; and the cathedral, the exten- IN NORTH AMERICA. . 27 QUEBEC. sive college of the Jesuits, now used for barracks, and most of the public buildings and private houses are French. He sees troops mingled, here and there, with the citizens ; he perceives the British uniform, and the German, in the British service, which remind him that the country has mas ters different from the mass of its population ; and although the military are, obviously, not subjects of terror to the citi zens, the first impression borders on melancholy, when we see these memorials of an empire fallen, and of an empire risen in its stead. Sixty years have done little towards ob literating the Gallic features of the country. Trumpets and bugles, and French horns now startle us with a sudden burst of martial music, and we can hardly believe that we are not arrived in a fortified town of Europe." " For an American city," observes the same traveller, " Quebec is certainly a very peculiar place. " A military town containing about twenty [now thirty] thousand inhabitants most compactly and permanently built stone its sole material environed, as to its most im portant parts, by walls and gates and defended by numer ous heavy cannon garrisoned by troops, having the arms, the costume, the music, the discipline of Europe foreign in language, feature, and origin, from most of those whom they are sent to defend founded upon a rock, and in its highest parts, overlooking a great extent of country between three and four hundred miles from the ocean in the midst of a great continent and yet displaying fleets of foreign mer chantmen, in its fine capacious bay and shewing all the bustle of a crowded sea-port its streets narrow populous and winding up and down almost mountainous declivities situated in the latitude of the finest parts of Europe exhib iting in its environs, the beauties of an European capital and yet in winter smarting with the cold of Siberia gov erned by a people, of different language and habits, from the mass of the population opposed in religion, and yet leaving that population without taxes, and in the full enjoyment of every privilege, civil and religious ; such are some of the most prominent features, which strike a stranger in the city of Quebec."* The streets of the city are very narrow, and crowded with* * Silliman s Tour. 28 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES QUEBEC. high stone houses ; numerous cars drive furiously along be tween the granaries and the wharfs, the carmen standing in their vehicles, and scolding in loud and angry French, when their progress is stopped at a narrow pass. The foot path is in general very dirty, from the almost constant nitration of water from the rock above ; and the jolting of comers and goers so constant and annoying, that none but those who have business to detain them, are likely to spend much time in the lower town. To men in trade, however, this is the nucleus of Quebec ; the Exchange, the Custom House, the banking offices, with the counting houses, stores, and granaries, of the principal merchants, are all collected in close juxtaposition, into a few narrow streets, or lanes, which encircle the bottom of the rocky precipice, and intervene between it and the river. The greater part of the ground, upon which the lower town stands, has been gained by encroachment upon the channel of the St. Lawrence, and the same process is still going for ward to extend the habitable limits. The approach from the lower to the upper town, is by Mountain street, as it is most appropriately named, lying in a kind of natural cleft in the brow of the precipice. This street, after crossing for a time the face of the hill, like a sheep walk, makes an angular turn, and goes right up the acclivity, where the ascent is least precipitous. The upper town is the seat of government, and the principal residence of the military. The peculiar situation occasions great ir regularity, and unevenness in the streets. These are gener ally well paved. The breadth of the principal one is thirty- two feet ; that of others only from twenty-four to twenty- seven feet. Among the principal buildings, says Lieutenant Hall, the Government house, or Castle of St. Louis, may take prece dence. It occupies the site of an old French fortress, which covered four acres, and formed nearly a parallelogram. In 1808, seven thousand pounds were appropriated for its re pair, and embellishment, and an additional sum, at a subse- cjuent period. It is a thin blue building, which seems quiv ering on the verge of the precipice, overlooking the lower town, and at least two hundred and fifty feet above it. Its front resembles that of a respectable gentleman s house in IN NORTH AMERICA. 29 QUEBEC. England ; the interior contains comfortable family apart ments. For occasions of public festivity, there is another building, on the opposite side of the court-yard, much re sembling a decayed gaol. The furniture is inherited and paid for by each successive governor. The grand entrance to the Chatteau is flanked, on one side, by this grim moul dering pile, and on the other, by stables, with their appro priate dung-hills. There is a small garden on the bank of the river, commanding, as does the Chatteau itself, an inter esting view of the opposite shore of the St. Lawrence. The public buildings, besides the Castle of St. Louis, are the Hotel Dieu, the Convent of Ursulines, the Monastery of the Jesuits, now used for barracks, the Cathedrals, Catholic and Protestant, the Scotch Church, the lower town Church, the Court House, the Seminary, the new Gaol, and the ar tillery barracks : there are also a Place D Armes, a Parade, and an Esplanade. The Court House is a modern stone building, one hun dred and thirty-six feet by forty-four, with a handsome and regular front. The Protestant Cathedral is the handsomest modern build ing in the city. It is built of stone, and is one hundred and thirty-six feet long, by seventy-five broad. It occupies ground nearly as high as any in the place, and is seen at a great distance. The Catholic Cathedral is likewise built of stone ; is two hundred and sixteen feet long, and one hundred and eight broad. It is full of pictures and images, and in it are still displayed, with no inconsiderable degree of splendor, the en ticing ceremonies of the Romish worship. There are several charitable Catholic institutions in Quebec : the principal of these is the- Hotel Dieu, founded in 1637, by the Duchess D Aiguillon, (sister to Cardinal Richelieu,) for the poor sick. The establishment consists of a superior and thirty-six nuns. The principal building is three hundred and eighty-three feet long, by fifty broad. This establishment is highly commended for the humanity, comfort, cleanliness and good arrangement, which prevail in it. The Ursuline Convent, founded in 1639, for the education of female children, stands within the city. It is a square whose side is one hundred and twelve feet. Mr. Duncan gives the following account of a visit, which 80 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES QUEBEC. he made to this convent in 1819, permission having been obtained by a friend for that purpose. " On ringing the bell for admittance, three nuns made their appearance, to whom we handed the order for our admittance. They told us, however, that the Pere D was that moment in the chnpel, hearing confession, and that they should be obliged to detain us without, till he returned. 11 In a few minutes his reverence made his appearance, having entered the convent by a private passage; the door was then unlocked, and we were admitted. The Mere Su- perieure was waiting to receive us ; a jolly, fresh looking woman, rather above the ordinary height, of a dignified car riage, and apparently about thirty-five, or forty years of age. We had no sooner changed bows with the ladies, than the usual question was put to me by the Mere Superieure, Parlcz vous Francois, Monsieur? 1 Finding, however, that I was rather lame at this, she frankly waived ceremony, and addressed me in English, which she spoke so well, that I could not keep from suspecting that she was of an English family. " We were conducted first into the room, in which the nuns hear the service of the chapel ; a plain apartment, with an altar and a few pictures. From it we were taken into a kind of parlor, where all the rcligieuses, except those who were engaged in the school-rooms, were waiting to receive us. They were ranged in a line opposite the door, and im mediately on our entering, bowed and smiled most graciously, and without the slightest appearance of formality or demure- ness. At one end of the row were four interesting young creatures wearing white veils ; these were in their noviciate, and Pere D informed us that they wore the white veil two years, before assuming the vows and the black one. Beside them were three, who had been invested with the black veil only a few weeks before ; had I visited Quebec a little sooner, I might have witnessed the ceremony, for it is always public. I was told that these three were only from eighteen to twenty-four years of age ; they seemed not at all dull, but laughed and talked as good humoredly as any. The four novices seemed to be the only demure individuals among the whole ; they bowed to us like the rest, but relaxed not a muscle of their countenance. " The dress of the Ursulines is dismal in the extreme. A long black robe of bombasin with very wide sleeves; a IN NORTH AMERICA. 31 QUEBEC. black veil tied round the forehead, and thrown back over the shoulder; a piece of stiff starched linen covering the breast, and tied down by strings passing under the arms ; the forehead hid by a piece of linen, which covers the eyebrows, and a corresponding bandage brought down under the chin, so as to conceal the ears and part of both cheeks : all that is elegant and graceful in the human figure is thus com pletely concealed ; and the poor creatures are in shape and color not very unlike so many walking coffins. Some of them wore a leathern belt at the waist, with a rosary, and cross hanging from it. The dress of the novices differs in nothing from that of the others, excepting the color of the veil : which, by the way, is not made use of to conceal the features, but is in all cases thrown back over the shoulders. The aspect of the nuns was more interesting than that of the Soeurs Gris at Montreal. Some of the young ones might, I dare say, have been thought pretty, had they worn a less ghastly dress; a few of the others had something of the grandmother aspect, but some, and the Mere Superieure in particular, had pleasing features, and lady-like deportment. "About half a dozen of the nuns accompanied us from room to room, each of whom showed the utmost inclination to enter into conversation with us. We saw three school rooms, all full of neatly dressed girls at their tasks, with two nuns in each as teachers ; two of these were devoted to children of the poorer classes, who are educated at a very small annual sum ; the other was for the daughters of those who could afford to pay more liberally. Whenever we en tered, the whole rose from their seats and courtesied, con tinuing to stand still, till we left the room. In passing from one room to another we were conducted through a pretty extensive garden ; the wall which surrounds it is not high, and were the sisters disposed to make off, it would present no serious obstacle. " From the schools, we were conducted to the kitchen, and dining hall. The kitchen has a pump well within it, and the chimney is of ample size, somewhat resembling those of an old baronial castle. The dining hall is floored with bricks of an octagon shape, and covered with a kind of red varnish, which they told us was cow s blood. Long tables of deal surround the hall, with a drawer for each in-dividual, containing a knife, fork, and spoon ; all exceedingly clean and neat. Two of the nuns, in succession, wait upon the 32 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES QUEBEC. others. Passing through a gallery, which led I believe to sleeping apartments, I remarked over each of the doors an inscription in French; over one of them, Pour un moment dc travail, une ctcrnite de rcposS Before taking leave, some little ornaments of neatly wrought bark-work were exhibited to us, of which I purchased one or two. " We had been about an hour within, when a bell rang, which Pere D gave us to understand was the signal for our departure. The nuns conducted us to the door, which I attempted to open, but found it locked ; the Superieure, before producing the key, joked us very good humoredly at the unusual predicament, in which we found ourselves. The parting was as courteous and polite, as could well be ; we did not indeed shake hands, but no ladies could have pro nounced a more affable and unceremonious Bon jour, Messieurs ! Bon jour. Quebec may be considered the "Gibraltar" of America, being better fortified by nature and art, than any other town on the American continent. These fortifications, Mr. Dun can thus describes : " On the south and east, the precipice of rock, on which the city stands, is in most places perfectly inaccessible, while the more practicable points admit of easy and effectual de fence. On the north, the banks of the St. Charles are low, shallow, and muddy ; effectually securing the town from the approach of ships of war, or the erection of hostile works ; both of which, besides, would, in this situation, be under the fire of the batteries along the brow of the rock. The only vulnerable point is on the west, adjoining to the Plains of Abraham. " The citadel, upon the highest part of Cape Diamond, may be said to be the nucleus of the works, which have been erected to protect this side of Quebec. No strangers, unless by very rare and special permission from the highest authori ties, nor in general any but the military, are permitted to enter the citadel. I understand, however, that there is really nothing extraordinary to be seen. Its defences are of the strongest kind, its guns of the largest calibre ; and magazines are embraced within its circuit, which might enable the gar rison tojnake a final stand, even were the whole range of * Duncan s Travels. IN NORTH AMERICA. 33 QUEBEC. the outer works reduced by an enemy. The highest point within the citadel is Brock s battery, which was erected during the last war, and commands, it is said, all the works on this side of the town. From the citadel, which is immedi ately over the St. Lawrence, enormous walls cross the plain, extending down towards the St. Charles. These walls have all the additional aid of outer-works, ditch, glacis, and cov ered way. Strong bastions project at intervals; and in whatever direction you look, heavy cannon converge, so as to meet the assailant at every turn, both with a direct and cross fire. There are two gates on this side, St. John s and St. Louis s; but every approach to them is fortified with such jealous care, that one cannot conceive a possibility of their ever being entered, but by consent of the garrison. The wall at each gate is said to be about fifty feet in thickness. Within the walls, and between the two gates, is a fine sloping bank, or esplanade of considerable extent. Other bat teries and lines of defence are continued round the brow of the rock, on both sides, towards the lower town ; but, ex cepting in the neighborhood of the Prescott gate, there ap pears to be comparatively little occasion for them. Between this gate and the St. Charles, is the grand battery, command ing the bay and a greater part of the harbor. " Upon the whole, Quebec may be regarded as pretty nearly impregnable. The walls are so high that escalade is hopeless; so thick, that a breach seems impracticable; and while Britain retains its naval superiority in the river, block ade is out of the question. The length and severity of the winter, also, act as a powerful auxiliary, for field operations could scarcely then be carried on. I have heard it indeed said, that, in the winter nights, the sentinels on the ramparts are relieved every fifteen minutes, so overpowering is the intensity of the cold." duebec has been the theatre, at different times, of several interesting and important military operations. In 1759, while Canada was yet in possession of the French, an attempt was made by the English under General Wolfe, for its reduction. The place was at that time strong by na ture, and fortified by art. An attempt to reduce it must have appeared chimerical to any one, but to Mr. Pitt, then prime minister of England. He indeed well knew the dan ger of the enterprise; but, at the same time, he knew the 3 WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM. IN NORTH AMERICA. 35 QUEBEC. qualifications of Wolfe, as leader of the arduous expedition. The assistants of Wolfe, Monckton, Townshend, and Mur ray were, like himself, young, ardent, and emulous of mili tary glory. Early in the season, he sailed from Halifax with 8000 troops ; and about the last of June landed the whole army, on the island of Orleans, a few miles below Quebec. From this position, a near and distinct view could be taken of the obstacles to be surmounted, and even the bold and sanguine mind of Wolfe perceived more to fear, than to hope for, in the enterprise. His attention was first drawn to Point Levi, on the bank of the river, opposite Quebec, and from that position he cannonaded the town. Some injury was done to the houses, but his cannon were too far distant to make any impression upon the works of the enemy. He resolved to quit this post, and to land below Montmorency, and, passing that river, to attack the French General in his intrenchments. He suc ceeded in landing his troops, and with a portion of his army crossed the Montmorency. A partial engagement took place, in which the French obtained the advantage. Relinquishing this plan, he then determined, in concert with the Admiral, to destroy the French shipping and magazines. Two at tempts were unsuccessful ; a third was more fortunate ; yet, but little was effected. Deeply impressed with the disasters at Montmorency, his extreme chagrin affected his spirits, preyed upon his delicate frame, and at length brought him to a sick bed. Before he had sufficiently recovered, he pro ceeded to put into execution a plan, which he had matured on that sick bed. This was to proceed up the river, gain the heights of Abraham, and draw Montcalm to a general engagement. The difficulties attending this enterprise were numerous. The current was rapid, the shore shelving, the only landing place so narrow that it might easily be missed in the dark, and the steep above such as troops, even when unopposed, could not ascend without difficulty. Yet the plan, though bold and hazardous, was well adapted to the desperate situa tion of affairs, and was determined on. "On the twelfth of September," observes Professor Silli- man, " one hour after midnight, General Wolfe, with his ar my, leaving the ships, embarked in boats, and silently dropped down with the current, intending to land a league above Cape Diamond, and thus to gain the heights of Abraham. IN NORTH AMERICA. 37 QUEBEC. But owing to the rapidity of the current, they fell below their intended place, and disembarked at what is now called Wolfe s Cove, a mile, or a mile and a half, above the city. This operation was a most critical one they had to navigate in silence, down a most rapid stream to hit upon the right place for landing, which, in the dark, might be easily mis taken the shore was shelving, and scarcely practicable, even without opposition. Doubtless, it was this combination of circumstances, which lulled the vigilance of the wary and observing Montcalm : he thought such an enterprise abso lutely impracticable, and therefore had stationed only senti nels and picket guards along this precipitous shore." No one, who did not possess the resolution and daring spirit of Wolfe, would have attempted so hazardous an ad venture. On reaching the shore, Wolfe leaped from the boat, but observing the forbidding appearance of the preci pice full of rugged projections, he whispered to an officer, who stood by, " I don t believe there is any possibility of get ting up, but you must do your endeavor." Fired with the zeal which animated their commander, the troops began pull ing themselves up by means of the boughs, stumps of trees, and projections of rocks. It was an hour before the dawn of day. By daylight they were formed and in perfect prepar ation for battle. Montcalm, at first could not believe that the English had ascended the heights. When convinced of the fact, he com prehended the full advantage they had gained. He saw that a battle was inevitable, and prepared for it, with promptness and courage. Leaving his camp at Montmorency, he ad vanced towards the English army, which was formed in or der of battle to receive him. The French advanced briskly. The English reserved their fire, until the enemy were near, and then gave it with decisive effect. Early in the engage ment, Wolfe was wounded in the wrist ; but preserving his composure, he continued to encourage his troops. Soon af ter, he received a shot in the groin. This painful wound he also concealed, placed himself at the head of the grenadiers, and was leading them to charge, when he received a third and mortal wound. Undismayed by the fall of their General, the English continued their exertions under Monckton, who in a short time, was himself wounded, and the command de volved upon Townshend. About the same time Montcalm received a mortal wound, and the second in command also WOLFE S AKMY ASCENDING THE HEWITTS OF ABRAHAM. DEATH OF GENERAL WOLFE. 40 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES QUEBEC. fell. The left wing and centre of the French gave way. Part were driven into Quebec, and part over the river St. Charles. On receiving his mortal wound, Wolfe was conveyed into the rear, where, careless about himself, he discovered in the ao-onies of death, the most anxious solicitude concerning the fate of the day. From extreme faintness, he had reclined his head on the arm of an officer, but was soon aroused by the cry of " They fly, they fly! " " Who fly ? " exclaimed the dying hero. " The French," answered his attendant. " Then," said he, " I die contented ; " and immediately ex pired. Montcalm survived long enough to write a letter with his own hand to the English General, recommending the French prisoners to his humanity. When informed that his wound was mortal, he expressed his satisfaction, that he should not live to see the fall of Quebec. Five days after the battle, the city surrendered. All the incidents of the battle were distinctly seen from the walls of Quebec. It was a thrilling scene. More than a thousand French in an hour or two fell on this field of car nage, either killed, or wounded. The killed and wounded of the English were about half of this number. What melancholy reflections are excited by such horrors of war! What bitterness of spirit what deadly revenge, in the bosoms of contending armies! While we admire the military enthusiasm arid intrepidity of generals and soldiers, in such a scene as this, who does not mourn over such needless waste of life ? Who does not feel his heart sink, at the ex ultation of the dying hero over the death of his foes, in the moment that he was ascending to the tribunal of God ? Hap py that day for the world, when the confused noise of the battle of the warrior will be heard no more, and garments shall no more be seen rolled in blood. No undue censure is designed to be cast upon Wolfe, Montcalm, or the soldiers under their command; but only to pour forth that regret, which the heart of tenderness feels in the view of the need less death in the field of battle of those, who, by their talents and influence were pre-eminently fitted for the advancement of the best interests of men, and the diffusion of the peacea ble religion of Christ. In the early part of the Revolutionary war of the United GENERAL M01S 7 TGOMERY. 42 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES QUEBEC. States with Great Britain, Quebec was again the scene of military operations. General Richard Montgomery, who had fought with Wolfe in the battle of Quebec in 1759, had, af ter that event, taken up his residence in the colony of New York ; and, on the breaking out of the war, had espoused the American cause. In 1775, he was appointed a general in the Northern army ; and, on the indisposition of General Schuyler, took the chief command. Soon after this, he re duced several forts, and took possession of Montreal. On re ceiving the submission of tins latter place, he pushed on to wards Quebec. In the mean time, Colonel Arnold had been detached from the camp before Boston, at the head of 1,000 men, with or ders to march on Quebec, by way of the river Kennebec. Through an unexplored route of 300 miles through swamps and woods, over mountains and precipices, and amid hardships and trials of a most uncommon character, did this general, and his resolute troops work their way ; and, at the expiration of thirty-one days, encamped on the southern banks of the St. Lawrence, opposite Quebec. The sudden and unexpected appearance of such a hostile force threw the inhabitants of the city into great alarm ; and could Arnold have crossed the river immediately, it would probably have fallen into his hands. Boats, however, were not in readiness, and several days were consumed, in pre paring a sufficient number. At length, he made the passant; ascended the heights of Abraham, at the spot where Wolfe and his enthusiastic troops had ascended before him. The inhabitants and garrison of Quebec had had time to recover their courage, and to put the city in a state of defence. To Arnold s summons to surrender, the only reply was a firing at his flags. Being in no condition to undertake a siege, he withdrew his troops twenty miles up the river, and awaited the arrival of Montgomery. On the arrival of the latter their united forces not ex ceeding a thousand men a descent was again made upon the city. But their artillery made no impression upon the fortifi cations, and a whole month was spent without any success. In this state, it was determined to make an assault. " The American camp was on the plains of Abraham. Four points of attack were agreed on iwo feints against the walls of the upper town, one at St. John s gate, and the other near a cit adel, while two real assaults were to be directed against two 44 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES QUEBEC. other points, both in the lower town, but situated on opposite sides. " General Arnold led a party from the plains of Abraham, around by the river Charles, and assaulted the lower town, on that side. In the mean time, General Montgomery ap proached under Cape Diamond. " The pass at the foot of Cape Diamond was probably, then, much narrower and more difficult than at present. The attempt was made at five o clock, on the morning of December 31, 1775, in the midst of a Canadian winter, and of a violent snow-storm, and of darkness. The path, narrow and difficult at best, was then so much obstructed by enor mous masses of ice, piled on each other, as to render the way almost impassable. Montgomery s party were therefore obliged to proceed in a narrow file, till they reached a pick eted block-house, which formed the first barrier. The Gen eral assisted with his own hands, in cutting down and re moving the pickets, and the Canadian guards, stationed for its defence, having thrown away their arms, fled, after a harmless random fire. The next barrier was much more form idable ; it was a small battery, whose cannon w ere loaded with grape shot, and as General Montgomery, with Captains Cheesman and Macpherson, the latter of whom was his aid, and others of the bravest of his party, were pressing forward towards this barrier a discharge of grape shot killed the General, and most of those near his person, and terminated the assault on that side of the town. It is said that this sec ond barrier had also been abandoned, but that one or two persons returning to it, seized a slow match, and applied it to the gun, when the advancing party were not more than for ty yards from it. This occurrence has been sometimes dif ferently related. Some American gentlemen who were at Quebec about sixteen years since, saw a man, who asserted that he was the person, who touched off the cannon, and what is very remarkable, he was a New Englander. He related that the barrier was abandoned, and the party who had been stationed at it were in full flight ; but as it occurred to him, that there was a loaded cannon, he turned and discharged it at random, and then ran."* On the fall of Montgomery, signals were made to Arnold s party, by means of rockets, that all was lost. On the re- * S ill i man s Tour to Quebec. 46 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES MONTREAL. turn of light, the body of General Montgomery was found, and near him one of his aids, with several other distinguished officers, besides privates, either killed or wounded. The death of Montgomery was deeply lamented, both in Europe and America. All enmity to him seemed to expire with his life, and the respect to his private character pre vailed over all other considerations ; his dead body received every possible mark of distinction from the victors, and was interred in Quebec, with all the military honors due to a brave soldier. Congress directed a monument to be erected to his memory, expressive of their sense of his high patriot ism, and heroic conduct. This monument stands in front of St. Paul s Church in the city of New York. In 1818, at the expense of that State, his remains were removed to that city, and now repose near the monument. MONTREAL. From Quebec to Montreal, the distance is 180 miles. The customary mode of travelling between these two cities was until within a few years by means of Calashes,* along the bank of the river, where there was a regular establish ment of post houses, under government regulation. The usual mode of conveyance now is by means of steamboats, which will probably, as they carry goods as well as passen gers, soon supersede almost entirely the arrival of square rigged vessels at Montreal. The fare up the river, it is believ ed, is usually somewhat higher than the fare down the river ; * " The Calash is not unlike an American chaise or gig, but is built much stouter, and with or without a top ; the horse is much farther from the body of the rarri.-iirc. and this allows room for the driver, whose seat rests ou the front or foot board of that part of the vehicle in which we ride ; this foot board, after sloping in the usual manner, then rises per pendicularly, to such a height as to sustain the seat ; high sides are also furnished to the part where the feet rest in a common chaise, and thus children and baggage are secured from falling out. The calash carries two grown persons on the seat within, besides the driver, who is often a man ; his seat, and the board which supports it, fall, by means of hinges, when the passengers are to get in, and the board and seat are then hooked up again to their place when the driver mounts." Tour be tween Hartford and Quebec. 48 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES MONTREAL. the difference is occasioned by the increased length of time, which it usually requires to stem the current. Montreal is built upon an island of the same name, about 32 miles in length. The site of the town was originally fixed upon by Jaques Cartier, who in 1635, or 36, first sail ed thus far up the St. Lawrence. It was then occupied by an Indian village. The city was begun in 1640, when a few houses were built. The place was originally called Villc Marie. There seems however, says Mr. Silliman, to have been one error in locating the future city. It was meant to be at the head of navigation ; it is literally so ; and ships can go up to the very city, although it is not natural to do it with vessels of more than a hundred and fifty tons. Vessrls drawing fifteen feet of water, can lie at Market gate, high uj> in the city ; the general depth of water in the harbor is from three to four and a half fathoms. Unfortunately, however, the rapid of St. Mary, at the extreme end of the town, or rather, near one of its suburbs, is so powerful an obstacle, that nothing but a very strong wind will force a vessel through, when not impelled by any other power. The city and its suburbs, according to Mr. Duncan, ex tend for nearly two miles, along the northern, or rather the western bank of the St. Lawrence ; for the course of the river takes a bend here, and runs very nearly from south to north. From the opposite bank, the town has a showy ap pearance, and in summer the circumjacent scenery is ex ceedingly beautiful. Behind and to the left of the city, rises the mountain, from which it originally took its name ; not a conical eminence, but a swelling semicircular ridge, with its concave surface towards the stream, and placed like a rampart behind a city, to shield it in winter from the un kindly blast. A dense forest covers the greater part of the hill, except where space has been cleared for a few neatly built mansion houses, whose bright tin roofs glitter in the sunbeams. Behind one of the most remote of these, a mon umental column rises from among the trees. Between the bottom of the eminence and the spires of the city, a thin blue smoke ascends from part of the suburbs, which the sink ing of the ground conceals from view. In front of its dark colored outline are the tall masts of merchantmen from the Thames, the Mersey, and the Clyde; huge steamboats with double chimneys ; river craft of all sizes ; and enormous rafts of timber. In the middle of the stream reposes the IN NORTH AMERICA. 49 MONTREAL. island of St. Helena, encircled by a group of smaller ones ; while the unceasing sound of a small rapid, which surrounds them, falls gently on the ear. To the right and left rolls the majestic flood of the St. Lawrence, about two miles in width, and although yet five hundred miles from the ocean, capable of floating on its surface vessels of six or seven hundred tons burden. The city, unfortunately, does not gain much upon you, by a nearer inspection. The streets are for the greater part most inconveniently narrow, and the foot walks in many places encumbered with cellar doors, and other projections. The dark colored limestone of which the houses are built, has a dull effect, and the massive iron shutters, folded back from almost every window and door, considerably increase the gloom. The bright tin which covers the spires and roofs, has decided utility to recommend it, but in a warm sunshine its reflection is painful to the eyes, and at all times it has an air of flaunting vulgarity. Blue slate harmonizes much more agreeably with the azure of the sky, but it will not stand, as I have been told, the intense cold which prevails in winter. The tin is put on in rows, not parallel, but obliquely to the eaves of the house, the nails which fasten it are carefully overlapped, and no where is the slightest degree of rust to be seen. Between the older part of the city and the mountain, some wider streets have been laid out, which will greatly improve the general features of Montreal ; and I have been astonished to observe on my second visit, the great number of buildings which have started up, in various directions, since the pe riod of my first visit. The town is obviously increasing with rapidity, and a number of very splendid mansions have lately been erected on the slope of the mountain, which would be regarded as magnificent residences, even by the wealthy mer chants of the mother country. The population of Montreal, continues the same author, notwithstanding the mixture of British merchants, has still an aspect decidedly French, and that language assails your ear in every quarter. The dress of the lower orders is some what peculiar. The women and children have a kind of quaint formality, in the shape of their clothes ; the men, in place of a hat, wear a red or blue nightcap, of a thick tex ture, with a party-colored worsted sash around their waist, 4 50 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES MONTREAL. and shoes fashioned like the Indian moccasins, but of thick er leather. They are great smokers, and seldom to be seen without a small black pipe in their mouths, not unlike the Scotch cutty. The politeness of the common people is quite characteristic of their descent, and a couple of carmen can not address each other on the street without pulling off their caps, and " Bon jour, Monsieur." The Romish priests, who are seen gliding quietly along, are habited in a close black robe, buttoned up in front, with a small scull-cap under an ordinary hat, and the lappet of a small black band, with white edges, depending below the chin. The students of the Sem inary wear a long blue surtout, with seams of white cloth, and a sash of colored worsted round the waist, gathered into a knot in front. Besides the varieties of costume to which I have alluded, a few Indians are almost always in the streets, from the Caugh- nawaga village. Some of them have a squalid and dirty ap pearance, but others, and more particularly the females, are very decently attired : I have indeed seen some of them with an ample mantle of fine blue cloth, over garments of India silk. They are fond of silver ornaments, and have generally a broad ring round their hats, and a large disk perforated with holes, hanging on their breast. I saw a group the other day sitting near the old market, one of whom had an in fant suspended at her back, strapped down like an Indian mummy to a piece of board. This singular cradle has a pro jection to defend the child s head, and is adorned with col ored cloth and beads. I have seen two or three children swathed in this way, none of whom seemed at all impatient of the confinement. Of the merchants of Montreal, I believe the greater pro portion are Scotchmen. A few Englishmen mingle with them, and there are also a considerable number of Ameri cans, from the New England States, who are distinguished by characteristic shrewdness and perseverance, which have made the natives of that part of the Union so noted, through out the rest of the country. So far as I have been able to discover, the utmost harmony prevails between them and those, who are by birth subjects of our sovereign. I dined at a gentleman s house who had thus become voluntarily subject to the laws of our native country ; he said that he IN NORTH AMERICA. 51 MONTREAL. could not discover that his liberty had been at all abridged by the change.* Montreal possesses a few public buildings, civil, military, and ecclesiastical ; the neatest of which, for none of them can be called elegant, are the new Court House and the Gaol. Behind the Court House is the Champ de Mars ; a very level piece of ground of considerable extent, which is a favorite promenade in the summer evenings, and the principal scene of military displays. Opposite to the Gaol, is a monument to the memory of Lord Nelson, consisting of a Doric column, springing from a square pedestal, and surmounted with a statue of the Admiral. Upon the four sides of the pedestal are bas so-relievo representations of his principal achievements, sur rounded with inscriptions and allegorical figures. The col umn is of stone, the statue and bas-reliefs of composition. It stands at the top of a pretty steep street, at right angles to the river. His lordship looks towards the river, because the best view of the monument is obtained from the bottom of the declivity ; but it unfortunately happens that the principal street of the city passes behind him, and he has consequently turned his back upon it, and all it contains. The Episcopal Church, a recent erection, was intended to be a splendid one, with a towering spire ; but the where withal was exhausted ere the spire grew up ; and for the present, a covering of boards serves to indicate where it is intended to be. The Hotel Dieu, founded in 1644, is three hundred and twenty-four feet in front, by four hundred and sixty-eight deep ; it is attended by thirty-six nuns, who administer to the sick and diseased of both sexes. The Convent of La Congregation de Notre Dame, forms a range of buildings, two hundred and thirty-four feet in front, by four hundred and thirty-three : the object of this institution is female instruction. The General Hospital, or Convent of the Grey Sisters, was founded in 1750 : it occupies a space along the little river St. Pierre, of six hundred and seventy-eight feet, and is a refuge for the infirm poor and invalids. The Cathedral of Notre Dame is one hundred and forty- four feet by ninety-four ; this church we thought in some respects more splendid in the interior, but less grand, than * Duncan s Travels. 52 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES MONTREAL. that at Quebec. It contains, among other things, a gigantic wooden image of the Saviour on the cross. The Cathedral stands completely in the street of Notre Dame, across the Place D Arms, and entirely obstructs the view up and down the street. This church is, on the outside, rude and un sightly. The Seminary of St. Sulspice, occupies three sides of a square, and is one hundred and thirty-two feet by ninety, with spacious gardens. It was founded about 1657. The new College, or Petit Seminaire, is in the Recollet suburbs ; it is two hundred and ten feet, by forty-five, with a wing at each end of one hundred and eighty-six feet by for ty-five ; it is an appendage of the other seminary, and de signed to extend its usefulness, by enlarging its accommoda tions. There is near the mountain of Montreal, another append age of the seminary. It appears to be about a mile from the town it is a considerable stone building, surrounded by a massy wall, which encloses extensive gardens, &c. This place was formerly called Chateau desSigneurs de Montreal ; but now it has the appellation of La Maison des Pretres. It is a place of recreation, resorted to, once a week, by both the superiors and pupils of the seminary. The principal French Church, according to Mr. Duncan, is open throughout the whole week, from an early hour till late in the evening; and a number of Canadians may at all times be seen kneeling and offering prayers before the altars, of which there are four or five. Around the sides of the church are several confessionals, where you see others upon their knees, whispering through a grating, behind which the priest is seated. " The external appearance of this church is exceedingly plain. The roof and spire are covered with tin ; and a cipher formed by the letters A and M, appears on various places, which is to be interpreted Ave Maria. The inte rior is gaudy and glittering in the extreme, and around the walls are several pictures, a few of which are apparently of considerable merit. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, of whom a pretty large statue occupies a recess, im mediately above the principal altar. Encircling this altar are four fluted Corinthian columns, supporting a semicircu lar frieze and cornice, from which springs a scroll work, terminated by a large French crown ; the whole glowing in 54 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES MONTREAL. Bright green and gold. Upon the altar are as usual a cruci fix, large candlesticks, and boquets of artificial flowers ; be fore it, suspended from the roof, is a small oil lamp, which is kept perpetually burning. On both sides of the elevated platform, on which the altar stands, are seats for some of the higher orders of clergy. On the left side, considerably ele vated, is a huge crucifix of barbarous workmanship. " I have frequently stepped into this church to see what was going forward. One day I learned that two new bells were to be placed in the steeple, and that, preparatory to this, they were to be^baptized ! This was a sight not to be missed, and I accordingly took care to be in church, at the hour appointed. The bells were suspended near the centre of the church, from a temporary wooden erection, and near them were a table and some chairs. Soon after we had assembled, a door near the upper end of the church was thrown open, and forth issued a procession of priests, pre ceded by two boys in white robes, carrying a pair of enor mous candles, in candlesticks of corresponding dimensions, and two behind carrying a little silver vessel of oil, and water in a silver vase. The priests were variously attired, some in black, others in white, and a few in gorgeous robes of silk and gold. " The boys placed the candlesticks on the table near the bells, and the priests bestowed themselves in the chairs, around the table, or on the seats, which surrounded the prin cipal altar; prayers were then chanted, after which an old ecclesiastic in white ascended the pulpit, and addressed the congregation, in a pretty long French oration. My knowl edge of the language was too limited to admit of my fully un derstanding the old gentleman s address, but I was informed by those who did, that it was intended to impress the minds of his auditors with the solemnity of the approaching cere mony ; and I doubt not that he thought we much needed some such admonition, for the aspect of the congregation was by no means very devout. There was a great crowd present, and with many, as with myself, curiosity seemed to be the most active principle, for they scrambled upon the tops of the pews, and pushed one another so tumultuously, that the old priest twice slopped his address to rebuke us, and on one occasion clapped his hands very angrily, and threatened to suspend the ceremony. I must in justice add, that a great number of the auditors were not Canadians. IN NORTH AMERICA. 55 MONTREAL. " Descending from the rostrum, he was invested with a robe of gaudier colors, and having pronounced a solemn ben ediction upon the water in the vase, he dipped a brush in it and made the sign of the cross upon each bell, inside and out, accompanying it with the solemn words, * In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancte ! Other two then set to work, and completed what he had begun, brushing the bells all over, and then with snow-white towels wiping them dry. Some oil was then consecrated, with which the sign of the cross was made on a variety of places on each bell, and then carefully wiped dry with a little cotton. A silver cen ser with live coals was next produced, into which some in cense was thrown ; and, after being waved three times in the air, it was held under each bell, till they were quite filled with the odorous fumes. " Two old gentlemen and their venerable spouses now came forward, and one pair was stationed at each bell. These were the godfathers and godmothers of the new mem bers of the holy church ; and after having answered some questions to the satisfaction of the priests, they had the honor of bestowing names on their godchildren. This, it seems, is an honor which is much coveted, and is only conceded to those who are able and willing to pay handsomely for the distinction. The oldest priest now took hold of the clapper, and tolled each bell three times, which was immediately re peated by each of the sponsors. The old couples now pro duced presents for their bantlings ; first a large roll of linen for each bell, which was swathed round it by the officiating priests ; then rolls of crimson silk, one of which was rich ly figured, succeeded by laces of fringes; and the whole was bound on by a splendid allowance of white silk riband. The ceremony was now wound up by a short prayer or two, chanted by the priests, when the large candlesticks were again elevated, and the whole fraternity retired as they had filtered." M Culloch regards the Roman Catholic cathedral, opened in 1829, as" "superior to any other church in British America. It is of Gothic architecture, 225 feet in length by 134 feet in breadth. It is faced with stone, and roofed with tin, and has six towers, of which the three belonging to the main front are 220 feet in height. On the roof is a promenade, 76 feet in length by 20 in breadth, elevated 120 feet. The principal window is 64 feet in height by 32 in breadth. The interior 56 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES MONTREAL. is capable of accommodating between 10,000 and 12,000 per- sons, who may disperse by numerous outlets in five or six minutes. It comprises seven convenient chapels and nine spacious aisles." Montreal is the centre of the commerce between Canada and the United States, carried on by Lake Champlain and the Hudson ; and not only is it the resort of all the adjacent coun try, but most of the business done in Quebec is carried on by branches from the Montreal houses. In 1838, 98 ships, of the aggregate burden of 22,289 tons, entered, and 99 ships, burden 21,901 tons, left the port; and the amount has been considerably augmented since that time. Formerly this city was the head-quarters of the fur-trade, but its interest in it has greatly declined. It has, however, iron foundries, distilleries, breweries, soap, candle, and tobacco manufactories ; several ship-building establishments, &c. ; and various articles of hardware, linseed oil, floor-cloth, &c., are also made there. As to the society of Montreal and the style of living which prevails, strangers are very likely to differ somewhat in their opinions. If you wish to enjoy good eating, danc ing, music, and gayety, you will find abundance of all. If literary society is your choice, you will discover but little; and if religious, still less. I was particularly struck with the extent to which card playing and the dice box abound ; they seem indeed to be almost the only resource in an even ing party, if it is not professedly a dancing one. That the citizens of Montreal are hospitable and kind in their atten tion to a stranger, I bear my willing and most grateful testi mony ; but unless the traveller is prepared to enjoy such ex pedients for recreation, he must lay his account with being occasionally somewhat singular in company.* During the war of the Revolution several attempts were made upon different points in Canada, by the Americans. In November, 1775, Colonel Allen and Major Brown under took an expedition against Montreal. Allen found boats ready for him at Longueville, and crossed the river in the night, below Montreal. Here Brown was to have joined * Duncan s Travels. IN NORTH AMERICA. 57 MONTREAL. him with his troops, but missed his way, and Allen was left, with a small force, in the neighborhood of the city. It was just sunrise. The murmur of the city was heard at a few miles distance, and by and by the roll of the Eng lish drums came upon the ear. The Americans now saw that they were discovered. Before long, a column of British infantry came marching down the bank of the river. There was an almost breathless silence in Allen s small band, as they came up. Even Allen himself stood fast, and gazed at them. " To the boats ! to the boats ! " cried a dozen of his sol diers; "there s a thousand of them." "Silence! every man of ye," roared Allen, brandishing a huge horse pistol, " the first man that turns his back upon the red coats, shall smell gunpowder." They were satisfied with this arrange ment, on the whole, examined their rifles, and stood ready for the onset. " Stand your ground, boys ! " shouted Allen. A party of British soldiers were moving towards them from the main body, at double quick time. " Let them come ! " cried a tall, fine looking hunter at his side ; " let them come !" He brought his rifle to his eye as he spoke. " Fire ! " shouted the British officer, and instantly the hunter dropped dead at the feet of Allen. His hardy fol lowers shrunk back. They were sprinkled with the blood of the poor hunter. " Fire ! fire ! " shouted Allen, with a voice of thunder. They fired, and a hot skirmish com menced. Several of the English fell, and several of the Americans ; others fled. Some defended themselves behind rocks and trees. Allen was at last left alone, surrounded, and compelled to surrender. He brushed a few tears away for the fate of his friend, the young hunter, and marched on with the English. He was kept a prisoner more than two years, and then was exchanged for some English officer, whom the Ameri cans had taken. The irons put upon him were so fastened about him, and so heavy, that, for a long time, he could lie down only on his back. A chest was his seat by day, and his bed by night. He was sent to England, to be tried as a prisoner of state, not as a fair and open enemy, but as a rebel. At this time, all the Americans were called rebels, and the English used 58 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES MONTREAL. to speak of hanging great numbers of them, when the war was over. Allen was a man of very large frame, and prodigious strength. He possessed great courage, and was much in clined to daring enterprise. His reputation, it seems, had gone before him to England ; and he was, therefore, kept in very close confinement. The people were as much afraid of him, as if he had been a whale, or a sea serpent. They sometimes used to come and see him in his prison ; but they were very shy, and if he so much as turned round, they would run away like a flock of startled sheep. UNITED STATES. MASSACHUSETTS. BOSTON. BOSTON, the largest city in the New England States, and the capital of Massachusetts, may boast of what may be called in America, antiquity. It is now more than two hun dred years old, the first settlement of it by the English having been made in the year 1630. The place was called Shawmut by the Indians, and Trimountain by the English settlers. The name Boston was given to it by Mr. Cotton, its first minister, who came from Boston, in England. For more than half a century after Governor Winthrop had laid the foundation of the city of the pilgrims, Philadelphia was a forest ; and New York was an insignificant village long after its rival had become a great commercial town. The latitude of Boston is 42 22 23" N. and longitude 70 58 53" W. from London. It is situated 300 miles south east of Montreal ; 300 north-east from Philadelphia, and 436 from Washington. The city is built on an irregular peninsula, nearly two miles in length, at the bottom of Massachusetts Bay, and united to the main land by an isthmus more than a mile in length. The harbor is safe and commodious, capable of allowing 500 vessels to ride at anchor ; yet the mouth is so narrow as scarcely to admit two ships abreast. The en trance is defended by two forts. The town has outgrown the limits of its natural position ; and Charlestown upon an opposite peninsula, and South Boston upon the main land, may be regarded as integral parts of the city. " Circum scribed, however, as they are," says Mr. Duncan, " the cit 59 IN NORTH AMERICA. 61 izens have had the good taste to reserve a park of upwards of forty acres, upon which no buildings have been allowed to encroach. The Mall, as this is called, is surrounded with spreading elrns, and is the finest within the limits of any considerable town in the United States." This obvious ornament has been strangely overlooked in the larger Amer ican cities, notwithstanding the abundance of elbow-room, which all of them enjoy. The streets in the old town, with a few exceptions, are, according to Dr. Dwight, " narrow, crooked and disagreeable. The settlers appear to have built, where they wished, where a vote permitted, or where danger, or necessity forced them to build. The streets strike the eye of a traveller, as if intended to be mere passages from one neighborhood to another, the result of casualty, not of contrivance," just like a European city. Indeed, almost all the great cities in the world have been formed in a similar manner. London, Paris, Amsterdam, Moscow, Constantinople, &,c. are all principally built on wretched streets and with a deplorable confusion. " It is remarkable," says Dr. Dwight, "that the scheme of forming public squares, so beautiful, and in great towns so conducive to health, should have been almost entirely forgotten. Noth ing is so cheerful, so delightful, or so susceptible of the com bined elegancies of nature and art. On these open grounds, the inhabitants might always find sweet air, charming walks, fountains refreshing the atmosphere, trees excluding the sun, and, together with fine flowering shrubs, presenting to the eye, the most ornamental objects found in the country. Here, also, youth and little children might enjoy those sports, those voluntary indulgences, which, in fresh air, are, pecu liarly to them, the sources of health and the prolongation of life. Yet many large cities are utterly destitute of these ap pendages ; and in no city are they so numerous, as the taste for beauty, and a regard for health, compel us to wish." " The people of New York and Philadelphia," says this learned traveller, " to a great extent, live in hired houses, which have been erected by professional builders ; whereas, the citizens of Boston have very generally lived in houses of their own, which each individual has built according to his own taste or ability. Many of the modern houses in Boston, however, are superior to every other American city. Houses of stone are interspersed in great numbers through 62 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BOSTON. most parts of the town ; but in West Boston, and still more on Mount Vernon, (the modern name of Beacon Hill,) they appear to peculiar advantage. Previously to 1776, the lat ter spot was almost absolutely a waste. In that year, it was purchased by three Boston gentlemen, by whom, at a great expense, the ground was levelled, its steep western declivity cut down, and a field of nearly thirty acres converted into one of the most beautiful building grounds in the world." In splendor of building and nobleness of situation, this West End of Boston is not " within many degrees of a rival" on this side of the Atlantic. Boston struck Mr. Duncan, as having altogether more of the appearance of an English town than New York, Many of the buildings are of a fine white granite, and most of the others are of brick. The streets are very compactly built ; and although many of them are narrow and crooked, all ex hibit a degree of order and cleanliness, which will in vain be looked for in most other large towns. On a finely rising ground at the upper part of the Mall, stands the State House, a building of humbler pretensions, as to size and materials, than the New York City Hall, but in situation and architectural outline, greatly superior. It is nearly a square ; in front is a lofty, projecting colonnade of the Corinthian order, with twelve columns, springing from a piazza of rusticated stone, but unhappily bearing only a balus trade, over which rises a small attic story with a pediment ; and overtopping all is a large circular dome, terminating with a small square lantern, from which a most commanding view is obtained of the surrounding country. In a niche erected for the purpose, on the lower floor, stands Chantry s statue of Washington, a fine specimen of sculpture : it cost $16,000. In front is Boston Bay, studded with nearly forty islands, with fortifications and a lighthouse ; the shores which surround its ample basin, advancing and receding with most capricious irregularity, and forming numerous capes and peninsulas, on one of the largest of which the city stands. The vast amphitheatre round the bay, exhibits a country richly variegated with hill and valley, immense for ests and cultivated ground, and sprinkled with above twenty little towns of snowy whiteness, among which a dozen of spires may be counted. " The view from the dome of the IN NORTH AMERICA. 63 State House," remarks a writer, " is said not to be exceeded by that from the Castle Hill of Edinburgh, or that of the Bay of Naples from the castle of St. Elmo." Beside the State House, already mentioned, the other pub lic buildings of Boston are such as we might expect to find in a place abounding in wealth, and architectural taste and skill. The greatest drawback to Boston has been the want of a sufficient supply of good water. The aqueduct company for bringing water from Jamaica pond in Roxbury began opera tions in 1795, but the supply from this source, being only 50,000 gallons daily, was inadequate to the rapid increase of the population. Conflicting interests for a long time prevented any improvement in the facilities for obtaining water. But at length the much desired result has been reached. Boston is now amply supplied with water from Long Pond, in Framing- ham, now named Cochituate Lake. This lake now covers an area of 659 acres, and drains a surface of 11,400 acres. The water is brought in an oval aqueduct, laid in brick with hydraulic cement, a distance of fourteen and a half miles from Cochituate to Brookline, where it is discharged into a reservoir thirty acres in area. From Brookline, the water is forced by its own pressure through pipes of thirty and thirty-five inches in diameter to the two city reservoirs, one on Mount Washington, and the other on Beacon Hill. These two reservoirs will yield the city of Boston 10,000,000 of gallons a day of the best water. The entire cost of construction was about 3,000,000 of dollars, a cheap attainment of a most valuable end. A commodious and expensive Custom House has recently been finished by the United States government, and is now occupied for business. It was projected prior to 1840. It is said to have cost one million of dollars. On the north end of the first floor of the building from its entrance, the easterly side is the office of the Assistant Treasurer a branch of the Sub-Treasury. The vault for the reception of the public funds is very capacious and well secured. On the opposite side of the same projection are the offices of the Measurers and Markers. At the other end of the building are the rooms for the Inspectors, Weighers and Guagers. A wide stairway from each side of the entrance-hall leads to the office in the principal story, and the main hall or rotundo. On the north end are the offices of the Collector and Naval Officer ; at the opposite end are those of the Surveyor and Public Store- 64 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES keeper. In the Hall the principal business of the collecting department, embracing all the clerkships, is transacted : there are some twenty desks, all filled. On either end, are the desks of the Deputy Collectors, in one corner is the Cashier, and on the opposite side is the office of the Registary. The Warehouse office is in another corner. The whole number connected with this Custom House is about 125. It is a fine building, and does great credit to the government. It is al ready predicted, however, that it will in a few years be alto gether too small for the accomplishment of the amount of business which it will be desirable to transact under its roof. Boston is rapidly increasing in wealth and population, and the communications with the north and west open a scene of prosperity which has seldom been witnessed by the sea-ports of the old world. Its enterprise is fast gaining upon that of the great commercial metropolis of the United States. At a short distance from the Tremont, stands an ancient edifice called the Stone Chapel, with its square tower and massive colonnade, producing a noble effect by the simple dignity of its architecture. In an opposite direction, on the same street, and fronting the Mall, is St. Paul s Church, a granite edifice in the Doric style, with a facade of free stone, comprising a portico of six pillars. This church is one of the finest in the United States; the simplicity of its exterior is peculiarly striking. The stone structure on Church Green, with its octagonal shape and tall spire, though of a fantastical design, has its admirers. The Park Street Church, at the head of the Mall, attracts attention, by the height of its steeple. The Old South, in the centre of a busy district, is beheld with interest, from its historical asso ciations. The tower of the Brattle Street Church, still ex hibits in its front, the cannon ball shot into it from the bat teries of the besiegers, in 1775. Trinity Church, in Summer street, a massy structure of rough granite, with a lofty square tower, affords a grand and imposing specimen of mixed gothic architecture. The Church in Bowdoin street, a gothic edifice of rough stone, has the same effect, on a somewhat smaller scale. The largest building in the city is Fancuil Market, a granite structure, two stories in height, and 536 feet long. The centre has a dome, and at each end is a portico of four columns, each of an entire stone. This is the most elegant market in the United States, and probably in the world ; on PARK STREET CHURCH. TRINITY CHURCH. 5 BOWDO1N SQUARE CHURCH. Tremont House. Fanouil Hall. Hospital. King s Chapel. IN NORTH AMERICA. 67 either hand it fronts on a spacious street, one 65 and the other 102 feet in width, both showing a solid front of stone stores of uniform height and appearance. Old Faneuil Hall stands west of this spot ; it is a lofty brick edifice, and the spacious galleries of its interior still witness the throngs and the oratory of popular meetings. Painting and repairs have a little modernized the aspect of this venerable pile The Old State House, now the City Hall, is another relic of an cient architecture, and the scene of many events in revolu tionary history. The wharfs of Boston surpass those of any seaport of the United States, for size and convenience. Long Wharf, at the bottom of State street, is 1,650 feet long, and has a line of lofty brick stores nearly its whole extent. Central Wharf is 1,240 feet in length, 150 wide, and contains 54 stores in a single pile, with a spacious observatory in the centre, where telegraphic signals are received from the islands in the bay. India Wharf has a double row of stores, six stories high ; all these wharfs have spacious docks, and wide and con venient landings, carriage ways, &c. The Massachusetts General Hospital is a beautiful stone edifice, much commended for the convenience of its interior arrangements. The Houses of Industry and Correction, on the peninsula of South Boston, but within the city limits, are of stone, each 220 feet long, and of an uniform architecture. The new Court-house, constructed of hewn Quincy granite, is 176 feet long, 54 feet wide, and 57 feet high ; and the north and south fronts are adorned with Grecian Doric porticoes, of four columns, which weigh 25 tons each. The interior has four court-rooms, each 50 by 40 feet, besides various public offices. An elegant Merchants Exchange, with a fine reading- room, has been recently erected in State street ; and besides accommodations for the post office, and for several insurance and brokers offices, affords many conveniences for the mer cantile community. Within a few years, the business, wealth and population of Boston have been greatly augmented by reason of the several Railroads which enter it at various points, especially the Great Eastern and Western Railroads. The population of Boston in 1851 was 136,781, and has since been rapidly increasing. IN NORTH AMERICA. 69 Until 1821, Boston retained the denomination of a town, and continued to be governed by a body of selectmen, ac cording to the ancient New England custom. Since that period, it has had a city government, consisting of a Mayor, eight Aldermen, and a Common Council of forty-eight mem bers, all chosen annually in January.* Boston is honorably pre-eminent in the number of its lit erary and educational institutions. The public schools are maintained by a tax ; and as every person has a right to send his children to these establishments, the poor obtain educa tion almost gratis. The rich mostly prefer sending their children to private academies. The public schools are un der the inspection of a committee of gentlemen, annually chosen, whose duty it is to visit them once in three months. " The Bostoniahs are very proud, and perhaps justly so," re marks Captain Basil Hall, " of this system of public instruc tion." Boston is rich in public libraries, among which that of the Athenaeum, a literary institution incorporated in 1817, claims pre-eminence. In works on American history, the col lection is said to be unrivalled. A museum is attached to it. The other literary societies of Boston are the American Academy of Arts and Sciences ; the^American Antiquarian Society ; the Massachusetts Medical Society ; the Massa chusetts Historical Society ; and the Massachusetts Agri cultural Society. Its charitable associations are not less numerous. Among these are a Bible Society for Massachu setts; several Missionary Societies; an Institution for the relief of the widows and children of deceased ministers: a Humane Society for the relief of distressed seamen ; and a Female Asylum. Harvard College, although situated in Cambridge, three miles from Boston, is so naturally associated with the capi tal, that we shall speak of it in this place. It is the most an cient, and most amply endowed collegiate institution in the Union. The foundation of it was laid in the year 1636, by the appropriation of =400 for the purpose of a public school, by the General Court of the infant colony. In 1638, the Rev. John Harvard, of Charlestown, bequeathed to it one half of his property, amounting to nearly c800. The institu- * Goodrich s Universal Geography. 70 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES tion was now dignified with the name of Harvard College ; and the town, which had hitherto been called Newtown, was named Cambridge, in honor of that seat of science in Eng land, at which a great number of the principal colonists had received their education. Thus, remarks Dr. Dwight, " with in ten years after the little flock, which commenced the set tlement of Massachusetts, landed at Salem, and within eighteen years after the first foot was set on the shore of Plymouth, a college was endowed by them and established.". In 1050, the first charter was granted by a General Court, constituting the President and Fellows of the College a cor porate body. This charter was confirmed by the Constitution of the State, when the style of " the University in Cam bridge," was first legally given. The professorships of divinity and of mathematics and natural philosophy were founded by Mr. Thomas Hollis, a merchant of London, 1722 and 1726; that of Hebrew, by the Hon. Thomas Hancock, an emine*nt merchant of Boston, in 1765. Other professorships have been added, from time to time, by subsequent benefactors. They now amount to upwards of twenty, including the Med ical Department, which is an integral part of the Institution ; although, for the greater convenience of medical students, it occupies buildings yi Boston. The University now com prises five colleges, and a new hall, (erected in 1814, at the expense of nearly ,17,000,) containing the chapel, lecture rooms, dining rooms, and kitchen : this hall, which is of fine white granite, is reckoned the handsomest building in Massachusetts. The building stands in an enclosed plain, fourteen acres in extent, sheltered on three sides by forest trees, and in the immediate vicinity of an extensive common. The library, containing upwards of 40,000 volumes, is the best in the United States. The philosophical apparatus is also valuable. The museum has been enriched by a collec tion of mineralogical specimens, principally presented by Dr. Letsom of London, and the Paris Committee of Public Safety. There is also a valuable collection of anatomical wax models, the workmanship of Italian artists. The academical course is completed in four years. The literary and scientific reputation of Harvard Uni versity," says Mr. Duncan, " stands very high; and except Yale College, none in this country can contest with it the IN NORTH AMERICA. 71 pre-eminence." Its means of usefulness have recently been materially augmented by the establishment of additional pro fessorships, for which liberal provision has been made. Mount Auburn Cemetery also belongs to Boston, being a place of burial for such of the inhabitants of the capital as are dis posed by purchase to become interested in it. It is on the western line of Cambridge, stretching into Watertown, and nearly four and a half miles westerly of north of the city. It was consecrated as a place of repose for the dead, with appropriate ceremonies, September 24th, 1831. The lot originally comprised seventy-two acres, but by an after purchase was increased to one hundred and ten acres. The entrance on the north front of the cemetery is through a massive gate-way, taken from an Egyptian model, and chiseled in a very superior manner from Quincy granite, and cost ten thousand dollars. The whole length of the north line has an imposing cast-iron fence, erected at a cost of fif teen thousand dollars. The highest mound in the cemetery is one hundred and twenty-five feet above the level of the river Charles, which meanders along its south-eastern boundary ; on this mound it is the design to erect a tower sixty feet high, which will afford an interesting position for an extended view of the surrounding scenery : it being then at an elevation of one hundred and eighty-five feet. The land is excellent, clothed with a fine growth of trees, and beautifully undulated with a constant succession of hill and dale, affording quiet retreats and pleasant look-outs. The paths are laid out in involving lines, which constitutes one of its most pleasing arrangements. It is one of the most inter esting spots of public utility and beauty about the city, for the stranger to look on, or the reflecting mind of man to dwell upon. Here repose the remains not only of many of the eminent citizens of Boston and vicinity, but of distinguished strangers, who have fallen in their midst. Among the latter may be mentioned the name of one familiar to all the cele brated phrenologist Dr. Spurzheim, over whose dust the liberal and philanthropic hand has erected a chaste, yet beau tiful and enduring monument. The first person interred in this ground was the amiable Hannah Adams. A neat monument has been erected to her memory, on which is the following inscription : 72 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BOSTON. TO HANNAH ADAMS, HISTORIAN OF THE JEWS, AND REVIEWER OF THE CHRISTIAN SECTS, THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED BY HER FEMALE FRIENDS. FIRST TENANT OF MOUNT AUBURN. SHE DIED DEC. 15, 1831. AGED 76. " The enterprising spirit by which the Bostonians, and the New Englanclers generally, are distinguished, has character ized them from the very foundation of the colony ; and it formed one topic of eloquent panegyric in the splendid ora tion of Burke, on moving his famous Resolutions of Concil iation with the Colonies."* " Look," said he, " at the man ner in which the people of New England have of late carried on the whale fishery. Whilst we follow them among the tumbling mountains of ice, and behold them penetrating into the deepest frozen recesses of Hudson s Bay and Davis s Straits, whilst we are looking for them beneath the arctic circle, we hear that they have pierced into the opposite re gion of polar cold ; that they are at the antipodes, and en- aged under the frozen serpent of the South. Falkland sland, which seemed too remote and romantic for the grasp of national ambition, is but a stage and resting-place, in the progress of their victorious industry. Nor is the equinoctial heat more discouraging to them, than the accumulated winter of both the poles. We know that whilst some of them draw the line and strike the harpoon, on the coast of Africa, others run the longitude, and pursue the gigantic game along the coast of Brazil. No sea, but what is vexed by their fisheries. No climate, that is not witness to their toils. Neither the perseverance of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of English en terprise, ever carried this most perilous mode of hard indus try to the extent, to which it has been pushed by this recent I * Dwight s Travels. IN NORTH AMERICA. 73 people ; a people who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not yet hardened into the bone of manhood."* It is curious enough to compare with this splendid en comium upon the adventurous spirit of mercantile enterprise, the caricature of the New Englander drawn by an American writer, in which the same general lineaments are, neverthe less, preserved. " These Yankees are certainly a very strange race of people. You will see them with their eel skins upon their hair, to save the expense of barbers, and their ear-rings in their ears, to improve their sight to see how to cheat you better, I suppose. They would sooner die than part with one of these ornaments unless you pay them well for it. At the same time, they live upon nothing. A rasher of pork is a feast for them, even on holidays. Their favorite drink is svvitchel, or molasses and water, which, they tell you, is better than burgundy or champagne. They are, however, better taught than fed, and make the finest, boldest sailors in the world. They can sail to the North Pole in an egg shell, if the ice does not break it. Indeed, they are seamen by birth, and box the compass in their cradles. You know our genteel laziness unfits us (Virginians) for the drudgery of commerce ; so we leave it all to the Yankees. The crafting part of them come to us at all seasons in their sloops and schooners, bringing a miscellaneous cargo of all sorts of no tions not metaphysical, but material such as cheese, but ter, potatoes, cranberries, onions, beets, coffins ; you smile, but it is a fact, that, understanding some years ago that the yellow fever was raging with great violence, some of them very charitably risked their own lives, to bring us a large quantity of ready-made coffins, of all sizes, in nests, one within another, to supply customers at a moment s warning; an insult we have hardly forgiven them yet. You will see them sailing up into all our bays, rivers, and creeks; wherever the water runs. As the winter comes on, they creep into some little harbor, where they anchor their vessels, and open store on board, retailing out their articles of every kind, to the poor countrymen, who come to buy. Towards the spring, they sail away with a load of planks or shingles, which they often get very cheap. Indeed, the whole race of Yankee * Burke s Speeches, vol. 1, p. 284. 74 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES seamen are certainly the most enterprising people in the world. They are in all quarters of the globe, where a penny is to be made. In short, they love money a little better than their own lives. What is worst, they are not always very nice about the means of making it, but are ready to break the laws like cobwebs, whenever it suits their interest."* " This," remarks Lieutenant Hall, " is a caricature in tentionally a caricature ; but we have introduced it for the purpose of showing what pleasant things have been said of the Yankees. Still the Virginian satire is not without its justice, in respect to some, whose birthplace was the land of the puritan fathers. To be correctly judged of, the New Englanders should be seen at home" " I feel a pride and pleasure," says Mr. Carey, in liis Olive Branch, " in doing justice to the yeomanry of the Eastern States : they will not suffer in a comparison with the same class of men in any part of the world. They are upright, sober, orderly, and regular ; shrewd, intelligent, and well informed ; and I believe there is not a greater degree of native urbanity among the yeomanry of any other country, under the canopy of heaven." These traits of character, so highly and justly commended by Mr. Carey, are applicable to the citizens of Boston. Perhaps no people on the globe are more attached to their country, are more jealous of its honor, or more watchful in respect to its constitution, and institutions, than the people of Boston. They were among the first in their resistance to British tyranny, and foremost in all the great measures which led to the triumph of American liberty. As early as 1760, an attempt was made by the British government to enforce an act, by which duties were laid on foreign sugar and mo lasses. This act being considered oppressive, had, in some instances, been supposed to be evaded. " Writs of assist ance," or search warrants, were therefore offered to the cus tom house officers, with a view to search for those articles, supposed to be secreted. This measure roused the people, and for the purpose of opposing the issuing of these writs, % they employed two eminent lawyers, Oxenbridge Thatcher, and James Otis, to appear before the court in their behalf. John Adams said, " That on this occasion, Otis was a flame of fire ! every one of the immense audience, who heard him * Letters from Virginia. IN NORTH AMERICA. 75 in his defence of American rights, went away ready to take arms against writs of assistance. Then and there was the first scene of opposition to the arbitrary claim of Great Brit ain ; then and there American independence was born." In 1765, Lord Grenville introduced into the British par liament his famous project for taxing America, to commence with duties on stamps. This excited throughout the colo nies a burst of indignant feeling; but in no place greater heart-burnings than in Boston. Measures were pursued by the patriotic populace, which were considered unwarrantable by the more reflecting ; but they evinced the spirit and character of the people of those days. The stamp act was expected to go into operation on the 1st of November ; but in August preceding, the excited feeling of the inhabitants broke out into open violence. " After burning the effigy of Mr. Oliver, the proposed distributor of stamps, the populace assembled at his house, broke his windows, and destroyed his furniture. Mr. Oliver then formally pledged himself to have no concern in the execution of the obnoxious statute. The houses of an officer of the court of admiralty, and of one of the custom house officers, were entered, and their effects purloined. But the greatest damage was done in the mansion house of Lieutenant Governor Hutchinson, whose loss in furniture, plate, fixtures, and money, was very con siderable, and was a chief item in the claims which Great Britain afterwards made against Massachusetts, for remuner ating those who suffered, in attempting to enforce this act of its legislature." On the arrival of the 1st of November, "the great, the important day," its dawn was ushered in by the tolling of the bells of the city, as for a funeral. Many of the shops and stores were shut. Effigies of the men who supported the act, were paraded about the streets, and carried to a gallows erected on Boston neck, where, after being suspended for some time, they were cut down and torn to pieces, amid the shouts and acclamations of thousands. In 1768, " non-importation agreements" were entered into by several of the colonies, in regard to articles on which du ties had been laid. Tea being one, the East India Company soon found a large quantity accumulated in their warehouses. This they found it necessary to sell, to save themselves from bankruptcy ; and, accordingly, large shipments were made to America, with the hope that the people 6*f the colonies, in 76 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES spite of all private associations, and patriotic agreements, would purchase an article, which, from long habit and ex tensive use, had become almost a necessary of life. Long before the ships arrived, however, with the tea, ar rangements were made to avert the threatened mischief. That which arrived in Philadelphia and New York, was sent back to England in the same ships that brought it. In Charleston it was landed, and was ruined in damp ware houses. In Boston another fate awaited it. Two of the vessels with the tea arrived on Saturday, No vember 27th. On Monday following, a meeting of citizens was called, and a vote passed with acclamations, " that the tea shall not be landed, that no duty shall be paid, and that it shall be sent back in the same bottoms." At the same time, resolutions were passed, calling on the consignees, among whom were two sons of Governor Hutchinson, to de cline the charge of it. A guard of twenty-five men were ap pointed to protect it, and prevent its being landed ; and then the meeting was adjourned to the next day, to hear the an swer of the consignees. That answer was, that they would not send it back, but would store it. A proclamation from the governor, ordering the people to disperse, was read by the sheriff, which was received with one universal hiss. Votes were again passed, prohibiting the tea to be landed. "On the fifteenth of December, another meeting was held at the Old South Church, when Mr. Rotch, the owner of the largest parcel of tea, attended ; and after much difficulty, he was persuaded to apply to the custom house for a clearance, and the meeting adjourned, to hear the result, till the next morning. Ten gentlemen accompanied him to the custom house, and the clearance was refused, in a peremptory man ner. A vote of the meeting was then passed, ordering him to protest against this refusal, and a deputation was sent with him to Governor Hutchinson, who was at his country seat on Milton Hill, seven miles from Boston, to entreat him to grant a pass, that the vessel might leave the harbor. " In the mean time, various speeches were made in the meeting, to keep the people together, which were said to amount to six or seven thousand persons. Mr. John Howe, an eminent merchant and patriotic citizen, who was, doubt less, in the secret of the measures that were to be taken in the last resort,, hinted in the form of an inquiry, Who 78 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES knows how tea will mix with salt water ? which was re ceived with applause. At length, about sundown, the depu tation returned from the governor, with the refusal to grant the pass. A few minutes after, a band of eighteen or twenty young men, who had been prepared for the event, went by the meeting-house, giving a shout. It was echoed by some within ; others exclaimed, the Mohawks are come ! The assembly broke up, and a part of it followed this body of young men to Griffin s wharf, (now called Liverpool wharf,) on the south side of the town. " Three different parties, composed of trustworthy per sons, many of whom in after life were among the most re spectable citizens, of the town, had been prepared, in con formity to the resolves of the political leaders, to act as cir cumstances should require. One or two of these parties wore a kind of Indian disguise. They were seventy or eighty in all ; and, when every attempt had failed to have the tea returned, and the final refusal of the governor to inter fere was received, it was immediately made known to them, and they proceeded at once to throw the obnoxious mer chandise into the water. This was done with as much good order and regularity, as if the tea had been discharged in the ordinary way. The chests were hoisted upon the decks, broken open, and their contents emptied over the side of the ship into the channel. A large crowd of people was col lected, who were quiet spectators of the operation, which was completed in the course of the evening ; and after the work was finished, the actors and spectators calmly retired to their several homes. "Of all the tea, which was three hundred and forty-two chests, the whole quantity saved is contained in a small vial still in existence. One of the operators, on his return home, found his shoes filled with it ; this he put into a bottle, and sealed up. Not a pound of the tea was purloined. One of the persons engaged in the business, who wished to preserve too large a specimen, was observed by some of his com panions to have the pockets of his coat a little distended. This was treated as an accident, which was remedied, how ever, in a good natured way, without resistance, by the appli cation of a knife across the waist of the coat, which left a garment, that has, in later times, been called a spencer, and the part separated was thrown overboard, to accompany its kindred tea. The most scrupulous care was taken, that nono 80 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CItAKLESTOWN. of it should be secreted. The shores of the harbor, at high water mark, were lined with it the next day, as with other worthless weeds. A chest, containing a few pounds, floated into a creek in Dorchester, where it was discovered, brought into town, and publicly committed to the flames." CHARLESTOWN. CIIARLESTOWN is an appendage, or suburb of Boston ; yet it was founded a year earlier than the latter. In 1629, the inhabitants of Salem, being dissatisfied with the location, to the number of 100, removed under the Direction of Mr. Graves, to Mishawun, to which by conseht they gave the name of Charlestown. Mr. Graves laid out the town in two acre lots, one of which he assigned to each inhabitant; and afterwards he built a good house for the accommodation of those who were soon to come over to New England.* The more compact part of the town is built on a peninsula, the centre of which is occupied by Bunker Hill. The houses stand on the eastern and southern slope of the hill, and along its base. The main street is a mile in length, and there is a spacious and handsome square in the southern part. It is a pleasant but irregular town, and the views of the city are ex ceedingly beautiful. The population in 1850 was 17,216. There are several public works at Charlestown, of interest, among which may be mentioned the United States Navy Yard. It occupies 60 acres of ground, and comprises a marine hospital, warehouse, arsenal, powder magazine, and a superintendent s house, all of brick, with two large wooden houses to shelter frigates and sloops of war, on the stocks. The dry dock is the finest in the United States. It cost rising half a million of dollars. On the western side of the peninsula, at. the water s edge, stands the Massachusetts State Prison. It has been recently rebuilt on the Auburn plan, with 300 cells, and reorganized at an expense of $86,000. The Massachusetts Insane Hos- * Holmes. 3 o 00 82 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHARLESTOWX. pital stands upon a beautiful eminence in the western part of Charlestown, without the peninsula, and consists of several piles of buildings. Charlestown is memorable for the battle of Bunker Hill, so called, which was fought June 17, 1775. It was the first regular battle fought in the Revolutionary war, and served to give an impulse to the Americans in their struggle, which they did not forget, till victory crowned their arms, in the final battle of Yorktown. Bunker and Breed s Hill, are two eminences in Charles- town. "On the Kith of June, Colonel Prescott received orders to fortify Bunker s Hill ; but on viewing that emi nence, he saw at once, that it was an ineligible spot; and he looked along to the right, and found that a spur of that hill, which was now called Breed s Hill, was the most proper situation, in every respect, for a battle ground. Consider ing that they were within the limits of their orders, Prescott and Colonel Gridley, the engineers, began a redoubt on the right of Breed s Hill. It was about one hundred and forty feet square, with two open passages for ingress and egress. On the left of the redoubt, running north-easterly, was a breastwork of sods, not much over four feet high ; but not, as has been stated, extending to Mystic river ; it did not extend one quarter of the way to it. The line from this breastwork was made of two post and rail fences, placed about four feet apart, in parallel lines, and between them was trode the newly mown grass, making quite as good a screen for the militia, as the redoubt or the breastwork. General Ward, who commanded the American army, con cluding from the firing from Copp s Hill, in Boston, at the early dawn of the morning of the 17th, that the British would make a struggle to get possession of the works, offered to relieve Prescott and his men; but they unanimously declined the offer, but earnestly insisted on reinforcements. These were reluctantly given, as the commander in chief thought that an attack on his camp was contemplated ; and in such case, his camp at Cambridge, indifferently fortified as it was, would be a better place for a ceneral action, than Bunker s Hill. " Early in the morning, from the battery on Copp s Hill, one of the men in or near the redoubt was shot, and was in stantly buried on the spot ; but although the roar of the 84 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHAKLKSTOWN. cannon from Copp s Hill was incessant, no further damage was done by their shots ; and in aid of this battery, the Lively, a man-of-war, was brought to bear, and in fact she began the cannonade. " General Gage, wishing to drive the provincials from the hill, sent Major General Howe and Brigadier General Pigot, with ten companies of grenadiers, and ten of light infantry, with some artillery, to perform this service. These generals, reconnoitering the American forces, on their arrival at Nor ton s Point, thought best to wait the reinforcement from Boston. For these, Howe waited from about noon till three o clock, P. M. before the battle was commenced. The British began a slow march up the hill in two lines, stopping nt times to give the artillery a chance to play. But the angle of elevation was such, that it did but little execution. The provincials wasted no ammunition ; they had but a scanty supply. They were ordered to put four buck shots to a bullet, and to reserve their fire until the enemy were at blank point shot distance. At this moment they poured in upon the approaching foe a most destructive volley. The effect was not more destructive than appalling. The British soldiery expecting nothing but random shots from undisci plined militia, were astonished at such deadly fires, and their line was broken in confusion. Some companies had not twenty soldiers fit for duty, when they were about to rally. The British officers had the greatest difficulty to bring their troops into line again. At length, they came up a second time towards the works, but with some wavering, and in less than fifteen minutes, their line broke in still greater confu sion than before. Clinton saw this from Boston, and hasten ed over to assist Howe. Both the generals addressed the soldiers ; called to mind their former wreaths of glory, and the everlasting disgrace of being beaten by raw militia. Howe swore to them, that he would never survive the dis grace, if they were conquered that day. By this time, Charlestown, consisting of four hundred houses, was in a blaze. This Clinton had done to terrify the neighboring army. On the third attack, they were under the necessity of resorting to skill, not daring to put it on the score of bravery a third time. Pigot, with a considerable force, took a circuitous route around the south side of the hill, and came upon the south-western angle of the redoubt, and in stantly scaled the slight works. Pitcairn was with him, and GENERAL HOWE. GENERAL BURGOYNE. GENERAL STARK. IN NORTH AMERICA. 87 CHARLESTOWN. was shot through the body as he was about to leap into the redoubt. Pigot, being a short man, was lifted by his soldiers on j;o the sods, and jumped into the area without harm. The provincials were now attacked on the east and on the west; their ammunition was exhausted, and they had but few or no bayonets ; and after beating their assailants awhile with the buts of their guns, Prescott ordered a retreat. Those at the breast work and in the redoubt retreated, and those at the rail fence followed, over Charlestown neck northward. " Until the commencement of the retreat, but few of the Americans had been killed. Their unwillingness to leave the ground at the proper time, was the cause of the considerable number of killed and wounded. Captain Knowlton, having a fine company near Mystic river, moved up in good order, and covered the retreat of the Americans. The battle was ended between five and six o clock. The wind during the fight, was brisk and westerly, and drove the smoke directly in the face of the enemy ; but as the smoke rose over the heads of the British, the Americans, as it were, looking under the cloud, saw where to fire. Prescott was during the fight in the redoubt; the other portion of the Massachusetts rnilitia at the breastworks. The New Hampshire troops, under Stark, Dearborn, and others, were at the rail fence. They were marching from their native State towards Cam bridge, and went on to the battle ground by their own im pulses, not having received any orders from the commander in chief. " The British had between three and four thousand in the fight. They acknowledged ten hundred and fifty-four killed and wounded, with a great proportion of officers. Their number was most unquestionably larger ; for they brought between three and four hundred of the slain, and buried them in the corner of the new burying ground at the bottom of the common in Boston. The others were buried on Breed s Hill, where they fell. " The Americans had fifteen hundred in the fight, but perhaps there were a few more at times, for volunteers came on to the ground, expended their powder, and retreated, when they could do no more service to the cause. The provincials had one hundred and thirty-nine killed, and three hundred and fourteen wounded and missing. The officers who fell on the American side were, Colonel Gardner of 88 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHARLESTOWN. Cambridge, Lieutenant Colonel Parker of Chelrnsford, and Majors Moore and M Crary, all men of distinction and value, and heroes in the cause, with Maj. Gen. Jos. Warren. " General Burgoyne was all the time, during the battle, seated in the belfry of the North Church of Boston, a most commanding position, to watch the movements of either party. His letter describing the scene was, at that period, considered as one of very graphic power, but is too general to give the historian much information. Warren assumed no command on that day. He had been commissioned as a major general by the Provincial Congress, but four days previous, and had not taken any command ; nor had he, in fact, been sworn into office, except, as every one had an oath in heaven, to live free, or die. Warren was, at the moment of his fall, president of the Provincial Congress, and chairman of the committee of safety. He had put some one into the chair, and mounted his horse at Watertown, where the legislature was in session, to come and encourage his fellow citizens in the fight. When he entered the redoubt, Prescott offered him the command, but he declined it, say ing, I come to learn war, under an experienced soldier, not to take any command. 1 He was the martyr of that day s glory. His death was felt as a calamity to the cause and to the nation. He was in the .prime of life, being only thirty- five years of age, with a spirit as bold and dauntless, as was ever blazoned in legends, or recorded in history. He was a prudent, cautious, but fearless statesman; made to govern men, and to breathe into them a portion of his own heroic soul. His eloquence was of high order ; his voice was fine, and of great compass, and he modulated it at will. His ap pearance had the air of a soldier, graceful and command ing, united to the manners of a finished gentleman. The British thought that his life was of the utmost importance to the American army; of so much importance, that they would no longer hold together after his fall. They sadly mistook the men they had to deal with. His blood was not shed in vain ; it cried from the ground for vengeance ; and his name became a watchword in the hour of peril and glory. The name of the humblest individual, who perished in that fight, will be remembered by the town, or parish from whence he came, and be generally enrolled on the books of the corpo ration. Young, substantial yeomen, or industrious me chanics, they were owners of the soil for which they fought. IN NORTH AMERICA. 89 CHARLESTOWN. The battle scene was imposing ; the ground, was in the im mediate neighborhood of a city, whose inhabitants were watching the progress of events, anxious for their nearest friends ; the roar of cannon from ships of war, and from floating and stationary batteries, followed, or commingled with incessant volleys of musketry a well built and com pact town, seen in one mass of flames, and all this but the commencement of troubles, was a sight appalling to every American, and seemed to shake even the enemy, in both mind and body. The British troops, in considerable num bers, occupied the hill that night, and enlarged the redoubt to nearly twice its original extent ; yet they did not venture to light their fires, but labored by the sinking, flickering lights, which shot up from the smouldering ruins of Charles- town. For the Americans, struggling for liberty, the event of this battle was most fortunate. Their troops had done enough for honor ; enough to produce an impression of their prowess on the minds of their enemies : enough to give them confidence in themselves; and to show that they had learnt something in the way of preparing themselves to correct the errors of judgment in planning a fight. They suffered enough to feel their loss deeply, and yet not sufficiently in any way to weaken their forces. The wound received was too deep to be healed at once ; the sight was too awful to be soon forgotten."* A monument designed to perpetuate the memory of this event, most memorable, perhaps, in the struggle of the Americans for liberty, was commenced June 17th, 1825. It stands on the southern brow of the eminence, immediately overlooking the town, upon a commanding site. It is a plain obelisk of grey granite, and its height is 220 feet; the base is 30 feet square. The ceremony of laying the corner stone of this monu ment was grand and imposing. The following account is given by Levasseur, the private secretary of the illustrious Fayette, the latter of whom was present on the sublime oc casion. " The sun rose clear, on the fiftieth anniversary of Bun ker s Hill ; and thousands of voices, joined with the cheer ful sound of bells and the roar of artillery, saluted him with * Hinton s United States. BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. IN NORTH AMERICA. 91 CHARLESTOWN. their patriotic shouts. At seven, A. M. passing through this crowd, which was excited by glorious recollections of the 17th of June, 1775, General Lafayette proceeded to the grand lodge of Massachusetts, where deputations from the grand lodges of Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecti cut, Vermont, and New Jersey, were assembled, with the officers of the chapters of the Knights Templars, to receive and compliment him. " At ten o clock, 2000 free masons, sixteen companies of volunteer infantry, a corps of mounted militia, with the dif ferent corporations, and the civil and military authorities, proceeded to the State House, where the procession was formed under the inspection of General Lyman ; while the Grand Masters of the Masonic order went for General La fayette, who had returned to the house of Mr. Lloyd, on leaving the lodge. " At half-past ten, the procession began to move : it con sisted of about 7,000 persons ; two hundred officers and soldiers of the revolution marched in front, and forty vet erans, glorious relics of the battle of Bunker s Hill, followed them in eight open carriages. They were decorated with a broad riband, on which was this inscription : 17th June, 1775. Some of them had on their shoulders the cartridge belts they had worn on that memorable day ; and one of them who had been a drummer, still bore the drum with which he had several times rallied the American battalions, when broken by the English columns. Behind them march ed a long line of persons formed of the numerous subscribers to the monument, six abreast, and 2,000 masons, clad in rich ornaments, and bearing the instruments and symbols of their order. Last came General Lafayette, in an elegant carriage, drawn by six beautiful white horses. Next behind him followed a long line of coaches, in which were his son, his secretary, the governor of Massachusetts and his staff; finally, a great number of persons of distinction, natives and strangers. This column proceeded, with the sound of music and ringing of bells, through the midst of 200,000 citizens, who had assembled from all the States of the Union ; while the General was at intervals saluted by artillery and general acclamations. lie arrived at Bunker s Hill at half-past twelve, and the whole crowd was soon ranged in regular order on the hill, where the monument was to be erected, to 92 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHARLESTOWN. witness the national gratitude expressed to the first heroes of the revolution. " The humble pyramid erected in former times, over the remains of Warren and his companions, which we had seen on our first visit to Bunker s Hill, had disappeared. From the largest piece of wood it contained, a cane had been formed, which was mounted with gold, and bore an inscrip tion referring to its origin, and stating that it had been pre sented by the Masons of Charlestown to General Lafayette, who accepted it as a precious relic of the American revolu tion. A large excavation which had been made at that place, showed that the new monument was to be raised on the same spot. " A few moments after we had taken our places around that excavation, and silence had been obtained throughout the numerous crowd that surrounded, awaiting the ceremony in solemn silence, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, accompanied by the principal dignitaries of the order, brother Lafayette, Mr. Webster, and the principal architect, proceeded to lay the first stone of the monument, with the forms prescribed by the Masonic order. In an iron chest were placed medals, pieces of money, and a silver plate, on which was engraved the order of ceremonies. This box was placed under the stone, on which the Grand Master poured wheat, oil, and wine ; while the Rev. Mr. Allen, the chaplain of the day, pronounced the benediction. The Ma sonic command to finish the monument was then given, and a salute of artillery announced that this part of the ceremony was accomplished. " The procession then moved to a vast amphitheatre, formed on the north-eastern declivity of the hill. At the centre of its base was raised a covered platform, from which the orator of the day was to raise his voice, and address an audience of 15,000 persons assembled in the amphitheatre. All the revolutionary officers and soldiers, several of whom had come from great distances to witness this solemnity, were seated opposite the stage, the survivors of Bunker s Hill forming a little group in their front. At the head of that party was placed, in a large chair, the only surviving general of the revolution, Lafayette. Immediately behind were 2,000 ladies, brilliantly dressed, who seemed to form a guard of honor for those venerable old men, and to protect GENERAL WARREN. 94 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHARLESTOWN. them from the tumultuous throng of the crowd. Beyond the ladies, more than 10,000 persons were seated on the nu merous benches which were placed on the side of the hill, the top of which was crowned with upwards of 30,000 spec tators, who, although beyond the reach of the orator s voice, stood motionless, and in the most profound silence. After the agitation which necessarily accompanies the movements of so large a crowd had been tranquilized, the melodious sound of a large choir of singers was heard, who were con cealed behind the stage, and raised a patriotic and religious song, the deep melody of which agreeably prepared the minds of all for the impressions of eloquence. This music was succeeded by a prayer from Dr. Thaxter ; and when the venerable pastor, who had had the honor of fighting at Bunker s Hill, presented himself before the assembly, with his white locks falling in long silver curls on his shoulders: when he raised towards heaven his hands enfeebled by age, and with a voice still strong, implored the benedictions of the Almighty on the proceedings of that day, the whole audi ence seemed penetrated with inexpressible emotions. At length, the orator of the day, Mr. Webster, presented himself in his turn ; his tall stature, his athletic form, the noble expression of his countenance, and the fire of his eye, per fectly harmonized with the solemnity of the scene. Mr. Webster, who had been for a long time rendered popular by the charms of his eloquence, was welcomed by the assembly witli every expression of pleasure. The murmur of satisfac tion with which he was saluted, ascended from the base of the hill to the summit, and prevented him for a few instants from beginning his discourse. " During his discourse, the orator was sometimes inter rupted by bursts of applause from the audience, who could not repress the expression of their sympathetic feelings, when Mr. Webster addressed the revolutionary veterans, and Gen. Lafayette, and while they, uncovering their venerable heads, arose to receive the thanks which were offered them in the name of the people. A hymn sung in choir by the whole as sembly, succeeded this speech, and terminated the second part of the ceremony. " At the signal given by a field piece, the procession form ed anew, mounted the hill, and went to seat themselves at a banquet prepared on the summit. There, under an im mense wooden covering, 4,000 persons took their places IN NORTH AMERICA. 95 CHARLESTOWN. without confusion. The tables were spread with so much art, that the voice of the president, and all those who offered toasts, or made speeches, were easily heard, not only by the company, but also by a great number of spectators, stationed without. The names of Warren, the orator of the day, and the guest of the nation, were proposed by turns during the repast. Before leaving the table, the General rose to return thanks to the members of the monument association, and expressed himself in these terms: " I will now ask your attention, only to thank you in the name of my revolutionary companions in arms, as well as in my own name, gentlemen, for the testimonies of esteem and affection, I may say filial affection, with which we have been this day loaded. We offer you our best wishes for the pres ervation of republican liberty and equality, self-government, and happy union between the States of the confederation ; objects for which we fought and bled, for it is on them that the hopes of mankind now rest. Permit me to give you the following toast : * Bunker s Hill, and the Holy Resist ance to oppression, which has freed the American hem isphere ; the anniversary toast at the jubilee of the next half century shall be : Europe Disenthralled ! This toast was- received with transport ; and immediately after, the company returned to the city."* In the course of his brilliant oration, already alluded to, Mr. Webster, turning to the war-worn and scar-bearing sur vivors of that day s battle, ranged in order before him, thus addressed them : " VENERABLE MEN ! You have come down to us, from a former generation. Heaven has generously lengthened out your lives, that you might behold this joyous day. You are now, where you stood, fifty years ago, this very hour, with your brothers, and your neighbors, shoulder to shoulder, in the strife for your country. Behold, how altered ! The same heavens are indeed over your heads ; the same ocean rolls at your feet; but all else, how changed. " You hear now no roar of hostile cannon you see no mixed volumes of smoke and flarne, rising from burning Charlestown. The ground strewed with the dead and the dying ; the impetuous charge ; the steady and successful re- * Levasseur s Journal. 96 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHARLESTON Jf. pulse ; the loud call to repeated assaults ; the summoning of all that is manly to repeated resistance ; a thousand bosoms freely and fearlessly bared in an instant to whatever of terror there may be in war and death ; all these you have wit nessed, but you witness them no more. " All is peace. The heights of yonder metropolis, its towers and roofs, which you then saw filled with wives arid children and countrymen in distress and terror, and looking with unutterable emotions for the issue of the combat, have presented you to-day with a sight of its whole happy popu lation come out to welcome and greet you with an universal jubilee. Yonder proud ships, by a felicity of position, ap propriately lying at the foot of this mount, and seeming fondly to cling around it, are not means of annoyance to you, but your country s own means of distinction and de fence. " All is peace ; and God has granted you this sight of your country s happiness, ere you slumber in the grave for ever. He has allowed you to behold and to partake the reward of your patriotic toils; and he has allowed us, your sons and countrymen, to meet you here, and in the name of the present generation, in the name of your country, in the name of liberty, to thank you ! " But, alas ! you are not all here ! Time arid the sword have thinned your ranks. Prescott, Putnam, Stark, Brooks, Read, Pomeroy, Bridge! our eyes seek for you in vain, amidst this broken band. You are gathered to your fathers, and live only in your country in her grateful remembrance, and your own bright example. But let us not too much grieve that you have met the common fate of men. You lived, at least, long enougli to know that your work had been nobly and successfully accomplished. You lived to see your country s independence established, and to sheathe your swords from war. On the light of Liberty you saw arise the light of Peace, like another morn, Risen on mid-noon ; and the sky, on which you closed your eyes, was cloudless ! " But ah ! Him ! the first great martyr in this great cause! Him! the premature victim of his own self-de voting heart ! Him ! the head of our civil councils, and the IX NORTH AMERICA. 97 CHARLKSTOWN. destined leader of our military bands; whom nothing brought hither, but the unquenchable fire of his own spirit! Him ! cut off by Providence, in the hour of overwhelming anxiety and thick gloom ; falling, ere he saw the star of his country rise ; pouring out his generous blood, like water, before he knew whether it would fertilize a land of freedom or of bondage ! how shall I struggle with the emotions that stifle the utterance of thy name ! Our poor work may perish ; but thine shall endure ! This monument may moulder away ; the solid ground it rests upon may sink down to a level with the sea ; but thy memory shall not fail ! Where soever among men a heart shall be found, that beats to the transports of patriotism and liberty, its aspirations shall be to claim kindred with thy spirit ! " But the scene, amidst which we stand, does not permit us to confine our thoughts, or our sympathies, to those fear less spirits, who hazarded or lost their lives, on this conse crated spot. We have the happiness to rejoice here in the presence of a most worthy representation of the survivors of the whole Revolutionary army. " VETERANS ! You are the remnant of many a well-fought field. You bring with you marks of honor from Trenton, and Monmouth, from Yorktown, Camden, Bennington, and Saratoga. VETERANS OF HALF A CENTURY ! When in your youthful days, you put every thing at hazard in your coun try s cause, good as that cause was, and sanguine as youth is, still your fondest hopes did not stretch onward to an hour like this ! At a period, to which you could not reasonably have expected to arrive; at a moment of national prosperity, such as you could never have foreseen ; you are now met, here, to enjoy the fellowship of old soldiers, and to receive the overflowings of an universal gratitude. " But your agitated countenances and your heaving breasts inform me, that even this is not an unmixed joy. I perceive that a tumult of contending feelings rushes upon you. The images of the dead, as well as the persons of the living, throng to your embraces. The scene overwhelms you, and I turn from it. May the Father of all mercies smile upon your declining years, and bless them ! And when you shall here have exchanged your embraces ; when you shall once more have pressed the hands, which have been so often extended to give succor in adversity, or grasped 7 98 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHAKI.ESTOWN. in the exultation of victory ; then look abroad into this lovely land, which your young valor defended, and mark the happiness with which it is filled ; yea, look abroad into the whole earth, and see what a name you have contributed to give to your country, and what a praise you have added to freedom, and then rejoice in the sympathy and gratitude, which beam upon your last days from the improved condition of mankind."* To the foregoing account of the ceremonies observed on laying the corner-stone of this splendid obelisk, it may be added, that after long and vexatious delays, it was completed July 23d, 1842. It consists of 90 courses of hewn stone, 84 above the base and 6 below it. There are a number of win dows in the structure, closed with iron shutters, besides nu merous apertures. The ladies of Boston, by a fair and other donations, raised a large sum, which insured the completion of the monument. The entire cost of the structure was $119,800, of which the ladies raised at their fair $32,000. On the 17th of June, 1843, the anniversary of the battle, the completion of the monument was celebrated in a splendid manner, in the presence of the President of the United States, the heads of department, and an immense concourse of citi zens, when an address was delivered on the occasion by Hon. Daniel Webster. This monument is annually visited, as it should be, by thousands. Besides the associations which a view of it is calculated to kindle up in the soul, a view of the surrounding scenery from its top is among the most beautiful and sublime in the United States. Boston, its harbour and environs, with the more distant country, embracing mountain scenery, are spread out to the eye of the beholder in a prospect most en chanting. Who that has stood on that height, and, looking down on the soil whence it rises, remembering that the blood of his sires was there freely shed to purchase liberty the freedom of his country does not almost wish to abide there ? At least, how refreshing to the patriot is the air there inhaled ! How delightful to his soul the prospect he then takes in! * Address at the laying of the Corner Stone of the Bunker Hill Monument, IN NORTH AMERICA. LOWELL. Lowell is situated on the west side of the Merrimac river, just above its confluence with the Concord river, and occupies the precise spot once called " Wamesit," the famous capital or head-quarters of the Pawtucket tribe of Indians. The remains of the Indian ditch which once environed Wamesit, are still traceable, and are nearly coincident with the present boundaries of the city of Lowell. When first discovered by the whites, Wamesit contained a population of 3000 souls, but as early as 1674 they had dwindled away before the tide of the approaching whites, to a mere handful. In 1725 they had wholly disappeared, and the place remained unnoticed and obscure, settled only by a sparse population of farmers. In 1792, an act of incorporation was obtained by Dudley A. Tyng and others for the purpose of constructing a canal around the Pawtucket Falls, in order to render more safe the descent of lumber-rafts. The canal was only a mile and a half long, with a descent of 32 feet by four locks; but being the first canal ever constructed in this country, is, as such, entitled to notice in our history. The first boat passed through the canal in 1797. In 1804 the Middlesex canal was completed, connecting the Merrimac above the Falls, with the city of Boston ; and although these canals have subsequently become the source and fountain-head of the unexampled prosperity of Lowell, they were not originally designed to subserve manufacturing purposes, nor does the idea of applying this immense water- power to any other use than the transportation of merchan dise, seems to have entered the mind of any one until some twenty-three years later. One humble cotton-mill, built of wood, at an expense of 2500 dollars, a saw and grist-mill, and a small powder-mill, were all that pertained to Lowell, as a manufacturing place, down to the year 1823. In 1822 the Merrimac Manufacturing Company were incor porated, and commenced the erection of cotton mills, and in November, 1823, produced the first fabrics from their looms. The success of this company called the attention of capi talists to the immense water privileges which could here be made available, and in 1825 the Hamilton Company was incor porated, and commenced laying the foundation of their mills. The first stage-coach which ever run regularly to Lowell, 100 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES commenced in 1822; and the first public worship, since the apostle Elliot preached there to the Indians, was in 1824. In 1825 the first church, a large stone edifice, was built by the Merrimac Company. The place was originally named by the whites East Chelmsford, and in 1820 contained but 200 inhabitants. In 1826, on the 1st of March, it was incorporated as a town, under its present name, with a population exceeding 2500. The first bank, " The Lowell Bank," was established 1828, with a capital of $100,000 ; and in the same year the Appleton Manufacturing Company and the Lowell Manufac turing Company were established. In 1829 an Institution for Savings was chartered ; and in 1832 the Western or Suf folk canal was constructed, at an expense of $70,000. The Suffolk, Tremont and Lawrence Manufacturing Companies were established in 1831, as also the Railroad Bank, with a capital of $800,000. The Middlesex Manufacturing Com pany and a Bleaching Company went into operation about the same time; and in 1835 another canal was constructed, the Boot Manufacturing Company established, and a Railroad opened to the city of Boston. Meantime, other buildings had been erected with a corres ponding rapidity ; streets, blocks, and squares had sprung up, as if by magic; churches, school-houses, and public edifices had been erected; and an unparalleled increase of population and wealth had marked its course. The town contained, as stated, in 1820 but 200 inhabitants, and in 1826 about 2,500. In 1828 the population was 3,532; in 1832, 10,244 ; and in 1836 it was incorporated as a city, with a population of 17,633. The present population is over 35,000, one-third of which are operatives, viz : about 7,000 females and 3,000 males. There are 33 mills, (besides calico print-works, bleacheries, and divers other manufacturing and mechanical establish ments,) from which are turned out weekly 1,459,100 yards of cloth or 75,868,000 yards yearly. There are also manufactured annually 14,000,000 yards of calico. More than $1,500,000 are paid out annually for labor, a portion of which is invested by the operatives in the purchase of shares of the capital stock of the companies, thereby becoming themselves stockholders. There is probably no place in New England, or in the world, where the business of manufacturing is conducted with more regard to the great interests and rights of all concerned than at Lowell. MAINE. PORTLAND. THIS city is beautifully situated, on an elevated peninsula, in Casco Bay, 118 miles N. N. E. from Boston ; 542 from Washington ; and 258 S. of Quebec. The peninsula re sembles the form of a saddle : the principal part of the houses being erected on the seat. The situation is hand some : the harbor is a beautiful piece of water spreading on the south-east, and the cove, smaller, but scarcely less beau tiful, on the north-west. This cove at the time of ebb be comes a pond. A bridge, thrown over the outlet, connects Portland with the main land in this direction. The penin sula is universally handsome. The site of the town is an easy, elegant arched slope. The principal streets run par allel with the length of the peninsula, and are crossed by others nearly at right angles. Like those of most other towns in this country, they are destitute of that exact regu larity, both in their position and direction, which would have rendered them entirely beautiful. The situation of Portland is probably as healthy as any in New England. The slope, on which it is built, furnishes every where a ready passage for all the water, and the hap piest means of keeping the town perfectly clean. Nothing can stagnate here without pains-taking. The air cannot but be sweet. The wells furnish an ample supply of pure and fine water. Accordingly, the inhabitants enjoy as uninter rupted health, as those of any place, of the same size, in the United States. Population in 1850 20,815. The harbor is safe, capacious, and rarely frozen. It is sufficiently deep to admit ships of the line. The wharfs of no great length, reach to the channel. No American town is more entirely commercial ; and, of course, none is more sprightly. Lumber, fish, and ships, are the principal materi- 101 102 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PORTLAND. als of their commerce.* Numerous islands are in the bay to the east, on two of which are forts, which defend the en trance of the harbor ; Fort Preble on Bang s island, and Fort Scammel, a blockhouse, on House island. Fort Bur rows stands under the observatory bluff, on the water s edge. Between 50,000 and 60,000 tons of shipping belong to this port, consisting of a large number of ships, brigs, schooners, sloops, and steamboats and other craft. Many of the private buildings of Portland are handsome, and some elegant. An appearance of neatness and good taste reigns throughout the place. The public buildings are in good style, and appropriate to the present state and pros perity of the place. Among the finest public edifices are the Court House, and Custom House. The city contains sixteen churches. The people are distinguished for their love of order ; many of them are eminent for their piety. In their manners, they are pleasing, and quite hospitable in their feel ings. " A traveller," observes a traveller, " cannot easily visit them without carrying away a very advantageous im pression of their character." Education is well attended to, and there are numerous schools, some of which are of a high character. Portland was formerly called Falmouth. It was incor porated as a town in 1786, and as a city in 1832. This place suffered considerably during the early Indian wars. In 1676, an attack was made on the inhabitants by a body of savages, who captured or destroyed thirty of their number, and com pelled the remainder to flee for safety to a neighboring island. t In 1689, the savages renewed their attacks on this region ; but by the means of the enterprise of Colonel Church, who was sent to defend it, a large body of savages, aided by a party of French, was defeated. But the next spring, the In dians appeared at Falmouth, and three forts in the town fell into their hands. One hundred of the inhabitants were made prisoners, and the town was destroyed. The slain remained unburied until the following year, when Colonel Church ap peared, and consigned them to the grave. During the revolutionary war, Falmouth was the scene of * Dwight s Travels. t Hubbard. 104 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PORTLAND. an outrage, which fired the American people with indigna tion. Captain Mowat, the commander of a British sloop of war, had often come on shore at Portland, where he had always received marked attention from the inhabitants. But after the buttles of Lexington and Breed s Hill, the regard of the Americans for the British had somewhat cooled ; and, on one occasion, when Mowat visited the town, he received some personal insult from several strangers, who happened to be in the place. This was regretted and reprobated by the principal inhabitants. Mowat resenting the insult, which consisted in a temporary arrest, immediately sailed for Boston, for the purpose of ob taining permission to destroy the place. Admiral Greaves consenting, Mowat, on the 18th of November, 1775, ap peared before the town, and by a messenger, informed the inhabitants of his design. A respectful remonstrance was sent to him, in which he was reminded of the former hospi tality and politeness of the people towards him. But no other indulgence could be obtained, but a respite till the next morning. In this short interval, most of the inhabitants re moved, and some of their effects were conveyed to a place of safety. In the morning, the British vessels opened their fire upon the town, and continued the work of devastation, till they had reduced all the public buildings (except the Congrega tional church) and one hundred and thirty dwelling houses to ashes. One hundred and sixty families were thus driven to find an asylum from the winter, in a country thinly in habited, and whose inhabitants were poorly able to furnish either subsistence, or even a shelter. The name of Mowat is inscribed on the pages of American history, and will de scend down, while type, ink, and paper last, with the unen viable reputation of a second Erostratus. Within a few years a railroad communication has been opened between Portland and Boston ; and another, which will prove of vast importance, is in contemplation between Poriland and Montreal. NEW HAMPSHIRE. PORTSMOUTH. PORTSMOUTH, although not incorporated as a city, is by far the most populous, and important town in New Hamp shire. It is the only seaport in the State. It is built on a beautiful peninsula on the north side of Piscataqua river ; united with the main land by a narrow isthmus on the north west, and by a bridge over a small inlet on the south. The surface of the peninsula is uneven and beautiful. As seen from the tower of the steeple, the opposite shore of Kittery, from which it is divided by the above river, the river itself, the harbor, the ocean, the points, the islands, the town, and the adjacent country, form an assemblage of beautiful objects not often surpassed. It lies about three miles from the ocean 55 N. and E. from Boston ; 58 S. W. of Portland ; and 491 from Washington. The population in 1850 was 9, 738, chiefly collected near the harbor on a hill adjoining. Like most other New England towns, the houses are chiefly of wood ; but it contains some elegant buildings. Being compactly built, it has suffered severely by several fires within a few years, the most recent and destructive of which took place in December, 1813, by which a large proportion of the buildings was destroyed. Their place, however, has been supplied, and the appearance of the town improved. The harbor is one of the finest in the world, completely land-locked, never frozen, and accessible to the largest ships. Its tides are high and rapid. The channel, at low water, is 40 feet in depth. It is defended by Fort Constitution on Great. Island ; Fort M Clary opposite ; Fort Sullivan on Tre- pethen Island ; and Fort Washington on Pierce s Island. The two latter were garrisoned during the late war. Portsmouth contains seven churches, some of which may be said to be elegant ; a court house, gaol, six banks, mar- 105 106 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PORTSMOUTH. kets, an academy, athenaeum, 280 stores, &,c. Two bridges were built to connect with Kittery, Maine, in 1822, across the Piscataqua, the channel of which is broad, and the cur rent rapid at particular times of the tide. The long bridge is 1,750 feet in length, extended across water varying from 43 to 45 feet in depth at low tide, a distance of 900 feet, and crosses an island in the river. A water company was formed and commenced operations in 1799, which sup plies all the streets with good water, brought a distance of three miles. On Great Island is a lighthouse. On Conti nental Island, which is owned by the United States, is a navy yard belonging to government; and on Badger s Island was constructed the first ship-of-the-line in America. It was built during the Revolution, and named the North America. Portsmouth was settled in 1623, by a company of which Sir Ferdinando Gorges was an associate, and was incorpo rated by Massachusetts in 1653, while New Hampshire was a colony. It is remarkable that during the long and bloody wars, by which most other parts of this State suffered, this place was entirely exempted. From the time that New Hampshire became a separate government, in 1680, to the American Revolution, the Legislature held its sessions in this town ; but since that period they have met at Concord, Exeter, &c. Some years since, there died in this place a hermit, at the advanced age of 82 years. He lived on a farm, sufficient in extent and fertility to have supported a large family ; but he had imbibed the idea, that he should live to spend the whole, exercising the greatest economy. For more than twenty years he dwelt entirely alone, in a hut, which scarcely any one would have deemed decent for a barn. He made his own garments, which were in a fashion peculiar to himself. He tilled his land, milked his cows, and made his butter and cheese ; but subsisted principally on potatoes and milk. Owing no doubt to his abstemious and temperate mode of liv ing, he exhibited at the age of eighty-two, a face freer from wrinkles than is generally seen in those of fifty. His mother lived to be more than an hundred years of age. When she was one hundred and two, some people visited her on a certain day ; and while they were with her, the bell was heard to toll for a funeral. The old lady burst into tears, and said, " When will the bell toll for me ? It seems IN NORTH AMERICA. 107 PORTSMOUTH that the bell will never toll for me ; I am afraid that I shall never die ! " Though repeatedly invited to repair to some of the neigh bors, to spend the winter, where he might be comfortable, this hermit absolutely declined ; alleging that he had every thing he wanted. He would not suffer any one to spend a night in his house, or to take care of him in his last illness. For several weeks before his death, he was in a feeble state of health ; but with those comfortable accommodations, which were abundantly in his power, he might have perhaps lived to the age of his mother. During an extreme cold night, in which the thermometer fell to four degrees below cipher, he became so chilled, that he was unable to rise in the morning, and soon expired. He had no shirt to his back, according to his usual custom, and his only covering for the night, besides an old tattered cloth garb, was a small ragged blanket; and his bed was a parcel of straw. VERMONT. VERGENNES. THIS is the only incorporated city in the State of Vermont. The act of incorporation passed the legislature in 1788. Its settlement commenced in 1766, by emigrants from Mas sachusetts and Connecticut. Its progress in trade and pop ulation has probably not corresponded to the expectations of its inhabitants, at the time it was vested with city privi leges. Population in 1850 1,378 It lies on the Otter Creek, at the head of navigation, and embraces an area of 400 rods by 480. The creek here falls thirty feet, and affords many good mill sites, some of which are occupied. The largest vessels which navigate Lake Champlain are able to come within seven miles of Ver- gennes. The shores on either side are bold and often pic turesque; but the channel is very crooked. The surround ing country is quite fertile, and considerable produce finds its way to market through this port. The place is advanta geously situated for ship building. The population does not much exceed one thousand. In this port, Commodore Mc- Donough s flotilla, which so signally sustained the honor of America on Lake Champlain, in an engagement with a su perior British force, was fitted out in 1814. But although Vermont cannot boast of cities of size, pop ulation, and wealth, like many of her sister States, she has several finely situated, well built and thriving towns, of which perhaps the most distinguished is BURLINGTON. Burlington stands on a most beautiful harbor, on the east side of Lake Champlain, near the mouth of Onion river. It is on elevated ground, commanding a noble view of the lake and adjacent country. It carries on a considerable trade Ins IN NORTH AMERICA. 109 BURLINGTON . Almost all the vessels which navigate the lake are owned here. Many of the private houses are in beautiful taste, with large gardens. Here are the public buildings of the county, an academy, banks, &c. The population in 1850 was 6,110. The Vermont University is located at Burlington. It was incorporated in 1791, but did not go" into operation till 1800 ; it has been liberally patronized by the State. It has libraries of more than 9,000 volumes, and a philosophical apparatus that is tolerably complete. The funds consist principally of lands, amounting to about 30,000 acres, and yielding, at present, an income of about 2,500 dollars. On the 27th of May, 1824, a large college edifice, erected in 1801, was unfortunately destroyed by fire ; but the library ajid part of the philosophical apparatus were saved. Since that time, three brick edifices have been erected, two of them containing rooms for students ; the other containing a chapel and other public rooms. " Splendor of landscape," remarks Dr. Dwight, " is the peculiar boast of Burlington. Lake Champlain, here six teen miles wide, extends fifty miles northward, and forty southward, before it reaches Crown Point, and throughout a great part of this magnificent expansion is visible at Bur lington. In its bosom are encircled many beautiful islands ; three of them, North and South Hero, and La Motte, suf ficiently large to contain, the first and last, one township each, the other, two ; forming, together with the township of Alburgh, on the point between the bay of Misciscoui and the river St. John, the county of Grand Isle. A numerous train of these islands are here in full view. In the interior, among the other interesting objects, the range of the Green Mountains, with its train of lofty summits, commences in the south with the utmost stretch of the eye ; and limiting, on the east, one third of the horizon, declines far northward, until it becomes apparently blended with the surface. On the west, beyond the immense field of glass, formed by the waters of the lake, extends the opposite shore from its first appearance at the south, until it vanishes from the eye in the north-west, at the distance of forty miles. Twelve or fifteen miles from this shore ascends the first range of western mountains ; about fifteen or twenty miles further, the second HO TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BURLINGTON. range; and, at about the same distance, the third. The two former commence a few miles south of the head of Lake George ; one on the eastern, and the other on the western side of this water. Where the third commences, I am ig norant. The termination of all these ranges is not far from the latitude of Plattsburg. The prospect of these mountains is superlatively noble. The rise of the first range from the Jake, the ascent of the second far above it, and the still loftier elevation of the third, diffuse a magnificence over the whole, which mocks description. Three of the summits, hitherto without a name, are peculiarly distinguished for their sublimity. Among those of the Green Mountains there are two, in the fullest view from this spot, superior even to these. One of them, named the Camel s Rump, the Camel s Back, and the Camel ; the other the Mountain of Mansfield. The latter of these, was by the following expedient proved, not long since, to be higher than the former. A hunter, who had ascended to its highest point, put into his piece a small ball ; and pointing it to the apex of the Camel, the ball rolled out. Both of them are, however, very lofty ; higher, as I believe, than Killington Peak, notwithstanding the deference with which I regard the estimates of Doctor Williams. The peculiar form of the Camel s Back invests this mountain with a sublimity entirely superior to any other in the State." *Dwight s Travels. CONNECTICUT. HARTFORD. THE original English settlers of Hartford were a distin guished band of pilgrims, principally from the county of Essex, in England. In 1632, a considerable portion of them emigrated to America, and first settled at Mount Wollaston, now Quincy, near Boston. But during the same year, they were ordered by the court to Newtown, since called Cam bridge. In the course of the following year, they were join ed by the Rev. Thomas Hooker, their former minister, in England, who, to escape " fines and imprisonment," had been obliged to take refuge in Holland for three years. On landing at Boston, Mr. Hooker proceeded to Newtown, where, finding himself in the midst of a joyful and affection ate people, he was filled with joy himself. He embraced them with open arms, saying, in the language of the apostle, "Now I live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." With Mr. Hooker came over the famous Mr. John Cotton, Mr. John Haynes, afterwards governor of Connecticut, Mr. Goff, and two hundred passengers of importance to the colony. On the llth of October of this year, the eighth Church was gathered on the American soil, and the pastor, Mr. Hooker, and the teacher, Mr. Stone, were ordained with appropriate services. Accessions to the little colony at Newtown continuing to be made, as also to those who had settled at Dorchester and Watertown, it was deemed essential to the comfort of the three settlements to remove to some more commodious place. In the summer of 1634, six men were despatched from " the towns in the Bay," to examine the lands on the "Qwoncktor cut" as the river was called by the Indians, or the "fresh river" as denominated by the English. The report of these " spies," of the commodiousness of the place, and the fruit- fulness of the soil, was so favorable, that a resolution was 111 IN NORTH AMERICA. 113 HARTFORD. adopted by the people of the above towns, " forthwith to begin several plantations there." On making application to the court for liberty to remove, an unexpected opposition arose, because they had it in view to plant a colony in Connecticut, independent of that of Massachusetts. The debate in the court was long and spirit ed ; and the application, for that session, rejected. This caused considerable excitement, not only in the general court, but in the colony, to allay which, Mr. Cotton was re quested to preach on the subject. The next May, 1635, the people of Newtown renewed their application to the court, for liberty to remove; which, after some delay, was granted, upon consideration that they should continue under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. Matters being thus arranged, " on the 15th of October, about sixty men, women, and children, with their horses, cattle, and swine, commenced their journey from Massachu setts, through the wilderness, to the Connecticut river. After a tedious and difficult journey, through swarnps and rivers, over mountains and rough grounds, which were passed with great difficulty and fatigue, they arrived safely at the places of their respective destination. They were so long on their journey, and so much time and pains were spent in passing the river, and in getting over their cattle, that after all their exertions, winter came upon them before they were prepared. This was an occasion of great distress and damage to the plantations. " The winter set in this year much sooner than usual, and the weather was stormy and severe. By the 15th of Novem ber, Connecticut river was frozen over, and the snow was so deep, and the season so tempestuous, that a considerable number of the cattle, which had been driven on from Massa chusetts, could not be brought across the river. The people had so little time to prepare their huts and houses, and to erect sheds and shelters for their cattle, that the sufferings of man and beast were extreme. Indeed, the hardships and distresses of the first planters of Connecticut scarcely admit of description. To carry much provision, or much furni ture, through a pathless wilderness, was impracticable. Their principal provisions and household furniture were, therefore, put on board several small vessels, which, by reason of delays and the tempestuousness of the season, were either cast away, or did not arrive. Several vessels were wrecked 8 114 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES HARTKORD. on the coast of New England, by the violence of the storms. Two shallops, laden with goods, from Boston to Connecticut, in October, were cast away on Brown s island, near the Gurnet s nose ; and the men with every thing on board, were lost. A vessel with six of the Connecticut people on board, which sailed from the river for Boston, early in November, was, about the middle of the month, cast away in Manamet Bay. The men got on shore, and after wandering ten days in deep snow and a severe season, without meeting any hu man being, arrived, nearly spent with cold and fatigue, at New Plymouth. " By the last of November, or beginning of December, provisions generally failed in the settlements on the river, and famine and death looked the inhabitants sternly in the face. Some of them, driven by hunger, attempted their way, in this severe season, through the wilderness, from Connec ticut to Massachusetts. Of thirteen in one company, who made this attempt, one, in passing the rivers, fell through the ice, and was drowned. The other twelve were ten days on their journey, and would all have perished, had it not been for the assistance of the Indians. " Indeed such was the distress in general, that by the 3d and 4th of December, a considerable part of the new settlers were obliged to abandon their habitations. Seventy persons, men, women, and children, were necessitated, in the extrem ity of winter, to go down to the mouth of the river, to meet their provisions, as the only expedient to preserve their lives. Not meeting with the vessels which they expected, they all went on board the Rebecca, a vessel of about sixty tons. This, two days before, was frozen in, twenty miles up the river ; but by the falling of a small rain and the influence of the tide, the ice became so broken and was so far removed, that she was enabled to get out. She ran, however, upon the bar, and the people were forced to unlade her to get her off. She wasreladed, and in five days reached Boston. Had it not been for these providential circumstances, the people must have perished" with famine. The people who kept their stations on the river suffered in an extreme degree. After all the help they were able to obtain, by hunting, and from the Indians, they were obliged to subsist on acorns, malt and grains. " Numbers of the cattle, which could not be got over the river before winter, lived through without any thing but what IN NORTH AMERICA. 115 HARTFORD. they found in the woods and meadows. They wintered as well or better than those which were brought over, and for which all the provision was made, and pains taken, of which the owners were capable. However, a great number of cattle perished. The Dorchester, or Windsor people, lost in this single article about two hundred pounds sterling. Their other losses were very considerable. " It is difficult to describe, or even to conceive, the ap prehensions and distresses of a people, in the circumstances of our venerable ancestors, during this doleful winter. All the horrors of a dreary wilderness spread themselves around them. They were compassed with numerous, fierce, and cruel tribes of wild and savage men, who could have swal lowed up parents and children, at pleasure, in their feeble and distressed condition. They had neither bread for them selves nor children, neither habitations nor clothing con venient for them. Whatever emergency might happen, they were cut off, both by land and water, from any succor or re treat. What self denial, firmness, and magnanimity are necessary for such enterprises ! How distressful, in the be ginning, was the condition of those now fair and opulent towns on Connecticut river ! " For a few years after the settlements on the river com menced, they bore the same name with the towns in Massa chusetts, whence the first settlers came. " The Connecticut planters, at first settled under the gen eral government of Massachusetts, but they held courts of their own, which consisted of two principal men from each town ; and, on great and extraordinary occasions, these were joined with committees, as they were called, consisting of three men from each town. These courts had power to transact all the common affairs of the colony, and with their committees, had the power of making war and peace, and treaties of alliance and friendship with the natives within the colony. " The first court in Connecticut was holden at Newtown, April 26th, 1636. It consisted of Roger Ludlow, Esquire, Mr. John Steel, Mr. William Swain, Mr. William Phelps, Mr. William Westwood, and Mr. Andrew Ward. Mr. Lud low had been one of the magistrates of Massachusetts in 1630, and in 1631 had been chosen lieutenant governor of that colony. At this court it was ordered that the inhabit ants should not sell guns nor ammunition to the Indians. 116 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES * HARTFORD. Various other affairs were also transacted relative to the good order, settlement, and defence of these infant towns. " Several of the principal gentlemen interested in the set tlement of Connecticut, Mr. John Haynes, who at this time was orovernor of Massachusetts, Mr. Henry Wolcott, Mr. Wells, the ministers of the churches, and others, had not yet removed into the colony. As soon as the spring ad vanced, and the travelling would admit, the hardy men be gan to return from Massachusetts to their habitations on the river. No sooner were buds, leaves, and grass so grown, that cattle could live in the woods, and obstructions removed from the river, so that vessels could go up with provisions and furniture, than the people began to return, in large companies, to Connecticut. Many, who had not removed the last year, prepared, with all convenient despatch, for a jour ney to the new settlements upon the river. " About the beginning of June, Mr. Hooker, Mr. Stone, and about one hundred men, women, and children, took their departure from Cambridge, and travelled more than a hun dred miles, through a hideous and trackless wilderness, to Hartford. They had no guide but their compass ; and made their way over mountains, through swamps, thickets, and rivers, which were not passable but with great difficulty. They had no cover but the heavens, nor any lodgings but those which simple nature afforded them. They drove with them a hundred and sixty head of cattle, an<J by the way, subsisted on the milk of their cows. Mrs. Hooker was borne through the wilderness upon a litter. The people generally carried their packs, arms, and some utensils. They were nearly a fortnight on their journey. " This adventure was the more remarkable, as many of this company were persons of figure, who had lived, in Eng land, in honor, affluence, and delicacy, and were strangers to fatigue and danger."* Such is a brief account of the original settlement of the English, at Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield. Weth- ersfield, however, is the oldest town in the State, a few huts having been erected there in 1634, in which a small number of individuals contrived to winter. The Indian name of Hartford was Suckiaug. The Sa chem of the place was Sunckqnasson, who gave a d?ed, about the year 1636, to Samuel Stone and William Goodwin, who * Trumbull s History of Connecticut. 118 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES HARTFORD. appear to have acted in behalf of the first settlers. In 1670, the soil was again purchased of the Indians, the evidence of the first purchase being considered imperfect. Hartford retained the name of New-town till February, 1637, when, by order of the court, it was changed to the former name, in honor of Mr. Stone, who was born at Hartford in England. " For a time, the affairs of the people of the three settle ments, Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield, wore a most gloomy aspect. They had sustained great losses in cattle and goods in the preceding years, and even this year they were unfortunate with respect to their cattle. They had no hay, but what they cut from the spontaneous productions of an uncultivated country. To make good English meadow was a work of time. The wild, coarse grass, which the people cut, was often mowed too late, and but poorly made. They did not always cut a sufficient quantity of this poor hay. They had no corn or provender with which they could feed them ; and amidst the multiplicity of affairs, which, at their first settlement, demanded their attention, they could not provide such shelters for them as were necessary, during the long and severe winters of this northern climate. From an union of these circumstances, some of their cattle were lost, and those which lived through winter were uncommonly poor, and many of the cows lost their young. Notwith standing all the exertions the people had made the preceding summer, they had not been able, in the multiplicity of their affairs, and under the inconveniences, to raise a sufficiency of provision. Their provisions were not only very coarse, but very dear and scanty. The people were not only inex perienced in the husbandry of the country, but they had but few oxen or ploughs. They performed almost the whole cul ture of the earth with their hoes. This rendered it both exceedingly slow and laborious. The inhabitants of Hartford, as also those of the infant settlements in their vicinity, were regarded with jealousy by the Indians in their immediate neighborhood, and even at a distance. 14 They waylaid the white man in his path through the woods. They seized upon him while at work in the field. They cut him down with their tomahawks at the door of his own house. The question was to be settled, whether our forefathers should abandon the country, or meet and con quer this terrible foe. They determined on the latter. On IN NORTH AMERICA. 119 HARTFORD. the first of May, just eighteen months after the settlement was begun, and when there were only eight hundred souls in the colony, the Court met, and resolved upon an offensive war against the Pequots, the powerful tribe inhabiting the country around New London and Stonington, and which were evident ly plotting the destruction of the colony. On the 10th, ninety men were drafted from the three settlements, and ready for the expedition. Embarked on board three little floats that were to convey them down the river, they received the exhor tation and blessing of their venerated pastor, Mr. Hooker. Your cause, said he, is the cause of heaven ; the enemy have blasphemed your God, and slain his servants; you are only the ministers of his justice. March, then, with Chris tian courage in the strength of the Lord ; march with faith in his divine promises ; and soon your swords shall find your enemies, soon they shall fall like leaves of the forest under your feet. So it proved. " Mr. Stone went as Chaplain. On the fifteenth, they were at the mouth of the river, whence they sent back twen ty of their number to guard their own defenceless homes. On the morning of the 28th, the little army, consisting of seventy-seven Englishmen, and a party of Narragansett and Mohegan Indians was before the fort of the Pequots at Mystic. The day was near dawning. A dog bays the alarm. It is too late. The Englishmen s musketry and broadswords are upon them, arid their last hour has come. The brave Captain Mason, with a party of his equally brave men, rushes in at the east end of the fort, and carries the battle into the huts of the savages, just roused from sleep. The conflict is terrible, and, for a moment, the victory hangs in suspense ; till Mason, seizing a firebrand, cries, we must burn them, and throws it among the mats of their cabins. Instantly they are in flames. The assailants retire and surround the fort, and the fire finishes the work. In one short hour the battle is over; six hundred Indians are slain, and the power of the most formidable foe of the English is annihilated. Our men left the scene of action just as the sun had risen ; embarked on board their vessels, which, just at that crisis, entered the Pequot harbor to receive them ; and, in three days, were at their homes, with only two of their number killed, and about twenty wounded."* * Dr. Hawes s Centennial Address. IN NORTH AMERICA. 121 HARTFORD. The early records of Hartford contain many laws and reg ulations passed in their general town meeting, which in the wisdom of the fathers were deemed important for the welfare of their little community ; but which to us, at the present day, would appear almost puerile, especially, if due allow ance is not made for their primitive manners and peculiar circumstances. A few extracts from these records follow : 1635. It is ordered, that there shall be a guard of ... men, to attend with their arms fixed, and two shot of powder and shot, at least .... every public meeting for religious use, with two sergeants to oversee the same, and to keep out one of them sentinel and the said guard to be freed from boarding, and to have seats provided near the meeting house door, and the sergeants repair to the magistrates for a warrant for the due execution thereof. It is ordered, that every inhabitant which hath not free dom from the whole to be absent, shall make his personal appearance at every general meeting of the whole town, having sufficient warning; and whosoever fails to appear at the time and place appointed, shall pay sixpence for every such default ; but if he shall have lawful excuse, it shall be repaid him again ; or whosoever departs away from the meet ing before it be ended, without liberty from the whole, shall pay the likewise. It is ordered, that whosoever borrows the town chain, shall pay two pence a day, for every day they keep the same, and pay for mending, if it be broken in their use. It is ordered, that there shall be a set meeting of all the townsmen together the first Thursday of every month, by nine o clock in the forenoon, so that if any inhabitant have any business with them, he may repair unto them ; and whosoever of them do not meet at the time and place set, to forfeit two shillings and sixpence for every default. The 17th September, 1040 It is ordered, that Woodward shall spend his time about killing of wolves, and for his encouragement he shall have four shillings and six pence for his board, in case he kill not a wolf, or a deer in the week ; but if he kill a wolf or a deer, he is to pay for his board himself; and if he kill .... to have it for two pence a pound. This order is made for a month before he begins. It is further ordered, that if any person hath lost any thing that he desireth should be cried in a public meet- 122 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES HARTFORD. ing, he shall pay for crying of it two pence to Thomas Woodford, to be paid before it be cried ; and the crier shall have a book of the things that he crieth. At a general Town Meeting in April, 1643 It was or dered, That Mr. Andrews should teach the children in the school one year next ensuing, from the 25th of March, 1643, and that he shall have for his pains 16; and therefore the townsmen shall go and inquire who will engage themselves to send their children ; and all that do so shall pay for one quarter at the least, and for more if they do send them, after the proportion of twenty shillings the year ; and if they go any weeks more than an even quarter, they shall pay six pence a week ; and if any would send their children, and are not able to pay for their teaching, they shall give notice of it to the townsmen, and they shall pay it at the town s charge ; and Mr. Andrews shall keep the account between the children s schooling and himself, and send notice of the times of payment and demand it ; and if his wages doth not come in so, then the townsmen must collect and pay it ; or if the en gagements come not to sixteen pounds, then they shall pay what is wanting, at the town s charges. At a general Town Meeting, October 30th, 1643 // was ordered, That if any boy shall be taken playing, or misbe having himself, in the time of public services, whether in the meeting house or about the walls by two witnesses, for the first time shall be examined and punished at the pres ent, publicly, before the assembly depart ; and if any shall be the second time taken faulty, on witness, shall be account ed Further, it is ordered, if the parents or master shall desire to correct his boy, he shall have liberty the first time to do the same. It was further ordered, in the same general meeting that there should be a bell rung by the watch every morning, an hour before daybreak, and that they are appointed by the constables for that purpose ; shall begin at the bridge, and so ring the bell all the way forth and back from Master Moody s (Wyllys Hill) to John Pratt s and that they shall be in every house, one up, and .... some lights within one quarter of an hour after the end of the bell ringing .... if they can .... the bell is rung before the time appointed, then to be up with lights as before mentioned, half an hour before daybreak, and for default herein is to forfeit oneshil- IN NORTH AMERICA. 123 HARTFORD. ling and sixpence, to be to him that finds him faulty, and sixpence to the town.* Hartford was not incorporated as a city, till 1784, nearly a century and a half from its settlement. It lies upon the bank of Connecticut river, 50 miles from its mouth. It is 110 N. E. from New York, and 100 W. S. W. from Boston. Its lat. is 41 45 N., and long. 4 15 E. from Washington. The limits of the city extend somewhat more than a mile upon the river, and about three fourths of a mile in breadth. The position of the city is quite pleasant. The prospect from the State House, or any other considerable elevation, is delightful, especially in the latter part of the spring months, when the uncommonly fertile country around has put on its appropriate attire. Few scenes are more enchanting the river, which at this season is considerably swollen, coming down from the north, and sweeping rapidly by the city while the proud steamboat is seen laboring up against the current, or just swinging off from the dock, turns with the descending tide, and dashes like the war horse down the im petuous flood. The city is rather irregularly laid out, and is divided at the south part by Mill, or Little river. Until within a few years the southern portion of the city has been neglected ; but several fine mansion houses have recently been erected in this quarter, which now promises to rival, if not excel, the other portions of the city. From the nature of the soil, the streets must always, in the spring season of the year, be liable to mud ; but they are annually improving. The first efficient effort to improve Main street, was made in 1790, or 1791, " when the town voted to cover it with stone, and an nually appropriated a tax of four pence on the pound for that purpose for several years." A vast expense has been incurred to improve the streets, especially Main street, greatly to the credit of the authorities of the city. The city is well built, and contains many elegant public and private edifices. The State House, in which are the public offices of the State, is surmounted with a cupola, and is a handsome and spacious building. It is " fifty feet in width, fifty in height, and one hundred and thirty in length. * Historical Collections. 124 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES HARTFORD. The first story is twenty feet high, of dark brown freestone, with circular breaks over each window. The second story is ftventy, and the third ten feet high ; and the division between them is marked by a band of freestone. From each front, finished with iron gates, projects an open arcade, six teen feet wide and forty long. The one on the west sup ports a second and third story, enclosed and finished, like the rest of the building. On the eastern one stands a Doric por tico, thirty feet high, often columns, built of brick, and stuc coed white. On the first floor of the south wing are four rooms, occupied as offices by the Treasurer and Comptrol ler. The north contains the court room, of forty feet diam eter. Within it is a row of Doric fluted columns, ten feet from the wall, supporting the floor of the Representatives room, which is as large as the one below, and thirty feet high, including the second and third stories. Ionic pilasters are between each window, whose entablature and balustrade reach to the bottom of the attic windows, and on the south side of the room form the front of a gallery supported by fluted columns. The council chamber occupies the south wing on the same floor ; is of the same size, as the one last described; and differs from it only in being without a gal lery, and having in the place of pilasters Corinthian columns, whose capitals are without their appropriate leaves. A double flight of stairs from the west end of the area below, communicates to the hall, which is the entrance to the two large rooms. The hall is forty feet by twenty-five, and twen ty high. At its east end are windows, opening from the floor to the portico ; and at the west are doors, communicating with the Secretary s office, and with the spiral stair case, which leads to the gallery, and to committee rooms in the third story, over the Hall and the Secretary s office."* With in a few years, the appearance of this edifice has been great ly improved. The City Hall, built for city purposes, is also spacious and elegant. It has two fronts, with porticos, supported each by six columns. The effect of this building, however, is in a great measure lost, from its confined position ; on a somewhat higher elevation, and with open grounds around it, it would produce great effect, and be much more ornamental to the city. "Dwight s Travels. IN NORTH AMERICA. 125 HARTFORD. " The city has fourteen places of public worship : four for Conregationalists, two Episcopal, two Baptist, one Methodist, one Unitarian, one Universalist, one Roman Catholic, and two African ; several of these are very handsome, and the Epis copal, a Gothic edifice, is much admired for its elegance. There are five banks, and a bank for savings ; three fire and marine insurance offices, an arsenal, museum, three mar kets," &,c. In the immediate vicinity, are located the American Asy lum for the Deaf and Dumb, the Retreat for the Insane, and Trinity College. The Asylum was founded by an association of gentlemen in Hartford, in 1815. " Their attention was called to this important charity, by a case of deafness in the family of one of their number. An interesting child of the late Dr. Cogs well, who had lost her hearing at the age of two years, and her speech soon after, was, under Providence, the cause of its establishment. Her father, ever ready to sympathize with the afflicted, and prompt to relieve human suffering, embraced in his plans for the education of his own daughter, all who miarht be similarly unfortunate. The co-operation of the be nevolent was easily secured, and measures were taken to ob tain from Europe a knowledge of the difficult art, unknown in this country, of teaching written language through the medium of signs, to the deaf and dumb. For this purpose, the Rev. Thomas II. Gallaudet visited England and Scotland, and applied at the institutions in those countries for instruc tion in their system, but meeting with unexpected difficulties, he repaired to France, and obtained at the Royal Institution at Paris, those qualifications for an instructor of the deaf and dumb, which a selfish and mistaken policy had refused him in Great Britain. Accompanied by Mr. Samuel Clerc, him self deaf and dumb, and for several years a successful teach er under the Abbe Sicard, Mr. Gallaudet returned to this country in August, 1816. The Asylum had, in May preceding, been incorporated by the State Legislature. Some months were spent by Messrs. Gallaudet and Clerc, in ob taining funds for the benefit of the Institution, and in the spring of 1817, the Asylum was opened for the reception of those for whom it was designed, and the course of in struction commenced with seven pupils. " In 1819, Congress granted the Institution a township IN NORTH AMERICA. 127 HARTFORD. of land in Alabama, the proceeds of which have been in vested as a permanent fund. The principal building was erected in 1820, and the pupils removed to it in the spring of the following year. It is one hundred and thirty feet long, fifty feet wide, and, including the basement, four stories high. Other buildings have been subsequently erected, as the in creasing number of pupils made it necessary; the principal of which is a dining hall and workshops for the male pupils. Attached to the Institution are eight or ten acres of land, which afford ample room for exercise and the cultivation of vegetables and fruits for the pupils. "Wadsworth Atheneum," named after Daniel Wadsworth, Esq., who gave the spot on which it stands, besides a large sum towards its erection, is an ornament to the city. It oc cupies a commanding situation on Main street. The material used in its construction is light grey granite. The style of architecture is Gothic, of the castellated character. It is divided into three equal compartments, one of which is occu pied as a library of the "Young Men s Institute," compre hending at present about 10,000 volumes. Another room, appropriated to the Fine Arts, contains paintings in history, landscape, and portrait, with a department for sculpture. A third compartment accommodates the archives of the Connec ticut Historical Society, which comprises 5,000 volumes, be sides multitudes of pamphlets and manuscripts. " The Retreat for the Insane commenced its operations on the 15th of April, 1824. The edifice is situated on a commanding eminence, at the distance of a mile and a quar ter, in .a south-westerly direction, from the State House, in Hartford. The elevation overlooks an ample range of fer tile country, presenting on every side a most interesting land scape, adorned with every beauty of rural scenery, that can be found in rich and cultivated fields, and meadows of un rivalled verdure ; in extensive groves and picturesque groups of forest, fruit and ornamental trees ; and above all, in the charming diversity of level, sloping and undulating surfaces terminating by distant hills, and more distant mountains. "The city of Hartford is conspicuously seen on the left, and in different directions, five flourishing villages, rendered nearly continuous by numerous intervening farm houses. On the east, the prospect is enlivened by the passing and re- passing of carriages and travellers, on the two principal 128 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES HARTFORD. thoroughfares of the country, that extend along the front of the building, one at the distance of fifty or sixty rods, the other within three-fourths of a mile. Still farther eastward, but within a mile and a half, the prospect is frequently en livened by the splendid show of passing steamboats, and the white sails of various water craft, plying up and down the Connecticut river, which is distinctly seen in many long windings. " The edifice for the accommodation of the patients, and those who have the care of them, is constructed of unhewn freestone, covered with a smooth white water proof cement. Its style of architecture is perfectly plain and simple, and in terests only by its symmetrical beauty, and perhaps by the idea it impresses of durability and strength, derived from the massy solidity of its materials yet notwithstanding these, its general aspect is remarkably airy and cheerful, from the am plitude of its lights, and the brilliant whiteness of its exterior. The whole building is divided into commodious and spacious apartments, adapted to various descriptions of cases, accor ding to their sex, nature and disease, habits of life and the wishes of their friends. The male and female apartments are entirely separated, and either sex is completely secluded from the view of the other. Rooms are provided in both male and female apartments, for the accommodation of the sick, where they are removed from any annoyance, and can continually receive the kind attentions of their immediate re lations and friends. Attached to the buildings, are about seventeen acres of excellent land, the principal part of which is laid out in walks, ornamental grounds, and extensive gar dens. With each wing and block of the building, is con nected a court yard encompassed by high fences, and handsomely laid out, designed to afford the benefit of exer cise, pastime, and fresh air to those who cannot safely be al lowed to range abroad. " Connected with the Institution, there are horses and carriages, which are appropriated exclusively to the benefit of the patients, and which afford them much pleasant exer cise and amusement. The male patients frequently employ themselves in the garden, and amuse themselves at the back gammon board, draughts, and the like. The female pa tients employ themselves in sewing, knitting, drawing, paint ing, playing on the piano, and other amusements. The va rious exercises and amusements are adapted to the age, sex, IN NORTH AMERICA. 129 HARTKOUD. and former habits of the patients; and in* all cases the two sexes are kept entirely separate. There is a library in the Retreat, composed of light and agreeable works, and several periodicals and newspapers are constantly taken, for the perusal of which the inmates manifest much fondness. [On the Sabbath, those that are in a proper condition, attend re ligious service, conducted by the Rev. Mr. Gallaudet, at pres ent, 1848, chaplain to the Institution.] Every thing con nected with the Institution is designed to make it a pleasant and agreeable residence for all its inmates. * Trftrity College was founded in 1826. It has three edi fices of freestone ; two 148 feet long by 43 wide, and four stories high, containing 48 rooms ; the other 87 feet by 55, and three stories high, containing the chapel, library, miner- alogical cabinet, philosophical chamber, laboratory and re citation rooms. There are 5,000 volumes in the college library, and 2,509 in the libraries of the different societies. A complete philosophical apparatus, cabinet of minerals, and botanical garden and green house, belong to the institu tion. The faculty consists of a president, six professors, and two tutors. Students about 60. Commencement first Thursday in August. f There are two fine bridges in the city one across the Mill or Little river connecting the northern and southern por tions of the city. This is built of freestone, and is 100 feet wide, supported by a single arch, seven feet in thickness at the base, and three feet three inches at the centre ; the chord or span of which is 104 feet. The elevation from the bed of the river to the top of the arch is 39 feet. Another bridge across the Connecticut river, 1,099 feet long, and which cost over $100,000, unites the city with East Hartford. Hartford is advantageously situated for business. An ex tensive and wealthy district surrounds it. Steamboats, in the open season, daily communicate between it and New York, and smaller steamboats, some for passengers and others for towing flat boats, ascend the river the former to Springfield, and the latter as far as Wells s river, 220 miles above the city. The coasting trade is considerable ; the for- * American Magazine, vol. 1, 1835. 130 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES HARTFORD. eign trade not extensive. The manufactures of the city ex ceed 8900,000 per annum. More than twice as many books are published here annually as are manufactured in any other place of equal population in the United States. The popula tion within the limits of the city in the year 1851, was 13,555. The State Assembly meets alternately at Hartford and New Haven on the first Wednesday of May the odd years at the former place. Anterior to the adoption of the Con stitution in 1818, " Election Day " was marked by various ceremonies, which rendered the day one of great gathering and high festivity. Most of these, however, have been gradually dispensed with. The clergy, who were formerly dined at the public expense, have no longer that provision made for them. The Governor s Guards have met with a similar deprivation. The Election Sermon is heard no more, and for several years the members of the Assembly, who were wont to march in solemn and dignified procession to the house of God, have formed no procession at all. Several travellers have described the ceremonies of Elec tion day, as they were observed in the "olden time," till the era spoken of above. We select the following from Ken dall s Travels, 1808, as a substantially correct account of these days, which were wont to infuse animation into the man of threescore years and ten, and filled the stripling with joys, which he felt but once in a year. "I reached Hartford," says this traveller, "at noon, on Wednesday, the 19th of May, 1807. The city is on the west bank of the Connecticut, fifty miles above its mouth. The governor, whose family residence is on the east side of the river, at some distance from Hartford, was expected to arrive in the evening. This gentleman, whose name is Jona than Trumbull, is the son of the late governor Jonathan Trumbull ; and though the election is annual, he has himself been three or four years in office, and will almost certainly so continue during the remainder of his life. It was known that the votes at this time were in his favor. * The governor has volunteer companies of guards, both horse and foot. In the afternoon the horse were drawn up on the bank of the river, to receive him, and escort him to his lodgings. He came before sunset, and the fineness of the evening, the beauty of the river, the respectable appear- IN NORTH AMERICA. 131 HARTKORD. ance of the governor, and of the troop, the dignity of the oc casion, and the decorum observed, united to gratify the spec tators. The color of the clothes of the troops was blue. The governor, though on horseback, was dressed in black, but he wore a cockade in a hat, which I did not like the less, because it was in the form rather of the old school than of the new. " In the morning, the foot guards were paraded in front of the State House, where they afterwards remained under arms, while the troop of horse occupied the street which is on the south side of the building. The clothing of the foot was scarlet, with white waistcoats and pantaloons ; and their appearance and demeanor were military. " The day was fine, and the apartments and galleries of the State House afforded an agreeable place of meeting, in which the members of the Assembly and others awaited the coming of the governor. At about eleven o clock, his ex cellency entered the State House, and shortly after took his place at the head of a procession, which was made to a meet ing house or church, at something less than half a mile dis tant. The procession was on foot, find was composed of the person of the governor, together with the lieutenant gover nor, assistants, high sheriffs, members of the lower house of the assembly, and, unless with accidental exceptions, all the clergy of the State. It was preceded by the foot guards,, and followed by the horse ; and attended by gazers, that, consid ering the size and population of the city, may be said to have been numerous. The church, which from its situation is called the South Meeting House, is a small one, and was re sorted to on this occasion, only because that more ordinari ly used was at this time rebuilding. The edifice is of wood, alike unornamented within and without ; and when filled, there was still presented to the eye nothing but what had the plainest appearance. The military remained in the street, with the ex ception of a few officers, to whom no place of honor or dis tinction was assigned ; neither the governor nor other magistrates were accompanied with any insignia of office ; the clergy had no canonical costume, and there were no fe males in the church, except a few, (rather more than twenty in number,) who were stationed by themselves in a gallery op posite the pulpit, in quality of singers. A decent order was the highest characteristic that presented itself. " The pulpit, or, as it is here called, the desk, was filled 132 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES HARTFORD . by three, if not four clergymen; a number by its form and dimensions it was able to accommodate. Of these, one opened the service with a prayer, another delivered a ser mon, a third made a concluding prayer, and a fourth pro nounced a benediction. Several hymns were sung ; and among others, an occasional one. The total number of singers was between forty and fifty. " The sermon, as will be supposed, touched upon mat ters of government. When all was finished, the procession returned to the State House. The clergy who walked were about a hundred in number. " It was in the two bodies of guards alone, that any suita ble approach to magnificence discovered itself. The gov ernor was full dressed, in a suit of black ; but the lieutenant governor wore riding boots. All, however, was consistently plain, and in unison with itself, except the dress swords, which were worn by high sheriffs, along with their village habiliments, and of which the fashion and the materials were marvelously diversified. Arrived in front of the State House, the military formed on each side of the street; and as the governor passed them, presented arms. The sev eral parts of the procession now separated, each to a dinner prepared for itself at an adjoining inn ; the governor, lieu tenant governor, and assistants to their table, the clergy to a second, and the representatives to a third. The time of day was about two in the afternoon. " Only a short time elapsed before business was resumed, or rather at length commenced. The General Assembly met in the council room, and the written votes being exam ined and counted, the names of the public officers elected were formally declared. They were in every instance the same as those which had been successful the preceding year. " This done, the lieutenant governor administered the oath to the governor elect, who, being sworn, proceeded to administer their respective oaths to the lieutenant governor and the rest ; and here terminated the affairs of the election day. Soon after six o clock, the military fired three feu de joies, and were then dismissed. " On the evening following that of election day, there is an annual ball at Hartford, called the election ball ; and on the succeeding Monday, a second, which is more select. The election day is a holiday throughout the State ; and even the whole remainder of the week is regarded in a similar IN NORTH AMERICA. 133 NEW HAVEN. light. Servants and others are now indemnified for the loss of the festivals of Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide, which the principles of their Church deny them. Families ex change visits, and treat their guests with slices of election cake ; and thus preserve some portion of the luxuries of the forgotten feast of the Epiphany. The whole day, like the morning, and like the evening which preceded it, was fine. In Hartford, the degree of bustle was sufficient to give an air of importance to the scene; a scene that, taken altogether, was not unfitted to leave on the mind a pleasing and respect ful impression." NEW HAVEN. The first knowledge which the English appear to have ob tained of the beautiful territory, on which New Haven stands, was in the year 1637, when, in the prosecution of the Pe- quot war, a party of English troops pursued Sassacus, the great sachem of that tribe, and his warriors, in their flight, as far as Fairfield. It is not improbable that the spot had been previously visited by the Dutch, from New York. No attempt, however, had been made by them to settle. It was still in possession of an Indian tribe, called the Quinnipiacs, which name seems to have been given, not only to the terri tory itself, but also to the river, now called Wallingford river, and which forms the eastern boundary of the township. On the 30th of March, 1638, a small colony, led by Mr. Davenport, Mr. Prudden, Mr. Samuel Eaton, and Theophi- lus Eaton, Esq. sailed from Boston, for duinnipiac. After a fortnight s voyage, they reached their destined port. The first Sabbath after their arrival, the people assembled under a large spreading oak. Here they invoked the blessing of that God who had preserved them amid the perils of the deep, and here they listened to such directions and exhorta tions as their pious minister, Mr. Davenport, thought pertin ent to their state. In November following, Theophilus Eaton, Esq., Mr. Davenport, and the other English planters, entered into arti cles of agreement with Momauguin, sole sachem of Q,uinni- IN NORTH AMERICA. 135 NEW HAVEN. piac, by which the said sachem transferred the territory to the English, for which the latter agreed to protect the sachem and his Indians, and gave twelve coats of English cloth, twelve alchemy spoons, twelve hatchets, twelve hoes, two dozen of knives, twelve porringers, and four cases of French knives and scissors. The New Haven colonies were, perhaps, the most wealthy company, which emigrated to New England. The tract of land selected for their residence was singularly level, and beautiful, and susceptible of being laid out in regular squares. The centre of the town was occupied by a large square, which was encompassed by nine others. The city lies at the head of a harbor, which sets up four miles from Long Island Sound. Its latitude is 40 18 north ; longitude 72 56 west. It is 76 miles from New York ; 34 from Hartford ; 134 from Boston ; and 301 from Wash ington. " There is nothing in Britain," says Mr. Duncan, " that bears any resemblance to a New England town, and it is not easy to convey an idea of its singular neatness. The houses are generally of wood, painted white, and decorated with Venetian blinds, of a brilliant green. The solid framework of the walls is covered externally with thin planks, called by Americans, clapboards, which overlap each other from the eaves downwards, and serve effectually to exclude rain. The roofs are covered with shingles, which are thin slips of wood, put on like slates, and painted with a dark blue. The buildings are, in general, about two stories in height ; the door is dec orated with a neat portico ; and very frequently a projecting piazza, most grateful in hot weather, with benches under it, extends along the whole front of the house. Mouldings and minute decorations of various kinds are carried round the principal projections. A garden is not unfrequent behind, and a neat wooden railing in front, inclosing a grass plot and a few trees. Such houses would soon look rusty and weather-beaten were they in our climate ; but they enjoy here a purer atmosphere, and the smoke of coal fire is unknown. The painting is renewed once a year, which serves to preserve the wood for a long time. The churches, or meeting houses, as they are more generally called, are, in the smaller towns, al so of wood, and with the addition of a steeple and a gilt weath ercock, resemble very much the other buildings. In the 136 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW HAVEN. large towns they are of brick or stone, but retain generally the green Venetian blinds upon the windows. The streets are wide, and run off, at right angles to each other, from a large open square, covered with green turf, in the centre of the town ; the churches, townhouse, and an inn or two not unfrequently front this green. Gravel walks skirt many of the streets, and occasionally rows of limes or poplars. The agreeable succession of gardens, grass plots, trees, foot walks, and buildings, gives an air of rural qiMetness to the town ; and the open space which frequently intervenes be tween one house and another, prevents much of the danger which would otherwise arise from fire. Every thing be tokens an unusual share of homely simplicity and comfort, and the absence at once of great riches and of great poverty. " New Haven possesses most of the distinctive peculiari ties which I have now noticed, but combines with them much of what we usually consider inseparable from a town. The churches, and a great many of the dwelling houses, are of brick, a few even of stone,* and two or three of the streets are closely built. The numerous buildings of Yale College, all of brick, and constructed with a regularity and neatness, complete its claims to superiority. " The country round New Haven is very picturesque. Behind the town, at a distance of about two miles, is an am phitheatre of rugged hills, not unlike some of our Scottish scenery ; in front is an inlet from Long Island Sound, afford ing a safe and commodious harbor ; to the right and left, a richly cultivated country, relieved by patches of forest; and, in wide expanse before it, the blue waves of the sea rolling in magnificence. Two large precipices, called East and West Rock, 400 feet high, and about two miles apart, form * The original churches in New Haven are described by Dr. Dwight, as " barely decent structures ; " but in 181ii, all the congregations voted that they would take down their churches, and build new ones. Accord ingly, two of them commenced the work in 1813, and a third in 1814. Tln se three are all placed on the western side of Temple street, which is 1(K) feet wide, facing an open square. " The Presbyterian churches are of Grecian architecture. The Episcopal church is a Gothic building, the only correct specimen, it is believed, in the United States. Few structures devoted to the same purpose, on this side the Atlantic, are equally handsome." In one of the Congregational or Presbyterian churches, Mr. Duncan says, an organ has been introduced, but with a special stipulation that no voluntary shall be allowed to break in upon the solemnity of worship. IN NORTH AMERICA. 137 NEW HAVEN. part of the semicircular range. They are prominent features in the landscape ; and events in the annals of our native country, with which they are associated, impart to them that traditional charm, which is so often wanting in American scenery. In the fastnesses of these rocks, some of the regi cides of Charles I. found shelter from their pursuers, when the agents of his profligate son hunted them for their lives." Of the individuals referred to, President Dwight has communicate^ some highly interesting particulars. About three miles N. E. from Northampton, in the Connecticut valley, and 90 miles from due W. of Boston, is the little town of Hadley. " In this town," says the learned writer, " re sided for fifteen or sixteen years the celebrated regicides, Goffe and Whallcy. They came hither in the year 1654, and lived in the house of the Rev. Mr. Russell, the minister. Whalley died in his house. Some years since, the house was pulled down by Mr. Gaylord, the proprietor, when the bones of Whalley were found buried just without the cellar wall, in a kind of tomb of mason work, and covered with flags of hewn stone. After his decease, Goffe quitted Had ley, arid went into Connecticut, and afterwards, according to tradition, to the neighborhood of New York. Here he is said to have lived some time, and the better to disguise him self, to have carried vegetables at times to market. It is said, that, having been discovered here, he retired secretly to the colony of Rhode Island, and there lived with the son of Whalley, the remainder of his life." The following story has been traditionally conveyed down among the inhabitants of Hadley : " In the course of Philip s war, which involved almost all the Indian tribes in New England, and, among others, those in the neighborhood of this town, the inhabitants thought it proper to observe the 1st of September, 1675, as a day of fasting and prayer. While they were in the church, and em ployed in their worship, they were surprised by a band of savages. The people instantly betook themselves to their arms, which, according to the custom of the times, they had carried with them to the church ; and, rushing out, attacked their invaders. The panic under which they began the con flict, was, however, so great, and their number was so dispro- portioned to that of their enemies, that they fought doubtfully at first, and in a short time began evidently to give way. At this moment, an ancient man, with hoary locks, of a most 138 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW HAVEN. venerable and dignified aspect, and in address widely differ ing from that of the inhabitants, appeared suddenly at their head, and with a firm voice and an example of undaunted resolution, reanimated their courage, led them again to the conflict, and totally routed the savages. When the battle was ended, the stranger disappeared, and no one knew whence he had come, or whither he had gone. The relief was so timely, so sudden, so unexpected, so providential ; the appearance and retreat of him, who had furnished it, were so unaccountable ; his person was so dignified and commanding, his resolution so superior, and his interference so decisive, that the inhabitants, without any uncommon ex ercise of credulity, readily believed him to be an angel sent from heaven for their preservation. Nor was this opinion seriously controverted, until it was discovered, years after wards, that Goffe and Whalley had been lodged in the house of Mr. Russell. Then it was known that their deliverer was Goffe ; Whalley having become superannuated some time before the event took place. There is an obscure and very doubtful tradition, that Goffe also was buried here." Colonel DijTwc/l, another of the king s judges, we learn from other authority, found shelter also in America " He visited his fellow exiles in their concealment, and being him self unknown, settled and married at New Haven, under the name of James Dowds. By that name, he signed his will, but there he adds to it his own. His tombstone is shewn at New Haven with only the initials J. D. Esq. deceased March ISth, in the 82d year of his age, 16S3. Another stone, with the initials E. W. Esqr. is traditionally supposed to mark the grave of Whalley : if it be so, his bones must have been removed there by Dixwell ; an affecting act of pi ous friendship." " I have seen both the gravestones alluded to," says Mr. Duncan ; " they still stand in the old burying ground, be hind one of the churches. The inscription on the first is in rude characters, and is thus arranged : j. D. ESQ. DECEASED MARCH YE 18 IN YE 82D YEAR OF HIS AGE, 1688-9. " The other stone, which has been supposed to commem- IN NORTH AMERICA. 139 NEW HAVEN. orate Whalley, must have been erected over some other per son whose name and history have been lost ; for the date, which has generally been read, 1688 is, in reality, 1658. The mistake has arisen from a slight injury which the stone has received, and which has imparted to the figure 5 something of the shape of 8, although it is still quite possible to deci pher its original form. None of these relics will long survive. The ancient burying ground is no longer used ; the fence round it has gone to decay ; and the moss-grown gravestones are rapidly disappearing under the dilapidating attacks of idlers, who are daily defacing these frail memorials of the dust, which sleep below. " The new cemetery, which has sprung from the ashes of the old one, in simplicity of arrangement, and elegance of monumental decoration, leaves at a great distance all others that 1 have any whore seen. It is in shape an oblong square, divided by a regular succession of avenues, crossing each other at right angles, and skirted by rows of Lombardy poplars. The divisions, which are thus formed, are subdi vided into spaces sufficient for family burying places, which are surrounded with a neat wooden railing, painted white. There is scarcely a grave, which has not a monument of one kind or other ; and with the exception of those transferred from the old burying ground, they are almost universally of white or green marble. Some of those of white marble were executed in Italy. The green marble is found about two miles otf, and is thought by some to bear a close resemblance to the verd antique. The monuments consist of obelisks, tables, and upright slabs at the head and foot of the grave. The obelisks are ranged in the centre of the principal sub division, in parallel rows, and at right angles to each other. The inscriptions, which are cut on the white marble, are generally painted black ; those on the green are gilt, and have a very rich effect. " While the monuments in the old burying ground seem devoted to ruin, those in the new one, although accessible to every passenger, are treated with the most scrupulous re spect. A neat fence surrounds the cemetery ; but open ings are left at regular intervals, from which numerous foot walks cross the ground. The soil is composed of a light sand, and shoots from the poplars are springing up so numer ously, that they threaten to overrun it. Except the slight wooden railing, there is no kind of fence round the graves < 140 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW HAVKN. they are altogether free from those unsightly cages of cast iron, by which our burying grounds in Glasgow are dis figured, and the enclosures are not defaced by those quaint emblems of mortality and grief, which so often, with us, be tray the bad taste of the proprietors. A becoming respect is shewn to the memory of the departed ; arid an air of im pressive solemnity pervades the whole enclosure, which is not counteracted by any of those lugubrious, and not unfre- quently ludicrous allegorical devices, and misapplied quota tions from Scripture, which meet us at every step in our more ancient repositories of the dead. I have visited every shrine in Westminster Abbey, arid have heard the marble hearted verger dole out, in monotonous cadence, the dreary cata logue of names, which are entombed and commemorated there. The damp of the long drawn aisles chilled me to the heart ; and I trod over the ashes of monarchs, barons, and crusading knights, whose sculptured figures, scattered around, were covered with the mutilations and dust of many generations ; yet I doubt whether sympathy with my kindred dust was as strongly excited there, as in the burying ground at New Haven."* The population of New Haven in 1850 was 20,345. By these the New England character, Mr. Duncan remarks, is very favorably exhibited. The simplicity and sincerity of the ancient Puritans may still be seen strongly marked in their descendants. Plain and frugal in their domestic habits, they exhibit little of that artificial polish, which, like varnish, frequently disguises very worthless materials, and a stranger is not mortified by professions without services, and show without substance. The area occupied by the -city is probably as large as that which usually contains a city of six times the number of inhabitants in Europe. Many of the houses have court yards in front, and gardens in the rear. The former are or namented with trees and shrubs ; the latter are filled with fruit trees, flowers and culinary vegetables. The houses are generally two stories high, built of wood, in a neat, hand some, but not expensive style. Many of those recently erected, however, are good and substantial edifices of brick * Duncan s Travels. IN NORTH AMERICA. 141 NKW HAVEN. and stone. The public edifices are, the college building; twelve churches, viz. six Congregational, two Episcopal, two Methodists, one Baptist, arid one Roman Catholic ; a Ton tine, a State House, a Gaol, four Banks, a Custom House, and a State Hospital. The chief ornament and attraction of New Haven re mains to be noticed, its college, the rival of Harvard Uni versity in literary respectability, and honorably distinguished from it by the orthodoxy of its religious character. The buildings of Yale College make a conspicuous appearance, when entering the town eastward ; and the effect is consid erably heightened by three churches, which stand at a little distance in front, in a parallel line. The ground between the college and the churches, is neatly divided and enclosed and ornamented with trees. Including passage ways the principal edifices present a front of upwards of 800 feet. The buildings are chiefly constructed of brick, arid consist of five spacious edifices, each four stories high, one hundred and four feet by forty, containing thirty-two studies ; a chapel for religious worship, and ordinary public exhibitions ; a Lyceum, containing the library and recitation rooms ; an Athenscum ; a Chemical Laboratory ; an extensive stone Dining Hall, containing also in the upper story, apartments for the mineralogical cabinet ; a separate Dining Hall for Theological Students; a dwelling house for the President; a large stone building occupied by the medical department ; and the Trumbull Gallery, a neat and appropriate building erected as a repository for the valuable historical and other paintings of Col. Trumbull. Yale College was originally established at Saybrook, in the year 1700, and was incorporated by the colonial legisla ture in the following year. The project of establishing a college in Connecticut, appears to have been seriously enter tained fifty years before; but it was checked, Dr. Dwight in forms us, by well founded circumstances by the people of Massachusetts, who justly urged that the whole population of New England was scarcely sufficient to support one in stitution of this nature, and that the establishment of a second would endanger the prosperity of both ; these objections put a stop to the design for the time ; it was not, however, lost sight of. In 1718, the infant Institution was removed by the Trustees to New Haven. It was originally intended simply 142 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW HAVK.V. for the education of young men for the ministry : but, as it gathered strength from individual liberality and public pat ronage, the range of its plan of study was gradually extended, until it now embraces the more essential parts of a complete literary, scientific, and medical education. The college received its name, in commemoration of the beneficence of the Honorable Elihu Yale, a son of one of the first settlers, who went to England in early life, and thence to India, where he became governor to Madras ; and on his return .to England, he was elected governor of the East In dia Company. From this gentleman the college received donations at various times, between 1714 and 1718, to the amount of .500 sterling; and a short time before his death, he directed another benefaction to the same amount to be transmitted, but it was never received. Another of its early benefactors was the celebrated Dean Berkeley, afterwards Bishop of Cloyne, who came to America in 1732, for the pur pose of establishing a college in the island of Bermuda ; a pro ject to which he nobly sacrificed considerable property, as well as time and labor. His efforts being frustrated by the failure of the promised support from government, he presented to this Institution a farm which he had purchased in Rhode Island, and afterwards transmitted to it from England a very valua ble collection of books " the finest that ever came together at one time into America." Sir Isaac Newton, and many other distinguished men, presented their works to the library. Although founded under the sanction of the colonial legis lature, and partly endowed by it, the college was for a long time indebted for its support chiefly to individual patronage : the whole amount bestowed by the colonial legislature, during the first ninety years of its existence, did not much exceed <4,500 sterling. But when the Federal Government was consolidated, a grant was made, in 1792, to Yale Col lege, out of a fund created by uncollected arrears of war tax es, by which ultimately 60,000 dollars were realized. The library of the college has recently been much en larged by the addition of many valuable volumes, selected by Prof. Kingsley, who visited Europe with reference to that selection. The libraries of the different societies receive fre quent additions; At present the libraries belonging to the institution form an aggregate of from 30,000 to 40,000 vol. umes. The college possesses the richer mineralogical cabinet on the continent. This cabinet originally belonged to Colonel IN NORTH AMERICA. 143 NEW HAVEN. George Gibbs, who deposited it in this seminary in 1811. It contained 24,000 specimens. In 1825 it was purchased of Colonel Gibbs, at the price of $20,000 ; of which sum the officers of Yale College, and the citizens of New Haven, contributed ten thousand dollars ; the citizens of New York, three thousand dollars; the alumni of South Carolina seven hundred dollars, and an individual five hundred dollars. Several thousand specimens, chiefly domestic, have since been added by various donors. To the east of the original city, but within the nine ori ginal squares and Mill river, lies the New Township. Within a few years, this part of the city has rapidly increased. Still further east, at the distance of two miles, but within the present city limits, is Fair Haven. It is on both sides of the Quinnipiac, and contains about 1,000 inhabitants. It is cele brated for its oyster business, which is conducted on a large scale, as appears from a recent statement of a public journal. From the 19th of September, 1846, to the 25th of May, 1847, a period of about 8 months, there were imported 231 cargoes of oysters. These cargoes contained 313,266 bushels, and were sold for the sum of $123,944 55. In addition to this, there were 16 cargoes which were spoiled by the warm weather amounting to 31,300 bushels, and worth 811,000. There were also caught during the winter of 1846-7, in New Haven harbor and the Quinnipiac river, 25,000 bushels, val ued at $8.333 33 making in the whole 399,565 bushels of oysters, and amounting in value to $143,278. Many of the oysters brought here are laid down in beds, and a r e taken up when grown larger and when demanded. A large portion of the neighboring towns, especially those on the line of the railroad, are also plentifully supplied with oysters from this quarter they being easily transported, either in kegs or in the shell, in any required quantity. " There is a large amount of excellent stone for building and other purposes, found in the village ; and the getting it out during the spring and summer season receives consider able attention. For several years past the quantity quarried has averaged about 300,000 solid feet. The manufacture of lime from oyster-shells has been a source of great advantage also; and it is said that one person engaged in the business calculates upon making at least 200,000 bushels annually." " The population, and business in general, is constantly in- 144 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW HAVKN. creasing, and there is every promise of this being one of the most prosperous villages in the State." " This place was formerly called Dragon, from a sandy point of that name, about forty rods below the bridge, on the eastern side of the river. The tradition is, that at the time of the first settle ment of New Haven, this point was a place of resort for seals, which lay here and basked themselves in the sun. At that time these animals were called dragons; hence the name Dragon Point." The first settlers of New Haven had, for several years, no written code of laws. " The word of God," it was ordered, "should be the only rule for ordinary affairs of government in that commonwealth." But they had a court, which held its sessions, as was necessary, before which all matters rela tive to the town, and its inhabitants, were brought, and a de cision had thereon, according to the nature and circum stances of the case. Hence the ancient records of New Haven, like those of Hartford and several of the Massachu setts towns, exhibit much that is sufficiently curious. The original settlers were a people of great simplicity but all their public acts evince no small respect for the word and authority of God, and singular and self denying efforts to promote good order and sound morality. A few extracts from the New Haven records, at this early period, will cor roborate the above remarks. At a Court held at New Haven, A. D. 1643. Andrew Low, jun., for breaking into Mr. Ling s house, where he brake open a cupboard and took from thence some strong water, and 6d. in money, and ransackt the house from roome to roome, and left open the doors, for which fact being com mitted to prison, brake forth and escaped, and still remains horrible obstinate and rebellious against his parents, and in corrigible under all the means to reclaim him. Whereupon it was ordered that he shall be as severely whipt as the rule will bear, and work with his father as a prisoner, with a lock upon his leg so that he may not escape. Dec. 30, 1(551. It was proposed that some safer way might be found out to Connecticote, that the danger of East river may be avoyded. The new wave was desired to be viewed againe, as William Bradley offered to lnd his can- now to lie in the East river, if the town will find ropes to draw it to and agayne. IN NORTH AMERICA. 145 NEW HAVEN. A Court holden 3d November, 1639. It was ordered that Mr. Hopkins shall have two hogsheads of lime for his pres ent use, and as much more as will finish his house as he now intends itt, he thinking that two hogsheads more will serve. It is ordered, that a meetinghouse shall be built forthwith, fifty foote square; and that the carpenters shall fall timber where they can find it, till allotment be layed out, and men know their proprietyes. It is ordered, that Mr. Greyson and Mr. Evance shall have fower dayes liberty after this day to square their timber, be fore the former order shall take hold of them. It is ordered, that Mr. Eaton, Mr. Davenport, Robert Newman, Matthew Gilbert, Captain Turner and Thomas Flugill, shall from henceforward have the disposing of all house lotts, yett undisposed of about this towne, to such persons as they shall judge meete for the good of the planta tion ; and thatt none come to dwell as planters here, without their consent and allowance, whether they come in by pur chase or otherwise. It is ordered, that every one that bares armes shall be completely furnished with arms, (viz.) a muskett. a sword, bandaleers, a rest ; a pound of powder ; 20 bullets fitted to their muskett, or 4 pound of pistol shott, or swan shott at least, and be ready to show them in the market place upo>n Monday the 16th of this monthe, before Captaine Turner and Lieutenant Seely, under the penalty of 20s. fine for every de fault or absence. 4th December, 1639. It was ordered, that Thomas Saule shall agree with Goodman Spinnage before the next Court, or else the Court will determine the difference between them. Roger Duhurst and James Stewart are enjoyned to make double restitution to John Cockerill for five pounds and seventeen shillings which they stole out of his chist on the Lord s day in the meeting time, and they being servants to the said Cockerill, for which aggravation they were whip ped also. Thomas Manchester servant to Mr. Perry, being accused by his master for being druncke, and for giving his master uncomely language, for which his master having given him some correction, the Court (onely) caused him to be sett in the stocks for a certain time. 10 146 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES Ni:\V HAVE*. Nicholas Tamer, servant to the said Mr. Perry, for drunk enness and abusing his master in words, was whipped. A General Court, 4th January, 1639 It is agreed by :he town, and accordingly ordered by the Court, that the Neck shall be planted or sowen for the tearme of seaven yeares, and thatt John Brockett shall goe about laying it out, for which and all difference betwixt party and party aboute ground formerly broke up and planted by English there, shall be arbitrated by indifferent men, which shall be chosen to that end. It is ordered, that some speedy course shall be taken to keepe hogs out of the Neck. It is ordered, that a convenient way to the Hay-place be left common for all the towne. It is ordered, that no cattell belonging to this towne shall go without a keeper after the first of May next. A Court liolden February, 5th, 1639. It is ordered that brother Andrewes, brother Kimberly, William Ives, and Sar- geant Beckley, shall assist Mr. Ling to ripen Goodman Tap s business against the next Courte, concerning his demands for certain moneyes which he disbursed for bringing cattell from the Bay, appertaining to divers persons. It is ordered, that brother Andrewes shall detaine so much of Robert Champion, his wages in his hands, as may secure a debt of o3 which Mr. Mouland demaunds of the said Robert. It is ordered, that Mr Mouland shall pay to Mr. Perry 20s. which he owes him. It is ordered, that Mr. Wilks shall pay 5 bushels and a halfe of Indian come to Thomas Buckingham, for corne de stroyed by Mr. Wilks his hogs. Isaiah, Captain Turner s man, fined <5 for being drunke on the Lord s day. William Bloomfield, Mr. Malbon s man, was sett in the stocks for prophaning the Lord s day, and stealing wine from his master, which he drunk and gave to others. Ellice, Mr. Eaton s boy, \vas whipped for stealing a sow and a goate from his master and selling them. David Anderson was whipped for being drunke. John Fenner, accused of being drunk with strong waters, was acquitted, it appearing to be of infirmity, and occasioned by the extremity of the cold. IN NORTH AMERICA. 147 NEW HAVEN. Mr. Mouland accused of being drunke, but nott clearly proved, was respited. Peter Brown, licensed to bake to sell, so long as he gives no offence in it justly. 18th February, 1C39. John Charles forbidden to draw wine, because there hath been much disorder by itt. Goodman Love was whipped and sent out of the planta tion, being not only a disorderly person himselfe, butt an en- courager of others to disorderly drinking meetings. George Spencer being prophalie and disorderly in his whole conversation, and an abettor of others to sin, and drawing others into a conspiracie to carry away the cock to Virginia, was whipped and sent out of the plantation. John Proute, Hen. Brasier, arid Will. Bromfield, was whip ped for joyning in the aforesaid conspiracie, and the said Hen. and Will, were ordered to weare irons during the magis trate s pleasure. At a General Court held the 1st of the 7th month, 1G40. It was ordered that none of this plantation shall either sell or lett a lott to any stranger, for yeares, without allowance from the Courte. A Court held at New Haven, the 3c? of the 7th month, 1642. Matthew Wilson, for killing a dog of Mr. Perry s willfully and disorderly, fined 20s. for his disorder, and or dered to pay 20s. damage to Mr. Perry, which 40s. Edward Chipperfield undertook to see pay d by the last of September next. 8 month 1642. It was ordered, that whosoever finds any things that are lost shall deliver them to the Marshall, to be kept safe till the owner shall challenge them. 2 November 1642. Jervas Boy kin is orderde to pay unto George Badcocke the sum of 20s. for taking his cannow without leave. It is ordered, that those who have ffarmes at the river called stony River, shall have liberty to make a sluice in the river for their own convenience. 7th December, 1642. F forasmuch as John Owen hath had some damage done in his come by hogs occasioned through the neglect of Mr. Larnberton, John Bud and Will Preston, in not making up their fence in season, it is therefore or dered, thatt the said Mr. Larnberton, John Bud and Will Preston shall make satisfaction to the said John Owen for the 148 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW HAVEN. damage done; (viz.) eight days worke and two pecks of corne, which is to be pay d according to the several appor tions of ffence unset up respectively.* During the war of the Revolution, New Haven was at tacked by a considerable body of the British, who took pos session of the town, and committed numerous acts of vio lence on the inhabitants. This attack wns made on Monday, July 5th, 1779, the day on which the citizens were to have assembled to commemorate the Declaration of Indepen dence. The Connecticut Journal of July 7th, gives the fol lowing account of the ingress of the British and their pro ceedings : " About two o clock on the morning of the 5th instant, a fleet consisting of the Camilla and Scorpion men-of-war, with tenders, transports, &/c. to the number of 48, commanded by Commodore Sir George Collier, anchored off West Ha ven. They had on board about 3000 land forces, command ed by Major General Tryon ; about 1500 of whom, under Brigadier General Garth, landed about sunrise on West Haven point. The town being alarmed, all the preparation which the confusion and distress of the inhabitants, and a necessary care of their families would permit, was made for resistance. The West Bridge on Milford road was taken up, and several fieldpieces were carried thither, and some slight works thrown up for the defence of that pass. The division under General Garth being landed, immediately began their march towards the town. The first opposition was made by about twenty-five of the inhabitants, to an advanced party of the enemy of two companies of light infantry. These, though advancing on the height of Milford hill, were attacked with great spirit by the handful of our people, and driven back almost to West Haven, and one of them was taken pris oner. The enemy then advanced in their main body, with strong flanking parties, and two fieldpieces ; and finding a smart fire kept up from our fieldpieces at the bridge afore said, chose not to force an entrance to the town bv that, the usual road, but to make a circuitous march of nine miles, in order to enter by the Derby road. In this march our small party on Milford hill, now increased to perhaps 150, pro- * Historical Collections. IN NORTH AMERICA. 149 NEW HAVEN. miscuously collected from several companies of the militia, had a small encounter with the enemy s flank near the Mil- ford road, in which was killed their adjutant, Campbell, the loss of whom they lamented with much apparent sensibility. Our people on the hill, being obliged by superior numbers, to give way, kept up a continual fire on the enemy, and galled them much, through all their march to Thomson s bridge on the Derby road. In the mean time, those who were post ed at the West bridge, perceiving the movements of the en emy, and also that another large body of them had landed at the South End, on the east side of the harbor, quitted the bridge and marched thence to oppose the enemy at Thom son s bridge. But by the time they had reached the bank of the river, the enemy were in possession of the bridge, and the places at which the river is here fordable : yet having re ceived a small accession of strength by the coming in of the militia, they gave the enemy a smart fire from two fieldpieces and small arms, which continued with little abatement, till the enemy were in possession of the town, or through the town across the Neck bridge. The enemy entered the town between 12 and 1 o clock. In the mean time, the division of the enemy, before mentioned to have landed at the South End, which was under the immediate command of General Tryon, was bravely resisted by a small party of men, with one fieldpiece, who, besides other execution, killed an officer of the enemy, in one of the boats at their landing. This division marched up by land, and attacked the fort at Black Rock ; at the same time, their shipping drew up, and attacked it from the harbor. The fort had only nineteen men, and three pieces of artillery, yet was defended as long as reason or valor dictated, and then the men made good their retreat. "The town being now in full possession of the enemy, it was, notwithstanding the subjoined proclamation, delivered up, except a few instances of protection, to promiscuous plunder; in which, besides robbing the inhabitants of their watches, money, plate, buckles, clothing, bedding, and provisions, they broke and destroyed their household furniture to a very great amount. Some families lost every thing their houses contained : many have now neither food, nor clothes to shift. " A body of militia sufficient to penetrate the town, could not be collected that evening : we were obliged therefore to 150 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES >E\V HAVEN. content ourselves with giving the enemy every annoyance in our power, winch was done with great spirit for most of the afternoon at and about the Ditch corner. " Early on Tuesday morning, the enemy unexpectedly and with the utmost stillness and despatch, called in their guards, and retreated to their boats, carrying with them a number of the inhabitants captive, most, if not all of whom, were taken without arms, and a few who chose to accompany them. Part of them went on board their fleet, and part crossed over to General Tryon at East Haven. On Tuesday afternoon, the militia collected in such numbers, and crowded so close upon General Tryon, that he thought best to retreat on board his lleet, and set sail to the westward. " The loss of the enemy is unknown ; but for many reasons it is supposed to be considerable, and includes some officers whom they lament, besides Adjutant Campbell. Ours, by the best information we can obtain, is 27 killed, and 19 wounded. As many of our dead upon examination appeared to have been wounded with shot, but not mortally, and after wards to have been killed with bayonets, this demonstrated the true reason why the number of the dead exceeded that of the wounded, to be that being wounded and falling into the enemy s hands, they were afterwards killed. A further confirmation of this charge is, that we have full and direct testimony, which affirms that General Garth declared to .one of our militia, who was wounded and taken, that " he was sorry his men had not killed him, instead of taking hrm, and that he would not have his men give quarter to one militia man, taken in arms." " Although in this expedition, it must be confessed to the credit of the Britons that they have not done all the mischief in their power, yet, the brutal ravishment of women, the wan ton and malicious destruction of property, the burning of the stores tipon the wharf, and eight houses in East Haven ; the beating, stabbing, and insulting of the Rev. Dr. Daggett, af ter he was made a prisoner, the mortally wounding of Mr. Beers, senior, in his own door, and otherways abusing him ; the murdering of the very aged and helpless Mr. English in his own house, and the beating and finally cutting out the tongue of and then killing a distracted man, are sufficient proofs that they were really Britons." In the preceding account of this wanton attack upon an IN NORTH AMERICA. 151 NEW HAVEN. unoffending town, allusion has been made to their abusive treatment of Dr. Daggett, the aged and venerable president of Yale College. Not long afterwards he published an account of the transaction, under his own signature, and to the truth of which he made oath before a magistrate. The following is from the original, which is in the office of the Secretary of State at Hartford. " An account of the cruelties and barbarities, which I re ceived from the British soldiers, after I had surrendered my self a prisoner into their hands. It is needless to relate all the leading circumstances, which threw me in their way. It may be sufficient to observe, that on Monday morning the 5th inst. the town of New Haven was justly alarmed, with very threat ening appearances of a speedy invasion from the enemy. Numbers went out armed to oppose them ; I among the rest, took the station assigned me upon Mil ford hill, but was soon directed to quit it, and retire further north as the motion of the enemy required. Having gone as far as I supposed was sufficient, I turned down the hill to gain a little covert of bushes, which I had in my eye ; but to my great surprise, I saw the enemy much nearer than I expected, their advanced guards being little more than 20 rods distant, plain open ground be tween us. They instantly fired upon me, which they con tinued, till I had run a dozen rods, discharging not less than 15 or 20 balls at me alone ; however, through the preserving providence of God, I escaped them all unhurt, and gained the little covert at which 1 aimed, which concealed me from their view, while I could plainly see them through the weeds and bushes, advancing towards me within about 12 rods. I singled out one of them, took aim, and fired upon him ; I loaded my musket again, but determined not to discharge it any more, and as I saw I could not escape from them, I de termined to surrender myself a prisoner. I begged for quar ters, and that they would spare my life. They drew near to me, I think two only in number, one on my right hand, the other on my left, the fury of infernals glowing in their faces, they called me a damned old Rebel, and swore they would kill me instantly. They demanded, what did you fire upon us for ? I replied, because it is the exercise of war. Then one made a pass at me with his bayonet, as if he designed to thrust it through my body. With my hand I tossed it up from its di rection, and sprung in so near to him that he could not hurt me with his bayonet. I still continued pleading and beg- 152 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW HAVEN. ging for my life, with the utmost importunity, using every argument in my power to mollify them, and induce them to desist from their murderous purpose. One of them gave me four gushes on my head with the edge of his bayonet, to the skull bone, which caused a plentiful effusion of blood. The other gave me three pricks with the point of his bayonet, but they were no more than skin deep. But what is a thousand times worse than all that has been related, is the blows and bruises they gave me with the heavy barrels of their guns on my bowels, by which I was knocked down once, or more, and almost deprived of life; by which bruises, I have been al most confined to my bed ever since. These scenes might take up about two minutes of time. They seemed to desist a little time from their design of murder, after which they stript me of my shoe and knee buckles, and also my stock buckle. Their avarice further led them to rob me of my pocket hand kerchief, and a little old tobacco box. They then bade me march towards the main body, which was about twelve rods distant, where some officers soon inquired of me who I was; I gave them my name, station and character, and begged their protection, that I might not be any more abused or hurt by the soldiers. They promised me their protection. But I was robbed of my shoes, and was committed to one of the most unfeeling savages that ever breathed. They then drove me with the main body, a hasty march of five miles or more. I was insulted in the most shocking manner by the ruffian soldiers, many of which came at me with fixed bayonets, and swore that they would kill me on the spot. They damned me, and those that took me, because they spared my life. Thus amidst a thousand insults, my infernal driver hastened me along faster than my strength would admit in the extreme heat of the day, weakened as I was by my wounds and the loss of blood, which at a moderate computation could not be less than one quart. And when I failed in some degree through faintness, he would strike me on the back with a heavy walking staff, and kick me behind with his foot. At length by the supporting power of God, I arrived at the green in New Haven. But my life was almost spent, the world around me several times appearing as dark as mid night. I obtained leave of an officer to be carried into the widow Lyman s and laid upon a bed, where I lay the rest of the day, and succeeding night, in such acute and excrucia ting pain as I never felt before." IN NORTH AMERICA. 153 MIDDLE-TOWN. MIDDLETOWN. The Indian name of Middletown was Mattabesett, a name which a small river emptying into the Connecticut north of the city, still retains. The attention of the English was first drawn to this fine location, as a place of settlement, in 1650, at which time a committee was appointed to explore the lands. It is not a little singular that they should have estimated the fertility of this remarkably fertile region so low, as to report that subsistence might be obtained in it for fifteen families. In the course of the same year a small set tlement was commenced near the Connecticut river, north and south of the little river, but the inhabitants soon in creased to such a number, as to be invested with town privi leges in 1652. The following year, the place took the name of Middletown. In 1654, there were probably about thirty families ; in 1670 the number was only fifty-two. The principal planters were from England, Hartford and Weth- ersfield ; but the greater number were from Hartford. Con siderable accessions were made from Rowley, Chelmsford, and Woburn, in Massachusetts. " A portion of the lands in Middletown, were given by Sowheag i the great Sachem of Mattabesett, t# John Haynes, for some time governor of Connecticut, probably before any settlement was made in the town. On the 21st of January, 1662, Sepunnemo and other chiefs, knowing the gifts of Sowheag to Mr. Haynes, sold to Samuel Wyllys, and others, doubtless as agents of the colony or town, all the remaining lands in Middletown, including Chatham, extending six miles east of the river, and as far west as the Court had granted the bounds of the town ; excepting 300 acres, which they reserved for the heirs of Sowheag and Mattabesett Indians, to be laid out east of the river; and a tract on the. west side, previously laid out for Sawsean, to remain for his heirs for ever. A reservation also appears to have been in the neigh borhood, now called Newfield, where the Indians held lands as late as 1713. " Sowheag was a powerful Sachem. His fort or castle was on the high ground in the west part of the city of Mid dletown, still called from this circumstance, Indian hill, about three-fourths of a mile N. W. of the Court House, where he was able, by means of his whistle, to call around 154 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES MIDDLETOWN. him many warriors, it is said to the number of 500, whose wigwams were thick on both sides of the Connecticut east ward. His dominions extended not only over these and other Indians in Middle town and Chatham, but over the Piquay, or Wethersfield Indians, whose sagamore, Sequin, was subject to him ; and as a part of the original township of New Haven was purchased of Montowese, Sowheag s son, it is probable that his dominion embraced some of the In dians in that town. " Although Sowheag gave lands to Gov. Haynes, he may be considered as a base and treacherous man. In April, 1G37, some of his Indians aided the Pequots in their incur sion into that town, when they surprised and killed six men. Sowheag entertained the murderers, and treated the people of Wethersfield in a haughty and insulting manner. It seems, however, that the people of Wethersfield had previously of fered him some provocation. On hearing of their differ ences, the General Court were disposed to forgive him, and appointed a committee to compromise all differences with him. But he totally refused to give up the murderers, and continued his outrages against the English. The Court of Connecticut therefore, in August, 1639, determined to send one hundred men to Mattabesett, and take the delinquents by force. They notified their friends of New Haven of their determination, both that they might receive their ap probation, in an enterprise of such general concern, and that they might make the necessary arrangements for defending their own plantations. Gov. Eaton and his council viewed it important that the murderers should be brought to justice, but in existing circumstances, deemed the measure proposed for doin^ it inexpedient, and dissuaded the Connecticut col ony from hostile measures."* The city of Middletown, which was incorporated in 1754, is built on a beautiful declivity along the western bank of the Connecticut river, where the stream suddenly expands, and makes a bend in its course, so as to present the appearance of a small lake with high sloping and cultivated shores. It is built mostly upon eight streets ; the principal street, how ever, is Main street, which runs north and south, and is about a mile in length. The streets and walks are shaded * Connecticut Historical Collections. SOWHEAG. 156 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES MIDDLF.TOWN. with elms, and linden or lime trees. Much taste has been displayed by the citizens about their residences in the col lection of choice shrubs and plants. Main street is elevated from 45 to 50 feet above the level of the river. Indian or Sowheaor hill, one mile from the river, is 227 feet above its level. The base of the Wesleyan University Lyceum is 160 feet above the river, being distant five-eighths of a mile. The value of articles manufactured in this place yearly is es timated at $700,000. The coasting trade of Middletown is extensive; its population in 1850 was 4,211. The width of the river opposite the city varies from 97 to 80 rods ; it is navigable to this city for vessels drawing ten feet of water. " The Wesleyan University," says Mr. Barber in his His torical Collections, " was founded in 1831, and is an institu tion of great promise, under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The college buildings are finely situated on an eminence, about half a mile from the river, commanding a view of the town, some of the neighboring villages, and a fine prospect of a most fruitful surrounding country. The college buildings were originally built for, and occupied by, the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy, under the care of Captain Partridge. The Academy having failed in its operations, the buildings were vacated, and left on the hands of the proprietors. At this time, several an nual conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church were preparing to establish a college under the patronage of said Church, and were holding the privilege of location in the market, for the purpose of securing a liberal local subscrip tion. To secure this privilege, the proprietors of the Acad emy offered their building as a gratuity, for the use of a col lege or university forever, on condition that there should be an additional endowment raised of 840,000. The citizens of Middletown and its vicinity, with a commendable zeal, by a public grant, and by private subscriptions, pledged about $18,000 of the endowment. These offers, together with the other local advantages, fixed the University in its present location." This University is at the present time in a flourishing condition. Its Philosophical and Astronomical apparatus has recently been increased by an expenditure of about 6,000, and an addition of about one hundred in struments. " The prospects in and around the city," says Dr. Dwight, " are iu an uncommon degree delightful. On the west, at the distance of four or five miles, rise to the IN NORTH AMERICA. 157 height of eight hundred feet, the mountains of the Middle- town range. An undulating country, ornamented with farms, groves, and well appearing houses, extends from their base to the river. Directly south recedes from the river, which here bends several miles to the East, near the lower ex tremity of the city, a spacious and beautiful valley, bordered on the Eastern side by hills, ascending with an easy, ele gant acclivity several miles, to such a height as frequently to be called mountains, and diversified with a rich variety of agricultural scenery. " Immediately north lies an extensive interval, through which runs a large mill stream. Beyond it, at the distance of three miles, appears in full view, on the southern declivi ty of a fine eminence, the handsome village called Upper Middletown. The river, a noble stream half a mile in breadth, winds in delightful prospect directly beneath this complication of elegant objects, eight or ten miles, losing it self, at the lower limit, by passing through the range of hills already mentioned. " Beyond the river rise the fine slopes of Chatham, cov ered with all the varieties of culture, orchard, grove and for est ; and interspersed with well appearing farm houses. These grounds, and indeed the whole assemblage and ar rangement of the objects, which form the landscape, are fashioned with an exquisite hand, and delight the eye of every traveller."* NORWICH. The proprietor of the land upon which Norwich stands, was Uncas, sachem of the Mohegans, a tribe of Indians, which had their residence in this neighborhood. Frequent wars were waged by Uncas and the Narragansetts, during one of which, the latter besieged the Mohegan chief in his fort, until his provisions were nearly exhausted. Perceiving that unless speedy relief was had, he and his men must per ish, he contrived to communicate to the English scouts, sent out from Saybrook fort, the danger he was in, and urgently * Dwight s Travels. UXCAS. IN NORTH AMERICA. 159 besought assistance. And as an inducement to the English to interfere, he represented the great danger they would be in, from the hostile Narragansetts, should the latter succeed in their design. No sooner was the situation of Uncas made known to the garrison at Saybrook, than one Thomas Leffingwell, an en sign at Saybrook, and an enterprising and bold man, loaded a canoe with beef, corn, and peas, and under cover of night, paddled from Saybrook to the Thames, on entering which, he had the address to place the whole in the fort. The en emy soon perceiving that Uncas was relieved, raised the siege. For this service, Uncas gave Leffingwell a deed of a great part, if not of the whole, town of Norwich. In June, 1G59, Uncas, with his two sons, Owaneco and Attawanhood, by a more formal and authentic deed, made over to Leffing well, John Mason, Esquire, the Rev. James Fitch, and oth ers, consisting of thirty-five proprietors, the whole town of Norwich, which is about nine miles square. The company, at this time, gave Uncas and his sons about <70, as a further compensation, for so large and fine a tract. "In the spring of 1600, preparations were made to com mence a settlement by the Rev. James Fitch, who, with the principal part of his Church and congregation, removed from Saybrook, and planted the town of Norwich. Three or four planters joined them from New London, and two or three from the towns of Plymouth and Marshfield, in Massachu setts. In 1663, the General Assembly ordered that the deed should be recorded. The limits were afterwards ascertained, and the town received a patent for the whole. " The Mohegans were a great defence, and of essential service to the town for many years. They kept out their scouts and spies, and so constantly watched their enemies, that they gave the earliest notice of their approach, and were a continual defence against them. For this purpose, in times of danger, they often moved and pitched their wig wams near the town, and were a great terror to the enemy. Once the hostile Indians came near the town, upon the Sabbath, with a design to make a descent upon it ; but on viewing it from an eminence, arid seeing the Mohegan huts, they were intimidated, and retired without doing the least damage."* *TrumbuU s History of Connecticut. 160 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NORWICH. The city of Norwich, formerly called Chelsea, or Nor wich Landing, lies at the head of navigation of the Thames. The principal part of the city is built on the southern de clivity of a high and rocky hill. The houses rise in tiers one above another. The approach to the city from the south presents one of the most beautiful, interesting, and romantic prospects in the State. For a considerable distance down the river, the buildings which are mostly painted white, appear in full view, and in contrast with the deep green foliage crossing the rocky and elevated banks of the river, give a picturesque variety to the scene, forming on the water a de lightful approach to the city. In respect to its water privileges, Norwich is the second town in New England. About one mile to the east of the Landing is the flourishing village of Greenville, which owes its birth to the extensive water power of the immediate neighborhood. Here a dam has been thrown across the Shetucket, whose waters are capable of carrying 60,000 spindles. Several large factories have already been erected, and others are said to be in contemplation, on an extended scale. The Chelsea Manufacturing Company here owns the most extensive paper-mill in the State. Large quantities of paper are furnished by this company, as well as by factories owned by two gentlemen, by the name of Hubbard, for the New York market. The first paper manufactured in Con necticut, was made in this town by Colonel Christopher Lef- fingwell. Population of Norwich in 1850 10,265. Within the precincts of this town is the royal burying ground of the celebrated Uncas. It is situated on an elevated bank, on the northern edge of a grove, near the falls of the Yantic, a tributary of the Thames, and about one mile from the entrance of that river into the latter. Little did Uncas dream, that the busy hum of large manufacturing establish ments would ever be heard nearly over the graves of his de scendants. But here the well finished mansion has taken the place of the wigwam ; and the hands of civilized man are turning off his works of art and usefulness, where once flourished the tomahawk, and once sounded the war-whoop. Yet the memory of this savage friend is still kindly cherished by his successors on the soil. The foundation stone to a monument to Uncas was laid during the tour of the late President Jackson into New England, at which ceremony PRESIDENT JACKSON. 11 162 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES that " military chieftain " was present, and in which he as sisted. Other monuments would well become the same hands to perpetuate the memory of other equally " noble souls" who have been driven to lay their bones in lands far from their fathers sepulchres. Several monuments of the royal line of the Uncases, Mr. Barber informs us, are still to be seen. He has given us the following inscriptions, copied on the spot : " Here lies y e body of Pompi Uncas, son of Benjamin and Ann Uncas, and of y e royal blood, who died May y e 1st, 1740, in the 2lst year of his age." " Here lies Sam Uncas, the 2d and beloved son of his father, John Uncas, who was the grandson of Uncas, grand sachem of Mohegan, the darling of his mother, being daughter of said Uncas, grand sachem. He died July 31st, 1741, in the 28th year of his age." The following inscription is said to have been on a monu ment formerly standing here in memory of Samuel Uncas : For beauty, wit, for sterling sense, For temper mild, for eloquence, For courage bold, for things waureegan,* He was the glory of Mohegan Whose death has caused great lamentation, Both to y e English and y e Indian Nation. In the eastern part of the town of Norwich is a place, which is to this day known by the name of " Sachem s Plain" It derived its name from a memorable battle fought in the year 1643, between Uncas and Miantonimoh the former, sachem of the Mohegans the latter, sachem of the Narragansetts. These chiefs and their respective tribes were perpetually at war ; but the English had obtained a pledge from Miantonimoh, that he would engage in no hos tile movement without consulting them. " Contrary, how ever, to his agreement, Miantonimoh without proclaiming war, or giving Uncas the least information, raised an army of nine hundred or a thousand men, and marched against him. Uncas s spies discovered the army at some distance, * If aurcegan signifies clothes, household furniture, &c. of a costly description. IN NORTH AMERICA. 163 NORWICH. and gave him intelligence. He was unprepared ; but rally ing between four and five hundred of his bravest men, he told them they must by no means suffer Miantonimoh to come into their town ; but must go and fight him on his way. Having marched three or four miles, the armies met upon a large plain. When they had advanced within fair bow shot of each other, Uncas had recourse to a stratagem, with which he previously acquainted his warriors. He desired a parley, and both armies halted in the face of each other. Uncas, gallantly advancing in the front of his men, addressed Mian tonimoh to this effect : You have a number of stout men with you, and so have I with me. It is a great pity that such brave warriors should be killed in a private quarrel between us only. Come like a man, as you profess to be, and let us fight it out. If you kill me, my men shall be yours; but if I kill you, your men shall be mine. Miantonimoh replied, * My men came to fight, and they shall fight. Uncas falling instantly upon the ground, his men discharged a shower of arrows upon the Narragansetts ; and without a moment s in terval, rushing upon them, in the most furious manner, with their hideous Indian yell, put them immediately to flight. The Mohegans pursued the enemy with the same fury and eagerness, with which they commenced the action. The Narragansetts were driven down rocks and precipices, and chased like a doe by the huntsman. Among others, Mian tonimoh was exceedingly pressed. Some of Uncas s bravest men, who were most light of foot, coming up with him, twitched him back, impeding his flight, and passed him, that Uncas might take him. Uncas was a stout man, and rushing forward, like a lion greedy of his prey, seized him by his shoulder. He knew Uncas, and saw that he was now in the power of the man whom he had hated, and by all means at tempted to destroy ; but he sat down sullen, and spake not a word. Uncas gave the Indian whoop and called up his men, who were behind, to his assistance. The victory was com plete. About thirty of the Narragansetts were slain, and a much greater number wounded. Among the latter was a brother of Miantonimoh, and two sons of Canonicus, a chief sachem of the Narragansett Indians. The brother of Mian tonimoh was not only wounded, but armed with a coat of mail, both which retarded his flight. Two of Miantonirnoh s captains, who formerly were Uncas s men, but had treacher ously deserted him, discovering his situation, took him and 164 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES carried him to Uncas, expecting in this way to reconcile themselves to their sachem. But Uncas and his men slew them. Miantonimoh made no request, either for himself or his men ; but continued in the same sullen, speechless mood. Uncas therefore demanded of him, why he would not speak. Said he, Had you taken me, I should have besought you for my life. Uncas, for the present, spared his life, though he would not ask it, and returned with great triumph to Mohegan, carrying the Narragansett sachem, as an illustrious trophy of victory." Intelligence of the capture of Miantonimoh having reached the English, Uncas was ordered by them to take his prisoner to Hartford, to advise with the governor and magistrates what should be done with him. The governor and magistrates were of opinion, that as there was no open war between them and the Narragansetts, it was not prudent for them to intermeddle with the quarrel ; but advised, that the whole affair should be referred to the commissioners of the United Colonies, at their meeting in September. How long Miantonimoh continued speechless does not appear ; but it is certain, that when he came to Hartford, his mouth was opened. He most earnestly pleaded to be left in the custody of the English. He probably expected more safety and better treatment with them, than with Uncas. Uncas consented to leave him at Hartford, but insisted that he should be kept as his prisoner. He was therefore kept, under guard, at Hartford, until the meeting of the com missioners. On the 7th of September the commissioners met at Bos ton. Before them was laid the case of the two contending chiefs, upon which they finally resolved, " That as it was evident that Uncas could not be safe, while Miantonimoh lived, but that, either by secret treachery or open force, his life would be continually in danger, he might justly put such a false and blood-thirsty enemy to death." They determined Uncas should not do it in any of the English plantations, but in his own jurisdiction. At the same time, they advised that no torture or cruelty, but all mercy and moderation be exer cised in the manner of his execution. Immediately upon the return of the commissioners of Connecticut and New Haven, Uncas, with a competent num ber of his most trusty men, was ordered to repair forthwith MIANTONIMOH. 166 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NORWICH. to Hartford. He was made acquainted with the determina tion of the commissioners, and received his prisoner, march ed with him to the spot where he had been taken. At the instant they arrived on the around, one of Uncas s men, who marched behind Miantonimoh, split his head with a hatchet, killing him at a single stroke. He was probably unacquaint ed with his fate, and knew not by what means he fell. Uncas cut out a large piece of his shoulder and ate it in savage tri umph. He said, " It was the sweetest meat he ever ate ; it made his heart strong." The Mohegans, by order of Uncas, buried him at the place of his execution, and erected a great heap or pillar upon his grave. Two Englishmen were sent with Uncas, to see that the execution was done, and to prevent all torture and cruelty in the manner of its performance. Connecticut and New Haven, agreeably to the direction of the commis sioners, sent a party of soldiers to Mohegan, to defend Un cas against any assault which might be made upon him, by the Narragansetts, in consequence of the execution of their sachem.* Miantonimoh was buried on the spot where he was slain. But a few years since, a large heap of stones, thrown to gether by the wandering Indians, according to the custom of their country, and as a melancholy mark of the love that the Narragansetts had for their fallen chief, lay on his grave; but the despicable cupidity of some people in that vicinity, has removed them to make common stone wall, as it saved them the trouble of gathering stones for that purpose. The spot of his sepulture is, however, yet known. t Some additional particulars of this renowned chief of the Mohegans will doubtless interest our friends. The Mohegan tribe appears to have been originally a part of the Pequot nation a tribe inveterate towards the English, and the terror of the Indian tribes in the vicinity. At the time the English settled Connecticut, Uncas was chief sachem of the Mohe gan tribe. He had been, it is thought, a war-captain under Sassacus. At this time, however, he was in open rebellion against that chief; but he possessed little influence, and un aided, must soon have been brought to terms by the haughty and warlike Sassacus. "Trumbull. t Mass. His. Collections, vol. 3. IN NORTH AMERICA. 167 Uncas perceived the advantage of friendship to the Eng lish. He was probably sincere in his good will but con nected with this was his own interest, lie was ever faithful to them, although they at first doubted his fidelity. Governor Wolcott thus speaks of him ;* Twas here [at Hartford] that Uncas did the army meet, With many stout Mohegans at his feet. He to the general [Masont] goes, and doth declare, He came for our assistance in the war. He was that Sagamore, whom great Sassacus s rage Had hitherto kept under vassalage. But weary of his great severity, He now revolts and to the English fly. With cheerful air our captain him embraces, And him, and his chief men with titles graces: But over them preserved a jealous eye, Lest all this might be done in treachery. It reflects credit upon Mason, that he was thus wary of a stranger ; but he soon became convinced that of whatever other good traits of character Uncas might be destitute, he was not wanting in fidelity. " The Mohegans embarked with Mason s ninety men, on board a pink or pinnace and a shallop, both of which, the water being low in the river,. [Connecticut,] fell aground several times. The Indians dis liked this new species of navigation, and especially so much of it as pertained to the flats and sands ; and Uncas was still more impatient to recommend himself by an active com mencement of the war. He therefore requested that he and his men might be set on shore, promising to join Mason again at Saybrook. His request was granted; and he not only redeemed his promise, but, meeting a considerable par ty of Pequots on the route, he attacked them with great spir it, and killed seven of their number which, says Captain Mason, we looked at as a special Providence; for, before, we were somewhat doubtful of his fidelity. " This good opinion was daily confirmed by the Sachem s conversation and conduct. " Indeed," says Captain Mason, " he was a great friend, and did great service. I shall nev- * Wolcott s " Poetical Account of Mr. Winthiop s agency in obtain ing a Charter for Connecticut." t This was Captain Mason, who led the Connecticut forces against Mystic Fort, soon after the settlement of the Colony. 168 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES er forget him." At the commencement of the campaign, the various Indians who engaged in it were in high glee. They gathered into a ring, and one by one made solemn protestations how gallantly they would demean themselves, and how many men they would kill. But Uncas said -very little, until Mason inquired of him what these Indians would do. " Nothing," answered he gravely ; " the Narragansetts will leave you to a man. I can only say for myself, that I never will." And he never did. The Narragansetts, who had vaunted themselves on the example they should be obliged to set the English, to encourage them in their attack upon the enemy, soon fell into the back ground, and many of them returned home."* The Indians, and especially the Narragansetts, were " horribly afraid" of the Pequots. But Uncas appears to have had courage, which never forsook him, for after the real success which attended the assault of the English upon Mystic Fort, and the utter destruction which was caused among the Narragansetts, while most of the Indians who had remained till after the assault, now de serted, or at last disappeared, under a fear of falling in with the wandering Pequots, Uncas remained steadfast and un flinching." " A small harbor" continues Mr. Thatcher, " in the south western part of the town of Guilford, in Connecticut, has to this day a name derived from one of his achievements. He and his Mohegans, with a few of the English, having under taken, when the enemy fled westward, to scour the shores near the sea for the purpose of cutting off stragglers, came up with a Pequot Sachem, and a few men, not far from this harbor, and pursued them. As the south side of the harbor is formed by a long narrow neck of land, the Pequots went out upon that point, hoping that their pursuers would pass them. But Uncas, perceiving the stratagem, ordered some of his men to give chase, which the enemy observing, swam over the mouth of the harbor. There they were waylayed, and taken as they landed. A council being held, and the Sachem sentenced to death, Uncas himself is said to have shot him with an arrow, cut off his head, and set it up in the crotch of a large oak tree near the water. The skull re mained there many years, and the name of the " SACHEM S HEAD " has been ever since attached to the harbor.t * Thatcher s Indian Biography. t History of Guilford, Mass. Hist. Coll. IN NORTH AMERICA. 169 " The remuneration to Uncas for the part he took in this war, was a portion of the Pequot territory, (which he after wards sold to the English,) and 100 captives of that tribe ; and this with the honor of having subdued his real Pequot rival, and the reputation of being upon the most flattering and favorable terms of intercourse with the English, made him at once a character of high dignity, and of no little in fluence. Indians began to collect around him from neighbor ing tribes, and he could now muster four or five hundred warriors. The colony of Connecticut treated with him and made him presents, and permitted him to exercise dominion, and to give deeds of territory, in all respects like an inde pendent and sovereign authority, while he enjoyed at the same time, the benefit of their personal patronage and the protection of his tribe from their enemies. "In July, 1638, Uncas visited in person the authorities of Massachusetts, at Boston the only visit of mere ceremony, which is recorded of him in history. " He came attended by thirty-seven men, and accompanied by Gov. Haynes, whom he had called upon by the way. He offered the Governor of Massachusetts a present of twenty fathoms of wampum, which being in open court the council thought fit to refuse it, till he had given satisfaction about the Pequots he kept, &c. ; upon this, he appeared much de jected, and even affected to apprehend that his life was in danger. But he was not long at a loss. Evidence was pro- duced, which counteracted the main suspicions that rested upon him ; and he promised to submit his controversy with the Narragansetts to English arbitration, and to follow any arrangement they should make as to his Pequots. " The present was now accepted, and about half an hour afterwards, he went to the Governor, and addressed him in the following terms : This heart he said, laying his hand on his breast is not mine, but yours. I have no men. They are all yours. Command me any hard thing I will do it. I will not believe any Indian s words against the English. If any man shall kill an Englishman, I ivill put him to death, were he never so dear to me. The Governor gave him a handsome red coat, defrayed the expenses of his visit, and furnished him with provisions for his return jour ney, and a general letter of protection and so he departed very joyful. 170 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NORWICH. According to Mr. Thatcher, to whose narrative we are in debted for the above sketches, " Uncas was in less favor with the English, towards the latter part of his life, than for merly. He did not come to an open rupture with them at any time; and his subjects, though frequently insolent, were never hostile. Their last services during the life of Uncas, were during Philip s war, when a party of them was com manded by Onecho, a son of Uncas, and by other Sachems. The father was then too old a man to endure much more labor and weariness." "It has been stated that Uncas was at last convinced of the truth of Christianity, and that he died in the faith. The only proof of it is derived, it is believed, from the following anecdote : "In the summer of 1676, a great drought prevailed throughout New England, which was extremely severe in the Mohegan country. The corn was dried up in August, and the fruit and leaves fell from the trees, as in autumn. The Indians were alarmed, but knew not what to do. Ac cording to custom, they applied to their Powahs, to inter cede with the Great Spirit, for rain, after their manner ; but these men labored in vain. They went to the English set tlement at Norwich, and Uncas went with them. He told Mr. Fitch, the clergyman at that place, that it was a hard case with them the Powahs could do them no service they must apply to the English God. Mr. Fitch appointed a fast day, at these and other suggestions. The weather on that occasion was clear, but about sunset, at the close of the reli gious services, some clouds arose. The next day also was cloudy. Uncas now went up to the house of Mr. Fitch with many Indians, and lamented the great want of rain. * If God shall send it, said Mr. Fitch, will you not attribute it to your Powahs? * No, answered the Sachem ; * we have done our utmost, but all in vain. The clergyman then told him, that if he would make the declaration before the In dians, they should see what God would do for them. Uncas then made a speech to the Indians, confessing with particu lar emphasis, that if God should grant this favor, it could not be in consequence of their povvawing, but must be ascribed to the clergyman s prayers. Of the sequel we only know, that upon the day following, there was so copious a rain that the river rose more than two feet."* * Thatcher s Indian Biography. IN NORTH AMERICA. 171 In the opinion of Mr. Fitch, Uncas gave no good evidence of faith in the Gospel. He with other chiefs did indeed for a time, appear to give attention to preaching, but they at length not only withdrew themselves, but discouraged the Indians from an attendance upon the ministry of the word of God. Mr. Gookin characterizes Uncas, but perhaps se verely, as an old, wicked, and wilful man ; a drunkard, and otherwise very vicious, who has always been an opposer and underrniner of praying to God: " It is to be feared, that excepting his fidelity to the English, and this trait of character was highly honorable to him, he had no qualities, which entitled him to that respect, which for a time he enjoyed." The last we hear of Uncas is in 1680, when he must have been a very old man, yet even at this advanced age he was enjoying good health, and considerable vigor of constitution. A remnant of his tribe still exists in the neighborhood of Norwich. They own a reservation of about three thousand acres of land. They are the only natives of the numerous tribes which were once spread over the State. The last Sachem of the tribe was Isaiah Uncas, who was once a pupil in the celebrated school of Dr. Wheelock, at Lebanon. The following epitaph, copied by President Stiles from a grave-stone in the old Indian burial ground at Mohegan, in dicates the end of the genealogy : Here lies the body of SUNSEETO, Own son to Uncas, grandson to ONEKO, Who were the famous Sachems of MOHEGAN ; But now they are all dead, I think it is WERHEEGEN.* The Mohegnn Indians still preserve some of the peculiar customs of their ancestors. " On the 16th of October, 1827," says Mrs. Huntington, in a letter to Dr. Holmes, " the Rev. Mr. Palmer of this city, was invited to attend the funeral of an Indian child, which was to be deposited in the Shantup burying ground. In approaching the ground, the relics of two Indians, and also two spoons, were seen lying beside it. Expressing a wish to obtain them, Mr. P. received no im mediate answer, until a youth of their company had whis pered something in every ear from the oldest to the young est. At the close of the exercises, with great formality, the * IVerheegen was a Mohegan term signifying " Ml is 2cell," or Good news. Oneko, or Onecho, commanded in Philip s war. IN NORTH AMERICA. 173 NEW LONDON. young Indian replied, your request is granted ! In answer to the inquiry why two skeletons were found in the ground, an old woman replied, it was an Indian and Squaw; and in formed him farther that according to their custom, the bodies were deposited in an upright position, within a circular grave, and a pot of succotash between them, the fragments of which were found. The decayed stump of a large tree covering the relics, indicated the antiquity of the grave."* NEW LONDON. The settlement of New London was begun by the English in 1646 ; but a part of those who entered upon the lands this year, soon became discouraged, and left the place. The following year, however, Mr. Richard Blinrnan, a man of energy and enterprise, who had been a minister in England, removed from Gloucester to the new settlement : in conse quence of which a considerable addition was made to the number who had kept their station. In 1648, the number of settlers had so increased, that the inhabitants consisted of more than fifty families. Some of the principal men were John Winthrop, Esquire, the Rev. Mr. Blinman, Thomas Minot, Samuel Lothrop, Robert Allyn, and James Avery. For their encouragement, the General Court granted them a three years exemption from all colonial taxation. Mr. Win throp was authorized to superintend the affairs of the planta tion. The next year, a court was appointed for the trial of small causes. The judges were Mr. Winthrop, Thomas Mi not, and Samuel Lothrop. The Indian name of the place was Nameaug, alias Towawog. In 1654, the whole tract, now comprised within the towns of New London andGroton, was called Pcquot, from the name of the harbor, and origi nal inhabitants. By this it was known for about four years. On the 24th of March, 1658, the assembly passed an act re specting it, which is so curious, and expressive of the feeling of our ancestors towards their native country, as to render it worthy of publication : * Holmes s Annals. 174 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW LONDON. " WHEREAS it hath been the commendable practice of the inhabitants of all the colonies of these parts, that as this coun try hath its denomination from our dear native country of England, and thence is called New England ; so the planters, in their first settling of most new plantations, have given names to those plantations of some cities and towns in Eng land, thereby intending to keep up and leave to posterity the memorial of several places of note there, as Boston, Hartford, Windsor, York, Ipswich, Braintree, Exeter; this court con sidering, that there hath yet no place in any of the colonies, been named in memory of the city of London, there being a new plantation within this jurisdiction of Connecticut, settled upon that fair river Mohegan, in the Pequot country, being an excellent harbor, and a fit and convenient place for fu ture trade, it being also the only place which the English in these parts have possessed by conquest, and that upon a very just war, upon that great and warlike people, the Pe- quots, that therefore they might thereby leave to posterity the memory of that renowned city of London, from whence we had our transportation, have thought fit, in honor to that famous city, to call the said plantation NEW LONDON." The name of the river was also changed and called the Thames.* New London is situated on the west bank of the Thames, three miles from Long Island Sound. As a town, it is the smallest in the State, being but four miles in length from north to south, and on an average about three-fourths of a mile irftfcreadth. It is the semi-seat of justice for the coun ty, and a port of entry. It is 42 miles south-east from Hart ford, and 53 east from New Haven. The city is situated on a declivity, which descends east and south. From the summit of the hill in the rear of the most populous part of the city, a beautiful prospect of the surrounding country presents itself. The principal streets are parallel with the river ; and are crossed by others nearly at right angles ; but without any regularity, either in the distances, or their direction. The natural surface of the ground is uneven, and abounds with granite rocks. The houses are less beautiful, and in less thorough repair, than one would suppose, considering the wealth of the inhabitants. "Trumbull s History of Connecticut. IN NORTH AMERICA. 175 NEW LONDON. Before the Revolution, the commerce of the place was con siderable but subsequently it sensibly declined. A spirit of enterprise has, however, within a few years, been mani fested the coasting and foreign trade has revived a steam boat communication with New York has been opened and the whale fishery is carried on extensively and profitably. A capital of a million and a half of dollars is devoted to this latter business, and not less than thirty ships, which give em ployment to 1,600 seamen, are engaged in this adventurous business. Several vessels are also engaged in sealing. In consequence of this enterprise, and the profits which have grown out of it, considerable improvements have been made in the city. Some fine buildings have been erected, and the streets have been straightened and levelled. " The fish market," says Dr. Dwight, " is believed to be the best, except that of Newport, in the United States. A considerable part of the fish sold in New York are supplied by the fishermen of New London, from the waters in its neighborhood." The harbor is reported to be one of the best on the whole coast of the United States. It is three miles long, and vessels of almost any size find in it sufficient water, and good and safe anchoring ground. During the extreme cold in Janu ary, 1835, while the navigation of the harbor of New York was closed with ice, the harbor of New London remained open and unobstructed. New London contains a court-house, jail, custom-house, three banks, two markets, nine churches, sixty stores, two insurance offices, seven hundred and fifty dwell ings,-* three printing-presses, and about 8, 994 inhabitants. The register ed tonnage in 1840 exceeded 44,000 tons, including several vessels engaged in the whaling business. The city is defended by two forts. Fort Trumbull and Fort Griswold. The former stands on the New London side of the Thames, about a mile below the city. It is sit uated on the extremity of a peninsula, extending eastward into the river. It was built during the Revolutionary war, under the superintendence of Colonel John Ely, of Say- brook. Fort Griswold is on the east side of the Thames, on a commanding eminence, opposite the city, in the town of Groton. It is not at present garrisoned, and is considerably out of repair. 176 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW LONDON. Towards the close of the Revolutionary war, a most dis graceful attack was made upon New London by a body of British troops, under command of the ever infamous Bene dict Arnold. The attack was made September 6th, 1781. The Editor of the Connecticut Gazette, printed at New London, on the day after, gave the following account of the transaction, in his columns : " About daybreak on Thursday morning last, 24 sail of the enemy s shipping appeared to the westward of this harbor, which by many were supposed to be a plundering party after stock ; alarm guns were immediately fired, but the discharge of cannon in the harbor has become so frequent of late, that they answered little or no purpose. The defenceless state of the fortifications and the town are obvious to our readers; a few of the inhabitants, who were equipped, advanced to wards the place, where the enemy were thought likely to make their landing, and manoeuvred on the heights adjacent, until the enemy about nine o clock landed in two divisions, and about 800 men each, one of them at Brown s farm near the lighthouse, the other at Groton Point : the division that landed near the lighthouse, marched up the road, keep ing up large flanking parties, who were attacked in different places on their march by the inhabitants, who had spirit and resolution to oppose their progress. The main body of the enemy proceeded to the town, set fire to the stores on the beach, and immediately after to the dwelling houses lying on Mill Cove. The scattered fire of our little parties, un supported by our neighbors more distant, galled them so that they soon began to retire, setting fire promiscuously on their way. The fire from the stores communicated to the shipping that lay at the wharfs, and a number were burnt ; others swung to single fast, and remained unhurt. " At four o clock, they began to quit the town with great precipitation, and were pursued by our brave citizens with the spirit and ardor of veterans, and driven on board their boats. Five of the enemy were killed, and about twenty wounded ; among the latter is a Hessian captain, who is a prisoner, as are seven others. We lost four killed, and ten or twelve wounded, some mortally. " The most valuable part of the town is reduced to ashes, and all the stores. Fort Trumbull, not being tenable on the land side, was evacuated as the enemy advanced, and the BENEDICT ARNOLD. 12 178 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW LONDOX. fe\v men in it crossed the river to Fort Grisvvold, on Groton Hill, which was soon after invested by the division that land ed on that point : the fort having in it only about 120 men, chiefly militia, hastily collected ; they defended it with the greatest resolution and bravery, and once repulsed the enemy : k but the fort being out of repair, could not be defended by such a handful of men, though brave and determined, against so superior a number ; and after having a number of their party killed and wounded, they found that further resist ance would be in vain, and resigned the fort. Immediately on the surrendry, the valiant Colonel Ledyard, whose fate in a particular manner is much lamented, and 70 other offi cers and men, were murdered, most of whom were heads of families. The enemy lost a Major, Montgomery, and 40 officers and men in the attack, who were found buried near the fort : the wounded were carried off. " Soon after the enemy got possession of the fort, they set fire to and burnt a considerable number of dwelling houses and stores on Groton bank, and embarked about sunset, taking with them sundry inhabitants of New London and Groton. A Colonel Eyre, who commanded the division at Groton, was wounded, and it is said died on board the fleet the night they embarked. About 15 sail of vessels, with the effects of the inhabitants, retreated up the river on the ap pearance of the enemy, and were saved, and four others re mained in the harbor unhurt. The troops were commanded by that infamous traitor, Benedict Arnold, who headed the division which marched up to the town. By this calamity it is judged that more than one hundred families are deprived of their habitations, and most of their all. This neighbor hood feel sensibly the loss of so many deserving citizens, and though deceased, cannot but be highly indebted to them, for their spirit and bravery in their exertions and manly opposition to the merciless enemies of our country, in their last moments. " The following savage action, committed by the troops, who subdued Fort Griswold, on Groton Hill, on Thursday last, ought to be recorded to their eternal infamy. Soon after the surrender of the fort, they loaded a wagon with our wounded men, by order of their officers, and set the wagon off from the top of the hill, which is long and very steep. The wagon went a considerable distance with great force, till it was suddenly stopped by a tree ; the shock was so great ISO TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW LONDON. to these faint and bleeding men, that some of them died in stantly. The officers ordered the men to fire on the wagon, while it was running." The buildings burnt at New London in this expedition by the British troops, were 65 dwelling houses containing 97 families, 31 stores, IS shops, 20 barns, and 9 public and other buildings, among which were the Court House, Gaol, and Church in all 143. " In many instances, where houses were situated at a great distance from any stores, and contained nothing but house hold furniture, they were set on fire, notwithstanding the earnest cries and entreaties of the women and children in them, who were threatened with being burnt in them, if they did not instantly leave them. Indeed two houses were bought off" for clO each, of an officer who appeared to be a Captain, upon condition, however, that he should not be made known ; and where the houses were not burnt, they were chiefly plundered of all that could be carried off. At the harbor s mouth, the houses of poor fishermen were stripped of all their furniture of every kind, the poor people having nothing but the clothes that they had." About the year 1720, a sect arose in New London, called, from their leader, Rogcrcncs. The following account of this people is from Dr. Trumbull s History of Connecticut, second volume. " The Rogerenes were a sort of Quakers, who had their origin and name from one John Rogers, of New London, lie was a man of unbounded ambition, and wished to be something more than common men. One Case and one Banks, two lewd men, called singing Quakers, coming through the colony singing and dancing, accompanied with a number of women to assist them in their musical exer cises ; and especially to proclaim how their lips dropped with myrrh and honey, fell in company with John, and at once made a convert of him to their religion. He, in a high degree imbibed their spirit and ever retained it. Notwith standing, it was not long after, before he commenced a seventh-day Baptist. After maintaining the opinion of this sect for a short time, he returned again to Quakerism. To gratify his pride, and that he might appear as the head of a peculiar s*-ct, lie ditfered in several points from the Quakers; particularly, that there were three ordinances of religious IN NORTH AMERICA. 181 NEW LONDON. use, baptism, the Lord s supper, and imposition of hands. To make himself more eminent, as the head of a new sect, he commenced preacher of his peculiar scheme, and without any kind of ordination, administered baptism to his followers. The madness, immodesty, arid tumultuous conduct of Rog ers, and those who followed him, at this day, is hardly con ceivable. It seemed to be their study and delight to violate the Sabbath, insult magistrates and ministers, and to trample on all law and authority, human and divine. They would come, on the Lord s day, into the most public assemblies nearly or quite naked, and in the time of public worship, behave in a wild and tumultuous manner, crying out, and charging the most venerable ministers with lies and false doctrines. They would labor upon the Lord s day, drive carts by places of public worship, and from town to town, apparently on purpose to disturb Christians and Christian assemblies. They seemed to take pains to violate the laws in the presence of officers, that they might be complained of, and have an opportunity to insult the laws, the courts, and all civil authority. " A particular instance of their conduct on a certain occa sion, when Rogers was indicted for a high misdemeanor, may serve as a specimen of their spirit and conduct in gen eral. The crime for which he was indicted, arid the manner of his own and his followers conduct, will appear from the following extract from Pratt s Historical Account of Quakerism. " It was his manner to rush into the assembly on the Lord s day, in the time of God s worship, in a very boister ous way, and to charge the minister with lies and false doc trine ; and to scream, shout, stamp, &/c. by which he offered insufferable molestations to the worship and people of God. And this was his manner in the court also, when he pleased, or had a mind to make himself sport, and he would laugh at it, when he had done, until his sides shook. "I saw him once brought to court for such a disturb ance, committed on the Sabbath. He had contrived the matter so as to be just without the door, when he was called to answer ; upon which he rushed into court with a pro digious noise ; his features and gestures expressed more fury than I ever saw in a distracted person of any sort, and I so berly think, that if a legion of devils had pushed him in 182 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW LONDON. headlong, his entrance had not been more horrid and ghastly, nor have seemed more preternatural. " When he came to the bar, he demanded of the court what their business was with him ? The indictment was or dered to be read. To this he pleaded not guilty, after a new mode : for as the clerk read, sometimes at the end of a sen tence, and sometimes at the beginning, he would cry out, That s a cursed lie; and anon, I /idt s a devilish lie; till at length a number of his followers, of both sexes, tuned their pipes, and screamed, roared, shouted, and stamped to that decree of noise, that it was impossible, to hear the clerk read. " He professed to be a most holy man, guided in all his conversation by the Holy Ghost, so that, for the course of twenty years, he had lived without the commission of one sin. Yet he was almost constantly committing such gross offences. He was divorced from an amiable wife for forni cation and supposed beastiality. The latter he often con fessed out of court. "When he had occasion, he took to his bed a maid, whom he had purchased, and after she had borne him two children, he put her away. He suffered a long im prisonment, upon a strong suspicion that he was an accom plice in burning the meeting house at New London. He once sat upon the gallows, upon a conviction of blasphemy. For these and the like instances, he and his followers suffer ed the penalties of the law ; but for his religion, neither he nor his followers suffered any thing, any further than it led them to such misdemeanors as are punishable by the Jaws of all Christian nations."* " Many anecdotes are related concerning this singular people, one of which is the following. Among other viola tions of law and order by the Rogerenes, they took to them selves wives, without complying with the requirements of law and decency. One day, as Governor Saltonstall was sitting in his room smoking his pipe, a man by the name of Gurdon, with a woman, came in, and addressing the Governor said, Sir, I have married this woman, and that too without the authority of your magistrates and ministers. The Governor turned round, took the pipe out of his mouth, and in a stern voice said, Gurdon, have you taken this woman for your * Trumbull. IN NORTH AMERICA. 183 NEW LONDON. wife? Gurdon replied, Yes, I have. The Governor turned to the woman, and inquired, Madam, have you taken this man for your husband ? She replied, Indeed, sir, I have. Well, then, said the Governor, by authority of, and according to the laws of Connecticut, I pronounce you lawfully wedded, husband and wife. Gurdon was aston ished, and, after a pause, replied, Thou art a cunning creature " It is said to be contrary to the tenets of the Rogerenes to employ physicians, or to use medicines in case of sick ness. The following method of preserving a clear conscience in this respect, is related upon good authority. A number of these people were afflicted by a certain cutaneous disor der, and their principles forbidding them the use of medi cines, they were at a loss what to do. After deliberating upon the subject, they came to the conclusion that this disorder, (or whatever else it might be called,) could not come under the head of bodily infirmity. It was determined that the itch might be considered as a noxious animal, which they might innocently destroy. They accordingly made use of the usual remedies found efficacious for this disorder." " A considerable number of the descendants of the Rog erenes still reside in Groton, New London, and its vicinity. Many years since, a person by the name of Watrous, one of this sect, wrote and published a book called The Rattle Axe. Such was the nature of this publication, that he could find no printer who was willing to print it. Determined, however, that his book should be published, Watrous pro cured a printing press and types, and printed the work him self. This book is said to be a curiosity, from the nature of the work, and from the typographical execution. So little f;iith have this people in other denominations of Christians around them, that quite recently they would not suffer any of their people to assist as carpenters or otherwise, in the construction of a new church, lately erected in New London."* * Connecticut Historical Collections. RHODE ISL AN D. PROVIDENCE. THIS is the second city in New England in point of popu lation, wealth, and business. It stands on Providence river, at the head of Narragansett Bay, 35 miles from the ocean ; 42 south-west from Boston ; 199 north-east of New York ; and 394 north-east from Washington. The town is built on both sides of the river, the two parts being connected by two handsome bridges. The new town, on the west side of the river, has all the bustle and liveliness, and displays the flour ishing appearance of a commercial city. The hill on the opposite side, or East Providence, is chiefly occupied by private mansions beautifully situated, and adorned with gar dens and court yards. Providence is well laid out, and viewed from several emi nences within the city, or from the bay, its appearance is fine and imposing. The calamities, which it has several times suffered by storms, floods, and particularly an extensive fire in 1801, and the great storm of 1H15, when 500 buildings were destroyed, have ultimately tended to the improvement of the city, in its streets and buildings. These are mostly of wood, and are uniformly neat ; there are many, however, of brick, granite, &c., which are spacious and elegant, and finely situated. Population in 1&5Q 49,192, The public buildings are numerous, and several of them very handsome. The college edifices belonging to Brown University occupy the summit of a hill, which overlooks every part of the town, the cove, and the country beyond it, the river with the regions on both sides ; together with ex tensive tracts to the north arid east. The prospect is a noble one ; but is sensibly impaired by the sterility of the soil in the western quarter, and is not a little deficient in fine varie ties of surface. This Institution was established in 1764, and was originally stationed at Warren, where the first com mencement was held in 1709. The next year it was held in 184 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, Pro^ide.ue. 186 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PROVIDENCE. Providence. It has now the name of Brown University, given it in honor of Nicholas Brown, Esq. who has been its most liberal benefactor. Under its distinguished President and able faculty, it enjoys a high reputation among the lit erary institutions of New England. The corporation is com posed of two boards : one of Fellows ; the other of Trustees. The former consists of twelve, including the President; of whom eight are required by the charter to be Baptists. The latter consists of thirty-six ; of whom twenty-two must be Baptists; five Quakers; five Episcopalians; and four Congregationalists. The philosophical and chemical appara tus is extensive. The several libraries, including that of the college, contain from 15,000. to 20 T 000 volumes, embracing numerous rare and valuable publications. The Arcade, extending from Westminster street to Wey- bosset, is the handsomest building of the kind in the country. It is 220 feet long, and three stories high, with twenty-eight rooms on each floor. It has a front on each street consist ing of an Ionic portico 72 feet wide, and colonnades of six columns each 25 feet high, the shafts of which are single blocks 22 feet in length. This building was completed in 1^28, at a cost of $130,000. There are fourteen churches in the city, some of which are handsome specimens of architecture ; particularly two Congregational churches, a Baptist, and an Episcopal church. Providence is well situated for commercial enterprise. The river, which divides the town nearly in the centre, is navigable for vessels of 900 tons burden. The foreign and coasting trade are both extensive, as the commerce of the State, which was formerly concentrated at Newport, is now chiefly transferred to this place. Several lines of packets, besides other vessels, run regularly to different parts of the United States, and the facilities for internal communication are numerous. A canal, extending from Providence to Worcester, called the Blackstone canal, was opened some years since, from which important advantages were expected; but it has disap pointed the expectations of its projectors, and has in a great measure been superseded by a railroad between these places. A railroad also connects Providence with Stonington, which has a line of steamboats to New York. IN NORTH AMERICA. 187 PROVIDKNCE. An important Rail Road was opened between this city and Boston in 1835. Its distance is 41 miles. The track is a single one. The amount of capital that had been paid hi in November, 1836, was $1,250,000, and on this sum at that time a dividend of four per cent. Two trains of cars for passengers pass through each way daily, Sundays ex- cepted ; and another train, called the steamboat train, which is connected with the New York and Providence steamboat line, conveys passengers to and from Providence every day, on which the steamboat arrives at and departs from Provi dence. The time usually occupied in passing the whole distance between Boston and Providence, is about two hours and fifteen minutes. The citizens of Providence are distinguished in general for their intelligence, enterprise, liberality, and courteous manners. They have exhibited no small pride in rendering their city pleasant and beautiful. An honorable testimony is borne to the morals of Providence by the late President Dvvight. He remarks: "The morals of Providence are probably superior to those of any other town in this State. The usual order of things, with respect to morality, seems here to be inverted. In most other States the country is more virtuous than the city. Here, a general, and honor able, regard to morality, and a general performance of its duties, such as is found in other respectable towns of this country, appears to prevail. Many years have not elapsed since the market, the street, and the wharfs, were little less frequented on the Sabbath, than on other days. You will remember, that the Sabbath in this State is neither regarded by the laws, nor sanctioned by any general religious ob servance. We saw a few carts entering the town ; but were informed, that the number had yearly decreased for a considerable time, and that the inhabitants were strongly, as well as generally, opposed to this indecent intrusion." The founder of Providence was Roger Williams, a man who figured in the early history of the colony of Massachu setts, and about whose religious tenets and conduct the most contradictory statements have been made. Injustice has doubtless been done him ; yet, it is not improbable from his excitable and ardent feelings from his well known courage and firmness, that he might have in his language and con- 188 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PROY1DKVCK. duct given occasion to his contemporaries to feel towards him some unkindiicss; yet no apology can be offered for their great severity towards him. His intimate relation to the city about which \ve are writing, will justify a brief no tice of the principal events of his life, which we gather from a late Memoir of his life by Professor Knowles. The early history of Mr. Williams is traditionary. It is said that even the records of the Church, which he founded at Providence, contain no notice of him earlier than 1075. He was born in Wales, probably in 1599. The place of his birth and the character of his parents are not known. From a remark in one of his books, it appears probable that he became pious in early life. " That his parents were in humble life, and that his disposition was pious and thought ful, may be inferred," says his biographer, * from an inci dent, which is related concerning him, and which, if true, had a great share in determining his future course. It is said, that the famous lawyer, Sir Edward Coke, observed him one day, during public worship, taking notes of the dis course. His curiosity was excited, and he requested the boy to show him his notes. Sir Edward was so favorably impressed by the evidences of talent, which these exhibited, that he requested the parents of young Williams to intrust their son to his care. He placed him, as the tradition runs, at the University of Oxford, where he drank deeply at the fountains of learning. His writings testify that his educa tion was liberal, according to the taste of those times, when logic and the classics formed the chief objects of study at the Universities." After leaving Oxford, he commenced the study of law; but finding theology more agreeable to his taste, he directed his attention to that ; and, at length, received Episcopal orders. For a time, he had charge of a parish in England. For the same reasons, which impelled so many of the English clergy to abandon their native land, for the wilds of America, Roger Williams, no doubt, emigrated to the same place of refuge. The time of his emigration was De cember 1st, 1630, at which time he embarked at Bristol, in the ship Lyon, Capt. William Pierce. His wife accompa nied him. Governor Winthrop thus records the arrival of this vessel. " Feb. 5. The ship Lyon, Mr. William Pierce, master arrived at Naritasket. She brought Mr. Williams, a godly IN NORTH AMERICA. 189 PROVIDENCE. minister, with his wife, Mr. Throgmorton, Perkins, and oth ers, with their wives and children, about twenty passengers, and about two hundred tons of goods. She set sail from Bristol, December 1st. She had a very tempestuous pas sage, yet through God s mercy, all her people came safe, except Way, his son, who fell from the spritsail yard in a tempest, and could not be recovered, though he kept in sight near a quarter of an hour; her goods also came all in good condition." Shortly after Mr. Williams s arrival he was invited by the Church in Salem to become an assistant to Mr. Sheldon, as teacher in the place of the accomplished Higginson, who had died a few months before. This invitation he accepted, and commenced his ministry in that town. The civil author ity, however, interfered on the ground that Mr. Williams had refused to join with the congregation at Boston, because they would not make a public declaration of their repent ance, for having held communion with the Churches of Eng land, while they lived there; arid besides, had declared his opinion, that the magistrate might not punish a breach of the Sabbath, nor any other offence, as it was a breach of the first table ; therefore they marvelled they would choose him without advising with the Council; and withal desiring that they would forbear to proceed till they had conferred about it. We are not told precisely in what terms, and to what ex tent he wished the members of the Boston Church to express their repentance by their conduct. In this requirement, he probably forgot his own principles of liberty of conscience ; but in regard to the other charge, that the civil magistrate has no right to control the consciences of men, he was right in point of principle, although perhaps too strong in express ion. Notwithstanding the interference of the court, the Church at Salem considered it her right to select her own pastor: and accordingly, Mr. Williams entered upon the du ties of a minister among them. His situation, however, was rendered unpleasant by the persecution of enemies, in con sequence of which he was obliged to retire to Plymouth. Here he became an assistant to Mr. Ralph Smith, the pastor of the Church there. After a residence at Plymouth of two years, he returned to Salem, and resumed his labors, as an assistant to Mr. Sheldon ; on the death of this gentleman, which occurred in 1634, Mr. Williams was invited to be come the teacher of the Church. The magistrates sent a 190 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PROVIDKJJCE. request that they would not ordain him ; but the Church persisted, and Mr. Williams was regularly introduced to the office of teacher. In 1635, Mr. Williams was summoned to appear before the general court to answer to the following " dangerous opinions" said to be held by him, viz : 1. That the magis trate ought not to punish the breach of the first table, other wise than in such cases as did disturb the civil peace. 2. That he ought not to tender an oath to an unregenerate man. 3. That a man ought not to pray with such, though wife, child, &/c. 4. That a man ought not to give thanks after sacrament, nor after meat," &,c. In respect to the first of these charges, Mr. Williams never held it to be wrong for the civil magistrate to punish breaches of the first table, when they disturbed the civil peace, but only that they had no right to force the consciences of men. In respect to the second charge, we are not informed of the precise views of Mr. Williams respecting oaths. It seems probable, however, that he considered an oath to be an act so entirely religious, as to feel that an irreligious man could not sincerely take one. In this he was probably biased by a wrong judgment, as he was also in denying the propriety of uniting in religious worship with the unregenerate. The fourth charge was unworthy the framers of it. We cannot enter into this subject with more particularity. Mr. Williams doubtless held opinions, which were at vari ance with the received opinions of the day, and in respect to some of which he appears not to have exercised a sound judgment ; yet he was far from meriting the severe censures which were passed upon him. Some of those censures his judges deserved themselves ; for in some points in which they condemned Mr. Williams, they deserved condemnation themselves. In October, 1G3.>, Mr. Williams was called before the court for the last time. Mr. Hooker was chosen to dispute with him, but not being able to reduce him from any of his errors, the court sentenced him to depart out of their juris diction, within six weeks, all the ministers, save one, ap proving the sentence. Mr. Williams received permission to remain at Salem till spring ; but because he would not agree not to refrain in his own house, from uttering his opinions, the Court ordered to 192 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PROVIDENCE. send him to England. Accordingly a warrant was sent to him to repair to Boston, to go on board a ship, there ready to sail. But he replied, that he could not come without hazard to his life. Whereupon a pinnace was despatched to apprehend him, and take him on board the ship in Nantasket Bay ; but when the commissioner sent for this purpose came to his house, he found Mr. Williams had gone to some unknown place, three days before. It appears thatGov. Winthrop had privately advised him to leave, as a measure which the pub lic peace required. The departure of Mr. Williams was about the middle of January, 1035-G. It is not certain that any one accompa nied him, though a number of persons joined him soon after. He proceeded south towards Narragansett Bay. The weather was severe, and his sufferings were great. It appears that he visited Ousamcquin, sachem of Pokano- ket, who resided at Mount Hope, near the present town of Bristol, R. I. From him he obtained a grant of land, now included in the town of Seekouk, in Massachusetts. This territory was within the limits of the Plymouth colony. Not withstanding this, with the assistance of friends, he erected a habitation, and here probably hoped to live in peace. In a short time, however, he received a letter from Mr. Wins- low, governor of Plymouth, kindly apprising him of his en croachment on the territory of Plymouth, and advising him to remove. He immediately resolved to comply with the advice. He accordingly embarked in a canoe with five others, and pro ceeded down the stream. As they approached the little cove, near Tockwotten, now India Point, they were saluted by a company of Indians, with the friendly interrogation, " What cheer," a common English phrase, which they had learned from the colonists. At this spot, they probably went on shore, but they did not lon<; remain there. They passed around India Point and Fox Point, and proceeded up the river on the west side of the peninsula, to a spot near the mouth of the Moshassuck river. Tradition reports, that Mr. Williams landed near a spring, which remains till this day. At this spot, the settlement of Rhode Island commenced : " O call it holy ground, The soil where first they trod. Thoy have left unstained, what there they found, FREEDOM TO WORSHIP GOD." IS 194 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES HROVIDKNCK. To the town here founded, Mr. Williams, with his habit ual piety, and in grateful remembrance of God s merciful Providence to him in his distress, gave the name of PROVI DENCE. His removal from Seekonk is fixed by his about the middle of June, 1636. The exact dav is un known. The spot where Mr. Williams and his companions landed was within the jurisdiction of the Narragansett Indians. The Sachems of this tribe were Canonicus, and his nephev/ Miantonimoh. The former was an old man, and he prob i- bly associated with him his young nephew, as better fitted to sustain the toils and cares of royalty. Their residence is said by Gookin to have been about Narragansett Bay, riiid on the island of Canonicut. The first object of Mr. Williams would naturally bo, to obtain from the sachems a grant of land for his new colony. He visited them, and received a verbal cession of the terri tory, which, two years afterwards, was formally conveyed to him by deed.* The lands thus ceded to Mr. Williams, he conveyed to twelve men, who accompanied, or soon joined him, reserving for himself an equal part only. From these he exacted no remuneration. Mrs. Williams and her two children are supposed to have come from Salem to Providence in the summer of 1636, in company with several persons, who wished to join their ex iled pastor. The family of Mr. Williams was now dependent on his ex- * It reflects great credit on Canonicus, thiit he received Mr. Williams with so much cordiality, and treated him, as Mr. Thatcher remarks, with a hospitality worthy of an emperor. " At first, indeed, the savage chief tain was suspicious of his visiter s motives ; and he was none the more prepossessed in his favor, from his subjects having recently suffered ex cessively from a formidable epidemic, which he supposed to have been introduced by the English." Mr. Williams has himself given an account of his interview with the chief. fi At my first coming among them, Caunounicus (morosus ccque ac barbarus sencx) was very sour, and ac cused the English and myself of sending the plague amon<r them, and threatening to kill him especially." Soon after, however, lie not only permitted the refugee and the poor wanderers, who had followed him from Salem, to have a resting place in his domain, but gave them all " the neck of land lying between the mouths of the Pawtucket and Moshassuck rivers, that they might sit down in peace upon it forever." IN NORTH AMERICA. 195 PROVIDENCE. ertion for support. No supplies could be derived from Mas sachusetts. The natives were unable to afford much aid. It is probable that Mr. Williams had nearly expended all his funds, in the support of his family during his absence, and in the negotiations with the Indians. Of his poverty, there is evidence, in a touching incident, mentioned in his letter to Major Mason. It is alike honorable to all the parties : " It pleased the Father of Spirits to touch many hearts, dear to him, with many relenting! ; amongst which, that great and pious soul, Mr. Winslow, melted, and kindly visited me at Providence, and put a piece of gold into the hands of my wife, for our supply." In a deed, which was enrolled January 29, 1667, Mr. Williams says, that he planted, with his own hands, at his first coming, the two Indian fields, Whatchcer and Saxifrax Hill, which he. had purchased of the natives. Thus was he forced, as at many other times, to resort to manual labor for his subsistence. In his reply to Mr. Cotton, he says : " It is not unknown to many witnesses, in Plymouth, Salem, and Providence, that the discusser s time hath not been spent (though as much as any others whosoever) altogether in spiritual labors and public exercises of the word ; but day and night, at home and abroad, on the land and the water, at the hoe, at the oar for bread." But he sustained all his labors and hardships with a patient spirit and with a steadfast adherence to his principles. His house was, undoubtedly, erected near the spot where he landed, and a few rods eastward of the celebrated spring. Here the wanderer found a resting place. This was his home for more than forty years. Here he died, and near the site of his dwelling his ashes were deposited. It would be an interesting effort of the imagination, to contrast the situation of Providence, at the time of the set tlement, with the present condition of that beautiful and flourishing town. Where now are busy streets, and ample warehouses, and elegant mansions, and a population of near ly 50,000 souls, were, at that time, dense forests, and a few scattered Indian families. How astonishing is the change ! Roger Williams himself, with all his vigor of imagination, and his ardent temperament, could not have anticipated the expansion of his little settlement to its present amplitude, beauty, and strength. The glorious vision could not have 196 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PROVIDENCE. visited his mind ; but he acted under the power of that pro phetic faith, which assured him of success, in his efforts for the welfare of men. He looked beyond the present, to the bright future, and was confident that his principles, though then misunderstood and rejected, would ultimately triumph. In 1643, Mr. Williams was intrusted with an important agency. The settlement at Providence and on Rhode Island had continued to increase for several years. They had hitherto been distinct, but their principles and interests were so similar, that an alliance as one colony became manifestly expedient. The necessity of a charter from the government of England, was apparent, to protect them from the en croachments of the other colonies, and to give a sanction and authority to their government. A committee was appointed at an Assembly in Newport, September 19, 1642, with in structions to procure a charter. This committee intrusted the agency to Mr. Williams, who, on behalf of that colony and his own, agreed to visit England, on this important errand. He accordingly left his family, and proceeded to Manhat tan, (New York,) to embark for England. It would have been more convenient and agreeable to sail from Boston, but Mr. Williams was not permitted to enter the territories of Massachusetts, notwithstanding the good service which he had performed for them in their hour of need. In 1644, he returned to America, having accomplished the object of his mission. His return to Providence was greeted by a voluntary expression of the attachment and gratitude of its inhabitants, which is one of the most satis factory testimonies to his character. They met him at Seekonk, with fourteen canoes, and carried him across the river to Providence. This simple act of respect must have been highly grateful to his feelings. It does equal honor to him, and to his fellow citizens, who thus showed themselves capable of estimating, in a manner worthy of freemen, the services of a friend and public benefactor. We tnay suppose that Mr. Williams, after his return, im mediately endeavored to carry into operation the charter, which he had procured with so much labor and expense But it was a work which required time, to bring the inhabit ants of the several settlements at Providence, Newport, Portsmouth, and Warwick, to agree on a form of govern- IN NORTH AMERICA. 197 PROVIDENCE. ment, and unite as one colony. The charter prescribed no form of civil polity, and it was accordingly necessary to manage the negotiations between the towns with much deli cacy and skill. Our limits forbid us to notice the incidents of Mr. Wil- liams s life from the above date to the year 1676, excepting to mention that in 1654, he was chosen president of the col ony, which office he held till 1657. 1676 was memorable in New England for king Philip s war, so called. It spread over the whole of this territory, and threatened for a while the destruction of the colonies. Many of the inhabitants of Providence and of other towns, removed to Newport fnr safety ; but a considerable number remained, among whom was Mr. Williams, though it seems his wife and family removed to the Island. Mr. Williams was very active, notwithstanding his age. He accepted a military commission, and the title " Captain Roger Williams" appears on the records. It certainly dis played spirit and patriotism in a man of seventy-seven years, to buckle on his armor for the defence of his home and his fellow citizens. He sent the following proposition to the town : " I pray the town, in the sense of the late bloody practices of the natives, to give leave to so many as can agree with William Field, to bestow some charge upon for tifying his house, for security to women arid children. Also to give me leave, arid so many as shall agree, to put up some defence on the hill, between the mill and the highway, for the like safety of the women and children in that part of the town." This proposal was signed by eleven persons, who subscribed various sums, to defray the expense. The high est subscription was two pounds six shillings, except that of Mr. Williams, which was ten pounds, though we may pre sume he was not the richest man among them. A garrison was established at Providence by the General Assembly, with seven men, under the command of Captain Arthur Fenner, with a provision, however, that it should " not eclipse Captain Williams s power in the exercise of the trainbands there." The town was attacked by the Indians, on the 29th of March, 1676, and twenty-nine houses were burnt, among which was that in which the records of the town were kept. These were thrown into the mill pond, and afterwards re covered, though much injured. 198 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PROVIDENCE. It is said that when the Indians approached Providence, Mr. Williams took his staff, and went out to meet them on the heights north of the cove. He remonstrated with the sachems, and warned them of the power and vengeance of the English. " Massachusetts," said he, " can raise thousands of men at this moment, and if you kill them, the king of England will supply their place as fast as they fall." " Well," answered one of the chieftains, " let them come. We are ready for them. But as for you, brother Williams, you are a good man. You have been kind to us many years. Not a hair of your head shall be touched." Mr. Williams lived to his 84th year, but of the immediate cause of his death, or the exact time of this event, we are not informed. In regard to his family, little is now known. His wife is supposed to have survived him, but when and where she died, we do not know. It is nearly certain that he left no will, and had but little property to bequeath. He had six children. Joseph, the last, lived for several years, on a farm in Crans ton, three or four miles from Providence, where he died, August 17th, 1724, in the eighty-first year of his age, and was buried in the family burying ground, on the farm, where his grave-stone now stands, with this inscription : " Here lies the body of Joseph Williams, Esq., son of Roger Williams, Esq., who was the first white man that came to Providence. He was born 1644. He died August 17th, 1724, in the eighty-first year of his age : In king Philip s war, he courageously went through, And the native Indians he bravely did subdue, And now he s gone down to the grave, and he will be no more, Until it please Almighty God his body to restore, Into some proper shape, as he think fit to be, Perhaps like a grain of wheat, as Paul sets forth you see. (Corinthians, 1st book, 15th chapter, 37th verse.) " His biographer, Professor Knowles,* to whom the author is indebted for the foregoing facts, gives the following sum mary of Mr. Williams s character. " His mental faculties were of a high order. His mind was strong, original, and * Memoir of Roger Williams, &c. by James D. Knowles. IN NORTH AMERICA. 199 PROVIDENCE. independent. The clearness with which he discerned the true principles of religious liberty, and the steadiness with which he maintained them, in opposition to the general theory and practice of that age, show a superior intellect. Few men are far in advance of their cotemporaries ; and this is a wise arrangement of Providence, for such men are not so immediately useful, as many others of inferior powers. They are not understood they offend the prejudices, and wound the self-love of men. Their influence is of the nature of prophecy. They plant principles, which are of slow growth, but which will eventually produce rich fruit. Such individuals must be content to live for posterity. They must be steadfast in upholding the truth, though amid ingratitude and opposition, cheered by the bright prospect of future triumph. " Mr. Williams was of this class of men, and his station in that class is a proof of the elevation and vigor of his mind. " It is an evidence, also, of superior moral qualities. It requires a spirit of self-sacrifice, a pure love of truth, a benevolent zeal for the welfare of mankind, an elevation above selfish ends. All these traits of character Mr. Williams possessed. He was sincerely pious. Love to God dwelt habitually in his soul, and controlled his feelings and his ac tions. In his books and letters, every topic takes a hue from his piety. His magnanimous forgiveness of injuries, his zeal for the welfare of all who sought his aid, his untiring benevolence towards the hapless savages, his patriotic and self-denying toil for the prosperity of his colony, all show the efficacy and fervor of those religious principles which governed him. Mr. Callender said of him, Mr. Williams appears, by the whole course and tenor of his life and con duct here, to have been one of the most disinterested men that ever lived, a most pious and heavenly minded soul. Dr. Bentley says, In Salem every body loved Mr. Williams. He had no personal enemies, under any pretence. All valued his friendship. Kind treatment could win him, but opposition could not conquer him. He was not afraid to stand alone for truth against the world, and he had address enough with his firmness, never to be forsaken by the friends he had ever gained. He had always a tenderness of con science, and feared every offence against moral truth. He 200 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PROVIDKNCK. breathed the purest devotion. He was a friend of human nature, forgiving, upright, and pious. He understood the Indians better than any man of his age. He made not so many converts, but he made more sincere friends. " His religious principles were those of Calvin. His views of the ordinances of the Gospel were, undoubtedly, after his baptism, those now held by the Baptists. But he did not acknowledge himself as belonging to any denomination; because he believed, that there are now neither true churches, nor persons authorized to administer the ordinances. " His political principles were decidedly in favor of the rights of the people. He not only displayed them in the civil constitution of his colony, but he repeatedly stated them in his books. Such passages as the following contain his political creed : " Kings and magistrates must be considered invested with no more power than the people betrust them with. The sovereign power of all civil authority is founded in the con sent of the people. " The faults of Mr. Williams sprung, in part, from the imperfection of human nature, and in part from his temper ament, and the constitution of his mind. He was ardent, and his imagination was the most active of his intellectual faculties. He sometimes adopted opinions, rather by a sud den bound of the imagination, than by a regular process of reasoning. His ardor, and his conscientiousness and fearless love of truth, impelled him to act on his opinions with a degree of energy and firmness which exposed him to the charge of obstinacy. Such a man will occasionally fall into error, and into rapid transitions, which give to his conduct the appearance of inconsistency. This was the case with Mr. Williams, in some of his actions, but the inconsistency never affected his great principles. These he never abandoned for a moment. His course was steadily onward, like that of a planet, though disturbing causes occasionally produced slight eccentricities. " In his domestic relations, he seems to have been amiable and happy. His expressions of attachment to his family prove the strength of his conjugal and paternal affection. His children grew up to maturity. A numerous posterity have arisen to bless his memory, and to feel pleasure in the contemplation of his character and the diffusion of his fame. IN NORTH AMERICA. 201 PROVIDENCE. " He is dead, but his principles survive, and are destined to spread over the earth. The State which he founded is his monument. Her sons, when asked for a record of Roger Williams, may point to her history, unstained by a single act of persecution ; to her prosperity, her perfect freedom, her tranquil happiness ; and may reply, in the spirit of the epi taph on the tomb of Sir Christopher Wren, in St. Paul s Cathedral, Look around/ Si monumentum quaeris. circumspice. " NEW YORK. NEW YORK. BEFORE proceeding to a description of New York, the present commercial capital of the United States, we have divers historical matters, with which to entertain our fellow travellers, touching the discovery of the place, and the early settlement of the city, with sketches of the manners and customs of the primitive settlers. " The first European feet that ever trod on any part of the territory, now included within the State of New York, were probably," says Dr. Miller,* " Verrazzano, and his crew, who appear to have visited the harbor of New York, in 1524. The description which this navigator gives of a harbor into which he put of the islands which he saw in it of the river which he ascended, corresponds with the harbor of New York, the islands Staten and Manhattan, and the river, afterwards called the Hudson. Dr. Belknap says the harbor which Verrazzano entered, " by his descrip tion, must be that of Neio York. 1 Others have considered the whole account as agreeing with the harbor of Newport, in Rhode Island. t The weight of authority, however, lies * Miller s Historical Discourse, 1809. t That noted historian, Diedrich Knickerbocker, has decided that Ver razzano never made the above discovery, for the following potent rea sons : 1st. " Because, on strict examination, it will be found," says he, " that the description given by him applies as well to the bay of New York as it does to my nightcap." 2d. " Because he was a Florentine, and the Florentines hftving niched away the laurels from the brows of the immortal Columbus, and bestowed them on their officious townsman, Amerigo Vespuci, they may be suspected of an attempt to rob the illus trious Hudson of the credit of his discovery." 3d. " I award. "says he, " my decision in favor of the pretensions of Hendrick Hudson, inas much as his expedition sailed from Holland being truly and absolutely a Dutch enterprise," and as if in truth, like the Squire of the knight of La Mancha. he would " heap proof upon the shoulders of demonstra tion," he adds " though all the proofs in the world were introduced on the other side, I would set them at nought, as undeserving my atten tion."" Thus, therefore" he concludes, " the title of Hendrick Hud son to his renowned discovery is fully vindicated." 203 204 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. in favor of the former opinion. If so, the merit of the dis covery is due to Verrazzano, and the date of that discovery is the spring of 1524. This navigator was a Florentine, in the service of Francis I. of France. At this time he was on a voyage of discovery. He first made the American coast, near Wilmington, North Carolina. From this point, he sailed south as far as Georgia, after which he directed his course north, and entered, as we have stated, the harbor of New York. In this harbor, according to his own account, he staid about fifteen days. He and his men frequently went on shore to obtain supplies, and to see the country. He says expressly : "Sometimes our men stayed two or three daies on a little island neere the ship for divers necessaries." And again, " we were oftentimes within the land five or six leagues, which we found as pleasant as is possible to declare, very apt for any kind of husbandry, of corne, wine, and oyle. We entered afterwards into the woods, which we found so great and thicke, that any army, were it never so great, might have hid itselfe therein; the trees whereof are okes, cipresse trees, and other sortes unknowen in Europe" Verrazzano returned to France in July. He gave to the whole country, whose coast he had explored, the name of New France. It is distressing to add, that in a subsequent voyage, according to some authorities, Verrazzano was cut to pieces by the savages, who murdered him and others, who had gone ashore, in the sight of those who remained on board the ship, the latter being unable to rescue them. From this time nearly a century elapsed before the least addition was made to the knowledge of this part of the American Continent. In 1609, however, Henry Hudson arrived on the Ameri can coast. Hudson was an Englishman. He had in years previous, under the patronage of some English merchants, made two voyages, with the hope of discovering a passage to India by the north ; but failing in his object, he had return ed to England. Thence he proceeded to Holland, and en gaged in the service of the Dutch East India Company. By the latter he was furnished with a small ship, called the Half Moon, manned by twenty men, and with which lie left Am sterdam on the 4th, and the Texel on the 6th, of April, 1609. IN NORTH AMERICA. 205 NEW YORK. An account of the voyage of Verrazzario had been pub lished nine years before this of Hudson ; but there is no evi dence of his having seen it. Hence he is entitled to the merit of an original discoverer. He appears to have first landed where Portland (Maine) now stands, and to have re mained on shore six days. Thence pursuing a southerly course, he reached Chesapeake Bay, whence he again coast ed northward, and on the 3d of Sept. anchored within Sandy Hook. " The next day, the 4th of September, he sent a boat on shore for the purpose of fishing. The tradition is, that his men first landed on Coney island, which lies near to Long Island, and now makes a part of King s County. On the same day, the natives came on board of his ship, as she lay at anchor, conducting themselves with great apparent friend liness, and discovering a strong disposition to barter the produce of their country for knives, beads, clothes, and other articles of a similar kind. The next day, the 5th of Sep tember, Hudson again sent his boat on shore, for the pur pose, as appears from the journal, of exploring and sound ing the waters lying to the south, within Sandy Hook, and forming what is now called the Horse-Shoe. Here the boat s crew landed, and penetrated some distance into the woods, in what is now Moninouth county, in New Jersey. They were well received by the natives, who presented them very kindly with, what the journal calls, " green tobacco," and also with "dried courants,"* which are represented as hav ing been found in great plenty and of a very excellent quality. " On the 6th of September, Hudson sent a bout, manned with five hands, to explore what appeared to be the mouth of the river, at the distance of about four leagues from the ship. This was no doubt the strait between Long and Statrn islands, generally called the Narrows. Here the writer of the journal observes, " a good depth of water was found," and, within, a large opening and a narrow river to the west, in which it is evident he refers to what is now call ed the Kills, or the channels between Btrgcn Ncrk, and Staten island. In exploring the bay, and the adjacent wa ters, the boat s crew spent the whole day. On their way, in returning to the ship, towards night, they were attacked by * These were probably whortleberries, or some other wild berries, of a similar kind, which the Indians were accustomed to dry. 206 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES KEW YORK. the natives in two canoes; the one carrying fourteen men, the other twelve. A skirmish ensued, in which one of Hud son s men, named John Colman, was killed, by an arrow, which struck him in the throat, and two more wounded. The next day, the remains of Colman was interred on a point of land not far from the ship, which from that circumstance received the name of Column s Point ; and which was prob ably the same that is now called Sandy Ifook."* On the llth of September, Hudson entered the river, which bears his name, from which time to the 22d, he con tinued to ascend it. The ship reached a point somewhat above where the city of Hudson now stands. From this place, Hudson despatched a boat, which ascended as far as the present site of Albany. On the 23d, he began to de scend the river, and on the 4th of October, he left it, and immediately stood out to sea, proceeding directly for Eu rope, where he arrived on the 7th of November following. Like his predecessor Verrazzano, he also came to a misera ble end. During a subsequent voyage, commenced in 1610, a spirit of mutiny appeared among his crew, a majority of whom took the command of the ship from Hudson, whom, with his son, and seven others, they put into a boat, and abandoned them to their fate. No further tidings were ever heard of them. By virtue of this discovery, both the Dutch and English gave the name of Hudson to the river. As a place of set tlement, the former were soon attracted to the territory. Owing, it is said, to the hostility of the Indians near the mouth of the river, a fort and trading house were first erect ed, 1614, near the spot where Albany now stands. To wards the close of the same year, or in the course of the next, a small trading house and fort were erected on Man- hattan\ island, and called New Amsterdam. This was the commencement of the city of New York. The city, as well as the State of New York, continued in possession of the Dutch, with the exception of a few years, until the peace of 1664, when it came under the British do minion. During the period the Dutch possessed it, the style of architecture, dress, manners, customs, all were of course * Miller s Historical Discourse, 1809. t This was the Indian name of the island. 208 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. Dutch. The following amusing notices of some of these subjects are given us by that amusing chronicler of the "old en time," Dit drich Knickerbocker : " The houses of the higher classes," says he, " were gen erally constructed of wood, excepting the gable end, which was of small black and yellow Dutch bricks, and always faced on the street, as our ancestors, like their descendants, were very much given to outward show, and were noted for putting the best leg foremost. The house was always fur nished with abundance of large doors, and small windows on every floor: the date of its erection was curiously designated by iron figures on the front, and on the top of the roof was perched a fierce little weathercock, to let the family into the important secret, which way the wind blew. These, like the weathercocks on the tops of our steeples, pointed so, ma ny different ways, that every man could have a wind to his mind ; the most staunch and loyal citizens, however, always went according to the weathercock on the top of the Gov ernor s house, which was certainly the most correct, as he had a trusty servant employed every morning to climb up and set it to the right quarter. " In those good days of simplicity and sunshine, a pas sion for cleanliness was the leading principle in domestic economy, and the universal test of an able housewife a character which formed the utmost ambition of our unen lightened grandmothers. The front door was never opened except on marriages, funerals, new-year s days, the festival of St. Nicholas, or some such great occasion. It was orna mented with a gorgeous brass knocker, curiously wrought, sometimes in the device of a dog, and sometimes of a lion s head, and was daily burnished with such religious zeal, that it was oft-times worn out by the very precautions taken for its preservation. The whole house was constantly in a state of inundation, under the discipline of mops and brooms and scrubbing-brushes; and the good housewives of those days were a kind of amphibious animal, delighting exceedingly to be dabbling in water insomuch that an historian of the day gravely tells us, that many of his townswomen grew to have webbed fingers like unto a duck ; and some of them, he had little doubt, could the matter be examined into, would be found to have the tails of mermaids but this I look upon to be a mere sport of fancy, or, what is worse, a wilful mis representation. IN NORTH AMERICA. 209 NEW YORK. " The grand parlor was the sanctum sanctorum, where the passion for cleaning was indulged without control. In this sacred apartment, no one was permitted to enter, ex cepting the mistress and her confidential maid, who visited it once a week, for the purpose of giving it a thorough clean ing and putting things to rights always taking the precau tion of leaving their shoes at the door, and entering devoutly on their feet. After scrubbing the floor, sprinkling it with fine white sand, which was curiously stroked into angles, and curves, and rhomboids, with a broom after washing the windows, rubbing and polishing the furniture, and putting a new bunch of evergreens in the fireplace the window-shut ters were again closed to keep out the flies, and the room carefully locked up, until the revolution of time brought round the weekly cleaning day. " As to the family r they always entered in at the gate, and most generally lived in the kitchen. To have seen a numer ous household assembled around the fire, one would have imagined that he was transported back to those happy dy& of primeval simplicity, which float before our imagination! like golden visions. The fire-places were of a trujty patri-. archal magnitude, where the whole family, old a^4; young,, master and servant, black and white, nay, eveti th cat and 1 dog, enjoyed a community of privilege, and fea4! each, a right to a corner. Here the old burgher would sit in perfect si lence, puffing his pipe, looking in the ftirc-with half-shut eyes, and thinking of nothing for hours together ; the goedt vrouw on the opposite side would employ herself diligently in spin ning yarn or knitting stockings. The young folks would crowd round the hearth, listening with- breathless attention, to some old crone of a negro, wbo was the oracle of the family, and who, perched tike a raven in a corner of the chimney, would croak forth for a long winter afternoon a string of incredible stories about New England witches grisly ghosts, horses without heads and hairbreadth es capes, and bloody encounters among the Indians. " In those happy days a well regulated family always rose with the dawn, dined at eleven, and went to bed at sundown. Dinner was invariably a private meal, and the fat old burgh ers showed incontestible symptoms of disapprobation and un easiness at being surprised by a visit from a neighbor on such occasions. But though our worthy ancestors were thus sin gularly averse to giving dinners, yet they kept up the social 14 210 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YOUK. bands of intimacy by occasional banquetings, called tea- parties. " These fashionable parties were generally confined to the higher classes, or noblesse, that is to say, such as kept their own cows, and drove their own wagons. The com pany commonly assembled at three o clock, and went away about six, unless it was in winter time, when the fashionable hours were a little earlier, that the ladies might get home before dark. The tea-table was crowned with a huge earth en dish, well stored with slices of fat pork, fried brown, cut up into morsels, and swimming in gravy. The company being seated around the genial board, and each furnished with a fork, evinced their dexterity in launching at the fat test pieces in this mighty dish in much the same manner as sailors harpoon porpoises at sea, or our Indians spear sal mon in the lakes. Sometimes the table was graced with immense apple-pies, or saucers full of preserved peaches and pears ; but it was always sure to boast of an enormous dish of balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog s fat, and called doughnuts, or oly keoks a delicious kind of cake, at pres ent scarce known in the city, excepting in genuine Dutch families. " The tea was served out of a majestic delf teapot, orna mented with paintings of fat little Dutch shepherds and shepherdesses tending pigs with boats sailing in the air, and houses built in the clouds, and sundry other ingenious Dutch fantasies. The beaux distinguished themselves by their adroitness in replenishing this pot from a huge copper tea-kettle, which would have made the pigmy macaronies of these degenerate days sweat merely to look at it. To sweet en the beverage, a lump of sugar was laid beside each cup and the company alternately nibbled and sipped with great decorum, until an improvement was introduced by a shrewd and economical old lady, which was to suspend a large lump directly over the tea-table, by a string from the ceiling, so that it could be swung from mouth to mouth an ingenious expedient, which is still kept up by some families in Albany ; but which prevails without exception in Communipiaw, Ber gen, Flat Bush, and all our uncontaminated Dutch villages. " At these primitive tea-parties the utmost propriety and dignity of deportment prevailed. No flirting nor coquet ting no rambling of old ladies, nor hoyden chattering and romping of younger ones no self-satisfied struttings of IN NORTH AMERICA. 211 NEW YORK. wealthy gentlemen, with their brains in their pockets nor amusing conceits, and monkey divertisements of smart young gentlemen with no brains at all. On the contrary, the young ladies seated themselves demurely in their rush- bottomed chairs, and knit their own woollen stockings ; nor ever opened their lips, excepting to say, yahMynhcr, or yah ya Vrouw, to any question that was asked them ; behaving, in all things, like decent, well educated damsels. As to the gentlemen, each of them tranquilly smoked his pipe, and seemed lost in contemplation of the blue and white tiles with which the fire-places were decorated ; wherein sundry passages of Scripture were piously portrayed Tobit and his dog figured to great advantage; Haman swung conspicuous ly on his gibbet, and Jonah appeared most manfully bound ing out of a whale, like Harlequin through a barrel of fire. " The parties broke up without noise and without confu sion. They were carried home by their own carriages, that is to say, by the vehicles nature had provided them, except ing such of the wealthy as could afford to keep a wagon. The gentlemen gallantly attended their fair ones to their res pective abodes, and took leave of them with a hearty smack at the door : which, as it was an established piece of eti quette, done in perfect simplicity and honesty of heart, occa sioned no scandal at that time, nor should it at present if our great-grandfathers approved of the custom, it would ar gue a great want of reverence in their descendants to say a word against it."* Another writer, who has also garnered up a merry mass of facts in relation to the manners and customs of the Dutch in the " olden time," gives us the following description. "The Dutch kept five festivals of peculiar notoriety, in the year : Ktrstydt, (Christmas) ; Nicuwjar, (New Year) ; a great day of cake, Paas, (the Passover) ; Pi?ixtcr, (i. e. Whitsuntide); and San Claas, (i. e. Saint Nicholas, or Christ-kinkle day). The negroes on Long Island on some of those days carne in great crowds to Brooklyn and held their field frolics." Nicuwjar or New Year s day is still ob served with much good feeling and hospitality both at New York and Albany; especially among the descendants of the primitive stock. " It was the general practice of families in middle life to * History of New York, by Diedrich Knickerbocker 212 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. spin, find make much of their domestic wear at home. Short gowns and petticoats were the general in-door dresses. " Young women who dressed gay to go abroad to visit, or to church, never failed to take off that dress and put on their homemade, as soon as they got home ; even on Sunday even ings, when they expected company, or even their beaux, it was their best recommendation to seem thus frugal and ready for any domestic avocation. The boys and young men of a family always changed their dress for a common dress in the same way. There was no custom of offering drink to their guests ; when punch was offered, it was in great bowls. " Dutch dances were very common; the supper on such occasions was hot chocolate and bread. " The negroes used to dance in the markets, using torn- tons, horns, &c. for music. " None of the stores or tradesmen s shops then aimed at any rivalry as now. There were no glaring allurements at windows, no over-reaching signs, no big bulk windows; they were content to sell things at honest profits, and to trust to an earned reputation for their share of business. " M:my aged persons have spoken to me of the former delightful practice of families sitting out on their stoops in the shades of the evening, and their saluting the passing friends, or talking across the narrow streets with neighbors. It was one of the grand links of union in the Knickerbocker social compact. It endeared, and made social neighbors ; made intercourse on easy terms; it was only to say, come, sit down. It helped the young to easy introductions, and made courtships of readier attainment. " I give some facts to illustrate the above remarks, de duced from the family B with which I am personally acquainted. It shows primitive Dutch manners. His grand father died at the age of sixty-three, in 1782, holding the office of alderman eleven years, and once chosen mayor and declined. Such a man, in easy circumstances in life, fol lowing the true Dutch ton, had all his family to breakfast, all the year round, at daylight. Before the breakfast he univer sally smoked his pipe. His family always dined at twelve exactly, at that time the kettle was invariably set on the fire for tea, of Bohea, which was always as punctually furnished at three o clock. Then the old people went abroad on pur- IN NORTH AMERICA. 213 NEW YOKK. pose to visit relatives, changing the families each night in succession, over and over again all the year round. The regale at every such house was expected as matter of course to be chocolate supper, and soft waffles. " Afterwards, when green tea came in as a new luxury, loaf sugar also came with it; this was broken in large lumps and laid severally by each cup, and was nibbled or bitten as needed ! " The family before referred to actually continued the practice till as late as seventeen years ago, with a steady de termination in the patriarch to resist the modern innovation of dissolved sugar, while he lived. " While they occupied the stoops in the evening, you could see every here and there an old Knickerbocker with his long pipe, fuming away his cares, and ready on any oc casion to offer another for the use of any passing friend who would sit down and join him. The ideal picture has every lineament of contented comfort and cheerful repose. Some thing much more composed and happy than the bustling anxiety of * over business in the moderns. " The cleanliness of Dutch housewifery was always ex treme ; every thing had to submit to scrubbing and scouring ; dirt in no form could be endured by them : and dear as water was in the city, where it was generally sold, still it was in per petual requisition. It was their honest pride to see a well furnished dresser, showing copper and pewter in shining splendor, as if for ornament, rather than for use. " It was common in families then to cleanse their own chimneys without the aid of hired sweeps; and all trades men, &,c. were accustomed to saw their own fuel. No man in middle circumstances of life ever scrupled to carry home his one cwt. of meal from the market ; it would have been his shame to have avoided it."* In respect to the apparel of those days, the author above cited observes: " Men wore three-square or cocked hats, and wigs; coats with large cuffs, big skirts lined and stiffen ed with buckram. None ever saw a crown higher than the head. The coat of a beau had three or four large plaits in the skirts, wadding almost like a coverlet to keep them smooth ; cuffs very large, up to the elbows, open below and inclined down, with lead therein ; the capes were thin and * Watson s Historic Tales of olden time. 214 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. low, so as readily to expose the close plaited neck-stock of fine linen cambric, and the large silver stock-buckle on the back of the neck ; shirts with hand ruffles, sleeves finely plaited, breeches close fitted, with silver, stone, or paste gem buckles ; shoes or pumps with silver buckles of various sizes and patterns ; thread, worsted, and silk stockings; the poorer class wore sheep and buckskin breeches close set to the limbs. Gold and silver sleeve buttons, set with stones or paste of various colors and kinds, adorned the wrists of the shirts of all classes. The very boys often wore wigs ; and their dresses in general were similar to those of the men. " The women wore caps, (a bare head was never seen,) stiff stays, hoops from six inches to two feet on each side ; high heeled shoes of black stuff, with white silk or thread stockings ; and in the miry times of the winter they wore clogs, gala shoes, or patterns. " As soon as wigs were abandoned, and the natural hair was cherished, it became the mode to dress it by plaiting it, by queuing and clubbing, or by wearing it in a black silk sack or bag, adorned with a large black rose. " In time, the powder with which wigs and the natural hair had been severally adorned, was run into disrepute (about 28 or 30 years ago) by the then strange innovation of Brutus heads ; not only then discarding the long cherished powder and perfume, and tortured frizzle-work, but also lit erally becoming round heads by cropping off all the pen dent graces of ties, bobs, clubs, queus, &,c. The hardy beaux who first encountered public opinion by appearing abroad uripowdered and cropt, had many starers. The old men, for a time, obstinately persisted in adherence to the old regime ; but death thinned their ranks, and use and preva lence of numbers at length gave countenance to modern usage. From various reminiscents, we glean that laced ruffles depending over the hand, was a mark of indispensable gen tility. The coat and breeches were generally desirable of the same material of broadcloth for winter, and of silk camlet for summer. No kind of cotton fabrics were then in use, or known. Hose were, therefore, of thread or silk in summer, and fine worsted in winter ; shoes were square- toed, and were often double channelled. To these suc ceeded sharp toes, as piked as possible. When wigs were universally worn, grey wigs were powdered ; and for that IN NORTH AMERICA. 215 NEW YORK. purpose sent in a wooden box frequently to the barber to be dressed on his blockhead. But brown wigs/ so called, were exempted from the white disguise. Coats of red cloth, even by boys, were considerably worn ; and plush breeches, and plush vests of various colors, shining and smooth, were in common use. Everlasting, made of worsted, was a fabric of great use for breeches, and sometimes for vests. The vest had great depending pocket flaps, and the breeches were short above the stride, because the art, since devised, of suspending them by suspenders, was then un known. It was then the test and even the pride of a well- formed man, that he could by his natural form readily keep his breeches above his hips, and his stockings, without gartering, above the calf of his leg. With the queus be longed frizzled side-locks and tout pies, formed of the natural hair, or, in defect of a long tie, a splice was added to it. Such was the general passion for the longest possible whip of hair, that sailors and boatmen, to make it grow most, used to tie theirs in eel skins. Nothing like sur- touts were known ; but they had coating or cloth great coats, or blue cloth and brown camlet cloaks, with green baize lining to the latter. In the time of the American war, many of the American officers introduced the use of Dutch blankets for great-coats. The sailors used to wear hats of glazed leather, or woollen thrums, called chapeaus ; and their small clothes, 5 as we now call them, were im mensely wide petticoat-breeches. The working men in the country wore the same form, having no falling-flaps, but slits in front ; and they were so full in girth, that they ordinarily changed the rear to the front, when the seat be came prematurely worn out. At the same time numerous working men and boys, and all tradesmen, wore leather breeches and leather aprons. " Some of the peculiarities of the female dress were these, to wit: Ancient ladies are still alive, who often had their hair tortured for hours at a sitting, in getting up for a dress occasion, the proper crisped curls of a hair curler. This formidable outfit of head-work was next succeeded by * rollers, over which the hair was combed above the forehead. These were again superseded by cushions and artificial curled work, which could be sent to the bar ber s block, like a wig, to be dressed, leaving the lady at home to pursue other objects. 216 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. " When the ladies first began to lay off their cumbrous hoops, they supplied their place with successive substitutes, such as these, to wit : first came bishops, a thing stuffed or padded with horsehair; then succeeded a smaller affair, un der the name of Cue de Paris, also padded with horsehair. " Among other articles of female wear, we may name the following, to wit : Once they wore a ilnmmer-katj made of a fabric which shone like silver tinsel ; it was of a very small flat crown and big brim, not unlike the present Leghorn flats. Another hat, not unlike it in shape, was made of woven horsehair, wove in flowers, and called horsehair bonnets, an article which might be again use fully introduced for children s wear, as an enduring hat for long service. I have seen what was called a bath-bonnet, made of black satin, and so constructed to lay in folds, that it could be set upon, like a chapeau bras; a good arti cle now for travelling ladies. The muskmdon-bonnct used before the Revolution, had numerous whalebone stiffeners in the crown, set an inch apart, in parallel lines, and pre senting ridges to the eye between the bones. The next bonnet was the whalebone-bonnet, having only the bones in the front as stiffeners. A calash-bonnet was always formed of green silk ; it was worn abroad, covering the head, but when in rooms it could fall back in folds like the springs of a calash or gig top ; to keep it over the head, it was drawn up by a cord always held in the hand of the wearer. The wagon-bonnet, always of black silk, was an article exclusively in use among the Friends, and was deemed to look, on the head, not unlike the top of the Jersey wagons, and having a pendent piece of like silk hanging from the bonnet and covering the shoulders. The only straw wear was that called the straw Cheshire bonnet, worn generally by old people. " The ladies once wore hollow breasted stays, which were exploded as injurious to the health. Then came the use of straight stays. Even little girls wore such stays. At one time the gowns worn had no fronts; the design was to dis play a finely quilted Marseilles, silk, or satin petticoat, and a worked stomacher on the waist. In other dresses, a white apron was the mode; .ill wore large pockets under their gowns. Among the cnps was the queen s nightcap , the same always worn by Lady Washington. The cushion headdress IN NORTH AMERICA. 217 NEW YORK. was of gauze, stiffened out in cylindrical form, with white spiral wire. The border of the cap was called the balcony. " Formerly there were no sideboards, and when they were first introduced after the Revolution, they were much smaller and less expensive than now. Formerly they had couches of worsted damask, and only in very affluent families, in lieu of what we call sofas, or lounges. Plain people used settees and settles, the latter had a bed concealed in the seat, and by folding the top of it outwards to the front, it exposed the bed, and widened the place for the bed to be spread upon it." In those days, " there were no Windsor chairs : and fan cy chairs are still more modern. Their chairs of the gen- teelest kind were of mahogany or red walnut, (once a great substitute for mahogany in all kinds of furniture, tables, &/c.) or else they were of rush.bottom, and made of maple posts and slats, with high backs and perpendicular. Instead of japanned waiters as now, they had mahogany tea boards, and round tea tables, which being turned on an axle underneath the centre, stood upright, like an expanded fan or palm-leaf, in the corner. Another corner was occupied by a beaufet, which was a corner closet with a glass door, in which all the china of the family was intended to be displayed, for orna ment as well as use. A conspicuous article in the collection was always a great china punchbowl, which furnished a fre quent and grateful beverage, for wine drinking was then much less in vogue. China teacups and saucers were then about half their present size ; and china teapots and coffee- pots, with silver nozzles, was a mark of superior finery. The sham of plated ware was not then known, and all who showed a silver surface had the massive metal too. This occurred in the wealthy families, in little coffee and tea pots ; and a silver tankard for good sugared toddy, was above vulgar entertainment. Where we now use earthen ware, they then used delf ware, imported from England; and in stead of queens ware, (then unknown,) pewter platters and porringers, made to shine along a dresser, were universal. Some, and especially the country people, ate their meals from wooden trenchers. Gilded looking-glasses and picture frames of golden glare were unknown; and both, much small er than now, were used. Small pictures painted on glass, with black mouldings for frames, with a scanty touch of gold leaf in the corners, was the adornment of a parlor. The 218 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. looking-glasses in two plates, iflarge, had either glass frames figured with flowers engraved thereon, or were of scalloped mahogany painted white or black, with here and there some touches of gold. Every householder in that day, deemed it es sential to his convenience and comfort to have an ample chest of drawers, in his parlor or sitting room, in which the linen and clothes of the family were always of ready access. It was no sin to rummage them before company. These draw ers were sometimes nearly as high as the ceiling. At other times they had a writing desk about the centre, with a fall ing lid to write upon when let down. A great high clock case reaching to the ceiling, occupied another corner ; and a fourth corner was appropriated to the chimney place. They then had no carpets on their floors, and no paper on their walls. The silver sand on the floor was drawn into a variety of fanciful figures and twirls of the sweeping brush, and much skill and even pride was displayed therein in the devices and arrangement. They had then no argand or other lamps in parlors, but dipt candles, in brass or copper candle sticks, was usually good enough for common use ; and those who occasionally used mould candles, made them at home in little tin frames, casting four to six candles in each. A glass lantern with square sides furnished the entry lights in the houses of the affluent. Bedsteads then were made, if fine, of carved mahogany, of slender dimensions ; but, for com mon purposes, or for the families of good tradesmen, they were of poplar, and always painted green. It was a matter of universal concern to have them low enough to answer the purpose of repose for sick or dying persons a provision so necessary for such possible events, now so little regarded by the modern practice of iscending to a bed by steps, like clambering up to a haymow. " A lady giving me the reminiscences of her early life, thus speaks of things as they were before the war of Inde pendence : Marble mantels and folding doors were not then known ; and well enough we enjoyed ourselves without sofas, carpets or girandoles. A white floor sprinkled with clean white sand, large tables and heavy high back chairs of wal nut or mahogany, decorated a parlor genteely enough for any body. Sometimes a carpet, not however covering the whole floor, was seen upon the dining room. This was a show parlor up stairs, not used but upon gala occasions, and then not to dine in. Pewter plates and dishes were in general IN NORTH AMERICA. 219 NEW YORK. use. China on dinner tables was a great rarity. Plate, more or less, was seen in most families of easy circum stances, not indeed in all the various shapes that have since been invented, but in massive silver waiters, bowls, tankards, cans, &,c. Glass tumblers were scarcely seen. Punch, the most common beverage, was drunk by the company from one large bowl of silver or china; and beer from a tankard of silver. " The use of stoves was not known in primitive times, neither in families nor churches. Their fireplaces were as large again as the present, with much plainer mantel pieces. In lieu of marble plates around the sides and top of the fire places, it was adorned with china Dutch tile, pictured with sundry Scripture pieces. Dr. Franklin first invented the open stove, called also the Franklin stove, after which as fuel became scarce, the better economy of the ten plate stove was adopted. " The most splendid looking carriage ever exhibited among us was that used, as befitting the character of that chief of men, General Washington, while acting as President of the United States. It was very large, so as to make four horses, at least, an almost necessary appendage. It was oc casionally drawn by six horses, Virginia bays. It was cream colored, globular in its shape, ornamented with cupids, sup porting festoons, and wreaths of flowers, emblematically ar ranged along the pannel work ; the whole neatly covered with best watch glass. It was of English construction. " Some twenty or thirty years before the period of the Revolution, the steeds most prized for the saddle were pacers, since so odious deemed. To this end the breed was propa gated with much care. The Narragansett pacers of Rhode Island were in such repute, that they were sent for, at much trouble and expense, by some few, who were choice in their selections. It may amuse the present generation to peruse the history of one such horse, spoken of in the letter of Rip Van Dam of New York, in the year 1711, which I have seen. It states the fact of the trouble he had taken to pro cure him such a horse. He was shipped from Rhode Island in a sloop, from which he jumped overboard, when under sail, and swam ashore to his former home. He arrived at New York in 14 days passage, much reduced in flesh and spirit. He cost ,32, and his freight 50 shillings. This writer, Rip Van Dam, was a great personage, he having been President 220 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YOKK. of the Council in 1731 ; and on the death of Governor Mont gomery, that year, he was governor ex-officio, of New York. His mural monument is now to be seen in St. Paul s Church."* When the Dutch first established themselves on the island, its surface presented a very irregular appearance. In some places, the ground rose into craggy hills; in other parts were low, hollow and marshy swamps. By great labor and ex pense, that part on which the city is built has been nearly levelled and the marshes filled up. In 1640, New York was a mere village, and the dwelling houses were few, low, and strag gling. The most prominent buildings were then, according to its erudite and right pleasant historian Diedrich Knicker bocker, " the Fort, the Church of St. Nicholas, the Gaol, the Governor s house, the Gallows, the Pillory, the West India Store, and the City Tavern," of which there are now no re mains. In 1665, the inhabitants of New York were incorporated under the care of a Mayor, five Aldermen, and a Sheriff. Until this time the city was ruled by a Scout, Burgomasters, and Schipens. The first Mayor after the conquest was Thomas Willet, Esq., an Englishman. At the time of the conquest in 1664, the town was composed of a few miserable houses, and the whole in such a mean condition, according to a letter of Nicholas to the Duke of York, that not one sol dier had lain in sheets, or in any other bed than canvass and straw. Some of the houses, however, were handsomely built of brick and stone, and in part covered with red and black tiles. In 1678, the houses, according to Sir Edmund Andros, were three hundred and forty-three, and the population, as there were found to be ten on an average for each house, was 3430 souls. At this time, a merchant worth o1000, was a good substantial merchant, and a planter worth half that in moveables, was accounted rich. " There may have lately traded in that colony," says Andros, " in a year, from ten to fifteen ships or vessels, upon an average of 100 tons each, English, New England, and of our own built." In 1686, the city was first regularly incorporated by a char ter. The shipping belonging to the city had increased to nine or ten three mast vessels of about 80 or 90 tons ; 200 or * Watson s Historic Tales of Olden Time. IN NORTH AMERICA. 221 NEW YORK. 300 ketches or barks of about 40 tons, and about 20 sloops of 25 tons. In 1693, the first printing press was erected in the city, by William Bradford, who was appointed printer to the govern ment. The first book from his press was a small folio vol ume of the Laws of the Colony. In 1693, the city contained 594 houses, and 6000 inhab itants. The shipping consisted of 40 ships, 62 sloops, and 60 boats.* Nearly a century from the above date, or in 1790, the in habitants were only about 33,000, including more than 2000 slaves. From the preceding facts, it is quite apparent that for a series of years, the city of New York was surprisingly slow in its growth ; but by a settlement of the interior of the State, and the opening of the navigation of the great Lakes, it has, within a few years, received an impulse, which, added to the other advantages, has established its present and secured its future pre-eminence. The population of the city, 1850, is 515,507, more than fifteen times what it was in 1790. At the same time, the annual increase of its commerce is so great, that statements made in respect to it in any one year would be found exceedingly defective the year succeeding. Let this be our apology for omitting such statistics, in relation to this and other subjects bearing upon the growth of this " London of America." It may be added, also, in this place, that so many pages have been devoted to the earlier history of the city, that our allotted space will require a somewhat partial view of New York as it now is. The Hudson, or North river, flows by the city on the western side ; a narrow part of Long Island Sound familiarly termed the E;ist river, washes it upon the other ; while in front, a noble bay expands between the shores of Long Island and New Jersey, in which the united navies of the world might spread their canvass. Below the bay are the N irrows, formed by the heights, which jut forward with a fine sweeping bend, giving a circular form to the magnificent basin, and facilitating the defence of the harbor. At various points above and below them are forts, of such imposing * Holmes s Annals, passim. 222 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. strength, that it seems impossible that any naval armament can reach the city, unless with the co-operation of a power ful land force. Ice very rarely, now, obstructs the naviga tion ; and about twenty miles from the city, the Atlantic opens to the vessels, without a rock or island to annoy them. " Approaching the city at sunset," says a traveller, " I shall not soon forget the impression, which its gay appear ance made upon me. Passing slowly round its southern point, formed by the confluence of the Hudson with what is called the East river, we admired at our leisure the striking panorama which encircled us. Immediately in our front, was the battery, with its little fort and its public walks, di versified with trees, impending over the water, numberless well dressed figures gliding through the foliage, or standing to admire our Hearing vessel. In the back ground, the neat ly painted houses, receding into distance ; the spiry tops of poplars piercing above the roofs, and marking the line of the streets. The city gradually enlarging from the battery, as from the apex of a triangle, the eye followed, on one side, the broad channel of the Hudson and picturesque coast ot Jersey, at first sprinkled with villages and little villas, their white walls just glancing in the distance through thick beds of trees, and afterwards rising into abrupt precipices, now crowned with wood, now jutting forward in bare walls of rock. To the right, the more winding waters of the East river, bounded, on the one side by the wooded heights of Brooklyn and the varied shores of Long Island, and on the other, by quays and warehouses, scarcely discernible through the forest of masts, that were covered, as far as the eye could reach. Behind us stretched the broad expanse of the bay, whose islets, crowned with turreted forts, their colors streaming from their flagstaff s, slept on the still and glowing waters, in dark or sunny spots, as they variously caught or shunned the gaze of the sinking sun. It was a glorious scene, and we almost caught the enthusiasm of our compan ions, who, as they hailed their native city, pronounced it the fairest in the world."* " The harbor of New York," says another traveller, to whom we are indebted for the most distinct description of this city, " is one of the best in the country, and capable of * Views of Society in America. 224 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WKW YORK almost unlimited extension. The wharfs skirt both sides of the island, and piers project at right angles into the stream, leaving intermediate slips, which have many of the advantages of wet docks, and are free from several of their in conveniences. " The tides rise and fall about six feet, but there is always water enough abreast of the piers to float the largest merchant men. They do not, however, enjoy the advantage of dry docks, for the tide does not ebb sufficiently to empty them, and mechanical means have not yet been resorted to; but vessels which need repair, are keeled down in shallow water, first upon the one side, and then upon the other. Masts surround the city like reeds on the margin of a pool; and when one passes along the wharfs, and witnesses th* 1 never ceasing opera tions of loading and discharging, warping out and hauling in, vessels of every description arriving and sailing with every breeze that blows, together with the bustling of shippers, custom house officers, sailors and carmen, he cannot but be im pressed with the great extent of the commerce which can sup ply such extensive means with such unceasing employment."* While nature has done much for this city in regard to its pleasant and advantageous situation, art has done its propor tion in the way of ornamental architecture. There are some fine buildings, but excepting the City Hall, there are few which merit particular notice. " The streets in the lower and older p irt of the city," says Mr. Duncan, " are very narrow and crooked, and, what is more immediately inexcusable, are kept in very bad order. Garbage and litter of almost every kind are thrown out upon the pavement, where a multitude of hogs of all ages riot in abundance. The footwalks are encumbered with projecting steps and cellar doors, lamp posts, purapwells, and occasionally poplar trees ; and where any open space occurs, b irrels, p icking boxes, and wheel barrows, are not (infrequently piled up. No town affords greater facilities for subterraneous drains, for the ground slopes on both sides from the centre to the water ; and no town that 1 ever saw, stands in so much need of them. The more modern streets are greatly superior in every respect ; they are in general wide and straight, and the footwalks are comparatively free from projections and encumbrances." * Duncan s Travels, vol. 1. p. 29. IN NORTH AMERICA. 225 NEW YORK. The city is lighted throughout, but indifferently, except in the principal streets ; in many places the feeble glimmerings of the solitary oil lamp struggle past two stately trees, which stand like sentinels to defend it. " Broadway, the principal street, runs in a straight line from the battery to its extremity in Bloorningdale road. It measures three miles in length, and is about eighty feet in width. It occupies in general the highest part on which the city stands, and lor two miles it is compactly built ; the houses are chiefly brick, but there is still a considerable mixture of wooden ones. " The early Dutch settlers," continues Mr. Duncan, " im ported bricks from Holland to construct their dwellings; and a few of these houses still remain. They are one story in height, with the gable end to the street, and a little iron weathercock perched upon the top of it. The British set tlers laid the surrounding forests under contribution for building materials ; and a considerable proportion of the older part of the city is still constructed of wood. Frequent and destructive fires were the natural consequence of this sys tem ; and these are, still, every winter, grubbing out a few of the remaining wooden tenements. The erection of wood en houses is now prohibited, and the brick ones which suc ceed them are built with great neatness. The bricks are made of very fine clay, which affords a very close and smooth grain; and the buildings are always showily painted, either of a bright red with white lines upon the seams, or of a clean looking yellow. In many of the more recent ones, the lin tels and steps are of marble. Stone buildings are very rare." The City Hall, which stands on the north side of the Park, a triangular enclosure in the centre of the city, is a splendid edifice, almost entirely of white marble. It is 216 feet long, and 105 broad. The architecture, however, is thought by many to be faulty. The internal arrangement is inconvenient; the basement story, which is of red freestone, impairs the simplicity and gives it a patched and party-col ored appearance. The building is an oblong square, with projecting wings, two stories in height beside the base ment ; with a portico of half the height between the wings, 15 IN NORTH AMERICA. 227 NEW YORK. and a kind of lantern dome, supporting a figure of justice. The portico consists of sixteen Ionic columns, springing from a handsome flight of steps, but unhappily surmounted with a balustraded balcony in place of a pediment. In the front, there are no fewer than between sixty and seventy windows : some of them flat, and others arched, and a few with intervening Corinthian pilasters. The prevailing de fect is the absence of simplicity and grandeur. The por tico, in relation to the building, is exceeding dwarfish ; and the windows, with their minute ornaments, break down the whole into too much detail ; the injudicious use of red stone also, in the basement story, materially diminishes the apparent height. The principal entrance is by the portico in front : with in is a handsome lobby, with a marble stair of elegant propor tions, leading to the second story; and from a circular railed gallery at the landing place ten marble columns arise, support ing the dome. The apartments of the building are appropri ated to the use of the Common Council of the city, and the different Courts of Law. The chair occupied by the Mayor in the Council-room, is the same in which Washington sat, when presiding at the first Congress of the United States ; and a full length portrait of this great man, with those of some others of the Revolutionary chiefs, adorn the walls. In the other rooms, there is a profusion of portraits of offi cers who distinguished themselves during the recent conflict. It is remarkable, that in this building there is no room at all adapted for the purpose of a popular meeting. It is impossible, within the compass of a few pages, to give the reader any adequate idea of the city so numerous are its objects of interest and curiosity. We can only glance at a few of the more prominent. Among the more important public grounds, we may mention the Battery, a favorite promenade, lying in the form of a cres cent, containing 11 acres, beautifully laid out with green plots and gravelled walks. It commands a view of the noble bay, with its islands, and the adjacent shores of New Jersey and Long and Staten Islands. Castle Garden is built on a mole, and is connected with the battery by a bridge. The Bowling Green, at the Southern termination of Broadway, is an ellip tical area, 220 feet long and 140 feet broad, inclosed by an iron fence. It was established before the American revolu- 228 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. tion ; and formerly contained a leaden statue of George III., which was converted into bullets during that period, and its place is now occupied by a romantic fountain, supplied by the Croton water-works. The Park, called in early times the Commons, is a triangular area, of about 10 3-4 acres, and within it are the City Hall, the old Alms-house buildings, and a Rotundo, the latter formerly occupied by the post office, but now used as a place of exhibition by the Academy of Fine Arts. Towards the lower end of the Park is a public fount ain, the water of which, when thrown in a single stream, as cends to the height of about 70 feet. Hudson Square, or St. John s Park, is private property, belonging to Trinity Church corporation ; it contains four acres ; has a public fountain ; and is perhaps the most ornamental spot in the city. Union Square, at the northern extremity of Broadway, has a fine iron fence around it, and a handsome fountain near its centre. New York has some superb public buildings. We have already spoken of the City Hall. The Merchants 1 Exchange would be perhaps equally imposing with that, had it an equally imposing situation. It covers the whole space between Wall, William, Exchange, and South William streets, and is built of blue Quincy granite. The cost of this building, including the ground, is estimated at $1,800,000. The Custom House is a splendid building, constructed in the Doric order of Gre cian architecture. It stands at the head of Broad street, front ing on Wall, and extending along Nassau to Pine street, oc cupying the site of the old Federal Hall, in which General Washington was inaugurated. It cost, with the ground and furniture. $1,175,000. The Halls of Justice occupies the whole space between Centre, Elm, Leonard, and Franklin streets, and is a unique and beautiful building, of Egyptian architecture. This building, though handsome of its kind, has a heavy and gloomy aspect, which has acquired for it the name of the Egyptian Tombs. It is constructed of a light- coloured granite from Hallowell, Maine. The number of churches in New York is about 200, not a few of which are beautiful and costly structures. The most expensive is Trinily Church, at the head of Wall street, front ing on Broadway: it is 193 feet on the outside, 84 feet wide, with a spire 2G4 feel high ; and the interior is finished in a style of great magnificence. After Trinity, Grace Church, nearly two miles and a half north, is perhaps the most splen did, belonging to the Episcopalians ; St. Paul s, in Broadway TRINITY CHURCH. IN NORTH AMERICA. 231 NEW YORK. and St. John s, in Varick street, are, however, imposing edi fices. The Unitarians have two elegant Gothic structures in Broadway the "Church of the Messiah," between Fourth and Fifth streets, and the "Church of the Divine Unity," be tween Spring and Prince streets besides three less pretend ing edifices in other sections of the city. The Roman Cath olics have likewise several fine churches or chapels. Of the Presbyterian churches, though many of them are peculiarly neat and convenient, few of them have any thing imposing in their external appearance. Perhaps there is no circumstance that more strikingly sh6ws the progress of the population towards the northern part of the city, than the removal of churches ; but few being now standing below the Citv Hall. New York contains several important literary institutions. The oldest is Columbia College, which was chartered in 1754 by George II. The college edifice is situated on a beautiful square, between Chapel, Church, and Murray streets. The funds are about $200,000, and the income between $7,000 and $8,000 : its libraries contain about 14,000 volumes. The University of the City of New York stands on Washington square, and has a fine edifice of white marble, in the* Gothic style of English collegiate architecture, which makes a very picturesque appearance. It was founded in 1831. To the foregoing we may add the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, the New York Theological Seminary, and the Rutgers Female Institute ; all of which are flourishing institutions, but we cannot give them a particular description. There are numerous other similar establishments, which are proof of the enterprise and benevolence of the citizens: such as the New York Hospital, the Eye Infirmary, the Lunatic Asylum, the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, the Institution for the Blind, &c. The New York Society Library is an old institution, founded in 1754, and has a handsome edifice on Broadway. Its library contains nearly 40,000 volumes, and is open daily. The His torical Society has a library of 12,000 volumes, located in the University. Clinton Hall Association, founded in 1830, owns the hall, corner of Beekman arid Nassau streets, containing the Mercantile Library, designed for the benefit of Merchants Clerks, and comprising more than 20,000 vols. The Appren tices Library contains 12,000 vols. Besides these, there are many others, of less importance. The city participates in the munificent fund of the State, 232 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NKW YORK. appropriated to the advancement of common education, and numerous public schools, under the superintendence of able and experienced teachers, are located in different sections, well calculated to diffuse their benefits among all classes of the inhabitants. Of all the public works undertaken by the city, the most splendid and expensive is the Croton Waterworks. It was at first estimated that it would cost between five and six millions of dollars; and at the city charter election of 1835, the citi zens were required to vote for or against the enterprise. The whole number of votes given was 17,330, of which 5,963 were against it, and 11,367 in favor of it. It was happy that the cost was not exactly foreknown ; otherwise the plan would probably have failed. But, its advantages having been expe rienced, few, if any regret its construction, although it has cost the city about 812,000,000. The aqueduct commences at the Croton river, five miles from Hudson river, in West- chester county. The dam is 250 feet long ; 70 feet wide at the bottom, 7 feet at the top, and 40 feet high, built of stone and cement. It creates a pond 5 miles long, covering a sur face of 400 acres. From the dam the aqueduct proceeds to Harlem river, a distance of 33 miles ; it is built of stone, brick, and cement ; arched over and under ; 6 feet 3 inches wide at the bottom, 7 feet 8 inches at the top of the side-walls, and 8 feet 5 inches high. It has a descent of 13 1-4 inches per mile, and will discharge 60,000,000 of gallons in 24 hours. It crosses Harlem river on a magnificent stone bridge, 1,450 feet long, with 15 piers, eight of them 80 feet span, and seven of 50 feet span, 114 feet above tide-water to the top. The receiving reservoir is at 80th street, 38 miles from the Croton dam, covering 35 acres, and containing 150,000,000 of gallons. The water is conveyed to the distributing reservoir on Mur ray s hill, in iron pipes ; this reservoir covers 4 acres, and is constructed of stone and cement ; it is 43 feet high above the street, and holds 20,000,000 of gallons. Thence the water is conveyed to every part of the city in iron pipes, laid beneath the ground. There are several beautiful fountains supplied from this source, which are both useful and ornamental. New York will compare favorably, in regard to health, with any city of its size in the world ; its situation giving it many advantages for salubrity of air and cleanliness. The average temperature of the city throughout the year is stated at 55" of Fah. In winter, the thermometer is rarely IN NORTH AMERICA. 233 NEW YORK. lower than 15 or 20 degrees below the freezing point; some times the mercury falls to zero, and it has been observed at from two to six degrees below it. The temperature of the summer is seldom higher than 80 or 84 degrees. However, the changes are frequent, and often great. There are 25 banks in the city, with an aggregate capital of nearly $28,000,000 ; 22 fire insurance companies, with a capital of about $6,000,000 ; several marine insurance com panies, with a capital of about $3,000,000 ; 4 savings banks ; 15 markets ; 6 theatres ; 2 opera-houses ; an amphitheatre ; and a very extensive museum, embracing upwards of five hundred thousand natural and artificial curiosities, collected from every region of the known world. Morse describes New York, forty years ago, as " the gayest place in America." " The ladies," he says, " in the richness and brilliancy of their dress, are not equalled in any city of the United States, not even in Charleston, which has heretofore been called the centre of the beau monde. In point of sociability and hospitality," he adds, " New York is hardly exceeded by any town " in the Union. With re gard to their love of literature, and their patronage of the arts and sciences, inquiries could not then be answered quite satisfactorily. Dr. Dwight bears a similar testimony to the hospitality, by which its inhabitants are distinguished. " Ta bles are spread here," he says, " with a luxury, that must, I think, satisfy the demands of any epicure. The economy of the inhabitants is, I think, less remarkable and less uni versal than their industry. The furniture and carriages of many of the inhabitants are rich and beautiful. Until lately almost all the coaches were private property. Hackney coaches are now employed in considerable numbers. The general attachment to learning is less vigorous in this city than in Boston, commerce having originally taken a more entire possession of the minds of its inhabitants. The charac ter of New York, however, has for some time been materially changing in this respect. Wealth, also, in a much higher degree than good sense can justify, is considered as con ferring importance and distinction on the owners." The languages spoken in this city are very various. When passing through the streets, you will hear English, 234 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. French, Dutch, and German, and all the various brogues spoken by the numerous nations, when imperfectly acquaint ed with the English tongue. It is computed, that one third of the inhabitants are either natives of New England, or de scend unts of tjiose who have emigrated from the northern States. Not more than a third of the population is, strictly speaking, native to this State ; and the proportion of Euro peans of various nations is probably larger than in any other city in the Union. According to Mr. Cooper, the "products of nature" abound in the markets in New York, and are quite equal and in some articles superior to those which are found even in the capital of France itself. " It is difficult," he says, " to name fish, fowl, or beast, that is not, in its proper person, or in some species nearly allied to it, to be obtained in the markets in New York. Of fish alone, a gentleman has named between 70 and 80 varieties, all of which are edible and most of which are excellent. Of fowls there is a great va riety. I have had a list, nearly or quite as long as the cata logue of fishes, placed before me, and it would do your di gestive powers good to hear some of the semi-barbarous epicures of this provincial town expatiate on the merits of grouse, canvasbacks, brants, plover, wild turkeys, and all the ct caitcras of the collection. In respect to the more vul gar products of regular agriculture, I shall say nothing. They are to be found here, as elsewhere, with the exception, that, as a great deal is still left to nature, perfection and variety in vegetables is not as much attended to as in the vicinity of older and larger places. But of the game, I may speak with confidence ; for, little as I have yet seen of it, at this particu lar season, one mouthful is sufficient to prove that there is a difference between a partridge and a hen, greater than what is demonstrated by the single fact that one sleeps on a roost, and the other in a tree." "Of the fruits," continues Mr. Cooper, "I can speak of my own knowledge. The situation of New York is singu larly felicitous in this respect. In consequence of the great range of the thermometer, there is scarce a fruit, which will endure the frost, that is not found in a state nearly approach ing to perfection. Indeed, either owing to the freshness of the soil, or to the genial influence of the sun, or to both, there is an extraordinary flavor imparted to most of the ani mal and vegetable food which I have tasted. In short, so IN NORTH AMERICA. 235 NEW YORK. far as my observation has extended, the sun imparts a flavor to every grass, plant, or fruit here, that must be tasted, and tasted with discrimination, in order to be appreciated. Yet man has done but little to improve these inestimable advantages. There is no extraordinary show of fruits in the public market-places. Peaches, cherries, melons, and a few others of the common sorts, it is true, abound ; but the Americans appear not to be disposed to make much sacrifice of time, or money, to the cultivation of the rarer sorts. " I cannot close this subject, however, without making one remark on the nature of a peculiar difference that I have noticed between the fruits of this country, and those of your own capital in particular. A French peach is juicy, and, when you first bring it in contact with your palate, sweet, but it leaves behind it a cold, watery, and almost sour taste. It is for this reason so often eaten with sugar. An American is exceedingly apt to laugh, if he sees ripe fruit of any sort eaten with any thing sweet. The peaches here leave behind a warm, rich, arid delicious taste. You, who, as a Parisian, say so much for, and think so much of, your gout, may be disposed to be incredulous, when I tell you these people would positively reject the best melon that ever appears on your table. There is a little one, to be picked up in the mar kets here for a few sous, say twelve at the utmost, that ex ceeds any thing of its kind, that I have admitted into the sanctuary of my mouth. I want terms to describe it. It is firm, and yet tender; juicy, without a particle of the cold watery taste we know, and of an incomparable flavor and sweetness. Its equal can only be found in the Crimea, or the adjacent parts of Turkey, and perhaps in Persia. The Americans admit that it is the only melon that can appear on the table of one who understands the difference between eating and tasting, and to me it seems to have been especially created for an epicure. In the gardens of the gentlemen you find not only a greater variety, but, a few common fruits excepted, a far better quality than in the markets. I have tasted a great many old acquaintances, transplanted from the eastern to the western hemisphere, and I declare I do not re member one that has not been benefitted by the change, in flavor, though not always in appearance. "Owing to the facility and constancy of intercourse with the Southern States, the fruits of the tropics are found here, not quite as fresh, certainly, as when first culled from the 236 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. plant itself, but well flavored, and in absolute contact with the products of the temperate zones. Pine-apples, large, rich, golden, and good, are sold from twelve to twenty-five sous ; delicious oranges are hawked in the streets much cheaper than a tolerable apple can be bought in the shops of Paris, and bannanas, yams, watermelons, &,c. are as common as need be in the markets. It is this extraordinary combina tion of the effects of different climates, the union of heat and cold, and of commercial facilities, added to the rare bounties of nature, that incline me to think the empire of gastronomy will, sooner or later, be transferred to this spot. At present it must be confessed that the science is lament ably defective, and, after all, perhaps, it is in those places where nature has been most liberal that man is apt to content himself, without which no perfect enjoyment in any branch of human indulgence can exist. " Passing from the means of gratification possessed by these people, we will turn our attention, for a moment, to the manner in which they are improved. The style of living of all the Americans, in the Northern States, is essentially English. As might be expected in a country where labor is comparatively high, and the fortunes, though great, still not often so princely as in the mother country, the upper classes live in a more simple form, wanting some of the most refined improvements of high English life, and yet indulging, under favor of their climate, situation, and great commercial free dom, in perhaps a greater combination of luxury and comfort than any other people of the world. In respect to comfort itself there is scarce any known in England, that is not to be found here ; the point of difference is in its frequency. You are, therefore, to deduct rather in the amount of English comfort, than in its quality; and you are not to descend far below the refinements at all, since all the substantial of that comfort, which makes England so remarkable in Europe, are to be found equally in America. There are points, perhaps, even in the latter, in which the Englishman (rarely very much disposed to complacency) would complain in America; and there are, certainly, others, on which the American (who has a cast of the family likeness) would boldly vent his spleen in England. I am of opinion the two nations might benefit a good deal by a critical examination of each other. Indeed, I think the American has, and does, daily profit by IN NORTH AMERICA. 237 NEW YORK. his observation, though I scarce know whether his kinsman is yet disposed to admit that he can learn by the study of a people so new, so remote, and so little known, as those of the United States. " After you descend below the middle classes in society, there is no comparison to be drawn between the condition of the American and that of the native of England, or of any other place. I have seen misery here, it is true, and filth, and squalid, abject poverty, always in the cities, however ; but it is rare ; that is, rare, indeed, to what I have been ac customed to see in Europe. At first, I confess there was a feeling of disappointment came over me at seeing it at all ; but reflection convinced me of the impossibility of literally bringing all men to a state in which they might profit by the advantages of their condition. Cadwallader, also, who has a silent, significant manner of conveying truths, has unde ceived me more than once, when I have been on the very threshold of an error. I remember that one day, while I stood contemplating, in the suburbs of this city, a scene of misery that one might not have expected to witness out of Europe, he advanced to the door of the dreary hovel I gazed at, and asked the inhabitants how long they had resided in America. The answer proved that he had not deceived him self as to the birthplace of its luckless tenants. In this man ner, in more than a dozen instances, he has proved that his own country has not given birth to the vice and idleness, which here could alone entail such want. In perhaps as many more instances, he has passed on, shaking his head at my request that he would examine the causes, admitting frank ly that he saw the subjects were natives. It is astonishing how accurate his eye is in making this distinction. I do not know that he has been deceived in a solitary instance. Where misery is so rare, it is a vast deal to admit, that perhaps half of its objects are the victims of a different system than that under which it is exhibited. "There is something exceedingly attractive in the exhi bition of neatness and domestic comfort which one s<bes throughout this country. I think the brilliancy of the cli mate, the freshness of the plants, and the exterior ornaments of the houses, contribute to the charm. There is a species of second-rate genteel houses, that abound in New York, into which I have looked, when passing, with the utmost 238 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. pleasure. They have, as usual, a story that is half sunk in the earth, receiving light from an area, and two floors above. The tenants of these buildings are chiefly merchants, or pro fessional men, in moderate circumstances, who pay rents of from 300 to 500 dollars a year. You know that no Ameri can, who is at all comfortable in life, will share his dwelling with another. Each has his own roof, and his own little yard. These buildings are finished, and exceedingly well finished too, to the attics; containing, on the average, six rooms, besides offices, and servants apartments. The furni ture of these houses is often elegant, and always neat. Ma hogany abounds here, and is commonly used for all the prin cipal articles, and very frequently for doors, railings of stairs, &/c. &c. Indeed the whole world contributes to their lux ury. French clocks, English and Brussels carpets, curtains from Lyons and the Indies, alabaster from France and Italy, marble of their own, and from Italy, and, in short, every ornament below the rarest that is known in every other country in Christendom, and frequently out of it, is put within the reach of the American of moderate means, by the facilities of their trade. In that classical taste, which has been so happily communicated to your French artizans, their own are, without doubt, miserably deficient ; but they are good imitators, and there is no scarcity of models. While in consequence of want of taste or want of wealth, the Americans possess, in very few instances, any one of the ar ticles that contribute to the grace of life in the same per fection as they are known in some one other country, they enjoy, by means of their unfettered trade, a combination of the same species of luxuries, in a less advanced state, that is found no where else. They often, nay, almost always, fail in particular excellence, but they possess an aggregate of approximate perfection that is unrivalled, perhaps, even in England ; certainly if we descend below the very highest classes in the latter country. " But there are hundreds, I believe I might almost say thousands, of houses in New York, of pretensions altogether superior to those just named. A particular description of one belonging to a friend of Cadvvallader, by whose favor I was permitted to examine it, may serve to give you an idea of the whole of its class. The proprietor is a gentle man of the first society of the country, and of what is here called an easy fortune, though hundreds of his neighbors IN NORTH AMERICA. 239 NEW YORK. enjoy the goods of this world in a far greater degree than himself. "The dwelling of Mr. is on the Broadway, one of the principal streets, that runs on the height of land along the centre of the island, for the distance of about two miles. It is the fashionable mall of the city, and certainly, for gayety, the beauty and grace of the beings who throng it, and above all, the glorious sun, that seems to reign here three days out of four, it may safely challenge competition with most if not any of the promenades of the old world. The house iu question occupies, I should think, a front of about thirty-four feet on the Broadway, and extends into the rear between sixty and severity more. There are no additions, the build ing ascending from the ground to its attics in the same pro portions. The exterior necessarily presents a narrow, ill-ar ranged facade, that puts architectural beauty a good deal at defiance. The most that can be done with such a front is to abstain from inappropriate ornament, and to aim at such an effect as shall convey a proper idea of the more substan tial comforts, and the neatness that predominate within. The building is of brick, painted and lined, and modestly orna mented, in very good taste, with caps, sills, cornices, &,c. &c. in the dark red freestone of the country. The house is of four stories; the lower, or rez dc chansser, being half sunk as is very usual, below the surface of the ground, and the three upper possessing elevations in proportion to the height of the edifice. The door is at one of the corners of the front, and is nearly on a level with the windows of the first floor, which may commence at the distance of about a dozen feet above the pavement of the street. To reach this door, it is necessary to mount a flight of steep, inconvenient steps, also in freestone, which compensate, in a slight degree, for the pain of the ascent, by their admirable neatness, and the per fect order of their iron rails and glittering brass ornaments. The entrance is into a little vestibule, which may be some twelve feet long, by eight in width. This apartment is en tirely unfurnished, and appears only constructed to shelter visiters, while the servant is approaching to admit them through the inner door. The general excellence of the climate, and perhaps the custom of the country, have, as yet, prevented the Americans from providing a proper place for the reception of the servants of their guests : they rarely wait, unless during the short calls, and then it is always in 240 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NK\V YORK. the street. As visiters are never announced, and as but one family occupies the same building, there is little occasion, unless to assist in unrobing, for a servant to attend his master or mistress within the outer door. From the vestibule, the entrance is into a long, narrow, high, and handsome corridor, at the farther extremity of which are the principal stairs. This corridor, or passage, as it is called here, is carpeted, lighted with a handsome lamp, has a table, and a few chairs, and, in short, is just as unlike a French corridor as any thing of the sort can very well be. From this passage, you enter the rooms on the first floor : you ascend to the upper, and descend to the lower story, and you have egress from and ingress to the house by its front and rear. The first floor is occupied by two rooms that communicate by double doors. These apartments are nearly equal in size, and, sub tracting the space occupied by the passage, and two little china closets, that partially separate them, they cover the whole area of the house. Each room is lighted by two win dows ; is sufficiently high ; has stuccoed ceiling and cornices in white; hangings of light, airy, French paper; curtains in silk and muslin ; mantel pieces of carved figures in white marble, (Italian in manufacture, I should think :) Brussels carpets; large mirrors; chairs, sofas, and tables, in mahog any ; chandeliers ; beautiful, neat, and highly wrought grates in the fireplaces, of home work ; condelabras, lustres, foe. &c., much as one sees them all over Europe. In one of the rooms, however, is a spacious, heavy, ill-looking sideboard, in ma hogany, groaning with plate, knife and spoon cases, all handsome enough I allow, but sadly out of place, where they are seen. Here is the first great defect that I find in the or dering of American domestic economy The eating or dining room is almost invariably the best one in the house. The custom is certainly of English origin, and takes its rise in the habit of sitting an hour or two after the cloth is re moved, picking nuts, drinking wine, chatting, yawning, and gazing about the apartment. The first great improvement to be made in the household of these people is to substitute taste for prodigality in their tables ; and the second, I think, will be to choose an apartment for their meals, that shall be convenient to the offices suited to the habits of the family, plain in its ornaments, and removed from the ordinary occu pations of those who are to enjoy it. In some houses this is already partially effected ; but as a rule, I am persuaded that IN NORTH AMERICA. 241 NEW YORK. the American guest, who should find himself introduced into a salle d manger, as plain as that in which a French duke usually takes his repast, would not think his host a man who sufficiently understood the fitness of things. I have heard it said that the occupant of the White House* gives his dinners in one of these plain rooms, and that the meanness of Congress is much laughed at, because they do not order one better furnished for him. Certes, if Congress never showed a worse taste than this, they might safely challenge criticism. As the President, or his wife, directs these mat ters, I suppose, however, the great national council is alto gether innocent of the innovation. " You ascend, by means of the stairs at the end of the passage, into what is here called the second story, but which, from the equivocal character of the basement, it is difficult to name correctly. This ascent is necessarily narrow, crowd ed, and inconvenient. The beautiful railings in mahogany and brass, and the admirable neatness of every part of an American house of any pretension, would serve to reconcile one to a thousand defects. As respects this cardinal point, 1 think there is little difference between the English and the Americans, at least so far as I have yet seen the latter; but the glorious sun of this climate illuminates every thing to such a degree, as to lend a quality of brightness that is rarely known in Britain. You know that a diamond will hardly glitter in London. It must also be remembered that an American house is kept in this order by the aid of, perhaps, one third of the domestics that would be employed in the mother country. " On the second floor, (or perhaps you will get a better idea, if I call it the first,) of the house of Mr. , there is a spacious saloon, which occupies the whole length of the building, and possesses a correspond ing breadth. This apart ment, being exclusively that of the mistress of the mansion, is furnished with rather more delicacy than those below. The curtains are in blue India damask, the chairs and sofa of the same colored silk, and other things are made to cor respond. The library of the husband is on the same floor, and between the two there is a room used as a bedchamber. The third story is appropriated to the sleeping rooms of the family ; the attic to the same purpose for the servants, and * The President of the United States. 16 242 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. the basement contains a nursery and the usual offices. The whole building is finished with great neatness, and with a solidity and accuracy of workmanship that it is rare to meet in Europe out of England. The doors of the better rooms are of massive mahogany, and wherever wood is employed it is used with great taste and skill. All the mantel pieces are marble, all the floors are carpeted, and all the walls are fin ished in a firm smooth cement. "I have been thus minute in my account, because in de scribing the house of Mr. , I am persuaded that I con vey a general idea of those of all the upper classes in the northern section of this country. There are, certainly, much larger and more pretending buildings than his, in New York, and many far richer and more highly wrought ; but this is the habitation of an American in the very best society, who is in easy circumstances, of extensive and high con nections, and who receives a fair proportion of his ac quaintances. " You will also see by what I have written, that the Amer icans have not yet adopted a style of architecture of their own. Their houses are still essentially English, though neither the winters nor the summers of their climate would seem to recommend them. There is, however, something in the opposite character of the two seasons, to render a choice difficult. A people in whose country the heats of Florence and the colds of St. Petersburg, periodically prevail, may well hesitate between a marble fountain, and a Russian stove. I am not certain that, considering their pursuits, and the pe culiarity of climate, they are very wrong in their present habits. But I shall forever protest against the use of carpets, while the thermometer is at 90, nor shall I soon cease to declaim against those hideous excrescences called stoops. Beautiful, fragrant, and cool India mats are, notwithstanding, much in use in midsummer, in the better houses. Still, with all my efforts, I have not been able to find a room to sleep in, that is not fortified with a Brussels, or a double Eng lish ingrain. The perspiration stands on my forehead, while I write of them! Another defect in the American establish ment is the want of cabinets dc toilette. They are certainly to be found in a few houses, but I have occupied a bedroom five and twenty feet square, in a house otherwise convenient, that had not under its roof a single apartment of the sort. IN NORTH AMERICA. 243 NEW YORK. This is truly a sad prodigality of room, though space be un questionably so very desirable in a warm climate. " I should think about the same proportion of the inhabit ants keep carriages here as in France. But the ordinary coaches of the stands in New York are quite as good, and often far better than those voitures de remise that one usually gets by the day in Paris. There is even a still better class of coaches to be ordered by the day, or hour, from the stables, which are much used by the inhabitants. The equi pages of this city, with the exception of liveries, and heraldic blazonries, are very much like those of your own mighty capital. When I first landed, coming as I did from England, I thought the coaches so exceedingly light as to be mean ; but, too experienced a traveller to be precipitate, I waited for the old impressions to lose a little of their influence, be fore an opinion was formed, and in a short time I came to see their beauties. Cadwallader told me that when he first arrived in England, he was amazed at the clumsiness of the English vehicles, but that time, by rendering them familiar, soon changed his opinion. We went together lately to ex amine a coach from London, which its owner had abandoned, either in distaste, or because he found it unsuited to the country, and really it was calculated to renew all the original opinions of my friend. I have heard of an American, who carried to England one of the light vehicles of his country, and after it had arrived, he was positively ashamed to exhibit it among its ponderous rivals. In this manner do we all be come the subjects of a capricious and varying taste, that is miserably dependent on habit; a fact simple as it is, which might teach moderation and modesty to all young travellers, and rather less dogmatism than is commonly found among some that are older."* During a principal part of the Revolutionary war, the city of New York was in possession, and the head quarters, of the British. Boston was evacuated by the British, March 17th, 1776. About the middle of April following, General Washington, expecting an attempt on the part of the British, to take possession of the city of New York, himself fixed his * Notices of the Americans. 244 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW YORK. head quarters in that city, where the greater part of his troops rendezvoused. A portion of the American army, amounting to about 15,000, were posted on Long Island, across East river, at the distance of about a mile from the city. On the 12th of August, the British General Howe, landed his troops, estimated at about 24,000 men, at Graves- end Bay to the right of the Narrows. On the 20th, an en gagement between these two armies occurred, in which the Americans were routed. In consequence of this defeat, and the American troops being destitute of shelter from severe and heavy rains, and at the same time being greatly fatigued and dispirited, Gen. Washington determined to withdraw his troops from the island. " This retreat," says Dr. Holmes, " was to have commenced at eight o clock on the night of the 28th ; but a strong north-east wind and a rapid tide caused a delay of several hours. In this extremity, Heaven remarkably favored the fugitive army. A south-west wind springing up at eleven, essentially facilitated its passage from the island to the city ; and a thick fog hanging over Long Island from about two in the morning, concealed its move ments from the enemy, who were so near that the sound of their pickaxes and shovels was heard. In about half an hour after, the fog cleared away, and the enemy were seen taking possession of the American lines. General Washington, as far as possible, inspected every thing. From the commence ment of the action on the morning of the 26th, until the troops were safely across East river, he never closed his eyes, and was almost constantly on horseback. His wisdom arid vigilance, with the interposing favor of Divine Providence, saved the army from destruction."* Immediately after the victory on Long Island, the British made dispositions to attack New York. Under an appre hension that -the place was indefensible, it was decided in a council of general officers that it was inexpedient to attempt to hold possession. Accordingly, the American army was withdrawn with an inconsiderable loss of men ; but all the heavy artillery, and a large portion of the baggage, provision, and military stores, was unavoidably abandoned. On the 15th of September the British troops entered and took pos session of the city. " Within a few days, a fire broke out at a place where a * Hohnes s Annal-. 246 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BROOKLYN. party of British sailors had been frolicking, which spread with unexampled fury. The buildings were then chiefly cov ered with shingles ; the weather had been extremely dry for some days ; a strong southerly wind prevailed at the time ; and it broke out about one o clock in the morning, at a sea son when the town was almost empty of its citizens and the engines and pumps were chiefly out of order. About one thousand buildings were destroyed, and bat for the ex ertions of the sailors and soldiers with engines from the fleet, the whole city must have been reduced to ashes." The British continued to hold possession of the city until the 25th of November, 1783, on which day they evacuated it ; and on the same day, the American army entered. On the following Sabbath, divine service was performed at King s Chapel, by the Rev. Dr. Rogers, who delivered a well adapt ed discourse to a thronged and deeply affected assembly. The fireworks on the evening of the next Tuesday, probably exceeded any exhibition of the kind, ever witnessed in Amer ica. The last and not the least interesting spectacle was seen in passing down the harbor, the British fleet, lying peaceably at anchor above Sandy Hook, ready to transport the troops to their own shores. BROOKLYN. This city is situated on the west end of Long Island, oppo site the south part of the city of New York, and probably de serves to hold a second rank, in reference to population and commercial importance, with any in the state. There are four ferries established between New York and Brooklyn, well provided with numerous and commodious steamboats, which render the communication as easy as it would be by bridges. The average width of the river, at the three upper ferries, is about 700 yards ; but at the lower or South ferry it is upwards of 1300 yards ; the time of crossing is from four to five minutes. The fine water, pure air, and pleasant pros pects of Brooklyn, render it a favorite place of residence to persons doing business in New York, and it is nearer to the business centres of the latter than residences in the upper part of the city. IN NORTH AMERICA. 247 BROOKLYN. Some idea may be formed of the rapid growth of Brooklyn from the fact, that in 1810 the population was only about 4,000 j since which time it has more than doubled every ten years, and now numbers nearly 100,000. The city, as char- tered, has the same extent as the original township, which is six miles long, and four miles wide at its utmost breadth ; and all this great extent has been laid out into streets, the corner-posts of which have been permanently fixed. There are probably a greater number of churches here, of various denominations, than in any other city in the Union of the same size. There are also several elegant edifices occu pied by banking and insurance companies. The city has a number of literary and scientific institutions of a high order: among the principal of which are Brooklyn Institute, formed by the union of the " Apprentices Library Association," the "Brooklyn Lyceum," and the "City Libra ry ;" the Lyceum of Natural History ; the Hamilton Literary and the Franklin Literary Associations ; and several acade mies and female seminaries of distinction. There are also a number of public schools, well taught and attended. A navy-yard, of about forty acres, is located at the Walla- bout, and well provided with all necessaries for constructing the largest class of vessels. Connected with the yard is a Naval Lyceum, composed of officers of the U. S. navy, and possessing a large library and museum. A dry dock is in progress here, which will cost an immense sum, but probably be of great utility when completed. About 200 acres of land, delightfully situated in the south part of the city, has been inclosed as a place of repose for the dead. It is called the Greenwood Cemetery, and comprises every variety of surface, capable of being beautified to suit the tastes of the numerous individuals who have purchased lots therein. Already it affords grateful displays of romantic shrubbery, annuals, and evergreens, and contains several splendid monuments. The harbor is extensive, and its depth sufficient to allow the largest vessels to come to its wharves. The Atlantic dock, at the southern extremity of the city, is a stupendous work, and a highly creditable evidence OA" the enterprise and wealth of its proprietors. The Long Island railroad commences at the South ferry, and extends 100 miles to Greenport, forming part of a chain of daily communication with Boston. 248 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ALBANY. ALBANY. Albany is situated on the west bank of the Hudson, near the head of tide water, 160 miles from New York. It is the seat of government of the State of New York, and in point of wealth, population, trade, and resources, the second city in the State. It is a current opinion, that during his voyage in 1609, Hudson himself ascended the river as far as the present site of Albany. This is incorrect. The navigator himself pro ceeded to a point, a little above where the city of Hudson* now stands, whence he despatched a boat to explore the river still higher up. The boat reached the present site of Albany, and returned. In 1614, a fort and trading house were erected near the spot on which Albany now stands, which was called Fort Orange. The precise location of these appears to have been a small island in the river, about half a mile below the present site. It is probable that a village was commenced soon af terwards, on the present site of the city. The Indian name of the spot was Skcnectadea. The village was at first called by the Dutch Bcvcrwych ; then Fort Orange, and afterwards Willtmnstadt. It received the name of Albany, at the time of the English conquest in 1664, in honor of the Duke of York and Albany, brother of Charles II. Next to James- * While the ship lay at anchor, it is related, that Hudson and his crew, for the purpose of making an experiment on the temper of the In dians, attempted to make a number of their principal men drunk. But, though they " were all merry," as the journalist expresses it, only one of them appears to have been completely intoxicated. This phenome non excited great surprise and alarm among his companions. They knew not what to make of it. And it was not until the next day. when he had completely recovered, that they became composed and satisfied. This, so far as we know, is the first instance of intoxication by ardent spirits among the Indians, on this part of the American continent. It is very remarkable, that among the Six J\ ations, there is a tradition still very distinctly preserved, of a scene of intoxication, which occurred with a company of the natives, when the first ship arrived. Happy for these sons of the forest, and their " red brethren " in all the land, so far as this maddening poison is concerned, had Columbus never made his otherwise fortunate and glor ous discovery of these western shores. Well niay the Indians of America ask, as asked an Indian of Levasseur in one of the Western States " Have the white people any God? Will his vengeance always sleep ? Will he never take pity on poor Indians ? " 250 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES town, in Virginia, it is the oldest settlement in the United States. The Indian name of the North, or Hudson river, was Cahohdtatea. Albany, like New York, was settled by the Dutch, and for many years afterwards the inhabitants were almost with out exception descendants from the original settlers. The houses were almost all built in the Dutch manner ; standing endwise upon the street, with high, sharp roofs, small windows, and low ceilings. The appearance of these houses was or dinary, dull, and disagreeable. The first house ever erected in the place was standing a few years since, and is perhaps to this day. It was built of bricks, which were imported from Holland. Every house almost had its stoop, or porch, in which the Dutch gentlemen delighted to pass their leisure hours with a pipe in their mouths. This custom is noticed by Professor Kalrn in his travels, in 1749. " The street doors," says he, " are generally in the middle of the houses, and on both sides are seats, in which, during fair weather, the people sit and spend almost the whole day, especially on those which are in the shadow of their houses. In the evening these seats are covered with people of both sexes ; but this is rather troublesome, as those who pass by are obliged to greet every body, unless they shock the politeness of the inhabitants of this town." A great change, however, has taken place in Albany. The population has essentially altered. From its being Dutch in its inhabitants its buildings its manners and customs, like New York, the general aspect of the place has changed. One sees, here and there, yet standing, the Dutch tenement, on each side of which perhaps is a modern mansion, with its lofty roof its large windows its granite, or marble ex terior its pillars, et cetera, all in contrast with the humble, singular, and unsightly tabernacle of the sojourners from Holland, or their descendants. The population which has come in are in part from New England, a shrewd, money- making generation whom the Dutch citizens regarded for years with no small jealousy; but with whom at length, an cient prejudices having given way, they are on terms of good neighborhood, and even cordiality. The distinctions in so ciety in this place, some twenty or thirty years since, were, perhaps, as great as in any place on the continent ; but the increase of New England people, and of others, has had a IN NORTH AMERICA. 251 ALBANY. tendency to obliterate in a measure those strong and well-de fined lines, which were formerly drawn by the wealthy and ancient Dutch families, and which were kept visible and dis tinctive as long as their influence availed. The streets of Albany are, in a loose sense, parallel and right angled to the river. Market, Pearl, and State streets, the principal ones, are straight and handsome. The two former are parallel to the river ; the latter meets tjiem at right angles. The streets are now paved, and the travelling easy ; but years since, owing to the clayey character of the soil, they were so encumbered with mud, that in wet seasons, it was not uncommon for wagons to sink so deep as to need the power of Hercules to extricate them. The first appearance of the city is not prepossessing to a stranger ; but there is considerable taste displayed in the con struction of many of the buildings, both public and private. The Capitol, or State House, occupies a commanding posi tion, being situated at the head of State street, which rises in a straight course from the river to the brow of a hill 220 feet. It is a stone edifice, 115 feet in length, and 90 in width, and 50 feet high. In the front is an Ionic portico, with columns 33 feet in height. The public square, ad joining the capitol, is adorned with beautiful walks and avenues. From this point there is a beautiful view of Green- bush, on the opposite side of the river, famous for many years as a cantonment. During the late war it presented a bustling appearance, but the lines of barracks, which were capable of accommodating 10,000 men, are deserted and solitary. The Academy, long a distinguished and well endowed in stitution, is just north of the capitol. It is the handsomest building in the city. It is of stone, three stories high, and presents a front of 90 feet. The State Hall, the Albany Farmers and Mechanics Bank, and the Museum, are also splendid edifices. The collection of the latter is one of the best in the United States. The population of Albany in 1850 was 50,763. The position of Albany for commerce is exceedingly eli gible, being situated near the head of sloop navigation in the Hudson river. The opening of the Erie Canal has given a great impulse to Albany. It has become a vast thoroughfare 252 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ALBANY. for travellers of every description, whether in pursuit of for tune or pleasure, bound north and west. Here centres, preparatory to being shipped for New York, an immense amount of productions from the fertile regions of the West. It must long continue to enjoy its present advantages, and these will probably proportionally increase with the growing enterprise of the western world. At Albany, the canal terminates in a basin. This is formed by an artificial pier 80 feet in width, and 4,300 feet long ; it is connected with the shore by draw bridges, and covered with stores, in which immense quantities of lumber and merchandise are deposited. The basin contains a sur face of 32 acres. The completion of the canal, so far as to connect its waters with those of the Hudson, was a joyful day for this city. The marriage ceremony, if we may so term it, took place on the 23d of October, 1823. The lock which forms the communication between the canal and basin was on this day, for the first time opened ; and the waters of the West, with those of the river from the north and south, for the first time, embraced each other. The transition of the first boats was celebrated with some ceremony. " Large committees from New York, and from other places on the canal route, attended at Albany. The New York committee was headed by Mr. William Bayard. Mr. James was the chairman of the Albany committee of citizens. These gentlemen had on all occasions given the full weight of their long established and respectable characters in favor of the execution of the canals. "The pencil could not do justice to the scene presented on the fine autumnal morning, when the Albany lock was first opened. Numerous steamboats and river vessels, splendidly dressed, decorated the beautiful amphitheatre formed by the hills, which border the valley of the Hudson, at this place : the river winding its bright stream far from the north, and losing itself in the distance at the south : the islands it embraced ; the woods variegated by the ap proach of winter, a beauty peculiar to our climate; the wreathed arches, and other embellishments, which had been erected for the occasion, were all objects of admiration. A line of canal boats, with colors flying, bands of music, and crowded with people, were seen coming from the north, and seemed to glide over the level grounds, which hid the waters IN NORTH AMERICA. 253 of the canal for some distance, as if they were moved by en chantment. " The first boat which entered the lock was the De Witt Clinton, having on board Governor Yates, the mayor and corporation of Albany, the canal commissioners and engi neers, the committees, and other citizens. Several other boats succeeded. One (not the least interesting object in the scene) was filled with ladies. The cap-stone of the lock was laid with masonic ceremonies, by the fraternity, who ap peared in great numbers and grand costume. " The waters of the west, and of the ocean, were then mingled by Dr. Mitchell, who pronounced an epithalamium upon the union of the river and the lakes, after which the lock gates were opened, and the De Witt Clinton majestically sunk upon the bosom of the Hudson. " She was then towed by a long line of barges, past the steamboats and other vessels, to a wharf at the upper end of the city, where those gentlemen, who were embarked on board the canal boats, landed and joined a military and civic procession, which was conducted to a large stage, fancifully decorated, erected in front of the capitol. Here the canal commissioners received a congratulatory address from Charles E. Dudley, Esquire, Mayor of Albany, which was answered by Mr. Clinton, as president of the board of commissioners. The Albany committee was addressed by Mr. Bayard, which was returned by Mr. James, and the day concluded with a banquet, at which it might be said, with as much propriety as it could be said in relation to any other festive board, that there was * the feast of reason and the flow of soul. "* HUDSON. This city is very properly named after the navigator of 1609, as a little above this spot, or opposite to it, Hudson moored his ship, and lay at anchor while a boat was despatch ed to explore the river higher up. The city is situated on the east side of the river, 27 miles Colden s Memoir. 254 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES TROV. below Albany. It stands on a plain rising from the river, where the banks are 50 or 60 feet in height ; this plain ter minates in the east at the foot of an elevation which rises several hundred feet, overlooking the river and country for many miles around. Hudson is one of the most important places on the river, and is at present increasing in business and wealth; it maintains the third rank in the State for manufactures, and is regularly built with streets at right an gles. From a beautiful promenade in the upper part of the town, a delightful prospect is presented of the river and the Catskill mountains ; the opposite bank of the Hudson is charmingly diversified with villages, farms, and country seats. For several years after its settlement, it was in a very flourishing state ; but subsequently its prosperity was checked. An impulse has recently been given to it, by means of several large and valuable manufactories, situated on two creeks, the one of which, Claverack creek, flows on the eastern side of the town and Abram s, or Factory creek, on the northern side. The whale fishery has lately been attempted with great spirit, and several ships have returned, after highly success ful voyages, to reward the owners for their enterprise and adventure. The population of Hudson in 1850 was ; 286. TROY. The city of Troy is situated on the east side of the Hud son at the termination of its tide and navigable waters, one hundred and sixty-six miles north of the city of New York, and six north of Albany. It was incorporated in 1806. That part of the city limits which is most populous, and now nearly covered with buildings, is situate on a nearly level plain, which rises abruptly from the river to the height of about 25 feet, extending about one and a half miles in length along the river, and about half a mile back. Dock and River streets meander with the river ; the other seven north and south streets are straight, and 60 feet broad, with a like number of narrow streets, called alleys, passing through the middle of each block. These are crossed with other streets at right angles extending from the river easterly IN NORTH AMERICA. 255 River street is the great street of business. The large stores or warehouses, built on the west side, are mostly of brick or stone, and, being built on the bank or rise from the river, are from four and a half to six and a half stories high on the side joining the wharfs, and two and a half to three and a half stories on the East or River street side. On the east side of River street, as also in First, Second, Third, and Fourth streets, the houses and stores are mostly handsome modern brick buildings. Among the public buildings en titled to particular notice, are St. Paul s Church and the City Hall, or County Court House ; the latter built in imitation of the ancient temple of Theseus in Greece, and, like its prototype, entirely of marble, excepting the covering of the roof which is of copper, and excepting also that this has pil lars in front. It is 103 feet long and 60 broad, with side walls 50 feet in height, and for elegance, simplicity and du rability, is strikingly appropriate. St. Paul s Church is built in Gothic style, of bushham- mered, dark colored, secondary, limestone, 113 feet long, 70 broad, with side walls 42 feet high, presenting the appear ance of great strength, durability, and fine finish. Troy is distinguished for its literary institutions. Here is situated a Female Seminary, intended for young ladies, in all the higher branches of education, which for a series of years was under the care of Mrs. Emma Willard, a lady of fine understanding and attainments, and who to these qualifications unites great energy and perseverance. To her untiring labors and felicitous management, this seminary is indebted for its great reputation. It has been patronized by gentlemen from perhaps every State in the Union, and here numerous young ladies have enjoyed advantages not, perhaps, to be found at any similar institution in the country. Although Mrs. Willard has (some time since) relinquished the charge of this seminary, it still continues to maintain its high reputation. This city is also the location of the Rcnsselacr school named after the Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer of Albany, through whose liberality it was munificently endowed. It is designed to instruct young men in all the modern arts and sciences, and more especially chemistry and geology as bear ing upon the arts and agriculture. The inhabitants of Troy were principally from New Eng- and. If the original settlers were not distinguished for their 256 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES SCHENECTADY. literary character, they have ever sustained a high reputation for their industry and success in business. Many are now very wealthy. Society has rapidly advanced. Great liberality is exhibited in the way of public improvements. Troy is a beautiful spot, and considering its thrift, its industry, its en ergetic and enterprising population, and its yearly improving state of society, it is among the most desirable residences in the State of New York. The Erie canal here enters the Hudson, giving to the place many of the advantages which Albany enjoys, in con sequence of that magnificent channel of intercourse with the West. Immense quantities of lumber, flour, grain, wool, beef, pork, &-c. besides manufactured goods, are shipped to New York, New Jersey, and Boston. Steamboats daily as cend and descend the Hudson, from this place, while a great number of passage, or " packet" boats, and freight, or " line" boats, as they are called, are continually arriving and de parting. The manufacture of flour here amounts to one or two hundred thousand barrels. Its other manufacturing establishments are numerous, and on an extensive scale: the population in 1850 was 28,785. SCHENECTADY. The name of this city is said to be of Indian origin, being derived from Schcncctadea, or Pine-Wood Landing, a phrase used by the Indians to designate a considerable extent of country, of which the present city of Schenectady forms a part. The name of the spot on which Schenectady stands was Ohnowalagdntle. The city is pleasantly situated, on a fertile plain on the south-east side of the Mohawk river. It is fifteen and a half miles north-west from Albany. It is bounded, on the east and south-east, by a range of hills of moderate elevation, and of rather a light sandy soil. On the west of the city and the Mohawk, the country is spread out into considerable ex tensive flats, possessing a soil of great fertility, and under a high state of cultivation. The city is laid out with great regularity ; most of its streets intersecting each other at right angles, and dividing the area into squares. IN NORTH AMERICA. 257 SCHENECTADY. The houses are, for the most part, constructed of brick ; and though, owing to the great intervals of time at which some of them were built, there has been so great a mixture of the ancient and modern styles of architecture as greatly to impair the beauty of the city, reviewed as a whole, yet many private houses have an air of much comfort and ele gance. The ancient edifices are, however, yearly being dis placed, and their sites are occupying with buildings in more modern style. The population in 1850 was 8,921. Union College, for its importance as a literary institution, deserves particular notice. It is situated east of the com pact part of the city, on an eminence which affords, particu larly on the west, an extensive and delightful prospect. The city, flanked, on the north-east and south-west, by luxuriant meadows and pasture land beyond these, on the west, the beautiful Mohawk, gliding calmly along farther on, the rich and variegated flats, terminated by a range of regular and not very high hills form, when beheld from the College, one of the most charming landscapes in nature. Union College was incorporated in 1794, and was so named from the union of several religious denominations in its establishment. The plan of the College edifices, as drawn by M. Ramee, a celebrated French architect-, for its beauty and adaptation to the purposes for which it was designed, is highly credita ble to the taste and judgment of that artist. Only two of the eight large edifices of the original plan, have yet been com pleted. These afford rooms for the accommodation of about 200 students, and tenements for the families of the President and Professors. The institution possesses a library, cabinet, philosophical and chemical apparatus, &c. Besides a president, it has 10 professors; about 2,300 alumni, of whom 350 have been ministers of the gospel. The College enjoys a high reputa tion under its distinguished president, Dr. Nott. In the libra, ries are about 13,500 volumes, of which that of the College contains about 5,000. The Erie Canal crosses the north part near the Hudson, but on account of the circuitous route, and the numerous locks between this place and Albany, much of the navigation stops here. Packet boats run hence in numerous lines to Utica, and on as far as Buffalo, and many still extend to 17 258 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES SCHENECTADY. Albany. Thus a vast amount of merchandise annually passes through the city. The Albany and Schenectady rail road greatly facilitates the communication with the Hudson ; and this with the Saratoga and Schenectady rail road, have rendered Schenectady the great thoroughfare for travellers to the springs. Numerous lines of stage coaches also pass through this city. Recently a rail road connecting this city with Utica, has been constructed along the valley of the Mo hawk. The passage, 80 miles, is performed in four hours. Schenectady is more interesting from the associations of its early history, than for its present magnitude, or im portance, as a city. It is one of the oldest Dutch settlements in the State of New York. Its early inhabitants suffered all the miseries and hardships that can be supposed to have at tended upon their exposed situation and slender means of subsistence. Not powerful by their number ; at a consider able distance from their civilized countrymen; with scarce ly any tiling for their defence ; they were almost continually, during many years, falling victims to savage treachery and barbarity. " In the year 1690, Schenectady was destroyed by a party of Canadian French and Indians, most of them Mohawks, whom the French had seduced from their attachment to the English. This party consisted of three hundred men, and was one of three, sent by Count De Frontenac to distress the British colonies. The other two proceeded against New Hampshire, and the Province of Maine, where one of them, under Hertel De Rouville, destroyed Dover. The body, which attacked Schenectady, was commanded, ac cording to Golden, by Monsieur De Ourville ; according to Dr. Trumbull, (for which he quoted the letters of Colonel Schuyler and Captain Bull,) by D Aillebout, DeMantel, and Le Moyn. The Mohawks were, or had lately been inhabi tants of Caghnawaga, a village up the river, about 25 miles from Schenectady. Of course, they had been familiarly ac quainted with the town, and often entertained by its citizens. The French were chiefly what are called Indian traders. They arrived in the neighborhood on the 8th of February, when the season was so cold, and the snow so deep, that it was thought to be impossible for an enemy to approach. The French commander sent some of the Indians, as spies, to discover the state of the town. These men were seen COUNT DE FRONTENAC. 2GO TRAVELS AND SKETCHES lurking in the neighborhood ; and this fact was publicly an nounced ; but the people were so satisfied of their safety, that they paid no regard to the information. Not even a sentinel was employed to watch the advent of the supposed enemy. This negligence was fatal to them. The French afterwards confessed, that they were so reduced by cold, hunger, and fatigue, as to have formed the resolution to sur render themselves prisoners, if they found the least prepara tion for resistance. But, learning from the spies, that the town was perfectly defenceless and secure, they marched into its centre the following evening, raised the war-whoop ; and, having divided themselves into little parties, broke open the houses, set them on fire, and butchered every man, woman and child, on whom they could lay hands. No tongue, says Colonel Schuyler, can express the cruelties which they committed. Some of the inhabitants sought for safety in flight ; and ran naked through the snow into the fields and forests. Others endeavored to hide themselves within the town from the fury of their murderers ; but were forced from their retreats by the flames, and either killed or carried into captivity. Sixty-three were butchered in this in human manner. Twenty-seven more were made prisoners. Of those who escaped, twenty-five lost their limbs by the severity of the cold."* UTICA. The city of Utica stands on the south side of the Mo hawk, in the north-east part of the charming valley, which is made by the river Mohawk, the Oriskany and the Sa- daghqueda or Saquoit (saw-qua) cree||p. It was formerly called Old Fort Schuyler, from a military post of that name established here, to complete the chain of communication between Fort Stanwix (from which it was distant about six teen miles north-east) and Schenectady. This tract of country, now so delightful and so exuber ant, does not appear to have attracted the attention of the * Dwight s Travels, vol. 2. 262 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES Dutch sufficiently to form a settlement in it, sluice it is well known to have remained an unbroken wilderness, till the year 1784, when Hugh White, an emigrant from Middle- town, iu Connecticut, with the spirit and courage which had a few years before characterized Boon, of Kentucky, first planted himself in the neighborhood. He entered a log habitation at the present village of Whitesborough, about four miles west of Old Fort Schuyler, and in what was then known as the county of Montgomery, embracing the whole region west of the county of Albany. In two or three years after, the towns of Clinton and New Hartford were begun to be settled by emigrants from the eastern States ; and, in the year 1789, John Post, Uriah Alverson, Stephen Potter, and others, formed a settlement at Old Fort Schuyler, the prosperity of which was soon deter mined by laying out a road through the extensive wilder ness from Canandaigua, " The Chosen Place" (now Can- andaigua,) to the Mohawk. This road was opened in 179O, and intersected the river near Old Fort Schuyler. The settlement now increased rapidly, and two years afterwards it was incorporated as a village, with its present name, Utica. For many years the country around went by the name of IVhitcstown, after Mr. White, and to this day, by the aged, it is spoken of only as the " Whitestown Country." An incident occurred in the family of Mr. White, soon after his settlement at the West, which is still related by the family, and which in the original form was told to Colonel McKenney, by a son of Mr. White, and by the former has been sketched in his " Tour to the Lakes." " One evening, while Mr. White, the father, was absent, and only Mrs. White, her little son and daughter, were at home, they were alarmed on seeing in the woods three In dians coming in the direction of the house ; but on per ceiving one of them to be Skenandoaijfwho was known to them, their fears were in a measure quieted. On arriving, they addressed the mother, and said, We have called to ask you for your little daughter to take home with us to night ! The request startled Mrs. White she knew not what answer to give; for it was part of the business of Mr. White on all occasions, to conciliate the Indians, and by all the means in his power. To refuse the request, she feared would excite them ; and to grant it, would be to jeopard the IN NORTH AMERICA. 263 liberty, if not the life of her child ! At the critical moment, and while the Indians were waiting for a reply, the father came in. The request was repeated to him, when he instant ly granted it. The mother was overwhelmed with surprise, and felt all the horrors that may be conceived under such circumstances. But she was silent. The little girl was brought out, and delivered over to these Indians, who lived some ten or twelve miles distant. They took her by the hand and led her through the woods, stopping only long enough to say, when the sun is so high in the morning, pointing to a certain elevation in the heavens, we will re turn her. Mrs. White had heard that Indians were base and treacherous; and considered her little daughter as having been given in sacrifice to save the family. Mr. W. explained his reason for yielding up the child ; but the mother, still anxious and doubting, gave way only to grief. The night was long arid sleepless. The day at last broke, but upon eyes that had not been closed, and brought with it increased anxiety. The sun rose and the anxiety of the family rose with it. At last he reached the point in the heavens, which had been referred to for the period of the child s return, when the anxious and afflicted mother ex claimed, there they arc! Skenandoah and his com panions, faithful to their promise, were on the spot, and the little girl, gay and smiling, and dressed out in all the finery of which an Indian lodge could boast, delighted both with her visit and her trinkets. " You may feel anxious to know," observes Colonel Mc- Kenney, addressing himself to a friend, " what was the ob ject of those Indians, in this extraordinary movement. I will tell you. Mr. White had gone among them, and settled in their country. He had promised to be friendly he had smoked the pipe of peace with these people, a most sacred and binding obligation with them, and which they never vio late. But so had others, and these promises and that pledge in them had been alike disregarded. There was no founda tion left for their confidence ; the white man, said they, * is deceitful. Their object was to test the confidence of this family in them ; and this was their method of deciding the question. Give us your child ! If, as they doubtless reasoned among themselves, they trust us with their daughter, they will prove that they have confidence in us : and we will then know how to trust them. If they refuse our request, 264 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES UT1%A. then we shall know that they doubt our sincerity, and this will convince us that they have none themselves. Mr. White fortunately understood the Indian character ; but had not had their object explained to him. This was a secret with the Indians. But he knew that their confidence, when once es tablished, is ever after hard to be shaken ; and concluded, as a rational man would, that to show confidence in them, was the most direct way to secure it for himself. But the hazard was great; the trial was severe; and not unlike the demand of old, made by the Master of Life to Abraham, to take his son, his only son Isaac, and offer him/ &/c. " From that hour the family experienced nothing but a succession of the kindest offices on the part of the Indians, and one uninterrupted scene of friendship ; and so united did the Indians become in all the interests of the family, that they stood always ready to promote them ; and as to security, they never felt more secure than when surrounded by these people. Skenandoah, in particular, continued intimate with this family to his death. Mr. White died in 1812, at the age of 80 years. He was a venerable man, respected and be loved by all who knew him."* From the period when Utica was incorporated, until the completion of the middle section of the Erie canal, its aug mentation, though substantial, was not remarkably rapid. In 1813, it numbered only 1,700 inhabitants. It was, however, the centre of intercourse between the lakes and the cities of Schenectady and Albany ; the Mohawk river affording a tol erable communication with the former place. The great western turnpike from Albany to Buffalo, also offered great facilities for inland commerce, and Utica became the deposit of products of the northern, southern, and western back country. But when the great channel of intercourse between lake Erie and the Hudson river approached its con summation, the business, wealth, and population of the place rapidly increased, and it is now become one of the most flourishing and substantial towns in the State. In the year 1793, the first mail west of Canajoharie was transported, by Simeon Pool, from that place to Whitestown, in pursuance of an arrangement of the Post Office Depart- * McKcnney s Tour to the Lakes. IN NORTH AMERICA. 265 merit, that the inhabitants along the route should convey it at their own expense. The distance was fifty miles, and twenty-eight hours were allowed the post-rider to complete it. This contract soon passed into the hands of the late Jason Parker, Esq., a man of much enterprise, who was the founder of the great lines of stages, which now traverse this country in every direction. To his activity, Utica is largely indebted for her extraordinary facilities of intercourse with every part of the State. At the time of his decease, in 1830, there were twelve weekly, semi-weekly, or daily lines run ning southerly and northerly. One hundred and eight regu lar stages left the place, *and about sixty mails arrived and departed, weekly. In addition to these conveyances by land for the mails and travellers, there are several lines of packet boats on the Erie canal, which leave Utica daily for Schenec- tady ; and also several for Buffalo, and intermediate places on the route. These boats are commodious and pleasant, accommodating comfortably from thirty-five to forty pas sengers.* The canal level is 425 feet above the tide water at Albany. The central street of the city is distant from Albany, by post-road, 96 miles; by the canal, 110 miles : from Buffalo, on lake Erie, by the post-road, 202 miles : by the canal, 253 : from Oswego, the southern port of lake Ontario, with which it communicates by the Erie and Oswego and Erie canals, 84 miles. The city is nearly the geographical centre of the State. In 1794, the place contained nineteen fami lies: in 1830, the return from the census was 8,500. Its population in the year 1R50 was 17,565. The city charter was granted by the legislature of the State, February, 1832. The charter is remarkable for being the first ever granted in the State, in which the licensing of shops for retailing ardent spirit is expressly prohibited. The city is regularly built ; its streets are broad, straight and commodious, and the build ings generally handsome. Few places have increased with greater rapidity ; or for its size, or age, contains more wealth, or more institutions which have for their object the relief of the poor, the improvement of morals, or the cultivation of literature and science. A vast quantity of * Encyclopedia Americana. 266 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ROCHKSTER. cotton and woollen goods are yearly manufactured in the immediate vicinity. The canal commerce of Utica alone is extensive, while the tolls paid on clearances received at and passing Utica are annually about one million of dollars. The principal manufacturing district is the beautiful valley of the Sadaghqueda a territory of ten miles square, having Utica for its north-east corner, and the river Mohawk for its north erly line. Here, on the stream from which the valley takes its name, are several large cotton manufacturing establish ments, which produce annually cloth of more than half a million of dollars in value. Connected with these factories are others of various kinds. * At Utica is located a Lunatic Asylum, which is a State institution. It was opened for the admission of patients in 1843, and is under the control of a board of managers, ap pointed by the Senate, upon the nomination of the Governor. It is among the best constructed institutions for the insane in the world ; and is capable of accommodating 500 patients, enabling them to be divided into 12 classes or families for each sex, exclusive of a large chapel, shops, school-rooms, and hospitals. Attached to the asylum is an excellent farm, of about 140 acres, and perhaps no similar institution has ex hibited more beneficial results of its management. ROCHESTER. In the progress of our travels, we have arrived at a spot, which, had we visited it in 1810 thirty- eight years since not a single house should we have found standing upon it. The Indian may have encamped upon the ground, and pos sibly may have erected his temporary wigwam there, beside the flowing waters of the Genesee, to listen to the " eternal bass" of the neighboring cataract ; but the white man had not reared his more substantial habitation, or begun those improvements, which his skill and industry and perseverance have since so magnificently wrought. Or, had we delayed our visit till 1812, we should have found " but two frame dwellings here, small and rude enough, one of which yet remains to remind us of the change since the period when the occupants of those shantees had to contend against wild IN NORTH AMERICA. 267 ROCHESTER. beasts,* for the scanty crop of corn first raised in a tract now included in the heart of the city." But, selecting some ap propriate elevation, cast your eyes abroad, and here you see a city has risen, as it were, in a night, embracing a popula tion of 0,000 souls ; and their number is increasing every day, while habitations, stores, shops, manufactories, by hundreds, are annually erecting, to accommodate the " im migrants" to this Western Metropolis. * In a valuable and highly interesting work, " Sketches of Rochester by Henry O Reilly," to which work the author in this place ac knowledges his indebtedness for whatever may be interesting in rela tion to this city the following sketches of a thrilling adventure is given in illustration of the remark quoted above : Two frame buildings had been erected, one of which was occupied by Isaac Stone, the other by Enos Stone. " It was in the fall of 1811, that Enos Stone had a patch of corn, about six acres in extent. His corn patch was on the east and south sides of his little dwelling, which stood near the bank of the river, beside the fording place. Provisions were exceedingly scarce, and not to be had at any price, except to prevent starvation. Mr. Stone looked upon his cornfield with anxiety, knowing well the extent of his dependence upon it for the then approaching winter. Towards the ripening of the precious crop, he found that much would be lost from the depredations of the wild beasts ; and at length he began to tremble for the whole field, when he found that a she bear had commenced devastations upon it, destroy ing far more than she devoured. For a while he kept her at bay by leaving out his dog ; till, at length, the emboldened creature would chase the dog even to the door step. Finding that something must be done ; that he could not hope for half a crop, if such depredations con tinued ; and that he could not sleep with such an animal prowling about his dwelling ; Mr. Stone turned out with a boy and a trusty gun, to at tack the intruder, about two o clock, one morning. The bear then took refuffe in a tree, whence she was soon dislodged by the smoke of a fire kindled beneath. She fell near Mr. Stone, and after a short contest with him and his boy and dog, fled to another tree. She was dislodged from this and three other trees by kindling fires beneath when, more pow der being obtained from a neighbor, (the first two shots proving ineffect ual, and exhausting all his own powder.) Mr. Stone had the satisfaction of seeing his annoyer disabled to such a degree as to fall from the tree. But, though fallen, the bear was unconqucred still ; and, when no longer able to stand, the ferocious brute fought upon her haunches, like that redoubted soldier, who, When his legs were cutted off, did fight upon the stumps ! She kept the dog at bay, and parried the blows of her assailants, with a degree of skill not unworthy of a professional boxer. But her shaggy hide soon became the trophy of him whose cornfield she had measurably devastated." 268 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ROCHESTER. Iii 1810, Rochester was a desert. " The first allotments for a village were made in 1812 ; when Nathaniel Rochester, Charles H. Carroll, and William Fitzhurgh, surveyed the Hundred Acre Tract for settlement, under the name of Rochester. The above tract, according to the work al ready cited, was land which two men by the name of Plumps and Gorham deeded to Indian Allen in 1790, on considera tion of having a mill erected to accommodate the few settlers in the surrounding country. It was part of a larger tract of twelve by twenty-four miles, on the west side of the Genesee, which Phelps and Gorham had previously obtained from the Indians for the purpose of a mill-yard ! It had passed from Allen into the possession of Sir William Pultney, from the agent of whose estate (Charles Williamson) it was purchased in 1812, for $5 17 50 per acre, by the persons who thus made arrangements for founding a village upon it." " Two other tracts adjoining the mill-lot, and laid out also in 1812, together with a tract laid out in 1816, were in cluded with the primitive settlement in the boundaries as signed to Rochester by the law which created it a village in 1817. Some of the land on the east side of the Genesee, in Rochester, (the Hundred Acre Tract being on the west side,) was sold by Phelps and Gorham, in 1790, for eighteen pence an acre." "In 1813,* there were three houses built and occupied * It is related by the author of " Sketches of Rochester," as an evi dence of the condition of the place the above year, that the Xcnrcas here held, in the month of January, their feast of" Sncrijice and Thanks- gir<:ntr." It was indeed their hist the winding up of those pagan and unhallowed rites, which perhaps for centuries nad been observed of ferings to the god of this world, and evidence of the ignorance and de basement to which they had sunk. In a few years, on this very spot, the temples of the Living God would point their spires to heaven, and thousands within their consecrated walls would oiler the " sacrifice" of penitential sorrow for sin, and a song of ; thanksgiving" for deliver ance 1 from the bondage of the prince of darkness. The Author thus describes the ceremonial of the Senecas : " Preparations were made at the council-house, or other place of meet ing, for the accommodation of the tribe during the ceremonial. Nine days was the period, and two white dogs the number and kind of ani mals formerly required for the festival ; though in these latter days of reform and retrenchment, (for the prevailing spirit had reached even the wigwams and the altars of the Senecas.) the time has been curtailed to seven or five days, and a single dog was made the scape-goat to bear IN NORTH AMERICA. 269 ROCHESTER. on the west side of the river ; these, excepting a mill-race opened by Rochester &, Co., were the only improvements in these parts, during the above year. In the spring of 1814 the war between the United States and Great Britain being in progress Sir James Yeo, with a fleet of thirteen vessels, appeared off the mouth of the Geri- esee, threatening the destruction of the rude improvements in and around Rochester. Messengers were despatched to away the sin of the tribe ! Two dogs, as nearly white as could be pro cured, were usually selected from those belonging to the tribe ; and were carefully killed at the door of the council-house by means of strangulation ; for a wound in the animal or an affusion of blood would spoil the victim for the sacrificial purpose. The dogs were then fan tastically painted with various colors, decorated with feathers, and sus pended about twenty feet high, at the council-house or near the centre of the camp. The ceremonial is then commenced, and the five, seven, or nine days of its continuance are marked by feasting and dancing, as well as by sacrifice and consultation. Two select bands, one of men and another of women, ornamented with trinkets and feathers, and each person furnished with an ear of corn in the right hand, dance in a circle around the council-fire, which is kindled for the occasion, and regulate their steps by rude music. Hence they proceed to every wigwam in the camp ; and, in like manner, dance in a circle around each fire. Afterward, on another day, several men clothe themselves in the skins of wild beasts, cover their faces with hideous masks, and their hands with the shell of the tortoise, and in this garb they go among the wig wams, making horrid noises, taking the fuel from the fire, and scattering the embers and ashes about the floor, for the purpose of driving away evil spirits. The persons performing these operations are supposed not only to drive off the evil spirit, but to concentrate within themselves all the sins of the tribe. These sins are afterwards all transferred into one of their own number, who, by some magical dexterity or sleight-of-hand, works off from himself into the dogs the concentrated wickedness of the tribe ! The scape-goat dogs are then placed on a pile of wood, to which fire is applied, while the surrounding crowd throw tobacco or other incense upon the flame, the scent of which is deemed to co-operate with the sacrifice of the animals, in conciliating the favor of Nauwanew or the Great Spirit. When the dogs are partly consumed, one is taken off and put into a large kettle, with vegetables of various kinds, and all around devour the contents of the < reeking caldron. After this, the Indians perform the dances of war and peace, and smoke the calumet : then, free from wickedness, they repair to their respective places of abode, prepared for the events of the new year. " The wild spot where these pagan rites were performed only twenty- six years ago, has been transformed for the purposes of civili^d man, and is now surrounded or covered by some of the fairest mansions and the noblest temples of Western New York." Whence, one naturally asks, did the Senecas derive this ceremonial ? Could it be that it was handed down by tradition, through some untraceable channel, from the days of him who received the " ceremonial law" on the top of Sinai? 270 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ROCHESTER. arouse the people in the surrounding country, for defence against the threatened attack. " At this time, there were but thirty-three people in Roch ester capable of bearing arms. This little band threw up a breastwork called Fort Bender, near the Deep Hollow, be side the Lower Falls, and hurried down to the junction of the Genesee and lake Ontario, five miles north of the present city limits, where the enemy threatened to land ; leaving be hind them two old men, with some young lads, to remove the women and children into the woods, in case the British should attempt to land for the capture of the provisions, and destruction of the bridge at Rochester, &LC. Francis Brown and Elisha Ely acted as captains, and Isaac W. Stone, as Major, of the Rochester forces, which were strengthened by the additions that could be made from this thinly settled re gion. Though the equipments and discipline of these troops would not form a brilliant picture for a warlike eye, their very awkwardness in those points, coupled as it was with their sagacity and courage, accomplished more, perhaps, than could have been effected by a larger force of regular troops, bedizzened with the trappings of military pomp. The mili tia thus hastily collected were marched and countermarched, disappearing in the woods at one point, and suddenly emerg ing elsewhere, so as to impress the enemy with the belief that the force collected for defence was far greater than it ac tually was. (The circumstances here related are substan tially as mentioned to the writer by one who was then and is now a resident of Rochester.) An officer with a flag of truce was sent from the British fleet. A militia officer inarched down with ten of the most soldierlike men to re ceive him on Lighthouse Point. These militia men carried their guns upright, as might be consistent with their plan of being ready for action by keeping hold of the triggers ! The British officer was astonished : he looked unutterable things. Sir, said he, do you receive a flag of truce un der arms, with cocked triggers ? Excuse me, excuse me, sir: we backwoodsmen are not well versed in military tac tics, replied the American officer, who promptly sought to rectify his error by ordering his men to ground arms ! The Briton was still more astonished ; and, after delivering a brief message, immediately departed for the fleet, indicating by his countenance a suspicion that the ignorance of tactics, which he had witnessed, was all feigned for the occasion, so IN NORTH AMERICA. 271 ROCHESTER. as to deceive the British Commodore into a snare ! Shortly afterwards, on the same day, another officer came ashore with a flag of truce for farther parley, as the British were evident ly too suspicious of stratagem to attempt a hostile landing, if there was any possibility of compromising for the spoils. Capt. Francis Brown was deputed with a guard to receive- the last flag of truce. The British officer looked suspicious ly upon him and upon his guard ; and after some conversa tion, familiarly grasped the pantaloons of Capt. B. about the knee, remarking, as he firmly handled it, Your cloth is too good to be spoiled by such a bungling tailor, alluding to the width and clumsy aspect of that garment. Brown was quick witted, as well as resolute, and replied jocosely, that he was prevented from dressing fashionably by his haste* that morn ing, to salute such distinguished visiters ! The Briton ob viously imagined that Brown was a regular officer of the American army, whose regimentals were masked by clumsy over clothes. The proposition was then made, that, if the Americans would deliver up the provisions and military stores, which might be in and around Rochester, or Charlotte, Sir James Yeo would spare the settlements from destruction. Will you comply with the officer? Blood knee decpjirst! was the emphatic reply of Francis Brown. " While this parley was in progress, an American officer, with his staff, returning from the Niagara frontier, was acci dentally seen passing from one wooded point to another ; and this with other circumstances, afforded to the British, confirmation strong that their suspicions were well found ed ; that there was a considerable American army collected ; and that the Yankee officers pretended ignorance for the pur pose of entrapping ashore the Commodore and his forces ! The return of the last flag to the fleet was followed by a vig orous attack in bombs and balls, while the compliment was spiritedly returned, not without some effect on at least one of the vessels, by a rusty old six pounder, which had been furnished and mounted on a log for the important occasion. After a few hours spent in this unavailing manner, Admiral Yeo run down to Pultneyville, about 20 miles eastward of Genesee river, vvhere,on learning how they had been outwit ted and deterred from landing by such a handful of militia, their mortification could scarcely restrain all hands from a hearty laugh at the * Yankee trick. " 272 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ROCHKSTKR. On the close of the war, during which an effectual stop had been put to nearly every begun and certainly every con templated improvement, the courage, enterprise, and indus try of the interested again revived. "" In 1815, Hervey Ely, Josiah Bissell, and Elisha Ely, fin ished the red mill, (afterwards called the Hydraulic Build ing, and now burnt,) Samuel Hildreth, of Pittsford, com menced running a stage with a mail twice a week between Rochester and Canandaigua; and a private weekly mail route was established between Rochester and Lewiston, de pendent for support on the income of the post-offices on the route. "In 1816, the first religious society (Presbyterian) was formed, consisting of 16 members a small paper,called the Rochester Gazette, was commenced a mill-race was finish ed by Brown and Mum ford, and a cotton factory was com menced on the Frankfort Tract, a tavern was opened by Abelard Reynolds on the Hundred Acre Tract, Buffalo street a commencement was made in the business of pur chasing produce from the neighboring country. The popu lation, numbering 331 at the beginning of the year, was not ascertained at the close." The real prosperity of Rochester may be said to take date in 1817, at which time it was invested with village privileges by an act of the Legislature ; and so rapidly had it in creased by 1834, that it was deemed important to its welfare, to be erected into a city. Accordingly, this latter year, it received a charter. The first mayor was Jonathan Child, who, on the occasion of his inauguration, among other re marks, made the following on the growth and prosperity of the city : " The rapid progress which our place has made, from a wilderness to an incorporated city," said the Mayor, " author izes each of our citizens proudly to reflect upon the agency he has had in bringing about this great and interesting change. ROCHESTER, we all know, has had little aid in its permanent improvement from foreign capital. It has been settled and built, for the most part, by mechanics, and mer chants, whose capital was ECONOMY, INDUSTRY, and PERSE VERANCE. It is their labor and skill, which has converted a wilderness into a city; and to them, surely, this must be a day of pride and joy. They have founded and reared a city IN NORTH AMERICA. 273 ROCHESTKR. before they have passed the meridian of life. In other coun tries and times, the city of Rochester would have been the result of the labor and accumulations of successive genera tions ; but the MEN WHO FELLED THE FOREST, that grew on the spot where \ve are assembled, ARE SITTING AT THE COUN CIL BOARD OF OUR CITY. Well, then, may we indulge an honest pride, as we look back upon our history, and let the review elevate our hopes, and animate our exertions. To gether we have struggled through the hardships of an infant settlement, and the embarrassments of straitened circumstan ces ; and together let us rejoice and be happy, in the glorious reward that has crowned our labors." " The formation of religious institutions was commenced about the year 1816, when there were about 331 inhabitants, by the organization of a Church and the settlement of a cler gyman, Rev. Comfort Williams. The communicants of this first Church were but sixteen in number, and these were scattered about the country some of them residing on the Ridge Road in the town of Brighton and Greece. The first permanent religious edifices were erected about 1822, the three previously erected having been temporary buildings of wood. The few years which have passed since then have been wonderfully eventful in its ecclesiastical affairs. There are now not less than twenty-two religious societies, whose structures embellish the appearance of the city, while their spirituality extends a hallowed influence over its social relations. Seminaries and societies of value in literature and science, and Sabbath schools effecting much good with little means, indicate that there are here actively in opera tion such causes as have rendered New-England celebrated in the annals of education illustrious in the empire of the mind." The people of Rochester, appreciating the importance of education, as intimately connected with the order, industry, an-d morality of their city, have with laudable zeal and on a liberal scale, furnished the means of intellectual improve ment. There is the Rochester High School the Roches ter Female Academy the Alexander Street Female Semi nary, each of which has a handsome and commodious build ing, and able and accomplished instructors besides which there are eighteen select schools, and thirteen common 18 274 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES KOCHF.STEK. schools, and not less than twenty Sabbath schools. The benefits of the higher schools are taken advantage of by the surrounding country, and pupils even from Canada resort here for instruction. " The business of Rochester may be estimated by a few facts. This city is interested by a larger extent than any other in the carrying trade of the Erie canal, the great thoroughfare between the seaboard and the inland waters. About one half of the whole amount of stock in all the trans portation liues on that water way is owned or controlled by its citizens. Rochester is to the canal what Buffalo is to the lakes. The staple product is remarkable for its quanti ty as well as quality. The celebrity of the Genesee wheat is increased by the skill with which it is here prepared for market. Rochester is already, not merely the best, but the largest flour manufactory in the world. " In various departments of manufactures, such as edge tools, carpeting, fire-engines, firearms, cloths, leather, paper, pianos, &,c., considerable energy is manifested. " The style of the structures, public and private, is indica tive of the good sense and correct taste of the citizens. It may readily be inferred, that among a people so prosperous in business of such varied and important character, the com forts of good dwellings and tastefully arranged premises are largely appreciated and enjoyed. A degree of architectural taste and solid construction has been strikingly evinced in most of the larger dwellings erected within a few years past. The smaller buildings, which men of moderate means are en couraged to erect through the facilities of obtaining suitable materials, are generally neat and comfortable. Instead of wooden buildings, such as might be expected in a newly set tled wooden country, buildings cheaply erected and serving well enough perhaps for a generation, the congre gations have generally preferred to erect massive edifices, chiefly of stone distinguished for size end beauty as well as solidity. " The public edifices and most of the manufactories and stores are erected of stone or brick. The law has for some years forbidden the construction of wooden buildings within certain limits ; arid care is used to render fire proof some of the most valuable structures. IN NORTH AMERICA. 275 ROCHESTER. " The immense facilities, for trade and intercourse fur nished to Rochester by canals and rail roads, and the benefits flowing from the navigation of the Genesee river, and lake On tario, may be estimated by any one who is capable of compre hending the range of improvement now in progress, as well as that already completed. Within three years, if not in two, chains of rail roads will be completed so as to unite Rochester in that way, with the Atlantic, and with a vast territory in the west. The enlargement of the Erie canal, and the construction of the Genesee Valley canal, to be completed in three or four years, will form a new era in our prosperous history giving invaluable impulses to all branch es of our business. The works of the general government for improving our intercourse by steamboats with Ontario, have rendered the Port of Rochester an excellent harbor for the largest vessel of the lakes, and will soon be completed at an additional cost of about $ 160,000. The great aque duct, with its appendages, for the enlarged Erie canal across the Genesee," will also be completed in a couple of years, at an expense to the state of nearly half a million of dollars. The works on all the important improvements now connected with the city, will incidentally prove of great value in various ways." We have not yet spoken of the natural advantages which have most essentially contributed to the sudden and deep rooted prosperity of Rochester. THE WATER POWER OF THE GENESEE may be considered illimitable for all practical pur poses, when we view the facilities for employing it to the great est advantage. It may be used at various points along the banks, on both sides of the river, for a space of two miles, between the north and south lines of the city. Within that distance, the aggregate amount of the different falls and rapids of the Genesee is about 260 feet, or a hundred feet more than the perpendicular height of Niagara falls.* * " Calculations have been made that the quantity of water generally passing in the Genesee river at Rochester, is about 20,000 cubic feet per minute. The water power has also been estimated as equal to about two thousand steam engines of twenty horse power ; and, esti mating horse power as valued in England, it has been computed that the hydraulic privileges a.t Rochester may be made worth ten millions of dollars per annum. Those who made their calculations more than a dozen years ago, did not include more than one half the fall within the IN NORTH AMERICA. 277 ROCHESTER. On these falls and rapids are many large flou ring-mills, not surpassed in the world, and numerous other hydraulic works. It is estimated that, independent of the capital invest ed in the construction of these mills, it requires $2,000,000 annually to keep them in operation, and that they produce annually to the amount of $3,500,000. Rochester is finely situated for commerce. Vessels come up the Genesee .river from Lake Ontario to Carthage, two and a half miles below the centre of the city, where steamboats arrive and depart daily, and to which there is a railroad from the city. The river is beatable above the city for forty-five miles to Mount Morris. The Erie canal passes centrally through the city, giving it access on the east to Albany, and thence by the Hudson river to New York city ; and west to Buffalo, and thence to the upper lakes and the various regions connected with them by canals. The chain of railroads from Boston to Buffalo passes through it, and gives it a ready access to both these places, and to all others on the route. These facilities for transportation have completed the advantages derived from its immense water-power and the eminently rich agricultural region by which it is surrounded. city limits for the city includes double the amount of fall, which was contained within the village limits. So that, even by the calculations heretofore made, the value of our water power might be estimated at about double what was formerly stated. But the increased skill with which the water privileges are now being improved the extent of the fall permitting the water to be used over and over again, in some cases three or four times on the same lot, if required renders idle all calcula- lations of specific value. With falls and rapids causing a descent of 260 feet within the city limits, the water power of the Genesee at Rochester may, for all practical purposes, be considered ILLIMITABLE. " The greatest flood ever known in the Genesee river, occurred in the fall of 1835. Nothing equal to it has occurred within the knowledge of the earliest settlers in Rochester and its vicinity. Although it was unprecedented, it may find frequent parallels ; for, as the country becomes better cleared, the water (from the rain or thawing snow) will more suddenly find its way to the river than could be the case from wild land. The influence exercised on the character of many streams by the improvements of the country, is a subject worthy of attention. " The greatness of the flood of 1835 may be inferred from the fact, that the quantity of water which then passed, was estimated at two mil lions one hundred a,nd sixty-four thousand cubic feet per minute ! Im agination may picture better than pen describe the foaming and roaring of such a mighty flood washing over rapids and falls, forming at Roches ter a descent about one hundred feet higher than the perpendicular pitch of Niagara." Sketches of Rochester. 278 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES Rochester will one day be, in respect to Western New York, what New York herself is to Eastern. Indeed, we may now inquire using the language of the book which has enabled us to spread out so charming a view of the thrift and prosperity of the place " What citizen of Rochester can find any cause for envying the growth or prosperity of any other city, either Down East/ or in the Far West? " The population of Rochester in 1850 was 30,403. BUFFALO. Buffalo is situated at the east end of lake Erie, and at the head of Niagara river. " As one approaches the city," ob serves Mr. Greenwood, " a wide spread sheet of water opens to the sight. If the traveller has never seen the ocean, he may here imagine that he sees it. If he has, he will say that it is a sea view that lies before him. As he looks to the west, the horizon only bounds the liquid expanse ; and it is not till he descends to the shore, and marks the peculiar quiet and exact level of the even and sleeping lake, that he will find any thing to remind him that he is not on the coast of the salt and swelling sea." Buffalo is west of Albany 284 miles, and distant from Washington 376. Like Rochester, it is of recent origin. In 1814, during the late war, it was entirely destroyed by the British, excepting a single house that of a widow lady. This destruction was by way of retaliation, for the burning of Newark, in Upper Canada, by the Americans. At this time, however, it contained only about 100 houses. Its prosperity dates since the completion of the Erie canal ; and, from that completion, its prosperity has been rapid and surprising. Rochester has, indeed, outstripped it; but from its position, it is designed to increase, forming as it does, ;m<l as it must continue to be, the grand emporium of the lake commerce. The Buffalo creek affords mill sites of great importance, and a canal has lately been formed from the falls to the town, on which are important hydraulic works. The harbor of Buffalo is furnished with a lighthouse at the entrance, and has been much improved by art. For merly, the sand of the lake washed in, and obstructed its IN NORTH AMERICA. 279 mouth ; this has been in a measure prevented by the con struction of a pier extending into the lake 1000 feet. Buf falo is a place of great life, enterprise, and activity. Its harbor is thronged with steamboats, and all manner of water craft, as its streets are with travellers, emigrants, and men of business. Lines of steamboats connect this place with De troit and Cleaveland, touching at the intervening ports. Thousands and ten thousands of emigrants, travellers, and men of business, enter Buffalo, and depart on board her steamboats for the " far west ;" while a vast amount of pro duce is shipped westward, and thousands of bushels of wheat, and barrels of flour, and other articles, are sent eastward by the Erie canal. The main street of Buffalo runs along the ridge of the hill, which overlooks lake Erie, and is ornamented with sev eral fine blocks of brick stores, handsome dwelling houses, together with several public buildings. The Eagle Hotel is a noble building, finished in the best style. Several of the churches are handsome structures, and present a fine appear ance. A large piece of ground has been left in the middle of the town for a public square. A walk has also been laid out on the brow of the hill towards the lake. This is called the Terrace, and affords a charming view of the lake, the harbor, and the canal to Black Rock. The canal to Black Rock lies along the shore of the lake. About half a mile from Buffalo, while the workmen were en gaged in the process of excavation, they struck upon a bed of old and half decayed trees. Into this bed they penetrated to the depth of six feet, and along a line of nearly half a mile. In many of the trees and branches was found the grain of the wood in a state of preservation. But the greater part was a black mass of matter, which, on being dried, burnt with great readiness. In some places ashes and coals were found ; and some of the logs appeared to have been washed and rolled by the waters of the lake before they were buried.* Black Rock, where terminates the canal in a basin, is a pleasant village, situated on the margin of Niagara river, three miles from Buffalo. For a few years, it was very flourishing, while it was expected to become an important * Northern Traveller. 280 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BUFFALO. place ; but the capital and business have since been transferred chiefly to Buffalo. The population of Buffalo in 1850 was 42,261. Situated as Buffalo is, it is apparent that it enjoys advan tages, to which but few western towns for many years will probably be able to lay claim. It is, and is likely to remain, a grand point of communication between the Atlantic and the lakes. By the great canal, it communicates with New York ; by the Welland and Rideau canals, with lake Onta rio and Montreal ; and by lake Erie and the Erie and Ohio canal, with the Ohio and Mississippi valley. Near Buffalo is the " Seneca Reservation" a valuable tract of land, guaranteed to the Senecas, the westernmost tribe in the confederacy of the Five Nations. They were formerly considered the most numerous and powerful tribe, and preserved their superiority until the fatal defeat they re ceived from General Schuyler, in 1778, since which they have made a less conspicuous figure. In a small log house, in a retired situation, about four miles from Buffalo, there lived a few years since, lied Jacket, a chief more famous, perhaps, than any other belonging to this tribe. During the Revolutionary war, Red Jacket was opposed to the Americans, as was his tribe. In 1784, however, a treaty was made with some of the Six Nations at a council held at Fort Stanwix. At that council, Lafayette was present. During his late visit to the United States, he saw Red Jacket at Buffalo. The latter reminded the General of the above council. " And where," asked Lafayette, " is the young warrior, who so eloquently opposed the burying of the tomahawk?" "He is before you," answered the chief. " Ah ! " he added with a melancholy air, and strip ping off a handkerchief from his bald head, " Time has made bad work with me but you, I perceive," and here he narrowly reconnoitered the General s wig " You have hair enough left yet ! " A few years subsequent to the negotiation referred to on this occasion, Red Jacket had an interview with General Washington, who gave him a silver medal, which he wore ever afterwards, and is said to have named him " the Flower of the Forest." But the Senecas were again hostile soon GENERAL SCHUYLER. 282 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES afterwards, and it was only at the expense of an expedition, which ravaged their territory far and wide, that this haughty people were at length subdued into any thing like a state of composure. Red Jacket is believed to have been second to none of his countrymen in his opposition to the American interest, down to that period ; but a peace was granted upon liberal terms some complaints of the Indians were adjusted a system of protection was devised for their benefit and thenceforth, both they and he were quite friendly in most in stances, and faithful to their engagements in all.* Red Jacket was distinguished for his oratorical powers. Once, when some inquiries were made respecting his deeds of blood, which are sometimes supposed to constitute the char acter of an Indian, he exclaimed " A Warrior ! I am an Orator ! I was born an Orator ! " Red Jacket always strenuously opposed the introduction of Christianity among hjs tribe. On a certain occasion, a council of his tribe was convened at Buffalo, at the request of a missionary from Massachusetts, with a view of recom mending himself to them in his religious capacity. The missionary made a speech to the Indians, explaining to them the objects for which they had come together, in conclusion of which, he wished to hear their objections, if they had any to make. Having spent some time in consultation among themselves, Red Jacket expressed the result in a speech, as follows : " Friend and brother ! "he began " It was the will of the Great Spirit that we should meet together this day. He orders all things, and he has given us a fine day for our coun cil, lie has taken his garment from before the sun, and caused it to shine with brightness upon us. Our eyes are opened that we see clearly. Our ears are unstopped that we have been able to hear distinctly the words you have spoken. For all these favors we thank the Great Spirit, and him only. " Brother ! This council fire was kindled by you. It was at your request that we came together at this time. We have listened w ith attention to what you have said. You re quested us to speak our minds freely. This gives us gre,at joy, for we now consider that we stand upright before you, * Thatcher s Indian Biography. IN NORTH AMERICA. 283 and can speak what we think. All have heard your voice, and all speak to you as one man. Our minds are agreed. " Brother ! You say you want an answer to your talk before you leave this place. It is right you should have one, as you are a great distance from home, and we do not wish to detain you. But we will first look back a little, and tell you what our fathers have told us, and what we have heard from the white people. " Brother ! Listen to what we say. There was a time when our forefathers owned this great island.* Their seats extended from the rising to the setting sun. The Great Spirit had made it for the use of Indians. He had created the buffalo, the deer, and other animals for food. He made the bear and the beaver, and their skins served us for clothing. He had scattered them over the country, and taught us how to take them. He had caused the earth to produce corn for bread. All this he had done for his red children, because he loved them. If we had any disputes about hunting grounds, they were generally settled without the shedding of much blood. But an evil day came upon us. Your fore fathers crossed the great waters, and landed on this island. Their numbers were small. They found friends and not en emies. They told us they had fled from their own country, for fear of wicked men, and had come here to enjoy their religion. They asked for a small seat. We took pity on them, granted their request, and they sat down amongst us. We gave them corn and meat. They gave us poisont in return. The white people had now found our country. Tidings were carried back, and more came amongst us. Yet we did not fear them. We took them to be friends. They called us brothers. We believed them, and gave them a larger seat. At length their numbers had greatly increased. TMiey wanted more land. They wanted our country. Our eyes were opened, and our minds became uneasy. Wars took place. Indians were hired to fight against Indians, and many of our people were destroyed. They also brought strong liquors among us. It was strong and powerful, and has slain thousands. " Brother ! Our seats were once large, and yours were * Meaning the Continent a common belief and expression among the Indians. t Spirituous liquor. 284 TRAVELS AN 7 D SKETCHES very small. You have now become a great people, and we have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets. You have got our country, but are not satisfied. You want to force your religion upon us. " Brother ! Continue to listen. You say that you are sent to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit, agreea bly to his mind ; and if we do not take hold of the religion which you white people teach, we shall be unhappy hereaf ter. You say that you are right, and we are lost. How do we know this to be true? We understand that your religion is written in a book. If it was intended for us as well as for you, why has not the Great Spirit given it to us ; and not only to us, but why did he not give to our forefathers the knowledge of that book, with the means of understanding it rightly? We only know what you tell us about it. How shall we know when to believe, being so often deceived by the white people ? " Brother ! You say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it ? Why not all agree, as you can all read the book? " Brother ! We do not understand these things. We are told that your religion was given to your forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. W T e also have a re ligion, which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us, their children. We worship that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we receive, to love each other, and to be united. We never quarrel about religion. "Brother! The Great Spirit has made us all. But he has made a great difference between his white and red chil dren. He has given us a different complexion and different customs. To you he has given the arts; to these he has r/bt opened our eyes. We know these things to be true. Since he has made so great a difference between us in other things, why may we not conclude that he has given us a dif ferent religion, according to our understanding 1 The Great Spirit does right. He knows what is best for his children. We are satisfied. " Brother ! We do not wish to destroy your religion, or take it from you. We only want to enjoy our own. " Brother ! You say you have not come to get our land or our money, but to enlighten our minds. I will now tell IN NORTH AMERICA. 285 you that I have been at your meetings, and saw you collect ing money from the meeting. I cannot tell what this money was intended for, but suppose it was for your minister ; and if we should conform to your way of thinking, perhaps you may want some from us. " Brother ! We are told that you have been preaching to white people in this place. These people are our neighbors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while, and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, and makes them honest, and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again what you have said. " Brother ! You have now heard our answer to your talk, and tliis is all we have to say at present. As we are going to part, we will come and take you by the hand, and hope the Great Spirit will protect you on your journey, and return you safe to your friends." This was emphatically a pagan speech; but, independent of the lamentable hostility evinced towards Christianity, there were embodied in it not a few solemn and pointed truths. On another occasion it is related that a young cler gyman attempted to enlighten this chief through the medium of an Indian interpreter, named Jack Berry, for Red Jacket, though he understood the English language, was ever re luctant to speak it. " Brother ! " said Jack, in behalf of the chief, " if you white people murdered the Saviour, make it up yourselves. We had nothing to do with it. If he had come among us, we should have treated him better." During the last war with England, Col. Snelling, a gallant officer of the American army, stationed on the Niagara frontier, shewed some peculiarly gratifying attentions to Red Jacket. The former being, soon afterwards, ordered to Governor s Island, the chief came to bid him farewell. " Brother," said he, " I hear you are going to a place called Governor s Island. I hope you will be a governor yourself. I am told you whites consider children a blessing. I hope you will have one thousand at least. Above all, wherever you go, I hope you will never find whiskey more than two shillings a quart." During the concluding years of Red Jacket s life, he be came a victim to intemperance. In consequence of his 286 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES habits, in 1827 he was deprived of his civil rank, by his na tion. Subsequently, however, he was restored to his former rank, in consequence, it is said, of an address he made in a council of chiefs, marked with all the fire and eloquence of his better days. He visited the Atlantic cities for the last time, as late as the spring of 1829. He was now more than 70 years of age. Years had done much to waste the vigor of his con stitution, but intemperance more. " He died in January, 1830, at the Seneca Village, near Buffalo, where his funeral took place on the 21st of the month. It was attended by all parties of his own tribe, and by many Americans, drawn to gether by a curiosity to witness the obsequies. His body was removed from his cabin into the mission house, where religious services were performed. In these the pagans took but little interest. Wrapped in profound and solemn thought, they, however, patiently awaited their termination. Some of them arose, and successively addressed their coun trymen in their own language. They recounted the exploits and virtues of him, whose remains they were now about to bear to his last home. They remembered his own prophetic appeal" Who shall take my place among my people?" They thought of the ancient glory of their nation ; and they looked around them on its miserable remnant. The im pression was irresistible. Tears trickled down the cheeks of the grave comrades of the dead. " Well might they weep! He that lay before them was indeed the last of the Senecas. The strong warrior s arm was mouldering in the dust, and the eye of the orator was cold and motionless forever."* * Thatcher s Indian Biography. NEW JERSEY. TRENTON, TRENTON was founded a few years prior to 1720, by an enterprising trader of the name of William Trent, after whom the place was named. Previously to his settlement, the place bore the name of Littlcworth, indicative, probably, of the little estimation in which it was held. In 1748, the Swedish traveller Kalm visited this place ; he represents it as a long, narrow town, containing about 100 houses. At that time, the principal occupation of the inhabitants was the transportation of passengers and goods from Philadelphia to New York, or from the latter to the former place. Vessels called yachts plied between Tren ton and Philadelphia. Each passenger paid one and six pence, besides a charge for his baggage. Provision was made by the traveller for his own support during the pas sage. Trenton was incorporated in 1792. It is the capital of the State, and is situated on the east bank of the Delaware, at the head of steamboat and sloop navigation. It is 60 miles south-west of New York; 30 north of Philadelphia; and 166 north-east of Washington. The town is of consid erable size and importance. The principal streets are regu larly laid out, and contain many handsome houses, and nu merous stores. The Delaware and Raritan canal, extending from Trenton to New Brunswick, crosses the city, and is here joined by a feeder, which enters the river above the falls. These falls afford water power for extensive manufac turing privileges. The villages of Mill-hill, Bloomsbury, and Lamberton, ex- tending a mile and a half down the Delaware, are suburbs of the city, and, with Trenton proper, contain 1,000 houses and 6,000 inhabitants. The population of the city is about 4,000. The Philadelphia steamboats ply daily between that city 287 288 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES and Trenton one from Lamberton,and others from Blooms- bury. Stages run three times a day by the rail road to New- York and Philadelphia. For some years, Trenton was far from being in a flourish ing state ; but recently, new life has been imparted to the business and enterprise of the place the population is some what increasing, and an air of thrift and industry pervades the city. In 1850 the population was 6,406. Trenton is memorable in the annals of the Revolutionary war for the capture, on the 25th of December, 1776, of 1000 Hessians, by the Americans, with the loss of scarcely a man on their side. This victory was the more remarkable, as it was effected at a period in the American war, when the British cause seemed to be triumphant on every side, and the loyalists were anticipating triumph to themselves, and a speedy ter mination in their favor, of the contest in which they were engaged. General Washington had been compelled to abandon Long Island, and to retire from New York. Forts Wash ington and Lee had been surrendered, with a garrison of between two and three thousand men. From White Plains, Washington had been obliged to retreat to Newark, and from this latter place to Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton, and from Trenton to the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware, while the pursuit of the enemy was so much urged, that the rear of the American army was often in sight of the proud and pursuing foe. Every day seemed to usher in some new calamity, and the cause of America appeared to be hasten ing to irretrievable ruin. The most discreet no longer dis sembled that the close of the war was at hand, and that the hour was come, in which the colonies were about to resume the yoke. " In the midst of this gloom and depression, Washington alone was not discouraged. His constancy was an object of admiration. Far from betraying any symptoms of hesita tion or fear, he showed himself to his dejected soldiers, with a serene countenance, and radiant, as it were, with a certain hope of a better fortune." It was apparent, however, to him, that a crisis had arrived, when by some bold and well directed movement, his waning fortune must, if possible, be 19 IN NORTH AMERICA. 291 retrieved one by which a strong and exulting foe should re ceive a sufficient check to give time to the fallen countenances of the Americans to rise once more, and their hopes to take the place of despondency and discouragement. On looking round upon the different points where portions of the British army were stationed, his eye fell upon Trenton, where Colo nel Ralle, a Hessian officer of great merit, was cantoned, with his brigade of infantry, and a detachment of English dragoons, the whole consisting of a corps of 1400 or 1500 men. This division he determined to attack, and in order to make his attack with more order and effect, he divided his army, which consisted almost entirety of the Militia of Pennsylvania and Virginia, into three corps, the first and most considerable of which was to pass the Delaware, at Mackenky s ferry, about nine miles above Trenton. The Commander in Chief, accompanied by Generals Sullivan and Greene, had reserved to himself the conduct of this corps, to which a few pieces of artillery were attached. It was des tined to attack Trenton. The second division, under the command of General Irwin, was directed to cross at Tren ton ferry, about a mile below the village of this name, and having reached the left bank, to seize, without loss of time, the bridge over the river Assumpink, in order to intercept the retreat of the enemy, when he should be dislodged from Trenton, by the division under Washington. Finally, the third corps, commanded by General Cadvvallader, was order ed to pass the river at Bristol, and proceed to take post at Burlington. The night of Christmas was appointed for the expedition. The dispositions being made, according to the plan above mentioned, the Americans proceeded with ad mirable order and silence towards the Delaware. The chiefs exhorted their soldiers to be firm and valiant, to wash out the stains of Long Island, of New York, and of New Jersey ; they represented to them the necessity, the glory and the brilliant fruits of victory ; they incessantly reminded them that this night was about to decide the fate of their country. An extreme ardor manifested itself throughout their ranks. The three columns arrived in the dusk of the evening at the bank of the river. Washington had hoped that the passage of the troops, and transportation of artillery, might have been effectuated before midnight, so as to have time to reach the destined points by break of day, and to 292 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES surprise the enemy at Trenton. But the cold was so intense, and the river so obstructed with floating ice, that it was im possible to cross and to land the artillery earlier than four in the morning. All the troops having at length gained the left bank, the first corps was parted into two divisions, one of which, turning to the right, inarched towards Trenton, by the road which lies along the river ; the other, guided by Washington in person, took the upper or Pennington road. The distance, by either route, being nearly equal, it was hoped that the two columns might arrive at the same time. It was enjoined them to engage in combat without any delay, and after having driven in the outposts, to fall immediately upon the main body of the enemy, at Trenton, without giving him time to recover from his surprise. They exerted all their efforts to arrive before day ; but the thick fog, and a mist mingled with sleet, which rendered the road slippery, re tarded their march. The two divisions, however, readied Trenton at eight o clock. Notwithstanding so many ob stacles, and the hour already so late, the Hessians of Col onel Ralle had no suspicion of the approach of the en emy."* Colonel Ralle, however, did what he was able. Hastily drawing out his Hessians, he advanced to encounter the enemy in the open field : but lie was mortally wounded in the first onset ; and the Americans charging the Germans with great fury, the latter betook themselves to flight, leaving upon the field six pieces of light artillery. They attempted to escape by the road of Princeton, but Washington per ceiving their design, despatched several companies to pre occupy the road, who received the fugitives in front. Thus surrounded on every side, the German regiments of Ralle, of Anspach, and of Knyphausen, were constrained to lay down their arms, and surrender at discretion. The loss ui the Hessians, in killed and wounded, amounted to only thirty or forty ; but the number of prisoners was at first upwards of nine hundred, and even exceeded one thousand, wiien alJ those were collected who had concealed themselves in the houses. Washington soon after marched his prisoners to Philadel phia, where through the streets of the city they were pa- * Botta. 294 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES TRENTON. raded with a sort of triumphal poinp, followed by their arms and banners. This victory of Trenton was properly the salvation of America. It was the turning point from depression to ele vation from retreat to pursuit from discomfiture to victory. From this time, the spirit of the nation was roused confidence was restored and, in the sequel, the reign of tyranny was terminated, and that of liberty established. At Princeton the British suffered another defeat, which con siderably aided the effect of the battle of Trenton. Cornwallis, in a rapid inarch towards the latter place, had left Lieutenant Colonel Mawhood with three regiments at Princeton. General , Washington approached Princeton towards daybreak on the morning of the od of January. At that time Colonel Maw- hood had begun to advance towards Maidenhead, along a road to the left of that by which the Americans approached. His advanced guard discovered the Americans and thus prevented a surprise. The British rushed forward. The Americans quailed before the first shock, and became disordered; when Washington hurried to the front, and by his daring position directly in front of the enemy, and exposed to their tire, re called his men to their duty. They wheeled about, and both parties fired while Washington was between them; but he was unhurt. The conflict then became obstinate and general. But the Americans were at length victorious. The enemy were routed, sixty killed, many wounded, and three hundred made prisoners. The remainder escaped to Brunswick and Trenton. The Americans lost the gallant General Mercer, and had about ninety men killed or wounded. PENNSYLVANIA. PHILADELPHIA. PRIOR to the Revolution, Philadelphia ranked as the first city in the American colonies, in point of population, wealth, and importance ; and as the seat of the first Congress, it claimed the honors of a capital. These, it has been com pelled to surrender to the Federal City, while New York has outstripped it as a commercial emporium, both in its ton nage, and its population. In the amount of its shipping, Philadelphia is now the third city in the Union; in popula tion, the second ; but, in the variety, extent, and excellence of its manufactures, it is still the first. Boston has been styled " the literary capital " of the United States, so far as regards native publications, although the reprinting of European works is carried on to a greater extent in Philadel phia. If the former city was " the cradle of the Revolution," the latter was its nursery. New York has been called the American London ; Boston the Liverpool, (it might rather be styled the Edinburgh,) of America: but Philadelphia can be compared to no English or European city. In its archi tectural plan, it is unique ; in its heterogeneous and motley population, its character is properly and truly American. By some travellers, Philadelphia has been said to be less distin guished for the hospitality of its inhabitants than some other cities, and therefore a less agreeable and cheerful residence for a stranger. This is the statement of both Mr. Duncan, and Mr. Howisori ; but Capt. Basil Hall says, " the greatest pleasure of its inhabitants appears to lie in giving a hearty and most hospitable reception to strangers," properly in troduced." All, however, unite on the other hand, that the Philadelphians are distinguished for their quietness, piety, and morality. The higher classes are said to be better informed and more refined in their manners, than those of New York, and entertain fewer national prejudices. If less ardent and sprightly, they are also less versatile and factious than those of Boston. The lower ranks,"says Mr. Howison, "appear 295 IN NORTH AMERICA. 297 PHILADELPHIA. to have a remarkable respect for religion and propriety of con duct ; and I believe that crimes and violations of law are more rare in Philadelphia, than in any other city of equal population in the world. " No two cities within a hundred miles of each other, re marks the traveller just cited, can differ more than New York and Philadelphia. " The latter has far less appear ance of bustle in it, than the former ; and the people one sees in its streets are even more sedate and respectable in their looks, than the same class of persons in New York. Philadelphia contains no street that equals Broadway, in splendor and variety, but it possesses some superior in regu larity and elegance. Chestnut street, which is the finest and most fashionable part of the city, comprehends many divisions that will bear a comparison with the best parts of the New Town of Edinburgh ; and the interior of the houses is pro- portionably tasteful and commodious. The High street is the great place of business ; and in it is a market which, I suppose, for the quantity and variety of articles it affords, is not exceeded by any in the world, being about half a mile in length/ The position of Philadelphia, although not equal to that of New York, is well chosen, and unites many natural ad vantages. The city stands upon an isthmus about two miles wide, between the Delaware and the Schuylkill, five miles above their confluence, and 126 miles from the sea. Its port is excellent, although liable to the inconvenience of being occasionally shut for a few weeks in the winter by the ice, notwithstanding that it lies under the parallel of 39 57 N. This interruption of its communication with the sea, occurs less frequently, however, than formerly, and lasts for a shorter time ; and as the surrounding country becomes cleared of its forests, the severity of the winter, there is reason to believe, will be to a still further degree mitigated.* The course of the two rivers at the city, is very nearly N and S., but, almost immediately above, they diverge, the Del aware bending to the N. E., and the Schuylkill to the N. W., thus materially facilitating the commercial commu nication with the interior of the State, and with New Jer- * Modern Traveller. 298 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. sey. Both rivers are navigable up to the city, by the largest merchantmen. The Delaware is here about a mile in width ; the tide rises and falls about six feet, and vessels of about 1200 tons can come up to the wharfs. It is naviga ble by large sloops, and steamboats to Trenton, about 30 miles above. The Schuylkill, although, above the city, comparatively shallow and disturbed by rapids, was always navigable by small vessels and rafts to a considerable dis tance ; and through the spirited exertions of a company formed in 1815, the navigation has been so greatly im proved and artificially extended, that boats loaded with pro duce ascend to the coal-mines of Mount Carbon, beyond the Blue Mountains, a distance of 110 miles, 64 of which are canal, overcoming a fall of 588 feet, by means of 28 dams, and 120 locks: A branch undertaken by the Union Canal Com pany, connects the Susquehanna with the Schuylkill at Read ing. The first appearance of the city, stretching along the bank of the Delaware " in magnificent extent," Mr. llowi- son thought " very imposing." Ships of every description are seen at anchor in the river, and give the city a commer cial and busy aspect. Mr. Duncan, (who visited it in 1818,) says : " The appearance of the city from the river is by no means imposing ; rather the opposite. The ground is gen erally level, and the mass of buildings presents a dull, heavy uniformity. Most of those along the bank are by no means elegant, and only a solitary steeple rises above the dense horizon." Thus travellers differ ; less widely, however, in meaning, than in words ; for, while there is nothing imposing, in the sense of deceptive, in the first view of the city, nothing picturesque- in its site, nor magnificent in its architectural character, it is very conceivable that its " un broken aggregate of buildings," with all the signs of mer cantile wealth and bustle, must derive a sort of grandeur from its very extent and from the ideas connected with the moving scene. " The aspect of the city, however," continues Mr. Dun can, " improves amazingly when you enter the streets, which are wide, straight, and clean, and, with only one exception, cross each other at right angles. The houses are generally of painted brick ; but some of the more modern have a flight of marble steps in front ; and the lintels of the doors and 300 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. windows, and even the sidewalk in front, are of the same beautiful materials."* When Perm laid out the ground for his city, he intended tint it should occupy a parallelogram, one mile in width, between the two rivers, and that the buildings should be kept within the parallel lines, till the intervening space was filled. But the inhabitants found that the bank of the Dela ware was a more desirable situation than that of the Schuyl kill ; and, in consequence, buildings have stretched along the former river, above and below the assigned boundary, till the city is hvre about four miles long, while upon the Schuylkill they extend but half that distance. By a singular governmental arrangement, Philadelphia is divided into the City Proper, and the districts of Southwark, Moytmensing, Northern Liberties, Kensington, Spring Garden, Perm, and West Philadelphia, each of which has its own municipal government. " Market street, 100 feet wide, stretches through the cen tre of the city, from the one river to the other ; it is crossed rather nearer the Schuylkill than midway, by Broad street, 113 feet wide, and the other streets are at right angles to one or other of these. The cross streets are from 50 to (50 feet wide. Those running parallel to the rivers are, with a quaker-like simplicity, (which, however, affords a stranger * Duncan s Travels. t " The venerable elm, under which, according to tradition, Penn ne gotiated his celebrated treaty with the Indians, stood at Kensington ; and the decayed trunk, after being spared by the British army in the Revo lutionary war, and weathering many a hard gale, was at last levelled a few years ago in a hurricane. Portions of it are now eagerly sought af ter by relic hunters, to be converted, like the Cruickstone Yew, and the rafters of Alloway Kirk, into snuff boxes and other toys. I lately discovered in an old Baltimore newspaper, what is said to be a copy of Penn s treaty ; it is in the form of an indenture, and the following are the articles which it specifies as having been given to the Indians., in ex change for the ground between the two rivers. * as far as a man can ride in two days with a horse : 20 guns, 20 fathoms matchcoat, 20 fathoms stroudwater. 20 blankets, 20 kettles, 20 pounds powder, 100 bars lead, 40 tomahawks, 100 knives, 40 pairs stockings, 1 barrel beer, 20 pounds red lead, 100 fathoms wampurn, 30 glass bottles, 30 pewter spoons, 100 awl-blades, 300 tobacco pipes. 100 hands tobacco, 20 tobacco tongs, 20 steels, 300 flints, 30 pairs scissors, 30 combs, 60 looking glasses, 200 needles, 1 skipple salt, 30 pounds sugar, 5 gallons molasses, 20 tobacco boxes, 100 jews-harps. 20 hoes, 30 gimblets, 30 wooden screw boxes, 100 strings of beads. This curious document does not appear in Clark- son s Life of Penn." M< use s Picture of Philadelphia. IN NORTH AMERICA. 301 PHILADELPHIA. important facilities in finding his way,) named Nortli and South, Front, Second, Third, Fourth, and so on, as they recede from each river. Those parallel to Market street are, with more elegance, named after the various kinds of timber with which the ground was formerly covered ; Vine, Sassafras, Mulberry, Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce, Pine, and Cedar. Water street, between Front street and the Delaware, which should have been called Mud lane, and the wharfs project into the stream, are deviations from the original plan of the city. Dock street, the only crooked one in the city, was originally the bed of the sluggish stream, which generated noxious air, and was a few years ago arched over." Not many wooden houses are now to be seen in the streets ; the greater part were extirpated by fires, which, on different occasions, spread dreadful havoc; and since 179(5, their erection has been prohibited. The sidewalks are wide and less encumbered than those of New York. Many of them are skirted with fine shade trees. In hot weather, numer ous awnings are stretched along in front of the stores, the foot walks are cooled by frequent ablutions with water, and the atmosphere has a freshness and purity very uncommon in so large a city. Market street, which, to correspond to its situation, should have been the most elegant in the city, is disfigured by a long, covered piazza in the centre, of the plainest pos sible appearance, under which the venders of meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruit, earthen arid wooden ware, expose their commodities for sale ; and on either side are carts and wheelbarrows, loaded with additional supplies. Upon the whole, however, the streets are much superior to the mass of those in New York, although, individually, not one of them c:m be compared with Broadway, nor is there a walk or a prospect equal to what the Battery affords. Philadelphia abounds in public buildings, which attract the attention of the stranger, either on account of interest ing historical associations, or for their architectural superi ority. Of the former kind may be mentioned the old State House, which is now called Independence Hull, and from whence tho Declaration of Independence issued. It is in Chestnut street, built of brick, comprising a centre and two wings, IN NORTH AMERICA. 303 PHILADELPHIA. and has undergone no material alteration, since its erection. It has a venerable appearance. It is surmounted by a cu pola, having a clock, the dial of which is glass, and which is illuminated at night until ten or eleven o clock, showing the hour and minutes, until that time. The front is a consider able distance back from the street, the approach being paved to the curbstone with brick, and two elegant rows of trees extending its wholelength. East of the main entrance, in the front room, the sessions of the congress were held, and the question of independence was decided. "The banking house of the late Mr. Girard," remarks Mr. Duncan, " presents an elegant front, almost entirely of white marble. A lofty Corinthian portico, of fluted columns rises from a flight of steps to the full height of the building, and corresponding pilasters are extended on both sides. The Bank of Pennsylvania is a still more perfect structure, and makes a nearer approach to classical models than any that I have ever seen. The whole building, including even the roof, is of white marble. Its form is a parallelogram, 125 feet long, and 51 feet broad ; at each end is a flight of steps supporting a chaste Ionic portico of six columns, with an en tablature and pediment. The entablature is carried round the building, but the sides are otherwise plain. Under the portico, the Grecian character has been carefully preserved, and in neither is there any opening but a single door in the centre. ** This magnificent edifice is said to have been designed from a temple at Athens ; and the very remarkable correct ness of its principal features, combined with the appropriate and beautiful material of which it is composed, produce a most pleasing effect on the spectator s mind, and forcibly impress him with the sad inferiority of modern decoration, to the simple elegance of Grecian models. The situation which this noble edifice occupies is low and confined, and materially injures its effect." The first stone was laid in April, 1799, and the whole completed in 1801. The building erected for the former Bank of the United States, recently purchased for the Government, and now oc cupied as a Custom House, is an elegant structure, on the plan of the Parthenon at Athens, so far as it could be consist ently with the different purpose for which it was designed 304 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES raiLADKLPBlA. It is esteemed the purest specimen of Grecian architecture in the country, and has been and will long .be admired for its beautiful and elaborate finish. The front is a portico, the full height of the building, consisting of eight Doric columns, twenty-seven feet in height and four feet and a half in diam eter, rising from a flight of steps, and supporting a correspond ing entablature and pediment, all of the Pennsylvania white marble. The interior arrangements, while used as a bank, are thus described : "The door of entrance opens into a large vestibule, with circular ends embracing the transfer and loan offices on the right and left, together with a commodious lobby leading to the banking room. The vestibule ceiling is a prolonged panelled dome, divided into three compartments by bands, enriched with the quilloches springing from a projecting impost, containing a sunken frctte. The pavement is inlaid with American and Italian marble throughout. The bank ing room occupies the centre of the building, being 48 feet wide, and 81 feet in length. A double range of six fluted marble columns, 22 inches in diameter, form a screen or gallery for the clerks desks, which are placed within the in- tercolumniations. These column* are of the Ionic order, with a full entablature and blocking course, on which the great central and lateral arches are supported. The cen tral arch, being semi-cylindrical, is 28 feet in diameter, and 81 feet in length. The ceiling is &5 feet from the floor to the crown of the arch. An Isthmian wreath, carved in one entire block of Pennsylvanian marble, surrounds the clock face, which occupies the space of the first pannel over the entablature in the centre, the design of which is copied from the reverse of an antique gem, found at Corinth, and de scribed by Stewart. The tellers counters are of marble, forming panelled pedestals, across each end of the blinking room. "The stockholders room is a parallelogram of 50 feet by 28, having a groin arched ceiling. The banking room is amply wanned by two cast iron furnaces, lined with brick, being simply erected within an air chamber, through which the external atmosphere passes, and becomes healed by the furnace. It then rises through the arch into a circular cast iron pedestal, perforated on the sides, out of which it is suf fered to escape into the room. The whole body of the build ing is arched in a bomb proof manner, from the cellar to the STEPHEN G1RARD. 20 i 306 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. roof, which is covered with copper. All the groin arches are girdled at the springing line with iron straps, passing round within the body of the division walls."* There is a third bank, the oldest in the United States, culled the Bank of North America ; the establishment of which, in 1781, aided by the exertions of its originator, Mr. Morris, is believed to have been the means of saving the public treasury from bankruptcy. The banking house, however, is only a plain brick building, recently rough cast, on the northern side of Chestnut street. A fourth, the Bank of Pennsylvania, is described as " a neat and correct speci men of the Gothic style of architecture." There is also a Masonic Hall in the same style. These buildings, Mr. Dun can says, " are necessarily on a small scale, and the fatal in congruity of red brick walls with white marble buttresses and pinnacles must strike every one who has seen an ancient Gothic building."t To remedy this, the Gothic bank has been recently rough cast and colored in imitation of marble. In January, 1848, there were in Philadelphia 159 churches, of different denominations. Since then the number has been increased. The style of construction of the churches is various, and several have much architectural beauty. The church of the Assumption, in Spring Garden street, near Twelfth ; the church of the Advent upon the Old York road ; St. Stephen s church, in Tenth street between Market and Chestnut; and St. John s church, in Thirteenth street between Chestnut and Market, are fine specimens of Gothic architecture. A splendid Catholic cathedral is in course of erection near Logan Square. When completed, it will be inferior to but few places of wor ship in the country, in grandeur and finish. Christ church, in Second street, was built in 1691 and enlarged in 1810. It is, therefore, the oldest church in the city. Its spire, 106 feet high, was commenced in 1753, and completed in the following * Carey and Lea s Philadelphia, in 1824, pp. 76, 79. The foundation stone of this beautiful edifice was laid in April, 1819, and it was fin ished in 1824. t "The Masonic Hall," says Lieutenant Hall, " is an awkward com bination of brick and marble in the Gothic style ; that is plentifully tricked and flounced with niches, pinnacles, and battlements, and a spire 80 feet high. The Philadelphia Bank is in the same ridiculous taste bating the absurdity of the spire." F. Hall, pp. 217, 218. IN NORTH AMERICA. 307 PHILADELPHIA. year. St. Peter s church, in Third street below Pine, has a lofty spire and a chime of bells. The Lutheran church, in Fifth street near Cherry, was one hundred and six years old in 1850. It yet presents a substantial appearance. At the south-eastern extremity of Southwark, is the old Swedish church, built by the first settlers of Philadelphia. It has fre quently been redecorated and painted, but retains its primitive form and appearance. St. Mark s church, in Locust street, above Schuylkill Seventh, presents a very impressive appear ance. It is built in the form of a cross, and in the old English style of architecture. The Gothic windows are paned with stained glass, which adds greatly to the effect of the in terior of the church. The Calvary Presbyterian church in Locust street, now in course of erection, will probably equal any of the above. There are many other churches in the city, which possess both elegance of design and extent of accommoda tion, but the detail of their merits would prove uninteresting. A second Jewish synagogue has been recently erected, 40 feet in front, 70 feet in depth, and two stories in height, " built in the Egyptian style, of stone from the falls of the Schuylkill. The principal entrance is through an elevated doorway formed with inclined jambs supporting a large coved cornice, in which is sculptured the globe and wings. The interior embraces two semi-circular blocks of seats, display ing to the north and south of the ark and altar. The dome is supported with Egyptian columns copied from the temple at Tentyra, and is formed by semi-circular archivolts, join ing a richly panelled segment extending over the ark and altar. In the centre of the dome is a lantern which gives light to the altar. The ark is situated in the east side, im mediately opposite the altar, and is neatly decorated with pilasters, supporting a second cornice, enriched with the globe and wings, together with a marble tablet, containing the ten commandments in Hebrew. It is approached by a flight of steps between cheek-blocks, which support two hand some tripods, crowned with lamps. The galleries are semi circular, extending round the northern and southern sides of the building, and are supported by the columns which extend to the dome." One scarcely knows at which circumstance to admire the most, that a Jewish synagogue should be erect- * Philadelphia, in 1824, p. 55. IN NORTH AMERICA. 309 PHILADELPHIA. ed on the model of a heathen temple, or that this whimsical combination of incongruous styles and emblems, sacred and profane, Egyptian columns, and the airy dome, should be met with in the city of Penn."* For the benevolent disposition of its citizens and for the number, variety, and extent of its charitable and literary institutions, Philadelphia has long been distinguished. Among these may be mentioned the Pennsylvania Hospital, founded in 1750, the buildings of which occupy an entire square ; the university, Girard college, the medical college, the almshouse, the dispensaries, Friends asylum for the insane, humane society, orphans and indigent widows and single women s asylum, the institution for the deaf and dumb, and the abolition, savings fund, and fuel saving socie ties, besides many others. Some of these are worthy of fur ther notice. The institution for the deaf and dumb was es tablished in 1829, and incorporated the next year, with a grant of 68,000 from the State, and a liberal appropriation for the support of indigent pupils from Pennsylvania. The building is of granite, was erected in 1824, is 96 feet in front by 63 in depth, and is a chaste and beautiful speci men of architecture. Most of the pupils are supported by funds derived from the Stale ; some by the States of Mary, land and New Jersey, and others by their friends. The Uni versity of Pennsylvania has a flourishing medical school con nected with it, having usually from 400 to 500 students. It has an extensive anatomical museum and cabinet of natural history, and no medical institution has enjoyed a higher repu tation throughout the country. The city is well supplied with public schools and academies, some of which are well endowed. Some years since, it received a munificent be quest, for the establishment of a college for orphans, by the will of the late Stephen Girard. This gentleman, who died in 1831, by his will bequeathed the sum of two millions of dollars to the corporation of the city, in trust for the endowment of an orphan college. The site selected by Mr. Girard for this object is one and a quarter miles from the city, on the Ridge road, at a place called Peel Hill. It con tains forty-five acres of land, upon which, by the terms of the will, buildings are to be erected for the accommodation of * Modern Traveller. 310 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADKLPIIIA. 300 pupils, together with those necessary for the teachers, and for other purposes. The corner-stone of this colleee was laid on the 4th of July, 1833, and the whole has since been completed. The centre building is 218 feet long by 160 feet wide, and is surrounded by 34 columns of the Corinthian order, with beautiful columns, supporting an entablature: each column, including its capital and base, is 55 feet high and 6 feet in diameter. There are four rooms, 50 feet square, on each floor, and the third floor is lighted by a skylight, con structed on a level with the roof. No wood is used through out the building, excepting for the doors, and it is warmed by means of furnaces in the cellar. There are four other build ings, two on each side of the one just described, 128 feet long by 52 feet wide, and two stories high above the basement, which are designed for the residence and accommodation of the professors and pupils. Upwards of $1,000,000 have been expended upon the buildings alone; but it is very questiona ble whether these splendid preparations were necessary to promote the objects in view. M Culloch expresses the opin ion that less expensive buildings would have been better cal culated to teach the orphans economy, to say nothing more ; and in this opinion every disinterested person must readily coincide. Of the public works of Philadelphia, there are none of which its inhabitants are more justly proud, than those at Fair Mount, by which the city is supplied with water of the best quality, and in the greatest plenty. Fair Mount is in the rear of the city, upon the bank of the Schuylkill, the neighborhood of which affords some romantic scenery. The reservoirs are situated on the top of a hill rising from the river, a part of it perpendicular rock, to the height of 100 feet. The ascent from the river to the reservoirs is by a flight of substantial wooden steps, with resting places, over one of which is a temple. The reservoirs, which are surrounded with paling, outside of which is a gravelled walk, contain upwards of twelve millions of gallons, sup- pi ving the city through 72i miles of pipes. The water was formerly forced to the reservoirs by steam, which is no longer used ; it is now raised by machinery propelled by the Schuyl kill. The machinery is simple, and is turned by large water- wheels, of which there are five, one of them of iron, and twen ty-four tons in weight. If all are in motion, they will raise seven millions of gallons in twenty-four hours. To turn 312 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. them, the Schuylkill has been dammed its whole breadth, by which the water is thrown back into a reservoir lock, whence it is admitted as it is required to operate upon the wheels, and is discharged into the river below the dam. The whole expense of these works, including the cost of works abandoned, was $1,783,000. The water thus circu lated through the city, is not only sufficient for every family, but is used to wash the streets. It is of immense service in case of fire, as it is only necessary to screw the hose to the hydrants, which are placed at convenient distances, to secure a constant stream of sufficient force to reach any ordinary height* Peale s Museum, originally a private collection, was formerly a very interesting and important place of resort. The grand attraction, Mr. Duncan tells us, was the gigantic skeleton of the mastodon or mammoth. "A human being shrinks into insignificance beside the bony fabric of this enormous ante diluvian. The skeleton of the mammoth resembles very much that of the elephant, carrying, like it, two great tusks in front. The principal difference is found in the grinders ; which in the elephant are flat oil the top, with enamel pene trating the whole material, but in the mammoth they rise into ridges, or processes, as anatomists term them, somewhat as in those of .sheep, with the enamel of the form of an outer crust or case, enveloping but not penetrating the bone. Some naturalists have supposed from this peculiarity, that tho mammoth was a carnivorous animal; but a scientific gentleman remarks to me, that this is impossible, as it has, like the elephant, no front teeth, and its neck is too short, and its tusks too long, to have admitted of its holding and devour ing its prey, as carnivorous animals do. He thinks it probable that it lived upon shrubs and the smaller branches of trees, for crushing which the grinders seem to be well adapted. It only occurs to me, in reply to this remark, that the enormous trunk of the mammoth may have served to catch and crush the smaller animals, and convey them to his mouth. Conjecture, however, in such cases, is both unavailing and unimportant; it is sufficient that we have in the existence of these bones unanswerable demonstration that in earlier times an animal has existed, much more enormous in bulk than the largest * Hinton s United States. IN NORTH AMERICA. 313 PHILADELPHIA. that is now known to tread the globe. This skeleton, which is, I believe, not so large as some others that have been found, is 11 feet high over the shoulders, and measures 31 feet from the extremity of the tusks to the end of the tail, following the curve. It was found in 1801, in a marl pit in the State of New York ; others have been found near the liclcsj or salt springs, in the State of Ohio. The skeleton is nearly entire, except in the cartilaginous parts, which are sup plied by cork." This collection of curiosities has unfortu nately been dispersed by sheriff s sale. " An Academy of the Fine Arts was founded here in 1805. It was shortly after incorporated by the legislature, and a building was erected with suitable apartments for study and exhibition rooms. One of the apartments contains a few spe cimens of antique sculpture, and casts of most of the cele brated statues." Among the modern specimens are busts and statues by Canova, Chantrey, and Steinhauser. The painting room is more richly stored, and can boast, if the catalogue is correct, of several paintings by old masters ; among which are three by Titian ; one by Raphael ; one by Correggio, which is said to have been executed for Charles III. of Spain, and was purchased for 34 ; three by Rubens ; one by Dominichino ; one by Teniers ; one by Vandyke ; one by Paul Veronese ; one by Rembrandt; four by Murilloj and three by Salvator Rosa. These are but a few of the old paintings. Among a crowd of moderns, are some of great merit by native artists, the chief of whom are Allston and West. From Allston s pencil is a beau tiful picture of the " Dead Man restored to life by touching the bones of Elisha"; and by West is the great picture of " Death on the Pale Horse," the conception of which is sublime, and the execution calculated to excite a feeling of terror, and to turn the thoughts to a profitable contemplation of the final hour of all. The conception of the figure of Death was suggested by a passage in Milton s " Paradise Lost." Philadelphia has several valuable and extensive libraries. That of the Philosophical Society has 15,000 volumes, many of which are rare. The Franklin Institute has 2000 mem bers and several thousand volumes, with an extensive reading- room. The Academy of Natural Science has 9000 volumes. The Philadelphia Library, founded in 1731, through the influ ence of Dr. Franklin, contains upwards of 30,000 well-selected volumes, embracing almost every branch of knowledge ; to FRANKLIN POUNDING PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY IN NORTH AMERICA. 315 PHILADELPHIA. which the Loganian Library, of 11,000 volumes, mostly rare classical works, has been added. The Athenaeum, incorporated in 1815, contains the periodicals of the day and a library of several thousand volumes. The Mercantile Library contains 8,000 volumes, mainly relating to commercial and kindred subjects ; and also sustains popular lectures on such branches of knowledge as are likely to be most useful to its patrons. The Apprentices Library, formed by donations from all classes of citizens, contains 14,000 volumes, well calculated to im prove the minds of both sexes. The public squares form one of the most attractive features of Philadelphia. They are six in number and named the Washington, Independence, Franklin, Centre, Logan, and Rit- tenhouse squares. Tjie Washington square is a little south west of the State House. It is ornamented with beautiful shade trees and gravel walks, and surrounded by a high iron railing. Independence Square is in the rear of the State House. It possesses fine grass plots and gravel walks, and majestic old trees. Within this square the Declaration of In dependence was promulgated, and it is therefore classic ground. It is now frequently used for political meetings and public celebrations. Franklin Square is situated between Race and Vine, arid Sixth and Franklin streets. It is finely laid out and planted with trees, and a beautiful fountain ornaments its centre. It is more frequented as a promenade than the other squares. Centre Square, or Penn Square, as it is often termed, is situated at the intersection of Broad arid Market streets, and is now divided into four parts. It formerly contained the water-works of the city. But the construction of the works at Fairrnount caused the disuse and demolition of those in this square. Logan Square, between Race and Vine streets, and Rittenhouse Square, between Walnut and Locust streets, are beautiful promenades for the inhabitants of the western part of the city. They are well laid out, planted, and enclosed. The United States Navy Yard is located at the southeastern extremity of the city, and contains 12 acres within its limits. It is enclosed on three sides by a high and substantial brick wall ; the east, side opens on the Delaware river. The yard contains besides two large houses for ship-building marine barracks, quarters for officers, &c. &c. In the largest of the ship-houses the great ship-of-the-line Pennsylvania was built. A visit to the yard will well repay the trouble. The Schitylkill Excursions. Two or three small steamboats 316 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. have beeu placed upon the Schuylkill, to ply between Fair- mount and 5lanayunk. These boats are constructed in a pe culiar manner, the wheel being in the rear, a novelty which excites the curiosity of those who have been used to seeing the steamers of ordinary construction. The distance between Fairmount and Manayunk is seven miles. A boat leaves the wharf above the dam every hour for Sweetbriar Farm 2 miles six cents; Columbia Hotel 2 miles six cents; Laurel Hill Cemetery 1 mile? ten cents ; Falls of the Schuylkill 4 miles ten cents; Wissahiccon creek 6 miles and Mana yunk 7 miles twelve and a half cents each. The scenery along the banks of the Schuylkill is characterized by quiet beauty. Well-cultivated farms, handsome country residences, green and gently sloping shores, relieved by occasional jutting and precipitous rocks, are its elements. To the lovers of the beautiful, nothing can be more attractive than an excursion up this river of a clear summer evening. Visiters to the Laurel Hill Cemetery would be wise to take this route. The banks of Wissahiccon creek are much frequented by the citizens of Philadelphia during the summer months. They are high, precipitous, covered with a dense forest, and diversified by moss- decked rocks. The creek has a regular succession of cascades, the fall of which, in the aggregate, amount to about 700 feet. The creek can be reached by the Schuylkill steamboats or by the cars: The United States Mint was founded in 1790, and the busi ness of coining commenced in 1793, in the building occupied at present by the Apprentices Library. In 1830 it was re moved to the fine building it now occupies in Chestnut street. The edifice is of white marble, the north front 123 feet long, with a portico GO feet long, of six Ionic columns, and a similar portico on the south front. The whole amount of coinage, since its establishment in 1793, to December 18 V2, was 255,087,171 pieces, of the value of $85,873,052 50. The gold deposited for coinage, derived from mines in the States of Vir ginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Ala bama, has amounted to more than 36,000,000. The first de posit from these States was in 1824, and has of late years been materially increased in amount by gold found in California and elsewhere. The American Philosophical Society, so well known to the learned in Europe for its valuable " Transactions," was founded chiefly by the exertions of Dr. Franklin, and still 318 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. maintains its high character. Its library is very valuable, comprising the most complete collection extant of the Me moirs and Transactions of the various learned Institutions in the Old World, (kept up to the date of the latest publica tions,) and an extensive collection of historical documents relating to the United States. " Besides the Philosophical Society," Captain B; Hall remarks, "there are various learn ed bodies in Philadelphia, of which I shall merely say, that I have seen few similar institutions elsewhere, managed with a more earnest desire to pursue knowledge for its own sake. The inhabitants of Philadelphia, indeed, appear to have more leisure on their hands, than those of any city in the Union ; and accordingly, scientific and literary pursuits are there cultivated with much steadiness and success. This circum stance imparts a peculiar character to the style of thought and of conversation in that city, sufficiently obvious to dis tinguish the inhabitants from those of most other parts of America." The wealthy conversaziones t called the VVistar parties, (from their founder, the late Dr. Wistar, President of the Philosophical Society,) consisting of most of the men of letters and science or general information in the city, are maintained with much spirit, and, to a stranger properly in troduced, form a most agreeable feature of the society of Philadelphia. Philadelphia has been characterized as " the centre of the social world in America." It is, undoubtedly, as another writer remarks, " the focus of intelligence, as well as of wealth and business in this part of the Union." Before taking leave of it, we shall take the liberty of introducing some remarks of a traveller who designed to be candid (Mr. Hodgson.) Although his observations are somewhat of a general character, some of them, it will be perceived, have special reference to the good people of the city of" Brother ly Love." " If, in opposition to their republican principles, we divide the Americans into classes, the first class will comprehend what are termed the Revolutionary Heroes, who hold a sort of patent nobility undisputed by the bitterest enemies of aris tocracy. Their numbers, indeed, are few ; but they have too many peculiar features to be comprised in the descrip tion "of any other class of their countrymen. Many of them were educated in England ; and even those who never trav- IN NORTH AMERICA. 319 PHILADELPHIA. elled, had generally the advantage of the best English socie ty, either colonial or military. They were formed in the English school; were imbued with English; and, however active they were in resisting the encroachments of the moth er country, they are, many of them at least, delighted to trace their descent to English families of rank, and to boast of the pure English blood which flows in their veins. In the families of these patricians, in which I have spent many agreeable hours, I met with nothing to remind me that I was not in the society of that class of our well-educated country gentlemen, who occasionally visit the metropolis, and mingle in fashionable or political life. The old gentlemen of this class, are indeed gentlemen of the old school ; and the young ladies are particularly agreeable, refined, accomplish ed, intelligent, and well-bred. " The second class may include the leading political char acters of the present day, the more eminent lawyers, the well- educated merchants and agriculturists, and the most respect able of the novi homines of every profession. It will thus comprise the mass of the good society of America; the first class, which comprehends the best, being very limited, sui generis, and about to expire with the present generation. The manners of this second class are less polished than those of the corresponding class in England, and their edu cation is neither so regular nor so classical ; but their intel lects are as actively exercised, and their information at least as general, although less scientific and profound. The young ladies of this class are lively, modest, and unreserved ; easy in their manners, and rather gay and social in their dis positions : at the same time they are very observant of the rules of female propriety ; and if they ever displease, it is from indifference, rather than from either bashfulness or ef frontery. Their appearance is generally genteel and agreea ble ; their figure is almost universally good, and they dress remarkably well, in this city, (Philadelphia,) indeed, more to my taste than in almost any place I recollect. For this, they are indebted, partly to the short passages from Europe, which waft across the Atlantic the latest fashions from Lon don and Paris ; partly to their accommodating tariff, which places within their reach all the most elegant materials for dress, which American enterprise can collect in the four quarters of the globe ; and partly to the simplicity of the Quaker costume, which has had a happy and sensible influ- 320 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. ence on the taste and habits of the community at large. Their tone of voice, which is a little shrill, and their mode of pronouncing a few particular words, are the peculiarities of manner which, I think, would be most remarked upon in the best society in England. Generally speaking, also, the style of female education in America is less favorable to solid acquirements than with us. The young ladies here go earlier into society than in England, and enter sooner into married life ; they have not, therefore, the same opportuni ties for maturing their taste, expanding their intellect, and ac quiring a rich store of well-arranged and digested knowledge as those have, who have devoted to improvement the longer interval, which climate or custom has, with us, interposed between the nursery and the drawing-room. In the highest class, especially in Carolina, there are many exceptions to this general remark ; and among the young ladies of Boston, there appeared to me to be, if less of refinement than in the Carolinians, yet, a very agreeable union of domestic habits and literary taste, and great kindness and simplicity of man ners. " The third class may comprehend all below the second, for in a country where some would, perhaps, resent the idea of a second class, this division is sufficiently minute. This class will include the largest proportion of the American population ; and it is distinguished from the corresponding classes of my countrymen, (the little fanners, innkeepers, shopkeepers, clerks, mechanics, servants, and laborers,) by greater acuteness and intelligence, more regular habits of reading, a wider range of ideas, and a greater freedom from prejudices, provincialism, and vulgarity. It is distinguished, also, by greater coldness of manner ; and this is the first of the charges against the nation, generally, on which I shall remark. " As respects the highest classes, I think this charge is, in a great measure, unfounded : their reception of a stranger at least, appeared to me as frank and as warm as in England. To that part of the population which 1 have included in the third class, the charge attaches with strict propriety ; and in many cases, their coldness amounts to the English cut direct. At first, it incommoded me excessively, especially in the women in the country, who showed it the most ; and I have sometimes been disposed to ride on, not in the best temper, when arriving at an inn after a long stage before IN NORTH AMERICA. 321 PHILADELPHIA. breakfast, and asking very civilly, can we have breakfast here ? I have received a shrill I reckon so, from a cold female figure, that went on with its employments, without deigning to look at us, or to put any thing in motion to verify its reckoning. In due time, however, the bread was baked, the chicken killed, and both made their appearance, with their constant companions, even in the wildest part of America, ham, eggs, and coffee. The automaton then took its place; and if I had been an automaton also, the charm would have remained unbroken : but I do not remember an instance in which the figure did not converse with good humor before I rose. Very often, however, our reception was warm and friendly ; and the wife, or daughter, who poured out my coffee, was frank, well-bred, obliging, and conversible. The coldness of the men, also, I found to be confined principally to their manners, and to indicate no in disposition to be sociable and accommodating. On the con trary, in a route of more than seven thousand miles, of which I travelled nearly two thousand on horseback, and the rest in steamboats, and stages, I have found the various classes as accommodating and obliging as in England : sometimes, I confess I have thought more so. Some parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, might suggest a slight qualification of this remark ; while East Tennessee and the valley of the Shenan- doah might almost claim a warmer eulogy. In the course of my route, I have met with only one instance of personal rudeness, and that too slight to be mentioned, except for the sake of literal accuracy. My servant s impressions cor respond to mine. On questioning him at the termination of our route, he said, he thought the Americans quite as ready to serve us, and one another, as the English; and that they were continually expressing their surprise to find English men so civil. Now our civility was nothing more than would naturally be suggested by a recollection of the insti tutions of the country through whifch we were travelling, and a general desire to be pleased with friendly intentions, however manifested. The coldness of manner in the Amer icans, however, is a great defect, and must prejudice travel ler- till they understand it a little."* We shall conclude our account of Philadelphia with some notices of its early history. In 1681, Charles II. * Hodgson. 21 322 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. granted to William Perm a patent for the territory of Penn sylvania in consideration of his father s services, and of a debt due to him from the crown. It was his own intention to call the territory New Wales ; but the under secretary had inserted the name Pennsylvania, and would not change it even to Sylvania, which Penn proposed, and to do which he offered a doceur of twenty guineas. At length Penn went to the king and requested the change made but the king declined, and established the present name. In September, Penn sailed in the Welcome for his newly acquired territory ; but soon after commencing the voyage, the smallpox appeared and swept off thirty of the passen gers. The rest arrived in safety at the expiration of six weeks, and Penn landed at Chester. He was received with great hospitality with his friends at the " Essex House," then the residence of Robert Wade. This house stood about two hundred yards from Chester creek, near the mar gin of the Delaware, and on a plain of about fifteen feet above tide water. Near the house by the river side stood several lofty white pines, three of which remain at the present day, and thence ranging down the Delaware stood a large row of lofty walnut trees, of which a few still sur vive. Essex House had its south-east gable end fronting to the river Delaware, and its south-west front upon Essex street ; its back piazza ranged in a line with Chester creek, which separated the house and farm from the town of Chester ; all vestiges of the house are now gone, but the facts of its location and position have been told to me by some aged persons who had once seen it. The iron vane once upon it was preserved several years, with the design of replacing it upon a renewed building once intended there. Penn and his immediate friends came up in an open boat or barge from Chester, and landed at what was called " the Blue Anchor Tavern" owned by one Guest. It was a new house, and then in building. The whole scene was active, animating and cheering. On the shore were gathered, to cheer his arrival, most of the few inhabitants who had preceded him. The busy builders, who had been occupied at the construction oif Guest s house, and at the connecting line of " Budd s long row," all forsook their labors to join in the general greet ings. The Indians, too, aware by previous signals of his 324 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. approach, were seen in the throng, or some, more reserved ly apart, waited the salutation of the guest, while others, hastening to the scene, could be seen paddling their canoes down the smooth waters of the creek. The above tradition has been confirmed by several intelli gent and respectable persons, especially by a Mrs. Preston, who, according to Watson, in his " Annals," was present on the occasion, and used to say she admired the affability and condescension of the Governor, especially his manner of entering into the spirit and feeling of the Indians: he walked with them, sat down on the ground with them, ate with them of their roasted acorns and hominy: when they got up to exercise and express their joy by hopping and jumping, he finally sprung up, and beat them all. I will not pretend, says Mr. Watson, to vouch for this story; we give it as we received it from honest informants, who cer tainly believed it themselves. It was a measure harmless in the abstract ; and as a courtesy to the Indians, may have been a fine stroke of policy in winning their regard. He was young enough to have been gay ; being then only thirty- eight years of age. And one of the old journalists has left on record, that he was naturally prone to cheerfulness, for a grave public Friend, especially in the eye of those of them who held " religion harsh, intolerant, austere."* Not long after his arrival, Penn held his famous confer ence with the Indians, designing to ratify in person the terms of purchase and treaty of friendship, which his com missioners had concluded with the natives. He proceeded, therefore, accompanied by some friends, and young people of both sexes, to a place called Coayuannoc, the site of the city, which he afterwards founded under the name of Phila delphia, (Brotherly Love.) On arriving there, he found the sachems and their tribes already assembling : they filled the woods as far as the eye could reach, and had a formi dable appearance, both from their number and their arms. The white men were a mere handful, without weapons of any kind; " so that dismay and terror had come upon them, had they not confided in the righteousness of their cause." The spot upon which the council was held, is a little high er up, and was then named Shat kamaxnn : it is now occu pied by the houses of Kensington, which may be consider- * Watson s Annals. IN NORTH AMERICA. 325 PHILADELPHIA. ed as a suburb of Philadelphia. Here stood an elm of pro digious size, to which the leaders on each side repaired, approaching each other under its wide-spreading branches.* William Penn appeared in his usual dress, without sword or staff, or any other insignia than a sky blue sash of silk net work. This sash is still in existence in England. On his right hand was Col. Markhain, his relation and secretary ; on his left, his friend Pierson ; and he was followed by a train of Quakers. Before him were carried various arti cles of merchandise, which, when they came near the sachems, were spread on the ground. In his hand he held a roll of parchment, containing the confirmation of the Treaty of Purchase arid Amity. The chief sachem, on Penn s approach, put upon his own head a sort of chaplet, in which appeared a small horn, the emblem of kingly pow er ; and whenever the chief, who had a right to wear it, put it on, the place was considered as sacred, and the per sons of all present as inviolable. The Indians, on this sign, threw down their bows and arrows, and seated them selves round their chiefs in a semi-circle. The chief sachem then announced, by means of an interpreter, that the natives were ready to hear the " white chief." Upon this, Penn made a declaration of his pacific intentions, and un- * The tree thus memorable was blown over on the 3d of March, J810 : the blow was not deemed generally prevalent, nor strong. In its case, the root was wrenched and the trunk broken off: it fell on Saturday night, and Sunday man} r hundreds of people visited it. In its form it was remarkably wide spread, but not lofty ; its main branch inclining towards the river measured 150 feet in length ; its girth around the trunk was 24 feet, and its age, as it was counted by the inspection of its circles of annual growth, was 2<? years. While it stood, the Methodists and Baptists often held their summer meetings under its shade. When it had fallen, several took their measures to secure some of the wood as relics. An arm-chair was made from it,and presented to Dr. Rush ; a part of it is constructed into something memorable and enduring at Penn s Park in England. A marble monument has been erected near the site of the original tree to perpetuate its memory, with the following four inscriptions on its four sides, to wit : Treaty Ground of William Penn, and the Indian Nations, 1682. Unbroken Faith. William Penn, Born 1644. Died 1718. Placed by the Penn Society, A. D. 1827, to mark the Site of the Great Elm Tree. Pennsylvania founded 1681. by Deeds of Peace. 326 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. rolling the parchment, explained, article by article, the conditions of the purchase and compact. He then paid them for the land, and made them many presents besides, and concluded the ceremony, by presenting the parchment to the chief sachem, desiring him to preserve it carefully for three generations. Having thus fairly purchased the land of the natives, he ordered a regular survey of it, during which he pitched upon Coayuannoc, as the most noble and commodious place for his new city. This being determined upon, and a plan formed, a map was made of it, and the name of "Philadel phia " given to it, in token of that principle of brotherly love which he wished might forever characterize his new do minions. Several houses were erected upon the spot the same year. During the year 1683, about one hundred houses were erected ; and such was the popularity of Penn, and such the encouragement given to new settlers, that before the expiration of 1684, the city embraced nearly 300 houses.* The population of the city and suburbs, according to the cen sus of 1840, was 228,691. The early history of Philadelphia, is replete with interest ing facts and associations. Fortunately, within a few years a gentleman well qualified for the task has presented the public with a highly interesting volume, entitled " Annals of Philadelphia," " designed," as he remarks, " to revive the recollections and the peculiar traits and characteristics of the olden time" To this volume the author is indebted for the remaining pages of this article, gathered out of some seven or eight hundred pages, and for which he here makes this specific acknowledgment. " The city residence of Penn was the Slate Roof House, which is still standing at the south-east corner of Norris s alley and Second street, but it has undergone great altera tions. It was originally built for Samuel Carpenter. During his second visit in 1700, Penn and his family occupied this house, and here within a month after his arrival was born John Penn, the only one of the race ever born in the country." " To that house therefore," says Mr. Watson, " humble, de generated, and altered in aspect as it now is, we are to ap- * Life of Penn. IN NORTH AMERICA. 327 PHILADELPHIA. propriate all our conceptions of Penn s employments, medi tations, hopes, fears, &c., while acting as Governor and pro prietary among us. In those doors he went in and out up and down those stairs he passed in those chambers he re posed in those parlors he dined or regaled his friends through those gardens he sauntered. His wife, his daughter Loetitia, his family, and his servants, were there. In short, to those who can think and feel, the place is filled with local impressions. " " This house, after Penn s return to England, became the residence of Governor Logan, and, some time after him, of Governor Hamilton. For many years preceding the war of Independence, it was deemed a superior boarding house. While it held its rank as such, it was honored with the com pany, and finally with the funeral honors of General Forbes, successor to General Braddock, who died in the house in 1759. The pomp of his funeral from that house surpassed all the simple inhabitants had before seen in their city. His horse was led before the procession, richly caparisoned, the whole conducted in all the pomp of war, with funeral dirges, and a military array with arms reversed. " In 1764, it was occupied as a distinguished boarding house by the widow Graydon, mother of Captain Graydon of Carlisle, who has left us his amusing Memoirs of 60 years life in Pennsylvania. There his mother, as he informs us, had a great many gentry as lodgers. He describes the old house as very much of a castle in its construction, although built originally for a Friend. It was a singular old-fash ioned structure, laid out in the style of a fortification, with abundance of angles both salient and re-entering. Its two wings projected to the street in the manner of bastions, to which the main building, retreating from 16 to 18 feet, served for a curtain. John Adams and other members of the first Congress had their lodgings in the Slate House. " Shippen s House, or Shippey s Great House, was another venerable edifice. For many years after its con struction, it was beautifully situated and surrounded with rural beauty, being originally, on a small eminence, with a tall row of yellow pines in its rear, a full orchard of best fruit trees close by, overlooking the rising city, beyond the Dock creek, and having on its front view a beautiful green 328 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. lawn, gently sloping to the then pleasant Dock creek, and draw bridge, and the whole prospect unobstructed to the Delaware and the Jersey shore. It was indeed a princely place for that day, and caused the honest heart of Gabriel Thomas, to overflow at its recollection, as he spoke of it in the year 1698, saying of it, that Edward Shippen, who lives near the capital city, has an orchard and gardens adjoining to his great house that equals any I have ever seen, being a very famous and pleasant summer house, erected in the mid dle of his garden, and abounding with tulips, carnations, roses, lilies, &,c., with many wild plants of the country be sides. " Such was the place enjoyed by Edward Shippen, the first Mayor, under the regular charter of the year 1700. Shippen was a Friend, from England, who had suffered for truth s and Friend s sake, at Boston, by a public punishment from the misguided rulers there. Possessing such a man sion and the means to be hospitable, he made it the temporary residence of William Penn and his family, for about a month, when they arrived in 1699. About the year 1720 it was held by Governor Keith, and in 1756 it became the residence of Governor Denny. As it usually bore the name of the Governor s house, in after times, it was probably occupied by other rulers. " The first church in Philadelphia was erected in 1695. It was a one-story wooden chapel, built under the auspices of the Rev. Mr. Clayton. The ceiling was so low, that a tall person could touch it. The bell was hung in the crotch of a tree close by. When the second church was erected on the same spot, the structure was so much larger, that the walls of the smaller were left standing, and the worship was continued in it till the other was roofed and nearly finished." The present Christ church, built of brick, was founded in 1727. The steeple, however, was not finished till 1754, at a cost of .2100, and the bells were purchased in England, at a cost of . 900, they were brought out, freight free, in the ship Matilda, Captain Budden ; and as a compliment to his generosity, as often as he arrived in subsequent years, the bells put forth a merry peal to announce their gratitude. The whole weight of the bells was said to be 8000 Ibs. the tenor bell weighed 1800 /6s. They were cast by Lester IN NORTH AMERICA. 329 PHILADELPHIA. and Pack, men of most note in their day. They were hung here by Nicholas Nicholson, a native of Yorkshire, in an en tirely new manner. " These bells, heavy as they were in mounting, had to be taken down in the year 1777, by the Commissary General of military stores, to keep them from falling into the hands of the British, for military purposes; they were again returned and hung after the evacuation of the city. " When the bells were yet a novelty, they excited very great interest to hear them chime and ring tunes. They used to ring the night before markets ; and on such occa sions numbers of persons would go from villages like Ger- mantown, half way to the city, to listen to the peals of merry music. " The first time the bells were tolled was long remember ed, as being for the occasion of Governor Anthony Palmer s wife, the mother of 21 children, all of whom died with con sumption ! The ringing was also doubly memorable in having caused the death of one of the ringers, by his ignorance and ill-judged management of the bell-rope. " The Hon. Charles Thompson said he well remembered being present, when a man fell from a high elevation on the steeple, down to the ground unhurt ! While he was up, some commotion occurred in the crowd below, and he turning his head and body backwards to look, gave occasion to the wind to pass between him and the steeple, and so forced him to let go his hold by the hands, and he fell ! What horrors he must have felt in his terrified thoughts, during his rapid de scent ! Mercy he sought, and mercy found, for he fell, providentially and strangely enough, into a large mass of mortar, and his great fall was harmless." In respect to the state of society among the early inhab itants of Philadelphia, Mr. Watson observes, that " they were distinguished for a frank and generous hospitality. They made many entertainments, but they were devoid of glare and show, and always abundant and good. " Dr. Franklin, describing the state, of the people about the year 1752, says they were all loyal, and submitted wil lingly to the government of the crown, or paid for defence cheerfully. They were led by a thread. They not only had a respect, but an affection for Great Britain, for its laws, its customs, and its manners, and even a fondness for 330 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. its fashions, not yet subsided. Natives of Great Britain were always treated with particular regard ; and, to be " an Old England man " gave a kind of rank and respect among us. " The old people all testify that the young of their youth were much more reserved, and held under much more re straint in the presence of their elders and parents than now. Bashfulnesa and modesty in the young were then regarded as virtues ; and the present freedom before the aged was not then countenanced. Young lovers then listened and took sidelong glances, when before their parents or elders. " It was the custom for the younger part of the family, and especially of the female part, to dress up neatly towards the close of the day, and sit in the street porch. Sometimes they would go from porch to porch in neighborhoods, and sit and converse. Tea was such a rarity, that it was measured out for the teapots in small hand-scales. After noon visits were not made, as now, at night, but at so early an hour as to permit matrons to go home, and see their children put to bed. " Before the Revolution, no hired man or woman wore any shoes so fine as calfskin ; coarse neats leather was their every day wear. Men and women then hired by the year, men got 16 to <20, and a servant woman 8 to .10. Out of that it was their custom to lay up money, to buy before their marriage a bed and bedding, silver teaspoons, and a spinning wheel, &,c. " Among the rough amusements of men, might be men tioned, shooting, fishing, and sailing parties. These were frequent, as also mutton clubs, fishing, house and country parties were much indulged in by respectable citizens. Great sociability prevailed among all classes of citizens, until the strife with Great Britain sent every man to his own ways; then discord and acrimony ensued, and the previously gen eral friendly intercourse never returned. We afterwards grew another and enlarged people. " Our girls in the daytime used to attend the work of the family, and in the evening paraded in their porch at the door. Some of them, however, even then, read novels, and walked without business abroad. Those who had not house work, employed themselves in their accomplishments, such as making shell-work, cornucopias, working of pocket books, with a close, strong-stitched needlework. IN NORTH AMERICA. 331 PHILADELPHIA. " The ladies seventy years ago, were much accustomed to ride on horseback for recreation. It was quite common to see genteel ladies riding, with jockey caps. " Boarding schools for girls were not known in Philadel phia until about the time of the Revolution, nor had they any separate schools for writing and ciphering, but were taught in common with boys. The ornamental parts of female education were bestowed, but geography and gram mar were never regarded for them, until a certain Mr. Hor- ton thanks to his name ! proposed to teach those sci ences to young ladies. Similar institutions afterwards grew into favor. " It was usual in the Gazettes of 1760, to 70, to an nounce marriages in words like these, to wit : Miss Betsey Lawrence, or Miss Elizabeth Caton, a most agreeable lady, with a large or a handsome fortune. " In still earlier times, marriages had to be promulged by affixing the intentions of the parties on the court house or meeting house door ; and when the act was solemnized, they should have at least twelve subscribing witnesses. The act which imposed it was passed in 1700. " The wedding entertainments of olden times were very expensive and harassing to the wedded. The house of the parent would be filled with company to dine; the same company would stay to tea and to supper. For two days, punch was dealt out in profusion. The gentlemen saw the groom on the first floor, and then ascended to the second, where they saw the bride ; there every gentleman, even to one hundred in a day, kissed her ! Even the plain Friends submitted to these things. I have known rich families, which had 120 persons to dine the same who had signed their certificate of marriage at the monthly meeting ; these also partook of tea and supper. As they formally passed the meeting twice, the same entertainment was repeated. Two days the male friends would call and take punch, and all would kiss the bride. Besides this, the married pair for two entire weeks saw large tea parties at their home, having in attendance every night the groomsman and bridemaids. To avoid expense and trouble, Friends have since made it sufficient to pass but one meeting. When these marriage entertainments were made, it was expected also that punch, cakes, and meats should be sent out very generally in the 332 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. neighborhood, even to those who were not visiters in the family ! "Of articles and rules of diet, so far as it differed from ours, in the earliest time, we may mention coffee, as a bev erage, was used but rarely ; chocolate for morning and evening, or thickened milk for children. Cookery in general was plainer than now. In the country, morning and evening repasts were generally made of milk, having bread boiled therein, or else thickened with pop-robins, things made up of flour and eggs into a batter, and so dropt in with the boil ing milk. " A lady of my acquaintance thus describes the recol lections of her early days, preceding the war of Independ ence. Dress was discriminate and appropriate, both as re garded the season and the character of the wearer. Ladies never wore the same dresses at work and on visits; they sat at home, or went out in the morning, in chintz ; bro cades, satins, and mantuas were reserved for evening or dinner parties. Robes or negligees, as they were called, were always worn in full dress. Muslins were not worn at all. Little Misses at a dancing school ball (for these were almost the only fetes that fell to their share in the days of discrimination) were dressed in frocks of lawn or cambric. Worsted was then thought dress enough for common days. " As a universal fact it may be remarked, that no other color than black was ever made for ladies bonnets, when formed of silk or satin. Fancy colors were unknown, and white bonnets of silk fabric had never been seen. The first innovation remembered was the bringing in of blue bonnets. " The time was, when the plainest woman among the Friends (now so averse to fancy colors) wore their colored silk aprons, say, of green or blue, &c. This was at a time when the gay wore white aprons. In time, white aprons were disused by the gentry, and then the Friends left off their colored ones and used the white ! The same old ladies, among Friends whom we can remember as wearers of the white aprons, wore also large white beaver hats, with scarcely the sign of a crown, and which was indeed confined to the head by silk cords tied under the chin. Eight dollars would buy such a hat, when beaver fur was more plentiful IN NORTH AMERICA. 333 PHILADELPHIA. They lasted such ladies almost a whole life of wear. They showed no fur. " Very decent women went abroad and to churches with check aprons. I have seen those who kept their coach in my time to bear them to church, who told me they went on foot with a check apron to the Arch street Presbyterian meeting in their youth. Then all hired women wore short gowns and petticoats of domestic fabric, and could be in stantly known as such whenever seen abroad. " In the former days, it was not uncommon to see aged persons with large silver buttons to their coats and vests it was a mark of wealth. Some had the initials of their names engraved on each button. Sometimes they were made out of real quarter dollars, with the coinage impression still retained, these were used for the coats, and the eleven- penny-bits for vests and breeches. My father wore an entire suit decorated with conch-shell buttons, silver mounted. " The articles of dress in those early times would at the present day not be recognized by their names. The fol lowing is an advertisement for the year 1745. For sale, " Tandems, isinghams, nuns, bag and gulix, (these all mean shirting,) huckabacks, (a figured worsted for women s gowns,) quilted humhums, turketees, grassets, single allo- peens, children s stays, jumps and bodice, whalebone and iron busks, men s new market caps, silk and worsted wove patterns for breeches, allibanes, dickrnansoy, cushloes, chuck- loes, cuttanees, crimson dannador, chain d soosees, lemonees, byrampauts, moree, naffermamy, saxlingham, prunelloe, bar- ragons, druggets, florettas, &/c. &/c. " Before the Revolution, no hired men or women wore any shoes so fine as calf skin ; that kind was the exclusive property of the gentry ; the servants wore coarse neat leather. The calf skin shoe then had a white rand of sheep skin stitched into the top edge of the sole, which they preserved white as a dress shoe as long as possible. " It was very common for children and working women to wear beads made of Job s tears, a berry of a shrub. They used them for economy, and said it prevented several diseases. " Until the period of the Revolution, every person who wore a fur hat, had it always of entire beaver. Every ap prentice, at receiving his freedom, received a real beaver, 334 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PHILADELPHIA. at a cost of six dollars. Their every day hats were of wool, called felts. What were called rorarn hats, being fur faced upon wool felts, came into use directly after the peace, and excited much surprise, as to the invention. Gen tlemen s hats, of entire beaver, universally cost eight dollars. " The use of lace veils to ladies faces is but a modern fashion, not of more than twenty to thirty years standing. Now they wear black, white, and green, the last only lately introduced as summer veil. In olden time, none wore a veil but as a mark and badge of mourning, and then, as now, of crape in preference to lace. " Ancient ladies remembered a time in their early life, when the ladies wore blue stockings and party-colored clocks of very striking appearance. May not that fashion, as an extreme ton of the upper circle in life, explain the adoption of the term Blue-stocking Club ? I have seen in pos session of Samuel Coates, Esq., the wedding silk stockings of his grandmother, of a lively green, and great red clocks. My grandmother wore in winter, very fine worsted green stockings with a gay clock surmounted with a bunch of tulips. "The late President Thomas Jefferson, when in Philadel phia, on his first mission abroad, was dressed in the garb of his day after this manner, to wit : he wore a long waisted white cloth coat, scarlet breeches and vest, a cocked hat, with a black cockade. " Even spectacles, permanently useful as they are, have been subject to the caprice of fashion. Now they are oc casionally seen of gold a thing I never saw in my youth ; neither did I ever see one young man with spectacles now so numerous ! A purblind or half-sighted youth then deemed it his positive disparagement to be so regarded. Such would have rather run against a street post six times a day, than have been seen with them ! Indeed, in early olden time they had riot the art of using temple spectacles. Old Mrs. Shoemaker, who died in 1825, at the age of 95, said she had lived many years in Philadelphia before she ever saw temple spectacles a name then given as a new discovery, but now so common as to have lost its distinctive charac ter. In her early years, the only spectacles she ever saw were called bridge spectacles, 1 without any side support ers, and held on the nose solely by nipping the bridge of the nose. IN NORTH AMERICA. 335 PHILADELPHIA. " My grandmother wore a black velvet mask in winter, with a silver mouth-piece to keep it on, by retaining it in the mouth. I have been told that green ones have been used in summer for some few ladies, for riding in the sun on horseback. " Ladies formerly wore cloaks as their chief over-coats ; they were used with some changes of form under the succes sive names of roquelaurs, capuchins, and cardinals. " In Mrs. Shoemaker s time, above named, they had no knowledge of umbrellas to keep off rain, but she had seen some few use kitisols an article as small as present parasols now. They were entirely to keep off rain from ladies. They were of oiled muslin, and of various colors. They were imported from India by way of England. They must, how ever, have been but rare, as they never appear in any adver tisements. " Dr. Chancellor, and the Rev. Mr. Duche, were the first persons in Philadelphia, who were seen to wear umbrellas to keep off the rain. They were of oiled linen, very coarse and clumsy, with ratan sticks. Before their time, some doctors and ministers used an oiled linen cape, hooked round their shoulders, looking not unlike the big coat capes, now in use, and then called a roquelaur. It was only used for se vere storms. " About the year 1771, the first efforts were made in Philadelphia to introduce the use of umbrellas in summer, as a defence from the sun. They were then scouted in the public gazettes, as a ridiculous effeminacy. On the other hand, the physicians recommended them, to keep off verti goes, epilepsies, sore eyes, fevers, &,c. Finally, as the doc tors were the chief patrons, Doctor Chancellor and Doctor Morgan, with the Rev. Parson Duche, were the first persons, who had the hardihood to be so singular, as to wear um brellas in sunshine. Mr. Bingham, when he returned from the West Indies, where he had amassed a great fortune in the Revolution, appeared abroad in the streets attended by a mulatto boy bearing his umbrella. But his example did not take, and he desisted from its use."* * Watson s Historic Tales of Olden Time. 336 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PITTSnURGH. PITTSBURGH. This city, which justly ranks among the most flourishing in the country, occupies the former site of the once-celebrated French fort Du Quesnc, where the immortal Washington in 1755 first displayed that prowess and military skill which subsequently so greatly contributed to the success of the American arms during our revolutionary struggle. It is a remarkable fact that the population of this place has nearly doubled every ten years, dating back from 1810, when it numbered 4,768; and at the last census it was upwards of 100,000. The city is situated at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, which by their union here form the Ohio river, a navigable stream to the gulf of Mexico through the Mississippi. The streets are laid out in lines running paral lel with both rivers, and are crossed at right angles by others, which meet obliquely a short distance back from the Alle ghany. Extensive bridges are built across both rivers, and several ferries afford easy communication with the suburbs and surrounding towns. The harbour is chiefly on the Mo nongahela, owing to its superior depth of water, and there are about one hundred steamboats, of various capacities, now engaged directly in connection with the business of this place. Bituminous coal abounds in the vicinity, and adds much to facilities of manufacturing; it also produces a brijliant gas, with which the city is lighted at a comparatively small ex pense. The citizens are supplied with fine water from the Alleghany, raised by a steam-engine, capable of raising from three to four millions of gallons daily ; it is conducted through the several streets in iron pipes. The Pennsylvania canal, which here crosses the Alleghany by an aqueduct, has been a source of great benefit to Pitts burgh, by facilitating the travel on this route, and reducing the time and expense of communication with Philadelphia and other places to less than one half the rates charged previous to its completion. The first steamboat on the Western waters was built at Pittsburgh in 1811, and materially changed the character of trade in that section of country; as, previous to its introduc tion, a trip to and from New Orleans was the work of a whole season, but now it requires only a few weeks. IN NORTH AMERICA. 337 PITTSBURGH: This city, which has deservedly acquired the name of the "Birmingham of America," is also styled by Mr. M Culloch " a great workshop and industrious hive." Among the public buildings, the Court House stands most prominent; it is a magnificent Grecian Doric structure, 165 feet long and 100 feet wide, surmounted by a dome 37 feet at the base and 148 feet above the level of the street. There are about fifty churches, of various denominations, in the city and precincts, including a splendid Catholic cathedral, located on Grant s hill, near the Western University of Pennsylvania. There are also several public libraries; a museum, theatre, and market-houses; and two large hotels, (the Monongahela and Exchange,) which are creditably conducted. Pittsburgh has suffered materially from several destructive fires. In April, 1845, a large portion of the city, embracing many of the most valuable public and private edifices, was destroyed ; but since then 609 buildings have been erected in the district burned over, which are much larger and better adapted to business purposes than those formerly occupying the same ground. It is well said, in the Gazette, that " there are few cities in the Union, of corresponding means, where such rapid advancements have been made in business and in buildings." MARYLAND. BALTIMORE. BALTIMORE, the largest city in Maryland, though not the seat of government, has had the most rapid growth of any town of the same size in the Union. In 1787, it contained only 1955 houses, including its port ; the number of stores was 152, and of churches nine, belonging to as many sects. In 1789, the number of inhabitants was between 10,000 and 11,000; of whom, not more than one in five, Dr. Morse states, attended public worship of any kind, notwithstanding the variety that courted their choice. There were many re spectable families who lived genteely ; but the bulk of the population, recently collected from all quarters of the globe, bent on the pursuit of wealth, and varying alike in their habits, manners, and creed, were " unsocial, unimproved, and inhospitable." In 1790, the number of inhabitants was 13,503; the amount of shipping, 13,564 tons. In 1800, the population had doubled ; in ten years more, it had risen to 40,555, including 10,343 blacks; in 1820, to 62,627, and the tonnage was 68,674. It now ranks as the third city in commercial importance in the United States, and the fifth also in population, containing 169,048 inhabitants. This is an in crease of numbers perhaps unparalleled, unless Rochester be an exception, the place having been raised from a town to a city as late as the last day of the year 1796. During the war with England, in 1812, the commerce of Baltimore, like that of every other part of the country, par took of the fluctuations of the times. Her merchants suffer ed, however, Jess than most other places. After the peace with England in 1815, the merchants of Baltimore resumed their former commercial operations. The effect on the city was sudden and most encouraging: a rapid influx of popula tion immediately followed : activity pervaded every class of society and every branch of industry : the vessels belonging to the port, which had been scattered in various parts of the United States, during the war, were now called home : a 338 BATTLE MONUMENT, Baltimore. #40 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BALTIMOUK. considerable accession to the tonnage had taken place. The trade to China, Batavia, Bengal, and other parts of Asia was resumed : the intercourse with Europe was briskly renewed, find the accumulated produce of the country was quickly despatched to the proper markets. European imports, and particularly British manufactures, were introduced in the greatest abundance, and it may be doubted, whether, at any period, the business of Baltimore was more active, or its ap parent prosperity more flattering than for the three years succeeding the war. Real estate rose to a higher value than it had been known to possess before. Numerous dwelling houses were erected, to accommodate the increasing popula tion, and rents became exorbitant. " But this delusive prosperity was not peculiar to Balti more ; the whole country was drawn into the snare : and the combination of causes which led to it, arising from the great changes in the state of this country and Europe, as well as its general and fatal consequences, are too well known to be dwelt upon here. Baltimore suffered more than any other city. Business was curtailed ; property fell in value; and when the stock of the Bank of the United States, then at an exaggerated and unparalleled nominal value, fell nearly one third of that value, in the space of a few weeks, which it did in 1818, the consummation ruined many, who had incau tiously adventured their whole fortunes in the speculation. A principal part of the active commercial capital was with drawn from its accustomed channels ; several of the most enter prizing merchants were deprived of their means, and even those who escaped the storm, were terrified at the shock, and became doubtful, hesitating, timid, and inactive. This may with truth be said to have been the darkest period in the history of Baltimore. But the principle of vitality and increase is still strong within her, and although she has risen but slowly from her reverses, she has still risen and continues to rise."* With this brief historical account of Baltimore, we next proceed to give some account of the city itself. It stands on the top of a small bay in the river Patapsco, 14 miles from the Chesapeake, and consists of two portions, nearly a mile asunder, the upper of which is, properly speaking, the * Picture of Baltimore, 1832. 342 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BALTIMORE. town, and the lower, called Fell s Point, is the harbor. The water comes up to the town, but it is shallow, and in general none but coasters go past the point. The bay is formed and protected by a peninsular tongue of land, which stretches downwards into the river : the entrance is narrow, and is completely commanded by a fort, which sustained a heavy bombardment during the last war. The town is built with considerable regularity, upon por tions of three hills and their intervening valleys ; many of the streets cross each other at right angles, and they are in general, spacious and well paved. A large proportion of the buildings are of brick ; the more ancient, in consequence of inattention to painting, have rather a gloomy aspect ; but the modern ones resemble in every respect those of New York and Philadelphia. The public buildings and monu ments indicate by their splendor, great wealth and enterprize in the inhabitants. Some of these buildings merit a particu lar notice. The Merchants Exchange, which was begun in 1815, is one of the objects most worthy of the notice of a stranger visiting Baltimore. It has a front of 255 feet ; its depth 141 ; its general form in plan is that of the letter H : but the two wings toward the west have not yet been erected. It is four stories in height, including the basement, which is vaulted throughout. It contains a hall 86 feet in length, lighted from a dome 90 feet above the floor. The colonnades are to the east and west, and are composed each of six Ionic columns, the shafts of which are single blocks of Italian mar ble, and their design and proportion are the closest imitation of the purest Grecian model. The dome contains in its centre a repeating vane, which, moving with that on the sum mit of the dome, discovers the direction of the wind to the merchants in the hall. The Catholic Cathedral is another splendid edifice, built in the Ionic style, 190 feet long and 177 feet wide, sur mounted by a dome and a cross which rise to the height of 127 feet. It is remarkable throughout for the chaste sim plicity of its design, and the beautiful proportion of all its parts. It contains by far the largest organ in the United States ; it has 6,000 pipes and 36 stops. The edifice con tains several fine paintings one, the Descent from the Cross, IN NORTH AMERICA. 343 BALTIMORE. painted by Paulin Guerin, a present of Louis XVI. to the Archbishop : another represents St. Louis burying his offi cers and soldiers, slain before Tunis. St. Louis could find no one to bury then), for fear of contagion ; but that he roic prince could not bear to see the bodies of so many brave men exposed to be devoured by hyenas and birds of prey To encourage his army, he began the work of charity, ac companied by his armor-bearer and chaplain. He is repre sented as holding the corpse of an officer, his relation, which he lays down in a rude grave made in the sand. This valu able painting is by the celebrated Steuben. Charles X., when king of France, presented it to the Cathedral. The Socinian chapel is a more lightsome and tasteful fabric, and although not a large building, is said to have cost 100,000 dollars. The interior is profusely decorated. The pulpit is of polished marble, of various colors, with a bap tismal font before it of the same material ; upon the wall be hind are two white marble slabs, resembling the tables of the law in the ancient picture of Moses, upon which are in scribed a few texts of Scripture. The ends of the pews are beautifully carved and bronzed, in imitation of the antique. The ceiling is covered with rich stuccoed work, and in the gallery is a large organ, the front of which is very tastefully finished in the form of an ancient lyre. The effect of the whole is splendid. - Besides the above, St. Paul s Church, the Court House, and the Union Bank, are all elegant. Baltimore contains several public monuments, from which it is sometimes called the " Monumental City." One of these, called the Washington Monument, was commenced in 1815. It occupies the point of a rising ground, a little above the city, at the intersection of Charles and Monument streets. It is a Doric column, upon a square base, and surmounted by a pedestal, upon which is placed* a colossal statue of Washington. The base is fifty feet square, and is elevated twenty feet : the column, to the feet of the statue, is one hundred and sixty feet ; and the statue is thirteen feet in height. The statue is the design and work of Causici, and represents Washington at the instant when he resigned his commission (after the Revolution) into the hands from which he had received it. 344 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BALTIMORE. Another monument called the " Battle Monument," is de signed to commemorate the battle of North Point, when the British army made a " demonstration" upon Baltimore in the year 1814. The Battle Monument was erected by the survivors, to the memory of those who fell : and the corner stone was laid on the first anniversary of the battle, on the 12th of September, 1815, with all the ceremonies usual upon such occasions. The Baltimore Monument was designed by Maximilian Godcfroy, and stands in Calvert street, near Fayette street, upon what was once the site of the " Old Court House," but which is now called Monument Square. An Egyptian base, raised to the height of about four feet from the pavement of the street, is surmounted by a column, representing a fasces, upon the bands of which are placed, in bronze letters, the names of those who fell. On each angle of the base are griffins, and the lower part of the column is ornamented with basso-relievos, representing part of the occurrences of the 12th of September, 1814; the whole being crowned by a statue of the city, with the eagle at her side, holding a laurel wreath suspended in her uplifted hand. The monu ment is surrounded by an iron railing, to preserve it from injury ; and at each corner are lamps of iras, whose brilliant illumination of the spotless marble presents a most striking effect at night. The entire height of the Monument is fifty- two feet two inches.* On the south side of the plinth, at the base of the column: HATTLE OF NORTH POINT, 12TH SEPTEMBER, A. D. 1814 ; AND OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES THE THIRTY-NINTH, On the north side of the plinth : BOMBARDMENT OF FORT M IIKNRY, 12TH SEPTEMBER, A. D. 1814 ; AND OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES THE THIRTY-NINTH. * Picture of Baltimore. 346 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BALTIMORE. Baltimore is the third or fourth city, in point of commerce, in the United States. As a market for tobacco, it is second to no other, and it is the greatest flour market in the world. In 1840 there were inspected 764,115 barrels and 31,606 half-barrels of flour. Its tonnage at that time was 76,022. Its literary and scientific institutions are various and respect able, and its man u factures are scarcely less extensive than its commerce. Several railroads connect it with the surrounding country. The Baltimore and Port Deposite railroad extends 36 miles, to Havre de Grace, and there connects with a chain of railroads to Philadelphia. A branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad extends to Washington City. The Duke of Saxe Weimar, during a stay in Baltimore, visited one of the celebrated flour mills of that city. He thus speaks of it : "The machine which moves the wheels was made by Bolton and Watt, of Soho, in England, and is of sixty horse power. This mill has eight pair of stones, of which there are commonly but four worked at a time ; most of the work, which in general is done by men, is per formed by machinery connected with the steam-engine ; a long and horizontal chest leads from the interior of the mill to the wharf, .where the vessels with grain lie ; from the vessel, the wheat is poured in one of the extremities of the chest, or rather channel, along whose whole length a spiral screw runs, which by turning brings the grain to a large reservoir in the mill. By another piece of machinery, the wheat is conveyed to the upper part of the house, and thrown into a wire cylinder, where it is perfectly fanned, and is thence conducted to the hoppers ; the flour falls into a common reservoir, whence it is conveyed to a bolting ma chine. The fine flour passes through a trough to a place where it is spread by a horizontally revolving rake, to be cooled ; after this it runs by a spout to the ground floor, where it is packed in oaken barrels. A workman fills the barrel with a shovel, pushes it on an iron ring forming part of a scale, to weigh it, underneath a wooden block, which, acted upon by a lever, presses the flour into the barrel : this block, after being sponged in the common way, is again ready for use. Two hundred barrels of superfine flour can be furnished daily by this mill, which works night and day : twelve workmen are sufficient to attend to all the operations. The owner said he could do with fewer, but was unwilling to dismiss them. The engine has three boilers; one is unem- IN NORTH AMERICA. 347 BALTIMORE. ployed, to be cleaned, and be in reserve in case of an ac cident ; from the roof of the mill there is a fine prospect over the city and harbor."* In our notice of the city of Washington, an account will be found of the invasion of that city by the British, in August of 1814. The success of his attack on the metrop olis, encouraged General Ross to undertake an expedition against Baltimore. On the 12th of September, he landed 5000 men at North Point, about fourteen miles from the city. No opposition was offered to the debarkation, but ef fective preparations had been made for the defence of the city, and General Stryker, with 3,000 men, was despatched to retard the progress of the invaders. The advanced par ties met about eight miles from the city. In the skirmish which ensued, General Ross, who had incautiously ridden to the front to ascertain whence the firing originated, was mor tally wounded by a shot from a rifleman. The command devolved on Colonel Brooke, under whom the British ad vanced to meet the main detachment. The battle was better contested than the affair of Bladensburgh. The American line was not shaken by either the musketry or the artillery, and did not yield, until an engagement commenced with the bayonet. As soon, however, as their left gave way, the whole army fell into confusion, and a complete rout en sued. On the following day, the British came in sight of the lines of Baltimore, defended by from 15,000 to 20,000, and a large train of artillery. To attack these in front, would have been exposing the assailants to tremendous slaughter ; it was therefore determined to carry Fort M Hen- ry on the extreme left of the entrenchments, and close to the bank on the river Patapsco. It was necessary, however, that the guns of the fort should be silenced by the fire of the shipping, but so many difficulties, natural and artificial, were found to be interposed, that the large ships could not get up. Deprived of the co-operation of the naval force, the British commander was unable to prosecute the enterprise, and the troops were withdrawn. They returned unmolested to North Point, and, the next day, re-embarked. The death of General Ross seemed to have broken up their plan of operation, and the fleet soon afterwards left Chesapeake Bay, and separated. * Duke of Saxe Weimar s Travels. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. WASHINGTON. WASHINGTON, the seat of government of the United States, stands in the centre of the District of Columbia, upon the north bank of the Potomac, between the river and one of its tributaries, called the East Branch. The Capitol at Washington, from which American Geographers often com pute their meridian, is 38 58 north lat. and 76 55 30" west long, from Greenwich. The city is about 1*20 miles from the junction of the Potomac with the Chesapeake, and about 250 miles from the sea. The principal branch of the river flows down from the west, and unites with the smaller one from the eastward, in front of the city. Ships of war of the largest size can float in safety three or four miles above the junction of the streams. It was expected that this situation would have been found to be particularly favorable to commercial enterprise, and consequently that the population would rapidly increase; hitherto, however, these hopes have not been realized. The selection of the site of Washington, as the seat of government, was mainly attributable to Gen. Washington ; but the spot was not selected, until he had made laborious and interesting investigations of the surrounding country. The following anecdote is related by Mr. Custis. " The canoe, or pirogue, in which Gen. Washington and a party of friends made the first survey of the Potomac, to ascertain the practicability of a navigation above tide water, was hol lowed out of a large poplar tree, under the direction of Col. Johnson, of Frederick county, Maryland. This humble bark was placed upon a wagon, hauled to the margin of the Mo- nocacy, launched into the stream, and there received its honored freight. The General was accompanied, in the interesting and im portant reconnoissance, by Colonel (the late Governor) John son, of Maryland, one of the first Commissioners of the City of Washington, and several other gentlemen. At night 349 350 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. fall, it was usual for the party to land and seek quarters of some of the planters, or farmers, who lived near the banks of the river, in all the pride and comfort of all old-fashioned kindliness and hospitality. Putting up for the night, at a respectable farmer s, the General and t\vo Johnsons were shown into a room having but two beds. " Come, gentlemen," said the Chief, " who will be my bedfellow ? " Both declined. Col. Johnson often afterwards declared " Greatly as I should have felt honored by such distinction, yet the awe and reverence which I always felt in the presence of that admirable man prevented my approaching him so nearly 1 The district which includes Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, was ceded to the United States by Mary land and Virginia, by the former in 1788 ; the latter in 1789. On the 16th of July, 1790, Congress passed an act authorizing the President to appoint three commissioners to make the selection of a proper location. For this purpose, the President issued his proclamation in 1791. " By an act of May, 1790, the commissioners were authorized to borrow money for the advancement of the buildings, and to pledge the lots that had been given to the United States, as well as the faith of the government, to refund the loan. In 1798, an act was passed, supplementary to the aforesaid act, to hasten the progress of the public improvements. So far were the public buildings finished, that, in April, 1800, an act was passed authorizing the President to remove, with all the departments, from Philadelphia to the Federal City, which had been previously named, the City of Washington, in honor of the President; and in pursuance of this act the government was removed, and commenced operations in the city, the first day of December, 1800. It cannot be denied but that the character, wishes and influence of Washington, had no small share in fixing the seat of government. Like all other of his plans, it has proved to have been dictated by wisdom, justice, and forecast ; for the site is one of the finest in the world for a city. From the hill on which stands the Capitol, the most noble view presents itself to the eye of the beholder that the imagination could paint. From the north, round to the south, a circular line of high grounds is seen, making within them the interior of an im- jnense amphitheatre, which, it is said, resembles the appear- MOUNT VERNON. GEORGETOWN. 352 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. ance of Rome from some of the elevations in or near the 11 Eternal City." The east view is extensive, but not bound ed by high lands; the horizon sinks with the power of vis ion. On the south, the broad and peaceful Potomac is seen for many miles, extending to Alexandria, and even to Mount Vernon. The whole panorama is bold, magnificent, pictur esque, and yet soft and beautiful ; it only requires the moral consecration of long past events, the massy piles of ancient grandeur, the deep and solemn recollections of the mighty dead, to make the impression, at this view from the capital, such as crowds on the mind, when one views the Vatican, or domes of St. Peter.* Soon after the site of Washington was fixed upon, the territory from all quarters became the subject of speculation. By this means a fictitious value was given to the lands, which served to retard the growth of the city. The whole con cern was badly managed. The dwelling houses which were erected were small and inconvenient. For some years, great doubts were entertained, whether it would continue long to be the seat of government. Such was the state of things up to 1814, when the burning of the capital and of the president s house by the British, settled the question. " When Con gress next assembled," observes the author already cited, " the subject of rebuilding these edifices came before that body, and the question as to the removal of the legislature was necessarily discussed. An effort was made for the re moval of the seat of government. The national feeling, however, co-operated with other considerations, to influence the decision ; it was voted not to remove, and the requisite amount was enthusiastically voted to efface the memorials of British triumph. From this time, the corporation of the city seemed to be animated with a new soul, and individuals, relieved from the fear of change, risked all they had in real estate. Landed property arose in value, and hope, energy, and active business, took the place of despair, listlessness, and wasting and repining indolence. New streets were opened, dwelling houses and stores were then erected. The trade came to the city, the boarders left Georgetown, and came to Washington, and a new face was put on every thing in the city : churches were built, institutions of learning * Sketches of Public Characters. IN NORTH AMERICA. 353 WASHINGTON. arose, and large, if not ample provision was made for other necessary improvements on the face of nature. This work has been going on ever since the close of the war ; but it must be pleasant to the citizens of Washington to reflect, when all things are taken into consideration, that they are not indebted to the government, in equity, for one dollar for all their grants and favors ; but that in truth, the government is indebted to the city, for more than a million of dollars, putting a fair value on the property now owned by the Uni ted States within the city, which cost them nothing. Bless ings are said to come in clusters ; for as soon as the city began to flourish, it became healthy. The low grounds were drained, and the fever and ague, once prevalent, is now rarely known among the evils of Washington ; and at pres ent the city is decidedly as healthy as any in the United States, or perhaps in the world. The water of Washington is of the best quality, and can be brought to every door in the greatest abundance at a very moderate expense." The original plan of the city was on a most extensive scale. A parallelogram more than four miles and a half long, and two miles broad, was regularly divided into streets, avenues, and squares : and should the anticipations of its founders be realized, this will, after all, be but the nucleus of the future metropolis. The streets are laid out towards the cardinal points, crossing each other at right angles ; the avenues intersect these diagonally, so as to avoid the tire some sameness which is observable in the streets of Philadel phia, and extensive squares are to be placed at the crossings of these transverse lines. The avenues are from 130 to 160 feet wide ; the streets from 80 to 1 10. Population 40,000. The Capitol is a large and magnificent building of white free stone, 352 feet long, in the shape of a cross, with the Representatives Hall and the Senate Chamber in the two wings, and a spacious rotunda in the centre. It covers an acre and a half, and 1,820 feet of ground. It has cost the United States nearly three millions of dollars. The square on which the Capitol stands, contains more than twenty acres, and is laid out in a handsome style, and is filling up with trees and shrubbery in a flourishing state. The dome of this building is the third in point of size in the world ; next to St. Paul s, and before St. Sophia s. The Representatives Hall is semi-circular, 95 feet in 23 IN NORTH AMERICA. 355 WASHINGTON. length, and 60 in height. Along its circumference are placed fourteen marble columns, reaching to the vaulted dome, and fancifully tied together under the cornice by festoons of red damask. The gallery for the public, which is raised about twenty feet above the floor of the house, extends along the whole circuit, behind these columns. In the centre, be low, sits the speaker, from whose chair seven passages radi ate to the circumference, whilst the members sit in concentric rows facing the speaker ; the whole arrangement being not unlike in form to that of half a spider s web. Every member has a snug, stuffed, comfortable arm-chair allotted to him, besides a writing-desk furnished with all the apparatus of paper, pens and ink, and a drawer underneath, of which he keeps the key. This noble room, or more properly amphitheatre, is not well adapted for hearing. Were it actually a theatre, and the audience seated where the members are placed, while the actors addressed them from the corridor or open space behind the speaker s chair, along the diameter of the semi-circle, it might do very well ; because the speaker, when addressing the house from the chair, was heard distinctly enough by the members. It was always difficult, however, for any member of the house to make himself heard. The Senate Chamber is similar in form to that of the Hall of Representatives, but of course it is much smaller ; the di ameter of the semi-circle being only 75 feet. " These beautiful chambers," observes an English travel ler, " are calculated to make an impression very favorable to the dignity of the deliberative assemblies which occupy them ; and the general appearance of the members does not mate rially impair it. Many of them have the appearance of Eng lish country gentlemen ; and a considerable portion of them are lawyers, who carry in their faces those marks of intellec tual exertion, which seem to plead some apology for having sacrificed little to the graces. Some of the members from the western country, indeed, would look a little queer in our House of Commons. The proceedings, both of the Senate and the House of Representatives, seem to be conducted with great order and decorum, and with a courtesy and attention to the feelings of honorable gentlemen, which I was not prepared to expect. The style of their best speakers is flu- 356 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. ent, forcible, and perspicuous ; and in cases where it is not possible that their argument* should be sound, they seldom fail to be specious and acute. My friend, who would, I be lieve, be considered the first authority on the subject, told me, that he considered their two prominent faults to be, a proneness to engage in dissertation, and to pursue the inves tigation of a difficult question, which had been started inci dentally in the course of the debate, without ascertaining whether its solution was absolutely necessary to the original discussion. He regards the frequent change of members in the House of Representatives as inimical to the acquisition of that knowledge, or the formation of those habits, so de sirable in a deliberative assembly; and deprecates the custom into which they have fallen, of referring every thing to com mittees, as tending in effect to leave to the decision of a few, many questions, which ought to be argued upon general prin ciples, by the House at large. " It is usual for ladies to attend when any interesting de bate is expected. Ordinarily, they are admitted only into the gallery ; but instances have occurred, when they have been allowed a seat on the floor. The reporters for the newspapers have a place assigned them behind the speaker s chair. Except when some remarkably good speaker has possession of the floor, the members, instead of attending to what is spoken, are busied in conversation, in writing let ters, rapping the sand off the wet ink with their knuckles, rustling the countless newspapers which deluge the house, locking or unlocking their drawers, or moving up and down the avenues which divide the ranges of seats, and kicking before them, at every step, printed reports, letter covers, and other documents strewed on the floor. A couple of active little boys are always seen, running to and fro .with armfuls of papers, or carrying slips of writing from members to the chair, or from member to member. VVhenever any one rises to speak, who, there is any reason to infer, from experience, or from internal evidence, will be lengthy, one of these little mercuries flies off for a glass of water, which he places on the orator s desk." The Rotunda occupies the centre, and is 96 feet in diam eter, and 96 feet high. This is the principal entrance from the east portico and west stair, and leads to the legislative IN NORTH AMERICA. 357 WASHINGTON. hall and library. The panels of the circular walls are appro priated to paintings and bas-relievos, or historical subjects, by different artists. Over the west door of the dome is a group in bas-relief, representing the preservation of Captain John Smith from the wrath of Powhattan by the kind interference of his daughter Pocahontas. This is the work of an Italian art ist, by the name of Capelano ; but he has represented his Indians as Italians, and his intended child of the forest an Italian queen. Notwithstanding its defects, the work at tracts much attention and admiration. Over the east door is a representation of the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth in 1620. The Indians on the rocks, the boat, the shore, the sea, are all well executed, but the artist mistook in giving the adventurers the hat of the ancient pilgrim, and the dress also. The sculptor was Causici. Over the north door is a sculpture of William Penn in the act of making his treaty with the Indians in 1680. In the sculpture itself there is neither beauty nor attraction the spirit of the piece arises only from the moral sublimity of the sub ject. On the panels between the doors are several fine heads one of Columbus, which is thought to be something near a true likeness, bearing a strong resemblance to some fine pictures of him. The head of Sir Walter Raleigh is a fine one, resembling the best prints of him. The heads of La Salle and Sebastian Cabot, although rough statuary, have considerable expression and life in them. Over the great eastern door there is a head of Washington, which is ad mired by many, and is certainly a specimen of very good proficiency in the art. In addition to these, the Rotunda contains four splendid pictures from Revolutionary subjects, painted by order of the government of the United States, by Colonel Trumbull. These are 1. Declaration of Indepen dence. 2. Surrender of General Burgoyne. 3. Surrender of the British army at Yorktown. 4. Resignation of Gen eral Washington at Annapolis. More appropriate embellish ments for the halls of the national legislature could not have been devised. These paintings are valuable for the faithful portraits they furnish. Some critics have found fault with the grouping of the figures, and the apparent stiffness of the principal officers ; but there is a redeeming virtue in the de- 358 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. sign, sufficient to confer real and everlasting value on the paintings. Passing from the Rotunda, westerly, along the gallery of the principal stairs, the library room door presents itself. This room is 9 2 feet long, by 34 wide, and 36 high. It is divided into twelve arched alcoves, ornamented with fluted pilasters, copied from the pillars in the celebrated Octagon Tower at Athens. The first Congressional Library, which was se lected under the direction of Mr. Gallatin, Dr. Mitchell, and others, consisted of about three thousand volumes, and was burnt by the British, at the close of the last war. The to tal loss of the library induced Mr. Jefferson to offer his val uable collection, comprising about 10,000 volumes, which was immediately purchased, though an objection was made to the infidel character of some of the volumes, and the too great number of Bibles, which it contained. It has since been considerably increased. The apartment for the accommodation of the Supreme Court, on the basement story of the north wing, immedi ately below the Senate room, is of a semi-circular shape, with the windows to the east to admit the light, which enters awkwardly and feebly, at the backs of the judges on the bench. The arches, in the ceiling, diverge like the radii of a circle, from a point over the justice-seat, to the circumference. On the wall is an emblem of justice holding her scales, in bold re lief, and also a figure of fame, crowned with the rising sun, and pointing to the Constitution of the United States. The members of the bar are conveniently accommodated with seats and desks in the body of the apartment ; and the visitors are furnished with rows of benches on the right and left wings of the centre of the court. " This room," remarks the author of Sketches of Pub lic Characters, " is one of deep interest to every lover of his country. To see seven quiet, good-looking men, covered with a slight robe of black, without enough of the insignia of office to tell them from so many pall-bearers, sitting together, listening to the arguments of men from every State in the Union, on great and important questions of municipal, civil, and international law ; and thus without any emotion or ex citement, settling all the conflicting opinions that have grown up in this republic since its formation, is a specimen of the 360 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. moral sublime, unequalled in the annals of civil or ecclesias tical history. These oracles of the Delphic cave have as yet been free from the corruptions or fear of executive power, and uninfluenced by party strife in the halls of legislation. As long as this sanctuary is unassailed, and talents and integrity are selected and maintained in this branch of government, so long will it be the palladium of American liberties ; but wo betide the hour when political rancor shall come within these walls to poison the fountains of justice, or to weaken her arm. The bickerings above them, in the senate chamber, may pass away, and the many boisterous and idle speeches be forgot ten, while the country is safe; but once pollute this hall, and the guardian genius of the liberties of this country will leave it forever." The President s house is a magnificent mansion. " It stands near the centre of one of the largest squares of the city, on an eminence nearly a mile and a half west from the Capitol. The building is of the Ionic order, with a southern and a northern point. It is one hundred and seventy-five feet long, and eighty-five in width ; it has two lofty stories above the basement. There are thirty-one rooms of consid erable size, within the walls. As you enter the north door, there is a fine large hall, called the entrance hall. At the left of this is the eastern room, whose length is the width of the house, making a room in the clear eighty feet in length, forty feet in width, and twenty-eight in height, with four fire places, two of them of elegant marble jambs, mantel-pieces, &/c. From the south of the hall, you enter the elliptical room, which is the general audience room on levee nights. The east room was intended for a general audience room, and the elliptical room to receive foreign ambassadors and public functionaries, on occasions of ceremony ; but the east room not having been furnished until lately, the elliptical room has been used for all public ceremonies. East of the elliptical room is the Green Drawing Room ; this is of a medium size for such an edifice. On the west of the ellipti cal room is the Yellow Drawing Room ; on the west from this is the large Dining Room, of a fine size; and farther west still is the small Dining Room; and beyond this is the Porter s Room. " The north front of the upper story contains six rooms for various purposes. The south front has seven rooms ; the IN NORTH AMERICA. 361 WASHINGTON. ante-chambers, the audience chamber, and ladies parlor ; this is directly over the elliptical room, and of the same size of that. The basement story contains eleven rooms, kitchen, pantry, butler s room, &>c. These are cool and convenient in the summer, and warm in the winter, from the massy walls of the edifice. " Some of the furniture of the house is elegant, but in general it looks much abused from the crowds of careless visiters. The ladies parlor may be said to be superb ly fur nished, but this remark does not extend to many other rooms. Within twelve years past, Congress have expended eighty thousand dollars in furnishing this mansion, and there was some old furniture of the former stocks. Some portion of the plate is elegant, and is now worth twenty thousand dol lars, or more. " The ornaments are sparse and not of high order. In the second south-east room, there is a map of Virginia, a portrait of Bolivar, a bust of Washington, and one of Amer- icus Vespucius. These latter ornaments are very good specimens of the arts. In the third room, the ante-chamber, there is an engraving of the Declaration of Independence, in a gilt frame. In the yellow drawing room is a portrait of Washington, from the pencil of Stuart. In this room is a French piano, which, it is said, cannot be kept in tune. In the days of omens, when Memnon s harp responded to the rays of the sun, or ^Eolus first breathed among the reeds, this might be thought to have a mysterious bearing on the jars of the cabinet councils, or at least a Greek poet would have said that the genius of the place was not always happy and tuneful. This palace belongs to the people, and should be adorned with the best specimens of the fine arts the country can produce. The works of the great painters should hang upon the walls, and those of their sculptors fill every niche. To the tenants of this house, it cannot be of much im portance, for to them it is only a caravansera, where they throw down their wallets to cast a horoscope to lay spirits, and raise spells, and their hour comes, and they take up their march, without restoration to health or a forgiveness of their sins. Such is the omnipotence of the public mind in a free government. The whole square, except a few spaces for iron gates, is surrounded by a substantial stone wall, of ex cellent masonry. The four public offices of the Secretaries aje within these walls. The view from the north front is 362 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. extensive and beautiful, but from the south front it is more extensive and still more resplendent, embracing in its range a lovely prospect of the Potomac. " The site of the house is elevated about sixty feet above the river, and the descent is quite gradual to it. On the south-eastern side of the wall, there is a stone arch for a gate way ; it looks, from the antiquity of the style and the color of the material of which it is made, as if it had stood centu ries, defying the climate. Two large ancient weeping wil lows, one on each side of the arch, add much to its venera ble appearance. These trees have not grown up since the date of the federal constitution. They are older than the city charter. They were provincial seedlings, now national monuments. It is said that an accomplished lady of the Or cat House, in former days, when congratulated upon her elevation, remarked with a smile, I don t know that there is much cause for congratulation ; the President of the United States generally comes in at the iron gate, and goes out at the weeping willows. "* It belongs to this place to give some account of the usages and ceremonies of the interior of this house. We speak only of those which are public, and about which the world has some curiosity. During the session of Congress, the President has frequent dinner parties. Mr. Cooper gives the following account of a dinner to which he was invited, during the administration of President Monroe. " On this occasion, we were honored with the presence of Mrs. Monroe, and two or three of her female relatives. Crossing the hall, we were admitted to a drawing room, in which most of the company were already assembled. The hour was six. By far the greater part of the guests were men, and perhaps two-thirds were members of Congress. It is unnecessary to describe a company that was composed of a very fair representation of the whole country, the very lowest classes always excepted. There was great gravity of mien in most of the company, and neither any very marked exhibition, nor any positively striking want, of grace of man ner. The conversation was common-place, and a little sombre, though two or three men of the world got around * Sketches of Public Characters. IN NORTH AMERICA. 363 WASHINGTON. the ladies, where the battle of words was maintained with sufficient spirit. I do not know that it differed materially from a reunion any where else. To me the entertainment had rather a cold than a formal air. When dinner was an nounced, the oldest Senator present, (there were two, and seniority of service is meant,) took Mrs. Monroe and led her to the table. The rest of the party followed without much order. The President took a lady, as usual, and preceded the rest of the guests. " The drawing room was an apartment of a good size, and of just proportions. It might have been about as large as a better sort of Paris salon, in a private hotel. It was furnish ed in a mixed style, partly English and partly French, a cus tom that prevails a good deal, in all the fashions of this country. It was neat, sufficiently rich, without being at all magnificent, and, on the whole, was very much like a similar apartment in the house of a man of rank and fortune in Europe. The dining room was in a better taste than is common here, being quite simple, and but little furnished. The table was large and rather handsome. The service was in china, as is uniformly the case, plate being exceedingly rare, if at all used. There was, however, a rich plateau, and a great abundance of the smaller articles of table plate. The cloth, napkins, &,c. &c., were fine and beautiful. " The dinner was served in the French style, a little Americanized. The dishes were handed round, though some of the guests, appearing to prefer their own customs, very coolly helped themselves to what they found at hand. Of attendants there were a good many. They were neatly dressed, out of livery,and sufficient. To conclude, the whole entertainment might have passed for a better sort of European dinner party, at which the guests were too numerous for general or very agreeable discourse, and some of them too new to be entirely at their ease. Mrs. Monroe arose, at the end of the dessert, and withdrew, attended by two or three of the most gallant of the company. No sooner was his wife s back turned, than the President re-seated himself, inviting his guests to imitate the action. After allowing his guests sufficient time to renew, in a few glasses, the recol lections of similar enjoyments of their own, he arose himself, giving the hint to his company, that it was time to join the ladies. In the drawing room, coffee was served, and every body left the house before nine. 364 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. " On the succeeding Wednesday, Mrs. Monroe opened her doors to all the world. No invitation was necessary, it being the usage for the wife of the President to receive company once a fortnight during the session, without dis tinction of persons. " We reached the White House at nine. The court (or rather the grounds) was filled with carriages, and the com pany was arriving in great numbers. On this occasion two or three additional drawing rooms were opened, though the frugality of Congress has prevented them from finishing the principal reception room of the building. I will acknowledge the same sort of surprise that I felt at the Castle Garden fete, at finding the assemblage so respectable, in air, dress, and deportment. Determined to know exactly in which view to consider this ceremony, I gave my companion no peace until every thing was explained. " The evening at the White House, or the drawing room, as it is sometimes pleasantly called, is in fact a collection of all classes of people, who choose to go to the trouble and expense of appearing in dresses suited to an ordinary evening party. I am not sure that even dress is much regarded ; for I certainly saw a good many there in boots. The females were all neatly and properly attired, though few were orna mented with jewelry. Of course the poorer and laboring classes of the community would find little or no pleasure in such a scene. They consequently stay away. The infamous, if known, would not be admitted : for it is a peculiar conse quence of the high tone of morals in this country, that grave and notorious offenders rarely presume to violate the public feeling by invading society. Perhaps if Washington were a large town, the evenings could not exist; but as it is, no inconvenience is experienced. " Squeezing through the crowd, we achieved a passage to a part of the room, where Mrs. Monroe was standing, sur rounded by a bevy of female friends. After making our bow here, we sought the President. The latter had posted him self at the top of the room, where he remained most of the evening, shaking hands with all who approached. Near him stood all the Secretaries, and a great number of the most distinguished men of the nation. Individuals of importance from all parts of the Union were also here, and were em ployed in the manner usual to such scenes. " Besides these, one meets here a variety of people in IN NORTH AMERICA. 365 WASHINGTON. other conditions of life. I have known a cartman leave his horse in the street, and go into the reception room to shake hands with the President. He offended the good sense of all present, because it was not thought decent that a laborer should come in a dirty dress on such an occasion; but while he made a trifling mistake in this particular, he proved how well he understood the difference between gov ernment and society. He knew the levee was a sort of homage paid to political equality in the person of the first magistrate, but he would not have presumed to enter the house of the same person as a private individual, without being invited, or without a reasonable excuse in the way of business. "There are, no doubt, individuals, who mistake the char acter of these assemblies, but the great majority do not. They are simple, a periodical acknowledgment, that there is no legal barrier to the advancement of any one to the first asso ciation in the Union. You perceive there are no masters of ceremonies, no ushers, no announcing, nor indeed any let or hindrance to the ingress of all who please to come ; and yet how few, in comparison to the whole number who might en ter, do actually appear. If there is any man in Washington so dull as to suppose equality means a right to thrust himself into any company he pleases, it is probable he satisfies him self by boasting that he can go to the White House once a fortnight as well as a governor or any body else." " At the distance of about 200 yards, on the east of the President s house, are situated two buildings for the depart ments of State, and of the Treasury, and at the same dis tance on the west, are others for the War and Navy depart ments. These buildings are all of the same dimensions and construction ; they are 160 feet long, and 55 wide, of brick, two stories in height; they are divided in their length by a broad passage, with rooms on each side and a spacious stair case in the centre. The two most northerly buildings are ornamented with an Ionic portico of six columns, aricl pedi ment; and every observer must be convinced that the two other buildings require some such finish on their south points to make them complete. The grounds about these offices have been graduated and planted, of late years; and the shrubbery begins to make a pleasing appearance. " In walking through these offices, a reflecting visiter can not fail to be impressed with favorable ideas of the system 366 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. and order with which the affairs of this great people are con ducted. The heads of departments, with 250 clerks, of every grade, occupy these buildings. They exhibit no sinecure places, but are all engaged in the business of their employ ments, and with as little of relaxation as is compatible with a due attention to health." There are other objects of interest and curiosity in Wash ington, a notice of which we are obliged to omit, by reason of the unexpected length to which this article has been ex tended. The state of society at Washington, however, de mands a brief notice. " In many respects," remarks Mr. Hodgson, " Washington reminded me very much of a water ing place. Scarcely any of the members reside here, except while Congress is sitting ; and then they are in lodgings. The ladies who accompany their fathers or husbands, to see a little of the world, are situated very much as they would be at Harrowgate, or Cheltenham ; and there are usually many strangers in pursuit of entertainment. It is the residence also of the foreign ministers, and the heads of the depart ments of Government. All this gives rise to much dissipa tion. On some of the evenings there are routs at the houses of one or other of the ministers of the corps diplomatique, and the rest are generally anticipated by one or two invita tions. All, however, complain that this routine becomes very dull before the session closes, as they meet almost the same persons every evening, and the sober ones will seldom go out above two or three times a week. Families who are acquainted with each other, often board together at the large taverns ; and the members who are bachelors for the time being, form messes, at the private boarding-houses, where they are often in very close, and sometimes very shabby quarters. I think quite the majority of the members go to the Capitol in hackney coaches ; and as the ground has been covered with snow, I have several times seen a sledge and four, with eight or ten senators from Georgetown, in the neighborhood. " The literary taste of the inhabitants now does them credit, and it is every day growing better. The visiters find but little time to devote to reading, and their previous ac quirements are sufficient for all the demands of the occasion ; and to the honor of the country, I speak of the ladies more particularly, these are sufficient for their purpose. In some of the prettiest, a close observer will see the lisp or drawl of IN NORTH AMERICA. 367 WASHINGTON. the drawing room conversation, which is only a manner put on for the time. In the moments of intoxicated vanity, from admiration and flattery, even the political philosopher looks wise and straightens up ; and can youth and beauty be ex pected to be more firm or insensible 1 The diplomatic corps of Washington have not, in former years, done much either to enrich, embellish, or enlighten the city. Those who have been sent here in former times, have, with some honorable exceptions, been of a secondary order of diplomatists, with their equipage and parties, and after making a dash, have hardly been heard of again. Many of them, no doubt, were men of talents; but there was no opportunity of displaying their intellectual powers here. The corps are now, however, very respectable."* " During the session of Congress," the same writer con tinues, " the amusements of Washington, absorb no small portion of the attention of the visiters, as well as members. Political struggles possess a sort of dramatic influence on so ciety ; not that the theatre is very well attended ; but for the short time it is kept open, it finds a very tolerable support, when the press of visiters is great. The President s levees, and the parties of the Secretaries, foreign ministers, heads of Bureaus, and those citizens, who can afford to make par ties, are frequent, and well attended. At these parties are collected the most distinguished men, not only of the nation, but many foreigners of note. " The visiters who do not think of distinction, like well enough to see what is passing, and they find easy access to the social circles, and mingle in the throng, to see and ex amine for themselves. It is not difficult to get an intro duction to men of importance, and to pass a social half hour with them. These routs are rather to be remembered, than enjoyed at the moment. These parties are so crowded as to level all distinctions. Governors, generals, judges, and po litical managers, whose influence is something in a little dis trict, are all lost in this congregation. Orators, whose speeches were fine at home, and doubtless raised a most no ble flame among their political partisans, are astonished at being overlooked ; and poets, whose works have been printed on wire-wove and hot-pressed paper, and sent to the ladies toilets in silk and morocco binding, are mortified that not * Sketches of Public Characters. 368 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. even a belle lisps a line of their works, or ever whispers their names. The traveller, who has seen every kingdom on which the sun looks down, is put precisely on a par with him who has just come down from the mountains, or out of the West, or from the East. Fashion is the bed of Procrustes, and all are suited to its dimensions. A whiskered dandy, a black-stocked, officer-like looking man, and a quizzing-glass allache, are all moving about, regardless of those they jostle or crowd. If you inquire who it is that pushes you out of the way to get at a partner for the waltz, nobody can tell you, and perhaps he hardly could himself, if you were to ask him who he was : no matter, he seems gen teel, and that is sufficient for the hour. The waltz goes on, much to the gratification of the exquisites ; for belles aye, grave matrons, are swimming round in the dance, if Dervise- like whirling can be called dancing; and you see blowsy im pudence and simpering familiarity gazing with Asiatic volup tuousness upon seemingly unsuspecting innocence, made giddy by unnatural motion, or unmeaning flattery."* Allusion has been made in the preceding pages, to an in vasion of Washington by the British during the last war of the Americans with that power. In the beginning of August, 1814, a British squadron of between fifty and sixty sail, ar rived in the Chesapeake ; of this force several frigates and bomb vessels were ordered to ascend the Potomac ; another division under Sir Peter Parker, was directed to threaten Baltimore ; the main body ascended the Patuxent as far as Benedict, where on the 19th of August, 5000 men com manded by General Ross, were landed. In the meanwhile General Winder, who had command of the American military district, somewhat anticipated the de signs of the enemy ; but, still, not certain of their object, had called upon the militia to repair to his standard. But the call was by no means responded to, according to the exigency of the case. On the 22d, not more than 2000 had assembled. At the head of these and of 1000 regulars, he took a position not far from the enemy, intending to prevent their progress into the country. General Ross with his forces commenced his march to wards Washington, the Americans retiring before him. At * Sketches of Public Character. COMMMODORE BARNEY. 24 370 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. Bladensburgh, six miles from Washington, a battle was fought, General Winder commanding the American force and Commodore Barney a small flotilla. The British were com manded by Major General Ross, and Rear Admiral Cock- burn. The Americans were repulsed, and the British ad vanced towards the capital. A body of militia had been as sembled in this emergency ; but the President and heads of departments, on reviewing the force brought out for defence, despaired of success, and dispersed. General Ross, at the head of about seven hundred men, took possession of Wash ington, and burned the Capitol or Senate house, the Presi dent s house, and the public offices, the arsenal, the navy yard, and the bridge over the Potomac. The loss of the British in this expedition was nearly a thousand men, in killed, wounded, and missing ; the loss of the Americans was ten or twelve killed, and thirty or forty wounded. Commo dore Barney s horse was killed under him, and himself wounded in the thigh and taken prisoner ; but he vvasparolled on the field of battle for his bravery. The destruction of the national edifices, a British writer remarks, " has reflected a very equivocal glory upon its perpetrators. It was a wanton and useless outrage upon the feelings of the nation." And, says an intelligent British traveller, "Of all the errors committed on our part during that unhappy war, this was undoubtedly the greatest. Setting aside the question as to its abstract defensibility, on the ground of retaliation or otherwise, it is obvious, that it was in the highest degree impolitic ; because its immediate effect, as might have been anticipated, was to break down party spirit among the Americans, and to unite them as one man, in support of the measures of government. The firebrand was no sooner applied to their Chief Magistrate s Palace, and the National Senate House, than thousands, who had from the beginning maintained a systematic opposition to the con test, at once came forward and took up arms to maintain it: their national feelings were roused into powerful excitement, and they joined in one loud voice of execration, at the de struction of their national edifices. Our ministers, had such been their object, could not have devised a more effectual way of strengthening Mr. Madison s hands. Had our troops recorded their triumph upon the front walls of the buildings, and left them uninjured, the indignant feeling of humiliation IN NORTH AMERICA. 371 WASHINGTON. would have wreaked itself on those by whose imbecility the capture of the city had been occasioned, and who escaped so nimbly, when it fell into the enemy s hands. The burning of the buildings saved Mr. Madison. A thirst for revenge of the insult overcame every other feeling ; and the war became thenceforward, what it had not been before, decidedly popu lar and national." Among the objects in the vicinity of Washington which are of especial interest to every American, is Mount Vernon, the celebrated seat of General Washington ; bequeathed by him to the Hon. Bushrod Washington, the General s nephew, and lately one of the Judges of the Supreme Court. No one who visits Washington, will fail to visit Mount Vernon ; and no one who describes the former, needs any apology for de scribing the latter. This celebrated spot is 8 miles from Alexandria, and 15 from Washington. We avail ourselves of Mr. Duncan s account of the seat and sepulchre of the father of his country. " At the bottom of the avenue to Mount Vernon, the gate was opened to us by an old negro, who had survived the master of his youth, and who now receives from many a vis- iter, substantial tokens of the universal respect, which is en tertained for his memory. The avenue is narrow, and in bad order ; it has indeed more the air of a neglected country road, than the approach to a gentleman s residence. The mansion-house, an old-fashioned building of two stories, sur mounted with a small turret and weathercock, stands on an elevated situation, on the western bank of the Potomac; it is built of wood, but the walls are plastered in imitation of rus ticated freestone. The back part of the house is to the river ; at the other side are two small wings at right angles to the principal building, and connected by piazzas, which bend towards them, so as to form a kind of irregular crescent. Opposite the hall door is a semi-circular grass plot, surrounded with a gravel walk, and shaded on both sides by lofty trees : two beautiful chestnuts were pointed out to me, which sprang from nuts planted by the General s own hand. On the two sides are the vegetable and* flower gardens, in the latter of which is a green-house. " The mansion-house was originally built by Washington s uncle, who had served in the British navy under Admiral Vernon, and who commemorated his regard for his com- 372 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. manding officer, by the name which he gave to his estate. Some partial alterations were made on the house by the General ; but report says, that he subsequently regretted that he did not entirely rebuild it. It is an old-fashioned, per haps not a very comfortable residence, according to modern ideas of comfort ; but it ought now to be considered sacred, and have the most unremitting care bestowed on its preserva tion. He will be worse than a Vandal who presumes to pull it down. In the hall hangs a picture of the Bastile, and in a small glass case above it, is an ancient key, which formerly turned the bolt of one of the dreary locks in that house of sighs. It was sent out to Washington by the Marquis La fayette, after the destruction of the Bastile, as an inscription affixed, in his hand-writing, records. Over the mantel-piece is a framed miniature of the General, which was cut out of a piece of common earthen ware. It is a singular fact, that this is regarded by the family as the most accurate likeness that exists. The general contour of his face is well ascer tained, and there is a strong similarity in most of the por traits ; yet those who knew him best, agree that there was a certain expression in his countenance, which is quite wanting even in Stuart s painting, and in the engraving which was executed from it. This very ordinary kind of daub, which was broken out of a common pitcher, and probably executed by some potter s apprentice, is said to possess more of this intellectual characteristic, than any of the other portraits. " At the back of the house, a lofty piazza stretches along the whole length of the building ; and before it, the ground slopes rapidly towards the river, and soon becomes quite pre cipitous. On the bank is a small tea house, which affords a most commanding view of the surrounding scenery. The Potomac widens into a bay before you, and, bending round the base of Mount Vernon, seems almost to insulate the promontory on which it stands ; then sweeping in the op posite direction round the projecting shore of Maryland, and lost for a time in its vast forest, it reappears in noble ex panse about ten miles below, with the sunbeams flashing from its surface, and rolling its mighty current into the yet more ample bosom of the Chesapeake. "A little to the right of the tea-house, and nearer to the edge of the bank, is the tomb of Washington. Here, under the peaceful shade of oaks and cedars, lies all that earth con tains of him, by whose energy and patriotism the United 374 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. States became a nation ! No venerable cathedral rears its arches over his remains ; no sumptuous mausoleum embalms his memory. 1 Si inonumentuin quaeris, circumspice ! * His country is his monument; his country s liberty his only panegyric. " Washington in his will designated the spot in which he wished to be interred, and particularly directed that his body should not afterwards be removed. The cemetery is nothing more than a plain brick vault, almost level with the ground ; it is encircled by venerable oaks, and some beauti ful red cedars in the mould which covers the roof. Visiters were formerly allowed to see the interior, but some person having had the rudeness to strip part of the cloth from the coffin, all access to it is now forbidden. Subsequently to this prohibition, the servant who had been entrusted with the key, conceived the horrible idea of robbing the vault, for the purpose of carrying off the body to Britain, to ex hibit for money ! His intention was happily discovered, and the nefarious outrage prevented. It is difficult, indeed, to imagine how it could have been carried into effect, with out immediate detection ; but the projector must have been a fool to suppose that such atrocity would have been coun tenanced in Britain, or that he would have been permitted for a single day to carry on so abominable a trade. " The State of Virginia applied to the relatives of the General, for permission to remove the body to Richmond, to erect a monument over it, and it is said that, notwith standing the specific injunctions of the will, the family were persuaded to consent to this proposal. Several years, however, have since elapsed ; and as no provision has yet been made for carrying the proposed plan into effect, it is generally believed that no claim will be founded upon that permission. Congress, it is reported, wish to transfer the body to the seat of government, and to entomb it under the centre dome of the capitol. If it be ever removed from its present situation, certainly the capitol is its only suitable resting place. No individual State should be allowed to possess a deposit, which, if the family relinquish it, is undoubtedly the property of the nation, and should pass into no other guardianship. Beyond all question, IN NORTH AMERICA. 375 WASHINGTON. however, the proper place for Washington s ashes is where they are. The secluded spot harmonizes with every idea which we have formed of his character, while the powerful influence of local associations, gives vividness to our con ceptions, and intensity to our emotions. In the capitol, every thing would have an opposite tendency. It is a building which Washington never saw, and which is no way connected with his personal history : it has once been reduced to ashes ; and what would in all probability have been the fate of the body had the removal taken place be fore that event? In visiting the tomb of Nelson, in the vaults of St. Paul s, it is not the wondrous achievements of the hero which chiefly occupy our thoughts ; there is nothing in those damp and dismal caverns, which is at all in harmony with such recollections. An attendant pilots you, by the yellow glimmering of a tallow candle, through tartarean darkness, to the quarry of granite under which he is buried: and while wandering round it, your thoughts are engrossed with the opening which was made in the floor of the church to lower the coffin through, and of the prodigious labor it must have cost to pile up over it such ponderous masses of stone. Nelson you scarcely think of; your ideas are all engaged about those who buried him. At Mount Vernon no such distraction takes place. You look around upon scenery which Washington often con templated ; you tread the turf over which he walked; you see the gardens in which he amused himself; the trees which he planted ; the house, the rooms, the chair, which he occupied ; arid the humble vault which he himself chose for the repose of his dust. Every thing is consistent ; the ef fect is harmonious and powerful. Mount Vernon alone should be Washington s grave." " On the opposite bank of the Potomac, and a very little way further up, is a small intrenchment, named Fort Wash ington, which commands the channel of the river. Had it been vigorously defended when our vessels went up the river to Alexandria, it is believed that it might have arrested their progress. When our troops, however, were on their march to Washington, the officer who commanded it blew it up and made off. There was no sufficient cause for such a proceeding ; yet it is said that he obeyed to the letter the or ders of his superior officer. I was quite gratified to hear from a gentleman of Judge Washington s family, that when IN NORTH AMERICA. 377 WASHINGTON. the British ships of war passed Mount Vernon, they honored the memory of the departed hero, by lowering their foretop- sails, and their bands, as another gentleman informed me. played Washington s march. That was indeed a manifesta tion of most correct and honorable feeling on the part of the commanding officer. " I have mentioned that the avenue to Mount Vernon had a neglected appearance; I am sorry to add that similar neglect pervades other parts of the establishment. The flower-garden and green-house are nearly gone to decay ; the teahouse on the bank of the river is almost in ruins ; in deed, its upper story from which a more extensive view may be obtained, is at present inaccessible, for the ladder to it retains but one foot at top and another at bottom. Even the door of the vault is to all appearance so crazy, that I think a kick would go far to knock it to pieces. It is painful to observe such an air of desolation in so interesting a spot, and I would cherish the hope that it will speedily be removed."* ^ During the visit of Lafayette to the United States, he paid a visit to Mount Vernon and the tomb of Washington, which is thus described by Mr. Lavasseur : " After a voyage of two hours the guns of Fort Washing ton announced that we were approaching the last abode of the father of his country. At this solemn signal, to which the military band accompanying us responded by plaintive strains, we went on deck, and the venerable soil of Mount Vernon was before us ; at this view an involuntary and spontaneous movement made us kneel. We landed in boats, and trod upon the ground so often worn by the feet of Washington. A carriage received Gen. Lafayette, and the other visiters silently ascended the precipitous path, which conducted to the solitary habitation of Mount Vernon. In re-entering beneath this hospitable roof, which had sheltered him when the reign of terror tore him violently from his country and family, George Lafayette felt his heart sink within him at no more finding him, whose paternal care had softened his misfortunes, whose example and wise coun sel inspired his youthful mind with those generous sentiments which at present render him an example of good citizenship, a model to parents and husbands, the- most devoted of sons, * Duncan s Travels. 378 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. the most stable of friends. His father again sought with emotion for every thing which reminded him of the compan ion of his glorious toils. " Three nephews of General Washington took Lafayette, his son, and myself, to conduct us to the tomb of their un cle ; our numerous companions remained in the house ; in a few minutes after, the cannon of the fort, thundering anew, announced that Lafayette rendered homage to the ashes of Washington. Simple and modest as he was during life, the tomb of the citizen hero is scarcely perceived amid the sombre cypresses by which it is surrounded : a vault slightly elevated and sodded over, a wooden door without inscrip tion, some withered and some green garlands, indicate to the traveller who visits this spot, the place where rests in peace the puissant amis which broke the chains of his country. As we approached, the door was opened ; Lafayette descend ed alone into the vault, and a few minutes after re-appeared, with his eyes overflowing with tears. He took his son and me by the hajMl, and led us into the tomb, where by a sign he indicated the coffin of his paternal friend, alongside of which was that of his companion in life, united to him forever in the grave. We knelt reverentially, near his coffin, which we respectfully saluted with our lips; rising, we threw ourselves into the arms of Lafayette, and mingled our tears with his. " In leaving the vault, we were met by the three nephews of Washington: one of them, Mr. Custis, presented General Lafayette with a gold ring, containing some of the hair of the great man, and we returned to the house, where our companions awaited us. An hour was devoted to visiting the house and grounds, which at present belong to a nephew of Washington, who bears the same name, and is one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States. He has made no alteration in the property left him by his uncle, for whose memory he entertains the most profound and tender respect. George Lafayette assured us that every thing in the house was as he saw it twenty-eight years ago. He found, in the place where Washington himself had left it, the principal key of the Bastile, which was sent him by Lafayette, at the time this monument of despotism was destroyed. The note sent with the key is still carefully preserved." Washington closed hii useful and eventful life on the night of the 14th Dec., 1799. The following account of his last hours is from " Custis s Recollections : " OLD TOMB OF WASHINGTON. NEW TOMB OF WASHINGTON. 380 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. " On the morning of the thirteenth, the General was en gaged in making some improvement in front of Mount Ver- non. As was usual with him, he carried his own compass, noted his observations, and marked out the ground. The day became rainy, with sleet, and the improver remained so long exposed to the inclemency of the weather, as to be con siderably wetted before his return to the house. About one o clock he was seized with dullness and nausea, but having changed his clothes, he sat down to his in-door work there being no moment of his time for whicli he had not provided an appropriate employment. " At night, on joining his family circle, the General com plained of slight indisposition, and, after a single cup of tea, repaired to his library, where he remained writing until be tween eleven and twelve o clock. Mrs. Washington retired about the usual family hour, but became alarmed at not hear ing the accustomed sound of the library door, as it closed for the night, and gave signal for rest in the well-regulated man sion, she arose again and continued sitting up, in much anx iety and suspense. At length the well-known step was heard on the stair, and upon the General s entering his cham ber, the lady chided him for staying up so late, knowing him self to be unwell ; to which Washington made this memorable reply : I came as soon as my business was accomplished. You well know, that, through a long life, it has been my un varied rule never to put off till the morrow the duties which should be performed to-day. " Having first covered up the fire with care, the man of mighty labors sought repose ; but it came not as it had long been wont to do, to comfort and restore, after the many and earnest occupations of the well-spent day. The night was spent in feverish restlessness and pain. Tired nature s sweet restorer, balmy sleep, was destined no more to visit his couch ; yet the manly sufferer uttered no complaint, would permit no one to be disturbed in their rest on his ac count, and it was only at daybreak he would consent that the overseer might be called in, and bleeding resorted to. A vein was opened, but without affording relief. Couriers were despatched to summon Dr. Craik, the family physician, and Drs. Dick and Brown, as consulting physicians, all of whom came with speed. The proper remedies were admin istered, but without producing their healing effects, while the patient, yielding to the anxious looks of all around him, waived IN NORTH AMERICA. 381 WASHINGTON. his usual objections to medicines, and took those which were prescribed, without hesitation or remark. The medical gen tlemen spared not their skill, and all the resources of their art were exhausted, in unwearied endeavors to preserve this noblest work of nature. " The night approached the last night of Washington ; the weather became severely cold, while the group gathered nearer to the couch of the sufferer, watching with intense anxiety for the slightest dawning of hope. He spoke but little. To the respectful and affectionate inquiries of an old family servant, as she smoothed down his pillow, how he felt him self, he answered, I arn very ill. To Dr. Craik, his earliest companion in arms, longest tried and bosom friend, he ob served, I am dying, sir, but am not afraid to die. To Mrs. Washington, he said, Go to my escritoire, and in the private drawer you will find two papers, bring them to me. They were brought. He continued : These are my wills preserve this one, and burn the other. Which was ac cordingly done. Calling to Col. Lear, he said, Let my corpse be kept the usual period of three days. " The patient bore his acute suffering with manly fortitude and perfect resignation to the Divine will while, as the night advanced, it became evident that he was sinking, and he seemed fully aware that his " hour was nigh." Pie in quired the time, and it was answered, a few moments to twelve. He spoke no more, the hand of death was upon him, and he was conscious that his " hour was come." With surprising self-possession, he prepared to die. Composing his form at length, and folding his arms upon his bosom, without a sigh, without a groan, the father of his country expired, gently, as though an infant died. Nor pang nor struggle told when the noble spirit took its noiseless flight; while so tranquil appeared the manly features in the repose of death, that some moments had passed ere those around could believe the patriarch was no more. " It may be asked, and why was the ministry of religion wanting to shed its peaceful and benign lustre upon the last hours of Washington 1 Why was he, to whom the observance of sacred things were ever primary duties through life, without their consolations in his last moments 1 We an swer, circumstances did not permit. It was but for a little while that the disease assumed so threatening a character as to forbid the encouragement of hope, yet to stay that sum mons which none may refuse, to give farther days to him, 382 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES WASHINGTON. whose time-honored life was so dear to mankind, prayer was not wanting to the Throne of Grace. Close to the couch of the sufferer, resting her head upon that ancient book, with which she had been wont to hold pious communion, a portion of every day, for more than half a century, was the venerable consort ; absorbed in silent prayer, and from which she only rose when the mourning group prepared to bear her from the chamber of the dead. Such were the last hours of Washington ! " The following tribute to the exalted virtues of this illus trious man, from the pen of Lord Brougham, may with pro priety close this brief notice of one who was " first in war first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen." " How grateful the relief which the friend of mankind, the lover of virtue, experiences, when, turning from the contemplation of such a character, [Napoleon,] his eye rests upon the greatest of our own or of any other age ; the only one upon whom an epithet so thoughtlessly lavished by men to foster the crimes of their worst enemies, may indeed be innocently and justly bestowed ! In Washington we truly behold a marvellous contrast to almost every one of the en dowments and the vices, which we have been contemplating ; and which are so well fitted to excite a mingled admiration, and sorrow, and abhorrence. With none of that brilliant genius which dazzles ordinary minds; with not even any re markable quickness of apprehension ; with knowledge less than almost all persons in the middle ranks, and many well- educated of the humbler classes possess; this eminent person is presented to our observation clothed in attributes as modest, as unpretending, as little calculated to strike or astonish, as if he had passed unknown through some secluded region of pri vate life. But he had a judgment sure and sound ; a steadi ness of mind which never suffered any passion, or even any feeling, to ruffle its calm ; a strength of understanding, which worked rather than forced its way through all obsta cles, removing or avoiding rather than overleaping them. His courage, whether in battle or in council, was as perfect as might be expected from this pure and steady temper of soul. A perfectly just man, with a thoroughly firm resolution never to be misled by others, any more than by others overawed ; never to be seduced or betrayed, or hurried away by his own weakness or self-delusions, any more than by other men s arts ; nor ever to be disheartened by the most complicated dif- IN NORTH AMERICA. 388 WASHINGTON. ficulties, any more than to be spoiled on the giddy heights of fortune such was this great man whether we regard him as sustaining alone the whole weight of campaigns, all but desperate, or gloriously terminating a just warfare by his re sources arid his courage presiding over the jarring ele ments of political councils, alike deaf to the storms of all extremes or directing the formation of a new government for a great people, the first time that so vast an experiment had ever been tried by man or finally retiring from the su preme power to which his virtue had raised him over the nation he had created, and whose destinies he had guided as long as his aid was required retiring from the veneration of all parties, of all nations, of all mankind, in order that the rights of men might be conserved, and that his example might never be appealed to by vulgar tyrants. This is the consummate glory of the great American ; a triumphant warrior where the most sanguine had a right to despair ; a successful ruler in all the difficulties of a course wholly un tried ; but a warrior, whose sword only left its sheath when the first law of our nature commanded it to be drawn ; and a ruler who, having tasted of supreme power, gently and un ostentatiously desired that the cup might pass from him, nor would suffer more to wet his lips than the most solemn and sacred duty to his country and his God required ! " To his latest breath did this great patriot maintain the noble character of a captain, the patron of peace; and a statesman, the friend of justice. Dying, he bequeathed to his heirs the sword, which he had worn in the war of lib erty, charging them never to take it from the scabbard but in self-defence, or in defence of their country and her freedom ; and commanding them, that when it should thus be drawn, they should never sheathe it, never give it up, but prefer falling with it in their hands to the relinquishment thereof, words, the majesty and simple eloquence of which are not surpassed in the oratory of Athens and Rome. It will be the duty of the historian and the sage in all ages, to omit no occasion of commemorating this illustrious man ; and until time shall be no more, will a test of the progress which our race has made in wisdom and in virtue be derived from the veneration paid to the immortal name of WASH INGTON."* * Edinburgh Review, Oct., 1838. 384 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES GEORGETOWN. GEORGETOWN. Georgetown may be considered as a suburb, or part of the metropolis, being separated from it by a narrow stream called Rock creek. It is about three miles west of the Capitol. The position of the town is remarkably salubrious, and it has at all times escaped those summer epidemics that have prevailed some years in the adjacent country. It is handsomely situated on a succession of hills, rising gradually from the river and creek, to which all its streets incline, so that every considerable rain thoroughly cleanses them of all impurity. The houses are chiefly of brick, and there are many elegant villas in different parts. The popu lation is 8j36(5. It is a thriving place, and has considerable commerce. Tobacco and flour are its chief articles of exporta tion. During the session of Congress, it is the residence of a considerable number of that body. The society is represented as enlightened and agreeable. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal leaves the Potomac at this place, and a bridge crosses the road. In respect to public institutions, the two which attract most attention, are the College, and the Convent of Visita tion. The former was established 50 years since. In 1815, it was made a University by Congress. It is under the di rection of the Roman Catholics. The College buildings are delightfully situated on an eminence that commands a fair prospect all around. It has a respectable library, and the system of education is said to be enlightened and liberal. The Convent of Visitation is under the direction of about 60 nuns, who devote themselves to religious duties and the education of females. A large number of children are taught gratuitously ; but the most valuable part of the estab lishment is the boarding-school for young ladies. A writer whom we have before quoted, has the following language respecting the instructors in this institution, and the system of education pursued. " The sisters themselves are highly educated, in every branch of science, and in all the current and fashionable literature of the age, as well as in the pro found ethics, and the sublime doctrines of the Christian religion. In this institution the great evil of most schools is avoided ; this evil is, to make one person teach many IN NORTH AMERICA. 385 ALEXANDRIA. branches, and of course no one can be profound in all. Here, each sister selects her department, and never walks out. of it; six or seven, therefore, are united as instructors in the same branch, and the indisposition of one or two does not interfere with the course of instruction in any branch. " The languages are here taught with great accuracy, and with a pure, lady-like, and natural accent, the charm of polished society. The system of education extends to the minute duties of housewifery, and the pupils graduate with a thorough acquaintance with the science of the kitchen and mysteries of the culinary art, without which no woman can be said to be accomplished." ALEXANDRIA. Alexandria, formerly called Kelhavcn, is a commercial town of considerable activity, seven miles south of Wash ington, on the opposite side of the Potomac. The river is here a mile wide, and 30 feet deep. The harbor is capacious, and vessels of the largest size can float alongside the wharfs, a row of which extends along the river the whole length of the city. The town is compactly built on the plan of Phil adelphia ; the streets are wide, deeply paved, kept clean, and are better lighted at night than most American towns. Ar ticles of export are flour, biscuits, and tobacco; fish and lumber are, however, shipped in considerable quantities. It is said that 200,000 barrels of flour have been inspected here in the course of a single year. The biscuits or crack ers are quite celebrated, and are shipped in large quantities to all parts of the United States, and even to the West India Islands. Baltimore has had the same withering effect on the commerce of Alexandria, that New York has exercised on its seaport vicinity. The population is 8,751. Alexandria, at the request of its citizens, has recently been restored to the jurisdiction of Virginia, which in 1790 ceded it to the United States, as a part of the seat of the Federal government. 25 VIRGINIA. RICHMOND. RICHMOND, the political metropolis of Virginia, is situated on the north bank of the James river, between fifty and six ty miles above City point ; 150 miles above the mouth of the river, and 123 south-west from Washington. It is at the head of tide water ; though the river has been rendered boatable 220 miles above the city. It is just below the falls, and op posite to Manchester, with which it is connected by bridges. The population, in 1850 was 27,432. The situation of Richmond is highly picturesque and healthful, and it is a flourishing commercial city. Most of the houses are of brick, and many of them are elegant. Its public buildings are very commodious, and in good style, and it has considerable manufactures. The falls ex tend nearly six miles, in which the river descends "eighty feet. A canal passes round these falls, and the river is navigable for batteaux 220 miles above them. The city is thus connected with a very extensive back country, that is highly productive of wheat, corn, hemp, tobacco, and coal. Vessels drawing ten feet of water come to Rockets, just below the city, and those drawing fifteen feet ascend to Warwick, five miles below Richmond. The inland, coast ing, and foreign trade of Richmond, are extensive and in creasing, and the city possesses great advantages as a healthy and pleasant place of residence. It has good schools, and convenient houses of worship for many re ligious denominations. The Virginia armory is an exten sive establishment, and capable of supplying the State with TRAVELS AND SKETCHES RICHMOND. arms. The new court house is a very spacious and elegant building. The capitol has a very commanding situation on Shockoe hill.* In 1811, December 26, a most awful catastrophe befel a portion of the citizens of Richmond during the sudden con flagration of the theatre. The house was uncommonly full at the time ; not less than GOO persons were present. The cur tain rose on the second act of a pantomime ; the orchestra was in full chorus ; a performer came on to open the scene ; when sparks of fire began to fall on the back part of the stage, and Mr. Robertson came, waving his hand first to the ceiling, then exclaiming, " the house is on fire ! " The cry of fire ! Jire! passed rapidly through the house; and the scene of horror and distress that followed, baffles all description. All flew from their seats. Cries and shrieks filled the house. Many persons were trodden under foot ; several were thrown back from the windows, from which they were endeavouring to leap. The stairways were blocked up, and the smoke threatened instant suffocation. Many leaped from the win dows of the first story, and were saved ; some from the second windows; others were shockingly burnt. The fire flew with amazing rapidity ; and within ten minutes after it caught the whole house was wrapped in flames. Nearly 70 persons perished in the conflagration ; and a considerable number af terwards expired, in consequence of the injuries they re ceived. Among those who perished in the flames was George W. Smith, governor of Virginia, and Abraham B. Venable, president of the Bank of Virginia. The first had, but a few days before, been placed in the chair of government ; the last had very honorably filled several high stations, and had been in the House of Representatives, and in the Senate of the United States, during the most interesting periods. Pursuant to an ordinance of the common council of the city of Richmond, the remains of those who perished in the fire were deposited in the area, which had been inclosed within the walls of the theatre ; an area which was to be encompassed by a wall five feet high. The interment was made on Sunday, the 30th, when a mournful procession Encyclopaedia Americana. IN NORTH AMERICA. 389 RICHMOND. moved to the sepulchral spot. The remains were chiefly in closed in two large mahogany boxes, and were deposited in the centre of the place where the pit stood. The city was bathed in tears. On this spot of agony and desolation, the citizens have, with great propriety, erected a church, called the Monumental Church, with a monument in front, com memorative of the melancholy event.* Since the foregoing catastrophe, another theatre has been erected, but it is not extensively patronized. The city water works are among the most splendid and useful establishments of the city: they were commenced in 1830, and cost about 8120,000. Richmond contains 16 churches, some of which are large and elegant structures. There are three banks, two of which occupy different rooms in the same fine build ing. Richmond has considerable commerce, and its manu factures are varied and extensive. Its exports principally consist of flour, tobacco, and coal ; the total of which amount annually to about $6,000,000. The capital employed in manufactures is nearly 81,400,000. * Holmes s Annals. NORTH CAROLINA RALEIGH. RALEIGH, the political metropolis of North Carolina, de rives its name from Sir Walter Raleigh, a distinguished war rior, statesman, and writer, who flourished in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I., and who, in 1584, projected a plan for the discovery and settlement of the territory north of the gulf of Mexico. The discoveries made under his auspices terminated, in after years, in the settlement of Virginia, and the neighboring States. With great propriety does the South contain a city bearing his name. He was one of the most distinguished men of his age. A well-known act of gal lantry increased his favor at court. Elizabeth the quean, in a walk among a crowd of courtiers, having come to a spot where the path was obstructed by mire, Raleigh immediately took off his rich plush cloak and spread it on the ground for a footcloth. The city thus called after this gallant knight, is a hand some interior town, near the centre of North Carolina, six miles west of the Neuse, 164 miles south-west of Rich mond, and 288 from Washington. It contains thirteen pub lic buildings, five houses of public worship, and about 4,518 inhabitants, of whom half are slaves. Union square, in the centre of the town, containing ten acres, is a public ground, highly ornamental to the city. Four streets extend from it, dividing the town into four parts. In 1831, the splendid State House in this town was destroyed by fire. The beauti ful marble statue of Washington, by Canova, the great Ital ian artist, which cost the State 25,000 dollars, was placed in the State House, and was supposed at first irreparably des troyed. It has since been discovered to be less injured than 300 IN NORTH AMERICA. 391 was imagined. The artist is dead, and it is a source of mel ancholy regret, that this chef douvre can never be restored to its pristine beauty. There are two flourishing academies in this town. The most beautiful materials for building abound in its vicinity.* * Flint s Geography of Mississippi Valley. SOUTH CAROLINA. CHARLESTON. CHARLESTON, the commercial metropolis of South Caro lina, and formerly the seat of government, is a fine looking city, standing on a dead level with the sea in front, at the distance of seven miles ; and two noble rivers, the Ashley and the Cooper, inclosing it on a wide peninsula, called the neck. The present city was founded in 1680, old Charles ton being at this time abandoned, on account of the un- healthiness of its situation. The old town lay upon the banks of the Ashley river, and was founded in 1070 by Gov ernor William Sayle. It has a neat and safe harbor, but its entrance is somewhat obstructed by a bar. The city is regularly built, and the streets cross each other at right angles. The smallest streets are paved. All have brick sidewalks. The paving stone is imported from the northern States, on which account it is an expensive article, and the paving of the streets can only be gradually effected. In the streets are a row of trees, consisting principally of the Pride of India, planted on each side along the outer edge of the foot pavement; a fashion common to most of the southern towns of America. " What gives Charleston, however, its peculiar character," Captain B. Hall adds, " is the veranda, or piazza, which embraces most of the houses on their southern side, and frequently, also, on those which face the east and west. These are not clumsily put on, but constructed in a light oriental style, extending from the ground to the very top, so that the rooms on each story en joy the advantage of a shady open walk. Except in the busy, commercial parts of the town, where building ground is too precious to be so employed, the houses are surround ed with a garden crowded with shrubs and flowers of all kinds, shaded by double and treble rows of orange trees ; each establishment being generally encircled with hedges, of a deep green, covered over with the most brilliant show 392 IN NORTH AMERICA. 393 CHARLESTON. imaginable, of large white roses, fully as broad as my hand. The houses, which stand in the midst of these luxurious pleasure grounds, are built of every form and size, generally painted white, with railed terraces on the tops ; and every house, or very nearly every one, and certainly every church spire, of which there are a great number, has a lightning rod."* Another writer, F. Hall, remarks, that " Streets unpaved and narrow, small wooden houses, from among which rise, in every quarter of the town, stately mansions, surrounded, from top to bottom, with broad verandas, and standing within little gardens full of orange-trees, palm-trees, and magnolias, are features which give Charleston an expression belonging to the South of Europe, rather than to the Teutonic cities of the North. Perhaps, taking into view its large black popu lation, and glowing temperature in January, it is not very unlike some of the cities on the Mediterranean coast of Af rica. In other respects it is a noble monument of what human effort can effect. Its soil is a barren, burning sand, with a river on each side, overflowing into pestilential marsh es, which exhale a contagion so pernicious as to render sleep ing a single night within its influence, during the summer months, an experiment of the greatest hazard. " Yet Charleston is deemed more salubrious than any other part of the low country of the United States ; and during the sickly season, it is the resort even of rich planters from the West Indies. But Charleston itself is no place of refuge during the hottest part of the season. All the inhab itants, who can afford it, then flee to a barren sand-bank in the harbor, called Sullivan s Island, containing one well and a few palmettoes ; where they dwell in miserable wooden tenements, trembling in every storm, lest their hiding places should be blown from over their heads, or deluged by an in undation from the sea. Many migrate to the mountains, to Ballston or Saratoga, or to other parts of the Northern States."t When those who decide on spending the summer in the city, are once settled there, it is deemed in the highest de gree hazardous to sleep a single night in the country. " The experiment," says Mr. Hodgson, " is sometimes made, and * B. Hall s Travels. t F. Hall s Travels. 394 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHARLESTON. occasionally with impunity ; but all my informants concurred in assuring me, that fatal consequences might generally be expected. The natives, however, may pass to and fro between the city and Sullivan s Island, (seven miles distant,) without risk. Of late years, it has been discovered, that there are certain healthy spots, even in the country, during the most sickly months. These are in the pine barrens, at a distance from the swamps. To be safe in them, it is necessary that the land be as barren as possible, and that not a tree be cut down, except to leave room for the house. Even a little garden, it is considered, would entail some risk. I saw several of these retreats, which are occupied by the over seers of plantations."* These remarks apply-to the natives whose apprehensions are confined to " the country fever," a species of ague. After the age of ten or fifteen years, they are generally proof against the yellow, or " stranger s fever." But the probability would be greatly against a stranger s es caping the fatal effects of the latter, who should remain either in Charleston or Savannah during the sickly season. It is only, therefore, during a few months in the year, that Charleston is inhabited by the better class of its citizens. The races, which usually take place in February, are the signal for the principal families to visit their town houses, for three or four weeks, assembling from their planta tions, at a distance of from 30 to 150 miles. During this short season of gayety, there is a perpetual round of visits. Early in March, they return to the retirement of their planta tions, often accompanied by the strangers with whom they have made acquaintance. They remain there till about the beginning of June, when they return to the city, or start on their summer excursion. By those who remain prisoners in Charleston, the first black frost is looked for with great anx iety towards October ; after which, they may, with safety, return to their plantations, where they remain till the re turn of February. " In passing through the city at that season, when all is ornamented and gay, and the climate pure and delicious, it is melancholy," remarks Mr. Hodgson, " to think of the stillness which will soon pervade its streets, when the heats will .almost suspend all intercourse among the na tives, and when the stranger who has been so rash as to re main in this infected region, will move with fearful and Hodgson i Travels. IN NORTH AMERICA. 395 CHARLESTON. trembling steps, his imagination filled with apparitions of the 1 pestilence that walketh in darkness, and his heart sicken ed with the destruction that wasteth at noon day. " " Charleston keeps in pay a company of police soldiers, xvho during the night occupy several posts. They have their guard-house near Jones s hotel, and I was startled to hear the retreat and reveille beat there. This corps owes it sup port to the fear of the negroes. At nine o clock in the evening a bell is sounded ; and after this no negro can ven ture abroad without a written permission from his master, or he will immediately be thrown into prison, nor can his owner obtain his release till next day, and then only by the payment of a fine. Should the master refuse to pay this fine, then the slave receives twenty-five lashes, arid a receipt, with which he is sent back to his master." The Duke of Saxe Weimar, who spent some time in Charleston, in 1825, visiting several of the public buildings and institutions of the city, thus describes it : " The market consists of five houses, in a long street ending upon the harbor, and resembles somewhat those of the Philadelphia market. The quantity of the most beautiful tropical fruit therein arranged, oranges from Florida, pistachios, and large excellent pineapples from Cuba, interested me much. These large and delicious fruit cost only twelve and a half cents each, of course a dollar for eight. There were nuts of vari ous descriptions ; many sorts of potatoes, cabbages, and white and red radishes. Fish were not presented in so great a variety as I expected. Of shell fish, I saw oysters only, which are roasted in the shell at market, and consumed by the negroes with great avidity. Upon the roofs of the market houses sat a number of buzzards, which are supported by offals. It is a species of vulture, black, with a naked head. Seen from a distance, they resemble turkeys, for which reason they are denominated turkey-buzzards. They are not only suffered as very useful animals, but there is a fine of five dollars for the killing of one of these birds. A pair of these creatures were so tame that they crept about in the meat market among the feet of the buyers." " The Orphan House," continues the same writer, " is a brick building, three stories high, erected by voluntary con tributions, and in it, one hundred and thirty-six children of 396 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHARLKSTON. both sexes are supported. I was surprised at the exceeding cleanliness pervading the whole establishment. The chil dren sleep upon the floor, and the girls and sick only are allowed mattresses; the boys have a woollen coverlet, in which they wrap themselves. I was informed that this was done for fear of vermin. A very nourishing diet, and a truly maternal care, preserve the children healthy. At their twelfth year, they are provided for abroad, to enable them to enrn their own subsistence. Many of the boys enter into the United States Navy, and it has been reported to me that two of the pupils of this institution have attained the rank of officers. Behind the house is a moderately large chapel, in the midst of the garden. The clergy of all Christian professions can hold divine service here every Sunday after noon ; in the mornings, the service in turn is taken charge of by a superintendent. In front of the building is a large open square. In it stands an ill-preserved statue of Lord Chatham, which was erected by the then colony of South Carolina, before the breaking out of the American Revolu tion, in memory of that great man, in gratitude for the op position he maintained against colonial taxation. An in scription on the statue mentions this. During the siege, it stood at the corner of the street, near the city hall. There it lost an arm by one of the first English balls that struck the city." The Duke had the opportunity of inspecting a rice mill in the vicinity of the city. He thus speaks on the subject of rice, and the manner of cleaning it. " Rice is known as the staple article of produce of the lowlands in South Caro lina, and yet there was no mill hitherto to free the rice from its husk, and to prepare it for use or export. This mill is situated near the river Ashley. The schooner that conveys the rice from the plantation, lies directly before it, a cart is taken on board the vessel, filled with rice, and by means of an inclined plane, drawn into the mill, where it is deposited. Hence the rice is drawn to the upper story, in which it is cleared of dust by a fan, and passed between two large mill stones, which frees the hull from the grain. It is then placed in a cylinder of bolting cloth. By this it is further cleaned from all hull. Now it comes into the trough, where it is beaten by heavy hammers faced with tin, and by that means is completely cleaned. It is once more conveyed into IN NORTH AMERICA. 397 CHARLESTON. a bolting cylinder, where, by another series of revolu tions, it is freed from the slightest dust, and shook through a tube into the tierces placed for packing. The tierces stand upon a trundle, which whirls round, while a hammer con tinually strikes upon it. Each tierce in this way receives six hundred pounds of rice. The machinery is to be set in motion in future by a steam machine of twenty-four horse power." In 1787, Charleston contained 1600 houses, and a popula tion of 15,000 souls, viz : 9,600 whites, and, 5,400 negroes. The public buildings at that time consisted of the State House, the Exchange, the Armory, the Poor House, two large Churches for Episcopalians, two for Congregationalists, one for Scotch Presbyterians, two for Baptists, one Metho dist, one German Lutheran, one French Protestant, one Quakers . Meeting House; and two Synagogues, one for Portuguese, the other for German Jews. There were up wards of 1000 Roman Catholics at that time in Charleston, but they had no building for worship. In 1820, the popula tion of the city was estimated at 24,780 souls. Twenty years later, 1840, the numbe" had increased to only about 29,000. In 1850 the population was 42,985, including slaves. " Charleston," says Mr. Hodgson, " has enjoyed the repu tation of containing the most polished circle of society of any city in the United States, the very beau monde of Amer ica ; and not wholly, it should seem, without reason." Mr. Hodgson says that the best society there, though not very ex tensive, is much superior to any that he had previously met with. " It consists of a few patrician families, who form a select circle, into which the novi homines, unless distinguish ed by great personal merit, find it extremely difficult to gain admission. Strangers well introduced, and of personal respectability, are received with much liberality and atten tion. Many of the old gentlemen were educated at English colleges, and retain something of their original attachment to the mother country, notwithstanding their sensibility to recent calumny and misrepresentation. Their manners are extremely agreeable, resembling the more polished of our country gentlemen, and are formed on the model of what in England we call the old school. They are, however, the last of their generation, and will leave a blank much to be 398 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHAKJ.K9TON. deplored, when they pass away. The young ladies of the patrician families are delicate, refined, and intelligent, rather distant and reserved to strangers, but frank and affable to those who are familiarly introduced to them by their fathers and brothers. They go very early into company, are fre quently married at sixteen or eighteen years of age, and gen erally under twenty, and have retired from the vortex of gay society before even the fashionable part of my fair country women would formerly have entered it. They often lament that the high standard of manners to which they have been accustomed, seems doomed to perish with the generations of their fathers. The fact is, that the absence of the privileges of primogeniture, and the consequent repeated subdivisions of property, are gradually effecting a change in the structure of society in South Carolina, and will shortly efface its most interesting and characteristic features." The military events connected with the places which we describe, form an interesting portion of our volume. And among the most exciting scenes of the Revolutionary history of our country, we may reckon the attack on Charleston during the campaign of 1776. In the beginning of this year, a fleet under Sir Peter Par ker, and two thousand five hundred troops commanded by Karl Cornwallis, were despatched upon an expedition against the Southern Colonies. About the beginning of May, the first fleet arrived oft Cape Fear. Here, being joined by General Clinton, it was determined to attempt the reduction of Charleston. This was considered no difficult operation ; and with the fall of this, the entire province, it was foreseen, would fall into British hands. The plan was no sooner decided, than the English pre pared to put it in execution. But the Carolinians had neg lected nothing to secure themselves the means of defending their province, and particularly their capital. The chiefs of the people had taken particular care to fortify Sullivan s Island, situated on the part of the sea, at the distance of six miles from the point of land formed by the confluence of the two rivers, Ashley and Cooper, and upon which the city of Charleston is built. This island so commands the chan nel, which leads to the port, that the vessels which would enter it, must pass tinder the cannon of Fort Moultrie. It had recently been armed with thirty-six pieces of heavy 26 ADMIRAL PARKER. IN NORTH AMERICA. 403 CHARLESTON. the Syren, went to take their stations to the west, between the point of Sullivan s Island and the city, partly to be able to sweep the interior of the works, and partly to interrupt all communication between the island and the main land, which would deprive the garrison of the means of retreat, prevent them from receiving succors of men and of munitions, and prohibit the Carolinians from annoying the besiegers by fire- ships or other engines of war. The unskilfulness of the pilots caused the miscarriage of these dispositions ; the three ves sels struck upon a bank named the middle grounds ; two of them, by the exertions of the mariners, were again set afloat, but not without having received considerable damage. Whether on account of the hour, already become late, or in consequence of this damage, they were no longer in a situa tion to execute the orders of the captains. As to the Acteon, she was totally stranded, and the next morning burned. During this time, the first four vessels had kept up a furious cannonade against the fort, which was returned with equal vivacity. The Thunder, after having discharged upwards of sixty bombs, found herself so disabled that she discontinued her fire ; but the others maintained it ; and if the attack was vigorous, the defence was not feeble. The English them selves were constrained to admire the intrepidity of the Americans, in so hot an action. The garrison of the fort, which consisted only in militia, and a few soldiers of the line, displayed an incredible cool ness and gallantry, in the service of their artillery, in the midst of the tempest of balls which was hailed upon them by the enemy s squadron. The Americans aimed with an ex treme precision. The English ships suffered excessively, and their loss in men was not inconsiderable. The Bristol, especially being damaged in all her rigging, was for some time so exposed to the fire of the batteries, that she nar rowly escaped being sunk. Captain Morris, who command ed the Acteon, had already received several wounds, and the greater part of his men were killed ; left almost alone upon the deck, he refused to be carried below, until a ball took off one of his legs, and then was removed without hope of life. The admiral himself, Peter Parker, received a severe contusion. Lord Campbell, who a little before was governor of the province, was mortally wounded. The loss of the garrison was very inconsiderable ; never- 404 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHARLESTON. theless their fire slackened, and at length ceased altogether. Their ammunition was exhausted, and the English considered their victory as already secure. But the Americans soon succored the fort, and the cannonade was renewed with the same fury as at first. It continued till seven o clock in the evening. The English then perceiving the inutility of their attack, and the deplorable state of their vessels, and not seeing the corps make its appearance, which was to have come upon that part of Long Island, determined to abandon the enter prise. Generals Clinton and Cornwallis would have crossed the arm of the sea, which separates the two neighboring islands, in order to attack Fort Moultrie on the land side, as it had been concerted, but the water was found too deep, and the ford impracticable ; this, at least, they alleged. On the other hand, even though they should have succeeded in sur mounting these obstacles, it is probable they would have found others more formidable still upon the shores of Sulli van s Island. Colonel Thompson, at the head of three hun dred grenadiers of his regiment ; Colonel CJark, with two hundred soldiers of North Carolina; Colonel Horry, follow ed by two hundred militia of South Carolina, and Racoon s company of riflemen, with some pieces of artillery, had oc cupied the posts situated at the eastern extremity of the island. It is therefore credible, that it was more the prepar ations of defence made by the Americans, than the diffi culty of the ford, which prevented the English generals from attempting the passage. Can it be supposed that offi cers so experienced, should have continued nine whole days in Long Island, without having caused the depths of the waters to be sounded, and ascertaining, long before the time of the action, whether they were fordable or not? It appears equally difficult to comprehend how, after having discovered either that the ford was impracticable, or the position of the Americans impregnable, the English should have remained inactive in Long Island, instead of endeavoring to land upon some other parts of Sullivan s Island, by means of the boats they had assembled. This circumstance presents several points which it is impossible to explain. However it may be, the English retired during the night, and the following morning their ships were already at the distance of two miles from the island. A few days SIR HENRY CLINTON. LORD CORXWALLIS. IN NOftTII AMERICA. 407 CHARLESTON. after, having re-embarked their troops, they made sail for New York, where the army, increased by all the re-inforce- inents it had received from England, expected General Howe. Such was the issue of the attack on Fort Moultrie by the English. It placed the affairs of South Carolina, for the present, in a state of security. The fort itself received little injury, either because the balls of the enemy passed above it, or because the spongy wood, of which it was con structed, diminished their effect. This battle was remarkable on the side of the Americans for some of those traits of obstinate courage, which are the usual results of the fermentation of minds in the midst of political revolutions. Among others it is recorded, that a sergeant of grenadiers, named Jasper, on seeing the staff of the American standard cut by a ball, sprung after it to the ground, and fastened it to the rammer of a cannon : then mounting upon the parapet, hoisted it anew amidst the most violent fire of the enemy. President Rutledge presented him with a sword, complimenting him highly and publicly.* A subsequent incident in the life of Sergeant Jasper, as not only illustrating his bravery, but also the tenderness and hu manity of his heart, may properly follow the record of the above heroic achievement. Jasper had a brother, who had joined the British, and who held a similar rank in. the army. To this brother he was warmly attached, and actually ven tured into the British garrison at Ebenezer to see him. His brother was exceedingly alarmed, lest he should he seized and hung as an American spy ; for his name was well known to many of the British officers. "Do not trouble yourself, said Jasper ; " I am no longer an American soJ- dier." " Thank God for that, William," exclaimed his brother, heartily shaking him by the hand ; " and now only say the word, my boy, and here is a commission for you, with regi mentals and gold to boot, to fight for his majesty, king George." Jasper shook his head, and observed, that though there was but little encouragement to fight for his country, he could not find it in his heart to fight against her. And there the conversation ended. After staying two or three * Botta 408 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHARLESTON. days with his brother, inspecting and hearing all that he could, he took his leave, returned to the American camp, by a circuitous route, and told General Lincoln all that he had seen. Soon after he made another trip to the English garrison, taking with him his particular friend, Sergeant Newton, who was a young man of great strength and courage. His brother received him with his usual cordiality ; and he and his friend spent several days at the British fort without giving the least alarm. On the morning of the third day, his brother observed that he had bad news to tell him. " Aye ! what is it ? " asked William. " Why," replied his brother, " here are ten or a dozen American prisoners, brought in this morning, as deserters from Savannah, whither they are to be sent immediately ; and, from what I can learn, it will be apt to go hard with them, for it seems they have all taken the king s bounty." " Let us see them," said Jasper. So his brother took him and his friend Newton to see them. It was indeed a melan choly sight, to see the poor fellows handcuffed upon the ground. But when the eye rested on a young woman, wife of one of the prisoners, with her child, a sweet little boy of five years, all pity for the male prisoners was forgotten. Her humble garb showed that she was poor ; but her deep distress, and sympathy with her unfortunate husband, proved that she was rich in conjugal love, more precious than all gold. She generally sat on the ground opposite to her husband, with her little boy leaning on her lap, and her coal black hair spreading in long, neglected tresses on her neck and bosom. Sometimes she would sit, silent as a statue of grief, her eyes fixed upon the earth : then she would start with a convulsive throb, and gaze on her husband s face with looks as piercing sad, as if she already saw him strug gling in the halter, herself a widow, and her son an orphan. While the child, distressed by his mother s anguish, added to the pathos of the scene, by the artless tears of childish suffering. Though Jasper and Newton were undaunted in the field of battle, their feelings were subdued by such heart- stirring misery. As they walked out into the neighboring wood, the tears stood in the eyes of both. Jasper first broke silence. " Newton," said he, " my days have been but few ; but I believe their course is nearly finished." " Why so, Jasper ? " IN NORTH AMERICA. 409 CHARLESTON. " Why, I feel that I must rescue those poor prisoners^ or die with them , otherwise the remembrance of that poor woman and her child will haunt me to my grave." " That is exactly what I feel too," replied Newton ; " and here is my hand and heart to stand by you, my brave friend, to the last drop. Thank God, a man can die but once ; arid why should we fear to leave this life in the way of our duty?" The friends embraced each other, and entered into the necessary arrangements, for fulfilling their desperate reso lution. Immediately after breakfast, the prisoners were sent on their way to Savannah, under the guard of a sergeant and corporal, with eight men. They had riot been gone long, before Jasper, accompanied by his friend Newton, took leave of his brother, and set out on some pretended errand to the upper country. They had scarcely got out of sight of Ebenezer, before they struck into the woods, and pushed hard after the prisoners, and their guard, whom they closely dogged for several miles, anxiously watching an opportunity to make a blow. The hope, indeed, seemed extravagant ; for what could two unarmed men do against ten, equipped with loaded muskets and bayonets ? However, unable to give up their countrymen, our heroes still travelled on. About two miles from Savannah, there is a famous spring generally called the Spa, well known to travellers, who often stopped there to quench their thirst. " Perhaps" said Jasper, " the guard may stop there." Hastening on through the woods, they gained the Spa, as their last hope, and there concealed themselves among the thick bushes that grew around the spring. Presently, the mournful procession came in sight of the spring, where the sergeant ordered a halt. Hope sprung afresh in the bosoms of our heroes, though no doubt mixed with great alarms; for " it was a fearful odds." The corporal, with his guard of four men, conducted the prisoners to the spring, while the sergeant, with the other four, having grounded their arms near the road, brought up the rear. The prisoners, wearied with their long walk, were permitted to rest themselves on the earth. Poor Mrs. Jones as usual took her seat opposite to her husband, and her little boy overcome with fatigue fell asleep in her lap. Two of the corporal s men were ordered to keep guard, and the other two to give the prisoners drink out of their can- 410 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHARM: sru.v. teens. These last approached the spring, where our heroes lay concealed, and, resting their muskets against a pine tree, dipped up water. Having drank themselves, they turned away with replenished canteens, to give to the prisoners also. " Now, Newton, is our time," said Jasper. Then bursting like lions from their concealment, they snatched up the two muskets that were resting against the pine, and in an instant, shot down the two soldiers who were upon guard. It was now a contest who should get the loaded mus kets that fell from the hands of the slain ; for by this time a couple of brave Englishmen, recovering from their momenta ry panic, had sprung and seized upon the muskets; but before they could use them, the swift-handed Americans, with club bed guns, levelled a final blow at the heads of their brave an tagonists. The tender bones of the skull gave way, and down they sunk, pale and quivering, without a groan. Then has tily seizing the muskets, which had thus a second time fallen from the hands of the slain, they flew between their surviving enemies and their weapons, grounded near the road, and ordered them to surrender ; which they instantly did. They then snapped the handcuffs of the prisoners, and armed them with muskets. At the commencement of the fight, poor Mrs. Jones had fallen to the earth in a swoon, and her little son stood screaming piteously over her. But, when she recovered, and saw her husband and his friends freed from their fetters, she behaved like one frantic with joy. She sprung to her husband s bosom, and with her arms round his neck, sobbed out, " my husband is safe, bless God, my husband is safe." Then, snatching up her child, she pressed him to her heart, as she exclaimed, "thank God ! my son has a father yet." Then kneeling at the feet of Jasper and Newton, she pressed their hands vehemently, but in the fulness of her heart, she could only say, " God bless you ! God Almighty bless you ! " For fear of being re-taken by the English, our heroes seized the arms and regimentals of the dead, and with their friends and captive foes, re-crossed the Savannah, and safely joined the American army, at Parisburgh, to the inexpressi ble astonishment and joy of all.* * American Anecdotes. GEORGIA. SAVANNAH. THE city of Savannah is situated on the south bank of the Savannah river, 18 miles above its mouth. It is 100 miles south-west of Charleston, and GG2 south-by-west of Washington. It is elevated about 40 feet above the river, a sandy bluff rising abruptly about that distance from it. The site of the city is nearly level ; it is very regularly laid out, the streets crossing each other at right angles. Many of these are wide, and with public squares, 10 in number, are planted with handsome trees. The place was formerly very unhealthy ; of late years this has much im proved, a change which is attributed in some degree to a new mode, recently adopted in the cultivation of rice in the vicinity. Since the great conflagration of 1820, when a large portion of the city was destroyed, it has been princi pally rebuilt, and many handsome, and some elegant build ings have been erected. Among the public and conspicu ous buildings of the city, are the exchange ; two banks ; 13 churches, one of which, built of granite, is very splen did ; a court-house, hospital, jail, poor-house, theatre, and an academy. Many of the private dwellings are very ele gant. There are several benevolent institutions in the place. The business of Savannah is very considerable, and it has some commerce. Vessels of 14 feet draught come to the wharfs, and a great portion of the imports and exports of the State are laden and unladen here. Cotton, rice, sugar, and tobacco, are the most valuable staples, and the annual amount exported, particularly of the two former, is very heavy. The export of cotton in 1843 was nearly three hundred thou sand bales. The population in 1850 was 16,059. The settlement of Savannah and of Georgia itself was commenced in 1733, by General Oglethorpe, an active and worthy philanthropist, who led a colony of 113 to com mence a settlement in that territory. They first landed in 411 412 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES SAVANNAH. Charleston, by whose citizens they were cordially received, and who supplied them with provisions and boats to convey them to their place of destination. Yamacrau Bluff, since called Savannah, from the Indian name of the river, was se lected as the most eligible place for a settlement, and a treaty being held with the Creek Indians, a large tract of land was obtained by cession. The next year, between 500 and 600 emigrants arrived, to each of whom was assigned a portion of the uncleared territory. But it was soon found that these people, who were the refuse of cities, having been rendered poor by idleness, or irresolute by poverty, were not fitted to fell the mighty groves of Georgia. A race more hardy and enterprising was required for clearing the wilderness. The Trustees therefore issued fresh propo sals, inviting settlers who had not, by poverty or persecution, been rendered objects of compassion, and offering to all who should repair to the colony, 50 acres of land. In con sequence of this offer, more than 400 persons from Scot land, Switzerland, and Germany, arrived in 1735. At the time Oglethorpe landed, he found the territory possessed by Indians. The tribe at Yamacrau was incon siderable, but the interior Indians were more powerful. Deeming it expedient to unite all the Indians he was able in a treaty, he employed an Indian, or rather half-breed woman by the name of Musgrovc, and who could speak both the English and Creek languages : perceiving that she had some influence amongst the Indians, and might be made useful as an interpreter in forming treaties of alliance with them, he iirst purchased her friendship with presents, and then allow ed her a salary of one hundred pounds a year, as a reward for her services. By her assistance, he summoned a pretty general meeting of the chiefs, to hold a Congress with him, at Savannah, in order to procure their consent to the peace able settlements of his colony. At this Congress, when fifty chiefs were present, Oglethorpe represented to them the great power, wisdom and w r ealth of the English nation, and the many advantages that would accrue to the Indians in general, from a connection and friendship with them ; and as they had plenty of lands, he hoped they would freely resign a share of them to his people, who had come to settle amongst them, for their benefit and instruction. After having distributed some presents, which was considered as a necessary preliminary to a treaty of peace and friendship, GENERAL OGLETHORPE. 414 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES SAVANNAH. an agreement was entered into, and Tomockichi, in the name of the Creek Nation, addressed him with the follow ing speech : " Here is a little present ; I give you a Buffalo Skin adorned on the inside with the head and feathers of an eagle, which I desire you to accept, because the eagle is an emblem of speed, and the buffalo of strength : the English are swift as the bird, and strong as the beast; since like the former, they flew over vast seas to the uttermost parts of the earth ; and like the latter, they are so strong that nothing can withstand them : the feathers of the eagle are soft, signifying love ; the buffalo s skin is warm, and signi fies protection : therefore, I hope the English will love and protect their little families." Oglethorpe accepted the present, a treaty was concluded to the satisfaction of both parties, the colonists appeared satisfied with their condition, and every thing appeared to promise prosperity to the new colony. Among the Georgia settlers was a man by the name of Thomas Bosomwortk, a chaplain in the regiment of Ogle thorpe. It appears that he was an artful and avaricious man. In 1747, he laid a plan, either to destroy the colony, or acquire a fortune. Among a number of Indians present at Frederica, a small English settlement, not far from Sa vannah, in December, was an Indian king by the name of Malatchc. Bosomworth suggested to him the idea of being crowned in imperial form, by those of his tribe, who were with him : accordingly a paper was drawn up, filled with royal ceremonies, acknowledging Malatchc Opiya Mcco to be the rightful, natural prince and emperor of the domin ions of the Creek Nation ; vesting him with powers to make laws, frame treaties, declare war, convey lands, and transact all affairs relating to the nation ; binding themselves on the part of their several towns, to abide by and fulfil all his contracts and engagements. This paper being signed and sealed by the pretended kings and chiefs, and witnessed in du form, Malatchc requested that a copy of it might be sent over to the king of England, for his sanction, and to have it put on record among the archives of his great ally. Bosomworth had thus accomplished an important object. He had some time before married Mary Musgrove, the half- breed Indian already mentioned. He now drew up a deed of conveyance in the common form, from Malatche Opiya IN NORTH AMERICA. 415 SAVANNAH. Meco, emperor of the Upper and Lower Creek Nations, to Thomas and Mary Bosomworth, of the colony of Georgia, " for, and in consideration of ten pieces of stroud, twelve pieces of duffles, two hundred weight of powder, two hun dred weight of lead, twenty guns, twelve pair of pistols, and one hundred weight of vermilion , warranting and defend ing to the said Thomas and Mary, all those tracts of land, known by the names of Hussoope, or Ossabaw, Cowleygee, or St. Catherines, and Sapelo islands, with their appurte nances, &/c., to the said Thomas and Mary his wife, their heirs and assigns, as long as the sun shall shine, or the waters run in the rivers, forever. Signed on the 4th day of the windy moon, corresponding with the 14th of December." His next object was to induce Mary to claim to be the elder sister of Malatche, and of having descended in a ma ternal line from an Indian king, who held from nature the whole territories of the Creeks; and Bosomworth now per suaded her to assert her right to them, as superior not only to the trustees, but also to that of the king. Accordingly, Mary assumed the title of an independent empress. A meeting of the Creeks was summoned, before which she set forth her claims. The Indians became fired through her eloquence, and escorted her towards Savannah to prosecute her claim. A messenger was despatched to notify the president and council of the royal family s approach. On receiving this intelligence, the council felt embarrassed. Mary was an artful and eloquent woman ; the English were few in number, and small their means of defence. The militia were or dered under arms. Captain Noble Jones, at the head of a troop, was despatched to prevent if possible their entrance into Savannah armed. Having met them, he ordered them to stop and lay down their arms. At first they refused ; but his determined appearance at length prevailed, and they laid aside their arms, upon which Thomas Bosomworth, in his canonical robes, with his queen by his side, followed by the king and chiefs, marched into the town. The inhabitants were struck with terror at the sight of this ferocious tribe of savages. When they advanced up to the parade, they found the militia drawn up under arms to receive them, by whom they were saluted with fifteen can nons, and conducted to the president s house. Bosomworth being ordered to withdraw, the Indian chiefs, in a friendly 416 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES SAVANNAH. manner, were requested to declare their intention in paying this visit in so large a body, without being sent for by any person in authority : the warriors, as they had been instruct- ted, answered that Mary was to speak for them, and that they would abide by whatever she said ; that they had heard that she was to be sent like a captive over the great waters, and they were come to know on what account they were to lose their queen ; that they intended no harm, and begged that their arms might be restored to them ; and after con sulting with Bosomworth and his wife, they would return and amicably settle all public affairs. To please them, their guns were returned, but strict orders were issued to allow them no ammunition, until the council should see more clearly into their dark designs. On the day following, the Indians having had some private conferences with Mary, were observed, with sullen countenances, to march in a tu multuous manner through the streets, evidencing a hostile temper, apparently determined on mischief: all the men being obliged to mount guard, the women and children were terrified and afraid to remain in the houses by themselves, expecting every moment to be murdered and scalped. During this confusion, a false rumor was circulated, that they had cut off president Stephen s head with a tomahawk, which so exasperated the inhabitants that it was with diffi culty the officers could restrain the troops from firing upon the savages : perhaps the exercise of the greatest pru dence was never more requisite to save the town from being deluged with blood. Orders were given to lay hold on Bosomworth, to whom it was insinuated that he was marked as the first victim in case of extremities; and he was carried out of the way, and closely confined, upon which Mary, his beloved queen, became outrageous and frantic, and threat ened the thunder of her vengeance against the magistrates, and the whole colony : she ordered all white persons to depart immediately from her territories, and at their peril to refuse ; she cursed Oglethorpe, and his fraudulent treaties, and, furiously stamping her foot upon the earth, swore by her Maker, that the whole globe should know that the ground she stood upon was her own. To prevent any as cendancy by bribes over the chiefs and warriors, she kept the leading men constantly under her eye, and would not suffer them to utter a sentence on public affairs, but in her presence. BOSOMWORTH AND MALATCHE. 27 418 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES SAVANNAH. The president finding no peaceable agreement could be made with the Indians, while under the baleful influence of their pretended queen, ordered her to be seized and con fined. To allay the storm of indignation excited by this, a feast was made for the Indians, at which the evil designs of Bosomworth were unfolded in a speech by the president. This had a temporary effect. Even Malatche seemed satis fied. But wishing to see Bosomworth and his wife alone for a few minutes, the artful couple again seduced the aged chief, who returned to the council full of indignation, insist ing on the rights of the queen. Upon this, the president rose, and in a short but plain address, so set forth the impo sitions of Bosomworth and Mary, that the Indians said they were satisfied ; their eyes were opened, and they now offer ed to smoke the pipe of peace. Accordingly pipes and rum were brought, and they joined hand in hand and smoked to gether. Presents were distributed, and all appeared satisfied and happy. But in the midst of this friendly interview, Mary, who by some means had contrived to escape, rushed in like a fury, and insultingly told the president that she would soon con vince him that the Indians were her people, and that he had no business with them. The president advised her quietly to retire to her lodg ings, or he would send her to prison. Upon this Malatche took fire ; and swinging his arms, declared that no one should touch the queen. The house was filled in a moment with tumult; every Indian having his tomahawk in his hand, and the president and council expecting nothing but instant death. At this critical juncture, Captain Noble Jones with his guard interposed, and required the Indians to surrender. They did so with great reluctance. Mary was conveyed to a safe place. Bosomworth was sent for ; but for a time treated the council with great indignity. At length, through the interposition of Bosomworth s brother, the difficulty was settled. This rash and wicked man was forgiven, and the idle claims of Mary were relinquished. They were, however, afterwards renewed ; Bosomworth himself instituted a suit in England, founded upon his deed from the Indians. This case was in the courts of Great Britain twelve years. In 1759, a decision was made at the court of St. James, granting to Bosomworth and his wife the Island of St. Catherines. Bosomworth and Mary took IN NORTH AMERICA. 419 SAVANNAH. possession of the island. There, some time after, Mary died, upon which Bosomworth married his chambermaid. Finally, the remains of these two were deposited in the same grave-yard, on the island for which they had so long contended.* Like most other maritime towns, Savannah suffered during the Revolutionary war. In December, 1778, it fell into the hands of the British. The American officer to whom, at this time, the defence of Georgia was committed, was General Howe. His force consisted of about 600 regular troops, and a few hundred militia; the British force consisted of about 2000 men, who, under Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, had embarked in November from New York, on board a fleet, commanded by Hyde Park. With this great disparity, it was impossible for the Americans to withstand the assail ants, and after a short but desperate, and, on the part of the Americans, sanguinary struggle, the town and fort fell under British power. Upwards of 600 Americans were killed ; 38 officers and 415 privates were made prisoners. No less than 48 cannon, 23 mortars, besides a considerable quantity of ammunition, stores, provision, arid also the shipping in the river, became the possession of the conquerors. In 1779, a request was sent to Count D Estaing, by Gen eral Lincoln, at this time commanding the American army in the southern department, to assist in an effort to retake Savannah. D Estaing with his fleet was in the West Indies ; but not being needed there, he listened to the proposal, and soon after sailed for the coast of Georgia, with his fleet, consist ing of 20 sail of the line two of fifty guns, and 11 frigates. As soon as the arrival was known, General Lincoln, with the army under his command, marched for Savannah ; and orders were given for the militia of Georgia and South Caro lina, to rendezvous near the same place. "The British, to pre pare for their defence, employed great numbers by day and night, in strengthening and extending their lines, while the A merican militia, sanguine in the hope of expelling the enemy from their southern possessions, turned out with unusual alacrity. Before the arrival of General Lincoln, Count D Estaing demanded a surrender of the town to the arms of * M Call s History of Georgia. 418 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES SAVANNAH. The president finding no peaceable agreement could be made with the Indians, while under the baleful influence of their pretended queen, ordered her to be seized and con fined. To allay the storm of indignation excited by this, a feast was made for the Indians, at which the evil designs of Bosomworth were unfolded in a speech by the president. This had a temporary effect. Even Malatche seemed satis fied. But wishing to see Bosomworth and his wife alone for a few minutes, the artful couple again seduced the aged chief, who returned to the council full of indignation, insist ing on the rights of the queen. Upon this, the president rose, and in a short but plain address, so set forth the impo sitions of Bosomworth and Mary, that the Indians said they were satisfied ; their eyes were opened, and they now offer ed to smoke the pipe of peace. Accordingly pipes and rum were brought, and they joined hand in hand and smoked to gether. Presents were distributed, and all appeared satisfied and happy. But in the midst of this friendly interview, Mary, who by some means had contrived to escape, rushed in like a fury, and insultingly told the president that she would soon con vince him that the Indians were her people, and that he had no business with them. The president advised her quietly to retire to her lodg ings, or he would send her to prison. Upon this Malatche took fire ; and swinging his arms, declared that no one should touch the queen. The house was filled in a moment with tumult; every Indian having his tomahawk in his hand, and the president and council expecting nothing but instant death. At this critical juncture, Captain Noble Jones with his guard interposed, and required the Indians to surrender. They did so with great reluctance. Mary was conveyed to a safe place. Bosomworth was sent for ; but for a time treated the council with great indignity. At length, through the interposition of Bosomworth s brother, the difficulty was settled. This rash and wicked man was forgiven, and the idle claims of Mary were relinquished. They were, however, afterwards renewed; Bosomworth himself instituted a suit in England, founded upon his deed from the Indians. This case was in the courts of Great Britain twelve years. In 1759, a decision was made at the court of St. James, granting to Bosomworth and his wife the Island of St. Catherines. Bosomworth and Mary took IN NORTH AMERICA. 419 SAVANNAH. possession of the island. There, some time after, Mary died, upon which Bosomworth married his chambermaid. Finally, the remains of these two were deposited in the same grave-yard, on the island for which they had so long contended.* Like most other maritime towns, Savannah suffered during the Revolutionary war. In December, 1778, it fell into the hands of the British. The American officer to whom, at this time, the defence of Georgia was committed, was General Howe. His force consisted of about 600 regular troops, and a few hundred militia; the British force consisted of about 2000 men, who, under Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, had embarked in November from New York, on board a fleet, commanded by Hyde Park. With this great disparity, it was impossible for the Americans to withstand the assail ants, and after a short but desperate, and, on the part of the Americans, sanguinary struggle, the town and fort fell under British power. Upwards of 600 Americans were killed ; 38 officers and 415 privates were made prisoners. No less than 48 cannon, 23 mortars, besides a considerable quantity of ammunition, stores, provision, and also the shipping in the river, became the possession of the conquerors. In 1779, a request was sent to Count D Estaing, by Gen eral Lincoln, at this time commanding the American army in the southern department, to assist in an effort to retake Savannah. D Estaing with his fleet was in the West Indies ; but not being needed there, he listened to the proposal, and soon after sailed for the coast of Georgia, with his fleet, consist ing of 20 sail of the line two of fifty guns, and 11 frigates. As soon as the arrival was known, General Lincoln, with the army under his command, marched for Savannah ; and orders were given for the militia of Georgia and South Caro lina, to rendezvous near the same place. The British, to pre pare for their defence, employed great numbers by day and night, in strengthening and extending their lines, while the American militia, sanguine in the hope of expelling the enemy from their southern possessions, turned out with unusual alacrity. Before the arrival of General Lincoln, Count D Estaing demanded a surrender of the town to the arms of * M Call s History of Georgia. 420 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES SAVANNAH. France. Provost asked a suspension of hostilities 24 hours, for preparing terms ; and the request was incautiously granted. Before the stipulated time had elapsed, Lieutenant Colonel Maitland, with about 800 men, after struggling with great difficulties, arrived from Beaufort, and joined the royal army at Savannah. The arrival of so considerable a rein forcement of chosen troops, and especially the presence of the officer who commanded them, in whose zeal, ability, and military experience, much confidence was justly placed by the army, inspired the garrison in Savannah with new animation ; and an answer was returned to the Count, that the town would be defended to the last extremity. The zeal and ardor of both officers and men rose with the occasion ; and new defences were daily constructed under the masterly direction of an able engineer, Captain Moncrieff. On the morning of the 4th of October, the batteries of the besiegers were opened with 9 mortars, 37 pieces of cannon from the land side, and 15 from the water. It being at length ascertained, that considerable time would be necessary to reduce the garrison by regular approaches, it was determined to make an assault. In pursuance of this determination, on the 9th of October, while two feints were made with the militia, a real attack was made on Spring Hill battery, just as daylight appeared, with two columns, consisting of 3500 French troops, GOO continentals, and 350 of the inhabitants of Charleston. The principal of these columns, commanded by D Estaing and General Lincoln, marched up boldly to the lines ; but a heavy and well-directed fire from the gal- lies threw the front of the column into confusion. The places of those who fell being instantly supplied by others, it still moved on until it reached a redoubt, when the con test became more fierce and desperate. Captain Towse fell in defending the gate of his redoubt, with his sword plunged in the body of the third assailant, whom he had slain with his own hand, and a French and an American standard were for an instant planted on the parapet ; but the as sailants, after sustaining the enemy s fire fifty-five minutes, were ordered to retreat. Of the French, 637, and of the continentals and militia, 241, were killed or wounded. Im mediately after this unsuccessful assault, the militia almost universally went to their homes, and Count D Estaing, re- embarking his troops and artillery, left the continent. GENERAL LINCOLN. COUNT D ESTAfNG IN NORTH AMERICA. 423 SAVANNAH. This assault is judged to have been unadvisable ; but this measure was forced on D Estaing by his marine officers, who remonstrated against his continuing to risk the French fleet on a dangerous coast, in the hurricane season, and at such a distance from the shore, as to be endangered by a British squadron. " In a few days, the lines of the besiegers might have been carried, by regular approaches, into the works of the besieged." Count Pulaski was mortally wounded in this assault; and Congress resolved, that a monument should be erected to his memory. He was a Polander of high birth, who with a few men had carried off king Stanilaus from the middle of his capital. The king, after being some time a prisoner, made his escape : and soon after declared Pulaski an outlaw. Thus proscribed, he came to America, and offered his services to Congress, which honored him with the rank of brigadier gener^ * Just before the siege of Savannah, an enterprise was achieved by six Americans, remarkable for the address and daring intrepidity, with which it was planned and executed. Captain French, of the British army, with about one hun dred men, had taken post on the Ogeeche river, where were also forty sailors on board of five British vessels, four of which were armed, the largest mounting fourteen guns. Colonel John White, of the Georgia line, with Captain El- holm and four other persons, one of whom was the Colonel s servant, after kindling at night a number of fires, exhibiting the parade of a large encampment, and using other strata gems, peremptorily summoned the British commander to surrender. Captain French, in order to save his men from being cut to pieces, by a force which he supposed to be su perior to his own, surrendered (1st of October) without the smallest resistance. Colonel White having thus far succeeded, pretended he must keep back his troops, lest their animosity, already stifled by great exertions, should break out, arid in discriminate slaughter take place in defiance of his authority ; and therefore he would commit his prisoners to three guides, who would conduct them safely to good quarters. This humane attention of White was thankfully received. He immediately ordered three of his attendants to proceed with the prisoners, who moved off with celerity, anxious to get away, lest the fury of White s corps, believed to be at hand, I \ ( V V. IN NORTH AMERICA. 425 SAVANNAH. might break out, desirous as he was to restrain it. White, with the two men retained by him, repaired, as he announced to his guides and prisoners, to his troops, for the purpose of proceeding in the rear. He then employed himself in col lecting the militia of the neighborhood, with whom he over took his guides and prisoners. This affair, says Gen. H. Lee, in his memoirs, approaches too near the marvellous to have been admitted by him, had it not been uniformly accredited, and never contradicted. GENERAL H. LEE. FLORIDA. ST. AUGUSTINE. ST. AUGUSTINE, according to Colonel Williams, is the oldest city in the present limits of the United States. It was first settled by the Spaniards, under Pedro Mendcz, in 1564. It is situate two miles back from the Atlantic shore, near the southern point of a peninsula, nearly surrounded by water ; defended from the surf by Anastasia Island, which is not high enough to obstruct the sea breezes, or a view of the ocean. The situation is peculiarly serene, healthy, and pleasant. The site was originally a shell hammock, scarcely twelve feet higher than the surface of the sea. The soil, al though sandy, is rich in calcareous and vegetable deposites, finely calculated for horticultural pursuits. The town is, in fact, embosomed in a grove of orange trees.* Abundance of fresh water is found near the surface of the ground, which, although it is not so pure as that of the country, is used without any inconvenience for all the purposes of drinking, cooking, and washing. The climate of St. Augustine is probably equal to any on earth. Snow is almost unknown, and frosts are felt in one or two months only of the year, and many winters pass without discovering a mark of frost. In the summer season, the air is tempered daily by the sea breezes, while the land breezes render the evenings cool and pleasant. Heavy rains are frequent during the summer months, but from October to May, the air is usually temperate, and the sky serene. In form, the town is a parallelogram, fronting to the east, on Matanzas sound, which spreads itself half a mile in width between the town and Anastasia Island, forming a harbor sufficiently capacious to contain a large fleet in per fect safety. From the old magazine on the south to the gate way on the north side of the city, the distance is about one mile, and from the Matanzas to the St. Sebastian s on * 1834, before the great frost. 426 IN NORTH AMERICA. 427 ST. AUGUSTINE. the west, is about three-fourths of a mile. Not more than one half of this extent is compactly built. It contains up wards of three hundred houses, more than half of which are built of shell stone, called by the Spaniards coquina. Most of the old houses are two stories high, the lower floor of which is tabby ;* in some instances the upper floor and roof are of the same material. These are now generally removed, on account of their great weight, from the upper parts of the buildings. The principal streets cross each other at right angles, but they are narrow, and many of them crooked. A fine large square opens from the Matanzas into the eastern part of the town, in the centre of which stands a monument, dedicated to the constitution of the Spanish Cortez. On the west side of the public square, where the old government house formerly stood, in the centre of the botanic garden, enclosed by high walls, a neat court-house has been erected. It is two stories high, in form of an L. It is built of coquina stone, and contains, besides the hall of justice, and jury rooms, apartments for all the public offices of the district. On the north stands a splendid Catholic church, and the ruins of an old custom-house, which was burnt down in January, 1825. On the south side are several elegant dwelling houses, and the new Trinity church, a very neat edifice of the Gothic order. In front of the harbor stands a neat market place; dwelling-houses and orange groves fill up the intervening spaces round the square, which give it rather a rural than commercial appearance. Fort Mason stands at the north end of the town, directly opposite to the entrance of the harbor, which it perfectly commands. It is built after the system of Vauban, and is said to be a very good specimen of military architecture. It is a trapezium, with bastions at each corner. The walls are twenty-one feet high. The whole work is casemated, and bomb proof. The ditch is forty feet wide. The covered * Tabby is formed by mixing a quantity of lime with the fine coquina shell, cast on shore by the tide. These materials are with fresh water mixed into a stiff mortar, and then spread from four to six inches tnick, either on the ground, or on a flooring of boards. It is then beat with a heavy stamper, similar to that used by pavers, to smooth their work. When beat till no more water appears on the surface, it is left to dry. It is then in substance very similar to the coquina rock, except that the surface, by beating, becomes very smooth. 428 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ST. AUGUSTINE. way, glacis, ravelin, and place of arms are entire, but the water batteries are giving way to the tides, which are rap idly undermining its base, and require immediate repairs. The fort is calculated to contain one thousand fighting men, and formerly mounted seventy pieces of heavy ordnance. They are at present dismounted. A small part of the fort is still occupied as an arsenal ; the balance is used as a jail for criminals. A sea wall seven feet high, and five feet thick, was ex tended from the fort to the public square. This wall has been rebuilt, at the expense of $50,000, under the superin tendence of Mr. Daney, late of the army, and will be ex tended in front of the whole city, to check the inroads daily made by the tides. Great injury has already been sustained, by one or two eastern gales, for want of this barrier. In the south part of the town, fronting the Matanzas, the barracks occupy an important situation. It is erected on the ruins of an old pile of buildings, formerly constructed by the Franciscan order of Friars, as the head quarters of their fraternity. The vessel which brought their General and principal men from Cuba, was wrecked on the coast, in sight of their dwelling, and the passengers and crew all per ished. Since that time, it has been occupied as a barracks, successively by the Spaniards and British, until it was de stroyed by fire. Since the change of government, it has been rebuilt at an expense of twenty-five thousand dollars. An extensive garden is attached to the building, which affords, at times, abundant vegetables for the troops stationed there. The city contains 1,934 inhabitants, of whom 63 1 are slaves. Of this population, nearly one-half are natives of the United States; the balance are descendants of the Minorcan families introduced by Dr. Turnbull Spaniards, French, English, Greeks, and Italians, who are all rapidly amalgamating into one people, and will, ere long, assume a general national cha racter. They are social and friendly in their manners, kind and hospitable to strangers, industrious and frugal in their habits, fond of amusement, void of intemperance and public spirit, but content with their situation. The religion of at least half of the inhabitants is Roman Catholic; the balance, who profess any religion, are Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Methodists. IN NORTH AMERICA. 429 ST. AUGUSTINE. The market is rather scantily supplied with meat and veg etables. Fish are abundant, of various kinds, and finely flavored. Fowls are rather dear and scarce. Of schools there are few, and in the whole department of education, there is great room for improvement. Schools established on a liberal foundation, are needed ; such would enable the poor as well as the rich to receive instruction ; and above all, the children of the old inhabitants should be encouraged to attend the same schools as the Americans, that their habits and manners may the sooner become united. Directly behind the town, an inlet of salt water enters from the southern marshes, and extends nearly to the north ditch. It is called Mary Sanches Creek. The space be tween this and the Matanzas river, is divided into squares of irregular dimensions. The western division, between the creek and St. Sebastian s river, is laid off into lots of differ ent size, from two to twenty acres. Most of these are cov ered with fruit trees, such as mulberry, plum, peach, fig, pomegranate, and oranges. Across the creek, an excellent stone causeway is erected. The St. Sebastian s is crossed by a bridge 500 feet long, and a causeway is extended over the marshes, about seven hundred yards. The soil of the city and neighborhood is excellent for horticultural improve ments, and much of it is cultivated in gardens, as well as groves. The timber which was originally abundant around the city, has in a long course of years, been cut off to a con siderable distance. Wood and fencing materials are conse quently scarce and dear. Most of the lumber used here is brought from northern ports. This renders building expen sive. Notwithstanding this circumstance, the inhabitants are beginning to repair most of the old dwellings, and to erect some new and elegant buildings. The Presbyterian church, in the south part of the town, has lately been inclosed, and finished in a plain but neat style. A small Methodist, church was built in 1813, on Charlotte street. St. Augustine has become a place of great resort for in valids, affected by pulmonary and bronchial complaints. To this circumstance and the sale of oranges, the place owes its prosperity. The accommodations for strangers are rapidly improving, and it is believed, that in a short time, persons 430 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ST. AUGUSTINE. of the first rank will be under no necessity for visiting Italy, or the south of France, for the improvement of their health, as our climate is equally salubrious, and the con veniences and luxuries of life may easily be obtained, when it is known that they will be required. In 18*21, St. Augustine was visited with the yellow fever. It broke out in several old buildings situated in the back part of the city, which had for a long time been closed up, their owners having retired to Havana. On the cession of the country to the United States, a sudden increase of popu lation occasioned these houses to be thrown open, and rented to strangers. One of them was hired late in October to several American officers ; three of them fell immediate victims to the fatal disease. In some instances, the sickness commenced -in vessels lying in the harbor, which had brought fruit from Cuba. One of these had on the voyage lost the Captain, and most of the crew, by sickness. Some early cases of fever were traced to other vessels. In most cases, however, the sickness seemed to originate in the place of its operation. Since that period, St. Augustine has been distinguished as one of the most healthy spots in the United States. In the vicinity of St. Augustine, great attention is paid to the cultivation of the orange. Indeed orange groves are ex tending to every part of the eastern coast ; 2,000,000 are annually shipped from St. Augustine. Oranges form the staple commodity of the country. The western and middle part of the Territory are too cold for the successful produc tion of this fruit. The China orange tree requires a rich sandy soil. It produces fruit in about seven years from the seed. By ingrafting, this period may be shortened two or three years. The tree grows larger here than in the West Indies. One hundred is as many as can grow profitably on an acre. When full grown, they will usually average 500 to the tree, each year, and they are worth 87 50 per thousand, which would amount to $375 per acre. Some groves pro duce much more than that. One tree in Mr. Alvarez s grove has produced more than 6000 in one year. A grove is, on the whole, a valuable property. The care and atten tion necessary in pruning and manuring, bears a small pro portion to the labor necessary in raising crops. It is neces- IN NORTH AMERICA. 431 ST. AUGUSTINE. sary to keep the head of the tree pruned often, so as to throw the weight of vegetation to the extremity of the limbs. No moss is suffered to grow on the bark. The ground about them is kept clear of weeds and grass, and the roots are an nually manured. The frost of the winter of 1835 destroyed all the China orange trees, and most other fruit trees in Florida, as far south as the 28th degree of latitude. South of that, the wild orange and lime groves were injured but not destroyed. Col. Williams thus describes the amusements of Florida, in general, and of St. Augustine in particular. Balls are the most common amusements of the Floridians. The Patgo of West Florida, is rather the introduction to a dance. A wooden bird is fixed on a pole and carried through the city, by some slave; on presenting it to the ladies, they make an offering of a piece of ribbon, of any length or color that hap pens to suit their fancy or convenience. This is fixed to the bird, which soon becomes decked in a gaudy and abundant plumage. A time and place is then set apart for the fair patrons of the Patgo to assemble, who are usually gallantly attended by their beaux, with rifles or fowling-pieces. The Patgo is set up at a proper distance, and shot at, the fortu nate marksman who first succeeds, in striking it, is pro claimed king of the entertainment. The Patgo becomes his property, by right of conquest, and is, by him, presented to the fair lady of his choice, who by accepting the present becomes queen of the festivities ; his majesty then becomes entitled to the enviable privilege of paying the expense of the entertainment, over which he with his royal consort presides. The Poscy dance, of St. Augustine, is introduced in a dif ferent manner, but results in the same amusement. The females of a family, no matter what their rank or station in life may be, erect in a room of their house a neat little altar, lit up with candles, and dressed with pots and festoons of flowers. This is understood by the gentlemen as a polite invitation to call and admire the taste of the fair architects. It is con tinued for several successive evenings ; in the meantime, the lady selects from her visiters some happy beau, whom she delights to honor, and presents hirn with a boquet of choice 432 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ST. AUGUSTINE. flowers. His gallantry is then put to the test : should he choose to decline the proffered honor, he has only to pay the expense of lighting up the altar. But if he accepts the full dignity offered him, he is king of the ball, which shortly after succeeds, and the posey lass becomes queen, as a mat ter of course. The posey ball is a mixed assembly. People of all ranks meet here on a level, yet so far as we have been acquainted with them, they have been conducted with the nicest decorum, and even with politeness and grace.* * Williams s " Territory of Florida." 28 ALABAMA. MOBILE. MOBILE is a port of entry, and the most important place in the state of Alabama. It lies on the west side of Mobile river, at its entrance into Mobile bay, 30 miles north from the Gulf of Mexico. The town contains 13,710 free inhabitants and G,803 slaves, according to the census of 1850. It is situated on an extended plain, elevated fifteen feet above the highest tides, and has a beautiful prospect of the bay, from which it receives refreshing breezes. Vessels having a draught of more than eight feet of water cannot come directly to the city, but pass up Spanish river, six miles, round a marshy island, into Mobile river, and then drop down to the city. As a place of export, Mobile ranks next to New Orleans and Charleston in the list of southern ports. The city is supplied with excellent water, brought in iron pipes for a distance of two miles. The harbour is defended by Fort Morgan, situated on a low, sandy point, at the mouth of the bay, opposite to Dauphin island. A considerable number of sailing vessels ply regularly be tween Mobile and New Orleans, ports in the Gulf and on the Atlantic coast. Steamboats also keep up a daily communication with New Orleans and a few other ports. The initiatory steps have been taken for the construction of a railroad from Mobile to Columbus, on the Mississippi, and thence to Chicago. When this great chain of communication shall be complete, Mobile will become one of the most important cities of the, Southern states. Mobile was founded by the French about 1700. In 1763, they ceded it to England. In 1780, the English surrendered it to the Spanish, in whose possession it continued until 1813, when it was ceded to the United States. The place has thus changed masters more frequently than any other town in the United States, In 1819, it was incorporated as a city, and from that time its progress has been rapid. 434 ARKANSAS. LITTLE ROCK. LITTLE ROCK is the seat of government of the state of Ar kansas. It is situated on a high bluff point on the south bank of the Arkansas river, and derives its name from the masses of stone about it. It is 300 miles from the mouth oT the river by its course, and about half that distance in a direct line. The village of Little Rock was laid out in 1820, and for some time called Acropolis. Its growth has not been very rapid, but it is still a flourishing place. It contains the usual state buildings and about 2,000 inhabitants. Fifty-three miles from Little Rock are the Hot Springs, which are considered highly efficacious in chronic diseases, such as scrofula, rheuma tism, &c. A line of stages runs twice a week between the capital and the springs, and visitors will find good and cheap accommodation at Mitchell s Hotel, in the vicinity of the latter. The other towns of importance in Arkansas are Helena, Napoleon, and Columbia, all on the Mississippi. At Helena the traveller will find a range of beautiful hills, the only ele vations for many miles. Napoleon is at the mouth of the Arkansas. It is a depot and place of landing for the produce brought from the interior of Arkansas, and will therefore be come a very important town. Columbia is on the Mississippi, about 66 miles below the mouth of the Arkansas. Besides these towns, Bateville on the White river, Van Buren on the Arkansas, Fayetteville in the northwest part of the state, and Fulton on the Red river, are worthy of a visit on account of the beauty and fertility of the country adjacent to them, and the probability of their becoming important places. 437 LOUISIANA. NEW ORLEANS. NEW ORLEANS, the wet grave* says the Modern Travel ler, where the hopes of thousands are buried, for eighty years the wretched asylum for the outcasts of France and Spain, who could not venture a hundred paces beyond its gates, without utterly sinking to the breast in mud, or being attacked by alligators, has become, in the space of some twenty or thirty years, one of the most beautiful cities of the Union, inhabited by 50,000 persons, who trade with half the world. The view (approaching the city from the interior) is splendid beyond description, when you pass down the stream, which is here a mile broad, rolling its immense vol ume of waters in a bed, more than 150 feet deep, and, as if conscious of its strength, appearing to look quietly on the bustle of the inhabitants of man. Both its banks are lined with charming sugar plantations, from the midst of which rises the airy mansion of the wealthy planter, surrounded with orange, banana, lime, and fig trees, the growth of a climate approaching to the torrid zone. In the rear you discover the cabins of the negroes and the sugar houses, and just at the entrance of the port, groups of smaller houses, as if erected for the purpose of concealing the prospect of the town. As soon as the steamboats pass these outports, New Orleans, in the form of a half moon, appears in all its splendor. The river having run for four or five miles in a southern direction, here suddenly takes an eastern course, which it pursues for two miles, thus forminor a semi-circular bend. A single glance exhibits to view the harbor, tin. vessels at anchor, and the city, situated as it were at the feet of the passenger. The first object that presents itself, is the dirty and uncouth backwoods flat boat. Hams, ears * " Water is found two feet below the surface. Those who cannot afford to procure a vault for the dead, are literally compelled to deposits them in the water." 438 IN NORTH AMERICA. 441 NEW ORLEANS. of corn, apples, whiskey barrels, are stowed upon it, or are fixed to poles to direct the attention of the buyers. Close by, are the rather more decent keel-boats, with cotton, furs, whiskey, flour. Next, the elegant steamboat, which by its hissing and repeated sounds, announces either its arrival or departure ; sending forth immense columns of black smoke that form into long clouds above the city. Further on are the smaller merchant vessels, the sloops and schooners from the Havana, Vera Cruz, Tampico ; then the brigs; and lastly, the elegant ships, appearing like a forest of masts.* The city of New Orleans occupies the left bank of the Mississippi river, 105 miles by the channel above its mouth, and by the course of the river, 322 miles from Natchez, 1,005 from the mouth of the Ohio, 1,200 below the mouth of the Missouri, 1,175 from St. Louis, 1,350 from Louisville, 1,500 from Cincinnati, 1,780 from Pittsburgh, and by post road, 1 ,203 miles south-west Washington. The site of the city is on an inclined plane, the declivity falling very gently from the margin of the river. Hence when the Mississippi is in full flood, the surface of the water is from one to three* feet above the streets of the city ; but at low water, it is from seven to nine feet below them. To prevent constant inun dation, a levee or embankment fronts the city, similar to that extending on both sides of the Mississippi, above and below New Orleans; differing only in breadth and solidity. The tides do not reach here ; and the rise of the river, (which is a mile in width opposite the city,) during the highest floods is about 12 feet above low water mark. The city occupies an oblong area, or parallelogram, ex tending 3,960 feet along the eastern bank of the Mississippi, and 2,000 feet towards the swamp. This is the old city, or New Orleans, properly so called. Above the city are the suburbs called Fauxburgs. These are St. Mary, Delor An nunciation, Nuns, Lafayette, and Livauday ; below the city are those of Marigny, Daumois, Da Clovet and Washington. In the rear of the city is also another, but detached suburb, on bayou St. John. No one can observe the position of New Orleans, on a map, and not be impressed with a conviction of the extraor- * Modern Traveller. 442 TRAVELS AXD SKETCHES NEW ORLEANS. dinary advantages which it possesses, as a commercial capi tal. The boat navigation above it is probably twice as great as that of any other city on the globe. The Mississippi, with its tributaries, affords a navigable steamboat commu nication through a fertile country of more than ^0,000 miles ; numerous bayous communicate with other parts of the State ; and besides the natural channel of the river, it has a com munication by sloops and other small vessels with lake Pon- chartrairi, and the connected lakes ; with the opposite Flori da shore, with Mobile, Pensacola, and the whole gulf shore, east and west. "Not a few vessels, clear from the basin for the Atlantic and Mexican ports. The basin is scarcely dis tant a quarter of a mile from the ship landing on the Missis sippi. A person on the basin wharf can see the masts of the vessels, lying on the shore of the levee, and yet a vessel sail ing from the basin, would have to sail through the lakes along the gulf shore and up the Mississippi, some hundreds of miles, to arrive at so little distance from her former posi tion. Even the commerce and shipping of the basin would be sufficient for the support of a considerable city. There is an 1 incorporation to connect the lake with the Mississippi, by a canal, directly from one to the other. A most nerr-- sary and important canal is also contemplated, for connect ing Attakapas with the city. Nature has almost completed the line of communication. At present the bayous Pla- quemine and Lafourche, furnish that communication. Al though steamboats run between Opelonsas and Attakapas, by these routes and the Teche, yet the mouths of these ba yous are liable to be choked with timber, and the navigation is generally attended with some difficulty, and is moreover circuitous. There are so many communications by water, between New Orleans and the lower part of Louisiana, ac cessible by the smaller boats, that all of them are only known to people who have been in habits for a lon^ time of ex ploring them for the sake of finding new and shorter routes to their destination."* " The wooden buildings of which the city was formerly in a great measure composed, have given place to buildings of brick. The city, properly so called, and the Fauxboiirg St. Mary, are compactly and substantially built. In the * Flint s History and Geography of the Valley of the Mississippi. IN NORTH AMERICA. 443 NEW ORLEANS. city, the French and Spanish styles of building predominate. The houses are stuccoed externally, and this stucco, of a white or yellow color, strikes the eye more pleasantly than the dull and sombre red brick. There can be no question but the American mode of building is more commodious, solid, and durable ; but the latter mode has the prefer ence, in its general effect upon the eye. To an American, viewing them for the first time, there is something fantastic and unique in the appearance of the city streets, which wears a resemblance to European, French, and Spanish towns, rather than American. The Fauxbourg St. Mary, and many other parts of the city, are built after the American fashion, and have nothing in their appearance different from an At lantic town. "The city contains six complete squares; each square having a front of 819 feet in length. Each square is di vided into 12 lots. Few of the streets, except Canal street, are more than 40 feet wide. The names of the principal streets are Levee, Chartres, Royal, Burgundy, Dauphine, Toulouse, &/c. The public buildings are the Town House, at the north-west corner of Chartres and St. Peter s streets ; the Hospital, standing in the suburb St. Mary, opposite the square, between Dauphine and Burgundy streets; the Cathe dral Church of St. Louis, in front of Orleans street, npon Chartres street ; the Convent of Ursuline nuns, upon Ursu- line street, between Levee and Chartres streets; the Bar racks, upon Garrison and Levee streets; the Custom House, in front of the square, between Canal and Levee streets ; the Market House, upon the Levee, in front of the square, between St. Anne and Du Maine streets; Orleans Bank, upon Conti, between Chartres and Royal streets ; Louisiana Bank, upon Royal, between Conti and St. Louis streets; Planter s Bank, south-west corner of Conti and Royal streets; Government House, north-west corner of Levee and Toulouse streets ; District Court of the United States, be tween Du Maine and Philippe streets ; and the Water Works of Levee street, in front of the square, between Ur suline and St. Philip streets. A very large and splendid building is fitted up for the State Bank. The French Theatre is in the city, and the American in the Fauxbourg St. Mary. The Presbyterian Church is also in this Faux bourg. " The Cathedral stands at the head of a spacious square, CATHEDRAL, NEW ORLEANS. IN NORTH AMERICA. 445 NK\V ORLEANS. 400 feet from the river. The building is of brick, extend ing 90 feet on the street, and 120 back of it. The roof is covered, as are most of the French and Spanish houses, with hollow tile, and is supported by ten plastered brick columns. It has four towers, of which one contains two bells. It has an organ, and is finished within with great massiveness and simplicity. It is an imposing fabric, and the interior seems calculated to excite religious feeling. Under its stone pavements are deposited the illustrious dead. In the niches and recesses are the figures of the saints, in their appropriate dress, and with those pale and unearthly countenances which are so much in keeping with the com mon ideas entertained of them. The walls are so thick, that though in the very centre of business, you hear only a confused whisper within, and are almost as still as in the centre of a forest. You go but a few paces from the crowds that are pressing along Levee street, and from the rattle of carriages that are stationed near this place, arid you find yourself in a kind of vaulted apartment, and in perfect still- .ness. The tapers are burning, and some few are always kneeling within in silent prayer. Images of death, of the invisible world, and of eternity, surround you. The dead sleep under your feet. You are in the midst of life, and yet there reigns here a perpetual tranquillity. A new Catholic church has been recently erected. " The Presbyterian church is of brick, and is a very large and handsome building. The Episcopal church is small, but light and neat in its structure. The Mariner s church was much needed, and is a respectable building. The prison and the French theatre are very large, and externally disa greeable. The American theatre, in the Fauxbourg St. Mary, is a neat arid commodious building. The Charity Hospital, though not a very beautiful building, has a moral beauty of the highest order. It is probably one of the most efficient and useful charities in the country. New Orleans is exposed to greater varieties of human misery, vice, dis ease, and want, than any other American town. Here misery and disease find a home, clean apartments, faithful nursing, and excellent medical attendance. Under this roof more miserable objects have been sheltered, more have been dismissed cured, and more have been carried to their Jong home, than from any other hospital among us. 446 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW ORLEANS. " The college is a respectable building, and has had am ple endowments ; but has done little as yet for the literature of the country. There is a convent of Ursuline nuns, who receive day scholars and boarders for the various branches of rudimental education. The Female Orphan Asylum is a most interesting charity, dating its efficient operations from the late Mr. Poydras. It has commonly TO or 80 destitute female children, under sober and discreet instructresses, all plainly and neatly clad, and constantly occupied, either in acquiring the rudiments of education, or of needle-work. They are dressed in plain uniforms, and worship part of the Sabbath day in the Catholic, and part in the Protestant church. An institution of a similar character for boys, and endowed also by the benevolent Poydras, is now in opera tion. " There are a number of other charitable institutions in this city, of respectable character ; arid when the epidemic, yellow fever, visits it, the manner in which the inhabitants bestow charity, nursing, shelter, and medical aid to the sick, is worthy of all praise. A library, for the use of the poorer reading young men of the city, has been instituted, and in the extent of her efficient and useful charities, New Orleans is not far behind her Atlantic sisters. There are fewer churches in the city, than in any other town of the same size in the United States. There are but three Catholic places of worship, one Presbyterian, two Episcopalian, a Mariner s church, a Baptist, and a Methodist place of wor ship. Very little observance of the Sabbath, as northern peo ple estimate it, is seen in this city. It is well known, that the forms of the Catholic worship do not forbid amusements on the Sabbath "* When the United States took possession of New Orleans in 1803, the city contained 1000 houses, and 8000 inhabitants. In 1820 the population amounted to 27,000; in 1821, to 29,000 ; in 1822, to 32,000 ; in 1826, to nearly 40,000 ; in 1840 to 102,193. The population in 1850 was 116,370. Notwithstanding it is more than 100 miles from the sea, the city is considered a seaport, and " consuls from every nation having commercial intercourse with it, reside there ; * Flint s Valley of the Mississippi. IN NORTH AMERICA. 447 NEW ORLEANS. from England, Russia, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Ham burgh, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, and the South American Republics." The population of the city is, of course, of the most mot ley description, and of every complexion, from the shades of brown and yellow to jet black. Americans from every State, from Maine to Georgia, form about three eighths of the population of the city and State ; and among them are some of the wealthiest families in Louisiana. The French are still numerous. They include many respectable merchants, lawyers, and physicians; but the greater part are adventurers, who fill up the humble professions of dancing-master, mu sician, hair-dresser, and the like. The watchmen and lamp lighters are Germans, the unhappy remnant of a numer ous body of emigrants, who arrived from Europe about sixteen years ago, destitute of the smallest resources, and who, having lost more than half their comrades during the passage, were sold as " white slaves," or, as they are called, " redemp- tioners," the moment they landed. Hundreds of these people fell victims to the yellow fever between 1814 and 1822; and their degrading habits of inebriety tend rapidly to thin their numbers. The fishermen are chiefly Spaniards. The free colored people consist partly of emancipated slaves; but chiefly mulattoes, the offspring of the dissolute French Creoles. Heterogeneous as the population is, in manners, languages, and principles, they all agree in one point, the pursuit of money. Americans, English, French, Germans, Spaniards, all come hither to make money, and to stay only as long as money is to be made. The Yankee commission merchants, who reside here during the winter, retire to the north in the month of May. About half the inhabitants only, it is sup posed, are regularly settled here. The better American fam ilies, as soon as they have amassed a fortune, answering to their expectations, prefer removing to the north. These cir cumstances will explain why New Orleans, one of the wealth iest cities in the Union, is so far behind every other in its public establishments. " During six months of the year, Louisiana affords a de lightful residence. In June, the heats become oppressive ; not a breath of air is to be felt ; the mosquitoes appear in millions ; and nothing can be more disagreeable than their buzzing sound and their painful sting, except that 448 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW ORLEANS. of the millipedes, which is still more painful. In July, the heat increases. August, September, and October are dan gerous mouths in New Orleans. A deep silence reigns during this season in the city. Most of the stores are .-hut up ; no one is to be seen in the streets during the day, ex cept negroes and people of color ; no carriage, except the funeral hearse. At the approach of evening, the inhabit ants pour forth to enjoy the air upon the /ifj.vr. The yel low fever, however, has not made its appearance for sev eral years; and it is hoped that when the pestilential swamps behind the city are drained, the city will become not less healthy than other places in the same latitude. In winter, the climate is extremely variable. In 1^-J, a severe frost killed nearly all the orange trees. During some winters, the thermometer has fallen to 1(> J or 15 D , and the streets have repeatedly been covered with snow, while the ponds and bayous have been frozen. Other winters have been as remarkable for their warmth ; and no mean estimate can give a correct idea of the uncertain and varying tempera ture." " Much has been said abroad," remarks the author of the "Valley of the Mississippi," " in regard to the unhealthiness of this city, and the danger of a residence here for an unac- climated person has be$n exaggerated This circumstance, more than all others, has retarded the increase of the city. Unhappily, when the dogstar is in the sky, there is but too much probability, that the epidemic will sweep the place with the besom of destruction. Hundreds of unacclim.ited poor from the north, and more than all, from Ireland, tall victims to it. " The supply of the excellent water of the Mississippi, by the waterworks now in operation, is very inadequate. It is contemplated to extend the means of supply. No city in the Union can be furnished more cheaply and easily. Were the supply equal to washing the streets in every direction, it would tend more to the preservation of the public health, in all probability, than any other conservative means that could be employed ; and it is a matter of surprise, that such a sim ple and obvious measure has not already been adopted. It is believed, that every street, which h is the least inclination of descent, might be kept clean by the healthy water of the Mississippi, at a less expense than is requisite for watering Cincinnati. Very great improvements have been recently IN NORTH AMERICA. 449 NKW ORLEANS. made, and are constantly making, in paving the city, in re moving the wooden sewers, and replacing them by those of stone. The low places, where the water used to stagnate, are drained or filled up. Tracts of swamp about the town are draining, or filling up; and this work, constantly pursued, will, probably, contribute more to the salubrity of the city, than all the other efforts to this end united. " The commerce of this city is immense, and constantly increasing. There have been counted in the harbor, 1,500 flat boats at a time. Steamboats are corning and departing every hour ; and it is not uncommon to see 50 lying in the harbor at a time. A forest of masts is constantly seen along the levee, except in the sultry months. There are often 5,000 or 6,000 boatmen from the upper country here ; and it is not uncommon to see 40 vessels advertised for Liverpool and Havre. No place in the United States has so much activity and bustle of commerce crowded into so small a space, in the months of February and March. During the season of bringing in the cotton crop, whole streets are barricaded with cotton bales. The amount of domes tic exports from this city exceeds forty millions of dol lars a year, being greater than that of any other city of the Union, except New York, and nearly equalling that. The greatest items that make this amount, are sugar and cot ton. " It is believed, that it will not be long before the great and opulent city of New Orleans will commence, on a scale com mensurate with her resources and enterprise, a system of re claiming the immense swamps, in the midst of which she is placed, by navigable canals. "The facilities of getting a passage from this city either to Europe, Mexico, the Atlantic cities, or the interior, are very great. You need seldom remain many days, without an opportunity to embark in any direction. Steamboats are constantly advertising for Louisville, and all the different points on the waters of the Mississippi and Ohio : and a passage in the beautiful steamboats that now ply on these waters, is both rapid, cheap, and delightful. "The market is ordinarily cheap and abundant ; and by seizing opportunities, the articles of life may be had as cheap as in any other town in the United States. Corn, potatoes, pork, and flour, are sometimes so low, as scarcely to pay the cost of transportation from the upper country. The produc- 29 450 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW ORLEANS. lions of all climes find their way hither ; and for fruits and vegetables, few places can exceed it. On a pleasant March morning, perhaps half of the city is seen in the market. The crowd covers half a mile in extent. The negroes, mulattoes, French, Spanish, and Germans, are all crying their several articles in their several tongues. In the midst of a confusion of languages, like that of Babel, * unpicalion, un p icalion, is the most distinguishable. " This city necessarily exercises a great moral influence over all the westera country. There is no distinguished merchant, planter, or farmer, in the Mississippi valley, but what has made at least one trip to this place. Here they witness acting at the French and American theatres. Here they go to inspect, if not to take part in the pursuits of the 4 roulette, and temple of fortune, Here they come from the remote and isolated parts of the west, to see the city lions/ and learn the ways of men in great towns ; and they necessarily carry back an impression, from what they have seen and heard. It is of conceivable importance to the western country, that New Orleans should be enlight ened, moral, and religious. It has a numerous and respect able corps of professional men, and issues a considerable number of well-edited papers. " The police of the city is at once mild and energetic. Notwithstanding the multifarious character of the people, collected from every country and climate ; notwithstanding the multitude of boatmen and sailors ; notwithstanding the mass of people that rush along its streets is of the most incongruous materials, there are fewer broils and quarrels here, than in almost any other city. The municipal and criminal courts are prompt in administering justice ; and larcenies and broils are effectually punished without any just grounds of the * law s delay. 3 On the whole, the morals of those people, who profess to have any degree of self-respect, arc not behind those of the other cities of the Union."* From New Orleans to the Balize or mouth of the Mis sissippi, is about 100 miles, as already stated. Here a great number of pilots are stationed. From this wretched place, i. e. their stations, says Captain Basil Hall, planted in * Flint. IN NORTH AMERICA. 451 NEW ORLEANS. the midst of a boundless swamp, no firm land is in sight, nor is there any within 50 or 60 miles of it. There are about twenty buildings, six of them dwelling-houses, be tween which the intercourse is carried on exclusively by means of rude log causeys or bridges laid over the slime and water. It is impossible to walk ten yards in any direction, without sinking up to the neck in a mudhole or quicksand ; so that, for all the purposes of locomotion, the inhabitants might as well be at sea. In the middle of this half drowned village, there stands " a rickety look-out house," from the top of which an extensive view is commanded, indescribably dreary, yet not without interest. " We could discover," says this traveller, "several of the passes, (or out lets,) and great numbers of bayous, or natural canals, creep ing among the marshes slowly to the sea, which occupied about one third of the horizon on the south. On the east and west, the marshes extended as far as the eye could reach, bristling with roots, trunks, and branches of trees. In the spring, when the freshes or floods come down, they bring along with them millions of trunks of trees, technically called logs, (owing to the falling in of the river banks.) " In February and the beginning of March, the quantity of these logs is so great, that not only the river itself, but the sea for several miles off is completely coated over with them, and it requires some skill in the pilot to get through. The whole ground (if the loose, muddy soil can be so called) appeared to be formed of layers of these logs matted together into a net-work, or rather a gigantic raft of rough timbers, many yards, and perhaps fathoms, in depth, over hundreds of square leagues. These enormous rafts, which settle on the mud as the waters subside, are cemented to gether by fresh deposits. In a short time a rank sort of cane or reed springs up, which helps to keep them together. This is called a cane-brake ; a wild, hopeless-looking, im passable marsh. These reeds, by retarding the flow of the river, collect the mud of the next season, arid by the pro cess of their own decay, lend their share to form the alluvial soil of the Delta. Fresh logs, and fresh mud, and new crops of cane, go on forming for a certain course of years. At length a stunted shrub takes root, and grows up in these, slushy territories, the empire of the alligators, who delight to flounder about in the creeks of bayous, which cut across 452 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW ORI.KANS. the Delta in every direction. When these trees grow up, they collect more soil about them, and land somewhat firmer is concocted, as we advance from the region of swamps to that of marshes. The intruder, man, now begins his opera tions, by banking out the stream, and taking the further management of the soil into his own hands. The fertility of such spots exceeds that of any other part of the world. Of course, all the seashores or skirts of the Delta are unin habited, and must for a long time continue in a state of use less marshes, till fresh deposits raise the level a few feet more. The lowest 1 sugar plantation on the Mississippi, that I saw, was 40 miles below New Orleans, or about (JO miles from the sea. And 1 should imagine that a belt of uninhabitable marsh, from 50 to 100 miles in width, fringes the whole of that part of the coast."* In his subsequent voyage up the Mississippi, when be tween 50 and GO miles above New Orleans, this Traveller had the satisfaction of witnessing one of those formidable breaches in the Levee, or embankment, which are called cre- vasscs.\ " The river was tumbling through the opening with a head or fall of four or five feet, in a tumultuous manner, resembling one of the St. Lawrence rapids. This boiling, or rather surf-like appearance for it rose and fell in snow-white ridges or short waves did not spread itself far to the right or left, (which at first surprised me,) but gushed nearly at right angles to the parent river, straight for ward, across the cultivated fields into the forest growing in the boundless morass lying beyond the cleared strips of land. There was something peculiarly striking in this casual stream, a mere drop from the great Mississippi, which in many oilier countries might almost have claimed the name of a river, leaping, and writhing, and foaming along, with a sound exactly like that of breakers on a reef, through the middle of a village, among trees, over the tops of sugar plan tations, and at last losing itself in a great cypress swamp. " The Levee or embankment was completely carried away * Basil Hall s Travels. t Many crrratsrs are believed to have been caused by the holes of water rats ; for the soil is so loose, tint if the water once gets vent, so as to dribble through the smallest pipe, it is impossible to say of what magnitude the opening may become before morning. IN NORTH AMERICA. 453 NEW ORLEANS. at this place, for a distance of 100 or perhaps 150 yards. I could not help being surprised, indeed, that any portion of these frail barriers ever stood at all, for they seemed generally not more than two or three feet wide at top, and ten or twelve at the base ; and altogether so slender in appearance, that I expected every minute to see fresh crevasses formed. Inuring the greater part of that day, the surface of the water along which we were moving, could not be less than six or eight feet above the level of the ground on both sides. The district of country which lies adjacent to the Mississippi, in the lower parts of Louisiana, is every where thickly peopled by sugar planters, whose showy houses, gay piazzas, thrifty gardens, and numerous slave villages, all clean and neat, gave an exceedingly thriving air to the river scenery." During the last war with Great Britain, New Orleans was the scene of a battle between the Americans and British, which for its signal triumph on the one hand, and signal defeat on the other, has rarely been equalled. It was unfor tunately fought after the preliminaries of a treaty had been signed at Ghent ; but the tidings of this mutual adjustment of difficulties, which would have prevented such carnage, and saved many a gallant officer arid veteran soldier, had not reached the country. The above treaty was signed Dec. 24th, 1814, the battle was fought on the 8th of January, 1815. Sometime previously the British had evidently been turn ing their attention towards New Orleans. Having intima tion of their design, Gen. Jackson, then commanding in that vicinity, marched his troops upon New Orleans, where he arrived on the 2d of December. Having reviewed a corps of volunteers, the day of his arrival, he immediately proceeded to visit every post in the neighborhood, to give orders for adding fortifications, and establishing defensive works and outposts, in every spot where the enemy migkt be expected, as there was the greatest uncertainty where a landing would be made : he mingled with the citizens and infused into the greater part his own spirit and energy. By his presence and exhortations, they were animated to exer tions of which before they were not supposed to be capable. All who could wield a spade, or carry a musket, were either put to work upon the fortifications, or trained in the art of defending them. The Mississippi, upon the eastern bank of 454 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW ORLKANS. which New Orleans stands, flows to the ocean in several channels ; one leaving the main stream above the city, runs east of it, and forms in its course Lake Ponchartrain, and lake Borgne. Early in December, the British entered this channel with a force of about eight thousand men, a part of whom had just left the shores of the Chesapeake, the remain der having arrived direct from England. A small squadyn of gun-boats, under Lieutenant Jones, was despatched to op pose their passage into the lake. These were met by a su perior force, and after a spirited conflict, in which the killed and wounded of the British exceeded the whole number of the Americans, they were compelled to surrender. The loss of the gun-boats left no means of watching the movements of the enemy, or of ascertaining where the landing would be made. Orders were given for increased vigilance at every post ; the people of color were formed into a battal ion ; the offer of the Barratarians to volunteer, on condition of a pardon for previous offences, if they conducted them selves with bravery and fidelity, was accepted. Gen. Jack son, after applying to the legislature to suspend the act of habeas corpus, and finding that they were consuming these extreme moments in discussion, proclaimed martial law, and from that moment his means became more commensurate with the weight of responsibility he had to sustain. On the 22d, the British having landed, took a position near the main channel of the river, about eight miles below the city. In the evening of the 23d, General Jackson made a sudden and furious attack upon the camp. They were thrown into disorder ; but they soon rallied, and fought with a bravery, at least equal to that of the assailants. Satisfied with the advantage first gained, he withdrew his troops, for tified a strong position four miles below New Orleans, and supported it by batteries erected on the west bank of the river. On the 28th of December, and the 1st of January, vigorous but unsuccessful attacks were made upon these for tifications by the English. In the mean time, both armies had received re-inforcements; and General Sir E. Packenham, the British commander, resolved to exert all his strength in a combined attack upon the American positions, on both sides of the river. With almost incredible industry, he caused a canal, leading from a creek emptying itself into lake Borgne to the main channel of the Mississippi, to be dug, that he IN NORTH AMERICA. 455 NEW ORLEANS. might remove a part of his boats and artillery to that river. On the 7th of January, from the movements observed in the British camp, a speedy attack was anticipated. This was made early on the 8th. The British troops, formed in a close column of about sixty men in front, the men shoulder ing their muskets, all carrying fascines, and some with lad ders, advanced towards the American fortifications, from whence an incessant fire was kept up on the column, which continued to advance, until the musketry of the troops of Tennessee and Kentucky, joined with the fire of the artillery, began to make an impression on it, which soon threw it into confusion. For some time, the British officers succeeded in animating the courage of their troops, making them advance obliquely to the left, to avoid the fire of a battery, every dis charge from which opened the column, and mowed down whole files, which were almost instantaneously replaced by new troops coming up close after the first ; but these also shared the same fate, until at last, after twenty-five minutes continued firing, through which a few platoons advanced to the edge of the ditch, the column entirely broke, and part of the troops dispersed, and ran to take shelter among the bushes on the right. The rest retired to the ditch, where they had been when first perceived, four hundred yards from the American lines. There the officers with some difficulty rallied their troops, and again drew them up for a second attack, the soldiers having laid down their knapsacks at the edge of the ditch, that they might be less encumbered. And now, for the sec ond time, the column, recruited with the troops that formed the rear, advanced. Again it was received with the same galling fire from the musketry and artillery, till it at last broke again, and retired in the utmost confusion. In vain did the officers now endeavor, as before, to revive the cour age of their men ; to no purpose did they strike them with the flat of their swords, to force them to advance : they were insensible of every thing but danger, and saw nothing but death, which had struck so many of their comrades. The attack had hardly begun, when the British commander in chief, Sir Edward Packenham, fell a victim to his own in trepidity, while endeavoring to animate his troops with ardor for the assault. Soon after his fall, two other generals, Keane and Gibbs, were carried off the field of battle, dangerously 456 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW ORLKANS. wounded. A great number of officers of rank had fallen : the ground over which the column had marched was strewed with the dead and wounded. Such slaughter on their side, with scarcely any loss on the American, spread consterna tion through the British ranks, as they were now convinced of the impossibility of carrying the lines, and saw that even to advance was certain death. Some of the British troops had penetrated into the wood toward the extremity of the American line, to make a false attack, or to ascertain wheth er a real one were practicable. These, the troops under Gen eral Coffee had no sooner perceived, than they opened on them a brisk fire with their rifles, which made them retire. The greater part of those who, on the columns being re pulsed, had taken shelter in the thickets, only escaped the bat teries to be killed by the musketry. During the whole hour that the attack lasted, the American fire did not slacken for a single moment. By half after eight in the morning, the fire of the musketry had ceased. The whole plain on the left, as also the side of the river, from the road to the edge of the water, was covered with the British soldiers who had fallen. About four hundred wounded prisoners were taken, and at least double that number of wounded men escaped into the British camp ; and a space of ground extending from the ditch of the American lines to that on which the enemy drew up his troops, two hundred and fifty yards in length, by about two hundred in breadth, was literally cov ered with men, either dead or severely wounded. Perhaps a greater disparity of loss never occurred ; that of the British, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, in this attack, which was not made with sufficient judgment, and which, besides, was em barrassed by unforeseen circumstances, was upwards of two thousand men ; the killed and wounded of the Americans was only thirteen ! The events of the day on the west side of the river pre sents a striking instance of the uncertainty of military cal culations. There the Americans were thrice the number of their assailants, and were protected by intrenchments ; but they ingloriously fled. They were closely pursued, until the British party received intelligence of the defeat of the main army, withdrew from pursuit, and re-crossed the river. They then returned and re-assumed possession of their in- 458 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW ORLEANS. trenchments. General Lambert, upon whom the command of the British army had devolved, having lost all hopes of success, repaired to his shipping. In his retreat he was not molested ; General Jackson wisely resolv ing to haz ard nothing that he had gained in attempting to gain still more.* "Hinton s United States. TENNESSEE. NASHVILLE. NASHVILLE, the capital of the state of Tennessee, and the most important town in the commonwealth, is pleasantly situated on the south side of Cumberland river, and at the head of steamboat navigation. The site of the town consists of an entire rock, covered in some places by a thin soil, and elevated from fifty to one hundred and seventy-five feet above the river. During the hottest part of the summer, Nashville, owing to its healthy location, is the resort of numbers from the lower country. The picturesque scenery of the neighbourhood is also an attraction to many persons. The town contains nume rous handsome buildings, public and private, and a population of 10,478 souls. Several steamboats of the first class are owned here, and ply at regular intervals between Nashville and Cincinnati and other places. A railroad is in progress of con struction from Nashville to Chattanooga, a distance of 150 miles, being a continuation of the lines extending from the sea board at two points Charleston and Savannah and running through the states of South Carolina and Georgia. On its completion, the trade of this already flourishing town will be considerably increased. KNOXVILLE. This city is situated at the head of steamboat navigation, on the north side of Holston river, a branch of Tennessee river. It is regularly laid out, and contains about 2,000 inhabitants. Numerous mills and manufacturing establishments give a bustling aspect to the place. Knoxville is the largest town in East Tennessee. 459 KENTUCKY. LEXINGTON. LEXINGTON was one of the earliest settlements in Ken tucky ; in 1785, it had assumed the appearance of a village, but its early growth was much impeded by Indian warfare, so that in 1805, it contained but 50 houses, and about 350 in habitants. Its name was given to it by some hunters, who were encamping on the spot on which the city now stands, when the news of the battle of Lexington was brought to them, upon which they immediately decided to give it the name of that place, where the struggle for American liberty first commenced. The town buildings, in general, are handsome, and some of them are magnificent. Few towns in the West, or else where, are more delightfully situated. Its environs have a singular softness and amenity of landscape, and the town wears an air of neatness, opulence, and repose, indicating leisure and studiousness, rather than the bustle of business and commerce. It is situated in the centre of a proverbially rich and populous country. The frequency of handsome villas and ornamented rural mansions imparts the impression of vicinity to an opulent metropolis. A beautiful branch of the Elkhorn runs through the city, and supplies it with water. The main street is a mile and a quarter in length, and 80 feet wide, well paved ; and the principal roads leading from it to the country are McAdarnized to some distance. In the centre of the town is the public square, surrounded by hand some buildings. In this square is the market house, which is amply supplied with all the products of the State. The inhabitants are cheerful, intelligent, conversable, and noted for their hospitality to strangers. The professional men are distinguished for their attainments in their several walks, and many distinguished and eminent men have had their 462 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES LOUISVILLE. origin here. The University, with its professors, and stu dents, and the numerous distinguished strangers that are vis iting here, during the summer months, add to the attractions of the city. The people are addicted to giving parties ; and the tone of society is fashionable and pleasant. Strangers, in general, are much pleased with a temporary sojourn in this city, which conveys high ideas of the refinement and taste of the country. There are now much larger towns in the West ; but none presenting more beauty and intelligence. The stranger, on finding himself in the midst of its polished and interesting society, cannot but be carried back by the strong contrast, to the time, when the patriarchal hunters of Kentucky, reclining on their buffalo robes around their even ing fires, canopied by the lofty trees aYfcl the stars, gave it the name it bears, by patriotic acclamation.* The Transylvania University is located in Lexington, and enjoys a high reputation among the collegiate institutions of the West. It was founded in 1798, and re-organized in 1818. The buildings are on an eminence contiguous to the town, and generally commodious. The several libraries at tached to the Institution contain 14,000 volumes. There are several schools in the city, which are in deservedly high reputation. The other public edifices are, a handsome and spacious Court House, a large Masonic Hall, and eleven churches, in which all the denominations of Christianity are rep resented. The State Lunatic Asylum is a spacious and very commodious building. The population, in 1843, was 7,500. In 1850 it was over 10,000. LOUISVILLE. This place began to be settled in 1778, at which time, and for a few subsequent years, it was constantly harassed by the Indians. In 1780, it was made a town by an act of * Flint s Geography. IN NORTH AMERICA. 463 LOUISVILLE. the Virginia legislature, it being then a part of that State. In the following year, a fort was built and garrisoned, and a check given to Indian depredations. In a commercial point of view, Louisville is far the most important town in the State. The main street is nearly a mile in length, and is as noble, as compact, and has as much the air of a maritime town, as any street in the western country. It is situated on an extensive sloping plain, be low the mouth of the Beargrass, about a quarter of a mile above the principal declivity of the falls. The three prin cipal streets are parallel with the river, and command fine views of the villages and the beautiful country on the op posite shore. The public buildings are a court house, jail, poorhouse, and workhouse, powder magazine, marine hospital, city schoolhouse, twenty-five churches for the prevalent denomina tions of the country, Washington Hall, Columbian Inn, and several other respectable hotels; a City Hall, five banking- houses, and a theatre. In addition to these, might be enume rated the Jefferson Cotton Factory, an iron foundry, several steam-mills, fire and marine insurance company offices, &c. The Marine Hospital is a conspicuous and showy building. The free Public School House is a noble edifice, taking into view its object. It was commenced in 1829, as a kind of model school for a general system of free schools ; and was built at an expense of 7,500 dollars. It is intended to ac commodate 700 or 800 pupils. The position of this city is 38 18 north, and 5 42 west from Washington. It contained in 1800, 600 inhabitants ; in 1810, 1,350; 1820, 4,012; 1830, 10,336; and by the census of 1840, 21,210. In 1850 it was 43,195. The greatest fall in the Ohio is just below this city. In high stages of water, the rocks and shallows are all covered, and boats pass without perceiving them. But this stage of water does not occur, on an average, more than two months in a year, rendering it necessary at all other times, that boats from the lower country should stop here. The falls equally arrested boats from above. Consequently freights intended for the country above were required, at a great expense of time, delay, and factorage, to be unloaded, transported by land round the falls, and reloaded in boats above. Large steamboats from New Orleans, though belonging to the 464 THAVKI.S AND SK I .TCII KS LOUISVILLE. upper country, were obliged to lie by through the summer at Portland. To remedy these inconveniences, the Louisville and Port- laud canal round the falls has been completed. It ovrr- comes the ascent of twenty-two feet by five locks. The first steamboat that passed through the canal was the Uncas, December 21, 1^!>. It is two miles in length, and the excavation 40 feet in depth. A part of this depth is cut from solid limestone. It is on a scale to admit steamboats and vessels of the largest size. From the nature of the country, and the great differ ence between the highest and lowest stage of the work, amounting to nearly sixty feet, it is necessarily a work of great magnitude, having cost more than any other similar extent of canal work in the United States. There are vari ous opinions, in reference to the bearings of this work upon the future prosperity of Louisville. Great part of the im portant and lucrative business of factorage will be super seded ; and as boats can ascend from Louisville to Cincin nati, with at least as great a draft of water as is allowed by the depth of the water from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio, most of the bonts from the Mississippi, that used to be arrested at the falls, will pass on to the country above. But other bearings of utility to this place, not yet contemplated, will probably grow out of the increased activity, given by the canal, to business and commerce. No axiom is better established than that every part of the country, so connect ed as the whole coast of the Ohio, flourishes and increases with every other part. If the country above and below be flourisning, so also will be Louisville. Besides, this important town has intrinsic resources, which will not fail to make it a great place. More steamboats are up in New Orleans for it than any other ; and, except during the season of ice, or of extremely low water, there seldom elapses a week, without an arrival from New Orleans. The gun of the arriving or departing steamboats is heard at every hour of the day and night ; and no person has an adequate idea of the business and bustle of Louisville, until he has arrived at the town. The county of which this town is the county seat, is one of the most fertile and host settled in the State. The town was formerly subject to frequent attacks of endemic sick ness, in the summer and autumn, owing to stagnant waters 466 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES LOUISVILLE. in its vicinity. The ponds and marshes have been in a great measure drained ; and the health of the town has unproved in consequence. It has been for some years near ly as healthy as any other town in the same latitude on the Ohio.* THE MAMMOTH CAVE. The greatest curiosity in Kentucky is the Mammoth Cave, in Edmonclson county, on the road to Nashville, and one hundred and thirty-eight miles from Lex ington. The depth of this cavern is sixty or seventy feet; and, although it has been explored nine or ten miles, it con tains numerous windings, running deep into the earth, which have never yet been visited. The first impression which a sight of this immense cavern leaves upon the mind, is that of awe. Its vast proportions, its wide-stretching roof, its dark openings and colossal figures, strike the mind with astonish ment, and for a while remove it from the contemplation of little things. Some of the incrustations of this cave, are re markable, not only for immense size, but for the singularity and often terribleness of their forms; but most of them seem to want the variety and beauty observed in the stalactites of Antiparos and other celebrated excavations. The earth in the vicinity is strongly impregnated with saltpetre, and large quantities of that article are manufactured from it. * Flint s Geography. OHIO. CINCINNATI. CINCINNATI, sometimes called the " Queen of the West," is situated on the north shore of the Ohio, in latitude 39 6 30" north, and in longitude 7 24 45" west from Washing ton ; 450 miles distant from Pittsburgh by the course of the river ; 860 from New Orleans, and 850 from New York, by way of the Erie and New York canal. The outlines of this city were laid out as early as 1789, on the site of old Fort Washington ; but very little was done towards its improvement till several years afterward. In deed, forty years ago the population scarcely numbered 1,000 ; and it is hardly more than twenty years since attention was first directed to its great and growing importance ; within that brief period, however, Cincinnati has gained a rank enjoyed by few other cities in this country. The position of Cincinnati is admirable, occupying " a beautiful vale," says Mr. Flint, " twelve miles in circumference, created by an elliptical sweep of the Ohio hills. Those of them that have not been laid bare by the unsparing axe, are beautifully wooded to their summits ; and by the swell and indentation of their waving outline, present the most grace ful and charming forms. From the summit of any of these hills, the towns spreads a panoramic map of exquisite paint ing. The eye traces every street, with its smokes, fixtures, and moving life, from which all the roughness of inception, softened by distance, appears. The noble establishments, the handsome mansions, the extending masses of buildings, the numerous manufactures, propelling their columns of black smoke aloft, the boat yards, the bustling inhabitants, with the hundred teams and drays, the Ohio, winding along the southern limit, and itself enlivened by passing crafts, and stately steamboats, rounding to the shore, or departing from it, the villages of Newport and Covington, with their showy houses and manufactories on the Kentucky bank of the Ohio, taken together, offer such a picture of beauty, wealth, progress 467 468 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CINCINNATI. and fresh advance, as few landscapes in any country can surpass. Its first settlement was in 1789, but it was not until 1808, that a considerable part of the present town plot that surrounded Fort Washington, and belonged to the government, was sold in lots. " A more eligible position for a town can scarcely be im agined. The chief area consists of two parallel plains, the one elevated sixty feet above the other, and descending to it by a gentle and graduated slope, affording admirable facilities for washing the town by every considerable rain, and sloping it to the eye in the graceful form of an amphitheatre, and at the same time furnishing it with every pleasing variety of site for building. One of the chief beauties of this city is obvious to every eye, which, however, we have not seen re corded. The streets crossing each other at right angles, and being straight and uninterrupted, present vistas, bounded by the wooded acclivities of the surrounding hills. By a well known optical illusion, these swelling hill sides, seen through a vista, narrowing in apparent width in proportion to its dis tance from the eye, fill the angle of vision, and preclude the perception of any distance between the termination of the street and the commencement of the hills. In consequence, through whatever street the beholder looks, it seems to be closed by a gate of verdure, and to terminate in a forest. " Seven of the streets are sixty-six feet wide, and three hundred and ninety-six feet apart, intersected by streets of the same width and distance, at right angles. One entire square, and the fraction of another, are reserved in central parts of the city, for public buildings. The city buildings cover an irregular area, nearest the form of a parallelogram. The central parts are compactly built with houses and stores, that would ornament any town. The most showy quarters, are Main, Broadway, and Fourth streets, westward from its intersection with Main. Among the public buildings of Cincinnati is the Court House, on Main street : it is a spacious building, 56 by 60 feet, and 120 feet high to the top of the dome. The edifice of the Franklin and Lafayette banks, on the north side of Third street, has a splendid portico of Grecian Doric columns, four feet and a half in diameter, extending through the entire front of the building, after the model of the Parthenon at Athens, arid has a front of 79 feet and a depth of 69 feet. The ascent to the portico from the street is by nine steps, which. IN NORTH AMERICA. 469 CINCINNATI. as well as the columns and entablature of the portico, are of beautiful gray freestone. This edifice is truly classical and magnificent. The First Presbyterian church, on Main street, is a handsome brick edifice ; but the Second church, belong ing to the same denomination, excels it in beauty. The Unit arian church is a singularly neat one. The interior of the Roman Catholic is striking. The First Methodist church is a spacious building, and the First Baptist church is a very neat edifice. Other churches make a neat and respectable appearance. There are forty-three churches in Cincinnati ; four market- houses, one of them 500 feet long; a United States Land Office; a theatre, and a museum. The city contains many literary and charitable institutions. The Cincinnati College was founded in 1819, and has fine grounds and a valuable building. Woodward College derives its name from its founder; it is now respectable, and destined to increase. The Roman Catholics have a college, not yet chartered, called Xavier College: it has about one hundred students, and four or five thousand volumes in its libraries. Lane Seminary, a Presbyterian theological institution, is lo cated at Walnut hills, two miles from the centre of the city : it went into operation in 1833, and has three professors, and more than 10,000 volumes in its library : there is no charge for tuition. This is an important institution, and its salutary influence will be long and widely felt. The Medical College of Ohio was chartered in 1825: it has a large and commodi ous building, and furnishes many facilities to those who resort to it for a medical education. The Mechanics Institute was chartered in 1828, for the improvement of mechanics in sci entific knowledge, by means of popular lectures and other facilities for instruction : it has a. valuable philosophical and chemical apparatus. The bazaar formerly erected by Mrs. Trollope has been purchased, and a fair is annually held for the benefit of this institution, at which western manufactures and western artists exhibit their respective commodities. The common free schools of Cincinnati are of a high order, and every possible advantage is furnished the pupils who at tend them. Great efforts are also made to render the High Schools in every way conducive to the objects proposed by them. There are several libraries, whicli deserve a passing notice : The Young Men s Mercantile Library Association has its library (containing 3,500 volumes) and reading-rooms 470 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CINCINNATI. in Cincinnati College. The Apprentices Library contains 2,200 volumes. What other city of the same age can show such a number of institutions designed for the cultivation and expansion of the minds of its citizens! It must be remem bered that Cincinnati, although early settled, scarcely excited any attention until it was chartered in 1819 ; since which time it has increased with a rapidity which has far outstripped the most vivid imaginings of its founders. The charitable institutions of this city are numerous and respectable. The Cincinnati Orphan Asylum has a fine build ing in Elm street, which cost $18,000. Attached to it is a library and well-organized school. The Roman Catholics have two Orphan Asylums. Besides these, is the Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asylum of Ohio, incorporated in 1821 : eleven hundred patients have been admitted into this institu tion in a single year. The city is well supplied by water from the Ohio river by means of a steam-engine of forty-horse power, which forces the water to reservoirs 150 feet above low-water mark : these reservoirs will contain 1,600,000 gallons. Until 1839, these works were private property: they were at that time pur chased by the city. Manufactures of almost every kind have greatly increased within a few years. In the absence of water-power, resort is had to the steam-engine ; yet great advantage is derived from the surplus water of the Miami canal, which affords 3,000 cubic feet per minute, adequate to carry sixty pairs of mill stones. A still greater power is expected from the Cincinnati and Whitewater canals. There are five incorporated banks, whose aggregate capital is 85,800,000, besides, two unincorporated banks and a bank for savings. There are eight insurance and seven fire-engine companies, and thirty-four public cisterns. Cincinnati is distinguished above all other places in the Union for its pork establishments. In 1834-5, 160,000 hogs were killed; and in 1836, with those brought into the city from other places, 180,000; which, when prepared for ex portation, amounted to $3,172,000. The average time occu pied in knocking down a hog, bleeding, scalding, scraping, and stringing up, is about one minute and a quarter. At several of the packing-houses, they are able to receive the hogs from the slaughter-house, cut them up, assort the meat, pack, brine, and cooper 250 or 300 barrels of pork in one IN NORTH AMERICA. 471 CINCINNATI. day, and have it ready for shipment ; at the same time pre- pare 200 kegs of lard : the lard is rendered in large kettles, set in the cellar, which is commonly paved with brick. Large smoke-houses are attached to these establishments, in whicg 200,000 or 300,000 pounds of meat can be smoked at a time. Such are some of the establishments at the West. They ex hibit proof complete of vast enterprise on the part of the pro jectors, and the wonderful capacity of that territory for the supply we might almost say of the world. The facilities for communication with the surrounding country are already numerous, and are yearly increasing. The Miami canal is finished 83 miles to Piqua, and will ere long be extended to Defiance, where it is to unite with the Wabash and Erie canal. The Whitewater canal extends 70 miles, to Cambridge, in Indiana, on the national road ; it is in rapid progress, and will command the trade of eastern Indiana. The Little Miami road will extend to Springfield. But we may not further specify. The total length of the canals, rail roads, and turnpikes, either completed or projected, is 1,125 miles; and will cost, it is estimated, $12,000,000 one half of which has already been expended. To the preceding account we may here add some statistics, principally gleaned from " M Culloch s Geographical Dic tionary," which will serve to exhibit the progress of this remarkable place. In the year 1840 there were in this city 42 foreign commercial and 36 commission-houses, with a capital of 85,200,000 ; 1035 retail stores, with a capital of $12,877,000; 19 lumber-yards, with a capital of $133,000; 245 persons were engaged in internal transportation, who, with 790 butchers, packers, &c., employed a capital of $4,071,930 ; manufactures of leather, as saddleries, &c., capital $552,000; 13 binderies, 32 printing offices, produced 3,800 daily papers, 33,100 weekly, 1,800 semi-weekly, and 17,200 periodicals, with a capital of $226,000 ; but it is safe to calculate that this last branch of business has nearly been doubled since 1840. In short, the estimated capital then em ployed in manufactures was $7,469,912; but by a later and more particular enumeration, it appears that the manufactures of Cincinnati, of all kinds, employ 10,647 persons, a capital of $14,541,842, and produce articles to the value of $17,- 432,670. This includes a portion, though not the principal, manufactures of the adjoining villages of Fulton, Newport, and Covington. The trade of Cincinnati embraces the country 472 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CINCINNATI. from the Ohio river to the lakes, north and south, and from the Scioto to the Wabash rivers, east and west. The Ohio river line in Kentucky, for fifty miles down, and up as far as the houndary between that State and Virginia, make their purchases here, and its manufactures are sent into the upper and lower Mississippi country. Few places in the country are more healthy than Cincin nati, although the climate is more variable than on the Atlan tic coast in the same latitude. The extreme range of the thermometer of late has been from four to ninety-six degrees of Fahrenheit ; the greatest range occurs in February and March, and the least in July and August, the mean daily ran^e being a little over fifteen degrees. The inhabitants are from every State in the Union, and from various countries in Europe. Besides natives of Ohio, Penn sylvania and New Jersey have furnished the greatest number; but many are from New York, Virginia, Maryland, and New England. Nearly one-third of the adult population are Ger mans ; but England, Ireland, Scotland, and France, have furnished considerable number*. The population in 1850 was 115,430. INDIANA. INDIANAPOLIS. INDIANAPOLIS, the capital of the state of Indiana, is situated on the east bank of the west fork of White river. It is a flourishing business place, and in 1850 contained 8,091 inha bitants, distinguished for enterprise, morality, and intelligence. The State House is one of the most beautiful structures in the West, being built after the model of the Parthenon at Athens. The other public buildings are well-built, and present an im posing appearance. The town contains several schools, churches, a female seminary, stores, &c. VINCENNES. VINCENNES, on the Wabash, 150 miles from its mouth, is, after Kaskaskia, the oldest place in the West. A settlement was formed here by the French in 1735. They fixed them selves in this fertile spot, contiguous to a beautiful and exten sive prairie, many hundreds of miles from other whites, and lived on the most peaceful terms with the neighbouring tribes of Indians. Their descendants possess much of the vivacity and amiability of the French character. Vincennes contains about 2,000 inhabitants, was formerly the capital of the state, and is now one of the most important towns. Vincennes has been the scene of events which possess much historical interest. Soon after the French ceded Canada to the English, this post and others in the West also fell into the hands of the latter people. When the Revolutionary war broke out, the agents of the British government took advantage of their situation in the far west to conciliate and secure the alli ance of the Indian tribes around them, thus exposing the fron tiers of the states to the depredations of remorseless savages. The most active of these agents was Governor Hamilton, who, 473 474 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES VINC EXKES. having his head-quarters at Vincennes, furnished the savages with arms and ammunition, and stimulated them to attacks upon the American settlements. This state of things aroused Colonel George Rogers Clarke, a bold, fertile, and persevering military genius, to attempt the conquest of the western posts and check the Indian hostilities at their source. Having sent spies to Kaskaskia, and through their activity obtained all necessary information, Colonel Clarke went to Virginia, laid his plans before Governor Henry and some emi nent Virginians, and obtained their sanction to raise seven com panies of volunteers to execute them. He experienced many difficulties in collecting men and supplies, but surmounted them all; and in June, 1778, he had four companies, equipped in the Indian style, ready for a march from Harrod s Town. On the 24th of June, 1778, the little army passed the fa^ls of the Ohio, at Louisville, and descended the river to a point above Fort Massac, where it landed. Clarke there concealed his boats, intending to march through Illinois to the settlement of Kaskaskia. With the capture of this place, we have nothing to do here. It is sufficient to say, that Clarke s success at Kaskaskia and Cahokia was brilliant and complete a reward of his daring and exertion. But Vincennes was still in the possession of the enemy, and Clarke employed his strategic talents to get possession of it. He first gained over the French priest, M.Gibault. That per sonage then represented to the people of Vincennes the alli ance between the French and Americans, and succeeded in in ducing them to throw off allegiance to the British and hoist the American flag. Captain Helm was sent there to act as commandant and Indian agent. On the 29th of January, 1779, Colonel Vigo, a partner of the governor of St. Louis, brought intelligence to Clarke, at Kaskaskia, that Governor Hamilton had returned to Vincennes and brought it once more under British sway. The following incident is said to have occurred during this transaction : On the arrival of Governor Hamilton with a considerable force, Captain Helm was in command. He and one soldier by the name of Henry constituted at that time the whole of its garrison. As soon as Governor Hamilton had arrived within speaking distance of the fort, the American commander, in a loud voice, cried out, " Halt." Captain Helm had a cannon, well charged, then placed in the open gateway, and stood at the time with a lighted match by its side. Governor Hamilton, IN NORTH AMERICA. 475 VINCENNES. seeing the cannon in the gateway, and hearing the word "halt," stopped immediately, and demanded its surrender. " No man," exclaimed Helm, with an oath, " enters here until I know the terms." Hamilton replied immediately : "You shall have the honours of war." Helm then surrendered the fort, and, with the private, marched out with the honours of war. While Hamilton was waiting at Vincennes for a sufficient force to proceed against the Americans, Colonel Clarke resolved to attack him, and thus most effectually secure himself. With his usual celerity, he fitted out a galley, put six small guns and forty-six men, under Captain John Rogers, aboard of her, and ordered the captain to ascend the Wabash as far as White river, and there remain till he received further orders. One hundred and fifty men were then collected and equipped for a land approach to Vincennes. The following account of this Han nibal expedition we take from Butler s History of Kentucky : "On the 7th of February, 17 79, this forlorn hope commenced its march for Vincennes, over the drowned lands of the Wa bash, in a wet, though fortunately not a cold season. This dreary and fatiguing march was alleviated by the politic ma nagement of Clarke, who, to divert his men, encouraged parties of hunting, and invitations from the companies successively to feasts on game, and war-dances of a night, in the manner of the Indians. In this way the party, after incredible fatigues, reached the Little Wabash on the 13th; these difficulties were, however, nothing to those they still had to encounter. At this point, the forks of the stream are three miles apart, and the opposite heights of land five miles in the ordinary state of the water; at the time of Clarke s arrival, the interval was covered with water, generally three feet deep, never under two, and frequently over four. * On the 18th, the expedition got so near Vincennes as to hear the morning and evening guns at the fort; and in the evening of the same day, reached within nine miles of the town, below the mouth of the Embarras river. Great difficulties were now experienced in getting ca noes, in which to cross the river, and the men required all Clarke s address and command to keep their spirits from failing. Still there was no sight of their galley, and canoes could not * In the midst of this wading, rather than marching, a little drum mer, who floated along on his drum head, afforded much of the merriment that helped to divert the minds of the men from their hardship. Journal of the march by Major liowman. 476 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES VINCKNNE8. be built in time to save the party from starving in the destitute condition in which they were. On the 20th, the water-guard brought a boat to, from which the most cheering intelligence was obtained, of the disposition of the inhabitants of Vin- cennes, and the continued ignorance on the part of the enemy of our movement. There was yet a large sheet of water to cross, which proved on sounding to be up to the armpits; on the report being made, and Clarke speaking seriously to an officer, the whole detachment caught the alarm, and despair seemed ready to possess them. Colonel Clarke, observing the depression on the faces of his men, whispered to one or two officers near him to imitate him immediately, in what he was going to do ; he then took a little powder in his hand, and mixing it with some water, blacked his face with it, raised an Indian war-whoop, and marched into the water, imitated and followed by all his men without a murmur. So much does the conduct of men in large bodies depend upon the address and tone of a commander. This trick of backwoods invention com municated a new impulse to the party, and they stepped into the water with the cheerfulness which many troops under their sufferings would not have shown on land. A favourite song was now raised, and the whole detachment sang in chorus. AVhen they had got to the deepest part, where it was intended to transport the troops in two canoes which they had obtained, one of the men said he felt a path, (which is said to be quite perceptible to the touch of naked feet,) and it being concluded this must pass over the highest ground, the march was conti nued to a place called the Sugar Camp, where they found about half an acre of ground riot under water. From this spot, another wide plain of water was to be crossed, and what heightened the difficulty was, the absence of all timber to afford its support to the famishing and fatigued party in their wading. The object of all their toils and sufferings was now in sight, and after a spirited address, Clarke again led the way into the water, still full middle deep. Before the third man stepped off, Clarke ordered Captain Bowman to fall back with twenty- five men, and put any man to death who refused to march, for no coward should disgrace this company of brave men. The order was received with a huzza, and they all pursued their fearless commander \ sometimes they were cheered with a pur posed deception by the cry of the advance guard, that the water was growing shallower; and as they approached nearer, the favourite cry of mariners Land land was hallooed out. IN NORTH AMERICA. 477 VINCENNES. Yet, when they arrived at the woods, the water was found up to the shoulder; still the support of the trees and the floating logs for the weaker men were found of the most essential ser vice. To such a degree of exhaustion had this march through so much and such deep water reduced the men, that on ap proaching the bank, or rather the high ground, they would fall on their faces, leaving their bodies half in the water ; be cause no longer able to continue their efforts. While resting at a spot of dry timbered ground which the party had reached, an Indian canoe, with a quarter of buffalo beef in it, some corn and tallow, was captured. This was a prize of inestimable value to men in their exhausted condition, and it was presently cooked into broth, which refreshed the men in the most ac ceptable manner, small as the amount was to each individual. In a short time a prisoner was made of a gunner who was shooting ducks near the town, and Colonel Clarke sent by him a letter to the inhabitants of the post, informing them that he should take possession of their town that night; and giving notice to all who were friends to tho King of England to re pair to the fort and fight like men ; otherwise, if discovered after this notice aiding the enemy, they would be severely punished. Seldom has frank notice been given to an enemy, and choice afforded to retire to his friends ; it was resorted to in hopes that its imposing character would add to the con fidence of our friends, and increase the dismay of our ene mies. So much did it operate in this way, that the expedition was believed to be from Kentucky; it was thought utterly impossible, that, in the condition of the waters, it could be from Illinois. This idea was confirmed by several messages under the assumed name of gentlemen known to have been in Kentucky to their acquaintances in Vincennes; nor would the presence of Clarke be credited, until his person was pointed out by one who knew him. "To mask the weakness of the force, the soldiers had their instructions to frame their conversation before strangers so as to lead them to believe there were at least a thousand men. One circumstance occasioned much surprise in the American party ; that although a great deal of bustle could be perceived in all the streets of the town, not a drum was heard nor a gun was fired from the fort ; in fact, as was afterwards learned, even the friends of the British were afraid to give the garrison notice of Clarke s presence. About sunset on the 23d of February, the American detachment set off to take possession 478 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES VINCKXNKS. of the town, marching and countermarching round some ele vations in the plains ; and displaying several sets of colours, which had been brought by the French volunteers, so as to enhance the appearance of their numbers; then taking their course through some ponds that were breast high, they en camped on the heights back of the town. Still there was no hostile demonstration on the part of the British, and there was the utmost impatience with the Americans to unriddle the mystery. For this purpose, Lieutenant Bayley was sent with fourteen men to commence the attack upon the fort ; but the fire of this party was attributed to some drunken Indians, who frequently saluted the fort in this manner, until a man was shot down through a port-hole, when the engagement began in good earnest on both sides. During the fire, when the American ammunition had become very low, owing to a reliance upon the stores in the galley, a very fortunate dis closure of powder and balls, which had been buried to keep it out of the hands of the British, was made by the owners, Colonel Legrass, Major Busseron, and others. The Tobacco s son formerly mentioned now made his appearance, and offered his services with a hundred warriors; the offer was, however, declined, though his presence and counsel were desired. The fire continued without intermission, except for about fifteen minutes before day, until nine o clock the next morning. Our men would lie within thirty yards of the fort, and un touched ; from the awkward elevation of the platforms of the garrison guns, the balls would do no damage but to the build ings of the town ; while, on the other hand, no sooner was a port-hole opened, or even darkened, than a dozen rifles would be directed at it, cutting down every thing in the way. By this terribly concentrated fire, the garrison became discouraged, and could not stand to their guns ; in the course of the morn ing a fierce demand of capitulation was made by Clarke, but firmly rejected by Governor Hamilton ; who declared he would not be awed into any thing unbecoming British sub jects. Our men were urgent for a storm of the fort, but Clarke sternly repressed such rashness. In the evening, the British officer, finding his cannon useless, and apprehensive for the result of being taken at discretion, sent a flag desiring a truce of three days. This, Colonel Clarke thought too impru dent to grant ; although he himself expected a reinforcement with artillery on the arrival of his galley : he proposed in re turn, that the British garrisou should be surrendered at dis- IN NORTH AMERICA. 479 VINCENNES. cretion, and that Governor Hamilton should, with Captain Helm, then a British prisoner, meet him at the church. In consequence of this offer, the parties, with Major Hay on the British side, met each other as desired j when, Clarke having rejected the terms offered by Governor Hamilton, the latter insisted on some offers from the former, Clarke peremptorily adhered to the first that had been mentioned. Captain Helm, attempting to moderate the excited feelings between the two officers, was reminded by Clarke that he was a British prisoner, and he doubted whether he could with propriety speak on the subject. The British commander then said, that Captain Helm was liberated from that moment ; but Clarke refused to accept his release on such terms, and said he must return and abide by his fate. The British officer was then informed, that the firing should begin in fifteen minutes after the beating of the drums ; and the gentlemen were taking their course to their respective quarters. Governor Hamilton now called to Colonel Clarke, and politely inquired of him, what his reasons were for rejecting the garrison on the liberal terms which had been proposed to him. The American officer then told him with affected severity, { I know the principal Indian partisans from Detroit are in the fort, and I only want an honourable oppor tunity of putting such instigators of Indian barbarities to death. The cries of the widows and orphans made by their butcheries require such blood at my hands. So sacred/ said Clarke, l do I consider this claim upon me for punishment, that I think it next to divine, and I would rather lose fifty men than not execute a vengeance demanded by so much innocent blood. If Governor Hamilton chooses to risk the destruction of his garrison for the sake of such miscreants, it was at his pleasure/ Upon this, Major Hay exclaimed, Pray, sir, whom do you mean by Indian partisans ? Clarke keenly and promptly replied, <I consider Major Hay one of the principal ones. The change in Hay s countenance was instantaneous, like one on the point of execution ; he turned pale and trembled to such a degree, that he could scarcely stand. Governor Hamilton blushed for his behaviour in the presence of officers; and Captain Bowman s countenance expressed as much con tempt for the one as respect and sorrow for the other. From that moment Clarke s resolution relented, and he determined in his own mind to show Governor Hamilton every lenity in his power : he told him, that l they would return to their respective posts, and he would reconsider the matter, and let 480 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES VINCKNNES. him know the result by a flag/ Upon the British offer being submitted to the American officers, it was agreed that our terms should be moderated ; they were accordingly communi cated to Governor Hamilton, and immediately acceded to by him. This capitulation, on the 24th of February, 1779, sur rendered Fort Sackville to the Americans ; the garrison was to be considered as prisoners of war. On the 25th, it was taken possession of by Colonel Clarke, at the head of the companies of Captains Williams and Witherington, while Captains Bow man and McCarty received the prisoners; the stars and stripes were again hoisted, and thirteen cannon fired to celebrate the recovery of this most important stronghold upon the Indian frontier." Soon after Clarke took possession of the fort, his galley hove in sight. The men aboard of it were glad of the triumph of their friends, but somewhat chagrined because they had not a share in achieving it. Clarke, whose enterprise knew no limit, regarded the capture of Vincennes as the first step towards the capture of Detroit. But he never obtained a sufficient force to warrant his attempting it. ILLINOIS. KASKASKIA. KASKASKIA, the oldest town in the West, is situated on an extensive plain, about 11 miles from the mouth of the Kas- kaskia river, and six miles from the nearest point of the Mis sissippi. It contains a population of about 1,600 persons. In spite of its most beautiful situation, and the fertility of the adjacent country, the increase of its population is not rapid, nor can it now be considered a place of much importance. But history throws the spell of association around Kaskaslda. Here the French Jesuits made their first establishment in the valley of the Mississippi, and planted the banner of civilization in the thickest of the wilderness, and among the most savage tribes. The first settlers of Kaskaskia were some. of the followers of the enterprising but unfortunate La Salle, who founded the town in 1682. While the French retained possession of the territory, Kaskaskia was their principal town. Charlevoix visited it in 1721, and records that it then contained a college of Jesuits and about a hundred families. At that time, St. Louis and New Orleans were not projected. The conquest of Canada, by the British, drew with it the possession of the Western French posts. Kaskaskia fell into other hands than those of its enterprising founders. In 1778, this town was captured by Colonel George Rogers Clarke, of whose expedition against Vincennes we have given an account under the head of Indiana. The taking of Kaskaskia is thus detailed by Butler : "On the evening of the 4th of July, 1778, the expedition reached within a few miles of the town, where it lay until dark, when the march was continued ; a house was then taken possession of about three-quarters of a mile above the town, which lay on the opposite or westerly side of the Kaskaskia river. Here it was learned that the militia had a few days before been under arms ; but no cause of real alarm having 31 481 482 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES KASKASKIA. been discovered at that time, every thing was quiet ; that there was a great number of men in the town ; the Indians had, however, mostly gone. A sufficient quantity of boats for transportation of the troops was soon procured ; two divisions of the party crossed the river, with orders to repair to different parts of the town ; while Colonel Clarke, with the third division, took possession of the fort (afterwards called Fort Clarke) on this side of the river, in point-blank shot of the town. Should this detachment meet with no resistance, upon a signal given the other two parties were directed to possess with a shout certain quarters of the town, and to send persons who could speak French through the streets to give the inhabitants notice 1 that every man of the enemy who should appear in them would be shot down. These dispositions had the most com plete success ; the fort was taken, Clarke entered it by a postern gate left open on the river side of the fortification/ which was shown by a hunting soldier, who had been taken prisoner the evening before. The town of about two hundred and fifty houses was surrounded, every avenue guarded to pre vent communication of intelligence, and l in about two hours the inhabitants were disarmed, without one drop of bloodshed. During the night our men were ordered to patrol the town with the utmost tumult and whooping, after the Indian fashion, while the inhabitants preserved the most profound silence. The artifice, however painful and alarming to their feelings, was at least one of the most innocent stratagems of war. M. llocheblave or Rocheblawe, as Mr. Jefferson has it, the British governor, was taken in his chamber ; but very few of his public papers could be secured, as they were secreted or destroyed, it was supposed, by his wife. This lady is represented as pre suming a good deal on the gallantry of our countrymen by imposing upon their delicacy towards herself, for the purpose of screening the public property and papers from the hands of the Americans. But better, ten thousand times better, were it so, than that the ancient fame of the sons of Virginia should have been tarnished by insult to a female. Although it was suspected that many important papers might be concealed in the trunks of the governor s lady, they were, however, honourably respected and not examined. During the night several persons were sent for to obtain intelligence, but little information could be procured beyond what had been already received, except that a considerable body of Indians lay at this time in the neighbourhood of Cahokia, about sixty miles IN NORTH AMERICA. 483 KASKASKIA. higher up the Mississippi, and that M. Cere, of St. Louis, the principal merchant of Kaskaskia, was at that time one of the most inveterate enemies of the Americans. This gentleman had left the town before Clarke had captured it, and was now at St. Louis on his way to Quebec, whence he had lately re turned in the prosecution of extensive commercial operations : his family and an extensive assortment of merchandise were in Kaskaskia. By means of these pledges in his power, Colonel Clarke thought to operate upon M. Cere, whose influence was of the utmost consequence in the condition of the American interest, if it could be brought to be exerted in its favour. With the view of gaining this gentleman, a guard was imme diately placed around his house, and seals placed on his property, as well as on all the other merchandise in the place. On the fifth, the troops were withdrawn from the town to different positions around it; during these movements, as all intercourse with the soldiers had been forbidden under heavy punishment, and even those who were sent for by Clarke had also been ordered to have no communication with the rest, distrust and terror overspread the town. In possession of an enemy of whom the inhabitants entertained the most horrid apprehen sions, and all intercourse either with one another or with their conquerors sternly prohibited, the anticipations of the inha bitants might well be gloomy. In this state of things, after the removal of the troops the people were permitted to walk about freely ; when finding they were busy in conversation with one another, a few of the principal militia officers were apprehended by orders of Clarke, and put in irons, without assigning any reason or suffering any defence. This immediately produced general consternation, and the worst consequences were ex pected from the enemy, whom their suspicions had invested with such terrors. Yet these measures were taken from no wanton cruelty, for of all men Colonel Clarke enjoyed the mildest and most affectionate disposition, and he severely felt, as he says, every hardship he believed himself compelled to inflict. After some time, M. Gibault, the priest of the village, got permission with five or six elderly gentlemen to wait on Colonel Clarke. Shocked as the citizens had been by the sudden capture of their town, and by such an enemy as their imaginations had painted, this party were still more evidently shocked, when they entered Clarke s quarters, at the appearance of him and his officers. Their clothes dirty and torn by the briers, their others left at the river, the appearance of the 484 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES KASKASKIA. chiefs of this little band was indeed frightful and savage, as Clarke himself admits, to any eyes; how much more so to this deputation, may be easily conceived by those who are acquainted with the refinement and delicacy of the ancient French. It was some time after entering the room where Clarke and his officers were seated before they could speak, and not then until their business was demanded. They asked which was the commander, so effectually had this backwoods expedition con founded the differences of rank. The priest then said that the inhabitants expected to be separated, perhaps never to meet again, and they begged through him to be permitted to as semble in the church to take leave of each other. Clarke, aware they suspected their very religion to be obnoxious to our people, carelessly told him that he had nothing to say against his church; it was a matter Americans left for every man to settle with his God; that the people might assemble at church if they would; but at the same time if they did they must not venture out of town. Some further conversation was attempted on the part of the Kaskaskia gentlemen, but it was repelled by saying there was DO longer leisure for further intercourse, in order that the alarm might be raised to its utmost height. The whole town assembled at the church, even the houses were deserted by all who could leave them. Orders were honourably given to prevent any soldiers from entering the vacant buildings ; the people remained iu the church for a considerable time, after which the priest, accompanied by several gentlemen, waited on Colonel Clarke, and expressed, in the name of the village, their thanks for the indulgence they had received. The deputation then begged leave, at the re quest of the inhabitants, to address their conqueror on a subject which was dearer to them than any other ; they were sensible, they said, that their present situation was the fate of war, and they could submit to the loss of their property, but they solicited that they might not be separated from their wives and children, and that some clothes and provisions might be allowed for their further support. These gentlemen assured Colonel Clarke that their conduct had been influenced by their commandants, whom they considered themselves bound to obey, nor were they sure that they understood the nature of the contest between Great Britain and the United States, as the opportunities of this remote region were very unfavourable to accurate information. Indeed, many of the inhabitants had frequently expressed themselves iu favour of the Americans IN NORTH AMERICA. 485 KASKASKIA. as much as they dared. The utmost hope of this close repeti tion of the case of the citizens of Calais, with ropes about their necks, at the mercy of the third Edward of England, was for favour to their wives and children. In this distress of the villagers, Clarke, who had now wound up their terrors to the desired height, resolved to try the force which the lenity his whole heart had all along intended to grant, might receive from the sudden contrast of feelings. For this purpose, he abruptly asked these gentlemen, Do you mistake us for savages ? I am almost certain you do from your language. Do you think that Americans intend to strip women and children, or take the bread out of their mouths ? My countrymen/ said Clarke, l disdain to make war upon helpless innocence; it was to prevent the horrors of Indian butchery upon our own wives and children that we have taken arms and penetrated into this remote stronghold of British and Indian barbarity, and not the despicable prospect of plunder. That now the King of France had united his powerful arms with those of America, the war would not in all probability continue long ; but the inhabitants of Kaskaskia were at liberty to take which side they pleased, without the least danger to either their property or families. Nor would their religion be any source of dis agreement, as all religions were regarded with equal respect in the eye of the American law, and that any insult which should be offered it would be immediately punished. And now, to prove my sincerity, you will please inform your fellow-citizens that they are quite at liberty to conduct themselves as usual, without the least apprehension. I am now convinced, from what I have learned since my arrival among you, that you have been misinformed and prejudiced against us by British officers; and your friends who are in confinement shall imme diately be released/ The agitation and joy of the village seniors upon hearing this speech. of Clarke may well be con ceived ; they attempted some apology for the implied imputation of barbarians, under the belief that the property of a captured town belonged to the conquerors. Clarke gently dispensed with this explanation, and desired them to relieve the anxieties of the inhabitants immediately, requiring them to comply strictly with the terms of a proclamation which he would shortly publish. The contrast of feeling among the people, upon learning these generous and magnanimous intentions of their conquerors, verified the sagacious anticipations of Colonel Clarke. In a few moments the mortal dejection of the village 486 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHICAGO. was converted into the most extravagant joy; the bells were set ringing, and the church was crowded with the people, offering up thanks to Almighty God for their deliverance from the horrors they had so fearfully expected. Perfect freedom was now given to the inhabitants to go or come as they pleased; so confident were our countrymen that whatever report might be made would be to the credit and success of the American arms. CHICAGO. Chicago is the largest town in Illinois, and one of the most important upon the great lakes. It is situated on the south end of Lake Michigan, and on both sides of the Chicago river. The city is built on level ground, sufficiently elevated to be secure against the highest floods, and has a very good harbour. Owing to its very advantageous situation for trade, this city has grown with wonderful rapidity. In 1830 it was a mere trading post, and in 1850 the population was nearly 23,000. The bulk of the trade of this port is in wheat and lumber, in both of which the neighbouring country is exceedingly rich. As extensive as its trade already is, the numerous railroads, pro jected and building, will greatly increase it. The Illinois and Michigan canal, uniting Lake Michigan and the Illinois, is a work of great extent and beauty. By it the greater part of the Union is converted into one vast island. Travellers may leave Chicago and proceed down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, and then by sea, the Hudson river, and the Erie canal, reach Chicago again. Chicago is an Indian name, signifying the place of the pole cat. The history of the place contains events of tragic in terest. When the war of 1812 began, there was a fort here. The garrison consisted of about fifty men, under the command of Captain Heald. The powerful tribe of Pottawatomies pos sessed the adjacent country, and for some time before the com mencement of the war were on very friendly terms with the garrison. But Tecumseh influenced them to join the British cause, with most of the northwestern tribes. The garrison was far from any of the American posts in the Northwest territory, and at the commencement of the war should have IN NORTH AMERICA. 487 CHICAGO. been strengthened or withdrawn at once. An order was re ceived to evacuate the fort, but it came too late for safety. The tragic consequences of the neglect of this post are well narrated by Brown, in his History of Illinois : "On the 7th of August, 1812, in the afternoon, Winnemeg, or Catfish, a friendly Indian of the Pottawatomie tribe, arrived at Chicago and brought despatches from General Hull, contain ing the first, and at that time the only intelligence of the declaration of war. General Hull s letter announced the cap ture of Mackinaw, and directed Captain Heald to evacuate the fort at Chicago if practicable, and in that event, to dis tribute all of the United States property contained in the fort, and the United States factory, or agency, among the Indians in the neighbourhood, and repair to Fort Wayne/ Winnemeg, having delivered his despatches to Captain Heald, and stated that he was acquainted with the purport of the communication he had brought, urged upon Captain Heald the policy of re maining in the fort, being supplied as they were with ammu nition and provisions for a considerable time. In case, however, Captain Heald thought proper to evacuate the place, he urged upon him the propriety of doing so immediately, before the Pottawatomies (through whose country they must pass, and who were as yet ignorant of the object of his mission) could collect a force sufficient to oppose them. This advice, though given in great earnestness, was not sufficiently regarded by Captain Heald ; who observed that he should evacuate the fort, but having received orders to distribute the public property among the Indians, he did not feel justified in leaving it until he had collected the Pottawatomies in its vicinity, and made an equitable distribution among them. Winnemeg then suggested the expediency of marching out, and leaving every thing standing; while the Indians/ said he, are dividing the spoils, the troops will be able to retreat without molestation/ This advice was also unheeded, and an order for evacuating the fort was read next morning on parade. Captain Heald, in issuing it, had neglected to consult his junior officers, as it would have been proper for him to have done in such an emergency, and as he probably would have done had there not been some cool ness between him and Ensign Ronan. "The lieutenant and ensign, after the promulgation of this order, waited on Captain Heald to learn his intentions ; and being apprized, for the first time, of the course he intended to pursue, they remonstrated against it. We do not/ said they 488 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES to Captain Heald, believe that our troops can pass in safety through the country of the Pottawatoraies to Fort Wayne. Although a part of their chiefs were opposed to an attack upon us last autumn, they were actuated by motives of private friendship for some particular individuals, and not from a regard to the Americans in general ; and it can hardly be supposed that in the present excited state of feeling among the Indians, those chiefs will be able to influence the whole tribe, now thirsting for vengeance. Besides/ said they, l our march must be slow, on account of the women and children. Our force, too, is small. Some of our soldiers are superannuated, and some of them are invalids. We think therefore, as your orders are discretionary, that we had better fortify ourselves as strongly as possible, and remain where we are. Succour may reach us before we shall be attacked from Mackinaw ; and, in case of such an event, we had better fall into the hands of the English than become victims of the savages/ Captain Heald replied that his force was inadequate to contend with the Indians, and that he should be censured were he to continue in garrison when the prospect of a safe retreat to Fort Wayne was so apparent. He therefore deemed it advisable to assemble the Indians and distribute the public property among them, and ask of them an escort thither, with the promise of a consi derable sum of money to be paid on their safe arrival ; adding, that he had perfect confidence in the friendly professions of the Indians, from whom, as well as from the soldiers, the capture of Mackinaw had studiously been concealed. " From this time forward, the junior officers stood aloof from their commander, and, considering his project as little short of madness, conversed as little upon the subject as possible. Dissatisfaction, however, soon filled the camp; .the soldiers began to murmur, and insubordination assumed a threatening aspect. " The savages, in the mean time, became more and more trou blesome;* entered the fort occasionally in defiance of the sen tinels, and even made their way without ceremony into the * An Indian runner had previously arrived in the Pottawatomie camp with a message from Tecumseh, informing them of the capture of Mackinaw, the defeat of Van Home, and the retreat of General Hull from Canada. He desired them to arm immediately ; and inti mated, that he had no doubt but General Hull would, in a short time, be compelled to surrender. IN NORTH AMERICA. 489 CHICAGO. quarters of its commanding officer. On one occasion an Indian, taking up a rifle, fired it in the parlour of Captain Heald. Some were of opinion that this was intended as the signal for an attack. The old chiefs at this time passed back and forth among the assembled groups, apparently agitated, and the squaws seemed much excited, as though some terrible calamity was impending. No further manifestations, however, of ill- feeling were exhibited, and the day passed without bloodshed. So infatuated at this time was Captain Heald that he supposed he had wrought a favourable impression upon the savages, and that the little garrison could now march forth in safety. "From the 8th to the 12th of August, the hostility of the Indians was more and more apparent; and the feelings of the garrison, and of those connected with and dependent upon it for their safety, more and more intense. Distrust everywhere at length prevailed, and the want of unanimity among the officers was appalling. Every inmate retired to rest, expecting to be aroused by the war-whoop ; and each returning day was regarded by all as another step on the road to massacre. " The Indians from the adjacent villages having at length arrived, a council was held on the 12th of August. It was attended, however, only by Captain Heald on the part of the military ; the other officers refused to attend, having previously learned that a massacre was intended. This fact was com municated to Captain Heald; he insisted, however, on their going, and they resolutely persisted in their refusal. When Captain Heald left the fort, they repaired to the blockhouse, which overlooked the ground where the council was in session, and, opening the port-holes, pointed their cannon in its direc tion. This circumstance and their absence, it is supposed, saved the whites from massacre. "Captain Heald informed the Indians in council, that he would next day distribute among them all the goods in the United States factory, together with the ammunition and pro visions with which the garrison was supplied ; and desired of them an escort to Fort Wayne, promising them a reward on their arrival thither, in addition to the presents they were about to receive. The savages assented with professions of friendship to all he proposed, and promised all he required. " The council was no sooner dismissed, than several, observing the tone of feeling which prevailed, and anticipating from it no good to the garrison, waited on Captain Heald, in order to open his eyes, if possible, to their condition. 490 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHICAGO. " The impolicy of furnishing the Indians with arms and am munition to be used against themselves, struck Captain Heald with so much force that he resolved, without consulting his officers, to destroy all not required for immediate use. "On August loth, the goods in the factory store were dis tributed among the Indians who had collected near the fort j and in the evening the ammunition, and also the liquor be longing to the garrison, were carried, the former into the sally port and thrown into the well, and the latter through the south gate, as silently as possible, to the river bank where the heads of the barrels were knocked in and their contents dis charged into the stream. " The Indians, however, suspecting the game, approached as near as possible and witnessed the whole scene. The spare muskets were broken up and thrown into the well, together with bags of shot, flints, and gun-screws, and other things ; all, however, of but little value. u On the 14th the despondency of the garrison was for a while dispelled by the arrival of Captain Wells and fifteen friendly Miamies. Having heard at Fort Wayne of the order to evacuate Chicago, and knowing the hostile intentions of the Pottawatomies, he hastened thither, in order to save, if possible, the little garrison from its doom. Having on his arrival, learned that the ammunition had been destroyed, and the pro visions distributed among the Indians, he saw there was no alternative. Preparations were therefore made for marching on the morrrow. " In the afternoon a second council was held with the Indians, at which they expressed their resentment at the destruction of the ammunition and liquor in the severest terms.* Not withstanding the precautions which had been observed, the knocking in of the heads of the whisky barrels had been heard by the Indians, and the river next morning tasted, as some of them expressed it, like strong grog. Murmurs and threats were everywhere heard, and nothing apparently was wanting but an opportunity for some public manifestation of their resentment. " The morning of the 15th dawned as usual. The sun rose with uncommon splendour, and Lake Michigan was a sheet of burnished gold/ * Black Hawk always insisted, that the massacre was caused by the violation of good faith on the part of the Americans. IN NORTH AMERICA. 491 CHICAGO. 1 i Early in the day a message was received in the American camp from To-pee-na-bee, a chief of the St. Joseph s band, informing them that mischief was brewing among the Potta watomies, who had promised them protection. "About nine o clock the troops left the fort with martial music and in military array. Captain Wells, at the head of the Miamies, led the van, his face blackened after the manner of the Indians. The garrison with loaded arms followed, and the wagons with the baggage, the women and children, the sick and the lame, closed the rear. The Pottawatomies, about five hundred in number, who had promised to escort them in safety to Fort Wayne, leaving a little space, afterward followed. The party in advance took the beach road. They had no sooner arrived at the sand-hills, which separate the prairies from the beach, about a mile and a half from the fort, when the Potta watomies, instead of continuing in rear of the Americans, left the beach and took to the prairie. The sand-hills of course intervened, and presented a barrier between the Pottawatomies and the American and Miami line of march. This divergence had scarcely been effected when Captain Wells, who, with the Miamies, was considerably in advance, rode back and ex claimed : l They are about to attack us ; form instantly and charge upon them/ The word had scarcely been uttered, before a volley of musketry from behind the sand-hills was poured in upon them. The troops were brought immediately into a line and charged up the bank. One man, a veteran, of seventy, fell as they ascended. The battle at once became general. The Miamies fled in the outset; their chief rode up to the Pottawatomies, charged them with duplicity, and brand ishing his tomahawk, said, he would be the first to head a party of Americans, and return to punish them for their treachery. He then turned his horse and galloped off in pursuit of his companions, who were then scouring across the prairie, and nothing was seen or heard of them more. " The American troops behaved gallantly. Though few in number, they sold their lives as dearly as possible. They felt, however, as if their time had come, and sought to forget all that was dear on earth. "While the battle was raging, the surgeon Doctor Voorhees, who was badly wounded, and whose horse had been shot from under him, approaching Mrs. Helm, the wife of Lieutenant Helm, (who was in the action, participating in all its vicissi tudes,) observed : Do you think/ said he, they will take our 492 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHICAGO. lives ? I am badly wounded, but I think not mortally. Per haps we can purchase safety by offering a large reward. Do you think/ continued he, there is any chance? l Doctor Voorhes/ replied Mrs. Helm, let us not waste the few mo ments which yet remain, in idle or ill-founded hopes. Our fate is inevitable. We must soon appear at the bar of God. Let us make such preparations as are yet in our power. Oh! said he, I cannot die. I am unfit to die! If I had a short time to prepare ! Death ! oh, how awful ! "At this moment Ensign Konan was fighting at a little dis tance with a tall and portly Indian ; the former, mortally wounded, was nearly down, and struggling desperately upon one knee. Mrs. Helm, pointing her finger and directing the attention of Doctor Voorhes thither, observed : l Look/ said she, at that young man, he dies like a soldier/ " Yes/ said Doctor Voorhes, but he has no terrors of the future; he is an unbeliever. " A young savage immediately raised his tomahawk to strike Mrs. Helm. She sprang instantly aside, and the blow intended for her head fell upon her shoulder. She thereupon seized him around his neck, and while exerting all her efforts to get possession of his scalphig-knife, was seized by another Indian, and dragged forcibly from his grasp. "The latter bore her, struggling and resisting, toward the lake. Notwithstanding, however, the rapidity with which she was hurried along, she recognised, as she passed, the remains of the unfortunate surgeon, stretched lifeless on the prairie. " She was plunged immediately into the water and held there, notwithstanding her resistance, with a forcible hand. She shortly, however, perceived that the intention of her captor was not to drown her, as he held her in a position to keep her head above the water. Thus reassured, she looked at him at tentively, and, in spite of his disguise, recognised the white man s friend. It was Black Partridge. " When the firing had ceased, her preserver bore her from the water and conducted her up the sand-bank. It was a beautiful day in August. The heat, however, of the sun was oppres sive, and walking through the sand exposed to its burning rays in her drenched condition, weary and exhausted by efforts beyond her strength, anxious beyond measure to learn the fate of her friends, and alarmed for her own, her situation was one of agony. "The troops having fought with desperation till two-thirds of IN NORTH AMERICA. 493 CHICAGO. their number were slain, the remainder, twenty-seven in all, borne down by an overwhelming force and exhausted by efforts hitherto unequalled, at length surrendered. They stipulated, however, for their own safety and for the safety of their re maining women and children. The wounded prisoners, how ever, in the hurry of the moment, were unfortunately omitted, or rather not particularly mentioned, and were therefore re garded by the Indians as having been excluded. "One of the soldiers wives, having frequently been told that prisoners taken by the Indians were subjected to tortures worse than death, had from the first expressed a resolution never to be taken, and when a party of savages approached to make her their prisoner she fought with desperation, and though assured of kind treatment and protection, refused to surrender, and was literally cut in pieces, and her mangled remains left on the field. " After the surrender, one of the baggage-wagons containing twelve children was assailed by a single savage, and the whole number were massacred. All, without distinction of age or sex, fell at once beneath his murderous tomahawk. " Captain Wells, who had as yet escaped unharmed, saw from a distance the whole of this murderous scene, and being ap prized of the stipulation, and on seeing it thus violated, ex claimed aloud so as to be heard by the Pottawatomies around him, whose prisoner he then was : <If this be your game, I will kill too! and turning his horse s head, instantly started for the Pottawatomie camp,* where the squaws and Indian children had been left ere the battle began. " He had no sooner started than several Indians followed in his rear and discharged their rifles at him as he galloped across the prairie. He laid himself flat on the neck of his horse, and was apparently out of their reach when the ball of one of his pursuers took effect, killing his horse and wounding him severely. He was again a prisoner. As the savages came up, Winnemeg and Wa-ban-see, two of their number and both his friends, used all their endeavours in order to save him ; they had disengaged him already from his horse and were supporting him along, when Pee-so-tum, a Pottawatomie Indian, drawing his scalping-knife stabbed him in the back, and thus inflicted * The Indian camp was on a little run of water, which entered the Chicago river near Bristol and Porter s warehouse. It crossed Lake- street near the market, and occupied what is now State-street. The above scenes it will be observed occurred, and the battle above men tioned was fought, within the limits of the present city of Chicago. 494 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHICAGO. a mortal wound. After struggling for a moment, he fell, and breathed his last in the arms of his friends, a victim for those he had sought to save a sacrifice to his own rash, presump tuous, and perhaps indiscreet intentions. "The battle having ended, and the prisoners being secured, the latter were conducted to the Pottawatomie camp near the fort. Here the wife of Wau-bee-nee-mah, an Illinois chief, perceiving the exhausted condition of Mrs. Helm, took a kettle and dipping up some water from the stream which flowed slug gishly by them, threw into it some maple-sugar and stirring it up with her hand, gave her to drink. It was/ says Mrs. Helm, * the most delicious draught I had ever taken, and her kindness of manner amid so much atrocity touched my heart. Her attention, however, was soon directed to other objects. The fort, after the troops had marched out, became a scene of plunder. The cattle were shot down as they ran at large, and lay dead, or were dying around her. It called up afresh a remark of Ensign Konan s, made before: Such/ said he, is to be our fate to be shot down like brutes/ " The wounded prisoners, we have already remarked, were not included in the stipulation made on the battle-field, as the Indians understood it. On reaching, therefore, the Pottawatomie camp, a scene followed which beggars description. A wounded soldier lying on the ground was violently assaulted by an old squaw, infuriated by the loss of friends or excited by the mur derous scenes around her who, seizing a pitchfork, attacked with demoniac ferocity and deliberately murdered in cold blood the wretched victim, now helpless and exposed to the burning rays of the sun, his wounds already aggravated by its heat and he writhing in torture. During the succeeding night five other wounded prisoners were tomahawked. " Those unwounded remained in the wigwams of their cap tors. The work of plunder being now completed, the fort next day was set on fire. A fair and equal distribution of all the finery belonging to the garrison had apparently been made, and shawls, and ribands, and feathers were scattered about the camp in great profusion." Most of the prisoners remained among the Indians until the treaty made in the next year, when they were returned to their friends. Captain Ilcald and his wife, and Lieutenant Helm and his wife, were ransomed soon after their capture. Their sufferings and perils, however, during their short captivity IN NORTH AMERICA. 495 GALENA. Galena is the second town in population and business in Illinois. It is situated on Fever river, seven miles from the Mississippi, and in the heart of the lead region. The river is here not more than 30 yards wide, and there is barely room enough for boats to turn round. Galena derives its rapid growth and importance from the value of the lead mines around it. Its population now amounts to more than 6,000, and the opening of the Galena and Chicago Railroad commu nication is expected to accelerate its increase. NAUVOO. The town of Nauvoo is situated on the Mississippi, at the second rapid below the Falls of St. Anthony. It is located on a bluff, which is distinguished by an easy slope of great extent. The plain at the summit is broad enough for the erection of an immense city. Nauvoo was intended by the Mormons, its founders, to be a vast and beautiful city, and once contained 18,000 inhabitants. The Mormon temple was a building without a peer in the West. It was 128 feet long, 88 feet wide, 65 feet high to the top of the cornice, and 163 feet to the top of the cupola. It was built of polished limestone, which resembled marble, and its architecture was Doric. It could accommodate about 3,000 persons. In the basement of the temple was a large stone basin, supported by twelve oxen of colossal size. In this font the Mormons were baptized. This building was reduced to a heap of ruins by an incendiary in October, 1848. The Mormon troubles furnish a curious chapter for the history of Illinois. On the 10th of December, 1840, the Legislature of Illinois passed an act to incorporate the city of Nauvoo, and several acts highly favourable to the prosperity of the Mormon popu lation were passed in the course of the same session. But it seems that these people, in their enthusiasm for their religious principles and for the glorification of their prophet and ruler, Joseph Smith, forgot their duty to the government of the state. They adopted several ordinances which virtually an- 496 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES SPRINGFIELD. nulled the laws. Among these were the ordinances permitting marriage without license, and making it penal for an officer to serve process in Nauvoo, if the said process was not approved by the Mormon authorities. The continuance of such ordi nances and the practice under them at length aroused the other inhabitants of Hancock county, and attracted the attention of the governor. Frequent contests ensued, and it became the settled purpose of the inhabitants, or of the rough spirits among them, to drive the Mormons from the state. The temple was burned, and soon after the governor issued an order for the arrest of Joseph Smith and some of his chief followers. Those personages were arrested and committed to jail. But a band of armed men were determined to assert the supremacy of the summary Lynch law, disguised themselves, broke open the jail, seized the prisoners, and shot them dead. Not long after this terrible demonstration of the hostility of the people, the Mormons left their prosperous city and moved west of the Mississippi. The place is now of comparatively small importance, though the beautiful site of the town and the magnificent scenery in the vicinity will well repay a visit from tourists. SPRINGFIELD. Springfield, the capital of Illinois, is situated about 4 miles south of the Sangamon river, upon the edge of a rich and well-cultivated prairie, and in the centre of the state. It con tains about 5,000 inhabitants, several respectable public build ings, schools, and manufactories. The town is flourishing, and presents a beautiful appearance. It can be reached by various routes, upon which the travel is by railroad and stage. 32 PONTIAC. MICHIGAN. DETROIT. DETROIT is situated on high ground, on the west side of Detroit river, 18 miles above the west extremity of Lake Erie. It is favourably situated % trade, and the navigation of the river and lake being open for two-thirds of the year, Detroit will soon become a great commercial depot. The population is about 21,000 souls. Detroit was formerly the capital of Michi gan, but Lansing now occupies that position. Among the best hotels in the city are the National, Mansion House, Ex change, and Commercial, at each of which boarding is cheap and good. From Detroit, there are two pleasant routes to Chicago : one, by railroad to New-Buffalo, and thence by steam boat to Chicago ; and the other, by way of Lakes Huron and Michigan. Detroit was settled by the French from Canada, as early as 1683. But many years elapsed before the place became the scene of interesting events. A fort was erected by the French, and Detroit was known as their most important trading-post. When the English gained possession of Canada, General Am- herst sent Major Gladwyn with a small force to take possession of this post. This business was accomplished peaceably. In 1763, hostilities were suddenly commenced by the Indians, under the command of the great chief Pontiac. They attacked and captured several posts in the Northwest territory. At Detroit, where Pontiac commanded, treachery prevented success ; of this we give the account by Captain Carver : " As every appearance of war was at an end, and the Indians seemed to be on friendly footing, Pontiac approached Detroit without exciting any suspicions in the breast of the governor or the inhabitants. He encamped at a little distance from it, and let the commandant know that he was come to trade ; and being desirous of brightening the chain of peace between the English and his nation, desired that he and his chiefs might be admitted to hold a council with him. The governor, still 499 500 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES DETROIT. unsuspicious, and not in the least doubting the sincerity of the Indians, granted their general s request, and fixed on the next morning for their reception. " On the evening of that day an Indian woman who had been appointed by Major Gladwyn to make a pair of Indian shoes out of a curious elkskin, brought them home. The major was so pleased with them, that, intending these as a present for a friend, he ordered her to take the remainder back and make it into others for himself. He then directed his servant to pay her for those she had done, and dismissed her. The woman went to the door that led to the street, but no fur ther ; she there loitered about as if she had not finished the business on which she came. A^rvant at length observed her, and asked her why she. .stayfa there ? She gave him, however, no answer. " Some short time afterjjtlie governor himself saw her, and inquired of his servant what occasioned her stay. Not being able to get a satisfactory answer, he ordered the woman to be called in. When she came into his presence he desired to know what was the reason of her loitering about, and not hastening home before the gates were shut, that she might complete in due time the work he had given her to do. She told him, after much hesitation, that as he had always behaved with great goodness towards her, she was unwilling to take away the remainder of the skin, because he put so great a value upon it; and yet had not been able to prevail upon her self to tell him so. He then asked her why she was more reluctant to do so now than she had been when she made the former pair. With increased reluctance she answered, that she should never be able to bring them back. " His curiosity was now excited; he insisted on her disclosing the secret that seemed to be struggling in her bosom for utter ance. At last, on receiving a promise that the intelligence she was about to give him should not turn to her prejudice; and that, if it appeared to be beneficial, she should be rewarded for it, she informed him that at the council to be held with the Indians the following day, Pontiac and his chiefs intended to murder him, and, after having massacred the garrison and in habitants, to plunder the town. That for this purpose all the chiefs who were to be adnutted into the council-room had cut their guns short, so that they could conceal them under their blankets; with which, on a signal given by their general on delivering the bolt, they were all to rise up and instantly to IN NORTH AMERICA. 501 DETROIT. fire on him and his attendants. Having effected this, they were immediately to rush into the town, where they would find themselves supported by a great number of their warriors that were to come into it during the sitting of the council under the pretence of trading, but privately armed in the same manner. Having gained from the woman every necessary particular relative to the plot, and also the means by which she acquired a knowledge of them, he dismissed her with in junctions of secrecy, and a promise of fulfilling on his part with punctuality the engagements he had entered into. " The intelligence the governor had just received gave him great uneasiness, and he immediately consulted the officer who was next him in command on the subject. But this gentleman, considering the information as a story invented for some artful purpose, advised him to pay no attention to it. This conclu sion, however, had happily no weight with him. He thought it prudent to conclude it to be true till he was convinced it was not so; and therefore, without revealing his suspicions to any other person, he took every needful precaution that the time would admit of. He walked around the fort for the whole night, and saw himself that every sentinel was upon duty, and every weapon of defence in proper order. "As he traversed the ramparts that lay nearest to the Indian camp, he heard them in high festivity, and, little imagining that their plot was discovered, probably pleasing themselves with the anticipation of their success. As soon as the morning dawned, he ordered all the garrison under arms, and then, im parting his apprehensions to a few of the principal officers, gave them such directions as he thought necessary. At the same time he sent round to all the traders to inform them, that as it was expected a great number of Indians would enter the town that day, who might be inclined to plunder, he de sired they would have their arms ready, and repel any attempt of that kind. " About ten o clock, Pontiac and his chiefs arrived, and were conducted to the council chamber, where the governor and his principal officers, each with pistols in his belt, awaited his arrival. As the Indians passed on, they could not help observing that a greater number of troops than usual were drawn up on the parade, or marching about. No sooner were they entered, and seated on the skins prepared for them, than Pontiac asked the governor on what occasion his young men, meaning the soldiers, were thus drawn up and parading the 502 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES DETROIT. streets ? He received for answer that it was only intended to keep them perfect in their exercise. " The Indian chief warrior now began his speech, which contained the strongest professions of friendship and good-will towards the English : and when he came to the delivery of the belt of wampum, the particular mode of which, according to the woman s information, was to be the signal for the chiefs to fire, the governor and all his attendants drew their swords halfway out of their scabbards ; and the soldiers at the same time made a clattering with their arms before the door, which had been purposely left open. Pontiac, though one of the bravest men, immediately turned pale and trembled ; and in stead of giving the belt in the manner proposed, delivered it according to the usual way. His chiefs, who had impatiently expected the signal, looked at each other with astonishment, but continued quiet waiting the result. "The governor, in his turn, made a speech j but instead of thanking the great warrior for the professions of friendship he had just uttered, he accused him of being a traitor. He told him that the English, who knew every thing, were convinced of his treachery and villanous designs ; and as a proof that they were acquainted with his most secret thoughts and inten tions, he stepped towards an Indian chief that sat nearest to him, and drawing aside the blanket, discovered the shortened firelock. This entirely disconcerted the Indians and frustrated their design. " He then continued to tell them, that as he had given his word, at the time they had desired an audience, that their per sons should be safe, he would hold his promise inviolable, though they so little deserved it. However, he desired them to make the best of their way out of the fort, lest his young men, on being acquainted with their treacherous purposes, should cut every one of them to pieces. " Pontiac endeavoured to contradict the accusation, and to make excuses for his suspicious conduct ] but the governor, satisfied of the falsity of his protestations, would not listen to him. The Indians immediately left the fort; but, instead of being sensible of the governor s generous behaviour, they threw off the mask, and the next day made a regular attack upon it. " Thus foiled, Pontiac laid formal siege to the fortress, and for many mouths that siege was continued in a manner, and with a perseverance, unexampled among the Indians. Even a regu- IN NORTH AMERICA 503 DETROIT. lar commissariat department was organized, and bills of credit drawn out upon bark were issued, and, what is rarer, punctually paid." Pontiac, having invested Detroit for about twelve months, and hearing of the approach of an army under General Brad- street, raised the siege, and soon after sued for peace. In August, 1812, Detroit was the scene of still more import ant events. Major General Hull with a considerable force of American troops took possession- of it, and shortly after, his communications were cut off, which endangered the safety of the army. " On the 15th of August, General Brock, with an army of British and Indians, appeared and planted batteries on the bank of the river opposite the fortress of Detroit, and sent a summons to the American general to surrender, stating that he should otherwise be unable to restrain the fury of the savages. This was answered by a spirited refusal, and a declaration that the fort and town would be defended to the last extremity. The firing from the batteries and the fort im mediately commenced, and continued with little interruption, and without much effect, until the next day. The alarm and consternation of General Hull had now become extreme, and appeared in. a series of irregular and incoherent measures. On the 12th the field officers, suspecting the general intended a surrender of the fort, had determined on his arrest. This was prevented in consequence of Colonels McArthur and Cass, two very active, intelligent, and spirited officers, being detached on the 13th, with four hundred men, on a third expedition to the river Raisin. They advanced about fourteen miles, when, on the 15th, they received orders to return. At daylight on the 16th the British troops commenced crossing the river at Spring Wells, three miles below the town, under cover of two ships of war. They accomplished their landing by seven o clock without opposition, and took up their line of march in close columns of platoons, twelve in front, towards the fort along the bank of the river. The fourth regiment of United States troops was stationed in the fort ; the Ohio volunteers and a part of the Michigan militia behind the pickets, in a situation where the whole flank of the enemy would have been exposed. The residue of the militia were in the upper part of the town to resist the incursions of the savages. Two twenty-four pounders loaded with grape were posted on a com manding eminence ready to sweep the advancing columns. 504 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES DETROIT. Colonels McArthur and Cass bad arrived within view of Detroit ready to act on the rear of the enemy. In this situation the troops waited in eager expectation the advance of the British, anticipating a brilliant victory. When the head of the British columns had advanced within five hundred yards of the line, and the artillery ready to sweep their ranks, orders were given for the troops to retire into the fort and for the artillery not to fire. A white flag was hoisted. A British officer rode up to inquire the cause. A communication passed between the commanding generals, which soon ended in a capitulation. The fortress of Detroit, with all the public stores, property, and documents of every kind, were surrendered. The troops were made prisoners of war. The detachment under McArthur and Cass, and the troops at the river Raisin, were included in the capitulation. On the 17th General Brock despatched a flag to Captain Brush with the terms. lie immediately called a council of his officers, who determined that they were not bound by the capitulation, and advised to break up the camp and return. In pursuance of their advice, Captain Brush immediately broke up his canip, took with him what public stores and property he could, and commenced his retreat to Ohio. The Michigan militia who had not joined the army were paroled, on condition of not serving during the present war. No provision was made for the unfortunate Canadians who had joined General Hull, or accepted hjs protection. They were left exposed to suffer as traitors ; nine were executed at one time, and several more afterwards. General Hull in this measure took counsel only from his own fears. He held no council of war, knowing that all his officers would be opposed to the surrender. In his official report he expressly exempts them from any share in the disgraceful transaction. " The British force at Maiden at the time General Hull entered Canada, and until the 12th of August, consisted of one hun dred regular troops, four hundred Canadian militia, and several hundred Indians. After the arrival of General Brock with his reinforcements, the whole amounted to three hundred and thirty regulars, four hundred militia, and six hundred Indians. The troops surrendered by General Hull amounted to twenty- five hundred, consisting of two troops of cavalry, one company of artillery, the fourth United States regiment, and detach ments from the first and third ; three regiments of Ohio volun teers, and one regiment of Michigan militia, amounting to about twelve hundred. By this capitulation the British ob- IN NORTH AMERICA. 505 tained 2500 muskets stacked on the esplanade at the time of the surrender, 450 brought in by the detachment under McArthur and Cass, 700 received from the Michigan militia, thirty-three pieces of ordnance, one thousand rounds of fixed ammunition, 200 tons of ball, 200 cartridges of grape shot, 75,000 musket cartridges made up, 24 rounds in the possession of each man, 60 barrels of gunpowder, 150 tons of lead, pro visions for the army for twenty -five days in the fort, and a large escort at the river Raisin. "An event so disgraceful to the American arms did not fail to excite universal indignation. When McArthur s sword was demanded, he indignantly broke it, tore the epaulets from his shoulders, and threw himself on the ground. As soon as General Hull was exchanged, a court-martial was ordered upon his conduct, and held at Albany on the 3d of January, 1814. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, but pardoned on account of his former services." WISCONSIN. MILWAUKIE. THIS city is situated on both sides of Milwaukie river, near its entrance into Lake Michigan, and may be reached by steam boat from Chicago, during the season of navigation. Its growth has been even more rapid than that of Chicago, and owing to the same causes } its fine commercial situation and the richness of the country for which it is the outlet. In June, 1846, its population was 11,508. In 1850, it had more than doubled. The region of which Milwaukie is the outlet is said to be equal or superior to any in the United States for the growth of grain. Several large flouring mills have been put in operation in Mil waukie within the last few years, and their manufacture is extensive. The city contains some fine hotels, which offer good accommodation to travellers. PRAIRIE DU CHIEN. This town is pleasantly situated on the Mississippi, just above the mouth of the Wisconsin river. Many years ago a trading-post was established here, and the settlement gradually clustered around it. It will doubtless become a place of im portance. Various interesting historical events have occurred at Prairie du Chien. Here was the scene of the celebrated interview between the warrior Black Hawk and General Street. Black Hawk s people had been defeated with great slaughter by the United States troops. On the 27th of August, 1832, at about eleven o clock, A. M., two Winnebago Indians, Docorie, called the One-eyed, and Chaetar, arrived in camp at Prairie du Chien, bringing Black Hawk and the prophet, as prisoners. The One-eyed, in a speech to General Street, said : " We have done as you told us. We always do as you tell 506 IN NORTH AMERICA. 507 PRAIRIE DU CHIEN. us because we know it is for our good. You told us to bring them to you alive : we have done so. If you had told us to bring their heads alone, we should have done so. We want you to keep them safe. If they are to be hurt, we do not want to see it. Wait until we are gone before you do it. We know you are our friend, because you take our part; and that is the reason why- we do what you tell us to do. You say you love your red children. We think we love you as much, if not more, than you love us. We have confidence in you, and you may rely on us. We have been promised a great deal if we would take these men ; that it would do much good to our people. We now hope to see what will be done for us. We now put these men into your hands. We have done all that you told us to do." To this affectionate speech General Street replied. Chaetar, the other Winnebago orator, next made a speech j and last, though not least, Black Hawk himself, in which, if the speech is correctly reported, lie puts all his contemporaries to the blush. He says, among other things : " My warriors fell around me ; it began to look dismal. I saw my evil day at hand. The sun rose clear on us in the morning, and at night it sank in a dark cloud and looked like a ball of fire. This was the last sun that shone on Black Hawk. He is now a prisoner to the white man. But he can stand the torture. He is not afraid of death. He is no coward. Black Hawk is an Indian ; he has done nothing of which an Indian need to be ashamed. He has fought the battles of his country against the white men, who came year after year to cheat them and take away their lands. You know the cause of our making war it is known to all white men they ought to be ashamed of it. The white men despise the Indians, and drive them from their homes. But the Indians are not deceitful. The white men speak bad of the Indian, and look at him spitefully. But the Indian does not tell lies ; Indians do not steal. Black Hawk is satisfied. He will go to the world of spirits contented. He has done his duty his Father will meet him and reward him. " The white men do not scalp the head, but they do worse, they poison the heart : it is not pure with them. His coun trymen will not be scalped, but they will in a few years be come like the white men, so that you cannot hurt them ; and there must be, as in the white settlements, nearly as many officers as men, to take care of them and keep them in order. Farewell to my nation ! Farewell to Black Hawk !" 508 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BURLINGTON. It ought not, perhaps, to excite surprise, that the author of such a speech " the king of the woods" should have been caressed on his eastern tour through the Atlantic States, ex torting the smile of approbation as he passed from friends and foes. IOWA. BURLINGTON. BURLINGTON, formerly the capital of Iowa, is finely situated upon the Mississippi. It was laid out in 1834, and has been for a long time the largest and most bustling place in the state. The seat of government was removed to Iowa City in 1839. Burlington was formerly the residence of Black Hawk, and his bones now rest within its limits. There are several other flourishing towns in Iowa, the principal of which are Blooinington, containing about 2,000 inhabitants, and Iowa City, now the capital of the state. MISSOURI. ST. LOUIS. ST. Louis is the chief town of Missouri, and the largest and most commercial place west of the Mississippi. It is situated 18 miles, by water, below the junction of the Mis souri ; 30 miles below that of the Illinois, 200 above the Ohio, 1180 above New Orleans, and 897 from Washington. Mr. Flint thus speaks of it. " Nature seldom offers a more delightful site for a town. In many respects, it resembles that of Albany, in New York. It is on a kind of second bottom, that rises gently from the water to a second bank. The ascent to this is not at all precipitous. Having sur mounted this bank, an extensive plain opens to view. In the immediate vicinity of the town, this plain is covered with bushes and shrub oaks. Beyond is an extensive belt of grassy plain, or naked prairie. The timber within nine or ten miles, has been cut away for fuel. In summer, the eye reposes with pleasure upon this sweep of verdure, bounded on the verge of the horizon with forests. But in winter the prospect is bleak and desolate. The eye always dwells with delight upon the. level bottom and the noble forest upon the opposite shore of the river. In 1814 there were but few American houses in the place. There were a few stone houses covered with plaster. The circular stone forts be yond the town, white vvith plaster and the hoariness of age, together with the whiteness of the houses in general, from the French fashion of annual whitewashing, gave the town a romantic and imposing appearance, when seen from a dis tance. With the exception of two or three aristocratic es tablishments, when contemplated near at hand, the houses were mean, frail and uncomfortable establishments. The streets were narrow and dirty, and it was, in fact, a disagree able town. A new impulse was given to the town by Amer ican laws, enterprise, and occupancy; and its , recent rapid growth would seem to indicate that it is destined to hold an enviable rank amonj* the larger class of cities. 509 510 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ST. LOUIS. The thickly-settled parts of St. Louis expend a mile and a half along the river, with half that breadth. Front street is open on the side towards the river, and on the other side is a range of warehouses, four stories high, built of limestone, which have a very commanding appearance, and are the seat of a large business. In First street, the wholesale and retail dry goods stores are located ; and in the streets immediately back of this are the artisans and tradesmen. It contains many neat and some elegant buildings. The more recent houses are built of brick, of an excellent quality, made in the imme diate vicinity; some are of stone, quarried on the spot, and are generally whitewashed. Many of the residences, particu larly in the back parts of the place, have spacious and beau tiful gardens attached to them. There are several respectable, and even elegant public buildings : the City Hall belongs to this class : it is of brickj; the basement is occupied as a market. There is another market in the north part of the city. The Court House is in the middle of a public square, near the centre of the city ; the Presbyterian church occupies an eligible site on the high ground of the city, and is a large and well-finished building, surrounded with ornamental trees. The Unitarians have a large church, of tasteful architecture. The Roman Catholic cathedral is a large and splendid edifice: in its steeple is a peal of six bells, the three largest of which weigh from 1,600 to 2,000 pounds each : the front of the building is of polished freestone, with a portico of four massive Doric columns ; the interior is splendidly finished and furnished, and contains several elegant paintings by celebrated masters. The city now has between twenty and thirty churches. There is a United States Land Office, a theatre, and a concert-hall. There are also several literary and benevolent institutions in the city. The St. Louis University, under the direction of the Roman Catholics, has a spacious building, which cost $30,000. The Western Academy of Science has an exten sive museum of natural history, mineralogy, &c., and is in a condition which affords flattering prospects of its future use fulness and prosperity; and the same may be said of several other thriving schools and academies. Whoever observes the position of St. Louis, will see that it is very favorable for its becoming a town of supply of merchan dise to a vast tract of country. In the centre of the Missis sippi valley, commanding the trade of Missouri, the Upper Mis- IN NORTH AMERICA. 511 ST. LOUIS. sissippi, and the Illinois, the capital of a very extensive fur trade, and the depot for as rich lead mines as are in the world, it must necessarily become a large town. It has one obvious advantage over any town on the Ohio. Steamboats can come to St. Louis from New Orleans, at the lowest stages of the water. It is very common for travellers from the Atlantic country, who are bound in the autumn to New Orleans, to take passage from Cincinnati, across the country, to St. Louis, in order to avail themselves of the advantage of a direct passage to New Orleans in a steamboat. The lovvness of the water in the Ohio, and the difficulty of pass ing over the falls at Louisville, render a direct steamboat passage from Cincinnati to New Orleans, at that season of the year, an uncommon occurrence. A great number of keel boats and river crafts of all descriptions, bound to all points of the boatable waters of the Mississippi, are seen at all seasons, lying in the harbor of St. Louis. Miners, trap pers, hunters, adventurers, emigrants, and people of all characters and languages, with all kinds of views and objects, meet here, and in pursuit of their various projects, scatter hence to the remotest points of the valley. It still furnishes a temporary home to desperate and abandoned characters, who hope, in crossing the Mississippi, to fly beyond law and conscience. The character of the permanent inhabit ants is respectable. Good regulations of every sort are ad vancing. The Sabbath is respected ; and a wholesome po lice is establishing. Such a stream of emigrants is contin ually pouring in, and the people have so learned the habit of distrust, that hospitality to strangers is not a character istic of the people." * The population in 1850 was 64 ; 252. * Flint s Geography. CALIFORNIA. THE ROUTE. HAVING now visited the principal cities of North America, we will try a trip to the El Dorado of our times, California. Such a trip, if properly pursued, is one of the most attractive and instructive that can be undertaken, and happily, from the increase of travelling facilities, it is brought within the reach of moderate wealth and little leisure. The route to California which is most travelled is that by way of the isthmus of Panama. A line of first-class steam ships convey freight and passengers from New York to Chagres, a small town situated at the mouth of the Chagres river, on the isthmus. During this voyage, passengers have many fine views of the West India islands, and some of their great ports. From Chagres, which contains nothing attractive but the old Spanish castle which commanded the entrance to the har bour, the traveller proceeds in steamboats up the Chagres river to the town of Crucis. The shores of this river are de scribed as presenting all the glory and fairy-land enchantment of tropical luxuriance. Groves of orange-trees and magnificent flowering shrubs perfume the air and delight the eye, while the warble and trill of birds of dazzling plumage fill the ear with music. At Crucis, mules are provided, and travellers proceed upon a very rugged and wearisome road toward Panama upon the Pacific coast. Much of the scenery along the road is grand, but the dangers of the mountain passes and the diffi culties of the ravines distract the attention of the traveller, and cause him to wish for his journey s end. Panama was formerly a Spanish town of much importance, and the ruins of the walls, cathedrals, and monasteries are picturesque and possess a legendary interest. The town is beautifully situ ated upon a lovely bay, whose shores are walled by green and far-stretching hills. It contains several commodious hotels, kept by Americans, where good boarding can be found. From Panama, travellers proceed in steamships to San Fran- 512 IN NORTH AMERICA. 515 SAN FRANCISCO. under Spanish rule, was to attain to excellence in horseman ship to acquire dexterity in the use of the lasso ; to become proficient at monte, bill-cards, and nine-pins ; and to become adepts at the numerous tricks and subtleties peculiar to games where skill sometimes is made to counteract a run of ill-luck. " So engrossed were they in these pursuits the majority of them frivolous that it was not to be wondered at that their missions and towns should be gradually deserted, and fall into ruins; at once a standing reproach to the people for their negligence and effeminacy, and to the Mexican Government for its supineness, its reckless, narrow-minded policy, its pre judices, and its injustice. In the hands of any other people, these missions might and would have been made the legitimate instruments of improving the population, and of ministering no less to their physical necessities than to their spiritual re quirements. " Instead of becoming the nucleus of intrigues, they would have been converted into so many centres, whence would have radiated streams of intelligence and civilization, which must rapidly have changed the entire aspect of the country, and not less powerfully co-operated to develop the minds of the people, and elevate their character. But, under the blighting tyranny of the Mexican authorities, progress was impossible; San Francisco could never have become a city ; and the lands in its immediate vicinity must have lain waste and thinly popu lated. " The discovery of the gold mines has done at once for San Francisco what it was reasonable to anticipate time only could have effected ; and its progress in importance has far outstripped the most sanguine expectations which could be based upon any hypothesis hazarded on the strength of its admirable position and facilities for trade. Nevertheless, its growth seecns un natural ; and, looking at it as I saw it then, it left on my mind the impression of instability, so marvellous was it to gaze upon a city of tents, wood, and canvas, starting up thus suddenly, forming but a halting-place to the thousands who visited it ; having for citizens a large majority of gamblers and specu lators j and presenting of civilization but the rudest outline and some of its worst vices. It was impossible, indeed, for an observer to contemplate San Francisco at this particular pe riod of its history, and not to feel that every thing about it savoured of transition. A storm or a fire must have destroyed the whole in a few hours ; for every house, shed, or tent, had 516 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ._. -^. ^^ FRANCISCO. manifestly been constructed merely to serve the end of the actual occupier; thcj r were all adapted for trading, but not a convenience or a comfort appertained to them, to indicate a <lesire or an intention of settlement. Every day brought new comers, and added to the number of ephemeral structures which crowded the hill-sides. Mechanics of every description of calling were at work, earnestly, busily, and cheerfully ; and, whichever way I turned there was bustle and activity ; yet, withal, I felt that such a state of things was unsound, because resting on what was essentially speculative, and I doubted not but a great change must come before the city could be regarded as substantially advancing. Comprised at a glance, it presented no other appearance save that of a confused crowd of tene ments of every variety of construction ; some high, some low, perched upon the steep hills, or buried in the deep valleys but still tents and canvas everywhere and anywhere, their numbers defying calculation, their structure and position all analysis. There existed neither wells nor ponds within a very considerable distance ; and what .struck me as most singular, being aware that the Spaniards had a mi-siou here, there was no sign of a church. I subsequently ascertained that the site of the Mission of Dolores, about five miles distant, had been preferred by the Spaniards, and that divine service was per formed there still."* The above contains the impressions and observation of one who visited San Francisco in 1849, soon after the discovery of the golden wealth of California. From that time until the present, the city has rapidly increased in size and population, and in spite of numerous destructive fires, unhealthy climate, and want of water, has reached a high degree of commercial wealth and prosperity. The population in the rainy season of 1850 amounted to about 50,000 souls. Many fine streets have been laid out, and handsome buildings erected, while the facilities for landing merchandise have been much improved. The great centre of business is Portsmouth Square, or the Grand Plaza. Here are to be found the chief hotels and the largest stores and depots. All is hurry and bustle. The "go ahead" principle is uppermost in most of the population, and is understood in its broadest sense. From this almost morbid activity arid the heterogeneous character of the popu lation, we might expect the morality of California to be unequal * Ryan s Personal Adventures in California. IN NORTH AMERICA. 519 BEN1CIA AND SACRAMENTO. mento river. The strong and rapid current encountered here renders the remaining fifty miles generally very tedious ; and the stream being extremely narrow, vessels frequently run aground ; although those who are well acquainted with the soundings can take up in the greatest safety a craft of five hundred tons burden. As the river is not navigable higher up than Sacramento City, boats are obliged to stop here ; but, even were it practicable for boats, the miners would soon find it convenient to land, as in its further course the stream diverges somewhat from the known mining districts. From Sacramento City, the adventurous gold-hunters proceed to the "diggins" of their adoption, with their horses, mules, and teams, or by any mode of conveyance they may be fortunate enough to procure. Sacramento is situated at the junction of the American Fork and Sacramento rivers, and is distant from San Francisco about one hundred and thirty miles. This city is the great depot of the northern, as Stockton is of the southern mines. The fol lowing account of its progress and condition in 1849 is given by Ilyan in his " Personal Adventures." " Landing is very difficult at Sacramento City, even at high water, there being no convenience for this purpose except such as is afforded by a single plank thrown across from the side of the vessel to the bank, while at low water the mud renders such accommodation as this wholly useless. Indeed, a super abundance of mud is a characteristic common to the three bays I have named, the deposit extending in broad flats almost en tirely round them. In San Francisco bay they predominate most on the eastern side. u At the period of which I am writing, Sacramento city might have numbered about four hundred dwellings, including stores } the large majority of these consisted of sheds so little did they deserve the appellation of houses constructed partly of wood, partly of canvas, among which might be counted half-a-dozen of good frame boarded residences. They seem to have been erected with some pretension to regularity, as they form streets, running parallel and at right-angles with the river. Most of them are trading establishments, about a dozen figuring as hotels, and a large proportion of the re mainder being grog-shops; in fact, to speak more particularly, there is not a house in the town where ardent spirits are not retailed. " The principal store is kept by a Mormon, who, having arrived in the country and settled in it previous to the discovery 520 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ; BENICIA AND SACRAMENTO. of the mines, had already succeeded in amassing a large for tune. The eating-houses or hotels, as they are somewhat pompously called do a most extensive business ; for, as ap petites less frequently fail than the supplies of provisions, there is ample opportunity for levying heavy contributions upon the hungry. As a general rule, however, the charge for board and lodging is nearly the same as at San Francisco, though the accommodation is bad to the last degree, none of these eating or lodging-houses containing any beds, the lodgers being obliged to stretch themselves on any available spot of ground, or convenient article of furniture. The influx of strangers is so great, indeed, that, notwithstanding the rapidity with which these ephemeral dwellings are erected, and the in numerable tents of every form and size scattered in the suburbs, the population is far in excess of the actual conveniences for its reception. " But, although Sacramento City offers so few comforts and attractions, an attempt has been made at magnificence in the erection of a handsome tent a wall-tent, as it is commonly railed of a circular form, having perpendicular sides, and which is about thirty feet in diameter, by twenty-five in height, from the conical top of which floats a large red flag, inscribed with the words, Miners Exchange, in large letters. Its use is admirably illustrative of the prevailing spirit, and of the marvellous shrewdness exhibited by speculators in taking ad vantage of it. It is furnished within with six or eight large gaming-tables, each of which is let out at the nightly rental of twelve dollars. They are usually crowded to inconvenience by persons who come to try their fortune, and who frequently lose their all at various games of chance, the principal being iitonte and rou</c-<t-noir. "This establishment was started by two individuals, one of them a mere boy, who had made about three thousand dollars at the diggins ; the other, a carpenter from San Francisco, whose services and experience were taken into consideration in forming the partnership, as an ample set-off against the capital of the principal. The concern could not but prove highly lucrative, as, independently of the rentals from the gaming tables, there is a bur established inside, opposite the door, where large profits are realized upon the refreshments sold to the players and strangers, and the interior of which is rendered additionally attractive by an exhibition of caricatures, chiefly of the miners and of noted characters, intermixed with others IN NORTH AMERICA. 521 BENICIA AND SACRAMENTO. of a different class, the whole being intended to disguise the nakedness of the walls, or sides rather. " Ground-rents range excessively high ; and speculators in land, who were early in the field, and commanded capital, have been enabled to exact enormous sums from those who sought to establish themselves on particular spots.- Building-lots, measuring about 25 feet by 50, were worth 10,000 dollars, and extremely difficult to obtain even at that price ; the most eligible localities fetching sums which, considering their extent, appeared ruinous. The avidity with which they were bought up, however, proved that the purchasers possessed unlimited confidence in the produce of the mines and the extravagance of the miners. " In short, Sacramento City owes its growing importance entirely to the discovery of the gold mines, and to its admirable position as a starting-point to the upper ones. It certainly is not a desirable dwelling-place at present, whatever it may eventually become, though it admirably serves its purpose, namely, to offer to the vast multitude of birds of passage that flock to this region a spot where they may find a temporary rest for the soles of their feet ere they migrate further north. From hence, indeed, oxen and mule-teams are constantly travel ling to all the diggins/ and every available mode of convey ance seems in request ; so much so, that only lately they were charging carriage at the rate of one hundred dollars a hundred weight of a hundred pounds ; but the immense overland emi gration introduced so many teams, that, at the time I am writing of, it had come down to twenty dollars for the same load. " I may add, that the f red woods/ which are situated to the north-west of Pueblo Bay, constitute a remarkable and an agreeable feature in the landscape. They are of great extent, and, previously to the discovery of the gold mines, supplied the natives with the chief part of the timber they used. But they were also notorious as the resort of robbers and deserters of every description, who here carried on their lawless prac tices secure against pursuit, adding to their unlawful gains by the more honest recompense they received for sawing and felling timber." Since the above was written, Sacramento has become a city of nearly 10,000 inhabitants, and its progress is still rapid. It is the terminus of the overland emigration, which, in the fall, swells its population considerably. The city now contains several large hotels, and many handsome stores and residences. IN NORTH AMERICA. 523 THE SEA-COAST TOWNS. THE SEA-COAST TOWNS. Monterey, formerly the capital of California, is one of the best built and most important towns in the state. The bay on which the town is situated is large, extending northeast some eighteen or twenty miles, but, being shallow, does not afford much protection to vessels. The harbour is not more than a mile in length, and is formed by piles of rocks jutting into the sea. The town is surrounded with lofty hills, thickly covered with lofty pines and stunted oaks. The view of the town and vicinity from a vessel in the bay is really beautiful. Before the territory was ceded to the United States, the town was small and badly built. But American enterprise has changed its aspect and infused new life into the population. The other towns on the coast are Santa Barbara, San Juan, and San Diego. Santa Barbara and San Juan have grown up in the vicinity of the old missions. Both are beautifully situated, and yet neither have good harbours or much trade. They re tain their old Spanish characteristics in population and build ings. The people think more of horse-riding, attending fan dangoes, and gambling, than of making money and improving their towns. The climate of Santa Barbara has been the theme of eulogy, and the soil of the neighbouring country is remarkably fertile. So that, as a place of residence, it is superior to any town in California, except the " City of the Angels." Han Diego is situated on the coast near the line which sepa rates the state from the peninsula. It has a fine harbour, which is better sheltered than any on the coast, except that of Sari Francisco. Quite an extensive trade is here carried on in hides and tallow, articles of which the neighbouring country furnishes great abundance. The town has become American ized since the discovery of the gold mines ; the bustle of busi ness has taken the place of indolence, and progress is the con sequence. The old residents have become initiated in the ways of enterprise and exertion, and their condition is therefore much improved. 524 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ri I IM.o I K. LOS ANGKLES. PUEBLO DE LOS ANGELES. The "City of the Angels," was the capital of California when the territory came into the possession of the United States, and by far the most populous town. It is situated about thirty miles from the coast, and at the end of a plain i unity-five miles in width. Here are concentrated the aris tocracy of the old California families, and their handsome resi dences, gardens, and vineyards make the city and its vicinity beautiful indeed. The climate is mild and healthful tourists have described it as equal to that of Spain and Italy. The habits and manners of the mass of the population are those of the people of old Spain, with the addition of one or two customs unknown in that country. The men are inveterate gamblers, many of them staking all their property upon the result of the favourite game of monte. They are also ex cessively fond of horsemanship, and pride themselves upon the possession of the finest horses. The majority seem to live chiefly for amusement, and to look upon the duties of more energetic people as things of secondary importance. Yet they pay great attention to religious ceremonies, and a summons to mass will check their wildest pleasures. The vineyards be longing to the more wealthy OUifoiuiana are very profitable. Good wine is abundant and cheap. Los Angeles has felt the inspiriting influence of American enterprise, and its trade has much increased. But it will be long before the essential features of the character of the population are changed. THE MINES. The gold region of California is about six hundred miles long and sixty miles wide. This district is in the vicinity of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and their numerous branches, and extends from the Sierra Nevada range, westward. It is beyond doubt the richest region in the world. The discovery of the gold was accidental. For many years Captain Sutter had maintained a ranche and fort in the imme diate vicinity of streams flowing over golden beds, and yet had no thought of the wealth within his reach. But in May, 1848, while some persons in his service were digging out a mill-race IN NORTH AMERICA. 525 THE MINES. near the American Fork of the Sacramento, they were asto nished to find gold among the sand thrown up. It was impos sible to keep the discovery secret. It flew from mouth to mouth, and in a short time the banks of the river near Slitter s Fort swarmed with gold washers. The news reached the large towns, and the inhabitants almost deserted them. It reached the United States, and soon every road to the gold region was thronged with anxious and hurrying crowds. The population of the country increased at an unprecedented rate. Every fresh discovery gave impetus to immigration. It may be safely asserted that more than fifty million dollars worth of gold had been obtained in California at the commencement of the present year, 1851. A short view of life in the mines and of the processes of obtaining the precious metal may not be uninteresting. Mr. W. R. Ryan, the tourist to whom we are indebted for the fol lowing graphic account of a visit to the Stanislaus mine, (near the Stanislaus river,) was in California a short time after the gold discovery. " The mine was a deep ravine, embosomed amid lofty hills, surmounted by and covered with pine, and having, in the bottom itself, abundance of rock, mud, and sand. I consulted with my companion and urged upon him the prudence of our setting to work to construct ourselves a sort of log cabin ; otherwise I felt certain, from the experience of the past night, our sojourn at the mines would be likely to prove fatal to one or both of us. He was, however, far too eager to try his for tune at digging to listen to my proposal, at which he even smiled, probably at the bare idea of weather, privation, or toil being able to affect his powerful frame. I saw him presently depart up the ravine, shouldering a pick, and glancing now and then at his knife, while I proceeded in search of materials for constructing a temporary place of shelter. " As my strength was unequal to the task of felling timber, I endeavoured to procure four poles, intending to sink them into the ground, and to stretch on the top of them a bed-tick I had reserved for the purpose. The contrivance was a sorry one at the best, but shelter was indispensable ; and great was my disappointment though I procured the timber after a painful search to find that the rocks presented an insuperable obstacle to my employing it as I intended. My efforts to sink the poles proved utterly futile, and I was at last compelled to renounce the attempt in despair. I then packed up our goods 526 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES THE MINES. into as close a compass as possible, and, having requested one of the Spaniards in Don Emanuel s party to keep watch over them, departed to explore the ravine. " Within a few paces of our encampment there was a large area of ground, probably half-a-mile square, the surface of which consisted of dark soil and slate, and was indented with innumerable holes of every possible dimension, from six inches to as many feet or more, wide and deep. In all of these lay abundance of water, of which large quantities are to be found a little beneath the surface, the ravine being supplied with it in great abundance by the rains that pour down from the hills during the wet season. To the extreme right of our camp, the ground assumed a more rocky character ; and, from the vast deposit of stagnant water, did not seem to offer many attractions to the miners. Yet there was scarcely a spot in any of these places where the crowbar, the pick, or the jack- knife, had not been busy : evidence that th whole locality must have been extremely rich in the precious metal, or it would not have been so thoroughly worked. "In crossing the ravine, I was obliged to leap from one mound of earth to another, to avoid plunging ankle-deep in mud and water. It was wholly deserted in this part, though formerly so much frequented; and, with the exception of a few traders, who, having taken up their station here when times were good, had not yet made arrangements for removing to a more productive place, not a soul was to be seen. "Proceeding higher up the ravine, I observed a large tent erected on the slope of a hill, within a few yards of the bottom, where the gold is usually found. It was surrounded by a trench, the clay from which, as it was dug up, had apparently been thrown out against the canvas, forming a kind of em bankment, rendering it at once water and weather-proof. I ventured into it, encountering on my way an immense piece of raw beef, suspended from the ridge-pole. Upon some stones in front, enclosing a small fire, stood a frying-pan, filled with rich-looking beef collops, that set my mouth watering and se verely tested my honesty ; for although acorns are all very well in their way, and serve to stay the cravings of the stomach for awhile, I did not find my appetite any the less sharp, not withstanding the cjuantity 1 had eaten. But I resisted the temptation, and penetrated further into the tent. At one side of it lay a crowbar, and an old saddle that had seen rough service ; yet not a soul appeared. IN NORTH AMERICA. 527 THE MINES. "I came up next with a group of three Sonoreans, or inhabit ants of Sonora, busily engaged on a small sandy flat the only one I had observed at the bottom of the ravine. There was no water near, although I noticed several holes which had evi dently been sunk in quest of it. These men were actively pursuing a process that is termed l dry-washing. One was shovelling up the sand into a large cloth, stretched out upon the ground, and which, when it was tolerably well covered, he took up by the corners, and shook until the pebbles and larger particles of stone and dirt came to the surface. These he brushed away carefully with his hand, repeating the process of shaking and clearing until the residue was sufficiently fine for the next operation. This was performed by the other men, who, depositing the sand in large bowls hewn out of a solid block of wood, which they held in their hands, dexterously cast the contents up before them, about four feet into the air, catching the sand again very cleverly, and blowing at it as it descended. This process being repeated, the sand gradually disappeared ; and from two to three ounces of pure gold re mained at the bottom of the bowl. Easy as the operation appeared to me to be, I learned upon inquiry, that to perform it successfully required the nicest management, the greatest per severance, and especially robust lungs. The men I saw had lighted upon a productive sand; but very often, indeed, those who adopt this mode of gold-washing toil long at barren soil before they discover the uselessness of labouring thus ar duously. " The machines used consist, in the first place, of the wash ing-rocker, or cradle/ which has in numerous instances formed the model for ruder machines, constructed by the iniuers themselves while in the mountains. The lid, at the bottom of which lie the holes through which the gold and soil pass, is fastened by hinges at the back, in order that it may be raised up the more readily to throw off, from time to time, the stones that accumulate. Three men are required to work this rocker with success, and there are few processes in which a smaller number could operate without extraordinary labour. One person throws the soil upon the lid, another pours on the water, while a third is engaged in rocking the cradle by the handle attached to it for the purpose. In this way these men keep each other constantly employed ; and, indeed, this cradle, like its prototype, has often proved the bond of union between individuals who would otherwise have separated, for this simple 528 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES THE MINES. reason, that one man could not work it. half so profitably alone. The cross pieces, observable at the bottom, serve to intercept the gold as it flows towards the smaller end of the machine, while the dirt is carried off by the admixture with the water produced by the continual rocking/ As the earth becomes thoroughly dissolved, the gold naturally gravitates to the bottom, and thus it is impossible for any but the very finest particles of the ore to escape. "The second machine in importance is the gold-borer. It is particularly useful in examining the bottom of streams, and consists of a short conical cylinder at the end of a long handle, containing inside, at its lower extremity, a valve, arranged so as to admit the earth and gold, and prevent their escaping when the receptacle is full. This instrument is used in the same manner as an anger. The third machine, the pan, is also of late introduction, but has been found rather too deep for the purpose for which it is intended. " As I advanced the ground became drier and more sandy, rock and slate of various kinds abounding; some quite soft and friable, yielding readily to the pickaxe or the crowbar, and, in other places so hard as to resist the utmost strength of the miners. Several of the diggers were perscvoringly ex ploring the localities where the rotten sorts of slate were found in the largest quantities, and I saw them pick out a good deal of gold with their jack-knives. Their principal aim was to discover what they termed a pocket/ which is nothing more than a crevice between the blocks of slate, into which a de posit of gold has been washed by the heavy rains from the higher districts, and which, soon accumulating, swell into rapid torrents, which run down these ravines with extraordinary swiftness and force, sweeping every thing before them. * The whole history of the country, from its discovery to this day, is a narrative of vicissitude and change. About 1530, Hernando Cortez, or his favourite pilot, discovered the exten sive peninsula of Lower California. In 1541, Cabrillo dis covered Upper California, which lay neglected for sixty years, until a Spanish expedition came to survey the coast. San Diego was the first settlement. Sir Francis Drake visited the shores of California, and gave the name of New Albion to the whole region. The historian of Drake s voyage declares that " the land is so rich in gold and silver, that upon the slightest turning it up with a spade or pickuxe these rich metals plainly appear mixed with the mould." Towards the end of the IN NORTH AMERICA. 529 THE MINES. seventeenth century, the rival commercial nations ceased to con tend for the possession of California, and it was yielded to the Jesuits. "They carried no arms with them, they built no fortifica tions, and displayed none of those instruments of war with which civilized men have habitually sought to inspire with awe the minds of barbarian races. The subtlety of the Jesuits has passed into a proverb ; and in no period of their history do we perceive this characteristic so deeply marked as in the policy they pursued during the period of their dominion in California. With gifts, promises, and soothing encouragements, they attracted the Indian s affection ; with mysterious rites, with solemn pomp and grave discourse, they inspired him with respect ; and thus with a soft hand drawing the aborigines within the circle of their influence, they held them there with an iron grasp until the whole country fell under their sway. They had sown the seed ; it was now their pleasant task to reap the harvest. Missions were established, and around each of these a district was marked out, where the lands were put under cultivation, and the soil was speedily so productive that the Jesuits had great reason to rejoice in their acquisition. A nourishing commerce was opened. Ships from the old world came to be laden with the riches of this favoured regio-n, and gradually a lucrative trade was established and circulated through the magnificent harbours that abound along the coast. Valuable pearl banks were discovered, and the rich lands of Alta California, crowned with peace and plenty, well rewarded the skilful energy that was expended on them ; though they still kept the secret of that exhaustless mine of wealth which would long ago, if known, have peopled California with an avaricious population of needy adventurers brought from the four quarters of the globe. " The Jesuits rose to prosperity in their Californian territo ries, and were little disposed to share the spoil with any rivals. To secure, therefore, the monopoly which was so profitable to them, they disseminated through Europe, by means of their industrious agents, accounts wbich represented California as a land of thirsty aridity, with an ungeuial climate, a savage, in tractable population, and a soil poor almost to utter barrenness. Those who circulated these reports were generally the masters of ships, that, deeply laden with the riches of California, sailed home by a circuitous route, and contained in their well-stored holds the substantial contradiction ot such false assertions. 84 530 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES THK MINES. Yet the Jesuits, while they laboured to monopolize the wealth of their territory, carried on at the same time a humanizing process, which at least prepared the aboriginal population to receive the impress of a pure and enlightened civilization. They wrought the soil, they sought for precious gums, and woods, and metals ; but, at the same time they taught the Indians : and under their influence the country was changed from a vast wilderness of rank vegetation to a fruitful, well- cultivated land; and the Indian tribes, allured from their savage haunts, became orderly, industrious communities each gathered about a missionary establishment, and subject to the temporal and spiritual control of a Jesuit father. At length Lord Anson, in the course of one of his buccaniering cruises, made prize of a richly-freighted ship sailing from California. This capture revealed the hidden avarice of the Jesuits; and a series of circumstances originating in that incident led to their expulsion from the country. It was then by a revolution transferred into the possession of the Dominican monks of Mexico and the Franciscan friars, who shared authority be tween them, and, working in fellowship, divided the reward. " Alta California had not progressed so well as the lower country, which already contained numerous villages; but from this period forward its superior fertility and attraction placed it first. Settlers multiplied, and the germs of small towns sprang up and grew rapidly. Before 1803, eighteen missions were planted, and to each of these was attached a tribe of In dians, sometimes of more than twelve hundred in number. They enrolled themselves under the protection of the monks, and laboured in the lands belonging to the mission. Some times a refractory Indian family was captured, compelled to adopt the name at least of servants, and forced to labour for the mission ; but in return it was treated with hospitality and kindness. The neophytes increased in numbers, and as the reward of their industry, the monks clothed them well, fed them, and elevated their condition to a degree of comfort to which, through ignorance, they had never before aspired. It is not remarkable that they easily abandoned their independ ence for a servitude that was at once so easy and so profitable. Industry and population rise together. In eleven years from 1790, the number of inhabitants in Alta California rose from 7,748 to 13,0(58 ; and in another year was increased by 2,000. The wheat raised increased from 15,000 to 32,000 bushels, and the oxen from 25,000 to 00,000. From this it will be IN NORTH AMERICA. 531 THE MINES. seen how thinly peopled the country originally was, and what a beneficent effect was produced by the exertions of these few European settlers. The process continued until 1835, when troubles broke out, and the form of government was changed. A council of administrators ruled the affairs of California ; the priests, whose energies had been so productive of good, were permitted no longer to exercise any other than the functions of simple pastors ; and the Indians, disgusted with the change, forsook the civilization that no longer afforded them assistance or protection, or added to their comforts ; and retreating once more into their native woods, became lost in a darker barbarism than ever. The savage once reclaimed and again degenerated is as far below the original level of untaught humanity as that level is below the elevation of civilized society. The reason lies on the surface. He abandons all the good, and clings to all the evil ; for it appears impossible to teach barbarians the amenities of civilized life, without inspiring them with the love of those polished vices that corrupt us, even in the highest stages of our existence. " A war commenced between the Indians and the new con querors of their land. The administrators were tyrannical in the true sense of the word. They plundered the country in stead of developing the resources of its soil, and robbed the natives instead of profiting by their protected and productive industry. The Indians retaliated, making frequent and fierce incursions into the mission lands, laying them waste, and cut ting off whatever enemies they could surprise. To punish them, a body of Mexicans marched into their territory, wasted their valleys, burned their villages, massacred their old men, and bore away their women and children into a hard and hope less servitude. California, from the shore to the Sierra Nevada, from Cape Mendocino to the point of the Lower Peninsula, was the theatre of a miserable and harassing contest, in which defeat was followed by no submission, and success acquired for neither party either honour or profit. Mexico wanted either the ability or the will to pacify her subjects in California. The whole region relapsed into perfect anarchy ; the missions that formerly stood in the midst of thriving and populous dis tricts were now deserted and left tenantless, surrounded by solitary wastes ; ruins covered the country, and the whole re gion was rapidly sinking into its original savage state." From time to time, bands of emigrants from the United States, crossed the liocky Mountains, the Desert Basin, and the 532 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES THE MINES. Sierra Nevada, into Alta California, where they settled and became wealthy on the improvement of the soil, felling timber, erecting mills, building storehouses, and clearing the lands. When the Mexican government was exerting itself to sweep away the missions, Captain Sutler, an adventurer, received a grant of land of 60 miles in length by 16 in width. Sutter had served as a lieutenant in the infantry of Charles X., and when the Swiss corps was disbanded, had become a citizen of the American Republic, until after many vicissitudes he emi grated to California. There he established himself; and before his acquisition of land, had built up an influence so firm, that, the Mexican government, too weak to overthrow, was compelled to conciliate him, and grant the territory. " The whole of this vast estate, when it came into his posses sion, was overgrown with tall rank grass, and a few oaks or pines. It was situated on the border of the American river, above the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin ; and the new owner, who was the first white man that settled in that spot, immediately busied himself with clearing and cultivating the land, and preparing for a long and prosperous settlement. He at once erected a small house, surrounded by a stockade, and with his few companions prepared to construct a fort. Two howitzers formed his armament ; but these were little needed. The Indian hordes, though they at first carried off horses and cattle, only ventured once upon a direct attack, and then the harmless explosion of a shell above their heads inspired them with so much respect for the white man s weapons, that they thereafter left him in peace. By conciliation he attracted them to him. They consented to labour for reward, made and baked the bricks for the fort, dug the ditches to divide the fields and prevent the cattle straying, and worked at all the branches of industry to which he taught them to apply themselves. By way of precaution, he was very careful to trust few of them with arms and ammunition. They were easily brought to complete submission, for they were without pride ; and the scene which took place at their breakfast hour every morning sufficiently showed that they had lost the high spirit which has been the characteristic of some of the Indian races. Three hundred men were marshalled within the walls, long troughs were filled with a mess of boiled wheat-bran, and kneeling in ranks before these, like so many horses at the manger, they fed themselves with their hands. By degrees were procured fourteen pieces of artillery to fortify his walls ; IN NORTH AMERICA. 583 THE MINES. but these became gradually without use, except to fire a salute on days of rejoicing. With his wife and daughter and his Indian labourers, the captain lived very much like an inde pendent chief among a barbarous tribe, and at length brought seventeen hundred acres of land under good culture/ In the mean time, the daring and persevering Captain John C. Fremont, under the orders of the United States govern ment, explored the greater part of Alta California. His pub lished report contains a vast amount of interesting observation and incident. Upon the breaking out of the war between the United States and Mexico, the principal ports of the territory of Upper Cali fornia were ordered to be secured by the Pacific squadron for the government of the United States. This order was executed by Commodore Sloat and Commodore Stockton. At the same time, Captain Fremont raised the American flag upon the Sacramento river, in the northern part of the territory. Little opposition was experienced by the Americans. On the 14th of August, Fremont and Stockton, having joined their forces, inarched to the capital, Ciudad de los Angeles, or the " City of the Angels," and took possession of the government build ings. Thus was the whole territory in possession of the United States forces. Commodore Stockton issued a proclamation to the people of California, giving assurances of protection, and established a civil government. On the 22d of August, elec tions were held and a number of Americans were chosen to fill the office of alcalde at the different towns. Newspapers were established at Monterey and San Francisco, and the en terprising spirit of the Americans gave a new appearance to affairs in the territory. But the conquest was not complete. On the 23d of September, 1846, the " City of the Angels" was invested by an army of Caliibrnians, whose number com pelled Captain Gillespie, who had been left in command at that place, with thirty riflemen, to surrender. He returned to San Pedro, on the Pacific, and there embarked for Monterey. Two hundred Californians surrounded Santa Barbara, where Lieutenant Talbot had been left with only nine men. Talbot was summoned to surrender, but he would not comply, and, at last, marched out of the place with his men, arms in hand. Several skirmishes took place, in which the Californians were generally the assailants; but nothing decisive occurred until the arrival of General Kearny. In the mean time, General Kearny marched one thousand 534 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES THE MINES. miles with his one hundred dragoons mounted on mules, and on the 5th of December, having reached the frontier settle ments of Upper California, he was met by a party sent out by Commodore Stockton to inform him of the revolt of the Cali- fornians. From them he also learned that an armed party of the Californians was about nine miles distant from where he was encamped. Kearny resolved to attack them. On the 6th of December, at daybreak, he moved forward, and encoun tered the enemy, who were drawn up to meet them. The Cali fornians were superior in numbers and they fought well, but the impetuous charges of the dragoons put them to flight in the cud, with a severe loss. The party of Americans suffered greatly in proportion to their number j two captains, a lieu tenant, two sergeants, two corporals, and eleven privates, were slain. General Kearny received two wounds, and fourteen officers and privates received from two to ten lance wounds. The severe wounds of the soldiers caused a halt until the 10th of December, when the march was resumed, and on the 12th the party reached Sun Diego, upon the Pacific coast. After Kearny s dragoons had recruited and recovered some what from their long, fatiguing march, Commodore Stockton and the general formed a plan for putting an end to the con test in California. On the 29th of December, the army, num bering six hundred men, mostly marines and sailors, started from San Diego for Los Angeles. After marching one hun dred and ten miles, they met the enemy posted upon the banks of the Kio San Gabriel. The Califoruians numbered six hun dred mounted men, and had four pieces of artillery. On the 8th of January, 1847, the Americans crossed the river, and charged up the banks, after repelling a charge of the Califor- niaus. The fight lasted an hour and a half, and then the Cali fornians were driven from the field. The Americans encamped on the banks of the San Gabriel, and the next morning re sumed their march. On the plains of the Mesa another effort was made to save the capital ; the artillery opened upon the Americans in front and the cavalry charged upon their flanks. 13ut they were driven back, and they then retreated. The Americans encamped three miles from the capital, and on the 10th of January entered the city without opposition. The loss of the Californians, in the two battles, was between seventy and eighty in killed and wounded; that of the Americans was very slight only one man being killed, and two officers and eleven privates wounded. IN NORTH AMERICA. 535 THK MINES. Two or three days previous to the battle of the 8th of January, General Flores, the commander of the Californians, had sent commissioners to Stockton to negotiate a peace. But the commodore would not recognise Flores as one having rightful authority to make a treaty, he having broken his parole. After the battles of the 8th and 9th, Flores fled, leaving the command to Don Andreas Pico. That officer met Colonel Fremont on his way to Los Angeles, and surrendered his forces to him. The articles of capitulation were signed on the 13th of January, and no further disturbance took place in California until the treaty of peace between the United States and Mexico, by which the territory was made part of the United States. " Alta California, in fortune and prospect, was changed. The Indians once more ventured from their forest wilds ; industry was again awake; old villages were retenanted; new ones were built ; the wasted lands were covered with fresh cultiva tion ; towns that had fallen to ruin, with grassy streets and harbours wholly silent, became full of active life ] and indeed the entire region presented the appearance of a country reviv ing from a long and lethargic apathy to new energy and pros perity. The industry of a numerous class was devoted to the culture of wheat, maize, and rye, the valuable fisheries on the coast were actively prosecuted, and the pasture lands were again crowded with flocks of sheep and herds of oxen. " During a considerable time, North America had been linked to California by a chain of immigration, slender but continuous, that ran through the passes of the Rocky Moun tains and the Sierra Nevada. The intercommunication be tween the countries beyond the Mississippi and the valley of Alta California was now increased to a high degree, and greatly developed a system of intercourse which may be regarded as one of the most curious features of the civilization which it served to quicken to a more vigorous growth. Between the city of Independence, in the state of Missouri, and the city of Los Angeles, in Upper California, circulated a constant flow of intercourse, which originated about forty-five years ago in the enterprise of James Pursley, a private adventurer, who travelled much through the wilder provinces then far wilder than now that border the banks of the beautiful Mississippi. Near the waters of the Platte river a party of Indians re ceived him as the companion of their wanderings. With them he went to Santa Fe, a trading station on the western slope of 536 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES THE MINES. the Rocky Range, and is supposed to have bartered some American commodities with the people of that place. Al though a French Creole, it is said, had already carried on a secret commerce between America and California, James Parsley opened* the regular system of intercourse; but his desultory enterprises led at first to results of little importance. It was sixteen years before a regular caravan started from the Missouri, and travelled to Santa F6. The journey was one of uncertainty and danger. It led through a savage region, peo pled by wild tribes ; and when, in 1822, a company of traders was formed, their commercial adventures were much restrained by the perils that beset their way. Roaming bands of Indians hung on the line of march, committing murders on the strag gling travellers, and plundering any vehicles that might linger behind. Numerous graves soon dotted the borders of the trail, and frequent conflicts occurred. " In 1824, eighty merchants, with a large train of wagons and mules, set out from the city of Independence with com modities amounting in value to 30,000 dollars; and the suc cessive caravans that issued year after year, and crossed the same solitary plains and desolate country, were constantly attacked by bauds of Indians that lay in ambush to rush out as the head of the wagon trains appeared in sight. At first the traders went armed, and defended their own property, often repulsing their assailants with considerable vigour and success ; but in the course of five years the value of the inter course was so great, and had attracted so many marauders to infest the trail, that it was found necessary to send bodies of mounted riflemen to protect the caravan during a part of its progress. " The merchants in several parts of America transport their merchandise to the banks of the Missouri, embark them in the river craft, sail with them to the city of Independence, where they are collected as in a depot, and at the proper season stored in the wagon or packed on the backs of mules. In the early part of May, the town assumes an appearance of unusual activity. From all quarters the inhabitants hurry to the open space outside the suburbs, where the vast caravan is marshalled for its journey. The wagons are drawn sometimes by four, sometimes by fifteen yokes of oxen, and perhaps a hundred of these colossal canvas-covered machines are stored with every description of merchandise. The drivers, with enormously long whips, are ready in their places, cracking their lashes, and IN NORTH AMERICA. 537 THE MINES. by an ingenious variety of shouts encouraging the animals to exertion. Swarming about the lines of motionless vehicles are droves of cattle, and behind are long trains of loaded mules, with a company of merchants on horseback, and guards of soldiers to convoy the precious cargo. Uncouthly attired, and varied in character as they are, the individuals who ac company this expedition form not the least characteristic feature in this original and striking scene. 11 All is prepared ; the wagons are arranged ; the cattle are counted, and the mules marked. The leader has all the details of the merchandise in his book, and the signal is given, when, with a simultaneous movement, the vast train slowly sets itself in motion. The wagons with their white canvas tops, the droves crowding on either side, and the sober mules behind, leave the city in a broken but extended train ; and long after the caravan has started, the townspeople may catch glimpses of it as it winds over an upward sloping plain, or appears in view through a break in the mountains." We have given a short account of the discovery of the golden wealth of California. The extraordinary consequences of that event remain to be related. " In May, 1848, the negro waiter at the San Francisco Hotel, before the mania had reached its greatest height, refused to serve his master at the rate of less than ten dollars a day which is regarded here as a respectable income for a profes sional man. But the universal rage was so strong, that the mineral yellow fever/ as it was termed, left San Francisco at first almost wholly deserted ; and at the same season a large fleet of merchant vessels lay helpless and abandoned, some partially, others wholly deserted. One ship from the Sand wich Islands was left with no one but its captain on board ; from another the captain started with all his crew, replying to an observation on his flagrant conduct, that the cables and anchors would wear well till his return, and that as every one was too busy to plunder, he ran no risk by deserting his duty. The Star and Californian newspapers, published at San Francisco, ceased appearing, as the whole staff, from the editor to the errand-boy, had gone to dig for gold ; and among the most active workers in the valley was the l attorney-general to the king of the Sandwich Islands/ The influence of this wonderful excitement extended all Over the world, but was felt most powerfully in the neighbouring regions of Oregon and Mexico. There, during the early period of the excitement, 538 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES THE MINES. the public roads and especially the nearest way over the hills were crowded with anxious travellers, each face bent towlfcds the ridges of hills dividing their adopted country from the gold regions. Whole towns and villages may be seen peopled by scarcely any other than women, while the men are devoutly on the pilgrim s path to the shrine of mighty Mam mon. Two peculiar results have been produced in America. The unmarried population is becoming thinner month after month, so that wedding chimes are far less frequent than of yore ; while hypochondriacal patients, whom no sensible friends could persuade of their healthy condition, have forgotten their affected ills, and encountered all the weariness and perils of the journey between their sick-chambers and a canvas tent in the valley of the Sacramento. " These were incidents which took place early after the dis covery. Others followed still more curious. The population that was suddenly gathered together in the valley of the Sacra mento was among the most motley and heterogeneous ever collected in any spot on the surface of the globe. Californiau Indians, with their gay costume in gaudy mimicry of the old nobility of Castile; rough American adventurers, lawyers, merchants, farmers, artisans, professional men, and mechanics of all descriptions, thronged into the scene. Among them were conspicuous a few ancient Spanish dons in embroidered blue and crimson clothes, that in their own country have been out of fashion for forty years. A few gentlemen, and numbers of women, were among the delvers; while, after some months had elapsed, even China opened her gates to let out some ad venturous house-builders, who took junks at Canton, sailed across ten thousand miles of sea, arrived at San Francisco, and there betook themselves to their calling, and made large for tunes by the construction of light portable buildings for the use of the gold-finders in the hot and populous valley. " Within eighteen months 100,000 men arrived in Alta California from the United States, and settled temporarily in the valley, though, after a short period, the return steamers were as well laden with life as the others. Nine thousand immense wagons came through the pass of the Ilocky Moun tains, with an average of five persons to each vehicle ; four thousand emigrants rode on horseback through the same route; and of the others, many crossed the isthmus of Panama, where the passengers have sometimes been so impatient, that the government packets have been pressed into their service, IN NORTH AMERICA. 539 THE MINES. and compelled to start on their voyage before the arrival of the mails. Others made the sea voyage of seventeen thousand miles round the head of Cape Horn ; and multitudes of these have intrusted themselves, during the passage of the turbulent world of waters heaving round the head of this gloomy pro montory, to leaky and shattered barques, resembling that in which Columbus made his last voyage from the New World to Spain. The American steamship California was the first that ever doubled that cape into the Pacific. In a New York paper sixty sail of ships were advertised to sail for the Gold Kegion in one day. An analysis of the multitudes that poured, and still pour, into the Gold Region, leads to a curious result, since it shows what classes are most ready to leave their habitual employments to flock round the altar of Mammon, with the chance of acquiring sudden fortune and the risk of a ruin equally speedy. One-third of them are calculated as be longing to the tillers of the soil, an equal number are drawn from among the shopkeepers and artisans, and the remainder is made up of persons engaged in commerce, professional men, and that large and indescribable class which, for want of a more distinct term, we must comprehend under the title of adventurers. " The waters lying between the coast of California and the Isthmus, and further round Cape Horn to New York, were never before converted into such a crowded highway. Vessels were constantly passing to and fro, and all of them were peopled either by sanguine adventurers with the hot fever of desire upon them, or disappointed men who were returning remorsefully to their homes, moralizing in philosophic vein over the theory of the far-famed fable that industry alone is the genius that possesses the power to turn all things to gold." M E X I C O . VERA CRUZ. THE friends who accompany us in our peregrinations, have one advantage over real travellers, on this " mundane sphere," they can terminate their journey at any point they please ; and whether one hundred or a thousand miles dis tant, have only to close their " guide book," to find them selves at home. This suggestion, it is hoped, will induce our friends to accompany us still longer. Our destination is to other lands than our own. There are other human beings besides ourselves, differing from us in their persons, their dress, their manners, their modes of thought, their habita tions ; in short, in particulars, as the modern advertisement runs, " too numerous to mention." It is not our intention to enter into a formal disquisition upon the importance and uses of travelling. Suffice it to say, that without a knowledge of mankind in other countries, and under different circumstances from our own, gathered either from personal knowledge, or through the recorded ob servations of others, we shall fail of those enlarged and liber al views, which the study of mankind is calculated to impart, and put a lower estimate upon our own country than what she deserves. No American ever travels abroad but that sighs for the land of his birth, and gives the preference to its gov ernment, its laws and institutions, upon the whole, over those of any and every country on the globe. Will our readers then accompany us? Our immediate des tination is Mexico. From our present position, which we will suppose to be New Orleans, we might proceed across the country, taking Texas, which has of late been the theatre of highly exciting scenes, in our route, but as our immediate ob ject is to look upon the crowded habitations, the splendid ed ifices, and to listen to the busy hum of the populous city, none of which she yet has, we shall enter Mexico by a differ ent route. About one thousand miles, or, perhaps some one or two hundred less, in a south-westerly direction from New 540 542 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES VERA CRUZ. Orleans, across the Gulf of Mexico, lies the city ofVeraCruz,* rendered famous as being the place at which Cortes first landed in 1519, and through whose enterprise and astonish ing daring, Mexico, or New Spain, became an appendage to the crown of Castile. We will suppose the voyage compassed, and that we are already approaching the harbor of Vera Cruz. The city itself, with its red and white cupolas, towers and battlements, and the strong castle of St. Juan d Ulloa,f which commands the port, having 300 pieces of cannon, makes a splendid ap pearance from the water. The city is situated 200 miles east-by-south of Mexico. The port of Vera Cruz is the only one on this coast, which can receive a man-of-war. It is easy of access, and can accommodate about 100 merchant vessels, but very inse cure, being open to the much dreaded northerly winds ; while the holding-ground is so bad, that no vessel is deemed secure, unless made fast to rings fixed for the purpose, in the castle wall. Vera Cruz is the great seaport of Mexico, * The name Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, or the rich town of the true cross, was given to the place by Cortes, who landed his army here at the time of his invasion. t This celebrated castle, once considered impregnable, was suc cessfully attacked by a French squadron in 1839, under command of Rear Admiral C. Baudin. After a vigorous resistance, it capitulated, but not long after was restored to the Mexicans. During the late war between the United States and Mexico, both the city of Vera Cruz and the castle were taken possession of by the American army under General Scott, aided by a squadron under Commodore Perry. The investment of the city was effected on the 13th of March, 1847. On the 22d, the bombardment was commenced, and, with some inter missions, was continued to the 26th, when the Governor offered to surrender both city and castle into the hands of the Americans. It may here be ad Jed, that from Vera Cruz the American forces at length took up their march towards Mexico, the capital. At a mountain pass, called Cerro Gordo, on the road to Jalapa, about 60 miles from Vera Cruz, a strong Mexican force, under Santa Anna, was encoun tered, which, however, after a most sanguinary contest, was obliged to give way, with great loss in killed and wounded; thus allowing General Scott and his army to proceed. The American forces subse quently took possession of Puebla and other places of inferior note, and, after a most determined resistance, entered the city of Mexico. Soon after this triumph, a treaty of peace was concluded. IN NORTH AMERICA. 543 VERA CRUZ. and the place through which almost all the trade between that country and Europe and the United States is carried on. The mole, or landing place, is a low pier, of solid masonry. " I had scarcely put my foot upon it," says Mr. Bullock, " when I observed it was partially paved with pigs of iron, each bearing the broad arrow of the king of England, which I afterwards learned were part of the ballast of an English frigate, left in order to enable her to return with a larger quantity of specie. Thus, the first step an English man takes in New Spain, is upon what once was English property." The city is beautifully and regularly built, and the streets are so extremely neat and clean, that, on the first view of the interior, the traveller is at a loss to account for its extreme unhealthiness. But buzzards, and other birds of the vulture species, may be observed hovering over the town, and perching on the house-tops ; a sure indication that animal putrefaction is going forward. Mr. Bullock, (who visited Mexico in March, 1823,) thus describes the appearance of the city. " Many of the houses of Vera Cruz are large, some three stories high, built in the old Spanish or Moorish style, and generally enclosing a square court, with covered galleries. They have flat roofs, glass windows, and are well adapted to the climate ; most of them have balconies of wood in front, and the interior arrangement is the same as in Old Spain. The whole town, as well as the castle, is built of coral, and the lime that forms the cement is of the same material; it is used for the roofs and foot pavement, and it is so hard, that in some places it receives, from friction, a polish like mar ble. There is one tolerably good square, of which the gov ernment house forms one side, and the principal church the other. The footpaths are frequently under piazzas, a great accommodation to passengers, protecting them from the sultry heat of the sun, and the heavy rains, which descend in torrents in the wet season. " Sixteen cupolas or domes are counted from the sea, but only six churches are now in use. Indeed, nearly all the churches, monasteries, and nunneries here, have been aban doned, and are fast falling into decay, since the place has been lost to the Spaniards. Nothing is more repulsive to strangers accustomed to the bustle of European cities, than the gloomy deathlike appearance of the place. Of any other IN NORTH AMERICA. 545 VERA CRUX. city it is considered a disgrace to say, that grass grows in the streets ; but here it would be a compliment, for no vege tation is to be observed even for miles around, and fish is the only article of provision not brought from a distance. The only water fit to drink, is what falls from the clouds, and is preserved in tanks ; that from the castle and the con vent of Franciscans being the best. Though the markets are tolerably well supplied by the Indians, living at the hotels is expensive, and very uncomfortable. Provisions are dear, with the exception of fish, which, as already stated, is in abundance, and good. Some beautiful and curious oysters are found here, the largest and finest flavored lever met with. Milk is scarcely to be had, as not a cow is kept within many miles; and what is, perhaps, peculiar to Vera Cruz, there is not a garden seen near it. The absence of vegetation attests at once the poverty of the soil, and the in salubrity of the climate. I know not whether prejudice may not have influenced my decision, but to me, Vera Cruz ap pears the most disagreeable place on earth ; and its charac ter of being the most unhealthy spot in the world, naturally makes the stranger shudder every hour he remains within its walls, surrounded by arid sands, extensive swamps, and sa vannahs, the exhalations from which are only removed by strong winds." It is extremely subject to the yellow fever, which generally commences its ravages when the mean tem perature rises to 75. In December, January, and February, it generally disappears. " Society here, as may be anticipated, is extremely con fined, and morality at a very low ebb. Few of the European merchants, whom the hopes of gain have allured to reside here, are married. One class of the occupants will excite some surprise in persons unacquainted with tropical regions; I mean the carrion vultures. They are as tame in the streets as domestic fowls; and, like the dogs from the moun tains at Lisbon, act as the scavengers of the place, very speedily clearing away whatever filth may be left. Their senses of smell and sight are very acute. While I was preserving some fishes in an apartment at the top of the hotel, the sur rounding roofs were crowded with anxious expectants; and when the offal was thrown out, it was, with much conten tion, greedily consumed. They are on good terms with the dogs, and the two animals may frequently be seen de- 35 546 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES vouring the same carcass. They pass the night on the roofs of the churches, where I have sometimes observed several hundreds."* Iluinboldt, who visited Vera Cruz in 1802, states the resi dent population, exclusive of the militia and seafaring peo ple, at 1(J,000. Other and later authorities state the popula tion at 30,000. PUEBLA. With this brief account of Vera Cruz, we shall satisfy ourselves, and we trust our fellow travellers, anxious to press forward to the capital, distant about 200 miles north-west erly. But as the common route is by Puebla, a hundred and ten miles west-by-south from Vera Cruz, we shall stop at this latter place, sufficiently to survey its objects of high est interest. Puebla, or to give it its full title, LaPmUad A>s yl//,A>, is reckoned next to Mexico, Gtianaxuato, and thc3 Havan- nah, the most considerable city in Spanish America, benur more populous, according to Iluinboldt, than Lima, Quito, Santa Fe, or Caraccas. Its population, in 1SO:J, was (-Mi niated at 67,800 ; and although it appears to have declined since that time, it still amounts, according to the best au thorities, to 60,000. It was one of the few towns founded by the Europeans. It was commenced in 1531. " The site," says the author of Notes on Mexico, " does credit to the taste and judgment of its founders. It is built on the south side of a hill, that is wooded to its summit. The sur rounding plain is cultivated witli wheat, barley, Indian com, and all the fruits of Europe, and is highly productive. This plain is surrounded by a chain of hills, presenting alternately cultivated fields and luxuriant forests ; and the view is ter minated by the volcanoes of Puebh, clothed in perpetual snows. "t The city is compactly and uniformly built. The streets, though not very wide, are straight, intersecting each * Six Months Residence in Mexico. By W. Bullock, t Notes on Mexico, by a citizen of the United States, (Mr. Poinsett.) IN NORTH AMERICA. 549 are far surpassed by the churches of Puebla and Mexico." The cathedral forms one side of the great square ; on the opposite side stands the cabildo, or town hall ; and the sides are occupied with shops under arcades, the whole gaudily painted. The exterior of the cathedral has nothing about it very ornamental, or remarkable, but its interior furniture is rich beyond description. The high altar is strikingly splendid. Mr. Bullock describes it as a most superb sanctu ary of exquisite workmanship, and states, that it had been but lately finished by an Italian artist, from Roman designs, but executed in Mexico and of native materials. It occu pies a considerable part of the cathedral, and reaches into the dome. " The platform which is raised some feet above the level of the rest of the church, is inlaid with marble of different colors. The interior of it is appropriated as a cemetery of the bishops of Puebla. The walls are of black and white marble, and the whole is vaulted with an elliptic arch. The canopy which rests on this platform is support ed by eight double marble columns, the effect of which is destroyed by brass ornaments and gilded capitals. The ceil ing of the canopy is highly ornamented with stucco and gold. The custodia is of variegated marble; the front of embossed silver, and so constructed as to slide down and show the Host to the congregation. The custodia itself is surrounded by five bronze figures. In front of this altar is suspended an enormous lamp of massive gold and silver, very beautifully wrought. The pulpit near it is cut out of a mass of carbo nate of lime, which is found near Puebla ; it receives a high polish and is semi-transparent. A row of lofty columns sup porting the arches, runs round the whole interior of the building. The sanctuaries are numerous and are ornamented with a profusion of gilding, and some bad paintings. In the midst of this splendor, miserable, half-naked Indians are to be seen wandering about, or kneeling at the shrine of some favorite saint, forming a singular and painful contrast to the magnificence of the temple." . The bishop s palace contains a tolerable library. The room is 200 feet long by 45 wide, and is " well furnished with books, mostly in vellum bindings." They are chiefly Spanish, with a few in French, and one. Mr. Bullock says, in English ; but he gives no fuller account of it, than that it is 550 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES " the life of one of the kings of England." A Bible in Spanish, with plates, \vas exhibited as a "great curiosity." One part of the library consists of controversial divinity, but the perusal of this portion is prohibited even to the clergy. There is also a very good collection of pictures in this palace. Among the other religious edifices visited by the English traveller, he enumerates the church of San Fdipc Ncri, one of the largest buildings in the city, with the magnificent hofpirio, attached to it, which contains some " excellent paintings," and is " finished with solid silver and gold cru cifixes ; " the church of La Santo N/;//v7//, formerly belonged to the Jesuit s College, a large building in good architectural taste ; the church and monastery of St. Augustine, " one of the first class, with a square, high-raised altar of silver, orna mented with marble statues as large as life, and the sacristy superbly decorated ; " and the church and monastery of St. Dominick, which have also their silver altar, and " near the rails are two dogs of the same metal, the size of life, on pe destals of gold and silver." The dome of this church is covered with painted and gilt tiles. The little church of the convent of St. Monica, deserves also to be mentioned, we are told, for the richness of its vaulted roof, and walls encrusted with elaborate carvings ; it also contains a few pictures, statues, and silver ornaments. Puebla is governed by four alcaldes, and sixteen subordi nate magistrates. The police, Mr. Bullock says, seems to be well regulated. That many of the inhabitants are wealthy, is attested by their equipages and retinues. " Handsome car riages, drawn by mules richly caparisoned, and attended by servants in showy liveries, parade the streets and nltnrf/fit, or public walks, particularly on Sundays and holydays; but the promenade is not worthy of so fine a city, and loses much of its interest in the eyes of Europeans, by the almost total ab sence of females, except such as are in their carriages. Handsome hackney coaches, drawn by mules, stand ready lor hire in the great square." There the market is held, which is well supplied with every article of food, except fish, which must be obtained from a great distance, and is sent enclosed in coarse paste pies, half baked, to preserve it. Poultry is plentiful and cheap, and the tropical fruits are IN NORTH AMERICA. 551 supplied from the ticrras calimtcs. Indeed the necessaries, and most of the luxuries of life, may be obtained at a reason able rate. Puebla was once celebrated for its manufactory of coarse woollens ; but this branch of industry has greatly fallen off. The manufacture of glass, has of late been so much improved, that they are stated already to rival England, in the tex ture and color of their glass. Their coarse and red earthen ware is also excellent, but their machinery is very rude, and no clay fit for porcelain has hitherto been discovered in the country. Soap is a considerable article of trade, being sent from Puebla to most parts of Mexico. One class of the in habitants, Mr. Bullock omits to notice : like the capital, Puebla has its lazzaroni. The custom of begging in the streets existed in Mexico, before the conquest ; and Cortes speaks of the Indians begging like rational beings, as an evi dence of their civilization. " And in fact," remarks the American, " it was the greatest he could have given : a peo ple in the hunter state, never beg or give in charity." In times of scarcity, the old and infirm are sometimes killed from compassion.* CHOLULA. This city lies about 60 miles east of Mexico, and out of the usual route from Puebla to the former place. In the time of Cortes, it contained, according to his account, 40,000 houses, independent of the adjoining villages or sub urbs, which he computed at as many more. Its commerce consisted in manufactures of cotton, gems, and plates of clay, and it was much famed for its jewellers and potters. Cortes mentions that he counted more than four hundred temples in and about the city. The temple, however, which is the most ancient and most celebrated of all the Mexican temples, lies to the east of this city. It is now in ruins. The length of its base is 1,423 feet, and its height 173. This base is almost double that of the great pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. At a distance, the * Modern Traveller. Mexico. 552 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES appearance that it now assumes, is that of a natural conical hill, wooded, and crowned with a small church ; but as the traveller approaches it, its pyramidal form becomes distin guishable, together with the four stories into which it is shaped, although covered with vegetation, the prickly pear, the nopal, and the cypress. It appears to have been con structed exactly in the direction of the four cardinal points. It is built of unburnt bricks and clay, in alternate layers. In making the present road from Puebla to Mexico, between twenty and thirty years ago, the first story was cut through, so that an eighth part remained isolated like a heap of bricks. In making this opening, a square chamber was discovered in the interior of the pyramid, built of stone, and supported by beams of cypress wood. The chamber contained two skele tons, some idols of basalt, and a number of vases curiously varnished and painted. No pains were taken to preserve the objects ; but it is said to have been carefully ascertained that this chamber had no outlet. The ascent to the platform is by a flight of 120 steps. As our principal object in speaking of Cholula, was to no tice this curious and magnificent relic of antiquity, we shall only further observe, that the city itself, owing probably to its proximity to Puebla, has greatly declined. It still occu pies, according to Mr. Bullock, a large space of ground, and contains many regular and broad streets. Humboldt states its population in 1802, at 16,000, while the former traveller places it at 6,000. But we will detain our companions no longer from a more extended account, which we propose to give of the ancient and celebrated capital of New Spain. MEXICO. Mexico, the next city to which we shall introduce our fellow travellers, is the capital of a country, bearing the same name. It is situated midway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific ocean. Latitude, 19 26 north. Longitude, 90 5 west. It has attracted much attention, not only on account of the beauty of its situation, but the interesting IN NORTH AMERICA. 555 historical incidents which pertain to it. Its history has the interest of romance. A rapid sketch of this, before giving a description of modern Mexico, will doubtless interest the companions of our wanderings. The city appears to have been founded by the Mexicans, in 1325, at which time it bore the name of Tcnochtitlan. It was originally built on a group of islands, in the lake Tez- cuco, which lay in a delightful valley, 70 leagues in circum ference, and elevated more than 7,000 feet above the level of the sea. Only twenty-seven years after the discovery of the New World by Columbus, that is in 1519, Cortes, a Spanish ad venturer, landed in Mexico, then called New Spain, and in the following year, took possession of the city. His fleet consisted of eleven vessels, the largest of which was of only 100 tons; three were of 70 or 80 tons, and the rest were open barks. His army consisted of but 508 soldiers, in cluding sixteen horsemen, with ten small fieldpieces, four fal conets, and 109 seamen, or artificers. Such was the slender and ill-provided train, with which, says Dr. Robertson, Cortes made war upon a monarch, whose dominions were more extensive than all the kingdom subject to the Spanish crown. Cortes landed at St. Juan d Ulloa, to which place he gave the name of Vera Cruz. To the governor of the province he announced himself as an ambassador from Don Carlos of Austria, King of Castile, the greatest monarch of the East; and that he was entrusted with proposals of such moment, that he could impart them to none but the emperor Monte- ztuna himself; he therefore required them to conduct him into the presence of their master. The Mexican authorities could* not conceal their uneasiness at this request ; but, to soften their refusal, they first ordered the presents to be brought in, which they had prepared, with a view to concil iate the good will of the strangers. They consisted of fine cotton cloth, plumes of various colors, and ornaments of wrought gold and silver. The display of these served only to stimulate in the Spaniards the lust of conquest ; and when Teutile proceeded to dissuade Cortes from visiting the capi tal, he replied in a haughty and determined tone, that kings never refused to receive the embassies of other princes; and insisted on their acquainting Montezuma with his arrival. During this interview, some native artists had been diligently 556 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES employed in delineating upon white cotton cloths, representa tions of the ships, horses, artillery, soldiers, arid every thing else belonging to the strangers, which struck them as re markable. Cortes, having notice of this, and learning that these pictures were to be despatched to Montezuma, resolved to give further employment to the skill of these painters, and to strengthen the impression made on the minds of these na tive chiefs, by the exhibition of a sham fight. Mounting his horse, he ordered the trumpets to sound an alarm, and the troops, forming into two bodies, skirmished in a martial manner. The Mexicans looked on in silent amazement, especially at the agility with which the cavalry performed their evolutions; for, "observing the obedient fierceness of those beasts," says De Solis, " they began to think there was something more than natural in those men that managed them. But, when, at a signal given by Cortes, the firearms, and then the artillery was discharged, some fell to the ground, others fled, and those who had most presence of mind, affect ed admiration to dissemble their fear." Cortes dismissed his guests with some trifling presents. To Montezuma himself, he sent some glass, a Holland shirt, a cap of crimson velvet adorned with a gold medal, and a tapestry chair. Though the capital was 200 miles distant, the pictures and presents were forwarded to the sovereign, and his answer was return ed in a few days. Montezumft, it seems, had couriers posted at convenient distances along the principal roads, by which means intelligence was transmitted to the capital with aston ishing rapidity. His answer was a refusal to allow of the nearer approach of the foreigners ; but this, too, was intro duced with a conciliatory present to the Spanish general, ex pressive at once of the monarch s magnificence and his fears. It consisted of specimens of the manufactures of the country ; cotton stuffs, so fine and of so delicate a texture, as to re semble silk ; pictures of animals, trees, and other natural objects, formed with feathers of different colors most ingeni ously disposed ; two large circular plates, one of gold, repre senting the sun; the other of silver, representing the moon ; with a variety of golden ornaments, and precious stones. Cortes received all these with an appearance of the pro- foundest respect, but, to the consternation of the Mexicans, represented that, with every wish to show his obedience to their monarch, it was impossible for him to leave the country, consistently with his duty to his own sovereign, until he had CORTEZ. 558 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES been admitted into the presence of the Prince, whom he had been appointed to visit in his name. The firmness, says Dr. Robertson, with which Cortes ad hered to his original proposal, should naturally have brought the negotiation between him and Montezuma to a speedy issue, as it seemed to leave the Mexican monarch no choice, but either to receive him with confidence as a friend, or to oppose him openly as an enemy. The latter was what might have been expected from a haughty prince, in possession of extensive power. The Mexican empire, at this period, was at a pitch of grandeur to which no society ever attained in so short a period. Though it had subsisted, according to their own traditions, only 130 years, its dominion extended from the north to the south sea, over territories stretching, with some small interruption, above five hundred leagues from east to west, and more than two hundred from north to south, comprehending provinces not inferior in fertility, pop ulation, and opulence, to any in the torrid zone. The people were warlike and enterprising; the authority of the monarch unbounded, and his revenues considerable. If, with the forces which might have been suddenly assembled in such an empire, Moute/uma had fallen upon the Spaniards, while encamped on a barren, unhealthy coast, unsupported by any ally, without n place of retreat, and destitute of provisions, it seems impossible, even with all the advantages of their su perior discipline and arms, that they could have stood the shock, and they must either have perished in such an unequal contest, or have abandoned the enterprise. As the power of Montezuma enabled him to take this spirited part, his own dispositions were such as seemed natu rally to prompt him to it. Of all the princes, who had swayed the Mexican sceptre, he was the most haughty, the most violent, and the most impatient of control. His subjects looked up to him with awe, and his enemies with terror. The former he governed with unexampled rigor, but they were impressed with such an opinion of his capacity, as commanded their respect; and by many victories over the latter, he hnd spread far the dread of his arms, and had added several considerable provinces to his dominions. But, though his talents might be suited to the transactions of a state so imperfectly polished as the Mexican empire, and sullicient to conduct them while in their accustomed course, IN NORTH AMERICA. 559 they were altogether inadequate to a conjuncture so extra ordinary, and did not qualify him either to judge with the dis cernment, or to act with the decision, requisite in such a trying emergence. From the moment that the Spaniards appeared on his coast, he discovered symptoms of timidity and embarrassment. Instead of taking such resolutions as the consciousness of his own power, or the memory of his former exploits, might have inspired, he deliberated with an anxiety and hesitation, which did not escape the notice of his meanest courtiers. The perplexity and discomposure of Montezuma s mind, upon this occasion, as well as the general dismay of his sub jects, were not owing wholly to the impression which the Spaniards had made by the novelty of their appearance, and the terror of their arms. Its origin may be traced up to a more remote source. There was an opinion, if we may be lieve the earliest and most authentic Spanish historians, almost universal among the Americans, that some dreadful calamity was impending over their heads, from a race of formidable invaders, who should come from regions towards the rising sun, to overrun and desolate their country. Whether this disquieting apprehension flowed from the memory of some natural calamity, which had afflicted that part of the globe, and impressed the minds of the inhabitants with superstitious fears arid forebodings, or whether it was an imagination accidentally suggested by the astonishment, which the first sight of a new race of men occasioned, it is impossible to determine. But, as the Mexicans were more prone to superstition than any people in the new world, they were more deeply affected by the appearance of the Spaniards, whom their credulity instantly represented as the instrument destined to bring about this fatal revolution which they dreaded. Under these circumstances, it ceases to be in credible that a handful of adventurers should alarm the mon arch of a great empire, and all his subjects. Notwithstanding the influence of this impression, when the messenger arrived from the Spanish camp, with an account that the leader of the strangers, adhering to his original de mand, refused to obey the order enjoining him to leave the country, Montezuma assumed some degree of resolution, and, in a transport of rage natural to a fierce prince, unac customed to meet with any opposition to his will, he threaten ed to sacrifice those presumptuous men to his gods. But 560 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES his doubts and fears quickly returned, and instead of issuing orders to carry his threats into execution, he again called his ministers to confer, and offer their advice. Feeble and temporising measures will always be the result, when men assemble to deliberate, in a situation where they ought to act. The Mexican counsellors took no effectual measures for expelling such troublesome intruders, and were satisfied with issuing a more positive injunction, requiring them to leave the country ; but this they preposterously accotnpanied with a present of isuch value, as proved a fresh inducement to remain there. The definitive orders of Montezuma at length were re ceived by a messenger, that the Spaniards should leave the country. Cortes, however, had no intention of surrendering an object, which addressed itself so strongly to his avarice and ambition ; and by cunning and artifice, for which he was distinguished, roused his soldiers to such a pitch of enthusi asm, as to demand of him to be conducted towards the capi tal of the empire. Cortes did not allow his men time to cool, but immediately set about carrying his design into execution. Proceeding from the coast where they landed, and in their progress achieving an easy victory over the country through which they passed, about the first of November they came in sight of the vast plain of Mexico, in which stood the capital of the renowned Montezuma. " When they first beheld this prospect," says Dr. Robertson, " one of the most striking and beautiful on the face of the earth; when they observed fertile and cultivated fields stretching further than the eye could reach ; when they saw a lake resembling the sea in ex tent, encompassed by large towns, and discovered the capital rising upon an island in the middle, adorned with temples and turrets ; the scene so far exceeded their imagination, that some believed the powerful descriptions of romance were realized, and that its enchanted palaces and gilded domes were presented to their sight ; others could hardly persuade themselves that this wonderful spectacle was any thinir more than a dream. As they advanced, their doubts were re moved, but their amazement increased. They were now fully satisfied, that the country was rich beyond any concep tion which they had formed of it, arid Haltered themselves, tint, at length, they should obtain ample recompense for all their services and sufferings." IN NORTH AMERICA. 561 "When they drew near the city, about a thousand persons, who appeared to be of distinction, came fortli to meet them, adorned with plumes, and clad in mantles of fine cotton. They announced the approach of Montezuma himself, and soon after his harbingers came in sight. There appeared first two hundred persons in a uniform dress, with large plumes of feathers, alike in fashion, marching two and two, in deep silence, barefooted, with their eyes fixed on the ground. These were followed by a company of higher rank, in their most showy apparel, in the midst of whom was Mon tezuma, in a chair or litter, richly ornamented with gold, and feathers of various colors. Four of his principal favorites carried him on their shoulders ; others supported a canopy of curious workmanship over his head. Before him marched three officers with rods of gold in their hands, which they lifted up on high at certain intervals, at which signal all the people bowed their heads, and hid their faces, as unworthy to look on so great a monarch. When he drew near, Cor tes dismounted, advancing towards him with officious haste, and in a respectful posture. At the same time, Montezuma alighted from his chair, and, leaning on the arms of two of his near relations, approached with a slow and stately pace, his attendants covering the street with cotton cloths, that he might not touch the ground. Cortes accosted him with pro found reverence, after the European fashion. He returned: the salutation according to the mode of his country, by touching the earth with his hand, and then kissing it." Moniezuma conducted Cortes to the quarters which he had prepared for his reception, and immediately took leave of him, with a politeness not unworthy of a court more re fined. " You are now," says he, " with your brothers in your own house ; refresh yourselves after your fatigue, and be happy until I return." The place allotted to the Spaniards for their lodging, was a house built by the father of Montezuma. It was surrounded by a stone wall with towers at proper distances, which served for defence as well as ornament ; and its apartments and courts were so large, as to accommodate both the Spaniards and their Indian allies. In the evening, Montezuma returned to visit his guests, with the same pomp as in the first interview, bringing pres ents of great value not only to Cortes and his officers, but even to the private men. A long conference ensued, in 562 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES the course of which Montezuma informed Cortes that it was an established tradition among the Mexicans, that their ancestors came originally from a remote region, and conquered the pioneers now subject to his dominion ; that after they were settled there, the great captain who con ducted this colony, returned to his own country, promising that at some future period his descendants should visit them, assume the government, and reform their constitutional laws; that from what he had seen and heard of Cortes and his fol lowers, he was convinced that they were the very persons whose appearance the Mexican traditions and prophecies taught them to expect ; that accordingly he had received them not as strangers, but as relations of the same blood and parentage, and desired that they might consider themselves as masters in his dominions. Nothing could have been more grateful to the crafty Cortes, and he was not backward in improving this tradition ary acknowledgment to his advantage, and so framed his dis course as to strengthen the belief, which Montezuma had formed concerning the origin of the Spaniards. Several days were now employed in viewing the city ; the appearance of which, so far superior in the order of its buildings, arid the number of its inhabitants, to any place the Spaniards had beheld in America, and yet so little resembling tiie structure of an European city, filled them with sur prise and admiration. In a letter addressed to the emperor Charles V., in 1520., Cortes thus describes it : " The great city of 7V m uctitaa. (a corruption of the true name of Tonoctitlan) is situated in the midst of the salt water lake, which has its tides Jike the sea; and from the city to the continent there are two Jeagues, whichever way we wish to enter. Four dikes lead to the city : they are made by the hand of man, and are of the breadth of two lances. The city is as large as Seville or Cerdova. The streets, (I merely speak of the principal ones,) are very narrow and very long; some are half dry and half occupied by navigable canals, furnished with very well constructed wooden bridges, broad enough for ten men on horseback to pass at the same time. The market place, twice as large as that of Seville, is surround ed with an immense portico, under which are exposed for sale aH sorts of merchandise, eatables, ornaments made of gold, silver, lead, pewter, precious stones, bones, shells, and IN NORTH AMERICA. 563 feathers ; delf ware, leather, and spun cotton. We find hewn stone, tiles, and timber fit for building. There are lanes for game, others for roots and garden fruits ; there are houses where barbers shave the head, (with razors made of obsidian;) arid there are houses resembling our apothecary shops, where prepared medicines, unguents, and plasters are sold. The market abounds with so many things, that I am unable to name them all to your highness. To avoid confu sion, every species of merchandise is sold in a separate lane ; every thing is sold by the yard ; but nothing has hitherto been seen to be weighed in the market. In the midst of the great square is a house which I shall call 1 Audicucia, in which ten or twelve persons sit constantly for determining any disputes which may arise respecting the sale of goods. There are other persons who mix continually with the crowd, to see that a just price is asked. We have seen them break the false measures, which they had seized from the mer chants." The access to the city from the continent, was by three great dikes or causeways, formed of stones and earth, about thirty feet in breadth. That on the west extended a mile and a half; that on the north-west, three miles ; that on the south, six miles. On the east, there was no causeway, owing to the great depth of the lake in that direction, and the city could only be approached by canoes. In each of these causeways were openings at proper intervals, through Avhich the waters flowed, and over these were laid beams of timber covered with earth. The city was adorned with numerous temples, one of which, the TeacaUi, or great temple of Mcxitti, was par ticularly distinguished. This was a truncated pyramid, 120 feet high, and 318 square at its base, situated in the midst of a vast inclosure of walls, and consisting of five stories. When seen from a distance, it appeared an enormous cube, with small altars covered with wooden cupolas on the top. The point where these cupolas terminated, was 177 feet above the pavement of the inclosure. The material of which the pyramid was built, is supposed to have been clay, faced with a porous stone, resembling pumice stone, hard and smooth, but easily destructible. Humboldt considers this edifice as bearing a strong resemblance in form to the tem ple or tower of Babel, which was dedicated to Jupiter Be- " :,:.:; .. IN NORTH AMERICA. 565 lus. This temple was finished and dedicated in the year 1486, at which time, according to Torquemada, 72,324 human beings, who had been taken prisoners in war, were sacrificed. The public buildings and houses of the nobles were of stone ; those of the common people were partly constructed of wood, and partly of a spongy stone, light and easily broken. The population of the city at the time of the conquest by Cortes, is variously estimated from sixty thousand to a million and a half. The former is the estimate of Dr. Robertson. Montezuma II., who was the reigning monarch, at the time of the expedition of Cortes, and who held his court within the city, was esteemed a person of great bravery, but exceedingly fond of pomp and power. He was elected to the throne in 1502. The ceremony of his coronation was performed with greater pomp than had ever before been witnessed in Mexico. The altars streamed with the blood of human victims offered in his barbarous sacrifices. The pageantry of his royal household exceeded that of the prin ces of the east. Every morning six hundred feudatory lords and nobles were required to pay court to him. " They passed the whole day in the ante-chamber, where none of their servants were permitted to enter, conversing in a low voice, and waiting the order of their sovereign. The ser vants who accompanied these lords, were so numerous as to occupy three small courts of the palace, and many waited in the streets. The women about the court were not less in number, including those of rank, servants, and slaves. All this numerous female tribe lived shut up in a kind of se raglio, under the care of some noble matrons, who watched over their conduct, as these kings were extremely jealous, and every piece of misconduct which happened in the pal ace, however slight, was severely punished. Of these women, the king retained those who pleased him ; the others he gave away as a recompense for the services of his vassals. All the feudatories of the crown were obliged to reside for some months of the year at the court ; and at their return to their states, to leave their sons or brothers behind them as hostages, which the king demanded as a security for their fidelity ; on which account they were required to keep houses in Mexico 566 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES The forms and ceremonials introduced at court, were another effect of the despotism of Montezuma. No one could enter the palace, either to serve the king, or to confer with him on any business, without pulling off his shoes and stockings at the gate. No person was allowed to appear before the king in any pompous dress, as it was deemed a want of respect to majesty ; consequently the greatest lords, excepting the nearest relations of the king, stripped them selves of the rich dress which they wore, or at least covered it with one more ordinary, to show their humility before him. All persons on entering the hall of audience, and be fore speaking to the king, made three bows, saying at the first, " lord; " at the second, " my lord ; " and at the third, " great lord." They spoke low and with the head inclined, and received the answers which the king gave them, by means of his secretaries, as attentively and humbly, as if it had been the voice of an oracle. In taking leave, no person ever turned his back upon the throne. The audience hall served also for his dining room. The table was a large pillow, and his seat, a low chair. The tablecloth, napkins, and towels were of cotton, but very fine, white, and always perfectly clean. The kitchen uten sils were of the earthen ware of Cholula; but none of these things were served him more than once, as immediately af terwards he gave them to one of his nobles. The cups in which they prepared his chocolate and other drinks of the cocoa, were of gold, or some beautiful seashell, or naturally formed vessels curiously varnished. He had gold plate, but it was used only on certain festivals, in the temple. The number and variety of dishes at his table amazed the Spaniards, who saw them. The conqueror Cortes says, that they covered the floor of a great hall, and that there were dishes of every kind of game, fish, fruit, and herbs of that country. Three or four hundred noble youths carried this dinner in form, presented it as soon as the king sat down to table, and immediately retired ; and, that it might not grow cold, every dish was accompanied with its chafing-dish. The king marked, with a rod which he had in his hand, the meats which he chose, and the rest were distributed among the nobles, who were in the ante-chamber. Before he sat down, four of the most beautiful women of his seraglio pre- 568 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES sented water to him to wash his hands, and continued stand ing all the time of his dinner, together with six of his princi pal ministers, and his carver. As soon as the king sat down to tahle, the carver shut the door of the hall, that none of the other nobles might see him eat. The ministers stood at a distance, and kept a profound silence, unless when they made answer to what the king said. The carver and the four women served the dishes to him, besides two others, who brought him bread made of maize, baked with eggs. He frequently heard music during the time of his meal, and was entertained with the humorous sayings of some deformed men, whom he kept out of mere state. He showed much satisfaction in hearing them, and observed, that amongst their jests, they frequently pronounced some important truth. When dinner was over he took tobacco mixed with liquid amber, in a pipe or reed beautifully varnished, and with the smoke of it put himself to sleep. After having slept a little, upon the same low chair, he gave audience, and listened attentively to all that was com municated to him, and answered every one by his ministers or secretaries. After giving audience, he was entertained with music, being much delighted with hearing the glorious actions of his ancestors sung. At other times, he amused himself with seeing various games played. When he went abroad, he was carried on the shoulders of the nobles, in a litter covered with rich canopy, attended by a numerous retir nue of courtiers; and wherever he passed, every person stopped with their eyes shut, as if they feared to be dazzled with the splendor of majesty. . When he alighted from the litter, to walk on foot, they spread carpets, that he might not touch the earth with his feet. The grandeur and magnificence of his palaces, houses of pleasure, woods, and gardens, were correspondent to this majesty. The palace of his usual residence was a vast edi fice of stone and lime, which had twenty doors to the public squares and streets; three great courts, in one of which was a beautiful fountain ; several halls, and more than a hun dred chambers. Some of the apartments had walls of mar ble, and other valuable kinds of stone. The beams were of cedar, cypress, and other excellent woods, well finished and carved. Among the halls, there was one so large, that, ao IN NORTH AMERICA. 571 cording to the testimony of an eyewitness of veracity, it could contain three thousand people. Besides this palace, he had others, both within and without the capital. In Mexico, besides the seraglio for his wives, there was lodging for all his ministers and counsellors, and all the officers of his household and court ; and also accommodation for for eign lords, who arrived there, and particularly for the two allied kings. The great temple to which allusion has already been made, occupied the centre of the city, and was enclosed with a wall of a square form, between which and the temple, Cortes affirms, a town of five hundred houses might have been built. Numerous priests were attached to this temple. Their dress did not differ from that of the common people, except a black cotton mantle, which they wore in the man ner of a veil upon their heads. The monastic priests were clothed in black. They never shaved, but twisted their beards with thick cotton cords, and bedaubed them with ink. Among other services, which they performed, was that of effecting their sacrifices, which consisted chiefly of human victims. In general the victims suffered death by having their breasts opened ; but others were drowned in the lake, others died of hunger, shut up in the caverns of the moun tains, and some fell in the gladiatorial sacrifice. The usual place of offering was the temple, in the upper area of which stood the altar destined for ordinary sacrifices. The altar of the great temple of Mexico, was a green stone convex above, about three feet high, as many broad, and more than five feet long. A victim who was to be sacrificed, was ex tended upon the altar, four priests held his legs and arms, and another kept his head firm with a wooden instrument, made in form of a coiled serpent, which was put about his neck. The inhuman Topiltzin, or chief priest, then ap proached, and with a cutting knife, made of flint, dexter ously opened his breast, and tore out his heart, which, while yet palpitating, he offered to the sun, and afterwards threw it at the feet of the particular idol to which the sacrifice was made. If the victim was a prisoner of war, the officer or soldier to whom the prisoner belonged, carried the body to his house, to be boiled and dressed, as an entertainment to 572 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES his friends. If the victim was a slave purchased for sacri fice, the proprietor carried off the body from the altar for the same purpose. The most celebrated sacrifice among the Mexicans was that called by the Spaniards the gladiatorial. Only prison ers who were renowned for their bravery were permitted to die by it. The prisoner was placed on a large round stone, in figure like a millstone. He was armed with a shield and a short sword, and tied by one foot. A Mexican officer or soldier, better accoutred in arms, mounted to combat with him. Usually a dreadful contest succeeded. If the prisoner was vanquished, he was carried, dead or alive, to the altar of the common sacrifices, where his heart was taken out, while the victor was applauded by the assembly, and rewarded by the king with some military honor. If the prisoner succeed ed in conquering six different combatants, he was granted his life, set at liberty, and returned with glory to his native country. The number of human victims which were annually sacri ficed on the altars of Mexico, and in different places of the empire, is said to have amounted to 20,000. Some writers affirm that this number were sacrificed in the capital alone. For many years the most bloody wars, the most inhuman sacrifices and cannibal feasts, had disgraced the city and em pire, and had long cried to Heaven for its avenging justice upon the authors of these most awful crimes. In Cortes we seem to see the unconscious minister of the Divine wrath upon the guilty Montezuma, his officers and priests. Not that Cortes can be justified in the violent methods to which he resorted ; he obviously had no intention of fulfilling the Divine will, and become the minisiter of Heaven s ven geance; but however guilty he may have been, we cannot fail to see that the retributions of the infinite God were just upon a king and people who were laden with such guilt. Cortes and his companions, according to the Abbe Clavi- gero, discovered among the Mexicans various games and feats, which were practised by way of amusement, and at the same time to give agility to their limbs, and accustom them to the fatigues of war. We shall notice but two which are thus de scribed by the above historian. " The exhibition of the fliers, which was made on great MEXICAN FEATS OF ACTIVITY-THE FLYERS. MEXICAN FEATS. IN NORTH AMERICA. 575 festivals, and particularly in secular years, was, though of less public benefit, more celebrated than all others. They sought in the woods for an extremely lofty tree, which, af ter stripping it of its branches and bark, they brought to the city and placed in the centre of some large square. They cased the front of the tree in a wooden cylinder, which, on account of some resemblance in its shape, the Spaniards called a mortar. From this cylinder hung some strong ropes which served to support a square frame. In the space be tween the cylinder and the frame, they fixed four other thick ropes, which they twisted as many times round the tree as there were revolutions to be made by the fliers. These ropes were drawn through four holes, made in the middle of the four planks of which the frame consisted. The four principal fliers, disguised like eagles, herons, and other birds, mounted the tree with great agility, by means of a rope which was laced about it from the ground up to the frame ; from the frame they mounted one at a time succes sively upon the cylinder, and having danced there a little, they tied themselves round with the ends of the ropes, which were drawn through the holes of the frame, and launch ing with a spring from it, began their flight with their wings expanded. The action of their bodies put the frame and cylinder in motion ; the frame, by its revolutions, gradually untwisted the cords by which the fliers swung ; so that as the ropes lengthened, they made so much the greater circles in their flight. Whilst these four were flying, a fifth danced upon the cylinder, beating a little drum, or waving a flag, without the smallest apprehension of the danger he was in of being precipitated from such a height. The others who were upon the frame, (there having been ten or twelve per sons generally who mounted,) as soon as they saw the fliers in their last revolution, precipitated themselves, in order to reach the ground at the same time, amid the acclamations of the populace. Those who precipitated themselves in this manner by the ropes, that they might make a still greater display of their agility, frequently passed from one rope to another, at that part where, on account of the little dis tance there was between them, it was possible for them to do so. The exercises also which, in some countries, are called the powers of Hercules, were extremely common among 576 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES them. One man began to dance; another, placed upright on his shoulders, accompanied him in his movements ; while a third, standing upright on the head of the second, danced and displayed other instances of agility. They placed also a beam upon the shoulders of two dancers, while a third danced upon the end of it. The first Spaniards, who were witnesses of these and other exhibitions of the Mexicans, were so much astonished at their agility, that they suspected some supernatural power assisted them, forgetting to make a due allowance for the progress of human genius, and assist ed by application and labor. Although Montezuma had in effect surrendered the city, and also his dominions, into the hands of Cortes, as has al ready been noticed, the latter began to feel that his situa tion was perilous. A single turn of circumstances might expose both himself and his followers to ruin. His only means of securing the advantage, which he had obtained, seemed to lie in obtaining possession of the person of Montezuma. This measure, however, startled the more timid of his followers; but their objections were soon over ruled by the more pressing considerations of necessity. A pretext for this act of hostility soon presented itself. Mes sengers arrived from Vera Cruz, where Cortes had left a small garrison, informing Cortes, that Qualpopoca, one of Montezuma s generals, had attacked it, and had mortally wounded the commander of the garrison with seven of his men. On receiving this intelligence, mortifying and alarming to Cortes, the latter, accompanied by several of his officers, sought an interview with Montezuma. Thirty chosen men followed, not in regular order, but sauntering at some dis tance, as if they had no object but curiosity. The remain der of his troops were ordered under arms, ready to sally out on the first alarm. On being admitted to the presence of Montezuma, the Mexican attendants retiring as usual, Cor tes informed the monarch of the assault upon the garrison, and demanded an explanation. Montezuma asserted his own innocence, and as a proof of it gave orders instantly to bring Qualpopoca and his accomplices, prisoners to Mexi co. Cortes replied that it would be more convincing proof of the monarch s innocence, if he would remove from his pal ace, and take up his residence for a time in the Spanish IN NORTH AMERICA. 577 quarters. To this strange proposal, Montezuma at first, through indignation, could hardly reply, but at length he haughtily answered, " That persons of his rank were not ac customed voluntarily to give up themselves as prisoners; and were he mean enough to do so, his subjects would not permit such an affront to be offered to their sovereign ! " Cortes, unwilling to employ force, endeavored alternately to soothe and to intimidate him. The altercation became warm, and having continued above three hours, Velasquiz de Leon, an impetuous and gallant young man, exclaimed with impatience, " Why waste more time in vain ? Let us either seize him instantly, or stab him to the heart." The threatening voice and fierce gestures, with which these words were uttered, struck Montezuma. The Spaniards, he was sensible had now proceeded so far, as left him no hope that they would recede. His own danger was imminent, the neces sity unavoidable. He saw both, and abandoning himself to his fate, complied with their request. His officers were called. He communicated to them his resolution. Though astonished and afflicted, they presumed not to question the will of their master, but carried him in silent pomp, all bathed in tears, to the Spanish quarters. When it was known that the strangers were conveying away the emperor, the people broke out with the wildest transports of grief and rage, threatening the Spaniards with immediate destruction, as the punishment justly due to their impious audacity. But as soon as Montezuma appeared, with a seem ing gayety of countenance, and waved his hand, the tumult was hushed ; and upon his declaring it to be of his own choice, that he went to reside for some time among his new friends, the multitude, taught to revere every intimation of their sove reign s pleasure, quietly dispersed. Thus was a powerful prince seized by a few strangers in the midst of his capital, at noonday, and carried off as a prisoner, without opposition, or bloodshed. History con tains nothing parallel to this event, either with respect to the temerity of the attempt, or the success of the execu tion. Montezuma was received in the Spanish quarters with all the ceremonious respect which Cortes had promised. He was attended by his own .domestics, and served with his usual state. His principal officers had free access to him, and h^ carried on every function of government, as if he 37 578 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES had been at perfect liberty. The Spaniards, however, watched him with the scrupulous vigilance, which was natural in guarding so important a prize, endeavoring at the same time to soothe and reconcile him to his situation, by every external demonstration as regards attachment. But from captive princes the hour of humiliation and suffering is never far distant. Qualpopoca, his son, and five of the prin cipal officers who served under him, were brought prisoners to the capital, in consequence of the orders which Montezu- ma had issued. The emperor gave them up to Cortes, that he might inquire into the nature of their crimes, and deter mine their punishment. They were formally tried by a Span ish court-martial; and, though they had acted no other part than what became loyal subjects and brave men, in obeying the orders of their lawful sovereign, and in opposing the in vaders of their country, they were condemned to be burnt alive. The execution of such atrocious deeds is seldom long suspended. The unhappy victims were instantly led forth. The pile on which they were laid, was composed of the weapons collected in the royal magazine for the public defence. Just before Qualpopoca was led out to suffer, Cortes entered the apartment of Montczuma, followed by some of his officers, and a soldier carrying a pair of fetters ; and ap proaching the monarch with a stern countenance, told him, that as the persons who were now to undergo the punish ment which they merited, had charged him as the cause of the outrage committed, it was necessary that he likewise should make atonement for that guilt ; then turning away abruptly, without waiting for a reply, commanded the sol diers to clap the fetters on his legs. The orders were in stantly executed. The disconsolate monarch, trained up with an idea that his person was sacred and inviolable, and considering this profanation of it as the prelude of immediate death, broke out into loud lamentations and complaints. His attendants, speechless with horror, fell at his feet, bathing them with tears ; and bearing up the fetters in their hands, endeavored with officious tenderness to lighten their pressure. Nor did their grief and despondency abate, until Cortes returned from the execution, and, with a cheerful countenance ordered the fetters to be taken off. As Mon- tezuma s spirits had sunk with unmanly dejection, they now MONTEZUMA CHAINED BY ORDER OF CORTEZ. RETREAT OF CORTEZ. 580 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES rose into indecent joy ; and with an unbecoming transition, he passed at once from the anguish of despair to transports of gratitude and expressions of fondness towards his de liverer. The spirit of Montezuma was now not only overawed, but subdued. During six months that Cortes remained in Mex ico, the monarch continued in the Spanish quarters, with an appearance of satisfaction and even tranquillity. His min isters and officers attended him as usual. The affairs of the government were conducted in his name. But Cortes was the real ruler of the empire, and he took every precaution to strengthen and fortify his power. One thing, however, was wanting to complete his security. He wished to have such a command of the lake, as might insure a retreat, should the Mexicans suddenly arm themselves against him, and break down the bridges or causeways, in order to enclose him in the city. In order to obtain this, without giving disgust to the em peror or his court, Cortes artfully influenced the curiosity of the Indians with accounts of the Spanish shipping, and those floating palaces that moved with such velocity on the water, without the assistance of oars; and when he found that the monarch himself was extremely desirous of seeing such a novelty, he gave him to understand, that nothing was wanting to his gratification besides a few necessaries from Vera Cruz, for that he had workmen in his army capable of building such vessels. The bait took with Montezuma ; and he gave immediate orders that all his people should re sist Cortes in whatever he should direct concerning the shipping. By this means, in a few days, two brigantines were got ready, full rigged and equipped ; and Montezuma was invited on board, to make the first trial of their sailing, of which he could form no idea. Accordingly he embarked for this purpose, and gave orders for a great hunting upon the water, in order that all his people might be diverted with the novelty presented by the Spaniards. On the day ap pointed, the royal equipage was ready early in the morning; and the lake was covered with a multitude of boats and ca noes loaded with people. The Mexicans had augmented the number of their rowers on board the royal barges, with an intention to disgrace the Spanish vessels, which they re garded as clumsy, unwieldy, and heavy. But they were soon undeceived ; a fresh gale starting up, the brigantines hoisted IN NORTH AMERICA. 581 sail, to the utter astonishment of all the spectators, and soon left all the canoes behind ; while the monarch exulted in the victory of the Spaniards, without once considering that now he had effectually riveted his own chains.* Cortes having obtained this important point, next insisted that Montezuma should acknowledge himself a vassal to the crown of Castile. With this requisition, humiliating as it was, Montezuma complied. But when Cortes attempt ed to alter the religion of the monarch, and his people, and began to throw down the idols in the great temple, the priests took up arms, and the whole city, at their instigation, rose in defence of their gods. In order to appease the tu mult, Cortes was obliged to desist from the attempt, and soon after was informed by the emperor that his gods demanded that he and his followers should instantly depart from the empire. Several other circumstances united to render the situation of Cortes critical and dangerous, and it was judged advisa ble both by himself and his officers, to retire from the city. This he now did, leaving a hundred and fifty men as a gar rison to guard the capital, and the captive emperor. Soon after the departure of Cortes, Alvarado, the commander of the Spanish garrison, attacked the inhabitants, during one of their solemn festivals, in the very court of their great temple, and massacred great numbers. This atrocious outrage raised the whole population against them their two brigantines were seized and destroyed their magazine of provisions was reduced to ashes, and several of the Span ish soldiers were killed and wounded. Messengers were immediately despatched to Cortes, who, at the head of his Spaniards and an auxiliary force of two thousand Flasca- laus, returned to the capital. The haughty conduct of Cor tes on his return, so exasperated the Mexicans, that they re newed the assault on the Spaniards with undaunted courage and implacable ferocity. At every discharge of the Span ish artillery, multitudes of the Mexicans fell ; but at length Cortes was obliged to retreat, and, moreover, was himself wounded in the hand. On renewing the assault the next morning, the Mexicans were grieved and astonished to behold their captive sovereign advancing towards them, and to hear him exhorting them to cease from hostilities. A sullen murmur of disapproba- 582 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES tion succeeded to his discourse, which at length broke out into the most furious rage : flights of arrows and volleys of stones were poured on the ramparts ; and before the Spanish soldiers appointed to guard Montezurna had time to cover him with their shields, he was wounded with two arrows, and a stone which struck him on the temple brought him to the ground. On seeing their monarch fall, tne Mexicans, horror struck, fled with precipitation. Montezuma, scorning to survive this last humiliation, tore from his wounds the bandages which the Spaniards had applied to them, and with Indian constancy refused all nourishment, till death speedily terminated his sufferings. The death of their captive rendered a retreat on the part of the Spaniards, a measure indispensable. From this time, for the following six months, the tide of fortune appeared to turn against Cortes. His retreat was rendered painful and hazardous by the exasperated Mexicans, who in every possible manner annoyed him, and on several oc casions nearly succeeded in the utter destruction of him self and followers. In December, however, his prospects brightened. Accessions had been made to his numbers, so that he still mustered 550 infantry, of whom four score were armed with muskets or crossbows, 40 horsemen, and nine fieldpieces. At the head of these, together with 10,000 Indians, he once more took up his march towards Mexico. On the death of Montezuma, the Mexicans had raised his brother Quetlavaca to the throne, under whose direction those spirited measures were adopted, which had issued in the expulsion of the Spaniards. Under his direction, the capital and kingdom were put in a state of defence; but in the midst of his sagacious arrangements, Quetlavaca was cut off by the smallpox. In his stead, the Mexicans elected Gnati- mozin, (Quauhtemotzin,) his nephew, and the son-in-law of Montezuma, who, by his bravery, sufficiently justified their choice. On entering the Mexican territories, Cortes proceeded to Tezcuco, the second city in the empire, situated on the banks of the lake, about twenty miles from Tenochtitlan. Here he established his head quarters, and proceeded to attack successively several of the towns situated round the SANDOVAL. 584 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES lake, compelling them to submit to the Spanish crown, or reducing them to ruins. In the mean while, several brig- antines were preparing with the ultimate design of making an attack upon the capital itself. Siege at length was laid to the place, and on the third of July a general assault was made with a view to take the city by storm. In this day s action, however, Cortes was out-manoeuvred by the Mexicans, and the rout of the Spaniards was complete. While en deavoring to save his men, Cortes himself was laid hold of by some of the Mexicans, who were hurrying him off in tri umph, when two of his officers rescued him at the expense of their own lives ; but he received several dangerous wounds, before he could break loose. The situation of Cortes was, for a time, dispiriting ; but, at length, for reasons not all explained, Indians to the number of many thousands flocked to his standard, and signally increased his force. In the mean while, the stores which Guatimozin had laid up, were exhausted by the mul titudes, who had crowded into the capital to defend their sovereign, and the temples of their gods ; and the brigan- tines rendered it almost impossible to convey to the be sieged any supply. Infected distempers now attacked the crowded and famished population, and rilled up the meas ure of their sufferings. Yet still, the haughty spirit of the Mexican monarch rejected with scorn every overture of peace ; and every inch of ground was disputed with the in vaders, till three-fourths of the city had been laid in ruins. Not before then, was Guatimozin persuaded to attempt his escape. To facilitate this measure, they endeavored to amuse Cortes with overtures of submission ; but Sandoval had orders to watch every movement of the enemy. Ob serving some large canoes rowing across the lake with ex traordinary rapidity, he instantly gave the signal to chase, and the swift sailing brigantine soon overtook them, and was preparing to fire, when at once the rowers dropped their oars, while all on board, with loud cries, conjured him to forbear, as the emperor was there. The Spaniards eagerly seized their prize, who preserved a dignified composure, and, when con ducted to Cortes, manifested in his deportment, neither the sullen fierceness of a barbarian, nor the dejection of the sup pliant. The historians have put into his mouth on this oc casion, a speech breathing the Roman heroism : " I have IN NORTH AMERICA. 585 done what became a monarch. I have defended my people to the last extremity. Nothing now remains but to die. Take this dagger, (laying his hand on one which Cortes wore,) plant it in my breast, and put an end to a life, which can no longer be of use." As soon as the fate of their monarch was known, the resistance of the Mexicans ceased, and on the thirtieth of August, after a siege of seventy-five days, Cortes took possession of what remained of Tenochtitlan. But little booty was found amid the ruins of the city. Under a sus picion that Guatimozin had large treasures concealed, Cortes subjected the captive monarch and his chief favor ite to torture for the purpose of forcing from them a dis closure. Overcome by the agony, the minister is said to have besought his master for permission to reveal the se cret. Guatimozin sternly replied : " Am I reposing on abed of flowers ? " And by this reproach, the favorite in silence expired. Guatimozin was released from the torture, but soon after, on a pretended charge of having secretly conspired to excite a revolt, he was hung upon a tree, and, according to Humboldt, was hung by his feet to lengthen out his torments. Cortes took immediate measures to rebuild the capital, on a magnificent plan, and by the year 1524, such was the con course of native assistants employed by him, that the new city numbered 30,000 inhabitants. Having completed our account of the ancient Mexico, with such historical incidents relating to it as are most in teresting, we shall proceed to introduce our fellow travellers to the modern Mexico. Tenochtitlan was built, as has already been mentioned, on a group of islands, in the midst of a lake. The present city occupies nearly the same place with the ancient ; yet, owing to the diminution of the lake Tezcuco, its centre is nearly 15,000 feet distant from that lake. The surround ing lakes appear to have been on the decrease, long before the arrival of the Spaniards; but since that period the waters have dried up more rapidly, owing to several causes, but chiefly to a deep cut or drain, by which the waters which for merly flowed into the lake Tezcuco have been directed to another course. INTERIOR OF A MEXICAN HOUSE. IN NORTH AMERICA. 587 MEXICO. " Mexico," says Humboldt, " is undoubtedly one of the finest cities ever built by Europeans in either hemisphere. With the exception of Petersburg, Berlin, Philadelphia, and some quarters of Westminster, there does not exist a city of the same extent, which can be compared with the capital of New Spain, for the uniform level of the ground on which it stands, for the regularity and breadth of the streets, and the extent of the public places. The architec ture is generally of a very pure style ; and there are even edifices of very beautiful structure. The exterior of the houses is not loaded with ornament. Two sorts of hewn stone are used, which give to the Mexican buildings an air of solidity, and sometimes of magnificence. There are none of those wooden balconies and galleries to be seen, which disfigure so much all the European cities in both the Indies. The ballustrades and gates are all of Biscay iron, ornament- ed with bronze; and the houses, instead of roofs, have ter races, like those in Italy, and other southern countries However, it must be agreed, that it is much less from the grandeur and beauty of the public buildings, than from the breadth and straightness of its streets, and from its uniform regularity, its extent, and its position, that the capital at tracts the admiration of Europeans." Many of the streets, Mr. Bullock states, are nearly two miles in length, perfectly level and straight, and with the ends terminating in a view of the mountains that surround the valley. The houses are, in general, of a uniform height, most of them having three stories, each from fifteen to twenty feet high. The fronts of most of the houses, like those of Puebla, are painted in distemper, white, crimson, brown, or light green ; and, owing to the dryness of the atmosphere, they retain their beauty unimpaired many years. Some have inscriptions upon them taken from scripture, or stanzas ad dressed to the Virgin. Numbers of houses are entirely covered with glazed porcelain, in a variety of elegant designs and patterns, often with subjects from sacred history, giving the whole a rich and mosaic-like appearance. The walls of the great staircases are frequently covered in the same man ner, and mixed with a profusion of gilding, which, in con trast with the blue and white porcelain, has really a splendid effect. The walls of several of the churches are finished in the same mariner. The Plaza Major, or grand* square, is one of the first that 588 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES is to be seen in any metropolis. The east side is occupied by the cathedral ; the north, by the splendid palace of the viceroy ; the south, by a fine row of houses, in the centre of which is the palace of the Marquess de Valle, (Cortes,) now called the Casa del Estado ; and the west has a range of buildings, with a piazza in front, consisting of many good shops, public offices, granaries, &c. About the centre of the square is a colossal equestrian statue of Charles IV., on a pedestal of Mexican marble ; said to be the finest specimen of casting in the new world. The Cathedral, which stands on the ruins of the great teocalli, or temple of the god Mexitli, is a somewhat hetero geneous edifice. The front is very singular. One part of it is low, and of bad Gothic architecture ; the other part, which is of recent construction, is in the Italian style, and has much symmetry and beauty. Its two handsome towers* are ornamented with pilasters and statues. " The interior is imposing, larger, loftier, and more magnificent than the cathedral of Puebla. The distribution is the same, but the great altar not quite so rich. The dome is bold, and is painted with great taste. The sanctuaries contain some tol erable paintings, and are neatly ornamented. On the whole, this church would do credit to any city in Europe." It is about 500 feet in length. " On entering," says Mr. Bullock, " I felt something like disappointment, notwithstanding the extent and magnificence of the interior. The centre is nearly filled by the ponderous erections, which entirely ob struct its otherwise fine appearance, and the high altar is, as well as that in the cathedral of Puebla, too large for the place it occupies. Like most of the churches in this country, it is loaded with a profusion of massive carved and gilt orna ments, pictures, and painted statues. Many of the smaller paintings appeared to be of value, and works of the old Spanish and Italian masters ; but they are so placed, and in such an obscure light, that it is not possible to judge de cisively of their merit. There are in the apartments ad joining the cathedral, allegorical and sacred subjects, pic tures of a prodigious size, and of considerable skill in their composition and design, though few of them are executed by masters held in estimation in Europe.* " The high altar and its appendages are enclosed by a * Notes cm Mexico. GROUP ON THE STONE OF SACRIFICES. 590 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES massive railing, of great extent, of cast metal, said to have been founded in China, from models sent from Mexico. The figures which ornament it are very numerous, but of poor execution and design. The metal, resembling brass, is said to be of such value, on account of the gold it contains, that a silversmith of Mexico is said to have made an offer to the bishop to construct a new rail of solid silver, of the same weight, in exchange for it. " Divine service is celebrated here with great magnifi cence. Mass is regularly said every half hour, from daylight till one o clock, exclusive of the high mass, and other occa sional masses. In no place are religious ceremonies ob served with greater pomp, or splendor. The procession which I saw from this cathedral, far exceeded, in order and regularity, in the grandeur of the vestments, in the costliness and value of the sacred ornaments, and in gold and silver, any thing I ever witnessed. The processions of Rome, or any other city of Europe, suffer much in the comparison." Within the enclosure of the cathedral, (which is of stone pillars and chains,) and sunk in the earth, so that the surface alone is visible, is the remarkable stone called the Stone of Sacrifices. It was found, together with a great number of idols, and other remains of Aztec sculpture, in December, 1790, in digging twenty or thirty feet deep, in order to level the great square. It is of porphyry, about nine feet broad, or twenty-five* in circumference, of a cylindrical form. In the centre is a head in relief, surrounded by twenty groups of two figures each, all represented in the same attitude ; and one of the figures is always the same, a warrior with his right hand resting on the helmet of a man, who is offering him flowers in token of submission. The other figure, sup posed to be a vanquished warrior, wears the dress of the na tion to which he belongs, and behind him is a hieroglyphic, denoting the conquered province. In the upper surface of the stone, there is a groove of some depth, which is thought to have been designed to let the blood of the victims run off. The Palace, or Government house, is described by Mr. Bullock as a truly magnificent building. " It is nearly square; its front measuring several hundred feet. In its in terior are four large square courts, round which most of the public offices are distributed, together with the prison, the mint, the barracks, and the botanic garden." The mint. IN NORTH AMERICA. 591 " the largest and richest in the whole world," and the house of separation of the gold and silver, of the ingots and aurif erous silver, are among the chief objects of interest to a stranger. The works of the mint consist often sets of roll ers, moved by sixty mules, to press out the bars to the re quired size : fifty-two circular cutters ; nine adjusting ta bles : twenty milling-machines and stamping-presses ; and five mills for amalgamating the filings and sweepings. Each stamping-press is said to be capable of coining upwards of 15,000 dollars in ten hours, so that they are able to manu facture daily from 14 to 15,000 marcs of silver. The silver produced in all the mines of Europe together would not suf fice, Humboldt states, to employ the mint of Mexico more than fifteen days. The operations, however, are performed in a very awkward manner, and the machinery is very imper fect. " At present (1823) about 200 workmen are employ ed; but when the mines were in full operation, 400 men were engaged, and 80,000 dollars per diem were coined here, independently of what was done by the other mints."* Humboldt has given a table of the annual coinage from 1690 to 1803 inclusive, from which it appears, that the total amount of gold and silver which passed through the mint of Mexico, within that period, (114 years,) was 1,353,452,020 piastres, equal to ,284,224,924 sterling. Another table, furnished by the author of " Notes on Mexico," giving an account of the coinage of gold, and silver, and copper, from 1802 to 1821 inclusive, presents a total of 303,319,928 dollars. The Botanical Garden, which occupies one of the courts of the Viceroy s palace is very small, but it is extremely rich in rare and interesting productions. " Though situ ated," says Mr. Bullock, " in the centre of a large and pop ulous city, every vegetable production seems in perfect health and vigor. It affords to the stranger a most delightful re treat from the midday sun ; to the botanist, or admirer of the works of nature, a treat not to be met with elsewhere in New Spain, or perhaps in the world. It is handsomely laid out in the Spanish fashion, with flagged walks, bordered with elegant large pots of flowers. The walks are rendered cool by the creeping plants that are trained over them. They * Humboldt. 592 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES diverge from a large stone basin in the centre, constantly supplied by a fountain with water, which, in small rivulets, spreads itself over every part of this little paradise, imparting freshness and life to thousands of elegant plants and flowers, unknown to the eye of the European, but which here, in a climate of eternal spring, in the open air, bloom and send forth their fragrance without the assistance of man, and pro duce a very different appearance from the dwarfish, sickly exotics of our hothouses, which, with every possible care and attention, with difficulty linger a few years, without repro ducing their species. Apples, pears, peaches, quinces, and other European fruits flourish here, in company with bananas, avocatas, and the most delicious sapotas I ever tasted. The celebrated hand-tree, which has excited so much attention among botanists, is in great perfection here." To describe all the public buildings in Mexico, would re quire a separate publication. An American gentleman counted one hundred and five cupolas, spires and domes, within the limits of the city; and there are said to be fifty- six churches, besides the cathedral.* " The convents are thirty-eight in number ; twenty-three of monks, and fifteen of nuns. The Franciscan convent is an immense establish ment, with an annual income of o21,000, arising principally from alms. Its church is a fine one, and, as well as the nu merous apartments, courts, and cloisters, of the monastery, which form a perfect labyrinth, is covered with large paint ings, describing the miracles and life of the saint. The church of San Domingo, which is attached to the Dominican monastery, is splendidly ornamented. The capitals of the columns and the sanctuaries in the interior are richly gilded, and the whole has an aspect of magnificence. The convent is of great extent, and contains a numerous collection of pictures and statues. In the paved yard, or court, in front of the church, we were shown a large flat stone, with a square hole in its centre, in which, my informant told me, was fixed the stake to which the victims of the Inquisition were formerly fastened, previously to their being burnt. The tribunal was, till its abolition by the ex-emperor, in 1S20, under the jurisdiction of the Dominicans." * Notes on Mexico. IN NORTH AMERICA. 593 " The Palace of the Inquisition is on the opposite side of the street, and near the place of execution. In this house, persons accused of ecclesiastical crimes, were confined. I had been told, previously to my arrival in Mexico, of its hor rible subterraneous cells, in which the wretched captives were imprisoned ; but this must evidently have been an ex aggeration, as no subterranean places ever existed in the city of Mexico, nor ever can exist, as whenever the ground is ex cavated, even for a few feet, water instantly springs up. In the great square, while I was digging for the purpose of taking a cast of the sacrificial stone, at only three feet, we were obliged to employ persons constantly to lade out the water. This palace is very elegant, and exhibits little or no appearance of the purposes for which it was intended. It was occupied as a polytechnical school at the time I was in the city, but was then on sale. " In front of the churches, and in the neighborhood of them," adds this traveller, " we saw an unusual number of beggars ; and they openly exposed their disgusting sores and deformities, to excite our compassion. No city in Italy con tains so many miserable beggars, and no town in the world so many blind. This is, I think, to be attributed to constant exposure, want, and the excessive use of ardent spirits. Many are blind from the effects of the smallpox, which be fore the introduction of vaccination, raged frequently in this country, and was a fatal disease. The Hospital of Jesus, or de Los Naturales, founded by Cortes, deserves to rank among the most interesting objects in the capital. It is for the maintenance of children and old people, and now unites two separate foundations. " This establishment," says Humboldt, " in which both order and cleanliness may be seen, but little industry, has a revenue of 250,000 francs (.=10,470 sterling.) In one of the rooms are several family portraits, among which, one of the great cap tain himself. Here, too, is shown " the identical embroid ered standard under which he wrested the empire from the unfortunate Montezuma ;" also a massive mahogany table which belonged to Cortes. In the chapel, a strong iron-bound chest is exhibited, containing the bones of the conqueror of New Spain. Mr. Bullock was allowed to inspect them, and 38 594 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES he attentively examined, he says, the cranium ; but all he was enabled to infer from it, was, that the person of Cortes must have been small. Mr. Bullock gives a deplorable account of the present state of the arts in Mexico. " Not one landscape or archi tectural painter," he says, " remains in this great city ; and the only few artists are those who copy religious subjects for the churches, and some who attempt portraits, but they are de plorably bad. The principal employment for the pencil seems to be in the decorations of coach bodies, and the heads of wooden bedsteads ; and in the metropolis, a few pictures of the Infant Saviour, the Virgin, Magdalen, St. Joseph, St. Anthony, or St. Cuthbert, are the only produc tions of modern painters which are to be met with. Of the myriads of pictures with which the churches, convents, cloisters, &/c. &/c. are crowded, I saw few worth the expense of removing. The churches and cathedrals may, amongst the great numbers with which they are encumbered, have some good ones, and I am inclined to think they have; but the quantity of light admitted into these superb temples is too little, even in the brightest day, to render it practicable to discover their merits. They are lost to the world in the sacred gloom that pervades the place. The public, too, are prevented from a near approach by clumsy railings ; but from what information I was able to obtain by peeping through, it appeared to me that some of the finest produc tions of the Italian and Spanish schools may be here buried in oblivion.* We must not omit to notice the University and the public library, although both the edifice and the collection are pro nounced by Humboldt to be unworthy of so great and an cient an establishment. The university was founded in 1551. The building is very spacious, and the institution is said to be well endowed : there have been as many as 200 students at one time, but there were in 1832 very few. Besides the university, there are inferior and several large schools under the direction of the regular dergy. " Most of the people in the cities," says the American Traveller, " can read and write. I would not be understood as including the Icpcros ; but I have frequently remarked men clothed in the garb of extreme poverty, reading the IN NORTH AMERICA. 595 gazettes in the street. Of these there are three published every other day in the week, which are sold for twelve and a half cents apiece ; and pamphlets and loose sheets are hawked about at a reasonable rate. There are several book sellers shops, which are but scantily supplied with books. The booksellers have hitherto labored under all the disadvan tages of the prohibitory system of the Roman Catholic church, but are now endeavoring to furnish themselves with the best modern works. The few books to be found in the shops are extravagantly dear. There are several valuable private libraries ; and many Creole gentlemen, who have visited Europe, have a taste both for literature and the fine arts. This is certainly more rare among those who have never been out of their own country. The means of educa tion are more limited under the colonial system, and liberal studies were discouraged. The Latin language, law, theol ogy, and philosophy, were taught in the colleges, and only so much of the latter as the clergy thought might be taught with safety. To give some idea of the influence of this class in the city of Mexico, I will merely observe, that there are five hundred and fifty secular, and sixteen hundred and forty- six regular clergy. Humboldt says, that, in the twenty-three convents of monks in the capital, there are twelve hundred individuals, of whom five hundred and eighty are priests and choristers ; and, in the fifteen convents of nuns, there are two thousand one hundred individuals, of whom about nine hundred are professed nuns." The children of the nobility and wealthy inhabitants are principally taught at home. The places of public instruc tion in the greatest repute, are the Seminario and San Ilde- fonza. Lancasterian schools were established in the capital by the emperor ; and his ex-majesty assured Mr. Bullock, that it was his intention to extend them throughout the provinces. " There are now, ".says this traveller, " three or four daily papers (1823 ;) but they contain very little infor mation ; they are only just beginning to insert advertise ments gratis, in the same manner as they were in England at the commencement of our newspapers." The Almeda, or public promenade, situated on the north side of the city, did not appear to this traveller worthy of the other establishments. It is laid out in paved walks, di verging from different centres, with fountains and statues " in IN NORTH AMERICA. 597 very bad taste and worse execution." The roads are wide enough to admit the passage of carriages, and it is much frequented on Sundays and festivals. There is a fountain in the centre supplied with water from the great aqueduct lead ing from Sante Fe to the city. The water is carried along in trenches, so as to water the plants and trees, and is then discharged into the lake. This aqueduct, which passes close by the Ahneda, is 33,464 feet in length. It is sup ported on arches of brick and stone, plastered over. The springs of Santa Fe, are near the chain of mountains that separate the valley of Mexico from the Lerma and Toluca. Another aqueduct, 10,826 feet in length, conducts the water of Chapoltepec to the city. The arches of this aqueduct, 904 in number, are nine feet six inches apart ; the columns are four feet thick, and the width is about six feet six inches. The column of water is two feet three inches wide, and two feet deep. There is another drive or ride called the Paseo Nuevo, a broad road, raised about three feet above the meadow land that surrounds the city, and planted on both sides with a species of willow, " a tall, stiff, conical tree, resembling the Lombardy poplar." It is about two miles long, and ter minates suddenly near a bridge and gate, through which passes the canal of Chalco. The American writer describes it as he saw it, crowded with carriages ; " some whirling rapidly along, and others drawn up round the open circle in the middle of the road, where ladies amuse themselves for hours, examining the equipages that roll by, arid nodding, smiling, and shaking their fans, at their acquaintances as they pass. This constitutes the afternoon s amusement of the wealthy. The bodies of their coaches are large, but of very good form, and well painted; a little too fine, as will be thought, when I add, that Guido s Aurora frequently adorns the middle pannel. The carriage is very clumsy ; from the axle of the fore, to that of the hind wheel, the dis tance is not less than twelve feet ; and there is moreover, a projection of two or three feet before and behind, on which are fastened the leathers that suspend the coach. They are very easy vehicles to ride in." Humboldt represents the city of Mexico as distinguished for its excellent police. " The streets, for the most part, 698 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES GUANAJUATO. have very broad pavements ; and they are clean and well lighted. These advantages are the fruits of the activity of the Count de Revillagigedo, who found the capital extremely dirty." If in this respect, however, the police is good, in our usual sense of the term it is far otherwise. " The por ter of our house," says the American citizen, " seeing me go out in the evening, when I first arrived, without being armed, remonstrated on what he was pleased to call my rashness ; and on inquiry I found that it was deemed imprudent to do so. I was told that robberies and assassinations were frequent, and that not fewer than 1200 assassinations had been com mitted since the entrance of the revolutionary army into the capital. On looking over the journals of the first junta, I perceive that these disorders were a frequent subject of de bate, and were attributed to the soldiery. I could not learn that any of them had been detected and punished. The city, notwithstanding, is lighted, and guarded by watchmen ; the lamps are furnished with reverberators, and many of the streets are better lighted than those of New York or Phil adelphia." The population of the capital, in 1802, was estimated by Humboldt at 137,000 souls; of whom 2,500 were Euro peans; 05,000 Creoles ; 26,500 mestizoes, (many of them almost as white as the preceding classes ;) 10,000 mulattoes; and 33,000 copper-colored natives. Of this number, nearly 3,000 were clergy, monks, and nuns. A subsequent census made the population amount to 160,000 souls. GUANAXUATO. This city is situated 140 miles north-west of Mexico. It was founded by the Spaniards, in 1543, and was invested with the privileges of a city in 1741. Although it stands nearly 7,000 feet above the sea, it is entirely screened from view by the windings of a narrow defile, which leads into the recesses of the mountain ; and when the traveller at length finds himself introduced into the city, he has no idea of its extent, one part being so hidden from another, that,viewed from the streets, it appears to be a small town. It is only by as- IN NORTH AMERICA. 599 GUANAXUATO. cending the heights, on the opposite side, that a view is gained of the whole valley, broken into ravines, along the sides of which the town is built. Surveyed from this point, the novelty of its situation strikes the stranger with aston ishment. In some places it is seen, spreading out into the form of an amphitheatre ; in others stretching along a narrow ridge ; while the ranges of habitations, accommodated to the broken ground, present the most fantastic groups. The streets are narrow, crooked, and winding, running across open spaces, which cannot be called squares, for they are irregular and of indescribable forms, most of them filled with market stalls. They are spacious, and well built of hewn stone, but the fronts are painted with the gayest colors : light green is the favorite, but some are painted white, green, and red, which, at the time the author of Notes on Mexico visited Guanaxuato,(1822) were the national colors of Mexico. According to Humboldt, the population of the city was 41,000; in the suburbs and mines surrounding it, 29,600 : total, 70,600. But from a census taken in May, 1822, the inhabitants of the city appear to have amounted only to 15,379, and the total population only to 35,733 ; being a diminution of one half. Guanaxuato is chiefly celebrated for its gold and silver mines, being the most productive in the world. The first mine began to be worked in 1548, but for a considerable time they attracted but little attention. From 1676 to 1803, they produced gold and silver to the value of 12,720,061 Ibs. troy. In 1803, there were employed on the works 5,000 workmen, 1,896 grinding-mills, and 14,618 mules. There have been years so productive, that the net profit of the two proprietors of the single mine of Valenciana amounted to the sum of c250,000 sterling. When the proprietor began to work the vein of Guanaxuato above the ravine of San Xavier, goats were feeding on the very hill which ten years after wards was covered with a town of 7 or 8,000 inhabitants. The inhabitants of the city are represented as lively, in telligent, and well informed, besides being extremely hospita ble and friendly. In common, however, with the inhabitants of most mining districts, they are passionately fond of gambling. The author whom we have already quoted, re presents the commandant of the city as a great amateur of cockfighting ; and he remarks that he was not a little an noyed one morning by the continual crowing of more than a 600 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES GUANAXUATO. hundred cocks, the property of this worthy person, which, tied by one leg, were arranged along the pavement on both sides of the street : they were to be exhibited at the ensuing Christmas. " In all the towns and villages of Mexico," he says " cockfighting is the favorite diversion of the people. Rich and poor, men and women, frequent the pits, and sometimes stake all they are worth on the issue of a battle fought by two cocks armed with shashers." % Guanaxuato is liable to two serious inconveniences from its peculiarity of situation. During the rainy season, it is exposed to injury from the violent torrents that rash from the mountains idown the barranca, or ravine, in which the city stands, in their passage to the plain of Celaya. Large sums have been expended on works to restrain these torrents within a channel, notwithstanding which, accidents happen almost every year. On the other hand, the only water in the city, is that which is contained in the cisterns belonging to the wealthy inhabitants. About two miles from the town, however, there are deep ravines, which, by means of dams, are made to serve as reservoirs : the water is brought into the city on the backs of asses, and sold at six cents a load. GUATEMALA GUATEMALA. THE country of which Guatemala is the capital, was con quered by Pedro de Alvarado, an officer who accompanied Cortes into New Spain, and who was sent by the latter to take possession of Guatemala, and receive the subjection of the native kings. Alvarado left Mexico on the 13th of Nov. 1523, accompanied by 300 Spaniards, and a powerful body of Indian auxiliaries. The conquest, though less difficult than that of Mexico, was not effected without considerable bloodshed. The conquest may be dated from May, 1524, at which time a decisive victory was obtained. In November, 1527, a city was commenced by Alvarado, de signed as the capital of the new government. It was situated upon the skirt of the mountain called the Volcan de Agua, about three leagues from the present city. This continued to be the principal town till 1541, when it was overwhelmed by a mountain torrent, which destroyed most of the buildings, and a greater part of the inhabitants, among whom was the widow of Alvarado. After this calamity, the principal sur vivors resolved to remove the capital about a league farther, where it would be more secure from inundations from the neighboring hills. Here they founded the city called Old Guatemala, or La Antigua, on the 22d of October, 1541, and immediately proceeded to erect convents, hospitals, churches, a university, and other public buildings. This city stood in a delightful valley, shut in by mountains and hills of perpetual verdure, and encompassed, by meadows and lands, which supplied pasturage to large herds of cattle. Two rivers ran through the valley, and supplied the gardens and meadows, the farms and country houses with every con venience for irrigation. The climate was delightful, and a perpetual spring presented its varied and perpetual bounties. But this city was destined to successive calamities more disastrous, perhaps, than is recorded of any other city on the globe. 601 IN NORTH AMERICA. 603 GUATEMALA. In 1558, an epidemic disorder, attended with a violent bleeding at the nose, swept away great numbers of the in habitants. Four earthquakes, each of which seriously damaged many of the principal buildings, occurred between 1565 and 1581. On the 27th of December, of this latter year, the population was again alarmed by the volcano, which be gan to emit fire ; and so great was the quantity of ashes thrown out, and spread in the air, that the sun was entirely obscured, and artificial light was necessary in the city at mid day. Processions were formed to implore the Divine inter cession ; people confessed themselves aloud in the streets, being persuaded they were on the point of suffering some awful visitation of Providence. A northerly wind, however, at last relieved them from their fears, by dispersing the ashes towards the Pacific ocean, and again allowing them to view the splendor of the sun. On the 14th of January, 1582, the mountain vomited fire with great force for 24 hours succes sively. " The years 15856 were dreadful in the extreme. On January 16th, of the former, earthquakes were felt, and they continued through that and the following year so fre quently, that not an interval of eight days elapsed, during the whole period, without a shock more or less violent. Fire issued incessantly, for months together, from the moun tain, and greatly increased the general consternation. The most disastrous of these eruptions took place on the 23d of December, 1586, when the major part of the city again be came a heap of ruins, burying under them many of the un fortunate inhabitants : the earth shook with such violence that the tops of the high ridges were torn off, and deep chasms formed in various parts of the level ground ! " * From this time to 1651, the city was visited with pestilence and earthquakes, which destroyed great numbers. On the 18th of February, 1651, about one o clock, afternoon, a most extraordinary subterranean noise was heard, and imme diately followed by three violent shocks, at very short inter vals from each other, which threw down many buildings, and damaged others ; the tiles from the roofs of the houses were dispersed in all directions, like light straws by a gust of wind ; the bells of the churches were rung by the vibrations, masses of rock were detached from the mountains; and even the wild beasts were so terrified, that, losing their natural instinct, they quitted their retreats, and sought shelter from * Modern Traveller. 604 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES GUATEMALA. the habitations of men. Among these, a lion of great size and fierceness entered the city, on the southern side, and advanced into the middle of it : he tore down a paper fixed against one of the consistorial houses, and retreated by the streets on the north side. These shocks were repeated fre quently until the 13th of April. " The year 1686 brought with it another dreadful epidem ic, which, in three months, swept away a tenth part of the inhabitants. Some of them died suddenly : others expired under the most acute pains of the head, breast, and bowels. No remedy was discovered, that could check its destructive progress, although many of the deceased were opened, to endeavor by that means, to come at the cause of the disor der. So great was the number of the infected, that there was not a sufficient number of priests to administer to them the religious rites. The bells were no longer tolled for the dead, individually, and the corpses were buried en masse in a common grave. From the capital, the pestilence spread to the neighboring villages, and thence to the more remote ones, causing dreadful havoc, particularly among the most robust inhabitants. " Again, the year 1717 was memorable : on the night of August 27th, the mountain began to emit flames, attended by a continued subterranean rumbling noise. On the night of the 28th, the eruption increased to great violence, and very much alarmed the inhabitants. The images of saints were carried in procession, public prayers were put up, day after day ; but the terrifying eruption still continued, and was followed by frequent shocks, at intervals, for more than four months. At last, on the night of September 29th, the fate of Guatemala appeared to be decided, and inevitable destruction was apprehended to be at hand. Great was the ruin among the public edifices ; many of the houses were thrown down, and nearly all that remained were dreadfully injured, but the greatest devastation was seen in the church es. The inhabitants, from what they actually saw, and from what their terrors suggested to them, expected the total sub version of the place; and nearly all sought refuge in the vil lages adjacent. After this disaster, they solicited permission of the government to remove to any other spot that might be judged less exposed to the effects of the volcano ; but, by the time the council of the Indies transmitted a license for the removal, they had recovered from the panic, returned to their IN NORTH AMERICA. 605 GUATEMALA. dilapidated dwellings, had repaired a great part of the city, and no longer thought of making the transfer. " But at length the day which was to seal the doom of this ill-fated spot arrived, the 13th of December, 1773. As early as the month of May, some few slight shocks were per ceived ; and on the llth of June a very violent one took place. Its duration was considerable; many houses and several churches were much injured ; during the whole of the night, the shocks were repeated at short intervals, and for some days afterwards, with less frequency. About four o clock, on the afternoon of July 29th, a tremendous vibra tion was felt, and shortly after began the dreadful convul sion that decided the fate of the unfortunate city. It is dif ficult, even for those who were witnesses of this terrible ca tastrophe, to describe its duration, or the variety of its undu lation, so entirely did terror and the apprehension of imme diate annihilation, absorb all powers of reflection. For sev eral days these shocks continued, and sometimes in such quick succession, that many took place in the short space of fifteen minutes. On the 7th of September there was another, which threw down most of the buildings that were damaged on the 29th of July ; and on the 13th of December, one still more violent terminated the work of destruction." It was now that the inhabitants, wearied with rebuilding, resolved upon removing their situation from the volcanoes, the prolific source of all their miseries. After several ex aminations a part of the Valley of Mexico, ten leagues from the site of their ruined city, was fixed upon, and here rose the present, or New Guatemala, situated in latitude 14 37 7 north, and longitude 90 30 west 90 miles from the Atlantic; 26 from the Pacific ; and 400 from the city of Mexico. " The valley is watered," says Mr. Dunn, in his " Guatema la," " by several streams and lakes, which conduce to its fer tility, and the city is surrounded by numerous small villages, which regularly supply its market with the various fruits and vegetables of the country. In point of situation it is cer tainly inferior to the old city. The scenery is not so roman tic, nor are the lands immediately adjoining so well culti vated, yet still it is rich enough in natural beauties to bear, in this respect, comparison with almost any other city in the world. " Owing to the style in which the houses are built, it oc cupies a very considerable portion of ground, and appears to 606 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES GUATEMALA. an European eye, when viewed from a little distance, much more populous and extensive than it really is. It contains about sixty manazanes, or squares, of houses, formed by the intersection of streets at right angles, which vary in extent from 150 to 350 yards in front, and these are arranged so as to form one large square. On each side of the city, as the suburbs have increased, other .houses have been erected, without much regard to uniformity. The streets are mostly broad, but wretchedly paved, with a considerable declivity on each side, which forms a gutter in the middle, so that after a heavy shower of rain, they are almost impassable from the sudden stream of water ; at other times the sharp-pointed and ill-arranged pebbles extort groans from the unhappy suf ferer, who, in light shoes, is doomed to undergo the misera ble penance of passing over them. " In walking through the city, the first thought that strikes a stranger, is, that Guatemala is one of the dullest places he ever entered. This melancholy appearance is occasioned by the way in which the houses are built. Consisting of only one story, and occupying a great deal of ground, they present to the street only a series of whitewashed walls and red tiled roofs, with here and there a window, carefully guarded by large bars of iron, and a pair of massy folding doors, studded on the outside with heavy nails, thus gi v ing to it, at the best of times, more of the appearance of a de serted than an inhabited cit. /aza, or market place, is a square of about 150 yards each way, with a fountain in the middle, and besides the daily market is occupied by numerous temporary shops or stalls, and surrounded by buildings, offices, and shops. Projecting piazzas form a covered walk on three sides, un der which trifling articles are exposed for sale. The public buildings are numerous, and consist of an university, five convents, fouc nunneries, a cathedral, four parish churches, and fifteen other churches or chapels of minor importance ; besides a treasury, mint, and other government offices. Most of these are in a good style of architecture, and some of them judiciously decorated. In comparison with the churches of Puebla and Mexico, they may possess few at tractions, but remembering the circumstances under which they were built, they do credit to the taste of those who su perintended their erection. " That which chiefly distinguishes Guatemala from the IN NORTH AMERICA. 607 GUATEMALA. other cities of the New World, is its numerous and beautiful aqueducts and pilas for the regular distribution of water all over the metropolis. From a fine spring, which rises in the mountains, at one league and a half south-east of the city, the stream is conducted by means of pipes into no less than twelve public reservoirs, from which it is again carried into every private house, regularly supplying, sometimes one, and oftentimes two or more pilas or stone baths with excellent water. This aqueduct must have cost an immensity of labor to complete, being brought in some places over valleys, upon ranges of arches, and in others under ground by means of tunnels. " The public fountains and reservoirs are many of them of superior workmanship, and ornament the streets in which they are placed. Most of these have rows of troughs con nected with them, in which those of the lower classes, who have not water in their houses, wash their linen. It is amusing to see sometimes thirty or forty women busily em ployed in this manner, and most industriously rubbing the piece of cloth they wish to clean, against a stone, a plan which is universally pursued, although manifestly to the speedy destruction of the article undergoing the operation. But like many other good housewives, the Gautemalian ladies have their prejudices, and will not be persuaded that hot water is preferable to cold, and would remove the necessity of such rough treatment. " The houses of the respectable citizens are well built, and commodiously arranged. A description of one will give an idea of the rest. Let us enter, then, at that great folding- door, looking like an inn gate, with blank walls on each side. We open it, and immediately find ourselves in a large square court-yard, in the middle of which is an orange-tree in full bloom. All around it is a covered walk or piazza, raised about a foot from the ground, the roof supported by wooden pillars. Under this piazza are seven or eight doors, leading into different apartments, each one having an interior com munication with the rest, and all of course on the ground floor, stairs being almost unknown in Guatemala. The first room will probably be a common chamber, the next a sala or drawingroorn, furnished with ten or a dozen antique chairs, an old-fashioned settee, with a slip of mat before it for a car pet, and two small dressing-tables, placed at an immense dis tance from one another, each holding the image of a saint 608 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES GUATEMALA. carefully enclosed in glass. Three or four pictures will adorn the clean whitewashed walls, and two lamps, cased in silver, will be hanging from a roof in which all the native beams are to be seen, with here and there a straggling cob web. The floor, like that of all the rest of the rooms, will be paved with red tiles, its cleanliness depending upon the civili zation of its owner. " From hence we pass into a third apartment, probably the chief bed-chamber, serving also for a daily sitting-room, in which to receive visiters. It will contain a handsome bed, a large mahogany wardrobe, a few chairs, and a cup board with glass doors, in which may be seen carefully ar ranged all the stock of china, from the blue wash-hand-ba sin down to the diminutive coffee-cup, till lately a more valu- ble property than a similar service of silver. By the side of the bed will hang an image of the Saviour on the cross, un der a little scarlet canopy, and on a small table in another corner will be placed St. Joseph, or the Virgin. The two next rooms will have little furniture besides a bed, a chair, and an image. We shall therefore pass on into the comedor or dining-room, which will contain only one large oak table (a fixture) and seven or eight common wooden chairs. Next to this will be the cocina, in one corner a large baking oven of an open shape, and in the middle of the room a mass of solid brick work, three or four feet high, containing six or seven cavities for small charcoal fires, and conveniences for preparing the thousnnd different stews which are compound ed in a Spanish kitchen. To the right of this, will be an in ner yard with its pila or cistern of water, and further on, the stables, with a second for the use of the cattle. The remain ing apartments will be occupied according to the property or family of the owner, and this is a fair description of a respect able house, letting for a rent equal to about c80 a year, Eng lish money, in the city of New Guatemala." The immoderate use of tobacco by both sexes is thus noticed by Mr. Dunn. " In private or in public alone or in socie ty, the Gtiateinalian must have his cigar, and the lady her ci- garrito* His proudest accomplishment is to strike a light * A diminutive cigar, made by rolling a small portion of tobacco in the leaf of maize : ten of these are esteemed equal to a common cigar, called for the sake of distinction, purros. IN NORTH AMERICA. 609 GUATEMALA. with his pocket match, neatly cased in silver, and present his lighted cigar to her genteelly, and she in return permits him to spit in every corner of her room, without molestation. A gentleman consumes daily from fifteen to twenty purros, and a lady of moderate pretensions to celebrity, fifty cigarritos. No business can be transacted, no bargain made without ex changing the cigar, and both in the streets arid public places of amusement, the ladies are to be seen smoking as com posedly as in their own houses." The following amusing account is given by the same au thor, of the occupations of a domestic man during one day. "At six he rises, and if it be one of their numerous feast days, accompanies his wife to mass, at which, rich and poor, master and servants, indiscriminately kneel without distinction of rank or place. Returning about seven, they take chocolate, which answers to our breakfast, with this ex ception, that it is not made a social meal. Each one enters the corridor at the hour most agreeable to himself and is then supplied with his cup of chocolate, made very thick and sweet, which, with a small loaf of bread, an egg, a little fried meat, and a glass of clear spring water, serves him till dinner. " At this hour, during the warmer months, the habit of bathing, for which the houses afford so many conveniences, is very general, but in any other way the inhabitants appear to have the greatest aversion to the application of water. For weeks together the most respectable inhabitants never wash their hands, faces, or teeth, and the slightest sickness serves as a pretext for delaying the operation as well as that of shaving, frequently for months ; so that you have only to look at a gentleman s beard to know how long he has had a cold, or to a lady s face to discover when she last fancied herself indisposed. " From ten to twelve are the usual hours for morning calls, and receiving visits. These possess in genera! the same characteristics as in other parts of the world. Friends meet as lovingly, talk as scandalously, hate each other as cordially, and lie as gracefully here, as in the most polished cities of civilized Europe. The only points of difference are, that the ladies shout out their observations in the high est rule of the gamut, becloud each other s beauties with the fumes of tobacco, and part with an embrace as cordial as the majority of modern English kiss. These parties generally meet in the ladies bedroom, the gentlemen dressed * a la 39 610 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES GUATEMALA. Inglesa, with coats cut any thing but anatomically, and the ladies in black silk, with lace mantilla for the head, splendid ly-worked silk stockings, and shoes almost diminutive enough for the Empress of China. " Modesty and prudery are here understood to be synony mous, and subjects are freely discussed in mixed parties, to which common delicacy would seem to forbid the slightest allusion. " At one they dine on soup, rice, vegetables, and meat of various kinds, cooked in as many different ways, with dulces or sweetmeats for a dessert, of which about 200 sorts are pre pared. Fish frequently appears towards the close of the meal, and fruit is introduced before the cloth is drawn. Scarcely any wine is drank. In many of the most respectable families it does not even make its appearance on the table. The whole concludes with a recitation miscalled a thanksgiving. " From the corridor each individual adjourns to his bed room, to take the siesta and digest his dinner. So universal is the practice, that from two to three the streets are deserted. Old and young, masters and servants, are alike reclining on beds and sofas. The very domestic animals at this hour are to be seen stretching themselves in the sun, and, par taking of the infection, join the general troop of sleep. Between three and four, things begin to revive, and first one and then another, yawning, rubs his eyes, and strolls to the clock to see how time has passed during his slumbers. To wards four the corridor again becomes frequented for choco late, after which the occupations of the day are once more resumed. " Let us then take a walk into the street and see what is passing there. The daily market is about over, and contains only a few stragglers, buying at a cheaper rate the refuse of the day s sales; ten or a dozen half naked Indians are basking in the sun ; three or four soldiers are reclining against the pillars of the piazzas humming a revolutionary air ; and a lit tle further on are two or three devoted Catholics, most de voutly kneeling before the image of a saint, and apparently in a state of the most perfect abstraction. In a little while the tinkling of a bell is heard, notifying the approach of the Vaticum. Instantly high and low, poor and rich, are on their knees; till, as its feeble sound dies in the distance, one by one they rise and pursue their way. " The costume of the street varies little from that of the house. The ladies who in the morning are to be seen only IN NORTH AMERICA. 611 GUATEMALA. in black, now parade the streets in dashing silk gowns, and without any covering for the head, while the fashionable beaux lounge by their sides in printed cotton jackets and Spanish cloaks, with one end carelessly thrown over the right shoulder. The shops, although generally well supplied with goods, possess no attractions. All are without windows, and nothing is displayed ; the open doorway being half cov ered with cloth to keep out the sun.* " Returning to our temporary home, as the evening sets in, we find the gentlemen just come back from an excursion to the suburbs, on their pacing mules or horses ; each rider seated on a saddle rising three or four inches before and be hind, and armed with an enormous pair of silver spurs. Be- Tore the animal is a large skin of some shaggy coated animal, hanging down to the heavy Spanish box stirrup, or still heavier or indescribable one of iron, over which lies the long ta per end of the bridle, made of narrow slips of hide twisted into a cord, and so long as to serve the purposes of a whip. To this is affixed an enormous bit, under which the poor beast writhes, and is effectually subdued. " By about seven o clock the last gleam of twilight has disappeared, and the servants enter with the lights, reciting most devoutly the Bendito, which may be thus translated: Blessed and praised be the holy sacrament of the altar for ever and ever. In another hour the sala has assumed its evening character ; cloaks and swords occupy the corner of the room a small table at the farther end is surrounded by a party busily employed at monte, (a game of cards,) amidst clouds of smoke, and at the other end some lady, regardless of the noisy tongues of the gambler, is playing a popular air on a wretched marimba, or still worse piano, accompanying it with her voice. The miserable light yield ed by two thin, long-wicked tallow candles, in massive silver candlesticks, throws a gloom over the apartment, strangely in contrast with the light-hearted gayety of its occupants. Formal parties are rare ; friends drop in towards the evening without ceremony, amuse themselves for an hour or two, and retire generally without taking any kind of refreshment. "About ten o clock the different members of the family sit down to a supper, differing little from the dinner, eat heartily of its various dishes, and with stomachs loaded to a degree that would make most people tremble for fear of apoplexy, retire to bed, and in half an hour are all soundly asleep. In the more religious families, recitations of about a quarter of 612 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES GUATKMALA. an hour in length, and mostly to the Virgin, are practised on those evenings when there are no visiters. " Marrying and giving in marriage here, as in other coun tries, is distinguished by peculiar customs. When the con sent of parents has been obtained, if the lover have no pre vious establishment, the parents of the lady place in it, at their own expense, a handsome bed, and plentiful supply of household linen. This having been done, the intended bridegroom, on the day previous to the celebration of the nuptials, sends to his future wife, dresses, jewels and orna ments, in proportion to his wealth. The ceremony is gener ally performed before daylight on the following morning, and all attendant expenses are paid by the parents of the bride. The newly married couple then adjourn to the house of the lady s father, where they reside for fifteen or twenty days. "The other rites of the Church are conducted in the same way as in other Catholic countries. Funerals are very expen sive, owing not only to the number of individuals who take part in the ceremony, but also to the splendid dresses in which bodies are interred. The wealthy throw away consider able sums in the indulgence of foolish vanity, and not unfre- quently expend a sum equal to =50 sterling upon the inter ment of a new-born infant. " The most splendid funeral I witnessed in Guatemala," continues Mr. Dunn, " was that of a rich Canonigo. The friars of the different convents, two by two, led the proces sion, one bearing a massy silver cross, and the others lighted wax candles, the canonigos and the doctors following in their robes. After the bier, walked the priests and curas, two by two, the chief of the state, the friends of the late canon, and the principal military oflicers. Between tTie house of the deceased and the place of interment, a distance of about 590 yards, were arranged at equal distances in the street, four large tables covered with black cloth, and hold ing six immense wax candles in massy silver candlesticks. On each of these, the body, extended upon a splendid bier and clothed in the richest robes, was placed. The proces sion formed around it, a mass was sung, and holy water thrown upon the body by one of the doctors, after which the whole moved on to the next resting place, where the same formalities were observed. On its arrival at the cathedral, the body was placed in the middle aisle, the members of the procession ranged themselves on either side, with their light ed tapers, crowds of spectators knelt in front, and other IN NORTH AMERICA. 613 GUATEMALA. crowds stood in silence behind, as with one consent, every voice began to sing the solemn mass. This imposing cere mony lasted for some hours, after which the corpse was depos ited in one of the vaults below the cathedral. " The lower orders bury in the * Santo Campo, or conse crated ground, behind the cathedral, where many simple me morials to the dead have been erected. After the funeral, an 1 almoneda, something like an auction, takes place of the goods of the deceased. The various articles of furniture are arranged in the room, and ticketed with a small paper, on which is written the lowest number of dollars for which the article can be disposed of. An Indian is then placed at the window near the street, proclaiming with a loud voice the al moneda within. The public then enter to view the goods, and any one choosing an article at the affixed price is per mitted to take it, after it has been publicly exposed to the of fers of a higher bidder. If after three days, any of the arti cles remain unsold, they are reticketed at two thirds of the former price." According to Mr. Dunn, the state of society in Guatemala is wretched in the extreme. " The pure and simple sweets of domestic life, with its thousand tendernesses, and its gentle affections, are here exchanged for the feverish joys of a dissi pated hour ; and the peaceful home of love is converted into a theatre of mutual accusations and recriminations. " Among the lower orders this loose and vicious life leads to excesses, which, unrestrained by a vigilant police, produce the most melancholy consequences. The men generally car ry a large knife stuck in the belt against the back, and the women a similar one, fastened in the garter of the stocking. These on every trifling occasion theyiraw, and the result is often fatal. Not a day passes in which some one or other does not stain his hands in the blood of a fellow-creature. On feast days and on Sundays, the average number killed is from four to five. From the number admitted into the hos pital of St. Juan de Dios, it appears that in the year 1827, near 1,500 were stabbed in drunken quarrels, of whom from 3 to 400 died. Of these, probably fifty or sixty were assassi nated secretly, without having any opportunity of defence. " The police, if such a thing can be said to exist, takes notice of those events, and it would seem fabulous to relate, were it not confirmed by the most respectable testimony, that 614 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES GUATEMALA. there is at liberty in Guatemala, at the present moment, more than one, of whom it is known that they have murdered several individuals. The respectable inhabitants defend them selves by carrying swords or pocket pistols in the evening, and are rarely molested ; while the lower orders avenge the death of their relatives, by taking away the life of the murder er, the first convenient opportunity. "A circumstance of this kind occurred while I was re siding at Guatemala, very near to the house in which I lived. About four o clock in the afternoon, a poor man was ob served lying dead in the street, who had evidently been mur dered. For some time, no notice was taken of him ; at length he was carried by some passers by to the hospital, and it was immediately known that he had been killed by a shoe maker, who resided near, and whose brother had fallen some months ago, by the hand of the deceased. This man had now absented himself, but no means were used for his appre hension. A few shoulders were shrugged, a few que basti- mas (what a pity !) uttered, and there the matter ended. The shoemaker returned in a few days, resumed his occupa tions, and remains still undisturbed, unless some other has in turn, passed him to his final account. " The only offences noticed are political ones, and in these cases the soldiers act as civil officers. Of their suitability, one melancholy instance fell under my observation. A lieu tenant of infantry, and eight soldiers, were despatched to take a man prisoner, who had committed some offence against the State. They entered the room in which he was sitting alone, about nine o clock, in the evening. He -immediately blew out the candle, and fired a pistol at the officer, whom he wounded. The eight soldiers report that their muskets missed fire : it is onl^L known that in the confusion the pris oner escaped, and has not since been heard of. A suspicion having arisen a few days afterwards, that he was concealed in Guatemala, a second detachment was sent to capture him. The party mistook a discharged postman, who was in the house, for their prisoner : the poor fellow resisted with a sword, and was immediately killed. Not content with pass ing five or six bullets through him, they pierced him with their bayonets, in order to assure themselves of his death, and for this feat the leader of the detachment was raised from a lieutenant to the rank of a captain. After this, no further search was made for the real delinquent, and in two or three days the whole affair was forgotten." SOUTH AMERICA. BRAZIL. ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. THE city of St. Sebastian, now called, Rio, or Rio de Jan eiro, the capital of the empire of Brazil, is situated on the western shore of the great bay from which it takes its name. This bay was discovered on the 1st of January, 1531, by Martin Alphonso de Souza, who, supposing that the fine ex panse of water was only the estuary of some great river, like the mouth of the Amazon, or Oronoko, called it Rio de Jan eiro, or River of January. This very improper name the bay and river retain, and also the city itself. For many years, this fine harbor remained unnoticed, but in the year 1558, Nicholas Villegaynon, a Frenchman, was employed by the leaders of the Hugonots in France, to take charge of a colony of their persecuted people, assigned to settle at Rio. Two clergymen of that persuasion were se lected at Guiana, with fourteen students in divinity, to act as pastors for the present, and supply future congregations, as they should be wanted. There was, therefore, every reason to hope that the reformation would take root here, and in process of time fill the south, as well as the north of the new world, with a Protestant people. But Villegaynon seems to have been utterly unworthy of his trust. He commenced a persecution against these unfortunate men, who had left their own country for conscience sake, till he drove many of them from this place also. Some requested permission to re turn to Europe, arid he provided a vessel so badly found, that they refused to embark, and were persecuted to death on the island. Meanwhile the Portuguese, jealous of this encroachment, and alarmed at the progress of these strangers of the new faith, sent an armament from Bahia to dispossess them. Unable to make an effectual resistance, the colonists were G16 IN SOUTH AMERICA. 617 ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. driven from their settlement, and their fortress was taken, and demolished. In 1567, Catharine, who governed the kingdom of Spain as regent during the minority of Sebastian, directed a city to be built on the spot, where it now stands, and to be called St. Sebastian. In 1808, the royal family of Portugal, being obliged to abandon Europe, in consequence of the invasion of their country, took up their residence at Rio, where they con tinued till 1821. This circumstance conferred on the city great advantages, and contributed more than all other causes to its growth and prosperity. The harbor of Rio is one of the most capacious, com modious, and beautiful in the world. The immediate back ground of the city, is formed by beautiful green hills, cov ered with woods, and interspersed with villas and convents ; while the foreground is enlivened by the vessels of all nations. The bay contains nearly a hundred islands. From either shore rise lofty and well-clad mountains, terminating, in some places, in abrupt precipices of the wildest and most romantic forms. At their base, white cottages and houses are scat tered amid patches of cultivation, and narrow valleys of orange-trees wind among the mountains. Every little emi nence has its church or its port ; and innumerable boats flit ting about the bay, and mingling with the shipping, add ani mation and interest to the scene. The air is soft, the sky generally cloudless, and every breeze bears over the calm waters the fragrance of the orange and the lemon. Such is the glowing language in which modern travellers describe the first appearance of the Brazilian capital. Far more has been done for this beautiful portion of the new world by nature, than by man. The style of architec ture in Rio is, in general, mean, resembling that of the old part of Lisbon; and though this town has always ranked as the most important in Brazil, or as second only to Bahia, at the time that the latter was the seat of government, yet, it is only since the emigration of the court, that it has assumed the character of a European city. Some idea of what Rio was, may be gathered from the improvements, which are mentioned by Mr. Luccock, as having taken place at the pe riod of his second visit to the capital in 1813, in the course of the preceding five years. The city had been greatly en- 618 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. larged ; the old streets greatly improved in cleanliness, and the houses in neatness ; the roads cleared and widened ; and vil las and gardens had begun to adorn the vicinity. " An in crease of domestic comfort," he adds, " had arisen from the establishment of a market for cattle without the city, and of several markets for vegetables and fruit within it ; from a more abundant and regular supply of fish, and the more free use of mutton ; from greater care with respect to the quality of meat, and the cleanliness of the places where it was slaughter ed and exposed for sale. Craftsmen of different descriptions had made their appearance ; among them, so many smiths, that it was no longer difficult to gut a horse shod. Mills for grinding corn had been much improved, and bread was come more into use. Charcoal was manufactured, and, for cook ing, introduced into the houses. Nuisances were more read ily removed, and even scavengers were now and then seen in the streets." Among the nuisances which had been removed, were the gloomy projections from the upper windows, called jcahusie s, which have given way, by the king s command, for open bal conies. These jealousies were raised on platforms of stone, two and a half feet broad, and extended to the top of the window. They were formed of lattice work of a fanciful pattern, divided into panncls, or compartments, some of which were fitted up with hinges at the top, so as to form a sort of flap, which when opened a little way, allowed persons in the balcony to look down into the street, without being seen them selves. They gave to the fronts of the houses a dull, heavy and suspicious appearance. The ostensible motive for their removal was to improve the appearance of the city ; the real cause was said to be an apprehension that, sooner or later, these jealousies might become amtfbscades for assassins, who un seen and unsuspected, might thence discharge the fatal bullet. To pursue the description of the capital : the streets, which are straight and narrow, are paved with granite, and are now provided with a raised pavement for the foot pas sengers ; but they are very sparingly lighted, and hardly more than a few hours in the night, by the lamps placed be fore the images of the Virgin. The houses, which are gen erally of two stories, and low and narrow in proportion to their depth, are, for the most part, built of blocks of granite : the upper story, however, is often of wood. The thresholds, door posts, lintels, and window frames, are of massy granite, or feltspar, brought from Bahia, in a state ready for use. IN SOUTH AMERICA. 619 ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. The roofs are universally covered with semitubular tiles. The lower story is commoWy occupied by the shop and warehouse ; the second, (and third, if there be one,) by the family apartments, to which there are long and narrow pas sages taken from the ground floor, and communicating with the street. In the outskirts of the town the streets are un- paved, and the houses are of only one floor, low, small, and dirty, with the doors and windows of lattice-work, opening outward to the annoyance of passengers. The rents of houses are nearly as high as they are in London.* The houses are all numbered, says Walsh, in a more con venient manner than ours. The odd numbers are marked on the right hand side, and the even on the left : the passen ger being always supposed to have his face towards the palace. This greatly abridges inquiry, as you always know the side of the street on which the house you want is to be found. Formerly, the only light afforded to passengers at night pro ceeded from the tapers burning before the shrines of saints at the corners of streets. Lamps, however, are now sufficient ly numerous, and the town is as well provided as most cities on the continent of Europe. Among the annoyances, observes this same traveller, which teaze a stranger in the streets of Rio, is the everlast ing creaking of carts. The wheels are heavy blocks of wood, fixed to the extremities of a thick axle, and they turn both together The extensive friction of the large revolving surface, which is never greased, against the shafts of the ma chine carrying a heavy load, not only increases the difficulty of draught, but causes a creaking sound, quite intolerable to unused ears. Every proprietor of a vehicle, offending in this way, is liable to a fine of six milreis ; but they will not prevent by any precaution, for they say the bullocks will not draw kindly without the noise they are accustomed to ; and as this is a general prejudice, no one will exact the fine, except the emperor himself, who is anxious to put an end to the ab surd nuisance. He always stops the creaking cart, levies the penalty, and puts the amount into his pocket.t Churches and convents are almost the only public buildings in Rio, that deserve notice. Among the former, those of l3a Candelaria, S. Francisco, and Sta-Paula, are in the best * Notes on Rio de Janeiro, &c., by John Luccock. t Walsh s Brazil. 620 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. style of architecture ; but that of Nossa Senhora da Gloria is the most striking from its situation. " The cathedral," says Mr. Luccock, " in point of rank the first religious edifice in Rio, is situated on a lofty and pleasant hill, south of the town. It occupies a spot cele brated in the history of Brazil, and is very properly dedi cated to St. Sebastian. The church, which seems to have been erected at two different periods, is a low, plain, sub stantial building, of an oblong form, with two small turrets, but without windows. The entrance is from the east, and fronts the altar. Within, the walls are whitewashed, unor- namented, and dirty. The altar, also, is as plain as the church; and the whole evinces that it has profited little by any predilection of the great or wealthy. The orchestra is at the east end, and is awkwardly crowded towards the ceil ing. Around are traces of considerable foundations much overgrown with brushwood." None of the churches have either any fine paintings or works of sculpture, but only rich gilding. The religious establishments comprise three mon asteries, Benedictine, Franciscan, and Carmelite ; a Fran ciscan nunnery; a nunnery ofTheresans; an hospice, of the almoners of the Holy Land ; a miscricordia, with its hos pital ; a foundling hospital, founded in 1738 ; (which, within sixty years from that period, received nearly 5000 infants;) and a recolhimcnto for female orphans born in wedlock and of white parents, where they remain till they are portioned off in marriage from the funds of this munificent institu tion ; together with some smaller monastic and charitable in stitutions. " The royal palace skirts the beach, and is seen to great advantage from the principal landing place, which is within sixty yards of the doors. It is small, ill constructed, and inconvenient. The palace of the bishop, which stands on a high hill north of the city, is superior to that of the royal family. The custom-house is a miserable building. The inns are abominably bad. The new mint, the naval and military arsenals, are called magnificent buildings, but they present a very poor appearance to the eye of a Europejin." Though, in proportion to the size and wants of the city, Rio has but a scanty supply of water, there are several pifb- lic fountains, and new ones are continually being erected. The aqueduct by which these fountains are supplied, is a noble work, and is described by Dr. Von Spix, as the purest IN SOUTH AMERICA. 621 ST. SKBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. piece of architecture of which the city can at present boast. It was completed in the year 1740, and is an imitation of the one at Lisbon, erected by John V. " It consists," Mr. Luc- cock says, " of two walls about six feet high, arched over, with sufficient space for workmen to enter it occasionally, and pass through its whole length. At suitable intervals there are openings for the admission of light and air. Within is laid the canal, about eighteen inches wide, twenty-four deep, and three miles long. It commences at the bottom of the lofty conical peak of the Corcovado, where the waters flowing from that mountain are collected into a covered reser voir, and thence conveyed into the canal. Their course from the summit is through deep and shady woods, and the canal is defended from the sunbeams ; and thus, until they reach the city, little of their freshness is lost." The manners of the people of Rio, though not polished, are kind and cordial. Mr. Walsh thus describes the minis try and other distinguished Brazilians, whom he met at the house of the Austrian plenipotentiary. " They were men generally of low stature, and had not the least appearance or pretension of a similar class in Europe. The greater number had been engaged in business, and being men of opulence when the separation of the countries took place, naturally stepped into those situations formerly occupied by strangers of rank from the parent country. They were men of the plainest manners, laughing, good humored, and accessible, like common-council-men at a London feast. Their dress, however, was rich and expensive ; and some of them wore large golden keys, attached like small swords to their sides, intimating that they performed the office of chamberlain to his majesty." Shortly after, Mr. Walsh had an opportunity of seeing the ladies, who composed the beau mondc of Rio, dancing waltzes and quadrilles. They, like the men, were of re markably low stature, with sallow complexions, and dark eyes and hair. The latter were dressed remarkably high, and ornamented with various productions of the country; among these were the shells of a very beautiful species of beetle, of a rich, vivid green, more bright and lustrous than the finest emerald. They danced well, and their manners were very affable and unaffected. " The shopkeepers of Rio," adds the same writer, " are 622 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ST. SKBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. rather repulsive in their address, and so little disposed to take trouble, that a customer is often induced to leave the shop by the careless way in which he is treated. They are very fond of sedentary games of chance, such as cards and draughts, ,and often engage at them on their counters. I have sometimes gone in at those times to purchase an article, and the people were so interested in their game, that they would not leave it to attend to me, and sell their goods. They are, however, honest and correct in their dealings, and bear good moral characters. Their charity is boundless, as appears by the sums expended on different objects by the brotherhoods, which they form. They are, as far as I have heard, generally speaking, good fathers and husbands, and their families are brought up with strictness and propriety. It is pleasing to see them walking out together, the corpu lent parents going before, and the children and domestics following in their orders. The women are fond of black, wear no caps, but a black veil is generally thrown over their bare heads, which hang down below their bosom and back ; and as it is generally worked and spotted, it makes their faces look at a little distance as if they were covered with black patches. They always wear silk stockings and shoes, and are particularly neat and careful in the decorations of their feet and legs, which are generally small and well shaped. The boys of this rank are remarkably obliging ; when I saw any thing among them that seemed curious, and I expressed a wish to look at it, they always pressed it on my acceptance with great good nature, and seemed pleased at an opportunity of gratifying me. " The Brazilians in any difficulty or danger, make vows to perform certain acts, in token of their gratitude to Provi dence if they are extricated. These vows they religiously keep, and they are sometimes productive of great unhappi- ness. The patrona, or master of a boat, in which I used to cross the bay, was a remarkably good-looking man. He was once overtaken by a storm in the same place, arid made a solemn vow, that if he reached the shore, he would marry the first disengaged woman he met. He faithfully kept his word ; connected himself with a person he knew nothing about, who proved to be a vile character, and his domestic comforts are forever embittered. "They are not indisposed to hospitality, and they con stantly accept invitations from strangers, but seldom ask them in return. This arises from the exceeding deficiency of their IN SOUTH AMERICA. 623 ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. domestic economy. A Brazilian never keeps a store of any thing in his house; but even those of the highest rank send to a neighboring vender for whatever they want, in the small est quantities, and only when they want it. They never pur chase more at a time than a pint of wine, or a few ounces of sugar or coffee, and this, they say is, because if they laid in a store, it would be impossible to prevent their slaves from getting at, and consuming it. When the slave goes for the article, he takes up any thing he can lay his hand on to carry it in. I have often seen one of them returning from avenda with a china tureen full of charcoal under his arm, and a silver cup on his head holding a few loose candles. " The avocations of barbers are also very various. They vend and prepare tortoise-shell to make combs. They bleed and draw teeth as usual, and so far are only employed in business connected with their calling, as barber-surgeons. But besides that, they exclusively mend silk stockings, and are remarkable for the neatness with which they sole and vamp them. I never passed a barber s shop that I did not see him, when not otherwise engaged, with a black silk stocking drawn on one arm, and his other employed in mending it. They are, besides, the musicians of the country, and are hired also to play at church doors during festivals. All per sons who compose the bands on these occasions are barbers. Over the middle of every shop is an arch, on which are sus pended the different articles for sale. In a barber s shop, the arch is always hung round with musical instruments. This association of trades was formerly the usage in Eng land, when the lute and cithern was always found in a bar ber s shop, to amuse the customers of better condition, who came to be trimmed, as they are now presented with a news paper ; or sometimes to alleviate the pains of a wound, which the barber, in his avocation of surgeon, was probing and dressing. But the remains of those customs which have en tirely gone out in Europe, still linger in America, among the descendants of those who originally brought them over. " It is highly creditable to the citizens of Rio, that no native beggars are ever seen in their streets. The only per sons of that class I ever was accosted by, were foreign sailors, particularly English and North Americans, who often at tacked me, complaining rudely that they were out of em ployment ; they had all the appearance of being worthless, intemperate fellows, whose poverty was their own fault. All 624 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO UK JANEIRO. the natives in distress are fed and clothed by the different brotherhoods of citizens, or by the convents; and it is a pleasing sight to see the steps of religious edifices filled, at stated times, with poor people disabled by age or infirmity, and the good Samaritans walking among them, distributing food and raiment as they require it. " It is also to be commended, that no women of bad character are ever seen in the streets, either by day or night, so as to be known as such. The decency and decorum of this large town, in this respect, is particularly striking to those who have been accustomed to the awful display of licentiousness, which besets them in the streets and public places of Paris and London. "The post-office is held immediately under the hall of the chamber of deputies, and is part of the same building. The post leaves Rio every ten days, for the different remote places in the interior. Mail coaches are of course unknown, but I have frequently met the post on the road. It is carried by two negroes, with poles in their hands, and a long port manteau strapped across each of their backs. They travel on foot, at the rate of a league or four miles an hour. They proceed without any guard, and with a feeling of such per fect security, that I have seen their portmanteaus of letters lying by the road side, without any one to watch them, while they themselves had gone to some distant raucho or escuda to get refreshment, yet I never heard that the mail had been robbed. * When it arrives at the post-office in Rio, the letters are not sent abroad, except to mercantile houses, which pay a certain sum for the advantage ; other letters are advertised. The office is a large hall, on the ground floor, and is hung round with boards, on which are written the names of places from which letters come, at the head of a column ; and un derneath, the names of persons to whom they are addressed. The columns are numbered ; and when a person expects a letter, he applies, not to the office, but to the board, and if he finds his name there, he takes the number opposite to it, which he presents at the office ; and he gets, not a letter di rected to his address, but one correspondent to the number he asks for, which is often for another person. When any mistake arises, and lie gives his name, a parcel of letters is presented to him, and he takes which he pleases. IN SOUTH AMERICA. 625 ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO DK JANKIRO. " The administration of justice in Brazil is perhaps the greatest grievance under which the people labor ; and the emperor s frightful picture of it, in recommending it to the consideration of the Chambers, was not exaggerated. The judges have but a small stipend of about three hundred milreis, and they expend an income of ten thousand ; the difference is made up by the most notorious and undisguised bribery, in which there is no delicacy used, and little con cealment practised. A respectable merchant informed me, he had just gained an important but hopeless suit, by bribing the judge who tried it, with an English carriage, and he was not ashamed to drive about in this public proof of his cor ruption. There is one tribunal, however, to which the peo ple have access, which is above the suspicion of such merce nary influence, and that is the throne of the emperor himself. On every Saturday morning a public levee is held, where the humblest individual in society may in person claim re dress. The only qualification required for admission is, that the applicant shall come in with a cocked hat. If he cannot command one, he leaves such as he has behind him at the door, and boldly approaches the throne, where he is heard and redressed. " Some very extraordinary scenes take place on these oc casions. I shall mention one of the many, which I heard. A well-known character, of considerable rank and conse quence, had become enamored of the wife of a Juiz da Fora, who rejected his addresses. Shortly after, her husband was assassinated, and this act was attributed to him, who supposed her attachment to her husband had stood in the way of his illicit suit. Under this impression, the widow immediately repaired to court to seek redress at this public levee. As soon as she was admitted, she threw herself at the feet of Dom John VI., told her story, and demanded justice, which the monarch immediately promised her. Engaged at this time in very embarrassing affairs, the king overlooked the circumstance, and forgot his promise ; when the widow ap peared before him again in deep mourning. Struck with this circumstance, he now confirmed his assurance with an oath, that she should have justice; but the friends of the accused being at that time about the person of the king, it is supposed his attention was again turned purposely from the subject. A third time the widow appeared, and taking from under her veil a shroud, she displayed and shook it be- 40 626 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO BE JANEIRO. fore him, told him, in the bitterest language, he must soon come to wear it, and bade him call to mind what was the punishment reserved in the next world for perjured sove reigns, who denied justice to their subjects. The well-mean ing, but timid monarch, was deeply affected by this denun ciation, and in great horror of mind, assured her of imme diate redress; but the widow died in a very short time after; Dom John was recalled to Portugal, and the affair was never investigated, "The police are a large body, dressed like soldiers, with blue jackets and cross belts of buff leather, and resemble exactly the gend armes of France. They are not distin guished either for temperance or proper conduct, and they are the only natives I ever saw drunk. If an outrage is com mitted, they seize, not the man who perpetrated it, who gen erally has time to escape, but the person they find nearest the spot, who is only accidentally passing. A man was ridden over by a horse, just at our door, and brought into the hall in a dangerous state. The police came up and seized a gentlemanly person, who was walking by at the time. It was in vain he pleaded he could not ride over the man, for he had no horse. He was, nevertheless, dragged off to the police house. " Some curious circumstances attend the execution of a criminal here. When he is condemned, he is taken under the protection of the irmandade of the misericordia, and placed by them in a capella for three days, where he is vis ited by persons, who provide all comforts and conveniences for his unfortunate situation; and among other things, they prepare for him a shirt. The number eleven is a proverbial offence, when applied to an individual, both at Lisbon and Rio. At the former, to say of another, that he is a man de onze lettras, is an insult, because the name of a very odious character is spelled with eleven letters. At the latter, it is regarded as equally offensive to say, he is a man de onze varas, of eleven ells, as it implies a man condemned to an ignominious death ; the last preparation for which is, putting on his shroud or shirt of eleven yards. The irmandade also provide the cord by which he is executed. This last they sometimes immerse in some strong acid, by which it is cor- mded, and rendered so incapable of supporting a weight that it frequently breaks before the criminal is dead. When this IN SOUTH AMERICA. 627 ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. happens, they step in, wave a standard over the body, and claim it as their right. This is admitted, and they are al lowed to bear it away, and so frequently restore suspended animation. " There are many persons in Rio, who realize considerable income by taming refractory slaves. A shoemaker of this class lately purchased two. He was a man of the most un relenting severity, and treated them so cruelly, that they fell on him one evening in his shop, with their knives, and killed him. There was something in the affair, that interested the irmandade to so great a degree, that, in a fit of mistaken mercy, they offered the widow eight contos, if she would not prosecute the slaves. The attachment of women in Brazil to the memory of their husbands is proverbially strong; so she rejected every offer, and surrendered the assassins to jus tice. In all executions, it is the practice for the executioner to stand on the ladder above the criminals; and when the clergyman comes to the sentence in the creed, * I believe in Jesus Christ, the ladder is turned, the hangman leaps on the culprit s neck, and they swing off together. On this oc casion the rope, which had been previously prepared, imme diately broke, with the double weight, and both fell to the ground. The irmandade now stepped in, waved their flag, and demanded the body. The juiz, who presided, was a de termined man; he told them to take the body if they pleased, as it was their right, but first he would order the head and hands to be chopped off. As this would totally defeat their object, they declined removing the man, and he was again hanged up, taken down apparently dead, and lay beside the gallows, while the sentence of the law was executed on his companion ; but before this was concluded, animation re turned, and he was observed to kick and struggle on the ground. He was again, therefore, tied up till life was en tirely extinct; and is perhaps the only person on record, who was thus executed three times for the same offence. "The Brazilians were greatly shocked at this; and when the widow, who was reduced to poverty by her husband s death, went to solicit alms to purchase prayers for the repose of his soul, she was very coldly received by every one. They forgot her disinterestedness, in refusing a large sum to compromise the murder of her husband, they only remem bered her unchristian feeling of revenge, they said, on his murderers." 628 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ST. SKBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. The commerce of Rio, has increased with unexampled rapidity. When first opened to the enterprise of foreigners, many articles were exported, without any regard to their adaptation to the climate or the wants of the people. Mr. Walsh thus notices some of the ludicrous mistakes which were made by commercial men. " A large supply of warm blankets, warming-pans to heat them, and, to complete the climax of absurdity, skates, to enable the Brazilians to enjoy wholesome exercise on the ice, in a region where a particle of frost or a flake of snow were never seen, were shipped to Rio. However ridiculous and wasteful this may seem, the articles were not lost. The people did not suffocate them selves with woollen coverlets, where they sometimes found a cotton sheet too heavy and warm ; they did not lay the blankets, therefore, on their own beds, but in the beds of their auriferous rivers, and lavras, or gold washings. Here the long elastic wool entangled and intercepted the grains of gold that came down, till they became saturated, and so literally converted the blanket into a Golden Fleece. They had formerly used hides with the hair on, for the same purpose, and when the supply of blankets was exhausted, they return ed to hides again. In the same way they applied the warm ing-pans to the uses of their engenhos, or sugar-house : they knocked off the lids, and the bottoms made excellent skim mers, to collect the scum on the surface of the boiling sugar. Even the apparently hopeless and inconvertible skate was turned to a useful purpose. Then, as well as now, there was nothing in the country so scarce as wrought iron, for shoe ing mules and horses, and though perradors,or smiths, are to be met at every sancho, perraduras, or shoes, are seldom to be had. When the people, therefore, found they could not use those contrivances on their own, they applied them to their horses feet ; and many an animal has actually travelled on English skates, from Rio to Villa Rica. Such of them as were of well-tempered steel were hammered into facas, or knives; and a gentleman told me, he found the iron of a skate in its original shape, forming the latch of a door in a village in the interior. "Next to the manufactured goods, flour is the great arti cle of importation to an infant State, as incapable hitherto of growing the one as of making the other. From eighty to ninety thousand barrels of Hour are annually consumed at Rio and its dependencies, which are almost exclusively sup- IN SOUTH AMERICA. 629 ST. SEBASTIAN, OR RIO DE JANEIRO. plied from the United States. Dried fish also is consumed in great quantities, as the great article of food in Lent, and on fast days, and nearly the whole of it is sent by the Eng lish from the banks of Newfoundland. Beeswax from the coast of Africa, for different religious purposes, is in immense demand, but it is generally brought in Brazilian ships. Soap is also much prized, that of the country being of a very vile quality, and generally like soft yellow clay. These, with Russian canvass and cordage, Swedish iron, Catalonia wine, the great consumption of the people, and India goods, form the principal imports." The great exports of the country are coffee, sugar, hides, horns, tobacco, cotton, and ipecacuanha. Coffee is gathered twice in the year, in February and Au gust, and comes to market in greatest abundance and of the best quality from July to December. It is purchased from the planters by a class of intermediate traders, who pack it in bags, containing five arrobas, or 160 Ibs., and is thus sold to the merchant : full confidence is placed in the weight, as no instance has occurred when it was found defective, and the custom-house receives the duty without re-weighing. This is certainly creditable to the honesty of the Brazilians. In 1828, there were 58,871,360 /6s. exported. Two qualities of sugars are known; one from Campos, in the north, the other from Santos, in the south. They are brought in coasting vessels, in boxes weighing about 2,000 /6s. and deposited in trapixes, or public stores ; a large quantity is also made in the district of Rio. In 1828, there were 19,126 cases, 465 boxes, and 13,867 barrels exported. Hides and horns come from Rio Grande and the flat llanos on the shores of the Rio de la Plata. On the vast and fertile Campos of Brazil, there are none,either wild or tame. In 1828, 208,277 hides, and a proportionable quantity of horns were exported. It is at present impossible to obtain an accurate estimate of the people of Rio. Before the arrival of the king, it is thought by some not to have exceeded 50,000 souls. Mr. Walsh estimates the number at 150,000, of whom two-thirds at least are blacks. In this estimate Mr. Henderson in his recent work on Brazil concurs. Later writers put it at 200,000. 630 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BAHIA. BAHIA. The city of St. Salvador, better known by the name of Tiahia, is, with the exception of Rio, the largest and most flourishing city in Brazil. It stands on a bay of the same name, which contains above a hundred islands. Many of these are cultivated and inhabited. Perhaps the whole world does not contain a livelier or more splendid scene than this beautiful bay, spotted with islands, swarming with vessels of all sizes, from the smallest canoe to the largest merchantman, and echoing to the sounds of music and festivity. It is a place of great trade. In 1816, five hundred nineteen vessels entered the bay, and four hundred eighty-one left it. Of the articles of export, sugar is the first in importance, tobacco second, and cotton third. Other articles are rum, rice, coffee, whale oil, hides, tallow, and wood. It is said that full 800 launches and smacks of different sizes arrive daily, bringing vegetables, upon which the people chiefly subsist. The coffee is not esteemed so fine as that of Rio. The bananas are the finest in America. Including its suburbs, Bahia extends four miles from north to south, and its population is estimated at above 100,000, more than two-thirds of whom are mulattoes or negroes, the proportion of slaves, (to use Mr. Southey s expression,) being fearfully great. According to Mr. Lindley, Bahia stands on the right side of the bay, where the land, at a small distance from the shore, rises steeply, to a high ridgy hill, on the summit of which the city is erected, with the exception of a single street that ranges parallel to the beach : from the inequality of the ground and the plantations interspersed, it occupies a con siderable space. The buildings are chiefly of the seventeenth century, ill constructed, and, from the slightness of the ma terials, rapidly decaying, which diminishes the effect of many of them that once were sumptuous. As in all Catholic cities, the churches are the most distinguished edifices, and those on which the greatest attention and expense were originally lavished ; the cathedral is large, but falling into ruins ; while the college and archiepiscopal palace (or rather house) adjoining, are kept in thorough repair : they were all, at the period of their erection, spacious buildings, and have a proud 632 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES station on the summit of the hill, commanding the bay and surrounding country. The grand church of the ex-jesuits is by far the most elegant structure of the city. It is com posed entirely of European marble, imported for the pur pose, at an immense cost, while the internal ornaments are superfluously rich : the rails of the altar are of cast brass, the whole of the wood work is inlaid with tortoise-shell, and the grand chancel, and several other communion recesses, (diverging from the side aisles,) with their respective altars, are loaded with gildings, paintings, images, and a profusion of other decorations. The streets are confined and narrow, wretchedly paved, never cleaned, and therefore disgustingly dirty. The backs of several of them are receptacles of filth, which, exposed to so extreme a heat, would affect severely the health of the in habitants, but for the salubrious air that prevails, in conse quence of the elevated situation of the place.* Things appear not to have been much improved in 1821, nearly twenty years later, when Bahia was visited by an in telligent female traveller. Mrs. Graham landed at the arsenal or dock-yard. " The street into which we proceeded through the arsenal gate," she says, " forms, at this place, the breadth of the whole lower town of Bahia, and is, without exception, the filthiest place I ever was in. It is extremely narrow; yet, all the working artificers bring their benches and tools into the streets. In the interstices between them, along the walls, are fruit-sellers, venders of sausages, black puddings, fried fish, oil and sugar cakes, negroes platting hats or mats, coder as, (a kind of sedan-chair,) with their beavers, dogs, pigs, and poultry, without partition or distinction ; and as the gutter runs in the middle of the street, every thing is thrown there from the different stalls, as well as from the windows, and there the animals live and feed ! In this street" (called the Prai/a) " are the warehouses and country houses of the merchants, both native and foreign. The buildings are high, but neither so airy nor so handsome as those of Pernambuco."t The society of Bahia has been deemed superior to that of Rio. " In their intercourse with foreigners," says Mr. Lindley, " far less hauteur is seen in Bahia than in any other * Lindley s Authentic Narrative. * Graham s Journal. IN SOUTH AMERICA. 633 part of the coast." Nothing, however, can be much more degraded than the state both of manners and morals. With regard to the former, we shall here avail ourselves of Mrs. Graham s lively narrative : she is describing a tour of morn ing visits. " In the first place, the houses for the most part, are disgustingly dirty. The lower story usually consists of cells for slaves, stabling, &/C. ; the staircases are narrow and dark, and at more than one house, we waited in a passage, while the servants ran to open the doors and windows of the sitting-rooms, and to call their mistresses, who were enjoy ing their undress in their own apartments. When they ap peared, I could scarce believe that one half were gentle women. As they wear neither stay nor bodice, the figure becomes almost indecently slovenly after very early youth; and this is the more disgusting, as they are very thinly clad, wear no neck handkerchiefs, and scarcely any sleeves. Then, in this hot climate, it is unpleasant to see dark cottons and stuffs, without any white linen, near the skin; hair black, ill combed, and dishevelled, or knotted unbecomingly, or, still worse, en papillote, and the whole person bearing an un washed appearance. When, at any of the houses, the bustle of opening the cobwebbed windows and assembling the family was over, in two or three instances, the servants had to remove the dishes of sugar mandior, and other provisions, which had been left in the best rooms to dry. There is usually a sofa at each end of the room, and to the right and left, a long file of chairs, which look as if they never could be moved out of their place. Between the two sets of seats is a space which, I am told, is often used for dancing; and, in every house, I saw either a guitar or piano, and generally both. Prints and pictures, the latter the worst daubs I ever saw, decorate the halls pretty generally ; and there are be sides, crucifixes and other things of the kind. Some houses, however, are more neatly arranged. One, I think, belonging to a captain of the navy, was papered, the floors laid with mat, and the tables ornamented with pretty porcelain, Indian and French ; the lady, too, was neatly dressed in a French wrapper. Another house, belonging to one of the judges, was also clean, and of a more stately appearance than the rest, though the inhabitant was neither richer nor of higher rank. Glass chandeliers were suspended from the roof, and handsome mirrors were intermixed with the prints and pic tures. A good deal of handsome china was displayed round 634 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES the room ; but the jars, as well as the chairs and tables, seemed to form an inseparable part of the walls." The gentlemen dress as in Lisbon, with an excess of em broidery, and spangles on their waistcoats, and lace on their linen, and their shoe and knee buckles often of solid gold. But, at home, these gala clothes are laid aside for a gown or thin jacket, or merely a shirt and drawers. The usual dress of the ladies is a single petticoat over a chemise, the latter generally of the thinnest muslin, much worked and orna mented, and so full at the bosom as to drop over the shoulders on the slightest movement. "This violation of feminine delicacy," says Mr. Lindley, " appears the more disgusting, as the complexion of the Brazilians is in general very indif ferent, approaching to an obscure tawny color. Stockings are scarcely ever used ; and during the rainy season, which is to them cold, they shuffle about in a pair of slippers, dressed in a thick blue and white cotton wrapper, or a woollen great coat faced with shag. When attending mass, a deep black silk mantle, worn over the head, conceals the transparent costume beneath. On some public occasions and visits of ceremony, a few ladies of rank adopt the European dress." This has probably come more extensively into vogue. In a large party of well-dressed women whom Mrs. Graham met, she had great difficulty, she says, in recggnizing the slatterns of the morning. "The Smhoras were all dressed after the French fashion: corset, fichu, garniture, all was proper, rind even elegant, and there was a great display of jewels." Edu cation is at the lowest ebb. The men, Mrs. Graham says, divide nearly their whole time between the counting-house and the gaming-table. " Of those who read on political sub jects, most are disciples of Voltaire ; and they outgo his doctrines on politics, and equal his indecency as to religion." There is a considerable number of English residents at Bahia, who have a chapel and a chaplain, which, together with a hospital for English sailors, are supported by a contribution fund. " They are hospitable and sociable among each other," says Mrs. Graham, " and often dine together ; the ladies love music and dancing, and some of the men gamble as much as the Portuguese. Upon the whole, society is at a low, very low scale here among the English." The chief amusements of the citizens, says Mr. Lindley, IN SOUTH AMERICA. 635 are the feasts of the different saints, professions of nuns, sumptuous funerals, the holy or passion week, &/c., which are all celebrated in rotation, with grand ceremonies, a full concert, and frequent processions. " On such occasions, the streets are swept and strewed with white sand and flowers ; the windows are illuminated; and the processions, lighted by a great number of tapers borne by the faithful, move on ward, to the sound of bells and fireworks, towards the church prepared for their reception. The burials are conducted likewise at night, by the light of torches and flambeaus. Music forms an important part of these religious festivities. The Portuguese are a musical people, and the negroes also are passionately fond of music. The city wayts are all negroes, and they have always a full band ready for service, which finds constant employ from public or private devotion. * " Every Portuguese," remarks Mr. Southey, " has his saint, every saint has his day, and on every saint s day, some of his votaries summon the musicians to celebrate the festival, and accompany them to the church or chapel of the idol, frequently by water." " It is also a custom," Mr. Lindley says, " with the European merchant ships to have music on their arrival, at departure, and on the first day of taking in cargo, which repeatedly gives us a little concert, and sounds charmingly from the water. These musicians are trained by the different barber-surgeons of the city, who are of the same color, and have been itinerant musicians from time imme morial. Numerous as these swarthy sons of harmony are, they find constant employment, not only as above mentioned, but also at the entrance of the churches on celebrations of festivals, where they sit playing lively pieces, regardless of the solemnities going on within. COLOMBIA. BOGOTA. THIS city, which, during the reign of the Spaniards in South America, was more commonly called Santa Fe, but since the independence of the country, Bogota, is situated on a spacious and fertile plain, on the most easterly ridge of the Andes, in latitude 4 10 north, and longitude 73 50 , at an elevation of upwards of 8000 feet. It was founded by Que- sada, in 1538, who built twelve huts in honor of the twelve apostles, on the skirts of the two mountains called Mont- serrat and Guadaloupe. It was created a city in 1548. It was formerly the capital of New Grenada. From its ex treme boundaries it extends about a mile in length, and in its widest part about half a mile in breadth. The streets are generally narrow, but regular ; all of them are paved, and the principal ones have footpaths. " When seen from the mountains at the back, the city has a very pretty effect. The streets built at right angles, present an appearance of great regularity, and have a stream of water constantly flowing down the middle ; there are also several handsome public fountains. Great as is the extent of the city, the churches and convents cover nearly one half the ground. Many of the convents are in part, and others wholly deserted, since the Revolution. The ground that ome of them cover is immense." There are nine monasteries and three nun neries. In respect to the public buildings, and indeed to the houses generally, elegance has been obliged to be sacrificed to solidity, on account of earthquakes, to which the city is liable. The architecture of some, however, is handsome. The cathedral is a fine looking building ; but its magnifi cence is not so great as the treasures it possesses are valua ble. " One statue of the Virgin alone, out of the many which adorn the altars, is ornamented with 1,358 diamonds, 1,295 emeralds, 59 amethysts, one topaz, one hyacinth, 372 636 638 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES pearls, and its pedestal is enriched with 609 amethysts ; the artist was paid 4,000 piastres for his labors." The palace, the ancient residence of the viceroys, now oc cupied by the president of the republic, is nothing more than a house with a flat roof. Its dependencies are two adjoining houses much lower, but ornamented with galleries. The palace of the deputies is a large house, situated at the corner of a street, the ground floor of which is let out in shops for the selling of brandy. Across the street is the palace of the senate, which is still more simple than that of the repre sentatives. The mint is a large plain building. The principal streets are the Calle Real, and the San Juan de dios. The former has a footway on both sides of the road, and is well paved ; and, as there arc no carts, or vehi cles of any description, the traffic being hitherto carried on exclusively by mules, it does not require frequent repair. The ground floors of the houses are occupied by shops, with one story above, each habitation having a large wooden bal cony, painted green. These two streets, which lead to the alamcfla, are the chief resorts of the loungers and fashiona bles of Bogota. At one extremity of the Calle Real is the principal Plaza, where the daily market is held. " This spacious square is paved in the usual excellent style through out, and the method of paving in compartments, by lines of stones on the edge, and the compartment filled with pavement of round stones, though it was not intended for the purpose, becomes of some use in the apportionment of space to the dealers in various commodities; there are neither tables, chairs, stools, counters, or chests visible in this square ; all commodities are displayed on the naked pavement, or, where the articles require it, on coarse cloths spread upon the space regulated. Here are seen the manufactured products of all parts of the globe, Japan and China, India, Persia, France, England, Germany, Italy, and Holland ; and, though last, not least, the United States, or their favorite America del Norte. On different platforms, apportioned out by proper officers, or clerks of the market, or deputies of the alcades, are seen piles of every kind of cotton, woollen, silk, and linen manufactures ; calicoes of India and England, the silks of Asia, Italy and France ; the coarse linen fabrics of Russia, Saxony, Silesia, and Holland ; the finer linens of England, Ireland, France, and Holland ; the broad coarse checks of Germany, and their English successful imitations. IN SOUTH AMERICA. 639 " In other parts of the plaza, fruit and vegetable produc tions of every description, were placed in piles on the pave ment, or in capacious or small baskets. Another part was appropriated to fowls of various kinds, &/c. " But it is in the Calle Real, that the richest and finest commodities are exposed for sale, in spacious shops, which occupy the ground floor of all the houses on both sides of that busy street. Here the finest jewelry, cutlery, millinery, and clothing for both sexes are collected, and from thence dispersed over all the countries west, south and east, for some hundred rhiles, and beyond Quito. Native crystals, the topaz of various hues from Brazil, the emeralds of the country in deeper or paler tints, wrought and rude, the dia monds, arid rubies, and amethysts of Asia, glitter alongside the artificial gems of Paris ; and the fine wrought gold fila gree of the native workmen, which rivals that of the eastern Archipelago."* > In the neighborhood of Bogota are some very agreeable walks, which, although shaded by willows, and ornamented by rose-trees and the beautiful cardamindum, are little fre quented ; the preference being given to a few select streets, the trottoirs of which offer a commodious promenade, as from them, gentlemen on horseback may be seen traversing the town at full gallop. The greater part of these horsemen are bedizened with gold, and glittering in military uniforms; some with round hats ornamented with plumes of feathers, others with cocked ones, and a still greater number wearing shakos and helmets. Although their own appearance is up on the whole striking, that of their horses, which resemble Norman poneys, is so wretched as to lessen the effect con siderably. The general routine of the day at Bogota, commences with mass, which is attended by females and old men. The men, in general, we are told, do not give themselves much trouble on this score, unless they have some particular object in view, more attractive than devotion. The greater part of the day, the ladies lounge on their sofas. At half-past five, they attend the almcda, whence they return to receive visits till between nine and ten o clock, at which hour they retire. TtrtuliaSj or evening parties, balls, masquerades, and the numerous religious processions, are their chief amusements. * Duane s Visit to Colombia 640 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES The capital is at present lull of priests, monks and cler gy, in consequence of a decree abolishing all monasteries, which did not contain above a certain number, and directing their inhabitants to reside in Bogota. This is considered as a stroke of policy, having for its object not merely to apply the revenues of the suppressed monasteries to the exigencies of the State, but to bring the clerical body more immedi ately under the eye of Government, and counteract the more easily their disposition to political intrigue. It is not easy, M. Mollien says, to say what are the political opinions of the inhabitants of Bogota. Like all those who reside in capitals, they are oppositionists, because they see the machine of government too near ; but, after having given the revolution ary impulse, this capital will, for the future, receive it from the provinces. The population of Bogota is said to have amounted, in 1800, to 21,464 inhabitants, exclusive of strangers and bra- gars, whose residence was not known. The births exceeded the deaths in the same year, by 247. The present popula tion is estimated at from 30 to 35,000 souls. Thore exists a difference of opinion as to the superior eligibility of the site of the two capitals Bogota and Caraccas. The author of Letters from Colombia gives his decided opinion in favor of the former. The climate here is more congenial to Eng lish constitutions, and is favorable to great bodily exertion. The extreme rarity of the atmosphere, however, owing to the great elevation of the plain, is at first very oppressive to strangers, occasioning a difficulty of breathing, and an un pleasant sensation at the chest. After a few days, this sub sides The seasons here are divided into rainy and dry, forming two winters and two summers. The dry season be gins with the solstices; the wet, with the equinoxes, varying ten or fifteen days. March, April, May, September, Octo ber, November, are each reckoned winter months, during which fall almost incessant rains. The mornings, from day break to eight o clock, are then piercing cold, the thermom eter frequently down to 47. though it in general keeps be tween 5^ and (>3. In summer, during the warmest time, it varies from (5H to 70. June, .Inly, and August are showery. N. N. W. winds invariably bring storms. But, during the dry season, the heavens are for the most part beautifully serene and unclouded, and the dews are so light, IN SOUTH AMERICA. 641 that the usual lounge of the inhabitants is by moonlight. Upon the whole, the climate may be salubrious. Epidemics are unknown, and the diseases to which the natives are sub ject, are attributable to other causes than the air.* As the Cataract of Tequendama excites the curiosity of all visiters to Bogota, our fellow tourists will of course ex pect us to show them this celebrated work of nature. This we shall do with the assistance of a very competent guide, whose services we have already had occasion to use. " No painting," says Col. Duane, " can convey any ade quate idea of this extraordinary work of nature ; and, how ever circumstantial a verbal description may be, the idea of what is there seen cannot be but imperfectly expressed. I am not at all surprised, that none of the descriptions I had read of this cataract, conveyed to my perceptions any thing like what it really is. It cannot be seen with advantage at one place ; contiguous to the first bound of the river, the basin above, and the roll of the flood over the perpendicular steep upon the vast platform, are all clearly visible ; but the whole volume of the stream tumbling to the deep can only be partially and imperfectly seen there. We took another station on the north side of the chasm, so that the sun s beams, then about eleven o clock, crossed the line of the cataract obliquely ; from this point we could see about a third of the descending volume of water ; but we could not perceive the bottom. While we stood in this position, this sublime object was never perhaps seen to more advantage. The water was discolored by the yellow earth over which it flowed ; and when the torrent dashed upon the forty feet platform beneath it, the cloud of vapor, as it rose, illumined by the blaze of an ardent sun, gave an incessant glow of brilliant golden glory. Description by no means conveys a sufficient idea of the object : it seemed a halo with a disk of floating transparent gold, of perhaps twenty feet diameter, the exterior vapor exhibiting prismatic shades incessantly changing, renewing in new forms, and on the outer verge condensing in drops, which fell in showers like tears. The mind is beguiled, and time passes unfelt in the intensity of admiration and awful sublimity of this spectacle, which on every aspect presents new beauties and astonishment. Re turning to the verge of the cataract, I was induced to place * For other particulars respecting Bogota, see " Universal Traveller. 41 642 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES myself on my breast to look into the chasm, and I succeed ed, with new emotions of admiration. Those who are re puted to have measured the depth, which is by no means dif ficult, have differed from three to eight feet ; but the average of the computation gives 164 or 165 feet, which, as far as my eye is competent to judge, I believe to be near the true depth. I leaned over the perpendicular wall it is to all ap pearance a wall of regularly wrought and horizontally laid and ranged gray grit stone and 1 could see the foam of the torrent agitate the basin below, where the rocks, rounded on their tops by the beating of the waters, were seen as if emerging from the waves of foam, like the play of otters, while the stream of the torrent itself, brilliant in its own ac tion, appeared reduced to the size of the spout from a fire- engine. " But, sublime as these views truly are, with the forests rising on each side, from the crevice, into lofty sloping hills, perhaps the most extraordinary peculiarities are yet to be noticed. I know no mode by which the idea of its charac ter and figure may be conceived, but that of the reader form ing to himself the idea of a gap or opening in the face of a mountain 200 feet high, and about sixty feet broad, at the foot of which a flood of 10 or 15 yards broad gushes through the gap, at the height of more than 7,000 feet above the ocean, rolling over rugged precipices till it unites with the river Tocayma, one of the tributaries of the Magdalena. This is the aspect at the debouch in the valley below. As cending then to the point from which the Funza thus issues, and entering the crevice from its west or open end, and groping along the rocky and difficult side of this gap ; the overhanging trees no longer cover the space ; but a lane, if I may so call it, of three-fourths of a mile long, formed by two walls, perpendicular and parallel, induces the surprised spectator to ask if these walls be not the work of art ? if man with the chisel and the hammer, the trowel, the level, and the plumb-line, have not wrought them ? Those walls stand parallel, and distant about fifty feet, and about 170 feet per pendicular height, as uniformly fair on their faces as the best masonry of the Capitol. Their summits are only the feet of the forests, and the stream that has tumbled as it were from the great storehouse of the heavens, starts from the body of the foam, as if frighted by its own noise. " But there is still another extraordinary feature of those walls. In looking over the lofty brink from above, I could IN SOUTH AMERICA. 643 CARACCAS. discern, by a dark light-glimmer, that the volume of the water, in its plunge over the mound, on the table of its first bound, left a space arched, or the quarter of an arc beneath ; at the second bound, the arching was not so forward ; either the impulse was not so great behind, or its own gravity brought it, after a curve of about a sixth of the ci-rcle, head long down, keeping its volume, but casting out its brilliant spray, and, forming, by its action on the air, a never-ceasing shower, the more aeriform vapor rising in clouds, and making a play of sunbeams, with alternately refracted and suppressed prismatic lights over the abyss below. The opportunity of seeing behind and beneath the column of the cataract, ex poses the structure of the wall over which it pours ; and adds, by the regularity of its form, to the wonders of this place. It is, like the sides, perpendicular, and meets the sides, forming as exact rectangles as any architectural structure."* CARACCAS. We shall precede our account of Caraccas with a brief notice of its port, La Guayra. It is a roadstead, open to the north and east, and slightly sheltered to the west by Cape Blanco. But for this cape, it would have no preten sions whatever to be called a port ; and as it is, those pre tensions are very slight. Vessels anchor in from six and seven to five-and-twenty and thirty fathoms, according to their distance from shore, with a bottom generally of white sand. The worm is very destructive to the bottoms of such vessels as are not coppered. There is almost con stantly a swell, which is sometimes so violent as to prevent all intercourse with the shore for several days together ; and the lading is at all times taken in with difficulty. " It is a singular spectacle," says an English traveller with whom we shall now join company, " when the air is perfectly calm, to see upon the beach a continued line of high breakers, which succeed each other incessantly, and descend with a roaring which is heard far up the valleys. On account of * Duane s Visit to Colombia. 644 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CARACCAS. this surf, the wharf of La Guayra, which is of wood, and up wards of 160 feet in length, stands in need of continual re pair."* The town is irregularly and badly built, the lower street in a line parallel with the beach, and most of the others stretching up the side of the mountain, at the foot of which the town is built, and along the high bank of a ravine in which flows a small stream. After heavy rains this becomes for a short time an impassable torrent, and has sometimes even overflowed its lofty banks, to the great danger of the lower part of the town. The only public building of any consequence is the custom-house, which is large and com modious. The church has nothing in it remarkable ; " nor is there, indeed," adds Mr. Semple, " in the whole place, an object worthy of detaining the traveller a single hour." This gentleman visited La Guayra in 1810. Two years af ter, the earthquake which visited Caraccas reduced La Guayra to little better than a heap of ruins; and according to the statement of a recent traveller, it had not recovered so lately as February, 1823, from the effects of the dire visita tion. It is described as presenting a most dismal aspect, and the coast was covered with wrecks. A violent swell from the north-east had, in the preceding month, cast on shore every vessel that was lying off the port, except one, and no fewer than fourteen hulks were then on the beach. t Yet the commerce carried on with La Guayra is considerable, and, as this writer states, is daily increasing both with Great Britain and North America. The road from the port to Caraccas, resembles the pas sages over the Alps. " It is infinitely finer," Ilumboldt says, " than that from Honda to Bogota, or from Guayaquil to Quito, and is even kept in better order than the ancient road from Vera Cruz to Perote. With good mules, it re quires but three hours to ascend, and only two to return. With loaded mules or on foot, the journey occupies from four to five hours. The elevation of Caraccas is but a third of that of Mexico, Quito, or Bogota; and among all the capitals of Spanish America which enjoy a cool and de licious climate in the midst of the torrid zone, Caraccas stands nearest to the coast." For the first mile, the road continues along the shore to Macula, (or Maiquetia,) a neat * Scmple s Sketch of Caraccas. t Letters from Colombia. IN SOUTH AMERICA. 645 CARACCAS. and pleasant village, where most of the wealthier inhabitants of La Guayra have houses. Here, the mountains recede a little from the shore, leaving a small opening, better adapted, Mr. Semple says, for the situation of the port than the rude spot on which it has been built. The road then turns to the left, and ascends to a considerable height, through a deep clay or rich mould, which, in rainy weather, would be impassable, were not the road in many places paved. In the steepest parts, it ascends by zigzags, but is sometimes so nar row that two loaded mules cannot pass each other, and the banks are high and steep on each side. " Woe betide the traveller," says Mr. Semple, of whose description we shall now avail ourselves, " who in these passes, meets a line of mules loaded with planks, which stretch transversely almost from side to side. He must either turn about his horse s head, or pass them with the utmost caution, at the risk of having his ribs encountered by a long succession of rough boards, which, at every swerve of the mules, scoop out long grooves in the clayey banks. " We continued constantly to ascend. On the road was the stone body of the statue of a saint, on a miserable low sledge, which had been with great difficulty brought thus far, when the project seemed to have been abandoned in despair, as it continued here for several months. The head, we were informed, had already reached Caraccas, where it was impatiently waiting the arrival of the body to be joined to it, and reared on high as an object of venera tion to surrounding multitudes. The stoppage of this statue marked the increasing difficulties of the ascent. From clay, the road changed in many parts to rugged rock, which appears not merely to have been thus purposely left, but to have been formed in its present state. At the height of about a thousand feet, we begin to breathe already a lighter and cooler air ; and, turning back, enjoy the view of Ma- cuta and the coast beneath our feet. We see the white breakers along the shore and hear their, noise, which now sounds like a hollow murmur among the woods, which be gin to crown the steeps. Opposite to us is a high and steep hill, covered with vegetation, and all the deep hollow be tween is dark with trees. Here and there spots are cleared away, plantations are formed, and the experienced eye can distinguish the various hues of the fields of coffee, sugar, or maize. We pass also from time tQ time, two or three mis erable huts, where the muleteers are accustomed to stop 640 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CARACCAS. and refresli themselves. In this manner we continue to ascend, the mountains still rising steep before us, till we ar rive at a drawbridge over a deep cut made across the nar row ridge upon which we have been advancing. On each side are deep valleys, clothed with tall trees and thick un derwood, through which is no path. This point is de fended by two or three guns and a few soldiers, and forms the first military obstacle to the march of an enemy. In its present state, it is by no means formidable, but a very little care might render it so. Having passed this, the steepness increases, so that the mules, and even the foot traveller, can proceed only by crossing obliquely from side to side; and even that is attended with difficulty after rain or heavy dews, on account of the smooth round stones with which the road is paved. But the great and enlivening change ex perienced in the state of the atmosphere, removes all diffi culties. Never, within the tropics, had I before breathed so pure and so cool an air. Instead of the stifling heat of the coast, where the slightest exertion was attended with profuse perspiration, I walked fast for joy, and thought my self in England. It was four o clock in the afternoon when I left La Guayra, and it was now become dark, when I reached La Vent a, (the inn,) a poor house, but well known upon the road as being about half way between Caraccas and the Port. It is situated at the height of about 3,600 English feet above the level of the sea, at which elevation the heat is never oppressive. Here, having supped and drunk large draughts of delicious cold water, I repaired to sleep, unmolested by heat or mosquitoes. Being still warm with my walk and my supper, I cared little that the frame on which 1 lay down was unprovided with a single article of covering ; but, about midnight I awoke, shivering with cold, and astonished at a sensation so unexpected. At three o clock, it being a fine moonlight morning, we resumed our journey, having still a considerable distance to ascend, although the worst of the road was now past. In an hour, we had passed the highest point of the road, and proceeded along an uneven ridge of two or three miles before begin ning to descend towards the valley of Caraccas. On the summit of the highest hill above the road is a fort, which completes the military defences on the side of La Guayra. This fort is visible only from certain points somewhat dis tant, as we wind close round the base of the hill on which it stands without seeing any vestiges of it. When we had IN SOUTH AMERICA. 647 CARACCAS. passed the ridge, and were descending towards Caraccas, the day began to dawn. Never had I seen a more inter esting prospect. A valley upwards of twenty miles in length, enclosed by lofty mountains, unfolded itself by de grees to my eyes. A small river, which runs through the whole length of it, was marked by a line of mist along the bottom of the valley ; while the large white clouds, which here and there lingered on the sides of the hills, began to be tinged with the first beams of light. Beneath my feet was the town of Caraccas, although only its church towers were visible, rising above the light mist in which it lay buried. Presently the bells, began to chime, and I heard all their changes distinctly, although, following the windings of the road, I had still four miles to descend, whilst, in a straight line, the distance did not appear more than one. At the foot of the hill is a gate, where a guard and officers are stationed, to examine the permits for merchandise, and sometimes the passports of strangers. Within this is an open space, before reaching the town, which we entered about six o clock. After passing the first row of houses, I was struck with the neatness and regularity of most of the streets, which were well paved, and far superior to any thing I had yet seen in the West Indies. In the principal posada, (inn,) kept by a Genoese, 1 found every accommodation that could be reasonably expected. And, indeed, for some days, the constant sensation of refreshing coolness in the mornings and evenings, as well as throughout the night, was of itself a luxury which seemed to have all the charms of novelty, and left no room for petty complaints. Caraccas, or as it is called at length, Santiago de Leon de Caraccas, is situated in latitude 10 36 north ; longi tude 67 4 west ; at an elevation of nearly 2,500 feet above the level of the sea, at the entrance of the plain of Chacao, which extends above twenty miles east and west, and varies from six to seven in breadth. It is watered by the river Guayra. The ground on which the town is built slopes regularly down to the Guayra, which bounds it on the south ; the custom-house being 400 and the Plaza Mayor nearly 200 feet above the bed of the river. The de clivity is not so rapid as to prevent carriages from going about the town, but the inhabitants make little use of them. The city is built in the Spanish fashion ; the streets, which are in general a hundred yards wide, crossing at right 648 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CARACCAS. angles, divide the whole town into square portions called quadras, which here and there are left to form open squares. The Plaza Mayor has the cathedral on the east side, the college on the south, and the prison on the west ; but it is disfigured by ranges of low shops, which form a sort of inner square. Here is held the fruit, vegetable, and fish market, where the banana, the pineapple, and the sapa- dillo, are mingled with the apple, the pear, and the potatoe, the product of every zone, with the fish peculiar to the tropical seas. Caraccas contains eight churches, three convents, two nunneries, three hospitals, and a theatre that will contain from 20 to 25,000 persons. The pit, in which the seats for the men are separate from those allotted to the female part of the audience, is left uncovered, and there may be seen at once the actors and the stars. Nothing, as may be supposed, can be more contemptible than the performances. The cathedral is heavily built and badly planned ; it is 250 feet long by 75 broad, and its walls are 36 feet high. Four ranges of columns, six in each range, without beauty or proportion, support the roof; but, to compensate for the inelegance of the architecture, the brick steeple contained the only public clock in the city. The most splendid church, in point of the richness of its ornaments, was that of Alia Gracia, built at the expense of the people of color, as that of La Candelaria was by the Islcnos from the Canaries. The church of the Dom inicans boast of a curious "historical picture," represent ing the Virgin suckling the sainted founder of their order, a grey-beard monk, to whom a physician had prescribed woman s milk for a violent pain in his breast. Besides the two nunneries of Conception and Carmel, there is a much more useful institution for the education of young fe males, belonging to the congregation of Las Educandas. The college, the only public institution for the education of young men, was founded by the Archbishop of Antonio Gonzales d Acuna, so lately as 1778, and was erected into a universi ty, by permission of the Pope, in 1792. In this university, reading and writing are first taught. Three Latin professors teach enough of that language to enable their scholars to read mass and study Dunn Scotus. A professor of medicine lectures on anatomy, &,c., by aid of a skeleton and some preparations in wax. Four professors are occupied in teach ing theology, and one the canon law. One is charged with the exposition of the Roman law, the Castilian laws, the IN SOUTH AMERICA. 649 CARACCAS. code of the Indies, and " all other laws ; " and finally, there is a professor of vocal church music. " The routine of education," says Mr. Semple, " is such as may be supposed to have been in Spain two hundred years ago ; a few com mon Latin authors, catechisms, and the Lives of Saints, being the chief studies." In 1807, the population amounted to 47,228 persons, of all colors ; of whom, according to M. Dupons, " the whites formed nearly one-fourth, the slaves a third, the Indians a twentieth, and the freed persons the rest." M. Humboldt, however, states that, of 45,000 persons, which the best-in formed inhabitants believed it to contain in 1800, 18,000 were whites, and 27,000 persons of color. The census of 1778 had made the number amount to nearly 32,000. Since then, it had continued to increase; and in 1810, the city contained, according to M. Lavaysse, 50,000 souls; the population of the whole province being 496,772. Such was about the number, when, by the great earthquake of the 26th of March, 1812, 12,000 inhabitants were buried under the ruins of their houses ; and the political commotions which succeeded that catastrophe have reduced the number of inhabitants to less than 20,000 souls. More than half the town is now in ruins. " The houses of Caraccas," says a recent traveller, " once so rich in the costliness of their furniture and decorations, can now barely boast of the com monest articles of convenience ; and it is with the utmost difficulty that a table, chair, or bedstead, can at present be procured. That par^ which is nearest the mountain, presents a continued mass of ruins. For the full space of a mile, the streets are overgrown with weeds, and are entire ly uninhabited." " On approaching the guard-house of the barrier, to pay the toll exacted from travellers, I was struck," says another writer, " with the wretchedness of its appearance, the filth which surrounded it, and the squalid figures of the sol diery, whose small stature, dirty, ragged clothing, half pol ished muskets, and lack of shoes and stockings, afforded the most convincing proofs of the exhausted and miserable state to which the intestine war had reduced this fine coun try. From this barrier, the road lies along the ridge to the entrance of the town, where the first objects that attracted my attention was a church on my left, which had been shat tered by the earthquake. The walls only of the nave stood erect, although split in some places, and partly concealed 650 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CARACCAS. by the wild vegetation, which, in this country, seems ever ready to take advantage of the desertion of any spot to recover it from human usurpation. The central tower had not entirely fallen, but stood deeply rent from the top, in a leaning position, threatening destruction to all within its reach. Many similar scenes of dilapidation characterized this part of the town, roofless and shattered walls, leaning with various degrees of inclination, being met with at every step. A little further on, symptoms of renovation appear, in a few houses which are building ; and at length, on reaching the southern part, few traces of the calamity are seen, the houses generally remaining entire, with merely occasional flaws in the walls. These are chiefly built of sun-dried clay or rnud (tapia) beaten down between wood en frames. The roofs are of tile, and the walls white washed." In 1812, this city by an awful convulsion, was over whelmed. As early as December, 1811, a shock had been felt at Caraccas ; but the inhabitants rested from that time in security till the 7th and 8th of February, 1812, when the earth was day and night in perpetual oscillation. A great drought prevailed at this period, throughout the prov ince. Not a drop of rain had fallen at Caraccas, or for ninety leagues round, during the five months which preceded the destruction of the capital. The 20th of March, the fatal day, was remarkably hot, the air was calm, the sky uncloud ed. It was Holy Thursday, and a great part of the popula tion was assembled in the churches.* Nothing seemed to pre sage the calamities of the day. At seven minutes after four in the afternoon, the first shock was felt ; it was sufficiently powerful to make the bells of the churches toll ; it lasted five or six seconds, during which time the ground was in a con tinual undulating movement, and seemed to heave up like a boiling liquid. The danger was thought to be past, when a tremendous subterranean noise was heard, resembling the roll ing of thunder, but louder, and of longer continuance than that heard within the tropics in time of storms. This noise preceded a perpendicular motion of three or four seconds, followed by an undulatory movement somewhat longer. The shocks were in opposite directions, from north to south, and from east to west. Nothing could resist the movement from beneath upward, and the undulations crossing each other. The town of Caraccas was entirely overthrown. Thousands of the inhabitants, (between 9 and 10,000,) IN SOUTH AMERICA. 651 CARACCAS. were buried under the ruins of the houses and churches. The procession had not yet set out, but the crowd was so great in the churches, that nearly 3 or 4,000 persons were crushed by the fall of their vaulted roofs. The explosion was stronger towards the north, in that part of the town situate nearest the mountain of Avila and the Silla. The churches of La Trinidad and Alta Gracia, which were more than 150 feet high, and the naves of which were supported by pillars of twelve or fifteen feet in diameter, left a mass of ruins scarcely exceeding five or six feet in elevation. The sinking of the ruins has been so considerable, that there now scarcely remain any vestiges of pillars or columns. The barracks, called El Quartcl de San Carlos, situate fur ther north of the church of the Trinity, on the road from the custom-house de la Pastora, almost entirely disappeared. A regiment of troops of the line, that was assembled under arms, ready to join the procession, was, with the exception of a few men, buried under the ruins of this great edifice. Nine-tenths of the fine town of Caraccas were entirely de stroyed. The walls of the houses that were not thrown down as those of the street San Juan, near the Capuchin Hos pital, were cracked in such a manner, that it was impossible to run the risk of inhabiting them. The effects of the earthquake were somewhat less violent in the western and southern parts of the city, between the principal square and the ravine of Caraguata. There the cathedral, supported by enormous buttresses, remains standing. Estimating at 9 or 10,000 the number of the dead in the city of Caraccas, we do not include those unhappy persons who, dangerously wounded, perished several months after for want of food, and proper care. The night of Holy Thursday presented the most distressing scene of desolation and sorrow. A thick cloud of dust, which, rising above the ruins darkened the sky like a fog, had settled on the ground. No shock was felt, and never was a night more calm or more serene. The moon, nearly full, illuminated the rounded domes of the Silla, and the aspect of the sky formed a perfect contrast to that of the earth, covered with the dead, and heaped with ruins. Mothers were seen bearing in their arms their chil dren, whom they hoped to recall to life. Desolate families wandered through the city, seeking a brother, a husband, a friend of whose fate they were ignorant, and whom they believed to be lost in the crowd. The people pressed along the streets, which could no more be recognized but by long 652 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CARACCAS. lines of ruins. All the calamities experienced in the great catastrophe of Lisbon, Messina, Lima, and Riobamba, were renewed on the fatal day of the 26th of March, 1812. The wounded, buried under the ruins, implored by their cries, the helps of the passers-by, and nearly two thousand were dug out. Never was pity displayed in a. more affecting manner ; never had it been seen more ingenuously active, than in the efforts employed to save the miserable victims whose groans reached the ear. Implements for digging and clearing away the ruins were entirely wanting ; and the peo ple were obliged to use their bare hands to disinter the living. The wounded, as well as the sick, who had escaped from the hospitals, were laid on the banks of the small river Guayra. They found no shelter but the foliage of trees. Beds, linen to dress the wounds, instruments of surgery, medicines, and objects of the most urgent necessity were buried under the ruins. Every thing, even food, was want ed during the first days. Water became alike scarce in the interior of the city. The commotion of the earth had choked up the springs that supplied them ; and it be came necessary, in order to have water, to go down to the river Guayra, which was considerably swelled ; and then, vessels to convey the water were wanting. There remained a duty to be fulfilled toward the dead, enjoined at once by piety and the dread of infection. It being impossible to in ter so many thousand corpses, half buried under the ruins, Commissaries were appointed to burn the bodies; and, for this purpose, funeral piles were erected between the heaps of ruins. This ceremony lasted several days. Amid so many public calamities, the people devoted themselves to those religious duties which they thought were the most fit ted to appease the wrath of Heaven. Some, assembling in procession, sung funeral hymns; others in a state of distrac tion, confessed themselves aloud in the streets. In this town was now repeated what had been remarked in the province of Quito, after the tremendous earthquake of 1797 ; a number of marriages were contracted by persons, who had neglected for many years to sanction their union by the sa cerdotal benediction. Children found parents by whom they had never till then been acknowledged ; restitutions were promised by persons, who had never been accused of fraud ; and families who had long been enemies, were drawn to gether by the tie of common calamity. If this feeling seemed to calm the passions of some, and open the heart IN SOUTH AMERICA. 653 CARACCAS. to pity, it had a contrary effect on others, rendering them more rigid and inhuman. In great calamities, vulgar minds preserve less goodness than strength. Misfortune acts in the same manner as the pursuits of literature and the study of nature, their happy influence is felt only by a few, giving more ardor to sentiment, more elevation to the thoughts, and more benevolence to the disposition. This catastrophe, which spread desolation over the city, and buried thousands in less than a minute beneath the earth, was not confined to Caraccas. Several considerable towns and villages shared in the calamity. In La Guayra the num ber of the dead exceeded 4,000. The shock was felt in the kingdom of New Grenada, as far as Santa Fe de Bogota, 180 leagues from Caraccas. Fifteen or eighteen hours after the great catastrophe, the ground remained tranquil. The night, as we have already observed, was fine and calm, and the commotions did not re-commence till after the 27th. They were then attended with a very loud and long-continued sub terranean noise, (bramido.) The inhabitants of Caraccas wandered into the country ; but the villages and farms having suffered as much as the town, they could find no shelter till they were beyond the mountains of Los Teques, in the val leys of Aragua, and in the Llanos or Savannas. No less than fifteen oscillations were often felt in one day. On the 5th of April, there was almost as violent an earthquake as that which overthrew the capital. During several hours, the ground was in a state of perpetual undulation. From the beginning of 1811, to 1813, the west area, lying between the parallels of 5 and 36 N., and the meridians of 29 and 89 VV., was shaken bv almost simultaneous commotions, the effect of subterranean fires. On the 30th of January, a sub-marine volcano appeared near the island of St. Michael, one of the Azores, where the sea was sixty fathoms deep. This new islet was at first nothing more than a shoal. On the 15th of January, an eruption, which last ed six days, enlarged its extent, and elevated it to the height of fifty fathoms above the sea. This new land, of which formal possession was taken in the name of the British Government, was 900 toises in diameter. It received the name of Sarbrina Island, a name not less ominous than ap propriate : Sarbrina has again descended " to Amphitrite s bow er." the island has been again swallowed up by the ocean.* * Humboldt. 654 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES NEW VALENCIA. NEW VALENCIA. This city stands about three miles west of the lake of Valencia, a beautiful sheet of water, 1,300 feet above the level of the sea, and extended 30 miles long, and about 12 broad. It is said to resemble Loch Lomond in the num ber of small islands scattered over its bosom, amounting to twenty-seven. But the mountains around it have not the wild and rugged character of those which border the Scot tish lake. The city of New Valencia is twelve years older than Caraccas, having been founded in the year 1555, by Alonzo Diaz Morena, as a station on which to advance on the valley of Caraccas. It was at first dependent on Burburata, which is now nothing more than a place of embarkation for mules. Its advantageous position, as a centre of communication be tween Puerto Cabello and the inland towns, has raised it into a place of considerable importance. At the time of Hum- boldt s visit, the population was only between 6,000 and 7,000 souls ; but, in 1810, it amounted to upwards of 10,000. " The inhabitants," says M. Lavaysse, " are nearly all Cre oles the descendants of ancient Biscayan and Canary fami lies. There is great industry and comfort in this town. It is as large as a European town of 24,000 souls, because the greater part of the houses have only a ground floor, and many of them have gardens. Fifty years ago, its inhabitants passed for the most indolent in the country. They pretend ed to be descended from the ancient conquerors, and could not conceive it possible for them to exercise any other function than the military profession, or to cultivate the land, without degrading themselves. Thus, they lived in the most abject misery, on u singularly fertile soil. Their ideas have since completely changed ; they have applied themselves to agriculture and commerce, and the grounds in the neigh borhood, are well cultivated. Valencia is the centre of a considerable trade between Caraccas and Puerto Cabello." Ilumholdt states, that, when he was there, many of the whites, especially of the poorer sort, would forsake their houses, and pass the greater part of the year in their little plantations of indigo and cotton, where they might venture to work with their own hands : * which, according to the in veterate prejudices of that country, would be a disgrace to them in town." The industry of the inhabitants was begin- IN SOUTH AMERICA. 655 NEW VALENCIA. ning to awake, and the cultivation of cotton had considerably augmented, since Puerto Cabello had been opened, as a puerto mayor, to vessels direct from the mother country. There is nothing striking, according to Mr. Sernple, in the appearance of the town. Some of the streets, he says, are tolerably well built, but the houses are mostly low and irregular, and the principal church, which stands on the eastern side of the great square, is by no means equal to that of La Victoria, either in its size or its proportions. The streets are very broad ; the dimensions of the plaza mayor are "excessive; " and, the houses being low, the dispropor tion between the population and the space which the town occupies, is still greater than at Caraccas. The author of Letters from Colombia thus describes the appearance which it presented in 1823, at the time that it was the head-quar ters of the patriot army investing Puerto Cabello. There were then about two thousand troops in the town, among whom were most of the English who had survived the several campaigns. " The entrance to the town is by a good bridge of three arches, built of stone and brick, and described as the best by far of any in the Republic. The Gloricta at tached to it, is a large circular seat, enclosing an area where the inhabitants meet in the evening for dancing and festivity. This is, in fact, the only public promenade. Of the few benefits bestowed on the country by the Spaniards, this is one. The bridge and Gloricta were erected by Morales, not many years since. The town contains many large houses, the best of which are occupied by the military : a greater number are in ruins, presenting a further memento of the ravages committed by the earthquake. The population is not proportioned to its present size. In this, as well as in respect to its resources, the prolonged and harassing war has left behind it most melancholy memorials." It has been regretted, and "perhaps justly," Humboldt says, " that Valencia was not made the capital, instead of Caraccas, under the colonial government. Its situation, in a plain, on the banks of a lake, recalls to mind the position of Mexico. When we reflect on the easy communication, which the valleys of Aragua furnish with Llanos, and the rivers that flow into the Oronoco, and recognize the possibil ity of opening an inland navigation, by the Rio Pao and the Portuguesa, as far as the mouths of the Oronoco, the Cassi- quire and the Amazon, it will appear, that the capital of the 656 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES PUERTO CABELLO. vast provinces of Venezuela would have been better placed near the fine harbor of Puerto Cabello, beneath a pure and serene sky, than near the unsheltered road of La Guayra, in a temperate, but constantly foggy valley. Situated near the king dom of New Grenada, and between the fertile corn lands of La Victoria and Barquesimeto, the city of Valencia ought to have prospered ; but notwithstanding these advantages, it has been unable to maintain the contest with Caraccas, which, during two centuries, has drawn away a great number of its inhabi tants." " The advantages of the situation have one drawback, however, in the incredible number of ants which infest the spot where Valencia is placed. Their excavations resem ble subterraneous canals, which, in the rainy season, are filled with water, and become very dangerous to the buildings, by occasioning a sinking of the ground. To set against this, there is an opening (abra) in the cordillera of the coast in the meridian of Valencia, by which a cooling sea-breeze pen etrates into the valley every evening : the breeze rises regu larly two or three hours after sunset." PUERTO CABELLO. Puerto Cabello is, next to Carthagena, the most important fortified place on this coast. It stands in latitude 10 28 north ; longitude 69 10 west. The town is quite modern. The port, Hurnboldt says, is one of the finest in the world; art has had scarcely any thing to add to the advantages which the nature of the spot presents. It is thus described by the English traveller : * Puerto Cabello stands upon a small neck of land, which has been cut through, and thus formed into an artificial island. A bridge crosses this cut, and affords entrance to the original city, which is small, but tolerably well built and fortified. The harbor is formed by a low island to the north-west, and banks covered with mangrove trees, which shelter it on every side. It is deep and capa cious. An excellent wharf, faced with stone, allows vessels of a large burden being laid close alongside of it; and as they can be easily and securely fastened to the shore, anchors are here seldom necessary. To this circumstance, in which IN SOUTH AMERICA. 657 PUERTO CABELLO. it resembles the harbor of Curacoa, Puerto Cabello is said to owe its name, as implying that vessels may there be secured by a single hair. The island is strongly fortified ; and the batteries, being low and mounted with heavy cannon, are ca pable of making a good defence. Towards the land, the works are not so strong, and the whole is within reach of bomb shot from the first heights to the southward of the town ; some of which are fortified. " This harbor and La Guayra form a striking contrast. Here vessels lie, as in a small smooth lake, while the waves break high upon the outside of the island and along the shore. In return for this, the worm makes great ravages in the bot tom of such ships as are not coppered. In no part of the world is it more destructive ; and a small vessel, left unattended, in a very few months, would founder at her moorings from this cause alone. " The plain in which Puerto Cabello stands, is bounded on the south by mountains, and on the north by the sea, and is nowhere more than two miles in breadth. To the west, a small river descends from the mountains, and empties itself into the sea. To the south-east of the town, the flats are annual ly flooded by the rain: and the exhalations from them are very probably the cause of the destructive fevers which so frequently rage here in the summer and autumn months. Few strangers can then visit this port with impunity, or at least without great danger ; and there have been instances of vessels losing the greater part of their crews in a very short time. This, however, has not prevented the rapid increase of the place, which was originally confined within the works upon the small peninsula, out of which no houses were for some time allowed to be built. At first, low huts were erect ed, under the express condition of being demolished in case of an enemy s approach ; and in a long interval of years, during which no hostile force appeared, these huts were grad ually enlarged and increased. The suburbs now exceed the town in population and extent, but still retain their low and mean appearance, and are subject to the original stipulations in case of danger. A great proportion of the houses have no upper story ; and the population being almost entirely col ored, the stranger is more apt to consider the whole as a large Indian village, than as part of a European settlement. " About a league to the westward of Puerto Cabello is the small bay of Burburata, used as a port previously to the es tablishmerit of the former. The road to it leads across the G58 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CAKTIIAGK.NA. marshy plain of Puerto Cabello, to the sides of the hills, along which it winds for some time, until it again crosses a sandy flat, and brings us to the opening of the valley of Burburata. The bottom of this valley is level, or very gently sloped to wards the sea, and consists of a deep, rich mould, every where covered with banana trees, mimosas, triplaris, and plantations of sugar, coffee, and cocoa. The latter are easily distinguished by the tall erithrynas which shade the cacao Ihto broma, and are covered with clusters of red flowers. As they rise with a straight stem, they permit a free circula tion of air beneath, while their tufted tops effectually exclude the scorching rays of the sun. Houses and clusters of huts are scattered about among the trees, and a kind of church marks what may be considered as the centre of the village of Burburata. A small stream serves to irrigate the numer ous plantations. The population is entirely a colored race, in which is a great proportion of Indian blood. The air of the valley is moist and hot, and snakes abound in the lux uriant herbage which every where covers the soil. One of these crossed my path, and another, large and yellow, with dark spots, lay basking beneath a bush, into which he glided on my approach. Mountains, covered with wood, enclose this fertile flat on every side, except a small opening towards the sea. Here, lower down, was formerly the principal port on the coast. Vessels drawing ten or twelve feet of water can anchor in a bight near the shore : the bottom is a fine white sand ; and Burburata is still the chief port from which the mules, horses, and cattle of Venezuela, are exported to Jamaica and other islands of the West Indies." CARTHAGENA. In November, 1822, M. G. MoJlien, a French traveller, already known to the public by his travels in the interior of Africa, landed at Carthagena. The port is a magnificent one. The bay is one of the Jargest and best on the whole coast, extending two leagues and a haif from north to south ; it has capital anchorage, though the many shallows at the entrance require a careful steerage, and being completely land locked, is so smooth, that vessels ride here as on a river. IN SOUTH AMERICA. 059 CARTHAGENA. The bay abounds with fish and excellent turtles. Sharks are so numerous as to render bathing highly dangerous, and they have been known to attack even boats. The Indian name of the place was Calamari, which signifies, we are told by Alcedo, the land of cray fish. The city is built on a small peninsula, originally a sandy island, but now connected with the continent by an artificial neck of land. It has a suburb, called Xiximani, almost as large as the city, built on another island, and communicating with it by means of a wooden bridge. Both the city and the suburbs are surrounded with strong fortifications of freestone. At a short distance from the town, on the main land, is a hill commanding these fortifications, on which is a strong fort. This em inence, which is about 150 feet high, communicates on the east with a range of more elevated hills, terminating in a summit .550 feet above the sea, on which stands the Augus- tinian monastery of Nuestra Scnhora de la JPopa. The height of La Popa is not fortified, which, says Capt. Coch- rane, is unaccountable, as it has several times been the cause of the fall of Carthagena, without almost a single shot being fired. The Colombians have now some idea of fortifying it. I found lying there a large brass eighteen pounder, that had been brought by Morillo, and the remains of a fascine and mud battery, erected by Bolivar, when he attacked Cartha gena. Had Admiral Vernon landed a few cannon, and had them dragged here by a body of seamen, he must have cap tured the place, as the possessors of this point will always be masters of the city. On the summit, at the western extremi ty, is the August in convent of Nuestra Senlwra de la Popa, which was formerly very rich. I saw the room where Boli var was sitting during the siege, when a shot entering at the window, shattered the shutter, passed over his head, struck the wall, bounded back, and then, striking the side wall, bounced out at another window, without doing Bolivar any injury. The monastery is now almost in ruins, and is ten anted by one solitary friar, who occasionally makes a little money by letting one or two rooms to people who wish to enjoy cooler air than that of the town, which would be in sufferable were it not for an almost constant sea breeze. The town produces by no means a pleasing impression, in contrast with the cheerful seaports of the United States, from which the French traveller had recently sailed. Car- GGO TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CARTHAGKNA. thagena,in fact, he says, presents the melancholy aspect of a cloister. Long galleries, short and clumsy columns, streets narrow and dark, from the too great projection of the ter races, which almost prevent the admission of daylight ; the greater part of the houses dirty, full of smoke, poverty stricken, and sheltering beings still more filthy, black, and miserable : such is the picture at first presented by a city adorned with the name of the rival of Rome. However, on entering the houses, their construction, singular at first sight, appears afterwards to be well contrived, the object being to admit the circulation of fresh air. The rooms are nothing but immense vestibules, in which the cool air, un fortunately so rare, might be respired with the utmost de light, were it not for the stings of thousands of insects, and for the bats, whose bites are not only more painful, but are even said to be venomous. A table, half a dozen wooden chairs, a mat bed, a large jar, and two candlesticks, general ly compose the whole stock of furniture of these habitations, which are built of brick, and covered in with tiles. Two sieges which Carthagena has undergone, have ruined the re sources of a majority of its inhabitants. Carthagena is very strong, and of vast extent. Nine thousand men, at least, would be required to defend it at all points. The immense cisterns contained within its walls, are justly objects of admiration ; and the water preserved in them is excellent. Carthagena is, therefore, rather a forti fied than a commercial town, and will entirely cease to be the latter, when it is no longer the entrepot of Panama. At a distance of 200 leagues from the equator, its temperature is hot and unhealthy, and the yellow fever makes frequent ravages there. The population of Carthagena, about 18,000 souls, is, for the most part, composed of people of color, the greater proportion of whom are sailors or fishermen. Many keep shops for the sale of mercery or eatables, others follow useful trades : they display a nascent industry, which, to prosper, requires, perhaps, only encouragement and emula tion. Their shell works are beautiful. They are skilful jew ellers, good carpenters, excellent shoemakers, tolerable tai lors, indifferent joiners, blacksmiths rather than whitesmiths, masons destitute of all ideas of proportion, and bad painters, but impassioned musicians. The dangers of the sea, and an industry often praised and always well paid, have inspired the people of color with a pride which often gives occasion for complaint. Their petulance and vivacity form a singular IN SOUTH AMERICA. 661 CARTHAGENA. contrast with the indifference and mildness of those who are called whites; so that,notwithstanding their idleness, they ap pear active and laborious. The contraband trade is ex clusively confined to them, and the heartiness with which they engage in it, is a reproach to those whose duty it is to put a stop to the illicit traffic. The women of color, the offspring of negresses and white men, are tall, and much more agreeable than the mulattoes of our Antilles, who are generally too corpulent : daughters of the Indians and negroes, their physiognomy possesses greater delicacy and expression. If, on the one hand, the races become more enervated under the tropics as they be come fairer, on the other, their personal appearance is im proved. Thus it is, that the female mulattoes are very in ferior in beauty to the whites, and lose much when seen near them, which often happens with the Spaniards, in whose churches there are no privileged places, as in those of the United States. With the Spaniards, all pray to God in com mon, without regard to color ; and an insurrection would doubtless be the consequence, should the following notice be officially affixed to the church doors : To-day instruction for men of color. Carthagena was founded by Pedro de Heredia, in 1533. It was made an episcopal city in 1534. Owing to its fine situation, it soon attracted the attention of foreigners, par ticularly the French. It was sacked by a Corsican pirate in 1544. In 1583, Sir Francis Drake, after pillaging it, set it on fire, but it was rescued from the flames by a ransom of 120,000 ducats, paid him by the neighboring colonies. It was invaded and pillaged a third time, by the French, in 1697. In the year 1741, it was invested by the English, un der Admiral Vernon and Sir Charles Ogle, who succeeded in destroying the forts ; but, owing, as it is said, to a misunder standing between the naval and military commanders, and a mortality among the troops, the enterprise was precipitately abandoned with considerable loss. It has suffered much in the revolutionary contest. The climate is very hot, especial ly during the rainy season, which lasts from May to Novem ber, and is attended by a continued succession of tempests and thunder-storms. The streets have then the appearance of rivers, and all the cisterns and tanks are filled, to which the inhabitants are indebted for their only supply of sweet water. From December to April, the weather is fine, and 662 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES CHUQUISACA. the heat is tempered by north-east winds. The black vomit is almost as fatal here to strangers as at Vera Cruz. The in habitants are very subject to leprosy. Bats are so numerous that they cover the streets in an evening, in clouds, and there is not a house in which these nocturnal visiters are not found. Beetles, centipedes, scorpions, niguas, and mor- cielagos, are among the insect annoyances of the place ; be sides which, Alcedo mentions the culebrilla, which breeds under the skin, causing a swelling, which often terminates in gangrene, and produces convulsions. Merchandise is very liable to be destroyed by the moth. The inhabitants have in general a very unhealthy appearance, and yet there are said to be many instances of longevity. It stands in lat itude 10 26 north ; longitude 75 26 west. BOLIVIA. CHUQUISACA. CHUQUISACA is the capital of Bolivia. It was formerly called La Plata, (the silver river,) or Charcas, being the cap ital of Los Charcas, an extensive province, comprehending all the south-east part of Peru. According to Alcedo, it stands in latitude 19 31 south ; 290 leagues from Cuzco. The population is variously estimated. According to Mr. Miller, it contains 18,000 souls. It was founded in 1539, by one of Pizarro s captains. It stands in a small plain, sur rounded with eminences, which defend it from the inclemen cy of the winds. The climate is mild, but, during the win ter, dreadful tempests are not unusual, and the rains of long continuance. The city is supplied with water from several public fountains by means of aqueducts. The best houses are only one story in height, but roomy, with delightful gar dens. There is a large and handsome cathedral, adorned IN SOUTH AMERICA. 663 with fine furniture and some beautiful paintings ; there are also, besides another parochial church, five monastic estab lishments, all spacious buildings with splendid churches, a conventual hospital, three nunneries, and a royal university. Latitude, 19 30 south. Longitude, 66 46 west. POTOSI. Potosi is situated about 15,000 feet above the level of the sea, in the province of Porco, in lat. 19 51 , and Ion. 60 31 of Cadiz. Upon the accidental discovery of its mineral riches in 1545,* it became a mine station, but was at length made a town, and afterwards the capital of the intendency. In 1611, Potosi contained 150,000 inhabitants, a great part of whom were miners. In 1825, owing to the check given to the working of the mines, and the shocks sustained by the wealthy establishments during the Revolution, the popu lation is said to have been reduced to 8,000. The traveller, on approaching Potosi, from whatever side he may come, emerges from deep mountain ravines, and dis covers the town at the foot of the celebrated argentiferous Cerro, which is a conical hill about three leagues in circum ference at the base. Its summit is more than 2,000 feet above the town, and consequently 17,000 feet above the level of the sea. It appears to be of volcanic origin, and its sides are marked with spots of various hues, such as dark green, orange, grey and red. Above 5,000 mine mouths or levels have been opened on the mountain. Of these, only fifty or sixty are now worked. The rest are stopped up, are inun dated, or have fallen in. The upper portion of the mountain is so completely honey-combed, that it may be considered as nearly worked out. The lower part, above one third of the cone, has hardly been touched, in consequence of the num ber of springs which impede the workings. * The story told respecting their discovery, is, that an Indian, who was pursuing some wild goats up the mountains, on coming to a very steep part, laid hold of a small shrub, to assist him to climb up; the shrub gave way from its roots, and discovered a mass of fine silver among the clods. 664 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES The surrounding country is also metalliferous. Silver of great fineness abounds in a hill called Guayna Potosi, (Young Potosi,) close to the Ccrro, but which cannot be worked, on account of numerous springs being met with at no great dis tance from the surface. The ore is pulverized in mills, worked with overshot wheels, turned by streamlets conduct ed from lakes or pools in the mountains, from one to ten miles distance from the city. The most considerable of these lakes are formed by dams built across the ravines. The water is sparingly let out by a sluice in the daytime, but never at night, and sometimes not oftener than twice a week, according to the supply. Some of the larger pools are fed by tributary ones, situated in higher recesses of the same mountains. People are constantly employed as lake keep ers, to attend to the sluices, and to repair damages. In very dry seasons, it has happened, that a scarcity of water has caused the mills to stand still. This inconvenience might be obviated, if the channels were paved, and the lakes prop erly cleaned out. The town of Potosi is built on uneven ground. It has a spacious square in the centre. The government house, the town house, and the jail, under the same roof, occupy one side ; the treasury, and government officers another ; a con vent and an unfinished church the third ; and private resi dences the fourth. , Extensive suburbs, once tenanted by In dians and miners, are now without an inhabitant, and the vestiges of the streets are all that remain. Among the most remarkable public edifices is the mint, substantially built of stone, upon a plan admirably adapted to the purposes for which it was designed. It cost 1,148,000 dollars, including the machinery. It contains spacious apart ments for the superintendent and a few of the principal officers.* The climate of Potosi is disagreeable. The rays of the sun are scorchingly hot at noon, while in the shade, and at * The first mint was built in 1572 ; the present edifice in 1751. Up to the latter date, the money coined at Potosi consisted of flat, angular pieces of silver or gold, bearing the Spanish arms, and a figure denoting their value. They are often called Buccaneer dollars, and are the " pieces of eight," frequently mentioned in the history of those marine freebooters. The annual coinage has, in the most productive years, amounted to five millions of dollars in silver, and 36,800 doubloons in gold. IN SOUTH AMERICA. 665 night, the air is piercingly cold. The country for three leagues around is so completely barren, that a blade of vegeta tion is not to be seen, with the exception of a plant called quinuali, which is a remedy against the puna, (difficulty of respiration.) The market of Potosi is one of the best supplied in South America, though some articles of great consumption are furnished from very distant provinces. Wine, brandy, and oil are brought from the Puertos Intermedios, and flour from Cochabamba. Mules, asses, and llamas are the only means of transport. The necessaries, as well as the luxuries of life are exorbitantly dear. Formerly, many Indian families took up their abode in huts and caves near the mines on the Cerro, and descended to the town only on a Saturday night, to receive their wages, and to purchase a weekly supply of provisions. Many of these often remained to squander their earnings in dissipation, drunkenness, or gambling; and passed great part of the night playing the guitar, and singing at the doors of the tippling shops. A singular custom, which probably originated in the in dulgence of early mine owners still prevails. Between Satur day night and Monday morning, the Cerro literally becomes the property of such persons as choose to work upon their own account. During that time, the boldest master would not venture to visit his own mines. They, who thus take pos session are called caxchas, and generally sell the produce of Sunday to their own masters. Independently of the ore thus abstracted, the caxchas did considerable mischief by neglect ing the proper precautions as they excavated. If they met with a more than usually rich vein in the course of the week, it was passed over, and cunningly reserved for the following Sunday. Very strong measures were therefore taken to abolish the custom ; but every effort proved unsuccessful. The caxchas defended their privilege by force of arms, and by hurling down large stones upon their assailants. So watchful are they, that it once happened that fifteen or twen ty llamas, richly laden with silver ore, were seized on the de scent, because they had left the mine after the hour at which the caxcha privilege commenced. Neither llamas nor drivers were ever heard of again. Although Potosi was the last town in Peru that became independent, it was the first to raise a monument to its liber ators ; for, previously to Bolivar s arrival in 1825, an obelisk, sixty feet high, was erected in the principal square. 666 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES Besides the preceding cities there are others which in this connection may be briefly noticed. LA PAZ, situated in lat: 16 29 S. is distant from Potosi 350 miles by the road, and contains, according to Holmes, 20,000 inhabitants. It lies in a ravine, so deep, narrow, and steep, that it is quite concealed from the view of the travel ler, till he arrives almost directly over it. He sees, of a sud den, as he is proceeding, a vast gulf at his feet, in the bot tom of which appears a town very regularly built, as- it seems, with packs of cards. " The coup d ceil of La Paz conveys precisely this idea; the red tiled roofs and white fronts of the houses answering admirably for hearts a;id diamonds, whilst the smoked roofs and dingy mud walls of the Indian ranches answer equally well for spades and clubs. Through this fairy town may be faintly seen, winding with occasional interruptions, a silver thread, marked with specks of frothy white, which, upon approaching, proves to be a mountain torrent, leaping from rock to rock, and sweeping through the valley. In casting an eye farther round, you perceive squares and patches of every shade of green and yellow ; fruit and vegetables, and crops of every kind, in all their stages, from the act of sowing to that of gathering in, trees bearing fruit, and at the same time putting forth buds and blossoms, and the whole scene teeming with luxuriance and beauty. Yet, on raising the eyes from the lap of this fruitful Eden, they rest on the widest contrast in the realms of na ture. Naked and arid rocks rise in mural precipices around ; high above these, mountains beaten by furious tempests frown in all the blackness of sterility ; higher still, the tops of others, reposing in the regions of eternal snow, glisten with undiminished splendor in the presence of a tropical sun. After a descent of three miles, you reach the bottom of the ravine ; artd instead of finding La Paz built on a flat, as you supposed from the summit overhanging the abyss, you find it really built on hills with some of its streets extremely steep. The torrent which waters the ravine is a head branch of the mighty Beni, or main stream of the Maranon ; and in falls of rain, forces along huge masses of rock, with large grains of gold. It is the great emporium of Peru, as all the merchandise from the Pacific is conveyed thither, then car ried off by merchants, great and small, to the towns and vil lages in the interior. IN SOUTH AMERICA. 667 OROPEZA ORURO. OROPEZA, or Cochabamba, is the capital of the rich and fertile district of Cochabamba, and is so called from the gold found in its vicinity. It lies in a fertile valley, near the source of the Rio Grande, the head branch of the Ma deira. The district being the very granary of Bolivia, this city drives a great trade in grain, fruits and vegetables; and contains 17,000 inhabitants, amongst which are many rich and noble families. ORURO was once a place of note, with 8,000 inhabitants, but now reduced to less than one half, from the destruction of the tin and silver mines in its vicinity, which formerly supported a brisk and extensive commerce, but now nearly extinct from want of those resources, which were absorbed by the all-consuming evils of civil war. The tin mines were long famous, and those of silver were once among the most productive in Peru. But, of late years, being aban doned, they have filled with water, which they have neither ma chinery to employ, nor money for applying any other method to carry it off. Here were many families of enormous wealth. Rodriguez, the late head of one of these, was propri etor of a famous silver mine in the vicinity, so productive, that he discarded from his house all articles of glass, delft, or crockery ware, and replaced them by others made from the silver of his mine. Utensils of the most common use, as well as those of luxury and ornament, such as pier-tables in the principal apartments, frames of pictures and of mirrors, footstools, pots, and pans, were all of silver. Said a native to Semple, who was there in 1827, " Do you see that trough in the court yard ? " (pointing to a very large stone trough for watering mules and other animals,) " I do assure you that Rodriguez had two of much larger size for the same pur pose, of pure and solid silver ; and before the revolution, there were three or four houses in Oruro, that could boast of having quite as much." Oruro is 180 miles north of Potosi, in a barren and level plain, bounded west by the snow-cov ered Andes.* * Goodrich s Universal Geography. PERU. LIMA. LIMA, the capital of Peru, was founded by Pizarro, in 1535. It is situated on the western coast, about two leagues from the ocean, and 30 from the Cordilleras : lati tude, 12 2 south ; longitude, 76 58 west. It stands in the midst of the spacious and delightful valley of Rimac, the name of an idol formerly worshipped by the Peruvians, and supposed to have been corrupted by the Spanish pronuncia tion into Lima. A river of the same name passes close by the city on the north, watering the valley by numerous ca nals, and falling into the sea near Callao. This latter is the port of Lima. On approaching the anchorage at Callao, the numerous spires and domes of Lima are seen to the left of the town of Callao, giving to the city an air decidedly orien tal. The prospect, at sunset, Mr. Miller tells us, is particu larly interesting ; for when twilight has already thrown the landscape of the plain into deep shade, the domes of the city are still gilded by the departing sun ; and when these are also become shrouded in darkness, the peaks of the mountains continue for some time to be illumined by his lingering beams. Callao was itself formerly a city, and a place of some beauty. But at present the houses make but an indifferent appearance, being only about twenty feet high, divided into two stories, with mud walls and flat roofs. The ground floors form a row of small shops, open in front, and the up per stories an uncouth corridor. The slightness of their construction is sufficiently explained by two circumstances ; the frequency of earthquakes, and rain being unknown. The city of Callao (for such was the title conferred upon it in 1671) was entirely destroyed by the earthquake of 1746, which laid three-fourths of the capital in ruins. By that terrible convulsion, upwards of 3,000 people are said to have perished at Callao alone. The city stood at a short distance to the southward of the present town; and on a calm dav.the 668 PIZARRO. 670 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES ruins may yet be seen under water, at that part of the bay called the Mar Braba, (rough sea,) where a sentry is placed on the beach, for the purpose of taking charge of any treas ure that may be washed ashore, which not unfrequently hap pens. In Alcedo s Dictionary, it is stated, that, of 3,000 inhabitants, only one man was left to record the dreadful ca tastrophe. Mr. Stevenson, however, became acquainted with an old mulatto, who was one of the three or four who were saved. He told me (says Mr. S.) that he was sitting on some timber, which had been landed from a ship in the bay, at the time that the great wave of the sea rolled in, and buried the city ; and that he was carried, clinging to the log, near to the chapel, a distance of three miles. The island of San Loren zo is said to have been separated from the main land by this convulsion. It is between two and three miles in circuit, the soil mere sand and black rock. From Callao to Lima is six miles, and a good road. But two miles, however, of this road has been finished as it was begun. Commencing at a noble gateway at the entrance of the city, it has a double row of lofty willows on each side, shading the footwalk. A small stream of water runs by each walk, irrigating the willows, and nourishing num berless weeds and flowers. This promenade is also fur nished with stone benches every hundred yards ; and at about every mile is a large circle formed of walls of brick and stone, four feet high, with stone seats around it, for carriages to turn in with greater ease than on the road. It was the in tention of the Viceroy to carry the road down to Callao in the same style ; but only the carriage road is finished, which has a parapet of brick on each side to keep together the ma terials. Half way between the port and the city stands a very neatly built chapel, with a small cloister attached to it, dedicated to our Lady of Mount Carmel, the protectress of seamen. Near it, is a house at which are sold good brandy and wine, which is the more frequented of the two. On approaching the city, the soil improves; large vegetable gardens and fields of lucern and maize are seen ; and close to the city walls are extensive orchards of tropical fruits, all irrigated by canals from the river Rimac. The gateway is a tripple arch of brick, stuccoed, with cornices, mouldings, and pillars of stone. The dilapidated insignia of the crown IN SOUTH AMERICA. 671 of Spain, over the gate, now serve as an emblem of the fall of its empire. Immediately on passing the gateway, the stranger is struck with the contrast which the interior of the city presents to the grandeur of the approach and distant view. He finds himself in a long, dirty street of low houses, with small shops, having their goods placed on tables at the doors, no glass win dows, no display of articles of commerce, the people of all colors, from the black African to the white and florid Biscayan. In some parts of the city, however, are to be seen a number of smart shops, exhibiting a rich display of French silks and jewelry, and British goods of every description. The Eng lish costume is now quite prevalent in Lima, mingled with the French ; while the fair Limenas have a dress peculiar to themselves. Everywhere, the streets are full of bustle ; and when a church procession or some other object of interest draws together the various classes of the population, in some of the public squares, the groups which are formed, present altogether a motley and extraordinary appearance, well de scribed by Mr. Mathison. " Priests, in rich sacerdotal vest ments ; friars, of various orders, Franciscan, Benedictine, Dominican, and others, many of whose portly persons and ruddy countenances belie the austerity of their profession ; men dressed up as nuns, with black veils and masks, selling little waxen images of the Virgin; women of all classes, some in shawls and hats, others with the showy saya (petti coat) and black silk manto, so put on as carefully to conceal the face and expose the person ; blacks and mulattoes, male and female; arid Indians, whose squalid, hideous features bear no resemblance to the pictures which imagination is wont to draw of their ancestors, the gentle children of the sun ; loaded mules and asses, with their attendant peons, just arrived from the port ; country Creoles of both sexes, on horseback, mounted and equipped alike: carriages (here termed valencins) made and painted in the Spanish fashion, and filled with smartly dressed ladies, their black servants and postilions, bedecked in the most tawdry liveries ; cavaliers of all nations, and patriot officers in gay uniforms, some on foot, courting the attention of the fair beholders, others showing off the paces of their prancing steeds ; venders of ice and chica, (a favorite Peruvian drink ;) beggars, im ploring alms in the name of the Virgin and all the saints of the 672 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES Romish calendar ; these, and other innumerable objects, during the procession, and for some hours afterwards, con tribute to enliven and diversify the scene."* The great square of Lima is an elevation of 480 feet above the sea. The figure of the city is described by Alce- do as triangular. Mr. Stevenson says, it approaches to a semicircle, having the river for its diameter. It is two miles long, from east to west, and one and a quarter broad, from the bridge to the wall. It is, for the most part, divided into squares, ( quadras J of which there are 157; and there are said to be 355 streets, all built at right angles, and generally about twenty-five feet wide. Those running east and west have a small stream of water flowing down them ; and the Rimac passes through a part of the town. On the other side of the river is the suburb of San Lazaro, which is inhabited by the less respectable part of the community. Lima is stated to contain nearly 4,000 houses, four large monasteries, with numerous dependent convental and collegiate establish ments, fifteen nunneries, and four beaterios ; and a population, probably of 50,000 souls. The city received from Pizarro the name of Lios Reyes, or the city of Kings. It is surrounded (except towards the river) with a wall of sun-dried bricks, about ten feet thick at the bottom, and eight at the top, forming a beautiful prom enade round two thirds of the city. Its average height is twelve feet, with a parapet of three feet. It is flanked with thirty-four bastions, but without embrasures. There are seven gates, and three posterns, which are closed every night at eleven, and opened at four, A. M. This wall of enclosure, rather than of defence, was built by the Viceroy, the Duke de la Palata, in 1085, and repaired in 1808. At the south eastern extremity of the city is a small citadel, called Santa Catalina, in which are the artillery barracks and a military depot. The plnca mayor or principal square, has, on the eastern side, the cathedral, a very handsome pile ; to the north of which is the sntrrario, or principal parish church, having a very beautiful faade ; and adjoining it is the archiepiscopal palace, which surpasses in appearance every other building in the square. Green balconies run along the front, on * Mathison s Visit to Brazil, Chili, and Peru. 43 674 TRAVELS AND SKKTCIfES each side of an arched gateway leading into the patio; hut the lower part is disgraced with a row of small shops, the nearest one to the sagrario being a puljjeria t ( grog-shop.) Under the area of the cathedral, which is ten feet above the level of the square, there is also a range of shops. On the north side is the Viceroy s palace, the lower part of which is in like manner concealed by a range of shops and stalls; and over these runs a long gallery with tiers of seats for the accommodation of the inhabitants when there is any fete in the square. At the north-western corner is a gallery for the family of the Viceroy, which, on days of ceremony, was fitted up with green velvet hangings. The south side of the square is formed by a row of private houses, but with an arcade or piazza in front, occupied with the shops of dra pers and mercers. On the north side is the cabildo, or town hall, a building very much in the Chinese style ; and under it is the city jail. In the centre of the square is a beautiful brass fountain, erected in 1653, the water of which is the best in Lima ; and at all hours of the day, water-carriers are busily employed in conveying it to all parts of the city. In this square is held the principal market. The interior of the cathedral is very rich. The walls and floor are of good freestone, and the roof, which is beautiful ly pannelled and carved in compartments, is supported by arches springing from a double row of neat square pillars of stone work. All these, on festivals, are covered with hang ings of crimson velvet, fringed with the richest gold lace; but in Passion week, purple velvet hangings are substituted. The high altar has a most magnificent appearance. It is of the Corinthian order; the columns, cornices, and mouldings are cased with pure silver ; and over it is a celestial crown of silver gilt ; the sacrorium in the centre is richly orna mented with chased silver-work. The custodium is of gold, delicately wrought, and enriched with a profusion of dia monds and other precious stones : from the pedestal to the points of the rays, it measures seven feet, and is too heavy to be lifted by a person of ordinary strength. The front of the altar table is of embossed silver, very beautiful. The front of the choir is closed by tastefully wrought palisades of iron, gilt, with large gates of the same. The stalls are of carved cedar. There are two organs of fine tone, and the IN SOUTH AMERICA. 675 choral music is very good. On grand festivals, the coup d reil is very imposing. The high altar is then illuminated with more than a thousand wax tapers. The large silver candel abra, each weighing upwards of a hundred pounds, the su perb silver branches and lamps, and the splendid service of plate on the left of the altar, have a most magnificent effect. The archbishop, in his costly pontifical robes, is seen kneeling under a canopy of crimson velvet, with a reclina- tory and cushions of the same material. A number of assist ing priests, in their robes of ceremony, fill the presbytery ; next to which, leading towards the choir, are seats covered with velvet, on the left for the officers of state and the cor poration, on the right for the judges, who attend in full cos tume. In the centre, in front of the altar, a state chair covered with crimson velvet was appropriated to the Viceroy, when he attended in state, having on each side, three halber diers of his body-guard ; while behind him stood his chaplain, chamberlain, groom, the captain of the body-guard, and four pages in waiting. Three times during mass, one of the aco- lites used to descend from the presbytery with a censer, and bow to the Viceroy, who stood up amid a cloud of smoke : the acolite bowed as he retired, and the Viceroy again knelt down. At the back of the high altar is a chapel dedicated to St. Francis Xavier, in which are effigies of two archbishops in white marble, kneeling. This chapel is the vault where the archbishops of Lima were formerly buried ; but it is now closed, and the bodies of the primates are at present carried to the Pantheon, the common burial-place, where the first corpse interred was that of Archbishop La Reguera, which was exhumed for the purpose. The interior of the sagrario is very splendid. The roof is lofty and beautifully pannelled, and in the centre is a cu pola resting upon the four corners formed by the intersec tion of the cross aisle. The part of the high altars are splen didly carved, varnished and gilt. Great part of the high al tar is cased with silver, and the custodium is of gold, richly set with diamonds and gems. The foot is incased with silver. The parish churches of Lima have nothing to recommend them to particular notice. Of the conventual churches, those belonging to the principal houses are remarkably rich. That of San Domingo, about 100 yards from the placa may or, is truly magnificent, and its tower is the loftiest in the 676 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES city It is about 180 feet high, built chiefly of bajarcquc, (wood work and plaster.) The roof of the church is support ed by a double row of light pillars, painted and gilt, the ceil ing is divided into pannels by gilt mouldings, and the large central pannels exhibit some good paintings in fresco. The high altar is ornamented with Ionic columns varnished in imitation of marble, with gilt capitals and mouldings. At the foot of the presbytery, on the right, stands the silver al tar of our Lady of the Rosary. This altar, Mr. Stephenson says, exceeds any other in Lima, both in richness and ef fect. It is entirely covered with pure silver. Its elegant fluted columns, highly-finished embossed pedestals, capitals, and cornices, some of them doubly gilt, are superb. In the centre of the altar is the niche of the Madonna, of exquisite workmanship : the interior contains a transparent painting of a temple, the light being admitted to it by a window at the back of the altar. The efligy is gorgeously dressed ; the crown is a cluster of diamonds and other precious gems, and the drapery is of the richest brocades, laces, and em broidery ; the rosary is a string of large pearls of the finest orient. Such is the abundance, or rather profusion, of drapery, that the same dress is never continued two days to gether throughout the year. Before the niche, fifteen large wax tapers are .continually burning in silver sockets; and in a semicircle before the al tar are suspended by massive silver chains, curiously wrought, fourteen large, heavy lamps, kept constantly lighted, with olive oil. Besides these, are, similarly suspended, eight fancifully wrought silver bird-cages, whose inmates, in thrill ing notes, join the peeling tones of the organ and the sacred chants of divine worship. Four splendid silver chandeliers hang opposite the altar, each containing fifteen wax tapers; below are ranged six heavy silver candelabra, six feet high, and six tables cased in silver, each supporting a large silver branch with seven tapers ; also four urns of the same pre cious metal, filled with perfumed spirits, which are always burning on festivals, and emit scents from the most costly drugs and spices ; the whole being surrounded with fuming pastillas, held by silver cherubim. On those days when the festivals of the Virgin Mary are celebrated, and particularly at the feast of the Rosary, the sumptuous appearance of this altar exceeds all description : at that time, during nine days, more than a thousand tapers blaze, and the chanting and music of the choir are uninterrupted. At the celebration IN SOUTH AMERICA. 677 of these feasts, many miracles are pretended to be wrought by the Madonna, and many absurd legends are related from the pulpit. On the left of the high altar stands one dedicated to Saint Rose ; it is highly ornamented, and has a large urn contain ing an effigy of the saint, in a reclining posture, of white marble and good sculpture. On each side of the church are six altars, colored and varnished in imitation of different marbles, lapis lazuli, &c., with gilt mouldings, cornices, and other embellishments. The choir is over the entrance at the principal porch ; it is capacious, arid has two good organs. The music belonging to the church, is all painted on vellum by a lay brother of the order ; and some of the books are ably done. Three of the cloisters are very good ; the prin cipal one is elegant ; it has two ranges of cells, and the pil lars and arches are of stone, of fine workmanship. The lower part of the walls is covered with Dutch tiles, exhibiting sketches from the life of St. Dominick, &/c. Above are large indifferently-executed paintings of the life and mira cles of the tutelary saints : they are generally concealed by pannelled shutters, which are opened on holidays, and festi vals. At the angles of this cloister are small altars, with busts and effigies, most of them in bad style. The lower cloisters are paved with freestone flags ; the upper ones with bricks. Some of the cells are richly furnished, and display more deli cate attention to luxury than rigid observance of monastic austerity. The library contains a great number of books on theology and morality. On the wall of the stairs leading from the cloister to the choir is a fine painting of Christ in the sepulchre. The rents of this convent amount to about 80,000 dollars annually. Belonging to this order is the sanc tuary of Saint Rose, she having been a bcata or devotee of the order. In the small chapel are several relics of the saint.* We shall not attempt a minute description of the churches, chapels, convents and hospitals of Lima. They are quite numerous, and in some of the former there is great. display of ornaments and paintings. Some of the latter are said to be beautiful. The University of Lima was founded in 1749, by a bull of Pius V. It is a handsome building, with several good halls * Stevenson s Twenty Years Residence in South America 678 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES and an extensive library. Besides the university there are several colleges the royal college of San Carlo*, founded by the Jesuits for secular studies; the college Del Principe, where young Indian caciques are educated for the church; the medical college of San Fernando, the college of San Toribio, an ecclesiastical seminary ; and a nautical academy in what was the palace of the Viceroy. The respective cos tumes of the collegians are not a little singular. The dress of the students of San Carlos is a full suit of black, with a cocked hat and dress sword ; that of Del Principe is a full suit of green, with a crimson shoulder ribbon, and also a cocked hat; that of San Fernando is a full suit of blue, with yellow buttons and collar trimmed with gold lace ; and that of San Toribio, an almond-colored gown, (called -the ojja,) very- wide at the bottom, and made like a poncho, with a scarf of pale blue cloth, and a square bonnet of black cloth. The preceding description, for which we are indebted to the volumes of Mr. Stevenson, will give an idea of what Li ma was in the days of its wealth and pride, when it was the richest city of South America. This traveller arrived in that city, in 1811, during the viceroyalty of Abascal ; and during his stay there, the act of the Cortes was received, abolishing the Inquisition. A short time before, he had been cited before that dread tribunal for rashly engaging in a dispute with a Dominican friar ; he had now the op portunity of paying a second visit, under very different circumstances, in company with some friends who had ob tained the Viceroy s permission to explore the empty den of the monster. His account of the visit must not be sup pressed. "The doors of the hall being opened, many entered, who were not invited, and seeing nothing in a posture of defence, the first victims to our fury were the tables and chairs : these were soon demolished ; after which some persons laid hold of the velvet curtains of the canopy, and dragged them so forcibly, that canopy and crucifix came down with a hor rid crash. The crucifix was rescued from the ruins of in quisitorial state, and its head was discovered to be movea- ble. A ladder was found to have been secreted behind the canopy, and thus the whole mystery of this miraculous im age became explained : a man was concealed on the ladder by the curtains of the canopy, and by introducing his hand through a hole, he moved the head, so as to make it not con sent or shake dissent. In how many instances may ap- IN SOUTH AMERICA. 679 peals to this imposture have caused an innocent man to own himself guilty of crimes he never dreamed of! Overawed by fear, and condemned as was believed by a miracle, false hood would supply the place of truth ; and innocence, if timid, confess itself sinful. Every one was now exasperated with rage, and there are yet victims in the cells, was uni versally murmured. A search! a search! was the cry, and the door leading to the interior was quickly broken through. The next we found was called del secrcto : the word secret stimulated curiosity, and the door was instantly burst open. It led to the archives. Here were heaped upon shelves, papers containing the written cases of those who had been accused or tried ; and here I read the name of many a friend, who little imagined that his conduct had been scruti nized by the holy tribunal, or that his name had been recorded in so awful a place. Some who were present, discovered their own names on the rack, and pocketed the papers. I put aside fifteen cases, and took them home with me ; but they were not of great importance. Four for blasphemy, bore a sentence, which was three months seclusion in aeon- vent, a general confession, and different penances all se cret. The others were accusations of friars, solicitantes in confessione, two of whom I knew, and, though some danger attended the disclosure, I told them afterwards what I had seen. Prohibited books in abundance were in the room, and many found future owners. To our great surprise, we met with a quantity of printed cotton handkerchiefs. These, alas ! had incurred the displeasure of the Inquisition, because a figure of religion, holding a chalice in one hand, arid across in the other, was stamped in the centre ; placed there, perhaps, by some unwary manufacturer, who thought such a devout in signia would insure purchasers, but who forgot the heinous- ness of blowing the nose or spitting upon the cross. To prevent such a crime, this religious tribunal had taken the wares by wholesale, omitting to pay their value to the owner, who might consider himself fortunate in not having his shop removed to the sacred house. Leaving this room, we forced our way into another, which, to our astonishment and in dignation, was that of torture. In the centre stood a strong table, about eight feet long and seven feet broad ; at one end of which was an iron collar, opening in the middle horizontal ly, for the reception of the neck of the victim ; on each side of the collar were also thick straps with buckles, for inclosing the arms near to the body ; and on the sides of the table were 680 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES LIMA. leather straps with buckles for the wrists, connected with cords under the table, made fast to the axle of an horizontal wheel ; at the other end were two more straps for the ankles, with ropes similarly fixed to the wheels. Thus it was obvi ous, that a human being might be extended on the table, and, by turning the wheel, might be stretched in both directions at the same time, without any risk of hanging ; for that ef fect was prevented by the two straps under his arms close to the body ; but every joint might be dislocated. Alter we had discovered the diabolical use of this piece of machinery, every one shuddered, and involuntarily looked towards the door, as if apprehensive that it would close upon him. At first, curses were muttered, but they were soon changed into loud imprecations against the inventors and practisers of such torments; and blessings were showered on the Cortes for having abolished this tribunal of arch tyranny. We next ex amined a vertical pillory, placed against the wall ; it had one large and two smaller holes; on opening it, by lifting up the one half, we perceived apertures in the wall, and the pur poses of the machine were soon ascertained. An offender having his neck and wrists secured in the holes of the pil lory, and his head and hands hidden in the wall, could be flogged by the lay brothers of St. Dominick without being known by them ; and thus any accidental discovery was avoided. Scourges of different materials were hanging on the wall ; some of knotted cord, not a few of which were hardened with blood ; others were of w ire chain, with points and rowels like those of spurs; these, too, were clotted with blood. We also found tormentors, made of netted wire, the points of every mesh projecting about one eighth of an inch inward, the outside being covered with leather, and having strings to tie them on. Some of these tormentors were of a suflicient size for the waist, others for the thighs, the legs, and arms. The walls were likewise adorned with shirts of horsehair, which could not be considered as a very comfort able habit after a severe flagellation ; with human bones, having a string at each end, to gag those who made too free a use of their tongues; and with nippers, made of cane, for the same purpose. These nippers consisted of two slips of cane, tied at the ends; by opening in the middle when they were put into the mouth, and fastened behind the head, in the same mariner as the bones, they pressed forcibly upon the tongue. In a drawer were a great many finger-screws; they were small semicircular pieces of iron, in the form of IN SOUTH AMERICA. 681 crescents, having a screw at one end, so that they could be fixed on the fingers, and screwed to any degree, even till the nails were crushed and the bones broken. On viewing these implements of torture, who could find an excuse for the mon sters, who would use them to establish the faith which was taught, by precept and example, by the mild, the meek, the holy Jesus ! May he who would not curse them in the bit terness of wrath, fall into their merciless hands ! The rack and the pillory were soon demolished ; for such was the fury of more than a hundred persons, who had gained admittance, that, had they been constructed of iron, they could not have resisted the violence and determination ofthe assailants. In one corner stood a wooden horse, painted white : it was con ceived to be another instrument of torture, and was instantly broken to pieces ; but 1 was afterwards informed, that a vic tim ofthe Inquisition, who had been burnt at the stake, was subsequently declared innocent of the charges preferred against him ; when, as an atonement for his death, his inno cence was publicly announced, and his effigy dressed in white, and mounted on this horse, was paraded ahout the streets of Lima. Some said, that the individual suffered in Spain, and that, by a decree of the inquisitor-general, this farce was performed in every part ofthe Spanish dominions, where a tribunal existed. We proceeded to the cells, but found them all open arid empty : they were small, but not uncomfortable as places of confinement. Some had a small yard attached ; others more solitary, had none. The last person known to have been confined was a naval officer, an Andalusian, *who was exiled in 1812, to Boca China." Lima has a general cemetery called the Pantheon, situated on the outside ofthe walls ; it is sufficiently large to contain all the dead bodies for six years without removal : when this becomes necessary, the bones are taken out of the niches, and placed in the osariums. Many ofthe rich families have purchased allotments for family vaults, having their names inscribed above. The building is a square inclosure, divided into several sections : in the walls are niches, each sufficient to hold a corpse ; and the divisions are also formed by double rows of niches, built one above another, some of them eight stories high, the fronts being open. The walks are planted with many aromatics and evergreens. In the centre is a small chapel, or rather altar with a roof: its form is octagon- 682 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES al, so that eight priests can celebrate mass at the same time. The corpse is put into the niche with the feet fore most ; if in a coffin, which seldom happens, except among the richer classes, the lid is removed, and a quantity of un- slacked lime being thrown on each body, its decay is very rapid. For the conveyance of the dead, several hearses, of different descriptions, are provided, belonging to the Pan theon : they are not permitted to traverse the streets after twelve o clock in the day. Before the establishment of this cemetery, all the dead were buried in the churches, or rather, placed in vaults, many of which had wooden trap-doors, opening in the floors ; and, notwithstanding the plentiful use of lime, the stench and other disgusting effects were sometimes almost insufferable. When the first nun was to be carried to the Pantheon, great opposition was made by the sisterhood ; but the Viceroy sent a file of soldiers, and enforced the interment of the corpse in the general cemetery. At the entrance of the burying-ground is a chapel, deco rated with an image of our Saviour, in the sepulchre, large as life, and so painted, Mr. Mathison tellsus, as to excite in describable horror. English feelings cannot be easily recon ciled to the mode of burial here adopted ; and the loathsome effluvia is quite sufficient to deter from my lengthened " med itations among the tombs." Another very offensive practice, which is very common, is that of bringing the bodies of poor people, whose friends cannot afford the expenses of a cof fin and regular conveyance, and throwing them uncere moniously over the walls of the cemetery, where they lie un til thepersons in attendance are prepared to bury them. In the morning, a number of corpses may be often seen exposed to full view in this way, as if they were no better than dead dogs or cats.* Lima has been proverbially distinguished for the luxury and dissipation of its citizens, although, as to the degree of vice that prevails, testimonies differ. Lieutenant Brand, who visited Lima in 1827, says, " The priests in Lima are disgusting. Many have I seen absolutely drunk in the streets ; and I wish this was the worst thing I have to say of them. In their processions, I have witnessed scenes shock ing to human nature. In carrying the Virgin Mary through the streets, twelve females, supposed to be virgins, are se- * Mathison s Visit, &c. IN SOUTH AMERICA. 683 lected to carry frankincense before her. These women are now generally female slaves of the most abandoned descrip tion. These women as they proceed before the Virgin, are screaming and hallooing with all their might, at the same time throwing up the incense to her. The priests are sing ing psalms, and I have seen them, in many of these proces sions, absolutely drunk while singing their psalms, and, be tween every verse, laughing and talking with the women. On the arrival of the Virgin at the church, the scene becomes more like a riot than a religious procession. Being once in a church when a procession entered, I could not imagine what in the world was the matter, such screaming, halloo ing, hooting, and roaring as I never heard in my life, were set up ; immediately the Virgin made her appearance. The boys outside were huzzaing and throwing fireworks within, which occasioned a scene of tumult impossible to describe. When this uproar had subsided a little, a beautiful deep- toned organ vibrated through the many aisles of the mag nificent Santo Domingo, and the finest sacred music I ever heard was chanted by the choir of singers. Between each cadence, had a pin dropped, it might have been heard throughout the crowded church, which, but a minute before, was all uproar and confusion. Alas ! as I came away, I could not but think, what a mixture of frenzy, bigotry, and mockery of religion was all this! " As regards the deference of the people for the clergy, and their reverence for the rites of the church, a considerable change has been produced by the revolution. From having formerly submitted to the most absurd bigotry and super stition, even so far as to kneel in the streets to a priest pass ing, some of the rising generation are inclined to scoff at re ligion, and ridicule the priesthood. There is, probably, not more infidelity or irreligion than before, but it can now more openly discover itself. " The general aspect of the houses in Lima," remarks Mr. Stevenson, " is novel to an Englishman on his first arrival. Those of the inferior classes have but one floor, and none exceed two. The low houses have a mean appearance, too, from their having no windows in front. If the front be on a line with the street, they have only a door ; and if they have a small court-yard, ( patio J a large, heavy door opens into the street. Some of the houses of the richer classes * Brand s Journal of a Visit to Peru 684 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES LIMA. have simply the ground floor ; but there is a patio before the house, and the entrance from the street is through a heavy arched doorway, with coachhouse on one side ; over this is a small room with a balcony and trellis windows open ing to the street. Part of these houses have neat green bal conies in front, but very few of the windows are glazed. Ilavi ng capacious patios, large doors, and ornamented win dows, besides painted porticos and walls, with neat corri dors, their appearance from the street is exceedingly hand some. In some, there is a prospect of a garden through the small glazed folding doors of two or three apartments: this garden is either real or painted, and contributes very much to enliven the scenery. The patios in summer have large awnings drawn over them, which produce an agreeable shade ; but the flat roofs, without any ornaments in front, present an appearance not at all pleasing. If to this we add the same ness of the many dead walls of the convenes and nunneries, some of the streets must naturally look very gloomy. " The outer walls of the houses are generally built of adobes as far as the first floor, and the division walls are al ways formed of canes plastered over on each side: this is called quincha. The upper story is made, first of a frame work of wood ; canes are afterwards nailed or lashed with leather thongs on each side the frame-work ; they are then plastered over, and the walls are called bajarcqiic. These additions so considerably increase their bulk, that they seem to be composed of very solid materials, both with re spect to the thickness which they exhibit, and the cornices and other ornaments which adorn them. Porticos, arches, mouldings, &,c., at the doorways, are generally formed of the same materials. Canes bound together and covered with clay, are substituted also for pillars, as well as for other architectural ornaments, some of which, being well executed and colored like stone, a stranger, at first sight, easily sup poses them to be built of the materials they are intended to imitate. The roofs, being flat, are constructed of rafters laid across and covered with cane, or cane mats, with a lay er of clay, sufficient to intercept the rays of the sun, and to guard against the fogs. Many of the better sort of houses have the roofs covered with large, thin baked bricks, on which the inhabitants can walk. These atotcas (as they are called) are very useful, and are often overspread with flowers and plants in pots : they also serve for drying clothes and other similar purposes. Among the higher classes, the IN SOUTH AMERICA. 685 ceilings are generally of pannel work, ornamented with a profusion of carving; but among the lower, they are often of a coarse cotton cloth, nailed to the rafters, and white- Washed, or painted in imitation of pannel work. In sev eral of the meaner, however, the canes or mats are visible. " Some of the churches have their principal walls and pil lars of stone ; others of adobes and bajarequc. The towers are generally of the latter work, bound together with large beams of Guayaquil wood ; the spires are commonly of wood work, cased over with planks, and painted in imitation of stone, with mouldings, cornices, and other ornaments, either of wood or stucco. In large buildings of every description, there is generally a great proportion of timber, keeping up a connection from the foundation to the roof; thus, there is less danger from the shocks of earthquakes, than if they were built of brick or more solid materials; for the whole building yields to the motion, and the foundation being com bined with the roof and other parts, the whole moves at the same time, and is not so easily thrown down." The streets of Lima are paved, but badly lighted, and are patrolled by watchmen who vociferate " Ave Maria puris- si ma! Viva la Patria! " and a serene, or cloudy sky. The shallow stream of water, two feet in width, which runs through the centre of the principal streets, contributes much to carry off impurities. In the less frequented parts of the city, however, the eye is offended by unsightly proofs of the total inattention of the police to general cleanliness. Lieutenant Brand describes Lima as the dirtiest city in South America. The servants who are principally slaves, will come to the stream of water that runs through the middle, and wash fish, leaving the entrails on the sides rot ting in the sun, until they are devoured by immense birds, called turkey buzzards, that are constantly to be seen de vouring the various nuisances with which the streets are .in fested. * Lima enjoys one of the most delightful climates in the world. To persons, at least, who have been accustomed to * Lieutenant Maw, on the other hand, says, the principal streets are clean, and appeared to be swept every morning. Lieutenant Brand, was sadly annoyed by the prevailing uncleanness. The men of Lima he describes as dirty and indolent beyond all others in South America, smoking from morning till night; and the public offices he always found filled with smoke, and the floors disgustingly dirty. 686 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES the scorching sun and suffocating heat of Bahia, on the op posite side of the continent, or to those of Carthagena, the mild and equable climate of Lima, Mr. Stevenson says, is as surprising as it is agreeable. The heat of the sun in summer is mitigated by a canopy of clouds, which constant ly hangs over Lima ; arid although not perceptible from the city, yet, when seen from an elevated situation in the moun tains, they appear, somewhat like the smoke floating in the atmosphere of large towns where coal is burned. During the winter months, from April or May to November, damp fogs (called garuas) almost constantly prevail, which chill the air, and moisten the ground sufficiently to render the pave ment slippery ; and during the other part of the year, they take place at the changes of the moon. These mists arise with the morning breeze, which blows from the westward ; and in the middle of the day, during the summer, they are dissipated by the sun s power. In the evening, a south-east erly land breeze brings them again forward. During the winter months, the sun is often obscured for several succeed ing days. While the valley of the Rirnac is thus kept in the most fertile state by these wet fogs, the rain falls with great violence in the neighboring sierra, accompanied with much thunder. This peculiarity of climate is confined to those parts of Lower Peru where the Cordilleras approach the Pacific. At Guayaquil, on the contrary, where the dis tance between the mountains and the sea is considerable, the rains are heavy, and mists of rare occurrence. Although Lima is free from the terrific visitation of storms, it is subject to the still more dreadful phenomena of earthquakes. Shocks are felt every year, particularly after the mists disperse, and the summer sun begins to heat the earth. They are commonly felt two or three hours after sunset, or a little before sunrise; and their direction has generally been from south to north. The most violent have taken place at intervals of about fifty years. Those which have produced the most disastrous consequences at Li ma, occurred in the years 1586, 1630, 1687, 1746, and 1806. It has been remarked, says Mr. Stevenson, that the vegeta ble world suffers very much by a great shock. The country about Lima, and all that range of coast, were particularly af fected by that which happened in 1687. The crops of wheat, maize, and other grain, were entirely destroyed ; and.for sev eral years afterwards, the ground was totally unproductive. At that period, wheat was first brought from Chili, which IN SOUTH AMERICA. 687 country has ever since been considered the granary of Lima, Guayaquil, and Panama. Mr. Caldcleugh, adverting to this current statement, suggests as a probable explanation of the phenomena, that the streams and springs may be affected by the motion of the earth, so that certain localities may be ren dered sterile which were previously fertile, while others may have gained in the same ratio. The climate of Lower Peru, he remarks, owing to the heat, could never have been very favorable to the growth of wheat. It is remarkable that the great earthquakes of 1G87 and 1746 were succeeded by rain ; and after the violent shock of 1806, the streets of Lima were almost inundated for several days, a circum stance which must have completed the ruin and terror of the inhabitants. The majority of the men of Lima, says Mr. Miller, have the appearance of being feeble and emaciated. These physical effects are certainly not attributable to climate alone, but may be ascribed also to the general dissoluteness which characterize the old regime : in proof of which, those who have latterly grown to maturity, showed themselves, during the campaigns, to be hardy, enterprising, and infinitely supe rior to their predecessors, who had been taught to cringe to Spanish satraps, and to familiarize their minds with every species of meanness. Hence, the duplicity, dishonesty, shame ful political inconsistency, and total want of public spirit, evinced by some few who have attained office since the over throw of the all-debasing European despotism. From the rising generation in Peru, higher expectations may be formed. The youth generally possess great natural vivacity as well as talent, and are impelled by an honest ambition to render themselves useful to their country. The climate of Lima seems to be favorable to the quickening of the intellectual faculties. The traveller who has given the most favorable account of the people of Lima, (although he is not very partial, and scarcely just towards the old Spaniards,) is Mr. Stevenson. A Creole of Lima, he says, partakes in many respects of the character of an Andalusian ; he is lively, generous, and care less of to-morrow ; fond of dress and variety ; slow to revenge injuries, and willing to forget them. Of all his vices, dissipa tion certainly is the greatest. His conversation is quick and pointed. That of the fair sex is extremely gay and witty, giving them an open frankness, which some foreigners have been pleased to term levity, or something a little more dis- 688 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES honorable, attaching the epithet immoral to their general character. This traveller chivalrously defends the ladies of Lima against this imputation; asserting that the female Cre oles are generally kind mothers and faithful wives; that con jugal and paternal affection, filial piety, beneficence, gener osity, good nature, and hospitality, are the inmates of almost every house. The testimonies and opinions of foreign visi- ters are to be received with caution, whether they incline to a favorable or an uncandid view of the state of society. But there is a well-known proverbial description of the Peruvian capital, which will probably be thought to have some truth for its foundation. Lima has been styled " the heaven of women, the purgatory of husbands, and the hell of asses." The first expression is explained as referring to the power the ladies exercise, and the consideration they enjoy : the second does not favor the representation, that conjugal happiness is very general. With regard to the personal attractions of the Limenas, our authorities equally differ. Lieutenant Brand represents their walking dress as indelicate and disgusting; and he would infer from their very costume the extreme laxity of morals. We shall give Mr. Stevenson s account of this sin gular costume. " The walking dress of the females of all descriptions is the saya y inanto. The former is a petticoat of velvet, satin, or stuff, generally black or of a cinnamon color, plait ed in very small folds, and rather elastic ; it sits close to the body, and shows its shape to the utmost possible advantage. At the bottom, it is too narrow to allow the wearer to step for ward freely; but the short step rather adds to, than deprives her of a graceful air. This part of the dress is often taste fully ornamented round the bottom with lace, fringes, span gles, pearls, artificial flowers, or whatever may be considered fashionable. Among ladies of the higher order, the saya is of different colors, purple, pale blue, load color, or striped. The inanto is a hood of thin black silk, drawn round the waist, and then carried over the head ; by closing it before, they can hide the whole of the face, one eye alone being visible : sometimes they show half the face, but this depends on the choice of the wearer. A fine shawl or handkerchief, hanging down before, a rosary in the hand, silk stockings, and satin shoes, complete the costume. " The hood is, undoubtedly, derived from the Moors ; and to a stranger, it has a very curious appearance ; how- IN SOUTH AMERICA. 689 ever, I confess that I became so reconciled to the sight, that I thought, and still think it, both handsome and genteel. This dress is peculiar to Lima ; indeed, I never saw it worn any where else in South America. It is certainly very con venient; for, at a moment s notice, a lady can, without the necessity of changing her under dress, put on her say a y manto, and go out ; and no female will walk in the street in any other in the day time. For the evening promenade, an English dress is often adopted ; but in general, a large shawl is thrown over the head, and a hat is worn over all. Be tween the folds of the shawl it is not uncommon to perceive a lighted cigar ; for, although several of the fair sex are ad dicted to smoking, none of them choose to practise it openly. " When the ladies appear on pub?icoccasions, at the thea tre, bull circus, and pascos, (promenades,) they are dressed in the English or French costume: but they are always very anxious to exhibit a profusion of jewelry, to which they are particularly partial. A lady in Lima would much rather possess an extensive collection of precious gems than a gay equipage. They are immoderately fond of perfumes, and spare no expense in procuring them. It is a well-known fact that many poor females attend at the archbishop s gate, and, after receiving a pittance, immediately purchase with the money aqua rica, or some other scented water. Even the ladies, not content with the natural fragrance of flowers, often add to it and spoil it hy sprinkling them with lavender water, spirits of musk, or ambergris, and often by fumigating them with gum benzoin, musk, and amber, particularly the mistura, which is a compound of jessamine, wall flowers,, orange flowers, and others, picked from the stalks. Smalt apples and green limes are also filled with slices of cinna mon and cloves. The mixture is generally to be found on a salver at a lady s toilet. They will distribute it among their friends, by asking for a pocket handkerchief, tying up a small quantity in the corner, and sprinkling it with some per fume, expecting the compliment that it is most delicately seasoned. "* " The custom of wearing these veils, or going tapada, (as it is called,) which the Spaniards adopted from the Moors, has been interdicted in Spain, under heavy penalties, by re peated edicts, but always without effect : and in 1609, an * Stevenson s Twenty Years Residence. 690 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES attempt was made to enforce the prohibition at Lima, but the Viceroy discouraged it as impracticable. The ladies, Mr. Caldcleugh tells us, advance many substantial and un answerable reasons for not changing this custom. The sun scorches their faces, and they would be prevented from visiting the sick, and performing charitable actions without publicity. The freedom allowed by it, another traveller as sures us, is almost unbounded. They live, in fact, when abroad, in a perpetual masquerade, nothing affording them more amusement than to deceive their acquaintance, by passing themselves off as strangers, or to watch their move ments, and listen to their conversation, unobserved. At pub lic places, and on occasions such as that above described, they permit any gentlemen of genteel exterior to address them, and converse, without previous introduction. They even stop at the windows of rooms on the ground floor, and converse with, or pay gentlemen visits in their own houses, two or three of them together ; but, in that case, always without discovering themselves, and checking any attempt to remove the silken mask, which would, indeed, be immediate ly resented as an unpardonable insult."* cusco. Cusco,or Cuzco, the most ancient city of Peru, is situated amid the Andes, on the skirts of various mountains, 184 leagues from Lima, and 290 from Buenos Ayres. Most of the houses are of stone. They are well construct ed, laid out in regular proportions, and covered with tiles of a bright red color. The apartments are spacious and finely decorated ; the mouldings of the doors are gilt, and the other ornaments and furniture are in a style corresponding to the elegance of the buildings, and the good taste for which the inhabitants are so generally noted. The population of this city is estimated by Alcedo at 26,000, it having suffered greatly by a pestilence in 1720. But Mr. Miller states, that in 1825, it contained above 40,000 inhabitants. Three- fourths of the inhabitants are stated to be Indians, who are * Malhison s Visit. IN SOUTH AMERICA. 691 occupied chiefly in the manufacture of baize, cotton, and leather, likewise of ordinary cloth, and a kind of linen used chiefly as clothing by the poor, saddles, floor carpets, galloon of gold, silver, and silk parchment, and other preparations from various skins. The natives, who are of an ingenious disposition, are also said to have a taste for painting, and to excel in the arts of embroidery and engraving. They are, in general, a very diligent, industrious people. Cusco is an episcopal city, and its bishop is suffragan to the archbishop of Lima. The members of the cathedral chapter, besides the bishop, are five dignitaries, viz. the dean, archdean, chanter, rector, and treasurer ; two canons by competition; a magistrate and penitentiary ; three canons by presentation ; and two prebendaries. The cathedral is a large,, rich and handsome edifice, built entirely of stone. It is smaller than that of Lima, but is by some preferred to it, in point of the architecture. The city of Cusco, as it is the most ancient, so, in point of extent, it is still the second in the viceroyalty of Peru, being only inferior to Lima, and so little inferior, that as the latter may be called the maritime capital of that viceroyal ty, the former may be considered as its inland metropolis. Proudly situated amongst the surrounding Andes, and boast ing of an origin that reaches back to a remote antiquity, it may justly lay claim to the dignity of a capital. Its north and west sides are surrounded by the mountain of the for tress, and others, called by the general name Sanca ; on the south it borders on a plain, in- which there are several beau tiful walks. The fortress which gives its name to the moun tain, situated towards the north and the west of the city, is still to be traced in its ruins. These occur in the heights contiguous to the northern part of the city, and are the re mains of the famous fort built by the Incas for their defence. Their design when they erected this edifice, appears to have been to inclose the whole mountain with a prodigious wall, of such construction as might render the ascent of it abso lutely impracticable to an enemy, at the same time that it might be easily defended from within. This wall was en tirely of freestone, and, like all the other works of the Incas, was strongly built, being particularly remarkable for its di mensions, and the magnitude of the stones of which it is com posed, as well as the art with which they were combined. The stones, which form the principal part of the work, are indeed 692 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES of such vast size, that it is difficult to conceive how they could have been brought thither from the quarries, by the bare strength of men, unassisted by the use of machines. One of them, which is still lying on the ground, and which seems not to have been applied to the use intended, is called La Cansado, or the troublesome, in allusion probably to the la bor with which its removal was effected. The interstices between those enormous masses were filled with smaller stones, which are so closely joined, that a very narrow in spection is necessary for perceiving that the whole is not a single block of stone. It may well appear surprising, how materials so vast and shapeless, and of so irregular a super- fices as those which enter into this building, could be knit together, and laid one upon another with such nicety, inde pendently of the use of mortar or any other combining sub stance ; and yet more without the knowledge, on the part ol those by whom the building was erected, even of iron or steel, or the simplest mechanical powers. The outward wall of this fortress is still standing, but the internal works, which consist of apartments and two other walls, are for the most part in ruins. A subterranean passage of singular construction, led from the fortress to the palace of the In- cas. In these the walls were cut very crooked, admitting for a certain space only one peison to pass at a time, and this sideways, while shortly afterwards two might pass abreast. The egress was by a rock worked in the same narrow man ner on the other side ; the whole being upon a plan which, by enabling a single person to defend himself with ease against a great number, seemed well calculated to afford security against any sudden assault. The whole of these ruins, together with the fragments of a pavement of stone, built also by order of the Incas, and which led to the place where Lima now stands, are certainly no mean monuments of ancient art. The baths also, of which the one is of cold, and the other of warm water, are not undeserving of attention. Cusco is, in point of antiquity, coeval with the empire of the Incas. It was founded by the first Inca, Manco Capac, (i. e. rich in virtue,) as the seat and capital of his empire. This prince is supposed to have reigned in the 12th or 13th century. It was in the month of October, 1534, that Don Francisco Pizarro entered this city, and took possession of it in the name of Charles V. emperor and king of Spain This was followed by a siege on the part of Inca Manco, IN SOUTH AMERICA. 693 AREQUIPA. who laid great part of it in ashes, but, without dislodging the Spaniards. Manco Capac was crowned here with the per mission of Pizarro ; but having been afterwards defeated by the Spaniards, he retired to the mountains, and is supposed to have died about the year 1553. The commerce of Cusco consists chiefly of the very large quantity of sugar made in the neighboring jurisdictions, the inhabitants of which have many sugar plantations.* AREQUIPA. Arequipa is the capital of a province of the same name. It is a large and well-built city, containing from 30,000 to 40,000 inhabitants. It stands in a plain, watered by the Chile, about 20 leagues from the coast, in latitude 16 16 south ; longitude 72 west. It is about 217 leagues south east of Lima, and 60 southwest of Cusco. At a distance of six or eight miles east of the city is a conical mountain, the base of which may be about five leagues in circumference ; on the summit is a crater, which throws out smoke, unac companied by flame or cinders. A column of thin vapor was issuing from the volcano during the whole time the patriots occupied Arequipa; this had continued for some time. The mountain, being part of the foreground of the Andes, does not appear very lofty to the eye : but some Englishmen who climbed it, spent two days in making an excursion to the summit ; a task which has seldom been accomplished, owing to the difficulties of the ascent. The river Chile flows through the city, and is crossed by a handsome stone bridge. The walls of the cathedral, the convents, and churches, and even of the houses, are of stone, and of great thickness, in order to provide against great earthquakes, which are very frequent, and sometimes very destructive. Four times, Ul- loa states, by these dreadful convulsions, the city has been laid in ruins. The first occurred in 1582 ; the second, ac companied with an eruption of the volcano, in February, 1600 ; the third, in 1604 ; and the fourth, in 1725. Besides these, the earthquakes of 1687, 1732, 1738, 1785, and 1819 were scarcely less violent. * Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. TRAVELS AND SKETCHES TRUXILLO BUENOS AYRES. TRUXILLO. The city of Truxillo is situated in latitude 8 6 south, about half a league from the sea, in the valley of Chimu. It is surrounded with a wall of sun-dried bricks, about five feet thick, and ten in height, with a parapet above it, and fifteen bastions. There are five gates, leading to as many roads. The circumference of the city is about a league and a half. The streets are broad, and cross at right angles, with a plaza mayor in the centre, according to the universal plan of Spanish towns. Few of the houses are more than one floor in height, owing to the frequency of earthquakes. The best are built, like those of Lima, with an interior potto, the principal rooms being spacious and lofty, with ceilings of red cedar, richly carved. There is an alamcda, or promenade, forming part of the Huanchaco road. Besides the cathedral, there are three parochial churches, and eight or nine con ventual churches, there being four monasteries, a college, (formerly belonging to the Jesuits,) a hospital of Our Lady of Bethlehem, (Bethlemites,) and two nunneries. The women, in their dress and customs, follow very nearly those of Lima. Great numbers of chaises are seen here, there not being a family of credit without one, as the sandy soil is very troublesome in walking. The population is under 9,000 souls. Several British merchants, and some North Americans, are among the residents. BUENOS AYRES. BUENOS AYRES. BUENOS AYRES was founded in 1534. It received its name on account of the salubrity of its climate. It is sit uated on the western shore of the Plata, about two hundred miles from its mouth. Estimated population 100,000. It extends north and south about two miles, including the sub urbs, and is in general about half a mile wide, rather more in the centre. The streets are straight and regular, unpaved in the middle, but with raised footpaths on each side. " The IN SOUTH AMERICA. 695 BUENOS AYRES. houses," observes Mr. Brackenridge, " are pretty generally two stories high, with flat roofs, and, for the most part, plas tered on the outside ; which, without doubt, at first improved their appearance ; but by time and neglect, they have be come somewhat shabby. There are no elegant rows of buildings, as in Philadelphia, or New York ; but many are spacious, and all take up more ground than with us. The reason of this is, that they have large open courts, or veran das, both in front and rear, which are called patios. These patios are not like our yards, enclosed by a wall or railing; their dwellings, for the most part, properly compose three connected buildings, forming as many sides of a square ; the wall of the adjoining house making up the fourth. In the centre of the front building there is a gateway, and the rooms on either hand, as we enter, are in general occupied as places of business, or merchants counting-rooms; the rear building is usually the cjining-room, while that on the left, or right, (as it may happen,) is the sitting-room or par lor. The patio is usually paved with brick, and sometimes with marble, and is a cool and delightful place. Grape-vines are planted round the walls, which, in the proper season, are loaded with fruit. The houses have as little wood as possi ble about them ; both the first and second floor having brick pavements ; fire-engines are therefore unknown ; and to the conflagrations which so often devastate our large cities, the people are entire strangers. There are no chimneys but those of kitchens. At all the windows, there is a light iron grating, which projects about one foot. " But little attention is paid to the cleanliness of the streets; in one of the front streets, where there was no pave ment, I observed several mud-holes; into these, dead cats and dogs are sometimes thrown, from too much indolence to car ry Ihem out of the way. The sidewalks are very narrow, and in bad repair ; this is better than at Rio Janeiro, where there are none at all. I observed, however, as I went along, a number of convicts, as I took them to be, engaged in mending the bad places, already mentioned. In these par ticulars, I was very much reminded of New Orleans; in fact, in many other points, I observed a striking resemblance between the two cities. I can say but little for the police, when compared to our towns ; but this place manifests a still greater superiority over Rio Janeiro ; and many important improvements, that have been introduced within a few years past, were pointed out to me. I should like to see, how- 696 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BUENOS AYRKS. ever, some trouble bestowed in cleaning those streets that are paved, and in paving the rest, as well as in freeing the fronts of their houses from the quantity of dust collected, wherever it can find a resting place." " But it is time to speak of the inhabitants of the city, and of the people who frequent it. And here, whether illusion or reality, I shall not take upon me to say, but certain it is, I had not walked far, before I felt myself in a land of free dom. There was an independence, an ingenuousness in the carriage, and an expression in the countenances of those I met, which reminded me of my own country; an air of freedom breathed about them, which I shall not attempt to describe. " 1 saw nothing but the plainness and simplicity of repub licanism ; in the streets, there were none but plain citizens, and citizen soldiers ; some of the latter, perhaps, showing a little of the coxcomb, and others exhibiting rather a militia appearance, riot the less agreeable to me on that account. In fact, I could almost have fancied myself in one of our towns, judging by the dress and appearance of the people whom I met. Nothing can be more different than the pop ulation of this place from that of Rio. I saw no one bear ing the insignia of nobility, except an old crazy man, fol lowed by a train of roguish boys. There were no palan quins, or rattling equipages ; in these matters there was much less luxury and splendor than with us. The females, instead of being immured by jealousy, are permitted to walk abroad and breathe the air. The supreme director has no grooms, gentlemen of the bedchamber, nor any of the train which appertains to royalty, nor has his wife any maids of honor; his household is much more plain than most of the private gentlemen of fortune in our own country: it is true, when he rides out to his country seat, thirty miles off, he is accompanied by half a dozen horsemen, perhaps a necessary precaution, considering the times, and which may be dis pensed with on the return of peace ; or perhaps, a remnant of anti-republican barbarity, which will be purged away by the sun of a more enlightened age ; indeed, I am informed, that the present director lives in a style of much greater sim plicity than any of his predecessors. " If I were to stop here, however, I should not give a faith ful picture of the appearance to a stranger, of the population of Buenos Ayres ; the mixture of negroes and mulattoes is by no means remarkable, not as great, perhaps, as in Baltimore ; and the proportion of military, such as we might have seen in IN SOUTH AMERICA. 697 BUENOS AVRES. one of our towns during the last war, with the exception of the black troops, which in this city constitute a principal part of the regular force. But there are other figures, which enter into the picture, and give a different cast to the whole from any thing I have seen. The modern European and North American civilization, and I will add South American, which differs but little from the others, was set off by a strange mixture of antiquity, and aboriginal rudeness. Buenos Ayres may very justly be compared to the bust of a very beautiful female, placed upon a pedestal of rude un- shapen stone. Great numbers of gauchos, and other coun try people, are seen in the streets, and always on horseback ; arid as there prevails a universal passion for riding, the num ber of horses is very great. The European mode of capari soning is occasionally seen, but most usually the bridle, saddle, &,c. would be regarded as curiosities by us. The stir rups of the gauchos are so small, as to admit a little more than the big toe of the rider, who makes a very grotesque figure with his long flowing poncho. This is a kind of striped cotton or woollen rug, of the manufacture of the coun try, fine or coarse, according to the purse of the wearer, with nothing but a slit in the middle, through which the head is thrust; it hangs down perfectly loose, resembling somewhat a wagoner s frock. In rain, it answers the purpose of a big coat, and in hot weather, is placed on the saddle. It is also used for sleeping on, as the Indians do their blankets. It is possible, after all, that this singularity of dress, may not make any great difference in the man. There is nothing re markable in the complexion of features, excepting when there happens to be a little dash of the Indian. There is more of indolence, and vacancy, (if I may use the word,) in the ex pression of their countenances, and an uncouth wildness of their appearance ; but it must be remembered, that we also of the north, are reproached by Europeans for our care lessness of time, and our lazy habits. These gauchos I gen erally observed clustered about the pulperias, or grog-shops, of which there are great numbers in the city and suburbs: these people frequently drink and carouse on horseback, while the horses of those that are dismounted continue to stand still, without being fastened, as they are all taught to do, and champing the bit. These carousing groups would afford ex cellent subjects for Flemish painters. The horses, though not of a large size, are all finely formed : I do not recollect 698 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BUENOS AYRES. a single instance, in which I did not remark good limbs, and head, and neck. The gauchos are often barefooted and bare legged ; or, instead of boots, make use of the skin of the hind legs of the horse ; the joint answering the purpose of a heel, and furnishing a very cheap kind of suwarrow. " Besides the clumsy carts, of which I have before spoken, and the class of people which I have just described, my at tention was much attracted by the appearance of the great ox-wagons, used with the trade in the interior. They are of an enormous size, and are the most clumsy contrivance im aginable. Five or six of these in a line, are sometimes seen groaning along the street, the wheels making a noise like the gates on the hinges of Milton s pandemonium. The wagon ers use no tar to prevent them from making this harsh noise, as they say it is music to the oxen. These are, in general, uncommonly large, and the finest that I ever saw. Their yokes, in proportion, are as nonderous as the wagon, and in drawing, nothing is used t)ut the raw hide strongly twisted. In fact, this is the only kind of gears, or traces used for all descriptions of carriages. To each of these enormous wagons there are, generally, at least three drivers. One sits in the wagon, with a long rod or goad in his hand, and above his head, suspended in slings, there is a bamboo or cane, at least thirty feet in length, as supple as a fishing- rod, so that it can, occasionally, be used to quicken the pace of the foremost pair of oxen, which are fastened to the first by a long trace of twisted hide. The interval between the different pairs of oxen, is rendered necessary by the diffi culty of crossing small rivers, whose bottoms are bad, arid which are subject to sudden rises. Another driver takes his seat on the yoke, between the heads of the second pair of oxen, being also armed with a goad, with its point turned backwards: there was something extremely ludicrous to me in the appearance of this last, and nothing but a folded sheep skin to sit upon ; yet content, or rather inanity, was pictured in his countenance. Besides these two, there is a third on horseback, armed in the same manner. If such an exhibi tion were to pass through one of our streets^ with its slow and solemn movement, and musical groanings, I doubt not but it would attract as much attention as half a dozen elephants. " As this is the fruit season, a great number of people were crying peaches, up and down the street, on horseback, with large panniers made of the raw hide of oxen, on each side. Milk, in large tin canisters, was cried about in the same way, IN SOUTH AMERICA. 699 BUENOS AYRES. and as they were carried in a tolerable trot, I expected every moment to hear the cry changed to that of butter. As I moved along towards the great square, a part of which is the principal market place, (immediately in front of the cas tle, or government house,) there appeared to be a great throng of people. I met some priests and friars, but by no means as many as I expected, and nothing like the number I met at Rio Janeiro. There are, perhaps, fewer monasteries and convents in Buenos Ayres, than in any Spanish town in the world. But as things are very much judged of by com parison; it is highly probable that if I had not touched at the place before mentioned, and had come directly here from one of our cities, I should have considered the number of regular and secular clergy very considerable. It must be con stantly kept in view, that in order to judge of these people fairly, we are to compare them with Spanish or Portuguese, and look at ichat they have been, not to the state of things in the United States. The dress of the seculars when in their canonicals, is like that of the episcopal clergy, except that they wear a broad quaker hat. The monks and friars are easily distinguished by their habit of coarse cloth or flannel, girt round the waist, and with a cowl or hood be hind. In speaking of the Catholic clergy, we, who know lit tle about them, are very much in the habit of confounding these two classes. They are very different, both in character arid appearance. The seculars are, necessarily, men of ed ucation, and living and mingling in society, participate in the feelings of the people, and cannot avoid taking part in temporal affairs. The monks, on the contrary, are grega rious ; not dispersed through society, but shut up in their convents and monasteries, and not permitted to mingle in the affairs of the world. From the first, it is natural to ex pect liberality and intelligence, as well as from other Chris tian clergy ; but in the latter, it would not be surprising to find superstition and ignorance. "On approaching the market-place, as it was still early in the day, I found that the crowd had not entirely dispersed. There is no market-house or stalls, except in the meat mar ket, situated on one corner of the square, which fronts on the plaza. Every thing offered for sale, was spread on the ground. I can say but little in favor of the appearance of cleanliness ; dirt and filth appeared to have a prescriptive right here. One who had never seen any other than a Phil adelphia market, can form no idea of the condition of this 700 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES BUENOS AYRES. place. To make amends, it is admirably supplied with all the necessaries and delicacies that an abundant and fruit ful country can afford. Beef, mutton, fowls, game, &c. with a variety of excellent fish, were here in great plenty, and for prices, which, in our markets, would be considered very low. Beef, particularly, is exceedingly cheap, and of a su perior quality ; it is the universal dish, chiefly roasted. Absolute want is scarcely known in this country, any more than with us. As I passed by the hucksters stalls, they pre sented a much richer display than any I had been accustomed to see. Here apples, grapes, oranges, pomegranates, peaches, figs, pineapples, watermelons, were mingled in fair profusion. " The plaza, or great square, is at least twice as large as the state-house yard in Philadelphia, and is unequally divided into two parts, by an edifice long and low, which serves as a kind of bazaar, or place of shops, with a corridor on each side the whole length, which often serves as a shelter for the market people. At these shops, or stores, which are pretty well supplied, they can make their purchases, without the trouble of wandering through the town. The space between this and the fort, is that appropriated for the market. The opposite side, which is much larger, is a kind of place (f armes ; and fronting the building just spoken of, and which intercepts the view of the fort, there is a very fine edifice, called the cabildo, or town-house, somewhat resembling that of New Orleans, but much larger. In this building the courts hold their sessions, and the offices are kept. The city council, or cabildo, also sits here, and business of all kinds relating to the police, is here transacted. Near the centre of the square, a neat pyramid has been erected, com memorative of the revolution, with four emblematic figures, one at each corner, representing justice, science, liberty, and America; the whole enclosed with a light railing. " The shops, or stores, as far as I observed, in my peram bulations through the city, are all on a very small scale, and make no show, as in our towns. There are but few signs, and those belonging chiefly to foreigners ; such as sastrc, lotcro, sapatcro, &,c., de Londres ; tailor, bootmaker, shoemaker, from London. The greater part of the trades, which are now flourishing here, particularly hatters, black smiths, and many others that I might enumerate, have been established since the revolution ; the journeymen mechanics are chiefly half Indians and mulattoes. The wages of an American or English journeyman are higher than in any IN SOUTH AMERICA. 701 BUENOS AYRES. part of the world : fifteen hundred or two thousand dollars per annum, I am told, are very commonly given. There are other squares through the town, besides the one already mentioned, in which the markets are held. There are also large yards, or corrals, which belong to the city, and are hired to individu als for the purpose of confining droves of cattle. I observed several large wood-yards, in which there were immense piles of peach limbs, tied into bundles or faggots, together with timber and fire-wood brought from Paraguay, or the Brazils. " The day after we arrived was Sunday, and the streels were crowded with people. 1 was very frequently reminded of my old place of residence, New Orleans, with the ex ception that the proportion of colored people is comparatively very small; but amongst the lower classes I remarked a great many of Indian extraction ; this was discoverable in the complexion and features. The inhabitants generally are a shade browner than those of North America; but I saw a great many with good complexions. They are a handsome people. They have nothing in their appearance and char acter, of that dark, jealous, and revengeful disposition, we have been in the habit of attributing to Spaniards. The men dress pretty much as we do ; but the women are fond of wearing black, when they go abroad. The fashion of dress, in both sexes, I am informed, has undergone great im provement, since their free intercourse with strangers. The old Spaniards, of whom there are considerable numbers, are easily distinguished by their darker complexion, the studied shabbiness of their dress, and the morose and surly expres sion of countenance ; this arises from their being treated as a sort of Jews, by those whom they were wont to consider as greatly their inferiors. They are also distinguished by not mounting the blue and white cockade, which is univer sally worn by the citizens of the Republic. The same num ber of Chinese, could scarcely form a class more distinct from the rest of the community. There can hardly be a greater affront to an American del Sud, than to call him a Spaniard. A young fellow told me, in a jesting way, that the monks, friars, and Spaniards, were generally old, and would soon die off, which he said was a great consolation."* * Brackenridge on South America. CHILE. SANTIAGO. SANTIAGO DE CHILE, the capital of Chile, originally called New Estramadura, was founded in the year 1541, by the fa mous Pedro de Valdivia. It is situated in a pleasant and extensive plain, elevated, according to Caldcleugh, 2951 feet above the level of the Pacific. The plain is watered by the rivers Maypo, and Maypocho. The port of Santiago is Val paraiso, on a bay of the Pacific, 90 miles distant, in a south erly direction. The lat. of the capital is 33 Iti S., Ion. 69 48 W. Travellers represent it to be one of the finest cities in South America, in point of " structure, convenience, and healthfulness," but as to local situation it is inferior to Lima and Buenos Ay res. Its distance from the ocean must be a serious inconvenience. Valparaiso, its port, has an excel lent harbor ; but its great distance, and through a country uneven, must render intercourse between the two places dif ficult. It is a more regularly built city and more cleanly than either the above, but neither so elegant or imposing. " The Plaza or great square," says Mr. Caldcleugh, " stands nearly in the middle of the city ; it occupies the space of a whole quadra. The buildings on the north-west side are the directorial mansion, the palace of government, the prison, and chamber of justice. On the south-west side stands the cathedral and the old palace of the bishop, now occupied by the Estado Mayor ; on the south-east side are a Dumber of little shops, under a heavy looking piazza, while the story above is divided into private dwellings and gambling houses : the north-eastern side is wholly occupied by private residences, among which is the English hotel. The palace is a handsome, capacious building of two stories, arranged round a large quadrangle; the lower range contains the armory, treasury, and some other public offices ; the upper story contains the great hall of audience, the of fices of the ministers of state, war, finance, and the tribunal of accounts. The Directorial residence is on the ground 702 IN SOUTH AMERICA. 703 SANTIAGO. floor; it consists of a handsome suit of rooms, well furnish ed. The presidio is a building of two stories, the lower be ing occupied as a prison ; the upper contains the offices and halls of the court of justice, and of the municipal corpora tion, or cabildo. These edifices are built in the ordinary bad style of Moorish architecture. The palace is by far the best specimen of architecture, and is the most imposing. All these buildings are of brick, plastered and whitewashed, the pedestals of the pilasters alone being of red porphyry. " The cathedral is the only stone building in the city. Its front was never half finished, but, judging from the wing that is completed, the design must have been of the better order of Moorish architecture ; it is ornamental, but heavy. It is built of a kind of limestone quarried from the hill of San Do mingo, in the Chenita suburb. Notwithstanding the genial climate, the stone is fast shivering to decay, though it is quite a new structure. The bishop s palace is a heavy, de cayed building ; and the houses before alluded to, with the piazzas, are so dilapidated from age, that apprehensions are entertained that they will fall or be overthrown by the first earthquake that happens. In the centre of the square is an ornamental fountain of brass, furnished with water by a sub terraneous aqueduct, immediately from the river. The town is chiefly supplied with water carried hence for sale, in bar rels of ten gallons, two of which are a mule s load : it is sold at a medio, or three pence the barrel. " The Consulado is a spacious building; it stands in front of the Jesuits church, and is built of brick, plastered and whitewashed. Here, the Consulado, or commercial tribunal, meets, and the senate and the national congress also hold their sittings. On one side of a small space in front of the Consulado, is the theatre, which is externally a miserable building ; on the other side is the custom-house, a large and very capacious building, the lower story being occupied as custom-house warehouses, the upper story, by the custom house and other public offices. The Mint is the largest building in the city; it occupies a whole quadra, and is sit uated in the Coneda, its front facing a shabby street. It consists of three quadrangular courts, round which the of fices and salas are arranged. The fa9ade in front consists of a series of heavy pilasters, surrounded with a rude cornice, having above it a long, ponderous balustrade of bad work manship ; in the centre is a large arched portico, or entrance 704 TRAVELS AND SKETCHES SANTIAGO. gate, with massive pillars close to the wall on each side sup porting nothing ; the whole is of plain brick, and presents a paltry appearance. In the centre of each side of the front quadrangle, whence the principal entrance doors and pas sages lead to the other part of the building, are two lofty massive pillars, projecting some distance from the door-way, and supported upon tall thin pediments; they have nothing above them but a piece of cornice, of no greater width than their diameters, which cornices form a projecting extension of the architecture of the door-way. It is a very ugly and heavy structure, yet the Chilenos point out the Mint as the great ornament and boast of their city, fancying there does not exist in the world any building equal to it. A foreign er who visits South America, if he wishes to keep on good terms with the natives, must forget all he has left behind him in Europe, and bring his taste to a level with that of the Creoles. Compared, therefore, with the present skill of the Chilenos, the Mint is a masterpiece of bricklayer s work, among a people accustomed to build with scarcely any other materials than irregularly-shaped sun-dried bricks, cemented together with mud. The Mint, as well as the other public buildings, were constructed by bricklayers sent out from Spain for the express purpose. The brick work of the house is good, but the design and arrangement are as bad as can be well conceived. " The town and suburbs are divided into five parishes. The canadilla belonging to Saint Isidore, one division of the city, and chuchunco forming the parisliof St. Ann : another portion of the city belongs to St. Paul ; the western chimba forms that of Estampa; the eastern chimba, St. Francis. All the parish churches are mean structures, but those of the convents present some of the best buildings in the city : that of San Domingo, in the street of that name; that of the Je suits, which is remarkable for its curiously-formed painted exterior : its tower is constructed altogether of timber, the better to resist the shocks of earthquakes, which have fre quently overturned the steeples of the churches."* * Caldcleugh s Travels in South America. THE END. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. General Library University of California Berkeley a.*490/ msh