POPULAR 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL LIBRARY. 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMEKICA. 
 
POPULAR 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL LIBRARY, 
 
 THE UNITED STATES 
 OF AM E filC A: 
 
 THEIR CLIMATE, SOIL, PRODUCTIONS, POPULA- 
 TION, MANUFACTURES, RELIGION, ARTS, 
 GOVERNMENT, &a, &c. 
 
 BY 
 
 ROBERT STEWART, A.M. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PUBLISHED BY W. TWEEDIE, STRAND. 
 
 MDCCCLIII. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 IN modern times, especially at the present period, 
 the general intercourse of knowledge amongst all 
 classes, the intimate commercial and political 
 relations existing between civilised communities, 
 and the universal desire of all inquiring minds 
 to become acquainted with distant countries, and 
 with the inhabitants, condition, and productions of 
 regions differing from our own, unite in render- 
 ing Geographical knowledge interesting to the 
 majority of the human family ; while to many it 
 is indispensable, in qualifying them for the pur- 
 suits of commerce and industry, and for much of 
 the current and daily avocations of life. 
 
 On these grounds, therefore, and with the view 
 of imparting such useful information in a cheap 
 form, is "THE POPULAR GEOGRAPHICAL 
 LIBRARY" introduced to the public, upon a 
 plan which presents peculiar advantages. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB. 
 
 Introduction . . . . . .1 
 
 The United States 18 
 
 The Eastern, or New England States . . 55 
 
 State of Maine ..... 58 
 
 State of New Hampshire . , . .61 
 
 State of Vermont ..... 65 
 
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts . . .70 
 
 State of Rhode Island .... 80 
 
 State of Connecticut . . . . .84 
 
 Middle States ..... 89 
 
 State of New York . . . . .92 
 State of New Jersey . . . .212 
 
 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . . .217 
 
 State of Delaware ..... 230 
 
 State of Maryland . . . . .233 
 District of Columbia . . . .238 
 
 Southern States . . . . .242 
 
 Commonwealth of Virginia . . . 246 
 
 State of North Carolina . . . .257 
 
 State of South Carolina .... 263 
 
 State of Georgia . . . . .274 
 
 Florida Territory ..... 279 
 
 State of Alabama . . . . .284 
 
 State of Mississippi .... 289 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 State of Louisiana . . . . 295 
 
 Western States and Territories . . . 307 
 
 State of Ohio 312 
 
 Commonwealth of Kentucky . . . 321 
 
 State of Tennessee . . . . .326 
 
 State of Indiana ..... 331 
 
 State of Illinois . . . . .336 
 
 State of Michigan .... 342 
 
 State of Missouri . . , . .349 
 
 State of Arkansas . . . . 354 
 
 Wisconsin Territory . . . . .358 
 
 Western, or Indian Territory . . . 361 
 Missouri Territory ..... 364 
 
 Oregon Territory ..... 367 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Report of the Superintendent of the Census in the 
 United States . . . . .37 
 
 Real and Personal Estate . . . ! 37 8 
 
 Churches . . . . . .380 
 
 Farms. Land improved and unimproved . ib. 
 
 Domestic Animals ..... 383 
 
 Agricultural Produce. Wheat Rye Maize Oats 
 Rice Tobacco Cotton Buckwheat Barley 
 Potatoes Wine Hops Flax and Hemp 
 Silk Sugar . . . . . 386 
 
 Canal Statistics . . . . .394 
 
 Emigration to New York for the Year 1852 . 397 
 Personal Census . 399 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 NORTH AMERICA comprises that portion of the 
 New World extending from 8 deg. to 70 deg. 
 north latitude, and from 55 deg. to 168 deg. west 
 longitude. The area of this vast region is ahout 
 7,200,000 square miles, exclusive of the islands 
 lying west and north-west of Baffin's Bay arid 
 Barrow's Strait. Presenting a hroad front to the 
 Arctic Seas, it gradually expands in width to 
 ahout 50 deg. north latitude, when it again con- 
 tracts its dimensions until it terminates in the 
 Isthmus of Darien. 
 
 Its winding outline presents a great extent of 
 sea coast, which is estimated to amount to 9,500 
 miles on the eastern, and somewhat more on the 
 western side, exclusive of those on the frozen shores 
 of the northern horder. 
 
 Mountain ranges, peculiarly distinguished by 
 their magnitude and continuity, pervade this quar- 
 ter of the world. Those of North America consist 
 of two great chains, the eastern and western ; the 
 latter, or Rocky Mountain range, known also as 
 the Chippawayan. Passing through Guatemala, 
 from the Isthmus of Darien, it spreads out, iu 
 
2 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 Mexico, into extensive table lands, crowned by 
 lofty volcanic peaks : running thence through the 
 western regions of the United States, and the 
 British possessions, it finally sinks to a level on the 
 shores of the Polar Sea, westward of the Macken- 
 zie river. Its extent is probably not less than 5,000 
 miles, and in its general course it is nearly parallel 
 to the Pacific Ocean, forming the great dividing 
 ridge, or line of separation, between the eastern 
 and western waters, the principal of which have 
 their origin in its rugged declivities. 
 
 The only other extensive range is the Alleghany 
 or Appalachian, which, running parallel to the 
 eastern coast of the United States, throws off 
 some irregular and rather slightly connected 
 branches diverging into Canada, Labrador, and the 
 vicinity of Hudson's Bay. This consists principally 
 of two parallel chains, the Alleghany and the Blue 
 Ridge. These, however, are not extensive in their 
 range, nor do they attain the elevation of the great 
 western chain. 
 
 The rivers of America constitute perhaps her 
 grandest natural features, or at least those in which 
 she may claim pre-eminence over the other quarters 
 of the globe. They are unequalled, both in their 
 length of course, and in the vast masses which they 
 pour into the ocean. The principal of these take 
 their rise in the great western chain, from its eastern 
 side, whence, being swelled by numerous streams, 
 they roll, broad and spacious, across the great inte- 
 rior plain, until they approach the eastern range of 
 mountains : thence they derive a fresh and copious 
 series of tributaries, till, bearing, as it were, the 
 waters of half a continent, they reach the ocean. 
 Thus, the Missouri, (which, notwithstanding the 
 error which has given the name of the Mississippi 
 to the united channel, is undoubtedly in a physical 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 view, the main stream) takes its rise in the Rocky 
 Mountains, then flows eastward into the great cen- 
 tral valley, where it is joined by the Mississippi, 
 and there receives, from the Alleghany chain, the 
 copious tribute of the Ohio. In its course thence 
 southward, it receives tributaries both from the 
 eastern and western range. 
 
 The St. Lawrence and Mississippi Proper derive 
 their ample stores, not from any mountain chain, 
 but from that cold watery region of swamps and 
 forests which forms the northern prolongation of 
 the great central plain. The Mackenzie and Great 
 Fish Rivers, which flow through the north into 
 the Arctic Sea, have a long diversified course, but, 
 from the barren regions which they traverse, are of. 
 no commercial value. 
 
 The lakes of North America are numerous and 
 important ; they are not, however, mountain lakes, 
 nor formed by mountain streams. They originate 
 in those great wooded arid watery plains whence 
 the St. Lawrence and Mississippi t;ke their rise. 
 The chain of connected lakes on the upper course 
 of the latter river, Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michi- 
 gan, and Superior, form the largest bodies of fresh 
 water in the world. Communicating with the sea 
 by the broad channel of the St. Lawrence, and in 
 a country whose population is rapidly increasing, 
 they are becoming of the greatest importance to 
 commerce. Similar lakes extend to the northward 
 as far as the Arctic Sea ; the Lake of the Woods, 
 the Athabasca, the Great Slave, and the Great 
 Bear Lake ; but these, unconnected with any other 
 sea, and frozen for the greater part of the year, 
 cannot serve any commercial purpose. 
 
 The plains of the New World form almost as 
 great and remarkable an object as its mountains. 
 In North America, of those more especially worthy 
 
4 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 of attention, the first is tlie plain along the Atlantic, 
 between the ocean and the eastern range of moun- 
 tains. To that belongs the original territory of the 
 United States. It is a region of natural forests ; of 
 mixed, but rather poor soil, and of but moderate 
 fertility. The second is that on the opposite side of 
 the continent, between the Rocky Mountains and the 
 Pacific Ocean ; a country with a mild and humid 
 atmosphere as far as 55 deg., but inhospitable 
 beyond that latitude. The most extensive is the 
 great central valley of the Mississippi, rich and 
 well wooded on the east side; bare, but not un- 
 fertile, in the middle; dry, sandy, and almost a 
 desert on the west. This vast plateau is pro- 
 longed, without interruption, from the Gulf of 
 Mexico to the shores of the Polar Sea, so that one 
 of its borders is covered with the palms and the 
 splendid foliage of the tropics; while in the other, 
 the last buds of arctic vegetation expire. The area 
 of this great plain is estimated at 3,240,000 square 
 miles. 
 
 It was formerly believed, on the authority of 
 Buffon, that the animals of America were inferior 
 in size to those of the eastern continent. The 
 researches of modern naturalists have not only 
 refuted this error, but have established the fact, 
 that where any difference of size exists in animals 
 of the same class, the superiority, in most cases, is 
 on the American side. The animal kingdom of 
 North America embraces a considerable variety of 
 Bpecies, some of which are not found in other parts 
 of the world. 
 
 Of the bear species, those peculiar to North 
 America are the Grizzly, Barren, Ground, and 
 Black Bears. The great Polar or White Bear is 
 found also in the Arctic regions of Europe and 
 Asia. Jn North America it inhabits the continent 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 as far south as Labrador and Hudson's Bay ; its 
 principal residence is on fields of ice, with which 
 it frequently floats a great distance from land. 
 These huge creatures feed mostly on animal sub- 
 stances, and as they swim and dive well, they hunt 
 seals and other marine anim ils with great success. 
 The White Bear possesses prodigious strength, and 
 often attacks sailors who visit the Arctic seas. It 
 is also remarkable for its attachment to its young, 
 and is of a dirty or yellowish white colour. The 
 Grizzly Bear, the most powerful and dangerous 
 animal of North America, inhabiting both sides of 
 the Rocky Mountains, is, when full grown, reported 
 to exceed 800 pounds in weight, and its strength 
 so great that it has been known to drag to a con- 
 siderable distance a buff.ilo weighing one thousand 
 pounds ; the cubs of this species can climb trees, 
 but the adult animal cannot : the hunter may thus 
 escape, but the infuriaced beast will sometimes 
 keep watch below, and thus confine his enemy for 
 many hours. This is a carniverous species, but 
 will sometimes eat vegetables The Barren-ground 
 Bear receives its name from the circumstance of its 
 inhabiting only that section of the continent called 
 the Barren-lands, or grounds situate I north of 
 60 deg. ; this is a formidable animal, and is much 
 dreaded by the Indians, who are very careful to 
 avoid burning bones in their encampments, or any- 
 thing that may attract its notice. It frequents the 
 sea coast in autumn, in considerable numbers, for 
 the purpose of feeding on fi?h. In size it is be- 
 tween the Grizzly and Black Bear. The Black 
 Bear of North America is different from the Euro- 
 pean animal of the same name. It has a milder 
 disposition, and lives more on vegetables : its 
 favourite food is the different kinds of berries, and 
 it will not, except from necessity, subsist on animal 
 
6 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 substances. The Cinnamon Bear of the traders, 
 and found in the vicinity of Hudson's Bay, is con- 
 sidered only an accidental variety of the Black 
 Bear. 
 
 Of the deer kind there are several species not 
 found in the old continent. The Moose Deer re- 
 sembles the Elk of Europe, but is of a different 
 species ; it is the largest of the deer kind found in 
 America, and perhaps in the world, being in height 
 to the shoulder full six feet, and weighs when full 
 grown from 1 000 to 1 200 pounds ; it is a solitary 
 animal, and the most shy and wary of all the deer 
 species ; it was formerly found as far south as the 
 Ohio river, but now occurs most frequently in the 
 countries north of the great lakes, and in the un- 
 settled parts of Canada, and also occasionally in 
 the northern sections of New Hampshire, Maine, 
 <fcc. The Wapiti or American Elk is second in 
 size only to the Moose, and formerly ranged over 
 all the middle parts of the continent : it is now 
 found only in the remote western districts of the 
 United States and Canada, arid also west of the 
 Rocky Mountains. The size and appearance of the 
 elk is imposing ; his air denotes confidence of great 
 strength, while his towering horns exhibit weapons 
 capable of doing much injury when offensively 
 employed. The elk is shy and retiring, and has 
 very acute senses; the flesh is highly prized as 
 food, and the horns, when in a soft state, are con~ 
 sidered a delicacy. The Indians make bows of the 
 perfect horn, which are highly serviceable from 
 their elasticity ; and from their skins they prepare 
 various articles of dress, and apply them also to 
 other purposes. The Caribou, or American Rein- 
 deer, is a different species from the reindeer of the 
 old continent ; it is found in all the high northern 
 latitudes of North America, and has never been 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 domesticated, or used as a beast of draught, by the 
 natives, being considered only as game ; there are 
 two species, the Woodland and the Barren-ground 
 Caribou. The Virginia Deer is one of the most 
 elegant of the American animals of its class ; it 
 lives in large herds, and is found over a consider- 
 able portion of North America; it is said to dis- 
 play great enmity to the rattlesnake, which it 
 contrives to crush by leaping with its forefeet con- 
 joined and dropping perpendicularly on the serpent, 
 bounding away with great lightness, and repeating 
 this attack until his enemy is destroyed. 
 
 One species of antelope, the Prong-horned, is 
 peculiar to America; it is a graceful and fleet ani- 
 mal, so swift that it seems rather to fly than to 
 leap from rock to rock, in the rugged regions 
 which it inhabits ; they live in small families, 
 and are found in the vast plain of the Missouri 
 and Saskatchawan, in the vicinity of the Rocky 
 Mountains. 
 
 The American Bison, or buffalo, once common 
 in North America, has gradually disappeared 
 before the white population ; it now only exists to 
 the west of the Mississippi, and roams over the 
 vast grassy plains in the vicinity of the Rocky 
 Mountains ; here it is found in immense herds, 
 amounting, it is said, oftentimes to from 5,000 to 
 10,000 head ; the flesh is tender and juicy, and 
 the tongue and hump, or wig, are esteemed great 
 delicacies. The Musk Ox derives its name from 
 its flesh, when in a lean state, smelling strongly of 
 that substance. It is truly an Arctic animal, being 
 found only in the barren lands beyond the Great 
 Slave Lake, and as far north as Melville Island, 
 in 75 degrees. In size the Musk Ox scarcely 
 equals that of the small Highland cattle,* the car- 
 case when cleaned not weighing more than three 
 
8 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 cwt. ; it assembles in herds, and flees at the sight 
 of man ; it is much hunted, both by the Indians 
 and the Esquimaux. 
 
 Herds of wild horses roam over the great plains 
 on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, and like 
 those existing under similar circumstances in the 
 southern continent, are the offspring of the Euro- 
 pean animal, imported soon after the first settle- 
 ment of the country. They are found from Texas 
 to the plains of the Saskatohawan, and are of great 
 importance to the Nomadic tribes, who train them, 
 not only for transporting their tents and families 
 from place to place, but also for the purposes of war, 
 the chase, and of food, the flesh of the horse being 
 thus mostly used by the Spokains, and several 
 other tribes, and likewise at times by the residents 
 of the Hudson's Bay Company's posts on the Co- 
 lumbia River, and its branches. A few indivi- 
 duals of the wild horse, purchased by citizens of 
 the United States from the Indians, have been 
 found remarkable for their speed and bottom. 
 
 Of the cat kind this continent contains several 
 species, all equally remarkable, like their congeners 
 of the old world, for the beauty and diversity of 
 their colour, and the treachery of their disposition. 
 The cougar or puma, called also the panther, is the 
 largest and most formidable of its class found in 
 North America ; it is about one-third less in size 
 than a lion, but of sufficient strength to carry a 
 man up a tree ; though now rare in the more set- 
 tled parts of the continent, it is occasionally met 
 with in remote districts. It preys upon calves, 
 sheep, &c., and has also been known to attack man. 
 The jaguar, an animal of the cat kind, resembling 
 the panther, is found, though rarely, in Mexico ; 
 also the ocelot and tiger-cat. 
 
 The Rocky Mountain sheep and goat inhabit 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 the same range of mountains from which they de- 
 rive their name ; the latter is about the size of the 
 domestic sheep, its fleece hanging down on both 
 sides, like that of the merino breed ; the hair is long 
 and straight, coarser than that of the sheep, but 
 finer than that of the domestic goat. The Rocky 
 Mountain sheep is larger than any domestic sheep, 
 the horns of the ram are immense, in some of the 
 old ones so much so as to prevent the animal's 
 feeding on level ground. 'The hair is like that of 
 the reindeer, at first short, fine, and flexible, but 
 as the winter advances it becomes coarse, dry, and 
 brittle, though it feels soft ; it is then so close as 
 to become erect ; they collect in flocks from three 
 to thirty, the young rams and females herding to- 
 gether, while the old rams form separate flocks. 
 
 The principal fur bearing animals of Nortb 
 America are the beaver, musquash or muskrat, 
 pine-marten, pikan or fisher, the Canada lynx, 
 racoon, and stoat or ermine. These animals are 
 all diligently hunted, both by the Indians and the 
 inhabitants of those settled parts of the continent 
 in which any of them are found ; thair skins are 
 an important item of export to Europe, particularly 
 from Canada ; some of these animals are evidently 
 decreasing with great rapidity. The well known 
 beaver is now almost exclusively confined to Ca- 
 nada and the north- west districts of America ; even 
 here, however, their numbers are daily diminishing. 
 In the year 1743 the import of beaver skins into 
 the ports of London and Rochelle exceeded 150,000 ; 
 but the imports now, though from a greater extent 
 of fur country than was then known, is less than 
 one-third of the number. Of the musquash be- 
 tween 400,000 and 500,000 skins are generally 
 exported from Canada ; and of the pine- marten, 
 100,000 skins; the latter are used for trimmings, 
 B 2 
 
10 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA.. 
 
 and will dye so well as to imitate sables and other 
 expensive furs, hence they have always been an 
 important article of commerce. The sea-otter also 
 furnishes a large amount of valuable furs, princi- 
 pally to the Russians, on the north-west coast. 
 
 The dog kind exhibits several varieties not found 
 in other parts of the world ; of these the New- 
 foundland dog is remarkable for its sagacity, great 
 bulk, and strength. The Esquimaux dog, also a 
 large variety, is very useful to the Esquimaux and 
 the traders in drawing their furs and baggage. 
 The North American dog is used in the Hudson's 
 Bay countries both as a bea-t- of draught and in 
 the chase, and also for food, its flesh being esteemed 
 by the Canadian voyagers*, or canoe -men, superior 
 to all other. 
 
 Foxes and wolves abound in most parts of the 
 central and northern regions of the continent ; of 
 the former there are the arctic, sooty, cross, black, 
 grey, and red fox ; and of the latter, the Mexican, 
 the grey, red, black, dusky, and barking or prairie 
 wolf. Of the opossum, found from Pennsylvania 
 to Brazil, there are several species, of which the 
 Virginia or common opossum is well known in the 
 United States ; also the skunk, marmots of diffe- 
 rent species, squirrels, hares, and a great variety 
 of other smaller animals. 
 
 The whale species are numerous on the northern 
 coasts ; the most useful and remarkable are the 
 common and spermaceti whale, and the narwhale 
 or sea unicorn. The common seal frequents the 
 sea coasts perhaps throughout the world, but. is in 
 North America most numerous in nigh northern 
 latitudes, and is of the greatest use to the Esqui- 
 maux, and other inhabitants of the frozen regions, 
 furnishing them with all the necessaries of life ; 
 
I> 7 TRODUCTION. 11 
 
 they aye of various kinds, as the hooded, harp, 
 foetid, ursine, and great seal. 
 
 Most of the birds of North America, and espe- 
 cially those of the United States, are now rendered 
 as familiar to the European naturalist as those of 
 his own country ; for they have been more ably 
 and more fully illustrated than those of any part of 
 the world. Rapacious birds are here as numerous 
 as in other parts of the earth, and of a great many 
 different species, including eagles, vultures, hawks, 
 falcons, owls, &c. The white-headed or bald- 
 headed eagle is well known as being the chosen 
 emblem of the American republic. It is common 
 to both continents ; but, while it seems almost 
 entirely confined to the arctic regions of the old 
 world, it abounds in the milder regions of the 
 United States in the new. Jt is notorious for its 
 lawless habits; robbing the fish- hawk of its hard 
 won victim, and even compelling the vulture to 
 disgorge its filthy prey. The vultures are the 
 great Californian vulture, black vulture, and tur- 
 key-buzzard. The first seems to be confined to 
 California and the adjoining regions w r est of the 
 Rocky Mountains ; they build their nests in the 
 most secret parts of the pine forests, and measure 
 from four to five and a half feet in length. Their 
 food is carrion or dead fish, and they will in no 
 instance attack any living animal, unless it be 
 wounded and unable to walk. In searching for 
 their prey, they soar to a great height ; and on 
 discovering a wounded deer, or other animal, they 
 follow its track, until it sinks disabled to the ground. 
 Although onfy one bird may be first in possession, 
 it is soon surrounded by great numbers, who all 
 fall upon the carcase, and devour it to a skeleton 
 within an hour, even though it be a horse or a stag. 
 The black vulture and turkey-buzzard are botU 
 
12 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 well known, and numerous in the southern states 
 of the American Union, where, notwithstanding 
 their filthy habits, they are protected by law and 
 common usage, being of great utility in devouring 
 putrid animal matter, which would otherwise be 
 highly offensive and injurious. 
 
 The wild turkey is peculiar to America ; it is a 
 fine large bird, of brilliant blackish plumage. It 
 breeds with the domestic one ; and when the lat- 
 ter is reared near the range of the former, it is sure 
 to be enticed into the woods by it. Of this bird, 
 the celebrated Dr. Franklin observed, " it would 
 have been a much fitter emblem of our country 
 than the white-headed eagle, a lazy, cowardly, 
 tyrannical bird, living on the labours of others, and 
 more suited to represent an imperial despotic go- 
 vernment than the republic of America." 
 
 Of the duck kinds, of which there are many species, 
 the best known is the canvas-back. It is peculiar 
 to America, and is more celebrated than any other 
 for the excellent flavour of its flesh ; they are 
 found mostly in Chesapeake Bay and the neigh- 
 bouring rivers. In winter they are occasionally so 
 numerous as to cover the water to the extent of 
 several acres ; this bird is an expert diver, and 
 lives on the bulbous root of a water grass, resem- 
 bling celery in taste, to which is attributed its pe- 
 culiar flavour; they dive in from six to eight feet 
 of water, and are frequently attended by the wid- 
 
 feon or bald-pate duck, who never dives himself, 
 ut watches the rising of the canvas-back, and, 
 before he has his eyes well opened, snatches the 
 delicious morsel from his mouth, a%d makes off; 
 on this account the two species live in continual 
 contention. 
 
 Perhaps the most characteristic of American 
 birds is the humming-bird, remarkable alike for 
 
INTRODUCTION. i 3 
 
 its diminutive size and the brilliant metallic lustre 
 of its plumage ; they are most numerous in South 
 America, but are found in the northern continent 
 as far north as 45 degrees. 
 
 Vast flights of pigeons migrate periodically to 
 different parts of the continent, frequently extend- 
 ing for many miles on each side, darkening the 
 entire atmosphere, and often requiring four or five 
 days to pass over a particular place. Immense 
 quantities are killed, without their numbers being 
 perceptibly diminished. 
 
 Of the birds of game, the principal are the 
 grouse, pheasant, partridge, &c. The species of 
 grouse are more numerous, and entirely distinct 
 from those of Europe. The largest and most valu- 
 able is the cock of the plains. Some other of the 
 peculiar American birds are the mocking-bird, 
 blue jay, and whip-poor will. Parrots and parro- 
 quets are found in Mexico ; arid in the United 
 States there is one species of parrot. 
 
 The sea?, lakes, and rivers of North America 
 swarm with a great variety of delicious fish. The 
 cod, so well known in commerce, is -found only in 
 the northern seas. Their great rendezvous is on 
 the banks of Newfoundland, and other sand banks 
 that lie off the coasts of the northern parts of the 
 United States ; these situations they prefer on 
 account of the number of worms produced in those 
 sandy bottoms, which tempt them to resort there 
 for food. Some conception may be formed of their 
 amazing fecundity, from the fact that nearly ten 
 millions of eggs have been counted in one fish of a 
 moderate size? The mackerel and alewife fisheries, 
 along the coast of the United States, also give em- 
 ployment and food to great numbers of persons. 
 The shad is taken in large quantities in all the 
 ivers of the Atlantic states, and in the proper 
 
J4 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 season is highly esteemed. The salmon is also 
 found in the northern rivers of the United States 
 and Canada on both sides of the continent, and is 
 especially plentiful in the Columbia River. The 
 white fish, or litamig of the traders, is caught in 
 all the great lakes, from Canada to the Arctic 
 Ocean. It is a delicious article of food, and as 
 many as 1000 barrels have been taken at a single 
 fishery on Lake Superior in one year. 
 
 The reptiles of America are numerous, and like 
 the generality of this class in other parts of the world, 
 the majority are apparently harmless, and some dan- 
 gerous. In North America, the alligator does not 
 occur north of the Carolinas and the Red River of 
 Louisiana. In severe winters he buries himself in 
 the mud, and lies in a torpid state. The rattle- 
 snakes are peculiar to the New World, and are 
 particularly formidable on account of the deadly 
 venom of their bite. There are four or five species 
 of this reptile, all of which reach the length of five 
 or six feet. The common species of the United 
 States is extremely numerous about the sources of 
 the Columbia River. 
 
 There are several kinds of land tortoises, but 
 they are all of a moderate size. Some curious 
 salamanders have been recently discovered, and 
 the celebrated siren is an inhabitant of the muddy 
 lakes of Georgia and South Carolina. This singu- 
 lar reptile has long perplexed naturalists, some 
 thinking it a tadpole or imperfect frog; it is now, 
 however, fully ascertained to he an adult animal. 
 
 The aboriginal Americans all constitute, at the 
 present day, by their physical characters not less 
 than by their languages, a race different from those 
 known before the discovery of America, and pre- 
 serve throughout this vast extent of country and 
 variety of climates, the same essential chaorac- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 teristics. They have a copper colour, resembling 
 that of rusty iron or cinnamon, coarse, straight 
 black hair, high cheek bones, and sunken eyes ; it 
 has been affirmed that they are without beards, 
 but it is well ascertained that this is not the case 
 naturally, but that most of them take great pains 
 to pluck them out. Almost all the Indians near 
 Mexico, and those on the north-west coast wear 
 mustachios. The American Indians are generally 
 erect and of fine forms, with few instances of de- 
 crepitude or deformity ; they have cleaner limbs, 
 not so muscular, and with less tendency to corpu- 
 lence than the whites. As a race they have coun- 
 tenances that are generally unjoyous, stern, and 
 ruminating; it is with them either gloomy taci- 
 turnity or bacchanalian revel. Their impassible 
 fortitude and endurance of suffering, their con- 
 tempt of pain and death, invest their character 
 with a kind of moral grandeur. It is to be doubted, 
 however, whether some part of his vaunted stoicism 
 be not the result of a more than ordinary degree 
 of physical insensibility. Like all ignorant people 
 unable to trace the relation between results and 
 causes, they are beyond all others superstitious. It 
 may be laid down as an universal trait of Indian 
 character. The warrior who braves' death a thou- 
 sand times, and in every form in the fury of battle, 
 carries with him to the combat a little charmed 
 bag of filthy and disgusting ingredients, in which 
 he places no little reliance or security against the 
 balls and arrows that are directed against him. 
 All savages in this region are hospitable; even the 
 enemy whom they would have sought and slain 
 far from their cabins, who presents himself fear- 
 lessly there, claims and receives their hospitality. 
 They accord to the cabin hearth the honours and 
 the sanctity of an asylum. 
 
16 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 Since the introduction of. the horse by Europeans, 
 many of the Indian tribes have acquired an as- 
 tonishing degree of skill in the management of 
 that noble animal, among these are the Pawnees, 
 the Comanches, the Sioux, and the Aphaches, 
 Shoshonees, Enneshoors, and other tribes ; some 
 of these have also borrowed the use of fire arms 
 from their European neighbours, but in general 
 they have rejected the arts of peace and civilization. 
 
 Perhaps there is no tribe among the American 
 Indians so degraded that it lias not some notion of 
 a higher power than man; and in general they 
 seem to have entertained the idea of a Great Spirit 
 as a master of life, in short, a Creator, and of an 
 Evil Spirit, holding divided empire with him over 
 nature ; many of them have priests, prophets, and 
 sorcerers, in whose supernatural powers they trust, 
 and most, if not all, appear to believe in a future 
 state : many attempts have been made by benevo- 
 lent persons to convert the aboriginal tribes to the 
 Christian religion, to teach them the arts of civi- 
 lized life, and to train them to habits of industry ; 
 but so little has been the effects of these efforts 
 that many do not hesitate to pronounce it impos- 
 sible to engraft the European civilization on the 
 Indian character. Some exceptions to this general 
 failure occur in the United States, where some of 
 the Cherokees and other tribes hold property, cul- 
 tivate the ground, and practise the useful arts, as 
 will be seen in the following pages. 
 
 There are some circumstances, however, which 
 invest the present missionary efforts with stronger 
 probabilities of success than any that have preceded 
 them. The number of Indians that are half- 
 breeds, or mixtures of the blood of the whites, 13 
 great and continually increasing. These generally 
 espouse, either from conviction or party feeling, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 the cause of civilization and Christianity. Instead 
 of relying much on the hope of the conversion of 
 adult- hunting and warrior savages, the effort if 
 chiefly directed towards the young. 
 
 North America is politically divided into the 
 Republics of the United States, Texas, Mexico, 
 and Guatemala, which occupy the central and 
 southern parts of the continent. The northern, 
 the eastern, and central parts, cohtain the posses- 
 sions of Great Britain ; and the extreme north- 
 western those claimed by Russia. The following 
 estimates of the areas in square miles is prohahly 
 as near an approximation to the truth as circum- 
 stances will permit. 
 
 
 
 United States . . . 2,300,000 square mileg. 
 
 Texas, Mexico, and Guatemala 1,850,000 
 
 British Possessions . . 2,360,000 
 
 Russian Possessions . . 650,000 
 
 7,160,000 square mile*. 
 
 After this short outline we Will proceed, in tha 
 following pages, to describe more fully the various 
 States in the Union, leaving for future volumes 
 k - Canadn," and the other " British Possessions iu 
 North America." 
 
TUB 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 THE United States are the most important and 
 interesting division of the western continent. They 
 are distinguished for the democracy of their govern- 
 ment, the rapid increase of the population, and for 
 the intelligence, industry, and enterprise of the 
 inhabitants. They occupy the most valuable and 
 productive portion of North America, and rank 
 amongst the most powerful commercial and wealthy 
 nations of the globe. 
 
 The United States are situated between 24 deg. 
 20 min. and 54 deg. 40 min. north latitude ; and 
 17 deg. east and 125 deg. west longitude, ex- 
 tending through 29 deg. of latitude and 58 deg. 
 of longitude, and comprise a superficial area of 
 upwards of 2,300,000 square miles. The frontier 
 line has a length of 10,000 miles, of which about 
 3,600 are sea-coast, and 1,200 lake coast. A line 
 drawn across the Atlantic to the Pacific, through 
 the centre, is about 2,500 miles in length. 
 
 So vast a region of course includes a great variety 
 of surface, soil, and climate. It abounds in navi- 
 gable rivers, and a large proportion of it is sus- 
 ceptible of cultivation, and is of a quality calculated 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 19 
 
 to repay the labour bestowed upon it, more than 
 almost any otber region of the same extent in^the 
 world; but a small portion of its surface is occu- 
 pied by mountains, which, from their height or 
 ruggedriess, forbid all attempts to render them 
 productive in the means of subsistence to man. 
 There are no great deserts, and few barrens ; no- 
 thing like the vast sterile plains which exist in 
 other parts of the world. The basins of the rivers 
 are exceedingly productive : that of the Mississippi, 
 including the Missouri, is undoubtedly the finest 
 valley on the globe. . It is abundantly watered by 
 streams, which not only give fertility to their 
 borders, but are ready to waft the gifts of the soil 
 to the ocean, and bring back to the inhabitants the 
 products of all other climes. The soil returns an 
 ample harvest for all that is planted in it, and the 
 climate is favourable to almost every production 
 of the earth that can sustain life, or increase its 
 luxuries. 
 
 Though lying within the temperate zone, the 
 United States embrace a great variety of climate. 
 In the northern parts the winters are long and 
 severe ; snow often falls to the depth of several 
 feet, and the cold is so piercing as to oblige the 
 inhabitants to make very diligent provision against 
 it. Spring returns here in April, and in summer 
 the heat is great. In the southern parts, on the 
 contrary, snow is seldom seen, ice is rarely formed 
 in the rivers, and those fruits which shrink from 
 a northern climate, and flourish only in warm 
 regions, are scattered over the soil. In Georgia, 
 the inhabitants may collect the figs which grow 
 before the windows, and may load their tables 
 with oranges, lemons, and other delicious fruits 
 that grow in their gardens and groves, while in 
 parts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, 
 
20 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 even peaches will not flourish. Between these 
 extremities, as in Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, 
 and Illinois, there is a region adapted to the wine 
 grape, which comes to greatest perfection in situa- 
 tions removed from hoth the torrid and frigid zones, 
 
 The United States are intersected by two prin- 
 cipal and two subordinate ranges of mountains, the 
 Rocky and Allegheny, the Ozark and Green 
 Mountains. The Rocky Mountain or Chippewayan 
 range, forms the great dividing ridge of North 
 America, separating the waters which flow in 
 opposite directions, towards the great oceans which 
 bound the opposite sides of the continent. They 
 are situated at a medium distance of about 600 
 miles from the Pacific, the highest rise above the 
 line of perpetual congelation being estimated at 
 about 12,000 feet in height. 
 
 The Alleghany or Appalachian range, runs in a 
 north easterly direction from the northern part of 
 Alabama to New York, stretching along in uni- 
 form ridges, at the distance of from 250 to 80 
 miles from the sea coast, and following its general 
 direction. It occupies in breadth a space of from 
 60 to 120 miles, and separates the waters which 
 run into the Atlantic Ocean, from those which 
 flow into the Mississippi and its tributaries. The 
 highest elevation in this range, and the most pro- 
 minent in the Atlantic States, is Black Mountain, 
 in the western part of North Carolina ; it is 6,476 
 feet in height. 
 
 The Green Mountains extend from Connecticut, 
 through Massachusetts and Vermont to Canada, 
 dividing the Atlantic rivers from those of Lake 
 Chana plain and the St. Lawrence. Some of the 
 peaks of this range attain considerable elevation. 
 In New Hampshire and Maine, are found many 
 considerable heights unconnected with any sys- 
 
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 21 
 
 tematic range, but are scattered in detached groups. 
 The White Mountains, in New Hampshire, are 
 the most elevated in New England. Mount 
 Katahdin, or Ktaadin, near the centre of the state 
 of Maine, is the highest in that state. 
 
 The Ozark Mountains extend from Texas, through 
 the western part of Arkansas, into the lead-mine 
 region of Missouri. Their general direction is nearly 
 similar to that of the Alleghany range and their 
 altitude is reckoned to be about 2,000 feet above 
 the sea. 
 
 The territory of the United States is washed by 
 three seas, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, the 
 Gulf of Mexico on the south, and the Pacific Ocean 
 on the west. The principal bays and sounds on 
 the Atlantic border are Pasamaquoddy Bay, which 
 lies between the state of Maine and the British 
 province of New Brunswick ; Massachussets Bay, 
 between Cape Anne and Cape Cod, on the coast 
 of Massachusetts ; Long Island Sound, between 
 Long Island and the coast of Connecticut ; Dela- 
 ware Bay, between Cape May and Cape Henlopen ; 
 Chesapeake Bay, which communicates with the 
 ocean between Cape Charles and Cape Henry ; 
 and Albemarle and Pamplico Sounds on the coast 
 of North Carolina. In the Gulf of Mexico the 
 principal bays are Chatham Bay, Appalachie Bay, 
 and Mohill Bay. In the Pacific the Gulf of Georgia 
 is the most important inlet on the western coast 
 of the United States ; it is about 120 miles in 
 length from north to south, and from 5 to 20 miles 
 broad. 
 
 Portions only of the great lakes Superior, Huron, 
 Erie, and Ontario belong to the United States ; 
 the boundary between the British and American 
 territories, passing through their centre, allots 
 about an equal share of their vast waters to each 
 
22 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 nation. Lake Michigan is wholly within the ter- 
 ritory of the States ; it is about 320 miles in length, 
 and from 55 to 60 miles wide. The country 
 around the head of this lake is settling rapidly ; 
 and the mildness of the climate, the excellence of 
 the soil, and the probable speedy junction of its 
 waters with those of the Mississippi, will shortly 
 fill this portion of the country with population and 
 wealth. The other lake- of any magnitude in the 
 United States are Champluin in New York, 
 Winnipiseogee in New Hampshire, and Moose 
 Head in Maine. 
 
 Lake Champlain separates the states of New 
 York and Vermont, and is in extent about 140 
 miles, nearly north and south. It is connected 
 with the Hudson River by the Champlain Canal, 
 and with the St. Lawrence River by the Sorelle or 
 Richelieu. Large and elegant steam-boats ply 
 daily between Whitehall and St. John's, Lower 
 Canada, which touch at the principal places, and 
 numerous travellers are constantly passing and re- 
 passing this route during the season of navigation. 
 
 Lake Winnipiseogee is one of the most pictur- 
 esque sheets of water in New England. It is very 
 irregular in form, and contains a number of islands, 
 some of which are cultivated. The lake is about 
 twenty-two miles long, and from one to eight miles 
 broad. 
 
 Moose Head Lake is situated in the central 
 parts of Maine. It is of an irregular form, about 
 thirty-eight miles in length, and from two to 
 twelve in breadth. The main branch of Kenne- 
 beck River flows from it. Around it, at various 
 distances, are situated some of the highest moun- 
 tains in Maine. 
 
 The rivers which water the territory of the 
 United States are numerous, and some of them 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 23 
 
 among the most important in the world. No por- 
 tion of the globe possesses greater facilities for in- 
 land navigation and trade, or is more generally in- 
 tersected with large and navigable streams. They 
 may be divided into four great classes : 1st, The 
 streams which rise on the east side of the Alle- 
 ghany Mountains, and flow into the Atlantic Ocean ; 
 2d, Those south of the Alleghany range, which dis- 
 charge themselves into the Gulf of Mexico ; 3d, 
 The Mississippi and its wide tributaries, which 
 drain the waters of the vast valley included 
 between the Rocky and Alleghany ranges ; and 
 4th, The rivers which, rising on the western de- 
 clivity of the Rocky Mountains, direct their course 
 to the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 The Penobscot is the largest river that has its 
 course wholly in the state of Maine. It joins the 
 Penobscot Bay between the towns of Penobscot 
 and Prospect. It is navigable for vessels of con- 
 siderable burden to Bangor, where navigation and 
 the tide terminate. The course of this river is 
 near 300 miles. 
 
 Kennebeck River is the next largest in Maine. 
 It is the outlet of Moose Head Lake, the most con- 
 siderable in the state. It is navigable for vessels 
 of 150 tons, forty miles from the sea. Its whole 
 course is about 230 miles. 
 
 Connecticut River rises in the highlands sepa- 
 rating the United States from Canada, and flows 
 into Long Island Sound after a course of upwards 
 of 400 miles. It is navigable to Hartford for ves- 
 sels of eight feet draught, also for smaller vessels 
 more than 200 miles above Hartford. The head 
 waters of this river are elevated 1 600 feet above Long 
 Island Sound. Its banks present every variety of 
 scenery magnificent mountains and hills, delight- 
 ful valleys and meadows, unsurpassed in beauty 
 
24 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 and fertility, and many of the most beautiful towns 
 and villages in New England. 
 
 The Hudson River rises west of Lake Cham- 
 plain in numerous branches, and pursuing nearly a 
 straight southerly course of about 320 miles, unites 
 with the Atlantic below the city of New York. 
 This is one of the most important rivers in the 
 States. The navigation and commerce on its waters 
 are very great, and annually increasing. By means 
 of the Erie and Champlain Canals, it is connected 
 with Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence river. It is 
 navigable for ships of large burden to Hudson city, 
 and for the largest steam -boats to Albany and Troy. 
 
 Delaware river rises in the state of New York, 
 and flowing south, separates Pennsylvania from 
 New York and New Jersey, and falls into Dela- 
 ware Bay, after a course of about 310 miles. It is 
 .navigable for vessels of the greatest burden to 
 Philadelphia, and for small craft to the head of the 
 tide at Trenton, above which city it is navigable 
 for small boats of eight or nine tons. 
 
 Susquehannah River, one of the largest in Penn- 
 sylvania, is formed by its north and west branches, 
 which unite at Northumberland. Its north, or 
 longest branch, rises in Otsego Lake, New York, 
 from whence to its mouth is 460 miles. 
 
 The Potomac River rises in two branches in the 
 Alleghany Mountains, and forms, dnring its course 
 to Chesapeake Bay, the boundary between Virginia 
 and Maryland. It is navigable for vessels of large 
 burthen to Washington city. Its length is about 
 335 miles. 
 
 James River pursues a course of upwards of 
 400 miles, and unites with the south part of Chesa- 
 peake Bay at Hampton Roads. It is navigable for 
 sloops to Richmond, where the Great Falls formerly 
 presented an obstruction, but a canal has been 
 
UMTED STATES OF AMERICA. . 25 
 
 made around them, and the river is now navigable 
 230 miles above the city. 
 
 SavAnah River separates South Carolina from 
 Georgia, and enters the Atlantic seventeen miles 
 below Savannah, to which city it is navigable for 
 vessels of large burden. Steam- boats ascend the 
 river to Augusta Falls. 
 
 The Mobile River is formed by the junction of 
 the Alabama and Tombeckbee rivers, forty miles 
 above Mobile. Steam- boats ascend to Montgomery, 
 a distance, by the meanders of the river, of near 
 300 miles. 
 
 The Mississippi is the largest river of North 
 America, and one of the noblest in the world, 
 watering a more fertile region, and having a longer 
 course of uninterrupted navigation than any other 
 known stream. Its course, taken in conjunction 
 with its mighty auxiliary, the Missouri, is estimated 
 at 4490 miles in length. The space drained by its 
 waters exceeds 1,300,000 square miles, being up- 
 wards of two- thirds of the whole territory of the 
 United States. In no portion of the whole world 
 has the triumph of art over the obstacles of nature 
 been so complete. The introduction of steam navi- 
 gation has been productive of immense advantages, 
 and has been carried to a greater extent on this than 
 on any other river. Mississippi Proper rises west of 
 Lake Superior, in a dreary and desolate region, 
 amidst lakes and swamps, and, after pursuing a 
 south-east course of about 600 miles, reaches the 
 Falls of St. Anthony, where it descends perpendi- 
 cularly sixteen feet, and where are fifty-eight feet 
 of rapids. Thence it flows a south-easterly, and 
 then a southerly direction ; and after forming the 
 boundary between Missouri, Arkansas Territory, 
 and Louisiana, on the west, and Illinois, Kentucky, 
 Tennessee, and Mississippi, on the east, discharge* 
 c 
 
26 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA, 
 
 its waters, through many mouths, into the Gulf of 
 Mexico. It is nearly oOOO miles long, and ia 
 navigable for steam -boats to the Falls of St. An^ 
 thony. The following are the principal tributaries 
 of the Mississippi from the west : The St. Peter's, 
 which joins at Fort Snelling, is a stream of about 
 400 miles, flowing a south-east course. The Des 
 Moines, a river of about 400 miles m length, enters 
 the Mississippi about 130 miles above the Missouri, 
 
 The Missouri enters the Mississippi River about 
 eighteen miles above St. Louis, after a course of 
 3217 miles. Although it loses its name at its 
 confluence with the u Father of Waters," it is 
 much the longer stream of the two; but the Mis- 
 sissippi, having been first discovered and explored, 
 has retained its name to the Gulf of Mexico. The 
 error being now past remedy, the Missouri must 
 be considered as a tributary of the Mississippi. It 
 is formed of numerous branches,' which rise among 
 the Rocky Mountains. The mo^t remote are the 
 Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers. The only 
 obstruction that occurs to its navigation is at the 
 Great Falls, a distance of 2575 miles from the 
 Mississippi. Here the river descends 362 feet in 
 eighteen miles ; the descent is by four great pitches 
 or cataracts of ninety-eight, nineteen, forty-nine, 
 and twenty-six feet respectively. Next to Nia- 
 gara these cataracts are considered to be the 
 greatest in the world, the width of the river being 
 about 1050 feet. About 100 miles above is the 
 place called the Gates of the Rocky Mountains. 
 This river has been ascended by a steam-vessel 300 
 miles above the Yellow Stone, a distance of 3460 
 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi. 
 
 The largest tributaries of the Missouri are, the 
 Yellow Stone, of 1 1 00 miles in length, the Platte 
 or Shallow River, of 1600 miles course, and the 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 27 
 
 Kanzas, of 1200 mile* in length. They all me 
 in the Rocky M MI n tains, arid flow through a flat 
 prairie' country, inhabited by a widely scattered 
 population, principally Indians. 
 
 The Arkansas is, after the Missouri, the most 
 considerable trihiitarv of the Mississippi from the 
 west. It rises in the Rocky Mountains, and its 
 course is computed to be about 2000 miles. It 
 enters the Mississippi river about 540 miles below 
 the Missouri. Steam- boats can generally ascend 
 this river to the mouth of the Canadian, its largest 
 tributary, and occasionally to Cantonment Gibson, 
 640 miles fwn the Mississippi river. 
 
 The Red River is the first tributary stream of 
 any note which enters the Mississippi, in ascend- 
 ing from its month. It has a course of nearly 
 1500 miles, and flows through immense prairies of 
 a red soil. 
 
 The principal tributaries of the Mississippi which 
 flows into it from the eastward, are as follows : 
 
 Chinpeway River, 200 miles in length, enters 
 the Mississippi at the lower end of Lake Pepin. 
 
 The Wisconsin River joins the Mississippi about 
 four or five miles below the town of Prairie du 
 Chien. In part of its course it approaches so near 
 the Fox River of Green Bay, cis to leave a portage 
 of only one a half mile*. It is one of the great 
 natural channels of communication between the 
 lakes and the Mississippi. 
 
 The Illinois River enters the Mississippi 18 
 miles above the Missouri, after a course of 400 
 miles. It is nearly a quarter of a mile wide at its 
 mouth, and has a remarkably smooth, gentle 
 current. 
 
 The Ohio River is the largest eastern tributary 
 of the Mississippi. At its junction, and for 100 
 miles above, it is as large as the parent stream. 
 
28 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 This river, from its commencement, affords the 
 most delightful prospects. Tributaries, of roman- 
 tic and beautiful diameter, come in at almost 
 equal distances, as lateral canals. The Ohio is 
 formed bv the union of the Alleghany and Monon- 
 gahela Rivers at Pittsburg. It flows in a south- 
 westerly direction for 945 miles, separating the 
 States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, from Vir- 
 ginia and Kentucky, and falls into the Mississippi 
 193 miles below the Missouri. Its current is 
 great, and is nowhere broken by any considerable 
 falls, except at Louisville, in Kentucky, where the 
 descent is twenty-two and a half feet in two miles. 
 This obstruction is obviated by the Louisville and 
 Portland Canal, which affords a passage to steam- 
 boats of small draught at all seasons, to the upper 
 parts of the river, at Pittsburg. 
 
 We here introduce a description of one of those 
 floods to which the large rivers in America are 
 frequently liable. 
 
 "Many of our larger streams," says Audubon, 
 the celebrated American Naturalist, "such as the 
 Mississippi, the Ohio, the Illinois, the Arkansas, 
 and the Red River, exhibit at certain seasons the 
 most extensive overflowings of their waters, to 
 which the name of floods is more appropriate than 
 the term freshets, usually applied to the sudden 
 risings of smaller streams. If we consider the vast 
 extent of country through which an inland naviga- 
 tion is afforded, by the never-failing supply of 
 water furnished by these wonderful rivers, we 
 cannot suppose them exceeded in magnitude by 
 any other in the known world. It will easily be 
 imagined what a wonderful spectacle must present 
 itself to the eye of the traveller who, for the first 
 time, views the enormous mass of waters, collected 
 from the vast central regions of our continent, 
 
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 29 
 
 booming along, turbid and swollen to overflowing, 
 in the broad channels of the Mississippi and the 
 Ohio, the latter of which has a course of more 
 than a thousand miles, and the former of several 
 thousands. 
 
 "To give you some idea of a Booming Flood of 
 these gigantic streams, it is necessary t<r state the 
 causes which give rise to it. These are the sudden 
 melting of the snows on the mountains, and heavy 
 rains continued for several weeks. When it hap- 
 pens that, during a severe winter, the Alleghany 
 Mountains have been covered with snow to the 
 depth of several feet, and the accumulated mass 
 has remained unmelted for a length of time, the 
 materials of a flood are thus prepared. 
 
 " At the foot of the Falls of the Ohio, the water 
 has been known to rise upwards of (>0 feet above 
 its lowest level. The river, at this point, lias al- 
 ready run a course of nearly 700 miles from its 
 origin at Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania, during which 
 it has received the waters of its numberless tribu- 
 taries, and overflowing all the bottom-lands, or 
 valleys, has swept along the fences and dwellings 
 which have been unable to resist its violence. I 
 could relate hundreds of incidents which might 
 prove to you the dreidful effects of such an inun- 
 dation, and which have been witnessed by thou- 
 sands besides myself. I have known, for example, 
 of a cow swimming through a window elevated at 
 least seven feet from the ground, and sixty- two 
 above low-water mark. The house was then sur- 
 rounded by water from the Ohio, which runs in 
 front of it, while the neighbouring country was 
 overflowed ; yet the family did not remove from it, 
 but remained in its upper portion, having pre- 
 viously taken off the sashes of the lower windows, 
 
30 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 and opened the doors. But let us return to tho 
 Mississippi. 
 
 " There tlie overflow is astoni-hing ; for, no 
 sooner has the water readied the upper part of the 
 banks, than it rushes out and overspreads the 
 whole of the neighbouring swamps, presenting an 
 ocean overgrown with stupendous forest trees. So 
 audden is the calamity, that every individual, whe- 
 ther man or beast, has to exert his ingenuity to 
 enable him to escape from the dreadful element. 
 The Indian quickly removes to the hills, the cattle 
 and game swim to the different stripes of land that 
 remain uncovered in the midst of the flood, or at- 
 tempt to force their way through the water until 
 they perish from fatigue. Along the banks of the 
 river, the inhabitants have rafts ready made, on 
 which they remove themselves, their cattle, and 
 their provisions, and which they then fasten with 
 ropes or grape vines to the larger trees, while they 
 contemplate the melancholy spectacle presented by 
 the current, as it carries off their houses and wood- 
 yards, piece by piece. Some who have nothing to 
 lose, and are usually known by the name of Squat- 
 ters, take this opportunity of traversing the woods 
 in canoes, for the purpose of procuring game, and 
 particularly, the skins of animals, such as deer and 
 bear, which may be converted into money. They 
 resort to the low ridges surrounded by the waters, 
 and destroy thousands of deer, leaving the flesh to 
 putrify. 
 
 " The river itself, rolling its swollen waters along, 
 presents a spectacle of the most imposing nature. 
 Although no large vessel, unless propelled by steam, 
 can now make its way against the current, it ia 
 seen covered by boats laden with produce, which, 
 running out from all the smaller streams, float 
 silently towards the city of New Orleans, their 
 
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 31 
 
 owners meanwhile not very well assured of finding 
 a landing- place even there. The water is covered 
 with yellow foam and pumice, the latter having 
 floated from the Rocky Mountains of the north- 
 west. The eddies are larger and more powerful 
 than ever. Here and there tracts of forest are ob- 
 served undermined, the trees gradually giving way, 
 and falling into the stream. Cattle, horses, bears, 
 and deer, are seen at times attempting to swim 
 across the impetuous mass of boiling and foaming 
 water ; whilst here and there a vulture or an eagle 
 is seen perched on a bloated carcass, tearing it up 
 in pieces, as regardless of the flood as on former 
 occasions it would have been of the numerous sa- 
 vages and planters with which the surface of the 
 river is covered when the water is low. Even the 
 steamer is frequently distressed. The numberless 
 trees and logs that float along break its paddles, 
 arid retard its progress. Besides, it is on such 
 occasions difficult to procure fuel to maintain its 
 fires. 
 
 "Following the river in your canoe, you reach 
 those parts of the shore that are protected against 
 the overflowing of the waters, and are called Levees. 
 There you find the whole population of the dis- 
 trict at work repairing and augmenting those arti- 
 ficial barriers, which are several feet above the 
 level of the fields. Every person appears to dread 
 the opening of a crevasse, by which the waters may 
 rush into his fields. In spite of all exertions, how- 
 ever, the crevasse opens, the water bursts impetu- 
 ously over the plantations, and lays waste the crops 
 which were so lately blooming in all the luxuriance 
 of spring. It opens up a new channel, which, for 
 aught I know to the contrary, may carry its waters 
 to the Mexican Gulf. 
 
 ** 1 have floated ou the Mississippi and Ohio 
 
32 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 when thus swollen, and have in different places 
 visited the submersed lands of the interior, pro- 
 pelling a light canoe by the aid of a paddle. In 
 this manner I have traversed immense portions of 
 the country overflowed by the waters of these 
 rivers ; arid particularly, whilst floating over the 
 Mississippi bottom-lands, 1 have been struck with 
 awe at the sight. Little or no current is met with, 
 unless when the canoe passes over the bed of a 
 bayou. All is silent and melancholy, unless when 
 the mournful bleating of the hemmed-in deer 
 reaches your ear, or the dismal scream of an eagle 
 or a raven is heard, as the foul bird ri^es, disturbed 
 by your approach, from the carcass on which it 
 was allaying its craving appetite. Bears, cougars, 
 lynxes, and all other quadrupeds that can ascend 
 the trees, are crouched among their top branches. 
 Hungry in the midst of abundance, although they 
 see floating around them the animals on which 
 they usually prey, they dare not venture to swim 
 to them. Fatigued by the exertions they have 
 made in reaching the dry land, they will then 
 stand the hunter's fire, as if to die by a ball were 
 better than to perish amid the waste of waters. 
 On occasions like this, all these animals are shot 
 by hundreds-. 
 
 <4 Opposite the city of Natchez, which stands on 
 a bluff bank of considerable elevation, the extent 
 of inundated land is immense, the greater portion 
 of the tract lying between the Mississippi and the 
 Red River, which is more than thirty miles in 
 breadth, being under water. The mail- bag has 
 often been carried 'through the immersed forest, in 
 a canoe, for even a greater distance, in order to be 
 forwarded to Natchitochez. 
 
 " But now observe this great flood gradually 
 subsiding, and again see the mighty changes which 
 
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 33 
 
 it has effected. The waters have now been carried 
 into the distant ocean. The earth is everywhere 
 covered hy a deep deposit of muddy loam, which, 
 in drying, splits into deep and narrow chasms, pre- 
 senting a reticulated appearance, and from which, 
 as the weather hecomes wanner, disagreeable, and 
 at times noxious, exhalations arise, and fill the 
 lower stratum of the atmosphere as with a dense 
 fog. The banks of the river have almost every- 
 where been broken down in a greater or less de- 
 gree. Large streams are now found to exist where 
 none were formerly to be seen, having forced their 
 way in direct lines from the upper parts of the 
 lands. These are, by the navigator, called short- 
 cuts. Some of them have proved large enough to 
 produce a change in the navigation of the Missis- 
 sippi. If I mistake not, one of these, known by 
 the name of the Grand Cut off, and only a few 
 miles in length, has diverted the river from its 
 natural course, and has shortened it by fifty miles. 
 The upper parts of the islands present a bulwark 
 consisting of an enormous mass of floated trees of 
 all kinds, which have lodged there. Large sand 
 banks have been completely removed by the im- 
 petuous whirls of the water, and have been deposit- 
 ed in other places. Some appear quite new to the 
 eye of the navigator, who has to mark their situa- 
 tion and bearings in his log-book. The trees on 
 the margins of the banks have in many parts given 
 way. Tbev are seen bending over the stream like 
 the grounded arms of an overwhelmed army of 
 giants. Everywhere are heard the lamentations 
 of the farmer and planter, whilst their servants 
 and themselves are busily employed in repairing 
 the damages occasioned by the floods. The squat- 
 ter is seen shouldering his rifle, and making his 
 way through the morass in search of his lost stock 3 
 G 2 
 
34 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
 
 to drive the survivors home, and save the skins of 
 the drowned. New fences have everywhere to be 
 formed ; even new houses must be erected, to save 
 which from a like disaster, the settler places them 
 on an elevated platform, supported by pillars made 
 of the trunks of trees. The lauds must be ploughed 
 anew ; and if the season is not too far advanced, a 
 crop of corn and potatoes may yet be raised. But 
 the rich prospects of the planter are blasted. The 
 traveller is impeded in his journey, the creeks and 
 smaller streams having broken up their banks in a 
 degree proportionate to their size. A bank of 
 sand, which seems firm and secure, suddenly gives 
 way beneath the traveller's horse, and the next 
 moment the animal is sunk in the quicksand, either 
 to the chest in front, or over the crupper behind, 
 leaving its master in a situation not to be envied. 
 
 "Unlike the mountain torrents and small rivers 
 of other parts of the world, the Mississippi rises 
 but slowly during these floods, continuing for seve- 
 ral weeks to increase at the rate of about one inch 
 in the day. When at its height it undergoes little 
 fluctuation for some days, and after this it subsides 
 as slowly as it rose. The usual duration is from 
 four to six weeks, although on some occasions it is 
 protracted to two months. 
 
 " If the streamlets of the European continent 
 afford illustrations of the formation of strata, how 
 tnucb more must the Mississippi, with its ever- 
 shifting sand banks, its crumbling shores, its enor- 
 mous masses of drift timber, the source of future 
 beds of coal, its extensive and varied alluvial de- 
 posits, and its mighty mass of waters rolling sud- 
 denly along, like the flood of eternity." 
 
 The Cumberland River rises in the mountains, 
 on the eastern boundary of Kentucky. At high 
 
UNJTK1) ST.vTFS Or AMERICA. 35 
 
 water it is navigable for boats almost to its source, 
 and for steamboats to Nashville at all reasons. 
 
 Tennesse River is formed by the union of several 
 large blanches, which, rising in the mountainous 
 country in Western Virginia and North Carolina 
 unite in one in the vicinity of Knoxville, enters 
 the Ohio 46 miles above the Mississippi, and 12 
 below the Cumberland. Its entire course from 
 the source of its longest branch is 850 miles dis- 
 tant from the Ohio. This is the most important 
 of all the tributaries of the Ohio, and is navigable 
 for steamboats to Florence, at the foot of the Muscle 
 Shoals. 
 
 The Yazoo, the most southern of the principal 
 eastern tributaries of the Mississippi, bas a course 
 of 200 miles, and discharges its waters into the 
 Mississippi, about twelve miles above the Walnut 
 Hills. 
 
 The most considerable river on tbe Pacific side 
 of the Rocky Mountains is the Columbia or Oregon. 
 Its bead waters interlock with the Arkansas, Rio 
 del Norte, &c. ; it is about 1,400 miles in length ; 
 its principal branches are Lewis* or Saptin River, 
 1,000 milesin extent ; Clark's or Flat Head River, 
 TOO miles long, M'Gillivray's, Okinagan, &c. Fort 
 George or Astoria. Fi:rt Vancouver, and others, 
 on these waters, are trading establishments belong- 
 ing to the British Hudson's Bay Company. Ves- 
 sels, of 300 tons may ascend the Columbia 125 
 miles, and large sloops may go up to the head of 
 tide, 183 miles from the ocean. 
 
 In tbe United States MINERALS abound in great 
 variety and profusion. Iron is very generally dif- 
 fused, and is very abundant. Lead, lime-stone, 
 and coal abound in quantities supposed to be inex- 
 baustible. Gobi has been found to a considerable 
 amount in Virginia, North and South Carolina, 
 
3$ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. The most 
 valuables mines are in North Carolina and Georgia. 
 The lead mines of Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin, 
 are said to be the richest in quality in the world; 
 and the quantity of that metal extracted from the 
 ore, within the last few years, ha^ been so great as 
 to exclude almost entirely the foreign article from 
 the American market. 
 
 Salt springs abound in many parts of the Union, 
 and large quantities are manufactured in the States 
 of New York, Western Pennsylvania, Western 
 Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois ; it is also made from 
 8ea water in some parts of New Kngland. The 
 whole amount made is stated to be about 7,000,000 
 bushels annually. 
 
 The United States form a federal republic. 
 Each of the States is independent, and has the ex- 
 clusive control of all concerns merely local ; but 
 the defence of the country, the regulation of com- 
 merce, and all the general concerns of the con- 
 federacy, are committed, by the constitution, to a 
 general government. The trainers of this far-famed 
 constitution have.committed a piece of the most 
 absurd political buffoonery that has ever been ex- 
 hibited to the world. E ids of the States are de- 
 clared independent, and in support of this indepen- 
 dence have several times shaken the whole Union 
 to its very bane, and had it not been for the timely 
 concession of the constituted authorities who found 
 themselves without any authority whatever, the 
 United States would long ere this have been the 
 Disunited States of America. As it is, it is a 
 specimen of as pretty apiece of what may be called 
 legal quackery as is to be found in any other 
 quarter of the globe. The States have not failed 
 to take advantage of these rights; and some of 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMEUICA. 37 
 
 them have even shown a pugnacious disposition to 
 defend them. 
 
 The legislative power is vested in a Congress, 
 consisting of a Senate and House of Represen- 
 tatives. The Senate is composed of two members 
 from each State, chosen every two years, for a 
 period of six years, so that one third of the Senate 
 is renewed biennially. The members of the House 
 of Representatives are chosen every two years, 
 each State being entitled to a number proportionate 
 to its population, in a ratio, in the States which 
 do not admit of slavery, of one to every 47,700 in- 
 habitants ; and in the (free I ) States, where there 
 are slaves, of one for every 47,700 of the free white 
 population, and one for every 79,500 slaves. The 
 number of representatives is now about 250 ; but 
 we are at a loss to discover the duties of those 
 members who represent the three million slaves in 
 this happy country where freedom was established 
 throughout her whole extent at the period she 
 burst the yoke of the mother country. This is 
 another specimen of the jugglery that has been 
 practised in the framing of this beautiful constitu- 
 tion ; and never can we consider the United States 
 of America to be that free and enlightened nation 
 it pretends to be till such time as the abominable 
 practice of slavery the trafficking in the blood and 
 misery of the poor negro is entirely abolished. 
 The system is a complete contradiction to their 
 own republican spirit of equality. An intelligent 
 writer remarks, upon the authority of travellers 
 of veracity, that the slaves in the United States 
 have been degraded to the condition of brutes; 
 have been deprived of all legal or natural rights; 
 and impediments of every description have been 
 place-l in the way of their ever attaining either 
 civilization or freedom. The number of slaves 
 
38 UNITED STATUS OP AMERICA. 
 
 cannot be fewer than 3,000,000, about a third 
 of whom are under 10 years of age, and about 
 another third from 10 to 24. This large mass of 
 degraded humanity is found in the Southern or 
 slave-holding States, chirfly in South Carolina, 
 Georgia, and Louisiana, in which sugar, cotton, 
 tobacco, and oilier products of warm climates 'are 
 raised. The Northern States of tin* Union are now 
 free from slavery. One by one they gradually re- 
 linquished the horrid traffic by acts of the legisla- 
 ture ; and in this portion of A m erica the enlightened 
 portion of the community hold the system of slavery 
 in just detestation, and are anxious for its total 
 extirpation from the country ; but we murh fear 
 their most strenuous efforts will be unavailing 
 against the selfish and inhuman feelings displayed 
 by the Southern States, where the profits derived 
 from slave labour is immense, as we have else- 
 where shown. But there are upwards of 500.000 
 free persons of colour, both in the slave- holding 
 and other States, and we are sorry to say tluit this 
 class of persons are but little removed, in point of 
 estimation, above those in actual slavery. What- 
 ever be their education, their intelligence, their 
 wealth, or the propriety of their behaviour, they 
 are carefully excluded from the society of the 
 whites, must attend their own places of worship, 
 and submit to all kinds of contumely, besides being 
 in some of the States subjected to severe and tyran- 
 nical laws highly injurious to their interests as free 
 citizens; for example, in South Carolina, it is 
 contrary to law that free persons of colour should 
 he educated ; they are incompetent witnesses in 
 any case where the rights of white persons are 
 concerned ; their trials are conducted by a justice 
 of peace, without the benefit of a jury ; and if any 
 person of colour is brought in a vessel, he is imme- 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 39 
 
 diately committed to prison till the ship is ready 
 again to proceed to sea the captain of the vessel 
 paying for his detention. But the poor slaves 
 are in a still worse situation ; for though their 
 evidence is in no case admissible against whites, 
 the affirmation of free persons of colour, or their 
 fellow-slaves, is received against them ; and if any 
 person is discovered as having attempted to educate 
 a slave, he is severely punished by fine or impri- 
 sonment ; and if tbe least symptom ot insubordina- 
 tion appears on the part of the slave, lie is sent to 
 jail, where he is whipped or otherwise punished 
 as his master desires. It is likewise expressly 
 prohibited for any one, in public or private, in the 
 pulpit or on the stage, to do or say any thing to 
 excite discontent among the slaves, under the 
 penalty of a heavy fine, or imprisonment perhaps 
 for years. The consequence is, the newspapers in 
 these States never dare utter a syllable in favour of 
 the slaves, or the usage they receive. The liberty 
 of the press and the liberty of speech in the slave- 
 holding States are totally unknown ; and it is only 
 by means of intelligent travellers that the world 
 has been made aware of the character of slavery in 
 the Southern States of America, where the bru- 
 tality of the Dutch, and the cruelty of the Spaniards, 
 
 seem to have been nothing to the callous overbear- 
 
 . 
 ing tyranny of the whites in these States. 
 
 The judiciary is composed of a Supreme Court, 
 of one chief and six associate judges ; of 33 Dis- 
 trict Courts of one judge each, except that six of 
 the States are divided into two districts each, and 
 of seven Circuit Courts, composed of the judge of 
 the District, and one of the judges of the Supreme 
 Court. 
 
 The executive power is vested in a President, 
 who, along with the Vice- President is chosen for 
 
40 UNITED STATES <>F AMERICA. 
 
 four years, by electors from all the States. The 
 principal subordinate officers of the executive de- 
 partment are the Secretaries of State, of the Trea- 
 sury, of War, and of the Navy, the Post master 
 General, and the Attorney General. The Presi- 
 dent must be a native born citizen, or have been 
 a citizen at the adoption of the constitution, of 35 
 years of age, and have resided in the United States 
 14 years. The present constitution was adopted 
 in 1789, and has since been amended. It secures 
 to the people the grand principles of 'freedom, liberty 
 of conscience in matters of religion, liberty of the 
 j>ress, trial by jury, and the right of choosing or 
 being chosen to office. By the peopU is here evi- 
 dently meant the white people ; it will be long 
 ere the grand principles of American freedom will 
 permit a coloured native either the liberty of con- 
 science, or being chosen to office. 
 
 The principal executive officers are the Secre- 
 taries of State, of War, and of the Navy, the Post- 
 master General and the Attorney General. They 
 are removable at the will of the President, and, 
 with the Vice- President form the cabinet. The 
 Secretary conducts tbe negociations with foreign 
 powers, and corresponds with the public ministers 
 of the United States abroad, and with those of 
 foreign countries. He has the charge of the govern- 
 ment seal, preserves the originals of laws and 
 treaties, and of the public correspondence growing 
 out of the intercourse between the United States 
 and foreign nations ; he grants passports to Ameri- 
 can citizens visiting foreign countries, has the con- 
 trol of the patent office, and preserves the evidence 
 of copyrights. There are attached to the Depart- 
 ment of State a Diplomatic Bureau, a Consular 
 Bureau, a Home Bureau, the Archives, and tbe 
 Patent Office. 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 41 
 
 The Treasury department was created in 178&. 
 The secretary superintends the fiscal affairs of the 
 government ; he is required to report annually to 
 Congress the state of the finances, and recommend 
 such measures as he thinks proper for improving 
 the condition of the revenue. The Treasury de- 
 partment comprises the offices of the secretary, 
 two comptrollers, five auditors, the registrar, the 
 treasurer, and the solicitor of the treasury. 
 
 The receipts into the treasury of the United 
 States is chiefly derived from duties on imports, 
 the sales of public lands, hank stock, post offices, 
 lead mines, <fec. The revenue on imports is the 
 most important. The second great source is the 
 national domain, or public lands, which consists of 
 tracts of territory ceded to the general government 
 by the several States ; of the lands in the territory 
 of Louisiana purchased of France ; and those in 
 Florida acquired by treaty from Spain. A General 
 Land Office in Washington directs the sale of these 
 territories. All the lands are surveyed before sale ; 
 they are divided into townships of six miles square, 
 which are subdivided into sections of one mile 
 square, containing each 6*0 acres, and sold in sec- 
 tions, half, quarter, and half- quarter sections. The 
 minimum price is fixed by law at a dollar and a 
 quarter. All sales are made for cash. Salt springs 
 and lead mines are reserved, but may be sold by 
 special orders from the President. One section of 
 640 acres is reserved in each township, as a fund 
 for the perpetual support of schools. Five per 
 cent on all sales of land are reserved ; three-fifths 
 of which are expended, by Congress, in making 
 roads leading to the States in which the lands are 
 situated ; and two-fifths are expended by the States 
 for the promotion of learning. The increase of po- 
 pulation in the Western States, the extensive intro- 
 
42 UNITK'D STATES OF AMKRICA. 
 
 duction of steam vessels on the rivers and lakes, 
 and the increased facilities of intercourse and trans- 
 portation by railroads and eahale*, have concurred, 
 with the extraordinary high price of cotton, in 
 greatly increasing the revenue from the sale of 
 public lands. The whole quantity sold is about 
 65,000,000 acres; quantity granted for various 
 purposes 20,000,000 acres ; unsold, within and 
 beyond the States and territories, 92.000,000 acres; 
 whole quantity surveyed 136.000,000 acres. 
 
 To the War department, which was created in 
 1789, belong the direction and government of the 
 army ; the erection of fortifications ; the execution 
 of topographical surveys ; and the direction of 
 Indian affairs. Attached to it are a Requisition 
 Bureau, a Bounty Land Bureau, a Pension Office, 
 an office of Indian Affairs, an Engineer Office, a 
 Topographical Office, an Ordnance Office, &c. 
 
 The army of the United States consists of two 
 regiments of dragoons, four of artillery, and seven 
 of infantry, containing an aggregate amount of 
 6,283 men, including a corps of engineers, topo- 
 graphical engineers, and ordnance department; the 
 whole being under the command of a Major 
 Genera*! and two Brigadier -Generals. The disci- 
 pline in the United States' army is exceedingly lax, 
 and the troops being always separated in small 
 detachments, they have no opportunity of being 
 exercised in field movements On Sunday there 
 is generally a dress parade, where little is done, 
 and that little in the most slovenly manner. It is 
 but justice, however, to the officers to state, that 
 they are quite aware of the deficiencies of the ser- 
 vice to which they belong. The service is unpopu- 
 lar, and desertions frequent; indeed, whenever a 
 man gets tired of his duty, off he goes bag and 
 baggage, and pursuit is fruitless. The truth is, 
 
TJNITFD STATES OF AMEKICA. 43 
 
 that men accustomed to democracy can never be 
 brought to submit patiently to the rigours of 
 military discipline. The Americans take pride in 
 their navy, but for their army they care little or 
 none. The latter service is entirely neglected ; 
 and the stations are so remote, as to remove the 
 troops from public observation. The people are 
 too much engrossed with their own affairs to care 
 anything for a set of invisible beings shut up in 
 gome petty forts on the vast frontier, who have no 
 enemy to contend with, and have nothing to fear 
 but fever and mu-quitoes. \Vhen a case connected 
 with the enforcement of military discipline is 
 brought before the civil courts, the whole feeling is 
 in favour of the prosecutor. We remember to 
 have read, in one of the American newspapers, a 
 curious instance of this : A soldier found guilty, 
 by a court-martial, of repeated desertions, was sen- 
 tenced to a certain period of imprisonment, and 
 loss of pay. The man without any remark under- 
 went the punishment, hut he was no sooner libe- 
 rated than he raised actions cf damages against each 
 individual memher of the court martial upon the 
 following ground : The articles of war declare, that 
 whoever is guilty of desertion, shall fci suffer death, 
 or such punishment as hy a court-martial, shall be 
 awarded." It was maintained, that hy this clause, 
 the court were empowered to inflict only one punish- 
 ment, and that in passing sentence of imprison- 
 ment and stoppage of pav, they had inflicted two. 
 The jury were of the same opinion, and returned 
 a verdict giving high damages against the several 
 members of the court-martial. The officers of the 
 United States' army are certainly better paid than 
 the English. But there is this difference between 
 the British and American armies, no one can enter 
 the latter for pleasure, or enjoy the privilege of 
 
44 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 wearing an embroidered coat, or sporting a bunch 
 of gold lace upon his shoulders. The service is 
 one of real and almost constant privation. The 
 troops are scattered about in distant and often un- 
 healthy situations, and are never garrisoned, as 
 with us, in the great cities. The principal sta- 
 tions are on the Canadian and Indian frontiers, and 
 on the banks of the Mississippi, and we are nut to 
 imagine that such a life would altogether suit the 
 more aristocratic officers of the British army. We 
 are, therefore, not to be surprised at the extraordi- 
 nary number of desertions that take place in the 
 United States' army, which we are credibly in- 
 formed amount to no fewer than 1,000 annually, 
 or about one-sixth of the whole; while the deser- 
 tions in the British army do not exceed one in a 
 hundred. From the fc% National Police Register," 
 of Feb. 2, I860, we observe an official list of 
 107 deserters from the United States' army, and a 
 reward of thirty dollars each offered for their ap- 
 prehension. No fewer than forty- one in this list 
 are natives of Ireland. 
 
 The office of Secretary of tli-e Navy was created 
 in 1798 ; and there is a Board of Naval Commis- 
 sioners, established in 1815, attached to the depart- 
 ment. The American navy, though on a small 
 scale, acquired great reputation during the three 
 years' war, when their ships successfully encoun- 
 tered those of the mistress of the ocean. Much 
 has been since done, both in enlarging the number 
 of vessels, and extending and constructing suitable 
 dockyards; but the naval force is not considered 
 adequate to the exigencies of the country. There 
 are seven navy-yards belonging to the United 
 
 / o o 
 
 States, viz., at Portsmouth; at Charleston, in 
 Boston Harbour; at Brooklyn, on Wallabout Bay, 
 opposite New York; at Philadelphia; at Wash- 
 
UNITiD STATES OF AMERICA. 45 
 
 ington ; at Gosport, opposite Norfolk, Virginia ; 
 and at Pensacola, Florida. There are graving or 
 dry-docks also, at Brooklyn, Charleston, and Gos- 
 ]>ort. Everything in these navy yards is conducted 
 \vith admirable judgment, for the plain reason that 
 the management of the navy is a department with 
 which the democrats, everywhere else triumphant, 
 never venture to interfere. There is at least a 
 glimmering of good sense in this forbearance ; as it 
 must be evident that the principles of government 
 winch are applicable to a civil community must be 
 totally inexpedient in a man of war. The moment 
 a sailor is afloat he must relinquish his indepen- 
 dence, and cease to be a free man, both in word 
 and deed. Every ship is literally a species of des- 
 potism, and the existence of any thing like a deli- 
 berative body on board is utterly incompatible with 
 safety. It is not easy to explain how those men, 
 accustomed to liberty and equality on shore, can so 
 readily submit to the rigours of naval discipline 
 and blind obedience ; but such is the case. 
 
 The chief agricultural occupations in the Eastern 
 States, are grazing and the dairy. The Middle and 
 Western States are principally devoted to the culti- 
 vation of wheat and Indian corn ; and the Southern 
 to that of cotton, sugar, rice, and tobacco. Slave la- 
 bour is chiefly employed in the Southern, and some 
 of the Middle and Western States. The cotton 
 crop is estimated at about 450 000,000 of pounds 
 annually, a considerable quantity of which is ex- 
 ported to Great Britain, as we may observe from 
 the following statement published by an eminent 
 mercantile firm in Liverpool : " In the prosperous 
 year 1846, the consumption of American cotton for 
 nine months amounted to 1,894,000 bales, and 
 dwindled down to 1,360,000 bales for the same 
 period in the famine year of 1847. The year of 
 
4(5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 revolutions, 1848, only permitted to advance ngain 
 to 1,567.000, but upon tranquillity having been 
 restored in ^49, it rose to the unexampled extent 
 of 2,005,000 bales." Tobacco is estimated at 
 80,000 hogsheads, sugar, 100.000 hogsVads, and 
 molasses, 03.000 hogsheads annually. The amount 
 of bread stuffs raised in the country it is impossible 
 to estimate with any degree of certainty, but it no 
 doubt reaches several million barrels. 
 
 The manufactures of the United States are con- 
 siderable, and rapidly increasing. The eastern and 
 middle States, being most abundantly supplied with 
 water power, are most extensively engaged in ma- 
 nufactures, especially of cotton, woollen, iron, glass, 
 wood, &c. Most of the American manufactures 
 are designed for home consumption, yet they annu- 
 ally export to the amount of 12,000.000 dollars. 
 The present annual value of manufactures in the 
 United States is computed at 400,000.000 dollars; 
 and the capital invested exceeds 1,200,000. 
 
 The manufactures of cotton goods amount to 
 upwards of 60 millions of dollars ; woollen, 80 mil- 
 lions; leather and its manufactures, 50 millions; 
 cables and cordage, paper, glass-ware, 7 millions 
 each; hats, caps, bonnets, &c., 20 millions; cabinet- 
 ware, 12 millions; soap and candles, 15 millions; 
 and of manufactured tobacco and refined sugars, 
 each about 3] million dollars. It is stated that in 
 1835 no fewer than 4,000 distilleries had been 
 stopped by the progress of temperance reform, yet 
 there are still vast quantities of these poisonous 
 liquors distilled from corn, rye, and molasses, to tha 
 amount of about 50 millions of dollars. 
 
 The commerce of the United States is, next to 
 Great Britain, the largest in the world. It con- 
 sists principally in the exchange of agricultural 
 produce for the manufactures of other countries, 
 
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 47 
 
 and the productions of tropical climates. All 
 vessels engaged in the foreign trade are registered 
 by the collector of the district to which they belong, 
 and those employed in the coasting trade and fish- 
 eries are enrolled and licensed by the same officer. 
 The annual value of the imports is estimated 
 at 210.000,000 dollars; and the exports at 
 170,000,000 dollars. 
 
 The most important articles of exports are cot- 
 ton, tobacco, bread stuffs, the produce of the 
 fisheries, staves, shingles, naval stores, oak-bark, 
 beef and other agricultural products, skins and 
 furs, flax seed, <kc. 
 
 Most of the fisheries are carried on from the 
 New England States, and in New England ships. 
 The whale fishery is prosecuted in the Atlantis 
 Ocean, chiefly south of the line, for the black 
 whale, and in the Southern, Indian, and Pacific 
 Oceans for the spermaceti whale. Seal oil and 
 furs are also obtained in the Antarctic Seas by these 
 adventurous seamen. About 10,000 men are 
 generally engaged in the fishery, and the seamen 
 are not paid by fixed wages, but receive a certain 
 share in the profits of the voyage. Those in the 
 Pacific and Southern oceans are generally absent 
 from two to three years at a time. The cod 
 fishery is pursued on the banks of Newfoundland, 
 and on the Labrador coasts. It employs about 
 60,000 tons of small craft, some of which make 
 several trips a year. The produce of this fishery 
 may be estimated at 1,500,000 dollars a year. The 
 mackerel fishery employs about 50,000 tons of 
 shipping, and produces nearly 2,000,000 dollars 
 yearly. 
 
 No part of the world presents such an extensive 
 river commerce as the United States. Steam 
 vessels, a great improvement in navigation, ply on 
 
48 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 all the principal streams, and there are now up- 
 wards of 150,000 tons of this species of craft 
 employed on the interior waters. On the Missis- 
 sippi and its tributaries alone, an extent of 8,000 
 miles is now traversed by more than 300 steam- 
 boats. Neither the government nor individuals 
 have been slow in improving and extending these 
 natural advantages ; and the spirit with which they 
 have undertaken, and the perseverance they have 
 shown in executing the most magnificent plans, 
 have shed a lustre on the American name. The 
 great land-locked bays of the coast have been con- 
 nected by a chain of canals, affording a safe internal 
 water route from Narragansett Bay to Albemarle 
 Sound. The eastern and western waters have been 
 united by several channels, which either turn the 
 Alleghanies, or surmount their summits. The 
 waters of the lakes and the Mississippi have been 
 connected at various points, and the obstacles in 
 the navigation of the most important rivers have 
 been overcome by removing the bars or ledges 
 which obstructed their channels, or by side cuts, 
 locks, and dams. The whole length of this artifi- 
 cial navigation exceeds 3,500 miles. These great 
 works have given fresh life to manufactures, and 
 encouraged the establishment of new ones; invigo- 
 rated, and in many places created, internal trade ; 
 promoted agriculture, which requires a cheap and 
 easy transportation for the -bulky articles which it 
 consumes and produces ; and developed, in an 
 astonishing degree, the mining industry of the 
 country. 
 
 The Americans have likewise kept pace with 
 other countries in the number and extent of their 
 railroads. Although this mode of conveyance is 
 less adapted than canals for the carriage of bulky 
 articles, yet it possesses some advantages over that 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 40 
 
 mode of transportation ; such as that of riot being 
 interrupted by ice, and of being suited to certain 
 localities in which artificial water communication 
 is impracticable. 
 
 To the several State Governments is committed 
 that branch of legislation which relates to the regu- 
 lation of all local concerns. These bodies make 
 and alter the laws winch regard property and pri- 
 vate rights, appoint judges and civil officers, impose 
 taxes for State purposes, and . exercise all other 
 rights and powers not vested in the Federal 
 Government by positive enactment. They are, in 
 their composition, very similar to the Federal 
 Government. The legislature consists always of 
 two branches, both of which are returned by the 
 same electors ; and these electors may be said to 
 comprise the whole adult white population, the 
 usual qualifications being citizenship, with one or 
 two years' residence, and payment of taxes. In 
 North Carolina, representatives are chosen by the 
 whole resident free citizens who pay taxes, but 
 senators only by freeholders ; in New Jersey and 
 Virginia, the right of suffrage for both houses is 
 limited to persons holding a small amount of 
 landed property ; in Maryland the senators are 
 chosen by delegates, named for the purpose by the 
 people. 
 
 In all the States, the period for which the repre- 
 sentatives serve is either one or two years. The 
 elections are biennial in Delaware, South Carolina, 
 Tennessee, Louisiana, Illinois, Missouri, and 
 Arkansas, and annual in the other States. 
 
 The shortest periods for which the senators serve 
 in any State, is one year, and the longest, five. In 
 Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts. Rhode 
 Inland, Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, 
 and Georgia, the senators hold their offices for one 
 D 
 
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 year only ; in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan for 
 two years ; in Mississippi, Alabama and Indiana 
 for three years ; in New York, Pennsylvania, Dela- 
 ware, Virginia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Loui- 
 siana, Illinois, Missouri, and the Arkansas for 
 four years ; and in Maryland for five years. 
 Except in Maryland, when the senate of any State 
 serves for more than one year, it is renewed by 
 parts or divisions, one-third of the members going 
 out annually when they serve for three years, and 
 one-fourth when they serve for four years ; the 
 renewal is by halves, every two years. 
 
 The United States are more distinguished for the 
 general diffusion of knowledge, than for eminence 
 in literature or science. The means of common 
 education are widely extended, and there are 
 numerous seminaries of learning throughout the 
 country, though there are no literary establish- 
 ments on so large a scale as many in Europe. The 
 hours of attendance in day-schools are about five- 
 and-a-half each day for four days, and four for the 
 other two days of the week. In some seminaries 
 there are from sixty to eighty pupils taught by 
 one, or at the most, two masters. Such schools 
 generally close at three in the afternoon. Here 
 insubordination prevails to a degree tending to 
 destroy all improvement. The pupils are entirely 
 independent of their teacher. No correction, no 
 coercion, no manner of restraint is permitted to be 
 used. Parents also have as little control over thtir 
 offspring at home, as the master has at school ; and 
 the leisure hours of idle boys, in America as else- 
 where, are unproductive of improvement. As a 
 general government, the United States have done 
 but little for the interest of public instruction, 
 except that they reserve for this purpose one 
 section, in every township, of their new lands, 
 
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 51 
 
 besides other reservations, for colleges. Thin 
 highly important subject has been left to the 
 individual States and private citizens. The first 
 settlers of New England paid a very laudable 
 attention to this momentous subject. As early as 
 1 628, a law was patsed for the instruction of every 
 child in the colonies; and in 1647, a school was 
 established, by law, in every town or neighbour- 
 hood of fifty families, and a school for the higher 
 branches for every 100 families. 
 
 The number of colleges in the United States is 
 71 ; of medical schools 25 ; of law schools 15 ; of 
 theological seminaries 41. America does not yet, 
 however, furnish the scholar with the facilities for 
 a finished learned education which are afforded by 
 the scientific and literary establishments of Great 
 Britain. Nor is the want felt ; and the attempt 
 would be useless and absurd to persuade a people, 
 in love with money and themselves ; doating upon 
 their own perfection, and their superiority over all 
 the nations of the earth in learning, arts, and arms 
 it would be useless to attempt to induce such a 
 people to pay for information which they could 
 not immediately convert to purposes of gain. 
 
 There is no established Church in the United 
 States, religion being left to the voluntary choice 
 of the people. No sect is favoured by the laws 
 beyond another ; it being an essential principle in 
 the national and State governments, that legislation 
 may of right interfere in the concerns of Public 
 Worship only, so far as to protect every individual 
 in the unmolested exercise of that of his choice. 
 Nor is any legislative provision made for the sup- 
 port of religion, except that, in Massachusetts, the 
 legislature is enjoined to require, and in New 
 Hampshire is empowered to authorize, the several 
 towns and parishes to make adequate provision, at 
 
55 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 their own expense, for the support of the Protes- 
 tant ministers. The same was the case in Con- 
 necticut, until 1818, when it was abolished by the 
 new constitution. But in all the other States the 
 support of religion and its ministers is left entirely 
 to the voluntary zeal of its professors. 
 
 The numbers of established congregations are 
 estimated at over 18,000, and the ministers at 
 15,000. The Presbyterians, including Congrega- 
 tionalists, are the most numerous denomination. 
 The Baptists are estimated as second in numerical 
 amount ; and the Methodists, Episcopalians, Roman 
 Catholics, Universalists, Lutherans. Christians, 
 German Reformed, and Friends or Quakers, pro- 
 bably rank in point of numbers in the order in 
 which they are here mentioned. Other sects, 
 respectable in point of numbers, are Unitarians, 
 Associate and other Methodists, Free-will Bap- 
 tists, Dutch Reformed, Menonites, Associate and 
 Cumberland Presbyterians, Tunkers, Shakers, and 
 many others. In fact, all the sects of Christianity 
 are represented in the United States. 
 
 There are no early enumerations of the popula- 
 tion of the United States on which much reliance 
 can be placed, but in 1753, the number was esti- 
 mated at 1,051,000. A regular decennial census, 
 taken since 1790, gave at that period 
 
 Whites. Slaves. Total. 
 
 3,929,827 .. 679,897 ... 4,609,724 
 
 In 1800 ... 5,305,925 
 
 1810 ... 7,239,814 
 
 1820 ... 9,638,131 
 
 1830 ... 12,866,020 
 
 1840 .. 17,686,909 
 
 893,041 ... 6,198,966 
 
 1,191,364 ... 8,431,178 
 
 1,538,038 ... 11,176,169 
 
 2,009,043 ... 14,875,063 
 
 2,571,211 ... 20,258,120 
 
 The census for 1850 not having yet been 
 made up, we may be allowed to esti- 
 mate the population 
 at 21,000,000 ... 3,000,000 ... 24,000,001) 
 
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 53 
 
 It is most interesting to consider, (as the immen- 
 sity of unoccupied land leaves full scope for this 
 power of multiplication,) how vast the future 
 numbers may be with which this region may bt 
 peopled, and which will render it much the greatest 
 State that ever existed in ancient or modern times. 
 It has been calculated that in a century more it 
 will contain 160,000,000 of inhabitants, and have 
 ample room for future increase. The Americans, 
 should they then remain united, will be the great- 
 est nation in the world, and the most powerful 
 States of Europe will rank as secondary to them. 
 
 The whole number of aborigines existing within 
 the territorial jurisdiction of the United States is 
 estimated at 330,000, of whom about 80,000 reside 
 west of the Rocky Mountains, and the residue 
 east of that region, principally on the west side of 
 the Mississippi, in the Western or Indian Terri- 
 tory, assigned to them by the government ; but 
 there are upwards of 140,000 indigenous Indians, 
 nowise under the control of the government : of 
 these the principal are the Sioux, Pawnees, Co- 
 manches, Manolans, Minatarees, Blackfeet, and 
 Assiniboines. The most humane exertions have 
 constantly been in operation on the part of the 
 general government, to preserve the race from ex- 
 tinction, by severe provisions to prevent their ob- 
 taining ardent spirits, and by unwearied efforts to 
 train them to the arts and agriculture, and to 
 impart to them the blessings of education and 
 Christianity. Under the system adopted by the 
 government agents and sub-agents, interpreters 
 and mechanics are employed among the different 
 Indian tribes, to carry these purposes into effect; 
 and the President is authorised to 'cause the stores 
 to be searched, and if ardent spirits are found 
 
 
54 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 among the articles for sale, the whole of the goods 
 are forfeited to the government. 
 
 The whole number of Indian schools established 
 among them, partly by charitable associations of 
 the different religious denominations, and partly 
 by pecuniary aid from the government, is 53, 
 The whole number of Indian children .receiving 
 instruction is 1,400, including 160 scholars at the 
 Choctaw Academy, in Kentucky, the expense of 
 whose education is derived from funds set apart by 
 the Indians themselves under treaty stipulations 
 for this specific object. In the whole number of 
 scholars are included three students of law at the 
 Choctaw Academy, two at Buffalo, and one at 
 Yermont. 
 
 The territory of the confederacy is divided into 
 26 States, 2 Territories, and 1 Federal District, 
 which contains the seat of government. This does 
 not include the extensive tract assigned to the 
 Indians, called the Western Territory, the region 
 west of the Missouri and north of the Platte, and 
 that west of the Rocky Mountains, in which there 
 is no white population, and which has received no 
 political organization or official name. The States 
 are divided, for municipal purposes, into small sec- 
 tions, styled counties, except in South Carolina, 
 where they are called districts, and in Louisiana, 
 where they are called parishes. In the States of 
 New England, in New York, Pennsylvania, New 
 Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, the counties 
 are subdivided into townships, often called 
 and in Delaware into hundreds. 
 
55 
 THE EASTERN, 
 
 OR 
 
 NEW ENGLAND STATES. 
 
 NEW ENGLAND comprises the six States situated 
 east of the Hudson, viz: Maine, Ne*r Hamp- 
 shire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and 
 Connecticut. The inhabitants are almost exclu- 
 sively of unmixed English origin, and though never 
 united as a political whole, they have at different 
 periods been connected for their common interests. 
 From the earliest settlement of their country, they 
 have enjoyed peculiar advantages for literary and 
 religious instruction, and trained to habits of in- 
 dustry, economy, and enterprise, by the circum- 
 stances of their peculiar situation, as well as by 
 the dangers of prolonged wars, they present traits 
 of character which are as remarkable abroad as 
 they are common at home. 
 
 The surface of the country is infinitely varied. 
 In the interior it is mountainous, with fertile val- 
 leys between. The land along the sea-shore pre- 
 sents in general an irregular surface, consisting of 
 hills and ridges, with flats of moderate extent. 
 The inland portions, towards the mountains, pre- 
 sent an almost constant succession of short hills 
 
56 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 and narrow valleys. There are no extensive 
 plains throughout the whole of New England. 
 Much of the soil is good, yet in general it requires 
 diligent cultivation, and compels the farmer to use 
 great industry to procure tolerable crops; and 
 although it well repays the labours of the hus- 
 bandman, it is on the whole less fruitful than many 
 other parts of the United States. 
 
 Most of the New England States are largely en 
 gaged in manufactures. The different establish- 
 ments of various kinds are too numerous to specify. 
 The cotton factories, in particular, employ a vast 
 number of hands and a gaeat amount of capital. A 
 proof of the result of these great establishments 
 may be found in the fact, that not many years ago 
 the chief cottons of the United States were im- 
 ported frm India, whereas New England now 
 sends her manufactured cottons there, and finds 
 the trade profitable. Since the manufacturing 
 system has prevailed, this part of the Union has 
 rapidly increased in population and business. 
 
 The New Englamlers are extensively engaged in 
 the Bank and whale fisheries. This pursuit em- 
 ploys many thousands of hands, furnishes one of 
 the most important items in this section of the 
 United States, and trains vast numbers of the most 
 experienced and intrepid mariners in the world. 
 
 An active commerce is carried on from the ports 
 of New England with all parts of the world ; their 
 ships 'spread their sails in every sea, and her lum- 
 ber manufactures, and the produce of her fisheries, 
 are extensively exported. Almost every village 
 carries on some handicraft, and the farmer often em- 
 ploys his long winter evenings in some remunerative 
 task. Thus are produced many little objects which 
 although in appearance of small value, yet in the 
 aggregate constitute a source of considerable wealth 
 
NEW ENGLAND STATES. 57 
 
 to the community, and are produced to such an 
 extent as almost to rival the products of the large 
 manufacturing establishments. 
 
 From the first settlement of the country the 
 inhabitants of New England have been a religious 
 people. The entire freedom of opinion enjoyed by 
 them has led to a diversity of religious denomina- 
 tions. In almost every town and village are several 
 places of public worship belonging to the different 
 sects common in the country; among which are 
 Congregationalists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Me- 
 thodists, Unitarians, <fec. It is disreputable for a 
 man to have no religious belief, and there are few 
 who do not give their support to some one mode of 
 religious worship. The Sabbath is strictly ob- 
 served, and the people generally attend public 
 worship twice during the day. 
 
 Education is more universal here than in any 
 other part of the world. It is exceedingly rare to 
 find persons of mature age who have not been 
 instructed in the common branches of school learn- 
 ing. Institutions of learning and education were 
 established at an early period by the first settlers 
 of New England, some of which at the present day 
 are the most respectable and efficient in the Union. 
 A large part of the distinguished men of the 
 United States, have been educated at the Har- 
 vard and Yale colleges, and though there are many 
 similar institutions in other States, still many stu- 
 dents from the south and west are annually taught 
 in the colleges of New England. 
 
 The population of New England has been gra- 
 dually increasing. In 1700 it was about 120,000, 
 and in 1755 was estimated at 345,000. In 1820 it 
 was 1,659,854; in 1830, 1,954,609; in 1840, 
 2,347,504 ; and is now (1853) considerably above 
 3,000,000. 
 D 2 
 
58 
 
 STATE OF MAINE. 
 
 MAINE is the most northern and eastern of the 
 United States. Previous to the year 1820, it 
 formed a part of the Commonwealth of Massa- 
 chusetts, at which period it was received into the 
 Union as an independent State. Maine is in length, 
 from north to south, about 216 miles, and from 
 east to west, 162 ; tha area is differently estimated 
 at from 32,000 to 35,000 square miles. On the 
 sea- coast the country is generally level ; at some 
 distance in the interior, hilly ; and in the central 
 parts of the State are many mountains of con- 
 siderable elevation. 
 
 The principal rivers are the St. John's, with its 
 branches, the Allagash, the Walloostook, and the 
 Aroostook ; with the Penobscot, Kennebeck, An- 
 droscoggin, Saco, Pleasant, Damariscotta, and 
 Union rivers. 
 
 The sea-coast of Maine is remarkably indented 
 with bays and inlets, which afford great facilities 
 for navigation and commerce. The principal are 
 Casco, Penobscot, Frenchman's, Englishman's, 
 Machias, and Passamaquoddy Bays. 
 
 The lakes are so numerous, that it is estimated 
 one-sixth of the surface of the State consists of 
 water, and indeed they form one of the charac- 
 teristic features of the country. Some of them are 
 
STATE OF MAINE. 0$ 
 
 remarkable for their picturesque beauties, and many 
 of them will no doubt be useful mediums of com- 
 munication when their vicinity is more populous. 
 The most noted are Moose Head, Umbagog, Se- 
 bago, the Schoodie Lakes, and Lake Chesuncook. 
 
 The soil on the coast is various, and of but 
 moderate fertility ; in the interior, most of the land 
 is more productive, and some of it, especially on 
 the Kennebeck and Penobscot rivers, is fertile, and 
 well adapted to agriculture and grazing. One of 
 the most important productions of this State is 
 white-pine timber, which is found chiefly on the 
 Upper Kennebeck and Penobscot rivers, and also 
 on the Alia gash. As there i.s no other tract of 
 country yielding this lumber to any considerable 
 extent in the Atlantic States, the lands producing 
 it have lately much advanced in price. 
 
 The value of the lumber cut and sawed annually 
 is estimated at 10,000,000 dollars; the yearly 
 amount of wool grown, 2,000,000 ; and of lime 
 manufactured in the State, 1,000,000. The total 
 shipping belonging to the State amounts to upwards 
 of 300.000 tons, and about 50,000 tons are annually 
 built. The value of imports is upwards of 1,000,000 
 dollars; of exports, 1,350,000 dollars. 
 
 The constitution makes it the duty of the legis- 
 lature to require the several towns to make suitable 
 provision, at their own expense, for the support of 
 public schools, and to encourage and suitably endow 
 academies, colleges, and seminaries of learning. 
 In pursuance of this provision, each town is re- 
 quired, by law, to raise annually a sum equal to 
 forty cents for each inhabitant, which is to be dis- 
 tributed among the town schools, in the ratio of 
 the number of scholars in each. Further grants 
 are also made by the State in aid of their support. 
 
 There are in the State thirty academies, a Bap- 
 
60 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 list college at Waterville, a Congregationalist 
 theological seminary at Bangor, a Wesleyan theo- 
 logical seminary at Beadfield, and Bowdoin College, 
 with a medical school, at Brunswick. The number 
 of pupils in the common schools is about 18,000. 
 The principal religious denominations are Baptists, 
 Congregationalists, Methodists, and a few Quakers, 
 Universalists, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, &c. 
 
 All the towns are in the southern part of the 
 State, in which nearly the whole of the population 
 is concentrated. The central part is almost wholly 
 uninhabited, and covered with primitive forests, 
 which are visited only by hunters and lumberers. 
 A railroad from the coast section of this State to 
 Quebec, 277 miles in length, has been constructed. 
 Maine is divided into two counties. 
 
 The population was, in 1830, 399,455 ; in 1840> 
 500,755 ; and now, will exceed 650,000. 
 
 The city of Portland is the largest and most 
 important place in the State. It is beautifully 
 situated on Casco Bay, is well laid out and hand- 
 somely built, and has a safe and capacious harbour, 
 which is defended by two forts. Upwards of 
 40,000 tons of shipping belong to the port, and 
 the duties collected exceed 200,000 dollars annually. 
 The population exceeds 24,000. 
 
 Augusta, the capital of the State, occupies both 
 sides of the Kennebeck river, fifty miles from its 
 mouth ; it contains a handsome State-house of 
 granite, and an United States Arsenal. Below 
 Augusta are Hallo wel and Gardiner, both flourish- 
 ing towns ; and about fifteen miles from the sea is 
 Bath, noted for its ship -building. Some of the 
 other principal towns in Maine, are Eastport, 
 Machias, Calais* Orono, Belfast, Brunswick, Saco, 
 and York. 
 
61 
 
 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE!. 
 
 THIS State is bounded on the north by Lower 
 Canada ; on the east, by Maine and the Atlantic 
 Ocean ; south, by Massachusetts ; and west, by 
 Vermont It is in length, from north to south, 
 160 miles; and from east to west, 70 miles is 
 about the average breadth. It is, in area, 8,500 
 square miles. The sea-coast of this State, from 
 Piscataqua Harbour to the south boundary is but 
 eighteen miles in extent. 
 
 The country on the coast is level ; in the interior, 
 the surface is greatly diversified by hills and 
 valleys, and contains several mountains of consi- 
 derable height ; among which are the White Moun- 
 tains, the most elevated of any in the New England 
 States. The other considerable elevations are 
 Moosehillock, Monadnock, Kearsarge, Sunapee, 
 Ossipee, &c. 
 
 The White Mountains are distinguished by the 
 names of Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, 
 Madison, Monroe, and Pleasant. Mount Washing- 
 ton is 6,428 feet in height. They are covered with 
 snow ten months in the year, and are often seen 
 from a great distance at sea, and frequently before 
 any intermediate land, although they are at least 
 sixty- five miles, in the nearest direction, from the 
 coast. The wild and sublime character of their 
 
f>2 UNITED STATES OF AMERK'A. 
 
 scenery causes them to be annually visited by 
 numerous travellers. The ascent to their summits 
 is attended with considerable fatigue, but has been 
 surmounted in several instances by ladies. The 
 view is rendered uncommonly grand and pictur- 
 esque by the magnitude of the elevation, the variety 
 and extent of the surrounding scenery, and, above 
 all, by the huge and desolate piles of rocks extend- 
 ing to a great distance in every direction. In the 
 western pass of these mountains there is a remark- 
 able gap, called the Notch, which is considered one 
 of the grandest natural curiosities in the United 
 States. To an admirer of the wonders of nature, 
 the passage through the Notch, and the views from 
 the summit, afford a rich repast. Though inferior 
 to the Andes or the Alps in elevation, yet they 
 display the grandest mountain scenery, surpassing 
 everything of the kind to be seen elsewhere in this 
 country. 
 
 The principal rivers of New England have their 
 origin, either wholly or in part, in this State. 
 These are the Connecticut, Merrimack, Andros- 
 coggin, Saco, and Piscataqua. The other most 
 considerable streams are the Upper and Lower 
 Amonoosuck, Sugar River, Ashuelot, Contoocook, 
 Magallaway, and Nashua. The principal lakes 
 are the Winnipiseogee, Umbagog, Osipee, Suna- 
 pee, Squam, and Newfound-lake. 
 
 The inhabitants of New Hampshire are princi- 
 pally engaged in agriculture : the chief products 
 are Indian corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, flax, &c. ; 
 horses and cattle, beef, pork, butter, cheese, &c., 
 are largely exported. There are some large manu- 
 facturing establishments, chiefly in the southern 
 parts of the State, viz., 60 cotton and 35 woollen 
 mills, 615 grist mills, 963 sawmills, 22 oil mills, 
 17 paper mills, 240 fulling mills, and 247 carding 
 
STATE OP NEW HAMPSHIRE. 63 
 
 mills. Manufactures are also carried on in families 
 to a considerable extent ; and several vessels are 
 employed in the Bank and shore fisheries ; still 
 many of the inhabitants leave the State every year 
 in search of employment elsewhere. 
 
 The mineral resources of New Hampshire are 
 not great. Copper is found at Franconia, and iron 
 is abundant in Lisbon and Franconia ; plumbago 
 or black lead also occurs in several places, particu- 
 larly at Bristol. A fine grained granite, which is 
 quarried in many places, affords an excellent build- 
 ing material. The forest affords abundance of 
 excellent timber, and the white pine sometimes 
 attains the height of 2oO feet, with a straight trunk 
 six feet and upwards in diameter. 
 
 About eight miles from the coast are the Isles of 
 Shoals, belonging partly to New Hampshire and 
 partly to Maine. They lie between Portsmouth 
 and Newbury-port, and are hardly more than a 
 cluster of rocks rising above the water. The in- 
 habitants are about one hundred ; they live solely 
 by fishing, and in connexion with those of the 
 shore in their immediate neighbourhood, who fol- 
 low the same mode of life, are the most rude and 
 uncivilised beings in New England, except the 
 Indians. Efforts, however, have been made to 
 improve their condition, and they have now a 
 meeting house, school, &c. 
 
 Common schools are established by law through- 
 out the State, and are supported in part by town 
 taxes, in part by school lands, or funds arising 
 from the sale of them, and belonging to the towns, 
 and in part also by the proceeds of certain State 
 taxes ; the number of school-houses in the State 
 exceeds 1,600 ; and there are about 40 academies, 
 attended by upwards of 1,600 pupils. Dartmouth 
 College, in Hanover, is a well endowed institution, 
 
64 UNITED STATES OP AMKRICA. 
 
 and affords instruction in the common brandies 
 taught in the New England colleges. The princi- 
 pal religious denominations are Congregationalists, 
 Baptists, and Methodists; with a few Friends, 
 Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Catholics. 
 
 The population which was, in 1830, 269,328 ; 
 in 1840, 294,495; cannot now be less than 325,000. 
 
 Portsmouth, the only sea-port, and the largest 
 town in the State, is pleasantly situated on the 
 Piscataqua, three miles from the sea. It has one 
 of the finest harbours in the world, affording 40 
 feet of water in the channel at low tide, and being 
 easily accessible to vessels of large size, arid com- 
 pletely landlocked. It is protected by several 
 forts. The tides rise ten feet. The town stands 
 on a peninsular elevation, sloping towards the har- 
 bour, and is well built. It contains several churches 
 and banking houses, the county buildings, &c., and 
 is well supplied with good water. Two wooden 
 bridges have been built across the Piscataqua, one 
 of which is 1,750 feet long. There is here a Navy- 
 Yard belonging to the United States, situated on 
 Navy Island, on the east side of the river. Popu- 
 lation 13,000. 
 
 Concord, the capital of the State, on the west 
 side of the Merrimack River, is handsomely built ; 
 has the State House, State Prison, both of granite, 
 besides banks, churches, hotels &c ; population 
 5,000. In the south east part of the State, ar 
 several towns largely engaged in manufactures, viz., 
 Dover, Somers worth, Newmarket, and Exeter. 
 These are all situated on navigable rivers, furnish- 
 ing fine mill seats and easy communication with 
 the sea. Nasbua, near tbe south line of the State, 
 contains several large cotton mills, with a popula- 
 tion of nearly 10,000 : Hanover, (the seat of Dart- 
 mouth College) Haverhill, and Lancaster are 
 
STATE OP VERMONT. 65 
 
 thriving towns of between 5,000 and 6,000 inha- 
 bitants each ; and Amhurst and Keene are neat 
 towns between the Merrimack and Connecticut 
 Rivers, with rapidly increasing populations. 
 
 STATE OF VERMONT. 
 
 VERMONT is bounded north by Lower Canada ; 
 east by New Hampshire ; south by Massachusetts ; 
 west by New York ; from which it is separated, 
 in part, by Lake Champlain. It is 157 miles in 
 length, from north to south ; 90 miles in breadth 
 on the northern, and 40 on the southern boundary ; 
 and contains an area of 10,212. square miles, or 
 6,535,680 acres. 
 
 The Green Mountains, from which the State 
 derives its name, on account of the evergreens with 
 which they are covered, occupy a large part of the 
 State ; and most of its surface is uneven. The 
 range passes through its whole length, about half 
 way between Lake Champlain and the Connecticut 
 River. 
 
 From these mountains many streams take their 
 rise : the most important are Otter Creek, Union 
 River, La Moile, and Missisque, which empty into 
 Lake Champlain, on the west ; the White, Pasump- 
 sic, and West Rivers, which flow into the Connec- 
 ticut, on the east. 
 
 The scenery of this State is romantic and beauti- 
 
66 . BKITI-D STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 ful ; the air pure and healthful ; and the natives 
 industrious, intelligent, and hospitable. 
 
 The soil is fertile, and all sorts of grain, suited 
 to the climate, are produced in great abundance. 
 Dark, rich, and loamy, it is admirably calculated 
 to sustain drought, and affords the finest pasturage 
 of any State in the Union. Wool is an important 
 product. Cattle of various kinds are raised with 
 great facility ; and nowhere is finer beef to be seen 
 than is fed on the rich white clover pastures of 
 Vermont. The butter and cheese are well known 
 for their excellence. 
 
 Vermont is entirely in the interior; yet, by the 
 system of internal improvement, the Champlain 
 Canal, and the lake, vessels and steam-boats have 
 brought her territory in contiguity with the sea. 
 Part of the trade goes by canal to Albany, and 
 part down the lake to Montreal. Much of that 
 which formerly went to Boston and Hartford, is 
 now drawn by the Champlain Canal to New York. 
 This canal has been of incalculable advantage to 
 the State. 
 
 Iron occurs in great abundance, and is exten- 
 sively wrought. Sulphuret of iron, or pyrites, is 
 found at Shrewsbury, from which 3,000,000 
 pounds of copperas are annually manufactured, 
 worth from 60,000 to 70,000 dollars. About 
 twenty cotton- mills produce annually 3,500,000 
 yards of cloth, and 112,000 pounds of yarn. Do- 
 mestic fabrics of linen and woollen are made in 
 almost every family. 
 
 The constitution of Vermont was amended in 
 1836, by the establishment of two houses, styled 
 the Senate and House of Representatives. The 
 legislative house, the governor, lieutenant-governor, 
 and executive council, are chosen annually by the 
 people. Each town has a right to send a repre- 
 
STATE OF VERMONT. ()7 
 
 sentative to the general assembly. The judges 
 are chosen annually by that body. The council of 
 censors is chosen once every seven years, for the 
 term of one year, by popular vote. It is their 
 duty to examine whether there have been any vio- 
 lation of the constitution, and whether the legisla- 
 tive and executive branches have done their duty, 
 and also to propose any alteration in the constitu- 
 tion. 
 
 The towns are divided into school districts, each 
 of which is required by law to support a school at 
 least three months during the year. An annual 
 tax is levied for their support, and the rent of the 
 reserves of school land in each township, called 
 here school rights, is also distributed among the 
 districts, in proportion to the number of children in 
 each, to aid in the same purpose. The number of 
 the school districts is 1612. There are thirty aca- 
 demies and county grammar schools, for the sup- 
 port of which similar reservations were made ; and 
 the university of Vermont, at Burlington, is en- 
 dowed in the same way. Middlebury College has 
 been founded by private funds. The most numer- 
 ous religious denominations are the Congregation- 
 al ists, Baptists, and Methodists ; and there are 
 some Episcopalians, Universalists, Christians, and 
 Roman Catholics. The State is divided into thir- 
 teen counties. 
 
 The population, in 1830, was 280,657 ; in 1840, 
 205,545; and in 1850, it was computed at 340,000. 
 
 The capital of the State is the little town of 
 Montpelier, situated in a wild and rugged region 
 at the junction of the north and south branches of 
 the Union River. Here is a handsome State- 
 house of granite, together with the public build 
 ings of the county. The population of the town 
 is about 3000. West of the mountains are several 
 
68 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 flourishing towns, which enjoy the advantage of 
 an easy communication with Lake (jhamplain, and 
 through it, with the Hudson and St. Lawrence 
 Rivers. St. Alban's is a neatly built town on a 
 small bay, with an active and increasing trade, and 
 containing 3500 inhabitants. Farther south is 
 Burlington, the largest town in the State, and the 
 principal commercial place on the lake. It is plea- 
 santly situated on a gently rising slope, overlooking 
 the lake, and it has an excellent harbour. Here 
 are the county buildings, and the University of 
 Yermont, and at the Falls of the Union River, there 
 are some manufactories. The population is 5760. 
 The city of Yergennes, with 1500 inhabitants, is 
 accessible to lake vessels. The falls on the river 
 afford some good mill seats. Above Yergennes is 
 Middlebury, which contains some mills and a 
 college. Marble of a good quality is quarried here. 
 Population, 4368. Higher up the river is Rutland, 
 containing quarries of marble, several manufactur- 
 ing establishments, and the public buildings of the 
 county, with 3752 inhabitants. On the same side 
 of the mountains, in the southern part of the State, 
 is Bennington, in the neighbourhood of which are 
 found limestone, marble, and iron. Here are some 
 mills and iron-works, and a population of 4319. 
 
 Crossing the mountains, and entering the rich 
 valley of the Connecticut, we find a number of 
 thriving towns, and neat villages, lining its fertile 
 meadows. By means of several canals, boats are 
 enabled to ascend the river above Newbury ; the 
 principal of these cuts is at Bellow's Falls, where 
 a fall of fifty feet is overcome by nine locks, and 
 an excavation of half a mile in length. Brattle- 
 boro' is a busy place, of 3000 inhabitants, and con- 
 taining some manufactories and a lunatic asylum. 
 Winder is a neat town, in a picturesque situation. 
 
STATK OF VERMONT. 69 
 
 A small stream, which runs through the town, 
 serves to carry the machinery of several manufac- 
 turing establishments ; and there is a State prison, 
 built of granite, conducted on the Auhurn plan. 
 Population, 4324. At the little village < f Bellow's 
 Fall, the river is suddenly contracted from 300 to 
 16 or 20 feet wide, and rushes with great impe- 
 tuosity through a narrow chasm cut in the solid 
 rock, having a fall of nearly fifty feet in half a mile. 
 Woodstock, with 4304 inhabitants, lies a little off 
 from the river ; and higher up, but on the Con- 
 necticut, is Norwich : civil engineering, and other 
 practical sciences, receive particular attention in 
 the institution here, styled the Norwich University. 
 
70 
 
 COMMONWEALTH OF 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 THIS State is bounded north, by Vermont and New 
 Hampshire ; east, by the Atlantic Ocean ; south, 
 by Rhode Island and Connecticut; and west, by 
 New York. The average extent from north to 
 south is seventy miles, and from east to west, 140 ; 
 area, 8500 square miles. The Green Mountains 
 range through the central parts of the State from 
 north to south. These mountains, in their whole 
 extent, abound in noble elevations, dark green 
 forests, pleasant and sheltered valleys, and an in- 
 finite variety of scenery. The highest peaks are 
 Saddle Mount, Taghkonic, Mount Tom, Mount 
 Holyoke, &c. 
 
 Massachusetts has no large rivers wholly within 
 her bounds. The Merrirnack passes out of New 
 Hampshire into the northern division of the State, 
 emptying into the sea at Newbury Port. The 
 Connecticut, in traversing it from north to south, 
 nearly divides the State. The Housatonic, Charles, 
 Ipswich, Neponset, and Taunton, though they 
 have short courses, are very pleasant streams. 
 The deep bay between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, 
 which has given name to the State, has caused it 
 to be known in the other States by the name of the 
 
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, ?1 
 
 Bay State. Cape Ann bounds it on the north, and 
 Cape Cod on the south. 
 
 Agriculture receives htre great attention, and is 
 conducted with a superior degree of skill and in- 
 telligence. Massachusetts is without doubt the 
 best cultivated State in the Union. Both the 
 legislature and agricultural societies have made 
 great efforts to encourage skilful and thrifty hus- 
 bandry, and to introduce the best foreign breeds of 
 sheep and cattle. Commerce, manufactures, and 
 the fisheries, are, however, the principal objects of 
 pursuit. 
 
 The shipping belonging to this State amounts to 
 about 500,000 tons, being greater than that of any 
 other State; it is computed that 1522 vessels, of 
 269,497 tons, enter, and 1459 vessels, of 248,188 
 tons, clear at the different ports annually. The 
 value of the imports are also estimated at 20,870,373 
 dollars; of exports at 15,143,790 dollars. There 
 is also an active and extensive coasting trade car- 
 ried on with all parts of the Union ; the imports 
 being chiefly raw produce and provisions, and the 
 exports manufactured articles. The herring and 
 mackerel fisheries are carried on along shore ; the 
 cod fishery, chiefly on the great Banks, and the 
 Newfoundland and Labrador coasts ; the whale 
 fishery in the South Atlantic, the Pacific, Indian, 
 and Antarctic Oceans. Two hundred and ninety 
 vessels, of about 90,000 tons, with upwards of 
 7000 men, are generally engaged in the whale 
 fishery. The cod fishery is also largely prosecuted 
 from almost all the towns on the coast, and yields 
 annually 400,000 quintals of fish, and 6000 barrels 
 of oil, of the value of 1,000,000 dollars. 
 
 In Massachusetts there is a larger amount of 
 capital invested in manufactures than in any other 
 State in the Union. There are upwards of 300 
 
72 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 cotton-mills, consuming about 30,000,000 pounds 
 of cotton ; also 150 woollen-mills, manufacturing 
 broad-cloths, flannels, satinetts, blankets, carpets, 
 &c. There are likewise numerous carding ma- 
 chines. The wool used in household manufac- 
 tures is estimated at about 8.000,000 of dollars. 
 The silk manufacture has been successfully intro- 
 duced ; also iron manufactures, including nails, 
 machinery of all sorts, hollow ware, cutlery, <fec. 
 The making of boots and shoes occupies the most 
 part of the population of several considerable towns ; 
 and large quantities are exported. Other produc- 
 tions of manufacturing industry are carried on in 
 families, and furnish an important source of gain 
 to the rural population. The braiding and plait- 
 ing of straw and palm-leaf hats and bonnets is a 
 branch of household industry which employs seve- 
 ral thousand females. Of a similar character, but 
 locally more confined, is the manufacture of brooms 
 from the broom-corn, about 1,000,000 being an- 
 nually made. Ship- building is also extensively 
 carried on, the shipping built amounting to about 
 50,000 tons a year. Salt is likewise manufactured 
 from sea water by solar evaporation, to the amount 
 of about 500,000 bushels annually. 
 
 Various important works of internal improve- 
 ment afford great facility to travelling and trans- 
 portation. They are the Middlesex Canal, which 
 extends from Boston to Lowell, twenty-six miles ; 
 the Blacks tone Canal, from Worcester to Provi- 
 dence, Rhode Island, forty-five miles ; and the 
 Hampshire and Hampden Canal, twenty miles in 
 length, is a continuation of Farmington Canal from 
 Southwark, on the Connecticut line, to North- 
 ampton. 
 
 Railroads have been constructed from Boston to 
 Lowell, with a branch to Andover ; from Boston 
 
COMMONWEALTH OP MASSACHUSETTS. 73 
 
 to Providence, forty-two miles, with a branch of 
 ten miles to Taunton ; and from Boston to Wor- 
 cester, forty- three miles. The Western Railroad 
 extends from Worcester through Springfield and 
 West Stock bridge to the New York line, 118 
 miles, where it is connected with Albany, Hudson, 
 and Troy lines. The Eastern Railroad runs from 
 Boston, through Salem and Newbury Port, to the 
 New Hampshire line, forty miles, where it is con- 
 nected with the Portsmouth and Portland Railroad. 
 
 Massachusetts may justly be proud of her lite- 
 rary, religious, and charitable institutions. Within 
 a few years Boston alone has expended consider- 
 ably over 2,000,000 dollars for objects of that 
 character, exclusive of an annual expenditure of 
 200,000 dollars for the support of public and pri- 
 vate schools. There are also sixty-six academies 
 in the State, which, with the private schools, are 
 attended by upwards of 25,000 scholars. Harvard 
 University, at Cambridge, is the oldest and best 
 endowed institution in the country; it has a 
 library of 20,000 volumes, and instruction is given 
 by thirty teachers, in the various branches of a 
 liberal education : law, theological, and medical 
 schools are connected with it. William's College, 
 at Williamstown, and Amhurst College, at Am- 
 hurst, are also respectable institutions. 
 
 The prevailing religious sect is the Congrega- 
 tional ; the Baptists are also numerous ; after these 
 come the Methodists, Universalists, Episcopalians, 
 Christians, Roman Catholics, Quakers, Presbyte- 
 rians, Swedenborgians, and Shakers. Massachu- 
 setts is divided into fourteen counties. 
 
 The population, in 1830, was 610,408 ; in 1840, 
 697,529 ; and may now be estimated at 785,000. 
 
 Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, and the 
 
/4 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 principal city of New England, is pleasantly situated 
 upon a small liilly peninsula on Boston Bay, with 
 a safe and commodious harbour, deep enough to 
 admit the largest vessels, capable of containing 500 
 ships at once, and so completely landlocked as to 
 be perfectly secure. Several forts erected on these 
 islands command the approaches to the city. Be- 
 side the main peninsula, the city comprises another 
 peninsula, called South Boston, connected with the 
 two former by two free bridges, and the island of 
 East Boston, with which communication is kept 
 np by means of steam ferry-boats. Four wooden 
 bridges also connect the city with Charleatown and 
 Cambridge ; a solid causeway of earth unites it to 
 Brookline, and a narrow neck of land, which has 
 been raised and widened by artificial constructions, 
 joins it to Roxbury. 
 
 The population of Boston, which, in 1830, was 
 64,392; in 1840, 92,814; amounts now to up- 
 wards of 120,000 ; but if the adjacent towns are 
 included, which, in fact, form so many suburbs of 
 the city, the population exceeds 180,000. 
 
 The State-house, fronting a fine park of seventy- 
 five acres, called the Common, and standing on the 
 most elevated part of the city, a handsome granite 
 edifice, two stories high, 536 feet in length, by 50 
 in breadth; the Court-house, also of granite, 176 
 feet long, 57 high, and 54 feet wide; the City-hall 
 or old State- house, and Faneuil-hall, more interest- 
 ing from historical associations than from their 
 architectural merits ; the Massachusetts General 
 Hospital, a handsome granite building, 168 feet in 
 length ; the Institution for the Blind, in which are 
 about fifty pupils ; the Boston Athenaeum, which 
 has a library of nearly 40,000 volumes, and a pic- 
 ture gallery; the Medical School of Harvard Uni- 
 versity ; the Eye and Ear Infirmary ; the Houses 
 
COMMONWEALTH OP MASSACHUSETTS. 75 
 
 of Industry, Reformation, and Correction, deserve 
 particular notice. 
 
 The bridges and wharves of this city are re- 
 markable for their great length. The canal bridge 
 is 2800 feet long ; the West Boston bridge, 2760, 
 and some of the others exceed 1500 feet. The 
 wharves have been constructed in a somewhat 
 similar manner. Central Wharf, 1380 feet long, 
 by 150 wide, contains fifty- four large warehouses, 
 four stories high. Long Wharf, 1800 long, by 200 
 in width, has seventy-six warehouses equally spa- 
 cious. Commercial Wharf is 1100 feet long, by 
 100 wide, with a range of thirty-four granite ware- 
 houses. 
 
 As a commercial city, Boston is the second in 
 the United States in the amount of its business. 
 The shipping belonging to the port exceeds 240,000 
 tons ; annual value of imports, 20,000,000 ; of 
 exports, 14,000,000 dollars. This city has ever 
 been distinguished for its attention to educa- 
 tion. The free schools are, the Latin School, tha 
 High School, nine Grammar and Writing Schools, 
 gixty Primary Schools, and a school for the coloured 
 population. There are also numerous private 
 schools for children of both sexes. The American 
 Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Historical So- 
 ciety, and the Natural History Society, are among 
 the learned societies. There are fifty-seven churches, 
 thirty banking institutions, thirty -five insurance 
 companies, two theatres, an Odeon, &c. 
 
 Charlestown, which is connected with Boston 
 by three bridges, stands on a lofty peninsula, the 
 centre of which is occupied by Bunker Hill. 
 Though irregularly built, it commands many fine 
 views of the harbour and the surrounding country. 
 The Bunker Hill Monument forms an obelisk, 
 rising to the height of 220 feet from ite base, which 
 
76 UMTED STATKS OP" AMKH1CA. 
 
 is 50 feet square. The United States Dock-yard, 
 comprising a number of store-bouses, arsenals, 
 magazines, barracks, and ships, with a graving or 
 dry-dock, built of hewn granite, in the most solid 
 manner, at the cost of 677,000 dollars, covers an 
 extent of about sixty acres. The population of 
 the town is 10,787. Adjoining Charlestown is 
 Cambridge, the seat of Harvard University, with 
 7061 inhabitants. At Watertown, adjoining Cam- 
 bridge, there is a United States Arsenal, 
 
 To the south-west is the little town of Brighton, 
 noted for its cattle-market, in which the sales of 
 cattle, calves, sheep, and swine amount to an ave- 
 rage of 1,878,132 dollars annually. Lynn, a neat 
 and thriving town, whose inhabitants, beside mak- 
 ing 2,000,000 pair of shoes annually, carry on the 
 cod and whale fisheries. A long beach of smooth 
 hard sand terminates in the little rocky peninsula 
 of Nahant, a favourite watering place of the neigh- 
 bouring towns. Marblehead, long the principal 
 seat of the cod fishery, has of late years turned its 
 attention partly to mechanical industry, particularly 
 to shoe- making, which occupies the winter leisure 
 of many of its hardy fishermen. Upwards of sixty 
 sail of small fishing vessels, manned by a Lout 600 
 men and boys, are owned here. 
 
 The city of Salem, with 16,8^7 inhabitants, is 
 noted for the commercial enterprise and industrious 
 habits of its citizens. It was long largely engaged 
 in the East India and China trade, and its coasting 
 and foreign trade is still considerable ; but it l;i- 
 bours under the disadvantage of not having a suf- 
 ficient depth of water for the largest vessels. The 
 inhabitants have lately engaged in the whale fishery, 
 in which they employ fifteen ships, of *<500 tons ; 
 the whole shipping of the port amounts to 43,7fr7 
 tuns. The city is neatly built, and it contains au 
 
Co MMON WEALTH Op' MASSACHUSETTS. , / 
 
 Athenaeum, a Marine Museum, a valuable collec- 
 tion of natural and artificial curiosities, belonging 
 to the East India Marine Society, which is com- 
 posed wholly of nautical men, ten banking institu- 
 tion^ seven insurance companies, eighteen churches, 
 and several charitable institutions. The manufac- 
 tures are also considerable. Beverly, connected 
 with. Salem by a bridge, 1500 feet in length, has 
 5479 inhabitants, chiefly occupied in commerce 
 am! the fisheries ; and Danvers is a bu-^y town, 
 YMth a population of 5728, containing thirty-three 
 tanneries, and a rolling and slitting mill, witli four- 
 teen nail machines; upwards of 500,000 pairs of 
 shoos and boots are also made here yearly. Cape 
 Ann, the north point of Massachusetts Bay, is 
 occupied by the fishing town of Gloucester ; popu- 
 lation, 8753. A few miles north of the Cape is 
 the handsome town of Newbury Port, situated at 
 the mouth of the Merrimack. Its foreign com- 
 merce was formerly more extensive, but its trade 
 is still important, and the whale, mackerel, and cod 
 fisheries are also carried on from this place; popu- 
 lation, 7838. 
 
 The south point of the great bay from which the 
 S f ate takes its name, is Cape Cod, a long irregular 
 peninsula of seventy-five miles in length, by from 
 fivo to twenty in breadth. It consists chieflv of 
 bills of white sand, mostly destitute of vegetation. 
 The houses are in some- places built upon stakes 
 driven in the ground, with open spaces for the sand 
 to drift through. The cape, notwithstanding, is 
 well inhabited, and supports a population of 30,000, 
 tin- majority of which subsists by the fisheries and 
 t' coasting trade. South of Cape Cod is the 
 1-land of Nantucket, containing the town of the 
 fame name, with 8766 inhabitants, all crowded to- 
 gether close upon the harbour, which lies on the 
 
78 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 northern side. The island is merely a sand bank, 
 fifteen miles in length, by about five or six in 
 breadth, slightly elevated above the ocean. There 
 ar^, however, some productive spots ; and about 
 14,000 sheep and 500 cows are annually raised, 
 which feed on one pasture, the land being held in 
 common. The inhabitants are distinguished for 
 their enterprise, and have seventy-five ships en- 
 gaged in the whale fisheries, and a considerably 
 number of small vessels in the coasting trade ; ami 
 upwards of 2000 men and boys belonging to the 
 inland are employed in navigation. Vineyard is 
 somewhat longer than Nantucket, and contains 
 considerable woodland. The inhabitants are, for 
 the most part, pilots and fishermen ; but some salt 
 and woollen cloth are made. 
 
 Fifty-seven miles south of Boston, and situated 
 on Buzzard's Bay, is New Bedford, the great seat 
 of the whale fishery. It is a handsomely built 
 town, and has a safe and capacious harbour. The 
 shipping of the district, which includes seven other 
 towns on the bay, i.s 86,749 tons, nearly the whole 
 of which is employed in the whale fishery ; and 
 about 90,000 barrels of sperm, and 50,000 of 
 whale oil are annually brought in here. New 
 Bedford contains ten large establishments in which 
 spermaceti candles are made and oil prepared ; five 
 banks; two insurance offices; sixteen churches and 
 chapels ; an academy, schools, &c. Population 
 upwards of 14,000. 
 
 In this State there are nearly 50,000,000 dol- 
 lars invested in manufacturing stock ; of which 
 7,500,000 are employed in Lowell alone. This 
 place, which is the greatest manufacturing town in 
 the United States, has been very rapid in its 
 growth, and may be considered the Manchester of 
 America. It was commenced in 1813, but its 
 
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 79 
 
 principal increase may be dated from 1822 : it 
 now contains upwards of 30,000 inhabitants. Its 
 various cotton and woollen factories give employ- 
 ment to near 8,000 operatives. About 13,000,000 
 pounds of cotton, and 750,000 pounds of wool are 
 expended annually in the production of cotton and 
 woollen goods, and carpeting. The supply of wa- 
 ter-power, from the Merrimack, is convenient and 
 unfailing. Lowell, also, contains powder mills, 
 flannel works, grist and saw- mills, glass-works, <fcc. 
 
80 
 
 STATE OF EHODE ISLAND. 
 
 RHODK INLAND is hounded on the north and east 
 by Massachusetts, south by the Atlantic, and west 
 by Connecticut. Its extent, from north to south, 
 is about forty- eight miles, and from east to west, 
 iorU-two; area 1,500. square miles. The face of 
 the country is mostly level, except in the north- 
 west, part of which is hilly and rocky. The soil 
 is generally better adapted to grazing than tillage. 
 A large proportion of the north-western and west- 
 (Tii pan of the State has a thin lean soil, but the 
 islands and country bordering on Narragansett 
 Hay are of great fertility, and are celebrated for 
 their fine cattle, and the abundance and excellence 
 of their butter and cheese. The products are corn, 
 rye, bailey, oats, and some wheat. 
 
 Rhode Island is celebrated for its beautiful cul- 
 tivated appearance, abounding in smooth swells, 
 and being 'divided with great uniformity into well 
 tilled fields. The climate much resembles Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut in its salubrity : the parts 
 of the State adjacent to the sea are favoured with 
 refreshing breezes in summer, and its winter is the 
 most mild of any of the New England States. 
 
 The rivers are small, with courses of not more 
 than fifty or sixty miles, and discharging an incon- 
 
STATE OF RHODE ISLAM). 81 
 
 siderable quantity of water, but as they descend 
 from 200 to 450 feet, and are steady in their supply 
 of water, they furnish a great number of valuable 
 mill -seats; and they have been extensively applied 
 to manufacturing purposes. The Pawtucket, 
 Pawtuxet, and Pawcatuck are the principal 
 streams. 
 
 Some iron ore, marble, and freestone are found, 
 and anthracite coal occurs in extensive beds, but 
 although it has been pronounced of good quality, 
 it has not been much worked. The inhabitants 
 have occupied themselves with commerce, the 
 fisheries, and manufactures, more than with agri- 
 culture. The State contains 123 cotton mills, 25 
 woollen mills, 7 bleacheries, o calico print-works, 
 12 iron foundries, 33 machine shops, 50 tanneries, 
 &c. There is also a silk manufactory at Provi- 
 dence, and lace is made at Newport. 
 
 The people of Rhode Island not having made a 
 constitution for themselves, the government is still 
 conducted according to the provisions of the loval 
 charter granted by Charles II., in 1663. The 
 official style is "The State of Rhode Island and 
 Providence Plantations." The governor and lieu- 
 tenant-governor are chosen annually by popular 
 vote. The legislature, styled the general assembly, 
 consists of two houses, a senate chosen annually, 
 and a house of representatives, cl'osen !*emi- annu- 
 ally, ' which meet four times a year. The judges, 
 and other civil officers, are appointed annuallv by 
 the general assembly. The State appropriates 
 10,000 dollars a year for the support of common 
 schools, and a somewhat larger sum is rai-ed by 
 the towns for the same purpose; in addition to 
 which, considerable sums are raised by individual 
 subscription, in order to keep the free school* open 
 some time longer than the public schools would 
 E 2 
 
82 UNITKD STATKS O, 1 ' AMERICA. 
 
 admit. There are in the State 325 free schools, 
 with upwards of 18,OuO pupil:*. Brown Univer- 
 sity, nt Providence, is a respectable institution, on 
 the plan of the other New England States. The 
 Baptists and the Congregationaiists are the most 
 numerous sects ; the Episcopalians and Methodists 
 are also numerous: and there are a few Quakers, 
 Univer?alists, and Roman Catholics. 
 
 Population, in 1830, 97,199; 1840, 111,339; 
 1850, upwards of 125,000. 
 
 The principal city of Rhode Island is Provi- 
 dence, the second in New England in point of po- 
 pulation, wealth, and commerce. It is situated at 
 the head of Narragansett Bay, and is accessible to 
 the largest merchant vessels. The population now 
 exceeds 30,000. Here are eighteen banks ; also a 
 number of cotton mills, bleacheries, dye-houses, 
 machine shops, iron foundries, <fec. Among the 
 public buildings are the State-House, the Halls of 
 Brown's University, the Arcade, several churches, 
 <fec. Steamboats, of the largest and finest class, 
 keep up a daily communication with New York 
 during the greater part of the year; the Black- 
 stone Canal, and Boston and Pi evidence Railroad . 
 terminate here ; the latter is continued to Stoning- 
 ton, in Connecticut. Pawtucket River, above 
 Providence, is the seat of numerous extensive ma- 
 nufactures. North Providence, on the Massachu- 
 setts border, contains the manufacturing village of 
 Pawtucket, opposite which is the town of Paw- 
 tucket, in that State. The whole manufacturing 
 district is commonly called Pawtucket, and it con- 
 tains twenty- five cotton mills, besides machine 
 shops, calico-printing works, iron works, &c. 
 Above this the Pawtucket takes the name of the 
 Blackstone, and furnishes mill seats which hav 
 created the village of Woonsocket Falls, also situ- 
 
STATK OF RHODE ISLAND. S3 
 
 afed on both sides of the river, in the townships of 
 Smithrield and Cumberland. There are also seve- 
 ral manufacturing establishments in other parts of 
 Smith field, Warwick, on the Pawtuxet River 
 and Narragansett Bay, is a manufacturing and 
 fishing town, with about 7000 inhabitants. 
 
 Bristol, on the eastern shore of the bay, is a busy 
 town, with 4305 inhabitants actively engaged in 
 the foreign and coasting trade and whale fishery. 
 Nearly at the south end of Rhode Island is New- 
 port, once one of the principal towns in the colo- 
 nies, and still a favourite summer resort, on account 
 of its pleasant situation, the refreshing coolness of 
 the sea-breezes, and its advantages for sea-bathing. 
 The harbour is one of the finest in the world, being 
 safe, capacious, and easy of access, and is defended 
 by an important work, called Fort Adams ; but 
 trade has mostly deserted the town, and now cen- 
 tres chiefly in Providence. Prudence, and Con- 
 necticut Island, in the bay, and Rhode Island, at 
 the entrance of Long Island Sound, belong to this 
 State. 
 
84 
 
 STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 THIS State is bounded on the north by Massachu 
 setts ; south, by Long Island Sound; east, by Rhode 
 Island; and west, by New York. It is ninety 
 miles in length, seventy miles in breadth, and con- 
 tains 4764 square miles. The principal rivers are, 
 the Connecticut, Housatonic, Thames, Farmington, 
 and Narragatuek. The face of the country is 
 generally hilly, and, in the north-western parts, 
 mountainous. The soil is good, and the industri- 
 ous inhabitants have not neglected its cultivation. 
 The valley of Connecticut River, from Middleton 
 to the northern boundary of the State, is a luxu- 
 riant meadow, chequered by patches of wheat, corn, 
 and other grain. Some other parts of the State are 
 well cultivated and fruitful, and some portions are 
 beautiful, as well from the gifts of nature as the 
 improvements of art. 
 
 The chief productions are Indian corn, rye, 
 wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, flax in large 
 quantities, &o. Orchards are numerous, and cider 
 is made for exportation. The State is, however, 
 generally better adapted to grazing than tillage, 
 ami it^ fine meadows and pastures enable the far- 
 mer to feed great numbers of neat cattle, horses, 
 and sheep. The quantity of butter and cheese 
 
STATR OP CONNECT [CUT. 8-> 
 
 annually made is great, and well known for their 
 excellent quality. 
 
 The fisheries are carried on from several of the 
 ports ; and there are valuable shad fisheries on the 
 rivers. There are .about 15,000 tons of shipping 
 from this State employed in the whale fishery ; ami 
 about 40,000 barrels of whale and sperm oil ac 
 annually brought in. The coastino* trade is con- 
 
 ' O O 
 
 sideralde, but most of the foreign trade is carried 
 on tii rough Ne\v York. 
 
 The manufactures of Connecticut are consider- 
 able, and the ingenuity and industry of the people 
 in this respect have a reputation co-extensive with 
 the Union. The principal articles are cotton and 
 woollen goods, clocks, combs, and buttons, tin and 
 wooden ware. Implements and utensils of various 
 descriptions are among the products of manufactur 
 ing industry. There are 112 cotton mills, and 
 ninety-three woollen factories in the State. The 
 annual value of cotton and woollen goods, iron 
 manufactures, boots and shoes, buttons and combs, 
 paper, coaches and waggons, with other articles, 
 amount to nearly 10,000,000 dollars. 
 
 Common schools are supported by the proceeds 
 of the school fund belonging to the State, which 
 are distributed among the school districts, in pro- 
 portion to the number of children in each between 
 the ages of four and sixteen years. The money 
 thus distributed is applied solely to paying the ex- 
 pense of instruction, the other charges being paid 
 by the districts. % The number of children of the 
 above description is about 90.000. The school 
 fund amounts to nearly 1,900,000 dollars; the 
 income of which is about 84,000 dollars. There 
 are also upwards of thirty academies and high 
 schools in the State; and three colleges Yale Col- 
 lege at New Haven, Washington College at Uert*- 
 
S(y UNITKP STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 ford, and the Wesleyan University at Norwich. 
 Yale College is one of the oldest and most respec- 
 table, and the most frequented of the collegiate 
 institutions in the country. Attached to it are a, 
 theological department, a medical institute, and a 
 law school. The duties of instruction are per- 
 formed by twenty-seven teachers. 
 
 The Congregation;lists are the most numerous 
 religious sect; after them rank the Baptists, Me- 
 thodists, and Episcopalians ; and there are some 
 Universalists, Roman Catholics, and Shakers. 
 
 The Farrnington canal extends from New Haven 
 to Massachusetts' line, fifty-six miles ; whence it 
 is continued to Northampton, by the Hampshire 
 and Hampden canal. Enfield canal, five and a 
 half miles long, serves to overcome a fall in the 
 Connecticut, and supplies valuable mill-seats. The 
 railroad from Providence to Stonington, in this 
 State, forty - fi ve miles in length, is connected by a 
 steam ferry-boat with the termination of the Long 
 Island line. There is also a railroad between New 
 Haven and Hartford, a distance of forty miles. 
 
 The population, which was in 1830. 297,665 ; in 
 1840, 320,082 ; now exceeds 345,000. 
 
 New Haven, ihe principal city of the State, is 
 beautifully situated on a bay of the same name. 
 The harbour is safe and spacious, but it is shallow, 
 and gradually filling up. The cifcy is regularly laid 
 out and neatly built ; many of the houses have fine 
 gardens ; some of the principal streets are bordered 
 by rows of shady trees, and the principal square is 
 finely ornamented in the same manner. Among 
 the public-buildings are the State House, the State 
 Hospital, Yale College, several churches, <kc. One 
 of the wharves here is 3,943 feet in length. The 
 coasting and 'foreign trade of New Haven is con- 
 siderable ; steam-boats and packets keep up a 
 
STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 8? 
 
 regular and easy communication with New York ; 
 and there are some extensive manufactories, parti- 
 cularly in fire-arms, carriages, <fec. The population 
 exceeds 12,000. Bridgeport, south-west of New 
 Haven, is a busy thriving town, with a good har- 
 bour on the Sound. In the interior are Danbury 
 arid Litchfield,.with some manufactories. 
 
 North- east from New Haven, on the banks of 
 the Connecticut river, is the city of Hartford, a 
 neat and pleasant town, with a considerable coast- 
 ing trade. It stands in a fertile and highly culti- 
 vated district, abounding in neat and flourishing 
 villages, which enjoy the advantages of mill-seats, 
 and easy communication with the sea. The city 
 has at present a population of about 12,000. 
 Steam-boats run daily between Hartford and New 
 York, and several small steam-packets and ton- 
 boats are employed on the river above. The 
 annual amount of the manufactures of Hartford is 
 above a million dollars ; the principal branches are 
 printing and publishing, shoemaking, the manufac- 
 turing of saddlery, wire, cards, wearing apparel, &c. 
 Among the public- buildings are a State House, 
 City Hall, several churches, the Asylum for the 
 deaf and dumb, Lunatic Asylum, &c. The Asylum 
 for the deaf and dumb, the first institution of the 
 kind established in America, was founded in 1816% 
 and has about 140 pupils, who receive instruction 
 in the various branches of useful learning, and 
 acquire a knowledge of the useful arts. Several of 
 the New England States have made appropriations 
 for the support of their indigent dumb here. 
 
 The city of Middleton, a few miles below Hart- 
 ford, is accessible to vessels drawing ten feet of 
 water, and the coasting and foreign trade is consi- 
 derable. The situation of the town is pleasant, 
 and the houses and public-buildings neat. Its 
 
88 UNITED STATES OF A ME tt 1C A. 
 
 manufactures are also pretty extensive, comprising 
 cotton and woollen goods, fire-arms, paper, machi- 
 nery, &c., Population, 4,569. Say brook, at the 
 mouth of the Connecticut river, was the first spot 
 occupied by Europeans in Connecticut, and the 
 ground was regularly laid out for a great city ; but 
 the anticipations of its founders have not been 
 realized. 
 
 At the mouth of the Thames stands the city of 
 New London. It is the principal commercial place 
 in Connecticut, with one of the best harbours in 
 the country. Its trade is considerable ; upwards 
 of forty ships sail from this place to the whale 
 fishery ; and the shore fishery is also actively car- 
 ried on. Population, 5,936. Norwich, thirteen 
 miles above New London, is a flourishing manu- 
 facturing city, situated in a beautiful and fertile 
 tract. The water power is here ample, and ex- 
 tensively employed for manufacturing purposes. 
 There are in the township eighteen manufacturing 
 establishments, ten churches, three banks, <fcc. 
 Population of the city, 5313; of the township, 
 about 9,000. Stonington, in the south-east corner 
 of the State, has twelve vessels in the seal fishing, 
 and carries on the shore fishery successfully. 
 
S9 
 
 MIDDLE STATES. 
 
 THE Middle States are bounded on the north by 
 Canada, the River St. Lawrence, and Lakes Ontario 
 and Erie; south, by Virginia; east, by the Atlantic 
 Ocean and New England ; west, by the States of 
 Ohio and Virginia. As a region the Middle States 
 comprise New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
 Maryland, and Delaware ; it extends from north 
 to south, about 490 miles; and from east to west, 
 360 miles, with an aiea of 115.000 square miles, 
 and occupies one of the finest parts of the Union. 
 
 The surface presents every variety of mountain, 
 hill, plain, and valley. The Appalachian or Alle- 
 ghany range extends through this region, from south- 
 west to north-east, in several parallel ridges, which 
 attains in Pennsylvania its widest limits ; none of 
 these, however, reach the elevation of the highest 
 summits of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina, or 
 the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The 
 Alleghany is generally covered with forests, and 
 contains many wild solitudes, seldom trodden by 
 the foot of man, affording shelter to various species 
 of game. 
 
 The most prominent rivers of the Atlantic sec- 
 tions of the United States are in this region. The 
 Hudson and Delaware rank amongst the most im- 
 
90 UiNlTED STATES OF AMEK1CA. 
 
 portant and useful of the navigable streams; but 
 the Susquehannah is, notwithstanding its length, 
 not available without the aid of artificial navigation. 
 
 The mineral productions are various and valu- 
 able. Bituminous and anthracite coal, several 
 kinds of iron ore, salt, lime, excellent building 
 materials, and clays useful in the arts, are among 
 the treasures in which it abounds. Mining in- 
 dustry has acquired importance from the activity 
 and success with which it has been pushed; and 
 the public works of this section are particularly re- 
 markable for their number and magnitude. 
 
 In general the soil is fertile, and particularly 
 favourable to the production of every species of 
 grain. Wheat is the principal object of culture ; 
 tobacco is extensively raised ; also Indian corn, 
 rye, barley, &c. The fruits common to the tem- 
 perate regions are abundant, and of excellent 
 quality. The commerce of the Middle States is 
 extensive, and chiefly carried on through the cities 
 of New York and Philadelphia, to which it centres ; 
 the trade, however, of a very considerable part of 
 Pennsylvania and Delaware flows to Baltimore. 
 Manufacturing industry is carried on to a greater 
 extent, in proportion to the population, than in any 
 part of the United States, excepting New England; 
 it employs a vast amount of capital and labour, 
 and affords generally a competent remuneration to 
 many thousands of both sexes, 
 
 The Middle States were originally settled by 
 people of various countries, having different habits, 
 feelings, and opinions ; society, therefore, does not 
 possess that uniform character which admits of a 
 general description. The people have not that 
 unity of feeling and interest which is observed in 
 the New England and Southern States ; and the 
 only reason for their being classed together is their 
 
MIDDLE STATE*. 91 
 
 contiguity; they seldom unite for any public pur- 
 pose, and there seems to be but little sympathy or 
 common-feeling which prompts them to act in con- 
 cert for public affairs. The great body is of 
 British descent, but in New York and Maryland 
 there are many Germans; and in Pennsylvania 
 the Germans are so numerous as to constitute, in 
 some respects, a separate community, retaining 
 their own language, and being often ignorant of 
 the English. In New York and New Jersey 
 there are many descendants of the original Dutch 
 settlers of New Amsterdam ; and in some sections 
 the Dutch language is partially spoken. 
 
 After the close of the revolutionary war, the 
 emigration from the New England States into New 
 York continued to set so strongly, for many years, 
 tluit, a majority of the present population of that 
 State, are natives of New England or their des- 
 cendants. There is also a large body of New 
 England emigrants in Pennsylvania. The wholu 
 population of the five Middle States exceeds fiv* 
 millions. 
 
92 
 
 STATE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 THE STATK OF NEW YORK is the most flourishing, 
 wealth) 7 , and populous in the Union, combining, 
 with almost unequalled natural advantages of soil, 
 internal navigation, and easy access by sea, public- 
 works executed on a scale of imperial grandeur, 
 and exhibits one of those amazing examples of 
 growth and prosperity, that are seen nowhere else 
 in the world. 
 
 It is the most northern of the Middle States, 
 and is bounded north by Lake Ontario, the St. 
 Lawrence River, and Lower Canada; east, by 
 Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut ; south, 
 by the Atlantic Ocean, New Jersey, and Pennsyl- 
 vania ; and west, bv Luke Erie, Pennsylvania, 
 and the Niagara River. Length, 316 miles; 
 breadth, 304 ; comprising about 46,010 square 
 miles. 
 
 The principal rivers are the Hudson, St. Law- 
 rence, Delaware, Susquehannah, Aleghany, Ge- 
 nesee, Niagara, Oswego, and the Mohawk. A 
 part of the lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain 
 are in this State. The other principal lakes are 
 Lake George, CaytigJi, Senica, Oneida, Osvvu- 
 gatchie, Canandaigua, &c. 
 
 The soil in the maritime part of the State is 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 93 
 
 sandy, in the middle beautifully undulating, and in 
 the western and southern division remarkably level, 
 rich, and inclining to alluvial formation. 
 
 Iron ore is found in inexhaustible quantities, and 
 of good quality, in the north-eastern part of the 
 State ; it occurs also in some of the central, eastern, 
 and south- western counties. Lead is found in 
 some parts; also gypsum in the central counties, 
 where it is extensively used for agricultural pur- 
 poses. Limestone likewise occurs. Salt is 
 procured in great abundance from the Onondaga 
 Salt Springs ; the brine is conveyed to Salina, 
 Syracuse, and several other neighbouring vil- 
 lages, where the salt is obtained by boiling, by 
 solar evaporation, and by artificial evaporation. 
 In the western part of the State there are burning 
 springs, yielding carburetted hydrogen, which is 
 applied to economical uses in the neighbouring 
 villages. 
 
 Wheat is the great agricultural staple of the 
 State, and flour and provisions are largely exported. 
 
 The manufactures of New York are also exten- 
 sive and flourishing ; the aggregate annual value 
 of manufactured articles exceeds 100,000,000 dol- 
 lars ; that of the raw materials used amount to 
 about 75,000,000. In addition to these there 
 ore made in families cloth, flannels, and other 
 woollens, and cotton, linen, &c., of the annual value 
 of nearly 3,000,000 dollars The cotton and 
 woollen mills produce annually about 30,000.000 
 yards of cotton cloth, 8,000,000 of woollen, and 
 nearly 1,000,000 of a mixture of cotton and 
 woollen. 
 
 The commerce of New York is also on a great 
 scale, ns besides supplying her own wants and ex- 
 porting her surplus productions, she imports a 
 large share of the foreign articles consumed in the 
 
94 IJMTKD STATES OF AMKRICA. 
 
 neighbouring Atlantic States, as well as in many 
 of the Western States, to which her natural and 
 artificial channels of communication give her ac- 
 cess ; and her great commercial emporium is the 
 outlet for the produce of the same regions. 
 
 New York is likewise distinguished for its mag- 
 nificent public works, constructed for the purpose 
 of connecting the great central basin of the lakes 
 and St. Lawrence with the Atlantic; 603 miles of 
 canal navigation have been obtained at the cost of 
 13,497,568 dollars ; and goods are now carried by 
 water from New York to Chicago 1,400 miles ; 
 to Florence, Alabama, 1,935 miles; to Nashville, 
 Tennessee, 1,850 miles. The great trunk is the 
 Erie Canal, extending from Buffalo on Lake Erie 
 to the Hudson 384 miles. The Champlain Canal 
 extends from Lake Champlain, at Whitehall, to 
 the junction of the Erie Canal with the Hudson, 
 64 miles, with a navigable feeder of twelve miles. 
 Other parts of this work pervading different parts 
 of the State, are the Oswego Canal, thirty-eight 
 miles, connecting the Erie Canal, at Salina, with 
 Lake Ontario, Cayuga and Seneca Canals, twenty- 
 three miles, extending from Geneva to Montezuma 
 on the Erie Canal, and thus continuing the naviga- 
 tion through those two lakes ; Crooked Lake, 
 eight miles, connecting that lake with Seneca 
 Lake ; Chemung Canal, from the head of the latter 
 to the River Chemung, or Tioga, at Elmira, twenty- 
 three miles, with a navigable feeder from Painted 
 Post to Elmira, of sixteen miles ; Chenanga Canal, 
 ninety-seven miles in length, from Binghampton, on 
 the Chenango, to Utica ; Black River Cuual, 
 seventy- five miles, from Rome on the Erie Canal, 
 to Carthage on Black River; the Genesee Valley. 
 Canal, 107 miles in length, &c. 
 
 Besides these works constructed by the State, 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. $9 
 
 the principal canal made by a private company, i* 
 the Delaware and Hudson, extending from the 
 mouth of Roundout Creek, on the latter river, 
 to Port Jervis, on the Delaware, up that river to 
 the mouth of the Laekawaxen, and along the latter 
 to Honesdale in Petmysylvania : total length 109 
 miles. From Honesdale a railroad runs to the 
 coal-mines at Carhondale, a distance of sixteen 
 miles, passing over Moosic Mountain, which i< 
 1,580 feet above tide water, and 850 above the 
 coal mines. Two projects, which will undoubtedly 
 soon be executed, deserve to be mentioned here ; 
 these are a ship canal round the Falls of Niagara, 
 and another from Oswego, by the Oswego River, 
 Oneida Lake, and the Mohawk, to the Hudson, 
 thus enabling vessels from the upper lakes to reach 
 New York without breaking bulk. 
 
 The following are the principal railroads: the 
 Mohawk and Hudson, from Albany to Schenectady, 
 fifteen miles, continued northwardly by the Schenec- 
 tady and Saratoga railroad, twenty-two miles, and 
 westward by the Schenectady and Utica railroad, 
 seventy-seven miles ; the Auburn and Syracuse 
 railroad, twenty-six miles; the Tonawanda rail- 
 road from Rochester to Attica, thirty-four miles ; 
 the Ithaca and Owega, twenty-nine miles from 
 the Sitsqtaebannah to Cayuga Lake ; the Rensellaer 
 and Saratoga railroad from Troy to Ballston twenty- 
 five miles; the Brooklyn and Jamaica, twelve 
 miles ; the Long Island railroad from Jamaica to 
 Greenport ; the New York and Erie railroad from 
 Tappan on the Hudson to Lake Erie, 480 miles ; 
 the New York and Albany railroad between these 
 two ciiies, 160 miles; besides others now in pro- 
 gress. 
 
 The legislature consists of two houses, the Senate, 
 chosen for the term of four years, and the Assembly, 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 elected annually. The former are chosen by sena- 
 torial districts, and the latter by counties A 
 governor and lieutenant-governor are chosen by 
 popular election for the term of two years. The 
 chancellor and superior judges are appointed by the 
 governor and senate, and hold their office during 
 good behaviour, or until the age of sixty years ; 
 the inferior judges are appointed by the same 
 authorities, for the term of five years. Every white 
 male citizen of the age of twenty-one years, who 
 has resided in the State for one year next preceding 
 the election is entitled to vote. The legislature of 
 New York, in 182.9, extended the right of suffrage 
 to men of colour, possessed of a char freehold estate, 
 wit/tout incumbrance, of the vaue of 250 dollars. 
 This, undoubtedly, was a very liberal concession to 
 the poor blacks, seeing that the same right was 
 granted to every white male of twenty-one years of 
 age, with or without property of any description, 
 if he has resided one year in the State. We would 
 wish much to know how many coloured voters 
 became qualified by this enactment.* 
 
 * An eminent modern writer presents us with a graphic 
 account of his visit to the school for the education of 
 children of colour, which will not be out of place here, and 
 we will give it in his own words : 
 
 " I here found about a hundred boys, in whose counte- 
 nances might be traced every possible gradation of com- 
 plexion between those of the swarthy Ethiop and florid 
 European. Indeed several of the children were so fair, 
 that I never should have discovered the lurking taint of 
 African descent. In person they were clean and neat, and 
 though of course the offspring of the very lowest class of 
 the people, there was nothing in their dress and appearance 
 indicative of abject poverty. The master struck me as an 
 intelligent and benevolent man. He frankly answered all 
 my questions, and evidently took pride in the proficiency 
 of hia pupils. 
 
 " It has often happened to me since my arrival in this 
 
. k TAIE uF !EW YORK. 5*7 
 
 Ample provision is made for the common edu- 
 cation of the people. The State lias a school fund, 
 the proceeds of which are distributed among the 
 towns, on condition that each town raise, by a tax, 
 a sum equal to that which it receives from the 
 State ; the whole of these sums is expended solely 
 in the payment of teachers' wajje.s, in addition to 
 which the erection of the school- house, and other 
 incidental expenses, are at the charge of the school 
 districts. Provision has also been made, at the 
 public expense, for the education of teachers, by 
 
 country, to hear it gravely maintained, by men of educa- 
 tion and intelligence, that the negroes were an inferior 
 race, a link as it wore between men and the brutes. Having 
 enjoyed few opportunities of observation on people of 
 colour in my own country, I was now glad to be enabled 
 to enlarge my knowledge on a subject so interesting. I 
 therefore requested the master to inform me whether the 
 results of his experience had led to the inference, that the 
 aptitude of the negro children for acquiring knowledge was 
 inferior to that of the whites. In reply, he assured me they 
 had not done so ; and, on the contrary, declared, that in sa- 
 gacity, per.sevei ance and capacity for the acquisition and re- 
 tention of knowledge, his poor despised scholars were equal 
 to any boys he had ever known. ' But, alas, sir,' said he, ' to ' 
 what end are these poor creatures taught acquirements, from 
 the exercise of which they are destined to be debarred by the 
 prejudices of society ? It is surely but a cruel mockery to 
 cultivate talents, when in the present state of public feel- 
 ing, there is no field open for their useful employment. 
 Be his acquirements what they may, a negro is still a 
 negro ; or, in other words, a creature marked out for de- 
 gradation and exclusion from those objects which stimulate 
 the hopes and powers of other men/ 
 
 " I observed, in reply, that I was not aware that, in 
 those States in which slavery had been abolished, any 
 such barrier existed a* that to which he had alluded. ' In 
 the State of Xew York for instance,' I asked, ' are not all 
 offices and professions open to the man of colour us to the 
 white ?' 
 
 " 'I see, sir,' replied he, 'that you are not a native of 
 this country, or you would not have asked such a quea- 
 
 
98 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
 the establishment of a department in an academy 
 of each of the eibt senatorial districts, with the 
 suitable hooks and apparatus for that purpose. 
 
 The increase of the population of this State ha* 
 been very rapid. In 1800 it was 586.050; in 
 1840, 2.198,854; and in 1850, may be estimated 
 at nearly 3.000,000. It conn>ts, in part, of the 
 descendants of the original Dutch settlers, who 
 have now, however, in a great measure, lost their 
 national characteristics, and the descendants of the 
 German palatins, who removed thither in the he- 
 
 lion.' He then went on to inform me, that the exclusion 
 in question did not arise from any legislative enactment, 
 but from the tyranny of that prejudice, which, regardiotg 
 the poor black as a being of inferior order, works its own 
 fulfil !uent in making him so. There was no answering 
 this, for it accorded too well with my own observation** in 
 society not to carry my implicit belief. 
 
 " The master then proceeded to explain the system of 
 education adopted in the schjol, and subsequently af- 
 forded many gratifying proofs of the proficiency of hi 
 scholars. One class wag employed in Navigation, and 
 worked several complicated Problems with great accuracy 
 and rapidity. A large proportion were perfectly conver- 
 sant with Arithmetic, and not a few with the lower Ma- 
 thematics. A long and rigid examination took place in 
 Geography, in the cour.se of which questions were answered 
 with facility, which I confess would have puzzled exceed- 
 ingly, had they been addressed to myself. 
 
 "I had become so much interested in the little party- 
 coloured crowd before me that I recurred to our former 
 discourse, and inquired of the master, what would proba- 
 bly become of his scholars on their being sent out into the 
 world ? Some trades, some description of labour of course 
 were open to them, and I expressed my desire to know 
 what these were. He told me they were few. The class 
 studying navigation were destined to be sailors ; but let 
 their talents be what they might, it was impossible they 
 could rise to be officers of the paltriest merchantman, 
 that entered the waters of the United States. The office 
 of cook, or steward, was indeed within the scope of their 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 9t 
 
 ginning of last century, with numerous emigrants 
 from Great Britain and other European countries. 
 But the mass of the people are of New England 
 origin or descent. 
 
 New York State is divider!, for civil purposes, 
 into fifty- seven counties, containing nine cities, and 
 797 townships, with 122 incorporated villages, 
 many of which have different names from the town- 
 ships in which they are situated. 
 
 The City of New York is situated on and 
 occupies the whole island of Manhattan, at th* 
 
 ambition ; but it was just as feasible for the poor creature* 
 to become Chancellor of the State, as mate of a ship. Iii 
 other pursuits it was the same. Some would become 
 tone masons, or bricklayer*, and to the extent of carrying 
 a hod, or handling a trowel, the course was clear befort 
 them ; but the office of master bricklayer was open to 
 them precisely in the same sense as the Professorship of 
 Natural Philosophy. No white artificer would serve un- 
 der a coloured master. The most degraded Irish emi- 
 grant would scout the idea with indignation. As carpen- 
 ters, shoemakers, or tailors, they were stiil arrested by 
 the same barrier. In either of the latter capacities, indeed, 
 they might work for people of their own complexion, but 
 no gentleman would ever think of ordering garments of 
 any sort from a Schneider of cuticle less white than hii 
 own. Grocers they might be, but then who could con- 
 oeiye the possibility of a respectable household matron 
 purchasing tea or spiceries from a vile ' Nigger ?' AB bar- 
 bers they were more fortunate, and in that capacity might 
 even enjoy the privilege of taking the President of th 
 United States by the nose. Throughout the Union, th 
 department of domestic service peculiarly belongs to them, 
 though recently they are beginning to find rivals in th 
 Irish emigrants, who come annually in swarms like locust*. 
 " On the whole, I cannot help considering it a mistake 
 to suppose that slavery has been abolished in the northern 
 States of the Union. It is true, indeed, that in these State* 
 the power of compulsory labour no longer exists, and that 
 ue human being within their limits can no longer claim 
 property m the thews and tiuews of an another. Bui. k 
 
100 UNITED bTATCS OF AMERICA. 
 
 confluence (f the Hudson River and Long I^lnnd 
 Sound. It is alrno?t impossible to conceive a city 
 better situated for commerce ; as at no season of 
 the year can there be any obstruction in its com- 
 munication with the ocean ; and with a fine navi- 
 gable river stretching for nearly 200 miles into the 
 interior of a fertile country, it possesses natural 
 advantages of no common order, and speaks favour- 
 ably for the sagacity of its original founders. 
 
 In 1609, the celebrated English navigator, Hud- 
 son, at that time in the service of the Dutch, set 
 
 that all that is implied in the boon of freedom 1 If the 
 word mean anything, it must mean the enjoyment of equal 
 rights, and the unfettered exercise in each individual of 
 such powers and faculties as God has given him. In this 
 true meaning of the word, it may be safely asserted, that 
 this poor degraded caste are still slaves. They are sub- 
 jected to the most grinding and humiliating of all slaveries, 
 that of universal and unconquerable prejudice. The whip, 
 indeed, has been removed from the back of the negro, but 
 the chains are still on his limbs, and he bears the brand of 
 degradation on his forehead. What is it but mere abuse 
 of language to call him free who is tyrannically deprived of 
 all the motives to exertion which animate other men 1 
 The law, in truth, has left him in that most pitiable of all 
 conditions, a masterless slave. 
 
 " It cannot be denied, that the negro population are still 
 compelled, as a clats. to be the hewers of wood, and drawers 
 of water, to their fellow citizens. Citizens/ there is in- 
 deed something ludicrous in the application of the word 
 to these miserable Pariahs. What privileges do they en- 
 joy as such 'I -*re they admissible upon a jnry 1 Can they 
 enrol themselves in the militia 1 Will a white man eat 
 with them, or extend to them the hand of fellowship 1 
 Alas! ifthe.se men, so irresistibly manacled to degrada- 
 tion, are to be called free, tell us, at least, what stuff are 
 slaves made of." Men and Manners in America. 
 
 From this quotation we may justly consider it a piece of 
 mockery in the legislature of New York to hold out the 
 extension of the suffrage to this undeservedly degraded 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 101 
 
 sail from Holland in search of a north-we^t passage 
 to India. He was unable to accomplish this object, 
 and on abandoning it as impracticable, he steered 
 southward, and entering the bay of the Chesapeake, 
 there sav the first settlement of the English at 
 James' Town, in Virginia. He afterwards sailed 
 for the Delaware, off which he anchored, and pro- 
 ceeded thence to Long Island, entered the Bay of 
 New York, and sailed up the North River, as it 
 was then named, or Hudson, as it is now called, 
 afcer him as its first discoverer. On his first en- 
 trance into the Bay of New York, some of the 
 Indian tribes then occupying Long Island evinced 
 their hostility, and attempted to prevent his further 
 progress by attacking him ; in this attack some of 
 his crew were killed, and others wounded ; but he 
 continued to proceed on his voyage, and as he ad- 
 vanced up the river, he found the natives more 
 friendly, expressing by significant gestures to give 
 him welcome, and exhibiting their kindly feelings 
 by ample presents of fruits and other articles. 
 
 The report which Hudson and bis fellow voy- 
 agers gave of the size and character of this magni- 
 ficent river, when they returned to Holland, created 
 quite a sensation among the mercantile bodies of 
 that country, and induced a number of the mer- 
 chants to form an association for the purpose of 
 opening a traffic upon it ; and in order to encou 
 rage this design the Dutch government granted to 
 tliis association an entire monopoly of the trade for 
 a certain number of years. No sooner was this 
 grant obtained, than these merchants set about 
 making their preparations with an activity quite at 
 variance with the habitual stolidity for which that 
 people have for so many ages been proverbial. 
 Everything being in readiness, they sailed from 
 .their natives shores, and after a prosperous voyage, 
 
102 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 tinder the pilotage of Hudson, they reached the 
 long- wished tor ri?er, in high spirits and expecta- 
 tions It was this company who had the honour 
 of forming the first settlement, where the Citv of 
 Albany now stands, on a spot then called by 
 the Indians Schaunaugh-tarda, or, Once the Pint 
 Plains. 
 
 . It was not, however, till 1621. that the City of 
 Albany was first founded by the Dutch West India 
 Company ; and on account of the great number of 
 their countrymen who continued to flock to this 
 land of promise as settlers, enabled this company, 
 about the same time, to establish the City of New 
 Amsterdam, on the Island of Manhattan, where 
 the present City of New York now stands. 
 
 For about the space of forty year* the Dutch 
 were allowed to enjoy their acquisition without 
 molestation. They governed it after their fashion, 
 and the people became numerous, happy, and pros- 
 perous. But this state of affairs was not allowed 
 to continue. The cupidity of the English observed 
 this prosperity with an envious eve, and determined 
 to overreach the simplicity of the occupiers of this 
 extensive territory. 
 
 In the year 1604, therefore, Charles II., most 
 unscrupulously seeking to provoke the Dutch into 
 a war, as the readiest means of accomplishing this 
 design, asserted a claim to the whole of their broad 
 possessions on the banks of the river Hudson, under 
 the title of the New-Netherlands; and made a 
 pecial grant, by charter and every requisite for- 
 mality, to his brother, the Duke of York ; and a 
 fleet and army were accordingly despatched to en- 
 force the unjust demand with as little delay as 
 possible. Peter Stuyvesant (generally known 
 among his countrymen by the name of Peter the 
 Headstrong), the then Dutch governor, was a man 
 
STATIC OF NEW YORK. 103 
 
 ef indomitable courage, and, if properly assisted, 
 would have defended his charge till the last, was 
 highly indignant on being informed of this unjust 
 claim ; but when he learned it was the intention of 
 the English to enforce it by arms, he immediately 
 made preparations for putting himself in the 
 best posture of defence he could ; but as the Dutch 
 people were too inert, and most dreadfully terrified 
 at tiie great hustle wnich a war would cause, they 
 were very backward in rendering the necessary 
 assistance, or, indeed, any assistance at all, to 
 their valiant governor. He, therefore, when sum- 
 moned by Colonel Nichols, who commanded the 
 invading army, after remonstrating with the depu- 
 tation upon the injustice of their pretensions, con- 
 cluded his eloquent appeal in these words: " As 
 touching the threats in your message, we have 
 nothing to answer, only that we fear nothing, but 
 what God (who is just as merciful) shall lay upon 
 MS; all things being in his gracious disposal; and we 
 may be as well preserved by him in small forces, 
 as by a great army: which makes us to wish you 
 all happiness and prosperity, and recommend you 
 to his protection." This was an answer quite irre- 
 levant to the question; which being again put in a 
 more peremptory manner, and the intrepid Stuyve- 
 sant having literally no means of defence, and a 
 compromise being out of the question, the result 
 was, as might have been expected, the ultimate 
 surrender of New York to the British authorities. 
 The defeated governor upon this retired to his own 
 dwelling, where he spent the remaining portion of 
 bis life, in doing good to the extent of his means 
 amongst his countrymen, but would hold no inter- 
 course whatever with any of the natives of that 
 country which had caused him such deep disgrace. 
 This success only tended to whet the appetite of 
 
104 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 the conquerors, nor did they desist from their desire 
 of aggrandisement till, 1(>67. the whole territory 
 was formally ceded by the Dutch people to the 
 British. 
 
 Great Britain now possessed a large extent 
 of territory in the North American continent, 
 divided into separate jurisdictions, the inhabitants 
 of which were governed by English laws, and 
 guaranteed that civil and religious liberty, the 
 birth -right of every British subject. Each of these 
 j urisdictions had a local parliament, or assem- 
 bly of delegates, of its own, presided over by 
 a governor appointed by the British ministry. 
 One of the understood regulations in managing 
 these distant countries was, that they should con- 
 tribute no taxes to Britain; but it having happened 
 in the course of time that the British treasury stood 
 much in need of a supply of money, the British 
 ministry and parliament resolved on exacting cer- 
 tain taxes or duties from the American colonists. 
 These taxes, we doubt not, would have been freely 
 contributed by the Americans, provided they bad 
 been granted the permission of sending representa- 
 tives to the Britis-h parliament ; but this proposal 
 being sternly refused, through a fear of its leading 
 to further changes in the British legislature, the 
 consequence of which was, that the Americans 
 refused to pay any taxes whatever ; and in a short 
 time opposed their exaction by force. The British 
 government at this period acted with extreme im- 
 propriety ; nevertheless, the nation ru>hed heed- 
 lessly into a war with the colonies, expecting 
 speedily to put down all opposition to the laws : 
 and the Americans sagaciously prepared for the 
 coming struggle. They immediately raised im 
 army for the defence of the provinces, and bestowed 
 the command of the forces on George Washington, 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 105 
 
 who, although only comparatively a young man, 
 had already evinced Decided proofs of military 
 talents and prudence, having on more than one 
 occasion successfully defended the frontiers of these 
 provinces from the invasions of the French. 
 
 No man in any age or country ever filled a more 
 arduous station than that in which Washington 
 was now placed. He was called upon to defend 
 an extensive country just beginning the perilous 
 experiment of self-government, altogether unprac- 
 tised in war on a great srah\ and with no other 
 resources than her indomitable spirit, against a 
 powerful nation, possessed of all the means, and 
 strong with all the sinews of war, and ahle, by its 
 command of the ocean, to carry its hostilities 
 againsa any part of that extensive coast, which had 
 drawn towards it the best part of the wealth and 
 industry of the country. For a considerable period 
 the American troops had no fire-arms but what 
 they had provided themselves ; they had no tents, 
 no magazines, no cavalry, ro artillery, and scarcely 
 any ammunition. So provided, or rather unpro- 
 vided, the best disciplined troops in the world 
 would have been unable to effect much ; but when 
 we consider the nature and description of these 
 provincial armies, we must feel surprised that the 
 Americans were able to keep the field for even a 
 single campaign against the well-appointed forces 
 of Britain. 
 
 In this war the British government exhibited a 
 laxity of principle, completely at variance with 
 their general policy under similar circumstances. 
 Instead of transporting large bodies of men capa- 
 ble of crushing at once the united force of the 
 colonists, the British ministry despatched small 
 detachments of troops, who were invariably cut to 
 pieces as they marched through the country, and 
 F 2 
 
106 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 on some occasions whole armies had ignominiDusly 
 to lay down their arms to the despised rebels. In 
 this species of war, which has afforded the Ameri- 
 cans some cause for boasting, their general was 
 equally conspicuous for his cool determination and 
 courage in the heat of conflict ; and his generous 
 magnanimity after victory, so as to gain the ap- 
 plause of both friend and foe. The situation of 
 Washington was one of peculiar difficulty. He 
 experienced languor, insubordination, and desertion 
 in his followers ; and it was only after he had 
 the address to induce his countrymen to establish 
 a standing arrny on something like regular princi- 
 ples, that success crowned his exertions. It is 
 allowed by all parties that the services of the 
 American general in his noble struggle against 
 oppression were as great as were ever perform ed 
 by any man to any nation. History is full of far 
 more brilliant exploits, but it must always be kept 
 in mind that in Washington's peculiar situation, 
 not to be defeated was victory. In the arrange- 
 ments on the day of battle, we should discover but 
 a small portion of those happy endowments which 
 gave him an unrivalled ascendancy over the minds 
 of his countrymen ; which enabled him to keep 
 a powerful enemy in awe with fluctuating levies, 
 whose defective constitution forbade the necessary 
 severities of discipline ; which enabled him to 
 awaken sentiments of honour and patriotism in the 
 hearts of his countrymen frequently divided by 
 animosities and jealousies. In criticising the mili- 
 tary conduct of this great man we must always 
 keep in view his means ; and if we cannot discover 
 any single achievement of peculiar brilliancy, we 
 shall yet he forced to admire a long series of ardu- 
 ous operations which display penetration and energy 
 combined with uniform and unerring sagacity. 
 
STATE OF NKW YOHK. 107 
 
 Although it was si in pi v the redress of grievances 
 relative to the unjust taxation imposed upon them 
 hy the mother country that induced the Americans 
 to take up arms, as they day hy day learned to 
 feel their strength, they gradually aspired to higher 
 views their complete independence, and a total 
 separation from England. This idea once enter- 
 tained became irresistible in the minds of the colo- 
 nists ; and Great Britain, when too late, began te 
 perceive the danger she ran of losing one of her 
 most valuable provinces. But the history of this 
 war of independence must be familiar to ever/ 
 reader. Let it suffice for us then to say 
 
 The war was commenced on the 14th of June, 
 1?74, and, with greater or lesser vigour was 
 carried on for about eight years. Two years after 
 its breaking out, on the 4th of July, 1776, the 
 colonists declared tlu-ir independence of the English 
 crown, which was acknowledged by France in 1778, 
 by Holland in 1^82; but ; t was not till the 
 30th of November, 1783, that the British par- 
 liament renounced all claim to this once valuable 
 portion of their dominions. Thus we have seen 
 that this country, which was unjustly wrested 
 from the Dutch by the Eng.ish one hundred and 
 twenty -one years previously, was now set free 
 from her oppression, and has since become one of 
 the most flourishing and independent nations in 
 the world. Great Britain is still possessed of 
 other North American colonies let us hope that 
 the warning given by the United States will prove 
 a useful lesson, and that it may not by similar 
 misgovernment split upon the same rock, and make 
 shipwreck of that portion of her dominions also. 
 
 After having thus gloriously secured the blessing 
 of national independence, it was natural to think 
 the colonists would be satisfied ; but suck 
 
108 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 was by no means the case. They broke out into 
 parties ; disaffection spread on all sides ; and, had 
 not the wisdom and patriotism of Washington 
 suggested salutary expedients to allay ferment and 
 avert the danger, the Union of Slates would have 
 been dissolved, and irretrievable ruin and national 
 disgrace the consequence. That Union appears 
 now to be firmly rooted, and long may it continue. 
 
 Previous to this revolution, and while America 
 was merely a British colony subject to the rule 6f 
 strangers located in London, the City of New 
 York made but small advances in either wealth or 
 population ; but no sooner was she free from the 
 galling yoke of foreigners than the change became 
 remarkable ; and she has now assumed a station 
 among the cities of the earth, which, by the enter- 
 prise and industry of her inhabitants, and the un- 
 common natural advantages of her situation, ranks 
 her as the second commercial city in the world, 
 being inferior only to London. 
 
 The early history of New York is enveloped in 
 much mystery: but as there is sufficient known to 
 serve for all the purposes of illustrating its extra- 
 ordinary change, from a town of comparative in- 
 significance, to one of the largest, 'wealthiest, and 
 most important cities in the world, we shall pay 
 little attention to the surmises and conflicting 
 statements of historians. There can be no doubt 
 that its earliest stages of improvement, under the 
 Dutch govern men t, were extremely slow, and that 
 it did not progress much more rapidly during its 
 possession by the British. 
 
 When we cast our eye upon the map of the 
 world, and bear in mind the commercial changes 
 produced by the growing importance of many 
 other countries, and the rapid progress of naviga- 
 tion, we shall perceive that New York was so 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 100 
 
 situated as to secure greater advantages from the 
 combination of these changes, than any other place 
 of equal political importance. Policy had suffi- 
 cient foresight to invite Commerce; Commerce 
 had the power, and felt it to be its interest, to 
 lend all its interest to Policy. 
 
 In olden times .New York had remained " crib- 
 bed, cabined, and confined ; ' the houses were built 
 of wood, and thatched with straw. At the same 
 time the streets, which were very narrow and but 
 partially paved, were constantly strewed with 
 every sort of filth, engendering noxious and pesti- 
 lential vapours. In all human probability this 
 miserable state of things would not have been re- 
 medied by any milder influence than the revolu- 
 tion, which gave the Americans the power of con- 
 ducting their own affairs, without the liability of 
 foreign intervention. 
 
 After this period the city rose rapidly, and ex- 
 tended itself to accommodate the increased popula- 
 tion, consequent on a change of government, as 
 emigrants now flocked thither from all quarters. 
 The comfort and appearance of its interior have 
 not been neglected ; and as public convenience re- 
 quired enlarged thoroughfares, crowded districts 
 were removed to make way for noble streets. 
 
 New York has never been afflicted by any far- 
 ppreading distemper, if we except the visitation of 
 Cholera, which made few exceptions of places in 
 its ravaging progress. This may be attributed to 
 the changes which time and the progressive im- 
 provements of society have produced, together 
 with the advance of the arts and sciences : cleanli- 
 ness, so essential to health, is promoted by the 
 pavement of the streets, and the construction of 
 sewers, so as to carry off all filth. The general 
 industry of the inhabitants, and their ample supply 
 
I!0 VKITID fTATES OF AMEK1CA. 
 
 of food, are also well adapted to preserve tlirm 
 &ound in body ; and when disease from natural 
 causes attacks them, the most eminent professor 
 of the healing art are at hand to check its progress. 
 
 When the stranger is informed of the number of 
 inhabitants New York contains, he will cease to 
 wonder at its extent : when he. considers it as one 
 of the principal marts of the commerce of the 
 world, gathering riches from all the quarters of 
 the globe, and concentrating the wealth of many 
 climes, he will readily conceive why its riches 
 have so close a proportion to its extent ; why all 
 who have industry to dispose, art to exhibit, or 
 ambition to gratify, should make it the haven of 
 their hope: he will here see successful industry 
 rising to honourable distinction, and imprudence 
 falling into decay, degenerating into vice, and sink- 
 ing into disgrace. 
 
 The minds that rule, and the means by which 
 regularity is maintained in so mixed a nuiltitiK e, 
 the endless occupations of the various classes, the 
 labours of the busy, the amusements of the idle, 
 and the interest of the whole, form objects of curi- 
 osity to the foreigner and stranger. 
 
 The harbour of New York, the principal source 
 of all its greatness, occupies an area of twenty-five 
 miles ; and its shores are everywhere adorned by 
 towns, villages, and handsome country seats. By 
 means of its noble sailing and steam vessels, it 
 Holds communication with every part of Europe, 
 Asia, Africa, and the islands in the great Pacific 
 Ocean, exchanging her commodities for the pro- 
 ducts of every clime. The busy scene is at all 
 times animating numerous steam vessels, and 
 boats of all descriptions, are constantly traversing 
 the harbour ; and the creaking of machinery, and 
 the voices from the shore, give ample evidence of 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. Ill 
 
 activity and bustle. There are some beautiful 
 prospects from the harbour. On approaching the 
 city from the Straits of Staten Island the view is 
 lovely. You first enter on the Bay of New York 
 with the Quarantine Ground the Narrows ships 
 at anchor, outward bound small craft beating 
 across the Hudson Bedlow's Island Governor's 
 Island Brooklyn, on the height?, and the City 
 of New York right ahead, enlarging in latitude as 
 it recedes from the apex of a triangle, stretching 
 along the shore-? of the Hudson and East Rivers, 
 far as the eye can reach forming, altogether, one 
 of the most delightful marine pictures that it is 
 possible to look upon ; the city, meanwhile, pre- 
 >erving all its imposing effect. The numerous 
 spires and steeples of the churches the Battery, 
 with its trees the boats, sloops, and schooners 
 emerging from the East River, on the one hand, 
 and from the North River on the other, wiMi the 
 forest of masts fringing New York at the wharves 
 on either side of the shore and the distinctive 
 signals of the several packets and large ships en- 
 gaged in the foreign trade all make up a beauti- 
 ful scene on which the eye loves to linger ; and 
 furnishes an exalted idea of the maritime greatness 
 of New York, which is to be accounted for in a 
 great measure to her proximity to the ocean, and 
 accessibility to the bay throughout the year ; and, 
 still more, perhaps, to the capaciousness of her 
 waters, and the magnificent avenues of the East 
 and North Rivers, by which her smaller craft is 
 enabled to make their way into the very heart of 
 the country. 
 
 New York, like other maritime cities, is like- 
 wise indebted to Steam navigation for much of \u>r 
 commercial greatness. The steam ships of this 
 jjurt are equal in size and power to those of any 
 
H2 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 other country ; but more than this, she can also 
 hoiist that it was on her waters the first experi- 
 ment ot propelling vessels by steam was made by 
 the celebrated Fulton, who gives a particular ac- 
 count of his hopes and fears, in the following letter 
 to a friend, which we consider well worthy of a 
 place in these pages : 
 
 " When I was building my first steam boat, the project 
 was received by the public at New York either with indif- 
 ference or contempt as a visionary scheme. My friends 
 indeed were civil, but they were shy ; they listened with 
 patience to my explanations, but with a settled cast of 
 incredulity on their countenances. I felt the full force of 
 the lamentation of the poet, 
 
 " Truths would you teach, to save a sinking land, 
 All shun, none aid you, and few understand." 
 
 ..' As I had occasion to pass daily to and from the build- 
 ing-yard while my boat was in progress, I have often 
 loitered, unknown, near the idle groups of strangers 
 gathered in little circles, and heard various inquiries as to 
 the object of this new vehicle. The language was uni- 
 formly that of scorn, sneer, or ridicule. The loud laugh 
 rose at my expense, the dry jest ; the wise calculation of 
 losses and expenditure ; the dull but endless repetition of 
 ' The Fulton folly !' Never did a single encouraging 
 remark, or bright hope, or a warm wish cross my path. 
 
 " At length the day arrived when the experiment was 
 to be made. To rne it was a most trying and interesting 
 occasion. I wanted my friends to go on board, and wit- 
 ness the first successful trip. Many of them did me the 
 favour to attend as a matter of personal respect, but it 
 was manifest that they did it with reluctance, fearing to 
 be partners of my mortification and not of my triumph. 
 1 was well aware that in my case there were many reasons 
 to doubt of my own success. The machinery was new 
 and ill made ; and many parts of it were constructed by 
 mechanics unacquainted with such work ; and unexpected 
 difficulties might reasonably be presumed to present them- 
 selves from other causes. The moment arrived in which 
 the word was to be given for the vessel to move. My 
 friends were in groups on the deck. There was anxiety 
 
STATE OF NEW YOliK. 113 
 
 mixed with fear among them. They were silent, sad, and 
 weary. I read in their looks nothing bat disaster, and 
 almost repented of my effort. The signal was given, and 
 the boat moved on a short distance, and then stopped and 
 became immoveable. To the pilence of the preceding 
 moment now succeeded murmurs of discontent, and agita- 
 tion, and whisper*, and shrugs. I could hear distinctly 
 repeated, 'I told you so it is a foolish scheme I wish 
 we were well out of it.' I elevated myself OQ a platform, 
 and stated that I knew not what was the matter; but if 
 they would be quiet and indulge me for half an hour, I 
 would either go on, or abandon the voyage. I went 
 below, and ascertained that a slight maladjustment wa-4 
 the cause. It was obviated. The boat went on ; we left 
 New York, we passed through the Highlands ; we reached 
 Albany ! Yet even then imagination superseded the force 
 of fact. It was doubted if it could be done again, or if it 
 could be made, in any case, of great value." 
 
 It has been done again, and it has been made of 
 inestimable value. How it would have cheered 
 the good old man, had lie lived to the present time, 
 to have looked upon the harbour of New York, 
 and to see the triumph of his invention to see the 
 inland rivers of his native country covered by steam- 
 boats and to see the proud and stately bark pro- 
 pelled across the broad Atlantic by means of this 
 grand invention, bringing the inhabitants of the 
 Old and the New WorJd into such close proximity. 
 
 After considering the value of this noble harbour 
 to a commercial community, need we be surprised 
 at the unexampled increase in the population of 
 this flourishing city. In 1790, the number of in- 
 habitants was only 33,13i ; in 1800, 60,489; in 
 1810, 96,373; in 1820, 123,706; in 1830, 202,583; 
 in 1840, 312,710; in 1845, 371,223; and at the 
 period at which we write, the decennial census for 
 1850 not having been made up, we may safely 
 compute the present number of the inhabitants of 
 New York at about 450 000. Of this Dumber 
 \ve may estimate the coloured population at 35,000 
 
114 UNITKD STATUS OP AMERICA. 
 
 the number of whom a stranger meets with in 
 the .streets reminds him that an ocean divides him 
 from Great Britain. 
 
 The Dutch, by whom the city of New York 
 was originally founded, paid little or no attention 
 to regularity of plan in laying out the city, conse- 
 quently, in the lower portions, from Whitehall to 
 the Park, many of the streets are extremely nar- 
 row and crooked, and the houses principally con- 
 structed of wood ; but in all the new quarters the 
 streets are handsome, and laid out at right angles, 
 and few cities in the world can exhibit greater 
 beauty of de-ign, or regularity of execution than 
 all the upper part, which contain the residence*? of 
 a great majority of the wealthier portion of the 
 citizens. 
 
 The principal street is Broadway, which ex- 
 tends from the northern end of the Battery to 
 Union Square, in a straight line, and occupied the 
 high land about equi-diftant from the North River 
 and the East River, or Long Island Sound. It is 
 at present nearly three miles in length, but is 
 in progress of continuation to Bloomingdale. This 
 street, the most fashionable in the city, is eighty 
 feet wide, regularly built, and adorned on both 
 iides by many fine buildings, elegant stores, and 
 *ome of the largest and most splendid hotels to be 
 found in this or any other country. The side 
 pavements of this handsome street form the most 
 fashionable promenade of New York between the 
 hours of twelve and two o'clock, in good weather; 
 and the fine trees which line the edge of the foot 
 pavement the greater part of the way, make it a 
 most agreeable place for a stroll or a lounge, while 
 the gaily dressed crowd of young and beautiful 
 ladies adds much to the charm of the scene. It 
 does not, however, exhibit the elegance which 
 
STATE (F NKW YOHK. 115 
 
 English carriages, horse?, and liveries give to th 
 London or Parisian promenades in the afternoon 
 of a beautiful day in May or June ; hut the heauty 
 and gaiety of the Broadway is not confined to any 
 particular season of the year ; and even in the 
 very depth of winter there is to he seen more 
 general proofs of competency and comfort among 
 all classes, and fewer appearances of pauperism, 
 than in any other promenade in Europe. The 
 stranger cannot pass along this fashionable street, 
 without hein^ struck at the sight of signs exhi- 
 bited by the various shops. Of these " Dry 
 Goods Store/' is the most frequent, and means 
 linen, silk, or woollen warehouse ; " Coffin Ware- 
 house," is sufficiently explanatory of the traffic 
 carried on ; " Flour and Feed Store ;" Oyster 
 Refectory ;" *' Hollow Ware, Spiders, and Fire 
 Dogs," <fec. Broadway also contains several very 
 handsome churches, as Trinity, St. Paul's, Grace 
 Church, &e. 
 
 Wall Street extends from Broadway to the East 
 River. In this street is situated the Custom 
 House, the Merchants' Exchange, several Banks, 
 Insurance, Brokers' and Newspaper offices, <kc. 
 This is the centre of the monetary transactions in 
 the United States, and consequently a place of 
 great bustle and activity. 
 
 Pearl Street is more than a mile in length, and 
 contains many handsome stores and other build- 
 ings ; it is the seat of the Wholesale Dry Goodf 
 business, though of late years much of that busi- 
 ness is transferred to Broad Street, the lower part 
 of Broadway, and the various streets which lead 
 from Pearl Street to Broadway. 
 
 The Public Squares of New York are numerous, 
 and from the manner in which they are designed 
 
116 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 reflects great credit on the projectors. Of these 
 our limits will only permit us to enumerate a few. 
 
 The Battery, at the south-eastern extremity of 
 the Island of Manhattan, is situated at the junction 
 of the Hudson and East Rivers ; it contains nearly 
 twelve acres of ground, is tastefully laid out, and 
 commands a beautiful view of the bay and the 
 adjacent shores. 
 
 Castle Garden was formerly a fort, but is now 
 converted into a concert- room. It is built on a 
 mole, and is connected with the Battery by a 
 bridge. This garden is much frequented by plea- 
 sure parties during the summer season. 
 
 The Bowling Green, at the southern extremity 
 of Broadway, is an elliptical area, 220 feet long, 
 and 140 feet broad, enclosed by an iron railing. 
 It formerly contained a leaden statue of King 
 George III. ; but when the Americans threw off 
 the royal yoke, this statue of the good king was 
 converted into bullets, and assisted in gaining the 
 revolution, from winch sprung the national inde- 
 pendence and the overthrow of the monarchy in 
 the United States. 
 
 The Park is a triangular area, eleven acres in 
 extent, and contains the City Hall, the Rotunda, 
 recently used for the exhibition of Paintings, and 
 the City Buildings* formerly the Aims-House. 
 
 On the southern end of the Park, is The Foun- 
 tain, within a basin 100 feet in diameter, the 
 water of which ascends in a tingle 'stream to the 
 height of seventy feet. At times i\\Q jets-d eau are 
 made to represent a star, basket, &c. ; and to 
 heighten its interest four beautiful living white 
 swans were in the year 1849 placed in the basin, 
 which is edged with white marble, surrounded by 
 a flower garden, and the whole enclosed by a hand- 
 gome iron railing. 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 117 
 
 St. Johns Park, or Hudson Square, contains 
 about four acres f ground beautifully laid out, 
 iind embellished with a sparkling fountain. This 
 is, without exception, one of the most splendid plea- 
 sure grounds in the United States. 
 
 Washington Square, so called after he celebrated 
 revolutionary general, is situated a mile and a half 
 north of the City Hall ; it contains about ten acres 
 of ground laid out with great taste in sheltered 
 walks. This area was formerly known by the 
 name of the Potter's Field. 
 
 Union Square, at the northern extremity of 
 Broadway, is a beautiful piece of ground, enclosed 
 with a handsome iron railing, having a public 
 fountain in the centre with ornamented jets. 
 
 Tompkiris Square, on the north-east side of the 
 city, contains an extensive area, most tastefully 
 Juid out, which forms an interesting ornament to 
 that quarter of the city, and reflects the highest 
 credit upon the good taste of the architect whose 
 name it bears. 
 
 Gramercy Park, between the Third arid Fourth 
 Avenues, is smaller than Tompkin's Square, but 
 designed with equal tnste. 
 
 Madison, BloommgdaU, and Hamilton Squares ', 
 are extensive plots of ground, but only being in 
 the course of decoration, we can only say that they 
 promise to equal any of the others in beauty of 
 design or ornament. 
 
 Trie Public Buildings of New York are both 
 numerous and elegant, and will bear comparison 
 with those of any city in the world. Of these we 
 may point out, as worthy the attention of the 
 stranger. 
 
 The Merchants Exchange occupies the whole 
 block of ground between Wall, William, Hanover, 
 and Exchange Streets ; is substantially built of 
 
118 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 granite, is 200 feet long, by 171 and 144 feet 
 wide, and 124 feet high to the top of the dome. 
 The principal front on Wall Street has a portico of 
 eighteen massive Greek Ionic columns of granite, 
 thirty -eight feet in height, and four feet four inches 
 in diameter. ^The principal room in tins building 
 is the Rotunda, where, in the afternoons, the mer- 
 chants and brokers meet to transact their business. 
 This room is eighty feet high, surmounted by a 
 dome, supported by eight Corinthian columns of 
 white marble, forty-one feet in height, and is 
 lighted by a skylight twenty- five feet in diameter, 
 and hy several side windows The Exchange 
 Buildings also contain a great number of offices, 
 principally occupied hy brokers, <fcc. 
 
 The Custom House, also situated in Wall Street, 
 is in the Doric order of architecture. It is built 
 of white marble after the model of the Parthenon, 
 at Athens. It is 200 feet long, by ninety wide, 
 and eighty feet high. There is a handsome portico 
 of eight columns on Wall Street, and the same on 
 Pine Street. The principal room, in which the, 
 business is transacted is eighty feet in diameter, 
 and is surmounted by a dome. It is built on the 
 ite of the old Federal Hall, in which General 
 Wa^iington was inaugurated as the first President 
 ttf the United States, in April, 1789. 
 
 The City Hall is beautifully situated in the Park. 
 It is 216 feet in length, and 105 in width, and i* 
 ornamented with columns and pilaster* of the Ionic, 
 Corinthian, and Composite orders, rising above 
 each other in regular gradations. The City Hall 
 contains twenty-eight offices, and other public 
 rooms, among which are the Governor's Room, 
 and the Chambers of the Board of Aldermeu and 
 Assistant Aldermen. 
 
 The Hall of Records is situated to the east of 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 119 
 
 the City Hall. It has a lofty portico of four Ionic 
 pillars on each front ; and in the rear of it are the 
 City Buildings, containing the United States Court 
 rooms, and several public offices. 
 
 The Halls of Justice occupy the whole space 
 between Centre, Elm, and Franklin Streets, form- 
 ing an elegant building of the Egyptian order of 
 architecture. 
 
 Trinity Church situated in Broadway, is a spa- 
 cious building, and remarkable as being the most 
 richly endowed religions establishment in the city. 
 This church is peculiarly interesting, from contain 
 ing in its cemeterv the remains of the celebrated 
 Gei.eral Hamilton.* There is also another tomb 
 in this churchyard, affecting from the extreme sim- 
 plicity of its epitaph ; over it on a marble slab, 
 
 * Of this American statesman but little is now known ; 
 we have therefore pleasure in laying before our reader* 
 the following characteristic extract f i om the popular aud 
 intelligent author of Men and Manners in America. 
 
 ."I have always regarded the melancholy fate of thi 
 great statesman with interest. Hamilton was an Ameri- 
 can, not by birth but by adoption. He was born in th 
 West Indies, but claimed descent from a respectable 
 Scottish family. It may be truly said of him, that with 
 every temptation to waver in his political course the path 
 to be followed was a straight one. He was too honest, 
 nd too independent to truckle to a mob, and too proud 
 to veil or modify opinions, which, he must have known, 
 were little calculated to secure popular favour. Hamilton 
 brought to the task of legislation a powerful and perspica- 
 ious intellect, and a memory stored with the results of 
 the experience of past ages. He received mankind not as 
 a theorist, but as a practical philosopher, and was never 
 deceived by the false and flimsy dogmas of human per- 
 fectibility, which dazzled the weaker vision of such men 
 as Jefferson and Madison. In activity of rnind, in sound- 
 ness of judgment, and in power of comprehensive induc- 
 tion, he unquestionably stood ihe first man of his age and 
 country. While the apprehensions of other 
 
120 UNITED STATICS OF AMKIMCA. 
 
 surmounting an oblong pile of masonry, are en- 
 graved the following : 
 
 M Y M T H E R. 
 
 THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND AND THE DEAD SHALL AUI3F. 
 
 These artless words spe;ik volumes to a contempla- 
 tive mind. Here is none of the vain-glorious 
 effusions so customary to be paid by the living to 
 the dead ; as neither the name of him who erected 
 this monument of filial piety, nor of her whose 
 dust it covers, is here recorded. Let us fondly 
 hope that the nameless tenant of this humble 
 grave and her pious son may be united to part no 
 more, when that dread u trumpet shall sound, and 
 the dead shall arise." 
 
 were directed against the anticipated encroachments of 
 the executive power, Hamilton saw clearly that the true 
 danger menaced from another quarter. He was well aware 
 that democracy, not monarchy, was the rock on which 
 the future destinies of his country were in peril of ship- 
 wreck. He was, therefore, desirous that the new Federal 
 Constitution should be framed as much as possible on the 
 model of that of England, which, beyond all previous 
 experience, had beea found to produce the result of secure 
 and rational liberty. It is a false charge on Hamilton, 
 that he contemplated the introduction of monarchy, or of 
 the corruptions which had contributed to impair the value 
 of the British constitution ; but he certainly was anxious 
 that a salutary and effective check should be found in the 
 less popular of the legislative bodies on the rush and 
 hasty impulses of the other. He was favourable to a 
 senate chosen for life ; to a federal government sufficiently 
 strong to enforce its decrees in spite of party opposition, 
 and the conflicting jealousies of the different States; to a 
 representation rather founded on property and intelli- 
 gence than on mere numbers ; and perhaps of the two 
 evils, would have preferred the tyranny of a single dio- 
 t;itor, to the more degrading despotism of the mob. 
 
 " Hamilton was matched from his country in the prim* 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 121 
 
 Grace Church, also in Broadway, is a very hand- 
 some building, and decidedly the most fashionable 
 place of worship in New York. The congregation 
 is numerous, and almost exclusively of the wealthier 
 elapses. 
 
 The Hall of the University, in University Place, 
 is a splendid pile of buildings of white marble, in 
 the Gothic style of architecture, 180 feet long, by 
 100 feet broad. 
 
 The Astor House is the principal hotel in New 
 York. It is a spacious building of Quincy granite, 
 200 feet by 170, and 77 feet high, containing 390 
 rooms. 
 
 There are many other public buildings which we 
 have not here enumerated, viz , the Hall of Colum- 
 bia College, the Hospital, the City Lyceum, 150 
 churches, the Almshouse, at Bellevue, on East 
 River; the Penitentiary, on Black well's Island, in 
 the same river, &c. 
 
 New York can proudly boast of containing an 
 
 of life arid intellect. Had lie lived, it is difficult to foresee 
 what influence his powerful mind might have exercised on 
 the immediate destinies of his country. By his talents 
 and unrivalled powers as an orator, he might have gained 
 fair audience, and some temporary favour for his opinions. 
 But this could not have been lasting. His doctrines of 
 government in their very nature were necessarily unpo- 
 pular. The Federalist party from the first occupied a 
 false position. They attempted to convince the multitude 
 of their unfitness for the exercise of political power. This 
 of course failed. The influence they obtained in the 
 period immediately succeeding the revolution, was solely 
 that of talent and character. Being personal, it died with 
 the men, and sometimes before them. It was impossible 
 for human efforts to diminish the democratic influence 
 given by the revolution, or to be long successful in retard- 
 ing its increase. In the very first struggle, the Federalists 
 were defeated once and for ever, and the tenure of power 
 by the Republican party has ever since, with one brief and 
 partial exception, continued unbroken." 
 
1 22 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 equal number of literary institutions with any city 
 of her size, all of which are supported with a spirit 
 of liberality highly praiseworthy. Of these we 
 will only notice a few of the most prominent. 
 
 The University of the city of New York was 
 founded in 1831. It has a Chancellor, twelve 
 Professors (besides six professors in the medical 
 department), and (in December, 1849) numbers 
 735 students. All the branches of a classical edu- 
 cation are here taught. 
 
 Columbia College was chartered by George II. in 
 1754, and confirmed by the* legislature of New 
 York in 1784. It has a President and ten Pro- 
 fessors, 1170 alumni, 124 students, and its library 
 contains upwards of 14,000 volumes. The building, 
 situated in Park Place, contains a chapel, lecture- 
 room, halls, museum, and an extensive philoso- 
 phical and chemical apparatus. Its funds amount 
 to over 200,000 dollars. The Rev. Isaac Fidler, 
 a respectable clergyman of the Established Church 
 of England, who visited this college during a tour 
 through the United States, in his published " Ob- 
 servations on Professions, &c. in America," says, 
 ^' I speak confidently when I say that boys in good 
 schools near London have, at the age of from twelve 
 to fourteen, a more solid and thorough classical 
 education than the young men who have passed 
 through Columbia College, and, 1 believe, than 
 any person educated altogether in America. Ma- 
 thematical knowledge is much upon a par with 
 classical. The Professors of Columbia College 
 made some attempts to raise the study of languages 
 to a higher standard. Such elevation of studies 
 would require additional exertion from pupils, and 
 additional expenditure from parents, and has been 
 vigorously opposed by both. Many, even of the 
 support V- of that college, question the utility of 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 123 
 
 high literary attainments. They cast their thoughts 
 and glances upon such as have gained distinction 
 in collegidte exercises, and find that when con- 
 trasted with others, they are neither better clerks, 
 better shopmen, nor more thriving traders. They 
 then begin to ask the advocates of learning, what 
 are the advantages it is expected to confer ? In- 
 stead of rendering its votaries more attached to 
 bu>iness, more eager for dollars acquired in any 
 manner, more wedded to narrow and sordid gains, 
 they perceive that it generates a taste for reading, 
 a love of scientific pleasures, and a freedom from 
 the coarser manners which distinguished their fore- 
 fathers. I have heard it gravely argued that Co- 
 lumbia College has proved a source of bitterness 
 to many in New York, by rendering their sons 
 too much the gentleman, and disqualifying them for 
 business." This is the opinion of an English clergy- 
 man, who had ample opportunities of examining 
 into the system carried on in the various seminaries 
 in New York, which he in a great measure totally 
 condemns, especially that regarding school discip- 
 line, or rather want of discipline. 
 
 The Mercantile Literary Association is situated 
 at the corner of Nassau and Beckman Streets, in 
 the building generally known as u Clinton Hall." 
 This institution was first established in 1820 ; in 
 the month of November of which year a notice was 
 posted upon the bulletin of the " Daily Adver- 
 tiser," inviting the merchants' clerks of New York 
 to meet, for the purpose of establishing a library 
 and reading-room. In pursuance of this call, a 
 meeting was held at the Tontine Coffee-house, on 
 the 9th of November, where were assembled about 
 250 individuals, the majority of whom doubtlet* 
 regarded the scheme as chimerical and impracti- 
 cable. However, a committee was appointed te 
 
124 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 draft a constitution, which was submitted to, and 
 adopted by, a subsequent meeting. Oa the 27th 
 November, an election took place, and the board of 
 directors were authorised to "' rent a room in the 
 second floor of the building., No. 49, Fulton Street, 
 for the use of the association ; rent not to exceed 
 100 dollars per annum." In the month of Feb- 
 ruary, 1821, the library was opened in the above 
 room, with a stock of 700 volumes, and a list of 
 204 members, where it remained till 1826, when 
 it had increased t<> 3,300 volumes, and 909 mem- 
 bers.. The increase was a-s follows: 1821, 204 
 members; 1822, 280: 1823, 360; 1824, 43s ; 
 1825, no report ; 1826, 909. 
 
 The library was now removed to a larger room 
 in Cliff Street. The want of suitable accommoda- 
 tion being felt, and the utility of the institution no 
 longer doubtful, a meeting of the principal mer- 
 chants interested in the welfare of the association, 
 was held in February, 1828, at which it was agreed 
 to raise by subscription a sum sufficient to erect a 
 building for the accommodation of the library ; 
 nearly 40,000 dollars was thus raised, and the 
 building at present occupied by the association 
 was erected, and dedicated to learning, on the 2nd 
 November, "1830, under the name of "Clinton 
 Hall," the library at this time exceeding 5,000 
 volumes. From this period a new era of the insti- 
 tution is dated. It has continued to prosper up 
 to the present day. 
 
 In 1834 it contained 9,938 volumes. 
 
 1837 
 
 , 13,305 , 
 
 
 1845 
 
 , 21,312 , 
 
 and 1891 members. 
 
 1846 
 
 22,740 
 
 2129 
 
 1847 
 
 26,831 , 
 
 2761 
 
 1848 
 
 29,157 
 
 3004 
 
STATE OF NKW YoKK. 125 
 
 The association now possesses four scholarships, 
 two presented by Columbia College, in 1830, two 
 by the New York University, in 1846, and the 
 privilege of one free pupil at the New York Insti- 
 tute. Annual courses of lectures are delivered, 
 under the auspices of the association, by gentlemen 
 of acknowledged ability. Classes in many of the 
 languages and useful branches have been formed, 
 and a banking institution, founded in connection 
 with the library, as well as a society for mental 
 improvement, known as the Clinton Union. The 
 reading-room is supplied with nearly all the perio- 
 dical literature of Europe and America, and with 
 all the daily and weekly papers, both religious and 
 secular. The institution possesses a museum, yet 
 iu its infancy, but it is still valuable and well 
 selected, besides several specimens of statuary, and 
 numerous engravings and paintings. The library 
 is enriched with rare and costly works of science, 
 art, arid illustration, among which is u Audubon's 
 Complete Works," the only copy acces>ible in New 
 York. From the last report of the association 
 (June, 1849) there had been added nearly 1,200 
 volumes, and 550 new members, making the num- 
 ber 30,357 volumes, and 3,354 members. This u 
 undoubtedly the most flourishing institution, and the 
 largest and most popular of the kind in the United 
 States ; and is satisfactory evidence of what may 
 be done by a few philanthropic and persevering 
 young men. 
 
 The Mechanics' Institute, in the City Hall, esta- 
 blished for the instruction of mechanics, especially 
 apprentices, in all the useful branches of science 
 and art. Regular annual courses of instruction are 
 given by means of popular lectures, on a variety of 
 subjects, especially in chemical and mechanical 
 philosophy. It has also an excellent and judi- 
 
12(> UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 ciously selected library, containing about 2,000 
 volumes; also a reading-room, well supplied with 
 foreign and domestic periodicals ; a museum, con- 
 taining models of various kinds of machinery ; and 
 a valuable collection of chemical and philosophical 
 apparatus. This institution is munificently sup- 
 ported, and promises well for the purposes intended 
 by its projectors. 
 
 The American Institute, for the encouragement 
 of Arts, Agriculture, Commerce, and Manufacture, 
 was incorporated in the year 1829; it occupies 
 rooms at west end, second story, New City Hall, 
 in the Park. This institution possesses a valuable 
 library and reading-room, models of machinery, 
 &c., and holds an annual fair at Castle Garden, 
 where it exhibits an imposing array of the fruits of 
 American ingenuity, enterprise, and industry. Lec- 
 tures are delivered occasionally on a variety of 
 subjects. It is well supported. 
 
 The Apprentices' Library, situated at 32, Crosby 
 Street, contains nearly 1 4,000 volumes, which are 
 perused by upwards of 1,800 apprentices, thus 
 affording valuable facilities for the cultivation of 
 the minds of future heroes, statesmen, engineers, 
 and other useful classes of citizens, whose influence 
 will doubtless be felt throughout the world. 
 
 The New York Historical Society possesses a 
 well-selected library, exceeding 12.000 volumes, 
 besides a splendid collection of coins, medals, and 
 Indian antiquities of great value. The members 
 of the society comprise some of the most eminent 
 and influential men in the United States. 
 
 Besides these, there are also the New York 
 Society Library, containing 25,000 volumes, in all 
 the departments of literature ; an Academy of Fine 
 Arts; an Academy of Design: the Lyceum of 
 Natural History; and the American Lyceum. 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 12? 
 
 These two last have given to the world some 
 valuable papers on important subjects. Several 
 other institutions of a similar kind, although of 
 minor importance, clearly evince that the inha- 
 bitants ot this great city are not indifferent to the 
 intellectual improvement of the young. 
 
 Neither is New York behind her gister cities 
 in her benevolent societies, which are numerous 
 and well supported. They comprise an Hospital 
 for the sick, in Broadway; another Hospital, with 
 which is connected a Lunatic Asylum, at Bloom - 
 ingdale; a third Hospital at Bellevue, for the sick 
 and insane poor, connected with the city Aims- 
 House ; several Orphan Asylums ; Relief Associa- 
 tions ; Education, Bible, Tract, and Missionary 
 Societies, <kc. But amongst this list of charitable 
 institutions, we would call the attention of the 
 reader to 
 
 The House of Refuge for Juvenile Delinquents. 
 This institution is conducted with exemplary judg- 
 ment and benevolence, exerted with an ardent but 
 enlightened zeal for the general interests of huma- 
 nity. The intentions of its founders are above all 
 praise, both as respects its objects and manage- 
 ment. It is an asylum for juvenile offenders of 
 either sex, who, by being thrown into the depraved 
 society of a prison, would, in all probability, grow 
 up into hardened and incorrigible criminals. In 
 this institution they are taught habits of regular 
 industry; are instructed in the principles of reli- 
 gion,, and when dismissed, they enter the world 
 with ample means at command of earning an 
 honest livelihood. The girls are generally in- 
 structed in needlework, besides the other duties 
 requisite for qualifying them as domestic servants ; 
 ad on quitting the institution, are uniformly sent 
 to a distant part of the country, where their pre- 
 
178 UNITKT) STATES OF AMKHICA. 
 
 vious history is unknown. By this judicious 
 arrangement, they again enter the world with nn 
 nnblemished character ; and it mu<t be gratifying 
 to the promoters and supporters of this praiseworthy 
 charity, to learn that their labours have not been in 
 vain that the great mnjority of their protegees 
 show ample evi<Uitce that the 1 cm-fits confmtd 
 have not been conferred unworthily. 
 
 The whole establishment seems a perfect hive of 
 human industry. The taste and talents of the 
 boys are consulted in the choice of a trade. There 
 are little carpenters, and blacksmiths, and tailor*, 
 and shoemakers, and brush makers, and turner.-, 
 and young artificers of various kinds, a]} engaged 
 in their peculiar handicraft, more happy and con- 
 tented than when engaged in their predatory habits. 
 This institution is truly a pleasing sight, and the 
 philanthropist could not enjoy a better amongst 
 all the establishments at New York ; and we 
 would be happy to see every European city follow 
 this laudable example. 
 
 We rejoice to state that the late stipendiary 
 magistrate of Liverpool addressed a letter to the 
 town-council of that influential sea-port, upon this 
 important subject ; from which we were informed 
 that as a matter of pounds, shillings and pence, a 
 great saving w:>uld accrue from the reclaiming of 
 juvenile delinquents, in place of punishing them. 
 He concluded his letter in these words: '-AM 
 plans for improvement in the management of cri- 
 minal children, the most forlorn and destitute of 
 all the destitute classes, is an object worthy your 
 attention, as the directors of such a municipality A* 
 ours, without reference to the mere pecuniary co<4 of 
 the undertaking: but when. <is I believe that you 
 will find that the interests of those whom you repre- 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 129 
 
 sent, as well as higher and nobler motives, require 
 the measure which I propose to you, I again repeat 
 my confident hope that you will do all in your power 
 to prevent the constantly repeated appearance in 
 courts of justice of those criminals who, of all others, 
 most excite our compassion children having the 
 crimes and vices of men." 
 
 The Rutger Female Institute, established in 1840, 
 in the eastern division of the city, promises to 
 fulfil the benevolent intentions of the founders. It 
 is a large edifice built of granite, with all the re- 
 quisite accommodations for conducting the edu- 
 cation of above 400 female pupils, from seven to 
 twenty years of age, in all the useful branches. 
 Every Friday afternoon, at three o'clock, the in- 
 mates are assembled in the chapel, where their 
 friends are admitted as visitors. The object of 
 this assembling is to practice singing and music, 
 and to hear some of the compositions of the pupils, 
 in prose and verse, read aloud by the principal. 
 The meeting is opened with praver, which is fol- 
 lowed by an anthem, accompanied by the piano, 
 played by one of the scholars ; after this, recita- 
 tions, some humorous, some grave, in prose and 
 verse. The exercises continue thus for about two 
 hours. Every attention is paid to the moral and 
 religious instruction of the inmates of this institu- 
 tion, as well as to their domestic comfort. 
 
 The Magdalen Hospital. This is an excellent 
 institution, founded for the relief and reformation 
 of young women whose conduct may have forfeited 
 the countenance of society. During the period 
 that it has subsisted, more than two-thirds of the 
 unfortunate women who have been admitted to its 
 benefits have been reconciled to their friends, or 
 placed in honest employments or reputable services. 
 A considerable number have married, and are 
 o 2 
 
13) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 looked upon as patterns of propriety ; and were it 
 fitting to disclose the names and stations of some of 
 these brands plucked from the burning, the utility 
 of this institution would appear in the most strik- 
 ing light. The greatest pains are taken, upon the 
 admission of these unfortunates into the hospital, 
 to find out their relations and friends, in order to 
 effect a reconciliation with them, and, if they evince 
 a desire to maintain a respectable character, to 
 put them once more under their protection. The 
 efforts of the committee have in many cases been 
 eminently successful. Many unfortunate females, 
 the great majority of whom were under twenty 
 years of age, have been restored to the blessings of 
 domestic peace through the instrumentality of this 
 laudable institucion. 
 
 The existence of the Magdalen Hospital proves 
 the necessity of such an institution ; otherwise we 
 would be led to conclude, from the testimony of 
 various travellers, that no such necessity existed. 
 One of these, who has visited many lands, remarks : 
 " There is nothing, perhaps, that strikes the Eng- 
 lish traveller who visits America more than the 
 contrast which the streets of its principal cities 
 present with those of similar towns in the old 
 country, in the absence of prostitutes. In London 
 it is impossible to pass through any of the great 
 thoroughfares, even by day, without being accosted 
 in the most unequivocal manner by unfortunate 
 females, whose conduct leaves no doubt on tha 
 mind of the passengers as to their character. In 
 other large towns they also abound ; and after 
 nightfall the throngs of these depraved wretches 
 that appear in the streets is astounding. In the 
 eity of New York there is nothing to be seen 
 during the day to offend the eye or the ear in this 
 particular; and at night the number who may be 
 
STATE OF >'EW YORK. 131 
 
 supposed to be women of unchaste character is not 
 a hundredth part of that with which the streets of 
 our English towns are infested ; and even the con- 
 duct of these is unaccompanied hy any of those 
 gross indecencies towards the male passenger so 
 common in England. We were informed that the 
 great majority of those unfortunate females who 
 lived this abandoned life were strangers in the 
 country, principally natives of Great Britain and 
 Ireland." 
 
 The Female Orphan Asylum was instituted soon 
 after the Magdalen ; and as the latter was intended 
 to reclaim prostitutes, the object of this institution 
 is to prevent prostitution. Children are admitted 
 about the age of nine, and are maintained and edu- 
 cated to the age of fourteen, when they are appren- 
 ticed or engaged as domestic servants. 
 
 The Foundling Hospital. The object of this 
 institution is the maintenance and education of 
 exposed and deserted young children. They are 
 not, however, as in some foreign establishments of 
 a similar description, indiscriminately received, but 
 in every individual case application is necessary, 
 subject to the consideration of the committee of 
 management. This application must be made per- 
 sonally by the mother, who must be able to prove 
 her previous good conduct, the desertion of the 
 father, and also that the reception of the child, 
 with the secresy observed, may be the means of 
 restoring her to virtuous conduct and an honest 
 livelihood. Private donations, liberal bequests, and 
 endowments constitute the property of this institu- 
 tion, and provide for the maintenance and educa- 
 tion of about 200 children, nearly one- half of whom 
 are reared in the country, being at the tender ages 
 of from one to five years. At five years of age 
 they are received into the hospital, which is a spa- 
 
132 UMTHD STATK8 OP AMERICA. 
 
 cious and convenient edifice, with a good garden 
 and commodious play-ground for the children. 
 
 The Asylum for the Blind is conducted with 
 exemplary judgment. Here the most humane 
 attention is paid to the wants of a n um her of our 
 afflicted fellow-creatures, from twelve yeirs of age 
 and upwards. They are taught to make baskets, 
 clothes, and various other articles, which are sold 
 at the school, where strangers are admitted to view 
 the progress of the pupils, and to examine the na- 
 ture of the institution, which is supported by vo- 
 luntary contributions and the sale of the various 
 articles manufactured by the inmates, the number 
 of whom are generally about sixty, male and 
 female. 
 
 The Deaf and Dumb Asylum, instituted by pri- 
 vate benevolence for the education of that unfortu- 
 nate class of the human family. The pupils are 
 not admitted before the age of nine, nor after four- 
 teen. They are taught to read, write, and cipher; 
 to comprehend the grammatical arrangement of 
 words ; and even in some cases to articulate so as 
 to be understood. They are also instructed in the 
 principles of religion, and are taught habits of 
 regular industry, and are generally found very 
 expert in several of the arts of mechanism and 
 manufacture in which they receive instructions. 
 By means of this valuable institution many of these 
 unfortunates are enabled to earn an honourable 
 livelihood who would otherwise have been a burden 
 upon society. 
 
 Dispensaries. There are three of these public 
 charities in New York, established for the purpose 
 of affording medicine gratis, or at a moderate rate, 
 together with medical advice, and, where it is ne- 
 cessary, gratuitous attendance at the houses of the 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 133 
 
 patients. They are all supported by voluntary 
 contributions. 
 
 Lying-in Hospitals. No description of distress 
 is more extensively provided for bv the benevolence 
 of the ladies in New York than that which arises 
 from the helpless condition of poor lying-in women. 
 The establishments are numerous, solely supported 
 by voluntary contributions. In some of these the 
 patients are received and amply provided with 
 every comfort ; whilst others provide medical 
 attendance, medicine, and linen gratuitously to 
 indigent females at their own houses. 
 
 The Philanthropic Society of New York. The 
 object of this institution is to rescue from vice and 
 misery the offspring of the vicious and abandoned, 
 and to induce habits of industry and morality in 
 the minds of those who have been exposed to the 
 influence of bad example. The children, male and 
 female, are taken from prisons, or from the retn-ats 
 of villany and the haunts of prostitution. The 
 boys are taught some useful trades tinder the direc- 
 tion of competent persons ; while the girls are 
 instructed to work at their needles, and in those 
 household offices which may render them ser- 
 viceable to the community and enable them to 
 obtain an honest livelihood. The number of chil- 
 dren that have been educated by this society 
 amounts to several hundreds. 
 
 The city of New York is celebrated for the 
 stupendous public works undertaken by the enter- 
 prising inhabitants. The most splendid and ex- 
 tensive of these is the 
 
 Croton Water Works. The aqueduct com- 
 wence* at the Croton River, five miles distant 
 from the Hudson River, in Westchester county. 
 The dam is 250 feet long, 70 feet wide at bottom, 
 7 at top, and 40 feet high, and built of stone and 
 
134 UMTKD STATES OF AMEHICA. 
 
 cement. It creates a pond five miles long, co- 
 vering an extent of 400 acres, and contains 
 500.000,000 gallons of water. From the dam the 
 aqueduct proceeds, sometimes tunnelling through 
 solid rocks, crossing valleys by embankments, and 
 brooks by culverts, until it reaches Harlem River, 
 a distance of thirty -three miles. It is built of 
 stone, brick, and cement, arched over and under ; 
 six feet nine inches wide at bottom, seven feet 
 eight inches at top of the side walls, and eight feet 
 five inches high ; it has a descent of thirteen- and- 
 a-quarter inches per mile, and will discharge sixty 
 millions of gallons every twenty-four hours. It 
 crosses the Harlem River, on a magnificent bridge 
 of stone, 1,450 feet in length, with fourteen piers, 
 eight of them bearing arches eighty feet span, 114 
 feet above tide- water at the top. The receiving 
 reservoir, at Eighty-sixth Street, thirty eight miles 
 from the Croton dam, covers tbirty-five acres, and 
 contains 150,000,000 gallons. The distributing 
 reservoir, on Murray's Hill, in Fortieth Street, 
 covers four acres, and is constructed of stone and 
 cement, forty- five feet high above the street, and 
 bolds 20,000,000 gallons. Thence the water is 
 distributed over the city in iron pipes, laid suffi- 
 ciently deep under ground to protect them from 
 the frost. The whole cost of the work has been 
 about 1 3,000,000 dollars The water is the purest 
 kind of river water. There are laid below the dis- 
 tributing reservoir in Fortieth Street upwards of 
 170 miles of pipes, from three to thirty -six inches in 
 diameter. 
 
 The Erie Canal is unquestionably a magnificent 
 work, and reflects great credit upon those who 
 planned it, and upon the legislature of the State of 
 New York, who carried it into effect. It was 
 commenced in 1817, and completed in 1825; tbe 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 135 
 
 whole length being 363 miles, beginning at the 
 Hudson River, and ending at Lake Erie. There 
 are eighty-three locks, constructed of stone in the 
 most substantial manner, and eighteen aqueducts 
 for conveying the water over rivers and roads. 
 Three of these cross the Mohawk River, the long- 
 est of which is 1,188 feet. There is also a great 
 embankment of seventy-two feet in height, which 
 extends for nearly two miles. Near the thriving 
 village of Lockport, the canal has been cut through 
 the solid calcareous rock for a distance of five miles, 
 to a depth of from five to thirty feet, and still 
 maintaining the general width of forty feet. At 
 the end of this stupendous excavation are placed 
 five double combined locks, of handsome solid 
 masonry. The descent is about seventy feet, and 
 the scene is altogether picturesque and interesting. 
 After having been for above an hour immured by 
 the rock on either side, the passenger finds himself 
 suddenly emerge, ami approaching steadily to an 
 abyss of a somewhat threatening aspect. Presently, 
 however, a halt takes place, and the beautiful 
 mechanism of the hydrostatic ladder transports 
 him safely to the plains below. He has, in fact, 
 descended the Falls of Niagara, for it is the same 
 ridge which intersects Canada, and he is now upon 
 the level of the Lake Ontario. The average 
 breadth of the canal is forty feet at the top, and 
 twenty-eight feet at the bottom ; and the depth 
 throughout is about five feet. The whole expense 
 of this vast undertaking was about 11,000,000 
 dollars ; but the outlay has been most judicious, 
 and produces large returns to the State exchequer, 
 besides the incalculable collateral advantages which 
 it confers. Thi* tMiml opens a communication from 
 the Atlantic at New York, almost to the Pacific 
 Ocean at Astoria, by passing through the Upper 
 
13(5 ' DH ITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 lakes of Erie, Houron, an-l Michigan, and by the 
 Ohio into the Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, and 
 Red River, up to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. 
 The trade on this canal is every year increasing ; 
 and canals from neighbouring towns leading to this 
 great trunk, are also very numerous, so that the 
 tolls, which are very moderate, pay a revenue of 
 upwards of twelve per cent on the actual outlay. 
 The boats on the canal are constructed, some for 
 cargo, some for passengers, and some for both. 
 The packet-boats for passengers are generally eighty 
 feet in length, nine feet in breadth ; about fifty 
 feet of the length is appropriated to the cabin, 
 leaving ten feet for spare room at the prow, and 
 twenty feet for steerage passengers at the stern. 
 These boats are much in use by travellers ; they 
 are moderate in their charges, comfortable, and 
 well regulated. The cabins are provided with 
 books, and pamphlets, and the table abundantly 
 supplied with good cheer. The upper deck affords 
 a pleasant promenade, with fine views of the coun- 
 try, though rather frequently interrupted by bridges 
 upon the canal, so near the deck that it is abso- 
 lutely indispensable to descend upon approaching 
 them. The packet-boats are drawn by three horses, 
 changed every eight or ten miles ; and the average 
 speed is about five miles an hour. The eye of the 
 traveller is sometimes attracted by a stra.nge look- 
 ing barge, which on approaching proves to be a 
 floating menagerie. The great length of the canal, 
 and the rich improving country which it intersects, 
 110 doubt makes this speculation a good one ; and 
 by judicious intervals in their yisits, with a reason- 
 able change of stock, it may expect to retain the 
 charm of novelty. Floating stores are likewise to 
 be met with, which must prove a considerable 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 157 
 
 accommodation to families on the line of the canal, 
 living distant from villages or towns. 
 
 In Railroads it is not too much to say that New 
 York keeps corresponding pace with the other im- 
 provements in this commercial community, and 
 carries on a constant communication with all parts 
 of the country through their means. The railroads 
 in America, unlike those in England, return a fair 
 remunerating profit upon the capital invested. 
 
 The Navy-yard^ at Wallahout Bay, in Brooklyn, 
 opposite to New York, is well worthy the notice 
 of strangers. Nothing can he more eligihle than 
 the position chosen for this yard, where, in a fine 
 bay, protected from all winds and weather, the 
 government possess ahout forty acres of land, suf- 
 ficient for accommodating as many of the largest 
 ships as are likely to require shelter here, and 
 where vessels drawing twenty-eight feet of water 
 may lie afloat alongside the wharf. There is a 
 spacious yard, puhlic store-houses, machine shops, 
 and two immense buildings, constructed of wood, 
 in which ships of war of the largest class are pro- 
 tected whilst they are building. 
 
 There is generally at least one line of battle-ship 
 anchored in the harbour off Brooklyn, which does 
 the double duty of guard-ship and receiving-ship. 
 Her sea- complement averages about 800 ; but the 
 harbour establishment is only about one-half, and 
 these are continually changing. Volunteers for the 
 general service of the iravy, and not for particular 
 ships, are received on board almost daily. These 
 undergo a regular training at the guns, and in 
 almost every other kind of ship's duty. When 
 sufficiently drilled and disciplined for more active 
 service, they are transferred to such sea-going ships 
 a s may require them ; and their places are supplied 
 by new volunteers; so that the receiving- ship 
 
138 UNITKD STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 forms a competent school for the efficient training 
 of both men and boys. 
 
 Of boys there are commonly about a hundred 
 on board the guard-ship, called naval apprentices. 
 They are entered between the ages of thirtean and 
 sixteen, and are bound to the service till they are 
 twenty-one years of age, when they are at perfect 
 liberty to leave the service, or remain in it. These 
 boys, on entering the service, receive five dollars a 
 month and their rations ; but their pay increases 
 as they rise from tbe third to the second class, to 
 seven dollars a month ; and from the second to the 
 first class, to ten dollars a month, as ordinary sea- 
 men ; and if rated as able seamen, fifteen dollars a 
 month, besides an allowance in money in place of 
 grog, and an abundant supply of provisions. When 
 old, or disabled, they are sent to the Naval Asylum, 
 and are allowed a pension ; and when they die, 
 their wives and children, if they have such, also re- 
 ceive a pension. With such inducements as these, 
 and mild and just treatment on board, it is not dif- 
 ficult to man the American navy, without having 
 recourse to the abhorrent practice of impressment 
 to obtain seamen. The officers are likewise well 
 paid ; and the rations are of the very best quality, 
 and abundantly supplied ; while the greatest atten- 
 tion is paid to the sick, and every indulgence con- 
 sistent with proper discipline allowed to the men. 
 Need we feel surprised then that desertion from 
 the navy, unlike the army, is seldom heard of, 
 and corporal punishment very rare. In extreme 
 cases, indeed, flogging is resorted to, but the num- 
 ber of lashes is restricted to twelve ; as the stop- 
 page of pay, deprivation of liberty, and threats of 
 discharge from the service, are generally sufficient 
 to keep the sailors in order, and ensure an efficient 
 discharge of their duties. 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 139 
 
 A school is also kept daily on the lower-gun-deck 
 of the receiving ship, at which two teachers attend 
 to instruct the youngsters in reading, writing, and 
 arithmetic. Tlie boys generally are all dressed in 
 neat uniforms, of blue jacket, white shirt, and 
 white trowsers, with black glazed hats and ribbons, 
 a white star at each corner of the blue lined shirt 
 collar, turned over the jacket, open necks, and a 
 white anchor on the right arm. They are uni- 
 formly clean, and look extremely well. 
 
 As the Americans are proud of their navy, we 
 trust it will not be considered out of place to insert 
 the following well- written account of the arrange- 
 ments and general economy on board of an Ameri- 
 can war vessel. It applies to a frigate, as de- 
 scribed by an American naval officer. 
 
 A frigate has three decks. The upper one ia 
 called the spar-deck, and this is again subdivided 
 into different parts, each called by its appropriate 
 name. All that part of it from the gangways aft, 
 is denominated the quarter-deck. Next to the 
 cabin, this is the most sacred part of the ship. No 
 officer on duty is allowed to appear there, unless 
 he is dressed in his uniform ; and on ascending it 
 from below, or in coming over the ship's side, he is 
 obliged to pay it his respects by touching his hat. 
 I have been reprimanded for walking there on a 
 hot summer's day, without a cravat on, and the 
 etiquette of touching the hat is in some instances 
 so rigorously exacted, that midshipmen are sus- 
 pended or quarantined for neglecting to comply 
 with it. 
 
 In port, the starboard-side of the quarter- deck is 
 appropriated to the captain and wardroom officers, 
 and the larboard to the inferior officers. I have 
 seen a sailor taken to the gangway, and receive a 
 dozen, for walking aft on the starboard side of tha 
 
140 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 deck. At sea, the higher officers are entitled to 
 the weather side, that is, the side upon which the 
 wind blows, whichever it may be. 
 
 There are three hatches on the quarter- deck, the 
 after one of which belongs exclusively to the supe- 
 rior officers. Near the centre is the capstan, a 
 large wooden cylinder, by means of which the 
 anchor and other heavy weights are ruined. The 
 wheel, at which four men are stationed to &teer the 
 ship, is just forward of the tnizen mast, and in 
 front of it are the binnacles, two upright boxes, in 
 each of which is placed a mariner's compass. 
 
 That part of the spar-deck forward of the fore- 
 mast, is called the forecastle. This is the favourite 
 haunt of the men. Here they collect on a summer's 
 evening to "spin" their " yarns," and forget their 
 labours in the song and the dance. The black- 
 smith's shop is always shipped on the forecastle, 
 when any work in that line is to be performed. 
 
 On that portion of the spar-deck, comprehended 
 between the quarter-deck and the forecastle, are 
 stowed all the spare spars, and also at sea all the 
 boats, except one at the ship's stern, and one on 
 each of her quarters. It is called the booms. On 
 the spar-deck there are four ladders for the men, 
 two of which are just forward of the gangways, and 
 two just abaft the foremast. Parallel with this 
 deck, are six strong platforms, outside of the bul- 
 warks, three on each side of the vessel, opposite 
 the three masts. They are called the fore- main, 
 and mizen-chains. The shrouds, stout, cable-ropes 
 which support the masts laterally, are fastened to 
 them. The ropes which give a fore and aft sup- 
 port to the masts are denominated stays. 
 
 The guns on this deck are called carronades, 
 and are all short, except generally two long car- 
 ronades on the forecastle, and two on the quarter- 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 141 
 
 deck. The bulwarks rise to about tbe height of 
 a common-sized man, above the spar-deck. They 
 terminate with hammock-nettings, a deep trough 
 nearly encircling the ship, in which the hammocks 
 are stowed during the day. In foul weather the 
 hammocks are protected by a tarred canvass cloth 
 thrown over them, but in fair weather, this tar- 
 paulin is rolled up and laid on the top of them, so 
 as to have them almost entirely exposed. Nothing 
 contributes more to the good appearance of a ship 
 than clean hammocks neatly stowed. 
 
 I will now conduct my reader down to the main 
 or gun-deck. This is the great luxury of a frigate, 
 as it furnishes a fine promenade in all weathers. 
 The sun, rain, and dews are all excluded ; things 
 which annoy you prodigiously on board of a sloop. 
 We will commence with the captain's cabin. This 
 occupies nearly nil the space oa the main- deck, 
 abaft the mizzen-mast, and encloses four guns. It 
 is separated from the rest of the deck by a partition, 
 called, as all partitions on shipboard are, a bulk- 
 head, which is always removed when the ship is 
 cleared for action. 
 
 The portion of the gun-deck, extending frm the 
 cabin to the mainmast, is denominated the half- 
 deck. The larboard side of this is also appropri- 
 ated to the officers, but it wants the sacred charac- 
 ter of the quarter -deck. Its use is common to 
 officers of every grade. It is constantly occupied 
 as a promenade, and in summer is tlie general 
 reading room. That part of this deck compre- 
 hended between the mainmast and the g'llley, is 
 called the waist ; and here the carpenters, tailors, 
 shoemakers, <fec., carry on their respective busi- 
 nesses. The galley is just abaft the foremast, and 
 is the ship's kitchen. The forward part of it is 
 appropriated to the officers' cooking. This is 
 
142 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 divided into three compartments, of which that on 
 the larboard side is for the use of the captain ; that 
 on the starboard, for the use of the wardroom-mess, 
 and that in the centre, for all the officers below 
 them. The after part of the galley is called the 
 '* coppers," and belongs to the crew. On each 
 side of the galley is a suspended table for the use 
 of the cooks. 
 
 The after part of the btrth-deck is occupied as 
 a mess-room, by the lieutenants and other com- 
 missioned officers. It i* called the wardroom, and 
 extends to a considerable distance forward of the 
 inizen mast, and is separated from the rest of the 
 deck by a bulkhead. It has five state rooms on 
 each side, which, though not very large, are suffi- 
 ciently commodious, and are furnished with neat 
 little bureaus at the public expense. Some of the 
 officers have them carpeted, and fitted up in ele- 
 gant style. The first lieutenant is entitled to the 
 first state-room on the starboard side, and the 
 others follow him in the order of their rank. The 
 room on the larboard side corresponding to the first 
 lieutenant's, belongs to the sailing master, and the 
 purser,surgeon, and chaplain, are entitled to rooms 
 receding from his, in the order in which their 
 names are here mentioned. The wardroom receives 
 its light principally from a large skylight over 
 head. 
 
 Immediately forward of the wardroom is the 
 steerage, the midshipmen's domicile. This differ* 
 materially in different ships. In jsome, as in tht 
 Constellation, it is partitioned off into different 
 mess-rooms, while in others, as in the Brandywine, 
 it is all common, and is separated from the forward 
 part of the deck only by a canvass curtain. In th 
 Constellation, there are four mess-rooms, two on 
 each side of the ship. They are each about nin 
 
STATE OF NEW YOKK. 143 
 
 feet by seven. The middies are not allowed to 
 have trunks on board, and the mess-rooms are 
 therefore furnished with lockers to supply their 
 place. Of these there are two kinds, chest- lockers, 
 and " up-and-down'' lockers. The chest -lockers 
 are nothing more than boxes surrounding three 
 sides of the rooms ; the upright ones are more 
 like bureaus, and much more commodious. 
 
 Immediately forward of the steerage are four 
 state-rooms, ocjupied by the forward officers, and 
 between them are four mess- lockers, (small store- 
 rooms), where the provisions of the steerage and 
 cockpit are kept. Here is also an air-pump, by 
 means of which the foul air is removed from the 
 lower part of the ship. 
 
 We are now forward of the mainmast, and have 
 come to an open part of the deck, lined on each 
 side by a row of chests. Each of these is appro- 
 priated to one of the ship's messes, and contains 
 its tables, furniture, and daily provision. Here 
 are also compartments, formed by upright wooden 
 grates, and extending on both sides of the ship, 
 from the state-rooms of the forward officers to the 
 sick bay, in which the men keep their clothes. 
 The sick-bay, or apartment for the sick, is a small 
 room, quite at the forward extremity of the berth- 
 deck. On each side of the deck, there is a row of 
 air- ports, designed chiefly for the purpose of venti- 
 lation, which extend from one end of it to the 
 other. They are open only in port. 
 
 I will not detain the reader by a minute descrip- 
 tion of a frigate's lower regions. Underneath the 
 ward-room are the magazine and principal bread 
 store-room. The cockpit and spirit-room are below 
 the steerage, and directly forward of them is the 
 main-hold, which extends over no inconsiderable 
 portion of the ship. Here are stowed the cables, 
 
144 UiNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 water, and most of the provisions. The forward 
 officers' store- rooms are underneath the sick bay. 
 The various implements of their respective crafts 
 are kept in them, and they are generally fitted up 
 with a good deal of taste and elegance. This is a 
 part of the ship always shown to strangers, and 
 which, if kept in proper order, generally excites 
 more interest than any other. 
 
 The government on board a man-of-war is 
 despotic, and mnst be so from the circumstances 
 under which it exists. Men are here congregated 
 together from almost every country under heaven. 
 They bring with them no natural principle of 
 amalgamation, but, on the contrary, almost as 
 many apples of discord as there are individuals in 
 the crew. Nothing but necessity can bind into 
 one harmonious whole so many discordant elements, 
 and that necessity must result from a system of 
 discipline, stern in its nature, and prompt in the 
 exfcution of its penalties. If the commander were 
 not, in a manner, clothed with the power of a 
 despot, neglect of duty would often go unpunished, 
 confusion would soon be worse confounded, and the 
 secretary might order every vessel in the navy to 
 be set on fire, dismiss his clerks, and retire from 
 the toils of office to enjoy the quiet of his own fire- 
 side. 
 
 Time on ship board is divided into watches, and 
 reckoned by bells. Hence you never hear the 
 question, ''What's o'clock?*' but "How many 
 bells is it ?" The twenty-four hours are divided 
 into six equal portions, called watches. At the 
 end of the first half hour of one of these portions 
 the bell is struck one ; at the end of the second, 
 two ; and so on, till the series reaches eight, when 
 it commences again. Thus it will be perceived 
 that two bells mean either one, five, or nine o'clock ; 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 145 
 
 and five bells either half- past two, six, or ten. In 
 the ship's journals the dates are put down accord- 
 ing to the common mode of reckoning time. 
 
 The division of time into watches differs some- 
 what at sea and in port. In the former case the 
 watches are all four hours long, with the exception 
 of two in the evening, called dog-watches, from 
 four to six, and six to eight. In port there is but 
 one watch during the day, viz., from eight o'clock 
 A.M. to eight P.M. The night watches are the 
 same as at sea. 
 
 Order is the first great rule on board a man-of- 
 war, and that to which all others must bend. 
 From day to day, from week to week, from month 
 to month, and from year to year, the same stroke 
 of the bell is followed by the same whistle, the 
 same call, and the recurrence of the same duties. 
 Every thing has its place too, and must be kept in 
 it. So true is this, that a person acquainted with 
 the details of a ship, can lay his hand on a given 
 object in any part of her as well in the dark as if 
 a thousand suns were shining on it. To the same 
 grand principle order, are to be attributed the 
 numerous divisions and subdivisions of the officers 
 and crew. 
 
 The whole number of persons on board the Con- 
 stellation varied at different times from three hun- 
 dred and eighty, to four hundred and twenty. 
 The three grand divisions of the moral elements 
 in the naval service are into officers, men, and 
 marines. Of the former there were generally 
 about forty ; of the second, somewhat more than 
 three hundred, and of the latter, thirty-five more 
 or less. 
 
 At the head of the list stands the captain. He 
 is literally " monarch of all he surveys," and 
 u sitteth secure in high authority and dread." Ilia 
 u 
 
146 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 will is supreme ; and from his decisions, for the 
 time being, there is no appeal. He has a general 
 superintendance over the affairs of the ship, and 
 every order of a general nature must originate in 
 him. No important alteration can be made with- 
 out his knowledge and consent. It is his duty to 
 take a general oversight of the officers' conduct ; 
 to see that they are guilty of no improprieties, and 
 to punish such as are. lie is responsible for the 
 safety of the ship, both at sea and in port. I any 
 business of a public nature is to be transacted with 
 a foreign power, it falls of course into his hands. 
 These are his duties in time of peace ; in war he 
 has still higher responsibilities. 
 
 From this brief exposition it will readily occur 
 to the thinking mind that the commander of a 
 government vessel ought to be a man of good 
 natural endowments and varied acquirements. 
 Courage, moderation, and judgment, comprehen- 
 sion of intellect sufficient to view a subject in all 
 its bearings, a keen sagacity in discriminating 
 between the distinctions of subtle minds, and a 
 general acquaintance with the usages of nations, 
 are indispensable, not only to his own fame, but 
 also to the reputation and interests of his country. 
 Hence it appears that the qualifications requisite 
 in a captain of the navy are by no means such as 
 an be acquired by a dunce, or even by a man of 
 understanding, without much study and reflection. 
 
 Next in rank come the ward-room officers, con- 
 sisting, on board of a frigate, of six lieutenants, a 
 purser, surgeon, chaplain, sailing master, and lieu- 
 tenant of marines. The first lieutenant is next in 
 power to the captain, and though his station is 
 less responsible his duties are more laborious. He 
 has a general supervision over the ship, and is to 
 see that she is kept clean and kept in proper order. 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 147 
 
 To this end he is obliged to inspect every part of 
 her at least once a-day and report her condition 
 to the captain. When the ship is put in commis- 
 sion it devolves chiefly upon him to station the 
 men, a business of the most laborious and difficult 
 nature, requiring great patience, a discriminating 
 judgment, and deep insight into the human heart. 
 It is his duty to have the men frequently exercised 
 at the guns ; to regulate the expenditure of cer- 
 tain public stores ; to take care that the men keep 
 themselves clean and decently clad ; to superintend 
 the watering and victualling of the ship ; and, in 
 short, to see that all her multifarious and compli- 
 cated concerns move on regularly and harmoniously. 
 In coming to an anchor and getting under weigh, 
 and when all hands are called to reef top -sails, or 
 for other purposes, he takes thp trumpet. On him, 
 more than on the captain himself, depends the 
 comfort of the officers. In port, it belongs to him 
 to grant or withhold permission to go ashore ; and 
 there are a thousand other ways in which, if he is a 
 man of capricious or malignant disposition, he can 
 gratify his whims or his spleen at the expense of 
 the comfort and feelings of his fellow-officers. The 
 qualifications most needed in a first lieutenant are 
 freedom from caprice and passion, fixed principles 
 of action, moderation combined with decision, a 
 dignified affability, a disposition to be at once 
 liberal and just, and a profound knowledge of 
 character. On the whole, his situation, though 
 highly important, is not very enviable ; and my 
 observation has satisfied me that to be generally 
 popular as a first lieutenant, requires a combina- 
 tion of qualities, such as rarely falls to the lot of 
 any man. 
 
 The other lieutenants are divided into watches, 
 and take turns in performing the duties belonging 
 
148 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 to their station. The lieutenant on duty is styled 
 in writing the officer of the watch, but is familiarly 
 called the officer of the deck. Some of the duties 
 are common at sea and in port, and others are 
 peculiar to each of these situations. In both he is 
 responsible for the deck while he has charge of it, 
 and has also to take a general oversight of the 
 ship. He must see that the men's rations are 
 properly cooked, and that they have their meals at 
 proper hours. The serving of the grog is also 
 under his control. At sea his duty is to sail the 
 ship, keeping her on the course given her by the 
 captain, and reporting to him any change in the 
 wind, the discovery of land or strange sails, and 
 any extraordinary occurrences. At night he lias 
 the captain waked at stated periods, and the state 
 of the weather reported to him. On receiving the 
 trumpet, the first thing the officer does is to glance 
 at the compass, the sails, the dog- vane, the sky, 
 and the water, to discover the state of the ship, 
 the wind, and the weather ; and at the end of the 
 watch he must have a general account of the 
 weather, and other matters which he may deem 
 proper, inserted in the ship's log-book. The duty 
 of the officer of the deck in port is to receive any 
 supplies of water or provisions which may come 
 alongside, to regulate the sending away of boats, to 
 keep a look-out as to what is going on in the har- 
 bour, to report the arrival of ships and any impor- 
 tant occurrences to the captain, &c. The lieute- 
 nants are also officers of divisions, and have fre- 
 quently to exercise the men at the guns, besides 
 superintending the monthly issues of slops to their 
 respective divisions. 
 
 Next in rank to the lieutenants, I suppose, 
 would come the regular sailing-master; but the 
 duties of this officer are almost universally per- 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 149 
 
 formed in the American service by passed mid- 
 shipmen, who have received merely acting appoint- 
 ments. After the first lieutenant, the duties of a 
 sailing-master are more comprehensive and arduous 
 than those of any other officer. His supervision 
 and responsibility extend to almost all the public 
 stores in the ship, but particularly to the water, 
 spirits, cables, and anchors. He reports the daily 
 expenditure of water to the captain. it is his 
 business to keep the ship's place, and report it at 
 least twice a- day to the commander, together with 
 the bearings arid distance of the port to which she 
 is bound, or the nearest lar.d desired to be made. 
 Some commanders leave this entirely to their sail- 
 ing-masters. 
 
 There is no berth on board a man-of-war more 
 cozy than that of purser. He holds the keys of 
 the strong-box ; and though his regular salary is 
 not much, his emoluments, arising from other 
 sources, are greater than those of the commander 
 himself. All the provisions on board are com- 
 mitted to his charge, and the ship's accounts are 
 all kept by him. His responsibilities are very 
 great, and heavy bonds are therefore j us tly exacted 
 from him. 
 
 The surgeon and his two assistants form the 
 medical staff of a frigate. The assistant-surgeons 
 form a distinct class of officers, ranking between 
 the ward- room officers and the midshipmen. In 
 frigates and ships of the line they mess in the 
 cock-pit, but in all other public vessels in the 
 steerage. The business of the staff is of course to 
 take care of the sick, and perform such surgical 
 operations as may be necessary. A daily journal 
 is kept of the names, rank, diseases, and constitu- 
 tional habits of all the sick on board, and also of 
 the medicines administered to them. From the 
 
110 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 journal a report is made out and signed by the 
 surgeon every morning, stating the names, rank, 
 and diseases of the sick, and the number added to 
 and taken from the list. This is handed to the 
 captain. Another list, containing only the names, 
 IP placed in the binnacle for the use of the officer of 
 the deck. Nothing will excuse either an officer or 
 a man from duty but the fact of his being registered 
 on the sick list. A general review of the sick 
 takes place every morning after breakfast. One of 
 the assistant-surgeons inspects the ship's coppers 
 every day, to see that no verdigris is allowed to 
 collect upon them. It is the duty of the surgeon 
 not only to attend to the sick, but also to recom- 
 mend and enforce such precautionary measures as 
 will have a tendency to prevent disease, and thus 
 secure the general health of the officers and crew. 
 
 The laws of the United States make it the duty 
 of the chaplain to perform divine service twice 
 a-day, and preach a sermon on the Sabbath, unless 
 bad vreather or other extraordinary occurrences 
 prevent it. The former of these duties is never 
 fulfilled, the latter rarely. 
 
 The lieutenant of marines has few duties of any 
 kind to perform. This office, though necessary as 
 long as the marine corps is continued, is nearly a 
 sinecure. 
 
 I come now to the midshipmen, alias the young 
 gentlemen ; for by this name they are always called 
 on shipboard. The number of these varied on 
 board the Constellation, at different times, from 
 fifteen to upwards of twenty. It would be difficult 
 to give any very definite idea of what their duties 
 are ; for, though an interesting class of officers, on 
 account of what they are to be, yet, in their present 
 capacity, they do little more than echo the orders 
 of their superiors. There is a a change of wind ; 
 
STATB OF NEW YORK. 151 
 
 the officer of the deck orders the men to " Lay aft 
 to the braces !" " Lay aft to the braces !" cries 
 every midshipman on deck. The wind freshens so 
 as to make it necessary to clue up the mainsail. 
 " Man the main clue- garnet !" is instantly repeated 
 by some half-dozen echoes. However, they have 
 some specific duties. They carry messages from 
 the officer of the deck to the captain, and in port 
 one of them takes charge of every boat that leaves 
 the ship. At sea, seven bells is reported to them 
 svery morning at half- past eleven, when they are 
 obliged to go on deck with their quadrants and 
 take the sun. They have to work out the last 
 day's run, and report the course, distance made 
 good, and ship's place at noon each day to the 
 captain. They muster the crew when the watch 
 is called at night. They are also required to keep 
 a journal of the cruise, which is, however, only a 
 copy of the ship's log. This is examined every 
 few weeks by the commanding officer ; and if it 
 happens not to he written up when called for, the 
 delinquent is generally punished by a curtailment 
 of some of his indulgences. 
 
 Five of the oldest midshipmen are master's 
 mates. Their duties are more important and re- 
 sponsible than those of the others. The master's 
 mate of the hold superintends the expenditures of 
 provisions, water, and spirits ; keeps an accurate 
 account of the quantity of each expended daily, 
 and reports it to the proper authority. He also 
 makes a rough copy of the ship's log from the log- 
 slate. This is afterwards transferred to another 
 book, called the smooth log. In both the different 
 officers of the deck put their signatures to the 
 remarks made by their authority. It is the duty 
 of the master's mate of the gun- deck to keep the 
 deck in good order, and to prevent improper con- 
 
152 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 duct on the part of the men. In addition to this 
 he oversees the serving out of grog and provisions. 
 There are three master's mates of the watches, that 
 is, one to each of them. Each in turn has charge 
 of the forecastle, and at the end of every hour it is 
 his business to heave the log, to ascertain the ship's 
 rate of going. This he reports to the officer of the 
 deck, who, making such allowance as he chooses, 
 tells him to give her such a rate and course, and 
 directs him to make such remarks on the log- slate 
 as he (the officer of the deck) may deem proper. 
 
 The boatswain, gunner, carpenter, and sail- 
 maker form a distinct class of officers, called for- 
 ward officers. I shall not enter into the particulars 
 of their duties. The boatswain is charged with the 
 rigging of the ship, and in port attends to squaring 
 the yards. You may know him by his silver 
 whistle, rattan cane, and above all by the ruddy 
 hues of his countenance, and the odious vapours 
 that issue from his mouth. The gunner has charge 
 of the military stores, and, when all hands are 
 called, of the main-rigging. The carpenter is 
 responsible for the stores belonging to his depart- 
 ment, and superintends the caulking of the ship 
 and other work performed by his subalterns. The 
 sailmaker is charged with the sails, hammocks, and 
 generally all the canvass in the ship. At sea he 
 is obliged to go aloft on each of the three masts, 
 examine the condition of the sails, and report it to 
 the first lieutenant every morning before breakfast. 
 
 The midshipmen of the Constellation were obliged 
 to ask permission of the captain to go ashore. On 
 one occasion, when all the officers above the third 
 lieutenant were absent from the ship, some of them 
 applied to him to go ashore. Permission was 
 promptly given. When the captain returned and 
 learned who were ashore, he sent for Mr. , to 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 153 
 
 inquire into the matter. " Sir," he replied, " [ 
 was at the time acting commander of the ship, and 
 had both the power and the right to do as I did." 
 
 The grand divisions of the crew are into petty 
 officers, seamen, ordinary seamen, landsmen, and 
 boys. This division has reference to rank, but 
 there are others into which considerations of this 
 kind do not enter. Such are the military divisions, 
 and the divisions into larboard and starboard 
 watches, into forecastlemen, fore, main, and mizen- 
 topmen, after-guard, waisters, holders, &c. 
 
 The petty officers are appointed by the com- 
 mander, and may be degraded by him without the 
 formalities of a court-martial. They are selected 
 from amongst the most experienced and trust- 
 worthy of the seamen, and receive eighteen dollars 
 a month. They consist, on board a frigate, of a 
 master-at-arms, eight quarter- masters, four boat- 
 swain's mates, eight quarter- gunners, a boatswain's 
 and gunner's yeomen, a carpenter's and sailmaker's 
 mate, an armourer, a cooper, cook, and coxswain. 
 
 The highest and most responsible of the petty 
 officers is the master-at-arms. He is, if I may be 
 allowed the expression, the principal police-officer 
 of the ship. He has the charge of all the prison- 
 ers, and every morning makes out and hands to 
 the commander a list of their names, with a speci- 
 fication of the crime for which each is confined, 
 and the time when he was put into confinement. 
 If he allows any of them to escape, he is liable to 
 be punished in their stead. He counts the blows 
 audibly when the prisoner is flogged with the cats. 
 It is his duty to search those suspected of thefts ; 
 and when a man dies, to take an account of his 
 clothes and other effects. He has charge also of 
 the berth-deck, and it is his duty to see it kept in 
 good order. All property that falls in his way for 
 u 2 
 
154 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 which he cannot find an owner, is thrown into the 
 " lucky bag," the contents of which, if not finally- 
 claimed, are sold at auction. 
 
 The office of quarter-master is one of some dig- 
 nity and considerable importance. Its duties are 
 not laborious, but they require vigilance, careful- 
 ness, judgment, and a thorough acquaintance with 
 practical seamanship. In port, only one of them 
 keeps watch at a time. You may know him by 
 his spy glass, and his busy bustling air. He is all 
 eye and all locomotion. He cocks his telescope at 
 every new object that appears, and gives it a tho- 
 rough scrutiny. It is his duty to keep a look-out 
 for signals from other vessels, and to report them 
 to the officer of the deck ; and also to report to 
 him all boats that come alongside, and all other 
 movements and occurrences in the harbour, which 
 he may deem of sufficient importance. At sea, 
 two of the quarter-masters are required to be on 
 deck during the day, and half of them at night. 
 One is stationed at the wheel to steer the ship, 
 and the others keep a look-out as in port. When 
 the log is thrown they hold the minute-glass. 
 They have to strike the bell every half hour, and 
 take their turns in mixing and serving the grog. 
 In entering and leaving a harbour, when it is ne* 
 eessary to sound, one of them is stationed in each 
 ef the main chains to heave the lead. All the 
 colours and signals are under their charge. 
 
 Boatswains' mates are an indispensable class of 
 men on board of a man-of-war, but their office is 
 most invidious and least desirable of all. Their 
 duty is to enforce the orders of the officers, and, to 
 enable them to do this, each is furnished with a 
 hemp whip, consisting of only one lash, called the 
 "Colt." They have to perform all the flogging, 
 and the men hate them therefore as they would so 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 155 
 
 many incarnate devils. In the ordinary flogging 
 the colt is always used ; but when all hands are 
 called to witness punishment, another whip, com- 
 posed of nine lashes, and called the u Cats," ia 
 employed. Each of the boatswains' mates has a 
 silver whistle suspended from his neck, with which 
 he echoes the orders of his superiors. He has a 
 different pipe for almost every important order 
 that can be given. For instance, there is 
 one for calling all hands another, for hoisting 
 away a third, for hauling taught and belaying, 
 and so on of others. Amid the darkness and 
 fury of the tempest, when the orders of the trum- 
 pet are drowned by the loud uproar of the ele- 
 ments, the shrill pipe of the boatswain'* whistle 
 reaches the ear of the sailor on the top of the 
 highest mast, and no language could convey to 
 him a more definite meaning than its well-known 
 tones. 
 
 The duty of the quarter-masters is to keep the 
 guns, and all other things belonging to the gun- 
 ner's department in proper order. They have to 
 inspect the guns frequently to see that everything 
 about them is well secured, and at night report 
 their condition to the officer of the deck every two 
 hours. When all hands are called to reef or furl 
 sails, the quarter-gunners and quarter-masters are 
 charged with the mainyard. 
 
 The yeomen and mates of the forward officers 
 have charge of their respective storerooms, and 
 keep accounts of the expenditures of articles from 
 each of their departments. They make out 
 monthly and quarterly returns of these expendi- 
 tures, which are handed to the captain, examined 
 by his clerk, and inserted in the general account 
 book. 
 
 The armourer is the ship's blacksmith. The 
 
156 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 cooper opens the provision barrels when their con- 
 tents are wanted, and performs other matters in 
 his line of business, when necessary. The duties 
 of the cook are somewhat arduous, and it requires 
 a good deal of patience and care to perform them 
 acceptably to the crew. The meals must all be 
 reported " ready" at seven bells morning, noon, 
 and night. At noon, when dinner is reported 
 ready, the cook takes a specimen to the officer of 
 the deck, who inspects it, to see that it is properly 
 cooked. The coxswain is designed for the cap- 
 tain's boat, but our commodores, perhaps generally, 
 give this rank to their steward, and select a quar- 
 ter-master, or other trustworthy person, to per- 
 form the duties of a coxswain. 
 
 There are two other officers who have not even 
 the rank of petty officers. They are the ship's 
 corporals. They take turns in keeping watch at 
 night, on the gun-deck, and their duty is to see 
 that no light is burning in any part of the ship 
 where it is not allowed. They make an hourly 
 report to the officer of the deck. 
 
 Having despatched the petty officers, I now 
 come to the rest of the crew, of which these men 
 generally compose about one- half. Those of this 
 rank must have seen a good deal of sea-service, 
 and are supposed to be thoroughly acquainted 
 with practical navigation. If they are found to be 
 greatly deficient in this respect they are degraded. 
 They receive twelve dollars per month, and are 
 appointed to the most honourable and responsible 
 stations in the ship. They have a great deal of 
 the pride of profession, entertaining the utmost 
 contempt for all who do not know what salt water 
 and heavy gales are. 
 
 The ordinary seamen receive ten dollars per 
 month. They must have had some experience in 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 157 
 
 naval matters, but are neither expected nor re- 
 quired to be finished sailors. Promotions from the 
 rank of ordinary seamen to that of seamen are not 
 unfrequent. The landsmen are as green as a cu- 
 cumber, having never smelt the ocean, nor been 
 initiated at all into the mysteries of a seafaring 
 life. Their pay is eight dollars. 
 
 Of the boys there are two classes those who 
 receive eight dollars, and those who receive five 
 dollars per month. They are employed principally 
 in the capacity of servants to the officers. Two 
 are allowed to the captain, besides his steward ; 
 one to the first lieutenant ; one to every two of the 
 other ward- room officers ; and one or two, accord- 
 ing to the pleasure of the first lieutenant, to the 
 cockpit, forward officers, and each of the steerage 
 messes. Some are employed as cooks at the gal- 
 ley, and others as messenger boys on the quarter- 
 deck. The boys, and all others on shipboard who 
 do not keep watch, are called idlers. 
 
 On board of a frigate there are six military 
 divisions ; one on the quarter- deck, one on the 
 forecastle, three on the gun- deck, and one on the 
 berth-deck. The last is commanded by the purser, 
 and each of the others by a lieutenant. It is the 
 business of those who compose the purser's divi- 
 sion to pass up powder to the combatants. Every 
 officer and man is included in one or other of these 
 divisions, and is stationed in a particular part of 
 the ship. These are the stations for action, and 
 are called general quarters. The crew is mustered 
 and inspected at quarters, always once, and in 
 many of our ships, twice a-day. There are ten or 
 twelve men to each of the guns in a broadside, 
 called first and second captains, spongers, loaders, 
 powder-boys, &c. The first intimation of quarters 
 is a blast from the bugle, calling the music. The 
 
158 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 boarders run for their caps, and every man seizes 
 a cutlass. At the first tap of the drum there is a 
 general rush throughout the ship, and before the 
 music has ceased, you may hear the midshipmen 
 of the divisions calling over the names : tc George 
 Bell !" " First captain, sir !" " James Ander- 
 son !" " Second captain, sir !" William Stokes !" 
 "Powder boy, sir!'* and so on. Having called 
 the names, the midshipmen report to the officers of 
 their divisions the officers of the divisions to the 
 first lieutenant and he again to the captain. The 
 order is then given to u Beat the retreat 1" An- 
 other rush takes place, the cutlasses and hoarding-^ 
 caps are returned to their places, and the men, as 
 the case may be, proceed to their daily labours, or 
 their evening diversions. AH this is but the work 
 of a moment. Sometimes the call to quarters i& 
 beaten in the dead of night, and then the men are 
 obliged to get up, lash their hammocks, take them 
 on deck, stow them in the nettings, and be ready 
 to answer to their names in the space of about 
 eight or ten minutes. The midshipmen have to 
 do the same. They generally, however, avoid the 
 labour of carrying their hammocks on deck, by 
 stowing them in the mess-room. This is to accus- 
 tom them to sudden alarms, but it is not often 
 practised. 
 
 What is of vastly more importance is experience 
 in the art of gunnery ; and it must be mentioned^ 
 to the honour of our naval officers, that they are 
 indefatigable in their exertions to render our sea- 
 men expert and ready in this branch of their pro- 
 fession. In good weather some of the divisions are 
 exercised at the guns almost daily, and on board 
 most of our ships one day of the week there are 
 general quarters for that purpose. On these occa- 
 sions all the evolutions of a regular engagement. 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 159 
 
 such as loading and firing the guns, boarding, ex- 
 tinguishing fire, &c., are gone through. All this 
 is, of course, a mere sham, and not an ounce of 
 gunpowder is burnt ; but it gives the men expe- 
 rience, makes them expert at working the guns, 
 and cannot fail to fill them with confidence and 
 bravery in the hour of real peril. 
 
 In the general quarter bill, the surgeons are 
 stationed in the cock-pit. Here all the wounded 
 are brought, and all the surgical operations per- 
 formed in time of action. The chaplain is also 
 stationed in the cock pit to give pious counsel, and 
 administer the comforts of religion to the dying. 
 
 In addition to their general quarters, the men 
 are also stationed for getting under weigh, and 
 coming to an anchor for tacking and veering, and 
 for general evolutions. I have sometimes been 
 astonished to see how quick, in the darkest night, 
 it is discovered that a man is missing from his post, 
 and how speedily he is searched out and brought 
 to it. But not only does every man know his sta- 
 tion, he has a specific duty to perform at every 
 order, and a failure on his part might disconcert 
 the whole operatic^,. Thus, it will be seen that, 
 notwithstanding the complicated nature of naval 
 evolutions, and the apparent confusion whieh must 
 necessarily prevail when all hands are called, there 
 is in fact the greatest possible order, efficiency, and 
 harmony of action. I might go on ad infinitum 
 with details of this kind, all tending to show the 
 admirable adaptation to each other of the parts, 
 and the general perfection of the whole of that sys- 
 tem of internal polity which prevails on board a 
 man-of-war, but I am afraid of trespassing upon 
 my reader's patience. 
 
 The whole crew is divided into two equal por- 
 tions, called larboard and starboard- watches, from 
 
160 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 the fact that those belonging to one of the divisions 
 stow their hammocks in the larboard, and those 
 belonging to the other, in the starboard nettings. 
 When at sea, each of the watches at night take a 
 turn of four hours on deck, while the others are 
 allowed to " turn in." Those in their hammocks 
 call it their " watch below." Those, however, who 
 keep watch on deck, when the weather is fair, and 
 the ship under easy sail, are allowed to sleep, if 
 they do not disturb the general tranquillity by their 
 ungracious snoring. In port, only a quarter watch 
 is called, except in squally weather, and these are 
 for the most part allowed to stow themselves away 
 somewhere on the gundeck. 
 
 At sea, the marines, in succession, all do duty 
 as sentries in the following places : One at the 
 cabin-door, one at the scuttle-butt, one at the brig, 
 and one at the fore-passage on the berthdeck. 
 The rest are obliged to pull and haul on the ropes 
 like the sailors, but they are excused from going 
 aloft. In port, there are three additional sentries, 
 viz., one at each of the gangways, and another on 
 the bowsprit. During the day, a sergeant's guard, 
 consisting of thirteen, are requjfred to be dressed 
 in uniform, and to remain on the quarterdeck. A 
 marine in uniform must never pass the capstan 
 without paying it his respects ; in undress he is not 
 required to pay it more politeness than a sailor. 
 
 The reader may be curious to know how so 
 many persons as compose the crew of a frigate can 
 find employment in the , ordinary business of the 
 ship. The time of most of them is chiefly occupied 
 in * keeping the ship in order." This might seem, 
 ar iirst, a si tuple affair, and capable of being soon 
 despatched ; but there are more things included in 
 u Jumping a ship in order," than the philosophy of 
 a greenhorn ever dreamed of. Not only must 
 
STATE OF 1EW YORK. 161 
 
 every part of her be kept as clean as a lady's par- 
 lour, and every article arranged for inspection as 
 carefully as a coquette would adjust her habit, but 
 there are kinds of work to be performed, of which a 
 person unacquainted with a man-of-war could form 
 no conception. The " bright work" requires im- 
 mense labour. This consists in scouring all the 
 belaying- pins and rings on the spardeck, the brass 
 on the capstan, about the companion-ways, and 
 in other parts of the ship ; the monkey-tails, iron 
 handspikes, and cutlasses ; the two rows of iron 
 staunchions which support the spardeck, the hoops 
 of the spit-boxes (of which there is one to every 
 gun, arid a plentiful quantity distributed through- 
 out other parts of the ship), the battle-axes, prim- 
 ing-wires, (fee. All this is to be done every day, 
 and if but a modicum of rust is left, woe to the 
 luckless wight at whose door it lies. It is sure to 
 gtve employment to a boats wain's-mate. Besides 
 this, all the ladders, combings of the hatches, wooden 
 handspikes, &c , must be scraped perfectly clean. 
 Add to all this the labour performed by the dif- 
 ferent gangs of mechanics, and the working of the 
 guns, and loosing and furling sails for the purpose 
 of experience, and the wonder will rather be, that 
 so few men should be required, than that so many 
 can find employment. 
 
 Such is the admirable description of an American 
 man-of-war, as given by Mr. Wines, in his enter- 
 taining work, entitled, " Two Years and a Half in 
 the American Navy ;" and if all their ships of war 
 are conducted in like manner, they may well boast 
 of their navy. 
 
 The Naval Lyceum is in the Navy-yard. This 
 institution was organized by the officers of the navy 
 and marines, in order to promote the diffusion of 
 useful knowledge, and to foster a spirit of harmony, 
 
162 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 and a community of interest in the service. The 
 hall of this building is not large, but it is most 
 judiciously arranged, having a handsome gallery 
 running round, with a sky-light in the centre of 
 the roof to light every part. In this gallery are to 
 be seen portraits of all the Presidents of the United 
 States, and the most eminent of the American naval 
 commanders, views of foreign ports, and sketches 
 of all kinds of ships in every possible peculiar situa- 
 tion. The library is extensive, and the reading- 
 room is well supplie4 with newspapers and perio- 
 dicals, both foreign and domestic. The museum 
 contains an extensive collection of marine produc- 
 tions ; the minerals and lava are also numerous and 
 beautifully arranged ; while the weapons, dresses, 
 and ornaments of the various tribes in the Indian 
 and Pacific Oceans are admirably displayed. This 
 institution is indebted for its valuable collections 
 to the praiseworthy exertions of the various mem- 
 bers of the seafaring profession, who, upon visiting 
 foreign countries, generally contrive to pick up 
 some curiosity, which they contribute to the Ly- 
 ceum ; by which means this is likely to become one 
 of the most interesting institutions of the kind in 
 the country. 
 
 The city of New York contains thirty banks, 
 with an aggregate capital of 30,000,000 dollars. 
 These establishments have always been regarded as 
 the safest and best secured banks in the United 
 States ; and they have fully sustained their repu- 
 tation throughout many trying seasons of commer- 
 cial distress. They were the first of all the banks 
 in the country to resume cash payments, which is 
 now sustained by the whole of them. 
 
 There are four savings banks in New York, and 
 they have all been very successful. In these insti- 
 tutions the working classes may deposit their sav- 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 163 
 
 ings, and receive a benefit from them. Deposits 
 of very small sums of money are received, but are 
 not entitled to interest till they reach, we believe, 
 four dollars ; if withdrawn before they have been 
 in one month, they are not entitled to any interest. 
 
 The Fire and Life Insurance Offices of New 
 York are establishments of great wealth, and 
 greater utility. They are generally carried on in 
 buildings erected expressly for them, in various 
 parts of the city ; and are conducted by governors 
 and directors chosen from among the shareholders. 
 Their capitals are so large as to cover any possible 
 engagement they may make. Their business is to 
 insure (for a trifling per centage) against loss by 
 fire, and to grant annuities, to insure a payment of 
 a certain sum on the death of any given individual. 
 These offices having now become numerous, the 
 spirit of speculation has spread to every corner of 
 profit and loss. 
 
 New York likewise contains ten Marine Insu- 
 rance Companies, with a capital of upwards of 
 8,000,000 dollars. 
 
 Unlike Great Britain, there is no government 
 duty on insurance ; the expense of insuring pro- 
 perty of any description is, therefore, very light in 
 America ; while in England the tax of one year 
 upon fire insurances alone, amounts to nearly 
 1,000,000 sterling. 
 
 The amusements of New York are less varied 
 than in many towns of less importance in point of 
 magnitude and population. Their quality, how- 
 ever, may be considered as famishing some com- 
 pensation for the smallness of their number, as they 
 are generally conducted on a scale of splendour. 
 The greater part of these amusements are intellec- 
 tual, the frivolous being comparatively few, and 
 confined to the lower orders. Foreigners are apt 
 
1(54 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 to condemn New York for its dulness in compa- 
 rison with some European cities, and not altogether 
 without foundation. In Europe men frequently 
 appear to make pleasure their business, while in 
 New York business seems the reigning pleasure. 
 Domestic and social intercourse constitute a con- 
 siderable portion of New York enjoyment, which 
 strangers have not always an opportunity of wit- 
 nessing ; but when seen and participated, they 
 never fail to excite their admiration. 
 
 New York amusements consist of balls, operas, 
 theatres, concerts, exhibitions, and to a consi- 
 derable extent of private parties, where music, 
 dancing, cards, and conversation, agreeably engage 
 their respective votaries. Besides these more re- 
 fined amusements, are horse-racing, cock-fighting, 
 &c., though not to such an extent as in England ; 
 tennis, fives, billiards, sailing, and rowing, are 
 favourite recreations, as well as the noble game of 
 cricket, which, being played in the open air, affords 
 much exercise, and contributes to the health of the 
 young, nor is it deficient in scope for the display of 
 skill and activity. 
 
 New York has six Theatre?, viz., Bowery 
 Theatre, Broadway Theatre, New National The- 
 atre, Burton's Theatre, Olympic Theatre, and 
 Franklin Theatre ; besides an Italian Opera, 
 Christie's Opera House, and other similar places of 
 amusement, which are all conducted in a respectable 
 manner, and both actors and managers appear to 
 prosper in their vocation. Tiie houses are generally 
 well filled, which marks opulence and comfort, and 
 proves that the great body of the people, after pro- 
 viding for the necessaries of life, possess a surplus 
 which they feel at liberty to spend in enjoyments, 
 
 The American Museum is a place of general re- 
 sort, where magnificent novelties are produced 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 165 
 
 daily at three p. m., and at half- past seven evening. 
 The collection of rare curiosities, beasts, birds, &c., 
 in this museum are very extensive, and the admis- 
 sion extremely low. 
 
 There is also an Exhibition of Paintings, by 
 artists of the Dusseldorf Academy of Fine Arts, 
 in Broadway. This collection is worthy of a visit, 
 as a fair specimen of native art. It is well en- 
 couraged. 
 
 If we take the advertising columns of the New 
 York newspapers as a criterion, we would say that 
 the inhabitants of this city are peculiarly fond of 
 dancing. In the New York Sunday Times, of 
 January 25th, 1850, there are no fewer than 
 twenty-one Balls advertised ; besides Dancing and 
 Waltzing Academies, &c., with a fair proportion 
 of Concerts, &c. 
 
 Like all other seaports, New York is plentifully 
 supplied with Singing Rooms, which are generally 
 frequented by the vilest offscourings of society ; 
 and it would be well for every civilized community 
 were such pandemoniums entirely abolished, as 
 they are well known to be the haunts where 
 " thieves most do congregate/' 
 
 Prisons. Almost every civilized nation has a 
 different mode of punishing criminals. In Great 
 Britain it is the practice, according to the nature of 
 their crimes, to subject them to confinement in 
 prisons and bridewells, to banish them from cer- 
 tain towns and districts, to transport them to 
 distant penal settlements, and brutally to hang 
 them by the neck till they are dead. In some 
 continental countries the criminals are scourged, 
 obliged to labour at the galleys, sent to dig in 
 mines for the remainder of their life, and if their 
 outrages against society have been great, they are 
 decapitated. In others, there are large State 
 
166 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 prisons in which criminals are confined, but with- 
 out the necessary arrangement of classes, so that 
 little good is effected. Generally speaking, it is 
 the custom over the whole of Europe merely to 
 punish criminals by certain severities, and the idea 
 of reclaiming them to virtuous pursuits, or of 
 quelling their passions by a peculiar system of 
 discipline, hardly ever enters into the conceptions 
 of the various governments. The Americans are 
 the only people who have the credit of having hit 
 upon this idea. In the United States banishment 
 is unknown, and the only crimes punished with 
 death are murder and fire-raising. The plan 
 generally pursued is incarceration in State prisons, 
 in which the inmates are carefully supervised, kept 
 from communicating with each other, and put to 
 such a description of labour as will occupy their 
 minds, and qualify them for fulfilling the duty of 
 good and industrious citizens on their liberation. 
 
 In the State of New York there are several 
 of these penal establishments, but we will confine 
 our description to that at Auburn, which is often 
 made the object of a visit by travellers. Among 
 others, it was visited by Mr. Stuart, whose account 
 furnishes the following details : 
 
 " The prison is a large edifice, standing in an 
 open space of ground, 500 feet square, inclosed by 
 an external wall thirty-five feet high. It contains 
 the keeper's house and necessary offices, the eating 
 hall, hospital, kitchens, and wash rooms, and the 
 cells, which are seven feet long, three and a half 
 wide, and seven feet high. The windows in each, 
 four feet by six, are glazed, and secured by a strong 
 iron grating. The only opening from the cell, 
 except the ventilator, is the door, in the upper end 
 of which is an iron grate, eighteen by twenty 
 inches. The bars of this grate are round iron. 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 167 
 
 three-fourths of an inch in diameter, placed about 
 two inches asunder, leaving orifices smaller than a 
 man's hand. Through this grate all the light, 
 heat, and air are admitted to the cells. The ven- 
 tilator, which is about three inches in diameter, 
 extends from the back of the cell to the roof of the 
 building. The door of the cell, of which the grate 
 is a part, closes on the inner edge of the wall two 
 feet deep. This recess in front of each door 
 increases the difficulty of conversation and com- 
 munication between the prisoners ; prevents them 
 from seeing into the galleries, and furnishes an 
 excellent place for an officer of the prison to con- 
 verse with the prisoner without being seen or heard 
 by those in the adjoining cells. The area round 
 the cells, which is ten feet wide, is open from the 
 ground to the roof, in front of five stories of cells. 
 Of this area, three feet adjoining the cells are 
 occupied by the galleries. 
 
 " The shops, or working rooms, are almost all 
 attached to the outer wall of the prison, that wall 
 being the outer wall of the shops. They are about 
 1,600 feet long, twenty-six feet wide, and seven 
 feet high on the side towards the yard, and sixteen 
 feet on the external wall. The side of the shops 
 on the yard are lighted by a row of windows, four 
 feet by three feet four inches, and two feet seven 
 inches asunder. There is also a row of windows 
 in the roof of the shops, consisting of an unbroken 
 line of seven feet by nine. In the rear of all the 
 shops is an avenue or pass way, made sufficiently 
 light by numerous small openings cut in the parti- 
 tion, which enables the keepers to inspect the 
 convicts without their knowledge, and also for 
 visitors to pass through without going into the 
 shops. 
 
 " The prison is governed by a board of inspec- 
 
168 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 tors, who reside in the village of Auburn, and are 
 appointed every two years, by the governor and 
 senators of New York State ; they make such 
 regulations as they think necessary, and appoint 
 the keeper, deputy-keeper, physician, chaplain, 
 and all the subordinate officers. 
 
 " Wtjen convicts arrive, they have their irons 
 taken off, are thoroughly cleaned, and clad in the 
 prison dress. The rules of the prison are explained 
 to them, and they are instructed by the keeper in 
 their duties to obey orders, and to labour diligently, 
 in silence ; to approach all the officers of the insti- 
 tution, when it is necessary for them to speak, 
 with respectful language, and never to speak with- 
 out necessity, even to the keepers; never to speak 
 to each other under any pretence ; nor sing, dance, 
 or do anything having the least tendency to disturb 
 the prison ; never to leave the places assigned to 
 them without permission ; never to speak to any 
 person who does not belong to the prison, nor to 
 look off from their work to see any one ; never to 
 work carelessly, or be idle a single moment. 1 hey 
 are also told, that they will not be allowed to 
 receive letters, or intelligence from or concerning 
 their friends, or any information, on any subject, out 
 of the prison. Any correspondence of this kind 
 that may be necessary must be carried on through 
 the keeper, or assistant-keepers. A Bible is, by 
 order of the State, put into each cell. The bodies 
 of all criminals who die in the State- prisons are, 
 by order of the legislature, delivered to the College 
 of Physicians, when they are not claimed by their 
 relations within twenty four hours after their 
 death. The State-prisons being in the country, 
 at a distance generally, it must be presumed, from 
 the residence of the relations, such a claim can, it 
 is obvious, be but rarely made. 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 109 
 
 " For all infraction of the regulations, or of duty, 
 the convicts are instantly punished by stripes, in- 
 flicted by the keeper or assistant- keepers, with a 
 raw hide whip ; or, in aggravated cases, under the 
 direction of the keeper, or his deputy alone, by a 
 cat made of six strands of small twine, applied to 
 the bare back. Conviction follows offences so 
 certainly, and so instantaneously, that they rarely 
 occur ; sometimes not once in three months. 
 
 " At the end of fifteen minutes after the ringing 
 of a bell in the morning, the assistant-keepers 
 unlock the convicts, who march out in military 
 order in single files to their work-shops, where they 
 wash their hand and faces in vessels prepared in 
 the shop. ' 
 
 "New convicts are put to work at such trades 
 as they may have previously learned, provided it 
 be practicable, if not, or if they have no trade, the 
 keeper selects such trade as appears, on inquiry, 
 best suited to them. The hours of labour vary 
 according to the season. In long days from half- 
 past five in the morning till six in the evening. 
 In short days, the hours are so fixed as to embrace 
 all the day-light. 
 
 At the signal for breakfast, the convicts again 
 form in line in the shops, and are marched by the 
 assistant-keepers to the mess-room, which they 
 enter at two different doors, face around by their 
 plates, standing till all have got their places, when 
 a bell is rung, and all sit down to their meals : but 
 as some eat more, and some less, waiters, provided 
 with large vessels, pass along constantly between 
 the tables, taking food from those who raise their 
 right hand, in token that they have it to spare, 
 and giving to those who raise their left hand to 
 signify that they want more. The tables are 
 narrow, and the convicts sitting on one side only, 
 I 
 
170 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 are placed face to back^ and never face to face, so 
 as to avoid exchanging looks or signs. 
 
 " When the steward perceives that the convicts 
 have done eating, or have had sufficient time for it, 
 generally from twenty minutes to half -an-hour, he 
 rings the bell, when all rise and march to their 
 workshops, those going out first who came in last. 
 Twelve o'clock is the hour of dinner ; the proceed- 
 ings the same as at breakfast. Before quitting 
 labour the convicts wash their faces and hands, 
 form line, according to the number of their cells, 
 and proceed, in reversed order from that of coming 
 out in the morning to the wash-room, where, 
 without breaking their step, they stoop and take 
 up their supper -vessels and water-cans, and march 
 to their galleries, enter their cells, and pull their 
 doors to. Each gallery is occupied by a company, 
 which is marched and locked up by one assistant 
 keeper. 
 
 a Assistant keepers are constantly moving round 
 the galleries, having socks on their feet, that they 
 may walk without noise, so that each convict does 
 not know but that one of the keepers may be at 
 the very door of his cell, ready to discover and 
 report next morning for punishment, the slightest 
 breach of silence or order. The house, containing 
 between 500 and 600 convicts, is thus perfectly 
 still. The convicts are required, by the ringing of 
 a bell, to go to bed upon their framed plat canvass 
 hammocks, with blankets, and are neither per- 
 mitted to lie down nor to get up without a signal. 
 After the convicts are rung down at night, all the 
 locks are again tried by the assistant keepers. 
 
 " On Sundays the arrangement is the same, 
 with this difference, that, instead of working, the 
 convicts are marched, to the chapel, where Divine 
 service is performed by the chaplain. Such of 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 171 
 
 them as are ignorant attend the Sunday School, 
 which is admirably taught, and gratuitously, by 
 students belonging to the theological seminary at 
 Auburn. The keeper and assistant keepers, must 
 be present at Divine service, and at the teaching in 
 the Sunday School. 
 
 u The rations for each man per day are 10 
 ounces of pork, or 16 ounces of beef; iO ounces of 
 wheat flour, the wheat to be ground fine, and not 
 bolted; 12 ounces of Indian meal ; half a -gill of 
 molasses, a ration ; and 2 quarts of rye; 4 quarts 
 of salt ; 4 quarts of vinegar ; an ounce and a half 
 of pepper ; 2 and a half bushels of potatoes each 
 !()() rations. 
 
 l - From these provisions the convicts are supplied 
 in the morning with cold meat, bread, a slice of 
 cold hominy, (a preparation of Indian corn), hot 
 potatoes, and a pint of hot rye coffee, sweetened 
 with molasses. For dinner, they have meat -soup, 
 made from the broth, thickened with Indian meal, 
 bn ad, hot potatoes, and cold water for drink ; 
 and for supper, a portion of mush (porridge made 
 of Indian meal), and cold water. This quantity 
 of food for each man is considered to be indispen- 
 sably necessary, when the labour is hard and con- 
 stant, and not more than sufficient to enable the 
 convicts to perform it, and to remain in the enjoy- 
 ment of health. Labour, interrupted only by the 
 time necessary for meals, is required from the con- 
 victs for eleven hours per day, when there k 
 enough of day-light. 
 
 " The convicts are so arranged in the shops as 
 not to face each other, and have their work entirely 
 ieparate. A shop and business of a hundred ar 
 *o managed, that hours frequently pass without a 
 word being spoken. Spectators are taken through 
 the inspection avenues in the rear, which surround 
 
172 UJUTED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 all the shops, where they have a full view of the 
 convicts without being seen. They are not allowed 
 to speak so loud as to be heard by them. There 
 are separate shops for carpenters, masons, coopers, 
 tool- makers, shoemakers, tailors, weavers, black- 
 smiths, machinists, gunsmiths, chairmakers, cabi- 
 netmakers, and basketmakers. We saw some 
 cabinet work beautifully finished. Indeed, all the 
 work seemed to us well arranged, and systema- 
 tically carried on. Carriage-making, comb -making, 
 polishing stone, &c., have also been added to the 
 uther trades. 
 
 44 The gains of the convicts during the last year 
 averaged 29 cents., or Is. 2d. sterling per day, 
 some of them earning as much as 50 cents, and 
 others no more than 15 cents per day. The 
 amount was sufficient to defray the annual expense, 
 including the whole of the salaries of the keepers, the 
 guard and all the other officers. 
 
 Of 160 convicts discharged from Auburn, of 
 whom accurate accounts have been obtained ; 112 
 have turned out decidedly steady and industrious, 
 and only 26 decidedly bad. 
 
 " By this system every prisoner forms a class 
 by himself, and to all moral and social purposes he 
 is insulated. The novice in crime may work fur 
 years by the side of the most expert felon, without 
 making any progress in the mysteries of crimi- 
 nality. The prisoners are compelled to work dili- 
 gently and profitably, and are deterred from spoil- 
 ing their work ; and we may add, as an important 
 feature of this system, that, if any human mentis 
 ean, as it were, enforce repentance and amendment, 
 it is this, the entire separation from all criminal 
 associates the sobriety of feelings consequent upon 
 temperance and labour and, most of all, the sad- 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 173 
 
 ness of solitude, must frequently make serious 
 impressions." 
 
 Such is an account of ;m American State-prison ; 
 and it is much to be desired that some such plan 
 was adopted in this country, in place <f our pre- 
 sent singularly expensive and aimless system of 
 punishment. 
 
 In the city of New York there are several 
 prisons of various kinds, such as Bridewells. Peni- 
 tentiaries, Gaols, &c. ; but as these are conducted 
 similarly to those of other cities, we will not burden 
 our pages with a description. 
 
 Law Courts. The administration of justice in 
 New York is quite a different matter from what it 
 is in this country. It is there conducted in a style 
 of primitive simplicity, and denuded of all those 
 trapping* and formalities which appear to be con- 
 sidered requisite in Great Britain to render it 
 effective. As an example, we will lay before our 
 readers the account of a visit paid to the Law 
 Courts of New York, by the intelligent author of 
 Men and Manners in America^ which is truly illus 
 trative. He say*, " In the first I entered there 
 were two judges on the bench, and a jury in the 
 box, engaged in the trial of an action of assault and 
 battery, committed by one female on another. It 
 is scarcely possible to conceive the administration 
 of justice invested with fewer forms. Judges and 
 Barristers were both wigless and gownless, and 
 dressed in garments of such colour and fashion, an 
 the taste of the individual might dictate. There 
 was no mace, nor external symbol of authority of 
 any sort, except tiie staves which I observed in 
 the hands of a few constables or officers of the 
 court. In the trial there was no more interest 
 than what the quarrel of two old women in any 
 country may be supposed to excite. The witnesses 
 
174 UNITED STATES OP AMEKICA. 
 
 I thought gave their evidence with a greater 
 degree of phlegm and indifference, than is usual 
 in our courts at home. No one seemed to think 
 that any peculiar decorum of deportment was de- 
 manded by the solemnity of the court. The first 
 witness examined, held the Bible in one hand, 
 while he kept the other in his breeches pocket, 
 and, in giving his evidence, etood lounging with 
 his arm thrown over the bench. The judges were 
 men about fifty, with nothing remarkable in the 
 mode of discharging their duty. The counsel 
 were younger, and, so far as I could judge, by no 
 means deficient either in zeal for the cause of their 
 clients, or ingenuity in maintaining it. The only 
 unpleasant part of the spectacle, for I do not sup- 
 pose that justice could be administered in any 
 country with greater substantial purity, was the 
 incessant salivation going forward in all parts of 
 the court. Judges, counsel, jury, witnessed, 
 officers, and audience, all contributed to augment 
 the mass of abomination ; and the floor around the 
 table of the lawyers presented an appearance, on 
 which even now I find it not very pleasant for the 
 imagination to linger. (But so prevalent is the 
 disgusting practice of chewing tobacco in America, 
 that even in the House of Assembly, spittoons are 
 regularly placed at proper distances for the accom- 
 modation of the honourable members.) 
 
 " Having satisfied my curiosity in tbis court, I 
 entered another, which I was informed was the 
 Supreme Court of the State. The proceedings 
 here were, if possible, less interesting than those 
 I had already witnessed. The court was engaged 
 in hearing arguments connected with a bill of 
 exchange, and, whether in America or I ngland, a 
 speech on such a subject must have been a dull 
 affair ; I was therefore on the point of departing, 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 175 
 
 when a jury, which had previously retired to de- 
 liberate, came into the court, and proceeded in the 
 usual form to deliver their verdict. It was not 
 without &fatti#!ftmeut, I confess, that I remarked 
 that three-fourths of the jurymen were engaged in 
 eating bread and cheese ; and that the foreman 
 actually announced the verdict with his mouth full, 
 ejecting the disjointed syllables during the inter- 
 vals of mastication ! In truth, an American seems 
 to look on a judge, exactly as he does on a carpen- 
 ter or coppersmith, and it never occurs to him, 
 that an administrator of justice is entitled to 
 greater respect than a constructor of brass knockers, 
 or the sheather of a ship's bottom. Tiie jndge and 
 brazier are paid equally for their work ; and Jona- 
 than firmly believes, that while he has money in 
 his pocket, there is no risk of his suffering from 
 the want either of law or warming pans. If the 
 Americans can boast of their judges being able to 
 administer justice without having their heads 
 covered with horse-hair and plastered with poma- 
 tum and powder, we are of opinion that the 
 English may lay claim to more propriety and 
 cleanliness iu their legal proceedings. It would 
 be a strange sight in this country to see one of our 
 judges seated on the bench with his mouth full of 
 the noxious weed, and squirting the saliva through 
 his teeth in all directions ; or to see twelve jury- 
 men entering the box, like so many overgrown 
 school boys, munching bread and cheese ! We 
 hope we may never see a British court of justice 
 so profaned. 
 
 Hotels, Boarding-houses, fyc. New York abounds 
 with every accommodation a stranger can require ; 
 varying in price and kind as much as taste can 
 wish, although it is generally acknowledged that 
 entertainment in the hotels is far more expensive 
 
176 UNITED STATKS OP AMERfCA. 
 
 than in London. Some of the hotels here are con- 
 ducted on a scale of great magnificence, and offer 
 to the more luxurious a quiet retreat, in which 
 the wealthiest and daintiest can satisfy their reign- 
 ing passions. They have frequently sheltered the 
 incognito of foreign grandees. The regulations and 
 arrangements of all such places of public accom- 
 modation are adapted to meet the taste both 
 of the more social and the lovers of solitude. It 
 would be impossible, however, to state any 
 precise scale of charges, as they vary much in 
 different hotels. Next to the hotels are the vari- 
 ous boarding-houses, in all parts of the town v 
 varying in terms according to their style ; and 
 persons desiring a more secluded home, will also 
 find furnished apartments, though these are by no 
 means so plentiful, and the charges exorbitant. It 
 is extremely difficult for a stranger in New York 
 to select a residence to his mind. The recom- 
 mendation of a friend is the best criterion by which 
 to form a judgment ; but should that not be con- 
 venient, the trial of one must be made, and if dis- 
 appointed in his expectations of comfort, he need not 
 remain beyond the week. As in most cases, how- 
 ever, the success of such houses depends greatly 
 on a respectable connexion, it becomes the interest 
 of the proprietors to consult the wishes of their 
 inmates. 
 
 On arriving at New York, a stranger generally 
 proceeds to one or other of the hotels, where, after 
 some miscellaneous conversation with the landlord, 
 a book is produced, 'in which be is directed to 
 enrol his name, country, and vocation. This 
 formality being complied with, a black waiter is 
 directed to show him an apartment, where he is 
 left to his own meditations. It is the general 
 practice in this city for strangers, in a hotel, and 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 1?7 
 
 even of merchants and men of business, to tak 
 their meals at the public table. The hour of 
 breakfast is notified by the ringing of a bell, and 
 all is hurry- skurry who is to reach the public 
 room first. The table is plentifully supplied with 
 all descriptions of solid viands, while in the occa- 
 sional intervals, are distributed dishes of rolls, 
 toast, and cakes of buck- wheat and Indian corn. 
 At the head of the table sits the landlady, who, 
 with an air of complacent dignity, busies herself 
 in the distribution of tea and coffee to such as may 
 require such refreshing beverages. A number of 
 negroes bustle about, and supply with all possible 
 alacrity the many wants of the promiscuous assem- 
 blage. Beside the landlandy there are generally 
 a few hidies seated at the upper end of the table, 
 but the male sex forms the larger portion of the 
 company. The contrast between an American 
 and an English breakfast table is striking. Here 
 is no loitering nor lounging ; no reading of news- 
 papers ; no want of appetite ; no intervals of re- 
 pose ; but all is hurry, bustle, clamour, and vora- 
 city, as if the people were eating for a wager, and 
 the breakfast goes on in a regular business-like 
 manner, with a rapidity altogether unexampled ; 
 and in a few minutes the breakfast- room is de- 
 serted by the guests, leaving a table by no means 
 gracious either to the eye or the fancy. 
 
 The general dinner-hour at New York is three 
 o'clock ; and as that hour approaches, the bar of 
 the hotel, which is the lounging place of the estab- 
 lishment, becomes thronged with the whole of the 
 inmates. But no sooner is the bell sounded than 
 a general rush takes place towards the dining- 
 room. The hurry of this movement is, in nine 
 cases out of ten. uncalled for, as there is seldom 
 any difficulty in procuring places. To a hungry 
 i 2 " 
 
178 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 person the view of the dinner-table is far from un- 
 pleasing. The number of dishes is in general very 
 great roast beef, beef steak, roast turkey, &c. 
 The style of cooking is peculiarly American. The 
 dressed dishes are decidedly bad, the sauces being 
 composed of little else than liquid grease. Still, in 
 such a multitude of dishes, it is next to impossible 
 for the most delicate stomach not to pick out a 
 good dinner. Here, as at breakfast, is to be seen 
 the same scene of gulping the victuals, as if there 
 was not the least occasion for mastication. There 
 is no conversation ; and if a stranger cannot help 
 himself, he does not need to look for help from his 
 neighbour, as each individual seems too intent in 
 thrusting the food down his own gullet, to pay any 
 attention to the wants of those around him. If 
 you do happen to ask any gentleman to help you 
 from a dish before him, he either turns a deaf ear 
 to your solicitation, or if he complies, it is in such 
 a manner as plainly evinces that he would rather 
 decline the honour ; and instead of a tiny bit, he 
 returns your plate loaded, so as you may have no 
 excuse for interrupting him a second time. A pub- 
 lic dinner table at a New York hotel forcibly recals 
 to the memory the words used by Robert Burns, 
 in his ct Address to a Haggis" : 
 
 " De'il tak the hindmost, on they drive." 
 
 Brandy bottles are ranged at proper intervals along 
 the table, from which each guest may help himself 
 as he thinks proper ; there is also beer, or rather 
 ale, but water is more generally used. As the 
 dinner advances, the party rapidly diminishes, and 
 in about a quarter of an hour the table is again de- 
 serted. The American seems to consider eating as 
 a, necessary task, which he is anxious to get over 
 as speedily as possible. A stranger may be at 
 
STATI-. OF M W YORK. 179 
 
 first disposed to attribute tins hurry to the claims 
 of business ; but this supposition will be speedily 
 done away with, when he perceives that many of 
 the most expeditious of the trenchermen spend seve- 
 ral hours after dinner in smoking cigars, and loung- 
 ing at the bar. 
 
 At six o'clock the bell rings for tea. The party 
 again musters, though not in such force as at din- 
 ner. This meal is likewise provided with a plen- 
 tiful supply of solids ; and tea and coffee, both of 
 bad quality, as they generally are, especially at the 
 public tables in this city. At ten o'clock a supper, 
 of cold meat, &c., is set, which remains on the 
 table for the convenience of the guests till twelve, 
 when it is cleared away, and eating terminates for 
 the day. Such is the unvarying routine of a New 
 York hotel, for which, with an inferior bed-room, 
 the stranger is charged from twelve to fifteen dol- 
 lars per week. Boarding-houses are conducted in 
 a similar manner, but on considerably lower terms. 
 True, you may obtain private apartments, but the 
 charge is extravagantly high ; and the privilege of 
 separate meals is also to be paid for. 
 
 In their own houses Americans may, perhap?, 
 use their freedom and do as they please ; but in 
 their hotels they are assuredly in a state of degrad- 
 ing bondage. Their hours of rest, well as those of 
 their meals, are there laid down by the landlord, 
 and his decrees are as unalterable as those of the 
 Medes and Persians. Woe to the unfortunate 
 whom business or pleasure may have detained 
 beyond the tinkling of the dinner-bell. In such a 
 case he must content himself to pick up such cold 
 fragments of fish, flesh, or fowl as may happen to 
 lie hashed about the table, or go dinnerless for the 
 day. lie is at perfect liberty to choose which he 
 will do, but he will find no remedy. An intelligent 
 
180 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 writer observe* on this subject, from his own expe- 
 rience, that u Boniface is the most rigorous and 
 iron-hearted of despots. And surely nerer was 
 monarch blessed with more patient and obedient 
 subjects ! He feeds them in droves like cattle. He 
 rings a bell, and they come like dogs at their mas- 
 ter s whistle. He places before them what he 
 thinks proper, and they swallow it without 
 grumbling. His decrees are as those of fate, and 
 the motto of his establishment is, ' Submit or 
 starve/ " 
 
 American cooking is likewise something pecu- 
 liar. It is neither French nor English, though it 
 approaches nearer to the latter than to the former. 
 Europeans generally, but especially natives of Great 
 Britain, perceive at once the inferiority of the Ame- 
 ricans in their culinary preparations. Nor are 
 such of the inhabitants of the United States who 
 have visited England ignorant of the fact, as a 
 proof of which we will extract the following para- 
 graph from the u American Democrat," by James 
 Fennimore Cooper, the most celebrated author 
 America has yet produced. He says : 
 
 " There is a familiar and too much despised 
 branch of civilization, of which the population of 
 this country is singularly and unhappily ignorant, 
 that of cookery. The art of eating and drinking is 
 one of those on which more depends, perhaps, than 
 on any other; since health, activity of mind, con- 
 stitutional enjoyments, even learning, refinement, 
 and, to a certain degree, morals, are all, more or 
 less, connected with our diet. The Americans are 
 the grossest feeders of any civilized nation known. 
 As a nation, their food is heavy, coarse, ill pre- 
 pared, and indigestible, while it is taken^in the 
 least artificial forms that cookery will allow. The 
 predominance of grease in the American kitchen. 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 181 
 
 coupled with the habits of hasty eating and con- 
 stant expectoration, are the causes of the diseases 
 of the stomach so common in America. The 
 science of the tahle extends far beyond the indul- 
 gence of our appetites ; as the school of manners 
 includes health and morals, as well as that which 
 is agreeable. Yegetable diet is almost converted 
 into an injury in America, from an ignorance of 
 the best modes of preparation, while even animal 
 food is much abused, and loses half its nutriment. 
 
 " The same is true as respects liquors. The 
 heating and exciting wines, the brandies, and the 
 coarser drinks of the labouring classes, all conspire 
 to injure the physical and the moral man, while 
 they defeat their own ends. 
 
 u There are points of civilization on which this 
 country has yet much to learn ; for while the 
 tables of the polished and cultivated partake of the 
 abundance of the country, and wealth has even 
 found means to introduce some knowledge of the 
 kitchen, there is not, perhaps, on the face of the 
 globe, the same number of people among whom 
 the good things of the earth are so much abused as 
 among the people of the United States. National 
 character is in some measure affected by a know- 
 ledge of the art of preparing food, there being as 
 good reason to suppose that man is as much affected 
 by diet as any other animal ; and it is certain that 
 the connection between our moral and physical 
 qualities is so intimate as to cause them to react on 
 each other." 
 
 These are the remarks of an American ; and 
 travellers generally agree with him in these obser- 
 vations ; from which we may conclude that the 
 most efficient reform that could be introduced into 
 the United States, both as regards health and cha- 
 
182 UNITED STATES OP AMEK1CA. 
 
 racier, would be an alteration in the culinary and 
 dietetic system. 
 
 Domestic Servants. Few white native Ameri- 
 cans could be induced to accept of domestic ser- 
 vice, which is considered as degrading in the ex- 
 treme by all untainted by the curse of African 
 descent. The English and Scotch, therefore, on 
 their arrival in this country, very soon imbibe this 
 prejudice; but the case is riot so with the more 
 unfortunate "exile of Erin," who, frequently land- 
 ing on the quays of New York in a state of desti- 
 tution, has to put away such scruples. But even 
 with him domestic service is only temporary, as he 
 no sooner collects together a few dollars than he 
 starts off in search of more manly employment in 
 this land of liberty and equality. But as there is 
 no general rule without an exception, an American 
 servant may now and then be found in the hotels 
 and boarding-houses of New York. He 'does his 
 duty well and constantly, but his manners are as 
 different as possible from those of a British servant. 
 No obsequiousness; nor would he touch his hat on 
 passing one of the inmates for the world. There 
 is, however, no want of civility, but it is expected 
 to be shown to servants as well as by them. Even 
 the blacks and free coloured people address each 
 other by the ordinary appellations of sir and 
 madam; and the people generally, when speaking 
 of any one in his absence, call him citizen. Such 
 is the spirit of democracy in the United States that 
 it is with the greatest reluctance that an inequality 
 of condition is admitted even among servants. On 
 this point the author of tbe u American Democrat" 
 justly remarks: 
 
 a In consequence of tbe domestic servants of 
 America having once been negro slaves, a prejudice 
 has arisen among tbe labouring classes of the 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 183 
 
 whites, who not only dislike the term servant, but 
 have also rejected that of master. So far has this 
 prejudice gone, that in lieu of the latter they have 
 resorted to the use of the word boss, which has 
 precisely the same meaning in Dutch ! How far a 
 subterfuge of this nature is worthy of a manly and 
 common- sense people will admit of a question. 
 
 u A similar objection may be made to the use of 
 the word ' help/ which is not only an innovation 
 on a just and established term, but which does not 
 properly convey the meaning intended. They who 
 aid their masters in the toil may be deemed ' helps ;' 
 but they who perform all the labour do not assist, 
 or help to do the thing, but they do it themselves. 
 A man does not usually hire his cook to help him 
 to cook his dinner, but to cook it herself. Nothing 
 is therefore gained, while something is lost in sim- 
 plicity and clearness, by the substitution of new 
 and imperfect terms for the long-established words 
 of the language. In all cases where the people of 
 America have retained the things of their ancestors, 
 they should not be ashamed to keep the names" 
 
 The kindness and hospitality of the mass of the 
 American people (without reference to the small 
 number of those who consider themselves the great 
 in this country) are quite unostentatious. When 
 a stranger is invited to dinner, there is seldom any 
 change made in the family meal. The owner of 
 the house knows that there is always abundance of 
 good food upon his table. That degree of attention 
 is shown which a stranger meets with everywhere, 
 in seeing that his plate be filled, in the first in- 
 stance, with what he likes ; but no pressing or 
 entreaty are used to make him eat or drink more 
 than he chooses. If wine or brandy is produced, 
 he is Itft to partake of it or not as he has a mind. 
 There is in general but little conversation at an 
 
184 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 American table, but the talk is never about tbe 
 quality of the dishes or the liquor upon the table ; 
 and as the master of the house generally returns to 
 the discharge of his business in the evening, it may 
 be presumed that there is not much time to waste 
 on frivolous or common- place talk. 
 
 The difference, we should imagine, is not very 
 striking between the social habits of America, and 
 those predominant in the mercantile cities of Great 
 Britain. In both, the same pursuits are followed ; 
 in both, the prevailing power is that of wealth ; 
 and in both, there is a similar hunting after un- 
 substantial honours. The United States is termed 
 the land of liberty and equality. This is a mis- 
 take. There is as much practical equality in 
 London, Dublin, Liverpool, Edinburgh or Glasgow, 
 as New York. The merchants on 'Change do not 
 strut less proudly in the latter city than in any of 
 the former ; nor are their wives and daughters 
 against favouring their pretensions. In New York, 
 as in other cities, the rich man looks down upon 
 the poor; and he, who by his talents has raised 
 himself in society, is despised by the man who 
 stands upon the honour of his birth. Thus it is 
 with the male sex, and with the female it is not 
 different ; no woman will confess that all men 
 are equal. The spirit of aristocracy displays itself 
 in this commercial city in every variety of form. 
 
 There are fifteen markets in New York, con- 
 veniently distributed throughout the city. The 
 Fulton and Washington are two of the largest arid 
 the best supplied ; but beyond the show of beef 
 and potatoes, there is generally a plentiful lack of 
 every thing. In fish, halibut and bass are abun- 
 dant, as well as a coarse kind of cockle, called 
 clams ; but the lobsters and oysters are all 4 hat an 
 epicure could desire, and remarkably cheap. The 
 
STATE OF NEW YuRK. 185 
 
 vegetable market is scarcely worth mentioning, 
 with the exception of potatoes and peas ; indeed, 
 the lowest localities of London, to say nothing of 
 her markets, exhibit articles for sale in the vegeta- 
 ble line, that would absolutely astonish a citizen 
 of New York. With the exception of peaches 
 and apples, which are of excellent quality, the 
 American fruit is very scarce and very bad. The 
 consequence is, that the principal show of fruit in 
 the New York market?, consists either of black- 
 berries, whirtle-berries, wild cherries, pea-nuts, or 
 other wild fruits, the produce of the w r oods. The 
 other markets are, if .anything, inferior, and there- 
 fore, not worthy of description.' 
 
 The fire department of New York is well con- 
 ducted ; and well it is so, as no stranger can be 
 long in this city without hearing the cry of " fire !" 
 This alarm, indeed, is so very frequent, that it is 
 attended by little of that anxiety or excitement 
 which generally follow similar calamities in places 
 less accustomed to such conflagrations. The fire- 
 men are noted for their resolution and activity. 
 This body is composed of young citizens, who, by 
 volunteering this service, enjoy the exemption from 
 military duty. Certainly no class of men can 
 excel them in boldness ; and no sooner is the fire- 
 bell heard by them than they hurry to their post. 
 But the scene of conflagration is always one of sad 
 confusion, by the admission of the crowd to the 
 scene of action ; no means being attempted to 
 prevent this in a country where exclusion of any 
 kind is so obnoxious to the popular feeling ; and it 
 must be evident, that the liberty thus pertinaciously 
 insisted on, by an idle mob, is only calculated to 
 increase the danger to both property and life. 
 Fires are chiefly confined to houses built of wood, 
 which are every year becoming fewer. When a 
 
186 UX1TED 8TATIS OP AMERICA. 
 
 wood house, in most parts of the city, has been 
 pulled down or burnt, it is required that a more 
 substantial building, of brick or stone, be erected 
 in its place. It has been frequently observed that 
 many wood houses, when favourably situated for 
 business, and let upon a long lease, are annually 
 burnt down by some secret incendiary, as is gener- 
 ally supposed, employed by the landlord, who finds 
 it to be his interest to accomplish this; and the 
 goods and stores of the tenant are but slight im- 
 pediments in the way of a man determined to make 
 money, this, however, is mere supposition. The 
 value of ground-lots has, in some situations, in- 
 creased so much as to render the destruction of a 
 wood tenement of no importance. The wood house 
 once burnt down, the tenant finds himself com- 
 pelled to build one more suitable, or to relinquish 
 his lease: in either case the landlord is the gainer. 
 Howeve^ the conflagrations may arise, it is placed 
 beyond a doubt, that in the city of New York 
 alone, there are annually more fires than occur in 
 the whole of Great Britain and Ireland. Ground 
 for building is of more value, perhaps, in New 
 York, than in any city of the world. A space, 
 25 feet in front, and 100 deep, in a good situation, 
 will at any time realise from 30 to 40,000 dollars. 
 A small plot of ground, fronting three principal 
 streets, was lately valued at 140,000 dollars. With 
 such facts before them, the public need not be sur- 
 prised at the number of wood houses annually 
 destroyed by fire. 
 
 Anniversaries. Of these annual festivals there 
 are several which are strictly attended to. We 
 will enumerate a few : 
 
 New Year's Day. There is a particular custom 
 which prevails in New York, but, we believe, in 
 no other part of the Union : ou the first day of 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 187 
 
 January it is the practice of gentlemen to call on 
 their female friends, to renew or partake their 
 friendship ; and the omission of this observance in 
 regard to any particular family, is considered as an 
 affront. In like manner it would be regarded as 
 unpardonably rude in a lady to treat with indiffer- 
 ence any gentleman who has honoured her with 
 his visit. The clergy also hold a levee on this day, 
 which is attended by the male members of their 
 respective congregations. These visits are often 
 the commencement of new acquaintances, or the 
 reconciliation of former ones, which were broken 
 off or discontinued through some slight misunder- 
 standing. All the ladies of a family remain at 
 home, dressed with taste, to receive visits ; while 
 their husbands, fathers, and brothers are abroad 
 actively paying them. Each visitor as he enters, 
 shakes hands, seats himself, talks for a few moments 
 on the ordinary topics of the day, then hurries off 
 on the same errand to some other family. Pre- 
 pared cakes, sweetmeats, wines, cordials, &c., are 
 on the table, of which each visitor is invited to 
 partake. The custom is of Dutch origin ; and its 
 influence on the social intercourse of families is 
 extremely salutary ; as New year's day is consi- 
 dered a day of kindness and reconciliation, on 
 which petty differences are forgotten and slight 
 injuries are forgiven. The citizens of New York 
 seem on this day to have light hearts and buoyant 
 spirits, and all is animation, cheerfulness, and 
 friendly feeling. Indeed this is one of those rare 
 occasions on which the bright side of American 
 sociality is to be seen. 
 
 Washington's Birth -day, 22nd February. The 
 preparations for celebrating this anniversary are 
 great. A numerous assemblage of officers and 
 gentry of different orders congregate at the Town- 
 
188 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 hall, and march thence in procession, attended by 
 soldiers and military music, through some of the 
 principal streets to the Middle or Reformed Dutch 
 Church in Nassau Street, to which communion the 
 patriotic hero belonged. On this occasion a suitable 
 discourse is delivered in the church, after which 
 the procession returns by another route to the 
 Town- hall, where refreshments are provided. The 
 Town- hall and some of the other public buildings 
 are brilliantly illuminated in the evening. This 
 festival is in commemoration of the birth of the 
 principal leader of the most extraordinary revolu- 
 tion that ever took place ; and the whole scene is 
 impressive, and its effect greatly augmented by the 
 immense concourse of well-dressed ladies and gen- 
 tlemen with which the largest church in the city is 
 crowded on that particular day, all anxious to p;*y 
 a tribute of respect to that great man who, after 
 having given liberty to his country, retired from 
 public life to his paternal home, followed by the 
 fervent admiration of his countrymen. Unlike 
 Cromwell, or Napoleon in later times, he had no 
 desire to take advantage of his situation or popu- 
 larity, and thereby secure for life the office of 
 emperor, king, or protector. He freely renounced 
 all official distinction, thereby giving an example 
 of moral virtue quite unparalleled in the history of 
 modern times, and retaining no other reward for 
 his extraordinary services, than his country's love. 
 The following letter to a French nobleman, who 
 assisted in establishing American independence, 
 written soon after his retirement, gives a lively 
 picture of his feelings, and breathes a fine spirit of 
 philosophy : " At length, my dear Marquis, 1 
 have become a private citizen on the banks of the 
 Potomac, and under the shadow of my own vine 
 and my own fig tree. Free from the bustle of a, 
 
STATE OF NEW YOiiK. 189 
 
 camp, and the 'busy scenes of public life, I am 
 solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments of 
 which the soldier, who is ever in pursuit of fame 
 the statesman, whose watchful days and sleepless 
 nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the 
 welfare of his own, or the ruin of other countries, 
 as if this globe was insufficient for us all and the 
 courtier, who is always watching the countenance 
 of his prince, in the hope of catching a gracious 
 smile can have very little conception. I have 
 not only retired from all public employments, but 
 am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view 
 the solitary walk, and tread the paths of private 
 life with heartfelt satisfaction. Envious of none, I 
 U7n determined to be pleased with all, and move 
 gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with 
 my fathers." The memory of General George 
 Washington is cherished by all classes in the United 
 
 States, while his name serves as a lasting incite- 
 
 ... 
 
 ment to the nation to preserve its institutions un- 
 impaired to a distant posterity. 
 
 May-day. The first day of May is noted among 
 the citizens of New York for bustle and change. 
 In this city it is next to impossible to rent a house 
 or lodgings for a longer period than one year ; or 
 any part of a year longer than till May -day fol- 
 lowing. On that day all is confusion, and many 
 carious scenes are afforded to the spectator who has 
 the good fortune to be unconcerned in the hurry 
 going on ; in every direction are to be seen carts 
 and waggons laden with furniture ; the streets are 
 literally filled with men, women, and children 
 carrying chairs, tables, drawers, desks, pote, 
 pans, and other unmentionable utensils, from one 
 house to another. This is truly a festival fc>r 
 porters and carters, who on this day are certain of 
 being well employed, and receive double the pay- 
 ment usual on any other day of the year. Jt i* 
 
190 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 also a kind of holiday to all the gossips of New 
 York, who, on this particular day, are allowed the 
 privilege of peeping at will into the lodgings of 
 such as have not permanent dwellings. As this 
 dreaded day approaches, the landlord waits upon 
 the tenant, and proposes his terms for the ensuing 
 year, which, the reader may presume, are anything 
 but a reduction of the exorbitant rent ; and the 
 tenant prefers a change. A notice is instantly 
 posted on the door, giving intimation that such 
 apartments are to be let ; and the tenant is now 
 left to look out for himself; in doing so he enters 
 freely into every dwelling where the occupier is in 
 similar circumstances with himself; while his own 
 apartments are, in like manner, exposed to the 
 prying scrutiny of others. It is a mere impossi- 
 bility for a stranger who occupies lodgings, and 
 wishes to escape the rapacity of his landlord, to 
 avoid such intrusion into his most private rooms. 
 Many ladies employ much of their time about this 
 period in impertinently inspecting the abodes of 
 strangers, to discover if they are respectable, and 
 examine if their rooms are well furnished. Ame- 
 ricans could not have invented any custom more 
 inquisitorial, or which gives readier access to the 
 privacy of strangers. It is one, certainly, well 
 qualified partly to appease that abominable curio- 
 sity which has become so proverbially national. 
 
 Evacuation of the City by the British, 25th 
 November. This is always a grand gala -day at 
 New York. To perpetuate the memory of this 
 glorious event, there is generally a parade of the 
 whole of the militia (always a poor affair in Ame- 
 rica), some firing of cannon and musketry, a pro- 
 cession of the various trades, some mounted, some 
 on foot, with banners and emblematical devices; 
 the public bodies, decked out in their best ; and if 
 it should fortunately happen that there is no fire in 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 191 
 
 the city requiring the attendance of the fire-engines 
 and firemen, they bring up the rear of the proces- 
 sion. The shops are closed, the citizens decorated 
 with scarfs and ribbons, and the day spent in high 
 glee and merriment, by all classes. 
 
 Organised Societies, " The Workies." In the 
 city of New York a separation has been for some 
 years taking place between the different orders of 
 society. The working class have organised them- 
 selves into regular bodies, even more ridiculous in 
 their views than the Chartists in England. There 
 are three or four different confederations, familiarly 
 called " Workies," in direct opposition to those 
 who, more favoured by fortune, enjoy the luxuries 
 of life without the necessity of manual labour. 
 These people make no secret of their demands, 
 which have been published in the newspapers, and 
 posted on the walls. They vary somewhat, how- 
 ever, from each other in their principles, and go 
 different lengths in their attacks on the institutions 
 of the country. The " Moderates 1 ' contend for 
 equal and universal education; as it is unjust to 
 maintain that there is no privileged order in a 
 country where distinctions of education are per- 
 mitted, the Workies being, in fact, excluded from 
 all the valuable offices of the State, on account of 
 their necessity to labour depriving them of the 
 opportunity of acquiring the requisite education, 
 while the loaves and fishes are distributed among 
 a small but favoured class, and they aim at the 
 abolition of this flagrant injustice, before American 
 freedom can be called anything but a mere boast, 
 by giving every citizen the same degree of educa- 
 tion, and allowing all to start fair in the competi- 
 tion for the honours and offices of the State. 
 
 There are others, called " Agrarians," who are 
 the most ultra and least numerous class, who follow 
 out the principles of the Moderates, by insisting 
 
192 
 
 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 on the justice and propriety of every citizen being 
 equally supplied with food and clothing, and boldly 
 advocate an equal division of property throughout 
 
 the country, at given intervals of time, and dilate 
 
 * * 
 
 eloquently on the injustice of one man riding in a 
 carriage, while his hard- working neighbour is com- 
 pelled to walk on foot ; of one man drinking cham- 
 pagne, while the great majority of the people have 
 to content themselves with water ; this is the mon- 
 strous iniquity which can only be remedied by an 
 equalisation of property. The absurdity of these 
 doctrines must ultimately destroy them as a body. 
 Some of the advertisements emanating from these 
 confederated bodies are of an extraordinary cha- 
 racter ; and to illustrate the character of these 
 clubs, we will here insert a copy of one which was 
 distributed through all quarters of New York : 
 
 "THE CAUSE OF THE POOE. 
 
 t( The mechanics and other working men of the city of 
 Xew York, and of these such, and such only, who live by 
 their own useful industry, who wish to retain all political 
 power in their own hands ; 
 
 Who are in favour of 
 
 A just compensation for la- 
 bour, 
 
 Abolishing imprisonment for 
 debt, 
 
 A n efficient lien law, 
 
 A general system of educa- 
 tion ; including food, 
 clothing, and instruc- 
 tion, equal for all, at 
 the public expense, vnth- 
 ewt separation of children 
 from parents, 
 
 Exemption from sale, by ex- 
 ecutioD, of mechanics' 
 tools and implements, 
 sufficiently extensive to 
 carry on business ; 
 
 And who are opposed t-o 
 
 Banks and 
 
 Bankers, 
 
 A uctions and 
 
 A uctioneers, 
 
 Monopolies and 
 
 Monopolists, of all descrip- 
 tions, 
 
 Brokers, 
 
 Lawyers, and 
 
 Rich men for office, and to 
 all those, either rich 
 or poor, who favour 
 them, 
 
 Exemption of property from 
 taxation ; 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 193 
 
 Are invited to assemble at the Wooster Street Military 
 Hall, on Thursday evening next, 16th September, at eight 
 o'clock, to select by ballot, from among the persons pro- 
 posed on the 6th instant, Candidates for Governor, Lieute- 
 nant Governor, Senator, and a new Committee of Fifty, and 
 to propose Candidates for Register, for Members of Con- 
 gress, and for Assembly. 
 
 " By order of the Committee of Fifty, 
 
 " JOHN R. SOPER, Chairman. 
 " JOHN TUTHILL, Secretary." 
 
 This is undoubtedly sheer nonsense, and beats 
 the ravings of our Chartist leaders hollow. It is, 
 however, a well ascertained fact, that the influence 
 of these bodies is strongly felt in the elections for 
 the civic offices of the city ; and though this party 
 is as yet neither so numerous, nor their principles 
 so widely diffused as to create immediate alarm, 
 there can be little doubt that, as the population 
 increases, and the supply of labour exceeds the 
 demand, the strength of these bodies must l> 
 greatly augmented, by the needy, the idle, and 
 the profligate, till at length they will be able to 
 shake the present constitution from its firm basi?. 
 This event may be, and we sincerely hope it is, far 
 distant ; but it is not, on that account, the less 
 certain. The rapid increase of the population, 
 especially in the Atlantic States, must reduce the 
 price of labour, while that of the necessaries of life 
 must be greatly enhanced. The people will be 
 oppressed by poverty and misery ; the great ma- 
 jority without property of any kind. Then will 
 come the trial of their much vaunted constitution 
 nor is this period apparently very distant. 
 
 Taxation. Although the inhabitants of the 
 United States are not so overburdened with taxa- 
 tion as those of this country as they are neither 
 Uxed with house duty, nor taxes on know- 
 it 
 
104 TJMTED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 ledge, nor subject to many other imposts with 
 which we are ground down yet we observe, from 
 the foregoing document, that they claim exemption 
 from taxation on property the very article the 
 majority of the people in Great Britain and Ire- 
 laud wish to impose it upon. But the truth is, 
 the large cities in America are by no means so 
 lightly taxed as from the cheapness of the govern- 
 ment, we are led to believe ; the public works, pub- 
 lic buildings, administration of justice, &c., requir- 
 ing adequate funds for their maintenance and sup- 
 port. There is one consolation, however, which 
 the Americans have, which we are almost, if not 
 wholly, denied, and that is the knowledge that 
 these burdens must gradually decrease, and that 
 the money is laid out for their own peculiar benefit, 
 and not expended upon the spurious progeny or 
 cast-off mistresses of the aristocracy ; indeed, we 
 have somewhere read of an Irish Viceroy who, not 
 a great many years since, settled his physician's 
 bill by conferring upon him a baronetcy, with a 
 pension of ,200 a-year of the public money. 
 : Literature Tire first printing-press established 
 in the American colonies was one set up at Cam- 
 bridge, in Massachusetts, in 1638, the era of the 
 foundation of Harvard College of that place. It 
 was established by the joint contributions of indi- 
 viduals in Europe and America, and was imported, 
 along with the type, from England. The first 
 book printed was the New England version of the 
 41 Psalms of David," an 8vo volume of 300 pages. 
 Books began to be printed at Boston in 1676; and 
 printing became known in Philadelphia in 1686 ; 
 and in New York in 1693. In the year J700 
 there were only four printing presses in the colo- 
 nies. Since that period, and especially since the 
 Revolution, the number has greatly increased. The 
 
STATE OF .NEW Y')jK. 1 1)5 
 
 Americans have copied the patent steam-press of 
 Covvper of London, and now possess that, as well 
 as other machines of various descriptions. Jn 1800, 
 the number of papers had increased to 300 ; in 
 1840. they exceeded 2,000; and they continue to 
 increase in number ; almost every town or village 
 has one or more. About twenty years ago, the 
 Cherokees, one of the tribes of native Indians, 
 set up a press, and commenced a newspaper a 
 circumstance presenting us with an extraordinary 
 instance of the extension of knowledge in America. 
 The Cherokees have a newspaper, called the t; Che- 
 rokee Phosnix," written partly in English and partly 
 in the Cherokee tongue, which was started and 
 entirely conducted by a young Ciierokee, who, 
 upon hearing a suspicion had got abroad that the 
 editor was assisted by a white man, issued the 
 fallowing notice : ; No white has anything to do 
 with the management of our paper. No other 
 person, white or red, besides the ostensible editor, 
 lias written, since the commencement of the ' Phoe- 
 mx,' half a column of matter which has appeared 
 under the editorial head." This fact speaks vol- 
 umes in favour of the intellect of the native Indians 
 of America. 
 
 At the beginning of the present century 100 
 original books and pamphlets were printed annually 
 in the States. The number of original works novr 
 t xceeds 1,200, besides reprints of nearly all books of 
 value appearing in Great Britain and Ireland, and 
 many translations from the French and German 
 languages. There is likewise a large importation 
 of books from Europe, upon which duties are im- 
 posed, for the purpose of encouraging the native 
 printing and publishing trade ; and as these dutiei 
 act as a serious obstacle to the importation of books, 
 they are by no means creditable to the legislature. 
 
196 ririTED STATES op AMERICA. 
 
 Copyright is secured in the United States for four- 
 teen years, by depositing and recording the title of 
 any work, map, chart, &c. at the office of the clerk 
 cf the district, and can be renewed at the end of 
 that term, for a further period of fourteen years. 
 
 No newspaper appeared in the colonies till 1704. 
 The name of the paper was the "News Letter," 
 which was issued at Boston, and existed till 1776. 
 The first paper published in Philadelphia was 
 issued in 1719, and the first in New York in 1733. 
 At the commencement of the revolutionary war, 
 the number of newspapers published in the States 
 was only 37 ; in 1810 it had reached 358 ; but it 
 would not now be easy to compute the number of 
 periodicals under the designation of newspapers, 
 although it cannot be under 3,000. Mr. MacCul- 
 loch, in his " Dictionary of Commerce," says, " The 
 increase of newspapers in the United States has 
 been far greater than in England, a result partly, 
 no doubt, to be ascribed to the more rapid increase 
 of population in the Union, but in a far greater de- 
 gree to freedom of taxation. The total number of 
 newspapers annually issued in the United States is 
 estimated at 55,000,000. We believe that the 
 total number issued in Great Britain and Ireland 
 at this moment, notwithstanding the peculiar ex- 
 citement of the period (the Reform Bill agitation) 
 is under 35,000,0(0; so that, making allowance 
 for the difference of population, every individual in 
 America has, at an average, more than twice the 
 supply of newspapers enjoyed by individuals in 
 England. In America newspapers are printed 
 everywhere the postage being only at the rate of a 
 halfpenny, or at most, three farthings. The sheeti 
 are free from stamps or any taxation whatever. 
 Although far from standing on the same level of 
 literary ability as the English newspapers, th 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 197 
 
 newspapers of the States obtain a greater influence 
 over tlie people than almost any other element of 
 society. This branch of literature will, it is fondly 
 hoped, improve in point of style, honesty, and other 
 general characteristics, of which it is at present iu 
 so much need." 
 
 The earliest magazine attempted in the colonies 
 was the '' General Magazine," published at Phila- 
 delphia, by Benjamin Franklin, in 1741 ; but it 
 only continued for six months ; and a weekly ma- 
 gazine, which was started at Boston in 1743, was 
 sustained only four weeks. All such works made 
 their way for a long time slowly, and with diffi- 
 culty. But a revolution also came in this depart- 
 ment of literature, and in 1810 there were no fewer 
 than twenty-six works of the nature of magazines. 
 The number is very greatly increased, amounting, 
 probably, to 200, many of which are of a religious 
 nature. Boston is the busy seat of this species of 
 literary manufacture. 
 
 The leading reviews in the States are the u North 
 American Review," published ia Boston ; the 
 u American Quarterly Review," conducted in 
 Philadelphia ; and the " American Monthly Re- 
 view," in New York. The " London Quarterly 
 Review," and the fct Edinburgh Review," as well as 
 some other popular English, Scotch, and Irish 
 periodicals, are regularly reprinted in the States. 
 
 The Americans are allowed to be a nation of 
 readers, and it is surprising to a stranger, in peram- 
 bulating the streets of New York, or any of the 
 other cities of the Union, to see the extensive traf- 
 fic which is carried on in cheap publications. The 
 mail packet from England has no sooner arrived 
 than the printers are immediately set to work, and 
 in the course of a few days, two or three editions 
 of the most celebrated of the new works that issu 
 
198 UMTKD STATFS OP AMKHICA. 
 
 from the British press are published at a mere 
 tithe of the English price. The pictorial news- 
 papers of London are to be found as plentiful in 
 New York as in the great metropolis itself. Num- 
 bers of puny-looking urchins drive a profitable 
 trade in these low priced publications, and upon a 
 capital of four or five dollars, are able to dress 
 well, smoke to their heart's content, talk politic?, 
 and average a clear income of from twelve to fifteen 
 dollars a-week upon this trifling outlay. 
 
 But it is the newspaper press that is most patro- 
 nised. No citizen will grudge a halfpenny for the 
 " Tribune," or a penny for the 4t Herald," the most 
 profligate of all the profligate newspapers in Ame- 
 rica, the property of Mr. Bennett, a renegade Scots- 
 man, who boasts that his daily circulation amounts 
 to 40,000, but he can find few so foolish as to be- 
 lieve him. Like the majority of American news- 
 papers, the " Herald" is devoid of any pretensions 
 to talent or honesty. Unfortunately, as every one 
 reads in America, the newspaper press is used as 
 an engine by the several editors, and a means of each 
 raising his own political party in public estimation, 
 at the expense of their opponents, and this dishonest 
 practice is carried on to an extent unparalleled in 
 any other country. Mr. J. F. Cooper, from whom 
 we have already so freely quoted, says, <; The 
 newspaper press of this country is distinguished 
 from that of Europe in several essential particulars. 
 While there are more prints, they are generally of 
 a lower character. It follows that in all in which 
 they are useful, their utility is more diffused through 
 society, and in all in which they are hurtful, the 
 injury they inflict is more wide spread and cor- 
 rupting. 
 
 " The great number of newspapers in America 
 is a cause of there being so little capital, and con- 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 1P9 
 
 sequently so little intelligence, employed in tlii'ir 
 management. It is also a reason of the inexac- 
 titude of much of the news they circulate. It 
 requires a larger investment of capital than is 
 usual in this country, to ohtain correct information ; 
 while, on the other hand, the great competition 
 fenders editors reckless and impatient to fill their 
 columns. To these circum>tances may he added 
 the greater influence of vague and unfounded ru- 
 mours in a vast and thinly settled country, than, 
 on a compact population covering a small surface. 
 
 " Discreet and observing men have questioned 
 whether, after excluding the notices of deaths and 
 marriages, one half of the circumstances that are 
 related in the newspapers of America, are true in 
 their essential features ; and in ca w es connected 
 with party politics, it rnnv be questioned if even 
 so large a proportion can be set down as accurate. 
 
 " This is a terrible picture to contemplate, for 
 when the number of prints is remembered, and the 
 avidity with which they are read, is brought into 
 the account, we are made to perceive that the 
 entire nation, in a moral sense, breathes an atmos- 
 phere of falsehoods. There is little use, however, 
 an concealing the truth ; on the contrary, the 
 dread in whie-h public men and writers commonly 
 stand of the |>ower of the press to injure them, has 
 permitted the evil to extend so far that it is 
 scarcely exceeding the bounds of a just alarm to 
 pay, that th-e country cannot much longer exist in 
 safety under the malign influence that now over- 
 shadows it. Any one who has lived long enough 
 to note change^* of the sort, must have perceived 
 how fast men of probity and virtue are losing their 
 influence in the country, to be superseded by those 
 who scarcely deem an affection of the higher 
 Dualities necessary to their success. This fearful 
 
200 UNITED STATES UP AMERICA. 
 
 change must, in a great measure, be ascribed to 
 the corruption of the public press, which, as a 
 whole, owes its existence to the schemes of in- 
 terested political adventurers. 
 
 u lf newspapers are useful in overthrowing 
 tyrants, it is only to establish a tyranny of their 
 own. The press tyrannizes over public men', 
 letters, the arts, the stage, and even over private 
 life. Under the pretence of protecting public 
 morals, it is corrupting them to the core; and 
 under the semblance of maintaining liberty, it is 
 gradually establishing a despotism as ruthless as 
 grasping, and one that is quite as vulgar as thai 
 of any Christian State known. With lorad expres- 
 eions of freedom of opinion there is no tolerance,'' 
 with a parade of patriotism no sacrifice of interest, 
 and with fulsome panegyrics on propriety too fre- 
 quently no decency. 
 
 64 In America, while the contest was for greai 
 principle, the press aided in elevating the common 
 character, in improving the common mind, and in 
 maintaining the common interests ; but since the 
 contest has ceased, and the struggle has become^ 
 one purely of selfishness and personal interest^ 
 it is employed as a whole in fast undermining its' 
 own work, and in preparing the nation for some 
 terrible reverses, if not in calling down upon it a 
 just judgment of God 
 
 " As the press of this country now exists, it 
 would seem to be expressly devised, by the great 
 agent of mischief to depress and destroy all that is 
 good, and to elevate and advance all that is evil, 
 in the nation. The little truth that is urged, is 
 usually urged coarsely, weakened and rendered 
 vicious by personalities ; while those who live by 
 falsehoods, falsities, enmities, partialities, and the 
 schemes of the designing, find the pre=is the very 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 201 
 
 instrument that the devils would invent to effect 
 their designs." 
 
 The Americans in general boast of their country, 
 and wisli every person to regard it, not only as the 
 most free, but as the most polished and most 
 powerful nation under the sun, and accuse English 
 travellers as slanderers and libellers for publishing 
 as their opinions on the state of American society 
 what is heard openly in every circle, and openly 
 pronounced at public tables, and in the streets 
 every day. But we must honestly confess, that 
 there are some honourable exceptions among the 
 citizens of America, who are content to assume for 
 their country a rank more upon a level with other 
 nations ; and there are even some, though com- 
 paratively few, editors of newspapers, who fear- 
 lessly denounce the demoralized state of the public 
 press, as an engine for supplying the public appe- 
 tite for obscenity, and attacks on the character of 
 private individuals, more especially the low priced 
 papers ; while those journals which are more par- 
 ticularly devoted to politics, truth and honour are 
 sacrificed for the purpose of exalting the idols of 
 their own party. This evil is clearly seen by 
 iome of the more upright and moral editors ; for 
 an example of this, we will insert a short extract 
 from the u New York Journal of Commerce." 
 
 " It is with deep regret and apprehension that we per- 
 ceive the rapid decline of the American press from th 
 correct, moral, and healthy tone by which it was once 
 distinguished. Better a thousand times even the charge 
 of insipidity should be brought against our newspapers, ai 
 it has been heretofore by English travellers and journalists, 
 than that their columns should be enlivened with reporti 
 ef murders, seductions, and all imaginable crimes. 
 
 " A licentious and disorganising pres* was among the 
 forerunners of the French revolution, if it did not assist 
 in causing that terrible convulsion; jit showed the moral 
 K 2 
 
202 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 feeling of the people to be depraved and full of mischief, 
 and in fit condition for the horrors that ensued : and w 
 ometimes fear that the downward progress of the Ameri- 
 can press, as regards moral and religious feeling}- spite of 
 its intellectual improvement, portends evils near at hand, 
 which compared With all that our country has yet under- 
 gone, is but the sighing of a summer breeze in contrast 
 with the fearful whirlwind of the tropics." i 
 
 Such are the sentiments generally entertained 
 by all American citizens who have any respect for 
 the welfare of their country, although a licentious 
 press deters them from openly advocating them. 
 In this respect the inhabitants of Great Britain, 
 despite the iniquitous taxes on knowledge, are in a 
 preferable condition to the Americans such news- 
 papers would not be tolerated a single day in 
 England. But what are we to expect in a country 
 where the law- makers act with such inconsistency 
 of character as to be guilty of the following scene, 
 which, to avoid t.he imputation of being slanderers, 
 we give verbatim from one of their own prints 
 " The New York American." 
 
 "Yesterday morning Messrs. Campbell and Manry, of 
 Tenessee, had a pugilistic encounter in the House of Assem- 
 bly, a few minutes after it adjourned. They were much 
 bruised, and each received a brace of black eyes. The 
 circumstances were as follows : It appeared that early 
 on Sunday morning Mr. Manry was very active in pro- 
 curing a call of the blouse, in order to show to the country 
 who were the delinquents. Mr. Campbell was among the 
 absentees, and was brought to the bar with the rest in 
 custody of the sergeant-at-arms. At eight o'clock when 
 the House adjourned, the latter went to his colleague and 
 reproached him for his conduct in aiding the call, at the 
 same time alleging that Mr. Manry had done it with a 
 view to injure him (Mr. Campbell) at home among hia 
 constituents. Crimination and recrimination followed, 
 and each gentleman honoured his opponent with the 
 epithet of ' liar,' 'scoundrel,' and so forth. As might be 
 xp0ctad a personal conflict was the result, and blows 
 
STA''F. <;F NKW YORK. 203 
 
 were bestowed in abundance. Not more than five mem- 
 bers remained when the fracas commenced, and they of 
 course did not attempt to interfere. After the belligerents 
 had belaboured each other to their heart*' content, they 
 suspended hostilities, and retired to their respective homes, 
 and have not been seen since. It is said they are so well 
 satisfied with their mutual inflictions, that no doubts are 
 ^ntertained as to future proceedings." 
 
 What would have been the result if such a dis- 
 graceful exhibition had taken place in either of 
 the British Houses of Parliament ? 1kg. such tri- 
 fling affairs are common enough in flft Halls of 
 Congress, and consequently thought little of. 
 
 Another of their journals, however, justly re- 
 marks 
 
 " The Halls of Congress should not be made a gladiatorial 
 arena, and the members of Congress should be taught to 
 curb their passions and their tongues within the limits of 
 parliamentary decorum. Too much latitude has been 
 given to debate on the floor of Coiigiess the necessarr 
 consequence of this is personal violence, for one is not lesi 
 becoming the place than the other." 
 
 As a specimen of the freedom of speech in- 
 dulged in by American legislators we will lay he- 
 fore our readers one extract from among thousands 
 of a similar character. It is copied from the 
 Courier and Enquirer, the leading daily paper of 
 New York. 
 
 "We publish, in a? -other column, the able and cor- 
 clusive remonstrance of the excluded members of Congress 
 from New Jersey, which was read before the House on 
 Friday last, by Mr. Botts, of Virginia. We regret that we 
 cannot present our readers, in connection with this calm, 
 logical, and dignified State paper, the speech of Dr. Dun- 
 can, of Ohio, delivered on the 9th instant, and published 
 in the official journal of Saturday evening; as the manifesto 
 of the Administration party on this important question. 
 
 " Of six columns of the commencement of this speech, 
 the first four are occupied with the most insane and brutal 
 ribaldry ever uttered in a hall of legislation. It is the 
 
204 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 mere raving of a Bedlamite. Billingsgate itself would 
 blush for the champion of the administration ; and yet 
 ' all the literature will, no doubt, eulogise the doctor, 
 and award him the well-earned title of the Demosthenes 
 of the Democracy. Mr. Benton is shorn of his laurels. 
 In his wildest ravings he never wrought himself into the 
 ecstasy of madness exhibited in his speech of Dr. Duncan. 
 
 " We have looked through the speech with the view of 
 culling a few specimens a few flowers of rhetoric to form 
 a garland for Loco-focoism. But we find it a perfect 
 garden of flowers. It is all essence, and we know not 
 how to ma^ an extract from it. We cannot, however, 
 in justice tflLr readers, omit to make the effort, and we 
 must copy l^assage here and there at random. 
 
 " ' As it is common here for gentlemen Whigs to give 
 their young friends (new Whig members) advice, so I will 
 volunteer some advice to my young friends ; and that is, 
 to treat with contempt and scorn, all the blasting, blowing, 
 blustering, and built/ing displays they may see, here or else- 
 where, though the fiercest Federal lions be turned into this 
 hall, and their "shaggy tails be erect and their jaws be- 
 daubed with human blood," they really have no terrors ; 
 the people have extracted their teeth ; they can do 
 nothing but shake their manes and growl ; approach them, 
 lay your hands upon them, they are tame ; they are like 
 Daniel's lions ; the hand of God rested on them ; the 
 hand of the freemen of this country rest upon the Federal 
 lions and bullies of this day. When I first entered this 
 hall, I entered with some trepidation such is the Whig 
 system of puffing by the lean, lank dogs, in the character 
 of penniless letter- writers, who beset this capitol by throngs, 
 and whose hungry yelp is never out of hearing. 1 expected 
 to see men gigantic in body and intellect ; such is the 
 effect that puffing has upon the mind of objects at a dis- 
 tance ; but when I came to mingle with the in, I found few 
 of them whose bodily altitude exceeded that of my own ; 
 and when I surveyed them, I saw nothing in them, men 
 tally or physically, to be feared ; I found them just such 
 creatures as surrounded me at home every day. I saw 
 nothing here at which a well corn-and-pork-fed Western 
 Buckeye would not douce his wool hat, throw off his 
 linsey hunting shirt, roll up his sleeves, and walk right 
 into.' 
 
 " This is pretty well," continues the Courier and En- 
 quirer. " The description of the Western Buckeye 
 * walking into' members of Congress is certainly a neat hit. 
 
STATE OP NEW YOKK. 20,3 
 
 There is something graphic about it. We presume that 
 the doctor sat for the portrait himself. Corn-fed he may 
 be, but we should imagine, that with the natural instinct 
 of animals to eschew the flesh of their own kind, the doc- 
 tor has not been raised upon pork. At any rate, after the 
 use of such language, he ought to be ashamed to look in 
 the face any well educated and well behaved quadruped, 
 of the fashion that is now selling in his native Ohio, at two 
 dollars and a half a hundred. But again to the speech. 
 
 "'Sir, with many honourable exceptions our street* 
 and avenues are crowded with blacklegs, political jugglers, 
 hungry expectants, loungers, lean lazaroni loafers, bank vas- 
 sals, and Federal minions, congregated from all parts of the 
 Union. Dandies, coxcombs, liveried drones, whose sub- 
 sistence depends upon theft, begging, or fraud, or upon 
 the glories of the credit and banking system.' 
 
 " Let it be remembered that this vile language, the lan- 
 guage of a cut-throat and assassin, is uttered by the leader 
 of the administration on the floor of Congress, and is pub- 
 lished with commendation in the official organ of the 
 executive. 
 
 " We will not insult our readers by pursuing our colla- 
 tion of extracts. But we will ask them what can be the 
 character of an administration, whose leading champion 
 makes the open and boastful exhibition of the morals of a 
 cut-throat, and the manners of a cannibal ?" 
 
 "We will only trouble our readers with one case 
 more, which we likewise extract from an American 
 journal. 
 
 " Our readers cannot have forgotten the outrageous 
 murder that was committed in the House of Representa- 
 tives of Arkansas last winter, by Mr. Wilson, the Speaker, 
 who came down from his chair, deliberately drew a bowie- 
 knife, and slew a Major Anthony. The act not only 
 stamped Wilson as a murderer and a villain, who neither 
 regarded the laws of God nor man, but it cast a deep 
 stain upon our national character by its horrid barbarity ; 
 and being done at the time and place it was, and by one 
 who had been chosen as the presiding officer of a body 
 which was sitting to make laws to control and restrain the 
 savage propensities of man, and protect his person and 
 property from violence. Viewing the act with the horror 
 which it naturally excited, what will our readers say, and 
 what will the civilised world say, on reading the following 
 
2()(] UNITED STATES <F AMERTTA. * 
 
 notice of Wilson's acquittal ? ' Mockery of the Law The 
 trial of John Wilson, who, it may be remembered, 
 officiated as the Speaker of the Arkansas House of Repre- 
 sentatives during the last legislative -session of that State, 
 and who, on a certain occasion, walked down from, his 
 chair and slew Major G. G. Anthony, with a bowie-knife, 
 on the floor of the House, took place a few days ago. The 
 verdict of the jury was Not guilty of murder, but excusable 
 homicide." 
 
 The announcement of tins murder, and the ac- 
 quittal of the perpetrator of the foul deed, excited 
 little or no sensation. The Americans, in fact, 
 care little about these disgraceful crimes, and 
 manifest no indignation at their frequent occur- 
 rence ; it is therefore to be feared that the crying 
 evils will be allowed to continue till such time as a 
 thorough change takes place in the public mind 
 upon the vital subject, which may have the effect 
 of causing the abolition of such brutal scenes. 
 That a reform is wanted both in the press, and in 
 the legislative proceedings of the United States, 
 cannot, we think, after reading the foregoing ex- 
 amples, taken from Americans themselves, for a 
 moment be questioned. We strongly object to 
 the tax upon newspapers in this country, but we 
 would rather a thousand times submit to such an 
 imposition than have that powerful engine, the 
 press, thrown open to the vile and unprincipled as 
 a vehicle for scurrility and every kind of licentious 
 and degrading vituperation. We are of opinion, 
 however, that the obnoxious impost might be re- 
 mitted without endangering public morals, or 
 public tranquillity ; instead of which, it would 
 tend to the advancement of both. The Americans 
 also enjoy universal suffrage, but from the speci- 
 mens we have given of these members chosen by 
 the free voice of the people, we commonly say, 
 " Good Lord deliver us from such members of the 
 
STATE OF NLW YOKK. 20? 
 
 British Parliament." That we want an extension 
 of the suffrage, no man can conscientiously deny, 
 however his selfish and political reasons may lead 
 him to argue against this conviction ; hut with the 
 example of the United States before us, as well as 
 other republican governments, we should be cautious 
 ere we demand universal suffrage, unless we are 
 prepared to undermine what is good in the British 
 constitution, fill the House of Commons with 
 dangerous demagogues, and involve the whole 
 country in anarchy and ruin. Enlightened as the 
 British public undoubtedly are, we are sorry to 
 confess that the great mass is still unfit for the re- 
 sponsible duties of electors. They would be far 
 more benefited by, what they ought imperiously to 
 demand, a moderate extension of the suffrage 
 say household by which they might obtain the 
 abolition of a number of disgraceful taxes, and 
 render Great Britain in truth, what she is now 
 only in name, great and free, when the working 
 classes would receive for their own particular bene- 
 fit, the full value of their labour, without being 
 called upon, as now, to contribute better than one- 
 half of it for the support of a greater curse than 
 ever God inflicted any other country with an 
 idle and profligate aristocracy the worst enemies 
 of the working classes, upon whose vitals they 
 actually subsist. With such an improvement 
 Great Britain would be, beyond all comparison, 
 the happiest country on the face of the globe, and 
 it depends upon her own people to make her so. 
 Nine-tenths of the population of this kingdom con- 
 tribute to its support, while they allow themselves 
 to be governed by the one- tenth, who luxuriate 
 upon their labour, and do nothing for themselves, 
 or the good of their country. Reason and common 
 sense say, that this should not be the case ; and 
 
208 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 the enormous majority have only to vindicate their 
 rights vigorously against this unheard of oppres- 
 sion, when the miserable minority will shrink into 
 their proper places, and be heard of no more as 
 law-marks for their own peculiar benefit. We 
 earnestly hope that the day is not far distant when 
 such a change will take place when the country, 
 instead of being governed by imbecile Whigs, or 
 tyrannical and exacting Tories, will be entrusted 
 to the government of honest and honourable men, 
 elected by the householders of Great Britain. 
 Then, and not till then, will the great mass of the 
 people be prosperous and contented at home, and a 
 stop be put to that ruinous tide of emigration, by 
 which the scientific mechanic, as well as the agri- 
 culturist, are now seeking for that bread from a 
 foreign country which is cruelly refused them at 
 home. 
 
 Much of what we have here stated will be found 
 applicable to other Cities and States ; but as New 
 York is the principal city in America, we have 
 been induced to give a more extended notice than 
 our limits will permit for Others. 
 
 The city of Brooklyn, on Long Island, opposite 
 to New York, is pleasantly situated on a rising 
 ground which commands an agreeable view, and it 
 partakes in the commercial activity and prosperity 
 of its neighbour. Here is a Navy Yard of the 
 United States, on Wallabout Bay, which contains 
 storehouses, machine-shops, and two immense edi- 
 fices built of wood, in which ships of war of the 
 largest class are protected from the weather while 
 building. There are in Brooklyn a handsome city 
 hall, four banks, three insurance companies, several 
 churches, and steam ferry boats are constantly 
 running between this place and New York. Popu- 
 lation, 40,000. 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 209 
 
 About fifty miles above the city of New York, 
 on tbe west side of the Hudson, is West Point, a 
 celebrated military post during the war of inde- 
 pendence, and now the seat of the United States 
 military academy for the education of officers of 
 the army. Near the head of ship navigation, 117 
 miles from the sea, stands the city of Hudson, on a 
 commanding eminence on the left bank of the liver, 
 Its trade and manufactures are extensive, and it 
 has twelve vessels engaged in the whale fishing. 
 The city is well laid out, and prettily built. Popu- 
 lation about 7,000. 
 
 On the western bank of the Hudson river, 145 
 miles above New York, is the city of Albany, the 
 capital, and in point of size the second city of the 
 State. Its wealth and trade have been greatly 
 increased by the opening of the Erie and Cham- 
 plain canals, which terminate in a large basin in 
 the city ; and its situation renders it a great tho- 
 roughfare, not only for traders, but also for tra- 
 vellers on the northern route. It contains several 
 handsome public buildings, among which are the 
 new State Hall and the City Hall, both of white 
 marble ; the Academy, of led freestone ; and several 
 churches ; the Albany Institute, the Athenaeum, 
 Academy of Fine Arts, &c. Regular steam packets 
 leave twice a-day for New York ; numerous canal 
 boats and carriages by railroad are constantly de- 
 parting for the northern and western routes ; while 
 the communication with the east is kept up by 
 means of stage coaches. The number of persons 
 who annually pass through the city has been esti- 
 mated at upwards of 600,000. Population about 
 45,000. The city of Troy, six miles above Albany, 
 is situated on the opposite side of the river. The 
 city is regularly laid out and prettily built ; while 
 
210 UNITPD ST\TFS OF AMERICA. 
 
 the trade and manufactures are both considerable. 
 Population, 22,000. 
 
 Up the valley of the Mohawk, and along the 
 line of the Grand Canal arid its branches, are a 
 number of cities and towns, which have sprung up, 
 as if by enchantment, in the bosom of the wil- 
 derness. Schenectady, Utica, Syracuse. Oswego, 
 Auburn, Ithaca, Seneca, Canandaigua, Rochester, 
 Lockport, and Buffalo are the principal. The city 
 of Schenectady, situated in the midst of a fertile 
 tract, affording numerous mill seats, traversed by 
 the canal, and connected by railroads with Albany, 
 Saratoga, and Utica, has an extensive and increas- 
 ing trade and some manufactures. It is the seat of 
 Union College, one of the principal collegiate insti- 
 tutions in the State. Population, 1 1,000. 
 
 Upwards of ninety miles north -west from Al- 
 bany, on the Grand Canal, is the city of Utica. 
 In 1794, the spot contained only four or five log- 
 houses, in the midst of a wilderness. The city now 
 contains a population of upwards of 18,000 souls; 
 seventeen churches, an academy, a State and county 
 lyeeurn, a city library, a mechanics' association, &c., 
 with an extensive trade arid numerous mills and 
 manufactories. Utica is in the valley of the 
 Saquoit, which, in a territory of ten square miles, 
 has a population of about 50,000, and contains 
 numerous cotton, saw, and grist mills, with bleach- 
 eries, woollen manufactories, machine shops, <fcc. 
 
 Still farther west on the canal are the villages of 
 Salina, Syracuse, Geddes, and Liverpool, the seat 
 of the Onondaga salt springs. From Syracuse a 
 branch canal extends to Oswego, on Lake Ontario, 
 one of the most flourishing villages in the State. 
 The river Oswrgo furnishes an inexhaustible water 
 power, which is very extensively used for nianu- 
 
STATE OP NEW YORK. 21 I 
 
 facturing purposes. The population of the village 
 is upwards of 8,000. 
 
 The city of Rochester, situated on the Genessee, 
 and traversed by the Grand Canal, is a busy and 
 flourishing town. The river has here a fall of 
 upwards of ninety feet, and a few miles below it 
 descends by a fall of seventy-five feet to the level 
 of Lake Ontario. The whole descent from Roches- 
 ter is 255 feet. The motive power thus produced 
 is constant and immense, and supplies numerous 
 flour mills, cotton and woollen manufactories, and 
 a great many other manufacturing establishments. 
 The population, which was only 1,502 in 1820, ia 
 now upwards of 20,000. 
 
 The city of Buffalo, at the western extremity of 
 the canal, has a harbour on Lake Erie. The city 
 is well built and finely situated, overlooking the 
 lake ; and it contains a great number of large ware- 
 bouses and manufactories, several churches, a hand- 
 some exchange, a theatre, &c. The lake trade is 
 very extensive. In 1817 there were but twenty- 
 five vessels and no steam-boat on Lake Erie. Now 
 they amount to above 400 sloops, schooner?, and 
 brigs, and forty- three steam -boats, besides several 
 ghips, &c. Population exceeding 30,000. 
 
212 
 
 STATE OF NEW JERSEY. 
 
 THK State of New Jersey is bounded north by 
 New York, east by the Atlantic Ocean and New- 
 York, south by Delaware Bay, and west by Penn- 
 sylvania. It is 138 miles in length and fifty miles 
 in breadth. The area is about (>',600 square miles. 
 The soil of this State is not naturally well adapted 
 to agricultural pursuits, much of the land being 
 either sandy or marshy ; yet its proximity to two 
 of the largest markets in the United States, and 
 the industry of the inhabitants, have rendered it 
 exceedingly productive of all sorts of grain, fruit, 
 and vegetables common to the climate. New Jer- 
 sey is intersected by many navigable rivers, and 
 has numerous streams for mills, iron works, and 
 every species of manufactures requiring water 
 power. The principal of these streams are the 
 Raritan, Hackensack, Passaic, Salem, Tow, Cohan - 
 zey, and Maurice Rivers. 
 
 New Jersey abounds in valuable iron ores. Rich 
 veins of zinc ore occur in the northern part of the 
 State. Copper also abounds, and has been exten- 
 sively worked. The greater part of the sandy tract 
 is covered with extensive pine forests, which have 
 afforded supplies of fuel for the numerous furnaces 
 of the State and the steam -boats of the neighbour- 
 
STATE OF NEW JKKSEV. 213 
 
 ing waters. The middle section is the most highly 
 improved and wealthy part of the State, being 
 divided into small farms and kitchen gardens, 
 which are carefully cultivated, and which find a 
 ready market in the numerous manufacturing 
 towns of the district and in the great cities of the 
 adjacent States. The northern counties contain 
 much good pasture land, with numerous fine farms. 
 The apples and cider of the north are as noted for 
 their superior quality as the peaches of the south. 
 The industry of the inhabitants is chiefly devoted 
 to agriculture, commerce being mostly carried on 
 through the ports of New York and Pennsylvania. 
 The north-eastern corner, however, is the seat of 
 flourishing manufactures. The shad and oyster 
 fisheries in the rivers and great estuaries that bor- 
 der on the State afford a profitable employment to 
 many of the inhabitants. The value of the iron 
 manufactures has been estimated at upwards of 
 one million dollars annually ; of glass, half a mil- 
 lion ; of cottons, two millions ; of woollens, a 
 quarter of a million. Hats, boots and shoes, car- 
 riages, harness, &c., are also largely produced. 
 
 The system of common school instruction has 
 been much improved in this State, by the efforts 
 of the friends of education. The State possesses a 
 school fund, which commenced in 1816. The in- 
 come from it, which is about 22,000 dollars, is 
 annually distributed in small sums to such towns 
 as raise an equal amount for the support of schools. 
 There are two colleges in New Jersey ; the College 
 f New Jersey, or Nassau Hall, at Princeton, is a 
 highly respectable institution : it has 13 teachers, 
 upwards of 200 students, an extensive library, (fee. 
 llutger's College, at New Brunswick, was founded 
 by the Dutch Reformed Church, and has a theolo- 
 gical seminary connected with it. The Presbyte- 
 
214 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 rians are here the prevalent sect; but the Bap 
 tists, Methodists, Dutch Reformed, Episcopalians, 
 and Quakers, are numerous ; and there are some 
 Roman Catholics, Universalists, &c. 
 
 Several important canal and railroad routes 
 connect the eastern and western waters, or 
 unite the different sections of the State. The 
 Morris Canal extends from Jersey city to the De- 
 laware, opposite Easton, 102 miles; inclined planes 
 have been in part used instead of locks, and the 
 boats raised or let down in a frame or cradle 
 moved by water power. The Delaware and Rari- 
 tau Canal, uniting the" waters of the navigable 
 rivers from which it takes its name, extends from 
 Bordentown, through Trenton to New Brunswick, 
 45 miles, admitting vessels of 100 tons; a navi- 
 gable feeder, 23 miles in length, extends from 
 Bull's Island, in the Delaware, to Trenton. The 
 Camden and Amboy Railroad is an important 
 work on the great line of travel between the north 
 and south, 61 miles in length. The Paterson and 
 Hudson Railroad, from Paterson to Jersey city, 
 opposite New 7 York, is 14 miles long ; the New- 
 Jersey Railroad extends from New Brunswick, 
 through Newark, to the last mentioned road, a 
 few miles from the Hudson, 28 miles in length ; 
 and the Camben and Woodbury Railroad, 8 miles 
 long. 
 
 The city of Trenton, on the east bank of the 
 Delaware, at the head of sloop navigation, is the 
 capital of the State. It is regularly laid out, and 
 contains the State House, State Prison, twelve 
 churches. A wooden bridge, 1,000 feet in length, 
 here crosses the river just below the Falls, and 
 the Delaware and Raritan Canal passes through 
 the city. The Falls afford extensive water power 
 for manufacturing purposes, and there are several 
 
STATE OF NKW JERSEY. 21,5 
 
 mills and manufactories in the yicinity. Popula- 
 tion about 6,000. Ten miles from Trenton is the 
 village of Princeton, the seat of New Jersey Col- 
 lege, and celebrated in the revolutionary history 
 for the action of January 3, 1777. 
 
 The city of New Brunswick, at the head of 
 sloop navigation on the Raritan, and at the ter- 
 mination of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, and 
 the New Jersey Railroad, is the depot of the pro- 
 duce of a fertile district, and a place of considerable 
 trade. The upper streets are spacious and hand- 
 some, and command a fine prospect. Here are 
 Rutger's College, and a "theological seminary of 
 the Dutch Reformed Church. The population of 
 the city exceeds 8,500. 
 
 At the mouth of the Raritan stands the city of 
 Amboy, or Perth Amboy, with a good harbour, 
 which, however, is little used. Elizabeth-Town 
 is a pretty and thriving town, near Newark Bay, 
 with about 5,000 inhahitants, and several mills. 
 
 The city of Newark, the largest and mo^t im- 
 portant town in New Jersey, stands on the Pas- 
 saic, three miles from Newark Bay, and has easy 
 communication with New York by means of 
 steamboats and the New Jersey Railroad ; the 
 Morris Canal also passes through the city. New- 
 ark is prettily situated and well built, with spa- 
 cious streets and handsome houses, many of which 
 are ornamented with shady trees. The manufac- 
 tures are extensive, and its surplus produce ex- 
 ported is estimated at 10,000.000 dollars annually. 
 Carriages, boots and shoes, saddlery, jewellery, 
 hats, <fec., are among the articles produced. The 
 population is about 30,000. Patersou, at the Falta 
 of the Passaic, (which afford an immense water 
 power, and are extensively applied to useful pur- 
 poses,) is one of the principal manufacturing towns 
 
216 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 in the country. Here are cotton-mills, with nu- 
 merous other works, such as paper-mills, machine 
 shops, button factories, iron and brass foundries, 
 nail factories, woollen mills, <kc. Population about 
 21,000. 
 
 Below Trenton, on the Delaware, is Borden- 
 town, pleasantly situated on elevated ground over- 
 looking the river, and standing at the termination 
 of the Delaware and Raritan Canal. The city of 
 Burlington, below Bordentown, is also a neat little 
 town, pleasantly situated on the banks of the river, 
 with about 4,500 inhabitants. Steamboats from 
 Philadelphia touch at these places several times a 
 day. 
 
 New Jersey is divided into fourteen counties, 
 which are subdivided into 120 townships. Owing 
 to the great emigration, the population increased 
 slowly until 1820; but since that period the in- 
 crease has been more rapid, on account of the 
 growth of manufactures. 
 
 The population in 1830 was 320,823; in 1840, 
 364,071 ; and now it exceeds 410,000 ; of which 
 upwards of 3,000 are slaves. 
 
217 
 
 COMMONWEALTH OF 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 THIS State which, from her central position, her 
 dimensions, her natural resources, her great lines 
 of communication, and her population, may rank 
 as one of the most important in the Union, is 
 bounded on the north by New York and Lake 
 Erie ; east by New Jersey ; south-east by Dela- 
 ware ; south by Maryland and Virginia ; and west 
 by Virginia and Ohio. Its greatest length from 
 east to west is 307 miles ; and its breadth 151 ; 
 containing 46,000 square miles. 
 
 The principal rivers are, the Delaware, Schuyl- 
 kill, Lehigh, Susquehannah, Juniata, Alleghany, 
 Monongahela, and Ohio. The various ridges of 
 the Alleghany range intersect the central parts of 
 this State, whose general direction is from south- 
 west to north-east. The valleys between many of 
 these ridges are often of a rich black soil, suited 
 well to the various kinds of grass and grain. 
 Some of the mountains admit of cultivation almost 
 to their summits. No State in the Union shows 
 to the passing traveller a richer cultivation thau 
 this. It is emphatically a grain country, raising 
 the greatest abundance of fine wheat. It produces 
 all the fruits and productions of the northern and 
 
218 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 middle States, and is particularly famous for the 
 great size, strength, and excellence of its breed of 
 draught horses. 
 
 Pennsylvania spreads a wide surface in the Ohio 
 Valley, and is rapidly advancing in wealth and 
 population. New towns and villages are springing 
 tip in every direction. The State ahounds in all 
 the elements of wealth and power. Puhlic opinion 
 has given it a strong impulse towards manufactures, 
 and it has a gigautic system of internal improve- 
 ments. Its inhabitants, though composed of all 
 nations, are distinguished for their habits of order, 
 industry, and frugality. The passing stranger, as 
 he traverses the State, is struck with the noble 
 roads and public works, with the well cultivated 
 farms, and their handsome and commodious stone 
 houses, and often still larger stone barns. An 
 agricultural country, alike charming and rich, 
 spreads under his eye. 
 
 Tbe universal wealth of Pennsylvania is very 
 great, and, although but recently begun to be de- 
 veloped, already gives an earnest of future import- 
 ance. Coal, iron, and salt are found in great quan- 
 tities. The coal is of two kinds, the anthracite and 
 bituminous, which are quite distinct in their quali- 
 ties and localities. The anthracite coal is found in 
 the eastern part of the State, between the Dela- 
 ware and Susquehannah Rivers, and is estimated 
 to cover an extent of 624,000 acres. The annual 
 quantity sent from the coal region, exclusive of 
 that shipped by the Susquehannah, is upwards of 
 600,000 tons, valued at more than 3,000,000 dol- 
 lars. The bituminous coal is found in the western 
 parts of the State ; and it is supposed that about 
 460,000 tons are annually consumed in Pittsburgh, 
 and at the different salt works, besides what is sent 
 down the Ohio to Cincinnati, New Orleans, and 
 
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA. 219 
 
 other towns. Upwards of 1,000,000 bushels of 
 Stalt are manufactured yearly at the different salt 
 works in this state. 
 
 Iron ore of an excellent quality is abundant, and 
 extensively wrought. The iron mines in the eastern 
 p;irt of the State were explored and worked at an 
 early period of colonial settlement, and had become 
 an interest of great value before the Revolution. 
 Since the peace of 1783, with much fluctuation, 
 iron has at all times employed a vast amount of 
 capital and labour. Above 100,000 tons of pig- 
 iron, bar iron, and castings are produced yearly. 
 
 The manufactures of Pennsylvania constitute an 
 important branch of its industry; they include 
 cotton and woollen goods, iron- ware of all kinds, 
 manufactures of paper, leather, hats, porcelain, &c. 
 The total annual value of manufactures is estimated 
 at about 80,000,000 dollars. 
 
 The foreign commerce of Pennsylvania is in part 
 carried on through New York, Baltimore, and 
 New Orleans ; its actual amount cannot therefore 
 be ascertained. An active inland trade, however, 
 \* prosecuted on the canals, on Lake Erie, and on 
 the Ohio ; and her coasting trade is extensive and 
 valuable. The shipping belonging to the State 
 amounts to about 90,000 tons. 
 
 Little attention has been paid to the education 
 of the people in this State, and, notwithstanding 
 an express injunction of the constitution, no attempt 
 was made to establish a general system of popular 
 instruction until 1834, when an act was passed for 
 that purpose, which was modified in 1836. This 
 act authorises the town to raise money for the sup- 
 port of common schools, and provide for the distri- 
 bution of the proceeds of the State School Fund 
 among those towns which shall adopt the school 
 system. Ample provision has, however, been 
 
220 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 made for the gratuitous instruction of poor children 
 in the county of Philadelphia, in which upwards 
 of 10,000 annually enjoy its benefits There are 
 in the State sixty academies, two universities, eight 
 colleges, five theological seminaries, and two medi- 
 cal schools The University of Pennsylvania 
 is in Philadelphia, and the medical school con- 
 nected with it is the most distinguished, and most 
 fully attended in the United States. The Western 
 University is at Pittsburgh. Jefferson College at 
 Cononshurg, which has a medical department in 
 Philadelphia; Dickinson College at Carlisle ; Alle- 
 ghany College at Meadville ; Washington College 
 at Washington ; Pennsylvania College at Gettys- 
 burg ; La Fayette College at Easton ; the Manual 
 Collegiate Institution at Bristol ; and Marshall 
 College at Mercersburg. The Methodists and 
 Presbyterians are the most numerous religious sects. 
 The Lutherans, Baptists, German Reformed, and 
 Quakers, rank next in point of numbers ; after 
 them come Episcopalians and Roman Catholics, 
 with some Moravians, Dutch Reformed, Univer- 
 salists, <fec. 
 
 The works for the improvement of internal com- 
 munication have been executed partly by the State, 
 and partly by individuals, on a grand scale. Those 
 of the State consist of several divisions composed of 
 railroads and canals, extending across the country 
 from tide water to Ohio, and branching off in 
 different directions to almost every section of the 
 State. The grand trunk extends from Philadelphia 
 to Pittsburgh, a distance, by this route, of 400 
 miles. The first division of the work, from 
 Philadelphia to Columbia on the Susquehanua, is a 
 railroad eighty- one miles in length. At Columbia 
 the canal begins, and is continued up the Susque- 
 hannah and Juniata to Holidaysburg, 172 miles. 
 
COMMONWEALTH OP PENNSYLVANIA. 221 
 
 The canal is forty feet wide at top, and four feet 
 deep. The Alleghany ridge is then surmounted 
 by the Alleghany Portage railroad, thirty -seven 
 miles in length, with a rise and fall of 2,570 feet ; 
 the summit level is 2,490 feet above the sea. At 
 Johnstown the route is again continued by a canal, 
 down the Kiskiminetas and Alleghany, to Pitts- 
 burgh, 104 miles. A branch of this great under- 
 taking is the Susquehanna canal, extending from 
 the mouth of the Juniata, up the Susquehanna 
 and the North Branch, to the mouth of the Sacka- 
 wanna, 1 1 5 miles ; a second lateral division runs up 
 the West Branch, to Dunnstown, sixty-six miles. 
 The Delaware branch extends from Bristol to 
 Easton, sixty miles ; the Beaver branch, from the 
 town of that name, up the Big Beaver and She- 
 uango rivers, to Newcastle, affords a navigable 
 channel of thirty miles, by means of eight miles of 
 excavation, and seven dams in the river. The 
 French Creek branch extends up that river from 
 Franklin, at its mouth, to Meadville and Conneant 
 Luke ; total length forty-six miles, or, with the 
 Like, fifty miles ; of which twenty- seven are by 
 excavation. 
 
 The principal works constructed by individuals 
 are the Lackawaxen Canal, extending from the 
 mouth of that river on the Delaware, to Honesdale, 
 twenty-five miles, whence it is continued by a rail- 
 road to Carbondale coal mines, sixteen and a half 
 miles; the Lehigh canal starts from the termina- 
 tion of the Morris and Delaware canals, and goea 
 to White Haven, sixty-six miles ; the Mancb 
 Chunk, Room Run, and Beaver-meadow railroads, 
 connect this canal with the first and second canal 
 basins. The Schuylkill canal connects Port Car- 
 bon with Philadelphia, by a succession of pools 
 and canals ; the whole length of the navigation is 
 
222 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 108 miles: about fifty miles of railroad branch 
 from tliis canal to various collieries. The Union 
 canal connects the Schuylkill at Reading with the 
 Susqnehanna at Middh-ton. eighty- two miles. A 
 lateral branch of Pine Grove, twenty-three miles 
 up the Swatara, is connected by a railroad with 
 the coal mines. The Union canal, by the junction 
 of the Grand Trunk and the Schuylkill canals, 
 affords uninterrupted navigation from Philadelphia 
 to the Lackawanna, Dunnstown, and Holidaysburg. 
 The Susquehanna canal, from Columbia to Pott 
 Deposit, forty miles, connects the main-trunk of 
 the Pennsylvania canal with tide-water. The 
 Nescopeck canal connects the Lehigh with the 
 North Branch of the .Susquehanna. 
 
 The principal railroads, exclusive of those in the 
 coal region, which make an aggregate of about 
 100 miles, are the Philadelphia and Trenton rail- 
 road, connecting those two cities twenty- six and a 
 quarter miles ; the Philadelphia and Morristown, 
 Seventeen miles, which is now continued to Read- 
 ing ; the Central railroad from Pottsville to Sun- 
 bury, forty- four and a half miles, with a branch to 
 Danville ; the Philadelphia and Delaware railroad ; 
 serenteen miles ; the Oxford railroad, 31 miles ; 
 the Lancaster and Carrisburg railroad, thirty- 
 seven miles ; the Cumberland Valley railroad, 
 forty-nine miles; the Wrightsville and Gettysburg 
 railroad, forty miles; the Susquehanna and Little 
 Schuylkill railroad, from Catawissa to Tamaqua ; 
 the Williamsport and Elmira railroad, seventy 
 miles ; and the continuation of the Baltimore and 
 Susquehanna, from the Maryland line through 
 York to the Susquehanna. 
 
 Pennsylvania is divided into fifty- three counties, 
 which are subdivided into townships and cities, 
 The whole population amounted in 1830, to 
 
COMMONWEALTH OP PENNSYLVANIA. 223 
 
 1,348,233; in 1840, 1,647,153; and is now 
 estimated at 2,000,000. 
 
 The City of Philadelphia, the principal city of 
 the State, and one of the most regularly laid out 
 and handsomely built in the country, stands be- 
 tween the Delaware and the Schuylkill rivers, five 
 miles above their junction, and 100 miles from the 
 sea, by the course of the former. It yields to none 
 in the Union in the wealth, industry, and intelli- 
 gence of its citizens. Philadelphia has the advan- 
 tage of a double port, connected with very remote 
 sections ; that on the Schuylkill is accessible to 
 vessels of 300 tons, and is the great depot for the 
 coal of the interior ; the other, on the Delaware, 
 admits the largest merchant vessels to the doors of 
 the warehouses, and is spacious and secure. 
 
 The streets are broad and straight, crossing each 
 other at right angles, and dividing the city into 
 numerous squares, some of which have been re- 
 served for public walks, and are ornamented with 
 fine shade and flowering trees. The dwelling 
 bouses are neat and commodious, and the public 
 buildings, generally constructed of white marble, 
 are the most elegant in the country. Two bridges 
 ross the Schuylkill, one of which is remarkable 
 for its arch of 324 feet span, the longest in the 
 world. Numerous steam-boats afford constant and 
 easy . communication with Baltimore and New 
 York, and, with the railroads into the interior, 
 render this city the great thoroughfare between the 
 north and south, and the east and west. 
 
 Philadelphia includes the City Proper, with 
 Soutliwark, Moyamensing, and Passyuank, on the 
 south ; and Kensington, Northern Libel-ties, Spring 
 Garden, and Benn township, on the north, having 
 a population exceeding 210,000. 
 
 The manufactures of Philadelphia are various 
 
224 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 and extensive : her foreign commerce is consider- 
 able. The value of her imports is about 15 mil- 
 lion dollars a year. Her inland commerce is very 
 extensive, in consequence of the facilities afforded 
 by the numerous canals and railroads that centre 
 here, affording an easy communication with all sec- 
 tions of the State, and with the great western 
 valley. There are upwards of 5,000,000 barrels of 
 flour, and 3,600 hogsheads of tobacco inspected, 
 and about a million bushels of grain measured here 
 annually. 
 
 Philadelphia is celebrated for the excellence 
 of its benevolent institutions. Among these are the 
 Pennsylvania Hospital, the Dispensary, Wills* 
 Hospital, for the lame and blind ; the institutions 
 for the deaf and dumb, and for the blind ; the 
 Alms-house, Magdalen Asylum, Orphan Asylums, 
 Girard College for Orphans, &c. The society for 
 alleviating the miseries of public prisons, has not 
 only distinguished itself by its successful efforts in 
 reforming the penal code of the State, but in im- 
 proving the conditions of the prisoners ; the disci- 
 pline adopted by the influence of this society con- 
 sists in solitary confinement with labour ; and the 
 penitentiaries of Pennsylvania are conducted oa 
 this plan. The learned institutions of Philadelphia 
 are equally distinguished : they are the American 
 Philosophical Society, the Academy of Natural 
 Sciences, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, and 
 the Franklin Institute, all of which have published 
 some valuable volumes. The Medical School are 
 highly celebrated and well attended. The City 
 Library, including the Loganian collection, consists 
 of about 50,000 volumes. There is also an 
 Academy of Fine Arts here. Free schools are 
 supported at the public charge, and educate about 
 
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA. 225 
 
 10,000 scholars annually, at an expense of about 
 60,000 dollars. 
 
 The principal public buildings in Philadelphia 
 are the United States Bank, on the model of the 
 Parthenon, and the Pennsylvania Bank, of the 
 Ionic order, both elegant specimens of classical 
 architecture ; the Mint, a handsome building, with 
 Ionic porticos 62 feet long on each front; the Ex- 
 change, 95 feet by 114, containing a spacious hall, 
 news-room, the post office, &c. ; the Girard Bank, 
 the Girard College, a splendid structure, 111 feet 
 by 169, with a colonnade of Grecian Corinthian 
 columns, entirely surrounding it; all of the build- 
 ings are of white marble. The United States 
 Marine Asylum, capable of accommodating 400 
 men, with a front of 385 feet; the Alms- house on 
 the west bank of the Schuylkill, consisting of four 
 distinct buildings, with nearly 400 rooms; the 
 State House, interesting from its having been the 
 place where the Declaration of Independence was 
 adopted and promulgated; the United States 
 Arsenal, &c. There are here upwards of 100 
 churches and places of worship, including two 
 synagogues. The State penitentiary, and County 
 prison are not less remarkable for their architec- 
 ture, than for their discipline. The County prison, 
 built of Quincy granite, has a front of 310 feet, by 
 525 in depth. There is a Navy yard, but ships 
 of war of the largest class cannot ascend to the 
 city with their armament. The inhabitants ar 
 liberally supplied with water by the Fairmount 
 works, constructed at an expense of 432,500 
 dollars ; 93 miles of pipe convey it to all parts of 
 the city. The daily consumption in summer ia 
 about four million gallons. The annual rents 
 amount to 92,116 dollars, and the annual charge 
 to 14,000. 
 L 2 
 
226 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 Frankford, and Germantown are flourishing 
 towns in the vicinity of Philadelphia. The former 
 is the seat of numerous manufacturing establish- 
 ments, including many cotton and woollen mills, 
 calico- print works, bleacheries, iron works, &c. 
 Here are also an arsenal of the United States, and 
 a Lunatic asylum, belonging to the society of 
 Friends. Germantown is a flourishing and plea- 
 sant town, with 6,500 inhabitants, containing a 
 bank, several churches, some manufactories, &c. 
 The other most important places in Pennsylvania 
 are Lancaster city, Harrisburg, Reading, Easton^ 
 and Pottsville, in the eastern section of the State ; 
 in the Western are Pittsburgh, Beaver, &c. 
 
 The city of Lancaster, sixty-two miles west of 
 Philadelphia, pleasantly situated in the fertile and 
 highly cultivated Conestoga Valley, is one of the 
 handsomest in the State ; the streets are regular, 
 and among the public buildiftgs are several churches, 
 an academy, &c. Its trade is extensive, and the 
 manufactures various and considerable ; it is noted 
 for the superior quality of its rifles, coaches, rail- 
 road carriages, stockings, saddlery, &c. . The popu- 
 lation exceeds 10,000. Lancaster is connected 
 with Philadelphia and Harrisburg by railroads, 
 and with the Susquehanna, below Columbia, by 
 a canal. 
 
 Harrisburg, the capital of the State, stands on the 
 left bank of the Susquehanna. The State-house 
 is a neat and commodious building, from the cu- 
 pola of which is one of the finest panoramic views 
 in the United States. There are also a Court- 
 house, and a number of churches. Population, 
 8,312. Beyond the Susquehanna are the thriving 
 towns of Carlisle and Chambersburg, the former 
 eontaining 6,770, and the latter 5,873 inhabitants. 
 Carlisle is the seat of Dickenson College. 
 
COMMOiN \VKALTU OF PENNSYLVANIA. 22 / 
 
 Reading, about fifty miles north-west from Phila- 
 delphia, is a prosperous town, on the left bank of 
 the Schuylkill, and at the termination of the Union 
 Canal. The town is regularly built, and was ori- 
 ginally settled by Germans ; some newspapers are 
 still printed in that language, though English is 
 generally understood. Population, 8,536. 
 
 Easton, at the confluence of the Lehigh and the 
 Delaware, aud the termination of the Morris 
 Canal, is one of the most flourishing inland towns 
 in the State. In its immediate neighbourhood are 
 numerous flour- mills, saw- mill?-', &c. The situa- 
 tion is highly picturesque, and it contains several 
 churches, a manual labour collegiate institution, a 
 library, with a mineralooical cabinet, &c. Popu- 
 lation, about 10,000. Potsville is situated in a 
 wild district on the Schuylkill, in the midst of the 
 coal region. It contains many handsome houses, 
 and its population, which, in 1825, did not exceed 
 300, is now above 6,000. Mauch Chunk, first 
 settled in 1821, is also built on very broken ground ; 
 but in addition to the coal trade, it enjoys the ad- 
 vantage of an extensive water power, which is 
 used for manufacturing purposes, and its population 
 at present is over 4,000. Wilkesbarre stands in 
 the delightful valley of "Wyoming, where rural 
 beauty and peaceful shades, once stained with blood, 
 and desolated with fire, have been consecrated by 
 the deathless muse. The population of Wilkes- 
 barre is 4,583. 
 
 Pittsburgh, the principal city of Western Penn- 
 sylvania, is built at the junction of the Mononga- 
 hela and the Alleghany. The city proper includes 
 only the tract between the rivers ; but as the little 
 towns of Birmingham, Alleghany, <fcc., really form 
 a part of Pittsburgh, they must properly be in- 
 cluded in its description. Perhaps its site is un- 
 
228 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 rivalled in the world, commanding a navigation of 
 about 50,000 miles, which gives it access to the 
 most fertile regions on the face of the globe, sur- 
 rounded by inexhaustible beds of the most useful 
 minerals. Connected, by artificial works, which 
 top the great natural barrier on the east, with the 
 three principal cities of the Atlantic border on one 
 side, and by others not less extensive, with those 
 great inland seas that already bear on their bosoms 
 the trade of industrious millions, Pittsburgh is, 
 doubtless, destined to become one of the most im- 
 portant centres of population, industry, and wealth 
 in the United States. The population, in 1800, 
 was only about 1,600, but it is now estimated to con- 
 tain upwards of 60,000. At present there are at 
 work about 150 steam-engines, eighteen large 
 foundries and engine factories, rolling-mills, cotton - 
 mills, saw and grist mills, white-lead factories, 
 breweries, glass-works, brass- foundries, steel ma- 
 nufactories, tanneries, salt-works, paper-mills, ma- 
 nufactories of cutlery and agricultural implements, 
 &c , are among the numerous manufacturing esta- 
 blishments of Pittsburgh. The city is regularly 
 built, but the clouds of smoke in which it is con- 
 stantly enveloped give it rather a dingy appearance. 
 Among the public establishments here are, the 
 Alleghany Arsenal, belonging to the United States, 
 the Western Penitentiary of the State, the Western 
 University, a Presbyterian and a Reformed Theo- 
 logical Seminary, numerous churches and schools, 
 &c. The city is supplied with about 2,000,000 
 gallons of water daily, by means of a steam-engine. 
 In the district to the south of Pittsburgh, Wash- 
 ington, Brownsville, and Union, are flourishing 
 towns. Canonsburg is the seat of Jefferson Col- 
 lege. Below Pittsburgh, Beaver, at the mouth of 
 the river of the same name, is a thriving town, 
 
COMMONWEALTH OP PENNSYLVANIA. 229 
 
 which is indebted for its prosperity to the great 
 water power afforded by the falls of the stream. 
 Numerous mills and manufacturing establishments 
 have been erected on both sides of the river above 
 the Tillage, and the whole population of the neigh- 
 bourhood is about 8,500. 
 
 . Erie, on the lake of the same name, is important, 
 on account of its harbour, which is protected by 
 several piers. This place is increasing rapidly, and 
 promises to become of considerable commercial im- 
 portance. 
 
230 
 
 STATE OF DELAWARE. 
 
 THIS State is bounded on the north by Pennsyl- 
 vania, on the south by Maryland, on the east by 
 Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the 
 west by Pennsylvania and Maryland. The ex- 
 tent from north to south is ninety miles ; from east 
 to west, twenty-five miles, containing 2,120 square 
 miles. 
 
 The principal streams, besides the Delaware, 
 which form a part of its boundary, are Brandy- 
 wine Creek, Christiana Creek, Duck Creek, Mis- 
 pillion Creek, and Indian, Choptank, and Nanti- 
 coke Rivers. 
 
 The general aspect of Delaware is that of an ex- 
 tensive plain, mostly favourable for cultivation. 
 On the table land forming the dividing ridge be- 
 tween the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, is a 
 chain of swamps, from which the water descends 
 iu one direction, to the Chesapeake, and in the 
 other, to Delaware Bay. The upper part of the 
 State is generally a fine tract of country, and well 
 adapted to the growing of wheat and other grains. 
 The staple commodity, however, is wheat, which 
 is produced of superior quality. The flour is highly 
 esteemed for its softness, and is preferred for foreign 
 markets. Brandywine Creek, in the upper part 
 of the State, furnishes water power for great and 
 
STATE OP DELAWAKE. 231 
 
 growing manufacturing establishments. The chief 
 articles are flour, cotton, wollen, paper, and gun- 
 powder. Delaware contains but few minerals; in 
 the county of Sussex, and among the branches of 
 the Nan ti coke, are large quantities of bog iron- ore, 
 well adapted for casting ; but it is net worked to 
 any extent. This State has a school fund of 17,000 
 dollars, and schools are established in every dis- 
 trict of four miles square ; but no district is entitled 
 to any share of the fund that will not raise by 
 taxation a sum equal to its share of the income of 
 the fund. There are academies at Wilmington, 
 Newcastle, Newark, Smyrna, Dover, Milford, 
 Lewistown, and Georgetown. 
 
 The foreign commerce of Delaware is inconsider- 
 able, but an active coasting trade is carried on. 
 The State contains twenty cotton-mills, eight 
 machine shops, two foundries, two rolling-mills, 
 three woollen-mills, four paper-mills, two powder- 
 mills, twenty- three quercitron- mills, seventy-five 
 flour-mills, forty- three saw-mills, thirty-two tan- 
 neries, &c. The Delaware and Chesapeake Canal 
 is a highly important work, from its connecting 
 those two great estuaries by a channel navigable 
 by sea vessels ; it is ten feet deep, sixty-six feet 
 wide, and nearly fourteen miles in length ; it has 
 two tide and two lift- locks, and was constructed at 
 an expense of 2,200,000 dollars. Here is also a 
 railroad, extending across the State, from New- 
 castle, on the Delaware, to French town, on Elk 
 River, sixteen and a quarter miles long ; and the 
 Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad forms a 
 link in the route which connects Philadelphia and 
 Baltimore. 
 
 Delaware is divided into three counties, which 
 are subdivided into hundreds. Population in 1830, 
 
232 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 T6,739; in 1840, 80,729; and is now estimated 
 at about 85,000. 
 
 The city of Wilmington, pleasantly situated near 
 the junction of the Brandywine and the Christiana, 
 is a well built, growing town, and the most impor- 
 tant in the State. It contains an arsenal, hospital, 
 several churches, &c., and is plentifully supplied 
 with water by water- works on the Brandywine. 
 Its trade is extensive, and it sends several ships to 
 the whale fishery. In the immediate vicinity 
 there are upwards of 100 mills and manufactories, 
 producing flour, paper, iron- ware, powder, and 
 cotton and woollen goods ; the Brandywine flour- 
 mills are among the most extensive in the United 
 States. The population is about 15,000. New- 
 castle, below Wilmington, is a neat and flourishing 
 village at the termination of the Dover, the seat of 
 government, contains the State-house, and about 
 3,000 inhabitants. Lewistown is a village near 
 Cape Henlopen, in front of which has been erected 
 the Delaware Breakwater. The work consists of 
 two piers, an ice-breaker, 1,500 feet in length, and 
 a break- water, 3,600 feet long. 
 
233 
 
 STATE OF MARYLAND, 
 
 MARYLAND is bounded, north, by Pennsylvania 
 and Delaware ; east, by the Delaware and the 
 Atlantic; south-west, by Virginia. Length, 196 
 miles; breadth, 120; area, 10,950 square miles, 
 or 7,008,000acres. 
 
 The principal rivers are the Potomac, which 
 divides Maryland from Virginia, the Susquehanna, 
 Patapsco, Pawtuxet, Elk, Sassafras, Chester, 
 Choptank, Nanticoke, and Pacomoke. 
 
 The maritime part of this State is penetrated far 
 into the interior by Chesapeake Bay, as a vast 
 river dividing it into two distinct portions, called 
 the eastern and western shores. These shores in- 
 clude a level, low, and alluvial country, intersected 
 by tide- water rivers and creeks, and like the same 
 tracts of country farther south, are subject to inter- 
 mittents. The genuine white wheat, which is sup- 
 posed to be peculiar to this State, is raised on these 
 shores. Above the tide -waters, the land becomes 
 agreeably undulating. Beyond this commences 
 Alleghany Mountain, with its numerous ridges ; 
 the valleys between them are of a loamy rich soil, 
 yielding fine wheat, and all the productions of the 
 middle, together with some of those of the southern 
 States. The national road passes through the wide 
 
234 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 and fertile valleys in which Frederick and Hagers- 
 town are situated, being broad belts of the same 
 admirable soil which is seen in Lancaster county, 
 Pennsylvania. Among these mountains and hills 
 the air is elastic, the climate salubrious, and the 
 water clear and transparent. 
 
 In manufactures and commerce Maryland sus* 
 tains a very respectable rank. Numerous cotton 
 and woollen mills, copper and iron rolling mills are 
 established in and near Baltimore, and are also 
 scattered over other parts of the State. Flour and 
 tobacco are the staple productions. The exports of 
 the former are very great, arid of the latter the 
 product is considerable and of superior quality. 
 The herring and shad fisheries are actively carried 
 on and yield valuable returns, constituting an im- 
 portant article of trade as well as of home con- 
 sumption. The commerce of Maryland is extensive, 
 and her ports serve as outlets of large tracts of 
 productive country in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and 
 the Western States, whose consumption is also in 
 part supplied through the same channels. Her 
 imports from foreign countries amount to about 
 6,500,000 dollars, her exports to 4,500,000 dollars; 
 and her coasting trade is also valuable. The 
 shipping belonging to the State amounts to about 
 1 10,000 tons. 
 
 There is a free-school fund of 50,000 dollars, 
 belonging to different counties, and appropriated 
 to the education of indigent children, and the pro- 
 ceeds of a small school fund belonging to the State 
 are also applied to the same object. The State also 
 grants annually a sum of 5,000 dollars to the Uni- 
 versity of Maryland, and a further sum of 18,000 
 dollars to other colleges, academies, and schools. 
 The colleges are St. John's at Annapolis, St. Mary's 
 at Baltimore, Mount St. Mary's at Emmittsburg, 
 
STATE OF MARYLAND. 235 
 
 and Mount Hope near Baltimore. The academical 
 and medical departments of the University of 
 Maryland are at Baltimore ; and there is also 
 another medical school, styled the Washington 
 Medical College, in the same city. The Roman 
 Catholics, Episcopalians, and Methodists are the 
 prevailing sects ; and the Presbyterians, Baptists, 
 German Reformed, and Quakers are pretty nume- 
 rous. There are also some Universalists, Luthe- 
 rans, Swedenborgians, Tunkers, and Menonists. 
 
 The canals and railroads of Maryland are on a 
 gigantic scale. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal 
 extends from Georgetown to Pittsburgh, 340 miles. 
 The Susquehanna canal extends from Columbia to 
 Port Deposit. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
 to Harper's Ferry, eighty miles, where it is con- 
 nected with the Winchester railroad. A branch 
 has been constructed to Washington, a distance of 
 thirty-two miles, from a point about twelve miles 
 from Baltimore. The Baltimore and Philadelphia 
 Railroad is chiefly in this State. The whole distance 
 is ninety-two miles. The Baltimore and Susque- 
 hanna Railroad extends from Baltimore, by York, 
 to the Susquehanna, seventy-five miles. There is 
 also a railroad from the northern part of the eastern 
 shore to Pocomoke Bay. 
 
 Maryland is divided into nineteen counties, of 
 which eight are on the eastern and eleven on the 
 western shore. Population in 1830, 447,040; in 
 1840, 486,603; and is now estimated at 521,000. 
 
 Baltimore, the principal city of the State, and, in 
 point of population, the third in the Union, stands 
 on an arm of Potapsco Bay, about fourteen miles 
 from the Chesapeake, and 200 from the sea, by the 
 ship channel. The harbour is capacious and safe, 
 and consists of an inner basin, into which vessels 
 of 200 tons can enter, and an outer harbour at 
 
236 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 Fell's Point, accessible to the largest merchant 
 ships. The entrance is commanded and defended 
 by Fort M'Henry. Baltimore possesses nearly the 
 whole trade of Maryland, that of part of Western 
 Virginia and Pennsylvania and the western States ; 
 and its inland communication has been extended 
 and facilitated by the construction of the Baltimore 
 and Ohio Railroad. Manufactures of cotton, woollen, 
 paper, powder, alum, chrome- yellow, pottery, &c., 
 are also carried on in the city and neighbourhood. 
 Baltimore is the greatest flour market in the world. 
 The quantity of flour inspected annually amounts 
 to about 600,000 barrels and 30,000 half-barrels, 
 with 1,5.00 hogsheads and 5,000 barrels of Indian 
 corn-meal, and 6,000 barrels of rye- flour. Its 
 shipping amounts to 80,750 tons. The public 
 buildings are fifty-three churches and chapels, two 
 hospitals, a penitentiary, exchange, the college 
 and university halls, &c. The Battle Monument, 
 erected in memory of the successful defence of the 
 city, when attacked by the British in 1814, is an 
 elegant marble obelisk thirty-five feet high, on 
 which are inscribed the names of those who fell in 
 that gallant affair. The Washington Monument is 
 the most splendid structure of the kind in the 
 country. It is a Doric column of white marble, 
 with a circular staircase inside, by which you 
 ascend to the top. The column is 140 feet in 
 height, and twenty feet in diameter at the bottom. 
 It stands upon a base twenty-three feet high, and 
 is surmounted by a colossal statue of the " Father 
 of his Country." The Exchange is a large and 
 handsome building, 366 feet by 140. The Roman 
 Catholic Cathedral is perhaps the finest church in 
 the country, and it contains some good paintings. 
 The citizens of Baltimore are not more distinguished 
 for their bold and persevering enterprise than for 
 
STATE OF MARYLAND. 237 
 
 hospitality and good manners. In 1765 there 
 were not more than fifty houses on the site of the 
 city. In 1800 the population had increased to 
 23*971 ; in 1830, to 80,625 ; in 1840, to 98,201 ; 
 and cannot now be estimated at less than 120,000. 
 The city of Annapolis, agreeably situated on the 
 Severn, three miles from Chesapeake Bay, is the 
 capital of the State. It is regularly laid out with 
 the streets diverging from the State House and the 
 Episcopal Church. The State House is a hand- 
 some building, in which the old Congress held some 
 of their sessions ; and the Senate Chamber, in 
 which Washington resigned his commission, has 
 been preserved unaltered. Here is likewise the 
 State library. Annapolis is also the seat of St. 
 John's College. The channel to the city is narrow 
 and difficult. Population, 4,326. Frederick City, 
 forty-seven miles west of Baltimore, is, in point of 
 wealth, elegance, and population, the second city 
 in Maryland. A branch of the Baltimore and 
 Ohio Railroad terminates here. The population of 
 this flourishing place is about 12,000. North-west 
 from Frederick City, and near the north line of 
 the State, is Hagerstown, a well-built and flourish- 
 ing town, containing the usual county buildings, 
 several churches and academies, and a population 
 of 6,371 souls. Williamsport, at the mouth of the 
 Conocoheague, is a prosperous village on the route 
 f the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and the Che- 
 sapeake and Ohio canal. 
 
238 
 
 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
 
 THIS is a territory of ten miles square, under the 
 immediate government of congress. It is divided 
 into two counties and three cities, the counties and 
 cities being separate. The cities are Washington, 
 Alexandria, and Georgetown ; the counties Wash- 
 ington and Alexandria. This district lies on both . 
 sides of the Potomac, 120 miles from its mouth, 
 between Maryland and Virginia, and was ceded to 
 the general government by these States in 1790. 
 The seat of government was established within its 
 limits in 1800. The population of the district 
 amounts to above 50,000, of which about 7,000 
 are slaves and an equal number of free blacks. 
 
 The city of Washington was laid out, under the 
 superintendence of the patriot whose name it bears, 
 in 1791, and became the seat of government in 
 1800. It stands in the centre of the district, upon 
 the north bank of the Poto/nac, between the river 
 and one of its tributaries called the East Branch. 
 The actual city occupies a spot about a mile and a 
 half above the junction of the two streams, although 
 the original plan embraces the whole extent below. 
 The plan of the city combines regularity with va- 
 riety, and is adapted to the variations of the sur- 
 face, so that the spaces allotted to public buildings 
 
DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA. 239 
 
 occupy commanding positions, and the monotonous 
 sameness of a rectangular design is avoided, while 
 all its advantages are secured. The minor streets 
 ran at right angles, but larger avenues diverge from 
 several centres, intersecting the streets with various 
 degrees of obliquity, and opening spaces for exten- 
 sive squares. The smaller streets run north, south- 
 east, and west, and are from 90 to 110 feet wide. 
 The grand avenues are from 130 to 160 feet in 
 width, and are planted with trees. Several of the 
 largest unite at the top of the hill ou which the 
 Capitol is situated. These bear the names of the 
 several States of the Union. 
 
 Washington is the residence of the President of 
 the United States, and of the other chief executive 
 officers of the federal government, and of foreign 
 ministers to the United States. The Congress meets 
 here annually, on the first Monday of December ; 
 and the Supreme Federal Court also holds its 
 annual sessions here. 
 
 The population of the city is 24,872, including 
 3,706 free blacks and about 3,000 slaves, but 
 duriiig the session of Congress the city is thronged 
 with visitors from all parts of the world. The 
 buildings which it contains are in three distinct 
 parts ; one portion being in the neighbourhood of 
 the Navy Yard, another in that of the Capitol, and 
 another in the Pennsylvania Avenue, which extends 
 from the Capitol to the President's house. The 
 city presents the appearance of a group of villages, 
 the spaces between the inhabited parts not being 
 occupied or marked out. 
 
 The Capitol is a large and magnificent building 
 of white freestone, 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. The Representatives' Hall is semi- 
 
240 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 circular, ninety-five feet in length and sixty in 
 height, lighted from the top, and adorned with a 
 colonnade of pillars of Creccio, beautifully polished. 
 It is one of the most elegant halls in the world. 
 The Senate Chamber is of the same shape, and 
 sventy-four feet long. The Rotunda is ninety- six 
 feet in diameter, and is ninety-six feet high to the 
 top of the dome within. It is all of marble, and 
 the floor is beautifully paved. The whole has a 
 grand and imposing effect. Several pieces of sculp- 
 ture are placed in niches iu the walls, representing 
 events in American history. The sound of a single 
 voice uttered in this apartment is echoed from the 
 dome above with a rumbling like distant thunder. 
 The National Library is contained in the Capitol, 
 which embraces also a series of interesting national 
 paintings by Colonel Trumbull. 
 
 The President's house, also of freestone, is two 
 stories high, with a lofty basement, and it has a 
 front of 18.0 feet, adorned with an Ionic portico ; it 
 is surrounded by extensive grounds. On each side 
 are the four offices of the executive departments : 
 the War-office contains a gallery of Indian por- 
 traits, and the State-office several interesting original 
 papers, as the Declaration of Independence, Wash- 
 ington's Commission, &e. There are also here an 
 Arsenal and a Navy- yard, with a City-hall, an 
 Hospital, Penitentiary, several Churches, the Halls 
 of Columbia Colleges, &c. A branch of the Chesa- 
 peake and the Ohio Canal terminates in this city. 
 
 Georgetown is about three miles west of the 
 Capitol, and is pleasantly situated, commanding a 
 prospect of the river, the neighbouring city, and 
 the diversified country in the vicinity. The houses 
 are chiefly of brick, and there are many elegant 
 villas in different parts. The Catholic College 
 here is a respectable institution. Georgetown is a 
 
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 241 
 
 thriving place, and has considerable commerce; but 
 the navigation of the river is obstructed by a bar 
 just below the town ; here is also a cannon foundry. 
 The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal reaches to Potomac 
 at this place. Population, 5,364. The city of 
 Alexandria, six miles below Washington, on the 
 opposite side of the Potomac, which is here a mile 
 wide, and from thirty to fifty feet deep, carries on 
 an extensive trade in flour, Jtobacco, &c., and is 
 actively engaged in the valuable shad and herring 
 fisheries of the river. The city is regularly laid 
 out, and prettily situated at the foot of green and 
 gently swelling hills : and it has a good harbour, 
 with commodious wharves, accessible to the largest 
 ships. The shipping of the port is about 12,000 
 tons. Here are a High-school, a Girls' Boarding- 
 school under the charge of the Sisters of Charity, 
 an Orphan Asylum, eleven churches, several tan- 
 neries, engine manufactories, foundries, cotton mills, 
 <kc. Population, 12,139. 
 
242 
 
 SOUTHEKN STATES. 
 
 THE States of Virginia, North Carolina, South 
 Carolina, Georgia, Florida Territory, Alabama^ 
 Mississippi, and Louisiana, are those usually termed 
 the Southern States : the whole region extends from 
 the Potomac to the Sabine River ; its coasts are 
 \\ashed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of 
 Mexico ; and it is in area about 420,000 square 
 miles, with a population of four and a half millions 
 of souls. 
 
 The tract of country in the Southern States 
 bordering on the Atlantic, is a low sandy plain, 
 from fifty to 100 miles broad, and, in general, 
 covered with pine forests. Beyond this, towards 
 the Alleghanies, it becomes elevated and hilly, and 
 then mountainous. Those portions of Alabama, 
 Mississippi, and Louisiana, which border on the 
 Gulf of Mexico, are low and level ; in the interior, 
 they are diversified, and some parts mountainous. 
 The low countries in all the Southern States are 
 mostly barren, except on the borders of rivers, 
 where the soil is very fertile. 
 
 The inhabitants of the Southern States are nearly 
 all occupied with agriculture. The commerce, 
 which is extensive, is principally in the hands of 
 foreigners, or of their northern countrymen, and 
 
SOUTHERN STATES. 243 
 
 carried on in northern vessels. The great staples 
 of this region are cotton, rice, sugar, and tobacco ; 
 nearly the whole of the cotton crop of the United 
 States is raised here, which, with rice and sugar, is 
 confined to its southern section : in the northern, 
 the principal productions are tobacco, wheat, and 
 corn ; in the regions of the Carolinas pitch-pine 
 grows in great perfection ; and tar, pitch, turpen- 
 tine, and lumber are staples of these districts. 
 Gold is almost exclusively confined to the tipper 
 and middle portions of this region, and is now so 
 extensively found as to have become an object of 
 national importance. 
 
 The population is chiefly of English descent, but 
 is in some places somewhat mixed. There are 
 many descendants of the French and Spanish, par- 
 ticularly in Louisiana and Florida. In Louisiana 
 the French language is extensively spoken, and the 
 laws, and some of the newspapers, are printed both 
 in that tongue and in English. 
 
 The negroes, who form about two-fifths of the 
 population, constitute a separate class, and are 
 mostly held in slavery ; and a separate class the 
 negroes certainly are, as is certified by an American 
 paper, of May 1852, in the following terms: 
 " The impudent negro who has of late taken upon 
 himself the privilege of abusing our country, it 
 patriots, and constitution, without having that 
 chastisement he so richly merited at the hands of 
 our republicans, who would not condescend to 
 notice his blasphemy and negroisms, had the auda- 
 city, yesterday morning, to walk down our princi- 
 pal street the principal promenade in our city 
 with two white women resting on his arms. 
 Several citizens, who noticed this disgraceful scene, 
 followed the impudent scamp. On observing that 
 he was watched, the negro commenced laughing 
 
244 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 and sneering at the gentlemen, who were behind 
 him. One of them (gentlemen !) could not with- 
 stand the provoked and justifiable temptation to 
 award to the negro that punishment which his 
 daring rascality had subjected him to. The gen- 
 tleman stepped up to him, and politely requested 
 the women to leave their ebony companion, and 
 place themselves under the protection of a gentle- 
 man hard by. The women very quietly did as 
 they were desired to do ; and then the indignant 
 and insulted gentleman administered to the back of 
 the negro a 4 dressing* that he will have occasion to 
 remember some time hence. Maddeued justice 
 forgets the dictates of law in a case of this kind ; 
 and, personally, we see no reason why it should 
 not/'* The Indians are still numerous, although 
 the Chocktaws have recently removed, and the 
 Creeks are now emigrating to the western territory. 
 The Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Seminoles, how- 
 ever, still remain. 
 
 The inhabitants of the Southern States are seldom 
 collected together in villages and towns, like their 
 northern countrymen, but live in a scattered num. 
 ner over the country. This is, in a measure, owing 
 to the predominance of agriculture over commercial 
 
 * We have every reason to believe that this precious 
 morceau, breathing liberty aud independence in every s\ ]- 
 lable, is from the pen of that arch-renegade Bennett, late 
 proprietor and editor of the " Glasgow Times," who, by 
 what means his creditors in Scotland may well guess, but 
 cannot say, upon running away from Scotland, and landing 
 in the " land of the free, ' became proprietor and editor of 
 the vilest among the innumerable vile periodicals of Ame- 
 rica. If this paragraph is not Bennett's it is very like his, 
 and does little honour to the enlightened people that would 
 support such a newspaper. In our humble opinion, the 
 two white women deserve more credit than the indignant 
 aud insulted gentleman. 
 
SOUTHERN STATES. 245 
 
 and mechanical occupations ; but principally to 
 the circumstance that the bulk of the labour is 
 performed by slaves. Instead of small proprietors 
 tilling their little farms with their own hands, we 
 here find extensive plantations cultivated under the 
 direction of the owner, or his agent, who merely 
 attends to the pecuniary affairs, directs the opera- 
 tions and oversees the labourers. This state of 
 things has a decided influence upon the manners 
 and character of the people ; yet there are indivi- 
 dual differences so great, that no general descrip- 
 tion will apply equally to the Virginian, the Caro- 
 linian, and the Louisianian. Generosity, great 
 hospitality, a high sense of honour, and a manly 
 independence of thought and conduct are among 
 the favourable traits of the southern character. 
 The poorer class of whites are, in general, less 
 frugal and industrious, and enjoy fewer advantages 
 in respect to education and religious instruction 
 than the same class in the Northern States. 
 
 The rivers of the Southern States, south of Chesa- 
 peake Bay, are generally distinguished by sluggish 
 currents, and sand bars at their mouths. Although 
 there is no stream exclusively belonging to this sec- 
 tion of the Union, that can be ranked in point of 
 extent with the great rivers of the country, there 
 are several which, from the length of the course 
 and the volume of waters which they flow, would 
 in other countries be considered as large streams ; 
 and there are not a few which furnish useful navi- 
 gable channels. The total population of the 
 Southern States amounts to nearly five millions of 
 souls, of whom upwards of one-third are slaves. 
 
246 
 
 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 NATURE lias bestowed on Virginia advantage of 
 position, soil, climate, and navigable rivers. She 
 is often distinguished by the title of the Ancient 
 Dominion, probably from the circumstance of her 
 having been the first settled of the colonies. 
 
 This State is bounded on the north by Maryland, 
 Pennsylvania, and Ohio ; south by North Carolina 
 and Tennessee ; east by Maryland and the Atlantic 
 Ocean ; and on the west by Kentucky and Ohio. 
 Extent, from north to south, 220 miles ; from east 
 to west, 370 miles. Area, about G4,000 square 
 miles. 
 
 Every portion of Virginia is penetrated by fine 
 rivers and streams, useful either as channels of 
 navigation, or for mechanical purposes. The prin- 
 cipal rivers are the Potomac, Shenandoah, James, 
 Rappahannock, Mattapony, Pamunky, York, Ri- 
 vannah, Appamatox, Elizabeth, Nottoway, Melur- 
 rin, Staunton, Ohio. Sandy, Great Kaoawha, Little 
 Kanawha, and the Monongahela and its principal 
 branches. 
 
 The Alleghany range of mountains, with its 
 numerous ridges, covers the whole middle section 
 of this State, and gives it a rugged surface. The 
 Country east of the mountains descends gradually 
 
COMMONWEALTH OP VIRGINIA. 247 
 
 to the flat and sandy alluvion of the coast. The 
 district west of the mountains is hilly. The soil 
 varies greatly, being sandy and sterile on the coast, 
 very fertile on the banks of rivers, and productive 
 in the valleys of the Alleghanies. The climate is 
 equally varied, being hot, moist, and unhealthy in 
 the lower alluvial country, and cool and salubrious 
 among the mountains. To the productions com- 
 mon to the northern and middle sections of the 
 Union, this State adds the sweet potato, the finest 
 tobacco, and, in the southern parts, cotton as a 
 crop. The productions of the north and the south, 
 apples and wheat, cotton and tobacco, meet here, 
 as in Tennessee, in the west country. The tem- 
 perature, soil, and circumstances, are supposed 10 
 be favourable in the highest degree to the cultiva- 
 tion of the grape and the silk mulberry. 
 
 The mineral wealth of Virginia is boundless ; 
 gold, copper, lead, iron, coal, salt, limestone, marls, 
 gypsum, magnesian, copperas, and alum earths, 
 thermal, chalybeate, and sulphuretted springs, ex- 
 cellent marbles, granites, soap stones, &c., are 
 among the treasures as yet for the most part lying 
 within the bowels ol the earth. Mining industry 
 has, however, recently taken a start, and will 
 doubtless soon afford profitable employment to 
 ai any of the inhabitants. 
 
 Of the metallic products of Virginia, gold is at 
 present the mo^t important. It is found on both 
 sides of the North and Rapid Ann river, of the 
 Nwrtii and South Anna, near their heads, of the 
 Rivanna in the lower part of its course, and of the 
 James River,, above and below the mouth of the 
 Rivanna. The belt of country in which this metal 
 exists, extends through Spottsylvawia, and some 
 neighbouring counties in a south- west direction, 
 into North and South Carolina, Georgia and Ala- 
 
248 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 bama. In this State the gold is diffused over large 
 surfaces, and has not heen found sufficiently in mass, 
 except in a few places to make mining profitable. 
 Several companies in different parts of the gold 
 region, are at present working mines, some of which 
 promise to yield a handsome remuneration. 
 
 Vast fields of coal exist in Virginia, both of the 
 bituminous and anthracite kinds; of the former 
 great beds have been found spreading over an ex- 
 tent of many miles, in which the seams are some- 
 times thirty, forty, and even sixty feet thick, and 
 of excellent quality. Coal has been mined and 
 exported in considerable quantities from the vicinity 
 of Richmond, for many years past. Iron ore exists 
 also in vast quantities in various parts; in some 
 places it is found between immense layers of coal. 
 
 Salt springs occur at various places ; at some 
 of which works for manufacturing the water into 
 salt have been erected ; the most important are on 
 the Great Kanawha River, in the vicinity of 
 Charleston. The quantity made here is about 
 three million bushels annually ; seventy gallons of 
 brine yield one bushel of salt. Virginia contains a 
 profusion of mineral springs, of great and various 
 virtues, many of which have acquired much repu- 
 tation for their medicinal properties, and some of 
 them are much resorted to. 
 
 The State of Virginia has a fund for internal im- 
 provement, amounting to about three million dollars, 
 the income of which, exceeding 280,000 dollars, is 
 applied, under the direction of a Board of Public 
 Works, to aid in useful undertakings for facilitating 
 the inter-communication between different parts of 
 the State. The Dismal Swamp Canal unites Deep 
 Creek with Joyce's Creek, and thus connects 
 Chesapeake Bay with Albemarle Sound ; it is six 
 feet and a half deep, forty feet wide, and twenty- 
 
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 249 
 
 two and a half miles long. Short canals have also 
 been constructed round the Falls of Appomattax, 
 Dan, Shenandoah, and Rappahannock. But the 
 greatest work undertaken in this State is the James 
 and Kanawha Communication, which comprises 
 dams and canals for the improvement of the James 
 River, above Richmond, a canal connecting its head 
 waters with the New River, and the improvement 
 of the navigation of that river and the Kanawha to 
 Charleston. The portion of the work between 
 Richmond and Lynchberg, is now complete, an 
 well as the continuation above that point, and has 
 proved of incalculable benefit to the commerce of 
 the State. Several important railroads have been 
 constructed, the principal of which are the Peters 
 burg and Roanoke which extends from Peters- 
 burg to Blakeley, a distance of sixty miles, with a 
 continuation to Richmond twenty- two miles ; the 
 Richmond and Potomac, which is seventy-five 
 miles, completes the connection between the Poto- 
 mac and Roanoke. The Winchester railroad ex- 
 tends from "Winchester to Harper's Ferry, thirty 
 miles, and is there connected with the Baltimore 
 and Ohio railroad, The Portsmouth and Roanoake 
 railroad extends from Portsmouth opposite Norfolk, 
 to Weldon, on the Roanoake, seventy-seven miles. 
 The literary fund belonging to the State amounts 
 to upwards of one and half million dollars, which 
 produces an annual revenue of about 80,000 dollars ; 
 of which 45,000 is appropriated for the instruction 
 of poor children, to be distributed among the several 
 counties and towns in proportion to their whole 
 population. There are numerous grammar schools 
 and acadamies in the State, and in many families 
 the children are instructed by private tutors. The 
 college of William and Mary, at Williamsburg, is 
 M 2 
 
SoO UNITLD STATES <)P AMERICA. 
 
 the oldest in the United States after Harvard 
 College ; it was chartered in 1691. 
 
 The University of Virginia, established at Char- 
 iottesville, is, however, the most important educa- 
 tional institution in the State ; it consists of nine 
 schools?, viz. : of Ancient Languages, Modern Lan- 
 guages, Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Chemis- 
 try, Materia Medica, Medicine, Anatomy and 
 Moral Philosophy, and Law ; and each student 
 attends only to such schools as he chooses. The 
 University commenced operation in 1825, and it 
 receives fifteen thousand dollars annually from the 
 State ; the library consists of about 12,000 volumes. 
 Washington College at Lessington, Hampden -Sid- 
 ney College, in Prince Edward County, and Ran- 
 dolph-Macon College, in Mecklenburg, are respec- 
 table institutions. The Theological Schools be- 
 longing to this State are an Episcopal Seminary in 
 Fairfax County, the Union Seminary, founded by 
 the Presbyterians in Prince Edward County, and 
 the Virginia Baptist Seminary, near Richmond. 
 The predominant religious sects are Baptists, 
 Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians. Thy 
 Lutherans, and Reformed Baptists are also nume- 
 rous, and there are some Roman Catholics, Quakers, 
 and Tunkers. 
 
 The population of Virginia, which, in 1 800, was 
 only 880,200, had increased in 1820 to 1,065,366; 
 in i830 to 1,211,375; in 1840 to 1,357384; and 
 is now, (1850), estimated at over 1,500,000, of 
 which more than one third are slaves. 
 
 We are informed by ancient historians, that <fc a 
 charter was granted by Qneen Elizabeth to a 
 society of merchants and gentlemen, to make dis- 
 coveries in America. Mr. (afterwards Sir) Walter 
 Raleigh, set on foot this undertaking, and Amidas 
 4iiul Barlow, with two vessels were fitted out for 
 
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 251 
 
 the purpose : they sailed so much to the southward 
 as to enter the Gulph of Florida, and, coasting it 
 north word, anchored in the bay of what is now 
 called Virginia. They brought home some tobacco, 
 the first that had been seen in England. Either 
 the Queen or Sir Walter Raleigh, gave the county 
 the name of Virginia. Hereupon a patent was 
 granted to Raleigh, for the posfeesbiBg of such hea- 
 then lands, not then inhabited by Christians, as 
 they should discover in six years, the property in 
 which vested in them for ever, with a reservation 
 to the crown of a fifth part of all gold and silver 
 ore found therein. 
 
 Richmond, the capital of the State and its prin- 
 cipal city, stands on several eminences, which com- 
 mand fine views of the surrounding country, and 
 give to the city an air of singular beauty. The 
 western division occupies a high plain called the 
 Shock be Hill, overlooking the lower town, and 
 containing a beautiful square of about ten acres, 
 which is adorned with fine shady trees, and laid 
 out in gravelled walks; here, in a commanding 
 situation, stands the Capitol or State House, one 
 of the most elegant structures in the United States, 
 containing a statue of Washington by Howdon ; 
 and contiguous to it is the City Hall, a neat edifice 
 of the Doric order. The other public buildings are 
 the Armoury, Penitentiary, several handsome 
 churches, a theatre, &c. The city is supplied with 
 pure water from three reservoirs, each containing 
 one million gallons, and filled by two pumps, which 
 raise at the rate of 800,000 gallons daily. Rich- 
 mond is 110 miles from the mouth of the river, 
 which carries fifteen feet of water to within a few 
 miles of the city, and affords boat navigation for 
 220 miles above the Falls. These advantages 
 enable it to carry on an extensive trade, both in- 
 
2.52 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 land and by sea ; the annual value of the exports 
 exceeding three million dollars, in addition to a 
 valuable coasting trade. Large quantities of wheat, 
 flour, tobacco, &c,, are brought down by the James 
 River Canal. The Falls of the river, immediately 
 about the city, afford an unlimited water power^ 
 which is largely applied to manufacturing purposes ; 
 there are here, and in the village of Manchester, 
 opposite to Richmond, four large flour mills, with 
 fifty- two run of stones, grinding annually nearly 
 one million bushels of wheat, several cotton mills, 
 a tobacco manufactory, rolling and slitting mills, 
 paper mills, a cannon foundry, &c. The popula- 
 tion in 1830, was 1 6,060 ^ at present, including 
 that of Manchester, which is connected with it by 
 a bridge, it exceeds 30,000. A railroad extends 
 from Manchester to the coal mines, on the same 
 side of the river, thirteen miles, which yield about 
 60,000 tons of coal annually. 
 
 The principal seaport of this State is Norfolk, 
 which is situated on the Elizabeth River, eight 
 miles from Hampton Roads. Its harbour is deep 
 and capacious, easy of access, and perfectly secure ; 
 the Road, an expansion of James River, just about 
 its mouth, affords the finest anchorage in the world, 
 and is capable of containing its united navies. 
 The entrance between Old Point Comfort and a 
 sand bar called the Rip Raps, is rather more than 
 a mile in width, and is defended by Fort Monroe 
 and Fort Calhoun. The favourable situation of 
 Norfolk, in regard to the sea, and its connexion 
 with the interior by means of the Dismal Swamp 
 Canal and the Portsmouth and Roanuke Railroad, 
 has made it the chief commercial depot of Virginia, 
 and about 25,000 tons of shipping belong to the 
 port. The town is built on low ground, and the 
 neighbourhood is marshy ; the principal streets are 
 
COMMONWEALTH OP VIRGINIA. 2 V3 
 
 well paved and clean, but the others are less com- 
 modious and more irregular. The buildings are 
 not distinguished for elegance, but some improve- 
 ments have, of late years, been made in this re- 
 spect. Norfolk contains several churches, a marine 
 hospital, a lyceum, theatre, &c., and a population 
 of 16,500. At Gosport, in Portsmouth, on the 
 opposite side of the river, is one of the most im- 
 portant navy yards of the United States, contain- 
 ing a magnificent dry dock, of hewn granite, con- 
 structed at a cost of 974,356 dollars. Population 
 of Portsmouth 3,000. Suffolk is a thriving little 
 town to the south-west ; it stands on the Nanse- 
 mond River, and is accessible to vessels of 100 
 tons. Population 2,200. 
 
 Petersburg, on the right bank of the Appomattox 
 River, is a handsome and flourishing town with 
 11,312 inhabitants, combining an active trade in 
 flour, cotton and tobacco, with manufacturing in- 
 dustry. Vessels drawing seven feet of water come 
 up to the town, but larger ships unload at City 
 Point, at the mouth of the river. The Falls of the 
 Appomattox furnish ample water-power, and there 
 are here several cotton- mills, flour- mills, foundries, 
 tanneries, cotton-seed oil mills, &c. 
 
 North- west from Richmond, and on the Ravenna 
 River, is Charlottesville, with about 2,000 inhabi- 
 tants. It is pleasantly situated in a charming 
 valley, and derives its interest from its being the 
 seat of the Virginia University. The halls of this 
 highly respectable and valuable institution form a 
 fine collection of buildings. Three miles from 
 Charlottesville is Monticello, the seat of the late 
 President Jefferson. The mansion occupies a lofty 
 summit of the South -west Mountain, 500 feet 
 above the Ravenna, and commands a view of the 
 Blue Ridge on the west, and of the low country, 
 
^.Jl UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 as far as the eye can reach, on the east. A simple 
 granite obelisk over the grave of Jefferson, hears 
 this inscription, written by himself: "Thomas 
 Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, and Founder of the University of Virginia.'* 
 
 Nearly west from Richmond, and 120 miles dis- 
 tant, is Lynchburg, situated on the southern bank 
 of James River, which is here bold and broken. 
 It is a neat and flourishing town, carrying on an 
 active trade, and containing some manufactories. 
 The water power afforded by the river is employed 
 in propelling cotton mills, saw and flour mills ; and 
 there are also here several tanneries, tobacco manu- 
 factories, &c. The town is supplied with water 
 from a reservoir containing 400.000 gallons, fed by 
 a double forcing pump, and placed at such an ele- 
 vation as to throw a copious stream over the tops 
 of the houses. Lynchburg is the largest tobacco 
 market in the world, about 16,000 hogsheads being 
 inspected here annually. Population 6,300. Dan- 
 ville, on the Dan River, which is navigable by 
 boats some distance above, is a flourishing village, 
 with 1,500 inhabitants; its position commands 
 some trade, and it contains some manufactories. 
 
 The Great Valley Section consists of an elevated 
 table land between the Blue Ridge and the Alleg- 
 hany Chain, from 1,200 to 1,500 feet above the 
 sea. It i; 5 , however, traversed by several mountain 
 chains, forming numerous subordinate valleys, at 
 once fertile and picturesque, and constituting a 
 region of singular wild ness and beauty. Its rare 
 combination of great agricultural resources with ex- 
 traordinary mineral riches, must one day render ifc 
 the seat of a populous and wealthy community. 
 At the lower end of the valley stands the town of 
 Harper's Ferry, celebrated for the majestic scenery 
 io its vicinity, which contains a population exceed- 
 
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 255 
 
 ing 3,000 inhabitants, with several churches, aca- 
 demies, large flour and aw mills, an arsenal of the 
 United States, containing 80,000 stand of arms, 
 and an armoury for the manufacture of fire arms. 
 A railroad extends from Harper's Ferry to Win- 
 chester, one of the most flourishing towns in the 
 State, with 5.000 inhabitants. It stands on the 
 site of Old Fort, Londoun, in the midst of a very 
 rich and highly cultivated tract, inhabited by an 
 industrious and thriving population. Winchester 
 is the depot of the surrounding country, and its 
 trade and manufactures are extensive. 
 
 Fredericksburg is a flourishing town at the head 
 of navigation on the Rappahannock River, which 
 admits vessels of 140 tons up to the town. Its 
 situation makes it the depot of a well cultivated 
 tract, and its trade is considerable. Tobacco, 
 wheat, flour, maize, gold, &c., are the principal 
 articles of exportation. Population 5,803. Fal- 
 mouth, Port Royal, Tappahannock, and Urbanna, 
 are small villages on the Rappahannock. 
 
 In Westmoreland county on the Potomac, is 
 shown the spot where Washington was born ; the 
 house, which stood on Pope's Creek, about half a 
 mile from the river, on a plantation called Wake- 
 field, is now in ruins. A simple stone, with the 
 inscription "Here, on the llth February, 1732, 
 George Washington was born," designates the con- 
 secrated spot. Further up the river, eight miles 
 from Alexandria, is Mount Vernon, the seat and 
 tomb of that illustrious individual. The mansion- 
 house is a simple wooden building, two stories high, 
 with a plain portico, extending the whole length, 
 and commanding a view of the river ; the tomb is 
 merely a walled excavation in the bank, with a 
 brick front, and closed by an iron door. 
 
 The country lying between the James and Rap- 
 
256 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 pahannock Rivers, is a fine and fruitful region. The 
 towns of this section are few and small, as the trade 
 centres in those which lie below the lower falls of the 
 rivers. Leesburg is a neat and thriving town, with 
 about 3.000 inhabitants, situated in a productive 
 and highly cultivated district. Fairfax, further 
 south, is a flourishing village ; and further on is 
 Barboursville, in the vicinity of which are the 
 seat and tomb of the late President Madison. 
 
 In the western part of the State is the city of 
 "Wheeling, surrounded by rich coal beds, and a 
 highly fertile country ; and, standing at the head 
 of steam boat navigation on the Ohio during the 
 season of low water, is one of the most flourishing 
 trading towns in the country. The population, 
 which was only 1,567 in 1820, is now estimated to 
 exceed 13,000. There are thirty- five steam-boats 
 owned here, forty steam-engines are in operation, 
 and an immense quantity of goods is forwarded 
 from this point in waggons, by the National Road 
 to the east, and by keel-boats, flat-boats, and 
 steamers, down the river. Iron foundries, steam- 
 engine factories, cotton and woollen mills, glass 
 houses and cut-glass works, rolling and slitting 
 mills, nail factories, flour- mills, paper-mills, cop- 
 peras, white lead and sheet lead manufactories, 
 tobacco manufactories, tanneries, <fcc., are among 
 the manufacturing establishments of Wheeling, in- 
 which upwards of 50,000 tons of coal are con- 
 sumed annually. 
 
257 
 
 STATE OF NOETH CAEOLINA. 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA is bounded on the north by 
 Virginia, east by the Atlantic Ocean, south by 
 South Carolina, and west by Tennessee. Length 
 362 miles, and breadth 121 miles; area 43,8000 
 square miles. The country, for more than sixty 
 miles from the coast, is a low plain, with many 
 swamps and inlets from the sea. The greater por- 
 tion of this district, except along the water- courses, 
 is a vast forest of evergreens. The rich lands near 
 the swamps and rivers are insalubrious. Having 
 passed this monotonous region, we emerge to the 
 pleasant and mild parts of the State, at the base of 
 the Alleghanies, from whose summits the eye 
 traverses an immense extent of beautiful country to 
 the west, and vision is lost in the agreeable suc- 
 cession of hill, dale, forest, and valley, with an 
 elastic and salubrious atmosphere. 
 
 In the western parts of the State the Blue Ridge, 
 which forms the separating line between the 
 waters of the Atlantic and the Mississippi, attains 
 an elevation of about 5.500 feet. The western 
 boundary of the State is formed by the prolongation 
 of the same ridge ; its different parts are known by 
 various local names, one of which, the Black 
 Mountain, has been ascertained to be the most 
 
258 UMTED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 lofty in the United States, east of the Rocky 
 Mountains ; its height is 6,476 feet, or 48 feet more 
 elevated than Mount Washington, in New Hamp- 
 shire; another summit of the Blue Ridge, the 
 Roan Mountain, is 6,038 feet in height, forming 
 on its top a broad level meadow, of considerable 
 extent. The tract between the two ridges is an 
 elevated table land, from 2,000 to 2,500 feet above 
 tho sea. 
 
 North Carolina abounds in considerable rivers, 
 but enjoys few facilities for navigation in propor- 
 tion to the number and size of the streams, which 
 are shallow or broken in their course, or lose them- 
 selves in lagoons difficult of access, or are ob- 
 structed by bars. The Chowan, which is formed 
 by the junction of the Meherrinn and Nottoway, 
 flows into Albemarle Sound, and admits small ves- 
 sels to Murfreesboro'. The Roanoke also empties 
 itself into the same shallow basin. The Tar River 
 and the Neuse both fall into Pimlico Sound : the 
 first is navigable 90 miles, to Tarboro,' and the 
 latter to Kingston. Cape Fear River, the princi- 
 pal stream, which has its whole course within the 
 State, rising on the northern border, pursues a 
 south-easterly course of 280 miles; and at Cape 
 Fear, the Waccamaw, the Lumbor, and Yadkin, 
 which take the names of the Little ana Great 
 Pedee, and the Catawba, which rises in the Blue 
 Ridge, all flow into South Carolina ; while the 
 French, Broad, Little Tennessee, Hiwassee, and 
 New River, descend iu an opposite direction from 
 the same mountain. 
 
 The swamps are a striking feature in the eastern 
 part of North Carolina. The Great Dismal Swamp 
 lies in the north-eastern part, and extends into 
 Virginia. It is thirty miles in length and ten in 
 breadth. In the centre, on the Virginia side, is 
 
STATE OF NORTH CAKOLINA. 2 ">9 
 
 Lake Drummond, fifteen miles in circuit ; a canal 
 is carried through it from Norfolk to Albemarle 
 Sound. Between Albemarle and Pimlico Sound 
 is another, called Alligator or Little Dismal 
 Swamp ; this has been partly drained by means of 
 a canal, and the land rendered tit for the cultiva- 
 tion of rice. These swamps have a clay bottom, 
 over which lies a thick stratum of vegetable com- 
 post. The drained lands are found to be exceed- 
 ingly fertile. 
 
 The pine forests of this State, which cover nearly 
 the whole of the eastern part, yield not only much 
 lumber for exportation, but nearly all the resinous 
 matter used in ship-building in America. The 
 resinous products are turpentine, spirits of turpen- 
 tine, rosin, tar and pitch ; turpentine is merely the 
 !*ap of the tree obtained by making an incision in 
 the bark ; the turpentine flows out in drops, 
 which fall into a box placed to receive them. 
 
 Among the mineral productions the most impor- 
 tant appear to be gold and iron. The gold region 
 of North Carolina embraces the section on both 
 sides of the Blue Rridge, and extends to the east 
 of the Yadkin. The deposite or surface mines are 
 the most easily worked, but the vein mines are the 
 most durable. In almost any part of the district, 
 gold may be found in greater or less abundance 
 mixed with the soil. It exists in grains or masses 
 from almost imperceptible particles, to pieces of 
 one or two pounds weight ; one of the largests 
 lumps ever found, was dug up in Cabarras county 
 it was worth between seven and eight thousand 
 dollars. Lumps of the value of from one hundred 
 to one thousand dollars are not uncommon. There 
 are innumerable diggings over the whole State, 
 and hosts of adventurers, relinquishing all other 
 employments, are digging the hill- sides for gold. 
 
2f)0 UNITED STATES <>F AMERICA. 
 
 The opening of the mines indubitably proves that 
 they were known in past ages; crucibles and 
 other mining instruments have been repeatedly dis- 
 covered under circumstances to preclude the possi- 
 bility of their having been left there by the 
 descendants of the European races. 
 
 The great diversity of climate between the 
 eastern lowlands and the western high country, 
 produces a corresponding diversity in the agricul- 
 tural productions of the two sections ; while the 
 former yields cotton, rice, and indigo, the more 
 northern grains and fruits thrive in the latter, 
 which yields wheat, Indian corn, tobacco and 
 hemp. The cotton crop of North Carolina is about 
 o(KOOO bales annually. Manufactures can hardly 
 be said to exist, except in the shape of household 
 industry ; and the dangers of the coast, and the 
 want of good harbours, carry the trade of North 
 Carolina chiefly through Virginia, South Carolina, 
 Georgia, Tennessee. Nor has much been done in 
 this State towards extending the facilities for trans- 
 portation, although the most important productions 
 are of a bulky character, requiring cheap and easy 
 modes of conveyance. The Dismal Swamp Canal 
 is partly, and its branch, the North-west Canal 
 wholly, in this State. The Clubfoot and Harlow 
 Canal connects the Neuse with the harbour of 
 Beaufort, and there are several side-cuts round the 
 falls of the rivers. There is a railroad from Raleigh, 
 the capital of the State, to the Roanoke. 
 
 The University of North Carolina, at Chapel 
 Hill, about thirty miles from Raleigh, is the prin- 
 cipal educational institution in the State. There 
 are numerous academies, but no system of general 
 education has been adopted. The Methodists, 
 Baptists, and Presbyterians are the most numerous 
 
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. 2(5 1 
 
 religious sects ; and there are also a good many 
 Episcopalians, with some Lutherans, Moravians, 
 Quakers, and Roman Catholics. 
 
 North Carolina is divided into sixty five counties. 
 
 The population, in 1820, was 638,829 ; in 1830, 
 738,470; in 1840, 840,111 ; and is now estimated 
 at 950,000, of which 330,000 are slaves ! 
 
 Raleigh, the capital of the State, not far from 
 the west bank of the Neuse, is a thriving town 
 with ahout 3,000 inhabitants. A fine State House 
 of granite is now erected, in place of one destroyed 
 by fire in 1831, when Canova's beautiful statue of 
 Washington was unfortunately destroyed. Fay- 
 etteville is a busy and flourishing town at the head 
 of boat navigation on Cape Fear River, with 3,500 
 inhabitants. It contains a United States armoury. 
 Salem, Salisbiiry, and Charlotte are small but 
 rising towns in this section. The last-mentioned 
 has of late rapidly increased in population and 
 importance on account of its proximity to the gold 
 mines, and contains a mint for the coinage of gold. 
 
 Beaufort, the only port of North Carolina 
 directly upon the sea, admits vessels drawing 
 twelve feet of water. The harbour is safe and 
 commodious, but the town is inconsiderable. Wil- 
 mington, forty miles from the sea, on Cape Fear 
 River, is the most important commercial town of 
 the State, and it carries on a considerable trade 
 with the West Indies. The population is ahout 
 5,000. Newbern, on the south bank of the River 
 Neuse, eighty miles from Pimlico Sound, is a place 
 of some commerce, although large vessels cannot 
 come up to the town, and the navigation is tedious 
 and difficult for smaller craft. Newbern is plea- 
 santly situated and well built, and, with a popula- 
 tion of 6,372 souls, is the principal town in the 
 
2()2 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 State. Washington and Tarboro' on the Pimlico 
 River, Plymouth and Halifax on the Roanoke, 
 Edentori on the Chowan, and Elizabeth on the 
 Pasquotank, are small but promising trading towns 
 with rapidly increasing populations. 
 
263 
 
 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 THE State of South Carolina is bounded on the 
 north and north-east hy North Carolina, south- 
 east by the Atlantic Ocean, and south-west by 
 Georgia, from which it is separated by the Savan- 
 nah River. It is in length 188 miles by 160 in 
 breadth, the area being about 30,000 square miles. 
 
 The rivers of South Carolina afford some consi- 
 derable navigable facilities for small river craft, but 
 in the lower part of their course they are shallow 
 and obstructed by bars. The principal are the 
 Waccamaw, Pedee, Black River, San tee, Cooper, 
 Ashley, Stono, Edisto, Asbapo, Combahee, Coosan, 
 Broad, and Savannah. 
 
 The harbours of this State are generally of little 
 value ; but the coast presents numerous entrances, 
 which are accessible to small vessels, and which 
 afford advantages for an active coasting trade. The 
 harbour of Charleston is obstructed at the entrance 
 by a dangerous sand-bank, and that of Georgetown 
 will only admit small vessels. The harbour of 
 Beaufort or Port Royal is the best in the State, 
 and is large enough to receive a navy, but is little 
 frequented. Stone Inlet has about ten feet of 
 water, and was used during the blockade of 
 Charleston, in 1775. St. Helena Sound is the 
 
264 UNITED STATES OF AME1UCA. 
 
 most spacious opening for a great distance along 
 the coast, but, although nearly three miles wide 
 and ten miles long, it is too much beset with shoals 
 to be of any great commercial value. 
 
 The sea coast is bordered with a fine chain of 
 islands, between which and the shore there is a 
 very convenient navigation. The mainland is by 
 nature divided into the lower and upper country. 
 The low country extends 80 or 100 miles into the 
 coast, and is covered with extensive forests of 
 pitch-pine, called pine barrens, interspersed with 
 swamps and marshes of a rich soil. Beyond this 
 is the sand-hill region, sixty miles in width, the 
 sterile hills of which have been compared to the 
 arrested waves of the sea in a storm. To this dis- 
 tance the broad extent of country is denominated 
 the lower country ; beyond it we approach the 
 ridge of upper country, the Atlantic ascent of 
 which is precipitous. From the summit stretches 
 a fine belt of table-land, fertile and well cultivated, 
 watered by rivers and irrigated by smaller streams, 
 extending from the Savannah to Broad River. 
 The country beyond the ridge resembles in its 
 scenery the most interesting of the Northern States. 
 The traveller is gratified by the pleasant alternation 
 of hill and dale ; the lively verdure of the hills is 
 contrasted with the deeper tints of the extensive 
 forests which decorate their sides ; and in the val- 
 leys broad rivers roll their streams through the 
 varied beauties of luxuriant and cultivated fields. 
 The ascent hence to the mountains is gradual and 
 imperceptible. A number of mountains of striking 
 forms here swell with their peaks to a very consi- 
 derable elevation. Table Mountain is the most 
 conspicuous. Its summit is 4,000 feet above the 
 level of the sea. 
 
 The low country of this State is infested with 
 
STATK OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 265 
 
 many of the diseases which spring from a warm, 
 moist, and unelastic atmosphere. Of these the 
 most frequent are fevers, from which the inhabi- 
 tants suffer more than from any, or perhaps from 
 all other diseases, together. The districts of the 
 upper country enjoy as salubrious a climate as 
 any part of the United States. During the most 
 unhealthful period of the year, it is customary for 
 the more wealthy Carolinians to seek relaxation 
 in a tour through the Northern States, or in a 
 sojourn at some of the watering-places in the up- 
 land country. 
 
 The staple commodities of South Carolina are 
 cotton and rice, of which great quantities are an- 
 nually exported. 
 
 The cotton crop of this State amounts annually 
 to about 66,000,000, pounds, of which a great pro- 
 portion is the much-prized long staple or sea-island 
 kind. Rice, first introduced in 1693, is raised 
 only in the low country, where the immense 
 swamps in which it is grown may be easily irri- 
 gated by means of the tide in the rivers. The rice 
 exported from the United States, chiefly the pro- 
 duce of South Carolina, varies from 130,000 to 
 180,000 tierces, of the value of from two to three 
 million dollars. Indigo was for some time one of 
 the staples of this State. Its cultivation was in- 
 troduced near the middle of last century, and at 
 the breaking out of the revolutionary war about 
 1,000,000 pounds were annually exported ; but 
 toward the commencement of the present century 
 the price was so much lowered by large importa- 
 tions from the East Indies into England that it 
 gave way to cotton, which is now raised on the 
 same lands. 
 
 The manufactures of South Carolina are of very 
 little importance ; but the commerce of the Stat 
 
 N 
 
266 TLMTED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 is necessarily extensive. It consists in the exports 
 of her own raw produce, including rice, cotton, tar, 
 pitch, turpentine, and lumber, and of the produc- 
 tions of Georgia and North Carolina, and in the 
 import of manufactured articles, wines, tropical 
 fruits, &c., for home consumption. 
 
 The region in which gold is found extends 
 through this State. Although the mines are abun- 
 dant, the diggings have been less numerous there 
 than in North Carolina. Various ochres, used in 
 painting, are found near Yorkville. Marble, lime- 
 stone, iron and lead ore, potters' clay, fullers* 
 earth, nitrous earth, talc, and most of the useful 
 fossils are common. 
 
 Free schools for poor children have been esta- 
 blished throughout the State ; and upon a rough 
 estimate about 9,000 are instructed, at a charge of 
 nearly 40,000 dollars. There is a number of useful 
 and respectable academies. The Charleston Col- 
 lege in Charleston, and the College of South Caro- 
 lina at Columbia are valuable institutions. The 
 latter has a valuable and well-selected library, and 
 has been liberally endowed by the State. There 
 are three medical schools in Charleston, a Presby- 
 terian theological seminary at Columbia, a Lutheran 
 theological seminary at Lexington, and a Baptist 
 theological seminary at the High Hills. These are 
 the three prevailing religious beets, but there are 
 many Episcopalians and some Roman Catholics. 
 
 Several useful canals have been constructed in 
 this State, but none of them are of great extent ; the 
 Santee Canal extends from the head of sloop navi- 
 gation on Cooper's River, 34 miles from Charles- 
 ton, to the river Sautee, a distancw of 22 miles, and 
 forms the channel to the s-ea for large quantities of 
 the produce of the upper country. The Charleston 
 and Augusta Railroad, extending from the former 
 
 
STATE OF SUUTH CAROLINA. 267 
 
 city to Hamburg on the Savannah, opposite Au- 
 gusta, is 13% miles. There is also another railroad 
 of immense value to South Carolina the Charles- 
 ton and Cincinnati railroad, which is 600 miles in 
 length, and cost nearly twelve million dollars. This 
 is a spirited undertaking ; the railroad passes 
 through Columbia, up the Broad River into North 
 Carolina, surmounts the Blue Ridge by inclined 
 planes, and follows down the valley of the French 
 Broad River to Knoxville, whence it is continued 
 through Lexington to the Ohio River.. 
 
 South Carolina is divided into twenty -nine dis- 
 tricts, which are subdivided for local objects into 
 parishes. Of the population of this State, the 
 blacks are more numerous than the whites, and as 
 they are unequally distributed, their numerical 
 superiority is still greater in the low country, where 
 they are to the whites (including free blacks) as 
 three to one ; in the hilly country, the whites are 
 rather the most numerous ; and in the western 
 part of the State there are nearly three whites to 
 one black. In 1820, the population (white and 
 black) was 502,741 ; in 1830, 581,458; in 1840, 
 660,175; and is now (1850) estimated at 750,000, 
 of which, at the lowest calculation, 130,000 are 
 slaves. 
 
 Slavery as it exists in South Carolina presents 
 features of atrocity more dreadful than could be 
 pointed out in any other part of the world, if we 
 except the neighbouring slave-holding States, it 
 is remarkable that all travellers concur in one un- 
 varying account of its abominations. We will here 
 insert a few extracts, pointing out the miserable 
 condition of persons in slavery in North America. 
 Mr. Stewart thus mentions what he saw in Charles- 
 toil : 
 
2^8 UNITED STATES OF AMKIUCA. 
 
 "It was at once obvious, from the style of the town, 
 and the appearance of the people, many of them but 
 meanly apparelled, and from the great number of coloured 
 people, that I was now in a slave-holding State. In fact 
 the coloured population is greater than the white popula- 
 tion in the State of South Carolina. Early in the forenoon 
 I went to the race-ground ; although there were constables 
 at the starting-post to prevent the people from coming on 
 the course, one of the stewards appeared very much to 
 envy their calling, for no sooner did a man of colour appear 
 on the course, and within his reach, than he struck him 
 with his horsewhip. No wonder that these people thirst 
 for vengeance. Here, on the race-course, there were at 
 least two men of colour for every white person, yet they 
 were obliged to submit to treatment which the white man 
 dared not even to have threatened to a person of his own 
 colour. 
 
 " On returning to the hotel, I found a gentleman had 
 in my absence called for me, and left a note asking me to 
 dine with him next day. Having written my answer ac- 
 cepting the invitation, I went to the bar-room to beg Mr. 
 Street to send it by one of the boys, of whom there were 
 several about the house, but he at once told me that he 
 could not send any of his slaves out of the house. The 
 bar-keeper, Mr. Ferguson, seeing my dilemma, offered to 
 carry my note, and the landlord consented. Ferguson, 
 however, afterwards told me that the landlord had been 
 very ill pleased with him for showing me so much civility, 
 because he knew that his presence was always necessary in 
 the bar-room. Ferguson, at the same time, told me that. 
 the slaves were most cruelly treated in this house, and that 
 they were never allowed to go out of it, because as BOOH 
 as they were out of sight, they would infallibly make all the 
 exertion in their power to run away. Next morning, 
 looking from my window an hour before breakfast, I saw 
 Mrs. Street, the landlady, give a young man, a servant, 
 *uch a blow behind the ear as made him reel, and I after- 
 wards found that it was her daily and hourly practice to 
 beat her servants, male and female, either with her fist, or 
 with a thong made of cow-hide. 
 
 "I took a long drive in an open carriage to see the 
 neighbourhood of Charleston. My driver was a free-man 
 of colour. He gave a frightful account of the treatment to 
 which he and all the people of colour, whether free or 
 slaves, are subject in this State. He had been accustomed 
 formerly to go every season to the State of New York 
 
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 269 
 
 daring the period, when, owing to the inhabitants leaving 
 the city, business was almost at a stand ; but by an act 
 passed a few years ago, it is declared that a free person of 
 colour leaving the State, though merely crossing the 
 boundary, shall never be allowed to return, and as this per- 
 son has a wife and family, he feels himself really and truly 
 a prisoner in the State of South Carolina. The same law 
 declares that it shall not be lawful for free persons of 
 colour to come from another State into this. I was placed 
 in a situation at Charleston," continues Mr. Stuart, " which 
 gave me too frequent opportunities to witness the effects 
 of slavery in its most aggravated state. Mrs. Street treated 
 aU the servants in the house in the most barbarous manner, 
 and this, although she knew that Stewart, the hotel keeper 
 here, had lately nearly lost his life by maltreating a slave. 
 He beat his cook, who was a stout fellow, until he could 
 no longer support it. He rose upon his master, and in his 
 turn gave him such a beating that it had nearly cost him 
 his life. The cook immediately left the house, ran off, 
 and was never afterwards heard of ; it is supposed that he 
 had drowned himself. Not a day, however, passed with- 
 out my hearing of Mrs. Street whipping and ill-using her 
 unfortunate slaves. On one occasion, when one of the female 
 slaves had disobliged her, she beat her until her own 
 strength was exhausted, and then insisted on the bar- 
 keeper, Mr. Ferguson, proceeding to inflict the rest of the 
 punishment. Mr^. Street in the meantime took her plac 
 in the bar-room. His nature was repugnant to the execu- 
 tion of the duty which was imposed upon him. He gave 
 a wink to the girl, who understood it and bellowed lustily, 
 while he made the whip crack on the walls of the room. 
 Mrs. Street expressed herself to be quite satisfied with th 
 way in which Ferguson had executed her instructions ; but, 
 unfortunately for him, his lenity to the girl became known 
 in the house, and the subject of merriment, and was one 
 of the means for his dismissal before I left the house. But 
 I did not know of the most atrocious of all the proceed- 
 ings of this cruel woman until the very day that I quitted 
 the house. I had put up my clothes in my portmanteau 
 when I was about to set out, but finding it was rather too 
 full, I had difficulty in getting it closed to allow me to lock 
 it ; I therefore told one of the boys to send me one of the 
 Btouiest of the men to assist me. A great robust fellow 
 Boon afterwards appeared, whom I found to be the cook, 
 with tears in his eyes. I asked him what was the matter ? 
 He told me that just at the time when the boy called for 
 
270 UNITED STATfS Or AMIHICA. 
 
 him, he had got so sharp a blow on the cheek bone, from 
 this devil in petticoats as had unmanned him for the mo- 
 ment. Upon my expressing commiseration for him, he 
 paid he viewed this as nothing, but that he was leading a 
 life of terrible suffering . that about two years had elapsed 
 since he and his wife, with his two children, had been ex- 
 posed for sale in the public market at Charleston ; that he 
 had been purchased by Mrs. Street ; that his wife and 
 children had been purchased by a different person ; and 
 that though he was living in th same town with them, he 
 never was allowed to see them ; he would be beaten within 
 an ace of his life if he ventured to go to the corner of the 
 street." 
 
 The Duke of Saxe Weimar, in his travels, men- 
 tions that he visited the jail of Charleston, and 
 says 
 
 " The black overseers go about everywhere armed with 
 cow-hides ; that in the basement story there is an appara- 
 tus upon which the negroes (slaves) by order of the police, 
 or at the request of the masters, are flogged ; that the ma- 
 chine consists of a sort of crane, on which a cord with two 
 nooses runs over pulleys; the nooses are made fast to the 
 hands of the slave and drawn up, while the feet are bound 
 tight to a plank ; that the body is stretched out as much 
 as possible, and thus the miserable creature receives the 
 exact number of lashes as counted off. The public sale of 
 slaves in the market-place, at Charleston occurs frequently. 
 I was present at two slave sales where, especially at one of 
 them, the miserable creatures were in tears on account of 
 their being separated from their relations and friends. At 
 one of them, a young woman of sixteen or seventeen was 
 eparated from her father and mother, and all her relations, 
 and every one she had formerly known. This not un 
 frequently happens, although I was told and believe that 
 there is a general wish to keep relations together where it 
 can be done." 
 
 The following extract of a letter from a gentle- 
 man at Charleston, published in the New York 
 newspapers, contains a more shocking account of 
 the public sale of slaves in that city : 
 
STATE OF S'FTH CAKOLINA. 2?1 
 
 * f CivriosTty sometimes leads me to the auction sales of 
 the negroes. A few days since I attended one which 
 exhibited the beauties of slavery in all their sickening de- 
 formity. The bodies of these wretched beings were placed 
 upright on a table, their physical proportions examined 
 their defects and beauties noted. * A prime lot, here they 
 go.' There T saw the father looking sullen, and expressing 
 an indignation in his countenance that he dare not speak ; 
 and the mother, pressing her infant closer to her boso M 
 with an involuntary grasp, and exclaiming in wild an 
 simple earnestness, while the tears chased down her cheek 
 in quick succession, ' I can't leff my children I won't left 
 my children,' But down the hammer went, reckless alike 
 whether it united or sundered for ever. On another stand, 
 I saw a man apparently as white as myself, exposed for 
 sale. I turned away from, the humiliating spectacle, 
 
 "At another time I saw the concluding scene of this in- 
 fernal drama, It was on the wharf. A slave-ship for New 
 Orleans was lying in the stream, and the poor negroes, 
 hand-cuffed and pinioned, were hurried off in boats, eight 
 at a time. Here I witnessed the last farewell the heart- 
 rending separation of every earthly tie. The mute and 
 agonising embrace of husband and wife, and the convul- 
 sive grasp of the mother and the child, were alike torn asun- 
 der for ever ! It was a living death they never see or 
 hear of each other more. Tears flowed fast, and mine 
 with the rest." 
 
 Such is the horrid condition of slaves in the 
 Southern States of America. We could cite num- 
 berless authorities, hut. we think we have already 
 stated sufficient to prove that North American 
 slaves are degraded to the condition of brutes. 
 
 Charleston, the principal city of South Carolina,, 
 and the only considerable city in the Atlantic 
 States, south of the Potomac, stands on a point of 
 land between the Ashley artd Cooper Rivers, six: 
 miles from the ocean. The city is regularly laid 
 out, with streets running east and west from Ashley 
 to Cooper. River, and others intersecting them nearly 
 at right angles, from north to south. It is also in 
 general well built. Among the public buildings 
 
272 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 are many churches, the City Hall, Exchange, two 
 Arsenals, Theatre, College Hall, Alms-houses, 
 Orphan Asylum, <kc. ; the City Library is exten- 
 sive and judiciously selected ; and the Orphan 
 Asylum supports and educates 150 destitute chil- 
 dren. The city is healthier than the surrounding 
 country, and the planters from the country, and 
 many opulent West Indians spend the summer 
 season here. Its commerce is extensive, comprising 
 nearly the whole of that of the State, and its ship- 
 ping amounts to about 18,000 tons. The popula- 
 tion which, in 1800, was only 18,711, has now in- 
 creased to upwards of 60,000, of which number 
 we may safely estimate the blacks at upwards of 
 35,000 : including the Neck, which is adorned 
 with numerous plantations in^a high state of culti- 
 vation, the population may be stated to exceed 
 70,000 souls. The approach to the eity is defended 
 by Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island, at th 
 mouth of the harbour, and by Castle Pinckney > 
 opposite the extreme point of the city within. 
 
 Columbia, the capital of the State, is pleasantly 
 situated on the Congaree, below the junction of the 
 Saluda and Broad Rivers. It is regularly laid out 
 with very wide streets, and is a neatly built town 
 with upwards of 5,000 inhabitants. It contains 
 a handsome State House, a Lunatic Asylum, the 
 Halls of South Carolina College, several churches, 
 &c. Granby is a little town on fhe opposite side 
 of the river. Cam den is a place of some trade, 
 situated on a rising ground on the Wateree, with 
 upwards of 2,000 inhabitants. 
 
 Beaufort, to the south of Charleston, is a little 
 town on Port Royal Island, about sixteen miles 
 irom the sea, with a fine harbour, which is little 
 used. Georgetown, to the north, on Wingaw Bay, 
 being the depot of an extensive and well cultivated 
 
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 2?3 
 
 district, has considerable trade, but is accessible to 
 vessels of light draught of water only. It is, how- 
 ever, unhealthy, and during the autumn many of 
 the inhabitants resort to North Island, at the mouth 
 of the bay. Cheraw is also a small trading town 
 on the Pedee, near the North Carolina line. 
 
 In the middle county, Orangeburg, Hamburg, 
 Camden, and Columbia are the principal towns. 
 Hamburg derives its importance from its being 
 the inland terminus of the railroad from Charleston 
 to the Savannah River. 
 
274 
 
 STATE OF GEOBGIA. 
 
 GEORGIA, is bounded north by Tennessee and 
 North Carolina, north-east by South Carolina, and 
 south-east by the Atlantic Ocean, south, by Flo- 
 rida, and west by Alabama. Length, 300 miles ; 
 breadth, 200 ; area, 58,000 square miles. The 
 principal rivers of Georgia are the Savannah (which 
 forms the boundary between it and South Caro- 
 ling), Alatamaha, Ogeechee, Satilla, Ockmulgee, 
 Oconee, St. Mary's, Flint, Chattahoochee, Talla- 
 poosa, and Coosa. The coast of Georgia, for four 
 or five miles inland, is a salt marsh, mostly uninha- 
 bited. In front of this, towards the sea, there is a 
 chain of islands of a grey, rich soil, covered in their 
 natural state with pine, hickory, and live-oak, and 
 yielding, on cultivation, the finest quality of long 
 staple or sea island cotton. The principal of these 
 islands are Wassaw, Ossabaw, St. Catherine, Sa- 
 pelo, St. Simon's, Jekyl, and Cumberland. Be- 
 hind the swamps which line the coast, commences 
 that extensive range of pine- barrens, closely resem- 
 bling those of South Carolina ; above this range 
 the country begins to be pleasantly diversified by 
 gentle undulations. This region is bounded on the 
 west by the Blue Ridge, which here sjvells into 
 elevations 1500 feet in height, which thence sub- 
 side, and are lost iu the sea. Beyond the moun- 
 
STATE OF GEORGIA. 275 
 
 tains is an extensive and rich table country, with 
 a black soil of great fertility. 
 
 The climate of Georgia differs but little from 
 that of South Carolina. The low country planters 
 have their sickly season and their summer retreats 
 in the high pine woods. The districts central to 
 the rice swamps in the Carolina^ and Georgia are 
 generally insalubrious. There are districts in this 
 State that approach nearer to tropical temperature 
 than any part of South Carolina and better adapted 
 to the sugar-cane, olive, and sweet orange. The 
 hilly and western parts are as healthy as any in 
 America. As an average of the temperature, 
 winter may be said to commence in the middle of 
 December, and terminate in the middle of Febrn 
 ary. The climate of the low country compares 
 very nearly with that of Louisiana. 
 
 The mineral resources of Georgia are very im 
 perfectly known ; copper and iron have been found, 
 but the most valuable mineral production hitherto 
 has been gold. Although first found here, com- 
 paratively but a few years ago, a large quantity 
 has already been procured, chiefly from deposits, 
 and scarcely any attempts have been made to carry 
 on systematic mining operations. The gold occurs 
 in the northern parts of the State, on both sides of 
 the Chattahoochee, as far north as the Blue Ridge, 
 and to a considerable, but not well ascertained dis- 
 tance on the south. The Indian Springs of Butt's 
 County are sulphureous waters, and are much re- 
 sorted to for efficiency in cutaneous and rheumatic 
 complaints. The Madison Springs, near Athens, 
 are chalybeate. 
 
 The great agricultural staples of Georgia are 
 cotton and rice ; the cotton crop is estimated at 
 about 300,000 bales ; the export of rice is about 
 25,000 casks annually. The other exports are 
 
276 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 tar, pitch, turpentine, and lumber, the products of 
 the pine forests. 
 
 Georgia is well supplied with useful navigable 
 channels, which are highly necessary for the trans- 
 portation of its bulky staples. A canal from the 
 Savannah, to the Ogeechee, thirteen miles, is the 
 only artificial channel of navigation. There is, 
 however, the Georgia Railroad from Augusta to 
 Athens, 114 miles, with branches to Greensboro* 
 and Warrenton, and the Central Railroad, from 
 Savannah to Macon, 200 miles ; this latter is car- 
 ried twenty-five miles farther from Macon to For- 
 syth. Another railroad has also been constructed 
 from Athens to the Tennessee. 
 
 The State has an academic fund, the proceeds of 
 which, amounting to about 20,000 dollars annually, 
 are distributed among the academies, of which 
 there are a number highly respectable. There is 
 also a poor school fund, the income of which, 
 amounting to nearly the same sum, is divided 
 among the counties, according to their respective 
 populations ; but no general system of education 
 has been established. There is a college at Athens, 
 styled the University of Georgia. The Baptists 
 and Methodists are numerous, and the Presbyte- 
 rians, Episcopalians, and Christians number many 
 adherents. There are also some Roman Catholics, 
 Quakers, Lutherans, &c. 
 
 Georgia is divided into ninety counties. 
 
 The population of this State was, in 1820, 
 348,989; in 1830, 516,567; in 1840, 682,145; 
 and is now (1850,) estimated at 750,000 ; the 
 number of slaves, 360,000, or nearly one-half of 
 the whole population ! 
 
 The City of Savannah is advantageously, situated 
 for a commercial town, being accessible to large 
 ships from the sea, and communicating with the 
 
STATE OF GEORGIA. 277 
 
 interior by the noble river on which it stands. It 
 is built on the southern side of the Savannah, on a 
 high bank, rising about fifty feet above water, from 
 which it makes a fine appearance, with its spacious 
 and regular streets, and its handsome public build- 
 ings mingling beautifully with the groves of trees 
 which surround them and adorn the squares and 
 principal streets. The site was formerly unhealthy, 
 on account of the surrounding swamps, but this 
 evil has been cured by judicious drainings, and by 
 the substitution of the dry for the wet culture of 
 rice around the city. In 1820 it suffered so much 
 from a terrible fire, that its prosperity received a 
 temporary check, and the population was less by 
 100 in 1830 than it had been in 1820; but it has 
 rapidly recovered from this shock, and is now one 
 of the most flourishing cities in the Southern States, 
 its population having increased from 7,423, in 1830, 
 to upwards of 15,000, in 1850. Savannah is the 
 chief commercial depot in the State, and most of 
 the cotton and rice, with large quantities of the 
 other articles of exportation, pass through this 
 port. The exports exceed fifteen million dollars 
 annually ; thirty steamboats of a large class, and 
 a great number of steam to^r-boats are employed 
 on the river ; and the shipping of the port amounts 
 to nearly 18,000 tons. Among the public build- 
 ings are au Exchange, City Hall, Hospital, Theatre, 
 several churches, &c. 
 
 The City of Augusta, the great interior empo- 
 rium of Georgia, stands on the Savannah, at the 
 head of steamboat navigation. It is handsomely 
 built, and contains a City Hall, Hospital, Arsenal, 
 Theatre, numerous churches, &c. It is connected 
 with Hamburg by a bridge across the Savannah, 
 1,20" feet long. Population about 12,000. Au- 
 gusta is the depot of an extensive tract of produc- 
 
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 tive and populous cour.try, and is connected with 
 the ^ea by the Charleston and Hamburg Railroads, 
 and the Savannah River. 175.000 bales of cotton 
 are annually brought into the city. 
 
 Milledgeville, the capital of the State, is plea- 
 santly situated on the Oconee, and is a place of 
 some trade, with a population of upwards of 3,000 
 inhabitant. Its contains the State-house, the Peni- 
 tentiary, on the Auburn plan, (fee Athens, a 
 thriving little town, above Milledgeville, is the seat 
 of the University of Georgia. 
 
 Macon, on the Ocmulgee, consisted, in 1822, of 
 a single cabin; in 1830, it had a population of 
 2,600 ; in 1840, 4,200 ; and at present the num- 
 ber of inhabitants exceeds 7,000. Its trade is ex- 
 tensive and growing, and there are many saw and 
 grist mills in the vicinity. Several steamboats, 
 besides numerous tow-boats and pole-boats, are 
 employed on the Ocmulgee. 
 
 Columbus is situated on the Chattahoochee, just 
 below the Falls, and 430 miles from the sea. The 
 town was first laid out in 1828, when the site was 
 yet covered with the native forest, and in 1835 it 
 contained 4 000 inhabitants, with several churches, 
 newspapers, &c. Since then the number of inha- 
 bitants have increased to about 10.000. Steam- 
 boats sail regularfy from here to New Orleans, and 
 about 80,000 bales of cotton are now annually 
 shipped from the town. 
 
 Darien is a nent and thriving 1 little town, with 
 an active trade in cotton, and in the lumber which 
 is brought down the river in large quantities. Its 
 population is about 4,500. St. Mary's, a small 
 town, on the river of the same name, just above its 
 entrance into Cumberland Sound, derives im- 
 portance from its deep and commodious harbour. 
 
279 
 
 FLOBIDA TERRITORY. 
 
 FLORIDA is bounded north by Alabama and Georgia, 
 from the last of which it is separated in part by the 
 river St. Mary's ; east by the Atlantic Ocean ; 
 south and west by the Gulf of Mexico. Formerly 
 the name of Florida was applied to the whole 
 country east of the Mississippi, and bounded on 
 the north as follows : by the River St. Mary's, 
 from the sea to its source ; thence west, to the 
 junction of the Flint River with the Appalachicola ; 
 then up the Appuciiicola to the parallel of thirty- 
 one degrees north latitude ; then due west, along 
 that parallel to the Mississippi. The river Appa- 
 luchicola divided this country into East and West 
 Florida. The part lying between the Mississippi 
 and Pear River is now included in the State of 
 Louisiana ; the part between the Pearl River and 
 the Perdido, belongs to the States of Mississippi 
 and Alabama ; and the part east of the Perdido is 
 the country that is now called Florida. Its mean 
 length, from north to south, is 380 miles, and the 
 mean breadth, 150, the area being 57,750 square 
 miles. 
 
 The surface of Florida is in general level, and 
 not much elevated above the sea. It is intersected 
 by numerous pouds, lakes, and rivers, of which the 
 
280 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 principal are the St John's. Appalachicola, Suwnnep, 
 Ocklockony, Choctawhatchie, Escumbia, and Yel- 
 low Water Rivers. The southern part of th^ 
 peninsula is a mere marsh, and terminates at Cape 
 Sable, in heaps of sharp rocks, interspersed with a 
 scattered growth of shrubby pines. 
 
 The Gulf Stream setting along the coast has here 
 worn away the land, forming those islands, keys, 
 and rocks known by the general name of the Reefs, 
 and by the Spaniards called " Cayos," between 
 which and the main land is a navigable channel. 
 These islands contain some settlements and many 
 good harbours. One of the most important is Key 
 West, or Thompson's Island, six miles long and 
 two in breadth, on which is the town of Key West, 
 a naval station, and the seat of an admiralty court. 
 The harbour is good and commodious, and of suffi- 
 cient depth of water to admit the largest vessels. 
 
 The eddies, which set towards the shore from 
 the Gulf Stream, cause many shipwrecks on this 
 part of the coast, furnishing employment to the 
 Bahama wreckers. The soil of Florida is, in some 
 parts, especially on the banks of the rivers, equal 
 to any in the world ; in other parts it is indifferent ; 
 and there are large tracts which are said to be of 
 little value. 
 
 Live oak timber, one of the most valuable pro- 
 ducts of Florida, is cut and exported to a consider- 
 able amount ; also cedar logs, boards, staves, hides, 
 tallow, and bees -wax. The fig, pomegranate, 
 orange, and date, are among the fruits ; cotton is 
 the chief agricultural staple, the annual crop being 
 60,000 bales ; the sugar-cane is also pretty exten- 
 sively cultivated ; rice is raised in large quantities, 
 and indigo formerly furnished a valuable article of 
 exportation, but is now only raised for home con- 
 sumption. But Florida is, on the whole, better 
 
FLORIDA TERRITORY. 281 
 
 suited for a grazing country ; and its vast herds of 
 cattle, horses, swine, &c. find a boundless extent 
 of range in its tine pastures. 
 
 The climate, from October to June, is generally 
 salubrious ; but the months of July, August, and 
 September are extremely hot and uncomfortable ; 
 and during this season fevers are prevalent. At 
 St. Augustine, however, the climate is delightful, 
 and this place is the resort of invalids. 
 
 The population of Florida, in 1830, amounted 
 to 34,720 ; the different classes of which were 
 whites, 18,375 ; free coloured, 844 ; slaves, 15,501. 
 In 1850 the population is estimated at 45,000 ; 
 the different classes in proportion to the former 
 computation. 
 
 In 1830 there were about 3,000 Indians not in- 
 cluded in the census. They were known under 
 the name of Seminolee, bufc they belonged to the 
 Muscogee or Creek nation, from whom, however, 
 they had been long politically separated. Gradu- 
 ally driven back from their original hunting grounds 
 to the great morass of the south, they were induced 
 to enter into a treaty to abandon the territory, and 
 remove to the west. Preparati3ns were made fur 
 their removal in 1835, but they showed great re- 
 luctance to go, and finally commenced open hostili- 
 ties under an able chief, named Oseola. As might 
 have leen expected, they were discomfited. 
 
 St. Augustine, the oldest town in the United 
 States, stands at the junction of two small creeks, 
 called the Matanzas and the North River. It is 
 regularly built, but the streets are narrow; the 
 houses are generally two stories high, surrounded 
 with balconies and piazzas, and built of a shell- 
 stone, or concretion of shells and sand. The Nun- 
 nery, now used as barracks, is an imposing struc- 
 ture in the Spanish style ; there is a monument 
 
282 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 about forty feet high, in the public square, com- 
 memorative of the Spanish Constitution ; and the 
 Castle of St. Marks is a massive and a nohle work, 
 completed in 1716. Although the country is poor, 
 y<>t there are many gardens in and around the 
 town ; the beautiful orange groves, which orna- 
 mented the neighbourhood, and were very profit- 
 able to their owners, were mostly blasted by the 
 severe cold in 1834-35. To the "north of St. Au- 
 gustine, on Amelia Island, is the little village of 
 Fernandina, during the embargo and late war an 
 important depot. 
 
 Jacksonville, on the St. John's, is a flourishing 
 town, forming the depot of the trade of the sur- 
 rounding country ; it is also a considerable tho- 
 roughfare, and the East Florida Railroad runs 
 from this point to St. Marks. St. Marks is the 
 Chipping port of a populous and productive dis- 
 trict, and is a growing town, with a good harbour; 
 the entrance affords twelve feet of water, but up 
 to the town, eight miles from the sea, the bay 
 only carries rune feet. A railroad, twenty- one 
 miles in length, connects St. Marks with Talla- 
 hassee, the capital of the State; and another, IPO 
 miles long, from hence to Brunswick, in Georgia. 
 Tallahassee stands on an eminence, in a fertile dis- 
 trict, and contains the Capitol, several churches, 
 banks, &c., with about 2,000 inhabitants. Appa- 
 ls chicola is a flourishing little town, at the mouth 
 of the river of the same name. About 50,000 
 bales of cotton are annually exported from Appa- 
 lachicola. 
 
 St. Josephs, on the bay of the same name, is 
 also a place of growing trade ; the bay affords 
 twenty-five to thirty- three feet of water, and is 
 \vell sheltered from all winds. A railroad from St. 
 Josephs to the little lake or lagoon of Winnico, con- 
 
FLORIDA TERRITORY. 2S3 
 
 nects the town with the River Appalachieola. Pen- 
 Bacola, on the bay of the same name, is important 
 as a naval station of the United States ; it is acces- 
 sible to small vessels through Santa Rosa Sound, 
 a long, shallow lagoon, sheltered by the Island of 
 Santa Rosa, which also fronts the Bay of Pensa- 
 w>la, and through the main channel to ships of 
 war, up to the Navy-yard, about six miles below 
 the town. Population of Pensacola about 3 T 500 
 
284 
 
 STATE O'F ALABAMA. 
 
 THE State of Alabama is bounded on the north by 
 Tennessee, east by Georgia, south by Florida, arid 
 west by the State of Mississippi. Length 280 
 miles; breadth 160 miles; area 46, COO square 
 miles. 
 
 The principal rivers are the Alabama, Tom- 
 beckbe, Black Warrior, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Ten- 
 nessee, Cliattahoochee, Perdido, and Cahawba. 
 
 The southern part of the country, which borders 
 on the Gulf of Mexico and West Florida, for the 
 space of fifty miles wide, is low and level, covered 
 with pine, cypress, &c. ; in the middle it is hilly, 
 with some tracts of open land ; the northern part 
 is somewhat broken and mountainous, and the 
 country generally is more elevated above the sea, 
 than most other parts of the United States at equal 
 distance from the ocean. The Alleghany Moun- 
 tains terminate in the north-east part. The forest- 
 trees, in the middle and north east part consist of 
 black and white oak, hickory, poplar, cedar, ches- 
 nut, pine, mulberry, <fec. 
 
 Alabama possesses great diversity of soil, cli- 
 mate, natural vegetable, and mineral productions. 
 Occupying the valley of the Mobile, and its tribu- 
 tary streams, together with a fine body of land on 
 
STATE OP ALABAMA. 285 
 
 both sides of the Tennessee River, its position in 
 an agricultural and commercial point of view is 
 highly advantageous. A considerable portion of 
 that part of the State which lies between the Ala- 
 bama and Tombeckbe, of that part watered by the 
 Coosa and Tallapoosa, and of that on the Tennes- 
 see, consists of very excellent land. On the mar- 
 gin of many of the rivers there is a considerable 
 quantity of cane-bottom lands, of great fertility, 
 generally from a half to three quarters of a mile 
 wide. On the outside of this is a space which is 
 low, wet, and intersected by stagnant water. 
 Next to the river swamp, and elevated above it 
 from ten to fifteen feet, succeeds an extensive body 
 of level land of a black, rich soil, with a growth of 
 hickory, black oak, post oak, dog- wood, poplar, 
 &c. After this come the prairies, which are wide 
 spreading plains of level, or gently .waving land, 
 Without timber, clothed with grass, herbage, and 
 flowers, and exhibiting in the month of May the 
 most enchanting scenery. 
 
 The sugar-cane has been found to succeed very 
 well in the extreme southern strip between Florida 
 and Mississippi, and indigo was formerly raised in 
 considerable quantities; rice also grows well on 
 the alluvial bottom near the Gulf; but cotton 
 which thrives throughout the State is the great 
 agricultural staple. The cotton crop exceeds 
 550,000 bales annually. There are extensive beds 
 of bituminous coal and iron ore in the central 
 part of the State, both of which are of excellent 
 quality, and several forges are- in operation on the 
 Cahawba. Gold is found in the northern section, 
 and good marble has been obtained from the cen- 
 tral tract ; but the mineral resources of Alabama 
 have never been carefully explored. The total 
 
283 UNITED STATES OF AMEUICA. 
 
 annual value of the exports from this State exceeds 
 six million dollars. 
 
 Alabama has a sea- coast of only sixty miles, 
 which, however, contains Mobile Bay, one of the 
 deepest basins on the Gulf. It is about thirty 
 miles long, and from three to eighteen broad, and 
 the main entrance has fifteen feet of water at low 
 tide; but vessels drawing more than eight or nine 
 feet cannot approach nearer than eleven miles from 
 the town of Mobile, except at high water. Small 
 vessels may go to New Orleans by an inland 
 channel, through Pascagoula Sound, a long, shallow 
 lagoon, lying between a range of low sand islands 
 and the main land. 
 
 Several useful works have been constructed. 
 The Tuscamha and Decatur Railroad extends round 
 the Muscle Shoals of the Tennessee River, forty- 
 five miles. There is also a canal, sixty feet wide 
 and six deep, surmounting the same obstruction. 
 The Florida and Georgia Railroad, from Pensacola 
 to Columbus 210 miles; the Montgomery and 
 Chattahoocl e^ Railroad, f.o;i) Montgomery to West 
 Point, Georgia, eighty- five miles ; and the We- 
 tumpka and Coosa Railroad, &c. 
 
 The growth of Alabama has been extremely 
 rapid, there having been a constant tide of immi- 
 gration, chiefly of planters with their slaves, from 
 the Atlantic States. In 1810 the population did 
 not amount to 10,000; in 1820 it was 127,901, 
 including 41,8~9 slaves ; in 1830, 309,527, slaves 
 117,549; in 1840, 491,153, slaves 142,090 ; and 
 may be now (1850) estimated at 650,000 with a 
 proportionate increase in the number of slaves. 
 
 The constitution enjoins it upon the General 
 Assembly to encourage schools and the means of 
 education within the State, and by act of Congress 
 in 1819, one section of 640 acres of the public 
 
STATE OF ALABAMA. 287 
 
 lands in each township, was reserved for the sup- 
 port of common schools in the township ; two en- 
 tire township^, or 46,080 acres were also granted 
 to the State for the support of a seminary of learn- 
 ing, the proceeds of which have been appropriated 
 to the endowment of the University of Alabama, 
 in Tuscaloosa. Lagrange College, at New Tus- 
 caloosa, on the Tennessee, and Spring Hill College, 
 near Mobile, are all useful institution?, and there 
 are numerous academies in the State. The Pres- 
 byterians, Baptists, and Methodists, are the pre- 
 vailing religious sects, but there are some Episco- 
 palians and Roman Catholics. 
 
 The State of Alabama is divided into forty-six 
 counties. 
 
 The city of Mobile is a flourishing commercial 
 town, being the depot for nearly the whole State 
 and part of Georgia and Mississippi; it is built on 
 a dry and elevated spot, but was formerly rendered 
 unhealthy by the surrounding marshes ; these, 
 however, have been drained, and the streets have 
 been paved with shells, and of late years Mobile 
 has not suffered from diseases. The harbour is 
 good, and numerous steamboats ply on the river 
 and to New Orleans. The annual export of cotton 
 from the port is from 250,000 to 300,000 bales. 
 Tiie population in 1830 was 3,194; but may now 
 be estimated at 12 000. Blakely, on the opposite 
 side of the bay, on a high open, and healthy site, 
 with deeper water, and a harbour of easier access 
 than that of Mobile, has not thriven in the same 
 manner, and continues to be only a little village. 
 
 Montgomery, near the head of the Alabama, is a 
 busy, growing place, with about 3,000 inhabitants. 
 "Wetumpka, on the Coosa, at the head of steam- 
 boat navigation, was cut out of the forest in 1832, 
 and in 1835 it had become a place of aonsiderable 
 
238 UNITFD STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 business, with 1,257 inhabitants ; but so rapid has 
 been the increase of this town that the inhabitants 
 DOW exceed 6,000, who support two newspapers, 
 several churches, a theatre, &c. 
 
 Tuscaloosa, the capital, stands in a ricb district, 
 on a fine site, near the centre of the State, on the 
 Black Warrior River ; and being accessible to 
 steamboats is a place of considerable trade. It 
 contains the State House, the Halls of the Univer- 
 sity, the County Buildings, &c. The population 
 exceeds 5,000. 
 
 Florence, below Muscle Shoals, at the head of 
 steamboat navigation on the Tennesse, is a thriving 
 place of about 4,000 inhabitants. Tuscumbia, 
 opposite to Florence, is also a growing town, with 
 a prosperous and increasing trade. Above the 
 Shoals, and about ten miles north of the river, is 
 Huntsville, situated in a very fertile and beautiful 
 region, with about 3,500 inhabitants. 
 
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI 
 
 THE State of Mississippi is bounded on the north 
 by Tennesse, east by Alabama, south by the Gulf 
 of Mexico and Louisiana, west by Louisiana and 
 Arkansas. It is about 300 miles in average length, 
 and 160 in breadth, area about 48,000 square 
 miles. 
 
 The principal rivers are the Mississippi, Pearl, 
 Pascagoula, Yazoo, Big Black, Tennessee, and the 
 western branches of the Tombeekbe. The Mis- 
 sissippi forms the western boundary from latitude 
 31 deg. to 35 deg. north, 308 miles in a right line, 
 but by the course of the river near 700 miles. 
 
 The Yazoo or Mississippi Swamp is an exten- 
 sive tract of country north of the Yazoo River, and 
 between that river and the Mississippi about 175 
 miles in length, and fifty in breadth, with an area 
 of 7,000 square miles. A considerable part of it is 
 annually overflowed by the waters of the Mis- 
 sissippi, and at that period it assumes the appear- 
 ance of a vast marine forest. Many parts of it 
 have an excellent soil, and produce large crops of 
 corn, &c. ; it is also intersected by numerous creeks 
 and bayous, leading to and from the Mississippi 
 and Yazoo Rivers. Numerous mounds, walls, 
 and enclosures, are found in it, attesting the exist 
 o 
 
290 UNITED STATES GP AMERICA. 
 
 ence of a considerable population at some former 
 period. The Cold Water River, the head branch 
 of the Yazoo, communicates with the Mississippi 
 by a bayou or creek called the Yazoo Pass, 
 through which boats of considerable burthen pass 
 and repass during the periods of high water. This 
 channel has been lately cleaned out and deepened 
 sufficiently to admit steamboats of large burden. 
 
 The southern parts of the State, extending about 
 100 miles north from the Gulf of Mexico, is mostly 
 a champaign country, with occasional hills of 
 moderate elevation, and is covered witli forests of 
 the long-leaved pine, interspersed with cypress 
 swamps, open prairies, and inundated marshes. 
 A considerable portion of this part is capable of 
 cultivation. The soil is generally sandy, some- 
 times gravelly and clayey, It is susceptible of 
 producing cotton, corn, indigo, sugar, garden vege- 
 tables, plums, cherries, peaches, figs, bitter oranges, 
 and grapes. 
 
 In proceeding north the face of the country be- 
 comes more elevated and agreeably diversified. 
 The growth of timber consists of poplar, hickory, 
 oak, black walnut, sugar-maple, buckeye, elm, 
 hackberry, &c., and the soil is exceedingly fertile, 
 producing cotton, corn, sweet potatoes, indigo, 
 garden vegetables, and fruit in the greatest abun- 
 dance. !N early all the country watered by the 
 Yazoo is described as incomparably fertile and 
 well watered. Its climate, and the value of its 
 productions, will doubtless cause it to remain an 
 important part of the Union, provided the dispute 
 BOW pending regarding the detestable slave trade, 
 which is so selfishly supported by the Southern 
 States against their more enlightened brethren of 
 the Northern, cause a disruption, and break that 
 Union which at one period appeared to be indis- 
 
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI. 291 
 
 soluble. Want of space prevents us from entering 
 our protest more fully and more strongly against 
 the iniquitous slave trade than we have already 
 done. A short time now will show whether the 
 inhabitants of the United States are free people, 
 or if they have been, and are determined to con 
 tinue, sailing under false colours. 
 
 Tobacco and indigo were formerly the staples of 
 Mississippi, but cotton is now the chief production 
 of the State, and it absorbs nearly all the industry 
 of the inhabitants, to the exclusion even of corn 
 and cattle. The annual crop exceeds 300,000 
 bales. Some sugar is produced in the southern 
 strip, but the cane does not seem to thrive. 
 
 Several public works have been constructed for 
 facilitating the transportation of th bulky staple of 
 the State ; amongst these we may mention the 
 Mississippi Railroad, which extends from Natchez, 
 through Jackson, to Canton, in Madison County, a 
 distance of 1 50 miles ; Woodville and Francisville 
 Railroad, from Woodville to the Mississippi, in 
 Louisiana, thirty miles ; and the Jackson and 
 Brandon Railroad, eight miles. 
 
 A large portion of this State was, until recently, 
 in the possession of the Choctaws and Chickasaws. 
 The former occupied an extensive tract on the 
 eastern border, between the head waters of the 
 Pearl and Big Black Rivers and the Tombeckbe ; 
 in 1830, they ceded these lands to the United 
 States, and in the course of the three succeeding 
 years, removed to the Western Territory; their 
 number was 15,000. The Chickasaws, to the 
 number of 5,000, unwilling to remove, kept posses- 
 sion of a part of the country between the head 
 waters of the Yazoo and Tennessee ; but they 
 ceased to form a distinct nation, and shortly after 
 they ceded their lands to the United States, on con- 
 
292 UMTED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 dition that they should receive the proceeds of the 
 sale. If they remained in the State, they were to 
 become citizens, and subject to its laws; those who 
 chose to remove were to provide a home for them- 
 selves. 
 
 The same provision was made by Congress for 
 the support of schools in this State as was made 
 in Alabama ; and the State has also a small literary 
 fund, devoted to the same purposes. There are in 
 the State several academies and three colleges, 
 Jefferson College, at Washington ; Mississippi Col- 
 lege, at Clinton ; and Oakland College, at Oakland. 
 
 The population of Mississippi has increased with 
 astonishing rapidity. In 1810, the population of 
 the Territory of Mississippi, which included the 
 present State of that name and Alabama, was 
 40,352 ; in 1828, the State of Mississippi contained 
 75,448 inhabitants; in 1830, 136,806; in 1840, 
 307,659 ; and during the last few years the emi- 
 gration has been so active and uninterrupted, it is 
 not to be considered an over-estimate if we now 
 state the population to be 450,000, of whom at 
 least one-half are slaves. 
 
 The State of Mississippi is divided into fifty-six 
 counties. 
 
 Natchez, the largest and most important town 
 in the State, is situated on the east bank of the 
 Mississippi, 300 miles above New Orleans. It 
 consists of two distinct parts ; the lower town, 
 called Natchez-under- the- Hill, or the Landing, is 
 built on a dead level on the margin of the river, 
 about half a mile in length, and 100 to 200 yards 
 in breadth, and is occupied by warehouses, dram- 
 shops, boarding-houses for the boatmen, &c. ; the 
 upper town stands on a lofty bank or bluff, rising 
 abruptly to the height of 300 feet, and is the resi- 
 dence of the better class of citizens. The streets 
 
STATE OP MISSISSIPPI. 203 
 
 are wide, regularly disposed, and adorned with fine 
 shade-trees, while many of the houses are em- 
 bosomed in groves of the orange, palmetto, and 
 other trees, and ornamental shruhs. This place 
 has been occasionally visited by the yellow fever 
 and other diseases, but it is during the greater part 
 of the year an agreeable and healthful residence* 
 and seems of late years to have lost its character 
 for insalubrity. Natchez carries on a considerable 
 direct trade with foreign countries, and large ships 
 come up to the town. Its river and inland trade 
 is, however, more extensive. About 40,000 bales 
 of cojtton are annually shipped from this port. Its 
 population, in 1830, was 2,790; in 1840, 5,432; 
 and it may now be computed at 8,500. 
 
 Vicksburg, 106 miles above Natchez, and about 
 twelve miles below the mouth of the Yazoo River, 
 stands in a picturesque situation, on the declivity 
 of several considerable eminences, called the Wal- 
 nut Hills, rising abruptly from the river. It is 
 surrounded by numerous large and rich plantations, 
 and is the depot of a large tract of lately settled 
 country, which a few years previous was owned 
 and occupied by the Indians the native proprie- 
 tors. Vicksburg exports annually about 80,000 
 bales of cotton, and contains upwards of G,000 in- 
 habitants. The merchants have commenced a di- 
 rect intercourse by sea with the Atlantic ports, 
 and from the exertions made, it is expected, by this 
 time, it has been declared a port of entry. All 
 the trade of the Yazoo country centres in this place. 
 Vicksburg is upwards of 500 miles from the Gulf 
 of Mexico, by the Mississippi River. 
 
 Jackson, the capital of the State, is on the west 
 bank of Pearl River; it is finely situated in a 
 plain about half a mile square, on which stand the 
 JState-house, the Penitentiary, and several other 
 
204 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 public buildings. It contains about 2,000 inha- 
 bitants. 
 
 Woodville, in the south-western part of the 
 State, eighteen miles from the Mississippi, is a very 
 pretty and fast growing village, with nearly 2,000 
 inhabitants. The little village of Fort Adams is 
 considered as its port on the Mississippi, but Wood- 
 ville is now connected with the river at St. Francis- 
 ville by a railroad. 
 
 Port Gibson, or Gibson Port, as it is more gene- 
 rally called, is a flourishing little town, prettily 
 situated in a charming tract of country on the 
 Bayou Pierre, and laid out with great regularity. 
 The river is navigable for steam-boats to this place 
 in time of high water, and a railroad connects it 
 with Grand Gulf, its port on the Mississippi. Po- 
 pulation, 3,200. Grand Gulf, finely situated on a 
 natural terrace, receding to a crescent of wooded 
 hills, takes its name from a remarkable eddy in 
 the river, and is a prosperous town, with upwards of 
 2, 000 inhabitants; from 55,000 to 60,000 bales of 
 cotton are annually shipped from this place. 
 
 Grenada and Manchester, both on the Yazoo, 
 are thriving places, as are also Aberdeen and Co- 
 lnmbus, on the Tombeckbee ; the latter place has 
 a population exceeding 3,000, and an extensive 
 commercial business. 
 
295 
 
 STATE OF LOUISIANA. 
 
 LOUISIANA is bounded on tire north by the States 
 of .Arknnsas and Mississippi; on the east, by the 
 latter State ; on the south, by the Gulf of Mexico ; 
 and on the west, by the republic of Texas. The 
 53d degree of north latitude is the northern bound- 
 ary west of the Mississippi River; and the 31st 
 degree on the east of that river ; the Pearl is its 
 extreme eastern boundary ; and the Sabine its 
 western. It is in length 240 miles, by 210 in 
 breadth, and contains 48,220 square miles. 
 
 Three -fourths of the State are without an ele- 
 vation that can be called a hill. The fine woods 
 generally have a surface of a very peculiar charac- 
 ter, rising into fine swells, with table surfaces on 
 the summit, and valleys intervening, from thirty 
 to forty feet deep. The alluvial soil is level, and . 
 the swamps, which are the only inundated allu- 
 vions, are dead flats. The vast prairies, which 
 constitute a large portion of the surface of the State, 
 have, in a remarkable degree, all the distinctive 
 aspects of prairies. To the eye they seem as level 
 as the still surface of a lake. They are, except 
 the quaking prairies, higher and drier than the 
 Savannas of Florida. 
 
 That part of the surface of the State periodically 
 
296 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 overflowed by the waters of the Mississippi, was 
 found to contain, from a survey made by order of 
 the government of the United States, an extent of 
 5,000,000 acres, a great proportion of which is 
 deemed unfit for cultivation in its present condi- 
 tion. This immense alluvial tract embraces soil of 
 various descriptions, which, by proper draining, 
 may be rendered capable of producing all the staple 
 commodities of this quarter of the country. 
 
 A modern author observes, " As you descend 
 the Mississippi from Natchez, or some other town 
 in the interior, in one of the numerous water craft 
 now incessantly sailing to and fro on that magnifi- 
 cent stream, you begin to remark the devastations 
 which the river has from time to time committed, 
 particularly as you approach New Orleans. For 
 150 miles above this city, the planters on the 
 banks of the stream have raised a regular embank- 
 ment or mound, called a levee, which is elevated 
 from six to ten feet above the natural surface of the 
 banks. It is raised on both sides of the river, and 
 continues below New Orleans, as far as plantations 
 have been made. Casting your eye beyond this 
 earthy barrier, you perceive a broad strip of land 
 near the banks brought under cultivation, divided 
 into beautiful plantations, producing sugar-cane 
 and rice in abundance. The extensive plantation 
 houses, and the immense groups of negro huts^ 
 succeed each other, and form a singular and strik- 
 ing appearance. The dwelling houses of the plan- 
 ters are neat, some are splendid, and are all seated 
 amidst groves of orange and jessamine, and sur- 
 rounded with the multifiora rose and other shrubs. 
 This is probably the richest district in the United 
 States, and presents a beautiful and delicious scenery, 
 beyond almost anything which can be conceived. 
 Behind these cultivated grounds there appear dense 
 
STATE OF LOUISIANA. 207 
 
 dark green forests, or level swamps, stretching out 
 as far as the eye can travel over the waste, and 
 relieved only by the live-oak and cypress which 
 grow 011 their surface. 
 
 The Mississippi, after having formed the boun- 
 dary of the State, for about 450 miles, enter]*' its 
 limits, 350 miles from the sea by the course of the 
 main channel. Throughout the distance of 800 
 miles its western bank is low, and flooded in high 
 stages of the river. Outlets, or bayous, receive its 
 surplus waters during the period of the annual in- 
 undations, which are carried off by them to the 
 sea : the principal of these bayous are the Atchala- 
 faya, Plaquemine, La Fourche, &c. The rivers in 
 this State, in addition to the Mississippi, are the 
 Red River ; the Washita, flowing into the Red 
 River ; the Teche, Vermilion, Mermen tau, and 
 Calcasiu, run into the Gulf of Mexico, together 
 with the Pearl on the east, and the Sabine on the 
 west. The Red River is the most important, and, 
 indeed, with the exception of two or three insigni- 
 ficant streams, on the eastern side, above Baton 
 Rouge, the only tributary of the Mississippi with- 
 in this State. Soon after entering Louisiana, its 
 bed is choked up by an immense accumulation of 
 fallen timber, called The Raft; and the water 
 is here dispersed into numerous channels, and 
 spread over wide expanses. The " Raft" extended 
 formerly over a distance of 160 miles: but 130 
 miles of it have been removed by the exertions of 
 the general government, and it is expected that 
 the whole mass will be cleared away. 
 
 On the banks of the Mississippi, La Fourche, 
 the Teche, and the Vermilion, below latitude 30 
 degrees 12 minutes north, wherever the soil is ele- 
 vated above the annual inundations, sugar can b<3 
 produced, and the lands are generally devoted to 
 o 2 
 
29S UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 tliis crop. In all other parts of the State cotton is 
 the staple. The best districts for cotton are the 
 Red River, Washita, Teche, and the Mississippi. 
 Rice is more particularly confined to the banks of 
 the Mississippi, where irrigation can be easily per- 
 formed. The quantity of land within the State 
 adapted to the cultivation of the three staples, has 
 been computed as follows: sugar, 250,000 acres; 
 rice, 250,000; cotton, 2,400,000. To show our 
 readers the strong inducements to employ slave 
 labour, we will here state, from indisputable au- 
 thority, that some of the sugar planters in this 
 State have derived a clear profit in some years of 
 600 dollars from the labour of each of their slaves ; 
 from 350 to 450 dollars is the ordinary calculation. 
 The cultivation of cotton is believed to be equally 
 profitable The amount of sugar has gradually 
 increased in this State, from 1783, to the present 
 time, the crop being over 100,000 hogsheads; 
 and of cotton about 250,000 bales. The prairies 
 of the West afford fine pastures, and here are 
 found large herds of cattle and horses. Rice, 
 maize, tobacco, and indigo are also produced. In 
 the eastern part of the State, between the Missis- 
 sippi and Pearl Rivers, much lumber is cut for 
 exportation, and some tar, pitch, and turpentine 
 are prepared. 
 
 There are valuable school lands in Louisiana, 
 reserved like those in the other new States, on the 
 sale of the Public Lands, and there are three col- 
 leges in the State, viz., Louisiana College, at 
 Jackson ; Franklin College, at Opelousas ; and 
 Jefferson College. In 1835, the legislature voted 
 an allowance of 15,000 dollars a year to each of 
 these institutions, and some attempts have been 
 made, although with but little success, to provide 
 for the education of poor children. There 13 a* 
 
STATE OF LOUISIANA. 2 ft 9 
 
 Medical School in New Orleans. The Roman 
 Catholics form the majority of the population ; but 
 there are many Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Bap- 
 tists, and Methodists. 
 
 Several railroads have been constructed in the 
 State, amongst which are The New Orleans and 
 Nashville Railroad ; the Atchalafaya Railroad 
 from New Orleans to that river; the Alexandria 
 Railroad ; the Woodvilie and St. Francisville 
 Railroad ; the Pontchartrain Railroad, from the 
 game city, six miles up the river ; a railroad to 
 Lake Borgne, ten miles, which, in connection with 
 a harbour on the lake, affords a convenient access 
 to the city from the sea. There are likewise the 
 New Orleans and Teche Canal, and canals from 
 New Orleans to Lake Portchartrain, &c. 
 
 The population of Louisiana consists in part of 
 the French and Spanish colonists, by whom it was 
 occupied at the time of the cession, but it com- 
 prises also a large and increasing number of immi- 
 grants from the other States. The French lan- 
 guage is used exclusively by a considerable propor- 
 tion of the population, but the English is also 
 familiar to many inhabitants of French origin. 
 
 The subdivisions of this State bear the name of 
 Parishes, of which there are thirty- three. 
 
 The population of Louisiana, in 1820, was 
 153,407; in 1830, 215,739; in 1840, 287,061; 
 and may be now (1850) estimated at 350,000, in- 
 cluding about 200,000 slaves, who, with the free 
 coloured population, form nearly two-thirds of the 
 whole. 
 
 New Orleans, the third commercial mart in the 
 United States, stands on the left bank of the Mis- 
 sissippi, 100 miles from the sea by the course of 
 the river, and four miles from Lake Portchartrain. 
 Steamboats and small vessels come up to the land- 
 
300 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 ing on the latter, where an artificial harhour has 
 been formed, and whence a railroad and two canals 
 extend to the rear of the city. In the front of the 
 city, on the river, the largest merchant ships lie 
 close to the levee, or hank, so that no wharves are 
 necessary to enahle them to load and discharge. 
 The river is here from 100 to 160 feet deep, and 
 half a-miie wide. New Orleans is the depot of 
 the whole Mississippi Valley, and must increase in 
 importance with the daily growing wealth and po- 
 pulation of that vast region. Thousands of huge 
 arks and flat-boats float down its mighty artery 
 for thousands of miles, loaded with the produce of 
 New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, as well 
 as that of the more Western States. The num- 
 ber of steamboat arrivals may be safely calcu- 
 lated at 1,400 annually; and from 1,500 to 2,000 
 flat-boats, sixty to eighty steamers, and a forest of 
 the masts of sea- going vessels may be seen lying at 
 all times along its levees. 
 
 The average annual exports from New Orleans 
 are 550,000 bales of cotton, 37,000 hogsheads of 
 tobacco, 50,000 hogsheads and 5,000 barrels of 
 raw sugar, 1,600,000 pounds of crushed, and 
 500,000 pounds of clarified sugar, 20,000 hogs- 
 heads and 25,000 barrels of molasses, besides large 
 quantities of flour, salted provisions, whiskey, lead, 
 &c; the total value of the exports, including the 
 foreign and coasting trade, amounting to 50,000,000 
 dollars. The shipping belonging to New Orleans 
 amounts to near 500,000 tons. 
 
 The city stands on a dead level, and is regularly 
 laid out, with the streets intersecting each other at 
 right angles ; as the surface of the water is from 
 two to four feet above the level of the city, at high 
 water, and even in the low stages of the water is 
 above the swamps in the rear, a levee or embank- 
 
STATE OF LOUISIANA. 301 
 
 merit, from four to eight feet high, has been made 
 all along the river to prevent inundations : a breach 
 or crevice sometimes occurs in this dyke, but it is 
 rarely permitted to do much damage before it is 
 closed. Among the public buildings are the State- 
 House, Custom-House, Exchange, United States 
 Mint, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, (a massive 
 and imposing building, with four towers,) Ursaline 
 Convent, the College of Orleans, the Charity Hos- 
 pital, in which 9,000 patients have been received 
 in a single year, three other hospitals, the Orphan 
 Asylum, several theatres, some of which are splen- 
 did structures, numerous handsome churches, &c. 
 The charitable institutions are numerous and well 
 conducted. The population, which in 1810 was 
 17,242, has now increased to about 140,000, ex- 
 clusive of from 40,000 to 50,000 strangers during 
 the winter. In summer the city is extremely un- 
 healthy. 
 
 "This (New Orleans) is one of the most won- 
 derful places in the world. Take a little turn 
 with me on the levee (says a native writer in the 
 New York Observer), and first survey the river. 
 As far as you can see almost up and down, the 
 margin is lined with flat-bottomed boats come from 
 above, from every point almost in the valley of the 
 Mississippi. Some are laden with flour others 
 with corn others with meat of various kinds 
 others with live stock, cattle, hogs, horses, or 
 mules. Some have travelling stores ; occasionally 
 some are to be found which are full of negroes ; 
 and some full of what is infinitely worse 4 Old 
 Monongahela' Whiskey. Along the lower part 
 you will see a forest of masts ; higher up you may 
 see fifty to sixty steamboats, with their bows up 
 against the levee, or else projecting over an ' up- 
 country flat-- bottomed boat. Every day some 
 
SO 2 UNITFD STATES. OF AMERICA. 
 
 come from above and others depart, on short ex- 
 eursions of trade, of one or two thousand miles, to 
 St. Louis, or Louisville, or Nashville, or Pitteburg, 
 or hundreds of other places ; for distance is no 
 longer thought of in this region it is almost anni- 
 hilated by steam ! And if you cast your eye down 
 the river, you may see a whole fleet, sometime*, 
 coming up without a sail stretched, or an oar man- 
 ned, all carried along, and not at a slow rate, by a 
 steam tow-boat of tremendous power. I was per- 
 fectly amazed the first time I beheld this spectacle, 
 It was the Grampus, or Porpoise, or Shark tow- 
 boat, marching up, having two large ships grap- 
 pled to her sides; two or three brigs at a cable- 
 length behind ; and, still farther in the rear, one 
 or two schooners, and two or three sloops, all 
 moving steadily ailoug. And if you turn your 
 back to the river, you will see wonderful ' sights* 
 as the Pennsylvanians say. In one place you will 
 see the busy and anxious-looking merchant, re- 
 ceiving from the steamboat, or putting on board 
 his ship, his cotton, his sugar, his molasses, tobac- 
 co, coffee, boxes of goods, <fec., which cover the 
 levee far and wide. Along the whole line are the 
 owners of the flat-bottomed boats trading with the 
 citizen-shopkeeper. Whole rows of English and 
 Americans are to be seen peddling those valuable 
 little stores which one can move about in a hand- 
 barrow, or carry about in a basket. And then 
 such crowds (especially along that part of the 
 levee which is opposite the Market- House) of 
 negresses and quadroons (four removes from 
 blacks), carrying on their bandanaed heads, and 
 with solemn pace, a whole table or platform cover- 
 ed witli goodies, such as cakes, and apples, and 
 oranges, and fig?*, and bananas or plantains, and 
 pine-apple;?, and cocoa-nuts, &c. 5 which it would 
 
STATE OF LOUISIANA. 303 
 
 be tedious to enumerate. And then, if you go 
 through the city, which is fast improving in its 
 appearance, you may look at the steam saw- mills, 
 steam cotton-compressing machines, the Market- 
 House, the State- House, of ancient appearance ; 
 the hotels, the theatres, if you like ; theCathedral, 
 the Jail, the Charitable Hospital, and last as the 
 terminating point to us all the place where re- 
 pose, in the stillness of the tomb, those who once 
 inhabited this city, now so full of life, activity, and 
 mirth. There is nothing more interesting to a 
 reflecting man than the Catholic and Protestant 
 Burying-Grounds, which seem to be covered with 
 beautiful white mausoleums, some of several feet in 
 height, some standing solitary, and others crowded 
 together." 
 
 While the view of the city of New Orleans is so 
 much admired, very little can be said of the moral 
 character of the citizens. Mr. Logan, in his 
 "Notes of a Tour through the United States of 
 America," after describing the general appearance 
 of New Orleans, says : 
 
 "Numberless stalls are scattered in all direc- 
 tions, in which are exposed for sale pocket-pistols 
 and knives. This was in a manner confirmatory 
 of what I had been told by a native, that four or 
 five murders take place every day. On the slight- 
 est provocation, an American shoots or stabs his 
 companion, no matter whether he be his best 
 friend, or his worst enemy. He acts on the im- 
 pulse of the moment, and puts no restraint on his 
 passions. When provoked he gives way to the 
 feeling of revenge ; and as all classes go armed, he 
 attacks the ohject of his hatred without giving him 
 the slightest warning. Should a stranger jostle an 
 American (in New Orleans) by accident, he runs 
 extreme risk of being shot or stabbed. The only 
 
304 UNITED (STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 security for life in this cut- throat town, is the be- 
 lief that every one is armed, and ready to use his 
 weapons in an instant. This is a dreadful state of 
 society, and much inferior to that of the darkest 
 times of the feudal ages, when a strong arm alone 
 afforded security ; for then the hand of the aggres- 
 sor was in some degree staid by a chivalrous feel- 
 ing, which finds no place in the breast of the de- 
 graded citizen of this morally putrid state. How 
 pusillanimous must be the legislature that gives 
 license to such a murderous association. * * 
 
 The following occurrences took place while I was 
 in the city. A young man, who had taken a dis- 
 like to another, met him in the street one day, 
 pulled out a pocket-pistol, and shot him dead ofi 
 the spot. The murderer made his escape to Ha- 
 vannah, where he now lives in affluence. * * * 
 At a ball, one of the managers questioned a colonel 
 for introducing his mistress as a respectable lady, 
 when a few high words passed between them. 
 They met by chance next morning on the levee, 
 when the manager, without anj warning, fired a 
 pocket-pistol at the colonel, whom he saw advanc- 
 ing, on which the latter turned round and fled. 
 The aggressor fired again, but missed ; when the 
 colonel, running to a stall, seized a large knife, and 
 with it stabbed his opponent to the heart. He 
 then gave himself up to the authorities, assured 
 that he should soon be released. In the hotel two 
 men playing together at backgammon had a dis- 
 pute on some point, when one of them said he 
 would not give a reason for something he had as- 
 serted. The other called him a 'puppy!' on which 
 he drew a sword-cane, and in aiming a thrust at 
 his friend's breast, he perforated his hand. The 
 wounded man darted out of the room like an ar- 
 row, when his opponent, having pursued him to 
 
STATE OF LOUISIANA. 305 
 
 the door, returned and sat down as coolly as if no- 
 thing had happened. Instances of violence occur 
 so frequently that they are thought very little of. 
 Duelling is also very common, and is generally 
 fatal to one of the parties. The want of an etfi- 
 cient legislature and executive may account in 
 some measure for the state of insubordination of 
 American society. * * * It is notorious, that 
 when a man, actuated by revenge, or any other 
 motive, murders another, he may, if he has many 
 friends, surrender himself to justice, in the confi- 
 dant expectation of being acquitted, or at most of 
 undergoing a slight punishment. The jury who 
 try him being either his own friends, or the friends 
 of his friends, to be lenient." 
 
 Donaldson ville, for some time the capital of the 
 State, is a mere village, with about 1,500 inhabi- 
 tants, at the mouth of the La Fourche Outlet. 
 Baton Rouge, 130 miles by the river, above New 
 Orleans, is a pretfcy village, with houses in the 
 French and Spanish style, and contains a military 
 po*t and an arsenal of the United States. It 
 stands on the first highland or bluff point passed in 
 ascending the river, but although contrasted with 
 the dead level that surrounds it, the site lias the 
 appearance of being quite elevated, it is only twen- 
 ty, five feet above high water. The population of 
 Baton Rouge does not exceed 2,000. St. Francis - 
 ville, at the mouth of the Bayou Sara, is a neat 
 and thriving village, consisting chiefly of one street. 
 
 The Balize, at the mouth of the Mississippi, is a 
 little settlement, occupied by a few pilots. The 
 ground is marshy, and can be passed from house 
 to house only, on timbers or planks, laid for the 
 purpose. Alexandria, on Red River, 100 miles 
 from the Mississippi, by the windings of the 
 stream, is a pleasant little village, in the centre of 
 
.306 UMTED STATE8 OF AMERICA. 
 
 a rich cotton region, and ships large quantities of 
 that staple for New Orleans. Natchitoches, 80 
 miles above, is the frontier town of the United 
 States towards the Mexican or Texian territorities. 
 It was founded in 1717, and the population is a 
 mixture of French, Indians, Spaniards, and Ame- 
 ricans. It was formerly the centre of the trade 
 with the Mexican interior provinces, receiving 
 bullion, horses, and mules, in exchange for manu- 
 factured goods, tobacco, and spirits. 
 
307 
 
 WESTERN STATES 1 K D 
 TERRITORIES. 
 
 Tins section of the United States comprises the 
 States of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennesse, Indiana, 
 Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Arkansas, the 
 organised Territory of Wisconsin, together with the 
 nominal Territories of Missouri and Oregon, and 
 the Western or Indian Territory, assigned by the 
 Federal Government for the residence of the emi- 
 grant Indian tribes. It includes the whole of that 
 vast space extending from the western base of the 
 Alleghany Mountains to the Pacific ocean, and 
 from the Re 1 River of Louisiana and the 42n4 
 clog, of latitude on the south to the parallels of 
 49 deg. and 54 min. 40 sec. on the north, extend- 
 ing from east to west 2,300 miles, and from north 
 to south 1,100 miles, comprising an area of 
 1,683,000 square miles. 
 
 The Chipawayau or Rocky Mountain range are 
 the most important mountains in this region. 
 They are but imperfectly known to us, and pre- 
 sent a very rugged and sterile appearance, and 
 oppose generally a formidable barrier to an inter- 
 course between the countries on their opposite 
 sides. The other elevations are the Qzark Moun- 
 tains, extending from Missouri south-west to 
 
308 UNITED STATES <>F AMI-RICA. 
 
 Mexico ; the Black Hills, between the Missouri 
 and Yellow-stone Rivers ; and between the former 
 river and the St. Peter's River a low ridge inter- 
 venes, known as the Coteau des Prairies ; further 
 to the eastward, and immediately south of the 
 Lake Superior, the Porcupine Mountains extend, 
 separating the rivers of Lake Superior from those 
 of the Mississippi and Lake Michigan. 
 
 The immense prairies of this region constitute 
 the most remarkable feature of the country. These 
 are level plains stretching as far as the eye can 
 reach, totally destitute of trees, and covered with 
 tall grass or flowering shrubs. Some have an 
 unduiatory surface, and are called roaring prairies ; 
 these are the most extensive, and are the favourite 
 resort of the buffalo. Here, without a tree or a 
 stream of water, the traveller may wander for 
 days, and discover nothing but a grassy ocean 
 bounded on* all sides by the horizon. In the dry 
 season the Indians set fire to the grass ; and the 
 wide conflagration which ensues, often surprises 
 the bison, deer, and other wild animals, who are 
 unable to escape from the flames, and are burned 
 to death. 
 
 Much of this great country, especially the 
 northern and western parts, remains to be ex- 
 plored. Of the region of the west of the Mis- 
 sissippi, hardly any thing was known before the 
 beginning of the present century, when the govern- 
 ment of the United States despatched Captains 
 Lewis arid Clark on an expedition of discovery. 
 These officers, at the head of a large party well 
 equipped, proceeded up the Missouri in boats to 
 its source, crossed the Rocky Mountains to the 
 Pacific Ocean, and returned by the same course. 
 The southern part was explored by an expedition 
 under Lieutenant Pike ; and at a later period, 
 
WESTERN STATES AND TERRITORIES. k 309 
 
 Major Long and other travellers have visited dif- 
 ferent parts of the country. 
 
 But the great physical features of this region 
 are its giant rivers, with their hundred arms 
 spreading for thousands of miles through every 
 corner of the territory, and bringing its most re- 
 mote recesses, in the very heart of a vast conti- 
 nent, almost into contact with the sea. The main 
 trunk of this great system of rivers has already 
 heen described. The Ohio on the east, and the 
 Arkansas, Red River, and Platte on the west, are 
 the greatest of the subordinate streams. The first, 
 gathering up the waters of one of the most fertile 
 regions of the globe, bears upon its gentle current 
 the products of a highly cultivated country. The 
 last mentioned take their way for a considerable 
 part of their course through barren tracts of sand. 
 The Arkansas, however, has vast tracts of produc- 
 tive territory for many hundred miles ki the lower 
 part of its course. The Red River also passes 
 through a less desert region than the Platte, the 
 country in its lower part being highly fertile. 
 The Alleghany and Monongahcla, rising in Penn- 
 sylvania and Virginia, unite at Pittsburgh, and 
 take the name of Ohio. From Pittsburgh to the 
 Mississippi, the river has a course of 950 miles, 
 receiving numerous navigable streams, from the 
 two great inclined planes between which it runs. 
 
 " The great rivers," says a modern writer, 
 " which form so striking a natural feature of this 
 region, give to the mode of travelling and trans- 
 portation in general, a peculiar east, and have 
 created a peculiar class of men called boatmtn. 
 Craft of all descriptions are found on these waters. 
 There are the rude, shapeless masses, that denote 
 the infancy of navigation, and the powerful and 
 
310 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 richly adorned steamboat which makes its perfec- 
 tion ; together with all the intermediate forms 
 between the extremes. Since the use of steam- 
 boats, numbers of the other craft have disappeared, 
 and the number of the river boatmen has been 
 diminished by many thousands/' The first steam- 
 boat on the waters was built at Pittsburgh, in 
 1811 ; since that time upwards of 1,000 have been 
 built at different places, some of which are above 
 500 tons burthen, but the greater tmmber are from 
 ninety to 150, 200, and 300 tons; there are at 
 present at least 400 steamboats plying on the Mis - 
 sissippi and its tributaries, making an aggregate of 
 about 80,000 tons. 
 
 Lead, iron, coal, salt, and lime abound in the 
 Western States; and probably no region in the 
 world exhibits such a combination of mineral 
 wealth and fertility of soil, united with siu-h rare 
 facilities of transportation. Tobacco, Indian corn, 
 hemp, cotton, salted provisions, flour, hides and 
 furs, coarse bagging, and lead, are the most im- 
 portant articles of export ; and all sorts of manu- 
 factured goods and colonial produce are also im 
 ported. 
 
 The character of the Western States is mixed, 
 but the predominant traits are those of Virginia 
 and New England. Kentucky was settled from 
 Virginia and North Carolina ; while Ohio is a 
 scion of New England. These two States have in 
 turn sent their population farther west. But there 
 is much sectional character, much of the openness 
 and boldness of the men and their descendants 
 who contested every inch of territory with savages, 
 whose houses were garrisons, and who fought at 
 the thresholds for their hearths and their altars. 
 The population of the Western States and Terri- 
 
WESTERN STATES AND TERRITORIES. 311 
 
 tories in 1830 was 3,015,672; of whom 336,473 
 \vere slaves. Since that period, however, the in- 
 habitants of this section have greatly increased, 
 and are probably not less than five millions. 
 
 The negroes constitute a considerable part of the 
 population. They are held as slaves iii all the 
 States but Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. 3fany 
 ludians stifl remain within the limits of the 
 Western States. 
 
312 
 
 STATE OF OHIO. 
 
 THIS enterprising and populous State is bounded 
 on the north by Lake Erie and Michigan Terri- 
 tory ; east by Pennsylvania and Virginia ; south 
 by the Ohio River, which separates it from West- 
 ern Virginia and Kentucky ; and west by Indiana. 
 Its length is 210 miles, and mean breadth 200, 
 containing about 40,000 square miles. The Ohio 
 River forms the boundary of this State, on the 
 south-east and south, for near 500 miles. 
 
 The rivers which flow into Lake Erie on the 
 north are Maumee, Sandusky, Huron, Vermilion, 
 Black, Cuyahoga, Grand, and Ashtabula ; those on 
 the south flowing into the Ohio, are the Muskingum, 
 Hockhocking, Little and Great Miami. The 
 Au- Glaize and St. Mary's, in the western part of 
 the State, are branches of the Maumee. 
 
 The interior and northern parts of the country, 
 bordering on Lake Erie, are generally level, and 
 in some places marshy. Nearly one-third of the 
 eastern and south-eastern part is very hilly and 
 broken. The hills are exceedingly numerous, but 
 few of them rise into considerable mountains. Im- 
 mediately upon the banks of the Ohio, and several 
 of its tributaries, are numerous tracts of interval or 
 meadow -land, of great fertility. In the interior, 
 
STATE OF OHIO. 3l3 
 
 on both sides of the Scioto and on the Gfeat and 
 Little Miami, are perhaps the most extensive bodies 
 of level and rich land in the State. In many 
 parts there are extensive prairies, particularly on 
 the head waters of the Muskingum and Scioto, 
 and between the Scioto and the two Miamies. 
 Some of these prairies are low and marshy ; other 
 prairies are elevated, and are frequently called 
 barrens ; not always on account of their sterility, 
 for they are often fertile. The most elevated 
 tracts of country between the rivers, are the 
 wettest and most ma'rshy in the State ; and the 
 driest land is that which borders on the various 
 streams of water. 
 
 u There is probably nowhere in the world," 
 says an eminent author, " a body of land of the 
 same extent of which a greater proportion is sus- 
 ceptible of cultivation. 'It may be considered a 
 surface of table or high flat land sloping in one 
 direction towards the Ohio, and in the other 
 towards Lake Erie. The northern belt has great 
 tracts of wet and dry marshy soil. They are, 
 however, excellent, and in positions that render 
 them easy to be drained. They are covered with 
 forests, and when cleared and drained, will not 
 make the least valuable part of the State. There 
 are extensive bodies of land heavily timbered, in a 
 state of nature, which are as level as prairies. The 
 most fertile part of the State is between the two 
 Miamies. On the upper courses of these rivers, 
 and on the Muskingum and Scioto Rivers, are 
 rich and extensive prairies, a great proportion of 
 which is susceptible of cultivation. On the whole 
 wide surface of the State there is scarcely any land 
 so hilly, sterile, or marshy, as, with moderate 
 labour, may not be subdued and cultivated. The 
 whole region seems to have invited a hardy and 
 p 
 
314 ILNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 numerous body of freeholders to select themselves 
 moderate and nearly equal-sized farms, arid to in- 
 tersperse them over the surface. There are vast 
 tracts of the country of an alluvial nature, and 
 therefore of a rich quality. The soil generally is 
 very productive. To be able to judge of the 
 extent and power of vegetation, one must reside 
 in the State through the summer, and observe 
 with what luxuriance and rapidity the vegetable 
 creation is pushed on ; how rapidly the vines, 
 grain, and fruit grow ; and what a depth of ver- 
 dure the forests assume. Indiana corn is the 
 staple of the grains, and is nowhere raited more 
 easily, or in greater abundance. On rich alluvial 
 110 bushels have been produced from an acre, 
 though fifty may be considered an average crop. 
 Melons, squashes, pumpkins, potatoes, and all 
 kinds of kitchen vegetables are raised in great 
 perfection. Apples, and most kinds of fruits, as 
 peaches, cherries, gooseberries, and grapes, can be 
 produced in abundance. From the fulness and 
 richness of the clusters of cultivated grapes, it is 
 clear that this ought to be a country of vineyards. 
 The gardens are among the finest in America ; but 
 agricultural improvement seems to proceed but 
 slowly. The State of Ohio lies between the 38th 
 and 41st deg. of north latitude, and its climate 
 corresponds to this general situation, except when 
 modified by local peculiarities. The climate along 
 the immediate valley of the Ohio is more equable 
 and temperate than in the middle and table lands 
 of the State. The mean temperature generally is 
 found to be 53 deg. of the thermometer. The 
 prevalent and warm winds are those that blow up 
 the valley of the Mississippi. The northern breezes 
 come charged with the cold of Canada and the 
 lakes. 
 
STATE OP OHIO. 315 
 
 This State produces abundantly every thing which 
 grows in the Middle States. Corn grows luxu- 
 riantly ; wheat grows finely ; and flour is exported 
 in vast quantities by the Ohio and Lake Erie to 
 southern and eastern markets. Many steam-mills 
 have been erected, especially in the vicinity of the 
 Ohio River, for the manufacturing of flour. Mills 
 for the same purpose, propelled by water, are to 
 be found in every part of the State. Rye, oats, 
 buck- wheat, &c., are produced abundantly; and 
 tobacco is raised to the amount of 30,000 hogs- 
 heads annually. Horses, cattle, and hogs are here 
 raised in great numbers and driven to an eastern 
 market ; and thousands of barrels of beef and pork 
 are boated from all the towns on the navigable 
 streams, for the southern part of the valley or to 
 New York. 
 
 Coal is found in great quantities in the eastern 
 parts. Iron ore has been discovered and wrought 
 pretty extensively in several places, particularly on 
 the south of Licking River, four miles west of 
 Jamesville, on Brush Creek, and in some other 
 places. Salt springs are found on some of the 
 eastern waters of Muskingum, and on Salt Creek, 
 28 miles south-east from Chillicothe, where there 
 are cousiderable salt woiks. 
 
 The manufactures of the State are yet in their 
 infancy, but are rapidly increasing in importance. 
 The local position of Ohio gives it great facilities 
 for trade, which we doubt not will be rapidly 
 taken advantage of; the Ohio river affords direct 
 communication with all the country in the valley 
 of the Mississippi, while by means of Lake Erie on 
 the north, it communicates with Canada and New 
 York. The northern and eastern counties export 
 great quantities of agricultural produce to Montreal 
 and New York, and since the construction of the 
 
316 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 Ohio and Pennsylvania canals, many of the pro- 
 ductions of the southern and western counties also 
 find their way to New York and Philadelphia; an 
 active export trade is also carried on down the 
 river by way of New Orleans. 
 
 In addition to the funds arising from the sale of 
 school lands appropriated by Congress, a State- tax 
 is levied to aid in the support of common schools ; 
 each township is divided into school districts, and 
 those districts which support a school for three 
 months in the year, are entitled to receive their 
 quota of the State's money. There are about twenty 
 respectable acadamies in the State. The Univer- 
 sity of Ohio, at Athens ; Miami University at 
 Oxford ; Kenyon College at Gambier, with a the- 
 ological department ; Western Reserve College, at 
 Hudson, with a theological department; Marietta 
 College, at Marietta ; Willoughby University, at 
 Chagrin ; Franklin College, at New Athens ; GFan- 
 ville College, at Granville, with a theological de- 
 partment ; and Oberlin Institute, at New Elyria, 
 are the principal educational institutions ; besides 
 these, there are several seminaries devoted to pro- 
 fessional studies. The Presbyterians, Baptists, and 
 Methodists, are the predominant religious sects; 
 but the Episcopalians, German Reformers, Luther- 
 ans, and Quakers, are also numerous ; and there 
 are some Roman Catholics, Universalists, Shakers, 
 and New Jerusalemites. 
 
 The public works which have been executed, 
 are of a magnitude calculated to strike us with 
 surprise, when we consider tbe comparatively in- 
 fant character of the State. Two great works, 
 crossing the State from north to south, connect the 
 waters of the Ohio with those of the great lakes, 
 and through them with the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 The Ohio Canal extends from Portsmouth at the 
 
STATE OF OHIO. 317 
 
 mouth of the Scioto, up the valley of that river, 
 ninety miles, thence across the intermediate district 
 to the Muskingum, and by that river and the 
 Cuyahoga to Lake Erie, a distance of 310 miles, 
 with navigable feeders of 24 miles. The Miami 
 Canal, extending from Cincinnati up the Miami 
 and down the Au-Glaize to the Wabash and Erie 
 Canal, extending from Perrysburg on the Maurnee, 
 to the Indiana State line, whence it is continued 
 to the Wabash ; the section within Ohio is eighty 
 miles in length. These works are executed by the 
 State. The Mahaning, or Pennsylvania and Ohio 
 Canal, eighty-fi ve miles ; and the Sandy and Beaver 
 Canal, eighty-seven miles have been constructed by 
 private individuals. The Mad River Railroad ex- 
 tends from Dayton at the mouth of Mad River, to 
 Sandusky Bay, 153 miles. The Cumberland, or 
 National Railroad is continued from Wheeling 
 across this State through Zanesville, Columbus, 
 and Springfield, to the Indiana line. 
 
 The rapid growth of the population has seldom 
 if ever been paralleled. In fifty-two years from 
 the time when it received its first white settlers, 
 the number of its inhabitants was 1,294,372. Its 
 fertile and unoccupied lands attracted immigrants, 
 not only from the other States, chiefly the eastern 
 and middle, but large bodies of Swiss and Ger- 
 mans, and great numbers of British emigrants have 
 settled themselves in its smiling valleys and rich 
 plains. 
 
 The population of this State in 1790 was only 
 3,000; in 1800, 45,365; in 1810, 230,760; in 
 1820, 581,434 : in 1840, 1,294,372 ; and may now 
 (1852) be computed at 1,650,000. 
 
 The city of Cincinnati, the principal town in the 
 State, and the largest city in the west, is situated 
 on the first and second banks of the Ohio river. 
 
318 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 The streets are drawn with great regularity in 
 lines parallel, and at right angles to, the river. 
 
 Seven of these streets are 66 feet wide, and 396 
 feet apart, intersected by streets of the same width. 
 There are here upwards of thirty churches, an 
 hospital, a lunatic asylum, two theatres, &c., and 
 the free schools of the city are numerous and well 
 conducted. The growth of Cincinnati has been 
 astonishingly rapid; it was founded in 1789, and 
 in 1800 it had 750 inhabitants ; in 1830 the num- 
 ber had increased to 24,831 ; and it is not too much 
 much to say that they now exceed 80,000. It has 
 become the seat of extensive manufactures, and it 
 carries on an active trade by the river and canal. 
 
 Brass and iron foundries, cotton mills, rolling 
 and slitting mills, saw and flour mills, chemical 
 laboratories, &c., are among the manufacturing 
 establishments. The value of manufactured articles 
 is estimated at six million dollars annually. About 
 3000 steamboats arrive here yearly ; and the an- 
 nual value of the exports has been computed at 
 7,500,000 dollars. Beef, pork, wheat and flour, 
 whiskey, with various manufactured articles are 
 among the exports. Printing and publishing is 
 carried on here to a great extent ; as is the case, in 
 almost every town of any importance throughout 
 the United States. Three daily, two twice a 
 week, and six weekly newspapers appear here 
 regularly, besides periodicals of various descrip- 
 tions. 
 
 No town of its size in the United States pro- 
 duces a more respectable show of all the different 
 classes of mechanics, arranged under their respec- 
 tive standards, on the 4th of July, the anniversary 
 of American Independence. 
 
 Columbus, the capital of the State, is pleasantly 
 situated on the Scioto, in a rich and beautiful dis~ 
 
STATE OF OHIO. 310 
 
 trict, at the intersection of the river by the national 
 road, and a branch of the Ohio canal. It is built 
 on a regular plan, with a pretty square in the 
 centre of the town, round which stand some of the 
 principal buildings. Here are the State-house, an 
 Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, a Penitentiary 
 conducted on the Auburn plan, Court-houses, 
 several churches, and population exceeding 9,000. 
 
 Chillicothe stands between Paint Creek and the 
 Scioto, and the streets extending across the neck 
 from river to river, are intersected at right angles 
 by others running parallel to the Scioto, Popula- 
 tion 8,500. The manufactures of the place are 
 rapidly increasing. Portsmouth, at the southern 
 end of the Ohio Canal, derives its importance from 
 its situation ; its trade is considerable, and there 
 are here several iron founderies, nail factories, saw 
 and grist mills, &c. Population 4,000. 
 
 Zanesville stands at the head of steamboat navi- 
 gation on the Muskingum, by which and the Ohio 
 Canal, it has a water communication with New 
 Orleans and New York. The falls in the river 
 have made Zanesville the seat of numerous mills 
 and manufacturing establishments, including flour- 
 mills, saw-mills, paper-mills, iron-foundries, cot- 
 ton-mills, glass- works, <fcc. The population, in- 
 cluding the little village of Putnam, on the oppo- 
 site side of the river, is 18,000. Two bridges 
 cross the river here, and the town contains several 
 churches, an hospital and other charitable institu- 
 tions, academies, an athenaeum, theatre, &c. Mari- 
 etta, at the mouth of the Muskingum, is the oldest 
 town in the State ; it is pleasantly situated, partly 
 on a lower and partly on an upper plain, with wide 
 streets, shaded with trees, green squares, and neat 
 buildings. There are numerous mounds and em- 
 bankments in and around the town. Ship-building 
 
320 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 is carried on here, and many steamboats are built ; 
 several saw-mills, an iron-foundry, tanneries, &c., 
 also furnish occupation to the inhabitants, whose 
 number is about 2.500. Cleveland, the most im- 
 portant lake-port of Ohio, stands on an elevated 
 plain, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, and 
 of the Ohio Canal. Its harbour has been secured 
 by artificial piers, and is commodious and easy of 
 access. The annual number of arrivals here is 
 about 900 lake- vessels, and 1,100 steamboat*. 
 Population 7,500. 
 
 Huron, a little thriving town further west, is the 
 depot of a very rich and flourishing district ; and 
 Norwalk in its rear, situated in a highly fertile 
 country, contains some manufacturing establish- 
 ments. Portland or Sandusky city, is situated on 
 a fine bay, with a good harbour, -and is a busy and 
 growing place Perrysburg, at the head of steam- 
 boat navigation on the Mauniee, is prettily situated 
 upon a high bank below the falls of the river ; its 
 situation combines great advantages both for navi- 
 gation and manufactures, and the Wabash and 
 Erie Canal gives it additional importance. 
 
 Dayton, on the Miami, at the junction of the 
 Mad River, which furnishes a great number of 
 mill-seats, is a rapidly growing town in a highly 
 productive region. It carries on an active trade 
 by the Miami Canal, and it contains numerous saw 
 and flour mills, several cotton and woollen factories, 
 and other manufacturing establishments. Popula- 
 tion, 6,000. 
 
321 
 
 COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 KENTUCKY is bounded on the north by the Ohio 
 River, which separates it from the States of Ohio, 
 Indiana, and Illinois; east by Virginia; south by 
 Tennessee ; and west by the Mississippi, which 
 separates it from the State of Missouri. The great- 
 est length as about 400 miles; breadth, 170; area, 
 40,500 square miles. 
 
 The principal rivers of Kentucky are the Ohio, 
 which flows along the State 637 miles, following 
 its windings ; the Mississippi, Tennessee, Cumber- 
 land, Kentucky, Green, Licking, Big Sandy, Salt, 
 and Rolling. 
 
 Cumberland Mountains form the south-east 
 boundary of this State. The eastern counties, bor- 
 dering on Virginia, are mountainous and broken. 
 A tract, from five to twenty miles wide, along 
 the banks of the Ohio, is hilly and broken land, 
 interspersed with many fertile valleys. Between 
 this strip, Green River, and the eastern counties, 
 lies what has been called the Garden of the State. 
 This is the most populous part, and is about 1 50 
 miles long, and from 50 to 100 wide. The surface 
 of this district is agreeably undulating, and the soil 
 black and friable, producing black walnut, black 
 cherry, honey-locust, buck-eye, paw-paw, sugar- 
 p 2 
 
322 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 tree, mulberrry, elm, ash, cotton-wood, and white- 
 thorn. The whole State, below the mountains, 
 rests on an immense bed of limestone, usually about 
 eight feet below the surface. There are every- 
 where apertures in this limestone, through which 
 the waters of the river sink into the earth. The 
 large rivers of Kentucky, for this reason, are more 
 diminished during the dry season than those of any 
 other part of the United States, and the small 
 streams entirely disappear. The banks of the 
 rivers are natural curiosities; the rivers having 
 generally worn very deep channels in th calca- 
 reous rocks over which they flow. The precipices 
 formed by Kentucky River are in many places 
 awfully sublime, presenting perpendicular rocks of 
 300 feet of solid limestone, surmounted with a 
 steep and difficult ascent four times as high. In 
 the south-west part of the State, between Green 
 River and the Cumberland, there are several 
 remarkable caves. 
 
 The principal productions of Kentucky are 
 hemp, tobacco, wheat, and Indian corn. Salt 
 springs are numerous, and supply not only this 
 State, but a great part of Ohio and Tennessee with 
 this mineral. The principal manufactures are 
 cloth, spirits, cordage, salt, and maple mgar. 
 Hemp, tobacco, wheat, and Indian corn are the 
 principal exports. These are carried down the 
 Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans, and foreign 
 goods received from the same place in return. 
 Louisville, on the Ohio, is the centre of this trade. 
 The introduction of steam- boat navigation on the 
 Ohio has been of incalculable benefit to the com- 
 mercial and manufacturing interests of Kentucky. 
 In addition to the important commerce with New 
 Orleans by the channel of the Mississippi River, 
 
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 Kentucky has intimate commercial relations with 
 the clr'ef cities on the Atlantic sea-board. 
 
 The Ohio and Mississippi are the chief theatres 
 ot Kentucky commerce, but the New York and 
 Pennsylvania canals are also crowded with its 
 materials. Some important works have been exe- 
 cuted for the purpose of txtending the facilities of 
 transportation afforded by the natural channels. 
 Of these the most magnificent is theLouirville and 
 Portland Canal, passing round the Falls of the 
 Ohio; for although only a mile and a half in length, 
 it is 200 feet wide at the surface, and 50 feet at the 
 bottom, and. from the peculiar difficulties encoun- 
 tered in its construction, is estimated to be equiva- 
 lent to about 75 miles of ordinary canals. It has 
 four locks, capable of admitting steam-boats of the 
 largest class, and a total lockage of 22 feet. It is 
 constructed in the most solid and durable manner, 
 and the cost of construction was 750,000 dollars. 
 The Lexington and Ohio Eailroad extends from 
 Lexington to Louisville, 90 miles. 
 
 No system of popular education has been adopted 
 by this State, but in many of the counties common 
 schools are supported. There are also several re- 
 spectable academies, and six colleges in the State ; 
 there are also an Episcopal theological seminary at 
 Lexington, a Medical College at Louisville, and a 
 Deaf and Dumb Asylum at Danville. The predo- 
 minant religious sects are the Baptists and Metho- 
 dists ; the Presbyterians are also numerous, and 
 there is a, considerable number of Episcopalians and 
 Roman Catholics. 
 
 Kentucky is divided into eighty-three counties. 
 
 The population was, in 1820, 564,317 ; in 1830, 
 688,844; in 1840, 813,371; and may now be 
 estimated at 940,000, including 250,000 slaves. 
 
 Lexington, the oldest town in the State, and for 
 
324 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 many years the seat of government, is beautifully 
 situated in the centre of the rich tract above de- 
 scribed. The streets are spacious, well paved, and 
 regularly laid out, and the houses and public build- 
 ings are remarkable for neatness and elegance. 
 Fine shade trees border and adorn many of the 
 streets, and the mansion houses of the principal 
 citizens are surrounded by extensive grounds, orna- 
 mented with noble trees and luxuriant shrubberies. 
 The halls of Transylvania College, the State Lunatic 
 Asylum, several churches, &c., are amoifg the pub- 
 lic buildings. There are here several large cotton 
 and woollen manufactories, machine shops, rope 
 works, <fec. Population about 10,000. 
 
 Frankfort, the capital of the State, stands on the 
 right bank of the Kentucky River, in a highly 
 picturesque situation ; the site of the town is au 
 alluvial bottom, above which the river hills rise 
 abruptly to the height of upwards of 200 feet, 
 giving a bold, wild character to the scenery, which 
 contrasts finely with the quiet, rural beauty of the 
 town itself. Steamboats go up to Frankfort, sixty 
 miles from the mouth of the river, and keel-boats 
 much higher. The State-house is a handsome 
 edifice, built of white marble, "taken from the 
 river ; and there is here a Penitentiary, conducted 
 on the Auburn plan. Population, 3,500. 
 
 Louisville, the principal city of Kentucky, and 
 in point of wealth, trade, and population, one of 
 the most important towns beyond the mountains, 
 is finely situated on an extensive and gently sloping 
 plain, at the mouth of Beargrass Creek, and above 
 the Falls of the Ohio. The Louisville and Portland 
 Canal enables large steamboats to reach Louisville 
 at all stages of the water. Louisville carries on 
 the most extensive trade of any of the western 
 towns, many thousands of flat boats arriving here 
 
COMMONWEALTH OP KENTUCKY. 32-5 
 
 yearly from all parts of the upper Ohio, and steam- 
 boats arriving and departing daily in every direc- 
 tion. The population of Louisville, which in 1 800 
 was only 600, is now estimated to exceed 30,000. 
 The manufactures are various and extensive, com- 
 prising cotton-yarn and stuffs, iron, cotton bagging, 
 cordage, hats, &c. The town is well built, and 
 regularly laid out, with spacious, straight, and well- 
 paved streets, running parallel to the river, inter- 
 sected by others, meeting them at right angles, and 
 the landing is convenient for boats. There is, 
 amongst other charitable institutions, a Nautical 
 Asylum, for disabled boatmen, at Louisville. 
 
 Maysville is the first considerable town of Ken- 
 tucky which is passed in descending the river Ohio. 
 It is the depot of the upper part of the State, and 
 its trade is pretty extensive ; it has also some ma- 
 nufactures. The population exceeds 6,000. Mays- 
 ville occupies a narrow, but somewhat elevated 
 bottom, at the mouth of Limestone Creek, which 
 affords a harbour for boats. Newport and Coving- 
 ton are thriving towns, situated on the opposite 
 banks of the Licking River, and opposite to Cincin- 
 natti ; they are the seats of some manufacturing 
 industry, as well as of an active trade, and contain 
 together about 10,000 inhabitants. At Newport 
 there is an United States Arsenal. About twenty 
 miles south-west is the celebrated Big Bone Lick, 
 which is much resorted to by invalids in the warm 
 season, 
 
326 
 
 !STATE OF TENNESSEE. 
 
 THIS State is bounded on the north by Kentucky ; 
 east by North Carolina ; south by Georgia, Alaba- 
 ma, and Mississippi; and west by Arkansas Terri- 
 tory, from which it is separated by the Mississippi 
 River. It is 430 miles long, and 104 broad, and 
 contains 40,000 square miles. 
 
 The principal rivers are Mississippi, Tennessee, 
 Cumberland, Clinch Duck, Hohton, French Broad, 
 Nolichucky, Hiwassee, Tellico, Reelfoot, Obion, 
 Forked Deer, Wolf, and Elk River. 
 
 Tennessee is washed by the great river Missis- 
 sippi on the west, and the fine rivers Tennessee 
 and Cumberland pass through it in very serpentine 
 courses. West Tennessee, lying between the 
 Mississippi and the Tennessee rivers, is a level or 
 slightly undulating plain ; east of this section is 
 Middle Tennessee, of a moderately hilly surface. 
 The eastern part of the State, adjoining North 
 Carolina, is known by the name of East Tennessee ; 
 it abounds in mountains, many of them lofty, and 
 presenting scenery peculiarly grand and picturesque. 
 Of the mountains the Cumberland, or Great Lnurel 
 Ridge, is the most remarkable. Stone, Iron, Bald, 
 Smoky, or Unako Mountains, join each other, and 
 
STATE OF TENNESSEE. 327 
 
 form, in a direction nearly north-east and south- 
 west, the eastern boundary of the State. 
 
 The soil in a country so uneven must be very 
 various. The western part of the State has a black 
 rich soil ; in the middle are great quantities of ex- 
 cellent land ; in the eatern, part of the mountains 
 are barren, but there are many fertile valleys. 
 
 The limate is generally healthful. In East 
 Tennessee the heat is so tempered by the mountain 
 air on one side, and by refreshing breezes from the 
 Gulf of Mexico on the other, that this part of the 
 State has one of the most desirable climates in 
 North America. The middle part resembles Ken- 
 tucky in climate. 
 
 The great business of the State is agriculture. 
 The soil produces abundantly cotton and tobacco, 
 which are the staple commodities. The inhabitants 
 also raise a plentiful supply of grain, grass, and 
 fruit. They export cotton, tobacco, and flour, in 
 considerable quantities ; also saltpetre, and many 
 other articles. The principal commerce is carried 
 on through the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, 
 and from them through the Ohio and Mississippi 
 to New Orleans. T^his State also supplies Ken- 
 tucky, Ohio, <fec., with cotton for inland manufac- 
 tures ; and from East Tennessee considerable 
 numbers of cattle are sent to the seaports on the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 The most valuable mineral products of Tennes- 
 see are iron, gold, coal, and salt. Gold is found in 
 the south-eastern section, but it has not been sys- 
 tematically worked. Iron occurs throughout the 
 State of Tennessee, and in Middle Tennessee alone 
 the number of furnaces is upwards of -thirty ; there 
 are also several rolling mills and nail factories in 
 this section. Coal is found in the Cumberland 
 Mountains, near Emery's River, down the Ten- 
 
oliS UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 nessee to New Orleans, a distance of about 1,700 
 miles. Good marble, marl, buhr-stone, nitrous- 
 eaffth, and other useful minerals are found, and 
 there are some valuable mineral springs. 
 
 Various plans have been put in operation for 
 connecting different parts of Tennessee with the 
 sea -board sections of the Union; the principal of 
 these is the railroad from Nashville to New Orleans, 
 upwards of 500 miles in extent ; which insures an 
 expeditious transit at all seasons between the ex- 
 treme and intermediate points. 
 
 The State has a school fund, the interest of 
 which is distributed to such school districts as 
 provide a school- house, but little has yet been done 
 towards the establishment of a common school- 
 system throughout the State. There are here 
 several highly respectable academies, and five 
 collegiate institutions. The Methodists and Bap- 
 tists are the most numerous religious bodies in 
 Tennessee ; the Presbyterians are also numerous, 
 and there are some Episcopalians, Lutherans, 
 Quakers, &c. 
 
 Tennessee is divided into sixty-two counties. 
 
 The population of this State, in 1820, was 
 420,813; in 1830, 681,903; in 1840, 942,993; 
 and cannot now be less than 1,200,000, including 
 25,000 slaves. 
 
 STashville, the capital, and the only considerable 
 city of the State, is pleasantly situated on the 
 southern bank of the Cumberland, in a fertile and 
 picturesque tract. The site is elevated and uneven, 
 and the town is well-built, containing, beside many 
 elegant dwelling-houses, the Court House, a Luna- 
 tic Asylum, a Penitentiary on the Auburn system, 
 the Halls of Nashville University, several churches, 
 &c. The trade is active and pretty extensive, and 
 
SI ATE OF TENNESSEE. 329 
 
 there are various manufactories. Population about 
 12.000. 
 
 Clarksville, below Nashville, is a thriving little 
 town. Franklin, to the south of Nashville, is a 
 busy town, with 3000 inhabitants, who carry oil 
 some branches of mechanical and manufacturing 
 industry extensively. 
 
 Knoxviile stands on a hilly site, on the right 
 bank of the Halston River, and was, for some time, 
 the seat of government, and a place of considerable 
 trade; its commercial importance, however, has 
 greatly fallen off. It contains the Halls of East 
 Tennessee College, a flourishing and useful insti- 
 tution. 
 
 In the southern part of the State, Winchester, 
 Fayetville, at the head of navigation on the Elk 
 River, and Pulaski, are thriving little towns ; the 
 last mentioned has 2,000 inhabitants, and the two 
 others about 1,200 each. Bolivar, at the head of 
 navigation, on the Hatchee, a very growing and 
 busy town ; Randolph, on the second Chickasaw 
 Bluff, below the mouth of the Big Hatchee River, 
 with a good harbour for steam- boats in all stages 
 of the water, and conveniently situated for the out- 
 let of a productive region ; and Memphis, at the 
 fourth Cickasaw Bluff, with one of the best sites 
 for a commercial emporium on the Mississippi, are 
 all towns of growing business and importance. 
 The Chickasaw Bluffs, or points where the river 
 hills reach the river, presenting sites above the 
 reach of the floods, are four in number, the first, 
 being below the mouth of the Forked Deer River, 
 is the site of Fulton ; the second has been men- 
 tioned as that of Randolph ; the third, eighteen 
 miles below, is separated from the main channel of 
 of the river by a bayou or slough, which is only 
 le iu times of high water ; and the fourth 
 
330 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 is the site of Memphis. The next similar highland 
 below is at Vickshurg, 365 miles by the course of 
 the river. The bluff on which Memphis stands is 
 thirty feet above the highest floods, and its base is 
 wanned by the river for a distance of three miles, 
 while a bed of sandstone, the only known stratum 
 of rocks below the Ohio, jut* into the stream, and 
 forms a convenient landing. From the Ohio to 
 Vickshurg, a distance of 650 miles, it is the only 
 H-ite for a great commercial mart on either bank of 
 tlitj Mississippi* 
 
331 
 
 STATE OF INDIANA. 
 
 INDIANA is bounded on the north by Michigan and 
 Lake Michigan ; east, by Ohio ; south, by the 
 Ohio River, which separates it from Kentucky ; 
 and west, by Illinois, from which it is separated in 
 part by the Wabash River. The mean length is 
 af>out 260, and breadth 140 miles; area, 36,000 
 square milts. 
 
 The Ohio flows along the southern extremity of 
 this State for upwards of 350 miles, estimated by 
 the course of the stream. The principal river, be- 
 sides the Ohio, is the Wabash, with its numerous 
 branches, of which the most important are the 
 Salamanic and the Mississinewa, both entering on 
 its southern side in the upper part of its course ; 
 from the north it receives the Little, the Eel, and 
 Tippecanoe Rivers ; and from the east, the White 
 and Patoka Rivers. The White River is a valu- 
 able channel for trade, as it drains the central part 
 of the State, and has several large confluents, of 
 which its east and west forks are the principal. 
 In the. north-west part of the State are the Kanka- 
 kee and Iroquois, both head waters of the Illinois 
 River; in the north and north-eat are the Rivers St. 
 Joseph of Lake Michigan and the St. Joseph of 
 Macemee; the former falls into Lake Michigan, 
 
332 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
 
 and the latter, uniting with the St. Mary's River 
 at Fort May tie, forms the Maurnee, which flows in 
 a north-easterly direction into Lake Erie. The 
 streams in the southern part of the State are the 
 White Water, a tributary of the Miami River, and 
 Langhery, Indian, and Anderson's Creeks ; also 
 Big and Little Blue Rivers, and Great and Little 
 Pigeon Creeks, all of which flow into the Ohio 
 River. 
 
 There are no mountains in Indiana ; the country, 
 however, is more hilly than the territory of Illinois, 
 particularly towards Ohio River. A range of hills, 
 called the Knobs, extends from the Falls of the 
 Ohio to the Wabash, in a south-west direction, 
 which in many places produce a broken and uneven 
 surface. North of these hills lie the Flat Woods, 
 seventy miles wide. Bordering on all the princi- 
 pal streams, except the Ohio, there are strips of 
 bottom and prairie land, both together from three 
 to six miles in width. Between the Wabash and 
 Lake Michigan, the country is mostly champaign, 
 abounding alternately with woodlands, prairies, 
 lakes, and swamps. 
 
 A range of hills run parallel with the Ohio from 
 the mouth of the Great Miami to Blue River, 
 alternately approaching to within a few rods and 
 receding to the distance of two miles. Immediately 
 below Blue River, the hills disappear, and there is 
 presented to view an immense tract of level land, 
 covered with a heavy growth of timber. 
 
 The agricultural exports are beef, pork, cattle, 
 horses, swine, Indian corn, hemp, tobacco, &c. 
 Ginseng, bees' wax, feathers, and whiskey are also 
 exported in considerabie quantities, but we have no 
 means of estimating the value of the trade. There 
 are some grist and saw mill*, a few iron furnaces, 
 
STATE OF INDIANA. 333 
 
 and some salt work?, but the manufacturing in- 
 dustry is inconsiderable. 
 
 The mineral resources of Indiana have been little 
 attended to, and our knowledge of some of them is 
 but imperfect. Coal, iron, lime, salt, &c., are how- 
 ever known to abound. 
 
 The Wabash and Erie Canal, from Lafayette to 
 Perrysburg in Ohio, lies chiefly in this State, the 
 distance from Lafayette to the Ohio line being 130 
 miles. This great work is continued to Terre 
 Haute, 90 miles, and thence to the Central Canal, 
 40 miles. There is also the White River Canal, 
 from the Wabash and Erie Canal, to Evansville on 
 the Ohio, 290 miles; the White Water Canal, 
 extending through Connersville to Lawrenceburg 
 on the Ohio, 76 miles. The Madison and Lafayette 
 Railroad, from the Ohio to the Wabash, 160 miles. 
 The National Road also passes from the Ohio line 
 through Indianopolis. 
 
 The current of immigration has flowed steadily 
 into Indiana during the last thirty years, and its 
 population has accordingly increased with great 
 rapidity. Most of the inhabitants are from Ohio 
 and the Middle and Northern States ; but there 
 are many immigrants from Kentucky and Virginia 
 as well as from Great Britain and other foreign 
 countries. 
 
 The same provision has been made by Congress 
 for the support of common schools that has been 
 made in the other new States, but no efficient sys- 
 tem of general education has yet been adopted. 
 The constitution makes it " the duty of the general 
 assembly, as soon as circumstances shall permit, to 
 provide by law for a general system of education, 
 ascending in a regular gradation, from township 
 schools to a state university, wherein tuition shall 
 be gratis, and equally open to all." Indiana Col- 
 
334 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 lege at Bloomington, South Hanover College at 
 South Hanover, and Wabash College at Crawfords- 
 ville, are valuable and highly respectable institu- 
 tions. Academies have been established in several 
 of the counties. The Methodists and Baptists are 
 the prevailing religious ects. The Presbyterians 
 and Quakers are also numerous ; and there are 
 some Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, 
 Shakers, &c. The State of Indiana is divided into 
 eighty-five counties. 
 
 The population in 1820 was 147,178 ; in 1830, 
 341,582; in 1840, 535,986; and may now be 
 estimated at 650,000. 
 
 Indianapolis, the capital of the State, stands on a 
 fine plain near the White River, and is laid out 
 with much taste and regularity. The spacious 
 streets are lined with neat houses, and the public 
 buildings are handsome structures. There are 
 Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist Churches, a 
 State House, Court House, Governor's House, &c. 
 The population is about 3,500. 
 
 Lawrenceburg, on the Ohio, just below the 
 mouth of the White Water, carries on an extensive 
 trade, but its site is so low that it is subject to 
 inundation during very high stages of the water. 
 Madison is a flourishing town, pleasantly situated 
 sixty miles below Lawrenceburg, with about 4,000 
 iohabitants. Vevay is a little village, settled by a 
 Swiss colony, with about 2,000 inhabitants. Jef- 
 fersonville, opposite Louisville, is a thriving town 
 and contains the State Prison. New Albany, be- 
 low the Falls of the Ohio, is the largest town in 
 this State, and contains about 6,000 inhabitants. 
 
 New Harmony, on the Wabash, was founded by 
 the German sect called Harmonites, under the 
 direction of Rapp. In 1824 it was purchased by 
 the celebrated William Owen, of New Lanark, in 
 
STATE OF INDIANA. 335 
 
 Scotland, who attempted to put in operation here 
 his new social system. The scheme failed, how- 
 ever, and his followers were dispersed ; but the 
 village is now a flourishing place in other hands. 
 Vincennes, higher up the river, is an old French 
 settlement, formed in the beginning of -last century. 
 Population about 3,000. The city of Michigan is 
 founded on the lake of that name, but there is no 
 good harbour within this State, and the navigation 
 is dangerous on account of the exposure to the 
 winds and surf. The whole shore of the lake is 
 lined by lofty, bare sand-hills, rising to the height 
 of two hundred feet, with a breadth of upwards of 
 a mile, in the rear of which is a belt of sandy hills 
 covered with white oak and pine. 
 
336 
 
 STATE OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 THIS fertile and improving State is bounded north 
 by Wisconsin Territory, east by Michigan and 
 Indiana, south by Kentucky, and west by the 
 State of Missouri and Wisconsin Territory. Its 
 medium length is about 350 miles, and medium 
 breadth about 170; the area being about 69,500 
 square miles. 
 
 The Mississippi, Ohio, and Wabash, form about 
 two-thirds of the whole boundary of this State. 
 The other most considerable rivers are the Illinois, 
 Kaskaskia, Muddy Saline, Little Wabash, Mac- 
 kinaw, Crow- Meadow, Rainy, Vermilion, Spoon, 
 Rock, Sangamon, Embarras, Fox, Des Plaines, &c. 
 
 The southern and middle parts of the State are 
 for the most part level. The north-western sec- 
 tion is a hilly broken country, though there are no 
 high . mountains. The climate resembles that of 
 Indiana, and Ohio. The soil is generally fertile, and 
 yields abundant harvests. 
 
 Maize is the staple production of the State, and 
 the average produce is 50 bushels to the acre. 
 Wheat is also raised in large quantities, and yields 
 flour of superior quality ; rye is much used for dis- 
 tillation. Hemp, tobacco, and cotton, which is 
 mostly consumed in household manufactures, but 
 
STATE OF ILLINOIS. 337 
 
 is also exported, the castor-oil bean, from which 
 large quantities of oil are made for exportation, and 
 the common grains are also among the ptoducts. 
 Large herds of cattle are kept with little trouble, 
 and great numbers are driven out of the State, or 
 sent down the river in flat-boats. Thousands of 
 hogs are raised with little attention or expense, 
 and pork is largely exported. 
 
 Coal, salt, lime, iron, lead, and copper, are 
 among the mineral productions of Illinois, but its 
 bosom has not yet been fully explored for its hid- 
 den treasures. Coal is very abundant in many 
 quarters, and is extensively worked. Lead is 
 found in the north-western corner of the State 
 in exhaustless quantities ; the lead diggings extend 
 from the Wisconsin to the neighbourhood of Rock 
 River, and on both sides of the Mississippi. The 
 Indians and French had long been accustomed to 
 procure the ore, but it was not until 1822, that 
 the process of separating the metal was begun to 
 be carried on here. Upwards of thirteen million 
 pounds have been smelted in one year; but the 
 business having been overdone, the product has 
 dwindled away, till now it does not exceed two or 
 three thousand pounds. Some salt is made n^r 
 Shawneetown, near Danville, on the Little Ver- 
 milion, and near Brown ville, on Muddy Creek. 
 The springs belong to the State, and are leased to 
 the manufacturers. 
 
 The same provision has been made by Congress 
 for the support of public schools in this, as in the 
 other new States, by the appropriation of certain 
 proportions of the public land to this purpose. 
 But the scattered state of the population has as 
 yet prevented a general system of public education 
 from being carried into operation. There are 
 several respectable academies in the State, and 
 
038 UiXITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 Illinois College at Jacksonville, Shurtleff Col- 
 lege at Alton, and the Alton Theological Seminary, 
 at the same place, promise to be useful institutions. 
 The Baptists and Methodists are the most nume^ 
 rous religious sects, but there are many Presby- 
 terians, Roman Catholics, &c. 
 
 There are several important public works in 
 this State, amongst which we may mention, the 
 Illinois and Chicago Canal, extending from Chicago 
 on Lake Michigan, to a point below the Rapids of 
 Illinois, a . distance of 100 miles, forming the 
 fourth navigable channel from the Mississippi 
 valley to the great lakes. The most extensive rail- 
 road extends from Galena, in the lead mine region 
 to the mouth of the Ohio ; it traverses the whole 
 length of Illinois from north to south, and exceeds 
 400 miles in length. Another extends from 
 Peoria, on the Illinois River, to a point on the 
 Wabash, which connects the two rivers ; there is 
 also a railroad from Mount Carmel on the Wabash, 
 to Alton on the Mississippi; besides several of 
 minor importance. 
 
 The population of Illinois has increased with the 
 same amazing rapidity as that of the neighbouring 
 States. The constitution provides that neither 
 slavery nor involuntary servitude shall hereafter be 
 introduced into the State, otherwise than for the 
 punishment of crimes ; and as negroes coming into 
 the State are required to give bonds with security 
 that they will not become chargeable as paupers, 
 there are comparatively few blacks. 
 
 The population which in 1820, was 55,211 ; in 
 1830, 157,57s; in 1840, 259,939; may now be 
 estimated at 360,000. 
 
 The most thriving town in Illinois, and the 
 most thriving town in the State, is Chicago, on 
 Lake Michigan, at the mouth of a small river of 
 
 O 7 
 
STATE OF ILLINOIS. 339 
 
 the same name. The canal from this place to the 
 Illinois River, brings a vast increase of trade to 
 Chicago, and bids fair to render it one of the most 
 important places in the Western States. The 
 town is pleasantly situated on a high plain, on 
 both sides of the river, which affords easy access 
 to the centre of business. An artificial harbour 
 has been made by the construction of piers, which, 
 extending some distance into the lake, prevents 
 the accumulation of sand on the bar. The country 
 around is a high, dry, and fertile prairie, and on 
 the north branch of the Chicago, and along the 
 lake shore, are extensive bodies of fine timber. 
 The town has grown up rapidly, and contains 
 many churches, ba'hks, warehouses, several printing 
 offices, academies, and nearly 20,000 inhabitants. 
 
 Wandalia, the capital of the State, is a small 
 town, situated on 'the route of the National Road, 
 on the west bank of the Kaskaskia River, about 
 80 miles north-east of St. Louis. The buildings, 
 public and private, are respectable, if we consider 
 the short time that has elapsed since the site was a 
 wilderness. 
 
 The most commercial place in this State, on the 
 Mississippi River, is Alton, situated on the bluffs 
 at the northern termination of the American Bot- 
 tom, two miles and a-half above the mouth of the 
 Missouri, and eighteen above that of the Illinois. 
 It is the western depot of the produce of Illinois. 
 Possessing a fine commodious harbour, with an 
 excellent landing for steamboats, formed by a level 
 rock of a convenient height, which makes a natu- 
 ral wharf, Altoa has become the centre of an active 
 and daily growing trade. The population exceeds 
 5,000. There are here several churches, a Ly- 
 ceum, three printing offices, and a Penitentiary ; 
 and the picturesque site of the town is well set off 
 
340 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 by neat houses, surrounded by tasteful piazzas and 
 gay shrubbery. Upper Alton, in the rear of Alton, 
 and about three miles distant, is the seat of Shurt- 
 leff College and a theological seminary. Edwards-, 
 ville, to the north of Alton, is a neat -and thriving 
 village. 
 
 Peoria is beautifully situated at the foot of the 
 lake of that name, and on the Illinois River. It 
 contains about 2,000 inhabitants. Ottowa, above 
 the Rapids, and at the western termination of the 
 Illinois and Michigan Canal, is also a prosperous 
 village, with deep water and a good landing. 
 
 Cahokia and Kaskaskia are old French villages 
 on the American Bottom with not more than 1,000 
 or 1,200 inhabitants, most of 'whom are French. 
 These and similar sites are found unhealthy for 
 new settlers, but their occupants do not suffer in 
 this respect. A celebrated author has said, " The 
 villages of Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, and 
 Cahokia, were built up by their industry whe^e 
 Americans probably would have perished." This 
 bottom is remarkable for the number and size of 
 the mounds, which are scattered, " like gigantic 
 hay-cocks," over its surface. Seventy of these 
 may be counted on the Edwardsville Road, near 
 Cahokia ; and the principal mound, which is sur- 
 rounded by a group of sixteen or eighteen smaller 
 ones, is niuety feet in height, with a base of 600 
 yards in circumference. Springfield, near the 
 centre of the State, on the border of a beautiful 
 prairie, and surrounded by one of the most fertile 
 tracts in tbe world, and Jacksonville, farther west, 
 in the midst of a beautiful undulating country, are 
 busy flourishing towns containing nearly 4,000 
 inhabitants each. Bloomington, further south, is 
 also a prosperous village. 
 
 On the Mississippi, above the Illinois, Quincy 
 
STATE OP ILLINOIS. 341 
 
 and Rock River City, at the mouth of the river of 
 that name, are favourably situated. On the rocky 
 extremity of a little island, about three miles long 
 and a mile and a half broad, at the mouth of Rock 
 River, stands Fort Armstrong, a United States 
 military post. Higher up, a few miles from the 
 mouth of Fever River, which is navigable for 
 steamboats to the town, is Galena, a prosperous 
 town in the lead district, with about 2,500 inha- 
 bitants. 
 
342 
 
 STATE OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 THE country to which the name of Michigan has 
 been usually applied is a large peninsula, with its 
 "base resting upon the States of Ohio and Indiana, 
 and bounded on the east and north-east by Lake 
 Huron for a distance of 250 miles, and having Lake 
 Michigan for its western boundary, an extent of 
 260 miles. It is in length about 288, and in 
 breadth at the widest part 190 miles; its area 
 being 38,000 square miles. 
 
 Michigan, however, comprises without her 
 bounds another and entirely distinct peninsula, 
 forming a part of the region nominally attached to 
 her while under a territorial government, and added 
 permanently to her territory on her admission as 
 a member of the American confederacy. It is 
 bounded on the north by Lake Superior, on the 
 east by St. Mary's River, on the south by Lakes 
 Huron and Michigan, and south-west by the Men- 
 nomonie and Montreal Rivers ; the latter emptying 
 into Lake Superior, and the former into Green 
 Bay. It is in length, from east to west, about 
 820 miles, and in breadth it varies from 160 to 
 80 or 40 miles. The area is probably about 28,000 
 square miles, making the area of the whole State 
 about 66,000 square miles. 
 
STATE OF MICHIGAN. 343 
 
 The northern peninsula is but little known, 
 liaving been explored only by hunters and trappers. 
 The surface is said to be more irregular than that 
 of the southern section, and also much less suited 
 for agricultural purposes ; but it will, nevertheless, 
 doubtless become of importance on account of the 
 large bodies of pine timber contained in various 
 parts, and also from the valuable fisheries on the 
 shores of Lake Superior, white fish being taken in 
 
 treat abundance. The rivers are numerous and 
 ow mostly into Lake Superior. They are gene- 
 rally short in their length of course, and much 
 broken by falls and rapids. The shores of the 
 lake are mostly low, and but little indented by 
 bays and harbours ; and as the prevailing winds 
 are from the north-west, and sweep with great 
 fury over the wide unsheltered expanse of the lake, 
 navigation -is more stormy And dangerous than 
 along the Canada shore. 
 
 The Pictured Rocks, so named from their pic- 
 turesqtie appearance, are a remarkable natural 
 curiosity. They form a perpendicular wall, ex- 
 tending near twelve miles, and are 300 feet high, 
 presenting a great variety of romantic projections 
 and indentations, having the appearance of land- 
 scapes, buildings, and various objects delineated by 
 the hand of man. Among the features that attract 
 particular admiration are the cascade La Portaille 
 and the Doric Arch. The cascade consists of a 
 considerable stream precipitated from the height of 
 about seventy feet, by a single leap into the Jake. 
 It is thrown to such a distance that a boat may 
 pass dry between it and the rocks. The Doric 
 Rock, or Arch, has the appearance of a work of 
 art, consisting of an isolated mass of sandstone, 
 with four pillars supporting a stratum or entabla- 
 ture of stone, covered with soil, and giving support 
 
344 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 to a handsome growth of spruce and pine trees, 
 gome of which are fifty or sixty feet high. The 
 native inhabitants of this region are some bands of 
 the Chippeways on the shores of Lake Superior, 
 and Mennomonies on Green Bay, the whole num- 
 ber not exceeding 1,500. The only settlement in 
 t'lis region is the village of St. Mary's, at Fort 
 Brady on the St. Mary's River. It contains a 
 population of about 1,200, principally half-breeds 
 and French. St. Mary's River, the outlet of the 
 waters of Lake Superior, is about fifty miles in 
 length, with a fall of twenty-two feet in half a 
 mile, which prevents large vessels from entering 
 Lake Superior, although canoes and boats of small 
 draught ascend and descend the rapids. An act, 
 however, passed the legislature of Michigan, autho- 
 rizing a ship canal round these rapids, which cer- 
 tainly must have a beneficial effect. 
 
 The southern peninsula, or Michigan Proper, is 
 generally a level country, having no elevation that 
 can properly be called hills ; the centre of the 
 peninsula, being a table land, elevated, however, 
 but a few feet above the level of the lakes. Along 
 the shore of Lake Huron there are, in places, high 
 bluffs; along the east shore of Lake Michigan are 
 immense hills of pure sand, of from fifty to several 
 hundred feet in height, which have been blown up 
 by the almost constant western winds sweeping 
 over the lake and the sandy margin on its eastern 
 side. 
 
 The peninsula abounds in rivers : none of these 
 have much extent of course, and but few of them 
 are navigable to any considerable distance inland. 
 Grand River is the largest; it empties into Lake 
 Michigan ; its whole course is about 150 miles, 
 and it is navigable fifty miles, from the lake to the 
 rapids, for sloops and steamboats, and above that 
 
STATE OF MICHIGAN. 345 
 
 point there is sufficient depth of water for boats 
 fifty miles farther. The St. Joseph's River is a 
 considerable stream, and empties into Lake Michi- 
 gan, at the south-west angle of the territory. It is, 
 like Grand River, navigable for large sloops to the 
 rapids, and above them has a still farther extent of 
 boat navigation. It flows through a very fertile 
 region, variegated by prairies and high forests; the 
 country on the river is not surpassed, in point of 
 beauty and fertility, by any in the United States. 
 Several towns and villages have been settled on this 
 river, which promise to become flourishing and 
 prosperous places. The other considerable streams 
 which flow into Lake Michigan are the Kalamazoo, 
 Grand, Maskegon, Pent water, Manistic, and Aux 
 Betises. Those which flow into Lake Erie are the 
 Raisin and Huron Rivers. The Clinton is the only 
 considerable river which falls into Lake St. Clair. 
 The Saginaw, a considerable and important river, 
 running northward, falls into Saginaw Bay, which 
 is a part of Lake Huron. Many other, but smaller 
 streams, fall into the same lake, such as the Thunder 
 Bay, Sandy, Aux Carpe, and Cheboeigon Rivers. 
 The eastern part of this territory, from various 
 circumstances, became first settled. Within the 
 last twenty years a great mass of emigrants from 
 all quarters have spread themselves over this fine 
 and fertile country. Situated as it is, between the 
 east, the north, and the west, with greater facilities 
 for extensive inland water communication than 
 almost any other country on the globe, with a fer- 
 tile soil, of which millions of acres are fit for the 
 plough, with a healthful climate, and with a con- 
 currence of circumstances, inviting northern popu- 
 lation, the inhabitants are rapidly increasing, and 
 wealth accumulates with a celerity that may vie 
 with any of the neighbouring States. 
 Q 2 
 
346 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 Wheat, Indian corn, oats, barley, buck-wheat, 
 potatoes, turnips, peas, apples, pears, plums, 
 cherries, and peaches, are raised easily and abun- 
 dantly. It is a country more favourable to culti- 
 vated grasses than the western country ; in short, 
 it is peculiarly fitted for northern farmers. No 
 inland country, according to its age, population, 
 and circumstances, has a greater trade. A number 
 of steamboats and lake vessels are constantly plying 
 in. this trade, which is with Detroit, Chicago, and 
 Ohio. 
 
 The climate of this region, in consequence of its 
 being level and peninsular, and surrounded on all 
 sides, but the south, with such immense bodies of 
 water, is more temperate and mild than could be 
 expected from its latitude. The southern parts 
 have mild winters, and the spring opens as early 
 as in any part of the United States in the same 
 latitude : the position of the northern parts must 
 subject it to a Canadian temperature. The winter 
 commences here early in November, and does not 
 terminate until the end of March. 
 
 The legislative power is vested in a Senate and 
 House of Representatives, styled the Legislature. 
 The former are chosen for the term of two years, 
 and the latter annually. The governor and lieute- 
 nant-governor are chosen by the people, and h&ld 
 office for the term of two years. The judges are 
 appointed by the governor, with the consent of the 
 Senate, the term of office being seven years. Suf- 
 frage is universal. The constitution provides that 
 neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever 
 be introduced into the State, except for the punish- 
 ment of crimes. It is also a provision of the con- 
 stitution, that the legislature shall encourage by all 
 suitable means the promotion of intellectual, scien- 
 tific, and agricultural improvement ; shall provide 
 
STATE OF MICHIGAN. 47 
 
 for a system of common schools, by which a school 
 shall be kept up and supported in each school dis- 
 trict at least three months in every year ; and, as 
 soon as the circumstances of the State will permit, 
 shall provide for the establishment of libraries, one 
 at least in each township. The Presbyterians, 
 Methodists, and Baptists are the predominant reli- 
 gious sects. 
 
 The state is divided into thirty eight counties. 
 
 In 1810, the population amounted to 4,762 ; in 
 1820, 8,896; in 1830, 28,004; in 1840, 93,275; 
 and may now be estimated at 125,000. 
 
 The city of Detroit, the principal place in Michi- 
 gan, is situated on a rising plain on the western 
 shore of Detroit River, which unites Lakes Erie 
 and St. Clair. Few places can be more admirably 
 situated for a commercial city, and few have a 
 more solid promise of permanent prosperity. The 
 city is regularly laid out and neatly built, and 
 during the last twenty years its business and popu* 
 lation have increased commensurately with the 
 growth of the fertile country in its rear. In 1830, 
 the number of the inhabitants was 2,222 ; in 1840, 
 18,537; and may now be estimated at 30,000. 
 The public buildings are several churches, of which 
 the largest and most striking is the Roman Catholic 
 Cathedral, a State House, Academy, and County 
 Buildings. Detroit is the depot of all the country 
 on the upper lakes, and there are about twenty 
 large steamboats plying between the port and Chi- 
 cago and Buffalo. 
 
 Among the many small towns which have 
 eprung up in Michigan are Palmer on the St. Clair 
 River ; Anne Arbour on the Huron, with about 
 2,000 inhabitants; also Adrian and Monroe, on 
 the River Raisin. The latter is about two miles 
 
348 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 from the mouth of the river, and is accessible to 
 steamboats. It contains several grist and saw mills, 
 a woollen manufactory, an iron foundry, a printing 
 office, &c. The rivers afford a number of mill- 
 seats, with a plentiful supply of water. Population 
 about 4,000. At the head of St. Glair River, at 
 the mouth of Lake Huron, on a commanding posi- 
 tion, stands Forfe Gratiot, a United States military 
 post. 
 
319 
 
 STATE OF MISSOURI. 
 
 THIS State is bounded north by Wisconsin Terri 
 tory ; west, by the Western or Indian Territory ; 
 east, by the Mississippi River, which separates it 
 from Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee ; and south, 
 by the State of Arkansas. Its length is about 280 
 miles, and medium breadth 230 ; the area being 
 about 65,000 square miles. The Mississippi River 
 runs 460 miles along the eastern border of the 
 State ; whilst the Missouri, flowing for 200 miles 
 along the western boundary, and through its centre 
 for 350 miles, enters the former stream a short 
 distance above St. Louis. The wstern line of 
 this State, south of the Missouri River, is the 
 meridian which passes through the point of junc- 
 tion of the Kansas and the Missouri Rivers. 
 
 Besides the great rivers Mississippi and Missouri, 
 this State is watered by various others of consi- 
 derable magnitude. The largest are the Osage, 
 Grand, Salt, Charitone, Gasconade, Morrimac or 
 Maramac, Big Black, and St. Francis. The Osage 
 is a large river navigable for boat* 660 miles. 
 Much of the surface in the central portion of the 
 section south of the Missouri in mountainous, or 
 rather hilly, being traversed in different directions 
 by the chains of the Ozark Mountains, one of 
 
350 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 which, under the name of the Iron Mountain, 
 divides the waters of the St. Francis and White 
 Itivers from those of the Maramac and Gasconade, 
 and another forms the water- shed between the 
 Gasconade and Osage; but these ridges are not 
 very lofty. Between the Osage and Missouri, and 
 north of the latter, the country is undulating and 
 agreeably diversified, while in the south-east, be- 
 tween the Big Black River and the .Mississippi, 
 the whole tract, with the exception of a narrow 
 strip on the border of the latter, is a low inundated 
 morass, forming a portion of the great swamp 
 of which the principal part is in the State of 
 Arkansas. 
 
 The lands bordering on the Missouri are exceed- 
 ingly rich. They consist of a stratum of black 
 alluvial soil, of unknown depth. As you recede 
 from the banks of the rivers, the land rises, passing 
 sometimes gradually, and sometimes abruptly, into 
 elevated barrens, flinty ridges, and rocky cliffs. A 
 portion of the State is, therefore, unfit for culti- 
 yation ; but this part of it, however, is rich in 
 mineral treasures. The land is either very fertile 
 or very poor; it is either bottom land or cliff; 
 either prairie or barren : there is very little of an 
 intermediate quality. The climate is remarkably 
 serene and temperate, and very favourable to 
 health. 
 
 Missouri is admirably adapted for a grazing 
 country, and vast herds of cattle, horses, and swine 
 are raised. The prairies are excellent natural pas- 
 tures. "'The business of rearing cattle," says a 
 modern writer, " is almost reduced to the simple 
 operation of turning them out upon these prairies, 
 and letting them fatten until the owners think 
 proper to claim the tribute of their flesh." Beef, 
 pork, tallow, hides, and live stock constitute im- 
 
STATE OF MISSOURI. 3.51 
 
 portant articles of export. Cotton is raised in the 
 southern part of the State, but not in considerable 
 quantities. Tobacco is more extensively grown ; 
 and hemp, wheat, Indian corn, and the other cereal 
 grains are cultivated with success. Maize, flour, 
 lead, furs, buffalo skins and tongues, and lumber 
 constitute, with the articles before mentioned, the 
 exports of Missouri. 
 
 The most remarkable feature in Missouri is its 
 lead mines, which are estimated to cover an area 
 of about 3,000 square miles. The centre of the 
 lead mine district is about seventy miles west from 
 St. Louis, and the principal diggings are included 
 in an extent of thirty miles in one direction by 
 fifteen in another. The lead ore is found in de- 
 tached masses, and not in veins. The business of 
 mining is consequently very uncertain. The ore 
 is of that species called galena, and yields from 
 seventy-five to eighty per cent. About 3,000,000 
 pounds of lead are annually made, giving employ- 
 ment to about 1,200 hands. In this region are 
 likewise found copper, zinc, manganese, calamine, 
 cobalt, &c. These lead mines were wrought by 
 the French more than one hundred years ago. 
 
 Iron is found in inexhaustible quantities, and is 
 extensively wrought. Coal also abounds, particu- 
 larly along the Missouri, and aluminous and nitrous 
 earth, marble, salt-springs, sulphuretted and ther- 
 mal waters, &c., occur. Thjere are three colleges 
 in the State. St. Louis University in St. Louis, 
 and St. Mary's College at Perryville are both 
 Roman Catholic institutions, and Marion College 
 at Palmyra. The Baptists and Methodists are the 
 most numerous religious sects. The Presbyterians 
 and Roman Catholics are also pretty numerous. 
 
 Missouri is divided into fifty-two counties. 
 
 The population, in 1820, was 66,586; in 1830, 
 
352 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 140,455; in 1840, 211,401; and may now be 
 estimated at 275,000, including 70,000 slaves. 
 
 St. Louis is the commercial capital of Missouri, 
 and the largest town west of the Mississippi. It 
 is built on two banks. The first, not much raised 
 above the level of the river, contains two narrow 
 streets running parallel with its course, and the 
 second or higher bank, which spreads out into a 
 wide plain in the rear, comprises the rest of the 
 city. The upper part is well laid out with spa- 
 cious and regular streets. St. Louis was founded 
 in 1764, but it continued to be an inconsiderable 
 village while it remained in the hands of the 
 Spanish and French. It is the emporium of the 
 Upper Missouri and Mississippi, and must continue 
 to increase rapidly as the vast regions to the north 
 and west become occupied by industrious culti- 
 vators. The lead mines in its vicinity, and the 
 establishments connected with the Indian agencies, 
 land offices, and army supplies, also create a good 
 deal of business. The number of steamboat arri- 
 vals is above 1,000 annually. The population is 
 now chiefly composed of Americans, but there are 
 many French, with some Germans and Spaniards. 
 There are several Protestant churches and a Roman 
 Catholic Cathedral. In the vicinity are Jefferson's 
 Barracks and a United States Arsenal, extensive 
 stone buildings, with accommodation for 800 men. 
 Population, 20,000. St. Louis stands nearly in 
 the centre of the Great Valley, on the right bank 
 of the Mississippi, 17 miles below the mouth of the 
 Missouri, 175 miles above the mouth of the Ohio, 
 1,350 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and 850 from 
 Washington. It has easy water communication 
 with the country at the foot of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, 2,600 miles distant by the course of the river 
 on one side, and with Quebec and New York, 
 
STATE OP MISSOURI. 353 
 
 1,800 to 2,000 miles, on the other ; and with New 
 Orleans, 1,250 miles to the south, and Fort Snell- 
 ing, 860 miles to the north. 
 
 Jefferson city, on the south side of the Missouri 
 River, and near the centre of the State, is the 
 capital of Missouri. It contains the State House 
 and a Penitentiary. Its site is not a fortunate 
 selection, and in consequence it has not prospered. 
 Higher up the stream are the villages of Franklin, 
 Booneville, Keytesville, Lexington, and Liberty. 
 This is the most western settlement in the United 
 States in which a newspaper is published, being 
 1,142 miles from Washington city, and 324 west 
 of St. Louis. Westport, at the mouth of the 
 Kansas, is the most westerly village in the Union. 
 
354 
 
 STATE OF ARKANSAS. 
 
 ARKANSAS is bounded on the north by Missouri, 
 east by the Mississippi River, which separates it 
 from Tennessee and the State of Mississippi, south 
 by Louisiana, and west by the Western or Indian 
 Territory and the northern part of Texas. Its 
 southern line is the 33rd degree of north latitude, 
 and northern 36 degrees 30 minutes. Its length 
 from north to south is 245 miles, and mean breadth 
 about 212. Its area is 51,960 square miles. 
 
 The principal river is the Arkansas, which flows 
 down from the Rocky Mountains. Its course is 
 nearly through the centre of the State from west 
 to east ; and it affords at all times steamboat navi- 
 gation to Little Rock, 300 miles from the Missis- 
 sippi^ and occasionally to Cantonment Gibson, 
 nearly 350 miles higher up. The other important 
 streams are the Red River, (which flows through 
 the south-west angle of the State) St. Francis, 
 White, and Washita Rivers. 
 
 Arkansas has considerable advantages for com- 
 merce, nearly every part of it has a direct and easy 
 communication with New Orleans, the great em- 
 porium of trade for the whole Mississippi valley. 
 
 The surface of the country exhibits much variety. 
 In the eastern portion, along the Mississippi River, 
 
STATE OF ARKANSAS. 355 
 
 it is level, and often overflown by that noble river 
 and its large confluents, which have their course 
 through this territory. In the central part it is 
 undulating and broken, and in the western section 
 it is traversed by the Ozark Mountains, which are 
 estimated to attain an altitude of from 2,000 to 
 3,000 feet above the ocean. The other considerable 
 elevations are the Black Hills, north of the Arkan- 
 sas, and the Washita Hills, or Massome Mountains, 
 on the head waters of the Washita River. The 
 soil is of all qualities, from the most productive to 
 the most sterile ; much of it is of the latter descrip- 
 tion. It has, however, a sufficient amount of ex- 
 cellent land to enable it to become a rich and popu- 
 lous State. The column of emigration has begun to 
 move in this direction, and it has more than doubled 
 its population within the last few years. 
 
 Of the products of Arkansas, cotton is thejstaple ; 
 corn and sweet potatees thrive well; wheat and 
 other small grains have not been cultivated to a 
 great extent ; peaches are remarkably fine ; apple* 
 do not succeed, except on the elevated parts of the 
 State, at a distance from the Mississippi. The 
 wild fruits, grapes, plums, <fec., are abundant. 
 Among the curiosities of this country may be men- 
 tioned the vast masses of sea shells that are found 
 dispersed over different tracts of it ; they are gene- 
 rally found in points remote from limestone, and 
 answer a valuable purpose to the inhabitants, who 
 collect and burn them for lime. 
 
 The hot or warm springs are among the most 
 interesting curiosities of the country ; they are in 
 great numbers. One of them emits a vast quantity 
 of water; they are remarkably limpid and pure, 
 and are used by the people who resort there for 
 health for culinary purposes. They have been 
 
356 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 analyzed, and exhibit no mineral properties beyond 
 spring water. Their efficacy, then, for they are 
 undoubtedly efficacious to many invalids who re- 
 sort there, results from the shade of adjacent moun- 
 tains, and from the cool oxigenated mountain breeze ; 
 the conveniences of warm and tepid bathing, the 
 novelty of fresh mountain scenery, and the necessity 
 of temperance imposed by the poverty of the coun- 
 try, and the difficulty of procuring supplies. Dur- 
 ing the spring floods of the Washita, a steamboat 
 can approach within thirty miles of them. At no 
 great distance is a strong sulphur spring, remarka- 
 ble for its coldness. In the wild and mountain 
 scenery of this region, there is much of grandeur 
 and novelty to fix the curiosity of the lover of 
 Nature. 
 
 Arkansas formed a part of Louisana, and after- 
 wards of Missouri Territory, until 1819, when it 
 received a separate territorial government, and in 
 1836 it became an independent State. The legis- 
 lature consists of a Senate chosen for the term of 
 four years, and a House of Representatives elected 
 bienally. Every white male citizen of the age of 21 
 years, who has resided within the State during 
 the sik months preceding the election, has the right 
 of suffrage. Votes are given viva voce. 
 
 Arkansas is divided into 34 counties. The 
 population in 1820 was 14,273; in 1830, 30,388 ; 
 in 1840, 64,743; and may now be estimated at 
 13,0000, including 35,000 slaves. 
 
 This State having only of late years become in- 
 dependent, the towns are few in number, and of 
 limited population. The capital, Little Rock, is 
 situated on the Arkansas River, about 300 miles 
 from the Mississippi. It was intended to give it 
 the name of Arkopolis ; but the people playfully 
 
STATE OP ARKANSAS. 
 
 called it by its present name, from the numerous 
 rocks found in its vicinity. The site is on a high 
 rocky cliff on the right bank of the river. There 
 are many other settlements on the Arkansas, Mis- 
 sissippi, and the Red River, but as yet they are 
 little more than mere villages, though they have 
 every prospect of becoming, in a short time, flourish- 
 ing towns. 
 
358 
 
 WISCONSIN TERRITORY. 
 
 THIS Territory, erected into a separate government 
 in 1836, is a vast tract of country stretching from 
 the Missouri River on the west to Lake Michigan, 
 on the east, and from the northern boundary of the 
 Union to the States of Missouri and Illinois on the 
 south ; it is in length from east to west about 650 
 miles, and from north to south 580 miles in breadth, 
 containing probably an area of about 300,000 
 square miles. A large part of this Territory is but 
 imperfectly known, and a great part of it is still 
 in the occupancy of the aboriginal tribes. It is 
 settled by a white population only along a part of 
 its southern and eastern border : its great mineral 
 resources, fertile soil, and fine climate, are, however, 
 attracting numerous emigrants, and it is probable 
 that not many years will elapse before those por- 
 tions of the territory most suitable for settlements, 
 will number many towns and villages, and be 
 covered with a dense population. The whole 
 region is a vast table-land, with its surface some- 
 what broken in places by hilly ridges, which gene- 
 rally do not attain an elevation of more than 1,000 
 or 1,200 feet above the sea. 
 
 The country ia the northern part of the section, 
 and westward from Lake Superior, appears to be a 
 great swamp, in which the Mississippi and other 
 
WISCONSIN" TERRITORY. 
 
 rivers have their rise, and, flowing towards all 
 points of the compass, reach the sea after traversing 
 thousands of miles from their common centre ; from 
 the same point the kindred waters take their de- 
 parture to the frozen seas of the Arctic Circle and 
 Hudson's Bay, the tropical regions of the Gulf of 
 Mexico, and the far distant shores of the Gulf of 
 St. Lawrence. 
 
 The principal rivers are the Mississippi and its 
 tributaries, the St. Peter's, Chippaway, Wisconsin, 
 Iowa, Des Moines, &c. ; the Red River of Lake 
 Winnipeek, the St. Louis, Montreal, and other 
 streams, flowing into Lake Superior; the Missouri, 
 and the rivers entering it on its east side, the 
 Jacques, Sioux, &c., the Mennomonie and Fox 
 Rivers of Green Bay, and others. * 
 
 This is generally a fine region for hunters. In 
 the upper part of the country, buffalos, elks, bears, 
 and deer, are numerous ; and beavers, otters, 
 and musk-rats, are taken for their furs. The trap- 
 pers and Indians roam over immense prairies, in 
 pursuit of their objects, in some parts of it. the 
 soil is very fertile, and produces large crops of the 
 various grains common to this section of the Union. 
 In the vicinity of Lake Michigan, the water courses, 
 ponds, and marshes, are covered with wild rice, 
 which constitutes a considerable part of the food 
 of the inhabitants. 
 
 This is a country rich in minerals : lead is found 
 in great abundance, and also, copper and iron. 
 The lead region of Wisconsin comprises a por- 
 tion of the richest lead deposits in the world: it 
 extends on both sides of the Mississippi River, on 
 the east from the Wisconsin to the Rock River, 
 and on the west its limits are unknown, but pro- 
 bably extends for hundreds of miles towards and 
 into the State of Missouri. Lead mining is 
 
360 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 carried on extensively on both sides of the Missis- 
 sippi ; and that of copper has been commenced. 
 
 Wisconsin Territory is divided into six counties ; 
 four east of the Mississippi, and two on the west 
 side. In 1330, at which time it formed a part of 
 Michigan, it contained a white population of 3,635, 
 which in 1840 had increased to 40,737 ; and may 
 now be estimated at 85,000. 
 
 There are in the Territory several United States 
 garrisons ; among' which Fort Snelling, a few miles 
 below the Falls of St. Anthony, and at the point of 
 land formed by the junction of the Mississippi and 
 St. Peter's Rivers, is the most remote military post 
 occupied by the United States troops. 
 
 Madison City, the capital of the State, the City 
 of the Four Lakes, and Wisconsin City, are all 
 situated on the head waters of Rock River. The 
 city of Milwalky, at the mouth of the river of the 
 same name, where it empties into Lake Michigan, 
 although laid out but a few years, is already a 
 place of considerable trade, and will probably in- 
 crease, being the only tolerable harbour on the 
 west side of the lake between Chicago and Green 
 Bay. A railroad has been constructed from this 
 place westward, through Belmont to Mississippi 
 City, on the east bank of the river Mississippi, and 
 and in the vicinity of Cassville, distance 135 miles. 
 There are several missionary stations in different 
 parts of the territory, of which two are among the 
 Sioux, five among the Chippeway, two at Green 
 Bay, among the Mennomies and Stockbridge In- 
 dians, and one among the Sacs and Foxes. The 
 aboriginal tribes in Wisconsin are the Sioux, Chip- 
 peways, Winnebagoes, Mennomonies, the Stock- 
 bridge Indians, from the State of New York, the 
 lowas, Sacs and Foxes, and some Ottowas> and 
 Pottawatomies. 
 
361 
 
 WESTERN; OR, INDIAN TERRITORY. 
 
 THE Western or Indian Territory is the country 
 assigned by the government of the United States 
 for the future residence of the Indians. It is about 
 600 miles in extent from north to south in the 
 eastern, and in the western part about 300 ; and 
 from east to west beyond Arkansas, it is about 
 320 ; but, westward of the central and northern 
 parts of Missouri, it is full 600 miles in breadth, 
 it contains an area of about 240,000 square miles. 
 A belt of about 200 miles of the most eastern 
 part of this region, and adjoining the States of 
 Arkansas and Missouri, is considered favourable 
 for settlement ; the soil is affirmed to be generally 
 very fertile, and it is watered by numerous rivers, 
 creeks, and rivulets, none of which, however, are 
 suitable for navigation. The chief streams are the 
 Red, Arkansas, Kansas, and Platte Rivers, with 
 their numerous tributaries ; they flow in an east- 
 ern direction from the Rocky Mountains towards 
 the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, of which they 
 are all branches. The country in its general cha- 
 racter is high and undulating, rather level than 
 hilly ; Chough some portions, particularly in the 
 south eastern parts, are entitled to the latter appel- 
 lation, where it is traversed by several low ranges 
 
 R 
 
362 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 of the Ozark Mountains, here termed the Kia- 
 meche Hills ; there is less marshy land and stagnant 
 water than is usual in the Western Territory. 
 
 The atmosphere is salubrious, and the climate 
 precisely such as is desired ; being about the same 
 as that inhabited by the Indians to the east of the 
 Mississippi. It contains coals, some lead and iron 
 ore, and many saline springs, suitable for manufac- 
 turing salt. The most serious defect is a want 
 of timber, but it is one which time will remedy, as 
 has been demonstrated by the rapid growth of 
 timber in prairie countries, which have been settled ; 
 where the grazing of stock, by diminishing the 
 quantity of grass, renders the annual fires less de- 
 structive to the growth of wood. The prairies are 
 covered with grass, much of which is of suitable 
 length for the scythe. This country will produce 
 all the varieties of grain, vegetables, and agricultu- 
 ral products, which are raised in the States of the 
 same latitude, east of the Mississippi. It is also 
 admirably adapted for the raising of domestic 
 animals of every description. 
 
 The population of the Western Territory amounts 
 to about 120,000, upwards of two thirds of whom 
 have emigrated from the States east of the Missis- 
 sippi River. The remainder appertain to tribes 
 long resident in the region. The indigenous tribes 
 are, the Pawnees, Puncake, Omaha, Otoes and 
 Missouries, Kansas, Quapaws, and Osages. The 
 emigrant tribes are the Chippeways, Ottawas, 
 Pottawatomies, Choctaws, Quapaws, Creeks, Semi- 
 noles, Appalachicolas, Cherokees, Kickapoos, Dela- 
 wares, Shawanees, Weas, Piankethaws, Peonias 
 and Kaskaskasi and Senecas 
 
 The Choctaws, Creeks, Cherokees, and Shawanees 
 are the most advanced towards civilization of any 
 of the Indian tribes in this quarter. They have 
 
WESTERN ; OK, INDIAN TERRITORY. 363 
 
 generally good houses, well fenced and well tilled 
 fields, and own horses and cattle to a considerable 
 extent ; they have also native mechanics and mer- 
 chants among them, of whom some of the Chero- 
 kees have from 5,000 to 15,000 dollars capital. 
 They likewise carry on spinning and weaving, and 
 have some saw and grist mills. The Choctaws 
 also raise a considerable quantity of cotton. The 
 Choctaws and Creeks have adopted an improved 
 system of government, and have a written consti- 
 tution ; the former have introduced the trial by jury. 
 
 On the south bank of the Kansas, and adjoining 
 the State of Missouri, are the Shawanees; they 
 are among the most improved of the Indian tribes. 
 The Methodists and Baptists have missions among 
 them ; and at the Shawanee station, under the care 
 of the latter, there is a printing press, from which 
 have been issued school books, and collections of 
 sacred poetry, in several Indian languages ; a 
 monthly journal is also printed here in the Shawa- 
 nee language. 
 
 In the desert regions along the base of the Rocky 
 Mountains, are roving tribes of Riccarees, Shiennees, 
 Blackfeet, Grog Yentres, and Arepahas, who pur- 
 sue the trail of the buffalo, and have had little in- 
 tercourse with the whites. The great caravan 
 road from Missouri to Santa Fe crosses the eastern 
 part of this section, and there is a trader's fort near 
 the head of the Arkansas. 
 
304 
 
 MISSOURI TEBRITOBY. 
 
 THIS territory is a vast wilderness, thinly inhabited 
 only by different tribes of Indians, many of whom 
 appear to have no fixed residence, but follow the 
 migrations of the game from place to place. Mis- 
 souri Territory extends from north to south about 
 520, and from east to west 600 miles, and contains 
 an area of 300,000 square miles ; it is bounded on 
 the north by the British possessions ; south, by 
 the Western or Indian Territory ; east, by Wis- 
 consin ; and west, by the territory of Oregon. 
 
 The greater part of this region has been but 
 partially explored, and is but perfectly known. It 
 appears to consist of vast prairies, fringed along the 
 lower courses of the rivers with patches of wood 
 land. A great portion of it may be likened to the 
 great steppes of Central Asia. There is, however, 
 in the most sterile parts, a thin sward of grass and 
 herbage ; countless droves of buffalos, elk, and 
 deer, range upon tho vast prairies. This will, per- 
 haps, at some future period, be replaced by herds 
 of domestic cattle, and flocks of sheep, followed by 
 moving bands of shepherds. 
 
 To the west of these plains, the Eocky Moun- 
 tains rise up in an abrupt manner, presenting a 
 steep front, with numerous frowning rocky preci- 
 
MISSOURI TERRITORY. 355 
 
 pices, and having many summits covered with per- 
 petual snow. The only elevation in the great plain, 
 which stretches from the Missouri River to the 
 Rocky Mountains, is the Black Hill, a spar of the 
 former range, extending to the north-west about 
 400 miles, and separating the eastern tributaries of 
 the Yellow Stone from those that run westward 
 into the Missouri ; the character and elevation of 
 this ridge are unknown, but its height is believed 
 to be moderate. 
 
 The Missouri is the principal stream, which, 
 with its tributaries, drains the whole of this region. 
 The Yellow Stone is the largest of its upper tri- 
 butaries, and is by some even considered the main 
 stream ; it rises among the Rocky Mountains, in 
 the south-west part of this section, and flowing 
 a north-east course, enters the Missouri, upwards 
 of 3,000 miles from the ocean. Those tributaries 
 entering on the west side of the Missouri, are the 
 Cannon-ball, Weterhoo, Shienne, Running Water, 
 &c. 
 
 Our knowledge of this country is mostly derived 
 from those intrepid travellers, Lewis and Clark, 
 who were sent to explore this region by the United 
 States government. 
 
 The Great Falls of the Missouri present a spec- 
 tacle of uncommon grandeur. They consist of a 
 succession of cataracts, the whole descent of which 
 is 350 feet. In one instance the entire body of the 
 river falls in a perpendicular sheet, to the depth of 
 eighty -seven feet. The place where the Missouri 
 passes from the mountains, called the Gates of the 
 Rocky Mountains, displays a stupendous work of 
 nature. The river is compressed to the width of 
 450 feet, between perpendicular rocks, 1200 feet 
 in height ; for three miles there is but one spot 
 where a kiian can ft ad footing between the water 
 
366 UMTED STATES OF AMERICA.. 
 
 and the mountainous precipices. About 100 
 miles below tbe Great Falls in tbe Missouri tbere 
 are immense piles of rock, 300 feet in height, pre- 
 senting the appearance of an artificial wall ; they 
 are nearly perpendicular, and the beholder can dis- 
 cern, amid the the various forms which they ex- 
 hibit, the shapes of ruined castles, and other 
 edifices. 
 
 The principal aboriginal races are the Pawnees, 
 the various tribes of Sioux, Ricarees, Mandans, 
 Blackfoot Indians, &c. ; most of them appear to be 
 nomadic in their habits, and being in possession of 
 an ample store of horses, roam from place to place 
 in quest of buffalo and other game. 
 
367 
 
 OREGON TEBBHGBY. 
 
 THE country, extending from the Rocky Moun- 
 tains to the Pacific Ocean, and lying between 42 
 and 54 deg. 40 min. of north latitude, is gene- 
 rally known by the name of the Oregon Territory, 
 which was claimed both by the United States and 
 Great Britain ; and a few years back this disputed 
 territory was nearly involving the two nations in 
 war ; but through negociations the dispute was 
 amicably settled, and peace maintained. On the 
 north and east, as far south as the 49th degree, 
 Oregon is bounded by the southern part of the 
 British possessions, and southward of that degree, 
 by the Missouri Territory ; south, by the Republic 
 of Mexico ; and west, by the Pacific Ocean. It is 
 in length about 880 miles, with an average breadth 
 of 350 ; area, about 450,000 square miles. 
 
 The surface of the country, so far as it is known, 
 is broken and mountainous; it is traversed on its 
 eastern boundary by the vast ridges of the Rocky 
 Mountains, many of the elevated parts of which 
 rise above the limits of perpetual congelation. 
 Westward of the mountains the country descends 
 by regular slopes, in form of immense terraces or 
 descending plains, disposed regularly one below the 
 
368 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 other. At the distance of from 120 to 160 miles 
 from the Pacific, and nearly parallel with the coast, 
 a range of mountains extend, which have not as yet 
 received any general designation ; the highest peaks 
 have been named Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, 
 Mount St. Helen's, <fec. 
 
 The only rivers explored in this territory are 
 the Columbia or Oregon, and its branches. This 
 noble stream has its head waters near those of the 
 Missouri, and collects its tribute for a wide extent 
 along the western dividing ridges of the. Rocky 
 Mountains. The Columbia and its branches abound 
 in the finest salmon, which seem to constitute the 
 chief article of food of the natives west of the Rocky 
 Mountains. Seals and other aquatic animals are 
 taken in great numbers, and the skins shipped to 
 China, which constitutes one of the chief articles 
 of trade from this part of the world. The country 
 bordering on the Columbia and its branches is re- 
 presented as having a good soil, and is covered with 
 heavy timber, many of the trees being of enora^ous 
 height. 
 
 Thia territory was first discovered by the Spa- 
 niards, who, however, did not penetrate into tho 
 interior. In 1791, Captain Gray, of the ship Co- 
 lumbia, of Boston, entered the great river of this 
 region, and from him it received the narne of his 
 ship. The celebrated navigator, Captain Van 
 couver, was then at Nootka Sound, and the dis- 
 covery was frankly and fortunately communicated 
 to him, who sent one of his officers to examine the 
 channel, and in his narrative admits the fact, thus 
 placing the right of prior discovery in the United 
 States beyond dispute. In 1805 Lewis and Clarke 
 Mere sent out by the United States government, 
 for the express purpose of exploring this country ; 
 they navigated the Missouri to its source, and 
 
OREGUN TERRITORY. 369 
 
 crossing the Rocky Mountains, descended the Co- 
 lumbia River to the Pacific Ocean, and spent the 
 winter on its shores ; they returned by the same 
 river to the mountains ; and most of the exact in- 
 formation we have of the country is from them. 
 
 The climate on the coast of the Pacific is believed 
 to be milder than on the same parallel of latitude 
 on the Atlantic. When Lewis and Clarke left this 
 country in March, the prairies were in blossom, 
 and the forwardness of the season seems to have 
 corresponded with that of North Carolina, at the 
 same period. The winters are rainy, and among 
 the mountains the cold is very severe. 
 
 On the coast of this territory are the countries 
 denominated by British navigators New Georgia 
 and New Hanover ; and immediately north of the 
 northern head waters of the Columbia, and west of 
 the Rocky Mountains, is New Caledonia, the 
 climate of which is severe in winter, and hot in 
 summer; the soil is poor, but the fur-hearing ani- 
 mals are numerous. The aboriginal tribes are the 
 Chilcotin, Talcotins, Attnas, <kc. ; and on the Co- 
 lumbia and its branches, are the Flat Heads, Flat 
 Bows, Pointed Hearts, Pierced Noses, &c. ; also 
 the Shoshone or Snake Indians, who are the most 
 numerous and powerful, and estimated at about 
 15,000. The whole of the native tribes in this 
 territory do not exceed 80,000 in number. 
 
 The Hudson's Bay Company have several trad- 
 ing establishments, extending through various parts 
 of this region, from the mountains to the Pacific. 
 Many portions of Oregon, and perhaps the greater 
 part of it, is well adapted for agricultural purposes. 
 At some of the fur- trading establishments belong- 
 ing to the Hudson's Bay Company farming has 
 been tried, and found to succeed well ; and apples, 
 R 2 
 
370 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 pears, peaches, and all the usual kinds of garden 
 vegetables grow in abundance. Several missionaries 
 from the United States are settled here ; they were 
 well received by the traders and Indians on their 
 first arrival, and have every prospect before them 
 of being uninterrupted in their labours of love and 
 benevolence. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 EEPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF 
 THE CENSUS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Census Office, Dec. 1, 1852. 
 
 IT might seem that the attention of our people 
 was directed solely to the means of inter-commu- 
 nication for thought, ideas, and matter, and that 
 the entire population were concentrating their 
 energies to extend railways and telegraphs over 
 the country. A more particular observation, how- 
 ever, will prove, that while these interests have 
 only advanced with the necessities of our people, 
 the subjects of education, morals, and religion have 
 received their due share of attention and conside- 
 ration. 
 
 Last session of Congress, I had the honour to 
 report the number of inhabitants of the United 
 States, according to the census of ] 850, and to 
 present a table showing the rate of increase for 
 sixty years, from which it was seen that we had 
 multiplied at the rate of about three and a half per 
 cent, per annum for the whole period. 
 
 By the census of 1851 it appears that the popu- 
 lation of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and 
 the Islands, including persons in the army, navy, 
 and the merchant service amounted to 27,619,866, 
 
372 
 
 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 of whom 13,537,052 were males and 14,082,814 
 were females. 
 
 The population is as follows, viz. : 
 
 England and Wal3 
 Scotland 
 Ireland 
 
 Islands in the British Seas 
 Part of the A rmy and Navy- 
 out of the Kingdom 
 
 Houses. 
 
 3,280,961 
 
 366,650 
 
 1,047,735 
 
 21,826 
 
 Total. 
 
 17,922,768 
 
 2,870,784 
 
 6,515,794 
 
 142,916 
 
 167,606 
 
 4,717,172 27,619,868 
 
 By this statement we perceive that the popula- 
 tion of Ireland increased from 1821 to 1841 at the 
 average rate of about one per cent, per annum, 
 while a decrease of 1,659,330 from 1841 to 1851, 
 indicates a most appalling diminution of popula- 
 tion amounting to two per cent, per annum, or 
 twenty per cent, for the entire ten year*, a reduc- 
 tion amounting to the total emigration from the 
 whole United Kingdom from 1839 to 1850. 
 
 During ten years, the population of the entire 
 kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland increased 
 from 26,833,496 to 27,452,262, or at the rate of a 
 little more than half a million in ten years. In 
 the last fifty years, England and Wales increased 
 102 per cent, (males 105, females 97'50) ; Scot- 
 land 79 per cent, (males 84, females 73). The 
 population of the United States during the past 
 fifty years has increased at the rate of 337 per 
 cent. ; and in ten years intervening between the 
 last two censuses increased from seventeen and a 
 fraction millions to over twenty-three millions, or 
 36 per cent. During the same period (leaving 
 Ireland out of view) the population of Great Bri- 
 tain increased at the rate of 12 per cent, during 
 ten years, or 12-10 per cent, per annum. 
 
APPENDIX. 3?3 
 
 HOUSES. By the last census it appears that 
 in the United States the number of houses occu- 
 pied by free persons amounted to 3,363,427. 
 
 In comparing the population of great Britain 
 and Ireland, with the inhabited houses, it appears 
 that the whole number of houses in Great Britain 
 amounts to 3,669,437, being nearly one house to 
 each six persons. In Ireland, the number of inha- 
 bited houses amounts to 1.047,735, being in the 
 proportion of two houses to each thirteen persons. 
 
 France, with a population of more than thirty- 
 five millions, has increa.-ed in the number of her 
 people, but little more than the two States of New 
 York and Pennsylvania, with not more than one- 
 third her population, in the same period. 
 
 MORTALITY. With respect to the Northern 
 United States, the returns of Massachusetts have 
 been selected for comparison with those of the 
 national census of England. In applying the 
 same mode of verification to the Middle States, the 
 statistics of Maryland have been taken, the table 
 described in last year's report being revised, and 
 male and female lines distinguished. In contrast 
 with these results, are set the expectations of life 
 in France. The expectations of life at its several 
 periods, may then be compared as follows : 
 
 EXPECTATION OP LIFE, 
 
 Massachusetts. Maryland. England. France. 
 
 Age. Male Fein. 
 
 Male Fern. 
 
 Male Fern. 
 
 Male Fern. 
 
 Y'rs. Y'rs. 
 
 Y'rs. Y'rs. 
 
 Y'rs. Y'rs. 
 
 Y'rs. Y'rs. 
 
 10. ..42.0 47.2 
 
 47.3 49.5 
 
 47.1 47.8 
 
 47.0 47.4 
 
 20. ..40.1 40.2 
 
 39.7 42.1 
 
 39.9 40.8 
 
 40.0 40.1 
 
 30. ..34.0 35.4 
 
 32.9 35.7 
 
 33.1 34.3 
 
 34.0 33.4 
 
 40. ..27.9 29.8 
 
 25.8 29.5 
 
 26.6 27.7 
 
 27.0 26.6 
 
 50. ..21.6 23.5 
 
 20.2 22.7 
 
 20.0 21.1 
 
 19.9 19.6 
 
 60.. 15.6 17.0 
 
 14.4 16.0 
 
 13.6 14.4 
 
 13.3 13.2 
 
 70. ..10.2 11.3 
 
 9.1 10.5 1 
 
 8.5 9.0 
 
 8.1 8.1 
 
374 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 Thus, on arriving at the age of thirty, the 
 average future lifetime of males, by the Massa- 
 chusetts table, is thirty-four years, while that of 
 females is thirty-five and four-tenths. 
 
 For general estimates, adopting the current 
 classification of the States, the American census 
 exhibits the following ratios of mortality, disre- 
 garding the ages at death : 
 
 o o o 
 
 Annual Deaths, Ratio in the 
 
 per cent. number living. 
 
 New England States . . 1.55 1 to 64 
 Middle States, with Ohio 
 
 Central Slave States . 
 Coast Planting States. 
 North-western States 
 United States, total . 
 
 1,39 1 to 72- 
 
 1.38 1 to 73 
 
 1.37 1 to 73 
 1.24 1 to 80 
 
 1.38 1 to 73 
 
 The enquiry might arise, in examining the pre- 
 ceding abstract, why the rate of deaths in the 
 North-western States should be so much lower than 
 in the Middle States, and especially New England. 
 
 Without attempting a full explanation, one source 
 of the difference referred to undoubtedly lies in the 
 youthful character of the population of the new 
 States, and the comparative absence of aged per- 
 sons, who remain in the older States of the Union. 
 
 From the year 1840 to 1850, the population of 
 the United States was augmented from 17,000,000 
 to 23,000,000, the increase being 6,000,000 in ten 
 years. At the rate of annual mortality above 
 stated, the total deaths, during the same period, were 
 from 2,500,000 to 3,000,000, being nearly equal 
 to half the residual increase by births and emigra- 
 tion. Thus, and in various other ways, which 
 space here precludes to specify, statistics of the 
 persistence of life pointing ultimately to the removal 
 of special causes of mortality, are essentially re- 
 lated to national happiness and advancement. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 375 
 
 EXPECTATION OF LIFE FOR COLOURED PERSONS. 
 
 . New England, 
 Completed Colou j ed , 
 
 Maryland. 
 Slaves. 
 
 Louisiana. 
 Coloured. 
 
 Age. 
 
 Male. 
 
 Female. 
 
 Male. 
 
 Female. 
 
 Male. 
 
 Female. 
 
 10 
 
 42.92 
 
 45.75 
 
 45.30 
 
 45.00 
 
 35.92 
 
 40.69 
 
 20 
 
 35.87 
 
 39.92 
 
 39.28 
 
 9.62 
 
 50.48 
 
 35.36 
 
 30 
 
 29.77 
 
 34.96 
 
 34.41 
 
 34.62 
 
 26.87 
 
 30.86 
 
 40 
 
 22.83 
 
 22.75 
 
 27.50 
 
 29.00 
 
 23.25 
 
 25.85 
 
 50 
 
 18.27 
 
 22.11 
 
 21.16 
 
 23.17 
 
 19.13 
 
 21.07 
 
 60 
 
 13.89 
 
 17.31 
 
 14.32 
 
 16.71 
 
 14.75 
 
 15.27 
 
 70 
 
 9.42 
 
 13.06 
 
 8.76 
 
 10.57 
 
 11.33 
 
 10.93 
 
 NATIVITY OF THE POPULATION. 
 
 The investigations under this head have resulted 
 in showing that of the free inhabitants of the 
 United States, 17,736,792 are natives of its soil, 
 and that 2,210,828 were born in foreign countries, 
 while the nativitj of 39,227 could not be deter- 
 mined. The persons of foreign birth form 11-06 
 per cent of the whole free population. 
 
 Natives of Ireland in the United Statei ) 
 
 in 1850 
 
 Germany 
 
 England 
 
 British America 
 
 Scotland 
 
 France 
 Wales 
 All other countries 
 
 i 
 
 961,719 
 
 573,225 
 
 278,675 
 
 147,700 
 
 70,550 
 
 54,069 
 
 29,868 
 
 95,022 
 
 2,210,828 
 
 Another interesting branch of this inquiry is 
 that which concerns the inter-migration of our na- 
 tive citizens among the States. Out of 17,736,792 
 free inhabitants 4,112,433 have migrated and set- 
 led beyond the States of their birth. Three hun- 
 dred and fifty-five thousand natives of Virginia, 
 equal to twenty-six per cent, of the whole, have 
 
3?6 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 found homes out of her own borders. South 
 Carolina has sent forth 163,000, which is thirty- 
 six per cent, of all the native citizens of that State 
 living in the United States at the date of the 
 census, and the very remarkable proportion of 
 fifty-nine per cent, of those remaining in the State 
 of their nativity. North Carolina has lost 261,575 
 free inhabitants, equal to thirty-one per cent., by 
 emigration. Among the Northern States, Vermont 
 and Connecticut have contributed most largely to 
 the settlement of other parts of the country. Their 
 proportion about twenty-five per cent, of their na- 
 tive citizens, would exceed, perhaps, that of either 
 of the Southern States already mentioned, were the 
 number of slaves in the latter admitted as an ele- 
 ment of the calculations. But the roving tendency 
 of our people is incident to the peculiar condition 
 of their country, and each succeeding census will 
 prove that it is diminishing. 
 
 DEAF AND DUMB. The number of white mutes 
 in the United States amounts to 9,091, and the 
 coloured to 632, of which 489 are slaves. 
 
 BLIND. The number of persons in the United 
 States who are destitute of sight is 9,702, of which 
 7,997 are white and 1,705 coloured, of which lat- 
 ter 1,211 are slaves. 
 
 INSANE AND IDIOTIC. The number of insane 
 persons in the United States is given at 15,768, 
 of whom 15,156 are whites, 321 free coloured, and 
 291 slaves. The number of idiots returned is 
 15,706 whites, 14,230; free coloured, 436; 
 slaves, 1,040. 
 
 EDUCATION. It may be satisfactory to state that 
 near 4,000,000 youth were receiving instruction in 
 the various educational institutions in tie country 
 on the 1st of June, 1850, or at the rate of one in 
 every five free persons. The teachers number 
 
APPENDIX. 377 
 
 more than 115,000, and the colleges and schools 
 near 100,000. 
 
 PAUPERISM. The whole number of persons who 
 have received the benefit of the public funds of the 
 different States for the relief of indigent person?, 
 amounts to 134,9.72. Of this number, there were 
 68,538 of foreign birth, and 66,434 Americans, 
 while of the whole number receiving support on 
 the 1st clay of June, there were 36,916 natives, 
 and 13,437 foreigners, making a total of 50,353 
 persons. Of those termed Americans many are 
 free persons of colour. The entire cost of the sup- 
 port of these individuals during the year amounted 
 to 2,954,cS06 'dollars. 
 
 In 1818, about 39,000,000 ; and during the years 
 1832, '33, and '34, more than 100,000,000 dollars 
 were expended for the relief and maintenance of the 
 poor of England and Wales, exclusive of the im- 
 mense expenditure of the poor-law administration 
 in the Union and parishes. In 1842 and '43, the 
 amount of 50,000,000 dollars, and during raoh of 
 the years 1847, '48, and '49, there was expended 
 28,600,000 dollars in England and Wales. 
 
 The entire number of paupers relieved by the 
 public funds for the nine years, from 1840 to 
 1848 inclusive, amounted to 33,193,425, equal to 
 1,649,178 persons per annum. In 1848, the 
 number relieved was 1,876,451, by which it ap- 
 pears that one person in every eight was a pauper. 
 The average number of those annually relieved, who 
 are represented to have been " adult and able- 
 bodied paupers," amounted to more than 477,000, 
 and it is in British authority, asserted, that in 1848, _ 
 more than two millions of persons in England and 
 Wales were kept from starvation by the relief from 
 public arid private sources. The total public ex- 
 
378 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 penditure for the poor in England and Ireland in 
 1848, amounted to 42,750,000 dollars; within the 
 past seventeen years the poor law fund expended in 
 England and Wales amounted to 426,600,000 
 dollars. This enormous expenditure, accompanied 
 as it is by immense private contributions, falls far 
 short of relieving the wants of the poor of Great 
 Britain. While her population embraces a large 
 number of persons of princely estates, and other 
 classes composed of individuals of every variety of 
 incomes, combining with it ease, comfort, and ele- 
 gance, the statistics of the nation prove that the 
 substratum of pauperism or want, is of a magni- 
 tude alarming to the English moralist and thinker, 
 as well as the statesman, and of an extent and 
 nature harrowing to all. 
 
 CRIME. The whole number of persons con- 
 victed of crime in the United States, for the year 
 ending the 1st day of June, 1850, was about 
 27,000. Of these 13,000 were native, and 14,000 
 foreign born. The whole number in prison on the 
 1st day of June was about 6,700, of whom 4,300 
 were native and 2,400 foreign. 
 
 REAL AND PERSONAL ESTATE. 
 
 Appended to our report will be found a table of 
 the valuation of real and personal estate owned by 
 individuals in each of the United States. This 
 Table, which fixes the wealth of our citizens at 
 more than 7,133 millions of dollars, is made up 
 from the Official Returns of Property for the pur- 
 poses of taxation. We are of opinion that the en- 
 tire Table falls short of the reality at least 20 per 
 cent. The value of slaves is included: 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 379 
 
 State. 
 
 Assessed 
 
 Value 
 in Dollari. 
 
 Estimated 
 
 Value 
 in Dollar* 
 
 Maine 96,765,868 ... 122,777,571 
 
 New Hampshire 92,177,959 ... 103,652,835 
 
 Vermont 71,671,651 ... 92,205,049 
 
 Massachusetts 546,003,057 ... 573,342,286 
 
 Rhode Island , 77,758,974 ... 80,508,794 
 
 Connecticut 119,088,672 ... 155,707,980 
 
 New York 715,369,028 ... 1,080,309,216 
 
 New Jersey 190,000,000 ... 200,000,000 
 
 Pennsylvania 497,039,649 ... 722,486,120 
 
 Delaware 17,442,640 ... 18,652,053 
 
 Maryland 208,563,56^6 ... 219,217,364 
 
 District of Columbia 14,018,874 ... 14,018,874 
 
 Virginia 381,376,660 ... 430,701,082 
 
 North Carolina 212,071,134 ... 226,800,472 
 
 South Carolina 283,867,709 ... 285,257,698 
 
 Georgia 335,116,225 ... 355,425,714 
 
 Florida 22,784,837 ... 22,862,270 
 
 Alabama 219,476,150 ... 228,304,332 
 
 Mississippi 208,422,167 ... -228,951,132 
 
 Louisiana 220,165,172 ... 233,908,670 
 
 Texas 51,027,456 ... 52,740,475 
 
 Arkansas 36,428,675 ... 39,841,020 
 
 Tennessee 189,437,623 ... 201,246,680 
 
 Kentucky 291,387,554 ... 504,726,120 
 
 Ohio 433,872,632 ... 301,628,456 
 
 Michigan 30,877,223 ... 59,787,555 
 
 Indiana 152,870,399 ... 201,650,264 
 
 Illinois 114,785,645 ... 156,265,006 
 
 Missouri 98,595,463 ... 137,247,707 
 
 Iowa 21,690,642 ... - 23,714,638 
 
 Wisconsin 26,715,625 ... 43,056,595 
 
 California 22,123,173 ... 22,161,872 
 
 5,998,983,281 ... 7,122,145,697 
 Territories. 
 
 Minnesota (no return) 
 
 New Mexico 5,174,471 ... 5,174,771 
 
 Oregon 5,063,474 ... 5,063,474 
 
 Utah 986,083 ... 986,083 
 
 Total 6,010,207,309 
 
 7,133,369,725 
 
380 
 
 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 There are 36,011 churches in the several States, 
 and 210 in the District of Columbia and the Ter- 
 ritories. Under the u value of church property" 
 is included the value of each of the churches and 
 property owned by the different religious societies. 
 
 DENOMINATIONS, 
 
 Baptist . . . . 
 Christian . . . 
 Congregational . 
 Dutch Reform'd 
 Episcopal . . . 
 Free .... 
 Friends. . . . 
 German Reform'd 
 Jewigh . . . 
 Lutheran . . . 
 Mennonite . . 
 Methodist . . 1 
 Moravian . 
 Presbyterian . 
 Roman Catholic 
 Swede nborgian . 
 T unker . . . 
 Union 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 X| 
 
 u 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
 8,791 
 812 
 1,674 
 324 
 1,422 
 361 
 714 
 327 
 31 
 1,203 
 liO 
 .2,467 
 331 
 4,584 
 1,112 
 15 
 52 
 618 
 
 CO 
 
 a 
 
 2- 
 
 ? OS 
 
 II 
 
 bo g 
 
 bo 3 
 < 1 
 < 
 
 3,130,378 
 296,050 
 795,177 
 181,986 
 625,213 
 108,605 
 282,823 
 156,632 
 16,575 
 581,100 
 29,900 
 4,209, .133 
 112,18o 
 2,040,316 
 6^0,950 
 5,070 
 35,075 
 213,552 
 
 a; *3 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 * 
 < 
 
 36 
 
 365 
 475 
 
 561 
 440 
 300 
 396 
 479 
 534 
 441 
 272 
 337 
 338 
 44 
 568 
 3*8 
 674 
 34 5 
 
 M > 
 
 o t: 
 
 II 
 
 
 3| 
 
 3 
 
 "5 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 10,931,382 
 845,810 
 7,793,962 
 4,0945,730 
 11,261,970 
 252,255 
 1,709,867 
 965,880 
 371,600 
 2,867,886 
 94,245 
 14,6-6,671 
 443,347 
 14,869,889 
 8,973,888 
 108,100 
 46,025 
 690,065 
 
 ft 
 
 & 
 
 2 
 
 l| 
 
 1 
 Dollars. 
 I,V44 
 1,041 
 4,763 
 12,644 
 7,919 
 698 
 2,395 
 2,953 
 11,987 
 2,383 
 856 
 1,174 
 1,339 
 3,135 
 8,069 
 7,206 
 885 
 1 114 
 
 Unitarian . . . 
 TJniversalist . . 
 Minor Sects . . 
 
 243 
 
 4b4 
 325 
 
 136,367 
 205,462 
 115,347 
 
 305 
 415 
 354 
 
 3/268,122 
 1,767,015 
 741,980 
 
 1:^,449 
 3,57o 
 2,^83 
 
 Total . . &6,0ll 13,849,896 384 86,416,^69 2,400 
 The average number the churches will accom- 
 modate is 384, and the average value 2,400 dollars. 
 From this statement, it appears that the volun- 
 tary principle provides church accommodation for 
 more than one half the population worshipping at 
 the dame moment. 
 
APPENDIX. 08 1 
 
 FARMS. 
 
 Improved Land: The average quantity of im- 
 proved land (meaning thereby land which ha? 
 become, by cultivation, more or less produc- 
 tive) is about seven and a half acres to each (free) 
 inhabitant ; but assuming that two-fifths of the 
 population live in towns, or are otherwise occupied, 
 the proportion assigned to each person working it 
 may be assumed to average not less than twelve 
 acres. In the New England States, the average 
 for the whole population is a little more than four 
 acres to each person. In Virginia it is about seven 
 acres ; in South Carolina, six ; Kentucky, twelve; 
 and in Tennessee, five acres. The cash value of the 
 farms (including the unimproved land) in the 
 United States is set down at 3,270 million dollars. 
 
 Unimproved Land. This return is understood 
 to mean the unproductive land connected with or 
 belonging to the productive farms. Its value is 
 included in the general total, but on what data 
 does not appear. The number of acres is given as 
 184 millions. In order, however, to give a better 
 appreciation of the comparative number of acres of 
 improved and unimproved land in the several States 
 of the Union, the cash value of the farms, and the 
 value of the farming implements and machinery 
 upon them, we will give the table as it has been 
 compiled. In all the items, we leave out the last 
 triad of figures, so that each number represents so 
 many thousands of either acres or dollars. 
 
 It will appear, therefore, that in the United 
 States, in 1852, the total quantity of improved 
 land was 118,457,000 acres, and of unimproved, 
 184,621,000 ; that the cash value of the above 
 farms was estimated at 3,270,733,000 dollar*; 
 and the implements and machinery thereon, at 
 151,569,000 dollars. 
 
382 
 
 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 Acrs of Land in Farms. Implmts. 
 
 STATES. Cash value and 
 
 Improv'd. Unmprv'd. of Farms. Machny. 
 
 
 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 Maine 
 
 2,039 
 
 2,515 
 
 54,861 
 
 2,284 
 
 New Hampshire.... 
 
 2,251 
 
 1,140 
 
 55,245 
 
 2,314 
 
 Vermont 
 
 2,601 
 
 1,524 
 
 63,367 
 
 2,739 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 2,133 
 
 1,222 
 
 109,096 
 
 3,209 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 356 
 
 197 
 
 17,070 
 
 497 
 
 
 1,768 
 
 615 
 
 72,726 
 
 1,892 
 
 NewYork 
 
 12,408 
 
 6,710 
 
 554,546 
 
 22,084 
 
 New Jersey. 
 
 1,767 
 
 984 
 
 120,237 
 
 4,425 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 8,628 
 
 6,294 
 
 407,876 
 
 14,722 
 
 Delaware 
 
 580 
 
 375 
 
 18,880 
 
 510 
 
 Maryland 
 
 2,797 
 
 1,836 
 
 87,178 
 
 2,463 
 
 District of Co-) 
 lumbia ) 
 
 16 
 
 x ll 
 
 1,730 
 
 40 
 
 Virginia 
 
 10,360 
 
 15,762 
 
 216,401 
 
 7,021 
 
 North Carolina. .... 
 
 5,453 
 
 15,543 
 
 67,891 
 
 3,931 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 4,072 
 
 12,145 
 
 82,431 
 
 4,136 
 
 Georgia 
 
 6,378 
 
 16,442 
 
 95,753 
 
 5,894 
 
 Florida.. ..... 
 
 349 
 
 1,236 
 
 6,323 
 
 658 
 
 Alabama 
 
 4,435 
 
 7,702 
 
 64,323 
 
 5,125 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 3,444 
 
 7,046 
 
 54,738 
 
 5,762 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 1,590 
 
 3,939 
 
 75,814 
 
 11,576 
 
 Texas 
 
 639 
 
 14,454 
 
 16,398 
 
 2,133 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 781 
 
 1,816 
 
 15,265 
 
 1,601 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 5,175 
 
 13,808 
 
 97,861 
 
 5,369 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 11,368 
 
 10,972 
 
 154,330 
 
 5,169 
 
 Ohio 
 
 9,851 
 
 8,146 
 
 858,758 
 
 12,750 
 
 Michigan 
 
 1,929 
 
 2,454 
 
 51,872 
 
 2,891 
 
 Indiana 
 
 5,046 
 
 7,746 
 
 136,385 
 
 6,704 
 
 Illinois 
 
 5,039 
 
 6,997 
 
 96,133 
 
 6,405 
 
 Missouri 
 
 2,938 
 
 6,794 
 
 63,225 
 
 3,981 
 
 Iowa 
 
 824 
 
 1,911 
 
 16,657 
 
 1,172 
 
 Wigconsin 
 
 1*045 
 
 1,931 
 
 28,528 
 
 1,641 
 
 California.... 
 
 62 
 
 3,831 
 
 3,874 
 
 103 
 
 Territories. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 5 
 
 23 
 
 161 
 
 15 
 
 Oregon 
 
 182 
 
 299 
 
 2,849 
 
 183 
 
 Utah 
 
 16 
 
 30 
 
 311 
 
 84 
 
 New Mexico 
 
 166 
 
 124 
 
 1,653 
 
 75 
 
 Total 118,457 184,621 3,270,733 151,569 
 
 One utility of the return of unimproved land lies 
 
APPENDIX 383 
 
 in the supposition that reliable calculations respect- 
 ing the quantity of land brought into requisition 
 annually for agricultural purposes may be made, 
 when a future census shall be compiled. 
 
 Value of Agricultural Implements. From the 
 above return, it appears that 151 millions of dollars 
 are at the present time invested in implements and 
 machinery for aiding in the cultivation of the earth, 
 and in preparing its produce for consumption. 
 New York has thus invested 22 millions ; Penn- 
 sylvania, 14| ; Louisiana (to a great extent for 
 crushing sugar), llj; and Ohio, 12f. "No- 
 where," says the report, " does the same amount 
 of ingenuity appear to have been exercised in their 
 [^agricultural implements]] preparation as is evinced 
 with our mechanics and husbandmen." 
 
 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. Horses, Asses^ and Mules. 
 The United States are estimated to possess 
 4J millions of horses, or more than three times as 
 many as Great Britain. The increase in horses, 
 mules, and asses during ten years is above half a 
 million, the greatest proportional increase, it is sup- 
 posed, being in mules. It is supposed that the 
 introduction of railways into some of the States 
 has decreased considerably the number of these 
 useful animals in the State of New York alone, 
 to the number of 26,000; and in New England 
 generally to the extent of 25 per cent. In Ohio 
 and the new States of the north-west, the increase 
 of horses has kept pace with the population. New 
 York has one horse to seven persons ; Ohio, one to 
 four; Kentucky, one to three (free). The number 
 of asses and mules in the Union is 559,000, of 
 which all but 30,000 are found in the Southern 
 States. The climate of the south renders these 
 animals the most serviceable; and much attention 
 is said to be given to their raising. Tennessee is 
 
384 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 the leading State in their production. Milch 
 Cows, fyc. The aggregate of cows, working oxen, 
 and other cattle, given in 1850, is 18,355,287; the 
 increase in ten years being about 20 per cent. 
 They are equally distributed over the Union, one- 
 third being milch cows. As with horses, allowance 
 is to be made on account of the omission of cows 
 except in connection with agriculture. Closely 
 connected with milch cows are the articles of butter 
 and cheese. The total value for the year ending 
 June 1, 1850, however, is not given; that for 
 1 840 was estimated at 33f millions of dollars. New 
 York is far in advance in the productiveness of its 
 dairies, yielding one-quarter of all the butter, and 
 nearly one-half of all the cheese produced in the 
 Union. Pennsylvania produces 40,000,000 Ibs. of 
 butter annually ; but little cheese. In the latter 
 article, Ohio is next to New York. The exports 
 of dairy produce from the Union for 1850-1 were, 
 butter nearly 4, and cheese 10? million pounds, 
 valued at 1,124,652 dollars. Sheep. There has 
 been an increase in the number of sheep in the ten 
 years amounting to 2,300,000, or about 12 per 
 cent. Regarding their distribution, however, there 
 are some singular facts. In the New England 
 States, there has been a decrease in the number, 
 amounting to 45 per cent, or from 3,800,000 to 
 about 2,150,000. In the five Atlantic Middle 
 States, there has been a decrease, in the same 
 period, of above If millions, or 22i per cent; 
 Pennsylvania alone having an increase of 152,000. 
 Whilst, however, there has been a positive diminu- 
 tion of nearly 3| millions in the States above 
 named, there has been an increase of nearly 5| mil- 
 lion? in those south of Maryland and west of New 
 York, Ohio alone increasing her stock nearly 
 2 millions, or almost 100 per cent. The hilly lauds 
 
APPENDIT. 385 
 
 of Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and the 
 prairies of Illinois, Iowa, and Texas (in which 
 there has been a considerable increase) it is expected 
 will prove highly favourable for the rearing of 
 sheep. It has been calculated that the population 
 of the States consume on an average 7 Ib. of wool 
 each per annum. As regards the supply of this 
 important article of clothing, it is stated that while 
 the number of sheep has but increased 12 per cent 
 in ten years, the aggregate weight of their fleeces 
 has increased 46 per cent. In 1850, the average 
 weight per fleece was 2.43 Ib. ; in 1840, it 
 was only 1.84lb. In New York and Ver- 
 mont, the increased productiveness of sheep has 
 been the most marked, for the former State 
 alone produced, in 1850, 226,000 Ibs. more of wool 
 from 3,453,000 sheep, than from 5,118,000 in 
 1840. The wool imported for the last year, of 
 which there is a return, amounted to 184 million 
 pounds. Swine. The number of swine are given 
 at 30^ millions ; of which Tennessee possesses about 
 3| ; Kentucky, 2| ; Indiana, above 2J ; and Ohio, 
 Illinois, Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina, and 
 Missouri, nearly 2 millions each ; and New York, 
 Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Mississippi, 
 above 1 million each. The total value of the live 
 stock is about 544 million dollars. Mr. Kennedy's 
 report states that the first animals brought to Ame- 
 rica were by Columbus, in his second voyage, in 
 1493; the first horses, however, brought into 
 any part of the territory at present embraced in the 
 United States were landed in Florida, in 1527 ; 
 but they all perished. The next importation, also 
 into Florida, was by De Soto, in 1539, and con- 
 sisted of a large number of horses and swine. At 
 the commencement of the 17th century there were 
 ^ many separate importations of all kinds of animals 
 
386 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 and poultry, into several of the present States ;,and 
 the present stock consists of the offspring of the 
 animals first introduced, aided to some extent by 
 more 'recent importations, principally of animals of 
 more pure blood. Besides the Norman and the 
 Canadian horse (used as roadsters), the States have 
 their Conestoga or Pennsylvania, their Kentucky, 
 their Morgan, and their Virginia horse, all more or 
 less noted for particular purposes. The cows 
 of the Union are the reproduction of England. The 
 Durham cow, for feeding, is preferred for the rich 
 pastures of the Middle and Northern States, and of 
 those of Ohio, Kentucky, and other parts of the 
 west. The Herefords are best adapted for rather 
 poor pastures, and regions subject to continued 
 drought, such as New Mexico, Texas, California, 
 and some portions of the south ; they are also con- 
 sidered good in yoke. The Ayrshire cow beat suits 
 Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire, 
 districts comparatively cool and mountainous. The 
 Devons which make the best teams, appear adapted 
 to almost all kinds of climate and pasture. The 
 kinds of sheep include Merinoes, South Downs, 
 Cotswolds, Leicestershire, and Saxons. The swine, 
 besides some English varieties, include Chinese and 
 Neapolitan, the latter being especially adapted to 
 the Southern States. There is some export of 
 domestic animals from the States. In the year 
 1850-1, it consisted of 1,364 horses, 2,946 mule^ 
 1,350 cattle, 4,357 sheep, and 1,030 swine. 
 
 WHEAT. During the last ten years, the crop of 
 wheat, which, next to maize, is the most important 
 in the Union, has increased fom 84| million to 
 above 100 million bushels. The New England 
 States show a decreased growth of nearly one- half ; 
 whilst Ohio, Virginia, and some of the Western 
 States, show a very large increase, although in , 
 
APPENDIX. 387 
 
 some parts of the Union the crop of 1849 was not 
 considered an average. The earliest European 
 settlers introduced wheat into the then North 
 American colonies, it being first sown on the Eli- 
 zabeth Islands, Massachusetts, by Gosnold, at the 
 time he explored that coast in 1602. In 1718 
 " The Western Company" introduced wheat into 
 the valley of the Mississippi ; where owing to care- 
 less cultivation, and the sudden changes of tem- 
 perature, it at first only yielded from five to eight- 
 fold. In 1746, however, there was an import of 
 600 barrels from the Wabash into New Orleans ; 
 and in 1750, the French of Illinois raised three 
 times as much wheat as they consumed. The 
 chief varieties cultivated in the Northern and East- 
 ern States are the white flint, tea, Siberian, bald, 
 Black Sea, and the Italian spring wheat ; in the 
 Middle and Western States, the Mediterranean, the 
 Virginia white may, the blue stem, the Indiana, 
 the Kentucky white bearded, the old red chaff, and 
 the Talavera. The yield varies from 58lb. to 671b 
 per bushel. 
 
 RYE. There has been a decrease of 4 million 
 bushels of this grain during the last ten years ; the 
 present quantity being rather over 14 million 
 bushels. There has been an increase of 40 per 
 cent in its growth in the State of New York; 
 while Pennsylvannia, the great producer, has fallen 
 off from 7,631,000 to 4,805,000 bushels. It is 
 thought the general diminution in the quantity of 
 this grain now produced, may suppose a corres- 
 ponding decline in the demand for distilling pur- 
 poses, for which a large part of the crop is used. 
 Its export has never been great. The yield per 
 acre varies from ten to thirty or more bushels, each 
 weighing from 48 to 56 pounds. 
 
 MAIZK OR INDIAN CORN. The increase in the 
 
388 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 produce of maize, since 1840, 1ms been 214,000.000 
 bushels, or equal to 56 per cent. In the produc- 
 tion of this crop no State has retrograded ; the New 
 England States having increased their growth of it 
 by nearly fifty per cent. Ohio, which, ten years 
 ago, occupied the fourth place, is now the first 
 maize-producing State ; Kentucky is second, Ten- 
 nessee fourth, and Illinois third. The maize crop 
 of the last- mentioned State has increased 160 per 
 cent in ten years. More than 11,000,000 bushels 
 of Indian corn were consumed in 1850. in the manu- 
 facture of malt and spirituous liquors. The crop 
 of 1840 was 347^ million bushels; in 1850, it was 
 above 592| millions. Between the 44th degrees 
 of north and south latitude, with proper sort and 
 soil, maize, it is supposed, may be accounted a 
 sure crop. It is now found, says the report, in a 
 wild state, from the Rocky Mountains in North 
 America, to the humid forests of Paraguay, where 
 instead of having each grain naked, as is always 
 the case after long cultivation, it is completely 
 covered with glumes or husks. The first success- 
 ful attempt to cultivate it was made by the English, 
 in 1608, on the James River, in Virginia. The 
 present yield, east of the Rocky Mountains, when 
 judiciously cultivated, varies from 20 to 1 35 bushels 
 per acre. There are very many varieties of maize, 
 its character changing by distant transplantation. 
 The blades of the plant, as food for stock, are con- 
 sidered valuable. 
 
 OATS. In 1840, the total produce of oats was 
 123 million bushels ; in 1850, it was 146i millions. 
 Oats have never entered much into foreign com- 
 merce, nor are they much used for the manufacture 
 of liquors of any kind. They are principally grown 
 in the Middle, "Western, and Northern States ; the 
 yield varying from forty to ninety bushels to the 
 
APPENDIX. 389 
 
 acre. An oat, resembling the cultivated variety, 
 is found growing wild in California. The varieties 
 cultivated are the common white, the black, the 
 grey, the imperial, the Hopetown, the Polish, 'the 
 Egyptian, and the potatoe oat. The Egyptian 
 variety, cultivated south of Tennessee, the report 
 says, " after being sown in autumn, and fed off by 
 stock in winter and spring, yields from ten to 
 twenty bushels per acre." 
 
 RICE. The culture of rice is chiefly confined to 
 the Southern States ; the yield is from 20 to 60 
 bushels per acre ; although as many as 90 bushels 
 have been raised, weighing from 45lb to 48lb 
 when cleaned. The crop of 1840 was 80f million 
 pounds; that of 1850 was 215| millions. The 
 export for a number of years has exceeded 100,000 
 tierces. Though introduced from the Old World, 
 American rice is now considered the finest in 
 quality. A Cochin- China rice, adapted to a dry 
 soil, without irrigation, is cultivated to some 
 extent; but its produce is only from 15 to 20 
 bushels per acre. South Carolina grows about 
 3-4ths of the quantity (160 millions) produced. 
 The next States in order are, Georgia (38), North 
 Carolina (5|), and Louisiana (4i) millions). 
 
 TOBACCO. The amount of tobacco raised in the 
 United States in 1840, was 219 millions of pounds ; 
 in 1850, it had decreased to 199| millions. Al- 
 though raised by the aborigines, it was only in 
 1611 that the Virginians cultivated tobacco with 
 the spade. In 1616, however, various regulations 
 were framed to restrain its production, so alarm- 
 ingly had its cultivation spread. But as an in- 
 creasing demand for the article was experienced, 
 repeated proclamations were of no avail. The 
 chief Stntes that produce tobacco and the amounts 
 are as follows: Virginia, 56i million pounds; 
 
390 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 Kentucky, 55 J; North Carolina, 41f ; Maryland, 
 21 1 ; Tennesse, 20? ; Missouri, 17^ ; and produc- 
 tive Ohio, 101 millions. 
 
 COTTON. In 1840, the crop of cotton was 
 7904 million pounds; in 1850, it was 987^ mil- 
 lions. Its culture is rapidly diminishing in Vir- 
 ginia and North Carolina ; there is a falling off 
 also in Louisiana, whilst Alabama occupies the 
 first place as a cotton -producing State, her produc- 
 tion having almost doubled in 10 years. The re- 
 port on cotton concludes as follows : " Immense 
 as the extent and value of this crop has become, it 
 is not extravagant to anticipate a rate of increase 
 for the current decennial period which will bring 
 up the aggregate for the year 1850 to 4,000,000 
 bales." The average yield of cotton is about 5,000 
 pounds per acre. 
 
 BUCKWHEAT. The quantity of buckwheat raised 
 in 1840, was 7,290,000 bushels ; in 1850 it was 
 8,956,000. There is no export. This grain ap- 
 pears not to have been much cultivated in the 
 Union prior to the last century, as it is not often 
 mentioned by writers on America previous to that 
 period. New York and Pennsylvania are the 
 principal producers. 
 
 BARLEY. In 1840 there were 4,161,000 bushels 
 of barley raised, against 5,167,000, in 1850. Its 
 consumption for the manufacture of liquor was 
 3,780,000 bushels in 1850. Its yield is from 30 
 to 50 or more bushels per acre; weighing 45 to 
 551b to the bushel. There is no export. The 
 variety chiefly cultivated in the Union is the two- 
 rowed variety, which is preferred from the fullness 
 of its berry, and its freedom from smut. The 
 State of New York produces 3i out of the 5 
 millions. 
 
 POTATOES. The quantity of potatoes grown in 
 
APPENDIX. 391 
 
 1850, was smaller than in 1840, the numbers 
 being: in 1840, 108 million bushels; in 1850, 
 104 millions. To the greater uncertainty attend- 
 ing its cultivation during late years, that is, since 
 the appearance of the " potatoe disease" is to be 
 ascribed the falling off; it being one of the four 
 agricultural products that show a falling off during 
 the last ten years. The period of the introduction 
 of the potatoe into the British North American 
 colonies is not precisely known. It is mentioned 
 among the products of Carolina and Virginia in 
 1T49 ; and by Kalm as growing in New York the 
 same year. In the Union the common potato has 
 been principally confined to the Northern, Middle, 
 and Western States ; it gives way to the sweet 
 potato, its more tropical rival, in the states of 
 Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. 
 
 WINE. In 1840 the wine produced in the 
 Union was estimated at 124,000 gallons. In 1850, 
 at which time New Mexico had been incorporated, 
 bringing a supply of 60,000 gallons, the total pro- 
 duct was only 221,000 gallons. The consumption 
 of wine, though by no means general, is, however, 
 considered great. The imports for the year ending 
 June, 1851, were 6,160,000 gallons, principally 
 from France, the invoice cost being estimated at 
 2,370,000 dollars. The quantity of ale and spi- 
 rituous liquors produced in the Union in 1850 
 exceeded 86,000,000 gallons, the imports about 
 balancing the exports. The earliest attempt to 
 establish a vineyard was in 1620, by a London 
 company, in Virginia. William Penn also at- 
 tempted to establish a vineyard, near Philadelphia, 
 in 1683, but did not succeed. Ohio now produces 
 about one-fifth the whole quantity made. 
 
 HOPS. The increase in the culture of hops in 
 the Union has been nearly 200 per cent., almost 
 
302 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 the whole increase taking place in the State of 
 New York ; the increase there being from 500,000 
 to 2,500,000 pounds, or more than five-sevenths of 
 the whole crop of the United States. New York, 
 too, is the best brewer of ale, beer, and porter ; the 
 breweries of the State producing in 1850, 645,000 
 barrels, or more than a third of the quantity re- 
 turned for the whole Union. 
 
 FLAX AND HEMP. In 1840 there were raised 
 in the Union 95,250 tons of hemp and flax; in 
 1850, 34,093 tons of hemp and 7,716,000 pounds 
 of flax. The cultivation of flax, up to 1840, how- 
 ever, was principally for the seed, which com- 
 manded a remunerative price. The invention of 
 Chevalier Claussen is now attracting some attention 
 to its growth. Both flax and hemp were early 
 introduced by the English colonists. Both are 
 mentioned as growing in New England in 1632 ; 
 and bounties were offered for their production in 
 Virginia in 1751. In 1622 an edict was passed, 
 requiring each poll in Virginia to raise and manu- 
 facture six pounds of linen thread, which, however, 
 was soon repealed. 
 
 SILK. According to the returns of 1840, the 
 amount of silk cocoons raised in the Union was 
 61,550 pounds; in 1850, only 14,760 pounds. 
 Since 1740, the production has thus decreased 
 above 46,000 pounds. It is also less by 382,000 
 than in 1844. Silk culture was early introduced 
 into the North American colonies, Virginia being 
 the first State that took it up, under the auspices 
 of a London company ; and its cultivation was 
 very much stimulated at the time. It has been 
 tried, and is now cultivated in several of the States, 
 but with apparently indifferent success. 
 
 SUGAR. In Louisiana in -1840, the cane and 
 maple sugar grown amounted to nearly 120 million 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 pounds ; the entire weight for the Union reaching 
 only 155 millions. In 1850, or in ten years, there 
 was an increase of 126| million pounds, the total 
 amount heing 28 If million pounds, besides, as in 
 the former period about 12 million gallons of 
 molasses. In 1818 the sugar crop of Louisiana 
 was 25 million pounds, in 1850 it was 226 millions. 
 The quantity of sugar produced on an are varies 
 from 500 to 3,000 pounds, averaging, perhaps, 
 from 800 to 1,000 pounds. Hitherto the amount 
 of sugar and molasses consumed in the United 
 States has exceeded the quantities produced. The 
 principal States that produce maple sugar are : 
 New York, 10| million pounds; Vermont, 6 ; 
 Ohio, 44; Indiana, nearly 3; Michigan and Penn- 
 sylvania, under 2| each ; and Virginia and New 
 Hampshire, about 1 each. Louisiana produces 
 about nine-tenths of the cane-sugar, or 226 out of 
 247 million pounds. The introduction of the sugar 
 cane into Florida and Louisiana probably dates 
 back to their earliest settlement by the Spaniards 
 aud French. It was not cultivated in the latter 
 State, however, as a staple product before 1751, 
 being introduced there by the Jesuits, with several 
 negroes, from St. Domingo. Since the revolution, 
 while the production of cane sugar has been an- 
 nually increasing at the south, the manufacture of 
 maple sugar has been extending in the north and" 
 west. In most parts of Louisiana, the canes 
 yield three crops from one plantation ; but at the 
 northern range of its cultivation, although consi- 
 dered a perennial, it requires to be replanted every 
 year. Within the tropics, an abundant yield is 
 obtained from the same roots for twelve, fifteen, 
 and even twenty-four years. 
 
334 
 
 UNITKD STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 CANAL STATISTICS. 
 
 Statement of Property left at Albany via the Erie and 
 Champlain Canals, from the opening to the close of 
 navigation in 1851 and 1852, shewing the kind, quan- 
 tity, and average value of each article : 
 
 Description. 
 
 1852. 
 
 THE FOREST. 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value in 
 Dollars. 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Fur and Peltry, Ibs... 
 Boards and Scantling, 
 
 feet 317,135,620 
 
 Shingles, M 31,636 
 
 Timber, c. feet 291,714 
 
 Staves, Ibs 10,961,389 
 
 Wood, cords 8,297 
 
 Ashes, barrels 7,349 
 
 74,082 96,307 151,260 
 
 5,495,960 260,238,003 
 110,726 34,136 
 
 52,509 110,200 
 507,418 115,087,290 
 
 41,485 5,554 
 
 213,121 8,830 
 
 Total value 6,517,526* 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 Pork, barrels. 
 
 26,226 
 
 457,381 
 
 15,069 
 
 Beef, barrels 
 
 36,918 
 
 433,687 
 
 24,975 
 
 Bacon, Ibs 
 
 3,610,377 
 
 339,375 
 
 2,728,030 
 
 Cheese, Ibs 
 
 2,947,978 
 
 235,838 
 
 4,118,070 
 
 Butter, Ibs 
 
 1,216,453 
 
 225,044 
 
 1,462,810 
 
 Lard, Tallow, and 
 
 
 
 
 Oil, Ibs 
 
 5,181,788 
 
 569,997 
 
 3,338,730 
 
 Wool, Ibs 
 
 4,145,970 
 
 1,741,307 
 
 6,170,476 
 
 Hides, Ibs /. 
 
 315,592 
 
 44,183 
 
 231,723 
 
 Flour, barrels 
 
 1,651,789 
 
 7,482,604 
 
 1,571,201 
 
 Wheat, bushels, 
 
 1,495,714 
 
 1,525,628 
 
 657,630 
 
 Rye, bushels 
 
 31,959 
 
 25,567 
 
 35,758 
 
 Corn, bushels 
 
 2,981,938 
 
 1,997,898 
 
 3,953,454 
 
 Corn meal, barrels 
 
 5,456 
 
 15,977 
 
 1,224 
 
 Barley, bushels 
 
 1,386,678 
 
 1,012,275 
 
 1,159,701 
 
 Oats, bushels 
 
 1,573,145 
 
 692,184 
 
 1,042,482 
 
 Bran and Ship stuffs, 
 
 
 
 
 Iba 
 
 19,283,637 
 
 173,553 
 
 19,319,000 
 
 Beans and Peas, bush. 
 
 15,213 
 
 19,016 
 
 17,038 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 395 
 
 Potatoes, bushels 63,299 37,979 94,957 
 
 Dried Fruit, Ibs 32,662 2,613 392,550 
 
 Cotton, Ibs , 36,811 4,049 133,830 
 
 Unmanufactured to- 
 bacco, Ibs 5,925,900 1,303,698 1,811,330 
 
 Hemp, Ibs 928,467 47,350 802,440 
 
 Clover and Grass 
 
 Seed, Ibs ,.... 951,126 71,334 227,180 
 
 Flax Seed, Ibs 666,175 13,324 
 
 Hops, Ibs 98,368 29,510 59,750 
 
 Total value 18,500,771 
 
 MANUFACTURES. 
 
 Domestic spirits, galls 2,415,519 543,492 910,875 
 
 Oilmeal and cakes, Ibs. 1,136.696 14,777 861,100 
 
 Leather, Ibs 1,331,790 213,088 1,465,855 
 
 Furniture, Ibs 346,074 34,607 145,045 
 
 Bloom and Bar Iron, 
 
 Ibs 4,483,109 67,247 16,294,190 
 
 Castings, Ibs 290,242 10,158 99,530 
 
 Domesticwoollens,lbs 16,754 15,916 21,940 
 
 Domestic cottons, Ibs. 188,577 49,030 142,435 
 
 Domestic Salt, Ibs 5,633,449 25,351 8,543,500' 
 
 Total value '... 976,785 
 
 MERCHANDISE. 
 
 Sugar, Ibs 2,416 157 
 
 Nails and Spikes, Ibs. 1,111,029 36,108 908,920 
 Iron and Steel, Ibs.... 75,794 2,046 33,730 
 Crockery and Glass- 
 ware, Ibs 73,636 6,995 40,169 
 
 All other merchan- 
 dise, Ibs 2,669,275 800,783 750,280 
 
 Total value 846,089 
 
 OTHER ARTICLES. 
 Live Cattle, hogs, and 
 
 sheep, Ibs 98,730 2,962 230,300 
 
 Stone, Lime and Clay, 
 
 Ibs 38,203,441 57,305 41,868,130 
 
 Gypsum, Ibs 1,084,298 2,169 1,190,500 
 
 Mineral Coal, Ibs 180,700 452 518,370 
 
 Copper Ore, Ibs..:. 20,968 3,145 314,080 
 
 Sundries, Ibs 26,599,114 551,982 42,448,982 
 
 Total value 598,015 
 
396 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 Total value under the divisons, as specified in 
 the above table : 
 
 1852. 
 Dollars. 
 
 The Forest 6,517,526 
 
 Agriculture 18,500,771 
 
 Manufactures 976,785 
 
 Merchandise 846,089 
 
 Other articles 598,015 
 
 1851. 
 Dollars. 
 
 285,105 
 
 15,225,347 
 
 873,153 
 
 76,607 
 
 969,349 
 
 Total value 27,439,186 22,456,561 
 
 Statement showing the aggregate in tons, under 
 the divisions, as above specified : 
 
 The Forest 564,763 
 
 Agriculture 401,745 
 
 Manufactures 17,739 
 
 Merchandise 1,967 
 
 Other articles . . .. 33,093 
 
 483,665 
 376,407 
 
 18,497 
 867 
 
 43,284 
 
 Total 1,019,307 
 
 922,110 
 
 The following is the comparative values and 
 quantities declared at Albany : 
 
 TOTAL VALUE. 
 
 1852. 
 Dollars. 
 
 The Forest 42,626 
 
 Agriculture 485,303 
 
 Manufactures 630,797 
 
 Merchandise 30,040,552 
 
 Other articles 277,097 
 
 1851. 
 Dollars. 
 
 1,028 
 
 551,927 
 
 578,641 
 
 21,385,234 
 
 345,979 
 
 Total 31,476,375 22,862,627 
 
 AGGREGATE IN TONS. 
 
 The Forest 1,031 
 
 Agriculture 4.056 
 
 Manufactures 1 3,355 
 
 Merchandise ^23,407 
 
 Other articles 35,185 
 
 69 
 
 2,184 
 12,665 
 86,161 
 34,387 
 
 Total tons 177,034 
 
 135,47 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 397 
 
 EMIGRATION TO NEW YORK FOR THE 
 YEAR 1852. 
 
 The following tables, which we have compiled 
 from the books of the Commissioners of Emigra- 
 tion, will exhibit the emigration for the last year ; 
 also the totals for the three previous years. Sub- 
 joined is the first table, showing the number of 
 passengers to New York, both foreign born and 
 native, for every month in the year : 
 
 Months. 
 
 January 
 
 February 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 June 
 
 July 
 
 August 
 
 September 
 
 October 
 
 Noyember , 
 
 December 
 
 Total 
 
 Citizens. Aliens. 
 
 1,703 
 
 11,592 
 
 2,562 
 
 5,342 
 
 3,134 
 
 21,726 
 
 3,545 
 
 38,193 
 
 3,917 
 
 33,379 
 
 5,541 
 
 49,225 
 
 4,550 
 
 29,403 
 
 3,359 
 
 34,510 
 
 3,232 
 
 36,777 
 
 2,757 
 
 17,765 
 
 2,528 
 
 16,573 
 
 2,224 
 
 15,019 
 
 39,052 299,504 
 
 Of the foreigners, there arrived from 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Germany 
 
 England . 
 
 Scotland 
 
 Wales 
 
 Fraace . 
 
 Spain 
 
 Switzerland 
 
 Holland 
 
 Norway 
 
 Sweden 
 
 117,537 
 
 118,126 
 
 31,276 
 
 7,640 
 
 2,531 
 
 8,778 
 
 450 
 
 6,455 
 
 1,223 
 
 1,889 
 
 2,066 
 
 Belgium 
 West Indies 
 Nova Scotia . 
 Sardinia . 
 South America 
 Canada . 
 China 
 Sicily . 
 Mexico 
 Russia . 
 East Indies . 
 
 82 
 265 
 73 
 69 
 120 
 48 
 14 
 42 
 22 
 33 
 18 
 
398 
 
 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 
 
 Denmark 
 
 Italy 
 
 Portugal 
 
 156 Turkey 
 
 358 Greece 
 
 29 Poland 
 
 4 
 6 
 
 186 
 
 Total aliens 
 American citizens arrived 
 
 ,, passengers . 
 
 299,504 
 39,052 
 
 388,566 
 
 The following table exhibits a comparative view 
 of the emigration from all the countries for the last 
 four years : 
 
 Nation, 
 Ireland . 
 Germany 
 England 
 Scotland 
 Wales 
 France . 
 Spain 
 
 Switzerland 
 Holland 
 Norway . 
 Sweden 
 Denmark 
 Italy 
 Portugal 
 Belgium 
 West Indies 
 Nova Scotia 
 Sardinia . 
 South America 
 Canada . 
 China 
 Sicily- 
 Mexico 
 Russia 
 
 East Indies . 
 Turkey . 
 Greece 
 Poland 
 Arabia 
 
 Total . 
 
 1849. 
 
 1850. 
 
 1851. 
 
 1852. 
 
 112,691 
 
 116,582 
 
 163,256 
 
 117,537 
 
 55,705 
 
 45,402 
 
 69,883 
 
 118,126 
 
 28,321 
 
 28,125 
 
 28,553 
 
 31,276 
 
 8,840 
 
 6,771 
 
 7,302 
 
 7,640 
 
 1,782 
 
 1,520 
 
 2,189 
 
 2,531 
 
 2,683 
 
 3,398 
 
 6,064 
 
 8,778 
 
 214 
 
 257 
 
 278 
 
 450 
 
 1,405 
 
 2,351 
 
 4,499 
 
 6,455 
 
 . 2,447 
 
 1,174 
 
 1,789 
 
 1,223 
 
 3,300 
 
 3,150 
 
 2,112 
 
 1,889 
 
 . 1,007 
 
 1,110 
 
 872 
 
 2,066 
 
 159 
 
 90 
 
 229 
 
 156 
 
 602 
 
 475 
 
 618- 
 
 358 
 
 287 
 
 55 
 
 26 
 
 29 
 
 118 
 
 230 
 
 475 
 
 82 
 
 449 
 
 554 
 
 575 
 
 265 
 
 151 
 
 161 
 
 81 
 
 73 
 
 172 
 
 165 
 
 98 
 
 69 
 
 33 
 
 103 
 
 221 
 
 120 
 
 59 
 
 61 
 
 50 
 
 48 
 
 9 
 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 11 
 
 42 
 
 23 
 
 41 
 
 42 
 
 22 
 
 38 
 
 18 
 
 23 
 
 33 
 
 34 
 
 32 
 
 10 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 133 
 
 183 
 
 142 
 
 186 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 220,603 211,796 289,601 299,504 
 
APfENDlX. 
 
 PERSONAL CENSUS. 
 
 The personal census of the United States ex- 
 hibit* a population of about 23,000,000, free and 
 slave. Of these 17,736,792 are free, and 2,210, 
 828 are of foreign origin. The emigrant popula- 
 tion, therefore, amounts to 11 60-100 per cent oi 
 the free population. 
 
 The following table shows the proportion which 
 several foreign countries have furnished to the 
 emigrant population iu the United States : 
 
 Countries. United States. 
 
 Ireland . . . . 43,4 
 
 Germany . . . 25,9 
 
 England and Wales . . 13,40 
 
 Scotland . . . 3,17 
 
 British America . . . 6,68 
 
 The population of the United States has in- 
 creased, during the last fifty years, 337 per cent, 
 and during the last ten years 36 per cent. 
 
 For the last ten years, the increase has been 
 from 1,066,709, a gross augmentation of members 
 of 775,550, or 73 per cent for the ten years. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 J. S. Pratt, Printer, Stokesley, Yorkshire. 
 
Just Published, with a Coloured Map, price 2s. Qd. ; or post 
 free, 3s. 
 
 A US TEAL AS II; 
 
 COMPRISED 
 
 NEW SOUTH WALES/ PORT PHILIP, (VICTORIA, 
 
 VAN DIEMAN'S LAND, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, 
 
 AND SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 
 
 BY EGBERT STEWART, A.M. 
 
 This Volume contains a complete Geographical descrip- 
 tion of the Australasian countries, with a detailed account 
 of the Climate, Soil, Production, Population, Manufacture, 
 Religion, Arts, Government, &c., and authentic docu- 
 ments, illustrating the progress and state of the Austral- 
 asian colonies to the latest date. 
 
 LONDON : W, TWEEDIE, 337, STRAND.